1st Video

Here is my final project for my After Effects class, that I just finished with today.

 It is based on the "Personals" project I worked on for many years, and hopefully I will continue with. I'm really happy with the results.

Book review: The Passage.

Justin Cronin's The Passage can be described as a post-apocalyptic science experiment gone wrong; resulting in the semi-extermination of humans by so called virals (a fancy word for vampires). That's the first section of the book. The rest occupies itself with the surviving humans, and their possible salvation. This first book is part of a trilogy that is to span 1,000 years, the first book barely clocks in at 100 years.

It is very well written, filled with great character development, descriptive scenes that really bring you into this wasteland that is the future. The story itself is captivating from the 1st chapter till the very last sentence of the book. It is filled with moments of peace (that help develop characters and story), to action packed battle scenes that bring you right into the story, and frankly scare the hell out of you. And unlike other popular vampire books, there will not be any "Team Backcock" t-shirts anytime soon. The vampires in this story are not sexy nor glamorous, but rather monstrous creatures with no regard for life but their own.

Given how much I love vampire books, this will for sure become a favorite. Although it'll be a while before I read it again (776 pages).  The only regret is having to wait for the other books to see how it concludes.

42nd Street

I have a love/hate relationship with musical theater. I hate most musicals, I prefer the gritty, dirty, and can relate better to those than some cute musical. Le Mis, I was miserable. Wicked, HATED IT. Rocky Horror..., Love It. Hedwig..., can't get enough.

This past Sat. I saw the local production of 42nd Street. I didn't hate it. I didn't want to gouche my eyes out.  All in all, I place it right in the middle of my list.

Most importantly, I think this is the where the film Showgirls got it's inspiration. The young starlet pushes the diva, and breaks her ankle only to take over for her and save the day. In Showgirls, Nomi Malone pushes Cristal Connors down a staircase and breaks her hip only to become the new "Goddess". The similarities are uncanny. 42nd Street is the original Showgirls.

-ff

postmortem

"Each day she looked at me from her invisible cage and asked me to hold her tight. Each day when I said good-bye to her, she asked me if I ...... and I always gave her the same reply.
I would say 'Always'." Martin (The Angels Game)

That sums things up pretty well, or something like that. Sad, really. Never had a chance really.

-f

Sunglasses at night

As the world descends on Park City every Sundance, we as locals are obligated to make fun of the film stars, executives, groupies for their fashion, attitude, and downright doucheiness. Well this year while visiting Vancouver BC, I became that asshole. Let me explain…

Sure it was cloudy, rainy, snowy, and grey this past February, but I wore my sunglasses all the time. It took me a couple of days to understand why everyone kept looking at me, and giving me not-so-kind looks. I felt like a total tool for the rest of the trip, but I had to wear them.

I have to admit, that I wear my sunglasses for purely fashionable reasons. But the reality is that I need to wear them. With my recent eye surgeries, my eyes are pretty sensitive to light, and I do need to keep them shielded. That sounds like the lamest excuse EVER, but it’s true.

I know I’ve forgotten to even think about posting anything for a while. One of my new years’ resolution is to write at least one post per month.

In light of that I did manage to complete my goal of seeing 100 movies in 2009. Towards the end I did get a little desperate and made some not-so-wise choices in my viewing. Please don’t think less of me. Here’s my list:

Prom Night in Mississippi
Lymelife
Spring Break Breakdown
Amreeka
Afghan Star
Paper Heart
One Day in a Life
Adam
Before Tomorrow
Quest for Honor
Heart of Time
Shorts Program IV
Hump Day
World’s Greatest Dad
Motherhood
Barkingwater
Dare
Victoria Day
La Mission
500 Days of Summer
Sin Nombre
Another Gay Sequel
Batman – Dark Knight
Valkerye
Coroline
Transsiberian
Love and other Disasters
Watchmen
What Happens in Vegas
Happy Go Lucky
Twilight
Sangre de Mi Sangre
Taking Chance
Standard Operating Procedure
Startrek
Wolverine
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Colma: the Musical
Angles and Demons
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Cloverfield
Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hangover
Pride and Prejudice
Elizabeth: the Golden Era
Son of Ranbow
X-files: I Want to Believe
Lisa Lampanelli: Take it Like a Man
Below
Mulligans
The Last Templar
Atonement
Hard Pill
Oh Happy Day
District 9
If the World Were Mine
Freshman Orientation (Home of Phobia)
The Rules of Attraction
The September Issue
Mi Life in Ruins
Cabaret
Christ and Don: A Love Story
Pet Shop Boys: A Life in Pop
A Love to Hide
Fabulous: The Story of Queer Cinema
Bears Club
Cthulhu
Halloween Town 1 & 2
The Amateurs
Calendar Girls
Downward Spiral Live
Jumper
Home Alone
Forbidden Kingdom
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
Eagle Eye
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Beowulf
Bernard and Doris
Seven
G.I. Joe
Spiderman 3
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Precious
Love is the Devil
Julie & Julia
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (on DVD)
Make the Yuletide Gay
Oceans Twelve.
Quinciañera
Fido
He’s Just Not That Into You
The Virgin Suicides
Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
Every Fucking Day of My Life
Jurassic Park
Up
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Nine