Movie Review: WALL-E

Let's be frank. WALL-E is good. It's damn good. And the more I think about the movie after having watched it, the more I like it.

I went into WALL-E concerned since this was the first Pixar film to be fully produced under the new Disney ownership. And as we all know, the modern Walt Disney Company has a magnificent way of, well, screwing good things up. Thankfully, it appears Pixar can still make a great film, because WALL-E delivers on almost every level.

WALL-E tells the story of a lonely waste disposal robot living alone on a post-apocalyptic planet Earth. Eventually, through a fortuitous turn of events he finds love, adventure, and a greater purpose in life than endlessly cleaning up the shattered remains of humanity's past.


The setting for WALL-E surprised me a little at first, since I don't think I've ever seen an animated children's movie take place in the destroyed ruins of humanity before, but the more I think of it, the more I like it. WALL-E carries some good moral messages in it, which no movies seem to do nowadays, nevertheless children's movies. (Bratz anyone?!) Instead of trying to pander to kids and sell them movie-based toys, WALL-E carries a message that the things we love and own sometimes have a price much larger than what we realize, and when all is said and done, even our most valuable possessions ultimately end up worthless in comparison to what life and the universe around us have to offer.

Visually, WALL-E looks magnificent. Pixar's mastery of the available technology gives us a film with incredible detail that never ceases to amaze. However, we've come to expect that from Pixar, so the real shining aspect of WALL-E is the storytelling. It's refreshing to see such a well written and executed story. Even more amazing is the amount of personality the animators put into WALL-E, considering he has no face, and is actually voiced by a computer generated synthesizer that doesn't even create words. Within the first half-hour of the movie, you actually feel for WALL-E and can identify with him. It's incredible.

My only gripe with WALL-E as a movie would be the lack of a truly good soundtrack. The movie sounded fine, and there was good scoring for the background, but there were no real blockbuster songs or musical numbers like we've come to expect from past Disney and Pixar films. I can't recall any of the songs now off of the top of my head, even though I just saw the movie.

Overall, WALL-E is an excellent movie that I would recommend to kids and adults alike. It's fun, it looks good, and it tells an engaging story with some meaning behind it. Go see it.

SCORING: I give WALL-E 4.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Ana and Mike's Wedding

Just got back from a trip to Toronto, Canada. This time we were up in the great north for a family wedding. Specifically, Ana and Mike's wedding.

Our trip was great, and the wedding was very nice. I'm particularly happy that it was planned for the summertime, as my last trip to Canada in December was a little rough. Canadian winter is a bit too cold for my continued survival. Visiting in the summer is definitely the way to go.

Another cool thing about this trip is that I used High Dynamic Range photography (HDR) for some of my shots. Combining multiple exposures gives you more detail, and hopefully I will get better at it with some more practice.

We flew in a SMALL aircraft. Yes, the Cockpit Door is Open

Flying over Chicago!

You Can Rest Easy Knowing Jetway Technology Remains Solidly OUT of Canadian Hands

So That's Why My Luggage Never Arrives...

I Don't Think We're In Kansas Anymore...

Home is Ouest

Castle Balen (in HDR)

The Entryway to The House is Cool (in HDR)

After my last trip to Canada, I got a lot of grief from everyone in Arizona about not taking photos of the inside of the new house. So this time I took a few to keep everyone pacified.

Inside the Front Door (in HDR)

The Main Stairway (in HDR)

My Arch Nemesis... The Sun Room!

Family Room

Kitchen

Sprawling Back Yard (in HDR)

Rambo Pulls Guard Duty

More Rambo

Gas is $1.36 a liter. That's $5.24 a gallon in America-Speak. (Note They Had to Paste a '1' to the Gas Station Sign Since It Doesn't Go That High.)

Getting Ready for the Wedding

Mike is Getting Ready Too

It's a Groom!

And He has a Posse

The Croatian Church

Inside the Church

The Bride and Her Parents

Ceremony in Progress

Time to Make It Official

This is My New Friend, Boris (On the Right).
Boris Is a Dentist in Slovenia

Sweet Ride!

The Reception Was In a Cool Old Train Station

It Was Pretty Neat Inside

The Old Tracks Ran Under the Grand Ballroom

M.C. Mary Strikes Her Best Hillary Pose

The Ladies Celebrate

And So Do The Guys

Well, that's it for this trip. Hope you enjoyed the photos!

Built With Bad Intentions

I recently traveled waaay out into the middle of nowhere for a tour of the Titan II Missile Base. The Titan II Missile Base, more formally known as Titan II ICBM Site 571-7, is located in the Arizona desert about 20km south of Tucson, and is what would be commonly referred to as a "Nuclear missile base."

The complex is a massive 8 level facility located 140ft underground, hardened against potential nuclear attack, and protected at ground level by Doppler ground intrusion radar installations. The Titan II missile inside the launch silo is 103ft tall, uses hypergolic propellant for immediate launch, and was equipped with a W53 warhead yielding 9 Megatons. I say "was" equipped, as the warhead has been deactivated pursuant to the 1981 SALT Treaty.

Not a Good Place to Trespass. Use of Deadly Force Authorized

Doesn't Look Like Much from the Surface

Spare Re-Entry Vehicle For the Top of the Missile

Looking Down at the Missile From the Top of the Silo

Let's Head Down Into the Complex

For Security Reasons, Everybody is Armed and Nobody can be Alone at Any Time. You Watch Me, I Watch You...

This is the Launch Control Center

The Red Safe is Where the Launch Order Confirmation Codes are Kept

Two Keys on Opposite Sides of the Room Must be Turned at the Same Time to Initiate Launch. There is No Stopping the Launch After That...

Missiles Away. You'll Need Something to Read While You Wait for Incoming

It Must Have Served Its Purpose... The Flag is Still Flying

The Titan II Missile Base was definitely built with bad intentions. Everything gives off that vibe, from the massive blast doors and reinforced concrete walls to the rooms that are entirely suspended on massive spring coils to absorb shock waves. However, we lived in a different world back then and were facing some very real threats to our security and way of life. I hope the Titan II Missile Base is kept up and continues to offer tours to the public so today's and tomorrow's kids can get a glimpse of what the Cold War was like for us.

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Yes, we've been waiting 19 years for it, and we finally have a sequel to original Indiana Jones trillogy! Yesterday I braved the opening weekend crowds to get a taste of the latest in the Indiana Jones... uh... quadrilogy? Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull! (Or, IJATKOTCS for short)

Yes, IJATKOTCS has action. Yes, IJATKOTCS has adventure. And yes, IJATKOTCS has Indiana Jones! But sadly, that's about all it has that is of value. I think the best way to describe IJATKOTCS is that I came away from this move entertained, but disappointed.

I'm not sure if the expectation factor for this movie was just too high, or if it truly is a poor movie, but I'm leaning towards the latter. There is the usual Indiana Jones plot line here, with Russian Communists replacing the German Nazis, car chases, spooky tombs, and lots of creepy crawly creatures, but the movie just didn't seem well done.

I think the biggest problem with IJATKOTCS is that it was done by George Lucas, who seems to have lost all filmmaking ability sometime in the late 1980's. Much like the new Star Wars movies, IJATKOTCS took what was previously a mainstream, serious action series and created a new movie that is pretty much two hours of over-the-top slapstick comedy seemingly written for children as opposed to an adult audience. The comedy is oppressive, bad, and in-your-face. There were several points where the theater audience audibly groaned at the humor.

The cinematography in IJATKOTCS was also very heavy-handed and cartoonish, often relying on an overuse of CGI. It reminded me of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow at several points. Finally, IJATKOTCS lacked any suspense since Indy and his friends are basically indestructible super heroes that can smash through walls, be hurled 200 yards through the air to the ground, and plummet off of 20-story cliffs and waterfalls without suffering so much as a scratch. They might as well have slapped a Superman costume on him. There is literally a scene where the good guy befriends the monkeys of the jungle, swings from vine to vine to vine a la George of the Jungle in order to catch up to a speeding vehicle, then swings to the vehicle and has his monkey friends attack the Russians. I am not making this up.

Overall, IJATKOTCS was a poorly put together piece of film that suffers from many of the same faults the new Star Wars films do. It relies too heavily on fake-looking CGI and seems to be a slapstick montage designed for children instead of adults. The mere fact that it's Indiana Jones gives it a great deal of redeeming value in my book, so if it were any other protagonist, I would have rated the movie much lower. But is is an Indiana Jones movie, and Indiana Jones kicks ass, so I rated it a little better than it probably deserved.

SCORING: I give IJATKOTCS 2.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.

Movie Review: Iron Man

Decided to check out the new Cine Capri theater in Tempe with a few friends this weekend. It's big, loud, fancy, and a great place to see a kickass movie like Iron Man.

Iron Man was a good flick. He's a superhero who goes around killing terrorists. What else could you ask for? Well, I suppose you could ask for more terrorist killing, but let's not get greedy now. Plot-wise, Iron Man follows the life of Tony Stark, a playboy weapons developer who gets captured and held hostage by terrorists. He then develops the Iron Man technology to free himself from captivity and right the wrongs done by his corporate life of weapons peddling.

The audience is supposed to dislike Tony Stark before his redemption due to his cocky elitist attitude and disregard for the well-being of others, but I have to admit I liked the character from the start. He's a weapons developer, he drives fast cars, he dates hot women, he's witty, and he loves America! Besides, there's something to be said for a superhero who's self-made, as opposed to to one that's accidentally exposed to radiation or God-knows-what. It takes a real man to decide to go out and save the world as opposed to having it tossed into his lap.

One of the best things about this move for me was that for once, in a movie with terrorists, the terrorists are the bad guys. There are some other villains involved as well, but at least I can finally see a movie that doesn't make the U.S. military the villain, or try to morally equate us with the terrorists. About damn time!

The music included some awesome old-school rock, the acting was good, Gwyneth Paltrow was hot, and the CGI was very well done. I imagine it's difficult to render such outlandish technology in a way that makes it at least possible to suspend disbelief.

Overall, I enjoyed Iron Man thoroughly. There were only two issues that held the movie back for me. First was that most of the movie was about how Tony Stark became Iron Man, so it was almost like a prequel to the real movie, which is surely in production already if not soon. Second was the fact that after a good dose of killing terrorists, the plot shifted to Iron Man vs. evil corporate fat cats. It was still a good plot line, but not as engaging for me as the first half of the movie. But if you like good action, good humor, and stuff blowing up, go see Iron Man. You'll have a good time.

SCORING: I give Iron Man 3.5 Agent Smiths out of a possible 5.