Electric Dreamstate

I haven't been updating this blog nearly as much as I should, but I'm posting here to say that I probably won't be updating much over the course of November.

In addition to purchasing a bunch of videogames, I'm also going to be preparing for my eventual departure from Edmonton and participating in the NaNoWriMo.

Speaking of the the NaNoWriMo, I've challenged several people to participate. The only person that I've challenged who came through was Chris over at the Crap Shack.

A notable on the cowardly list is Leah, whose blog I'd be in a blog fight with if she didn't post about three times as much as me and humiliate me. She was all about "I have so much work I'm going to die of stress as it is" and "I have a career!". Sorry Leah, that doesn't cut it. If you can't compete with an unemployed guy for writing a 50 000 word novel no one will ever read, well, I don't know what you can compete in.

Posted by Daniel Kaszor at 12:55 a.m. | Permalink | Comments

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My American passport came in the mail today. No going back now.

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This sounds like it should be some sort of April Fool type prank, but it seems like it isn't. Marvel Comics and Guiding Light are doing a crossover. Hells yeah.

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The Departed

I don't know if I necessarily like this film better than Gangs of New York or The Aviator, but I could certainly like it more without trying. You rarely see escapist films put together with such care as was given The Departed and that level of quality spanned from the directing to the acting to the cinematography to the music to, most importantly, the writing. The script was obviously tight.

This is also one of the few recent mainstream films where you can't really figure out where everything is going after 10 minutes, which is nice. Of course if you've see the Infernal Affairs which the film is based off of (I haven't), you've probably spoilered yourself. Recommended without reservation.


Shortbus

Does the idea of seeing one guy use another guy's erect penis as a microphone while singing the American National Anthem freak you out? If yes then you shouldn't see this movie. Does the idea of a whole bunch of people getting all emo and whiney about themselves freak you out? If yes then you shouldn't see this movie. Personally, despite being a bit ground-breaking by showing the actual act of penetration a whole bunch, I didn't really like the characters enough to get invested in the rest of the film. Tentatively recommended against, unless this sounds like the kind of film for you.


Kingdom of Heaven: The Director's Cut

The director's cut of Kingdom of Heaven, is an hour longer than the theatrical version (that's a full third extra) and fixes most of the problems the original cut had. On a very basic level, it fleshes out the kind of experience Orlando Bloom's character had before the film began, as to make his third act heroics much more believable. Further, it made the character of the Queen have so much more depth as to almost seem like a completely different character. It's truly the "real" version of the film (in a way that many modern director's cuts aren't) and is firmly now my third favorite Ridley Scott movie (bonus points to those who guess the first two).

There is a little bit of an Ivanhoe problem where the main character goes missing for a good chunk of time during the middle of the film (the reason the majority of the scenes that were cut were cut), but balanced against the amount of depth and texture added to the film, that quibble is inconsequential. In my experience where the two hour version felt too long, this three hour version almost feels like it isn't long enough. It still isn't exactly great history (it isn't trying to be), but it is a great epic. Recommended if you enjoy epics

(Also, there was some Islamic protest before Kingdom of Heaven was released. Ironically, if anyone comes out of KoH looking like saints it's the Muslims.)

Posted by Daniel Kaszor at 7:12 p.m. | Permalink | Comments