Kinda lazing around... And a Rant

Haven't posted anything in a while. I blame school. Believe me when I say, I'm going to keep updating the blog at a few times a month. It's just this month has been something else for me. You know how big a procrastinator I am, so it's really no surprise that I've left all the important studying until last minute. I'm working on it guys.

Oh, and there was also a lot to be done in this group communication project that for reasons I can't (or won't I don't defame people so names will not be named) explain, happened to be one of the worst groups I've ever worked in. Fuck it, I'm ranting anyways.

How difficult is it to pull your weight in a project that requires little if any research and only needs your minimal input? What pisses me off is that I volunteered to do most of the work and STILL, I had to help pull the weight of other group members.

Writing the paper for which amounted to about two pages (four double spaced) is about the most work out of the entire project. Not a lot considering I'm DOING it for you. Considering that getting the interviews done, writing said interviews up, doing a budget which at the very least is the most bullshitable job because no one checks the numbers, and doing surveys, writing the paper is the more time consuming job (not claiming the toughest but certainly more time consuming).

Not that I'm saying I got the shit end of the stick, but really, going in and volunteering to do the entire paper, pulling the weight of the entire group because I *knew people weren't going to pull that much weight and STILL having to do some extra shit kinda really makes me pissed off. Seriously, even in high school bad group members at least tried to look knowledgeable in their areas when called upon.

Alright, rant over. In all honesty, it could've ended up worse but eh, what're you going to do about it? Shit happens.

So yeah, past month I had to worry about a group project. It's not as bad as it sounds but still comes off as a bad group experience. You know what this means right? Yep, little work done on my script. I think summer will get more productive though. I got some more ideas to implement into my "first" draft before I feel it becomes a complete draft. Then off to the rewrite.

Iron Man 2 Review

I'm not the biggest fan of the Iron Man movies. I remembered watching the first one and coming away from the film slightly underwhelmed. For a comic book superhero, the guy doesn't fight a lot. I definitely enjoyed it but it I never felt that all the praise that was heaped upon the first film was too well deserved, it was super fun but only in the sense that eating cake is only fun for the five minutes of sweet satisfaction you feel.

So here comes Ironman 2. Usually, a comic book adaptation's sequel surpasses the first with flying colours, and why shouldn't it? The origin story is out of the way and the only thing left is to expand on the character arcs and make the stakes higher for the main character. So the question remains, does it live up to the original?

Robert Downey Jr. continues to dazzle in the role of Tony Stark. He's does the loveable asshole role so well and make no mistake, Tony Stark is a huge asshole, but Downey just makes him so charming you can't help but root for the guy. Don Cheadle comes in to replace Terrence Howard in the role of Jim Rhodes. Upgrade? Eh, I don't know, I like Cheadle but I didn't think that he was given the appropriate screen time to develop his character more. It would've been interesting to see what Cheadle would've brought to the table if he was a larger presence in the film. Sam Rockwell is Tony's corporate rival Justin Hammer. I've been a fan of Rockwell since Moon and he holds his own in the movie. And Scarlett Johansson in black spandex as black widow? Holy cow that's HOT. Forget if she even acts in the film, she just has to stand there in the Spandex... Damn you Ryan Reynolds.

A lot of the charm of the Iron Man films lies in the witty banter between the characters. One liners just roll off of Stark and it gives the film a rather light tone, an aspect missing from a lot of current comic book adaptations. The film never takes itself too seriously and I suspect that's part of the appeal in watching Iron Man. You watch it to see the characters make fun of each other. It's just plain fun.

But when all is said and done, is the movie really good? Here's one of the problems that Ironman 2 faces. Tony Stark kinda just breezes his way past his problems. There's nothing really opposing him and his ideals. Government wants to seize his ironman suit, Ivan wants retribution over a past wrong that Tony's father did to his father, Justin Hammer wants to knock Tony down a peg, Stark's blood is slowly being poisoned by the very mechanism that's keeping him alive. We have all these great threads of conflict that set up a great second act, and it's not capitalized upon. Does Tony lose his suit? Does he lose the company? Does he struggle with finding a cure for his blood poisoning? In many ways, the film falls into a bit of a mess in the middle, struggling to balance all these plot threads but never taking itself too seriously enough to really explore it to its farthest extent.

This also brings up the problem with the main villains. What threats are they to Tony Stark? Justin Hammer for all he is, is nothing more than a sub-villain, posing no immediate threat towards Stark Industries because he's inept at his job and Ivan Vanko goes out to tarnish Stark's legacy to "make god bleed" which I guess he failed because he didn't tarnish Stark's reputation with the public. It didn't feel like anybody really lost any faith in Stark Industries after Whiplash's appearance and I felt the Mickey Rourke for all his talent and the menacing presence he imbues in the role, doesn't accomplish anything significant as a villain, again because it doesn't feel like he poses any immediate threat to Iron Man. The government didn't really strong arm its way into forcing Stark to give up the suit which is a complete waste of escalating conflict. A movie is about the high and low moments, a film does not succeed in being a completely happy affair. You need those moments of different emotional tones in order to contrast with the tones you've set. Iron Man 2 doesn't fully explore the emotional range of the story, and the film suffers a little from this.

One of the things that I absolutely feel is a huge weakness in the films are the lack of action set pieces. I count only 2 in this movie, and that's not including the little spat between Rhodes and Stark. The first one skirted by this by making... actually I didn't think the first one managed to skirt by it either. It seems at times that the filmmakers are too concerned with NOT hurting Tony Stark. Where's the conflict if you're not willing to let the main character be hurt? However, the action far surpasses that of the first movie and disappointingly though, it only just works. Nothing new to see here folks, just standard action fare.

But regardless of these structural problems, I have to admit that it was a fun movie. Not great, only good. And in some ways it is a disappointment only because the first act is established so well. I actually wounded up enjoying this better than the first one, though only by virtue more "action". Overall, the brilliant cast more than makes up for lackluster action set pieces and a loose story. Iron Man 2 continues to be fluff. But it is oh soo good fun fluff.

7.5/10

Inception Trailer

Can I say holyfuckgasmitlooksbadasschucknorriss INCEPTION!

Nerdy Joke of the Day

Taken from the internet:

Heisenberg is driving down the road when a cop pulls him over.

“Do you know how fast you were going?” the cop asks.

“No, sir,” Heisenberg replies, “but I know exactly where I am.

“You were going 20 miles over the speed limit,” the cops says.

Heisenberg throws up his hands and says, “Great, now I’m lost.”

This is of course, highlighting Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. physics up in this bitch yo!