The smell from Universal burning

Universal Studios burned, and it smells AWFUL where I am! Which stinks (in more ways than one) because it's such a gorgeous day out this morning that I was actually considering going out onto our back porch and writing on my Asus Eee.

What I should do now is submit my three chapters of homework that I finished yesterday so I can move onto the quizzes. So far, I figured I'm doing a B+ or A- in the class, which is okay. But I was taking it too easy, thinking that because English was always one of my best subjects that I'd get perfect scores on the quizzes and tests with no studying. On my first exam I got 44/50 possible points.

And now the class is moving out of Superlatives - can you *believe* I actually wrote "Bad:Badder:Baddest" on a Quiz? I can't believe I did that. Talk about a stupid attack. Bad:Worse:Worst. What was I *thinking*! Anyhow, we're out of superlatives and into a really tricky (for me) section dealing with Subject/Verb agreement. Not as easy as you'd think, especially if you've developed bad habits or have lost the 'ear' for proper grammar. I'm talking Indefinite Pronouns, Predictive Nominatives (OUCH!), Appositives and Objective Forms.

Urgh. It IS useful. I keep missing mistakes in the sentences I'm alledgedly proofreading. Clearly, I'm not as good as I thought I was.

Movies I've Recently Seen

The first movie I'll talk about is Dark City. Does anyone remember that one?
Rufus Sewell starred, along with William Hurt and Jennifer Donnelly, in one of her first adult break-through roles after Labyrinth. A mysterious alien collective has stolen not only thousands of humans, but they've also stolen their memories and lives while trying to figure out what makes humans tick, where their soul is. The production design is fantastic as is the visualization of a city actually *changing* before your eyes. There is no light, it's always nighttime.

The main character wakes up naked in a tub, a wound on his forehead and a mysterious syringe in pieces on the floor. In the bedroom is a dead woman with swirls cut into her skin.

The rest of the film moves between Sewell's character, Murdoch, and Hurt's cop character and Murdoch's wife. They are ALL playing the roles assigned to them by the aliens AND a human turn-coat played by Kiefer Sutherland (who narrates the opening of the film). Sutherland's Renfield character, straight out of a Dracula novel, tries his best to help Murdoch reach his potential as the only human who can take on the aliens on their own turf.

As fantastic as I think the movie is, it does fail the women characters. They are there only as serial killer fodder, or as a love interest. No where do you see a woman speaking to another woman, and never about anything but the male characters, in particular Murdoch. There are no female aliens present: they are represented as white faced, pale bald males - including one or two children to add to the overall creepiness they're supposed to encapsule. (because everyone knows children can do creepy like nothing else)



The second movie I've seen recently is Beowulf. The Guy rented it out on cable. Boy, is it gory. Grendel is disgusting and pathetic at the same time. And seeing him rip the humans apart...ugh. I had to skip out of the room when Grendel starts pounding on the Hall's reinforced wooden while Beowulf and his crew await in the Hall, oblivious to what the monster *really* is and how vicious he is. Nothing like finding out for yourself?

I thought it was interesting, the cycle Gaiman and his cowriter set up: every time there's a ruler on the throne, the demoness seduces him, giving him a golden horn, which symbolizes an agreement between her and the King. When the King gives up the horn, he essentially gives up his life. Beowulf, in the end, turns out to be a genuine Hero, finally realizing that being a Hero means sacrificing your All for the people you love, for your subjects and kingdom. He might have been something of a brave shyster in the beginning, but still, didn't realize what he was in for when he slept with the demon. 

The ending was a big Whoa, with the audience (me) left wondering, is Beowulf's friend, now the designated King, going to waste Beowulf's sacrifice to end the cycle? Or not?

The animation itself -  CGI mo-cap, with the faces based on the actors who voiced the characters - is just short of being creepy. Only a few scenes have subtlety of expression in the characters' faces. The backgrounds are amazing, I admit that I wondered why the heck Zemeckis chose to film this in CGI, since the characters were so lifelike...but i guess the offness, the slight not-reality plays into the legendary aspect.

So, I recommend Beowolf but if you're squeamish, bring a blindfold with you when you see it!


I suppose I'll put the one for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull behind a cut, so, here goes: 

( Spoilers ahead, and opinions, read at your own risk! )