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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The Sudden Necessity for Bill O'Reilly's Immediate Retirement

While many of his critics would argue that he's lost the plot ages ago, I think if there's any event that would cement him as a bonafide crazy would be his recent call on the government to hire 25,000 mercenaries to kill Islamic terrorists. Of course, that would start with ISIS.

It's not enough that audiences of news media, especially Fox (although that's par the course for those chickenhawks), are constantly being constantly brow-beaten with the notion that an all-out war on ISIS is necessary. However, these outlets ignore the majority opinion that the people don't want war on the battlefield again. The 'war' on terror commenced in 2003 will go down in the history books as one of the biggest flukes carried out by the U.S. Military. Now the loudmouths in the media want another battle.

Of course, none of them will ever set foot on a battlefield themselves.

That includes Bill O'Reilly, a long-time chickenhawk who has never served in the military, never served even a term in the Senate or Congress, and hasn't even mustered a short-term political career. He's a talking head spewing bullshit on a news network, and that's all he will be until he retires. In spite of his covering "four wars with a pen", to quote the old man himself, he has never actually set foot on a battlefield in his life and thus is not intimately aware of the pain of war.

Papa Bear is a stubborn man, and, as is evident in the following, quite senile and probably demented at that. Because he feels that the building coalition against ISIS isn't efficient or bloodthirsty enough for his tastes, let alone in defiance of international ethics, his solution is simple: get the Federal government to hire a militia of 25,000 well-paid, well-armed mercenaries. You know, it's only to do the bidding of the army, the same one that the U.S. President is unwilling to send more people to die for a cause in spite that, so far at least, it has had no effect on anyone inside of the United States. Here is a video wherein he puts forth this "solution":



O'Reilly seems absolutely unaware of the myriad of problems posed by the very idea he's pimping on his show. The human rights violations that would occur, the inconsistency of actual service, lack of actual oversight, "English speakers" being unable to understand those who could be their allies, the fact that this conflict could last for years before seeing any resolve, and many other problems. If you want to just tackle the financial problem with this dastardly idea, here it is: if you pay each mercenary $100,000 a year, and you hire up to the capacity O'Reilly called for, that would amount to $2.5 billion a year. That doesn't take into account logistics, training, medical, armament, off-site intelligence & planning, and others.

Hell, he doesn't even consider that mercenaries are definitely "in it for the money", who disregard the how and the why they do what they do to make their paychecks. This isn't a fucking movie or videogame, Bill, it's real life. And if you want money to be the deciding factor in whether things get done, then you're going into insane territory.

Such people as Paul Eaton, a retired U.S. Army major general, Jamie Barnett, a former U.S. Navy rear admiral,Dennis Laich, a 35-year military veteran & retired U.S. Army major general, and even O'Reilly's (usual) butt-buddy Charles Krauthammer called him out on it. Here is what Krauthammer said to O'Reilly in response to the outlandish idea:

With that idea, you have gone from 'out of the box' to 'off the wall.' You want to create a French Foreign Legion, but we are not the French Empire policing West Africa in the 19th century. Do you really want to be responsible for a band of desperados? On one hand you'll have ISIS people who believe in something, and on the other hand you'll have people who are there just for the money. Who do you think wins?

He hasn't stopped there, though. Since then he has said "only dumb people like Stephen Colbert oppose anti-terror mercenary army idea." And here is the tip of the day in which he stupidly promotes his mercenary idea, acting like he never received criticism from military veterans and experts:



Oh, get off it, old man. You've not only gone off the wall, you've gone flying off the edge of the top of the grand canyon. Your idea is problematic in so many ways they number in, at the very least, the double digits. You have no military training nor expertise whatsoever; you've never experienced the terrors of war for yourself, you've never served, and you never will given that you're a senile old man, and you clearly hold little regard for the men & women who do serve. To you it's about beating your chest, flashing your penis out of insecurity, and saying "I have the biggest, best dick in the world!" No one is fooled except for the drooling idiots who voted on your non-scientific poll, that is unless there is something shady with the results (given Fox's history of blatantly reversing poll results that appear on air to paint an opposing picture, it's likely).

You've put your foot in your mouth, you want your country to violate international law, and you want people to die. You want your country to pay billions, at the very least in wages, to fulfill your sick fantasy, in spite of your arguing over & over on your show that the U.S. cannot afford anything. You're a hawk with towering cowardice, your idea is entirely unethical, and given that you should be informing people with objective information rather than yelling talking points, you should be fired. This is the straw that broke the camel's back, and it's high time that you're sacked -- before you get another person killed for petty or immoral reasons.

Word of Mouth #14: Deafheaven - From the Kettle Onto the Coil




This is a self-release, dated August 25, 2014.

It's Deafheaven time, again. I came across this one yesterday whilst browsing through various tags on bandcamp. Always one to add another album or two each payday (with mayhaps another should I be so inclined), I checked this release out.

Well, I'm not exactly a black metal fan and I knew getting into Deafheaven that the aforementioned genre was a facet of their overall sound. However, and it is not a demerit against the band or anything, but they've kicked up the black metal a notch. Suffice to say, this is probably the heaviest song you'll have heard from them yet. They've always been known for the signature shrieking vocals for sure, but for this track they've thrown in growls as well. At the offset the song is absolutely teeming with blastbeats complemented by fast but melodic riffing. Then it tapers off the usual Deafheaven way, to elicit emotion and get you thinking about what you're listening to. You don't know what the fuck George Clarke (the vocalist & lyricist) is saying but god damn it, you know he is putting all of his heart & soul into it.

Anyway, with the slight change in format specifically for these posts (will only apply for material I can embed here), I think this post at least should look clearer. And to get back on topic, check out the album and buy it. It's only a dollar. You were probably going to buy a disgusting Twinkie with that dollar anyway, so what do you have to lose? Well, unlimited play of another piece of Deafheaven, that's what.

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Word of Mouth #13: Dustin Thomas - Mountain High



I've been scratching my head off and on wondering why I didn't produce the 13th outing sooner, but here it is. 

It certainly isn't a new album, but it's not a dinosaur, either. This album was released on September 30th, 2013, in dedication to the myriad of problems arising from the Fukushima disaster. It's also very much a folk album in spirit; honest, heartfelt lyrics touching on the plights of man, to get people to think and maybe, just maybe, consider giving aid and even guidance. Throw in some touch of soul and deliver it on the easy-going strumming of an acoustic guitar, and you've got little to get in your way.

But enough about that, go listen already. Like many albums on BandCamp, the price to buy a digital copy of the album is not set. What's stopping you?

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Man of Steel review (2013, Action/Thriller/Fantasy, Zack Snyder)

 

A long-needed, by some measures, reboot on a hero that has outlasted time itself. The seminal, archetypal comic-book superhero has been graced, and disgraced, by film many times before this outing. Superman has seen his ups & downs on film, with the 1970's original holding up all these years while the disastrous third & fourth entries, not to mention the criminally boring "Returns" take in '06, have held him back for the crowds. 

We've got Clark Kent/Superman meeting up with Lois Lane, presumably before he's even landed a job at her newspaper, to deal with an incoming party of fellow Kryptonians. They're suggestively hostile from the get-go and Superman is forced to put himself front & center, as he usually is, to try and keep humanity safe. However, General Zod & friends mean to restore their homeworld (also Clark's) by any means necessary, even if it means that billions die. Clark, like the Transformers of Michael Bay's on-screen creation, chooses humanity over his own and battles them to save the world. The implications really do seem high on paper, but they aren't when you are made to watch over two hours of film. 

So, storyline aside, how does this film hold up?

Well, it's not the best, nor the worst, screen adaptation of the world's most famous superhero. It's really quite a mediocre film, in spite of the good intentions that were obviously put into its conception. Production values are the highest the franchise has ever seen, and the action sequences raise the bar for comic book films quite frankly. But, and this is a weakness I've always felt plagued the man in blue in all mediums, the story is lacking. The characters, the plot, and the narrative don't hold up to the technical aspects, as well as when the film is having so much fun. 

Since we're talking about a character of enormous, pretty much godlike abilities, his roster often sees him pitted against often similar foes. Thus, it must follow that the action should mesmerize viewers. What few action sequences there actually are in this overlong, two and a half hour jumble of lens flares and conspicuous high-definition trickery, are quite impressive to behold. With entire buildings being smashed like sandcastles, automobiles and even locomotives being flung like playthings, gravel and dirt being pulverized by the sheer brute force of the Kryptonians; it's hard not to have a "gay" old time when these sequences bless the screen.

Everything else, though, holds it back.

Just about anybody who is anybody knows about Superman, and really all that matters about him. He's THE superhero, he swears not to kill his foes (especially humankind), he manages to fool everybody with the most obvious disguise ever conceived, he's practically a god with his exaggerated strength & durability and all that, he bears a weakness to a rock, and Christopher Reeve is practically synonymous with the character. So growing him in this film not only ends up falling flat, but is kind of unnecessary given its approach. It's also kind of odd that at the get-go, he reveals his abilities to many people (albeit ones in grave danger) and seemingly no one recognizes him. But I digress, because no other character even warranted the same amount of depth, or attempt at such anyway.

Another problem I have with the film are the flashback sequences. They are the sole reason the film is overlong, and gets quite tedious. Each one fails to add substance to the plot, or add character to Superman and others whom we were theoretically supposed to care about. They really could have been omitted entirely, and nothing of value would have been lost. Who were they trying to kid with these? Like I mentioned in the previous paragraph, pretty much everybody knows about Superman, so why fixate so much on his past and the growth in his mastery over his natural Kryptonian abilities?  After all, the mixed bag that was Smallville provided all that these flashbacks portray just fine. Anyway, if you watch the film, you can safely skip them and you won't be confused by the milquetoast plot.

Like the plot, the soundtrack, which in a great film would elevate the experience, accomplishes nothing out of the ordinary. It's your typical series of forced "Boom, BOOM, BOOOOOM!!!" notes to suggest, almost beg, you to feel something according to the wishes of the designers. It didn't work with me. How the hell a nearly forty year-old film accomplishes a more memorable soundtrack, whereas this film, in spite of its sheer production value ended up with a run-of-the-mill Hans Zimmer-esque one, is beyond me.

The acting doesn't quite bode well, either. Henry Cavill is the lead, and as a result of his performance here with very few high notes (his emotional reaction after a pivotal death scene in the film is one of them), he is expendable. Amy Adams is Lois Lane, and in spite of her cheery screen presence, the romance plot between the two doesn't build logically. Kevin Costner played Superman's adoptive father a bit too stoically for my tastes, but Diane Lane does fine as a hard-as-nails & protective adoptive mother. The folks who play the Kryptonians are alright, but only two of them really have an actual identity of sorts, and then there's Chris Meloni who was a surprisingly decent Colonel Hardy who even stood up to direct confrontation with one of them -- twice!

One last thing to point out is the excess of run-time. The film lasts, before the credits roll, for roughly two hours and ten minutes, and it is overlong. This feeling sets in fairly quickly, truth be told, considering that most of the "plot" consists of flashbacks and another re-tread of Superman's origins. It's rather jarring when the film seemingly shifts gears to introduce an actual crisis about halfway through its duration, because it's almost as if this was an admission from the filmmakers that this film would set audiences asleep with all of its filler had they not bothered with the Kryptonians at all. So at least it's definitely not a Superman Returns.

It's still a film mostly filled with fluff, with very few (but effective) thrills. There's way too many unnecessary elements at play to recommend it, as I would personally urge viewers to skip to the halfway point of the film. You, as a viewer, lose nothing in doing so because the writing is so poor that you miss nothing important. We all know about what happened to Krypton; we all know that Clark ended up with a farming family who helped mentor & shelter him from the world; we all know that he falls in love with Lois Lane; and most of all, we know that he's fucking Superman! You don't have to waste roughly half of the film explaining all of this, especially when it amounts to nothing but rehashing. I guess that's how it boils down. Next up: Batman v Superman, maintaining the rather uncharismatic Cavill and introducing the tonedeaf acting hijinks of Ben Affleck as the caped crusader.

C-

The Good:
+ High production value ensures some pretty sights
+ Nerdgasm inducing fight sequences

The Bad:
- Henry Cavill is boring in the role of Superman
- Way too long, and wastes too much time on unnecessary origin stories
- The flashbacks. God damn it.
- Superman kills somebody, when he had so many other options to consider instead. He's supposed to be highly-intelligent as well, Zack Snyder!
- The fight sequences end, and are succeeded each time with the boring plot.
- Borderline non-existent plot, as indicated above. 
- Nothing memorable about the soundtrack.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

The Amazing Spider-Man review (2012, Action/Thriller/Fantasy, Marc Webb, Columbia Pictures)

 

Sam Raimi's reign of terror ended with the flop that was Spider-Man 3, and I'm all the more grateful for it. 'Twas an overrated series of films, with the flaws of the entire series culminating in one grand display in the final, abhorrent installment. I was hoping that in the future, someone would give the web-head a more deserving film treatment than the Evil Dead director gave us (not to slag off on that series of films at all). For the most part, I felt that The Amazing Spider-Man accomplished that.

Andrew Garfield's Peter Parker/Spider-Man is down-to-earth, likeable, understandable, and has a mischievous streak with a bit of hidden genius thrown in. He compares, in my mind anyway, quite favorably to the insufferable Tobey Maguire portrayal of the hero. Garfield approached his role in a human way, and wasn't so hyper-fixated on his love interest (Emma Stone's adorable & likeable Gwen Stacy) like the borderline stalker that was Raimi's Peter Parker. It's a plus that no one plotline takes almost complete precedence over the others, aside from the main plot where Peter inadvertently drives an ambitious scientist with a chip on his shoulder to become the Lizard, and that he has to stop said villain from turning New York into his twisted new science experiment on a grand scale. 

There are also a few funny scenes in this film, also driving home the down-to-earth approach. In one, Peter Parker one-ups Flash Thompson as the latter continues his minor role as the bullying jock in school, with a triumphant conclusion to the scene. In another, as he's spending time with Gwen Stacy on the high school bleachers, a football flies in his direction. He grabs the football effortlessly (because, you know, he's Spider-Man) and casually tosses the football away, which ends up denting the field post for all to witness. Little scenes like this remind you that you're watching an adaptation of a comic book, the likes of which are not always dark and brooding and, ugh, realistic affairs.

Tangents aside, The Amazing Spider-Man does miss a few notes, or seemingly lose sight of previously established ideas. His spider-sense ability is just short of non-existent throughout the film's duration; he's strong with his arms but isn't the most agile superhero I've seen (Raimi's Spider-Man, while insufferable, seemed a bit more powerful in this regard); the quantity of action is strikingly lacking. In some ways it is a more faithful adaptation of the comics than the Raimi films, but in others it is not. Yet at the same time, it appears to follow some of the same threads as said films. If I just confused you, then we're in the same boat.

The lead-up to Spider-Man's inception in the film differs only slightly from that of the previous installments, and the film gets dragged down a bit by this. One should consider that the first Spider-Man film was no less than ten years before this film, and that most audiences have not forgotten that film's plotline, so this is definitely an unnecessary re-hash. Or it could be that it takes up too much of the film's duration and starves it of its own potential for outstanding action sequences. The brief plot, whenever it props up, regarding his parents' disappearance is a new angle that is not unwelcome, but it gets tossed in the backburner by some point in the film for a more engaging storyline for casual audiences.

One could conclude that because the film is a little more than half of a retread of a film that hardly warranted a remake in the first place (only some adjustments were necessary, such as the overtly melodramatic tone, the excessive 'romantic' plotline, and the daft handling of the Green Goblin villain & his costume). The film needed more of its own identity; more to set it apart from the considerably still-young originals. In spite of this, The Amazing Spider-Man held up just fine.

B-

 The Good:
+ A very moving chemistry between the two leads.
+ Andrew Garfield nails the role
+ Our hero isn't obsessed with his love interest to the point of being a creep.
+ A few funny scenes
+ Slightly more dedicated to its source material

The Bad:
- Retreads so much of what we saw in the 2002 original.
- Disappointing villain
- It makes little sense that the entire city hasn't spread the word on Spider-Man's identity by the end of the plot, considering he revealed himself & his abilities multiple times to many people.
- Rather low-quality CGI.
- Squanders its run-time for the retreaded origin story, thus depriving the viewer of what could have been fantastic action sequences.
-/+ Its sequel...what the hell?







(Rather Unnecessary) Bandcamp Profile Promotion

No, I'm not an artist on the site, but I am a fan. My collection is nothing of note at the time of writing, but it's better than nothing at all. What a coincidence, though; I bought Nothing's "Guilty of Everything" and thus it is part of the collection.

https://bandcamp.com/garrettwill