The Crazies Review

Saw "The Crazies" the other day. It's a remake of the 1973 film of the same name.

It takes place in Ogden Marsh, a small rural town that becomes infected by an unknown toxin in the water. The US military, triggered by a satellite that detects the contamination and begins "contamination protocol", begin to round up all of the town's citizens, testing them to see if they've been infected. All is well until the protagonist, David, sees his wife get taken for being infected, though she is really pregnant and her symptoms are the result of that.

After the "crazies" break out from their cage that was holding them in, all hell breaks loose. The military starts going door-to-door looking for any citizens (by that time, all the uninfected had been escorted out, except for David, Russell, Becca, who turn back to save Dave's wife, Judy). The group now has to fare with avoiding contracting the pathogen, along with avoiding the military, who have orders to shoot on site.

Their only way out is to risk themselves by driving on the highway, to which helicopters can see them, and hope that they can make it out alive.

Overall, this film was very good. The rural setting for this plot is typical, but it works. I liked how the movie didn't try to frighten the audience by just having loud screams and jumping faces everywhere - it built suspense that really creeped the viewer out. Also, I thought the ending was a little reminiscent of Cloverfield, but it fit the mood perfectly.

Rated R, this movie should be seen by avid horror/thriller lovers, as it won't dissapoint.

Rating: 4/5 stars ****

I'm Calling It Now

Scott Brown's going to win. Check out this poll: http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/politics/local_politics/poll-scott-brown-surges-to-double-digit-lead-over-martha-coakley

With a 96% accuracy rating, I'm pretty confident in the numbers.

Scott Brown is going to replace Ted Kennedy as the first Republican senator since the '70s. Awesome.

Let's get some real change going, Scott.

Avatar: My Modest Attempt at a Movie Review

Wow, oh wow. James Cameron certainly had a massive undertaking with his newest film, Avatar. It is, quite simply, superb. Many reviews are focusing on only one of the two aspects of filmmaking – the cinematic aspect or the plot and storyline itself. Only reviewing based on one won't do this film justice.

Now, I'm not trying to sound similar to The Dark Knight fanboys that ran around screaming "Best movie ever! Heath Ledger deserves every Oscar for his performance!" While that film was great (and to its credit, I've watched it at least 15 times), it was definitely not #1 on IMDB-worthy (and rightfully so, it's fallen back down to #9 on IMDB's top 100 list. Likewise, I believe Avatar was a very, very good film. However, even with the breakthrough technology, it wasn't overly ground-breaking.

Were the special effects amazing? Yes, most definitely. Cameron is used to being ahead of his time in terms of using special effects. Titanic also wowed fans when they viewed it (and now looking back, some of the scenes so CGI'd that it's easy to tell that it isn't real, which I believe CGI shouldn't do); however, unlike Titanic, Avatar's effects look very realistic. The textures on the skin of the Na'vi look astounding, and I'm glad that Cameron waited until now to create this film, as the technology back in 1994 when he wrote the scriptment for Avatar would be inadequate for this film. Not only do the special effects make this movie just that much more enjoyable, but it is also available in 3D and IMAX 3D. If you have the opportunity to see Avatar in its true IMAX glory, please do. I saw it in 3D, and even watching from the 2^nd row of the theater, it looked awesome.

Besides that, the storyline behind it was awesome. It's a mix of a society v. society, drama, and love story combined into one. Most films won't do themselves justice by being over 2 hours long while still keeping the content fresh, but I think James Cameron has mastered that with both Titanic and Avatar. Not once was I thinking "Man, when's this going to end?" or "Can something happen now?" The plot was continuously evolving and I'm sure for every minute on screen, there's at least 10 minutes of back story that could be told. The world of the Na'vi is developed wonderfully, and what begins as a "Man v. Savage Beasts" conflict eventually morphs quite seamlessly into a "Man and 'savage beasts' v. Blood-thirsty greedy military leaders" tale.

I'm no Roger Ebert, and I'm not going to drone on and on about the movie. I hope this will suffice for the one who wants a quick read with some personal feelings towards the film. Writing pages upon pages of flattering commentary isn't me; I'm quick and to the "I either liked it or didn't like it" point.

Anyways, my final verdict: Avatar is a must see, and is definitely the movie of the year, and is a great way to send off what was a seemingly lackluster decade for the movie industry with a bang. On a scale of 5 stars, it easily earns all 5. *****

 

- Shane Rider

Random Updates!

Hey, I haven't updated in over 2 weeks! Hah!

Anyways, I just wanted to post some pictures of a shirt that my mom got me from the Resurrection Church in Arizona (http://www.resurrectionaz.org/)

That's the front, it says "Spiritus Gladius", meaning "Breath Sword", and is from a group by the name Spiritus Gladius: http://www.spiritusgladius.com/index.html



And this is the back, showing off the logo of Spiritus Gladius. It's very cool. :)

And on the left arm of the shirt it says Phil.3:12-14:
"Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus." (Harper Catholic Bibles, New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition).

That quote happens to be on the bathroom in the LifeHouse as well, hah!







Anyways, nothing else is really up. Life's going on as usual. Less than 2 weeks until Thanksgiving and Fall Retreat! I'm pumped! :D

Halloween!

Just a quick update.

Went to the BC football game, and it was a great game! They destroyed Central Michigan, and watching them score while sitting in the student section is just awesome. So many people were dressed up - I saw a ketchup bottle, Buzz Lightyear, Gandhi, Firemen, Cowgirls, I think John Paul Jones, 2 people in the green suits a la It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, an Indian Chief, and more.

BC's atmosphere is just awesome on game days, and I hope that in 2 years that'll be me! :)

Afterwards, I went to Wendy's, which, of course, is the best fast-food restaurant in existence by far. And by far, I mean, the closest one is in Canton. We need more Wendy's in the Dedham area!

And then all the trick or treaters running around. It's so much fun watching all of the little kids having fun and reminiscing on the days of old. One memory from tonight was when some kids were walking down the street singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" and then screaming "Merry Christmas!" "Happy Easter!" "Happy New Year!" It's those little moments in life that you cherish.

Just a quick update since I haven't updated in 2 days.

Happy (what's left of) Halloween!

Smoking Rant

Just made 2 videos on a rant about smoking, check them out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHjzY4h7Bdo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJsi8WjoOCI

Thanks!

Little Song I Came Up With

Since I started reading about Roe v. Wade, I felt inspired to write a little song, poem thing about it. Please excuse it's roughness, as it is a rough draft.

Intro: I'm writing this song because you never got to
Hey

[Chorus] This song goes out to the 45 million
They lost their lives, never got to be civilians
You wanna cry out for your mommy
Cause they never got to meet their baby boy Tommy

Verse 1: Roe v Wade how could we be so insane?
I'm lucky that my name is Shane.
Legally taking the lives of others
Coulda-beens instead of mothers.
Would you be so cool with it if it had been you?
Nah, didn't think so too.
It's time to change these tragedies
Spread the truth, stop the l-i-e-s.

[Chorus]

Verse 2: This practice is just despicable
Partial birth proving that its viable
Gotta thank God Carhart lost this one
Might as well call him Car cause he ain't got one
If people are getting it for convenience and 'cause they have the choice
We need to stop, listen, and give the little babies a voice.
No instance is important enough
No baby is worthless enough to snuff.

[Chorus]

Verse 3: It breaks my heart to see all these babies die
It's so sad it makes me want to cry
I bet one of them could've found the cure for cancer
But now we'll never know the answer
'Cause a parent felt their life was more important than theirs
Never got to throw a ball and rustle their hairs
We have to stop abortion
Cause soon we'll be looking at the Son
And as he denies you entrance to Heaven
You see in the distance your little boy Ben
Whom you couldn't handle
At least he's at peace with Jesus and His sandals

[Chorus]


Little something I whipped up. Thoughts?