I'm talking about my viewing tonight of the new Doctor Strange film, of course.
It was the best Marvel film I've seen in ages. Guardians of the Galaxy was pretty good, but it wasn't Doctor Strange. It didn't have buildings warping in on themselves like Inception on LSD.
Normally I loathe computer graphic special effects. It just doesn't look convincing most of the time. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a good example of how wonky these CG apes look like, with that ever so slightly skewed physics that makes them move around all jerky-ish. Good CG from what I've seen, should be complementary to the movie itself. It should never BE the movie, unless you make the entire film CG, in which case it will succeed in making itself into an immersive experience for viewers like myself.
You can't just shoehorn CG effects into a film and make people like me believe it. I want to watch a movie, not a half-live action half-cartoon. I want practical effects, and if any CG is used, I'd want it to be used with subtlety. No obviously fake explosions, no fake flying debris, and definitely no fake blood splatter. No CG characters either, like Gollum. I don't care if his effects won an award. I mean, big props to Andy Serkis for pulling off how he did Gollum, but I still don't see it as a real creature. Skin looks fake. Movement is fake. It all feels off-kilter, like some unnatural element introduced into a natural environment and by result, sticks out like a sore thumb to me.
Except for Doctor Strange, the CG in it was exactly what they should be. Magic. You can't really use practical effects to depict what magic looks like on screen, unless you're okay with having silver confetti shooting out of a black wand with a white tip. Because that's pretty much it for practical effects. Maybe some smoke? Still wouldn't be able to bring the idea of magic to life in a way that is believable.
So, it's a good thing Marvel doubled-down on the magic effects in this movie. Well done for the most part, save for a few wonky looking moments where characters jump around in that fake CG sort of way. But I was able to look past most of that given everything else I was experiencing.
And Benedict Cucumberpatch was pretty darn great in the role of Strange. As a comic book geek who has read a few Strange comics in my time; I thought Benedict was an excellent choice, even if I thought he could have been a bit more rugged/grizzled as far as his facial features go. But, hey, he did a fantastic job and I can't really nitpick the performance he put out.
Tilda Swinton however, was okay. She's Strange's mentor in the film, and she's bald. Which I guess lends itself well to the esoteric mood the movie was catering towards. Still, though. I would've liked it had Marvel stuck with the original idea of having a mysterious old Tibetan dude in that role, as he was in the comics; but they wanted to pander to the Chinese, so they had to ensure this film wouldn't ruffle any of China's feathers. Which is unfortunate to see such a compromise being made, given that this film could probably turn a profit without ever needing to play in the Asian market.
Anyways, my favorite scene was where the sentient red cape develops an affinity for Strange and attaches itself to him. Loved that shit. Rachel McAdams also had my second favorite part, where she gets startled by a falling mop and bucket. I actually lol'd out loud.
Only three people in my theatre too, which was almost as strange as Strange was. I sat in the fourth row from the front so I wouldn't see the back of anyones head, and it was glorious. Felt like I had the place to myself. Only six bucks for the ticket too, even if the seats were uncomfortable as hell. Good thing they helped remind me to keep my back straight instead of slouching like I normally do. Darned things didn't even recline.
I'm definitely on board with the idea of a sequel. Bring it on Marvel. Love the acid-tripping visuals. With "magic" in the Marvel universe, Doctor Strange is a great vehicle to throw all sorts of creative ideas onto the screen. Hopefully they won't be rehashing it all by turning the next film into Inception 2.0.
Now, onto more important matters.
Heh.
Nobody saw that coming. I was glued to the TV watching the coverage from 7pm to around 9:15 before I had to leave to go watch Strange. Couldn't.. take it anymore, I guess. And when I got back, Hilary bailed on her speech making me go, "whaaaat?" and then Trump actually gave a decent speech and, uh...
Well, he won. The polls were wrong. Just like I told Gyngie they might be, especially after what happened with Brexit and even here in Alberta, with the NDP kicking everyone's ass in the last election we had.
That's my only "told you so" moment. That I knew polling was unreliable and I never knew which way it would all go.
I also didn't really have a preference for either candidate. I mean Hilary is another dynasty-era old-stooge politician but with a dress; and Trump is this madman who is going to be grabbing a lot of pussy, now that he's in the office.
If I absolutely had to vote, it would've been Hilary. Just because she seemed to be surrounded by very smart people and also have had way more experience being in office than Trump ever did.
But, that's no endorsement for her either.
Maybe America should be raising the middle-finger to the establishment. To politics, in general, and letting their discontent be made known. I understand the talking points of both parties. I know what the sentiment is behind the idea of building a wall around Mexico, and deporting Muslims. I understand and accept both sides of the story.
In any case, either candidate would've pissed a lot of people off had they been elected. Can't really win either way. May as well vote for the absurd one, and see if that will make any difference to American politics as it goes forward. Maybe there's a lesson to be learned here.
Or maybe, this election is a reflection of America's worth, and what it has become.
Maybe it has become absurd, in a non-ironic way. Maybe the majority of Americans really are ignorant and can only embrace spectacle over substance. I mean, the cultural output of Hollywood films in the past decade, is proof that spectacle equals a lot of money at the box office. If a movie has a good story to it, then that's really secondary to how good the marketing is and how dazzling the special effects are.
And then Instagram chicks who have millions of followers, and all they post are pictures of their ass. Or all the social justice warrior types, who don't realize that immigration of just one type of individual; is kind of harmful to diversity. And on that subject, trying to put "diversity" into all of the crap Hollywood blockbusters that were obviously written and developed by committee, rather than allowing a director and the writers to create something that doesn't need to have an agenda attached to it.
I could go on and on with these examples, but there's no point. Americans want spectacle over substance. They love the Kardashians. They love Kanye, and think he's a genius. Or Lil' Wayne. Or.. man.. I can just go on...
I lost faith when Americans elected in Bush, and lost more faith when he won his second term. Gained some with Obama, but lost it when he lied about mass surveillance.
So this hasn't affected me much. I'm really not surprised.
Maybe America deserves Trump, and maybe it doesn't. It's too early to tell.
Maybe Trump is in Putin's pocket, and maybe that might even be a good thing.
Maybe the election was rigged, as it was back when this clown here won Florida under suspicious circumstances along with obviously rigged DieBold election machines.
Won not one, but two of the primaries. Yeah. I already know what its like to witness a genuine evil that has been given ultimate power. Even as a Canadian, I'm still dealing with the aftershocks of how he handled 9/11 and possibly had a hand in orchestrating it (along with Cheney and others). But that's a post for another time.
Maybe we'll be seeing the same thing as Bush again, but maybe we won't. We can only wait and see.
Either way, we will never known which of the two candidates would have done a better job. Not unless each of them were actually doing the job, so we could appraise their performance afterwards.
So, whatever. He's the next president. Let's hope nothing bad happens under his watch.
Something I reminded Gyngie about before, other than unreliable polling; is that it doesn't really matter who is elected president. They read off of teleprompters. They go by what the think-tanks and policy advisors tell them. They really don't have as much power as people think they do. They're puppets. Automations. They do what they're told.
Well, most do. Until they see that footage of the grassy knoll from another angle that nobody else has seen before and told to comply with the script they've been given by nefarious characters who wield more power than any president that has ever lived.
(sighs) I'm talking about the NSA, CIA, FBI, of course. Those institutions have existed through every presidency. Thanks to Bush, you can now toss the Department of Homeland Security into the mix as well. Don't even need to mention the lobbyists, either, but I will.
I don't know what to think about a Trump presidency. It's so weird. But it would be weird with Clinton too. America is fucked either way, I think. But at least with Trump, Americans are sending the message that they are tired of corrupt politicians and career criminals being able to hold office.
Trump may have evaded paying taxes, but at least he's not a politician.
(double sighs)
I see both points of view, and I still think Clinton would've been the better choice; but maybe she wouldn't have been. I don't know that, and nobody else does either. Maybe America needs to shake things up a bit, but the only question is, how much will it be shaking up? And will it shake itself in the right direction?
Repealing Obamacare, and overturning Roe vs Wade sure doesn't sound like the right direction to me, I'm sad to admit. Universal health care is something everyone should be entitled towards. So is abortion, even if I do have a few caveats; such as making it illegal to abort anytime past the first trimester. Thats around where consciousness comes in, and it becomes murder to kill off an unborn soul. Atheists obviously would have a problem with that sort of thinking, but I feel it do be a reasonable compromise.
So maybe, it's better to just overturn Roe vs Wade. I don't know. Maybe it will promote better sex education and more awareness of the importance of using contraceptives while having sex. I mean, there are some pretty good contraceptives on the market right now that all women and men should be educated about. And now, with the internet and savvy parents; its more likely that a young people will know about contraceptives and the importance of waiting to be ready, before they make the choice to become a parent.
Hmph. Who knows what'll happen. I was shocked that Trump gave a humble speech, but I still don't like the guy. Don't like how Hilary refused to concede at the podium either, although if I was in her shoes, I would've probably been raising my middle finger to America just like Bush did in that gif up there.
The meltdown on NeoGaf was something to behold. Nobody could believe this happened the way it did. Trump didn't just win, he dominated. It was a landslide victory. People will be talking about 11/9 decades from now. It's going to be in the history books.
A reality TV show star and a failed businessman with a bad toupee who grabs women by the pussy, was able to become the next president of the United States.
No political experience required. Just make yourself into a household name, and the key to the White House is yours. America has spoken. /Jeff Probst voice
Kinda depressing when you think about what type of message that sends to America's youth. Who the hell would want to involve themselves in politics after seeing this shit show? Who would want to pull a Bernie Sanders on the American people, if a pussy-grabber and possible child-rapist can be elected to the highest political position in the world? What good are "words" and passion, if the psychopath you're running against has been in the public eye for much longer than you have, and is a recognizable personality on television? It doesn't matter how intelligent you are. Or how ambitious and passionate and sincere you present yourself as; you're still not going to get anywhere, when clowns like Trump are in direct competition with your idealism. No matter how desperately you'd want to fix things.
A caricature got elected to office today. A semblance of a human being with little intelligence or self-awareness. Just a master manipulator. A living spectacle. A morally-abhorent and spiteful person. A joke.
Where's Roosevelt? Washington? Kennedy? Obama will already be looked at as a person worth being admired. The first black president, and an articulate and intelligent one too. I still remember how people cried when they announced him having won his first term. They really thought their country was going to be in a better place than it was before.
And sadly, only a small bit of progress has been made and will soon be erased, now that Trump is in office.
Despite how I'm slagging the guy, I'm still not sure what kind of a job he will do. At least the CIA/FBI seems to back him; since the timing of the Clinton email investigations was incredibly convenient in giving his "crooked Hilary" platform a shred of legitimacy.
Who the hell knows what will happen.
Anyways, I fired up Tinder today for the first time in months; and I got quite a few matches. When my profile looks like this, I guess I can understand why.
So.. only have POF going, and this, I guess. Nothing is going to happen with Amber, it seems that she deleted her account on POF and I wasn't really interested in her anyways.
Lastly,
Bought some cool stuff the other day at Goodwill. Except for that pillow, which was ordered in from Amazon. Couldn't stand looking at Nic Cage all the time, despite how funny it is to tell people that I sleep with him every night.
Another Darth Vader shirt (with Boba Fett!) for three bucks. Pair of pants, (size 31 now, and its still not quite snug) for four dollars. Weird looking chicken decoration that I'll likely be giving to Justin for Xmas; was only five bucks. And then that cool looking wine bottle for ten.
Pretty good finds, I'd say.
(sighs) I'm thinking about seeing Rudy Guilliani and Chris Christie on stage with Trump. What a bunch of crooks.
But life must go on.
Always forward, never backwards.
Never backwards.
I still miss her. I miss not having my dad around either.
But what is there left for me to do?
Got to keep moving.
That's all anyone can do.
Maybe America deserves Trump, and maybe it doesn't. It's too early to tell.
Maybe Trump is in Putin's pocket, and maybe that might even be a good thing.
Maybe the election was rigged, as it was back when this clown here won Florida under suspicious circumstances along with obviously rigged DieBold election machines.
Maybe we'll be seeing the same thing as Bush again, but maybe we won't. We can only wait and see.
Either way, we will never known which of the two candidates would have done a better job. Not unless each of them were actually doing the job, so we could appraise their performance afterwards.
So, whatever. He's the next president. Let's hope nothing bad happens under his watch.
Something I reminded Gyngie about before, other than unreliable polling; is that it doesn't really matter who is elected president. They read off of teleprompters. They go by what the think-tanks and policy advisors tell them. They really don't have as much power as people think they do. They're puppets. Automations. They do what they're told.
Well, most do. Until they see that footage of the grassy knoll from another angle that nobody else has seen before and told to comply with the script they've been given by nefarious characters who wield more power than any president that has ever lived.
(sighs) I'm talking about the NSA, CIA, FBI, of course. Those institutions have existed through every presidency. Thanks to Bush, you can now toss the Department of Homeland Security into the mix as well. Don't even need to mention the lobbyists, either, but I will.
I don't know what to think about a Trump presidency. It's so weird. But it would be weird with Clinton too. America is fucked either way, I think. But at least with Trump, Americans are sending the message that they are tired of corrupt politicians and career criminals being able to hold office.
Trump may have evaded paying taxes, but at least he's not a politician.
(double sighs)
I see both points of view, and I still think Clinton would've been the better choice; but maybe she wouldn't have been. I don't know that, and nobody else does either. Maybe America needs to shake things up a bit, but the only question is, how much will it be shaking up? And will it shake itself in the right direction?
Repealing Obamacare, and overturning Roe vs Wade sure doesn't sound like the right direction to me, I'm sad to admit. Universal health care is something everyone should be entitled towards. So is abortion, even if I do have a few caveats; such as making it illegal to abort anytime past the first trimester. Thats around where consciousness comes in, and it becomes murder to kill off an unborn soul. Atheists obviously would have a problem with that sort of thinking, but I feel it do be a reasonable compromise.
So maybe, it's better to just overturn Roe vs Wade. I don't know. Maybe it will promote better sex education and more awareness of the importance of using contraceptives while having sex. I mean, there are some pretty good contraceptives on the market right now that all women and men should be educated about. And now, with the internet and savvy parents; its more likely that a young people will know about contraceptives and the importance of waiting to be ready, before they make the choice to become a parent.
Hmph. Who knows what'll happen. I was shocked that Trump gave a humble speech, but I still don't like the guy. Don't like how Hilary refused to concede at the podium either, although if I was in her shoes, I would've probably been raising my middle finger to America just like Bush did in that gif up there.
The meltdown on NeoGaf was something to behold. Nobody could believe this happened the way it did. Trump didn't just win, he dominated. It was a landslide victory. People will be talking about 11/9 decades from now. It's going to be in the history books.
A reality TV show star and a failed businessman with a bad toupee who grabs women by the pussy, was able to become the next president of the United States.
No political experience required. Just make yourself into a household name, and the key to the White House is yours. America has spoken. /Jeff Probst voice
Kinda depressing when you think about what type of message that sends to America's youth. Who the hell would want to involve themselves in politics after seeing this shit show? Who would want to pull a Bernie Sanders on the American people, if a pussy-grabber and possible child-rapist can be elected to the highest political position in the world? What good are "words" and passion, if the psychopath you're running against has been in the public eye for much longer than you have, and is a recognizable personality on television? It doesn't matter how intelligent you are. Or how ambitious and passionate and sincere you present yourself as; you're still not going to get anywhere, when clowns like Trump are in direct competition with your idealism. No matter how desperately you'd want to fix things.
A caricature got elected to office today. A semblance of a human being with little intelligence or self-awareness. Just a master manipulator. A living spectacle. A morally-abhorent and spiteful person. A joke.
Where's Roosevelt? Washington? Kennedy? Obama will already be looked at as a person worth being admired. The first black president, and an articulate and intelligent one too. I still remember how people cried when they announced him having won his first term. They really thought their country was going to be in a better place than it was before.
And sadly, only a small bit of progress has been made and will soon be erased, now that Trump is in office.
Despite how I'm slagging the guy, I'm still not sure what kind of a job he will do. At least the CIA/FBI seems to back him; since the timing of the Clinton email investigations was incredibly convenient in giving his "crooked Hilary" platform a shred of legitimacy.
Who the hell knows what will happen.
Anyways, I fired up Tinder today for the first time in months; and I got quite a few matches. When my profile looks like this, I guess I can understand why.
So.. only have POF going, and this, I guess. Nothing is going to happen with Amber, it seems that she deleted her account on POF and I wasn't really interested in her anyways.
Lastly,
Bought some cool stuff the other day at Goodwill. Except for that pillow, which was ordered in from Amazon. Couldn't stand looking at Nic Cage all the time, despite how funny it is to tell people that I sleep with him every night.
Another Darth Vader shirt (with Boba Fett!) for three bucks. Pair of pants, (size 31 now, and its still not quite snug) for four dollars. Weird looking chicken decoration that I'll likely be giving to Justin for Xmas; was only five bucks. And then that cool looking wine bottle for ten.
Pretty good finds, I'd say.
(sighs) I'm thinking about seeing Rudy Guilliani and Chris Christie on stage with Trump. What a bunch of crooks.
But life must go on.
Always forward, never backwards.
Never backwards.
I still miss her. I miss not having my dad around either.
But what is there left for me to do?
Got to keep moving.
That's all anyone can do.
