I Am Legend is a better book than movie

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I saw the new Will Smith movie I Am Legend last night.  While it’s an average movie, it is far inferior to the book.  The book is only about 150 pages.  You should read it instead of seeing this movie.

What do i not like about the movie?  Specifically, i HATED all the last-minute saves.  The main character (Robert Neville) goes to fight the zombies in the middle of the night (dumb idea) and gets trapped under his car.  He’s been battling the zombies for 4 years at this point and is about to die.  At the exact moment when he’s about to be devoured, a girl comes out of nowhere to save him.  Nobody for 4 years and then at the last possible second, in the middle of NYC, a woman appears.  Puh-lease.

Another time that pissed me off.  So, Neville’s been working on developing a cure for this virus for years and about 30 seconds before he’s about to die, he finally discovers the solution.  And of course, the solution takes only 5 seconds to create.  Done!  Yeah right.

Will smith staring in debelief of the horrible final draft of his movie

The movie is about a doctor trying to right his wrong (releasing a virus) and being very active and regimented about it – he works out, takes detailed medical notes and is on top of his game all the time. Whereas the book is about an ordinary guy coping with the loss of his family, friends and society. He’s torn apart.  The people trying to kill him are the same people he loved for decades.  He’s shattered.  He drinks himself to sleep every night otherwise there’d be no way to go on.

The book’s character is extremely skeptical when he meets another person, he doesn’t trust her as everything he’s learned from the vampires leads him to believe they’re out to destroy him.  There’s a touching moment in the book when his desire for companionship overwhelms his mistrust and he let’s his guard down.  This same moment in the movie took 45 seconds and completely sucked.

[**Spoiler Alert**] The ending is the biggest difference.  There is a great twist in the book that fits with the entire theme of the story.  The twist in the book is that the woman found by Neville turns out to be a new type of vampire that has mutated enough to wistand the sunlight, and she’s been sent to find out more about Neville so he can be captured and disposed of.  Just when he begins to trust her, she turns on him and sells him out – even though they had a strong connection.  It’s a great turn of events.  The hunted (the vampires) become the hunters and the normal (Neville) become the monster in need of extermination.  There is no twist in the movie.  It instead turns into a typical horror/vampire movie where creatures jump out of the dark and try to kill everyone and their girlfriend.

Oh well, i guess Holiday season movie-goers don’t want clever endings or interesting stories.  If they do, they should pick up the book instead.

You make me touch your hands for stupid reasons

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As someone who reads and receives lots of comments from young folks (i’m the person where feedback@qloud goes to), i’ve seen the worst of the worst when it comes to grammar. I was looking at some bad messages today when i was shown this letter (below).

This is a breakup letter from a 13 year old to another 13 year old. It’s pretty funny to read but even funnier to listen to. PLEASE click on the message image and listen to the audio (or click here). It is hysterical.

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Best Movie of the Year: Juno

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I went to go see the movie Juno this weekend.  It was an incredible experience.  I can’t remember the last time i laughed out loud so much at a movie.  The humor were not just witty one-liners (which there were many) but physical and situational comedy too.  Just looking at Michael Cera in his running gear got me every time.  The entire experience was so great that i didn’t want the movie to end and had to restrain myself from applauding when it finished.

The movie was funny but also very touching.  It is the perfect comedy.  It’s touching, sad, clever and everything else that is great.   Not too many scenes and not too few.

The main character, Ellen Page, who plays Juno is incredible.  She’s completely believable as a smart-ass pregnant 16 year old and carries the movie every step of the way.  Her character reminded me somewhat of Natalie Portman’s character (Marty) in Beautiful Girls in that she’s both very cute and wise beyond her years.  And similar to Portman’s Marty, Page’s Juno is one of the best movie characters ever.

The movie is written by Diablo Cody, a former stripper (who stripped at the Deja Vu in Minneapolis).  I don’t know how she did it, but she’s written one of the best comedies i’ve seen in a long long time.

The unexpected pregnancy theme is similar to this summer’s “Knocked Up” and i read the following comparison:

Ms. Cody (writer), Mr. Reitman  (director) and Ms. Page (Juno) have conspired, intentionally or not, to produce a feminist, girl-powered rejoinder and complement to “Knocked Up.” Despite what most products of the Hollywood comedy boys’ club would have you believe, it is possible to possess both a uterus and a sense of humor.

“Juno” also shares with “Knocked Up” an underlying theme, a message that is not anti-abortion but rather pro-adulthood.

This is true – and many comedies stick you with a pro-adulthood message at the end, but few actual deliver the goods in a way where you believe the maturation that’s occured and Juno definitely makes you a believer.

The Golden Compass is Great – Atonement is Not

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Saw 2 movies this weekend: Atonement and The Golden Compass

Atonement has lots of hype. I read comments like, “This is one of the year’s best films, a certain best picture nominee.” (from Ebert) on Friday and was really excited to go see it. I left the theater disappointed. The first half is great – it’s a great setup. The set of circumstances that destroy the lives of the 3 main characters is done extremely well and it’s very fun to watch. However, once the *main event* happens, there’s about an hour of crap.  We see McEvoy and Knightly’s lives go down.  There’s very little dialogue – just the two of them in different locations feeling miserable for 60 minutes.  I like the concept of the movie and the cinematography is incredible, but i just didn’t feel it.  Don’t believe the hype

The Golden Compass on the other hand is amazing. It’s a fairy tale similar to Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia.  I thought Naria was horrible but have always found the Potter movies to be pretty good.  The Golden Compass is easily as good as the Potter films if not better. I wasn’t as familiar with Compass so i was pleasantly surprised with the plot and the story. I love the concept of each person having a daemon representing your soul in the shape of an animal.  It adds an entirely other element to all conflict and interaction and makes it much more fun to watch.  I thought the story was captivating and the characters were all impressive to watch: the polar bear was awesome, Nicole Kidman was very hot and just as creepy, and the main british girl was GREAT.  I’d recommend you check it out.

kanagaroo.jpgThe entire time i was trying to think which animal my soul would be – i’m still not sure but i’m leaning towards a kangaroo.

TripIt is Really Useful & Virgin America is the best

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I’ve been traveling a lot lately and i’m always looking for the best fare (or Virgin America, my new favorite airline).  Because of this, my flights are all over the place.  My trip to Minnesota for Christmas has me leaving from BWI on Southwest, changing to American in Chicago and then coming home on the cheap airline Sun Country into Dulles.   The itinerary is a mess.  Luckily, i discovered the website TripIt.  All you need to do is forward your confirmation emails to the email address plan@tripit.com and the website will parse out the dates, confirmation numbers, flight numbers, frequent flier codes, etc. for you and keep your itinerary nice and neat.  Now, instead of combing my inbox for that exact flight time, i just go to TripIt and it’s all there.

I recommend it for anyone who’s traveling and needs to keep track of their itin.

As a side note, you should also go out of your way to travel on Virgin America.  It’s an amazing airline.  They have the following things going for them:

  • Big TV screens on the back of the seat (bigger than JetBlue)
  • On demand ordering.  You punch in on the screen what you want and they will bring it to you immediately.  You can eat whenever you want
  • It’s totally empty. I’ve flown on them 3 time and had the entire row to myself each time.  It reminds me of the early days of Independence Air.
  • You can IM any one else on the plane.  Just type in a seat number and you can chat.  I’ve never done this but it’s a good idea (or really sketchy – not sure yet which one)
  • As you travel, instead of a lame map of your distance, it maps it to a Google Map where you can zoom in and see exactly what you’re flying over
  • Very nice seats and cool colors
  • Coming soon: Power Outlets! and Internet!

The Strike goes on..

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I found (from VSL) some really funny short videos have been made by the writers and directors that are out of commission due to the strike.

One episode has a room full of actors (Martin Sheen, Demi Moore, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, etc.) try to audition for a movie when the script is completely blank.  I really like episode 16 where Patricia Clarkson and Amy Ryan are literally acting out ads from the phone book.  

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There’s also an episode 18 where a guy picks up a phone to check on movie times and gets this recording…

Hello and welcome to Moviefone

  • For Dancing With The Stars, The Movie” Press 1
  • For America’s Funniest Home Videos, The Movie” Press 2
  • etc.

They’re pretty good.  Check ’em out

Levels of Blogging – where have my blogging friends gone?

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Over the past year, I have seen some of my friends (Toby, Kathryn, Sarah, Drew) drop off the blogging scene. Some of them have switched blogs, but some have just switched the way they share information. With the growth of other online tools, it’s becoming much easier to express yourself (sharing ideas, links, and messages) in ways that are easier than blogging.

Because of this trend, this post by Fred Wilson and image really stuck a chord in me:

You can see how facebook and MySpace and the ease of use there is going to take people away from glogging. I know a few of my friends have been casualties.

Personally, i like blogging still as it allows me to fully explain my thoughts and ideas whereas the other mechanisms are smaller chunks and just single thoughts. I do them too. But with facebook there is no nuance. Of course, not everyone has the time to explain themselves – at least that’s the number 1 excuse. To which i’ll reply, if you have time to debate a topic for hours – which all of you do – then you have time to stick it on your blog. Get off your ass

Heroes is Pretty Good

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The writing is bad, the characters are more and more unrealistic, but i still love to watch every week. Last night’s episode was decent but not great.

This weekend i read that the creator Tim Kring thought the show is going downhill at the beginning of the season. But, like a Man, he’s able to fess up and admit his mistakes in this article in Entertainment Weekly where he lists out what he sees as the problems. They are:

THE PACE IS TOO SLOW ”We assumed the audience wanted season 1 — a buildup of intrigue about these characters and the discovery of their powers. We taught [them] to expect a certain kind of storytelling. They wanted adrenaline. We made a mistake.”

THE WORLD-SAVING STAKES SHOULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED SOONER The premonition of nuclear apocalypse created a larger context that unified every story line last season. Kring now sees that Volume 2 (the first 11 episodes of season 2) would have been better served if Peter’s vision of viral Armageddon had appeared in the season premiere rather than episode 7. ”We took too long to get to the big-picture story,” he says.

THE ROOKIES DIDN’T GREET THEMSELVES PROPERLY New Heroes Monica (Dana Davis), Maya (Dania Ramirez), and Alejandro (Shalim Ortiz) ”shouldn’t have been introduced in separate story lines that felt unattached to the show. The way we introduced Elle (Kristen Bell) — by weaving her in via Peter’s story line — is a more logical way to bring new characters into the show.” (That said, Kring says a few newbies won’t make it beyond this second volume, which wraps Dec. 3.)

HIRO WAS IN JAPAN WAY TOO LONG Hiro’s (Masi Oka) time-bending adventure in 17th-century Japan — where he mentored samurai hero Takezo Kensei (David Anders) — finally came to an end on Nov. 5. But Kring says it ”should have [lasted] three episodes. We didn’t give the audience enough story to justify the time we allotted it.”

YOUNG LOVE STINKS Kring regrets sticking Claire (Hayden Panettiere) with a super-dud boyfriend and forcing Hiro to moon over a cutesy princess. ”I’ve seen more convincing romances on TV,” he admits. ”In retrospect, I don’t think romance is a natural fit for us.”

All sounds good and dandy, but i’d also add: less Sylar and MORE Kristen Bell.  Also, who’s with me that it was Noah who did the shooting of Nathan last night?

Quote for today

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I got from this blog (KMR’s):

 “You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems, and suffer, and understand, for all that is life.”

-J. Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (1895-1986)

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