Motion Picture Soundtrack

Handouts Wanted

2010-08-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

When you begin to embrace your passion, you feel this certain energy emanate through your life, because you tell yourself "Everything I do, I do for this!" It's all nice and good when you find your life's calling. Except finding the means to accomplish the end of your passion can be quite the difficult task.

The novelist has the easiest means. The contemporary novelist needs only a word processor and a dictionary and he's ready to write the next masterpiece of our time. For me though, an aspiring filmmaker, I find that I have quite the grocery list of equipment, none you can skimp financially on. Like a musician who wants to make it big, I have to get my instruments, so I can play the best I can. So that means I need, at mininum-

A Camera
A Mic
A Computer
An Editing Suite

There is no way I can get around these four things. As a snob for semi-perfection, these things have to be somewhat professional. So yes, I could film my movies on my decade old camcorder, edit it on my 3 year old laptop, using Windows Movie Maker. But I have made a few films using this equipment, and the films both look and sound atrocious. Now of course I do fault myself with inexperience as a filmmaker which may cause a low quality for these films, but regardless of the content, the presentation is drastically bogged down.

So now I face a toll I faced nine years ago when I needed a drumset. I need filmmaking equipment. But at a pricetage of around 3000 dollars, how can I possibly attain these things? You should let me know if you've got an answer...

My First Time

2010-08-09T22:41:00.001-07:00

There is something magical about that first time. I am of course referring to the first time you see a wonderfully inventive and brilliant new film (What did you think I was referring to, perv?)

As my Literature Professor often explained, reading a good piece of literature is always better the second time around, for you know what will happen and therefore will be aware of the little nuances you missed the first read through.

But with Film, I don't think this rule always works. This usually deals with real "Spectacle" films. My newest virgin film experience was with "Inception." I knew little about the film, but was very excited about it (and therefore predisposed to enjoy it, whatever "it" turned out to be) I knew it had to do with dreams, and was made by Christopher Nolan, a filmmaker who has earned my respect already with his two Batman films. But it was the subject of dreams that made me especially excited, for the landscape of the mind is my favorite subject of films, explored by my favorite filmmakers working today, Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry chief among them.

And when I finally saw "Inception," it was love at first viewing. From before the first title card, I could hear the rising blare of that haunting horn section, my eyes and ears became bound to the screen. The film throws you right in the middle of it all, and I was challenged by it's intricate plot and wondrous illusions. What truly worked for me was the quality of suspense it created. The second and third act all take place in one shared dream, and since anything was possible in this world, the suspense was dramatically heightened, because you couldn't predict everything that happens. Gone was the boring Suspense/Action movie formula, and here now was a film where literally anything could happen and true surprises happened.

The second time I watched it, I knew that it just wouldn't be as amazing. It was a very fulfilling experience, which is to be expected for sure. By the middle of my first time I gave up trying to figure out the whole plot. The second time I was putting the pieces together and had a firm grasp of everything. I trusted in Nolan, knowing he wouldn't create a film world that wouldn't ultimately stick. But the wonder if it all did wear off a little bit, and I longed for the mystery and the unknown. But that is the challenge of modern movie going isn't it? To make a film that is truly successful by its mere wonder, and to do it again, again, and again.

Other films eligible for amazing first time viewings: Blade Runner, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dark City

I Like Too Many Things (And So Do You)

2010-04-04T22:57:00.000-07:00

It may be that Time Management is the most underrated and unappreciated facet in anyone's life. Of Course this is doubly true for a college student.

Last week I returned to Whitworth with an epic weight upon my shoulders. Papers were calling out to me, saying "write me!" Books were saying "read me!" and I wasted time. Yes, I got some work done, but not nearly enough which is leaving this next week with 4 papers, two film reviews, a test and a mandatory film screening (but it's for The Godfather so that one doesn't hurt too much.)

How did I get here? I like too many things.

Other books, other movies, and too much music is killing my academic career. Well, sort of.

So yes, I spend twenty minutes of my workday creating the most eclectic of playlists on grooveshark comprised of Philip Glass, Duran Duran, Broken Bells and the Waltz with Bashir Soundtrack.

I watch about three episodes of Scrubs a day (they kinda lie on my eating habits, see my food is in my room, and so is my other tv, where Scrubs is cued to play, and what else am I gonna do when I eat?

I spend other parts of my day dreaming of films I could be making and scripts I could be writing.

I read film reviews of Films I won't be able to see (or afford to see) for months.

I write blog posts to quench my narcissism

I debate the importance of Cinema over Theater (which clearly, is a no-brainer, and should not be condemned for its voyeurism.)

I revise my favorite movies section on my Facebook profile just to show my supreme film knowledge (Oh yeah, there's some Truffaut and Godard with Spielberg in there)

I socialize, watch movies, listen to music, and endlessly debate petty things with my very patient friends.

Are these things wrong? No. Should I be managing these activities better? Yes. Was my professor right about using questions to make an argument? Maybe, it's questionable.

Business or Pleasure?

2010-01-24T20:25:00.000-08:00

My Sony Vaio VGN FZ-140E Mainstream Laptop has been broken for two months now.

First I brought it to my school's technical support. They couldn't fix it.

Then I got a recovery disc sent to me from Sony themselves. After 2 weeks of mis-communication and deliberation, the disc finally got to me.

That didn't fix it either.

I have one last thing I can do, wipe the hard drive clear and replace the OS. If this fails me (which, luck tells me it will) I plan on switching.

Oh yes, I'm considering a move to Apple

"WHAAAAAAAAAA!" you must be saying. "Ryan Graves on a Mac?! It's unheard of!"

And it is. But lately, I've been getting so fed up with what PC's have been doing to me lately. First of all the laptop situation. Then windows machines in general do not accommodate digital art very well. And one thing is for sure, Literacy is now evolving into a digital, multi-modal medium that is fast becoming the norm. The need for a good tool for both composing and enjoying this needs to be the best that it can. Therefore, I am thinking of giving Apple a shot.

And it's not Windows alone that let me down. It's the combination of machines and software that did. I still love you Microsoft, but it's time for some discipline to get up to par.

But, remember this dear readers. I'm only giving Apple a shot, not the crown.

Atonement With The Father

2010-01-06T20:56:00.000-08:00

There comes a time in every person's life that they consider who God is to them, if they even believe in God. I think this comes when you realize that life seems illogical to you. When certain things play out and you think to yourself, "Well, if this is what life looks like, what's the point of doing any of it?" Not to sound melodramatically suicidal there, but everyone has asked that question.

The beginning of that answers starts with the question of God. Because at the end of the day, being an atheist and say: "It's science, you just gotta accept it." is one step to close to manic-depressive nihilism which I will never subscribe to.

It seems almost illogical to live in a universe where there is no God. As you've seen on the movie posters of prequel films, we all know that "Everything must have a beginning." Of course, in this line of thought you have to accept that God technically never had a beginning because of his being infinite. But the world that WE live in, is one with beginning and end, and damn you if you don't bother to ask the question of why before you get to the end. Which is when you have that line of questioning of what the hell is going on here?

So, we have the world, created by some sort of agent, The Big Bang (Just as I wrote "The Big Bang" Geddy Lee from Rush just sang that same line, embematic huh?) can be a good explanation. That argument goes that all the matter of the universe was packed into one tiny ball. You have to ask then, where did that little ball, a ball of fate, come from? God seems to be a good answer. It's almost a cop-out answer, but scientists have nothing better and I still adamantly deny and sort of nihilistic answer.

OK, so you acknowledge the existence of God, but what does he mean to YOU? The devout Christian will cram a Bible down your throat and exclaim they won the debate. But it would be foolish of both parties to say that the bible today is exactly as God intended. The devout Christian must show a faith in the Word as the answer to the tough questions but also be honest enough to say that the Bible is not called the "Perfect" book, but merely the "Good" book.

For me, I've always been a Christian, but, never had I took a step back and asked "Do you REALLY believe all of this?" And I realized that maybe I've been pushed into it by my surroundings. By my parents, my teachers, peers, friends, culture, school, films, television, music, food. You're influenced by your surroundings much more than you realize.

So I took a step back, purged all beliefs. The majority of them are correct, which I realized later, but I didn't want any bullshit beliefs. It had to be real, true, and honest. To do that, I had to start from square one.

Which brings me to now. I'm in the process of rebuilding and I've hit a significant point in this construction. It's a huge epiphany that everyone should hear.

Truth transcends the mediums in which we trap them. Truth is not just found in the bible, but also the world.

Why is it like this? I don't know, the innatist and existentialists will have their reasoning. But it was in the study of myth and story that I discovered this fact.

The book is called "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" by Joseph Campbell. The book is a study of the thousands of years of stories that have accumulated. Campbell realizes that it's all the same story being retold over and over again. The constant in the story is the journey of the hero. He tracks the hero's journey and shows us what he must do. But then I came across the chapter entitled: "Atonement With The Father"

Basically, the hero must come to terms with the father, who is the doorkeeper of the vastness of the world. You must go through him to get to the world, the unconscious, the unknown. You must realize that the Father of Justice and Malice really is the Father of Mercy. Campbell lists several example including Christianity.

Do you know why we care about story? Because it's us. It's the progression of who we are on paper or screen. We see our fears and desires exhibited and the experience of story allows us to realize our identity. So why always the same story? Because we're human, we all function the same, with a brain that operates always the same way, for years and years.

What I realized then, is that I'm the hero. But so are you. We must all go on the journey of the hero. In my journey today, I atone with the Father and begin my path of understanding who he is. That path will be directed by the father from there on out, and I will continue my journey forevermore.

If I had to give you a moral to this story though, I would say don't be afraid to search for Truth outside of the Christian conglomeration. God's bigger than religion, and you've been designed to decipher truth properly, and this fearless search will bring you to Him, ready and able to follow.

Junk Food Art

2009-10-15T10:17:00.000-07:00

I think one of the biggest problems in film criticism is recognizing the dichotomy between Low art vs. High art. To give you an extremely polarized example, I'll use Michael Bay's "Transformers" vs. Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal"

I think both film's represent a richness to the art of film, although Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" is without a doubt a much better film. This is not my admittance to the thought that Michael Bay makes good movies, all I'm saying is that he makes movies that people, for whatever reason, enjoy.

If I had to liken this dichotomy to something equally analogous I would say this is like a food diet. Michael Bay is the CEO of Junk Food Film. His movies are like a pepperoni Pizza filled with cream cheese, served with chocolate sauce and extra nacho cheese. These things are all tasty, but when combined, they make for an extremely unhealthy meal.

Ingmar Bergman is the CEO of Healthy Food Film. Unfortunately I can't think of a meal that is analogous to the Tranformers serving because I myself am more of a junk food enthusiast. But I can say this. When you consume "The Seventh Seal" you'll be feeling the health effects for a week after you consume it. It will turn your brain into an intellectual and philosophical powerhouse.

Two sides to the equation, we need to balance this out. There are a lot of people who are health food freaks and won't touch a single dorito. On the other end there are people who detest the site of broccoli. This makes for an unbalanced diet. Who can balance this equation? Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Mr. Steven Spielberg.

Not only does Spielberg make pure junk food films-"Indiana Jones" but he also makes pure healthy films-"Schindler's List" The best thing that he does though, is he combines the two wonderfully.

Take for example, "Jurassic Park" In it, we have our heroes who are constantly being chased by dinosaurs driven by an unquenchable blood lust. Sounds like a low art premise, almost to the point of a B-Movie. Except Spielberg works harder than that. The film is a philosophical powerhouse. The character of John Hammond is a man who thinks he can play God. Through the course of the film he constantly tries to stay in control of every situation, and also prove his effectiveness. "Spared no expense" he assures his fellow guests.

The film teaches that no matter what, Life will find a way, because Life is powerful, much more powerful than any one man.

Now, did you think you could learn that from a low art adventure movie?

I think Hollywood needs to return to this cinematic worldview. One where you can entertain the senses with wild imagery, but also inspire the intellect of humanity. I would implore Michael Bay to start thinking about films in terms of ideas about life instead of ideas about what most 15 year old boys like-which is explosions and cleavage.

My Favorite Movie

2009-10-08T11:12:00.001-07:00

I think it's safe to say that everyone has at least a few favorite movies. What I wonder is, how often do we change our minds and replace our all time favorite with a new one. I think that is a rare occurence. For me, The Empire Strikes Back will always be my all time favorite, but my runner up top five probably changes every few years. For now lets say the top five is-

1. Blade Runner
2. E.T.
3. The Royal Tenenbaums
4. Donnie Darko
5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

In a few years, the list will probably be all different. But I think my point here is, we gotta keep up our search for our new favorites. Film has such a broad canon that it takes a long time to survey the entire 100 plus year history, but thats the fun. In my academic studies of film I've come across some new favorites such as "The General" (Buster Keaton) "Modern Times" (Charlie Chaplin) "Citizen Kane" (Orson Welles) "Sunset Boulevard" (Billy Wilder) and a few others. But I had to sift through a lot more movies to get to those. I had to stand "Sullivan's Travels" (Preston Sturges) and "Meet John Doe" (Frank Capra) I really did not like those films. But the good part is I know where to stay away and where I can pursue the films I do enjoy. I will watch more Wilder, Welles, Keaton and Chaplin, and I'm going to enjoy it. That's the fun of my new academic film studies, I get to find new favorites every day.

LIMAX: What the theaters don't want you to know.

2009-07-20T16:34:00.000-07:00

The two new things in movie going today is 3-D and IMAX. Today I will be talking about the latter.

IMAX is a format that has been around for awhile now. Films that come out in the format are usually documentaries because of it's ability to magnify the subject matter to a gigantic degree. What an IMAX screen generally is is a 70 MM film print (the widest film possible) flipped on it's axis so it's as tall as a screen is wide. So the experience is an immersive one. Lately, blockbusters have been released in IMAX. The latest releases have been Transformers 2 and the new Harry Potter film. IMAX has been making a lot of money off of these blockbusters and is expanding their theaters as quickly as possible. Except there is one problem with these new screens: It's not IMAX.

What IMAX is doing is installing screens in multiplexes. This is intrinsically impossible, for no multiplex has the capability of adding a screen of such gargantuan proportions. So, they improvise. For example, at Lincoln Square Cinemas in Bellevue, the IMAX screen there is 40X65 Feet. A standard IMAX screen is 76X97 feet. So Lincoln Square clearly falls short here. Nonetheless, the theater is still charging a four dollar surcharge. The most ironic part about this is that you can get the size of the Lincoln Square IMAX at another conventional theater: The Seattle Cinerama. Granted, the Cinerama is a giant theater to begin with. But the point of an IMAX is to be huge. And if it's the size of the Cinerama, then to call it an IMAX is an insult to its audience.

The numbers don't lie. The width of the Lincoln Square IMAX is 65 ft. The width of the Cinerama conventional theater screen is 65 ft. Save your money, if you want to see a BIG movie, go to the Seattle Center IMAX where it's the original dimensions of an IMAX, or just see it at the Cinerama.

If you think I'm a doofus, I'm not alone. See what famed critic Roger Ebert says here

(DISCLAIMER: Lincoln Square is still an awesome theater with 15 digital screens projecting film at 4k high definition. You will not get a better film experience anywhere else but there. However, its IMAX along with other newly installed IMAX theaters is a joke, and I feel the need to inform others of its, ahem, shortcomings.)

"Welcome to the party pal!"

2009-06-23T10:49:00.000-07:00

It's the summertime, and do you know what that means? It's time for the summer schlock film slate to grace us with their presence. The next "big" film to come is 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' directed by Michael Bay. Ah, Michael Bay, what beautiful work have you churned out for us this time? I have seen the first Transformers and I didn't care for it. I could write a book on why. But I'm interested in what the buzz has been for this film. In my research, this is by far the best quote about the film, if not a quote about any film.

"[it] is the pretentious, nonsensical, sexist, jingoistic, militaristic, CGI-dependent, product-placement-packed, hectically edited, punishingly loud, wearyingly long, eye-wateringly expensive, and, I predict, phenomenally profitable exemplar of everything that is most repulsive about Hollywood today."

-Critic Nicholas Barber

I don't think anyone could have said it better. The funny thing is that this quote can be applied to virtually any Michael Bay film. I think another post is worthy of Michael Bay and his attention to detail (by detail I mean the amount of cleavage Bay can get Megan Fox to reveal without crossing 'R' rated territories.) But all that for another time. All I want to say is this: Everyone's a critic, and there are certain things that movies do that get people excited.

But people are easily impressed, if you have the money. I was talking to a highschooler the other day who was praising 'Night at the Museum 2.' I asked her why it was such a good movie. She sat and pondered, and then said: "The animals and statues came to life!" I said O.K. if that is what impresses you then good for you.

But for me, I can't tell you what makes a good movie good. There is too much to tell, any number of things can make a film good. But I can tell you what I think makes a bad movie bad. The only thing you need to read is the quote above, and I think you will get a glimpse of where I stand.

The Changing Face of Comedy

2009-03-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

In honor of my new favorite comedy, 'I Love You, Man' I would like to take a look at the past 20 years of comedy. I won't be looking at all the trends but just the most popular.

Looking back, the 90's most successful comedies were because of SNL. Thanks to SNL we were given comic geniuses: Adam Sandler, Mike Myers, Chris Farley and David Spade, and Will Ferrell (who flourished in the 2000's) Let's break it down further. In the 90's we saw

Wayne's World
Austin Powers
Tommy Boy
Black Sheep
Billy Madison
Happy Gilmore
The Waterboy
Big Daddy
There's Something About Mary
Dumb and Dumber

You can see what the tones of these comedies tend to be. They are your typical, dumb but loveable lead character fighting for something good. The humor tends to be a bit on the crude side and dim-witted. But it's not over the top. This will change.

The 90's was easily the decade of the SNL star. But the 2000's is certainly the decade of Judd Apatow, his filmogoraphy of Writer/Director/Producer credit should be convincing enough.

Anchorman
The 40 Year Old Virgin
Talladega Nights
Knocked Up
Superbad
Walk Hard
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Drillbit Taylor
Step Brothers
Pineapple Express

And that's just Apatow, there have been many more comedies that were very successful in the past few years. But this is the trend of comedies in this decade. Raunchy and Vulgar. Apatow will stop at nothing and he will raise the bar to get a laugh.

But in my review of 'I Love You, Man' a film with no creative input from Apatow, we are given a film that goes against the norm. While still an R rated comedy, this film treats its audience with decency and respect, making it genuinely funny. It's my hope that this can be the new trend for the next decade.

Goodbye Film, Hello Digital, We Were Expecting You

2009-03-22T14:39:00.000-07:00

I had the most amazing theater experience yesterday, it will be unrivaled for a while I think.

Yesterday, I went to Lincoln Square Cinemas, a very good theater in Bellevue, Washington. I was with my friend Cam and we had some time to kill, so we decided to go to the movies. 3 of them, to be exact. Now the first two weren't cinematic masterpieces, but they were still good, they were 'Sunshine Cleaning and 'Taken'. The last one, 'I Love You, Man' was a masterpiece though. I thought it was great and if you want a review from me you can find it at www.whitworthian.com, it will be up in about a week or so.

The movies were great, but I was hit with a cinematic twist: Lincoln Square has gone High-Def. That's right, there are no longer film projectors there, it's all digital, high definition. This is a huge improvement to the movie going experience. The cinematic experience now once again trumps any home theater, thanks to its crystal clear, high definition projections on giant screens. This means that there will be minimal projection problems at all. It will be consistently clean and clear of any sort of film deterioration. It also means that you won't see any "Cigarette Burns" in the corner of frames before a reel needs to be changed. I'm a little sad that it doesn’t feel like Film any more, we really can't even say we're going out for a film any more, really we're going out for a Digital High Definition Presentation. Doesn't really roll of the tongue any more. But either way it does look amazing, and hopefully people can find the shekels to participate in the film community and enjoy a good film.

On that note I would like to say that seeing a movie is really best in a room crammed with people. 'I Love You, Man' was in a sold out screen, it was packed full of people ready for a good film. And boy did they have a good time. The movie was hilarious and tasteful, the audience truly appreciated it. There was an energy in the room that really made the night memorable. I felt a connection between all of us, with the sole intention of seeing a great comedy. And it was easily a successful night, for the film, the theater, and us, the audience.

Oh Life...

2009-02-08T00:22:00.000-08:00

It's funny, how your perspective on life can change quickly.

This blog post is about how I might change my major, and how my outlook on my future has drastically changed in a about a week's time.

I was having a nice conversation with one of my friends at the gloriousness that is Diddiers about a week ago and we were talking about what I was passionate about. For awhile now I have been concentrating my studies on theology because it is something that I have been curious and interested in for quite some time now. I have definitely learned a lot since I started college but that night I really pondered about what I was going to do with what I was learning. And I realized, I don't want to do anything that comes with a theology major. I don't want to be a pastor of any flavor, I don't want to go into any ministry. Not that I don't think it's important, I just don't feel like being an evangelistic, fellowship leading person. I discovered the theology I was learning was really for my own sake, things that I wanted to learn, just for my own satisfaction. And I saw that I really have gotten a good fill of theology. So I took a critical look at what I was doing here at Whitworth, and I did a course correction, literally.

First of all, I dropped Hebrew. Were at the point now in class where we are really criticizing the text and being very technical about the translation of the Biblical Hebrew, which for me was too much and was something I did not want. I've found that in my studies that Theology was turning into something technical, something that it should never be.

Now, I am looking into what other things I have a passion for. And something I have a day in, day out passion for is the arts. I love books, movies, music and art. So I'm looking into pursuing a major in English now. I'm still not sure if I will, but it looks promising. I never thought I would be a person who would change their major, but here I am. I don't know exactly how this is all going to pan out for me, but I think that is the exciting part. I think my favorite part about all of this is that there is something new in my life that I know God will guide me through. I have something huge in my life that I can only get through sanely with my faith in God. The times certainly are exciting, here in good ol' Spokane.

Ultimate Showdown: iTunes VS. Zune

2009-01-23T16:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, the gloves are off, I'm going after iTunes once and for all. Too many people think that it is the bee's knees and it is my duty as a pseudo-audiophile and overall Windows defender to proclaim that the Zune software is much better. Get over iTunes, come to Zune. Lose the zero and get with the hero.

iTunes is an inefficient music manager in comparison to the Zune software. If your using a Mac then this entire argument is irrelevant because your not on an OS with the capability for Zune. But to all of you Windows users, I want to educate you.

I will show all the features that Zune triumphs in over iTunes.

1. Album info retrieval

iTunes will only grab full details of an Album if it has an Internet connection at the same time it is ripping a CD for you. If you don't have a connection during a rip, you can only manually update the album info. The album art it grabs might be very low resolution and could look terrible on your computer. Zune will grab the album info any time it sees that the album info is insufficient. For all the albums I have ripped, I have never manually typed any info, or personally looked on the Internet for album art. iTunes sometimes doesn't even have the album art so you will be stuck to look for it on your own. It is a very painful and boring process.

2. Zune Social

A part of Zune's software is Social, where you can have other friends, and see what music they listen to. You can also make new friends that have similar music interests as you. When you play a popular band it will give you an artistic display of the band as a screensaver and show you statistics of how popular it is among the Zune community, it will show you most popular song, how many times the band has been played that day and so on. If you have a Windows Live ID (The same one you use for Xbox Live, Windows Messenger or Hotmail) then any other Zune users that are your friends in that list of programs are automatically added to your friends list in Social. If you use Windows Live Messenger, when playing a song it can show to everyone on Messenger what you are listening to. iTunes literally has nothing that can do this.

Mixview

Mixview allows you to view an Artist, and it will show you in an ascetically pleasing manner the bands that have influenced that band, or bands that have been influenced. It will show you the top listener of that artist in that Zune community. iTunes has a similar feature called Genius, but it isn't as comprehensive as Zune, and when I tried to test it, iTunes kept on crashing on me.

Organization

The organization on the Zune software is streamlined for complete efficiency. By comparison, iTunes is a clunkier jukebox. Zune will organize your music by Artist, Album, and Song, just like iTunes. But when you go to a certain artist, it will show all the albums for that artists, using the cover art to organize it, something iTunes can't do. When you are looking at a particular artist, you can see in your social what other friends of yours that also listens to that artist, something iTunes is incapable of doing.

There are weaknesses of the Zune in comparison to iTunes, but these weaknesses are irrelevant due to what they are.

Store

iTunes has a much stronger market for digital downloading. However, both stores pale in comparison to a CD's quality AND versatility.

Radio

Zune offers no Internet radio stations, where iTunes does. But if you enjoy good quality music, listening to these stations will not satisfy you because they are not at a lossless quality like CDs are.

There you have it, Zune is by far the better music jukebox and if anyone thinks other wise I encourage them to show me why.

Steven Sigberg

2009-01-19T22:20:00.001-08:00

I just watched Schindler's List for the first time tonight. So in honor of a wonderful movie, I would like to point out, once again that

Steven Spielberg is the greatest director of all time.

And let me just make an addendum as to why I think that.

He makes films that become the mother of all films that are in that categorical class of movie. For example, I am willing to say that Schindler's List is the mother of all Holocaust movies. Not to say that all Holocaust films stem from this one, but this is the best Holocaust movie that has been made. Now granted that is arguable. But from what I've seen, this is by far the best one that has been made.

Let's go through his career and see what else he has done.

1. Jaws

Mother of all Shark movies. Considering the competition (Deep Blue Sea, Jaws sequels) this should be a no brainer.

2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Ok, not quite the mother of all Sci-Fi films, but you have to admit that this film really goes against the curve of most films, and at the end you know you liked it but you just can't say what about it you liked, which is the beauty of a sci-fi.

3. Indiana Jones Trilogy (4th one too if your not the most picky moviegoer in history)

These movies are just pure fun. They are adventurous and thrilling and at the end you always want more, making them the best adventure films.

4. E.T.

The mother of all family films. I believe this to be the best example of Spielberg's genre defining films. I don't think any other movie can pose a threat to this one, easily the greatest family film of all time.

5. Saving Private Ryan

There are a lot of war films out there. But if you tell me that after the first 15 minutes that you aren't impressed then, I don't really know what I would say back to you. Because I believe it to be the best war sequence out there. And as for best War film ever? I don't know if I can say that I've found it because there are A LOT of war movies out there. But this one definitely gives the others a run for their money.

Another thing I like about Spielberg is his coverage of a subject or genre. He's covered man eating creatures several times (Jaws, Jurassic Park, The Lost World, those ants in Indy 4) He's done POW films (Schindler's List in the west, Empire of the Sun in the East) He's done sci-fi (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. Minority Report, AI, War of the Worlds)

I just can't get over saying it. I love the work of Steven Spielberg and his work will always impress me

Things that are bugging me...

2008-12-29T14:43:00.000-08:00

I'm a Beatles fan, who isn't? I even enjoy all four Beatles' solo careers. To have a favorite Beatle is a difficult articulation of music and personality, and it changes all the time. Lately, I've appreciated John Lennon a lot lately. So does the charitable foundation One Laptop Per Child, an organization that wants to give a laptop to every child in a third world country. Honestly, I think money for laptops is kind of foolish since it can be spent on clean water and food. Yet, One Laptop Per Child will raise it's money any way it can. So they spent a boatload of money on this new ad

Yes, that is John Lennon asking you to buy a laptop for a poor child.

You might ask me-

"But Ryan, John Lennon has been dead for 28 years! How can this be?!"

Well, the answer is quite simple, they used a computer to catalog how John Lennon's voice sounds, then they used a computer to manipulate a video of John Lennon, a la Forrest Gump and they created a dialogue for him, asking for your donation.

Now I have a few problems with this:

1. It's one thing to use John Lennon as a cameo when he's been dead for quite some time like in Forrest Gump, it's another thing to use him as your spokesman.
2. If John Lennon was alive, how would you know that he would be a spokesman for your charity? He was a generous guy, but he didn't put his stamp of approval on every charity.
3. John Lennon doesn't even know what a laptop is.
4. John Lennon is Dead. Please get over it people, it's been 28 years, One Laptop Per Child needs to work on finding living spokespeople, it is much more convincing, believe me.

Oh, and one more thing.

While i was enjoying a nice Christmas day last week, my uncle was gifted an MP3 Player, and to the delight of my cousins they exclaimed,

"Dad got an iPod! hooray!"

OK, I added the hooray, but they were very excited. But there was just one problem

It wasn't an iPod, it was an MP3 player, a Sansa to be exact.

It grieves me to think that iPod is now synonymous with MP3 player, because frankly, they suck.

There are much better MP3 players out there, one in particular, and one I desperately want is the Zune 120, a far superior piece of technology.

Don't believe me? Listen to CNET, the authority on technology today.

I really hope we don't call MP3 players iPods like we call Kleenex for tissues. So next time your in the market for an MP3 player next holiday season, use your brain, and don't be another cow in the herd, think for yourself, and don't listen to dead rock stars tell you about laptops.

Until Next Time...

Post-Election Awesomness

2008-11-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

Hello Friends.

It's November 5th, and I am sure everyone in the world right now is either totally excited or totally pissed. But I don't want to go in to why, but what we have accomplished from yesterday.

Holograms

Oh, I'm sorry, were you expecting something else?

Holograms

Yes. Holograms. They are real. Well not completely. But just watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=js6b31_p5cc

CNN now has a hologram beamed correspondance. Granted, the real life anchormen can't actually see the hologram we are seeing, but the audience sees them, and that works for me. I think it is a huge step in terms of telecommunication. And yet another reason why George Lucas is one of the greatest innovaters of all time.

Now when it comes down to the actual big news of President-Elect Barack Obama. If you are a person who voted for John McCain and you are complaining on your Facebook status that basically says:

"NO! Our Country is screwed! We need to pray for God to help America because now we desperatly need it!"

You need to take a breather and realize two things

1. God is not a Republican (Or a Democrat)

2. Complaining is counterproductive.

Listen to John McCain. Any failure that happened in the Election is his, not yours and there is nothing anyone can do to reverse what has happened. What we all need to do is forget about parties, beliefs or faiths and think about one thing. We need to unite for the commonwealth of America. You can disagree with Obama, and you can be active about what you believe. But don't make a complaint about the President-Elect, it will get you nowhere, because he is the President-Elect and that is final. If you have a problem with things that can change, contact your Senator or a State Representative, that is what they are here for. And if that doesn't help go get your Bobby Mcferrin on!

But I really don't care about the whole McCain-Obama thing. Holograms Rule!

Lates

2 Words

2008-11-03T23:01:00.000-08:00

Fleet Foxes-Check them out.

Mr. Woods, I presume...

2008-10-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

This is for an audience of one but again. However, I think anyone can appreciate what I'm going to say.

I saw a band the other night. Well, three actually. And they inspired me. When you come back this is what we need as musicians playing together. We need to take advantage of your keyboard and we need to use an organ. Seriously, an Organ is one of the best piano sounds out there. When this band used it, it turned the music upside down.

The next element was a lap-steel guitar. I can't even describe why but in the right context (not in a country song) it can sound truly majestic. I see it as an instrument in the same realm as the organ. They both create music but in an inspiring, epic manner. Look into it.

My brother got me Hail to the Thief on vinyl. Now that is a piece of art let me tell you.

Rumour has it Alfredo left telSPACE officially now making it hellSPACE.

There you go, until next time...

I Love Alex Woods (as a friend...)

2008-09-23T11:31:00.000-07:00

As many of you know our friend Alex Woods is on his Mormon Missionary excursion right now. He'll be gone for 2 years and it's only been a month and I miss him already. Since communication is very restricted with him, I promised him I would update my blog for him so when he gets back he will have a plethora of things to read about that I know he will be interested in. So Elder Woods, this one's for you.

I got The Eraser by Thom Yorke the other day. It is amazing. The man is bullet proof, in a musical way. His creativity is unrivaled, and his imagination is unlimited. I'm obsessed with the title track right now, and Cymbal Rush. I'm sure soon I will be completely obsessed with all the other tracks

In addition to the Eraser I also got In Rainbows disc 2. More amazingness. It's like a whole new Radiohead album. You were right about Down is the new up. They are all amazing tracks but I see why the band wouldn't include any of the tracks. That is what makes them so good, they know the beauty of an album's composition. Every Album has a perfect layout of songs. Rumor has it that the band is working on a new album right now. By the time you get back it could be already out. The Concert was amazing by the way. It was the best concert I have been to. Yes it has beat out the two times I saw Rush combined! The lawn wasn't that bad but it did rain. The rain probably made it more sig.

That's all I got right now. I will be updating you soon. Even though you can't read it. Maybe you will get in the mail. I am not sure. I wish I could ask you your preference. I guess I could write to you with that question. I guess I'll do that.

I'm an Audiophile Or: How the death of my iPod truly made me listen

2008-07-29T22:53:00.000-07:00

As I write this, I am currently ripping Pink Floyd's "The Wall" on to my computer. Recently, my music listening habits have changed. You see, my iPod died and that prompted me to think about my current style of listening. I have been wanting to get away from the copy-right protected music of iTunes for a long time now and I have finally got my break. So, I went out and got a Terabyte External hard drive and am now fully returning to CD.

For those of you who don't know (or realize) CD is literally about 10 times better than MP3. With the iPod generation, people are sacrificing quality for quantity and I say no to that. I want the good stuff. CD's aren't copyright protected so when you rip them on to your computer you can play them any where any time with no punishment.

Plus, some bands aren't even on iTunes. Like the Beatles, you can only find on CD. Do you think that's a coincidence? (well it kind of is because the Beatle's record label Apple, is mad that Steve Jobs isn't original when it comes to picking names) MMM STEVE.

Granted, the quality of CD and the size of the files aren't entirely worth it to everyone. People who have iPod nanos and stock headphones are not going to get the full benefit. But people with brand new home theaters will notice the difference. Oh, wait that would be me. But if you are a normal music listener I know you would prefer the best sound quality with no matter what your listening situation is

So now I have gone fully CD with my collection. Soon I am going to get a Zune (the dominant portable media player according to cnet.com) and I will complete the transition from Apple to Windows.

So I say join me. CD sales are dropping drastically. We can buck the trend and show the world that some people do care about quality.

Star Wars Week Finale

2008-07-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

The Circle is now complete.

Last night we finished the Star Wars Week. It was a grand success if I may say so myself. We watched Return of the Jedi in full high definition glory. I am very sad that it has to end but now I can feel like I have a life and not feel like a total nerd.

On to the Movie.

I love ROTJ, it's definetly one of my favorites as a Star Wars movie. Although the directing in this film is not as good as Empire, it is much better than the prequels. I always loved the last half hour of this movie and loathed the first half hour. For some reason Jabba's palace is the most boring segment for me ever. But I guess that's personal preference. Return of the Jedi is a great movie to close out the saga. It ends with so much closure I can never see how there could be more films. I don't know why rumors fly of more sequels because they would suck if they did get made. No Vader-No good.

So I wanna give props to Cameron Hodges. Cam made it through the whole week, a marathon is a big deal for Cameron because he has failed so many times before. In honor of his success, Cam was awarded a medal last night, commemorating a momentous week. We all celebrated last night with some pie and ice cream and we closed out the week in style.

I personally had a lot of fun and I hope we can do it again. We may be back in it again next winter but time will tell on that. Until then my Star Wars fans.

May the Force be with you all.

Star Wars Day 5

2008-07-19T18:34:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful week this has week has turned into

Last night we watched my favorite Star Wars movie, the Empire Strikes Back. I think it's the easiest one to like too. It's full of everything, action, romance, drama, yoda, snow, irvin. Ok that is a bit specific but I'm a fan through and through

On to the movie.

Ok we are talking Empire Strikes Back right? Why do we love it so much? It is the most unresolved film, which is very frustrating. It is one of the darkest Star Wars movies, which I think makes it one of the best. I think what is great is how well Irvin Kershner handled the Han and Leia romance. We can see Star Wars can handle those things, people falling in love. Why wasn't he hired for ATOC? WHY! Another stand out for me is the set design-Think about the planets, exterior and interior, they are all very beautiful and mysterious.

Ryan Johns and I discovered many similarities this film had with ATOC. Luke and Anakin are very similar in their paths, they can't handle haunting visions of loved ones in pain. I don't know why we never saw this before, but now we love it even more. I think I caught a lot more this time around but I just can't remember right now.

Unfortunatly Star Wars week is coming to a close tonight. We're going to be watching Return of the Jedi and I am very excited. I will probably catch more than I did last night. I think that's what the beauty is of this week. Instead of a shotgun day we get a whole week, a whole day for each Star Wars movie, it is really turning out better than I expected. Til next time.

Star Wars Day 4

2008-07-18T19:13:00.000-07:00

This week is getting better and better.

Last night we got to watch Star Wars. That's what it was originally called. Ok, so we watched Star Wars Episode 4 A New Hope, is that specific enough for you? I loved it, who doesn't?

This week has really given me a chance to connect the films together and I have all this energy now to give to these movies. Revenge of the Sith ended with the Tantive IV and the droids. A New Hope starts with the Tantive IV and the droids. 18 years can't rip away the simplest story connection. The greatest part is I can really see the significance in the prequel trilogy. I truly got a sense of the the classic trilogy's origin. Why certain characters feel one way, where they start out, and where they are going to. This week is doing wonders to my love for Star Wars.

Now on to the movie.

Ryan Johns and I decided that this is the most chill film of the series. To put it best, if you want to take a nap AND watch a Star Wars movie, this is the best one to do it. Not to say that this is the least action packed. I think my favorite chunk of this movie is when the gang gets to the Death Star. That's where the story picks up and the action gets going. The film is overall one of my favorite, but not my all time favorite.

Tonight we are watching my all time favorite. The Empire Strikes Back is arguably the greatest Star Wars film, and why not? It has a great lightsaber duel, great character development and we get to meet Yoda for the first time (depending on your point of view)

So, I can't wait to see everyone tonight. Good Night and Good Luck

Star Wars Day 3

2008-07-17T11:29:00.000-07:00

Wow, Last night was amazing if I may say.

Episode 3 Revenge of the Sith. The best prequel by far, I enjoyed it the most out of all of the prequels easily.

I have finally got the system down to perfection. I replaced my receiver and I got a dedicated Blu-Ray player to get the job done. I think everyone can agree from last night that it was a very enjoyable movie experience.

On to the movie.

ROTS is an action packed movie. From the first second you are pulled into all of the craziness. I remembered when I first saw it in theaters how overwhelming that first shot is. This is the prequel we had been waiting for. Yes there were a few scenes that were still cringe-worthy but a good film none-the-less. I really got a feeling of closure last night. We are smack dab in the middle of the series but I still felt like it had very good end. The prequels are over. The epic story of Anakin, Obi-wan and Padme are over. Now the Story of Luke, Leia and Han are about to begin and I am very excited. All in all last night was a very good one for me and everyone else. We are definetly ready to start the classic trilogy

We have a special treat for the OT by the way. Thanks to Steven Shaw it will be in native High Definition. Trust me guys, it's going to look great.

I have nothing left to say other than how pumped I am for tonight. A New Hope is a classic and tonight we will enjoy it thoroughly. If you want to read more about the Star Wars Week experience jump to Ryan John's blog over at rkjohns.blogspot.com. Enjoy!

Star Wars Day 2

2008-07-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

Well, we watched Attack of the Clones last night, and as I expected, it was amazing. We had some fresh faces and a full turnout. I am getting bit nervous, since we just watched the two worst films of the saga and we had all the seats taken with 2 couches, 2 chairs and a few on the floor. It looks like we will have to be creative for the next couple of nights

On to the movie.

I was hoping ATOC would blow me away just as TPM had done the night before. And I can say with confidence I was kinda blown away. I think what people hate about ATOC is the first half. It's really slow, there is pretty much no action, at all. I mean, there is a speeder chase but wouldn't it have been cool if there was a huge assault on Padme's apartment and Obi-wan and Anaking had to singelhandedly defend Padme? Oh well I guess I just dream big. The other problem is that the unfortunate main crux of this movie is the love story between Anakin and Padme. Now, we never really get this in Star Wars. In Empire Strikes Back, we have the sub-plot of Han and Leia, but that isn't as huge plot wise for ATOC. So we have to endure the awkward love story of Anakin and Padme. I do like the plot for Obi-Wan as the Jedi detective, which leads to the good part of the movie. Once Mace Windu gets out his lightsaber, we know the film is finally getting good. (And for a woman at the imax theater, she knew it was going to get good) The last half hour of ATOC is probably one of the best of any of the films. It easily has the best land combat scenes out of all the Star Wars. The lightsaber battles are sub-par but is made up with Yoda vs. Dooku. All in all, I enjoyed myself after I endure the first hour or so.

Thankfully, the image last night looked 10 times better than before. The High Definition transfer of ATOC definetly helped out there. I certainly can't wait until the High Def Original Trilogy coming later this week. We all agreed last night that the sound was superb. The best example of this would be the seismic charges in the battle between Obi-wan and Jango Fett.

All in all I had a lot of fun last night. We even had a surprise visit from Jordan Harris who said he wouldn't be here. Props to Paul Dow and Brittany Bolz for being here 2nd night in a row, they could potentially be the most faithful to the week next to us, the creators, Ryan Johns and I, Ryan Graves. Oh and I can't forget Cameron Hodges who once said he'd rather die than come to this but is somehow faithful to that which is Star Wars. Good job Cam!

That's it for today's post. We'll be watching a very good one tonight, Revenge of the Sith. After tonight we'll be halfway done which is pretty surprising. Until then, may the schwartz be with you!

Star Wars Live Blog

2008-07-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

As part of Star Wars week that Ryan Johns and I are putting on, I've decided to post a blog, chronicling the event. Last night, we had our first film starting with the obvious choice, The Phantom Menace. We had a really good turn out too. Props to my brother Alex and John for setting up tiered seating for maximum viewing. We had 2 couches and 2 master chairs filled with people, and we could all see and hear perfectly well. Ryan Johns went above and beyond the snacking call and got bags of healthy chips, goldfish, and the always delicious Otter Pops.

Now on to the Movie.

Unfortunatley I've been having problems with my home theater so we had to watch the movie on my Xbox 360 which does not handle DVD playback very well. But the film sounded amazing. Every thump of a battle droid falling to the ground was very clear and you could feel the hum of the lightsaber in your chest. The visual was unfortunatley sub-par but I have fixed this problem with the addition of a upconverting DVD player to my current set-up so the rest of the week will look as good as it sounded.

When we usually watch TPM, us marathoners usually have a general disgust. We usually engorge ourselves with chocolate milk and donuts and we want to die by the time "Annie" screams Yipee!

But for me, this time was different, much different.

I don't know why but I think for the first time since I saw this movie in theaters, I really enjoyed it through and through. From the opening action sequence to the final parade scene, I was enthralled by the movie. It had plenty of action and the story of Anakin Skywalker was very intriguing. For some reason the Pod-Race scene was very exciting as well. It was probably just watching it on my 47 inch tv. The picture was exciting, and the whole race had me on the edge of my seat. Now don't get me wrong I still hate Jar-Jar Binks and Jake Lloyd, but we do have to admit those characters are vital to the story. (With Anakin its obvious, Without Jar-Jar, how would we get the gungans to create a diversion from the battle of Theed?) Without a doubt, I loved The Phantom Menace last night, and it happens to have one of my favorite action sequences of all time (Darth Maul Vs. Obi-Wan)

So there you have it. Tonight we will be watching Attack of the Clones, a film that I believe has way too much criticism for what it is. We'll see. Until next time. May the forc...sorry I can't be that lame...have a good day

Steven Spielberg is the greatest filmmaker of all time or: People who don't like Steven Spielberg should eat their face

2008-06-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

It's official. Steven Spielberg is the greatest filmmaker of all time. There is no arguement. And for those who would like to try and argue, first read these reasons as to why Steven Spielberg is the greatest filmmaker of all time.

1. He invented the Summer Blockbuster. When he made Jaws in 1975, it was the first film to get a wide release, as opposed to being slowly released, city by city. It was the first film to cross the 100 million dollar mark.

2. He uses John Williams as the composer in almost all of his films. Hum the theme to Indiana Jones, Hum the theme to Jurassic Park, Steven Spielberg films with great scores thanks to hiring John Williams.

3. He reinvented Children's cartoons. After the period of Bugs Bunny, Spielberg stepped in and created shows like Tiny Toons, Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs, Freakazoid. If you were a kid in the 90's you know you enjoyed at least one of these shows.

4. He reinvented the summer Blockbuster. After a stretch of years without a decent summer film, Spielberg released Jurassic Park, the same year he released Schindler's List, making 1993 one of his most succesful years in his career.

5. He has won 2 Oscars for his achievement in directing. For Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. He has been nominated for several others.

6. He is a family man. Whenever his kids watches TV or movies, he watches it with them, ensuring quality and appropriate entertainment.

7. He understands the art of a trademark. Go watch a Steven Spielberg film that has a prominent, lead father figure that has no faults at all. You won't find it. Every Spielberg film has an absent or broken Father figure in his films.

8. He's a Jew. And only a Jew can make Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers.

9. He's dominated several film genres with authority. Family-E.T. Action- Indiana Jones. Sci-Fi- Close Encounters of the Third Kind Drama-Schindler's List War-Saving Private Ryan Comedy- The Terminal Thriller-Minority Report Biopic-Catch Me if You Can.

10. He invented the Medal of Honor Video Game Series. Do you know any other hollywood directors who have invented a successful video game series?

11. He started Dreamworks. It is one of the biggest film companies in Hollywood, releasing some of the greatest films in the past 10 years.

Now you might be saying. "But Ryan! Steven Spielberg was the Executive Producer for Transformers, how could he have his name connected to that schlock?" Well to that I say this. Executive Producer only means he financed the film. He had nothing to do with the creative process.

So there it is. Steven Spielberg is the greatest filmmaker of all time, and if you disagree you can go eat your face.