INKSTAND

Archive for January, 2008

Review #240: D-War (Dragon Wars)

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008

So I never make “best of” lists at the end of the year because I don’t remember what came out when. I will say now, however, that this is the best movie of 2007. If you read the reviews on IMDB, you will see that nearly everyone thinks it’s terrible. In fact there are so many reviews that I’m sure people felt it was their duty to speak out against it. It’s true, the movie is chock full of bad acting, cliches and run-of-the-mill CG (which some people thought was good), but I think what is resposible for it being terrible also makes it terribly interesting. It’s a movie in english starring American actors but it was made for a South Koeran audience. That’s why the dialogue sounds like a program on Nick Jr. It’s slow and clear because it’s intended for an audience who’s primary language isn’t english.
The story’s not very complicated but when the back story was being told there were so many times i tuned out. Even the kid hearing the story kept saying “What do you mean?”
In a nutshell…Good serpants and bad serpants want the soul of this reincarnated chick to become big dragons. The bad one will destroy the world if he gets it. The bad one also has an army of magic dudes and huge lizards with lazers on their backs and flying mini-dragons and stuff. And while the bad dragon is so very prepared, the good dragon shows up at the end. What was he doing all this time? What a lazy good dragon. Or imoogo or whatever they call it in the film.
The battle scenes are pretty cool. Shit gets fucked up and you can tell by the way the crowds run and scream that this was made by an asian director.

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Review #239: Skinwalkers

Monday, January 14th, 2008

I was writing Review #237 while watching this movie, so I didn’t pay real close attention. What I did notice is that after a lot of build up (and shooting guns) the final fight scene delivers nice clear shots of the lycanthropes duking it out. Unlike a certain Alien Vs. Preadator sequel I recently saw.

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Review # 238: Jeremy’s Gnocchi

Monday, January 14th, 2008

Jeremy finally made the gnocchi he’s been talking about. I video recorded most of the making of it but of course when the final steps happened and dinner was being prepared, I made the bone head move of taking a shower rather than getting the finished result on video. Boo me.
While I love getting my hands dirty in the kitchen and experimenting with different things, Jeremy is without question the better cook out of the two of us. Everything he makes turns out delicious and of course he’s always worried that it won’t. He’s treated me and others to spicy crab cakes, chicken cordon bleu, and three different kinds of meatloaf, two of which included bacon!
The gnocchi turned out wonderful. Each piece was the perfect size and consistency. There were a couple of lumps but hey, this was the first-time use of a potato ricer. Jeremy also added a secret ingredient that I promised not to divulge. The texture of the surface wasn’t the standard for this dish. It usually has more of a ridge to it to hold the sauce better, but ours was more of a fold. It was easier that way and I think it held the sauce just fine. The gnocchi was served with a vodka sauce that I think was a perfect choice. This dish wasn’t good for a first try, it was good for maybe a fifth attempt. The man has a talent for the culinary.

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Review # 237:Quickie Album Twofer

Saturday, January 12th, 2008

I haven’t heard an entire Imperial Teen album before this, but I have heard three earlier singles. I enjoyed each one a lot, so when Jeremy’s friend Derek said they had put out a new album this year I thought I’d check it out. I had been wanting to get some new music lately so this was a good lead. The album isn’t as good as the singles I heard before, but it still has it’s merits. It’s clear that the rockers are aging and it is reflected in some of their lyrics. The tunes are good and make me want to dance, but not rock out like the others. So here, listen to these older songs instead. Although the band might have never achieved super stardom because they don’t have a knack for making videos.

In my search for new music I thought I’d get an Arcade Fire album. My uber snob best friend told me to check them out a couple of years ago. If he liked them, it was surely worth a listen. Still, I never gave them that listen. I finally decided to, becasue they seem to be getting high acclaim and some of my favorite bands have come out of Canada. When I went to the record store I chickened out and just bought a Ween album instead.
At first listen I was disapointed. It seemed that Gene and Dean were stonder than usual and just phoned this one in. A lot of droney songs with repetetive lyrics relying heavily on their weird vocal effects. But after listening more I noticed a few more rocking moments with their fun guitar licks and some of the songs I thought were boring before became more catchy. There are still a lot of parts I skip over. I have yet to find an album by Ween better than the Mollusk.

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Archive for January, 2008

Review #240: D-War (Dragon Wars)

Review #239: Skinwalkers

Review # 238: Jeremy’s Gnocchi

Review # 237:Quickie Album Twofer