So I'm Kind Of A Big Deal

Before I dive into whatever I might be talking about in this post...

My brother is back in town today and whilst we were out doing manly things like shopping, we mentioned to me that he had come across a blog that was talking about one of our favorite shows of all time, Arrested Development. He said he had seen someone talking about a fake trailer made for the show that made it look like an action film... and then he said it hit him about two days later that he had seen it before. He was correct in this thought, because as it turns out the fake trailer he had seen in a blog was one of three trailers I made when I was in my sophomore year at Point Park University. I know this because we came home and began looking for this blog, which we didn't find... but in my search I realized I had actually for once put something onto youtube that people enjoy!

The purpose of the project in my editing class was to take any production that was out, be it movie or TV, and create 3 trailers for it... one that was 30 seconds long, one that was 60 seconds long, and one that was 2 minutes long. The action one was my 60 second, with my 30 second being a horror and my 2 minute a drama.

Don't believe me? Check it out....

Here is the original video:

Here are some sights that are using my trailer:

http://www.examiner.com/x-5631-Prime-Time-TV-Examiner~y2010m7d6-Fake-Arrested-Development-trailer-echoes-fans-urge-for-movie

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/06/arrested-development-acti_n_636048.html

http://www.urlesque.com/2010/07/06/arrested-development-action-movie-trailer/

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1938610

http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/arrested-development-action-trailer

http://jezebel.com/5580355/arrested-development-action-movie-trailer

http://www.cinemablend.com/television/Trailer-For-Fake-Arrested-Development-Action-Movie-25623.html

http://screencrave.com/2010-07-06/votd-arrested-development-action-movie-trailer/

http://www.avclub.com/articles/great-job-internet-arrested-development-as-an-acti,42820/

and there are many many more....

I'm glad people are enjoying it... but I don't want people to forget little ol'fanboy me.

That's really all.... I'll be signing autographs later if anyone wishes.

Big Issue I Have

I'm going to be frank here... there are a lot of things about the entertainment industry that annoy the living hell out of me.

I hate, hate, HATE the fact that the famous stars we all adore (or at least recognize as stars) feel some sort of power or entitlement over everyone else in the world. This may just be coming out of the fact that the infamous Parent Trap actress, who's name I will not type, is getting off so easily after yet ANOTHER run in with the law. Now, I don't mind so much after a first offense of something (with the exception of big things like murder, rape, extortion, treason, etc.) Not that drugs or drunk driving should be taken lightly, it has many times ended in tragedy... but I don't consider those offenses on the same level as the previously listed. Everyone with the lesser charges, in my mind, needs help... but deserves a second chance. This goes for ANYONE; poor, rich, or in between. But after your second time, on top of disobeying the first court sentence.... you deserve the full force of the law. I'm not saying the justice system is perfect though, I know many times the wrong people are those that face charges they don't deserve. LL should not have been given a reduced sentence AFTER the judge had already made the choice. That's what annoys me! If the judge had said "You must spend 13 days in jail." I would say, OKAY, knowing it was probably not a very good punishment, but nonetheless the ruling of the court. But to say 90 days! and then afterwards (probably some sort of deal made) to be like, OH NEVER MIND, 13 DAYS!..... I have one word for that... BULL. I believe in redemption, I truly do.... but you can't change your ways if everyone fixes things for you (your parents/lawyers) or people cut you some slack for whatever reason (judges/courts/uhh... American Justice System?) In this case, that reasons was she's famous and she's rich.... I'd like to see that happen the same way for Joe Smith from South Philly.... not gonna happen.

There's more to complain about today though... I'm going to talk about music here that will lead into movies for me.

MUSE. I love this band.... love, love, LOVE this band. Everything they have written in my mind is perfection. I have all their albums, and will continue to buy them... assuming they come back from their "break". They claim they will be back together in 2011... but if they don't then I suppose there's not much I can do. But for once in my life, my faith in them as been shaken. But because of the break they are planning to take after their tour.... but because they sold out to make a little bit of extra money... money which they don't NEED, because they are freaking MUSE, they're pretty big. Yet here we are... at a cross roads if you will in my MUSE fanhood... they have decided to allow their music used for a saga of films known as TWILIGHT. I little shiver at the thought of it. Why would they do this? I would really like an answer from the band.... I mean, I'm not gonna be one to mope about this for years to come... I just don't understand why they would lower themselves to that?? I just needed to get that off my chest.

Which brings me to the worst part of my annoyances... today's choice of movies, or more importantly Hollywood's choices of movies to make! It's very rare that a good movie comes out these days, at least one with a good story and artistic structure to it. I'll be the first one to admit that I see a lot of today's movies for pure entertainment value (mainly action and comedy) but even the comedy's are starting to waver in their originality.... same premises, same type of characters, same basic settings and stories.... enough is enough.

But let's talk about the worst part of it all... even though Hollywood Executives taking any script they pull out of the toilet after their morning rituals and turning it into a film is pretty bad... the worst of it all is when Hollywood strikes gold and then let's the REAL success of the film (Real meaning good press, people love the film, winning awards, etc... not financial success, though important, not always what movies are about.) They let this success go to their heads and try to recreate it anyway they can... which 99% percent of the time results in a sequel.. or even worse... prequel.

(Rant for a second: Now... sequels are more understandable because they follow the characters into a new story/new adventure that allows us to be with them again from the first film we loved. PREQUELS though... takes us back before the original film we watched. My problem with this you ask? THIS IS WHY: The original film you watched was written so that ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED PREVIOUSLY TO THE STORY AT HAND DOESN'T MATTER! How do I know this you ask? I'll respond to that with a question of my own... Did you feel lost or confused by the characters or story of the film you just watched? No, you say? That's probably because THAT'S WHAT A SCRIPT DOES! It takes an idea and makes it into story with a beginning/middle/end... where throughout that whole time we learn about the characters, we are explained about the story... and all is done. So Prequels are probably the worst idea ever. They scam you into thinking you NEED to see it in order to better understand the story you originally saw... which usually ends with me crying that I wasted my money on the ticket to see it. Stories are meant to stand on their own two feet... the only exception to this rule is if the movie is based off a series of books... and the writer had already have books that came before the one being turned into a movie.)

I'm sorry, where did I leave off.... oh yeah. So suddenly you have filmmakers taking good ideas and ruining them. Here is a list of examples... argue what you will, but I have an explanation as to why each of these should've completely destroyed themselves if it weren't for their first film.

Matrix

Indiana Jones

Pirates of the Caribbean

Dumb & Dumber (but this was a Prequel.. but it still counts because it really upsets me)

Star Wars (Prequel again)

X-men

Grease

The GodFather (only Part III)

Jaws

There are many more.... and don't even get me started on remakes. I'm sure I'll write about that someday soon.

I'm just tired of films doing this to themselves... there are enough independent films that are good that Hollywood needs to get their heads from out of the clouds and start making good movies again.

Just saying.

Dexter!!!!!

It's about time for Dexter to begin again! I know it's still like 2 months away, but the trailer shown for the 5th season at the San Diego Comic Con looks amazing.

Right off the bat, if you haven't watched this show... stop reading this now and go indulge your senses in the splendor that is Dexter. SPOILERS for season 1-4.

I'm so excited to write about this right now that I don't even know where to begin! The last 4 seasons were such a roller coaster for me, and not in the a bad way... the low moments of the show were so exciting and scary, while the high moments were so intense and well constructed.

I will admit, I was one that got into this show after it had been on the air for a couple of seasons... as I tend to do with most shows (anytime I ever spend the time to watch a show when it first airs on television it usually sucks or gets canceled after 1 season. The ones that suck and aren't canceled suck my soul out of me, because I've invested my time in watching it and even though I don't like it I will continue to watch it because I feel I need to see it through to the end to see what happens! Granted some these shows, i.e.: Flash Forward, Mercy, Trauma, V, Heroes, Spartacus, have amazing episodes at times that get me hooked again... but over all they all suck) So since this usually happens, I am very skeptical about almost any show until it's been around long enough to catch someone's eye and they tell me about it. My roommate at college told me about LOST... my classmate at college convinced me to watch Breaking Bad (probably the best show ever by the way). I've even gotten into Friday Night Lights... which is a good show, but it's starting to lose my interest (I got into this one on my own... after reading enough about the recognition it is getting, plus Kyle Chandler is pretty kick ass.)

Sorry for the side rant, but it's all back story for how I got into Dexter! My best friend that I've known literally since I could walk in Diapers once told me about it when it first started, but I made the mistake of thinking it was another Grey's Anatomy, E.R., or Nip/Tuck. This was because the way Dexter was explained to me wasn't a proper portrayal of what the show is actually about... for those of you that don't know... I'll tell you.

Dexter Morgan (played by Michael C. Hall) is a Blood Splatter Analyst for the Miami Police... but his dark secret is that he is a serial killer. He doesn't kill just anyone though, he has a very strict "code" he lives by, that his father taught him when he learned of Dexter's darkness inside him. His father, a police officer for the same city, helped him train to kill those deserving of death and dispose of them without ever getting caught. Dexter uses his job to hunt down killers and bring them to his own personal justice... getting done what the Miami justice system usually fails to do, give this killers what they deserve. As my good friend from school, Harley Wilson (a film and sound editor from Pittsburgh), said "He's a modern day super hero." which in short... is true. He doesn't randomly kill, he hunts down his prey and learns about them to make sure they meet his check list of reasons to be murdered.

As the show progresses we learn so much about him... his relationship with the amazing and beautiful Julie Benz, who plays Dexter's girlfriend Rita Bennett. His family life with his short tempered, but good hearted sister Debra Morgan, played by Jennifer Carpenter. (Whom Michael C. Hall is actually married to in real life. Weird... but I'm also jealous.) And even getting a look into his childhood as he was raised and trained by his police officer daddy Harry Morgan, played by James Remar.

That's the back story... I'm going to talk to the Dexter fans now for the rest of this... so there will be SPOILERS from here to the end. You have been warned;

I'm not going to dive too much into the first three seasons, because since I'm going to be talking about my hopes, fears, and thoughts on the coming season I'm going to mostly talk about season 4... since 5 appears that it will pick up from where season 4 ended exactly.

Here's where I was confused... when did Trinity have a chance to sneak away and kill Rita?! I was so upset about this... I know that some people were saying she was starting to get annoying and her character became too strong, whereas when we first met her back in season 1 she was a complete mess and very unstable... like Dexter.

But that's exactly why I liked her character!! She matured and grew out of her faults and became the complete opposite (yet still very compatible) person that Dexter is. She was his biggest obstacle, next to Debra. He's doing his best to make sure neither of them find out about him... although Debra came so very close once or twice last season, literally to the point where I thought he was going to tell her, and she was going to take her father's role of protecting him (which still may happen very soon.)

The biggest question is what will Debra do when she learns about him? (notice I did not say IF, because she will learn soon.) Will she rise up and protect him, knowing his intentions, though twisted and morbid, are good and in their own way right and just.

I'd say what would Rita say... but we all know she'd leave him, and since she was so close to finding out as well, they killed her off... because that storyline would become too complicated. So now, and this is my guess, they will bring Rita back as a ghost in Dexter's mind, much like his Father. In fact Rita may take over his father's role in his life now... so the question is what will Ghost Rita do with Dexter? Will his mind turn her into a person that accepts him and helps him continue to do his evil justice... or will she be his white angel on his shoulder and help him stop killing and be a good person for their children? It could go either way... I think it would be cool if she was the angel and Harry was the devil that continued to full his killings... as he has for the last 4 seasons. This would start a new and interesting level to the conflict Dexter continually faces.

From what it looks like in the new season (watch the trailer if you haven't) is that Quinn is going to start becoming the new Doakes. Quinn becomes suspicious of Dexter after arriving on scene for Rita's murder. The first moment that appears to be when this dawns on Quinn is when Debra asks Dexter, "What happened?" and he blankly replies, "It was me." This sets Quinn off on the manhunt that led to the explosive exit of Doakes... haha, get it? explosive....

Anyway... the season seems to be a time when Dexter really starts to slip and lose his grip. His wife murdered by a man he didn't kill in time (although he had a chance or two to kill him early on), a child that was just born again in blood (much like himself) so his baby now as the darkness in him he thinks, two step children that now hate him for not saving their mother, and Quinn on his case and Debra worried about him. Plus his already struggling with his killings and he has begun going to rehab for drugs (which he didn't take) but they are making him feel emotion, something that he has never felt before.

All of this is now happening at once... and as I said, Debra is close to figuring it out, and I predict Quinn is going to be a much more menacing foe for Dexter than Doakes... and here's why:

1. Quinn is younger and doesn't have a history that reflects poorly on him such as Doakes did, so the department won't be on as tight of lock down with Quinn.

2. Quinn is also a little be overly ambitious it seems, and unlike Doakes who at the end was able to attempt to plea with Dexter for his release and offer help... Quinn will not, he wants justice and recognition. Doakes just wanted to make things right... in his own short tempered way.

3. By Quinn starting to ask questions about Dexter to the department, Debra, and his Lieutenant, Maria Laguerta... he's going to start bringing up the same questions and concerns and suspicions that Doakes voiced to everyone. So now people may start to look at this again and maybe ask themselves "why would two detectives be asking the same things?" So now Dexter will have the department watching him more and more.

Those are the biggest things... I hope that when Debra learns the truth, she finds a way to accept it and protect Dexter from Quinn. Which leads me now to my predictions for the series of Dexter....

Debra will have to confront Quinn at some point and protect her brother, whom she knows as saved her multiple times doing his "super hero serial killer" thing. Which will ultimately lead to her having to kill Quinn, hence joining her brother in his murders... but just being the silent protector for Dexter. She will be to Dexter what Alfred is to Bruce Wayne.

IF Rita becomes Dexter's angel, she will help him learn to stop killing and live a normal life, forever banishing Harry from Dexter's mind in the sense of urging him kill.

And though it may not be this season, it will come eventually (hopefully not too much longer, though, I don't want the show to go longer than it needs to, such as shows like LOST... should've ended about a season earlier.) but the end of the show will probably have Dexter finally free of his darkness, only to discover his baby does have the darkness... and Dexter will have to start training his own child, much like Harry did to him. Basically, starting the cycle over. Which would be a fitting end in my mind... I don't think this will be the last season, maybe 1 more? Depends on how this season progresses..... I haven't heard anything yet at least.

There it is... my Dexter posting... again just thoughts and opinions... I'd love to hear feedback though.

And let's all take a moment to be happy that Michael C. Hall is doing ok with his recovery from cancer. When I learned of this, I was initially told that season 5 may be delayed for a long time because of his treatments... so I'm glad he's doing well and I hope to see him in many more movies and shows in the future! Amazing actor, funny guy, and he seems to be a good person.

That's all for now.... check out the trailer here, plus a tv spot: http://www.comingsoon.net/news/tvnews.php?id=68227

Inception

Very fitting name for this post because this will be my first blog here and it'll also be about the new Christopher Nolan masterpiece, Inception.

I've noticed that in my spare time when I sit around bored and without entertainment I tend to find myself mindlessly browsing the inter-webs of the world. Even more so, I end up stumbling across some very interesting things in my findings and usually end up sitting in bed at night pondering my new valueless treasures of knowledge and know how. Thus I have decided to begin unloading my suitcase of opinions, thoughts, knowledge, and criticism for all to see.

You may not find it interesting, you may find it a complete waste of your time to read my posts... but I find it a relatively fun use of my down moments.

I will not be posting every day, or I may be posting multiple times a day.... whatever my heart fancies. Some may be short, others long.... only time will tell how much I take use of expressing myself to my digital audience. Of which I probably only have 1 (Thanks Sarah!).... maybe 2 (Thanks to you too Mom.)

With that said... let's begin, shall we?

Inception = Awesome.

I saw this movie opening weekend and thus far my only regret is that I did not see it in IMAX.

This movie was so perfectly crafted to resemble what one could perceive as the subconscious of one's mind. Granted, a dream would probably not be so smooth in it's progression of time and space, but I am willing to grant it that one flaw. I thought for a moment in a scene when Leonardo's character Cobb was explaining to Ellen's character Ariadne the inner workings of the dream world that they would make great use of hard cuts and jump cuts to show the chaotic nature of a dream... but it was one cut and they never really came back to the style, oh well.

The story itself though was so rich with environment and concept for the story. They seemed to have an explanation for almost everything that went on, which most movies never will do because it can become very complicated. But Nolan has a good eye for making that sort of story work.... look at his past movies, there's the big ones the whole world knows so well such as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight these are rich in a different way, because they have to reach both the Batman fan boys (and girls) and the new audience that may be lacking in their DC Comic knowledge.

Plus The Dark Knight had such a vast scope of things going on in it, that let's face it, no one else could have successfully done it without there being a huge cliff hanger ending. There was a bit of a hanger at the end... but not big enough that there NEEDS to be another film... the way the comic books tell the story works just fine with how TDK ended. I don't wish this though, because I am looking forward to another Nolan Batman film.

But he's got other great films like The Prestige and Memento both of these films complex in different way... The Prestige followed two story lines about competing magicians, while Memento told an entire story from the end to beginning while following a character's point of view who's short term memory is nonexistent, so he doesn't remember anything for almost the whole movie!

These are just a few of the reasons I love Christopher Nolan. But even more so, just look at the story of Inception. Thieves that steal thoughts from successful people by invading their dreams and digging through their subconscious to find these secrets to wealth and power. Then they are hired to put a thought into someone's mind to make them believe it's their own thought when they awake from their sleep... a concept that the world of the film believes to be impossible.

Plus on top of the mind bending story... there's some mind blowing action! What more could anyone ask for... a solid good story with some sweet kick-ass action.

If you haven't seen this movie yet, see it. You won't regret it... for such a complex story, it's not difficult to follow AS LONG AS YOU PAY ATTENTION.

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/wb/inception/