Villages and Other Animals
Another post! Finally!
I remember when I found Blogger, and thought "Hey, this is exactly what I'm looking for! I can update my website frequently and have it auto-archived as well." I guess "frequently" is a relative term... Of course, I've always intended to use this blog primarily to post gaming-related stuff, rather than as a soapbox to rant about life's problems, politics, etc. We all get plenty of that everywhere else (especially politics). I do have lots of gaming-related thoughts, but I need to find the time to write them down. More, at least...
Speaking of gaming, a word of advice to PDF publishers - go easy on the Photoshop/Paint Shop Pro effects for your products' covers, particularly with funky stylings for your titles. It's cool that you can do shiny, beveled text so easy, but going overboard takes away from the attractiveness of the cover. I may be guilty of that myself, but I'm trying to get better. At least no one is using the "Page Curl" effect (as far as I've seen).
So, we saw The Village tonight. Remind me to avoid late-night shows on opening night; we did that with another movie recently (don't recall which), and apparently those are the biggest magnets for people who like talking throughout the movie as well as those who haven't figured out how to switch their cellphone to "vibrate". Or turn the damn thing off - I seriously doubt you're going to get a vital call in the middle of a movie. I'm pretty laissez-faire in general, but I fully endorse cellphone blockers in movie theatres (not in the lobbies, but in the theatres themselves). I really wish people would have more consideration for others, but it's obvious they don't. So, the Iron Gauntlet of Justice must come down...
But, I digress. I have to say I enjoyed the movie, and there were a number of scenes that Shymalan...Shyamalan...um...M. Night did quite well. Two that come to mind are the one with Noah and Lucius (you know what I'm talking about), and the one with Ivy towards the end (I think you know what I mean...I'm trying not to put any spoilers in). I also may have noticed a very subtle but - if my suspicions are correct - very cool characteristic of the town elders. The ending, like all his movies, had a twist (there were a few twists in the movie, actually), but I can't say I liked that part. I figured it out about half-way through the film, but I had hoped that what I suspected wouldn't be how the movie ended, though in fact that's what happened. It seemed too contrived. I'm sure exactly why, but I'll try to explain below (the text is white so highlight it if you want, but if you don't want the movie to be spoiled, wait until after you see it).
[Edit: Apparently my background is not quite white, so you can kind of see it if you look hard - try not to! You've been warned!]
I hated the fact that the village was actually in the modern world (though I like that they explained away how no one saw planes flying overhead). But, ironically, I thought it would have been much more sensical if this hippy commune had been started in the late 1940's, after World War II. I.e.; some of the founders were veterans who were horrified at what they saw in Germany or feared what would transpire after Nagasaki and Hiroshima. This would have put the "present" in the 70's or 80's, and maybe would have been too circuitous for modern audiences. I guess just the idea that the world of the 70's was too much for these people doesn't seem as plausible to me as something as epic as World War II. Doesn't make sense, I realize, but that's me. I also am aware of the "9/11 overtones" that people attribute to the movie as well. Doesn't change my opinion.
In any case, it was still worth seeing. I liked it better than Signs, though I still like that movie, too. Sixth Sense is probably his best film yet, though I didn't see that until after I'd found out its secret, so my opinion is based on hindsight.
In other news, a web update is coming on Sunday. I could do it right now, but I don't want to put out the August issue of the Chronicle before August.
Keywords: weblog, PDF, movies
I remember when I found Blogger, and thought "Hey, this is exactly what I'm looking for! I can update my website frequently and have it auto-archived as well." I guess "frequently" is a relative term... Of course, I've always intended to use this blog primarily to post gaming-related stuff, rather than as a soapbox to rant about life's problems, politics, etc. We all get plenty of that everywhere else (especially politics). I do have lots of gaming-related thoughts, but I need to find the time to write them down. More, at least...
Speaking of gaming, a word of advice to PDF publishers - go easy on the Photoshop/Paint Shop Pro effects for your products' covers, particularly with funky stylings for your titles. It's cool that you can do shiny, beveled text so easy, but going overboard takes away from the attractiveness of the cover. I may be guilty of that myself, but I'm trying to get better. At least no one is using the "Page Curl" effect (as far as I've seen).
So, we saw The Village tonight. Remind me to avoid late-night shows on opening night; we did that with another movie recently (don't recall which), and apparently those are the biggest magnets for people who like talking throughout the movie as well as those who haven't figured out how to switch their cellphone to "vibrate". Or turn the damn thing off - I seriously doubt you're going to get a vital call in the middle of a movie. I'm pretty laissez-faire in general, but I fully endorse cellphone blockers in movie theatres (not in the lobbies, but in the theatres themselves). I really wish people would have more consideration for others, but it's obvious they don't. So, the Iron Gauntlet of Justice must come down...
But, I digress. I have to say I enjoyed the movie, and there were a number of scenes that Shymalan...Shyamalan...um...M. Night did quite well. Two that come to mind are the one with Noah and Lucius (you know what I'm talking about), and the one with Ivy towards the end (I think you know what I mean...I'm trying not to put any spoilers in). I also may have noticed a very subtle but - if my suspicions are correct - very cool characteristic of the town elders. The ending, like all his movies, had a twist (there were a few twists in the movie, actually), but I can't say I liked that part. I figured it out about half-way through the film, but I had hoped that what I suspected wouldn't be how the movie ended, though in fact that's what happened. It seemed too contrived. I'm sure exactly why, but I'll try to explain below (the text is white so highlight it if you want, but if you don't want the movie to be spoiled, wait until after you see it).
[Edit: Apparently my background is not quite white, so you can kind of see it if you look hard - try not to! You've been warned!]
I hated the fact that the village was actually in the modern world (though I like that they explained away how no one saw planes flying overhead). But, ironically, I thought it would have been much more sensical if this hippy commune had been started in the late 1940's, after World War II. I.e.; some of the founders were veterans who were horrified at what they saw in Germany or feared what would transpire after Nagasaki and Hiroshima. This would have put the "present" in the 70's or 80's, and maybe would have been too circuitous for modern audiences. I guess just the idea that the world of the 70's was too much for these people doesn't seem as plausible to me as something as epic as World War II. Doesn't make sense, I realize, but that's me. I also am aware of the "9/11 overtones" that people attribute to the movie as well. Doesn't change my opinion.
In any case, it was still worth seeing. I liked it better than Signs, though I still like that movie, too. Sixth Sense is probably his best film yet, though I didn't see that until after I'd found out its secret, so my opinion is based on hindsight.
In other news, a web update is coming on Sunday. I could do it right now, but I don't want to put out the August issue of the Chronicle before August.
Keywords: weblog, PDF, movies