New Gaming YouTube and Movie thoughts!

Hello stranger

I've returned to tell you about something I've just started doing, and something that is becoming pretty darn fun now that I've got it going. I'm talking about, of course, this gaming YouTube account I've created to put up Street Fighter and Modern Warfare 2 matches that I play or think are special enough to be watched by others. Obviously, you care about none of this, but I thought I'd mention it. If you ever get the need, you can head over using this link.

Now, back to our scheduled programming.

The Other guys (2010, dir. Adam McKay)

What can I say? Marky Mark and Will Ferrel, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson all in one movie would make the average viewer think that this flick couldn't help but be awesome. However, it turns out that it's just really bad. Anyone can tell you that I've not been a fan of Will Ferrel since Anchorman, when it seemed like he decided to check out mentally while making movies, or the writers started sucking, or the plots became too out-there... or something. In any case, Will Ferrel hasn't really made any good movies lately, so that was red flag one. Semi Pro was sad, Talledega Nights was vomit-inducing, and I can't even think of anything else he's done worth mention as of late. Where is the Elf Ferrel that isn't afraid to be funny? He's not the problem in this movie, though perhaps his character is a bit too weird for my tastes (a lot of the 'comedy' is quite forced in scenes between he and his partner), he managed to make me chuckle a couple of times.

Second, Marky Mark doesn't seem like the kinda guy who could do comedy, and it really shows here. There are countless scenes where his character, Detective Terry Hoitz, goes from a regular conversational tone to outright yelling perhaps only to convey that his character is 'mad' at his partner. Why Wahlberg couldn't make the transition from normal to angry more subtly I do not know, but I wish he had. It makes for a lot of scenes to be unbearable, and Marky Mark rarely earns a laugh.

Third, whoever came up with Michael Keaton's "jokes" (with the exception of the Bed, Bath and Beyond meeting scene) should be fired. The guy's whole gag about his son being a bisexual is both strange to begin with and completely unfunny, but also bordering on offensive. Unfortunately for the audience, we experience that and a handful of other running jokes more times than I'd care to mention, each time growing less and less amusing.

Let's not talk about Samuel L. Jackson and The Rock's little portion of the film, their only purpose to be over the top and outrageous, which works for a small portion of time, and the action scenes in the beginning of the film are quite enjoyable. Then, of course, they go back to the office and the terrible jokes start, followed by an inexplicable plot twist that allows for Ferrel and Wahlberg's characters to move up and attempt to fill the massive void left by the now-deceased duo. I suppose that's a spoiler, but it won't matter since you shouldn't see this movie.

I'm not usually one to really rag on a flick, and I do indeed dislike when other 'critics' spew bullshit when criticizing a movie, but let's be honest; if a comedy doesn't make you laugh, it isn't worth seeing. That's all I'll say here, I may have chuckled a few times, but I wish I could've just got a refund.

Hope you like prison food... and penis/10

Unbreakable (2000, dir. M. Night Shyamalan)

I've always been sort of divided on Shyamalan as a director. On one hand, I really enjoy some of his work while at other times totally cannot get behind what he's making. For instance, his latest horror movie Devil didn't appeal much to me other than hoping it might be his return to good film-making. Unfortunately, I've heard it's pretty bad so I'll be staying away at least until it hits DVD.

In any case, Unbreakable is my favorite work of his, and something I actually want to rewatch a few times (the same cannot be said for The Happening). Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in a movie about real-world 'Superheroes'? Sign me up. What I think works here is that there's no really big reveal like you might see on a television show or classic superhero movie, and Bruce Willis certainly doesn't run off to buy himself some tights and go out to fight crime. In fact, I think Willis's struggle with the reality of his situation, and the slowly-paced way in which he struggles to accept what special talents he's been given make this movie so special. Yes, Watchmen handles a different kind of Superhero tale extremely well, and I only mention that because I think the two have some comparable ideas, but here it feels much more authentic. I was pleased that there weren't any goofy trial-and-error sequences and instead the audience was given scenes of marital issues or Willis's son pointing a gun at him to prove that he doesn't get hurt, or the over-persistent Jackson weirding out the normal security guard who has a special knack for weeding out the bad guys in line.

The performances from the main cast, with the exception of Elijah's (Samuel L. Jackson) mother, go off without a hitch, solidifying our faith in the writing (which can be a bit... bad). Jackson plays Elijah's comic-obsessed insanity so well, it seems almost genuine. The way he captures the 'comic nerd' demeanor so well helps me to believe his character, coming from someone who has read comics most of my life. He and David (Willis) have great scenes together, easily the best in the film, where the two reluctantly (at least on David's side) become friends as David develops his skills and realizes what his true purpose in life is. Even the Shyamalan twist is good, and one I found pretty unexpected my first time through. See this movie.

What's with Shyamalan and water?/10

Next post I'll talk about The Town, music, and more! Look out for it, cuz I said so!

GT

Quick Update

So it's been quite a bit of time since I last wrote to you, and for that I am very sorry. If there is anyone left still reading this, I've done you a disservice. That being said, I would like to spend more time tomorrow after work typing up some of my thoughts on what I've been watching/reading as well as mentioning what I've just returned home from doing (random super-fast trip to Portland to make money) and getting all 4 of my wisdom teeth out.

Alas, there is no time. Soon, my babies

GT

It's ya boy GT

Back, finally, to update this stinky place. It smells like rice and subways, I need to clear it out with some run-of-the-mill postings that'll send any readers I might've gained during my Japan Blog running for the hills. JUST THE WAY I LIKE IT.

First off, let's talk about some movies.

I really haven't watched much in the way of films recently, opting to either try and write more of my novel or hanging out with people when I'm not photoshopping all day at work. It's been ok, but really starting to notice the void lack of films has caused in my life. Tomorrow night I'll hopefully rectify this by taking in a film with a buddy of mine.

That being said, here's quick notes on stuff I've seen recently.

The Joneses: Basically a pretty neat premise that wasn't explored near enough, instead receiving a Hollywood gloss-over in order to satisfy mommies and girlfriends, I'd say. No, I'm not sexist, I swear.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs: I never read the book due to a lost childhood, but the movie was pretty delightful, and certainly done extremely well. If you can get past any reservations you might have, you should probably see this.

Scott Pilgrim v The World: Ah, a love letter to retro gaming that succeeds often and only fails sometimes. There are plenty of chuckles and neat little video game references that kept me entertained, while some of the Ex fights were horribly underdeveloped and the drummer needs to stop "shooting" herself in the head. See it, but don't just sit there and admire the pretty colors. For a more thorough review, head over to DoubleFine where Sam really gets into it.

That's seriously it. Isn't that pathetic? I've not watched a movie for over a week, but maybe I'm saving up for when I get my wisdom teeth out on Friday. Goddammit. If you have any film suggestions, I'll be acquiring what I can before my surgery so as to have a large stack ready to plow through in semi-delirium. Let's get it!

Music

I'm not sure whether I should be worried, but I'm finding myself less and less satisfied with what I listen to these days. The same old hip hop songs and played electronica just aren't doing it for me anymore, and I'm almost more content just to throw Pandora onto the Deep House genre station and move around my day with that. If you know any new rappers that are doing their thing, let me know. I'm always in serious need of new dudes with something to prove, since my boy Drake decided to go Young Money instead of stick with his Voyce days. So, in a sort-of played out session of vids, here's what I'm still rockin' these days:

Back when Drake was good, he would put out music on his mixtapes that both featured good artists, and sported production that was actually pretty decent. So what's the deal, Drake? Why you gon' spit those punchline bars that were hot in the streets back in '08? Is Wayne trying to get you to dumb it down for those kiddie kids? Also, hit up Tyga and tell him that many tattoos is too much. Thanks.

This is a jam. I've probably put it in my blog before, but you need to listen to it again anyway. Foreign Exchange are those dudes, man, and you simply cannot skip over them just because Phonte is singing instead of rapping. The groove is low down, the bassline is sexy, and it's got a clap that everyone at the party can follow along with. Slow it down at your next house function with this massive tune (lol)

Following up on the last vid, here's another by Foreign Exchange that actually earned a grammy nomination. Don't sleep!

Sure, the Bee Gee's version might be a 'classic' for some people, but this girl can sing and turns the song into something more intimate, sensual, and lowkey in a way that kicks the shit out of disco any day. Obviously, you're free to disagree, but then you'd be wrong so...

This is classic, and a lot of fun. Props to my buddy Theo for the link. I'm sure if you click around in related, you'll be able to find some killer remixes.

Off of their debut album, this (probably) hipster-loved band first came to my attention thanks to a DJ Benzi mix which can be found over at Get Right Music. When you take away all that the DJ had been doing when their songs were on, this band remains infinitely pleasant and incredibly easy to listen to. Sure, it doesn't motivate me to do anything, but it suits the walk home from the gym just fine.

I'll stop spamming you with youtube videos for now. Besides, you have your work cut out with you when checking out A-Ton's Music Mondays over at his blog, so I'll let you go.

Other Shit

This September marks the end of our 2010 summer and I hope you all had yourselves a good and safe time. I know I certainly did, keeping my long work days fresh by slaving away at a novel or visiting a country by myself. Remember, kiddies, your daddy GT is so proud that you've all changed and grown in the hot sun and are all geared up and ready to face the Fall again.

I'll be picking up school again, but I'll try and keep my entries coming as best I can. Until then, stay salty, amigos

GT

Japan 12 - The End

Edit: My homeboy Fizz brought something to my attention I thought I should address. I loved Japan, but had a lot of trouble getting around, and plenty of things didn't go exactly my way. Don't get me wrong, though, I may sound fairly negative, but I had a great time and it was more than worth it! With that, here's the last entry!

I woke up with a little time to spare in the morning, bought my self a decent meal at the convenience store (bento, red bean bun, orange juice AND coffee) and scarfed it down while watching some morning television. Here in Japan, it seems that everyone on the morning news simply reads the newspaper to you, which felt odd to me. After making out some of the words to get a tiny handle on the news, I packed my things and left the hotel. Checking out, I took a sheet of paper with the time table for Narita Airport Express Train and, with a quick glance at the clock, saw that I could make the 10:30 train if I hurried.

Too bad I got lost searching for the damn station. Perhaps they forgot to put signs up for it on my side of the station, but I walked around looking for information, and even asked someone at the desk although I could hardly understand what her reply was. I eventually found it while forcing my way through crowds of people and accidentall,y karate chopping some old guy who walked way to close to me. Turns out the train was extra far away, and I missed the 10:30 which forced me to sit around on the platform for another hour while I waited to take the 1:30 hour trip to the airport, where it turned out that there was a massive line of people waiting to check in with Delta Airlines, and then the little self-check in computer screwed me so I had to get help from an actual person, which took more time. This felt like a final sort of "fuck you" from the country but at least I made it to the terminal with 10 minutes before my flight.

The flight itself was a rather long 10 hours, and the little girl in the seat in front of me enjoyed putting her seat back the entire way during the whole flight, so that was neat. This meant that, thanks to lack of space, I couldn't use my laptop or write in my notebook, so I just read or watched the in-flight movies which weren't half bad, I'd suggest seeing The Ghost Writer some time. Landing at 8 a.m. on the 31st (which is technically earlier than when I left Japan), I met my dad at the airport in the grey light of early morning Oregon the way I'll always remember the weather being. It was a welcome change to the humid, sunny heat of Japan that was both relentless and horrible. The drive home went pretty fast, and my Dad and I talked a lot about what went down both in Japan and at home while I was away while I downed a giant coffee from Starbucks (a place I'd normally never go to). A short while later, I was home, doing my laundry and getting back into normal life mode. Sure, I'm still pretty damn exhausted and my clock is way off, but oh well, it's nice to be somewhere that is both familiar and where everyone speaks the same language I do. This concludes my travels in Japan, and what follows are quick thoughts about the country and my trip. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you've at least somewhat enjoyed my paragraphs of babble.

Afterthoughts:

- I had always planned on going to Japan after finishing at the University of Oregon to teach English for a year, but now I'm not sure. I got the sense that all the American people I met were sort of stranded in the country, somehow managing to not really be at home in Nihon or back home anymore, and the strange sense of limbo I got from a couple people disturbed me. I'll have to spend a lot of time thinking about my plans for the future.

- Traveling alone isn't as fun. Period. I can think of a hundred different ways that this trip would have been leagues better if I had even had 1 more person with me. Sure, it would have cut into my arcade time, but who cares? I would have been able to experience more nightlife and would have had a shoulder to lean on when I got absolutely and horribly lost, which happened incredibly frequently. If I could do it again, I'd go with someone who either spoke the language or was real good at maps.

- Do what you want to do, not what you think you should do. I spent a lot of my trip seeing sights just because I thought that it was some kind of mandatory thing one must always do when visiting. Next time, more research into things I'm actually interested in will be done in order to experience Japan the way I should. Can't always fit the mold, I suppose.

- Japanese women are too passive and shy.

- Japanese men are nice but apologize too much. It's insane how much everyone apologizes and bows.

- So much rice.

I think that covers it. I had a great experience, but it was certainly trying at times. Again, thanks for reading and I hope you stay extra gentlemanly in the future.

GT-Japan OUT!

Next entry will mark the return to normal Trash mode. Sorry to disappoint.