The Grey, Some Grey Areas, Mostly Just Awesome

I think I have it figured out. It took me all weekend to decide whether or not I liked this movie. It’s got some epic parts, but it just seemed lacking. Finally, I realized, The Greyis an outstanding film, but it’s drug out in too many places. The long scenes of the men walking through snowy woods were probably intentional, but they were just overdone.

Aside from that, I enjoyed The Grey. It had some action and suspense, but it was mostly just a bleak personal-apocalyptic tragedy. It was one of those movies that really suites the big screen. The photography was probably my favorite part. The ending was where I was most interested; things were explained/wrapped up. Really, what puts this movie above average is the idea that it’s a metaphor for any human’s struggle in life.

Last year, I watched a post-apocalyptic film called The Road. I read the book first, and thought the movie was just as good. The reason I bring up The Road is that it’s very similar in style to The Grey. It’s funny they both have simple, two word titles that begin with “The.” The Road is truly the most depressing movie I have ever seen. It’s bleak, ugly, and sad; yet beautiful. The Grey isn’t quite as gloomy, but it’s close.

The movie itself was really nothing spectacular. The story was average, the acting was pretty good, the message was unclear at times, and – I thought the ending was awesome – everybody at the theater booed at the way The Grey ended.

But there was something I really liked about the film. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I think it was the idea of a barebones struggle; simplicity. And through the simplicity, elegance: arctic snow, beastly wolves, manly men, and the ominous scent of death.

When the first man to be killed by a wolf was attacked, a gunshot sound went off (even though there was no gun shot), and really added to the shock factor. There was a good bit of this artificial, unnatural use of sound to add effect. I think I liked it, but it also seems like a short cut. Is adding a loud gunshot (especially where it doesn’t belong) taking the easy way out?

I’ll give The Grey an 8 out of 10 mostly for the cinematography and the way things turned out. I was surprised, and thought much higher of Liam Neeson‘s character when I found out about his lover. And the wolves were fierce. One of my friends said he’ll never look at wolves the same way again. He even changed his emblem on Call of Duty MW3 to a wolf.

If you’re looking for an apocalyptic action flick, or a classic man vs. nature story, go see The Grey. I have to warn you, it may make your Friday feel like a Monday. But it’s still a good film. When I was watching it, the audience (including myself) was very absorbed, fascinated.

Related articles

• Weekend box office awash in ‘The Grey’ (entertainment.msnbc.msn.com)
• Movie Review: THE GREY Forces You To Live and Die in the Fray (geektyrant.com)
• Liam Neeson Talks “Fighting Wolves” in ‘The Grey’ (inquisitr.com)

Wikipedia is Not SOPA Proof, Neither Are You

I’m probably preaching to the choir on this one, but even if I get one more person to take action, it will be worth it.

In the internet, we have found a place where anarchy actually works. We should not give that up!

SOPA and PIPA put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won’t have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn’t being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won’t show up in major search engines. SOPA and PIPA build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.

In a world in which politicians regulate the Internet based on the influence of big money, Wikipedia — and sites like it — cannot survive.

Congress says it’s trying to protect the rights of copyright owners, but the “cure” that SOPA and PIPA represent is worse than the disease. SOPA and PIPA are not the answer: they will fatally damage the free and open Internet.

We must protect our online freedom by means of the real world. Send your government officials the message: We don’t want SOPA/PIPA.

SOAP IS CLEAN!

SOPA IS DIRTY!

Related articles

• What Is SOPA? Giz Explains (gizmodo.com.au)
• Wikipedia vs. SOPA (cyberculturalist.com)
• Wikipedia has apparently joined SOPA Strike proposed by Reddit (ceoworld.biz)

We Bought a Zoo, Not Your Typical Family Adventure Film

Based on the previews, I thought We Bought a Zoo would be a 7/10. Every commercial I saw made it out to be a typical family adventure flick. It was that, but it was a brilliant one. As I watched, I liked it more and more. By about three quarters through the movie, I decided I would give it a 9/10, there were even a couple 10/10 moments. The last quarter, with the exception of the final story Matt Damon tells, disappointed me. The movie was pulled too thin. Still, for all the amazing parts, I give it a 9/10. If it wasn’t for that last half hour (or so), I may have given it 10/10.

The acting is spot on. I was, once again, reminded why Matt Damon is one of my favorite actors. The dialogue between Damon’s character (Benjamin Mee) and his son (Dylan) is heart wrenching and awesome throughout the film. Really, all of the actors pulled off top notch performances.

The story is fairly original. It’s original enough that I wasn’t able to predict every outcome or ending. Actually, its set up in a way that it doesn’t give the viewer much opportunity to predict outcomes. Instead of everything going from good to bad to good, the struggles happen one by one, little by little.

The story reminds me of two others. It’s similar to The Lovely Bones in that it’s a story of healing from the death of a loved one. And it’s much like the book A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. It is an adventure with many ups and downs, and ultimately a renaissance of the spirit.

The photography/cinematography is conservative, but well done. Most of the shots focus on the faces and expressions of the actors. I have nothing else to say about that.

My favorite thing about We Bought a Zoo is that it’s full of exemplary lessons, and they are themed so each lesson continues to surface at select times throughout the movie. As you probably know, I don’t like giving away the lessons presented in a film because much of the fun is in figuring them out for yourself. I will say, each theme in We Bought a Zoo is powerfully portrayed, and they’re all wonderful pieces of advice to live by. The movie is worth watching just for its wisdom.

Finally, I thought I’d mention that there was a nice Apple product placement. It was little on the cheesy side, but its placement was fitting. I bring this up because I wrote an article about Apple’s movie advertisements a month or two ago. Ch-check it out.

When I was at the theater, the other eight people in the room were couples. They were all around 25 years old. I’d say We Bought a Zoo is more directed toward family audiences, but it’s a good movie for anyone. It’s uplifting, fun, and entertaining. I, a 22 year old male, wouldn’t purchase the film, but I’m certainly glad I watched it, and I’m seriously considering renting it when it’s released on DVD.

The Most Entertaining Christmas Countdown: 1 Week

‘Tis the final Sunday of Advent. Christmas is just around the corner! Today, I want to show you a website about the Star of Bethlehem. A few years ago, a lawyer named Rick Larson used modern astronomy tools, and found that the Star of Bethlehem was an actual phenomenon. In fact, several interesting events took place in the sky around the time of Jesus’ birth.

Click here to check out Larson’s website with loads of information about the star!

And if you’re not interested in learning anything today, here’s a link to an instrumental titled “Star of Bethlehem” by Angels and Airwaves.