Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Picture Kaleidoscope 10/31/12

Happy Halloween!

Ran across a lot of unusual stuff the last 2 weeks.


Beautiful wall behind glass at the Thai Box.


Work moved to some suites closer to HQ. They have a bunch of funky decorations. Love this centerpiece in the lobby.



A lot of giant pots with rocks.




Why no...I don't know why their horns glow. lol.


Cool doors of one of the tenant's


The boss wanted to kidnap this one to spiffy up the office space when we had some peeps over. Heh heh. 


My grandmother would have gone gah gah for this.


My Mom sent me this so I could share. :)


A How To article on photographing water. Has some nice pics too! Over at Picture Correct.



Have a great one!

Monday, October 29, 2012

Mind Sieve 10/29/12

And we're off! Zoom!







Web series I'd not heard about before - teaser for DR0NE.



NBC Olympic Style - PSY Gangnam Style Parody. (Keep a watch for the disapproving girl. She cracked me up.)



Iron Man 3 Trailer - Holy crap! 



Safe Haven Trailer - guys, something to get points with your honey with yet still get some fighting action. :P






Pusher Official Trailer with Richard Coyle (Oh, Jeffrey!)



Parker Exclusive Trailer - Stratham is back!








Why Social Media is Like a Strong Bikini by LaRae Quy. (Had to click on it just because of the title! lol)

Don't Spread Yourself Thin When Building an Author Platform by R Garcia.





Sunday, October 28, 2012

Virtual Tourist - Dishonored 10/28/12

Hah! After a lot of trouble, I was able to figure out a way to get pics for the new game hubby made me get called Dishonored. (Wished I'd figured it out sooner. Could have taken pics of the floating whale! Heh heh.)

It's a first person sneaker with magic. Makes you think hard about moving around in more than just the ground. You pretty much have to look at everywhere you go in a 3D frame of mind as going up and around is better for keeping your hide intact!

Tagline for the Game is: Revenge Solves Everything



This is who you are - Corvo Attano - Assassin and protector of the Empress. Except when you come back from a long mission to look for a cure to the plague destroying the empire, you get used as the scapegoat for those who kill her. (I got the strong feeling Corvo was more than just her bodyguard too!) After 6 months of torture, they're finally going to put him out of his misery when those who know something isn't right intervene.)


This is the first official mission after my escape and meeting those who freed me. (And having a weird nightmarish audience in my dreams with the Outsider, who's granted me powers.) Have to find Overseer Campbell. The red slash is health, the blue slash is mana. The weird heart icon and beating mechanical heart currently gripped in my right hand are a power to find bone shards and bone runes for added powers. (The heart can also tell you things about different locations. Since the voice is a woman's I have a very strong feeling the Empress is traveling with me. Eek!)


Alleys and buildings in the better part of town. (Had already gone through the poorer area by the time I figured out how to get pics.)


Holding device on the street. Think the old Puritan stocks but of metal. Should have taken a pic with the guy in it before I set him free. Doh! 


There are signs and graffiti everywhere with their own lovely sayings. :P 


Pile of dead guard dogs. (Treasure had been hidden in the corner.) Hubby had complained of the dogs (He played this first) and now I know the pain they are too. lol. (Though the piranha groups of rats are way nastier. They can tear a body apart and make it disappear in a minute flat! Eek~!) 


The best place to be, up high. Interrogation room is on the left. Corvo is intimately familiar with it. Later in this mission, I brought Overseer Campbell (one of the men who framed me and killed the Empress) back to brand him as a heretic. Heh heh heh. 


Lower part of the library. I'm traveling by bookshelf and big lamps. :P


Click on this one and you'll see the 7 rules for Overseers. I swear the more I see of this world the creepier it gets. The Empress had no idea (I hope) of half the nasty stuff going on around this place.


Urns for what I assume were famous overseers. 


They encourage you not to kill, but they also make it very hard not to. Still trying to figure out the choke hold and how best to approach targets to use it without being caught. It's hard!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Movie Review - Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas



Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D'Arcy, Xun Zhou, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, Robert Fyfe, and more.

Directed by: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski Written for the Screen by: Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, and Andy Wachowski Based on the Novel by: David Mitchell Cinematography by: Frank Griebe and John Toll Original Music by: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek, and Tom Tykwer

Premise: The connections and actions of people can affect connections and actions of others and themselves in future times. Five concurrent stories that are united by the concepts of freedom, love, truth, and music. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: The roles in this film had to be as much a treat for the actors who played them as it was for the audience to watch. Not only did the acotrs have their physical aspects changed in each venue, but the characters were all different even if some aspects remained the same. Superb acting by all concerned. Tom Hanks is easily recognizable in all the roles he played, even with the amazing makeup. Halle Berry was also easy to spot. But most of Hugh Grant's and one or two of Hugo Weaving's roles I had no idea it was them. So make sure to sit through the credits as they'll flash all the characters each of the actors played. Keep a mental tally to if you spotted all of them of not.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Some of the effects for the different time frames were subtle, others quite grand. All the futuristic vehicles and technology were amazing. My favorite has to be the room Somni-451 is taken to by Hae-Joo Chang. Reminded me of the scene in the original "TRON" that was cut out (and unfortunately lost) after the sampling run of the movie at the time - the one where Tron lent power to activate his room. Totally awesome.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: Some viewers may find the mixture of the five stories a bit jarring or hard to make the switch without some mental funbling. Personally, once they fully established the distinct stories in the first few minutes, I used the visual cues provided and didn't have any trouble knowing which story we were watching at any particular time.

The film starts with a story teller and ends there as well. Circles are a major theme throughout the film. One bit of  fun was how the storyteller begins the tale and then one of those whose story is being told, apologizes and asks us to bear with him with regards to the shifting tales. This made the tale the storyteller and vice versa, as become obvious later still.

Other recurring themes in the plot are freedom, making a stand, truth, and love. Things that happen in the past make subtle appearances in the future related stories, even if only as a found button, a torn book, or a snatch of an old film. Connections are everywhere, and it was fun looking for them. Pay special attention to names as those are the main clues on several of the connected items, though many are visual as well.

For any authors out there, I believe the current day tale was partially written just for us! The Timothy Cavendish storyline was hilarious on several levels. It was nice that though some of these souls may have come back again and again, they weren't always the best they could be, at times giving into tendencies they'd won against in the past. One of the shifts with regards to one of the characters comes as a surprise. Gave the film more flavor that way. Even a seemingly innocuous joke about "Soylent Green" comes back to haunt us.

As the plots play along, a seeming synchronicity comes into play, for though in the beginning the five stories were circles that barely touched, they come to pile up on top of each other as the climax of the film is reached.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Each location for the stories was unique and totally immersive. They also help the audience know which story is being told. And the cinematography was excellent - whether of a real location, like San Francisco, or a CGI one, like Neo Seoul. Several of the views were quite breathtaking.

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: If they don't win an award for the costuming and makeup, I will be shocked. Not only did the past sequences look historically accurate (the 70's scenes gave me flashbacks), but the two future set stories had evolved fashions and even some mannerisms or ways of speaking unique to themselves, which made them all the more believable.

Conclusion: The film is 172 minutes long, but it won't feel that way. Between the five stories, the great visuals, the bits of mystery, and looking for all the fun little bits that have bled into the other stories, you'll be way too busy having fun.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Picture Kaleidoscope 10/24/12 - The Dallas Comicon Fan Days Edition

This past weekend was Fan Days at Dallas Comic Con! There was a ton of awesome stuff and costumes!


Neighbors #1 - Rhonda Eudaly! Her debut at Fan Days. (Fellow Feral Chihuahua with Yard Dog Press)


Neighbors #2 - K & L Customs - they create custom action figures. They're currently holding a contest for 'likes' on facebook. The prize is a free Moon Dragon figure! So if you're on FB...hint hint. :P



Who watches the Watchmen?


Way cool autobot costume!


Jesus blessed Fan Days. :)


Fencon was there with Joe Dalek. Fez and all!


Neighbor #3 (Behind us) artist Terry Huddleston!


This is one of his fab drawings. I've always been a sucker for Robin. :P


Gimbly's Father. Beard and hat are made of yarn. Too cool looking!


Madeline from Burn Notice. 


Mrrrow!



A way too cute employee for the Umbrella Corporation. 




Several Assassin's Creed costumes running around.



This is a flash from a major past. Hadn't seen this comic book character in ages! 


This guy truly looked nasty! The saw blade on his chest was very cool. 



Sparta!


Raven from Teen Titans - her eyes were even yellow.


A friend brought me a gift. Said the t-shirt made him think of me. Isn't that sweet? (Now I need to deck her out some. Bwahahahahaha!)


From Watchmen. Too hot too handle!


Dr Doom!


From the soon to be released Lone Ranger movie. 


Prize for the contest by K & L Customs


Hot, deadly chick alert! :P



Really nice outfit.


I got to watch Rhonda totally freak TWICE! Bwahahahaha! (And I got my picture too! Eddie McClintock from Warehouse 13)




Neighbors #4 and #5! Xenex The Bugman Comics and Marvin Dog Media!

Kid was sick during most of this, and at home so were hubby and son-in-law. I was just glad not to be home all day to catch it! Noooooo!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...