gdp's Comments

Big Hollywood : 'The Lorax' Review: Eco-Hypocrisy Leavened By Whimsical Creatures

Fri, 2 Mar 2012 18:04:05 +0000

The biggest problem is that Hollywood is either unwilling or unable to distinguish between types of industry. The Once-ler's operation was really a 3rd world-type operation, run by an incompetent. He stripped the entire forest of truffala trees without paying attention to the dwindling supply. A first-world type operation, in ownership of the land, would have rotated the lands in use, so that some were always being harvested and others regenerated. He furthermore had a great deal of waste, both liquid chemical and gaseous. These are generally indicators of inefficient equipment. A first-world type operation would be producing less waste to begin with, and strictly controlling what is released to maintain the integrity of the land on which they rely. An intelligent, first-world type businessman, free of burdensome regulation, would be constantly using his profits to upgrade his operation to run more efficiently - which inevitably means cheaper and cleaner. The type of operation the Once-ler ran is one you would see in a communist country. This is the difference between a conservationist and an environmentalist. A conservationist wishes to be a good steward of the earth, and recognizes that there are many wise and effective ways of using resources. An environmentalist watermelon worships the earth, does not believe in using any resources, and becomes a useful idiot for those who do far more actual damage. No points for guessing which side Hollywood falls on.

Big Hollywood : USA's Quirky 'Psych' Returns Tonight to Bolster Cable TV's Case Against Broadcast Fare

Thu, 1 Mar 2012 15:11:19 +0000

Many of my favorite moments in the last few seasons have been the interplay between Henry and Lassie. The episode where they and the coroner woke up in the Psych office with no memories of the night before was epic.

Big Hollywood : The New Blacklist: How Hollywood Turned 'Valor' Into 'Triumph of the Will'

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:32:50 +0000

"But one hit does not an infrastructure make. Hollywood still owns the infrastructure, still owns the relationship-machine that decides jobs and futures. We need to build our own machine." The bright side is that the cost of entry for building infrastructure is lower than it's ever been in history. This flick was shot on a $3000 Canon EOS camera. You can get Final Cut Pro for $300 on the App Store, and run it on an iMac. There are many recognizable faces who are either itching do something that doesn't insult their principles, or simply enjoy working so much that they'll pretty much do what comes along. There are also scores of talented actors and actresses out there just waiting to be discovered. Small theater runs often turn into much wider runs. There are also scores of options for self or digital distribution. This is not to say that it's easy. But these guys have definitely proved that you can do it. If the quality is there, the people will come.

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: Lucas Digs, Heigl Humbled, 'Red Tails' Reviews, 'Evil' Trailer, and UltraViolet a

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 03:21:03 +0000

Last Action Hero did have one of the best villains I've ever seen in a movie, with one of my favorite movie lines of all time. Villain shooting at Arnie, who's hiding behind cover. Blam! Blam! *click!* Arnie, emerging from cover: "Ooh, did you just make a movie mistake? You forgot to reload the damn gun!" Villain, smiling: "No, Jack. I just left one chamber empty" Blam!

Big Hollywood : Occupy Tatooine: Why 'Star Wars' Series Shouldn't See Light of Day

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 18:06:00 +0000

It should be noted that the Clone Wars television series (when it is a wartime drama and avoids the political aspects of the war) is exceptionally well done, and a pleasure to watch. Lucas is not involved in the day-to-day on that one, and they've created quite a team. I am, therefore, cautiously optimistic about the new series.

Big Hollywood : Audiences Share Some Blame in Hollywood's Decline

Thu, 5 Jan 2012 17:44:54 +0000

I definitely agree with you on the marketing point. There are many movies which are marketed as ridiculous, but are far better. "Kung Fu Panda" 1 & 2 were far more serious movies than they were marketed as. "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" was marketed as nothing but slapstick, but was in fact a classic disaster movie. There are so many more movies that people would see if they actually knew what they were going to get.

Big Hollywood : Networks Finally Figure out Streaming Is Their Friend, Parents Need to Do Same

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 16:18:29 +0000

Contrary to what the the left-wing guardians of the entertainment tell you, “black and white” doesn’t mean “dumb” or “simple.” This is one of the reasons why I love the 'Kung-Fu Panda' series - it makes it clear that evil is, every step of the way, a conscious choice. In the sequel, the villain is dumbfounded that the hero has faced all the same loss (and even worse) that he did, and did not choose to do evil. The villains in both movies are given a chance, at the end, to stop and turn from evil - to continue to fight is their own choice. It's the difference between 'explaining' and 'excusing', and it is refreshing that there are some who still understand this. With Netflix streaming and DVDs, I can raise my children on good stories, regardless of when they were made.

Big Government : NEA Throws Future Teachers Under the (School) Bus

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:33:02 +0000

The populations of public and private schools are completely incomparable. In private schools, every student is there by choice. The parents had to be involved enough to apply to the school, and the children had to meet certain criteria to be accepted. This population, therefore, already excludes most children of uninvolved parents. This population also does not include special ed children, or emotionally disturbed children. Once there, the schools have the authority to hold students to certain standards of academics and behavior, and have the ability to remove any students who do not meet this criteria. Any public school which was given the ability to pick and choose students and actually enforce standards would immediately see every performance measure skyrocket.

Big Hollywood : Daily Call Sheet: Bane Said What?, 'Dragon Tattoo' Review, and Why 'Voyager' Blows

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:55:05 +0000

Voyager did, however, have one of the most unashamedly pro-life episodes of any show I've ever seen. In one episode, Chakotay goes on a technology-enhanced-pseudo-native-american vision quest to speak with his father. His DNA was stolen by a Cardassian spy who had used it to impregnate herself. The father tells him that when the women of his ancestral tribe were raped, the children were welcomed, because the crime was not their fault. Let us not forget, however, that as soft as she often was, Janeway did have her nasty streak. On one occasion, for example, she tied up a crew member from a renegade Federation ship and held him in front of killer trans-dimensional beings to get him to talk. I didn't hate the series as much as many others. I didn't love it either, though. My favorite show, though, remains Deep Space Nine. While Picard drank tea, the entire crew of DS9 subsisted on Klingon coffee, most of them taking it double strength. It also had the best characters, and brought back the great tradition of getting drunk and singing.

Big Hollywood : 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' Review: Spielberg Phones in Dino-Sequel

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:16:13 +0000

I enjoyed the second one somewhat, simply because I'm such a huge fan of Jeff Goldblum. Without him, I don't think I would've given it a second thought. The third one, however, I did enjoy immensely. It was just plain fun, and didn't take itself too seriously. Most days, that's exactly the sort of movie I need.

Big Hollywood : 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park' Review: Spielberg Phones in Dino-Sequel

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:13:55 +0000

I especially love when the danger comes to a head just as Barney says "This is gonna be great!"

Big Peace : Occupy Wall Street: Cop Disciplined For Using Pepper Spray

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:51:05 +0000

If this were taking place here in Buffalo, I'd just get a bucket of suicidal wings from Duff's and load it up on a trebuchet.

Big Hollywood : Morning Call Sheet: Shia-less 'Transformers,' Spock Is Still Gay, What Are Dixie Chicks?

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:32:55 +0000

The character of Sam (Spike) Witwicky was an important one in the original Transformers story - though in the original he was simply the son of a mechanic, Sparkplug Witwicky. In the original, there was no real backstory, the two were simply saved by the Autobots from a Decepticon attack on the oil rig on which they were both working. They became friends and allies of the Autobots, and instrumental in their dealings with humans. If memory serves, focusing on the human characters was partially a result of the astronomical cost of the CGI work (with the equipment of the day, it took 36 hrs to render each frame). Certainly, the special forces troops and the plot line with John Voight were some of the high points of the flick. Having the character made sense, though you could argue about casting. Personally, I never understood the animosity towards Shia, but to each their own.

Big Peace : Captured Israeli Soldier Moved from Gaza to Egypt

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 10:42:37 +0000

It is truly heartwarming to see him coming home, but at what cost? How many more innocents will those released murder?

Big Hollywood : Trailer Talk: 'The Muppets'

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 02:14:26 +0000

It should be noted that, in an episode of Sesame Street, they found a loophole to that. Cookie Monster: "You know how cookies are a sometimes food? Well, NOW is sometime!"

Big Hollywood : Morning Call Sheet: New Bond Villain, an Apple-less Cloud, Hackman Un-Retires?, and Tony Bennett Beg

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 18:41:05 +0000

When 'No Country for Old Men' was up for Oscars, one of the local tv news anchors turned to the other, both thinking their microphones were off. "What's that movie about?" "Some guy with no expression blows everything up."

Big Hollywood : ABC’s ‘Castle’ Recovers From Shaky Season 4 Premiere

Mon, 3 Oct 2011 23:51:33 +0000

Whoah. Good Bible. I'm going to that special hell.

Big Government : Wednesday Open Thread: McKinley Edition

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 02:26:49 +0000

Canisius High School, the local Jesuit high school. It took a lot of convincing for my father to allow me to become the first person in the family to enter a Catholic institution since 1536.

Big Government : Wednesday Open Thread: McKinley Edition

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:46:10 +0000

The site where he died is now the student parking lot of my old high school. You drive past a historical marker every time you pull in.

Big Government : They Were Never Really My Friends: Facebook Revelations

Tue, 6 Sep 2011 02:22:43 +0000

Yeah; I generally ignore most political postings. This one (and I really wish I could remember how precisely it was worded) was basically calling out and insulting anyone who didn't agree with her. Posting your opinion is one thing. Directly insulting a large number of people (including myself) was something I was going to call her on however.