gdp's Comments

Big Hollywood : 'The Union' Music Review: Elton John and Leon Russell Undone by Auto-Tune, Pacing

Mon, 1 Nov 2010 19:24:13 +0000

Option #5: Celemony's Melodyne software -- pitch correction (even polyphonic pitch correction) without the annoying robo-artifacting.

Big Peace : Mosque Discrimination: Did Public School Officials Violate Anti-Discrimination Policy During Field T

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 18:21:55 +0000

Looks to me like he's doing an awesome enough job already! And yay! -- "Chuck" is back on!

Big Hollywood : Israel & Turkey: A Tale of Two Standards at the Toronto Film Festival

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 16:17:38 +0000

Heyyy! It's good to see Other Victor writing here! About time Big Hollywood got some decent writers! :-)

Big Hollywood : 'Last Exorcism' Review: Beyond Disturbing (In a Good Way)

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:45:15 +0000

Seriously? There are literally hundreds of films which are nothing but edifying and nourishing for our souls. It's a little outdated (in terms of representing more current films), but if you need a place to start, The Vatican Film List is as good a place as any! For more current films, I like Steve Greydanus' work at DecentFilms.com.

Big Hollywood : 'Last Exorcism' Review: Beyond Disturbing (In a Good Way)

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:42:44 +0000

I actually appreciate (for probably the first time) the SPOILER ALERT at the end of this review. So many times movie reviewers don't consider what may or may not be considered disturbing, thematically, for their audiences and we walk into seeing movies we can't shake -- which may be the filmmakers' intent, but isn't always the healthiest things for us. So, as cheesy as it sounds: thank you for considering our souls :-) With that final caveat, we can make an informed decision as to whether or not to see this movie.

Big Hollywood : 'The Archandroid' Review: Janelle Monae is a Genuine Talent, Healthy Role Model

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:45:01 +0000

Thanks for reviewing this album. I picked it up a few months ago and I found it immensely refreshing. It's just a great-sounding record. It's like someone raided Stevie Wonder's synth vault from the 1970s and made a record using modern production techniques.

Big Hollywood : The Greatest Movie Summer of My Life

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:08:54 +0000

I agree... 1989 was the BEST SUMMER MOVIE SUMMER EVER. No summer since has even come close.

Big Hollywood : The Rise of Kevin Spacey: A Look Back at 1994 - Best Year Ever!

Mon, 2 Aug 2010 15:45:32 +0000

Being familiar with Spacey's performance in "Swimming With Sharks" made parts of "A Bug's Life" downright fall-out-of-your-chair funny. I could almost see Hopper the grasshopper telling Flick the ant "No. Equal, blue packet. Sweet and low, pink packet" right before he bit his head off.

Big Hollywood : Anne Rice: Follower of Christ Quits Christianity ... On Facebook

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 18:41:34 +0000

Oh, I didn't realize you were a recent convert! Welcome aboard, John! As for Rice, it sounds like she definitely has issues with authority (not any particular authority, just religious authority in general). Unfortunately, this sort of thing tends to end up with folks wearing Nikes and drinking Kool-Aid in some sort of compound.

Big Hollywood : 25 Years Later, 'Brazil' Still Enthralls

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 04:04:01 +0000

Hells yeah, it's depressing. It's a wake up call, is what it is.

Big Journalism : Huge Win: Senate Passes Anti-Libel Tourism Law

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:14:26 +0000

"Whatever it is, I'm against it. No matter what it is or who commenced it, I'm against it." - Prof. Quincy Adams Wagstaff

Big Hollywood : Film Review: 'Predators' Almost Lives Up to Original

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:28:26 +0000

‘Predators’ Almost Lives Up to Original Isn't this kind of like saying that "Lawnmower Man 2" almost lives up to the original? Kind of a "damning with faint damns" sort of a situation, here.

Big Hollywood : FILM REVIEW: 'Sorcerer's Apprentice' All Flash, No Fun

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:58:25 +0000

The characters aren’t very well developed. Ummm... Hel-loooo... Monica Bellucci is in it. As far as developed goes, 'nuff said.

Big Hollywood : Prince Says the Internet is Over; Music-Wise He's Not Completely Wrong

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 20:57:11 +0000

As an amateur singer-songwriter-music recordist I'm inclined to agree with Prince. Unfortunately for the rest of us, Prince is one of about maybe 5 artists who can actually afford to eschew the Internet completely in terms of marketing and promotions (the rest of us don't have exclusivity deals with Target... yet).

Big Hollywood : NEW TRAILER: Who's Ready For More 'Resident Evil?'

Fri, 9 Jul 2010 11:50:17 +0000

SWEET! According to IMDB Jill Valentine is in this one!! From the preview, this definitely looks like is finally acknowledging the video games' storyline (or at least its characters) a bit. And near the end of the preview, was that a Tyrant I saw? Awwwwsommeee!!! This could be Paul Anderson's best movie since "Soldier"!

Big Hollywood : 'PREDATORS': 'Machete' Director's New Film Arrives July 9th

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 11:26:27 +0000

But I think we can all agree: "Shark Boy and Lava Girl" NOT canon.

Big Hollywood : 'PREDATORS': 'Machete' Director's New Film Arrives July 9th

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:49:47 +0000

What's worth noting is that Trejo's character in "Machete" is named after his character in the "Spy Kids" films. Does this mean that "Machete" should be considered Spy Kids canon? I guess when you consider who the villians in the new film are and that the villians in the Spy Kids movies were all either British (Alan Cummings), Italian- (Steve Buscemi, Sly Stallone), or Lebanese- (Tony Shaloub) Americans, it would kind of make sense...

Big Hollywood : WE LOVE PIXAR: Thanks For the Memories, Woody, Buzz and Co.

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:00:06 +0000

I've loved Pixar since the mid-1980s (has it really been 25 years already?), when I would sneak into the Michigan Theatre in Ann Arbor to catch the latest Computer Animation Festival. Most of the shorts were made up of basic shaded polygons or wireframes and had no semblance of a story... and then a Pixar short would come on ("Luxo Jr" first, "Tin Toy" a couple of years later) and the packed theater audience would sit in stunned silence at the sheer techonology and craft, and then erupt in laughter at the unexpected endings. I knew I was hooked then, and was first in line to see the original "Toy Story" when it came out. It's been a long run (and I hope I get to enjoy their films for another 50 years), and they have never disappointed.

Big Hollywood : REVIEW: 'Toy Story 3' Is a Masterpiece

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:54:08 +0000

I would add a spoiler alert, but I think "Lost" beat me to it.

Big Hollywood : REVIEW: 'Toy Story 3' Is a Masterpiece

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 14:35:00 +0000

I feel ya, man, on the cost issue. I'll usually just wait for the DVD, but I always make an exception for Pixar. I feel ya on the kidlets' Pixar addition, too: we have Buzz Lightyear costumes in just about every kids size from 6 months on up to elementary-school aged!