2008 Movie Preview

Here is a quick list of the biggest movies yet-to-come this year:

Iron Man, Staring the ever talented Robert Downy Jr., promises to be the first big hit of the summer. Its hero, an inventor and industrialist, might make for a different kind of superhero movie.

Nobody quote knows what to think about Speed Racer; based on the Japanese cartoon. Though the Wachaski Brothers (The Matrix, V for Vendetta) deserve some trust in matters of style.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian looks good in the previews, but so did the original, which turned out to be luke warm at best. The sequel looks less metaphorical then the original, a focus on story (and fleshing out the otherwise boring main cast) could save this film.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal skull brings back Harrison Ford to his crowning role. I don’t know weather this film will bring back the magic and the adventure of the original, or become a shallow remnant of its past glory; but I for one am exited.

Initial reports of Sex and the City suggest that it’s going to bomb; though how much those can be trusted can’t be said.

The summer’s animation tour starts of with DreamWorks’s Kung Fu Panda; which might be good, though DreamWorks has produced too much mediocre animation to be trusted.

You Don’t Mess with the Zohan is another Adam Sander vehicle that will likely offer the same kind of comedy we’ve seen before in a different place; though it might be good for a few laughs.

The Happening is M. Night Shaymalan’s newest film, which looks like another movie that tries to build a premise off surprise endings (though I will give Shaymalan kudos for some stylistic choices.) This one centers on a mysteries environmental catastrophe (which is undoubtedly the result of human action.)

Edward Norton becomes Bruce Banner in The Incredible Hulk. This sequel to the long-winded release several years ago is going to fix some of the flaws of the original, while still being true to the character. There is some good buzz around this film; though many are thinking what I am thinking, that The Hulk is just not that interesting of a character.

Get Smart is a comedy spy-film, a remake starring Steve Corel; though it is too early to tell if it will sink or swim.

Pixar’s 2008 release is Wall-E. This marks Pixar’s first tryst into satire; it stars a lovable robot Wall-E, as he tries to single-handedly clean up Earth after it is destroyed by consumerism and a short sited Wal-Mart like cooperation called Buy-In-Large. I don’t like Pixar’s anti-capitalist direction, though their focus on quality story-telling and characters might make me forgive them.

Wanted is an action film starring an amoral group of assassins cleaning up the world; there is nothing in this film that looks particularly original, is success seems tentative.

Will Smith is Hancock; a down-on-his-luck superhero who causes more damage then he's worth, advertisements have yet to reveal what kind of depth this movie might have.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army brings back the most lovable anti-Christ you’ll ever meet; this time with hosts of new characters and a much wider world. The first one wasn’t bad, though far from spectacular; the sequel might develop the world better then the original, and round out the characters.

Mamma Mia! is a comedy/musical in the same league as Hairspray; and will probably entertaining in the same way (which is not a bad thing.)

The real superhero treat of 2008 will likely be The Dark Knight; the sequel to Chris Nolan’s Batman Begins. These films bring the character of Batman of to where he was always supposed to be. This is the most buzzed movie of the year, and with one of the most brilliant viral campaigns ever conceived, it promises to be successful as well.

Capping off an unremarkable summer for animated movies (with the possible exception of Wall-E) comes Space Chimps; another sarcastic animated film about talking animals.

The X-Files: I want to believe is another sequel; and I want to believe it will be good, though it is far to early to tell.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor reunites Brendan Frasier and the original Mummy cast, this time in Asia (with Jet Lee being the new Mummy.)

Tropic Thunder is a high-budget comedy about the making of a Vietnam action film; initial reports show promise, though again, it's too early to tell.

Taken promises to be an entertaining, though cliché’, action film; made better by the fact that it stars Liam Neeson.

Madagascar 2: Escape from Africa might generate a few laughs, but in the end I doubt it will be memorable.

In November, the next Bond film entitled Quantum of Solace brings back our favorite spy in his new-more realistic-style.

Also in November, the sixth Harry Potter film, directed by the same man who did the fifth. It’s a fair bet tat the series will keep up its high production values and strong characterization and story.

Disney will also release Bolt, an animated film centered on a dog that thinks he’s a superhero.

Punisher: War Zone is the sequel to the somewhat successful original, this time starring a new Frank Castle, and a more stylistic world.

No real information has come out on the remake on The Day the Earth Stood Still; weather it will be a high quality remake (like war of the worlds) or more like Nicole Kidman’s remake of the body snatchers, remains to be seen.

EXPELLED

Ben Stein is hosting a documentary, supposedly it is going to have the biggest debut of any documentary ever; called Expelled: No intelligence allowed. Here is a brief summery:

"'Expelled' calls attention to the plight of highly credentialed scholars who have been forced out of prestigious academic positions because they proposed Intelligent Design as a possible alternative to Charles Darwin’s 150-year-old theories about the origins of life. Instead of entertaining a debate on the merits of competing theories, the scientific establishment has moved to suppress the ID movement in a “systematic and ruthless” way at odds with America’s founding principles, the film asserts."

I am fine with ‘intelligent design’ being played around with in discussion, or in philosophy classes, but it isn’t science. The “Theory” of intelligent design does not meet any of the requirements necessary to be called a ‘scientific’ theory; it is un-testable, un-empirical, it is merely a philosophical assertion based on the shortcomings of evolutionary theory. If intelligent design qualifies as a scientific theory; then so must astrology.

Intelligent Design is not persecuted because people refuse to give it a title it doesn’t deserve.

This is not to say the scientific community-and higher education-don’t have serous flaws; in many respects, the “science establishment” deserves harsh criticism, but not because it doesn’t accept intelligent design.

For Animation Geeks Only

Disney and Pixar have released their Animation line up for the next few years. My favorite are “Up” and “Newt.”

Without further ado (by the way, I found this at aintitcool.com):

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS/ PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS RELEASE SCHEDULE

2008 – 2012:

2008:

WALL•E (Domestic Release Date: June 27th, 2008)Pixar Animation StudiosDirector/Screenwriter: Andrew StantonProducer: Jim MorrisCo-Producer: Lindsey CollinsSound and Character Voice Designer: Ben BurttComposer: Thomas Newman, with an Original Song Performed by Peter GabrielVoice Talent: Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Sigourney Weaver, John Ratzenberger, Kathy Najimy

What if mankind had to leave Earth and somebody forgot to turn off the last robot?

Academy Award®-winning writer-director Andrew Stanton (“Finding Nemo”) and the inventive storytellers and technical geniuses at Pixar Animation Studios transport moviegoers to a galaxy not so very far away for a new computer-animated cosmic comedy about a determined robot named WALL•E.After hundreds of lonely years doing what he was built for, WALL•E (short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class) discovers a new purpose in life (besides collecting knick-knacks) when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet’s future, and races back to space to report her findings to the humans (who have been eagerly awaiting word that it is safe to return home). Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most incredible comedy adventures ever brought to the big screen.

Joining WALL•E on his fantastic journey across a universe of never-before-imagined visions of the future is a hilarious cast of characters including a pet cockroach, and a heroic team of malfunctioning misfit robots.

BOLT (Domestic Release Date: November 26th, 2008, Disney Digital 3-D™)Walt Disney Animation StudiosDirectors: Chris Williams, Byron HowardProducer: Clark SpencerVoice Talent: John Travolta, Miley Cyrus, Susie Essman

For super-dog Bolt (voiced by John Travolta), every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue – at least until the cameras stop rolling. When the canine star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City , he begins his biggest adventure yet – a cross-country journey through the real world. Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real, and with the help of two unlikely traveling companions – a jaded, abandoned housecat named Mittens (voiced by Susie Essman), and TV-obsessed hamster in a plastic ball named Rhino – Bolt discovers he doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero. Miley Cyrus (“Hannah Montana”) brings her vocal talents to the role of Penny, Bolt’s human co-star on the television series.

2009:

UP (Domestic Release Date: May 29th, 2009, Disney Digital 3-D™)Pixar Animation StudiosDirector: Pete DocterCo-Director: Bob PetersonProducer: Jonas RiveraWriter: Bob PetersonVoice Talent: Ed Asner, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Jordan Nagai

From the Academy Award®-nominated team of director Pete Docter (“Monsters, Inc.”) and co-director Bob Peterson comes “Up,” a comedic adventure taking off (and lifting spirits) in summer 2009. Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life. “Up” takes audiences on a thrilling journey where the unlikely pair encounter wild terrain, unexpected villains and jungle creatures. When seeking adventure next summer – look “Up.”

TOY STORY in 3-D (Domestic Release Date: October 2nd, 2009)Pixar Animation StudiosDirector: John LasseterProducers: Ralph Guggenheim, Bonnie ArnoldComposer: Randy NewmanVoice Talent: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger

Originally released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1995, “Toy Story” was the first feature film from Pixar Animation Studios and director John Lasseter. The film went on to receive Oscar® nominations for Best Original Score, Best Original Song, and Best Original Screenplay, and earned Lasseter a Special Achievement Award (Oscar®) “for the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film.” The 3-D version of this landmark film is being personally overseen by Lasseter with his acclaimed team of technical wizards handling all the necessary steps in the conversion process.

THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (Domestic Release Date: Christmas 2009)Walt Disney Animation StudiosDirectors: John Musker, Ron ClementsProducer: Peter Del VechoComposer: Randy NewmanVoice Talent: Anika Noni Rose, Keith David, Jenifer Lewis, John Goodman

A musical set in the greatest city of them all, New Orleans , “The Princess and the Frog” marks Disney’s return to the timeless art form of traditional animation. The film teams Ron Clements and John Musker, creators of “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin,” with Oscar®-winning composer Randy Newman to tell the most beautiful love story ever told…with frogs, voodoo, and a singing alligator.

TOY STORY 2 in 3-D (Domestic Release Date: February 12th, 2010)Pixar Animation StudiosDirector: John LasseterCo-Directors: Lee Unkrich, Ash BrannonProducers: Helene Plotkin, Karen Robert JacksonComposer: Randy NewmanVoice Talent: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger

Originally released in 1999, “Toy Story 2” went on to become one of the most popular animated features of all time. The film picks up as Andy is heading off to Cowboy Camp and the toys are left to their own devices. When an obsessive toy collector named Al McWhiggin (owner of Al’s Toy Barn) kidnaps Woody, and Woody learns that he’s a highly valued collectable from a 1950s TV show called “Woody’s Roundup,” the stage is set for a daring rescue attempt by the gang from Andy’s room. The film introduced such other memorable characters from “Woody’s Roundup” as Jessie the cowgirl, Bullseye the horse, and the Prospector.

TOY STORY 3 (Domestic Release Date: June 18th, 2010, Disney Digital 3-D™)Pixar Animation StudiosDirector: Lee UnkrichProducer: Darla K. AndersonWriter: Michael ArndtComposer: Randy NewmanVoice Talent: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, Estelle Harris, John Ratzenberger, Ned Beatty

The creators of the beloved “Toy Story” films re-open the toy box and bring moviegoers back to the delightful world of Woody, Buzz and our favorite gang of toy characters in “Toy Story 3.” Lee Unkrich (co-director of “Toy Story 2” and “Finding Nemo”) directs this highly anticipated film, and Michael Arndt, the Academy Award®-winning screenwriter of “Little Miss Sunshine,” brings his unique talents and comedic sensibilities to the proceedings.

RAPUNZEL (Domestic Release Date: Christmas 2010, Disney Digital 3-D™)Walt Disney Animation StudiosDirectors: Glen Keane, Dean WellinsProducer: Roy Conli

In this new telling of the classic fairy tale, “Rapunzel,” audiences will be transported to a stunning CG fantasy world complete with the iconic tower, an evil witch, a gallant hero and, of course, the mysterious girl with the long golden tresses. Expect adventure, heart, humor, and hair…lots of hair, when Rapunzel unleashes her locks in theaters for the 2010 holiday.

2011:

NEWT (Domestic Release Date: Summer 2011, Disney Digital 3-D™)Pixar Animation StudiosDirector: Gary RydstromProducer: Richard HollanderWriters: Gary Rydstrom, Leslie Caveny

What happens when the last remaining male and female blue-footed newts on the planet are forced together by science to save the species, and they can’t stand each other? That's the problem facing Newt and Brooke, heroes of ”newt,” the Pixar film by seven-time Academy Award® winner for sound Gary Rydstrom, and director of Pixar's Oscar nominated short, "Lifted." Newt and Brooke embark on a perilous, unpredictable adventure and discover that finding a mate never goes as planned, even when you only have one choice. Love, it turns out, is not a science.

THE BEAR AND THE BOW (Domestic Release Date: Christmas 2011, Disney Digital 3-D™)Pixar Animation StudiosDirector: Brenda ChapmanProducer: Katherine SarafianVoice Talent: Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson

A rugged and mythic Scotland is the setting for Pixar’s action-adventure "The Bear and the Bow.” The impetuous, tangle-haired Merida , though a daughter of royalty, would prefer to make her mark as a great archer. A clash of wills with her mother compels Merida to make a reckless choice, which unleashes unintended peril on her father’s kingdom and her mother’s life. Merida struggles with the unpredictable forces of nature, magic and a dark, ancient curse to set things right. Director Brenda Chapman (“The Prince of Egypt,” “The Lion King”) and the storytelling wizards of Pixar conjure humor, fantasy and excitement in this rich Highland tale.

2012:

CARS 2 (Domestic Release Date: Summer 2012, Disney Digital 3-D™)Pixar Animation StudiosDirector: Brad Lewis

All the world’s a racetrack as racing superstar Lightning McQueen zooms back into action, with his best friend Mater in tow, to take on the globe’s fastest and finest in this thrilling high-octane new installment of the “Cars” saga. Mater and McQueen will need their passports as they find themselves in a new world of intrigue, thrills and fast-paced comedic escapades around the globe. “Cars 2” is being directed by Brad Lewis, producer of the Oscar®-winning film “Ratatouille.”

KING OF THE ELVES (Domestic Release Date: Christmas 2012, Disney Digital 3-D™)Walt Disney Animation StudiosDirectors: Aaron Blaise, Robert WalkerProducer: Chuck Williams

Legendary storyteller Phillip K. Dick’s short story (his only experiment in the fantasy genre) becomes the basis for this fantastic and imaginative tale about an average man living in the Mississippi Delta, whose reluctant actions to help a desperate band of elves leads them to name him their new king. Joining the innocent and endangered elves as they attempt to escape from an evil and menacing troll, their unlikely new leader finds himself caught on a journey filled with unimaginable dangers and a chance to bring real meaning back to his own life.

Awareness Test

I thought this was kind of fun. It also tells us something about the human brain; I suppose I’ll have to talk about that later.

Bad Moon Rising

Did you know that The Washington Times was founded by a far-right religious cult leader that thinks he is both a king and a messiah? I didn’t either.

Check out the video here.

Who Benefits?

In Soviet Russia, there were certain rules on how one was to produce glass, factories where paid according to the amount of glass it produced, measured in square-feet. The result of this was that factories, in an attempt to get paid while providing the worst possible product, made glass that was almost paper thin. Eventually, the Soviet government realized its mistake, and started paying factories based on how much the glass weighed. Factories then started producing glass that was nearly an inch thick and nearly impossible to see through.

Can you imagine shopping at your local hardware store, and having only these two options available to you? Of course not, in a free-economy, the best glass for the best value wins; and that depends on the choices and desires of the costumer, not a government.

The very nature of a government controlled economy radically changes incentives, by changing who are awarded and who are not, and how. Even the most well intentioned controls produce these results; while it is in the nature of a free-economy that those who benefit are the ones who are the most productive and who provide the best goods and services.

Or, to put it more simply, controlled economies reward corruption, while freer economies reward virtues. This doesn’t only happen in controlled economies as extreme as Soviet Russia, but in all places where coercive power leaks into human action or benefits are obtained not through productive work, but by other means.

Imagine two hospitals, one that exists in a perfectly free economy, and one socialized. How do these hospitals stay afloat?

The free-market hospital must be paid by costumers; they achieve costumers by providing service, the better the service, the more costumers and the more money.

The socialized hospital also needs money, but how do they get it? In the end, no matter which way it is shaped, it achieves money through a coercive government. Money is achieved, not through pleasing costumers, but by pleasing bureaucrats. And just like the Soviet glass factories, the various hospitals will try to stay afloat by providing the worst possible service but appearing to provide adequate service.

Some of you might be saying, ‘but doesn’t free-market-hospital try to do the same thing?’ The answer is, No; and even if it did it wouldn’t succeed. Imagine if you went to Starbucks and you received a large coffee, but they only fill your cup up half way to save money and increase profit; most costumers would be angry at this, and take their business to Coffehut or Jamba Juice; Starbucks then loses money by not providing as much value as its competitors, any such business venture is doomed to failure.

In the same sense, free-market-hospital A must compete with free-market-hospitals B, D, and E; free competition does not allow most corruptive behavior to survive. Costumers of these hospitals will seek the best care at the cheapest price; and just like we are with coffee and automobiles, we get very picky about it.

A free-market-hospital will survive because it is one of the most productive (and by extension, makes people the happiest) while the socialized-hospital is exactly the opposite, it succeeds by virtue of how bad it is.

The socialized-hospital that is most successful is the one that is the most politically connected, that can cut the most corners on care, which can accept the most patients while providing the most inadequate care. Appearance is what matters to the socialized hospital; it prospers by its ability to deceive.

Tell me, what is the incentive of a socialized-hospital to provide the best, most time and cost effective care? Why should it try to improve itself?

But that’s not the worst of it, it becomes much more personal. The best doctors, the ones that really care and do a good job, will be the ones who achieve the least benefits; while the lazy, unscrupulous doctors will be paid according to how many patients they accept and how well they jip their service. The natural result of this is that the best doctors will quit, or be disheartened, and great minds will avoid entering the field altogether. In the end, the patients pay for it.

Any system that rewards vice and punishes virtue is immoral on its feet. There is no way to structure a controlled economy that does not face these problems, because it shifts incentives from where they should be to where they don’t belong; while the vast democracy of a free-market puts rewards precisely where they should go, to those who most deserve them.

A Bright Future

I found these at Accelerating Future:

“Arizona Bay” by Stefan Morrell

“A Brighter, Cleaner Future” by Stefan Morrell

Partial Collider Could End Life As We Know It; But Probably Not

In a month or so, Earth as we know it could not be here, according to this article anyway; heres a quote:

“More fighting in Iraq. Somalia in chaos. People in this country can’t afford their mortgages and in some places now they can’t even afford rice.

None of this nor the rest of the grimness on the front page today will matter a bit, though, if two men pursuing a lawsuit in federal court in Hawaii turn out to be right. They think a giant particle accelerator that will begin smashing protons together outside Geneva this summer might produce a black hole or something else that will spell the end of the Earth — and maybe the universe.

Scientists say that is very unlikely — though they have done some checking just to make sure.”

So go off that diet, and start charging up those credit cards now!

A World in Darkness

I do thank the greens for one thing, for so perfectly displaying what they are fighting for; they literally want to ‘turn of the lights of the world.’

Just watch this clip from Northern Exposure whenever somebody arrogantly proclaims the moral need to darkness:

Couple Wants Deaf Child

A deaf couple in the UK have a deaf child that was naturally conceived; right now they want another child, but because of the mother’s age, the might have to resort to IVF. The couple wants their second child to be deaf as well (Which is now somewhat possible with new technologies.) Under UK law; a disabled or abnormal child can not willfully be conceived through IVF.

Check out the article here.

I was going to write a big long post about this, because it touches on so many issues (rights, abortion, abuse, morality, conception rights, law, ect.) but alas, I found myself lazy (though I plan to write it soon.) Plus, I need to clear my thinking about a few things first.

While it is clear this couple is morally wrong (willfully choosing a crippled life for their potential child) the real issues are about rights and the law.

84-Year old Justice

Here is a fun story:

“The 84-year-old put his bags on the ground and told the boy that if he stepped closer he would be sorry. When the boy stepped closer, the man kicked him in the groin, knocking the youth to the sidewalk.

The ex-Marine picked up his grocery bags and walked home, leaving the teen doubled over.”

Just remember this the next time you think about robbing a ‘helpless’ old-man.

Free-Market Space Exploration

Burt Rutan, the man who was behind the Space-Ship-One flight, talks breifly about the future of manned space flight. Check it out:

Burt Rutan: Entrepreneurs are the future of space flight

BigDog: The Robot Quadruped

Astronomy Picture of the Day

I found a new favorite website: Astronomy Picture of the Day. Above, is the NGC 3537 Nebula. Below are a couple of my Favorites:

A Little Heinlein

“[a] human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”