Three Day Weekend, folks.... Hoist 'em!

Another week come and gone and we're into a 3 day weekend! Whahooo!

On to the nerd stuff.

I promised you all a review of The DaVinci Code, which myself along with a few family members went to go see last weekend. First and foremost I have to mention that most of the critics were a bit nasty with their reviews for the movie. It is far from being a horrible movie as they would like you to think. It's actually quite enjoyable, especially if you've read the book. Keep in mind, most critics are bitter old turds who have little respect for anything that's not in black and white or in a foreign language.

For those of you with your heads in the sand, The DaVinci Code is a movie strongly based on the pulp, thriller novel by Dan Brown which is sort of a treasure hunt for the "Holy Grail" (except there's no Nazis or Sean Connery or fedora wearing thrill seekers). In Mr. Brown's novel, "the Holy Grail" is not the cup from which Jesus drank from at the last supper. It is Mary Magdalene who, according to Brown and many conspiracy therorists, was Jesus' wife from whom he bore a daughter. This has, of course, created an uproar among the religiously fanatical. Who can actually envision Jesus gettin' jiggy with it? Ewwww.

I'm not going to debate the possiblility of the whole "Jesus was married" debacle except to say that we do have to keep in mind that the Bible has been written and re-written many a time throughout both ancient and medieval times. So who knows what is true and what is story from it.

The film follows the book quite closely, changing a few small things here and there. It's still a very interesting piece of cinema. Especially if you've had the chance to read through the book. I'm not a quick reader. It usually take me a month to trudge through a novel. But The DaVinci Code took me two weeks. It was a slick, quick, fun read. Nothing less, nothing more. If you've read the book, the movie's plot moves a little quicker for you. If not, I can see where one might be a little lost at times and the plot may slow down for you.

There's some great things about this movie. Paul Bettany does a great job as the twisted albino assassin, Silas. The settings and cinematography are wonderful at capturing both the beauty and creepiness of Paris. Audrey Tautou is quite adorable and Ian McKellen walks away with this movie. Tom Hanks is good with what little his character is given. Jean Reno is always enjoyable as he is here. There are no horrible performances as critics suggest. Ron "OpieRichyCunningham" Howard does a fine job with the task of translating a somewhat confusing book into a movie.

I don't think there was anything I was horrificly disappointed with in this film. There was only one plot hole that I had a problem with. If you don't want to know the ending of the movie read past the darkness, if you've seen the movie or read the book or don't give a frell highlight to read....

Once Tom Hank's character realizes where the tomb of Mary Magdalene is hidden, it is not fully explained why it is where it is. The ending reveals that the tomb is buried under the Louve art museum. This may make a few people who haven't read the book more than confused on how it ended up there. The filmmakers forgot to point out the fact that the architect who designed the newer glass pyramid entrance to the Louve was a member of a secret sect who vowed to not only protect the sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene, but also keep it's hiding place a secret. That fact might have helped explain the fact of how it ended up at the Louve.

So, while not an extraordinary movie, it's still worth checking out. There are some good locations, performances and intrigue to check this movie out.

I'm hoping to see X-Men: The Last Stand this weekend. I've heard both very good and horrific things about it. Since sadly, this is supposedly the last one of the series (a mere three films in what could be a plethora of movies), I'm hoping that it does the franchise some form of justice since the first two were pretty friggin' awesome!


Two of my favorite shows had their season finales this week. I find myself having to wait a few months before I have some answers to the cliffhangers I was left with from both Lost and "24".

"24" ended with the main character captured by a Government he cheesed off last season. And Lost left a few main characters in a nasty situation while, at the same time, leaving us viewers scratching our heads, trying to figure out how the last scene was at all relevant to what is/was going on in the plot. I wouldn't expect anything less from both programs.

Personally I'm finding myself drawn more toward Lost than "24". "24" has been excellent the last few seasons, but I find it using a few of the same plot devices each season. There's always a mole among the heroes. There's always someone who has no clue as to what is going on taking charge. It's getting a tad stale. Both my friends Mr. Salty and Spanky think that this was the best season ever, I disagree. I felt that last season (2005) was a snot better. Just a small bugger, mind you. Not a full Kleenex sized one. I loved the way that this season started with killing a boat load of main characters (though, I'll my lonely geek sensabilities will miss the character of Michelle Dressler dearly). Other wise the season was good, but not fantastic.

Another problem I had was there was no sign of "Mini Skit Mandy", our Boba Fett of "24". The mysterious terrorist who pops in from season to season was nowhere to be seen. FRELL!!!!

The only problem I have with Lost is that it presents questions that are never answered. Weren't there polar bears on the island at one time? Well, what the frell happened to them? Wasn't there some sort of tree smashing, floating form of smoke that was thrashing about the island? What was that supposed to be and where did it disappear to? Now that Libby is dead, will we ever find out why she was at the same nut house that Hurrley was? If none of what I'm talking about makes any sense to you, then you need to awaken yourself and get the DVD of the first season of Lost and then when the second season comes out on DVD get that too. It's well worth it. Even though few questions are answered, it's still like crack-cocaine. Great TV!


I found out this week that a good friend of mine who's in the Navy Reserves is being sent to the middle east at the end of July. He'll be there for a year and a half (WTF?????). No matter how anyone feels about our country's involvement in this war, you have to give serious props to those that serve our country and put their lives on the line in the name of freedom and democracy. I can tell you that this friend is a good hearted person and every bit the patriot as he can be and is proud to serve our country. Be sure that your hearts and minds are with our past and present troops this Memorial Day weekend.


Since the idiots at the Sci-Fi channel decided not to show an episode of Dr. Who tonight (WTF????), I'm off to have a cigar. Enjoy the 3 day weekend and remember what and who it stands for. Be sure to hoist a few for those that both currently and have served us! Whether you side with the Dixie Twits or the likes of Rush Bimbo, shouldn't matter. Hoist 'em anyway!

I'm outta here.

Zangz.

This blog is such a waste of space, I don't even have a title for it......

I know. I missed a couple of weeks there, but, believe it or not, I actually get to slink out of my den of dorkiness and tare myself away from the Xbox and PS2 and actually have somewhat of a social life on the weekends.... once in a while.

I had a cookout or two to attend. And far be it from me to pass up food, beer and some good ol' trash talking. Yep. Another game of Munchkin was played. This time out I had my keister handed to me on a platter, much to the sadistic joy of my friends. Well, you can't win 'em all. Actually I can hardly win any. I think I've won twice in the 4 or 5 years that we've been playing. Though, I really enjoy the game, I pretty much blow at it. Go figure. At least there was no bloodshed, tears or broken furniture this time around. Well, that may not be entirely true as I though I saw a small, wet glimmer run down the cheek of our buddy Peej.


Can you believe it's been a full year since some friends and I were waiting outside, in line for the midnight showing of Ep.III. Time really does fly when you get older. Feels like it was just a few months ago that we were out in the cold, wet air salivating for a decent prequel movie. Well, we sure got it! It was THE BEST of the prequels as well as one of the best in the whole Star Wars saga. You can read my blog from that time here (Scroll down to "The Morning After"). Enjoy reliving the pure geek rapture that is the opening of a Star Wars movie!


I recently headed into my local used video game store and came out with the action RPG X-Men: Legends. So far, what I've played I've enjoyed, but it certainly hasn't knocked me off my rocker as it has for many video game magazine reviewers. It's a good solid action RPG that delves into team play and is all about smacking around bad guys while using your team's mutant powers and combos to thwart Magneto's evil mutants. If you've read the comics or seen the movies you'll probably get far more out of it than the casual player.

One of the things that bugs me a bit about the game is the fact that your team uses up a ton of health packs early on. You'll find yourself down to 1 health package between 4 characters with a number of nasty fights looming around the corner and no other health packs to be found anywhere. Oh, there's an abundance of energy packs all over the place, but when you desperately need some serious health, there are none to be found. If one of your characters die, it will cost you credits (money) to resurrect them. Which brings me to my other gripe, although there's a lot of credit tolkens to be found, they don't add up to much. At least not enough to let you buy a decent item you may need to purchase back at headquarters.

I'm finding the trick to getting stronger characters in this game is not necessarily taking them out in the field one mission after the next, it's having them practice in the war room constantly. This way they level up, receive credits, health packs and can practice combo maneuvers and other things that get our geek blood boiling. I'll let you know my final thoughts once I finish the game. Hopefully it will be a better X-men experience than the upcoming movie is rumored to be.

I'm also replaying another action RPG that I had borrowed to my friend Roberto a year or so ago. I forgot that I had it. Since I got it back I've been tooling around in the world of Everquest in Champions of Norrath. Basically, it's the EXACT same gameplay as the two Baulder's Gate games that are on the PS2. So, though it's nothing new or innovative, it allows me to waste a couple of hours in a hack 'n 'slash frenzy. Ya gotta love that!


Tomorrow me and some of the family will be heading to the movie theater to check out The DaVinci Code. I read the book and loved it. Bitter critics are chewing it up in the reviews. But, I've heard that if you've read the book, you'll understand more of what's going on in the movie. If you haven't, it could be a bit long winded and boring for you. Either way the whole controversy the subject matter has seemed to drum up is quite amusing to watch.

I'll let you know how I liked it.


Oh yeh. Tomorrow is the start of a new reality show that I just have to check out. Supergroup will air on VH1 and features Sabastian Bach of Skid Row fame, Ted Nugent, Evan Seinfeld of Biohazard, Jason Bonham of the band Bonham and son of Led Zep's John Bonham, and my personal fave, Scott Ian of Anthrax. They all get put into a house in Vegas for a week or so and have to write, record and perform live a couple of original songs. They call themselves Damnocracy! All of them are very strong personalities. All of them are very opinionated. Some of them are drinkers. Some of them are alpha male, right wing gun nuts (well, maybe one of them. Guess who?) Some of them have VERY short fuses............ Someone's gunna die.

I love both Scott Ian and Ted Nugent (Uncle Ted). Neither of them are very shy about saying what's on their minds and what their beliefs are. Both are politically polar opposites. Hopefully we'll have a little Hannity and Combs session with the two.

Though I admire Uncle Ted for the fact that he doesn't back down from his beliefs and tends to cheese of more than a few of those that are fanatically on the left wing (actually, he probably cheeses off a few of those on the far right as well..... all the more reason to like the guy), I was quite disappointed by his all out lack of respect when recently commenting on the late, great Darrell Abott. Shame on you Ted. (Actually, I should watch what I write. Ted is actualy in town here at a big ass gun show as I type this! I don't think he reads geekd out blogs though.).

That's gunna have to be another edition of my Blog of Geekdom for now. Until next time, Geek out, mutha truckers!

Zangz.

Evil Card Games, a Haunt in Peril and some Star Wars Stuff.....

Ya know, there's nothing like getting together with a group of friends and playing a less than friendly card game of Munchkin. If you've never played it before, it's a competitive card game that is based on the properties of a role playing game, yet has all the facets of an Enron scandal. The game encourages backstabbing, cheating, maliciousness, stealing, placing curses on your opponents and turning unspeakable monsters on them just when they think they're at their hour of triumph. I'm sure the game is responsible for divorces, jail time and a few secret holy wars in small countries.

Last night I enjoyed a game or two of Munchkin. My opponents tried to make me their whippin' boy but I found myself victorious, much to the chagrin of those that scorned me. I left my friends' home that evening with a "Don't let the door hit your keister on the way out!" farewell from one friend while another swore slow, painful revenge upon me.

Munchkin....... Good times.... good times.

So that's why you didn't see a weekly, Friday night post up on my Blog of Geekdom yesterday. I was out losing friends. The reason I didn't post something last week was due to sheer laziness. I apologize for the slackosity.

Now on to more stuff.....

It's looking less and less likely that my favorite Haunted Attraction, Terror on Rural Street, will make it's resurrection this coming Halloween. Sadly, the people who ran it, volunteered on it and built it have segregated into two factions.

"Group A" are accusing "Group B" of showing a lack of support in the Haunt, creating rumors and drama and tarnishing the name of Terror on Rural Street within the community. So "Group A" have decided to shut down the operation completely and screw over the charities, public, fans and Haunt enthusiasts that have visited the Haunt for the last several years.

"Group B"who may have not been as active in the Haunt as they should have been, are suddenly crying out and feel that they weren't given a fair shake or a fair say in the emotionally charged decision to toss the whole project into the garbage.

"Group B" wants to use the organization's remaining funds to re-boot Terror on Rural Street and start a new.

"Group A" wants to give away the remaining fundage to charities. Recently they have been using the money to pay their lawyers to keep Terror on Rural Street and the cash away from "Group B".

Oh what a pathetic, sad, tangled web we weave. It's so disappointing when ego and inaptitude ruin something so creative and fun. Personally, I say that "Group A" are being a bit egotistical and selfish about the whole thing. And though "Group B" want to continue on the tradition, it sounds like they don't want to put in 100%.

The best thing that could happen is that both groups mediate with one another, make up, work out their issues and continue on Terror on Rural Street (TORS) so everybody wins. But, something tells me that egos have been too bruised and ruined for that to happen.

The next best thing that can happen is that "Group A" deflates its ego, and gives "Group B" the funds to start up a new TORS. And that "Group B" actually puts in the time, initiative, professionalism and maturity to not only keep it going, but make it every bit as big of a success as it has been, if not more.

I loved TORS and it was a Haunt I hit every season. Last year there was a big void in my Halloween without it. It would be nice to see it continue.


In other news....

My friend, Mr. Salty informed me recently about Lucas Arts plans for a possible video game where you play as Darth Vader. It may take place shortly after the events in Ep.III unfold. They've been on a winning streak when it comes to SW video games for the past few years. If they continue to play their cards right and give the game a first person perspective where you get to hunt down other Force users during the purge of the Jedi using whole slew of Dark Force powers, this could be big hit! Hopefully they won't give Vader the cheap-o-reapo treatment that they gave Boba Fett and Obi-Wan in their previous titles.

In other SW news, it's official, SOLO SHOT FIRST!!!!!!! Yep. Lucas has finally relented and will release the very ORIGINAL first trilogy unaltered on DVD this September. You will be able to view the original trilogy as they were when they were first released in the late 70's and early 80's. We will once again be able to see the bad ass that Han Solo was when he blew away Greedo in the cantina. Not the PC version where Greedo shoots first and misses... at point blank range.

Well it's Saturday and I think I'm going to go and do some cleaning, organizing and other constructive things..... or maybe I'll just play Gauntlet: Legends all day on the ol' PS2.

"Blue Knight needs food!"
"What a gallant effort!"

Talk to you later.

Zangz.