A small delay, but we're getting there

So there’s been another little delay in getting caught up with my blog – my new computer was having all kinds of problems with the SATA hard drive I have in it not wanting to run properly. A number of other little issues (and some discussions with a buddy of mine) brought me to the conclusion that I just didn’t have a reliable motherboard. So I ordered a new motherboard, and after a number of delays and problems (including losing just over 3 weeks of e-mail when I re-installed Windows, several days of which I hadn’t even glanced at yet) and the purchase of a second hard drive (that it turned out I didn’t actually need once I figured out what was really going on with the machine, but oh well – it’s only money, I guess, and hey, you just can’t have too much hard disk space, now can you?), I was FINALLY able to get my computer back up and running properly (and running much better than it had been with the previous motherboard – this Abit board rocks!). Of course, once that was done I had to re-install all of my applications and re-setup everything and get things tweaked back to the way I wanted them (which is naturally an ongoing process that I will probably be working on for weeks or months to come, but I’ve got everything pretty much back to where it was with the new machine BEFORE I replaced the motherboard, so now I can continue where I left off with getting the rest of my data moved over from my old machine and the rest of my programs put back in place). But all the key programs – e-mail, web browser, word processor, image viewer, etc. – are all in place now, so I can go about my day-to-day business on the computer just like before with my old machine, and in my spare time (not that I have a lot of that) I can slowly work on getting the less essential programs that I don’t use nearly as much (such as games and the various little utilities and such that I use now and then) put back on.

But enough of that! I’m sure you’ve got plenty of better things to do than read about the day-to-day trials and tribulations that make up my life (and if that is the sort of thing you’re interested in, well there are all sorts of blogs out there filled with just that sort of thing that I’m sure you can track down). No, what you’re here for is movies! Or more specifically, you’re here to read my highly opinionated views on the movies. So let’s get down to it. Now, let me think, where was I. Oh, that’s right, last time out I blasted that less-than-wonderful piece of Pop Culture, Star Wars: Episode III. So now we move on to the following weekend, where it was challenged by two new movies – the Adam Sandler remake of The Longest Yard, and the animated family flick Madagascar. Let’s start with Madagascar. The critics are split on this one, with half of them realizing that it’s a wonderful, fun-filled family movie that’s full of laughs and fun animation, while the other half are idiots who want to critique a kids’ movie as if it were applying for a Best Picture Oscar. If you’re looking for an Academy Award wannabe art house film, well obviously you’re going to be disappointed. If you’re looking for a very funny and enjoyable animated film that adults can enjoy just as much as their kids, then this movie is absolutely worth seeing. Admittedly I’m not a big fan of either David Schwimmer or Ben Stiller, but their voice work here is well done, as is that of all the cast, especially Chris Rock (who, interestly enough, stars in both of this weekend's new movies – and is great in both of them). And the penguins are an absolute riot!! They pretty much steal the whole show (with the exception of a couple of scenes featuring the monkeys, who are fantastically funny).

Before I went and saw The Longest Yard, I went out and bought the original Longest Yard on DVD (it was inexpensive and included a free ticket to see the remake, so I figured what the hell). I was glad that I did. It was interesting comparing the characters and the story between the original and the remake. The original was very much a 70s movie – it’s a darker, more gritty film, very much R-rated as opposed to the current’s PG-13. For example, in the new movie, we see Courteney Cox in a very low-cut, cleavage showing top, whereas in the original, her character is in a nice sheer dressing gown, fully showing off her breasts. Both are blatantly there for their sex appeal, but the new version shows that you can have a woman looking sexy without actually showing full nudity. Another change between the two would be the main character. In place of the fun, goofy drunk that Adam Sandler plays, in the original Burt Reynolds’ quarterback was a tough, mean drunk, who chokes the woman in question and then throws her violently to the floor before stealing her car. The movies play out fairly similarly from there, but the comedy and light-heartedness of the remake isn’t present so much in the original, except for a few brief spots (the scene where the quarterback is teasing the short cop, for example, is in both movies, although the jokes are different).

So which is the better movie? That’s a tough question. All in all I think I enjoyed the remake more, but each movie is very much a product of the era in which it was made, and so it’s hard to make a direct comparison. Both films are very well acted, and feature great groups of actors. The story that is at the core of both movies is very well-written and unfolds in a compelling way. All in all, both are very good movies, and I plan on owning both of them, but I have to say that the remake is going to have a broader appeal than the original, and will find a wider audience.

So the beginning a June brought a series of movies that I never got around to watching – The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (chick film – don’t know if I’ll ever see it), Cinderella Man (probably see it eventually, but not in a big hurry), and Lords of Dogtown, a fictionalized version of the true story first brought to the screen in the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys (all about skaters – probably won’t ever see either one of them). So for our next entry we’ll jump up to June 10^th, and the release of the wonderful action/comedy, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. That’s all for now.