Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

This movie has potential to be the sleeper hit of the year. Where do I even begin? The director, Kerry Conran, had an original vision that took over 6 years to manifest into this miraculous dream come true. There was an article in Time magazine about how he slowly pieced together a sample video, using Apple technology and some model robots, that gradually made it's way into the hands of a producer. Things progressed and a studio eventually shelled out 40 million dollars to make things happen. Incredible in my opinion, because they basically took a huge gamble on what was an unknown indie project at the time.

Yeah yeah yeah.....I know......it's a Gwyneth movie too so there is an automatic bias on my part. But did you know this? The major actors all signed on for significantly less than what they could command on the open market. When you hear things like that, it usually signals that whatever material was pitched to them really caught their eye. Something from the past that comes to mind is the Royal Tennenbaums. That was a wickedly funny movie.

A few tidbits from my experience that hopefully won't give too much away: Revolutionary methods of filming (almost all done entirely with a bluescreen), It was a period piece that contained a bit of that Orson Wellsian War of the Worlds type feel, A great script overall that contained cleverly placed about moments of humor, There were a few surprising biblical references, and last of all a romantic game of chess.

Imagine if Nancy Drew grew up to become Lois Lane. Somewhere down the line she meets Chuck Yeager and they end up having this complicated history. A cat and mouse sort of relationship that provides entertainment value, but surely would be difficult to deal with in real life. Haha, in defense of Sky Captain (the character).....sometimes you have to laugh because it's funny.

Catch a matinee and see what's up.

What a Guy

There is a person who I really enjoy praying with. Someone who seems to be thinking about how he can lift up others in prayer long before we even break off to do so. This guy has directly affected me as a brother in so many different ways since we started becoming better friends. I hope one day to have this effect on people I come in contact with as well. Brimming with the Holy Spirit. A great dude be this humble person.

Astros of the West vs. Giants of the South

Tonight I went out to my annual MLB baseball game at SBC Park in San Francisco. The Astros were in town facing the Giants in a tightly contested race for the NL wildcard spot. It's weird, being here for so long, I can't help but have a soft spot in my heart for the local team. They are a class organization with an extremely loyal fan base to boot. Here are a few of my thoughts from the evening.

For baseball lovers everywhere:

- They intentionally walked Barry Bonds 4 times. That was amazing. I've never seen a hitter so feared in all my years of watching baseball. Juice or no juice.....this guy is special.

- The Killer B's (Bagwell, Berkman, Beltran, and Biggio) didn't do a dang thing. Best pop of the night was when Jeff Kent homered and smirked amidst the booing. Too bad Beltran will be a Yankee next year.

- Who the heck is Noah Lowry? What a masterfull pitching exhibition!

- It's now down to the Giants and Cubs for the wildcard in my opinion. Unless Houston makes another miraculous run. I'm not holding my breath.

- You gotta love season ticket holders who go enough to know the umpires by their first names.

- Man, when a line drive comes at you....it's pretty freaky if you don't have a glove.


For those who don't like sports:

- A perfectly temperate night to enjoy an equally beautiful ballpark. These new stadiums are built so uniquely. It's really neat to just walk around and look at all the amenities and such.

- Bratwurst with sour kraut.....enormous bags of kettle corn.....an over priced soda that lasted the entire night and didn't seem so outrageous by night's end.....Ballpark food.....Mmmmmmm.

- A drunk kid hopping over the fence and running all the way across the outfield before getting cornered and escorted out. I wonder if he's going to get arrested? In all my life, this was the first time that I'd personally witnessed such an incident.

- The chills of listening to 40,000 people sing the national anthem ( which we missed ) and the seventh inning stretch ( which was pretty cool ).

- Swarms of little kids begging for baseballs after every grounder gone foul. If only I were 20 years younger.

- Hanging out with a good friend that really needed some R&R.....Nice.

- Mobile coffee vendor leading the crowd in a fight chant.

- Specks of Astros fans in a sea of black and orange.


I love nights like these.

Compelled to Blog Despite Being Weary

Just got back from a hot date with two women at the same time. Heh, It's not what you think. A pair of my mom's dearest friends were in town on vacation and I met up with them over some late night ice cream at Ghiradelli Square (fast becoming one of my favorite dives). There have been some really great conversations with older people lately. On the plane today, the guy sitting next to me had all kinds of neat stories from when he was enlisted in the Navy during the Vietnam conflict.

Bah, I'm starting to ramble. Always get kinda metaphoric and dreamy when I attempt to write while on an empty tank.

Will have to share tomorrow....what a great weekend.