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I did mention that....

(i.e., digitally-projected advertising hoardings in the video background,

I guess my point is that now this'll be accessible to anyone with a video and any motive whatsoever to alter it.

I guess I was naive to think that digital video was ever trustworthy.

Does anyone remember the huge critical attention and praise garnered by Woody Allen inserting his moving image into historical film footage in Zelig ? I understand that the movie post-processing was painstaking and expensive, and notable for that reason and quality of its execution. Now any schmuck will be able to do pretty much the same thing, and it will take a critical eye to see it. The bar on deceptive video is lowering.

They will have to try real hard to up this one, even with all the cheesy musicals and all.

You must not have seen the movie AI.

Except if its Precrime!

How about Balactus - Destroyer of Worlds in Minoriteam

Funny show that never lived to it's potential

Too late, he just died recently.

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0559736/

I seem to recall a sci-fi/action movie where the sun's energy was used to create plasma which was then used to incinerate trash and create more energy and somehow save the planet or something

Sahara

...and back in reality world, we know they played very loud music and had spotlights. In short, they were attempting to sleep deprive those people. Taken in that context, the FBI comment doesn't quite mean what you imply.

Haven't you seen the documentatry Rules of Engagement?

You haven't heard further about "mind control devices" because they probably don't exist. I think you misunderstood.

That's what he said.

I love Ice-9 because it keeps my drink cold.

I would recommend strongly against drinking anything kept cold by Ice-9, although it may keep your corpse looking its best.

On a related topic, the main redeeming value of The Recruit was that it turned me on to Cat's Cradle (they named their ludicrous super-infect-60-hz-power-turn-your-blender-against-you virus "Ice-9"). It was written 14 years before I was born and may have slipped by me otherwise.

Strangely, although mentioned on the Cat's Cradle wiki, The Recruit is missing from the Ice-9 In Popular Culture section. If I was more motivated, I'd add it...

that's brilliant. i heard about Ian Banks' the Culture series, but i haven't had a chance to actually check out any of his books yet. i'll definitely have to take a look at Against a Dark Background.

personally, i'm quite fond of the titular device in Sphere by Michael Chrichton (which was also made into a movie). it's not really a weapon per se, but if a device did exist that caused everyone's, both conscious and subconscious, thoughts/dreams/fantasies to manifest themselves as reality, it probably wouldn't take very long for humanity to destroy itself with our own mental demons.

just imagine what would happen if the user base of 4chan came across the sphere. ::shudders::

As a geek in his late thirties, I can't hear the words "Doomsday Device" without thinking of "Doomsday is Tomorrow" and the ultimately fictional doomsday device created by Dr. Elijah Cooper, and managed by our favorite old supercomputer, ALEX 7000. And I know that I'm not alone.

(For you rugrats out there, read what I'm talking about here on imdb and then check out this amazing fan trailer created years later.)

The robot from "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951).

Better an old nuke site than an old Pet Semetary

Gee just what we need a remake of this.

i think it's a good thing that the ratings board is actually providing to the public more detailed explanations for the ratings they assign. however, like the MPAA's film rating system, there's still a lack of transparency in how the rating process is conducted--for instance, who is on the ratings board, how are these members selected, and what are their qualifications.

also, the AO rating for video games, like the NC-17 rating for films, is still in effect blacklisting creative works such that they are commercially inviable by making such works impossible to distribute. this means filmmakers & video game developers need to gain the approval of the ESRB/MPAA rating board before they can release their work, essentially giving each industry's self-appointed censors editorial power over all creative works that the mainstream public has access to.

one of the more ridiculous examples of this self-censorship process can be seen in the Manhunt 2 release for the PSP, which was crammed with so many blurry, staticky video filters and bloom effects overlaid one on top of the other, that it felt like you were watching a bad low-budget 80's grunge music video. within the game the main character was the one escaping from a psychiatric ward, but the developers were the ones who were actually stuck in an artistic straitjacket.

the ESRB and MPAA have no right to dictate what content the public should have access to, nor should they have any sort of editorial control over published works. this has given them an unreasonable level of influence over the media and our cultural landscape. but worse yet, they are not accountable to anyone except themselves. at least if the board were selected by the public via an open and transparent process that would give them some kind of democratic legitimacy. and while i don't know much about the ESRB, according to the documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated, the MPAA has had 2 clergy members on every ratings board since their film rating system was created. now, i'm fine with each religious establishment coming up with their own ratings for films/games/books/whatever, but why should the clergy be involved in the "official" rating system that everyone is subjected to.

there also seems to be no written or published rubric to ensure consistent ratings across all games/films. they don't solicit opinions from the public to determine how they should hand out ratings. who are they to decide what is acceptable for children/teenagers/mature adults and what's not? at the very least they should allow the public to give feedback on the ratings they assign. so if a film or game is given the rating of AO or NC-17 but public opinion does not agree with the rating, then the rating can be changed to reflect public opinion. perhaps the IMDb can add user ratings polls for films and games. it would be interesting to see how well public opinion matches up with actual assigned ratings.

That would only be true if companies were complete monopolies and purchasers were FORCED to buy their products at a specific time... Neither is true.

If Samsung and LG raise prices, their competitors will benefit, getting more sales, AND consumers will see that prices are a bit high, and opt not to buy a new device with an LCD screen.

so how do you think they were able to fix the prices in the first place?

Parent is right on the money on this one. As there is no actual living person liable in corporations (only the corps assets themselves) mixed with the sole motivation of making money, decisions to act immorally or illegally become business decisions.
for instance illegal dumping of waste material: if the cost of dumping illegally combined with the risk of being caught and the approx. resulting fine are lower than the costs to dump waste properly and legally then any suit in their right mind would go the cheaper way.

without person liability, it all comes down to a simple "less than" equation.

here's a nice movie with more info on the subject: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379225/

From IMDB.

Miracle Max: Whoo-hoo-hoo, look who knows so much. It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There's a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive. With all dead, well, with all dead there's usually only one thing you can do.
Inigo Montoya: What's that?
Miracle Max: Go through his clothes and look for loose change

Well, so much for hoping he was mostly dead. Didn't take them long to start trying to shake that money tree... Although, I think the movies were in the works for some time before he passed.

As a serious Trek fan, I personally think people are getting too worked up over all this. Sometimes it's nice to get a fresh take on old stories. As long as they don't end up like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Yeah, Spirit has definitely done well. Still, it's sad to see the thing die right before they release a major motion picture about it. The timing has a real Obama's-grandmother vibe, you know?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115685/

Sounds like Larry Brilliant's TED Prize-winning idea is starting to bear fruit. The ultimate goal is "To build a powerful new early warning system to protect our world from some of its worst nightmares." I'm not sure I'd call influenza one of our "worst nightmares," but clearly Google.org's focus since bringing Dr. Brilliant on board seems to pointing in the right direction. Good going, guys.

If any of you are more interested in this and aren't familiar with the TED conference or of Brilliant's work, both are featured in Daphne Zuniga's 2007 documentary about TED 2006, TED: The Future We Will Create . And yes, it is that Daphne Zuniga. For U.S. subscription TV viewers, Showtime shows this documentary occasionally.

Sounds like Larry Brilliant's TED Prize-winning idea is starting to bear fruit. The ultimate goal is "To build a powerful new early warning system to protect our world from some of its worst nightmares." I'm not sure I'd call influenza one of our "worst nightmares," but clearly Google.org's focus since bringing Dr. Brilliant on board seems to pointing in the right direction. Good going, guys.

If any of you are more interested in this and aren't familiar with the TED conference or of Brilliant's work, both are featured in Daphne Zuniga's 2007 documentary about TED 2006, TED: The Future We Will Create . And yes, it is that Daphne Zuniga. For U.S. subscription TV viewers, Showtime shows this documentary occasionally.

Sounds like Larry Brilliant's TED Prize-winning idea is starting to bear fruit. The ultimate goal is "To build a powerful new early warning system to protect our world from some of its worst nightmares." I'm not sure I'd call influenza one of our "worst nightmares," but clearly Google.org's focus since bringing Dr. Brilliant on board seems to pointing in the right direction. Good going, guys.

If any of you are more interested in this and aren't familiar with the TED conference or of Brilliant's work, both are featured in Daphne Zuniga's 2007 documentary about TED 2006, TED: The Future We Will Create . And yes, it is that Daphne Zuniga. For U.S. subscription TV viewers, Showtime shows this documentary occasionally.

There's no doubt that Prince of Space was more funny than Manos, simply because Manos was god awful.

The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies was far, far worse, though.

("let's use bare hands!")

Shout! Factory has come out with a Box Set to mark this occasion, with four new movies and a bunch of extras. I already ordered mine and am thoroughly enjoying Werewolf (1996) complete with Joe Estevez, Emilio's uncle and Martin Sheen's brother. Oh do they rail him for his B-Rated movies in that classic. That DVD alone is worth this box set!

I know you're skeptical that the kinds of movies we like reflect the kind of culture we live in year-to-year, but consider John Carpenter's masterpiece They Live. Of course it was about politics in the Ronald Reagan era!

Will this mean there'll be a remake of Blackula?

It's not a Venture Brothers reference; Blacula is a real film from 1972: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068284/. There's a sequel, too.

It's hard to tell with a show like that, but you can be safe in saying that just about everything in there is a reference to something. They wouldn't have a character that hunts blaculas if the blacula precedent hadn't been set previously.

I can't be the first person to have read the story and immediately thought "KILLDOZER!", could I?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071717/

Ed MacKillop
Herbert F. Solow
Theodore Sturgeon

Here's the IMDB page

Association of Socialists Defending Life, Freedom, Justice, Knowledge, Alcohol, and Saxophones (We really like jazz)

Somebody hasn't seen The Lost City. The Cubans ban people from playing the saxophone because it was invented in Belgium, which was actively fighting Communism (and securing its mining interests) in the Congo.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486358/

I felt a mixture of nausea, crushing fear, despair, and helplessness as I watched evangelist children being brainwashed into thinking the devil was controlling the evil government (until Bush, that is), that the government was trying to take Jesus away from them by taking him out of schools, and that their "time" would come.

These days I get the same feeling from reading Slashdot posts on the RIAA.

just aren't willing to fund the social programs and mental health infrastructure to take care of these people, so they end up in the streets. and not all cities with a homeless population have shelters

You seem like someone who has never spent any time with any crazy homeless people. Nearly all big cities do have shelters. All the ones I've visited and had the chance to look do (Orlando, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Indianapolis).

Those are generally *not* for the crazy homeless, though. They're for the temporarily homeless. If you really want to keep being homeless, and you refuse any medical treatment that will help you get better, you are allowed to remain homeless. You are not forced to change. I know that the primary city in which I've lived - Orlando - has *plenty* of ways of keeping people from being homeless and of giving the very, very poor homes and medical treatment - both through the government and through local philanthropic organizations.

little has been done about it

Thanks especially to this, we realized that "fixing" such people means that we're curtailing their freedom - freedom to be crazy, and freedom to make the choices that leave them homeless.

Let me have my own self-destructive vices; let the homeless have theirs. It is their right as human beings. Don't try to make decisions for them. I am proud that we live in a country were we don't lock up our crazy people like criminals just because we don't like the way that they think, and am glad that "little is being done about it."

Ahh. Good rant! And I even agree, somewhat ... where I can work out what you are saying :) Interestingly the style and opening sentence would fit perfectly into the mouth of Yuri Orlov (the fictional one) from Lord of War. Not sure if I am more impressed or disturbed, variety is nice I guess.

This makes me think of Wallace and Gromit.

"It's the wrong trousers Gromit, and they've gone wrong!"

Groening needs to watch:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283900/

I prefer the american version: Lev Andropov: [annoyed] Components. American components, Russian Components, ALL MADE IN TAIWAN!

:)

Anybody else think The 13th Warrior (based on his Eaters of The Dead) is actually a good film?

I liked it. Still do. I think it's unappreciated.

/ducks

The problem with the film was Antonio Banderas; the rest it really well done.

• aliens attack Earth and are destroyed by water

• aliens attack Earth at night and are destroyed by bright light

• aliens that see by infrared go hunting on Earth only during heat waves when they'd be functionally blind without assistive hardware

• aliens attack Earth and are destroyed by water

• aliens attack Earth at night and are destroyed by bright light

• aliens that see by infrared go hunting on Earth only during heat waves when they'd be functionally blind without assistive hardware

• aliens attack Earth and are destroyed by water

• aliens attack Earth at night and are destroyed by bright light

• aliens that see by infrared go hunting on Earth only during heat waves when they'd be functionally blind without assistive hardware

• aliens attack Earth and are destroyed by water

• aliens attack Earth at night and are destroyed by bright light

• aliens that see by infrared go hunting on Earth only during heat waves when they'd be functionally blind without assistive hardware

You must be new to Michael Crichton's work. See also Sphere, Congo, Jurassic Park, etc. All of them have a major deus ex machina component to their endings.

Speaking of adapting books to movies, and deus ex machinas, the film Adaptation neatly ties this all together. Brian Cox plays a veteran screenwriter who offers the following advice to a depressed, panicky Charlie Kaufman:

"I'll tell you a secret. The last act makes a film. Wow them in the end, and you got a hit. You can have flaws, problems, but wow them in the end, and you've got a hit. Find an ending, but don't cheat, and don't you dare bring in a deus ex machina. Your characters must change, and the change must come from them. Do that, and you'll be fine."

I wonder what Crichton would've thought of THAT!

I mean, when he wasn't busy attempting to debunk global warming.

I'm sorry to see the potshots being taken against the man for his global warming views. Michael Crichton was one of my favorite authors. Granted, his books could be a little light on hardcore scientific details, but they were still much better in this regard than the vast majority of mass-market fiction.

A few of my particular favorites:

Jurassic Park reawakened in me the awe and wonder of dinosaurs that had been dormant since childhood.

Eaters of the Dead was a terrific reimagining of the Beowulf saga (and a pretty decent movie as well - just ran across it on cable a few weeks ago).

The Great Train Robbery provided a vivid glimpse of the underworld in Victorian London. I particularly liked the descriptions of "flash cant" (street language) and the various sub-categories of thievery (e.g., "snowing" was stealing clothes from a clothesline, "smatter hauling" was stealing handkerchiefs). This was also made into a pretty good movie.

I'm sorry to see the potshots being taken against the man for his global warming views. Michael Crichton was one of my favorite authors. Granted, his books could be a little light on hardcore scientific details, but they were still much better in this regard than the vast majority of mass-market fiction.

A few of my particular favorites:

Jurassic Park reawakened in me the awe and wonder of dinosaurs that had been dormant since childhood.

Eaters of the Dead was a terrific reimagining of the Beowulf saga (and a pretty decent movie as well - just ran across it on cable a few weeks ago).

The Great Train Robbery provided a vivid glimpse of the underworld in Victorian London. I particularly liked the descriptions of "flash cant" (street language) and the various sub-categories of thievery (e.g., "snowing" was stealing clothes from a clothesline, "smatter hauling" was stealing handkerchiefs). This was also made into a pretty good movie.

Anybody else think The 13th Warrior (based on his Eaters of The Dead) is actually a good film?

I liked it. Still do. I think it's unappreciated.

/ducks

Sheesh, I just went to imdb.com and searched for 'sewer rat' and found it.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110912/quotes

Self-reliance is definitely a virtue, but it's not exclusive to the American Dream.

And the Common Good is also a part of the American Dream.

It's "a little looking out for the other fella", as Mr. Smith said so eloquently.

Judging from how some movies are edited for television, you can't say Jesus, but you can say God. (Or is it that you can't pretend to be Jesus, but you can pretend to be God?)

In others you can't have an alien creature show its face or speak English, but you can in its sequel. Its been suggested that the vagina-shaped mouth (behind the mandibles) is the reason to not show the face, but to remove its ability to mimick English?