Consumeroo

I posted a new part of Consumeroo tonight. This area will get messaged a fair bit over time but for now I thought I’d just hit everyone with a big SMACK.

For anyone who uses a media center that uses backdrops (backgrounds) here’s a new site that’s just for you: backdrops.consumeroo.com. Comprised of over 700 high definition backgrounds this is a pretty awesome collection.

Please note, I did not make these, I simply gathered them and collected them into 1 single zip for easy download. I’ll be trying to make more of a tie of this site with the Aeon project but again, I just wanted to get something up.

Have fun!

The greatest thing about Doomsday is also the worst thing about it. The film is forever changing, mixing together bits of Aliens, 28 Days Later, Escape from L.A., Beyond Thunderdome (along with the entire Mad Max trilogy), Conan the Barbarian, The Andromeda Strain, James Bond, La Femme Nikita, Kill Bill, Lord of the Rings, Children of Men… and on and on and on.

Many of the mixed in bits are terrific send-ups of the original films, little bits of dialog scattered around (”Check those corners!”) and recreated shots or stunts. Doomsday knows that it’s too much of a mongrel to do any one thing expertly, an interesting reversal from Marshall’s last pic, tightly wound and needle sharp The Descent.

Sadly the rush to explore every possible element of this (potentially) rich world leaves the film stretched paper thin. Just as each homage gets really interesting the film rushes off to some other place, usually completely unrelated. The potential for interesting connections between these disparate elements is always there, but it’s never really put to use.

As I watched Doomsday I was grinning ear to ear, thrilled by each action piece, but when the end credits came, I felt hungry for some deeper explanation, some substance that I could take away and discuss with others. Instead, I can only look forward to Marshall’s next film and hope that it will do more with less.

Talking about our lunch ordering system at work…

There are 2 shows I am primarily amped for this coming TV season and unfortunately they are both on Fox. The plus side to this is that they are both from two of my favorite TV creator/writers J.J. Abrams, and Joss Whedon.

Fringe made headlines earlier this year when Fox announced the two hour pilot was given the green light for a budget of $10 million. If memory serves, this makes it the most expensive pilot episode ever made.

The X-Files fan in me has faith though. J.J. is a pretty great story teller and he knows how to keep things interesting. The only two worries I have is that one, Fox will mess this up like they have so many times, or two, that it’s simply to much like X-Files.

For the first time in a few years, Joss Whedon is returning with a new show called Dollhouse. The show is probably going to rock–I have the faith but like Fringe, it’s on Fox. What makes this worse is Tim Minear is involved… The guy has been involved with so many of my favorite and shows and they’ve all been cancelled. Poor guy really.

Here’s the interesting thing. Fox has decided to air both of these shows with less commercials. I suppose trying to position these shows as something you would be more likely to see on Showtime, or HBO. I am assuming the runtimes for each episode will be longer, which I appreciate and I am also going to trust Fox to air these shows in good time slots to atleast get a fair chance (Harsh Realm anyone?).

Until then, I am sitting here anxiously to see what these two guys can whip together. It will probably (and hopefully), rock my world.

Via ManBabies.com.

I’ve been a long time user of the Campfire theme for Colloquy but recently I discovered Linkinus. I looked around and couldn’t find the much desired Campfire theme so… I made my own.

Linkinus is a pretty decent client and as much as I tried to love Colloquy, it just always felt un-finished. Some cool things that are a part of this theme:

• Inline images (any valid image link will be rendered inline rather than just linked)
• Inline audio (any valid audio link will get turned into an embedded QuickTime player)
• I included the Riceball emoticons

Some things to note:

• I made some design changes so it’s not 100% like Campfire
• Multiple messages from the same user (one after another) should be simplified
• Tiny design tweaks as I move to using this fulltime

Every now and then there’s a drama that I find rather compelling. For me, In Treatment isn’t even so much about the plot (any other Huff fans out there?) but rather its unique twist on how to deliver the story episode, by episode. In Treatment’s first season is 45 episodes long. 5 episodes a week, for 9 weeks. Each night of the week will be the same repeating patient, except for Friday night when it’s the main character’s chance to sit down with his own psychoanalyst.

There’s something to be said for a long drawn out story — assuming they manage to keep it interesting of course.

In Treatment has some talent though. Rodrigo Garcia (writer/director of shows such as Carnivàle and Six Feet Under) is on deck to write and direct some episodes, as well as Mark Whalberg as Executive Producer.

Based on the teaser trailer HBO has online, I think I will give this at-least a weeks worth of attention. We’ll see if Laura, Alex, Sophie, Jake & Amy, and Paul & Gina can hold my interest for the following weeks.

The biggest problem with The Sarah Connor Chronicles is the constant sense that it didn’t need to be made. While watching it, I’m desperately hoping that the writers have something truly interesting up their sleeves, convinced that if I’m just patient enough, it will all be worth my while.

In the mean time the show is kind of a mixed bag. Terminator fights result in collapsed walls and obliterated furniture; the usual collateral damage when two robots clobber each other. Then there’s the incredibly distracting slasher-film flashes that accompany terminator entrances. I’ve always hated these effects (recently Sunshine; which had at least 30 minutes of flashing were strung together consecutively). It calls attention to itself and slaps you in the head, shouting, “Hey, it’s a movie!!” It wasn’t used in either of the original films (or even the superfluous third film), which seem to otherwise be the visual bible for the show.

Other positive notes include casting. Thomas Dekker plays John pretty straight, and makes him feel like a teenager again, burdened with his fate and rebellious about it. There was a good bit in the second episode where he records a series of voicemail messages, building up to “You’ve reached the future leader of mankind!” Lena Heady’s Sarah is an interesting problem. She’s Sarah Connor in concept, tough yet uncertain, but it’s different from Linda Hamilton’s portrayal. The character doesn’t feel as tortured or raw; her transition between steel and tears is missing something. She feels more reserved, accepting her role in the events to come, but we never saw her find that acceptance.

Finally we come to Summer Glau, the protagonist terminator named Cameron. (Clever. Necessary?) I couldn’t respect myself as a geek if I wasn’t ridiculously excited to see her return to TV as another awkward behaving, ass-kicking character. Yet, I get worried whenever I see River Tam talking to John Connor, or punching a terminator instead of a reaver. It doesn’t happen a lot, and Summer’s got the robotic mannerisms down (swivel head to scan the room, stand up rigidly, speak in unnecessarily complex syntax, stare blankly), but at the physical level the two characters are just too much alike. I’d hate to see Summer stuck playing this same character again. I really hope the writers bring some complexity to the character fast. And, please, no messiah complexes.

All the good and the bad considered, I want this show to work. We really need more sci-fi shows, and something that isn’t a space opera or a show about a secret agency is more than just refreshing. Still, there’s this nagging image I have of Fox execs sitting around a table with a list of movie franchises that haven’t yet been exploited for TV, and nodding their heads.

Update: Since I put my thoughts about The Sarah Connor Chronicles into words, I’ve found myself really looking forward to tomorrow’s episode, which is one the best things a show can accomplish. I guess I’m officially a fan now.

Every now and then we take photos that are ‘desktop background’ worthy. While this doesn’t happen often for me, I think this one qualifies and even though I didn’t have a good camera with me, I still think the shot turned out pretty wicked. Maybe as time goes by you’ll see some more shots posted by Tim and I but until then, I present you with Sun Kissed Wheat.