Bay Area Trip 2015

Bay Area fun!

~~San Francisco Part 1: Album

~~San Francisco Part 2: Album

~~Oakland and Berkeley: Album

~~San Jose/Wrestling: Album

The Avengers Impressions

"The Avengers" is easily the best "superhero" film that I have 

ever seen. After wading through, what seemed to be, an endless ocean of poor to decent films, I was beginning to wonder if there was even any dry land to be found. Gladly, there was, and the hand that pulled me out of the water was Joss Whedon's.

His unique style of action, humor, and engaging storytelling was exactly what this film needed. Though, I'd have to say, the great triumph of Whedon's handling of this film was in the way he was able to balance the  importance and contributions of all the characters. Many of us, read "most of us," believed that this film would just be Robert Downey Jr.'s "Tony Stark" acting circles around the rest of the cast. As most of you know, by now, this was not the case. Every character had their place and every character had their chance to shine. 

Some of the most common complaints about the film have been about the length, but I honestly can't imagine it being even 10 minutes shorter. This is definitely one of those films where you go in, sit down, are constantly engaged, and stand up about two and a half hours later, wallet in hand, ready to see it again. 

Five stars out of five. Brilliant movie. Let's hope the upcoming Marvel sequels can keep up the momentum.

How High You Go

I tied a rock

To a bird

To see if it could handle

The extra weight.

It struggled at first,

But eventually it mustered the strength

To fly over the trees

And out of sight.

Perhaps I should have tried

A bigger rock?

Or maybe how high

The bird can fly

Just isn't up to me.

Copyright © 2009 Jarred Lee

Stifled Creativity

My creativity will probably die

At a desk, or in a cubicle.

In an office on some rainy day

In mid-December,

Or in some business class seat

On a flight to some far away place.

My creativity will probably die,

But I can not step aside.

My legs will not allow me to.

Perhaps every step that I have taken

Up to this point

Has understood the burden

Of this seemingly inevitable truth?

My creativity will probably die

Because "they" will strike it down.

"They" will bludgeon it with grading scales and

Performance reviews.

Choke it with mortgages, college loans,

And insurance premiums.

"They" will lock my creativity away,

In some digitized safe,

To collect interest,

Compounded monthly.

My creativity will die,

And the only witnesses will be

The desks, the cubicles, the offices,

The business class seats,

And those rainy days in mid-December.

I hope you have better luck.

Green Lantern Impressions

"Green Lantern" is yet another film that seems to fall victim to one of the very messages that it tries to preach. More specifically, the film somehow manages to squander practically every gift that it receives.

Millions of dollars in CGI, rich source material, and a decent cast can't save a film when the writing is weak on almost every level and the majority of said cast gives bland and forgettable performances (I say the majority because Mark Strong does manage to pull off a decent, if generally underused, Sinestro).

I am awarding "Green Lantern" one and a half stars out of five. All in all, it is probably the most disappointing film that I have seen so far this summer. If tons of CGI, or the fact that a film is based off of a popular comic series, are all that it takes for you to go see a movie, then you've probably already seen this film (or you are at least planning to see it in the near future). If those conditions don't apply to you, then I strongly suggest that you save your money. You aren't missing anything.

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Impressions

"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" was significantly more entertaining than the two films that preceded it, which wasn't all that hard to accomplish, but just as poorly written. I mean, the logical gaps were just too excessive. While I was watching the movie, I actually came up with an alternate title that seemed much more fitting than "Dark of the Moon." I call it "Transformers: What Was Your Plan?!" Why, you ask? Because hardly a minute goes by where you don't want to ask that question. All of the character's actions seemed so impulsive and ill-conceived that you really have to wonder if the writers weren't just randomly stringing together index cards with ideas written on them. Yes, every last character. Even Optimus Prime himself made more than a few pointlessly stupid decisions. I am all for expensive CGI and whatnot, but if a film feels like it was written by the kid in the back of the class who flicks his boogers and just can't seem to sit still then I'm sorry, I just can not enjoy it.

I am awarding "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" two stars out of five for being as flashy as ever, but still very poorly written. Honestly, the film's masterstroke is definitely the fact that Leonard Nimoy voices a majorcharacter. That is really the only reason I could ever envision myself watching it again.

Out With The Old...

So it has become fairly apparent to me that more than a few of the links that have previously been used on this blog have died for whatever reason. Most of the old content is still up and running, especially original stuff, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. I will say, however, that the blog's new life starts now. Everything from this moment should be considered the result of a new outlook and a tempered perspective. Welcome to a new "Deaf Rogue."

Picture taken and edited by me.