Movies | Youseph Tanha

So, I Saw Transformers 2

Yup, I saw Transformers 2, and it was a cinematic abortion. A phrase I have used on Twitter, and Facebook when asked about the sequel to the first live action mistake that Micheal Bay directed in 2007.

Now I know I have said I would never pay to see Transformers 2. I started saying that shortly after seeing the first film. Truth be told I didn’t. A good friend of mine paid for my ticket to see the movie. Partly as a joke. Partly because of the friends we went with like to see me rant and rave about it. But mostly to celebrate the birthday of a good friend.

The movie so rudely, and blatantly went against the 25 year history that Hasbro has with Transformers. Micheal Bay probably can’t tell you a thing about the Transformers mythology. Rather then reading up on it, he reinvented it, changing just about every single aspect of the Transformers story line. He would talk on his website, and forum, explaining his process of auditioning a couple of the original voice actors for the movie parts. It came off as if he was doing all the fans of Transformers a huge favor. As if auditioning them, and giving the voice actgers a roll in his movie would make all his re-imagining of a 25 year old beloved mythology, acceptable to the fans.

I think not.

With the release of Transformers 2 I can easily say I am not the only one who was disappointed with this movie. Professionals in the industry are also not happy with it.

…a horrible experience of unbearable length.” “The day will come when Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be studied in film classes and shown at cult film festivals. It will be seen, in retrospect, as marking the end of an era. Of course there will be many more CGI-based action epics, but never again one this bloated, excessive, incomprehensible, long (149 minutes) or expensive (more than $200 million).” Roger Ebert

Transformers 2 has a shot at the title Worst Movie of the Decade. Peter Travers of Rolling Stones

for the uninitiated, it’s loud, tedious, and at 147 minutes, way too long. Ray Bennett of the Hollywood Reporter

it is Bay’s worst-reviewed movie, topping Pearl Harbor. The Washington Post

As I have said before I hope that these Transformers movies bring some interest to people to go back and read and watch the original stories. I hope before I die someone comes along and makes a Transformers movie that should have been made.

A Band Tryout

Today I posted on my Twitter that I had a band tryout. I was pretty exited about this. I moved to Juneau around four years ago and brought my drum set with me thinking I would be able to join a band. That plan turned out to be a lot harder then I thought it would be. I went around Juneau posting fliers and putting ads up on craigslist. Any responses I got were few and slim. Everyone who is in a band in Juneau seems to be only able to play folk music. And though folk music has it’s place in the musical spectrum, it’s not what I wanted to play.

Last week on a whim I checked out craigslist again and found a posting from a band who was looking for a drummer and that they played punk/rock music. I gave the phone number on the listing a call and left a voice mail. A few days later I got a call back from Jeff and set up a tryout for Tuesday (today).

I have been a little nurvouse since the phone call. I really have not drummed much at all since I moved up here. I am rusty and out of shape as far as drumming goes. I was really worried that I would just make a fool out of myself.

When I showed up at the band’s practice pad I was greeted with hellos and hand shakes. The two guys (Jeff and Jessie) where really nice and funny. The drum set they had for me to play was the same Ludwig set I play on just a couple of years older. The cymbals where ok and so was the kick peddle. I swapped out the High-hat cymbals with my own personal ones. I had brought with me my cymbals, kick peddle, and drumsticks because some of the few tryouts I went to when I first moved here I ended up playing on some pretty shitty sets. I figured it would help to have a good kick peddle and cymbals with me this time.

After we got done chit chatting and tuning up our instruments we played a few cover songs which I was happy about. We played Green Day’s “She” and The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop”. I played the songs pretty well. I was able to hold the beat. I was a little winded after we were done but all in all I was Pretty happy. It was so good to be behind a kit again and playing music. Jeff and Jessie where really good guitar a bass players. They where really tight when it came to playing these songs.

After we were done I was told that the band had not yet picked out a name but that they really wanted to play mostly cover songs. I think this really makes sense for a tourest down like Juneau. I was also told they had another guy they where going to tryout but chances where sounding good to me that I could expect an e-mail with songs they would like to cover.

Dungeons & Dragons: Mazes and Monsters

Mazes and Monsters vhs cover I wrote in an older post that I learned about the movie “Mazes and Monsters“. It’s a 1982 movie about a group of college students and their interest in a fictitious role-playing game (RPG) of the same name staring Tom Hanks. The film was adapted from a novel of the same name by Rona Jaffe. Jaffe had based her 1981 novel on inaccurate newspaper stories about the disappearance of James Dallas Egbert III from Michigan State University in 1979.

Being into Dungeons and Dragons as much as I have been lately, I thought it would be fun to Netflix this movie and watch it. Well I did just that. I Netflix it, and watched it this last weekend.

Mazes and Monsters was not to bad. Actually, it was bad. It is a low budget, 1982 movie. The source film they used for the DVD transfer was not the best. There times where the film looks faded and spotty. At one point in the movie there is a bug that crawls from the bottom of the screen, to the top. (How the hell does that happen? How dose that end up on the film?) But you know, for me, it was a fun and silly movie to watch. Because of that it was not to bad.

There are even a few scene that take place inside the World Trade Center.

To Be Continued…

Playing Rock Band

Last Friday a bunch of us all gathered at our friend’s house to hang out, visit, and to play Rock Band which Chris had brought over. Rock Band is a video game that lets you simulate being in a band. Now, there are currently two types of games like this. Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I am personally more of a fan of the game Guitar Hero then Rock Band. I just think it plays a little bit better then Rock Band. But they both have the same idea behind them. You have plastic instruments (bass, guitar, drums, microphone) that you use to play the game with.

Hannah snapped some quick video of 4 of us playing to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer”. I am playing guitar, Rose is on vocals, Carley is on bass guitar and Zaine is playing the drums.

Now you may notice that I am bouncing around like a fool while we play. I do this for two reasons.

I really love music. I really get into it and enjoy it.
To entertain people. There are about 5 or 6 people off camera view you can’t see who are just watching the four us play. I know personally i would rather be playing a video game then watching someone else play it. So I feel that the least I can do is try and make it as entertaining as possible for all those who are waiting for their turn to play the game.

This kind of mentality goes back to when I lived in Anacortes and used to play in a band. I was a poor high school student. I know the kids coming to see my band play where also poor high school student’s, and they are getting charged around ten bucks a show to see us play. So I always felt they should get their moneys worth by exaggerating my playing, showing off, just giving them something to look at. Making sure the kid in the back of the venue felt just as entertained as the kids near the front of the stage. I always try to take my band practices very seriously. Always wanting to get better at the drums and the music we were playing. I always felt that shows we played was when we are not longer musicians but entertainers. People are coming to a rock show to be entertained, not to just see you stand in the middle of the stage playing a guitar and signing with your eyes closed.

But I digress.

Guitar Hero (like Rock Band) Is a great game for parties and just fun. It’s one of the very few games I own that i still come back to and play all the time.

Richard Proenneke

The last couple of times I have gone back home to Washington State for a vacation, I have caught a film on P.B.S. called “Alone in the Wilderness“. It’s a film my mom and brother Abe, really enjoyed and they thought I would too.

This film is more of a documentary about Richard Proenneke, who retired in 1967 to Twin Lakes Alaska where he built his log cabin home by hand, and all by himself. The film consists of shots of Proenneke performing tasks around his cabin, canoeing and walking, and views of wildlife, along with narration. For shots of himself (since he was alone), Proenneke fixed the camera in place, and then performed his tasks. This would necessitate him returning to the camera after walking or canoeing away.

Proenneke originality was creating this video intending to be used as step-by-step instructions for creating a hand-built structure. He lived in his cabin for 30 years, only returning to the lower 48 states occasionally to be with family.

In 1999, at age 82, Proenneke returned to civilization and lived the remainder of his life with his brother in California. He died of a stroke April 28, 2003. He left his cabin to the Parks Service.