http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Mon, 4 Apr 2005 16:17:39 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding. Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/04/04/161739.php Kirk MontgomeryThe Killing fields at Choeung Ek are worth a visit. Having been there, I can say that I was both disappointed and satisfied with the version of the 'monument' I saw. On the one hand, all that was there were some fields, holes, and a tower filled with the skulls and bones of the victims. Seemingly too simple and not fitting for the scale of the tragedy that happened there. I was expecting something a little more 'official.' On the other hand, while reflecting about my visit, I became more appreciative of the simplicity of it all. A couple of simple signs set under trees in the middle of surrounding rice paddies. At the centre of the site, a layered tower of bones. Very little attempt was made to explain why things happened (at least at the site proper), instead, just a few facts were displayed. It's hard to understand why these things happened, but it's easy to understand that they were horrible. That's why the simplicity of it all was important to me.Today, I learned that the site will be privatized. I'm both hopeful and saddened by the news. I'm hopeful that the site will become better, yet afraid it will become an attraction. There are a number of reasons why this could be bad: Usually, a private company's only goal is to maximize profit. As such, any profits generated will end up in private pockets. The public loses control over how the site will be presented. If tourist dollars shrink, will the private company cut back on maintenance in order to meet the bottom line? Because the site will now be for-profit, I can guarantee that a conflict of interest will occur between the goals of profiting and maintaining the site. Remember, in Cambodia bribery can get you anything. Cambodians also recognize that this could be very bad:Justice has not yet been found for the victims, but at the same time their spirits have been traded of for money.Time will tell whether or not this is a good thing for the people of Cambodia. For now, I'm curious what the typical "smaller government" supporter thinks about this.Source: CBC and Reuters. More information on Cambodia and the killing fields. Politics27730@blogcritics.org Mon, 4 Apr 2005 16:17:39 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/06/09/160121.php Kirk Montgomery"For seven elite profilers, finding a serial killer is a process of elimination. Their own." Are you a stupid pawn of the movie industry? Do you like to spend money on shiny objects? Then Mindhunters is the movie is for you.Plot summary: On a remote island, the FBI has a training program for their psychological profiling division, called "Mindhunters", used to track down serial killers. The training goes horribly wrong, however, when a group of seven young agents discover that one of them is a serial killer, and is setting about slaying the others. Can the few that are left figure out who the killer is in time? SourceSome spoilers are found below, so you can either read on and learn why you shouldn't see this movie, you can trust me and avoid it, or you can see it and then read on and hit yourself in the head with a closed fist when you agree with me. Your call. You can scroll down and see my ratings of plot and soundtrack etc below if you like.Anyway, have you seen the movie "Deep Blue Sea"? Its the one about genetically modified sharks who get loose and eat the main characters one after another. As I watched Mindhunters last night I began to draw comparisons to "Deep Blue Sea." Both movies are staged in isolated areas, both movies involve lavish death scenes, both movies have plots that won't challenge you (correction, they will challenge you but only in the "this makes no sense" portion of the brain), both movies have LL Cool J, both are directed by Renny Harlin, and both have big stars who die suddenly without warning.In "Deep Blue Sea" I thought it was great when Samuel Jackson's character got eaten by the sharks barely a third into the movie. Going in you are thinking, big star, he makes it until the end of the movie. So as a plot device killing him early was a novel idea. That was my initial impression however, then I saw the rest of "Deep Blue Sea" and I began to suspect that Mr. Jackson knew what a craptastic movie he was in and demanded he be cut out. Enter Mindhunters. Big star gets killed about a 1/3 into the movie. Alarm bells go off and I think, "Is this another 'Deep Blue Sea'?." Within about 30 minutes my suspicions were confirmed that indeed, this was another craptastic movie. Other key signs of a craptastic movie are: (1) That people who can solve rubix cubes in under 2 minutes can loose all sense of reason [example: audience thinks "don't go in there!", rubix guy goes in there and gets dead]), (2)A room full of phd's decides to "split up" to try and find the killer [does this work in any movie, all I know is that if I'm in a room with 8 other people and I know one of them is the killer, we are all just going to sit there and do nothing until the calvary comes), (3) Val Kilmers character says has no more than 8 lines, (4) the repeated use of loud noises to scare the audience (more than twice in a movie is cheap [aside: what happened to good scary movies that scared you with their plot? I recommend "The Changeling" for a great scary movie with no gore.]).For your consideration:Plot: 4/10 Acting: 5/10 Cinematography: 5/10 Soundtrack: 2/10 (played no role) X-factor (LLCoolJ): 2/10 Overall: 4/10Now you may be thinking, I saw "Deep Blue Sea", and I kinda liked it. Yes, its true, "Deep Blue Sea" had a great X-factor: giant genetically modified killer sharks (GGMKS). Those things are cool. Mindhunters has no X-factor (unless you count the sassiness of LL). Mindhunters is scheduled for release by the end of June. Heed my warnings, don't see this movie. Soon now, commercials will begin to appear on TV with some guy saying something like "-two thumbs up", or "-fantastic roller coaster of a ride." Remember the whole David Manning fiasco? (Recall: fake critic gives rave reviews all the time). Read that article to learn how the studios get their one liners that convince people to see their movies. Hopefully I have convinced some of you not to see this movie, its a stinker, and by seeing it you are just telling the movie industry that you liked it. Save your money.My blog:Digital Ramblings MaxPower Video16400@blogcritics.org Wed, 9 Jun 2004 16:01:21 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/05/27/130042.php Kirk MontgomeryACDC is indeed one of the greatest live acts around. You can't help but smile and want to pump your fist when you hear the chorus in 'caught with your pants down.' Recently, I was pondering life, wondering how these guys could be so successful and it hit me! Steps to success: 1) simple blues based hard rock, 2) distortion, 3) schoolboy outfit, and 4) crazy voiced singers. Sheer genius! Its like they are in a rock n'roll band singing about sex, drugs, and rock n'roll... What moxy! Anyway, I was listening to ACDC and came up with this short list of their best innuendo filled rock numbers. Each song is listed with a small choice lyrical excerpt. For those of you not familiar with ACDC, I'm not making these songs up. They are:10: Send for the man You want love Dirty dirty love You want lust Just a little lust You wan' a bad reputation You wanna better your score I got the qualifications I can open any door (ooh yeah) Send for the man, yeah 09: There's gonna be some rockin There's a rock 'n' roll Queen, gonna quiver and quake, gonna shake her thing 08: Squealer Hey Squealer - when I held her hand Squealer - made her understand Squealer - when I kissed her lips Squealer - and sucked her finger tips Squealer - she started getting hot Squealer - made it hard to stop Squealer - it got too much Squealer - I think I've got the magic touch 07: Heatseaker Getting ready to break Getting ready to go Get your shoes off and shake Get your head down and blow You gotta keep that woman firing You gotta keep that serpent clean You gotta make her sound the siren You gotta hear that lady scream 06: Beating around the bush I was talking birds [I was talking about birds] And you was talking bees [And you was talking about bees] And he was down upon his knees Beating around the bush 05: Given the dog a bone She take you down easy Going down to her knees Going down to the devil Down down to ninety degrees Oh, She's blowing me crazy Till my ammunition is dry 04: Deep in the hole I'm deep in, deep in, deep in the hole Deep in, deep in, deep in the hole I'm down in, down in, down in the hole Well I'm deep in, deep in That woman got me deep in the hole 03: Let me put my love into you Don't you struggle Don't you fight Don't you worry 'Cause it's your turn tonight [CHORUS] Let me put my love into you, babe Let me put my love on the line Let me put my love into you, babe Let me cut your cake with my knife 02: Shot of love Like to plead? Shot of love, Shot of love, Shot of love A humping and pumping got you jumping Shot of love, Shot of love, Shot of love A little bit of what you need is guaranteed Shot of love, Shot of love, Shot of love Let me warn you, I'm coming for you Shot of love, Shot of love, Shot of love Shot of love, Shot of love Come on give me shot of love 01: Sink the pink Got a fever runnin' high Give you wings to make you fly She school you like a fool She make you break the rules She wanna get a shot, hit the spot Then I'm gonna rack 'em up, get that hot She said make it good, satisfy You know that woman got dallas eyesIt was a tough one, but I think "Sink the pink" beats out "Shot of Love" by a hair, based solely on title. If one were to rank the songs based on their lyrical content, I think this list might be a little different. maxpower.ca ~ Digital Ramblings. Music16042@blogcritics.org Thu, 27 May 2004 13:00:42 EDT