The Bourne Ultimatum

Summer is a great season to catch up on movies. I really enjoy going the theater with friends for the overall quality of the shared experience. Like any technophile, I love me some gorgeous, widescreen DLP projection and humongous digital surround sound systems, but I also love the joy of the shared experience; the banter, the thrills, the jokes, and being able to look over and have a shared "could you believe how amazing that was!?"

In short, The Bourne Ultimatum was the best of the series. I saw the Identity on DVD over at a friend's house, and really enjoyed it. Afterwards I went to the theaters and saw the Supremacy, and left feelig nauseous from the drunk they pulled off the street to operate the camera for the movie. The plot was as good as the first one, but all of the "pulse-pounding" action sequences were impossible to follow for the camera's out-of-focus jittering. The Ultimatum had the best plotline of the series, and they toned down the swaggering, hand-cam action enough to where the action scenes could be enjoyed without a side order of tylonal for the headache.

The conclusion was tense all the way to the thrilling end, and all loose ends were tied up much better than in other unmentionable movies *cough*Matrix*cough*. I've always liked some FBI/CIA intrigue and Jason Bourne did not disappoint.

I also finally finished Radical Evolution! W00t! With only one week to go until classes, my summer reading is finally done! I'll probably post my impressions of it next. Next on the reading list is Pride & Prejudice.

The Simpsons Movie

Last night, Brian and I went to see The Simpsons Movie. I was hoping that it would be as good as everyone has said its going to be, and I was not let down. The humor was nonstop and took many different forms. From sarcastic shots at the political process to bizarre sight-gags only possible in the cartoon medium, this movie was fully loaded with everything you could expect from the ever-witty cartoon. At an hour and a half, it was the perfect length to satisfy your humor pallet without leaving you bored before the end.

This is the movie that has endured such marketing hypes as officially declaring the state of residence of the town of Springfield (it's in Vermont, but in the vote Illinois ran a close second) and converting eleven 7-11s into fully functioning Kwik-E Marts, complete with Buzz Cola, KrustyO's, and Squishees. Clearly, this was not going to be an ordinary movie. When critics confirmed the validity of the enormous pitch given this movie with their 89% Rotten Tomatoes rating, you are looking at a movie you just can not miss if you've ever mildly enjoyed the cartoon.

Oh, and for the record, my favorite parts are always the ones that involve Homer and Bart. There is something magical about their send-up of an American father-and-son relationship that always makes me giggle, chuckle, or downright guffaw.

Defcon

Another one of the computer game demos I played that was among the cream of the crop was Defcon, a quirky little game where you re-enact the 1980's movie, Wargames. In the game you must take control your world superpowers strategic nuclear weapons in an escalating struggle to annihilate as much of the opposing superpowers' population as you can while defending your own precious civilians. The game progresses in a series of stages ranging from the peaceful Defcon 5, wherein you merely deploy your units and jockey for alliances, to the chaotic Defcon 1, in which LRBMs, Long-Range-Ballistic-Missiles, can finally be fired from your missile silos to attack any spot on the map.

Strategic forces at your command include the aforementioned missile silos, airbases where you from which you can launch nuke-carrying bombers or scout/patrol/intercept fighters, radar facilities for easily locating units attacking your territory, and naval fleets which in themselves contain a mixed bag of battleships (ship/air attack/defense), missile subs (Medium-Range-Ballistic-Missile Launchers), and aircraft carriers (mobile, water-born airbases which also have sub-hunting capabilities).

The elements of this game are simple and easy to learn, but the dynamics of play, even against an AI opponent, are incredible to watch unfold. I am sorely tempted to buy the full version so that I can play against up to six opponents (North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Soviet Union, Middle-East/East Asia) in a game of worldwide nuclear conflict.

This game obviously is walking a fine line in between being a strategic masterpiece and depicting a human tragedy on a level unseen in the annals of history in a manner just a little too realistically for some people. I am of the opinion that it is a gem of a game, but I understand the validity of the other side's argument. Fortunately, nothing like this has happened in the past, and hopefully nothing ever will in the future.

The icing on the cake is an advertised mode called Office mode, in which the game plays out over an extremely slow time scale. Unlike the regular 45 minutes to an hour and a half, the game takes place over the span of eight to nine hours and allows you to make key strategic decisions by only checking for a minute every fifteen to thirty minutes. The realistic time frame and long thinking times make this mode a hardcore strategist's wet dream. I only wish I could be in an environment where I could play a game properly in that mode.

Transformers

Robots in disguise.

I went to see the movie, again. It was just as good the second time around as it was the first. I learned that the only non-GM "car" besides Optimus Prime was Barricade. I thought he was a Dodge Charger police cruiser, but in fact he was a Saleen Mustang police cruiser. I reaffirmed that even though I did not watch anything of the original cartoon or movie, Peter Cullen has one of the coolest voices ever, and it is hard for me to imagine anyone else being the voice of robot Jesus.

You did know that Optimus Prime pretty much represents Jesus, right?

And I know it's been said, but even when your token-black guy is a talking Pontiac Solstice, he still does not escape cliched death at the hands of the evil villain.

Other things about the movie I immensely enjoyed included the massive amounts of military hardware that were on display: the carrier fleet group, the numerous destroyed M-1 Abrams, A-10s and Yf-22s, and the coolest of the cool who gets almost no respect in movies, the C130 gunship. Yes we actually have those, and yes they are that awesome.

Just like I told my friend Dave, if I ever flew in the air force, it would be in an A-10, one of those lovely fixed-wing beasts with the two massive jet engines mounted high on either side of the body. They fly close ground support and they can carry quite an impressive armament. I figure that if you're going to fly, you might as well do it loud, low, locked, and loaded.

I don't think my parents are too hot on me joining the air force.