Watchmen Casting

Zack Snyder has cast “The Watchmen.”  (http://www.aintitcool.com/node/33449) And overall, I’m digging it. Jacky Earle is perfect for Rorshach, Billy Cruddup is right for Dr. Mahattan.

Patrick Wilson, who I haven’t liked but haven’t seen the best of, is right for the tortured Nite-Owl.

The only problem I have is with Malin Ackerman. Yes.. she’s gorgeous and has comedic timing (Harold and Kumar.) Yes.. she’s shown she can do some levels. (Entourage… honestly. She had some good beats.)

I just think of all the characters, she looks the most young, AND the least like her character, Sally.

With the wonders of make up, who knows? I just think for a beautiful woman just starting to see her age, you might just cast older. We’ll just have see how they use the different time periods from the storyline to see if they can make it work.

So you went to Franklin & Marhsall?

Almost anytime you read an article about Japanese or Chinese pop-culture- especially J-pop culture, you read about t-shirts or jackets bearing English sayings or slang that mean nothing. In fact, trying to understand them causes severe aneurysm.

Whether it’s appropriating military chic or grabbing images from a culture without quite understanding them, it’s not just Asian fahsionista’s. Cameron Diaz made news when her Maoist-themed bag raised protests in Peru. Now, unless her film “The Invisible Circus” had a deeper impact on her than previously expected, I don’t think was supporting the Shining Path.

So the other day at work, a customer is wearing a Franklin&Marshall shirt. F&M (http://www.fandm.edu/index.xml) is a school out in Lancaster, PA. Deep in Amish country. I was there in 1984 for a summer program… high school kids taking college classes and revelling in the company of fellow geeks. Another friend of mine went there for his college years.

F&M shirts aren’t something you see in New York often. I ask when he went, and turns out he didn’t. He was from Brazil, and he just wore the shirt. I’ve seen a bunch of other customers, all of whom wore the F&M shirt, none of whom had ever been in Lancaster, PA.

Which is a shame. You can get some amazing Corn chowder there.

Having since looked around, and found out these random college shirts are part of Chip&Pepper’s line, I’m really curious about the random culture borrowing that is universal… not just a Western Imperialist thing.

I know when I’ve culture borrowed for fashion, I’ve known what I’m wearing. Some socialist realist art here, a bit of Japanese there, Blue Marlin’s fictional sports shirts and sweat shirts- mostly Irish- all of which I could somehow identify with or get.

I guess I picked them because they had a personally relevant cool, not just general ‘foreign cool’.

So what do you think? Is looking cool, or knowing the significance of what you’re wearing more important? Or are we doomed to the fashion equivalent of the Tower of Bable?

Opting out of the Summer Blockbusters

As much as I just don’t have as much time to catch the Summer movies, the fact is the big blockbusters just haven’t interested me. “Pirates” was always too much hype over a rock star impersonation and Kiera Knightly in tight, but unrevealing, clothing.  “Spiderman” just went really wrong with #2, and while I’ll likely see “Transformers”, the only thing that excites me about it is that the real Optimus is doing the voice.

“Evan Almighty?” Someone please send Richard Dawkins and a brigade of Bright Commandos to take out the exec’s who thought we needed another Almighty.

“Shrek 3?” When Mike Myers gets new material, then I will pay money to see him. So he’s nothing to me until the Keith Moon biopic happens.

The only big summer flick I need to see? Harry Potter. I know it won’t be as good as the book, but the movies have gotten it right ever since Chris Columbus disappeared of the face of the earth.

It’s sad enough ot think all the quality flicks I’ve missed seeing in theaters the last couple of years, but when the flicks you really *need* to see on the big screen just don’t need to be seen in the first place,  we got problems in mass media land, people.
Well… here’s holding my breath until Iron Man and the Trek reboot come out.

A Geek Questionnaire

Heya. You know those questionnaires that are passed around? I almost never answer them. Why share way too much random info that can come back and haunt you?

So here is one for you. It combines a couple of strands of geekdom… and part of the challenge is whether or not you even know what the questions are about.

Ok… not that big a challenge.
Enjoy.

1 ) Sparta or Mars Volta?

2 ) Rodimus Prime: “Too much Matrix too soon!” or “Robbed in His Prime!”

3 ) William Gibson? Bruce Sterling? or Neal Stephenson?

4 ) Hal? Guy? John? Kyle? or Ch’P?

For 5, either pick 5a or 5b. Or one from both. Just be honest.

5a ) Trixie? Princess? Minmei? DotMatrix? Cheetara? or Mom Racer?

5b ) Speed? Jason or Mark? Rick or Kyle? Lion-0 or Panthro? or Pop’s Racer?

6 ) 7 Zark 7- Made the show or gots to go?

7 ) Worse siblings- Luke & Leia? or He-Man & She-Ra?

8 ) Roger Waters solo project or David Gilmour solo project?

9 ) Favorite Series that Sci-Fi canceled while allowing inferior product to air?

Or, Favorite 10 Series that FoxTV cancelled while allowing inferior product to air?

10 ) Vin Diesel calls you. He want’s you in his AD&D campaign.

WHAT DO YOU DO?!?!?!?!

Ponder and discuss.