Current mood:	thoughtful
Entry tags:	george carlin, incredible hulk, remembrance, review, stan winston

Remembrance and Review
The year is about halfway over and the world has experienced three great losses: Metal Machine Music went off-line and Stan Winston and George Carlin have both passed away. D:

It hurts when the greats leave us, but I suppose that it's only when things are gone that we fully comprehend how great they really were. For those of you that don't know (and I don't see how), Stan Winston was a 'creature creator'. Most of the greatest creatures/characters of the most-memorable movies (Independence Day, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk to name a few) were animated/sculpted/inspired by this man. He was even working on a few movies that will be coming out in the next few years, so he was -- and always will be -- an inspirational person.

George Carlin is probably best-known for being a smart-assed, counter culturist with a sizable amount of zingers and good points in his acts. Some people love to hate him, I personally enjoy watching his comedy acts -- the "Seven Words You Can't Say on TV" bid is priceless and a perfect example of his brilliance.

While I am sad, I have managed to put several things into context over the past few days...and it has helped me cope more or less. I understand that life waxes and wanes, ideas are formed and lost with the birth and passing of great minds. Even then, we that are left behind are still charged with continuing the flow...a flow started or re-directed by the people or activities that are no longer a part of our daily lives. Perhaps it is this twist of life's stream, or the proverbial fork in the road of thought that is the greatest gift bestowed upon those of us that remain.

This inspiration drives us to draw, to write, to think; gives us the drive to live in our own way...or at the very least makes us continue in a way that pays tribute to those that have come before. Your path is your own, but remember even after you're gone there will be those that remember...

...let them remember the best things about you. And for the record, I agree with George Carlin -- they really should put bulls-eyes on Kleenex so you can compare scores.

And on that note, on to the movie review. I promised a review of The Incredible Hulk...and so I shall deliver.

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Alright, I -- like most people -- have seen the first movie and realize that this movie has a lot to make up for in terms of story. New actor (though Edward Norton is quite good), a few guilty pleasures (elastic can be comedy), and a shorter movie time assist the enjoyment factor...and the tie in to Iron Man doesn't hurt either. But to truly enjoy this movie, you must push aside the first Hulk movie -- a complete flush of memory -- and think in terms of the comic books so you won't go "WTF!"

Okay? Good...

The movie starts with quick memory flashes and newspaper clippings, which is good enough to offer some revised backstory and weave a new path to the direction this movie is headed. If you don't like science, then perhaps a couple of scenes in this movie might not be your cup of tea...but the transformations from Banner to Hulk are nicely done and visibly painful.

Compared with the first Hulk movie, the Hulk character has more emotional depth than merely anger and annoyance. Lou Ferrigno, who looks amazing by the way, makes a guest appearance on top of playing the voice of the Hulk. That's right people, the Hulk actually talks in this movie...enjoy it. Seriously. D:

Also, there are a few 'mrrr' moments I had, mostly because I'm a bit of a special effects geek. The biggest moment was the first appearance of the Hulk, when the insane commando shoots the elevated metal catwalk to use it as a makeshift brake for a life-threatening object. The 'disheveling' rods implanted in the floor to make it seem like the bullets are shooting through it are blatantly visible, which annoyed the dickens out of me. <<;

Otherwise the movie is pretty good. Shorter than Iron Man and without the extra footage after the credits...which is where I felt cheated the most. I give this movie a four out of five.

And on a personal note, I have to wonder...is Marvel the whore about Hollywood now? Spider-Man was a Sony Picture feature, Iron Man was done with Paramount, and the Incredible Hulk with Universal.... So who's going to get the next crack at her?

And for the record, I think Paramount did Marvel the best of the three...and you can take that word play any way you want it. But I hope Marvel sticks to using Paramount the same way for the Avengers (2011) as they did for Iron Man. I'd insert a witty play on words here...but I think I'm done for the night.

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