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What's wrong with Waterworld?
Waterworld is classified as an action/science fiction movie which was released in 1995 by Universal Pictures with a budgeted cost of $100 million. This however escalated up to $175 million which was unheard of at the time. There were many setbacks which added to the cost of production like Hurricane weather which collapsed a set worth a million dollars. With a box office take of only $88 million Waterworld was tagged a bomb. However overseas sales along with VHS and DVD sales allowed the movie to recoup some of its loses.
Waterworld revolves around the life of the Mariner played by Kevin Costner, a mutated human with gills and webbed feet, who travels the water covered world in a trimaran simply existing and avoiding human contact when at all possible. In the distant future global warming has melted the ice caps forcing humans to live on artificially constructed atolls where they must "recycle" the dead as part of their food supply.
Humans are becoming extinct due to inbreeding and when the Mariner is forced to visit one particular atoll the "Elders" of the tribe request he procreate with a young girl to broaden their genetic pool. When the Mariner declines the elders are suspicious and try to force him to stay. A struggle ensues thereby revealing his mutant status. The atollers fearing the mutation decide to "recycle" him.
During the recycling process the atoll is attacked by smokers, a band of pirates lead by the Deacon, played by Dennis Hopper. Living on an oil tanker, these pirates take what they want when they want it. The Deacon comes across information pointing to a young girl who lives on this atoll and who may have the clue that leads them to the mythical Dryland.
Aside from Hopper’s over the top portrayal of Deacon all the actors provided believable performances. The story was well written and the scenes are visually stunning. If you judge Waterworld based on entertainment value alone I think it did a great job. As always you'll have to decide for yourself.
Kevin Costner - The Mariner
Dennis Hopper - The Deacon
Jeanne Tripplehorn - Helen
Tina Majorino - Enola
Michael Jeter - Gregor
Ever have someone laugh at you? Ever been excluded from an activity because of the way you look, talk, walk, wear your clothes, hair or just because you’re different in some way? I have. From the time I was a young child growing up, someone somewhere made fun of me. It hurt so bad that it made me want to run away and hide.
I never did though. I always kept coming back and did what I had to do. As I became older I realized a truth. A truth so amazing that it gave me the ability to see through the name calling. This truth will undoubtedly make a big difference in your life as it did in mine. I am willing to share it with you. The truth is, only you can give someone else the power to hurt you! Let me explain. If someone makes fun of you and everyone laughs, why should it bother you? Is it true what they say? If it is, so what? Why do you care what other people think? The only opinion that matters is yours and if you’ve based your opinion on what others think then you’ve fallen prey into their web of hate. The only opinion that should matter is your own. If you like the way you dress or cut and wear your hair then that’s what truly matters. Be happy with who you are.
Is it that simple? YES! Let me tell you a story: When I was nine years old I started to gain weight. Yes, I got fat! How and why I can’t really say. Did I eat too much? Probably. I believe it was the fact that I always preferred reading books to playing sports. Notice how I didn’t blame my parents. Yes, they never pushed me to do anything but the decision was ultimately mine, wasn’t it? The one thing I am sure of is that people around me changed. I became an outcast. I was always picked last for neighborhood games or school activities. Girls stopped speaking to me and I heard giggles as I passed by. Were they laughing at me? Of course they were. Being young I didn’t know how to react so I became a loner. I avoided people. I’d walk home alone or eat my lunch alone. I was that kid who always had his head down. I thought, “If I can’t see them, they won’t see me.” How foolish of me to think that since there was so much of me to see. Don’t get me wrong. I tried to make friends but the looks on other people’s faces made me stop trying and I started my life of solitude.
I came to realize I was giving others the power over how I felt. The summer before my senior year of high school I was walking my neighborhood feeling miserable about myself when I decided to go to a local basketball/boxing gym. I had been told bad people went there. You know, “hoodlums” or “gangstas.” As bad as I was feeling about myself I didn’t care about the consequences. I was curious. Well, I was never into sports especially boxing so I skipped that area and I sat down to watch some guys playing basketball. At the time I was weighing approximately 290 pounds. Yes! I know, 17 years old and weighing that much! I told you I wasn’t feeling good about myself. Anyway, I sat down to watch these “hoodlums” play. They were skinny with long baggy shorts and no shirts. Some even had tattoos. They were sweating and having a great time. As the game ended the guys started to walk over to where I was sitting. I thought to myself, here we go. Someone’s going to start trouble or make fun of me.
“Hey,” said the closest guy to me as he wiped the sweat off his body with his shirt. “What’s up?”
‘Nothing much.” I replied hesitantly.
“We’re going to start a new game in a few minutes. If you want in, let us know.”
I was blown away. Here I was judging them, thinking they were trash, not accepting them because of what other people had said. I felt ashamed. I was in no position to judge others and no one should be judging me. I accepted the offer and even though I couldn’t keep up with these guys that didn’t stop them from throwing the ball to me or asking me back the following week. I was giddy, like a small child who’s been given a snack for doing a good deed. I wanted more.
I bought a basketball that same day and practiced every chance I got. On Saturday’s I was at the gym bright and early because I didn’t want to miss anything. Wouldn’t you know, I was picked first sometimes! The most incredible thing of all was that I lost 100 pounds that summer. I started my senior year and nobody recognized me. I was at a trim 185 pounds. People who hadn’t spoken to me since junior high started speaking to me as if I was an exchange student newly arrived. I finally realized the power I gave others to make me happy and I decided it had to stop. The people who talked with me regardless of when I was fat or skinny were my true friends. All the girls who were now inviting me to party’s or out on dates only wanted to know the skin deep me. I was happy with the attention. I was mad with the attention. I’m still the same person, damn it! Why can’t you accept me for who I am and not what I look like? Why can’t I accept me for what I look like? And then I did. I stopped giving people the power to make me happy and things became much easier. I was happy with whom I was and that made people around me happy.
I’ve been on a rollercoaster with my weight all my life but the one thing that hasn’t changed is who I am inside. Big or skinny I am still funny, courteous, gentle, sincere, polite an asshole sometimes and kind. The power to make me happy is all mine and I chose to use it every day. Be Strong and make the right choices. Remember, the easiest choice isn’t always the best choice and following the most difficult path can make you a better person. Don’t give others the power over you. We are all different and we can be happy with our differences. If you meet someone who can’t then you have the power to follow a different path.
.Funny or sad?
People with pets are such bungholes! Not all of them of course but most. The other day as I was walking my kids to school an asshole with a huge horse looking Great Dane stopped in front of us and let the monster take a crap on the sidewalk. If you’ve never seen a dog this big take a crap you should take some time off from work and see the show. It reminded me of the soft-serve ice cream machine at any local restaurants except built for giants. Anyway, this damn monster takes a crap right on the sidewalk and this bunghole owner doesn’t bother to clean it up. I don’t see how he could have anyway. He would have needed to be carrying a trash bin for that steaming pile of dino-chow. Once finished the dog and owner continue walking along as if nothing has happened. I would have chased after him but it would have taken days to get around this mountain of Science Diet aftermath. The following day the mess was gone. I assume the poor smuck who lived there hired a dump truck and had it hauled away.
This story brings me to the next dumb s**t with a pet. Some woman who happens to have nothing better to do all day but walk her dog was passing in front of my home this weekend. And when I say she has nothing better to do I really mean it. Every day she walks her dog past my home no less than 4 times and as much 8 times each day. Anyway, she was walking her dog and I happened to have left my gate open this day. My fence is a small thing about two feet high with a little latch gate. So, I was playing with my boys in the living room when my oldest son stops me and says, “Dad! Look!” I turn around and looked out the window and would you believe this dumb bitch let her dog walk into my yard! The dog was on one of those extendable leashes which allow it to walk up to 20 feet away but still be on a leash. So the damn dog is walking around in my yard sniffing here and there looking for something to piss or shit on. I jumped up and ran outside yelling, “WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU DOING?!”
She had the balls to reply, “Just walking my dog.”
I stood there with my mouth open, “ARE YOU F**KING INSANE? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN LET YOUR DOG WALK INTO MY F**KING YARD?!
She looked surprised! “He’s just walking around.” And all this time the f**king dog is walking around sniffing.
“GET YOUR F**KING DOG OUT OF MY YARD YOU DUMB B**CH!”
She starts to reel the dog in and apologizes. Once the dog is out of my yard she continues her walk. “LET YOUR F**KING DOG BACK IN MY YARD AGAIN! I DARE YOU!” I yelled as she retreated. I was fuming so much that I was literally shaking. I developed a migraine the size of that Great Dane’s shit.
So what was that stupid dog sniffing? The cat shit that my neighbors cat keeps burying in my front yard! Yep. The neighbor’s cat continually comes over to my yard and shits. I couldn’t take it anymore so I looked up remedies to keep pets out and I read they didn’t like the smell of vinegar. So I went to the local store and purchased some distilled white vinegar and poured it around the outer edge of my yard. I haven’t caught the cat in the act yet so I don’t know if it’s working but my yard smells like a god-damned salad bar and the vegetarian neighbors from across the street keep coming over to visit.
The Book of Eli
We arrive 30 years after a horrific war has ravaged America. People are trying to survive. Some have become nomads traveling from town to town looking for water or anything else that will keep them alive. Renegades have banded together to liberate travelers of anything they might be carrying.
Denzel Washington plays Eli, a traveler who is on a quest to protect and deliver a special book that could save man-kind from its further destruction. Unfortunately for Eli there is one obstacle keeping him from completing his task. Carnegie. Played by Gary Oldman, Carnegie is an educated man who likes things the way they are and he uses his intelligence to build an army because he is also searching for the very same book Eli is carrying.. “It’s not a book. It’s a weapon!” Eli must now use his wits to defend himself and the book with his life if necessary. This movie comes close to mimicking the 1985 novel written by David Brin called The Postman, a movie released in 1997 starring Kevin Costner
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Legion
Just when you thought Angels would be waiting to accept us into Heaven we find out that is the farthest thing from the truth. According to the major motion picture Legion being released this January 22, 2010 we are in it deep. God, it turns out, is bored and angry with humans and he wants to wipe the slate clean. Instead of wiping out us instantly he decides to make us suffer by sending his winged army to set the record straight and kick-start the Apocalypse. Fortunately for us Michael the Archangel disagrees and comes to the rescue. He can’t do it alone so he recruits a group of diner patrons to help.
Paul Bettany stars as Michael the Archangel. You’ll remember him from A Knight’s Tale where he played Geoffrey Chaucer along with the late Heath Ledger. Tyrese Gibson of Transformer fame also stars along with veteran actors Charles S. Dutton and Dennis Quaid. The unrecognizable Doug Jones also stars as Ice Cream Man who has had memorable roles such as the fishy Abe Sapien in Hellboy 1 & 2, Silver Surfer/Norrin Radd in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and the 2006 foreign film Pan’s Labyrinth as Pan and the Pale Man
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Today is my birthday. It's funny because I never thought I would live past my 40's. It's sad because I'm 45. This first post is just a trial run to get my feet wet so-to-speak. If anyone reads this I will not make apologies for upsetting you or making you laugh or cry. We as a society take things too seriously. I have my beliefs, such as religion and faith are a joke. I believe that telling the truth regardless of the consequences is what makes us great. (Watch the movie - The Invention of Lying). If everyone told the truth all the time we could get to a solution so much faster but alas we are imperfect. I will probably write things that only make me laugh and that's ok because I am like many people who write blogs narcissistic. I want to be loved by my readers but hate being around people. I have a wonderful wife who puts up with me so it's a perfect marriage. I have three boys ages 11, 9, 2 and one that is in the oven as I write. He's only 6 weeks old. Not much bigger than a grain of rice.
Although I don’t believe in any religion I will not try to convince you that you are wrong. You simply are. Stop trying to figure out why we were placed here and just be. You don’t need a God to make yourself happy and you surely don’t need a God to tell you what is right and what is wrong. Stop hiding behind your God and his will. Shit happens
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Comment by Larry Gonzalez
on Movie Review - Waterworld
The Funny and the Sad
MovieHouseReview