Bourne Legacy

Just saw Bourne Legacy, and I feel it is a waste.  First, it is shot in that close-up shaky hand-held camera style.  Sure, that is supposed to heighten the tension, but it also eliminates any chance of actually appreciating the stunt work.  Also (I've said this before and I'll say it again), nothing made me want to invest my time in these characters.  Finally, as they were pulling away on the boat at the end, I sat there dumbfounded thinking, "That's it?  That's the end?"  The entire movie was a disappointment from start to finish.  Oh, and they used scenes in the trailers that did not appear in the movie.  Not cool.

John F. Kennedy quote

"There are three things which are real: God, human folly and laughter. The first two are beyond our comprehension. So we must do what we can with the third."
--John F. Kennedy

My source for the quote

Looper

It has been a couple months since my last movie post, so I thought I would do another one.  I went to see Looper not too long ago.  The time travel plot is interesting, but I couldn't help but equate many of the sequences in this movie to The Terminator.  There is a guy who travels back in time to kill the past version of a person to prevent a future event.  The mother of one of these persons is named Sara.  Can we get any closer?  The looper character is also Sara's protector and eventual lover, although he does not come from the future.  Or so we think into a really well done ending sequence that adds more time travel questions than it answers.  I like endings like that.  The unfortunate thing is the movie that occurred before the ending.  I realize we are dealing with a punk-style anti-hero, but one still needs to create a desire to like the character or want him to succeed.  So many movies nowadays are driven by what can be generated in a computer; it would be nice to actually cheer for a character again.  Other then the ending, the best part of the movie was the fantastic pocket watch, pictured here:

I found out this is a Victorian watch made in England for sale in the Turkish Ottoman Empire around 1850-1880.  I was so taken by the watch that I actually bought one on eBay.  It is supposed to arrive in 7 days.  Another thing about the pocket watch is it may not have been what was originally filmed.  There are several websites that are selling this "official Looper replica watch."

This is a very different style from the one in the first picture.  Anywho, there is enough time travel conflict to make the scifi enjoyable, but the characters aren't worth rooting for.  Therefore, I would recommend you wait until Netflix or Redbox carries it to see this picture.

Quotes about ignorance

"If ignorance is bliss, there should be more happy people."
--Victor Cousin

“You are not entitled to your opinion. You are entitled to your informed opinion. No one is entitled to be ignorant.”

--Harlan Ellison

 

“We kill all the caterpillars and complain that there are no butterflies.”

--John Marsden

 

“There are in fact two things, science and opinion; the former begets knowledge, the latter ignorance.”
--Hippocrates

 

“Intolerance is the first sign of an inadequate education. An ill-educated person behaves with arrogant impatience, whereas truly profound education breeds humility.”
--Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn

 

“Ignorance is ultimately the worst enemy of a people who want to be free.”

--Jonathan Hennessey

 

The Source of the Quotes

Destroy! Destroy! Destroy!

I just had a really weird dream.  Here is what I remember.  I was in a big fight.  I really couldn't tell what I was fighting, but I knew there were people on my side fighting with me.  It is a very small room with lots of furniture.  One of the enemies (with no physical form) goes behind my grandmother's old writing desk.  I get all serious and say, "If you so much as scratch that, I will kill you."  The entity goes behind a bookshelf next to the desk, and I push the bookshelf on top of it.  I then let out a deep guttural yell that causes everyone to stop and stare at me.  The end.

When I woke up, my heart was racing, and my face was flush.  I've never had this kind of physical reaction to a dream before.  I wanted to get it written down so I start remembering more of my dreams.