Movie Project - Day 46: Willow

Moving into something a bit more adventurous, the other night we watched the 1988 classic, Willow. This movie is truly remarkable and quite the mishmash of actors, producers, and directors that works very well. I'm sure if this movie was made today they would try to make two or three sequels, but this was back in the day when people would make a movie, be happy with it, then move onto something else.

There are times I miss those days.

The movie's plot is common enough: Evil Overlord looking to take over the land and quell the one person that has been prophesied to destroy her. Common man takes the task that has been more or less forced upon him, and encounters willy and wacky folk to add to his party as he journeys to fulfill his quest.

So if the story's been heard before, why is it something worth hearing again? Perhaps it's because of the lavish atmosphere of the world created. Or it could be the balance of character development and comedy. The practical uses of magic and prominent use of melee weaponry. Maybe because I have some very strong memories of watching this movie with my step-brother, whom I have not seen nor talked to in years. In the end, I believe it's because the story hits the right points with the right intensity.

The biggest draw for this movie is the fact the heroes aren't people that are born and bred for greatness. Willow, the main protagonist, is a simple farmer and loving father just trying to keep his household in order. He makes mistakes, he has fears, and he has dreams. While not everyone would aspire to be a magician, it's still admirable that he never gives up, even when his best trick goes awry during a performance.

On a side note, the actor who played Willow, Warwick Davis, has become more well know for his role as Professor Flitwick in the Harry Potter series. Just goes to show just how far Willow Ufgood went in his career as a sorcerer!

An evil overlord taking over the world and those that are trying to stop this from happening make up the bulk of the story, but the movie also touches on the lives of the ordinary people that wouldn't know much about what was going on, and are happy to be that way. They live their lives, drink their ale, do their jobs, but in large don't react very strongly to what's going on.

Of all the action packed parts of this movie, one element and one event stood out for my daughter.  First and foremost, she loved the horses.  There were horses in pretty much every part of the movie.  Ponies, stallions, mares, cart horses, almost any kind of horse you can imagine.  Well, they never perform the RCMP Musical Ride.  And they don't have the Lipizaner Stallions featured either.  They still have a lot of horses!

Then her most favourite part of the movie was, without a doubt, the sledding.  At one point, Willow escapes from an mountain enemy camp by sledding down the mountain side on a shield.  I'm still amazed how they were able to shoot that scene.  Then Mad Mardigan, played by Val Kilmer, falls off the shield/sled, tumbles down the mountain, and winds up rolled into a massive pile of snow.  It's quite funny watching this pile of snow, with a pair of feet sticking out, come rolling down the hill.

For its time, it was quite the landmark in filmmaking, and it was produced by George Lucas.  While this is not Star Wars, it certainly has enough to stand on its own.  A modern classic and a lot of fun, but be warned, there are some scary parts that might scare little ones.  Of course, I've also shown my daughter Toy Story 3, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Coraline.  I think she's used to scary by now.

Either that, or I better start saving now for the therapy bills.

The Beginning of a Beautiful Relationship

Over the holidays, my wife got the idea to go the Telus World of Science Edmonton since I had the time available.  We also got the idea to get an annual family pass, since we do enjoy going there.  We don't go very often though, and I wondered if it would be a wise investment to purchase the pass.  After some calculations, I concluded that we would only have to attend three times withing the year and the pass would have paid for itself. I further concluded that the reason we don't go very often is because of the expense, and we only go when we can spend the entire day there in order to get the best value for our dollar.

Even with that information in hand, I was nervous and second guessing myself as we were standing in line at the Box Office to purchase the passes.  While the passes would cover our admission for the day we were there, we were spending three times what we usually would!  After the initial shock of the amount of money I had just spent, we went on to enjoy the Science Center.

We went through most everything like we usually do, and the new kids Discovery area was quite the treat!  

At the end of it all, Rini of course didn't want to leave.  But with the passes in hand, we reassured her that we would be able to return again soon.

In a bit of unusual turn of events, I stayed true to my word, and we went again this past Saturday, even though we were only there for an hour.

Unlike our previous visit, we only went to two of the four galleries, and didn't set foot in the Discovery area, let alone the second floor.  We did catch the tail end of the fire demonstration, for which Rini went and sat front row.  I was quite taken in by the isoproponol/lightsaber demonstration!  

Although we were only there for an hour, I found it to be very fulfilling, and I'm thinking that we could do these outings every week!  I am eagerly looking forward to the next time we go.

And it will definitely be before the Star Wars exhibit comes.

A New Christmas Classic

Carving Angels by Diane Tolley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Much like how the weather changes in Alberta, ofttimes our lives don't quite turn out the way we think it would. Such is the case in this wonderful Christmas story, "Carving Angels."

The story is told through the blind eyes of a woodcarver, who was once the lead carver in his shop but has chosen retirement with his loss of sight. Ten years have passed since he put away his tools and now he's spends his days waiting. Waiting for breakfast, waiting for lunch, waiting for supper, and waiting to go to bed in order to do it all over again. The only enjoyment he receives is visits from his granddaughter who was born 4 years ago.

She makes a bold move and asks him to carve something for her, as she has never seen him work, just as he has never seen her face. Initially refusing, he decides to accept the challenge and attempts to make something of the block of wood that she brought him to shape and form as only a master can. The passion to create comes alight once more, and he in turn teaches her the woodworking skills that have served him well.

The timing of this renaissance could not have come at a better time, because their partnered skills serve the community in a way that no one imagined possible, and changes the entire community for the better.

I will be the first to admit that this story made me cry three times while reading, and I'm not in the least bit ashamed to admit it. It is a powerful message about the human spirit, and how you can never give up on people, but most importantly how you can never give up on yourself.

While the woodcarver was not the ideal image of a artist, since he had long lost his sight, he still knew his trade. He still knew how to work a piece of wood, how to choose the right piece, and most importantly he was able to determine what needed to be brought out of the wood. Though his blindness was a significant hindrance, he didn`t allow it to define who he was.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It's a story that you will want to have in your home and read again and again.

View all my reviews
Although the author of this work is my mother-in-law, please understand that I am not writing this review under duress, nor do I feel this is a display of nepotism to tout this marvelous story. I read this book over a month ago when I purchased my copy directly from the author, but I only wrote the review now because I spent part of yesterday selling the book at a local Arts and Crafts fair. By the end of the day, I found that I had told a rather concise review to everyone I met. I'm not sure if it was my salesmanship that helped matters, or just my strong love for the story, but it was a joy just to tell people about this great story.

Physical disabilities are much more difficult to live with and/or hide from the world, and I have seen people work with what they have been given and make a fruitful life out of it. I have my own disability, and it has long been something that hold secret because of the stigmas associated with it. After reading this book, I found myself with a renewed sense of worth. It may be difficult to function some days, but I know that I have a family that loves me and needs me, despite my shortcomings, and that's enough to keep me going.

Just as I said in my review, I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Upgrade time

Over the past few weeks, I have struggled to make amends with a mistake that I made. I tried to upgrade my wife's netbook, affectionately known as Dory. This computer was named after the little blue fish in Finding Nemo, simply because it was little, and blue. Little did we know how close to the mark we were with the name.

For the six people out there who have not seen this masterful film, the character Dory suffers from acute short term memory loss, like all fish would. This is also something that we found Dory, the computer, became prone to the same malady. There were times when the web browser would crash for reasons unknown, then go on as if nothing happened. We couldn't use the touch pad, because we discovered that she would forget how to boot up if you did that. Then after three years the battery started to give out, and would only last for about 45 minutes from it's original battery life of 2 hours.

Added to this, the netbook was an early version, and was running Linpus Lite. A Linux OS that was very tightly locked down. I finally figured out how to access the root, only to discover the OS had been abandoned for at least two years. All updates, even browser updates, could not be done through the OS. Yet I felt there was a way to get the Firefox updated to Version 3.6 and I tried my best to do so.

This is when I discovered that I don't know Linux very well.

In my efforts to figure out how to upgrade the browser, I had to move some files. Where I moved them to, I'm still not sure. Neither is Dory, and now will not run the web browser because of this. I wasn't sure what I did, but I knew it was bad. Oh, the writer still worked, and the Mplayer would still work when it felt like it, but the one program we used the most was done.

Most people would throw up their hands and give up, but I had a feeling that I could get Dory working again. After learning how to make a boot stick, because Dory doesn't have an optical drive, I installed Ubuntu 10.10 Maverick Netbook Remix. Firefox was functional, and on a recent update! Life was good! Until I tried to use the wireless...

While the main driver was Atheros, it was not recognizing the AR5006ES wifi card. It was looking for a AS5001 card. I found madwifi, and had hope that it would work, but after the installation and recompiling the kernel, I had to throw my hands up and call it quits. I had given it a good honest try, and Dory is still a good little internet terminal. So long as you're not trying to do anything too complicated, or busy, or twitter, or would be better with a larger screen or better resolution. And given that if you're going to be using her for longer than 40 minutes, you should be close to an outlet, or else the computer would die.

In hindsight, I'm surprised this day didn't come sooner.

Lack of functional wifi was the last straw, and it was time to scout out a replacement for little Dory.

And search I did. At first I was strongly considering purchasing a Galaxy Tab. Small, compact, cute, and runs Android 2.2 with great competence. What more could you ask for?

What about novel writing?

Dory would still be able to carry out that responsibility, since OpenOffice still functions decently, but if Caitlin would want to novel as well, then we're in a bit of a bind. True, a bluetooth keyboard would solve that ordeal, but iPaq still functions well for an eReader.

Then I did some thinking. Did I really want a tablet, netbook, laptop, or a smartphone?

First world problems.

After some deliberation, I came to the conclusion that while a touch pad interface would be excellent, and an iPad would make use of the app that Caitlin purchased by accident, there was a far better solution, which cost wound up being about the same as a top of the line iPad2. For quite some time I was looking into getting Caitlin a Wacom tablet in order to help with digital art, especially since she's developed a healthy interest in Gimp as of late.

Plus it is our anniversary, and our 100th monthavesary is coming up soon too. It's going to be a boring holiday season...

But where did we get the money for all this? Well, the government finally discovered that we added Bronwyn to our family nearly eleven months ago, and they paid us all the back payments on the tax benefits we should have been receiving. So this isn't so much a treat for us, but for our girls!

At least that's what I'm going to keep telling myself every time I boot up Olivia, which is the name of the laptop that I purchased to replace Dory, and Iris (our desktop) to an extent. While it's not exactly a desktop replacement, it outperforms our desktop on most every scale. Six times as much RAM, hard drive with sixteen times the capacity, higher resolution screen output, and HD compatibility.

But why the name Olivia? First, Memory Express had a TRON:Legacy keyboard on display, so I had that on my mind. Second, one of the actresses in said movie is Olivia Wilde, also did a great job on House, M.D. and I'm eager to see how she does in Cowboys & Aliens this weekend. Third, the name Olivia is nice, and we haven't reserved it for any of our daughters.

So far, so good. But I admit that it's going to take a bit of getting used to to figure out the Windows Live Movie Maker. With the hardware that Olivia has, I'm thinking it shouldn't be that tough. Just have to get used to the minimal GUI, or purchase some more heavy duty software.

Dory, you're an adorable little netbook and you still have your uses, but it was time for something a little more up to date with a bit more guts under the hood.

Welcome Olivia!

Six Eyed Reviews: Winnie the Pooh

A new project that I've been working on with a friend of mine has been a video review series. The most recent installment featured my daughter, as she came along with us to see Disney's latest release Winnie the Pooh. We have another movie lined up for review this Wednesday, so I'll be sure to include that one here as well.

In the mean time, enjoy!

Calgary Comic Expo 2011

The 2011 Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo marked the fourth time Caitlin and I have attended, Rini's third, and Bronwyn's first! We had our hands full for the past few months putting together our entries for the Costume Contest, hence the lack of posts. Thought it was a massive amount of effort, a substantial amount of money, and countless hours to get it all together, we had an absolute blast and are already planning for next year.

The Expo is a two-fold event for our family. Not only do we get to cosplay and meet some celebrities, but we also get to visit with my sisters and their families. This year we went down earlier, and spent a bit more time with them. Although we don't live that far away, the expo is about the only time that we get to visit at all.

This event has begun to be a bit of a family tradition for us. Every year I've gone with Rini, we get a picture with R2-D2. Originally, I wanted to get a picture with just R2 and Rini, but the first year she was too scared to be near him by herself. Now, the both of us crowd in the shot without a second thought. In hindsight, I should have got a picture with Bronwyn as well, but she's only nine months old right now! Back in 2008, when Caitlin and I went by ourselves, and left Rini in the care of my sister, she was just over a year old. The next year, Rini was walking around. The year after, she wanted to be in the stroller all the time. This year, it was a bit of both.

We didn't attend many panels this year due to having our girls with us, but there was one panel I was determined to go to, Cartoon Voices 1. I wanted to go to the second one, but we slept in and there was no room by the time I got there. Despite William Shatner and Jonathan Frakes in attendance, I really wanted to see the panel with Jess Harnel, Maurice LaMarche, and Rob Paulson. I seem more drawn to the voice actors, because two years ago, I was bent on attending the panel with Scott McNeil regarding voice acting.

I was very grateful to have attended Cartoon Voices 1, because they talked about how they create characters and stay competitive. Borrowing voices is not a bad thing, oftimes the actors they borrow them from aren't using them anymore! At the end of the panel, Rob Paulson told a story about a child he met with Muscular Dystrophy. The kid asked for an autograph, but Rob didn't have anything with him at the time. But he was wearing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles jacket, as he was doing the voice of Raphael in the original series at the time. He took off his jacket, signed it, and gave it to him. Later on he discovered that this same kid was so attached to the jacket that he refused to go into surgery without it, such to the point the hospital staff sterilized the jacket, put it in a plastic bag and had it in the OR during the operation!

But that's not the end of the story. The doctors expected that he would only have a year or two left to live, not much longer past fourteen years old. But he still had that jacket, and everyone in the room could attest to that, BECAUSE HE WAS IN THE AUDIENCE. Rob finished the story with the simple but powerful statement, "You can't tell me it's just cartoons."

I wish that I had some time to talk to him, or at least listen in on the conversation that Rob had with him after the panel. The only thing I heard as I was exiting the room was when Rob told him, "Meeting you changed my life."

The rest of Saturday was spent in the Costume Contest, which I will talk about tomorrow. For now, I need sleep. Didn't get much of that over the weekend!

Next year, I think I might book off Friday and Monday. Friday to travel; Monday to recover.

Movie Project - Day 45: Tron (1982)

I have officially run out of excuses not to do another blog post. My back has recovered to the point that I can get around without my brace, I have recovered from my cold, and most importantly, I have a new job! I'm going to get back on the New Year's resolution bandwagon, and try to post something every day, whether it be a movie project or a Bite a time review. I'll have to revisit the Bite at a Time movies, because I actually talk to my coworkers during lunch now! Eh, I'll figure something out.

Back to the subject at hand, the 1982 cult classic, computer assisted Disney film Tron. To be honest, I did things a little backwards and showed her Tron:Legacy before watching the original with her. Add that to my running list of other parental mistakes.

To my amazement, she sat through the entire movie. I'm happy to say my little girl enjoyed this nostalgic marvel, but I'm not sure why she was so entranced. I would love to watch it again with her, but everytime I suggest it, she insists on watching Tron:Legacy instead.

One moment that I watched three times - once by myself, twice to call Caitlin's attention what I saw, and the third time was due to Rini's request to see it again - was when Tron and Flynn meet up again on the Solar Sailor. There is a wide shot where there is a "hidden Mickey" in the background. It takes up the entire background, so you have to be watching for it, but once you see it, it's hard to miss!

One key difference between Tron and its sequel is the floating little character known as "Bit." While it only ever says yes or no, Rini thought it was quite cute! She hasn't been mimicking the lines like she does with other movies, but it brought a smile to her face when the character came on screen.

Yet, she might have just been excited about the Recognizer, which is one of the scenes where the Bit appears. Rini did enjoy the Lightcycles, but she thought it was hilarious when Flynn was running into walls and columns with the recognizer. I'll admit, the sound effects did add an over the top comedic vibe.

For its day, Tron was a breakthrough in computer animation. It didn't have the most engaging story, yet with this movie, it wasn't trying to be a movie to be remembered for the captivating dialogue or character depth. Tron catered to the geek community from the Ring Game down to the "Gort Klattu Barada Nikto" banner in Alan Bradley's cubicle. It was a milestone in computer graphic design and has provided fuel for the creative fires of current CG artists, including John Lasseter.

Does that mean we're going to be watching Tron again in the near future? Not until Rini gets her fill of Tron:Legacy.

It might be a while.