August 2013 - Chris Ullrich dot net
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August 2013

Busy, Busy, Busy

tool-box-1

I wanted to illustrate just how busy I’ve been recently by having not one, but three “busy” titles for this missive. So yeah, I’ve been busy.

That’s not to say that most of you don’t lead busy lives as well, I’m sure you do. It’s that I don’t know most of you personally so I can’t really speak with any authority on the subject, now can I?

I can speak with some authority or myself, however. So yeah, I’ve been busy. Been working on the house, working on other projects, working in general and also preparing for the arrival of Project M.

I’ve also realized that this time I have now to do things is going to be far less very soon. With the arrival of Project M imminent, I can foresee quite a bit of my time being taken up dealing with the day-to-day duties of being a father. No, I don’t mind at all. In fact, I’m really looking forward to it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t, occasionally, miss having time to do other things. Free time will just have to be regulated a bit more from now on, that’s all. When you’ve lived your life a certain way for as many years as I have, a very large change like this will certainly cause one to rethink one’s priorities.

Fortunately for all concerned, I’m a very evolved human being and will have no trouble making this important transition. Well, fingers crossed anyway.

Let’s switch gears now and talk about another subject I’ve become acquainted with recently: Home Improvement. Fortunately, I’ve got some background in things of this type having done a bit of construction as a young man as well as having spent several years as a Grip on film and TV sets.

Sure, that doesn’t mean I’m ready to add a room onto the house (it doesn’t actually need one, truth be told) but I do feel I know my way around a screwdriver, hammer and various other power tools.

That also brings me to a subject I’m very excited about: Tools. I think every home owner (well, almost every one anyway) should have a set of basic tools for doing things around the house. I have a decent set of tools I’ve accumulated over the years and also have many of the ones my Father left for me. Others have been broken, borrowed or otherwise lost over the years.

Consequently, my tool kit is a bit lacking in some areas. So, of course, that means I get to buy new tools. I’m enjoying that quite a bit.

Once I put the kit full together, I’ll post it here so you can see what I feel comprises an essential tool kit. Until then, try to get some fun outta life, you know?

Hit Girl vs. Mother Russia In ‘Kick-Ass 2’

kick-ass-2-team-1

As I said recently, I was (and am) a big fan of Mark Millar’s comic Kick-Ass. It’s a great series and became a very good movie in the hands of director Matthew Vaughn.

The second Kick-Ass movie is on the way now and the marketing department has been working overtime putting out lots of promo stuff to get fans in the mood and excited to see it. And that’s just what you’d expect them to do, right?

I’ve watched quite a few of said promos, but this new one featuring Hit Girl fighting Mother Russia is quite a good one. It also gives you a bit of insight into the filmmaking process, which can be a good thing.

Although, some people just like to come into these things cold and not take a peek behind the curtain, and that’s cool too. But with all the outlets for information available these days on the Internets, and elsewhere, that’s probably pretty hard unless your a luddite who lives in a cabin somewhere. Of course, if that describes you, you’re probably not reading this either, so let’s move on, shall we?

But if you really want to have no info or “spoilers” of any kind, I won’t try to change your mind. I don’t blame you. I get it. I sometimes wish I didn’t know anything either or that I didn’t know how movies, TV and “The Business” work, but I do.

Sometimes it can take the fun out of it having all this knowledge and experience. But most of the time it’s still a heck of a lot of fun. And even though I’m not often surprised, I still manage to have a great time.

So, for those interested, here’s the video. For the rest of you, just go outside or something. It will all be over soon.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0hky3lsJGQ?rel=0]

An Awesome TOHO-Style ‘Pacific Rim’ Trailer

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When I was growing up, one of my favorite things to do was watch giant monster (aka Kaiju) movies from Japan’s TOHO Studios featuring Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan and more in titles such as Mothra vs. Godzilla, King Kong vs. Godzilla, War of the Gargantuas and my personal favorite: Destroy All Monsters. They were great fun. Still are, in fact.

This was mostly possible because of two TV stations in Los Angeles I was able to pick up using rabbit ears from my bedroom north of San Diego. To this day, I thank old school Channel 5 and Channel 13 for bringing me giant monster movies and also for first introducing me to the original Star Trek series, which I distinctly recall ran right after Gilligan’s Island at the time.

Anyway, all this nostalgia brings me to this trailer for Guellermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim. But not just any trailer, because why would I bother with that now that the movie is out?

No, this one is special. It’s done in the Toho Godzilla style and it’s pretty great. Still love the music too.

Enjoy.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3Qygyy4204&w=560&h=315]

8-Bit ‘Kick-Ass’

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I’m a fan of all-things Kick-Ass. I thought the comic by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. was great and the movie, directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Aaron Johnson, Chole Moritz and Nicholas Cage, captured the spirit of the comic and was a fun ride in and of itself.

Naturally, I’m also interested in the sequel to both the comic and the movie. But before I get all into that (which I will at a later time), there’s this:

Enjoy.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKZgWdBK8-A?rel=0&w=560&h=315]

Steve Jobs, An American Legend

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I haven’t said much about the upcoming biopic of Steve Jobs, featuring Ashton Kutcher as the iconic Apple frontman. I’ve done that mostly because when I first heard about it, I was sure it was going to be a disaster, so why bother talking about it?

However, now that I’ve been seeing more and more material from the movie, I have to admit my attitude has changed. But changed how, you may ask?

Look, I don’t have anything in particular against Kutcher or against people trying to make movies about icons like Steve Jobs. We live in a world where things like that are still possible, and I, for one, am very happy about that.

So what’s my problem (or problems) with the movie? To be honest, after several months of hearing about it, watching trailers and talking about it with other film and tech people I know and respect, I’ve kinda forgotten what my problem with it is.

In truth, I kinda forget about the movie until a new trailer, or other piece of marketing, arrives in my inbox. And maybe that’s the problem I have with it. It’s not that I’m angry or think that Kutcher will do a terrible job portraying Jobs, it’s that I just don’t care.

I don’t care enough about the movie to have an opinion anymore, positive or negative. And that brings us to the latest trailer for the movie Jobs. I’ve watched it at least twice. It’s not horrible.

It’s not blow-you-out-of-your-seat great either. It’s just . . . there.

Will I see the movie when it comes out? At this point, probably not. Although, I really do hope something changes. I really hope something comes along that sparks my interest. I don’t like being indifferent. I really do want to care.

I guess that’s something, right?

[blip.tv http://blip.tv/play/hJh3g5SxfgA?p=1 width=”550″ height=”331″]