http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ STRIKE A POSE!!! Films: Recent Posts en Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:42:10 +0000 http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=31#post-125 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 20:00:33 +0000 Ryan 125@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>I finished Ender in Exile. Overall it was an enjoyable book. It makes me want to go read Speaker over again and then read the two books after that. But I have other ones I need to get to before I do that.</p> <p>Anyway I have moved on to Electric Sheep and am a few chapters in. The book is a bit bizarre but in a good way. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=31#post-124 Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:02:03 +0000 Ryan 124@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>That that book has been on my list of books to read for a long time. Philip K. Dick has written a couple really great novels that I never got around to reading. Hopefully I can get around to those at some point.</p> <p>Memory of Earth is the first book in the Homecoming Saga by Orson Scott Card. Humanity has lived for 40 million years on a planet called Harmony, after leaving an Earth that has been destroyed by human conflict. In order not to repeat the mistakes that led to the destruction of civilization on Earth, a computer, known as the Oversoul, was left as guardian of this planet.</p> <p><blockquote>High above the planet Harmony, the Oversoul watches. Its task, programmed so many millennia ago, is to guard the human settlement on this planet--to protect this fragile remnant of Earth from all threats. To protect them, most of all, from themselves.</p> <p>The Oversoul has done its job well. There is no war on Harmony. There are no weapons of mass destruction. There is no technology that could lead to weapons of war. By control of the data banks, and subtle interference in the very thoughts of the people, the artificial intelligence has fulfilled its mission.</p> <p>But now there is a problem. In orbit, the Oversoul realizes that it has lost access to some of its memory banks, and some of its power systems are failing. And on the planet, men are beginning to think about power, wealth, and conquest.</blockquote></p> <p>I am almost done with Ender in Exile. I am really enjoying it, but I can see other people being bored with it. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=28#post-123 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:17:38 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 123@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Wow I haven't heard two more different opinions. I seriously hated how boring this film was. It was just very shoddily made. I could list a thousand reasons, but hey, if you enjoyed it that's fine too. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=31#post-122 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 09:16:37 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 122@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Speaking of ANDROIDS, we just watched Blade Runner for Film Genre (sci fi) class, and I appreciate that movie more every time I see it. What got you jazzed to read the book, and when you do I'd like to hear your feelings about it and the differences between it and the film.</p> <p>What's the Memory of Earth? </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=28#post-121 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:39:30 +0000 Ryan 121@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>I actually enjoyed the movie and was glad I went to see it. The beginning of the movie isn't all that great, but it got progressively better as it went on. I would actually say this is the best video game based movie I have seen (although that's obviously not saying a whole lot). </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=31#post-120 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:33:04 +0000 Ryan 120@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>I am just finishing up <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_(2006_novel)">Empire</a>. Its an interesting book. Next up on my list to read: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_Androids_Dream_of_Electric_Sheep%3F">Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Memory_of_Earth">The Memory of Earth</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender_in_Exile">Ender in Exile</a>. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=31#post-119 Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:06:00 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 119@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Figured I'd make a thread for books, since I just finished reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman. </p> <p>Wow what a trippy fucking book. I read all 583 pages or so of it, and I still barely get what happened. Thankfully all the loose ends (and there are MANY OF THEM) are tied up in the last 40 pages or so, but its so hard to figure out where it all really factors into the story that I have yet to truly digest what I ingested.</p> <p>Anyone else wanna talk about books? Here, I'll say something film-related about American Gods:</p> <p>No one could ever mother fucking adapt this to any other medium. Ever. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=28#post-118 Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:16:53 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 118@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Ya know I don't even really remember that shot. This movie blew. Nothing happened until the end, and while the end was pretty good it just wasn't worht the hour and a half that proceeded it. Almost, but not quite, and the ending was really lame in general. A one-shot-bullet-time kill? Grah. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=30#post-117 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 21:08:30 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 117@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>I just finished watching that video clip thing and it was ok but they seriously didn't touch on any funny points. Intelligent points, sorta, but nothing ironic. The fact that Hitman wasn't on there makes me kinda wanna see it, and postal as well. Oh well. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=30#post-116 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 06:47:17 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 116@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Unfortunately Max Payne should be up there. Review to come soon. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=29#post-115 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 06:45:04 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 115@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Mean Guns. I posted a review of it here<br /> <a href="http://strikeaposefilms.com/2008/10/15/mean-guns-quick-review" rel="nofollow">http://strikeaposefilms.com/2008/10/15/mean-guns-quick-review</a> </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=30#post-114 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 02:51:46 +0000 Ryan 114@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>What a funny list. Feel free to discuss:</p> <p><a href="http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41754.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41754.html</a> </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=29#post-113 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:30:05 +0000 Ryan 113@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>I know all of you have at least one. A movie that you know is bad, but you still enjoy it. For all its faults, it still comes out entertaining in the end. I am just curious to see what "bad movies" people like.</p> <p>So, what are they? </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=28#post-112 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:27:11 +0000 Ryan 112@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p><img src="http://upload.neutralx2.com/files/1/Posts/July08/maxpayne_mila_marky.jpg"></p> <p>Wow, this movie just looks fantastic. Could this be the first video game movie that is actually good? Or perhaps even great? If you have not seen the trailer, you can see it here:</p> <p><ul><br /> <li><a href="http://movies.apple.com/movies/fox/maxpayne/maxpayne-tlre_480p.mov">480p</a><br /> </li><li><a href="http://movies.apple.com/movies/fox/maxpayne/maxpayne-tlre_720p.mov">720p</a><br /> </li><li><a href="http://movies.apple.com/movies/fox/maxpayne/maxpayne-tlre_1080p.mov">1080p</a></li></ul></p> <p>Who else is going to see this film? </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=27#post-111 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 04:26:17 +0000 Ryan 111@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p><img src="http://www.scificool.com/images/2008/04/babylon-ad-movie-5.jpg"></p> <p>This was one of those movies that I was really looking forward to until I read about how the director said he was disappointed in it. After reading the <a href="http://strikeaposefilms.com/2008/08/27/babylon-ad-update-this-is-what-integrity-looks-like">news post on SAP</a>, I decided that it would be best not to spend my money on it while it was in theaters. However, I still wanted to check it out so I watched it earlier tonight.</p> <p>Overall, its a pretty mediocre movie and I am glad I didn't see it in theaters. You could tell the movie was missing scenes that were cut, which made the plot a bit difficult to follow. Its a shame, because I really liked the atmosphere of the movie. The action scenes were alright though, so it was entertaining enough. I would say if you really wanted to see the movie then you still should. But there is no way you will walk away from it not feeling really disappointed. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=26#post-110 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:53:25 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 110@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Well at least we now have a movie where you kill a guy after beating him unconcious with a wooden swor.d </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=25#post-109 Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:52:47 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 109@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Great detailed explanation on what we're working towards. Maybe you should try and remember some of the other characters or throw up sketches of them onto the site. If you get some created, we can make an Atavist Splinter section in the art gallery. I'm really excited to see more of your work on this project, cause it'll inspire me to do more. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=26#post-108 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:23:11 +0000 DamienAleisterMcCoy 108@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Yeah. We were simply awsome. Whats there to explain, it was the greatest battle EVAR!!!</p> <p>Then we made a second. Even Better. And the poptarts.</p> <p>We're thinking about doing a third. Maybe. We'll see. LOL xD </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=25#post-107 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:17:41 +0000 DamienAleisterMcCoy 107@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>The only reference to Blind thus far on the site is in Neighborhood Ninjas, a short Dylan and I did back in 2006. A few clips of this short can be seen in the SAP Demo Reel, but no complete release of that footage has been made thus far. (It wasn't all that great, to tell you the truth, but it was fun to practice filming types of angles and all with.)</p> <p>Anywho, this all started between Dylan and I mainly, I was at his house and I had a sketchpad with me, and I started drawing myself (back in the day) but added a blindfold, some armor-type apparel, and a katana. We eventually just called that character BLIND, and from that point we really started to open our minds to trying to build up a series, which we later called "The Atavist Splinter."</p> <p>As far as Blind goes, his story was developed over some time, when we brainstormed for more ideas about the series. First off, he is NOT a ninja. In fact, he hates being called that. It urks him so. BLIND is a failed agent of the corporation he works for. In other words, he owes them alot of debt for lost relics that was placed under his responsibility, ever since a severe mission involving a teammate of his and himself in where he loses his eyesight in order to save his friend.</p> <p>Not going to give away too much, but Blind is a formidable opponent if fought against. He's quick, and he especially has highly attuned senses due to severe training, and of course, the relic he owns which enhances a normal human's abilities ten-fold. Blind is to be a rather dark and silent character, who's main purpose is to serve his corporation. As far as the story has been developed, theres alot of secrets behind the main character of this series revealing a dark past and the inevitable future of him. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=5#post-106 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 04:10:13 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 106@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Welcome new members! I just wanted to post letting you guys know that this is where you go to talk about yourselves! </p> <p>I'm Dylan Hintz, director at Strike a Pose!!! Films, and star of a couple of them too. There's this guy Max Action who comes around to steal my looks occasionally, but I'm on to his games!</p> <p>My favorite director is Sergio Leone- the great romantic western auteur. </p> <p>My favorite film is Taxi Driver- the most powerful tale of isolation ever conceived.</p> <p>I don't know if I have a favorite actor, but Christopher Walken would be up there cause the man can do ANYTHING and just plays himself for fun. That's how you run the business!</p> <p>Hope all you newbloods enjoy the site! </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=19#post-105 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:00:32 +0000 Ryan 105@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Bump for this post. Most people still don't have an avatar. I don't know if its because they don't want one or if they just don't know how to set it up. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=24#post-104 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:58:24 +0000 Ryan 104@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Good review. Very well written! </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=2#post-103 Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:57:06 +0000 Ryan 103@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>There is a small issue with staying logged into the forums and the website at the same time. I am aware of it and it will be fixed with the next forum update (which will be adding some nice new features). </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=17#post-102 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 03:08:50 +0000 DamienAleisterMcCoy 102@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Let that MONKey inside of you out of it's cage! xD </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=24#post-101 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:52:28 +0000 Keith 101@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Okay so, as you all know, The Dark Knight has been out for a couple of weeks now and is breaking all sorts of revenue records and whatnot, and I voiced a small portion of my opinion on the movie in a previous topic. If you read it, great, if not, cool. I'm going to try to be as all inclusive in the least long winded way I know how. And I'm more than likely going to include some minor spoilers, so if for some GOD AWFUL reason you haven't done yourself the service of seeing this movie, go see it and then read this.</p> <p>So Dark Knight starts off a year after where Batman Begins left of, with Batman taking to the streets every evening and the criminals of Gotham running scared. For the most part, the plot is quite well written, but fairly linear (Joker kills people, Batman tries to stop him in slightly less than legal ways, Harvey Dent tries to stop Joker in more legal ways). Not that I'm complaining at all, had the Nolan's tried to get too fancy with plot structure this movie could have turned into a lovely little mess, akin to the horror story that was Spider Man 3. All in all, I have one tiny little gripe with the plot, but I'll save that for later on in the review.</p> <p>Cinematography. This was fantastic, and I really saw no flaws with anything. Apparently, for those who saw it in IMAX, due to the fact that the entire movie was NOT shot in IMAX, the aspect ratio switched several times during the movie when the standard cameras were put in for the IMAX ones. But for me having only seen it in Nags Head/Salisbury respectively, I didn't notice this. The editing felt very smooth, and the pacing of the movie was great. I've heard complaints from some that the movie was too long, but two and a half hours is not a problem for me to sit through; after all I'm a big fan of the extended cuts of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (ranging from 3.5-4.5 hours a piece). On another note, I was very impressed at the fact that Nolan chose to do almost everything he could with practical effects, using as little CG as possible. I mean for Christ's sake, they had Christian Bale on top of the Sears Tower.</p> <p>As everyone seems to know by now, the acting is--for the most part--the absolute highlight of the movie. Bale reprises his role quite well, not really bringing a whole lot new to the character, but not screwing anything that he had established up. I felt that his presentation of Batman's "scary voice" was a little less overdone than it was in Batman Begins, and that made me happy. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine impressed as always, and Maggie Gyllenhaal was a more than adequate replacement for Katie Holmes. But the big story is the late Heath Ledger. The man's performance as the Joker was quite possibly the best I've seen since perhaps Sir Ian McKellan in the aforementioned Lord of the Rings trilogy. Watching him go from an offbeat criminal with a solid plan to take back Gotham to an absolute genius who's off his rocker was without a doubt one of the most entertaining things I've had the privilege to watch. I'm not going to lie, when I was first informed that he had been cast as the Joker, I was more than a little skeptical, preferring Mark Hamil's performance on the old cartoon to anything else at the time. But he nailed it. The voice, the mannerisms, the laugh, all of it. Ledger succeeded in bringing my favorite villain of all time to life in a manner I cannot praise enough.</p> <p>Speaking of the cartoon show, I was slightly surprised, and more than happy to see little things throughout that reminded me of some of the more whimsical aspects to the Joker's personality. From the crazy bomb setup in his coat when he introduces himself to the criminals of Gotham, to the pun on "fire truck", to the "Slaughter is the best medicine" truck, I was constantly smiling. Not to mention having the Joker dress up as a nurse to sneak into Gotham General to have a wonderfully heartfelt conversation with Harvey Dent/Two Face. It served to remind me and the rest of the audience that yes, the Joker is a very dark and disturbed character, but he's called the Joker for more than just the face paint.</p> <p>Now, I told you I would talk about my one small little gripe with the movie. And that is that the movie climaxes with Two Face, rather than the Joker. I completely understand the need to have things happen that way, to show the extent to which the Joker had affected change in Gotham, but that doesn't change my feelings of being slightly let down when the last we see of that purple suited maniac is him hanging from a building laughing his brains out. I'm also not saying that I could have written it any better than the Nolan's did. I honestly have absolutely no idea how I could have ended the movie on a more solid note, and make no mistake in that it was a VERY solid ending to a great film.</p> <p>And so ladies and gentlemen, that's my review of The Dark Knight. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did, and I look forward to watching it and discussing it extensively (because I don't expect to stop talking about this one for a good long time) with you all in the near future. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=2#post-100 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:36:28 +0000 Ryan 100@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Users can now e-mail articles to friends. So if you see an article that someone you know might enjoy, feel free to use the "Email" button at the top of every post to send them a copy. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=2#post-99 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:04:51 +0000 Ryan 99@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>A few more minor updates. Users can now edit their comments on the blog for up to 5 minutes after the post or until someone has commented after them (whichever is sooner).</p> <p>A new page navigation bar has been added at the bottom of the page so you can more easily navigate to older posts on the site.</p> <p>Lastly, you can now print individual posts on the website. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=2#post-98 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:34:27 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 98@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>The Banner is finally complete! You can't yet see it on the Forums page, but check out the main site for the BEAUTY that is this banner! I'm so excited I just can't hide it! </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=23#post-97 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:30:50 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 97@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Its good to see people agreeing on a movie for a change. I'll have my review posted soon. You guys should get as in depth as you can! </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=23#post-96 Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:28:43 +0000 Tom 96@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>the more i think about this movie the more i love it. its certainly an Oscar worthy film, and by far the best superhero movie i have ever seen. i have never seen a movie live up to its hype quite like the Dark Knight. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=23#post-95 Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:24:56 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 95@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>I completely agree with everything you said,Keith. Feel free to write a full review for the site! You seem to have some solid perspective on it! </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=23#post-94 Sat, 19 Jul 2008 00:50:07 +0000 Keith 94@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>So, I'm more than sure that everyone here has either already seen this or is going to soon. But in case I'm wrong, go see it!!!!!</p> <p>Honestly, I haven't seen a super hero movie before that was as funny, dark, and just plain entertaining as The Dark Knight. And as much as I hate to jump on the bandwagon, Mr. Ledger's performance as my favorite villain ever was absolutely phenomenal. The man had every aspect of The Joker down.</p> <p>So yeah, it was awesome. Go see it if you haven't already. And if you have, you know what I'm talking about, and I'll see you in the theaters. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=20#post-93 Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:01:41 +0000 Vehemens 93@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>I saw The Love Guru.</p> <p>Don't. It was free, that was the best part. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=22#post-92 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:36:32 +0000 Tom 92@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Lately I have been renting and watching a lot of classics, in sort of a "quest" to find more inspiration for my own creative ingenuity as well as for substance to contribute to a college film club I help manage. I have been trying to watch genres ranging from old cult classics to french new wave flicks as well as various inde titles. Many of these have been en downers for me. I either found them to be somewhat boring or pretentious trash that only succeeded in making me angry. I don’t like watching movies that blatantly try and go out of its why to prove how better it is then you, I am meanly talking about Jean Luc Godard French new wave films, which if you haven’t heard of him, then good leave it that way, and stay clear from anything by him.</p> <p>With biased and arrogant opinions about French film making aside, the hits that I saw were interesting but didn’t do anything for me at the time, many of which seemed like movies I would haft to re watch later on, however there were a couple exceptions. One of the exceptions I have ran into were films by Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. Just this last week I finished watching his 1966 psychological thriller Persona, and I must say I definitely found what I was looking for with this movie. It was beautifully shot, and the story was well told. The movie was about a nurse who was put in charge of helping to rehabilitate well known actress who although seems physically fine, will not talk to anyone. I was left constantly guessing why she is acting this way, and the opening sequence that was a montage of serial imagery, was where the clues for answering this question began. What was shown in the opening sequence were things ranging from a film projector to a child trap in an all white room with a large human face watching him from behind one of the transparent walls. One of the more powerful scenes was when the young actress was watching the news in her hospital room, and we see the broadcast of the famous footage but forever infamous Saigon monk burning him self alive in Vietnam, most important was the reaction and facial response that was expressed by the actress to that sort of stimuli. This helped give clues about what was actually going on but by end it will be made clear to you that you’re just as clueless as the nurse trying to help the young actress, and understand why the film is called what it is. It is important to pay close attention to the imagery throughout the movie, because the story is more or less told through its imagery, dialog comes second, but as always it’s still important. For those who are fans of David Lynch you would be well accustomed to it because this movie had a very David lynch feel to it, it was a very dark and dreary experience at times and had a very serial feel to it.</p> <p>In the end this was just the inspiration I needed; I have seen two other films by Ingmar Bergman which were the Seventh Seal and the Wild Strawberries, all which were great and completely different experiences. I recommend anyone reading this to pick this one up if they can find it, and it’s not very long. If you watch this and find it to be your type of movie as I did, then definitely pick up the other Bergman movies I just listed. But out of all of the Bergman Movies that I have seen this one takes the gold. </p> http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=21#post-91 Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:11:27 +0000 Peregrine Slinger 91@http://strikeaposefilms.com/bbpress/ <p>Just got done watching The Astronaut Farmer, starring Billy Bob Thorton. </p> <p>I realize that this movie sorta got skipped on in theaters and probably critically as well, so for those that haven't heard of it, here's a synopsis written by someone on imdb.com:</p> <p>"Texan Charles Farmer left the Air Force as a young man to save the family ranch when his dad died. Like most American ranchers, he owes his bank. Unlike most, he's an astrophysicist with a rocket in his barn - one he's built and wants to take into space. It's his dream. The FBI puts him under surveillance when he tries to buy rocket fuel; the FAA stalls him when he files a flight plan - it's post-9/11, after all. His wife is angry when she finds out their bank is initiating foreclosure. Charlie fears failure and decides, precipitously, to launch. Are twenty-first century American dreams just a sign of insanity? Are those who believe in dreamers only fools? Written by {jhailey@hotmail.com} "</p> <p>I just finished watching this film on HBO Family, and I can see why I got kicked aside: the only family films these days fall into 2 categories: Super Hero or Computer Animated. Not to say there's anything wrong with those films (Unless you're Spider Man 3), but even in those films the comedy is more based around adult themes, the drama is dark, really dark sometimes, and the acting is...fake. Its not genuine. That isn't to say that for all films of those genres, but let's face it- what was the last really good live action family film you can name that didn't involve someone with super powers? I'd go so far back as to say Babe. </p> <p>So, regardless of genre, what makes this film good? I'd say a number of things- the performances by Thorton and Virginia Madsen, the cameo from Bruce Willis, the special effects that actually work, and mainly the story. </p> <p>The story is about a GOOD PERSON. He is obsessed and perhaps even a little short sighted, but he is highly intelligent, and his obsession hinges on a dream that has been lost by this country and it's short-sightedness over the last 20 years- Going into space. </p> <p>So much of space exploration has lost wonderment in this day and age I bet most people look at Star Trek as a fantasy more than a possible future. Aside from that point, however, it shows that a dream bigger than conquest, bigger than money and bigger than fame can go a long way in making a family stick together. That's the thing I love the most about this movie- the family loves their dad. Even if his goal is irrational, they tag along. He pulls the kids out of school to learn from him and help him with the mission. He loses a lot of money, his house near foreclosure, and even loses the respect of some of his friends, but maintains the trust and love of those closest to him. It's that kind of tale of people coming together and staying together that isn't really told anymore. It's almost a 1950's sorta script. And I like that.</p> <p>I can't say its a perfect movie, but the ending makes it work really well in terms of delivering on its promise to show the audience someone with the audacity and the guts achieving his life's goal. Maybe its the Rocky of rocket films. It does turn dark for just a little bit, but the struggle pays off ten fold when he finally attempts his shuttle launch successfully. </p> <p>Spoiler or not, I just said the film's inspirational like 50 times. Too many cynical movies these days are about someone failing and learning a lesson. Sometimes I think movie makers should skip off of Aesop's fables and look more for the achievers we can actually be. </p>