positivity monday!

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

Transformers looks like shit.  Terminator looks like Transformers.

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

More movies I'm looking forward to this summer...

Up (Pixar tackles a Russ Meyer remake)
Drag Me to Hell
Moon
Food Inc
Public Enemies (I like Michael Mann, OK?)
Bruno
Funny People
Julie & Julia (Julia Child movie)
District 9
Inglourious Basterds (the trailers don't look good but I've read the script and it should be awesome)

[matthew]

On the phone the other day with Jeremy I said that the previews for the new Star Trek reminded me of the Transformers film (which I only saw because of Rifftrax, damnit).

Speaking of ungodly popcorn films: Becky was given an avi rip of The Incredible Hulk film by her ex and we got about eight minutes into it before deciding that we would rather see the sun explode than watch another second of it.

It is nice to see that even the industrial sweatshop underclass & favela-dwelling poor of Brazil is comprised of top shelf runway models.

[Poop Fresh-Herbed Pickles]

I couldn't make the transition from the old crew to the new one.   I think they could have won me over had they done a TV series before doing the movie; maybe if I had watched the new guys play together on TV for a while, I woud have enjoyed it more.  

I can totally understand that but I thought the new crew was the saving grace.  I like the cast, but maybe they need a new production company.

they should let Ron Moore write the movies.

[bebopbalogna]

By the way, I had to endure the usual shitload of previews... Transformers, G.I. Joe, another Terminator movie... Are 12 year old boys Hollywood's main target demographic these days? 

actually, it appears that boys who were 12 in 1984 are the target audience.

[Bizarro]

Are 12 year old boys Hollywood's main target demographic these days? 

American International Pictures famously codified this years ago, calling it "Peter Pan Syndrome."

a younger child will watch anything an older child will watch;
an older child will not watch anything a younger child will watch;
a girl will watch anything a boy will watch;
a boy will not watch anything a girl will watch;
therefore to catch your greatest audience, you zero in on the 19 year-old male

[matthew]

By the way, I had to endure the usual shitload of previews... Transformers, G.I. Joe, another Terminator movie... Are 12 year old boys Hollywood's main target demographic these days? 

actually, it appears that boys who were 12 in 1984 are the target audience.

Christian Bale was 10 in 1984.

[Doctor Rock]

The number one problem that Hollywood has with CGI is not that they make movies with CGI, it's that they make CGI movies.  They write their movies as pretexts for CGI scenes.  It's almost like they think of the CGI first, and then they write a movie around it.

[matthew]

power of positivity < power of Trek

Am I right?

Ladies?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/VjPeaIsvCSk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/VjPeaIsvCSk</a>

[matthew]

...


Ladies?


<cough>

[matthew]

Is it late enough for negativity?


U.S. soldier attacks fellow troops, killing five, at Camp Liberty in Baghdad

By Helen Kennedy
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Updated Monday, May 11th 2009, 9:09 PM

A shell-shocked American soldier shot and killed five comrades at a military stress clinic in Baghdad Monday, shining new light on the growing psychological toll of war.

The troubled soldier was taken into custody, officials said. His name was not immediately revealed.

President Obama said he was shocked and deeply saddened by the "horrible tragedy."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed the incident would get high-level attention.

"Such a tragic loss of life, at the hands of our own forces, is a cause for great and urgent concern," he said.

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said the shooting suggests the military needs to "redouble our efforts in terms of dealing with the stress" of multiple deployments.

One in five soldiers return from Iraq or Afghanistan with psychological problems ranging from insomnia to suicidal or homicidal tendencies. As multiple deployments grow, the military suicide rate has soared.

In 2008, 169 soldiers committed suicide, up from 122 in 2007. Every day, five try to kill themselves.

Obama promised to press the Pentagon to ensure "that we are doing everything we can" to protect the men and women in uniform.

The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, noting that more than 600,000 troops have now served more than one tour in Iraq and many are on their third or fourth, said the shooting should be a wakeup call.

The slaughter took place at 2 p.m. Iraq time at Camp Liberty near the Baghdad International Airport, one of the world's largest military bases and home to some 50,000 troops.

The Combat Stress Control Center, built of exposed pine and designed as a cozy retreat from the trauma of war, has 48 beds, a staff of 45 and is always busy.

The center offers anger management and marriage counseling, and there is a dog to romp with. It was not the first time a U.S. soldier in Iraq has snapped and fired on his colleagues.

Last Sept. 14, Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich killed two of his superiors at a base south of Baghdad. He claimed they constantly berated him and he couldn't take it anymore.

Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar was sentenced to death for killing two officers in Kuwait just before the 2003 Iraq invasion.

A RAND Corp. report found that 20% of the soldiers deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan - about 300,000 troops - suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder or depression.

Less than 40% of troubled soldiers seek help, the Pentagon estimates. Several studies have warned that there aren't enough shrinks and therapists to care for the flood of soldiers returning from combat with mental problems. The military is working to remove the stigma that soldiers may feel about seeking help - and more are now talking to counselors.

Every new soldier arriving in Iraq is handed a card detailing the warning signs for depression and suicide.

[matthew]

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/chicken_shit_asteroid_veers_away

[Bizarro]

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/VUlmDzPQMZU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/VUlmDzPQMZU</a>