If I could turn back the hands of time

Prince of Persia, the sands of time.

Now yes this is a movie based on a video game, and if we look at past game to movie send offs there really isn't much hope for this one now is there. Weeeeell not so fast. Now I will be honest, I have not played a single prince of persia game. I just didn't have the time I knew for a fact that those were long platforming games that for the most part unlike RPG's were gonna be long hauls between check or save points. But the storyline I completely understood.  This was the story they started on the cd/dvd generation of platforms. I remember seeing the game trailers the visuals were stunning, the game play was less straight forward and added the puzzle solving into the game play without making it the central focus of the level, sometimes it was just how you got from point a to point b.

Now I know some of you will say well it's just another in a long line of movies that uses free running, and well to be honest no it isn't this is actually the beginner of all that free running. From the first Prince of persia game on the mac this was about free running. You had to pay attention to where you were going and consider how you wanted to get there or else ya butt was toast. Again never played them but I did like an aspect they added to the gaming genre, not just causality but pathfinding.

Okay enough about the game on to the movie. The movie is about Dastan, a young orphan boy from the streets who because of an act of supreme nobility captured part of the heart of the king so he was adopted and grew up in the royal palace. As the younger brother of the two blood princes he often(as is often the case when heroes in most movies) rushes in head first to prove to both himself and others that he is worthy of the blessing he was given. Dastan is a formidable fighter but is less of a bruiser and more athletic think more ninja or jedi like that knight or barbarian. In a battle to take the Holy city of Alamet Dastan comes into possession of an interesting artifact with the ability to turn back time, no more then a minute(which if I am not mistake was the maximum amount of time the game would allow you to run back). But in this minute only the holder of the dagger would know what happened. Now while at first you might think this is kind of useless, in a fight this could be the difference between life and death. You would know exactly what your enemy had in store for you, where a potential trap might be, where an ambush was coming from. And the best part, because only you knew what was about to happen you could pretend to be caught unawares and while exposing a true enemy for what he is and yet would take little to no damage for it.

And yes Dastan has many instances of using it for just those purposes. You see many in the trailer but there are more. And while I am thinking of pointing out a couple of cultural miscues, then again they really don't take away from the movie. It gives you a look into a bit of the culture of what is now the middle east that we have heard similar tales too but really haven't been told(at least in a real life movie) with as many stunning visuals. I think if Disney ever decides to also do Aladdin in a real life movie Prince of Persia will be their blue print because Dastan shares many similarities to Aladdin both street urchins, flexible, acrobatic, quick witted. The real main difference is Dastan seems to be tongue tied around women and Aladdin he ain got that problem. I did not check the box office for this movie yet(I might) and as I am not a huge fan of the game my expectations were not as.... wait let me stop and put out a brief disclaimer

Around last year sometime there was a trailer out for a movie that ended up being prince of persia that was unpolished, gritty and basically looked like it was a fan film or a soon to be straight to video flick. When I saw that trailer if you asked me then how was PoP gonna do I would have told you it was gonna be wack and another blow against good video game movies, not unlike some of the early comic book fare was to that genre.

 Okay now that I have said that I did not have high expectations for the movie last year, again not a big fan of the game and while I do love cultural stories that have more to do with just europeans and western mythology I was worried that this game to movie translation would not live up to its calling. Ladies and gentleman I stand up to applaud the cast and director it proving me wrong and sticking my big foot in my fat mouth. This movie rocked(notice how I ain really brought up much along the lines of plot points there is a reason for that, if I did it would really ruin the movie. This is one of those stories where you really have to pay attention to every single detail or else you will get turned around and lost), while I figured out who the main bad guy was early in the film(mainly because well um 9 out of 10 times in his last like umpteen movies if ben kingsley is in it he is the damn bad guy) I was not sure who if any his accomplices were amongst the other main characters. I mean usually in these movies the main bad guy never acts alone, he always has some powerful accomplices. And in this movie his accomplices or lack of certain accomplices was a big surprise(wait did I just not tell you a damn thing, watch the friggin movie what I just say, did I not just say if I give out plot points it ruins the film yeesh).

And I really love the ending, damn um hmmm well see this is tricky I can't talk about what I loved about the movie because if anybody reading this(yeah yeah what are the odds but just in case somebody googles Prince of Persia reviews and my blog comes up) before they go see it I don't want to spoil it. The entire cast did a great job, and whats up with doc ock being in like almost every movie coming down the pike this year. I'm loving it I think him and Zoe must be having a contest to see how many movies they can get out this year.

Peeking in

I'm just in here to update this blog. Not really saying much but if I start forcing myself to show up I will also be more inclined to write, the more inclined I am to write the more often this blog is updated, the more often this blog is updated the clearer my head becomes and the more alcohol will probably be consumed.  Not because I have dependence issues but because I like to drink. Simple as that I don't have to drink I have had a drink in probably about a week, so while I will admit to being a drunk it has never been to the point that without alcohol my life is diminished.

I often welcome people to the randomosity train whether it is here, twitter, where ever you you see my favorite nom de plume (PRIMALDATA if you haven't figured it out by now) because I am random, maybe it comes from being a water sign who knows(and I'm sorry but a goat with a fish tail if that ain a water sign I don't know what is) but I can and will talk about anything, not to the lengths on here as in other place because while I may have a vast vocabulary I tend to express myself with expletives more then with long flowery words that just take up characters. If you're a jerk you're a jerk, why beat around the bush. My grammar is lousy always has been, I'm human I will fully admit it. But I will never use grammar to defeat someone else's argument I will use their lack of argument to defeat their argument. The art of debate has been lost on most people, they have been told something told to repeat it passionately and if you point out the errors in it their brain freezes. They try to tell you the exact same thing but with different words and then wonder why you laugh at them.

And yes I laugh at parrots, they are for entertainment are they not. Anybody who lies and say you get an animal that mimics what you say is for companionship is a sad, sad soul. You want a companion go out and meet somebody or get a dog, or if you must a cat. You want to be adventurous go get a Burmese Python and let it sleep outside of an enclosure. This was just a peek in blog so if you are expecting structure or some kind of outline, seriously what part of poppin my head in and forcing myself to type in a few paragraphs do you not understand.

Oh by the way Gary Coleman died yesterday, a guy who lead a life that started out great and turned into a cautionary tale about people living vicariously through their children. And today we lost Dennis Hopper what can I say about that guy he was awesome he saw life and certain way and tried his hardest to bring his vision and everybody else's to your eyes

Out for now I will be back later, I saw prince of persia last night so my version of a review is upcoming

You have a god in you

The new clash of the titans

What can I say I loved this movie(wish I had gone to see it sooner), if you are going to try and combine reality with mysticism this is the way to do it. I mean if you are between 27-40 I am sure you remember the first clash of the titans it was good, it was damn good for the technology we had at the time. Yet at the same time it was kind of lame, it had this air about it of yes the Hero is in trouble but meh not really he doesn't really need any training this is handed too him easily and with no real cause for his concern.

Not this new clash of the titans, oh no Perseus you are about to take some licks, not one or two oh no you are gonna hate me so much that in the end it's only because you see the method to my madness that you come to love me. Zeus is not the doting father he appeared to be in the first movie, oh nooo zeus is a harsh God he demands obedience, respect and loyalty. When the humans begin to rebel against the gods(yes in this movie it isn't just a loud mouthed queen or two it's all of humanity) Zeus isn't care worn oh no he is pissed and lets loose.

The gods involved in the old one: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Thetis(played by maggie smith who went on to play the head nun in Sister act and Mcgonagall in harry potter), Athena, Hephaestus and Aphrodite. For the most part the gods were on the side of the humans in the first movie, yes Thetis was the main desenter, in clash one Calibos was the son of thetis. Now he was in trouble because he had the grand idea in his head to hunt down Zeus' Pegasi now I don't know about you but shooting the prize horses of the king of the gods ain really the smartest thing to do in all of greece. So zeus punished him by making him disfigured thus putting the kaibosh on his marriage plans with princess adromeda. So thetis in a rage at her sons misfortune decided to take Zeus' pampered child and put him out in the world. Adventures ensure, gifts are given, Kraken defeated.  And for the 80's yes this fairy tale story did meat the criteria of movie goers.

This ain the 80's baby so in the new one, while all the gods are seen, only Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo and Hades speak, and in essense the story is only really between Zeus and Hades. Now as for Young Perseus he is not enthralled with his father Zeus, first off Zeus couldn't keep it in his pants but he wasn't just falling for a pretty passing maid no he purposefully chose Acrisius' queen as punishment for his revolt against the gods. And as for his punishment lets just say Thetis does not play a role this movie. So Perseus is found in a fishermans net, raised by said fisherman and family and comes into contact with the gods completely by accident. See this Perseus has no love for the gods, he did not live an easy and pampered life but he was happy with his life. This movie shows that while Perseus may be part god his human side is the side he values more, he just wants to prove himself and get a shot at Hades, his journey is not to save his love Andromeda no, the Kraken is made from Hades flash and if he destroys the Kraken he weakens Hades and can get his vengeance on Hades for the blow he struck him.  And the non Demi god humans in this movie aren't just cannon fodder no they train him, they have valuable skills, they prove to be fine companions or annoying obstacles. Perseus tries to ignore the gifts he is given by the gods because he wants to prove what a man can do, he wants to show the type of man his father raised because that is what he valued.

In the trailer for the movie there is a scene between Zeus and Perseus where in his rage at the problems caused by the gods Perseus claims Zeus knows little about them and yet by the end you have to wonder if it wasn't so much that Zeus and the gods knew little or nothing about the humans or if they just realized the humans may have needed a little reminder that yes they were there and that there were more things in heaven and earth then what you might see in your average day to day life. I like this more menial quest where Perseus isn't just perfect all the time, he makes mistakes, he earns his scars, he grows to appreciate just how big the world really is.

Another thing this movie really benefited from the upgrade in special effects Medusa was more looming and menacing, the Scorpinoks were more believable, the Kraken more terrifying and Charon's barge more befitting his eerie chore. Now I do have a small gripe Hades was awful comfy in the Sea, every time you turned around Hades had something to do in or around the water, that of course is Poseidon's domain and I think they should have respected those boundaries a little more. Other than that I think the movie was great. As usual I try not to give any spoilers, As for Perseus and Percy Jackson there actually were a lot of probably unintentional similarities between the two characters. Neither wants to be special, neither asked for the pressures or pain associated with being the child of a god. They value their friends and the people they meet more then they do the mantle DEMIGOD, and while they may grow to understand the problems the gods may see they aren't exactly enthralled with how the gods usually try to go about solving them.

As is said the gods usually don't directly interact in the human world unless there is just an egregious violation, that is why they have heroes

We ain the A-team

"the Loser's"

When I went to go see this movie I will admit, I thought it might be an A-team rip off. I mean You have a guy who basically walks around with a little charm, is constantly changing outfits seems to be Mr. Charisma(like face), You have the Tall Brooding Badass(like BA), and you have the Cigar chomping brain(like Hannibal). But don't let the smooth taste of the trailer fool ya, yes there are big explosions, yes the actors appear to be the best team there is for a job you just can't do. But the loser's aren't the A-team. The loser's just want to clear their names and get back to their normal lives(those that have them).

I went to go see this movie because I like 3 of the actors who play some of the main characters in the movie Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, and Chris Evans. If I have the time and the cash I like to go support folks who's work I enjoy. The first time I saw Zoe Saldana of course was in Star Trek(the new one) she had some big boots to fill but she did it well. Idris Elba I first saw in Daddy's Little girls, which I only watched because I love Gabrielle union's fine chocolate self. But I like the way he played the part of a father working hard to try and take care of his children in a world that basically worked against him because of a mistake made when he was younger. It highlighted not only the struggles of a single black father(a demographic that while I do not belong too gets ignored a lot in the stereotypical world where black men don't care for their kids), but how life has jaded even black people against each other. If you haven't seen Daddy's little girls go check it out.  Chris Evans, well I mean who didn't like the Human Torch except for hack movie critics who obviously never read a Fantastic Four comic. There are guys born to play certain roles Ryan Reynolds was born to play Deadpool highly skilled deadly assasin(that had to be like the easiest casting job ever too, hmm is ryan available hey ryan make fun of Hugh jackman real quick cool you're hired), and Chris for Johnny Storm he really does remind you of the bratty kid brother, the one always running around playing pranks, never really seems to want to be serious and is the master of the party.

Okay enough about my reasons for going to see the movie on to the movie. Now are their similarities to the A-team yes. They are an elite Army unit, the go on a mission the mission begins to go off without a hitch until an invisible hand bends them over and takes them forcibly. No kisses, no hugs, not even a good job little lady just an oh well now on to the next job. So after their not so gently screwing they are stuck in Bolivia as they  try to figure out a way to get stateside. In pops Zoe's mysterious character who appears to also have it in for the invisible hand who's neck they would all like to break. She gets them in to america(in an ironic fashion), starts setting them up with equipment as they go after Max this super spook who is the cause for their current situation. Now there is a mad dash to get a face to face and summarily gun in the face of max. There are betrayals(something you will rarely see amongst the A-team members, I mean techinically tranqing BA before you stick him on a plane or helicopter is a betrayal but this ain about them), ultimatums, gun fights, knife fights, some sweet close combat stuff(think Mr. and Mrs. Smith), and lots and lots of explosions:Clay, Pooch, Jensen, Roque and Cougar are gonna take you on a ride to get Max it ain gonna be pretty, but then what do you expect? You are riding with The Losers after all

Through the haze and the fog

I have been lax in my blogging mainly because a bruh has been tired as hell from working the last couple of days I have had a chance to recoup so let me get off my butt and do the blogs I was supposed to do last week, blog number 1 is of course on the movie "the losers", blog number 2 is on "clash of the titans", now I have seen both of the Perseus offerings and I may compare them in the clash blogs, may no guarantees here.

If you're reading welcome aboard I hope you have enjoyed the chaos that is both my way of thinking and my blogging pattern and hang on even more fun ahead

The good, The bad and the Iron Men

Okay I was supposed to do this review two days ago(granted I have no deadline who reads this blog, me and well me) but here it goes.

Yes that is a play on an eastwood movie title, and yes I am gonna go through and do my usual what I liked what I didn't like and what was awesome.  A few things, this will be the hardest do not give out any spoiler blogs for me ever simply because this movie rocked, rocked like an early 80's metal band, and then went out and tore up the hotel room. Was it perfect no, a few things could have been either further delved into or left out completely and had absolutely no impact on the movie whatsoever.

The glimpses into Tony's dad Howard stark(while some might mistake this as an attempt to link tony to Howard Hughes Tony is Howard Hughes his dad just got the first name) were interesting and yet, I mean its was jumbled, kinda rambly almost like it was thrown in at the last minute.  Now yes it seems that Jon was admitting that tony may have hereditarily gotten his alcoholism. And that like many kids we don't know our parents all day like they don't know us. But past the wow this is just what I needed, this is the case breaker(My cousin vinny reference) moment it could have been done better maybe there will be more on the DVD deleted scenes. Continuity wise they get a gig for the Terence Howard to Don Cheadle change, I know you can't control who the studio decides to hire and fire I know that but thats still a gig. Justin Hammer while I love the actor playing him and he played the part well TECHNICALLY Hammer is older then Tony he is between Tony's age and his dad's age. In Essence Justin Hammer was the up and comer in the game while Tony was a kid and Howard was building Stark International into the power house that it was going to become.  Hammer always looked at Tony as an upstart not a rival, as an inexperienced brat interfering with his plans of corporate domination.

The age is the only thing I will complain about Hammer would have hired Vanko, would have been naive enough to let Whiplash paint him into a corner, as well as tried to sweet talk his way out of any problems that arose. So too young but otherwise spot on.

For those wondering what this movie's connection to the "iron man timeline is" this is technically linking us to Armor Wars. There was a time when Tony during the height of his alcoholism started running into villians powered by tech made by AIM, Hydra and one other organization that was basically based on Stark Tech, and by stark tech I mean Tony's Iron man Armor. Upon defeating a villian(it was either whiplash or titanium man I forget which and you know what google it, well maybe I will later and edit this post) Tony studying his armor was struck with grief because he realized all the pain caused by that villain was his fault(yes for like a year Tony stark had Peter Parker syndrome "it's all my fault god I have to fix it"). So Tony creates a virus or a device(I forget which it's been retold a few times since and  both have been used) that basically completely disables anything based on his tech. Which you know would be okay if  Tony hadn't of gone overboard. Any and EVERYTHING based on his tech his was taking out, so he took out the government guards at the vault, he took out super villians, he took out Heroes INCLUDING his good buddy War Machine AKA James Rhodes yes Roady is wearing stark tech(given to him by tony stark) and in his depressed/remorseful state not even his good friend is above his penance.

As for War Machine, they slightly jumped the gun in the telling of how James Rhodes becomes War machine. Because actually James Rhodes was Iron Man before he was War Machine, wait what James Rhodes was Iron Man. Yes a few times when tony was either sick, or unable to put the armor on himself James Rhodes his best friend and confidant would don the armor to either save Tony's butt, deflect suspicion away from Anthony Stark himself as being Iron man, or just come save the day when Tony was not available. There was an interesting occurrence where James Rhodes ran into the Mandarin while in the Iron Man armor and the Mandarin mentioned he always thought his Nemesis Tony Stark was the man under the helmet.

As for War machine I loved everything about how War Machine looked save the missing Missile launcher. Yes all that high tech that tony stark invents and War Machine really does look like a walking flying tank. With that huge Gattling gun on his shoulder, bullets flying from his wrists, yes the whole nine. If the two of them show up yes you know Iron man is going to kick you butt but war machine is the one who makes you wanna change your shorts. And yes armor wars(save Rhodes was fully war machine and tony took a few gattling and chain shots to the tuckus before he disabled his friends armor) did have tony fight against his friend in full armor. So the Two Tony vs Jim Rhodes armor fights were awesome.

This movie is full of hints to future Marvel projects, that I refuse to reveal here. The other Marvel Holy Grail metal is inferred but never mentioned by name, I guess that project has yet to be green lit. Pay close attention to the object tony uses to prop up his particle accelerator. If you see it and wonder whats so special look at the center again and the overall shape.

There are 3 avengers seen in Iron Man 2 and 3 hinted at, to see the third one you have to stay after the credits. For those wondering who the three are: War Machine, Iron man and Black Widow the red head from the trailer in the black suit. Granted that widow doesn't show as much cleavage as her comic book counter part, and her "accessories"/utility belt isn't silver but she is just as good a fighter. Technically widow is a russian Weapon Plus/nick fury super spy attempt. Depends on which timeline or telling you are talking about. She has been said to be highly trained in some and physically enhanced in others whether it be bionically, cybernetically, or "super serum". There are to my flawed memory 4 serums that have created super beings in marvel usually 1 shots save of course the green goblin formula because harry, Norman and one of the later goblin/hobgoblins have all gotten their hands on it. The super soldier serum that was given to cap, the centennial/whatever soldier serum given to fury, and whatever the russians injected into black widow. Because nick fury is actually older then captain america they both fought in WWII cap is still alive due to being frozen in ice fury due to his formula which slowed down the aging process in him and keeps him in pretty much top physical condition.

Now as for the villain(s) yes whiplash is an iron man villian, he does have those arc power "whips" and he did give Tony fits the first time they fought. But like Peter Parker for tony stark the first is the only free one. Because once you smack tony around the first time he goes back to the lab and cooks up an Armor especially made to beat the brakes off you. I wanna say it was nice to see the brief case armor, tony has life 4 of those. Like his DC counter part Tony Stark believes in being prepared, in the Movie it shows you 4 suits on display which are of course the four he wore in the last movie(for those who did not realize the suit from the iron monger fight was not the same as the suit from the tank fight) so yes you had the mark I, the Mark II(soon to become war machine), the Mark III(the first one to sport the Iron man Gold and Red) and the Mark IV. In actuality Tony and Bruce Collect suits like it's going out of style because they fight so many varied villains they never know what they are going to need. The only thing Jon hasn't delved into much is attachments. All the iron man(and even War Machine) suits are modular you can take off, add on and mix and match pieces if the armor you are wearing isn't fully prepared for the fight you are in. Granted this was only the second movie and as of yet tony really hadn't met anyone (before whiplash) who could at least stay in an extended fight with him. Now he has and of course he will be more prepared in the next movie. While Hammer may not in a sense be a "villain" in the sense that he never goes toe to toe with tony on the battlefield he does tend to supply some of tony's villains later in the story line. And yes the Hammeroids(hammer droids) are actual stark enemies too, but yes tony usually beats them up like he did in that fight scene in the trailer.

As for Nick Fury yes I like Samuel L as fury and I like the way he is playing fury: hard nosed, cocky, deceptive, bossy and while respected by some of the big kahunas of the marvel universe he also annoys the hell out of them. The Fury Stark interaction is perfect, Fury respects starks abilities hell most of the tech Fury uses for shield comes from Stark enterprises because it works period. He has known stark was IM for years(yes calls him shell head), has turned his head sometimes when tony has fallen off the wagon but has come to believe tony is a valuable hero. Doesn't stop him from steppin on his toes or spying on him from time to time. Tony respects what fury is and what he does he just can't stop the spoiled playboy in himself sometimes.  Tony stark does not make as many weapons as he used to but when he does, he makes them for one Colonel Nick Fury. The shield Helicarrier developed by stark industries, the weapons they use, some of their ships/air craft all stark designs.

Tony Stark and Bruce Banner are the founding members of a few Marvel Teams the first of course being the Defenders, the most memorable being the Avengers. Now as the Avengers movie is due out in either 2012 or 2014 I can't wait to see who else they introduce us to in the next few years.

Yes go see Iron Man 2, go see it a few times, because me and the baby bro are probably heading back this weekend.

Why education should never be financed

I made a statement on twitter the other day :the only things that should be financed are a house and a NEW car. Now I just happened to check my responses and somebody added in education, now while I guess they thought I was shorting education I'm not it should NEVER be financed. The reasoning is simple normally you have 18 years(at least) to prepare for your child's educational funding.

I mean think about it, even before you know if your child is going to go to college you know you have a child, that you would LIKE to go to college, start socking away the cash. Will it take some sacrifice yes, but then if your child's education is important to you then I'm sure you'll believe it's worth it, on top of that you can use the process to teach your child(ren) about savings, and possibly investing. Most peoples problem with paying for education comes in the fact that they always worry about the big chunks late, the earlier you start the less you have to start with. You can start with $100-$150 a month, and no that is not a lot of money 25-37.50 a week you probably blow that going to lunch each week. Now you could put that into a money market account and let that grow over the period of you child's public/private school education up to 12th grade at minimum with no interest compounding that's  $20,400-30,600. That's a nice amount of money, as school tuition is constantly getting more expensive thats not 4 years in college but it is at least 1 or 2 depending on the school(or possibly the full tuition at say a specialty school culinary arts, devry, ITT, etc).

Now I said that was without interest, I suck at the interest calculations I would have to basically add up month by month over the span of the 17 years to give you what that would be like with the interest added it. Most of us suck at long term planning because mentally we have a "well that can wait til later attitude", if it's important the planning and saving for it can't. You don't have to do it all today, but you damn sure need to start not only thinking about it but saving for it and formulating a plan for how you're going to make it happen.

Just like you can run and check your bank account to see how much is in it when you wanna splurge and buy something if you have a dream, wish, hope whatever then the second you get that gleam in ya eye you need to put some dollars away for it.  If you wanna use some of that growing nest egg to invest and take a chance on a stock growing over that time to help accelerate the value of the funds in the account fine, plenty of books on investing pick one up and be my guest.

But honestly if you have something you want to do, and in your heart you really wanna do it then prepare to do it. If you look into something far enough out that you want and break down how much it will cost you for it, the further out you start the better off you are.

And by the way at the top I said houses and NEW(yes I'm emphasizing new if you finance a used car you are financing someone else's problem that they could either no longer afford or didn't wanna deal with anymore) car, but that's something you should also be saving for. you should walk into the bank, or finance persons office with at least 35% as a down payment again if you know you want something that far out SAVE UP FOR IT. People get stuck in these endless cycles of debt because at the last minute they realize "Oh you know I want one of these too" shit if you dream is home ownership sock some money away, a car sock some money away. The more you have saved to put down on it, the less you owe on it over the time of the loan and the smaller your payments will be.

Lots of people have been sold on the credit, credit, credit ideal and not including saving with that credit. Which is why debt levels are so high and savings rates so low, nothing beats cash, not even a good credit score. Why because your credit score says you SHOULD be able to afford something and can be reasonably expedited to pay off said debt, having the cash for it guarantees that you can afford it and there is either no or very little debt to pay off. Your credit score is your enemy high or low, it just says how much somebody is going to allow you to owe them, be owed don't owe save up for what you want.