Tight and short, and virtually a docudrama. I enjoyed it. It didn’t grip me as much as, say, Thirteen Days (even Costner couldn’t ruin that movie for me, trying as hard as he did), but it certainly captivated me. I could have done without some of the crowd being so vocal about how the implied politics resonate with their own, since really, the movie is about the power of journalism, but that certainly is not the movie’s fault.

The faults of the movie? Character development should not have even been tried, and yet they tried to go there with two side characters who don’t even impact the storyline. The movie actually may have been too short, as I would like to have seen some more understated shots of Murrow and Friendly, to emphasize the fear they felt as they went ahead and did what they thought was right. It would have made the movie more intense… somewhat less docu, more drama.

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Too goddamn cute for words.

Photo by Dean Rutz of the Seattle Times

Let alone the oddness of a dog adopting a baby squirrel….

The election on November 8, other than costing a mint, has some interesting propositions on the ballot.

Proposition 73 wants a 48 hour wait period during which time parental consent must be given before a minor can have an abortion. Great. So when an abusive parent discovers their kid is pregnant, they get to smack them around after the abortion. Or if the parents are pro-life and the minor isn’t, she’ll be forced to have the child at their will. Joy. And best of all, if the parent is the father of that child… yes, please, doctor, go ask my dad if I can abort his baby. I guess we’re all going to have to get used to illegal, unsanitary and dangerous abortions on the news.. not as much if Roe v. Wade gets overturned… but enough to make me sick.

Proposition 74 increases the probation time for teachers from two to five years. You know, so they don’t get promoted. For five years. And that’ll really help their morale. Most business have folks on probation for six months. Teachers are already at two years, and this proposition wants to make it five? It’s not as if a teacher past the probation period can’t get fired, you know, so what’s the point?

Proposition 75 allows a union member to not have their fees used when siding in a political election. So the whole solidarity thing for unions is a sham, I take it? I agree with the opposition: this is a way of reducing the ability for unions working in the public sector to form a united front when confronting a private enterprise.

Proposition 76 is the let’s renege on Prop 42 proposition. Yes, the budget needs to be balanced, but giving the governor the ability to cut education and safety in order to achieve that sought-after balance. It’s crap.

Proposition 77 addresses a change in the process of redistricting. I haven’t completely figured this one out.

Proposition 78 and 79 oppose one another, you get to pick one. I pick 79. I like siding with the one that’s not supported by DrugCo, as I seriously doubt they’ll lose much with the better discounts available with 79.

Proposition 80 reverses deregulation of electricity in the state, but I’m not entirely sure how that reverse is going to work… it certainly doesn’t seem like it’s a simple reverse when I read it… I’ll have to think on this.

I’ve been playing UD for almost three months now and I have to say it’s still fun. Slow-paced, yet with that nice sense of dread, which does befit a zombie-themed game. You can play survivor or zombie, so it’s one of those few games where a kill is always a PK (player kill), and yes, zombies can attack zombies and survivors can attack survivors. This again, is very fitting for a zombie-themed game, as zombies ultimately win in a zombie movie primarily because the survivors fight each other.

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It’s really hard for me to watch a David Cornenberg film, since it pretty much involves unsexy sex. I know that’s the point, I just don’t like bad butt shots. This one’s slow, methodical, and reaches an appropriate anti-climactic conclusion. Go figure. It’s quite good if you settle into the movie’s rhythm. If you don’t, you’ll be yawning a lot, followed by cocked eyebrows and gaping mouths, followed by more yawning. If you do find the groove, you’ll like this movie. I did. But yeah… those butt shots, man.

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I’m a fan of Firefly, not a fanboy, so bear that in mind when I say that this movie is good. Not only is it good, it’s a lot of fun. Sue saw it with me, and although a science fiction fan she was never acquainted with the series that spawned this movie; she went in blind. And she enjoyed it, too. So there you go, a good time for one and all.

Now let me be a little critical here: the shots are TV-style, meaning Whedon didn’t exploit the potential of the big screen as much as he shoul dhave. Also, the scenes were a bit jerky, and you could see where you could insert the commercials were this a TV movie. Not bad for his first time out directing the big screen, and definitely better than say, Rick Berman’s first outing with the TNG cast on that crap movie where they kill Kirk. Anyhow, it’s a small issue, and won’t detract from enjoying the movie. Go see it, it’ll make you smile.

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Slow and predictive, but a bit of decent fluff. Disney sports movies are pretty much like this, so you know what you’re getting for the money.

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