Hard working laziness: Illegal Immigrants in America

Hard working laziness: Illegal Immigrants in America

Immigrants from Mexico come here to look for work and they work hard. They work so hard in the fields they consistently pull long 15 hour days. The money that they make under the table is not taxed nor is it funneled through the government of the country in which they are working.

This problem's blame is being rested solely on the immigrants themselves. Media loves to call out the hard lives of these workers and how they are in fact the reason why our country is failing. This is in fact not true. They are actually one pawn in the game of money and greed perpetrated by the companies and individuals who hire them to work for less than American minimum wage and more than they'd get in Mexico. The thought of this makes sense to them. "I'll jump over there and make much more than I'd make here." But less than a citizen. If they were to become a US citizen they'd have to be paid the same as minimum wage.

Well, we have criminal activity occurring right now in our country and we are looking at the immigrants when we should be looking at the people who willingly hire them and allow them to work in this country, thus draining it of it's financial ability. America is bleeding and at the heart of the wound is corruption and greed.

An illegal Mexican immigrant is making a choice based on his or her experience, they feel they can do better if they float under the radar, and there are situations where this is true and false. The vast majority of immigrants are being used by our corrupted system. Which is why so many states are slow to reforming the issue. People with the money, like it as it is. The jobs these immigrants take means less work for the citizens of the United States which in terms of the wealthy's pocketbooks means more income. It is a sickening system in which we live.

This may not make immediate sense, but it is truth. Live or Deny.

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Duct Tape is Amazing

Here's a story from CNET. Man leaves bait in his plane after flying into the backcountry of Alaska. Bear smells said bait, and proceeds to tear apart plane for a free meal. Here's the photo...

So the man calls in a buddy to bring new tires, some plastic, and THREE BOXES of duct tape. He worked at patching his plane and then he flew the thing home!! Here's his handywork...

Most impressive.

Here's the story at CNET.

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Spider-Man 4: The Backroom Shenanigans of a Film Project

If you haven't heard, Spider-Man 4 is dead. Sam Raimi was returning as director, along with Toby Maguire and Kirsten Dunst to complete another film in the very successful series, set to be released next summer. It was to be a triumphant return to what made the film series so great, and was to have shamed the "ok" Spider-Man 3. But now it is dead and the studio, Sony, has decided to go reboot and start over with a new director and a new cast.

The inception, development, and death or life of film projects is fascinating stuff to me. As anybody in the film business will tell you, a film's journey from concept to completion is a long, hard fought, road that nine times out of ten will kill a project before it even goes in front of a camera. The thing that is so unusual in this Spider-Man 4 scenario is that usually when a property is rebooted it's because the series has gone stale. Rebooting is a great way to take an old property and to infuse it with new blood and talent to bring something fresh to the table.

Batman is probably the most well known successful rebooting of a series. There were four Batman films, which over the 8 years it was active, slowly became worse and worse. At the end of the run with the release of Batman and Robin, it had devolved into a loud, obnoxious, soul-less farce. Then along came Batman Begins which simultaneously told a story that hadn't been seen before, but also dramatically altered the tone of the series and lifted Batman out of the cinematic dumps. The release of the Dark Knight proved that the concept of rebooting was a viable solution to "fix" a series. More recently, Star Trek was rebooted with a new cast in a fresh take by J.J. Abrams.

But why is Spider-Man deemed to be primed for a reboot? The series is one of the most successful and much-loved comic-book film adaptations ever made. It baffles me that this material needs to be told again. The first Spider-Man was an excellent example of an origin story. Am I going to have to watch Peter Parker learn his spidey senses AGAIN?! WHY?! It was done so well the first time. It isn't like this series was made 40 years ago, it was only 8 years ago!

It is very clear to me why this happened, even though I think it is a bonehead move on Sony's part. I'm going to explain what I think the perspectives are from all parties and try to and analyze the fallout.

CAST:
The cast, it can be assumed, were locked down for a three-picture deal. Meaning, that for the 4th film, they were probably asking for a lot of money. And they are right to do so. They make up a huge chunk of what makes the films so successful. They were more or less obligated to make the others, and the fourth would have been them basically doing a favor to the property. The cast's return to the fourth outing, was also probably dependent on having Sam Raimi return as director. They know that in order for the newest film to be successful, with their involvement, they need the man who made the previous incarnations so good.

DIRECTOR:
Sam Raimi, the director on all the Spider-Man films, wanted absolute control on this new Spider-Man. He learned a very important lesson with Spider-Man 3, on how much negative influence a domineering studio can have on a property. Spider-Man 3 had too many Chiefs and not enough Indians. The film is all over the place, chock filled with tons of plot points, villains, and emotional crossroads. Unfortunately they barely gelled together to form a cohesive film. Raimi wanted to come back again, to right the wrong done on Spider-Man 3. He wanted to deliver a great Spider-Man film once again (like he did with the amazing Spider-Man 2). In order for him to do that, he'd have to butt heads with the studio again as he did on 3. But this time, he wouldn't give in so easily, and he would fight harder to make the film he wanted to make.

STUDIO:
Sony has a lucrative franchise with Spider-Man. The public loves all things Spidey. Another movie simply HAS to be made, they'd be idiots NOT to make another film. A fourth film in the current series seems the most obvious choice. They have a cast that wants to return and a director that wants to create the best film he can make. But here's the rub: The cast want a significant increase in pay, and the director has a very clear vision, which doesn't always line up with what the studio wants. Raimi wanted the Vulture as the villain, even going so far as to nearly cast John Malkovich in the role. The studio doesn't want an obscure villain like the Vulture, they want a villain more popular, that will appeal to the widest audience possible. It's understandable, they want to stack the deck in their favor; to make as much money as they can. But with a director that is now sticking to his guns, it makes it difficult for there to be any agreement between the two. Add to all this conflict, Sony will lose the rights to Spider-Man if they aren't actively making films. The rights would revert back to Marvel, now owned by Walt Disney.

So what will Sony decide? The best choice for them is to can Raimi, in doing so, losing the cast thus making any continuance of the current storyline impossible. Their answer: to reboot and start over from scratch. They save money on the cast because now they can negotiate new contracts with new talent, and they don't have to worry about a headstrong director. It is the smartest move from a fiscal perspective, but from a film-goer and fan's perspective, it is utterly baffling.

Spider-Man 4 would have been a guaranteed hit regardless of who the villain was. And although it would have cost them more money in the end to make THAT film, it still would have been a sound investment. But now, with a presumed lower budget, they'll be able to have larger returns, which in the end is the bottom line for a large studio like Sony.

I hope that this new path they are starting down, will end in failure. Not for Spider-Man, and certainly not for whoever moves in to try and direct it (good luck to them in following Raimi's footsteps). I want it to fail so that the rights can revert back to Marvel. I want Spider-Man to go home to its owners so they may use him in the Marvel universe films that they are currently cobbling together. Who knows, maybe Disney will fork over some of their cash to buy Spidey back. I have a feeling that the longer Spider-Man remains in Sony's hands, the worse off we will be.

The one bit of good news to come from this debacle is that Raimi will now be able to focus 100% on his next announced project: a live action Warcraft movie.

For the Horde!

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My Movie Faves of 2009

Here follows a list of my 10 favorite films of the past year. Note these are not what I think are the best of the year. There is a huge difference between favorites and the best made films. That list is to be made by other people (with more 'qualified' experience reviewing films). The following are my favorite films of 2009:

10. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Yes it is somewhat retarded explosive Michael Bay Stupidity on film, but god I love it. I love films that stir my inner 7-year-old and make him stare at the screen in awe of 30 foot robots fist-fighting against buildings. It's just cool cinema.

9. The Road
I love this post apocalyptic film mostly because it is unapologetically bleak. The world is dying and mankind is clinging by it's fingernails struggling to survive. There is no hope in this world. A brave film.

8. Anti-Christ
This film polarized audiences, and upon viewing it does force you to contemplate about a wide variety of subjects; misogyny, origin of man, psychological impacts of loss, and the presence of extreme violence in film. It is a hard film to watch and the violence can be difficult to stomach, but the conversations it sparked and the incredible cinematography make this an unlikely favorite for me.

7. Watchmen
A mature comic hero film that raises some fascinating questions about vigilantism and the costs of maintaining peace. While I enjoyed the theatrical version, I think the best is the recently released Ultimate Cut, which includes the comic within the comic, increasing the depth of the material. Watchmen is a fantastic project filled with adoration to its source material, and it's a film executed to near perfection.

6. Zombieland
You have to love zombies. This movie was a love letter to all things zombie. Woody Harrelson chews scenes as the ultimate zombie slayer in the funniest movie of the genre since Shaun of the Dead.

5. Precious
A tough film to watch, filled with abuse, hate, and oppression, yet still manages to uplift and inspire with a genuine authenticity. Plus, it's chock full of outstanding performances. Look for it to win some in award season.

4. District 9
Great Science Fiction is able to present fantastical situations and infuse them into modern issues and themes. District 9 is as close to a modern Science Fiction classic as I could imagine. Tackling racial issues head on by utilizing an alien race is what makes this film important, but it's also a hell of an entertainment.

3. Inglorious Basterds
Only Tarantino could rewrite the history books and do it with such style. I don't know how he is able to tighten the screws using only words and a pair of characters at a table gabbing about milk. The man has a talent for words. Thinking back, it seems as if the film has only a handful of scenes (A handful of terrific scenes mind you). Tarantino squeezes every juicy character moment from the performers in these few scenes. It is a great performance piece, a bit of a black comedy, and a war film all wrapped up in a nice, tight, Tarantino bundle-of-joy. In other words: it's awesome!!

2. Avatar
The build up to this movie has been incredible over the past few years. But none of the game-changing talk lives up to how much this film knocked me on my ass. Seeing this movie in IMAX 3D was one of the greatest film-going experiences I have had. Cameron paints a classic, simple story with the most colorful, eye-poppingly gorgeous eye candy you will ever see. This film is the very definition of escapism. Taking you to a completely artificial world and telling a very relevant story, this is a movie you should not deprive yourself of seeing on as big a screen as you can find.

And my number 1 favorite film of 2009 is...



A TIE!!

1. Star Trek/Up
In compiling this list I couldn't decide which of these I enjoyed more.

Star Trek brings a much needed, incredible sense of adventure into a long stale series. After seeing this in the early summer, I netflixed every previous Star Trek film, and I have to say you ain't missing much (unless you are a hardcore Trekkie, in which case, God help you). This is a terrific entertainment that rarely slows down; a movie that will have you on the edge of your seat cheering. After enduring the tepid Star Wars Prequels, it's nice to see a return to great space adventure. I can't wait for the next in the series.

Up was a film I was not expecting to like. An old protagonist, a talking dog, and a flying house make up a few hurdles to this uncharacteristic animated film. I should have trusted Pixar. The opening 10 minutes is the best, emotionally packed bit of animation I have ever seen. Telling a life's time of story in 10 minutes is an incredibly feat of storytelling.

I love that the hero of this "cartoon" is an old man (even the elderly dream of adventures). I love the tenderness, the sadness, and the final triumph. Laced with gut-busting comedy, the film packs a sweet light-hearted tone, yet explores the fragility of life, and the impact of death on the living. This is an extraordinary creation from the best minds in animation and it sits comfortably on top of my list for 2009.

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Travel through space

I found this video to be fascinating. It starts here on Earth and travels out to the furthest reaches of space as we know it. What makes it so captivating to watch is how it demonstrates the shear scale and vastness of space. It makes our tiny, little blue rock seem downright microscopic.

Watch it, you'll be amazed...

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