21st century digital boy

I just wanted to let you all know before you watched it tonight--tonight's Knight Rider series premiere is awful.  I love Knight Rider, and I just wanted to quit halfway through.  However, I'm a trooper.  I stuck it out 'til the end.

Justin Breuning (who I never liked much on All My Children before this) stars as Michael Knight's illegitimate son Mike Traceur, though by the end of this episode, he--like his father before him--has his death faked, and takes on his father's "Michael Knight" mantle.  I guess this is supposed to placate the diehards, though the only way to really do that is to make KITT a Trans-Am again or at least bring back William Daniels as his voice.

Bruening and (the uncredited) Val Kilmer have little chemistry thus far as Michael and KITT.  Then again, I'm not really down with Kilmer's voice work.  He's subtle, but there was a needling edge that Daniels had down from the word go.  The rest of the cast is pretty annoying, with the sole exception of the usually reliable Bruce Davison.

My biggest problem is that the show is quite simply about as dumb as a sack of rocks.  The characters spend the episode chasing a McGuffin so poorly established that by the time it was revealed, I was almost too apathetic to be struck by the ridiculousness of it all.  It's not even brainless fun like the original series.  The first half of the episode is centered on a peril contrived solely to get the main characters to strip down to their underwear.  The pacing of each action sequence is terrible--everything is drawn out so long that all tension is worn through to nothing.

Breuning lacks Hasselhoff's charm and bravado, appears way too soft to be a convincing tough guy, and isn't even a comparable actor (which is pretty bad, considering Hasselhoff is quite limited).  Everyone else is your standard action show stereotype (the love interest, the genius father, the serious agent, the shadowy boss, the tech geek, the girl tech geek who's actually kind of freaky), a group of ill-developed characters played by a bland, yet largely attractive cast.

Rumor has it that Hasselhoff, who made a cameo appearance in last season's TV movie (which I admittedly haven't seen), will return again this season, possibly behind the wheel of the original KITT.  If the show persists in being this terrible, then I might not even come back for that.

But if you want to check it out anyway, here it is.  I accept no responsibility for any discomfort.

It doesn't air on Showtime for another week and a half, but if you're on the internet, there are two ways to watch the third season premiere of Dexter before it airs on Sunday, September 28th.  You can go to the official Dexter website and join Showtime's VIP Insider club, which would entitle you to stream the premiere (along with the season premiere of Californication)...or you can find a torrent of the episode, which was leaked.

Just so we're clear, I chose the legal option.

Season three gets off to a ripping start.  Dexter is finally at peace with himself, apparently having worked through all of his issues after last season.  His relationship with Rita has settled back into a comfortable rhythm, her kids see him as a loving father figure, work is once again delightfully routine (after dodging last season's manhunt), and his after-hours gig...well, he's enjoying it again.

Then something "spontaneous" happens, and Dexter again has to cover up his actions.  What's more, he ends up in the sights of DA Miguel Prado (Jimmy Smits, excellent as usual), who has a personal attachment to this new case, and a history with LaGuerta.

Meanwhile, Deb is driven as ever towards making detective, while Angel gets his sergeant's shield and unexpectedly becomes an obstacle in Deb's path.  What's more, IA wants Deb to turn informant on a new transfer from narcotics.

Too...many subplots.

But it's still riveting, thanks as always to the terrific cast, headlined with customary wit and nonchalance by Michael C. Hall.  Erik King is sadly missing (thanks to last season's...explosive finale), but here's hoping the writers find a way to bring back Doakes in some capacity, be it in flashback or from beyond the grave.  The trailer for the season also gives us an idea of where Dexter and Prado are headed, and it looks to be an interesting relationship.  And then there's Dexter's most important tie--his connection to Harry, his late foster father.

James Remar doesn't show up a whole lot in the premiere, but his presence is definitely felt.  His name is still in the credits, so he'll be appearing later, I'm sure.  Dexter, however, no longer feels bound to Harry as he once did.  He still adheres to the code, but why?  When he accidentally jumps off the rails in this episode, is it fear of getting caught he feels?  Or guilt at what he's done?  Maybe he'll become a real boy after all...

October 5th (episode 4x02) can't come soon enough.

I was going to post about Pandemic Studios releasing the song from their Mercenaries 2 commercial for free, or about how Jacky Wu Jing carried Fatal Contact, but those can wait.  BEN FOLDS FIVE IS REUNITING!

I've been making more use of my Netflix membership lately, which makes sense.  After all, I need to justify continuing to pay for it.  Fortunately, there's no shortage of movies I want to see, and right now, the Dragon Dynasty collection is at the top of my queue.  For those who don't know, Dragon Dynasty is the Weinstein Company's boutique label for classic and contemporary Asian action films--think of it as the Criterion Collection of action.  Dragon Dynasty hit the ground running with a one-two punch of Kill Zone (aka SPL) and Police Story, and Invisible Target is one of their latest releases.

Invisible Target feels very familiar in a few ways.  Jackie Chan wasn't involved in the production, yet it feels as though his fingerprints are all over it:

• The director is Benny Chan, who Jackie broke onto the scene in the late '90s with Who Am I? (his last pre-Rush Hour starring vehicle) and Gen-X Cops (which he produced and appeared in briefly).  Benny has been Jackie's director of choice as of late, directing him in The Accidental Spy and New Police Story, among other recent films.
• Nicholas Tse stars.  The singer-turned-actor seems to be another Jackie protegé, having starred in Gen-X Cops and co-starred as Jackie's partner in New Police Story.  (Another Gen-X Cops co-star, Sam Lee, has a supporting role here, as does Jackie's former bodyguard/stunt team member Ken Lo, who Jackie fought in the undisputed classic climax to Drunken Master 2.)
• Hell, even his DNA is intertwined with this one: co-starring with Tse is Jackie's son Jaycee Chan, who looks like a taller, somewhat gawkier version of his old man.

All of the above you could chalk up to the Hong Kong film industry being tight-knit, but Invisible Target's sense of familiarity doesn't end there.  Sadly, the film itself feels like a retread of Gen-X Cops and New Police Story, with several large scoops of heroic bloodshed melodrama on top.  Fortunately, Benny Chan doesn't skimp on the action sequences, and if they don't necessarily elevate the genre (actually, I can tell you they don't), they're really entertaining at least.

The plot throws three cops together, each with different motivations for taking down the "Ronin Gang" of orphaned mercenaries.  Detective Chan Chun (Tse) lost his fianceé in an armored car robbery they executed six months earlier, and Inspector Carson Fong (Shawn Yue, who unsettlingly resembles Kevin Federline) was personally humiliated by their leader, Tien Yeng-seng (Jacky Wu Jing).

And let me stop this right now, because I have to talk about Wu Jing.

This is only the second film of his I've seen, the first being Kill Zone.  In that earlier feature, Wu Jing effectively broke out among a cast including Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, and Simon Yam.  Yes, everyone came for the Donnie/Sammo fight, but my God, I left talking about Donnie versus Jacky Wu Jing.  In Kill Zone, Wu Jing was cast as Sammo's mysterious hired hand, Jack, and while there wasn't much for him to do aside from beat the ever-loving snot out of everyone, his physicality and kung fu skill shone through.

Here, Wu Jing carries this movie as the equally skilled, not quite as silent Tien.  Whereas Nicholas Tse and Shawn Yue are obviously "acting" at being soulful and brooding, Wu Jing is much more natural.  I think he has the best shot of anyone right now at being the next Jet Li, if he can find a winning star vehicle.

My biggest problem with this movie is Benny Chan.  To his credit, he's a competent director with a slick, polished visual style and a way with action.  However, his movies are almost always overly long, usually owing to a number of subplots that could be trimmed.  At least here, he keeps the action focused mainly on his heroic trio, but he's preoccupied with adding twist after turn, then punctuating the film with a prolonged action sequence more than a little reminiscent of Hard Boiled. 

So Invisible Target is a fun time to be had, but it's not the redefining work that I heard some expecting.  It is, however, highlighted by standout turns from Wu Jing and Jaycee Chan, so it's worth checking out.

One of the better works of the summer was Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, a Joss Whedon internet musical about a supervillain whose crush falls for his archenemy.  It was a big hit on iTunes, and can be seen on Hulu.  Or you can just hit play below.  Go on, do it!  It's absolutely wonderful.

Now the soundtrack is available, exclusively on iTunes.  I usually prefer Amazon to iTunes, but as you'll see (if you watch), some of these songs are definitely worth buying.  Neil Patrick Harris totally wowed me, and I was already a fan.

Checking in once again, it seems.  This time, however, may be a longer stay.  Due to recent events, I will no longer be updating my LiveJournal; in fact, I won't be posting personal material to any publicly-read blogs.  As for all my pop culture-related stuff, it goes here until my website goes live.  Aren't you all so lucky?

I haven't written here since June.  I've intended to return for a while, but I just couldn't sit still long enough to shit something out.

Well, here it is.

I'm alive and well and living only in theory.  My new schedule is killing me.  I have a new place and decent roommates.  Rock paper scissors season is about to begin.  Things are middling.

The Oscars were last night.  I slept through them, only seeing Diablo Cody winning the Best Original Screenplay award for Juno.  Her speech was lovely.  But as I didn't see most of the nominated films last year, I really didn't care about the ceremony too much, so I had no qualms with sleeping through it.  Also, I needed the sleep: I work at 3 a.m. Monday through Friday.

I've been watching a lot of G4 lately...well, mainly X-Play, Attack of the Show!, and Ninja Warrior.  I've become more absorbed in gaming again, and while I'm not out there buying the latest stuff as it comes out, I've been spending some more time playing.  Currently, I'm playing Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (which I adore), Final Fantasy Tactics (my favorite game, my white whale; I've never completed it), and Mass Effect (oh my God, it looks too beautiful). 

And then there's Rock Band.

I dropped $170 on that monster, and you know something?  It's kind of worth it.  That game is so much fun.  It's even better in HD (I played it over a friend's house that way), but in either case, it's a blast.

I resolved a while back to continue using this as my media blog.  I'm trying to split my content thematically across all my spaces.  The place to follow all of it is through my Ning (http://frankiethirteen.ning.com).  I wish Ning would catch on more, because it's a fun idea, creating your own social network.  But I guess making one centered on me was kind of stretching it, huh?

More on all my new obsessions to come.  Glad to be back.

How many discount cards do you carry in your wallet and where are they from? 
Submitted by danatmedog.

Five:

1) Backstage Pass (FYE): Once upon a time, I was a member of the Replay discount club, before Musicland went bankrupt.  The card was good at Suncoast and Sam Goody...I mostly used it at Suncoast.  Musicland did go under, but FYE's parent company bought some of their stores during the liquidation, including the Suncoast I frequent.  The Replay program was phased out and replaced with FYE's own Backstage Pass program.  The card is good at all FYE and participating Suncoast stores.

2) Borders Rewards (Borders): I like books.  Meh!  It's good at all Borders and Borders Express (formerly Waldenbooks and Brentano's) stores.

3) Regal Crown Club (Regal Theaters): Seriously, the movies could stand to be a bit less costly these days, am I right?

4) Cosi Card (Cosi): A Christmas gift from one of my bosses.  Cosi cards are combination gift cards/discount cards.  She gave a bunch of us $10 Cosi cards, but of course, they're still usable as discount cards, so yay!

5) CVS ExtraCare (CVS): Come on, like you don't have a pharma-convenience store discount card.

After all the recent season and series finales, what are you watching on TV these days?

Well, Veronica Mars is gone, so not that anymore.  ;_;  Right now, I'm watching Doctor Who and catching up with How I Met Your Mother.  I keep meaning to watch Heroes too...I'll try to get through that, and 24 this summer.

Ever run for office?  (School, club, organization, politics, etc.)  Did you get elected?

I ran for class president in fifth grade.  Unfortunately, my campaign was a bit overzealous, and got me involved in a bribery scandal (buying votes with candy) that disqualified me from the race.  However, I was able to convince my teacher I wasn't behind it, and she had the vote over.  I still lost, coming in second to the original winner, but apparently, all of the boys in class voted for me, so I was a close second.

In high school, I was successfully elected my homeroom's class representative.  Not much there...just going to meetings and all.

I was a member of the fine arts fraternity Eta Beta Tau in college, and in that organization, I held a bunch of different offices.  I was elected Assistant Initiate Guide at the end of the spring 2000 semester, but I was appointed Vice President the following semester after the elected VP left the group.  I was ousted at the close of that semester, and elected one of two Fundraisers.  I wasn't getting along with my co-fundraiser, and as a result, nothing got done.  Later on, I was elected Secretary.  I tried for Social Liaison one semester, but didn't get it.

Also, I was a member of my campus radio station all four years.  In the last year, I was named an assistant music director.  I don't believe the assistant music director officers were elected positions.

During my time at Mansfield, I was a member of the anime club, and became Vice President at one point during my junior year.  However, I had very public differences of opinion with the president over his totalitarian control over our selections, so I left and formed my own anime club.

Fun stuff, politics.