Hey everyone, or whoever actually reads this regularly.
I wanted to apologize for my lack of updates recently. I just got pretty busy with orientation and such, and have not had tons of time/energy to use on this. I will definitely be keeping things updated more in the future.
I will try to have something new by next Thursday. That's all I can guarantee. But I will for sure get the next episode of City on the Edge of Forever in by then. Until next time.
You can't stop the signal...
8.21.2008
8.14.2008
City on the Edge of Forever Episode II
CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER EPISODE II: THE LONG ROAD HOME
I look out over the city I live in, unable to comprehend what was going on. This shouldn't be happening. Not here. Not now. Though I hadn't discounted the possibility of this a long time ago, I still didn't think it would be so soon. A car pulls in front of me, and stops. There she is behind the wheel. Jane.
I raise my hand in acknowledgment of her arrival, and then duck into my car. I grab my messenger bag and throw it over my shoulder. My movement is not as swift as I would like it to be, and I halfway stumble over to her car. What do you expect? Even James Bond would be hard pressed to walk a straight line after nearly an entire liter of vodka.
I duck into the car. She has the heat going. I had hardly even noticed the cold outside until right now. "Good morning miss."
"Wow, you don't mess around. How much did you drink?"
"Enough."
"More than that from your breath. How are you even alive right now?"
"I was just asking myself the same thing."
She put the car into drive, and headed back towards the deserted 12th Street Bridge. We sit in silence for several minutes. My head is still swimming. The city outside rushes past. I can see fires flaring up all around, and some that seem to have been burning for some time. Then without any warning.
"Woah, stop the car."
She eyes me suspiciously for less than a second, and then pulls to the side of the road. I stumble out of the car, and then drop to my knees.
The next several minutes pass in something of a blur. I know what is happening but it never really registers in my head. My mind drifts to other places. Namely last night. The whole reason for this bender.
It ends just as suddenly as it had begun. I cough a couple times, and then spit out the awful taste in my mouth. Like onions and ricotta cheese.
I shake my head and walk back to the car. I am moving slightly more steadily, but not much. I am still in a daze.
"Let's get you back home where you can lay down."
I just mumble back to her. I feel like a zombie right now. My head isn't so much swimming as it is dull. Like everything around me is just dull. Sight. Sounds. Scents. Feeling in general.
As we move further into the city, more rumbles seem to shake the world around me. I think I can hear screams around me, but there is no way I can really know.
My eyes suddenly pop open. I frantically look around. My apartment. My bedroom. I feel like shit. I can hear something from the living room. The TV? "The hell did I get here?"
I look out over the city I live in, unable to comprehend what was going on. This shouldn't be happening. Not here. Not now. Though I hadn't discounted the possibility of this a long time ago, I still didn't think it would be so soon. A car pulls in front of me, and stops. There she is behind the wheel. Jane.
I raise my hand in acknowledgment of her arrival, and then duck into my car. I grab my messenger bag and throw it over my shoulder. My movement is not as swift as I would like it to be, and I halfway stumble over to her car. What do you expect? Even James Bond would be hard pressed to walk a straight line after nearly an entire liter of vodka.
I duck into the car. She has the heat going. I had hardly even noticed the cold outside until right now. "Good morning miss."
"Wow, you don't mess around. How much did you drink?"
"Enough."
"More than that from your breath. How are you even alive right now?"
"I was just asking myself the same thing."
She put the car into drive, and headed back towards the deserted 12th Street Bridge. We sit in silence for several minutes. My head is still swimming. The city outside rushes past. I can see fires flaring up all around, and some that seem to have been burning for some time. Then without any warning.
"Woah, stop the car."
She eyes me suspiciously for less than a second, and then pulls to the side of the road. I stumble out of the car, and then drop to my knees.
The next several minutes pass in something of a blur. I know what is happening but it never really registers in my head. My mind drifts to other places. Namely last night. The whole reason for this bender.
It ends just as suddenly as it had begun. I cough a couple times, and then spit out the awful taste in my mouth. Like onions and ricotta cheese.
I shake my head and walk back to the car. I am moving slightly more steadily, but not much. I am still in a daze.
"Let's get you back home where you can lay down."
I just mumble back to her. I feel like a zombie right now. My head isn't so much swimming as it is dull. Like everything around me is just dull. Sight. Sounds. Scents. Feeling in general.
As we move further into the city, more rumbles seem to shake the world around me. I think I can hear screams around me, but there is no way I can really know.
My eyes suddenly pop open. I frantically look around. My apartment. My bedroom. I feel like shit. I can hear something from the living room. The TV? "The hell did I get here?"
8.13.2008
City on the Edge of Forever Episoide I
I thought I would write a story through this over the next couple of days. I am not exactly sure how long it will go on, but I do hope you enjoy it! So, here we go. CITY ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER EPISODE I: ONE MINUTE TO MIDNIGHT
A curtain hung over the city, giving it both a silence and an eerily still sensation in those early morning hours. The river glided silently before me. No boats passed along those typically crowded waters. The roads on the bridges unoccupied. It was as if someone had taken a black and white photograph of the city at the exact moment when it looked to be at its most peaceful. If you were paying attention, you may think that something was off. But who was really paying attention? I know I wasn't. Shit, I could have cared less. The night before played over and over again in my mind.
Slowly, I took another drag from the cigarette, and I held my breath.
Wait.
Wait.
When I finally exhaled, the smoke was barely visible. I closed my eyes, and pulled the glass bottle in my other hand up to my lips. Apparently drinking vodka straight out of the bottle at 6 in the morning gives off the impression that you're an alcoholic. Well, by all means, assume everything you like about me from that simple act.
A buzz rose from my pocket.
I retrieved the culprit, and looked into its small screen.
JANE SHEPARD.
Didn't expect that one. For about a second I deliberate whether or not to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hello yourself. Are you alright?"
Shit, I must have been pretty far gone.
"I've been worse."
"Your voice would express otherwise."
"What's up Jane?"
"Well, you seemed like you were determined to go on one hell of a bender last night. And from the sound of it, you damn well succeeded."
"And?"
"I figured I could pick you up if you needed it." She added as an afterthought, "Something weird's going on here. I figured you'd be out of the loop."
Tempting. I raised the bottle to examine its contents. There was barely anything left. You're lucky you don't need to get your stomach pumped, I told myself. I took another quick drag from the cigarette, and then dropped the butt into the bottle. Then I threw them both into the river.
"Hello?"
"Yeah, sorry. I'm here. That would probably be for the best."
"Alright, where are you?"
I told her, and took a seat on the hood of my car. She would be about 20 minutes getting here. Leaning back, I looked into the sky. The light of the sun had barely begun to break through the veil of fog and cloud. As I allowed myself to relax muted sounds began to drift towards me.
Screams.
Sounds of metal and concrete ripping themselves violently apart.
Gunshots.
Slowly these noises began to register in my head. Slowly I raised myself back up to look at the city. Paying attention now, I noticed that the fog was not the only source of the veil surrounding the city. Smoke was pouring out of the buildings, wafting silently into the sky. I reached for the phone in my pocket and made a call.
"Jane. What the hell is happening in the city?"
"I'll explain when I get there. I'm just a few minutes away."
As she spoke those words, I saw a flash of light flare up in the center of the city. A guttural roar ripped through me as a followup, and on of the buildings on the waterfront began to cave in on itself. It was like watching a landslide as the building cascaded down into the water. Smoke and debris billowed all around it. From where I was standing, nearly a mile away, I watched as three blocks vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Try to hurry."
She had already hung up.
Or at least that's what I wanted to hope had happened.
A curtain hung over the city, giving it both a silence and an eerily still sensation in those early morning hours. The river glided silently before me. No boats passed along those typically crowded waters. The roads on the bridges unoccupied. It was as if someone had taken a black and white photograph of the city at the exact moment when it looked to be at its most peaceful. If you were paying attention, you may think that something was off. But who was really paying attention? I know I wasn't. Shit, I could have cared less. The night before played over and over again in my mind.
Slowly, I took another drag from the cigarette, and I held my breath.
Wait.
Wait.
When I finally exhaled, the smoke was barely visible. I closed my eyes, and pulled the glass bottle in my other hand up to my lips. Apparently drinking vodka straight out of the bottle at 6 in the morning gives off the impression that you're an alcoholic. Well, by all means, assume everything you like about me from that simple act.
A buzz rose from my pocket.
I retrieved the culprit, and looked into its small screen.
JANE SHEPARD.
Didn't expect that one. For about a second I deliberate whether or not to answer.
"Hello?"
"Hello yourself. Are you alright?"
Shit, I must have been pretty far gone.
"I've been worse."
"Your voice would express otherwise."
"What's up Jane?"
"Well, you seemed like you were determined to go on one hell of a bender last night. And from the sound of it, you damn well succeeded."
"And?"
"I figured I could pick you up if you needed it." She added as an afterthought, "Something weird's going on here. I figured you'd be out of the loop."
Tempting. I raised the bottle to examine its contents. There was barely anything left. You're lucky you don't need to get your stomach pumped, I told myself. I took another quick drag from the cigarette, and then dropped the butt into the bottle. Then I threw them both into the river.
"Hello?"
"Yeah, sorry. I'm here. That would probably be for the best."
"Alright, where are you?"
I told her, and took a seat on the hood of my car. She would be about 20 minutes getting here. Leaning back, I looked into the sky. The light of the sun had barely begun to break through the veil of fog and cloud. As I allowed myself to relax muted sounds began to drift towards me.
Screams.
Sounds of metal and concrete ripping themselves violently apart.
Gunshots.
Slowly these noises began to register in my head. Slowly I raised myself back up to look at the city. Paying attention now, I noticed that the fog was not the only source of the veil surrounding the city. Smoke was pouring out of the buildings, wafting silently into the sky. I reached for the phone in my pocket and made a call.
"Jane. What the hell is happening in the city?"
"I'll explain when I get there. I'm just a few minutes away."
As she spoke those words, I saw a flash of light flare up in the center of the city. A guttural roar ripped through me as a followup, and on of the buildings on the waterfront began to cave in on itself. It was like watching a landslide as the building cascaded down into the water. Smoke and debris billowed all around it. From where I was standing, nearly a mile away, I watched as three blocks vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Try to hurry."
She had already hung up.
Or at least that's what I wanted to hope had happened.
8.10.2008
Delirium City
Four years ago, I set out on a journey. I had no idea it would take me this long to follow the path that it created for me. The August before my senior year of high school started, I sat down in a Starbucks in Cool Springs, and wrote the words, "I was born on an air force base in Midwest America." With that, I had something to tell. I shared what I had with people, and I was proud of the work I had been doing. Things were progressing well. I knew that what I was creating would obviously need some work. It definitely had some kinks to work out, but I persisted, just trying to get down this story.
Then, in December, over Christmas break, I hit wall. And I hit it hard.
What I had at the time was amateur. I didn't really feel that way as I was writing it, but looking back, I can see that I was way too caught up in trying to be edgy. I wanted to create a facade of being this darkly contemplative writer. I wanted people to like me. I was not really writing for myself. I had been writing around a specific scene. A scene that only exists in my memories now, but was extremely vivid when I crafted it.
Work stopped for about a year. I moved on to another project for a class. And then I wanted to focus on that story. I worked at expanding the beginnings of something cool I had crafted for my Film as Lit class, but that was beginning to give me problems. I really liked the characters I had created for this movie, but I didn't really know how to make them live.
So, work slowed down on that. Before I had started college, I started reading comics. Mainly in trade paperback form (aka graphic novels though there is a distinction). I got a couple of SIN CITY books that had not been translated into the movie, and I read them. And something clicked. I had wanted to resume work on my original story, but nothing had really brought it back for me. Nothing helped me break through the writer's block. This, however, did it. Like it was something magical.
A series of things I experienced during my freshman year contributed to the story that now started flowing so freely from my fingertips. LOST. ALIAS. The trailer for HALO 3. SIN CITY. All of these things began to shape something in my head that got me genuinely excited. I began talking about it again. My friends would hear me talking about this story, and for all I knew, they probably didn't think about it much.
But I did.
The first thing I did was start reinventing the original characters who would be crucial to the story. THE HERO. SOPHIE KING. I began reshaping ideas I had about the plot. Most things changed completely. One only slightly. THE NECRO DISTRICT. I realized at one point that I had 2 perfectly good lead characters, and 1 supporting character in the project I had done a year before. CLARENCE HENRY. FRANK. ALICE PIERSON. I began to shift things around. Sophie slipped to a supporting role, and her cousin AUDREY KING was brought into the picture. I needed another character to serve as the first gatekeeper for my hero. From that, SOLOMON MYERS was given life. I had one more character I was going to pull from the original drafts, and redefine him, and his purpose. JAMES PRIME.
I was well on my way to something I could be proud of. I began meeting with David Blumberg to potentially add art to my story, like a comic book in my mind. He got me to start thinking outside the norm though. From his meetings emerged four important pieces of the puzzle that is I, HERO. I had a name for my setting. DELIRIUM CITY. I had a surname for a crucial villain. FRANK FALLOW. I had an object to set the story into motion. THE ARCHITECT. And, most importantly, I was able to finally name my hero. JACK HEART.
The puzzle was coming together quite well, and I was getting even more excited.
Two-and-a-half years later, after several rewrites and spells of writer's block, I am making a vow to finish this story. It is difficult knowing everything that heppens later, to write the essential pieces to progress the story, but it has to be done. I have to do this because I feel like it is a story worth telling. If for no reason other than it will provide entertainment to one person. I would be willing to live with that. My deepest hope, however, is that it does that for more. That people become invested in my story, and truly care for the characters.
So, there you are. That is the story, to some degree, of I, HERO. I want to be able to share it with all of you, but it will be hard for me to sit down and work on it sometimes. I would reall appreciate it if you would ask me how it is going, or to talk about it with you, or something. Anything to get my mind on it, and keep me working. If you made it this far, I appreciate your patience. Also, I would appreciate your keeping me accountable in the future with this. That's it for tonight.
You can't stop the signal...
Then, in December, over Christmas break, I hit wall. And I hit it hard.
What I had at the time was amateur. I didn't really feel that way as I was writing it, but looking back, I can see that I was way too caught up in trying to be edgy. I wanted to create a facade of being this darkly contemplative writer. I wanted people to like me. I was not really writing for myself. I had been writing around a specific scene. A scene that only exists in my memories now, but was extremely vivid when I crafted it.
Work stopped for about a year. I moved on to another project for a class. And then I wanted to focus on that story. I worked at expanding the beginnings of something cool I had crafted for my Film as Lit class, but that was beginning to give me problems. I really liked the characters I had created for this movie, but I didn't really know how to make them live.
So, work slowed down on that. Before I had started college, I started reading comics. Mainly in trade paperback form (aka graphic novels though there is a distinction). I got a couple of SIN CITY books that had not been translated into the movie, and I read them. And something clicked. I had wanted to resume work on my original story, but nothing had really brought it back for me. Nothing helped me break through the writer's block. This, however, did it. Like it was something magical.
A series of things I experienced during my freshman year contributed to the story that now started flowing so freely from my fingertips. LOST. ALIAS. The trailer for HALO 3. SIN CITY. All of these things began to shape something in my head that got me genuinely excited. I began talking about it again. My friends would hear me talking about this story, and for all I knew, they probably didn't think about it much.
But I did.
The first thing I did was start reinventing the original characters who would be crucial to the story. THE HERO. SOPHIE KING. I began reshaping ideas I had about the plot. Most things changed completely. One only slightly. THE NECRO DISTRICT. I realized at one point that I had 2 perfectly good lead characters, and 1 supporting character in the project I had done a year before. CLARENCE HENRY. FRANK. ALICE PIERSON. I began to shift things around. Sophie slipped to a supporting role, and her cousin AUDREY KING was brought into the picture. I needed another character to serve as the first gatekeeper for my hero. From that, SOLOMON MYERS was given life. I had one more character I was going to pull from the original drafts, and redefine him, and his purpose. JAMES PRIME.
I was well on my way to something I could be proud of. I began meeting with David Blumberg to potentially add art to my story, like a comic book in my mind. He got me to start thinking outside the norm though. From his meetings emerged four important pieces of the puzzle that is I, HERO. I had a name for my setting. DELIRIUM CITY. I had a surname for a crucial villain. FRANK FALLOW. I had an object to set the story into motion. THE ARCHITECT. And, most importantly, I was able to finally name my hero. JACK HEART.
The puzzle was coming together quite well, and I was getting even more excited.
Two-and-a-half years later, after several rewrites and spells of writer's block, I am making a vow to finish this story. It is difficult knowing everything that heppens later, to write the essential pieces to progress the story, but it has to be done. I have to do this because I feel like it is a story worth telling. If for no reason other than it will provide entertainment to one person. I would be willing to live with that. My deepest hope, however, is that it does that for more. That people become invested in my story, and truly care for the characters.
So, there you are. That is the story, to some degree, of I, HERO. I want to be able to share it with all of you, but it will be hard for me to sit down and work on it sometimes. I would reall appreciate it if you would ask me how it is going, or to talk about it with you, or something. Anything to get my mind on it, and keep me working. If you made it this far, I appreciate your patience. Also, I would appreciate your keeping me accountable in the future with this. That's it for tonight.
You can't stop the signal...
8.06.2008
Things Coming out in 2008 I am Pumped For (Part II)
I feel like I am going to be apologizing a lot for not constantly updatind this thing. That being said, I am sorry for getting a bit behind. This past weekend was Tax Free weekend, and I definitely work in a moderately affordable restaurant attatched to a mall, so it was a somewhat hecktic weekend.
So, that's out of the way, and on to business.
Back when I started this in January, my inaugural post featured a list of 10 things I was pumped for in 2008. I looked back, and saw that there has only been one thing on that list that has yet to come out. So, I figured I would do a new list, for what I have learned about since then, and am super psyched for. So, here we go:
10. Twilight (12/12)
Some of you know that I have recently started to read the TWILIGHT book series. I am three books in, and I am really digging it. It is really good because it has given me a desire to start reading all sorts of stuff. It even inspired me to make a personal reading list (which will probably be a post soon to come). Anyway, though it has gotten me to want to read, I still am passionate about movies. And this one looks promising, if it is anything like the book. The trailer makes it look like that is so. We'll see about that. But it is a really good story. Though, it does occasionally leave me feeling depressed because I am just so damn single. Not the best feeling in the world. Anyway, if you don't know about this, the story is basically about a girl who falls in love with a vampire (who also falls hard for her) and the two begin their relationship. It is cool because Stephanie Meyer created her own vampire mythology, and I am intrigued to see how some of it translated to film. Look out for it!
9. Choke (9/26)
This is the new movie based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuck. The first film, if you don't know, was FIGHT CLUB. The movie did a great job with the source material, and I am intrigued to see how this one turns out. Unfortunately I have not read this book (but it is on my reading list). It sounds promising enough, and the trailer looks pretty good. So, we will see how this one turns out.
8. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (12/19)
Wow it looks like everything I am excited for is based on some piece of writing. This is a film based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man, the eponymas Benjamin Button, who ages in reverse. When he was born he was physically like an old man, but the size of a baby, and as he grows older in years, he becomes more youthful. It looks interesting. Another teaming of Brad Pitt and David Fincher. The two have fared very well in their past two outings (FIGHT CLUB and SE7EN), so I want to see this. The trailer looks very eerie, and full of promise.
7. Burn After Reading (9/12)
The newest film from the Coen Brothers looks absolutely hilarious. I am not sure exactly what it is going to be about, but the Coens have only made one movie that I really did not care for (THE LADYKILLERS). I recently went through and watched every one of their movie that I had not seen at that point, and they were all really good. So, this one looks very good. The cast is pretty great as well. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand. Get ready for it!
6. Anberlin: New Surrender (9/30)
Anberlin is one of my favorite bands, easily, and I got pretty excited when I heard they are dropping a new album in September. It has only been about a year and a half since the phenomenal Cities, and so it was sort of surprising to hear that a new one is already coming out. The first track is available for listening to on the band's myspace (myspace.com/anberlin). They know how to rock the shit. Hopefully they will come through Nashville again on their tour for the CD.
5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (11/21)
The 6th HARRY POTTER book was my second favorite of the series, so needless to say I am psyched for the movie. The only thing I am wary about is the fact that it has the same director as the previous installment, and he said that he felt that his cut of OOTP released for theaters was still too long (running at 2 hours it was the shortest of the movies, whereas OOTP was the longest of the books). I was admittedly disappointed with the OOTP film, but I still enjoyed it. Hopefully he keeps this story as close to the book as possible. It will be pretty great to see the story of He Who Must Not Be Named played out on the screen, so get ready!
4. Quantum of Solace (11/07)
Daniel Craig was pretty damn awesome as James Bond in CASINO ROYALE, so it will be exciting to see him continue the role in its direct sequel. The story picks up mere hours after the previous installment ended. The grittier take on the character has really re-invigorated this series. I can honestly say that I never really enjoyed a James Bond movie until CASINO ROYALE. It did for this series what BATMAN BEGINS did for the Batman films. Hopefully this movie will keep up the trend.
3. Fringe (9/09)
JJ Abrams has a new show coming out that starts off on a plane...And it is not a spin-off of LOST. It is supposed to be similar to THE X-FILES in nature. I reall don't know much about it except that the trailer looks freaking awesome and it will be during Fox's new Remote Free TV programming scheme which will cut the commercial time in half, allowing for more richly developed stories. I just hopw it is not a let down. But I trust JJ with a story like this. He is a force ot be reckoned with in Hollywood right now, in my opinion.
2. Heroes Volume 3: Villains (9/22)
I don't know too much about the next installment of Heroes, except that it is supposed to make up for Season 2's lackluster qualities. I was somewhat let down by Volume 2, and it will be nice to see things begin to turn around. I won't say anything about the plot, for those of you who have not seen Season 2 (you're welcome Brett) and also for the sake of you spoiler-phobes. All I can say is that the season premier will be 2 hours long, and I will probably have a few nerd-gasms during it, from what I have heard.
1. Lovedrug: The Sucker Punch Show (10/28)
I just heard about this tonight. My favorite band is coming out with a new CD, 6 days after my birthday. Their last album kicked some major ass, so I am definitely stoked to see how this one is. The first track they have released is pretty frakking awesome. It is on their myspace. The only track on there. (myspace.com/lovedrug) I can't really get enough of those guys. Some people got boners over the new Coldplay album when it came out. Some did the same for Weezer. I will undoubtedly be doing the same with Lovedrug's new disc. Get ready for it. I will probably obsess over this one for a while.
So, there you have it. I am really excited for all of this stuff this year. I will try to post tomorrow, or Friday at the latest. I also got a tumblr page and will be keeping up with that as well. I have put up a couple videos so far. It will hopefully deliver a smattering of things that you will enjoy. So, check that out. http://brandonorman.tumblr.com Until next time.
You can't stop the signal...
So, that's out of the way, and on to business.
Back when I started this in January, my inaugural post featured a list of 10 things I was pumped for in 2008. I looked back, and saw that there has only been one thing on that list that has yet to come out. So, I figured I would do a new list, for what I have learned about since then, and am super psyched for. So, here we go:
10. Twilight (12/12)
Some of you know that I have recently started to read the TWILIGHT book series. I am three books in, and I am really digging it. It is really good because it has given me a desire to start reading all sorts of stuff. It even inspired me to make a personal reading list (which will probably be a post soon to come). Anyway, though it has gotten me to want to read, I still am passionate about movies. And this one looks promising, if it is anything like the book. The trailer makes it look like that is so. We'll see about that. But it is a really good story. Though, it does occasionally leave me feeling depressed because I am just so damn single. Not the best feeling in the world. Anyway, if you don't know about this, the story is basically about a girl who falls in love with a vampire (who also falls hard for her) and the two begin their relationship. It is cool because Stephanie Meyer created her own vampire mythology, and I am intrigued to see how some of it translated to film. Look out for it!
9. Choke (9/26)
This is the new movie based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuck. The first film, if you don't know, was FIGHT CLUB. The movie did a great job with the source material, and I am intrigued to see how this one turns out. Unfortunately I have not read this book (but it is on my reading list). It sounds promising enough, and the trailer looks pretty good. So, we will see how this one turns out.
8. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (12/19)
Wow it looks like everything I am excited for is based on some piece of writing. This is a film based on an F. Scott Fitzgerald story about a man, the eponymas Benjamin Button, who ages in reverse. When he was born he was physically like an old man, but the size of a baby, and as he grows older in years, he becomes more youthful. It looks interesting. Another teaming of Brad Pitt and David Fincher. The two have fared very well in their past two outings (FIGHT CLUB and SE7EN), so I want to see this. The trailer looks very eerie, and full of promise.
7. Burn After Reading (9/12)
The newest film from the Coen Brothers looks absolutely hilarious. I am not sure exactly what it is going to be about, but the Coens have only made one movie that I really did not care for (THE LADYKILLERS). I recently went through and watched every one of their movie that I had not seen at that point, and they were all really good. So, this one looks very good. The cast is pretty great as well. George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand. Get ready for it!
6. Anberlin: New Surrender (9/30)
Anberlin is one of my favorite bands, easily, and I got pretty excited when I heard they are dropping a new album in September. It has only been about a year and a half since the phenomenal Cities, and so it was sort of surprising to hear that a new one is already coming out. The first track is available for listening to on the band's myspace (myspace.com/anberlin). They know how to rock the shit. Hopefully they will come through Nashville again on their tour for the CD.
5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (11/21)
The 6th HARRY POTTER book was my second favorite of the series, so needless to say I am psyched for the movie. The only thing I am wary about is the fact that it has the same director as the previous installment, and he said that he felt that his cut of OOTP released for theaters was still too long (running at 2 hours it was the shortest of the movies, whereas OOTP was the longest of the books). I was admittedly disappointed with the OOTP film, but I still enjoyed it. Hopefully he keeps this story as close to the book as possible. It will be pretty great to see the story of He Who Must Not Be Named played out on the screen, so get ready!
4. Quantum of Solace (11/07)
Daniel Craig was pretty damn awesome as James Bond in CASINO ROYALE, so it will be exciting to see him continue the role in its direct sequel. The story picks up mere hours after the previous installment ended. The grittier take on the character has really re-invigorated this series. I can honestly say that I never really enjoyed a James Bond movie until CASINO ROYALE. It did for this series what BATMAN BEGINS did for the Batman films. Hopefully this movie will keep up the trend.
3. Fringe (9/09)
JJ Abrams has a new show coming out that starts off on a plane...And it is not a spin-off of LOST. It is supposed to be similar to THE X-FILES in nature. I reall don't know much about it except that the trailer looks freaking awesome and it will be during Fox's new Remote Free TV programming scheme which will cut the commercial time in half, allowing for more richly developed stories. I just hopw it is not a let down. But I trust JJ with a story like this. He is a force ot be reckoned with in Hollywood right now, in my opinion.
2. Heroes Volume 3: Villains (9/22)
I don't know too much about the next installment of Heroes, except that it is supposed to make up for Season 2's lackluster qualities. I was somewhat let down by Volume 2, and it will be nice to see things begin to turn around. I won't say anything about the plot, for those of you who have not seen Season 2 (you're welcome Brett) and also for the sake of you spoiler-phobes. All I can say is that the season premier will be 2 hours long, and I will probably have a few nerd-gasms during it, from what I have heard.
1. Lovedrug: The Sucker Punch Show (10/28)
I just heard about this tonight. My favorite band is coming out with a new CD, 6 days after my birthday. Their last album kicked some major ass, so I am definitely stoked to see how this one is. The first track they have released is pretty frakking awesome. It is on their myspace. The only track on there. (myspace.com/lovedrug) I can't really get enough of those guys. Some people got boners over the new Coldplay album when it came out. Some did the same for Weezer. I will undoubtedly be doing the same with Lovedrug's new disc. Get ready for it. I will probably obsess over this one for a while.
So, there you have it. I am really excited for all of this stuff this year. I will try to post tomorrow, or Friday at the latest. I also got a tumblr page and will be keeping up with that as well. I have put up a couple videos so far. It will hopefully deliver a smattering of things that you will enjoy. So, check that out. http://brandonorman.tumblr.com Until next time.
You can't stop the signal...
8.01.2008
My Top 25 Favorite Movies
Something compelled me to put together a definitive list of my favorite movies I have seen (obviously up until this point in my life). The top 5 were not so hard to come up with (which are actually comprised of my favorite, and then 4 movies tied in second place), but beyond that, it was a little tough ranking these movies. The way I am going to run this down is by putting the movies in ascending order, from 25 to 1, and then put a trailer/clip of the film after it, so you can see it and think it is cool too. Also, I am trying to limit spoilers with clips for those of you who may not have seen the movies. So, enjoy!
25. Iron Man
24. Sin City
23. LA Confidential
22. Hot Rod (One of the funniest scenes in the movie)
21. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (No video, but the audio is good)
20. The Bourne Ultimatum
19. Unbreakable
18. Memento
17. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
16. Hot Fuzz
15. V for Vendetta
14. Kill Bill - There's two volumes, but it is really just one movie. Don't kid yourself.
13. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
12. Serenity
11. Ocean's 13
10. The Matrix
9. Big Fish
8. The Royal Tenenbaums
7. Rushmore
6. Ocean's 11
2. Pulp Fiction
2. Lucky Number Slevin
2. Batman Begins
2. The Prestige
1. The Dark Knight
So there you have it. If you want to talk about movies on the list, or watch some of these with me that you have not seen, let me know because I would love to hang out and share the magic. Only two of them are not out on DVD yet, so I don't have them (because I don't pirate movies!)
25. Iron Man
24. Sin City
23. LA Confidential
22. Hot Rod (One of the funniest scenes in the movie)
21. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (No video, but the audio is good)
20. The Bourne Ultimatum
19. Unbreakable
18. Memento
17. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
16. Hot Fuzz
15. V for Vendetta
14. Kill Bill - There's two volumes, but it is really just one movie. Don't kid yourself.
13. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
12. Serenity
11. Ocean's 13
10. The Matrix
9. Big Fish
8. The Royal Tenenbaums
7. Rushmore
6. Ocean's 11
2. Pulp Fiction
2. Lucky Number Slevin
2. Batman Begins
2. The Prestige
1. The Dark Knight
So there you have it. If you want to talk about movies on the list, or watch some of these with me that you have not seen, let me know because I would love to hang out and share the magic. Only two of them are not out on DVD yet, so I don't have them (because I don't pirate movies!)
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