One of the baddest of the all-time bad guys passed away over the weekend – Christopher Lee, at 93. RIP, Lord Summerisle…..

Christopher Lee dies at the age of 93

Wikipedia bio
IMDB

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Our company had a free screening of Jurassic World yesterday evening – interesting. It was harmless fun but for the money the studio likely spent, they could have worked far harder on the plot. The movie was well made but offers nothing new in light of three previous JP movies as well as the whole ‘dystopian theme park goes very wrong’ theme done first (and arguably best) by Westworld. Ironically, that movie was written and directed by a 31-year old Michael Crichton, the original author of Jurassic Park. Amusing.

Chris Pratt is the main ‘reluctant hero’ star, and while this movie is nothing to write home about, his career will not be hurt by it, either – he’s definitely the most interesting thing in the movie, despite the writers’ efforts to turn velicoraptors into CP’s trained posse. I’ve liked Vincent D’Onofrio since his Private Pyle days, but here he’s just a cheesy fat ham (in more ways than one). Most of the rest of the actors are unknowns or on their way up (Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan and BD Wong) – probably how you keep costs down with so much expensive, extensive CGI in nearly every scene.

I kept also thinking of Futureworld, the even lamer (than this JP sequel) Westworld sequel from the mid-70’s. It’s kinda sad how Hollywood just keeps betting that sequels will do more than trick people into movie theaters expecting the same magic as the first time. That’s only happened a FEW times, guys and you are paying these lazy writers WAY too much in the meantime!

other voices:
Seattle Times
Metacritic
Rotten Tomatoes

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every time he was on, it started silly and then went so very, very wrong…. 🙂

https://youtu.be/e76ma_jl1Ng

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only about another month until the 2015 NW Pinball and Arcade show on the weekend of June 5-7! Apparently this bad boy will be making its debut there….very, very cool!

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I had a buddy in high school that was really into them but I never got there. May have to check this out though….?

The Residents thrive on odd mix of fame and obscurity

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I can remember when digital watches were the ‘in’ thing, but I don’t remember this one….?

Apple Watch? Whatever. Reviewing the Timex Datalink, the world’s first smartwatch

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Came across this video from Jim Henson’s memorial tonight on YT – very hard to believe he’s been gone for 24+ years(?) and yet his star has anything but diminished. Would that the rest of us had such a positive and uplifting effect on the world while doing it with humor and grace, while not being afraid to be zany and weird when the mood suited. This video really captures the essence of Jim Henson – enjoy and be inspired.

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