Quick Take: Monsters

Notice the lacks of the title creatures in the movie poster?

I was sorely disappointed by two things I had high hopes for yesterday. One was a book, the other was the movie "Monsters."

The Gareth Edwards, done the cheap, Godzilla-takeoff has earned high praise. It is still floating a 71% on Rottentomatoes.com.

It was an interesting premise. Alien creatures landed in Mexico years ago and are impossible to kill off, so they quarantine the area. It's like having Godzilla permanently living in your backyard.

Except, this isn't Godzilla's story. This is more like Cloverfield (without the money, bad acting, and shakey cam) because it focuses on the people impacted by the monsters.

It may as well have been set in 1990s Bosnia, 1970s Vietnam, or Civil War America- the impact of the monsters is so tangential to the story it was as if this was just a love story told against the backdrop of ruin and bad location (ie a warzone).

The love story isn't all there either. Apparently, they just took these two actors and plopped them into Central America. Everyone they are acting against is supposedly native.

The locations are great, Edwards does prove himself adept with the special effects. However, so much takes place at night and in the dark, it becomes such an obvious cheat.

If you go into this with realistic expectations, you might enjoy it, but even at a trim 90 minutes it still felt long.
The director is being handed the reigns to a new Godzilla film. I really hope it is for other work and not this.

Slow Death or Rebirth for Myspace?

Are we really watching the slow inevitable death of Myspace? With the integration with Facebook complete and the push towards what appears to be a mobile only function , isn't it time to call this one? One report says that Myspace is making $200 million less this year. They are functionally giving up on Myspace Music , which was always their bread and butter. Without the music tie in, why would people BOTHER with Myspace? I'm talking about it because my wife's band has used every medium known to mankind to promote themselves online and Myspace has been nothing but dead weight from the very beginning. Only bands and their most ardent fans go there. The rest are on Facebook. There is talk of selling Myspace, but who in their right mind would consider it? This will have some interesting implications for bands down the road. Many use Myspace as their de facto website, just pushing their domain name onto the customizable site. Now apparently, Reverbnation , a North Carolin

Being a Parent

While back, I wrote a post on Father's day about being a father and how being a parent is a job. I wistfully look back as I look forward to another school year quickly approaching and the evidence of my "work" is becoming less and less my handiwork. Our youngest has just moved on to middle school. Josh has moved into high school and the oldest has graduated from high school and about "start" her life. We've had a tacit arrangement with the kids. We do NOT want boomerang kids coming back to haunt us. So they have always been told, they are staying with us until they are REALLY ready to go out and that includes the joke that college has become. Sadly, despite the fact that I have spent a good chunk of my career working in higher education, I know that it is a folly to think that sending a child off to college is preparing them for much other than to have a lifetime of loans. Thankfully, Amanda has gotten the message. She has a plan to go to local c

Check out my appearance on the The Toddcast Podcast

Click and watch the podcast recording of my appearance on the Toddcast Podcast Such a fun time!

Todd Lyden

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