Expect the Unexpected

Sometimes you shouldn't interfere with things that you don't understand such as the Stargate. In the movie  Stargate egyptologist Daniel Jackson translates the inscriptions on a ring known as stargate. Once he uses the inscriptions to operate the stargate he and a team led by air-force colonel Jack O'Neil travel across the universe to a distant planet. Their job is to explore the new planet. However, when they arrive at the distant planet they soon realize that they can't reopen the stargate without the right equipment. So as they try to reactivate the stargate they come across a civilization that is under the control of the Egyptian sun god Ra. While trying to find the right equipment to open the stargate Jack, Daniel, and the rest of the team are captured by Ra's minions. Once they're captured Ra tells Daniel how he plans to destroy the Earth with the bomb that Jack brought with him. They have no idea what they have gotten themselves into.

Overall this movie was confusing to me. I had a hard time understanding what the characters were talking about. For example, when Daniel Jackson and Ra are talking to each other. I had no clue as to what they were talking about because they were talking in Egyptian and there were no subtitles when they were talking. I may have missed an important scene and wouldn't have known that I did because I had no idea what they were saying. The only thing that I did like about the movie was how they went to a distant planet that was ruled by the sun god Ra. This makes the movie unique because I haven't seen any movie that has a plot like this.

Battle Lines Drawn

Whose side are you on? In this 3-D computer generated action packed movie a paraplegic ex-marine known as Jake Sully takes the place of his dead twin brother on a mission to mine the planet Pandora for its valuable ore. The problem with retrieving the valuable ore is that it's located under the home of the Navi tribe. So Jake uses his brother's genetically grown half-alien/half-human body in order to protect a scientific team that is exploring the planet. When he gets separated from the team after being chased by a huge beast he meets the Navi princess Neytiri. After she saves him from the beast she brings him to the Navi tribe in order to teach the humans about their planet. However, when Colonel Miles Quaritch, who is part of the security of the company that wants the valuable ore, hears about how much time Jake has spent with the tribe he orders him to learn more about the tribe. He wants to use the learned information to either persuade the tribe to leave or to take drastic measures. This leaves Jake in a difficult position. He has to choose between the tribe that he has befriended and his own kind. What would you do if you were in his position?

Overall the special effects, the acting, the costumes, and the music make this movie so realistic. You can relate to the characters as to how they react to certain situations, their personalities, and their emotions. The special effects make the planet come alive and makes you feel as if you are actually there witnessing what is happening. The music also makes the scenes come alive such as when the humans fight the Navi tribe. The music adds suspense to the scenes making you more focused on what is happening.

 I highly recommend this movie if you like an action packed, hair raising experience that keeps you on your toes and wanting more.

In the Event of a Zombie Attack

What would you do if you woke up from a coma to find out that the dead have come back to life? The Walking Dead is a zombie apocalyptic t.v. show that contains suspenseful and thrilling action scenes, great special effects and music, an intriguing plot, actors that make the characters seem realistic, and a realistic environment and situation. The show starts off with deputy Rick Grimes waking up in the hospital after being shot on duty. After waking up from a coma he begins to walk around the hospital and notices a sign on the exit doors telling him not to open them because zombies were on the other side. This is when you begin to witness the good and bad choices that he makes while trying to avoid being eaten by zombies. He decides not to open the doors and looks for another way out. (Smart Choice!) He eventually climbs down the hospital's fire escape and ends up in the vacant parking lot. After observing all of the lined up dead bodies he runs up a hill and finds a bike. He rides the bike back to his house and finds the front door ajar. Instead of cautiously entering the house like any smart person would do he decides to barge right in and make a loud ruckus while searching for his family.

Later on he goes to the police station and gathers up ammo, guns, and clothing. He heads towards Atlanta hoping that his family is alive and safe. (Smart Choices!) When he gets to the city he runs into a horde of zombies. With the options to either be eaten by the horde of zombies or to go into the nearby army tank for protection he makes the smart choice of climbing into the army tank.

So will Rick ever get out of the army tank or will he be eaten by the zombies?! Stay tuned!

May The Force Be With You

"May the force be with you". This is one of the many universally known phrases within the Star Wars universe. This action packed ending to the Star Wars saga contains brilliant acting, thrilling action scenes, an amazing soundtrack, great special effects for its time, unique costumes, and an intriguing plot. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi starts at where we left off in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. Han Solo is frozen in carbonite and is now in the possession of Jabba the Hut on his sail barge. Luke, who has just finished his Jedi training, heads to the desert on Tatooine with his friends in a rescue attempt. After escaping the clutches of Jabba the Hut with Han Solo in hand Luke returns back to Yoda's home planet and finds him dying. In his last dying breath Yoda confirms that Darth Vader is Luke's father. How would you feel if you found out that Darth Vader was your father? I would have reacted the same way that Luke did when he found out. I would have gone into denial. After all who would want Darth Vader to be their father, the second most evil man in the galaxy?

Luke is struggling to determine whether or not there is any good left in his father. Luke also struggles with making either the right decision or the practical decision when it comes to dealing with Darth Vader. I feel sorry for Luke because he finally finds out who his father is and has to decide whether or not to kill him. Would you be able to kill your father if you knew how evil and dangerous he was? This becomes imperative when Luke has a lightsaber duel with Darth Vader on the second Death Star. As Luke tries to convince his father that there is still good left in him during the duel his father denies it saying that there is no longer any good left in him. So what does this mean? Does Luke turn to the Dark Side or does Darth Vader return to the Light Side? Watch and find out!

What makes up the Human Identity

What does it mean to be human? What makes us human? These are the general types of questions that we ask ourselves every single day. I believe that in order to be human you need to be able to emphasize, be able to tell from right and wrong, be able to have complex thoughts and memories, and have physical and genetic make-up.

In my English class we watched the movie "Blade Runner". This movie is pretty weird and makes you think, "What's the importance of having this in the movie? What's the significance of this?." At least that was what I thought when I watched this movie. The movie was a toss-up between being a sci-fi movie or being a weird comedy movie. You will see what I mean if you decide to watch it. In the movie the setting takes place in Los Angeles in the year 2019. In the future human kind has created the technology to produce replicans which are artificially created clones as slave labor to work on off-world colonies until their four year life span is up. Due to not having any emotions replicans are given a four year life span because their designers are afraid that they will develop their own emotions. However, there is one replican known as Rachael that has emotions. This makes her different from the other replicans. She doesn't know that she is actually a replican. She believes that she is human. Replicans aren’t humans because they aren’t able to emphasize, they can’t tell from right and wrong, and they aren’t genetically human. When I mean by them not being genetically human I mean that they weren’t born like humans are they were created. However, they are physically human to an extent. They are made of human body parts, but what makes them physically different is that they don’t feel pain. However, when it comes to Rachael it’s a whole other story. Even though Rachael is indeed a replican she is more human-like than the other replicans. What makes her more human-like is that she has memories.

We also read a short story called "Blood Music" by Greg Bear. It was such a weird story! I mean this story blew your mind due to its weirdness. Some of the things that were mentioned in the story didn't even make sense and were somewhat random. The point of me mentioning this weird story is that it shows aspects of being human. The story starts off with a scientist named Vergil meeting with his friend Edward. He tells him how he injected himself with a learning biochip in order to improve himself. At first the changes in Vergil's body seem to be small, but as time passes by the changes begin to occur quicker and become more noticeable. He may still be able to emphasize, be able to tell from right and wrong, and have complex thoughts, but he is no longer physically human. The biochips are changing his physical make-up from the inside out. He no longer looks human. Not only that but you start to see that his white blood cells are starting to act human-like. In the beginning they only understand right and wrong and have simple thoughts. As the story progresses they become more human-like because they begin to emphasize and have complex thoughts such as cooperating with one another and organization.

Without having any of the characteristics that I previously stated earlier you aren’t human, but might as well be a non-living object.