by: Dana Young
"The Terminator" is an true blockbuster classic; for me personally, it's the best action movie I've ever seen (to me, of course!). Although its sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, is far superior technologically and visually, this first film in the franchise is by far the best of them all, and in no small part thanks to James Cameron's brilliant script and direction in which he creates a moody, atmospheric landscape within which a battle between man and machine is waged, and yet a love story about star-crossed lovers is the true heart of the movie. Arnold Schwarzenegger found his signature role, and some might say the only role he truly fits like a glove, a killer robot from the future with a deadly mission to kill Sarah Connor, the future mother of the human resistance leader against the machines in the future. Unlike other sci-fi films, which tend to border on the silly or amusing side, this is a film you can take absolutely seriously, even with Arnie in the lead, and is a thrilling ride from start to finish.
After being treated to a post-apocalyptic nightmare of the future in the film's opening prologue, the film begins with Arnie's arrival as the Terminator in LA. He arrives completely naked, a fact that some street punks find amusing until the Terminator kills them in order to take their clothes. From there, we're introduced to Sarah and her normal life, and then to Kyle Reese, a human sent back in time to help protect Sarah from the Terminator. All three eventually come together in one particularly tense sequence in a night club where the Terminator reveals himself to everyone, pulls out his gun and is just about to shoot Sarah when Reese intervenes and saves her.
By today's standards the visualisation of the Terminator on screen (at least in the end) looks a little old-fashioned and clunky but it's no less thrilling. We are treated to a number of full body shots at the end which are stop motion and stilted, but this doesn't detract from the thrills, especially when in one sequence where we think the Terminator has been destroyed, twice, and he still gets up again. There's a great scene in the documentary on the bonus disc where the composer, upon first seeing this scene, says, "if that things gets up one more time I swear I'll... &%$#!". It's very suspenseful and entertaining.
Linda Hamilton does an amicable job as the vulnerable Sarah Connor; she's the girl next door who finds herself in an extraordinary situation and has to learn to adapt to an entirely new life once the Terminator enters the picture. Michael Biehn plays Kyle Reese with an almost manic intensity, driven to protect Sarah Connor at all costs. Throughout the film we are slowly treated to a more human side to the character who comes to fall in love with Sarah and thus conceive the leader of the human resistance, John Connor. Biehn does an excellent job, more so because it falls on his shoulders to explain everything that's happening, something I'm sure he wouldn't have relished. But at the same time, it's to Cameron's credit that this exposition which would have been boring otherwise is always told in the middle of a tense action sequence, so it's never boring.
Perhaps what sets this film apart from most action films is that everything is driven by the drama of the story, something you don't often find. So when the Terminator is chasing our heroes in a spectacular car chase with gun going off and parts of the city getting destroyed, we can still feel the tension and the drama in the scene for the characters rather than being a spectacular technical feat which so often happens in so many action films. As a result, you're constantly wondering if they are going to be able to stay one step ahead of the unstoppable cyborg.
"The Terminator" is a truly awesome film; it might be a little dated now, but it's no less great than when it was first released.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Learn Beginner Guitar - 6 Easy Steps To Finger Tap Like A Pro
by: Jeremiah La Follette
There are some very fun and exciting things that are unique to the guitar. One of these unique items is called finger tapping. Although the theory behind finger tapping is nothing new, there is just something about guitar player finger tapping that sounds totally cool. Many other instruments such as the piano and saxophone have tried for years to emulate the sound of a guitar finger tapping. At the end of the day however, there’s nothing like a real guitar player finger tapping like pro.
Let’s take a look at 6 easy steps to learn beginner guitar finger tapping.
1. With your left hand, place your first finger on the second string, fifth fret.
2. With your right first finger pluck the second string on the ninth fret.
3. With your third finger strike the seventh fret
4. With your right first finger strike the ninth fret.
5. Quickly lift your third finger off of the seventh fret
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5
Let’s take a look at a longer explanation of what is occurring.
1. With your left hand, place your first finger on the second string, fifth fret: Remember to use proper left hand technique and place your left fingers just before the fret to get the best sound out of your guitar.
2. With your right first finger pluck the second string on the ninth fret: if you are holding the guitar pick you will want to place it somewhere else for right now. Later on as you improve your finger tapping technique you can place your guitar pick in between another set of fingers.
3. With your third finger strike the seventh fret: This is a technique called a hammer on, and will require practice in order to get the note sounding loud enough to be heard. If you have a guitar amplifier; turning up the volume will help you to hear your hammer on notes until your fingers are strong enough to not need extra volume.
4. With your right first finger strike the ninth fret: If you are having a hard time hammering on the note with your first finger try placing your middle finger over your first finger to give it some extra strength.
5. Quickly lift your third finger off of the seventh fret: You can either lift your left hand third finger as soon as your right hand first finger taps its first note, or you can quickly lift your left hand third finger away from the fret as you pluck the ninth fret with your right first finger.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5: You now have the basic foundation to begin finger tapping!
There are some very fun and exciting things that are unique to the guitar. One of these unique items is called finger tapping. Although the theory behind finger tapping is nothing new, there is just something about guitar player finger tapping that sounds totally cool. Many other instruments such as the piano and saxophone have tried for years to emulate the sound of a guitar finger tapping. At the end of the day however, there’s nothing like a real guitar player finger tapping like pro.
Let’s take a look at 6 easy steps to learn beginner guitar finger tapping.
1. With your left hand, place your first finger on the second string, fifth fret.
2. With your right first finger pluck the second string on the ninth fret.
3. With your third finger strike the seventh fret
4. With your right first finger strike the ninth fret.
5. Quickly lift your third finger off of the seventh fret
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5
Let’s take a look at a longer explanation of what is occurring.
1. With your left hand, place your first finger on the second string, fifth fret: Remember to use proper left hand technique and place your left fingers just before the fret to get the best sound out of your guitar.
2. With your right first finger pluck the second string on the ninth fret: if you are holding the guitar pick you will want to place it somewhere else for right now. Later on as you improve your finger tapping technique you can place your guitar pick in between another set of fingers.
3. With your third finger strike the seventh fret: This is a technique called a hammer on, and will require practice in order to get the note sounding loud enough to be heard. If you have a guitar amplifier; turning up the volume will help you to hear your hammer on notes until your fingers are strong enough to not need extra volume.
4. With your right first finger strike the ninth fret: If you are having a hard time hammering on the note with your first finger try placing your middle finger over your first finger to give it some extra strength.
5. Quickly lift your third finger off of the seventh fret: You can either lift your left hand third finger as soon as your right hand first finger taps its first note, or you can quickly lift your left hand third finger away from the fret as you pluck the ninth fret with your right first finger.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5: You now have the basic foundation to begin finger tapping!
How To Play Guitar - Beginner - 4 Must Have Guitar Effect Pedals: Distortion, Delay, Chorus, and Reverb
by: Jeremiah La Follette
If you don’t own them already, at some point, you will encounter what are called guitar effects. Guitar effects are used to enhance the tone and sound of your instrument. Guitar effects can dramatically change your guitar sound, or simply make your guitar sound sonically rich.
When you enter the world of guitar effects, it can be quite overwhelming to know what the best guitar effects to purchase are. From stomp boxes, to full rack mount guitar effects, there is an unending supply of sound available to enhance your guitar playing sound and abilities.
Let’s take a look at 4 must-have guitar effects that you will want to utilize in your guitar playing experience.
1. Distortion
2. Delay
3. Chorus
4. Reverb
1. Distortion: If you’ve ever heard a hard rock band, chances are you have heard a guitar player that is using distortion. Believe it or not, distortion is not just limited to heavy metal playing guitar players. Many jazz guitar players incorporate distortion into their sound. Even rock and blues players will incorporate a light distortion sound, giving their clean tone an extra edge to the sound that their guitar produces. There are unlimited types of distortion available to the guitar player making distortion a great way to craft your own unique guitar tone.
2. Delay: Think back to a time where you were yelling your name in a concrete stairwell, or shouting your name across a canyon, and while you were calling out your name you heard your name repeat over and over. You have just experienced delay. Another name for delay is echo. Delay as a guitar effect is basically when the sound that you produce on your guitar repeats itself over and over again. There are short delays, and long delays. Short delays are great for adding rhythmic variation to your guitar. Long delays are a great way to add excitement within your guitar solos.
3. Chorus: The idea behind the effect known as chorus is when you have an overlapping blend of voices sounding together. Chorus on the guitar is similar to having many guitar‘s overlapping together. Chorus is a great guitar effect when played on a clean guitar tone. Both electric and acoustic guitars will sound great with chorus added to the sound mix of your guitar.
4. Reverb: Very similarly related to delay is the effect called reverb. If hearing the sound repeat over and over again is called delay, the part of the sound that continues onward after you’ve stopped playing is called reverb. Right now, clap your hand in the room that you’re in. If you’re in a small room your handclap will not last very long. In a large auditorium however, the after sound of clapping your hand might last for a few seconds. You’ll also hear the effects of natural reverb by yelling your name in a concrete stairwell, or a canyon. Reverb is a great guitar effect that can add depth to your sound. Thick Reverb guitar effects are generally not recommended playing with live because reverb can muddy up your guitar sound. Instead, try adding reverb to your guitar in a studio recording. In a home studio recording, reverb can make your guitar sound amazing.
If you don’t own them already, at some point, you will encounter what are called guitar effects. Guitar effects are used to enhance the tone and sound of your instrument. Guitar effects can dramatically change your guitar sound, or simply make your guitar sound sonically rich.
When you enter the world of guitar effects, it can be quite overwhelming to know what the best guitar effects to purchase are. From stomp boxes, to full rack mount guitar effects, there is an unending supply of sound available to enhance your guitar playing sound and abilities.
Let’s take a look at 4 must-have guitar effects that you will want to utilize in your guitar playing experience.
1. Distortion
2. Delay
3. Chorus
4. Reverb
1. Distortion: If you’ve ever heard a hard rock band, chances are you have heard a guitar player that is using distortion. Believe it or not, distortion is not just limited to heavy metal playing guitar players. Many jazz guitar players incorporate distortion into their sound. Even rock and blues players will incorporate a light distortion sound, giving their clean tone an extra edge to the sound that their guitar produces. There are unlimited types of distortion available to the guitar player making distortion a great way to craft your own unique guitar tone.
2. Delay: Think back to a time where you were yelling your name in a concrete stairwell, or shouting your name across a canyon, and while you were calling out your name you heard your name repeat over and over. You have just experienced delay. Another name for delay is echo. Delay as a guitar effect is basically when the sound that you produce on your guitar repeats itself over and over again. There are short delays, and long delays. Short delays are great for adding rhythmic variation to your guitar. Long delays are a great way to add excitement within your guitar solos.
3. Chorus: The idea behind the effect known as chorus is when you have an overlapping blend of voices sounding together. Chorus on the guitar is similar to having many guitar‘s overlapping together. Chorus is a great guitar effect when played on a clean guitar tone. Both electric and acoustic guitars will sound great with chorus added to the sound mix of your guitar.
4. Reverb: Very similarly related to delay is the effect called reverb. If hearing the sound repeat over and over again is called delay, the part of the sound that continues onward after you’ve stopped playing is called reverb. Right now, clap your hand in the room that you’re in. If you’re in a small room your handclap will not last very long. In a large auditorium however, the after sound of clapping your hand might last for a few seconds. You’ll also hear the effects of natural reverb by yelling your name in a concrete stairwell, or a canyon. Reverb is a great guitar effect that can add depth to your sound. Thick Reverb guitar effects are generally not recommended playing with live because reverb can muddy up your guitar sound. Instead, try adding reverb to your guitar in a studio recording. In a home studio recording, reverb can make your guitar sound amazing.
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