Anyone seen a good movie lately?

[Father Demon]

Watched Happy Endings last night.  It wasn't what I thought it would be about, and it sucked.  I can't believe I watched the whole thing.

[PhillyPhanInDC]

I don't feel like looking up and linking all of the info, but  I believe China currently has more restrictions in place on pollution than any other country in the world. Say all the bad things you want about the Chinese, but they aren't a stupid people. The water and air in the country was so polluted it threatened the people and their farm system ( in which the entire country would fail without). There were and still are major health concerns and damage done to their land and farms, and they didn't turn a blind eye to it. The government has taken much more drastic changes to remedy the situation than the United States. There are American scientists who couldn't get their good ideas to repair our environment any attention here, and now they are working in China the majority of the time helping the Chinese become more environmentally friendly, and more "Energy Independent".

[Geowhizzer]

Not really taking a side here, but I did a quick Yahoo search, and here are the articles I found:

1.  China's air pollution chokes crop growth

2.  Researcher: Pollution Limits Sun in China

3.  A doubling of global energy requirements by 2030 and its effect on Pollution & the Green House Effect

4.  Wastewater Pollution in China

5.  China: Environmental Issues

Interesting point in this article:

A report released in 1998 by the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that of the ten most polluted cities in the world, seven can be found in China.

In an effort to reduce air pollution in Beijing, the municipal government in 1999 ordered city vehicles to convert to liquefied petroleum gas and natural gas. By 2002, Beijing had the largest fleet of natural gas buses in the world - a total of 1,630 vehicles. Subway and light rail systems in Beijing also are being expanded.

China's national legislature, through its model of "Cleaner Production" and other attempts to reduce air pollution, has significantly altered the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, which was revised in 2002. Still, a report issued by SEPA in June 2003 said officials were "still not optimistic" about the overall success of efforts to curb air pollution.

China is a non-Annex I country under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, meaning it has not agreed to binding emissions reductions in the Kyoto Protocol, which it ratified in August 2002. China's domestic greenhouse-gas reduction activities are based on "no-regrets" strategies in energy efficiency and conservation, clean energy supply and reforestation. In other words, policies are enacted to cut energy costs and reduce local pollution, while having the auxiliary benefit of reducing carbon emissions.

Unlike other developing countries such as India, South Korea and Brazil, both the amount of energy and carbon consumed per dollar of GDP have decreased dramatically in China over the past two decades.

While China ranks second in the world behind the United States in total energy consumption and carbon emissions, its per capita energy consumption and carbon emissions are much lower than the world average.

6.  Economist's View:  Pollution in China

Opening Statement:

According to the World Bank, six of the world's ten most polluted cities are in China.  It is also a very inefficient user of energy requiring 4.7 times as much energy to produce a unit of GDP than in the U.S., a consequence of subsidized fuel in China leaving little incentive to implement energy saving technology and lax environmental regulation.  The energy subsidies and the lack of environmental regulation contribute to the cost advantage enjoyed by Chinese producers. And, according to BusinessWeek, China is becoming even less efficient in its energy usage:

On cars:

In its quest for development, China is building highways -- and cars -- at an accelerating pace. There are 26 million cars on the road today, and that number is expected to double by 2010. By then, automobiles are expected to account for nearly two-thirds of China's air pollution. Some officials, though, are trying to hold the line on auto emissions ... And Beijing has equipped more than 2,500 buses with engines powered by natural gas, at a total cost of $26 million.

7.  Economist's View: Pollution Sparks Outrage and Riots in China

8.  You can also go to the World Bank, which has data on different trends.

Here is a map of CO2 emissions:


9.  Here's an article that claims there to be a gap between world emissions standards and actual pollution output:  Union of Concerned Scientists- Clean Vehicles

Excerpt:

A significant gap exists between emission standards and what cars emit in the real world. The primary sources of these excess real-world emissions are malfunctioning emission control equipment, aggressive driving behavior, and air conditioning operation. None of these "off-cycle" emissions are captured in the regulatory test cycle.

(By the way, don't expect me to stop using the A/C in my car- it's freaking HOT in Florida!)

10. Air Pollution Emissions Overview from the EPA


Do with it what you wish.  I'm sure there's more data to be found as well.  Like I said, these are from the first page of the Yahoo search.

[Father Demon]

DUDE!!!!

Go outside, drink some beer, grill an animal, and enjoy Independence Day weekend!

[Feva]

See Superman Returns in IMAX 3D like your life depends on it.  Seriously.

Word Life.

[Feva]

Damn Geo... can you be any more vague?

[Sgt PSN]

I have nothing to say about movies and I'm not getting wasted on a holiday weekend.  Instead, I'm doing homework.  I suck. 

[Sgt PSN]

Watched Happy Endings last night. It wasn't what I thought it would be about, and it sucked.

This made me laugh. 

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

I'm more concerned that it would seem he wanted to watch a movie about guys getting jerked off.

[phillymic2000]

Americans consume and pollute far more than any other nationality in the world.  That's a fact.  China requires more stringent mpg ratings for automobiles than the U.S.   I'm tired of arguing against your ignorance, phillymic.  You think Terri Schiavo was responding to people, you think evolution is some kind of athiest conspiracy against Christians, you think the U.S. is the paragon of all human civilization.

You're wrong on all counts.  Go back to the mall.

So I am ignorant because I do not agree with you? Oh well I'm hurt Trust me I think you are just as ignorant to think that evolution is the answer, and that the US is responsible for every thing that goes wrong in the world, but yet you live here , free to rip on americans and the government. Enjoy the 4th, I'm sure you have a wonderful flag burning ceremony ready to go!! Carry on.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

"Winter Passing"

Zooey Deschanel is good, as are the other acting performances, I guess.  But it's basically the standard heroine finding herself through the malaise and self-hatred of her life, and blah blah blah.  I'd assume you could go to Sundance and see 20 movies just like it, but not with as many *name* actors.  Feel free to not see this one, as it offers nothing special, unless you're into Will Ferrell in eyeliner and Ed Harris with scraggly hair.  Adam Rapp directs.

meh out of meh stars

[SunMo]

i saw King of New York over the weekend, a gangster flick from 1990 with Walken.  it was ok.

oh yeah, i also saw Superman Returns...again.

[Beermonkey]

I watched "The Hills Have Eyes" last night & was pleasantly surprised. 

Any movie that starts the action out with the father being burned alive on a tree as a distraction for 2 mutants to sneak into a camper to rape the woman, you know that is going to satisfy most horror fans. 

[Diomedes]

Match Point sucked.  Didn't give a shtein about any of the characters.  Waste of time that could have been spent doing nothing, which would have been more rewarding.

[Wingspan]

i watched Remember the Titans last night for the first time. It was pretty good. But keep in mind i am a sucker for sports movies.