Repo! The Genetoc Opera: Film Review

Okay okay, I know it is strange to write a film review on my atheist blog, but it is mine and I shall do as I please. I just had the pleasure of seeing the film Repo! The Genetic Opera. It is set in the future when organ failure plagues humanity. GeneCo has created an organ transplant program that comes at a price. If you are unable to make your payments they send the repo man (played by Anthony Stewart Head) to collect GeneCo's property. His daughter Shilo (Alexa Vega) has a rare blood disease and Nathan a.k.a. the repo man keeps her under constant lock and key for fear of losing her from the same disease that took her mother. Keeping in the tradition of operas, this movie is filled with twists and secrets, and they were fantastic. The characters were so memorable from Rotti Largo, the founder of GeneCo, to his 3 children Luigi, Pavi, and Amber (Paris Hilton) who fight over GeneCo. Also we have Blind Mag (Sarah Brightman) the voice of GeneCo who can only see because of GeneCo's digital retinas, she is set to sing her final opera. My favorite was Grave Robber (Terrance Zdunich writer and creator of Repo!). He is a dealer of street Zydrate, an illegal pain killer made from the dead. He acts as the story teller and oddly enough the voice of reason. The soundtrack is amazing. I mean how can a modern rock opera not be? Head sings his character to perfection having 2 distinct voices one for Nathan and one for the repo man. Vega is endearing and tough and has a realistic voice that makes her songs seem like a slice of real life. Brightman is absolutely gorgeous, I cannot say a bad thing about this movie. The back story of each character is skillfully animated with graphic novel pages done by Zdunich. Only being shown in 8 theaters across the country Repo! is not getting the exposure it should. Sure I don't think the film will appeal to everyone, but I think people are getting sick and tired of the cookie cutter movies out there and Repo! surely is cut from a different mold. If you live in one of the lucky areas where Repo! is playing go see it. Buy the soundtrack, support the movie. If you cannot, atleast visit http://www.repo-opera.com and play around. It's a rock opera! How great is that!?

Traditions

With the holidays coming up I began thinking about certain family traditions, such as turkey dinner, opening presents on Christmas morning, you know, those things that made the holidays memorable to us as children. As I grow older and my family grows larger, and apart, I wonder where the traditions go. Do they go away? Do they change? What is the actual importance of them? I guess for me holidays have no real meaning since I don't believe in religious parts of many of the holidays that are out there. All I have are the traditions that go with them, that's where the meaning is for me. But what do traditions mean? They are just sentimentalized actions we place on a certain day. But as you get older and they change, new people come into them, old people leave, and they bring with them compromise and change. Not getting to spend these upcoming holidays with all the people that I love has made me think about when I will again have the same warm fuzzies that I used to get around the holidays. Will it not be until I have a family of my own? How do you get the ones you love to compromise their traditions to join in with yours? How can I give meaning to these holidays if all I have are empty traditions and no one willing to join in on some new ones?