well i finally got around to seeing equilibrium, after i found a dvd rip of it a month or so ago. it's got to be one of the best movies in the past few years that didn't have a wide release at all. some of the effects were slightly hokey and seemed a bit cheap, but the storyline's awesome and the plot moves quickly without leaving you behind. the gun-based martial arts style was impressive and made for some terrific fight scenes. i think it achieved an action movie as well as a dramatic movie simultaneously, which seems tough to pull off most of the time. i'd highly recommend it.

i was happy to hear today that the NHL lockout officially ended today, so play should resume as usual next season. yeah that's really great and everything, but uh... with ESPN deciding to drop most hockey coverage for next season and now-considered-the-bottom-network NBC signing on to broadcast games (uh, when? and where do you show weekday games?) is anybody gonna even be able to watch hockey in the states? i'm all for some of the rule changes, like adding shootouts to eliminate ties and trying to increase the total number of goals scored in each game. i was also kinda interested in the idea of the league ditching 6 small-market teams to save some cash. i think 30 teams is too much for the NHL, and 20 would prolly due the trick. anyways, i'm cautiously optimistic about the whole thing...

--j