Gadgets in the Movies

News from ScreenJunkies.com ...

7 Best Homemade Gadgets In Action Movies

Tuesday, October 30 by Penn Collins

At the end of a long month, there’s very little better than kicking back and indulging in a long article about movie gadgets. Good news! It’s happening RIGHT NOW. We’ve scoured some of the most iconic action films (and one drama with a crazy-ass gadget…see if you can spot it) and from them harvested some of the most bad-ass weaponized contraptions of all time. Sure, the gadgets listed aren’t always designed for destruction, but we feel that it’s always a device’s highest and best use. Enjoy.

Peter Parker’s Web Slingers – The Amazing Spider-Man

In the latest edition of Spider-Man, coming out on Blu-ray™ and DVD November 9, Parker takes the easy way out and builds mechanical web slingers, rather than develop them genetically, like a TRUE superhero. Just kidding. I actually find the mechanical web slingers much more impressive than the evolved ones, if only because this Peter Parker had to work to develop them, rather than just let it happen to him like another Spider-Man portrayer. Let’s just call him “Toby M.” for the sake of anonymity.

Batterang – The Batman Movies and TV Show

What’s remarkable about this homemade gadget is that it simply defies explanation. It explodes, it sometimes returns, sometimes it’s remote controlled, and it can travel incredible distances at ridiculous speeds. Why? Because Batman. That’s why.

The Tim Burton and Chris Nolan installments have done their best to distance themselves from the campy TV show, but no one can resist the subdued charm of the batterang. Not sure if I should capitalize “batterang…”

Ash’s Chainsaw Hand – Evil Dead 2

While it might not be the most ingenious weapon, it is the most hard-core and bad ass. In the series, Ash (played by Bruce Campbell) undergoes a series of unfortunate catastrophes that cause his hand to be possessed, then cause him to cut it off, replacing it with a chainsaw. It’s not exactly rocket science, but, coming from a guy that calls a shotgun his “boom stick,” it’s to be expected.

The Bolt Shooter – The Good Son

Sometimes bad people make great weapons, and nowhere is that more apparent than in The Good Son, a film that stars Macauley Culkin as the bad guy (boy). And oh, is he ever bad. He does lots of terrible things, like causing wrecks on the freeways by throwing dummies off of bridges, but the most heartless thing he can muster up is taking out a ferocious dog with a weird bolt-gun-crossbow hybrid. He’s a horrible, horrible boy, but his fabrication abilities are off the charts.

Charlie Kelly’s Rat-Bashing Stick – It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

(I am aware this isn’t his actual rat stick, but I figured an action sequence was more profound than gadget accuracy.)
When you kill as many rats as Charlie does, you get that thousand-yard stare in your eyes that comes hand-in-hand with the crushing pain of recognizing your own mortality. Fortunately for Charlie, killing rat families just got a whole lot easier with his rat-bashing stick, a modified baseball bat that features a whole slew of pointy nails and a chain or something. It’s probably the crudest device on this list, but when you see how it warms Charlie’s heart, it might also be the most endearing!

Data’s Telescoping Boxing Glove – The Goonies

I’ll be honest. This is the first device that came to mind, but I’m having a really hard time coming to terms with the efficacy of it. First of all, if you’re going to punch someone to cause them harm, using a padded glove to do it sort of defeats the purpose and mitigates the damage done. Sort of cartoon-y for a film that otherwise offers a sincere and real look at a, um, group of kids that are hunting for treasure and who accidentally stumble upon a pirate armada.

Ok. So the boxing glove is probably in keeping with the premise of the movie.

The Proton Pack – Ghostbusters

Please don’t tell me how a Proton Pack works. Not interested. All I know is that they suck ghosts into a backpack, where they are held until it’s time to more or less incinerate them in a big ghost oven. Or something like that. You know how I know these Proton Packs are homemade? Well, for one, they look like crap. And two, they’re not foolproof. In fact, they’re downright dangerous.

Never ever cross the streams of two Proton Packs. You won’t like the result.

Pornography: Children at Risks

Pornography threatening 'downfall' of church
by Anugrah Kumar, The Christian Post - Sunday, May 27, 2012

Apologist and author Josh McDowell launched Just1ClickAway.org, a new website to raise awareness about online pornography which he says is a problem big enough to cause the downfall of the church.

"The downfall of the church will not come from a lack of apologetic teaching; it will come from disintegration of the families in the church," says a video posted on the website, launched in time for summer vacation when students' media consumption significantly increases.

"The greatest threat to the cause of Christ is pervasive sexuality and pornography," said McDowell.

"Today we have, by and large, lost control of the controls because an intrusive immorality is just one click away from our children. With just one keystroke on a smartphone, iPad, or laptop, a child can open up some of the worst pornography and sexually graphic content you can imagine. There's never been such access in history."

McDowell, who has written or co-authored 120 books since 1960, backs his claims with stunning statistics about the destructive impact of pornography on the Christian family.

More than 1 billion pornographic websites are one click away, and the average age of first-time viewers of pornography is 9 years old. About 80 percent of 15- to 17-year-olds have been exposed to hardcore porn, and the adult pornography industry reports that 20-30 percent of their traffic comes from children. More shockingly, half of all Christian families report that pornography is a problem, and 30 per cent of pastors have viewed pornography in the last 30 days.

The newly produced video on the website shows that pornography aggressively preys on and attacks its victims.

It features a boy, who looks below 10 years old and is seated on his bed with a tablet computer in the privacy of his bedroom. "Doing your homework?" asks a young woman, portrayed as a tempter. The boy, seeing her in his imagination, nods to say, "Yes." "Can I ask you something?" the girl says. "What's your favourite part about me? Do you wanna see more? I can show you whatever you want." Just then the mother comes into the room and tells him, "Honey, dinner is almost ready." Seeing her child's surprised reaction, she asks, "What's wrong?" "Nothing," he replies, pressing his laptop against his chest. "Finish up what you're doing and come on downstairs," his mother says.

The video goes on to feature a husband as well as a teenage girl as consumers of pornography and whose family members are also unaware of the dangerous viewing.

The video, which has a warning label for its mature content, later portrays each consumer being tortured by their addiction to pornography.

Offering hope and help, McDowell has made available resources to both spread awareness about the pervasiveness of pornography viewing and offer solutions. The Bare Facts, McDowell's "biblically based, medically sound and culturally relevant campaign" provides youth and those who influence them with an understanding of love, sexuality and relationships.

As part of a 45-city speaking tour in 15 countries throughout 2012, McDowell is touring Latin America with his Bare Facts campaign. With over 50 years in ministry, he has addressed more than 10 million young people, giving over 24,000 talks in 118 countries.

When in a Hurry

Avoid walking behind three categories of people when you are in a hurry.

1) Those with prams (baby carriages) or kids.

2) Those on electronic gadgets such as iPhones, gaming devices and others.

3) Those of a particular culture known for being oblivion to surroundings and like to stand in the middle of nowhere, on pedestrian walk paths, in supermarts, near entrance or exit areas inside trains, near escalators, and remain immovable even after hearing you say 'excuse me' umpteen times.

Heeding this advice can help you reduce your blood pressure, and reach your destination faster.

People I Avoid

Three groups of people I always try to avoid or overtake, especially when in a rush, running late, or in a crowd.

First, people with gadgets. These are the people who are on mobile phones, listening to mp3/4 players, playing Sony p2p gamer, or the likes.

Second, people with prams, trolleys, or children.

Third, people of a particular ethnic group with cultural practices that tend to be oblivious to people around them and seemingly always blocking others from moving forward.

I may sound like one who is being critical or harboring prejudices, but it is the truth and the facts of my life. For me, avoiding or overtaking them not only guarantees earlier arrival at destinations, but also ensures time saved with faster pace, that is, as a pedestrian on the walkways, minus hazards from bicycles.