Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
The Last Jedi and my view of Star Wars
On Monday I laid out some of the things I found troublesome with The Last Jedi and on Tuesday I listed a few things I thought the movie did well. After reading both of those posts it would be natural to ask where my Star Wars fan level currently rests. As I said in Monday’s post, I walked out of the movie theater still a Star Wars fan after both times I watched the film. My love of Star Wars has managed to survive everything that both George Lucas and Disney have done to the series, so a single enjoyable but problematic film isn’t going to turn me off to Star Wars. At the same time, however, I can’t deny that I’m a little less optimistic then I was in the aftermath of The Force Awakens and Rogue One. Despite it’s flaws, The Force Awakens had me convinced that a bright future was possible for Star Wars and I had high hopes for where the series would go. Rogue One was a good movie and affirmed this positive outlook, but now The Last Jedi has dimmed the light a little. I still have hopes for whatever Episode 9 turns out to be—it’s just that those hopes are a little tempered now. Next in line for Star Wars is the Han Solo movie. Hopefully that doesn’t cause my Star Wars fandom to fade a little more.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Monday, January 15, 2018
Monday, December 11, 2017
Harvey Weinstein and the Entertainment Industry
Back in October the American movie industry was rocked by a slew of allegations of sexual harassment and assault that were made by multiple actresses against film mogul Harvey Weinstein. Within just a few weeks Harvey Weinstein’s professional career was left in utter ruins and the turmoil surrounding him was only just the beginning of the storm. Since Harvey Weinstein’s fall, dozens of other men from various parts of the entertainment industry, the press, and the political world have been fired, resigned, or put under intense scrutiny due to the wave of sexual harassment and assault accusations that has swept the country. The purging flame is still burning and I suspect we’ve got awhile longer before it dies down.
As I’ve watched all this drama unfold, a question that’s been running through my mind is whether anyone is honestly surprised by it. In particularly I wonder if anyone is shocked that most of the allegations seem to be coming out of the entertainment industry. It’s no secret that the entertainment industry has been morally bankrupt for a long time and I think a lot of us had suspected that stuff like this was rampant behind the scenes, and now we’re starting to get the proof. Part of me is hopeful that the tsunami of sexual harassment and assault allegations will wash away the filth and make the entertainment industry a more upright and respectable place, but another part of me is extremely pessimistic and thinks that the entertainment industry fundamentally rotten at its core and will never really change. Indeed, another part of me thinks we haven’t even seen the worst allegations come out yet.
As I’ve watched all this drama unfold, a question that’s been running through my mind is whether anyone is honestly surprised by it. In particularly I wonder if anyone is shocked that most of the allegations seem to be coming out of the entertainment industry. It’s no secret that the entertainment industry has been morally bankrupt for a long time and I think a lot of us had suspected that stuff like this was rampant behind the scenes, and now we’re starting to get the proof. Part of me is hopeful that the tsunami of sexual harassment and assault allegations will wash away the filth and make the entertainment industry a more upright and respectable place, but another part of me is extremely pessimistic and thinks that the entertainment industry fundamentally rotten at its core and will never really change. Indeed, another part of me thinks we haven’t even seen the worst allegations come out yet.
Monday, February 6, 2017
Star Wars: Rogue One
Last year my first “normal” writing piece was related to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Seeing as how we’re supposed to be getting a new Star Wars movie each year for the next several years, I’m thinking I’ll try to take it a tradition for the first “normal” writing piece of each year to be Star Wars-related. Today I’m going to give a very brief overview of my experience in watching Star Wars: Rogue One and my opinion of the movie. If you haven’t seen the movie you can relax—there will be no spoilers here.
I watch Rogue One last month, about four to five weeks after its initial release. It was a Saturday afternoon when I walked into the theater and when I came out I was quite pleased with how the movie turned out. Though not perfect, it does so much right that Rogue One will very likely be remembered as one of the better Star Wars movies. After the safe, and arguably necessary, play that was The Force Awakens, it was good to see a Star Wars movie that stretched out and told a story with a more unique feel to it. Rogue One also does what at first might seem impossible, in that it actually makes A New Hope better. I can’t tell you how it does this without going into spoilers, but I do think it will make people look at Episode 4 in a slightly different light. On the negative side I would say there are a few scattered scenes to could have been shortened or cut altogether, but this is a minor complaint. Rogue One is a great movie. After seeing it I’m much more confident in Disney’s handling of Star Wars and I look forward to where they take the series from here.
I watch Rogue One last month, about four to five weeks after its initial release. It was a Saturday afternoon when I walked into the theater and when I came out I was quite pleased with how the movie turned out. Though not perfect, it does so much right that Rogue One will very likely be remembered as one of the better Star Wars movies. After the safe, and arguably necessary, play that was The Force Awakens, it was good to see a Star Wars movie that stretched out and told a story with a more unique feel to it. Rogue One also does what at first might seem impossible, in that it actually makes A New Hope better. I can’t tell you how it does this without going into spoilers, but I do think it will make people look at Episode 4 in a slightly different light. On the negative side I would say there are a few scattered scenes to could have been shortened or cut altogether, but this is a minor complaint. Rogue One is a great movie. After seeing it I’m much more confident in Disney’s handling of Star Wars and I look forward to where they take the series from here.
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Too Much Star Wars?
Is there such as thing as having too much Star Wars? That question came to mind a few months ago when I saw a news article about how Disney had plans to release a new Star Wars movie every year, starting last year and going until 2020. I love Star Wars as much as anyone else, but I do wonder if having a Star Wars film every year for the next several years will take some of the luster off the brand. When Disney acquired Lucasfilm, and by extension Star Wars, in 2012 I knew there were going to be changes and Disney would milk the franchise for all it was worth, but I didn’t foresee them cranking out spinoff movies in addition to a new trilogy. I can’t blame Disney for doing this, and they’ll likely rake in billions of dollars over the coming years, but part of me feels like Star Wars movies won’t be quite as special if they’re coming out on a such a regular schedule. Then again, maybe I’m wrong, and like a drug addict my desire for more Star Wars will only grow with the increased volume of Star Wars entertainment.
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Batman v Superman
A week ago I went and saw the movie Batman v Superman. I had been interested in seeing it since it was announced, but when it first came out and reviews starting being published my curiosity spiked. Batman v Superman was getting some of the most bipolar reviews I had seen for a movie, with some people loving it and others absolutely hating it. With such a discord of opinions I knew I needed to see the movie for myself, and now here I am adding my thoughts to the cacophony of voices on the internet.
Having seen Batman v Superman, I find myself on the more positive side of the review spectrum. The movie has a few issues, but I still enjoyed watching it. In particular I really liked Ben Affleck's performance as both Batman and Bruce Wayne, which is a tricky dual-role for an actor to pull off. The movie has plenty of fun action sequences and a genuinely badass moment when Wonder Woman arrives during the final battle. Wonder Woman herself has only a supporting role in the movie, but then again the movie is called Batman v Superman, so that shouldn't be surprising. As someone with only a basic basic knowledge of Superman lore, I can't say too much about how he is portrayed in the movie but I didn't have any problems with it. The one character that could have used a little more work was Lex Luthor, who is a bit unhinged at the start of the movie and by the end is doing his best Joker impersonation. My guess is that the movie is implying that his behavior is tied to him having some sort of communication with or knowledge about Darkseid, but I would have liked a scene or two to give some more development to his degeneracy. Other than Luthor, my one major problem with Batman v Superman is that it's a little too long. The movie is roughly 2.5 hours in length, and I think about 20 minutes could have been cut out for a tighter experience. Still, even though it probably should have been a little shorter I had a good time watching it.
Having seen Batman v Superman, I find myself on the more positive side of the review spectrum. The movie has a few issues, but I still enjoyed watching it. In particular I really liked Ben Affleck's performance as both Batman and Bruce Wayne, which is a tricky dual-role for an actor to pull off. The movie has plenty of fun action sequences and a genuinely badass moment when Wonder Woman arrives during the final battle. Wonder Woman herself has only a supporting role in the movie, but then again the movie is called Batman v Superman, so that shouldn't be surprising. As someone with only a basic basic knowledge of Superman lore, I can't say too much about how he is portrayed in the movie but I didn't have any problems with it. The one character that could have used a little more work was Lex Luthor, who is a bit unhinged at the start of the movie and by the end is doing his best Joker impersonation. My guess is that the movie is implying that his behavior is tied to him having some sort of communication with or knowledge about Darkseid, but I would have liked a scene or two to give some more development to his degeneracy. Other than Luthor, my one major problem with Batman v Superman is that it's a little too long. The movie is roughly 2.5 hours in length, and I think about 20 minutes could have been cut out for a tighter experience. Still, even though it probably should have been a little shorter I had a good time watching it.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Lessons from Kung Fu Movies
One day I felt a strange urge to watch kung fu movie, though, to be fair, I mainly just watched the fight scenes and skipped most of the rest of the movies. When it was all done, my kung fu thirst had been quenched, but I started thinking more deeply about the movies and what could be learned from them. Of course, you could learn a lot of things like how fight choreography, sound design, special effects, and general cinematography in kung fu movies have advanced from the 1970s up to around 2010, (the general time period that the movies I watched came from) but I wanted to focus more on some of the underlying lessons of these films. This is meant to be a less than serious analysis.
Learning kung fu frequently gets your friends and family hurt or killed
Things were going fine, until either the hero learned kung fu, or until other people found out that he knew kung fu. Then all hell breaks loose. The hero of course can't get badly hurt or killed at the beginning or middle of the movie, so his friends and/or family bear the brunt of the villain's wrath.
People who use karate, and Japanese people in general, are usually the villains
Black Belt = Evil. That is the simple equation of most kung fu movies. There are a few exceptions, but in the majority of cases anyone in a karate outfit is out to get the hero. Since karate is usually associated with Japan, it therefore follows that Japanese people are bad.
Related to the previous lesson, white people should not be trusted
While the Japanese are common villains of kung fu movies, anyone from outside China should also be viewed with suspicion. White people in particular are always scheming to steal China's riches and destroy its culture. Sometimes the white people do the fighting themselves, and sometimes they are just the boss giving orders to henchmen, but they are always up to no good.
Villains have a bad habit of forgetting to bring guns to kung fu fights
Somehow the bad guys in kung fu movies either don't have guns, or if they do have guns they have a strange sense of honor that forbids them from using them. The lone exception to this rule in the movies I watched was a Japanese officer in the movie Ip Man, but even then his commander berated him for shooting a kung fu master.
Bad guys are not allowed to fully utilize their numerical superiority
Even when they have the hero hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded, the bad guys can only attack him one at a time, or in small groups. It is strictly forbidden for them to all simultaneously assault him from every angle, an attack that would be impossible to counter. Even villains have a code, one that, unfortunately for them, severely handicaps their combat effectiveness.
Learning kung fu frequently gets your friends and family hurt or killed
Things were going fine, until either the hero learned kung fu, or until other people found out that he knew kung fu. Then all hell breaks loose. The hero of course can't get badly hurt or killed at the beginning or middle of the movie, so his friends and/or family bear the brunt of the villain's wrath.
People who use karate, and Japanese people in general, are usually the villains
Black Belt = Evil. That is the simple equation of most kung fu movies. There are a few exceptions, but in the majority of cases anyone in a karate outfit is out to get the hero. Since karate is usually associated with Japan, it therefore follows that Japanese people are bad.
Related to the previous lesson, white people should not be trusted
While the Japanese are common villains of kung fu movies, anyone from outside China should also be viewed with suspicion. White people in particular are always scheming to steal China's riches and destroy its culture. Sometimes the white people do the fighting themselves, and sometimes they are just the boss giving orders to henchmen, but they are always up to no good.
Villains have a bad habit of forgetting to bring guns to kung fu fights
Somehow the bad guys in kung fu movies either don't have guns, or if they do have guns they have a strange sense of honor that forbids them from using them. The lone exception to this rule in the movies I watched was a Japanese officer in the movie Ip Man, but even then his commander berated him for shooting a kung fu master.
Bad guys are not allowed to fully utilize their numerical superiority
Even when they have the hero hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded, the bad guys can only attack him one at a time, or in small groups. It is strictly forbidden for them to all simultaneously assault him from every angle, an attack that would be impossible to counter. Even villains have a code, one that, unfortunately for them, severely handicaps their combat effectiveness.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
I don't want Pacific Rim 2
Back in 2013 a movie called Pacific Rim came out. The basic premise of the movie was that inter-dimensional aliens were sending giant monsters through a portal deep in the Pacific Ocean and humanity built giant robots to fight them. Having grown up watching Godzilla movies and other films and tv shows with giant monsters and/or robots, Pacific Rim was right up my alley and I liked it a lot when I saw it. Pacific Rim did modestly well in American theaters, but it made a lot of money overseas, and last year I read an article online about the studio behind Pacific Rim mentioning that it was considering making a sequel. You would think with how much I liked Pacific Rim that I would be enthusiastic about a sequel, but I'm not. Pacific Rim worked perfectly as a stand-alone film and I'm afraid that if it a sequel was ever made it would be something like The Matrix Reloaded or the second Pirates of the Caribbean - a movie that certainly has its cool moments but is fundamentally unnecessary and a step down from the original. The way Pacific Rim ended is also be problematic for a sequel, as it seemed to give a pretty definitive ending to the movie's storyline. But, knowing the way Hollywood works, there's a decent chance Pacific Rim 2 will one day get made. If it does come out I will probably see it in spite of my reservations. Maybe, just maybe, I will be proven wrong and it will actually be good, but I'm not counting on it.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
A little over a week ago I went with a friend to the movie theater to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I had already seen the movie three weeks earlier, in January, but my friend had not seen the movie yet and I thought it would be worthwhile to watch the movie a second time to further reflect on it and double check to make sure I was remembering it correctly. While I have my opinions on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I'm not going to talk about them here. Rather, the purpose of this post is to tell my story leading up to when I first saw it.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out in the fourth quarter of 2015, and in the weeks and months leading up to its release more and more media relating to the movie appeared on television and the internet. A few months prior to the movie's premier, I decided I didn't want to know anything more about it and stopped reading or viewing material related to it. I wanted to go into the theater knowing as little as possible and experiencing the plot as it played out. Since I'm not a movie person I normally only see a small number of films each year at the movie theater and usually have no issue with people spoiling films, as the vast majority of them I'll never end up watching anyway. With Star Wars: The Force Awakens, though, I was intent on avoiding spoilers. Something about this film, being such a major pop-culture event, and the fact that I like Star Wars in general, made it seem worthy of special treatment.
This would not be easy, however. My normal movie policy is to not watch a film in theater until three to five weeks after it has come out, so that I don't have to deal with crowds. Keeping to this policy would mean I would have a long stretch of time whereby I would be vulnerable to people intentionally or unintentionally ruining the film for me. Social media in particular would be a veritable minefield of spoilers, so services like Facebook and Twitter would require extra caution when I was using them. I even went so far as to deciding to not read any reviews of the movie when it came out, as I knew that other peoples' opinions might color my own and I wanted my thoughts on the movie to be mine, not a remix of the views of others.
On November 18, 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out and my gauntlet began. Over the following weeks I was able to maintain my vigilance against spoilers, though there were perils along the path. While it was fairly simple to avoid any online article with Star Wars in the headline, on social media it was hard to not see stuff that people would just blurt out. When the time finally came for me to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I had come out of my spoiler-dodging ordeal having avoided the worst of the possible spoilers, though one of the movie's major twists had been ruined. On the day that I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens I went to a morning showtime and once inside the theater I sat down to experience the film that I had been eagerly looking forward to seeing. Delaying my gratification had the positive bonus of there only being four other people in the theater when I saw it, so I didn't have to endure the annoyance of other people talking or distracting from the film. When the movie was over I emerged from the theater and it felt safe again to use the internet. I had seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens. My life could now return to normal.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out in the fourth quarter of 2015, and in the weeks and months leading up to its release more and more media relating to the movie appeared on television and the internet. A few months prior to the movie's premier, I decided I didn't want to know anything more about it and stopped reading or viewing material related to it. I wanted to go into the theater knowing as little as possible and experiencing the plot as it played out. Since I'm not a movie person I normally only see a small number of films each year at the movie theater and usually have no issue with people spoiling films, as the vast majority of them I'll never end up watching anyway. With Star Wars: The Force Awakens, though, I was intent on avoiding spoilers. Something about this film, being such a major pop-culture event, and the fact that I like Star Wars in general, made it seem worthy of special treatment.
This would not be easy, however. My normal movie policy is to not watch a film in theater until three to five weeks after it has come out, so that I don't have to deal with crowds. Keeping to this policy would mean I would have a long stretch of time whereby I would be vulnerable to people intentionally or unintentionally ruining the film for me. Social media in particular would be a veritable minefield of spoilers, so services like Facebook and Twitter would require extra caution when I was using them. I even went so far as to deciding to not read any reviews of the movie when it came out, as I knew that other peoples' opinions might color my own and I wanted my thoughts on the movie to be mine, not a remix of the views of others.
On November 18, 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out and my gauntlet began. Over the following weeks I was able to maintain my vigilance against spoilers, though there were perils along the path. While it was fairly simple to avoid any online article with Star Wars in the headline, on social media it was hard to not see stuff that people would just blurt out. When the time finally came for me to watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I had come out of my spoiler-dodging ordeal having avoided the worst of the possible spoilers, though one of the movie's major twists had been ruined. On the day that I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens I went to a morning showtime and once inside the theater I sat down to experience the film that I had been eagerly looking forward to seeing. Delaying my gratification had the positive bonus of there only being four other people in the theater when I saw it, so I didn't have to endure the annoyance of other people talking or distracting from the film. When the movie was over I emerged from the theater and it felt safe again to use the internet. I had seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens. My life could now return to normal.
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