tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23451158224806547632024-03-14T02:21:58.421-07:00Impossible to PleaseMatticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-1482567974738055602014-08-03T15:09:00.001-07:002014-08-03T15:09:25.146-07:00Ten Things: Guardian of the Galaxy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaEYrlm07rBFs_oypoOtZcz60Hx8topEu2E5dC2aPLdAxZuJOFUcjQyLW-SdnsEOFFNYU1rPBjQhKDLZ386VkbRAFgZ1Lfey5rDjEIfgP3zzt1CfHFIkkI6K7zI3kfh4o1-kkRl6d6GwU/s1600/GotG+Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaEYrlm07rBFs_oypoOtZcz60Hx8topEu2E5dC2aPLdAxZuJOFUcjQyLW-SdnsEOFFNYU1rPBjQhKDLZ386VkbRAFgZ1Lfey5rDjEIfgP3zzt1CfHFIkkI6K7zI3kfh4o1-kkRl6d6GwU/s1600/GotG+Poster.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Hey, remember when going to the movies in the summer was supposed to be fun? Well, Marvel sure does, and they've decided to take the rest of us along for the ride with <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>. It's actually quite remarkable what Marvel Studios has accomplished here; they've taken one of the most obscure and bizarre hero teams in the Marvel Universe and turned it into one of the best Marvel movies since <i>The Avengers</i>. Heck, I'm ready to see it again right now, which I haven't done since <i>Pacific Rim</i>. If you haven't seen it yet, drop what you're doing and go now.<br />
<br />
If you have seen it, stick around and see ten things I didn't like about my favorite movie of the year so far:<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
1. For a movie that is probably the single funniest Marvel movie since the first <i>Iron Man</i>, it sure does open on quite the downer. No fair making me choke up before the five minute mark, Marvel!<br />
<br />
2. The soundtrack is too catchy for it's own good. Yeah, I downloaded it on iTunes as soon as I got back and have listened to it at least four times since. What of it?<br />
<br />
3. It's never adequately explained why Peter Quill hasn't gone back to Earth in the twenty-odd years since his abduction. Especially since, you know, he has a spaceship..<br />
<br />
4. Rocket Raccoon and Groot have managed to make their big-screen debuts before Wonder Woman. That isn't to say that the characters aren't awesome--because they are. It's just that a talking raccoon with a machine gun and a sentient tree appeared on screen before the single most recognizable female superhero in history. Think about that.<br />
<br />
5. Zoe Saldana's Gamora is the weakest link in the cast. She isn't terrible, or even bad, really. It's just that out of all the likable and memorable main characters, she makes the smallest impression.<br />
<br />
6. Ronan is a pretty bland villain. I did dig the face paint, though.<br />
<br />
7. Batista somehow manages to turn in a performance that is simultaneously terrible and brilliant. I don't ever want to see him in a movie playing anything other than Drax the Destroyer, but damn does Drax steal every scene.<br />
<br />
8. The Collector has a much smaller role than his cameo in <i>Thor: The Dark World</i>'s mid-credit scene led me to believe.<br />
<br />
9. The movie doesn't shed any light on Thanos other than he's evil, he subcontracts to terrible would-be conquerors, and he wants the Infinity Stones. Everyone is clearly scared of the guy, but they haven't shown us <i>why</i> yet. Plus, most people in the audience didn't know who he was <b>because they <i>still</i> walk out of Marvel movies before the end-credits scene!</b> Come on, people! It's been almost a decade! You should know better by now.<br />
<br />
10. Howard the Duck is officially part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And after this, I would totally watch a Howard the Duck movie starring the voice of Seth Green.Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-35775657599634684802014-01-19T02:17:00.000-08:002014-01-19T02:17:38.536-08:00I Love It, But It Sucks: Legend of the Guardians<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wX9X8RLUFj-eYCxR6zxcuK2ahaXUwttyhiR185cAclB0cMr_1KQxrd2SvQXnq90M8qrPfyzRqDjGc_KrLmesWajp72tlD-n1Sqn_IkCvQtrpGMvLJKpy9dZFtitIyR90uQvn3GwfWnA/s1600/Legend-Of-The-Guardians-The-Owls-Of-GaHoole-UK-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5wX9X8RLUFj-eYCxR6zxcuK2ahaXUwttyhiR185cAclB0cMr_1KQxrd2SvQXnq90M8qrPfyzRqDjGc_KrLmesWajp72tlD-n1Sqn_IkCvQtrpGMvLJKpy9dZFtitIyR90uQvn3GwfWnA/s320/Legend-Of-The-Guardians-The-Owls-Of-GaHoole-UK-movie-poster.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
So <i>The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</i> has come and gone, and I've had a good month or so to collect my thoughts on the matter. Unfortunately, my thoughts on <i>DoS</i> so closely mirror my thoughts on the <a href="http://matthateseverything.blogspot.com/2013/10/i-love-it-but-it-sucks-hobbit.html">previous installment</a> that going over them again would feel redundant. In a nutshell, <i>DoS</i> is bloated and poorly paced, with a climax that so thoroughly breaks the film that it merits its own analysis once it comes out on Blu-ray.<br />
<br />
However, if the Hobbit films have taught us anything over the last two years, it is to appreciate brevity and a solid pace when we can find it in the age Epic Cinema. Yet brevity can lead to failure just as easily as bloat, as evidenced by 2010's <i>Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole</i>.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
In many ways <i>Legend of the Guardians</i> is the anti-Hobbit: it is an adaptation that crams three children's novels worth of narrative into a single film and does so at what can most charitably be described as a "brisk" pace. Despite this, <i>LotG</i> ends up having many of the same problems that the Hobbit films suffer from, and often for the same reasons.<br />
<br />
Like the Hobbit movies, <i>LotG </i>isn't a complete failure. For one thing it is absolutely fucking gorgeous.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrIMjBdmPLqv-ae6kd0RWcaOinxYVOgj-LZ5FuuikDU4-OCPg4ZjDN7p_cQ5eo2iMCjB1iAVGxddeq0rZ9acgD58m1Za6Do_JMcVAc-2w9KJSQrQTHpAg-Sohdb40lnCNdQPPROiY8tMU/s1600/Noctus1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrIMjBdmPLqv-ae6kd0RWcaOinxYVOgj-LZ5FuuikDU4-OCPg4ZjDN7p_cQ5eo2iMCjB1iAVGxddeq0rZ9acgD58m1Za6Do_JMcVAc-2w9KJSQrQTHpAg-Sohdb40lnCNdQPPROiY8tMU/s1600/Noctus1.png" height="135" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I would not be exaggerating if I said that this is one of the prettiest animated movies I have ever seen. From a purely technical standpoint it is simply astounding what this studio was able to accomplish. I'm not a huge fan of director Zack Snyder's work, but this might be the only time where I didn't mind his use of slow motion. If it means I get to take a moment to appreciate scenes like this, all the better:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDD3Dy4HL9bOIKUEujH46ueb7yXox1KNUJqpOllyM9Rojm2YbgaQa2AKZ1k8sWG-rFuItFdmYy341h89g1h3MMsHCrf2fJaI8r_bHd7yK6D7B8yZA2O0KZwL7IJcqd7ZlnKFeZyHpYuJ4/s1600/Legend+of+the+Guardians+rain+flight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDD3Dy4HL9bOIKUEujH46ueb7yXox1KNUJqpOllyM9Rojm2YbgaQa2AKZ1k8sWG-rFuItFdmYy341h89g1h3MMsHCrf2fJaI8r_bHd7yK6D7B8yZA2O0KZwL7IJcqd7ZlnKFeZyHpYuJ4/s1600/Legend+of+the+Guardians+rain+flight.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Major props must also go out to the lighting and production design, which manages to take the concept of "Owls in armor" and make it look it look both heroic and menacing in turn.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sUZP34MRa9m5GeQNOrP8Ol9b8WgRpPLYlEJUjXBsIF-5Y4wP5iy8wQYEmJkUgyzpto5TsBVGVGqP3y0tftENDrFxQKm10jR545_KbDVt2m_zUeKvrIeGOAE5Qn5kcWPE2Xypwc5So8s/s1600/Legend+of+the+guardians+pose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1sUZP34MRa9m5GeQNOrP8Ol9b8WgRpPLYlEJUjXBsIF-5Y4wP5iy8wQYEmJkUgyzpto5TsBVGVGqP3y0tftENDrFxQKm10jR545_KbDVt2m_zUeKvrIeGOAE5Qn5kcWPE2Xypwc5So8s/s1600/Legend+of+the+guardians+pose.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3i8CBtVrZLW0ZH17XI36BFdbw5X8Vj18LIACpkLDyfj4MwuB_ILuJ_h9ozGUF9WPfB-UhOFkZGd3IpSV0IyDvnlzOu-m8i2QF4odBg7tngP8XojddDQLZjzg51I1q8unYqxFizStMJmY/s1600/Gaurdian20of20GaHoole.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3i8CBtVrZLW0ZH17XI36BFdbw5X8Vj18LIACpkLDyfj4MwuB_ILuJ_h9ozGUF9WPfB-UhOFkZGd3IpSV0IyDvnlzOu-m8i2QF4odBg7tngP8XojddDQLZjzg51I1q8unYqxFizStMJmY/s1600/Gaurdian20of20GaHoole.png" height="135" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
But as much as I think every American animation studio (including the mighty Pixar) should take note of the technical achievements of <i>LotG</i>, they should by no means try to emulate the story and pacing. For like both Hobbit films, <i>LotG </i>a complete mess as a story, and Snyder's break-neck pacing does nothing to help matters.<br />
<br />
The problems begin shortly after the title sequence, whereupon our hero, the young owlet Soren (Jim Sturgess), gives one of several exposition dumps to his two siblings. After a brief scene with their snake nursemaid (because why the hell wouldn't owls have snakes as nursemaids?), the children's parents return before transitioning to another scene preceded by an exposition dump about the mechanics of flight. Within five minutes Soren and his brother Kludd (Ryan Kwanten) have fallen from their tree and are abducted by a pair of evil owls that take them and several other owlets to a reform school/brainwashing facility run by Nyra (Helen Mirren), Metalbeak (Joel Edgerton) and the Pure Ones. After Kludd joins the Pure Ones, it is up to Soren and his new elf owl friend Gylfie (Emily Barclay) to learn to fly and warn the titular Guardians about the Pure Ones' plot.<br />
<br />
All of that happens before the 30 minute mark. If that seems like an awful lot of ground to cover in half an hour, you would be correct. In fact, if you thought that all of that might be enough to base an entire book around, you would again be correct. As I mentioned, <i>LotG</i> is adapted from three books in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, with elements of a fourth book thrown in for good measure. Because there is so much material, the movie is forced to keep the story moving at a good clip. While this means that the story never gets bogged down, it also means that the characters--and by extension the audience--are never given a chance to breath or develop.<br />
<br />
The character of Grimble is an excellent example of this shortcoming. From what we learn during his limited screen time, he is a proud and skilled warrior being blackmailed into serving the equivalent of Owl Nazis. That alone makes him an interesting character, but we are never allowed to learn anything more about him. Instead, he gives Soren and Gylfie the world's shortest flying lesson before making a heroic sacrifice in order to make room for two new characters who will never be given enough time to develop.<br />
<br />
But it's not just the pacing that prevents the characters from growing; nobody gets to develop because there are simply too many characters. Consider that by the end of the first act we have met the following characters: Soren, Kludd, their younger sister Eglantine, Mrs. P the nursemaid, their father Noctus and mother Marella, henchmen Jatt and Jutt, Grimble, Gylfie, Nyra, Metalbeak, Allomere and had several mentions of the character Lys of Kiel. That's almost as many Thorin's entire company, with at least six more introduced before the third act. That is <i>way</i> too many characters to expect an audience to keep straight in a 97 minute movie, especially when several of them look the same due to being the same species of owl.<br />
<br />
In the end, I really did enjoy <i>Legend of the Guardians</i>. It took a novel concept and brought it to the screen with some of the best animation I have ever seen. Like the Hobbit films, though, it suffers from poor pacing and from trying to cram too many character into its narrative. But whereas <i>The Hobbit</i> and <i>DoS</i> could each stand to be about 30 minutes shorter, I've always felt that <i>LotG</i> needed to be at least 30 minutes longer. Given a little time to let its characters breathe and develop and I think that it could have been a film worthy of its amazing effects.<br />
<br />
Because seriously, have I mentioned how gorgeous this movie is?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZUXeHmK0AXQBSxYYKJoSsE9TKF1DoNCVLYSpwVQs9trqu2P5trVfOnSINhz4_6w6VWMRc0aNhmgYQorajC4or7eHD-ZJD6H5tpoPHh4hyphenhyphenkniOtuoSOOpTxHNHmsQe67zMcJxnGW3z6Q/s1600/Pure+One.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZUXeHmK0AXQBSxYYKJoSsE9TKF1DoNCVLYSpwVQs9trqu2P5trVfOnSINhz4_6w6VWMRc0aNhmgYQorajC4or7eHD-ZJD6H5tpoPHh4hyphenhyphenkniOtuoSOOpTxHNHmsQe67zMcJxnGW3z6Q/s1600/Pure+One.jpg" height="136" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5hB1YPUdWL_djHiAsh1zbVn29AEE-OEuXksmfm8ijM8TkrXw3o1wFLP_ndiB3S_VtomtyRoT26H63UVWKOGMGayBnmgRZ3UcPQ2ZRe0OWc9hNSHTBlEWUzOOVE1V6x23Ryo6Y40Vwj8/s1600/Owl+Council.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS5hB1YPUdWL_djHiAsh1zbVn29AEE-OEuXksmfm8ijM8TkrXw3o1wFLP_ndiB3S_VtomtyRoT26H63UVWKOGMGayBnmgRZ3UcPQ2ZRe0OWc9hNSHTBlEWUzOOVE1V6x23Ryo6Y40Vwj8/s1600/Owl+Council.jpg" height="135" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-58167615638757425392014-01-02T22:57:00.000-08:002014-01-02T22:57:18.737-08:00Ten Things: Saving Mr. Banks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHlTvljVcRdvQ2EHA3I4p0Ou_HxJ9U7KDfceFQUNXC3gz5A-Olg2du2pXPpV3bR39A9eR7e7g7QxjrF1XB4P0LLsGeEodDLEKG7MpCpHDbPuJFPrijmlhgq6KpV0AgW_K3vW6tI4_LpGA/s1600/Saving_Mr._Banks_Theatrical_Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHlTvljVcRdvQ2EHA3I4p0Ou_HxJ9U7KDfceFQUNXC3gz5A-Olg2du2pXPpV3bR39A9eR7e7g7QxjrF1XB4P0LLsGeEodDLEKG7MpCpHDbPuJFPrijmlhgq6KpV0AgW_K3vW6tI4_LpGA/s320/Saving_Mr._Banks_Theatrical_Poster.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I've had reservations about <i>Saving Mr. Banks</i>, Disney's retelling of the creation of <i>Mary Poppins</i>, ever since I first saw the trailer. <i>Mary Poppins</i> is easily one of my all-time favorite movies, as anyone who knows me can attest. While I may consider <i>Mary Poppins </i>to be an absolute masterpiece of family entertainment, there was one prominent person who disagreed: <i>Marry Poppins</i> author P. L. Travers. Tim over at <a href="http://antagonie.blogspot.com/">Antagony & Ecstasy</a> has discussed the tumultuous relationship between Travers and the screen adaptation of her work on <a href="http://antagonie.blogspot.com/2010/11/disney-sundries-practically-perfect-in.html">multiple</a> <a href="http://antagonie.blogspot.com/2013/12/when-day-is-grey-and-ordinary-mary.html">occasions</a> with more knowledge and detail than I could hope to, but suffice to say that she despised the finished product. With that in mind, the idea of Disney making a film about <i>Mary Poppins'</i> production struck me as blatant historical revisionism. And make no mistake, <i>Saving Mr. Banks</i> truly <i>is</i> historical revisionism--but damned if it isn't some well-made historical revisionism. The film is well-acted and even quite moving in places, so if you're interested, check it out.<br />
<br />
Now here's Ten Things that really bugged me:<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
1. Emma Thompson's P. L. Travers is a <i>bitch.</i> Not that she isn't entertaining, or that the portrayal is inaccurate, but <i>goddamn</i> would she have been impossible to work with.<br />
<br />
2. Because Travers comes off as such an unlikeable jerkass it becomes very difficult to sympathize with her, no matter how hard the flashback sequences try to do so.<br />
<br />
3. The flashbacks tend to intrude on the 1961 scenes far too often and sometimes without any meaningful connection to what is happening in the main plot.<br />
<br />
4. Colin Farrell was absolutely the wrong person to play Travers' father. It's not that he isn't a talented actor, or that he does a bad job--I just can't look at him without thinking of when he was the bad guy in that shitty Daredevil movie. To be fair, I had the same problem with Natalie Portman and Guy Pearce (for <i>Star Wars: Episode I </i>and <i>The Time Machine</i>, respectively) for a long time too.<br />
<br />
5. There aren't enough scenes of Bradley Whitford singing songs from <i>Mary Poppins</i>. This is because there can never be enough of that.<br />
<br />
6. When Walt takes Travers to Disneyland we only get to see Main St., U.S.A and Fantasyland. I know <i>why</i> they did that (those are the only parts of the park that still look like they did in 1961), but I can't help but feel cheated out of seeing retro Tomorrowland.<br />
<br />
7. Tom Hanks' Disney comes across as too much of a walking teddy bear, rather than a real person. I know that that might be too much to ask for in a Disney movie, but it's still disappointing.<br />
<br />
8. The scenes with Walt and Travers sparring are the best in the movie, but there simply aren't enough of them.<br />
<br />
9. The movie really wants us to side with Travers when Disney tries to snub her for the <i>Mary Poppins</i> premier, but I don't think the film was watching the same movie I was. I was totally with Walt on that one.<br />
<br />
10. Knowing how things played out in reality prevented me from buying the implication from the ending. That said, I'd be lying if I said I didn't get choked up. Thompson really sells it, and I get emotional at the end of <i>Mary Poppins</i> too.<br />
Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-16695414420873859492013-11-17T18:57:00.000-08:002013-11-17T18:57:28.111-08:00Such Heroic Nonsense: Get 'Em While They're Young<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-b9GduxDduUnEU76yEyQaaiQupGY8AyrZg8lWU4nVSiCideVMHxMi09dibs9U9bQ5AaRhyz0GmVEh2GJU0jGLxiGL7oodzZrYnQhyywJxQXxmCwTcMQVgvZyL7YJu03vYQNRYg8cju8U/s1600/boy+reading+comic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-b9GduxDduUnEU76yEyQaaiQupGY8AyrZg8lWU4nVSiCideVMHxMi09dibs9U9bQ5AaRhyz0GmVEh2GJU0jGLxiGL7oodzZrYnQhyywJxQXxmCwTcMQVgvZyL7YJu03vYQNRYg8cju8U/s320/boy+reading+comic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
I mentioned in my <a href="http://matthateseverything.blogspot.com/2013/11/such-heroic-nonsense-my-top-5-superhero.html">last post</a> that the release of <i>Man of Steel</i> on Blu-ray got me thinking about a couple topics, and I'd like to take some time to talk about the other. Actually, the truth is that I've been thinking about this for a while, but <i>Man of Steel</i> just put it into stark relief: comics and superheroes don't seem to be for kids anymore. And I think that's a bigger problem than anyone in the industry--especially at DC--realizes.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Now I can already hear some of your protest: "Of <i>course</i> comics aren't for kids anymore! The medium has finally matured! How can you be against that?"<br />
<br />
Actually, I'm not against the fact that comics can aim for an older audience. Books like <i>Watchmen</i> and <i>Maus</i> have proven that comics can be serious literature, and I'm overjoyed that the superhero movie boom has brought these characters into the mainstream. These are all Good Things. My issue isn't that comics and superhero movies aren't limited to "children's entertainment" anymore; my problem is that the comic industry seems to have completely abandoned young readers. Simply put, there aren't many books out these days that are appropriate for kids, let alone aimed at them.<br />
<br />
This mentality has worked its way into superhero films as well. With the exception of a few of the recent Marvel movies, I wouldn't feel comfortable taking young children to see them. As much as I like the first two Nolan Batman movies, I wouldn't let a kid younger than 10 or 11 watch them, as they're very dark and violent for their PG-13 rating. <i>Man of Steel</i> is also way too dark and violent for young children.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqg738Da-j16FMNDM9l5x8TcHEVH1Bt6X4gT3cHfs9GU_kBng59fyAs-yVvuZP28lZ1fE72KTRRiXkpdiF_UcYDmtvlav0VoxxgZwqpN7UyQOZ9-di1bQhVvZNAO74sZen4D9n5Q0DXg/s1600/man-of-steel-nokia-trailer-0662013-123126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvqg738Da-j16FMNDM9l5x8TcHEVH1Bt6X4gT3cHfs9GU_kBng59fyAs-yVvuZP28lZ1fE72KTRRiXkpdiF_UcYDmtvlav0VoxxgZwqpN7UyQOZ9-di1bQhVvZNAO74sZen4D9n5Q0DXg/s320/man-of-steel-nokia-trailer-0662013-123126.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Not pictured: Family entertainment.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">DC has actually been pretty up-front about this; when </span>award-winning creator Paul Pope pitched an all-ages adaptation of Jack Kirby's <i>Kamandi, The Last Boy on Earth</i>, they <a href="http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2013/08/quote-of-the-day-we-publish-comics-for-45-year-olds/">told</a> him "We don't publish comics for kids. We publish comics for 45-year-olds." Of course, we don't need to take Pope's word for it; we merely need to look at the evidence. Here, for example is the latest incarnation of The Joker:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9XyTS_PZULSZ84VhchNmKmwVYp62RaPqSvzrdv4Ud6AoXatGOg4Lz1vUcp-Cx1imPnOhJMTVDLWjJqGXn2b1VHLge972pgljIog6fpAthgfilncL7zZCnb2gJvN898hhrCww3x46yIU/s1600/The_Joker_-_New_52.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT9XyTS_PZULSZ84VhchNmKmwVYp62RaPqSvzrdv4Ud6AoXatGOg4Lz1vUcp-Cx1imPnOhJMTVDLWjJqGXn2b1VHLge972pgljIog6fpAthgfilncL7zZCnb2gJvN898hhrCww3x46yIU/s320/The_Joker_-_New_52.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>"Sweet dreams, kids!"</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Joker looks like he's wearing a mask because he is. A mask <i>made from his own surgically removed face</i>. Yeah, Joker sliced his own face off just so that he could wear it as a mask. Because reasons. And lest you think that such disturbing imagery is a new phenomenon, here's something from 2005:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTnuxiXPOqsCkm7nOhb9igZbUgzMGYdEVTwZpS9OYYVf5XbNZZ1j6C2yBg4ZGM9lFNrpDgeGOZsTs0LWxQQvmxf9u2adMPb1Vcx8J46kdi-QAIvgUQ8d7j9nUYzzwhGLE9xt6zul8mBs/s1600/Black+Adam+kills+Psycho+Pirate.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRTnuxiXPOqsCkm7nOhb9igZbUgzMGYdEVTwZpS9OYYVf5XbNZZ1j6C2yBg4ZGM9lFNrpDgeGOZsTs0LWxQQvmxf9u2adMPb1Vcx8J46kdi-QAIvgUQ8d7j9nUYzzwhGLE9xt6zul8mBs/s320/Black+Adam+kills+Psycho+Pirate.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Pictured: Comics </i>"maturing"<i> as a medium.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The best part about that last pic? The dude doing the murdering suffers no consequences for his actions. Because audiences can't relate to superheroes unless they violently murder villains without remorse.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Again, I'm not saying that comics can't be violent, or that they can't cover dark and mature subject matter. What I'm saying is that if I were a parent, I wouldn't let my child read comics if that was what constituted mainline comic books.* This is a problem; the comics industry is potentially scaring away the next generation of comic book fans. If someone wasn't reading comics as a child, then it's highly unlikely that they will be fans once they're old enough to be in DC's target demographic (Read: 45-year-olds).</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
But it doesn't have to be this way. Young readers should have quality books that are aimed at them--and it just so happens that the major comics publishers already have the perfect properties to market to the younger demographic. First up for Marvel, we have Power Pack:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlT23zfUjV-EEX_HDFMraojzeXoMqucN-8wjmMaIUc9oGyEMkT7QljNhB9LItxK4K_W_vKAKqG6H4xGP26PPBJZo1Qt2-CReyj8hbmQSMkRC4IaO11DB5Hoga0J9YwIo6yYVOzymd5MWk/s1600/PowerPackDayOne01Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlT23zfUjV-EEX_HDFMraojzeXoMqucN-8wjmMaIUc9oGyEMkT7QljNhB9LItxK4K_W_vKAKqG6H4xGP26PPBJZo1Qt2-CReyj8hbmQSMkRC4IaO11DB5Hoga0J9YwIo6yYVOzymd5MWk/s320/PowerPackDayOne01Cover.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Power Pack is a concept that has actually been a part of the Marvel Universe since the 1980's. In the mid-2000's the series got a reboot that ran for a few years (and was actually on my pull list when I could still afford to buy comics). The concept is simple: four young siblings are given superpowers by an alien, and they use these powers to become the world's youngest superheroes. The reboot changed a few things (making the kids aged 8-13 instead of 6-12) and took the kids and their adventures out of the "main" marvel continuity. That last move was genius: it allowed the book to keep a light tone no matter what was happening in the "real" MU. It also meant that the kids could team up with other superheroes and have adventures without interrupting those other characters' own books.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LXDOEJLBHykZHXP8YoU0vKbPQIkRof5ImCIrvyj31fpM003gZrgLqaCywD1LGEoLgngZonaM3gBJSrWAdQOYY_HvcK8miESm8_RYJwHRdXT_cBDllPM0r2NPDtCbwv2yxM03qiU3tPI/s1600/Wolverine_and_Power_Pack_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5LXDOEJLBHykZHXP8YoU0vKbPQIkRof5ImCIrvyj31fpM003gZrgLqaCywD1LGEoLgngZonaM3gBJSrWAdQOYY_HvcK8miESm8_RYJwHRdXT_cBDllPM0r2NPDtCbwv2yxM03qiU3tPI/s320/Wolverine_and_Power_Pack_2.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>It also allowed for this to happen.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The mid-2000's also saw a reboot of sorts for my favorite superhero in his own all-ages book:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30PcJrqz_HR3yuOij6Bg4r74Uw-3kzCTJE6CY1FFy4P-RTQxgC1tqvIt_v4dMUMayWHLOlBqIQR6wCh8ZIS85zFkyw4fiXJrHMg3yze3_4K5cYr9lk4hyDiP7xYexg48FpAXVxZXRDME/s1600/2583475-billy-batson-and-the-magic-of-shazam-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30PcJrqz_HR3yuOij6Bg4r74Uw-3kzCTJE6CY1FFy4P-RTQxgC1tqvIt_v4dMUMayWHLOlBqIQR6wCh8ZIS85zFkyw4fiXJrHMg3yze3_4K5cYr9lk4hyDiP7xYexg48FpAXVxZXRDME/s320/2583475-billy-batson-and-the-magic-of-shazam-19.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Yes, Captain Marvel** got a new monthly title with <i>Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam</i>, a spin-off of Jeff Smith's excellent <i>Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil</i> miniseries. Like <i>Power Pack</i>, this book was set in its own continuity, featured a bright and cartoony style and focused on making superheroics fun again.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHPVBE8yF3AZsL_uC13thlH_Ze0CyX80JmfaJFGYRn-iWb6YNhQKfBWBw77Dmt7nqJ5qH98tHtEsrsirbUoMtt8uRx0FATCzrIFVOvbzJESBSp17cTcl5prD_29Di9DV_byCGx9uxR9kA/s1600/Captain+Marvel+vs+Black+Adam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHPVBE8yF3AZsL_uC13thlH_Ze0CyX80JmfaJFGYRn-iWb6YNhQKfBWBw77Dmt7nqJ5qH98tHtEsrsirbUoMtt8uRx0FATCzrIFVOvbzJESBSp17cTcl5prD_29Di9DV_byCGx9uxR9kA/s320/Captain+Marvel+vs+Black+Adam.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Sadly, both of these books ended up getting cancelled. It's a shame, because if kids aren't going to read quality, all-ages books about superheroes, then they'll end up reading quality, all-ages books about something else.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd38j1O2BMFbkcz1XcWmQEoeYZM2r4nG1Bk5RigaG1CDxezmCqmsyTcBXHxtTOj1PuLT6mjxB-3jTM4llM-Yj4eoLLjqxhoRjlRNVS04Q497_fVB-nOUH8exEvX6dr1bA6wsAFV45fXpQ/s1600/Avatar_The_Last_Airbender_The_Promise_Part_1_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd38j1O2BMFbkcz1XcWmQEoeYZM2r4nG1Bk5RigaG1CDxezmCqmsyTcBXHxtTOj1PuLT6mjxB-3jTM4llM-Yj4eoLLjqxhoRjlRNVS04Q497_fVB-nOUH8exEvX6dr1bA6wsAFV45fXpQ/s320/Avatar_The_Last_Airbender_The_Promise_Part_1_cover.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Dark Horse knows what's up.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
_________________________________________________________________________________</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
* Yes, both of those images are from mainline books. That's how Joker looks in all the Bat-books, and <i>Infinite Crisis</i> was DC's big event book that year.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
** I know that DC has renamed the character to "Shazam." I think Nick Fury sums up my take:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/mOEr7kiysrE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-54705842867332657572013-11-14T00:04:00.001-08:002013-11-14T00:04:47.612-08:00Such Heroic Nonsense: My Top 5 Superhero Movies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAKYDcEchVzHPvMFaCAW1nltY13kdxkIDJ9M8S-1rdseFbveweCjmSq6a_HdPabX8H9rBOoK82Tt3eJn0DjX8AHKfGmIsWP7QHOGv1vhAwEmMns3NL0qiYJG7KdNiJqbm_Pu23Gnya0U/s1600/superheroes-cinema.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAKYDcEchVzHPvMFaCAW1nltY13kdxkIDJ9M8S-1rdseFbveweCjmSq6a_HdPabX8H9rBOoK82Tt3eJn0DjX8AHKfGmIsWP7QHOGv1vhAwEmMns3NL0qiYJG7KdNiJqbm_Pu23Gnya0U/s320/superheroes-cinema.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://hopedeal.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/superhero/">Source</a></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week saw the release of <i>Man of Steel</i> on DVD and Blu-ray, and with it a renewed discussion of that film's portrayal of violence, collateral damage, tone and the ethics of killing supervillains. I'm not going to get into those discussions here, because as I've said <a href="http://matthateseverything.blogspot.com/2013/09/such-heroic-nonsense-wheres-joy.html">before</a>, the two sides of the debate really do seem to be talking past each other. I'm not sure yet what these stark and seemingly irreconcilable differences among fans mean for superheros and their various medias, but the topic has gotten me thinking about a couple different things that I'd like to discuss at length.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">First up: superhero movies and my personal Top 5 of the genre.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've already <a href="http://matthateseverything.blogspot.com/2013/09/such-heroic-nonsense-wheres-joy.html">mentioned</a> my Top 5, but I felt like it was time to elaborate on why I love these movies so much so that you might understand why I felt <i>Man of Steel</i> was the antithesis of what the genre should be. There are some compromises on this list, and some might not be that good as films, per se. However, each of them is solid and represents the best of what a superhero movie should strive to achieve.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Honorable Mentions</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvBJ_aQVQCrOwkDqdjSSIgoeracL2ZxxNc8s8-iTVfW_fB34IQOotBWoTAedNzei7yvgAPiAsv77Jw_a41WlJXOUVDk8TCwu-tOloT8gc2bkiq-s3D_JYfIOmlMOaSUx3IGYznbptZyw/s1600/Captain+America+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvBJ_aQVQCrOwkDqdjSSIgoeracL2ZxxNc8s8-iTVfW_fB34IQOotBWoTAedNzei7yvgAPiAsv77Jw_a41WlJXOUVDk8TCwu-tOloT8gc2bkiq-s3D_JYfIOmlMOaSUx3IGYznbptZyw/s320/Captain+America+poster.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Captain America: The First Avenger.</i> This is a movie one of the only superhero films (especially in the modern era) that really isn't a superhero movie. Rather, <i>Captain America</i> is more of a pulp action movie that happens to have a superhero as the main character. This willingness to take the genre in new directions, combined with a script that embraces the silliness of comics without descending into complete camp leads to one of the most genuinely entertaining entries into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-vmclrf9QSWSEZekB2h5PjPjJEWufYeus7GS-Be_NyggIMmgTbxzMPm8vcoIXC2sSMGW8Rf6ppnuTDHGz_gANbpm5l5Lp1MjGtd4JTSuzuPU_5Zvnxoj9f2fE5OtCuG7Zsu34MnuYsCE/s1600/iron+man+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-vmclrf9QSWSEZekB2h5PjPjJEWufYeus7GS-Be_NyggIMmgTbxzMPm8vcoIXC2sSMGW8Rf6ppnuTDHGz_gANbpm5l5Lp1MjGtd4JTSuzuPU_5Zvnxoj9f2fE5OtCuG7Zsu34MnuYsCE/s320/iron+man+poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Iron Man</i>. Easily the best of the three Iron Man movies, this almost made the list on the strength of Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Tony Stark alone. It's hard to imagine nowadays, but this was a legitimate surprise when it was first released--both in quality and at the box office. It also got the ball rolling with the MCU.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEy9EbHig1h0VEkW8u6JIy7nKZxW9m-ZNpdsHywl9SAuXWBLwdPrlLlij6txMAdpPMDrvNga1aniC2ReSjp-3WOJmuJv3OnKT82EDIlWWVYYGmy-vzoSnMlPqatufzfVYq320SKc8ZbcU/s1600/batman_mask_of_the_phantasm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEy9EbHig1h0VEkW8u6JIy7nKZxW9m-ZNpdsHywl9SAuXWBLwdPrlLlij6txMAdpPMDrvNga1aniC2ReSjp-3WOJmuJv3OnKT82EDIlWWVYYGmy-vzoSnMlPqatufzfVYq320SKc8ZbcU/s320/batman_mask_of_the_phantasm.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Batman: Mask of the Phantasm</i>. For a long time, this was simply the <i>best</i> Batman movie ever made. This was everything that made <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i> great on the big screen. Sadly, Warner Bros. did almost nothing to promote it, diverting all their time and effort into <i>Batman Forever</i>.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUg216HeBgqIa2K10MwtdqSSj7aWyF-brpJqYpJR_32PKQxXziYNpg-2RvVYqQHYAPGgpl6OaRFzREWi1zS822y43_v-_mQwsgKUueuvMN3kzhZ7pRrxWVEqJd3ZuAoSfOVmiRuVn-MY/s1600/Superman-vs-The-Elite-2012-Movie-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUg216HeBgqIa2K10MwtdqSSj7aWyF-brpJqYpJR_32PKQxXziYNpg-2RvVYqQHYAPGgpl6OaRFzREWi1zS822y43_v-_mQwsgKUueuvMN3kzhZ7pRrxWVEqJd3ZuAoSfOVmiRuVn-MY/s320/Superman-vs-The-Elite-2012-Movie-Poster.jpg" width="229" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Superman vs. The Elite</i>. I'm cheating a bit here, as I'm limiting my list to movies that were actually released in theaters. Still, I can't help but feel as if <i>Superman vs. The Elite</i> was DC's way of doing a preemptive anti-<i>Man of Steel</i>. This. This is how Superman should be portrayed. This is how Superman answers the question of killing <i>and</i> putting innocent lives in danger. Just...this.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMeI-mHKY3wEd504qUcVZ1tIpEDZYiG_hKcb5J8pMKPOe-Ib_yPUGRZs-cbNic5vShbR4kQokjTmmFFCDNJf0Iqh55JVfoOSTG2IrvCBrN9WXYc7ZkasZ9kXX4wtWISy3p_GXfOoMF5kY/s1600/xmen_first_class_ver6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMeI-mHKY3wEd504qUcVZ1tIpEDZYiG_hKcb5J8pMKPOe-Ib_yPUGRZs-cbNic5vShbR4kQokjTmmFFCDNJf0Iqh55JVfoOSTG2IrvCBrN9WXYc7ZkasZ9kXX4wtWISy3p_GXfOoMF5kY/s320/xmen_first_class_ver6.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>X-Men: First Class</i>. The X-Men movies were a pretty mixed bag, quality-wise, and became such a mess that a continuity reboot was both welcome and necessary. If you're going to do a reboot, you could do worse than following the example of <i>First Class</i>.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now, on to the list!</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">#5</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbU_SnZkhLIJbEElC5yOyAdXAYJehiN3GO97Peb2cOuDKphFY5Y8SGZ4Fq4FHEyCZAboV2qmEkcGgXkPEsHTuJAYOe-hrZ3YNONAyfX3CIC1xHFahrra94inI1T_nNzNqFJ8DzZzve3KE/s1600/Spider-Man-2-movie-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbU_SnZkhLIJbEElC5yOyAdXAYJehiN3GO97Peb2cOuDKphFY5Y8SGZ4Fq4FHEyCZAboV2qmEkcGgXkPEsHTuJAYOe-hrZ3YNONAyfX3CIC1xHFahrra94inI1T_nNzNqFJ8DzZzve3KE/s320/Spider-Man-2-movie-poster.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Spider-Man 2</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies don't get enough credit for helping shape the modern era of superhero films. While <i>X-Men</i> might have come first, it was the first <i>Spider-Man</i> that proved that the success of superheroes wasn't a fluke. The Spider-Man films also have more in common tonally with the likes of <i>Iron Man</i></span><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b>than any of the early X-films. Lastly, the Spider-films tended to be better overall films than the X-series; even the awful <i>Spider-Man 3</i> was heads and shoulders above <i>X-Men 3</i>. So a Spider-Man movie definitely deserves to go on my Top 5 list, and the obvious choice was the best of the three.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>#4</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzY1XjKHLEgLmucUXM-C0xUHwIt5D1fnatD26XuFAQnYVOyqzJsY16kuiUHRho3j53XCx2NmHONa8XM2nq001lrc9ylZiAedlYzQzOWNnl1fIic2B5tukuVy25a7WsVmUdVqUNAYk8qo/s1600/dark_knight_ver4_xlg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzY1XjKHLEgLmucUXM-C0xUHwIt5D1fnatD26XuFAQnYVOyqzJsY16kuiUHRho3j53XCx2NmHONa8XM2nq001lrc9ylZiAedlYzQzOWNnl1fIic2B5tukuVy25a7WsVmUdVqUNAYk8qo/s320/dark_knight_ver4_xlg.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<b></b><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"> The Dark Knight</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Let it never be said that I don't think a superhero movie can't be dark. </span></span><i>The Dark Knight</i> is both the best and, for my money, the darkest of Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy. While I don't normally like "gritty realism" in my superhero fare, Batman is one of the few characters where such a tone feels natural. While I don't think that every superhero movie needs to take notes about realism and tone from <i>The Dark Knight</i>, they absolutely should take notes on Heath Ledger's Joker. Ledger's performance is genius to the point that the film would collapse without him. In fact, he was so good that I'm willing to withhold judgment on Bat-Fleck until I see him in theaters. After all, I thought Ledger would be terrible for the part, and we all saw how that turned out.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">#3</span></b></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74Vw4_ziPg0iVwmmdKzFekBbnvfBvoCPZDX3mP3iPZ2yeUfyOm36YbVlyeiq85dbjfhLbfefI4ZEePaWtXfMnts0V9AuBEZ2KRy1Iugeua1OiFDs3nznffNwuMsCU7IPJ1OJSuz1CVVQ/s1600/avengers-movie-poster-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg74Vw4_ziPg0iVwmmdKzFekBbnvfBvoCPZDX3mP3iPZ2yeUfyOm36YbVlyeiq85dbjfhLbfefI4ZEePaWtXfMnts0V9AuBEZ2KRy1Iugeua1OiFDs3nznffNwuMsCU7IPJ1OJSuz1CVVQ/s320/avengers-movie-poster-1.jpg" width="216" /></a><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Avengers</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">By all rights, this movie should have been a train wreck. It was an experiment that had never been tried before: six heroes from multiple franchises all teaming up in the same movie. It should have been a disaster. And yet, it succeeded in ways that seemed impossible. Not only was it a financial success, but it was also a genuinely good movie. <i>The Avengers</i> is popcorn entertainment at its finest, and if DC was smart they would do their best to emulate this movie if/when <i>Justice League</i> ever gets off the ground.</span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>#2</b></span> </span></span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8t3pIw0Hn-XbrYlK6TMLFxbmsGl_lr1xZSeEkjhmh1BEZunoxZr92U3tvmqsaFduFtQ7tgILZd10JcYGVUFNmUhcgAkPb9QkqTQ0IMoOSMpRVteRc5gQoLDngEx4ZdeIM6LGIkf4HDg/s1600/Incredibles+Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii8t3pIw0Hn-XbrYlK6TMLFxbmsGl_lr1xZSeEkjhmh1BEZunoxZr92U3tvmqsaFduFtQ7tgILZd10JcYGVUFNmUhcgAkPb9QkqTQ0IMoOSMpRVteRc5gQoLDngEx4ZdeIM6LGIkf4HDg/s320/Incredibles+Poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Incredibles</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">It's hard to know where to start with <i>The Incredibles</i>; there is so much going right here that I could talk about it all day. Besides being fun, exciting, gorgeous and entertaining for all ages, I think the movie's biggest strength is the way it gets us to relate to the heroes. We want them to succeed because we've gotten to know them as people--something that many superhero movies fail to do. </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">#1</span></b></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSSKCeNi6CUJxgTxP9SeiEq7CVC_radUYkIJ171W0M1f8-eIYZJwkipRBPQh5Y0TCl5Y-Sw42f50Low26to3zpin8RM8URtinbLKmKDorRDBn3CiSIq63v2uCRygAkg8AQYoFGqevd70/s1600/Superman-Movie-Poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXSSKCeNi6CUJxgTxP9SeiEq7CVC_radUYkIJ171W0M1f8-eIYZJwkipRBPQh5Y0TCl5Y-Sw42f50Low26to3zpin8RM8URtinbLKmKDorRDBn3CiSIq63v2uCRygAkg8AQYoFGqevd70/s320/Superman-Movie-Poster.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b> <span style="font-size: large;"><b>Superman: The Movie</b></span></span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Call me old-fashioned if you like, but I still think that <i>Superman</i> is the best superhero movie ever made--and not just because without it there wouldn't be a superhero movie genre at all. Sure, it's corny, and the effects and story beats haven't held up well. Sure, Lex Luthor is reduced to a real-estate shark. Sure, the "turning back time" bit is ludicrous. But you know what? None of that matters, because whatever else this movie may be, it is still fun and inspiring. There's no cynicism to be found here; only joy and amazement. Christopher Reeve is pitch-perfect as Superman, capturing the hope and idealism of the character better than any actor before or since. I would be remiss if I didn't mention John Williams' score, which is some of his all-time best work. Once you hear that theme, you know that you're in for some old-fashioned heroics. And really, that's all anyone could ask for.</span></span></span></span> </span></div>
</div>
</div>
Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-72668687705163287122013-11-10T20:37:00.000-08:002013-11-10T20:37:36.415-08:00Ten Things: Thor: The Dark World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxbgLqi8xf-P-H5YUaMmwTGs4SD3h9-Cjj4b1iy0P93m4C7C2EXkquCIk0pmOYwPPCASyWeSrmtrplNVIMgwHGPQ2RnBj2ZABDCmW-_ksXAn3yD7TD4mhbWRTfBr7h69t781waalveyI/s1600/thor-2-dark-world-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxbgLqi8xf-P-H5YUaMmwTGs4SD3h9-Cjj4b1iy0P93m4C7C2EXkquCIk0pmOYwPPCASyWeSrmtrplNVIMgwHGPQ2RnBj2ZABDCmW-_ksXAn3yD7TD4mhbWRTfBr7h69t781waalveyI/s320/thor-2-dark-world-poster.jpg" width="224" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm just going to put this out there: Thor is probably my favorite Marvel superhero. Thor and his supporting cast bring so much of what I love in good superhero stories: high adventure, whimsey, conflicted villains and high-stakes conflicts with a healthy dose of high fantasy strangeness. Basically, everyone is larger than life and they are constantly dealing with weird and crazy shit. And it all works, because we're dealing with Norse gods and nothing that modern writers can come up with will ever be as strange as <a href="http://io9.com/8-things-marvel-got-wrong-about-thor-and-norse-mytholog-1458989921">the actual myths</a>.<br />
<br />
This love of Thor (and Tom Hiddleston's Loki) is probably why I thoroughly enjoyed the original <i>Thor</i> film, even though it is objectively in the lower-tier of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The sequel, <i>Thor: The Dark World</i>, thankfully requires no qualifiers or justifications to explain my enjoyment. This movie is fun, joyful, and above all <i>funny</i> in a way that hasn't been seen since <i>Captain America</i> and the first <i>Iron Man</i>. While it takes a while to get going, the second and third acts more than make up for a slow start. If you get the chance, you should definitely check this movie out.<br />
<br />
Now here are ten things that I didn't like.<br />
<a name='more'></a>1. The "magic and technology are one in the same" thing hinted at in the first <i>Thor</i> is back in full force here. I know that it's so Thor's world feels less out of place within the more sci-fi tilt of the other Marvel films, but I prefer Thor to have a more fantasy feel.<br />
<br />
2. The movie goes out of its way to say that Thor and company are not actually gods while still playing up the fact that they might as well be, all things considered. It strikes me as trying to have their cake and eat it too.<br />
<br />
3. Anthony Hopkins was kind of phoning in his performance, which is a shame.<br />
<br />
4. Unlike the last movie, Odin is awake throughout the movie. This is a problem mostly because the writers seem to have forgotten that Odin is one of the most powerful beings in the Marvel Universe. Dude went toe-to-toe with <i><b>Galactus</b></i> and held his own; I think he could handle some Dark Elves.<br />
<br />
5. Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman still have no real chemistry together. It's not exactly Anakin/Amidala bad, but it's not good either.<br />
<br />
6. Darcy is back. While I never minded the character, I know that some people are going to be upset when she calls Mjolnir "Mew new" again.<br />
<br />
7. Tom Hiddleston continues to be so good at playing Loki that my dream of seeing an adaptation of the Kid Loki saga from Kieron Gillen's run on <i>Journey Into Mystery</i> will never happen.<br />
<br />
8. The Dark Elves as a whole never seem like a real threat, outside their advanced technology.<br />
<br />
9. Stellan Skarsgard spends much of his screen time nude.<br />
<br />
10. Of the two after-credit sequences, only one feels like it is part of the same movie. The other is clearly an awkward prelude to <i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i> that feels completely out of place.Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-49943359247842501192013-10-23T18:00:00.001-07:002013-10-23T18:00:54.117-07:00Ten Things: Pacific Rim<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjZQevVaimYPziNHADMfGji88z8QFowOZYmzhD1pvPAuoPDUywEgOmz1z17gnrto6ETzvw6vSI9shCDYBRxlLS7VOJFPtMEW0VPuovIzgz7sVxJ9n9lROtwPdAg4lIyg9w48_3Q7Y8RE/s1600/Pacific_Rim_Movie_poster_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjZQevVaimYPziNHADMfGji88z8QFowOZYmzhD1pvPAuoPDUywEgOmz1z17gnrto6ETzvw6vSI9shCDYBRxlLS7VOJFPtMEW0VPuovIzgz7sVxJ9n9lROtwPdAg4lIyg9w48_3Q7Y8RE/s320/Pacific_Rim_Movie_poster_2.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I'm not going to lie: <i>Pacific Rim</i> is easily my favorite movie so far this year, with disclaimer that I haven't seen <i>Gravity</i> yet and <i>Thor: The Dark World</i> and <i>The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug</i> have yet to be released. But even if <i>Gravity</i> turns out to be the best movie I see this year, <i>Pacific Rim</i> will still hold a special place in my heart. Not only is it a Kaiju movie--and I <b>love</b> me some Kaiju movies--it's a Kaiju movie made with a big budget by Guillermo del Toro. Plus, it's <b>fun</b>. Indeed, <i>Pacific Rim</i> was easily the most fun I've had watching a movie since <i>The Avengers</i>. If you don't already own it on Blu-ray, do so.<br />
<br />
But <i>Pacific Rim</i> is by no means perfect, so here are ten things that I didn't like about it.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>1. There isn't enough screen time spent watching Jaegers punch Kaiju. That's (mostly) not a knock on the pacing, but rather an observation that <b>there can never be enough time spent watching Jaegers punching Kaiju.</b><br />
<br />
2. Several of the Kaiju are legit nightmare fuel. I'm looking at you, Otachi.<br />
<b> </b><br />
3. Idris Elba isn't in every scene. Also, his character's name is Stacker Pentecost. That's only a negative because now if I ever have a child, boy or girl, I'll have to name it Stacker Pentecost. Because <b>seriously.</b><br />
<br />
4. The movie was originally going to feature a Mexican Jaeger named Matador Fury, but it got cut due to time restrictions. This was absolutely the right call, but we still missed out on seeing a giant robot named <b>Matador Fury</b>.<b> </b><br />
<br />
5. On the same note, the movie's lore is chock-full of Jaegers and Kaiju with awesome names, and we don't get to see most of them in action.<br />
<br />
6. The Australian pilot is a douche bag for no apparent reason other than the script called for the hero to have a rival.<br />
<br />
7. Charlie Day's J.J. Abrams impression was so convincing that I can't picture the real J.J. Abrams anymore. Though that's probably for the best.<br />
<br />
8. Gipsy Danger has a secret hidden weapon that can one-shot Kaiju, but doesn't open with it. That makes as much sense as Iron Man not opening with his super-wrist laser in <i>Iron Man 2.</i><br />
<br />
9. This movie will be considered a flop because it lost in its opening weekend to <i>Despicable Me 2</i> (an OK film) and <i>Grown Ups F*cking 2</i>.<br />
<i> </i><br />
10. Seriously, America?! <i>Grown Ups 2?!</i> Adam Sandler has made some mildly funny movies in the past, but his last good one was almost 20 years ago. And even his best work isn't good enough to justify the kind of forgiveness that he has been shown by the American public. If you saw the trailer for <i>Grown Ups 2</i> and thought that it looked worth your money, then I will hold you responsible when we end up in the dystopian future of <i>Idiocracy.</i><br />
Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-53121034899780307622013-10-07T23:34:00.001-07:002013-10-07T23:35:13.412-07:00I Love It, But It Sucks: The Hobbit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvM4c3xPagIGvxFYwwEinjBBxPKbyCTRowmbJuwVG_Iiie6HpX2O9bhdp3bzposliDTjp9FPmmgL2YOnjvWEMXYgkUld51YYu5V6E9Atmd9wXVxIqFsV0VWGWN1PbnFj-RGsbH7icJx8/s1600/o-THE-HOBBIT-POSTER-570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEvM4c3xPagIGvxFYwwEinjBBxPKbyCTRowmbJuwVG_Iiie6HpX2O9bhdp3bzposliDTjp9FPmmgL2YOnjvWEMXYgkUld51YYu5V6E9Atmd9wXVxIqFsV0VWGWN1PbnFj-RGsbH7icJx8/s320/o-THE-HOBBIT-POSTER-570.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Before I start, I want to be absolutely clear: I really do love <i>The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey</i>. Seriously. While I don't think that it was one of the best movies to come out last year, it was one that I highly enjoyed--which is more than can be said of a lot of things I've seen in the last year or so.<br />
<br />
But as much as I like <i>The Hobbit</i>, it is not a good movie. At all. In fact, it's easily the worst of the four Tolkien adaptations by director Peter Jackson. Not even the padded, plodding theatrical cut of <i>Two Towers</i> can really hold a candle to <i>The Hobbit</i> at its worst. Which is a shame, because there is a good movie hiding in <i>The Hobbit</i>, and it features some of the best scenes in the entire franchise.<br />
<br />
I know that I'm going to get some blow back from some friends for dissecting <i>The Hobbit</i>, but I think that understanding why this movie fails might help us understand some of what is wrong with Hollywood movies today.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>This isn't to say that <i>The Hobbit</i> does everything wrong. As I said, there is quite a bit that I loved about the movie. As a whole, the casting is very good. Martin Freeman shines in the role of Bilbo, and Ian McKellen still completely owns the role of Gandalf.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ODSF_CdeGWQvigVGO3NUuebRRVXdCtjLMtVEKKi24TX5Za_teVMD_0evEB7RujY2bMQ7qjJtag0WxHLMeATpv5PJ8borAUv9m9Yk0YOfWFQEVyUbj_4yCAQmr7VuawxLyHeVVjxNVj8/s1600/IAN+McKELLEN+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ODSF_CdeGWQvigVGO3NUuebRRVXdCtjLMtVEKKi24TX5Za_teVMD_0evEB7RujY2bMQ7qjJtag0WxHLMeATpv5PJ8borAUv9m9Yk0YOfWFQEVyUbj_4yCAQmr7VuawxLyHeVVjxNVj8/s320/IAN+McKELLEN+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The production design is, of course absolutely gorgeous. The set-makers and costume designers obviously put quite a bit of effort into making this world feel like it was real and giving each culture its own identity.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBasTgiRdqKWM-e8-7EicM65LNNpqiNaXjSt_bzVROJG-M2bfkdQirH-vCl40zoW_BsJjGhuKRDzLiJsjZdNo0ioKuyEm0rC7XF9s1dAXk55SR6B70cffeRb101eXK-mHU9puYDyj3TY/s1600/Rivendell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBasTgiRdqKWM-e8-7EicM65LNNpqiNaXjSt_bzVROJG-M2bfkdQirH-vCl40zoW_BsJjGhuKRDzLiJsjZdNo0ioKuyEm0rC7XF9s1dAXk55SR6B70cffeRb101eXK-mHU9puYDyj3TY/s320/Rivendell.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDLeOEvtioAvy5oaRK879wRV467t9Jt14mPCAf-jdc5hEfYZLgpqaqWtbzU5E7VZsh4q6Gcevb7lhu0M2K9Kf1yhlr8KMKs4LcquhW1lapNCvAHiD6twt0i3ttYRZpPL0yTia501uzCA/s1600/the-hobbit1-movie-screencaps.com-163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIDLeOEvtioAvy5oaRK879wRV467t9Jt14mPCAf-jdc5hEfYZLgpqaqWtbzU5E7VZsh4q6Gcevb7lhu0M2K9Kf1yhlr8KMKs4LcquhW1lapNCvAHiD6twt0i3ttYRZpPL0yTia501uzCA/s320/the-hobbit1-movie-screencaps.com-163.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
And say what you will about the dwarves of the company being interchangeable, the film does a good job of making them all visually distinct (something not even Tolkien himself managed to do).<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkBnXCxkMoLuOh7dSNgLQrrHYHIXR4pVWeTWVieflYF0J4lM8TPWNN9g_NmsZqS-47zsGuYQOHDTEyJNm98bHdWTREDfni-XNuWcQPLORyxW1A_k7VpEbSi4UNGv5DDJ0NoK706ZjiBc/s1600/All-13-Dwarves-Peter-Jackson-THE-HOBBIT-AN-UNEXPECTED-JOURNEY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkkBnXCxkMoLuOh7dSNgLQrrHYHIXR4pVWeTWVieflYF0J4lM8TPWNN9g_NmsZqS-47zsGuYQOHDTEyJNm98bHdWTREDfni-XNuWcQPLORyxW1A_k7VpEbSi4UNGv5DDJ0NoK706ZjiBc/s320/All-13-Dwarves-Peter-Jackson-THE-HOBBIT-AN-UNEXPECTED-JOURNEY.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I even liked the addition of the Pale Orc. Sure, he wasn't in the book, but I felt that he was well established as a credible threat and plausible leader for the orc contingent of the Battle of Five Armies.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGwfytNlB33osn3Fz6XV8iey02WYV0Dia6Iqs0aznwQW77XN4J9RKJ4a3kCEhf-4hBA7OGOtJXfqkq6Va0enemTpRMXkXGVtCDPOOoUtPjJqZRKwv43u-Dlxcl0Drx1FXO142301-s3Q/s1600/The+Pale+Orc+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="135" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMGwfytNlB33osn3Fz6XV8iey02WYV0Dia6Iqs0aznwQW77XN4J9RKJ4a3kCEhf-4hBA7OGOtJXfqkq6Va0enemTpRMXkXGVtCDPOOoUtPjJqZRKwv43u-Dlxcl0Drx1FXO142301-s3Q/s320/The+Pale+Orc+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
And I wasn't kidding when I said that <i>The Hobbit </i>has some of the best scenes in the entire franchise. Or rather, <i>one</i> of the best scenes. The famous "Riddles in the Dark" scene is fantastic here, and Andy Serkis puts out a performance to rival his best work from <i>Two Towers</i>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXjX2I6h5RaRvJC4zreggVqb7j3qqETtr94rXGT6tNbqacex8-czLAjC6L4b8VGckq81oikPrjLXrwFt_vTnZHwt21jcen-r6Kg1UxqifY7aNkzzfD6SO721MoVGWUhUoemcpUeOzy_k/s1600/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-gollum-andy-serkis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSXjX2I6h5RaRvJC4zreggVqb7j3qqETtr94rXGT6tNbqacex8-czLAjC6L4b8VGckq81oikPrjLXrwFt_vTnZHwt21jcen-r6Kg1UxqifY7aNkzzfD6SO721MoVGWUhUoemcpUeOzy_k/s320/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-journey-gollum-andy-serkis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
However, none of these elements are enough to save the movie. For <i>The Hobbit</i> has two fatal flaws that are more destructive to the film than any dragon or band of orcs: tone and pacing. Now <i>The Hobbit</i> certainly isn't the only film in recent years to have these twin problems, but few put them in such stark relief.<br />
<br />
The problem of tone is one that many films struggle with (<i>Man of Steel </i>and <i>Star Trek Into Darkness</i> certainly did). In a nutshell, <i>The Hobbit</i> and movies like it don't seem to know what kind of movie they want to be. Is <i>The Hobbit </i>meant to be a light-hearted adventure film or a brooding prequel to <i>Lord of the Rings</i>? If it is meant to be a light-hearted adventure, why does it include a scene where Thorin's grandfather is decapitated? If it's meant to be a brooding prequel, why does it feature cockney trolls and snot humor?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://img.youtube.com/vi/X_cy4fricLU/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/X_cy4fricLU&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/X_cy4fricLU&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br />
Now, I know that the troll scene is a favorite from the book, and I actually don't mind its inclusion here very much (more on that later). What I object to is how completely dissonant the tone here is with much of the rest of the film. Simply put, you can't expect me to take something as a serious prequel when there are snot jokes involved. Likewise, I can't take <i>Into Darkness</i> seriously as a commentary on drone warfare when the cure to death involves "super-blood" and a f*cking tribble.<br />
<br />
I understand that storytellers have to mix up the mood of a movie to keep the audience interested. Without a little comic relief dramas and tragedies can be an emotional ordeal to sit through. By the same token, a comedy is allowed to be serious when it needs to be. But when this is done well, these little shifts don't completely alter the tone of the entire movie. Agent Coulson's "death" in <i>The Avengers</i> is a sad moment, but it doesn't distract from the overall tone of the picture.<br />
<br />
What we have in <i>The Hobbit</i> is a film without a distinct tone. There is comedy, adventure, tragedy, foreboding and darkness in mostly equal proportions. If the audience is never sure how they are supposed to feel while watching a movie, we can't expect them to care. Nor can we expect them to care when your movie is a thousand hours long.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2535/4074328114_fc93f2beba_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2535/4074328114_fc93f2beba_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cpkarthik/4074328114/">Source</a> </i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<i>The Hobbit</i>, like most blockbusters these days, is too damn long. Or rather, it's too damn long and paced too damn slow. Pacing is always a delicate balance: if you pace scenes too quickly, the movie feels rushed. Pace things too slowly, though, and the movie seemingly plods along. <i>The Hobbit</i> most definitely suffers from the latter problem. Virtually every scene runs on for at least 1-5 minutes too long.<br />
<br />
Take the opening scene, for example. It begins with Bilbo beginning the Red Book in order to tell Frodo the truth of his adventures. From there we get several minutes establishing the Dwarves of Erebor and the dragon Smaug. This is all well and good, and I actually consider it to be one of the better scenes in the film. But then Bilbo is interrupted in his musings by Frodo, and the scene lingers on the two hobbits. And lingers. And lingers. After what feels like twenty minutes of talking about Bilbo's birthday party, we resume our story...only for the plot to halt again for a dinner party with the dwarves. Then the quest has begun--but stops in its tracks for a run-in with the trolls.<br />
<br />
Every time the movie feels like it is going to build up some momentum, it pulls the drag chute and grinds to a halt. On the road to Rivendell? Better halt for some exposition about the Pale Orc or Radagast. Finally made it to Rivendell? Better stop the movie dead so that the White Council can have a conversation that only makes sense if you've read the appendices to <i>Lord of the Rings</i> and the <i>Silmarillion</i>.<br />
<br />
From what I understand, Peter Jackson originally intended <i>The Hobbit</i> to be two movies, rather than a trilogy. When the studio demanded three movies, it was only natural that some padding would have to be inserted in order to stretch the project out. So I understand why Jackson inserted elements from Tolkien's appendices (that and because I doubt audiences would accept a Tolkien movie where Gandalf is absent for the majority of the film). Still, I don't know why he insisted on making the damn thing almost three hours long. I know that he started the trend of movies being unnecessarily long, but one would think that he would have learned from his mistakes with <i>King Kong</i>.<br />
<br />
All storytelling media have expectations and limitations on the length that audiences will accept. Books, for example, are generally allowed to be as long as they need to be to tell their story. This is because readers aren't expected to finish the story in one sitting, and each reader will read at their own pace. T.V. shows can run either 30 minutes or an hour (minus commercials). A stage play can be up to four hours as long as there is an intermission.<br />
<br />
Movies have a little leeway with run time, but the consensus used to be that most films would be between 90 minutes and two hours long. Longer movies did exist, but they were rare and often had an intermission. After all, there is only so long an audience can be expected to sit in a chair staring at a screen without snack or restroom breaks.<br />
<br />
But then <i>Return of the King</i> came out with its 201 minute run time and proceeded to make eleventy kajillion dollars. Hollywood, it seems, saw that and decided that <i>Return of the King</i> was a huge success <i>because</i> of its mammoth run time. This was despite the fact that the biggest complaint about the movie from critics and audiences was the fact that their bladders were ready to explode by the end. So if you ever wonder why Disney decided that they needed to spend 149 minutes to tell a <i>Lone Ranger</i> story, blame Peter Jackson.<br />
<br />
Again, I really do love <i>The Hobbit</i>. With another round or two of edits, I think it could have been one of the best films in the franchise. Hopefully Peter Jackson will have learned from his mistakes and <i>The Desolation of Smaug</i> won't be quite as much of a bloated mess. Early evidence from the trailer is not encouraging.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OPVWy1tFXuc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
But hey! Benedict Cumberpatch is voicing Smaug!Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-33955284196835164852013-09-24T19:08:00.000-07:002013-09-24T19:08:44.375-07:00Such Heroic Nonsense: Where's the Joy?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZ7gbWQXL4udldwF5pVs3GKzIjAtel4WddEotDEJKs-90fOfLO1bceHQYlqxEhbKGigGeS82xS5cPNaWZMwRwxW8eUMlg2f9GdwvWPW-52MJLzoKaE2S6tELw1uzxr6gEgpVw59A30v0/s1600/man-of-steel-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZ7gbWQXL4udldwF5pVs3GKzIjAtel4WddEotDEJKs-90fOfLO1bceHQYlqxEhbKGigGeS82xS5cPNaWZMwRwxW8eUMlg2f9GdwvWPW-52MJLzoKaE2S6tELw1uzxr6gEgpVw59A30v0/s320/man-of-steel-poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<i>Man of Steel</i> is a tricky movie for me to talk about. Not only is it polarizing (you either love it or hate it--there's no middle ground), but it seems to be polarizing in a such a way that the two sides literally cannot comprehend where the other is coming from. Just as it baffles me that anyone could actually enjoy <i>Man of Steel</i>, I know several people that are mystified that I didn't love it.<br />
<br />
Like I said, tricky. Still, I'd like to take some time to explain why I think that <i>Man of Steel</i> is not only the opposite of what a Superman movie should be, but also the antithesis of what superhero movies should be about.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
There are so many problematic things about <i>Man of Steel</i> that it is honestly a little difficult to know where to begin. Should we discuss the emotionless performances from a cast that is stellar on paper? Or the fact that Lois Lane's presence is completely superfluous to the plot? Or the fact that Zod's plan ultimately makes no sense (why would he try to turn Earth into a new Krypton when Kryptonians have flipping <i>superpowers</i> on Earth)? Really, though, those points are mere quibbles in the face of the film's two biggest, most crippling flaws: its tone and lack of heroics.<br />
<br />
Quick, name the five best superhero movies of all time, and don't feel like you need to limit yourself to the modern era. All done? If you're like most people, your list probably has movies like <i>Superman</i> (1 and/or 2), <i>Spider-Man</i> or <i>The Avengers</i> (and if you're awesome, <i>The Incredibles</i>). Some may have put one or more of the Nolan Batman movies on that list too (mine has <i>The Dark Knight</i> at number four). Now what do all the best superhero movies (even the Nolan trilogy) have in common? They all have a good amount of super-heroics and, with the exception of the Nolan films, all have a sense of <i>fun</i>.<br />
<br />
Now, some would object that of course <i>Man of Steel</i> has heroics! Superman defeated Zod and saved the world! Well first of all, he didn't actually save the world; Colonel Elliot Stabler and Professor Toby Ziegler did.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5gFnNkZCRBlrpQTFij9VQNs0rVoUmWOWUR9D86FqxDlRXIom4aNM5QVnMxlA1GkWUf63Xmxi59gIBoS_MsmhAUzRj89tTq6o8qhNStC_9fZKES8Q_vye1FKWUyz57yCfh5YkEhLqcyc/s1600/Man-of-Steel-Trailer-Images-Colonel-Hardy-Christopher-Meloni-Dr.-Emil-Hamilton-Richard-Schiff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm5gFnNkZCRBlrpQTFij9VQNs0rVoUmWOWUR9D86FqxDlRXIom4aNM5QVnMxlA1GkWUf63Xmxi59gIBoS_MsmhAUzRj89tTq6o8qhNStC_9fZKES8Q_vye1FKWUyz57yCfh5YkEhLqcyc/s320/Man-of-Steel-Trailer-Images-Colonel-Hardy-Christopher-Meloni-Dr.-Emil-Hamilton-Richard-Schiff.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
While Superman was wasting time punching the robo-octopus defenses to Zod's gravity-punching machine, those two were flying the Phantom Zone device to Zod's ship and fixing it when it wouldn't work. The fact that they even had to make their heroic sacrifice is also ridiculous, because there is no reason that Superman couldn't have done the deed himself. Why did it take so long to destroy the World Engine? If he was going to destroy the thing by flying into it anyway, why not just punch through it at Mach 10 right from the get-go? And was there a reason why Superman couldn't have just taken the Phantom Zone machine himself and thrown it at Zod's ship at the beginning?<br />
<br />
But Superman did defeat Zod. In the most un-Superman-like fashion possible. Let's put aside for a moment the fact that Superman has one of the strictest "No Killing" codes in comics. Instead of dwelling on the one person Superman kills directly, let's focus on the several million people that Superman simply allows to die.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaoBzgKU2lsPO7K0qa22p3F4zDP78CA9imf097R6Sw0TgY-wkUxkFgYYvi2gA4dDlWispi6oJjEy9zfYTA7GtM-Q8SZ5u4F7amMNWlhmb38cIgs9QuI1Q4xijGLGGcN-NMZabAGCV9Y3c/s1600/man-of-steel-nokia-trailer-0662013-123126.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaoBzgKU2lsPO7K0qa22p3F4zDP78CA9imf097R6Sw0TgY-wkUxkFgYYvi2gA4dDlWispi6oJjEy9zfYTA7GtM-Q8SZ5u4F7amMNWlhmb38cIgs9QuI1Q4xijGLGGcN-NMZabAGCV9Y3c/s320/man-of-steel-nokia-trailer-0662013-123126.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
There are two big fight scenes in the movie, and I'll be the first to admit that they are visually impressive. But no matter how great the visual effects were, there's still the fact that the fights manage to level two separate population centers. Take one scene at the beginning of the final confrontation with Zod: Superman and Zod are falling through the air and crash through a parking garage. The impact is enough to collapse the garage while the hero and villain stare down. The thing to remember is that <b><i>there were people in that garage</i></b>.<br />
<br />
And Superman doesn't lift a finger to help them.<br />
<br />
It would be one thing if Zod was actively stopping him from saving people. But that isn't what happened. A building full of people collapsed onto a street filled with pedestrians and Superman didn't even try to help. And that wasn't even the first time that had happened in the movie! During the earlier fight in Smallville, the most Superman does is tell the civilians to "get inside." And then Ursa and Non (I know they had different names in the movie, but c'mon--they're Ursa and Non) punched him into the f*cking IHOP.<br />
<br />
Superman can fly. The bad guys were specifically targeting him. Instead of flying to some place where there aren't any people (say, <i>anywhere else in f*cking</i> <i>Kansas!</i>), Superman allows countless civilians to die simply because he's too lazy to fly to Antarctica. In fact, Clark Kent saves more people before he puts on the blue pajamas than he does as Superman. As a kid and an adult Clark saves a bus full of kids, several people in the path of a tornado, a crew of oil rig workers and Lois Lane. As Superman, he saves Colonel Stabler and Lois Lane twice.<br />
<br />
I would say that such callous disregard for human life is totally out of character for Superman, but it actually makes perfect sense given the Pa Kent presented in the movie.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr5-JAYVryrI470ABDl_W_WYPI1_aH5Bm6KBCV63okQQU_T2ciP1ARe1mALQ47HQDFmFqPJ5qht1Mlpwe8CL6bYJNXV6HzOmmesIHhljIaEdlpEAB0JL5c4GcufhhyyLV38o2KdB3InGI/s1600/tumblr_mexmqnatfq1s0rin6o1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr5-JAYVryrI470ABDl_W_WYPI1_aH5Bm6KBCV63okQQU_T2ciP1ARe1mALQ47HQDFmFqPJ5qht1Mlpwe8CL6bYJNXV6HzOmmesIHhljIaEdlpEAB0JL5c4GcufhhyyLV38o2KdB3InGI/s320/tumblr_mexmqnatfq1s0rin6o1_1280.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://pakentsbadadvice.tumblr.com/">Source</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The character of Pa Kent brings us to the second fatal flaw of <i>Man of Steel</i>: the tone. This is a movie without a sense of fun or joy. Nobody laughs, and hardly anyone smiles. Pa Kent certainly doesn't. The only emotion Kevin Costner manages to portray through his monotone is fear. Fear of the future. Fear of his son's true nature. Fear of what revealing his son's true nature could lead to. It is hard to understate how harmful (and completely out of place) his message of "Hide who you are, because the rest of the world will fear and hate you!" truly is.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Isn't that exactly the opposite of what Superman is supposed to be about? Hell, even the movie points out that Johnathan Kent has it backwards.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/xJGMeyRZHpc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Except the film never follows through with that promise. Superman doesn't inspire anyone to accomplish wonders; they did so without him. If your Superman isn't inspiring, <b>then you have failed to make a Superman movie</b>. A bleak, colorless movie without a sense of joy might work for Nolan's Batman, but that's because it's a movie about <i>Batman</i>. Batman is supposed to be gloomy; Superman isn't.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Remember that list of the best superhero movies from earlier? The best superhero movies do the opposite of what we see in <i>Man of Steel</i>. Let's take <i>The Avengers</i> as an example, as they have very similar set-ups for their climaxes. In both films, alien invaders threaten a major city and the heroes must find a way to stop them. In <i>Man of Steel</i>, this involves the hero letting the attack go unanswered for some time, then beating up the bad guy without concern for collateral damage. <i>The Avengers</i> handles the situation a little differently:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/KI6NK6KEeQM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Captain America knows that the Avengers are the primary targets, so their job is to keep the fight focused on them and minimize the damage. Protecting the people is the first priority until they can figure out how to stop the villain's McGuffin. You'll also notice that, even in the face of an alien invasion, Iron Man is still making quips. The stakes are high, but the tone is kept light so that we, the audience, never lose that sense of fun.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Because that's what superheroes should be about: <i>fun</i>. Now, that isn't to say that superheroes can't tackle serious themes, or that they can't have dark tones. Like I said, I would put <i>The Dark Knight</i> on my top five superhero movies list*, and two of my favorite graphic novels are <i>Kingdom Come</i> and <i>Earth X</i>. None of those is known for being particularly lighthearted. But the beauty of superheroes is that they don't and shouldn't have to be serious to be good. We are talking about stories where people in brightly-colored costumes that punch evil in the face. If you can't have fun with that, then you should reexamine your priorities.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJMrc2hbflxtxjqtaZPbJXZYoXJyb9Rvwaw3ltvH8HcCzCkk8TsXMzbq0g4odEmbTkUzFZh6ibJcUMA3vRqAPcz_OeYcQHYSoAGdqaIptaIUuZxyPh7GW-HxJxndk1S-tMTIOMh8AX2s/s1600/avengers+assemble.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIJMrc2hbflxtxjqtaZPbJXZYoXJyb9Rvwaw3ltvH8HcCzCkk8TsXMzbq0g4odEmbTkUzFZh6ibJcUMA3vRqAPcz_OeYcQHYSoAGdqaIptaIUuZxyPh7GW-HxJxndk1S-tMTIOMh8AX2s/s320/avengers+assemble.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">*For the record, my list is as follows:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ol>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Superman</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Incredibles</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Avengers</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>The Dark Knight</i></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Spider-Man 2 </i> </span></li>
</ol>
</div>
Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-50631057612901276532013-09-14T00:38:00.002-07:002013-09-14T00:49:06.085-07:00Blood, Sweat and Chairshots: The People's Champions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nVwZwGFqonGka1I3FcYhdzKJ0WWDgYnkPcZWEObbplnDXKsZlZXCRAACcLcFS1KIGfvRShs_aS3DFfRt4bKzgdoR-USq2yS21ZwoKKRRabccj71K-FvYOHBd7_yjTO0uoO1HcfVTvKc/s1600/gammasquadbryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nVwZwGFqonGka1I3FcYhdzKJ0WWDgYnkPcZWEObbplnDXKsZlZXCRAACcLcFS1KIGfvRShs_aS3DFfRt4bKzgdoR-USq2yS21ZwoKKRRabccj71K-FvYOHBd7_yjTO0uoO1HcfVTvKc/s320/gammasquadbryan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Professional wrestling is a strange beast. It's a "fake" sport with predetermined outcomes and storylines that can often make daytime soap operas seem realistic. Why should I, a self-described lover of good stories, be so fascinated with a storytelling medium as bizarre as professional wrestling?<br />
<br />
Well, for one thing, pro wrestling might be the single most interactive form of storytelling this side of improv comedy.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Before we start, I should probably clear a few things up. First, professional wrestling isn't really a sport in the strictest sense of the word. Though a high degree of athleticism is a must to become a wrestler, the outcomes of matches are predetermined. You'll notice that I put the word "fake" in quotation marks above because that word simply doesn't apply to wrestling. See, even though the outcomes are predetermined, wrestlers still put their bodies through quite a bit of punishment during the course of a match. Besides things like knife-edge chops and chairshots--which are very real--just the simple act of falling (taking a "bump") onto the mat involves landing on a hard wood surface without much give. Injuries are commonplace, and more than one wrestler has been forced to retire early due to their bodies giving out.<br />
<br />
Second, the comparison to daytime soaps is common, but not altogether fair. It's true that characters and stories can go in bizarre directions, and the melodrama can certainly go over the top. But while soap operas are ostensibly about normal people reacting to arcane plot twists, wrestlers' characters are anything but normal people. Wrestlers' characters are meant to be larger than life--superhuman embodiments of good, evil or the common man. They are really closer to comic book superheroes, only with slightly fewer capes and superpowers.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDq2R3ZTeiAa5S1-hMqppTWwGZeRw6eI2dAbm5SANOG78fQywYP-SlKGA2ke-nqM48G3B66KZQDkc5vMsl6CJIEdWwxugihiQijm2xxPrQn_CK0E8_XoBZh7SLyE4zYINbsBIMzp2tBHs/s1600/SuperCena.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDq2R3ZTeiAa5S1-hMqppTWwGZeRw6eI2dAbm5SANOG78fQywYP-SlKGA2ke-nqM48G3B66KZQDkc5vMsl6CJIEdWwxugihiQijm2xxPrQn_CK0E8_XoBZh7SLyE4zYINbsBIMzp2tBHs/s320/SuperCena.jpg" width="204" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Basically this.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">For those of you who have never actually watched pro wrestling, the general formula for a storyline goes something like this: Wrestler A and Wrestler B do not like each other. Usually Wrestler A is a good guy (a "babyface" or just "face") and Wrestler B is a bad guy (a "heel"), and they are fighting each other over something (a Championship belt, a title shot, custody of Wrestler A's kid, etc.)</span></span>. Since this is wrestling, the only way to settle the dispute is in a wrestling match, which you can see this Sunday on Pay-Per-View!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The details of any given storyline will be different, depending on characters involved and the particulars of what they're fighting over. The best stories flow with a similar logic to something you would see on other ongoing series: the heel gains the upper hand, or manages to evade the face until the hero can dig deep and overcome the odds to win in the end.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There are three things about this formula that are unique to pro wrestling, however. First, wrestling is truly an ongoing story. Since there is no off-season or time-off period to speak of, the stories never really end. New feuds often begin as soon as another has ended, and every show or event is an opportunity to extend the storyline further. Though most feuds in the modern era last anywhere from two to six months, it is not unusual to find in them story threads that might go back a year or more. The feud between CM Punk and the Undertaker going into Wrestlemania 29 technically only lasted a couple months, but it was part of a larger arc going back over twenty years.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Secondly, the story structure doesn't just apply to overall feuds; it applies to the matches as well. Each mach is designed to tell its own internal story, and when done well will have a unique logic that still follows something of a three act structure. Ring psychology is a fascinating thing, and is complex enough to warrant a post of its own. Suffice to say that each match should be a short microcosm of the story at large, as told with body slams and punches.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Third, and most importantly, the fans can have nearly as much influence on the direction of a story (or "angle") as the bookers and writers. There's two ways that fans can do this: through merchandise and through reactions. The first is easy enough to understand--the more merchandise a wrestler sells, the more popular he or she is. Strong merch sales can influence the higher-ups to give that wrestler extended time on T.V. ("giving him a push").</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The second and most important method ties in very closely with ring psychology. See, while the outcomes of pro wrestling matches are predetermined, much of the matches themselves are improvised. The wrestlers go into a match knowing the ending and knowing certain sequences ("spots") that they are going to perform, but the rest depends largely on the crowd. Good performers will mix spots that get the fans excited with spots that cool them down and build the tension. By the end of the match, the wrestlers should have the fans buying into whatever they're doing.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Usually, crowds behave the way that management expects, or how they have been conditioned to behave. Sometimes, however, live crowds react in ways that the writers don't expect. Maybe the supposed heel in a feud gets pops (reactions) like a face during his matches. No matter how dastardly he acts, the fans just refuse to boo. Or sometimes crowds can get behind someone low on the card to the point that management cannot turn a blind eye. If reactions are strong and consistent enough, the writers may be forced to alter their plans.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Take the case of WWE star Daniel Bryan.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfN4eOTJDPgJBeh8kS8osy6igm3ixwcyi-nZJAvcuA29j2jYyXOsx0fSJbRhj9kn1zWIM2dOcNTJUR-PSv0I2BEsYWyseo9xr5lNpuF-aqn8gilfgFW9Ptbr7WbKxAOr4j4j7nj7-XEEo/s1600/daniel+bryan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfN4eOTJDPgJBeh8kS8osy6igm3ixwcyi-nZJAvcuA29j2jYyXOsx0fSJbRhj9kn1zWIM2dOcNTJUR-PSv0I2BEsYWyseo9xr5lNpuF-aqn8gilfgFW9Ptbr7WbKxAOr4j4j7nj7-XEEo/s320/daniel+bryan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Under that beard is another beard.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">For a long time, Daniel Bryan more or less languished in WWE's midcard. However, through hard work, great matches, a simple catch-phrase ("YES!," followed by "NO!" and later "YES!" again)</span></span>, and ironically an 18-second World Title loss at Wrestlemania, Daniel Bryan slowly became one of the most over (popular) wrestlers in the WWE. Even when he was playing an angry, insecure heel the fans refused to boo him. By mid 2013, the chants of "YES!" were so loud and so consistent that WWE decided to put Bryan into the main event of their second-biggest show of the year. I'll let the pop he gets speak for itself:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/i8OFuAvyzfg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Not only did Bryan go on to win that match, but now all of WWE programming is dedicated to his quest to regain the WWE Championship that he was screwed out of that same night. And all of it is because the fans made their voices heard, loudly and live on T.V. Is there any other medium where fan input can have such a direct impact?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://media.giphy.com/media/yr2qSstSRwTug/original.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.giphy.com/media/yr2qSstSRwTug/original.gif" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-11872565162042246752013-09-04T13:12:00.002-07:002013-09-04T13:12:54.685-07:00Ten Things: The Wolverine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2012/10/the-wolverine-teaser-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://oyster.ignimgs.com/wordpress/stg.ign.com/2012/10/the-wolverine-teaser-poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
To round out my discussion of superheroes over the last week or so, I'd like to take a moment to briefly talk about <i>The Wolverine</i>. And yes, I know that this is a bit late, but I hadn't started this blog when it came out. So there.<br />
<br />
<br />
I didn't have high hopes going into this movie, given how bad the X-Men movies had gotten (<i>First Class</i> being the exception). To my surprise, the film was actually pretty good. I would rank it as maybe the third best in the franchise, behind <i>X-2</i> and <i>First Class</i>. Hugh Jackman still owns the role of Wolverine, and he remains the best thing about the franchise. His performance here works especially well because the movie isn't trying to be a traditional superhero movie--it honestly feels more like a samurai film. That difference in tone and structure is a welcome shift, because any experimentation with the formula can only help the genre at this point.<br />
<br />
Now here are ten things I didn't like about it.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
1. <i>X-Men Origins: Wolverine</i> still exists. I know it's not this movie's fault, but nor does it really do anything to suggest that <i>Origins</i> isn't still canon.<br />
<br />
2. Speaking of shitty X-Men movies, <i>The Wolverine</i> is in direct continuity with <i>X-Men 3</i>. And here I was hoping that that was just a bad dream.<br />
<br />
3. The return to practical effects for Wolverine's claws make the stupid CG claws from <i>Origins</i> look even worse.<br />
<br />
4. According to Logan, the only death that haunts him is Jean Grey's. Even if we accept the notion that he forgot about the woman he loved and lost in <i>Origins</i> because of what happened in that movie, that still leaves dozens of people that he's killed since then that he doesn't regret. That's cold, Wolverine.<br />
<br />
5. Wolverine's Alan Moore cosplay in the beginning is a little terrifying.<br />
<br />
6. The woman playing Lady Viper's performance was bad. Like, <i>really</i> bad. "Emma Frost in <i>First Class</i>" bad.<br />
<br />
7. Wolverine can apparently detect when a B-29 is carrying an atomic bomb from miles away. Also, he knows what an atomic bomb is despite being a POW for quite some time. And wasn't he still going by James Howlett at the time? Why would the old Japanese guy know him as "Logan?"<br />
<br />
8. While we're on the subject, that Japanese dude was looking directly at the bomb when Nagasaki went boom. He should have been blind as shit.<br />
<br />
9. This is the kind of movie that really makes a mockery of the MPAA ratings system. Wolverine racks up a higher body count than Jason Voorhees, but it only gets a PG-13? Gratuitous violence is A-OK! Just so long as nobody says any dirty words!<br />
<br />
10. Fox still owns the film rights for the X-Men characters, meaning Wolverine won't be showing up in <i>Avengers 2.</i><br />
Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-31594853274592838502013-09-01T17:55:00.000-07:002013-09-03T00:34:33.883-07:00Such Heroic Nonsense: Sympathy for the Devil<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.critiques4geeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/magneto-not-a-hero.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://www.critiques4geeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/magneto-not-a-hero.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://www.critiques4geeks.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/magneto-not-a-hero.jpg">Source</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In my <a href="http://matthateseverything.blogspot.com/2013/08/such-heroic-nonsense-they-will-stumble.html">previous post</a> I discussed how heroes reflect the cultures that created them, and how their triumphs and mistakes serve to guide and inspire that culture. Now I'd like to take a moment to discuss villains and why they are at their best when we agree with them.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As you'll recall, a friend and I had a discussion on Facebook after my initial <a href="http://matthateseverything.blogspot.com/2013/08/such-heroic-nonsense-world-needs-heroes.html">post</a> about superheroes. He objected to the casting of Achilles a hero, as the Trojans were never truly villainous. Hector was only fighting to protect his people, and Paris did what he did out of love. Furthermore, casting characters like Achilles as "heroes" is problematic because it can potentially paint sympathetic characters as the "losers" of the conflict. Can we really call the these characters "villains" if they're not entirely wrong?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Well, yes, as a matter of fact we can. See, like heroes, villains come in all types, with all sorts of motivations, methods and scales. A good many of them act out for reasons that are not only understandable, but even justifiable after a fashion. How can we label these characters as villains? The same way we identify heroes: by their actions.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Let's go back to the Trojan War for a moment and see how both Paris and Hector qualify as villains. Of the two, Paris is easily the most villainous; he starts the war by eloping with another man's wife, then refuses to take part in the fighting itself. Paris, then, is the antithesis of what the Greeks valued in their heroes: he was an oathbreaker and a coward.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Hector, on the other hand, doesn't fit the tradition villain mold. He is described as intelligent and honorable, and was respected by both sides of the conflict. Hector was against the war from the start, and chastised his brother for his cowardice. In fact, the only reason that he is even considered a villain is because he is fighting to protect his home from the invading Greeks. So why should Hector still be labeled a villain if he's essentially a hero fighting for the wrong side?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Hector, and to a lesser extent Paris, fall into the category of Tragic Villains. These are are a subset of Anti-Villains. Just like some "heroes" might sometimes behave like villains, some villains behave like heroes. These characters usually realize that what they are doing is wrong, but are forced to continue due to circumstances beyond their control. In Hector's case, he would have been the hero of any other Greek epic; but because of his brother's actions, he is forced to fight. Even Paris is ultimately the victim of divine meddling, as the war could have been prevented or ended earlier if not for the interference of the gods.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Tragic villains abound in fiction, and can become the most compelling characters in their stories. The Batman rogues gallery, for instance, is loaded with tragic villains and other sympathetic antagonists. In fact, do you know who my favorite Batman villain is (behind the Joker, of course)? The answer might surprise you:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrfreeze_1742.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrfreeze_1742.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mrfreeze_1742.jpg">Source</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Mr. Freeze is just about as sympathetic as a villain can get: his wife is dying of a terminal disease, and dedicated his life to finding a cure; an accident with the same cryogenic formula that keeps his wife alive left him unable to survive without the aid of a cold suit; he turned to crime to fund his research, which is heavily implied to be futile at this point. Even if he were to succeed in saving her life, he would never be able to feel her touch ever again.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It's this element of tragedy that makes Mr. Freeze such a compelling character. We <i>want</i> him to succeed. At the same time, we cannot cheer for him because no matter his motivations, Freeze is still a criminal who can and will kill to achieve his goals. We understand and sympathize with him, but we know that his actions brand him a villain.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Much like heroes, villains are reflections of their cultures. Whereas heroes are meant to inspire through their example or teach through their mistakes, villains are meant to warn. They show us what is not (or should not) be acceptable behavior, no matter the reasons. Take Ra's Al Ghul in <i>Batman Begins</i>:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://cdn-media.hollywood.com/images/520x650/1841414.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://cdn-media.hollywood.com/images/520x650/1841414.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
In this incarnation, Ra's is motivated by a strict sense of justice. He sees Gotham as a symbol of everything wrong with modern civilization: a decadent hive of corruption, where the strong prey upon the weak without consequence. He's not wrong. If he were to try to change Gotham, to make it and by extension the world a better place, then Batman would have no reason to oppose him. But Ra's isn't trying to save Gotham; he's trying to destroy it. He is willing to sacrifice every man, woman and child in the city in order to purge it of the decadence of its elites. And he'll kill anyone who gets in his way.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The movie never hides the fact that Ra's has a point. Nor is it shy about condemning his actions. No matter how corrupt the world is, the movie argues, mass murder is not the solution. The ends don't justify the means.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If Mr. Freeze or Ra's Al Ghul had made different choices, they would be heroes. That alone would make them compelling characters. But the best part about these villains and those like them is the way that they make the <i>heroes</i> more compelling. They present the heroes with a challenge not only of wits or skill, but one of conviction as well. They force the heroes to make tough choices and to question their ideals.<br />
<br />
In short, they force them to become better heroes. And that, in the end, is a necessary evil.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111222195306/batman/images/c/c4/B_23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20111222195306/batman/images/c/c4/B_23.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-73736921501654239982013-08-27T18:15:00.000-07:002013-09-03T00:34:48.497-07:00Such Heroic Nonsense: They Will Stumble<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://greghornjudge.com/images/03_Large_images/01_MARVEL_COMICS/All_other_Marvel/a-The.Amazing.Spider-man.by.Greg.Horn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://greghornjudge.com/images/03_Large_images/01_MARVEL_COMICS/All_other_Marvel/a-The.Amazing.Spider-man.by.Greg.Horn.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://greghornjudge.com/HTM_PAGES/01_marvel_comics_htms/all_other_marvel/a-Spider-man_new_art.htm">Source</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
My previous <a href="http://matthateseverything.blogspot.com/2013/08/such-heroic-nonsense-world-needs-heroes.html">post</a> sparked something of a conversation on my Facebook. It was a good discussion, and one that led me to think a little more about heroes and why we need them.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a name='more'></a>The discussion centered around the definition of "hero" as "one who does great things" or "protects and serves." Someone like Achilles, for example, wouldn't be a hero in the eyes of the Trojans. Furthermore, casting Troy as the villain in those stories is problematic due to what happened to the city in the end. The very idea of "heroes" then is something to avoid, because it automatically casts villains (especially sympathetic ones) as "losers," thereby cheapening their good qualities.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There are two fair points here, and I'd like to discuss first one here. First is the notion that the city of Troy is miscast as a villain in the Greek epics, and that the actions of the Greek heroes should disqualify them from the term "hero." The simplest counter to that line of thinking is that of course Achilles and the rest are heroes. <i>To the Greeks</i>.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
It's a common mistake when talking about any kind of story (especially from an ancient and/or foreign culture) to impose our own cultural biases on the text. Achilles isn't a hero because he slaughters hundreds, including innocents! The Trojan people are the victims because they were put to the sword or sold into slavery! The people shouldn't have to suffer because their Prince (who wasn't elected!) decided to sleep with another man's wife!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Those are all natural reactions. They are all also wrong.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The thing that's so easy to forget about the past is that the values that we hold dear haven't been shared by everyone at every time. Heck, many values that we take for granted, like women having the right to vote, are startlingly new inventions. They just seem so obvious and permanent because we've known them all our lives.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The Ancient Greeks were not us. True, they held many values that would become the foundation of Western Civilization; but they also held values that would be anathema to modern society. Most Greek city-states were ruled by kings or other dictators (it's where we get the word, even). Most Greek city-states had slaves--often from cities that they had conquered. Greek society practiced pederasty, which tends to be frowned upon nowadays.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Art_gr%C3%A8cia.jpg/220px-Art_gr%C3%A8cia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Art_gr%C3%A8cia.jpg/220px-Art_gr%C3%A8cia.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We can make judgments about ancient Greek culture and their values all we like. But should the fact that we don't share all of those values mean that characters like Hercules or Achilles shouldn't be regarded as heroes? Of course not. The Greeks regarded them as heroes, therefore they are heroes.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
All heroes are reflections of the society that created them. Take the example of Captain America.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/176/2/4/captain_america_by_urban_barbarian-d3jymky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/176/2/4/captain_america_by_urban_barbarian-d3jymky.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://urban-barbarian.deviantart.com/art/CAPTAIN-AMERICA-214926802">Source</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Captain America represents what we value as Americans: strength, honesty, the courage to do the right thing, Nazi-punching, etc. Cap has a lot of qualities that people from all around the world can aspire to emulate--but he's still very much an American creation aimed at inspiring Americans to be better.</span> And since he is such an American creation, there is plenty for someone from a part of the world that doesn't like America to despise. They might in turn cast Cap as a villain and call upon a hero of their own to take him down.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110124064003/marveldatabase/images/8/8b/Abdul_Al-Rahman_(Earth-1610)_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110124064003/marveldatabase/images/8/8b/Abdul_Al-Rahman_(Earth-1610)_02.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Our heroes reveal a lot about the cultures that create them--not only in their deeds, but in their failings as well. Let's go back to Achilles for a moment. What was it that ultimately led to his downfall? It wasn't his infamous heel; that was his weakness, not his failing. No, Achilles' failing was his petulant arrogance--his <i>hubris</i>. Achilles makes plenty of mistakes during his story. He destroys the temple of Apollo. He refuses to take part in a major battle because he was angry at Agamemnon, leading to to the deaths of many Greeks. His petty refusal to fight then gets his cousin killed when the boy dons Achilles' armor to fight in his stead. After avenging his cousin, he refuses to return Hector's body over to the king of Troy. This in turn angers Hector's brother, leading him to kill Achilles with an arrow to the heel.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Achilles' story serves as an inspiration to the ancient Greeks, but also as a warning. We are supposed to emulate our heroes' courage and deeds, but we must also make sure to avoid their mistakes. Odysseus teaches us to use our heads when things seem impossible; his long stream of hardships teaches us not to be a braggart.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We can see the same dynamics at play with modern superheroes. Spider-Man uses his powers for personal gain until his Uncle Ben is killed by a mugger that Spider-Man chose not to stop. Batman fights crime in Gotham to make sure that no other 8 year old boy has to lose his parents to criminals. However, his obsessive focus on the systems (crime) blinds him to the true disease in Gotham (corruption, gross economic inequality). There's also his insistence on recruiting minors to help in his crusade, despite the danger that such a career entails.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flashbackuniverse.com/blogImages/DeadRobin/01DeadRobin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.flashbackuniverse.com/blogImages/DeadRobin/01DeadRobin.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Do these faults make Spider-Man or Batman lesser heroes? No. Those faults make them more compelling characters. Oddly enough, I think that a hero's flaws are just as important as their powers and triumphs. Flaws lead to mistakes, but they also lead to learning. A good hero will learn from their mistakes and will grow as a result. Other heroes will be done in by their shortcomings, and that's fine too. Such heroes literally gave their lives so that we might be better for it. And isn't that what being a hero is all about?</div>
Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-47946720879410085902013-08-26T20:56:00.000-07:002013-09-03T00:35:18.126-07:00Such Heroic Nonsense: The World Needs Heroes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/293/b/8/super_hero_by_psyshark-d4ddta0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/293/b/8/super_hero_by_psyshark-d4ddta0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/293/b/8/super_hero_by_psyshark-d4ddta0.jpg">"Super Hero" by Psyshark</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
For a long time, it wasn't cool to like superheroes. To admit that you enjoyed tales of men and women who battled crime in colorful outfits was to label yourself a "nerd" or a "dork" and find yourself ostracized by your peers. It's ironic, then, that nowadays movies like <i>The Avengers</i> and <i>The Dark Knight</i> boast some of the biggest box office numbers of all time. How did that happen? Why did it happen?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I think the truth is that we've always loved superheroes; we just didn't realize it until now.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<a name='more'></a>But how can we have "always loved superheroes?" The modern superhero movie boom is a recent phenomenon, having really only begun with 2000's <i>X-Men</i> and 2002's <i>Spider-Man</i>, or with <i>Batman Begins</i> (2005) and <i>Iron Man </i>(2008) depending on how you want to classify "modern." True, superhero movies go back farther than that, but comic book superheroes themselves have only been around since the late 1930's. Right?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In a way, yes. Superheroes have only been wearing brightly-colored tights since the late 30's, but they've been around far longer. They just looked a little different:</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://mythologypre-trojan.wikispaces.com/file/view/fronth.gif/220444782/368x324/fronth.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://mythologypre-trojan.wikispaces.com/file/view/fronth.gif/220444782/368x324/fronth.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
That right there is Heracles, better known as Hercules. Good ol' Herc has everything we've come to expect from a modern superhero: an otherworldly origin; great power and durability; a long list of adventures; a defining tragedy that leads to his greatest deeds. Heck, he even got a continuity reboot when the Romans adopted and renamed the Greek pantheon.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
But Hercules is hardly alone; all of the Greek heroes shared tropes with modern superheroes. Odysseus was a guile hero, complete with villains of his own creation. Jason gathered an early incarnation of the Justice League . Achilles had tremendous strength and a ridiculous weakness before it was cool.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Other cultures got into the hero business too, sometimes long before the Greeks. What is Beowulf if not a Norse superhero? Or Samson for that matter? Even the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest stories ever written, is essentially a superhero tale.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.livius.org/a/1/mesopotamia/gilgamesh_louvre.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.livius.org/a/1/mesopotamia/gilgamesh_louvre.JPG" width="137" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So why have these kinds of stories endured for so long? I think it is because the world can be a scary place, and these heroes help us escape to a better place.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
All fiction and entertainment is escapism in some way or another, but heroes offer us something unique: hope. Specifically, they offer the hope that the world can be a better place. Heroes have the courage to face all that which terrifies us and come out victorious. They have the power to defend those that can't defend themselves. They can bring justice to the world--and so can we if we follow their example.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Is it childish to look at spandex-clad heroes and see them as examples to follow? Perhaps. The real world is never as simple as in the comics or ancient epics. The lines between good and evil are never really as clear, and the idea of one person or a group of people being able to make a difference seems laughable in the face of the world's challenges. No matter how hard we try, nobody would be able to change the world like a superhero could.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Of course not; that's what makes them superheroes. But does that mean that we shouldn't at least try to make the world better? Of course not. Because a hero never gives up, even when things seem impossible. It's what they do. It's what they've done for thousands of years, and hopefully what they'll do for generations to come.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.scgpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/kid-super-hero-700x466.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://www.scgpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/kid-super-hero-700x466.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-69995754713901908942013-08-21T22:53:00.001-07:002013-09-03T00:36:07.781-07:00I Love It, But It Sucks: Street Fighter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/StreetFighterMoviePoster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/StreetFighterMoviePoster.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Video game movies don't exactly have the best track record. Of the maybe dozen or so that I can recall (not including anime adaptations) one would be hard pressed to find one that can really be called <i>good</i>. Even 1995's <i>Mortal Kombat</i>, which I consider to be the best video game movie ever made, has so many flaws that I would hesitate to say that it is anything other than <i>okay</i>. But <i>Mortal Kombat</i>, while arguably the best video game movie, is not my <i>favorite</i> video game movie. No, that honor belongs to a train-wreck from 1994 called <i>Street Fighter</i>.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
For the uninitiated, Street Fighter is a series of fighting games, wherein a diverse cast of martial artists beat the snot out of each other in a tournament hosted by a powerful warlord--who happens to have psychic powers. Despite its silly premise, Street Fighter is one of the longest-running and most successful fighting game franchises of all time. Way back in the early 1990's Street Fighter II or one of it's many, <i>many</i> iterations could be found in just about any arcade, movie theater or store that had space for an arcade machine. Truly, those were the glory days for every boy who loved fighting games.<br />
<br />
By 1994, the franchise was so popular that someone in Hollywood thought that it would be a great idea to bring Street Fighter to the silver screen. Presumably, said someone never saw the abomination known as 1993's <i>Super Mario Bros.</i>. In any event, the film was greenlit, and audiences were subjected to Belgian action icon Jean-Claude Van Damme pretending to be All-American Colonel William Guile.<br />
<br />
And ten-year-old me ate it up.<br />
<br />
Now as an adult, I can look back and see just how awful this movie is, and how painful the experience must have been for my Dad when he took me to the theater. There is just so much wrong with this movie, from Van Damme's laughable attempts at speech to the plot that somehow manages to make less sense than the game's. The movie fails on pretty much every level--especially as an adaptation! The characters in the movie may share the same names as their counterparts from the games, but have almost nothing else in common.<br />
<br />
Plenty of others have picked this movie and its flaws apart far better than I have, and there's nothing I can really add in that regard. But I'm not here to talk about why this movie sucks; I'm here to talk about why I still love it. And there are two simple reasons that I love this movie despite its many, many flaws: Zangief and Raul Julia's performance as M. Bison.<br />
<br />
Zangief is one of those characters who is nothing like his game counterpart. In the games, Zangief is a Soviet professional wrestler who spends his free time wrestling bears for kicks. Despite being a Soviet in the early 90's, he's actually one of the more noble characters. When he's not crushing people's heads like sparrow eggs between his thighs, that is. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Eh4f8SUp-PU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
Film Zangief, however, is one of evil M. Bison's henchmen. Though not actually evil, he still serves as Bison's muscle for most of the film. But besides serving as a henchman, he also serves as comic relief. And he is <i>brilliant</i>. Seriously, almost all of the movie's funniest scenes involve Zangief. Like when he and E. Honda duke it out in a model city, complete with Godzilla sound effects.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/xndFE1esEOc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
Or there's his earnest confusion at learning that Bison is actually a Bad Guy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/7CDvnQgarHA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
But for me, Zangief's <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SugarWiki/FunnyMoments?from=Main.CrowningMomentOfFunny">Crowning Moment of Funny</a> is this bit towards the middle of the film. General Bison and arms dealer Sagat are about to have a Mexican Standoff when bumbling con-men Ken and Ryu (who are trying to infiltrate Bison's organization at the behest of Guile) stumble into the room. Unbeknownst to them, reporter Chun-Li has rigged a truck with a bomb and sent it to blow the villains sky high. She even broadcast a message to make sure the villains knew that death was on its way. And Zangief's reaction? Priceless.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/olmkMs7314o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
I like to think that that line wasn't in the script, and that everyone's reactions happened in real time.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="236" src="http://www.rq87.flyingomelette.com/RQ/C/SFM/2/quick%20change%20the%20channel%20zangief%202.gif" width="320" /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
But as much as I love Zangief, the real reason that I love this movie is Raul Julia's M. Bison.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/1W7c8QghPxk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Now, while the filmmakers may not have been able to decide what kind of movie they were making (Action-Comedy-Drama?), Raul Julia knew <i>exactly</i> what kind of movie this was and decided to make the most of it. After all, it's not like this was going to be the worst movie he ever made.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i2.listal.com/image/2548069/600full-mystery-science-theater-3000:-overdrawn-at-the-memory-bank-screenshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://i2.listal.com/image/2548069/600full-mystery-science-theater-3000:-overdrawn-at-the-memory-bank-screenshot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Julia's performance is so balls-to-the-wall over the top that words scarcely do it justice. He plays Bison like an escaped mental patient that has thoroughly convinced himself that he's a Bond villain. And really, there's no other way to play a character like that. We're talking about a gun-runner with delusions of grandeur that uses a Street Fighter arcade stick to control his base defenses.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/comicsalliance.com/files/2013/03/sf27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/comicsalliance.com/files/2013/03/sf27.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There's a lot to love about how much fun Raul Julia was having in the role, but his best part comes during the third act. After surviving Chun-Li's attempt to assassinate him, Bison has her captured and brought to his chambers. He gives her a tour of his lair (complete with a fireplace shaped like a skull) and dons the world's most badass leisure suit while Chun-Li explains why she wanted to kill him in the first place. She explains that many years ago, Bison had raided her village and killed her father. Bison's response was so amazing that TV Tropes <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ButForMeItWasTuesday">named a page</a> after it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/oDRnVPlRzag?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Now that is classy. This guy has done so many murderous rampages that he doesn't even remember setting the heroine on her journey. Good times.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Despite the awesomeness of Raul Julia and Zangief, <i>Street Fighter</i> is still a bad movie. A lot of people (myself included) would perhaps argue that <i>Street Fighter</i> crosses that magical threshold of badness where it becomes good again. It's certainly an enjoyably bad movie, which is rare enough in this day in age. But enjoyably bad is still bad, and <i>Street Fighter</i> is most certainly bad.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Still, I can't bring myself to hate this movie, even though it sucks. Every time I watch it, I'm reminded of a younger, less cynical me that was just excited to see his favorite video game on the big screen. And sometimes, that's all that matters.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLc-L_DJOaAFiQlaLV5bT2FGQR_VusMXnH_36diHBHsPqZVOXlbvYizVuMX_xZ9V6iEV4pz1OsAF7BqQsy68d6larHLTiompMRizvdGEw__GOqTRGkR4upYOiCYV7PT7q_geQAZIJi_YA/s1600/street-fighter-movie-cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLc-L_DJOaAFiQlaLV5bT2FGQR_VusMXnH_36diHBHsPqZVOXlbvYizVuMX_xZ9V6iEV4pz1OsAF7BqQsy68d6larHLTiompMRizvdGEw__GOqTRGkR4upYOiCYV7PT7q_geQAZIJi_YA/s320/street-fighter-movie-cast.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-36853019064590138402013-08-20T20:44:00.000-07:002013-09-03T00:36:27.892-07:00Ten Things: Star Trek Into Darkness<i>(For my inaugural post here at Impossible to Please, I thought it fitting to begin with an updated version of the Facebook status update that planted the first seed of an idea.)</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2013/04/star_trek_into_darkness_poster_enterprise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/screencrush.com/files/2013/04/star_trek_into_darkness_poster_enterprise.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
I did not like <i>Star Trek Into Darkness</i>. At all. I could (and probably will) dedicate an entire blog post to why this movie is a failure and why it's a terrible omen for <i>Star Wars Episode VII</i>. When I said as much on Facebook after seeing it, one of the first comments was how I don't like anything. To prove that person wrong, I decided to come up with one thing that I liked about <i>STID</i>. That one thing became five things, which ended up ballooning to ten things. Soon I was listing ten good things in other movies I hated, plus ten bad things about movies I liked. A few months later and that idea has blossomed into the blog you see here.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
So, without further ado, I present:<br />
<br />
<b>Ten Positive Things About <i>Star Trek </i></b><i><b>Into Darkness</b></i><br />
<br />
1. I liked it better than the 2009 <i>Trek</i><b>. </b>That isn't much, since I think the first one is an overrated pile of space debris, but still.<br />
<i><b> </b></i><br />
2. Carl Urban is much better as Bones this time around. In fact, he's one of my favorite parts of the film. And this from a guy who <i>hated</i><b> </b>his turn as the character in 2009.<br />
<br />
3. Simon Pegg.<br />
<br />
4. I enjoyed Zachary Quinto's Spock more this time around. Probably because he doesn't spend 90% of the movie with that dumb, smug smirk he had in the previous movie.<br />
<br />
5. Chris Pine's Kirk is slightly less punchable this time around. He's still an obnoxious DudeBro, though.<br />
<br />
6. Admiral Pike's<a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheReasonYouSuckSpeech"> Reason You Suck Speech</a> to Kirk was <b>epic</b>. He pointed out everything wrong with this interpretation of Kirk (and also the biggest problem with the first film) in under two minutes. The fact that Kirk is trying to filibuster the whole time (thereby making Pike's point for him) is just icing on the cake.<br />
<br />
7. Speaking of Admiral Pike, those sideburns were spectacular. They will be missed.<br />
<br />
8. The special effects are still really good (minus the lens flares).<br />
<br />
9. Sulu is still awesome...but still has nothing to do.<br />
<br />
10. Benedict Cumberpatch is a fun name to say.Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2345115822480654763.post-12498573075393724182013-08-20T18:16:00.000-07:002013-08-21T22:57:33.740-07:00Mission Statement: Here There Be RantingIt's hard to pinpoint where all of this started, but I'm pretty sure that it started with the first JJ Abrams <i>Star Trek</i>. To say that I didn't care for that movie would be an understatement on par with calling the Grand Canyon "kind of big." I <i>despise</i> that movie, and I let all my friends know how I felt. A lot. Probably more than was socially acceptable, and maybe even more than the film deserved. But whenever I brought up how much I hated <i>Star Trek</i>, my friends would always respond the same way:<br />
<br />
"Matt, you hate <i>everything</i>," they'd chuckle.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
Well, allow me to set the record straight--I don't actually hate everything. I hate <i>lots</i> of things, sure, but I also <i>love</i> lots of things too. I love plenty of books, movies, comics, games and stage plays. I love good ones, bad ones and some frankly embarrassing ones. In fact, my tastes are so eclectic and spread over so many different media that it took me a while to finally realized what I really loved.<br />
<br />
I love <b>stories</b>.<br />
<br />
I love to be taken away; to follow characters along their journeys and see how they end. I love to be moved by their triumphs and crushed by their defeats. Even a bad story can grab my attention as long as the telling is good (or So Bad It's Good).<br />
<br />
What I can't stand is waste. Whether it be wasted effort, time or especially potential, I hate it when stories are wasteful. It's not a matter of things being bad, per se. There are plenty of things I think are bad that I never get worked up over. No, I get worked up over stories that have something brilliant (or at the least entertaining) and waste it.<br />
<br />
I don't get worked up because they're <i>bad</i>; I get worked up because I know they could be <i>better!</i><br />
<br />
This blog is going to be a conduit for me to rant and gush about the things I hate and the things I love. I'll be covering many different topics and many different media, with an emphasis on film, animation, books and comics. As time goes on I may add new features and topics, but here's a sampling of the types of columns you'll find on this blog:<br />
<i> </i><br />
<b><u>Ten Things</u></b><br />
<br />
In this column, I will prove that I can find ten things I liked about movies I hated--and that I can find ten things I hated about movies I liked.<br />
<b><u> </u></b><i></i><br />
<b><u>I Love It, But It Sucks</u></b><br />
<br />
Here I'll talk about something that I enjoy that in no way deserves my positive feelings, and why I love it even though it sucks.<br />
<b><u> </u></b><br />
<b><u>Such Heroic Nonsense</u></b><br />
<br />
Wherein I talk comics and superheroes and why they're among my favorite kinds of stories.<br />
<br />
<u><b>Blood, Sweat and Chairshots</b></u><br />
<br />
Professional wrestling is one of the most bizarre forms of storytelling, but I also find it to be one of the most fascinating. Whether it be Pay-Per-View reviews, angle retrospectives, or just analyzing a single match, I hope to show you why I love a pretend sport.<u><b> </b></u><br />
<br />
<br />
Again, more columns will follow, so please stay tuned!Matticus Rexxorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12782480846640669204noreply@blogger.com0