An amazing story (that I'm assuming is true) about the journey of a girl (along with her mother and the rest of her family) from age 11 to college graduation from Harvard. [I just spoiled the ending there for you.] Amazing lady. Amazing mother and family. Brooke Ellison is a quadrapelic (or maybe it is paraplegic). Brooke Ellison is a summa cum laude Harvard graduate (or maybe that was just her senior thesis?). At the time that the film was made, she was working on her doctorate.
I think that qualifies for "inspirational story".
The movie is biographical. End messages connect to the Christopher Reeves Foundation (which makes sense since it was directed by Christopher Reeves).
Not a bad way to spend a Sunday evening. Just not much more to say about it. Maybe that means the movie speaks for itself.
Maybe watch it on Mother's Day.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Thursday, October 16, 2014
"Red Dawn" (2012)
When I read the one line description of this movie, I didn't read it close enough. I saw "Korean" and thought this movie was set on foreign soil. Nope. I've not seen any zombie movies, but "Zombie Apocalypse" without the zombies is sure what came to mind. It's a war/guerrilla movie, set on American soil. In Seattle.
It has some warm moments--there are girls--but it's more about brothers bonding and the younger growing up some. The ending isn't a "everything comes out all right" kind of ending. Shoot, everyone in the starting group doesn't make it to the end. (I told you "zombie apocalypse without the zombies", didn't I?) So, it's not a "feel good" ending. More of
an enobling one. I suppose. [Is war enobling?] Prefaced right before it with a moment that dropped MY jaw. Didn't see that coming. Definitely not a "good guys never die" kind of movie.
So, if you like action movies--like Bourne Identity--this might have some of that flavor of action. Main characters die or, for other reasons, don't make it to the end of the movie in the group. Guess that makes it realistic. So, if you want a happy ending or want an ending where the protagonist wins, this isn't that movie. But if you just want to see some "blow 'em up" action mixed with "we're real people" dynamics, real people that make decisions that you understand, that aren't easy, and different people making different decisions in similar situations. That's the movie that this is. Those decisions could be some discussion starters.
And set in near-present day American Seattle. Yeah. That's not "somewhere else." That can get you thinking, too.
Favorite lines: "We're trying to link up with a group of insurgents working in the area. Call themselves Wolverines. You ever hear of them?" ... "We're the Wolverines." "I was afraid of that."
and "Marines don't die, they go to hell and regroup." [Thanks, IMDB, but what's that comma splice doing in there?]
So, I think I recommend this movie. It's a good movie for the right kind of mood. You just gotta know what you're in for, though, then it will live up to it.
Monday, October 6, 2014
"Peter & the Wolf" (2006)
This is a half hour film--Polish, I believe--of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. Now, I grew up listening to Leonard Bernstein's Peter and the Wolf.
I can't tell you how much I listened to that as a kid and how delighted I was to find that old record on a CD as an adult. I couldn't but hear Bernstein's voice in my head. Nevertheless, adaptations of familiar works are a good thing. This adaptation certainly made me wonder how much of Bernstein's version was Bernstein's two cents and how much was Prokofiev's. No dialog in this version; so you don't need to worry about Polish or subtitles.
I was pleased with this adaptation. It's primarily puppet (no puppet strings, just orchestra ones) with digital assist. (That's how I read it.) I was intrigued by when she chose to start the music in this story.
And that cat!!! Garfield has nuthin' on this fat cat. Trust me, this is one, fat. cat. And there are a couple of moments that made laugh out loud. And suspense of story--even for a familiar story--came from some interesting places. I also definitely didn't guess that ending. Thought I knew. Nope. Quite the duck. Only actor who could have carried off that part, I guess, in spite of what is typical of ducks in general (tongue in cheek).
That cat!!! :D
[According to IMDB, this movie won an Oscar for best animated short film. Director and writer is Suzie Templeton.]
I can't tell you how much I listened to that as a kid and how delighted I was to find that old record on a CD as an adult. I couldn't but hear Bernstein's voice in my head. Nevertheless, adaptations of familiar works are a good thing. This adaptation certainly made me wonder how much of Bernstein's version was Bernstein's two cents and how much was Prokofiev's. No dialog in this version; so you don't need to worry about Polish or subtitles.
I was pleased with this adaptation. It's primarily puppet (no puppet strings, just orchestra ones) with digital assist. (That's how I read it.) I was intrigued by when she chose to start the music in this story.
And that cat!!! Garfield has nuthin' on this fat cat. Trust me, this is one, fat. cat. And there are a couple of moments that made laugh out loud. And suspense of story--even for a familiar story--came from some interesting places. I also definitely didn't guess that ending. Thought I knew. Nope. Quite the duck. Only actor who could have carried off that part, I guess, in spite of what is typical of ducks in general (tongue in cheek).
That cat!!! :D
[According to IMDB, this movie won an Oscar for best animated short film. Director and writer is Suzie Templeton.]
Saturday, September 27, 2014
"Despicable Me" (2010)
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this movie. I didn't know anything about it, not even a trailer. I was quite satisfied with the movie, enjoyed it, and even surprised myself with needing some kleenexs near the end. Nice movie.
The flashback threw me off. I realized what it was the 2nd time it happened.
Oh! and it had "Coco-cabana". :)
The flashback threw me off. I realized what it was the 2nd time it happened.
Oh! and it had "Coco-cabana". :)
Sunday, September 7, 2014
"A Werewolf Boy" (2012)
Foreign film (subtitles). Korean I think. (Yep, Korean.)
It has parts of lots of stories from before, but puts it together as it's own. Could I even begin to list them all? Part romance, part sci-fi. Okay, mostly childhood romance with the romance of Titanic as it's flavor. Sci-fi like the incredible hulk--enough to make the romance stand out as unique, but not so much that you feel like you're only watching a sci-fi movie. And nobody kisses. So then is it really a romance? And I think there are connections to "Beauty and the Beast". The romance, I suppose, is more like Tarzan, except maybe a better ending. (Okay, I don't know how tarzan ends. Maybe I'm thinking Jungle Book?) Save this movie when you feel like savoring the small moments, not when you want fast-paced story or tons of action. (Okay, even I fast forwarded once or twice, but the forwarding didn't last long--and the parts turned out to be important, one of which at the end of the movie I went back to see.) Also brings up questions (not surprisingly) of "Who is the real beast?" with all the expected answers--but it's nice to hear them asked again anyway.
I think I expected this movie to be a "fail" and turn into a thriller/horror flick. Or a drama that turned boring after the first half hour passed. But neither was the case, and I was rather pleased with it. The Sci-Fi-ness was probably closer to X-Men premise then anything.
I think the only point of improvement I could think would be maybe the movie cover art work. Guess a person judges a lot about a movie by the "front cover" and that made it hard to see what this movie was going to be like. But the front cover wasn't wrong either. Kind of sets up your expectations--and then maybe (if you're observant) you catch what your expectations are and realize that you aren't on the inside circle, the inside circle of the two characters you're rooting for.
And that "creepy" walk up to the door? The one where there's "always" music to heighten... Well, that was kindly left out. No music. So, you had to guess yourself. Will you be startled? Will there even be anything there? What will you find? Should you open the door? Or are you just being ridiculous?
So, there you go. A title that is accurate, yet misleading. A front cover that is misleading, yet appropriate. A sci-fi movie that hardly feels like, yet it is. The feel of a romance yet it isn't, not strictly. I think I was glad I spent the time.
It has parts of lots of stories from before, but puts it together as it's own. Could I even begin to list them all? Part romance, part sci-fi. Okay, mostly childhood romance with the romance of Titanic as it's flavor. Sci-fi like the incredible hulk--enough to make the romance stand out as unique, but not so much that you feel like you're only watching a sci-fi movie. And nobody kisses. So then is it really a romance? And I think there are connections to "Beauty and the Beast". The romance, I suppose, is more like Tarzan, except maybe a better ending. (Okay, I don't know how tarzan ends. Maybe I'm thinking Jungle Book?) Save this movie when you feel like savoring the small moments, not when you want fast-paced story or tons of action. (Okay, even I fast forwarded once or twice, but the forwarding didn't last long--and the parts turned out to be important, one of which at the end of the movie I went back to see.) Also brings up questions (not surprisingly) of "Who is the real beast?" with all the expected answers--but it's nice to hear them asked again anyway.
I think I expected this movie to be a "fail" and turn into a thriller/horror flick. Or a drama that turned boring after the first half hour passed. But neither was the case, and I was rather pleased with it. The Sci-Fi-ness was probably closer to X-Men premise then anything.
I think the only point of improvement I could think would be maybe the movie cover art work. Guess a person judges a lot about a movie by the "front cover" and that made it hard to see what this movie was going to be like. But the front cover wasn't wrong either. Kind of sets up your expectations--and then maybe (if you're observant) you catch what your expectations are and realize that you aren't on the inside circle, the inside circle of the two characters you're rooting for.
And that "creepy" walk up to the door? The one where there's "always" music to heighten... Well, that was kindly left out. No music. So, you had to guess yourself. Will you be startled? Will there even be anything there? What will you find? Should you open the door? Or are you just being ridiculous?
So, there you go. A title that is accurate, yet misleading. A front cover that is misleading, yet appropriate. A sci-fi movie that hardly feels like, yet it is. The feel of a romance yet it isn't, not strictly. I think I was glad I spent the time.
Friday, September 5, 2014
"Legend of the Legendary Heroes"--episodes "Rule Fragment" & "Twilight" (2010)
Any regular readers of my blog should notice that I've talked about the trouble TV series present to writing reviews--It's a challenge to write one review for something that can change its character, or to watch it all before saying anything. Therefore, I tend not to worry about keeping track of what I think about TV shows, with occasional exceptions.
This show is one of those exceptions. First, I can't say that I've watched very many of the episodes in order. And I've certainly not seen all of them. See, they're written like a book--one episode leads to another--as opposed to stand alone episodes that you can generally watch in any order without missing too much--or that start and end in a self-concluding way. Maybe my skipping around (watching a few early episodes, skipping a few, watching a few skipping a bunch, watching the last one. etc.) is because I'm impatient with a series where you have to watch all of it (overlapping stories I understand as a current television style of writing, but "you have to watch/buy the next story to finish this one" to me is also a "cheap shot" at getting people to watch based on blackmail instead of quality writing). Maybe my skipping around is a search for the heart, the nugget of what intrigues me, of what I enjoy analyzing, of the search for those rare moments when TV/movie making actually captures something. For me, this show--and specifically these two back-to-back episodes--do that. They capture something. I'm just not sure I've figured out what.
Now, I'm not saying this show is any kind of moral allegory. It doesn't seem to me to set out to do that. And if it is intentional, I either am not spotting it, or am not up enough on that sort of knowledge to identify it. (I'll leave that to some of my more read theological friends.) But there are some elements in this story that touch on some of the important spiritual ideas in life.
I can't say enough that I'm not saying this is a perfect moral allegory. I'm not saying it is a moral allegory. And I'm not saying I'm right. But watching the bits and pieces of this show as I have, there is something here that shouts itself. And it's that that I want to try and point out. Because my experience has been that if it shouts to me, then it is worth pointing out. (And please pardon my brief unusual excursion into summary-exposition that follows.)
First off, for you to see where I am coming from, there might need to be some watching of the first few episodes of this show to get a handle of what is what and who is who in this particular fantasy world. The two episodes that I'm specifically reviewing are numbers 9 & 10 of the first season. One main character is "Ryner Lute". Ryner is an outcast, but not because of behavior, or race, or culture; but because he is a person (like others who are rare but who are encountered--kind of like that occasional "witch" you meet in medieval tales) who is a bearer of the "alpha stigma". The other character I'll mention in this post is his quest companion "Ferris Eris".
I like super hero movies/TV shows, especially the first part where the super hero first gets his/her super hero powers. He/She goes "AAAAhh! What's happening to me?" But then they get the hang of it, decide to use it for good, and go out an "kick some butt." That in-between struggle of identity is what I find most intriguing. The end result and the appeal of super heroes doesn't surprise me, and isn't nearly as intriguing. Usually makes for just a decent ending to a movie. As far as I'm concerned, it just leaves all the "good" stuff behind at the beginning of the story. Why isn't this appeal surprising? Because it is the same thing that happened in the fall in the Garden of Eden--mankind wants to be God, wants to be King, the center of the universe, all powerful. So, are super heroes trying to be God? or trying to be a "savior"-figure in said stories? It's an interesting question, but a side tangent to this post. My point is that it is predictable. Unsurprising. Yet again the hero can do cool stuff. He is powerful. She has superpowers. It's presented as desirable. Perhaps we want to be able to do the cool stuff they do. Or perhaps we want to see that it's possible to be saved--something also deeply desired by everyone.
And that's where this show departs so far. Ryner is not only powerful, but pretty much over-the-top unstopable. But it is not desirable. It is a curse. Something shunned. Something that makes people run. It makes people want nothing to do with him. Ryner can't control it. Doesn't want it. Because this curse--the "alpha stigma" that he carries, that enables him to turn back and defeat the bad guys--also takes over and sets him on a course to destroy everybody and everything around him. That is not what you typically see in super heroes. And I'm not just talking Incredible Hulk destruction. I'm talking atomic bomb.
And how much louder can it shout as the picture of sin? The sin, the alpha stigma is inside. It can't be gotten rid of. It destroys. It is barely controllable. No one wants it. It causes death. And isn't defeatable--by normal, un-godlike humans. And by "it" I mean both sin and Ryner's alpha stigma. Life means nothing to Ryner because of how his alpha stigma (read sin) has affected his life. Tell me this doesn't resonate with the spiritual warfare that is inside each of us.
Again, how many super heroes have a "superpower" that is so destructive they never, ever wanted it. Not just momentarily, or at certain parts of the story, until they come to peace with it. Or until they decide to use it for good. With Season 1, as I scan it, this just is not the pattern for Ryner. He's never wanted it. He can't get rid of it; not an option. He can't use it for good because it is uncontrollably destructive. And it only comes out when triggered, when backed into a corner. And then it is never a last resort choice for Ryner. It is no choice. It surfaces unbidden, unasked for. The Incredible Hulk changes back when he calms down. Not even a possibility for Ryner. It takes someone else to help him squelch it down into something still there just below the surface, a "monster" waiting to come out again. In these two episodes, it is Ferris who helps him fight it back into barely submerged something inside of Ryner. After which, Ryner breaks down in tears, completely broken over who he is, of what he is.
And Ferris is the other intriguing element in a completely unrelated way. Female. She is sure Ryner is a "sex fiend" just because he is male and exists. (He truly does nothing of any sort of notion to support Ferris's accusations. He doesn't flirt with anyone. Doesn't try to kiss her or any female. Nothing. He'd as soon just sleep the rest of his life away. She accuses Ryner anyway.) She's an incredibly powerful swordsman from a very dysfunctional family. (Her brother used to strangle her to put her to sleep at night. At least in this episode, she sees nothing unusual about this.) Her motivation? Her deepest thing to fight for or to use to persuade her to do something, or not do something else? A food item called "dango". (The animation draws it as colorful round bite-sized things [appetizers? candy?] on a stick.) Threaten to raze the only decent dango shop in their world and you unleash the fury of a woman to do what ever it is you want. It is a dramatization of all the chocoholic shirts, mugs, and posters you've ever seen. Give her her dango, and no one gets hurt. Refuse and you have the best swordsman in their world pointing her sword at your throat.
And this is who can convince a "I've given up on living" to leave his nap to go on the next quest? (It's persuasion by sword point in case you had any doubts. And the price of a nap so she'll leave him alone? Dango, of course.) Is this what the "angel in the house" who can "save" by changing the unsaveable crossed with "females can be strong leads, too" looks like? This doesn't read to me like an attempt to either hold up both genders as equal, or as any kind of "lets throw a female in for romantic tension". I just don't have a label for this yet--or a finished analysis of her for that matter. She's a puzzle to me, a literary puzzle.
A female who is the highest sword master of anyone (that I can see) in this little world who holds familiar yet puzzling, but completely believable patterns of behavior and reasons of motivation is traveling with a characterization of our morally "original sin" sinful selves. Ryner stuck with something uncontrolable who has no answers and no hope. Ferris who gets him to interact with life in a quasi-useful way.
I told you this was puzzlingly intriguing. And definitely nothing I've finished figuring out.
[series also known as Densetsu no yuusha no densetsu]
This show is one of those exceptions. First, I can't say that I've watched very many of the episodes in order. And I've certainly not seen all of them. See, they're written like a book--one episode leads to another--as opposed to stand alone episodes that you can generally watch in any order without missing too much--or that start and end in a self-concluding way. Maybe my skipping around (watching a few early episodes, skipping a few, watching a few skipping a bunch, watching the last one. etc.) is because I'm impatient with a series where you have to watch all of it (overlapping stories I understand as a current television style of writing, but "you have to watch/buy the next story to finish this one" to me is also a "cheap shot" at getting people to watch based on blackmail instead of quality writing). Maybe my skipping around is a search for the heart, the nugget of what intrigues me, of what I enjoy analyzing, of the search for those rare moments when TV/movie making actually captures something. For me, this show--and specifically these two back-to-back episodes--do that. They capture something. I'm just not sure I've figured out what.
Now, I'm not saying this show is any kind of moral allegory. It doesn't seem to me to set out to do that. And if it is intentional, I either am not spotting it, or am not up enough on that sort of knowledge to identify it. (I'll leave that to some of my more read theological friends.) But there are some elements in this story that touch on some of the important spiritual ideas in life.
I can't say enough that I'm not saying this is a perfect moral allegory. I'm not saying it is a moral allegory. And I'm not saying I'm right. But watching the bits and pieces of this show as I have, there is something here that shouts itself. And it's that that I want to try and point out. Because my experience has been that if it shouts to me, then it is worth pointing out. (And please pardon my brief unusual excursion into summary-exposition that follows.)
First off, for you to see where I am coming from, there might need to be some watching of the first few episodes of this show to get a handle of what is what and who is who in this particular fantasy world. The two episodes that I'm specifically reviewing are numbers 9 & 10 of the first season. One main character is "Ryner Lute". Ryner is an outcast, but not because of behavior, or race, or culture; but because he is a person (like others who are rare but who are encountered--kind of like that occasional "witch" you meet in medieval tales) who is a bearer of the "alpha stigma". The other character I'll mention in this post is his quest companion "Ferris Eris".
I like super hero movies/TV shows, especially the first part where the super hero first gets his/her super hero powers. He/She goes "AAAAhh! What's happening to me?" But then they get the hang of it, decide to use it for good, and go out an "kick some butt." That in-between struggle of identity is what I find most intriguing. The end result and the appeal of super heroes doesn't surprise me, and isn't nearly as intriguing. Usually makes for just a decent ending to a movie. As far as I'm concerned, it just leaves all the "good" stuff behind at the beginning of the story. Why isn't this appeal surprising? Because it is the same thing that happened in the fall in the Garden of Eden--mankind wants to be God, wants to be King, the center of the universe, all powerful. So, are super heroes trying to be God? or trying to be a "savior"-figure in said stories? It's an interesting question, but a side tangent to this post. My point is that it is predictable. Unsurprising. Yet again the hero can do cool stuff. He is powerful. She has superpowers. It's presented as desirable. Perhaps we want to be able to do the cool stuff they do. Or perhaps we want to see that it's possible to be saved--something also deeply desired by everyone.
And that's where this show departs so far. Ryner is not only powerful, but pretty much over-the-top unstopable. But it is not desirable. It is a curse. Something shunned. Something that makes people run. It makes people want nothing to do with him. Ryner can't control it. Doesn't want it. Because this curse--the "alpha stigma" that he carries, that enables him to turn back and defeat the bad guys--also takes over and sets him on a course to destroy everybody and everything around him. That is not what you typically see in super heroes. And I'm not just talking Incredible Hulk destruction. I'm talking atomic bomb.
And how much louder can it shout as the picture of sin? The sin, the alpha stigma is inside. It can't be gotten rid of. It destroys. It is barely controllable. No one wants it. It causes death. And isn't defeatable--by normal, un-godlike humans. And by "it" I mean both sin and Ryner's alpha stigma. Life means nothing to Ryner because of how his alpha stigma (read sin) has affected his life. Tell me this doesn't resonate with the spiritual warfare that is inside each of us.
Again, how many super heroes have a "superpower" that is so destructive they never, ever wanted it. Not just momentarily, or at certain parts of the story, until they come to peace with it. Or until they decide to use it for good. With Season 1, as I scan it, this just is not the pattern for Ryner. He's never wanted it. He can't get rid of it; not an option. He can't use it for good because it is uncontrollably destructive. And it only comes out when triggered, when backed into a corner. And then it is never a last resort choice for Ryner. It is no choice. It surfaces unbidden, unasked for. The Incredible Hulk changes back when he calms down. Not even a possibility for Ryner. It takes someone else to help him squelch it down into something still there just below the surface, a "monster" waiting to come out again. In these two episodes, it is Ferris who helps him fight it back into barely submerged something inside of Ryner. After which, Ryner breaks down in tears, completely broken over who he is, of what he is.
And Ferris is the other intriguing element in a completely unrelated way. Female. She is sure Ryner is a "sex fiend" just because he is male and exists. (He truly does nothing of any sort of notion to support Ferris's accusations. He doesn't flirt with anyone. Doesn't try to kiss her or any female. Nothing. He'd as soon just sleep the rest of his life away. She accuses Ryner anyway.) She's an incredibly powerful swordsman from a very dysfunctional family. (Her brother used to strangle her to put her to sleep at night. At least in this episode, she sees nothing unusual about this.) Her motivation? Her deepest thing to fight for or to use to persuade her to do something, or not do something else? A food item called "dango". (The animation draws it as colorful round bite-sized things [appetizers? candy?] on a stick.) Threaten to raze the only decent dango shop in their world and you unleash the fury of a woman to do what ever it is you want. It is a dramatization of all the chocoholic shirts, mugs, and posters you've ever seen. Give her her dango, and no one gets hurt. Refuse and you have the best swordsman in their world pointing her sword at your throat.
And this is who can convince a "I've given up on living" to leave his nap to go on the next quest? (It's persuasion by sword point in case you had any doubts. And the price of a nap so she'll leave him alone? Dango, of course.) Is this what the "angel in the house" who can "save" by changing the unsaveable crossed with "females can be strong leads, too" looks like? This doesn't read to me like an attempt to either hold up both genders as equal, or as any kind of "lets throw a female in for romantic tension". I just don't have a label for this yet--or a finished analysis of her for that matter. She's a puzzle to me, a literary puzzle.
A female who is the highest sword master of anyone (that I can see) in this little world who holds familiar yet puzzling, but completely believable patterns of behavior and reasons of motivation is traveling with a characterization of our morally "original sin" sinful selves. Ryner stuck with something uncontrolable who has no answers and no hope. Ferris who gets him to interact with life in a quasi-useful way.
I told you this was puzzlingly intriguing. And definitely nothing I've finished figuring out.
[series also known as Densetsu no yuusha no densetsu]
Saturday, August 16, 2014
"Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away" (2012)
When I look at the first movies made in color, I see a certain "Look at the cool things we can do now!" that interlaced the films. There was still acting and plot and such, but there was a certain degree of thought given towards the visual. This is not to say directors don't do that now, but today's visual is for a different purpose--the visual's contribution towards the story, or the setting, or the character, or the symbolic--not for the pleasure of visual in and of itself.
Then there's the joy of story telling through dance. I remember enjoying this pleasure through The Lord of the Dance, but it sure not something that is very pervasive in American culture. A pity.
So, Cirque du Soleil--as so many know--embraces the joy of the visual for it's own sake, and story telling through dance.
On top of all that, is the joy of seeing athletic prowess being used to create something beautiful. Something more that is very sorely lacking in American culture in general. How came we to lose storytelling through dance? or the pleasure of the visual for something other than, shall we say, "courting ritual"?
This particular Cirque du Soleil taps into our romanticized notions of pirates, and childhood memories of watching the circus on TV.
Now I want to watch The Lord of the Dance again. And this Worlds Away again. Both at the same time.
The pleasure of the visual
Then there's the joy of story telling through dance. I remember enjoying this pleasure through The Lord of the Dance, but it sure not something that is very pervasive in American culture. A pity.
So, Cirque du Soleil--as so many know--embraces the joy of the visual for it's own sake, and story telling through dance.
On top of all that, is the joy of seeing athletic prowess being used to create something beautiful. Something more that is very sorely lacking in American culture in general. How came we to lose storytelling through dance? or the pleasure of the visual for something other than, shall we say, "courting ritual"?
This particular Cirque du Soleil taps into our romanticized notions of pirates, and childhood memories of watching the circus on TV.
Now I want to watch The Lord of the Dance again. And this Worlds Away again. Both at the same time.
The pleasure of the visual
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)