tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83841139210081071212024-02-07T04:19:37.646-05:00Pete Saves (Hollywood)I'm a writer. In this blog I write about TV, movies, and how I'd write them.
Are lots of them perfectly entertaining? Sure. But after reading this blog, you have to admit, if they were done my way, they'd be better.Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-67100849815302687162020-03-30T22:58:00.002-04:002020-09-11T12:43:23.477-04:00Obi-Wan Kenobi is getting his own TV show: Here’s the Story I’D Tell<p> Hi!</p><p>My name is Pete, and I sometimes like to write down how I <em>would</em> <em>have</em> written a movie or a TV series and post about it at <a href="http://petesaves.us">http://petesaves.us</a>. Sometimes, I write down how I <em>would</em> write a movie or TV series before that movie or TV series is even released--I wrote my own Star Wars Episode 3 screenplay back during the weeks following Episode 2's release, for instance. ANYway, I am a trained writer with some experience writing in Hollywood (even for <em>pay</em> sometimes!), though I live in NYC now and have a book on Amazon that I self-published. So have a look at my logline and synopsis for the Obi-Wan Kenobi series as I would write it below. It is called:</p><p>KENOBI: SHADOW OF THE JEDI</p><p>Logline: When a seasoned veteran of a brutal war is forced to be alone with the sorrow and pain of losing not just friends and fellow soldiers, but of everything he has ever known, he struggles to focus on keeping a young boy safe. But his mind may not let him...he may even have to go dark.</p><p>Synopsis: Dealing with galactic PTSD after narrowly surviving a war that seemed to have turned his best friend to the Dark Side, Obi-Wan Kenobi struggles to keep focus on his duty to protect young Luke Skywalker, while simultaneously trying to lay low, and somehow get over the incredible loss and failure he's just experienced. He gets a job at what passes for a diner in Anchorhead, not far from the Lars Homestead on Tatooine. Eventually allowing himself to make friends with some locals, and some from out of town, he holds his dark demons at bay, but it is a constant struggle. In public, he is quiet, does a good job waiting tables and whatever else his boss needs. But at night, he trains to stay fit, battle-ready, and sane all while using the Force as little as possible just in case. It's a challenge, not only because he needs to use it to keep tabs on young Luke, but because nightmares of Anakin's massacres and Kenobi's own failure to save more lives haunt him by night and visions of people he once knew haunt him by day. One living friend he's made is a female Weequay named Aiiko who is trying to buck the stereotype that all Weequay are roughnecks and thugs by being a successful local real estate broker--the most successful in Anchorhead--at least that is her plan.</p><p>If dealing with his demons isn't enough, Aiiko has found “Ben,” as he is now known, to be her good luck charm. Since he served her that first Ronto Morning Wrap, she's had a string of good fortune. Things change, however, when a rival developer comes to town to open a casino and in the process brings intergalactic organized crime to Anchorhead. Wanting to keep Anchorhead a safe, reputable place, this makes Aiiko's job very hard to do. So, Ben pays the developer a visit, telling him politely to take his business elsewhere. When the developer fails to take Kenobi's advice, Aiiko is distraught, convinced she will lose her business and everything she had tried to do for the town--trying to bring investors and make the lives of our neighbors better. She asks Ben to talk to the developer again (or maybe more than just talk) but Ben knows he has to lay low and he knows he is just not right in the head. He is still seeing the dead all around him, some seem so real... but that night, a dark, hooded figure busts up the developer's casino and the developer's thugs. The next day, word travels quickly that the casino and all related businesses have been shut down and the developer has left the planet. Aiiko is sure it was Ben who busted up the place, but he insists it wasn't him and in fact, is <em>sure</em> it wasn't him.</p><p>Soon, there's a new Weequay in town--Aiiko's brother happens to be visiting. He had a deal to pick up a shipment of spice from a local businessman new to the planet, but his casino and offices are closed--no one knows what happened to him. Aiiko tells him everything--a story that ends with how her good friend Ben drove the guy off-world, singlehandedly. He asks to meet this friend--that's when they recognize each other. But Ben, having grown out a long beard and showing some age, tells Aiiko's brother and old “friend” (and sometime enemy) from the Clone Wars, Hondo, that Ben is not who he thinks he is. Hondo insists Ben is Kenobi, but Ben doesn't give in. Ben also denies having anything to do with driving the developer from the planet. Hondo gives up and continues his search elsewhere, eventually learning the developer left for Batuu. He lets Aiiko know that he's headed there next but that he's a little worried about traveling by himself--the guys he was supposed to deliver the spice to is probably after him now. Aiiko begs Ben to go with him, and Hondo admits he could use the help. Ben and Aiiko go with Hondo to Batuu only to discover it's a trap that Hondo was paid by the developer to set. Ben realizes fighting back will only raise his profile so he lets them beat him down. He wakes, chained to a wall in the developer’s office. Only, as Ben admits, he is not feeling himself. He uses the Force to end the developer and his thugs once and for all but falls short of killing Hondo. Hondo tells Aiiko a nutshell-version of who Ben really is ending with the fact that "He's got a lot of baggage from the war. But how many of us don't?"</p><p>Aiiko, being disgusted with her brother's betrayal, nurses Ben back to health on Batuu and they board a transport back to Tatooine. Aboard the transport, they meet two people: Azkaya, a blue skinned Pantoran and Wyshok a pale skinned human. Both are investors looking for somewhere to put their credits. Aiiko goes into sales-mode and talks up her new plan for "Little Coruscant"--she wants to turn Anchorhead and then Tatooine into the Coruscant of the Outer Rim but that Azkaya and Wyshok can be in on the ground floor of this exciting opportunity. "You really are Hondo's sister," Ben says.</p><p>The two investors are intrigued by the possibilities and decide to take Aiiko up on her offer and come with them to Tatooine. Once back on the desert planet, Ben learns from Aiiko that her new investors are interested in buying up farmland-- farmland that includes the Lars Homestead. Ben is immediately suspicious and, after nightfall, heads out to check on Luke when he sees Azkaya and Wyshock approaching the Lars' front door on foot. Instead, they circle around and head out into the farmland, itself. Ben follows, using the Force to hide his presence from their senses. He follows them until they stop and hold their hands out over a spot of sand and seem to use the Force to cause the sand to clear a hole. Ben is immediately drawn to their side where he begins to help them, holding out his own hand, and using the Force. They eventually clear an opening to a tunnel carved out of solid bedrock. "I knew you were like us!" Azkaya says.</p><p>Not thinking, Ben follows them down the tunnel and both of his new friends exhibit abilities only Force wielders have. Finally, they enter a massive cavern, inside of which is an equally massive and ancient temple. Azkaya and Wyshock are overjoyed, so happy they've finally found it. "But this is a Sith temple," Ben says.</p><p>"We know," Wyshok says as Ben looks down at his had to find a lightsaber in it. Instinctively, he activates it, only the blade that appears is <em>blood red</em>. Ben's eyes are red with the reflection of the blade as he looks at the others. "Tell me more..."</p><p>END OF SEASON 1</p><p>I have a LOT of other details that are left out of the above. Fun stuff like random customers to the diner graphically reminding him of those he saw die in the war and of Anakin's victims. I also have this idea that maybe one of the visions of the dead is a real (Force) ghost. Also, I think my idea for the weapon he trains with and ultimately uses to bust up the casino is pretty cool (hint: it's <em>not</em> a lightsaber).</p><p>So, that's the general idea of what I would do. Hit me up on Twitter if you want to tell me what you think. If it's just a lot of very negative criticism, I hope you won't mind when I don't reply. I am open to constructive criticism, of course.</p><p>OH and STAR WARS and all the already existing characters I mention above are (c) Lucasfilm and Disney.</p>Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-63218749538077487222018-04-12T12:00:00.000-04:002018-04-14T19:57:40.353-04:00TIME TO SAVE HOLLYWOOD AGAINSo, it’s been a while since I posted on my movie/TV blog at <a href="http://petesaves.us/">http://PeteSaves.US</a> and it’s been somewhat intentional. There has been such an explosion of good quality TV and movies over the last couple years, I just haven’t felt compelled to write about much. Combine that with my busy schedule working on my own creative projects (<a href="http://caffeinated.space/">http://caffeinated.space</a>, <a href="http://petesfiction.blogspot.com/">petesfiction.blogspot.com</a> and <a href="http://pete.ink/">more</a>), it’s been hard to carve out time to help Hollywood in the ways it still really does need my help. I mean, did you see the last STAR WARS movie? Holy Jar-Jar Binks, Batman! That movie was divisive as a STAR WARS movie, but it also had some issues just as a <i>movie</i> movie.<br />
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I know you probably don’t need the above exposition but I wanted to have some sort of explanation available for anyone who notices the massive gap in post dates. I'm a little obsessive like that, myself, which is a good trait for any writer.<br />
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Watch for new posts about 2016's WONDER WOMAN, 2017's BLADE RUNNER 2049, and, duh, STAR WARS: EPISODE 8: THE LAST JEDI, <i>coming soon! </i><br />
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<i>In fact, </i>probably this Thursday!<br />
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While you wait, why not scroll back through my earlier posts and see what’s there? Then follow me on Twitter (I’m <a href="http://twitter.com/nichollspete">@nichollspete</a>). Or read what I've been writing (<a href="http://petesfiction.blogspot.com/">petesfiction.blogspot.com</a>)<br />
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Thanks! And feel free to Patreon me at <a href="http://patreon.com/nichollspete">patreon.com/nichollspete</a> or toss some caffeine my way on <a href="http://ko-fi.com/">ko-fi.com</a>: <a href="http://ko-fi.com/A8464B1">ko-fi.com/A8464B1</a> (<a href="http://cup.pete.ink/">cup.pete.ink</a>)<br />
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Here is a quick preview of my take on STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI:<br />
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So, if you cut out the bulk of Poe Dameron's scenes and the bulk of Finn and Rose's scenes, would the movie still seem cohesive? I say yes. I also say, that makes those scenes not necessary.<br />
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See you on Thursday!Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-59746918708642166162016-09-21T12:00:00.000-04:002016-09-21T21:35:11.464-04:00Saving STAR TREK from Fragmentation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptpRtF2HBYYs75pu5RLDFIhguo3jMWk4KmX73cmUlBzLCZCQ3y0HkgUKq9vSJOzmWfJwxxFnXJa7jEDItST-R4LJbs6i0WHcpVfsDzXGca20VDg0VpeZcJN7KasOPA7TuxkJG2bS3prg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-09-21+at+9.31.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptpRtF2HBYYs75pu5RLDFIhguo3jMWk4KmX73cmUlBzLCZCQ3y0HkgUKq9vSJOzmWfJwxxFnXJa7jEDItST-R4LJbs6i0WHcpVfsDzXGca20VDg0VpeZcJN7KasOPA7TuxkJG2bS3prg/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-09-21+at+9.31.04+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
There is a concept called "fragmentation." I first learned it when I read an opinion piece on why Apple's iOS was a stronger brand and better for developers than Google's Android. The idea was that since there were only a few devices and form factors at the time, customers would have an easier time adopting the devices/brand and developers would have fewer variables to worry about compared to the myriad models supporting Android. Put simply, the Android experience was more fragmented. Apple having a single, coherent look, quality level, and general feature set for all iOS devices gave Apple the upper hand.<br />
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I am reminded of this kind of thing when I look at Warner Brother's handling of DC Comics properties (I wrote about this in <a href="http://www.petesaves.us/2016/09/getting-dc-comics-characters-back-on.html">my last Pete Saves (Hollywood)</a>) and also when I look at what Paramount and CBS are doing with STAR TREK. <br />
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<b>Break it down for me, Pete!</b><br />
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Originally, STAR TREK had just one timeline, that weaved together the adventures of Captains Archer, Pike, Kirk, Picard, Sisco, Janeway, and others into a single, cohesive, story universe. Despite a few big continuity issues that only really matter to the Trekkiest of Trekkies (ex: Khan wasn't ruling the Earth when Janeway went back in time to 1996) this worked pretty well. <br />
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Then, what were originally assumed to be the movie <i>remakes</i> came along. However, they turned out to take place in an alternate reality from the original "Prime" timeline but in the same story universe. This was not a remake, after all, but alternate versions of the original timeline's characters and stories. Which is confusing to me and <i>I am a geek</i>.<br />
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I love Trek but when Khan Noonian Singh, originally played twice by a Latino actor and portrayed as a Middle Easterner was recast for the remake movies with a white man as a white (?) Khan Noonian Singh (same name! #wth??) I was pretty perplexed. And that was just one of many changes that seemed big enough to lose the heart of the original series but nonetheless created something people enjoyed.<br />
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Finally, the announcement of the new STAR TREK show for TV declared a two things that raised more than a few eyebrows. First, that it will only be available via CBS's for-pay streaming service. Second, it will take place before STAR TREK ENTERPRISE in the Prime timeline but involves none of the characters or ships we know and love. I guess the idea here is for STAR TREK DISCOVERY to do a kind of STAR TREK VOYAGER but set it back in time, rather than in the future of the TNG era stories. I guess this is fine, but putting it in the Prime universe just seems confusing since STAR TREK ENTERPRISE already did the prequel thing. <br />
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<b>But that part where STAR TREK DISCOVERY will only be available via the CBS streaming service? What the heck is <i>that</i> about?</b><br />
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I honestly don't know. It makes limited sense in today's media world to force people to pay for a whole new service just to watch a single show. What's worse is that everyone already pays for Netflix, Hulu, and an Internet connection. Now we're expected to pay for the CBS service, too?<br />
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Good luck with that, guys!<br />
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<b>What would YOU do, tough guy Pete?</b><br />
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For starters, I'd give the STAR TREK DISCOVERY away for free on the Internet. However, I'd make sure that the writing was good and that I had a complete line-up of great merchandise and license tie-ins to make me tons of money from anywhere but the show. The show would be a loss leader, but, assuming it's a good show, I'd be making tons of off selling the thing people still don't mind paying for: merch.<br />
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<b>But how do you guarantee the show will be good?</b><br />
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Well, I'd do that, as I said, by making sure the story is good by doing this:<br />
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I'd make the show about how the world in TOS (The Original Series) came to be that world. Why does the technology look so different than it does on every other show? Why does it look so different from our own tech? I'd answer these questions by telling the story of the war that nearly destroyed humanity and set the stage for the future. I'd show how Khan rose to power with the help of someone not previously mentioned by anyone in the Prime timeline and I'd start the story toward the end of Khan's reign and the war to end said reign as it causes the descent of humankind into ruin...<br />
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..from which humanity does rise again. This is where the story for STAR TREK DISCOVERY should really begin.<br />
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We see how the future becomes, not touch screens and iPod starship designs, but rough around the edges nuts and bolts machines with a DIY vibe that slowly mixes with a new kind of future tech. A tech that would be invented with new minds and new ideas and new discoveries not made until after the fall of humanity. This will eventually explain why TOS looks so different from the future we expected but eventually got on TNG (The Next Generation). <br />
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From there we see the Discovery take her first steps into space and eventually help found the UFP which, by the end of the series, establishes the Constitution Class of starship, one of which is called the <i>Enterprise</i>. <br />
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Also, a character is established (mentioned briefly earlier) that takes a secret discovery back in time to the Era of Khan (1996) and gives it to him. This is what allows Khan to rise to power. This time traveling character should be in the series from beginning to the end and is the chronologically first instance of a time traveler in the Prime universe of STAR TREK. Perhaps he dies at the beginning only to be reintroduced in the form of his younger self, or he lives on, simultaneously with his younger self. Perhaps they are even friends. Regardless, him going back in time and spawning Khan's rise establishes that he has splintered away from our literal In-Real-Life reality (the one we actually live in) back in 1996. This means, that we, ourselves, are living in an alternate reality where Khan never rose to power.
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<b>Time to wrap this up...</b><br />
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Ultimately, I think this would be a really fun and pretty epic story to tell. We've never really dealt with this part of history in TREK and I think it would be the strongest choice. I also think doing it this way strengthens the idea behind a STAR TREK multiverse and makes all new STAR TREK content more easy to grasp, not to mention easier for the fans to get behind.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918438429846315256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-32650854728672142182016-09-14T17:30:00.000-04:002016-09-14T17:30:48.452-04:00GETTING DC COMICS' CHARACTERS BACK ON THEIR LIVE-ACTION FEET<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hebl-MUooMfoKf9B1EZnJRaCCSJsJ5fKbkdAf3vK4bXUoDDa-yLgdYkAwkVZdOyEs3Ms5FulWy5oYNBzvH7hiXlzoVCoSeKJP1eXmvRrNDaP4Bp6mSVpjTdFCY7AeTx6emY2qXuVyuY/s1600/dc2012logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-hebl-MUooMfoKf9B1EZnJRaCCSJsJ5fKbkdAf3vK4bXUoDDa-yLgdYkAwkVZdOyEs3Ms5FulWy5oYNBzvH7hiXlzoVCoSeKJP1eXmvRrNDaP4Bp6mSVpjTdFCY7AeTx6emY2qXuVyuY/s400/dc2012logo.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I miss the old "bullet" logo.</td></tr>
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In my last "Pete Saves" piece, I wrote about how I would have made BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. It's a great candidate for my treatment since it really was pretty rough. Likewise, the live-action world of DC Comics is pretty rough. While Warner Brothers and DC have made millions off of recent live-action versions of DC Comics properties, it can easily be argued that they could be making even more if the quality of the stories and characters was more toward the level of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. This is the key to turning things around for Warner's efforts with DC's characters.<br />
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Full disclosure, I've always been more of a Marvel Comics guy. Something about the real life problems of some of their most successful characters appealed to me at a young age--even before I was aware of why it appealed to me. That said, I still enjoyed DC's books a lot, too. I found both the darkness of Batman and the optimism of Superman to resonate with me during my teenage years (depending on my hormones, I am guessing). <br />
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There are also some amazing stories told with quite a few DC characters. I'm not just talking about the obvious ones, like DARK KNIGHT RETURNS or the myriad other BATMAN titles that seem to catch all the attention. There have been great story tellers across all of the best DC titles for decades. Finally, we are at a place in both American and pop culture where comic books are big bucks when translated into the live-action world. The problem lies in how you adapt the stories and the characters so that they both fit their new media and still capture the essence that made everyone fall in love with them in the first place. That said, there is a structural issue that can have almost as big an influence on quality.<br />
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<b>The solution is right under their noses...</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPTPXqnf1Lb6eORD-x-WJJkp-K36EGXOUNF1JJgAEhaKRtx-GcJ5JNEQgnP7vkhMXfnZuCF4xdoWBYJkrQzN1BlOJ14i-mOQGk5QkZKHMjDr8O9qXercgEU_d1FYzg0CIfwH45wtQobto/s1600/DC+logo+bullet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPTPXqnf1Lb6eORD-x-WJJkp-K36EGXOUNF1JJgAEhaKRtx-GcJ5JNEQgnP7vkhMXfnZuCF4xdoWBYJkrQzN1BlOJ14i-mOQGk5QkZKHMjDr8O9qXercgEU_d1FYzg0CIfwH45wtQobto/s1600/DC+logo+bullet.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe it's just because I grew up with it</td></tr>
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My big problem is how some of the DC live-action productions have done an incredibly good job adapting the comics while others have done horribly. What I call the FlashArrowverse (which now includes the super fun SUPERGIRL and the kinda loony LEGENDS OF TOMORROW) represents the best of Warner's DC live-action storytelling. What makes these shows successful, in my opinion, are two things:<br />
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1) Human stories. From the beginning of ARROW, the show told the story of a guy who'd had a legacy dumped on him he did not want but ultimately felt compelled to assume responsibility for, only to discover everyone he loved was not what he thought they were. Learning the world around you is not what you thought it was is something everyone has to deal with growing up. That first time you realize your dad isn't a hero and your mom can't solve every problem, for instance. Obviously for the lead character of ARROW, the stakes are higher, but everyone who watches that first episode can feel some kind of resonance with the character.<br />
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2) A tight story universe. For most of the existence of series Television (in the US, at least) episodes were just that--episodes. Not chapters in a larger story. For decades, characters would show up once in a single episode and never be heard from again. Plot points from one episode would almost never get mentioned in another. Nowadays, series TV wants to tell one epic tale after another and that choice has resulted in viewers getting much more readily sucked into shows. The phrase "binge watching" wasn't something Netflix invented--it was something we were doing because we loved a show. We wanted to dive into a fleshed out, fictional universe and not come out for several hours. <br />
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The folks at Warner Brothers and DC Comics, don't seem to understand this second part. DC, for years, has been encouraging their writers to tell stories that are not part of the core story universe of DC. This is fine in the comics since it was always pretty obvious when a reader would pick up a comic that wasn't part of the same 'reality' as the other books. Plus, readers always had that core story universe waiting for them to come back to.<br />
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<b>But Warner and DC haven't done either with their live-action properties.</b><br />
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1) None of the characters in the Snyderverse seem to have real-life problems, only absurd ones. <br />
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2) GOTHAM is a separate story universe from FLASH and ARROW while what fans call the Snyderverse, named after MAN OF STEEL director Zack Snyder, is where all of the recent DC Comics movies have taken place in. From what I understand, Warner/DC has said that the reason for this is that they want to give their creative teams the most freedom to tell their own stories. This seems to include a complete lack of editorial control from the studio or the offices of DC Comics. <br />
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As a result the "dark" and "gritty" stuff in MAN OF STEEL and BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE is a completely different kind of darkness and grit you see on the CW's ARROW. The stuff Oliver deals with is brutal, depressing and, most of the time, realistic. Meanwhile, Superman lets half of Metropolis die, gets to date Lois Lane, has no problem compromising his morals to save his mom--it's just a mess in the Snyderverse. I haven't seen SUICIDE SQUAD yet, but I hear it's another horror show. I've also heard it was completely recut when the trailer seemed, to producers, to be for a better movie than the one they had made. Worse yet: they had the guy behind the trailer recut the full film. <br />
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So, rather than just focus on what the FlashArrowverse was doing right, Warner and DC decided that "artistic purity" was the way to go, at any cost. <br />
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<b>Here's what I think Warner and DC Comics should do with their movies:</b><br />
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Let the events of last year's FLASHPOINT season finale of FLASH slide the events of the Snyderverse into the FlashArrowverse. Then, FIRE ZACK SNYDER or, at the very least, make him take a class in story telling. The real problem here is that you should be able to tell the same dark-n-gritty story Snyder has been telling while managing to do what the writers in the FlashArrowverse have been doing for years. Forcing the movie-creators into the same boat as the folks on TV makes a lot of sense to me because it makes them adhere to story telling rules that make good sense. Snyder left to run amok? Well, we've seen what happens.<br />
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<b>What will happen if Warner and DC Comics don't do this? This:</b><br />
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The shows inside the FlashArrowverse will continue to be some of the most fun genre shows on TV garnering more and more fans the longer they run. Meanwhile the movies in the Snyderverse will continue down their path of "otherness" that fans of the the comics and the FlashArrowverse will reject, as they have already shown they are willing to do. Before long, the Snyderverse movies will eventually go the way of TERMINATOR sequels--where, even the good ones, will bomb. <br />
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What I am saying here is that the longer the DC live-action universes stay fragmented, the more damaged the brand will become. It will likely blow back on the FlashArrowverse because people unfamiliar with it will accidentally equate it with movies in the Snyderverse and with GOTHAM.<br />
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GOTHAM is so weird and out-there that it is building it's own audience of fans that seem to be supporting it. I don't personally get it since I couldn't justify sticking with that world since it had nothing to do with the characters I already care about in the FlashArrowverse nor was it contiguous with the Snyderverse. <br />
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<b>How do I know my ideas will work?</b><br />
<br />
I know my ideas will work because what I am suggesting is essentially what's been Disney and Marvel's plan for years. What I feel is proof that DC is doing it wrong is the way the tone of ANT-MAN, AVENGERS, and JESSICA JONES all vary from the tone of each other, all while existing in the same story universe. Marvel has made something amazing with their live-action endeavors--a fictional place fans of all different types and interests can go and enjoy themselves. The Marvel Cinematic Universe also largely avoids the fragmentation problems fans of Warner and DC properties are facing.<br />
<br />
As a fan of the FlashArrowverse, I can say that I have chosen to not see DC-related content if it is outside of that story universe. I will eventually see the movies when they reach home video or immediately if I happen to win a contest for free tickets or something. But I am not going out of my way for anything else until I get the idea that things have changed.* <br />
<br />
*This excludes the new WONDER WOMAN feature because I really really want it to be good. Women deserve heroes and men deserve women heroes. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918438429846315256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-75473911136706888982016-09-07T15:00:00.000-04:002016-09-07T15:00:24.921-04:00BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN VS A SIMPLE FIX
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrhb3IieEZeCL_TZmKQ5AotajDVGhSZs9ww36YWo4Dav_8SMvhp-xNCNjJWtFdHlPw3xfsgHFNDRpec7iA2l64qv70TU_oZzDHa8Vjs76QX9q5kWVjVOrtfF09Ev3dt68L4dnI47Pxhg/s1600/bmvsmfire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJrhb3IieEZeCL_TZmKQ5AotajDVGhSZs9ww36YWo4Dav_8SMvhp-xNCNjJWtFdHlPw3xfsgHFNDRpec7iA2l64qv70TU_oZzDHa8Vjs76QX9q5kWVjVOrtfF09Ev3dt68L4dnI47Pxhg/s640/bmvsmfire.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole point of this movie was undermined by them not having a good reason to go head-to-head with each other. In my version of this movie, I'd have given them one that was MUCH more persuasive than "Lex is making me do this!"</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, I could go into
how this movie is a mess of crap, interspersed with rock-stupidity, but if
you've seen this movie, you already know this.<span>
</span>So, I'll just jump to the part where I explain how I'd do things differently.<span> </span>I think it's a fairly simple solution, too. I tried to write something more like my usual thing but there is just so much to say about this film, I had to give up. So, here we go:
</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Start over from Scratch... Almost...</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ultimately, this is
what I would do--everyone always complains that Superman is a boring
character.<span> </span>I have always disagreed and
cite the Gangbuster arc from the late 80s/early 90s (I think?) as evidence.<span> </span>In fact, the same thing that fuels the
Gangbuster story arc occurs in the previous movie starring Superman, MAN OF
STEEL. So, it would have been the perfect set up.<span> </span>So, I'd start there--with Superman feeling
terribly <i>terribly</i> guilty for having played judge, jury, and executioner for
General Zod.</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From there I'd still
take some liberties with it compared to the source material.<span> </span><i>So</i>, I suspect that Mr. Snyder might still
actually get a kick out of my version of this movie.<span> </span>However, I'd go in the opposite direction
from what most people expect.<span> </span>First, I'd
make Batman retired.<span> </span>The problem of
crime was almost entirely solved in Gotham City after Wayne Industries invested
heavily in community centers, schools and local colleges.<span> Of course, everyone (in the media, especially) assumes it's Batman's techniques that have saved Gotham. Bruce knows the truth but feels that Batman's reputation needs to stay intact, just to keep up appearances. </span>However, with news reports of Batman having
moved to Metropolis, Bruce Wayne realizes he must get involved once again to
protect his legacy.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Meanwhile, Clark
Kent suffers from serious PTSD after killing General Zod--an act which, it
turns out, goes against every moral molecule in his body.<span> </span>He wakes every night from night terrors and
has become despondent and difficult as a person.<span> </span>He and Lois end their relationship but are
placed together by their new boss on the Batman-In-Metropolis story.<span> </span>Perry White has been let go after Lex<i>NewsCorp</i>
has bought the <i>Daily Planet</i>.<span> </span>Lois is
frustrated but is still the ultimate pro and Clark decides to shut up and do his dayjob, though, he'd rather not be bothered.<span> </span>"Let Batman do to/for
Metropolis what he can. Superman (I) could use some help!"</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After all, Superman, since MAN
OF STEEL, has been finding his more peaceful means of crime control are simply
not working.<span> </span>At least, he's not patient
enough to let them work.<span> </span>It seems to him
that crime and crimes are getting worse and he is not sure what to do about
it.<span> </span>He is desperate and jealous of
Batman's ability to beat criminals into submission especially here on
Superman's turf.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>That's the set-up, here's Act One</b> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bruce, Lois and
Clark all begin to investigate these Batman sightings in Metropolis (obviously crossing paths more than once) only to be
distracted by, reports of Metropolis' Batman wearing a red suit/mask and having
the ability to move very fast.<span> </span>Also distracting
is a mysterious, dark-haired woman investigating this new vigilante in
Metropolis, as well.<span> </span>Finally and worst
of all, they are distracted by news reports from LexNewsCorp's
conservative-leaning, fear-mongering news outlets, The Daily Planet and Lex
News Network (in my BMvSM, Lex would be portrayed by a girthy, balding white
man with jowls and a penchant for pretty anchor ladies).<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bruce comes up dry
after following around Lois and Clark and decides it's back to the cape and
cowl.<span> </span>So, as Batman, he tricks Superman
into a meeting (his own scream auto-tuned to a frequency high enough that Supes
can't ignore it).<span> </span>Superman is angry,
accusatory, and threatening to take Batman to the police.<span> </span>Batman manages to convince him that he is not
behind the excessively violent attacks in Metropolis, reminding Superman of
Batman's record of never killing anyone in all his years in Gotham.<span> </span>This pisses off Superman (reminding him of
his own execution of Zod), and he snaps an agreement at Batman, just to shut him
up.<span> </span>They will work together to catch
this new guy, whom they've come to call Gangbuster for his preference of
criminal victim.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">After a few nights
of no luck finding their target, they agree to go to a gang hotspot but Batman
rejects Superman's intel for the hotspot location, insisting that his own information is more accurate
("Where'd you get that intel from? Reading the Daily Planet?") and Superman
begrudgingly allows Batman to take the lead ("They do call me the World's
Greatest Detective.").<span> </span>They go to
the big gang hotspot and wait all night.<span>
</span>Gangbuster does not show.<span>
</span>Batman suggests they take a night off.<span>
</span>Superman agrees.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><b>Act Two</b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><b> </b></span></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span></span>The next night,
Bruce is on the balcony of his hotel room when he sees that dark haired woman
staring at him from the next balcony over.<span>
</span>She commands him to immediately go to the gang hotspot.<span> </span>Before Bruce can react, she leaps into the
air and seems to fly, up to the roof.<span>
</span>Throwing on his cowl, Batman grapples up to the roof and asks Alfred
(over his cowl's communication system) for some spy satellite help.<span> </span>"Master Bruce, she's right behind you."</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"World's
Greatest Detective, huh?" she says, going on to insist he must go to the
gang hotspot to catch his quarry.<span> </span>Batman
demands to know how she knows Gangbuster will be there tonight since he wasn't
there last night.<span> </span>"Because he thinks you
and your super friend won't be there tonight.<span> You need to go now</span>. Don't contact your friend. Just go."<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Batman suits-up and
heads out to the gang hotspot to find Gangbuster beating the crap out of thirty
or forty armed gang members.<span> Bats</span> tells
everyone to run for their lives as he manages to catch up to the rogue vigilante.
Batman tries to engage the madman in some kind of dialog but Gangbuster is more
interested in smashing thug heads and breaking criminal bones.<span> </span>Finally, Batman demands Gangbuster take <i>him</i>
on since Batman is a criminal, too.<span>
</span>Gangbuster begins to speak in a very angry, growly voice that is somehow
familiar.<span> </span>Batman sees bullet holes in
Gangbuster's red jumpsuit and his red mask has been partially broken from a
gunshot to the face, but there is no blood.<span> Bats</span> looks back at the bullet holes and sees red, yellow and blue fabric
underneath the jumpsuit.<span> </span>Batman leaps at
Gangbuster, putting his fingers through the bullet holes in the jumpsuit and
tearing a chunk of fabric off, revealing Superman's "S"
underneath.<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Superman/Gangbuster
proceeds to beat the living crap out of Batman.<span>
</span>Batman manages to limp away from Superman but Superman's eyes begin to
glow.<span> </span>"You're right, Bruce... you <span style="font-style: italic;">are</span> a criminal!"<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just as Superman
fires his heat vision at the Dark Knight, out of nowhere Wonder Woman arrives
in the arms of the Flash, her shield protecting herself, Flash, and Batman.<span> </span>Superman's heat vision reflects off of her
shield and begins tearing apart the building they are in.<span> </span>Wonder Woman commands Flash to get Batman out
of harms way and to then come back to get her.<span>
</span>He does.<span> </span>Obviously, she does not
pursue Superman/Gangbuster, who escapes as the building collapses.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Act Three</b></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, the
climax is ready to be set up--it's where Batman taps into his secret stash of Kryptonite under the Batcave
in order to prepare to face an insane Superman.<span>
</span>In the process of developing tech that will let them take on Superman, they
decide to enlist the help of STAR Labs's latest creation, Cyborg.<span> </span>Wonder Woman keeps the Flash involved and
they formulate a plan that will drive Superman to Metropolis harbor.<span> </span>Once to the water, Wonder Woman knows a guy
who can help.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, they execute
their plan and, being consumed by vengeful rage, Superman falls for that plan
and finds himself being driven toward the water.<span> </span>"You guys know I can swim, right?" </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
Frustrated with the ease at which they manipulated him into this
confrontation, he starts to get very angry and very brutal.<span> </span>He takes down all of them one by one.<span> </span>But then turns toward the harbor to see
Aquaman and his army rise from the water.<span>
</span>"And you're here to stop me?"</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
"We are here to restore the balance of justice."</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"JUSTICE?!?"<span> </span>Superman<span>
</span>starts to protest, but then stops, looking at his beaten down
colleagues.<span> </span>A look of horror crosses his
face.<span> </span>"My friends... I... there can
be no justice... not as long as I am on this Earth!"</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Superman leaps
upward and does not stop.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Aquaman and his
soldiers help the others to their feet.<span>
</span>Batman stares up at the night sky.<span>
</span>"He'll be back... and we need to be ready."<span> </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">That's how I'd do it.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My title would be
different, too.<span> </span>It would be "<i>BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: BALANCE OF JUSTICE</i>."</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Just one word of difference, but that is an important word. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The whole problem I
had with BMvSM: DoJ was that there was just no reason for them to go head-to-head
against each other.<span> </span>I don't mind the
abstract idea of making Batman a paranoid, Alex Jones type, but not like this--not in a way that makes him look like an incompetent paranoiac.<span>
</span>Obviously, I am cool with changing the characters around, but the change
has to lend itself to the goals of the story while still staying true to core aspects of the characters.<span>
</span>Batman is a hero.<span> </span>He needs more
than the politics of fear to justify attacking Superman.<span> </span> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Likewise, Superman needs more than his mom in
danger and a nearly terminal inability to have a conversation with someone who
disagrees with him to justify fighting Batman<span></span>.<span> </span><span>Along these lines I feel like I'd please Zack Snyder fans (and hopefully Snyder, as well) because this story is about Superman going insane. This isn't about how Superman is a good guy and Batman's paranoid about nothing. This is about Batman's paranoia being <i>right</i> and Superman having a psychotic break and going all <i>Norman Bates</i> on Metropolis. That's pretty damn gritty if you ask me.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div style="margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Was BATMAN VS.
SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE an entertaining movie?<span> </span>Some people thought it was but most of us
thought it was not.<span> </span>So, if they had done
it my way, yeah, it would have been a much bigger crowd pleaser and made a
heckuva lot more sense.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">PS I'd also have wanted to figure out a way to tie these movies into TV's FlashArrowverse because, well, even at its worst, the FlashArrowverse is still more fun than BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE. That said, it wouldn't be a deal-breaker as I am a big fan of the multiverse concept.</span></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918438429846315256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-41424649161870606252016-07-20T15:00:00.000-04:002016-07-20T15:30:12.778-04:00The New GHOSTBUSTERS isn't going to please everybody, but it should. That's not the takeaway here.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhfRPq-SleHLPvyJLw61cJzE9XbUJK9WB2_Ziz8qRfibDoHO-9clb3UBBFEmOuL3575ge2yC-L5xO1HKQiTXm0xXfCfSdhDscl1ksnowngUihrFCB7YN4DYIogsUAaMAvATE89H26Qc4/s1600/GB2016poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhfRPq-SleHLPvyJLw61cJzE9XbUJK9WB2_Ziz8qRfibDoHO-9clb3UBBFEmOuL3575ge2yC-L5xO1HKQiTXm0xXfCfSdhDscl1ksnowngUihrFCB7YN4DYIogsUAaMAvATE89H26Qc4/s400/GB2016poster.jpg" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Never have 4 women playing fictional ghost hunters<br />
caused so many losers with no lives to lose their minds.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
So, usually, when I write about how I'd have made a film differently, it ends up being a fairly involved explanation. However, there really isn't that much to fix with the new GHOSTBUSTERS movie. It works fine and, I'd say, it's probably a tighter origin story than the original film. Honestly, I laughed my ass off and the fact that women made me laugh my ass off makes it all the more interesting and fun to me. <br />
<br />
Of course, I'm not threatened by women in the least, so maybe I'm unique among men. But I'll get to more of this in a bit. For now, I'll stick with the film, itself. So… <br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>WHAT WORKED IN <i>GHOSTBUSTERS </i></b><br />
<br />
Full disclosure: I am not a big fan of the original GHOSTBUSTERS. That's not to say I don't like the film--I do. I'm just not one of those people that praises it endlessly. I'd rather watch CADDYSHACK or STRIPES. The point is, this film didn't have to live up to any any preconceived expectations for me. All it had to do was tell a cohesive story and make me laugh. Which it did! The bonus is that the cast are all really funny people who made the film quite fun to watch. Usually, in American cinema, women aren't allowed to be funny. So, this was a real treat. <br />
<br />
Also, the warm reverence this film holds for the original GHOSTBUSTERS is wonderful. If only every reboot had this kind of respect for its source material. It was so great seeing all of this film's nods to what came before.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNmxz0eagN6p4Yv4KRVVawk4AhI4G_rm0KXQlMy96cWT2o5JQY-ReTFT54apmczdd8ApeDVCfYwbMEfeSZNZji5caeOMrr8DbhKl5fFOM4jYEm0WXsg3p5RDd0314JLRnrGbJgXlXw7UU/s1600/GB2016+proton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNmxz0eagN6p4Yv4KRVVawk4AhI4G_rm0KXQlMy96cWT2o5JQY-ReTFT54apmczdd8ApeDVCfYwbMEfeSZNZji5caeOMrr8DbhKl5fFOM4jYEm0WXsg3p5RDd0314JLRnrGbJgXlXw7UU/s640/GB2016+proton.jpg" style="max-width: 95%;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obviously, the FX were amazing, but there really is no excuse for them to not be in today's world. </td></tr>
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<b>WHAT DID NOT WORK IN <i>GHOSTBUSTERS</i></b><br />
<a name='more'></a><b><i> </i></b><br />
There was an over all sense of "meh" I got from the story. It was fun enough, but I just didn't get that the stakes were very high for anyone. One of the reasons I prefer THE OMEN over THE EXORCIST is because THE EXORCIST just assumes you believe in God and Satan. It doesn't try much to build a universe where God and Satan are real. THE OMEN, however, takes you down a path of discovery with the protagonist that, quite thoroughly, establishes that Satan is real and his son needs to be stopped. Unfortunately, neither this GHOSTBUSTERS or the original does much to make me believe, aside from just showing a bunch of ghosts. Like it's predecessor, this new version doesn't do much to describe a world where ghosts exist and how that world would be different from our own. Think of any GHOSTBUSTERS film like you would a sequel to SHAUN OF THE DEAD. That hypothetical sequel would take place in a world where zombies are an every day part of life and have changed culture and society. Ghosts existing would do the same--even if the ghosts in the current story were just some sudden "flare up of ghost activity" as is the case in the new GHOSTBUSTERS. This certainly can't have been the first flare up. Let's hear about the previous ones. Imagine if all of the cows that once lived on Manhattan (back when it had farms on it, maybe?) suddenly came back as ghosts and were stampeding down Broadway. If one tenth of the people who ever died in New York City came back as ghosts, that would be an insane amount of people.<br />
<br />
But this isn't my biggest problem with the film. <br />
<br />
What's worse is the utter lack of stakes. GHOSTBUSTERS isn't the first ghost film to fail on this level. It's a problem I have with most ghost stories. OK, so, you've got a ghost. So? What has a ghost ever done to anyone? They are very rarely depicted doing anything to harm anyone. They just key in on our base fear of death. This is a pretty boring premise to base an entire movie around. As a result, you need the "cats and dogs living together" chaos from the original film promised somehow. Ghosts need to be claiming souls or otherwise causing havoc. All we saw in GHOSTBUSTERS (2016) was Slimer running amok and ghosts infesting everything. Mild chaos, I suppose, but it really wasn't clear why this was worse than say, the aftermath of a Lakers game. There is one cast member who maybe got killed by a ghost, but the film, does not clarify this. I'll get into more on this in the Spoiler Zone below. <br />
<br />
So, in the middle of the climax, I was pretty much just shrugging because the imagination of the writers had pretty much run out. In fact, there wasn't a lot of imagination put into the ghosts at all. One character claims she knows all about New York City history, but that was barely exploited. It would have been great if ghosts of historical NYC residents showed up that she could recognize and come up with ways to stop or capture them. <br />
<br />
Nobody dies and the only threat to anyone comes in the form of a portal to the ghost dimension where people might get pulled. BIG HERO SIX much?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdf4dzSgsQ_MUSXuT6eQ-HjjW_Nk5hKW4RidQL9FKP-fS9Ij1mW0bhgdfMYHLoW2PhzEB7f6oTLgykORp9JgQlqjGZ8I8DUNJF8saJL8x0YUevq0khe7_F7jCzUmjJqBA7MyHtioRQ13o/s1600/GB2016+ecto1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdf4dzSgsQ_MUSXuT6eQ-HjjW_Nk5hKW4RidQL9FKP-fS9Ij1mW0bhgdfMYHLoW2PhzEB7f6oTLgykORp9JgQlqjGZ8I8DUNJF8saJL8x0YUevq0khe7_F7jCzUmjJqBA7MyHtioRQ13o/s640/GB2016+ecto1.jpg" style="max-width: 95%;" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not saying I don't like the film! Just being critical where I think it could have been better. I know making movies is hard. Go watch a short one I made: <a href="http://mrpuppet.thepal.us/">mrpuppet.thepal.us</a></td></tr>
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<b>INTO THE SPOILER ZONE: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED: THERE BE PLOT POINTS AHEAD! ARRRR. </b><br />
<br />
OK, so what happened to Bill Murray? He plays a debunker, but is carried out a GB HQ window by a winged ghost and is never heard from again. <br />
<br />
And what was with the "U" pin that both the blonde Ghostbuster (Holtzmann, played by Kate McKinnon) and Sigourney Weaver wore? I get that it's a "U" with a screw through it (GET IT, meh, it's cute but, really, movie?). It could have been a nice bit of universe building to establish something big behind it. Instead, it's just a pin Holtzmann probably got from Weaver, who is clearly her mentor. I thought the "U" might represent some sort of crazy science university for insanely advanced brainiacs. <br />
<br />
And why did Times Square turn into a time warp? Was it because every time the film would cut to fictional New York City it looked like a studio set? I liked the idea of ghosts from long past showing up, but why did <i>Times Square</i> from long past show up? Was it just a set from a previous movie laying around? If you're going to use pirates and colonial-era ghosts, make stronger choices with them! If not ghosts of actual people from NYC history, how about ghosts of fictional people from fictional NYC history? Something beyond just the two ghosts at the beginning which have vague backstories that are never actually explored. <br />
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I get that making a GHOSTBUSTERS movie at all took a lot of effort and there was probably a lot of pushback along the way, so I'm fine with forgiving these problems and just enjoying the film. There is one thing that I am not willing to forgive… but we are done with the spoilers. <br />
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<b>END OF SPOILER ZONE: YOU ARE NOW SAFE TO READ ON WITHOUT HAVING THE MOVIE RUINED FOR YOU </b><br />
<br />
There has been a lot of hubbub about this film regarding something that should absolutely not be an issue. It's been caused by the thing that is absolutely unforgivable to me.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yep! In the end, it's men. There are no women tweeting horrible things at Leslie Jones.</td></tr>
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<b>THE UNFORGIVABLE THING ABOUT THE NEW <i>GHOSTBUSTERS </i></b><br />
<br />
Sexist jerks who think an all female GHOSTBUSTERS cast is somehow disrespecting the original GHOSTBUSTERS. It is really hard for me to accept that there are people <i>this</i> backwards in the 21st century. We've got <i>gay marriage</i> in most states in America, we're working on <i>trans-gender-safe rest rooms</i>. We have a <i>black president</i>, as I type this, and we'll probably have a <i>female president</i> next year. Yet, somehow, there are people who say we can't have female Ghostbusters. <br />
<br />
What's worse is that there has been a sexism-inspired concerted effort to slam the film, its stars and it's viewer ratings on IMDB. What's <i>even</i> worse is that there was an organized effort to drive at least one cast member from Twitter. Leslie Jones had to deal with an absurd amount of harassment from some serious losers who need to get lives. She had sexually offensive photos tweeted at her and, yes, in 2016, people sent her photos of gorillas. <br />
<br />
<i>Absolutely. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Despicable. </i><br />
<br />
So, not only do men of color have to worry about cops murdering them, but now women of color have to worry about centuries-old racist "jokes" being hurled at them all day long. These scumbags need to understand that being racist is being the bad guy, the oppressor, the person who usually dies at the end of an action movie because he's, well, a huge douche bag. <br />
<br />
Now, not everyone who has been hating on the new GHOSTBUSTERS is racist. Some of them aren't even sexist. These people still don't want a new GHOSTBUSTERS. This next paragraph is for them.<br />
<br />
One of my favorite movies is the original 1987 TRANSFORMERS film. It is so much fun! And it has robots, heroism, death, destruction and heavy metal music!! It's awesome and exciting and wonderful. When Michael Bay decided to make his own TRANSFORMERS movie, I was annoyed. I knew he'd do a rotten job and felt that he was disrespecting something dear to my heart for many years. However, after confirming my fears by seeing the first of <i>five fricken</i> TRANSFORMERS films, I elected to just not care. The less I cared, the more healthy my stress level was. And you know what? I can pop my DVD of the 1987 TRANSFORMERS into my aging DVD player any time I want. <br />
<br />
So, why the heck can't these jerks with too much time on their hands just slide their well-worn VHS copy of the original GHOSTBUSTERS into their video cassette recorders and enjoy the past the same way I do? Why do <i>some</i> of these people have to do such horrible things to anyone who dares make a movie they don't like (or worse, don't want to like)? Are the rest of their lives so depressingly out of whack that they need to hate on something that can be somewhat easily ignored?<br />
<br />
These are rhetorical questions, of course, but these people bug me anyway. I would have just ignored them, but to see the kind of harassment that Leslie Jones had to put up with is just spirit-breaking--and <i>I'm</i> not even the one being harassed. <br />
<br />
If you happen to be one of these people who don't understand why anyone would want a lady GHOSTBUSTERS movie, you should really rethink your attitude toward women. You may think you're not being sexist but you are. The more you dig in and think "some things only men should do" the more stuck in time you'll become. Men have been doing all the cool stuff in movies, TV shows, and in life forEVER. Stop this archaic thinking and join the future. The future is a place where everyone can do, within reason, anything they want--including busting fictional ghosts in a movie nobody is forcing you to see.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Please come back to Twitter, @Lesdogg! Twitter is kind of caring about things like this now by banning masterminds of hate campaigns! Hopefully, Twitter will continue to give a crap! </td></tr>
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Was the new GHOSTBUSTERS a perfectly entertaining film? Sure was! But you have to admit, the world would be better without so much sexism and racism.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918438429846315256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-86713446216561454412016-07-06T15:00:00.000-04:002016-07-06T15:00:19.289-04:00Making MIDNIGHT SPECIAL Actually Special<div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCX11066141" style="margin-left: 0px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the piece of promotional art for MIDNIGHT SPECIAL (2016). OK, first off, telling me a white kid with glowy eyes is "NOT LIKE US." is hilarious because, well, he's a white kid. He's just like us. He's got glowy eyes? So what? Those could be mirrored sunglasses for all we know! Oh and isn't that cute? He's reading a SUPERMAN comic. MICHAEL SHANNON was IN a SUPERMAN movie! And both that film and this one are not so great! :(</td></tr>
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<i>From the director of two films you've never heard of (TAKE SHELTER and MUD), comes MIDNIGHT SPECIAL--a film that dares to tell the story of attractive white people who are the parents of a very advanced and equally white young boy who needs to be protected from an evil (?) religious cult. Starring Michael Shannon, Kirsten Dunst, the guy who played Uncle Owen in one of the STAR WARS prequels, and the guy who played Kylo Ren in a STAR WARS sequel, this film is one of those movies that will make you wonder if anyone read the script before filming began.</i><br /><br />Thus ends my audition script for a job writing for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/screenjunkies">Honest Trailers</a>.<br /><br /><b>What Works in MIDNIGHT SPECIAL</b> <br /><br />ARG. That first paragraph was filled with the nicest things I could possibly say about that film. OK, I could add that the cast is great and the effects are fine. <br /><a name='more'></a> </div>
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Okay, <i>now</i>, I can't say anything else positive about the film. Though, just based on what I said in that first paragraph, does this even <i>sound</i> like a good movie to you? Parents of a child with special powers on the run from a religious cult? Sounds OK, I guess, but there's certainly nothing overtly <i>special</i> about it. Magical child stories are utter cliché in western storytelling. I mean, remember that one story about a child with special powers from two thousand years ago named Jesus? His parents thought he was special, too.<br /><br /><b>What Did Not Work in MIDNIGHT SPECIAL</b><br /><br />This film portrays the religious cult as the most boring religious cult ever. The movie poster claims that Sam Shepard is in this film, he plays the cult leader, but he's barely in 3 scenes. His thugs are bland and boring (and also white). The cult is flat and seems to have no goals, nefarious or otherwise. The parents are equally flat. They have almost no past aside from the fact that (we assume) they consummated their relationship in order to give birth to their literally magical child. And really, what parent doesn't think their child is magical? In other words, this isn't exactly the most exciting premise for a story. Especially considering no attempt was made to give the parents jobs or personalities outside of their interest in keeping their son safe from the evil cult. <br /><br />I've seen reviews of this film that talk about the "intriguing mystery" of it. There is nothing intriguing about this film except for how anyone could find it's flat, uninteresting mystery intriguing at all. Seriously, all you do is follow along until the boy explains everything that is going on. Or when Kylo Ren from the STAR WARS sequel explains it to us.<br /><br />Yes, that's right, this film violates the first rule of filmmaking! SHOW, DON'T TELL. Sorry to yell like that, it's just that it seems so obvious to me. YOU ARE MAKING A MOVIE. "MOVIE" IS SHORT FOR "MOVING PICTURE," GET IT? IT'S VISUAL. SHOW US STUFF. UGH... but seriously, there is no mystery here at all. This would be a spoiler, except, really, it isn't. The boy is special. That's it. It's just how special ends up being what is revealed along with what it means for him. So, the movie basically makes you sit there for 100-ish minutes waiting to discover to what degree he is special. <br /><br />Imagine if the movie JAWS had ended at the point where Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss worked out how big the shark was. Yeah, we don't see them react even, it's just like "that's a big shark" and then, cut to credits. No big thing, no "we've got to close the beaches!" no attempt to go get the shark, just that's it.</div>
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Don't bother with this film. If people tell you it's good, politely decline from ever speaking to them again. <br /><br />What's worse for me is that the writer and director of the film is a guy called Jeff Nichols. Yep, I suppose I'm distantly related to this guy (my last name is Nicholls--with 2 L's). So, I hate to slam this film or its director, but I just don't get it. It really strikes me that if he had made a single interesting choice in the film, it would have made it better. </div>
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OK, now we're almost getting to the part where I fix this film. Normally, I try to figure out a way to fix things in post, by re-cutting and re-shooting as little as possible. However, it's just not possible here. I'll need to re-shoot the whole movie with a new script with even a new cast. This is why you should <i>talk to me</i> before you green-light a movie, people.<br /><br />So, let's fix this thing. In order to do that, we need to enter the Spoiler Zone which we will do in a sec. First, I want to talk about the casting.<br /><br /><b>You've heard of "rose colored" glasses? Well, Hollywood reads scripts with white colored glasses.</b><br /><br />Now, I know Hollywood LOOOVES to stunt cast. If you have an actor with a name or a lot of Twitter followers, that's a great thing. The thing is, even with that criteria, there is no excuse to have an all white cast. Don't get me wrong--I really love the people in this film. Michael Shannon is AMAZING in BOARDWALK EMPIRE and I saw him on Broadway in LONG DAY'S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT and he was really good. Kirsten Dunst is generally 100% in her movies no matter how bad they are. I like Uncle Owen and Kylo Ren as well, but there was nothing any of these four actors brought to this movie that couldn't have been brought by actors of color. <br /><br />In 2016, there is no excuse to hire an entirely white cast. There are PLENTY of brilliant actors of color all around these days, yet still too many shows and movies cast mostly white people. One day I will have to write a big long post about how utterly bored I am with seeing my people (Caucasians) in so much TV and movies. A person of color instantly makes a movie or a TV show more interesting to me. There doesn't even have to be anything about the character that is different, personality-wise, to make me perk up and pay more attention. But I am getting off the topic. OK, let's enter the Spoiler Zone! <br /><br /><b>SPOILER ALERT: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! YOU ARE NOW ENTERING A SPOILER RICH ZONE.</b><br /><br />Though, to be honest, there's not much to spoil with this film. <br /><br />The first thing I'd change, would be the casting. It's so booooring to make these people all white. If you happen to be friends with Michael Shannon, great! Cast him, or cast one other white person to play a <i>single white character</i>. Fine. But <i>only one white character </i>among the lead characters. You can't tell me there aren't good enough AoCs for this film, especially since it isn't exactly Shakespeare. The boy should ABSOLUTELY BE A PERSON OF COLOR. Another magical white child story is the opposite of a strong choice. Sorry--I don't mean to sound like I know it all. This isn't a lot to know, really. </div>
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<b>THE BEGINNING</b></div>
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<b> </b><br />From here, I'd place the characters in the context of real life, instead of out of context, on the road, with zero going on character-depth-wise. The child's mother is the lead--she is a person of color, alone and raising her child as best she can while trying to understand why the child is different. Helping her is a counselor from his school who stumbles upon the child's powers by accident. This counselor can be played by Michael Shannon or maybe a lady, even. The key is that they are trying to understand what is happening to the child. They are not just blindly doing what the child says. In the original film, the parents had already resigned themselves to the child's divinity, so they had no arc at all. They were just the same throughout the film. Part of how my parental characters have an arc is in trying to understand what is happening to the magical child.<br /><br />One of the things the child does to perplex them is speak to someone who is not in the room--apparently. In the beginning, the mom thinks he's just got an imaginary friend, but when the child is able to project a hologram over the living room coffee table, they realize there is more going on. The child explains the hologram is a map that shows where the Gateway is along with two different men, who are coming for him. One of those men is very close to the center of the map--where the child is now. The counselor asks the child where this information is coming from. The response is "from my imaginary friend."<br /><br />"Yeah, I don't think he's imaginary," the counselor character says.<br /><br />Seeing that one of the two men coming for him is minutes away, they decide to leave. However, the first man arrives before they can depart and he tries to shoot the mom and the counselor. The child causes the bullets to pass through them harmlessly. <br /><br />One of my big problems with MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, as it was written, was that the kid's powers are kind of nonsensical and uninteresting. So, he can do this sort of Google Cardboard thing by shooting eye-beams into people's eyes which then allows them to see things (what it is, we frustratingly never see). This is creepy, sure, but that doesn't make it particularly interesting. The child in my version has powers that are actually powers. Yeah, the kid in the film brings down a satellite, but it's not clear at all that he did that until later when it is explained in dialog (more telling than showing again!). </div>
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<b>THE MIDDLE</b></div>
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<b> </b><br />After they escape from the gunman, they narrowly avoid running smack dab into the other guy who was seen on the holo-map. That guy has a chance to stop them violently but doesn't. They get away and, that night in the hotel room on the road, all three wonder who that man was. The child doesn't know and can't actually reach his not-imaginary friend. He does know that the Gateway he showed them on the holo-map is where he needs to go, however. The adults ask him what's on the other side of the Gateway and he explains that he thinks its someplace wonderful. Someplace he belongs. He can feel it. (I know this kind of counts as "telling not showing" but this is minor next to what the original film does, explaining that there is another world on top of ours--ugh--and are there fairies and magic, too?? Why the do his parents trust his word?) <br /><br />Then the gunman catches up with them. Once again, the child's powers allow them to escape only to run smack dab into the other guy on the holo-map. This time, he is able to explain that he is a good guy. He introduces himself as a representative of those on the other side of the Gateway. He's never been to the other side because once you go over, it's challenging to come back. The mom immediately becomes worried, asking: "How can my child go over, then?"<br /><br />"That's where I come in," the representative says. He goes on to explain that he can train the child to connect with the other dimensions that he is predisposed to sense. He can't connect to them normally due to a traditional human upbringing dulling his advanced senses. The mom is concerned while the counselor shrugs his concerns off. It's all too weird to try to go against, he explains. "I mean, think about what we've seen!" <br /><br />The mom isn't convinced so she demands to supervise the rep's sessions with her child. The rep agrees and she gets to watch them meditate and practice martial arts at various places along their drive to the Gateway. The rep explains that in order to become aware of the extra dimensions, the child must get in better touch with the ones he/she is used to dealing with. After questions from the mom, the rep explains that he's not sure if any human can learn to perceive these other dimensions. He certainly can't, but he can train people like her child. Like a paraplegic teaching someone how to drive.<br /><br />The mom asks if she can see this world to make sure it's safe for her child. Rep explains that she can't--at least, not in person, but if the child gets in touch with his abilities, he'll be able to show us the new world. They continue training and traveling toward the Gateway as the bad guy catches up with them for a fun chase scene where the boy uses his powers to defend them and throw off the bad guy.<br /><br />At one point, the bad guy is able to kidnap the child but he is quickly confronted by the powers of the child. The child is able to see (and so we can, too) the bad guy, younger and crying as his boy is taken away by the representative. We then see the bad guy joining up with other parents who have lost their children to this "next level" of humanity. After the vision finishes, the child tries to explain that this is the best thing for children of the next level. The bad guy doesn't care. He is driven. The child temporarily blinds the bad guy and escapes, returning to the mom and they continue on.</div>
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<b> </b></div>
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<b>THE FINAL ACT</b></div>
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<br />When they finally get to the Gateway, they find it over a huge chasm (maybe over the Grand Canyon, budget-allowing). As the child approaches it, a small blue disk appears in front of him. It then grows larger and larger until it is bigger that the child is. The child runs back and hugs the mom, shakes hands with the counselor, nods to the rep, and moves toward the disk. Just then, the bad guy races out of nowhere, guns blazing. The child stops the bullets in midair and turns, continuing to walk toward the blue disk. Before he steps into it, he stares at it and speaks. "I want them to see where I'm going. And I want to him to see his child again."<br /><br />Suddenly, the air around them begins to crackle and flash (though nothing damaged from either). Then reality fades from view, revealing a bizarre and psychedelic space. They can suddenly see tiny particles floating around and no Earth beneath them. They seem to be floating in some strange version of outer space but there are spheres and rings floating around them with light refracting everywhere. Then, they hear an even more strange, ethereal voice: <br /><br />"Here is your son," the voice says as a man in his 20s appears in front of the bad guy. He smiles and is immediately recognized by his father who immediately begins to cry as they embrace. The ethereal voice continues:<br /><br />"It is difficult to make our reality comprehensible to you. We can only do it for a short time, but we think you deserve it. Thank you for seeing your child to us. Your child will prosper here unlike in your version of reality."<br /><br />"Will I see my baby again?"<br /><br />"With proper training, it is possible."<br /><br />The child hugs the mom one more time and then jumps through the disk. The bad guy's son vanishes and reality returns to normal. The counselor and the mom hug.<br /><b><br />THE END</b><br /><br />My biggest problem with MIDNIGHT SPECIAL was that there was just no character development at all. They were all flat and boring and almost none of their actions made any sense nor were they justified--at least not by anything on screen. My outline explains how I would tell the same story while making stronger choices plot-wise, presenting deeper characters, and allowing the audience to make sense of their choices. Essentially, the audience needs to be brought along for the ride--in this film I felt more like a hitchhiker.<br /><br />Was MIDNIGHT SPECIAL entertaining? Well, some people liked it, but you have to admit, if they had done it my way, it would have been better <i>and</i> more special.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06918438429846315256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-29896598715913777472015-09-02T12:00:00.000-04:002015-09-02T13:08:02.620-04:00The X-MEN Movies: The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Idiot Older Brother<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFaYhR334eb0BMnoPKFEAAWP9chE2qoBVoVeSaAiX9tjrft69F_Im8GcyKRLLvJZZdlsmT83qHzqbbcI6sDonyMVF3CeOYckdNwgV9gf7Slvf-DQMne0LMRPJ-iWlmrSrHO_4SqFvt91tW/s1600/x-men-1-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFaYhR334eb0BMnoPKFEAAWP9chE2qoBVoVeSaAiX9tjrft69F_Im8GcyKRLLvJZZdlsmT83qHzqbbcI6sDonyMVF3CeOYckdNwgV9gf7Slvf-DQMne0LMRPJ-iWlmrSrHO_4SqFvt91tW/s400/x-men-1-poster.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first X-MEN movie was more than fans had hoped,<br />but less than what should have been. The X-MEN <br />comic is positively <i>epic</i>. The movies have not been.</td></tr>
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<b style="text-align: left;">THIS POST IS A SPOILER-RICH ENVIRONMENT. <i>Please do not read further if you don't want the X-MEN movies spoiled for you. It's never my goal to ruin movies for people so, I generally try to avoid being any more spoilery than I have to, but when writing about a movie series, it's kind of impossible to avoid all spoilers.</i> YOU HAVE BEEN SPOILER-WARNED!</b><br />
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Don't get me wrong--I enjoyed the X-MEN movies. All of them. Well, almost all of them (COUGHx-menoriginswolverineCOUGH). I was overjoyed when the first X-MEN got so much right. I was still disappointed in how much it got wrong, though. I mean, come on, it's me--I've read the X-MEN comics. Sometimes I wonder if everyone who made that first X-MEN movie had. As far as I can tell, all they did was read the X-MEN issue of WHO'S WHO IN THE MARVEL UNIVERSE and then just stuck in the more popular characters. Which was great, all told. That was more than I was expecting, to be honest.<br />
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<b>What the first X-MEN movie got right.</b><br />
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The plot and dialog for all of the films was pretty good with the films getting better and better as they went (not including the two Wolverine stand alone films which were steps backward in quality, though the one in Japan was the better of the two). It was nice to see the general dynamic of Magneto versus the X-Men being respected as much as it was. However, there is one thing they absolutely had to get right in order to capture one of the most interesting and long-running dynamics...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, the relationship between Scott, Jean and Logan has<br />always been tense. I would have liked to have seen more of<br />this, but I think the movies did alright--despite scuttling the<br />entire dynamic when they inexplicably killed off Scott.</td></tr>
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The main thing the X-MEN movies got right, thankfully, was the relationship dynamic of the big 3 X-characters. Scott, Jean and Logan have always had a rough relationship. That was great. <br />
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The general dynamic between Professor X and Magneto worked OK in that first film but was <i>perfectly</i> in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. Honestly, that was the biggest surprise to me in all of the X-Movies. The idea of a morally ambiguous character is something Hollywood is seems to be interested in avoiding. Most of the time we only get to see good guys and bad guys with no gray areas. It's easier that way, but also less interesting and FIRST CLASS proved that by being the strongest of the X-MEN movies.<br />
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The casting of Professor X was <i>so</i> spot-on, I was almost bored of it by the second movie. The casting of Wolverine, was almost as spot-on as Professor X, but Wolverine is much shorter than Hugh Jackman in the comics. I know I sound like an uber-geek saying that, but it's really about irony. It makes for great one-liners when people refer to Logan as "Little Guy."<br />
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Obviously, I didn't let Jackman's height stop me from enjoying his portrayal. He was excellent otherwise.<br />
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I feel that the casting of Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique was particularly awesome because she is a very good actor and really got the ambiguity of her character. This aspect worked really really well toward creating a parallel with Magneto. Obviously both McKellan and Fassbender are pretty much perfect as the magnetically maniacal mutant.<br />
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Basically, I think my point is that the casting, almost across the board, is perfect in the X-MEN movies... except when it isn't.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO95r5sjEDSsWVL9yLe0eZxzVXCuvY3qRLZE3B1zuOzygYegsM1dqbCZPEmDEqSwP8e844WWyYhdAn-t3XmkjiS3jylP4Jfu5gyiVPI8k0lL-JRcE4F8dLvYYs_8NPrbXuqql7Pwe4dXzU/s1600/X-Men+Scott+Jean+kiss.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO95r5sjEDSsWVL9yLe0eZxzVXCuvY3qRLZE3B1zuOzygYegsM1dqbCZPEmDEqSwP8e844WWyYhdAn-t3XmkjiS3jylP4Jfu5gyiVPI8k0lL-JRcE4F8dLvYYs_8NPrbXuqql7Pwe4dXzU/s320/X-Men+Scott+Jean+kiss.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scott could only be himself with Jean around because<br />only her telekinetic powers were strong enough to hold<br />Scott's eye-beams at bay. Yeah, I can understand why<br />that would be a helpful thing.</td></tr>
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<b>What Doesn't Work: The Casting of Jean and Cyclops</b><br />
<br />
Now, I think Famke Jansen is one of the most beautiful women who ever lived. Seriously. She is also a pretty good actor. <br />
<br />
James Marsden is a perfectly good actor, as well as a handsome fellow. <br />
<br />
However, they really didn't have much chemistry together and that was something that really needed to be there. Scott and Jean were two of the original X-Men and as such were around the same age. However, you can tell that they Marsden and Jansen weren't born in the same decade. It may seem shallow, but their relationship is so well-established in the comics, it's something the films really should have gotten right.<br />
<br />
Also, Marsden doesn't seem to really nail the part of Scott. Scott is a tortured soul. His powers are definitely a curse, and he is doubly tortured by his love for Jean, who hasn't been the most loyal, over the years. Since the script doesn't include any of that <i>ever</i> Marsden comes across as 2-D. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQIe1TXpdn8NJNEz5Sbst7IO9SCv_yM0JClnnZ5euRPUbSUclL2O95gQByb3GLA7VVnHhYVoC8x42HydWwAiJUdCLy-Lx3qUrG3aCW7a3Khq-AMg_2XdeUkyMNd0ontRScHOogbRgNen5/s1600/X-Men+Mady+Pryor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQIe1TXpdn8NJNEz5Sbst7IO9SCv_yM0JClnnZ5euRPUbSUclL2O95gQByb3GLA7VVnHhYVoC8x42HydWwAiJUdCLy-Lx3qUrG3aCW7a3Khq-AMg_2XdeUkyMNd0ontRScHOogbRgNen5/s320/X-Men+Mady+Pryor.jpg" width="214" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So... uh... <i>this</i> happened.</td></tr>
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Likewise, in the first film, Jansen's Jean comes across as a typical woman who can't decide between two men. Which is fine, I guess. It's just that, in the comic, Jean was always portrayed as one-part girl next door, one-part femme fatale. So much so that, in a brilliant parody of a big storyline from competitor DC comics that involved a "gene bomb" that removed all super powers, Marvel had their "Jean Bomb" which ruined the life of every man who came in contact with it. That's how iconic Jean is in the book as someone whom you can't help but love, even though you know she's probably going to be bad news. Especially since she's died a few times and went bad more than once, too. Oh and then there was that one time when Scott fell in love with another gorgeous red-head who turned out to be a clone of Jean's who then went evil. <br />
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I know everyone always says "the book was better" but, in this case, <i>it really was.</i> What's worse is that the movies could have stuck a lot closer to the comics. But I'll get more into this in a bit.<br />
<br />
I don't mean to suggest that this is somehow either actor's fault. It's the director who should have told the writer to give Scott MUCH more pathos and it's the director who should have told Jansen about the whole girl-next-door/femme-fatale thing.<br />
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Also, would it have killed them to cast a real red head as Jean? Or at least give Jansen a better dye job. Sheesh.<br />
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<b>What Also Doesn't Work: changing the general continuity of the comic!</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5JAFQacdShprdV5Ba1DhyphenhyphenuJuEXEZKkJFIkvRVq-Lyaf-45ufu5HJzsDtAB9N-UTGT0mZv83p48Wsq2Xe6MCVYKm3IMV-y8xsw-xqXq0NTAE3HaAqHg-WEGjEZOg_sTwZfa7vZFstk33oW/s1600/x_men_first_class_title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5JAFQacdShprdV5Ba1DhyphenhyphenuJuEXEZKkJFIkvRVq-Lyaf-45ufu5HJzsDtAB9N-UTGT0mZv83p48Wsq2Xe6MCVYKm3IMV-y8xsw-xqXq0NTAE3HaAqHg-WEGjEZOg_sTwZfa7vZFstk33oW/s400/x_men_first_class_title.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That moment when the cast of X-MEN: FIRST CLASS experienced the<br />subtle realization that they were starring in the best X-MEN movie--but also<br />the one with the most jumbled up continuity. <br />And hey, check it out, no Wolverine! </td></tr>
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As both a comic book fan and a writer, it drives me NUTS when writers change things needlessly. If the changes make things better, I mind them much less, but I still wonder why they change them. I mean, the unchanged elements are in the source material for a reason and the source material is obviously successful enough to merit an adaption, so.... maybe you should leave stuff alone and only change things so they fit the time constraints?<br />
<br />
Like with how Marsden's Scott is clearly too young to have been an X-Man in the 70s and how his younger brother in the comics (Havok) became his older brother in X-MEN: FIRST CLASS. And why give Rogue and Logan the same damn relationship Kitty Pryde (Shadowcat) and Logan have in the comic? Especially, since Kitty is a more interesting character? <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not only did Jean and Angel have a<br />thing, they were kind of jerks about it.</td></tr>
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Why underwrite Mystique in the first film only to make her incredibly interesting in FIRST CLASS and DoFP? Why underwrite Storm when she is one of the most dominant characters from the comic? Why include Quicksilver for a couple of AWESOME scenes in DoFP and not recruit him permanently? Why is Moira MacTaggart working for the CIA when she's supposed to be a Scottish scientist who helps Professor X a lot (and even fathered his child, as I recall)? Why leave Colossus out of the films almost completely? I loved the relationship he and Wolverine had. Their Fastball-Special is iconic! <br />
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Another underwritten character in the movies who is quite prominent in the comics was Angel. Think of Angel as Batman, without the tragedy. That is, until he is crucified and left for dead in the sewers by a gang of merciless mutant mercenaries. Angel's wings are amputated and he is a devastated man. He not only loses his wings but also his true love (Jean, who else?) and decides to kill himself by crashing his leer jet into the sea. Which he does. He is then resurrected (by the bad guy in the upcoming X-MEN: APOCALYPSE) as Archangel--his wings are replaced with wings made up of poisoned feathers made of steel. And of course, he's now a bad guy.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Warren Worthington III, aka Angel, was an original X-Man!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlOdkS0kru5CFovLrNoUKIVkaMr5Ao1cAD-tVWP7tBD7mjRpTvIL2OYQXe8RiEz0FFVjiS8eNJe-yUd6rCtd6EyPUgbdvyrVCHMOWLp1APAUXv9Gzc8mLa_APsdxPoJD_qfQWYKperzby/s1600/X-Men+Angel+crucified.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlOdkS0kru5CFovLrNoUKIVkaMr5Ao1cAD-tVWP7tBD7mjRpTvIL2OYQXe8RiEz0FFVjiS8eNJe-yUd6rCtd6EyPUgbdvyrVCHMOWLp1APAUXv9Gzc8mLa_APsdxPoJD_qfQWYKperzby/s320/X-Men+Angel+crucified.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">His life was good until this happened.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiFKObriyf2zmGX7Fs_W51sjPsa6ov9sdq4Yh-tt-vQb41gAkvM8pXqQZ7ve1nZVySi4p7Ehyphenhyphen-oFYBZW99UdeGQToD2cO0d50zbGXiQ_6Z1OVIlmWT7ILGLz0cr0mkbVupiqIbj4JAVYN/s1600/X-Men+Archangel.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyiFKObriyf2zmGX7Fs_W51sjPsa6ov9sdq4Yh-tt-vQb41gAkvM8pXqQZ7ve1nZVySi4p7Ehyphenhyphen-oFYBZW99UdeGQToD2cO0d50zbGXiQ_6Z1OVIlmWT7ILGLz0cr0mkbVupiqIbj4JAVYN/s320/X-Men+Archangel.png" width="309" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Then he got resurrected and went bad and then went good-ish.</td></tr>
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<i><br />
</i> Yeah... <i>How was that storyline not in the movies?!?</i><br />
<br />
<b>So, why were all of these characters and story lines and character arcs underused or ignored entirely?</b><br />
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Simple: Because the writers/producers/directors who made the X-MEN movies didn't have a plan. In <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/08/the-problem-with-pilots-and-how-solving.html">my post about TV pilots</a> I talk about how too many shows begin without the writers really having a sense of where the show is going to go or who the characters are yet. The thing is, it's a writer's job to come up with that before he or she hands in a script. What's more is that the direction the story will take and the arcs the characters are on, should be in that script already.<br />
Clearly, that was not the case with the X-MEN movies. Watching the first X-MEN movie I got the impression that they were just doing what they thought would sell--throw the most popular characters from the comic (Magneto, Professor X, Wolverine, Jean, Scott, Rogue, not Colossus because he's too hard to do the FX on) and throw them in a blender.<br />
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Did they think about a story arc for the entire movie series? Did they think about character arcs for the characters in that first movie? Did they think about what they wanted to do over all?<br />
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It does not seem so.<br />
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In fact, we know they didn't because we know what a movie series looks like when filmmakers do all of those things before writing a script. How do we know this? The Marvel Cinematic Universe has done it and done it publicly. <br />
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<b>The real shame of the X-MEN movies</b><br />
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The first X-MEN comic came out in 1963. So, by the time the first X-MEN movie was released, there had been almost 40 years of X-Men stories to draw from to make these movies. Sure, the storytelling wasn't always perfect over the decades, but there had to be a few really good arcs for it to keep going all this time, right?<br />
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So, why didn't they just sit down and make a plan borrowing from the books?<br />
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Why is it so hard for Hollywood to be confident in their own abilities? Of course, thanks to what Disney, of all companies, has done in trusting Marvel Studios to get it right, we know Hollywood <i>can</i> be confident in their abilities.<br />
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The Mouse trusted the Marvel to do what it's largely done for the last forty years--get storytelling right. <br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FpY-msbD9HfNHLVLcC2z5Ng0nPmNe8YispYnaI4w3msy6PiB3YrxMLQ_tca_kIDeVLibUsg_epA_vcEn-ISuTnTYA3dfypqugkcxIQ94KAsJPkFBctWr2pctEZyu1wbd7wLbl5h5VpkD/s1600/X-Men+Xavier+newspaper.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0FpY-msbD9HfNHLVLcC2z5Ng0nPmNe8YispYnaI4w3msy6PiB3YrxMLQ_tca_kIDeVLibUsg_epA_vcEn-ISuTnTYA3dfypqugkcxIQ94KAsJPkFBctWr2pctEZyu1wbd7wLbl5h5VpkD/s320/X-Men+Xavier+newspaper.png" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seems a good place to start, an X-Men storyline, right?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>How I would write an X-MEN movie series (don't worry, this is simple)</b><br />
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I'd start in 1963. Or maybe 1973 just to make everyone's age, less of a thing. In the first scene, I'd show young Xavier picking up a newspaper from his front stoop. He reads the front page story about a mutant...<br />
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And from there, I'd let the original story unfold. The story would be how several terrorist organizations are moving to destabilize human civilization around the world. This isn't Al Qaeda or ISIS, this Magneto, the Hellfire Club, Mr. Sinister and others working apart and together to essentially assert themselves as the new dominant life form of Earth. Each group does so with different means and methods. The Hellfire Club, works in the background to manipulate things from the shadows. Mr. Sinister targets individuals to ruin. Meanwhile, Magneto takes the direct approach. All the while, Professor X and his young X-Men set about fighting this mutant menace in secret, thanks to the anti-mutant sentiment globally running rampant across human society. <br />
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Don't worry--this isn't all a period show--I would do it <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_(TV_series)">ARROW</a>-style and jump back and forth between modern events and events in the past. <br />
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Comics adaptations aside, this is the thing all super-hero movies are missing right now (yes, even the mighty MCU is missing this): this whole "War on Terror" thing is the new normal. Muslim extremists are now the new bogeyman. And it's pretty obvious how similar a word "Muslim" is to "mutant." I mean, come on--it's the perfect parallel. But the parallel to Muslims doesn't have to be the only parallel. I'd do a subplot with mutants in my storyline that would allow American mutants to parallel what's going on now with how some police are treating People of Color. <br />
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<b>Mutant Lives Matter</b><br />
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It's so easy for Hollywood to focus on the business-side of things rather than the art-side of things. It's the art-side of storytelling that can comment on the world and it's something that science fiction does better than any other genre. If Hollywood could just get the idea that art reflects the time period in which it is created we might be able to see storytelling that would literally make the world a better place. See, when it's done right, art helps us better understand our own world and what's going on in it. Like it or not, storytelling is an art as much as it is an industry and focusing on what sells has consistently stopped the X-MEN movies from being a truly powerful entity.<br />
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<b>The good news is...TV!</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktp0RSodM55s09qcYflkHLFUPlNygGYXRDjiHXhy4c0MpD0yM5qJDMBlszI-VQUVZ2TWg2K1nP1qa9YGWRYvzeLJc-aGjJNF-gYEFfi3s1s6h_lVdhztGTa2azsfqoDAxhsLzZrcEuppd/s1600/xmen_first_class.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiktp0RSodM55s09qcYflkHLFUPlNygGYXRDjiHXhy4c0MpD0yM5qJDMBlszI-VQUVZ2TWg2K1nP1qa9YGWRYvzeLJc-aGjJNF-gYEFfi3s1s6h_lVdhztGTa2azsfqoDAxhsLzZrcEuppd/s320/xmen_first_class.jpg" width="216" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easily the worst poster for the best<br />X-MEN movie.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://screenrant.com/x-men-tv-series-live-action-deal/">A live-action X-MEN TV series is being developed</a>. I think this is a GREAT idea. I've mentioned <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/this-is-part-two-of-netflixs-daredevil.html">my longing for a SPIDER-MAN live-action TV series before</a> but the truth is, every big title in comics should get their own show--especially the X-Men. As I said earlier, they have more than half-a-century of storytelling to draw from. There are TONS of great storylines to tap. One of my biggest gripes about American TV shows is that the seasons are too long--it's impossible to tell 20+ good stories in a row. But with source material like the X-MEN comics, it wouldn't be a problem. Weirdly, it looks like the studio behind this new series will be placing it within the same universe as the movies, which makes no sense to me. Not only will that guarantee more continuity confusion but it means all the cool characters (like the studio-beloved Wolverine) won't be appearing in the measly little TV show.<br />
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I could go on for quite a while about what should be done in a live-action X-MEN TV series, but I think I've made my point.<br />
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<b>Final Thoughts</b><br />
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Marvel Studios has proven that if you are loyal to the source material and tell a good story, you can make serious money and create a juggernaut. The MCU is unstoppable despite missing it's role is a metaphor for society. The X-MEN universe is so vast, it can be its own MCU-style story universe. <br />
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Are the X-MEN movies enjoyable? Of course! But you have to admit, if they had done it my way, it would have been better. And who knows? Maybe the TV series, if it gets off the ground, WILL be better. <br />
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Of course, one way to be sure of that--let me help. Hey! Development guys at Fox! <a href="mailto:pete.nicholls@gmail.com">Email me!</a>Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-61450961179187778182015-08-26T12:00:00.000-04:002015-08-26T13:36:40.436-04:00The Trouble with Trailers<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
We all know what trailers are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When's the last time you saw a really good one, though?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can't remember.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'm shocked when I see a trailer that doesn't make me roll my eyes at least once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even movies I like have trailers that are stupid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I saw <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/07/can-terminator-genisys-save-terminator.html">TERMINATOR: GENISYS</a>, every single trailer I saw before the film either gave me too much information in the form of spoilers or stupidity, or they gave me not enough information to determine whether or not the movie would be any good at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is there a solution to this problem?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or is it just really really hard to make a good trailer?</div>
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<b>Last things first: how trailers get it wrong with giving us too little</b></div>
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Horror movie trailers do this all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They give us snippets of scary scenes punctuated with quick fades to black, with shots that get shorter and shorter until they climax with a long shot of silence followed by something creepy happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like someone whispering something or a random scream or some other contrived thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But almost invariably, they will leave out any actual plot points.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In front of that TERMINATOR screening there was a trailer for INSIDIOUS 3 (or maybe it wasn't INSIDIOUS 3--I can't remember for sure now--isn't <i>that</i> telling?) and it included clips of people running around a house being scared but didn't bother to clue in the viewer regarding what the hell the set-up was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can't think of a recent horror movie trailer that hasn't been like this.</div>
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The trailer for INSIDIOUS 3. This is probably not the </div>
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trailer I saw in front of TERMINATOR: GENISYS. </div>
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Like it matters. This still pretty much fits my criticism.</div>
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Trailers for dramatic movies will show us all kinds of dramatic scenes that may or may not explain the plot to us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trailer for THE JUDGE painted a picture of a father and a son who's relationship seemed so dysfunctional as to not be interesting to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I've seen too many father/son estrangement/restrangement(is that a word?) movies in my life, but that trailer simply failed at giving me a reason to see that movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">The trailer for THE JUDGE starring Robert Downey Jr.</span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">and </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Robert Duvall. </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I feel like this trailer could have</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">been better if RDJ's </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">character were actually likable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Or if the trailer focused </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">on ways this </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">film is different</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11pt;">from other father/son </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">conflict movies. </span></div>
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<b>When a trailer gives too much--and insults your intelligence</b></div>
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I haaaaate stupid movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, maybe I am biased, but when a trailer shows me scenes where people are goofy or silly without establishing some sort of context, the trailer loses me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need more than just silly or goofy to make me laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, I'm not a 5 year-old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sure, prat-falls and some limited silliness can still reach me, but the stuff we feed our kids is just pitiful (see: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9-FCC6I7u0">THE MINIONS trailer</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The stuff we feed ourselves can be pretty bad, too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you see the trailer for the latest VACATION movie?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What the hell was that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why was Chris Hemsworth walking around in just his underpants with a fake penis down them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because it's a "joke," not because it actually makes any comic sense at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And what is funny about a hot model in a hot car getting into a car accident? It makes the original VACATION look like the CITIZEN KANE of comedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The trailer for the new VACATION movie.</div>
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I must be a comedy snob or something because I </div>
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think this movie looks incredibly stupid but clearly</div>
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<i>some</i>one thinks this is funny. Do you?</div>
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Sure people will laugh, but would you see the new VACATION in the theater?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or save $15 and wait for Netlfix? I thought the idea behind trailers was to put butts in seats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn't it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe not...</div>
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<b>When a trailer gives too much--and ruins it for you</b></div>
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My favorite example of a trailer that spoils the whole damn movie for viewers takes us WAY back in time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's the trailer for LORENZO'S OIL, which came out in 1992.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trailer was made by a person who clearly thought showing every emotional beat of the movie would tug our heart strings all the way to the box office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, it told a complete story of a pair of parents who discover their child is sick, who then discover there is no cure, but that there is some sort of experimental cure, which they try, which works and THE END.</div>
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I still remember sitting in my theater seat after seeing it and thinking "well, that trailer saved me the effort of actually watching the movie!"</div>
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The trailer to LORENZO'S OIL (1992) starring Susan</div>
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Sarandon and Nick Nolte. OK, so it's not <i>exactly</i> how I</div>
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remember it, but close enough to make my point.</div>
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Why would I pay full price for a ticket to see this movie</div>
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when the trailer gives me all the feelz all by itself?</div>
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Sidenote: LORENZO'S OIL was directed by GEORGE MILLER.</div>
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Yes, the same George Miller that directed HAPPY FEET and </div>
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MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (and the other MAD MAX movies)</div>
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and BABE. What kind of film CAN'T that man direct?!?</div>
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<b style="font-size: 11pt;">What is a trailer really supposed to do, though?</b></div>
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You'd think the answer to this question would be obvious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You'd think that the goal of a trailer would be to encourage people to see a movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that's true, then why do trailer's suck so often?</div>
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They all look alike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all sound alike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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How can a trailer sell you on a movie if it is edited almost identically to a dozen other trailers?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I can't help but wonder if the number of trailers that theaters run before a movie might have something to do with viewers having trouble remembering the movies they advertise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bet if there were two or three trailers before a movie instead of five or six, we'd have an easier time remembering them.</div>
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<b>Fun fact:</b> Did you know that the reason they're called trailers is because they used to be run <i>after</i> movies?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's TRUE.</div>
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I feel like I'd have an easier time remembering movies if the trailers were still trailed the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or if the trailer was really good--that would help me remember a movie.<br />
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The trailer to TERMINATOR: GENISYS. SPOILER ALERT!</div>
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This trailer gives away a major plot twist that happens</div>
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early-ish in the film. The catch is, that twist is what got</div>
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me interested enough to see the film in theaters.</div>
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The good news is that, while one surprise was ruined,</div>
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I <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/07/can-terminator-genisys-save-terminator.html">really really really enjoyed the rest of the movie</a></div>
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<a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/07/can-terminator-genisys-save-terminator.html">and was very sad the film essentially bombed in theaters</a>.</div>
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So sad that I wrote <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/07/can-terminator-genisys-save-terminator.html">a piece about it</a>.</div>
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But I'm digressing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On purpose, really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why? Because I'm putting off answering the inevitable question:</div>
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<b>OK, Pete! Trailers suck--how do YOU think trailers should be cut?</b></div>
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I wrestled with this question before I started writing this piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My answer is lame:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't know.</div>
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I'd like to say that making a good movie trailer is like making a good TV commercial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, you can't give away the plot to laundry detergent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found myself considering the idea that making a good movie trailer might be harder than making a good movie.</div>
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About the best I can suggest is: cut together clips that set up the movie's story and then STOP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An example of a good trailer cut this way would be to cut one for STAR WARS that would show clips of Leia hiding the plans to the Death Star in R2, Darth Vader demanding to know where the plans are, then a shot of the escape pod escaping, then the empty escape pod in the desert with R2 and Threepio in the foreground, followed by Luke buying the droids from the Jawas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, maybe a quick montage of gun battles, X-Wing dogfights and that's it.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I wonder how a modern trailer editor would have cut a trailer for STAR WARS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They'd probably give too much in the form of spoilers.<br />
<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/vP_1T4ilm8M/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vP_1T4ilm8M?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The original trailer to the original STAR WARS.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Uhmmmm... wow, this is pretty bad.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
"The story of <span style="font-size: 11pt;">a boy, a girl, and a universe."</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
So, trailers <span style="font-size: 11pt;">have always been crap?!?</span></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>Closing thoughts on the trouble with trailers</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The funny thing is, I decide if I'm going to see a movie based on its premise alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I avoid trailers most of the time because I feel like they'll only turn me off of a movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw the trailer for PROMETHEUS after I saw PROMETHEUS and was like "<i>NOW</i> YOU TELL ME!"<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Though, I probably would have gone to see it anyway because it's a hard scifi movie and there aren't enough of those.</div>
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<!--StartFragment--> <!--EndFragment--><br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Do trailers get people into theaters?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think most of them don't.</div>
Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-10317884051919293352015-08-19T12:00:00.000-04:002015-08-19T12:16:44.330-04:00Saving FANTASTIC FOUR: Break the Formula<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbg-v-OzlXtDtl1h0EI8txluvZOMy-HFT18mgyUadDrDKiINpOQIEu9oW3bzzEKi1ZefY7PqOYvEoELXRGoeJ6XxTwCb1NHx1-A_fr9qZS3qIJlUrRu7nsybm8mvylNzg2cYziz_pJ9FbQ/s1600/ff2015poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbg-v-OzlXtDtl1h0EI8txluvZOMy-HFT18mgyUadDrDKiINpOQIEu9oW3bzzEKi1ZefY7PqOYvEoELXRGoeJ6XxTwCb1NHx1-A_fr9qZS3qIJlUrRu7nsybm8mvylNzg2cYziz_pJ9FbQ/s400/ff2015poster.jpg" width="270" /></a></div>
One of the big problems with Hollywood has always been its urge to make it easy for itself. Why actually take the effort <i>every time</i> to write a good script when you can plug variables into a formula and BANG you have a shootable script people will put their butts in theater seats for? <br />
<br />
<b>Put simply: Formulas don't work. Not by themsleves.</b><br />
<br />
Sure, they may seem to work for some films, but how likely are those "success stories" to be rewatched? The key to a crowd-pleasing movie that is also a <i>good movie</i> is to have a formula guide you as a writer, but not to have it dominate your choices. <br />
<br />
FANTASTIC FOUR can be boiled down to an equation.<br />
<br />
Young White Male + Problem that Needs to Be Solved + Complications + Implementing the Solution = Climax<br />
<br />
Aside from the most basic of backstories given to two of the characters (Ben and Johnny) there is nothing of ANY interest included in this film. <br />
<br />
<b>No spoiler alerts for this piece: There is nothing in FANTASTIC FOUR that could be considered a spoiler</b><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdm_vlfj-acdYlwrCrdjiW-Dzerab_mWQYDhbfkGZ5sYcca1cJWiQJTUcvOFEFUxlOsH605xqTaUxRLIbaBILe8mynCUwHLUGeQJOEkQ5uQ6rgfo1520O51UspGGMPtA6lZcXwYSAmAYP/s1600/ff+2005+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSdm_vlfj-acdYlwrCrdjiW-Dzerab_mWQYDhbfkGZ5sYcca1cJWiQJTUcvOFEFUxlOsH605xqTaUxRLIbaBILe8mynCUwHLUGeQJOEkQ5uQ6rgfo1520O51UspGGMPtA6lZcXwYSAmAYP/s400/ff+2005+poster.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2005 > 2015</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There simply isn't anything in this movie that would spoil your enjoyment of it. Not just because this film really isn't enjoyable, but because there are no surprises, no twists, no plot points, even. The things that occur are almost as simple as that formula. The hero is picked to continue his work, his work reaches a milestone, he and his team get powers. A threat appears (and it's Victor Von Doom!) and they deal with him. Did any of that spoil the movie for you?<br />
<br />
Not only is the plot so sparse you could build a condo development on it, the character development is at a bare minimum.<br />
<br />
Ben's dad runs a junk yard, his brother's a jerk and his mom is a hag. <br />
<br />
Johnny rejects his own brilliant genes and intelligence and is an adrenaline junkie, reliving his favorite moments from those FAST AND THE FURIOUS movies in real life. <br />
<br />
Reed is trying to build a teleporter and he's awkward. That's it.<br />
<br />
Sue is…uh... …into music? And like the <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/07/making-better-tomorrowland.html">Smart Teen Girl in TOMORROWLAND</a> is just generically smart. She has no specific identity beyond the role of a token smart white female. <br />
<br />
Oh and Von Doom is… attracted to Sue. It's probably the closest thing we get to a character dynamic as Sue seems awkward about how he clearly is attracted to him, and he does seem a little creepy about it, but beyond that, he does zero to conflict with anyone.<br />
<br />
<b>Something Happens and Then They Get Their Powers</b><br />
<br />
The something is that Reed gets his teleporter to work with the money and facilities provided by the Baxter Foundation. They get drunk and teleport themselves to "another dimension". As a science geek, I have a huge problem with the generic use of that phrase, but I will skip it for now. Must stay focused. <br />
<br />
So, predictably enough, while in this other dimension, they run into trouble and need to escape in a rush. When they get back, they all have their powers but they had to leave Von Doom behind in the other dimension. See, cuz, the badguy isn't all that bad if all he's doing is creepily, but harmlessly, oggling the only woman in the movie. I'm not being sarcastic. He is the least threatening badguy ever which makes his random rants later on seem all the more contrived.<br />
<br />
<b>If plot points are utterly unnecessary and forgettable, do they count as plot points?</b><br />
<br />
After they get their powers, there's some stuff that happens, but ultimately, someone decides that the answer to curing them of their powers lies back in that other dimension (not that they tried anything else). If only there were some scientists around who could do some science stuff and maybe find a cure. <br />
<br />
<i>Sigh.</i><br />
<br />
So, they go back to the other dimension where Von Doom (he survived! WOW! Who saw that coming?!?) is now really angry because… um, not sure. He decides he is going to destroy Earth and has crazy powers (think Tetsuo from AKIRA) and is basically, unstoppable. Of course, in about five seconds, our heroes manage to stop him. <br />
<br />
<b>Please note: I have yet to make a single comparison of FANTASTIC FOUR to the comic book it is based on (and of which, I am a fan)</b><br />
<br />
That's the really sad thing about FANTASTIC FOUR. It's worse than any FANTASTIC FOUR film that has come before it. In fact, it's way worse. The Tim Story films were really fun movies, in general (and are underrated in my opinion), but are downright <i>masterpieces</i> compared to Josh Trank's FANTASTIC FOUR. Hell, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fantastic_Four_(unreleased_film)">1994 FANTASTIC FOUR</a> movie Roger Corman produced was better and that was a bad b-movie that was never released.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYVwTrrGjE1uAdz77ZYSQW3HAg2nqMKmZo1Uyj30pFgHvRWVzGjRq54dp-Ugj96NUJLNtO4Upy86YwkGiP4_k7eDOlXIQMuCzDsq9uL1jXe4VVvDAdYtz9-szKfp7rJVmXSUVeFo7gCHK/s1600/ff102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYVwTrrGjE1uAdz77ZYSQW3HAg2nqMKmZo1Uyj30pFgHvRWVzGjRq54dp-Ugj96NUJLNtO4Upy86YwkGiP4_k7eDOlXIQMuCzDsq9uL1jXe4VVvDAdYtz9-szKfp7rJVmXSUVeFo7gCHK/s400/ff102.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Topical, fun, fantastical, Prince Namor, AKA the<br />
Sub-Mariner would make a great badguy for a<br />
FANTASTIC FOUR movie.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>How to make a FANTASTIC FOUR movie that doesn't suck</b><br />
<br />
Make a god damn effort! Sure, every super-hero film is formulaic. Hell, every story has some good cliché in it. But don't just take Blake Snyder's SAVE THE CAT formula and leave it alone. Throw some imagination at it! Even if you don't stick to the source material, don't just poop out a series of weak plot points that you string together ling dingleberries and call it a script!<br />
<br />
If I had no loyalty to the source material, I'd actually have a bit of trouble writing this. See, the source material is strong. Really strong. After all, there is a reason FF has been around for over half-a-century. Part of what gives it that staying power is that it has four basic springboards for truly fantastic storytelling baked right into its premise--its characters.<br />
<br />
The reason they are called the "Fantastic Four" isn't really because they each have these amazing super-powers. It's because they're each brilliant in their chosen fields but together they are <i>fantastic</i>. <br />
<br />
However, they aren't perfect. Reed is the classic absent-minded professor, Ben is not the brightest bulb in the lamp store, Johnny is a hot head, and Sue is, well, usually underwritten. But come on, it's not so hard to write a female character. Just pick a discipline of science that would be of use in a story that involves fantastical feats of future-science and don't let her do anything girly. <br />
<br />
On the other hand, Ben is a brilliant pilot, Johnny is a really brave guy, while Sue and Reed have been known to be exploring science that is 20-50 years ahead of where actual science is.<br />
<br />
You really have a lot to work with.<br />
<br />
Then consider the 50+ years of stories you can pull from. Doctor Doom, Silver Surfer, Galactus, the Skrull (aliens), and one character that would be particularly timely right now, the Sub-Mariner. What better time to use ol' Prince Namor? We surface dwellers are poisoning every part of our planet--the most of which is the sea. <br />
<br />
In fact, the Sub-Mariner could ultimately have the same goal as Von Doom in FANTASTIC FOUR (destroy the human world before humans destroy his world), only in this story, it would make sense.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHY-_8hy9V2aJQO48UOhdcWt2jH6lwNj0zTGdV73xblXIGSSY6AMFWc4hyphenhypheng49mCDFtR4goglXryokfV0COcWryWuo0jSDcAbWTptknhSXVLNQirEkiDzaCJmVzQtGkemuV5BJ9uq_NqEx/s1600/Namor_the_Sub-Mariner_Vol_1_50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEHY-_8hy9V2aJQO48UOhdcWt2jH6lwNj0zTGdV73xblXIGSSY6AMFWc4hyphenhypheng49mCDFtR4goglXryokfV0COcWryWuo0jSDcAbWTptknhSXVLNQirEkiDzaCJmVzQtGkemuV5BJ9uq_NqEx/s400/Namor_the_Sub-Mariner_Vol_1_50.jpg" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">OK, Namor having a thing for Sue (and vice versa)<br />
is a little cliche but, let's be honest--wouldn't you?!<br />
Why can't a married woman be portrayed in a <br />
movie being attracted to another man? Especially,<br />
when that man is Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
OK, so that's what I would do for my basic story. I'd basically do the original story pretty close to how it appeared in the comic with a few minor changes to make it more modern. Essentially, Namor would scout out the defenses of the human world, in the process meet Sue and fall for her due to her beauty, brilliant mind, and willingness to be outspoken. Atlantis is still a very sexist culture. He returns home and is reminded that Atlantians are in no state to wage a war. Global Warming has caused so many of his people to die off that he must turn to terrorist attacks on the surface world to change things. The FF is then tasked with finding some way to kill Namor. Of course, Reed doesn't want to kill him and neither does Sue. Thing and Johnny are down with it, and after some fights with Namor and his lackeys, realize that this is not going to end without a mess. Seeing his people dying at home, he is driven to bring a bomb into Manhattan to blow up, not only the FF, but the entire city. But since he's in love with Sue, he tries to kidnap her and in the process she discovers the plot and turns on Namor. In the end, the FF works together to find the bomb--they can't shut it down in time, they dump it out, in the ocean where it explodes, killing even more sea life. Reed pledges the FF to coming up with scientific solutions to Global Warming and to helping save those that still live in Atlantis.<br />
<br />
Yep, that's right--I did not mention anything about an origin story. Why? Well, read my piece from last week on how NOT to write a pilot (http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/08/the-problem-with-pilots-and-how-solving.html) for a detailed explanation, but the nutshell version is this: you don't need one. If you really think your audience is too thick to follow a story without knowing its absolute beginning, do a montage in the title sequence or add a quick flashback or two. Any writer worth their salt can fill in blanks as the story goes. Like I said in my post last week, there's a reason George Lucas started shooting STAR WARS movies with episode four.<br />
<br />
There is one other thing I'd do out of respect for the source material. I'd ask a question.<br />
<br />
<b>What is the core idea behind the source material?</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEA9ZkzMXAoHh0q0-Z9fp1FadGE8a2GIO9HpAGbiUyJqHkqhkHh2QHlLYzT0nQH3rWMHlSD664exikQgJk4g7L4cYVTH-t88SzBTeyjSuHv_elU6hFB7vXcmzrtcLKhPeHl2h3IkMGsr4F/s1600/Prince_Namor_the_Sub-Mariner_Vol_1_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEA9ZkzMXAoHh0q0-Z9fp1FadGE8a2GIO9HpAGbiUyJqHkqhkHh2QHlLYzT0nQH3rWMHlSD664exikQgJk4g7L4cYVTH-t88SzBTeyjSuHv_elU6hFB7vXcmzrtcLKhPeHl2h3IkMGsr4F/s400/Prince_Namor_the_Sub-Mariner_Vol_1_2.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sure, the world of the Fantastic Four has it's cheesy<br />
moments, but there are also moments like this.<br />
There are reasons good super villains do what they<br />
do--it's not just because they're crazy or want to see<br />
the world burn. It's because they've suffered at the<br />
hands of others who think of themselves as<br />
righteous. How can ANYONE think Namor<br />
wouldn't be a perfect parable to modern terrorism?!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This is the hardest thing for any mainstream writer to accept when sitting down to write a genre film based on a pre-existing property: <i>you must respect the original idea at the core of the source material.</i> It's doubly hard to accept that about making a FANTASTIC FOUR movie since, let's be honest, the comic has it's fair share of cheesy moments. That's not to say there aren't some really wonderful dramatic moments, too.<br />
<br />
The thing is, the whole point of making a movie or TV show or even a comic book or a novel, based on a property from another medium is to capitalize off of that property's pre-existing audience. If you don't honor the reason they like the propery, you'll lose the most vocal fans of that source material. Without them, you might as well just make a movie that isn't based on something else at that point.<br />
<br />
However, in the case of movies like FANTASTIC FOUR, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has proven that if you honor that original core, you won't just please the fans, but you will also make good movies. <br />
<br />
With FANTASTIC FOUR, the core is all about science allowing us to experience the truly fantastic. The lab in which Reed perfects his teleporter in Josh Tranks FF movie was the opposite of fantastic science. It was boring, drab, uninteresting science that looked a lot like your average cube farm with three refrigerators in the middle of everything. The computers had keyboards and small displays. The computers on the AGENTS OF SHIELD TV show look cooler than this. And there's nothing particularly <i>fantastic</i> about SHIELD's computers. So, the ante needs to be upped <i>seriously</i> in a FANTASTIC FOUR film. Then there's the feeling of wonder this fantastic science should bring the audience. This isn't science class--this is <i>science adventure</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>Final Thoughts on Josh Trank's FANTASTIC FOUR and the Action Movie Formula</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwItwtuVI9H7czs1x2O6v6eneZbxJpDaESZh6hw4Yjm6jqgPfy7Nsnc4kvRHn-D3OZWVJjy-BC8Pz9dBZgcjC4t88XiWI1PCcdpeW_nN0C1xKPI1GqbmeD5BbeRrlQcGzVBUb_u5Sk69Ef/s1600/ff+1994+still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwItwtuVI9H7czs1x2O6v6eneZbxJpDaESZh6hw4Yjm6jqgPfy7Nsnc4kvRHn-D3OZWVJjy-BC8Pz9dBZgcjC4t88XiWI1PCcdpeW_nN0C1xKPI1GqbmeD5BbeRrlQcGzVBUb_u5Sk69Ef/s320/ff+1994+still.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1994 > 2015<br />
(way cheesier, but still better)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Before starting this piece, I hadn't heard anything about the on-set strife between director Josh Trank and the producers. I've read that the studio had huge problems with his final cut. I've also heard that he and the lead actor did not get along in the least. This is unfortunate--but ultimately, the sign of a good director is someone who knows when to put up a fight and when to compromise. Not all compromise is bad. I can't imagine that there wasn't a middle ground that could be found with the producers. But who knows? I think it's a shame, regardless of what the truth is. Though, I think, it is the responsibility of the director to do the work the producers want him or her to do. Voice your opinion, do what you can to convince them, but ultimately back down because, they are your bosses. Get yourself locked out of the editing suite and you can't have any say in how the film ends up looking.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, this film and too many others rely on this basic formula for making an action movie. I get it--life is easier with instructions. Life is also more boring when all you do is follow the instructions (Come on, you've see THE LEGO MOVIE, haven't you?). So, use the formula but break it into pieces and then glue it back together with imagination--character development, plot points and devices that are rarely used or are, at least, unexpected. I don't know if Josh Trank did this only to have the producers and/or studio come in and edit all of his film's good moments out. All I can do is judge the film as it was released. <br />
<br />
So, maybe this is yet another example of Fox execs screwing up a movie. Personally, I think Fox should do what Sony did with Spider-Man and do a deal with Marvel Studios to fold the FF into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Clearly, Marvel knows what they are doing with super-hero movies and pretty much everyone else has little to no clue.<br />
<br />
Was Josh Trank's FANTASTIC FOUR entertaining? No. Would it have been better if it was done my way? Hell, it would have been better if it had been done anyone else's way.Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-19642744359435187632015-08-12T12:00:00.000-04:002015-08-12T12:27:41.430-04:00The Problem with Pilots and How Solving it Will Make All TV Shows Better<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBEgoOp7srOD-EeRfSuLmIDcg0XBFyADu4a0PUYoc9BXEshHKvT_Z7CgeEp8RnDUd1Xt6nYRrzzFFWTHdE2Wijf79VDazEFSsqh30dsLmkoYnjhm3yUToMTfWVzc_Uwv7ib9m6xmMG7A9/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-12+at+11.07.37+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBEgoOp7srOD-EeRfSuLmIDcg0XBFyADu4a0PUYoc9BXEshHKvT_Z7CgeEp8RnDUd1Xt6nYRrzzFFWTHdE2Wijf79VDazEFSsqh30dsLmkoYnjhm3yUToMTfWVzc_Uwv7ib9m6xmMG7A9/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-12+at+11.07.37+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unlike a lot of pilots, the first episode and the first season of<br />
BEING HUMAN did not suffer from Not Enough Planning<br />
Syndrome. Sadly, later seasons did. :(</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
There is a general understanding in Hollywood that TV pilots just aren't very good. There's a saying in screenwriting circles that says "always start your script as deep into the story as you can." <br />
<br />
In Hollywood, today, the former is embraced while the latter is ignored. At least, that's how it seems to me. I've seen several first episodes of series that seem to have no idea what they're doing. When ever I mention this to other writers, what I usually hear back is the excuse: "Well, pilots always suck because they haven't figured out what the story is or who the characters are."<br />
<br />
I wish so many of us writers weren't so eager to defend half-ass writing. I get that all that <i>really</i> matters is if people watch, but aren't your story and characters things you should work out before you hand in your "finished" script? And if you have a clear plan for them in mind, don't you think that will make your pilot and any episodes that follow stronger and more likely to get an episode order?<br />
<br />
Seriously: how can you defend the idea that it's OK to flesh out your story and characters further into the series? Too many shows suffer from Not Enough Planning Syndrome. It's so easy (though it's also time consuming) to just sit down and answer questions about your story and about your characters. Just make choices. Your bosses/fellow writers will let you know if they don't work or if they are just horrible directions to go in. Figure out where your plot is going beyond the first episode and even beyond the first season. The question to ask yourself is this: what is the long arc of both my story and my characters?<br />
<br />
<b>When Not Enough Planning Syndrome Strikes, We Are All the Victims!</b><br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcICRFFp4zlqBJxuOQSwYjG7no5ukhPhpVz_VT6FjIzzwcLjxkvvwVOE3bwW12vhqKjPYqCAtaxEImAZDyuBCvhTMFYlDQPmXhXVFxypE2IMekVKx3MEawyMLRgKzs0etNOZM_1vtYfNAG/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-12+at+11.10.35+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcICRFFp4zlqBJxuOQSwYjG7no5ukhPhpVz_VT6FjIzzwcLjxkvvwVOE3bwW12vhqKjPYqCAtaxEImAZDyuBCvhTMFYlDQPmXhXVFxypE2IMekVKx3MEawyMLRgKzs0etNOZM_1vtYfNAG/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-12+at+11.10.35+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (the remake) started off really<br />
strong but ultimately left this viewer unsatisfied. It's safe to<br />
assume that most viewers felt the same as the BSG spin-off<br />
series, CAPRICA, only lasted one season. q</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A BBC show I fell in love with years ago was BEING HUMAN. The first season was incredibly well written. It seemed like the writer(s) had a clear plan and really had a sense of who these characters were and where they were headed. If the series had never gotten another season, I'd have been disappointed, but satisfied. Well, the show did get a second season and, sadly, it was nowhere near as good as the first. This isn't Bad Sequel Syndrome--this is Not Enough Planning Syndrome. I'm just guessing here, but the creator of BEING HUMAN was probably a little surprised that he got another season ordered and didn't want to keep the Beeb waiting. I don't blame him, but his second season suffered for it. And because he didn't sit down and work out a long arc to span the next two or three seasons right then, the rest of the show's run really suffered for it. It suffered so much that by the final season, they'd cycled out all the original characters. That's right, none of the original characters were on the show by the end of the show's run. That is a sign of a serious lack of planning.<br />
<br />
Sure, the show stayed on the air for 5 seasons (5 BBC seasons, which, for this show, were no more than 8 episodes per) but who is going to want to watch it again? Or buy the DVD or download the show from iTunes?<br />
<br />
I see shows making this same mistake in the US. The BATTLESTAR GALACTICA reboot series insisted in the opening titles of <i>every episode</i> that the enemy robots had a plan. Well, that plan was never really explained on the series and I have a feeling, the writers never actually had that plan. Why else were the last couple seasons so mediocre and the finale so contrived and heavy-handed? Like BEING HUMAN, BATTLESTAR started off really strong. But, like BEING HUMAN, they just didn't plan well enough, or far enough, ahead. <br />
<br />
<b>This is why we can't have nice things</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3BV0dMnaQH7OxtNg9T6RpvIMSMsu3nxRlQUbGKBSo10jNANm41RJwUYfKFKBlkDAKUgGXxyZm3QNriHXP9j7SiOdIn7roBh2OsNChAxqwDby2gHt2cg_J62Rnw9Nntw4qWCYJ9AfpFsb/s1600/supergirl_2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3BV0dMnaQH7OxtNg9T6RpvIMSMsu3nxRlQUbGKBSo10jNANm41RJwUYfKFKBlkDAKUgGXxyZm3QNriHXP9j7SiOdIn7roBh2OsNChAxqwDby2gHt2cg_J62Rnw9Nntw4qWCYJ9AfpFsb/s400/supergirl_2015.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like BLINDSPOT, the show builds in male dominance in the first episode,<br />
further eroding the whole point of being a super-hero and thus making<br />
viewers less likely to stick around. Why would anyone want to watch a show<br />
about a super-powered alien who has to ask permission from a human man<br />
before she kicks some ass? You can have this dynamic in the past of the<br />
character, but in the present, it's just stifling for the writing and the viewers<br />
who just want SUPER-HEROES, ACTION and FUN!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This year, I've seen a number of pilots that made it to series despite seeming to be, very clearly, still in their development stages. One pilot seemed to excuse it's own lack of planning by giving all of its characters amnesia, which is weird, since the show is based on a comic book. Maybe they're ignoring the comic's plot? In several pilots I've seen in 2015, we're stuck, sitting through origin stories that 1) aren't all that original and 2) violate that second thing I mentioned above, in my first paragraph: start your script as far into the story as you can.<br />
<br />
Can someone tell me why the pilot to the new SUPERGIRL series starts before Kara actually decides to be a super-hero? Why is she a bumbling goofball? Why is she still in Superman's shadow? Everyone watching knows who Supergirl is, there is no reason to waste time showing how or even why she decided to be a super-hero. Better to save origin stories like hers for when the writers run out of ideas. Besides, the origin story they give Kara establishes that she's been directionless for years, since she's been on Earth. Why not have her be a competent hero from the start? Won't that be more likely to inspire viewers to stick around?<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqq9XdHsyapHdcEIB2ju6KsG1V2xnX1Hn3RrLVihWDylyfsdjRjZV2F4-YtlLTN2JsZkN9WxruMAJMYOmq90p0ijQrULAc_ATe5e-u0Zz0xSKEEYKUb2MBvwfjqZKI8hL1_q06-g7bGm6Y/s1600/Blindspot+2015.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqq9XdHsyapHdcEIB2ju6KsG1V2xnX1Hn3RrLVihWDylyfsdjRjZV2F4-YtlLTN2JsZkN9WxruMAJMYOmq90p0ijQrULAc_ATe5e-u0Zz0xSKEEYKUb2MBvwfjqZKI8hL1_q06-g7bGm6Y/s320/Blindspot+2015.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In BLINDSPOT the lead female character<br />
literally has the male love-interest's name<br />
written on her. Talk about a lame origin<br />
story! Let me know when she has her free<br />
will back! Insult is added to injury with the<br />
casting of her love interest. This guy is a<br />
boringly handsome tough-guy (<i>#cliché</i>) <br />
with two expressions: squint and non-squint. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I knew I was addicted to the Marvel Cinematic Universe when I saw Steve Rogers be incredibly competent within minutes of getting his super powers. He still grows as a person, but not from a level of incompetence. Sure, in the beginning he's a runt, but from frame one, his heart and mind are already Captain America. His arc then becomes about how he deals with his powers and his role as a hero.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the pilot for BLINDSPOT begins with another amnesiac. This one wakes up in Times Square, naked, covered in tattoos and relies on FBI agents to help her, despite her quickly discovering she is, in fact, Jason Bourne. Oh, now <i>that's</i> inspiring! I can't wait to see her ask her FBI handler for permission to be her bad-ass self in every episode.<br />
<br />
Watching our heroes bumble through beginner mistakes is generally depressing and un-fun. Waiting for the story to get to the event or idea mentioned in its title can be frustrating and perplexing (why is DARK MATTER called DARK MATTER, exactly???). There is a reason George Lucas started with episode 4 when he started making STAR WARS movies. It was because, as we now know, episodes 1-3 just weren't very good (not that I could not have written them so they were, but I digress).<br />
<br />
<b>Even if you have one of those great premises that is so wide-open that it would allow for an infinite supply of episode outlines, it still pays to plan.</b><br />
<br />
Take PERSON OF INTEREST. This is a show that has a very simple premise: guy builds a magic computer that feeds him the social security number of someone who is statistically likely to kill or be killed--it's then our heroes' job to save them or get them arrested. Sounds perfect for a series, doesn't it? It could just be a bad/good guy of-the-week show. But it isn't. It's got a really tight story arc that has driven itself through several seasons of really good TV. That long arc isn't even evident in the pilot, but it is clear that they had a lot in mind in that first episode. What's great about that pilot is that it isn't an origin story. It covers how one of the show regulars comes to join the guy with the computer, but he has had a life before the pilot (a life that does come back to haunt him) and, as we eventually discover much later on in the series, he is replacing someone else. So, the writers on PERSON OF INTEREST clearly understand that you don't start your story at the very beginning.<br />
<br />
I know--it seems counterintuitive, but it really does make a lot of sense. <br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6YvSC7T5DS_LVopBzge_SJAx3X0pyJGrZwxZi4m5fQNIRIQm_Yz5iRC8nSUATXR1UEKPOCp9qKaLvZpurFbm3At6HrJzFz6FUh-BeS3TyGlmpc0WLg-98GOit4T4zCMWVQXNsA_eoQUHQ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-08-12+at+11.16.45+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6YvSC7T5DS_LVopBzge_SJAx3X0pyJGrZwxZi4m5fQNIRIQm_Yz5iRC8nSUATXR1UEKPOCp9qKaLvZpurFbm3At6HrJzFz6FUh-BeS3TyGlmpc0WLg-98GOit4T4zCMWVQXNsA_eoQUHQ/s320/Screen+Shot+2015-08-12+at+11.16.45+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I ignored PERSON OF INTEREST for a long time. I wrote it<br />
off as a typical cop show with two white males with savior<br />
complexes as the leads. Which is what it is. What I didn't<br />
know was how it would grow and evolve into a pretty well-<br />
written show with a pretty diverse supporting cast. This<br />
is most likely thanks to, you guessed it, planning well and<br />
planning ahead. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Remember THE X-FILES? It's first episode is an origin story, in a sense, but only in that it shows how Mulder and Scully met. Scully was an active FBI agent before the episode begins and Mulder had been working on the X-Files for at least <i>some</i> amount of time. From there, we get right into the grit of investigating unexplained phenomena. Like PERSON OF INTEREST, the horizon seems wide open, but already, the show is laying the groundwork for the eventual long story arc that will carry us through several seasons of the show.<br />
<br />
More recently, the folks behind ARROW have done really interesting stuff with structure. The pilot starts with the rich guy putting on a vigilante costume <i>and</i> at the beginning of the story. <br />
<br />
So, in the first episode of ARROW, the lead character is just returning from spending 5 years on an island where he mastered his abilities as an expert archer. However, before the story gets too far in that first episode, we cut to five years earlier and see the much more immature character, before he became this stoic bad-ass he is in the present day of the story. This isn't so much a flashback as it is a deliberate narrative structure that manages to show us how Arrow came to be, and also gives us a more skilled version of the character so we can have fulfilled the promise of the show--quality vigilante violence. Beyond that, the structure allows the more skilled version of the character to continue growing. It's really an impressive structure and I don't know how they keep it going from episode to episode. I'm glad more shows don't copy it because I don't think most shows could pull it off. I know I'd have a hard time.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznehd6gSpF89_twJHIUg-ND1CcQAgphuBfPBIntzKEnyu2cWp-KIbZpTqzNYRXxHGh0vLYCMBjNRddAimrkjHdQY5zt_E5Yztncx7mHPhNDwxSJFrKbE1ZjVZ5ss7H2jICeK6prz4wVuG/s1600/Arrow-2013-the-CW-February-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznehd6gSpF89_twJHIUg-ND1CcQAgphuBfPBIntzKEnyu2cWp-KIbZpTqzNYRXxHGh0vLYCMBjNRddAimrkjHdQY5zt_E5Yztncx7mHPhNDwxSJFrKbE1ZjVZ5ss7H2jICeK6prz4wVuG/s400/Arrow-2013-the-CW-February-poster.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It took me a while to recognize what ARROW was doing,<br />
structurally, but once I figured it out, I was hooked. It's like<br />
watching season 1 and season 6 at the same time because<br />
half the show takes place 5 years before the other half.<br />
Name one other show that does this. I can't think of any.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
One thing though, the fact that the writers of ARROW can make it work and have for four seasons, pretty much guarantees that they have a plan and have pulled their point-of-view way back so they can really see that long arc. Based on their choice to spin-off a FLASH series, a LEGENDS OF TOMORROW series, <i>and</i> a VIXEN animated series, I think those guys really did think things through.<br />
<br />
Either that or they're the most amazing story improvisers to ever work in TV.<br />
<br />
<b>The moral of the story is...</b><br />
<br />
Plan. Don't think of a pilot script as just something you'll bang out with the assumption that it will get changed a bunch before it gets shot. You might as well make it good now. Or, if you subscribe to the idea that you have to leave it imperfect so those asshole producers out there can "make it better," fine. Do what you need to in order to sell the thing, but have a plan in your head or on your hard drive, just in case. There's another rule in Hollywood: always have something else ready. If you have a pilot ready, why not have that long arc ready, too?<br />
<br />
What's even better is that planning ahead lets you see where the best place to start your show is. Maybe it is with the catalyst. Maybe it's down the road when the lead character has a new person enter their life that allows them to look at said life in a new way. Maybe it's even later when that person is killed in a car accident. Regardless, a plan is a road map for your show. It not only shows your destination, but gives you options as to the best places to depart.<br />
<br />
Do some series end up being really good after their pilot sucked? Sure. But I don't think anyone has counted the number of pilots that never made it to series. After all, wouldn't you be more likely to sell the show in the first place if you actually had a plan?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-34842907636841443482015-08-05T12:00:00.000-04:002015-08-05T12:00:05.661-04:00POWERS that (Should) Be (Better)I am finally getting around to writing up my take on the Sony Playstation Network series POWERS. For anyone who is not familiar, this is a show that is based on the Brian Michael Bendis comic series of the same name. It's a comic I am unfamiliar with, so I won't be talking about it's adaptation, but I will talk about how the show adapts the general super-hero idea to the small screen.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwD315YesqCHFS2SEwl8I_uxojYgkyJC7V3a-qaM3awt2uBZXnt_uNHPZhjJOjvk6c5F4QJy5NNSrozitPtWUNAobVxjDnmXJDHyzsyKoiqXZ2S5mbChbzccJ0bJ1AxOphQDZ3QNT2d5O/s1600/powers+main+ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbwD315YesqCHFS2SEwl8I_uxojYgkyJC7V3a-qaM3awt2uBZXnt_uNHPZhjJOjvk6c5F4QJy5NNSrozitPtWUNAobVxjDnmXJDHyzsyKoiqXZ2S5mbChbzccJ0bJ1AxOphQDZ3QNT2d5O/s400/powers+main+ad.jpg" width="373" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"REAL POWER LIES WITHIN" a better script. :(</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One thing I won't be doing is praising it. This show falls prey to a number of common problems. The biggest is giving into the syndrome I described in my piece about the Wachowskis SENSE8 (<a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/07/saving-sense8-and-few-other-internet.html">read it here</a>). Internet First Syndrome, put simply, is when producers and writers behind the show decide they can take advantage of the no-commercial structure of Internet-First TV shows and just take everything slowly--too slowly. In too many cases, this manifests itself in the form of padding. In this case, it takes POWERS about 7 episodes of not much importance to get to a big plot point. Remember how <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html">Netflix's DAREDEVIL</a> took what should have been a pilot episode and stretched it out into nearly an entire season of episodes? Yeah, like that.<br />
<br />
<b>POWERS in a nutshell</b><br />
<br />
Sadly, POWERS comes across like a show on a budget--gritty, but featuring weak-looking gore, no FX make-up, props that look hokey, featuring a very simplistic, predictable story. There were no surprises, no interesting characters, and action that looks like a fan-film. Actually, I recently saw the fan film, PREDATOR DARK AGES, and it had better action and FX than POWERS.<br />
<br />
POWERS left me wanting so much more. I will never read the comic if this is how good it is. The show tries to be tough and gritty, but it fails on almost every practical level. It tries to say important things about the nature of fame and power, but does so in a way that is not compelling. <br />
<br />
Ultimately, it felt like a show that didn't know exactly what it wanted to do beyond that one huge (and hugely obvious) plot point that takes forever to actually happen.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrVb7d9ShhnjD2SHcKUbIf0JxlRBhq4SG9dxNKGCBbxfmflLp5PDLoD0GJTAD_O_pd7o6I6_sESJAum0dB1zL77g2Qaoz71159v3UC2Cj99xeLJYfTdcPUmF5cUDifslnHcpmJr1ZJl2D/s1600/Powers+cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrVb7d9ShhnjD2SHcKUbIf0JxlRBhq4SG9dxNKGCBbxfmflLp5PDLoD0GJTAD_O_pd7o6I6_sESJAum0dB1zL77g2Qaoz71159v3UC2Cj99xeLJYfTdcPUmF5cUDifslnHcpmJr1ZJl2D/s320/Powers+cast.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look--even they seem underwhelmed by this show and they're<br />
starring in it!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>What worked in POWERS</b><br />
<br />
Not much. The universe of POWERS is developed, but boring. The budget, I assume, keeps the story in Los Angeles, and it's an LA that looks a lot like real LA--not like an LA that would change due to having super-powered people around. That said, we know there is a world beyond the borders of the story. That's cool and interesting and not something other shows get right. ARROW and FLASH never give the impression that there are is a culture evolving around super-heroes. POWERS nails that and it's the most interesting thing about the show. Sadly, that's not the focus of the show.<br />
<br />
Another thing that worked, but was also not the focus of the show, was Retro Girl's place in the universe. I really understood where she was in her life and career as a super-hero and I got her conflict. I also liked what they were going for with the African-American partner. The dynamic between her and the lead white guy was interesting, but really underdeveloped, sadly. I really wish the show had been about that partner because her character is far more interesting than a washed-up, ex-super-hero-turned-police-detective. I mean, that is a pretty old character archetype, isn't it? This doesn't mean it's an inherently bad choice, but it sure as hell doesn't make it instantly a good one.<br />
<br />
One last thing that (sort of) worked for me was the gritty violence. I thought it looked not-so-great, but I got the point. When there is violence, it's a mess and it's brutal. I got the sentiment, even if the budget wouldn't allow for it to show like I felt it should have. Seeing blood splattering everywhere is cute, but not all there is when making disturbing visuals.<br />
<br />
<b>What Didn't Work in POWERS: IT'S SPOILER TIME, KIDS! You've been warned!</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiS4mlsovCsgBR1WQfddh7IXmyRA2QBQz9egSNxy1O_MxfyeoWYqexD63jaARrShGRWi1BGApdwOnKDEamjVVff4oc6_JlqKtlQhyphenhyphenfeUOZiN2x3U4hyy6Vhx7NTueGRvz6VFt014vlQ4d/s1600/Powers+Wolfe+chained.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQiS4mlsovCsgBR1WQfddh7IXmyRA2QBQz9egSNxy1O_MxfyeoWYqexD63jaARrShGRWi1BGApdwOnKDEamjVVff4oc6_JlqKtlQhyphenhyphenfeUOZiN2x3U4hyy6Vhx7NTueGRvz6VFt014vlQ4d/s400/Powers+Wolfe+chained.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oooo! Cool chains! You think he'll ever escape from them?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So very much to tear into, here. I'll just list them:<br />
<br />
<br />
1) The story of the hardboiled ex-super-hero-turned-police-detective is super cliché. Especially when the character is played by a white man: I mean, come on. Sharlto Copely's choice of voice only made it worse. It seemed like Copley wanted to sound as though he gargled with gasoline every morning but instead just sounded like a bad Dick Tracy villain. In the end, I blame the script for bringing us a really boring "hero" who is humorless and unlikable, and someone who doesn't even have an interesting character arc.<br />
<br />
2) The FX: looked seriously budget-impaired. Watching super-heroes fight in the air from several hundred yards away is like watching flies mate. You can't tell what's going on and you really wish it would stop. The gore FX were pretty low-budget looking. When Wolfe chows down on people it's painfully obvious that it's just Eddie Izzard crouching over a blood-spewing machine. Have him eat off camera. We'll imagine much worse than you can afford to show us (and that's good).<br />
<br />
3) The dynamic between the runaway girl and the mob boss: I got that she wanted to be a super-hero, but I don't think she ever explained why and if she did, she had a really boring reason for it because I don't remember it at all. In fact, her character was written like a one-dimensional waif who has but one motivation in life and it's not a particularly interesting motivation. Compare her do Disney's Pinocchio who had a similar goal. His life was about that goal in a bunch of different ways. All the runaway girl can do is mutter through the entire show about how she wants powers. Meanwhile, her mob boss/father-figure is played by another actor I like but, like Copley, chose to have a silly sounding voice for the entire show. Noah Taylor has a wonderful screen presence, but when he speaks, it sounds like he's doing voice over for a cartoon character named Grizzly McGravellyvoice. I just couldn't take his character seriously. Which is a shame since I did pick up on some nice emotional work from Taylor in a few scenes. When we see him and the lead white guy as young men, you don't hear those gravelly voices at all. This was distracting.<br />
<br />
4) The big plot point: it was obvious, almost from frame one, that Wolfe would escape the maximum security, underground, super-hero prison. I mean, duh. This was so clearly going to happen that it made the padding unbearable. POWERS is definitely a victim of IFS here (Internet First Syndrome, again, is where a show takes advantage of the no-commercial structure of Internet-First shows but instead of adding more story, just stretches it out to fill more episodes). Maybe I've just watched too many shows and movies, but I am so tired of seeing the obvious plot point coming only to have to wait for far too long for it to just come. There's an old saying in scriptwriting circles: start your story as far into the events as possible. This show starts waaaay too early.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WipPowc-oWsG3YxaSdimmjUcdFpToragZa-2T-egEaFOcrh54yFrOwiF_5IZ5p3l3Kr77sYutlsyU1RKosxY4x7c7QW8TuTZa-oCata3gG26qwth-STjX-OisONW_aLDdcVLi2r03LiH/s1600/Powers+waif.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4WipPowc-oWsG3YxaSdimmjUcdFpToragZa-2T-egEaFOcrh54yFrOwiF_5IZ5p3l3Kr77sYutlsyU1RKosxY4x7c7QW8TuTZa-oCata3gG26qwth-STjX-OisONW_aLDdcVLi2r03LiH/s320/Powers+waif.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; text-align: center;">This is pretty much all I can remember runaway girl doing for<br />
almost the entire series. I think she tried to jump off a roof a<br />
couple of times, too. Poor underwritten character!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
5) Gender equality: All of the female characters in this show are secondary. The lead female is a partner to the clichéd white hero and is never allowed out of his shadow. One supporting female is a waif runaway girl who has almost no depth. The other supporting female is the white male hero's ex-girlfriend who, honestly, has better things to do than be in most of this show and is killed off at the end of the first season. It's a shame she couldn't be given more to do as Michelle Forbes is great as this character and, really, everything she does.<br />
<br />
6) Adapting the Super-Hero to the Small Screen: As I mentioned earlier, they do a good job of creating a world where a culture of super-heroes rises up around the people with super-powers. However, every single character comes across like a third-rate Marvel hero. The lead white guy used to be a hero called "Diamond". Which sounds really non-threatening, like the female character from Marvel, Dazzler. This guy could fly and had super strength, so I don't quite see why he went with "Diamond" as a name. Likewise, Michelle Forbes' character Retro Girl has a name that never makes any sense at all. Like "Diamond" she can fly and has super-strength, but any power having to do with the word "retro" is strangely absent. I mean, Spider-Man climbs walls and makes webs. Batman dresses with a bat motif and spends a lot of time in shadows. Retro Girl doesn't have the power to turn back time, or de-age, or anything else you might associate with the word "retro." So, yeah, the show fails in regard to presenting realistic super-heroes. What's worse is that the show also fails at having fun with unrealistic super-heroes, too. There's really nothing interesting about any of these super-heroes.<br />
<br />
7) Story structure: when the story finally gets going, it's still pretty boring. The lead white guy wants his powers back, but only the big bad white guy can give them back to him. So, he must do a deal with the devil to reach his goal. Oh, no, we haven't seen that plot a thousand times before... A story about a white guy who can't let go of something he lost? Wow. I'm not saying this can't be the plot, but at least come up with an interesting reason for him to want his powers back. He's just a selfish loser who can't move on with his life. Likewise, he still loves his ex. What guy doesn't? That said, such a plot can still be interesting if the writers try to make it interesting.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHLJ7Ddhh-hlGVh0JBksBJcuxXjHhcP_jM9AmJTZDPlR_GCOoypgzHlHRfQkYh5HesDSfSZp6IKRyoLUEE8DtJgQa4l7JlOzkBFKH17M4LcZUd_I8T8fuZRuHjhq2ArR2BG6_kgXbNatQ/s1600/Powers+uhhh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTHLJ7Ddhh-hlGVh0JBksBJcuxXjHhcP_jM9AmJTZDPlR_GCOoypgzHlHRfQkYh5HesDSfSZp6IKRyoLUEE8DtJgQa4l7JlOzkBFKH17M4LcZUd_I8T8fuZRuHjhq2ArR2BG6_kgXbNatQ/s320/Powers+uhhh.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">10) Costumes and props: This poor actor had the worst of it.<br />
Just about every prop this guy handled looked unrealistic or<br />
fake AND he had to wear a costume like this. Poor guy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
8) This one is less major, but is something I've seen other IFS shows fall prey to--I-Just-Learned-to-Swear Syndrome. Remember when you were a kid, when you first realized how awesome it felt to swear and so you started swearing a LOT just to hear yourself do it? Even if the swear words had no purpose, it was still just awesome to do it. That's POWERS through and through. I think there's an F-bomb in every scene. Maybe not the ones without dialog.<br />
<br />
9) The show is humorless. This is a problem I see with a lot of TV these days. There are no light moments, no overt gags, no sardonic, "Han Solo" type character, to deliver commentary on the absurdness we are seeing. Humor can allow the audience to forgive other mistakes, so it's important to include. Plus, when the show is filled with heavy stuff, thematically, humor gives the audience a space to breathe and release some tension. <br />
<br />
<b>How I Would Have Written Season One of POWERS</b><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pieDtHL1wS78afGswqgM4N1IVMVhErVKrysgMuOATuQXjLk-EpDcjsPadMuRG-7Y4ke7Ijn04dReWJvQz2aUVr_7fJpaEHq131bbV96gJ0jR_Ax2H20VLhI2pAGbr_wbXcsE8tend22y/s1600/Powers+Wolfe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5pieDtHL1wS78afGswqgM4N1IVMVhErVKrysgMuOATuQXjLk-EpDcjsPadMuRG-7Y4ke7Ijn04dReWJvQz2aUVr_7fJpaEHq131bbV96gJ0jR_Ax2H20VLhI2pAGbr_wbXcsE8tend22y/s320/Powers+Wolfe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Bad Wolfe. GET IT?! Arg... Guys, it's not ironic if all you<br />
do is add an "e" to it. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
First, I'd start right after Wolfe escaped from the super-cool underground prison. I'd also give him a reason to escape that is more interesting than "to eat people." I don't know the comic version of this story, but there has to be some sort of back story to fall back on. Like an old love he could go find, or someone in particular he wanted to eat that is of particular value or irony. If the comic didn't need to be my source material, I'd go with him wanting a family. He escapes and starts looking for a wife to have kids with. In the end he goes crazy and our white male hero finds him in a cabin in the woods with a dead, partially eaten woman, one end of a dinner table with two children in similar states at the table, as well, with him at the head of said table. It is then that Wolfe tempts white guy with giving him his powers back. I'd never show Wolfe killing on camera. Like I said, the audience will imagine much worse than we can show.<br />
<br />
To avoid the padding out of the show, I'd take as much from the comic as I could, assuming there is more to take. I would flesh out the runaway girl's character and give her more to do than just wish she could be a real live hero. She would beg the mob boss to help her get powers--the only way he can create more of his power-enhancing drug is to catch up with Wolfe, his source for the key ingredient in the drug. Maybe it will help her develop powers she already has? This is an element from the show, as aired, but would be better used this way. Together they go after Wolfe.<br />
<br />
I'd give the lead white guy more interesting things to feel, like wants and wishes that the show just does not give him. Like the runaway girl, the lead white guy is only ever allowed to be shown longing for powers. To make him truly heroic, I'd have him eventually become comfortable with his life without his powers and when Wolfe tempts him, he does think about it, but ultimately turns him down, saying "You keep them. Powers don't make a hero." <br />
<br />
I'd also like to see him be a foil to Pilgrim, his African-American partner. She's the aggressive brains, he's the weary wisdom.<br />
<br />
Oh and I'd see if I could tell Copley to drop his impression of a hardboiled Harvey Fierstein.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJLdfmLcLT3BB9z7uPPLTfSPxGuJo2V6qa-jaN3s0d9p7FQY8qtDTZb1pFM8lykJdohRcw3wM6hXS87GTLZ6hv8gbXg3buaoCQ_oqRyG-wAq6Cd_-xkE5DkAy_wHBVHSLxdavPbsE-SHv1/s1600/Powers+mob+boss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJLdfmLcLT3BB9z7uPPLTfSPxGuJo2V6qa-jaN3s0d9p7FQY8qtDTZb1pFM8lykJdohRcw3wM6hXS87GTLZ6hv8gbXg3buaoCQ_oqRyG-wAq6Cd_-xkE5DkAy_wHBVHSLxdavPbsE-SHv1/s320/Powers+mob+boss.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wonder what they'd call this guy in France? Oh,<br />right, probably "Johnny Royale avec Fromage."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I'd justify every character's name somehow. I'd explain that the lead white guy got stuck with the name because his agent called him "hard as diamond" or something similar (sorry, I really hate the name "Diamond" and would never willingly give it to one of my characters unless there was a very good reason). Retro Girl would actually have powers that reflected the name (maybe she repels the Earth so she can fly or maybe she can reverse time or de-age people). I'd also change her name to Retro <i>Woman</i> because it's really ridiculous having a woman in her late forties play a character called "Retro <i>Girl</i>". In fact, I'd have to fight the urge to change all the character names because they're all so on-the-nose. Christian Walker (he is a good Christian who no longer can fly). (Big Bad) Wolfe is the "big bad" (arg--so cliché!), the police captain is called Captain Cross (oof--is he angry a lot?), and the mob boss is called Johnny Royale. You might call him "Johnny Royale with Cheese" because this show is so cheesy (not the good kind of cheesy).<br />
<br />
I'd make Pilgrim, the lead white guy's African-American partner, a brilliant detective. She's stuck with this partner because she's new to the division but will be working solo as soon as she proves herself to their boss. She's does much of the heavy lifting as she and the lead white guy hunt Wolfe. She needs to shine brighter than her partner who used to be called "Diamond" (he's supposed to be washed up, right?).<br />
<br />
All the while, all four of these characters are dodging the press who are doing their job, covering super-hero news. So we can still explore that culture that the show, as aired, did so well. This is also how the anti-Powers protests would work in.<br />
<br />
Over all, my season one of POWERS would be a show like the original THE FUGITIVE only inverted. It would follow the brilliant Detective Pilgrim and the ex-super-hero-turned-detective white guy, as they track Wolfe. Along the way, the brilliant partner arrives at crime scenes and puts the clues and facts she discovers into a neat package, but only the grizzled old, ex-super-hero-turned-police-detective white guy can explain what each package really means. This then leads them to more clues and more crime scenes, etc, etc. All the while, each character deals with the original one-dimensional character conflict they have in the show, as aired.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMeot5dVvuab1QgzEOuxlstsg8S5HgPUxHZ_90MZ7_VD8nrXR5ZCkxZnCWT5H5SHfRybazCXLROZfn4ZuLAV-zdx48qK7X7RO4h-AzWiE4WEB2S8sFcVP_PcRJPAiwBfnDNfeRh9nLbTb/s1600/Powers+lead+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMeot5dVvuab1QgzEOuxlstsg8S5HgPUxHZ_90MZ7_VD8nrXR5ZCkxZnCWT5H5SHfRybazCXLROZfn4ZuLAV-zdx48qK7X7RO4h-AzWiE4WEB2S8sFcVP_PcRJPAiwBfnDNfeRh9nLbTb/s400/Powers+lead+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wouldn't it have been more interesting if these two were more interesting?<br />I'm not talking the casting (though do we need another white male lead?)<br />I'm more talking about the characters as they are written.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, the lead white guy is trying to focus on the clues and crime scenes Wolfe is leaving behind while battling his own loneliness and powerlessness. The brilliant partner is dealing with her full-on loser-of-a-partner who just needs to move the hell on from his ex-girlfriend and ex-life. The runaway girl and the mob boss are shadowing them while dealing with their respective pasts (runaway girl was neglected by her parents and mob boss is still torn up about his sister dying) and are eventually discovered by Pilgrim and white guy. They team up and continue to search for Wolfe together. Then Retro Woman could show up when they fall into traps left behind for them by Wolfe. There would also be other super-villains from the POWERS comic that could enter into the picture as well.<br />
<br />
AND NO SUBTEXT AS DIALOG! Every time the lead white guy swears and criticizes his new partner in the show, as aired, I cringed. I'd cut dialog like that and just let Copley act the line instead of having him say it. He is a good actor. Let him act.<br />
<br />
<b>In Conclusion</b><br />
<br />
Ultimately, this show is pretty inoffensive. I think the only reason it is getting a second season is because Sony wants to save face. I've seen better shows not get a second season. I've seen better shows not last a full season. I think Sony is trying to jump on the super-hero bandwagon but, like every other super-hero project they do, this one pretty much sucks, too. Sony needs to stop bothering with with these kinds of projects. They really seem to have people working for them who don't fully <i>get</i> super-heroes. <br />
<br />
Was POWERS entertaining? Meh, I suppose someone must have enjoyed it. I don't know of anyone who did. Regardless, you have to admit: it <i>would</i> be more entertaining my way.</div>
Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-92176797318341920092015-07-29T12:00:00.000-04:002015-07-29T12:00:05.236-04:00Making a Better TOMORROWLAND<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AAMHdlvm76Evhfu9hoCOHd20kZboyEBHB1ub6yMPp7nFsAVEF5hSl0WoucGs6DtcQ6zC7OkPvJO9fuCi90LF2u8K_dcqSSZxqRhuu7izLXflFeAgTvKI3blGQSBeLfn3ElZTV4AP6Dy2/s1600/Tomorrowland+badge+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8AAMHdlvm76Evhfu9hoCOHd20kZboyEBHB1ub6yMPp7nFsAVEF5hSl0WoucGs6DtcQ6zC7OkPvJO9fuCi90LF2u8K_dcqSSZxqRhuu7izLXflFeAgTvKI3blGQSBeLfn3ElZTV4AP6Dy2/s400/Tomorrowland+badge+poster.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I remember being so excited when I first heard<br />about this movie. I remember reading that the<br />script was based on objects found in a box from<br />Walt Disney's old office. Pretty sure that was just<br />PR BS now, since I didn't come across any reference<br />to this box in reviews or interviews with the director.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I know--this seems
like an easy target, but nothing frustrates me more about a bad film than if
it's a missed opportunity to do something that could have, and in this case
should have, been amazing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When it comes
to optimistic science fiction films, I'm in the camp that believes we need more
of them (despite the fact that I generally prefer dystopias and
post-apocalypses in my stories).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In that
sense, I agree with this film's message, but not how it goes about expressing
it--as everyone who has seen it knows, this film does damn near everything
wrong.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
No, that doesn't
mean I'm going to write a ten-part series on the failings of this film (though,
I could).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I am going to do is
explain how I would have recut and reshot portions of TOMORROWLAND so that it
would make a better, more watchable movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I usually focus on how I would have rewritten the script, but this time,
I'd have rewritten the entire thing from scratch, making it pretty much
unrecognizable, compared to what Disney let reach the screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It really is <i>tha</i>t wrong-in-the-head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the spoiler alert, I will go into a
short explanation of the thing biggest problems I had with the film and then I
will get to how I'd retool the final cut.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>SPOILER ALERT: YOU
ARE ABOUT TO HAVE <i>TOMORROWLAND</i> RUINED FOR YOU (if you haven't already, by
watching it)</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
OK, so, one of my
biggest problems is...</div>
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgveLYfwxsaXIm73M3JJCrXySNASa4CRr1zX3pMBbuhmbjKQMj7iuiw8H8K2EfbutugIotu7z3JB3j5R0Z3r5LvKmiAFi4CCRUUgcbJa1oa7PsdBk7QHrdJzNdI22sC5gu7d2qQ0zhk6kAi/s1600/Tomorrowland+Clooney+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgveLYfwxsaXIm73M3JJCrXySNASa4CRr1zX3pMBbuhmbjKQMj7iuiw8H8K2EfbutugIotu7z3JB3j5R0Z3r5LvKmiAFi4CCRUUgcbJa1oa7PsdBk7QHrdJzNdI22sC5gu7d2qQ0zhk6kAi/s400/Tomorrowland+Clooney+poster.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So, they stunt-cast George Clooney in this part<br />because they thought it would help the movie<br />make more money. That plan worked so well.<br />They should have just hired Bill Nighy, or <br />David Warner or Patrick Stewart or Ian McKellan<br />or even Lewis Black and, at least then, they'd<br />have had an actor who could really nail<br />"crotchety old guy."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
...Clooney.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why the
hell does he get cast in things that were clearly meant for less attractive,
more interesting actors?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like Clooney,
I think he's a good actor, but he's too good looking--too comfortable in his
own skin to play some of the characters I've seen him play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In GRAVITY, he's quipping about how handsome
he is, but he IS handsome, so there's nothing ironic about his quips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who just randomly mentions they're handsome
unless there's some point to it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like
some kind of insecurity the guy is dealing with, or some irony he's pointing
out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this film, Clooney's character
should have been played by a crotchety old man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If you imagine his lines coming out of Burgess Meredith's mouth, they make
a helluva lot more sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was just to
suave and comfortable with everything. Even his most crotchety lines sounded
more like inconveniences rather than real problems.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
It's a shame, since, Clooney plays the only character with character. Sure, he plays an archetype, but it least it has the potential for humor and depth. The other two characters in this film are flat as can be, one even admits she has no real ability to initiate new ideas. Talk about great cinema... blech... </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>Big problem number
2:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the film's structure.</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
This film feels like
it was structured by an eight year-old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It opens with Clooney and a smart teen girl literally arguing about how
the story of the movie should be told.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is a terrible way to invite your audience into your world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously, Brad, what were you thinking?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Brad Bird directed films like IRON GIANT,
THE INCREDIBLES and, shockingly, TOMORROWLAND.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He's a personal idol of mine, so I don't criticize him lightly.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From that opening sequence of sequences, we
discover how Clooney's character and the smart teen girl end up in different
parts of the TOMORROWLAND story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which
really made me wonder why the film starts with them together at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, obviously it's a framing device, but
it's a pretty boring one and, in the end, doesn't help explain why we need the
framing device.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is also no need
for these two to be thrown together, really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, at least, no need that isn't terribly contrived and boring (the
robot says it, so therefore...).</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
For most of the
film, the structure is thus: </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
-spectacle/chase
scene</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
-spectacle/chase
scene</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
-talking/exposition
scene</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
-spectacle/chase
scene</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
-spectacle/chase
scene</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
-talking/exposition
scene</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
-climax</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
It was so annoying
how the kid-version of Clooney takes the Small World boat to an absurdly
cartoonish train car and <i>then</i> steps out into Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why can't he just take the Small Word boat to
Tomorrowland and be done with it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Later
on, STG (Smart Teen Girl) gets to "old man" Clooney's house, only to
join him in having to escape the house in Clooney's ejector-tub, into a nearby
lake, where they swim to a motorcycle and then ride in a pickup truck to a
Television station, where they teleport to the Eiffel Tower, where they ride a
rocketship into space but then turn it back around to enter another dimension
to get to Tomorrowland.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
WTF, Brad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is stupid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've just
described about sixty percent of the film, right there, too.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Then, there is the
ultimate premise of the film--that we are being subconsciously brainwashed by a
self-fulfilling-prophecy machine that is broadcasting its view of the
future<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(dystopian) so widely that it
turns all humans everywhere into pessimists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now, this maaaay be an interesting idea, but it reeks with the stench of
a contrived explanation to justify the existence of a giant McGuffin Machine
that our heroes must make explode by the end of the film. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
The climax of the
film is a weird and muddled mess that is one-part self-righteous lecture and
one-part clichéd, unimaginative, and frankly, convoluted action scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It reminds me of the scene in DEEP BLUE SEA
where Samuel L. Jackson's character starts preachifying about how they all need
to get along in their fight against a genetically manipulated shark only to be
interrupted by said shark eating him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Only TOMORROWLAND doesn't get the same job done as quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nor does it recognize the irony of that
dynamic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gvzpjXbjw_c2SvQ6JEFmeFGggFhSEdGiKbsgA3pSEcAFnso86m6ksGmWuUUzYMyJSWu-Q8hTuzeKE3Nx3J0BPAx8pg8U4eTwCPg_IdHIm7kl5KtXNMmWm9NyU5J5j6cgBxQ82hlXT-7V/s1600/Tomorrowland+LGR+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4gvzpjXbjw_c2SvQ6JEFmeFGggFhSEdGiKbsgA3pSEcAFnso86m6ksGmWuUUzYMyJSWu-Q8hTuzeKE3Nx3J0BPAx8pg8U4eTwCPg_IdHIm7kl5KtXNMmWm9NyU5J5j6cgBxQ82hlXT-7V/s400/Tomorrowland+LGR+poster.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Girl Robot is as archetypal as a character can be.<br />She even fulfills the role of the "noble savage" trope--<br />the character who we are told is not and could never<br />be human but in the end (needlessly) sacrifices them-<br />selves to prove that they are human and can love.<br />Boy, never saw that plot point coming! Except,<br />I did. And so did you, and so did everyone.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
So, the bad guy is
the governor of Tomorrowland and ends up blathering on for far too long,
proving that he is really just an elitist twit jerkweed who tells us how we're
all so negative, and how it's all our fault that our world is dying, and it
goes on like that for a bit until he orders Clooney through a portal to a beach
where he is to be exiled (why he doesn't just kill Clooney, I don't know--guess
he was out of robo-killers).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there
is a fist fight on the beach (I can't remember exactly why--that's how
memorable the story was), and an absurdly contrived bomb explodes causing the
portal to close and part of the big lecture room in Tomorrowland to fall on
Governor Snooty Twit Jerkweed, not quite killing him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See, he's doesn't die yet, because he has to
live long enough to try to shoot at Clooney, causing the stupid, uninteresting,
cliché little girl robot to jump in front of the bullet and then die.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Yes, it's that
cliché.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Yes, there are guns
in Tomorrowland.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Oh and, apparently,
no, robots in Tomorrowland don't do backups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That makes my Macbook more advanced than the little robot girl from
Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it seems my
Macbook does backups <i>all day long</i>.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>Big Problem Number
3: the ultimate message of the film comes from the badguy</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
The moral of the
story of TOMORROWLAND is told to us by the biggest jerkweed there is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is so elitist that he creates a whole
separate land for he, and people he approves of, to live in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he has the gall to tell us how it's all
our fault that the world is dying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What's worse is that he will do nothing to stop it, despite being from
Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, he says he will be perfectly safe in
Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Uh-huh--so why is
Tomorrowland portrayed as falling apart when our heroes eventually reach
it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No explanation is given for why this
is happening, but it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The population
seems largely gutted and the buildings all seem in a state of disrepair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, Governor Jerkweed says he'll be
fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Uh-huh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this is the guy who articulates the moral
of the story?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I've heard of the
"unreliable narrator" but the "unreliable morality-preaching
badguy" is new to me.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
OK enough whining.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>WE CAN MAKE A
BETTER TOMORROWLAND</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg4olzZobreq7lRwru3qWUkfE0hhKsNuj0StpE3-4VMdv7djh86UjFr10XdchOFIfpnNtUwkxixy03Rly2tdf3rDTasC1O8tUWlR56E0yfoJqdf6A1f2ghgKUYiei_gBlZfdBbj6VCxIk/s1600/Tomorrowland+Kid+Clooney.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg4olzZobreq7lRwru3qWUkfE0hhKsNuj0StpE3-4VMdv7djh86UjFr10XdchOFIfpnNtUwkxixy03Rly2tdf3rDTasC1O8tUWlR56E0yfoJqdf6A1f2ghgKUYiei_gBlZfdBbj6VCxIk/s400/Tomorrowland+Kid+Clooney.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">To be fair, the actors were generally just fine. It was<br />the script that I had my biggest problems with. Well,<br />except for Clooney's casting. Kid Clooney, here was<br />perfectly acceptable.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
First, I would ditch
the front end of the framing device.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It's a terrible way to start a movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The movie should have begun with Kid Clooney pitching his jetpack to
Governor Jerkweed at the World's Fair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cut all the LGR (Little Girl Robot) moments out of this sequence except
for her looking at him and smiling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
leaves the pitch frustrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He's sure
he can make his jetpack work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he
could just convince Governor Jerkweed of that!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He then spots Governor Jerkweed and LGR getting onto a Small World boat
with some other folks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He decides to
follow them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, instead of taking the
Small World boat to the cartoon train to Tomorrowland, I'd have the scene where
the cartoon train arrives at Tomorrowland CGed to look like the Small World
boat arriving and then cut to a shot of him outside of the vehicle, excising
the stupid cartoon train all together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then, everything progresses from there until the end of the original
sequence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
After that, I'd cut
to the second time STG (Smart Teen Girl) tries to sabotage the taking down of
the gantry at Kennedy Space Center, where she gets arrested and brought to a
police station.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Skip over the first attempt
and the scenes in between.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just get to
the plot point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She finds the badge in
her stuff as it is given back to her by the cop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She touches it and she immediately finds
herself in that field with Tomorrowland in the distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'd then have her drop the pin and then pick
it up again and then have her go all the way to Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She then sees everything from the
"Tomorrowland promo video" sequence until the part where the battery
in the badge starts to run out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead
of that, she bumps her head on the ceiling in the police station and drops the
badge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
See, the way it was
originally cut was annoying and frustrating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The badge seems so high-tech and magical and comes across like a key to
get into Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every time the lead
girl touches it, she is shown an ideal city off in the distance that doesn't
moves in relation to where she is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
she turns, it <i>does not move in relation to her</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If she walks towards it, <i>it gets
closer </i>...until, that is, she hits her head on a low ceiling or tumbles down
the stairs of her home, or walks through a swamp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is clearly a place that exists in real
space and the badge-thing is her key to get there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I've heard Brad Bird explain that her hitting
her head is supposed to establish that what she is seeing is NOT in really
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had the opposite effect for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His version is also unrealistic,
since you'd have all these alleged geniuses walking off cliffs and into traffic
just to get to a promo video.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seems
pretty inefficient--just send out DVDs and VR goggles. Sheesh.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>The Pain of the
Promo Video</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Ugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finding out that what she saw was just a
promo video for Tomrrowland and has nothing to do with how you actually get
there was really frustrating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why bother
wasting all that time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just show us up
front that it's a promo video! It completely diffused audience excitement and
replaced it with disappointment when we find out that the experience STG had
was just a TV commercial.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Once she finds
herself back in the police station, I'd then have her dad pick her up and then
we'd see the scene in the dad's pickup that originally followed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would be followed by all of the scenes
that were originally in between the two NASA sabotage sequences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'd then have LGR (Little Girl Robot) show up
and kidnap her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This would require some
reshoots, obviously, but it'd be worth it. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>The Eternal Sadness
of the Character Actor: too interesting for Hollywood</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
So, while they're
driving, LGR explains that STG (Smart Teen Girl) needs to get to
Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'd include all the stupid
stuff about LGR's shutdown sequence, blahblahblah there, if I had to (though it
was clumsy).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'd also include some of
the back story that the two proprietors of the collectibles shop expositioned
in the original version of the film. Yes, I'd cut the scene in the collectibles
shop entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The proprietors of that
store seemed really interesting until, sooo predictably, they turned into bad
guys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can't have a black guy and an
older woman joining our team, can we?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No, no--we need to have ALL the leads be white, old men or white, young
females.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yes, Clooney is an
"old man" by Hollywood's standards. A little weird, if you ask me.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
In the film, as
released, there's a really odd moment where we suddenly cut to a shot of STG
falling out of the vehicle onto the road in front of Clooney's house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>LGR then drives off in the pickup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This could stay as is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since, by now, new reshoots would provide
exposition explaining that there is only one man who can get us into
Tomorrowland AND that man hates her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>LGR
could even refrain from telling STG that last part until the moment before she
pushes STG out the door.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>Old Man Clooney
Explains the Rest</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Then, the stuff with
the lead girl getting into Clooney's house could be the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though, it should be a LOT shorter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watching the two of them argue is about as
fun as having an actual argument with a parent or offspring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should have the bad guy robo-killers show
up much sooner and have Clooney explain in looped dialog or reshoots more of
the dynamics of how Tomorrowland was this ideal place and was supposed to come
up with the solutions for the future of Earth's problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And it did, only Governor Jerkweed wanted to
keep them all for himself and his elite inhabitants of Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That's why Clooney left--he wasn't kicked
out--he self-deported.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
He took as much cool
tech with him as he could and built that clock thing to help him predict when
the world would end, based on it's connection back to the giant, stupid, SFPM
(Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Machine), back in Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a machine he helped build so he knew
how to hack in and get it's data from the real world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a machine that would look into the
future and see what was going to happen, so we could avoid problems we could
not see coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the future
seemed very bleak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But when Clooney
wanted to make the first data from the SFPM public to the rest of the Earth,
Governor Jerkweed wouldn't let him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Another reason for the self-deportation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Once he got out, he realized no one would believe him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, he just just laid low.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, when the robo-killers show up, we, the
audience, have a clearer sense of purpose, instead of wondering why a place
called "Tomorrowland" sends robo-killers after its exiles.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>Fixing those
strings of travel scenes</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Now, I would cut
every second segment of a travel sequence out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Driving to someplace to drive someplace else is no way to treat your
audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If a person gets in a vehicle,
they get out at the next plot point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kid
Clooney hops in the Small World boat and should get out <i>directly </i>in
Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Clooney and STG use
the ejector-tub to escape the robo-killers, LGR is waiting for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are so many little attention
cul-de-sacs in this film and having them land in water is one of them. They
couldn't just land on a huge pile of hay or maybe have some sort of inflating
tech like we saw in the Tomorrowland promo video?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, they're wet, which doesn't matter 5
seconds later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then there's a
motorcycle, which they don't actually ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So, I'd want to reshoot them meeting up immediately with LGR after CGing
a different ending to the ejector-tub sequence where, instead, they land on a
huge pile of hay. </div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>This next part IS a
huge pile of HEEEEY!</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
ARG... this is
probably the most annoying part of the film for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's the part I can do the least with because
it's just dumb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They go to a TV station
(I think?) where there is a teleportation machine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They use it to go to Paris and then they go
up in the Eiffel Tower, which then splits in two as a rocketship rises up, out
of the ground in between the two sides of the tower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They climb aboard and fly into space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forget that the "Eiffel's Office"
they go into is bigger than his actual office in the real tower and nothing
like it (any tourist can see it through a window, in person).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forget the hundreds of tourists that are
either inside the tower or around it that would die when a rocketship is
launched feet from where they stand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Let's just deal with the absurdity of launching a rocketship from the
Eiffel Tower like it's some sort of missile/gantry thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What the hell is that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this a THUNDERBIRDS movie from the 1960s?
Or a modern scifi epic?</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
There's basically
nothing I can do for this sequence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ideally, I'd want to
minimize the absurd-spectacle factor by cutting shots showing the tower split
and the rocket ship rising. I'd CG new footage so that the rocketship was
actually a much smaller thing that would be a portion of the top of the Eiffel
Tower and would launch from there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then,
we could go ahead as originally released.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Anything to avoid the absurdity of the Eiffel Tower and the land beneath
being a hundred-plus year-old missile silo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Even then, I still
can't stand how insanely convoluted and contrived everything is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, Tomorrowland is described by Governor
Jerkweed as being in "another <i>dimension</i>" so, why do we have to move
at all to get into it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dimensions are
all around us and this is a science fiction film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why do we have to suspend our disbelief SO
much, just to essentially step into another angle of looking at the
universe?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That's really what a dimension
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Width, height, time and... Where
ever Tomorrowland is...<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but no, we have
to <i>teleport</i> to France so we can <i>launch into space</i> to then <i>fly a space
ship</i> into another dimension.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>UGH...</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I'd then change as
much of the dialog as possible where Clooney and Governor Jerkweed are
talking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ESPECIALLY the stuff where
Jerkweed is telling us all how stupid we, the audience, are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I'd leave almost everything else the same
here, only I'd use looped dialog or reshoots to establish that Jerkweed
deserves to die for more reasons than just being right about humanity's
laziness (and for being a jerkweed).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
my version, it is OK that he died because he withheld countless technological
advances that could have educated millions, saved the lives of untold
thousands, and made the whole of the Earth into a Tomorrowland.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is a genocidal maniac via his own
laziness.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<i>Seriously, why
wasn't that Governor Jerkweed's crime in the film?</i></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I'd hang a lamp
shade on the fact that Tomorrowland is falling apart, too, by having Clooney
make it clear to us that the SFPM is brainwashing Governor Jerkweed and his
other elite Tomorrowland pals to be negative nellies, as well.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I'd also hang a lamp
shade on Jerkweed being even more deserving of death by having him know about
the effect the SFPM was having on humans around the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was his plan the whole time--get rid of
all idiots, unable to take responsibility for themselves, etc, etc...</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
I'd leave everything
from then on the same.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, what does
it matter this far in?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are still
stupid contrivances, like how the SFPM works, why/how it was destroyed and what
the hell happened to Tomorrowland?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why
did it go the way of Old Detroit from the original ROBOCOP?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Over all, I'd cut
out as much of LGR's dialog as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She is a Divine Machine throughout the entire film and is the weakest,
least interesting character in the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She does the work of the writer from start to finish (hence the
"Divine Machine" reference), has no goals or motivations of her own,
and is therefore a waste of the audience's time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She even has dialog where she explains that
she can't think for herself and is always just following orders. So, of the two
females in the movie, she is <i>literally</i> a robot. Lame and BORING.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a really trippy anime series from
Japan called ERGO PROXY that has a supporting character who is a girl robot who
escapes from a theme park in the distant future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
In that sentence
I've just typed, haven't I described a more interesting robot girl than the one
in this movie?</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Hell, if there was
the budget for it, I'd have rewritten and reshot all of her scenes so she had a
more interesting backstory than just being a recruiter 'bot made to look and
act like a rich, little girl from the 1950s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I probably would have taken a tip from that anime series I mentioned and
have her start out her life as part of an exhibit in Tomorrowland but then she
evolved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4FfP4am0vohBM2gnJ2unNz-WPoiTeRSzFNmvDtb-MaRG-i7DKCeHkCo-f-oBQwkMILm98XFkQCBZjWESWzzeNZoX3AhSAWYpUJlwKCK7eSrvL3ZI1TZjUXh5fXFR5bAWpT9aeipsk7t9/s1600/Tomorrowland+STG+poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_4FfP4am0vohBM2gnJ2unNz-WPoiTeRSzFNmvDtb-MaRG-i7DKCeHkCo-f-oBQwkMILm98XFkQCBZjWESWzzeNZoX3AhSAWYpUJlwKCK7eSrvL3ZI1TZjUXh5fXFR5bAWpT9aeipsk7t9/s400/Tomorrowland+STG+poster.jpg" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reason I refer to the two female characters by initials,<br />and beyond that abstract descriptions, is because that's<br />how the film treats them. These are not girls with<br />individual personalities. STG likes SCIENCE and<br />SPACE, abstractly, without any specific focus. Mean-<br />while, LGR is strictly interested in fulfilling her pro-<br />gramming and has no will or interests of her own.<br />Not only is this weak writing, but it's a terrible<br />example to set for women and girls. This is science<br />fiction! Why are these women characters written<br />like girls from the 1800s?? STG is a girl very<br />unlike the average teen girl. She should have<br />MUCH more going on, character-wise. LGR is<br />a 60 year-old robot from Tommorowland and<br />she hasn't broken her programming yet??</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<b>In Closing
(finally!)</b></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
So much more to talk
about with this film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's poor
treatment of minorities (almost none in the film) and odd treatment of gender
(only young females allowed! But at least they're smart), it's extreme
preachifying, and worst of all, it's utter inability to grasp the wonderful
message of the original Tommorowland attraction in Disneyland.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
What broke my heart
the most--about this film is exactly that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It goes on and on about how we're doing it wrong, but provides us no
means to find hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It whines and moans
about how we're all part of the problem but doesn't show us a path to what
could be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe then, as individuals in
our daily lives, we could see how our own paths could be adjusted to head more
toward that ideal future.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
There is one moment
in the film that really did hurt my heart--there's a mini-scene during the
Tomorrowland promo video where STG follows this family as their daughter is
heading out to a spaceship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The parents
are nervous and worry about her safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The daughter (played by an Asian-Indian actress) then says something
like "Mom, Dad, relax!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We're only
going out 20 light years, or so."</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Ugh.... it's like a
punch in the gut just thinking about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>THAT line right there is the promise of any film with a title similar or
identical to "TOMORROWLAND."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
That ONE moment
suggests, no only an amazing future ahead of humanity, but more immediately, a
great movie ahead of the humans watching it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Of course, the film does not show us that future and delivers a lecture
instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, it's a broken promise.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
When STG finds that
badge, it becomes a mission for her to find out where it came from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don't think anyone in the audience with me
had a hard time identifying with her at that moment. Like Richard Dreyfuss in
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND, she represents our willingness to be
curious and to explore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems to me
like this willingness would be such an easy thing to tap into in today's
fear-driven reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, the film gets
it right for a fleeting span of minutes.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
What a missed
opportunity TOMORROWLAND was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just about
everyone who has seen it agrees that it just wasn't good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And, you kind of have to admit that, if it
had been redone my way, it would have been better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Especially if Governor Jerkweed really
deserved to die, rather than just deserving to shut the hell up.</div>
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<!--StartFragment-->
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<div style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 11.0pt; margin: 0in;">
Gah... what a script
I would have written with just the premise!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ah well...</div>
Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-17402278899057995532015-07-21T12:00:00.000-04:002015-07-21T15:46:56.205-04:00Saving SENSE8 and a Few Other Internet-First Shows, Too<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-f7RjKudcw0YBNcrSW0TmncSdEFQnKmCN1HpR82Q_9pt_zIZ05sElImhpu_FMktS7yWb5FXln3tGjJhb59BaihUoMDEGQq3m9BgddqmmdlH2pm5ElDbseegkuWhpguxcQYk4I8FgQNoo/s1600/sense8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj-f7RjKudcw0YBNcrSW0TmncSdEFQnKmCN1HpR82Q_9pt_zIZ05sElImhpu_FMktS7yWb5FXln3tGjJhb59BaihUoMDEGQq3m9BgddqmmdlH2pm5ElDbseegkuWhpguxcQYk4I8FgQNoo/s400/sense8.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
In case you haven't heard of it, SENSE8 is a new genre show from The Wachowskis and it's available on Netflix. I feel like there really wasn't very much publicity for this show. I hope this show does well despite the lack of ads. Is it perfect? Well, I'm writing this, aren't I? That means it needs some kind of saving and it needs more than better advertising because I almost gave up on it several times and would do so no matter how much it had been hyped.<br />
<br />
<b>First, what works?</b><br />
<br />
The premise of SENSE8 is that eight people, around the globe, from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, discover that they are somehow psychically connected. Not only that, they can temporarily take over each other's body, kind of like Scott Bakula's character in QUANTUM LEAP. It's a pretty neat concept, but there's a catch and I call it <i>Internet-First Syndrome</i>. I'll explain that in a bit. Before that, more of what worked.<br />
<br />
The premise. The premise worked really well and it is a fascinating concept. I don't want to go into too much detail without a spoiler alert (keep reading for that), so just trust me when I say that it is a great premise for a show about people (as opposed to shows about specific conflicts).<br />
<br />
The acting is largely perfect. I think every single actor on the show seemed to really get where their character was coming from. What I loved the most about the casting was the diversity. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm tired of seeing white faces everywhere. Especially white male faces. While there are a couple of them in this show, there are also Latino faces, African faces, Asian and Indian faces, and even a trans woman's face. She is also played by a trans woman, as well, which is nice. A trans character is not the only non-traditional story element in this show. <br />
<br />
The themes explored are varied and fascinating. This isn't just your typical, X-FILES rip-off where there is a single through-line and we spend the entire series in service of it like Sony Playstation Network's POWERS. While there is a general level of predictability in it, there are plenty of surprises and really, really, wonderful moments for both the story and the characters. I did find certain aspect of the story to be lacking, mostly in the main plotline that ties them all together. I'll get to more on that in a bit. I'm still gushing...<br />
<br />
The story isn't just diverse in themes, it actually veers away from the main story quite a bit into really interesting corners of human culture that mainstream genre shows and movies really don't venture very often. This is simply not a show that would ever be made via traditional Hollywood channels (literally and figuratively). It's so much of what I long for in American storytelling. I'm glad I stuck with it, though it really was frustrating for the first four or five episodes.<br />
<br />
So far, you might wonder where the bout of IFS is involved. Well, right here.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>SENSE8, DAREDEVIL, and POWERS are all Stricken with <i>Internet-First Syndrome</i></b><br />
<br />
IFS is a syndrome that I have witnessed now in three different shows that have been released on the Internet, first. These are shows that seem to think the fact that they are on the Internet first, they have a license to waste the viewer's time. Of course, they look at it as "taking advantage of the commercial-free structure of Internet-First TV" but there's a fine-line between letting your characters and story breathe and wasting our time.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfFF18iIZhwxx8URjj1sZfgTm-Zz19eatcz66QKOVer-LeAcJhf6uOJRKMMghvFLodVW1-4W8QVJR9lbKSosWt65BadVoKFjm_8vSgvuobYq6uXT90dPDWbCH3G-KBSmS_YqOeEXr5pBM/s1600/_20150623_135851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOfFF18iIZhwxx8URjj1sZfgTm-Zz19eatcz66QKOVer-LeAcJhf6uOJRKMMghvFLodVW1-4W8QVJR9lbKSosWt65BadVoKFjm_8vSgvuobYq6uXT90dPDWbCH3G-KBSmS_YqOeEXr5pBM/s320/_20150623_135851.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In my posts on Netflix's DAREDEVIL (part <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/this-is-part-two-of-netflixs-daredevil.html">one</a> and <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/this-is-part-two-of-netflixs-daredevil.html">two</a>) I explained how it really took its time establishing the title character. I mean, calling the series DAREDEVIL at all, was pretty much false advertising as the guy we know from the comics only showed up in the last episode, and even then could be argued that he wasn't the guy from the comics. But the length of time and the number of episodes we had to sit through before we got what we came for really felt disrespectful, to me. <br />
<br />
While I feel like DAREDEVIL could have spent it's time better, the whole of SPN's POWERS first season could have been boiled down to a two-hour TV movie. There was that much redundancy in that series. I'll go into more detail in a future post, but for now, I'll just say that there was one real storyline that had a bunch of bland, useless bits of flesh hanging off of its bones. Flesh that really only served to show off how predictable and cliché that single storyline was. I never read the POWERS comic, but if it is as much of a WATCHMEN wannabe as the show is, I never will. My point is, that it took forever to get to the parts that were supposed to be good and wasted our time with tons of story padding.<br />
<br />
SENSE8, meanwhile spends about 4 or 5 episodes letting us get to know our too-numerous cast of characters. And rather than just making their lives interesting (which they do) the Wachowskis (best known for the MATRIX movies) and series creator J. Michael Straczynski (aka JMS, best known for his opus BABYLON 5), crowbar in scenes exploring their connection with each other. The problem I have with this is that the way their connection works is established pretty quickly and seeing all eight characters go through the process of discovery is really boring since none of them react much differently from each other. <br />
<br />
"YES, YOU CAN JUMP INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S BODIES AND TALK TO EACH OTHER PSYCHICALLY! LET'S MOVE ON!" was pretty much what I was yelling at my screen after the second episode. I get that some of the scenes helped establish the universe of the story, but very few of them were really required. I'm a big fan of universe-building--it's my favorite thing about the Marvel Cinematic(& TV) Universe, but redundancy drives me nuts. It's inefficient and wastes the viewer's time.<br />
<br />
Don't get me wrong--I love that the Wachowskis, JMS, and the folks behind DAREDEVIL, want to really take advantage of the commercial-free structure of Internet-first TV shows, but it really got frustrating. Especially when the overarching storyline really isn't that interesting or dynamic. All of the repetition just serves to remind us that there really isn't a strong story skeleton here. Like DAREDEVIL, it's ultimately just a season-long pilot episode doing what any traditionally produced TV show would do in a single, first episode. <br />
<br />
The good news is that SENSE8 does enough with the character's subplots to make it worth suffering through the boring, repetitive stuff. However, I'd hesitate to watch it again. Especially since we really don't get any satisfying answers as to where this connection comes from or why it happens at all. We get tiny little clues spoon fed to us with the skill of a UPS man by one of the 8 who basically appears when the script is about to lose us and then explains everything we might be wondering about at that moment. I took to calling this character "Exposition Man" for obvious reasons. It was like that exposition scene in CHILDREN OF MEN where Michael Caine explains everything, or that other scene in THE DAVINCI CODE where Ian McKellen explains everything. However, in SENSE8, it happens a couple times PER EPISODE during the first quarter of the season. It was super frustrating.<br />
<br />
What's worse is that the badguys are never fully explained, nor is the reason for them going after the SENSE8 crew in the first place. It's like X-FILES without the clarity. (!)<br />
<br />
I assume that, if Netflix gives SENSE8 a second season, the badguys will be explored more. In the meantime, it is solely the diversity of the cast and their genuinely interesting stories that make this a show worth watching despite its flaws.<br />
<br />
<b>Saving SENSE8 is Simple</b><br />
<br />
Do one of two things:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Tell Netflix that they're only getting 8 episodes and cut out all the redundancies from the scripts. I mean seriously, how many times do we need to see the same characters react in shock as they find themselves in someone else's life?</li>
<li>Deliver 12 episodes as promised, but instead of showing all the redundancy, use the same screen time to develop those bad guys. There was never a real sense of who or why their lives were in danger or who they were in danger from. It ended up feeling like a very contrived sense of danger when obstacles in each person's own life weren't enough to power the story.</li>
</ol>
<br />
X-FILES did the amorphous-bad-guy-entity-with-mysterious-motives-and-goals thing really well. SENSE8 does not. Taking this second option would solve a lot of what is wrong with SENSE8, in my opinion.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYX_rx0JRGeWGMjCBs08bTuA4YTyWlrjzIJsSChYX8Kl-GqnLjHXevPjaI3fV1OVbYFFLbfNZl-7qId0DGTWyHfRhrLFNYOWeUqFU-muvUU8T1i8TxezDaJjViUWkGCdYjzpmww_5psUti/s1600/sense8+characters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYX_rx0JRGeWGMjCBs08bTuA4YTyWlrjzIJsSChYX8Kl-GqnLjHXevPjaI3fV1OVbYFFLbfNZl-7qId0DGTWyHfRhrLFNYOWeUqFU-muvUU8T1i8TxezDaJjViUWkGCdYjzpmww_5psUti/s320/sense8+characters.jpg" width="279" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Freema Agyeman from DOCTOR WHO and actual<br />trans actress Jamie Clayton playing a trans character,<br />in SENSE8. So much diversity in this single photo!</td></tr>
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<b>SPOILER ALERT: I Still Really Liked SENSE8 (Now Entering a SPOILER ZONE!)</b><br />
<br />
I'm really excited about a season 2 of SENSE8. The premise is really strong and builds upon the relationships many of us have with the Internet. That's ultimately how this psychic connection works--it's like a social network. Need a friend? Tweet at them. Need to know how to do something? Search for a YouTube tutorial. Want to visit another location? Watch someone's Periscope video. Want to help a friend? Send them an FB message with words of support. <br />
<br />
Only imagine you didn't need social networks or any technology to do these things. That is the kind of connection these characters have and, the way the show structures their individual arcs, it really holds your attention. Imagine the Avengers--only each character is on opposite sides of the Earth from each other. Cap needs Thor's ability to channel lightning? No problem--Thor telepathically teleports there and voila. Hawkeye needs to defuse a high tech bomb? No problem, Tony Stark can just soul-swap with Hawkeye, QUANTUM LEAP-style, and save the day. It's all a really wonderful metaphor for friendship, whether it's Internet-based or not.<br />
<br />
I do wish they'd make it SENSE6, though, because 8 characters, who are all really interesting, is an awful lot to keep track of. I found myself getting character whiplash every so often because we'd follow someone from one part of the world and, just as we were getting used to following them, BAM! We'd be in some other part of the world with some other character. It was as though the show was literally changing channels on us. One minute, we're watching a show about a trans woman in San Francisco and the next we're watching a show about a African bus driver in Nairobi. There were also little culture clashes with every channel change, too. Generally, I like the idea, but changing between eight different channels got tiresome.<br />
<br />
Is SENSE8 in dire need of being saved? No, definitely not. But some exec at Netflix could have felt the same way I did only they might give into the urge to quit early. I wouldn't blame them. That said, I hope that Netflix does see clear to do another season. This show has great themes, casting and characters. They need to live on and the spirit of this connection they have is a very easy metaphor for the Internet, which we actually can use quite similarly to the way these characters do.<br />
<br />
But I'm not kidding about Internet-First Syndrome. People behind these shows need to fight the urge to go too wild with their breathing room. There are reasons that traditional commercial TV is structured the way it is. It's not just about commercials. The structure forces pacing that isn't to fast or too slow for an average audience member. Plus, we're all used to it. So, just because you have the time to fill, doesn't mean you can just throw whatever you want in there. I see this kind of thing in traditional TV shows from time-to-time, too. This mainly happens when the episode order is just too big for the story powering the series. Hm, maybe I should rename Internet-First Syndrome, then. Maybe "Too-Many-Episodes-Total-Ordered" Syndrome? That make the acronym "TOMETO". Nahhh...Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-13509968417722729382015-07-14T12:00:00.000-04:002015-07-14T19:03:41.483-04:00Can TERMINATOR: GENISYS Save the TERMINATOR Franchise? (Answer: No, it's too late.)<div style="margin: 0in;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDj70-2ZhDSADq36Jt-1gfdnnCVmEnoT6i75tyUCkqNImif_Yps72yd3yI4psE-qC5tyz6Q6ASfVBsOn0rCxS3OqaVgryHnFW45Wjm4gkXrc0f8mp6qN97trzthanWhuGO5ONt6A-OyjGD/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-14+at+6.27.46+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDj70-2ZhDSADq36Jt-1gfdnnCVmEnoT6i75tyUCkqNImif_Yps72yd3yI4psE-qC5tyz6Q6ASfVBsOn0rCxS3OqaVgryHnFW45Wjm4gkXrc0f8mp6qN97trzthanWhuGO5ONt6A-OyjGD/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-07-14+at+6.27.46+PM.png" width="273" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">Full disclosure: I didn't think there should have been a single sequel or spin-off in any media after the original, 1984 TERMINATOR film. I enjoyed each of the films to varying degrees (they got more and more forgettable as they multiplied) and I never read any of the comics because I felt they violated the premise of the original film: that Skynet had sent one Terminator back in time to kill Sarah Connor. Comics were just starting to climb in price back then, and I figured, I could afford to see a Terminator sequel film every once in a while. However, keeping up with the comics, just in case they were good, would be too pricey. So, I stuck with the live action stuff. I'm glad I did, but even the best of the bunch left me a bit "meh."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">Yep, I'm going to say it: TERMINATOR 2, left me a little flat. Sure, the liquid metal Terminator was cool, but the original film explained that only one killer robot was sent back, not two (or more). Sure, I overlooked it just to enjoy the movie, but with all the awkward sentimentality mixed in, I kind of wish I hadn't. I mean, the "bond" young John Connor and the "good" T-800 developed was hokey and cliché. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">"Asta la Vista"? Really?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">The other films had some interesting ideas, but ultimately, they were just poor excuses for making some cash off of the TREMINATOR brand. So, when I first heard about TERMINATOR: GENISYS, I quickly questioned the wisdom of the money-people behind it. This just seemed like an almost shameful attempt to squeeze the last drops of cash out of this stone.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">Then I saw <a href="https://youtu.be/FqbOFjl7ZWE">the trailer</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">What the trailer did was show that the filmmakers had clearly gone beyond a basic excuse for a TERMINATOR film with their premise. Beyond that, I really liked the idea of Sarah Connor being a bad-ass again. I had enjoyed TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES (but found it a little directionless with a vague series finale). So, I knew the character of Sarah Connor could be a great lead for a story. However, I also knew that the odds were against anyone coming up with a well-executed script for yet another murderous mandroid movie.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">Still, I somehow had the feeling that T:G might be more good than bad. So, I caught a screening of it and was thoroughly shocked at how solid it was. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">It was as though the writers had taken the best elements of the previous sequels, distilled them down, and then worked them together into one really fun film. Sure, there were aspects of the movie that were a little confusing if you weren't able to keep up with all the time traveling going on, and there were plot elements that only made clear sense if you had seen the previously made sequels. However, if those other sequels had never existed, this wouldn't have been a big price to pay and we'd have one really great sequel to the original TERMINATOR. On top of that, we'd have a big push from moviegoers for more great sequels.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><b>So, this is it, this is how to save the TERMINATOR franchise:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><i>Go back in time and stop the other sequels from being made.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">That's pretty much the only thing that will work at this point. See, because the other sequels were progressively less memorable, TERMINATOR: GENISYS did really poorly in the box office. As of this writing, T:G wasn't able to pull down $70 million since it opened 14 days ago. It couldn't even reach a measly $43 million, by the end of it's first weekend.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">For perspective, JURASSIC WORLD, which really was just a really crappy excuse to milk more money out of a franchise (the third such crappy excuse), before the end of its first weekend, racked up $208 million. As far as T:G is now into its run, JW had made over $400 million. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><b>TERMINATOR: GENISYS is a FLOP... <i>undeservedly...</i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">Put simply, no one trusted the film to be anything but another ill-conceived killer chrome-domed robot movie meant to squeeze more thin dimes out of a dying franchise. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">So, my solution is equally simple: we build a time machine, go back to 1991 and convince Jim Cameron to not make T2 and to make sure no other sequels get started… that is until Laeta Kalogridis & Patrick Lussier started writing their script for T:G. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">Oh, while we're back in 1991, we should also convince Jim to not make TITANIC and AVATAR, too.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">But I digress...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><b>Time Machines aside, this is how I really would save the TERMINATOR franchise</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">My thought is to <b>re</b>-release it in theaters, rather than putting it out on DVD. Get the stars of the film to do more PR so they can talk up how different and better it is compared to the other sequels. Make a big deal about how <a href="http://io9.com/james-cameron-says-terminator-genisys-is-the-real-termi-1709876792">Jim Cameron thought T:G should have been the original third film in his original TERMINATOR series</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">After this movie's poor performance, no one will think a good, <i>new</i> Terminator movie could ever exist. At least not for another decade or two. This is a huge shame since T:G is so good.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">That awkward sentimental stuff between a young John Connor and a T-800? GONE but replaced with genuine sentimentality built around the relationship that a now adult Sarah Connor has with a now 20 years-older T-800. This relationship works so much better because it's already in place. There are no "boy and his robot" scenes that are pretty hideously clichéd by this point in western cinema. Plus, how often do we see a daughter/father relationship in genre movies/TV?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">What's even better is that there are some great, emotionally funny moments that come out of their relationship. This emotional humor isn't just missing from the other sequels, but it's also missing from most modern genre films. Like Mythbuster, Adam Savage, says, what makes the original STAR WARS trilogy work so well is Han Solo always being around to provide commentary on what is happening in the movie. Having some sort of humorous commentary makes everything resonate with the audience more--they see that a character on screen is thinking the same thing they are. And T:G does this with some subtlety. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">While TERMINATOR 2 attempted this sort of emotional commentary, while accurate to what a typical kid might want to do with a robot, it was also very awkward. The other sequels didn't even bother with anything emotional, falling prey to, what I call, "This is Serious" Syndrome. Too many films these days just line up action scene after action scene and never bother with emotions or humor. It's pretty depressing to see so many opportunities to make resonant films get lost in the explosions.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">But I digress, again…</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">The liquid metal T-1000 character in T:G is distilled down to just a portion of the film and then, script-wise, receives an awesome structural upgrade that outdoes T2 by a mile. This comes in the form of a bigger big-bad who takes over for the one-trick pony that is the T-1000. What's great is that it's done in a way that doesn't feel like it's being crowbarred in. Nor does it feel like they dropped out the T-1000 and replaced him with a bigger-badder big-bad just for the sake of supplying a good climax.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">The change to how Skynet comes into existence is handled differently, as well. Instead of the third film's lackluster reveal at its climax, the method by which Skynet comes to be is discovered in T:G much earlier in the film and one-ups the explanation from the third TERMINATOR film, making Skynet about a thousand times more threatening to each and every one of us. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">SALVATION was a very forgettable film for me. So, I apologize for not being able to explain how T:G does it one better. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">Oh, wait. T:G is memorable. That's how it succeeds over SALVATION.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><b>What TERMINATOR: GENISYS does best is what more films need to do</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">TERMINATOR: GENISYS places Sarah Connor at the center of the story. While the film doesn't entirely pass the Bechdel test (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test), it does pass it for far more of the story than most genre films do. In fact, ultimately, it does a better job of passing it than the original TERMINATOR. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">Sarah is portrayed as a character who has been raised around the concept that she must eventually mate with a certain person to produce a child that will save humanity. However, this film finds a way to give her options. In this sense, it's quite literally a pro-choice movie. Kind of awesome, really.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGlt6ZpwJ_UJTCmZTrIbA9BQRuRn-pjklKUIwFrMFMG4p6gLdkO_ubPhXvS1idVe3NX6K4v6y53-3Ijv7CKZWatyonYkI2pxNMSEeFtSdoNbVKnsPiY0j5zsTYVLJ_szmdkUosrkpZPBa/s1600/Screen+Shot+2015-07-14+at+6.55.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcGlt6ZpwJ_UJTCmZTrIbA9BQRuRn-pjklKUIwFrMFMG4p6gLdkO_ubPhXvS1idVe3NX6K4v6y53-3Ijv7CKZWatyonYkI2pxNMSEeFtSdoNbVKnsPiY0j5zsTYVLJ_szmdkUosrkpZPBa/s400/Screen+Shot+2015-07-14+at+6.55.08+PM.png" width="270" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><b>Is TERMINATOR: GENISYS a perfect movie?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">TERMINATOR: GENISYS is NOT a perfect movie. I hated Hans Zimmer's score. OH WAIT, Hans Zimmer didn't score this film. It was Lorne Balfe. Never heard of him before and I wonder if I'll hear of him again. This score felt very derivative--so much so that I kept expecting Batman to show up and help stop Skynet. It wouldn't surprise me if Balfe was told "MORE ZIMMEROCITY!" by the director or producers and, if he was, I don't blame him for doing what he was told. Regardless, I blame Alan Taylor, the director, because that music was distracting and it worked to make T:G feel more like any other action movie out there. I really don't understand why they didn't hire Brad Fiedel. His music was so wonderful and atmospheric and really is the glue that holds the first two films together. Just a few bars of Fiedel's music from the TERMINATOR movies he scores and I am enveloped in that story universe.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">I was also disappointed that they seemed to be thinking that the filmmakers would definitely be able to make a series of films to complete the story. I think that was shortsighted and that they should have made the film stand alone, like the original TERMINATOR does.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">I also wish there was more downtime for the characters. To be fair, there was more downtime for them in this film than most genre films, but I still have no sense of how much time was actually represented on screen. Even if we see a single shot of the characters sleeping, the audience gets to take a breath and relax, too. As I mentioned earlier, most modern genre films just want to keep throwing everything at their characters (and the audience) until the credits roll. This gets pretty damn tiresome. Like GRAVITY where one friend of mine said she left the theater with a backache. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><b>Is the TERMINATOR franchise <i>really</i> terminated?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">I suspect it is. It's possible that GENISYS could do really well on DVD/Blu-Ray, iTunes, Netflix, Amazon or other online outlets, which could lead to someone with money thinking "hey, maybe there IS some money left in this thing!" Or, maybe, there could be a grassroots, fan-based campaign to help raise awareness of how good the film is and how it deserves a sequel. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">But I doubt either will happen. Especially when there are so many other scifi franchises waiting to be re-duxed and re-exploited. I hope I am wrong, of course. I'd love to see a sequel to the only TERMINATOR sequel that matters to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">Could we really build a time machine to go back and stop the other sequels from being made? Probably not, but you have to admit, it would be better if we did.</span></div>
Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-56780915533011664962015-07-07T12:00:00.000-04:002015-07-07T12:00:01.186-04:00Saving AMERICAN HUSTLE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9gX1phsUOoO0K69F_0K-dZZxxbcueKTpiR_nNugcQuY0YWsD40oP8zL7ZO8Q3SZCMSgrfG7Ie_eYnXOKBsXjOZesDMkgYO4o4ekByHCKlUh8whxuGXsV9lPcRGLlegTUcqPDh6vUnBHp/s1600/IMG_1125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg9gX1phsUOoO0K69F_0K-dZZxxbcueKTpiR_nNugcQuY0YWsD40oP8zL7ZO8Q3SZCMSgrfG7Ie_eYnXOKBsXjOZesDMkgYO4o4ekByHCKlUh8whxuGXsV9lPcRGLlegTUcqPDh6vUnBHp/s320/IMG_1125.JPG" width="216" /></a></div>
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So, "AMERICAN HUSTLE" got nominated for some Oscars, right? The acting in it was superb, right? Loads of people saw it, right?<br />
<br />
So, what's to "save"?<br />
<br />
The whole damn movie, that's what. <br />
<br />
You may have enjoyed it for the acting. Or the great period costumes. Or Amy Adams' precariously placed breasts. But one thing I did not enjoy was the pacing. Wow. I started zoning out once the relationship between Adams' and Bale's characters was established. I never really zoned back in after that. Well, that's not entirely true. I made myself pay attention once the story seemed to be reaching the climax. <br />
<br />
The thing is, the climax is pretty anticlimactic. In fact, I have to struggle just to remember what it is. I guess it was the part where we discover how Bale's character turns the tables. That whole scene has such a calmness to it, that it felt weak to me. <br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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Imagine the briefing scene in the original "STAR WARS" film where they're learning about the exhaust port of the Death Star. Only instead of cutting to the trench battle scene, they cut to a scene where Luke enters a room and calmly explains to Princess Leia that the Death Star has already been destroyed--they left a huge bomb there before rescuing her and detonated it when she was using the rebel base's bathroom. <br />
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I don't know, maybe 8 seasons of the British caper/comedy "HUSTLE" have biased me, but if you're going to tell a story about con artists, you need to make it a bit more flashy than just presenting these lying bastards for what they are. I mean, I've seen "AMERICAN HUSTLE" described as a "madcap" film. <br />
<br />
Uh, no.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEV88S7l3xR1HaQsvKNThdB2kwQ-ptk-L1gegqJl9K8giyLyqJUPJfimwRV-yFh52aWzNXvV1__VVFQZrLs_vslMzQxCPQPurjz0n-Yl5cPN9ckHcFN05A6meh3nXDZ4sthDdJlZgupZ1/s1600/IMG_1126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEV88S7l3xR1HaQsvKNThdB2kwQ-ptk-L1gegqJl9K8giyLyqJUPJfimwRV-yFh52aWzNXvV1__VVFQZrLs_vslMzQxCPQPurjz0n-Yl5cPN9ckHcFN05A6meh3nXDZ4sthDdJlZgupZ1/s320/IMG_1126.JPG" width="320" /></a>However, if the film had been shot and cut like an episode of the BBC's "HUSTLE" THEN we'd be talking. Then I wouldn't be so bored watching these somewhat horrible people make their way through their scam.<br />
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That's the big difference between "AMERICAN HUSTLE" and "HUSTLE." We like the grifters in the latter--they're actually good people who have discovered that their natural talent lies in conning people. They live by the code "You can't con an honest man."<br />
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Sadly, "AMERICAN HUSTLE" is made up of characters who have no such code, are somewhat morally reprehensible and really aren't terribly likeable. So, for two hours we're forced to follow them move through their con even though we (or at least *I*) don't really want any of them to succeed. I know the film is based on real events, but that's why it's got to be cut and shot in a way that's much more interesting than just ripping off the pacing, cinematography and editing style of "GOODFELLAS."<br />
<br />
Is "AMERICAN HUSTLE" entertaining? Sure. I guess so, but you have to admit, it would be better if it were done my way. (Just watch an episode of "HUSTLE" and tell me I'm wrong.)Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-5616788152743765182015-06-30T12:00:00.000-04:002015-06-30T14:07:05.508-04:00Netflix's DAREDEVIL should be Cast Out (part 2)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnRuCSrJeLkCoKOXeOK_4d0Ih9RlA2meuadcLmuR26RHoKIV3_0MDIuV6oQa6EY1ouGld7PAZQzvnVMJjyG-fWBB3R0Az1CPytWYblVSAgOvX3er5mjGrVTOzykK3QO2bupsjAL-xJbAd/s1600/_20150623_135851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZnRuCSrJeLkCoKOXeOK_4d0Ih9RlA2meuadcLmuR26RHoKIV3_0MDIuV6oQa6EY1ouGld7PAZQzvnVMJjyG-fWBB3R0Az1CPytWYblVSAgOvX3er5mjGrVTOzykK3QO2bupsjAL-xJbAd/s320/_20150623_135851.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>This is part two of "Netflix's DAREDEVIL should be Cast Out" (<a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html">read part 1 first!</a> It'll make more sense!). Do I still think that since I wrote part one? Well, as I wrote both parts as one giant thing over the span of a few weeks, yes. Of course. This is not because I felt the acting was bad or the production or anything else was bad--aside from the script.<br />
<br />
If you haven't already read <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html">part one</a>, go read it now. It includes <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html#1">a nice little spoiler-free mini-review</a> that covers the basics of the mess that I think Netflix's DAREDEVIL really is. It also covers:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html#2">Spoiler-rich, What Worked in Netflix's Daredevil</a><br />
<a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html#3">Netflix's Daredevil is a Man without Sense</a><br />
<a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html#4">Time to Pick a Couple Nits</a><br />
<a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html#5">My Problem with the Kingpin of Crime</a><br />
<br />
In part two, we will cover:<br />
<br />
<a href="#1">Enough with the Origin Stories, Guys!</a><br />
<a href="#2">What really got my Blood Boiling About Daredevil</a><br />
<a href="#3">World Building and How Daredevil Screwed it Up</a><br />
<a href="#4">How I would have Written the first season of a DAREDEVIL show</a><br />
<br />
OK, here we go with part two! Remember This is a <b>SPOILER-RICH ZONE</b>... <b>YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1"></a><b>Enough with the Origin Stories, Guys!</b><br />
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What is probably the biggest problem Netflix's DAREDEVIL has, is that it's lead character's arc is too long and too boring. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
How many times do we need to watch Matt Murdock get the crap kicked out of him before he becomes the character called "Daredevil"? When the final reveal comes for Fisk's sinister plot, it's like <u>really not impressive</u>. So, I don't know why we had to wait so long to have Murdock put on the red suit. Clearly they were trying to go for something symbolic between Daredevil and Fisk, but their arcs simply did not parallel at all. Fisk was already the flawed but brilliant mob boss with his plan already in motion, while Murdock was still stumbling in and out of fights while everyone called him "The Devil of Hell's Kitchen" instead of what they <u>should</u> have been calling him: "Daredevil" and/or "The Man Without Fear." (Again, I don't care if that's the way the comic was--in the live action show, it's a weak choice and, as a viewer, frustrating to wait through.)<br />
<br />
I mean, come <u>on</u>. The guy's name is in the title, right? He's called "Daredevil" NOT because of his connection to Hell's Kitchen (though the irony is nice), he's called "Daredevil" because his super-power allows him to <u>be</u> a <u>daredevil</u>. The way the Netflix version handles his origin story would be like having Peter Parker be called "the wall crawler" for 13 hours of screen time. Does that make ANY sense at all?<br />
<br />
And those 13 hours are LONG compared to most other shows. I think they seem even longer when you watch them back-to-back. It's just the same fights over and over. I mean, sure, they're all gritty and stuff, but there's nothing emotional invested in the fights. It's always Murdock's life that is at stake or some unseen innocent. And after the first couple of fights, I could not care less about Murdock because he was dumb enough to go into fight after fight without reasonable weapons or armor. In an age of competent Marvel heroes, Daredevil was very taxing to watch.<br />
<br />
I think this may be the thing Netflix genre shows do wrong--there is a TON of redundancy here and nothing makes you feel it more than when you binge-watch the entire series over the span of a few days. The Wachowskis have the same problem with their SENSE8 Netflix series. So, I'm worried that it's a trend.<br />
<br />
Maybe if each episode had been released a week apart, redundant scenes would be OK and would function as reminders (like how it worked with Sony Playstation Network's POWERS series). But all of the episodes available at once really hung a lampshade on the fact that the first 6 episodes should have been compressed into the first 2. There just isn't enough <u>interesting</u> to stretch out across all those episodes. As a result, the entire first season is a failure as a "Year One" style story. <br />
<br />
Sadly, that's not the end of my problems, either. However, these final two issues are more subjective than my other points, but I think I have good technical reasons for my advice to be taken on them. First, let's talk about the one that gives me away as a big old Marvel fanboy...<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2"></a><b>What REALLY got My Blood Boiling About Netflix's DAREDEVIL</b><br />
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This is a huge fanboy thing, but, killing off Ben Urich <u>broke my heart</u>. I am not kidding you. If it had happened any earlier in the series, I'd have stopped watching. Period. The show was dead to me when they killed off Ben Urich. I only kept watching because there was only one episode left. <br />
<br />
The thing is, Ben Urich is a fairly major guy when it comes to non-powered characters in Marvel storylines. I think he shows up in all of the more gritty NYC-based comics. I remember him from SPIDER-MAN and DAREDEVIL, but I checked his Wikipedia page and found that he was involved in the CIVIL WAR storyline, which the MCU will be doing in the movies, soon. <br />
<br />
This is where I bring it back to the technical side of things. If Ben is used a lot in the comic-version of CIVIL WAR, then he's going to be missed in the MCU version. But, even outside of that, having a classic, old-school, hard-boiled reporter around is great for telling stories of the big city, whether you are telling those stories inside the MCU or the Marvel comic universe or anywhere else. He's like a film noir detective only with stronger morals. The archetype Ben Urich represents is kind of invaluable in telling urban-based stories. And now he's dead to the MCU.<br />
<br />
<b>And Ben Urich was my <u>favorite thing</u> about Netflix's DAREDEVIL.</b><br />
<br />
I LOVED that they cast a black guy as Urich and Vondie Curtis Hall WAS GREAT! The scenes between Urich and his wife were so wonderfully sad and made me tear up almost every time! I understand that his death is supposed to be a tragedy, but the script has <u>already</u> provided us with enough tragedies. Mrs. Cardenas, Karen having to shoot that guy and feeling terrible about it later (LOVED that, by the way), and just everything being so gritty. We did not need to lose the strongest part of the show. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3"></a><b>World Building and the MCU, How Netflix's DAREDEVIL Screwed it Up.</b><br />
<br />
This brings me to the final big problem I have with this show. I don't think it fits into the MCU <u>or</u> the real world. First, with the killing-off of Urich. Instead of using the time-wise and life-weary Ben Urich (well established in the comic), the heroes involved in the CIVIL WAR arc in the MCU movie, will have to rely on the journalistic skill of some other reporter in the Marvel universe more obscure than Urich, or one just made up for the movies. Urich was a strong part of the comic universe and to kill him off just seems like a really weak choice. What the MCU has been doing right this whole time is keeping things fairly close to the comics. It's not like the comics did a lot wrong. I mean, sure, they're not perfect, but the comics have been around for half-a-century. They're certainly doing enough right to keep people reading. <br />
<br />
So, stick to the books, folks!<br />
<br />
Then, there's the fact that Hell's Kitchen, in the real world, isn't the hell-hole it was in the original DAREDEVIL comics. Since they shot it in NYC, we constantly see the real NYC, the clean NYC, the safe NYC, the NYC that exists for anyone who visits or lives in the real NYC. Full disclosure, I lived in Hell's Kitchen for two months when I first moved to NYC and would have loved to have stayed in that neighborhood if I could have afforded it. It's a great area and is pretty damn safe. The Hell's Kitchen in the real world hasn't been the Hell's Kitchen Matt Murdock grew up in since the 80s. So, the first thing, Netflix's DAREDEVIL should have done was <u>establish</u> that this is a wrecked Hell's Kitchen, a different Hell's Kitchen from the one in the real world. This is an important structural thing for any setting in any show or movie. The rule goes: show, don't tell. So, let's see the thing you keep insisting is real rather than just telling us about it over and over.<br />
<br />
The most we get toward the establishment of a truly hellish Hell's Kitchen is a lot of general talk about how it's a hell-hole and how the entire area got wrecked during the Battle of New York. The thing is, we never saw how it got wrecked during the Battle of New York or even how it is wrecked. In the first AVENGERS movie, we are only treated to the partial destruction of random buildings around Grand Central. The movie never establishes how, or even that, Hell's Kitchen is damaged. The producers of the very enjoyable AGENT CARTER series actually included footage from CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER movie in some of the episodes to help establish Agent Carter's place in the MCU. That was great because it helped the series feel more a part of the MCU. We needed something like this for DAREDEVIL--both to establish its context inside the MCU and to show how Hell's Kitchen is as bad as the dialog keeps claiming. This is like screenwriting 101 stuff.<br />
<br />
I'm sure I'm partially biased because I know the real Hell's Kitchen, but I was looking for visual cues that told me this was a horrible place and I just couldn't see any during the exterior scenes. When we visit Mrs. Cardenas apartment, sure, that place was horrible--but that just made me wonder why she wanted to keep living there.<br />
<br />
In the end, this show just didn't feel like it was existing within walking distance of a major alien invasion.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4"></a><b>OK, Pete, Dare to Tell the Class How You Would have Written DAREDEVIL</b><br />
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First off, I'd ditch the whole "year one" structure. Pretty much everybody hates origin stories these days and stretching one out to 13 episodes is really hard to do well. While CW's ARROW managed to do it for 3 seasons, they literally balanced that origin story with the much more developed Arrow character in the present-day scenes outside of the flashbacks. Beyond ditching the YO structure, I'd establish the show as a show that is one-part action and one-part lawyer. Daredevil is NOT Batman. He has to work to eat. In the Netflix version, I had no idea how any of them could afford to keep their lights on or afford to pay their booze bills (and they did drink a LOT--what the hell was that about? Doesn't anyone play video games to escape anymore?).<br />
<br />
I'd make sure everything starts off really well for Murdock, both as Daredevil and as a lawyer for the little guy. But, pretty quickly, I'd start his descent into hell. As the first season progresses, I'd have him start losing more and more cases due to corrupt judges, cops, etc, and more and more lives due to mob violence. In the beginning of the series, he's a one-hundred-percent competent hero (with his fully developed radar sense from the comics) leaping off buildings (like in the comics) and busting heads, but the more his lawyer-life falls apart, the more distracted he becomes as Daredevil until he loses everything by episode 10 or 11. Then he gets his ass handed to him in a fight and finds himself at St. Agnes' Orphanage, where a nun discovers him and nurses him slowly back to health. From there, he wages a final battle, of sorts, with Fisk. He ends up winning, but only barely (Fisk hires actual bad-asses from the comic, like Bullseye and/or others). Back at the orphanage, the same nun is very relieved to see that he survived, though he did take a beating, and once again starts to nurse him back to health. The mini-climax comes after the big fight climax, and is when he tells the nun about his life story. He senses her heartbeat and notices that it skips whenever he refers to never knowing his mother. He then realizes the nun is his mother. But there should be no dialog. It should only be on Matt's face that he's finally found her. <br />
<br />
The stinger at the end (every MCU project needs a stinger at the end) somehow shows that Elektra (the assassin from the comics) has arrived in NYC.<br />
<br />
<b>In Conclusion...</b><br />
<br />
Do I really think Netflix's DAREDEVIL should be cast out of the MCU? Yeah, I kind of do. Though now, it's not just because of Urich's death, but also because, in the great scheme of the MCU, this show was just a big fat "so what." It doesn't connect with the MCU in any meaningful way and doesn't have much interesting to say on it's own. Honestly, it left me longing for a SPIDER-MAN TV show, which I know, I'll never get. <br />
<br />
Was Netflix's DAREDEVIL entertaining? I suppose so. Some people liked it. But wouldn't it have been better my way? You know, with an actual <u>story</u> instead of just really uninteresting character arcs?Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-4193772441346015842015-06-23T12:00:00.000-04:002015-06-30T14:05:18.672-04:00Netflix's DAREDEVIL should be Cast Out (part 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOKh_vr8g3rne_n1yct_xnU4GbDgLngOGQN_NcVV3RvmxFElBUKFoM-i7-3rXVkczUmQT6bfmlJ0VbNw6etd2GHg7jYXnjJoq2AMmHNZiTjg8KesPzkHUAPg9xl4C-9kfFnrgAOrPf4Kg/s1600/_20150623_113959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghOKh_vr8g3rne_n1yct_xnU4GbDgLngOGQN_NcVV3RvmxFElBUKFoM-i7-3rXVkczUmQT6bfmlJ0VbNw6etd2GHg7jYXnjJoq2AMmHNZiTjg8KesPzkHUAPg9xl4C-9kfFnrgAOrPf4Kg/s400/_20150623_113959.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>OK, that title may be a bit strong, but I do feel that way, if for just one reason. I'll get to that one reason in a bit. Other than that one reason, I still think Netflix's DAREDEVIL series is a mess. Obviously, it entertained a lot of people, but for this comic book reader, it was tedious and meandering and, honestly, pretty misleading. <br />
<br />
As this is a series that is effectively 13 hours long, there is a LOT to say. So, I'm breaking this up into two posts. This post will cover the following:<br />
<br />
<a href="#1">My spoiler-free mini-review</a> <br />
<a href="#2">Spoiler-rich, What Worked in Netflix's Daredevil</a><br />
<a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html#3">Netflix's Daredevil is a Man without Sense</a><br />
<a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html#4">Time to Pick a Couple Nits</a><br />
<a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/netflixs-daredevil-should-be-cast-out.html#5">My Problem with the Kingpin of Crime</a><br />
<br />
Part two will explore:<br />
<br />
<i>Enough with the Origin Stories, Guys!</i><br />
<i>What really got my Blood Boiling About Daredevil</i><br />
<i>World Building and How Daredevil Screwed it Up</i><br />
<i>How I would have Written the first season of a DAREDEVIL show</i><br />
<br />
Already read Part 1? <a href="http://petesaves.nichollspete.com/2015/06/this-is-part-two-of-netflixs-daredevil.html">Check out Part 2</a> which is live now!<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="1"></a>Spoiler-Free Mini-Review</b><br />
<br />
My mini-review is that, as an action show, it was really well made. The action sequences were realistically staged and felt more like real life than anything else in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The acting was nearly perfect. I had a few issues with both Charlie Cox and Vincent D'Onofrio's choices, but I stopped caring about the ones with Cox as the show progressed and the ones with D'Onofrio only got worse as the show went on. More on that, also, in a bit.<br />
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Honestly, I was left a little flat by the show, both as an adaptation of the DAREDEVIL comic and as a TV show. When I said it was misleading, earlier, I meant that this show is called "DAREDEVIL" but it really should have been called "MATT MURDOCK" because of how not like the comic character he was. <br />
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I'm not a huge fan of the comic, but I read it for a few years back in the late 80s/early 90s. I know the character's abilities and origin story and really thoroughly enjoyed how he was a kind of blue-collar Batman. To be clear, I am no expert on the comic character. That said, the show does stray from the comic that I remember in many places, so using "<i>that's the way it was in the comic</i>" should not be used to excuse a weak choice in the Netflix version. Honestly, I found the comic book version much more fun and intriguing. His powers were much more developed and understandable in the comic than in the Netflix version. I understood how he could be fearless. In the Netflix version, he just came off as kind of an idiot.<br />
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I know Daredevil got his ass handed to him a LOT in the comic. The thing is, somehow the Netflix version didn't manage to make him seem dauntless, so much as stupid. To go into more detail, I need to take you into a <b>spoiler-rich zone</b>. <b>You have been warned</b>.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="2"></a><b>SPOILER-RICH ZONE BEGINS NOW: Enough with the Comic Comparisons, What Worked with Netflix's DAREDEVIL?</b><br />
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I loved the relationships. I got where everyone was coming from and genuinely enjoyed seeing them interact as humans. The really nice thing about the Netflix-model for episodic storytelling is that you don't have to break for a commercial. You can let your scenes run a little longer and it's great. In the first few episodes I LOVED Matt's discussions with Claire and Foggy. I really dug D'Onofrio's choices early on. Loved loved loved them. More than that, I ADORED Vondi Curtis Hall's take on Ben Urich. Urich is probably my favorite non-powered Marvel comics character (SPOILER ALERT: it is how the show treats this character that makes me think Netflix's DAREDEVIL should be tossed in the trash and done over--more on this in part two of this review). <br />
<br />
I don't have a problem with the general idea of the series--to be a sort of DAREDEVIL: YEAR ONE kind of thing. The problem with that is, it ultimately doesn't work. And that's my biggest general problem with Netflix's DAREDEVIL. It was the most boring, repetitive origin story EVER. It made me long for the runtime of Ben Affleck's DAREDEVIL movie. My wife, at one point, looked up the Netflix DAREDEVIL hashtag on Twitter and found many tweets echoing the following sentiment:<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<b>"JUST GET TO THE GODDAMN SUIT!"</b><br />
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See, he goes into every fight scene wearing, what looks like, a black, skintight, Uniqlo Heattech shirt and cargo pants but brings with him no actual weapons. Sometimes he uses sticks (similar to the baton(s) he uses in the comics), but not often enough.<br />
<br />
I know I said I wouldn't mention the comic again, but I will for just a sec. In the comic, he can "see" pretty clearly, but in a sort of 360-degree view of his surroundings. As I recall, this is referred to, as his radar sense. In the Netflix version, he doesn't have such a clearly fleshed out power. In fact, the Netflix version makes one brief mention of him seeing "a world on fire" and we see just a single shot from his point-of-view, but the show never really establishes the mechanics of <i>how</i> he is able to see. Effectively, the chemicals that made him blind as a child really didn't do anything for him, as they did in the comic. There are loads of stories about blind bad-asses in modern myth, and those guys didn't have special powers to be bad-asses. I'd bet Netflix's Daredevil would get his ass handed to him by Zatoichi, the legendary blind swordsman from Japan.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="3"></a><b>Now ZATOICHI, <i>he's</i> a man with no fear. Netflix's Daredevil is a man without sense.</b><br />
<br />
So, for the first 6 or 7 episodes of the series, we see Daredevil go into fight after fight, coming out with stab wounds, gun shot wounds, covered in bruises and blood, and worse. In one scene he is dragged across the floor by a <i>hooked blade</i>. The <i>only</i> explanation for his survival each time is that he meditates and therefore can heal faster. Sorry, that's ridiculous. First, because he takes no time to actually heal on camera--we never <i>actually</i> see him doing his meditation to heal. <br />
<br />
The second reason "speedy-healing-thru-meditation" is a ridiculous explanation, is because it would be so easy to explain it away by saying, simply, that the same chemical that made him blind also strengthened his body's ability to heal itself. We don't even need to see anything on camera for that explanation, but to say he meditates to survive his repeated beatings and then not even show him doing it? Honestly, him surviving and healing so quickly really dilutes the realism of the fight sequences. Especially, when you factor in the following.<br />
<br />
Along these same lines, we also have the question of "why no protection?"<br />
<br />
We see that he does have some protective gear, but none of it is actual body armor. When Claire asks him why he doesn't wear armor, he says "it slows me down." <br />
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That's just as ridiculous as the "make-boo-boo-go-bye-bye-via-meditation" explanation. It slows you down? So speed up, idiot! What's worse? Getting stabbed in the armor because you were too slow or getting stabbed in the flesh because you weren't fast enough?<br />
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And Netflix's Daredevil is NEVER FAST ENOUGH.<br />
<br />
He's the most incompetent fighter there is. Batman studied martial arts in Asia for years and still fights using gadgets, a cowl and a cape. Matt Murdock spends a couple months training with the white Zatoichi and then heads over to Uniqlo and Sports Warehouse to gear-up. Good plan. Oh, you've got some red on you... and sadly, that's not your costume.<br />
<br />
So, you can probably see how I had real trouble sticking with Netflix's DAREDEVIL at this point. <br />
<br />
Sad thing: I'm not done yet.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="4"></a><b>Let's Pick a Couple of Nits</b><br />
<br />
I'd like to go into some depth on Charlie Cox's American accent for a moment. Now, I know a lot of people didn't even notice it wasn't precisely spot on, but I did--especially in every scene he had with Rosario Dawson, who is a native of New York City. Now, he didn't need to sound like he was from Brooklyn or whatever, but he really needed to sound like a New Yorker. I kept hearing those little tip-offs that an actor from one side of the Atlantic was pretending to be from the other. It's the way they pronounce the "r" sound. It's like it's just way too enthusiastic. It's not pirate-talk, but it's distracting around other American characters and especially other New Yorkers. Then there's the thing where he says something like "evrathing" instead of "everything." It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, it's a minor complaint, but accents are important to a character that really can't live anywhere but the Big Apple. It's part of who Daredevil is as a person. Matt Murdock is a New Yorker. Period. Yet, in this show, he sounds like he spent a ton of his formative years in New England. Or old England.<br />
<br />
Somewhat ironically, he's supposed to be a ginger and of Irish descent but Cox is English and has brown hair. Whatevs... I could have easily looked past both of these things if it weren't for me getting stuck on the REST of this show. Let's drop the nits and continue with...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="5"></a><b>My Problem with the Kingpin of Crime</b><br />
<br />
My problem with the Kingpin of Crime was that he wasn't in this show. Well, he was and he wasn't. I mean, was there a reason no one called the Kingpin "The Kingpin"? Was it one of those things like how they had to use the name "<i>David</i> Bruce Banner" on the 70s HULK TV show, because "Bruce Banner" sounded gay? (This is actually what Stan Lee says happened and not any homophobic editorial commentary on my part.) Or is it because the name "The Kingpin" went with the rights to SPIDER-MAN, when Sony bought them? Regardless, I started out really loving D'Onofrio's Kingpi--I mean--his <i>Wilson Fisk</i>. He was really perfectly cast. I often found myself flashing back to D'Onofrio's truly astounding performance in FULL METAL JACKET. He made Fisk instantly likable and fascinating yet sinister at the same time. It was like in FMJ, where you just knew his character has a ton of <i>scary </i>in his head and it's just a matter of time before it gets vomited out.<br />
<br />
So, I loved Fisk for a long time--that is, until the script went and ruined it. The writers made the mistake here of thinking Fisk needed to be humanized. He did not. D'Onofrio's performance already made him plenty human. I'm guessing that the writers didn't realize this would happen and, so, we are subjected to the most boring, cliched origin story ever. I read SPIDER-MAN comics from childhood but stopped in the early 90s when they did that whole stupid clone plot. I don't ever remember reading about Kingpin's origins. He was always plenty fascinating to me and he was one of my favorite bad guys in the Marvel universe. So, I don't know if the origin story they gave him in Netflix's DAREDEVIL is taken from the comic or not. All I know is that it sucked.<br />
<br />
<b>Having an Abusive Dad does not Make You the Kingpin of Crime</b><br />
<br />
So, in order to humanize Fisk, the script employs these flashbacks (I know, ugh, everyone and their uncle is doing flashbacks these days--remember when everyone used to agree that flashbacks were always bad ideas? I miss those days). In thede flashbacks, we learn that young Wilson murdered his wife-beating father. This is supposed to be the key to his personality and totally distracts from the honestly <i>brilliant</i> use of the blank wall. See, when Wilson got in trouble as a child, his dad would give him a time-out and make him face a blank wall. Later in life, he stares at similar blank-wall-like things to help him deal with every day stress. It's a great device and is really the only good thing that the flashbacks bring to the table. Everything else is cliche and distraction. <br />
<br />
It wouldn't ruin things if his origin story was still killing his wife-beating dad, but to waste screen time on it was, I believe, a mistake. Especially since it really doesn't tell us why he's such a violent man or why he wants to remake Hell's Kitchen/NYC, according to his own vision. There are plenty of people with violent dads in the world and you don't see all of them turning into crime lords. <i>What</i> makes Fisk go in this direction? There is a vague suggestion there, but the malevolence he feels toward some characters is not explained. I don't we <i>need</i> it to be explained, which is why I feel it's odd that they tried.<br />
<br />
The final problem I had with Fisk was not D'Onofrio's fault, any more than the flashbacks were, but this may seem, specifically, like a dig against D'Onofrio. After the flashbacks started, the script starts to give him these laboriously long speeches where he just goes on and on, forcing poor Vincent to <i>ACT</i> through all of them. At this point in the series I stopped flashing back to Pyle in FULL METAL JACKET and went further back to Sydney Greenstreet in, well, any movie where he sat around chewing on scenery. When Fisk's penultimate scene arrives in the police van, and he starts to tell the entire story of the Good Samaritan I think I literally yelled at the TV screen: "OH, SHUT UP!"<br />
<br />
<b><i>Seriously</i>, that was the worst bit of spoken subtext since I watched, well, any sitcom on the Disney Channel.</b><br />
<br />
It was bad enough he was basically admitting he is an evil guy (who does that?!?) but to do it in a long, drawn out way, it's just kind of insulting to the audience. I mean, like I yelled, SHUT UP already. Jeez. You're a giant bald gangster. We get it, you're a badguy--you don't need to hang a lampshade on top of another lampshade.<br />
<br />
That's all for this post! Tune in next Tuesday for part two when I will talk about the following:<br />
<br />
<i>Enough with the Origin Stories, Guys!</i><br />
<i>What really got my Blood Boiling About Daredevil</i><br />
<i>World Building and How Daredevil Screwed it Up</i><br />
<i>How I would have Written the first season of a DAREDEVIL show</i><br />
<br />
Thanks for reading! Please don't stop and please tell your friends about Pete Saves! THANKS!!Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-86097393032318102972015-04-28T12:00:00.000-04:002015-04-28T12:00:11.917-04:00What is Wrong with CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER? Oh, a few things...With the new AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON movie coming out this weekend, I thought it would be a good time to ask the question: What is wrong with CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER? <br />
<br />
What isn't wrong with it? I'll answer the latter first, the former later.<br />
<br />
As usual, Hollywood churns out generally entertaining stuff. The "Captain America" sequel is definitely a blast and is very entertaining and for that reason, in my opinion, is even more insidious as it manages to include quite a bit of character development without upsetting it's ridiculously break-neck pacing. It helps that the first "Captain America" film did an amazing job of adapting the original comic's premise for the big screen, so we are ready to like this film. <br />
<br />
The first film was paced so well that there was essentially no aspect of the movie that was given short shrift. Story, character, editing, effects, music, it was all nearly perfect. The sequel, however, manages to sell everyone short except for Cap and Black Widow. <br />
<br />
Again, on the surface, it seems like the perfect movie. It opens with Cap meeting a young veteran while jogging. It's pretty much a perfect sequence and makes for a good character dynamic for later, when Cap needs a second teammate (not sure why he didn't just call Tony Stark or Bruce Banner or Thor--well, Thor probably doesn't have a mobile phone, but you get my point). Likewise, the character moments Cap and Natasha share are really great. Two competent people dealing with what their competence doesn't prepare them for: real life. It's a really nice dynamic and super rare to see. When is the last time you saw a male and female character of any competence level have a non-sexual relationship in movies or TV these days? And this one was even based on mutual respect.<br />
<br />
I should also say that the score is utterly amazing. It's totally creepy and almost mind-bending compared to most scores done for action movies. This music has moments where it screams at you: SOMETHING IS WRONG and it's wonderful. Listen to the score by itself and you'll see what I mean. It's one of my favorites. Henry Jackman deserved an Oscar for it, in my opinion.<br />
<br />
So, that's pretty much what worked. Now for what didn't. Remember, this is a spoiler-rich zone.<br />
<br />
<b><u>First, the Story.</u></b><br />
<b><br /></b>
As the story progresses, we learn that SHIELD, an 80 year-old government organization, has been utterly infiltrated by HYDRA.<br />
<br />
<i>Really?</i><br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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So, why start the story now? Why not show various points in SHIELD history where and how key agents were replaced with HYDRA agents, or have Cap slowly uncover the truth of how the infiltration happened? Instead of actually letting us see the mystery unravel, the film just tells us:<br />
<br />
"HYDRA has infiltrated SHIELD! AAAA!"<br />
<br />
This is a violation of one of the oldest rules of storytelling: show, don't tell.<br />
<br />
It also reminds me of the thing that always makes me a little sad about the Marvel Universe movies--that they aren't all TV series. Doing the Marvel Universe as several TV series would allow for the kind of deep and involved storytelling that we, the original comic book readers, got to experience when reading the source material. Stretching the story over the span of SHIELD's existence (and over several episodes) would allow the story universe to feel much more intricate and developed (Unless we're talking about the DAREDEVIL series on Netflix, but that's fodder for another post).<br />
<br />
Instead, it feels like we're being told everything we need to know as Cap and pals race to the next plot point. It's really frustrating for guys like me, who know how the intrigue originally unfolded. Hardest of all, we know how much better it could be if the movie just took its time more, like it's predecessor.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Second, the characters.</u></b><br />
<br />
OK, as stated above, Cap and Natasha/Black Widow are fine. Love them. Sadly, Falcon gets character development but only as an archetype and not an actual person. He's caring, skilled and loyal. Those are all great for making the story go, but not much for the audience to really know this guy. Plus he's the "token black guy" in the movie and is treated as that. I'll get to Fury in a second.<br />
<br />
I don't mind that this veteran guy Cap randomly met one day while jogging happens to be part of the Falcon project, but it does seem a little convenient. Lucky for Cap (and the plot) that Falcon's not secretly an agent of HYDRA (though it would have been cool if Falcon had found out about the Hydra plot and only went jogging that day to connect with Cap).<br />
<br />
So, yes, Fury is black, but he wasn't originally, so his character was fleshed out already, which is fine, except for one thing: the movie Nick Fury is an abject coward, compared to the comic Nick Fury. <br />
<br />
<b><u>Yeah, that's right, Nick Fury is a Coward in this Movie.</u></b><br />
<br />
First off, he's not the WWII war hero that Fury was in the comic. In fact, I'm not entirely sure what wars movie-Fury is a veteran of. We find out that Robert Redford's character is the one who chose Fury to head SHIELD, but SHIELD has been around much longer than Redford's character has been. So, this Fury, the black Fury, hasn't actually been as fleshed out as the white Fury from the comic who was, essentially, the greatest soldier who ever lived (why they don't just stick to the guy in the comic but have a black guy play him is beyond me). <br />
<br />
Instead, we get a Nick Fury who, when he is cornered by gunmen on the street, cowers in his bullet-proof SUV. He's THE GUY WHO RUNS SHIELD and his SUV's best features are disabled in <i>seconds</i>. Does he grab a shotgun and go all NICK-FURY on their asses? No, he just cowers in his soccer-mom mobile and keeps begging <i>it</i> to save him. It was the opposite of of inspiring. It was the opposite of heroic. It was the opposite of what Nick Fury in the comic would do. Hell, the comic book Nick Fury would happily get shot over allowing himself to get penned in, like Movie-Nick Fury did. <br />
<br />
If that isn't enough, moments before this scene goes down, we see him discover that SHIELD's computer system thinks he gave it an order he knows he did not. Rather than do some detective work, immediately attempting to find out who forged his password (or faked his identity or whatever), he stupidly hops in his SUV and goes for a ride. Shouldn't he secretly investigate while not letting anyone know he knows something is up? Movie-Nick Fury seems pretty stupid to me. <br />
<br />
<b><u>Protip for anyone who witnesses evidence of a criminal conspiracy</u>:</b> DON'T act like you know it exists. The bad guys will notice you've noticed and send gunmen after you on your drive home from work. <i>You're welcome.</i><br />
<br />
What's even worse is that before that, we learn Fury wants to keep all of humanity in line with a fleet of mini-Death Stars that will rove the planet, raining fire down on anyone SHIELD doesn't like. This premise is rightfully challenged when Cap first learns of it from Fury, himself. Of course, it should have been challenged by anyone involved in the script-development process--not to mention anyone else is Fury's immediate sphere who has their morals still intact. I mean, come on, who would think turning the Earth into a planet-wide police state would be a good thing? (I mean, aside from Dick Cheney.)<br />
<br />
Are the hover carriers in the comic? Sure. But Fury in the comic is a moral guy. He's not going to use his firepower willy-nilly to play revenge games on behalf of anyone, like Movie-Fury seems to want to. There are big threats in the comic universe and Comic-Fury is not waging war against Al Qaeda or whomever else Movie-Fury is waging war against. Come to think of it--who else are bad guys in the Marvel Cinematic Universe aside from the aliens in the "Avengers" movie, Loki and the Frost Giants in the "Thor" movies and the random bad guys that show up in the "Iron Man" films? None of those guys are trying to take over the world or even cause mischief on a global level. So, what the hell is Fury doing with all this weaponry and his helicarrier fleet in this movie? He's a madman with the power to dominate the Earth!<br />
<br />
I'm starting to understand the plotline of the SHIELD TV show much better looking at the behavior of Movie-Fury. I wouldn't be trusting Coulson, either.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Third, the climax.</u></b><br />
<br />
When the story finally comes together, we discover that Movie-Fury should never have created such an arsenal in the first place (no kidding, REALLY?). Almost instantly, Fury caves and lets his World Order Enforcement Fleet be destroyed. When the story fully resolves, Cap <i>lets Fury go free</i>.<br />
<br />
What the hell is that?? Fury put together a World Order Enforcement Fleet with plans to hold every human on Earth in line with it. This man is a war criminal who should be locked up and never let out. He built all this stuff in secret in the first place, who's to say he doesn't have another World Order Enforcement Fleet hiding in some other underwater lair?<br />
<br />
Just consider his thought process:<br />
<br />
"I'm Nick Fury and I am going to build and control a giant fleet of aircraft that can enforce my will around the globe!"<br />
<br />
Seriously, that's a HUGE moral lapse right there--well worse than Bill Clinton sleeping with an intern or Watergate, and he gets a European vacation for it? Clinton got impeached and Nixon was forced to resign, meanwhile, Movie-Fury is probably out their building himself a new army to dominate the world with again. It made sense for Comic-Fury to have a helicarrier fleet--Doctor Doom, the Skrulls, the Skree, and plenty more global-sized enemies threatened Earth. But in the Marvel movies, there just isn't much point to having your own personal revenge fleet.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Conclusions</u></b><br />
<br />
In the end, I need to point out that I have the same problem with CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER that I had with AVENGERS. This problem was that our heroes are so incompetent they almost let the bad guys win. In this film, they are completely oblivious to HYDRA agents all around them. How can they be so stupid as to let these guys completely destroy SHIELD from the inside? I mean, talk about utter incompetence! This is exactly the opposite of what I LOVED about CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER. Cap in the first film was a stable, competent hero up against a legitimate threat. In this, our heroes are kind of morons who didn't notice their top secret super organization being completely compromised--another reason these guys should not be trusted with their own revenge fleet of mini-Death Stars!!<br />
<br />
The way to do this right is to have the good guys be totally competent but still have the bad guys be be more competent.<br />
<br />
Sadly, the MARVEL'S AGENTS OF SHIELD TV series handles HYDRA's infiltration of SHIELD the same way as the movie and does zero good at filling in the gaping blanks as to how so many agents of SHIELD could all have been so stupid as to allow HYDRA to infiltrate so much of SHIELD.<br />
<br />
So, to fix this film, I'd say restructure the story so that we can <i>see</i> how HYDRA managed to do it. We don't need to see all of it, just a couple examples will do. I don't even think the story absolutely needs to be stretched over SHIELD's entire history, though, that's how I'd do it. How interesting and fun would it have been to see SHIELD after Cap "died"? We could see how HYDRA could never have infiltrated if only Cap was still around.<br />
<br />
I'd also have included more character moments like the jogging scene or like most of the first "Captain America" movie. Also, stick to having Movie-Fury doing things that Comic-Fury would do. None of this world domination stuff. It's about defending freedom, not about enforcing it. <br />
<br />
AND NO FURY COWERING IN HIS CAR!! Man, the more I think about that the more it annoys me. Normal people yell at their car--not Nick Fury! He's a badass! Not a whiner!<br />
<br />
Finally, and this is one thing I didn't mention above, have the climax gimmick make sense. The movie has our heroes replace three server blades with their own server blades so the computers aboard the three carriers can't sync with SHIELD's computer system. Really, all they have to do is stop the syncing from happening. The three replacement blades are just so the three carriers can be forced to crash--I think--honestly, I'm not sure. The point is, you just need them to not sync to the main system. They can be safely landed by each individual member of Cap's team if need be. Instead. the three blades are swapped and they all crash into the Potomac or SHIELD HQ or where ever the third one crashed. <br />
<br />
Good thing the writers didn't let them crash into any Washington DC monuments, or the White House or the nearby neighborhoods of regular folks like you and me...<br />
<br />
And, of course, more quiet moments to let us learn more about the characters and to breathe. If I never see another wall-to-wall excitement film I will die a happy man.<br />
<br />
Was CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER entertaining? Sure. But you have to admit, if they did it my way it would be better.Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-39690457027189516042014-12-18T17:11:00.001-05:002016-07-20T18:59:33.449-04:00Saving "SAVING MR. BANKS" (from #Sexism and the Deification of Walt #Disney)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdLk0HsdvWVv5wUIiMAAa_PMks__TWE5YhOA8lix9Gc2DroXGNH8MJkzHHJuKeZi-jrZytukEZ-8ky0wYZhWA9Qr8kx4JFnLtHnoCIkevgVUg6yicUoxCnTLCin3-LTnvIm1J3JnBeRAT/s1600/Saving+Saving.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdLk0HsdvWVv5wUIiMAAa_PMks__TWE5YhOA8lix9Gc2DroXGNH8MJkzHHJuKeZi-jrZytukEZ-8ky0wYZhWA9Qr8kx4JFnLtHnoCIkevgVUg6yicUoxCnTLCin3-LTnvIm1J3JnBeRAT/s1600/Saving+Saving.jpg" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sticky-note ink drawing by me.</td></tr>
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What a sentimental, oversimplifying, disrespectful, sexist, and at times nonsensical, mess, Disney's "SAVING MR. BANKS" is. I understand that, when telling a true story, said story needs to be simplified. However, it was <b>what</b> was simplified and how it was propagandized that bothered me. For starters, a wildly successful female author was distilled down to a caricature based on her nationality and gender. What's more fun to laugh at than a stuck-up woman from Britain? Not much, apparently, since that's where most of the laughs came from in this film. But, I'll get into more of this in a bit.<br />
<br />
SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.<br />
<br />
<b>What was Wrong with "SAVING MR. BANKS"</b><br />
<br />
To start, the story structure was confusing as hell. The flashbacks that served only the most superficial of functions to try to explain how Travers became such an eccentric, annoying person plagued the entire film. Meanwhile, a much better structure kept being suggested every time we saw the film refer to the audio recordings Travers demanded be made of their development meetings. <br />
<br />
These should have been used as the structure--unless they prove she wasn't anywhere near as obnoxious as she is made to look in the film. In which case, perhaps a more balanced portrayal of both Travers <i>and</i> Walt Disney would be in order.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Banks-Blu-ray-Digital-Copy/dp/B00HT944D4/ref=as_li_ss_il?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1469054658&sr=1-1&keywords=Saving+Mr.+Banks&refinements=p_n_format_browse-bin:2650305011&linkCode=li3&tag=petedotink-20&linkId=98fa29481b35d571c139c6bd2a9822de" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00HT944D4&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=petedotink-20" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/29ULrgg">Add SAVING MR. BANKS to your video collection</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=petedotink-20&l=li3&o=1&a=B00HT944D4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />All of the acting was perfectly reasonable. I found everyone's choices believable and strong. However, the casting of Travers' father didn't work for me, nor did the casting of the young Travers. I really like Colin Farrell's choices, but he seemed distractingly more handsome than the real person and the actor who plays Mr. Banks in the "MARY POPPINS" movie. I don't know why Travers would have been comfortable with such an incongruity and the film does not attempt to establish why Travers allowed the mustache to stay when her real father, at least in the movie, made it a point to stay clean shaven.<br />
<br />
In fact, that brings up a very good point--both Walt Disney and Travers' fathers were truly dedicated to their daughters. The story structure could have reflected that parallel and made the film much better. <br />
<br />
The actress playing the young Travers was fine, but looked nothing like Emma Thompson nor did they seem like the same people. There are choices both actresses could have made (or direction that could have been given) that would have allowed the audience to see similarities between them. There was one point in the story where I thought for a few moments that young Travers wasn't even young Travers and that was why they cast the actress that they did.<br />
<br />
I really liked the relationship between Travers and her driver, but I suspect that the driver was entirely fictional. It's usually the fictional relationships that are the easiest to write well.<br />
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The music was technically good, but practically all wrong for a historical dramatization and was also disrespectful to the woman who created one of the most successful and long lasting female characters in fiction. The pizzicato string music accompanying the scenes where Travers is seen at her most eccentric encourages the viewer to share the opinion that she should be disrespected and laughed at.<br />
<br />
<b>Just a Spoonful of Subtle Sexism (actually, it was way more than a spoonful!)</b><br />
<br />
This brings me to the sexism in the film. Music aside, the lead female is seen as a snobby, eccentric, kind of "character" to be "humored" and not a person to be respected. Travers is portrayed as someone to be "dealt with" so this "amazing," "magical" film could be made. Disney is portrayed as a benevolent deity who is simply trying to create entertainment for people around the world to enjoy. How could she say "no" to that?<br />
<br />
Well, finding out why would have made for an interesting story, wouldn't you think? Sadly, this film focuses on how she came to say yes and not why she would say "no," or why she never let Disney make another "Poppins" film after.<br />
<br />
What the film fails to state is that Travers was a woman in a man's world desperately trying to protect her creation from a man who wanted to buy up her very successful franchise and make buckets of cash off of it. She was right to be protective. She was right to be difficult. Women simply were not as successful in Travers' day. Yet, no attention was paid to the fact that she was a trail-blazer--a female author who had created a female character so influential that the great Walt Disney simply HAD to own her. <br />
<br />
It was kind of creepy how "absurd" the film made it seem that she wouldn't want to immediately fall in love with the idea of being part of the Disney empire. When she walks into her hotel room to find it covered in Disney merchandise, the mockery was made of her snooty, "British" negative attitude toward the iconic products and not of Walt Disney for thinking she could be so easily swayed. The one part that the film gets right is when Thompson's Travers wonders aloud if Walt thinks she's a child. However, that's not enough to save this missed opportunity for a powerful film.<br />
<br />
I mean, think about it--this could (and perhaps should) have been the story of a successful woman's attempt to resist the manipulations of a white male corporate emperor. Let's face it--this was a man who, according to this film, grew up in poverty, and built an entertainment mega-corporation. What kind of eggs had to be broken to build that omelette? It's another, more interesting story angle than any we get in this film.<br />
<br />
But while Travers' character was deconstructed to her basic snobbiness, Walt Disney's had precisely zero flaws. A god in an office who only seemed to get involved when his plan wasn't going the way he had wanted it. <br />
<br />
<b>How I would have saved the script of "SAVING MR. BANKS"</b><br />
<br />
First, ditch the flashback structure. Such a structure can work, but it was very confusing to start the film with a flashback before we see what we are flashing back from and then flashforward again and then back, and so on. And that first flashback was so short that it was very jarring to suddenly flash forward to, I think it was, fifty years later. I'm not sure because the skip to 1961 was so sudden that I forgot what year the flashbacks were in. Not that it matters, since all the flashbacks could have been cut down to a handful of single shots to establish what each one signifies for the character or scenes that take place in 1961 Los Angeles.<br />
<br />
Using flashbacks is fine (in theory), but using them as a skeleton to hang the majority of your story off of can be tricky to pull off. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen it done all that well. However, the flashbacks, cut down to fifteen, or so, seconds each (just long enough to show their significance) would work perfectly well, I think.<br />
<br />
Second, score the film so it's not suggesting how silly or unreasonable Travers is being through the entire film. Write her as someone being protective of her creations, not defensive. <br />
<br />
Third, ditch the "reveal" that "MARY POPPINS" is about saving Mr. Banks. When she calls Walt on not understanding that Poppins' true goal is to save Mr. Banks, it should be a "duh" moment for the audience. You shouldn't put a plot point in the title and then make us wait for it in the film. Plus it would have been a great moment to show Disney as a human (aka flawed) character--he could apologize and seem legitimately humble.<br />
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Fourth, ditch the "reveal" that P.L. Travers is really an Australian and used a pen name. The film does a terrible job of establishing why this is significant when, to the audience, it's been obvious all along that she was Australian. It also makes perfect sense that a woman would take a pen name to make it less obvious that she was not a man. The film doesn't even explain how Disney's receptionist knows the "truth" about Travers nor how Disney finds out that she chose a pen name based on her father's name. The most ridiculous moment in the movie comes when Walt says, something to the effect of: "You must have loved your father very much to take his name as your own."<br />
<br />
This is probably the dumbest line of dialog I have heard in recent memory. <br />
<br />
1) Don't nearly all daughters get their father's last name? And have their first name given to them by, at least in part, their father, whether they love them or not?<br />
<br />
2) Of COURSE she loved her father because he was her father (as the vast majority of daughters do)! <br />
<br />
So why is this being made so significant? Does this mean that Sam Clemens hated his father because he chose to base his own pen name on a nautical term? It's stuff like this that made the film, at times, a nonsensical mess. <br />
<br />
Fifth, hang a lampshade on the sexism. Travers insists on being called "Mrs. Travers" not because she is a snooty Brit, but because IT IS RESPECTFUL. Calling Mrs. Travers "Pam" belittles the name she has created for herself. This isn't about Walt just being "folksy" this is about his brand of Americanism harming the personal self-confidence and the public reputation of a successful woman in a man's world--even today. 21st century audiences are meeting Travers not as a successful, driven female artist, but as a snooty Brit with "attitude."<br />
<br />
Sixth, be honest about the real life fact that Travers did not like "MARY POPPINS." "SAVING MR. BANKS" tries to pretend that she burst into tears during the premiere because she was so moved by how redeemed her own father had become in Disney's film. It's my understanding that, in real life, Travers went to her grave disliking Disney's "MARY POPPINS" film. Why else would there never had been a sequel when there were a total of eight books?<br />
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Seventh, write Travers as a competent character--someone who ultimately knows what she's doing. She made her franchise of books successful, didn't she? The film should not treat her Yoda-level character as The Cookie Monster or a "Gonzo The Great" style freak.<br />
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<b>The Medicine with a Sugar-filled Spoon Chaser (My Conclusions)</b><br />
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Sure, cutting all the flashback sequences down to 15-second clips would make the film MUCH shorter, but I'm not sure why it needed to be as long as it was. Besides, the most interesting parts of the movie all took place in 1961.<br />
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What disturbs me the most about "SAVING MR. BANKS" and the way the real Walt Disney made "MARY POPPINS" and advertised it, was that I had no idea the film was based on a book until I had heard this movie was getting made. Sure, I may have had an inkling that there had been a book, but I had definitely never heard of P.L. Travers or that there was a franchise, or that it was read by young girls around the world. <br />
<br />
I think film historians should be very disappointed by this film. Simplifications aside, the way Walt Disney was portrayed as a flawless human suggests that the Disney Corporation wants us all to believe that he was born of a virgin mother.<br />
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I also think fans of well-made films should be disappointed, since it really only <i>feels</i> well-made. Try examining the film beyond how it makes you feel and you'll notice all sorts of kinks in the armor and even overt pro-Disney propaganda (it's soooo "funny" how Travers finds Disney merchandise annoying).<br />
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However, most of all, I think women (and anyone who is sick of women being made out to be anything less than men) should be disappointed by "SAVING MR. BANKS." With great subtlety the film belittles and demeans the female artist, portraying her as someone to be "humored" and "dealt with" and not at all respected. <br />
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Is "SAVING MR. BANKS" an entertaining film? Sure. But you have to admit, doing it my way would have been better (not to mention less sexist).<br />
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<a href="http://amzn.to/29ULrgg">Add SAVING MR. BANKS to your video collection</a>Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-60836410848437801892014-12-11T15:00:00.000-05:002016-07-20T18:40:40.119-04:00"GRAVITY" Falls Down, Can't Get Up<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwVVm4yyVt_5q6NI9lSlw_gUzHg8d8_-1r4DXttyUX9QEKpTEa8DVtedzmTaizUqKwr75QRi4ECJE9AUGt_kLwGIM861Tq0eB68dh7LU2YoTa3l1qbSpN3ssv1ChDZjPM2aJn4M0ibsFQ/s1600/Keeping+Gravity.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJwVVm4yyVt_5q6NI9lSlw_gUzHg8d8_-1r4DXttyUX9QEKpTEa8DVtedzmTaizUqKwr75QRi4ECJE9AUGt_kLwGIM861Tq0eB68dh7LU2YoTa3l1qbSpN3ssv1ChDZjPM2aJn4M0ibsFQ/s1600/Keeping+Gravity.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty much the emotion felt for the whole of GRAVITY<br />
(pencil sketch by me).</td></tr>
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For a long time, I avoided seeing the film "GRAVITY." Just about everyone said it was great and, usually when that happens, and I see the movie, it isn't great. Plus, from the trailer, it seemed like it was a one Plot-Point-Movie. I hate PPMs because I feel like the writers have made very little effort to construct an interesting story. All they had to do was come up with one cool idea to strand a character somewhere or in some situation and then let what ever natural obstacles exist do their job. <br />
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There was a movie a few years ago about an attractive, white scuba diving couple who find themselves stranded at sea without a boat or so much as a piece of wood to float on. I didn't see this movie either because I thought, short of flashbacks, how could this be anything but emotional-torture porn? How boring and depressing to sit through something that can end in one of two ways. They die or they don't. The former being completely depressing and the latter being completely unrealistic.<br />
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I would have accepted the former in "GRAVITY" but instead, what I got was the latter. In fact, I checked how many minutes into the film I was when Sandra Bullock's character definitely would have died if the film were as realistic as promised. 14 minutes in is where she finds herself tumbling out into space. If you know anything about the physics of space and space-walks, it's probably really hard to accept the reality of her surviving this death-summersault into space as anything realistic.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.to/2a003th">Buy GRAVITY on Blu-Ray</a></td></tr>
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<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=petedotink-20&l=li3&o=1&a=B00H83EUL2" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><b><u>How "GRAVITY" Really Let Me Down</u></b><br />
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When I first heard about this film (I think it was io9.com ejaculating about it--both literally and literarily), they said that the filmmaker was going for hyper-realism. Their example of this is that, in the film, there is no sound in space! <br />
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Having no sound in space IS cool--I am so tired of scifi films portraying space as being capable of carrying sound waves. So, I give GRAVITY some credit for not doing that. But soundless space was pretty much where the hyper-realism ends. <br />
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That fourteenth minute isn't even where the realism ends--it's just where Bullock's character definitely would have died. The last bit of realisticness comes, probably way back in the third or fourth minute of the movie.<br />
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In the first scene of the movie, we meet our hero, the female astronaut played by Sandra Bullock. We also meet the happy-go-lucky Indian astronaut who is having such a fun time in space, we just know he's going to be the first to die. We also meet a veteran space pilot played by George Clooney who is zipping around the space shuttle like he's a teenager who just got his space-jetpack license. I've since learned that the jetpack his character is using is identified as a prototype (probably in a single line of dialog that I missed) and is not the same one NASA actually used in real life shuttle missions. Regardless, don't waste fuel, George. Come on.<br />
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<b><u>What was that about Hyper-Realism?</u></b><br />
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So, a guy having way to much fun in space ends up dead (seriously, acting like that in space, he pretty much deserved it). Then we have the fakey-fictiony jetpack. But it's a prototype, fine. I can accept that. But should he still be pulling space-donuts with it in orbit?!?! I mean, what if he needs the extra fuel later? I mean, it's _SPACE_.<br />
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<i>WHAT IF SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS?</i><br />
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Of course, it does and later it's a plot point that he runs out of fuel for the thing. So.... dumbest space captain EVER.<br />
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And that's really just the tip of the iceberg. There's all manner of unrealism in this film--from really obvious crap like all the absurdly horrible, unlucky events of the film happening in one day, but also nuts-n-bolts stuff that would essentially make the film's story untellable. Yes. Untellable. That's how inaccurate it is. For instance, when Bullock's character is somehow able to get from the space shuttle to the ISS which orbits much higher than the shuttle usually does. <br />
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The thing is, this could have been explained by having her go about getting from shuttle orbit to ISS orbit. They just didn't bother with it. The thing is, without this explanation, the story is completely unrealistic.<br />
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There's even really nerdy science they got wrong like space station doors opening outward. Why would you build any space-based structure with doors that open outward?!? It's SPACE, man, atmospheric pressure is coming from the inside, pressing out, into the vacuum of space. So, you know when Bullock's character opens the door a couple of times in the film and gets whipped around so hard that it looks like she almost breaks her spine? Yeah, that's why no one builds them that way. I mean, duh.<br />
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<b><u>Would You Like a Side-Order of Sexism with your Unrealism, Sir?</u></b><br />
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One thing I really like to see in a movie is a strong female lead character. In theory, for that reason, I should be supportive of the film GRAVITY. It's about space, which is great, and it has a female astronaut as the lead. Awesome... on paper.<br />
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I had a similar problem with the heroes in "THE AVENGERS" and "CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER." The problem is they're just competent enough to survive letting a bunch of bad stuff happen to themselves. To put it in another way, they're so incompetent that it almost kills them.<br />
<br />
The problem here is much worse than in the Marvel films as Bullock doesn't even seem to have been properly trained. Sure, sometimes she is able to fall back on training, but too many times she seems completely out of her element. Real astronauts are trained for quite a few disasters and because of this training, they can remain completely chill in the worst situation. They react to the shit hitting the fan with the casual grace of answering the phone. Yet, Bullock's character seemed completely <i>not </i>that.<br />
<br />
Why was she even allowed into space if she didn't know how to calm herself down when she started spinning out, <i>into</i> space?<br />
<br />
So, how often do we get to see (allegedly) realistic space films with (allegedly) competent female astronauts in them? Virtually never. When we finally do, she's an idiot. Nice.<br />
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On top of that, she's not just an astronaut who happens to be a woman, she's a mom. Or, was a mom. Her daughter died and she's still dealing with the emotional trauma. When's the last time you saw an astronaut movie where a male astronaut was still dealing with the death of his offspring? When's the last time you saw a movie where male astronauts were dealing with any problem but the ones at hand?<br />
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Once again, she's not just an astronaut who happens to be female, but a female astronaut who has a serious emotional trauma in her past that she has yet to <i>get</i> past. I am not belittling this as a "thing," in general, I even think it would be a perfectly good plot element in the right film. But giving a woman this kind of stereotypically female "depth" is distracting and does, in fact, make it less realistic that she was able to survive. I mean, when guy astronauts get into trouble in movies, they focus on the problem. They might mention their families but it's usually in passing and they're more likely to survive because of that focus. So, why portray Bullock's character as having these issues?<br />
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Then again, I guess it's OK, since, <i>you know how chicks are</i>, rite? All their baggage and emotions and stuff?<br />
<br />
Pah! <i>Girls...</i><br />
<br />
And that possibly subconscious homage to the underwear scene in "ALIEN" really stuck out to me. If I'm an astronaut in space who is having a really shitty day, the last thing I'm going to do is climb out of my space suit and float around a space station in just my boxer briefs and a tank-top. I've heard people say this sequence was not gratuitous.<br />
<br />
<i>Really?</i><br />
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When's the last time you saw a male astronaut strip down to his tighty-whities and float about while ignoring obvious fires threatening his very life? <i>(Seriously--how the hell could she not see that fire?!? She's an idiot AND she's BLIND!)</i> The point of that sequence was to sexualize Bullock's character. Why else would she be doing it? That kind of behavior makes <i>no sense</i> in the middle of trying to survive a serious and obvious streak of bad luck <i>in space</i>. <br />
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Once again we see that her character probably shouldn't have been allowed to go into space in the first place if she's thinking like this.<br />
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"OH, sure--I just narrowly survived dying ten different ways in the last 60 minutes all related to space--which I am still in! What I'd like to do is get out of this pesky, life-protecting space suit and float around with just my undies on!"<br />
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If this is what America's astronauts are really like, I can actually see why NASA shut down the manned space program. <br />
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<b><u>How I Would Have Kept GRAVITY Afloat</u></b><br />
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First off, ditch the "worst day ever" structure that so many films use these days. Films like this throw obstacle after obstacle at the lead characters because they think that makes for a good story. Sure, this story structure makes it exciting, but it's hideously unrealistic and, in the case of GRAVITY, at least for me, just distracting in its absurdity.<br />
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A friend of mine who saw this film in the theater said she came out with back pain because the film was so intense. I don't think even the best films should leave their audience with back pain. Especially when the film is a 90-minute-long one-trick pony.<br />
<br />
What you do is give the character problems they can actually solve--and let them solve at least some of those problems without something else immediately going wrong. Let Bullock's character have a win or two over her predicament. Give her (and the audience) a chance to hope so that it makes sense that she (and the audience) doesn't just give up (as was my urge several times while watching the film). Also, give her time between predicaments--time to enjoy her wins. Let her character arc breathe and let us come to care about her as something other than an abstract human in perpetual trouble.<br />
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The truth is, I watched this movie in a way that no movie should be watched--on an iPhone. I did it this way because I didn't want to be biased by the effects. I've had people tell me that this is an "effects" film and I shouldn't get too hung up on story. But remember back at the beginning where I talk about how GRAVITY was billed as a hyper-realistic film? Well, it wasn't. So what good are effects if the allegedly realistic story could never actually happen? If it was a more traditional science fiction film, then they could have just had fun with it by throwing in aliens or completely new tech instead of pretending to get it right but fudging a shit-ton of details. Not doing this way ultimately makes the filmmakers look really kind of stupid.<br />
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<b><u>So, in a nutshell, how would I have saved Bullock's character?</u></b><br />
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Put simply, I'd have her deal with problems realistically. The problems she deals with in the film, all seemed perfectly plausible. The solutions, however, were reached far too quickly and were far too contrived and implausible. I'd let the audience see how competent she is at problem solving and allow the audience to get to know her in ways other than the "oh, shit! What do I do now?" mode she seems to be in for nearly the whole film. <br />
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I'd also have the film take place over a longer period of time. How much story time do you think passed from the beginning to the end of GRAVITY? I couldn't tell, but it felt like it was almost real time. It was probably more like two or three hours. I would have it take place over a few days, at least. Once she leaves the lower orbit of the shuttle she should be out of the way of the debris field and that should afford her, and the audience, time to breathe. <br />
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Of course, I'd never have written GRAVITY in the first place. I don't like space movies about how dangerous space is. Essentially, GRAVITY is just a really boring version of the tales ancients told each other--the ones featuring sea serpents and mermaids and other dangers of space--er--the sea.<br />
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I'd have told a story about how going into space is humankind's destiny. Sure, the "space is dangerous" message would be there, but that's the <i>only</i> message in GRAVITY. I'd also have a female astronaut who knows what she is doing but because space is so dangerous, still manages to find problems that challenge her ability to survive. I would want people coming out of my movie with the urge to go into space. <br />
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Hey, neat! I would have written INTERSTELLAR. (Not that it's perfect, but if it wins no Oscars, I will be super disappointed.)<br />
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<b><u>Time for the Ultimate Sadface for GRAVITY</u></b><br />
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The ultimate sadface for this film is that Alfonso Cuarón is held up like this amazing filmmaker. What he made, in GRAVITY, is an amazing piece of art, but it's not a good movie. I felt that his CHILDREN OF MEN was also wildly overrated but I liked it more than I did this. Why? Because characters make your story go. Without someone to get behind, feel for, and identify with, your movie will not stick to your audience when they leave the theater. Who wants to make something that doesn't stick to its audience? Who wants to sit through something that doesn't leave you with anything but back pains?<br />
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<a href="http://amzn.to/2a1kvZR">Buy GRAVITY on Blu-Ray</a> Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-1194995421312455642014-01-27T20:37:00.000-05:002016-07-20T18:35:11.381-04:00Fixing "FROZEN." Yes the Disney Hit is Great but Could Have BeenGreater.<br />
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<i>WARNING: Mild spoilers ahead! If you're one of the three people on Earth who have yet to see "FROZEN," please proceed with caution! I try to avoid mentioning major plot points, but we all define the word "spoiler" differently, so you've been warned!! By continuing to read this, you absolve me of all responsibility for possibly ruining the movie for you! That said, I don't think I will...</i><br />
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So, I really enjoyed the Disney's latest CG animated movie. It really resonated with me in a few ways that I suppose I should be embarrassed by--what with me being a male who is thoroughly into adulthood. However, there were some huge problems with that film. Three, to be exact--three missed opportunities with story, humor and music.<br />
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I'll start with the part that I am least qualified to criticize--the music.<br />
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I can't sing and I'm not musical, really, at all. However, I am married to a professional singer and actress who happens to be immensely talented and knows her stuff. One of the main complaints from her about the film was that the music had an over all "pop" feel that really clashed with the setting of the story. I agree with this. What's more is that the film sets up a musical theme in the very first scene which it then quickly abandons. It was a shame, since I don't know anything about folk music from northern Europe and it would have been nice to hear a style of music I haven't already heard too much of.<br />
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That said, I tend to forgive the music, as the lyrics and context generally make up for it's poppish, somewhat cliched sound. In fact, I was very pleased to find that the songs in "FROZEN" generally don't fall prey to what I call "Single Plot Point Syndrome." I've seen a lot of musicals in my day (as the son of a huge fan of musicals and the husband of someone who has performed in quite a few of them). I loathe songs that exist solely to remind us over and over that a thing has happened. My favorite example of this is from "PHANTOM OF THE OPERA." That one song about them having a masquerade? I'm not sure why that needs to be a whole song. They're having a maquerade. Yes, indeed. We see them in masks as they sing it. Why do we need this song?<br />
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I think the only song that sticks out in my mind as being afflicted by SPPS in "FROZEN" is the song Olaf sings about what he would do if he could experience summer. It's such an adorable song, though, so I didn't mind it. Or I wouldn't have minded it if it weren't for who sings it.<br />
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This brings us to my second criticism about "FROZEN." That stupid f**king snowman. I know! I know! There is a HUGE contingent of Olaf fans out there. One of my favorite blogs even claimed Olaf was the best thing about "FROZEN." But he isn't. He's the weakest thing.<br />
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If not, why isn't he in the whole movie? He shows up a third or maybe halfway in. Sure, there's the Proto-Olaf they build as children, but he doesn't turn into a chirpier version of Woody Allen until he inexplicably shows up when the sister and her guy pal go looking for Elsa in the mountains. And when he does, he brings buckets of laughs, right?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://amzn.to/29Ofv8s">Buy FROZEN on Blu-Ray</a></td></tr>
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Well, not to me, but that's beside the point. Sure, the hipsters sitting next to me in the theater laughed their asses off at Olaf, but that doesn't matter. Not to me. Why? Because we already had an awesomely warm, funny, comic-relief character--the reindeer. Yep. He was charming, had great timing, and really lightened the mood nicely. He wasn't even a talking reindeer so there was much less to strain my suspension of disbelief. I think if I was a little kid, I'd have an even easier time imagining this adventure could have really happened. As an adult, I just didn't know why Olaf was there.<br />
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Elsa didn't really create him. I mean, I guess she did with her sister's help when they were little kids. But that's not what I mean. When the Fairy Godmother in "CINDERELLA" conjures Cindy's dress, it's a dramatic, beautiful moment. When Elsa conjures Olaf, it happens off-screen. What the hell is that?<br />
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So, I say cut the boring, cliche-ridden character out of the film entirely. It works just as well without him. Either that, or make him matter more and put less of an emphasis on how he's the comic relief. Every single joke he has hits the punchline on the head. None of it seems indigenous to the situation, really. It's like he's a little Deus Ex Joke Machine wondering through the story. That is, until he actually does become useful toward the end of the film. But really, I think Anna could have gotten out of her situation on her own. She is a wonderfully competent character, after all.<br />
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While I do feel that Olaf really did ruin every scene he was in, for me, I don't think he was the biggest mistake of "FROZEN." The biggest mistake of "FROZEN" was how they handled Elsa's at-home-exile.<br />
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Once her parents lock her up, the focus of the film abruptly shifts to her sister and stays there for far too long. The film expects us to assume that being locked away is inherently unpleasant. Which, I suppose is fine, but it's not that interesting, is it? Plus, if we had seen what she went through as a person, cut off from the rest of humanity, it would have made her "coming out" song in her ice castle that much more triumphant.<br />
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Just imagine the scenes where she sneaks out of her room and accidentally freezes dinner or almost turns the maid into an ice statue. Imagine she has a few more break-out attempts where she is soooo very much tempted to go over to the dark side, but she doesn't. In her heart, she's still a good person, so she goes back inside (literally and figuratively) on her own. Exiling herself--which she can then use to help fuel her rejection of her responsibilities to lead and keep her power in check. It would have made her break from "civilized society" that much more interesting and her motivation that much more ambiguous. Has she truly gone evil? Obviously, when she sings her "Let it Go" song, we'd know she hasn't. But it's called "drama," right?<br />
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Wouldn't all of that have made her character so much more interesting?<br />
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As she is, she's a great role model for girls, which I definitely appreciate. However, she could have been a much more resonant character for everyone watching. It's almost as though the filmmakers felt pressure to make her a typical Disney princess.<br />
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Well, that's how I would have fixed "FROZEN."<br />
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While "FROZEN" is a legitimately enjoyable film, you have to admit, it would have been a better movie like this.<br />
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<a href="http://amzn.to/29MIzRs">Buy FROZEN on Blu-Ray</a> Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8384113921008107121.post-13174640991994542822013-11-10T13:57:00.000-05:002014-11-22T18:41:17.730-05:00Hello world! This is the blog where I save Hollywood one post at a time!What's this blog about? Didn't you read the title of this post? Well, this is the blog where I teach Hollywood, if it wants to show up for class, how to save itself. Right now, Hollywood (and really the entire traditional entertainment industry) is trapped in a death spiral. To fight the digital world of new media, Hollywood is casting it's net wider and wider, trying to appeal to the most people by being as safe, bland, unchallenging and as inoffensive as possible. This is the wrong way to go.<br/><br/>The right way is by telling good stories. The guys behind <em>BOARDWALK EMPIRE</em> and <em>BREAKING BAD</em> know this. (I'm not yelling, we're supposed to type titles in all caps in the Industry--don't ask me why.) So, why do so many shows and movies fail in the box office or succeed but still fail to be any good at all? Good question!<br/><br/>I don't know.<br/><br/>What I do know is that no one can blame you for making a TV show or movie that tells a story well--whether it makes money or not isn't your fault--unless it's a terrible story. And I see this happen all the time in movies and TV shows. Everyone wants to make a film or show that everyone wants to watch. Read this blog and it will teach you how to do it.<br/><br/>Or are you too scared?Petehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727099446933021757noreply@blogger.com0