Yesterday, I spent most of my afternoon watching the live coverage of the tragedy in Oak Creek. I have to admit I'm lost right now.
I can't figure it out.
I posted after the shootings in Colorado, about how being a movie lover that hit close to home for me. This literally hit close to home for me. Being from the Milwaukee area, I know there is violence in this city, but I don't think anyone anywhere in America expects to being sitting at home on a Sunday and be interrupted with the news that a madman had gone and shot up a temple while people were preparing to worship.
I started watching the coverage almost as soon as I got home from 11 o'clock mass at my local church.
It's weird that while many Americans practice a wide variety of faiths, many of them hold services on Sunday. It goes back to the shootings in Aurora too, where that could have been any movie at any theater in America. This situation isn't that different. This could have very easily been any place of worship in America.
But it's hard when it's people who are part of a local community you identify with, participating in services you identify with.
Why do people keep ruining the safe places? Are there any left? How do we make these places safe again? Is that even possible?
These are the kinds of questions that run through my head when things like this happen. These are ways I try and make sense of it. Often there aren't any answers. At least not ones that are readily available.
The other thing I don't understand. The media's over emphasis of the fact that Sikhs are not Muslims. I was watching the news last night and one of the members of the temple (who admittedly had been put through a day I could never imagine going through) becoming very upset and shouting at the reporter (who was not making any claims to this idea) that the Sikhs were not Muslim.
My question: Who cares? Would we all be going "Oh, well the guy shot a bunch of Muslims, so that's ok"?
Hell no.
This is America, damnit. People are free to practice their religion, and they should be free to do so without having to fear some nut is going to come in and start shooting the place up.
From that though, I know this issue will raise more questions about gun control. I believe people have the right to buy and own guns. I really believe that owning and operating a gun can be done responsibly. I think people who say we should simply outlaw guns are looking for an easy answer to a complex problem that goes beyond whether or not Americans should own guns.
(Sorry, don't like to get too political, but sometimes things need to be said.)
One thing I will agree on though is that this was a senseless act, and as we seem to be finding this summer, those are often the worst.
Monday, August 6, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Of Jesters and Holy Men
As a born, raised and semi-practicing Catholic, I have, on occasion considered becoming a priest.
As a born, raised and practicing pop-culture addict, I have, on occasion considered becoming a stand-up comedian.
There are a lot of similarities between these two professions. Sure, a priest will tell the occasional joke during his homily, and a comedian will occasionally hit on religious topics, but the similarities go beyond that.
It comes down to the function of the job itself. Here are some ways being a priest and a comedian are alike:
It's always interesting to me to find the connections between things that don't really seem to go together, and I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say there are some overarching similarities between these two professions.
Favorite joke ever told by a priest:
A guy is fishing on Loch Ness when al of the sudden his boat is thrown into the air. He looks down and sees the open jaws of the Loch Ness Monster beneath him. He cries out, "Oh Lord, please save me!"
The man's boat freezes in midair and a voice from the heavens asks, "Why should I save you? You've never believed in me before?"
The man says, "Well, yeah, but a few seconds ago I never believed in the Loch Ness Monster either."
Church humor!
As a born, raised and practicing pop-culture addict, I have, on occasion considered becoming a stand-up comedian.
There are a lot of similarities between these two professions. Sure, a priest will tell the occasional joke during his homily, and a comedian will occasionally hit on religious topics, but the similarities go beyond that.
It comes down to the function of the job itself. Here are some ways being a priest and a comedian are alike:
- Both professions rely on a singular person communicating to a large group of people
- Both rely on coming up with new material to keep their audiences interested
- Both provide a greater understanding of the world around them
The first point is fairly self explanatory, a comedian takes the stage and a priest stands on the altar. They speak to their respective audiences and in the priest's case during a homily, neither expect to have the audience respond to what they are saying.
The second point also speaks to the homily. Priests need to come up with material on a pretty regular basis, even more so than comedians. Priests are coming up with new homilies on a weekly to daily basis to provide new insight into the gospels. Comedians need to create new material because they can't make a career out of telling the same jokes over and over.
The last point may be hard to understand, but I'll do my best to explain. A good priest will make sure the homily connects to what is going on in the world the parishioners live in. I'm not talking about general themes of evil existing in the world, I'm talking about pulling specific examples to directly parallel what is happening in a gospel of reading to connect with the modern world. Comedians do the same thing. It's called observational humor. Jerry Seinfeld is a master of it. A comedian takes an everyday occurrence and points out the absurdity in it. For example, recently I was listening to some stand-up from a comedian named John Mulaney (if you don't know him, look him up) who made a joke about how pirates never seem to bring the right size chest when they collect their treasure.
All we ever see is chests overflowing with treasure. It's just something we accept because that's how it has always been presented. But an outsider can point out how that doesn't really make any sense.
It's always interesting to me to find the connections between things that don't really seem to go together, and I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say there are some overarching similarities between these two professions.
Favorite joke ever told by a priest:
A guy is fishing on Loch Ness when al of the sudden his boat is thrown into the air. He looks down and sees the open jaws of the Loch Ness Monster beneath him. He cries out, "Oh Lord, please save me!"
The man's boat freezes in midair and a voice from the heavens asks, "Why should I save you? You've never believed in me before?"
The man says, "Well, yeah, but a few seconds ago I never believed in the Loch Ness Monster either."
Church humor!
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Pets vs Humans
Here's a controversial statement that really shouldn't be controversial: I don't like pets.
I was never raised on pets. I never had a dog, cat or fish growing up, nor did I ever desire one.
This doesn't mean I hate pets, animals, or people who have pets. Everyone is entitled to whatever makes them most happy in their life, and if that means taking care of animal, God bless.
What it does mean, however, is that those same things do not appeal to me. I do not want to take care of animal. I do not want to walk it, clean it, feed it or pay its veterinary bills.
For reasons I didn't understand though, people always have negative reactions when I tell them this. A while ago, I was talking about this with some girls who had pets. They said some girls connect guys who don't like pets with guys who don't like kids. Which I think is ridiculous, but it leads me to a second story.
I heard someone say their boyfriend said they would rather pay for a kid than pay for a pet. The girlfriend didn't understand that; I understood perfectly.
I might not like pets, but I love kids. I would like to have a few one day, and I would much rather pay for a human being than an animal. I would much rather take on the expenses of a human being that will contribute and benefit from a society, than I would like to pick up some dog poop in a plastic bag.
I've had experiences with pets. I've had friends with dogs and cats, and I'e helped families in my neighborhood with their animals while they go on vacation. None of these experiences have made me warm to the idea of having a pet of my own.
Often I feel like I'm in the minority, and I very well could be. I like animals in the wild, but I don't like domestic ones. My distaste for pets doesn't make me a terrible person. My actions make me a terrible person. That's how we should judge people, on their actions.
So that's where I stand, humans over pets, every time.
I was never raised on pets. I never had a dog, cat or fish growing up, nor did I ever desire one.
This doesn't mean I hate pets, animals, or people who have pets. Everyone is entitled to whatever makes them most happy in their life, and if that means taking care of animal, God bless.
What it does mean, however, is that those same things do not appeal to me. I do not want to take care of animal. I do not want to walk it, clean it, feed it or pay its veterinary bills.
For reasons I didn't understand though, people always have negative reactions when I tell them this. A while ago, I was talking about this with some girls who had pets. They said some girls connect guys who don't like pets with guys who don't like kids. Which I think is ridiculous, but it leads me to a second story.
I heard someone say their boyfriend said they would rather pay for a kid than pay for a pet. The girlfriend didn't understand that; I understood perfectly.
I might not like pets, but I love kids. I would like to have a few one day, and I would much rather pay for a human being than an animal. I would much rather take on the expenses of a human being that will contribute and benefit from a society, than I would like to pick up some dog poop in a plastic bag.
I've had experiences with pets. I've had friends with dogs and cats, and I'e helped families in my neighborhood with their animals while they go on vacation. None of these experiences have made me warm to the idea of having a pet of my own.
Often I feel like I'm in the minority, and I very well could be. I like animals in the wild, but I don't like domestic ones. My distaste for pets doesn't make me a terrible person. My actions make me a terrible person. That's how we should judge people, on their actions.
So that's where I stand, humans over pets, every time.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Marriage
This past weekend a friend of mine from high school got married. He wasn't the first guy from our class to get married, but he was the first guy who I actually spent time with in high school. Others guys who had gotten married were simply passing acquaintances, people I knew existed but didn't really interact with. This was the first guy I knew who was my age that I interacted with on regular basis. We weren't super close friends, I've only seen him once or twice after we graduated. But when I saw his wedding photos pop up on Facebook this week, I realized something.
I'm still very young.
When I was a kid (and by kid I mean pretty much my entire life before entering college) I thought I had a good life plan. Go to college, find a girl I would marry, get out of college with a job, and marry her soon after. Upon entering college, I quickly realized life doesn't really work like that.
You know what else life doesn't work like? Television. I watch a lot of it. Television would lead me to believe that people typically get together in May, get engaged the following May, and then get married the May after that. Again, a little age has shown me that this isn't really a typical scenario for most people, nor should it be.
Right now I am a 22 (almost 23) year old who stills feels like a 16 year old, and when I was 16, I still felt like I was 12 (I'll let you do the math to calculate how old that makes me).
What I'm trying to say is that getting married now, or in the next year or two is something I cannot even fathom right now.
I'm going to attribute that to the overall general lack of direction in my life.
I'm still very young.
When I was a kid (and by kid I mean pretty much my entire life before entering college) I thought I had a good life plan. Go to college, find a girl I would marry, get out of college with a job, and marry her soon after. Upon entering college, I quickly realized life doesn't really work like that.
You know what else life doesn't work like? Television. I watch a lot of it. Television would lead me to believe that people typically get together in May, get engaged the following May, and then get married the May after that. Again, a little age has shown me that this isn't really a typical scenario for most people, nor should it be.
Right now I am a 22 (almost 23) year old who stills feels like a 16 year old, and when I was 16, I still felt like I was 12 (I'll let you do the math to calculate how old that makes me).
What I'm trying to say is that getting married now, or in the next year or two is something I cannot even fathom right now.
I'm going to attribute that to the overall general lack of direction in my life.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
The State of Summer Films So Far
It is now August, and while I originally intended to keep this blog firmly planted in the realm of pop-culture, it has diverged somewhat. So to get things back on track, here are list of movies I have seen in the theaters this summer and what I thought of them.
The Avengers
I will start on a controversial note by saying I do not believe this movie was a good as everyone says it was. That being said, it was a very good movie.
In theory making an Avengers movie sounds pretty easy. Just make a bunch of solo films, then throw them in a blender like its no big deal. But when you take a step back and look at what Marvel was able to accomplish, it is truly astounding. Just imagine what would have happened if one or more of these films had failed at the box office or with critics. Their whole house of cards would have come crashing down. If one of these actors hadn't met the fans expectations of how the character should be portrayed or if one of the director's had failed to do the Marvel world justice, who knows how this could have turned out.
Instead, we got an amazing rollicking popcorn flick that threw the summer into high gear and made us wonder how DC could possibly ever pull off a Justice League movie as well as Marvel did The Avengers. There are a lot of factors that went into the successful culmination of five films, but who knew the most successful and heart wrenching piece of the puzzle was Clark Gregg. This guy took a small, seemingly insignificant role and filled it with charm and charisma that quickly turned Agent Coulson into a fan favorite. (SPOILER) His death was one the most emotional experiences I have had watching a film since I thought the little girl got shot in Crash. Joss Whedon's ability to use his death to not just as a gimmick but as a plot device push the characters towards the film's climax was one of the most brilliant pieces of storytelling I have ever seen (END SPOILER). Overall a stunning achievement.
In theory making an Avengers movie sounds pretty easy. Just make a bunch of solo films, then throw them in a blender like its no big deal. But when you take a step back and look at what Marvel was able to accomplish, it is truly astounding. Just imagine what would have happened if one or more of these films had failed at the box office or with critics. Their whole house of cards would have come crashing down. If one of these actors hadn't met the fans expectations of how the character should be portrayed or if one of the director's had failed to do the Marvel world justice, who knows how this could have turned out.
Instead, we got an amazing rollicking popcorn flick that threw the summer into high gear and made us wonder how DC could possibly ever pull off a Justice League movie as well as Marvel did The Avengers. There are a lot of factors that went into the successful culmination of five films, but who knew the most successful and heart wrenching piece of the puzzle was Clark Gregg. This guy took a small, seemingly insignificant role and filled it with charm and charisma that quickly turned Agent Coulson into a fan favorite. (SPOILER) His death was one the most emotional experiences I have had watching a film since I thought the little girl got shot in Crash. Joss Whedon's ability to use his death to not just as a gimmick but as a plot device push the characters towards the film's climax was one of the most brilliant pieces of storytelling I have ever seen (END SPOILER). Overall a stunning achievement.
Impressed or Unimpressed: IMPRESSED
Moonrise Kingdom
You can take all the superhero movies and big blockbusters you want, this was the movie I was most excited for during the summer of 2012. We get new superhero movies every year and people like Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell are putting close to two movies a year. Wes Anderson, though, takes about three years between films. He takes a lot of time compiling his cast, perfecting his script and
picking the right music for his films. What made me even more eager for this film was the fact that it was his first live action film since 2007. It was also his first film to primarily focus on the adventures of children and be set in a time other than the present.
That being said, the fear with any film maker like Anderson is that they become too self-aware of their own style and rely to heavily on those tropes, sacrificing storytelling in the process. However, Anderson delivered again, telling a superb coming of age tale where the kids act like adults, and adults act like kids. Everything falls into place and the care Anderson takes in his film shines through. He is able to capture the confusion of being a kid during a time when the only thing you seem to want is to find a kindred spirit who understands what you're going through.
Impressed or Unimpressed: Impressed
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
This movie seemed very promising. The unlikely pairing of two likable actors (Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley) in an offbeat premise (trying to find the one that got away before the world ends) sounds like a movie that would be right up my alley. Until, that is, it gets completely mucked up.
In fairness, it was never very clear how exactly the events of this film were going to play out. The trailers gave the basic details as I have laid them out above, but what it didn't give you was the sense that this movie was made up as it went along. No, that only came across when I actually sat down to sit through it.
I went and saw this movie with my sister and couldn't believe it was only a 90 minute film. This thing dragged like no another and I thought for sure we were there for well over two hours. The main flaw with this movie is that it couldn't seem to decide on the tone. Was it a dark comedy? A light comedy? A romantic-comedy? Or, just a movie that spends the first 30 minutes making the audience share in Steve Carrell's misery? There are funny parts but not enough to salvage the poor decisions made with the plot.
Impressed or Unimpressed: Thoroughly UNIMPRESSED
That's My Boy
This is the most embarrassing film on my list, so I feel I should explain why it is on here at all. My dad and I usually pick one or two movies each summer to go and see together. It's some solid father-son bonding, but it usually boils down to seeing two types on film. One action picture and one comedy. We've seen Wedding Crashers, The Hangover, and the A-Team to name a few. He also raised me on Adam Sandler comedies like Happy Gilmore and Big Daddy (thankfully we didn't spend too much time with Billy Madison). So when this film rolled around with none other than Andy Samberg playing his son, I was thinking this would be a slam dunk. Plus, the premise didn't sound half bad especially if Sandler could keep the story grounded.
Another thing I should mention is that I have pretty much given up on movie reviews. I like reading how many stars or what grade a film has earned, but I don't really get into the details of how the critics came to their verdicts. I really believe people should form their own opinions about films and they should trust the opinions of respected entertainment critics, not aggregator websites.
So when I saw Sandler had decided to do the entire movie in a funny voice and the reviews were miserable, I was undeterred. I could care less about Sandler, but I really want Sandberg to become a movie star. After seeing this movie, he has some work to do. Not that the failure of this film can be placed on Sandberg. No, that blame pretty much belongs to Sandler and his brand of comedy, which overtakes this film and suffocates any sophistication that might be trying to survive.
That isn't to say this movie doesn't have funny parts, but those are few and far between. Although, I will give credit to Vanilla Ice for a solid performance. He does the best with what's given to him.
Impressed or Unimpressed: UNIMPRESSED with the film, super IMPRESSED with Vanilla Ice
Men in Black III (3?)
This was another film that seemed to have all the pieces to make a pretty good summer film. Recognizable franchise returning from a decent hiatus in theaters? Check. Big-name star who's been absent from the big screen for a few years? Check. Strong supporting cast? Check.
I mean you had the original stars that made the franchise great, plus Josh Brolin as a young Tommy Lee Jones. Not to mention Jermaine Clement as the villain and Bill Hader as Andy Warhol. What could go wrong?
Time travel. Rule of thumb, time-travel ruins everything. See examples: Harry Potter, Heroes, and others that I am sure exist. The first ten minutes of the film are incredibly promising. A lunar jail break that perfectly matches the tones of the first film, gets things off to a good start, but its all downhill from there.
Impressed or Unimpressed: UNIMPRESSED
The Amazing Spider-man
I know many people were skeptical of rebooting Spider-man so soon after the Sam Raimi trilogy ended, but I was not one of them. While I liked the first two films of Raimi's take (I will continue to ignore the existence of the third film) there were certain beats that he got plain wrong that could be amended with a fresh start. The other thing to consider was that Raimi's Spider-man was only the second modern superhero film after X-Men. The superhero film has evolved a great deal since them, so a second go around could do Spidey some good. Namely having anyone other than Tobey Maguire in the title role.
However, to steal from a recent AVClub review of Total Recall, the film still needed to justify it's existence. What I mean by that is, what Marc Webb needed to do was bring something new to the character, and while he did that in bits in pieces, that's all he did. It was as if there were two check lists he had: one that marked off all the important points of Spidey mythology, and a second that marked off all the ways his film would be would be different. The problem with that is those changes are obvious to the naked eye, but he needed to make the entire film feel different, and I just don't think the movie succeeded at doing that.
Impressed or Unimpressed: UNIMPRESSED
The Dark Knight Rises
I want to keep what I say about this film brief, because I think we can all agree it is good. I would argue The Dark Knight is the best film of the trilogy, but that in no way is meant to lessen the greatness of this film. Where Nolan should really be applauded is the number of characters he is able to juggle effectively. There is a lot going on in this film and Nolan is able to accomplish it without sacrificing the pacing of the film.
The film is the conclusion I would argue most audiences did not realize the series was building towards. While it is sad to see these films come to an end, it is nice to be able to say goodbye. The thing I realized Nolan had done was create a vulnerable superhero in a realistic setting. Take for instance the one unfortunate thing about this film, which was that its climax mirrored the climax of the other big superhero film of the summer. The difference was that (SPOILER) I never for a second doubted Tony Stark was going to fall back to earth and live to tell the tale. On the other hand, when Bruce Wayne made off with that makeshift bomb, I believed Nolan would have the balls to kill him off if he wanted to (END SPOILER).
What Nolan accomplished was creating a superhero film where the superhero had a very real chance of losing, and that in turn kept the audience on the edge of their seats until the very end.
Impressed or Unimpressed: IMPRESSED
What I've Missed
There are three films missing from this list that I would have liked to see, but simply have not had the chance to yet: Ted, The Watch and Safety Not Guaranteed. I've heard nothing but good things about Ted, and despite negative reviews, I want to make up my own mind about The Watch. I left Prometheus off the list because I'm really not that interested in seeing it (although I'm sure I will eventually).
What's to come
August is ripe for potential. As it sits now I have more movies in the loss column than the win column and I want this summer to be a winner. So I look forward to Nitro Circus 3-D, Expendables 2, The Bourne Legacy, and Premium Rush.
What are your favorite films of the summer?
That being said, the fear with any film maker like Anderson is that they become too self-aware of their own style and rely to heavily on those tropes, sacrificing storytelling in the process. However, Anderson delivered again, telling a superb coming of age tale where the kids act like adults, and adults act like kids. Everything falls into place and the care Anderson takes in his film shines through. He is able to capture the confusion of being a kid during a time when the only thing you seem to want is to find a kindred spirit who understands what you're going through.
Impressed or Unimpressed: Impressed
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
This movie seemed very promising. The unlikely pairing of two likable actors (Steve Carrell and Keira Knightley) in an offbeat premise (trying to find the one that got away before the world ends) sounds like a movie that would be right up my alley. Until, that is, it gets completely mucked up.
In fairness, it was never very clear how exactly the events of this film were going to play out. The trailers gave the basic details as I have laid them out above, but what it didn't give you was the sense that this movie was made up as it went along. No, that only came across when I actually sat down to sit through it.
I went and saw this movie with my sister and couldn't believe it was only a 90 minute film. This thing dragged like no another and I thought for sure we were there for well over two hours. The main flaw with this movie is that it couldn't seem to decide on the tone. Was it a dark comedy? A light comedy? A romantic-comedy? Or, just a movie that spends the first 30 minutes making the audience share in Steve Carrell's misery? There are funny parts but not enough to salvage the poor decisions made with the plot.
Impressed or Unimpressed: Thoroughly UNIMPRESSED
That's My Boy
This is the most embarrassing film on my list, so I feel I should explain why it is on here at all. My dad and I usually pick one or two movies each summer to go and see together. It's some solid father-son bonding, but it usually boils down to seeing two types on film. One action picture and one comedy. We've seen Wedding Crashers, The Hangover, and the A-Team to name a few. He also raised me on Adam Sandler comedies like Happy Gilmore and Big Daddy (thankfully we didn't spend too much time with Billy Madison). So when this film rolled around with none other than Andy Samberg playing his son, I was thinking this would be a slam dunk. Plus, the premise didn't sound half bad especially if Sandler could keep the story grounded.
Another thing I should mention is that I have pretty much given up on movie reviews. I like reading how many stars or what grade a film has earned, but I don't really get into the details of how the critics came to their verdicts. I really believe people should form their own opinions about films and they should trust the opinions of respected entertainment critics, not aggregator websites.
So when I saw Sandler had decided to do the entire movie in a funny voice and the reviews were miserable, I was undeterred. I could care less about Sandler, but I really want Sandberg to become a movie star. After seeing this movie, he has some work to do. Not that the failure of this film can be placed on Sandberg. No, that blame pretty much belongs to Sandler and his brand of comedy, which overtakes this film and suffocates any sophistication that might be trying to survive.
That isn't to say this movie doesn't have funny parts, but those are few and far between. Although, I will give credit to Vanilla Ice for a solid performance. He does the best with what's given to him.
Impressed or Unimpressed: UNIMPRESSED with the film, super IMPRESSED with Vanilla Ice
Men in Black III (3?)
This was another film that seemed to have all the pieces to make a pretty good summer film. Recognizable franchise returning from a decent hiatus in theaters? Check. Big-name star who's been absent from the big screen for a few years? Check. Strong supporting cast? Check.
I mean you had the original stars that made the franchise great, plus Josh Brolin as a young Tommy Lee Jones. Not to mention Jermaine Clement as the villain and Bill Hader as Andy Warhol. What could go wrong?
Time travel. Rule of thumb, time-travel ruins everything. See examples: Harry Potter, Heroes, and others that I am sure exist. The first ten minutes of the film are incredibly promising. A lunar jail break that perfectly matches the tones of the first film, gets things off to a good start, but its all downhill from there.
Impressed or Unimpressed: UNIMPRESSED
The Amazing Spider-man
I know many people were skeptical of rebooting Spider-man so soon after the Sam Raimi trilogy ended, but I was not one of them. While I liked the first two films of Raimi's take (I will continue to ignore the existence of the third film) there were certain beats that he got plain wrong that could be amended with a fresh start. The other thing to consider was that Raimi's Spider-man was only the second modern superhero film after X-Men. The superhero film has evolved a great deal since them, so a second go around could do Spidey some good. Namely having anyone other than Tobey Maguire in the title role.
However, to steal from a recent AVClub review of Total Recall, the film still needed to justify it's existence. What I mean by that is, what Marc Webb needed to do was bring something new to the character, and while he did that in bits in pieces, that's all he did. It was as if there were two check lists he had: one that marked off all the important points of Spidey mythology, and a second that marked off all the ways his film would be would be different. The problem with that is those changes are obvious to the naked eye, but he needed to make the entire film feel different, and I just don't think the movie succeeded at doing that.
Impressed or Unimpressed: UNIMPRESSED
The Dark Knight Rises
I want to keep what I say about this film brief, because I think we can all agree it is good. I would argue The Dark Knight is the best film of the trilogy, but that in no way is meant to lessen the greatness of this film. Where Nolan should really be applauded is the number of characters he is able to juggle effectively. There is a lot going on in this film and Nolan is able to accomplish it without sacrificing the pacing of the film.
The film is the conclusion I would argue most audiences did not realize the series was building towards. While it is sad to see these films come to an end, it is nice to be able to say goodbye. The thing I realized Nolan had done was create a vulnerable superhero in a realistic setting. Take for instance the one unfortunate thing about this film, which was that its climax mirrored the climax of the other big superhero film of the summer. The difference was that (SPOILER) I never for a second doubted Tony Stark was going to fall back to earth and live to tell the tale. On the other hand, when Bruce Wayne made off with that makeshift bomb, I believed Nolan would have the balls to kill him off if he wanted to (END SPOILER).
What Nolan accomplished was creating a superhero film where the superhero had a very real chance of losing, and that in turn kept the audience on the edge of their seats until the very end.
Impressed or Unimpressed: IMPRESSED
What I've Missed
There are three films missing from this list that I would have liked to see, but simply have not had the chance to yet: Ted, The Watch and Safety Not Guaranteed. I've heard nothing but good things about Ted, and despite negative reviews, I want to make up my own mind about The Watch. I left Prometheus off the list because I'm really not that interested in seeing it (although I'm sure I will eventually).
What's to come
August is ripe for potential. As it sits now I have more movies in the loss column than the win column and I want this summer to be a winner. So I look forward to Nitro Circus 3-D, Expendables 2, The Bourne Legacy, and Premium Rush.
What are your favorite films of the summer?
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
I'm just going to blog a lot about nothing from now on...
I'm going to brush the dust off this blog and give it another go. Mostly because it is good to get things out of my head and onto a page whether real or digital. Also, because the state of my life right now is, how do I put this, not as positive as I would have hoped it to be in August of 2012 back in May of 2012, I'm hoping this will give me a little direction.
Let's begin with what happened to me earlier today. I was watching the Olympics (I've been doing so since I got home on Monday at 10:30 a.m.). Specifically, I was watching women's water polo. Now I love all the Olympic events, but what I love best is the sports I really only get to see televised every four years. That's why I became super addicted to curling during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
This year I was planning on following the shooting competitions (skeet, rifle, archery, etc.) and posting it on my other blog. (What? This guy has two blogs? Yeah, it's about as sad as it sounds.) The problem though was figuring out how to watch these events. Everything is available on NBC.com, but I need my computer to help find a job, so that wasn't going to cut it.
Instead I've been switching between NBC, NBC Sports Network, and MSNBC for my Olympic daytime coverage. Now the nice thing about NBC holding off on the swimming and gymnastic coverage until primetime is that 1) I can avoid watching those events, and 2) I get to see all of the obscure sports covered live.
Behind the shooting events I really wanted to watch badminton. Doubles Olympic badminton is the craziest thing I have ever seen. I had to watch it on Telemundo during the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and while no American team seems to be even remotely competitive on the global level, it is nonetheless mesmerizing to watch. However, despite catching a few brief moments in a bar/restaurant called Pine Isle in the Three Lakes area of northern Wisconsin on Saturday, I have been unable to find the coverage.
What I have found over the past three days though has been fantastic. It's a little tricky in the morning, but after about 10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. stuff gets good. Number one on my list is water polo. Water polo rocks, although it will never be as big in the U.S. as it is in, say, Romania.
Why's that you ask? Don't worry I'll tell you.
America's three most popular sports are let's say: football, basketball, and baseball. (NASCAR could probably be up there too, but I don't count the South, and neither should you.) One of the things that makes these sports popular is the physical nature inherent in each of these sports. Football has guys diving for catches and smashing into each other. Basketball has guys soaring through the air for dunks. And baseball is a suspense filled guessing game of waiting to see whether or not something interesting will happen.
Water polo on the other hand has the distinct disadvantage of being played in a pool where 3/4's of the players bodies are submerged. It's a simply a mess of bodies that are impossible to distinguish from one another. They keep talking about this one U.S. woman player who scores a lot, but I can never figure out which one she is because they only wear numbers on their swimming caps. Do you know how small those numbers are? Crazy small.
But here's why I love it. As much as Americans hate soccer, the one thing that sport gets right is a running clock. The running clock is more or less utilized in a similar way in water polo with penalties taken on the fly without stopping play completely. Also, unlike soccer, there is a fair amount of scoring, but with a goalie in place the game play becomes more comparable to hockey. It's fast paced, aggressive and Americans are doing pretty well in it, despite most of the U.S. population not really caring.
(Olympic question posed by my friend Jon: Are water polo players bigger bro's than LAX players? Things to consider.)
I also watched field hockey for the first time ever, and in all honesty didn't really enjoy it. I'll stick to watching it on the ice rather than on a damp blue turf field framed in bubblegum, thank you. That being said, the U.S. women are doing pretty well and I will continue to support them.
Other U.S. women teams doing well: soccer, indoor volleyball and basketball. The U.S. women's soccer team has been amazing to watch. They actually make the game enjoyable. Indoor volleyball has also been surprisingly entertaining. Did you know the U.S. women's indoor volleyball team is ranked
number one in the world? I didn't, but they are certainly showing me why they are. The men are right there with them taking on some good teams and pulling out the wins.
Oh, and as expected, basketball (men and women) are dominating, cause we're the BEST! AROUND!
But back to what I was originally intending for this post to be about.
While watching the U.S. women's water polo take on Spain toda,y I saw Spain go on a breakaway and score. A breakaway. In water polo. In a pool. Swimming. I never even thought that could happen. So I posted a tweet (follow me @cswiets) about my astonishment, because that's one of the things you tweet about when you're unemployed and watching water polo on a Wednesday afternoon.
My friend Jordan (follow him at @jnip11, but don;t you dare start reading his blog) pointed out that Water Polo Break Away (TM) would be a good band name. I agreed and have now trademarked it making me the sole owner of said name.
I think of good band names a lot, but the sad thing is I will never be a band. I have pretty much zero musical talent with any instrument and my vocals are mediocre at best (although in today's music industry that might be good enough - ZING!). I think the best thing to do with a good band name is fictionalize them in a story, get that story published and make sure people read it. Then some kid who has a crappy garage band will read the book and steal the name. Therefore allowing me to have my cake, and eat it too.
Let's begin with what happened to me earlier today. I was watching the Olympics (I've been doing so since I got home on Monday at 10:30 a.m.). Specifically, I was watching women's water polo. Now I love all the Olympic events, but what I love best is the sports I really only get to see televised every four years. That's why I became super addicted to curling during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
This year I was planning on following the shooting competitions (skeet, rifle, archery, etc.) and posting it on my other blog. (What? This guy has two blogs? Yeah, it's about as sad as it sounds.) The problem though was figuring out how to watch these events. Everything is available on NBC.com, but I need my computer to help find a job, so that wasn't going to cut it.
Instead I've been switching between NBC, NBC Sports Network, and MSNBC for my Olympic daytime coverage. Now the nice thing about NBC holding off on the swimming and gymnastic coverage until primetime is that 1) I can avoid watching those events, and 2) I get to see all of the obscure sports covered live.
Behind the shooting events I really wanted to watch badminton. Doubles Olympic badminton is the craziest thing I have ever seen. I had to watch it on Telemundo during the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and while no American team seems to be even remotely competitive on the global level, it is nonetheless mesmerizing to watch. However, despite catching a few brief moments in a bar/restaurant called Pine Isle in the Three Lakes area of northern Wisconsin on Saturday, I have been unable to find the coverage.
What I have found over the past three days though has been fantastic. It's a little tricky in the morning, but after about 10:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. stuff gets good. Number one on my list is water polo. Water polo rocks, although it will never be as big in the U.S. as it is in, say, Romania.
Why's that you ask? Don't worry I'll tell you.
America's three most popular sports are let's say: football, basketball, and baseball. (NASCAR could probably be up there too, but I don't count the South, and neither should you.) One of the things that makes these sports popular is the physical nature inherent in each of these sports. Football has guys diving for catches and smashing into each other. Basketball has guys soaring through the air for dunks. And baseball is a suspense filled guessing game of waiting to see whether or not something interesting will happen.
Water polo on the other hand has the distinct disadvantage of being played in a pool where 3/4's of the players bodies are submerged. It's a simply a mess of bodies that are impossible to distinguish from one another. They keep talking about this one U.S. woman player who scores a lot, but I can never figure out which one she is because they only wear numbers on their swimming caps. Do you know how small those numbers are? Crazy small.
But here's why I love it. As much as Americans hate soccer, the one thing that sport gets right is a running clock. The running clock is more or less utilized in a similar way in water polo with penalties taken on the fly without stopping play completely. Also, unlike soccer, there is a fair amount of scoring, but with a goalie in place the game play becomes more comparable to hockey. It's fast paced, aggressive and Americans are doing pretty well in it, despite most of the U.S. population not really caring.
(Olympic question posed by my friend Jon: Are water polo players bigger bro's than LAX players? Things to consider.)
I also watched field hockey for the first time ever, and in all honesty didn't really enjoy it. I'll stick to watching it on the ice rather than on a damp blue turf field framed in bubblegum, thank you. That being said, the U.S. women are doing pretty well and I will continue to support them.
Other U.S. women teams doing well: soccer, indoor volleyball and basketball. The U.S. women's soccer team has been amazing to watch. They actually make the game enjoyable. Indoor volleyball has also been surprisingly entertaining. Did you know the U.S. women's indoor volleyball team is ranked
number one in the world? I didn't, but they are certainly showing me why they are. The men are right there with them taking on some good teams and pulling out the wins.
Oh, and as expected, basketball (men and women) are dominating, cause we're the BEST! AROUND!
But back to what I was originally intending for this post to be about.
While watching the U.S. women's water polo take on Spain toda,y I saw Spain go on a breakaway and score. A breakaway. In water polo. In a pool. Swimming. I never even thought that could happen. So I posted a tweet (follow me @cswiets) about my astonishment, because that's one of the things you tweet about when you're unemployed and watching water polo on a Wednesday afternoon.
My friend Jordan (follow him at @jnip11, but don;t you dare start reading his blog) pointed out that Water Polo Break Away (TM) would be a good band name. I agreed and have now trademarked it making me the sole owner of said name.
I think of good band names a lot, but the sad thing is I will never be a band. I have pretty much zero musical talent with any instrument and my vocals are mediocre at best (although in today's music industry that might be good enough - ZING!). I think the best thing to do with a good band name is fictionalize them in a story, get that story published and make sure people read it. Then some kid who has a crappy garage band will read the book and steal the name. Therefore allowing me to have my cake, and eat it too.
Friday, July 20, 2012
On the tragedy in Colorado
If you know me, you know I like to see a lot of movies.
It doesn't matter what movie it is, if you ask me to go see it, I'll most likely say yes.
Last night I saw The Dark Knight Rises, and this morning I awoke to the horrifying news of what happened to a group of people in Colorado who went and did the same.
When I heard about the tragedy this morning, it disturbed me in a way that surprised me. I couldn't really figure out why this story was affecting me so much more than any other story that appears on the news that speaks about tragic deaths and crazed gunmen.
Then I read the statement from director Christopher Nolan regarding the tragedy. In it, he calls the movie theater his "home."
That's when it hit me, because the movie theater isn't Nolan's home, it's everyone's.
In college I took a communications class where we discussed what made fast food restaurant so popular. One of the reasons is familiarity. I can go to the Burger King down the road or one in California and find an identical menu and a familiar floor plan.
We like the familiar.
Movie theaters go a step beyond that because the differences between an AMC theater and a Marcus theater is small, and when you are in your seat, those differences all but vanish. You can go to any theater in the country and while outside they my be different, inside they all have seats, sticky floors, and a big silver screen.
It's familiar and it's safe. It's a second home. It's a place we go when we want to escape the troubles of our world to be engrossed in the troubles of another. But one we can walk away from when it's over.
That's what makes this tragedy hit so close. Our safety has been violated, and it's not easy to write off. We can't say it was just part of living in a big city, because it happened in Colorado suburb. A town like any other, in a theater like any other.
It was a man with no discernible agenda simply looking to take the lives of the unsuspecting.
He took advantage of people's goodwill, and in doing so violated one of the last safe places.
The movie theater isn't destroyed forever, but it is certainly changed. And it is a change that is impossible to ignore, and harder to reverse.
It doesn't matter what movie it is, if you ask me to go see it, I'll most likely say yes.
Last night I saw The Dark Knight Rises, and this morning I awoke to the horrifying news of what happened to a group of people in Colorado who went and did the same.
When I heard about the tragedy this morning, it disturbed me in a way that surprised me. I couldn't really figure out why this story was affecting me so much more than any other story that appears on the news that speaks about tragic deaths and crazed gunmen.
Then I read the statement from director Christopher Nolan regarding the tragedy. In it, he calls the movie theater his "home."
That's when it hit me, because the movie theater isn't Nolan's home, it's everyone's.
In college I took a communications class where we discussed what made fast food restaurant so popular. One of the reasons is familiarity. I can go to the Burger King down the road or one in California and find an identical menu and a familiar floor plan.
We like the familiar.
Movie theaters go a step beyond that because the differences between an AMC theater and a Marcus theater is small, and when you are in your seat, those differences all but vanish. You can go to any theater in the country and while outside they my be different, inside they all have seats, sticky floors, and a big silver screen.
It's familiar and it's safe. It's a second home. It's a place we go when we want to escape the troubles of our world to be engrossed in the troubles of another. But one we can walk away from when it's over.
That's what makes this tragedy hit so close. Our safety has been violated, and it's not easy to write off. We can't say it was just part of living in a big city, because it happened in Colorado suburb. A town like any other, in a theater like any other.
It was a man with no discernible agenda simply looking to take the lives of the unsuspecting.
He took advantage of people's goodwill, and in doing so violated one of the last safe places.
The movie theater isn't destroyed forever, but it is certainly changed. And it is a change that is impossible to ignore, and harder to reverse.
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