Tag: Movies

I love media. All sorts of media. So nothing pisses me off more than crappy stories, shitty characters, poor production, or crappy editing. I vowed that I would seriously reduce my watching of crap, even if that means I am a late-adopter of a great movie or two. I do like to watch B movies, amateur films, documentaries, whatever. As long as there is a story or a character or even the way it is shot strikes me as novel, I will consume it. One of the things that I would love to have more time to do is to deconstruct my favorite movies and narrate their goodness. This guy has done an excellent job of the opposite: deconstructing a shitty scene. In this case the chase scene from Batman: The Dark Knight. This scene probably bugs you as much as it does me but here is shot-by-shot narrative as to why.

So Tristan and I went to see Superman in 3d last night. I was expecting the story to be overwhelmed by the special effects but I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. I, like the author of this review in The New Yorker, appreciated the deeper allegories and metaphors littering the story. Some were too much, the scene of Clark Kent discussing who he is with a stained glass of Jesus in the background, mentioning TWICE that he was 33 (year of Jesus’ supposed death). That, and some other simmering religious allegory does, however, provide a clue to the utility of the original storyline created in the early 1930s and why this movie works: the desire for someone to save mankind from itself is desired in difficult times. Mired in what later came to be know as the Great Depression, many longed for salvation. The German people would elect Adolf Hitler as Roosevelt replaced Hoover. The novus homo was strength incarnate. But this is (and was) a morality play: what limits does power put to itself? I noted that young Superman was looking for those answers in Plato. Perhaps more people should.

But someone really needs a steadi-cam for their birthday. Enough already with overused shaky in-you-face camera work! It was quite distracting in the first part of the movie but perhaps someone had a discussion with the Director of Photography since it did get better, and less distracting. But boy did I love those space scenes with the fast focus pull perfected in Caprica. Awesome graphics when they were not over-used, which happens a couple of times, but is entirely forgivable!

I can’t wait!

I saw The Man From Hong Kong on a crappy Beta (don’t ask) tape when I was twelve or thirteen! Yu Wang and George Lazenby in a international drug dealing, hang-gliding, kung-fu on top of Ayers Rock, over the top sound effects, Australia-Hong Kong butt kicking old time kung fu film! More here! If I have time I may also watch The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, the 1978 master piece of Chinese kung fu and re-live my youth 😉