Artist: One Direction
So, I find myself in a bit of an odd position when it comes to voicing my opinion of One Direction's debut album, Up All Night. On the one hand, at this point Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik are, without argument, guys with wonderful voices. There's not once on the album where I could say that they did not sound lovely. On the other hand, it's an immensely uninspired series of songs that they happen to be singing.
One can suppose the reason for this: since this is their first album since forming out of The X-Factor in 2010, the producers and managers/handlers wanted them to create something that was easily accessible for many. That would explain the "sampler plate" quality of Up All Night. It's as though it's an assortment of bits and pieces of other songs or artists. Sometimes, this quality leads to interesting things.
The Beatles-esque anthem "I Want" works as the strongest song on the album, with what seems to be a full band and a melody that nearly bounces around from side to side. It would be a wonder if that song didn't conjure up an on-tempo clap from the audience. The song "Taken" could be considered one I enjoy, if not for the fact that the instrumentation behind the vocals seems to think It's playing Tom Petty's "Free Falling." It leaves me to wonder, how much of One Direction is actually on One Direction's debut album? There seems to be this preoccupation with aping other styles (no pun intended), and perhaps this sort of thing got by the youth this was targeted towards. It's as though they were afraid to let the group display more of themselves, and to note, the actual members only have writing credits on two songs ( "Everything About You" "Same Mistakes").
It's all kind of a shame. These are five guys with fantastic voices who are given music that seems to want to continue in the tradition of the Boy Bands of past glories (your N'SYNC's or your Backstreet Boys) but lacks some of the personality. In fact, I can't tell you why there are even five members of this group. Not once on the album do they warrant that as so many of their voices are so similar that they became nearly indistinguishable. The one truly good thing about this album is that the producers and songwriters were able to craft some rather catchy melodies that have yet to leave me.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
Monday, January 18, 2016
My Favorite Concerts: Daikaiju at the Thirsty Hippo in Hattiesburg, MS
(RECOMMENDED LISTENING WHILE READING THIS: "Phase Two" by Daikaiju)
So, I didn't expect the night to go as it did. I mean, clearly this band was bound to be... interesting. Their photo on the concert's Facebook page, a motley collection of shirtless lads with kabuki masks who were giving the camera a good bit of face-time and a small mass of people all collectively losing their minds, certainly peaked my interest. Also, I couldn't help but see a bit of a resemblance to the Psychos from the BORDERLANDS video game franchise, a favorite of mine. Needless to say, my interest was plenty piqued.
So, I didn't expect the night to go as it did. I mean, clearly this band was bound to be... interesting. Their photo on the concert's Facebook page, a motley collection of shirtless lads with kabuki masks who were giving the camera a good bit of face-time and a small mass of people all collectively losing their minds, certainly peaked my interest. Also, I couldn't help but see a bit of a resemblance to the Psychos from the BORDERLANDS video game franchise, a favorite of mine. Needless to say, my interest was plenty piqued.
For those of you unfortunate enough to not live near The Thirsty Hippo, it's a place made of two spaces. The front area is a cozy area adorned with several places to sit and enjoy their fantastic burgers, sandwiches, salads, and deserts. Along with this comes a good assortment of beers, liquors, and cocktails. Nestled in the corner is a somewhat small stage, though I should say "small", as this is when compared to the stage in the larger area in the back. This larger area is much like the front...except there are no tables and there's a massive mural on the wall of different aspects of the state of Mississippi. So, basically nothing like it, save for the dim lighting in both areas. Now, Daikaiju played in the front area. This will become readily apparent as to why this location choice made for a much more interesting show.
I have an unfortunate confession to make: I don't remember who opened for the band or even if there even was an opener. I would wager a guess, but I don't want to unintentionally offend any number of bands who may stumble upon this. So, we'll mention the headliners in question.
As I hoped, they appeared just as their picture suggested. Five shirtless, Kabuki-masked fellas got onstage, not saying a word. The crowd gathered closer and had grown to a pretty decent size, filling much of the small-ish room. People were clearly excited, some apparently following the band around on tour. Elbow to elbow, we all awaited their first notes. When they began, they hit the ground running (and how else would a band like this begin?). Their sound a sort-of "surf punk" filtered through a touch of "post rock" affectations, with all of the energy of a "hardcore" show. So, essentially, everything I could want and more, with a circle-pit and everything.
They grew more animated over time, with the two guitarists eventually beginning to prowl through the audience, all the while their guitar chords dragging behind them. I suppose they just assumed the audience would trip over them, or maybe they just didn't care. I saw the wilder looking one occasionally take a beer bottle from some people, sling around what little beer was left in said bottle in the air (raining beer on everyone in the area), then handing back said bottle. Then he came to me, letting me get a good look at (and smell of) him: he had a long salt-and-pepper colored beard, and hair that followed suit...except for on the top of his head; he had apparently stripped down to a sort of loin-cloth; he smelled fairly rancid. Rock-Man (that's his name, I later discovered) looked at my empty bottle, then at me, and we both shrugged. A few minutes later, he came back by, looked at my still empty bottle, then took it from me and threw it to the floor.
Not long after this, a sort of tribal beat began on the drums as they were both crowdsurfed, piece by piece, to the middle of the floor. The guitarists and bassist followed suit. So, in this new configuration, the two drummers were set up in front of me, Rock-Man was standing in a chair to my right, Secret-Man (the other guitarist) was standing on the bar on the other side of the drummers, and Pulse-Man (the bassist) was standing on a chair to my forward left. The concert had taken on a new intensity. Secret-Man began a solo, then jumped into the audience while playing. He was crowd surfing and continuing his solo when the owner of the Thirsty Hippo jumped in (literally) as well, also surfing the crowd.
All at once, Blast-Man (the drummer) apperated a bottle of lighter fluid and doused both drumsets in a rather healthy amount. Then, flames. Both drummers (I don't know what the other drummer was called, so I'll call him Other-Man) were now playing flaming kits. Rock-Man apparently liked this idea so much that he also decided to light his guitar on fire, then proceeded to hand said flaming guitar to one of the audience members beside me, then danced around for a bit.
Then, using a series of head gestures and lots of pointing, Blast-Man instructed people to lift up each part of his drum set into the air. So we did, a different person holding a different part, all while some of us held up the chair in which Blast-Man stood. He played like this for a bit, managing to stay on tempo and maintaining that energy, before he decided that this clearly wasn't interesting enough. So, he grabbed hold of one of the rafters over his head, swung up onto it, then hung off it like a monkey and started playing while upside down. By this point, the audience had become a bit frenzied, both energized and amazed by what we were all seeing. A couple of smaller mosh pits had sprung up.
Not long after this, the concert reached its endpoint. After a rather furious closer, there was one massive disharmonious chord that rang out. Each band member then handed off a different instrument to different audience members, apparently letting them play as the band just walked away, presumably out of the building and around to the back. The chord rang and rang, then the plain-clothes version of the band came out and packed everything up. The lights brightened and we all sort of collectively came to. Each and every person got leagues more than there money's worth that night, with people laughing and embracing, and being so absurdly alive in the couple of hours we had all just spent together. This was definitely one of my favorite concerts.
Mini Reviews: FANTASTIC FOUR (2015) and THE FINAL GIRLS
I want to think that the troubles FANTASTIC FOUR had behind the scenes are to blame for the film that we ended up with. Ultimately, I don't think the film is all bad, just the last act. It seems that that three-fourths of the film wants to be straight-forward sci-fi involving the joy of scientific discovery, while also having complex relationships interwoven with the main players. Then, these relationships would be further complicated when the inevitable accident occurs which bestows fantastic abilities upon said characters. So, within the resolution, the different threads are resolved while the undercurrent of the joy of scientific discovery remained.
At least, that's where I thought it may have been going (and, to be honest, that suggestion was fairly unpolished). Instead, all of these different points were set up with no real resolution. The movies stumbles into a "superhero" ending that is completely unearned by what came before. Every major character point is buried under this, seemingly in an attempt to give the fans who were vocal about their resentment with the film the ending they wanted. What that ended up accomplishing was making a film with all the possibility of being an interesting piece of "gee-wiz" sci-fi adventure cinema into a slog of a film with superheroics tacked on the end. It's all a bit depressing.
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In recent years, horror has seen a sort of resurgence with an eye for appreciation for the aesthetics and craft of what came before. THE FINAL GIRLS continues that trend, and manages to make a larger comment on the power of cinema. It even leans itself into the same space as CABIN IN THE WOODS and SCREAM with its awareness and deconstructions of the tropes of the "slasher" sub-genre of horror as well as thoughtful gags involving the very structure of cinema.
This is accompanied by some outstandingly dynamic camera work that seems to come from the Sam Rami school of cinematography, but isn't a mere imitation. It takes the elements he worked with and expands on them, the camera sometimes whipping side to side with a blur, or twisting and looping over itself and moving through a room on each character and their reactions. Overall, though the beginning is a bit clumsy as it never really finds its footing until about fifteen to twenty minutes in, this film is something I can recognize as yet another brilliant work out of this new breed of horror directors.
At least, that's where I thought it may have been going (and, to be honest, that suggestion was fairly unpolished). Instead, all of these different points were set up with no real resolution. The movies stumbles into a "superhero" ending that is completely unearned by what came before. Every major character point is buried under this, seemingly in an attempt to give the fans who were vocal about their resentment with the film the ending they wanted. What that ended up accomplishing was making a film with all the possibility of being an interesting piece of "gee-wiz" sci-fi adventure cinema into a slog of a film with superheroics tacked on the end. It's all a bit depressing.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In recent years, horror has seen a sort of resurgence with an eye for appreciation for the aesthetics and craft of what came before. THE FINAL GIRLS continues that trend, and manages to make a larger comment on the power of cinema. It even leans itself into the same space as CABIN IN THE WOODS and SCREAM with its awareness and deconstructions of the tropes of the "slasher" sub-genre of horror as well as thoughtful gags involving the very structure of cinema.
This is accompanied by some outstandingly dynamic camera work that seems to come from the Sam Rami school of cinematography, but isn't a mere imitation. It takes the elements he worked with and expands on them, the camera sometimes whipping side to side with a blur, or twisting and looping over itself and moving through a room on each character and their reactions. Overall, though the beginning is a bit clumsy as it never really finds its footing until about fifteen to twenty minutes in, this film is something I can recognize as yet another brilliant work out of this new breed of horror directors.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
On the Starkiller Base and the Emulation of Iconography
Spoilers for THE FORCE AWAKENS lie ahead
All art, ultimately, contains some aspect of emulation. We seek to create new forms of things we've already seen, whether it be musical call backs to songs we've heard, or interpretive dance referencing animal movement. Film also contains much of this, with many filmmakers creating homages to films that impacted them over their lives or just appealed to them aesthetically. With regards to STAR WARS, this points outwards towards other films, as well as inwards towards itself. George Lucas has often stated his influences for STAR WARS and explained his implementation of those things. While they make direct references to their original works, ultimately he re-contextualizes those things so that they work organically with the story he wanted to tell. With regards to pointing to itself, he had various elements present in all of the films ("I've got a bad feeling about this", "May the Force be with you") , and even those things work well in the moments they exist, not merely serving as call-backs to earlier films, but wholly organic lines.
In my review of THE FORCE AWAKENS, I mention that the weakest part of the film was its insistence on calling back without finding an organic way to integrate those older elements into the whole. The largest instance of this, in every sense of the word, was the Starkiller base. The more obvious reason for its existence in the film is as a call-back to the Death Star from the OT. Then one could factor in that it serves to suggest that the First Order has such incredible arrogance (or such a short memory) that they are willing to build something that has, essentially, been destroyed twice before by a (comparatively) ragtag bunch of rebels. I don't think these reasons really tread water, though.
Now, I will begrudgingly concede that the destruction to the small village could be seen as a sort of character motivation for destroying the Starkiller Base, but I mostly lean away from that due to the fact that, besides the basic empathy one would feel at seeing the horror of people being killed, there wasn't much motivation built from that. It's not as though we followed Poe Dameron's character throughout the majority of the film, seeing his character develop and experience the events of the film. He's in, then out for most of it, then back for a bit before disappearing again, only to strike the final blow at the end. Oscar Isaac does a great job with the character, but there isn't much on the page for him.
"Well, what of Finn?" you may ask. "He was there and he certainly had motivations for wanting to stop the Empire." Again, I know he was present at the massacre at the beginning of the film, but how does his character ultimately resolve? He engages Kylo Ren at the end of the film and is seriously wounded and then knocked unconscious. That doesn't necessitate the Starkiller's existence.It doesn't hinder his journey in any way. Again, John Boyega does a killer job as Finn, and his performance is all sorts of silly, endearing, and somewhat poignant, but what's on the page is a bit flat.
The point here is that there is no major character reason for destroying the Starkiller. Luke had all the reason in the world to do so with the Death Star, though. For one, it was the major symbol of the Empire's power. Not only could they oppress you, but if you stepped out of line they would simply destroy your planet (which they demonstrated by destroying the planet of Alderaan). Secondly, this same Empire killed all the family he knew. Aunt Beru, Uncle Owen, and Obi Wan Kenobi were all killed by these people, arguably destroying Luke's life. Even more, while on route to Alderaan, Luke saw the debris from its destruction, and he knew that millions upon millions of people were killed. So, for him, destroying the Death Star carried all sorts of weight. It was ultimately a powerfully cathartic moment for him, and was a through-line for the whole film. This goes further, though. The Death Star was a major motivator for Leia, as Alderaan was her home.
"Wait just a moment. Starkiller was going to destroy the base of the Resistance. So, that's a pretty important reason to run off and destroy it!" you may exclaim. Yes, well, there's a problem there. See, by that point the movie had already told us that the First Order wanted the map to Luke that was contained inside of BB-8. Even more, they knew BB-8 was with the Resistance. So, they were going to destroy the planet that held the thing they were looking for. They would end up destroying the very thing needed to prevent the return of Luke, one of the few people who could really do something to the First Order. That certainly seems extraordinarily stupid.
Literally every event that occurs on the Starkiller base didn't need to happen on the Starkiller. The fact that the Starkiller looks surprisingly Hoth-like meant that it could have been any random snowy planet or area with a large military instillation. The star system that is destroyed isn't even a destination any of the characters travel to. Yes, it's important to the Resistance, but by not tying any character motivations to it (as in they have to travel there for some information important to the story) it is stripped of any major dramatic impact it may have.
When it comes right down to it, the Starkiller base is like a tumor for THE FORCE AWAKENS. It points to the cancer that lies within the heart of the film's story: over-reliance on iconography rather than effectively using character motivations for drama. There's nothing wrong with looking back and giving thematic nods to what came before, but when it seems that the film is relying upon ONLY that, there's a big problem.
All art, ultimately, contains some aspect of emulation. We seek to create new forms of things we've already seen, whether it be musical call backs to songs we've heard, or interpretive dance referencing animal movement. Film also contains much of this, with many filmmakers creating homages to films that impacted them over their lives or just appealed to them aesthetically. With regards to STAR WARS, this points outwards towards other films, as well as inwards towards itself. George Lucas has often stated his influences for STAR WARS and explained his implementation of those things. While they make direct references to their original works, ultimately he re-contextualizes those things so that they work organically with the story he wanted to tell. With regards to pointing to itself, he had various elements present in all of the films ("I've got a bad feeling about this", "May the Force be with you") , and even those things work well in the moments they exist, not merely serving as call-backs to earlier films, but wholly organic lines.
In my review of THE FORCE AWAKENS, I mention that the weakest part of the film was its insistence on calling back without finding an organic way to integrate those older elements into the whole. The largest instance of this, in every sense of the word, was the Starkiller base. The more obvious reason for its existence in the film is as a call-back to the Death Star from the OT. Then one could factor in that it serves to suggest that the First Order has such incredible arrogance (or such a short memory) that they are willing to build something that has, essentially, been destroyed twice before by a (comparatively) ragtag bunch of rebels. I don't think these reasons really tread water, though.
Now, I will begrudgingly concede that the destruction to the small village could be seen as a sort of character motivation for destroying the Starkiller Base, but I mostly lean away from that due to the fact that, besides the basic empathy one would feel at seeing the horror of people being killed, there wasn't much motivation built from that. It's not as though we followed Poe Dameron's character throughout the majority of the film, seeing his character develop and experience the events of the film. He's in, then out for most of it, then back for a bit before disappearing again, only to strike the final blow at the end. Oscar Isaac does a great job with the character, but there isn't much on the page for him.
"Well, what of Finn?" you may ask. "He was there and he certainly had motivations for wanting to stop the Empire." Again, I know he was present at the massacre at the beginning of the film, but how does his character ultimately resolve? He engages Kylo Ren at the end of the film and is seriously wounded and then knocked unconscious. That doesn't necessitate the Starkiller's existence.It doesn't hinder his journey in any way. Again, John Boyega does a killer job as Finn, and his performance is all sorts of silly, endearing, and somewhat poignant, but what's on the page is a bit flat.
The point here is that there is no major character reason for destroying the Starkiller. Luke had all the reason in the world to do so with the Death Star, though. For one, it was the major symbol of the Empire's power. Not only could they oppress you, but if you stepped out of line they would simply destroy your planet (which they demonstrated by destroying the planet of Alderaan). Secondly, this same Empire killed all the family he knew. Aunt Beru, Uncle Owen, and Obi Wan Kenobi were all killed by these people, arguably destroying Luke's life. Even more, while on route to Alderaan, Luke saw the debris from its destruction, and he knew that millions upon millions of people were killed. So, for him, destroying the Death Star carried all sorts of weight. It was ultimately a powerfully cathartic moment for him, and was a through-line for the whole film. This goes further, though. The Death Star was a major motivator for Leia, as Alderaan was her home.
"Wait just a moment. Starkiller was going to destroy the base of the Resistance. So, that's a pretty important reason to run off and destroy it!" you may exclaim. Yes, well, there's a problem there. See, by that point the movie had already told us that the First Order wanted the map to Luke that was contained inside of BB-8. Even more, they knew BB-8 was with the Resistance. So, they were going to destroy the planet that held the thing they were looking for. They would end up destroying the very thing needed to prevent the return of Luke, one of the few people who could really do something to the First Order. That certainly seems extraordinarily stupid.
Literally every event that occurs on the Starkiller base didn't need to happen on the Starkiller. The fact that the Starkiller looks surprisingly Hoth-like meant that it could have been any random snowy planet or area with a large military instillation. The star system that is destroyed isn't even a destination any of the characters travel to. Yes, it's important to the Resistance, but by not tying any character motivations to it (as in they have to travel there for some information important to the story) it is stripped of any major dramatic impact it may have.
When it comes right down to it, the Starkiller base is like a tumor for THE FORCE AWAKENS. It points to the cancer that lies within the heart of the film's story: over-reliance on iconography rather than effectively using character motivations for drama. There's nothing wrong with looking back and giving thematic nods to what came before, but when it seems that the film is relying upon ONLY that, there's a big problem.
Monday, December 28, 2015
The Mary Sue Awakens
Many spoilers for THE FORCE AWAKENS and for A NEW HOPE below
A conversation that has come up in the wake of the release of THE FORCE AWAKENS is one revolving around Daisy Ridley's character, Rey, and her strength and resourcefulness. Many seem to think that she is a bit of a "Mary Sue", or a seemingly faultless female character of low rank who manages to save the day with extraordinary abilities, usually without much difficulty. They feel that due to he apparent competence with the Force, and her absurd levels of resourcefulness, that she's a totally unrealistic (at least for the STAR WARS universe). I can see some of their point, as she does have a good deal of capability, and on first glance I thought a bit of the same. The problem is, after further thought, I could see that Rey isn't a "Mary Sue" in any way, but is a victim of poor communication by the film.
Essentially, her (probable) lineage leads her to adeptness, but she has skill all her own from her own comings and goings in her life. She was a scavenger on Jakku for most of her life, digging through massive ships for parts; she learned the ins-and-outs of spacecraft and machinery due to necessity; she became adept at combat due to protect herself. All of those things have an in-universe explanation within the text of the film.
"But," some would say, "she held her own way too well against Kylo Ren at the end of the film!" Well, actually, that ultimately has a text based explanation as well. Just before their encounter in the snow, Kylo was hit in his side by a blast from Chewbacca's space-crossbow, causing a somewhat serious injury. When facing Finn, he was beating the wound with his fist, either as a means of toughening himself up to it, or as a way of feeding into the pain to fuel his rage. Rey, who had been show to have extreme force sensitivity, faces him next and seemingly gets bested. Yet, she surges forth and, more-or-less, defeats him. Some would contend that this is totally incompatible with what we know of her, but this is untrue.
Earlier in the film, during her "force vision" from touching Luke's lightsaber, we see Kylo Ren killing what appears to be a number of jedi. Immediately after this, it shows Rey being left on Jakku as a young child, with the ship containing her parents leaving the planet. Why would she be left there? Given the succession of events, it seems that she was left there to hide her from Kylo, as she may have been the last of the padawan (jedi in training) left alive. At one point, Han Solo even says that the reason Luke went AWOL was due to Kylo being turned to the Dark Side and killing all the students. If she was present with them, she had some sort of training. This explains Kylo's rage at finding out she's alive. Even more, when he interrogates her with some sort of Force ability, she resists and seems to be able to peer into his mind. In the process, she seems to learn to use mind tricks (after a few unsuccessful attempts), so that is further evidence of Force recognition.
Given that the film seems to go out of its way to suggest that Rey is Luke's child (Kylo seeing the imagery of blue waters and green plants being in her mind, then her finding Luke on a planet that looks EXACTLY LIKE THAT), it makes complete sense that she would be naturally adept at any Force based abilities.
"Ok...well, maybe all of that makes complete sense," they say. "Even so, if you look back at the original trilogy you see that Luke was a bit of a 'Marty Stu'!" To this, I also say no, and that only serves to highlight some of the problems of THE FORCE AWAKENS.
In A NEW HOPE, Luke's first official Jedi training comes from Obi Wan Kenobi aboard the Millennium Falcon. At one point, his head is covered and eyes obscured, and small laser blasts must be deflected by using the Force to detect them before they injure Luke. Flash forward to the climactic ending in the trenches of the Death Star, and we see Luke flying in his X-Wing fighter towards the space station's weakness, an exhaust port opening. While in flight, he hears the voice of the now deceased Obi Wan Kenobi telling him to use the Force. He disables his targeting computer, closes his eyes, focuses, then takes a perfect shot. That then destroys the Death Star. The important thing to note in all of this is that the film sets a precedent by showing him training with his vision obscured. There is a clear growth in ability there, and that is helped by the clarity of the delivery of that information. Even more, there is emotional climax in that moment, as the Empire had killed all he knew as family. Everything was building to that moment. It all flowed to that point.
This isn't the case with THE FORCE AWAKENS. The film's pacing goes through character moments so quickly that the emotional motivations barely stick. I'd say that the reasons for Rey to be as she is certainly lie within the text, and Daisy Ridley certainly adds a lot with her performance, but ultimately, it's the lack of clarity. Perhaps it could have been more straightforward within the Force vision? Certain elements, such as much of the Maz Katana sequence, could have been trimmed to make more room for those elements. Ultimately, within A NEW HOPE, Luke was the focus. He was the focal point of the whole work. This simply isn't the case with THE FORCE AWAKENS. It's goal isn't to be a fully functional self contained movie, but to be a continuation in a series, and I think that weakened the work overall.
A conversation that has come up in the wake of the release of THE FORCE AWAKENS is one revolving around Daisy Ridley's character, Rey, and her strength and resourcefulness. Many seem to think that she is a bit of a "Mary Sue", or a seemingly faultless female character of low rank who manages to save the day with extraordinary abilities, usually without much difficulty. They feel that due to he apparent competence with the Force, and her absurd levels of resourcefulness, that she's a totally unrealistic (at least for the STAR WARS universe). I can see some of their point, as she does have a good deal of capability, and on first glance I thought a bit of the same. The problem is, after further thought, I could see that Rey isn't a "Mary Sue" in any way, but is a victim of poor communication by the film.
Essentially, her (probable) lineage leads her to adeptness, but she has skill all her own from her own comings and goings in her life. She was a scavenger on Jakku for most of her life, digging through massive ships for parts; she learned the ins-and-outs of spacecraft and machinery due to necessity; she became adept at combat due to protect herself. All of those things have an in-universe explanation within the text of the film.
"But," some would say, "she held her own way too well against Kylo Ren at the end of the film!" Well, actually, that ultimately has a text based explanation as well. Just before their encounter in the snow, Kylo was hit in his side by a blast from Chewbacca's space-crossbow, causing a somewhat serious injury. When facing Finn, he was beating the wound with his fist, either as a means of toughening himself up to it, or as a way of feeding into the pain to fuel his rage. Rey, who had been show to have extreme force sensitivity, faces him next and seemingly gets bested. Yet, she surges forth and, more-or-less, defeats him. Some would contend that this is totally incompatible with what we know of her, but this is untrue.
Earlier in the film, during her "force vision" from touching Luke's lightsaber, we see Kylo Ren killing what appears to be a number of jedi. Immediately after this, it shows Rey being left on Jakku as a young child, with the ship containing her parents leaving the planet. Why would she be left there? Given the succession of events, it seems that she was left there to hide her from Kylo, as she may have been the last of the padawan (jedi in training) left alive. At one point, Han Solo even says that the reason Luke went AWOL was due to Kylo being turned to the Dark Side and killing all the students. If she was present with them, she had some sort of training. This explains Kylo's rage at finding out she's alive. Even more, when he interrogates her with some sort of Force ability, she resists and seems to be able to peer into his mind. In the process, she seems to learn to use mind tricks (after a few unsuccessful attempts), so that is further evidence of Force recognition.
Given that the film seems to go out of its way to suggest that Rey is Luke's child (Kylo seeing the imagery of blue waters and green plants being in her mind, then her finding Luke on a planet that looks EXACTLY LIKE THAT), it makes complete sense that she would be naturally adept at any Force based abilities.
"Ok...well, maybe all of that makes complete sense," they say. "Even so, if you look back at the original trilogy you see that Luke was a bit of a 'Marty Stu'!" To this, I also say no, and that only serves to highlight some of the problems of THE FORCE AWAKENS.
In A NEW HOPE, Luke's first official Jedi training comes from Obi Wan Kenobi aboard the Millennium Falcon. At one point, his head is covered and eyes obscured, and small laser blasts must be deflected by using the Force to detect them before they injure Luke. Flash forward to the climactic ending in the trenches of the Death Star, and we see Luke flying in his X-Wing fighter towards the space station's weakness, an exhaust port opening. While in flight, he hears the voice of the now deceased Obi Wan Kenobi telling him to use the Force. He disables his targeting computer, closes his eyes, focuses, then takes a perfect shot. That then destroys the Death Star. The important thing to note in all of this is that the film sets a precedent by showing him training with his vision obscured. There is a clear growth in ability there, and that is helped by the clarity of the delivery of that information. Even more, there is emotional climax in that moment, as the Empire had killed all he knew as family. Everything was building to that moment. It all flowed to that point.
This isn't the case with THE FORCE AWAKENS. The film's pacing goes through character moments so quickly that the emotional motivations barely stick. I'd say that the reasons for Rey to be as she is certainly lie within the text, and Daisy Ridley certainly adds a lot with her performance, but ultimately, it's the lack of clarity. Perhaps it could have been more straightforward within the Force vision? Certain elements, such as much of the Maz Katana sequence, could have been trimmed to make more room for those elements. Ultimately, within A NEW HOPE, Luke was the focus. He was the focal point of the whole work. This simply isn't the case with THE FORCE AWAKENS. It's goal isn't to be a fully functional self contained movie, but to be a continuation in a series, and I think that weakened the work overall.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Movie Review: Star Wars: Episode 7 - The Force Awakens
(Contains spoilers or whatever)
Well, J.J. Abrams did it. He finally made a film that I don't totally dislike, though even that can feel a bit generous of a statement. Let it be known that this is totally a J.J. Abrams film, for ill or good, as he leans a bit too much into his instincts. One would be on point to say that this film works as a bit of a remix of A NEW HOPE as opposed to the latest in the STAR WARS franchise. I couldn't help but view this as a sort of "elevated fan film" due to its insistence on making call-backs, while re-contextualizing them in ways that seemed superficial, at best.
We find the galaxy in turmoil once again. A very Empire-like entity known as the First Order seeks to take control of the galaxy from the newly formed Republic. In order to deal with this, the now General Leia leads a Resistance against them, while also seeking the location of the missing Luke Skywalker. If this sounds familiar, it's because it is. Sometimes, it's almost exactly the same as episodes four and five. While this calling back doesn't TOTALLY drag the film down ("It's like poetry. It rhymes".), it does cheapen the experience a good bit. Jakku is just like Tatooine, but not really. The Resistance base looks suspiciously like Yavin IV. There's a peculiar looking cantina band. Really, these empty call backs for the sake of fan recognition go on and on.
While the original films, what with their mythic nature, relied upon coincidence and fate a good deal, EPISODE SEVEN takes this feature up to its most disbelief suspending levels, further pushing the movie down the hole of fan service as opposed to thematic similarities to the originals. Partnered with this is a sense that many a character's journey is a bit weakened by the absurdly quick pacing, almost as though the pacing was so quick specifically to cover the narrative holes filling the film.
Ultimately, it's the characters themselves that are the strongest elements. At the risk of sounding like a "film critic cliche'", Daisy Ridley shines as Rey, a scavenger on the planet of Jakku who has been waiting many years for her family to return. Ridley fills the absurdly capable character (dare I say, Mary Sue?) with immense wit, yet still manages to keep her grounded in a very sincere sense of humility. John Boyega (ATTACK THE BLOCK) gives an energetic performance as Finn, a former stormtrooper cursed with the capacity to give a damn despite the ferocious indoctrination of the New Order. It's a shame more of his character wasn't developed since he could serve as a fantastic analogue to youth growing up in a time of war and joining the military.
Oscar Isaac (INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, EX MACHINA) fills his ace X-Wing pilot, Poe Dameron, with boundless positive energy, making him the most straight ahead "good guy" in the franchise. Every scene he shares with Fin oozed charm and goodwill as well as inexhaustible charisma. Unfortunately, there isn't much investment in his character, so his larger moment in the end of the film ultimately doesn't work as well as it should. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher reprise their roles of Han Solo and Leia Organa, respectively, and mostly seem to do just enough to make their characters seem to exist. Solo gets the lion's share of character work, out of the two, having what may have been his greatest emotional moment out of any of the films. Other notable performances include Domhnall Gleeson (EX MACHINA, FRANK) as the sniveling General Hux, Lupita Nyong' O as the pirate queen Maz Katana, and an extremely brief appearance by Max Von Sydow as Lor San Tekka.
The real center of the film, and the source of its greatest achievement, lies with Adam Driver (GIRLS, FRANCIS HA, LINCOLN) as psuedo-Sith, Kylo Ren. It's with him that the film's desire to remix, and Lawrence Kasdan's writing, really do something of value. He's a perfected Anakin Skywalker, fully displaying the internal conflict of one at risk of being consumed by their anger and hatred. Even more, Abrams finds an interesting way to shoot what Kylo does, dutch angles abounding whenever Kylo menaces. The most interesting thing about Ren is that he effectively serves as a metaphor for the whole of the film. He doesn't have the same menace as Vader, and is apt to temper tantrums and angst. At the same time, he seeks to emulate Vader in every aesthetic sense. He wants to be what came before, yet wants to do more than what came before, all without solidifying the idea of the desire.
While achieving more fan goodwill than EPISODE ONE, EPISODE SEVEN suffers from its hesitancy to stand on its own. While I'm left charmed by the cast and characters, the story's weaknesses cast a shadow over the whole of the production. The real good this film did was enthuse me for Rian Johnson's (BRICK, LOOPER) turn with EPISODE EIGHT, as that director's instincts lead him towards greater narrative cohesion, and less a reliance on recognizable iconography.
Well, J.J. Abrams did it. He finally made a film that I don't totally dislike, though even that can feel a bit generous of a statement. Let it be known that this is totally a J.J. Abrams film, for ill or good, as he leans a bit too much into his instincts. One would be on point to say that this film works as a bit of a remix of A NEW HOPE as opposed to the latest in the STAR WARS franchise. I couldn't help but view this as a sort of "elevated fan film" due to its insistence on making call-backs, while re-contextualizing them in ways that seemed superficial, at best.
We find the galaxy in turmoil once again. A very Empire-like entity known as the First Order seeks to take control of the galaxy from the newly formed Republic. In order to deal with this, the now General Leia leads a Resistance against them, while also seeking the location of the missing Luke Skywalker. If this sounds familiar, it's because it is. Sometimes, it's almost exactly the same as episodes four and five. While this calling back doesn't TOTALLY drag the film down ("It's like poetry. It rhymes".), it does cheapen the experience a good bit. Jakku is just like Tatooine, but not really. The Resistance base looks suspiciously like Yavin IV. There's a peculiar looking cantina band. Really, these empty call backs for the sake of fan recognition go on and on.
While the original films, what with their mythic nature, relied upon coincidence and fate a good deal, EPISODE SEVEN takes this feature up to its most disbelief suspending levels, further pushing the movie down the hole of fan service as opposed to thematic similarities to the originals. Partnered with this is a sense that many a character's journey is a bit weakened by the absurdly quick pacing, almost as though the pacing was so quick specifically to cover the narrative holes filling the film.
Ultimately, it's the characters themselves that are the strongest elements. At the risk of sounding like a "film critic cliche'", Daisy Ridley shines as Rey, a scavenger on the planet of Jakku who has been waiting many years for her family to return. Ridley fills the absurdly capable character (dare I say, Mary Sue?) with immense wit, yet still manages to keep her grounded in a very sincere sense of humility. John Boyega (ATTACK THE BLOCK) gives an energetic performance as Finn, a former stormtrooper cursed with the capacity to give a damn despite the ferocious indoctrination of the New Order. It's a shame more of his character wasn't developed since he could serve as a fantastic analogue to youth growing up in a time of war and joining the military.
Oscar Isaac (INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, EX MACHINA) fills his ace X-Wing pilot, Poe Dameron, with boundless positive energy, making him the most straight ahead "good guy" in the franchise. Every scene he shares with Fin oozed charm and goodwill as well as inexhaustible charisma. Unfortunately, there isn't much investment in his character, so his larger moment in the end of the film ultimately doesn't work as well as it should. Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher reprise their roles of Han Solo and Leia Organa, respectively, and mostly seem to do just enough to make their characters seem to exist. Solo gets the lion's share of character work, out of the two, having what may have been his greatest emotional moment out of any of the films. Other notable performances include Domhnall Gleeson (EX MACHINA, FRANK) as the sniveling General Hux, Lupita Nyong' O as the pirate queen Maz Katana, and an extremely brief appearance by Max Von Sydow as Lor San Tekka.
The real center of the film, and the source of its greatest achievement, lies with Adam Driver (GIRLS, FRANCIS HA, LINCOLN) as psuedo-Sith, Kylo Ren. It's with him that the film's desire to remix, and Lawrence Kasdan's writing, really do something of value. He's a perfected Anakin Skywalker, fully displaying the internal conflict of one at risk of being consumed by their anger and hatred. Even more, Abrams finds an interesting way to shoot what Kylo does, dutch angles abounding whenever Kylo menaces. The most interesting thing about Ren is that he effectively serves as a metaphor for the whole of the film. He doesn't have the same menace as Vader, and is apt to temper tantrums and angst. At the same time, he seeks to emulate Vader in every aesthetic sense. He wants to be what came before, yet wants to do more than what came before, all without solidifying the idea of the desire.
While achieving more fan goodwill than EPISODE ONE, EPISODE SEVEN suffers from its hesitancy to stand on its own. While I'm left charmed by the cast and characters, the story's weaknesses cast a shadow over the whole of the production. The real good this film did was enthuse me for Rian Johnson's (BRICK, LOOPER) turn with EPISODE EIGHT, as that director's instincts lead him towards greater narrative cohesion, and less a reliance on recognizable iconography.
Saturday, December 19, 2015
The Curious Case of Boba Fett: Episode 1 - Boba Begins
If I'm going to be honest with myself, I've never quite understood the massive appeal of Boba Fett, that oh-so-famous bounty hunter. That feeling doesn't stem from my finding the character uninteresting or anything, as I think Boba is more than a little nifty. I dig 'em. Even so, there are large numbers of people who seem to value this (minor) character as though he takes a prominence within the whole of the films. So, what causes that? What is it about this character that is so appealing and engaging to so many? To look at that, I think we need to start from the beginning.
Boba Fett's initial appearance was actually on September 20th, 1978 at the San Anselmo county fair parade as a sort of test run. From there, his next appearance was an animated short on the infamous STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL, a debacle so disastrous that Lucas prevented it from ever being shown more than the once that it was. Most can easily say that his section, taking place between episodes 4 and 5, is the best of all of the segments in the special. In it, Luke and Friends receive a bizarre message from Chewie and Han as they seem to be careening all over the place. Seeing that they're headed straight for a large moon, Luke brings C-3PO and R2-D2 with him to try to save Han and Chewie. Unfortunately, they all end up crashing onto the planet, both ships landing into sort of ocean of pink slop.
Immediately, Luke and droids are attacked by a large dragon-like creature, but are saved by none other than Boba Fett while he was riding his own. Introductions are made, and they all make their way to the downed Millennium Falcon. Inside, they discover an incapacitated Han who is soon joined by a suddenly unconscious Luke. Fett says that he knows where to get the serum to save them, so Chewbacca travels with him to the city to retrieve it. While "getting the serum", and unseen by Chewie, Fett contacts the Empire's attack dog, Darth Vader. You see, Vader had actually hired Boba to track down and befriend Luke and Co. and then to follow them back to the Rebel base of operations. Unknown to Boba, though, R2-D2 had already intercepted the signal...somehow. I don't think it was ever really explained HOW R2 was able to do that, but nevertheless that's what happened.
Upon returning to the Falcon and restoring Luke and Han, C-3PO reveals that Boba is a bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader. Before anyone could get a shot off, Fett blasts off via his jet pack. Then the party leaves; a weak joke is told; they all laugh; fade to black. As far as introductions go, this certainly isn't a bad one. His characterization within the cartoon shows that he is resourceful and immensely intelligent, but that's really it. It almost makes it seem as though he's a one-off character. Not really one with a big future in the franchise, especially when you consider the fact that not a huge amount of people saw the special.
Apparently, after the special, some seemed to think that Fett was some variation of a stormtrooper, so they took Boba on the road so-to-speak. Fett made appearances in malls and department stores, signing black and white photos as "Boba" and handing out wanted posters with his pictures on them, all in the effort to distinguish himself from the Empire. They wanted people to know that he was his own person. The OFFICIAL STAR WARS FAN CLUB got a look at Boba Fett in the summer of 1979. Appearing on the back of their newsletter, BANTHA TRACKS, Fett was revealed to be an elite bounty hunter who wore elements of the older empire military. This sort of scant information served to fuel speculation on the origin and nature of him. After this, Kenner released a Boba Fett action figure which originally contained a small missile pack that was removed due to it being dubbed a choking hazard for small children. Along with this, the color scheme was changed from the animated special, much as it had been through-out his development. Later, a 13-inch model was produced, further changing some of the design.
So, at this point, one could argue that there was a good bit of groundswell of interest built up for Boba Fett, though even Lucas says that he doesn't understand why Boba was so popular, specifically telling the actor who played him "It's not a big role." This popularity obviously wasn't purely built up in the stages preceding his appearance in the films, so obviously there's more to the story...and that's an element we'll explore in the next installment.
Boba Fett's initial appearance was actually on September 20th, 1978 at the San Anselmo county fair parade as a sort of test run. From there, his next appearance was an animated short on the infamous STAR WARS HOLIDAY SPECIAL, a debacle so disastrous that Lucas prevented it from ever being shown more than the once that it was. Most can easily say that his section, taking place between episodes 4 and 5, is the best of all of the segments in the special. In it, Luke and Friends receive a bizarre message from Chewie and Han as they seem to be careening all over the place. Seeing that they're headed straight for a large moon, Luke brings C-3PO and R2-D2 with him to try to save Han and Chewie. Unfortunately, they all end up crashing onto the planet, both ships landing into sort of ocean of pink slop.
Immediately, Luke and droids are attacked by a large dragon-like creature, but are saved by none other than Boba Fett while he was riding his own. Introductions are made, and they all make their way to the downed Millennium Falcon. Inside, they discover an incapacitated Han who is soon joined by a suddenly unconscious Luke. Fett says that he knows where to get the serum to save them, so Chewbacca travels with him to the city to retrieve it. While "getting the serum", and unseen by Chewie, Fett contacts the Empire's attack dog, Darth Vader. You see, Vader had actually hired Boba to track down and befriend Luke and Co. and then to follow them back to the Rebel base of operations. Unknown to Boba, though, R2-D2 had already intercepted the signal...somehow. I don't think it was ever really explained HOW R2 was able to do that, but nevertheless that's what happened.
Upon returning to the Falcon and restoring Luke and Han, C-3PO reveals that Boba is a bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader. Before anyone could get a shot off, Fett blasts off via his jet pack. Then the party leaves; a weak joke is told; they all laugh; fade to black. As far as introductions go, this certainly isn't a bad one. His characterization within the cartoon shows that he is resourceful and immensely intelligent, but that's really it. It almost makes it seem as though he's a one-off character. Not really one with a big future in the franchise, especially when you consider the fact that not a huge amount of people saw the special.
Apparently, after the special, some seemed to think that Fett was some variation of a stormtrooper, so they took Boba on the road so-to-speak. Fett made appearances in malls and department stores, signing black and white photos as "Boba" and handing out wanted posters with his pictures on them, all in the effort to distinguish himself from the Empire. They wanted people to know that he was his own person. The OFFICIAL STAR WARS FAN CLUB got a look at Boba Fett in the summer of 1979. Appearing on the back of their newsletter, BANTHA TRACKS, Fett was revealed to be an elite bounty hunter who wore elements of the older empire military. This sort of scant information served to fuel speculation on the origin and nature of him. After this, Kenner released a Boba Fett action figure which originally contained a small missile pack that was removed due to it being dubbed a choking hazard for small children. Along with this, the color scheme was changed from the animated special, much as it had been through-out his development. Later, a 13-inch model was produced, further changing some of the design.
So, at this point, one could argue that there was a good bit of groundswell of interest built up for Boba Fett, though even Lucas says that he doesn't understand why Boba was so popular, specifically telling the actor who played him "It's not a big role." This popularity obviously wasn't purely built up in the stages preceding his appearance in the films, so obviously there's more to the story...and that's an element we'll explore in the next installment.
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