In a dream, there was no time; only space.
Movement across time was like vaulting from star to star in a vast field of galaxies all swirling against each other at the speed of infinity.
In the center of the universe is light. Is the word. Is God.
And from this center, all reality emanates in concentric circles.
Out at the edge of space, where it is darkest is where chaos is born.
And there I was...amidst the maze of stars, searching for events in my life as though they were scattered jigsaw puzzle pieces that composed my entire life.
Even in waking, I was unable to believe where I was.
In reality, I am constrained by time.
Time wraps around me and suffocates me while I wander listlessly through space.
Time projects me forward and backwards inside of my prison.
Outside, it is warm and sunny and logical.
People are living and dying and breathing in between.
I can barely swallow.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Caved In
Reviewing the Situation #1
IRON MAN
dir. Jon Favreau
Any more caveats would be redundant as it is inexplicably false to believe that anyone who ever finds this blog would not be aware that the big screen adaptation of Marvel's IRON MAN was released a few weeks ago.
This film, unlike the several other comic book cum superhero movies, treats the source material as a blueprint for the foundation, but certainly not a hard script to adhere to when actually producing images and sound for people to intake for two plus hours.
Historically, if we examine the earlier comic book movies that were successful, we see a definite pattern of formula.
1) Cast an unlikely actor for the part.
See also Tim Burton's "Batman" and Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man"
Unsuccessful attempts with Nicolas Cage/Ghost Rider, Ben Affleck/DareDevil, and several others have shown that simply casting actors who always play heroes but bring little sensibility to the role will almost always fail.
Robert Downey Jr. was not the fan favorite for several reasons but, as the actor himself has expressed...the challenge of turning him and his character into a superhero was worth it. And he certainly does embody the spirit of Tony Stark, defense contracting billionaire turned superhero by very ironic (not a pun) circumstances...blah blah blah. What really struck me about his performance was that RDJ has perfected the art of being able to act with only the eyes. If you focus on his eyes, they will tell you infinitely more than the background or the suit he's wearing or the physical and emotional pain he endures.
2) Don't overdo the SFX.
See also "Batman Begins."
While it's true that the draw of most of these comic book movies is the CG-heavy action pieces of hero and villain tearing up the streets and making things go boom...there is much to be said of those films where such mayhem and overdone sfx are absent. "Spider-Man 3" and the "Blade" series have suffered from an exaggeration of sfx where none is really needed and tends to thoroughly disengage the audience from the hero and his (or her) efforts to save Boringville, USA.
"Iron Man" carves out a minimal use of CG in places where it is generally not noticeable. The titular man of iron spends half of the time in his suit with the headpiece open for "acting" purposes. The exposed face is an interesting aspect of the cloaked superhero. It allows the audience the chance to see both the person and the hero at once and resolve the, usually, disparaging differences in the actions of both. Tony Stark is not a warrior and probably knows very little of physical combat. His iron man suit is an augmentation of the power that keeps him alive. When Tony Stark is in the suit, he does not become a warrior ninja knight. He makes mistakes and he fights...well messy. This is an aspect of the character that will probably be improved in time for the 2010 release of the sequel...but I digress.
Do not look for poorly rendered CG characters hopping around and raising the casualty count.
3) Make the villain human/humane.
See also "Batman Begins" or "X-Men"
This is a strange argument but are we not more engaged by a villain that holds principles that we can relate to. In the above two examples the main villain is not merely a harbinger of chaos with the will to control or dominate everyone. The same is ALMOST true of "Iron Man."
The build-up of the main villain is certainly well executed and the character remains human up to a point. In the third act, we begin to see the faltering of an actor who hasn't had time to transition his character from normal human being to potential evil villain. In fact, it is not the character that is evil but the power that they come to control that spoils them. It is a human flaw that none of us have a god-complex until we are given god-like powers. And even then, our mistakes are a result of our narrow perception. Films such as "Sin City," "Batman Forever," and "Superman Returns" suffer from cartoon villains living in the real world. Characters with very little motivation but enormous potential for conflict and inflated personalities accomplish two things 1) We, the audience don't really care about them so when they die, it's not even that big of a deal and 2) Are so out of place that we wonder if the filmmakers would be more comfortable directing Saturday morning cartoons.
"Iron Man" is also an interesting story due to the fact that he is one of the public superheroes. People know his alter ego.
In general, I have never been a fan of these characters simply because they are so far from the classic "hero" paradigm. The alter ego/person should never be able to receive the accolades and idolization of their hero persona. Also, your several enemies will just start going after everyone you know to get at you. I am interested to see how this is handled in the next Iron Man film. Especially since the P.S. to "Iron Man" introduces the S.H.I.E.L.D./Avengers aspect into the story.
"Iron Man" is certainly a fun film that is worth seeing in a movie theater. The villain story could have used a smoother story arc but Robert Downey Jr. did a great job. One of the frustrating aspects of the narrative is that the passage of time is not well defined and if a character is moving from Point A to Point B in a hurry, when would they change their shirt? I noticed that Jeff Bridges' character changes his shirt three times in the span of a few hours when there is no reason for this.
I rarely enjoy watching Gwyneth Paltrow in movies but she was not bubbly or sexual in the same way as her other failed film roles.
Terrance Howard is just a great actor to watch and I have never seen him fuck up a role. The man could (and may very well be) in "Snow Dogs 3" and could make it watchable.
Another annoying aspect was Jon Favreau himself playing one of Tony Stark's guard/handlers.
Seeing the director stand around on-screen and just stare at the lead actor is distracting and unnecessary. Yes, we all know Jon Favreau is a triple threat but couldn't he have given himself just one small scene or one background moment. His character isn't a lead character or even a supporting character but not an extra either.
I'm also not happy about seeing Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
There are other black actors who can play badasses and who are probably younger.
I have never imagined Sam Jackson when reading The Avengers. I doubt anyone else has.
IRON MAN
dir. Jon Favreau
Any more caveats would be redundant as it is inexplicably false to believe that anyone who ever finds this blog would not be aware that the big screen adaptation of Marvel's IRON MAN was released a few weeks ago.
This film, unlike the several other comic book cum superhero movies, treats the source material as a blueprint for the foundation, but certainly not a hard script to adhere to when actually producing images and sound for people to intake for two plus hours.
Historically, if we examine the earlier comic book movies that were successful, we see a definite pattern of formula.
1) Cast an unlikely actor for the part.
See also Tim Burton's "Batman" and Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man"
Unsuccessful attempts with Nicolas Cage/Ghost Rider, Ben Affleck/DareDevil, and several others have shown that simply casting actors who always play heroes but bring little sensibility to the role will almost always fail.
Robert Downey Jr. was not the fan favorite for several reasons but, as the actor himself has expressed...the challenge of turning him and his character into a superhero was worth it. And he certainly does embody the spirit of Tony Stark, defense contracting billionaire turned superhero by very ironic (not a pun) circumstances...blah blah blah. What really struck me about his performance was that RDJ has perfected the art of being able to act with only the eyes. If you focus on his eyes, they will tell you infinitely more than the background or the suit he's wearing or the physical and emotional pain he endures.
2) Don't overdo the SFX.
See also "Batman Begins."
While it's true that the draw of most of these comic book movies is the CG-heavy action pieces of hero and villain tearing up the streets and making things go boom...there is much to be said of those films where such mayhem and overdone sfx are absent. "Spider-Man 3" and the "Blade" series have suffered from an exaggeration of sfx where none is really needed and tends to thoroughly disengage the audience from the hero and his (or her) efforts to save Boringville, USA.
"Iron Man" carves out a minimal use of CG in places where it is generally not noticeable. The titular man of iron spends half of the time in his suit with the headpiece open for "acting" purposes. The exposed face is an interesting aspect of the cloaked superhero. It allows the audience the chance to see both the person and the hero at once and resolve the, usually, disparaging differences in the actions of both. Tony Stark is not a warrior and probably knows very little of physical combat. His iron man suit is an augmentation of the power that keeps him alive. When Tony Stark is in the suit, he does not become a warrior ninja knight. He makes mistakes and he fights...well messy. This is an aspect of the character that will probably be improved in time for the 2010 release of the sequel...but I digress.
Do not look for poorly rendered CG characters hopping around and raising the casualty count.
3) Make the villain human/humane.
See also "Batman Begins" or "X-Men"
This is a strange argument but are we not more engaged by a villain that holds principles that we can relate to. In the above two examples the main villain is not merely a harbinger of chaos with the will to control or dominate everyone. The same is ALMOST true of "Iron Man."
The build-up of the main villain is certainly well executed and the character remains human up to a point. In the third act, we begin to see the faltering of an actor who hasn't had time to transition his character from normal human being to potential evil villain. In fact, it is not the character that is evil but the power that they come to control that spoils them. It is a human flaw that none of us have a god-complex until we are given god-like powers. And even then, our mistakes are a result of our narrow perception. Films such as "Sin City," "Batman Forever," and "Superman Returns" suffer from cartoon villains living in the real world. Characters with very little motivation but enormous potential for conflict and inflated personalities accomplish two things 1) We, the audience don't really care about them so when they die, it's not even that big of a deal and 2) Are so out of place that we wonder if the filmmakers would be more comfortable directing Saturday morning cartoons.
"Iron Man" is also an interesting story due to the fact that he is one of the public superheroes. People know his alter ego.
In general, I have never been a fan of these characters simply because they are so far from the classic "hero" paradigm. The alter ego/person should never be able to receive the accolades and idolization of their hero persona. Also, your several enemies will just start going after everyone you know to get at you. I am interested to see how this is handled in the next Iron Man film. Especially since the P.S. to "Iron Man" introduces the S.H.I.E.L.D./Avengers aspect into the story.
"Iron Man" is certainly a fun film that is worth seeing in a movie theater. The villain story could have used a smoother story arc but Robert Downey Jr. did a great job. One of the frustrating aspects of the narrative is that the passage of time is not well defined and if a character is moving from Point A to Point B in a hurry, when would they change their shirt? I noticed that Jeff Bridges' character changes his shirt three times in the span of a few hours when there is no reason for this.
I rarely enjoy watching Gwyneth Paltrow in movies but she was not bubbly or sexual in the same way as her other failed film roles.
Terrance Howard is just a great actor to watch and I have never seen him fuck up a role. The man could (and may very well be) in "Snow Dogs 3" and could make it watchable.
Another annoying aspect was Jon Favreau himself playing one of Tony Stark's guard/handlers.
Seeing the director stand around on-screen and just stare at the lead actor is distracting and unnecessary. Yes, we all know Jon Favreau is a triple threat but couldn't he have given himself just one small scene or one background moment. His character isn't a lead character or even a supporting character but not an extra either.
I'm also not happy about seeing Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.
There are other black actors who can play badasses and who are probably younger.
I have never imagined Sam Jackson when reading The Avengers. I doubt anyone else has.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Ou Ou Ou?
In my dreams I was driving pillows that became canoes. I was attending parties where time stood still. I was vaulting buildings with ease.
In reality I was searching for clues and opening safes. I was surrounded by stranger strangers. I was wasting my day.
Is the phenomenal world really just information that is projected from our minds?
What is time?
I am haunted by the idea that I may never accomplish all of those things that I say I will.
That maybe I will spend my life on a piece of art only to realize that it isn't art.
And in that time, reality will slip away from me and I will become the walking dead.
There will be my body, and inside there will be me. From two empty sockets I will look upon the world and observe the very nature of purgatory while my body toils away on what used to be art
"Imagine being sentient but not alive. Seeing and even knowing, but not alive. Just looking out...Sometimes what looks out at you from a person's eyes maybe died back in childhood."
Philip K. Dick
In this world, what we create will outlast us by generations, and will be more important than ourselves. Well...what if all we create is trash and more trash. What if the cumulative effort of our life is a slightly above average heap of waste?
This probably applies to more people than we even know.
Can I recognize suffering?
Can I end suffering?
Apologize
Pull out his eyes
Pull out his eyes
Apologize
We are still protoplasm...drifting within the microcosmos...stretching to evolve...to escape.
Or Or where?
In reality I was searching for clues and opening safes. I was surrounded by stranger strangers. I was wasting my day.
Is the phenomenal world really just information that is projected from our minds?
What is time?
I am haunted by the idea that I may never accomplish all of those things that I say I will.
That maybe I will spend my life on a piece of art only to realize that it isn't art.
And in that time, reality will slip away from me and I will become the walking dead.
There will be my body, and inside there will be me. From two empty sockets I will look upon the world and observe the very nature of purgatory while my body toils away on what used to be art
"Imagine being sentient but not alive. Seeing and even knowing, but not alive. Just looking out...Sometimes what looks out at you from a person's eyes maybe died back in childhood."
Philip K. Dick
In this world, what we create will outlast us by generations, and will be more important than ourselves. Well...what if all we create is trash and more trash. What if the cumulative effort of our life is a slightly above average heap of waste?
This probably applies to more people than we even know.
Can I recognize suffering?
Can I end suffering?
Apologize
Pull out his eyes
Pull out his eyes
Apologize
We are still protoplasm...drifting within the microcosmos...stretching to evolve...to escape.
Or Or where?
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