Logan - Criticism and Spoiler

Logan was hyped as a great R-rated superhero film, in the vein of Deadpool.  It was neither great nor Deadpool-like, and I think ultimately it was another failed X-Men / Wolverine film.

Spoiler:
The reasons the film failed are numerous, but first I will list where it succeeded or almost succeeded:

• Caliban got a cinematic appearance, finally.
• The mutant kids were charming and pretty neat, and the Mexican black site doing the experiment seemed upsettingly plausible.
• The future was interesting.
• Old man Wolverine had some interesting merits.
• The fight scenes were better.

Now to the volumes of critique, starting with those few positives:

• Caliban was poorly presented, given no backstory, and his 'mutant nullification' power was mysteriously totally absent.
• Mutant kids got no hero names (not even X23!), barely their own names!!, no costumes, and didnt seem to be referencing any comic heroes and there could have been any number of opportunities to have Sunspot, Cannonball, or any of the New Mutants in that mix.
• The future was vague and had nothing to hold onto except some foreboding about more militarized borders.  But what was happening in this future world?  Almost nothing was offered.
• Old Man Wolverine could have been so much more than an apathetic alcoholic, especially when he met his child (and the other children).
• Killing the three main characters qualifies this movie as poor writing.  Unnecessarily killing them all also insults the audience/fans and puts a period to a story (or several) that is unnecessary.
• Unmarked graves for all the heroes?  Why?
• Giving heroes negative characteristics can add depth, but burdening them with overwhelming negatives while dropping their power level (as was done with Prof X and Wolverine) radically changes the heroes to more tragic than heroic, and it opens an insight into the writers that they cant handle high-power level heroes and what they might do.
• The X grave -- cute, but stupid.

And now to the big beefs with the film:

• Adamantium bullet kills Wolverine knock-off X24?? No, it wouldnt, period.
• Wolverine dying arbitrarily, after (false?) foreshadowing of the green healing enhancement fluid on X24? And what was the medicine he was told not to inject or he'd become...  essentially old Wolverine but with MORE self-control?
• Why use one harpoon and then stop?  Shouldnt it be one shot into each limb and pulling them apart, immobilizing them? Why do supercuffs work on X23, but Logan easily slices them?
• Why kill a kind black family for no reason in the middle of the film?
• What was the 'mute' angle when we already have heard X23 howling and screaming?
• What would have been wrong with X23 just speaking Spanish, and having ourselves an authentic Mexican superhero?
• Boatloads of dead Rednecks and soldiers, but no reason for audience to dislike them except the Rednecks didnt like the black farming family, and the soldiers are bad bc they have cyberhands and tattoos?  Needed more reason to feel ok with the dozens of dead.  If a dangerous mutant did exist (ignoring the twisted 'dark govt secret weapon' plotline), wouldn't we want soldiers to try to capture them?

Again, to restate, killing the heroes I love in the film is a disservice to the source material.  Xavier didnt have to have seizures and mental dysfunction, Logan didnt need a 'cancer analog'.  We could have had an amazing tale simply with pushing Logan forward 50+ years into the future without crippling him or Xavier unnecessarily.

And despite all the other mutants dropping dead due to yet another generic 'evil govt scientist' (with no exposition of how the genocide alreafy happened), we have no references to them: no mention of Scott or Jean, Storm or Kitty, no explanation about their absence or the impact on Xavier & Logan.

So I can say confidently that this film is an awkward 'bolted on' finale featuring two main heroes clearly resembling Wolverine and Prof X, but not the actual characters.
Prof X doesnt curse, his 'big ability' goes far beyond rounding up horses, living in a metal tank doesnt limit his powers, etc.
Wolverine doesnt have asthma, scars or burns (altho it was an interesting spin), a limp, a father complex with Xavier, a drinking problem, etc.  And why break a rifle over your knee when you have a limp AND claws?!?!

I really wanted to love this film like a 92% Rotten Tomatoes film, hold it high like a Deadpool / Iron Man / Avengers / Thor / Ant Man, but it was sadly lacking.  The writing was flawed, the plotline was unsurprising and cliche, and then killing off the three leads was unforgivable.

Suicide Squad - review *SPOILER*

Suicide Squad -- I'd give it a 6/10, ie a B-.
 Yes, I liked it.  It was a B movie made with an oversized CG budget.  It lacked good writing or character development, and made up for it with ... not much.  Sexism?  Too much meaningless CG?  Evil govt corruption?

So why did I like it?  (Just read my own review, doesnt seem like a liked it!)

I just saw Suicide Squad 15 mins ago, so I'm puzzling this thru myself.  It was so painfully flawed in so many ways.

I mostly liked the comic book look & feel, some of the quirks of the characters, and the concept.  I wish the execution could've been more like Guardians of the Galaxy somehow -- more character driven, room for the core team & not just Deadshot & Harlequin, etc.

Deadshot -- actually a crappy villain (from Flash TV show & comics) and completely miscast with Will Smith.  Bullets are not great in the superhero arena, even if you never miss.  He wouldn't wear his mask much bc they want to get every dime from Smith's A-List mug.

Rather than re-doing Deadshot as a black hitman (completely dropping his ex-military backstory from Flash), Will Smith needs an A-rsnk superhero, and in DC the biggies are Superman, Batman, Flash, WW, Green Lantern, Aquaman (sorta) and -- hey, none of them are black (!!!) except one Green Lantern (& Will Smith wouldve been great) -- Red Tornado?  It's a sad day when Will Smith can't get a heavy hitter hero (or villain) role bc DC sucks that badly.
Oh well, Smith did his best with it.
- Punching bags made no sense
- they didn't explain his gear/eyepiece, didn't even have a cool still of his sniper rifle -- and why have a sniper rifle if you never miss???
- hair style.  blech

- Harlequin -- the real star of the movie, she outshined the Joker.  Never got to do any comic book-style shenanigans, but she got to kill bulletproof grunts with a baseball bat and a mallet that went "Bonk".

Diablo, Killer Croc, Captain Boomerang, Commander Flag, Enchantress (& her brother) -- I wasn't impressed with any of that.  In terms of character, their dialogue had their motivation and background & there was nothing left there.

Amanda Waller -- I liked her, even though I thought Arrow had a better Waller.  Also strange to watch a character in a superhero film who you know does in the TV show, which is unfortunate bc she's like a better govt darkside commander, a colder meaner (likely more realistic for a govt pencil pusher) & less capable Nick Fury.  Funny to say Sam Jackson isn't as hard as she was.  Ha

Cameos --
Batfleck sucks.  He looks horrible in the Batman suit, can't pull off the likeable billionaire role, and he comes across too serious.  While I hated Christian Bale far more (mostly for the idiotic voice), they are similar low quality -- except Affleck is a nicer guy, I hear.

Flash -- again, TV Flash is a great cast pick.  Movie Flash is bizarre, can't see any good reason behind it.  It's like DC can't do TV but completely fails for movies.  Weird.

No Green Arrow, no Overwatch (that'd have made sense), no Spartan (wouldve made me laugh -- but he also has the Argus/Waller connection.  And no Robin.

We do get a tscky Marvel-copy bonus scene before main credit roll of a preview of Superfriends coming -- along with a strong suggestion there won't be a Suicide Squad #2.  "Shut it down, my friends will do it for free."

Which brings me to the *HORRIBLE* dialogue:
Deadshot - "Don't forget: we're the bad guys." Later, "Stay evil, doll face."  - imagine good guys saying "Remember to stay good"?!?  This is the subplot being written as dialogue, generally a no-no.  *Proof that bad writing doesn't stop a movie from getting made!*

Harlequin, "We're bad guys, it's what we do."

"No Daddy, don't shoot!" somehow Deadshot's daughter can leap into a fight between Batman and Deadshot, AND leap into the line of fire between a hitman that never misses???  I'm lost on that.

I can't remember Harlequin's final line as she saves the day, but acts like she's switching teams.

I was so disappointed that NO UNEXPECTED ACTIONS happened in the film:
- Why did the team stay loyal?  (Except Slipknot, which was funny -- could've at least given him a backstory before icing him.)
- Why does having a Suicide smartphone App keep them in line when Enchantress is destroying all the communications grid?  And why can't any of them smash the phone or shoot the phone or boomerang the phone, etc?
- Why does Diablo transform & doesn't that zap his neck bomb?  (That scene made me feel like I was watching Power Rangers, wanted them all to morph!!)
- Why does Enchantress say shes gonna make a machine, but then have a lightning beacon where everyone can find her, but no machine?  Why does she need all that lightning?  Why couldn't she be naked?
- What's Enchantress' bro's name?  Enchanter?  Or Tentacle Arms?
- Despite not explaining anyone's gear, we do get a background on Katanga's sword -- just enough info to know it'll probably kill the baddie.
- All the dialogue in the bar was painful.  Made a good preview clip, but just hurt during the movie.  Couldve been a chance to toast backstory characters, or even have them actually get drunk, etc...?
- I would've liked to have seen Killer Croc do something distinctly animal-likke, for instance go to the bathroom.  (How'd Harlequin do that in her cell, btw?)

A journey of 20 years - poem

Been clean off weed now nearly 20 years.
Looking back I see so much more clear.
A divorce-framed childhood with traumatic fear.
Two parents with their own childhood issues dear.

Picked up my first beer two years ago after none for 18.
Changed my world view instantly after being so clean.
I now drink more often and pray far less, it would seem.
Reconnected me to social drug use, a happy American scene.

I'm a father now, a husband now, and a working creative freelance.
Tried to work in corporate awhile and succeeded, more or less by chance.
Had managers threaten me, fire me, say "you don't belong here" askance,
But I survived past all of them, then quit that unhealthy dollar dance.

Pursued my dream for both wealth and health; to tell stories and get paid.
I got to shoot a bunch of projects, did well with some, so I stayed.
Then the economy collapsed and my sweet production business was unmade.
I went jobless for almost 2 years, supported on unemployment, and I played.

Joined a group filming shorts, made a few, screened in contests, and won prizes.
But my heart wanted bigger projects, seemingly far out of reach due to the sizes.
The risk of making feature films and failing horribly paralyzes.
The risk of not making my dreams burns as my new mid-life crisis.

I'm happier than I've ever been in so many ways, it's hard to believe.
Committing to a marriage and having our first child (and another coming) has so expanded me.
My inner turmoils has become entertainment rather than pending insanity.
I've left much of my isolation behind and rejoined the rest of humanity.

Yet I must acknowledge that what I've gone through has changed me to the core.
Besides seeming perma-stoned to so many, I'm also so much more.
Only a few see how the power of experience and faith combined have helped me soar.
I've left behind so many flaws that defined me those 20 years before.

The largest victory, however, is to be free of that compulsion to go numb.
I smoked to turn on and trip out, but the overarching effects left me so dumb.
The value in accumulated memory, not wiping the slate clean of nearly every crumb.
Is what has helped me persevere on this dream walk, helped me not to succumb.

So many obstacles in life rise up to stop us from success.
The biggest however, comes from my most sensitive inner recess.
I fear that I'll be revealed as a failure, a fool, a sick and repulsive mess.
But now that I've shared that fear with you, it can be rendered powerless.

It's now time to take the journey I've dreamt of since I can first remember things.
To tell stories and inspire visions beyond anything anyone has ever seen.
I've narrated dreams to my son before he sleeps, but very early he'll say, "The end".
Someday I know we'll journey together in my manifested dream, my friend.

Kick Ass 2 - review

First, I saw the graphic novel at a comic store for Kick Ass 2.  I stood and read the whole thing, cover to cover.  It was *awesome*.  I was stunned that they took the story so far.

As someone that loathes unnecessary violence and ultraviolence, it might be surprising that I enjoyed this comic.  But Kick Ass 2 answers the question, "What if people were really superheroes or supervillains?"  And the answer is -- lots and lots of bloody mess.

Didn't buy the book that time, though.  Then I saw the movie was coming out.  Very exciting.

Now I wanted to buy the graphic novel, but guess what?  Sold out!  I asked a comic store owner & they said, "Yeah, it was selling slow until the movie was announced and then it flew off the shelves."

Just before I saw the movie, I was in a comic store & off-handedly asked if they had the graphic novel.  They had 1 copy left.  I grabbed it on an impulse buy.

Then I heard it was in the theaters.  I heard a few positive reviews, and decided to see it that night.

The movie was entertaining, funny, immature, and had a lot of references to that comic (and a lot of lines & references from the comic), but it didn't have the grit of the comic.  It didn't have the heart of the story.  I wasn't sure why, so I re-read the comic.  And there it was ...

---

SPOILER

The comic book was ~ 200x more violent than the movie, including the villain shooting innocent children for no reason, rape, animal mutilation, and beheadings.
The comic book did not have the silly 'happy ending' sequence of the movie.  The comic book was hardcore, the movie was a 'feel good' movie with no core.

There were scenes in the movie that didn't make any sense to me:

Kick Ass dressing like a pimp & getting beaten was not in comic.  Didn't make any sense.  Hit Girl beating them to a pulp wasn't in the comic either.

In the  movie, Motherfucker's uncle kills Chris' last remaining gangster friend, his 'Alfred', while in jail.  (What was the point of that?)

The pseudo-rape / comedy scene with 'Night Bitch'.  This was adapted from the comic's harsh gang rape of Kick Ass' dream-girl.  I found it impossible to chuckle at a rape scene, depite the deliberate attempt for a laugh.

The movie has a lot of reminiscences of Big Daddy, which weren't in the comic.  And Mindy/Hit Girl had an awkward line of dialogue about her promise to Big Daddy to defend the city...?

In the movie, Markus was an authoritarian & Mindy / Hit Girl always obeys.  Pretty hard to swallow.  But in the comic, Mindy's mother is barely sane & Markus uses the guilt of her mother's fragility to keep Mindy in-line -- and Mindy explains how her Dad taught her to be obedient.  Comic made slightly more sense here.

The movie made up the "last defense" adrenaline needles -- not in the comic.  Not necessary.

Movie had Kick Ass dating Night Bitch -- not in comic.  The comic has Kick Ass unable to score with anyone -- makes more sense, no?

Comic has Hit Girl as a 14 year old.  In the movie she seems like a high-school senior (~ 17?) but she looks like a 19-20 year old, and she's supposed to be a freshman (15?).  All of the 'annoying cheerleader' scenes were not in comic, nor was the 'shit & puke' stick.  (I admit I LOL'd at that scene and also wondered if that's a real weapon.  Hard to know what's real & what's comic book fantasy nowadays!)

Comic has a no-name baddie knocked into the shark tank, then Hit Girl tortures him to spill the beans.  Movie has Motherfucker go into the shark tank, which actually made more sense to me & was 'normal cinematic forshadowing' -- but it was preposterous.

 Movie shows Motherfucker in an unnecessary 'legless & helpless in hospital bed' end scene.

Here were the 'toned down' violent scenes I can recall from the top:
Kick Ass' Dad was beaten to death in the movie, but in the comic he was beaten & hanged from a noose.  (Different feel.)

Hit Girl is beaten brutally by Mother Russia, her face disfigured by a brass knuckle beat-down. 
In the movie, Mother Russia finds Hit Girl's 'last option' adrenalin needle & assumes it's poison, so she injects Hit Girl, resulting in an upbeat/contrived 'adrenaline battle' where Mother Russia is stabbed to death with glass (same as the comic).
In the comic, Hit Girl then decapitates Mother Russia in the comic, "just to be sure".
In the comic, the General (Colonel?) is beheaded and his dog's head is left on his corpse.  In the movie, he's shot & beaten to death.

The final battle with Red Mist/Motherfucker was pretty different in the comic, but the ultimate point was the same: Kick Ass wins & proves himself to be a good guy, while Motherfucker is weak to the core & loathable. 
Comic -- Kick Ass continually attacks, Motherfucker constantly retreats & uses every dirty trick in the book; hitting Kick Ass from behind a door, begging for his life, whining about getting a painful nut-shot, throwing nails into Kick Ass' eyes, etc.

In the comic, Kick Ass knocked Motherfucker off the top of a building and he lays in an alley with broken body & broken neck, and Kick Ass (the hero) calls an ambulance for him.

And lastly & most significantly to me, the comic's final scenes feature Hit Girl and Markus both going to jail.  Hit Girl pays a rough price for being a heroine, and Markus for 'aiding & abetting'.

In summary, I was disappointed that the movie didn't 'hold true' to the comic

When you go for your dream, the world rises up to meet you

All around me, I see this is true. The Earth, a conscious creature (albeit perhaps not fully self-conscious - yet), attempts to help her component creatures to succeed in pursuing their goals -- which will ultimately help her as well -- but only after we start moving towards them.

So why is it so hard to go after my dreams?

Jumping off a cliff where you can see a net far below is REALLY frightening.

Now, how about jumping off a cliff where you can't see a net at all? That's even more frightening (even if you've got a parachute, although I've never base-jumped).

Anyway ... HERE GOES!
Let's make a feature film!


compARTmental LIVES

Screening The Driver, Ed Reed, Albany Bulb, *RANTz* - March 2010

World PREMIERE
4 Bay Area short films
Should be a fun night!

• The Driver

• Ed Reed:  A Jazz Singer

• The Albany Bulb - a documentary
  

• *RANTz* 

March 20th @ 8pm
1501 Washington Ave, Albany CA


I directed 2 of the films & worked on 3.

Revision3.com - application sent!

5 minutes ago, I sent off a resume to Revision3.com, an internet TV site here in the Bay Area that is chock full of exciting new content. They have an ad out for a Director of Programming, and that seems like a great fit for my skill set. I also tagged up the CEO's blog and also emailed one of the show producers to show how interested I am in working with them.

Synchronicity is running high right now at the start of the year. I feel in my bones that this year is going to be full of big moves for me, and that they will pay off.

I have worked hard on a bunch of projects in the previous few years, and hopefully will work much harder on the upcoming years. Money is not my goal, fame is not my goal --> my goal is to work and create incredible results.

I think Revision3 has a lot of excellent raw material already 'in the can', but my left-field type of thinking could really take everything up a notch. That said, I am not only focussing on working at that company (since I have not heard anything from them yet), but at any internet media company that is producing exciting content that takes the chance to deviate from standard TV.

At the heart of it all, it's an 'alt.' thang.

(*R)Evolution & Video Video Video

As I type this quick note about the video revolution, ongoing, I am recording a live city hall broadcast SOLO. It once was a two person job, and could easily be more people, but it is now solo. The main job is operating 4 robotic cameras and a video switcher, but with our loss of the second person I also operate 2DVD decks, 1 VHS deck, and try to operate COMPIXMedia (CG Program) for title overlays and lower thirds.

Whew! All that AND I can type a blog too! (My secret - I only type when someone is talking for 5 min's plus and it gets boring. Blogging helps me to stay alert and ready to move.)

So this video revolution is happening. I've ramped up my output to get on the train. It's not easy, esp with the current economic crisis (which is a very soft way of saying THE LARGEST BANK ROBBERY IN WORLD HISTORY).

My scifi dystopia feature screenplay shows my suspicion of rulers and authority. I wrote characters coming from a wide range of diversity (ethnic, racial, gender-preference, and age) and possibly have room to film little bits all around the world. I don't have money for that -- yet -- but who says that should stop this project?

The LAUNCHED screening went well, but for me it was somewhat anti-climactic because:
a) I would have liked more collaboration on the final edit,
b) I felt like my final edit was not as 'slick' as it needed to be,
c) my final 3D animation could have been a bit 'slower' with smoother motion, but it did do what I had hoped (look good and allude to a mysterious unknown planetary ailment),
d) now I'm not sure what to do next with my film career or my life.

That about covers it. Whew.

In some ways, the latest months really have felt like "God does for you what you could not have done for yourself." I left corporate $100k living because I wanted to have a real, healthy, vibrant life. I have definitely had that over the last few years -- however the financial uncertainty and instability is not the easiest to cope with.
Can anyone relate?

I'm watching jobs vanish and loyal employees get dumped on their butts, even after working for years at jobs. It's powerful, tremendous, and sad. My temptation is always to blame (particularly during a criminal action like this), but in this case I want to offer my commiseration to those who are being betrayed.

Because ultimately, if a business is profitable and they are doing layoffs, it is those who are removing too much profit (generally via the upper positions) who have betrayed their loyal lower-income workers.

LAUNCHED - almost there

Well, it's getting near the crunch. Today is 5/14 and the final piece is due in less than a week. The good news is that I have most of it done, I believe, and need to do a few more sound tweaks and then a few preliminary outputs to look & see what's up.

I saw Star Trek last weekend, and after that it was SAD to come back and work on this. That movie ROCKED. But, this is not a Star Trek action film, this is a low/no budget short that is a character driven piece about being stranded in space.

I'm happy to say, I think this short works quite well. It was not easy, b/c we shot A LOT of it on GreenScreen. I hope I hear similar things from viewers -- screening should be June 7th in SF.

The pics are: the LifeRaft 'logo', and an early mockup of the spacestation/satellite, a completely sustainable environment built for 3.5 people.

* RANTz * short film and www.usarantz.com

usarantz.com website launched to honor shortfilm, * RANTz *, a documentary where a team of Scary Cow SF Film Collective members went around and interviewed people about how they are feeling about USA?

This was before Obama won, and most of us were hella pissed -- bailouts, Iraq war, torture, Palin and McCain, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, and so much more.

Now that Obama has won, it's easy to give up that anger.
But don't -- Bush isn't done yet!

The Driver Film Blog

Started a Blog for The Driver. I typed the first post in this blog initially, but now it's moved toit's rightful home.