Random Findings...

Ran across this while cleaning up my room. NO memory of writing it and no date. My mother would be so disappointed. ;p
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As I watch them appear--unbidden to the screen--they mock me. The words I can never say. With their mere existence they spite me. The beauty and fragility of their phrasing a mourning of the feelings they describe. Feelings that can never be. Feelings that will forever remain unsatisfied, unrequited, unconsumed, buried. He stands fresh in my mind untouched, forever untouched, the stench of missed opportunity and serendipitous revenge flowing out of him like poison. I resent myself for assuming I could resist, for not preparing myself for the temptation that would live in him, for taking it all so fucking lightly. How dare you steal my heart without ever realizing you'd already broken it?
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It's weird, because I KNOW I didn't write it recently, yet it totally works for my current situation. So, yeah. That's odd. I wonder who the hell this was about? Was it even about anyone? Was it just me in my people watching finding some lonesome look on the face of some girl? I'll never know. Most of the time I hate my own work, so this whole no memory thing is kind of great, seeing as how I actually find the thing tragically beautiful. The things you find when you clean up your space!

Popcorn Rental Pick: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

Yes, yes I know. I'm an asshole. I haven't done this and I keep saying I will and I haven't and I'm a jerk face. I get it. But, work has stayed insane, apparently I have friends now who like to hang out with me outSIDE of work and I've recently renewed my love of reading, so you know what? I'll get to this when I get to this and I'll enjoy it when I have the time. And now we're go for this week's Popcorn Rental Pick of the Week!

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol: Mike will kill me for saying this, but I actually enjoyed this MI more than MI3...granted the team doesn't have as much chemistry and the villain is a bit lame, it was just more watchable than the third installment for me. Three fails because it is too focused on the love story side and Ethan getting out of the game. It feels like a retirement picture at points. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is the shizznog, and I adore him as Ethan's nemesis, but when compared to the watchability of Ghost Protocol, MI3 just lags.

Really, Ghost Protocol is a performance piece for Tom Cruise...to the point that it actually seems as if everyone else was told not to outshine him, particularly Jeremy Renner, who is capable of much better than this (see The Town). His side-story is weak and predictable and it's clear that from an acting standpoint he is trying particularly hard not to one-up Cruise's Ethan Hunt. Paula Patton isn't as fun as Maggie Q, but she does get some great hand-to-hand combat scenes in and Simon Pegg's Benji is a field agent now! Yay!

The action set pieces are outSTANDING and the ridiculousness level of the caper itself is at an all-time high reminiscent of something like Tom Clancy's The Sum of All Fears. Seriously. Someone blows up The Kremlin for Pete's sake. Nonetheless, for fans of the series this will more than suffice and as mentioned above the only significant drawback is a less-than-great villain. If Ghost Protocol had a baddie as wonderful and convincing as PSH from MI3 it would have just pushed it that much over the top. Lovie-dovie bits are-thankfully-only briefly mentioned and Cruise even gets to be in on the comedic relief at times. Any action-and gadget!-junkie will adore this film and it was definitely worth it to see it in Imax...(I can't believe I just said that)...however it really is good the second, third, etc. time around even on a much smaller screen in your own home. Pure Adrenalin. Pure Fun. What's not to love?

Real Steel

I admit it! I am a full-fledged cheesy-action-movie-junkie-whore, god dammit. And you know what? I own that. I own that with fucking pride, man. PRIDE, I say!

Now, what is "Real Steel" you ask? Well, it's a big mushy slushy of "Rocky", "Over the Top", "Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots" and a brilliant little Twilight Zone episode called "Steel" which, awesomely enough, was written by a personal fave author of mine, Richard Matheson, which is also the story that this film is inspired by. (Oh, the things you learn when you love movies and books at the same time.)

Some might be tempted to include Transformers, but I'm not down with that. Transformers are aliens from another planet, nay, galaxy and they have not to do with man-made ass-kicking machines. There's no galactic war here, no human slavery, no All Spark. Here there power cores, vintage models, underground robot boxing leagues and massive, MASSIVE amounts of robot HEART.

The film itself is SO reminiscent of both the Rocky films and "Over the Top" that I'm surprised they didn't cite them in the credits. I know the film is more of an homage, but it actually lifts entire sequences from both films. I swear the final fight between Hugh Jackman's little-robot-that-could, Atom and the big, bad, shiny black undefeated 'bot named Zeus (Zeus...that's not obvious or anything, *cough* Apollo Creed *cough*) is a complete reproduction of the Rocky Balboa VS Ivan Drago fight. Zeus even throws Atom into his own corner at one point and I sort of whisper yelled "Draaaaaaggggggggooooooo!" in the theater. Also, the montages of Jackman's Charlie and NOT-newcomer Dakota Goyo's Max on the road with Atom and working out by the truck on the side of the road is so right out of OTT it's not even funny. (Note, Goyo should be familiar to you if you watched Thor earlier this year. He played the young Thor in flashbacks to Chris Hemsworth's mighty god.)

For an effects heavy film the movie is beautifully shot, and I think this has to do both with the landscape we're able to see at times, juxtaposing this massive technology with wheat silos and acres upon acres of agriculture. Danny Elfman lent his talent for the film's score which adds a lot of depth to certain climactic scenes.

Goyo and Jackman have an insane chemistry together on screen. Jackman is playing somewhere in between his character in "Swordfish" and the smarmy Wolverine. It's comfortable for him, but he really shines in the dialogue scenes with Goyo. Kevin Durand and Anthony Mackie are great as supporting players, Durand a former foe of Jackman's when boxing was still man VS man and Mackie as a bookie/emcee who loves Charlie, but doesn't trust him as far as he can throw him. The other bright spot in terms of talent is the insanely beautiful Evangeline Lily as Charlie's landlord/love interest Bailey. She makes tough, smart bitch look SO awesome. I love you Ms. Lily.

The central heart line of the flick is the standard underdog story. Max's robot is a little guy, a sparring bot (ahem, ROCKY!), he's old, he's beat up, his joints need oil, but guess what? Homey can take a hit. And he can keep taking hits. All night long, and still get up and fight back. In a world of command prompts and voice-activated punch combinations, Atom is a real boxer. He's a fighter. Max realizes that Charlie's knowledge of the sport and his LOVE of the sport will help lead Atom to the top. So, they come up with an arrangement. Max is a great dancer and Charlie will only teach Atom to box if Max will dance going into the ring before every fight. (Atom has a baller "shadow feature" so therefore Max dancing in the ring = Atom dancing in the ring and it is every bit as amazeballs as it sounds.) Little by little they scrap and climb and finally they get the big dog, Zeus.

The subplot of the film has to do with Charlie giving up custody of Max in exchange for the summer and a buttload of cash, but I'm ignoring that because I don't enjoy the thought of him giving up Max at the end. *Tear*

The final fight is just plain awesome. Max and Charlie and Atom are in fine form, and the undefeated Zeus has finally met with something he can't adapt to. And why? Because Atom isn't just steel. He's steel and determination and he has the heart of a champion inside him. Naturally, Charlie gets his chance at championship redemption when the voice-recognition software gets futzed up and we have the required slo-mo crying scenes of everyone involved, but it just feels SO amazing to watch that little robot kick Zeus's face in. (The actual result of the fight is also pulled from "Rocky Balboa", it's not about the decision, it's about the fight itself.)

This is the kind of movie you go to...whenever. With friends, with family, with your kids. I went after a really bad day at work and it just brought me so much happiness. It's the kind of movie that makes you happy about life. It makes you feel better about everything. For that two hours, everything is right with the world. So, if you need a pick-me-up or you just want to have a great time at the movies, definitely check out this flick, because it's a knock-out.

Warrior

Sigh. Where oh where do I begin with this film? I suppose the most important thing to say to introduce this review is to point out that the trailer is a completely accurate representation of the movie, and while I thought it gave away too much of the plot, it turns out I was completely wrong.

One thinks, going into these sporting movies that it's all going to be the same note. Come on, you know...montages, incredibly cheesy familial reconciliations, nothing really cataclysmic going down, but Warrior? Warrior will knock you on your ASS if you have any experience whatsoever with any of its themes in your own personal life. Even if you haven't been through anything like it, or known anyone who's been through it, it's likely you will be incredibly moved.

The key to this movie is the dynamic between Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton and Nick Nolte, who play an estranged threesome of brothers and father. The exact moment that drove the family apart isn't exactly exposed, but the gist of it is easily found. Tom Hardy especially gives a massively powerful performance. Nearly every frame he's on screen is filled with a seething rage. It's like a disease or something that's totally taken over his body and his mind that causes him to be dedicated and hardworking yet incredibly spiteful and violent. Considering the crux of the film is a giant UFC fight, this works well with the tone of the film. Edgerton is the other side of the coin. His performance is full of regret and sorrow over the decisions he made as a teenage boy. He has a family to protect, he has responsibilities that he faces down, whereas Hardy has issues following through with his "duty". And man oh man does Nolte ever shine in this. He plays a recovering alcoholic attempting to forge SOME sort of bridge with is two sons who are at odds with each other. He's constantly listening to an audio book of Melville's "Moby Dick", and there is a singularly amazing scene when he's listening to it on headphones during the competition in his hotel room screaming "Why Ahab, WHY? Why didn't you just give up the WHALE?!" To say what also occurs during this scene would be giving too much away, but needless to say because of my own life experiences I was absolutely bawling my eyes out during the scene.

The three lead men play so well off of each other, it's almost as if it isn't a movie, but an actual theatre production. Nothing feels forced. Barely anything actually FEELS scripted. There's an authenticity there that just isn't really seen much. Authenticity and vulnerability. These big, tough men who all basically want to be loved and respected and they want their family back. All of them wanting the same thing but also fighting against it. All of them with broken hearts.

Hardy's character, Tommy is an "ex"-military man (a twist regarding this plot line that I did NOT see coming also brought a whole other level of drama to the film, and also of understanding on behalf of Tommy), and the only time you really see him smile the whole film is when he's talking to the widow of a good friend of his. The purse for the tournament is massive, and he tells her he's going to give all the money to her when he wins...this is his way of asking for absolution even though she loves him, and believes there is nothing to forgive.

I must say the "final fight" or ultimate climax of the film is pretty much one of the best 20 minutes of sport-related film I've ever seen. The close angles, the claustrophobia, the pain that you literally feel thrown at you at every turn of the camera is visceral and made my heart race the whole time. I wasn't really "rooting" for any one man. I merely wanted them to heal. They had both done bad things, both made mistakes, but they were the kind of mistakes one can't really apologize for. Life just happened...to them, around them. It chewed them up and spit them out and this fight is more about them sticking it to life than to one another. The truth is they just want each other back. Tommy doesn't want to carry his hatred around anymore. He wants to leave it in the ring and move on and he does just that.

...Love. When it comes right down to it, this movie is about love. And how no matter what, we always have to fight for it. It doesn't just come to us, or bless us. We have to fight to keep it with us. We have to fight for our love, for our families, for our lives. The final few frames are just incredible. I sobbed. I mean it. I physically sobbed in my empty theatre (and thank god for that because I was a hot mess). It was just...awe-inspiring. Needless to say this has been one of the best movies I've seen all year and I've highly recommended it to everyone I know who loves movies. It's not an easy movie to sit through by any means, but damn, is it ever worth every second of it.

...A thought, for the moment...

"I’m concerned about a better world. I’m concerned about justice; I’m concerned about brotherhood; I’m concerned about truth. And when one is concerned about that, he can never advocate violence. For through violence you may murder a murderer, but you can’t murder murder. Through violence you may murder a liar, but you can’t establish truth. Through violence you may murder a hater, but you can’t murder hate through violence. Darkness cannot put out darkness; only light can do that.”

Martin Luther King Jr. on August 16, 1967, during his "Where Do We Go From Here?" speech in Atlanta, Georgia.

Tell me that statement--the REAL statement--is so vastly different from the "viral" quote going around. The allegedly misappropriated quote is merely a condensed version of this even LESS ambiguous statement on the concept that blood merely begets more blood.

I refuse to apologize for how I feel on this matter, and considering one "friend" has already called me a traitor and another took a very thinly veiled shot at me in front of a lot of people, I just needed to clear this shit up.

I am a very patriotic person. I LOVE THE CONSTITUTION. I LOVE my country and I know how lucky I am just to have been born here, so if you want to call me out, be my damned guest. Just know, that me thinking this way doesn't mean that I think you're wrong or awful if you disagree with me and feel something different. I merely respect the fact that you are entitled to your feelings where as apparently, you aren't doing me the same courtesy. So, as always, thanks for that.