The Greatest Comedic Filmmaker

http://www.npr.org/2013/05/20/182609040/mel-brooks-i-m-an-egot-so-i-don-t-need-any-more

Star Trek Into Darkness (Spoilers and Nerd Anger Found Inside Review)

Star Trek into Darkness was one of the most highly anticipated sequels that have come along for me in quite some time. The first time JJ Abrams took a stab at Star Trek in 2009 he made what is easily one of my favorite movies ever made and a film that I have seen multiple times. So as is usually the case when expectations are so high I was naturally disappointed with this film. If I am being fare and just not reacting emotionally then this was not a bad film. There were some impressive special effects, as well as solid performances across the board. Once the film gets underway there are times when it is compelling. The action sequences are excellent. The best part of the movie in my opinion was the battle on Cronos, the Klingon home world. However, the negatives to me outweigh the positives. The movie took way too long to get started and the first part of the film up until Kahn appeared was completely lifeless and useless. Additionally what was the major dramatic question of the film? To put it simply what was the plot of the film? Was it that Kahn, yes the worse kept secret in cinema that Benedict Cumberbatch was Kahn turned out to be true, was a evil genus who needed to be stopped? Because if that is the case they did a truly awful job of establishing Kahn as a character worthy of being feared. Benedict Cumberbatch was great as Kahn but he got to do next to nothing with the role. He needed more screen time, he needed a better back story and he was defeated way too easily. Nero was a far more complex villain from a story standpoint then Kahn was granted I will easily concede that Benedict Cumberbatch is a far better actor then Eric Bana. Also Peter Weller, who is usually excellent, arguably is the real monster here because he awoke a particularly dangerous man to exploit his savagery in the hopes of provoking a war with the Klingons (this angle was handled to perfection in the underrated Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country). Kahn is no doubt evil but the Admiral is the real monster. There is a paradox here because one of the key concepts of the Star Trek universe is that humanity has supposed to have reached a point in their existence where we are more enlightened and educated and as such people like the Admiral are not supposed to exist and if they do and can manipulate Star Fleet then how is this future not in fact much worse then our own? There was nothing to root for in this film because Kahn was to be feared essentially based on his reputation from the original films. How does that make any sense? To further hammer this fact home we get a cameo by Leonard Nimoy basically telling us that hey remember Kahn is very bad. That does not cut it. Also his cameo was great in the first film but totally just thrown in here as a cheap plot device. All of the originality and ingenuity of the recent remake were gone here. How about the massive plot hole left by the film in that several Kilngons were slaughtered by the crew of the Enterprise and Kahn and as such as the plot made abundantly clear simply setting foot on their planet would lead to an all out war. So I guess that sets up the sequel or it is just a terrible plot hole. Too many movies under utilize their most complex and interesting characters. By the time Kahn becomes the dangerous lunatic that we know he is he almost instantly gets defeated. No build up, no drama, and no tension. Hence no real reason to root for Captain Kirk and company to bring him down because they do it rather easily and we somehow know that there will be no real problem for them. Also how many times can the Enterprise be blasted by lasers and not get destroyed? Not all is lost in this film and it certainly does nothing to ruin the franchise. However, the totally wasted a major opportunity. Lastly, the end sequence of this film is quite powerful and at the same time unbelievably perplexing. Essentially we have the first Hollywood film since September 11 to incorporate a terrorist plane crash directly into the movie and pull almost no punches in showing the devastation that it caused. Kahn is a terrorist no doubt about it but then the repercussions against him are to put him back to sleep and we get a speech that should be powerful by Captain Kirk about not letting essentially terrorists change who we are as people but it was so quickly thrown together that it feels wrong. Honestly, Kahn deserved to die for his actions and I do not think that most people would have a problem with that. At the very least he could have been put in jail instead being put back in the cryogenic chamber to simply wait it out for some other commander to use him. There is so much more I can say and I should have known I was in for trouble with the overwhelming amount of positive reviews that this film got that is usually a red flag for me. Consider this there is a sequence in this film that is directly inspired by The Godfather III. Now granted it copied the best part of The Godfather Part III, however any film that looks to the third Godfather for inspiration is a colossal failure. I am a JJ Abrams fan but I am now worried about Star Wars.

William Friedkin NPR Interview

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2013/may/01/academy-awardwinning-director-william-friedkin/

Recent Television Shows

Highly recommend the absolutely brilliant show Rectify however, it is so emotionally depressing that it will wear you out. Also Spartacus the Starz series has just awful special effects combined with terrible dialogue and mostly horrendous acting. It is a very cheap version of 300 and yet it is remarkably popular. Lastly, The Vikings show despite my problems with it being on The History Channel is absolutely fantastic!

Silver Linings Playbook

     Silver Linings Playbook received massive notoriety during this past awards season due to the wonderful performance of Jennifer Lawrence. While the credit that she received for this role was well deserved the shock for me was how good the story was and how Bradley Copper just did a truly remarkable job. This was probably the best role that Bradley Cooper has ever ha din a mainstream movie and it really proves that talented actors or actresses can portray a wide range of emotions and talents when given the chance to do so. His acting ability and his dancing ability were impressive. 

   

  I guess the shock for me was that i was confident that Jennifer Lawrence was going to be good but Bradley Cooper impressed me and perhaps that was my fault for assuming that he was not capable of creating a memorable on screen character with some real emotional depth. This performance has made me look at Bradley Cooper in a  completely new way. The chemistry between Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper was excellent in my opinion. I truly enjoyed their chemistry and loved every second that they were on screen together. The supporting cast was also great! This was just a genuinely moving story about two broken people who are able to find each other and fulfill a massive void in each others lives.    

     The characters do not undergo a major personality transformation they instead accept each other for who they are and that was my favorite thing about the film. These flawed characters embrace each other and they deserved to be together at the end. As a Hollywood romance movie I thought that this film was fresh and exciting. I loved how these characters were not the typical Hollywood stars who are usually cast in love stories. If i have to sit threw one more Channing Tatum, love story I may never recover. If you have not seen this film check it out and hopefully be delightfully surprised at what you experience.

"Disorganized Labor"

     The American version of "House of Cards" is the best political television show that I have ever seen. It combines inside details of the American political system with absolutely superb acting across the board. It also at times sacrifices realism for it's narrative purposes which works great to always keep the viewer involved in the deeply complicated and yet ever so simple story. One of the key political ideas that this show nailed on the head is the idea of the "sound bite."Politicians and political movements rely more then ever on particular terms and phrases to push their agenda and fight their opponents. Staying on message is a vital key to success for political parties. Arguably ever since the invention of television and really ever since politicians started to use the media the importance of the "sound bite" cannot be understated. 

     

     Francis "Frank" Underwood becomes involved in a massive fight against unionized teachers in the show when he tries to pass an Education reform bill that essentially eliminates the collective bargaining rights of teachers. Frank seemingly loses this battle in the media at first and he even was embarrassed on national television in a debate with the teacher unions top man Marty Spinella. What turns the issue around in Francis's favor is when his wife Claire, played to perfection by Robin Penn, comes up with the term "Disorganized labor." Francis then instructs his fellow cohorts to mention this term when they do television interviews and he has his print media source use this term as well. Very quickly when a term is used by several different people over the course of several different media outlets in begins to stick in peoples minds whether they realize it or nor. This is why campaign slogans and newspaper headlines are always short. As such these terms begin to take on the false appearance of truth and what is dangerous about this is very often language is a weapon that is used for political gain. 

     Arguably, the most important weapon that a politician has is their words. How these words play out in the media is even more important to political gain and success. Additionally, the media is usually more then happy to oblige and let these terms enter into the public consciousness. Of course the term "disorganized labor" eventually helps to put more pressure on the unionized teachers and begins to push support away from them. The often maligned Noam Chomsky does a much better job at explaining how the system of "sound bites" works, especially in his book called "Media Control." I cannot help but be impressed at how "House of Cards" is able to make this insider political tactic so plainly visible to it's viewers. I commend the show for using it as a plot device and for being one of the only mainstream American television shows to reveal this practice and show how manipulative and deceitful it can be. You can learn so much about politics from watching "House of Cards." For that alone it should be earning it's place amongst the most important American television shows of all time.

Top Female Television Character

Checking in at number 1 i Arya Stark played by the wonderfully talented Maisie Williams. One of the fun things about Game of Thrones is watching how talented the child actors are on the show. Somehow Arya's character flies above the rest and has made her own distinctive mark on the show. Not content to let other people run her life and not content to conform to being the "lady" that she is supposed to be Arya has the courage of a lion and her bravery combined with her naivety makes her such a likable and unique character. There is great fun and sorrow in watching her become initiated into the terrible world of Westeros. She has been probably the only person to impress Tywin Lannister and her friendship with the Faceless Assassin was probably my favorite storyline in the entire series. No matter what story arc she is involved in ti remains interesting precisely because she is such a fascinating and non stereotypical character. She gets my vote for number 1 female television character currently on television. 

Top Female Television Characters

Checking in at number 2 is Keri Russell as Elizabeth Jennings on The Americans. As a devout secret agent of the KGB Elizabeth is at once completely predictable and utterly unpredictable at the same time. Keri Russell who's major claim to fame was in the very successful Felicity television series as embarked on a new journey and has created quite honestly one of the most fascinating and complicated characters ever on television. No longer Felicity, Keri Russell's character of Elizabeth. her American name, uses sex, lies and manipulation as a weapon as easily as most people would use a gun. She is truly remarkable in her devotion to her cause which is even more fascinating because with the hindsight of history we know that her side is going to lose and lose big time. This knowledge makes her character all the more tragic and terrifying. How a human being can be so blindly connected to a cause that devalues individuality and abuses it's power is not an easy task to achieve. Great job by a great actress.

Top Female Television Characters

Checking in at number 3 is Daenerys Targaryen played by the wonderful Emilia Clarke. The Mother of Dragons arguably has the best story arc on the show. She has also underwent a wonderful character transformation as she started as the little scared girl who was whored out by her brother, remember Viserys? In the end she would get revenge on him and a whole lot more as this stunningly complicated character never ceases to amaze and surprise all of those around her with her exceptional abilities. She has my vote for winning The Iron Throne but what will she do with it once she gets it? amazing character!

Top Female Television Characters

Checking in at number 4 is Michonne. Few characters have been ever been able to live up to the hype that surrounds them and fortunately this is not the case with bad ass Michonne. Her introduction into the series was mind blowing and her continued character development is one of the things that makes The Walking Dead such a fascinating show. When Michonne speaks, which is rare, you listen very closely because what she has to say always matters. An excellent character played by an exceptional actress Danai Gurira. It is impossibly to get tired of watching her slicing up zombies and sometimes people with her katana blade!