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Friday, May 30, 2008
I AM IRON MAN!
Well. I'm not. But, here are my thoughts on the movie:
Despite the rave reviews from my friends, I actually thoroughly enjoyed Iron Man. Usually, when people come back from movies and exclaim their excitement for it, I tend to experience a let down. I definitely did not. I wanted the movie to excel because I like Jon Favreau and I also want comic book based movies to be good movies. I was not disappointed. Who would've thought that Jon Favreau, who hasn't been in any big budget action movies, could deliver with great pacing, playful shots, an homage to Michael Bay, and Star Wars sweep transitions. I know I'm not using proper technical speak. Anyway, you know the obvious: the movie was big, it had great effects, it was generally very fluffy, and it didn't try to be Apocalypse Now or Lord of the Rings. It was what it was meant to be: a fun romp through the Marvel Universe through the eyes of Tony Stark. But, it was well written, funny without being off-puttingly campy (*ahemtransformers*), and it didn't mire itself in origin story.
It's interesting to me that many comic book sequels (part 2s at least SM2, X2, FF2) far surpass their originals. I think the need to base the "first" movies on origin stories take away from sometimes more compelling blends of action and storytelling. Yes, you need the first to set the table, but sometimes I feel there is too much joy spent in setting the table and less so much in perfecting the food. I thought Iron Man didn't do that. It jumped in while establishing characters, a commitment to the core characteristics of the Iron Man mythos, and recontextualizing relationships (like Jarvis who is the butler in the comics but was the "Cerebro" of sorts in the film).
There were the typical shout outs to fanboys/girls and I think Stan Lee's cameo in this was the most clever so far.
I wasn't sure about Robert Downey Jr when he was first cast, but I'm very glad it was him. Although all the other 3 main characters were done well, whenever I some them on screen I saw the actor not the character.
I also think that the adjustments of Iron Man's mask in the film and scenes of RDJ's face helped eliminate that "disembodied voice" effect that occurred with the Green Goblin.
Another part that I did appreciate was that there was enough "social commentary" in the movie to add global depth and relevance. Yet, it didn't get preachy or forced. Look - arms dealing especially to terrorists just isn't right. We can all agree to that. (I have my own qualms about the arms industry but that's not really... nevermind.)
The recurring symbol of the ring or the circle also was appreciated. That energy-providing chest plate is, as far as I know, a film-version mytho. Rings represented power in the film - and hey, maybe Favreau was paying homage to Lord of the Rings. [Okay, update: the chest plate was true, but the modern day Tony Stark is without chest plate. For more, go HERE.
Lastly, as part of my support of its depth, was the simple internal conflict of Tony Stark. What is Iron Man? A mechanical, robotic weapon. Who is Tony Stark? A man in search of his soul. It was touched upon in the movie and was pretty much shouted at by Pepper's gift to Tony, but this internal conflict is a good reminder that our classic American funny book heroes have been rooted in symbolism like any other culture's mythology.
Anyway, it's obvious that I enjoyed it. Go Iron Man!
*side note* I'm not so much of a fan of the comic book Iron Man at this time.. you know with him and his whole "Superhero Registration Act aka Patriot Act" push.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Cool Crowd Musings: End of April
I am so happy that BSG is back. But this whole month, I haven't had time to watch the episodes on time. Even with Dish finally adding SciFi in HD last week, I still couldn't lock myself in to watch. No, it's not an indictment on the show. It's just a bit wacky right now with time since...
I've been in Washington DC, San Diego, Las Vegas, participating in at least 2 nighttime meetings per week in April, the NBA playoffs, the NHL playoffs, the A's, and and and and and...
So anyway. I love BSG.
But in a post this week on SF Chronicle/SFGate.com columnist Tim Goodman's The Bastard Machine, he pitted his regular readers to vote for either LOST or BSG since, in a prior email, some sparring for the two "factions" arose.
They aren't parallel shows, but they do have cult followings. Anyway, I chose BSG's topical relevance and thought provocation on such topics over LOST's dynamic storytelling and overall more generally digestible style. But, in the end, I wouldn't choose any over the other. I love TV for its unique craft, but I'm not a TV elitist. I prefer to take things for what they are and enjoy them in that state.
With that said, I'm a bit disappointed the Smallville's been picked up for Season 8. Last year, when they said Season 7 would be the last, I was sad, but I knew it was best for the soul of the show because you could see what was happening. Every show has to evolve, but this isn't the Smallville that most of us have grown and loved. I know as we get older everything in the world gets much darker. We become much more cynical - and thus our favorite high school-based characters must evolve also. And of course, I understand that the endgame was Lex's manifest destiny to becoming the most evil man ever. But, this show has seemed extremely wayward this season and parts of season 6. Given, we can only see the on again off again Lana and Clark dynamic and the meteor freak of the week, but is it really "Smallville" without those elements? What we have now is "Metropolis" or "Krypton". Even the Kent farm looks like it's been traded in for green screen.
Maybe the stories that encompass "Smallville" have been told. So, let's stop forcing stories? Let's stop plucking DC Universe characters out of the blue and sticking them into a Metropolis that is quickly devolving into the Joel Schumacher Gotham.
Anyway. Next year there's no Lex. There's no Lana. There's gonna be Doomsday (the guy who killed superman for a day.. or a few months.. enough to sell extra comics..)
Just stop. C'mon. We loved you when... but c'mon. Even Chris Webber retired.
The show I had to cut off because of schedule conflicts was Supernatural. Although it sometimes was pushed to the end of the watch list.. and their episodes that are more big story than contained arent' as strong.. I really miss that show. I watched the "Ghostfacers" episode which was intended as a One-shot in the overall scheme of things and it was great. Some scares. Some great Dean-isms. Enough of a touching story (they usually pluck those living with dying heartstrings well). I'm excited to marathon it when the S3 DVDs come.
ISNTCUOGG: I still need to catch up on Gossip Girl. Sucks that it competes with Bones.
It also competes with How I Met Your Mother. Funny that they keep throwing Red Herrings at us about "the mother". They have one season left of patience so I think that'll help the writers focus is and get as many jokes as possible and end the stories at their terms. (*ahem* Smallville *ahem).
