Derek237 posted a BLOG item 5 days ago

300

It's crazy how popular 300 was around the time it was first released, as in, like, it wouldn't be unusual to hear someone say "300? Oh yeah, that's definitely in my top 10 favourite movies of all time," kind of popular. I'm not sure if that's really the case now. 2007 seems like last Thursday to me but we're talking 6 years ago now, but in its own rights, in its own kind of way, 300 is a classic already. If only for its great visuals during the revolution of comics-to-film being taken seriously as legitimate art, and for its large offering of great, memorable moments, those "trailer moments" that stick out and reach into your living room and strangle you by the neck when you're watching.

When it's good, it's so good. But it's trajectory is all over the place. There are some awesome scenes but then there are some scenes that just drag on, and it's just so impossible to give a shit about anything, because the movie is just so focused on its visuals, so determined to bring Frank Miller's graphic novel to life, that it almost blurs the line between what's acceptable in print, and what we can interpret ourselves, with our own imaginations, and what's acceptable to present in a 2 hour feature film. So for all it's beautiful visuals and kick-ass one-liners, I felt something was a little off, I didn't feel like I was watching...humans.

The only real human touch comes from Lena Headey's character, Queen Gorgo, dealing with the repercussions of King Leonidas' acts of war back at the home front. I felt invested in her character, felt wronged when she was wronged, felt triumphant when she was triumphant, maybe because that's the only aspect of the movie where it felt like there was an actual plot, but whatever.

I could nitpick a million things about the movie but that's not really the point because there's a certain greatness to it. In an age past Gladiator, and into Lord of the Rings, and Troy later to follow, 300 is wise enough in its execution to know that when it comes to CGI armies- we have seen it all already. That enough can't impress us. So it takes it to the absolute limits, and it's a visual marvel because of its bold marriage of modern special effects and visual adaptation from a graphic novel. Far too many movies make the mistake to just show us all these CGI soldiers and bows and arrows flying around and expecting us to be in awe. 300 is a smart movie, if not a little empty of human elements and greater meaning. I thought maybe there could be some message or moral to it, like maybe it cautions arrogance, or aggrandizes bravery against impossible odds. I'm not sure. I thought maybe its talk at the end about standing up to mysticism and tyranny may be welcoming modern day parallels, but that's probably giving it too much credit.

Derek237 posted a BLOG item 6 days ago

Random Netflix viewings over the past few days.

Youth In Revolt

I wouldn't say is necessarily a good movie but I liked it, if that makes any sense. A little too dry and sardonic, but somehow still enjoyable. I think it depends on how much you may like Michael Cera. If you're cool with him doing the same old persona then it's entertaining. The twist here is that he's the same old awkward persona BUT he has a split personality who shows up who is the total rebel badass and all that. It's kind of goofy but whatever.

It was surprising to see actors like Zach Galifianakis, Ray Liotta, M Emmett Walsh, and Steve Buscemi show up. Also a brief appearance by Rooney Mara- reow. She even gets in her underwear in one scene but then I'm like, well, big deal, whatever, thanks to Girl With The Dragon Tattoo we've practically seen up her uterus so whatever.

When the movie first came out I heard a lot of mixed things but mostly just a lot of hate. I can't say I hated it, I liked it, but again, just not really particularly good. I think it's based on a novel or something. I don't know. But it was kind of weird.

Another movie was called Grilled, yeah, Grilled, a straight-to-video flick with Ray Romano and Kevin James as meat salesman who get caught up in a mob scheme or something blah blah blah. ACTUALLY NOT TOO BAD.

Imdb trivia says it was supposed to be released theatrically but tested poorly so they just decided to go right to DVD. And this is 2006. I think Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queens were both still on. So Ray Romano and Kevin James were still pretty bankable. I guess that says a lot of how little faith they had in the movie.

It is CRAZY by-the-numbers and exactly what you may expect from the whole "right place, wrong time" kind of movie but it was interesting to see Romano and James in something a little more straight, it's definitely a comedy, but to see them actually show a little more range was nice. Also WTF Burt Reynolds appears out of nowhere at the end. OH!!! And Sofia Vergara is in the movie! She's so fucking hot. And her character is a transvestite but that's totally cool. I'd hit it.

I also watched Green Hornet, finally, after avoiding it when I heard many bad things. Well. The bad things were right. That's pretty much all I have to say. Yeah.

Arthur

The original 1981 film Arthur is a classic, and one of the great romantic comedies, and I even liked its less-well-recieved sequel Arthur 2: On The Rocks. So when news of this remake came out, and I heard it was going to be Russell Brand was going to be in the title role, I thought that was kind of interesting, but nothing I'd prioritize seeing. So anyway now it's two years later and through the magic of Netflix Instant I was able to watch it. It's not bad. In fact, it's a very well done movie- surprisingly charming and even moving, keeping with the general values of the original film in telling the classic story of the rich alcoholic man-boy who falls in love with a middle-class girl, right when he's supposed to marry someone else, for more business-oriented reasons other than love.

And okay basically if you don't know the story I'm going to spoil it for you. Arthur ends up ditching the rich girl even though it's good PR for the family's business and after cleaning himself up he ends up with the poor girl. It's nice. And maybe because I've been watching so much Game of Thrones lately, but it was positively SHOCKING to see that they live happily ever after! Seriously, there's no bloody massacre anywhere? WTF?

But all that's stuff nice and and the scenes with Russell Brand and Greta Gerwig (who I love by the way) are all really nice but you can’t really beat the chemistry that Dudley Moore and Liza Minelli had in the original film. But, surprisingly enough, the strongest points of the movie deal with the relationship between Arthur and his Butler/Nanny, Hobson, played by the incredible Helen Mirren. Brand and Mirren’s scenes are top notch, they play off each other nicely, they're very funny together, and if you know the story, well, it gets pretty emotional after that.

But my praise for the movie comes with a big fat juicy "but." The one thing I liked about it, that being the Arthur/Hobson relationship, seems to take away from the main focus of the story. The central relationship of the story should be about the rich boy, poor girl relationship, instead the highlight is the rich boy, nanny relationship. And while the whole dynamic between Arthur and his nanny serves as a bridge toward guidance and responsibility and growth when it comes to his romance, when it finally gets there it feels like it’s too little too late. Brand and Gerwig are very likable as the characters but their scenes feel a bit perfunctory and we’re meant to feel a sense of whimsy and we're supposed to be rooting for them to get together, and we definitely do, but I felt the bare minimum of investment.

My feelings are a little mixed but I have to give the movie credit. It's a very worthy remake.

Away We Go

I literally watched 10 minutes of this and was like UM NOPE. Then turned it off.

THE END.

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Derek237 posted a BLOG item 10 days ago

Game of Thrones Season 3

Obviously SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS.

What I love about this show and what makes it feel genuine, even though, yeah, it's a fantasy, it has dragons and zombies and black (red?) magic and all that stuff, but it's about real characters making real decisions with real consequences. Characters are left with choices to make that have heavy bearing on their status in the world and their very survival. It doesn't feel like it's written, like there's any kind of set arrival point that it needs to reach, no real good guys or bad guys. It's as if their fates have already been sealed and George R.R. Martin is merely transcribing it for us to witness.

Every time I watch season one, in the back of my head, I'm pleading for Ned Stark to make different decisions, to be a little more tactful and a little less honorable, but to no avail. And yes, it's definitely a shocking factor that the character that we believe to be the "hero" of the story ends up beheaded before the first season even finishes, and what Game of Thrones has been made famous for is the whole "EVERYBODY AND ANYBODY CAN DIE" factor, but it's more than that. Behind every heart pierced with an arrow, every throat that is cut open, and every head that is lopped off, there is a real character with real dilemmas with options, real genuine human free will, making conscious decisions that are detrimental to the outcome we see. We can empathize with that and put ourselves in their place, and even try to telepathically persuade them to act differently. There's something so precious about that, so invaluable to contributing to enjoyment of the show. Well, some call it enjoyment, others may call it suffering.

Season 3 dealt with the showcase of two weddings. One of Tyrion Lannister, our rock, essentially bullied into a marriage that would help further his family's status. He's in love with another woman, one who is below him and his family, and wants badly to be with her, but marries Sansa Stark anyway. Maybe because he knows deep down it's the best thing for his family, or maybe because it's just plain intimidation. Tyrion is short enough, and I can't imagine how small he must feel when in the presence of his father, Tywin. I'm curious to see where Tyrion's story continues. His family is in good standing, his duties are clear, and he's still alive. Then there's Robb Stark. He was also pressured into a marriage, as part of Walder Frey's terms which he agreed to on his honor. Pick a daughter. Any daughter. Well, you've seen them. It wasn't exactly tempting but at the time he thought he could save his father. It didn't. We also know he ended up marrying Talisa- a woman below him. But it was love. So when he needs The Lord of the Crossing's help once more, here in season 3, he thinks he can just waltz on up with an apology and all would be well. NOPE. The rest is history. The Red Wedding was one of the most devastating events I could ever have wanted to witness on television. It was heartbreaking. Really. And it all stemmed from Robb Stark's decisions. Had Robb and Tyrion made different choices about their respective betrothals, though, maybe their roles would have been reversed.

And I think The Red Wedding, as infamous as it already is, may be the breaking point for firm enthusiasts of the show compared to the casual viewer. I could completely understand how someone could witness this season and be like "yeah, you know what, this is a good show and everything, but I just can't handle this." I can. And I had thoughts of that myself after The Red Wedding. COME ON. ADMIT IT. YOU DID TOO. EVEN FOR JUST A SECOND.

But we beat on. Because when I just don't think primarily of The Red Wedding, I think of wonderful, triumphant, character defining moments. I think of Jon and Ygritte scaling the treacherous icy wall, almost falling to their deaths, but reaching the top, and taking a moment to breath in the beautiful skyline. I think of Jaime, a character that was so easy to hate at first, releasing little slices of humanity a bit at a time, and nobly going back to save Brienne from certain death. I think of Davos, a character I grow more and more interested in, and a character that really should have died, like, 100 times by now, enduring, acting as the conscience to King Stannis, utilizing not quite honor, not quite politics, but just an unknown, unspoken sense of what is right, and there is great victory in that. And I think of Daenerys, the beautiful, godly Queen of Dragons, freer of slaves and thief of my fucking heart, progressing slowly but surely, bringing some sense of purpose and solemnity to the madness of the Seven Kingdoms. I think it's important to clutch on to moments like that. Such as life, there aren't always too many.

The agonizing wait for Season 4 begins NOW.

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Derek237 posted a BLOG item 17 days ago

Monster's Inc.

The usual way they do it is to have the actors come in to do their voice recordings separately at the convenience of their individual schedules and edit everything together to create the seamless movie magic we all see in the finished product. John Goodman and Billy Crystal requested to share a booth when recording their lines for Monster's Inc., which could be an attributing je ne sais quoi to the great joy of watching the film. The actors' chemistry together as Mike and Sulley is undeniable, and aside from being a wonderfully entertaining and beautifully animated Disney/Pixar collaboration, it's also just a great buddy comedy. They may be under the guise of a giant furry monster and a tiny green spherical cyclops, but I'll be damned if it isn't some of the best work done by Goodman and Crystal. Most Disney movies deal with the tried and true, usually either aspects of romance or friendship, and unlike, say, in Toy Story, where the main characters begin as rivals and slowly become friends, in Monster's Inc, they begin as best buddies, but their relationship is put to the ultimate conflict when the norm is disrupted by a series of events that put at risk not only their friendship, not only their jobs, but could potentially cause complete societal collapse.

The plot is actually quite ingenious. I mean, this obviously isn't the first time we've seen a story about a whole secret world of monsters living opposite little kids who claim to see monsters in their closet and under their beds, but how they execute the concept and how they expand on it is truly something unique. In this world, the screams of children are a valuable commodity, and can power their entire world. They have the corporation set up, using technology that can open doors all over the world into children's bedrooms. They send in their best and scariest monsters, children's screams fill up canisters connected to the doors, and they have their power supply. I've never questioned the practical aspects of this technology. It's a family movie, not The Matrix, just go with it. But as kids grow more and more desensitized, they're harder to scare, and the world of the monsters find themselves suffering through an energy crisis. Such a crisis that secret, evil plans are made underway to kidnap children and use a machine to suck out their scares completely, tapping them dry at first shot. But it's only when Mike and Sulley accidentally bring the sickeningly adorable Boo into their world that they discover a child's laughter works just as well- in fact, it provides 10 times more energy. It was right under their noses the entire time, but due to greed and ignorance, it went unpursued. Could this be a plea to explore alternative resources? I wouldn't put it past them. After this, and later with WALL-E, it's not unusual to see a little bit of social commentary served with the family entertainment.

But never mind all that. You can read into it as much as you want to, but at the end of the day this is just a great and entertaining animated film with some of the best voice acting I've witnessed. I really love it. I can't say it brings back childhood nostalgia, at least not literally, since it came out when I was in my early teens, but the magic I've found from Monster's Inc., personally, is that it does bring me back to my childhood. This is the kind of movie that the 5-year-old me would have eaten up; the 5-year-old who'd doodle endless drawings of silly looking monsters with tentacles, and spikes, and snarling teeth, gelatinous blobs with several pairs of eyes, and giant hairy beasts. It's all up there on the screen. To make a great movie for kids, you have to think like one. Disney and Pixar understand this.

Monster's Inc. never fails to bring back these warm and fuzzy feelings to me. I can't help but adore it for this, and it's actually one of my favourite movies. I can't wait to see Monster's University and feel like a kid all over again!

Derek237 posted a BLOG item 23 days ago

Arrested Development Netflix search easter eggs

Derek237 posted a BLOG item 26 days ago

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

I enjoy a good musical as much as the next person though I'll admit it wouldn't exactly be my immediate "go-to" genre, and I highly doubt when Tim Burton and Johnny Depp brainstormed about possible collaborations, musicals weren't at the top of their list. I don't picture Burton and Depp tackling a remake of The Sound of Music, with Depp taking care of those Von Trapp kids, unless maybe they were re-imagined as zombies. But offer a movie musical about a vengeance-driven madman of a barber who slaughters his clients and has them turned into meat pies, and suddenly you have my attention; suddenly that's something I want to see. Luckily, it was something they wanted to make, and "Sweeney Todd" is right up their alley. It's possibly Tim Burton's and Johnny Depp's finest hour.

My knowledge of the original stage musical is limited, but from what I know the effect of the slit throats was achieved through use of red handkerchiefs and turning the lights red. This obviously wouldn't translate to a film version. But just imagine if they held back. If they showed the swing of the blade then to a reactionary shot with a bit of blood spatter, or if the camera cut away only suggesting the brutality of Todd's crimes. It would rob the film of its gallows humor, and it simply would contradict its own attitude. This is a tragedy and a comedy, a very black comedy- as black as blood in the moonlight. Blood literally splatters the screen. It's awful and wonderful. If only they waited to make it a few years later when 3D movies have become all the rage.

This is a great and brilliant film, very funny, emotionally involving, and effectively suspenseful when it needs to be. There isn't a single weak link in the cast, either. Whenever there's a big, star-studded musical like this there's always THAT ONE GUY, who, bless them, just can't stay up to the snuff with the rest of the cast in the vocal department. There are no faulty cogs in this machine. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman are all magnificent actors, and as singers, equally so, proven here.

I loved the music, I loved the lavish and gothic production value as only Tim Burton could bring us, and I truly appreciated its grim sense of humor. It's a movie that never backs away in the name of what the masses may consider good taste, and it's always stabbing at a laugh even in the midst of the most macabre and tragic moments. I really admire that.

And now I'm hungry.

Derek237 posted a BLOG item 29 days ago

Tarzan

Really quick review here of the 1999 Disney version of Tarzan, I just saw it for the first time so I had some thoughts on it. It was a very good movie, very enjoyable and very entertaining, and all that. Admittedly though it was nothing that made me think "OH MY GOD WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO WATCH THIS WHERE HAS IT BEEN ALL MY LIFE?" so it's not like I was blown away or anything.

It's a quality animated film as you can expect from Disney productions so the animation is really beautiful and oh wow look at that it doesn't need to be 100% CGI like wow. The jungle is vibrant and alive, and it's all really colourful and beautiful so A+ on that.

But I don't know I guess my main beef is that they probably could have been broader with the story, and it would have been more interesting, to me at least, if maybe they segmented it into two main halves where the first half takes place in the jungle, the second half they bring him to London (to my knowledge this is what happens in the books but I could be wrong), and then a final act going back to the jungle and then ends where it actually ends. And I actually thought it was going to happen like that but as they were prepping to go to London I checked my watch and it was like, an hour or so into the movie so unless this was a 2+ hour Disney epic it likely was going to stay completely in the jungle. And it does.

And that's all fine I guess but whatever, I'm just saying it could have been a bigger and more interesting story but instead they mainly focus on Tarzan and his animal buddies and then plop two humans and a I-Fucking-Hate-Nature-And-Want-To-Kill-Everything-Rent-A-Villain along with them for appropriate conflict. For what it's worth though, and ahem this is a (SPOILER), the villain has a really unique and grim death. So that was cool.

Maybe if they didn't take so long at the beginning to show Tarzan's upbringing they could have went into a different direction with the movie but literally like the first third is infant Tarzan growing up and learning about himself and all that Simba stuff and it's like okay yeah I get what they're trying to do but they're spending 10 fucking minutes on Tarzan and the lesbian gorilla trying to pluck hairs off elephant's asses that's not really development so whatever. And to my understanding there's an entire Straight-to-Video movie entirely dealing with Tarzan's fun adventures as a kid anyway so they could have left it all to that.

Oh and also I wasn't a huge fan of the soundtrack. Like nothing against Phil Collins he's excellent (at least pre-1990s but let's not get off track), it's just that the music felt kind of out of place with the movie. At least with Billy Joel's music in Oliver and Company it felt appropriate with the attitude of the movie, or Elton John's collaboration on The Lion King, it had a flavor and rhythm that felt in sync with the setting of the movie. Here with Tarzan, it was like, "am I watching a Disney movie or am I listening to the easy rock station?"

OVERALL though, I really liked the movie. The animation was great, and I really liked the relationship between Tarzan and Jane. Also, am I crazy or does Jane's dad look like the Sultan from Aladdin if he lost a lot of weight? Anyway I said this was going to be quick but here I am rambling on and on so goodbye.

Derek237 posted a BLOG item 30 days ago

THE SHELF SAGA: THE FINAL CHAPTER ...?

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Derek237 posted a BLOG item 30 days ago

Shelf Watch '13

So far things are going alright but there's still a lot of shit to organize so here's so pics I snapped.

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Derek237 posted a BLOG item about 1 month ago

New shelf

So today I bought a new shelf for my DVDs - not just any shelf- but the ultimate fucking shelf to hold as many as possible. It isn't gargantuan or anything but in being 70H/30W it should get the job done. Now, assembling the thing, not a problem. It had instructions for dummies and dur I had a hammer and a screwdriver dur. That was fine. What's been a bitch is getting these DVDs organized. So right now there are random stacks of DVDs and Blu-rays all over the place and it has been exhausting trying to arrange everything.

Oh and okay here's something. Maybe you remember or maybe you don't, but a few months ago I posted this picture:

With the caption "does this DVD shelf look stable to you?"

LOL good times super funny right. Well I found out the answer tonight and the answer was fuck no. So when I was pushing the new shelf in I needed to make some room so I just wanted to take out one little stack column on the side and BOOM THE FUCKERS WENT THE FUCK DOWN. It was quite the thing. It was like a house of cards. Damn.

So I'm standing around here with DVDs thrown in stacks over the couch, on the counter, on the dresser, the coffee table, all over the place, and of course all over the goddamn floor and I'm standing in a pile of the ones that came crashing down. And I think to myself, "what am I doing with my life?"

How many DVDs are enough? After careful deliberation and consideration and some truly deep thought, I decided not to worry about it and that I'm awesome but still I'm stuck with having to sort all these DVDs but I just thought I'd take a little break.

Updates on my sanity to follow.

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Derek237 posted a BLOG item about 1 month ago

Brace yourself for an image dump, here's some INCREDIBLE fan art....

Much more from this fantastic artist HERE.

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Derek237 posted a BLOG item about 1 month ago

Walkaway's Challenge 5/10

Go to Google images and type in the name of your MFC celebrity bf/gf and post the very first image. (include these rules in the post so others know what's going on).

and a great pic of my darling aubrey

Derek237 posted a BLOG item about 1 month ago

"The Next Day" music video starring David Bowie, Gary Oldman, and Marion Cotillard.

It's not up on Youtube just yet but I'll post the link here. Needless to say, it's an odd music video.

http://pitchfork.com/news/50513-watch-david-bowies-the-next-day-video-starring-gary-oldman-and-marion-cotillard/

Derek237 posted a BLOG item about 1 month ago

Rant: The Mandarin

First of all: SPOILER ALERT. SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS FOR IRON MAN 3!!!! OH MY GOD GET OUT OF THE WAY AND AVOID THESE SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE MOVIE SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Second of all, I'm not a purist or expert on the Iron Man comics so I can't really claim to know all that much about the character The Mandarin, though I've heard good things.

With that in mind, I thought the portrayal of The Mandarin in Iron Man 3 was handled poorly. When we're first introduced to him in the movie, we only see him on television screens, he gives these ominous speeches and we see Al-Queda-training-video-like montages and we get sense, and the message, loud and clear: this guy is a threat. He's vaguely Middle Eastern, though he could be European. I liked how they kept his race fairly ambiguous, since, as you may know, the original character was Oriental, complete with the Fu Manchu visage, and not exactly subtle in any way. If there had been any concern about appearing racially insensitive then I think they solved the problem with The Mandarin's racial ambiguity, though unmistakeably we are meant to draw comparisons to Osama Bin Laden.

But enough beating around the bush. I'm sure you know the twist. He's not really this evil terrorist leader but in fact a drug-addicted failed actor named Trevor hired by the REAL villain, Aldrich Killian, who is an American. He can barely stay awake mid-conversation and you should see the goddamn mess he leaves in the bathroom. Okay. Well, THAT WAS SURPRISING. But what a rotten trick they pulled, what a silly bait and switch. Such an earnest build-up to the character, and what tangled webs are woven amidst a plot involving suicide bombings on U.S. soil and secret projects to alter human DNA and threats against the president all to arrive at....a rimshot.

I think Ben Kingsley is possibly our greatest actor. That they'd reduce his role to a punchline, when he's capable of so much more, is just a sad, sad waste. He does his job marvelously, he perfectly illustrates what a great actor can do: he wears the Greek masks of tragedy and comedy in two different modes as the threatening figure and the fool behind him. There's no risk of going over the top as The Mandarin because one could argue that's the point. There's no risk of not being taken seriously as Trevor because, most definitely, that's the point. I see Kingsley here in a wonderful performance, effortlessly exercising his talent. He probably had a lot of fun.

Instead of doing something interesting with the character, they do something unexpected. It's not the same thing. They chew him up and they spit him out. When a character no longer becomes a character, but a mere plot device, I feel cheated. When promises of an antagonist that's at least a little different and sort of eccentric and enigmatic is traded for a generic, dull, assembly-line baddy like Killian, I feel immensely let down. Now, really, credit where credit's due, Guy Pearce is an acceptable villain. But would you place him in your top 10 villains ever? Honestly? I don't think you would. But, hey now, not every villain can be the best villain ever, right? Well, for fuck's sake, isn't that the point? Shouldn't they be aiming for that? If this is the final epic Iron Man movie (WINK WINK) shouldn't it end on a really damn great villain? Isn't that something, if they had actually tried, if they had actually put some effort into it and took REAL risks instead of just playing cheap tricks, achieved with The Mandarin?

People keep saying how clever the twist is. Is it really, though? Just because they got away with it without us oh-so-resourceful internet geeks finding out first? People say it's a ballsy move, because it plays against our expectations from what we'd see in a comic book movie. I guess it does, but at what cost, really? I could at least be on board with that if they at least had the conviction to remain committed once they reveal the deceit. But they throw the character away once he serves his purpose and he's tossed aside. Why? Because his only purpose was to serve as the Red Herring, and that's it. Yes, I was surprised. Yes, Ben Kingsely is hilarious, but that's besides the point. What if he were an actual character instead of a plot device? And I don't mean The Mandarin persona, I mean Trevor. What if he actually had some weight one way or another with the plot, what if he were needed? I mean, they find out his secret and that's it? Does Killian not need him anymore? Did I miss some throw-away line of dialogue where Killian scoffs, "so what if you found out? the plan is going perfectly, we're beyond all that now! Muahahahah!" or something like that? Is the kidnapping of the president of the United States and his display in the Iron Patriot suit set up specifically for Tony's viewing pleasure? Like, don't you think with this evil plot of fear-mongering Killian may want to set up a camera or two to show the president in jeopardy? Wouldn't it have been interesting if Trevor were necessary, needed to "perform" once more for that but fell under "performance anxiety" when on camera for the big event, once he knows the danger is all too real? Anyone else find it curious that there isn't a single scene with Killian and Trevor together (aside from a brief cut-away flashback)? Wouldn't it have been interesting to see them actually interact? If the movie had a humanizing moment between these two characters? What if they slowed down the speeding train of a plot for just one moment and had a scene like that? But he's a disposable plot device. The Mandarin is revealed to be an actor though it would have made no difference, other than maybe losing a few good laughs, if he were actually a computer program or a robot.

I don't know. It's just frustrating. We've seen Ben Kingsley in such great roles, like the legendary Gandhi, the urgent and combative nature of an immigrant trying to protect his family in House of Sand and Fog, the foaming-at-the-mouth, unpredictable bulldog of a human being gangster in Sexy Beast. Given the chance he can do anything, and make any character work. They wasted him on what's basically a joke. It's an effective one, I'll give it that. It works on the very principal levels of intended response. But I'm not patting them on the back for this one. I don't think it's especially clever or ballsy. I don't think it amounts to saying much about how we're fed propaganda and how it turned racial stereotyping and expectations of "We automatically see the Middle Eastern Guy as the villain" against us, as if we're supposed to reflect deeply on our own impressions on such a thing when it was the movie itself that set up those very expectations to begin with. And I certainly don't think that this was the only possible way around the character, since the Mandarin is such an outdated character and too much of a racist caricature to be taken seriously, which I've heard echoed over many of the film's defenders. Do people really actually feel that way? Have people read the comics, and was that the impression they were left with after reading? Or was it because that's exactly what Shane Black said in an interview over a year ago? Now let's talk about propaganda.

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Derek237 posted a BLOG item about 1 month ago

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

I don't think Hollywood will ever get over its love for noir. There's something about its attitude and sensibilities that are never lost on audiences: the thrill of a mystery, the sexy dame who can't be fully trusted, absurd twist after twist, and sharp, urgent dialogue. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is something of a masterpiece of modern noir. Compare it to something like Rian Johnson's Brick, whose heart was in the right place but just came off as too experimental, and something was lost in the translation, and sadly just came off as dull. And really, sorry if you like Brick, it's just my opinion, but Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is where it's at. The plot is absolutely ridiculous, as I suppose it should be, but its attitude and execution is pitch-perfect. It's sharp, it's fast, it's always one step ahead, it's snap snap snap oh shit I lost a finger and pissed on a corpse.

Yeah, maybe it's a little too similar to Shane Black's other film Lethal Weapon, so much so that many people feel justified in labeling it as a comedy version of it, which I guess is fair enough, but I guess we can't judge Black too harshly for kind of sort of ripping off...himself.

The strength isn't so much in the general plot itself, which is almost disposable, but in the dialogue and the characters and their reactions to the situations in which they find themselves. Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, and Michelle Monoghan are wonderful here. The back and forths between Downey and Kilmer are priceless, they really are. It's an absolute joy to watch them interact. And let's face it, for a short period of time before Iron Man came out, this was pretty much the go-to movie to bask in the greatness of RDJ.

The narration is an excellent touch, with RDJ's character guiding us through the insanity, spouting non-sequiturs and pop-culture references, and at times will even speak directly to the viewer to see if they're paying attention. It serves as a great tool in presenting the plot as well. If it gets convoluted, he'll gladly be the first to point it out. Because his thoughts are so scattered, it may even be excusable that it isn't told as clearly as it should be. His mind tends to wander and there's some details I'm sure he'd rather not remember.

This is neo noir as it should be. It's progressive. It's not afraid to have bad language and a little nudity, it's something of a bold move creating a gay main character that isn't a stereotype, and it's willing to flaunt its pulp fiction inspiration as a self-referential element of the story, and it's cool with electrocuting a ball or two.

10/10