Tag: Action

Movie Review: Uncharted (2022)

Uncharted Movie Poster -- Main cast staring out into the distance with blue sky, an island, and water as a background.

So, this semester, I’m teaching a movie class (Writing About Film). I’ve developed it around movie genres and for these past two weeks, we’ve been looking at Adaptations. Now, my class is looking at The Last of the Mohicans as there are several different versions of that movie (and the two older versions are free for them through our library’s database). As such, they’ve had the opportunity to investigate adaptions, so I thought I’d also watch an “adapted” film.

Uncharted is a game system that I have followed since its first inception during the beginning of the Playstation 3 era. I remember way back in the 2006/2007 era that Game Informer had done a piece on Naughty Dog’s (the game studio behind the Uncharted franchise) newest work taking advantage of the power of the PS3. I’ve played all the games and enjoyed most of the adventures (the game on the Sony Vita is the only game I never finished). I’ve put countless hours into the game series and franchise. So, I am very much the fan’s fan of the series. So, what did think of the movie.

In a word, meh.

Not My Nathan/Sully

The problem with the movie is that it really isn’t Uncharted. While we’ve discussed in class, the ways in which movies need to change to fit the medium, Uncharted was already a cinematic experience. Really, the only thing needed was to cast actors who fit the characters and craft a strong story that captured the experience of the game while understanding that it would be impossible to replicate the game in movie form. That’s not what happened here, for me. While I generally like both Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg in the roles that they play in other movies, both actors were attempting to play characters who are portrayed in the games as much older than themselves and it just didn’t work for me. Also, they used character traits from other movies/characters that they’ve already appeared in and didn’t disappear into their respective roles. Nathan Fillion was the obvious choice for the role, but any 30 something actor who has good screen presence could have probably done a stronger role for the movie. Sully is similar, as Sully is very “quippy,” but in a good natured sort of way — Wahlberg portrayed Sully in a very “grifter” way — there’s very little of the “father figure” in Wahlberg’s Sully, even though that’s very much evident from Sully and Nate’s interactions/first meeting. We get the feeling in the games that Sully, while definitely NOT a noble character, would probably take a bullet for Nate, if it came to it. There’s NONE of that in the movie — they can’t even trust each other long enough to execute a successful operation to steal a cross (macguffin), let alone being able to trust each other to give their lives for each other. It’s VERY hard to empathize with a grifter character, yet this is EXACTLY what the “Hollywood” execs who made this movie want me to do.

Not My Uncharted Story

Look, I don’t mind story elements being changed or rearranged — if it suits the overall narrative to create something more cohesive for the medium. I thought that Jurassic Part worked even better as a movie than a book because of the laser focus on Grant trying to get the kids through the park as the main plot of the movie versus what I remember to be an extended subplot of Michael Crichton’s book. However, why “Hollywood” denigrates writers so much and refuses to bring in “consultants” from the original writing team on the game (Amy Henning) is beyond me. The story was a hodgepodge of “greatest hits” of the games’ story beats without understanding what made them great and effective.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Even though I’ve mostly ragged on the movie, it’s fine, I guess. It’s competently made and, if you’ve not played the games, you’ll probably think it’s like a hundred other films you’ve already seen in the adventure genre (ALL the Laura Croft/Tombraider movies come to mind). It will likely be 2 stars for those who’ve played the games and enjoyed them in any capacity. This is one of those times where the movie does the Alien 3, Jurassic Park 3, Tombraider: Angel of Darkness, etc. thing of not being true to the characters or the story and expecting audiences to love it anyway because it has the names of the characters and that should be good enough for you. Note to “Hollywood”/”Sony,” yes, you can change things and still be successful (Jaws, Jurassic Park), but those changes must be in service of the story. Just changing them to “update” them, because you have a “hot” star, or because you think the original is too “niche” for “mainstream” audiences isn’t going to work. I know that Sony would rather that I not mention the 2018 Fan film for this franchise, but it bears mentioning: the fans were looking for something that this 2022 film could not deliver, but for 15 minutes, we got something that was at least close. Imagine what the audiences could have gotten if Hollywood could have gotten out of its way (i.e., focused on delivering a movie more in line with the characters, plots, and locations of the games) rather than something that was, essentially, in name only.

Just saying.

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

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Currently Working On (September 2023)

Creative

  • The Runner (2022 Revision) (Fantasy Story–4100 words)
    Status: Out to Publisher, Finalist in the Baen Fantasy Adventure Award contest, Finalist in LeVar Burton Reads Origins & Encounters Writing Contest
  • Science Fiction Story (1st Draft)
    Status: Section 1 of 3 completed
  • Fantasy Graphic Novel Story (1st Draft)
    Status: Prologue Completed

Scholarly 

  • Dissertation Completed
    Status: Published!
  • Unnamed Book Chapter
    Status: Out to Publisher!
  • Blood on the Shield: African American Trauma in Falcon and the Winter Soldier
    Status: Published!

Reacher: Season 1 Review

Alan Ritchson (as Reacher) wearing a black t-shirt with his arms behind his head, staring out at the camera.
Source: https://www.cinemaexpress.com/english/review/2022/feb/09/reacher-season-1-review-instantly-addictive-nostalgia-inducing-actioner-29643.html

Jack Reacher is a character that I know from the 2 movies starring Tom Cruise. While I know of the author of the series, Lee Child, from my days working at the library, I never really got into the series of books featuring Reacher (🤔 the cover design had a lot to do with that, I think–the covers were never all that impressive/expressive and I didn’t have a good idea of what Child’s books were about from the covers alone). However, while the Reacher movies weren’t the greatest, I did like them and thought that they did a good job at portraying the “anti-hero” without being too annoying.

“Tall Guy”

During my early years at MTSU, I went to school with a massive fan of Lee Child. He mentioned how he didn’t really like the Tom Cruise Reacher movies because Reacher was described in the books as a massive guy, very tall and intimidating. This was something that my colleague felt that Cruise’s movies didn’t portray–the intimidation factor of a really tall, really controlled, but really powerful guy who had both the power and skill to do whatever was necessary. So when I saw that Amazon was doing a Reacher show and that they had cast a really tall actor for this role, I was intrigued as it seemed they were really trying to lean into the authenticity of the character.

Season 1

I enjoyed this particular show. I thought that the mystery was fairly well done. While I did foresee one of the twists in the show and correctly guessed one of the twists, I didn’t see other twists that occurred and I felt like the show kept me guessing all the way through as to what the actual mystery was and who were the people involved. Depending on your level of sleuthing abilities, it may be fairly easy to figure out what’s going on, but as a person who doesn’t normally watch/read mysteries, except as a sidelight to my normal genres of Science Fiction/Fantasy, I thought that it was a pretty fun show. It is also a show with a fair amount of action. Reacher has no problem getting into fights (physical or gun fights) and his no-nonsense style leads to a lot of conflict and action. While there is a fair amount of dialogue in the show (and most of it reveals character rather than plot–although, being a mystery–there is a fair amount of exposition), the show never feels dialogue heavy and/or preachy. The dialogue is there to either reveal character or to move the story along. Violence is pretty high in the show, but not overpowering, and there is (what I feel) a gratuitous shower scene that could have been cut a little earlier as we clearly understand what happened, but otherwise, I thought the show did a fairly good job of handling the mature content.

Character, Character, Character

The show really rests on its main characters: Reacher, Roscoe, and Finlay. The supporting cast is good as well, but the show really works (for me) because of the interaction of these three wildly different characters. Each character, on their own, could probably carry a show, but together, they create a compelling dynamic and you want them together just to see how they are going to interact with each other. I think the show will “live or die” for you, the watcher, based on how much you like/dislike these characters.

Overall Rating: A- (90)

Rating: 5 out of 5.

While not a perfect show for me, it really worked because of the interaction with the 3 main characters, the good supporting cast, and the (mostly) on point dialogue. The mystery, while fun, was just a little too pedestrian and too easy to guess (at least on one of the twists). Still, for this show, you might be “hooked” by the mystery of what’s going on, but in the end, it’s the characters and action that will ultimately keep you invested in the episodes. I’m looking forward to the upcoming Season 2.

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Currently Working On (April 2022):

  • The Runner (Fantasy Story–4000 words)
    2022 Revision; Out to Market.
  • Unhallowed (Weird Western Story–4100 words)
    2022 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.
  • The Independent (Science Fiction Story–4800 words)
    2021 Revision: ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION (Mythic Magazine)

Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 Review

Falcon and the Winter Soldier TV Show Poster with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier against a gray background.
Image Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9208876/

So, I’m going back in time and review the two Marvel shows that premiered earlier this year and that I watched. While WandaVision premiered first, Falcon and the Winter Soldier is the one that I most recently watched and is the fresher of the two in my memory, so I’m going to review it first. I’m going to try to avoid major spoilers, but be aware that it is almost impossible to create a review of these Marvel TV shows without getting into some details (unlike a movie, these shows have quite a bit of plot that happens, so it is much harder for me to talk about generalities here than it is for my movie reviews. However, I will try to keep everything as spoiler-free as possible.

One thing I’d like to note: Disney has said that these will not be required to understand upcoming Marvel movies. While I mostly agree with that assessment, I’d also note that these series are almost like the Post-Credit scenes that Marvel has made famous with its movies–while not required, per se, if you are at all a “passing” Marvel fan or higher, then I’d suggest watching these at some point before the new movies arise. At the time of writing, Disney+ allows for up to 4 active streams on one account, so if you have a friend, roommate, family member, etc., I’d highly suggest communicating with them to see if you can use their account for a limited time (perhaps making your own profile so as not to mess up their shows/viewing recommendations), just to view these shows.

Sequel to Avengers Endgame: The Cap Storyline

Falcon and the Winter Soldier (F&WS) is a continuation of the Captain America storyline from Avengers: Endgame. I won’t be specific here in case anyone reading hasn’t watched Endgame (both parts) yet (what are you doing? Go watch it NOW as it is one of the most relevant “Popular Culture” events in recent memory). However, this show acts as a sequel to that storyline and presumably sets up what will be an upcoming storyline at some point in the future movies.

This show is an Action show. As I understand it, this show was supposed to debut first, but the Pandemic got in the way. You can tell it from the action sequences as the budget is high and the action is intense. While not as consistently inventive in terms of set pieces as a movie might have been, the action is still the high quality and is at least on par with a lot of action shoes, and actually goes beyond what many other action shoes can do because of their budget and their mythos. This show has a least one or two very good sequences in it every episode.

They “Went” There

The show actually does try to inject some fairly realistic discussions about race into a superhero action drama, just as Lethal Weapon 2 made a fairly incisive comments about South Africa and its (former) system of apartheid. They actually discuss the legacy of the Shield as relates to a symbol of America and the way that America’s ideals have not always fairly represented All of its Citizens. The show doesn’t belabor the point, but there are definitely scenes that bring this to fore in order to try to get viewers to see the hypocrisy behind some of America’s grander ideals and statements, especially in regards to the notion of racial equity and systemic structures/institutions that value certain groups over others.

This show actually “goes there” and asks you to think about it–and for people who only want to believe that system is perfect, then this may not be the show for you. For those who are willing to engage with complex ideas where people aren’t always right even as they struggle to be “good,” then this might be up your alley. It asks the audience take a different point of view than one might normally be accustomed to and view the central problem–“who is worthy of the Shield”–through the ideas of some is actually worthy versus someone who looks like they are worthy. It is an embodiment of Erskine’s ideas from Captain America The First Avenger that a hero is one with a good “heart,” not an impressive military background or the “traditional” American look.

And yes, I know there are a fair amount of haters online — which I’ll address at a later date. However, to those haters I would say this: Tom Cruise is a fine actor (& who I love in the Mission Impossible franchise), but even he can’t be (& shouldn’t be) the “hero” of every movie (as his portrayal in Mummy can attest). Neither should any one race, nationality, culture, etc. always be the “star” of every media property. To those haters out there who might stumble across this blog entry, I humbly submit that the problem isn’t with the show, but with you.

The Shield

Captain America’s Shield is a complex tool. It represents many things to many people, both in the fictional Marvel world and outside, in the real world. There are too many things to list here, but one of the most important images is that it symbolizes the American “Ideal” as imagined by the Constitution, where we are the “best part of ourselves” able to freely choose and determine ones actions and the ability to do the “right” thing as opposed to the “expedient” thing. Without spoilers, this was exactly the argument articulated in Captain America Civil War.

However, as with anything that has to with people, who are by nature, fallible, we see that the “promise” doesn’t always match up with the actuality. Parts of America, even with its Constitution and high-mindedness, once owned slaves. In World War 2, America asked its African American soldiers to fight for “their” country and then when the war was won and over, stuffed them right back into the “Jim Crow” segregation and discrimination of the era.

The Shield, while intending to represent the best of us, can actually represent the worst of us as well. There is an episode that deals with this iconography and really puts into context how a symbol can function and change the way a country, an ideology, or a belief is seen across the world with one stark image. This episode changes the entire story and really lets you see that the creators really want you, the audience, to think about the power of a symbol, in general, and the Shield, in particular.

Overall Rating: A (100)

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This series is something that I think Marvel should make sure to build upon in the future. While I don’t want to see a homogenized Marvel TV show (as I like the way WandaVision came together and I suspect that I’ll like Loki), but I really like the way Falcon and the Winter Soldier takes a “real world” approach to its story and that it doesn’t shy away from a “hard” topic, even though there are a small segment of vocal people who can’t seem to stand anyone else who doesn’t “look” like they do being the hero of a mainstream property. However, this isn’t just a cultural oddity, but is a major storyline in the MCU and while not required to know what’s going on in the movies (as Disney has stated), you’re doing yourself a real disservice if you haven’t watched it yet and you’re a Marvel fan. It was the highlight of my week when it was on!

Great work to the creators for this show!

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Currently Working On (May 2021):

  • Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
    2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market
  • Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
    2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.
  • The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
    2021 Revision: In Progress
  • To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
    Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Currently Working On (May 2021):

  • Unhallowed (Weird Western Story)
    2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market
  • Starlight, Starbright (Science Fiction Story)
    2021 Revision: Completed; Out to Market.
  • The Independent (Science Fiction Story)
    2021 Revision: In Progress
  • To Dance the Sea of Storms (Fantasy Story)
    Prewrite: Completed, Plan & Outline: Completed, Write a first draft: Completed, Revision: In Progress

Weird West Story Project Arizona = Unhallowed

Female Gunslinger in wide-brimmed hat and long flowing duster with a gun in a holster and knives on her belt looking out towards the audience with a orange sky and yellow sun at her back.
Image Source: https://www.wattpad.com/296700758-fantasy-sub-genre-guide-weird-west

On Monday, June 29th, I finished the first draft of Project Arizona. I’m sure it needs a lot of work, but I like the way it turned out (except for the end, but I’ll talk more about that later in the post). It’s official title is Unhallowed, and it is a Weird West story (a fantasy story with magic and the like mixed with tropes from the Old West — American West). The main character’s name is Arizona and she is an African American woman who becomes a “gunslinger” (one who is Hallowed) in the parlance of the world to fight the evil of the Unhallowed.

Why This Story and Why Now?

Much of the theme around this story has to do with the idea of Justice vs Vengeance. Justice means literally means “just behavior or treatment” and/or the “impartial adjudication of laws” (google it to fact-check me). Vengeance means “punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong” (again, fact-check me). As we have visual evidence from the past two months (May and June 2020), the American Justice System says that it stands for justice, but what many people involved with it actually try to dispense is vengeance. Now, people may see this as political, but I recognized this much earlier based on the way in which America has conducted its wars in the 20th and 21st centuries (remember, I minored in History). I noticed a discrepancy in which the way America articulates its values and the ways those values actually get realized when we go to war–in my mind, they are two different things, and I wrote this story to explore that idea. The fact that there were multiple high profile cases of social injustice as I was writing this story, just galvanized my desire and need to write it. America (and Americans) say one thing, but do another, and to me, that’s a problem that I’ve been seeing for a while now and major failing that we need to solve.

Why a Weird West Story?

Well, let’s not overlook the fact that Weird West stories are cool 🙂

Also, on a more serious note, Weird West stories are enjoying a moment. As noted in an older blog, the Western as a genre is pretty much dead (for now, especially in movies and TV), but with rise in popularity of the Red Dead Redemption video games by Rockstar, the Western is actually seeing a bit of a resurgence. As such, more inventive stories in the Old West/Wild West are seeing a spike in interest. I think there are at least 3 different Wild West/Weird West games in development (and one of them is actually called Weird West). Not to mention there is at least one RPG that is devoted to the setting (Deadlands). I think that if there is a resurgence in popularity for the Old West/Wild West, it will come from the Weird West genre.

Also, Weird West stories don’t always have to involve Fantasy and Magic. They can be Science Fiction stories as well. Cowboys and Aliens was attempt at such a fusion that didn’t quite work–the title, in typical Hollywood misguided fashion gives an indication why. Still, as one can see, the fusion of different genres can, if done right, infuse the Old West/Wild West with some much needed originality in the storytelling and setting (which is what I hope to accomplish with Unhallowed).

What’s Next For Unhallowed?

I’m working on the 1st Draft for another project now. When I finish it, I will return to Unhallowed for the 2nd Draft. I think I did well on the character, but I want to add in more sensory details, more setting, and fix the ending.

The ending was supposed to feature an elaborate fight scene and “will she/won’t she” choice. The fight scene was massively cut down and the choice was effectively taken from the main character by a discussion in an earlier scene–if she does it, then she loses all support from her team. These are two places that I most definitely need to revisit as they rob the ending of much of the suspense that I envisioned for the end of the story.

Hopefully, during my second pass, I can make the ending as suspenseful as I envisioned it being in my mind’s eye when I had the original idea and wrote out the Rough Draft for the story. But at least it is finished (and done within a month and not the 2+ years that I normally do things, so hurray for small victories!

Have a great day!

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Currently Working On (7/2020):

  • “Project Wall” (Science Fiction Story)
    Drafting: First Draft
  • “Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
    Up Next: 2nd Draft (Working Draft)
  • Childe Roland Graphic Novel 
    Up Next: Rough Draft (Story)

New Pulp Sub-Genre

Four diverse book covers, each showcasing a different type of New Pulp hero: A Detective and fantasy cover are display prominently
Image Source: https://thepulp.net/the-hunt/new-pulp/

I just submitted an entry to a new directory that will be coming out that lists creators (writers, artists, editors, reviews, and publishers) of New Pulp stories. I didn’t really know that I was one until I published in Storyhack, but after researching more into this fairly new sub-genre, I think that many of my stories have, at least at their core, a New Pulp aesthetic that I may try to emphasize more.

So, What is New Pulp?

Great question that–to be honest, I had to do some digging on the web to really figure it out myself. I guess the easiest way to define it would be to give you a definition of “Old” Pulp and then tell how “New” Pulp is different.

Basically, these are the stories from the 1930s – 1950s that you hear so much about. These are sci-fi and adventure stories that cared far more for the flavor and zest of the story than actual realism or verisimilitude. These are the stories in which rocket-ships have fins, aliens live on Mars without vacuum suits, and hidden civilizations hide under the earth or in deep forests. Pulp was no so much interested in the “real world” effects of science, so long as the authors could use their imaginations and create stories that illustrated conflict.

New Pulp are stories that take the same action and adventure element, but which do not necessarily throw away realism or verisimilitude to achieve that adventure aesthetic. These are stories that have the adventure/action element at their core. Essentially, this is the “Action Movie” genre for fiction.

This is What I Like To Read

One of the reasons that I’m not as invested in Sci-Fi and Fantasy (in fiction) as much as I used to be is that the concept of a “hero” has pretty been dumped and the new concept is either “morally ambiguous” (aka “gray” characters) which basically just means the protagonist is either a “badass” that does things for his/her own self-interest (Pitch Black) or “mean people doing mean things to each other (Game of Thrones) or the idea of “literary” sci-fi (which is “character-driven”) which means little-to-no action. It’s all about the dialogue and the internal conflict.

I love characters and characterization, but I love characters doing something meaningful. That’s the type of fiction I like to read and write: characters who are engaged in an action or problem and seeing how that character will succeed or fail based on his/her personality traits or flaws. What happens when you’re an “ace” pilot, but the ship you’re piloting is a piece of junk? How do you survive on an alien world with just an umbrella when it’s raining lava, but you’ve seen Fred Astaire’s Singing in the Rain since you were two years old and know it by heart? New Pulp (or at least what I understand it to be) comes closest to this, and while I won’t always be writing/publishing in the New Pulp sub-genre, I can tell you that the aesthetic will always be there–I want my stories to be fun, adventurous, and exciting, which are (as I understand it) the very hallmarks of the New Pulp sub-genre.

Now, when I write, am I thinking about writing a “New Pulp” story? No, I’m thinking about writing a Science Fiction story or a Fantasy story, but I do so with a lot of action, and knowing about the New Pulp sub-genre gives me more places and opportunities to market my work. Hopefully, there will be fewer rejections than from tradition/literary markets who (by and large) don’t give a flip about the things that I like about the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres, rich characterization AND really cool plot/action.

How Can I Find Out More About New Pulp?

Well here are a couple of websites that can help you out:

https://thepulp.net/the-hunt/new-pulp/

https://www.writermag.com/get-published/the-publishing-industry/pulp-fiction/

Also, here is a good publisher of Pulp/New Pulp (and full disclosure: the place where I sent my entry to be included in a directory of New Pulp creators that I mentioned in my introduction.)

Airship 27: http://www.airship27.com/

Well, that’s all I have time for today. Sorry this post is late, but between work and watching the Playstation 5 Reveal event, I’m behind in getting this one out. See you the next blog post.

Sidney

Please consider supporting these fine small press publishers where my work has appeared:

Currently Working On (6/2020):

  • The Independent  (Sci-Fi Short-Story)–
    Editing: Revision 1
  • “Project Arizona” (Weird Western Story)
    Drafting: First Draft
  • Ship of Shadows Graphic Novel 
    Finished: Script, Issue #1
    Next: Script, Issue #2

Storytelling the Expanse Way

Cast of The Expanse in futuristic space suits against a dark futuristic interior
Image Source: https://www.space.com/the-expanse-season-4-and-5-on-amazon.html

I have to admit this upfront: I originally didn’t like The Expanse. There, I said it. This isn’t news to long-time blog readers as I made no secret about how much I disliked the first season of the show. I “peaced out” after the first episode of the 2nd season. However, last January, when my car died and I was stuck in the apartment for the whole weekend (heh, a pandemic and quarantine gives a whole new meaning to being “stuck”), I watched the entire series of the show in a weekend and I was amazed that I dismissed it so thoroughly as it was really good.

I’ve watched it quite often since, trying to figure out how I could have gotten it so wrong. I think I understand what The Expanse does that makes it so compelling, but why it initially turned me off.

History First

So, I believe that Tolkien would have loved this particular series as well. What the creators of the show (and I assume the book) do very well is focus on the history and then set the characters loose with events. History is paramount to the series and most of the first season sets up the interplay between Mars, Earth, and the Belt. Then (no spoilers), they throw a wrinkle in the midst and then go from there. Tolkien was a huge advocate for setting up the history of a place–that’s why Middle Earth feels like a lived in world. As I’m reading The Lord of the Rings again, I notice how Tolkien is discussing people, events, and places that aren’t really relevant to the story at hand, but give much more context for what is happening and why it is happening.

Mystery Second

The second thing that the creators do is that they present story arcs in the form of mini-mysteries. Yes, that’s right, much of the “binge-watchability” (like the new formation of the word I created there?) of the show comes from the fact that they show you (Colombo-style) what happens at the end of the arc in the very beginning of the arc and then slowly the narrative unfolds until you have all the pieces. Once you reach the end, you see how that piece that they gave you at the very beginning then fits into the larger story. Colombo did this very well, but it gave away the entire ending as you knew who the murderer was and then it was just watching Colombo put together the lies, half-truths, and mistakes of the criminal and watching their ever increasing desperation as the detective got ever closer to the truth. In The Expanse, it is more like a puzzle, in which they give you a “glimpse” of a puzzle filled in and then before you can make complete sense of what you’re seeing, they scatter ALL the pieces and begin reforming the puzzle again. You still have your “clue,” but it isn’t relevant for 4-5 episodes until you have enough of the overall puzzle filled in again to start making connections to what you saw at the beginning.

Warm Up/Cool Down Third

And finally, well not finally, but it is the last one I want to talk about today, they do this interesting technique that I’ve not seen in other long form narrative shows (shows whose episodes follow a story arc and aren’t “episodic” in nature) in that it follows (for the most part) this scenerio: Warm-up episode, 1-3 action focused episodes, Cool down episode. Now, there are exceptions to this, but having watched the series well over 10 times now (and individual episodes to coincide with various reactors–I’m following 5 Expanse reactors at the moment), there is a pattern that you can see developing in those episodes. The Warm-up episode usually establishes some strange situation or occurrence or sets up a problem that needs to be solved/resolved. The Action episodes are usually ones that are “cooking” episodes where the action is happening and everything comes to a “boiling point” (which is usually some unexpected revelation–either plot or character, rarely both at the same time, but it has happened). The Cool-down episode is usually character focused and spends time relating how the characters have been changed or how they are relating to the new status quo.

The cycle usually repeats (although in Seasons 1 & 4, this is elongated and it makes it seem slow at times.) Season 2 and 3 are so hyper-focused on this pattern that it makes the show so intense.

To Watch The Expanse You Have to Embrace the Mystery

Although The Expanse is a science fiction show that features combat, space ship scenes, and a realistic depiction of a science fiction world, one must embrace the mystery genre in order to truly appreciate it. It isn’t so much a “puzzlebox” that is the hot buzzword term in the film industry right now as it is a throwback to a genre that has fallen out of favor. This show leans heavily on the mystery of what has happened/is happening in order to drive its narrative. By showing you a piece of the “endgame” and then going back and filling in those pieces one plot point and character moment at a time, it is inviting you to help construct the narrative along with it and entices you to come along with it to “enjoy the ride.”

Sidney

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Mini-Movie Review: Extraction (Netflix)

A picture of a bearded Chris Hemsworth in military gear looking to the right off-screen against a yellowish background of an Indian cityscape with the words" Netflix Extraction Official Trailer"
Image Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6P3nI6VnlY

This past weekend I watched a movie produced by Netflix. While not my first Netflix movie, I generally pass them up in favor of seeing “studio” produced movies as I’m trying to catch up on movies that I’ve missed theatrically. As an individual, I’ve seen a lot of movies; however, as a film student, I feel that I don’t have the same repertoire as some of my colleagues (one of my friends at school who is also a film student and working on his dissertation watches a movie a day on his phone! I sometimes struggle to keep up with the movie a week paradigm that I’ve set for myself.) This movie was written by Joe Russo (Avengers Infinity War/Endgame) and stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor & Avengers movies). So, did I like it–yes, I did, for the most part.

“The Protector”

This story is very much in the style of films made famous by Keanu Reeves in the John Wick movies. However, there is a difference, story-wise. While those are about “revenge” in some way, this film owes much more to films like Liam Neesom’s Taken movies (which I’ve not seen) and the BMW short film The Escape (which I have seen) in that there is more an element of protection than revenge. While different in tone, the plot actually functions a lot like other movies in the action genre–I’m specifically thinking of 16 Blocks, Special Forces, and Mile 22 (all of which I’ve seen–see, I do have a pretty good film knowledge base to draw on 😉 for my analysis). Chris Hemsworth’s character is tasked with “extracting” a target from a rival faction. I won’t go into the specific plot elements–but suffice to say, if you’ve seen any of those movies, then you’ll have a pretty good idea of the story progression. While not always the most original of ideas or execution, it was still an enjoyable and had enough novel elements to set it above many others in its genre.

“Gun-Fu”

Your enjoyment of the movie will depend largely on your tolerance for “gun-fu,” which is the combination of gun-play, martial arts, and ultra close-in gun-play in which the shooting all happens at extremely close ranges–sometimes right up in a character’s face (literally). This type of fighting and choreagraphy was made famous by John Wick. If you hate that style of action/combat, then chances are good you’re going to hate this movie.

There are also other set pieces in here besides the Gun-Fu that are really well done. There is a car chase scene that is really complex and visually interesting (check out the camera placement during the chase). This scene is NOT shot like traditional Hollywood action set-pieces and (for me) that really made it come alive. Is it the BEST chase scene I’ve ever seen? No, some of the Bourne/Bond movies hold that distinction, but check out the way this movie is shot vs those and you’ll immediately see a difference. Also, the ending sequence has to be mentioned–tense and climatic, I really think it rivals some of the best moments of other “protector” like films referenced above.

What I Didn’t Like

Okay, this isn’t a perfect movie. The story, some are going to argue, is fairly predictable. While you can’t see all of the “turns” coming, you can probably spot most of them.

Going beyond the story though, the sound mixing on this one was rough. The dialogue, in some parts was mixed too low to hear without me having to turn up my system, but then when the action got going, I would have to turn down the system as the gunshots rang out to loud and I didn’t want to disturb the neighbors. I personally couldn’t find a perfect setting–the dialogue always seemed too low and the action always seemed too loud.

Lastly, there’s a lot of violence happening in this story. I know its “Gun-Fu,” but the amount of people being shot in the head, especially, is high. People lose digits, are stabbed in multiple places/ways, and in one case, I kid (ostensibly a drug runner) is thrown off a roof. If violence makes you squeamish at all, this movie may not be for you. Most of it is justified by the story, but you can tell there was a little one upmanship happening here with other films in the genre.

Overall Grade: B

While definitely not a novel story or characterization, there were enough new elements (stunts and set-pieces) and enough articulation of the overall theme, that I didn’t find it tedious or a retread of something I’d already seen. Also, while the violence was a bit over-the-top for me and took me out of the story sometimes, I thought that the actual “action” of the story delivered for me what I was looking for in an action movie. It was fun, but had a heart, and wasn’t a pessimistic, dark, gritty drama that so many films in the genre try to be.

Sidney

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Mini-Review: Alita: Battle Angel

Picture of a Cyborg girl with human head and metallic body and arms holding a metallic sword staring out at the viewer.
Image Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437086/

So, I started this awhile back, but I’m just now getting a chance to write this post in full. Still, I wanted to get my thoughts down about this movie as it was one that I really wanted to watch and finally got it for Christmas. I thought it was a good movie–there are some concerns about it that I think kinda’ bring it down a bit, but I think that it was a fun movie. Oh, I should note that I know of the source material, Battle Angel Alita, but I’ve never read the associated manga that this movie is based on, so this is just going to focus on the movie.

Great Action

One of the things that I like about this movie is the great action scenes that are in the movie. This isn’t an “explosion”-heavy movie (so my mother probably wouldn’t care for it), but there is quite a bit of martial arts inspired action. Quite a bit of it is inventive in terms of manipulating Alita’s cyborg body in unique and fun ways while in combat, but as martial arts fan, I like the emphasis on combat and action. I also like the juxtaposition of Alita (in her “normal” girl cyborg body) able to take on the many “rogues” gallery of cyborgs in the movie (you see a couple of them in he trailer).

Exposition Through Dialogue

So, there are a couple of problems. I guess because I’m so busy trying to be conscious of characterization, I noticed this problem where I normally wouldn’t have–but in this case, the movie does do a lot of this. Now, this is fairly standard, especially since Alita is a newcomer to the world, so we learn about the world through her eyes and through characters explaining things to her, but in doing so, there is quite a bit of exposition about how the world works given in the dialogue and it feels a bit clunky.

Ambivalence

I am a bit ambivalent about this movie. Much of this ambivalence comes from fact that it is basically a “Disney Princess movie with Battle Armor.” Surprisingly, it has quite a few Disney-like motifs, especially for the idea “romance.” Actually, romance is too narrow. Alita does do everything for the “boy” she’s interested in and she falls in love with the 1st boy she meets (again, Disney tropes for Disney Princesses). However, she also needs her father, especially at the beginning of the story. There is even an “evil stepmother” role. There’s probably more, but I stopped there once I saw the parallels between this movie and the Disney “formula.”

Grade: B

So I liked this quite a bit, despite its flaws. I can forgive a lot of things as long as the movie isn’t pretentious and has enough action (explosions or martial arts) and really tries to nail the story, even if there are elements that don’t quite hit as much as I might like them to. Good movie–if there ever is a sequel, I’d love for Alita be able to stand on her own as a character and not have to depend on males in the same Disney tropes that have been a part of movies since Snow White.

Sidney

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Unlocked: Mini-Movie Review

So its been a while since I’ve written a blog, but I’ve still been progressing on many fronts. A couple of weeks of go I was in the mood for a spy action film. I’d seen this trailer, but I didn’t actually go to see Unlocked. When I saw that it was on streaming, I immediately put it on my list to see. I watched it a couple of weekends ago and thought that it was good. Not horrible and not great, but good.

The Action is What Makes This Movie

So, it is the action and action sequences that really make this movie. I really like the action sequences (reminiscent of the Bodyguard BBC TV show that I didn’t really care for except for the action sequences). There’s a lot of hand-to-hand combat, gunplay, and spycraft that makes up this movie. Even in the action sequences, one can still see the characters and the interplay between the characters and that is also very good.

The Script Really Lets the Movie Down

So, it is the script that really hampers the movie, particularly the plot. Good characters and good action, weighed down by seeming reversals that can be seen a mile away. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the events play out EXACTLY as one expects they will. This is one of those times where film critics (which I have a love/hate relationship with) are right: being derivative really hurt this film. The film makes (or wants to make) a statement about terrorism and peace and warmonger/warprofiteering, but wants to have everything fall into place in such a way as to “hide” the identity of the ultimate bad guy, but (slight spoiler here, so skip two paragraphs if you don’t want ANY spoilers):

. . . if you’ve seen The Fugitive, then you know exactly what’s going to happen. Same essential structure. And that’s just for starters. I can’t recall their names, but I can think of two more movies (oh, just remembered one: Broken Arrow) that do much the same as this one does.

Overall Rating: B

So this is probably overly generous (it should probably be a B-/C+), but I found the lead character played by Noomi Rapace and the male character played by Orlando Bloom to be a strong presence. I also liked many of the other actors (& their characters) in the movie and thought that the set-up to the movie was the strongest I’d seen in a while and with the action it seemed poised to be a good one, but ultimately, the derivative script let it down and I didn’t like the last 2/3rds of the movie nearly as much as I did the first 1/3rd.

Anyway, I hope that everyone’s week is an awesome one!

Sidney

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Hunter-Killer: Mini Movie Review

Submarine broaching the ice with Captain and Defense Secretary (US) in the background with (movie) explosions all around.
Image Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1846589/mediaindex

In my quest to see a movie every weekend of the year, I watched a movie that got a really poor Rotten Tomato score, but it was an action movie that Apple was renting for .99 and it was one that I had a moderate amount of interest about seeing, so I went ahead and took a chance on it. The movie was called Hunter-Killer and is about a “rookie” US submarine captain who is ordered to investigate the disappearance of another US sub. From there, political and military intrigue ensues — making it necessary to use a combination of stealth and force to save the day. I put “rookie” submarine captain in quotes becaude even though this is technically the captain’s first command, he is a career Navy-man and his knowledge of sea-craft and war-craft is preternaturally good, so much so that it almost strains credibility at times.

36%? It’s Better Than That!

So, understanding that reviews are subjective, this movie is better than its 36% (at time of writing this blog post) on Rotten Tomatoes suggests. The (current) Audience score of 71% would bear out my argument. Is this a phenomenal movie? No, it isn’t. There are places in the movie that strain credibility. The captain of the US boat is prescient to a fault. The performances of some of the “Russian” characters veer into caricatures (and we won’t even talk about their accents), and there aren’t enough female characters–maybe this reflects real life American subs, but the movie ignores reality when it wants to, so why not here as well. However, even with these faults, the movie does action pretty well and submarine-based tension very well. It gives us a fair amount of action the entire way through. Without spoilers, the screenwriter gives us both submarine action and ground-based combat (in about a 50/50 ratio), so it isn’t the true submarine drama that the title makes it out to be, but that is okay. It tries (but doesn’t always succeed) to be a “love letter” to the crews on submarines while still retaining its Action Movie heritage. However, there are TV shows with submarines (I’m thinking of Sub-Rosa–I think?–from NCIS–the one with Kate and Gibbs on the submarine) that do it better–even with a lesser budget.

The Not-So-Perfect Movie with the Perfect Title

I think that the movie’s title does a lot to hurt it. Hunter-Killer implies a sub-hunt movie with sub’s hunting subs and a game of underwater, tactical chess, and that’s just not what this movie is at its heart. It wants to do submarine combat, but it also wants to be a tactical squad based action drama like Special Forces & Lone Survivor. I feel that if you like those movies along with The Hunt for Red October (which I did), then your enjoyment of the movie will be much higher.

Overall Rating: C+

I would have given this, in grading terms, a 78 or 79. It tries earnestly and (in terms of enjoyment) it mostly succeeds. If not for some troublesome elements all the way through: prescient captain, annoying first officer, caricature of the Russians, too few (& underdeveloped) female roles, and a title that implies the movie would be different from what it actually turned out to be, I thought that the movie still delivered enough action, thrills, and tension to be an enjoyable experience.

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