Asterix at the Movies...

I just saw "Asterix in Britain," the latest adaptation f the Asterix graphic novels fro Europ by Gosciny and Uderzo.

It was fucking brilliant.

The problem with many "satires," "parodies," and "pastiches" in recent years is hat they seem to work on the assumption that merely mentioning, evoking, or referencing a popular movie, TV show, commercial or "meme" is enough to et a lough, as if that was comedy. That is not the case. you have to use it in a way that says something about the subject that you are parodying, and you get bonus points for saying something about what you are referencing as well.

It also helps if the actors are talented, the story is moving, the script is well-written, and the editing is paced properly for the material.

Comedy has rules. A running joke is used three times, and the third time goes wrong. Characters reveal their true natures under stress. Hang a lampshade on an obvious plot device. Someone getting thrown out a window is funny. Cultural differences are funny. Important people being taken of their high horse is funny. People from different walks of life falling in love is funny. British people are funny. A bit with a dog, and love conquers all.

"Asterix" used all these rules, and used them well. It also referenced everything from James bond to "Pirates of the Caribbean" to "Shrek" to "300" to "Downfall" and did it well. My GF could barely contain herself in several scenes, and had never seen an Asterix comic in her life.

The film is a worthy companion to the recent "Adventures of Tintin" in to category of "recent adaptations of classic popular cult European graphic novel series that never quite hit the mainstream in the US but are really, really good," and is flat-out one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.

For those of you who need more: The story is loosely based on the graphic novels "Asterix in Britain" and "Asterix and the Normans." It follows the adventures of Asterix, a Gaulish warrior in the time of Julius Caesar, and his friend Obelix as they go to Britain to help fight the Romans. They decide to bring a nephew with whom they are charged with turning into a man, but who would prefer to be a bard and spends all his time wooing maidens and singing…badly. They are also charged to bring a magic potion which gives great strength to the Britons, and in the course of the adventure the barrel is lost. They happen to run into a allow from India time and again. Asterix and Obelix have a falling out. A lampshade is hung on an obvious plot device. British people are funny. People are thrown out of windows. Cultural differences occur. People are thrown out of windows. People from different walks of life fall in love. There is a bit with a dog, and love conquers all.

See this movie. Now.

Here is it on Amazon.com...

Here are some other movies in the seres...

RIP: Harvey Pekar

RIP: Harvey Pekar

There's not much I can say that has not been said by others. His work proved that an ordinary life can be incredibly complex and quite fascinating. He cut through the bull and said exactly what he wanted to say. His honesty and truthfulness will be missed.

I had always been vaguely aware of comic book "American Splendor," but was more into superheroes and science fiction , so I never really looked into it. My mom saw the movie and insisted that I see, but I never made it to the theater while it was out. I finally saw the film when it was shown in the public library at Glens Falls, NY.

As a movie, I found it very original and unique. It was refreshing in it's honesty in showing the "unglam" life of the subject, and even admitting that actors were better looking that the real people.

So here's to the man who made uncommon use of the common life, and expanded the possibilities of the comics form.

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/cleveland_comic-book_legend_ha.html

Kick-Ass kicks ass!

On Monday night I was fortunate enough to have obtained a pass to the advance premiere of “Kick-Ass,” the new movie based on the comic book written by Mark Millar and drawn by John Romita, Jr. Of all the movies I wish I had seen before making my latest movie, this is the one that fit’s the category best.

The story is a Campbellian hero’s journey that takes the concept of “what if a real person tried to be a superhero” to the dirtiest, most violent, foul-mouthed, and glorious degree.

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, it goes sorta like this: A high school student comic book geek wonders why no one has ever really tried to be a superhero. Of course this kid and his friends are regularly pushed around and ignored by girls, and muggers don’t even have to threaten them with violence. One day he buys a scuba suit and tries to be a superhero. It doesn’t work out, but he doesn’t give up. His example inspires others, and he winds up in a deadly, violent confrontation with an organized crime boss. People die, and he finds the hero within himself and becomes a man.

“Comic book movies,” that is, movies based on comic books or comic book characters, come in two varieties these days. There are those that are based on a character, usually with a long publishing history, and try to build a movie around the concept (with varying degrees of seriousness and success), ie: Superman, Bat Man, Spider-Man, etc. Then there are those that are based on specific comic book stories or graphic novels; A History of Violence, Sin City, Watchmen, Etc. Those of the latter kind seem to have a higher rate of success, both as movies and as adaptations, and this movie, fortunately, fits that pattern.

The casting of the movie is excellent; combining perfect talent (Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz) and some inspired “gimmick casting” (Nicholas Cage, Christoher Mintz-Plasse). As the hero, Johnson’s face echoes Toby Maguire’s “gee, something good actually happened to me” cockeyed half-smile, combining cultural reference with endearing honesty. Cage, as the ultimate badass superhero, does some of his best work as a mild-mannered father, and hits all the right notes imitating the delivery of a noted 1960’s TV actor. Mintz-Plasse brings a surprising darkness to a role that seems like a development of his character in “Role Models.”

There are differences between the movie and the book. Some of them are simply matters of the necessary structural difference between a movie and an 8-issue comic series. As Mark Millar stated in the Q&A after the screening, the miniseries was an eight-act structure, while a movie has a three-act structure. Some of the differences, though, were blatantly involving the difference between what you can do in a comic book and what you need to do to sell a movie. Millar pointed out that one change (and a very drastic one, I thought) was instituted because they simply needed to have some sex in the movie.

Another change was a bit more of a trade-off than a pander to the masses. There is a moment in the comic book where the hero makes a moment of immense personal sacrifice, paying off a setup from very early in the story and showing the character take control of a situation unlike he had ever done before in his life. That scene was eliminated in the movie, allowing for a touching moment between a father and daughter. This gave more of the movie to another character, and made it less about the titular hero. The hero did get to have his hero moment later, but it was not as strong and significant as the one in the book.

The audience, packed with fans of comics in general and the original comic in particular, ate this movie up with a spoon. They cheered and laughed at all the right moments. I happened to be sitting between two women who were not fans, and they seemed a little shocked at some of the violence, though at they end they admitted it was a good movie. I agree that the gun violence does get a little gratuitous at times, but this is not a movie for the weak of heart. Life and death can be an ugly, unforgiving business, and by not skimping on the blood and violence, they show how far you have to go if you really want to be a hero.

And that’s what heroism is about. It’s about taking your lumps for something you believe in. The hero, Kick-Ass, believes in fighting for decency, protecting the weak, saving lives, and helping people. Even in the face of death, he keeps true to his beliefs, and takes his lumps.

In my movie, “Redemption,” the main character proves that he is willing to take his lumps to be the best that he can be. This movie is the grittiest, gutsiest, most literal expression of that I have ever seen.

Avatar review: I am a happier man because of this movie

On Saturday night I went and saw Avatar, and I am glad I did.

Even though the movie is basically “The Last Samurai” and "Donnie Brasco" on another planet, there is enough visual spectacularism that I got a thrill watching it.

Also, and more importantly, the execution of the idea (a man who has lost something finds himself in the camp of the enemy, where he is adopted by the tribe and finds what he has lost, then rebels against his former masters) was very compelling. It worked best for me in the sequences where the hero, Jake, was learning how to use his alien avatar body to run through the trees, ride giant birds, and then became part of the tribe. The physicality of his actions was exciting, seductive, and made me want to do them myself; and as he earned the acceptance of the tribe, I really believed, and sympathized with, his desire to belong.

The climactic battle scene was a bit gratuitous, but the peril felt real, and the payoff was highly acceptable.

I had heard that there are people who have been having suicidal bouts of depression after seeing this movie. That made me think that there would be a really depressing payoff at the end, but no. The balance of life and death, good vs. evil, and overall justice is resolved in a perfectly satisfactory manner. Apparently some people just find the real world suicidally depressing compared to watching the movie.

The effect this movie had on me was that it inspired me to compete in a grappling tournament the next day. The physicality of wrestling and grappling is the closest I have ever come to the physicality of the alien tribe in the movie, and Jake’s growth and acceptance by the tribe mirrors my current journey through the world of submission grappling. So I had an outlet through which I could exercise my longing to be a part of the world of the movie, and I am a happier man because of it.

Read my writeup on the tournament at My other blog.

Hamlet 2, or Why I Hate Inspirational Movies, but Love Their Parodies

I just finished watching a DVD of "Hamlet 2' a movie a missed in theaters, partly because I didn't have the time and money, and partly because the reviews were lukewarm, at best.



OK, it's not really true that I hate inspirational teacher movies. "Dead Poet's Society" was pretty good, "Renaissance Man" had some redeemable features, and I'm sure I'd enjoy "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" if I ever saw it. But as the genre gets older, with every "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "Dangerous Minds" it gets more and more stale.

Even the mainstream entertainment establishment has recognized this, however, in this post-modern new millennium, and it has pretty much become a given that any new entry into a genre has to be a parody. But mainstream being what it is, it seems that its the independent features that do it best.

Thus, "Hamlet 2," a story of a hopelessly mediocre but very hard-working actor who finds himself teaching drama in a high school in Tuscon Arizona, saddled with a class full of "Latinos," and facing the elimination of the drama program. He is inspired to create a brand new show to inspire the class and save toe program, and in the end he does. Along the way he loses his wife, meets Elizabeth Shue, and creates a First-Amendment furor.

In several ways, this was a positive, uplifting spin on "Waiting for Guffman." Whereas in that film, the show created by the fish-out-of-water writer/director/actor that inspires a community is "nice," but not great, and each person involved goes on to a sadly mediocre life, "Hamlet 2" gives us an exciting, outrageous play-within-a-movie with Hamlet, "Sexy Jesus," time travel, and a song about face rape.

But both movies are played for comedy, and many a true word has been said in jest. While a serious drama about an inspiring teacher or regional theater might suffer it the audience cannot buy the drama or the writing or a performance or casting (Michelle Pfeiffer as a former marine?), comedy gives one a chance to go over-the-top, look at the absurdity of real life, and allows the audience to accept what in a drama might be considered a shallower character.

Yet, "Guffman" was a downer. I saw it for the first time while in the middle of a theater tour (the Infamous Biggs-Rosati Trois Mousketaires tour) and it really cut close to home. It showed the sad side of those of us who feel a need to prance on a stage for audience approval, and are so willing to do wit, we will do it anywhere, for anyone.

"Hamlet 2" is an uplifting comedy. It really made me feel like creating a piece of entertainment was something that I wanted to do, that it could unite a group of people and give them something to live for, that it could help people see things they had not thought of, and could transcend cultural differences.

Currently my movie project is in a very delicate and exciting stage. The project has a lot of potential, and is finding a lot of resources, but if I don't focus and work hard for the next three weeks, it will all fall apart. Seeing this movie inspired me. When the "Rock Me Sexy Jesus" number came up, not only did the '50's rock & roll number give me the chills such music always does, it also got me all misty-eyed because I saw the cast coming together and their dreams and ambitions coming true in one great moment of unified cause.

And inspirational movies, being such a done genre,that they are hard to take seriously anymore, by simply admitting that it's been done before and going for the comedy inherent in such a done genre, disarms the critical senses, and allows the audience (well, me specifically) to buy into their reality and accept the movie for what it is, and the emotions of the characters as real.

So my new list of the top two inspirational movies includes: "Role Models" and "Hamlet 2"

Is Everyone Gay?

I just channel-surfed into Channel 13's late-night indie film. In an early scene a woman making a toast at a wedding says that she wants to make love to the bride.

Well, this movie had no swords, soldiers, or spaceships, so I surfed away and landed on "Family Guy." It was an episode about gay marriage.

Is everyone gay?

Wait, I just surfed back to the movie on channel 13. She was not talking about the bride, she was talking about the groom and his two best friends.

Wow, did I read that wrong. Maybe it's just because it seemed so much like a sign pof the times that I assumed it was the other thing.

Well, I guess I can't rant on how I hope that everyone gets over this whole gay marriage thing. Legalize it and move on.

Role Models, the Greatest Movie Ever!

I am very, very glad I saw this movie. I cried.

It tells the story of two men in differing stages of arrested development who find themselves in a court-ordered position to mentor two young boys. Through this process, all four people find what they did not even know they needed.

I identified with three of the four people. I identified with one boy because he is a LARPer. He finds in the world of Live Action Role Playing a world where he can immerse himself and live out fantasies that are not possible n the real world, be the best that he can be, and ultimately find the confidence to grow up.

I Identify with the bored yuppie. He is really a wanna-be yuppie, who in 10 years has not been able to get out of a job he despises. He sees through the fallacy of pitching energy drinks while preaching against drugs and wishes desperately that he could break out of his rut. The darkly ironic world around him has given him a cynicism that goes beyond world-=weariness to true nihilism.

I identify with the Man-Boy. He sees the irony too, but in a benign way, doesn't care. He recognizes that the stupid, demeaning, morally bankrupt job he has pays his rent and allows him to get laid without ever having to put on a suit, or even shave. With few responsibilities, he is free to under-achieve, so long as he has fun and no one tells him what to do. He doesn't care what anyone thinks of him, he his happy within himself and blissfully unaware of the effect he has on those around him.

In the course of the film, the bored yuppie sees that there is opportunity to find happiness, by creating one's own world, and sharing it with others. People are imaginative enough to create shared fantasies, establish parallel societies in which one can be something that the “average person” may not understand. Although in the world of this film it was a LARP, for some people it is their bowling league, their stamp collecting club, or even political activism.

The Man-Boy realizes that making a connection with somebody can be more rewarding that hedonistic pleasure. Feeling the beneficial change you can bring to a person makes you feel like a worthwhile person, and betraying a trust that person has given to you is the worst feeling in the world.

The LARPer learns that if you can take a chance with one thing, you can take a chance with anything, and even if in one thing you don't succeed, in something else you might. Most importantly, though, he he realizes his dream of becoming king of his LARP, if only briefly, and then realizes his greater dream of kissing a girl he likes.

This movie also taught me a few things about film making. One cannot underestimate the importance of setup and payoff. Everything in the movie built up to a big payoff at the climax, and between identifying with three of the four protagonists, following the story arc, and understanding the motivations of all the characters, and furthermore, understanding truly why bringing a pickup truck dressed up like a minotaur into a LARP while dressed like the members of Kiss is true wish-fulfillment for me, all the comedy, drama, and emotion that had built up in the film, and in my life, came pouring out of my tear ducts.

So, the Incredible Hulk, Eh?

Well, I first saw this movie sneaking in after the first 15 minutes or so. I came in during a chase scene where Banner was running from the soldiers under General Ross trying to catch him, the scene that ended with the first appearance of the Hulk. I figured I had missed some of the initial character set-up and I didn't know if the origin of the Hulk had been shown, and I had not seen the Ang Lee movie, so I was willing to take the movie on its terms at that. I thought the the movie was awesome! The Comic Book Superhero Movie genre has finally hit its stride, with Dark Knight, Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men 2, and now this.

Then a few days later I saw the entire movie. It seems all I missed was the montage of shots that covered the origin and a little set-up of Banner in Brazil. There was very little dialogue, very little character development or even exposition to get you into the character and scenario. It's ;like the filmmaker assumed you knew the origin already and this was just a quick reminder.
From what I hear tell, the Ang Lee film was all about how childhood abuse had built up much anger in Bruce Banner, which was the source of his great rage as thew Hulk. This movie did not even touch anything regarding anything about any possible psychological background for Banner, and was the weaker for it. It acted as if all the background was either known by the audience already or was being hidden so that the reveal would be the shock.

This workled a little bit, such as when Betty Ross first called General Ross “Daddy,” if you did not know the connection there it was a worthwhile reveal. But still, as the movie was set up as if you were plopped into the middle of a story, as a stand-alone feature it would have been strengthened by just a little more character set-up.

That having been said, there were many reasons that it did work as a Comic Book Super Hero Movie. As a genre, the CBSHM plays best to comic book fans, especially those familiar with the character. By the time the movie is made, it can be assumed that the character is popular enough to support a movie. That being the case, there must be a reason the character is popular. Therefore, the best CBSHM's are true to the character and trust the source.

The source for this movie, and character, seems to be as much the 1970's TV series with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. The references are legion: Banner says “Don't make me angry, you wouldn't like me when I'm angry. There is a clip from another Bill Bixby TV show, “The Courtship of Eddie's Father,” playing in one scene (although I think “My Favorite Martian” would have been a more appropriate homage). Lou Ferrigno has a cameo appearance. Banner is referred to as a “Fugitive” no less than twice (“The Fugitive” was a TV series that predated, and was conceptually much like the Hulk TV series).When Banner changes into the Hulk, at one point we see the close-up on his spot-lighted eyes just like the TV show; we see the shirt split across his back; we even see the Hulk pull the shirt off his chest, Ferrigno-like.

The action is astounding. I often have problems with these sorts of action movies when the director feels we have to have everything close-up, in your face, to give a sense of the drama. Michael Bay (Transformers) and Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever) are particularly guilty on that score. This time, however, the director trusted the drama of the actual action, allowing us to see the Hulk battle his adversaries, much the way Fred Astaire and Gene Kelley and Jackie Chan were always allowed to be seen in action. Yay!

However, weakness is shown when the movie assumes that all viewers will be familiar with the character, and thus necessary set-up and development is set aside. So this is an awesome movie , but could have been just a little bit more.

RIP: Gary Gygax

A father is gone.

The world that we in the fantasy fan community enjoy, one in which wizards and warriors, elves and dwarves, magic and monsters and yes, dungeons and dragons are common parlance owes a great deal of debt to the man who placed a dragon in a wargame.

When I was 11 year old I had heard of D&D, but had never actually seen the game. Then someone in school brought out the three books and the half-dozen dice and started a campaign. That was it. Everyone in 7th and 8th grade was hooked. Every spare moment of time was taken up by D&D adventuring. Eventually this expanded into Traveler, Boot Hill, Gamma World, Time Tripper, Car Wars, and more games that I can remember. In that school being what we would call today a “geek” or “dork” was cool. It was hip. Social status was based on being the first one to have a new game, or the best game that week.

We designed our own character sheets. We drew up our own characters. We created our own gods and monsters. “The Emperor” was the All-Powerful-Force of Evil (yes, inspired by Empire Strikes Back), “Enigma” was the All-Powerful Force of Good (from the Micronauts comic book, I think). I thought of creating an All-Powerful Force of Neutrality, but kept on going back and forth on it. My character got turned into a Gollum and stretched out to 7 feet tall on a rack. Someone created an assassin with an atomic bomb. Someone else tried to use a saving throw when the bomb went off.

We drew maps. We designed weapons. We collected miniature figures and placed them on graph paper. We designed dungeons. We collected dungeon modules and dice. Our imagination was stoked and our social interactivity was very, very high.

When I left that school and moved to a public high school, I found the social situation there very different. I never was able to get back into gaming, though I still collected everything about Car Wars for some years (as I was a big fan of post-apocalyptic movies like The Road Warrior). Eventually I found the Society for Creative Anachronism and was able to live a historically-based, live action version of D&D, and for a time sneered at those who rolled dice to gain their skills, while I actually worked for it.

I never saw more than a few minutes of the D&D cartoon, but I followed the comic strip advertisements in the backs of comic books in the early 1980's. When the Dungeon and Dragons movie finally came out, I was very excited. For decades there had been films and TV shows that, to one degree or another, I felt were trying to bring the D&D world to life, and I, in turn, had tried to turn those movies into games (you can see a list that includes many of those movies at http://www.geocities.com/historicalmovies). Now someone was actually going to make that movie for real. The movie was poor, but fun. Though the acting was uneven, the writing corny, and the Wayans brother character the most politically incorrect ethnic stereotype since JarJar Binks, it was great to see all the swordfighting, the flying dragons, and lets admit it, Thora Birch in those fantasy costumes.

There was a sequel to that movie, however, Dungeons and Dragons, the Wrath of the Dragon God, that finally did it right. A team of adventurers was assembled to go on a quest to retrieve a magic item and save the kingdom. Each character represented a different race or class of character. There was problem-solving, trap avoiding, magic using, and exciting battle action, sometimes all at the same time. Characters of differing alignments had to learn to work together. Some did not make it, but those who did found they had grown and gained skill, treasure, or power. Gygax was interviewed in the “special features” of the DVD of that film, and admitted that he was happy with the way that film turned out.

Although he lost control of the game and company that he founded, he kept active in the industry, and obviously loved creating games. Role playing games have brought many of us together, given us a common social bond, and in many cases, enabled us to get valuable life experience. Though some make the joke about how D&D geeks are socially atrophied nerds who can't deal with the real world, it has given many lived, and our culture, a richness and vitality, a passionate escape, a source of pleasure and cause for social gathering that the world would be poorer without.

Now the father of those games is gone, and we are poorer without him.

Captain Zorikh
http://www.captainzorikh.com
http://www.bigapplecon.com