Mamma Mia!… Hancock… and expectations for The Dark Knight

Mamma Mia! - OMG disappointment. The entire film felt like a grade-school theater production. When they sing “me” in the lyrics, they point or motion to themselves; when they sing “you”, they point or motion to the other person; when they sing “here”, they point or motion to where they’re standing; when they sing “there”… … …well, you get the point. The mood and music is fun, sure… but a lot of it feels forced. But like I tell a lot of people, for all its shortcomings, the film is still musical fun. Not that anyone in the cast is Broadway material… but they’ll do.(IMDB: 7.4/10, Rottentomatoes: 48%,  Me: 4/10)

Hancock - I’ve heard so much bashing on Hancock already, and I don’t subscribe to it. It’s fun. Not “cringe-worthy, but fun” like Mamma Mia! It really is pure fun and entertainment. Good combination of Will Smith’s charisma… Charlize Theron’s acting chops (and eye-candy)… plus Jason Bateman serving as the glue that holds it all together. Very good cast and performances. The failure here are gaps and loopholes within the story, which were even magnified by the flimsy execution/directing. From midway through the film and onwards, the film felt like it should have been funny when it was serious or vice versa. Sometimes, the film just felt it wasn’t as funny or serious as it should have been.
(IMDB: 6.9/10, Rottentomatoes: 37%,  Me: 6/10)

The Dark Knight - No, I haven’t seen it yet. We’re gonna see it tonight (YAY!!!) and I’m pumped. It’s an almost universal consensus that Ledger’s performance as The Joker totally pwns Jack’s version. Ledger’s Joker is now supposedly the seminal film Joker. And thank god Tom knocked-up Katie because now, she’s been replaced by Maggie Gyllenhaal (actually I’m not sure if that’s really the reason, but I don’t care. Katie’s out and Maggie’s in is all that matters =p). I’m not too excited about Christian Bale because he’s not really the type of actor that people should be excited about. He’s the subtle kind. He’s always good. He’s solid and consistent. Actually, if I were an actor, that’s the type of actor I wanna be: A Christian Bale.

Now, the movie as a whole has received thrilling universal acclaim. The general consensus is that the film works perfectly not only as a superhero movie, but also as an epic crime drama. It’s been compared to the best of films by Scorsese and de Palma; usually mentioned with the likes of “The Untouchables”, with Batman as Eliot Ness and The Joker as Al Capone.

As for the handful of reviewers that gave TDK negative reviews… they have that right. But when they criticize a film like The Dark Knight for being too dark, frantic and over-the-top… I wouldn’t worry too much about them. What I’m worried more about is that the film might have been so insanely hyped up already to the point that I would be disappointed even it turned out to be a masterpiece.

Still… pumped up \m/
(IMDB: 9.7/10, Rottentomatoes: 94%,  Me: OMGWTFBBQ-PUMPED!!!!)

Lady Macbeth

We humans really are very weird creatures

(spoilers ahead)

I’ve been watching Battlestar Galactica (the “re-imagined” 2004 series)  for a while now; and in the show, there is this “Lady MacBeth”-like character. Her name is Ellen Tigh… and just like Lady MacBeth, she’s married to a man who is in the line of command, but who doesn’t want the top job (in the show, this man would be Saul Tigh, the XO if Battlestar Galactica). She uses a combination of insult, flattery, and sexual temptation to get her husband in the game, arranges the murder of others, and even makes alcohol one of her most potent weapons. Tigh and MacBeth are ladies who are masters at manipulation, and that is what makes the audience loathe them to the very core.

Ellen Tigh was a force of nature, she was a survivor, she was cunning and she would simply not play by the rules and be the good wife. She had a completely fucked up marriage, nevertheless a marriage that worked. From the first time that she appeared on the show, I just wanted her to be killed off. She was nothing but trouble.She would get Saul drunk and fuck up his job as XO. She was the tragic flaw in Saul Tigh’s life.

So why oh why did I feel that her death sequence on the 37th episode of BSG was probably the most heart-wrenching thing that I have seen on the show thus far?? She was a tragic flaw and I wanted her to be killed off. Then the moment I realize that it was going to happen, I started to brace for impact. And after I happened, I just felt so bad that I wanted her back…

She was a big pain in the ass. But I guess the bottomline is that Colonel Saul Tigh… the hardnosed XO of Battlestar Galactica… he loved her. And inspite of all of Ellen’s promiscuity, screw-ups and character flaws, she really did love him and would do anything for him. When the shit hit the fan and all hell broke loose, she tried to do the very best she could in the way she knew how. Of course what she did caused trouble, like she always does… but her consequential death had a certain kind of nobility and honor to it.

The death scene was just magnificent. It’s an amazing piece of acting by two actors who play Saul and Ellen and it will probably be able to move me every time I see it. It’s just a weird feeling to have when you see one of the characters that you saw as an antagonist… someone you wanted to die… get killed off. And then at that very moment, you feel so moved by her death. Especially during the scene where Saul Tigh is weeping after he kills his wife… you realize that as fucked up as Ellen is and as fucked up their marriage is… there really is no one more perfect for both of them than each other. And for this viewer, it’s sad that that realization had to come via her death.

You Can Do Better Than Me

damn, I love this song. i feel like this sometimes… 

 I’m starting to feel We stay together out of fear
Of dying alone

I’ve been slipping through the years
My old clothes don’t fit like they once did
So they hang like ghosts of the people I have been

It’s like my heart can’t be tamed
And I fall in love every day
And I feel like a fool

I have to face the truth
That no one could ever look at me like you do
Like I’m something worth holding onto

There’s times I think of leaving
But it’s something I’ll never do
Because you can do better than me
But I can’t do better than you

Is Everyone Entitled To Their Own Opinion?

 (Wow, I just read this thing over again and it sounds so frakkin’ academic. LOL =p Take note that the following is not an attack on anyone. It’s just me letting my thoughts flow.) 

I’m sure we’ve all come across this idea in one way or another in the course of our lives. I subscribe to this belief. Lately though, I’ve been questioning it.Everyone is entitled to their opinion and everyone else should respect that. And to maintain good relationships, people should learn to agree to disagree.

The problem comes in I guess, when the statment above is used as an end to a specific matter. When one says that he is entitled to his own opinion, which is why further discussion isn’t needed/wanted, then I suppose that shows a dislike of pursuing the truth and continuing with the argument. The application of the statement means absolutely nothing in the aim of actually achieving anything… or so I understand.

And speaking of arguments, there are times when an argument turns into a contest of who-can-win-the-other-over-to-his-side instead of a rational point-counter-point discussion. When that’s the case and the cracks in the arguments are slowly being uncovered, the “I am entitled to my own opinion” line comes up more often than not as a product of pride, and people end up having hurt feelings rather than valueable learnings in the process.

I suppose everyone really is entitled to their own opinion. It’s just how the statement is applied is what matters. Is it applied as an end? Is it applied to cover the hole of a faulty argument? Does it have any application at all?

In the aim of actually achieving anything, maybe the statement doesn’t have any application at all. It may be a truth, but it doesn’t have any application. Or does it?

OR… maybe the question of the validity of the statement above isn’t what’s important. Maybe the pressing issue should be: “How tolerant should people be of others’ opinions?” Or more importantly: “How tolerant should people be of the consequences of others’ opinions?”

“I believe prostitution should be legalized.”
“My opinion is that you’re an asshole.”
“I think Jews should be wiped off the face of the Earth.”
“I believe Gossip Girl is a stupid show.”
“I believe terrorism should be supported.”
“Fall Out Boy sucks.”
“I believe there is no God.”
“Titanic is the best movie ever made.”
“Your wife doesn’t deserve a husband like you.”
“My opinion is that not everyone is entitled to their opinion.”

Should we just ‘agree to disagree’ with all of these statements? Take your picks.

And does everyone have an equal entitlement to their opinion? How would you think about the opinions of The Dalai Lama, Gandhi and Mother Teresa as oppossed to the opinions of Paris Hilton, Charles Manson and Adolf Hitler?

I’d say they’re all entitled to their own opinion, but I suppose it’s the manifstation of these opinions which is what matters.

It’s a shady subject, still. But for now, I guess it’s true… everyone is entitled to their opinion. But it’s also meaningless in the aim of actually achieving anything. The more important thought is how tolerant we should be to the manifestations of these opinions.

But then again, that’s just my opinion.

Mad As Hell

I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It’s a depression.

Everybody’s out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel’s worth, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there’s nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there’s no end to it.

We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV’s while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that’s the way it’s supposed to be.

We know things are bad - worse than bad. They’re crazy! It’s like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don’t go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, ‘Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won’t say anything! Just leave us alone.’ Well, I’m not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad!

I don’t want you to protest. I don’t want you to riot - I don’t want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn’t know what to tell you to write. I don’t know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you’ve got to get mad! You’ve got to say, ‘I’m a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!’

So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, ‘I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!’ I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - ‘I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Things have got to change. But first, you’ve gotta get mad!… You’ve got to say, ‘I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!’ Then we’ll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it:

“I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!” 

 

Classic.