Ready Player One Review

I had meant to write a longer review of both the book and the movie but ran out of time. I enjoyed the book but thought it had a couple too many deus ex machina's. The opening scene of the movie was very well done and captured the excitement and novelty of the book's central idea, which was: How great would it be to play all your old 80s favorites -- games and music and TV and movies -- in virtual reality? The movie also brought to vivid life my favorite scene from the book, the only one written well, the "dance" between Parzival and Art3mis. The big screen version was close to how I imagined it in my head. The movie's closing scene was a lame failure in comparison to the opener, although it would have been hard to top the latter. I suppose the scene was effective for showing how un-sexy and un-exciting real life is (compared to the OASIS), even if it's supposed to be a chase scene.

The book has probably one of the best summations of the current American atheist worldview:


"Here's the deal, Wade. You're something called a 'human being.' That's a really smart kind of animal. Like every other animal on this planet, we're descended from a single-celled organism that lived millions of years ago. This happened by a process called evolution, and you'll learn more about it later. But trust me, that's really how we all got here. There's proof of it everywhere, buried in the rocks. That story you heard? About how we were all created by a super-powerful dude named God who lives up in the sky? Total bullshit. The whole God thing is actually an ancient fairy tale that people have been telling one another for thousands of years. We made it all up. Like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.

"Oh, and by the way ... there's no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny. Also bullshit. Sorry, kid. Deal with it.

"You're probably wondering what happened before you got here. An awful lot of stuff, actually. Once we evolved into humans, things got pretty interesting. We figured out how to grow food and domesticate animals so we didn't have to spend all our time hunting. Our tribes got much bigger, and we spread across the entire planet like an unstoppable virus. Then, after fighting a bunch of wars with each other over land, resources, and our made-up gods, we eventually got all of our tribes organized into a 'global civilization.' But, honestly, it wasn't all that organized, or civilized, and we continued to fight a lot of wars with each other. But we also figured out how to do science, which helped us develop technology. For a bunch of hairless apes, we've actually managed to invent some pretty incredible things. Computers. Medicine. Lasers. Microwave ovens. Artificial hearts. Atomic bombs. We even sent a few guys to the moon and brought them back. We also created a global communications network that lets us all talk to each other, all around the world, all the time. Pretty impressive, right?

"But that's where the bad news comes in. Our global civilization came at a huge cost. We needed a whole bunch of energy to build it, and we got that energy by burning fossil fuels, which came from dead plants and animals buried deep in the ground. We used up most of this fuel before you got here, and now it's pretty much all gone. This means that we no longer have enough energy to keep our civilization running like it was before. So we've had to cut back. Big-time. We call this the Global Energy Crisis, and it's been going on for a while now.

"Also, it turns out that burning all those fossil fuels had some nasty side effects, like raising the temperature of our planet and screwing up the environment. So now the polar ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising, and the weather is all messed up. Plants and animals are dying off in record numbers, and lots of people are starving and homeless. And we're still fighting wars with each other, mostly over the few resources we have left.

"Basically, kid, what this all means is that life is a lot tougher than it used to be, in the Good Old Days, back before you were born. Things used to be awesome, but now they're kind of terrifying. To be honest, the future doesn't look too bright. You were born at a pretty crappy time in history. And it looks like things are only gonna get worse from here on out. Human civilization is in 'decline.' Some people even say it's 'collapsing.'

"You're probably wondering what's going to happen to you. That's easy. The same thing is going to happen to you that has happened to every other human being who has ever lived. You're going to die. We all die. That's just how it is.

"What happens when you die? Well, we're not completely sure. But the evidence seems to suggest that nothing happens. You're just dead, your brain stops working, and then you're not around to ask annoying questions anymore. Those stories you heard? About going to a wonderful place called 'heaven' where there is no more pain or death and you live forever in a state of perpetual happiness? Also total bullshit. Just like all that God stuff. There's no evidence of a heaven and there never was. We made that up too. Wishful thinking. So now you have to live the rest of your life knowing you're going to die someday and disappear forever.

"Sorry."

Night Out

For our January "date," Bobbins went to her friend's 40th b-day party while I met Kevin to see The Last Jedi. I thought it was good but not great. I like how they wrapped up Luke's story, and the tension & repartee b/w Kylo and Rey was well done. The side-story in the casino was pointless and stupid, and the movie was too long. I wasn't thrilled by the female leadership and am still ambivalent with a female Jedi lead.

Shots of Bobbins the partier:

 

Catherine P., EveElise the b-day girl, and Bobbins

New Years Eve

Since we weren't in our usual California, we went out for Mexican with Bobbins' parents and two brothers. Booch went with Uncle Mike and Mikey out to the Compound to spend the night, his first sleep-over without mom or dad. I went to see Rogue One with Featha and Zach. It started slow but ended very strongly, and I liked it better than ep. 7. Bobbins and the girls did a couple streamers to ring in the new year.

Force Awakened and Risen - 2 Movie Reviews

I saw Star Wars Episode 7 back between X-mas and New Years. It was K, Z, Karin, and I. I was excited with basic expectations. I don't want to say I was disappointed, but neither was I wowed. I can remember being so excited to see Return of the Jedi in the theatre with my dad, him describing how he heard there was a scene with flying motorcycles. I think my biggest complaint with the newest installment was that there was nothing new, nothing innovative, nothing we haven't already seen before in most action/superhero movies of late. Episode 7 was pretty much your standard recent film as far as effects, cinematography, acting, etc.

And as many have pointed out, it's a carbon copy of Episode 4. Some of the scenes are exact mirrors, in fact. Enough time has passed since the original that a lot of folks did not notice the similarities (or didn't care), so Abrams and his team could get away with cribbing pretty much the whole original Star Wars. Except for updating to a female lead and a major black character.

They better step things up for ep's 8 & 9... I'm hopeful.

For our date in February, Bobbins and I went to see Risen. It was very well done and I recommend it, on its own as a film but also to support these kinds of projects in theatres. The production value, script, acting (esp. Fiennes), and cinematography are solid. The two things I liked most were the depiction of the 11 Apostles as ordinary men transformed by Jesus and the Gospel, and the tremendous joy they had as followers of Jesus. They don't come across as religious zealots but people infected with love and happy to spread it. They're also very much just ordinary Jews of the land who slowly, even fitfully, become the vessels for the founding of Christianity.

It's a Protestant film made by Protestant directors and writers, from what I can tell, so the depiction of the Blessed Mother at the crucifixion is poor. She wouldn't have been loudly shrieking as she's shown, and briefly at that. They do get Peter right: he's clearly the first among the 11 and their leader. I thought the treatment of the Ascencion (Jesus walks into the sun) was very interesting. 

Her

Bobbins and I watched the movie Her the other night.  It is a futuristic tale of a man getting divorced who falls in love with his operating system, which is brilliantly cast as Scarlett Johansson.  It's a slower movie heavy on dialogue.  I actually fell asleep toward the end, which had more to do with my own tiredness than the quality of the film.  It's beautifully shot in Los Angeles and Shanghai, and Joaquin Phoenix once again proves his acting chops.  Coming from eccentric director Spike Jonze, it's not your typical Holllywood film, but it's the kind of work that had me thinking about it for days afterward.  Unlike most pieces set in the future, it actually embraces technology and the challenges it poses, and includes a nice, even classic, twist at the end.

One thing I didn't see mentioned in critiques was the similarity to Sofia Coppola's Oscar-winning feature, Lost in Translation, which I really liked and own on DVD.  Her is Jonze's response to Coppola, his ex-wife.  In LiT, the main character is a young woman unsure of her marriage to a zany director/photographer.  In Her, the main character is a middle-aged man trying to cope with the heartbreak of divorce.  Both films were written by their directors, and are set in East Asia.  Coppola won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for LiT, and I bet Jonze wins this year for Her.

I enjoyed LiT more, but Her is worth the time if you want the visuals, good acting, and thought-provoking ideas. 

Man of Steel

Last week, on its opening day, Zach, my dad, and I went to see Man of Steel.  In just a few words, it's a great movie, well worth seeing in the theater.  I thought it especially appropriate that it opened on Fathers Day weekend, as the father-son theme is dominant throughout.  Kal-El comes to know (and embody, by taking on General Zod) his true father, Jor-El, while struggling with the life lessons given him by his human foster father, Jonathan Kent.  As with any Christopher Nolan-influenced film, there's some real nice messages throughout:  honor and respect your father, help others, take responsibility, choose the man you want to be.  That's simplifying it a bit but really what it boils down to.  It's the stereotypical Kansas (hometown American) values extolled.

The action is top notch but not too violent (a la Zack Snyder's first film, 300).  There really isn't any sex, and the "love story" between Superman and Lois Lane is more of a side-story that's treated lightly than the 'complicated' relationship (with illegitimate child) of Superman Returns.  There's some nice reflections to the old westerns and to New York on 9/11 that strike just the right tone.  The villains are appropriately menacing and complex without being stupid and one-dimensional.  I thought Henry Cavill knocked it out of the park in the title role. At age 38, Amy Adams is a bit mis-cast, as she seems a lot older than Cavill (a young 30).  Still, she is a great actress and shines in this movie.

Someone pointed out to me the clear parallel to the Moses story, which had never occurred to me but is apparent in this film.  There's also a nice visit to a church that is reverent and not at all mocking.  One shot of Cavill in front of stained glass window of Jesus takes it a little far, but it can be forgiven.  Lastly, I should say that the back-story of the fall of Krypton, while a tad long, is fascinating and visually stunning on its own.  There's a nice dig at dithering legislators (and of course to climate change disasters) and the sanctity of life is emphasized.  The use of frequent flashbacks rather than a traditional narrative is also welcoming.

Two Emotional Films

Saturday we watched two fairly emotional films.  Bobbins saw Les Mis with the girls while I saw Lincoln with Mr. M and Diablo.  I'll let Bobbins comment on that movie, but you know I have to weigh in on a film on a topic which I much studied and on my favorite President.  The short verdict is that it's good but not movie-theater good, i.e. wait till it's on Netflix or other platforms.  It's obviously a very dialogue-driven movie, so you don't need the big screen or sound.  But it's a little too long and there's a couple troublesome spots.  First, the script elevates Mary Todd Lincoln into someone/something she wasn't.  They've kept her weirdness and grieving nature but also made her more of a player in the action than she really was.  Lincoln was certainly a folksy guy but I don't think -this- folksy.  The film is almost exclusively about January 1865 but the last 20 minutes goes to April and Lincoln's assassination.  It's a sappy coda to the real story, the passage of the 13th Amendment.  This isn't a biopic of Abraham Lincoln but the story of the amendment to end slavery in the United States.  The film's crescendo is the amendment's passage, and this should've been its end too.  Instead we get a long play to emotion for the drawn-out finish.

But the good points: Daniel Day-Lewis is phenomenal as the President.  He's an unbelievable actor so you expect it, but it's still a revelation.  From the first moment he appears on screen you feel like you're really looking at the 19thC man.  Tommy Lee Jones embodies radical Republican Thaddeus Stevens.  Spielberg infuses heady drama into parliamentary maneuvers toward the amendment's passage in the House of Republicans (which wasn't -that- dramatic) and there are some wonderful exchanges.

The second film, which Bobbins and I watched together, was Ocotober Baby, a powerful pro-life story that really challenges some of the conventions of today's abortion debate.  It's a very touching film.  The first half doesn't quite establish its footing, as the dialogue is jumpy, the scenes don't mesh, and the narrative falters, not flows.  The second half, however, packs quite a wallop.  Of course we already agreed with the film's message, but this story is so remarkable I don't see how even the most ardent pro-choicers couldn't be moved. 

Life of Pi

On our annual date at the Santa Anita Mall this year, Bobbins and I checked out Life of Pi.  The best showtime was in 3D, so we sprang a few extra bucks, and it ended up being worth it.  The scene where the ship sinks and Pi is stranded in the water looking down the ocean swallows it was very well done and impressive with three dimensions.  Another scene involving Richard Parker making a special appearance was a lot more terrifying in 3D.  There were also lots of brilliant colors.  The movie was pretty good, in general, with solid acting and some great effects.  Apparently Richard Parker was completely CGI, which I would've never guessed.  Having read the book, the plot and reveal at the end didn't grip me as much as others.  Bobbins was gripped enough but didn't like the way the moral/theme was revealed at the end.  She thought it was too dumbed down, which it was.  This is one I would recommend for the theater, even in 3D, although by the time you read this it'll probably be too late.

Skyfall

Cut out of work early and battled the retirees for seats at the opening on Friday of Skyfall, the latest James Bond movie (the 23rd in 50 years, actually).  Great flick that I highly recommend.  I enjoyed the traditionalist theme, the idea that what's old still matters, and may even be more relevant and useful than what's new.  This is introduced fairly early on and is touched upon throughout, from the 'new' Q to the weapon used to dispatch the villain at the end.  About the villain:  didn't enjoy Javier Bardem's performance greatly.  He went for the creep factor and certainly hit it, but maybe too much so, to the point of caricature.  At one point the audience laughed loudly at one of his menacing moves.  There isn't really a typical Bond girl in this installment, although in the traditionalist mode, they brought back Moneypenny very nicely.  The opening action sequence is fairly riveting and believable (although nothing will probably top the parkour sequence in Casino Royale), and the song by Adele is well done.  Probably the film's best attribute is the cinematography.  It is beautifully and meticulously framed and shot.  There is one scene in particular, in a Shanghai high-rise, that is quite visually arresting.  The scenes in the last act in Scotland are also visually gripping, particuarly Bond's and M's arrival to "Skyfall."

Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to my own dad and to the other guys out there.  We had a nice blessing from Fr. John at 9am Mass today.  Yesterday MM woke up before us and was playing in JoJo's room when I came out of our room.  She said: "Hey big guy!"  We had quite a laugh about that one.

I got one of the neatest, most special cards today

And later MM took me to the movies, which happened to be her first trip to the cinema.  She was a little scared of the dark going in, and the loud sound, but the soda and peanut M&Ms helped.  It was a nice afternoon.

The Social Network

One of the best movies I've seen all year.  They had me hooked from the trailer a month ago, brilliantly incorporating a clever cover of Radiohead's "Creep."  It wasn't just the style of the song but they lyrics that foretold the story to come.  The film's twin strengths are the acting and the dialogue.  Everyone's raving about Justin Timberlake, and understandably so, as he excels as the prissy, pompous Sean Parker.  One wonders if Timberlake had to stretch much to play this part.  But the real stars are the two leads, Jesse Eisenberg as facebook founder and true asshole Mark Zuckerberg, and Andrew Garfield as Eduardo Saverin, facebook's initial CFO and bankroller, and Zuckerberg's only friend, naively.  Aaron Sorkin brings the lively reparte from his West Wing TV show in the film's script.  The running time is a little long, at 2hrs, but director David Fincher effectively builds the tension to a climatic confrontation between Zuckerberg and Saverin beautifully executed by the actors.

One other thing that bears commenting is how male a world computing is as reflected in the movie.  All of the key characters are men, and women only exist as sexual objects for the pleasure of men.  Except for Erica Albright, especially in the opening scene, who is a manifestation of Zuckerberg's painful lack of social skills, particularly with women.  As an ironic subnote, the film points out that we wouldn't have facebook or Napster without computer geeks desperately failing to landing chicks.

Even if you don't use facebook (which I don't), the film is a wonderfully-made tale of huge monetary success coming at the expense of devastating relationship failures.

I Basterds

Finally saw the latest Tarantino flick, Inglourious Basterds.  Wasn't a big fan.  Bobbins was turned off by the violence, which I didn't think added anything.  You expected that going into it but it did seem gratuitous.  Brad Pitt as the American lieutenant was terrible.  Maybe his inept accent was part of the schtick, but either way it didn't work at all.  The multi-lingual Austrian actor who played Colonel Landa was outstanding, of course.  If it hadn't been for his performance, not to mention the lovely Diane Kruger in her native language, this would've been a total slog.  I guess I was just more bored than anything.  Half of Tarantino's movies are about the dialogue -- it doesn't have the same effect when you have to read 2/3 of it.  It's nice to hear the foreign languages, especially from the Nazis (who normally are German- or even British-accented by Hollywood), but reading all of the lines, particularly whole scenes, is too much work.

I was reminded a lot, of course, by one of my favorite all-time movies, Kelly's Heroes.  Now there's a classic "Guys on a Mission" WW2 story that turns the 'heroes" upside down, had great English dialogue and action, isn't too gory, and was full of "positive waves."

A-Team

Saw it last weekend with Featha.  I was worried that it would either be too campy, or be too much of a serious/political take on current events with some action thrown in.  Thankfully it was neither.  There's an appropriate amount of campy humor, and for the most part there isn't much politics, with the exception of the villain being employed by a security company called "Black Forest."  The villain has to be from somewhere and the link they made makes sense.  The South African guy who played Murdock was outstanding; he also had the best lines.  His Blue Man/Braveheart riff was hilarious.  Although it was quite relevant to today and was a good knock on Mexico, I wasn't thrilled with the origin story.  Hannibal randomly meeting B.A., then later happening to find Murdock doesn't jive with the "real" origin story from the TV show.  A couple of the scenes are a little over-CGI'd, particularly the end.  But overall it's a good movie -- nice comic relief, tight plot that keeps moving, and good action sequences.

Iron Man 2

Went with Feather today and we both enjoyed it.  I was a little afraid it would suffer the same fate as Spider Man 3 - too many plot points, too many villains.  One of the first reviews made this critique.  The film avoided this pitfall.  The Iron Man entrance scene set to AC/DC was very well done, and Mickey Rourke played a pretty good Russian bad guy.  Scarlett Johansson was a very welcome addition to the cast, and Gwenyth Paltrow didn't look too bad either.  The film hammered home the robotics revolution currently taking place in our military, with all the attendant issues about reliability, trustworthiness, humans vs. machines, ethics of drones, etc.  These are brilliantly discussed in the book Wired for War, by Peter Singer, which I highly recommend.  I also appreciated director Jon Favreau's gratuitous shout-outs to Americans and the US flag.  There's no doubt Iron Man is an American hero.

Iron Man 2 website