Why So Furious?

I honestly thought that the highlight of my Saturday was going to be the premiere of the new Fast & Furious trailer. But then I got a message from a friend, whom I haven't heard from in awhile and... well, it's really, really close. As soon as I could, I shared the video on my Facebook page with the caption, "My other favorite superhero franchise."

Justin Lin will make you believe a man can fly

What is it about this franchise (which gave us one of the greatest exchanges in cinema history: "How did you know there'd be a car there to break our fall?" "I took a leap of faith.") that keeps people coming back for more? According to Box Office Mojo, the sixth installment made $97,375,245 in its first weekend. Think about that for a moment. Not counting science fiction or horror series, how many movies have gotten five sequels? And still made money? Rocky Balboa, the sixth movie in that series, only made $70,270,943 total.

Paper Airplanes and Elegant Art

Have you seen Paperman? If not, stop whatever you're doing right now, go get the Wreck it Ralph DVD, skip the meh movie, and watch the short in the special features. I'll wait.

Back already? Watched it? Yeah, I don't believe you. Fortunately, there's a summary below.

In 2012 Paperman was the first Disney short to win an Academy Award in over 40 years. While I don't usually pay attention to award nominees, particularly in the smaller categories, for some reason I clicked on the video and fell in love. Paperman is storytelling at its most elegant.

Elegance personified

Why The Hunger Games Reminded Me of a Horror Movie

How many people do you know who read The Hunger Games in a weekend or less? Of the sequel, Catching Fire, my cousin wrote on her Facebook that she couldn’t “get her eyes out of it.” However, It took me two and a half weeks, culminating in a four hour marathon reading session at the local coffee shop, just to get through book one.  Reading The Hunger Games was a chore.  I knew a dedicated reading session in public was the only way I’d ever finish it (also, I’d hoped to use it to meet women… and at least half of my plan worked).

When I first started the book, I recognized it as a story with staying power, unlike, say Twilight, which has the shelf life of a Beanie Baby.  No, despite the lack of a Newberry medal, I think The Hunger Games will be read in classrooms for discussion and at home for entertainment for many years to come.  Katniss Everdeen’s battle against herself, her peers and ultimately the government offers up so many topics for intelligent discussion.  In some ways it’s not so different from The Giver or even Ender’s Game.

Pictured: Vicious Killers

 For all you who haven’t read the book or seen the movie (which is probably none of you), I’ll summarize.  In the not-too-distant future all of North American has been united by a totalitarian government into a single country, called Panem, which is broken up into 12 districts.  At some time in the past the districts tried to start a revolution.  Every year since then, the government demands that each district offer two children between the ages of 12 and 18, called tributes, to compete in the Hunger Games as a reminder of who has the power. The Games  are a combination of Survivor, American Idol and gladiatorial combat.  The novel follows the journey of Katniss Everdeen, tribute from lowly District 12.  The Hunger Games novel is 1984 for the Jersey Shore generation.

As I reached the end of the book, however, it began to remind me of a movie—hillbilly horror film Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil. 

Dating 101 - Leap Year

Against my better judgment, I’ve decided to go ahead with the romantic comedy experiment (henceforth known as the RCE). Realizing that my natural cynicism may get in the way, at the suggestion of a friend I’ve decided to watch them with my trusted female guide Kelly Garmin. The first movie I watched for the RCE was Leap Year, starring Amy Adams and some Irish Guy. Not in the stack of movies loaned me by the boss-ladies, it is a favorite of my little sister’s. I think she likes looking at Ireland (where the movie takes place), and I think I like looking at Amy Adams.

Yes... yes I do.

Amy Adams plays a doe-eyed, red-headed (therefore: Irish) young woman who is tired of waiting on her boyfriend of four years to propose. This is accentuated when at their anniversary dinner he gives her a ring box with earrings in it. He then suddenly exits to perform emergency surgery or something, because that’s what jerk boyfriends in movies do. Next thing we know, he’s flying off to Ireland for a conference. Amy Adams decides to follow him there to take advantage of a tradition that allows the woman to propose on February 29. Of course, it’s never that easy, and she ends up traversing the Irish countryside with a scruffy Irish rogue. I won’t spoil the ending… she ends up with the Irish guy.

Dating 101 - Course Overview

Earlier this year I went out on something that may or may not have been a “date.” Old, inexperienced bachelor that I am, I’d have to say something like, “Would you go out on a date with me?” and have her say, “Yes, a date with you would be nice!” before I knew for certain. I suppose I could still ask after the fact (“So, was this, like, a date?”) but that seems like poor form.

Must be a guy thing.

Anyway, a young lady and I went to see a movie together (I paid—because she lost her debit card) and then had dinner (she paid—because she found her debit card). A good time seemed to be had by all. However, when I saw her a few weeks later, she seemed a little cold and distant. So I went to my boss-ladies in the bookstore to find out what I did wrong*.

John Carter of Mars… Earth?... Mars!

I love the idea of retro sci-fi. That’s not to say that I search out 40’s adventure serials or read old science fiction magazines from the era of the pulps. Honestly, those things bore me. But retro sci-fi re-imagined, like the underrated Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, can put me on a high that lasts for months. So when I bought the soundtrack for Disney’s John Carter and heard the sweeping strains of an epic film, I got excited.

One Christmas break during my early college years I read A Princess of Mars, the book on which John Carter is based (apparently they thought calling the movie John Carter: A Princess of Mars sounded silly). The next Christmas I read the second book, The Gods of Mars. Even though it ended with a cliffhanger, for some reason I never went on with the series. But the grand adventure of Burroughs’ story stuck with me.

For a brief time the director of Sky Captain, Kerry Conran, was attached to make A Princess of Mars movie and I was thrilled. Then, as things often do in the film industry, the project fell apart and there was some doubt as to whether or not the world would ever get a John Carter movie. Also disappointing, Kerry Conran seems to have disappeared from the film industry. For all I know, the Grand Rapids native was the guy sitting behind me at the midnight IMAX screening who said at the end, “Well, it was better than Avatar.”

Yes, John Carter is much better than Avatar. And yes, I was at the midnight screening. I said I wouldn’t pay extra to see an inferior presentation (post-production 3D), but they were giving everyone who bought tickets to the midnight show an awesome poster. I couldn’t help myself. And the 3D actually wasn’t terrible.

Buy this $15 limited edition poster--get free  movie tickets!

A born fighter who was on the wrong side of the Civil War, John Carter has realized the futility of war and lost everything that was dear to him, even his identity, along the way. Now all he wants is to get rich and be left alone. A chance encounter in Arizona cave changes all that. Suddenly finding himself on Mars, an entire planet steeped in war and violence, he finds himself called to save a planet that seems bent on destroying itself.

The story seemed to linger too long in some places, particularly Earth. However, once we hit Mars (or Barsoom, as the natives call it), the story almost moves too fast, giving some of the more interesting characters barely enough time to introduce themselves before we’re off to the next mind-blowing set piece.

But oh how good those set pieces are! The last movie I saw at the theater was Stars Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. I’d actually never seen it before. The world looked great, but the movie itself drove me to a place of boredom I’d never before experienced in a theater. The world of John Carter looks just as good, just as developed, and the action was every bit as epic as a space opera’s should be.

In the end, I didn’t mind paying the extra to see it on IMAX. I really, really want this movie to do well domestically so that we get sequels. I’m ready for another trip to Barsoom.