Posted by Smash | 6 Comments

Battered Star

Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica is just around the corner (Friday, October 6th, 2006 for us Americans) and I can’t be more excited about it.  Season 2 (or technically Season 2.5) left all fans on the edge of their seat wondering "What the hell?"  I couldn’t make up my mind whether or not the finale was real or imagined in one of the characters heads.  Either way, it was riveting to watch; but possibly a "jump the shark" moment.  So far all the initial buzz about season 3 implies the finale events were real, and that just emphasizes the credit due to the writing of this show.  In a single, if all to cliché, expect the unexpected.

Season 2, the sophmore year of the show, held up well, all things considered.  There were a few episodes that were ultimately boring, such as Scar which lacked greater purpose in the overall scheme of the show.  Even fewer, were episodes that seemed to be complete missteps, such as Sacrifice which inexplicably killed off President Rosalin’s right-hand-man, Billy.  And yet, through this seemingly pointless death, the show boldy ventures forth, driven with a purpose; and that is what makes this show fantastic.  On Battlestar Galactica, things change.  Fast.  This ain’t your average serialized drama.

A quick run of the story so far is as follows:  Ages ago, man created Cylons, robots, who later rebelled and decades of bloody war ensued.  At the start of the five episode mini-series, the Cylons were back to eradicate their creators, with a few new tricks up their sleeves, namely that 12 ‘types’ of Cylons eat, sleep, bleed, and breath undetectable as humans.  Humanity’s 12 colonies quickly fall, thanks to these infiltrators and the sole remaining Battlestar, Galactica, narrowly escapes with fewer than 100,000 civilians.  Relentlessly pursued, the humans desperately search out for a long lost planet, Earth, as they continue to ward off attacks from the machines.  During all of this, several key things change, such as: finding another Battlestar (Pegasus), Captain Lee Adama’s promotion to Commander, and discovering remnants of humans struggle to fight against the machines on their home worlds.  Some more highlights focus around  Lt. Sharon "Boomer" Valerie’s revelation (a shock to herself) that she’s a cylon, her subsequent death, and resurrection as another clone willing to assist the colonial fleet, to finally her pregnancy with a hybrid child.  At the dramatic conclusion of last season, we see President Rosalin lose her position to the deceitful (and insane) Gaius Baltar, the survivors settle on a planet, Captain Starbuck married, and time shift forward roughly one year.    
                                                                              
Yeah.  Lots.  On Battlestar Galactica, things change. 

Sidestepping what transpires on the show, the real beauty is larger-than-life values and moralities that are dangled in front of the viewers to ponder.  Virtually, every hot button topic has been explored, prisoner abuse, euthanasia, crossing social barriers, self-sacrifice, and countless others.  These shows encapsulate in an entertaining spotlight key social issues from our lifetime and make us deeply respectful of all sides of the argument.  This isn’t a new concept to Sci-Fi television, Star Trek has engaged these same values since the 60’s.  Battlestar Galactica manages to present them without any feeling of campiness.  It’s safe to assume that Developer Ronald Moore, instrumental in all of the Star Trek television shows of the last twenty years is behind this.

The willingness of the writers to move the story along, rather than safely keeping its characters in predictable bubbles, coupled with the mirror it shines on our own social issues makes this show absolutely top-notch.  Just about nothing else could make it better.  Except for one thing: its hotties.  Boomer, Cat, Six, Vixen, Racetrack, and Starbuck.  Even Lucy Lawless, another Cylon infiltrator, joins this season and is looking better than ever.

Posted by Smash | 2 Comments

Kubrik Explained

I’ve intended to share with visitors places on the web that have struck me as unique and worth a look.  This site, http://www.kubrick2001.com/, is an interesting little site; the flash animation is pretty coo, and it does a great job of explaining 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Apparently, I was way too dumb to catch most of the metaphors Stanley Kubrik blended into the film.  It gives me a whole new appreciation of the classic movie.

It’s a fun little site and worthy of sharing with any fellow geek.  Angelbaby’s most recent comment, "my god, it’s full of stars" made me remember this site.  Although, I always appreciated the film, this certainly opens your eyes to a richer work of art.  It plainly compares primitive man and its primitive tools to modern man and its modern tools, and more importantly, how they are more advanced than we are prepared for.  It points out how weak and primitive modern man seems through the eyes of Hal.  It explains (the part I just really didn’t get) the ending of the movie with the stages of mankind and the stars.  Anyone who ever read the book, did these concepts get discussed in there or is it purely Kubrik’s adaption of these things?  I’m curious to know.

Now, if someone could only develop a site like this explaining Eyes Wide Shut.  I keep desperately hoping that there are some hidden meanings and larger metaphors about mankind and the human condition, rather than the trivial sexual exploration that is obvious to pick up on.  If there isn’t something deeper buried in that movie, then that’s just one of the worst movies ever made; and Kubrik went out as a pervert.  Oh well, at least Nicole Kidman looked better than ever in that movie.

Posted by Bdegenaro | 15 Comments

violence on film

What do A History of Violence and Hostel have in common?  First and foremost, my impression of both films was shaped by the fact that I had just attended this past weekend Michigan Pax Christi’s (a Catholic organization devoted to peace education and activism) statewide conference. 

This was my
personal context for viewing these two very, very different films and
probably had everything to do with how I responded to them. History
of Violence tells the story of a small-town diner owner who defends his
café from two brutal thugs intent on robbing and brutalizing his
customers. The protagonist, played by Viggo
Mortensen, becomes a local hero and gains attention from the press and
also from shadowy figures who may or may not be from his past. Mortensen offers a disturbing embodiment of how violence changes him—and how violence may or may not have shaped him. His
performance is amazing, moving in and out of his shifting identities:
small-town good guy, justified vigilante, ruthless tough guy. Ashton
Holmes gives an equally multi-faceted turn as the protagonist’s
teen-aged son, bullied at school until his father’s actions inspire him
to fight back. David Cronenberg (Dead Ringers,
Dead Zone, Scanners) directs, so black humor provides something other
than levity or comic relief—the jokes instead offer wry commentary on
American attitudes toward justice, community, and crime.

I’ve written before
about my life-long love affair with horror movies, so I won’t go into
any apologies for dropping two bucks on a piece of pulp like Hostel. Let’s just say the movie takes its aesthetic cues from ultra-violent Asian horror films. Two college kids backpack through Europe, engaging in raucous behavior that goes beyond teen-slasher-film sex and moves headlong into the realm of the exploitative. They end up in Slovakia,
for example, because they hear that many of the men there died in “the
war” (don’t ask—nobody claimed the film was a history lesson) and that
the women are poor. That equoation adds up to "great place to score." Charming guys. The NYTimes review accurately pointed out that, once the carnage begins, it’s hard to feel sorry for these dudes. Anyway,
they end up at a horrific dungeon-of-sorts where rich men from the
western world can pay to commit murder in any way they see fit. Part “Most Dangerous Game,” part Dateline NBC special on atrocities that go on every day in Eastern Europe and southeast Asia. As an Asia-ultraviolent-wannabe, Hostel suffers the limits of its own genre: weak acting and predictable plot trajectory. But,
on another level, the film meditates on what happens when capitalism
comes to town overnight—not to mention what happens when the violent,
the depraved, are given a playground.

Two meditations on violence. One, a great film (the 5 stars refers to History…). One, a poor film (I’d give Hostel two stars). But both in their own way confront the culture in which we find ourselves living.

–bdegenaro

Posted by Smash | 0 Comments

For Great Justice

Bold and Brave, Cartoon Network launched Justice League in 2001 featuring the seven ‘classic’ superheroes from the DC Universe who came to be the founding members of the Justice League of America.  Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash and Martian Manhunter are in both, with the one notable difference between the original comic series and the animated series is in the animated universe, Hawkgirl replaced Aquaman as the seventh member.  The animated series begins when a Martian invasion of earth requires each of the seven heroes to unite.  From there, the series continues as they team up again against Aquaman and Atlantis, the Injustice League (Lex Luthor and a gang of misfits: Ultra-Humanite, Copperhead, Cheetah, Star Sapphire, Solomon Grundy, and The Shade) through to Vandal Savage’s attempt to alter World War II.  The quality of the series only improves beyond Season One, crowning in Season Three with Justice League (the original seven members) reforming into Justice League Unlimited and including almost entirely all DC Superheroes. 

As a child, I was an avid fan of the Justice League, the constant shifting in an out of members fascinated me as it introduced me to character after character of a largely unknown, to me, DC Universe.  As an adult, I fully understand that the Justice League of America served as a repository for superheroes not worthy enough of their own comic book series; Martian Manhunter, probably the least known of all founding Leaguers, I knew only through the series.  The child in me gets excited to see long forgotten characters make an appearance like The Atom or even Green Lantern.  Even more impressive is the animated series ability to navigate the frenetic DC universes.  Origin stories between television series (Smallville, Lois and Clark), comics, big-screen films (old and upcoming) are only multiplied in complexity by pre and post Crisis origins of most of the characters.  The writing team of JLU deserves full credit in Season Four with recreating Hawkman/Hawkgirl’s origins in a way that manages to rewrite, honor, and mesh with the DC Universe. 

The writers managing to reinvent Hawkgirl in Season Four is no small feat considering Season Two of Justice League climaxes with the Thanagarian invasion of Earth.  The hawk-people of Hawkgirl’s homeworld land on earth as ‘protectors’ but in reality are just using earth as a gateway for their war with their eternal enemies.  This story line also meshes with the events in the comic universe.  As Hawkgirl first betrays the League then betrays her people, the story resonates with parallels to current geo-political global conflicts.  Invading other lands to protect your homeland sounds all too real world.

Both the comic and the animated series share common elements that make them fantastic, bigger battles, bigger schemes, bigger sacrifices but most importantly better group dynamics.  With Batman serving as the darker urges of the group, Flash as it’s more humane side, and Hawkgirl as virtual rage; the stories open up for discussion on social issues.  The charm of Justice League is its ability to clearly been seen on two separate levels: fast moving stories with lots of awesome drawings of fights and explosions and an engaging commentary on relevant issues.  The cartoon works to both audiences with great success.

Critics probably point out the unrealistic nature of the characters in the cartoons, specifically their physical form.  I think it works to further blur the two levels of the series.  Wonder Woman is drawn sexy and yet innocently at the same time.  Batman’s exaggerated physical features invoke a larger than life persona that presents as both noble and stoic.  As a child, I used to prefer comics that were drawn more realistic.  As an adult, I enjoy the escape from reality they provide.  The Justice League, in the final analysis, is truly heroic.

Season One is newly released on DVD format, and I am sure others will soon follow.  Season Five, which according to rumor will be the last season, is currently airing on Cartoon Network.  New episodes usually air on Saturday nights at 7PM EST.  Check your local cable listing for viewing times in your area.

Posted by Smash | 8 Comments

Frenzied Serenity

Just before the holidays, I suddenly just had to know how the resolve some of the character stories in Serenity as they were left off at the conclusion of Firefly.  That longing feeling wasn’t because of Dex’s constant nudging me or even Angelbaby assisting Dex, but those probably had a lot to do with it.  Instead, I ended up having a dream about what happens in the movie, inexplicably, and I suddenly just had to see the story through.  And therein is the real serenity; that creator Joss Whedon gets a rare opportunity to deliver what fans have been clamoring for many years.  The conclusion of hours of emotional investment in his short lived Firefly television show.

A brief synopsis for anyone who isn’t already a browncoat, but is curious:  Serenity is a Firefly class, practically a derelict, vessel.  Captain Malcolm Reynolds is a no-bullshit captain leading his crew of good-natured brigands.  The crew is made of First Officer, Zoe; pilot, Wash; Doctor Simon, muscle-man, Jayne; preacher, Shepard Book; troubled teenager, River; and companion, Inara.  During the television show, Firefly, the crew move about planet to planet, making ends meet however they can.  It’s a better living than most of humanity faces, in this desperate, distant future.  One of it’s unique hallmarks is, that as Sci-Fi, is there are no alien badguys, merely human ones.  The show display the best and worst we can hope for in our future.  This film has a rare opportunity to complete many of the incomplete stories from the television show.  A trend I can only hope can continue as more shows are unfairly terminated prematurely.

Unfortunately, Joss left a lot of parts of his tale untold.  I would have liked some explanation behind the preacher, who was to me one of the most interesting characters on the series, Firefly.  Obviously, the story centered around River and whether we’d see her ‘get better’ or at least realize her full potential.  Several minor mysteries of the series were left inconclusive, and I thought that the one romantic ending seemed too passing on-screen to be rewarding.

 
This is the only flaw I could find in the film.  The storyline was tight; the acting was stellar; the special effects felt true.  All together this was a solid science-fiction film that has the potential to stand on its own without having to have seen the series.  It deserved much more commercial success than what it received.

Posted by Dex | 8 Comments

Get Lost

Let me first start by saying that Smash (Jason)
has begged me to post a review on this site for ages. In the past, I
loved long, in-depth reviews, but lately I’ve favored quick and
blunt ones. Maybe I got sick of reading 3 pages of spoilers, or maybe I
just wanted to know if it was a proverbial "thumbs up" or "thumbs
down". Get to the point already! Needless to say, when he asked me to
review the first season of Lost, I was rather excited. I love this
show. So, sorry if this review is gushing with positive remarks, but it
takes a great series to break my "no reviews on smashy.net" rule.

Jason
and I talk about TV shows way too much. Last year we were discussing
the newest seasons of Alias and 24, and Jason mentioned a new show
called “Lost” which was created by J.J. Abrams… the guy behind Alias,
which is one of the best shows on television. I hadn’t seen the show at
the time, but I had downloaded the 2 or 3 episodes that had aired. See,
I didn’t have cable TV for about a year, so I would get my shows
off the internet and watch at my convenience. I hadn’t gotten around to
checking out Lost, and I didn’t actually start watching until about 5
weeks into the series. It was nice to watch 6 episodes back to back
without commercials or week-long cliffhangers.

In
any story, there are 4 important elements; plot, character, theme and
the most neglected: setting. This is not the case in the world of Lost,
where the setting is the most fascinating and mysterious part of the
show. The island is a character in itself, full of mystery, beauty, and
intrigue. It’s a unique combination of man vs. man, man vs.
himself, and man vs. nature. I still get chills when I hear Dominic
Monaghan utter those ominous words, "Guys, where are we?"

The
writing is top notch, as expected from J.J. Abrams, not to mention
co-creators Jeffrey Lieber and Damon Lindelof. Of the impressive
48-member cast, 14 are prominently featured as “main cast members”.
Each episode centers around one of the main characters, 50% of which
are flashbacks which not only add to the character, but deepen the plot
and instill a sense of dread into the audience. The intensity of the
writing is clearly shown in every episode, with very little “filler”
episodes. In fact, the show ended up running 2 episodes longer than
planned, due to the over-ambitious writing and directing staff. The
characters are slightly one-dimensional at first glance, but they have
many layers when the show starts to focus on them and reveals their
backstory. My favorites are easily Jack, Locke & Hurley. Not just
because of their personality, but because of how they each have a
unique way of dealing with the delema of their situation.

A
truly fantastic show, it’s hard to think of something negative to say
about Lost. As mentioned earlier, some of the plot is a little drawn
out and slow to get to the point. There are also a few episodes where
nothing amazing or dramatic happens, but the audience is entertained
nevertheless. Still better than most Hollywood movies, not to mention
the best drama currently on television.  If you haven’t watched,
Lost is highly recommended … just don’t open the hatch unless you are
curious enough.