Michael Moore? Or Fred Savage?

Post Dated: May 30th, 2009

or

After watching Canadian Bacon last night, I realized that maybe Michael Moore had a point... I mean, Bowling For Columbine is a great documentary, and I’m still very interested in seeing Sicko. But the guy is definitely right about something.

If my Dad read this he’d probably lower his brow and shake his head... but it’s true. We have a serious issue with violence in this country and no one’s really taking the time to listen when they should. If the world is really an angry machine standing only for profit and reward (even if it‘s unjustly received), then we as a people need to fix it. We need to stand up and say why am I letting this happen.

My point is well exemplified in our voting process. Every four years we look at the ballot of candidates and half the time (more than half the time) we say, I wish I could vote for one of these other guys... but they’ll never win. And just like that, the machine is victorious again. 

So I may be happy with this last election, and yes, I’m still happy... but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to fix the problem. The opinions of absolute Democrats and absolute Republicans alike are morally flawed. They flip flop on issues that hardly make any sense. Some people like Libertarianism, but that is not necessarily a full possibility... I mean, absolute freedom? What’s that?

But Objectivism is possible and morally sound. If you don’t know what that big word means, look it up... read Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged... too big? Grab a copy of The Virtue Of Selfishness and see if that doesn’t make sense of everything in a very few pages.

Now, I’m digressing, but it’s for a good reason. See, Michael Moore may only be Fred Savage in a very clever disguise, but he still makes me at least consider the fact that the way the world is run is not right. He’s trying to force us to ask questions. And that’s exactly what we as individuals need to do. Ask the question, stand up, and do something about it. Clap if you agree.

Family Is Family... And That Stuff's Important

I wish I was closer with my family. Wish I could talk to them more often. And it may be hard keeping contact due to the time difference, but that’s just an excuse. We barely talked when I lived at home... partly because when I lived at home, I was always out with my friends trying to have fun. But it’s not just my fault.

My Dad’s a quiet person (most of the time). And my Mom is always working or asleep. For some reason, my sister and I hardly keep in touch, though we have plenty in common... Actually, the only family member I really am always up to date with is my brother. Don’t really know how it fell that way.

And I’ve tried to be better about it in the past, but I always only get so far and then just recede into my usual habits. Well now I want to break some of those habits. So I’m gonna start calling them... Sounds like a real plan, right?

Don’t really know why I thought this was worth a post. But maybe it’ll make you ask how you get along with your folks. Maybe it’ll make you think about it for a second. We all have our reasons for the things that we do, but sometimes it’s nice to experiment.

Good Superheroes Are Hard To Come By

I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s noticed, but Superman isn’t as popular as he used to be. Some say it’s because he’s boring (which is only a half truth at best). Here’s the problem, people don’t deal with the interesting arc of his character. Oh no. They ignore the juice and jump head first into the Death of Superman story as if that concept makes any sense at all. 

And f@&* Doomsday.  That character is a poorly put together ham and cheese sandwich. Though the over all “New Gods” concept is really cool... but why does this flake of a character get to kill the man of steel? Why not someone important like Lex Luthor or Brainiac? But I digress.

What people ignore are the “human” (or in his case kryptonian) elements. What happens when Lois and Perry and Jimmy grow old and die but Superman is still around saving the world. Isn’t he immortal? Does he age? What does he do with himself when the alias of Clark Kent no longer means anything? And (to poorly quote Watchmen) “Why should [he] save a world [he] no longer has any stake in?” But that’s what interests me about the character...

Maybe I’m biased because the first serious thing I ever sat down to write was a Superman Trilogy that covered all (at least most) of these questions. Superman Vs. The Old Ones. I still think it’s a badass idea...

But there’s another thing responsible for the collapse of Superman’s popularity. His movies are always (ALWAYS) lame. Who wants to watch Superman fly around for two hours fighting natural disasters? I mean, what’s the point? What we need is a Superman that’ll actually do battle. And if you wanna shove that Doomsday plot down our throats, at least have the decency to make that final war entertaining.

P.S.- A very similar thing happened to the Incredible Hulk... but they fixed that with this most recent installment.

P.P.S.- Neither of the above mentioned heroes are my favorite... but that’s a different article.

A Love Of People And Their Love For Life

When I first came out to LA people kept warning me about the folks here... it was that whole point Crash tried to make (and I hate Crash) that people are so disconnected and need to punish each other every once and a while just to feel something. But with deepest sincerity I can say that not a word of that is true. People in LA are nice friendly folk looking to make their lives better. This is an Objectivist town no matter what people will tell you. Pragmatism only exists in the limping, waning politics slowly being forgotten. But the truth is, people here do everything for themselves... and that is not a bad thing. No sir.

Acting in your own best interest is the most natural, truthful thing a person can do. If it makes me feel good to give to charity I will. if it makes me happy to help clean the environment, I’ll recycle and drive less and all of that stuff. It’s out of love for myself... and if you can’t love yourself, why should anybody else love you? It’s that simple. Really.

I find that, because I love and understand who I am, I can find an understanding of everybody else (over time) and therefore love them in kind. When I notice a person is just happy to be breathing and doing, I gain a respect for them. Because life is so simple (despite what people may say). Life is doing and being and acting when the cause is just. And if you’re not  living, your dying. I can’t explain it any simpler than that.

I love people because people love life... and when a person loves life, it makes me love life even more knowing that we share this single common bond. And it would make me happy to make them happy, because they deserve it. But please just realize, you do it all for yourself... and you can make a difference.

Fred Astaire Is Tapping In His Grave

Recently I’ve been watching a lot of classic Fred Astaire musicals. When I was a kid I never wanted to see any of these because I imagined they’d be sappy and annoying... which is totally not the case. Though some may be better than others, they all seem to own a sense of pride in their star that modern pictures can’t comprehend. Now why is that? 

Back in the time of the Studio System actors were forced to pump out up to (and beyond) five movies a year. Now that’s a lot of time on set. I don’t know if you realize, but every minute of a film takes at least an hour (at least) to capture... you’ve got the lights to put up and the set to set, and once you’ve gotten the perfect angle on that camera you go ahead and you shoot a take of the actors. This take will probably never be seen again, because that same day fifteen more takes will take the first take’s place and another ten takes will take those takes’ places. Even I’m confused. 

But everything has to be perfect (we hope). And the musical is one of the hardest formats to shoot “perfectly”. Choreography has to pop, and mouths have to match up with the track, and everything has to look spectacular. So what’s my point? Go and watch Moulin Rouge! (a flick I still love) and see how many times in a song the camera will cut between shots... that is very possibly because they had to cover up a mistake (or Baz could just be a total spaz). Now go back and watch a film like Funny Face (a top five favorite musical of mine). How much of Mr. Astaire’s dance was faked? None. Not a single bit. He tapped and he tapped and he’s probably still tapping in his coffin, because that is what the man was made for, and his movies prove it. How many takes do you think it took to get that quality? Hmmm?

Good flicks to check out (not listed above): Top Hat and Swing Time.

And if you’ve got some more free time on your hands, check out these slightly less topic related flicks: Living It Up, All That Jazz, Singin’ In The Rain, and Kiss Me Kate.

Then check out The Producers and try and figure out why people were so negative on that (I’m still scratching my head).

Snap if you agree.

Writing Should Never Be A Chore

Post Dated: May 28th, 2009

Today I read the most tedious screenplay of my life. And at no point during the process did I put the text down, walk into the kitchen, open the bottom drawer, and nail myself over the head with a rubber mallet. How did I achieve this feet you ask? I endured because, in my mind, I had to. 

You see, this particular piece was given to me as a “work-in-progress” (which really means the author couldn’t figure it out the first time... which is fine, nobody’s perfect), an assignment for me to “save”. And I wanted so badly to save it. But as I read this manuscript I found myself completely baffled, for there was not a single original thought in the whole thing. As I sifted through the pages I found myself reminiscing about films I didn’t enjoy like A Farewell To Arms and The Notebook (no offense ladies).

And I regret to say I probably will not finish this particular assignment. It’s a challenge, that’s for sure. And lord knows I’d love to rise to any challenge. But I have made the decision in a most firm state of sanity... you see, writing should NEVER be a chore. Writing is creation and beauty and love. And when something like that becomes a chore, we have lost a piece of ourselves that would be most tedious to try and get back... almost as tedious as reading that script again. And if I worked on this script it would most decidedly become a chore. And I do not intend to lose that part of me. Not now, not ever.

War Films Are Kind Of Boring

Post Dated: May 27th, 2009

I’m gonna make this real quick because a lot of people probably disagree with me whole heartedly... but War Films are kind of boring. I spent Memorial Day watching some “classic” ones (Flicks I hadn’t seen before) trying to broaden my horizons. Well what I figured out is I can’t pay attention to them.

The Longest Day was actually great... the exception of the day. It was original and interesting. And it didn’t feel bogged down.

But Patton and Tora! Tora! Tora! and Air Force (not as bad) were incredibly boring.

That's President Bartlet going to kill some commie ass!

Charlie best be careful next time he enters the oval office.

I guess when I hear War Film I expect to have my head messed with (Apocalypse Now!) or I expect to learn a valuable lesson (Sergeant York). But if I’m falling asleep during the movie what’s the point?

Good examples of entertaining War Films other than the three previously praised: Paths Of Glory, Saving Private Ryan, Three Kings, The Dirty Dozen. Now those are flicks you can sink your teeth into. They have weight and entertainment value, even when they’re saying war’s a damn shame... which they usually are. 

P.S.- Out of all the flicks i just named the only ones available on Blu-Ray are The Longest Day and The Dirty Dozen? Cool... but???