I was finally able to watch the recent Justice League movie.
Based on a reviews online, the film was disappointing. After watching the film, while I agreed the film wasn't great, it wasn't horrible. I was trying to pinpoint exactly why it didn't live up to expectations, and I've come up with my thoughts below. I'm not going to nit-pick on issues such as Superman's mustache.
Needless to say:
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
1) Poor introduction of too many characters too late
So when you compare to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you immediately think, "I don't know these characters", so it has a disadvantage compared to the first Avengers film.
However, how is quick introduction of characters that different than the first Guardians of the Galaxy film? In that film, the story collects five relatively unknown characters. In Justice League, at least Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman have been introduced in earlier movies. Characters like the Flash have had their own TV series and should be familiar to viewers.
In my opinion, the problem is that the team had very little time to bond.
In the Guardians of the Galaxy, the team came together somewhat quickly, although in a somewhat comedy of errors. They immediately interact and get to know each other in prison, escape prison, go meet the Collector, etc. etc.
In Justice League, that doesn't happen. A fair amount of the time is Batman trying to put the team together. Aquaman doesn't bother showing up until the end of the first battle. Superman only shows up at the very end. It just never felt like a team.
2) None of the heroes are known in the world
Exacerbating point #1 above is the fact that the heroes aren't "known" / "public" to the world as a whole and also aren't known to each other, with just a few exceptions. So now time is wasted having the characters find each other instead of them just knowing each other.
As a counter example, lets take the forming of the Justice League in the DC Animated Universe and the direct to video movie Justice League: War. In both of those animated tales, the heroes are relatively known to the world (with a few exceptions). An alien invasion requires all the super heroes to come together for a greater purpose. Generally speaking, they all know each other or know of each other (with a few exceptions), and so that immediately leads to the group working together.
(An aside, it's not entirely clear to me how Wonder Woman
went from being in the shadows at the end of the Wonder Woman movie, but
suddenly running around trying to fight terrorists in Justice League.)
3) Superman being brought back to life
Also compounding #1 and #2 above is the fact the team has to waste time bringing Superman back to life. As the one "known" or "public" superhero in this DC movie universe, it would have made far more sense for him to be involved in forming the team.
4) The danger never seemed real.
Lets compare to the Justice League forming in the DC Animated Universe and the direct to video Justice League: War. In those animated tales, the aliens have come to Earth and are wrecking havoc everywhere around the world. So all the heroes come out to defeat the bad guys.
In Justice League, the battle is largely in the middle of no where. The overall danger just doesn't seem as exciting.
On top of all that, Superman comes in the end to save the day. No real climactic danger. So forming the Justice League wasn't all that necessary, Superman could have handled it from the start if he were alive.
5) Steppenwolf sucked
My assumption is the movie studio is saving Darkseid for another day. As such, they sent one of Darkseid's cronies instead.
Boring.
The story in Justice League could have been much better served with a different random alien invasion. Say ... Martians.
Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Saturday, August 20, 2016
Suicide Squad - Why it was worse than Batman v Superman
Ugh, I just saw Suicide Squad and it was awful. Far worse than Batman v Superman.
Why was it so bad? There are reasons that I'm sure most people are going to bring up. The introduction of so many fringe characters into a movie at the same time, not enough back story, not enough character depth/motiviation.
But there was something deeper. These are the reasons I could come up with.
Needless to say ...
SPOILERS WARNING
SPOILERS WARNING
SPOILERS WARNING
1) Worthless Characters Added
Not only were there too many character introductions, but some are so unfleshed that I'm not even sure why they were included in the movie. Katana was introduced about a third of the way into the movie. It felt like they added her into the middle of the script after it was completed.
Why was she added? My assumption is it was add a bit more diversity into the team (an additional female and Asian character) and to add a "sword" person amongst a bunch of people with guns.
Because other than hacking a bunch of people with a sword a few times, she appears to have no appreciable purpose in the entire film. During the "what do you dream of that would make you happy" sequence before the final battle, she's not even included.
Reading a bit online to get other fans opinions, I realized I had completely forgotten about Slipknot. The guy they barely introduced and just killed off right away. So sort of like Katana but even worse so.
2) Too much for Suicide Squad to handle?
So I'm not the biggest Suicide Squad knowledgeable person in the world. But one of the subtleties is that I felt that Suicide Squad teams were supposed to go on more "black ops" missions.
Instead, they go after and battle a supernatural demon? This makes no sense. Black ops missions make way more sense. That's why you would put together a team of criminals that are assassins (Deadshot) and thieves (Slipknot, Boomerang)? You throw in Killer Croc for some muscle and maybe Harley Quinn because she's good in hand to hand combat. This is the team that is supposed to go after the next Superman?
Looking on wikipedia, it appears this is some of the history of Suicide Squad in the comics. They go kidnap people or steal things. Ugh ... stealing the weapons book from Tehran would have made a bunch better film instead.
3) Everyone becomes friends and "good"
So maybe it's just me, but I hate the typical "bad guys become good" storyline. These are supposed to be the worst criminals out there. Yeah, certain characters will try to be team players and work together (Deadshot), but it's mostly for self-service to meet some personal self interest.
It would have been better if the team was constantly trying to figure out how to escape or take Flag's detonation tablet and reverse engineer it to remove the neck-bombs. Nope, they are just good guys eventually.
4) Captain Boomerang is a bit cheapened
Before the movie came out, I wondered how they would portray Captain Boomerang. In the comics and DC animated world, I think he's wonderful. After all, he's a badass assassin that throws boomerangs for a living. It's tongue and cheek silliness that makes the animated versions of him so awesome.
While Captain Boomerang plays the comic relief in the team real well, he feels really cheapened while fighting. I just can't recall a moment when he was really that badass in the movie.
5) What was the purpose of the Joker in this film?
Why was the Joker even in this film? His entire goal is to rescue Harley Quinn, which seems so unlike the Joker and a waste of his character. The Joker is supposed to be some psychopath.
Here's a much better idea for the movie. The Joker is going to do something crazy and Amanda Waller needs a black ops team to stop him.
Oh, and why would they add an equally psychotic Harley Quinn to the team? Only because she understands the Joker and can help. Otherwise why bring her along?
6) Too much jumping around
I felt the film "jumped around" too much, especially as they give back stories or flashbacks to prior events. During 1 or 2 scenes my girlfriend was like "What's going on?" which I had to explain only b/c I have some knowledge of the comics universe. One particular case was the flashback when Harley Quinn jumps into the vat of chemicals to become like the Joker. It seemed to segue to that out of nowhere.
Conclusion:
Watch Batman: Assault on Arkham. It features Suicide Squad, is wonderful, and everything I said above is not the case in that animated film. Katana is replaced by Killer Frost in the film and has a strong role in it, so you can't even say they didn't diversify the cast.
Why was it so bad? There are reasons that I'm sure most people are going to bring up. The introduction of so many fringe characters into a movie at the same time, not enough back story, not enough character depth/motiviation.
But there was something deeper. These are the reasons I could come up with.
Needless to say ...
SPOILERS WARNING
SPOILERS WARNING
SPOILERS WARNING
1) Worthless Characters Added
Not only were there too many character introductions, but some are so unfleshed that I'm not even sure why they were included in the movie. Katana was introduced about a third of the way into the movie. It felt like they added her into the middle of the script after it was completed.
Why was she added? My assumption is it was add a bit more diversity into the team (an additional female and Asian character) and to add a "sword" person amongst a bunch of people with guns.
Because other than hacking a bunch of people with a sword a few times, she appears to have no appreciable purpose in the entire film. During the "what do you dream of that would make you happy" sequence before the final battle, she's not even included.
Reading a bit online to get other fans opinions, I realized I had completely forgotten about Slipknot. The guy they barely introduced and just killed off right away. So sort of like Katana but even worse so.
2) Too much for Suicide Squad to handle?
So I'm not the biggest Suicide Squad knowledgeable person in the world. But one of the subtleties is that I felt that Suicide Squad teams were supposed to go on more "black ops" missions.
Instead, they go after and battle a supernatural demon? This makes no sense. Black ops missions make way more sense. That's why you would put together a team of criminals that are assassins (Deadshot) and thieves (Slipknot, Boomerang)? You throw in Killer Croc for some muscle and maybe Harley Quinn because she's good in hand to hand combat. This is the team that is supposed to go after the next Superman?
Looking on wikipedia, it appears this is some of the history of Suicide Squad in the comics. They go kidnap people or steal things. Ugh ... stealing the weapons book from Tehran would have made a bunch better film instead.
3) Everyone becomes friends and "good"
So maybe it's just me, but I hate the typical "bad guys become good" storyline. These are supposed to be the worst criminals out there. Yeah, certain characters will try to be team players and work together (Deadshot), but it's mostly for self-service to meet some personal self interest.
It would have been better if the team was constantly trying to figure out how to escape or take Flag's detonation tablet and reverse engineer it to remove the neck-bombs. Nope, they are just good guys eventually.
4) Captain Boomerang is a bit cheapened
Before the movie came out, I wondered how they would portray Captain Boomerang. In the comics and DC animated world, I think he's wonderful. After all, he's a badass assassin that throws boomerangs for a living. It's tongue and cheek silliness that makes the animated versions of him so awesome.
While Captain Boomerang plays the comic relief in the team real well, he feels really cheapened while fighting. I just can't recall a moment when he was really that badass in the movie.
5) What was the purpose of the Joker in this film?
Why was the Joker even in this film? His entire goal is to rescue Harley Quinn, which seems so unlike the Joker and a waste of his character. The Joker is supposed to be some psychopath.
Here's a much better idea for the movie. The Joker is going to do something crazy and Amanda Waller needs a black ops team to stop him.
Oh, and why would they add an equally psychotic Harley Quinn to the team? Only because she understands the Joker and can help. Otherwise why bring her along?
6) Too much jumping around
I felt the film "jumped around" too much, especially as they give back stories or flashbacks to prior events. During 1 or 2 scenes my girlfriend was like "What's going on?" which I had to explain only b/c I have some knowledge of the comics universe. One particular case was the flashback when Harley Quinn jumps into the vat of chemicals to become like the Joker. It seemed to segue to that out of nowhere.
Conclusion:
Watch Batman: Assault on Arkham. It features Suicide Squad, is wonderful, and everything I said above is not the case in that animated film. Katana is replaced by Killer Frost in the film and has a strong role in it, so you can't even say they didn't diversify the cast.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Batman v Superman & Justice League Trailer - Why so disappointing?
So last weekend I finally sat down and watched Batman v Superman.
While I didn't dislike the movie as much as the horrible reviews suggest (27% on Rottentomatoes), I didn't love it. I maybe would have given it around a 50%-ish rating.
After watching it, I was trying to think up why I didn't like it that much. There are some obvious reasons that I think most people have. The introduction of Wonder Woman, Batman, Lex Luthor, and Doomsday was just too much for one movie. (Blah blah, should have done it like Marvel by having Wonder Woman and Batman Movie first, blah blah).
But eventually, I realized it was something more subtle ....
SPOILERS WARNING
SPOILERS WARNING
SPOILERS WARNING
The portrayal of the characters in the movie don't meet my impression of the characters in the comics.
Batman to me is supposed to be the world's greatest detective. Getting "tricked" by Lex Luthor into fighting Superman just doesn't seem like what would happen to Batman. In fact, wouldn't Batman have figured out Superman's identity by now? After all, if Lex Luthor could, couldn't he?
After the bombing in Washington D.C., wouldn't Batman investigate further to see what actually happened so he knows Superman didn't cause anything? Going out of his way to just want to fight Superman just because seems very unlike Batman.
Another thing that bothered me was Bruce Wayne's somewhat "friendliness" and "sense of humor" in the movie. In the comics and DC animated universe, I always considered Bruce Wayne/Batman to be an untrusting loner who is somewhat distant compared to other members of the Justice League. In the Justice League Animated series, he bluntly says he's "not a people person" when the Justice League is being formed. There are other indications in the comics and other animated films where this seems to be the case (The Dark Knight comic comes to mind, as does the Justice League: War animated film, and the recent Dark Knight Rises, and probably many others).
However, in Batman v Superman, Bruce Wayne wants to go out of his way to form the Justice League after Superman dies (and furthers shows it in the Justice League trailer). He also cracks some jokes here and there (and in the trailer too!) that just seem out of character for Batman. When Wonder Woman arrives to fight Doomsday, Batman knows exactly who this is and why she is there. Saying, "I thought she was with you" seems very out of character. A much better line would have been something like "Clark Kent, meet Wonder Woman", in which Batman has clearly already figured out Superman's identity. Superman would act a bit surprised that Batman already figured it out, which is a totally befitting Batman.
Now that I've seen how they decided to portray Bruce Wayne/Batman in this film, it makes sense to me why they would cast Ben Affleck as Batman. He actually plays the part pretty well. It's the portrayal that IMO doesn't map to Batman. A completely different Batman portrayal would have led to a different casting choice.
As a complete aside, there's one moment in the Doomsday fight I love where Batman leaps onto a building of some sort but escapes a punch/attack from Doomsday by leaping away quickly. That is wonderful and gives a "super human agility" kind of feel to Batman that he can even fight Doomsday to some extent. They could have done more of that.
Jeremy Iron's portrayal of Alfred also didn't seem quite right either, compared to Alfred in the comics, animated shows, or even in movies (such as Michael Caine's portrayal). He almost seemed to portray a sidekick of sorts to Bruce Wayne, helping him in the Batcave and taking on a Barabara Gordon/Oracle like role. It just seemed out of place for him.
I will say that the portrayals of Lex Luthor (minus the hair) and Wonder Woman (albeit limited) were pretty good.
While I didn't dislike the movie as much as the horrible reviews suggest (27% on Rottentomatoes), I didn't love it. I maybe would have given it around a 50%-ish rating.
After watching it, I was trying to think up why I didn't like it that much. There are some obvious reasons that I think most people have. The introduction of Wonder Woman, Batman, Lex Luthor, and Doomsday was just too much for one movie. (Blah blah, should have done it like Marvel by having Wonder Woman and Batman Movie first, blah blah).
But eventually, I realized it was something more subtle ....
SPOILERS WARNING
SPOILERS WARNING
SPOILERS WARNING
The portrayal of the characters in the movie don't meet my impression of the characters in the comics.
Batman to me is supposed to be the world's greatest detective. Getting "tricked" by Lex Luthor into fighting Superman just doesn't seem like what would happen to Batman. In fact, wouldn't Batman have figured out Superman's identity by now? After all, if Lex Luthor could, couldn't he?
After the bombing in Washington D.C., wouldn't Batman investigate further to see what actually happened so he knows Superman didn't cause anything? Going out of his way to just want to fight Superman just because seems very unlike Batman.
Another thing that bothered me was Bruce Wayne's somewhat "friendliness" and "sense of humor" in the movie. In the comics and DC animated universe, I always considered Bruce Wayne/Batman to be an untrusting loner who is somewhat distant compared to other members of the Justice League. In the Justice League Animated series, he bluntly says he's "not a people person" when the Justice League is being formed. There are other indications in the comics and other animated films where this seems to be the case (The Dark Knight comic comes to mind, as does the Justice League: War animated film, and the recent Dark Knight Rises, and probably many others).
However, in Batman v Superman, Bruce Wayne wants to go out of his way to form the Justice League after Superman dies (and furthers shows it in the Justice League trailer). He also cracks some jokes here and there (and in the trailer too!) that just seem out of character for Batman. When Wonder Woman arrives to fight Doomsday, Batman knows exactly who this is and why she is there. Saying, "I thought she was with you" seems very out of character. A much better line would have been something like "Clark Kent, meet Wonder Woman", in which Batman has clearly already figured out Superman's identity. Superman would act a bit surprised that Batman already figured it out, which is a totally befitting Batman.
Now that I've seen how they decided to portray Bruce Wayne/Batman in this film, it makes sense to me why they would cast Ben Affleck as Batman. He actually plays the part pretty well. It's the portrayal that IMO doesn't map to Batman. A completely different Batman portrayal would have led to a different casting choice.
As a complete aside, there's one moment in the Doomsday fight I love where Batman leaps onto a building of some sort but escapes a punch/attack from Doomsday by leaping away quickly. That is wonderful and gives a "super human agility" kind of feel to Batman that he can even fight Doomsday to some extent. They could have done more of that.
Jeremy Iron's portrayal of Alfred also didn't seem quite right either, compared to Alfred in the comics, animated shows, or even in movies (such as Michael Caine's portrayal). He almost seemed to portray a sidekick of sorts to Bruce Wayne, helping him in the Batcave and taking on a Barabara Gordon/Oracle like role. It just seemed out of place for him.
I will say that the portrayals of Lex Luthor (minus the hair) and Wonder Woman (albeit limited) were pretty good.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
Horrible Movie Review: The Switch
Yesterday I saw one of the stupidest movies I've ever seen. Not necessarily a "bad" movie, just one of the stupidest ones. This movie is "The Switch", a 2010 rom-com starring Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston.
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD
In the movie, Wally (Bateman) is best friends with Kassie (Aniston). Kassie has decided she'd like to have a baby and wants to go the sperm bank route. Wally suggests he could be the father, because he's had a crush on Kassie for a long time. Kassie objects, but they remain friends.
Through a comedy of errors Wally hijacks the sperm bank donation and substitutes his own sperm. So ... Kassie's baby is actually his own.
Kassie begins dating the (presumed) biological father Roland at some point in the future. Despite Roland being in the picture, Wally becomes an even better father figure to Kassie's son (his biological son) than the presumed biological father.
At the climax of the movie, Wally reveals he is the biological father to both Kassie and Roland.
Now at this point in the movie, what do you think should happen?
A) Kassie enters a murderous rage and kills Wally
B) A more mild form of violence occurs, such as a beating, and possibly through proxy of another individual (such as Roland)
C) Kassie gets a lawyer and sues Wally for everything he owns
D) Kassie is pissed as hell, moves away, and they never see each other again
E) Kassie realizes Wally is her true love and they live happily ever after
Living in a civilized society and not believing Aniston wants to move into a new genre of film, I suppose 'C' or 'D' would be the most likely thing to happen. However, I think 'A' or 'B' would have been a reasonably expected response given the circumstances of how horrible this was.
But since this is a Hollywood rom-com, the answer is in fact 'E'. About the stupidest thing I think could possibly happen.
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD
In the movie, Wally (Bateman) is best friends with Kassie (Aniston). Kassie has decided she'd like to have a baby and wants to go the sperm bank route. Wally suggests he could be the father, because he's had a crush on Kassie for a long time. Kassie objects, but they remain friends.
Through a comedy of errors Wally hijacks the sperm bank donation and substitutes his own sperm. So ... Kassie's baby is actually his own.
Kassie begins dating the (presumed) biological father Roland at some point in the future. Despite Roland being in the picture, Wally becomes an even better father figure to Kassie's son (his biological son) than the presumed biological father.
At the climax of the movie, Wally reveals he is the biological father to both Kassie and Roland.
Now at this point in the movie, what do you think should happen?
A) Kassie enters a murderous rage and kills Wally
B) A more mild form of violence occurs, such as a beating, and possibly through proxy of another individual (such as Roland)
C) Kassie gets a lawyer and sues Wally for everything he owns
D) Kassie is pissed as hell, moves away, and they never see each other again
E) Kassie realizes Wally is her true love and they live happily ever after
Living in a civilized society and not believing Aniston wants to move into a new genre of film, I suppose 'C' or 'D' would be the most likely thing to happen. However, I think 'A' or 'B' would have been a reasonably expected response given the circumstances of how horrible this was.
But since this is a Hollywood rom-com, the answer is in fact 'E'. About the stupidest thing I think could possibly happen.
Monday, June 30, 2014
What the Transformers Movies Need
I just saw the new Transformers: Age of Extinction. While it has its problems (I won't go into it, plenty of other people on the internet will), it left me disappointed yet again.
There's pretty much only one thing I want to see in a Transformers movie ... transforming. You should see a car transform into a robot. Then see the robot transform back into a car.
Don't show a car, then pan away, then pan back and it's a robot. The magic of a Transformers movie is seeing the transforming in action.
Don't have robots running around for an hour shooting at each other, have them transforming while they fight. Hey, that robot needs to get the top of the building. Sure would be nice if it could transform into something that could fly up there.
Without transforming it's a robot movie. Robots fighting. Robots shooting guns. It's not Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, it's Robots: Revenge of the Fallen.
Robots: Dark Side of the Moon.
Robots: Age of Extinction.
The majority of the end of the last three films has been a giant robot fight. Very little to no transforming done, just a lot of robots shooting guns at each other.
Oh and I forgot, what's worse than the robots shooting at each other? When a bunch of robot spaceships shoot at each other. Not because the autobots or decepticons can't fly ... or transform into something that can fly.
Oh you want to know what also stinks. When they transform without even transforming. When they change into a billion tiny little particles and morph into whatever they want. In other words, avoiding transforming.
Here's an example in the first Transformers film that's wonderful.
First Bumblebee is a car, then he converts into a robot.
Then he fights Barricade.
After the fight, he becomes a car again.
It's wonderful! This is what Transformers is all about. And this entire scene is 4 minutes long.
Here's some more
First Brawl is fighting as a tank. The autobots start as cars, transform into robots to fight. Brawl converts into robot to fight as well. It's wonderful!
Here's some scenes with Starscream from the first movie.
This is great, he goes from plane to robot. Then robot to plane. He even does it a lot while fighting the other planes. It's probably the best scene in the entire movie.
So in conclusion, please show transformations.
There's pretty much only one thing I want to see in a Transformers movie ... transforming. You should see a car transform into a robot. Then see the robot transform back into a car.
Don't show a car, then pan away, then pan back and it's a robot. The magic of a Transformers movie is seeing the transforming in action.
Don't have robots running around for an hour shooting at each other, have them transforming while they fight. Hey, that robot needs to get the top of the building. Sure would be nice if it could transform into something that could fly up there.
Without transforming it's a robot movie. Robots fighting. Robots shooting guns. It's not Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, it's Robots: Revenge of the Fallen.
Robots: Dark Side of the Moon.
Robots: Age of Extinction.
The majority of the end of the last three films has been a giant robot fight. Very little to no transforming done, just a lot of robots shooting guns at each other.
Oh and I forgot, what's worse than the robots shooting at each other? When a bunch of robot spaceships shoot at each other. Not because the autobots or decepticons can't fly ... or transform into something that can fly.
Oh you want to know what also stinks. When they transform without even transforming. When they change into a billion tiny little particles and morph into whatever they want. In other words, avoiding transforming.
Here's an example in the first Transformers film that's wonderful.
First Bumblebee is a car, then he converts into a robot.
Then he fights Barricade.
After the fight, he becomes a car again.
It's wonderful! This is what Transformers is all about. And this entire scene is 4 minutes long.
Here's some more
First Brawl is fighting as a tank. The autobots start as cars, transform into robots to fight. Brawl converts into robot to fight as well. It's wonderful!
Here's some scenes with Starscream from the first movie.
This is great, he goes from plane to robot. Then robot to plane. He even does it a lot while fighting the other planes. It's probably the best scene in the entire movie.
So in conclusion, please show transformations.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
"The Internship" - Nerdy Stereotypes and Hollywood Silliness
I saw "The Internship" last night. I wasn't too excited to see the movie, but wanted to see it to see how Hollywood might portray Silicon Valley, engineers, and the tech industry as a whole.
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
First off, the movie didn't portray software engineers as complete losers, which is pretty good. Atleast two characters, Neha and Stuart, are portrayed relatively well. They are smart kids with good social skills. The only negatives about them are normal "growing up" issues (i.e. communicating better).
However several characters are portrayed with the normal nerdy stereotypes. Yo-yo, which they could have given a far more normal name, was home schooled his entire life, is a mama's boy, and punishes himself by pulling an eyebrow hair whenever he performs poorly. "Headphones" (that's the name given on IMDB) is the stereotyped overweight computer genius that has no social skills. He in fact states that he is uncomfortable around people.
Overall, it's pretty balanced. There are some nerds and some normal kids, far better than the stereotyped portrayal of engineers.
While the portrayal of the characters was hit and miss, I couldn't help but laugh at the portrayal of many of the aspects of the actual job/work. Here's the ones I could remember.
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
SPOILERS BELOW
First off, the movie didn't portray software engineers as complete losers, which is pretty good. Atleast two characters, Neha and Stuart, are portrayed relatively well. They are smart kids with good social skills. The only negatives about them are normal "growing up" issues (i.e. communicating better).
However several characters are portrayed with the normal nerdy stereotypes. Yo-yo, which they could have given a far more normal name, was home schooled his entire life, is a mama's boy, and punishes himself by pulling an eyebrow hair whenever he performs poorly. "Headphones" (that's the name given on IMDB) is the stereotyped overweight computer genius that has no social skills. He in fact states that he is uncomfortable around people.
Overall, it's pretty balanced. There are some nerds and some normal kids, far better than the stereotyped portrayal of engineers.
While the portrayal of the characters was hit and miss, I couldn't help but laugh at the portrayal of many of the aspects of the actual job/work. Here's the ones I could remember.
- In the movie groups of five interns are created and the teams are put into a battle royale of sorts against each other. I don't know of any company in the tech industry that does such a battle. In reality, interns are put to task on actual work.
- The team that wins the battle royale is guaranteed full time jobs at Google and everyone else isn't. I find it humorous that the movie portrays Google as only having 5 full-time job openings.
- In one scene Yo-yo, Stuart, and Neha are having a heart to heart discussion about how they really need to win this contest because they really need the job at Google. In reality, if you're smart enough to get an engineering internship at Google, you shouldn't have a problem finding a job in the tech industry.
- Despite skill levels and backgrounds being so different, apparently all interns are thrown into the same projects. In reality, interns of different skill levels (or at a minimum, different backgrounds) would have different projects to work on.
- During one scene the intern team is required to "make a sale", however instead of trying to sell ads, they appear to be trying to sell real estate.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Les Misérables - Too Much Singing!
So I recently saw Les Misérables. It was the first time I ever saw it in movie form or otherwise. My immediate reaction after watching it was, "All they did was sing, there was no talking." I'm used to musicals where it's half acting and half singing, and things just seemed out of whack in Les Misérables.
I wasn't sure if I was just imagining this, so I looked up the number of musical numbers in the following musicals. The musicals I selected are pretty much at random, whatever came to mind. I didn't bother to differentiate between orchestra only or singing numbers, b/c I haven't seen all of these. I just counted the number of different items listed on Wikipedia.
So I guess I wasn't imagining things, there are just way more musical numbers than the average musical.
I wasn't sure if I was just imagining this, so I looked up the number of musical numbers in the following musicals. The musicals I selected are pretty much at random, whatever came to mind. I didn't bother to differentiate between orchestra only or singing numbers, b/c I haven't seen all of these. I just counted the number of different items listed on Wikipedia.
| Musical | Number of Musical Numbers |
| Les Misérables | 50 |
| Wicked | 21 |
| The Sound of Music | 26 |
| Phantom of the Opera | 39 |
| My Fair Lady | 24 |
| Cats | 27 |
| Chicago | 21 |
| The Book of Mormon | 22 |
| Grease | 21 |
| West Side Story | 27 |
| American Idiot | 30 |
So I guess I wasn't imagining things, there are just way more musical numbers than the average musical.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
The Bourne Legacy Disappointment
I was quite disappointed in the movie. It isn't bad and it sets up what should be a few good movies down the road, but was just disappointing. Here are some the reasons why:
SPOILER WARNING
SPOILER WARNING
SPOILER WARNING
1) It's all about the drugs
After Aaron Cross nearly gets killed in the beginning of the movie, you think he might want to get revenge on his handlers? Nope. What does he want? Drugs. I couldn't help but think during the the movie that badass Aaron Cross is just a junkie, "Where are the chems?", "Do you have any chems here?", "How can I get more chems?".
Similar to the "midichlorians" in Star Wars, the drugs also removed some of the allure of the Treadstone/Blackbriar programs. Rather than brainwashing and training the agents, are they just druggies?
2) Aren't spys supposed to be secretive
During the end chase, the Larx-3 agent punches a bunch of citizens and attacks cops. He does it multiple times.
I thought these guys were supposed to be spys and hide and be "ghosts" (I think they were referred to this in the first movie). Now this isn't to say that Jason Bourne didn't get the attention of the police, but he did seem to make a number of attempts to not get engaged. In the Bourne Ultimatum, the asset kills Simon Ross via sniper rifle. Larx-3 could have done the same thing too, but he decides he wants to chase them on foot.
3) Where's the super spy fight
Every Bourne movie to date had a cool fight between Treadstone/Blackbriar agents. No fight in this movie. In fact, Aaron Cross had a little trouble against the normal agents he fought in the house. I was just waiting for him to fight Larx-3 at the end of the movie. Only to find Larx-3 was taken out by wiping out on his bike.
SPOILER WARNING
SPOILER WARNING
SPOILER WARNING
1) It's all about the drugs
After Aaron Cross nearly gets killed in the beginning of the movie, you think he might want to get revenge on his handlers? Nope. What does he want? Drugs. I couldn't help but think during the the movie that badass Aaron Cross is just a junkie, "Where are the chems?", "Do you have any chems here?", "How can I get more chems?".
Similar to the "midichlorians" in Star Wars, the drugs also removed some of the allure of the Treadstone/Blackbriar programs. Rather than brainwashing and training the agents, are they just druggies?
2) Aren't spys supposed to be secretive
During the end chase, the Larx-3 agent punches a bunch of citizens and attacks cops. He does it multiple times.
I thought these guys were supposed to be spys and hide and be "ghosts" (I think they were referred to this in the first movie). Now this isn't to say that Jason Bourne didn't get the attention of the police, but he did seem to make a number of attempts to not get engaged. In the Bourne Ultimatum, the asset kills Simon Ross via sniper rifle. Larx-3 could have done the same thing too, but he decides he wants to chase them on foot.
3) Where's the super spy fight
Every Bourne movie to date had a cool fight between Treadstone/Blackbriar agents. No fight in this movie. In fact, Aaron Cross had a little trouble against the normal agents he fought in the house. I was just waiting for him to fight Larx-3 at the end of the movie. Only to find Larx-3 was taken out by wiping out on his bike.
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