Pictures from Tim Burton’s reimagining of Alice in Wonderland and they’re as fantastically surreal as you’d imagine a Burton production to be. As an exercise, I played with some redesigns for an “Alice in Wonderland” update many years back and interestingly enough I imagined Helena Bonham-Carter’s character from Fight Club as an excellent example of how the Cheshire Cat would act. Feigning and fawning, here and there. And in my version, I suppose Johnny Depp could have stepped in as the White Rabbit. I had imagined the character young, noble, but frightfully timid. Since they’re probably not going to ask me to do designs on the film now, here are a couple of sketches.
I didn’t have MTV when I was a child so I relied mostly on network television for music videos. I would stay up really late on Friday nights just to watch Friday Night Videos, especially for the chance to catch a new Michael Jackson video. The artistry and talent that went into the amazing trifecta of videos (Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean) was a phenomenal feat that could arguably be said to be unmatched. I had taped the Motown special on our VCR where he moonwalked, playing it over and over to see where the trick was or if there were any wires. My uncle had bought a VHS tape of Thriller with the special behind the scenes footage showing the making of the video which I watched many, many times. These were some of the things I’d like to remember about the Gloved one, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.
Time is relative. For example, it took me 5 hours to see a 2 hour movie a several weeks ago. I left home to a friend’s house, we picked up someone else, went to the theater, saw the movie, and drove the converse route back which took a total of five hours. So although I thought Star Trek was a decent film, I’m not sure it was good enough for me to justify the time I spent trekking (pun intended) to go see it.
Time is an important aspect in the recent works of JJ Abrams. I’m not just citing Star Trek, but also his television shows, Lost and Fringe. The new Star Trek rises from events that have occurred in the future, creating a new timeline for the writers to create new adventures for a new generation. The film theorizes that though the past has been drastically changed, some things are still fated to occur, specifically the gathering of the Enterprise crew members. Lost, I feel, is going to follow a similar path in the last season. The show has set up a cyclical time loop that can go one of two ways. Either the final season will show how the events of the previous season caused the cycle to be broken or it will show how even though events may have been changed, the cycle is destined to continue into the next iteration. For more in depth and possibly mind numbing discussion on Lost, see Jeff Jensen’s analysis on EW. On the season finale of Fringe, it was revealed that a parallel world in a divergent timeline exists where again on the surface everything seems very similar but underneath things are quite different. For example, in this reality, the Twin Towers were never hit, a premise I first saw in Brian K. Vaughan’s Ex Machina. Haven’t been a huge fan of Fringe and its loose use of pseudo-science but there are bits and pieces that are intriguing.
With more and more science fiction entering the mainstream entertainment channels, I really hope that subject matter isn’t dumbed down too much and that new ideas will be explored, especially when dealing with adaptions of existing works (ie No Khan for a while please). I just hope that they don’t merely retread old ground and seek to challenge the viewer.
Sometimes it seems like everyone lets you down and nothing goes your way. Then, a series of interesting events occur that gives you a sense that things aren’t too bad and there are things to look forward to. I call these fortunate times “Pockets of Inspiration”. They aren’t always readily apparent and they need to be sought out, but when you find them, it’s worthwhile.
New material from Faye Wong might be on the horizon. She’s doing some ads so her break for motherhood may be soon over. Here’s a recent release of a song she did several years ago with new arrangement.
New episodes of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya are airing in Japan. Interspersed within the timeline of the original series, the first new episode is as good you expect, mixing different sci-fi conventions into an interesting milieu. I just hope they’re priming us for a new season.
The Storm Riders sequel is coming out in the near future and there is a new trailer. I’m not too confident in the Pang brothers based on the films I’ve seen from them but the footage doesn’t seem too bad. I’ve been waiting for the sequel for a decade so with the success of this film, I hope that more effects-laden epic martial arts movies will be on the horizon.
And the trailer for the next Final Fantasy game is just stunningly gorgeous. If the story and game mechanics are good, I might have to break down and get a PS3 when it’s released.
I believe in constructive criticism. As much as I wish I could just say Dragonball Evolution sucks and leave it at that, I’m going to do some analysis. I was introduced to Dragonball Z by my sister’s boyfriend (now husband) over 15 years ago so I do know a bit about the property, though not as much as he does.
The writing, acting, casting, and characterizations were bad. Admittedly, it’s difficult to adapt the manga directly since Dragonball starts with Goku as a kid and there is a lot of storyline that happens before he gets to an adult but the filmmakers didn’t get several of the things that made Dragonball popular. The fighting. Aimed mainly at adolescent boys, the inhumanly wild fighting was a huge factor in Dragonball’s success and they didn’t come close to replicating it. The characterization. Goku wasn’t the smartest guy but he was good-natured and optimistic as hell. In the film, they tried to protray him as a geeky underdog who needed to overcome his lack of confidence. Totally out of character. There’s been a good deal of discussion on whether the lead should have been cast as Asian (as well as on the upcoming Avatar: The Last Airbender film). Since I’ve only seen the anime in Japanese or Cantonese, I’ve always assumed that he was Asian.
A couple special notes about the writing. No good can come from a film that uses the words, “There are no rules.” Also, at one point, Goku mistakenly knocks out Chichi and the next time they meet, they kiss. As a result some impressionable kids may feel that it’s okay for guys to hit girls and if they do, there’s a chance you might get a kiss. Moral fail.
When I watch movies, especially ones based on properties that I like, I always see ways to improve it and what I would do differently. While I was watching it today, I sketched out an idea of how I might have gone about it. I would have gone a bit steampunk. Oh, and they didn’t have any cloud surfing. WTF!?
I haven’t seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine yet but with the reviews I’ve been reading, I’m not sure if I’m interested in doing so. The online mockery may be more entertaining.
Here are promos for the new shows that were picked up for the new season:
Parenthood – Based on the movies (which I never saw), looks like a show that could catch on and do really well but not really my cup of tea.
Trauma – One of the possible medical dramas poised to replace ER. Looks like something Peter Berg would put together. Promo looks very loud and manly. Seems action packed but whether they can maintain that momentum from episode to episode is where it will succeed. Glad to see Cliff Curtis playing a role that looks interesting.
Mercy – The other medical drama that is poised to replace ER from the nurse’s POV. Might scare the guys away and will need to pull in the Grey’s Anatomy/Desperate Housewives crowd.
Day One – Been following this one but haven’t seen much footage. Whether this might go into “The Stand” territory or is purely an urban survival story is to be seen. Hope it will be more like Lost than Heroes.
100 Questions – One of the few sitcoms picked up. Really similar to Friends which isn’t surprising since it’s produced by James Burrows. Looks good but will ride on the shoulders of Charlotte Payne coming off as endearing.
Community – Chevy Chase is on TV again. Not sure whether I like the lead but the supporting cast has some potential. I think this show will succeed on whether people will give the show a chance to find its footing and whether it will ever find its footing.
On a side note, I’m not liking Parks and Recreation too much so far. Amy Poehler deserves better than to ape Steve Carrell’s role in The Office.
Suicide. It’s a somewhat taboo word. People try to avoid it if they can but it’s been popping up on my radar lately since I’ve been hearing it discussed from various sources. With the recent anniversary of Cobain’s death, the multiple suicides in the Korean entertainment industry including the most recent one, suicides because of economic difficulties, the local Freddie Mac executive, and a film that recently played at SXSW, suicide can be sensationalized in the media. I even saw a character attempt suicide when watching the Naruto Shippuden: Bonds movie recently.
When a person has reached a point where he/she is unable to cope with real or perceived extreme stress/pain, suicide enters into the equation as a way out. Technically, that seems to be what usually occurs but emotionally, it can be difficult to understand. I have wanted to write an opus on the subject of teen suicide, but have never found the right way to go about it, so I’m curious to see the film that played at SXSW.
- Since I’ve had time, I’m trying to write a feature script based on the following sketch (circa 2001) which is an updated look at an existing character. Making headway but writing this is daunting since it’s something that I know would be difficult to get made. Probably going to mine my sketchbooks for a less ambitious idea.
- Finished a 30 Rock spec script. Still needs a little polish but it was easier than I thought it would be. I even came up with a crazy awesome idea for another episode that I might have to write, though I do want to see if I could write a dramatic hour long piece. Needed to write a spec to submit to programs for NBC, CBS, and Warner Bros. Looks like I missed the CBS deadline though.
- Writing something that could essentially be a Twilight Zone/The Outer Limits episode or fodder for a sci-fi mag. More on this in my next post.
Here are a few movies I’m looking forward to this summer:
500 Days of Summer – Wanted to see this when I was at Sundance. Heard it had a standing ovation when it premiered. Curious how they’re going to calculate the 500 days.
Paper Heart – Also wanted to see this at Sundance. The trailer looks better than I thought it might. Did I mention I ran into Michael Cera in Park City?
Moon – Not a big fan of Rockwell and based on the trailer, I think I can guess where the plot is going but it looks intriguing anyways.
Star Trek – I have a love/hate relationship with JJ Abrams. I love some of his stuff. I hate some of his stuff. Some of his stuff I love and hate at the same time. Though the latest trailer is pretty phenomenal. I feel like it might fall into the last category. Just read the comic prequel which is set sometime after the last Star Trek: TNG movie and it strangely seems to validate everything that’s happened in the Star Trek universe. So whether this is a true reboot of the franchise is to be seen.
Self-Death-pricating
May 4, 2009 in Commentary, Film, Psychology | Leave a comment
Suicide. It’s a somewhat taboo word. People try to avoid it if they can but it’s been popping up on my radar lately since I’ve been hearing it discussed from various sources. With the recent anniversary of Cobain’s death, the multiple suicides in the Korean entertainment industry including the most recent one, suicides because of economic difficulties, the local Freddie Mac executive, and a film that recently played at SXSW, suicide can be sensationalized in the media. I even saw a character attempt suicide when watching the Naruto Shippuden: Bonds movie recently.
When a person has reached a point where he/she is unable to cope with real or perceived extreme stress/pain, suicide enters into the equation as a way out. Technically, that seems to be what usually occurs but emotionally, it can be difficult to understand. I have wanted to write an opus on the subject of teen suicide, but have never found the right way to go about it, so I’m curious to see the film that played at SXSW.