Designated Love Interest

Just to get things out of the way before I do this, before I did this topic my opinion relating to the topic was rather...meh. I didn't love it or hate it but had a more indifferent opinion concerning the concept. But as of late, I believe ever since Thor: Dark World, I'm starting to dislike the concept. Especially since it brings about the main concept that I completely despise. The Damsel In Distress.

Now for the record this isn't a Dark World rant since I've said what needed to be said about the movie but I just want to point out something. What is Jane beyond some human chick swooning over Thor? Ok she's supposed to be really smart and all that but I haven't seen anything of her beyond this hot chick that constantly gets in harms way. And gets all angsty because Thor is off saving the freaking world. There is a reason even Natalie Portman hated the character. In two Thor films I saw nothing that signifies character development from Jane, she still is the same character that she was from the first movie but probably have gotten progressively worse in the second. There were moments I thought to myself "What the hell did Thor see in this woman?!"

To add another example, Lana Lang from Smallville. When first introduced she wasn't that bad but once the show progresses she couldn't walk a few feet without having some super powered psycho coming after her and Clark coming to the rescue.  Granted she did have character development but some debated on if said character development was handled well.

The Designated Love Interest concept usually have these pitfalls.

1. The character has to get saved to make the person that is attracted to DLI instead of making some attempt to save themselves.

2. The character has nothing of interest other than being the object of the main character's affection. What does the character do? What is the character's goals? Etc

The other drawback that a DLI usually have is that if there is another character that is interested or interacts with said DLI then that character usually has better chemistry with the DLI then the main character does. Especially if the character interacting with DLI is the villain. For instance I thought Lex and Lana had better chemistry than Clark and Lana while I thought Janes moments with Loki actually made the Jane character more interesting. Meanwhile Clark had better chemistry with Chloe, Lex, and Lois than she ever did with Lana while Thor had better chemistry with Lady Sif. In Twilight I thought Bella had better chemistry with Alice and Jacob than with Edward. With Jacob she actually felt like a normal person while with Alice....GOG is hot.

I thought Pepper Pots was the best developed love interest in Iron Man because they actually took time to develop Pepper and Tony's relationship and they bothered to develop Pepper into someone thats more than just a DLI. Bonus points in having Pepper being someone thats capable of taking care of herself. By IM3 she ended up taking several levels of badass. She's an example of a love interest done right.

If one is going to hook two characters up then at least do some proper build up by having the audience get to know the characters and maybe show what makes the characters connect well and most importantly convince the audience that hey maybe they do belong together. There will still be shippers but if you can make even the hardened shippers see that the characters that you are pairing up belong together then you've done your job. I would also recommend not having your love interest character, male or female, hold on to the damsel in distress ball. Yeah there are moments when a character is in a jam but try not to make it a running gag. Also subvert it in having said love interest get out of a jam themselves once in awhile.

Horror Characters/Concepts That Needs Its Mojo Back

Curse of Chucky was one of those films that surprised me, I never expect it to be good but man was that movie good. They managed to do what many horror franchises fail to do with other characters by taking out what was wrong and putting in what made them good and improve on it. They brought a back to basics approach with the character. None of that comedy crap from the previous two Child's Play films they gave it a straight up horror approach. I still say Chucky isn't scary but I commend the effort in the filmmakers in the effort they put in this film and show other filmmakers that just because a movie is a direct to dvd doesn't mean you have to half ass it.

If Chucky can get his mojo back then there are other horror characters/concepts I feel that is in desperate need to get it's concept back. Here's a few...

Jeff The Killer 

I've pointed this out in my other blog but I also wanted to add. While I never found Jeff scary I admit there was some ray of potential with the concept. I thought his debut story was interesting as it reminded me something of a Stephen King story but they managed to drop the ball with a few things.

1. They made him a kid, well a teenager. Don't really find that all that scary tbh, tragic yes but not scary.

2. The dude's a butterface. Yeah they had his face messed up but the rest would make him come off as a bishi type of character. There is a reason why the guy has fan girls

3. They turn him into a Slenderman wannabe with the whole mention him and he knows where you live approach. It's bad enough that he's no different than your usual horror slasher but they had to make him similar to Slenderman?

What I would have done with him is make him a little older, like in his late twenties or early thirties, and make him as unappealing as possible. Not just in facial features but below that also. I'd also make him a little more different. His early incarnations made him stood out a bit more but when he became popular they wanted him to slightly resemble Slenderman. You know what made horror characters like Jason stood out so that he wouldn't come off as a Michael Myers rip off? They fleshed his backstory out more and gave Jason his own characteristics that would make people see he isn't some Michael Myers clone. Thats what one should do with Jeff. I'd have Jeff actually be a symbol that best represents the worst of humanity. What humanity would be like without a moral conscience. You can do some interesting things with that.

Slenderman 

 
Unlike Jeff I thought this guy had a rather intriguing and admittingly creepy vibe going on and there was an aura of mystery around him in that you have no idea just exactly what he is. He could be a ghost or something that could be thought up by HP Lovecraft. Sadly like many horror characters before him once his popularity increases his scare factor starts to decrease.

What I've said about Slenderman was already said in a blog I did about him awhile back. Slenderman, recently, has became a parody of what he once was and the whole constantly trolling people by popping up out of nowhere bit can get irritating at times. It's the equivalent of a friend or a relative that would just drop by your house unannounced, especially when they do it at the worst time possible.

If there is any change I'd take with Slenderman it would be to increase the mystery about him but take a nothing is scary approach. Do not show him committing creepy acts but only it's build up and it's aftermath that way while nobody sees it you know it's there.

I also wouldn't give him followers. I think he'd be better off when he does things solo.

Slenderman would be a metaphor of the mystery that surrounds us. Ever go into a really dark area and that sense of fear starts to creep in as you venture into unfamiliar territory? Thats what Slenderman should be like. The kind that gives you a rather uncomfortable vibe, for some odd reason, and takes you out of your comfort zone

Vampires

I like the vampire concept, in actuality it was vampire movies that gave me my first exposure to horror films. The vampire flick I remember was Salem's Lot. What made it stood out was that the vampire wasn't a romantic, it didn't woo some teenage girl, it wasn't even attractive. It was a terrifying monster causing havoc on a small town. The novel Dracula had Dracula as an evil force of nature. But what caused vampires to loose it's menacing nature?

There is nothing I can say about this that hasn't been said already. But I wouldn't go as far as to say the vampire genre is dead(heh pun). In fact there are some good stuff involving vampires out there. The Night Flyer, Lost Boys, Let Me In, 30 Days of Night, Blade 1 &2, to name a few. As far as novels go The Dresden Files did some interesting stuff with vampires, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Necroscope, and Vampire Hunter D

While it's anime I'd still recommend Hellsing for a rather interesting take on Dracula.

I thought Whedon had the right idea when it came to vampires in that they best represent the worst aspects of humanity, especially once they take their souls away. Which could also be a metaphor of what a human being without a conscience would be like, minus the blood sucking. Also Supernatural had an interesting take on vampires.

There is terror left in vampires just one has to look to find it. Still most mainstream movies would tend to romanticize vampires into tortured creatures that would woo a pretty young thing that comes their way.

Thats my two cents on it. Thoughts on this or any additions you have for the topic then feel free to put a comment below.

Wonder Woman in Superman/Batman & How DC/WB Treats Other DC Characters

As if the Superman/Batman films isn't a broken base already you have Wonder Woman thats also announced to be apart of. One of the key issues is the casting. Personally I have seen Gal in Fast & The Furious and I find her a decent actress but as far as if I think she's able to do a good job in the role it depends on if I see any shots of her preparing or performing the part. The other issue is how some felt that DC/WB once again don't see any value in Wonder Woman to give her a solo film so they just paired her up with Superman/Batman. There are two sides to this type of complaint

1. I can see, on some level, where DC/WB is coming from. Lets say they do a movie but then what kind of a movie they will do? A straight up superhero flick or a adventure flick? There is also casting the right kind of actress that is marketable and would stick around for future movies. Given the utter failure that was the pilot series it was a walking on eggshells situation. However....

2. With it being her first film debut she's playing second fiddle to Superman/Batman? The two heroes have enough problems with people claiming how overexposed they are but to have WW play second fiddle to them is another issue. Also she is among the DC Big Three of Superheroes so it wouldn't kill them to give her one movie before doing a crossover with someone else. So on some level I can understand the arguments of how it may appear that Wonder Woman could be taking a backseat to Superman/Batman. Or is she?

Lets take a look at the other heroes who haven't had any sort of exposure

Aquaman: He had a stint on Smallville and two memorable parts in JLU and Batman:The Brave and The Bold but as far as live action films go the dude has squat. He doesn't even have his own animated movie. Also the guy has a pretty bad rep thanks to his role in the Super Friends. And yeah I get the Aquaman jokes but, as mentioned, it originated from a show thats pretty outdated and anyone with any knowledge in comics should be aware that Aquaman is one of the most underrated DC Heroes. So I have to ask is where is Aquaman's opportunity? When will he get a time to shine?

Captain Marvel: For once I'd like to see a movie either animated or live action where he doesn't have to depend on Superman to have his moment in the sun. I mean come on this guy screams a perfect escapist character for kids. An animated series featuring him would be gold

Not just those two but it seems that other DC Characters are getting the short end of the stick and some of whom I personally feel would make a interesting tv series, either animated or live action. Or even a movie, either animated or live action.

Zatanna has a good backstory to make a good supernatural tv series.
Green Lantern: If anyone in DC/WB had a braincell to do it properly would make a good space opera
A Legions of Superheroes tv series would be pretty good. Especially if they take a Doctor Who approach.
Suicide Squad
The list goes on..

They're doing a good job with Arrow and I heard a Flash series is on the way, which is good.

Yet the point is that it seems that DC/WB has a hard time in using and promoting their characters, who isn't Superman/Batman, properly while Marvel/Disney is actually the ones willing to use other characters who aren't Avengers. For instance there is a Guardians of The Galaxy movie coming out and there is Agents of SHIELD and there are rumors of a series that features street level Marvel Heroes. So if Marvel is able to use other characters then it wouldn't kill DC to take a gamble on other characters, who isn't Superman/Batman. Cause at the moment people are starting to get tired of seeing just those guys. Put some variety out there and Arrow, for now, is the only thing close to a variety

Random Thoughts: Disney Princesses(What I'd Like To See Changed About Em?)

Random Thoughts: The Spider-Man/John McClane connection

Usually during the holiday season I'd tend to have a christmas movie marathon and my first christmas movie of choice happens to be Die Hard. Die Hard is one of those kind of movies in which, to me, is a timeless classic that never gets old but what makes it even more special is watching it around christmas. As I was watching the movie I started to notice something that I haven't notice in awhile, how similar John McClane and Peter Parker actually are.

Lets look at a few main facts.

When the concept of John McClane first came up the character in actuality was originally supposed to parody action heroes like Stallone or The Ex-Governator. The actor they picked happened to be Bruce Willis. Before Bruce Willis became the action movie juggernaut that people currently remember him as he originally was a comedy movie star. Yes I was floored when I found that out. Blind Date was his most notable comedy film. When come time to play the role of John McClane his career really took off. So what started out as a joke ended up an inspiration for future action movies.

Peter Parker, like John McClane, didn't start out as your textbook superhero either. He didn't have the hero physique or the billions of dollars or the wonderful gadgets or super genius intellect. Peter is smart but he's more grounded smart, not like Reed Richards or Tony Stark who can make a suit of armor out of scraps. But he eventually ended up becoming the face of the Marvel Universe.

What they also have in common is that both of them are the everyman. They aren't billionaire playboys or invincible superheroes. Heck their origin stories didn't even involve them looking for supervillains to fight. It was just a case of being in the wrong situation at the wrong time.

"Story of my life"

In an essence they're actually wish fulfillment characters. John McClane represents the everyman who want to save lives even at the expense of their own life. Just like real life one doesn't get rewarded for it. However...

John McClane: You know what you get for being a hero? Nothin'. You get shot at. You get a little pat on the back, blah, blah, blah, attaboy. You get divorced. Your wife can't remember your last name. Your kids don't want to talk to you. You get to eat a lot of meals by yourself. Trust me, kid, nobody wants to be that guy.
Matt Farrell: Then why you doing this?
John McClane: Because there's no body else to do it right now, that's why. Believe me, if there were somebody else to do it, I'd let them do it, but there's not. So we're doing it.
From Live Free or Die Hard

Peter Parker represents the everyman who not just fights bad guys but also gets to hang around with the worlds greatest heroes and meets with some of the hottest heroines and yet he still gets crapped on. However

From Avengers: Earths Mightiest Heroes

They're the underdogs. In every sense of the word. They get the crap kicked out of them by every villain that comes in their path and they don't have corporate connections to pull them out of it. They also would get blasted by the media despite the countless lives they save yet through it all they pull through it and continue trying to save lives. Sometimes willingly and sometimes it just fall on their laps but they both continue to get the job done. While making a few wisecracks at the bad guys in the process.

Paul Walker

 

I remember when I first heard the news about it my first reaction was if this was someone's idea of a sick prank. I was proven wrong. It's one of those situations where it just shocks you to your core as your mind is trying to comprehend what it just discovered.

I'm not going to BS anyone and say the guy's my favorite actor but I admit that I have been starting to like his work as of late. Paul Walker to me is one of those guys who isn't really a bad actor, see Running Scared, but just doesn't have the right material for him to really showcase his talent, Running Scared again.

 My first time viewing him was in a movie called Varsity Blues. He played an all star quarterback who got injured and was replaced by the main character of the film. TBH I found Walker's character in VB more interesting as his character could have been written as a cliched jerk jock but in actuality he's more grounded and a pretty decent guy. That and he wasn't whiny like the main character. I liked him better in the Skulls, he plays the son of the main villain in that movie. His character in the Skulls I'd describe as not a villain but a more grayish type of character who could go either way depending on the situation. His character in the Fast and The Furious films isn't considered an all time favorite but when I looked at the character I see that he's actually the heart of the group. The glue that keeps the crew together. I thought his character arc was improving in the later Fast Films and was interested in seeing where it would go

While he's not considered my all time favorite actor I respect the guy due to his humble nature despite his celebrity status. He's one of those celebrities that you hardly hear a bad thing about, which to me is actually refreshing. Hollywood needs more celebrities like him.

Hunger Games: Catching Fire

Taking the comic book films out of the equation I'd put this up there with Pacific Rim when it comes to movie of the year for me. I thought the movie was a vast improvement over the first movie. The first things that won me over was how it showed Katniss suffering psychological effects from the events of the previous movie, she'd have panic attacks whenever she finds something that trigger her memories of the event or even have nightmares, even Peeta suffers the same effect. I like how they don't gloss over what the characters went through and go on about their day as if nothing happen.

The more I look at the movie the more I'm starting to see The Capitol as The Empire from Star Wars and President Snow is Palpatine. Some of the armor that his troops have on even resemble Storm Trooper armor. Then you have the ending, which I'll get to in a moment. But yeah I get the feeling that Donald Southerland is having a ball with his portrayal as President Snow. I also like the chemistry between him and Katniss as they both share a combination of hate and fear towards eachother.

What I also love about the movie is it's middle finger to reality tv. Cause really that movie shows how ridiculous reality tv actually is, minus the killing. So I like movies that uses that kind of take that. I also happen to notice a little nudge nudge wink wink towards shippers by the way the media and those watching seem to see Katniss and Peeta, that and celebrity power couples.

There were moments where I did get a little choked up and I like a movie where it can move you to a point that you become emotionally invested to the characters. The one character I had a gripe with was the Liam's portrayal as Gale. I had to roll my eyes at the touchy scenes involving them. Jennifer Lawrence however was trying. I thought the most powerful scenes were Katniss and Peeta's relationship with their respective mentors.

There were a few new side characters I enjoyed. For instance Phillip Seymore Hoffman's character won me over in his first appearance. I liked how, at first, it appeared that his character and President Snow was playing a game of who is the most evil. The three characters that really won me over were Finnick, Johanna, and Mags who were the previous winners of the games.

When Finnick was first introduced he came off as a jerk but I gotta admit he was a likable jerk. Then as the movie went on you start to see the character unravel. I was sitting there thinking why cant hollywood make more jerk character like Finnick? He was exactly what I wanted from a jerk character, sure around others he's obnoxious but he actually has a human side. One of them being was his relationship to Mags. Whom I also liked instantly when first introduced, she was the textbook example of a cool old lady. I liked Johanna due to her first introduction and she has a rather feisty personality, it's not one of those look at how feisty I am kind of personality as there is a reason behind it.

Coming into the second movie I knew it was gonna be a cliffhanger because thanks to Empire Strikes Back there usually is a cliffhanger in the mid portion of the trilogy. Speaking of ESB the twist and the ending actually seem to be influenced off of it. Heck most of the second movie seem to be influenced off of SW. It was a pretty good cliffhanger though.

Katniss kinda reminds me of Han Solo in that she didn't want any part of the war but would rather just survive the empire's tyranny yet something happens makes her want to join the rebel army. Speaking of Katniss the more I look at her the more I see her as a better role model than Bella Swan.

For one she doesn't spend each movie lusting after some guy and she is self efficient enough that she doesn't need to depend on some knight in shining armor to save her as she does a good enough job saving herself. Also the Hunger Games films doesn't revolve around some love triangle as there is a more deeper story.

There is one minor nitpick though. Ok Peeta had announced that him and Katniss not only were married in secret but are expecting child. Granted it was a fib but President Snow still had Katniss compete in the games. Taking it from a Evil Overlord List perspective putting a seemingly pregnant woman in a life or death contest wouldn't make ones image look good, especially one whose trying a villain with good publicity approach. The best option would at least be use means to disprove said claim and discredit the power couple.

Overall I say go see it, it's worth the money and the box office drawings.