Author Archives: Bob Evans

Movie Review: Much Ado About Nothing

Way back before the turn of the century, in that distant year of 1997, director James Cameron when asked what sort of project would he do next after producing the massively expensive and massively successful movie Titanic, he quipped to Larry king that he might much-ado-about-nothing-international-posterdo a small art film. He did not, his next directorial effort was the wildly expensive and wildly successful Avatar.

Joss Whedon however, after finishing principal photography on Marvel’s The Avengers, a fantastically expensive film, raised a miniscule amount of funds, contacted friends, and in just twelve days photographed his next film as a director, an adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. Continue reading →

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Movie Review:Man of Steel

So Sunday morning a friend and I headed to a local upscale movie theater and took in a showing of the newest superhero movie, Man of Steel. Warner Brothers, unhappy with the performance of the previous entry in the Superman franchise, Superman Returns, turned to Zack Snyder, Christopher Nolan, and David Goyer to reboot the series.man of steel online free

This film has struck like a metro in the fandom with plenty of people loving it and seemingly equal numbers of people hating it. From what I can gather the people unhappy with the movie are general people who have a devotion to the character and cannon of the Superman mythos. I can empathize with their reaction, the latest entry into the Star Trek franchise to me feels like a cheap rip-off created to sell toys and tickets without any hear of soul of the original series. The fact that people feel the same way about a grittier and darker Superman interpretation is no surprise at all. Continue reading →

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The Future of Human Sexuality

The most important concept we need to embrace going forward is very simple; innate does not equate with immutable.

Many things about sexuality, human and otherwise, are innate to the individual. A person doesn’t choose their orientation; it is an aspect of their sexuality that is beyond choice and beyond conditioning.  Most people think of this as being genetic, but that is a gross simplification and in my opinion erroneous. Continue reading →

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Don’t Tease Us Bro!

If I mention Frankenstein to you odds are one of two cinematic scenes popped into your head.  Either you though of the monster itself – and than very likely the monster as created by Boris Karloff and Jack Pierce, or you thought of the creations scenes abuzz with bride-of-frankenstein-boris-karloff-1935electrical apparatus and a tremendous thunderstorm outside. Of course both of those images come from Universal’s 1931 Frankenstein directed by James Whale.

It is curious that a film produced over 80 years ago should still have such an outsized impact on public consciousness, particularly considering that so many other interpretations of the story have been made in the interim. Why do these other films, some made by extremely talented filmmakers fade from mind and this one stick so readily? Continue reading →

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My brother

Yesterday my brother, Jimmy ‘Ace’ Evans died. He was a good brother and a strong man. Throughout his life he endured many trials that would have sundered other people, including myself.

He fought a war against cancer, but it was not the tumors that took him from us but  pneumonia. During our conversations while he battled the disease and when he conquered it he told me that he had made peace with his mortality. He accepted that life ends with a grace, dignity, and calmness that astounds me and fills my heart with pride. I hope that when my time comes and that terrible news is given to me that I can accept it with half the strength he showed.

He was an artist, captured nature with a camera. Birds were often his subjects and on his facebook page he shared with us some astounding images. He was a poet, a talent I deeply respect as I have no ability to craft poetry. He was a philosophical man and a political activist.

My brother always encouraged and supported my feeble attempt at prose and I will miss him dearly.

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Movie Review: Star Trek: Into Darkness

Alice+Eve+in+Star+Trek+-+Into+the+DarknessThis review will be broken into two sections. The leading section will be spoiler-free for those who have not seen the film and who wished to remain naïve and innocent about the horror that will fall upon them. After the jump I will rant and bitch about specific elements of the movie that are particularly stupid, insipid and insulting. Do not blame me if you read past the jump and find yourself spoiled. (Personally I’m not sure this film can be spoiled. That would take as an implication it exists in an unspoiled state, something I find very debatable.)

Star Trek: Into Darkness is a poorly talented con-man utilizing action and fast fight scenes in place of a bluff roll hoping to keep the audience so distracted with spectacle, visual effects, and action so that the poor viewers will never noticed the Michael Bay levels of stupidium from which the script was constructed.

If you saw the nine minute preview attached to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, then you have already seen the start of Star Trek: Into Darkness, and the least stupid portion of the movie.

The film lacks any real scenes of character and development. While this edition is more of Kirk’s story than Spock as was the case with Star Trek (2009), the audience is treated to no dramatic scenes of length to get to know their characters or explore their issues. In this film stuff happens! Before you can process, or question the Stuff more stuff happens and this is bigger stuff. The filmmakers – if they are thinking this far ahead – are desperately hoping that no one will stop during their razzmatazz and ask what is it that these characters are trying to achieve. The plot is a convoluted tangled of scenes that nominally are related, but have as much to do with story, arcs, and development as a poorly crafted first person shooter.

There are moments of real acting, but they occur infrequently because the actors are given so little to work with. One of the best actors, Benedict Cumberbatch, is utterly wasted. As a villain his motivations are sketchy and his supposedly brilliant intellect crafts only the most base and insipid of plans. Simon Pegg, a talented actor with deep geek cred, continues to perform in a manner so utterly at odds with the source material that is it simply best to pretend his character is a distant cousin to our beloved Scotty.

This film continues the previous movie’s utter disdain for science and the vastness of the cosmos. If getting to Vulcan in moments bothered you in Star Trek (2009) what these characters achieve within a single day will infuriate you. There is no consistency in technology or capabilities.

If you are getting the impression I disliked the film you are correct. This is a movie that the more you think about, the more you question, the greater the stupidity. I cannot recommend that you see it.

AND NOW FOR SPOILERS

Continue reading →

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Warning Educational Materials ahead

So Sunday I was tooling youtube and other video hosting sights, looking for interesting films and such to watch. (No, not porn. Get your mind out of the gutter.) I ended up searching for a World War II training film I had caught part of during a TCM Memorial Day Marathon. (I did find it, it’s called Resisting Enemy Interrogation. It’s got a cool story as German Interrogators try by hook and by crook get information from 5 down airmen.)

However, while looking for that video I found several others that were very interesting. One on flak (anti-aircraft fire) how it works and how to evade it, and a Sad Sack cartoon on the importance of maintaining you weapon properly. The most informative video I found though was one on the basics of small arms and how they work. I have friends who collect guns, and I remember shooting rifles as a boy with my father, however nothing has every made the mechanics of modern firearms as easy to understand as this WWII training film. I present it here for your education or enjoyment. (It is about 40 minutes long.)

 

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The blind spots left behind by my life

Another thing I discovered from the feedback luncheon was where I have blind spots in character development due to the particular nature of my life. One of the characters in this novel has father issues. His father is driven by legacy and trying to maker sure his son can be the powerful politician the ensure the family’s long term placement in the history book. The son wants to be a military officer, but follows his father directions because no one ever disobeys father.

The guys, and they were all guys except for my sweetie-wife, mentioned that that they expected or wanted see a moment when this character basically tells his father to shove and goes off to follow his life and not the one his father has planned for him. They discussed how they saw this this is an important aspect of establishing your own identity as a man.

The thought had not occurred to me. My own father passed away when I was young, my mother did not remarry, nor did she date, so after Dad died there was no father figure in my own life. I never had to rebel to establish an identity distinctly from my father’s.

The plot element is a good one and I plan to incorporate it into the new revision, but I can’t help but ponder what other blind-spots are waiting to surprise me?

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