I am getting relatively deep into the book. So far I can see that Valdek is a genuinely resourceful man that will try to stay alive at all costs no matter what he has to do. He has many tools that help him survive the Holocaust but one trait that helps him stand out in this book is, his ability to "fake it until he makes it". for instance, Valdek, in his shining moment, when he stumbles upon a shoe repairmen job but he is not able to repair a certain tare in an SS mans boot, he privately sneaks off to a someone who can mend the tare and in turn he offers a days ration in bread as reparation for the mans hard work.
Also being that this comic novel is written from the prospective of mostly Vladek,he has just really become the center piece of the Holocaust in my eyes. Vladek is looked to for wisdom, he has counseled young couples, and he ultimately is in charge of people's lives. whenever he is in a large group he automatically is looked upon for knowledge or is often a safe haven for others. He is the designated bread winner, not self appointed but by natural selection through the skills he was given.
There is a very particular scene in the comic where Vladek shows off his inner character or who he is when no one is looking. And I found this scene to be very intriguing simply because I found out the measure of Vladek all in this one little scene so early in the book. Literally speaking these three little panles summed up his character. So, Vladek his wife and a couple other friends are staying in an abandon house trying to hold on to the little bit of hope they still have by staying in this houses attic. Foraging for any measly scrap of food they can find in this rundown timeworn camp. Until one day a random Jew like themselves came roaming around and accidentally discovered them. Immediately the two other men that were with Vladek grabbed him up. Reason being is he could be an informant for the Germans, so you could never be to sure as to who you could trust. There fore the dilemma presented now was to let him live or kill him. naturally as Vladek being the leader of the group they asked what to do with him. He thought about his decision very thoroughly but in the end gave him the benefit of the doubt. Vladek even gave some of their food that they painstakingly had to search for.
The content of Vldeck's character is immeasurable and unquestionable. The ramifications of this whole situation is that the informant can go back to the Germans and inform them of there where-abouts. So the risks of this decition were massive but Vladeck decides to help out sumone who he feels is in need. And as a bonus he gives him food that everyone else need to survive even tho the others oppose his decisions very strongly. I'm am glad to see that Vladek can not be shaken or persuaded and is strong in all that he dose. eventually these are the very essential tools that helped him survive the Holocaust and come out on the winning side of life.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
If I can't Madea Will
Just because ABC is pulling the plug on “All My Children’’ and “One Life to Live,’’ that doesn’t mean we can’t still get 20 laundromats worth of soap. Especially if no one’s pulling the plug on Tyler Perry. “Madea’s Big Happy Family’’ is more than just an industrial-strength soap opera. It’s the entire daytime-television industrial complex.When mad-old Madea crashes her car into a fast-food chain (it’s called Smax!) because the funky window manager says she’s out of ham, the movie is simultaneously the local Atlanta news-at-noon, which the characters watch, and the news itself. When that same window manager wants to embarrass her baby-daddy, she pops up on the very Maury Povich talk show that Madea watches with her armchair-bound brother, Joe.
“Madea’s Big Happy Family’’ nonsensically knots the spiritual and the salacious, asking gossipy questions then giving pulpit answers so that the movie is wonderfully, woefully absurd. Who’s dying? Amen! Who’s verging on divorce? Praise the Lord! Who’s drug-dealing? Get back now, Satan! Who’s dieting (or should be)? Can I get a witness! For the record, the correct answers, in order, are: “Shirley’’; “her two squabbling daughters’’; “her son’’; and “how much time do you have?’’
Yes, everyone, Miss Shirley (Loretta Devine) has cancer, and all she wants is to get her kids together to tell her terrible news. It’s not worth asking how she masks from them the depleting effects of chemotherapy or how come the sparkling actress suddenly seems so droopy. In any case, every time she tries to share her drama, her children’s drama beats her to it. If it’s not Byron’s baby-mama (Teyana Taylor) — the one who made Madea commit her literal drive-through, the one who took her one-woman show to “Maury’’ — it’s bougie Kimberly (Shannon Kane) berating her husband (Isaiah Mustafa, the Old Spice guy) or miserable Tammy (Natalie Desselle Reid) berating hers. Once, it’s even the police coming to re-arrest poor Byron (Shad “Bow Wow’’ Moss, who’s pretty good). Obviously, it’s Madea to the rescue.
Most of us still have the all-female post-traumatic stress disorder Perry gave us in “For Colored Girls.’’ We may be stuck in last November, but he’s moved on. And by “on’’ I mean “backward.’’ “Madea’s Big Happy Family’’ is full of men who suffer the wrath of vicious, selfish, shallow, stupid, abusive women, as though he’d begun thinking about “For Colored Boys.’’ Most of the sexy, upstanding, too-good-to-be-real black males who show up in the movies now do so in Perry’s (“For Colored Girls,’’ aside). But here their addiction to goodness is almost as pathological as the ladies’ pleasure in badness: It’s emotional S&M.
Yes, everyone, Miss Shirley (Loretta Devine) has cancer, and all she wants is to get her kids together to tell her terrible news. It’s not worth asking how she masks from them the depleting effects of chemotherapy or how come the sparkling actress suddenly seems so droopy. In any case, every time she tries to share her drama, her children’s drama beats her to it. If it’s not Byron’s baby-mama (Teyana Taylor) — the one who made Madea commit her literal drive-through, the one who took her one-woman show to “Maury’’ — it’s bougie Kimberly (Shannon Kane) berating her husband (Isaiah Mustafa, the Old Spice guy) or miserable Tammy (Natalie Desselle Reid) berating hers. Once, it’s even the police coming to re-arrest poor Byron (Shad “Bow Wow’’ Moss, who’s pretty good). Obviously, it’s Madea to the rescue.
Most of us still have the all-female post-traumatic stress disorder Perry gave us in “For Colored Girls.’’ We may be stuck in last November, but he’s moved on. And by “on’’ I mean “backward.’’ “Madea’s Big Happy Family’’ is full of men who suffer the wrath of vicious, selfish, shallow, stupid, abusive women, as though he’d begun thinking about “For Colored Boys.’’ Most of the sexy, upstanding, too-good-to-be-real black males who show up in the movies now do so in Perry’s (“For Colored Girls,’’ aside). But here their addiction to goodness is almost as pathological as the ladies’ pleasure in badness: It’s emotional S&M.
The men don’t know why their women are so mean. And because Perry’s screenwriting has never been sure how much, if any, psychology to use, the women and their families also don’t know why — until, in some shock plot twist, they do. Perry’s strategy as a dramatist is to create excessively wretched and lowly characters, then use tragedy, comeuppance, or the biblical rod that keeps a child spoil-free, to make them behave. It’s rarely fair. These people don’t come to Jesus. Perry drags them.
The Five could have been Faster
You know you’re not in for a reinvention of the wheel with this, the fifth The Fast And The Furious 5 film, but surprisingly it turns out to be more entertaining than its recent predecessors. Much of this is attributable to the onscreen street racing being dialed down in favour of Ocean's Eleven-style heist plotting and favela gunplay straight out of Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It’s telling of how far the franchise has moved from its origins that we’re not even shown a mid-film street showdown, Fast and Furious 5 moving from macho posturing to race outcome in the blink of an eye and zero carbon footprint.
Don’t think for a second that cars aren’t pivotal to the film, however. They are the items that set up the film’s epic battle between heroes and villains and take up the last fifteen minutes in an embrace of crashes and sheer physical impossibility. Returning stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Jordana Brewster are joined by Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot as pieces of machinery for the camera to drool over. They act like machines too, but chops aren’t really required or expected with a director who’s getting pretty good at moving the pieces around. Justin Lim has made three of these films now (as well as several episodes of Community) and with the wider scope of this latest installment and time to move on to better things.
Unfortunatley,this gallery of supporting roles have really never been anything more than set dressing for me. Like I stated earlier a spin off of the movie Ocean's Eleven. Like the other films in the franchise, Fast Five is loaded with fast cars, women dressed in skimpy attire, and high octane street racing events. Is it a great film that will leave a mark on my mental? No. Is it a fun film? Yes. But Fast Five will excite the fans and kick start the summer movie season. In comparison, like the Twilight movies, this will be as front loaded as a nos- charged hot rod engine... and it will burn out relatively quick.
Don’t think for a second that cars aren’t pivotal to the film, however. They are the items that set up the film’s epic battle between heroes and villains and take up the last fifteen minutes in an embrace of crashes and sheer physical impossibility. Returning stars Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Jordana Brewster are joined by Dwayne Johnson and Gal Gadot as pieces of machinery for the camera to drool over. They act like machines too, but chops aren’t really required or expected with a director who’s getting pretty good at moving the pieces around. Justin Lim has made three of these films now (as well as several episodes of Community) and with the wider scope of this latest installment and time to move on to better things.
Unfortunatley,this gallery of supporting roles have really never been anything more than set dressing for me. Like I stated earlier a spin off of the movie Ocean's Eleven. Like the other films in the franchise, Fast Five is loaded with fast cars, women dressed in skimpy attire, and high octane street racing events. Is it a great film that will leave a mark on my mental? No. Is it a fun film? Yes. But Fast Five will excite the fans and kick start the summer movie season. In comparison, like the Twilight movies, this will be as front loaded as a nos- charged hot rod engine... and it will burn out relatively quick.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Thor could have been a bore
Thor brings enough thunder to satisfy my summer blockbuster appetite. The movie is like an evolutionary Superman 2 in which he has to loses his powers to in turn find out what it realy means to struggle and who he truly is. The director Kenneth Branagh, ingenously incorperated his shakesperean backround into this film by making all of the Gods/superheroes speak in a shakesperean tounge. It is very much so fitting because the Gods are put on a mental petistol so it was only right to seperate the Gods/superheros with another tounge than the regular humans. Branagh focuses on Thor in the human realm, it is no worse, or crazy, than its many comic counterparts. But when it ventures into murky other-worlds, it looks surprisingly new.
Thor splits its time almost equally between its heavenly origins and its earthly wanderings. In the former environs, Bo Welch’s (product designer) production designs look plucked from the earlier serials of the original comics. And the spacioul special effects, credited to several people, look as if they would have been outdated a decade ago. Eventho, they take an excert from Kirk Cameron's visualy high-tech Avatar as far as the rainbow bridge is concerned. But it’s hard to blame Branagh for such timeworn visuals since thoes elements usually fall out of the director’s reach to control.
Thor begins in the dreamlike Asgard, where everyone speaks in stiff, unnatural dialogue-shakesperean tounge(Branagh's wit). There, the king, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), warns his sons Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) not to face off against a tribe of warriors who look like giant Jack Frost's on steroids. They do fight, of course, but in a choppy, confused battle that shows Branagh’s limitations as an action director. Later, contray to popular belief, Thor finds himself exiled and thrown into a random shotgun city with a desert surrounding it where he is found by a trio of scientists (Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings). From there, Thor proudly inherits his "new kid" mantle — saying weird things, not knowing where he is and generally providing material for everyone to talk about.
While Thor is weak and has no God like powers he is suseptable to any plans his villans from the other world might have in store for him. thruogh a stroke of predestdined luck he gets a tip on the where about of his hammer-which he recives all of his much envyed strength. But, in his rigiorus, painstaking, and tiresome efforts in trying to obtain his much sought after hammer he gets caught. Luckily, Thor hangs around long enough to retrieve the magic hammer, which gives him extraordinary powers that come in handy when his villainous brother arrives for a showdown in the middle of a small town.
Now,I personaly hate 3D movies and the amazing thing here is, I’ve written all of this without complaining about it being in 3D. 3D is completely pointless for this movie, but it wasn’t a horrible post conversion tactic, it just did not add anything spectacular to the movie. But there was something plain about it. The Costume and Set Design was, for the most part, terrible. Loki’s full Costume looked like something you’d see in a low budget SyFy production. Another thing Natalie Portman, her role in this movie was almost as important as Kat Dennings and she was onli there for comedic relief. Why have a big named star in a film and have her do almost nothing? all together, the movie was a box office hit. But how can anyone really give these marvel comic movies a real review if there just based off of what has already been written in our minds, thus giving us a premeditated thought of what the movie should be like.
Thor splits its time almost equally between its heavenly origins and its earthly wanderings. In the former environs, Bo Welch’s (product designer) production designs look plucked from the earlier serials of the original comics. And the spacioul special effects, credited to several people, look as if they would have been outdated a decade ago. Eventho, they take an excert from Kirk Cameron's visualy high-tech Avatar as far as the rainbow bridge is concerned. But it’s hard to blame Branagh for such timeworn visuals since thoes elements usually fall out of the director’s reach to control.
Thor begins in the dreamlike Asgard, where everyone speaks in stiff, unnatural dialogue-shakesperean tounge(Branagh's wit). There, the king, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), warns his sons Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) not to face off against a tribe of warriors who look like giant Jack Frost's on steroids. They do fight, of course, but in a choppy, confused battle that shows Branagh’s limitations as an action director. Later, contray to popular belief, Thor finds himself exiled and thrown into a random shotgun city with a desert surrounding it where he is found by a trio of scientists (Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings). From there, Thor proudly inherits his "new kid" mantle — saying weird things, not knowing where he is and generally providing material for everyone to talk about.
While Thor is weak and has no God like powers he is suseptable to any plans his villans from the other world might have in store for him. thruogh a stroke of predestdined luck he gets a tip on the where about of his hammer-which he recives all of his much envyed strength. But, in his rigiorus, painstaking, and tiresome efforts in trying to obtain his much sought after hammer he gets caught. Luckily, Thor hangs around long enough to retrieve the magic hammer, which gives him extraordinary powers that come in handy when his villainous brother arrives for a showdown in the middle of a small town.
Now,I personaly hate 3D movies and the amazing thing here is, I’ve written all of this without complaining about it being in 3D. 3D is completely pointless for this movie, but it wasn’t a horrible post conversion tactic, it just did not add anything spectacular to the movie. But there was something plain about it. The Costume and Set Design was, for the most part, terrible. Loki’s full Costume looked like something you’d see in a low budget SyFy production. Another thing Natalie Portman, her role in this movie was almost as important as Kat Dennings and she was onli there for comedic relief. Why have a big named star in a film and have her do almost nothing? all together, the movie was a box office hit. But how can anyone really give these marvel comic movies a real review if there just based off of what has already been written in our minds, thus giving us a premeditated thought of what the movie should be like.
Monday, May 2, 2011
should the head have remained in the jar?
Trying to fill enormous shoes is a difficult task to accomplish. I have stated before, when new films are released to the public, normally it is not an original idea. In most cases it is based off of an older film that sparked an idea in Sam Mendez's(director)' mind that gave him inspiration to do his version of that film-full metal jacket to jarhead. These films were meant to tell you the stories behind the military and the hardships our brave troops, who serve and protect us, go through. Each of these films are unique in their own way but each have the same message.
This film is riddled with stars: Jamie Fox (stgt Sikes), Jake Gyllenhaal (Swafford), Lucas Black (Kris Kruger)....but still lacks the ability to become an epic war film like Saving Private Ryan or Pearl Harbor. The film's carbon copy twin Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) displays how marine life is, through the eyes of Mathew Modine (Gomer Pyle), very relentless, have to do constant rigorous training, and a hard nose stone jaw drill instructor yelling at the central character constantly to try and break down his mental. Sounds familiar? If it dose not I can tell you what that oh so conventional story line sounds like. It is the horribly mediocre and unoriginal Jarhead.
Now I acknowledge the fact that this is a war/love story but, that should not take away the wartime/eire feeling that this film lacks. It was more of a story that was fast forwarded through most of Swafford's life. Also the whole movie unfolded in the course of several months which makes the plot even more unbelievable. the movie tried to capture the real events and situations that go on in our fine military but failed to do so. Reason being is that the events that transpire throughout the whole film seem to "Hollywood". Granted it is a Hollywood production but, Sam Mendez failed to capture all the bloody Gorey scenes that occur during war-as a Saving Private Ryan film would have.
Even tho the film was not unique in any peculiar way I can still resurrect some admiral traits out of this movie. The pros of the movie are the acting, realistic scenery, and the character progression. The acting job done by Jake Gyllenhaal is phenomenal because he totally embodies the whole character of Anthony Swafford (who the movies is about). Another merit that this film receives from me is the fact that Mendez actually traveled all the way to the middle east to shoot some of the scenes. This is proving that in his attempt in trying to step out of his comfort zone and produce a war movie he tried to make the movie as authentic as possible. the last of the few things Mendez dose right is show a brilliant character progression through Swaff. We got to see Swaff come into the marines perfectly sane an a little disgruntled as to why he had to join then throughout the film we get to see him turn into a well trained killing machine with discipline who salivates at the thought of "pink mist"(a clean shot to the head).
In closing, Jarhead was utterly predictable (fresh recruits endure tough training; fresh recruits encounter a new culture and are dumbfounded),studded with Oscar winning performances and actors. But eventually the great cast was just a cover up for the weak timeworn script. It seems as though Mendez's attempt to venture into unfamiliar territory with war a films was unsuccessful. Making the quote "every war is different; every war is the same" seem remedial seeing as not one of the well trained snipers fired a shot. Filling big shoes is an enormous responsibility so if you can not beat the standard do not even attempt.
This film is riddled with stars: Jamie Fox (stgt Sikes), Jake Gyllenhaal (Swafford), Lucas Black (Kris Kruger)....but still lacks the ability to become an epic war film like Saving Private Ryan or Pearl Harbor. The film's carbon copy twin Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) displays how marine life is, through the eyes of Mathew Modine (Gomer Pyle), very relentless, have to do constant rigorous training, and a hard nose stone jaw drill instructor yelling at the central character constantly to try and break down his mental. Sounds familiar? If it dose not I can tell you what that oh so conventional story line sounds like. It is the horribly mediocre and unoriginal Jarhead.
Now I acknowledge the fact that this is a war/love story but, that should not take away the wartime/eire feeling that this film lacks. It was more of a story that was fast forwarded through most of Swafford's life. Also the whole movie unfolded in the course of several months which makes the plot even more unbelievable. the movie tried to capture the real events and situations that go on in our fine military but failed to do so. Reason being is that the events that transpire throughout the whole film seem to "Hollywood". Granted it is a Hollywood production but, Sam Mendez failed to capture all the bloody Gorey scenes that occur during war-as a Saving Private Ryan film would have.
Even tho the film was not unique in any peculiar way I can still resurrect some admiral traits out of this movie. The pros of the movie are the acting, realistic scenery, and the character progression. The acting job done by Jake Gyllenhaal is phenomenal because he totally embodies the whole character of Anthony Swafford (who the movies is about). Another merit that this film receives from me is the fact that Mendez actually traveled all the way to the middle east to shoot some of the scenes. This is proving that in his attempt in trying to step out of his comfort zone and produce a war movie he tried to make the movie as authentic as possible. the last of the few things Mendez dose right is show a brilliant character progression through Swaff. We got to see Swaff come into the marines perfectly sane an a little disgruntled as to why he had to join then throughout the film we get to see him turn into a well trained killing machine with discipline who salivates at the thought of "pink mist"(a clean shot to the head).
In closing, Jarhead was utterly predictable (fresh recruits endure tough training; fresh recruits encounter a new culture and are dumbfounded),studded with Oscar winning performances and actors. But eventually the great cast was just a cover up for the weak timeworn script. It seems as though Mendez's attempt to venture into unfamiliar territory with war a films was unsuccessful. Making the quote "every war is different; every war is the same" seem remedial seeing as not one of the well trained snipers fired a shot. Filling big shoes is an enormous responsibility so if you can not beat the standard do not even attempt.
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