Too Much Pain and Not Enough Gain

When the trailer for Pain and Gain came out, I was pretty excited about the release as were many of my friends who enjoy comedies and also love working out at the gym. From what I could tell from the commercials the film was about three bodybuilders trying to take some criminal down and take his money. The movie starred three proven actors Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Anthony Mackie as the three bodybuilders. It was directed by Transformers' franchise director Michael Bay. It seemed like it had all the necessary ingredients to make a great comedy, but I was wrong. It was actually quite a tragedy.

The "R" rating probably should have sent warning signs, but sense many comedies now do have that "R" rating I didn't think twice about it even though there is no need for the material that causes movies to have that rating to make a comedy better. It simply does not need to be there, but that is for another post... Anyway, what made Pain and Gain a terrible comedy and a weak tragedy is that I could not relate to the characters, which is (in my opinion) one of the most important keys to any good story or film. The three body builders did not fit any of the "clicks" in the gym. The movie took the stereotypical "meat-head" bodybuilders and brought it to the extreme where the characters were no longer believable.

The three guys on a mission failed to relate to me because all they cared about was getting big and living the wealthy life even if they destroyed someone else's life in the process. There was a lack of internal struggle or even a moral struggle for the characters committing the crimes... with the exception of Dwayne Johnson's character who often did express his concerns about the crimes they were committing. The lack of internal struggle made it so I could care less for the outcome at the end of the movie, which made watching the second half of the movie more and more painful to watch as it went on.

The only positive I could take from Pain and Gain was that it was based on a true story, which did provide some moral lessons at the end. One lesson is that if you are going to spend so much time and effort into carrying out a plan to commit multiple crimes, why not apply those skills and determination into something to improve your life in an honorable way. But perhaps the most important lesson that can be taken from this movie is to be content. It's appalling and sad how someone could be so dissatisfied with their life that it leads them to a destructive path. Now I'm not saying it's a bad thing to try to improve your situation or advance in life and in your career. Striving to be the best you can be is healthy, however, not ever being satisfied with where you are in life is not.

Watching this movie about three guys who destroyed their lives and the lives of others because they did not know how to be happy and content with themselves was excruciating to watch. Although the movie did offer some kind of epiphany (important realization) at the end, the characters did not experience that for themselves, which is absolutely necessary in a tragedy. The conflict resolution for this comedy was that the movie ended and the three stupid criminals got what was coming to them. I only wish the resolution came an hour sooner because two hours and twenty-nine minutes was a little long for a tragic comedy. An hour and a half would have been sufficient for this not too comical comedy that got less and less funny and more and more painful to watch as it dragged on.

The Triumphal End of the Batman Trilogy

“The Legend Ends,” but does it? Is it possible for Batman to end? Does this mean that we will be without the Dark Knight forever!? Calm down. Take a deep breath. It will be alright. But seriously, Batman is alive and well in the comic book world, which means there’s always hope for the caped crusader to resurface again. Bruce Wayne might not always be the one behind the mask that criminals fear, but Batman continues to live on through the ones who follow after him.

After all, “As a man I can be ignored and destroyed. But as a symbol. As a symbol I can be elemental. I can be everlasting,” said Bruce Wayne in a conversation with Alfred after he returned from the League of Shadows. This conversation is the single most important conversation in the Dark Knight trilogy. Batman “begins” by first establishing this symbol concept and in The Dark Knight Rises the process of making Batman into a symbol is complete. Here’s what Christopher Nolan had to say about the symbol concept in his trilogy from his biography profile on IMDB.com: 

“For me, "The Dark Knight Rises" is specifically and definitely the end of the Batman story as I wanted to tell it, and the open-ended nature of the film is simply a very important thematic idea that we wanted to get into the movie, which is that Batman is a symbol. He can be anybody, and that was very important to us. Not every Batman fan will necessarily agree with that interpretation of the philosophy of the character, but for me it all comes back to the scene between Bruce Wayne and Alfred in the private jet in "Batman Begins," where the only way that I could find to make a credible characterization of a guy transforming himself into Batman is if it was as a necessary symbol, and he saw himself as a catalyst for change and therefore it was a temporary process, maybe a five-year plan that would be enforced for symbolically encouraging the good of Gotham to take back their city. To me, for that mission to succeed, it has to end, so this is the ending for me, and as I say, the open-ended elements are all to do with the thematic idea that Batman was not important as a man, he's more than that. He's a symbol, and the symbol lives on.”

The Dark Knight Rises ended exactly the way I would want it to end if I had written the script myself. If you have been following the Christian Bale – Batman trilogy, you will love this movie if you haven’t seen it already… which I’m sure most Batman fans already have. The best Batman series has come to an end in this movie, but could there be a continuation of the story down the road by someone other than Bruce Wayne… possibly by introducing Robin, Night Wing, or even one of Bruce Wayne’s offspring, which would be perfectly okay with me. Bottom line about Christopher Nolan’s Batman series is that it is the best. Hands down. There’s no campiness in the films. There’s no outlandish characters where it leaves the audience scratching their heads thinking, “What were the filmmakers thinking when they made this. Did they actually believe we would buy into this.” With the end of The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan has completed the most true to form series for the Caped Crusader. As a Batman fan from the age of 2, I’m sad to see the series end; however, with Nolan finishing the story in the way that it started, it makes it easier to say goodbye to the Dark Knight… or at least farewell for now my friend..

Stay tuned for a special Christmas post: My Top 10 Christmas Movies

A Movie about Video Games and Much More

Disney Pixar’s most recent film Wreck it Ralph is a movie for kids of all ages from three to sixty-three. Anyone who has ever played an arcade or video game of any kind will appreciate this movie. The story revolves around Ralph the terrible wrecking villain present in the 1980s arcade game Fix it Felix Jr, but Ralph isn’t all that terrible. After all, he’s just doing his job. If Ralph didn’t wreck things, there would be nothing for Felix to fix. Unfortunately, Felix and the other townspeople don’t realize that without Ralph they would cease to exist, and Ralph is treated like an outcast and left to sleep in a dump while the others in the game stay in their cozy penthouse suites.  In hopes to improve his situation, Ralph goes on a quest to win himself a medal and prove that he isn’t as bad as the townspeople make him out to be.

After winning a medal from the game Hero’s Duty, Ralph loses it in the candyland world of Sugar Rush to a little go-kart racing girl Vanellope, who needs the medal just as much as he does. Vanellope talks Ralph into helping her win a race that will gain her respect in her game in return for the medal she took from him, which he believes will finally give him respect in his game back home. Ralph is reluctant at first to help the little girl but when he realizes that her situation is even worse than his own, he decides to put his own mission aside in order to help her. As the two unlikeliest of partners develop a friendship, Ralph becomes the hero he has always longed to be and he understands that a hero is much more than someone who is awarded a golden medal.

Wreck it Ralph is another visually stunning Pixar movie worthy to see on the big screen and has one of the best Pixar storylines since Finding Nemo. Boys and girls alike will equally enjoy the movie with the story of Ralph and Vanellope. Wreck it Ralph is the perfect movie to watch as a family, or if you’re like me… a perfect movie to just sit back and enjoy. Wreck it Ralph debuted in theaters November 2, so if you want to make it to the movie before the Christmas rush of movies possibly takes this out of the theaters, now would be the time to see it before it gets left out like Christmas trees on December 26.

Stay tuned for my next post: "The Triumphal End of the Batman Trilogy"

Skyfall: Best Bond Movie Since Dr. No

The 50th anniversary for the creation of Ian Fleming's famous MI6 agent could not have been celebrated better than with the release of the best James Bond movie yet: Skyfall. Daniel Craig returned for his third appearance as agent 007 previously portraying that role in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Craig's first Bond film made Casino Royale one of the most intriguing story lines in the series with the beginning story of how James Bond acquired 007 status. Royale had such a strong storyline that Quantum of Solace took place right where the previous film left off in the hopes that the story was big enough to make two films out of it. Unfortunately, the storyline lacked and was not nearly as strong as its prequel. Skyfall broke completely away from Quantum of Solace and turned out to be one of the best Bond movies of all time.

With Academy award winning director Sam Mendes, Skyfall turned out to be much more than a great action movie, but an action movie with life in it. The movie brings back a more complex plot (which is how 007 has continued to have success in the theaters since the 1960's) and further enhances the characterization of James Bond and the other supporting characters in the franchise. Skyfall puts Bond up against his most worthy opponent yet with an ex-MI6 agent keen on getting revenge on Bond's boss and MI6 director M. The newest movie also brings back classic characters like Q and also tells the beginning story of MI6 secretary Moneypenny.

This film is a must see for Bond fans new and old and for everyone who loves a good action movie. Viewers not familiar with James Bond would not need to watch any other movies before in order to understand what is going on, however, I would suggest watching Casino Royale, which is still among the best Bond movies of all time.

James Bond will Return

... and so will I. 

Stay tuned for new posts coming soon.