Spitballing the future

 As I type this, the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) are on strike.  This looks like it might be a long strike.  There are issues about compensation and residuals from streaming services- but those will likely be resolved when both the strikes and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) find a number that is acceptable by all parties.

The more significant issue is about the us of Artifical Intelligence (AI) to replace both the actors  and the writers, without compensation.  From the striker's point of view, AI can potentially be used to replace them, costing their careers.  

We've already seem films where special effects have recreated dead actors to have parts in the film- and dead actors do not get paid.  If studios could replace the actors and writers with AI, they would.  

Is this the future of Hollywood?

Is the technology at a point where the fear is realistic?  Maybe not- but the studios certainly act like it's possible.  As a general rule, if the technology exists, it will be used.

Ever since the 19th Century, there has been a fear that technology would replace workers.  In general, with every technology development, some jobs are lost- but more jobs are created.  The computer cost thousand of typists their jobs- and created thousands more for programmers.  

Is AI going to be different?  I don't know.  Technology has made life better for billions of people- and in theory, there will be a point where technology does so much of our work that fewer people need to actually work (or the same number of people work fewer hours).  If- when- we reach that point, we need to rethink the entire world's economy.

Capitalism is the best economic system available because it does the best job encouraging growth.  But if we have reached the point when the technology can provide everyone with their needs, then Capitalism is no longer needed.

I recenlty heard a great phrase- "Rodenberry Socialist".  Based on the world of Star Trek, technology has met the needs for everyone.  We are not at that world yet, and will likely not be close in a hundred years.  But with AI, and three-dimensional printing... we can see the path where something like that is possible.

But that is in the future.  The future may be wonderful, but the current road is bumpy- especially for the strikers.  

Thoughts on 'The Batman'

 Thoughts on the latest Superhero movie, 'The Batman'.  Non spoiler thoughts first, then a warning for the comments that will spoil the movie:

* I didn't hate the movie (if you want to see me rant about a movie that I hated, ask me about 'The Rise of Skywalker').  It was very well crafted and the acting was fine- it created a universe.  It was also three hours of misery.  There was no joy in the movie at all, no happiness, and while they mentioned needing hope, they never provided it.

Some people like that in movies.  I don't- I want to see struggles, but I also want to see a happy ending.  I didn't think one was generated or justified.

* The casting was great, across the board.  Pattinson was fine as Batman.  Kravitz played a gritty Selena Kyle.  Dano was brilliant as the Riddler.  Wright, Serkis, Tuturro... I loved the casting.

* I know they were going for a noir feel- but the movie was shot so dark that I had a hard time seeing what was going on.

* Three hours was the wrong length for the movie- way too long for a movie with as few action scenes as this one had, and still not enough time to give the backstory needed.  They should have made this a six (or ten) episode series on a streaming service.   

* Side comment- has any fictional character ever been played in as many different styles as Batman?

He's been over the top silly (The 1996 show).  The obsessive-compulsive crimefighter (The Batman cartoon).  He's been a leader of the Justice League- and a loner, away from everyone.  You could play him as a true hero, an anti-hero, and as a broken person.

There are other fictional characters that have been played by a half dozen or more actors (Superman/Tarzan/Sherlock Holmes, to name three).  But all of those are generally played one or two ways.  With Batman, just about any behavior can be justified.

OK- spoiler comments below:

WandaVision Thoughts

 Fair warning:  Spoilers ahead after finishing the season 1 finale of WandaVision...

The Rise of Skywalker thoughts

(WARNING:  This is discussing "Star Wars:  The Rise of Skywalker".  Leave now if you don't want to be spoiled)

The Decade: Movies

We're in December of 2019- not just the end of the year, but the end of the decade.  I'll leave it to other to discuss the worldwide themes of the decade.  I will say this; while there are several unpleasant trends between 2010 and 2019, it's an improvement over the last century at this time- no World Wars destroying millions of lives.

But, on a lighter front, I figured I'd give my own personal opinions on various categories of the decade.  We'll start with movies.  These are just my $0.11, and I'm open to suggestions for movies I haven't seen yet.

2010: Inception/Toy Story 3- we're starting with a tie. Inception is probably my favorite science fiction movie of the decade. I love the concept, even though it falls apart when you think about it. But invading people's minds through their dreams is a cool concept that works in a movie on a big screen.

As for Toy Story 3... Toy Story might be the greatest movie trilogy of all time (yes, I know there is a Toy Story 4; I haven't seen it yet). There isn't a weak movie among the three. I was convinced that 3 couldn't live up to the first two movies, and I was wrong.


2011: Captain America:  The First Avenger- the first of several Marvel movies in my list. Chris Evans nails the character (it's hard to make a non-snarky Lawful Good character interesting, and he pulls it off). Setting most of the movie in the WWII era gives the movie a unique feel among the Marvel Movies, and allows you to see the history.


2012: Avengers- another Marvel movie. They did it- they spent five movies setting up this movie, with only one misstep. They had a movie with ten main characters and they gave them all moments to shine. As a story, the movie is great. But sticking the landing is even more challenging, and they did it.


2013: American Hustle- went back and forth between this and The Wolf of Wall Street. Both are black comedies about scams and based on real life events. I went with Hustle for this reason; The Wolf of Wall Street was made by a production company that stole $10 billion from the people of Malaysia. The reality of making that movie is worse than the movie itself.


2014: Captain America:  The Winter Solider- another Marvel Movie. Tough choice- I could have gone with Guardians of the Galaxy or The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. One movie that it wouldn't be was Birdman- I started watching it and just got bored halfway through. Which might say more about me than about the movie.


2015: The Big Short- Love the book, love the movie. Does the best job explaining exactly what the hell happened in the 2008 economic downturn that I've seen.


2016: Star Wars:  Rogue One- none of the Star Wars movies come close to the brilliance of A New Hope or The Empire Strikes Back. But Rogue One comes closest- it's an original story, it's fills in some of the story gaps, and it gives moments of awe-inspiring glory and horror. JUST edges out Doctor Strange

2017: none- I haven't seen Murder on the Orient Express or Spiderman: Homecoming, and none of the other movies released this year really appealed that much to me. Maybe Star Wars:  The Last Jedi- but that movie left me with more questions than answers. I'm terrified it'll be like The Matrix: Reloaded- an incomplete movie without the sequel, and the sequel is so bad it ruins the other movie.

2018: Into the Spider-Verse- I love this movie. It has the right 'fit' for Spider-Man, able to be serious without getting too depressing, and somehow manages to tie multiple universes together in a way that works. JUST edges out Black Panther

2019: Avengers: Endgame- technically, this is still up in the air. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker might (I hope) top it, and I really enjoyed Knives Out. But, like Avengers, it managed to tie so many other movies together that right now it's my movie for 2019.

Star Wars and Villains

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker comes out this December.  The sequels have had mixed moments, and opinions vary on them.

My own opinion is that Star Wars: The Force Awakens was really well made, but the story was too similar to A New Hope.  Star Wars: The Last Jedi was the opposite- it was such a break from the Star Wars cannon that it broke new ground, but also left a lot of unanswered questions.

(side note:  I also agree with Nando in his one suggested change for The Last Jedi: )

I will be watching The Rise of Skywalker, but I'm asking for one thing in the next movie:  

A crowning moment of villainy from this guy:

This is General Hux.  If you saw The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi and don't remember him... well, that's part of the problem.

The original trilogy had multiple villains that were considered by fans to be a real threat to the heroes.  There was Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, The Emporer, Boba Fett, Jabba the Hutt....  the villains failed and died, but the audience considered them a threat to the heroes.

For the latest trilogy?  There is Kylo Ren (and some people think he'll make a face turn).  And...

Snoke?  Didn't do anything and died.

Phasma?  Looked like an awesome character, but died before she could really do anything to show she was a threat (and this ticked me off- I wanted her around as the dragon for Finn to defeat in the final movie)

There's no other named villains threats except for Ren... and General Hux.  

And Hux has been treated as a joke in the previous two movies.  He stands around, makes snide remarks, and seems to be wrong on every choice he makes.

So do something with him in this movie that makes him a serious threat.  He doesn't have to be a fighting threat.  Show him to be a tactical genius- or a great leader- or a brilliant manipulator.  Something to make the audience acknowledge he is a threat.

To have great heroes, you need villains that are considered threats.  There's a ton of heroes in Star Wars- Rey, Poe, Rose, Finn.  Kylo Ren can't be the only enemy for all of them.  Build up Hux and the overall movie will be better.

Sad Godzilla Amongst the Ruins

I used to love monster movies.

Went through a phase where I read a ton about the early movies of Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman.  And then another phase of King Kong and the giant Kaiju Japanese monsters.

I’ve never liked horror movies- I don’t enjoy being scared.  But monster movies used to hit a sweet spot for me.

There’s a 2019 movie coming out:  Godzilla- King of the Monsters.  Here’s the trailer:

And… I’m not happy seeing it.  I’m depressed and sad, really.

Two reasons- one minor, one major.

The minor one:  Dear Lord, why do all of these movies have to be so literally dark?  I know ‘less is more’ and maybe the actual movie you can really see the monsters- but here everything is dark and grey and blue and muted and so difficult to see.  The technology is better nowadays, the cinematography is great- why make everything so shadowy?

But here’s the major one:  I. Do. Not. Like. Disaster. Porn.

I don’t want to see 2 hours of cities being decimated and lives obliterated.  It’s not fun or enjoyable.

Those 50’s and 60’s Godzilla movies?  They looked cheesy and fake.  You know what else?  They were fun- in part because you knew they were cheesy and fake.

If I want to see a realistic image of a building being destroyed, I can watch the news.

I can’t imagine this movie doing well- who wants to see a monster movie and feel sad?