Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol Review

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol certainly ran the risk of extending a series that was running on fume since its last go-around. Tom Cruise was not the movie star he used to be. Jeremy Renner, while a tremendous actor, was not an absolute sell as an action star. Paula Patton's biggest role to date was in Jumping the Groom. Simon Pegg was not an action star, but the plucky comic relief. But with Brad Bird (The Incredibles) at the helm and energetic turns by all of the actors, MI4 did the seemingly impossible. It made Ghost Protocol arguably the best Mission Impossible yet.

This was not a perfect movie by any means. Between Dubai and Mumbai, there was an odd and prolonged layover that, while completely pertinent, was also completely boring. Many times, the MI series tries too hard to entangle the viewer in this confusing web of story lines, especially with the abuse of the perfect facial masks that have been used multiple times throughout this series. While (thankfully) the protagonists left this to a minimum, there was still some camouflaging in this film. But outside of this, the films was solid and fast-paced.

The actors were outstanding, though not perfect. Patton seemed to edge on the hammy side when she was forced to be emotional. Cruise seemed to waver between all-too-serious secret agent and bantering spy colleague. Pegg ran the risk of turning into a one-joke guy with his quippy-ness. Renner played his role of action star well, but had some trouble in the more emotional parts of the movie. But on the whole, this team was actually a team. The chemistry can be felt among the four actors as they effortlessly flowed through the movie, turning into a tight-knit team of spies.

Bird took his first stab at live-action film and brought a cartoon-y aspect to it. The opening credits were a testament to the limitlessness that Bird has dealt with in animation. It jumped from scene to scene following a dynamite wick on its way to an explosion. His best idea was not anything to do with the editing or the cuts. It was the scenery. Bird brilliantly captured the beauty of both Mumbai and Dubai in his far shots. The majesty and magnificence of Dubai served as the backdrop to the most thrilling scene in the film. Bird is also willing to turn all of the buildings into his playground. One of the best parts about confined spaces in this film is that Bird turns these closed areas with limited movement into this vast expanse of area. At times, it felt too slapsticky, too cartoony. Some of the stunts would work better in an animated setting. But overall, Bird kept the suspense high and the thrills on.

Overall, the movie was great. It had one of the easier plots to follow of the MI series, and the entire film was an unending thrill ride. The actors were having fun, the director was having fun, and even the composer, Michael Giacchino (the genius behind the score of Up) seemed to have fun with the riffs off the hold MI theme music. And that is what made MI4 so great. The film was so much fun that the audience could not help but stand in awe with the artistry that a seeming popcorn flick could have.

A Dangerous Method Review

I recently watched A Dangerous Method, a film about Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud, and Sabina Spielrein. Going into this movie, I was very excited about watching it. I was sold on the sole fact that it was the third straight collaboration between Viggo Mortensen and David Cronenberg, including Mortensen's Oscar-nominated turn in Eastern Promises. Then, there was the fact that it was a film about Jung and Freud, two brilliant thinkers. Just to see the embodiment of these minds would have been an experience in and of itself, but with the pedigree of the actors (Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley), it seemed like this would be one of the best movies of the year. This film is essentially Oscar bait anyway. 

I will admit that parts of me wanted to see this film at the Oscars. The dialogue between all of the characters was interesting and packed with intricacy. While the subject matter may be too advanced for some moviegoers, it was always fun to listen to the technicalities and methodology that resounded in each sentence. The acting was similarly impressive. Mortensen truly disappeared into his role as the father of psychoanalysis, and Fassbender played Jung with a subdued intensity that could have been misconstrued as boredom or blandness if acted by an inferior actor. Vincent Cassel, as Otto Gross, added a breath of life into a very serious film. And while Knightley's performance was at times too extreme, it did what was necessary and turned many scenes with her into this uncomfortable and, in a way, humiliating experience, something that the film likely aimed to do.

But, I was woefully disappointed at the stagnancy of the film. Admittedly, my sights may have been set too high after the very active A History of Violence and Eastern Promises, but it was not just the scenery that need to be kinetic. The story moved at a glacial pace, which is never good if it is a shorter movie (about an hour and a half). Part of the problem was the artistic decisions by the director. Because this film dealt with psychoanalysis, I should not have expected movement in every single scene. But more often than not, the scene was limited to one area, and the film moved forward through jumps, never making a truly smooth transition between one point to another. While there were interesting parts of the movie (particularly the string of letters between Spielrein, Freud, and Jung near the end), characters were very motionless. Even while they were moving around, it felt that they were going nowhere. This could be a clever ploy by Cronenberg to assimilate the audience into the film by creating a sense of idleness through the closed-off settings and stalled plot. But that seemed to be too intelligent for most directors this side of David Lynch. Cronenberg fails to send the plot in any direction, preferring to keep everything in a little contained box. He, in a way, is much like Freud, not willing to take any risks. Both seemed to be content strengthening the basis of the movie, rather than reaching out and grabbing something potentially better. Could these risks have led to more negative results as Freud would assume? Yes, it could have. But as the director of a film with so much potential in the first place, he should not fear these uncertainties. 

This was a great movie, but it is too artsy for its own good. It never plays out like a movie in the typical sense. It is more like a play. It jumps from scene to scene without much understanding as to what is going on between each of them. The setting rarely changes in a scene, preferring multiple changes rather than one fluid motion throughout the film. Nevertheless, it is well-acted and well-written. But Cronenberg unfortunately errs on the side of caution. He creates a serious movie that takes no risks. His movie could be interpreted at the field of psychoanalysis that he presents. It is a solid field with substance, but it is so rooted in one thing that it never branches out. Cronenberg takes too few risks and creates what will likely be an award-winning movie, which is sad because it could have been more than that. If he only had Jung's ambition and creativity, it could have been a modern classic.

The Last Airbender Series: The Spirit World and the Trope of Outnumbering

One of the most common tropes in film and television is that the good guys are always outnumbered. It is not a necessity to be a good guy, but people just tend to root for the outnumbered party. Think of some recent movies that use this cliche. Zombie movies are one of the essential movies with an outnumbered group, a small, ragtag gang of survivors against the monstrous mob of zombies.  300 is blatant about the outnumbered Spartans, going so far as to tell us how many there are. But Iroh makes a very good point. While you may be outnumbered, that does not necessarily mean that you are outmatched.

The scene is set with Uncle Iroh and Prince Zuko ready to face off against 5 Earth Nation soldiers. These soldiers remind the two firebenders that they are outnumbered. Iroh accepts this fact, but rebuts saying that they are outmatched. This is the essential definition of this trope. The good guy has to be outnumbered or visibly outmatched in order to be the good guy. No one wants to cheer for the person who does not have to go through any conflict. Winning is supposed to be an uphill climb, even if it is a story about a winner. Many sports movies about winning teams have them overcoming another obstacle outside of the game. People do not want to see movies about a person that never faces any difficulty. You have to be outnumbered (or visibly outmatched) in order to win in movies. Or at least in order to be considered the good guy.

What does this quote imply about the rest of the series? Up until now, we are supposed to root against Zuko and Iroh. But Zuko is the ultimate antihero. He is always clearly outmatched. When compared to Zhao, he lacks the resources and manpower (and the respect). Against these Earthbenders, he lacks the numbers. But he finds a way to overcome these obstacles. While outnumbered, he is never outmatched. This solidifies him as a hero (or at least anti-hero) in this story. He has to be a good guy because he is never given any victories. Everything he has is hard-earned, and the only way to regain his honor is to overcome all obstacles that get between him and the Avatar, despite the hardships that will certainly face him.

The Last Airbender Series: Imprisoned and the "Help Me, Sue You" Effect

This is a sad, yet sometimes true, scenario. You see someone in dire need of help, be it CPR or otherwise. As a Good Samaritan, you go and help this person, but by saving their life, you also accidentally cause harm to them. Rather than thanking that person for what they did, they do the unthinkable. You expect someone to show gratitude for saving their life or doing good for them. But more and more, you hear stories about Good Samaritans not being thanked, but being sued for what they did. This blindsided move is demonstrated in this episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Our Aang gang found themselves in a Earth Kingdom village taken over by the Fire Nation, and the Fire Nation has banned all earthbending. Haru, an earthbender, sees an old man trapped by a rockslide, and Katara and Haru decide to help the old man, despite the illegality of earthbending. Since Haru saved that man's life, you'd expect him to thank Haru for his generosity. Instead, the old man informed the Fire Nation that Haru was earth bending. This does differ from the real world examples in that saving a person's life is typically not illegal. But this does not seem like the ideal situation or the right thing to do in this scenario. If you are saved by someone, do you thank them or try to exploit them? You thank them, you treat them as a hero. You don't throw them under the bus, but this still happens. And that is unfortunate.

So what is the message the Avatar is showing now? On one hand, they could be enforcing a cynical opinion. When you see someone who needs your help, don't help them unless they explicitly ask. Essentially, you're not supposed to go out of your own way to help someone. That's a pretty gritty message for a kid's show, but that's only one way to construe this event. The other is a commentary on people who take advantage of good, kind-hearted people. Does the audience ever think that Haru did the wrong thing? No, they don't for the most part. But it's a general consensus that the old man did the wrong thing. The message here is gratitude. Whether or not you know the person, if he helps you, you owe them. They don't owe you anything. And unfortunately, this is a message that needed to be delivered, rather than a moral that should be naturally assumed.

The Last Airbender Series: The King of Omashu and its Nutritional Values

When it comes to food, the stereotypical child will agree with two things. You can never have too much candy, and you never want to have your vegetables. You'd expect a kid's show like Avatar: The Last Airbender to agree with these mantras, despite their vegetarian main character. So they created a symbol for vegetables in the show by introducing the cabbage merchant, an unfortunate seller of vegetables who somehow cannot escape the chaos caused by the avatar. He even has his own catchphrase: "My cabbages!" The constant abuse that the cabbage merchant gets can be construed as a metaphor for the incessant hate of vegetables that many children have. But what about the excessive amounts of candy? Well, in this episode, Avatar takes a stab at that problem too, and children may not enjoy its message.

After Aang and his friends are captured by the King of Omashu, who we later learn is Aang's old friend Bumi, Aang is forced to complete three tasks. As incentive to complete the tasks, he gives Sokka and Katara a ring, which holds a mineral that grows larger and larger. It essentially imprisons both Sokka and Katara. By the end of the episode, Katara and Sokka are nearly completely covered by the rock, but King Bumi frees them from their prison and reveals that the "rock" that had encompassed them was, in fact, rock candy. The obvious takeaway message from this is that King Bumi is crazy. But the second slightly similarly obvious message is that candy, in excess, is bad. It doesn't hurt to have candy in small portions, but if you have too much, you'll be imprisoned by your insatiable sweet tooth. The side effects of too much candy are actually demonstrated. Your movement will be restrained, you will become heavier, you may have difficulty breathing, and you could become blind. You want an anti-obesity message in a kid's show that is subtly put in there? You've got it right here.

It's interesting that they introduce the cabbage merchant in this episode, where one of the messages could possibly be that too much candy is hazardous to your health. It goes to show the nutritional values that the show may want to give to children. Maybe kids will realize that sometimes if you throw away your vegetables, you also ought to lessen the amount of sweets that you have. In a way, it also humanizes vegetables as it criminalizes sweets. You end up feeling bad for the cabbage merchant, while you start to hate the rock candy prison that has trapped Katara and Sokka. So in an interesting, albeit unconfirmed, manner, the writers of Avatar actually promote a vegetable-filled diet and lifestyle. Just not vegan, but more on that later.

I Guess I Ought To Choose My Favorite for Dancing with the Stars Again...

So at some point last year, I tried to guess who was the favorite in Dancing with the Stars (Ralph Macchio in the nostalgic choice). Unfortunately no one sticks out to me as a nostalgic favorite quite like Ralph Macchio.

Apparently she's famous for some reason.

So, just thinking about the choices, there is no one that I can think of as a standout favorite not based on their dancing abilities. There is the choice you'd love to hate (David Arquette, who broke Monica's Jules Cobb's Courtney Cox's heart). There's the reality television choice (this year with twice the reality with a Kardashian and Kristen Cavallari from The Hills). There is the All-American choice (Hope Solo, who was a critical member of the USA women's near World Cup or J.R. Martinez, who is an Iraq War veteran).

Vote against this man. I dare you.

But sometimes, the best choice is the crazy choice. Not crazy in the sense that they are blatantly controversial. But crazy as in clinically crazy. I present to you my choice to win Dancing with the Stars.

Ron Artest, or soon to be Metta World Peace

Yes, I will say now that Ron Artest will win Dancing with the Stars. Admittedly he's not exactly the most savory person in the world. He's made a name for himself for crazy antics like thanking his psychologist after winning the championship, and of course, there's the entire name change. This isn't like the Ochocinco name change, where you could actually derive where the name is coming from (8-5 in pseudo-Spanish). He wants to be called Metta World Peace.

And that entire brawling with fans ordeal

But I've gotta admit, he seems like the most fun character on the show. There are some interesting stories (Chaz Bono's gender-twisting tale, J.R. Martinez's inspirational story, Hope Solo and the World Cup), but they don't seem charismatic. Honestly, love him or hate him, Ron Artest is entertaining. And without a true nostalgic vote, you'd expect the audience to vote for the crazies. I mean, who votes for the good dancers anyway? But that's beyond the point. When If I watch a show, I expect to be entertained. So, considering the fact that people have voted for equally polarizing dancers in the past, I'm expecting Ron Artest to make it. And I hope that we enjoy every fun-filled, insane second of it.

The Last Airbender Series: The Warriors of Kyoshi and the Tiger Woods Effect

Old story here, but we all know now that Tiger Woods is not the upstanding family man that he led us to believe. He's kind of a philandering sex addict. But ignoring all the hate for Tiger Woods, you couldn't help but think that the only reason he would do this is because he can. He's Tiger Woods, and though this does not belittle the scandal, it does give it some merit. As I pointed out in an earlier post, Tiger Woods was the best golfer ever, and it would be only human of him to use this trait about himself to get some improper benefits. This concept (though in a more child-friendly manner) is demonstrated in this Avatar: The Last Airbender episode, where Aang, who, as the avatar, is the closest thing to a celebrity in the Avatar world, is our parallel to Tiger Woods.

Aang and his friends find themselves on the island of Kyoshi, named after the Avatar Kyoshi. Near death, Aang reveals himself as the avatar, and the town that was about to burn him to death was now adoring and adulating him. He had fans following everywhere. And maybe most importantly, he had caught the eyes of the local girls. How did this happen? Aang is a monk, so he isn't exactly Mr. Smooth (and if you watch more episodes, you'll realize this as well). I can't imagine that he was necessarily the dreamiest person in the world (though considering the female to male ratio of Kyoshi island may disprove this theory). The obvious reason is that Aang is famous and good at what he does. The Tiger Woods effect. Fame, backed with talent? That's the recipe for getting the females. Just think about it. Derek Jeter was (and now is) one of the most eligible bachelors in New York not just because of his dashing looks. He is one of the best Yankees of all time, and one of the most famous men in New York. Tiger Woods is the best golfer of modern time, and he also was one of the most famous people in the world. Something about fame and talent makes people irresistible. So, in the Avatar world, there's no surprise that on this island, Aang quickly found many admirers.

The most interesting question now is how does Aang respond? Does he go the Tiger Woods route, where he acts upon these admirers? Or does he go the Jeter way, and not philander about? In my opinion, whether or not it was a kid's show, I think Aang will go the Jeter way for one main reason. He's not like Woods or Jeter because both are sports stars. They're famous, but not exactly one hundred percent important. Aang is like the president or any other politician. He is famous and has an important role in the Avatar world. Though there are certainly unsavory characters in the political world, Aang's importance to the world forces him to above all of that. Aang may be affected by the Tiger Woods effect, but he will never act upon them.