Virtuality

This was supposed to be a new series, but Fox didn't pick it up, so they just showed the pilot to see if it would generate enough interest in the public to maybe reconsider it. Granted, not a lot can be said about a series from a pilot, but this one looked pretty promising.

The premise: a crew of 12 (all very attractive) individuals is sent on a very long trip toward our nearest neighboring star to look for other signs of life. They are about to approach the point of no return, that is the point after which they cannot turn the spaceship around and come back to Earth.

The twist: in keeping with current television trends, their whole daily existences are televised for an audience of billions back on the home planet.

The obvious: the mission is sponsored and produced by a big corporation whose own bottom line is clearly its main focus.

The hook: in order to prevent the crew from going crazy, because of the long trip holed up into a piece of metal and in daily close proximity with the same people, each member is equipped with very advanced virtual reality eye glasses that allow them to evade their constricted reality whenever they can. Unfortunately, something seems to have gone haywire in the virtual reality software.

The background story: apparently Earth is in the grip of a worldwide global warming aftermath in which millions are suffering the consequences of living in a cramped world with what are now limited resources and an unpredictable weather system. The astronauts' families, however, are supposedly looked after by the big corporation, interested in keeping the crew happy ... and under its control.

Did any of this pique your interest? It sure piqued mine, especially since the excellent cast was very engaged and the script quite captivating, promising a lot of political intrigue, sexual tensions, and misteries to be solved. It even featured an interesting gay couple, although the fact that they had to be in the closet even if the show takes place decades in the future wasn't a positive message.

I doubt the show will come back (especially given its potential price tag for the visual effects), but you never know, it's happened before.

We shall see.

Horton Hears a Who!

We resumed Family Night after a long hiatus with this movie based on a famous book by Dr. Seuss by the same title.

The story is quite simple, but the message at the center of the film, that a person is important no matter how small, is incredibly powerful and deserving to be spread.

The technical aspect of the movie is good, and the cast brings the script to life. This is particularly positive since the lead character is voiced by Jim Carrey, an actor I don't always like.

Overall, a pleasant movie for the whole family. Very cute and very well made.

Grade: 7

How does it feel to be gay?

This is a video that every heterosexual should watch, especially those that believe that homosexuality is not innate but simply a lifestyle choice.



This exercise is excellent because it doesn't simply ask the participants to put themselves in a gay person's shoes, which would be almost impossible for them to effectively do, but it actually asks the participants to imagine a world turned upside down. What if "being normal" meant being gay and straight people were a minority.

I'd like to know how many straight people who honestly go through the exercise still doubt our claims that we are being discriminated against for a trait we have no control over. How different would our lives be if everyone went through this exercise?

Brüno

I went to see this movie because I was curious to see what Sacha Baron Cohen had created to rile up so many gay organizations and because of the gay theme.

I watched Baron Cohen's HBO show featuring Alig G, Borat, and Brüno and I think he is a very funny comedian, a master actually, given the skits he comes up with and what he's able to get people to say or admit to. On camera.

I also watched the big screen treatments of Alig G and Borat, but only liked the latter. Brüno falls right in the middle: not as I-will-never-enjoy-life-again bad as Ali G, but not as enjoyably funny as Borat.

I usually avoid all trailers and spoilers, but because of the huge marketing campaign and the controversy surrounding it, it was quite hard this time not to miss a few of the most widely reported gags or jokes. Unfortunately, given the short length of the movie, those few gags and jokes turned out to be the bulk of it. As a result, I was neither shocked nor did I laugh much.

Did I like the movie? Yes and no. It was funny at times, but it also often fell flat. As a gay man, I find Brüno the character to be slightly offensive because it represents the stereotypical flamboyant gay man (at least what a gay man looks like in the minds of many straight people), but at the same time I also realize that he's so far out there, that no reasonable individual would think that's how gays behave.

And that's the crux of the controversy as well. Will audiences understand that Brüno doesn't represent the gay community at large? That gays don't behave like he does? That Brüno is a caricature meant to push buttons and not a portrayal of real life gays?

I'd like to think so, and I hope so, but you never know. One thing I do have to admit is that, in spite of his misadventures and the way in which people treat him and react to him, he always maintains his self-confidence. Brüno is gay, and he's unapologetic about it. To see such a feminine gay man on screen and not have him cry all over himself is a great accomplishment. In a way, Brüno is Will & Grace's Jack to the 10^th degree.

My only question is, does that gigantic penis shown close-up really belong to Mr. Baron Cohen? If so, my compliments!!

Grade: 5

Cloverfield

I was very excited to finally watch this movie, which generated quite a bit of interest leading up to its release date, mostly because of the secrecy behind it (not much was known, except what could be garnered from the teaser poster or the cryptic trailer) and because his producer was the very prolific and innovative J.J. Abrams, creator of, among others, the revolutionary show Lost, which I love.

In the time since, I've found out that Cloverfield is the code name for a monster that attacks New York City (what do monsters have against poor old NYC anyway?!) and that a bunch of twenty-somethings try to survive such attack.

That's pretty much the movie in a nutshell, from its very slow (and boring) beginning to its frantic end. Evidently, the director's intent was to slowly build our expectations about what was going to happen -- he wanted to get us in a frenzy. He meant to feed us little to nothing for a while so that we'd get hungry for something, and when that something finally arrived, we'd gourge ourselves. It's been done before, but with better results.

Here, we are introduced to a bunch of upper-middle class juveniles at a party for one of them who's leaving the country for a business opportunity, and we're let in on the fact that there are some matters-of-the-heart that have not been fully resolved. Supposedly, this will make us care for them more.

It doesn't. I don't really give a damn about any of those kids (actually, the two brothers are quite cute, but I'm digressing ... ). All I care about is seeing the big, bad monster, watching in horror while he unleashes its destructive power on the city and its inhabitants, and wondering on the edge of my seat whether it will survive and run away (an inevitability in order to have the mandatory sequel) or if it will be terminated. Well, I guess I was also waiting for the moment our "heroes" started dying off.

Two other gimmicks employed by the director to make the movie more interesting, the romantic flashbacks from the tape already in the camera and the shaky (read, realistic) camera work, didn't increase my appreciation level one iota.

Overall, I can't say the movie is totally unsatisfying, but it's an empty satisfaction, too fleetingly gone to be really enjoyable.

Grade: 5

The Equality US Flag

I saw this post on Joe.My.God. Someone had the brilliant idea of creating a US flag that shows only the stars belonging to the states that actually respect the American ideal of equality for all its citizens.

Currently, same-sex marriage, which confers the same rights to gay couples that heterosexual couples enjoy, is only legal in 6 states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire), therefore, rather than 50 stars, this flag only has the 6 that correspond to those states.


Hopefully, we won't lose any stars (Maine's equality law will likely face a people's veto referendum in the fall) and will soon be able to add a couple more ( ... New York ... New Jersey ... hello??).

The Lord of the Rings commentaries

I drive a couple hours daily to commute to and from work so I started listening to audio books to try and keep the stress under control. Then I realized that:

1. my car is outfitted with a DVD player,
2. I know the Lord of the Rings trilogy movies by memory,
3. each of the movies showcases 4 audio commentaries that have been highly praised but would require over 50 hours of viewing time, given that each film is between 3.5 and 4 hours long!

And that's when it hit me: "Why not load the discs in the car DVD player and 'watch' the movies in my mind while listening to the commentaries?"

The result has been greatly entertaining and rewarding, and has allowed me to spend countless more hours in the company of the best trilogy of all time, reliving the occurrences of my favorite books ever over and over.

Furthermore, I've also learned a great deal about what went into making these motion pictures, which are largely considered to have been revolutionary under many aspects, and all this added knowledge only increased my appreciation and adoration for them.

I recognize that it is an incredible amount of time, but if you have the stamina, it's definitely worth it.

Now I only have to find the time to actually physically watch the 6 discs of extras that came with the collector's editions I bought, plus another couple of discs related to the Lord of the Rings, and I'll be all done!!

Up

Pixar's tenth effort turned into its tenth smashing success. Up is a heartwarming tale about love, friendship, redemption, respect, taking chances, and much more.

This, probably more than any other Pixar movie before, really touched me emotionally, especially in something as simple as seeing a loving couple growing old together.

Needless to say, technically the movie is impeccable, and it was also the first time I ever saw a movie in 3D, which I'm happy to report looked and felt great!! Everything looked incredibly realistic (even if it was animated), and it made me want to watch every movie in 3D!

Naturally, this being a high quality product, the 3D effect wasn't an in your face affair, rather, it was simply integrated within the story like any other amazing visual effect (like the much talked about realistic rendering of thousands upon thousands of balloons acting and reacting individually to each other).

Most definitely a must-see and a guaranteed shoo-in for next year's Best Animated Feature Oscar. Actually, now that the Academy doubled the number of Best Picture nominees to ten, it might even have a shot at a Best Picture nomination, although it certainly wouldn't win and it would be a pity if it were shot out of the animated category, which it would likely win.

Grade: 9

Terminator Salvation

Another franchise reboot attempt, this time in the form of a sequel, but alas one that doesn't fully work. I really like the whole Terminator concept, and I think the first two movies were phenomenal, but the third one was lousy. I watched the TV show as well, and I thought they were doing a pretty good job with it, but it's now been canceled.

This was the first movie I ever watched by McG (which I since found out is an abbreviation of his mother's maiden name -- but why he goes by that is anyone's guess) and the impression I always had of his productions was loud and empty. Well, my hunch has been confirmed and now I know I don't need to bother with his past efforts.

Salvation is, first and foremost, incredibly loud - there is a lot of action and the visual effects are great - but there is very little substance. Unfortunately for McG, movies work for me only when they have a compelling story to tell, which this one lacks. Otherwise, they're just a video game.

I have two big issues with the script: it doesn't advance the canon in any constructive or interesting way (the only addition of consequence is the revelation of how John Connor actually becomes the leader of the resistance -- big deal...) and it has very little to say in general.

Both Christian Bale and rising Australian star Sam Worthington (who pretty much steals the show by having a slightly meatier role than Bale's) do a good acting job, but when the script has little to nothing to say, you can only grunt your way through it so much.

A pity, since whether they make a fifth chapter in the saga or not this one dented it remarkably. The movie would probably deserve a 4, but loses a notch because of the budget they had access to and the considerable talent that went into the venture.

Grade: 3

Star Trek

After attempting to reboot so many franchises, it was only a matter of time before Star Trek would end up in Hollywood's cross-hairs again, and after the last stale big screen adaptation, would they get it right this time? Fortunately, they did, which is great news for any Star Trek fan out there who was afraid the franchise was dead for good.

The keys to one of the most renown franchises of all time were given to J.J. Abrams, a director/producer responsible for some of the most intriguing products to come along in quite some time, both on the small and the big screen, like Alias, Cloverfield, Fringe, and my beloved Lost.

For the new installment of the sci-fi saga, Abrams doesn't pick up were the Enterprise had been left off, rather, he goes back at the beginning to show us how the original crew of the USS Enterprise, made famous by Kirk and Spock, came together and first took to the vastness of space. The adventure as a whole is well presented, well written, and well developed. The visual effects are great and all the actors fit very well in the shoes of characters we all have come to know, especially (the gorgeous) Chris Pine as James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock.

The baddie du jour is played by Eric Bana. He's good in the part (and looks hot even with green skin!!), but the character doesn't have too much depth. His whole intricate revenge story revolving around Spock and a wormhole into the future might have benefited from an extra 20 minutes of script development, but overall the result is good, great if we consider what Abrams was up against.

Franchise Reboot Status: Successful.

Grade: 9