The gentlemen and scholars over at Out Now With Aaron and Abe let me join them on their show again to chat about Ted and Magic Mike. On the podcast we also talk about some current movie trailers and predict some box office results. Aaron and Abe host a good show and it's always a lot of fun.
Give the episode a listen here: http://www.hhwlod.com/out-now/out-now-ep-63-ted-and-magic-mike . And check out their other episodes.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Podcast Premiere
The awesome guys at Out Now with Aaron and Abe were gracious enough to have me( as well as Mark Hobin and Maxwell Haddad) join them for their latest episode reviewing Men in Black 3. I had a lot of fun being on the show and hopefully I'll be on again some time in the future!
Here's the link for the episode: http://www.hhwlod.com/out-now/out-now-ep-58-men-in-black-3
If I can organize my thoughts I'll drop my own review of Men in Black this week.
Jose
Here's the link for the episode: http://www.hhwlod.com/out-now/out-now-ep-58-men-in-black-3
If I can organize my thoughts I'll drop my own review of Men in Black this week.
Jose
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Avatar: The Legend of Korra - Korra Not the Avatar?
I have been thoroughly enjoying Avatar: The Legend of Korra on Nickolodeon. I was late to the Avatar: The Last Airbender party but I devoured the series on once I discovered how amazing it was. Korra continues the series traditions of gorgeous animation, breath-taking action, and an amazing blend of humor and serious themes. I've been following the show pretty closely and I had a thought/theory about what's been going on in the show.
There's been some interesting theories floating around about Amon and about his identity as well as Korra and where the show is headed. I heard an interesting theory about Korra not being the Avatar. While I think that would be really interesting I doubt that the creators would pull the rug from under us like that. However, I had a thought that spun out from that theory.
There's been a pretty strong theme of balance and duality in Korra. We can see it in the tension between benders and non-benders, the way that Korra herself has struggled between the spiritual and non-spiritual, and even the old vs. new of pro-bending and traditional bending styles. Jumping off from that theme and from the aforementioned theory I had theory that perhaps Korra is and isn't the Avatar. What if she is only half?
Let me explain: Keeping with the theme of balance, what if the Avatar is no longer a single person. The Avatar is charged with keeping the world in harmony. What if the Avatar has been split into two people who together bring the world into a state of peace. We've seen Korra struggle with airbending and with the spiritual side of bending in general. It's been incredibly difficult for her even under the tutelage of "Mr. Spiritual" himself, Tenzin. Now for my theory to work the obvious other half must be Amon. Despite being a non-bender Amon speaks often of the spirits and certainly seems to be tied in with the spiritual world. This could all be a lie and there are definitely reasons not to take what Amon says at face value. And although he's positioned as the big bad of the series there's been an effort to make him slightly sympathetic. His backstory is sympathetic enough and his general message is one of equality. He takes that to an extreme but he's not a purely evil entity. Amon could be the other half of the Avatar. I can see the end game being Korra and Amon coming to terms on their disagreements. Maybe their battle escalates and brings even more destruction into the world and they have to broker peace for the greater good. Or maybe they must unite to stop a bigger threat.
Whatever the specifics end up being, I believe that having Amon and Korra come together and uniting as two halves of the avatar would fit perfectly into the themes this season. They could be the example of balance the world needs.
Anyway that's my crazy theory. I am most likely way off base, but the idea struck me and seemed to make a lot of sense(at least to me). I thought I'd get it out there.
There's been some interesting theories floating around about Amon and about his identity as well as Korra and where the show is headed. I heard an interesting theory about Korra not being the Avatar. While I think that would be really interesting I doubt that the creators would pull the rug from under us like that. However, I had a thought that spun out from that theory.
There's been a pretty strong theme of balance and duality in Korra. We can see it in the tension between benders and non-benders, the way that Korra herself has struggled between the spiritual and non-spiritual, and even the old vs. new of pro-bending and traditional bending styles. Jumping off from that theme and from the aforementioned theory I had theory that perhaps Korra is and isn't the Avatar. What if she is only half?
Let me explain: Keeping with the theme of balance, what if the Avatar is no longer a single person. The Avatar is charged with keeping the world in harmony. What if the Avatar has been split into two people who together bring the world into a state of peace. We've seen Korra struggle with airbending and with the spiritual side of bending in general. It's been incredibly difficult for her even under the tutelage of "Mr. Spiritual" himself, Tenzin. Now for my theory to work the obvious other half must be Amon. Despite being a non-bender Amon speaks often of the spirits and certainly seems to be tied in with the spiritual world. This could all be a lie and there are definitely reasons not to take what Amon says at face value. And although he's positioned as the big bad of the series there's been an effort to make him slightly sympathetic. His backstory is sympathetic enough and his general message is one of equality. He takes that to an extreme but he's not a purely evil entity. Amon could be the other half of the Avatar. I can see the end game being Korra and Amon coming to terms on their disagreements. Maybe their battle escalates and brings even more destruction into the world and they have to broker peace for the greater good. Or maybe they must unite to stop a bigger threat.
Whatever the specifics end up being, I believe that having Amon and Korra come together and uniting as two halves of the avatar would fit perfectly into the themes this season. They could be the example of balance the world needs.
Anyway that's my crazy theory. I am most likely way off base, but the idea struck me and seemed to make a lot of sense(at least to me). I thought I'd get it out there.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Before Sunrise (1995)
Before Sunrise is a romantic movie from writer-director Richard Linklater and starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. From IMDB:
What a lovely film! I really really enjoyed it. The movie isn't a typical story in the sense of it having a beginning, a middle, and an end. It's really just a day in the life of these two characters. Jesse(Ethan Hawke) is an American tourist traveling through Europe and Celine (Julie Delpy) is a French student returning to Paris after a trip to Budapest. They meet by chance on a train and after hitting it off Jesse suggests that they spend the rest of the day together. His flight back to the states leaves the next morning and without enough money for a hotel he planned on exploring Vienna until it's time for him to go. Celine agrees and they get off the train in Vienna together.They spend the day exploring Vienna and talking about life and love. They share stories from their backgrounds and discuss all kinds of topics. Eventually they run out of time and Jesse must catch his flight and Celine continues home.
Not much happens in this movie beyond the two characters talking and walking around. In a lesser film this would immediately bore me and I would never get through it. I never felt that way here. The combination of strong writing and great performances from Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy kept me involved at all times. Jesse and Celine feel like real people. They way they talked and interacted with each other was so genuine that I felt like I was spying on real people. I could imagine walking down a street in Vienna or sitting at a cafe and overhearing them having these conversations. And the conversations they have are great. All their dialogue felt very natural and they managed to have discussions about love and relationships without ever falling into speaking in cliches. Hawke and Delpy have great chemistry and you never question how these two could fall for each other. The movie does a great job of capturing that feeling when you meet somebody and are immediately drawn to them. There's this wonderful scene where Jesse and Celine are in a record store and they decide to listen to a record in the listening booth. They squeeze into this tiny booth and listen to the music with out saying a word. They both quietly steal glances at the other never catching each others eye. It's such a genuinely sweet moment and very true to life. I couldn't help but smile.
The film is a beautiful portrait of these two people making an amazing connection in spite of the fact that they only have one day together and may never see each other again. Personally I'm a sucker for super romantic stories so I really really loved this movie. Jesse and Celine have this amazingly romantic night wandering Vienna and taking in all its beauty. They are both such likeable characters and their connection feels so real that you can't help but be swept up in their little journey. If you're a fan of romantic movies you'll love this movie, especially if you're tired of formulaic romantic comedies. And even if you're not a big fan of romantic movies I think the movie has enough to say about life and love and is a great little slice of life that you'll still enjoy it.
Well I think my train is leaving.
That's my cue.
Jose
A young man and woman meet on a train in Europe and wind up spending one romantic evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.And here's the trailer:
What a lovely film! I really really enjoyed it. The movie isn't a typical story in the sense of it having a beginning, a middle, and an end. It's really just a day in the life of these two characters. Jesse(Ethan Hawke) is an American tourist traveling through Europe and Celine (Julie Delpy) is a French student returning to Paris after a trip to Budapest. They meet by chance on a train and after hitting it off Jesse suggests that they spend the rest of the day together. His flight back to the states leaves the next morning and without enough money for a hotel he planned on exploring Vienna until it's time for him to go. Celine agrees and they get off the train in Vienna together.They spend the day exploring Vienna and talking about life and love. They share stories from their backgrounds and discuss all kinds of topics. Eventually they run out of time and Jesse must catch his flight and Celine continues home.
Not much happens in this movie beyond the two characters talking and walking around. In a lesser film this would immediately bore me and I would never get through it. I never felt that way here. The combination of strong writing and great performances from Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy kept me involved at all times. Jesse and Celine feel like real people. They way they talked and interacted with each other was so genuine that I felt like I was spying on real people. I could imagine walking down a street in Vienna or sitting at a cafe and overhearing them having these conversations. And the conversations they have are great. All their dialogue felt very natural and they managed to have discussions about love and relationships without ever falling into speaking in cliches. Hawke and Delpy have great chemistry and you never question how these two could fall for each other. The movie does a great job of capturing that feeling when you meet somebody and are immediately drawn to them. There's this wonderful scene where Jesse and Celine are in a record store and they decide to listen to a record in the listening booth. They squeeze into this tiny booth and listen to the music with out saying a word. They both quietly steal glances at the other never catching each others eye. It's such a genuinely sweet moment and very true to life. I couldn't help but smile.
The film is a beautiful portrait of these two people making an amazing connection in spite of the fact that they only have one day together and may never see each other again. Personally I'm a sucker for super romantic stories so I really really loved this movie. Jesse and Celine have this amazingly romantic night wandering Vienna and taking in all its beauty. They are both such likeable characters and their connection feels so real that you can't help but be swept up in their little journey. If you're a fan of romantic movies you'll love this movie, especially if you're tired of formulaic romantic comedies. And even if you're not a big fan of romantic movies I think the movie has enough to say about life and love and is a great little slice of life that you'll still enjoy it.
Well I think my train is leaving.
That's my cue.
Jose
Here We Go Again!
Wow, its been forever since I posted a recap. I got really lost in school work and other commitments and I let this blog dye off. But I really want to start this back up and hopefully I can post semi-regularly. I'm on Thanksgiving break right now and I'm hoping to get maybe two recaps up. I was supposed to do 13 Assassins next but I wasn't really feeling in the mood for it. I decided to go with Before Sunrise instead because its been a while since I've seen a good romantic movie and I've heard great things about it. I just finished watching the movie so look for that recap later today! To my lovely audience (all 2 of you), I hope I can keep you guys entertained.
Jose
Jose
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