Public Service Announcement: New Reading Materials

Hail, dear readers!

 This is just a quick PSA to anyone who might be looking for some new regular reading material on the interwebs. If this is you, you're in luck! 

(Barney Stinson approves.)

My good friend (and often-time co-author) a guy named Jack Holder, has just launched his own blog over at  http://radicalcitizenship.blogspot.com/. He'll be publishing his own thoughts, as well as bits of his works in progress (which, if history is to be believed, will only be good after I have edited/completely rewritten them for him). 

Just kidding.

Mostly.

Jack's a great guy and an even better writer. It's well worth your time to check out what he's up to over there at (once more, with feeling!) http://radicalcitizenship.blogspot.com/

Don't miss out! 

In unrelated news, I've learned how to insert GIFs into my posts. I'm a little behind the times. 

"Group Hug": Slayage and Community

Last week, I attended the 5th Biennial Slayage Conference on the Whedonverses. The conference is exactly what the title would have you believe - plus so much more. It is a gathering of academics and fans, coming together to celebrate, discuss, and analyze the works of writer/director Joss Whedon. It is also a community that I feel blessed and thrilled to have become a part of.

This year's conference was held at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, which only added to my desire to attend after a paper proposal I submitted was accepted back in February. I had recently received my first real publication credit as a contributor to Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion, and the fact that my opportunity to attend Slayage grew out of something that amazing to begin with still boggles my mind a little (OK, a lot).

Like any first-time attendee of a conference, I didn't really know what to expect. Not only was this my first ever academic conference - I had also flown literally coast-to-coast for it, I didn't know a single person there, and I was at turns terrified and overwhelmed by pretty much everything around me. Not to mention how nervous I was about having to present a paper in front of who knew how many people. The litany in my head went something like this: You're going to miss a flight and be stuck in Toronto Your presentation is going to go badly You won't be dressed well enough Your paper isn't very good and everyone is going to know it but maybe they'll be too nice to say so Oh and whatever you do, don't keep any apples in your bag when you go through customs because apparently bringing apples to Vancouver is illegal. 

True story, folks.

Then the first day of the conference came around, people actually started showing up, and everything I was worried about just kind of...stopped mattering. I was early for registration, and I sat there expecting to see lots of academics with expensive suits and at least a monocle or two in the mix. What I got instead was a crowd of friendly people wearing jeans and t-shirts that celebrated Firefly, Serenity, Buffy, and Doctor Horrible, among others. Everyone was so happy to be there, and it didn't matter if you were at your fifth Slayage or your first - the one thing made abundantly clear by and for all was that you were welcome here.

Over the next four days, a few of my friends from home texted me to see how things were going. I jokingly texted back to them "These are my people, I belong among them." But after thinking about it a bit, I realized just how true that silly phrase turned out to be.

See, I've always been a geek in one way or another. Granted, 21 years isn't all that long to be anything, but still. As terribly hipster as it sounds, I was a film and comic book geek before it was 'cool'. I was in high school when people almost always laughed at geeks and nerds, not with them like they (sometimes) do now thanks to shows like The Big Bang Theory. I'm the kid who read books on the playground and dreamed about wearing a cape like Superman when I grew up (I don't know who I'm kidding - I still do that). Movies like Back To The Future (the greatest movie of all time as far as I'm concerned), Christopher Reeve's Superman, and Star Wars thrill me to the core even when most of the people I know don't really understand why. I have never been embarrassed to call myself a geek or a comics nerd - but man, sometimes it can feel lonely, at least to this small-town kid from rural Maine.

I guess that's why I (and people like me) look to characters like The Doctor from Doctor Who, or Superman, or The Avengers, or any of a hundred thousand others like them out there in the fictional world. They're alone, more often than not, and they choose to rise above and thrive both in spite of and because of this. They're all the inspiration we think we need.

But I'll do you one better. Because if there's one thing this summer has been teaching me, it is that we don't need to look just to fictional characters to find inspiration. We have each other. I only started realizing this earlier this summer, and Slayage was really the defining moment in helping me form an understanding about how true it really is. Over the last few months, I've met new friends and gotten back in touch with old ones, and I found out that they're a lot like me. I'm not the only one who is just as happy spending his day inside watching a movie, reading or scrolling the internet than going outside and do something involving crowds of other people and sunlight.And there's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't mean I'm antisocial and strange. It just means I enjoy different things than other people.

Slayage took things a step further. There I found not only people who love the same shows and things that I do, but who love them enough to take them seriously as creative efforts and truly believe that shows like Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Sherlock, and Supernatural  have things to teach us, that they are more than just shiny things to look at for an hour one night a week (or for hours at a time on DVD). Plus we had puppets. Puppets are cool.

At Slayage, I felt like I really belonged entirely, for the first time in a very long time. It wasn't just me and my few friends, lurking in a corner and talking about things that made people who overheard us ask "Are you speaking English?" (Also a true story.)

Most people who know me know that I'm an introvert, and it's often really difficult for me to get up the nerve to get involved in conversations with other people. At Slayage, you couldn't shut me up. I was treated as being among equals (despite my lack of any sort of academic degree), and I never once felt that I was looked down upon or that people were just putting up with me until I went away. I made friends at Slayage, ones I hope to keep for a long time to come. I saw other people express what I already felt for myself - that these movies and shows I grew up on and continue to watch are more than just teenage escapism. They matter, almost as much as the people who watch them matter to each other.


What Slayage did was give me a chance to experience the dynamic I have with my friends at home happening on a much larger scale with a wider range of people, letting the same things bring us all together. For someone like me, belonging is one of the most important feelings in the world, and Slayage gave me that. So to everyone from the conference who might be reading this, thank you. Sincerely. You probably didn't know it at the time, but everything you all did made a huge difference to me - a difference I didn't realize was possible. You all helped me feel a sense of confidence in myself that I wasn't even sure was there. So thank you. 

To anyone reading this who hasn't had the chance to experience what I did in Vancouver: go out and find your own version of Slayage. Maybe it's a Magic or Dungeons and Dragons game on Thursday night with some friends. Maybe it's a Doctor Who marathon. Maybe its as simple as going to a crowded theater to watch a movie. Maybe it is one of a hundred other possibilities. All I'm saying is, don't be afraid to find out which one is yours.

 Never be ashamed to be where you belong. Embrace it. 

Nolan "Rises"

Fear not, citizens of Gotham. This review is simple, straightforward, and SPOILER-FREE. 


So. The Dark Knight Rises. One of the most anticipated movies of not only the summer, but of the year. I had the chance to see a midnight screening, as part of a 3-movie Batman marathon featuring both Begins and  Dark Knight, capped off with Rises. This absolutely influenced my feelings on the film, especially since so many elements from Begins arose again in Rises. Seeing Nolan's ducks lined up in a row helps discern the heart of the story he's telling, and how he's been planning to finish telling it since the beginning.


There's an awful lot going on in The Dark Knight Rises. Enough, even, that it seems the story well could have played out successfully over 2 films - or should have been trimmed down a bit to fit comfortably in the confines of a single film. The story overflows with characters new and old, from Bane (Tom Hardy) to Catwoman (Anne Hathaway), as well as Batman staples like Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) and Alfred Pennyworth (Sir Michael Caine). None of them feel shoehorned in just for the sake of having them there, nor do any of them get the shaft in terms of screentime. Much like Marvel's The Avengers, Rises does a great job of balancing a large and complex cast along with its story. 

This movie is not perfect. What it is, though, is the culmination of a clear vision on the part of director and writer Christopher Nolan. It may not be what we either expect to see or want to see, but it is unquestionably Nolan's story. This is Nolan's Batman. He's telling his version of the story the way he wants to tell it, and he's doing it well. I have an immense amount of respect for that kind of creative vision and storytelling integrity.


Nolan uses his story to grab hold of you and never lets go, something that's not easy to do in a nearly 3-hour movie. Both the scale and stakes of the movie are bigger this time around, and Nolan handles the necessary shift in storytelling perspective extremely well. I'm looking forward to seeing this film again, hopefully in IMAX, as I'm told the visuals that Nolan puts onscreen are even more spectacular in that format. Here's hoping we get more films of this caliber on our screens soon. 

Rise.

By now, most of you know the story.

12 people died last night, and at least another 50 (possibly as many as 70) were hurt. These people were at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado when a gunman burst in and opened fire without a word.

There is no adequate way to respond to a tragedy like this one. Words cannot encapsulate the pain and sorrow that the victims families and friends must be feeling right now. I can't pretend to be able to make sense of what happened. All I can do is share my sympathies and prayers with those victimized by this terrible incident.

The knee-jerk reaction to tragedies like this one is to attempt to eradicate any chance of it happening again. To that end, the NYPD has assigned officers to every theater in the 5 Boroughs showing Rises, and AMC Theaters has banned the wearing of costumes and masks in their theaters - both decisions that should be applauded.

But beyond that, rumors have begun to swirl regarding the possibility that Rises might be pulled from theaters. No official word has come down on this yet, but Hollywood.com's Paul Dergarabedian said he would be "shocked if that happened, but it's such an unprecendented situation." I put my money on Rises staying right where it is, in theaters. But that doesn't make the possibility that it might be pulled any more acceptable to me. Here's why.


I went to a Rises midnight screening as well, with my two best friends. Like the people in that theater in Colorado, I went because I was too excited to wait until morning. More importantly, I went because going to the movies (at midnight or not) presents me with an opportunity to be part of a community experience unlike any other. Being in a room full of people who are there to celebrate the awesome power of film and storytelling together is an entirely unique and awesome experience. Having that sense of belonging is an all-too-rare, and thus crucial, opportunity. The movies continue to teach me about storytelling, about friendship and magic and life in general. I wouldn't give them up or ignore what they've taught me for the world. As Christopher Nolan put it in his statement on the tragedy:


"The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me." 

In the days and weeks to come, many people will be looking to place blame for this horrible incident, and without a doubt, some will try to lay that blame at the feet of directors like Christoper Nolan, who directed Rises. When that happens, let's all try to remember what Joss Whedon said about the nature of creative work like Rises or his own The Avengers. 


"All wor­thy work is open to inter­pre­ta­tions the author did not intend. Art isn’t your pet, it’s your kid. It grows up and talks back to you." Basically, once it's out there, it's out there, and there's nothing you can do about how people respond to it. 


Holding filmmakers and artists like Christopher Nolan and his team accountable for the actions of a man who clearly was deranged accomplishes nothing. Not to mention that in this case, the shooter hadn't even seen the movie, so the point is really moot anyway, no matter what some people might say. 


Things like this have happened before, and the miserable truth is that they will probably happen again.
But if films (especially superhero films like Rises and The Avengers) are meant to show us anything, its this:
We can rise above tragedy. We are not helpless or without hope.

So please, don't let what happened in Colorado stop you from seeing a movie with your friends and family this weekend or any other time. If anything, let it encourage you to go even more. On one level, movies are an escape, and we all know it. But in helping us 'escape', the movies also unite us all. Now is not the time to separate ourselves from one another in fear.

It is a time to come together. Maybe even in front of a movie screen.

"Spider-Man" really is "Amazing" [Spoiler-Free]

I'll admit it: I wasn't all that jazzed for this reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise. I was never a huge Spidey guy to begin with, and after the virtual trainwreck of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 about 5 years ago, I was still experiencing some arachnid fatigue. Until tonight. The Amazing Spider-Man really is "Amazing", and not for the reasons you might expect. 

First things first. If, like me, you were hesitant to see this new Spider-Man because of the recent Tobey Maguire/ Sam Raimi trilogy, you can put those reservations to rest right now. Grab them, bundle them up, and toss them out the window - this is a new Spidey story, and when you see it, the last thing you're going to be thinking about is any other iteration of the webslinger onscreen. 

Like I said, I've never been a Spider-Man aficionado. I know nothing but the basic "with great power comes great responsibility" deal about the original story arc of Peter Parker in the comic books, so if it's a comparison between page and screen you want, this isn't the place to get it. What I can tell you about is the fantastic story I saw play out on the screen in front of me.

Amazing Spider-Man is a different kind of superhero movie. The approach taken by screenwriters Alvin Sargent, Steve Kloves, and James Vanderbilt produces an incredibly well-crafted, perfectly proportioned origin story that director Marc Webb works wonders with. I wouldn't go so far as to call the film a character study, but I will say that its greatest strength is the heart its characters bring to it. 

Andrew Garfield is absolutely spectacular as Peter Parker, and the chemistry he shares with Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy makes their scenes together smolder with the kind of sexual tension you can only find in high school hallways - that reckless attraction you can't ignore, but couldn't define to save your life either. What's also wonderful to see here is that Gwen Stacy is far, far more than just the pretty girl who's around for Peter to conveniently save so she can fall for him. Gwen is smart - just as smart as Peter - and they fall for each other long before Peter puts on the mask. The hero side of things just adds a new (albeit huge) dimension to their blossoming relationship. 

Also worth noting: Martin Sheen and Sally Field are far more than simple trophy names to throw up on the poster here. Their story arc with Peter and his (absent) parents is at turns heart-wrenching and truly sweet. 

The greatest challenge for many origin stories lies in the fact that they have to incorporate two elements: first, the origin of the character, and then, the presence of the first major villain the hero must face before the film ends. Where so many stories fall short, then, is in the attempted mashing-together of these two threads. Take, for example, the first Iron Man movie, purely from a story standpoint. It gave a great origin to Tony Stark as Iron Man, but on the other end of the scale, the villain of the piece felt tacked-on and less than threatening to the hero.

Here, the two threads are intertwined from the beginning, which is what makes the story work so well. Peter Parker faces the Lizard not because he fancies himself a hero who needs a villain to defeat, but because through his emergence as Spider-Man, he is responsible for the origin of The Lizard as well. In this film, everything is personal, and that's what makes it resonate. Make no mistake - as the movie goes on, the stakes for Peter Parker get ever higher, and this hits us, the audience, right in the heart. Peter Parker is not invincible, and neither is Spider-Man. He gets hurt. He bleeds. He cries. And all this just makes us root for him more, makes us see just how amazing this scrawny science geek in a mask really is. 

Pixar Does It Again

Yes, there are a few spoilers below. If you don't care, read on. If you do, what are you doing online? Go see the movie already, then come on back. 

Brave is almost like a "Greatest Hits" movie for Pixar. Everything we've come to expect from some of the finest storytellers and animators in the business is here, along with some new elements to spice things up and raise the bar just a little higher for next time. 

It's the story of Merida (a Scottish princess) and her family. This is Pixar's first female heroine, and they do a fine job of spinning a new and exciting sort of story around her. Merida's father is a formidable warrior, the King of four allied Scottish clans, and her mother a loyal, loving, and very stubborn wife. She's intent on teaching Merida how to be a proper Scottish princess, and we quickly learn why. The time has come for the four clans to gather together in the service of finding a suitable husband for the princess, and the princess needs to be ready herself. Merida, a fiery redhead with a personality to match and the growing spirit of a warrior, is less than keen on the idea. That's where the real story begins. 

At its heart, Brave is the story of a girl and her mother. Through the magic of storytelling, it's also a story that's accessible to anyone and everyone. Being a 21-year old college guy, you might think this is the last movie I'd enjoy - but you'd be wrong. The relationship between Merida and her mother is one that anyone can identify with, because it's all about the nature of growing up, trying to form your own identity and making choices with consequences you can't always fully foresee. Granted, most stories of growing up don't see the parental figure in question turned into a bear, but still.

Brave's strength as a film stems from the fact that it's a personal movie. For all the action, adventure, and outlandish happenings, the true focus of the story is never forgotten or set aside for anything. Everything matters. For a discerning viewer, the message and direction of the film may be fairly obvious, but that doesn't make the ride any less enjoyable or touching. 

In the end, Merida doesn't find her prince and ride off with him into the sunset. She doesn't need to. And I think that's a wonderful thing. I'm not a young woman, so I'm not going to pretend I can fit in one's shoes (the heels would hurt my ankles, probably), but I can say this. Sending a message that you can be your own strength, that everyone is capable of being strong in their own way, and that perhaps one of the greatest strengths you can have is to understand and accept the strengths of others, is something to be truly admired.  It's a rare thing to find in this age of rom-coms and Twilight movies, but that doesn't make it any less true.  

Brave is a new sort of Pixar movie - in the best way possible. Sure, it may not objectively be the most brilliant, mind-blowingly wonderful movie they've ever produced. But somewhere (or maybe in a lot of different somewhere's) in the world is a person, or a family, or especially in this case, a mother and daughter, who watched this movie and felt things change for them. When you get down to it, isn't that what movies should be all about?

Bonus Prize: As a reward for reading all the way to the end of my review, here's a link to some of Pixar's "Story Rules" to live by. It's a great read! 

http://www.pixartouchbook.com/blog/2011/5/15/pixar-story-rules-one-version.html

DVD Review: 21 Jump Street

In recent years, Hollywood seems to have been running short on original ideas. The glut of cash-cow remakes and "re-imaginings" of old properties, more often than not, is an excuse to make a lazy movie with name recognition and nothing else going for it. I thought that 21 Jump Street would be one of those movies. I was wrong.

Most people today only know of the television show 21 Jump Street as the starting point for a young Johnny Depp's career. I'm one of them. I've never seen an episode of the original series, but honestly, the conceit is exceptionally simple. Jump Street was (and is) about cops who are relegated to a small division whose job it is to go undercover as high school students. In the film, Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill play two young, inexperienced cops who were anything but friends in high school - Tatum's character was a cool jock, while Hill was a nerd. 

The film plays well both as a spin on the traditional buddy-cop comedy and as a sly commentary on everything it portrays. The really great thing about Jump Street, besides the smart, tight script, is how self-aware and self-deprecating it can be. When the main characters are reassigned to Jump Street after bungling their first arrest, their captain describes the place as having been dreamt up by a bunch of people who have no original ideas and so have resorted to dusting off old programs from the 80's. Thinly veiled commentary? Sure. But it works. And it is funny. 

This movie stands on its own two legs in all respects. Is it perfect? No, but it sure is hilarious. I fully admit, I tend to shy away from a lot of contemporary Hollywood comedies, because I usually find them needlessly crass and painfully unfunny. That's just a personal feeling, and its one of the things that kept me from paying to see this movie in theaters. Jump Street subverted my expectations entirely in that regard. 

Watching the main characters return to high school and be totally blindsided by how the definition of 'cool' has changed in just a few years (Hill's character becomes 'cool', while Tatum's jock is suddenly 'lame'), is fantastic. The role reversal makes for some genuinely interesting (if slightly shallow) character development. The rest of the movie is purely knock-down, drag-out fun. Realistic? Absolutely not. Most of the things these guys do in service of solving their case are so illegal it shouldn't even be funny. But it is. I kind of want to make my college roommate (who is majoring in Criminal Justice and wants to become a cop) watch this so I can see his head explode over just how out there it is. Still, it works on all kinds of levels. 

Johnny Depp does have a cameo in this movie, and let me say, it is fantastic. It fits perfectly with the story and doesn't feel shoehorned in. Plus, its the most badass (and funny) Depp has been in years. I would pay to see an entire movie featuring his character in this film if it was done right. 

If you haven't seen it yet, this movie is well-worth the price of a rental. Fun, engaging, and plain old enjoyable. Check it out. 

Happy Birthday Joss Whedon!

If you read this blog with any regularity (or just know me personally) you know it's no secret that I love the works of Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Serenity, Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and Dollhouse, among others. Most recently, he's been recognized for his work on Cabin in the Woods and a self-described "little art-house film" called The Avengers. 


Whedon is a huge inspiration to me as a writer, creator, and director. There are others, of course, but he ranks at the top of my list for sheer dedication and creative energy. I mean, the guy tried to take a two-week vacation, and wound up making a movie version of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing in his backyard. Dedication to his craft? For sure. But more importantly, I think that 'vacation story' sums up what makes Joss such an admired figure for people like me. He didn't shoot Much Ado because he was hoping to make money off it. He shot it because telling stories is what he loves to do. You can be dedicated to something without truly loving it, but that's not Joss. The man loves what he does as much as the fans of his work do - and that's truly admirable.

So in appreciation of Joss' 48th birthday, let us all do THE DANCE OF JOY AND HONOR.

Or, if you're not much of a dancer, show your support of Whedon by going out and purchasing one of his works - for example, the DVD of Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, featuring Neil Patrick Harris...

or the many works about him, the most recent of which is Joss Whedon: The Complete Companion, featuring an essay by yours truly. 

Happy Birthday, Joss. And thank you. 

Where's the Rock?

I wanted to love Rock of Ages. I really, genuinely did. I am an unabashed lover of rock'n'roll music, and for me, theater is a way of life. To see the two combined onscreen was a dream come true - at least in concept. In delivery, not so much. What really disappoints about Rock of Ages is that in the maelstrom of misfires, there are some genuine rock'n'roll moments, some flashes of what the whole film could and should have been all about.

There's a saying that'll be familiar to anyone who works in and/or enjoys musical theater: when you have something to say, you speak. When you can't speak, you sing. Musicals are all about that chance to express things that we can't find the words to otherwise. In Rock of Ages, the vast majority of the characters have little or nothing to say, which makes their singing, in a word...pointless. Because many of these characters are so shallowly drawn (and frankly, unlikable caricatures), their singing lacks the raw, explosive emotional power that sits at the center of any good musical. Musicals are built around just that - the music, as extension of character and story. When both of these elements are as flimsy as they are here, it undercuts the music. 

Like me, you may have heard or read that the real reason to see this movie is Tom Cruise's turn as the Axl Rose-inspired rocker Stacee Jaxx. That's genuinely true. Jaxx has an odd obsession with feeling other people's heartbeats (these people are almost exclusively women), but what's interesting is that he alone is the heartbeat of this film. Why? Simple. Stacee Jaxx is the only real piece of genuine rock'n'roll in the entire movie. Every time he's onscreen, a wild energy comes with him that invigorates an otherwise furiously dull film.

Other performers in the film can sing and dance perfectly well, for sure. One thing this movie isn't short on is talented, pretty people. Julianne Hough in particular gives a game performance and supplies great vocals. 

Unfortunately there's not all that much here for the performers to work with. The movie is set in 1987, and for some counter-intuitive reason, it seems more interested in chronicling the decline of rock'n'roll than celebrating the fact that it will never die. Watching Rock of Ages will just make you want to come home and blast your favorite vinyl record on the turntable. But that's really not so bad, is it? 

The Majesty of the Doctor

I don’t know why I keep watching this clip. It makes me cry like a baby every single time. The brilliance of Murray Gold’s score combined with the regeneration scenes of every Doctor are unbelievably powerful.

But what hits me the most about this clip is the roars that go up from the crowd as each Doctor’s face appears on the screen. You can tell how much people really love The Doctor and how important he’s been to them - in all 11 incarnations, to millions of people over nearly half a century, in so many different ways.

As a writer, as a creator, I find myself wishing that someday, I might be able to create even just one thing - one story, one character, one anything - that has an impact on even just one person the way that the Doctor has mattered to so many people. 

At first this idea seemed selfish to me…but then I realized, it isn’t. I don’t need the fame, the glory, the money that might come from it. I just need to create something that matters to someone else the way that the Doctor matters to me. He is a hero of mine and I look up to him, and I’ll never apologize for that. Maybe someday, if I’m lucky, someone will look, even just for a moment, to someone I’ve written the way I look to the Doctor now.  

Allonsy, everyone. 

Shameless Plugs (An Addendum)

In the spirit of my last post, and because I think they deserve it, I thought it would be a good idea to post links to some of the dedicated writers and artists I mentioned when writing about GraniteCon. If you have a chance, check out their sites and show them some love - metaphorically (or literally in the form of purchasing their work).

Juli Mayers (Wicked Little Studio): Not only is Juli a genuine, friendly person, she's also a great artist. I have a print of hers (the 9th Doctor and Rose) hanging in my room right now. You can find her at: http://www.wickedlittlestudio.com/

Charles Soule: Writer of 27 and Strongman, as well as the upcoming Strange Attractors, Charles is based in New York. I'm reading the first volume of Strongman right now, and it's very, very good. And I'm not saying that just because I met the guy. Give his work a read - you can find him at: http://charlessoule.wordpress.com/

Peter Vinton Jr. : This guy is an artist and illustrator, and his work ranges from covers to sequential art to portraits. Check him out at: http://petervintonjr.com/index.html

Joe Hill: Of all the folks on this list, he's probably the one least in need of what (little) help might come from a mention on this blog. The son of writer Stephen King, Mr. Hill is the author of the Locke and Key comic book series, which is ongoing, as well as the novels Horns and Heart Shaped Box. He is also the author of the superb short story collection 20th Century Ghosts. If you don't have a copy, do yourself a favor and get one as soon as you can. You'll be glad you did.
You can find him at: http://joehillfiction.com/

GraniteCon, Comics Writing, and the Creative Community

Yesterday, I went to GraniteCon in New Hampshire for the first time. It was the first major con I've been to, and I couldn't have asked for a better time. Not only did I go with my two best friends, I got to meet writers, artists, and plenty of other folks who love the same things I do. There's not much out there that's more inspiring (or just plain cool) than that.

I got to reconnect with a few new friends and fellow geeks, including the talented Juli Mayers of Wicked Little Studio, who I first met on Free Comic Book Day and who puts out some really great work. I collected some great new prints and a commissioned sketch as well.

In addition to that, I attended a comic book writers panel featuring several writers, including:

- Joe Hill, author of Locke and Key in the comicsverse, as well as the novel Heart Shaped Box and the phenomenal short story collection 20th Century Ghosts. 
- Jason Ciaramella, writer of Joe Hill's The Cape and the upcoming The Cape: 1969
- Charles Soule, writer of 27 and Strongman, among other titles.
- Mike Raicht, creator and writer, The Stuff of Legend

The panel itself was great and the guys gave some nice insights about the comics world, especially the oft-asked question of how to break in to the business. The simple answer (if you're curious): you don't. The Big 2 (Marvel and DC) don't take solicitations, resumes, or anything like that anymore. According to these guys, the only way to really get yourself out there is to do just that - get yourself out there, in any way you can. Comics companies often look for writers from other fields to pen stories for them, so don't limit yourself or dismiss an opportunity because its not the perfect job you were looking for. Also worth noting is their admonition to start small. As one of the writers put it, everyone has their big epic, their story they want to be the next Sandman or Walking Dead, but there's no way that script is going to get printed right off the bat. It takes years and years of hard work and success to even be in a position where that is a possibility. As always, the bottom line was, you have to love what you do. If you don't, you'll be surrounded by people who do, and not only will they "smell you out" incredibly quickly, they'll also be producing work that's better than yours - because they love doing it.

Of course, if you'd rather, you could ignore all that and just go with Joe Hill's idea, which was: get a giant Deadpool tattoo on your chest, then go to a con where you can meet Jim Lee, then rip your shirt open and demand a job from him. Of course, as Ciaramella said, Lee and the other folks over at DC would probably not take kindly to that - for more than one reason.

Because Deadpool, as we all know,
is a flagship DC Comics character.
Along with Spiderman and The Avengers.

What stuck with me most about the day, though, was a conversation I had with Charles Soule at his table after the panel. I stopped by to talk to him and get a look at some of his work, but decided to take a last spin around the other tables before I bought one of his books.
When I came back, he said, "Hey, you made it back. You're a man of your word." All I could think to say was, well, the truth: I hope that someone would do the same thing if I was in his position. That hope was only strengthened by what he told me next. He said, at every con, there were people who did that -said they were coming back and then never did. He said it was "heartbreaking", every time. You might not think it would be, but it is.

Thinking about that exchange today, I've come to a better understanding than ever before of how important it is for us creative types to support each other. I mean, living the creative life is hard enough anyway, so why not try to make it a little easier on each other? That's part of what events like GraniteCon are for, to take the opportunity, as writers and artists of all stripes, to come together and buoy each other up a bit. Money might not be the easiest thing in the world to come by, but where can it be better spent than in helping another artist out?

Now I know I'm no authority on the subject of money being tight, and I don't have the metaphorical soapbox of a starving artist to be writing this post from. I'm still a college student, lucky enough to be comfortable and have the support of his parents. But someday, all that comfort might not be there. Successful or not, well-known or not, I still think that the thing I as a writer will value the most is the appreciation and honesty of an audience, large or small. So to the writers and artists and everyone else reading this, take that chance. Buy a book by an up-and-coming writer. Pay the $10 for a commission sketch at a con. Instead of a mass-produced poster for your wall, buy a large print from an artist you know. And when someone asks you where it came from, tell them. Spread the word, and help each other out. Who knows, maybe someone will do the same for you.

ASSEMBLE: Thoughts on the Avengers

DISCLAIMER: LEVEL 7 SPOILERS ABOUND BELOW. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE AVENGERS, DO NOT PASS GO, DO NOT COLLECT 200 DOLLARS, DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW...JUST GO SEE THE MOVIE ALREADY. THEN COME BACK HERE. 

Finally. This movie is one I've been waiting for for over two years. Finally, it is here. And it was well worth every second of the wait. 

 I'll admit, I was intrigued, but not enthralled, by the concept of The Avengers back when it was nothing more than that - a concept in the far-flung future of Marvel's moviemaking arm. Then came Comic-Con 2010, and the announcement of Joss Whedon as the Avengers director. Color me ecstatic. I am a die-hard Whedonite, and I  won't pretend otherwise. But that by no means translates to me loving anything Whedon does unconditionally (much as I might like to be able to). 

Fortunately, The Avengers is not a film that requires blind, unconditional anything. All the positive buzz, the rave reviews and the sky-high box office numbers and roars of fanboy (and girl) approval? This film earns every single one of them. Is it perfect? No, it is not. But it comes damn close. 

I've seen Avengers three times now - once in 2D at the midnight premiere, and twice in IMAX 3D. The film works in both mediums, but if you have the opportunity to choose, choose IMAX 3D. The format exists for movies like this one, and it is well worth the jacked-up ticket price to experience it. I don't typically throw my money at any movie in theaters more than once, especially not one in IMAX 3D - but this is the exception. 

Avengers is Marvel's most ambitious movie to date. Its also fair to say that it is the most ambitious superhero movie ever made.This film had the potential for disaster to appear at every turn, and with a few small exceptions it avoids all the potential pitfalls of such a big-budget blockbuster film - something that, in the end, turns out to be a double-edged sword. 98% of this movie works like a charm, and that makes the few issues it has a little more noticeable.

One of Avenger's greatest strengths is also one of its greatest challenges: it is a superhero team-up movie.  This means that anyone who saw and enjoyed Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, or (by some bizarre happenstance) one of the Hulk films, would have at least a passing motivation to see Avengers. Not to mention all the Marvel comics fans who grew up reading Avengers comics and have been salivating over the potential / fearing the ruination of a big-screen adaptation.

 Moral of the story is, this movie needed to please an awful lot of people in an awful lot of different ways. That's exactly what it strives to do, and believe it or not, this movie succeeds. 

Avengers has the unenviable task of juggling six main characters, and in true Whedon style, that's exactly what it does. Say what you will about Joss Whedon, but his talents at balancing ensemble casts in a spectacular and realistic manner is virtually unmatched - and The Avengers proves it time and time again. I think you would be hard-pressed to find any other writer/director working today who is better at understanding and portraying the multi-tiered challenges of a group of people who aren't quite normal. In one way or another, every character in this film, large or small, gets their chance to shine and by proxy prove their worth to the film. Put simply, the characters are not given chances to shine just because they are contractually obligated to appear - they each shine by virtue of their proper place in the story. 

Whedon has been quoted many times as saying that what makes the Avengers so remarkable is the fact that by rights, they shouldn't work at all. Tony Stark isn't the only one among them who doesn't play well with others. Much of the film spends its time focusing on this truth. None of the core members of the Avengers Initiative are remotely comfortable or friendly with any of the others, and more often than not, that discontent is displayed through their violence towards one another. 

I could go into rambling detail about all the things that work about this film and those that don't. After seeing it three times, I've pretty well solidified my thoughts on just about every aspect of the movie. But here's the thing: I've come to the realization that none of that 'critical' stuff really matters to me. Not when it comes to this movie. Sure, Avengers has its imperfections, some bigger than others. Sure, I can be nit-picky and play the neurotic geek about all sorts of things. But I don't need to. See, the thing is, this movie, as far as I'm concerned, is the greatest superhero movie ever, and one of the best movies to hit screens in a very, very long time. I get that this is a more-than- lofty claim, and it probably seems pretty silly to some of you reading this - just the gushings of a fanboy who doesn't know any better. I don't care. Even if a 'better' one comes along someday, The Avengers will always hold that top spot in my heart. Here's why: 

I grew up loving things that were out of this world. I loved superheroes, the supernatural, and all the things that are just a little (and sometimes a lot) out of the ordinary. I still do. The heroes who are onscreen in The Avengers are some of the characters that I wanted to be when I grew up. Those heroes are the ones I looked to in high school while I was trying to figure myself out (which is still an ongoing process). They are the ones I look to now for inspiration for both myself and the creative work that I do. Superheroes are the ones who help me, to this day, to believe in something more. As Nick Fury puts it, they are the "extraordinary people" who come together to become something more, and by doing so, make people like me believe in the extraordinary. 

There's one particular shot in Avengers that is ingrained in my memory even more so than the others, and I think it will help show why I feel the way I do about this movie. 

It comes during the kickoff of the climactic battle in New York. Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow are in the midst of a firefight while panicked citizens flood the streets. Cap asks Hawkeye, "You think you can hold them here?", and Hawkeye responds "Captain, it would be my genuine pleasure." 

With that, Cap is off, racing down into danger because that's what he does, because it's what we need him to do - because he's a hero. Each time I saw this movie, this was the moment that (I'll admit without shame) brought tears of joy to my eyes. Cap runs down the street, brandishing his shield and dodging explosions, totally fearless, and every time, I thought to myself, this, right here, is just how I imagined it. That's the sort of mental picture I had of myself when I was a kid, running around the house in my superhero pajamas, saving the world. It's the way my minds eye brought the scenes in comic books to life for me. It's the sort of moment that makes me believe in heroes. 

The Avengers reminded me what it means and what it feels like to be totally invested in what's happening on the screen in front of you. Every time Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Bruce Banner, or any of the others took a hit in battle, I felt it in my own bones. Every time Loki threatened the team or the Earth...I believed him. Each time I saw the film, I caught myself with my jaw hanging open in awe and wonder for minutes at a time. More than that, I wound up smiling so hard it hurt. This movie reminded me why I write, why I want to tell stories. It rekindled a sense of wonder in me, and that did more to cement my feelings on it than just about anything else. 

I'll say it again, and I make no apologies: The Avengers will make you believe in heroes. If you already do, it'll renew that belief and bring it to new heights. If you don't...well, get ready to have your eyes opened. The world we live in can get nasty, cynical, and seem pretty hopeless. Sometimes, it's impossible to believe that good...no, that great, people still exist out there. The Avengers spends two and a half hours insisting that what we all want to believe is true. Great people - heroes - do exist. 

That, above all, is what makes The Avengers truly amazing. 

Review: Dark Shadows

The latest Johnny Depp/ Tim Burton collaboration is, more or less, exactly what you'd expect it to be. This movie is a very shiny thing on the outside, but when you get down to it, there's not much in the way of substance under the fancy exterior.

Johnny Depp (above) stars in Hollywood's re-imagining of the popular supernatural soap opera Dark Shadows. I've never seen an episode of the show, and I really don't know all that much about it, so this is one time that you don't have to worry about the source material affecting how I feel about the flick. 

Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are famous for the interesting and outlandish results of their nearly continuous collaborations over the years. More recently, the end products of those collaborations have started to appear less and less spectacular  (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, anyone?) The hope in some quarters was that this would be the film to put the magic spark back in Burton's work. Sadly, that is not the case. Dark Shadows has all the bells and whistles you'd expect, and none of the heart you'd hope for. 

The story is only mildly convoluted: Barnabas Collins, the son of a successful Colonial father, runs about in the 1700's, doing whatever and whomever he pleases. It's the latter that gets him into trouble. He spurns the affections of a serving girl for those of a higher-born girl - trouble is, that servant girl also happens to be a witch. Her desire for Barnabas leads her to compel his new squeeze to jump off a cliff. Barnabas is so grief-stricken that he follows suit, only to discover when he hits the ground that he's been made into an immortal vampire by the witch, who then locks him in a coffin for a few hundred years as punishment. 

When Barnabas is set free again, it turns out to be 1972. Barnabas returns to his home, Collinwood Manor, and sets about trying to wrangle his descendants, acclimate himself to the new century, and combat his old flame, the witch (who is still very much alive and kicking). 

The best things about Dark Shadows are all on the surface. It has Burton's usual style and flair, incorporating borderline garish set pieces, costumes, and characters - all of which look pretty fantastic. Visually, the movie is a real treat. It's easy to see that the movie was shot with Imax and 3D formats in mind, and the great thing is that even in standard 2D, it still looks great. 

The real problem is, Dark Shadows is a movie that can't decide what it wants to be, and most of that fault lies with the script. There are elements of comedy, drama, and the dark and supernatural here - and not one of them hits the right note with any regularity. The storytelling beats here are all off, and their misplacement makes the movie hobble along (and occasionally spin in circles). The movie feels overstuffed with characters who flit in and out according to story demands rather than common sense (for example, we see Barnabas' 1970's love interest just long enough for him to decide he's in love with her, then she virtually disappears from the story until the last 2 minutes of the movie). Misplaced jokes ruin what could be strong dramatic moments, and when actual dramatic moments come along, they're so overwrought that they can't be taken seriously.

There's a pretty great cast assembled here. Most of them, like Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter, are Burton standbys - and they certainly don't lack talent. Trouble is, even the greatest actors can only do so much with subpar, shallow material like they have here. 

Cabin in the Woods [Some Non-Spoilery Thoughts]

You don't want me to tell you all about Cabin In the Woods, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's long-awaited (and long-delayed) big screen project. If I did, that would just ruin it. See, one of the absolute joys of this movie is that it takes you away with the power of a story whose ending you can't see coming from a mile away - and you don't need to.

Above all else, Cabin is a smart movie that treats its audience as being intelligent as well. As a fan of horror (and of movies in general), this is incredibly refreshing. I was constantly engaged with the film on multiple levels. The structure of the film presents questions on top of questions - and the answers are thoroughly satisfying.

You've probably heard that Cabin  is a movie with a "twist". This is true. But this "twist" is no Shayamalan-style attention grab. In other words, the movie is not all about trying to blow your mind with insane twists for the sake of twists. The twists and turns are natural to the story, and so only serve to make it better.

To say much more than that Cabin In the Woods is about 5 college kids who go to an isolated cabin in the woods (who woulda thunk it, right?) and get much more than they bargained for out of the trip would be letting myself become a spoiler monkey. And I hate spoiler monkeys. What I can tell you is this: calling Cabin nothing more than a 'horror' movie or a film with a 'twist' is selling it far, far short. This is a movie with a strong, intelligent script; a wide-ranging and talented cast; and a wildly inventive and self-aware premise. In short, its a rarity in Hollywood these days, and well worth the price of a ticket. Don't read spoilery reviews. Don't watch clips online - don't even watch trailers. Just go see it, and bring your friends.

The Hunger Games, banned books, and Bully

The Hunger Games, banned books, and the documentary Bully: what ties these three things together? Quite a bit more than you might think at first. To begin, for those not up on the latest book and movie news, here’s a quick tutorial.

Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games is a young adult novel centering around a girl named Katniss Everdeen and the post-apocalyptic world she lives in. At the center of this world is a totalitarian government that exerts complete control over its 12 Districts. Each year, as a method of keeping the Districts in line, the Hunger Games are held. 2 children from each District are randomly selected to compete in these “games”, wherein the 24 ‘tributes’ are placed into an arena from which only 1 may emerge alive – and only after all the other tributes have been killed. In this year’s Games, Katniss’ younger sister is selected, and Katniss volunteers to enter the Games to save her sister from almost certain death. The book has been challenged or banned many times since its publication for various reasons, including supposedly overt sexuality, violence and unsuitability for the age group it is aimed at. For the past few years, it has appeared on top-ten banned books lists across the country.

Bully is a documentary, produced by the Weinstein company, that’s about exactly what you think it is: bullying in schools and the very real and devastating effects it has on American youth. The movie might have been just another small documentary film – until the MPAA (movie ratings board) hit the film with an R rating for language, which many correctly argue would prohibit the age group that the film is about from seeing it. Harvey Weinstein, head of The Weinstein Company, distributor for the film, argued vocally and very publically for the rating to be overturned. Mr. Weinstein is no stranger to spats with the MPAA. He has publically challenged them in the past regarding ratings on some of his studio’s other projects, such as Blue Valentine and The King’s Speech. Consequently, some have attacked Weinstein’s efforts as being nothing more than a publicity campaign for another one of his films. But Weinstein says, ““I am not being Harvey Weinstein, showman…I am not using the ratings system for publicity. Yes, I’ve done it in the past. Mea culpa for that.” But, in the unique case of Bully, “this is completely out of passion.”

What brings these two projects and issues together is simple. The controversy each faces is symptomatic of different sides of the misdirected efforts to ‘protect our children’, while policing literature and other forms of entertainment, that is so popular in today’s culture. The Hunger Games and Bully are two sides of the same wrongly rejected coin. Hunger Games is a book that some argue can do harm to the children and young adults who read it. Those who make such claims may be well-intentioned, but they are wrong.

Yes, Hunger Games is a dark, dystopian novel. Yes, there is violence in its pages, and some elements that aren’t appropriate for younger kids. That does not make it a dangerous book. Nor does it make it a book that should be removed from library shelves. Should parents consider talking to their kids about the content of The Hunger Games and books like it? Absolutely. Should they, like the Goffstown, NH, mother who said the book gave her 11 year old nightmares, try to have the book removed from libraries? Absolutely not.

Violence and the other controversial subject matters of The Hunger Games are not unfamiliar to teenagers. We, and they, live in a world where violence in particular is spectacularly prevalent, even among our youth. This last is something that Bully does its best to address. In showing the prevalence of violent bullying in schools and the victimization of innocents, the movie is trying very hard to do something good – and the fact that many in our country can’t reconcile this idea with their preconceived  notions of what it means to protect children is a real problem.

Bully received an R rating for language. Weinstein says that he was told by the MPAA that the rating would not change unless “a crucial scene in which obscenities are hurled at a young victim on a school bus was changed – something he and Mr. Hirsh [the director] were unwilling to do.” I applaud that decision. Just because violence or profanity isn’t used onscreen does not mean it isn’t real, and trying to pretend otherwise is just foolish. Let’s be honest, in our world, most kids hear (and some see) worse things in and out of school on a daily basis than they’ll ever see on the movie screen while watching something like Bully.

            This whole debate hits close to home for me on a few different levels. I was never bullied as a kid, and I’m very thankful for that. But I was that kid who hung out reading a book at recess because I didn’t quite fit in with most of the other kids – and because I was too shy to talk to them even if I had somehow fit in. I wasn’t the only one, either. There were a few of us who just didn’t quite fit the mold, and that’s no different today. There are, and will always be, kids for whom books are a sanctuary, that place to go when there’s nowhere else you’d rather be. Books are an escape unlike any other, and for some kids, they are the only escape from tough situations. Books made my middle school years (and beyond) great, and I don’t want to think about what it might have done to have them taken away from me based on someone else’s erroneous judgment.

I think it is safe to say that the kind of kids who read books like the Hunger Games often do it to escape a world in which they’re attacked or judged for being themselves, which the film ‘Bully’ documents. Now is the time for parents to take a moment and think about what the best way to protect their children and others like them is. Is it to fight to keep books out of their hands, or is it to advocate for something good instead – like the documentary Bully, the message it imparts, and the challenge it leaves us with? 

TV Review: Don't Trust the B- in Apartment 23

It's that time of year in TV land...failed freshman shows are settling into their graves, and the networks are busy airing replacement fare to fill timeslots until summer. Don't Trust the B- in Apartment 23 is one of those replacement shows - and judging from the first two episodes, you'll be hard pressed to find a worse comedy on television for the rest of the season.

I'll be honest: I downloaded the first two episodes of the series off of iTunes for free. What interested me about the show's premise was simple. James Van Der Beek, of Dawson's Creek fame, plays a version of himself as a friend of Chloe (the title B-). I've got nothing against this recent trend of actors playing themselves (see Wil Wheaton on The Big Bang Theory for a prime example of how one plays a version of oneself to perfection). I think it's an original and fun concept, especially for actors who have found themselves pigeonholed by one role in the past. In the case of Don't Trust the B-, it is also the only thing that even comes close to working.

On paper, the driving concept of the show sounds like it could be fun (if you can get past the unnecessarily profane title): June, a straight-laced young woman, moves to New York and winds up roommates with another woman, Chloe, who, it turns out, makes money off of finding roommates, collecting their security deposits, and then driving them out with her deliberately heinous behavior. Unfortunately, that part of the plot is tied off in a neat little bow before the end of the pilot...at which point we descend into sitcom anarchy.

The characters:
They're at best one-dimensional caricatures - June, our main character, is the sum total of every dumb blonde joke in history. At worst, they're just plain offensive and gross - see June's neighbor, an admitted 'Peeping Tom' whose only actual companion is a  blow-up doll and who occupies his time by staring through the window into June/Chloe's apartment. I get that characters on TV shows take time to develop, but the problem is, with these stock/vaguely offensive characters, there's nothing to develop. Every single one of them, especially the two leads, are cardboard cutouts of real people, not to mention idiotic stereotypes of 'the straight-laced country girl' and 'the rowdy, moral-less city chick'.

James Van Der Beek as himself is an admittedly dim 'bright spot' on the tarnished metal of this show. At least for the first 5 minutes he's onscreen. After that, you realize that the writers probably just filled a whiteboard with 'Dawson's Creek' jokes, and are going to recycle them in different forms over and over again. By the beginning of episode 2, it's abundantly clear that Van Der Beek's character is as one-note as the rest of the cast, which is a real shame.

The plot:
what little there is scrapes the bottom of the barrel. Within the course of the first two episodes, we're treated to the following things as major plot events:
- Chloe getting hot and heavy with June's fiance to prove to June that he's a cheater.
- Chloe setting June up with a guy who turns out to be her (Chloe's) married father. This is the entire plot of Ep. 2. Yeah, I threw up in my mouth a little too.
- After ditching her fiance, June vows to get back on track with the ever-present, ever-cliched 'life plan'. Which, in this context, means looking for a guy to have kids with, mostly because she sees a cute baby in the hallway as the episode begins.
Honorable Mention: Chloe's mother being wheelchair-bound gets milked for laughs so much that it hurts to watch.

What struck me about the show overall is that Don't Trust the B- is a carbon copy of this year's much better 2 Broke Girls. A really, really bad carbon copy. Yes, 2 Broke Girls is raunchy, not-for-everyone comedy. But what it does have going for it is a strong cast whose characters actively defy the stereotypes so egregiously on display here.

If you want quality comedy, the last place to look is Apartment 23.

The odds are in favor of The Hunger Games

DISCLAIMER: Spoilers abound here. Why are you surprised?

DISCLAIMER #2: I read the book first, so this review will in fact be looking at the film through that lens – but it will NOT be dedicated to dissecting and/or complaining about the differences between page and screen. Just FYI.

Ok. So, I finally saw The Hunger Games with my sister last night. I’m still reeling a little bit, for a lot of reasons. First off, let me say this: The Hunger Games is one of the strongest adaptations of a book to the big screen that I have seen in a very long time. The writers, director, and cast could have tried (and probably succeeded) in dumbing down Suzanne Collins’ fine YA novel into the next Twilight Saga (read: a big-budget cash cow with little to no substance under the hood). But they didn’t. The film is, for the most part, an unflinching adaptation of a grim, sometimes very dark, dystopian future  story that is also one of the more original concepts to be put to page in the last few years. Is it perfect? No. But it stands head and shoulders above many other movies in the multiplex.

Let’s jump right in. As I’ve already mentioned, this movie is very faithful to the source material of Suzanne Collins’ YA novel, and that is a very good thing.

 I say that as both a fan of the book and (as my friends will tell you) a notoriously picky film geek. If I think something is poorly written or adapted, I will say so with the fury of a thousand very small, but very angry, suns. This is not the case here. The script is strong, standing solidly both as an adaption and as a film script. The dialogue is tight and believable in almost every instance, and the story kept me fully focused for the entire run time.

[Sidenote: it’s worth pointing out that the Hunger Games has a run time of almost 2 ½ hours, which is a rarity for films in general these days, and especially for movies targeted toward a teenage demographic. The movie never dragged, and almost every minute was well spent.]

           

            The casting director here should be commended. At first, when I heard about some of the names being mentioned, I was a little hesitant. [Sample inner monologue: “Lenny Cravitz? What the what? Who’s idea was that? Isn’t he as singer with an afro or something? Why is he playing Cinna?”] Some of the minor characters, such as the Tributes from District 1 and 2, were unfortunately one-dimensional, portrayed like the nastiest of high-school bullies (but with weapons). That’s not necessarily the fault of the actors, but still, I felt that it took away from what was otherwise a very fresh palate of characters.

The one performer I was behind from the beginning was Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss. I saw her feature debut a few years ago (The atmospheric Winter’s Bone, in which she gave a gripping performance, well worth checking out if you haven’t already) and had been looking forward to more from her ever since. Here, she stands and delivers as Katniss, doing a fine job bringing a young, complex character to life onscreen on every level. I’m also going to take half a second here and laugh in the faces of those critics who attacked Lawrence for looking “too fat” or “well-fed” on screen. Does stupidity know no bounds? Comments like that are ignorant, foolish, and have no place anywhere in the public spectrum, let alone in the film criticism community.

Carrying on! The single major issue I did have with the film was its cinematography. Much of the film was shot with handy-cam, following the trend of recent years. This is the biggest misstep of the entire production. It noticeably diminishes our perspective on the world we’ve been transported into, and that’s not a good thing. Major scenes are meant to introduce us to the world of District 12, where Katniss lives; the Capitol, the grand seat of the tyrannical government that organizes the Games; and the Gaming field itself. Instead, we get treated to tight, shaky camera angles and flashes of imagery that could have been turned into spectacular tracking shots used to show us the world these characters are inhabiting. In my opinion, the style is a real missed opportunity that should not have been overlooked. Doing so diminishes the power of the world we’re being asked to inhabit for 2 ½ hours. I’m torn on the use of handy-cam during the Games themselves, if only because I wonder if the style is meant to help us see the chaos through the characters’ eyes – flashes of movement, battle and blood that they cannot afford to let their eyes linger on, because they need to worry about surviving. If this was the goal, it wasn’t used consistently enough to really make its point, and in any case, it should not have been used in the first hour and a half of the movie, before we entered the actual arena.

A second, admittedly more personal and minor problem I had with the structure was [SPOILERS in case you missed that warning the first time] the added scenes with the Gamemakers. For me, part of what made the novel so engrossing was that, after the Games begin in earnest, we know nothing about what is happening outside of the arena. We are placed in the same situation as Katniss and Peeta, having to watch them rely entirely on their own smarts and skills, in a territory that is as unfamiliar and dangerous to them as it is to us. Here, we’re treated to scenes of the Gamemakers sitting at their digital tables, conjuring up the next challenge for the Tributes. This seriously affects the pacing of the film, and not in a good way. First of all, the audience always knew what was coming before the characters did. This meant that any element of the surprise and dangerous mystery of the arena was taken away. Second, the contrast between the madness of the arena and the calm tranquility of the Gamemakers chamber sounds like a good thematic contrast in theory, but in practice, it was like hitting the emergency brake on a high-speed train every five or ten minutes for what ended up feeling like no good reason.  

Except to look at the Head Gamemaker’s beard.  Total facial hair jealousy. I wish my facial hair grew in wildly badass curlicues like his.  

I spoke to a friend of mine that saw the movie before I did, and one thing that she mentioned was surprise at the fact that the movie only got a PG-13 rating, because of the amount of violence in it. After seeing it for myself, I’d have to agree with her. Not because this is the most violent PG-13 movie I’ve ever seen (far from it) – but because literally all of the violence had to do with children and teens.

My stomach was in knots at points during the movie, especially during the death of Rue (at least partially because she reminded me strikingly of a friend of mine at school). I now understand completely why my mom saw this movie and hated it. As she said, it is not a “mom movie”. Many of the scenes in the Games were extraordinarily tough to watch. Don’t get me wrong. This film is not gratuitous in any sense of the word, but violence is different when it is people your own age or younger killing one another because that’s the only way to stay alive. It really makes you think, and that, more than anything, is the strength of this movie. I left the theater turning the movie over in my head, and I think I’ll be doing the same in the days to come. The Hunger Games has depth, storytelling skill, and top-notch performances that make it well worth your $8 ticket.