M. Night Shyamalan's Glass: The Mastermind's Epic

While it's not necessary to have read my previous posts ("The Eastrail 177 Trilogy Begins" and "Unleashing the Beast") on this trilogy, I do recommend them, as I refer to various themes from them throughout. 

If you still haven't seen Glass, you're missing out.

I get it. You've been hurt before, and you were suitably - understandably - upset over The Last Airbender. Who wouldn't be? And who wants to go back only to be abused over and over again? We save that kind of masochism for Game of Thrones, and Game of Thrones only.

Well, I've taken a break in my GoT binge up to the final season to finish something I started three months ago, something M. Night began two decades ago, and to show you why it's worth watching this film.

I present to you the final chapter of the Eastrail 177 Trilogy reviews.

M. Night Shyamalan's Split: Unleashing the Beast

Glass opened on January 18th, and I couldn't be more pleased with it. As such, I've been featuring a series on M. Night Shyamalan's catalog of work. Not every movie will be featured; only my favorites, and I've been sick lately delaying my schedule a bit...a lot. So welcome back, stay tuned, and enjoy part two of this peek into the mildly obsessed.

I didn't know that Split is a part of the Unbreakable franchise, now known as the "Eastrail 177 Trilogy," until Glass became a sure thing and the first trailer came out, so I'm still getting to know Kevin Crumb and his 23 alters.

I had trouble writing this post because this movie is not my favorite of the ones I'm profiling during this series. This is not to say that it isn't good. It's quite excellent, especially in the treatment of the titular disorder. I recognize now that my hesitation stemmed from a sense that I needed to highlight this representation and some of the backlash it's received. I debated, for days, whether to bother with this topic, especially as I began writing and it got long, as my rants often do. Did we need to rake this topic over the coals again? Did I need to be yet another person beating this topic with a stick? I was about to cut the whole section when I realized this is exactly the problem with the way we deal with social issues these days: it's either too much or not at all, and someone always feels like they're being told they can't talk. That's too bad. Like it or not, some things need to be said, and you might be surprised where I go with this.

M. Night Shymalan's Unbreakable: The Eastrail 177 Trilogy Begins

Glass opens on January 18th, and I couldn't be more excited. As such, I'm featuring a series on M. Night Shyamalan's catalog of work. Not every movie will be featured; only my favorites. Stay tuned and enjoy part two of this peek into the mildly obsessed. In this installment, I describe how Unbreakable made the year 2000 a great year for cinema, but most notably for comic book movies.

While many today hail 2008 as the beginning of the modern superhero/comic book renaissance, I believe it came nearly one decade earlier. It was in the year 2000 that  X-Men came out, showing that ensemble superhero blockbusters could work (sorry Avengers, you didn't get there first). This grittier adaptation of the spandex-clad had some kinks to work out, but it broke ground on a more profound and relevant world. The bar would be raised even higher, though, when Unbreakable hit the screens a few months later, showing that the mythos of superheroes and the art of comic books was worthy of serious study.

Unbreakable was the follow-up to M. Night Shyamalan's popular debut The Sixth Sense. It was billed to look like another horror/thriller (Incidentally, I believe that Shyamalan's movies are often marketed wrong, contributing to the poor reception. That needs to stop.), but it turned out to be a beautifully crafted character study on the superhero genre, centering around the dynamics between two characters: David Dunn and Elijah Price. The reverence with which the story treats the comic book medium is only the base for admiration, but it is nonetheless perfectly interwoven with the plot and action. 

What Shyamalan gives us in this movie is the blueprint for becoming a superhero. You know this because you are told every step of the way. This could have been an unwieldy mess, full of too much exposition and spoon-feeding in order to fit a lot of action into a too-tight time-frame. Instead, Shyamalan focuses on character development. He wastes no dialogue. The piece builds steadily, showing only what's needed in layers, leaving you wanting more as the final twist is revealed.

A twist that we really should have known all along. 

Dress-Up Time: Omaha Comic Con This Weekend!

I'm prepping for Omaha Comic Con (O-Con) happening this weekend. Last year's was my first official Con (don't ask me why it's taken this long for me to get to any kind of Con; wait until you hear about all the Ren Faires I've never been to...), and I'm going for a little dress up this year. That means it's costume building time.

And who, you might ask, is the character in question...?

Zazie Beetz as Domino in Deadpool 2
Source

Yup. Domino from Deadpool 2.

I needed a character I could pull off with minimal effort, and Domino seemed like a good fit...

I'm laughing at myself right now, because minimal effort doesn't exactly fit in my vocabulary when it comes to projects. I seem to have an "eyes are bigger than my capacity to make something" mentality when it comes to such ventures, and I always pay the price. Most of the time, it's worth it regardless of time and effort sunk in, but there are times I wonder...like now, as I have so many other things going, including painting two pieces for an art show that opens the following weekend. (If you want to know more about that, check out the Totems Art Show page on Facebook) So, yes, expect pics, but don't expect anything fancy. At this point, I'll be impressed if I can get it put together in time, hah.

This also means I'm a little lax on posting right now until these couple weeks are up. I should still be able to get some "Behind the Screen" posts up for the next couple of weeks, but my more in-depth posts have gone by the wayside for now.

I'll have more happening in August and into the Fall, so stay tuned, and stay shiny!

Quote:

"Lady Luck, take the wheel."

~Domino, Deadpool 2

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Title: Deadpool 2
Based on: Deadpool comics; Domino comics for character
Released: May 18, 2018
Genre: Superhero / Comic Book
Director: David Leitch
Writer: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Ryan Reynolds
Music: Tyler Bates
Actors/Actresses: Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, Julian Dennison, Zazie Beetz, T.J. Miller, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Brianna Hildebrand

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MCU: Phase 3 - Infinity and Beyond

Phase 3 seems rather less cohesive than the earlier phases and, like everything else in the MCU, I feel that this was intentional. Part of this lack of cohesion comes in the fact that we spend very little time dealing with Infinity Stones as compared to the previous two Phases. Instead, we focus on more introductions to fill out our roster of heroes: Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and others. More confusing yet, it turns out these movies are all out of order, with some even happening before the end of Phase 2's timeline.

To add a little more depth to this chaos, we get the introduction of new heroes is juxtaposed with the scattering of our established heroes, divided and broken after the events of Ultron and Civil War. This is a time of soul-searching for all involved. The theme of Phase 3 up to Infinity War (and probably beyond) would seem to be "sacrifice", as each of the characters in this lineup has to give up something, whether it be identity, home, a loved one, or their illusions.

This is a good thing, because, as I keep mentioning, Thanos is coming. And they will never make it if they aren't ready to give up everything and everyone they hold dear. As we have come along on this journey of characters, the real question will likely be: Are we, the viewers, going to be able to do the same?

MCU: Phase 2 - Branching Out and Adding On

Here we are, just one week away from the opening of Avengers: Infinity War, and I'm losing my mind every day, you know, in that quiet way where all anyone notices of it is a small twitch or sudden giggle for no reason. Yeah. Like that.

So it's time to do my "short" analysis of Phase 2 MCU movies (if you missed my Phase 1 post, you can read it here). 

Sequels to movies have a sordid history, usually as failed copies of the original movie. Sometimes they are a bridge to something better, typically the third part of a trilogy. While I won't claim that Phase 2 fits into either one of these categories, I will note that it has a connection to one very famous sequel: Star Wars Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.

Phase 2 pays homage to one of Empire's most iconic moments: the severing of Luke Skywalker's hand. This moment (and its subsequent line "I am your father"), has been referenced and parodied in almost every way imaginable, but Marvel decided to do something special: 

In every movie of Phase 2, someone loses an arm. 

I'm certain I'm not the only one excited about the upcoming Incredibles 2. The original remains one of my favorites. Here's the official trailer just released. Enjoy!

MCU: Phase 1 - Getting to Know All About You

Avengers: Infinity War is upon us. It's been a decade since the MCU came into being, and it's all been leading up to this moment. That's right. Infinity Wars was always a kind of end game in getting the Marvel Cinematic Universe going. Getting to this point is why Iron Man started back in 2008; it's the reason for the entire series of movies. And, oh, what a ride.

I, for one, am ridiculously excited about this. In fact, to prepare for the upcoming movie, I've been subjecting my family to a re-watch of all movies preceding Infinity War since the beginning of April in preparation. I have seen each of these movies more than three times each (most of them way more than that), so I didn't expect anything out of it walking in. Still, I had my trusty "Movie Notes" Reporter Moleskine at the ready and, as usual, I couldn't help jotting down the many impressions that arise when I see these surprisingly high quality movies. Rather than do an intense study of each one (that's rainy day work, my friends), I decided to do a re-cap of each Phase leading up to A:IW with some of the thoughts that popped into my head this time around weaving with themes I'd already explored on previous viewings. Suffice it to say, if you've never heard of the movies...well, you've been living in the quantum realm...but you should by now. Even Kamar-Taj has internet. But really, you should see the movies before reading this. There's still time to get them all watched before Infinity War if you start now. Go ahead. I'll wait...

Back? Good.

First, I think it's worth noting that this hasn't ever been done before. I don't mean sequels to movies, nor do I mean a series of films planned ahead of time. It's the scale that's been accomplished that is impressive. With few breaks in production (and those only early on), the Marvel Cinematic Universe managed to pull off 18 movies in 10 years, and the upcoming Avengers 3rd installment seeks to contain most of over 75 characters introduced since Iron Man.

Furthermore, this cohesiveness inspired the DCEU to follow suit, a venture that has had quite a few bumps along the way, but may finally be settling into it's own with Wonder Woman and Justice League. But we're not here to talk about DC. So let's get on with the show...

Posts coming soon!