Monday, February 16, 2009
So Fracking Disappointed
Remember what I said about expectations and how they ruin everything? This Saturday was a textbook example of what can happen when you think something is going to be awesome and it is merely very good.
Let me stop right there and make sure no one is jumping to any serious conclusions: today's material is purely superficial stuff (with some spoilers).
I had a lovely weekend and Valentine's Day with Mako. She gave me my present, crunchy chocolate-covered castella sticks, on Friday night, all the while apologizing for buying them in a store rather than making me something at home. I insisted (as I did days beforehand) that she doesn't need to make me anything and I would be thrilled to receive any chocolate from her. "By Any Means Necessary" isn't just a cry for revolution - it also perfectly sums up my attitude towards the distribution of gifts. As much fun as her handmade gifts can be, I would never criticize Mako for failing to spend hours making me something when a commercially-available option exists.
We spent our Saturday afternoon in Umeda where we took advantage of the discount Toho Cinemas promotion to see Street Kings, a Keanu Reeves police drama retitled "Fake City" (フェイクシティ) in Japanese. Neither title means much and the movie was unremarkable, cliche-driven and entirely forgettable, exactly as I thought it would be. Unstable cop who ignores procedure because it only gets in the way? Check. Angry superiors who berate him for his methods while simultaneously praising his results? Check. Impressionable and doomed rookie cop (complete with fiancee - how tragic!) who is manipulated by the hero into breaking the rules? Check. Stock female characters (mute victims, worried girlfriend, grieving widow, dead wife) who only exist to soften the male leads? Check. And most troubling of all, litany of minority stereotypes who are beaten, tortured and killed by the hero cops along the way? Check and Mate.
I guess I should have seen those last two coming but I thought maybe, just maybe, that we had moved beyond that bullshit by now. The only concession made to the real world is that a few of the cops are not white guys (Forest Whitaker is one of the perpetually outraged captains) but they are still all guys. Seriously, not even the "here are the bullets I found" medical examiner is a woman. You get the feeling that Hollywood producers want to go back to the Shakespearean custom of having all the roles played by men, but as a compromise they merely play every character with any impact on the plot while the attractive Hispanic actress is limited to wearing a bikini and kissing Keanu after a hard day's work murdering "suspects."
The ironic result of having zero interest in the film (particularly when I guessed the ending about halfway through) was that I did not come out of the theater feeling cheated or offended. I knew the movie would be shallow and empty and it was. All I did was enjoy my popcorn and the knowledge that Mako got to see one of her favorite actors on the big screen. If anything, I left the theater happy because we enjoy being out together as a couple.
On the contrary, when I came home and I watched the season one finale of Battlestar Galactica I had high hopes for the outcome. Not only was I still riding high from the Prison Break finale we watched a few days earlier, but the overall quality of the series led me to believe I was in for something special. Instead, the two-parter left me asking question after question about what direction this show was headed.
For starters, the last few episodes have been increasingly toying with supernatural and religious elements. While I have been impressed with the show's inclusion of faith, an element curiously absent from most scienece fiction, BSG is increasingly implying that these "lords of Kobol" are real. It's one thing to have Dr. Baltar panic and pray to God before being cleared in that treason frame-up, but it's quite another to have the President seeing prognostic hallucinations that coincide with scripture and turn out to be accurate. The finale has her ordering a ship to go on a incredibly risky solo mission just to retrieve a spiritual artifact that she believes will help them find Earth. She knows the Cylons are swarming around both the planet they think is their mythical homeworld and the planet where the artifact is being kept, meaning that everything about this could be a trap or downright staged (especially since one of the Cylons told her they were going to find this planet), but they go through with it anyway.
On the more tactical side of things, I don't understand the nature of this "plan" the Cylons boast of in every episode. How many more facilities and ships are they going to sacrifice towards this plan? I know they claim not to give a crap about "death," but do they simply have infinite resources? They allowed one of their own sleeper agents to nuke a gigantic Cylon vessel, even though they had more than enough opportunities to stop her (or at least reduce their losses). Then she goes back and promptly blows her cover by shooting the Commander in the gut - twice. What's the point? Even if he does die (which I very much doubt - this actor has top billing on the show), what good does that really do the Cylons? They had an agent on board in the military. She already blew up the ship's water supply a few episodes earlier. She could have potentially destroyed the entire ship or killed everyone on the bridge. Instead, she gave herself up in exchange for shooting one guy.
I know this is all pretty geeky and I know I'm still eager to see more of BSG. In fact, I've already rented the first two discs of season two as there were plenty of other major plot elements in that last episode that I want to see resolved. But at the end of the day, the very good television episode left me feeling disappointed while the absolutely pointless cop movie met my meager expectations. How does that make any sense at all?
Let me stop right there and make sure no one is jumping to any serious conclusions: today's material is purely superficial stuff (with some spoilers).
I had a lovely weekend and Valentine's Day with Mako. She gave me my present, crunchy chocolate-covered castella sticks, on Friday night, all the while apologizing for buying them in a store rather than making me something at home. I insisted (as I did days beforehand) that she doesn't need to make me anything and I would be thrilled to receive any chocolate from her. "By Any Means Necessary" isn't just a cry for revolution - it also perfectly sums up my attitude towards the distribution of gifts. As much fun as her handmade gifts can be, I would never criticize Mako for failing to spend hours making me something when a commercially-available option exists.
We spent our Saturday afternoon in Umeda where we took advantage of the discount Toho Cinemas promotion to see Street Kings, a Keanu Reeves police drama retitled "Fake City" (フェイクシティ) in Japanese. Neither title means much and the movie was unremarkable, cliche-driven and entirely forgettable, exactly as I thought it would be. Unstable cop who ignores procedure because it only gets in the way? Check. Angry superiors who berate him for his methods while simultaneously praising his results? Check. Impressionable and doomed rookie cop (complete with fiancee - how tragic!) who is manipulated by the hero into breaking the rules? Check. Stock female characters (mute victims, worried girlfriend, grieving widow, dead wife) who only exist to soften the male leads? Check. And most troubling of all, litany of minority stereotypes who are beaten, tortured and killed by the hero cops along the way? Check and Mate.
I guess I should have seen those last two coming but I thought maybe, just maybe, that we had moved beyond that bullshit by now. The only concession made to the real world is that a few of the cops are not white guys (Forest Whitaker is one of the perpetually outraged captains) but they are still all guys. Seriously, not even the "here are the bullets I found" medical examiner is a woman. You get the feeling that Hollywood producers want to go back to the Shakespearean custom of having all the roles played by men, but as a compromise they merely play every character with any impact on the plot while the attractive Hispanic actress is limited to wearing a bikini and kissing Keanu after a hard day's work murdering "suspects."
The ironic result of having zero interest in the film (particularly when I guessed the ending about halfway through) was that I did not come out of the theater feeling cheated or offended. I knew the movie would be shallow and empty and it was. All I did was enjoy my popcorn and the knowledge that Mako got to see one of her favorite actors on the big screen. If anything, I left the theater happy because we enjoy being out together as a couple.
On the contrary, when I came home and I watched the season one finale of Battlestar Galactica I had high hopes for the outcome. Not only was I still riding high from the Prison Break finale we watched a few days earlier, but the overall quality of the series led me to believe I was in for something special. Instead, the two-parter left me asking question after question about what direction this show was headed.
For starters, the last few episodes have been increasingly toying with supernatural and religious elements. While I have been impressed with the show's inclusion of faith, an element curiously absent from most scienece fiction, BSG is increasingly implying that these "lords of Kobol" are real. It's one thing to have Dr. Baltar panic and pray to God before being cleared in that treason frame-up, but it's quite another to have the President seeing prognostic hallucinations that coincide with scripture and turn out to be accurate. The finale has her ordering a ship to go on a incredibly risky solo mission just to retrieve a spiritual artifact that she believes will help them find Earth. She knows the Cylons are swarming around both the planet they think is their mythical homeworld and the planet where the artifact is being kept, meaning that everything about this could be a trap or downright staged (especially since one of the Cylons told her they were going to find this planet), but they go through with it anyway.
On the more tactical side of things, I don't understand the nature of this "plan" the Cylons boast of in every episode. How many more facilities and ships are they going to sacrifice towards this plan? I know they claim not to give a crap about "death," but do they simply have infinite resources? They allowed one of their own sleeper agents to nuke a gigantic Cylon vessel, even though they had more than enough opportunities to stop her (or at least reduce their losses). Then she goes back and promptly blows her cover by shooting the Commander in the gut - twice. What's the point? Even if he does die (which I very much doubt - this actor has top billing on the show), what good does that really do the Cylons? They had an agent on board in the military. She already blew up the ship's water supply a few episodes earlier. She could have potentially destroyed the entire ship or killed everyone on the bridge. Instead, she gave herself up in exchange for shooting one guy.
I know this is all pretty geeky and I know I'm still eager to see more of BSG. In fact, I've already rented the first two discs of season two as there were plenty of other major plot elements in that last episode that I want to see resolved. But at the end of the day, the very good television episode left me feeling disappointed while the absolutely pointless cop movie met my meager expectations. How does that make any sense at all?
Labels: BSG, chocolate, family, food, movies, television
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I can understand your confusion about BSG. My friends and I have been where you are now. BSG is a series that will leave you utterly enthralled and completely confused at the same time. But somehow it always seems to work out, usually.
I'm sure. Right now I want to know what's going on but at the same time, I don't want to know so I can just watch and find out.
I saw the first 3 BSG series together. It had highs and lows but never felt it was too off track - maybe because there were no gaps for me.
I am hearing worrying things about this final series though. The religion thing kind of works out later, or at least is more solid in it's concept and direction (in my opinion at least.)
I am hearing worrying things about this final series though. The religion thing kind of works out later, or at least is more solid in it's concept and direction (in my opinion at least.)
I've almost given up on BSG a couple times. Bit of a rollercoaster, imho, in terms of quality/consistency. But it's still so often well done that I just have to know how it ends.
Rob: Having seen the start of season two I am totally on board again. It even took a step or two towards clearing up some of the questions I had about the end of season one. My hope is that I might catch up to the new episodes before it ends, but if not, I shouldn't be too far behind.
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