Welcome to the second installment of Brief Asides, the monthly column within a blog that briefly (hence the title) touches on various things that have occurred to me lately. As I’d like to keep this whole thing to 800 words or so, let’s get started.
If the purpose of the Oscars is to draw attention to little-seen films
of merit, then it is doing an excellent job.
If the purpose of the Oscars is to celebrate and acknowledge excellence
among all types of films- the huge ones that fill theaters as well as smaller
art-house movies- then perhaps an overhaul is needed. I’ll probably write a little more on this
topic via its own post.
Speaking of big-budget movies that fill theaters, I finally caught
Pacific Rim, the 2013 movie about huge robots fighting huge monsters, on
cable. I know this won’t be a very
popular opinion, but despite the artistic pedigree provided by Guillermo del
Toro’s name in the screenwriting and directing credits, I didn’t think the
movie was much better than Michael Bay’s Transformers movies. But maybe the writer/director wouldn’t
disagree with me, as he’s stated he just wanted to make something fun. Anyway, it’s worth a look, even if you’re not
a rabid fan of big robots and big monsters slugging it out.
Moving through A Dance With Dragons, the most recent book in George
R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series (currently being adapted
into HBO’s Game of Thrones series), I’m still enjoying the story. However, I find myself agreeing with many of
the fan reviews online that express frustration over excessive bloat in the last
couple of series entries, stating that too much attention is given to too many
third-tier characters and plotlines, the pace is a too stately, and there aren’t enough big, dramatic
happenings.
To be sure, the latest book or two are still enjoyable as an immersive
experience in an interesting fantasy world, but they’re not the must-read
page-turners of the first three. And I’ve
been doing the novels on audio, which almost always makes a book better and
more fun, because someone else is doing the work of reading it, as well as providing
an entertaining acting performance. So, while artistic freedom is still a definite
ideal in the creative world, more and more I’m seeing the value of the vulgar
notion of a writer having to listen to an editor telling him or her to keep
things moving and to be entertaining.
The television show has certainly been on the right track, dramatizing
the best aspects of Martin’s story and jettisoning the excess.
Moving right along, via my cable system’s On Demand function, I’m about
halfway through ABC’s seven or eight episode “series event” Agent Carter, or
more precisely, Marvel’s Agent Carter.
Set in the late 1940’s and featuring lavish sets and costumes, secret
agent Peggy Carter battles international crime as part of an agency that
eventually becomes the SHIELD organization of the Marvel movies.
Story-wise, the show is only a little better than okay so far, pretty
good but not spectacular, which is how I feel about Marvel’s Agents of Shield
(I pretty much like the Marvel movies a lot better than the Marvel TV
shows). But unlike that other show,
Marvel’s Agent Carter will wrap up its entire story at the end of its small
handful of episodes, and isn’t requiring me to make a long-term commitment to
its modest pleasures. I like that. And if the series comes back, it’ll be in the
form of another small batch of episodes.
Kudos to ABC and Marvel for trying to be a little innovative in its
story telling. Not everything on network
TV has to consist of hundreds of episodes spanning six or seven years. I’m a lot more willing to watch and enjoy
“pretty good” if there’s a definite end in sight, and sooner rather than later.
The second half of the current season of AMC’s The Walking Dead
recently commenced, and the three episodes shown at this point have been pretty
solid, though so far they’re definitely emphasizing slow-burn emotions
(especially fear and despair) over big action set-pieces. But the stories have been compelling, being
mostly about the difficulty of surviving on the road without the walls and
security of a home base. Though, from
the looks of things, that last plot point may soon change. But for the better? We’ll see.
HBO’s Last Week With John Oliver, now back for its second season,
continues to be a fun way to keep up with current news and issues. In thirty minutes you’ll be brought up to
speed on all kinds of current events and you’ll laugh a lot in the
process. So, even if The Daily Show
tanks or experiences a reduction in quality after John Stewart’s departure, we’ll at least still have John Oliver keeping everyone honest... and entertained.
Well, that’s it for this month’s dose of stream of consciousness. Regular, more thoughtfully-developed posts
will now resume, until Brief Asides returns sometime in March. Be good, and if you live in the East, stay
warm!
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