I Come To Bury Star Wars, Not To Praise It..

Dear Star Wars,

Yes. I am aware that I am speaking to you in a voice that denotes your existence not unlike that of a sentient being with its own soul and sense of free will. And it isn't without merit. There are a great many things I must thank you for as someone who has grown up with your presence ever near, even when paths led you astray, and allowed relations to fray with many the galaxy over. There are a great many things you taught me over the course of my life, and it is within the walls of this personal site that I am at last able to happily willing to place a date of expiration next to your name. Oh, please do not feel sorrow for such a choice. What I am saying? Your existence and spirit does more than well enough without me, especially now that you have an entire new generation of admirers and friends to keep you company deep into history.

And please do not think that this is completely borne out of some angst-ridden schism between you and I. Far from it. While we've certainly had our ups and downs over the years, your very role in the adventures of my days goes so much deeper than an attraction to all effects special, or the promise of escape from an existence surrounded by oceans of sand in every direction. You sheltered, and inspired me when those who would hope to be a beacon flickered. As a child of divorce, your earliest tales informed and comforted me with notions of both toil and redemption that few other grand stories ever could. You helped me understand that even the most forthright of heroes had their dark days, and that we are often placed firmly between angels and demons. You helped me understand myths beyond those bound by a cross, and illustrated the conflict that makes for the bulk of my life. And that good was a responsibility, and not merely a face to wear for benefit. That light and dark were but facets of the whole. It was through you that I became interested in stories, storytelling, human psychology, philosophy, metaphor, and gained a yearning for writing and teaching.

And as we at last witness the first official new installment of your saga, a part of me feels that it is more than time to step away, and to seek tales anew while markets readjust, rendering you into something wholly different from what you once were. Again, this is no slight onto you. Far from it. But part of me reside deeply within the fleshy matter of human connection. Elements that drew me most to your fire. As we watched technology and visual mastery evolve, as we have also seen storytelling evolve into new forms, for both better and worse. After seven features, several television films, animated series, novels, merchandise, and a holiday special, I cannot help but feel that this is all I ever truly needed from you. The notion of a friend for all time, while a genuinely sweet and noble ideal, is far from a realistic one. Ships must inevitably disembark, and tides must again tug and sway. Otherwise, there is always the possibility of a relationship finding fissure. Fissures that often rear themselves after too much exposure.

There are also matters of why you remain here, and why it's so important that you tale see itself reinterpreted, and it isn't always for the most earnest or personal reasons. In fact, this is perhaps where I am most willing to depart. Any good thing in life can ultimately turn against the very ideas and feelings that made it so important to my personal evolution. Much like a child growing up and candy lover, at last faced with a genetic predisposition to diabetes. There is a certain point where our greatest joys can give way to harmful repercussions.

Looking at your history as a global crowd-pleaser, I can definitely see why many out there feel that is is you who could save the landscape from great change. But I also believe that change is paramount for life to evolve. So to see your soul taken wholesale in the name of saving a previous business model, a part of me cannot help but sigh in mild dismay. And while it is indeed true that a lot of Episode VII:The Force Awakens, carries with it an aura of what made you so special, it too harbors the decay and facade of a loved one, long dead and shambling about under well-meaning, but misguided control by powers out to rescue us from the current day. Again, while a lot of the heart flesh remains, there is barely enough to allow it to move emotive or intellectual powers that once seemed so easy to access. We've been here before, and a mere few augmentations here do very little to hide the little brother wearing grandmother's glasses, dancing about in strange voices, trying in vain to make us smile the same way again. I do care and thank you, but it seems that studios and a dying multiplex infrastructure needs you a lot more than my heart does.

It's also deeply important to me that people see the face of you, not so much the mask. I still see so many enamored with the idea of you, rather than your ideas. The brand, and not so much the personality within. While I do understand the appeal, I cannot help but feel that there was always a great deal more to you during those early days. It's true. There is no going back. But if your legends cannot offer new and challenging responses to your soul, then all we're doing is looping. When all we probably needed to do, is look back. (Provided your father was willing to allow us to do this unreservedly - I know this is something of a sticking point.

Apologies for bringing this up.

We need numerous gardens to explore, not merely several pickings from the same batch. Homogeneity, even from you, sounds rather unhealthy.


So while I do intend to be near you for one more film, I would love to very much make my intentions more than clear. There are parts of me that are truly warmed inside by your new cast of characters. They are charming, energetic, and come from an earnest place. Make no mistake, these are worthy heirs to your legacy. And even though I really do wish to travel alongside them a little more, there is a feeling that there is little else you could possibly share with me that I am not already familiar with or understand. You are the most fanciful of bedtime stories. You grant people light when so much seems so dark. Sometimes, you're willing to illuminate that these things aren't so alien to one another. But it's hard to imagine art and expression working themselves through with a necessary amount of freedom confined to a single myth instead as opposed to the broadness of genre. The powers in charge would like to think this is an answer, but I cannot agree to it. You mean a lot to me, even when parts of me have denied it in the past. It's true. You were a spark that led to a flame. But the wood has neared its end, and I need new elements offering with them fresh and healthy amounts of oxygen. I'm only looking out for my health you see. I only wish to do good by what you imbued within me.


Even if it means leaving you behind soon.

Trust that I'll always keep you close, even if I'm not there.   

Acknowledging The Paradigm

As hinted at during my most recent post at Anime Diet; would a modern reinterpretation of Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon even remotely resemble the seemingly innocent vibe of young girls using vanity products to change their appearance, and defeat evil? What would it be like if the very notion of your savior was rendered out of date with a world that has long since moved on? The shelf life of certain stories can prove limited when philosophical, scientific, sociological, and even allegorical paradigms shift from their previously settled posts. This is something that has been swirling around the brainpan for several years, and has recently come back to mind when doing the latest writeup. Would doing a modern take of what many would consider a classic legend prove vital when the world has changed so much, and grown so much more sophisticated that a "pure" replay would prove either dated or irrelevant? One can argue that this has happened more than once in high-profile projects in recent years. But how about when the creative parties involved took the extra time necessary to use established properties to help illustrate these changes in at times lyrical fashion? Surface, too. This is something I'd like to call, Acknowledging The Paradigm. Meaning, an update fully aware of the cultural changes, and not only visually retrofitting the production, but also taking a studied, and thematic look into how the previously unchangeable would apply in another, more contemporary context- without holding back.


And in a climate where the term "reboot" has become something of modern anathema, there have been many attempts to acknowledge that the world is a completely different place than when their original creators thrived with their work. This is especially so in regards to superhero properties. When many were initially conceived, often very specific social circumstances helped to make them resonate with their audiences, often creating a specific image of them to the public. And if there has been anything common about fan reaction, it has been derision by those calling out author and artist time and again, that reinterpretations often do not match, let alone agree with certain established perceptions of what made these concepts great, or effective. It doesn't take much to send fans over the edge, so keeping this in mind it stands to reason why so many fear dramatic deviation from past models. It is a difficult ice shelf to walk, but as long as creators find the means to build upon what has been said before, perhaps what is revealed can offer some value to those looking for other qualities within the new story.


Which brings me to a somewhat controversial example. A large part of why I am in something of a minority, and actually appreciate Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, is simply because it isn't shying away from being both an allegory for the fall of previous ideals, as well as a tribute to the Donner film. The very idea that Kal-El would not only be fallible, but in many ways irrelevant in a world that has left him behind is a bold, and often troubling one to consider for many. But this is perhaps the one thing that most captivated me while watching it for the first time in 2006. Much of the film's writing that rendered it confused in places took a backseat for me, and what stood out was an often poignant look at how America's ideals were now at a crucial point, and ready to change into something altogether different. Almost repeatedly, Superman's role in the film is either sideswiped by how the world around him has moved on, or is put second-fiddle to how even the mortal are in some ways empowered. The most telling of which is the James Marsden character of Richard White, son of Daily Planet chief, Perry. As the husband-to-be of Lois Lane, it is made clear that he is by no means considered any kind of one-dimensional romantic rival for Clark/Superman. In fact, he is by all accounts a good, honest man willing to go above and beyond for those he cares for. And when he takes his personal plane to rescue his would-be family, he even saves Kal-El, making the film's central theme that much more concrete. That much of what the former Depression-era-borne icon has inspired lives on beyond even his own function on Earth. There will always been room for him in the hearts of many, and yet he tragically remains an outsider, unchanging in a universe thriving on continuous change. It isn't the easiest pill for audiences to swallow. And even if the film can seem a bit mixed, and unsure of its own identity, there is a sincere enough thread to make it viable to current sensibilities if one is inclined to take a moment.

An example of an update that may look visually opulent in places, and yet never bothers to reach such ambitious heights (well, to be fair-most modern reinterpretations fall prey to this) is Tron Legacy. For a film so predisposed toward offering a more cutting-edge sheen to what was initially a wildly experimental universe rendered via extremely rudimentary(see crude) cel-based, as well as primitive CG in order to explore an entire computer based world, the 2010 film fails to acknowledge the vast rift of change to have come in the wake of our current existence via the internet, let alone digital tech. We can hide behind the excuses that the film was bankrolled with the intent that it was meant to speak to kids as well as adults, but it doesn't even acknowledge the current sophistication of children. In a generation post-REBOOT(the 1990s cg animated series), it is easy to see how much of a grandiose missed opportunity it was. To further take matters into intelligence-insulting levels, the film makes little to no effort to fill us in on how the cultural/evolutionary changes in technology have affected groups and individuals within the respective computer and human worlds. As an update of a film that not only tanked due to it being a little too new and subterranean for mainstream audiences back in 1982, Legacy never really bothers beyond vague concepts, and mysticism to deliver what is essentially a biblical metaphor sans subtlety, or even appreciation for human ingenuity. It's satisfied with just saying dad needs to step away from his work, and spend some time with the kids. And with 200 million dollars, and all the effects budget one can hope for, that isn't saying much at all.

More often than not, the latter is what tends to happen. The contradictions often pile on, as nostalgia colors what the public often wants out of their 2000s entertainment. And while there is some mild value in seeing certain worlds, types, and characters brought back to our collective consciousness, there is often a lingering set of doubts one must suppress in order for them to work in any modern context. Being a bit of a Nolan Batman fan myself, I also happen to be part of this problem when in many ways a multi-billionaire playboy seems to make little sense doing what he does, taking on criminals one at a time as Ducard once quipped. But then again, the fact that the films acknowledge this absurdity is part of what helps this interpretation work for me. The counterbalance of this kind of acknowledgement can work in studied measure. But more often than not, this is something that can only connect in certain measures or timbre. Which is why some creations can only remain within a certain time framework. (This has come about several times between friends and I regarding Superman only making truest sense taking place in Depression-era Metropolis. Such a period piece has a lot of potential.)

As is the potential for running the world of Sailor Moon in contrast with the current not-so-ideal vision of Japan today complete with economic turmoil, disaster, declining birth rates, and a general lack of spark, it would be very interesting to see how the characters would function in such a seemingly difficult environment. Especially where feminine roles have begun to shift, despite a seething amount of almost desperate (I take it back, it IS desperate) masculine backlash in popular art such as manga and anime. I suppose it is this contradiction that fascinates me about this idea. Not sure if it would be great, but it would most certainly be interesting to see it play out.

Personally, I enjoy the idea of entertaining previous ideals under pressure due to social and philosophical changes. It in many ways brings what we are becoming into focus, and perhaps even offers hints of where we can go from here. Mere longing for the past has never been a strong suit of mine, and when story can  
help visualize the folly and potential of our current selves, rather than merely admiring passively.

Movie Review - Tron: Legacy (2010)

It is interesting to consider just how much of the cultural & evolutionary landscape has morphed since the days of the original video game systems, and personal computers housed in wooden cases with bulky dial-up modems. Memories flood of the early Commodore systems, and the upcoming issues of ENTER magazine, detailing the latest achievements of a small number of brilliant minds, longing for a new utopia residing with the ever changing world of the microprocessor. And as all this was happening, the young dreamer in me was transfixed by one film, willing to explore the depths of this strange new frontier. TRON in my childhood was less a gap filler in the days between when an Empire Struck Back, and A Jedi Returned, and more a promise of undreamt of possibility, strange valleys of black, and an almost spiritual peek into the world of computerization.

So why is the 200 million dollar-plus TRON:Legacy such a troublesome letdown? Aside from being one of the most benign megabudget films ever produced, it simply falls victim to a growing trend of film projects that seem merely made to co-opt nostalgia highs, with a little subculture nods in order to generate success through identification. Oh, sure, the tale of Kevin Flynn and his adventures in the cyberspace netherworld of "The Grid" was a simple, and at times bland exercise in ideas rather than story, but in regards to time there is a sense of fun and adventure that seems lost on this new attempt to expand that universe. In this wildly belated sequel/remake, years have passed since Flynn(again played by the ever wonderful Jeff Bridges, while most welcome,seems quite lost here) returned from the digital world to become a Bill Gates/Steve Jobs analogue who's son is left orphaned when in 1989, he again vanishes. This time, never to return. Flash forward 20 years, and the young Sam Flynn(Garrett Hedlund) has avoided his responsibility of inheriting his father's technological monolith, ENCOM Corp, and playing annual pranks on the current personnel in charge who have ideas more profit-centric than his more progressively-minded father. It is when old family friend, Alan Bradley (reprised by Bruce Boxleitner) that a mysterious message, possibly from his father has surfaced, which leads the reckless Flynn on a voyage into a darker, meaner version of the world his father once shared tales of. The system had been saved once before, but it is now an ever more threatening realm of gladiatorial combat as a spectre from the elder Flynn's past has a tightened grip on this vast digital society of programs.

On paper, it is another spin on Homer, but in the hands of first-time director Joseph Kosinski, the film is an art director's wet dream, and a truly missed opportunity. Where we are meant to find reason to identify with Hedlund's wayward son, we are thrown headlong from situation to situation, with little to no context, which does little to help us understand his character, or even frame of mind before he is transported into the computer dimension. We are often expected to fill in those gaps ourselves. And in the hands of truly capable writers/directors, this could be possible. But here, it is a case of perhaps the screenwriters (Edward Kitsis & Adam Horowitz, as well as several other contributors) being so preoccupied with the visual fireworks, that Sam winds up little more than a cipher. And even as the film goes out of its way to hit those nostalgia buttons, it all rings hollow, as if to cover up what isn't really being said.

So once, we are in The Grid, we are given next to no reason to relate to our new lead, only making his immediate entry to the Disc War stadium all the more dull and uninvolving. (in sequences Disney has been building up so much noise for nearly three years now) Never before has something to conceptually unique, and singularly visual been so disconnected from the audience as to render me about as interested as if looking at another iTunes visualization while pumping Daft Punk. The sequence, while filled with wonders, have a lack of relatability to our lead that it becomes near impossible to invest anything. So when he is rescued from The Grid by rogue program, Quorra (played with fun by a fascinating Olivia Wilde) and taken to meet The Maker himself, a reunion ensues, only to reveal that the realm has been enslaved by father Flynn's old security program CLU (a bizarre digital facelift performance by Bridges again), making it near impossible for him to return home, explaining his 20 year absence. So when it is revealed that as in so many would-be epics that the fate of not only the digital, but real world are threatened due to a small, tangible Macguffin, everything locks into rote action sequences, tried cliches, and some wholesale sequences ripped off for good measure. (when your daringly visual action sequel co-opts a scene from the original Star Wars, it is less an homage, but rather a desperate cry for ideas.)

While we're on the idea of making CLU the antagonist, this again on paper sounds terrific as a metaphor for a workman losing grasp of his own flesh and blood, and tending to his obsession, only to have it enslave him, but here the whole surrogate son concept completely falls apart since the film does little to nothing with CLU. And as much as some may wish to defend that the technological limitations toward making Bridges appear youthful, one must also consider that it wasn't too long ago when we witnessed a near Oscar-worthy performance by a digital creation, rendering this defense moot. To make matters worse, for a digital creation, there are moments where his movements wander into Spirits Within territory. (and that was nearly a decade ago) Had the writing been strong enough, this probably have been less of a problem, but there it is.

As for elder Bridges, again as much as I find him to be something like a cinematic uncle to me, he seems less like the central spiritual core the film needs to be, and more an ornament for geek cred's sake. And let's not even get into Boxleitner, who really feels the brunt of this shaft. I truly wanted to believe that the world of TRON could be expanded upon, having two of the original's characters near center stage, but it comes off more like glorified window dressing. No amount of cute "dudes", or "man" from Jeff could save it, no matter how welcome it was to see him. The connections between this and the 1982 original are cosmetic at best, and unrealized at worst. Hedlund seems to really want to give it a try, but again, the script, and direction leave much to be desired. Perhaps it is merely me, but it is Wilde who comes out of this near spotless as a young disciple of our wandering elder Buddha, who is revealed to be more than she seems (**surprise**). There is a sense of innocence, and fun that is evident, even when the writing doesn't seem to call for it that works.

There are even moments where it all truly feels like it is getting matters together, as if Kosinski really is getting a feel for certain scenes. And yet, they are often derailed by a clunky action scene, or half thought out dialogue scene with more stiff lines than a Star War prequel. In fact, this is the closest comparison I can make at the moment. For all the visual flare that reminds me of my days as an EBM clubgoer, fantasizing about worlds not unlike this one, all that it lacks is the pulsating heart that made such music and art so thrilling for the younger me. So much is promised by these visuals, and yet it becomes impossible to corroborate a singular or cohesive theme to hold it all together. Which is a terrible shame since films regarding virtual worlds have evolved so much in the years post TRON. To see this not take full advantage of not only these changes, but of ones in our culture regarding our relationship with technology and each other within it, and hit for the lowest road is not only saddening, but almost offensive. So much so that by the end, not much has been resolved, and no catharsis has been reached.

So...200 million for a glorified light switch rave? I'll stay home next time, thanks.

Combo Attack!! 's Next Target Is...

And so the radio silence ends, and the real chat begins...


What is the trio to take on for their first official episode of the Combo Attack!! podcast?

Do we even need to say it?



Combining the visuals of comics, the framework of video games to come, and the experimentation of sheer cinema, it's a movie Combo Attack!! was made for.


Soon.