Status Of The Force: Some Personal Thoughts

I hadn't initially planned to spill anything about my thoughts on next week's events, but since many are airing out how important the Star Wars saga has been for them, it suddenly felt right to place them into a snug place like this. Like so many kids of the seventies and eighties, the original trilogy holds a powerful sway upon my relationship to all things genre. And as I grew older, discovering just how much it carried within it legacies of mythology enriched my appreciation for them more. Be it through the mountains of merchandise even young first generations experienced throughout the early 1980s, or those hopeful days before the release of Episode I in the latter 1990s, the flirtation with longer exposure to the world of space knights, hyperdrives, and galactic empires seemed more like a junkie's promise than an organic and necessary expansion of a beloved universe. 


But to hold them in such high esteem while the medium of film has evolved into a sort of mass production machine, coldly aiming for those nostalgic nerves in hopes of igniting a new generation, parts of me grapple with the notion that we have moved so far beyond this spark, that it often feels redundant. And to that end, rife with the ability to strip thin bones that would sooner provide the blood cells necessary to spur further discussion between kids. Talks that even a small me was willing to have with fellow kids, and even adults about the nature of good and evil, themes of fate, and questions about revolution. Perhaps this isn't the most common person's view of Star Wars, but it was mine as far back as grade school. I wanted to know why our relationship with nature decided where we were as people. A notion fathoms beyond the average kid who often found themselves enamored with fantastical tech, and grand scale space warfare. The mystery of the force, and how it binds all things was what granted a pull for me in the wake of spiritual chasm that were the revelations at the end of Empire Strikes Back. Where even the wisest could find themselves in the wrong for lying. Coming out of a separation after parents divorce, and seeing in both film and in real life how adults couldn't hold to their word despite their assumed station was a pivotal door for me to walk through at an early age. And perhaps this granted the series more depth than I was able to comprehend at the time.

That's right. A part of me feels like there's little else more Star Wars can truly offer except for new variations of the same thing. And unless the model is willing to take some bold leaps away from the tired and gunshy positioning the departed George Lucas undertook as far back as Return Of The Jedi, it may be a venture unwilling to do more than cycle endlessly. What made the films so special to me, were the operatic touches, the relationships, and a clear understanding that heroism can quite easily morph into villiany. It's meat and potatoes grand myth. So perhaps the only real way to acknowledge the most important updates the saga, is to look sharply at the new cast, and to celebrate the shift in focus that potentially will reside. It's true that there is real, hard hitting possibility in the series' new heroes.

But what I'm truly hopeful for, is a glimmer of revolutionary honesty beyond the blasters and destruction of machines. That our heroes will indeed observe a new world with unprecedented potential. To see past the demographics, and offer up means to respond to mythology of the past. Star Wars, served as an important window to what became my love for anime, classic westerns, samurai cinema, as well as the works of Joseph Campbell and Carlos Castaneda. So a part of me is not sure we were ever meant to linger in one place. New myths can offer new bents to classic tales, and perhaps illuminate truths that often the most rudimentary stories often find themselves unequipped to explore. Which isn't to say that I don't believe this is possible. But there is a doubt that there is enough room, or hook in one universe to do so. I would very much like to be proven wrong, but as it stands, Star Wars has become more a place of comfort, rather than a means to challenge. It's a reliable old pal at this point.

But just because a friend invites you over, doesn't mean you should overstay your welcome.  

Jupiter Ascending (2014) Movie Thoughts

Time can be your greatest antagonist. Just ask the villains of the Wachowskis massive space soap. Or better yet, bring it up to the filmmakers themselves who seem to have found themselves in a dungeon of their own creativity. It's hard to sum up just what happened here outside of overdosing on your own production Kool-Aid.  But despite the incredible production on display in one of the most adventurous takes on filmed fantasy ever attempted, Jupiter Ascending faceplants due to an almost criminal lack of humanity. Upon first reports of delays (the film was initially set to be released July of last year), and occasional mumblings about reshoots and edits, concerns were undoubtedly arising. But to see what has happened, one can see plenty of blame to go around. Falling onto parties both the filmmakers and studio, who felt need to rein everything in, only to create a space epic that feels like space itself; vast, empty, and beautiful to look at. And despite it's thematic targets, the film ends up doubling back on its convictions, making for one of the more unfocused and awkward class struggle narratives to be unveiled in quite some time.

Born into a large russian family, and stuck cleaning toilets for often rich clients, Jupiter Jones bemoans her life and wishes to find her one true love. Meanwhile, a part-human, part canine spliced hunter known as Caine Wise is on Earth with orders to find and retrieve Jones. Unbeknownst to her, royalty flows through her veins as she is the reconstruct of a long lost matriarch of a powerful galactic corporation that is now split between three heirs. Siblings who are quietly squabbling over who gets dibs on earthbound humans as property/resource. Wise and Jones are now on the run from space bounty hunters, beasts, and all manner of alien being as the truth of her past self comes clear. Now with all that has been described, it could be easy to portray this as some contemporary fairy tale, complete with ability to reach out to younger audiences. And yet somehow, Lana & Andy Wachowski find themselves unable to find the connective tissue between premise, and their own predilections. It ends up being little more than a jumbled case of overindulgence. Especially funny as the film wants so badly to be seen as a treatise on objectivism, hegemonic entitlement, and mindless consumption.

And the trade-off here, is perhaps one of if not the most opulent examples of visualized space fantasy one is likely to ever see in a generation. Featuring some incredible starship imagery, over the top costume designs, not to mention alien species that harken to the best of Star Wars. True to the Wachowski brand, it also features some groundbreaking action, most notably with Caine Wise's "sky surfing" gravity boot work. There is an early action scene here on par with anything the pair has done since 1999, with a little Speed Racer in here for good measure. It even goes so far as to wander into Brazil territory at one point (complete with a Terry Gilliam cameo), where it indulges yet again. It's as up front about its wishes as a major production can possibly be. The problems here being that we also have a story and pressing themes that require a little love, which sadly go underserved.

The entire piece feels overcooked in the production, with the soul buried somewhere beneath all the flavor. It's only made stranger by an edit that screams compromise. Scenes build upon scenes that never happened. We're forced along as if producers saw the overindulgence, and aimed to squelch it anywhere they could. So we never get a full idea of who these characters are, and what they serve in the larger whole. It's a frustrating thing to be enveloped in such a rich, potential-laden fantasy world, unable to feel any way about it except for admiration at its ambition. Films like Dune, Legend, and Tron come to mind. Large scale productions that seem largely about indulging the impulses, but lack the ability to let us in and care about any of it.

Now taking the "destiny" angle, the element that for better or worse in the past, into more "feminine" territory could have made for an interesting new bent to an already familiar theme. While the trope  worked to almost classic effect in The Matrix, Jupiter never aspires to be anything more than a Cinderella fairy tale without a heroine worth rooting for.When one really thinks it all through, this at its base feels like the seed of a lot of bad ideas which came as result. To assume that the old saw would connect to an audience weaned on old world ideas about dreaming about how the other half lives, feels not only half-thought, it also feels a little cheap. One might have to look back at older films where young girls were the untrodden territory. Where treading into almost stereotypical waters in hopes of connecting made for some uncomfortable lessons in reality. Have we learned nothing from the days of Supergirl, and the hamfisted need for the central character to need a man? Or better yet, a need to have the character fly over some ponies? There is something painfully wrong about assuming that the Cinderella seed could work well in an overwrought tale of characters eager to maintain profit in hopes of grasping eternal life. To make matters worse, this is a film where the so-called "destined one", never makes any real change from hapless housekeeper to a self-reliant leader. It never happens. And no, wielding a metal pipe over a villain is not a viable euphemism for power. 

That's right; the biggest tragedy of the film is that we never get a full idea of who Jupiter Jones is. Outside of her flailing about, and quipping about going home, Kunis never even registers as a character. Without this simple throughline, we are merely host to all the weirdness surrounding her, unable to connect. It's bad enough that the Wachowskis often troublesome tendency for racial caricature wreaks havoc here albeit unintentionally(one would hope), but her situation never gathers enough grit to make the audience connect to her before all the madness begins. Her choices often ring false, and never seem to be of her own. In fact, she is rescued far more often than she ever takes any matters into her own hands. We never see the shift from victim to hero which is what tales like these are all about. And if this was meant to be a subversion of these tropes, it certainly does a lot to. In fact, by the finale it becomes more of a "both rich and poor are equally miserable" parable, which does nothing to challenge the status quo save for implying that it will be the immigrants of the world who will inherit. While there may be some nodding to such a notion, it feels far too slow, too late to even say it. A message far too dated to jibe with.

Of the people who do come out of this debacle unscathed, it is the always  reliable Tatum as Caine, who makes for an interesting hero in a film where he needed to be counterbalanced. His almost feral sense of self and nobility makes him an inviting doorway to other parts of the film's worldbuilding. Also surviving by a thread, is the inimitable Sean Bean, who's Stinger has plenty of weariness to add gravitas. Again, a serious loss to the final film's compressed state. His circumstances are never followed up to any satisfying degree, leaving his performance to be a welcome but handicapped one. Both of their subplots make for a far more interesting story than the one they are saddled with, and that's an issue that never finds a way to ease off.

Hiding throughout the muddle we have here are musings about family, and the need to perpetuate expansion in the need for shared survival at the expense of life itself. The Abrasax siblings who are the film's puppet masters find themselves ranging from prime YA stock, to outright camp. Tuppence Middleton and Douglas Booth turn in what feel like a perfect facsimile for characters one would see in a Twilight or Hunger Games, while Eddie Redmayne's incredible performance as the psychotic Balem echoes Sting's Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen. From droning whispers to a frightening yelp, this is characterization that could only make a mark in midnight movie screenings. It was as if he was in on the mess the filmmakers where creating, and was unwilling to play it any other way. All three make for the bulk of the film's actual agency being liars, schemers, and murderers, and yet they too are underserved as little more than mouthpieces for ideological dogma. When Middleton's Kalique asks for advice on the nature of trust, she is reminded to feel that humans only act in the service of rationalized self-interest. The philosophies of these characters are meant to be mirrored in the more selfish acts of Jones' family, asking to participate in a fertility clinic scheme. Ascending reaches for some understanding between haves and have-nots, but never feels less than forced.

What to make of all this? Again, the blame for this fracas can be laid at the feet of so many involved. And yet here it is, fully bankrolled and released for all to see. A classic example of what can happen when artists have too much, and find themselves drowning in the excess they pretend to decry. When Speed Racer happened, this was suspect, but at least we had the Racer family standing up as a relatable every family. When the heroes here find themselves bereft of any such vicarious metrics, all we get is a character being dragged from set piece to set piece, and us feeling more and more confused to the point of apathy. It's a real shame. This is gorgeous stuff. The last thing we should be feeling about such a buffet..is emptiness.  

The War In Space (1977) Movie Review

Our story opens as a menacing galleon-esque spaceship descends toward the blue earth with only the glowing red eye of conquest fixed upon our planet. When space transmissions begin interrupting communication abilities across the world, members of a disbanded earth defense unit are in dire need of return. And when admired star pilot Koji Miyoshi (Kensaku Morita) returns to Japan in time to witness the alien treachery engulfing the globe, can he and his loyal team, the crew of the UNSF Gohten be more than a match for the unholy terror that is the Roman-like kingdom of Yomi? This is the core story that comprises the heft of Jun Fukuda's wild & wooly The War In Space (AKA -The Great Planet War). A late 1970's piece of TOHO space madness that  appeared in the wake of not only George Lucas' little noisemaking indie, but of a number of surprise elements.


With the second half of the decade seeming primed for a renewed interest in more romantic science fantasy, War is also looking toward anime as a means of influence. Taking a major lead from Ishiro Honda's beloved Atragon, the film is also conceptually combined with many elements borrowed from the newer-edgier science fiction favorite, Uchu Senkan Yamato to create something that could combine the special effects ingenuity of maestro, Teruyoshi Nakano, and old fashioned high drama. And while this was not something that could just so easily be conjured for live action, director Fukuda and crew give it the ol' college try, and deliver some sincere, ludicrous fun. And while it pales in comparison to the works that inspired them, there is a pace and sense of energy at work here that became harder to replicate even as tokusatsu movies entered a more sophisticated era.

One of the bigger components Fukuda and company heap on in the spirit of the classic space battleship, it's in its cast, and an unabashed lean toward the cartoonishly dramatic. Miyoshi's investment as the story's central character is very much in the classic hero vein, complete with return home from afar, and with unresolved issues. From a long-neglected love, to a best buddy with wedding plans for said love. It's all compounded by the ever-popular mechanic of having the elder chief of the Gohten be the father of Jun(Yuko Asano), who comes along for the a fateful mission to Venus the newly reformed space defense force undertakes for the remainder of the film. This is perhaps as dense as the characterization for this film gets, and while the film packs on the bombastic emotions, a lot of what makes the whole thing work is in how swift the cut moves in between the ingenious effects which include some terrific ship and fighter battles. There is an undeniable desire to pay tribute to what was to become a major cornerstone of Japanese genre media for at least the next twenty years.

And all of this is especially impressive considering that films of this ilk were not in the best of budgetary shape around this period. By this point, producer, Tomoyuki Tanaka and his folks at Toho were nowhere near the giants they once were in the 1950s and 60s. And as such, War In Space is a unique work that takes great advantage of said limitations by either reusing a lot of model shots, some questionably poor monster costume choices, or just having plenty of events happen offscreen. And while this can be considered a minus, it also does plenty to just get us knee-deep in the moment. Even as the crew of the Gohten find themselves obligated to taking the fight to the aliens, there is little fat on these bones. It's actually a tribute to the cast and crew who play matters straight from start to finish. It's heartening to see such sobriety applied to what so easily could be a hopeless schlockfest. The whole thing is a go-for-broke wave hello to a new era of Japanese fantasy, the "Space War", which eventually became a huge part of anime in series' such as the original Gundam.


So, yes. Is this at all what it could be? No. But it hardly matters when considering the era, and the budget onhand. And there is a corporeality to all that craftsmanship on display. (there are even shots here that hint at the astounding miniature work to come in films such as Sayonara Jupiter) It truly comes from a place of inspiration and love. And the soundtrack by Toshiaki Tsushima, oozes fuzz guitar dreams and brass galore. If I had any gripes to bear regarding The War In Space, it's the lack of more Jimmy (David Perin).

Things Happening- IN SPAAACE!

The landscape has changed, but a generation has yet to be fully forgotten. The last few years have seen a decent number of revivals, some much more long-awaited than others. Can one ever truly rekindle old passionate flames borne far in the recesses of deep space? What happens when a lifelong lover of early anime space opera takes the invite, and dives into not one, but three big budget exercises in nostalgia in the hopes of "Remembering Love"? Tune into The Wandering Kaijyu & Anime Diet!