Just add Nazis!
Apr. 21st, 2003 09:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ebonlockThis seems to be the concept behind way too many action films. Why? Well 'cause nobody in their right mind is going to take you to task for making Nazi villains that your heroes can beat upon. I mean it just isn't PC to defend Nazis. Indeed even the most politically correct individual on the planet can kick back and cheer on your hero as he turns a bunch of jack-booted baddies into a bloody pulp.
Personally I'm of the opinion that films not set during WWII should not use Nazis as bad guys. I know it's tempting, and oh-my-god easy, but honestly folks, why not make a vague attempt at creating, oh I dunno', 3 dimensional, interestingly motivated villains? Rather than spouting rabid bits of Mein Kampf and sporting that ridiculous bowl-cut, it might be cool to try using your imagination once in a while and maybe creating something new and different.
It's a personal bias of mine, but any movie not set in the 40's and featuring Nazi bad guys automatically loses about a star and a half in my rating system. Now when it also has a script that would've gotten its writers booted out of even the most purile sitcom's writing staff, and piss-poor walk up and bitch slap you in the face wire work...well then I begin to wonder if there isn't something better I could be doing with my time. Perhaps watching paint dry.
If you're wondering what inspired this particular rant, let's just say I saw Bulletproof Monk this weekend and leave it at that, shall we? On the plus side I tried the new Jamba flavor "Strawberry Dream'n", hot damn it's good! Sipping it and day dreaming about some costumes I'd like to eventually make were about the only things that kept me in my seat for two hours.
Ah well, after that I forced a mediocre version of Jane Eyre on Aelf, though I'd wanted to show her the original classic with Orson Welles, Blockbuster was sadly lacking. And after mowing both the front and back yard I ran out of energy to go bopping around town looking for it. We ended up heating some of the Friday night leftovers up and crafting that night and I made some good headway on trimming my newly cut veil. If it works I may decide that it isn't too much effort to buy cheap rectangular veils and turn them into semi-circles. We shall see.
The Ostara festivities yesterday left me a bit cold, it was rather like attending a large private party where everybody was so busy screaming "Look at me!" that I ended up feeling a bit lonely...and dizzy. It also ended up looking so much like a Hollywood version of a "wacky California party" that I had to laugh. People wonder why I don't hang out with my fellow pagans more often...well, that's a big one right there. I feel no need to make a big deal out of my beliefs, I have them, they're right for me, that's enough.
On the plus side, the band was pretty good and there were some decidedly pretty girls and boys there in some great outfits. The nymph boys were truly lovely, even if they weren't "for the ladies", and there was a blonde in this tie on top and skirt that made me openly stare, jaw hanging, when she first got up to dance. But by the time the improv group started doing this pseudo pagan "Passion play" if you will, I'd had just about enough. A gentleman walked over to me and asked if I wasn't missing the show sitting where I was. I assured him I was just fine with audio only. Ultimately I think that was for the best.
We both got bored after the band's second set and decided it was time to go get some Chinese. Coming home and crashing out on the couch with yummy tofu and double mushrooms in some sweats while working on some sewing was the perfect way to end the day. Watched Helen of Troy, which wasn't as bad as I'd expected, and I'm a sucker for Greek history so it was all good.
Got to bed a bit late and woke up at about 2 in the morning quite convinced I'd heard someone whispering. I hate coming out of a deep sleep, undoubtedly in the middle of a dream, and finding it damn near impossible to get back to sleep. I think I finally dropped off again around 3 or so, but boy was it hard to drag my butt out of bed this morning *sigh*
Personally I'm of the opinion that films not set during WWII should not use Nazis as bad guys. I know it's tempting, and oh-my-god easy, but honestly folks, why not make a vague attempt at creating, oh I dunno', 3 dimensional, interestingly motivated villains? Rather than spouting rabid bits of Mein Kampf and sporting that ridiculous bowl-cut, it might be cool to try using your imagination once in a while and maybe creating something new and different.
It's a personal bias of mine, but any movie not set in the 40's and featuring Nazi bad guys automatically loses about a star and a half in my rating system. Now when it also has a script that would've gotten its writers booted out of even the most purile sitcom's writing staff, and piss-poor walk up and bitch slap you in the face wire work...well then I begin to wonder if there isn't something better I could be doing with my time. Perhaps watching paint dry.
If you're wondering what inspired this particular rant, let's just say I saw Bulletproof Monk this weekend and leave it at that, shall we? On the plus side I tried the new Jamba flavor "Strawberry Dream'n", hot damn it's good! Sipping it and day dreaming about some costumes I'd like to eventually make were about the only things that kept me in my seat for two hours.
Ah well, after that I forced a mediocre version of Jane Eyre on Aelf, though I'd wanted to show her the original classic with Orson Welles, Blockbuster was sadly lacking. And after mowing both the front and back yard I ran out of energy to go bopping around town looking for it. We ended up heating some of the Friday night leftovers up and crafting that night and I made some good headway on trimming my newly cut veil. If it works I may decide that it isn't too much effort to buy cheap rectangular veils and turn them into semi-circles. We shall see.
The Ostara festivities yesterday left me a bit cold, it was rather like attending a large private party where everybody was so busy screaming "Look at me!" that I ended up feeling a bit lonely...and dizzy. It also ended up looking so much like a Hollywood version of a "wacky California party" that I had to laugh. People wonder why I don't hang out with my fellow pagans more often...well, that's a big one right there. I feel no need to make a big deal out of my beliefs, I have them, they're right for me, that's enough.
On the plus side, the band was pretty good and there were some decidedly pretty girls and boys there in some great outfits. The nymph boys were truly lovely, even if they weren't "for the ladies", and there was a blonde in this tie on top and skirt that made me openly stare, jaw hanging, when she first got up to dance. But by the time the improv group started doing this pseudo pagan "Passion play" if you will, I'd had just about enough. A gentleman walked over to me and asked if I wasn't missing the show sitting where I was. I assured him I was just fine with audio only. Ultimately I think that was for the best.
We both got bored after the band's second set and decided it was time to go get some Chinese. Coming home and crashing out on the couch with yummy tofu and double mushrooms in some sweats while working on some sewing was the perfect way to end the day. Watched Helen of Troy, which wasn't as bad as I'd expected, and I'm a sucker for Greek history so it was all good.
Got to bed a bit late and woke up at about 2 in the morning quite convinced I'd heard someone whispering. I hate coming out of a deep sleep, undoubtedly in the middle of a dream, and finding it damn near impossible to get back to sleep. I think I finally dropped off again around 3 or so, but boy was it hard to drag my butt out of bed this morning *sigh*
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no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 10:18 am (UTC)* I already knew about the bad wire work, from the commercials
* The note at the end of the movie that it's based on a comic book--It explained the high cheese factor, and the Nazis
I'm sorry the Ostara festival was, what sounds like, a wash to you. I do admit to considering attending with you after your invitation, but...what you describe is kind of what I was afraid of. Glad you salvaged the day with the Chinese and Helen of Troy. I'd meant to set the TiVo to catch that, after hearing an ad for it on the radio. Drat. :/
Re:
Date: 2003-04-21 10:28 am (UTC)Part two's on tonight if you're interested. Agamemnon and the boys are just about to head to Troy to get Helen back.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 10:37 am (UTC)Er. Okay, inner testosterone leaked there.
I'll probably wait for it to come out on DVD. I've had bad luck jumping into two-part shows or miniseries if I missed the first two hours. :)
Go Gollum! Go Gollum!
Date: 2003-04-21 11:20 am (UTC)Anyway.
You've got to check this out. Lords of the Rhymes. Middle-Earth rap. It's hysterical. The Smeagol beatbox bit broke me, I just laughed and laughed through the rest of it. My only real complaint is that they mispronounced "Took" to rhyme with "book," but I can't really blame them. Really quite clever otherwise. "Light up the mic like a Silmaril." Bwahahaha.
"Elf booty got soul! Elf girls like to rock & roll!"
Still giggling.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 11:25 am (UTC)Count me in on the DVD Helen; I opted to finish reading Sheba and missed the first 45 minutes or so, then couldn't muster the brain to pay attention to what was left. But I'd like to see it eventually!
no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 11:32 am (UTC)Except I refuse to watch Die Hard censored, so the line doesn't stick with me like it does with you. :)
Count me in on the DVD Helen
Okay!
(I'm itching to find a copy of Merlin with Sam Neill and Miranda Richardson. The movie itself was 'eh', but I loved Miranda's acting.)
The Right Nazis
Date: 2003-04-21 11:33 am (UTC)But, we no longer have the USSR as the big bad guys, so we need to find "evil" where we can. James Bond movies have some good examples of the shifting face of evil... most recent: North Korea. The Nazis are just the most enduring modern evil that we have.
Now, why we need an absolute evil, rather than the more realistic relative evil, is I think more of a US thing... Right or Wrong, none of this shades of grey stuff.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 11:53 am (UTC)I'd like to check out Merlin, too! I've heard it pretty well sucked, for the most part, but I liked a lot of the actors that were cast, and want to see what they've done with it (even if it leaves me ranting).
Re:
Date: 2003-04-21 12:12 pm (UTC)They actually just replayed this on the Hallmark channel not that long ago. A word of warning, the miniseries is considered by most to be in the "poke your eyes out with sticks before you choose to watch it again" variety.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 02:12 pm (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-04-21 02:21 pm (UTC)Merlin had Martin Short as an imp, yeah I'd say that trumps Mists, sadly.
no subject
Date: 2003-04-21 02:42 pm (UTC)If you're a purist, you probably will rant a lot. It wasn't a strong script. It was completely foreign to most of the popular Merlin/Arthur stories I've picked up over the years. I liked it, though, for a fresh take on the legend (especially since, hey, the theory is Mallory made it up, anyway) and Miranda Richardson. And besides, Sam Neill looked pretty scrummy in his roughing it furs and leather outfit.
Re: The Right Nazis
Date: 2003-04-21 04:25 pm (UTC)-G