Satan's Luau

SD and I saw this movie as a part of the theatre's child friendly matinee program. Ironically, a performance designed for child and infant interruptions actually turned out to be less bothersome, loud, and irritating than that of a regular performance, interrupted by inconsiderate people who should know better -- Iron Man at Windward Mall comes to mind. Go figure.

Prince Caspian: C+

I don't really have much to say about this movie, even though I found it to be mostly entertaining.

It takes a while to wrap your mind around what is going on, especially if one is a bit rusty on extended Narnia knowledge base. Largely it comes down to figuring it out on your own, that guy has a pointy beard and looks evil, he must be evil. Okay, that guy seems nice, he must be good. Simple guessing fills the role of the typical expository dialogue, which never seems normal out of movie characters' mouths any way, so I suppose, it is what it is, and the context is kind of simple to figure out.

That said, the action and pacing really carry the movie. Sure, the original four youth actors are present again, and supposedly they filmed it prior to LWW so that the "kids" wouldn't get too old looking -- but it wasn't really about developing their characters further as much as it was, watch what happens to them as they go along on another great adventure.

And, honestly, I got caught up in the ride of the movie. Even though the movie is 2+ hours in length again, it is easy to get absorbed by the movie and take it for what it is, a quick adventure set in Narnia. When I began to consider it analytically, there's a lot of it that begins to fall apart -- the plot is very thin, the character development thin as well -- there's not much to it, except whether one will enjoy it as a summer popcorn flick.

For example, what does the viewer learn about Prince Caspian beyond the basics, who he is, what his motives generally are -- before it's, okay, now watch him move. There's not a lot of complexity to it. The movie is drawn fairly cleanly between good and evil. I didn't feel there was any doubt or layering of G-vs-E which shaded certain characters or situations. There is one situation where "the slippery slope" is explored, but there is no real doubt as to how that situation will resolve -- basically, that slope is slippery, don't go there. Evil looks and acts evil, good looks good, and acts appropriately.

The movie aspires to greater themes -- like having the older children realize that they can no longer return to, for lack of a better term, the "garden" that is Narnia, and it wants to demonstrate that there is depth to an unwavering, childlike faith in things that may not obviously exist. However, it seems like these moments are passed by like highway signs, as quick shorthand signifiers to keep the viewer on track, but not bog the pacing down with complexity.

All in all, an enjoyable popcorn flick. If one goes too deep, this movie can easily be torn apart by analysis. However, if you enjoy a good action movie with familiar characters, there is much to be enjoyed -- another ride through the fantastic land of Narnia, a happy diversion

So, why did Susan and Caspian kiss in the end? Must avoid temptation to analyze.

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I didn't write this for a while, as I waited to stop seething from the vast number of clueless morons who think it's okay to light up and text and answer cellphones during a movie. It definitely colored my experience of the film, but hopefully I've shed the angst adequately enough.

This is a fun, summer popcorn movie.

Iron Man: B+

At the time of viewing, I had not known that this movie was done by Marvel, not a studio. The results were surprisingly good, as it has made a superhero movie that doesn't compromise the tone, quality, and subject matter. Very bold in many ways, a great experiment of sorts, which was quite successful in terms of bringing the essence of Iron Man to the screen. What I saw was Iron Man brought to life, and I was greatly entertained.

One of the things that I really liked about the film was its highlighting of the various qualities of the Tony Stark character. Robert Downey, Jr. was fantastic in this role even if it felt hella meta meta meta at times. What happens when you have an irresponsible, drunken, brilliant tech head invent an amazing super suit? Amazing results, that can be sometimes comic. I respected that they didn't cut corners to make the process of super suit invention seem effortless and secondary, there were comic moments and serendipity involved. The power of the suit was amazing, watching the process to master it and control it was fun. It was amazing, not just some 80s styled montage of the process with HotTopic music which would not have done it justice. Having Stark be his own crash test dummy? Believably reckless and brilliant.

I loved the drop-in feel of the Iron Man universe. No elaborate origins, no wait until next movie for this guy or that. It was off and running, here are people in this universe, and here's how they fit with this story. Sometimes I think superhero movies can be too linear, formulaic and protective of sequels by doing slow reveals of this character or that. One of the things I liked was that finally you had a feel that the Iron Man universe was part of the overall Marvel universe, not some ship in a bottle. The various reveals of different groups and personalities give a wider feel of the universe, and for better or ill set up sequel potential up much better.

I liked that the purpose of Iron Man wasn't oversimplified in superhero movie terms to, he's saving the world, saving the town, etc. Here was this brilliant man who never realized the destructive potential of his own inventions, and now not only was he trying to apply himself to the overall good, he was seeking to save his own soul. He was forced to change his outlook because of the realization of what his creations were being used for. The purpose of the character feels more open-ended, and not one shot and done.

This is not to say that the movie is perfect, it does cut corners with some characters and goes against continuity for reasons of apparent economy. It all does come together in the end, but to nitpick, some relationships of key characters are shifted to other characters instead. One character is a consolidation of at least 2 different characters. And, at the end of it, I did feel the inexorable race of the movie toward the ultimate boss fight, which is a bit too videogamey for my taste.

That said, I enjoyed this movie a lot. It was a fun, superhero action film. A great summer, popcorn flick. I've felt some of the superhero movies of recent vintage had lost their way a bit, like Spidey3 and X3. Maybe with Marvel picking up the ball and running with its own properties, we can have more dynamic takes on their own source materials. I'm hopeful that that will be the case, anyway.

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So little sense ....

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Making his first Honolulu appearance in a little over three years, Jason Mraz played a really solid set to a surprisingly large crowd of 6,000+ at the Waikiki Shell. This is one that SD really wanted to go see. Admittedly, I was less than enthusiastic when the venue shifted from the concert hall to the 'Shell. However, it was a nice night, with nice weather, and the environment was really well suited to Mraz's performance style.

It is always interesting to me to be a part of an artist's transitional crowd. Jason is now much larger than what he was a handful of years back, and worlds away from his coffeehouse acoustic origins. This crowd was largely reflective of his recent hit, I'm Yours, and also the tastes of the dominant island music radio formats here, which play local, poppy simplified reggae. Thus, the vast majority of the crowd consisted of average fans (who maybe knew I'm Yours and The Remedy max) and outnumbered the hardcores by multiples of 5-to-1 or more.

I thought it made for a unique dynamic where everyone went berzerk during I'm Yours, and otherwise sat on their hands through most of the show -- soaking in the music or chatting very loudly or our new favorite, copiously texting by cell phone light. It was obvious that Mraz converted a number of the unfamiliar with his undeniably enjoyable stage presence, performance, and vocal skills, but -- it was just one of those shows where nearly everyone came to see "I'm Yours" and that's about it. That's unfortunate because I thought Mraz and his full band put on quite the show, very solid, very entertaining.

Unlike his 2005 appearance at the Hawaii Theatre, Mraz performed with his full band. Yes, including Toca and Gnomie. However, no Bill Bell on lead guitar. When Mraz performs with the full band, the dynamic on some of his hits switches from being more intimate, to being more lively and energetic. There were quite a bit of impromptu jams and clever segues into cover songs, such as the clever incorporation of Wonderwall into The Remedy.

This show demonstrated that Mraz continues to be a very clever artist, and the more contemporary jazzy aspects of his new songs will bring him a new audience -- and perhaps he can transcend his indie "coffee shop" vibe and the "oversell on pop" knock on his career thus far. Perhaps one of the challenges he faces is that I'm Yours, his huge hit, is very different than the material on We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things, so avoiding "one-hit wonder" status in the mind of his new fans may be difficult.

But perhaps that's really not the point, for another night with Mraz, he was a very entertaining performer. His songs took on new life with the inclusion of the full band. Moreover, his harmonies with Toca, really add a lot to such songs as Not So Usual, 1000 Things, the new one Live High, and I'm Yours.

One of the surprisingly entertaining aspects of the night was the surprise inclusion of the Grooveline Horns from Austin. Those three formed a really grooving horn section, and they actually came out into our section to play the horn outro of Live High. I don't know, I guess I like music with horns, and show my true colors as a EW&F, Chicago, or Dan fan -- the horn solos added a lot, where typically Bill would be adding a guitar solo.

Yes, I am a Jason Mraz fan. If you have the opportunity to see him on tour, you are likely in for a very entertaining night -- or you may be converted into one of the believers, the hardcore. I marvel at how he has finally broken through. When people in my office are buying and talking about his new album, he has permeated the awareness of the larger mainstream, believe me.

Another entertaining night, felt like we got our money's worth. For SD and I, it now comes down to seeing his rarities performed live -- like 0% Interest or Dream Life of Rand McInally. Oh well, maybe next time ...

Setlist
Rocket Man (cover, orig. Elton John) (solo acoustic Jason)
The Remedy
Make It Mine
Dynamo
Bella Luna
Dramatica Mujer (Not So Usual)
If It Kills Me
Fly Me to the Moon (cover, orig. Tony Bennett)
1000 Things
Live High
Only Human
I'm Yours
---------- Encore:
Geek in the Pink
No Stopping Us
You and I Both (solo Jason acoustic)

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