Lucy

If nine out of ten times in an action movie we had a female protagonist, we would be lucky.  As it stands right now, one could probably count all of the main stream actioners with female leads in the past five years on one hand.  It is just not something that studios do, because perhaps it is something that the general audiences do not get behind as easily.  Exceptions are there, as Salt starring Angelina Jolie was able to make $36 million its opening weekend.  Compare that to the numbers that heroes of old (such as Schwarzenegger and Stallone) are able to pull in, and it looks like there could be a case to be made for the ladies.

Myself, I like it.  I enjoy my heroes to be of all kinds of personalities and backgrounds, each different in their own unique way but with a singular ability to grow to meet the challenge.  Two of my favourite protagonists have been females in Sarah Conner and Ellen Ripley, who are both distinct but manage to prove adaptable and strong.  To me, they are iconic.

Writer and Director Luc Besson is the man who gave us The Professional, which is as personal and caring as you can get in a movie with explosions and crazy Gary Oldmens.  Besson works to create Lucy as an atypical action film about a woman (coincidentally enough named Lucy) who, through very unfortunate circumstances, begins having more and more of her brain’s capacity functioning.  The normal human brain, we are told, uses only 10% of its capacity, and Morgan Freeman plays a professor who claims wonderful, god like powers await as more of the brain is unlocked.  We may consider him to be the audience’s wikipedia in this film.

Lucy is kicked off by an emotionally intense scene where Scarlett Johansson’s character (she who is Lucy) is unintentionally absorbed into the realm of high level narcotics dealing and is in fear for her life.  As enrapturing as this sequence was, it was numbed by Besson’s insertion of stock footage to symbolize the mood of the situation in relation to evolution.  Does that sound a little bit weird?  It fit from a logical standpoint, but served as a distraction that kept derailing the frantic and emotional scene that was unravelling.  It also became an undertone of spastic nature that would continue throughout the entire film.

The character of Lucy was an interesting one.  She was a typical party girl who was studying abroad before ingesting some drugs that opened her mind, but not in a psychedelic 60s way.  Once she begins utilizing her brain, she is able to kick ass, which is good.  However, she also turns into a murderer which begins to start a disconnect between her and the audience.  On top of that, her character begins losing the element of human emotions, which is an interesting development for the protagonist to undertake, but also highlights the disconnect.  There is a very good reason why in The Terminator movies the cyborg is not the main character, and that is because the movie goers need a surrogate in the film to connect to emotionally.  They need some sort of investment in the lead to care for the outcome, and that disappears further and further into the void as the story progresses.

Lucy essentially becomes omnipotent and omnipresent because of the evolution of her brain, which pushes the limits of suspension of disbelief.  Superman, as powerful as he is, has his kryptonite to prove as a foil.  Lucy had nothing to get in her way, which brought all action sequences to the point of function over purpose.  By the time the end is reached, I had no idea why there was a gun fight even happening if all she had to do was use her mind to disable the weapons.  None of it really mattered… she could do anything she wanted in her emotionless way.

I could not say that I was bored during the film, just that I lost care for everything that was taking place and had no lingering energy for investment by the rolling out of the finale.  I was treated to some disastrous special effects in two instances.  One where men floated in the air by the powers of a 1990s blue screen technology, and another where I got to see a dinosaur that reminded me of the computer animated ones I saw on the History Channel years ago as I skimmed through the channels in search of something to keep my mind occupied.

Rating - 2 out of 4 stars

Hercules

Already this year we have seen a number of sword and sandal films make their way into theatres, each with varying results.  Is it really time for that genre to make a grand presence, or is it mere coincidence?  Clash of the Titans (2010) may have proved to the studios that these movies could rake in some cash, but it also proved to my wife that I should not be allowed to select which movie we see on ‘date night.’  Not long after, we had the mighty warrior Conan sneak onto the screens, and now it is time for the mythical Hercules to do the same.  Oddly enough, this is the second time in 2014.

I was raised on the original Conan the Barbarian and the action packed tales of Sinbad, so I felt no stranger to this style of entertainment.  In the last few years the downside to a number of these sword and sandals is that they really attempt to take themselves too seriously, a feat that their budgets, talent, and crew seem unable to reach.  This goal does not seem to be on the radar for those involved in Hercules.

It stars Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, former professional wrestler turned actor who has been dedicated to the painstaking process of putting in his time to develop his craft and establish his name.  While the transition into movies proves to be difficult for many cross-platform entertainers, people like Johnson who have a natural presence and charisma can evolve into marquee names if they are willing to get past the growth pains in the early stages.

Hercules, who is the bastard child of mortal and immortals, is a mercenary who travels with a band of loyal followers.  Lured into a job with a big payday, they find out their love for the money may be challenged by internal morals.  Nothing new here.  We have seen this sort of story before, with the stone cold bad ass turning into a feller with a heart of gold through sentimental shifts.  There may be a lot in the plot that can remind audience members of what they had previously seen, but that does not hinder the enjoyment level of Hercules at all.

Director Brett Ratner shows to possess an understanding here that you work around the tools that you are given.  In the case of Dwayne Johnson, that tool is personality and charisma.  Instead of our hero being a too cool for school, unflinching mega-hero (as we had in Pompeii and was boring to a level of anesthetics), we are given a man who smiles, jokes, and is buff enough to do the battle stuff.  There is an emotional back story woven into Hercules’ past, but it never travels to the point of demanding too much range from Johnson.

His gaggle of loyal friends enhances the charm and fun, with each having a personality that is represented both in dialogue and in fighting styles.  My favourite was a bow slinging amazon warrior who would have given Legolas a run for his money, played by Norwegian actress Ingrid Bolso Berdal.  The entourage reminded me vaguely of A Knight’s Tale in how a protagonist’s adventure can be enhanced by surrounding them with colourful individuals.

I will admit that I had my doubts about this film, but they were soon washed away as the movie took a different approach to the story, playing with the question of if the mythology was true or just a legend that was created around a mortal warrior.  The battle sequences also assisted in laying to rest my reservations.  Ratner kept the shots tight and short, keeping the face paced and chaotic feel without devolving into making them so fragmented that it was impossible to follow what was happening.

Swinging his club and taking names, Hercules proved that there can be life in this genre of film if done appropriately.  He is surrounded by interested locations, many of them being interiors where I was unable to discern what were set pieces and what was generated in post production.  This may not be an all time classic, but for those wishing to fulfill their desires for sand swept adventuring this is time well wasted.

Rating - 3 out of 4 stars

Windows: The abusive relationship I have not been able to leave

Perhaps it is the ultimate in geeky nature to get all poetic about a relationship with a computer.  I never would have ventured down such an alley, but a continued time of tribulation can bring someone to that brink.  Just trying to listen to music with one other program running appears too much for Microsoft to be capable of handling.  This, then, drove me to write about the abusive relatinoship that I have had for years.  Even as I prepare this post, my computer dissents and whirls in disgust at having to perform this simplest of tasks.

We now just sort of exist in an empty relationship

I look at you, you gaze deceitfully back at me as though you have something to say

But you don’t

At least nothing that I want to hear any longer

Is it possible that the flame has died?

That could only be said if a true spark ever existed

At the beginning, I had tried desperately to make things work

In all honesty, you showed some desire as well

But in the end you just kept pulling yourself further and further from me,

Constantly claiming you were improving,

All the while making my life more difficult

I look at myself and my hypocrisy in pointing this out, but you have let yourself go

Once you were quick and eager to participate

Now you linger while you hum and haw about the easiest decisions

This is nothing new

We have restarted the relationship many times, each to the same inevitable conclusion

A sluggish beast, you are

You should still be in your prime of your life,

But you process events with a slow calculation that betrays the improvements you have claimed

Am I burdening you to the point of exhaustion with my simple requests?

You ask me if I want you to seek solutions to your problems, and I have long given up that path

Your attempts meander for minutes on end and not once have ever provided explanation

Most days my coffee grows cold as I wait for you to respond

If I turn my back for fifteen minutes you threaten me with shutting yourself down,

Not really allowing my full input

I ask you to keep going, to journey with me

I will give you the rest you need if you properly communicate your need to upgrade your thoughts

But you keep silent until seizing up to a point of shutting me out completely,

Not even allowing me the opportunity to relieve you of your burdens

On our best days, when it feels like we have understanding, you stop listening to me

Once again, just like the million times before, I wait for you to respond

I attempt to make your life easier by removing the two or three responsibilities that must surely be aggravating you

In my efforts to make your life easier, your clouded mind stands still, not responding

Don’t you realize I am trying to help you out? Why won't you respond?!

Is not removing responsibilities something that should give you more energy?

Regardless of my motions to bring your needy complexity ease,

You still do not respond

A relationship should be a two way street, one where both parties have a say

Such a back and forth does not exist

You dictate when we can and cannot communicate

I am perhaps a fool for having stayed with you for so long,

But you are easier on my wallet than others

Through foul circumstances of life, I have been scraping the bottom

Each day is a struggle of anticipation and unknown outcome

Feeling the ground beneath my feet has taken months, and now there is motivation for life

A hopeful future in self-employment eases the days,

But I know that you will be there with me more than ever, and that fills me with dread

I have battled with you for three months to create an opportunity for some income

That is simply the first step in the journey.

A novel written and many more in the works amidst personal anxiety,

And the entire time you have conspired against me.

Should we not all deserve a new beginning?

I have given you five new beginnings, and five times you showed your eventual surrender into lethargy

Another cannot happen

I am not a stallion of physical appeal, so I feel out of place commenting on your appearance,

But you have become uglier than I ever thought you could

You are horrendously blotchy and covered in colourful makeup that tries to hide the fact that you have changed for the worse

I refuse moving forward with you

You don’t let me even listen to my music when I want to, let alone keep me calm and free from my crippling anxieties

I have long desired a much more appealing relationship, and I have spent many hours online dreaming of different options

My commitment to you has ended

I just need to find a way to obtain the Apple of my eye