Month: March 2016

I watch a lot of movies, if I have a couple of hours free I’ll usually watch a movie than regular TV; although I’ll admit that Netflix has changed my habits there quite a bit, but then many of the shows that they are releasing – House of Cards, Daredevil, Jessica Jones – en masse are essentially just a longer movie chopped up into episodes.

This weekend I went to the cinema to see Batman vs Superman, a big blockbuster special effects superhero thing. I also watched Slow West (on Netflix), an independently budgetted movie which won some awards at the Canne Film Festival (I think).

The difference, outside of budgets, special effects, storyline, setting et al, was striking. Strip both movies back to their essence, and they are both simple stories with only a handful of key characters.

In Slow West we follow the journey of a young man from Scotland as he travels into the American mid-west in the late 1800s to find his true love, who fled there after a tragic event.

In Batman vs Superman we follow the journey of an old man as he travels to meet his ultimate enemy in Superman who has himself been through a tragic event. We also follow the journey of a young man as he starts out on his own journey to discover what it means to be Superman.

The scale may differ – in Slow West one man dies, in the Superman event thousands die – but the premise is the same.

Alas at this point things start to differ and that’s largely down to how each film was directed.

In Slow West, thanks to some excellent pacing, acting and direction, we become finely tuned to the hopes and dreams of the few main characters; we learn about their pasts as the story progresses, we go through trials and tribulations with them, share their pain, their desires and, when the end comes, we are as complicit in it as they are.

In Batman vs Superman we struggle to tune in to the few main characters as we jump from set piece to set piece, each marking a trial and tribulation but from which we get no output or payback, so we don’t buy in. We get close to understanding the ageing Batman, but not close enough. Similarly we can see that Superman is struggling with his own world view but, again, we aren’t really allowed more than a reference to hang our empathy on.

It does feel a little like it was directed by checklist, rather than by emotion – “Show that Superman is conflicted, check. Show that Batman is determined, check” and on and on. Ultimately, I don’t really care about any of them.

Looking at other superhero movies (from Marvel) we are allowed enough time to learn without being directed, and we empathise enough to care about the characters. Marvel cleverly allowed the main characters their own movies so to bring us on the journey, so by the time Avengers Assemble rolled around we already care enough about the characters, we have a connection. They are doing the same again before each Avengers movie.

And maybe that’s where Batman vs Superman went wrong (ok, ONE OF the areas it went wrong). It was too soon. In the ‘Justice League’ universe, we’ve had one Superman movie – itself a turgid affair that was more about spending special effect budgets than creating any sense of wonder and compassion for the man in the red cape – and then we are straight into an ensemble piece featuring their two big heavyweight characters – Batman and Superman – and then everyone’s favourite Amazonian Goddess joins the fray (not to mention the three other characters we see hints of as well). She will get her own movie as well but maybe they should’ve done that one first?

Slow West was quiet at times, it used humour smartly to reduce tension, and allowed the characters to be vunerable and human. It was a subtle movie that walked you through the story and the set pieces, when they arrived, were well paced and never seemed forced. It’s a single movie, not part of a larger universe, but the same rules apply. Let us learn about the characters in isolation before you through them altogether.

To that end, and again I think Marvel have this figured out. You aren’t just filming a single movie, each movie in the universe you are recreating has to be sympathetic both of and to the others, and the character arc is just as important over three or four movies as it is within one. Why show us Wonder Woman now when we don’t know how she fits or what her motivation is? (aside from ‘she likes to fight and ‘do the right thing’).

There is one moment in Batman vs Superman (featured in the trailers as well) that hinted at the potential this series could have. A reconciled Batman and Superman stand behind a recently arrived Wonder Woman as they prepare to launch into battle. Superman turns to Batman and asks ‘is she with you?’ to which a perplexed Batman replies ‘No, I thought she was with you’.

It’s a tiny moment and the kind of thing the Marvel universe has nailed. Amid all the melee, throw in a couple of lines to let the audience pause… alas the Justice League universe looks like it will continue to focus on special effects, large set pieces and little in the way of levity.

I read the Batman vs Superman series many years ago and it was a favourite at the time. The dark world of an aged Batman confronting an ageless Superman, the comic book included many throwaway lines. The movie has ignored these, much to its loss.

So, if you get a chance stay in, fire up Netflix and watch Slow West, a wonderfully dark, odd, and beautiful movie, then come back and tell me what you thought of that ending!

• Love’s labour brings down hill
  Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal for his beloved wife Mumtaz. The monument is now considered the world’s greatest monument of love. Dashrath Das’ monument of love may not be as beautiful, but in a way, it is more awe-inspiring than Shah Jahan’s feat.
• 7 Facts About Drugs and Addiction That Will Make You Question Everything You Know
  There’s no subject in our culture where the conversation is dominated by myths and misconceptions so much as drugs. We are frightened to talk about it. We are tempted to fall back on stock-phrases and mental spasms — Just Say No, and all its more modern twists.
• The Devil and Walt Disney
  We all have our origin stories—our radioactive spider bites or parents gunned down outside the Gotham opera. Mine occurred in a movie theater when I was a wee child and features blood, tears and the Devil.
• Top Five Iconic Female Photographers · Lomography
  At the time when photography was still practically regarded as a man’s work, these influential women not only defied the norm but did so excellently.
• Life on the fringes: What it’s like to be disabled in Britain.
  Owen Jones recently wrote one of the most complete articles I’ve seen on a news site so far that actually explains the cuts to disabled people are cumulative, that they’ve been happening for years and already leave upto 30% of disabled people living in poverty.
• How to start a fire with a lemon
  If you left the house with a lemon, some copper clips, some zinc nails, some wire, and steel wool but somehow forgot your matches, you can still start a fire. I imagine if you had a large enough lemon and enough wire and metal bits, you could also jumpstart a car or a human heart.
• ‘There’s Not One Story That Defines Any One Place’: An Interview with Amber Fares
  In the West Bank, an area slightly smaller than Prince Edward Island, where movement is often obstructed by checkpoints, one may not expect to find a lively car-racing scene. And yet, that’s exactly what we’re shown in Amber Fares’s new documentary, Speed Sisters.
• For one group of people, seeing friends decreases happiness
  It might seem obvious that, for most people, happiness is positively correlated with friendships. But a paper published last month in the British Journal of Psychology found one notable exception: Extremely intelligent people become less happy when they spend more time with their friends.
• Why flying is awful, explained using your sad, lonely apartment
  We can all agree that modern-day commercial flying is often a horribly unpleasant experience.
• Americans think they work harder than everyone else — and they don’t
  Ever feel like you’ve gone above and beyond what your job required? You’re not alone, especially if you’re an American.
• Film Features
  Kubrick’s Gold “The very meaninglessness of life forces man to create his own meaning.”
• Nixon official: real reason for the drug war was to criminalize black people and hippies
  The war on drugs: Is it a genuine public health crusade or an attempt to carry out what author Michelle Alexander characterizes as “the New Jim Crow”? A new report by Dan Baum for Harper’s Magazine suggests the latter.
• The Strange Tale of Echo, the Parrot Who Saw Too Much
  Recently, a friend of mine sent me a strange message. It was imperative, she said, that I get in touch with a guy named Geoffrey Mitchell.
• I told the truth in my sister’s obituary, so that others might choose to live
  The most alone I have ever felt was standing on my front porch on a chilly February evening.
• Angola’s Wikipedia Pirates Are Exposing the Problems With Digital Colonialism
  Wikimedia and Facebook have given Angolans free access to their websites, but not to the rest of the internet.

My Year in San Francisco’s $2 Million Secret Society Startup
I blinked. I didn’t know Justin very well. I did know that he was a very affable bearded man, and we both lived in the Bay Area. At the time, he ran a small creative agency, while I worked as a writer and digital media consultant. “I’ve been thinking about giving you something,” he said.

The history of ugliness shows that there is no such thing
In the 19th century, a hirsute aboriginal woman from Mexico named Julia Pastrana was billed on the freak-show circuit as ‘The Ugliest Woman in the World’.

The Bidding War
America’s war in Afghanistan, which is now in its fifteenth year, presents a mystery: how could so much money, power, and good will have achieved so little? Congress has appropriated almost eight hundred billion dollars for military operations in Afghanistan; a hundred and thirteen billion has gon

I’m bisexual and I refuse to leave the LGBT community
The day the Supreme Court ruled to legalize same-sex marriage I sobbed into my boyfriend’s shoulder in bed for half an hour. My shoulders heaved and my dog looked worried as he frantically tried to lick my tears away.

American Psycho Author Bret Easton Ellis Tells Us Where Patrick Bateman Would Be Today
After 25 years I’m occasionally and increasingly asked by readers of a book I published in 1991 called American Psycho (later made into a movie in 2000) about where its narrator, Patrick Bateman, would be now.

How a Ragtag Gang of Retirees Pulled Off the Biggest Jewel Heist in British History
‘It required a team with diverse skills….

It’s time for robots to have their own pronouns
It’s hard to talk about robots. They’re not human, but they’re starting to look and act more like us. They are objects, much like cars, or trees or laptops, but we give them names. They’re often gendered human names—tech company x.

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• The rise of American authoritarianism
  The American media, over the past year, has been trying to work out something of a mystery: Why is the Republican electorate supporting a far-right, orange-toned populist with no real political experience, who espouses extreme and often bizarre views?
  I’m equally fascinated by American politics, as I am horrified by the potential impact of Trump winning the whole damn thing. Given UK follows US… Boris for PM? Dear God.
• Sleep Munchies: Why It’s Harder To Resist Snacks When We’re Tired
  There’s lots of evidence that getting too little sleep is associated with overeating and an increased body weight. The question is, why? Part of the answer seems to be that skimping on sleep can disrupt our circadian rhythms. Lack of sleep can also alter hunger and satiety hormones.
  Given I’ve had crap sleeps all week, I can confirm that I have eaten ALL THE FOODS.
• Confessions of a Phony Telephone Psychic
  Every morning for more than three years, I woke up with the fear that someone would call me out as a fraud. The same scenario ran through my mind: A woman stops me on the street, grabs my arm and starts calling me a crook, a fake, phony and heartless rogue.
  Con artists, fraudsters, and the psychology they play on are always interesting (think ‘Derren Brown’) but this is a view from the other side (no not THAT other side…).
• I helped eight people end their lives. By the time you read this, I’ll have ended mine
  Between 1999 and 2001, I helped eight people die—including the poet Al Purdy. Now, as I prepare to take my own life, I’m ready to tell my story I met the Québécois filmmaker Claude Jutra in 1963, when he visited McMaster University for a showing of his first feature, À tout prendre.
  Powerful feature, sad, uplifting and challenging.
• The gendered way we’ve learned to ask questions is terrible for both men and women
  On paper, there was nothing glaringly wrong with the guy: he was attractive, smart and claimed to like deep-dish pizza as much as I did. In real life though, he was a jerk–and conversationally catatonic. In the 45 minutes we’d spent together at dinner, he had asked me only a single question.
  Despite being a man, I’ve always struggled at casual conversation and use questions as a way to ease myself in to them. I’ll be rephrasing many of them after reading this.
• Mojave Phone Booth
  Situated in the middle of the Mojave desert, over a dozen miles from the nearest pavement, a lone phone booth sat along a dirt road, just waiting to become an international sensation.
  From the wonderful quirky podcast 99% invisible, the wonderful quirky story of a phone booth in the middle of nowhere and the community it spawned.
• How America Made Donald Trump Unstoppable
  The presidential election campaign is really just a badly acted, billion-dollar TV show – and Donald Trump is making a mockery of it. The first thing you notice at Donald Trump’s rallies is the confidence.
  I know, another article about him, but education is key to making him stoppable. And he must be stopped.
• Everything Is Crumbling
  Nearly 20 years ago, psychologists Roy Baumeister and Dianne Tice, a married couple at Case Western Reserve University, devised a foundational experiment on self-control.
  Willpower is infinite? I, and my waistline, beg to differ!
• When George Martin met The Beatles: The story of Love Me Do
  In May 1962, The Beatles were in the middle of their residency in Hamburg when an excitably-written telegram arrived from London. Their manager informed them he had secured a recording contract with a subsidiary of EMI Records, and they should return home for their initial recording session.
  More sad news about a man who was as much a part of the Beatles as the Fab Four themselves. Nice story of their beginnings.
• “Apparently I don’t get to decide this”: A second Wachowski sister comes out as transgender, after tabloid bullying
  Lilly Wachowski, one half of the sibling filmmaking duo behind The Matrix, has come out as a transgender woman. Her sister, Lana, did the same in 2012.
  The kind of thing I don’t personally care about – gender is not binary, love is not finite, sexuality is not static – but worth highlighting this. Live and let live people!
• What Happens When the Surveillance State Becomes an Affordable Gadget?
  When Daniel Rigmaiden was a little boy, his grandfather, a veteran of World War II and Korea, used to drive him along the roads of Monterey, California, playing him tapes of Ronald Reagan speeches.
  It’s one thing finding ‘Stop Stealing My WiFi Douchebag’ when you scan for WiFi connections, but this opens up a whole other world of possibilities. Scary scary possibilities.
• DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis on how AI will shape the future
  DeepMind’s stunning victories over Go legend Lee Se-dol have stoked excitement over artificial intelligence’s potential more than any event in recent memory. But the Google subsidiary’s AlphaGo program is far from its only project — it’s not even the main one.
  If you ever played The Sims (or the variants of) then read this. Ultimately, YOU have led us all to this day and the beginning of the end!!