The Unsung Hero of the Writer’s Retreat

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Joe Cummings

The Unsung Hero of the Writer’s Retreat.

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The Other Side of the Critique

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Joe Cummings

The Other Side of the Critique.

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Now You See Me (or Not)

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Joe Cummings

Is it possible for a movie to be too clever? Now You See Me may be just such a movie. It has a complex and lightning-fast plot.  It has likable characters, Jesse Eisenberg and Woody from Zombieland, the Hulk guy, Morgan Freeman, and Dave Franco (from the McGreatest movie of all time, Superbad.) Plus, it has magic. What else could you want?

It should be a great movie and yet it’s not. It’s like a magic trick that’s gone on too long. It’s a movie that relies so much on sleight of hand gimmicks and ‘oh look over there’ moments that someone forgot to work hard on the characters themselves.

So here’s the plot. An FBI agent joins forces with a super-hot Interpol agent and try to stop a group of magicians from committing some pretty cool heists.

The problem is… whose story is this? I wanted it to be the magicians’ story. Yet we spend more time the law enforcers and they are constantly behind the eight ball. Hell, we could have followed Morgan Freeman as a magic-debunker but no, we rush from scene to scene following the agents yet not wanting law and order to win. Hey I was rooting for the plucky magicians.

Something’s wrong with this picture.

imagesCAB18SZKAnd the more you peer behind the curtain, the more the movie falls apart. The magic becomes less and less believable. The stunts they pull off more and more impossible. And the final twist at the end should have been amazing, but instead I shrugged, wished I’d ordered a bucket of buttery popcorn and wondered if the Superman movie would be any good?

So, if one night when the movie appears on cable and you’ve seen Game of Thrones for the 10th time and you wonder what to watch, give this one a try.

But not before then. Even if Michael Caine is in it.

Now to get me some buttery popcorn.

 

   

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5 Things I Learned From Game of Thrones

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Joe Cummings

5 Things I Learned From Game of Thrones.

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A Writer’s Workshop On Screen

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Joe Cummings

A Writer’s Workshop On Screen.

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Star Trek: Into Greatness

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Joe Cummings

Star Trek: Into Darkness. 

Every so often a movie goes beyond awesomely epic to be epically awesome, which we all know is about as good as a movie can get.

Star Trek: Into Darkness is that movie. It’s that good. See it. See it now. See it twice. If you’re a big trek-ish person, see it every day until it leaves the theater. The special effects are outstanding, the visuals spectacular, the action unrelenting, and the acting so good that I even forgot that Chris Pine has a giant head.

If you like action films, you’ll love this. If you like romance, this has it too. If you like to laugh, then come on in. If you like musicals, then, errr, well, go see Les Mis. But even if you’re not a Trek fan, this movie should wow you. It has real heart. This may be on par with the best sequels of all time. As good as The Empire Strikes Back, Spiderman 2, Termie 2, Aliens, Mad Max2 and, of course, Star Trek 2: Wrath of Khan. Better in some ways.

Why?

I can’t tell you.

Why?

I can’t tell you that, either.

Here’s the thing. To tell you why it’s epically awesome, I would have to reveal the plot and it’s one hell of a plot. I’ll talk a bit about it in my writing blog, but that’ll be on Thursday and I’ll still do my best not to have too many spoilers.

But here’s the basics… Sherlock Holmes (the English dude, not the one on Elementary dude), is the uber bad guy, and boy, does he have a hate-on for Starfleet so it’s up to Kirk and Spock and Bones and Scotty and Uhura to stop him. There are space battles, fights with Klingons, a brilliant scene with Kirk defying the Prime Directive and one of the best couple arguments on screen to-date. Our loyal Star Fleeters face impossible odds, an unbeatable foe and if they fail, everything they hold dear will be destroyed.

Cool, right?

It is. JJ Abrams and his writing crew know their stuff.

But what works, what really works, is the chemistry between all the characters. And not just Kirk and Spock. All the main characters get a chance to shine on stage. We laugh with them, we cry with them, we want them to win, and when the movie ends we are sad  because we can no longer spend time with them.

So, after you finish reading this, go to a theater, sit in the dark with a tub full of buttery popcorn, a fizzing pop in your cup holder and be prepared for one great ride.

This one is worth the money.

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“15 Things a Writer Should Never Do”

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Joe Cummings

“15 Things a Writer Should Never Do”.

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Remembering What’s Important

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Joe Cummings

Remembering What’s Important.

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The Return of the Blogbots

Posted on May 2, 2013 by Joe Cummings

The Return of the Blogbots.

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42

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Joe Cummings

42The Jackie Robinson story. A great story. The first black man in baseball, a true hero who triumphed over racism and general nastiness not by punching someone in the nose, but by Gandhi-ing them. Turning the other cheek. Being the best gentlemen he could be. By being an shining example.

The movie should have been awesome.

The problem was, it wasn’t. It was boring. Old fashioned. Slow. And worse, they used overly melodramatic and ham-fisted emotional scenes to try and manipulate us. Boo!  Booooooo!

Not that there weren’t things to like.

42 Harrison FordIndiana Jones was fantastic as the cigar chewing, beer-bellied, soft-spoken, hard as nails owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

In fact, if you ask me, (go ahead, ask me,) it was as much his story as Jackie Robinson’s. Or the reporter’s story.

And there-in lies the problem. This wasn’t so much a movie as a bio-pic. A series of linear events that work great if you’re Ken Burns, but not so great in today’s demanding movie environment.

Perhaps they were hampered by history, but history didn’t stop Mel Gibson from making Braveheart, an almost completely fictitious account of William Wallace. Freeeeeeeeeeedooooooom!

And the fact that in the beginning credits, they said this movie was based on true events should have meant they took a bit of license with history to make a great story.

Maybe have him defend the world from Zombies? Maybe have him fight off North Koreans attacking the White House? Maybe he kills a giant shark?

Personally, being a know-it-all, I would have chosen just one year in his life. That’s it. The first season with the Dodgers. That part of the movie was the best. It had the pilot from Serenity spitting abuse at him, it had entire stadiums full of people yelling at him, hotels that wouldn’t let him stay, evil runners who spiked him, evil pitchers who beaned him in the head, and all the while Indiana Jones stands beside him, rooting him on.

42aJackie Robinson. A brave man. A pioneer. An American legend.

Number 42, deserved better.

He really did.

 

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