Planet of the Apes Revisited

I was watching the original Planet of the Apes movie series today and realized there are some oddly similar ties to America's race and labor relations and our history of slavery. Even the recent revamp/prequel of the series made me feel an alliance to the apes but with the original I see no way in which I'm not firmly on that side.

In the 1973 film Conquest of the Planet of the Apes people have apes work as slaves in every possible area. The people of North America basically create a whole society that rests on ape slave labor. We find out in the movie that many of the apes are being brought over in a ship from some other country. These slaves are mistreated and the law does nothing about it unless they try to escape or "turn on their masters".

Then as always, the people who were put out of work by this labor force blame the apes instead of the people who deserve the blame, causing further abuse to the animals. To make the similarity worst the only good people seem to be Armando,circus leader who wants to protect and MacDonald, seemingly the lone black government working in the government who both tries to defend the main character (Caesar) and apes as a whole.

I'm wondering if the makers thought out what ideas they were promoting with this film. It basically divides the people into two camps; White people who like slavery and the Mexican and Black guys who don't like slavery. I was already ready for the humans to be killed when in the previous film in the series people tried to kill the ape babies. Now I couldn't help thinking 15 minutes in the film, 'isn't this a b*tch' and how much better the world would be if they just killed the white people.

Star Wars Revisited

A friend posted this the other day and I found it interesting so want to share. It shows that the despite the perception and awards Han Solo received in Star Wars he was not the one who shot Darth Vader's spacecraft. There is really a hidden hero in the film. Yes, once again stupidity wins the day!

The TIE Fighter Pilot Who Saved The Day in 'Star Wars'

Munyurangabo

I just want to give a quick blast to a movie I watched the other day, Munyurangabo. It's a great movie and I hope more people get to see it. It did not come out in American movie theaters, only film festivals, so those interested will need to find it on DVD. It was made in Rwanda with an all Rwandan cast and staff other than the American director, Lee Isaac Chung and deals with relations after the genocide and redemption.
As a poet one of my favorite parts was when the poet, Edouard Uwayo delivered his own inspiring poem to the audience, breaking the fourth wall in an inspiring way. I would describe more however I wouldn't want to give away the plot or what happens in the film for those who see it.

Can You Tell?

Hi all, June has begun and looks like it'll be a nice month. Here are two music videos from a band whose CD I found recently and really enjoyed, Ra Ra Riot.




"Dying is Fine"

The Last Airbender Movie

I just saw a preview trailer for The Last Airbender. I did not know a movie was being made (or if I did know I have forgot since finding out). I am excited to see it, The Last Airbender was one of the few American cartoons that I can see appealing to adults and children. with an interesting storyline and developed characters.
I have seen it with Japanese animation which is why I think there is such a following of anime today among my friends. It goes back to people raised on comics and looking for a mature version to enjoy. I guess I should have expected the movie if I did not know about it, many comicbook based movies have been produced lately so I think the movie industry definitely sees the market out there.
In hope that the Airbender movie will not disappoint, and stand out as a great movie as the majority of caomicbook movies have done. If so maybe that will open the door for more great American animation. I look forward to 2010 to see.

thelastairbendermovie

I wonder about Wonder Woman

So I just watched a Wonder Woman movie. I haven't really been a Wonder Woman fan as a comic book reader, only reading about her when her stories involved heroes I was interested in like Batman or the JLA and when she killed that guy with the crisis stroyline. However I was given the movie (which was actually really good)and can't help but think, was the thing to wonder about Wonder-Woman not that she was a female hero but that she was able to wear a bathing suit was she fought crime and never had some type of embarrassing costume malfunction occur.

Akira・アキラ

I heard that an Akira movie would be out fairly soon. At first I thought
"cool, lucky me. I will be able to watch the Iron Man movie and the Akira movie soon. Manga/Comicbook lovers Assemble!" (wrong comic-book but I'm a fan of the Avengers too)
Then I found out that the movie is not made in Japan with the leads including American actors. I have nothing against the company or the actors but I have to wonder how much to story will follow the original with Americans making it. Will the setting for the movie even take place in Japan? It could be great but I was really hoping for something mirroring the original. I'll just have to wait to see.

Dictators

I watched "The President's Last Bang",a movie about the assassination of Park Chung-hee　a few days ago. It made me think about how there have been many dictators in history. Most are viewed harshly and like criminals now but like all people most were not all bad. Some seemed to help develop their countries making life better in some ways even as they dealt harsh treatment on their own people. How is it that the same actions were from the same people. Would they still have helped make the economical and technology changes if they had not been the dictators they were?

Another Book turned into a movie

Just found out today there is a movie planned for release from one of my favorite book series,Dragonlance Chronicles. The books were written by first Laura and Tracy Hickman then by Tracy and Margaret Weis. Now that I think of it I don't remember reading any written with Laura.

Here is the site for the movie: www.dragonlance-movie.com

I hope the movie does well. A course as always I also hope the movie's story does the books justice.

Dolls and About Love

Today I saw a really good movie "Dolls" (ドールス). The theme of the movie was eternal love. It reminds me of another movie I liked a lot, "About Love". I was surprised I liked both since they both were romantic stories. They both had 3 different stories that intertwined but didn't effect each other. An interesting thing I found while watching Dolls was that even with them being similar to each other they were also very different.

Golden Compass

I just found the website for the movie "The Golden Compass". it was based on a book I really like so I hope they do the movie well.