Write to your heart's content

-Dom

Nostalgia

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
1 Corinthians 13:11

It is an understatement to say that I am nostalgic. Sometimes I try very hard to convince my brain that it's still 1986, but this time around I'm old enough to be fully conscious of my surroundings. Truth be told, the 80s "slash" early 90s have come and gone. How lucky though for a die hard nostalgic to have this glorious leviathan of information we affectionately refer to as the internet?. I reserve my god given right to spend hours upon hours of my limited time on Earth to scour youtube to fulfill my insatiable craving for yesteryear.

I've always carried this overwhelming feeling inside of me. The feeling that nothing will ever be as good as it once was. No event could ever compare to the most significant events that have already occurred. Which in turn, shaped me into who I am today. Once you are forced to "grow up" by your superiors and peers, the magic of life begins to fade away in to the infinite void.  

Now I'm starting to sound a bit brooding. I don't want to feel that way. I mean, shit, an educated human should know better than to revel in past pleasures, right? What's that phrase? Whatever happened, happened. It's true. Shit, does in fact, happen. But we always have the choice to remember that shit as good or as bad. Sometimes memories can be very fulfilling and personally gratifying. 

There seems to be this stigma that merges adulthood with childhood. This overwhelming notion that a lot of the mainstream public seem to agree with. When we all turn a specific age, we are almost required to quote unquote grow up. Throw away your comic books and Yoda pez dispenser because now is the time to nut up and work your fucking balls off until Father Time says otherwise. How wicked, right? Not wicked like a skateboarder might say. More like wicked being uttered by a frightened Salem resident. 

                                                                                                 Give up what makes you happy. We all agreed to this. 

When you're 18 you can smoke. 

When you're 21 you can drink. 

When you're 25, you can rent a car.  

And when you're about 13/14 you're expected to at least begin the stages of "growing up". (Is it even possible to grow down?) Time to think of college. A career. Your future. The inevitable lineage you're expected to continue in the name of your father and his father before him.

This whole process we all inevitably go through always makes me sad. To think out of an average 65 year life span on Earth, you're expected to enjoy 18 years of it, and then force yourself to do things you know in your heart of hearts, that you sincerely do not want to do. And then the last 10-15 years of your life is spent in a fog of confusion and pain.

Let me set the record straight at this juncture and say that there is absolutely nothing wrong with liking things that really have no influence on anyone but yourself. So you happen to like musicals and getting dressed up like a beaver just for fun. All the luck in the world to you. You're doing something that makes you happy, and no one, no matter how maniacal they might be, can take that away from you. And if anyone ever tries, we truly owe it to ourselves to run the fuck away from that negative jibber jabber.

I can't help but quote Ashley Montague's excerpt from 'The Sync Book 2'...

"...the truth about the human species is that in body, spirit, feeling and conduct we are designed to grow and develop in ways that emphasize rather than minimize childlike traits; we were never intended to grow 'up'."

Make believe is fun. Everyone can agree on some level. One of the main reasons I respond so strongly to film is its escape aspects. Movies are essentially gateways to escape the mundane reality we all love and tolerate, in to a fantastical world where literally ANYTHING is possible. 

What's not appealing about that?

I realize now, while typing these letters, that I always seem to forget a very icrucial fact about the good old days...

At one point, the past was the present. So that right there is definitive proof that grand times, littered with grand feelings are only a mental mouse click away.

-Dom

Blessed are the geek for they shall inherit the Earth

It's a very exciting time to be a geek. Cinema continues to evolve in to such an amazing and eclectic art form. It still blows my mind how good everything looks. Yeah, I know, 'Avatar' was the film that "changed" cinema. But if you ask me, what's a great looking film if it has little to no depth or heart? The older I get, the less I care about if the shot was filmed correctly and the more I focus on how the film can alter and expand the viewer's consciousness. It's just more fun that way.

Okay, now as an avid superhero fan since 1986, there are few superhero movies that I haven't at least tried to watch. I did however skip on Halle Berry's 'Catwoman'. But hey, 'Cloud Atlas' was so awesome, I may watch it for shits and giggs just because Halle is a part of that cool ass flick.  The first superhero movie I consider to be the start of the modern age of superhero cinema would probably be 2000's 'X-Men'. The movie was a hit and really opened the flood gates for more superhero properties. It was of course followed by 2 sequels, a spin-off, and a prequel. After 'X-Men's success, geeks around the world got to finally see their favorite superheroes get a chance at shining on the silver screen. Films like 'Daredevil', 'Spider-Man', 'Ghost Rider', 'The Punisher', yes, 'Catwoman', 'Hulk', 'Hellboy', 'The Watchmen', 'The Fantastic Four' and many more. Some were duds and some will forever be remembered.  It's now 12 years later, and these genre pics are getting even bigger and better. Filmmakers and producers are learning from past mistakes and finally catering to the needs of their biggest fan base....The Geeks.

'The Avengers'. It almost sounded like a dream come true.  Iron Man, Captain America, Thor and The Incredible Hulk all on screen at the same time?? Yeah, that definitely sounds wayyy too good to be true, and ambitious to say the least. Oh wait, Joss Whedon is going to direct it? Yeah, okay, sure. I'll believe it when I see it. And you know what folks? Seeing is believing because that shit was awesome. Sure the first two acts may be a bit slow in comparison to the whole, but oh man is the wait worth it. The third act and finale made the film. Whedon delivered the goods so well that I was legitimately surprised by just how terrific the final product turned out to be. So much so, that I'm currently counting down the minutes until 'The Avengers 2'. 

So now I look to the future. What kind of tantalizing geeky properties do we get to feast our eyes on next.

Here's a few projects gestating that I can't wait to see.

Guillermo Del Toro. What a geek. For those who don't know, he's responsible for 'Blade 2' (my favorite 'Blade' installment), the two Hellboy films and 'Pan's Labyrinth'. And while the latter isn't considered geeky per se, it's still a very good movie.  His current project in the works is a little film called 'Pacific Rim'. While details are scarce and no truly revealing pictures have been released, the plot alone has me sold.

"When an alien attack threatens the Earth's existence, giant robots piloted by humans are deployed to fight off the menace."

Two words: Fuck Yeah.

And if that's not enough, Del Toro recently expressed interest in making a DC film called "Heaven Sent" which would be an Avengers-style team up of the supernatural and magical entities of the DC universe. A superhero team film which would feature lesser known anti-heroes such as The Spectre, John Constantine, Swamp-Thing, Etrigan the Demon, Phantom Stranger, Deadman and Zatanna.

Yes Please. Why not spice up the genre and introduce a bombastic, grandiose horror-themed superhero movie? I guess 'Constantine' did that in 2005, but I remember how much better it could have been. The reason I think this will work is because these characters don't really need stand alone films. Use the best qualities of each character to make an amalgamation of otherworldly phantasmagoria.

Hey, did you happen to hear that story about some company called Disney buying Lucasfilm? Oh yeah Lucasfilm made 'Star Wars' by the way. That's right, there's going to be new Star Wars films. Now while that can go either way (we all saw 'The Phantom Menace') I stand optimistic. Just hoping for the best. At this point, that's all we can do.

A few more properties that are on my radar:

• The Robocop remake (I may be the only one seeing the set pics of Robo's new suit and actually liking it).
• Stan Lee recently announced that Black Panther and Dr Strange movies are on the way.
• The sequels to 'Captain America' and 'Thor' as well as the threequel to 'Iron Man'.
• 'The Twilight Zone' movie which has just announced, has a time travel theme (no surprise there).
• Zack Snyder's 'Man of Steel' (my fingers are crossed that it's nothing like 'Superman Returns' and that Kevin Costner doesn't stink up the joint).
• 'The Wolverine' (which is apparently set after 'X-Men: The Final Stand', and that makes me even more excited).

 

Yes indeed, it is an exciting time to be a geek. Now if Bill Murray would agree to at least make a cameo in a third Ghosbusters, my brain may explode from pure unadulterated ecstasy.

-Dom