2014 Summer Movies: Reviewed

Well, even though there is about a month left of Seasonal Summer, the Summer Movie Season is pretty much wrapping up. And it's been a jam-packed Summer of great movies. And I do mean great. This fellow actually enjoys going to the theater and falling into whatever "In a world..." story I'm going to. There's no live tweets, and I reserve my actual opinion on the movie until the credits are done rolling. (Yeah, I sit through the credits whether there is a tag scene or not.)

Just so we're clear, when I say 'great movie,' I mean something I enjoyed. I don't need a movie to be the end all be all of cinematic achievement or definitive of a genre for me to like it. It doesn't bother me that the core plot of Avatar has been used over and over again. It's the way a particular movie tells the story. From acting, directing, photography, music etc. It's a package deal.



2014 Summer Movie Countdown! (of the 13 movies I saw from lowest to highest!)

12)  Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
11)  X-Men: Days of Future Past
10)  Transcendence
9)  Hercules
8)  Transformers: Age of Extinction
7)  Edge of Tomorrow
6)  Amazing Spider-Man 2
5)  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
4)  Captain America: Winter Soldier
3)  Godzilla
Tied at 2
2)  How to Train Your Dragon 2 - Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
1) Guardians of the Galaxy

(Numbers 6-3 are all very close, 8-1 I'll get on Blu-ray, 10-12 are movies I'll probably never watch again)

That said my final two movies I'm writing reviews for are: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

I've yet to see one actual positive review of this movie that wasn't somehow stabbing the movie in the back at the same time. I don't know if it's the fact that it was produced by Michael Bay shuts most critics down before they even see the movie or what. Trust me, I was skeptical of this movie. When I first heard Bay was involved I was not thrilled. Because I've seen what he has done with Transformers. Hearing that he was making them aliens had me flipping out like many other fans. I told myself I'd give the movie a chance.

Two years later the movie is out. I went with a fellow TMNT fan who was less than hopeful for the movie. I knew I'd at least be getting some great action scenes.

I was thrilled with this movie! I had such a good time watching it. I've been a Turtles fan since 1988. I've seen the story told a retold many different ways. Few have actually impressed me. (The current IDW comics is a great story btw.) What they did in this movie was take the concept and shot some adrenaline into it. The "ooze" that mutates them is "not of this world." April is a reporter who's father was lab partners with Baxter Stockman (he's an easter egg) and Sachs (the seeming villain of the movie.) This connects April to the Turtles back to her childhood.

The Turtles themselves are much bigger, faster, and stronger than they've ever been portrayed. And despite all the criticisms of the designs, I loved the fact that you could see bits of their personalities in their customized costumes. Remember, these are supposed to be teenagers. Who are getting their view of the world from gazing through sewer drains at whatever they can see, and of course, TV.

The animation on the Turtles and Splinter is fantastic. Not quite on par with Planet of the Apes, but pretty close. The Foot Clan has been updated to be more urban terrorists than full on Ninjas, but storywise this makes sense. Dozens of people in skin tight suits with tea ball eyes and swords and throwing stars probably isn't going to phase NYC too much. They would probably be thought of as some sort of flash mob.

Shredder is the most mysterious character in the movie. We don't see his face too clearly and you see he is attached to the old world styles, customs and aesthetics of Japan while merging with a changing world to meet the goals and plans he has. Sachs, who is Shredder's ally and front for their diabolical plans is a greedy scientist/business man. He's a classic villain: he's rich but he wants to get "stupid rich."

Through April's dogged determination to move from fluff story reporter to actual news reporter she starts putting things together as she tumbles into the world of the Turtles. Together they work to bring down the evil plan to poison NYC in a similar plot to the Lizard in Amazing Spidey.

What I loved about this movie was they individual personalities of the four turtles. You clearly saw their unique ideas show through much more than in the past. I will admit I am thrilled that Raph probably got a bit more screen time than the others, and I'm okay with this because he's my fave. The others all got their moments to shine. Leo probably lacked the most screen time. I'm sure he'll get his due in the sequel.

Splinter was very much the same, yet he had a more playfulness to his teachings and has some unexpected moments that I'll not spoil here. Megan Fox played April better than I expected. She was fully clothed the whole movie, and other than Vern (Will Arnet) and Mikey talking about how pretty she is, they don't play up any sexy side of Fox/April.

Bottom line: The movie made me laugh (with it) got me caught up in the story, the action had me literally on the edge of my seat, and I had a blast watching it. Is is different from precious Turtle stories, yes. Is it the most complicated and original plot in a movie, No. The key is the characters. And I think they nailed it.

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

To be honest, I hadn't made plans to see this. A friend asked if I had any interest and I said if he wanted to go I'd go too. My other option was Sharknado 2, or a double Feature of Transformers 4 and How to Train Your Dragon 2 (and I've seen both of those already.) But I took a chance and went to Sin City.

If you've seen the first one, you'll not really see anything new or different in this one. Other than Eva Green's enhanced emerald green eyes...and a lot more nudity. You get to see a lot of familiar faces from the original. And to be honest, Rosario Dawson looks like she hasn't aged a day.

The story was more convoluted than the first, with it's overlapping/crisscrossing plot lines. I found it hard to sympathize with any character. Maybe I should have known that. But at least in the first one There was Nancy who was protected by Hartigan. But it was all for naught as Nancy was also corrupted by the end of this movie.

The narrative was very monotone. Revenge. There was really no other driving force for anyone in this movie. I defended Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez on the first one. But not on this one. Maybe I'm older/wiser. Or just more sensitive. But it seems there are specific places for women in Frank Miller's created world and it's naked, writhing, and on their backs. Or at least half naked and incredibly violent.

I find it extremely difficult to enjoy a movie or story that doesn't have some glimmer of hope or a character who is redeemable from their choices. Again, I should have known better going into this movie. It's exactly what you'd expect it to be.

It certainly gets credit for the creative style it continues from the first one. But the one note characters drain what little vibrancy the movie had.

X-Men Days of Future Blah (SPOILERS)

I have not done a movie review in some time. So I thought I'd start off by completely dissecting the current flavor of the moment, X-Men: Days of Future Past. (aka DoFP)

SPOILERS AHEAD, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!

If you couldn't tell from my title, I'm not overly impressed with this movie.

I have not been really impressed with ANY of the X-Men movies. But this isn't the post for that. I will restrict myself to issues I have with this movie alone, or at least issues this movie presents. This will be SPOILER HEAVY!

1. How Is Professor X Alive?

Last time we saw him in a scene in a movie (not a post credit scene) he was disintegrated by Jean Grey/Phoenix in X-Men: Last Stand (X3.) Then there are 2 post credit scenes featuring him. One at the end of X3 where we hear Patrick Stewart's voice come out of the body of a man whose face we never see. Okay, so his consciousness jumped bodies. Next we see a full fledged Stewart in a post scene in The Wolverine, rolling through a mentally frozen airport like he was on a dirt bike. This movie takes place a few years after the events of X3.

We next see him in DoFP. It's roughly 2023 (because 1973 is said to be 50 years ago,) and he is again fully recovered and looking like himself, with his full power set. Never is his resurrection/healing mentioned. We are to just accept he is back normal. Good ol' Chuck.

2. Where Did Kitty's Mental Time Slide Powers Come From?

Kitty has been consistently portrayed (across 4 movies by 3 actresses) to have 'phasing' powers. Where she and anything she touches become intangible. Suddenly, in the 2023 future she now has the power to send peoples consciousness back in time. Now, it's a pretty cool power. But, what?

I can see the story telling point of keeping her directly involved with the mission because in the comics she was the one who went back in time. That's fine. But where did this new power come from? There is no explanation. It's just there. And the excuse that, "it's just a movie," or that "they all have powers, why does it matter?" do not fly with me.

The powers are central to these characters. They may not fully define them, but they play a huge role in shaping each character. Suddenly a character that has appeared in 3 previous movies has a new ability and it's not even addressed how or why. A simple line of, "Due to my secondary mutation that happened a few years agao..." or something of the like would have explained it nice and neat. That'd be like Wolverine showing up suddenly with retractable wings from his elbows, or Iceman shooting laser ice blasts. Okay, new powers, fine. Why?

3. If Mystique Is The Key to the Future Sentinels...

Why does it take 50 years to exterminate the mutants? What happened with Sentinels from 1973 to any movie so far, that never mentions the Sentinels (aside from the Danger Room sequence in X3.) As far as any movie released so far, the Sentinels have never existed. Granted, they didn't know where this was all going 14 years ago when they made the first movie. But I'm not going into that in this post.

If Mystique is the key, and basis for how the future Sentinels work, how do they mimic powers? Are they in fact mutants themselves? Also, they look freaking silly. I liked them in The World's End, not so much here.

4. 1973 Beast's Magic Drug

Professor X is in so much pain after being shot, 10 years ago, that beast works harder to help him than he did to fix himself. And what he comes up with is a heroin like drug that cancels out mutations, temporarily, and therefor allows Charlie to walk.

Seems legit. Again, I know this is a movie where people fly, have claws pop out of their...knuckles (ugh) and all sorts of crazy stuff. But this is just pissing in my cornflakes man. I get not wanting to have a major character stuck in a wheelchair for an action movie. It would have severely limited him, or been a challenge. Guess what, that's what life in a wheel chair does! Maybe that point should have been thought out before putting him in the chair in First Class. A big problem with all the X-Men movies is they race to the payoff moments with out thinking them through. Again, that's a separate post.

Yes, Prof X gets the use of his legs back many times in the comics. But in this movie, the explanation works until you think about it.

Beast uses the same drug to 'hide' his blue furry form. Again, you don't want to hide your actor behind make up for a whole movie...think about it before hand. Also, having him essentially 'Hulk-out' when he's angry and ready to fight is just plain insulting. Sure, let him use the drug to blend into society when they went to the Peace Summit, or whatever. But to have him constantly 'normal' until he's angry was just poor writing and a cheap way to avoid the make up chair. If you didn't want Beast to be a blue fur ball, shoulda waited.

This is dangerously close to the Worthington "cure" from X3. Just saying.

Not to mention that his make up looks completely different from First Class. It looks worse, more human less Beast.


5. Jennifer Lawrence...sigh

I think Lawrence is a great actor. She's done fantastic movies and has a brilliant career ahead of her. So what happened in this movie? Mystique has the emotional range of a teaspoon in this movie. She was woody and bland. And the whole plot hinging on her deciding which of the men she was to follow was kind of...lame. She was established to be strong willed and powerful in First Class, and now 10 years later she's so damaged by Magneto that she's just kind of bouncing around on her own crusade, until the fellas show up to confuse her. Cause, she's a girl and clearly can't make life choices of her own without a man on the other side of those decisions.

Mystique and Jennifer deserved a better story.

Positives

I would like to pause a moment and point out what I did like about this movie. I really enjoyed the way they portrayed Blink and her powers. She was always a cool character in the comics that seemed to not get enough room to play with the others. But the way they used her here was impressive.

Quicksilver was one of my biggest fears going into this movie. I still think his costume looks absolutely ridiculous, but he was the bright spot of the movie. To bad they treated him like paper cup to be used once and thrown away. But you don't want to cut down on the big action scenes where '73 Wolverine and Beast fight a Sentinel for about 30 seconds.

Jackman, Fassbender, and McAvoy deliver some of the best acting in the entire series.

6. Magneto's Triumphant Ascension to Master of Magnetism and Computer Hacking!

We finally see Magneto ('73 Fasbender) become the mutant terrorist we know him to be. Ready to kill lots of homo sapiens for the sake of homo superior. The lifting of the stadium, working the metal into the Sentinels, and his whole attitude were fantastic (PS thanks for showing the climax of the movie in the trailers! I didn't see any of this coming.)

So, Mags has physical control over the big non-metal robots in 1973 because he works metal into their frames. Cool. That's bad ass. Turn their weapons against them. I can dig it. I'll even moderately accept that he can make the Gatling gun arm fire. But, here at the big climactic moment...he can voice command their functioning computer systems to target mutants? Really? (Also this is Mystiqe's finest moment of the movie, posing as Nixon, the guy they had playing Nixon was more emotionally engaging than Mystique through the rest of the movie.)

I was so into this scene until the computer thing happened. It makes no sense with in the context of the movie. Was it an out so Magneto wouldn't be personally responsible for attempting to kill Mystique by using the metal in the Sentinel? Or did he just randomly get control over computer systems like Kitty and her Mind Time Slide?


7. The Nitpick Section

All of Bryan Singer's little homages to himself/previous X-Men movies. The Danger Room "eye" opening. X's everywhere. Even Storm and Colossus' death's formed X's. Oh, yeah, and Colossus has metal skin right? Well, in this movie, his entire body is metal. He is ripped in half by Future Sentinels and instead of having gooey insides, it's that of solid metal. Possibly for ratings, sure. But why rip him in half, that was horrifying and unnecessary. That horrible funk music that was playing when Wolverine went out on the street in '73.

Wolverine telling Beast they were good friends. Really? Did you watch X3? They didn't seem to like each other! In fact, no one but Rogue and Jean seemed to like Wolverine in the previous movies. They seemed to put up with him while constantly being angry with him.

Bishop was a plot device who didn't say anything worth remembering. Warpath pretty much just snarled and flexed holding big knives. Storm was as pointless and ineffective as she has been in every movie, hardly befitting her true character. Iceman's ice slide was cool for about the 4 seconds of screen time it go. Did Sunspot even say anything?

 

And don't even get me started on this Sean Williams Scott/Kellan Lutz version of Stryker...



8. The Finale...and Apocalypse

I did not see this coming. So kudos for you keeping it under wraps. Somehow, by not killing Trask in '73 (an event that is never mentioned or discussed, despite it being the very epicenter of their bad future) everything goes right with the world. Jean doesn't go Phoenix crazy, therefore Cyclops and Prof X are fine too. Rogue shows up for 2 seconds just to hold hands with Iceman (who had been clearly with Kitty through all the Future story arc.) So, did the "cure" story in X3 never happen? What else never happened?

Granted, I like the scene with Prof X and Wolverine at the end. I would have been thrilled if that's all we saw off the 'fixed' future. While seeing Jean and Cyclops was a surprise, I have to wonder...why?

Then we cut to the post credits scene. Now, it's no secret Singer is doing an Apocalypse story next. So it makes sense that the post scene would reflect/suggest that. I wanted to be excited. I never thought I'd see Apocalypse on the big screen. But then I see Apocalypse on the big screen. He's making a pyramid with his mind like a kid with Lego bricks. The giant stones are just swirling around in the air like leftovers from Transformers 2. What? When is this happening? There is no context or reason to be interested. If you don't know who Apocalypse or En Sabah Nur are, you have no idea what is going on. Sure, the final shot of four dark horsemen on the next sand dune was cool, but I don't know why I should care.

Especially after the finale when everything seems hunky-dory. Apocalypse is supposedly going to be another First Class sequel, set in the 80's. Okay, but clearly they get through it just fine as shown in the finale. None of the major characters will be in serious jeopardy, and they all survive to get to that idyllic X-Mansion scene just moments ago, where...30 year old Rogue and Iceman are still students? Cause...is that a fixed 2023? or 2013? Who knows?


So there it is. I tried to keep my comic fanboy reeled in and work off mainly movie material. It's certainly not the worst X-Men movie out there. But I don't really consider any of them to be good. And I'll tell you why next time.

For now, thanks for reading...if you made it this far.

-Jesse

"Work Yet to Be Done" - a poem

sitting amongst friends he hears the news
a loved one lost, a friend since birth
in the prime of life, a life snuffed out
he receives the message with grace
while inside his heart grows heavy

the morning air prickles his skin
a chill rolls in off the waves nearby
the brilliant sky holds no color for his eyes

he hears the lost voice
calling out his name
childish games and family meals
a lifetime of memories

he walks away from the cluster of friends
and moves down to the shore
a dull ache spreads through his chest
as he steps into the boat

the damp and musty wood
seasoned by sweat and sun
creaks and moans as he makes his way
into the prow

his friends soon join him
their laughter stalled
as they set out upon the water
a silent hill, a nearby shore
his eyes are closed with grief

his sandaled feet touch the waves
no warmth between his toes
he makes his way to a silent tree
somewhere to be alone

the tears are gentle but they are real
they stream down his sun kissed skin
he wraps his arms around himself
as morning reaches noon

alone his sits in mourning still
when the voices reach his ears
looking up he see the crowd draw near
the sick, the lame, the blind

he wipes his tears upon his sleeve
and makes his way to them
the sadness in his heart aside
compassion now burned with in

with grace and peace he spoke
he taught, he loved, he healed
then fed every single one
there was work yet to be done


-jesse arnold
April 2014

"The Darkest Place is Bright" - A Poem

there is no shadow without a light
in the dark there is only form, and sound, and smell
yet form without light can hurt
sound removed from vision can frighten

light reveals and guides
it warms and soothes

the broken and cracked it unveils
every illumination conceives a secret
shadows bloom in the presence of light

the light creates a darkness
that hides with every turn
never meeting its creator

the darkest place is bright
born of, but separated from the light
within the brilliance of the sun
a shadow never sees the light

i reach for shadows, burned in light
the scars and wounds reveal themselves
under a blanket of false night
the day unveils what shadows hide
for the darkest place is bright

-Jesse Arnold
03/16/14

NATO and Movie Trailers

Earlier this week I read an article that NATO (not that one, the other one -National Association of Theater Owners) was issuing guidelines to Hollywood regarding trailers and promotional materials. Heres a link to the NATO Guidelines.

I've noticed on a few other blogs discussing this topic, a veritable horde of trolls and just angry folk who really have a beef with trailers. Their length, their sometimes spoiler heavy imagery, etc. That was just the people who had issues with trailers. Then came the trolls. Griping about the pre-show commercials, ticket price, and everything else.

Having worked at a movie theater for two years, and going to the movies since I was an infant, I clearly have a working knowledge base of all things being discussed and will now, if you allow me, educate and enlighten on the subject. In other words, I'm going to ramble on. Leave now if you have something real and productive to do.

TRAILERS (the stuff that starts playing at listed show time)

Trailers have been around for 100 years. The first debuting in 1913. The basic premise has been the same for that century. Show some key scenes, give the basic plot, and get people interested in coming to see another movie.

According to MPAA trailers are to be no longer than 2:30 minutes long. Studios may break this rule once a year if they deem it necessary for a particular movie. NATO is now requesting that this time be reduced to 2 minutes.

I've seen many comments suggesting that this is the theater owners being greedy. That cutting down the run time of trailers would allow more showings of a movie in a day. Let's break that down. The longer average runtime of trailers pre-feature (not counting the pre-show stuff, but the trailers that start at the time the movie is to begin) is approx 20 minutes. That's 8, 2.5 minute trailers. I don't usually count (because apparently I'm a freak and I love trailers) but I don't think I hit 8 trailers every time. Maybe 3-5.

For the sake of the discussion we'll go with the 20 minutes and 8 trailers. So, we shave those down by 30 seconds each. That's 4 minutes reduced per showing. Say an average length movie at about 95 minutes plays approx 5 times a day, remove 4 minutes x 5 showings = 20 minutes.

Yeah, they aren't squeezing another show time in there champ.


PRE-SHOW (the stuff playing when you walk in before listed show time)

By the way, this is the best time to arrive in a theater. Call me old fashioned. Once the show-time hits and the trailers begin, you should be in your seat, phone OFF or silenced and put away (no flippin blue-tooths in your ears) and whatever loud package of snack should be open and ready.

The pre-show is the time to chat, get settled, and be generally loud. Once the trailers start, shush!

I see a lot of complaints about these. The advertisements, the behind the scenes and on and on. Frankly, I'm okay with this stuff. Unless it's behind the scenes for a movie I'm about to see. I've only really encountered this once. Went to see The Lone Ranger this summer, and there was a whole thing that spoiled a huge moment in the movie...right before the movie started.

The complaints range from things like, "I already paid for a ticket, why do I have to sit through ads!" to things I will not repost here. Just a little FYI, ticket sales go mainly to Hollywood. Theaters see less than 2% of ticket sales. Closer to 1%. Now, this may have changed a little in the 10 years since I worked at a theater, but I can't imagine too much.

This is why concessions cost what they do. More on concessions later.

The pre-show ads help keep the cost of concessions where they are. In the last 10 years, the usual price I pay for a large drink has maintained approx $4.50. This is partly due to the income from advertisers and the explosion of pre-show ads. I remember when the pre-show was just an irritating slide show tricking you into "guessing" movie titles and pushing Coke products, with the occasional movie trivia or definition slide that was actual trivia. Never did see one for what a "best boy" was though...

I will say this for ads though. If my show starts at 4:50, I'm fine with all ads prior to that point. Once the show-time hits, I only want to see trailers and the feature.


 
CONCESSIONS

Concessions are where the movie theater you attend makes it's money.


With out concessions there is no money to pay for employees. No employees means no cleaning. No cleaning means filthy bathrooms. You get the idea. There would be no money for maintaining the equipment, theaters, building etc

You get the idea. If you pay $9 to see a movie, the theater gets about $1. Sure that adds up over a crowded show, but when there are only 5 people? Imagine none of those people buy any concessions. They sit in a climate controlled theater for 1.5-2 hours. The ushers would have entered as soon as the previous movie ended to clean all the trash left on the floor by the previous grumps. Half of which was probably outside stuff that was smuggled in.

So the theater has made $5 on that show time. That doesn't cover the pay for one employee for one hour! If you like going to the theater, buy some soda or popcorn. True, they may be the highest mark up, but it also means your supporting your theater. I'm not suggesting you get a full meal or use this as dinner time for your family. Unless your single like me, and a tray of 'nachos' will cut it for you.


Back to TRAILERS

Here's my two cents on the whole NATO guidelines. I don't think the 30 second difference is going to change much. I personally like good long trailer. I also like the teaser trailers. I DO NOT like trailers that show spoilers.

In this age where everyone wants to know everything NOW, I like getting surprised at the movies. I can't tell you how many movies have been 'spoiled' for me because of one or two images in a trailer. The first time I really noticed it was that Mel Gibson movie, Ransom. If you remember the trailer, they really loved the shot of him jumping over the hood of a taxi all Dukes of Hazard style. So when I saw the movie, I knew it was getting close to the end when that intense moment showed up.

Or how about What Lies Beneath? They totally showed to much in that movie. I went in knowing that Harrison Ford was the bad guy. They could have easily played up the whole mystery with the neighbor and let the surprise hit you later. Sure, showing Michelle Pfieffer crawling over him saying "You've been a bad boy," while her face changed was a shocking thing to see in a trailer...but it would have been more shocking had I not known it was coming.

One more for posterity. The Island. Sure, it's a Michael Bay movie, so it was going to be mostly predictable. The whole premise of the movie was that these attractive, naive people in white track suits lived on this technologically advanced island. The only way off was to win a lottery and go to someplace better. Of course this is all a hoax and the heroes find a way out blah, blah, blah. You lose dramatic tension if you show some of the final scenes of the movie in the trailer. Namely, dozens of the naive white-track suited people emerging from a giant hatch and wandering about like idiots.

I never doubted for a minute that the heroes would free everyone else.

The only movies that spoilers work for, are true life stories. I'm looking at you Titanic. Sure, you can show the ship sinking on that trailer cause everyone knows what happened. I had no idea what was going to happen to Jack and Rose from the trailer, but I knew the ship would sink. But then you have movies like Argo, which was based on true events, but still kept me on the edge of my seat, because they didn't show them landing safely back in the US in the trailer.


FINAL THOUGHTS

So NATO wants to put some tighter run times on trailers. No big deal. I don't see this really changing anything for my movie viewing outings. I would love it if they restricted trailers to footage from the first half of the movie. Or at least not footage that would make any sense out of context from the 2nd half. I know they want to wow people with some of the cool stuff, or funny moments, but don't put it all or even half the good stuff in the trailer!


Coming Soon: My Guide on How to Go to the Movies! It includes valuable tips and lessons on how to maximize your enjoyment at the theater and ensure that others around you get to enjoy the movie also.


grace, peace + hope
-Jesse

This Geek Thing

I've had some thoughts on this whole Geek discussion that's going on, so here they are.

As defined by dictionary.com

geek

 [geek]  Show IPA Slang.

noun

1.

a digital-technology expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often useddisparagingly by others).

2.

a person who has excessive enthusiasm for and some expertise about a specialized subject oractivity: a foreign-film geek.

3.

a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, especially one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.

Origin: 
 1915- 20; probably variant of geck  (mainly Scots ) fool < Dutch  or Low German gek

I left out the fourth definition. Follow the link if you want. It's interesting if you like getting funnel cake.

For a majority of my life the second two were how I primarily heard the word being used. I can't pin point the first time but it was probably in elementary school. So somewhere in the mid to late 80's. By this point I probably already was the 2nd option. I was very enthusiastic about most cartoons. Especially He-Man and Transformers, or any cartoon with animals.

At age 9, while walking with my sister-in-law to a park, I was talking excitedly about something, and she called me weird. Since it was said pleasantly, I said, 'Thank you!" I embraced that description.

Later I would get into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (something that solidified one of the longest and best friendships of my life.) In middle school I got into comic books (particularly X-Men) and movies. I never stopped liking one thing in favor of another. I just added to my interests.

I was always on the outside. Besides a few friends that had the same, or at least similar interests my only other friends during middle school and high school were my friends from my church youth group. 

Even there I was on the fringe because I always had my backpack with my sketchbook and comics with me, and I'm sure other reasons. At school, being a Christian and into comics had me sticking out like a sore thumb. I didn't care. I didn't like the things I did for anyone besides myself. I wasn't making a point. I just like what I like.

College saw me finally adding the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit offically to my geekhood. I had grown up with the animated movies, but never read the books. So I made sure I read them before the movies hit. Now, they are probably the biggest area of my geek knowledge.

I was in college before I started self-applying the term 'geek.' Before then I was just weird. I wasn't a geek because I was ostracized, I was ostracized because I was a geek. 

Then the 2000's came. Huge successful movies about comic book heroes started getting made. X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman relaunch, Watchmen, and eventually TV shows like Heroes . My particular brand of geek was getting noticed. And I was okay with it! I didn't care that now new people were learning who the X-Men were. Even if they messed them up in the movie.

Being a geek wasn't a status or desirable thing. It was just a broad descriptor for people really into specific things. Geek wasn't pointed at comic books and super heroes alone. You could be a music geek, game geek (now gamers) or whatever.

Next came The Big Bang Theory. A show about 4 geeky nerds who live in LA. It's a funny show. I enjoy it a lot. I don't think it accurately portrays anyone I know that is into comics or other geeky stuff. It got the concept of comics and geeks into a wider pop culture dialogue.

Then Patton Oswalt puts out a blog post about being an 'otaku.' Saying he's not a geek, but was 30 years ago when it wasn't cool. This post kinda made me mad.

Frankly, I'm not of the mentality that being a geek is something to hoard. I'm sorry for all the people out there who were physically/emotionally bullied for having interests in the 'not normal.' As far as I'm concerned being a geek wasn't some sort of anti-establishment, proto-hipster way to like things that weren't popular.

Being a geek means you really like something and have a wide and specific knowledge base in that subject. Geek is a generic term. It is not limited to comic books, or video games or anything. I'm sick and tired of all these people who are upset that what they like is suddenly widely popular. It doesn't change what you like! Unless you only like those things because there was limited interest in it.

I don't know what to tell you then.

Right now there is a trendy fad to be geeky or nerdy. It might last a long time. It might not. Why does it matter to you if someone else claims to be a geek? If you've been a geek your whole life, and meet someone who is just now discovering these things, are they not allowed to consider themselves a geek too?

Why is calling your self a geek some sort of victim of bullying or being ostracized merit badge?

And for all the 'fake' geek stuff. Yes, I do believe there are people who are fake about being a geek. Just like there are people who are fake about what sports team they like, or what their religious beliefs are. Every sub-culture, category, and social group has people who make them look bad, and don't really belong in that group.

Let's not become the bullies and jerks we endured. Excluding others just because they didn't go through what we went through. That's a Magneto thing. And despite current alignments. He's a bad guy. You want to keep geekdom different from all the other groups out there? Be accepting!

Your type of geek might be very different from my type of geek. Good! Cause if we all liked the exact same thing...fill in the creepy utopian controlled future story of your choosing!

So lets stop all these rants about how popular culture has killed being a geek. All the things geeks love are still out there. So embrace what you love and let other embrace what they love. And when this trendy fad passes, we can continue on...hopefully with a few more geeks by our side!

Geekfully yours...

grace, peace + hope

-Jesse

What Just Happened? 2013 in Review

It's been a helluva year.

I'm not just saying that about my personal year. It's been one crazy year. There have been mega-highs and ultra lows. The most diffinitive thing I can say about 2013, personally, is that it ripped in like a hurricane and punched out faster than mantis shrimp.

The first half of the year was marked with deaths, loss, and change. Lots of change. My step-dad, his dog, a friend. Moved myself twice before July. Moved mom to Florida, first time she's lived outside the Susquehanna Valley since 1980. My jobs flipped as to which was the predominant job (this is a change I am most happy about.) New car, new phone (finally entered the realm of 'smart' phones.)

The early part of the year saw the beginning of an endeavor almost 25 years in the making. Life long friend, Shawn and I began laying the foundation for Counter Monkey Comics, and what would be our first (and not last) appearance at the Baltimore Comic Con.

Between moving myself, my mom, a family vacation, 2 jobs and all the beautiful insanity of life we reached our goals for the convention and I self published my first comic book. Which is now entirely SOLD OUT! It wasn't a profit winning undertaking, but it was fun and so very satisfying.

The second half of the year, which saw the completion of the comic, it's printing and the convention - also allowed me to settle into a rhythm of sorts in this new normal. Teeth were pulled, literally. And I realized that I was finally entering the goals I had set for myself when I moved back to PA in May, 2011.

A little over 2 years and a lot of unexpected twists and turns and foolish selfmade detours, and I was finally getting to where I wanted to be for this chapter of my life.

I can't be the only one to have realized this. Many times. While perpetually forgetting it: Stop trying to make God's plan for your life something you can plot out and control.

I'm a firm believer in not saying, "I can't." But this is one of those situations where it applies.

I had this vision of what I wanted to do when  I moved back to PA. Then I read inspiring books. Had conversations with wonderful and amazing people. I lost sight of my vision and started following the experiences of someone else.

In a way my step-dad's passing presented the opportunity of solitude and silence to hear something God must have been saying for the year and a half prior.

"Kid, what're you doing? These are good things, but not what you were made for."

Some how I had gotten it in my head that pursuing my dreams of writing/drawing and storytelling were some how selfish and unimportant. No one said this to me. I said it to myself. I had convinced myself that I was not severing God fully if I wasn't immersed in helping people with every waking breath. I filled myself with pride and some sort of ambition to do things I wasn't called to do. I misread situations as signs and direction.

Like so many, I became my own worst enemy. Fortunately God doesn't give up on us. No matter how long it takes, when we truly let our hearts be still, we can hear him. And I did.

Write    Draw   Tell stories   Love God & Neighbors

These are my directives. I can't compare what God has given me to do to what others are doing. I can't map out what roads his leading will take me on, or what people I will encounter along the way.

So, 2013, you were a hell of a year. In good times and hard. You were better to others, and even worse to many more. You're a part of my history now, and I can't change that, nor do I want to. In ending this post, here's one of my favorite quotes from The Fellowship of the Ring:

"Home is behind, the world ahead,
and there are many paths to tread
through shadows to the edge of night,
until the stars are all alight.
Then world behind and home ahead,
we'll wander back and home to bed.
Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
away shall fade! Away shall fade!"

 Have an incredible 2014. It'll be incredible at times. It will have moments that truly suck. There will be days or hours that seem unbearbale followed by moments that set your soul aflame.

Just put one foot in front of the other, and keep living. No matter what tomorrow brings, only you control how you will respond or react. Strive to respond rather than react.

The world is what you make of it, so let's make it better this year.


grace, peace + HOPE
-Jesse

In Passing

I just learned that a friend passed away six days ago.  I'm really bummed.  Not that this is in anyway about me.  I'm just...*sigh*...I don't know.

I met Karl not quite a year ago in South Africa.  Our BGC team had just arrived at Botshabelo for our service trip and we met Karl as we started work on tearing down the roof of the residence we were going to be rebuilding.  There was no big introduction, no big to-do.  He was just there, working.  Hard.  Within the first few minutes I knew I was going to enjoy working with this guy.

He had such a great attitude and personality.  If we ran into a difficult patch of work, he'd step back and really think his way around it, and we'd just go for it.  He seemed to work tirelessly too.

But what really impressed me about him was when the work day ended.   The way he loved the kids at the orphanage, and they loved him!  There was just something so real and genuine about Karl.  He spoke his mind, but he did so with his heart.  Which makes all the difference.

We got to spend a lot of time working together over the three weeks I was there.  We had a lot of conversations about everything from writing, God, elephants, nature, and just living life.  They were some of the best conversations I've ever had.

Every year I've gone to South Africa there have been a few things/events/people that stand out from each trip.  Getting to know Karl was, without a doubt, the most memorable part of my trip last year.  There were talks about trying to meet up again in the future for some other world traveling adventure.

Well, you're on the biggest adventure now Karl.  You will be missed.  You made a life-long difference in this Yank.  Whenever I get to make that adventure among the gypsies, you'll be right there with me.

Good rest, Godspeed...


grace, peace + hope
-Jesse