The Blog of Eternal Boredom: May 2018

I went and saw Solo: A Star Wars Story today. For a movie with such low expectations, it is still so highly debated. It’s because it’s Star Wars, right? Star Wars is always a hot topic for everyone. And then Han Solo is just one of the best characters ever, right?

I know when I first saw the trailer for this film, I was a little underwhelmed. It didn’t look like it was going to be bad per say, but it looked like it was going to be sub par. It looked like it was going to show us Han Solo doing “Han Solo-y” things without giving real deep insight into his character/developing him further. It was just going to be a playful romp, if that (the trailers made it look like it was it was trying to hype up something that was in reality kind of boring).

So now that I’ve seen it, did all my predictions come true?

Well... sort of?

I will say I definitely enjoyed it way more than I thought I would.

It was, in fact, a playful romp full of Han Solo doing “Han Solo-y” things. However, I wouldn’t quite call it boring. On the other hand, I wouldn’t call it AMAZING either. It was somewhere in the middle. There were some parts that were a lot of fun and really intense (ex: the famous Kessel Run was probably my favorite part of the movie) and then there were other parts that were just whatever.

You could tell that the filmmakers’s priorities were on doing Han Solo and his “lore” justice. Han, Chewie, and Lando were by far the best characters while the others were stereotypes, forgettable, or throwaways. All the scenes alluded to or mentioned by Han, Lando, etc. in the Star Wars films were all the best scenes (they had the most attention to detail, were well acted, had lots of focus, etc.)

Meanwhile, anything else that didn’t revolve around those scenes was a little less interesting and/or even brushed over. This was a bit of a problem sometimes since the overarching plot didn’t revolve around say Han and Chewie meeting or how Han got the Millennium Falcon; those were just side scenes that tied into the bigger plot.

I AM NOT SAYING IT WAS BORING because it wasn’t. There was just some stuff that was less interesting than other stuff and I think if the film wanted to be truly great, the filmmakers should have put equal attention on everything.

I have to praise the acting. I was kind of thinking that the filmmakers were overplaying Alden Ehrenreich’s performance and that Harrison Ford might have been under some contract or something to praise him in order to build this movie up. However, after watching this movie, I can confidently say that he does an excellent job. (Again, priorities on capturing Han Solo). Of course, there may be people who disagree with me, but I completely believed that he was the same Han Solo from the originals. Obviously, no one will EVER replace Harrison Ford, but if we had to get someone else, this was a good choice.

Then there was Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian. Standing ovation for him! From his facial expressions, to his hand gestures, down to his capes. He was Lando!

There were a lot of creative ideas in this movie, more than I expected. Again, I was expecting a sub par, standard movie, but it came out and surprised me. I don’t know how many people agree with me, but I thoroughly enjoyed how Han and Chewie met. I thought it was inventive and believable. I was expecting something standard like Han gets recruited by those thugs for a job (as seen in the trailers) and Chewie’s already a member (or also gets recruited) and then they just bond over time. But nope. Something else completely different happened.

Then again, there were some weird moments where it tried to get too creative. I’m still trying to figure out this one moment at the end. Like, what on earth was going on? I thought I knew Star Wars pretty well, but... weirdness. Have I missed something? It’s hard to keep track of what is canon ever since Disney took over. It seemed to me like the writers were like “ooh, this would be SO cool!” and then didn’t think about if it would make sense. (Go see the movie and you’ll know exactly what part I’m talking about).

Speaking of confusing, anything that had to do with the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate was just that. I don’t think it was super thought out and was just the average big bad crime syndicate seen in every mob movie; but then it was made confusing by trying to make it mysterious. And THEN it wasn’t even explained by the end which frustrates me.

I did enjoy the movie though. I liked it way better than Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It had more interesting and memorable characters than that one and a distinct three act plot that relies on each of the previous acts in order to flow (so you don’t feel the need to skip to the end to get to the good stuff and can still understand what is happening).

I know that everyone likes the Star Wars movies for different reasons, but I like Star Wars simply because 1) It’s Star Wars and it’s fun to watch 2) creative story and characters 3) fun/cool action. I think that this film hit all those buttons.

I think if you’re in doubt, go see this movie. If you like Star Wars, go see this movie. Don’t be a movie or Star Wars snob. This won’t waste your time or offend your Star Wars sensibilities. It gets everything about Han Solo right, I promise you. It may not be the most amazing, fantastic Star Wars movie ever, but it is a great Han Solo movie.

With that said, I think at the moment, I’d give this movie a 7/10. (Prone to change in the future with more viewings.)

TRAILER

Season four finale of Gotham was last night. If you’re not watching this show, you NEED to! It’s seriously SO good! I know I complain about it a lot, but I haven’t seen a show that understands its base content (the Batman comics) so well and do it so much justice. Sure, it’s not perfect and it has its low moments, lame story arcs, and whatever, but overall, it’s fantastic! And this latest season has been one of the best.

The characters are one of the strongest points in the show. I absolutely love how these characters have been fleshed out over the seasons, on their way to their ultimate destinies as hero or villain. Most of the main cast’s story arcs have been so much fun to watch and the actors who play them are phenomenal! There are definitely some standout performances who I think should go down in Batman-character-portrayal history.

I thought I’d list out my top ten favorite characters and why because now that Gotham is over until next year (*cries*), I need something to do.

Here we go (maybe minor spoilers):

10) BARBARA KEAN played by Erin Richards

Originally, she bugged the crap out of me. In season 1, she was the absolute worst! She was the typical clinging girlfriend who was there, but didn’t really do anything except complain and be needy and helpless. Gosh, I hated her!

However, season 2 onward, she became vastly more interesting. See, Gotham has this problem where it can’t write good female characters unless they’re villains. They’ll either mess them up from the start and make them uninteresting/annoying or once in a blue moon they will make them awesome, but then get insecure about it so they’ll go and mess it up. In both cases, they always wind up making the girls either go crazy or wind up dead. (Notice how there’s not really any women on this list).

Anyways, Barbara, I believe, is one that was improved upon with the dark turn. She became such a BOSS. The reason she’s lower on my list is because she doesn’t have anything that makes her particularly stand out from among the other villains. Sure she’s crazy, power hungry, a good fighter, manipulative, and lacks all empathy, but so do most of the other villains. She’s on the list at all because I find a lot of her stories compelling. Most of the other female villains have lame story arcs or are just kind of there.

9) SELINA KYLE played by Camren Bicondova

You may recognize the name as Catwoman’s alter-ego. In the show, though, she’s not Catwoman yet. In the beginning, she’s a young teenager living on the streets and up to this point in the show, she rising in status. She’s always been a fighter and survivor, not really on anybody’s side, just wherever it’s convenient for her, but now she’s really looking out for number one. The most power in the show usually lies with the villains, so that’s most often where she gravitates to. However, she has a little more of a moral compass than the most of them so sometimes she goes to the police (though usually she goes to Bruce).

I also really appreciate her relationship with Bruce Wayne (which mirrors their future relationship with him as Batman). There's this constant tension between them that's so well done. He always wants to do the right thing, she wavers a bit. He's fascinated by her, she's super guarded. A little bit of cat and mouse going on.
She’s really been the most consistent female character throughout the series. I love her natural agility in the beginning that she hones in in later seasons, all leading up to her becoming Catwoman.

8) JEREMIAH VALESKA played by Cameron Monaghan

I should begin by saying that the show is not allowed to use the literal “Joker” for lame copyright reasons, so they’ve been doing this weird thing to get around it where the Joker is “an idea”, how “anybody can be the Joker.” It’s kind of clever and original, but at the same time, it’s a little disappointing that there’s not one big bad guy out there who is going to terrorize Gotham and challenge Batman like nobody else.

With that said, there have been a couple “Jokers” on this show, one of them being Jeremiah Valeska. He’s the latest one and has only been in a couple episodes, so it’s a little hard to tell how good he actually is. But what I’ve seen of him thus far, I’ve liked. He has this very chilling presence, and always says things completely calm and collected without a trace of empathy at all, very Hannibal Lector-like. He reminds me a lot of the Joker from The Dark Knight Returns. He believes himself completely sane when he’s obviously not, which I enjoy greatly. I also completely adore his fashion choices! He’s only had one or two big smiles so far and hasn’t laughed yet. I think I’ll be totally sold on him once he laughs, but he is very creepy. It’s hard to believe it’s the same actor as the last “Joker” because they look, act, and sound so different. Props!

7) ALFRED PENNYWORTH played by Sean Pertwee

Where would Batman be without his trusted and loyal butler?

In this show, we see a lot of Alfred’s parental side since Bruce is quite young for a lot of it. This Alfred clearly cares very deeply for “Master Bruce”, but is also all about the tough love. He’s not one to coddle Bruce. If Bruce gets knocked down, Alfred always makes sure he gets back up again (and maybe might go punch the guy who knocked down Bruce in the first place). Alfred is no pushover in this show, he’s a major fighter and go-getter. I love it! He acts as a major guide for Bruce is finding his way not just morally, but physically. Traditionally, Ra’s al Ghul is the one who trains Bruce Wayne into becoming Batman, but in this show, Alfred takes on a lot of that responsibility.

And he's such a boss that Jim often goes to him for back up when he has no one else to turn to.

6) BRUCE WAYNE played by David Mazouz

The show starts with the murder of Thomas and Martha Wayne, so Bruce is quite young when it begins. He’s another character who sort of bothered me at first. He’s different from Barbara though because he’s Bruce Wayne! You have to love Bruce Wayne and annoying story arcs won’t stand in the way of that.

Anyways, in the beginning, he’s obviously mourning for his parents and gets on this kick about conquering fear and toughening up and whatever, which I can respect because it’s sort of the beginning steps towards his ultimate destiny as Batman. Obviously, a twelve-year-old kid is not very tough and will fail a lot, which he did and that was fine. What bothered me was that he was just so darn bad at everything he did for seasons! He always got himself into the worst situations because of dumb decisions and/or thinking he was ready when he wasn’t. He was such a wuss. Really not what (a beginning) Batman should be.

HOWEVER, he got better. Way better! Especially in this last season, I was so invested in everything he did. He’s so much cooler now; building up his stupid rich playboy alter-ego, improving his fighting skills, becoming a master detective, taking Gotham upon his shoulders. He’s so close to becoming Batman, I can’t wait! Plus props to David Mazouz for taking on the role. He was only twelve when he landed it and was expected to have a minor part, but then he was so good that they expanded him to a regular. Now he’s seventeen and one of the best actors on the show.

5) ED NYGMA/ THE RIDDLER played by Cory Michael Smith

I actually have mixed feelings about this guy. I loved, loved, loved his character arc from turning good to bad, but after he embraced his full Riddler-ness, he’s had a lot of stupid story arcs that have just bugged me. But, his beginning was just SO good that he’s #5 on my list so...

I’ve always liked the Riddler in general (I know a lot of people think he’s lame, but I love a character who sets up puzzles that lead to his downfall because he has this weird desire to show off how smart he is). I love Ed in this show because he’s set up as this total socially-awkward weirdo who’s super smart and really good with puzzles and identifying patterns and stuff. He just wants to help, but because he’s so awkward and weird, people ignore him, take him for granted, and are mean to him. It’s a totally understandable/believable foundation for what drives him insane later. And I found the whole split personality thing very interesting and compelling. I always thought Batman used that too much already, but since none of the characters from the comics who were originally written with a split personality are in the show, I accepted it. I loved how his evil side and his normal side were constantly at war and how his evil side always claimed to be the “smart” one. It just all made sense.

And then when he ultimately turns, ooh! It was just so good! Then all his stuff when he’s the Riddler is always the best. His little traps and games. Yes! So good and done phenomenally! Totally the Riddler straight out of the comics! Plus, they really make his green suit work. One might think someone wearing a bright green suit might seem weird and out of place, but it actually works.

4) JIM GORDON played by Ben McKenzie

Where would Batman be without Commissioner Gordon? The show mainly follows a young Jim Gordon as he deals with the messed up city, sort of like a detective/cop show except in a fantastic setting with whacked-out villains. If Jim had been boring or dumb, this show would have been a disaster. Fortunately, that is not the case.

Jim is exactly what you would think an early Commissioner Gordon would be. He’s the most law-abiding citizen on the show. His partner nicknames him “boy scout.” He works so hard to keep crime off the streets, but things just keeping getting worse and worse. It’s obvious that Gotham needs a Batman. I love watching how he tries so hard to keep everything within the line of the law, but sometimes rules have to be bent and/or things gets corrupted (even him). It really shows the journey to how he will eventually accept Batman when he shows up. He sees how not everything can be kept within the line of the law and in order for justice to be carried out, it may take more than the police.

Then he becomes super savage as time goes on. He’s just so done with everything and everyone that he doesn’t give a crap and just says what he thinks. He still keeps to the law of course, but isn’t afraid to let people know that he thinks they’re garbage. It’s hilariously awesome!

I also love the gradual respect he builds over the seasons. He starts out this "weirdo" who actually wants to make a difference by following the law and keeping the peace? What??? But then he shows everybody that it’s actually possible and starts to get people to believe. And he’s just so fearless and selfless. I can’t wait to see him take his place as commissioner one day with the entire city behind him. Man! It’ll be so awesome!

3) PENGUIN/ OSWALD COBBLEPOT played by Robin Lord Taylor

If you’ve heard of this show, most likely you’ve heard about this guy. Hands down THE best performance in the entire show! Robin Lord Taylor seriously deserves an Oscar for his portrayal of the Penguin. People have been saying he was born to play him and I have to agree.

His entire aura screams “Penguin.” If you were to show someone a picture of him and ask, “which Batman character is this?” the answer would be so obvious. He even walks with this funny little limp that makes him look even more like a penguin.

He’s quite different from most of the other villains on the show because he’s actually quite pathetic and cowardly, but he is very strategic, manipulative, and unrelenting in all his endeavors. He’s also extremely patient. He always has a master plan that often takes place over a long stretch of time with many little pieces moving about that ultimately all come together.

He’s also very petty which I love. His emotions are what drive him which is something else that makes him stand out from the other villains. While a lot of them have something or someone they care about, they usually remain rather unflinching, keeping their emotions in check. Penguin, however, is very passionate about everything he does. He is easily angered and goes on a lot of revenge sprees. I just love him so much! He’s awesome!

2) JEROME VALESKA played by Cameron Monaghan

I was debating on whether this guy should be ahead or behind Penguin and I ultimately decided to put him ahead just because I have a soft spot for the Joker character. Yes, this is another one of the Joker “incarnations,” the first in fact. When he first appeared, all the fans fell in love with him. He was literally the perfect Joker. He embodied Ledger, Hamill, Nicholson, and even a bit of Romero. He was just a giant homage to all the Jokers we ever loved. That first scene where he laughs for the first time still gives me shivers. All the awards to Cameron Monaghan!

I feel like Jerome has had some of the best stories and he just became more depraved with each one. He got his face cut off and stitched back on at one point which gave him this permanent depraved smile. I loved how he was just off-the-wall bonkers and so charismatic as he went about causing anarchy. He was so much fun to watch! Like I said, he was seriously the perfect Joker and I’m still a little salty about him being replaced. He will forever hold a special place in my heart.

1) HARVEY BULLOCK

And of course, my all-time favorite character is Harvey Bullock. This might come as a surprise that it’s not one of the villains or somebody, which quite frankly if I hadn’t seen this show, I would expect that too. However, every time I watch an episode and Harvey is on screen, the words “gosh, I love him, he’s the best!” go through my mind every single time. And he really is. He hasn’t had a lot of spotlight or main story arcs, he’s mainly there as Jim’s back up and sidekick (though, technically he’s the senior ranking officer), but he’s just the best.

Bullock is this cynical, seasoned detective who’s sick of the world and only wants to do the bare minimum when suddenly Jim comes in, this young fruity-tooty ex-soldier, making him follow the rules and actually help people all the time.

I love Bullock because he’s so cynical and sarcastic. He clearly thinks the criminals of Gotham are scum and deserve punishment, but is at first more willing to make sarcastic comments about it the to go after them. There's "a certain way" things are done in the city, and he doesn't want to go stirring the pot. He does eventually come around and starts following Jim's lead.
When he gets riled up, he puts his all into it. He ia willing to beat every single criminal he comes across. He just think they're all scum. He's the "bad cop" of the duo, he likes to play dirty. All the interrogations scenes are the best because Jim literally has to hold him back from beating the person; doesn’t matter who it is, woman, kid, dog, he’ll punch them. Despite appearances, he’s actually a really good detective, probably even better than Jim.

His one-liners are the best in the show. I wish I could just list them all here. He’s hilarious!

But then, he’s always got Jim’s back... 99% of the time. Gotta keep the tension, right?