JUPITER ASCENDING - (7)

Hey everybody!  The Wachowski's are back! Which means there's a new movie about a dude who can't talk good and a pretty dark-haired girl. (See: every Wachowski movie ever.)  But, it also means there's a movie about the way corporations profit by exploiting and destroying humans (See: anything Matrix-y.)  Also, watching people spin fast through a confusing three-dimentional world is fun (See: Speed Racer,) and gaping plot holes are no reason not to enjoy yourself (See: Utter dissapointment.)

It's the niece's birthday week, and she likes the Tater Channing, so we went to see this film.  Here's what I found interesting:

Original Story:

I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a sci-fi movie that wasn't a sequel, based on a book, or owned by Marvel.   JUPITER ASCENDING isn't brilliant but it is interesting and a new-ish sort of world.  Genetic splices, a decent-ish explanation for dinosaur extinction, and crazy machines are all fun to see.  I don't know if I'm necessarily a huge fan of Grav Boots but I suppose skimming through the air like a floating hockey player isn't a bad look.

Sean Bean:

He doesn't die!  I KNOW!  Shocking, right?  I kept expecting him to get shot or be sacrificed or something but he made it to the end of the film!  Very nice change of pace.

Really REALLY Old Villains...

...can't take a punch.  You would think that after being alive for millenia they would know how to at least defend themselves but underweight Mila Kunis lays them flat with one blow.  I know no one wants to argue with a girl swinging a tire iron but this pack of bad guys, in a fight, sure act their age.

Bros:

For the first time ever, when someone makes a wrong decision, his friends don't get super dramatic about it.  They just want to know why. When the reason is discovered, all that is said is "I would make the same choice.  Any other problems I should know about? No?  Cool.  Let's roll."

It's refreshing, really.  It's what friends actually do.  Also, watching folks get twisted because of honor or betrayal or whatever is boring.  I'm glad JUPITER ASCENDING skips all that.

Design:

I actually giggled when I saw this shot.  If Liberache and Joan Rivers moved in together and really got into Art Nouveau, this is what their spaceship would look like.  Because OF COURSE the docking bay needs chandeliers!

That said, the costuming was pretty good.  It looked very "I'm a sparkle elf and this is a sci-fi movie" but the lines and colors were consistant.

And with stuff like this, they know EXACTLY who their fan base is.

Romantic Pursuits:

Interesting that, for the whole movie, Mila was the one making the moves on Tater. Sure, it's the only logical course of action when you've finally met someone who shares your love of dark eye makeup, but he's surprisingly reticent.   He spends the whole movie saving her from one thing or another and then stepping back.   She takes the rest of the time trying to move back in.  Even the climatic kiss before battle involves her telling him it's going to happen.  .

Since Twilight, the "girl wants it but the boy doesn't" pattern has become common.  And, as always, there's some reason why the boy holds back and it usually involves uncontrollable gory sudden death for the girl.  This is weird, and interesting.  I don't quite know what to do with it, but it's interesting.

  

JUPITER ASCENDING is a pretty movie which not many people liked. If you are a fan of the Wachowski's, you should make time to see this movie because it's probably one of the last big-buget films the kids get to make.   No matter how interesting their vision, a bomb is a bomb and everyone gets eaten up in the pursuit of profit - even the Wachowskis.

CENTERED IN THE UNIVERSE at Griffith Observatory/Samuel Oschin Planetarium - (9)

Griffith Observatory is a famous landmark in Los Angeles which has been featured in such classic films like REBEL WITOUT A CAUSE,

TRANSFORMERS,

and I'm sure quite a few other movies since it's a cheap location in a park close to Hollywood.

One can tell from the heroic paintings on the ceiling

 that this is a building for the people.  These flying buttresses,

 and Atlas,

 support a structure of SCIENCE, Science which is made from Greek ideals,

solid European practicality,

and easy access to the community and the masses,

back before folks were too busy playing on their phones to think about stuff like this.


The Griffth Observatory opened in 1935 so they have ridiculously dangerous/crazy exhibits like this lying around:

as well as low-key nerd stuff like a physical table of elements wall.

Natalie wanted to see the planetarium show so we went.  You walk into a room that looks like this:

Pretty standard stuff.

I must admit, I fully expected CENTERED IN THE UNIVERSE to be terrible.   I couldn't imagine how something they have done since the 1930's could be anything but stale and outdated.

I was completely wrong.

CENTERED IN THE UNIVERSE is actually an immersive visual experience which is narrated by a real live person!  In real time!   A kindly bearded man was delighted to tell us that this show has been happening with live narrators for 70 years and turns a lamp on and off while talking about fireside stories.

He walked us through the history of astronomy, earth-centric views of the stars,

the first telescopes, the big bang, where we fit into the universe, and the existance of dark matter.   He explained how many stars are in the Milky Way,

and gleefully described our position in the great vast universe as being "in the suburbs."

He consistantly reminded us that we don't have all the answers and that more information is always over the next horizon.

It was marvelous and I loved every minute of it.

THE BOOK OF LIFE -- (10)

I love evenings.  It's my favorite time of day.  The heat of the day is over. (That's a big deal in the desert.)   As the sun slips away, lights start to twinkle awake, cool breezes drift in, and everything gets softer.  People relax, too, since the day is mostly done, and along with dinner there is more smiling and quiet laughing.  The best evenings, I think, are where one can see these things happen all at once.   Where people walk and relax and watch the lights come on.

In THE BOOK OF LIFE we are introduced to the Land of the Remembered.  When you die, (and you will) it doesn't hurt and you don't stop existing.   You don't go to somewhere strange or alien, either.  Nope, you open your eyes in an evening full of lights and music and your family - ALL of your family.  They are happy to see you, and you them, with their beauty etched on their bones.

I found it a deeply satisfying idea.  Heaven should be evening, all the time.

THE BOOK OF LIFE was satisfying in other ways, as well.   There are hundreds of terrible children's movies which teach that it's okay to be you.  It's tired and we have heard it a million times.   THE BOOK OF LIFE has the same idea except for one difference: it shows how difficult it is to be yourself.

It takes work and courage to truly embrace your passion.  After Manolo overcomes that challenge (it is very scary and he is very brave), beating the Bad Guys is no big deal.

(Though the Bad Guys are still really really scary....)

Other wonderful things in THE BOOK OF LIFE is the way the whole movie looks

and how good the music is.

I strongly recommend it.