I have no desire to see AVENGERS ENDGAME – I don’t care how many billions it's taken in. I’ve reached my saturation point on super hero movies… and all-star super hero movies. They end in a big cliffhanger where it appears everyone dies, but you know they’ll all be back. I’m done. Okay, except for the next Wonder Woman. But after that I’m really done. (Unless there's another Wonder Woman.)
I’ve never been able to get into GAME OF THRONES. Just not a fantasy guy. Dragons and bloodshed are fine for Broadway musicals but not TV series. At least for me.
I can’t watch the news. It just infuriates me. Even commentators that I love. Sorry. Please let me know when we have a new president.
I don’t own a Fitbit. So I walk 6,542 steps today? And some of those were to get pie?
I didn’t watch the NFL Draft. I was not on pins and needles waiting to see who the Kansas City Chiefs picked first.
I don't watch AMERICAN IDOL (although nobody does anymore).
So I’m out of step. And yet I seem to be existing okay. I don’t sense a real void in my life. The time I spend not doing these things is filled with other pursuits, other projects, other passions. I don’t feel deprived. The only downside is… is…. Hmmm. I can’t think of one.
Hi Ken-
ReplyDeleteI get it. Wife and I are on our way to see Endgame but...I'm not jazzed really. I mean I just have a lot invested and want to see how things are resolved.
On the other hand...if you didn't see Shazam! I really recommend it. (Not the Shaq version). It was light, and while super-hero fare, it was pretty much Chuck gets super powers, and a pretty good $5 matinee.
Other than that, I'm finding myself drawn to mindless entertainment (Trump overload to be sure) and am breathlessly awaiting the epic starring those two giants of the silver screen, The Rock and Jason Bald Guy....
I think we all know how the movie is resolved. I'll pass.
DeletePerfect
ReplyDeleteAmen...
ReplyDeleteAll of the above are true with me, too. I'm actually a little happier--certainly less stressed--since I cut way back on watching the news. I know I can't do that one forever, but I'm keeping my powder dry until closer to the election when it will actually mean something.
ReplyDeleteI could deal with more superhero movies if they could find a different story line. How many times do the heroes have split up, only to come together at the end when the alien horde arrives?
ReplyDeleteShouldn't you be yelling at kids to get off your lawn?
ReplyDeleteHey Ken,
ReplyDeleteWe caught Bill and Hillary Clinton with Ted Dansen at The Forum the other night. Really enjoyed them. Did you make it there?
We continue devolving, but then again it's easier than thinking and distracts us from rapidly growing societal inequality. Best wishes for Harry and Meghan's baby, but it doesn't change the price of bread.
ReplyDeleteEver notice how on TV and radio news, the "meatier" stories are invariably read by the male, while the woman is almost always assigned the "light," entertainment-celebrity news. KNX's Vickie Moore may be a professional news anchor, but with the stories she reads she comes off as a vacuous fangirl.
Oh, and apparently a Starbucks cup was spotted on last night's "Game Of Thrones" episode. Too bad it wasn't one for Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf; that chain needs the product placement more.
I am done with all super hero movies except Dead Pool. That is some funny mass murdering! Where else can you have your hero ripped in half and have him grow back baby legs?
ReplyDeleteAnd seriously Ken, Morena Baccarin IS the new Natalie Wood. What's not to like?
The show surrounding the NFL draft seems really to have gotten well out of hand. It doesnt seem like that long ago when the team reps were sitting on folding chairs in a big room at the Ramada Inn, eating from the vending machine.
ReplyDeleteNow it looks like the most garish pop concert youve ever seen. With people who look like bumpkins cheering like imbeciles at a called out name. Its gotten ridiculous.
Sean
Yes the draft has, signed 1989.
DeleteThey end in a big cliffhanger where it appears everyone dies, but you know they’ll all be back.
ReplyDeleteWell.... not ALL of them, this time... some stay dead, some become newly dead... :)
Yep! That's why this is the ENDGAME! No coming back this time. SPOILER ALERT! lol.
DeleteVery well put.
ReplyDeleteThe 21st Century technological miracle. So much information. So much entertainment. So much sensory overload. Still, we do not EVER have to allow all this digital information to hold us hostage.
This is what people always say as they get older. I'm not knocking it, I feel the same way. But next, we're not going to want to get in water, or have wind blow on us. Then we'll feel cold all the time and ask about every dish served to us, "Is it spicy?"
ReplyDeleteSame here.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ken, for letting me know that I am not alone.
Have just heard the name Game of Thrones.
I haven't watched any of these superhero movies. No idea who is what and what superpower they have. I just know that all of them wear very tight different colored dresses and appear on Jimmy Kimmel before every release and pass the same lame jokes for which Jimmy laughs and laughs and laughs.......
Will these superhero movies ever end?
I have a small YT channel. And the thing is my channel subscribers are youngsters who worship these movies. And few of them asked me to review these movies. Yes, that's a practice in India. Any YouTuber, no matter what type of channel they have, should comment on the current world happenings. And this latest movie beating or having surpassed Avatar is a world event for which they want me to comment and make a video. Else threats of unsubscribing from the channel.
So far have deleted those comments.
And while deleting them, I suddenly realized, the number of times I and other readers to your blog, keep asking for your thoughts and comments on some current issue. And wondered how irritating it must be for you, especially if you have nothing to say about that.
Thanks Ken :)
The NHL is still fun to watch. :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I got Superheroed out by Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. Have not watched a Superhero movie or TV show since, except Black Panther. For me, if their names aren't John Steed and Mrs. Emma Peel, they are not The Avengers, merely cartoonish wanna-bes.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I LOVE Game of Thrones. Best thing on TV. Dany's coffee cup last night is topic #1 at America's water coolers today.
One does not watch the news for entertainment. One watches the news in self-defense. You know who never watches real news? Trump supporters.
Certainly I never watched the NFL Draft, or any NFL games - EVER!
Actually, I am watching American Idol. Without Randy, Paula or Simon, it's actually better.
The only reason people watch these made up news stories is because they definitely are entertained. I've never watched Alex Jones but I think I get his spiel and I know people watch for one reason. Entertainment.
DeleteDitto! But how could you forget the "Royal Baby." Aaaaargh.
ReplyDeleteWell, we are no longer a desirable demographic (except for maybe the makers of incontinence products), so very little today is made for us. And technology has made so many things we're accustomed to obsolete. Today CBS announced Norah O'Donnell is replacing Jeff Glor as their evening news anchor. Only a few years ago, this would have been big news, but the reaction today is a shrug.
ReplyDeleteThe only item I watch on the news on a regular basis is the local weather forecast. It seems local stations are in this pattern where they get purchased by some big outfit like Sinclair or Tegna, which then imposes major budgets cuts in order to finance the purchase- which means the familiar names accept buy-outs and are replaced by freelancers, which makes the broadcast unwatchable to me. Makes me wonder how many local stations will be around in 2030.
While I don't necessarily consider myself to be a contrarian I do have an aversion to many pop-culture trends. As moms are always saying, "If everybody was jumping off a cliff, would you do it too?".
ReplyDeleteTo this day I have never seen "Titanic." I've never been able to watch "Avatar" all the way through. And even if I had cable I probably wouldn't watch "Game of Thrones" just because everyone else is.
The only time this has any effect on my personal life is when I'm improvising. Needles to say, someone will inevitably yell out a suggestion of a current movie, TV show or fad. It can be quite distressing trying to fake your way through that situation. (Watch out, Ken. Now I know your weakness!)
Another trend I'm trying to avoid is the Measles. It has literally gone "VIRAL." I was vaccinated when I was a little kid, but I've never had a booster shot.
There's a part of me that would love to abandon the decadent, modern world and go live with the Amish. No Facebook, no Instagram and no worries about what's "trending." As Elmer Fudd said, "West and wewaxsation at wast!"
M.B.
I'll guarantee no one in Amishville has depression or anxiety. At least not in the way the rest of us in the "developed" world.
DeleteQuoting Livia Soprano "it's all one big nothing". Yet still we enslave ourselves with work, and bull sht ourselves that we do it for our kids.
Sometimes you just have to spend part of the day involved in something timeless. I finished Herodotus last month and should get to the end of Thucydides in a week or so. Kurt Vonnegut once compared the latter to Hunter S. Thompson, which I can see, but Herodotus has better jokes.
ReplyDeleteThe big problem is knowing that once I've gotten through over 600 pages of dense narrative, it's natural to expect a big finale. Thucydides simply stops in the middle of a sentence, drops dead, and that's that. Xenophon picks up the story from there, but I'm led to believe that going on to him is like watching THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW after Barney Fife leaves.
I didn't know the NFL draft was on, but I flipped through it. I thought it was some type of cattle auction.
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting for Albert Brooks to do a sequel to Real Life.
ReplyDeleteI did see Endgame, and would suggest that you might enjoy the writing and editing that went into (mostly) resolving/providing a satisfying finish for the gajillion characters from (almost) two dozen movies. Traffic cop analogies aside, your writing/directing/showrunning experience would appreciate what they did for this "series finale."
ReplyDeleteD McEwan
ReplyDelete"Well, I got Superheroed out by Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice"
Ooh, don't get me started on that. Zack Snyder can't direct for shit. Apart from the angsty faux "dark" approach and the relentless hideous CGI that made it look like one long video game, he has zero understanding that Superman and Clark Kent are two distinct characters. Superman is heroic and fearless, while Clark Kent is nerdy, awkward and fearful. Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve got it. Snyder and Henry Cavill don't. In Man of Steel and Batman V Superman, Superman and Clark Kent are written and played identically. It doesn't help that Cavill has all the charisma of a chair.
It may be a cliche to say but there really will never be a better Superman/Clark Kent than Christopher Reeve. He was absolute perfection in both roles.
I watched a network evening news broadcast (sometimes NBC, sometimes CBS) out of habit for decades until a severe family situation came up about 6 months ago and I haven't watched one since. Not only do I not feel any less informed about what's going on in the world I haven't been in a situation where I was in a conversation and I couldn't recognize a story or a reference because it came from network news.
ReplyDeleteAs for popular culture it was said that the internet is where the complete works of Shakespeare are available for free on demand and people use the internet to send each other cat videos. I take that to heart and if I feel I'm paying attention to something trivial just because it's being talked about I put it aside and look for better things.
It is a pity of course that this series of films has ended.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the movie THE WARRIORS is based on Xenophon, so maybe I should check him out to see where he came up with all that stuff about those guys in baseball outfits and roller skates.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally with you on everything you said although I keep one eye on the news for word of the forthcoming apocalypse.....and that sequel to "Real Life."
ReplyDeleteIt's 2019, and there's nothing less special, or more indulgently Instagram selfie-ish, than telling the world, "I don't watch the thing you watch."
ReplyDeleteYou can't be an aesthetic iconoclast when there's no longer any possible way to see everything, past and present, that has a devoted audience.
"Ooh, don't get me started on that. Zack Snyder can't direct for shit. Apart from the angsty faux "dark" approach and the relentless hideous CGI that made it look like one long video game, he has zero understanding that Superman and Clark Kent are two distinct characters. Superman is heroic and fearless, while Clark Kent is nerdy, awkward and fearful. Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve got it. Snyder and Henry Cavill don't. In Man of Steel and Batman V Superman, Superman and Clark Kent are written and played identically. It doesn't help that Cavill has all the charisma of a chair."
ReplyDeletePeter: I think you're missing the point of the Zack Snyder films. The intention was to deconstruct the characters down to their essential elements and rebuild them under the premise of "how would these characters act if they suddenly showed up in the real world?" And by that measure, what Zack Snyder did was brilliant. Henry Cavill's Clark Kent "disguise" in this version of the story is more akin to a celebrity wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses when out in public. He's not trying to literally be another person. He's simply trying to deflect attention away from his public persona so as not call attention to himself so that he may live a private life. (Fun fact: Up until the scene in the Capitol in "BvS," no one in this new version of the DC film universe had ever taken a clear photo of Superman, so no one could compare his looks to Clark Kent's unless they physically met both identities. And in this universe, all the people who met both identities know that Superman and Clark Kent are one in the same. That's the level of logic that Snyder applied to these stories that no one gives him credit for because "that's not my Superman!")
The Christopher Reeve portrayal of Superman and Clark Kent is, frankly, sociopathic. This is a man who is literally presenting himself as a completely different, false version of himself to his friends and loved ones as a way to deliberately deceive and humiliate them. Again, if someone that you know and love did that to you, you would rightly call them a sociopath. You would not hold them up as a hero.
I get the nostalgic affection for that version of the character, but it doesn't hold up under any objective measure. When you think about the logic of Reeve's performance for more than 10 seconds (no matter how superficially entertaining it was), the believability of the premise falls completely apart. It's outdated and superficial. Whereas the Zack Snyder version of the character is foundationally sound. It's logical and believable. It holds up to reflection and analysis. You may not like it, but not liking it doesn't make it bad.
No, it sucks. Zach did great with 300. And the opening credits of Watchmen. The rest has been comically terrible.
DeleteI’m one year younger than Ken. I grew up reading DC comics (Superman’s and Batman). Never could get into Marvel. The super powers of many of their characters seemed silly to me. The human torch? The Thing was a very strong guy made out of what, orange rock? Superman and Batman had compelling, well developed back stories. Spiderman’s was the he was a nerd bitten by a radioactive spider. The complete triumph of Marvel over DC is mystifying to me. Anyway when I was around 14 or 15 years of age, I completely lost interest in comic books and superheroes. Something has changed.
ReplyDeleteEndgame is a masterpiece concluding a series of 20+ movies. The character development for many characters runs across several movies.
ReplyDeleteIt is pointless for you to watch Ken unless you have seen the characters in prior movies. It would just be a mishmash of random people doing random things with some CGI fights thrown in.
As an example, consider Black Panther's death. From watching Black Panther you realize it happens right in front of the character whose duty is to protect him, and she considers that her highest obligation. Almost all of the deaths in that scene have a similar significance that is only revealed in prior movies.
mishmash of random people doing random things with some CGI fights thrown in.
DeleteYep, that sums it up prefectly.
Born 1958, all kinds of comics were interesting - DC and Marvel and others - most notably Mad and Cracked.
ReplyDeleteThen I found paperback novels - pulps like The Executioner and The Destroyer. Then SF novels and Analog magazine - so much for pulps after that.
"Adult" comics - like Heavy Metal - never got any traction with me. I have heard of "Graphic Novels" - glorifed comics - and a poor value proposition considering $/hr of entertainment.
I went to see Avatar - 2D - on theatrical release. Adult friends insisted I should the the 3D - but sorry, the story was not compelling - unworthy of the time.
Sports - the "major" ones, and others, remain unsullied for the most part. And the mute control takes care of self-impressed "announcers".
ReplyDelete.
Couldn't agree MORE !!
And add to that list, The Kardashians, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, Housewives of Beverly Hills/Orange County/Skokie, and CSI Miami/Las Vegas/Sheboygan etc., etc......
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