I've got a little mini basketball hoop in my apartment that hangs just high enough to dunk on and it's been getting a lot of use lately with the culmination of the March Madness tournament. As a kid, growing up playing basketball, I knew two things about college basketball. I hated Duke and I hated Christian Laettner.
The guy, center of a new ESPN 30for30 titiled I Hate Christian Laettner, is downright detestable. He stepped on Aminu Timberlake! He was a pretty boy and an asshole.
Which makes him the perfect feature for a documentary. He's candid, attractive, quick and attention grabbing. Everyone loves a villain and he had a Lex Luthor vibe.
Just look at that smug prick. He's an ideal documentary subject. He's the all-time tournament leader in points, went to four consecutive final fours, and won back to back national championships. He has possibly the greatest shot in Men's College Basketball history.
Director and writer, Rory Karpf, does an excellent job breaking the doc down into five distinct reasons we hate the guy: Privilege, White, Bully, Greatness, and Looks. This is all intercut with former opponents and teammates, who will attest that Christian Laettner was an asshole. He constantly picked on teammate Bobby Hurley and gave coach Mike Kryzewski a hard time.
Karpf pulls a neat trick during the interviews to make old Laettner stand out and seemed more villainous. In all the other interviews the camera is stationed at least 45 degrees away from the subject who is looking across the plain of the camera. However, Karpf stations Laetnner dead center and has him look directly into the lens.
The doc succeeds because an older Christain Laettner has mellowed out. He has a wife and kids and teaches kid camps. He's changed. But not that much. Unlike most vilanious docs Laettner doesn't apologize. He's true to who he is and we as an audience can respond to that. There's a sense of catharsis without an unbelievable transition. I Hate Christian Laettner does what any doc sets out to do; tell a story honestly and compellingly.
He's still an asshole but, hate might be a strong word.
My latest Netflix binge is Showtime’s hit drama series “Dexter.” I don’t typically enjoy shows with blood and gore, but “Dexter” is an exception. The unique storyline, strong writing, and talented cast make this one of television’s best crime dramas. Protagonist Dexter Morgan is “born in blood” after witnessing his mother’s brutal murder as a toddler. This traumatic event creates a darkness in Dexter, a thirst for blood only satisfied with murder. Dexter’s adoptive father Harry teaches him a moral code to protect his secret and survive with the rest of the world. “Dexter” challenges our own code of ethics and morals as we try to determine the true essence of Dexter’s character.
Dexter is a self-described monster who spends his entire life faking normalcy. He claims to have no emotion or conscience, and tries to fake emotion to seem more human. Dexter finds comfort in Harry’s code and nurtures his evil streak. His killings become ceremonious -- a sacred ritual where he feels alive. Harry’s code forbids killing innocents, so Dexter uses his forensics job with Miami-Metro Homicide to discreetly hunt down murderers to put under his own knife. He twists his darkness into a better evil.
I think most would agree that someone responsible for dozens of murders doesn’t quite fit the bill for a classically ‘good person.’ Anyone finding satisfaction in murder is clearly mentally unstable and a danger to society. But Dexter isn’t killing just anyone. He only targets other killers. The audience recognizes these facts, and chooses to root for Dexter. Sure, he’s a serial killer, but does that make him pure evil? He’s much more than a serial killer -- he’s a loving father, husband, and brother, and he’s doing his best to keep everyone happy and safe. I’m not sure if killing murderers classifies Dexter as good or bad, but he’s not as evil as he believes. Dexter’s blind obedience to the code proves to be one of his biggest weaknesses. Harry told Dexter he could never change, and would always have to hide his true self. The code restricted Dexter’s individual growth over the years, but he very slowly throughout the show realizes he’s been a slave to the code. In a way, he was forced into this lifestyle.
Even though he denies having emotion, we know he’s only fooling himself. Part of Dexter’s kill ritual pays tribute to the victims of his target as he explains to the criminal why he’s going to end his or her life. This proves Dexter has some sense of right and wrong, indicating he does have a conscience after all. Unfortunately, having a conscience doesn’t make you a good person by default. Which begs the questions, is Dexter more good than he is evil? Are his actions justified? Or has Dexter manipulated viewers into thinking he’s more human than he really is?
The Batman movie franchise has had a long tenure and been interpreted by many actors, directors and writers. While the characters and stories follow the general plot lines of original DC comics, their portrayals have varied from each iteration to the next. The Christopher Nolan era of Batman could be argued as one of the most masterfully depicted stories of Bruce Wayne.
Over the span of 3 films he incorporates numerous villains and delves more deeply into the darker side of Bruce Wayne's psyche. The character development seen in the films strikes me as odd, however. The villains of this trilogy seem to be more dynamic characters.While watching, I find myself enjoying the "bad guys" more often than the hero. They have more personality and pizzazz which in turn causes me to almost root for them. One of my favorite of the villains is The Joker, portrayed by Heath Ledger. Yes, he's maniacal. Yes, he's murderous. But most of all he's exciting, unpredictable and so irresistibly captivating to watch. There are so many wrinkles that begin to unfold from the moment the movie begins and for the span of the film he steals the show.
Our hero however seems to take the back seat to these master villains. Bruce Wayne as portrayed by Christian Bale is more and more as the trilogy progresses a self-righteous, self-loathing billionaire with a perceived obligation to his city. He seems to be the only character that tries to escape their true self. He does this by becoming Batman. At first a noble pursuit, Batman soon becomes an escape for Bruce. He uses it to avoid the constant pressure of being a celebrity, the pain of lost loved ones and a possible means to a final end, his death. Throughout the series this character is pretty static, filled mostly with anger and grief with occasional hopeful moments which are usually snuffed out. While he's not as exciting to watch as say The Joker or Bane, his role is the backbone on which the story is built. His unwavering and steadfast behavior is what allows him to survive again and again no matter what he faces. While he may not be as likable, he is still the hero.
Next time you find yourself watching The Dark Knight trilogy, ask yourself, "Who's better?" The Hero? Or the Villain?
Did you watch it? Well if you didn't, then do it. Seriously. Now.
This trailer has revived my faith in reboots. At the start of the trailer, we see Captain America (Chris Evans) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) discussing their weekends. The short conversation brings back much of the light humor from the first film as well as a reminder that Capt. isn't in his domain anymore--keep in mind he was frozen in ice for many decades.
As he jumps out of the plane, it's hard not to smile. "Was he wearing a parachute?" "No. No he wasn't." From those two lines, viewers are reminded of Captain America's greatest superpower: courage. It's cheesy, I know, but that's why Steve Rogers was chosen to be the world's first superhero, anyway. Wasn't it? Besides his super strength, quick reflexes, and devilishly good looks, the greatest thing about this hero is what's inside. It's why we all grew to love him in the first film.
"I joined SHIELD to protect people." This line worked as another great reminder of why we love this hero. The only reason Captain America does what he does is to protect those who cannot protect themselves. He swore that he would use his powers for the greater good of the world. Without his promise, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to be the hero he became.
"Captain, to build a better world sometimes means turning the old one down. And that makes enemies." Oh no! Conflict! What could it be?? We don't know, and that's the point. A good trailer doesn't need to flat-out tell you what the main conflict in the story is. Can they? Sure. But I'm personally a fan of showing rather than telling, which is what the trailer goes on to do.
We are then shown a shot of this man...
Say hello to The Falcon (Anthony Mackie), the newest addition to Marvel's movie heroes. The Falcon, also known as Sam Wilson, has the powers to telepathically communicate with birds and can see what birds see. Who knows if Marvel will stay true to these powers, considering they seem to like to stay away from supernatural powers in their films, but this hero is also highly trained in hand-to-hand combat and, yes, even gymnastics. I'm not quite sure how our new character will be incorporated into the storyline of this film, but at least Marvel can throw him into the Avengers in the upcoming sequel.
"Look out the window. You know how the game works. Disorder. War." It's easy to tell that this Captain America sequel will be much, much darker than the first. After just listening to this one line, as well as watching cars blow up, I suddenly knew that this film will probably not be nearly as light-hearted or comical as the first. Marvel seems to be going down this road with all their sequels. Iron Man 2 was clearly much darker than the first, but then much of the humor we loved from the first film was brought back for the third installment. The upcoming Thor sequel looks much darker in content has well.
"We want to neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen." "I thought the punishment usually came after the crime...This isn't freedom. This is fear." I guess Marvel decided to take a more real-world approach in this film! Often with government agencies--the FBI, the CIA--people question the morals of the things they do and the way those things are carried out. Captain America takes the stance of much of the general public when Nick Fury tells him that SHIELD is taking a new approach to fighting possible threats. He accuses Fury of what many people accuse the U.S. government of doing--acting without just cause.
Next, we see Captain America kick and punch a group of guys in an elevator. Many explosions follow.
In the ending shot of the trailer, we finally get a better look at the villain of the film. They call him the Winter Soldier, but his real name is...wait for it...almost there...getting closer...Bucky Barnes!! Yup! It's Captain's best, dead friend from the first film. How is he alive? No clue. I'm sure I could ask Google and I'd find out in a matter of thirty seconds but I'd much rather find out when I see the film in theaters--probably on opening night.
Along with the excellent dialogue selections they chose from the film, the makers of the trailer for Captain America: The Winter Soldier used some very visually appealing shots to even further enhance the effectiveness of the trailer. I'm not usually one to enjoy sequels, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jumping up and down in my seat after watching this trailer.
Just look at that smug prick. He's an ideal documentary subject. He's the all-time tournament leader in points, went to four consecutive final fours, and won back to back national championships. He has possibly the greatest shot in Men's College Basketball history. 
