Part 2

Starting from the 21^st century, there has been a change in the approach of film making. Starting with Harry Potter, The Hobbit, Twilight, and now the Hunger Games. What do they all have in common? Aside from being one of the most popular series in novel and films, they have also split their films into parts. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when came out on film, was split into two parts, of which the second wasn’t released until a year after.

Of course, with everything, there are pros and cons. On the bright side, the audience will get more show time. More information will be put into the film instead of having to cut out scenes from the novel and cram everything into two hours. But to be honest, even with an extra two hours, one couldn’t possible fit hundreds of pages worth of information into a film. If film makers and authors of these novels wanted every piece of information in the films, they would have done so a long time ago and rather made it a drama series. So really, the only good thing about this is if this one of your favorite novels or films, then the expectation of the next part is something to be expected.

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The real reason behind these parts is pretty obvious. From a business stand point of view, it’s simply more money. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 alone made more than 1.3 billion dollars in worldwide earnings. It is currently the fourth highest-grossing film and the highest of all in 2011. All that money came from literally half a book’s worth of film.

The Harry Potter series is a work of brilliance after all, but some who have tried to copy this method have failed miserably, especially our most recent example of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Critics have viewed it as simply boring and nothing but the exposition. It kind of makes us wonder what the film makers were thinking. It’s obviously a money hungry plan and has disappointed many audience members. With such big novels like the Harry Potter series, it may be understandable but was it worth for other novels?

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence, an idea still only dreamed about today has been a regularly occurring theme in films. The idea that computers will take over the world someday may be absurd but still theoretical, at least in films. From I, Robot to Eagle Eye, and most recently Transcendence, this idea never seems to fade. However, Transcendence starring Johnny Depp, seems to want to project a different view from the rest.

Claiming that artificial intelligence cannot be made, but recreated by copying real intelligence, the story unfolds as three passionate scientists creates an AI, with one of them sacrificing his life due to inevitable death as a guinea pig for the first ever human experiment of copied intelligence. Once successful after his death, the man seems to have been brought back to life through their work, only to seek for more power. His wife truly believes that it is her husband’s thoughts and desires systemized. The Co worker and also another brilliant scientist however, opposes the idea claiming that his friend would not have asked for more power fifteen minutes after being “reborn.”

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This film is different from the others not only because it has a different ending, but because it’s unique. There really is no real protagonist or an antagonist, and for an action film, that’s saying something. For a near two hour film, there was minimum action, but the thrill that the artificial intelligence could attack at any time was constant. With so many negative views on artificial intelligence presented by previous films, it seemed only natural that this film would be just the same. In fact, the mood and tension of the story seemed to lead it to the inevitable antagonism of artificial intelligence, only to shock people in the ending twist.

One thing I would like to criticize however was the lack of transition. Time seemed to move too fast, almost as if there was not enough time to bring in all the information and action in two hours. Although I was disappointed and seldom bored with the minimal action, it was inevitable due to the absence of a protagonist and an antagonist. Otherwise, the film was pleasing to watch and a very different experience from what many have been exposed to about artificial intelligence. If there was one word to describe this film, it would be “clean.”

A Stellar Film

Christopher Nolan has done it again. Directing some of the best films of this century like the Dark Knight Series and Inception, he never seems to disappoint the audience, or at least the majority of it. While his newest film Interstellar has been racking up nearly $20 million and rising from Box Office, he continues to blow his audiences’ minds. As Earth’s food sources become so scarce that agriculture and farming become a priority for students, scientists and astronomers are sent to other planets to find a new home. Most may compare this film with Inception and for a very good reason.

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Time is a major theme in both films. In Inception, time flies faster for each layer they pass through. Of course, this is a fictional theory and was introduced to the audience during the film. In Interstellar, time depended on facts about space time and gravity. Much of the scientific information presented in Interstellar are real in real life, although there are certain things Scientists disagree on and frown on. However, both films are dependent on time and because of the ever-changing time, audience members may be confused, especially in Inception. In Interstellar on the other hand, the risks, and effects or time were made clear to the audience not only so that they could relate, but also for the thrill.

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Compared to Inception, there was less “mind-blowing.” The ending could even be predictable to some. However, the plot twists were undeniably clever the way all the scenes were presented at the same time to build up to a climax. Although the film is nearly 3 hours long, never for a moment was it boring and it seemed as if every conversation had a purpose. Whether it was humorous, heartbreaking, or thrilling, each scene was unique to its own which made the film enjoyable throughout the whole time. Scientists may argue that the facts aren’t true, and some might complain that the film was too long. But just remember that it’s called science-fiction for a reason. Don’t let the negative claims get to you but experience it for your own and go on an interstellar voyage.

Jackie Chan a True Comedian

Jackie Chan. Movie star, martial artist, rush hour, funny guy, you name it. Before his retirement from action movies in 2012, Jackie Chan has appeared in over 150 films. Many may see him simply as a movie star, but he didn’t get there with sheer luck. In fact, he has a Guinness world record of most stunts performed in films averaging to about 1000 stunts. The results of these stunts are broken noses, pelvis, hands, dislocated shoulders, head injury, and countless near death experiences. Yet, it wasn’t until later in his filming career that he decided to use stunt men in place of him, and even so, he continued to do his own stunts.

He also had a hard childhood as his father was a spy who later joined the mafia for money and his mother who sold drugs as a side. He had siblings who faced abandonment and almost was abandoned himself as well. However, he didn’t get the love and care that we may get from our parents now. In fact, he was sent to a boarding school when he was young where imperfection was not tolerated. Although he’s learned much of his art talent from then on, the amount of pain and suffering he had to endure to get to where he is now is not even comparable to most of ours.

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However, as he started to film, he wanted to incorporate his own style, which was comedic action. Rush Hour being the perfect example, we can see that Jackie Chan is not only a fantastic martial artists, but a pretty darn funny guy as well. Most countries may have similar definitions for action, romance, horror, and such, but comedy is rarely international. This is because of the various cultures that countries have, and just like jokes may sometimes be hard or impossible to interpret in another language, humor may differ as well. Regardless, Jackie Chan has put smiles on faces from all across the globe. Although it may seem like no big deal, personally, I think this is Jackie Chan’s greatest accomplishment: to bring unity and laughter to people of all nations through his actions.

Though he had a difficult life, it’s evident that Jackie Chan still tries his utmost best and is inspirational in that he didn’t share his pain with the world, but through the pain he grew stronger and fought against it to prevent it from happening to others.