Sunday, April 21, 2013

WARRIOR

One of my favorite movies. I remember watching it for the first time and just BAWLIN like a baby. I don't want to give anything away, but it's a must-see. Warrior is a profound story of two brothers, their broken relationships with their father, and MMA fighting. It's been lauded as one of the few, if any, films that was able to combine all these elements in one movie without it being cliche or incongruous.

I think what makes a great film is the humanity and depth of the characters. A great plot is of course desirable and brings more action and movement to a 2-hour performance. However, if the characters have no depth, if there is no connection, no mutual understanding between your soul and theirs, well... then the story cannot succeed. The intense and slightly extreme nature of the relationships within this movie might be a bit dramatic or not relatable to many people, but we're all human. We all feel the same things for the most part.

There's 3 things we as people can all agree on, probably:
1. Family; you can't live with 'em, you can't live without 'em
2. Forgiveness is the hardest when it comes to family
3. But the reward, relief, and freedom one experiences when there is forgiveness in family creates a significant and powerful bond -- reconciliation. I know that no matter how prideful people can be, beneath all that.. we want, no, we need reconciliation.


It also helps that both of the brothers are extremely hot men.. and I love Tom Hardy.. and Joel Edgerton becomes more attractive the more I watch this movie.

Anyway, the best performance had to be Nick Nolte, who plays the former alcoholic, ex-marine, and ex-boxer father. It was beautiful, really. His attempt to re-establish relationships with his sons are so heart-wrenching, and the hardened hearts of Tom and Joel are understandable yet hurtful. I don't want to say anything else about the movie as to give anything away, but the fighting in this movie is also freaking awesome. I'm not a huge fan of MMA fighting because the brutality and violence of it is a little too much for me, but you have to respect all the hard work that these actors and real fighters actually go through to get their bodies to that point.



Tuesday, April 16, 2013

An Ongoing Obsession

for me has been the Z-boys. From my little knowledge about the Z-boys (originating from the surfing group called the Zephyr Boys), they were pretty much the founding fathers of what skateboarding is today. They pushed the boundaries of skateboarding by literally surfing on land and using similar techniques to achieve greater possibilities and creativity within skateboarding. Before that, skateboarding had its waves of coolness, but was very limited in the sense that there seemed to be certain rules or standards in which one could judge how "good" or "talented" one was at this seemingly innocent pastime. After its popularity died down in the late 50s, early 60s, it became popular again during the late 60s, early 70s with the onset of the Z-boys. I guess I feel like I know so much about them because I just watched the documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys" (2001), which was written and directed by Stacy Peralta (one of the original Z-boys). He gives such an intimate look into the lives of these skateboarders, probably as close as possible, and the raw energy and spirit of these young kids from a poor town who never thought their hobby would become something bigger than they could have ever imagined just.. it's unreal. It makes you want to live it, breathe it. The beauty of the origin of a movement is sadly contrasted to its fall in the sense that it becomes mainstream. The original Z-boys become older, some wiser, some not. The decadence of their former lifestyle and hobby next to what they are now and what skateboarding has become makes me kind of sad but also obsessed and amazed at their humble beginnings. It just makes me want to become part of a movement, but truly passionate about the activity itself rather than the outcome. That's what makes a movement so real, so unrepeatable and glorious. I guess that's why the glory days are the glory days.












Again

I'm starting another blog, again. Maybe for the first time, I want to stick to this one. I'd like to write and post whenever, whatever, and without the pressure of having to perform in some way. I want this to be as real and honest a reflection/archive/word-vomit-platform as possible.