Whoops: NYPD Removes 40 Morphsuit Mannequins from GAP

Forty members of Improv Everywhere were arrested for posing as mannequins in a Manhattan GAP.

Memebers of Improv Everywhere being arrested
It does look like mannequins are being arrested.

The members were dressed in Morphsuits and posed in various parts of the store. Unfortunately, the store employees weren’t in on the joke and called the police. The group’s founder, Charlie Todd, said “Many of the customers and employees had a good laugh, but five minutes later the police arrived after the store had called them. Many of the members were initially handcuffed but they eventually left the store and no charges were filed.”

Members of Improv Everywhere being arrested

Improve Everywhere is a comedy group that believes in “organized fun.” The group wants to prove to its audience that “a prank doesn’t have to involve humiliation or embarrassment; it can simply be about making someone laugh, smile, or stop to notice the world around them. ”

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GAP’s response to the situation: “The safety of our store associates and customers is always our main concern. We are pleased to report that no customers, employees or mannequins were injured in this event.”

I guess the employees were scared? Or maybe they thought the “mannequins” were waiting until closing to execute an unsuspecting robbery? Whatever the employees’ thought processes were, it was a bit hasty for a group of people who were just standing in a store.

Mad Max the Fury Road Warrior

The poster for the film. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia).
The poster for the film. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia).

Mad” Max Rockatansky returns from beyond Thunderdome after a 30-year absence. Tom Hardy may have replaced Mel Gibson in the Pursuit Special’s driver seat, but director George Miller is still at the helm of the post-apocalyptic franchise, which has yet to crash and burn.

Max is captured by the followers of a wasteland cult leader (Hugh Keays-Byrne), but Max quickly finds himself protecting the villain’s harem of concubines as they escape in a trek across the desert to the fabled “Green Place.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

While I haven’t seen the previous Mad Max films in their entirety since college, I remember each one having a distinct style and flavor. The first was a police revenge story a la Dirty Harry—albeit a dystopian one—that featured a good story with much pathos. The Road Warrior (aka Mad Max 2) was a post-apocalyptic western that presented Max as mysterious, almost mythic figure. It was also the superior action movie of the trilogy. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is pure ‘80s sci-fi cheese (Tina Turner played a wasteland queen. ‘Nuff said!)

So, I went into Fury Road hoping to get a film that had elements of all three, and to a certain extent that’s what I got. It does have some pathos and some cheese, but it’s mostly a modern-day remake of The Road Warrior. Like the older film, it features a long trek involving a “caravan” in need of protection and lots of vehicular combat. However, Fury Road lacks the western styling of Road Warrior, which was bookended with a voice-over from a narrator who turned out to be one of the children in the tribe Max helped, making Max seem like a legend. Fury Road, on the other hand, begins with a narration by Max himself, but no concluding voice-over at the end. In that regard, I’m not sure what Miller was going for, especially when he borrowed as heavily from The Road Warrior as he did. However, if I was going to describe the film’s style, it’d be that it is an issue of Heavy Metal magazine brought to life—what with its deranged, often hyperkinetic energy—only classier. This is most apparent with the War Boy who‘s strung up like a marionette on a stage-like truck where he plays a electric guitar.

Also, like The Road Warrior, Max plays a secondary role for much of the film, while the supporting characters take center stage. This is predominantly Furiosa (Charlize Theron), a wasteland warrior with a makeshift bionic arm. She’s just as hardened as Max, but hasn’t lost all compassion. She liberates the five wives of cult leader Immortan Joe—one of whom is pregnant with his child—so she can take them with her to the “Green Place,” a land untouched by the fallout. She holds her own with Max while also serving as the heart of the movie. In most stories, these five concubines would’ve existed simply as eye candy or conquests for the heroes, but here they’re women trying to escape from slavery. While scantily-clad, they’re treated respectfully and prove useful during the journey.

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Immortan Joe and his family are disgusting villains that remind me of the Harkonnens from David Lynch’s Dune. They’re a gross, over-the-top brood of tyrants. Immortan Joe’s bulbous body is covered with sores, which are barely hidden by muscular see-through body armor. With his mane-like hair and sneering mask, he looks like a rabid lion. Mad Max films are well-known for their bizarre bad guys, and Immortan Joe is a great addition to the pantheon. Interestingly, the actor playing Joe also played the Toecutter, the psychotic biker gang leader who murdered Max’s family in the original film. It’s a great nod to what has come before. However, his minions, the “War Boys,” look like an army of Quan Chi cosplayers. This isn’t necessarily bad, they look great and each have distinctive personalities, but their appearance is still slightly derivative.

The film’s greatest strength is that it sticks to its roots. While some modern film techniques were used to make it, the aesthetics remain unchanged. The vehicles retain their insane, cobbled together hot rod stylings. Miller wisely made sure they looked like vehicles from the 1970s and 1980s for verisimilitude. While the date of the nuclear war is never given, it seems implied that it happened around the time of the first film’s release or not long afterward. The previous Mad Max films were definitely products of the Cold War, so it’s surprising Miller convinced Warner Bros. to release another sequel and not a reboot given the somewhat dated nature of its premise. On the other hand, those films have had a powerful impact on pop cultural, even if many young moviegoers are unaware of it.

One of the reasons why those original films have aged so well is their minimal use of post-production special effects. Most of the explosions, stunts and chases were done practically in camera, and they still remain both astonishing and thrilling. Here, however, Miller does employ some CGI, but does not over do it. Most of the work, it seems, was done in camera. The most obvious CGI effect was a violent sandstorm the characters pass through during a chase sequence, and even that was still satisfying.

The story, in a weird way, is something of a reversal of The Ten Commandments. Max and Furiosa are trying to lead their band to a “promised land” by wandering through the wilderness, but when they encounter Furiosa’s tribe, they learn the uninhabitable swamp they passed through was the fabled “Green Place.” Furiosa tries to lead them further into the wasteland hoping to find a new home, but Max convinces them to go back to Immortan Joe’s Citadel and take it over while it’s unguarded. Ironically, one of the concubines had tried to return to Joe during the journey, but was prevented from doing so. In The Ten Commandments, the Israelites regretted leaving Egypt and wished they could return to their lives of slavery, but they pressed on to a new home. In Fury Road, the heroes do go back from whence they came and make that their “promised land.”

Mad Max: Fury Road, while a little derivative, is still a post-apocalyptic thrill ride that remains true to its roots. It should please both fans of the series and newcomers alike.

Final Grade: B+

Narratives with Multiple Layers: Age of Ultron

Rather than following the review trend of saying whether a movie is worth seeing, I’ll be bypassing that whole tradition as many of my readers cannot be persuaded or convinced either way. Therefore, I’m going to use Age of Ultron as a prime example for something that interests me as a writer and consumer: multi-layered narratives.

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What I mean by a multi-layered narrative is a scene in which there is more going on than what is actually portrayed. Often times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe there are hidden ideas only long-time fans might catch. This same technique can also add depth to many of the characters, either by alluding to past films, or acknowledging comic lore. This is usually just a passing reference to something else, but in some instances there can be a lot of emotion injected into these instances.

Black Widow must calm The Hulk a few times with a "lullaby".
Black Widow must calm The Hulk a few times with a “lullaby”.

For example in Age of Ultron there are romantic connections between Natasha (Black Widow) and Bruce (The Hulk). These intense exchanges are made even more potent when considering these two as persistent characters. Bruce knows being with Natasha is dangerous. He’s afraid to hurt her or any innocent person, but when confronted with this, Natasha mentions how she is also a monster in her own way.

Black Widow's past is extremely dark and tragic, explaining her roughness.
Black Widow’s past is extremely dark and tragic, explaining her roughness.

Even though Marvel has never created a Black Widow film for her blood-stained back story, there have been hints in the movies. Most recently in Age of Ultron, viewers receive visualizations of the psyche of most of the cast via the Scarlet Witch. Wanda (Scarlet Witch) uses her powers to show the Avengers’ horrors from their past, present, and possible future. It’s during this exchange viewers get a visual portrayal of Natasha’s past and what was done to her to make her one of the deadliest assassins in the world.

One of the best exchanges between the two.
One of the best exchanges between the two.

This makes conversations and encounters between Widow and Hulk that much more complex.

Joss Whedon is a master of using these layered characters to their highest potential. He crafts these lines and scenes with the intent to set off those connections in the minds of his viewers. Different people interpret entertainment in different ways, but Joss uses his awareness of those interpretations to bring out some of the most memorable moments of our time in film.

Joss while directing Avengers 2.

It’s not just the Avengers films in which these themes are challenged. Marvel’s policy of having its films and comics take place in their own universes provides lasting connections beyond the time spent with each work. What immediately comes to mind is Tony Stark’s character in Iron Man 3, which takes place shortly after the Chitauri invaded New York in The Avengers.

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Stark is one of the most complex characters in the Avengers’ lineup. He goes through many transitions during the films, from struggling with being Iron Man publicly to post traumatic stress from New York’s invasion. This battle affected Stark’s character tremendously, driving his motives since.

For example, in the scene above, Stark must save passengers falling out of a plane. JARVIS calmly tells him he can only carry four out of the thirteen passengers. Stark’s heroism and quick wit saves the day, but that refusal to listen to logic is the key element. Stark wants to save everyone and do better than he did in New York, blatantly ignoring all reason. That battle scared the hell out of Stark, giving him a reason to push himself and his technology beyond its limits.

Stark's fear of alien invasion leads to the creation of Ultron and Vision, with a little help from Banner.
Stark’s fear of alien invasion leads to the creation of Ultron and Vision, with a little help from Banner.

It’s this complexity of characters combined with writing that uses these layers that makes the MCU. Without this combination, many films wouldn’t hold up on special effects alone. In a way, this recent care put into each movie has been there from the very beginning. Marvel has always told complex stories since its origin and using those flawed and human characters to their fullest potential.

wiccan-hulkling-young-avengers--large-msg-129659008859Marvel in comics and in film has touched on everything from political situations to homosexuality, making it one of the most diverse companies in entertainment. Most tales touch on more than just action, or good guys thumping evil doers, but often take the time to go deeper into the human condition and current issues.

Age of Ultron is filled with interesting exchanges between characters that are worth studying in greater detail. Therefore, I challenge consumers and scholars alike to consider the deeper meanings of some of the best films of our time. Also be sure to share these findings with me and Giga.

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Til next time, I’ll be counting down the days til Marvel’s next film, Ant Man.

 

 

Fans will fall in love with ‘Lois Lane: Fallout’

Image courtesy of Amazon.

Lois Lane, the fearless Daily Planet reporter, is equally as iconic as DC Comics’ seminal hero Superman, but she usually serves as a supporting character. Author Gwenda Bond, however, reverses those roles while asking, “Who was Lois Lane as a teenager?” The result is Lois Lane: Fallout, a new YA novel (that appears to be the first of a series).

Sixteen-year-old Army brat Lois Lane moves to Metropolis where she gets a job as a reporter for a new online newspaper for teens called the Daily Scoop. She then learns a classmate, Anavi, is being tortured by a trio of bizarre bullies called the Warheads. The trio seem to have invasive mental powers thanks to a virtual reality video game.

Fallout is two parts Smallville and one part Sword Art Online. Like the former, it features a popular comic book character in her formative years. Lois, though young, is almost exactly the character fans know and love from the comics, albeit a bit immature. She’s tackling the typical problems a teenage Army brat has to deal with—constant moving, adjusting to new schools, trying to make friends—but with her trademark stubbornness. She may be rough around the edges, but it’s obvious she’d do anything to help the less fortunate, as evidenced by her efforts to protect Anavi. What starts as a simple problem leads to a complicated web of industrial subterfuge. Regardless, underneath all that is the important lesson of intervening to stop bullying.

The plot of Fallout, as I alluded, is reminiscent of the anime Sword Art Online (which is based on a series of Japanese light novels). Lois discovers that Anavi is a gamer and plays a new VR game called Worlds War Three using a holoset. The Warheads also play the game, and they often oppress her in the game, too. The game itself could be described as the bizarre lovechild of World of Warcraft and Mass Effect, creating an MMO featuring both dragons and aliens (among other things). While the game is a huge part of the story, the characters dive into it only a few times, which is to its credit. It would’ve been too easy and cliché to set the story in the VR world. The novel may as well have been a Superman/Sword Art Online crossover fan fiction at that point. Plus, it makes more sense to defeat the villains in “real life” than in the video game. Should this become a series, I don’t know if the VR game will be featured. I’d rather it wasn’t, or at the very least not used as the focal point of the plot.

While some have complained that Lois, despite being a strong woman, is too often rescued by Superman (I’d argue she just has a tendency to get in over her head), she’s quite competent here. Only once or twice does another character have to bail her out of trouble. Yet at the same time, she doesn’t mind being rescued. Bond could have easily turned her into a so-called “feminist heroine” who pretends to be invincible, but her Lois is willing to be vulnerable, although that usually requires people to crack her Army brat shell.
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As is typical with YA, the heroine serves as its narrator, and Lois’ rampant snark never ceases to be entertaining. Bond perfectly replicates Lois’ distinct voice. It really is like hearing a young Margot Kidder except in present-day. Lois’ reactions to the scantily-clad elf princess avatar her co-reporter creates for her in the VR game are particularly poignant and funny. This book’s style has a fairly unique feature: the inclusion of texting/internet chats. The paragraph structures and fonts change whenever these come up, visually signaling to the reader the change. By transcribing these chats, it makes them easier to follow. Interestingly, while Lois is usually a notoriously bad speller, these chats are free of typos and have only a few emoticons or other Internet lingo. Was this a creative license on Bond’s part? Regardless, it’s better for reading purposes.

Most of these conversations are with an enigmatic boy whose username is “SmallvilleGuy.” Well, he’s enigmatic to Lois, anyway. Bond throws in many subtle hints that even the most casual of Superman fans will know this fella is in fact Clark Kent. He never gives his real name, and other than seeing his avatar in the VR (a blue-eyed alien, ironically), he and Lois never meet. While he plays second fiddle to Lois, he’s no incompetent sidekick. He’s proficient with technology and uses his connections within an internet group to gather information for Lois, as she investigates the technology firm behind Worlds War Three. He saves her once within the game—by firing laser beams from his eyes—and helps out during the climax, but for the most part he simply supports Lois’ efforts. Understandably, Lois wrestles with how she feels about him, constantly telling herself he’s just a friend despite their meeting in the VR game feeling like a date (this is YA, after all, the heroine must struggle with such things). It’s a great transposition and foreshadowing of what fans know will come in the future.

Which leads to one of the book’s minor flaws: the rest of the supporting cast isn’t as compelling. Lois’ parents are interesting enough, but her cohorts at the Scoop don’t hold as much intrigue. It’s not that they’re poorly written, but because “SmallvilleGuy” is—or rather, will be—Superman, they’re overshadowed by him. Other than the Warheads, who turn out to actually be pawns, there’s no real villain in the story. There’s a CEO and a few scientists at the end, but they’re hardly ever seen. For a book inspired by comic books, this seems a bit strange. Also, Bond is fond of characters who shrug only one shoulder for some reason. Most of them do that at least once. A nitpick, I know, but it happens a lot.

Regardless, Lois Lane: Fallout is a wonderful read for even the most casual of Superman fans.

Final Grade: A-

The Fourth is All Around Us

For any PS Vita owners out there, you can get your Star Wars fill for $20. Three Battlefront games (Renegade Squadron, Elite Squadron and Battlefront 2), Star Wars: the Clone Wars, Lego Star Wars 3 and Star Wars: the Force Unleashed are all bundled together ready to steal hours of your life. To be fair, they were made for the PSP so the graphics are a bit dated, but the gameplay and nostalgia make up for it. There is a similar bundle for the PS3 with several PS2 titles, but, yeah, not quite as good.

11212315_10102479570303286_1066439376_nWhether you have them all or not, it is worth noting that all six Star Wars movies are available digitally for a nice, round $90. I have also seen the full collection available on Blu-ray as well. Be it physical or digital, you can cancel your cable and cram over a decade of galaxy-defining awesomeness into your memory banks.

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Live it up, fans; this is definitely your year. May the 4th be with you all.