The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

Wow, that title is a mouth full. And so is everything about this mid-eighties movie. Let's take a look at a description of the film:

Adventurer/surgeon/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension.

You know you're in for a ride, and I was certainly aware of the film for a while because of its cult following,
but nothing could prepare me for what I was about to see. To say that Buckaroo is a movie ahead of its time may be a bit misleading, as everything about this film seems to be a product of its era. The eighties are screaming through on this one, although I will admit - perhaps with all the throwbacks to the last half century of sci-fi and action - that there is a certain timeless quality to it. Apparently famed film critic Gene Siskel noted upon release that this would become a cult classic, and he was completely right. The story of Buckaroo Banzai is an interesting one.

Buckaroo starts off explosively, and doesn't really let up throughout the run time. As the opening credits come up, I recognize many of the actors. My friend notes that the movie is well stacked, and he's right: Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd and Clancy Brown were some of the most recognizable names. Once the movie gets going you'll see many familiar faces, including Mike from Breaking Bad and the late, great character actor Vincent Schiavelli. From the description of the movie, we know Buckaroo is a renown surgeon, so why not just jump right into that for the opening scene? He's a neurosurgeon operating on somebody, and just as quickly as we enter that scene, we move on to Buckaroo piloting a vehicle on the salt flats in a speed run. It's not any normal speed run though, as he goes off course (after breaking the speed of sound) and with the help of a little device called the "oscillation overthruster" he is able to travel through the side of a mountain and into the titled 8th dimension, which catches the attention of aliens (presumably from the 8th dimension) who just so happen to be orbiting the planet keeping tabs on Team Banzai - I mean, if aliens were to keep tabs on anybody on Earth, it would have to be this group of multi-talented adventurers, right? Right after breaking into the 8th dimension, Buckaroo treats us to his other talent as a rock musician, where he meets the love interest of the film.

It's a bit of a rollercoaster ride from the beginning, where nothing seems to make sense but at the same time, everything makes sense. You take things for granted: Goldblum's character is wearing a bright red cowboy outfit the entire duration of the movie, for no apparent reason. But it's not questioned in world, and we continue to roll on. This happens a lot, as we jump from scene to scene, with bits of action and ominous villain speeches spread throughout. Lithgow is a genius of evil, deranged expressions. He takes on an Italian accent (most of the time) and could very well be overacting, but it fits in here perfectly, and is a nice opposite to Peter Weller's cool, calm and collected hero. We get a bit of a They Live (1988) situation where the aliens - once exposed - seem to be visible to some but not visible to others. I wasn't entirely clear on their motivations, aside from protecting their dimension - although there are good aliens and bad aliens and...yeah. I won't try to explain things because it doesn't necessarily make sense as it's going on. The movie borders on the absurd most of the time, and you can't help but go along for the enjoyable ride.

Halfway through the film we paused and I made mention that I thought this movie was directed at children back in mid eighties. The thought was questioned, but my line of reasoning would appeal to the fantastical nature of the film. Picture yourself as Buckaroo: you're a super multifaceted guy who everyone adores, everybody wants to work with and women love, who has a direct line to the President's office and YOU tell him what's going on. You're not charged with saving the world, no, it's your job and you're doing it with some of your best friends. You live in a mansion with mad laboratories, you have a samurai sword and an endless supply of gadgets, in addition to your own tour bus and friends with helicopters. You play it cool all the time, and when you don't want to talk about something, the scene ends. You get to make the tough decisions, and sometimes your friends are going to fall but you remain stoic and charge forward: the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Your friends rely on you, but you can rely on them as well: they remain loyal and talented on their own.

What it all amounts to is an ideal fantasy for any child, as Buckaroo displays qualities that anyone can aspire to. In that, the character, and the movie, become incredibly accessible and intriguing as you'll have no problem placing yourself in the lead role, or even any of his friends. As you watch the film, you can envision your own friends filling out all the roles, and even an enemy or two for good measure. Imagine the more active imagination of a child viewing the movie and forming their own adventures, formed on the structure of the universe that this movie paints. When the end credits come up, proudly displayed is a promised return of Buckaroo versus the World Crime League, but alas, it was never meant to be. I can't help but think how disheartening this would have been for a child at the time, and yes, how I actually want to see more of these wacky adventures myself. And if it wasn't for the children, then perhaps more for the coming of age teenager, especially for those with "geeky" fascinations and interests. I think, in retrospect, the movie can and does appeal to all, as I was reminded of simpler times when I was younger and would enact with friends bizarre worlds and creations from our imaginations.

The movie came out in 1984 and bombed at the box office, causing it's studio, Sherwood Productions, to go out of business. They reportedly had a budget of $12 million and ended up with $6 million at the box office even with fairly positive reviews. I can imagine the film would be very profitable in the following 30 years, with DVD special editions coming about. But at the time, the sequel would be shelved, and apparently attempts from other studios to go on to make it (or any other film) were unsuccessful due to complex licensing and rights issues. It also came out around a time where other, larger movies were dominating a the box office, including Star Trek III, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Ghostbusters. Stiff competition for sure, and with a complete lack of traditional advertising, the writing was on the wall from the very beginning. It's actually quite nice to read quotes from the likes of Lithgow talking about how much fun the character was to play, and his fondness for the film after all these years. A bit disappointed that it has taken me so long to get around to watching this cult film, but on the 30th anniversary, I'm glad to have done it.

For further reading, I recommend Wikipedia, of course.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

"Chris Evans is a wall of a man."

If you're going to take anything away from this movie, I guess that would be suitable. The guy is massive, most likely impossibly so, but it plays well to the new found depiction of the Captain's displayed feats of strength throughout the film. That's not to say he didn't display some pretty impressive feats beforehand, but I feel as though it keeps intensifying every time he's on screen. In the sequel, The Winter Soldier, we get treated to the Captain blasting through walls and tearing down obstacles with ease, as well as taking care of regular villains with ease. We feel the weight, and the power, of The Winter Soldier himself, which makes his match up with Captain more significant. Yes, the action is incredible - as it should be - but there is much more to this movie.

Part of the issue of Captain America is that I frankly don't know much about him. Yes, I grew up collecting comic books but I never read the Captain, or any other of The Avengers. So Marvel's multi-phase rollout of an Avengers centric movie universe is two things: exciting and nerve-wracking. Exciting because it's new (to me), and nerve-wracking because I feel this tremendous guilt about not knowing enough about what's on screen, and that I'm going to miss out on little bits of fan service. I also get some people (who know my background with comics) asking for more information, but I really have none - although I will typically try and act like I know something, at least. However, there is the stigma around the Captain, in where he draws comparison to the negative traits of DC's All-American Superman: he's a goody two shoes, with incorruptible moral guidelines that put them both on the side of frustration, especially for today's modern darkly driven characters. This is beginning to shift, as we saw in last year's Man of Steel movie, and was tackled well enough during television's Smallville, where Clark's bridled morals were often put to the test. When done properly, it can create compelling story. And you'll notice that I don't have any Captain America examples to utilize; instead, all I can lean on is the general, mainstream pop-culture driven sentiment that many of my friends have expressed, which in general, is that Captain America is a boring, unbending muscle of American patriotism.

It would come as no surprise then - with this negatively skewed outlook on our hero - that we are all so pleasantly surprised to have actually enjoyed the Captain's foray into the film industry. I recall clearly not only the doubt and hesitation, but the questioning of how good a Captain America film could be. Then, we saw it. And we were incredibly impressed. Captain America: The First Avenger provided the origin of Steven Rogers becoming the super soldier during World War II. We weren't inundated with pro-America messages and morals: we were treated to a good character who wanted to fight the good fight in any way he could. It didn't matter who the villain was; Rogers wanted to fight for his friends who were dying, and to put down any bullies - a battle he was losing his entire life. When he is giving the opportunity, he takes it: injecting himself with a super-soldier serum of sorts, he takes on the role of protector. Not necessarily protecting his country, but protecting his fellow soldiers. What I liked about this film, and Captain America, was that they don't cover up some of the atrocities of war: he's a soldier, accepts that fatalities will happen, but does his best to prevent them while maintaining the integrity of the mission. That is to say, he's not going to get all emo when his best buds die in battle: they all know the risks. The movie also follows the classic underdog structure, which is difficult to not appreciate.

All that being said, it's easy in The First Avenger to do the good thing: Hitler and Red Skull are truly evil, and there are clear goals to go after. In The Winter Soldier, the situation becomes more clouded. The threat here isn't alien or foreign, it's our own government (well, the American government at least). Marvel really pulls something off here: he makes Captain America relatable, as both he and us are learning about surveillance, secret operations and what our government has planned for us for the first time (or at least, bringing those elements into the spotlight). The plot becomes incredibly relevant in light of all the leaks of classified documents, and the attempt of government to push aside privacy at the expense of "catching the terrorists" through complex bills. The world in The First Avenger was - for lack of a better word - simpler. The modern day, including the one depicted in The Winter Soldier, is rife with complexities that require some careful thinking and cautious treading. Captain American wants to do what's right, but he may have aligned himself with forces that operate in the grey. His moral compass is put to the test throughout, as he finds himself alone for the first time as he is being chased and unable to entirely trust anybody, including his allies.

With all the complexities and parallels drawn between current events and what goes down on film, The Winter Soldier doesn't fail to impress on a more basic, entertainment driven visceral level either. We get all the action and explosions you could ask for, with incredibly visual effects. According to IMDb trivia, the filmmakers tried to make as many practical effects as possible, which definitely show when Captain is driving his bodies through walls and tossing aside soldiers like oversized papercraft. It's all blended seamlessly into the grander scale things, like the new, gigantic helicarriers.

I have many people telling me that The Winter Soldier stands as their favourite Marvel movie, and I would tend to lean in that direction as well. It has a beautiful mix of polished characters, conflict, humour, effects and continuity that I don't believe we've seen in cinemas before. What they are doing with the Marvel Cinematic Universe is truly unique: they've perfected the formula but aren't skimping out on quality and giving care to every detail. While it may seem like we're getting too many movies, I would disagree: I look forward to the next installment every time.

A Night of Catan: Seafarers

We've been playing Catan for quite a few months now, nearly every weekend. With the addition of another roomate in the house, we have the ability to play Catan nearly at will (we've never tried two player). So a few Friday's ago, the three of us found ourselves playing the vanilla game of Catan. Red was cleaning up in a serious way, taking all three games. The second game was a farce, perhaps my worst. Myself (Green) and Brown left the board open to Red: we both seemed to bet on six, which just wasn't coming up. It was a slow burn, but Red finally took the win and we moved onto another game where Red cleaned up again.

The following night, we decided to try the Seafarers expansion. With just a few different rules, the game felt oddly foreign. Your typical strategy is not welcome here. Indeed, you have a main, small island surrounded by three even smaller islands. When you get to another island, your first settlement is awarded with two extra victory points in addition to the regular points for that build. You play to fourteen points instead of the typical ten.

With the condensed main island competition was a bit more fierce, as we believed we would run into each other. But instead, we all tried shooting out to the sea, which involved building settlements on unprofitable coastlines. It also meant that we were using sheep much more than we were used to. And all of a sudden the game become balanced in an interesting way: all your resources are precious, and there are more avenues to success. I found that this turned everyone into hoarders, with very little trading going on. It also opened to the door to the robber taking your extra cards more often, and the few trades that did happen were ludicrous (two or three to one trades).

Our first Seafarers game is pictured above, with red taking a victory. I was glad to see the pirate ship get moved around a bit. Myself (Orange here) started with my typical strategy of trying to get all resources accounted for, regardless of how terrible the numbers are. Again, this proves to be my undoing, and I wasn't able to secure brick at all. Normally this would be fine, but with three players and an unwillingness to trade, it proved difficult to secure. My game was pretty much over from the start, but I was able to get into a ship building routine later on. Red had excellent first placement, taking both a common wood and sheep, which allowed for boat building and quick island expansion. All of a sudden those simple settlements become incredibly valuable with those special victory points.

The second game, above, displays my own victory (which feel fairly uncommon). Unfortunately Red made a mistake due to new rules, and got a bit of a slower start than the rest of us. This game, we strayed off the predesigned board and randomly placed both terrain and numbers. Even though I didn't have first placement, I secured two rather ideal spots: one in the northern section, where I sat on both wood and sheep - both were 9. Every time nine was rolled, I was secured a boat, so it was important to get onto the sea. It was a bit harder though, as the robber was very active and prevented my rolls. It was a good thing then, that I lay on an ore (6), which proved bountiful and useful with the 3:1 trade.

What I like about the board above was Ten Island. In our Catan circle, it feels like tens are rolled quite often, and to see two tens appear on an island of their own made the venture there very attractive. If you see, the other ten belongs to Red, which produced four wheat on each roll. We all seemed to learn from our first game as well, and stayed toward the coastline where we could easily go to see. Another noteworthy tactic here was Blue going to the gold mine on 6. It came up often, and he was able to secure any two resources he wanted whenever it was rolled. Unfortunately for him, victory was just out of reach.

The third game, above, saw us try a different scenario. In this case, you could start on any of the four islands, and gain special victory points for expanding to foreign islands. The style of gaming here was so different: a couple of us started on our own islands without interference. Robber placement was incredibly difficult and personal. My initial placement on the south east island proved to be a mistake, as building in the area was early and busy, blocking me from making a long route to my other island. Once I focused on typical island life, I had more success, but by then it was too late. Red and Blue fought for longest route, with Red ultimately building five roads at once to finish it off and secure a win. Red was able to secure quite a few ports and with the robber barely moving, accumulated a wealth of cards that saw unprecedented construction. An incredibly interesting board layout, it brought fresh gameplay, new strategies and generally, a lot of fun.

300: Rise of an Empire

It's hard to believe that 300 was released upon us in March of 2007, a whopping seven years ago. The movie was met with a healthy box office turnout as well as decent accolades - in my circle, at the least. It was difficult NOT to enjoy the film, as we were blasted from start to finish with visual splendor in the form of gratuitous blood, violence, slow motion, over the top dialogue and of course, impossibly muscular men. Zack Snyder seems to revel in his ability to bring comic book pages to life, allowing us to enjoy Frank Miller's splash pages on the big screen.

Where did we leave off? I believe the basic plot and straightforward execution thereof made 300 an enjoyable film and one that was easy to revisit. So before going to see the prequel/sequel, I watched it again and can conclude that it wasn't necessary to the understanding of this new creation. The first (what felt like) ten minutes of 300: Rise of an Empire felt like a "last seen on" intro to your favourite television show, and reduced the previous movie to a summary of actions and plot points that makes one wonder why we don't watch entire films in compressed form. We get to find out what happened to our King Leonidas immediately after his sacrifice, then quickly do we scrub back ten years to find out why Xerxes went on his rampage to begin with. And with that, we're introduced to our protagonist Themistocles and his counterpart Artemisia, played with perfect villainy by Eva Green.

What follows is another hour of action, violence, death, sex and slow motion (although not as much as its predecessor). We get a lot more talking though, as we gain an exposition on the war from both fronts and how everyone is involved, including multiple trips back to Sparta in an attempt to have them join the Athenian army in the rest of the fight. Of course, we know they do, as the ending of the original 300 depicted (I believe) the final battle that saw the end of Xerxe's advances.

I honestly thought we were going to see a rehash of the original, but was pleasantly met with something new. The setting is completely different, and while the movie was shot entirely on sound stage with extensive blue and green screen, it had a different look. Indeed, we find out that the men aren't as muscular (only Spartans can get that big it seems) but significantly less of the infamous "black crush" was used. Where 300 was red, Rise of an Empire is blue. Where 300 seemed outlandish, Rise of an Empire feels more rooted in history, and when you have a look, you can see that many of the characters actually existed and the story is more true to itself than you would let yourself believe a stylistic action movie could be. But both movies take liberties where they need to: both Snyder and Miller admit that they bent the truth to make the best scene, and I'm sure this philosophy was brought forward here as well.

It's still March though and we're surviving our way through the winter that never wants to end. Rise of an Empire gives us an escape - albeit a short one, but still an important one. While it may fall a bit short of the original - if not for anything else than the innovation at the time - Rise of an Empire is still a fantastic voyage.