Entertainment

Tech Crisis.

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How about Wall-E?

You may have seen this Disney film from a few years back, I was just having a conversation with someone about it a few days ago. We were thinking about how technology is changing us. Not a new subject, I know, but have you noticed it’s one people seem constantly concerned about?

Well, at least they’re concerned, that’s a start.

I don’t think I’m at all misinterpreting the movie when I say it’s about how technology cripples us in the long run. It’s funny, when the movie fist came out, I wasn’t as aware of the Tech Crisis (I’m calling it that now) as I am today, but now that I’ve seen it firsthand, it’s all too clear. The human beings in that movie are all sitting around on their duffs, 24/7, watching their little holographic screens. Doing whatever the ship’s computer voice instructor tells them. They’re all so fat (no nice way to say it) they can’t even stand up by themselves. We’re shown later that it’s the time in space’s effect on their bones, they’ve lost a lot. ( I wonder if that’s actually symbolic of a loss of backbone, but I can’t say for sure on that.)

I’v heard that we’re a materialistic society, but the way I see, we’re more and more a people who are materialistic without the materials. I’ll show you.

Look at your phone right now, or your computer, or whatever. It’s probably small enough to be held in your hand. It weighs less than a pound. Now picture what’s inside it. A little micro-computer. Metal, chemicals, battery, and whatever else they make phone out of.

Believe it or not, that is all the physical material that many of us are obsessed with. The rest of it is all just images and ideas in our mind.

The actual material of on-screen transactions is very minimal. Nothing like the obsession with wealth that we used to term materialistic. That’s still a thing, but the other is far more common.

So, you see, we’re materialists without material.

And what’s more, even the mental material is often not really that. There’s plenty of indoctrination going on through TV, but the bulk of what we watch is completely useless to our minds, even as deception. The real deception is that we think it’s funny.

But this is not to come down on any particular genre or person. I think though that our concern needs to be followed up by action.

I can make myself pretty unpopular among the people around me when I actually have a problem with this kind of stuff, but if I allow that to change my mine, I have no backbone either.

Now, I freely admit, I use technology a lot. For this blog, I have to. And for typing anything, because I tried a typewriter, and I’m nowhere near accurate enough to make it worth the time and effort. (Plus you can only print one size and on font and that just doens’t work for me.) I do use smart ohones and tablets to look stuff up. I use dictionary.con instead of an actual dictionary often enough.

None of that is bad, and it’s not wha tI’m talking aobut.

I recognize that technology is helping us get soemthings done more effciently. And that using it to relax with isn’t a bad thing, in moderation.

But I think I overuse it too often. Binge watching stuff isn’t healthy. (Unless you have no other choice because you can’t keep it another day.)

Just to be positive for a moment, I’ll also say that without the internet I wouldn’t have found some of the books I love, been able to buy my favorite comic book, or found my favorite speakers. In all those ways, technology has been a blessing to me.

When I say I hate it, it’s not the items themselves, it’s the idea of it and what’s it’s turned us into.

I am an introvert, I won’t say I’ve never preferred being holed up, with YouTube, in a room by myself, to hanging around other people, but I rarely choose to do that. I have one simple reason:

I want to be the kind of person who prioritizes people over things.

Who actually tries to hang out with their family.

Who is available to their friends.

Sometimes technology is an aid to that, but I’ve found nine times out of ten that a good book works far better. Plus, it shows more of your priorities with what you read than with what you watch (other than watching stuff itself.)

It’s a bit cliche for the person at the other end of the screen to urge you to turn it off, but hey, it’s your call.

One more thing about Wall-E:

It’s a movie about learning how to be human.

Wall-E has overtime developed human feelings by watching their old movies and exploring their stuff. Their real stuff, I want to point out. He’s surrounded by materials that people used up until they went away and became reliant on their tech. The reason they did was because Earth got too messy to live on.

Wall-E, in true Blast form the Past style, falls in love with Eve, another robot. But Eve is more like a robot than he is, at first. Over the course of the film she starts doing more and more things that she wants to do, or are right to do, instead of just what she’s programmed to do. She develops a human personality as well.

You know how when someone seems checked out as a human being we’ll refer to it as auto-piliot? Well, the villain of the movie is Auto, the piloting system that has also developed it’s own consciousness, but a controlling, deceptive one. Intent on keeping power by keeping humanity stupid and dependent on himself. He doesn’t want to be turned off.

A great moment of the film is when the captain, after learning about Earth thanks to Wall-E, finally stands up to Auto and yells “I don’t want to do nothing! That’s all I’ve ever done is nothing!” He finally succeeds in turning Auto off and taking aback control of the ship.

They go back to Earth to take care of it, accepting their responsibility as people.

That’s the movie, in a nutshell. Rediscovering what it means to be human. Through a robot.

Ironic.

Until next time–Natasha.

Why I write and Read.

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Hello readers, sorry for not posting. I’ve been busy.

I’m super excited about finishing up some of my books. Maybe if I ever get one published I’ll leave the title in a post.

I just hope my writing makes sense.

You may find this hard to believe, but I actually write more fiction than non-fiction. This blog is maybe 20% of my writing time.

But I love fiction.

I love fantasy.

I love making it up even more than I love reading it.

There’s something magical (ha ha) about world building.

And you know, this is worth bringing up here, because I do pray about what I write. Yes, I want it to change people’s lives. And I might not be there yet, but someday I hope what I have to say will matter to someone.

I hope that one of my books will be like C. S. Lewis’s and Hannah Hurnard’s writing is to me. I hope that people will get caught up in it like I got caught up in the PErcy Jackson series. And won’t have regrets later about how I ended something. I hope people will be inspired like “Carry on Mr. Bowditch,” and “The Enchanted April,” inspired me.

I know that reading is now taking second place to movies and shows, but it will always be the better choice. Though it is the harder one. I myself find it easier to watch something that takes little effort and little imagination, then to read a book that requires both. Currently I’m reading Jane Eyre, and the language is a bit of a challenge even for me–and I read Shakespeare. (I promise it gets easier the more you do it.)

I notice folks are a lot more picky now aobut their stories. I blame the lack of imagination in movies for it. I don’t mean people who make movies aren’t imaginative (though some… you know what I mean.=,) I meant hat your brain really doesn’t have to fill in any of the blanks when it’s all right before your eyes.

A good movie is like a great view. It can be soaked up and inspiring, but it’s not going to challenge your mind in the same way thinking of a great scene will.

Words are as important to our mind as food is to our body. (That’s a paraphrase of what Miss Sullivan says in The Miracle Worker.)

Frankly, when books let you do some of the work yourself, they are treating you with respect. Authors are not concerned with showing us things, they are concerned with making us see. Different form movies.

Now, it’s fine to be shown things, but it will never give you the maturity learning how to see for yourself will.

For instance, my favorite movie showed me a lot of things about myself, but it was the book I read before watching it that had made me able to see those things.

It’s great when you can balance those things out, I hav enothing against drama. But only drama, only movies, only shows, that leaves you only with what youve ben told. Not what you’ve discovered.

This is the real problem I see with people my age, they believe what they’re told, but they don’t know how to figure out for themselves what something means. They think something can mean whatever they want.

The truth is, no good artist (of any sort) sets out to tell the world something ambiguous. There truly is a right way to understand them. In some cases, we know too little about the person to be sure, but in many others people choose to see different things in their work.

Which isn’t wrong, but it would be wrong to then say that’s what the artist meant.

Also, it’s better to take best things out of something than it is to take the worst out of it.

I can’t tell you how many times I talk to someone who seems to be a nice, intelligent person; and then I realize they beleive only what the culture aorund them had taught them.

If we exposed ourselves to more books, older books, ones not subject to our modern ideals, we would find very different points of view. And maybe if we didn’t jsut assume they were wrong right off, but actually opened our minds, we’d be shocked by how much sense they make.

I get that I’m old fashioned, but heck, who says that’s wrong?

The problem with being completely modern is that every age is prone to certain defects, certain wrong ideas, and if you allow yourself to be propelled along by what’s modern, new, popular, then you will be caught in the good and the bad of it. Human nature being what it is, you’ll probably more caught in the bad.

Like for instance, being bad, rebellious, a rule breaker is kind of nodded at in our culture, as you’ve no doubt noticed. I want to know who decided being selfish, rude, inconsiderate, and reckless was the new face of cool. (Oh Jane Austen, where have our Edwardian values gone!)

I respect the idea of being yourself to certain point. It’s healthy to be honest and unique. It’s not cool, however, to use that as an excuse for not being accountable for your behavior to other people.

Which, if we read more books, and were more open to them, we might realize. There used to be this thing called manners, and standards, and it used to be considered right to adhere to them.

The fact is, it does matter what you do. It does matter whether you are on the right or wrong side. And the world to lie to us, and say that you can be bad and still be making an impact for the greater good, why, that’s the most idiot idea ever heard!

No folks, it’s not the bad ones who are bringing anything refreshing to the table.

And that’s what books taught me.

Until next time–Natasha.

Justice League: The Flash.

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Oh yeah.

The Flash is one of my favorite superheroes, despite the many jokes about his name. (His alias is Wally West for those of you who don’t know.)

On the JLU, Flash could always be counted on to lighten the mood, and the mood often was pretty heavy.

On a show about alien invasions, bizarre mind control, diabolically clever bad guys, and unbelievably powerful supervillains, there really isn’t much to laugh about. The show was never corny enough for none of it to seem serious.

But Flash keeps everyone from taking themselves too seriously. Which is his obvious role: comic relief.

But what sets him apart is that he is not merely that. We all know the comic relief guy can be totally useless often enough, because, it’s funny. (Actually, I typically find that character annoying.  Ron Stoppable was the only one I laughed at, and that was after I got used to him.) But Flash isn’t, there are several episodes in which in the crunch, it all comes down to him.

And he’s arguably the least powerful. Since Batman’s gadgets probably out weigh Flash’s one superpower in terms of usefulness. But Flash is pretty resourceful when it comes to making the most of his speed.

He is after all, the fastest man alive.

And the only being faster than Superman that was ever officially shown. (Though that was on the Superman show. (Which is worth checking out, but avoid any episodes with magic in them because they were absolutely horrid.)

Here’s another interesting thing about him, he was also the only one of the team ever to overuse his power to the point where he actually burned himself out.

Unlike the other’s, Flash’s power is still tied to his normal human abilities. That is to say, he has to keep a lot of calories in his system because his metabolism burns them up so quickly when he runs. This means that, just like a normal human, he can expend his own strength. He does it one time on the show and it nearly kills him, but his friends save him. (By the way, that part of the episode never made sense to me.)

We never really find out whether or not Flash needs the League, in the same that Batman or Superman or Hawk Girl, or the Martian need it. He’s more like Diana and the Green Lantern in that he could probably be okay on his own, handling his own villains, and still have other friends and family. Flash is not dysfunctional.

In fact, he is also one of the only members who really has a life outside the League that isn’t just in his secret identity. As The Flash, he goes and visits kids in an orphanage, regularly. They love him. He’s not so infamous that his popularity ruins any personal good he can do as The Flash.

The funny thing is, we never see him as Wally West on the show, because we don’t need to see him that way to know he had a human life too, because Flash really never ceases to act like a normal person.

He’s not a genius, though I doubt he has only average intelligence. He’s not super skilled with weapons or gadgets; he doesn’t talk the talk; and he flirts with girls; Flash never acts like he’s someone special.

That’s why the rest of the League loves him, though they rarely admit it. In the Justice Lords episode, it’s even demonstrated that he’s the glue that holds them together. He’s also the one who busts them out when everyone else is unable to do anything because of their doubles. (The alternate Flash is dead, you see. It’s really sad.)

It’s interesting that the supposed death of Superman daunted the League, but the death of Flash twisted them. But not so surprising, since in Hereafter, it’s Flash who stops Diana from taking that road by reminding her it’s what Superman would have wanted.

It’s also Flash who is the first to completely forgive Hawk Girl after she betrays them, and the only one in my memory who never criticized her or even seemed angry.

One of my favorite Flash episodes was the Christmas one Comfort and Joy. In that one, Flash encounters the Humanite (a weird gorilla-shaped mutant with genius intelligence who talks with a deep silky voice.) Humanite is up to his usual no good stuff, when Flash makes an impromptu speech about Christmas, after his gift to the orphans got accidentally destroyed. Humanite is actually moved by this (though he still knocks Flash out for awhile just to get even) and repairs the toy and helps him deliver it to the kids. It’s really sweet, but better if you check it out for yourself.

Flash also shows compassion to another villain, who is really just a man who goes off his meds and does crazy things. Flash talks him into turning himself in with the promise that he’ll visit him. We don’t see him do it, but we know he’s going to.

Because as irresponsible and often immature as Flash seems. he is really neither. He cares about people.

Finally, there’s an episode I forget the name of, in which Batman and Orion follow Flash around for a day, and Orion just doesn’t get why Batman even puts up with Flash, and Batman just says sadly “No, you don’t.” Through the course of the day we see how Flash can be both annoying and really caring. And we wonder also why Batman actually seems to envy Flash in way.

Finally we get it. Batman may care about people, but it has never been his only reason for doing what he does. And he’s never been as able to open up to people as Flash is.

The truth is, what Batman acts like as Bruce Wayne, Flash actually is, effortlessly. Batman always feels that the Dark Knight part of him is there, preventing him from really being carefree and open; while Flash is always the same person, whatever mood he’s in and in whatever guise.

Batman may never go to Flash for life advice, or want to have him as a mission partner, but he still wishes he could be more like him. And I’m not sure we can say that of anyone else in the League, except possibly Superman.

Flash is humble too, and the least suspicious out of all of them. He’s also willing to go against them when he thinks it’s right, as in the episode featuring more of my favorite characters The Ties that Bind. In it Flash helps out Scott Free and Barda when they come to the League for help. (They’ve helped the League, so it was a fair trade.)

Actually, Flash is the only League member known to disagree with the Martian and get away with it in the end.

There’s only one bad Flash episode in the whole show, and he wasn’t the bad part of it. Actually, he was almost playing a Christian role. (I wonder if he is Christian. But even if not, it doesn’t take away anything from his character.)

So, that, in a nutshell, is The Flash. But check him out yourself for the full appreciation of how awesome he is.

Until Next time–Natasha.

Justice League: Batman, part two.

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Yes, I know. Part two.

Since I already got into the Batman/Superman dynamic on the show, which I like a lot better than in that awful Dawn of Justice flick, I’ll move on to his other relationships.

I know Batman and relationships sounds like an oxymoron, but again, that’s what made this show great. The superheroes were really each other’s friends and family.

I want to talk more about the Batman/ Wonder Woman thing.

According to the directors of the show, it was practically non-existent, even in their minds; but boy did it work.

Like I said, the first thing in her favor is that she recognized him, but in that episode they work exclusively together, and it rocks. Not just because I ship them, but because they’re characters play off each other so perfectly.

And not for a comedic effect, but for my money, it’s even better when you can have two characters working together and it’s just fun to watch even if they aren’t being funny.

The main thing about this episode is actually about Wonder Woman and respect. you’ll never hear it in the episode itself, but it’s the one that really establishes Diana as someone who should be listened to.

At first she and Bruce aren’t exactly working together. He’s in Paris to investigate some suspicious activity (and to do some Bruce Wayne stuff also,) she’s just there to have fun. (Cue the dumb song.) But after Diana saves Princess Audrey and kicks the crud out of the guys attacking her (all while Bruce just sits back and enjoys the show; another important thing to note,) she decides to party with her as her personal body guard. After they become new best friends, Batman decides to drop in on Wonder Woman in her apartment. After a line or two of banter, he tells her that Audrey’s father is suspected of being involved in some shady business. (I’m really sorry that I can’t remember, but it’s been four years since I’ve seen the show.) Wonder Woman sticks up for Audrey, but agrees to ask her about it. Which she does, and Audrey tells her there’s no possible way her dad is involved. Wonder Woman excepts this, but then gets the shock of her life when Audrey introduces her to her fiance, Vandal savage.  Actually, his grandson who looks just like him. (But it really is the original.) To Diana’s credit, she is not entirely convinced it really is his grandson, but she also behaves pretty ungraciously, to Audrey’s annoyance. Bu they patch thing up quickly and Diana talks to Savage alone, making it clear she suspects him. (And she overhears part of a phone conversation also.) After this, Wonder Woman gets on the phone with Batman, and while they’re talking they hear a news bite that Audrey’s father has just had a serious–and convenient–stroke. Wonder Woman leaves immediately to warn Audrey, while Batman says “Meet you there.”

To make  a long story short, Wonder Woman gets creamed by a freaky guy with a conic blaster embedded into his vocal cords. (Yes, it’s as weird as it sounds.) Batman finds her after she’s been knocked out and tells her Audrey is getting married. She recklessly decides to go crash the wedding, in the process breaking some law about intruding. Batman kind of smiles at her way of doing this, but then she gets herself captured, and gets Audrey really worked up by her accusations. Diana really starts to lose patience with her friend here, since Audrey refuses to listen to her, and thinks she’s a lunatic. Then acts like a spoiled brat.

Batman tries to call in help, but the only three members available have to go take down the space weapon Vandal Savage has set up that can destroy entire cities. (It’s not really that much like the Death Star.) So Batman decides he and Wonder Woman will have to fend for themselves. he proceeds to free her, she punches someone while he’s doing it. Then jumps in front of him to block bullets with her bracelets. The two of them proceed to storm the castle and ruin Savage’s plans. (I love the part where Batman runs up to him with a chair and says “You’re in my way” then pow!) They also free Audrey, who has since discovered the truth, not very cleverly I might add. (I like her and all, but she should have listened to Diana.)

The episode ends with Wonder Woman alluding to their dance, and Batman denying it because, secret identities; but she says “You’re still taking me dancing.”

And that’s the episode. There’s a lot more with them in it, and confession-ally, I watched all their episodes many, many times. (I was on the edge of 14 when I quit the show, okay.)

The reason these two work so well is because they are evenly matched. Diana keeps up with Bruce not by being as smart as him, analytically speaking, but by being intuitive. She’s not stupid either, but she definitely is more impulsive. But it generally works for her, and Bruce only seems to admire her for it. He once said that she was a remarkable woman, a devoted friend…and standing right behind him, wasn’t she?

To Diana, their relationship makes perfect sense, but Bruce would never commit to it.

He used the excuse that his enemies would get to him through her, and Diana pretty much just crushed some stone as if to say “Are you kidding me?”

he also thought he had too many issues.

Actually, it was kind of sweet in a way that he seemed to think she could do better, but she didn’t want to.

It’s funny, Batman seems pretty humble for a guy who has so many trust issues, and the truth is, he’s a mix of pride and humility.

He really doesn’t want to lose more people he care about, but he still allows himself to care, just not to show it. It’s like he’s really just afraid of them knowing he cares and thinking he’s vulnerable.

Diana understands this and defends him even when the others are kind of frustrated with his lack of communication. But we see that in his own way, Batman is trying to do his best by them. He just doesn’t like being on a team.

It grows on him though, first through working with Diana and coming to see her as an equal, then eventually with all the others too. That’s why I think he and Diana are so great together, because they make each other better.

I couldn’t say that for any of his other love interests (save in the new Lego Batman movie.)

I have got to end this now, but I’ll talk a little bit more about Bats when I get to Flash. Until next time–Natasha.

Justice League: Batman

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So, I’m finally getting to the big guy himself, aside from Superman. (But after Man of Steel, doesn’t Superman have a lot less fans anyway? Maybe I’m wrong.)

The JLU version of Batman is my favorite. Though I’ve watched the sixties Adam West show, and seen a few clips of the Dark Knight saga (ugh.)

But I think the show’s version of Batman was the best for a variety of reasons.

The first was that Batman had a more balanced personality, he was still too far on the dark side for my own taste, but he also had moments where he loosened up. The Bruce Wayne part of him was not totally absent from the Batman part.

And the brilliant reason behind this was that the other members of the League (the seven original ones I mean) knew who he was.  We see that Superman knew already, (which is explained in the show that was specifically about Superman from the same creators.) But what I loved was how the other characters found out.

We’re never told how Hawk Girl or Green Lantern knew, and the martian man-hunter either read his mind, or else just found out when Flash did. (In the middle of Starcrossed, it’s one of the funniest parts of that super serious episode.)

But we do see how Wonder Woman knew. It’s in that all time favorite episode Maid of Honor, early on. Diana and Bruce both happen to be in Paris, at the same party, which seems to be a complete coincidence. And Diana is getting harassed by a lot of fans…and the press it looks like (pause to acknowledge the sad fate of every superhero if they were real.) Then a handsome stranger steps in to ask her to dance and she jumps at the chance. What’s fun to watch is how through the ensuing conversation she’s slyly looking hard at his face and insinuating that they already know each other.And Bruce (of course it is him) isn’t really denying it. The golden part is that Diana actually doesn’t know his name, but you can tell she recognized the voice.

Can we all just applaud her for a moment? I can’t be the only one who gets annoyed when superheroes meet people they know and the person can’t even place their voice. I can recognize my family’s voices. (Though sometimes they sound so alike I get the wrong person, but I know it’s one of them.) And even if you allowed for the fact that some people just sound alike, the superheros are always dropping hints. Till you want to bang your head on a wall at the stupidity of the person they’re talking to.

Diana subverts that stupid cliche in one conversation! You can see why I like her now.

This is also one of the things that make me think she was the best match up to date for ol’ Batman. None of his other (and often evil) love interests have ever recognized him without his help.

There’s more heated debate about this than you would beleive, but I’m moving on.

So, why this whole secret identity thing is important is because it denotes some measure of trust. BAtman is always critisizd, even by the otehr characters, for one thing:Not trusting nayone.

Superman is actually pretty chill about it in the origin story episode, and explains to the martian, who says “A wise policy.” (I found that idiotic from a guy who could read minds and ought to know how important trust is to our psyche.) But Batman does trust the league, to an extent. I reviewed the JL movie Crisis on two earths several months ago (It’s in a series called “Earth crisis” if your’e interested) and at the end of that when Batman faces off with Owlman, Owlman ribs him for not trusting anyone else to do something, though, he confesses with a laugh, he feels the same way.

I disagree that Superman would have been the better choice in that situation, but the point remains that even if he were, Batman would probably not have trusted him.

And Batman says on the show to Diana “Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me, real hard.” But that was an early episode.

I really have to appreciate how Batman interacts with Superman even so. He’s about the only one who will tell Superman to get over it, and stand up to him. Which amazes people since he’d arguably the least powerful and Superman could crush him. But Superman wouldn’t. Though he does shove him aside pretty hard in the same episode I just referenced, and Batman doesn’t even  hesitate after that.

It’s clear to see that despite how often Superman and Batman disagree, Superman deeply respects him. And Batman admires Superman more than he will ever show. They’re relationship was pretty much summed up by a brief exchange after Superman came back from the future.

Wonder Woman: Don’t let him fool you. He’s just as glad to see you as the rest of us. (I apologize if I remembered her line wrong.)

Batman: No, I just never believed you were actually dead.

Superman: (nonchalantly) I…guess that’s a compliment.

There you have it. They get each other. Actually, it’s partly because of their friendship that I think the League is so good for Batman. He actually gets to help people who are more his equals and who won’t listen to everything he says because they all are just as used to calling the shots as he is. (Versus his relationship with Robin and Alfred and the other kids.)

You think I just mean the idea of it, but there is seriously a difference with how he acts.

He’s actually so complex I’ll have to split this part into two. Sorry, it’s character discussion after all.

Hope to see you then–Natasha.

Avatar

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I’m breaking from my new series to catch up on my film reviews.

Also, I realized today that it is nearly the two-year anniversary of this blog. I’ve grown from two followers to forty one. This is pretty cool.

Anyway, to the review:

I am not talking about the show Avatar, I’ve never seen it. I’m talking about the movie that kind of went under the radar.  I remember first seeing commercials for it and thinking it looked cool. Blue aliens, they aren’t usually my thing, but it was an interesting concept.

And I finally got a chance to watch it.

The story is about a man named Jake Sully, who is an ex-marine, and has lost the use of his legs, but thanks to being a twin and having the same DNA of his dead brother, he is able to replace him in an experimental program that will use his soul and mind into the body of a human/alien being, and allow him to infiltrate their culture and find out how to get the valuable metal they have in their forest. Unobtainium. (That name was said with a straight face throughout the entire movie.)

Creepy sounding right? But once you get over the initial weirdness and your mind adjusts to the idea of a man being inside a large blue thing with a tail, it’s not so bad.

The character I found most intriguing, next to Jake, was Grace. A scientist on the project, who at first didn’t like him being there because she thought he was dumb. (Incidentally, Chris Pratt auditioned for Jake’s role, and Jake Sully is a lot like Peter Quill from Guardians of the Galaxy. Apparently Pratt gets type cast.)

After a lot of in between events that fill us in more on these blues aliens (I can neither remember nor spell their actual name) Jake and his new body end up on their planet, Pandora, with a handful of other humans in avatar form. Jake has some run ins with the flora and fauna of this world, and one of the natives is going to shoot an arrow through him, but the seeds of their ancient tree stop her. It’s not quite as crazy as it sounds. This tree is like the Home Tree from Pixie Hollow, a source of power.

The native spares him, and then saves his life, making it plain that she thinks he’s an idiot, but he has s trog heart, and she’s not going to kill anyone the tree says to spare. Later she takes him to her people and he is trained by her to be one of them.

There’s a lot more to it than that, but this movie is really long, so I’ll go to the important part. After months of this, Jake begins to feel more conflicted about destroying these people. And Grace, who was in charge of a school for their children and ahs been allowed around them again, is also not for the idea of destroying their home and them. But their protests get them locked up. And after a lot of cat and mouse with them escaping and being caught again, Jake rallies all the tribes of the aliens against the humans. I’ll admit this was the most intense action I’ve seen in awhile.

Of course there is the obligatory scene where the blue people find out Jake was playing them and the girl he’s fallen in love with (and mated with…skip that scene) is furious with him and sends him packing. But as cliché as it is, the actors sold it really well, and made it more unique. Plus we never get that annoying scene where the hero is bellyaching about how they ruined everything and lost the girl, blah, blah, blah. Jake never wastes time.

In the end, the blue people win over the Earthlings, with the help of they’re planet’s god, Awah (Phonetic spelling,) who causes all the animals of the forest to help them, even the ones that would normally eat them. Jake gets to stay there, along with a few other people, and they use they’re mystical tree to make him permanently one of their kind.

The verdict:

I really recommend checking this movie out for yourself. It’s a lot like Atlantis, only with Milo Thatch replaced with an ex-marine. It’s also like Epic and Fern Gully. But the themes are more adult, and a lot more interesting and complex.

I knew Grace would change her mind about the people from the beginning, because she was learning about them the most and spending time with them, she had a more open mind, and more respect for their culture. Jake closed off to begin with, but you knew he’d change his mind too.

The bigger surprise was that a handful of the other humans also changed their minds, and sacrificed even their lives to help the people.

One of the most gripping lines is at the end, when Jake, in making his video log, reverses the terms, saying “The aliens went back to their planet, a few were selected to remain.” The aliens now being his own people.

The is movie is somewhat like Ender’s Game in plot device, but not in tone. I hated Ender’s Game and I didn’t like Ender. Jake on the other hand, I could at least root for. I felt sad for him, and his friends, and I could see clearly why the natives did not deserve what they got and how the whole project was bad to begin with and got worse as it went. You also see that the other humans had almost no respect for the natives, they thought of them as primitives, little better than animals, and that destroying them had no moral implications. The familiarity of such thinking was scary.

I don’t like movies that paint humans as the most evil, despicable race that there is. But I don’t think this movie would do that unless you chose to see it that way. Some of the humans are noble. It is more about how one race cannot dominate another in that way, and that it is not treason to join the opposite side if they are in the right. (Just like in the Hawk Girl post I just did.) It’s also about respecting life.

Even though the religion of the movie seems very Eastern, I found none of it to directly contradict my own faith. I actually thought Awah was a good representation of God in some ways. The rituals were weird, and I did skip some, but mostly it was fine.

Also, instead of the head of the tribe taking an instant disliking to Jake, the mother of it is the most just to him, and she is the one who frees him and Grace at the end, instead of the love interest. I thought that was cool.

This has been a very long review of a very long movie, so I’m signing off now.

Until next time–Natasha.100_2868