You're sitting in a movie theater at the midnight screening of the highly anticipated film, "The Dark Knight Rises." The movie starts and about 20 minutes in, a man bursts through one of the exit doors, dressed in all black. You're think they've found a way to make the premiere more interesting by having someone become a part of the action. Suddenly, the man throws a canister into the crowd and it explodes, spreading gas all over the theater and then you hear gunshots, people screaming and others running for their lives.
For moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado, this was real life and it was not apart of the show. 59 people were injured and 12 people killed after a guns man, James Holmes, entered the rural theater and shot the patrons trying to enjoy the movie.
I woke up to this news as I was preparing to view an early morning screening of the same movie hours later in New York; another timezone. As far away as this incident was, entering the theater, I was immediately cautious of what was happening around me; surveying the exit doors as I watched the film. The news predicted that there may be copycats who would attempt to do the same thing at another and I didn't want to take that chance. After the movie ended (and it was a great movie, by the way) and I exited the theater, it was hard to accept that other people didn't receive the same experience I did, vice versa.
It made me think of the shooter, James Holmes, and how he robbed people of this experience and their lives in the process. Reports say Holmes' hair was dyed red, resembling The Joker, as he was quoted saying he was The Joker.
James Holmes, BATSHIT CRAZY
It's disturbing to know that someone took a piece of a fictional
world, applied it to real life and tricked people who was trying to
submerge themselves into this universe, through the movie, to harm
people. This is one reason why I wish superheroes existed; to stop tragedies like this from happening. Why couldn't Holmes be inspired by Batman and burst through the door in a Dark Knight costume, rather than be inspired by evil and kill people? I would never understand what was going through Holmes' head or experience what those people in Aurora, Colorado went through, but my thoughts go out to the families affected by this tragedy and I hope them a genuine recovery.
In the movie, Gotham City experienced their darkest hour and eventually overcame. I hope Aurora can do the same.
Recently, I found about a couple of short film screeners which I was excited to attend and watch the works of some local filmmakers. I haven't been to a screener in a long time, probably due to me being involved with the inter-webs all the time. Sometimes, I forget that there are other people in NYC, beside myself, who are creating films as their passion. I also met some cool new filmmakers who showed off their pieces, and I have to say, the talent that I saw left something to be admired. Here are a few of the pieces I've seen.
As I continue my quest to create more films and earn my self-titled name of "Filmmaker," I realize that at some point down the line, I should step into the realm of screeners and "shopping" my films to film festivals and reach out to a different audience outside of Youtube. Creating online content is fun, but it's nothing compared to seeing the looks on people's faces watching your work and commending you for your good work. I don't feel like I'm at that point yet, but I'm getting there slowly. In the meanwhile, I'll continue to find out about more screeners and discover new filmmakers and their projects. Don't be surprised if you see my work at a film festival soon.
The third prod vlog for the latest installment to the #VideoDictionary series.
A long time coming, but worth the wait. Shout outs to Imperial Moving And Storage as well as Sticky's Finger Joint for the support. Can't wait for the next one.
I know I haven't blogged in a bit, but that is only due to real world issues getting in the way, such as me applying to become a PCT (Police Communications Technician). Ironically, I made a video a while back poking fun at being a PCT, which became pretty popular.
Seeing that I will be working for the NYPD, they need to do a thorough investigation of my background and records, which will mean if I even sneeze close to an officer, they would know all about me, which I don't feel too comfortable with, but the job does supply benefits, so my complaining can only go so far.
Meanwhile, I've been trying to keep busy with other video related work, such as working close with the R&B artist Tanya T6 during a recent music video shoot, where I shot some behind the scenes action.
Keeping up the relationship with this artist has been good because she makes sure to compensate me for my time, as well as I can hook her up with great looking footage and content; a win-win relationship which I know will last until I possibly start working. Other than that, there is nothing too much to report other than working on the "Video Dictionary" series, which is coming along slowly, but surely. I may not be producing as much content as I use to, but I'm proud of what I've done and what I will do in the near future. Until then, I will continue to work hard and find inspiration around me, like these images I saw at a museum recently.
This weekend, I had the delightful pleasure of seeing "The Avengers" in theaters; no 3D, no IMAX, just a regular movie experience. Here are my 5 reasons this movie was amazing...
1) There was 6 MAJOR superheroes, ALL on one screen.
You have Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk all one one screen together, and they all worked well together. The story line of the movie made each character have their shine (though it wasn't equal, it was enough for one character not to be out-shined by the other). Even Hawkeye and Black Widow were integral parts to the team, not just extra characters who filled up screen space.
2) The story and action/fighting scenes were great.
Whether it was between Iron Man versus Thor, or Thor versus The Hulk, the fighting scenes in the movie were choreographed well. Probably the best fight to me was Thor vs. The Hulk, which was actually made into an animated film. The plot of the movie wasn't bad as well. I'm sure most die hard comic nerds would have wanted a more deeper villian, but Loki did well, to me.
3) The HULK. Period.
Now, I didn't agree with the actor change of The Hulk from Edward Norton to Matt Ruffalo at first, but he did a good job as Bruce Banner, and this movie reinforced the fact that The Hulk is the sh*t!. He owned everything in his path and was unstoppable.
4) The "After Credit" Goodies
I recently saw a picture meme which stated, "One doesn't simply leave a Marvel movie before the end of the credits." For those who did leave before the end (which I don't know why, but for some, "the credits" mean the end of the movie"), they missed out on some cool Avenger 2 hints.
5) The movie made you FEEL good.
The fact that this movie was playing out in front of your eyes made me extremely happy. This is my main reason for liking superheroes in general; the feeling of overcoming the odds is what we, as a society, need i order to survive these dark times that we seem to be living in sometimes. The Avengers leaves you with the feeling that we can all become heroes and succeed.
If I had to give some critique about this movie, I would say that I would have liked to see Red Skull make an appearance or at least some mention of Ant Man (Dr Pym) or another known Avenger that would have raised some eyebrows. Nonetheless, this movie did a great job of delivering an all out cast of super-powered beings on one screen (X-Men did the same, but not to this caliber).
On the technical end, as of now, The Avengers pulled in over $200M at the box offices this weekend in the U.S. alone, not to include the overseas sales, which grossed over $400M. Marvel does a great job of branding their movies, not to mention that Disney is behind Marvel, which always gives them a boost in reputability. I would love to see this movie over and over again, plus I can't wait for it to come out on DVD, so I can add it to my superhero movie collection.
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