Watched Syriana this weekend w/ (no surprise) Rourke & Jen. I momentarily forgot my defenses for this movie, and had fairly high and defined expectations for it. Fortunately, I wasn't let down.
I was going to start by talking about how this movie, being directed by Stephan Gaghan, was exactly what one would expect, etc., lending a certain pretentious undertone to this blog entry (obviously everyone knows who Gaghan is and what to expect from him, right?). But as with most entries, I don't know this crap off the top of my head. I look it up on the web. That's really one of the main points of this whole blogging thing. By committing these thoughts to print, I need to actually go look up names, facts, data, etc. This helps save me from accidentally being a con man (a.k.a liar) when speaking of this stuff in casual conversation. (Okay, not really "accidentally" since this stuff is not really out of my control. After all, the words are coming out of my mouth. Let's just say when I verbalize stuff, assumption turns into fact with frightening ease. Rourke and Greg can sympathize, I'm sure.)
One short review in the New York Times for Syriana described it as very complex and requiring concentration to follow. I'm glad I was forewarned, because that was definitely true. In some masochistic way, we were fortunate that we were stuck sitting up in the absolute front wrong craning out necks upwards, because it was impossible not to pay attention with the screen in-your-face that way and with one's neck aching.
Stephen Gaghan directed and wrote this movie, and also wrote Traffic, which was very similar and set my expectations for this movie. I expected a thoughtful complex plot where characters in very separate positions influence each other and create a network of moral ambiguity. I got exactly what I expected (perhaps a little, but not much, more and definitely not less). Syriana is loosely based on the book See No Evil written by ex-CIA operative Robert Baer. George Clooney's character is based on Baer and his experiences. The story itself is really perhaps only inspired by the book (I haven't read it) since Gaghan has a point he's trying to get across.
There are many characters, each in their own scenario. They only intersect through the viewer and through the message of the movie. Some of them meet each other; some of them are aware of each others existence; some of them never meet and are never aware of the way their lives intersect.
What is this message? Well, something morally wrong, almost evil has definitely happened. Something is amiss in this world we live in. But, there is no evil conspiracy, no cabal of greedy and evil men plots the fate of the world and the demise of goodness. Rather, the actors are all basically good, basically trying to do what they think is right. However, in the pursuit of their individual interests and beliefs, they may be a little greedy (but I emphasize, little, no more than the extent any of us would accept as being "human nature") and are willing to be a little amoral (amoral in that they are willing to sacrifice small amounts of morality in pursuit of perceived higher goals. They're not trying to be immoral, just willing to set certain notions aside.) Some characters are greedier than others, but none are even close to evil. The problem is, the network effect of their individual actions serve to combine their individual lapses into something that is gigantically wrong.
Is it true? Well, I take it as a work of fiction (although See No Evil is supposedly true events). Just because it looks like and draws from current events doesn't mean it has any bearing on actual events or the state of the real world.
What's interesting to me, is that feels plausible. From an economic game theory point of view, or at least from the education I've had on the topic, conspiracies are fundamentally unstable. They collapse easily because the players all can gain individual advantage by defecting (e.g. breaking the conspiracy). Thus, while non-economic factors might hold things together for awhile (economic theory doesn't necessarily say how long a conspiracy might last), it only takes one defector at one point in time to collapse the whole thing. Thus, collapse is inevitable.
While the scenario posed in Syriana is the kind of outcome that one might attribute to some evil/greedy global conspiracy, there is no such mechanism here. Rather, it is emergent behavior based on individual parties who independently act in a manner consistent with generally (not perfectly) moral economic self-interest. There are bad events and bad outcomes without bad guys.
Anyway, I really liked this movie and highly recommend it.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Friday, December 02, 2005
Recently Watched Anime (Updated 12/19)
Updated 12/19: Solty Rei, not that good. Traumend, getting even better.
Decided to collate a bunch of the first (or sometimes first 3) eps of (mostly) recently aired stuff I've sampled in the last couple of weeks. No really horrible shows in this list, although since there really is so much stuff out there, I generally filter out stuff based matching description to my preferences before watching even a single episode.
For the subscribable stuff, I'd probably rank as:
Rozen Maiden Traumend > Mushishi > Blood+ > Black Cat > Solty Rei
Parappa the Rapper
Sony paid big bucks to have this animated by Production I.G. and J.C. Staff, probably the priciest production one could get for a TV show. Somewhat unusual since Parappa has a very simple visual style. Show is really trippy. Probably not watchable in a 26-episode stretch, but an isolated episode here and there could be strangely amusing. Enjoyed the one ep. mostly from it's strangeness, not really motivated to see more.
Black Cat
Big name animated form of popular Shounen Jump manga, bearing all the earmarks of having been in SJ (like Bleach or Naruto). Interesting combination of dark + cute in a shounen setting. More brooding, less machismo compared to Bleach and thus much more watchable. Seen first 3 eps, motivated to subscribe and see more.
Blood+
Rebirth of the "multimedia extravaganza" release of the same name (movie+game+printed materials+???) from several years ago. Apparently the franchise is not dead. Very high production value with a coherent story that predates the events in the movie (never played the game so I can't compare to that). Interesting story and high production value makes it quite watchable. Ranks somewhat higher than Black cat. Seen the first 3 eps, motivated to subscribe and see more.
Mushishi
Recommendation from Kristina and Zhang (turns out the manga is like, Kristina's all time most favorite or something like that). Had a very strange "wow" factor. The production values are high, but the visuals, music, dialogue, story, and characters are very subdued. At the same time, it was very gripping and emotionally evocative somehow. The episode didn't drag at all, instead the time passed very quickly event though not a lot of "stuff" happened. It was quite amazing actually. Seen the first ep, motivated to subscribe and see more.
Rozen Maiden Traumend
Sequel to Rozen Maiden, a surprisingly good show in a genre that I usually disdain. Kid gets involved with a group of sentient female dolls (e.g. 8 inches tall). In the original, there was an overarching plot, but it doesn't reach fruition. Instead, the show was driven by the interesting characters and their interaction (and was good because of it). The sequel, so far, is equally strong. The characters are still the main point, but since we're spared some of the startup cost of introduction (since we know them from the previous series), plot starts to play a heavier role.
This show really gets stronger as the eps. proceed. For example, they introduce Kanariya, one of the new dolls, who is pretty saccharine and ditzy and would have been quite annoying, except that her personality characteristics are used by the plot to set up a very serious and dramatic point that seems to set the tone for the entire series. I can't emphasize enough how interesting and amusing the character interaction is. The contrasting use of cute and serious is perhaps one of the defining traits of anime in general, and is quite well executed in this show.
Seen the first 6 eps, motivated to subscribe and see more.
Solty Rei
Most recent Gonzo (e.g. Blue Sub #6, Last Exile) series featuring, as expected, an eye-candy mix of 2D and 3D CG graphics. Seems to be set up as a kind of cyberpunk cop/bounty hunter story. Hard boiled bounty hunter (Roy) lost his daughter in some kind of horrific calamity called the Blast Fall ~10 years ago. He meets up with some kind of powerful robot in the form of a girl who appears the same age as his daughter would be. Hopefully this setup means less potential for dubious fan service. First ep was quite entertaining, but very much a "dive-right-in" kind of introduction, so it will take a few more episodes to determine if it's worth watching to completion.
Eps 2 and 3 should start some kind of story but unfortunately, gets caught up in some genre confusion. So Solty, the mysterious robot girl, becomes like a surrogate daughter for Roy, the widower bounty hunter (although there's some "drama" because he's too hard boiled and caught up in the loss of his real daughter to easily accept her). Coincidentally, the president of the bounty-hunter agency, where he gets work, is an attractive widow (Miranda) with a daughter (Kasha) and lives right next door to him. For some reason, Miranda is totally taken with Solty, wants to treat her as a second child, but presses Roy to be the one to adopt her. Roy agrees to do so under the condition that Solty live at Miranda's place, but Solty keeps breaking into his apartment. What is going on here?! Interspersed in there is some mission to guard some mysterious case that's going to be stolen by a band of famous thieves, who turn out to be good guys because the case contained illegal drugs that the client was planning to sell to some kids... My patience wears thin.
Solty Rei is on notice. 2 more episodes, and then, it's gone.
Noiseman Sound Insect
Recent Studio 4C art film. There is a plot to this one, but it takes a while to sync up with it (not unusual given that it's an art film). Really high quality artwork and animation, as is typical with Studio 4C stuff. Not a series. Willing to re-watch while showing to others.
Take the X Train
Really old art-ish OVA. Plot is somewhat reminiscent of "Stink Bomb" from Memories, although perhaps somewhat less comical. It does have a similar light-hearted approach to a serious setting, and is somewhat darker. It did drag in bits, and is about an hour long. I found it worthwhile, but probably wouldn't re-watch.
Decided to collate a bunch of the first (or sometimes first 3) eps of (mostly) recently aired stuff I've sampled in the last couple of weeks. No really horrible shows in this list, although since there really is so much stuff out there, I generally filter out stuff based matching description to my preferences before watching even a single episode.
For the subscribable stuff, I'd probably rank as:
Rozen Maiden Traumend > Mushishi > Blood+ > Black Cat > Solty Rei
Parappa the Rapper
Sony paid big bucks to have this animated by Production I.G. and J.C. Staff, probably the priciest production one could get for a TV show. Somewhat unusual since Parappa has a very simple visual style. Show is really trippy. Probably not watchable in a 26-episode stretch, but an isolated episode here and there could be strangely amusing. Enjoyed the one ep. mostly from it's strangeness, not really motivated to see more.
Black Cat
Big name animated form of popular Shounen Jump manga, bearing all the earmarks of having been in SJ (like Bleach or Naruto). Interesting combination of dark + cute in a shounen setting. More brooding, less machismo compared to Bleach and thus much more watchable. Seen first 3 eps, motivated to subscribe and see more.
Blood+
Rebirth of the "multimedia extravaganza" release of the same name (movie+game+printed materials+???) from several years ago. Apparently the franchise is not dead. Very high production value with a coherent story that predates the events in the movie (never played the game so I can't compare to that). Interesting story and high production value makes it quite watchable. Ranks somewhat higher than Black cat. Seen the first 3 eps, motivated to subscribe and see more.
Mushishi
Recommendation from Kristina and Zhang (turns out the manga is like, Kristina's all time most favorite or something like that). Had a very strange "wow" factor. The production values are high, but the visuals, music, dialogue, story, and characters are very subdued. At the same time, it was very gripping and emotionally evocative somehow. The episode didn't drag at all, instead the time passed very quickly event though not a lot of "stuff" happened. It was quite amazing actually. Seen the first ep, motivated to subscribe and see more.
Rozen Maiden Traumend
Sequel to Rozen Maiden, a surprisingly good show in a genre that I usually disdain. Kid gets involved with a group of sentient female dolls (e.g. 8 inches tall). In the original, there was an overarching plot, but it doesn't reach fruition. Instead, the show was driven by the interesting characters and their interaction (and was good because of it). The sequel, so far, is equally strong. The characters are still the main point, but since we're spared some of the startup cost of introduction (since we know them from the previous series), plot starts to play a heavier role.
This show really gets stronger as the eps. proceed. For example, they introduce Kanariya, one of the new dolls, who is pretty saccharine and ditzy and would have been quite annoying, except that her personality characteristics are used by the plot to set up a very serious and dramatic point that seems to set the tone for the entire series. I can't emphasize enough how interesting and amusing the character interaction is. The contrasting use of cute and serious is perhaps one of the defining traits of anime in general, and is quite well executed in this show.
Seen the first 6 eps, motivated to subscribe and see more.
Solty Rei
Most recent Gonzo (e.g. Blue Sub #6, Last Exile) series featuring, as expected, an eye-candy mix of 2D and 3D CG graphics. Seems to be set up as a kind of cyberpunk cop/bounty hunter story. Hard boiled bounty hunter (Roy) lost his daughter in some kind of horrific calamity called the Blast Fall ~10 years ago. He meets up with some kind of powerful robot in the form of a girl who appears the same age as his daughter would be. Hopefully this setup means less potential for dubious fan service. First ep was quite entertaining, but very much a "dive-right-in" kind of introduction, so it will take a few more episodes to determine if it's worth watching to completion.
Eps 2 and 3 should start some kind of story but unfortunately, gets caught up in some genre confusion. So Solty, the mysterious robot girl, becomes like a surrogate daughter for Roy, the widower bounty hunter (although there's some "drama" because he's too hard boiled and caught up in the loss of his real daughter to easily accept her). Coincidentally, the president of the bounty-hunter agency, where he gets work, is an attractive widow (Miranda) with a daughter (Kasha) and lives right next door to him. For some reason, Miranda is totally taken with Solty, wants to treat her as a second child, but presses Roy to be the one to adopt her. Roy agrees to do so under the condition that Solty live at Miranda's place, but Solty keeps breaking into his apartment. What is going on here?! Interspersed in there is some mission to guard some mysterious case that's going to be stolen by a band of famous thieves, who turn out to be good guys because the case contained illegal drugs that the client was planning to sell to some kids... My patience wears thin.
Solty Rei is on notice. 2 more episodes, and then, it's gone.
Noiseman Sound Insect
Recent Studio 4C art film. There is a plot to this one, but it takes a while to sync up with it (not unusual given that it's an art film). Really high quality artwork and animation, as is typical with Studio 4C stuff. Not a series. Willing to re-watch while showing to others.
Take the X Train
Really old art-ish OVA. Plot is somewhat reminiscent of "Stink Bomb" from Memories, although perhaps somewhat less comical. It does have a similar light-hearted approach to a serious setting, and is somewhat darker. It did drag in bits, and is about an hour long. I found it worthwhile, but probably wouldn't re-watch.
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