Hook: Hated and Loved and April 30th

Hook: Hated and Loved(the short version)

Original unabridged Post on my Media Blog

When you look at movies "made for kids" there are generally two categories that they can be put in.  Category one is the movies that kids are supposed to love, but grownups are going to yawn.  The second category is the movies that are entertaining enough for grownups to enjoy as well, and typically are liked on their own as a "movie" not just a "kids movie".  Hook is this weird 3rd category.  My friends I grew up with generally love the hell out of the movie, but the ones turning to their 20's now, and the generations above seem to think its one of the worst turds every crapped out of the Hollywood machine.  It surprises many of the people my age how reviled this movie is.


Do you remember when a movie was released and advertised on television and in restaurants for 6+ months?  Now, if something is advertised or talked about for more than 2 weeks, it threatens to take the profit from the studio's next movie.  Hook was HUGELY built up.  For over a year it was on TV and talked about.   Hook had HUGE names attached to it, names that were the biggest in successful movies and critically acclaimed movies as well.  Dennis Hoffman had just gotten an Oscar and was still living in its glow.  Bob Hoskins had just headlined the extremly successful "Who Frames Roger Rabbit".  Robin Williams was on the verge of being the hottest comedy actor in movies.  Stephen Spielberg had just made his come back to blockbuster elite after Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Julia Roberts was on the verge of becoming America's sweetheart, there were cameos, OH MY GOD was there cameo.  Everyone from Woodstock performers, to Oscar nominated actors and actresses, and even Spielberg's friends George Lucas and Carrie Fischer.

I think that's the root of it.  It was built up to be this grand outting for baby boomers, the particular age group that almost all critics at the time occupied, and those critical ratings, which a lot of people now rely on to find their "correct" opinion on the internet, never forgave it for being a "silly kid's movie" instead of some grand life altering movie about an aging generation.

I'm not saying there aren't flaws to the film, there are a lot.  Spielberg considers it a failure and wishes he could have done it in more "modern" times so he could CGI up everything and use digital sets.  To me Hook is one of the last grand "real" sets that was created, and its realism adds to the fun.  i know nostalgia plays a role in things, but there are some genuinely great things about Hook that get overlooked.  Rufio is an annoying little shit... GREAT!  That's how he's supposed to be, he's a punk.  If his actions seemed acceptable and un-annoying, he would have pushed himself until he was, that's the point, and that's why he was the perfect "modern" Pan.  The Lost Boy camp was perfectly "free" enough while not going overboard.  Remember in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles they showed the Teenage playground, it was full of cigarettes and beer.  Hoffman and Hoskins are a great pairing and are obviously the great actors of the film.

Rose tinted glasses exist.  But there are also brown tinted glasses; glasses that are veiled in disappointment.  The same glasses that keeps people from liking Stars Wars prequel III, or keep me personally from ever liking "Unbreakable" are the same glasses that keeps Hook from being taken seriously.  That's ok though, that's my generation's "little gem" of a movie.  The old critics are going away, and we're showing Hook to our kids.  We know how it'll end up.

April 30th 2014

Working on my Space setting.  I want this to be a "different' sort of setting, where faster than light travel doesn't exist, but faster than light communication can.  I've researched it now, so I know its not an original idea, but I was always fascinated by Quantum Entanglement and how it could be used for communication.  In Quantum Entanglement, it appears that information can be sent faster than light by having two particles tied to each other.  So I thought of a Morse Code machine that uses it.  Just like Morse Code you can't communicate in places you haven't yet been, and so you can't really reach out to the stars with it, but it could still be helpful in keeping a caravan that stretched for generations organized.  In real life there is most likely an explanation for Quantum Entanglement that keeps the Light Barrier intact, and we have ruled out using it to communicate with current theories, but its unknown now, and so perfect for some Sci-fi usage.

I have not owned a Nintendo in a while, and I think they do not target me for their efforts, but I do not "hate" Nintendo.  I want them to succeed, I don't want a world without Nintendo.  Mario Kart 8 looks fantastic.  The way you change between car styles and stuff, and the way it looks to do something really amazing with the power of the Wii U(admittedly a weak console).  I hope they have a huge hit on their hands, they need some good gaming success.  Mario Kart 8 may be their first real success on the console, despite it being out longer than the PS4 and Xbox1.

I hate May.  Seriously, I know I don't believe in luck, fate, or any of that witch doctor stuff, but the worst shit of the year happens to me in May.  So this year I'm not participating.  That's right, instead of being in May, I'm going to be starting with the 10th of Thrimidge on Thursday.  That's a Hobbit month, and I'll be heading into the next Hobbit month until June 1st I'll return to our Christian calendar.