Darth Vader rant, and can someone please shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level?

954621_585507368167838_1940585380_nEveryone has their favourite superhero – at least people who like this kind of stuff. Mine is Darth Vader. Okay, he doesn’t quite fit into the Marvel and DC idea of what a ‘super hero’ should be, but he did end up saving the galaxy. Darth Vader possessed the highest concentration of midichlorians, ever, period, full stop. Midichlorians allow their host to communicate with the force. The force is life. This means Darth Vader is the most powerful superhero in all the universes – that’s my solid fact-based scientifically proven conclusion anyway . He’d see Superman coming before the Man of Steel donned his external underpants. He’d force crush the Hulk and give Thor a lightsaber haircut. At the risk of sounding immature, Darth Vader is simply the best. So there. Just ask this guy.

Jonathan K Benton

Saturday Night Fever – Jonathan K Benton

GROVER-Saturday-Night-FeverI always have good intentions surrounding my blog. Big ideas. Global peace and the betterment of humankind. Then Saturday rocks around and I’m staring at an empty page.

Thank goodness for Saturday night television and the plethora of movies that I’d already seen. I picked one of the greatest movies this side of 2000 AD and used the ads to channel surf the other six.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Great special FX could not save this one.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I think it’s the best of the series.

Men in Black 2. It’s fun, but suffers from the same spit and polish issues as most sequels (Terminator 2 and The Empire Strikes Back are rare examples of sequels improving their respective stories).

Six Days and Seven Nights. No comment.

New Years Eve. It’s nice, but it’s no Love Actually.

Miami Vice. Hmmm.

When the ads finished, I returned to the truly great film. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. I give it a Wow rating. Yep – it’s that good. Brilliant scripting; it’s quirky and original, and superbly acted. I loved spending Saturday night with Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers and thank them for inspiring this blog.

Let me know a movie that you think deserves a Wow rating (or even a Terrifying rating based on my unique system) and I’ll watch it.

Jonathan K Benton

Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And some people with whom I shared the theatre

captain americaI saw the latest instalment of Captain America  on Easter Friday and boy did I love it. He’s not the most powerful superhero in the Marvel universe but he’s one of the coolest – in a geeky kind of way. I give this movie a Wow rating.

Have you ever sat next to a popcorn rustler before? I didn’t know they existed until Easter Friday. I asked my partner why anyone would rustle a box of popcorn and she advised me that it shakes the popped popcorn to the top … apparently. I wanted to shake the man rustling the popcorn.

Why any parent would bring a toddler to an M-rated movie is beyond me. It’s very sad. I should have told the ushers. I think I will next time.

Finally – Darth Vader is the most powerful being in the universe. This is a FACT.

Jonathan K Benton

Love – is it science, sex (just to spice up the title) or something else?

love poemI watched About Time on Valentine’s day. Rachel McAdam’s is the Queen of romantic comedy. It’s not as good as Love Actually, although I liked the time travel thing. The movie got me thinking. It’s logical to assume love is a chemical reaction, a biological process that science can take all the credit for.  Biblically ‘God is love’. If you’re not convinced there’s a divine being, perhaps you’re inclined to believe there’s a chubby little cherub flying around with a bow and arrow. Some people think love is a deep, spiritual connection between two people. I lean towards the latter. Although I love science – I want to own a Bunsen burner because it sounds cool and I like alliteration – I want to believe that the feeling I get when I truly love someone, or something, is more than a bunch of chemicals. Nobody can change my mind on this one – I won’t even allow my brain to question my firm (and so what if it’s fanciful) belief that love is one of the few things in our universe that is truly infinite.

So there

Jonathan K Benton

Movie Review – Pan's Labyrinth.

ofeliaThere’s a reason I don’t review books/movies that I believe possess no redeeming qualities:  I’m an author, and I don’t have time to write a review about something that doesn’t inspire me. There are not enough hours in the week to waste precious keyboard time on something I didn’t enjoy. I likely never finished the novel or movie anyway, which rarely happens because I choose my passions carefully. As an author, if I’ve got nothing nice to say about someone else’s art, it’s better left unsaid. My dad once told me never to throw stones in glass houses. It’s great advice. If I review something on this blog, I think it’s worth the effort.

I’m starting with one of the best. It’s a movie. Check out how I categorise movies here.

 

 

 

Pan’s Labyrinth.

vidalThis dark fantasy is not for the faint hearted. There is no creature on the silver screen more terrifying than the Pale Man, no human more selfishly evil than Vidal. Ofelia’s innocent beauty is pitted against an overwhelming evil … Picture a small but brilliant, white light shining in an endless darkness.

pale manEverything works here. The haunting soundtrack, brilliant acting and excellent script. Even the special effects are carefully managed so as not to eclipse the beautiful fairy tale at the heart of this incredible movie.

Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth is an inspired piece of cinema. Definitely not for the faint hearted.

Ranking: Terrifying Movie.

Jonathan K Benton