When Cop Stuff Is Not Told Right / Happenings In The Outhouse 05-April-2024

This goes with any profession.  From law enforcement to nursing, from plumbing to pilots, and a host of other things, it's difficult to get all of the details right.

As a former law enforcement officer, with years of experience throughout many aspects of that profession, it irks me when I see shows where things are so wrong.  My wife and I just finished watching the hit TV show Sons of Anarchy.  We loved it, but there were aspects of both law enforcement and nursing that struck us both.

It's difficult to get all of the details right, but when some are so blatant (cocking back the hammer on a Glock pistol, for example) I just shake my head as it throws me right out of a story.

The storyline for SOA was complex and entertaining.  Yes, you were cheering on the bad guy, but when there were varying degrees of badness, you seemed to be cheering on some more than others.

The first thing that struck me was that city cops typically wear blue.  County deputies wear brown.  All of the city cops in SOA wore brown.  And when it came to hospitals and security, that seemed to be thrown right out the window with SOA.  No one should be able to walk into a hospital administrator's office or a doctor's office that is closed.

In a nutshell, if you're going to make things far-fetched as SOA had done, do it well when it comes to story.

It's all in the details.

And I could go on with this.  I probably will in future posts . . .

From A Widow's POV / Happenings In The Outhouse 10-Feb-2023

Last weekend, my girlfriend and I watched the movie "A Man Called Otto" starring Tom Hanks.

Given that we both had lost spouses, and from what we heard about Tom Hank's character, we had reservations about the movie since the character Otto was a widow, but we knew it would be good.  And it certainly was!  One of the better movies we had seen since Top Gun 2, which was also amazing!

Looking at the world through the lens of a widow/widower is not easy for some and not quite so difficult for others.  Both of us seem to be in the former camp now, as we have strong values when it comes to how we view death.

We are both Christians and with that comes a strong sense of faith and belief that death is not permanent.  We will both see our former spouses again in Heaven one day.  And that is not to say we do not grieve our former spouses.  We do.  But with our values, we have found a way to move on and live life the way God wants us to.

On a side note, there was an element to the movie that gave me pause on a personal note, and it will be a topic that I will dive into down the road.  I'm just not ready at the moment.  That topic is suicide.

But that, my friends, will be for another day.

As a writer, what would you change? / Happenings In The Outhouse 4-June-2021

I recently went to the movie Cruella with my youngest daughter.  I was surprised that it was over two hours in length, as most movies run the gambit of 90 to 120 minutes.

In a nutshell, it was a fun, entertaining movie.  As we hopped in the car the drive way, my daughter asked me, "Dad, as a writer, what would you change about it?"

My, what a question!

As a writer, I do look at movies or books and ponder how I would change it if given the chance.  What do I look at in a good story?  My first threshold is the entertainment factor.  Did it entertain me?  Even some bad movies/books pass the entertainment factor.  Take the last three Star Wars movies.  I liked them, they entertained me, but I did find issues that made them pale in comparison to all of the other movies.  I also didn't care much for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (book) as Harry was always yelling, as it was loaded with exclamation marks, and that took away from the story.  But it still entertained me.

I take those things that I would change and incorporate them into my stories--and this may be an area I'll expand upon later.

Besides the entertainment factor, I look at character depth and pacing.  If both are done well, then I call it a decent movie.

Cruella had a lot of character depth, it was intriguing, and the pacing was well-executed.  I don't recall a single moment where I wondered when it would ever end.  Also, you didn't seem to require any watching of the previous movies to understand it.

My answer to her: nothing.  I wouldn't change a thing.

Pete's Dragon, Then And Now / Happenings In The Outhouse 19-Aug-2016

Pete's Dragon, circa 1977, is the first movie I ever remember seeing in the movie theater.  According to my Mom, this is not the first movie I ever went to.  That one was Where The Red Fern Grows.  I was two when that movie came out, five when Pete's Dragon did.

Last weekend, I brought my two daughters to see the remake of Pete's Dragon.  I loved it.  So did my daughters.  We laughed and cried.  Don't worry, I won't spoil anything.

Which brings me to the subject of remakes.  Yes, Pete's Dragon is a remake . . . in name only.  There is absolutely no comparison to the original.  Treat it like a brand new movie for a brand new generation.

The same goes when books get made into movies.  Treat them as separate works of art.  Critics who feel they should all be the same have, what I call, the "Clear and Present Danger Syndrome."  Please see my blog post from a few years ago where I explain this.

I've also watched the recent movie Suicide Squad and Batman v. Superman, the latter of course on DVD.  I loved both movies--I know, I know, it doesn't take much to make me love something.  I give both movies two thumbs up, five stars all the way.

Despite what the critics say.

When Batman v. Superman came out in the theater, my oldest daughter saw it and said it was great.  I wasn't able to see it in the theaters.  It obviously did well at the box office.  I have a co-worker who also saw it and agreed with the critics.  He hated it.  His basis for criticism seemed to stem from it being like the comics and the canon it presented.  Once again, another victim of the "Clear and Present Danger Syndrome."

Treat each piece of art as a separate piece of art.  Work hard not to compare.  Rarely are books as good as movies, and vice versa.

Oldboy by Spike Lee - one of the best movies you've never heard of

Oldboy, a 2013 remake by director Spike Lee, was just released on Netflix this past weekend.

It stars Josh Brolin as a self-centered alcoholic advertising salesman named Joe Doucett, who is married and has a young daughter.  In a drunken stupor, he finds himself kidnapped and locked away in an apartment for 20 years.  All he knows is that his wife was murdered and he's the prime suspect.  At the end of twenty years, in which time he does clean himself up and even tries to escape, he finds himself free and is hell bent on discovering the secret to his twenty-year captivity.

Now, this is all I'm going to say at this point, because, if you have Netflix and love a great action movie, this one should be the next one on your list.  Here's the Wikipedia link to Oldboy (2013 remake), but skip the critical reception.  I'm saddened that it did so poorly at the box offices.

There are a number of action scenes in this movie that completely blew me away.  I'm not sure if Spike Lee used the power of computer-generated enhancements, but the majority--if not all--of the action scenes are lengthy, masterfully crafted, complex, and appears to be done all in one shot.  Well done!  There was even a scene where a certain father figure (you'll have to watch the movie to see this) goes around the house with a double-barrelled shotgun, and blows his family away.  It's tragic and the end to that scene--also appears to be done in one shot (no pun intended)--is mind blowing (or, rather, head blowing).

If you love a good action flick, be sure to check it out.  It's one of the better movies you've never heard of.