Wednesday Warriors – Page 4

Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Posted on September 23, 2015September 22, 2015 by Jack Flacco

There isn’t a Star Trek episode I haven’t seen. There isn’t an actor from the multiple series or of the many movies who I don’t know their name. I grew up with Star Trek. I love the idea of universal peace and a Prime Directive that includes not interfering with third-party affairs. The technology may look dated, but the overall ideas remain valid even today. Can anyone argue that the idea of the tablet and cell phone did not come from the series?

For today’s Wednesday Warriors, I would like to take a few minutes to talk about Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

When Captain Picard took the helm of the newly christened U.S.S. Enterprise, he knew he had a crew capable of great things. For instance, his first officer William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) graduated Starfleet Academy with the ability to navigate a starship into a manual dock. The second officer, Commander Data (Brent Spiner), an android, can do what humans can’t do, but wishes he could become human nonetheless. Counsellor Deeana Troy (Marina Sirtis) is equally amazing as Jean-Luc’s telepathic aid. She has rescued the captain on more than one occasion by sensing the feelings of others. Then there are the other crewmembers that although they may occupy side stories, play an important role in the Captain’s compliment.

As for Captain Picard, his focus is on the Prime Directive. The rule simply stipulates that no member of Starfleet shall interfere in the domestic policies of societies or civilizations, no matter how primitive or advanced they are. The rule also prevents the captain from interceding on behalf of a weaker civilization, should the threat of war mean the extinction of their entire species.

Picard abides by a strict code of ethics that other captains would do well to adopt. Characteristics such as loyalty, integrity and honor are the captain’s currency for a disciplined life. Part of his duties is to instill a sense of confidence in his crew in order for them to act in accordance with their pledge to his leadership.

I can think of two examples that would emphasize Picard’s ability to lead.

First, the captain and Riker become prisoners of Bynar, aliens that have melded their intellects with computers. They have captured the ship and Picard enacts his right not to allow the ship to fall into the Bynar’s hands. Riker didn’t have to think twice. Realizing he would die, he follows the captain to take action against the Bynar threat by enabling the vessel’s self-destruct sequence.

Second, has all to do with how the captain takes a young ensign under his wing and rears him as his own son, leading his growth, which eventually leads to a placement into Starfleet Academy. Often times, Picard appears as a totalitarian, but it is necessary since his goal is to train the boy Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) in the way he should go.

There are other instances I could use to show how Picard as a leader, but I’ll save it for some other time. For now, I’ll leave you with the this thought:

If there was no Star Trek, do you think we’d have cell phones or tablets?

Are you a fan of Star Trek? What do you think of Jean-Luc Picard?

Wednesday Warriors

Tallahassee

Posted on September 16, 2015September 13, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Zombieland is a grim film. It provides a commentary on society’s ills, and demonstrates humanity’s failure to manage an apocalypse of grand proportions contrasted against civilized utopian values. Cinematic enthusiasts do well by taking this movie seriously. Queue the vinyl record scratch. Yeah, right. Are you sure we’re talking about the same movie here?

If you’re a new reader to Wednesday Warriors, this series is not about stuffy interpretations of male movie protagonists. No, it’s about having fun! And what better way to have fun than to shine the spotlight on Tallahassee, the lone wolf, undead Zombieland killer?

Let’s dispense with the pleasantries and go for the jugular. When we first meet Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson), he’s not your typical zombie exterminator. He likes Twinkies. He’ll do anything to find Twinkies. And his idea of a party is feasting on a plateful of Twinkies. Did I say he likes Twinkies?

How’s that for a good start? Oh, and he’s real good with a shotgun. And a Louisville Slugger. And hedge clippers. A little off the top is what he always says to an oncoming zombie threat.

To his benefit, Tallahassee does like kids. On his journey to find the last Twinkie, he has travelling with him an insecure teenager called Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) trying to reach Ohio, Wichita (Emma Stone), a kick-ass chick whose attitude is more suitable with a ship full of sailors, and her sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin), who is good at taking advantage of other people’s good nature.

Also, when it comes to working with others, Tallahassee has only one rule: stay out of the way. He has a method to dealing with the undead that may not be as pleasant as one might expect. He actually has fun killing them. In one instance, he rings the dinner bell to attract the wrong kind of attention. But it is nothing that a shotgun can’t cure.

Then there’s the matter of his anger. He doesn’t have any. He’s one of the most laid-back, zombie-fighting characters on screen. When confronted by a huge horde, he’s smiling through the whole thing wondering if he could get a selfie with one of them before he bashes their brains with a two-by-four.

Yet, if anyone thinks Tallahassee lacks compassion, let’s not forget he is the one who keeps falling for Wichita and Little Rock’s dirty tricks to surrender his gun. He has to help. His nature dictates he has to aid those less able to help themselves. He has that compassion running through him he’d rather not let anyone else see, but he hasn’t a choice when the situation calls for it. He cares about others, even if he shows otherwise.

And you know what? I like Tallahassee. He’s a courageous character. There’s no lying with him. Either you’re for him or against him. None of that wishy-washy “oh, I don’t think we should be doing this” stuff with him. He takes his hits and keeps moving forward.

Have you seen Zombieland? What do you think of Tallahassee?

Wednesday Warriors

Josh Kovaks

Posted on September 9, 2015September 8, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Tower Heist is one of those movies you can plop on the couch and immediately know who the players are and what they’re after. Reminiscent of the lighthearted caper Ocean’s Eleven, the film features an all-star cast portraying a quirky set of characters out for revenge. Not only is the movie a popcorn feature with all the expected thrills of a heist tale, but it also has a wonderful ending that is much too good to spoil.

With that intro out of the way, Josh Kovaks takes top billing for today’s Wednesday Warriors.

As great as Tower Heist is, critics didn’t like it. Yes, it is light. Yes, it has a few ridiculous plot holes. And yes, the acting could be better. But because it doesn’t take itself seriously, and some of the story elements are not as tight as one would hope, it doesn’t mean the plot isn’t good. On the contrary, holding it together is a lead character so unbelievable that Ben Stiller makes him believable.

Ben Stiller [Photo Credit: Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.]

Josh Kovaks is the manager to a New York apartment building whose employer (Alan Alda), who Josh admires, becomes the center of an FBI fraud investigation. When Josh discovers the apartment’s employees have fallen victim to their employer’s Ponzi scheme, he takes it upon himself to seek revenge against his once-beloved idol. Adding further to his motives, this happens after one of the elderly employees attempts to take his own life soon after finding out his retirement nest egg has vanished in the scheme.

From the very beginning, the audience gets to know Josh as a determined boss who leads his team with the goal of making the tenants’ stay more enjoyable. He memorizes silly facts about wines so as he can make recommendations to those with the financial means of appreciating his taste. He also takes the time to get to know each guest under his care—a trait the tenants find comforting. Under Josh’s watch, he is aware of everything, and everything that happens, happens for a reason.

Like other good caper films, Josh goes on a mission to recruit those capable of pulling off the impossible. In this case, he and his crew will need to break into his former boss’ penthouse to rip off what is supposedly a bucket of cash, ready for transport. The trouble with the plan is finding where his former boss had hidden it.

Although Josh has a hard time attempting to pull the plan together, nothing compares with him trying to keep the other members of his team from bailing on the plot or betraying each other. The people problem is what has him losing sleep.

Overall, in spite of the obstacles, Josh delivers on his promises to his team—even if it’s not in the way the audience quite expects it.

Have you seen Tower Heist? If so, what did you think about it? What do you think of Josh?

Wednesday Warriors

John Connor

Posted on September 2, 2015September 2, 2015 by Jack Flacco

The boy doesn’t have a clue who is after him. At first, he thinks a cop has gotten wind of his little ATM scam he is pulling on the side as a way to score big bucks for a video game binge at the local arcade. But when he realizes the cop isn’t there to issue him a ticket, John Connor (Edward Furlong) runs for his life.

Wednesday Warriors is proud to feature John Connor, the leader of the Resistance as today’s kick-ass character.

A Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is after his mother, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). When the Terminator fails its mission, Sarah takes every measure to protect John from any other future attempts on his life. She hides weapon stashes throughout New Mexico. She teaches John how to use a gun. She trains him to be aware of his surroundings, never to take a chance with anything he does, and always being sure to check everything twice—even if it is obvious. Nothing will prevent him from growing up. And nothing will prevent him from leading.

When Sarah Connor ends up in the mental ward of Pescadero State Hospital, John roams free, biting his thumb at his foster parents and living as a rebel.

Terminator 2's John Connor — Terminator 2’s John Connor

From birth, John’s life never made much sense. He travelled from home to home, hideout to hideout, living off the grid, under assumed names. But that afternoon confirmed everything his mother had taught him. He always had to be ready.

The T-800 Terminator, a metal endoskeleton coated in flesh, is the perfect killing machine. Sent from the future to complete a mission in the present, it is able to blend into its surroundings, find its target and terminate it. It does not feel anything, It does not think beyond the parameters of its mission. And it does not take kindly to anything or anyone getting in its way.

The newest T-1000 Terminator (Robert Patrick), a machine made of mimetic poly-alloy (liquid metal), is also in on the hunt. The target? John Connor. In a bid to capture the future rebel of the machines’ world domination, this Terminator does not spare any expense to kill in order to extract information, deceive John into revealing his location and come after him with all its got.

John, however, has a plan. Even at a young age, he looks at ending the machines’ attempt to conquer the earth by destroying the very company that manufactures the neural net processor occupying the Terminator brain. Cyberdyne Systems becomes his target.

Yet, before then, he launches a brazen attack on the asylum his mother Sarah resides. He gets her out and realizes the power he now holds, as the only one who can save humanity, is his ultimate strength.

No longer will he not believe his mother for warning him about the Terminators. No longer will he sit back and allow others to dictate his life.

John Connor will defeat the Terminators—even if it takes him the rest of his life.

Have you seen any of the Terminator movies? What do you think of John Connor?

Wednesday Warriors

Terminator

Posted on August 26, 2015August 25, 2015 by Jack Flacco

Few actors in the lifetime of their careers have defining roles that make them eternal to an audience of film admirers. Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of those actors. His portrayal of a robot assassin sent from the future to kill the mother of the leader of the Resistance is a benchmark for all future actors who have culled an impressive portfolio to best James Cameron‘s creation.

Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator Genisys

Today’s Wednesday Warriors honors Terminator, which is that creation.

In the early Eighties, The Terminator became a box office sensation. Word has it when Schwarzenegger auditioned for the role, he actually auditioned for the Kyle Reese role instead, but Cameron saw differently. One look at Schwarzenegger, and he found his killing machine for the movie of the same name.

For those unfamiliar with the story, a quick spoiler-free recap is in order.

Soldier Kyle Reese, travels to the present to save the mother of the future leader of the Resistance. In his bid to keep her from harm, he leads her through a series of escapes to foil the murderous plans of an evil machine called the Terminator. In the future, the machines rule the earth hunting humans to take over the planet.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day has a similar story but this time there are two terminators to worry about. The target this time is the child who will become the future leader of the Resistance.

The Terminator is an interesting character in that it represents the relentless drive to achieve a goal at all costs regardless of the damage that happens surrounding the achievement of that goal. Much of the Terminator’s drive comes from its neural net processor, which has the capability to follow direct programming by other machines to eliminate humans from the face of the earth, and learn as it goes along

A major aspect of the character’s inclination to follow orders pertains to nothing more than bits and bytes in a CPU. However, in the progression of the series, the audience comes to learn that the terminator machine can take on a life of its own, and in several instances, become human in an inhuman world.

Of course, if one were to attempt to stop a terminator, the target would need more than a truck to take it out of commission. The target would need a special strategy to relieve it of its mission. Neither fire nor ice can destroy the cold heart of this killing machine. A sledgehammer might do the trick, but there are no guarantees.

Terminator’s focus is steadfast and does not waver from its mission, which makes the robot one of the most terrifying characters in science fiction history. 2001: Space Odyssey‘s HAL 9000 exudes as a malignant robot gone astray, using deception as its key tool to fight humans. With a terminator, there’s nothing deceptive about its goal. It plunges into the present, hunts its targets, and makes a spectacle out of it.

Having said that, as mentioned, the Terminator’s capacity to learn is its redeeming quality that may absolve it of its terrible role it possesses. That is to say, if it learns for good. If anything, this quality can lead it to become a father to a lost son.

Have you seen any of the Terminator movies? What did you think of them?

Wednesday Warriors

Christian

Posted on August 19, 2015October 2, 2015 by Jack Flacco

From the moment he saw her he knew his life wouldn’t be the same again.

In 1899, Christian (Ewan McGregor), a young writer with big dreams, goes to Paris to make a name for himself. In the process, he finds something else entirely different.

Today’s Wednesday Warriors looks at Christian, a love-struck poet who finds purpose in Baz Luhrmann‘s turn-of-the-century Parisian cabaret called Moulin Rouge.

Everyone knows her as the Sparkling Diamond. As a courtesan, she is anything but. Satine (Nicole Kidman) sells herself to anyone who can afford her. To Christian though, she becomes his love:

Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge

Yet, in spite of his affection for the beautiful woman, he has a lot to learn:

Even knowing the worst about the Sparkling Diamond does not diminish Christian’s love for her. To complicate his life, The Duke (Richard Roxburgh), an affluent patron to Harold Zidler’s (Jim Broadbent) Moulin Rouge, wants Satine all to himself. He is willing to pay handsomely for her services—something Christian does not fully understand even when Satine is trying hard to keep their relationship a secret:

As much as Christian will proclaim his love for Satine in song, he can’t help but allow jealousy to enter his heart:

The greatest thing... — The greatest thing…

The words to the eventual final moments of their relationship comes to Christian after seeing Satine succumb to The Duke’s wily inclinations:

Christian loves Satine so much that he can’t bring himself to accept her lot in life. There is, however, one lesson Christian will never forget, and that is:

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”

[Author’s Note: Having written this post December 16, 2014 to kick off my new Wednesday Warriors series that premiered December 17, 2014, I held off publishing it because of its lack of conclusion. Months later, I had revisited it hoping I could come up with something better than relying on the film’s main premise for an ending. Then it dawned on me that the film ended like a Shakespearean tragedy, much as I had written this post months earlier. Therefore, I decided to publish it today as is because I feel there really is no other way to conclude this post other than to reflect the film’s true message about love.]

Have you seen Moulin Rouge? What do you think of Christian’s love for Satine?

Wednesday Warriors

Rob Hawkins

Posted on August 12, 2015August 5, 2015 by Jack Flacco

He doesn’t have to think about it. He knows what he has to do. Above all, no one or anything can stop him. Beth needs him, and that is all that matters to him. He will save her. He will risk his life for her. If he dies for her, then so be it. He will not have died in vain.

Wednesday Warriors. Cloverfield‘s Rob Hawkins.

Cloverfield's Michael Stahl-David as Rob Hawkins — Cloverfield’s Michael Stahl-David as Rob Hawkins

When falling in love, no one knows where it will lead. There may be periods of indescribable joy, and there my be episodes of unbearable pain. So it is with Rob Hawkins (Michael Stahl-David) when he shows up at a surprise going away party in his honor. He is heading to Japan and leaving his friends behind. He is also leaving Beth McIntyre (Odette Annable) behind whom he loves.

The night couldn’t be better. His friends have determined to make his farewell bash the best party ever. And it is, until Beth appears with her new boyfriend. Soon after she leaves though, he and his friends plant themselves on the fire escape and talk about forgetting about Beth. As much as he would like, Rob can’t do that. He loves her and he doesn’t want to leave for Japan without having some sort of resolution with his former girlfriend.

That’s when it happens.

The earth shakes. The walls quake. And the lights go out.

Something sinister falls on New York City and everyone, including Rob wonders what it could be.

When the lights come back on, the news states something has attacked lower Manhattan, rendering it helpless. Fleeing to the top of the apartment building, Rob and his friends survey the city for damage. He doesn’t know it yet, but what will happen next will change his life forever. An object screams down from the heavens blasting the city’s core, laying it waste. Debris flies over Rob’s head pushing everyone to dash to the stairs to the street below.

All would have been fine hadn’t Rob received the call. He can’t help himself, he has to find out how she is. Beth made it home, but she needs help. Rob is the only one she can count on to save her.

And the boyfriend? What happened to him? It doesn’t matter. All Rob cares about is Beth. He wants her safe.

Against the advice of his friends, Rob takes to the city streets in search of his friend, stranded by whatever had befallen her. Through the military maneuvers and the train tunnels he roams, fighting against exhaustion, overcoming perilous attacks from forces unseen. Rob’s only focus is Beth, saving her life and redeeming himself of what had torn apart their relationship in the first place.

The eventual outcome of the story rests on friendship. Rob Hawkins doesn’t have to think twice when it comes to Beth. As awful as their breakup was, he will still offer his life in order that she might live instead.

Isn’t that what true friendship is all about?

Have you seen Cloverfield? What do you think about Rob Hawkins and his friendship with Beth?

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