Movie Review -- Tomb Raider

  Movie adaptations of video games are notorious for their suckitude. Whether it's due to the games' improper interpretation onto the silver screen by people who don't understand what made the game fun to begin with, or if it's the fact that several hours of mood and storytelling have to be compressed into just two hours, films based on games don't score well with critics. But the recent wave of video game films – 2015's Agent 47, and 2016's Assassin's Creed and Warcraft – seem to be giving a second chance to fans of both movies and video games: people like me! So does Tomb Raider buck the trend or does it fall victim to the old Hollywood crap trap? Let's find out.

  Tomb Raider closely follows the plot (or so I'm told) of the 2013 game which served as a reboot of the series. Lara Croft is a gifted young woman and reluctant heir to the Croft estate who decides to undergo a perilous adventure to find out what led to her father's disappearance. It's a pretty standard plot with few surprises. Given that the Tomb Raider games range from supernaturally-driven to being grounded-in-reality, I didn't quite know which direction to expect from this movie. I won't spoil it for you, but I do think the route the filmmakers chose was handled well and left me guessing right up until the film's climax. What wasn't quite so well handled was the ending, which pulls the old sequel-bait trick via a whole lot of last-minute revelations.

  There's also a pre-credits scene where Lara buys some handguns from a pawnshop (which, given the UK's gun control laws, I believe is quite impossible). This scene only serves (1) as a reference to the games and (2) as trailer filler.

  Alicia Vikander does a pretty good job of bringing Lara Croft to life. Lara's character is somewhat bland but Vikander gives her just enough personality to keep her from being dull. Her English accent could've been a bit better, though. Vikander does deserve credit for performing in a very physically demanding role; Lara gets thrown, tossed, and smacked around a lot in Tomb Raider. And yet she hardly ever suffers any serious injuries. She also has the gift of being able to instantly solve weird puzzles she's never seen before. Other decent performances come from Dominic West and Daniel Wu as Richard Croft and Lu Ren respectively. The film's biggest not-so-great performance is from Walton Goggins as the main villain Mathias Vogel, though to be fair this may be more due to the way this character is written. Vogel is completely colourless and without any charisma whatsoever.

  The overall production of Tomb Raider leaves much to be desired. Computer-generated effects are everywhere; there's scarcely a scene after the first 15 minutes that doesn't have them. The environments are a mixed bag as well. There are some scenes that take place in interesting locations – for example, a foot chase across small boats on a busy pier – but other locations (mainly the tombs) are only lightly detailed and without much character.

  Another downer is that most of the fight scenes are presented through that really choppy, incomprehensible editing that 21^st century action movies frequently suffer from. I will never understand why directors are so hellbent on preventing their audiences from being able to tell what's going on when two people are fighting!

  And that's Tomb Raider, a thoroughly OK action-adventure film. It isn't as much dumb fun as the original starring Angelina Jolie, but its more serious tone is done well enough and Alicia Vikander is a worthy Lara Croft in her own right. In short, Tomb Raider is easily one of the better video game-to-movie adaptations out there. But, again, that's not saying much.

Grade:

Ranking Canada's Prime Ministers, Worst to Best

It's been a long time since I tried my hand at a historical article. This'll be fun.

So one month ago the United States celebrated President's Day and as usual the New York Times put out its rankings of all US presidents. Donald Trump was ranked last. While ridiculous (he's only been in office one year!), this hardly comes as a surprise. You know, mainstream media and all. This got me thinking what my own rankings would be if I were to undertake it myself. And that's exactly what I did.

But what kind of patriot would I be if I didn't include my own country in this fun little exercise? That's why this week I'm presenting my rankings of all 23 of Canada's Prime Ministers from worst to best. Here's the guidelines. Each person on this list is judged only on the actions they undertook during their premiership. (For example, Lester Pearson's Nobel Peace Prize won't be taken into consideration because he was only Secretary of State for External Affairs at the time.) For each PM I'll present the reasons why I gave them the rank I did. As you might expect, the short term PM's all ended up at the end of the list, from the 15-23 range.

As one might expect, a list like this is going to be very political and so of course this is all just a matter of opinion. (Having said that, I did study Canadian history in university so I think I know what I'm talking about.) Anyways, disagree if you like.

23. John Turner (1984, Liberal)

• Pros: ???
• Cons: his 79 day-long term was characterized by patronage appointments which he was called out on. His leadership was weak and indecisive.

    22. Joe Clark (1979-80, Progressive Conservative)

• Pros: ???
• Cons: served 9 months. Defeated in motion of no confidence on his first budget.

    21. John Abbott (1891-92, Conservative)

• Pros: Revised the criminal code
• Cons: served for 17 months. Only took office because John A. MacDonald died and somebody had to take his place. Hated his job. Retired due to ill health.

    20. Mackenzie Bowell (1894-96, Conservative)

• Pros: ???
• Cons: served for 17 months. Couldn't handle Manitoba Schools Question, which led to a cabinet revolt. Indecisive.

19. Justin Trudeau (2015-present, Liberal)

• Pros: ???
• Cons: no budget plan whatsoever, pro-multiculturalism, political correctness ad nauseam, openly praised dictatorships of China and Cuba, sees former ISIS combatants as citizens

18. Kim Campbell (1993, Progressive Conservative)

• Pros: first and only female PM of Canada; reduced size of cabinet and parliament committees
• Cons: only served for 4 months, quickly squandered her early popularity

17. Charles Tupper (1896, Conservative)

• Pros: ???
• Cons: his 68-day term is shortest in Canadian history. Took office after parliament had already dissolved, which didn't give him much of a chance. Failed to offer a solution to the Manitoba schools question

16. Arthur Meighen (1920-21, 1926, Conservative)

• Pros: ???
• Cons: served a total of 21 months

15. John Thompson (1892-1894, Conservative)

• Pros: helped settle the Bering Sea seal dispute, reformed the criminal code, was anti-annexationist (as all good Canadians should be)
• Cons: failed to resolve the Manitoba Schools Question, failed to bring Newfoundland into Confederation

14. Paul Martin (2003-06, Liberal)

• Pros: heavily involved in the G20
• Cons: also involved in the Sponsorship Scandal

13. Richard Bennett (1930-35, Conservative)

• Pros: workaholic, created CRBC (precursor to CBC), founded the Bank of Canada, donated millions of dollars of his own personal wealth to starving families
• Cons: had the misfortune of taking office at the beginning of the Great Depression. He dealt with it through ineffective and unpopular half-measures, such as the Relief Camps (which resulted in strikes and riots). His half-hearted attempt at replicating FDR's New Deal was seen as too little too late

12. Pierre Trudeau (1968-79, 1980-84, Liberal)

• Pros: tenacious nationalist, repatriated the constitution, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Handled the October Crisis well, effectively dissolving the FLQ
• Cons: cult of personality? Multiculturalism, massively grew the national debt, doled out lots of patronage positions, was never able to get a handle on unemployment and inflation. National Energy Program and other policies alienate Western Canadians. Constitutional disputes alienate Quebecois

11. Alexander Mackenzie (1873-78, Liberal)

• Pros: established the Supreme Court, introduced the secret ballot, created the office of Auditor General, promoted honesty/integrity within government
• Cons: made little progress on the national railway, didn't handle 1873 Depression well, free trade deal with USA was unpopular

10. William Lyon Mackenzie King (1921-26, 1926-30, 1935-48, Liberal)

• Pros: longest-serving prime minister, garnered broad support, workaholic, Chanak Crisis. Conducted Second World War, Canada becomes “arsenal of democracy”, ends war as a “middle power”, joins UN
• Cons: nationalized Bank of Canada, big-government interventionism, beginnings of welfare state, refused to accept Jewish refugees from Europe. Improper use of War Measures Act, Japanese internment/disenfranchisement, Conscription crisis. Occultist who communed with spirits on policy issues

9. Lester Pearson (1963-68, Liberal)

• Pros: new national flag, abolished capital punishment, Autopact with the USA, kept Canada out of the Vietnam War
• Cons: established the Canada Pension Plan, universal healthcare, expanded immigration from 3^rd world

8. Jean Cretien (1993-2003, Liberal)

• Pros: privatized the CNR, eliminated budget deficits, lowered the national debt, cut taxes, reformed national bureaucracy. Handled the 1995 Quebec Referendum well. Committed Canada to the Afghanistan War but kept it out of the Iraq War
• Cons: opened floodgates to 3^rd world immigration and multiculturalism, “Shawinigan Handshake”, Sponsorship Scandal. Broken election promises

7. John Diefenbaker (1957-63, Progressive Conservative)

• Pros: Bill of Rights, restored the vote to status Indians, commitment to NORAD, opposed apartheid in South Africa
• Cons: Bomarc Missiles Question, mishandled the Cuban Missile Crisis, Coyne Affair

6. Brian Mulroney (1984-93, Progressive Conservative)

• Pros: cancelled National Energy Program, privatized crown corporations, reduced government spending, free trade with USA, opposed US intervention in Central America, enacted environmental protection laws, added national parks
• Cons: under-funded the armed forces, added to the national debt, Airbus Affair. Finances were complicated by early 1990's recession. Alienated Quebec with clumsy attempts at constitutional reform during Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords

5. Stephen Harper (2006-15, Conservative)

• Pros: Federal Accountability Act, Softwood Lumber Agreement, increased funding to veterans affairs. Helped Canada weather the late-2000's recession better than most Western nations with such policies as the Economic Action Plan
• Cons: Quebecois Nation Motion, decreased government transparency, sold arms to Saudi Arabia, made a mountain out of a molehill with the Niqab issue

4. Robert Borden (1911-20, Conservative, Unionist)

• Pros: conducted the First World War, leading Canada to greater nationhood in the process with Canada's delegation to the Treaty of Versailles and membership in the League of Nations. Granted women the right to vote
• Cons: introduced income tax, Wartime Elections Act disenfranchised many. Created the War Measures Act and used it to intern/disenfranchise Ukranian-Canadians. Conscription crisis alienated Quebec. Used violence to put down Winnipeg General Strike

3. Louis St. Laurent (1948-57, Liberal)

• Pro: with its “middle power” status Canada maintains active foreign policy with joining NATO, participating in Korean War, helping resolve Suez Crisis. Massive public works projects such as Trans-Canada Highway, Trans-Canada Pipeline, St. Lawrence Seaway. Added Newfoundland & Labrador to confederation. Anti-communist without infringing on liberty. Fiscally conservative (at least in the short-term), decreased the government debt
• Cons: introduced equalization payments, expanded social welfare programs

2. Wilfrid Laurier (1896-1911, Liberal)

• Pros: winner of 4 majority governments, made reciprocity with USA work, upholder of individual liberty. Added Alberta and Saskatchewan to confederation. Came up with peaceful compromises on contentious issues like the Manitoba Schools Question and Canada's involvement in the Boer War. Founded the Royal Canadian Navy. Maintained national unity during period of great changes
• Cons: naval compromise was unpopular, took away suffrage for status Indians

1. John A. MacDonald (1867-73, 1878-91, Conservative)

• Pros: Country's first prime minister. Winner of 6 majority governments, popular with both English- and French-speaking Canadians. Incorporated Rupert's Land into Canadian territory. Added Northwest Territories, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, and British Columbia to confederation. Put down Red River Rebellion and Northwest Rebellion. Established Northwest Mounted Police (now RCMP), built national railway, fostered a national identity. Nation-building with National Policy
• Cons: alcoholic, Pacific Scandal. Execution of Louis Riel in 1885 alienated French-Canadians

That about does it. Check back again soon when I rank all US presidents.

An Announcement: What's Going On

Hey, fellas. Let's chat for a bit. You may have noticed that my output in new content has slowed down a bit in recent months (hence all the old review reposts). The reason? Due to certain changes in my life I now have far less free time than I had before. I know that this may be upsetting to some of you who regularly check in with Arnold's Benediction (if you people really exist).
I apologize for this recent lack in content, but before dismissing me as a lazy tosser who deserves an untimely demise I ask that you please consider the following:

1. Writing new material for this blog takes time. Even my movie reviews take around two hours to write. This article you're reading right now took about 45 minutes to complete. After coming up with an idea for an article I've got to do preliminary research, I've got to gather and organize my thoughts, plan what I'm going to say, and then once the first draft is done I've got to do one or two edits/proofreads to see if it meets my standards. Even the research can take a long time since it typically involves watching films, playing video games, and reading books and articles in their entirety. I do all these steps because (A) I want to make sure my articles are readable and at least somewhat interesting to you guys, and (B) because I need to make sure that what I'm writing is true and as factual as possible.
2. I'm not getting paid to do this. Arnold's Benediction is just a hobby for me. If I was making money off of it then I would probably invest more time in providing a steady stream of content. But as it is now, this is and always has been something I do simply for fun. And if you readers get any enjoyment out of the free content I've barfed up on this blog then that's a cool bonus.
3. I have a full time job and a dwelling to maintain. On top of that I also volunteer once or twice a week. So yeah, my free time is kind of at a premium.

Like I said, I'm sorry that I can't come up with new stuff every single week (though I wish I could). However, having said all this I have been working on something new which will hopefully be ready for next weekend. In the meantime I'll keep reposting old reviews (from the Facebook days) for as long as I can/have to and don't forget that there's always two-and-a-half years' worth of past articles to read on Arnold's Benediction.
Thank you for your patience. I'll see you next time.

Movie Review Repost -- Gravity (2013)

  A good movie that isn't two-and-a-half freakin' hours long? Yes please! Gravity is to space thrillers as Scarface is to crime dramas. It makes Apollo 18 look like a hunk of space garbage (which it is).

  Gravity's story is simple, but engaging. It involves the crew of space shuttle mission STS-157 repairing space telescopes in the Earth's orbit. Unfortunately, they soon find themselves bombarded by debris from the destruction of an old Russian satellite, which destroys their space shuttle. Matt Kowalski and Ryan Stone are the only survivors – as well as the movie's only characters – and must find a way to safely make it back to Earth. We also get to see Stone re-evaluate her current outlook on life. Sandra Bullock plays Ryan Stone, a nervous and withdrawn, yet quick-thinking engineer on her first mission. George Clooney plays Matt Kowalski, a calm and brave veteran astronaut who's equipped with a thruster pack. Both of their performances are excellent. The viewer can really see what's going on inside Stone's head and can sympathize with her easily.

  But where Gravity truly shines is in its cinematography. Without hesitation I can say that this is one of the best-looking movies I've ever seen. Most of the film consists of long, uninterrupted shots that really give the viewer the feeling of isolation in the vastness of space; the opening shot is held continuously for about eight to ten minutes straight. And when the movie wants the viewer to get the same claustrophobic feeling that the astronauts feel, it gives us point-of-view shots from inside their helmets or a wide angle shot of the cramped insides of an abandoned spacecraft. Combine all of this with the amazing special effects and you've got a gorgeous picture that's really a treat to see in 3-D.

  The score is also very effective at building tension. It's very atmospheric and sounds very modern and alien: kind of like The Social Network, but on drugs. I like it.

  The movie tries going for a very realistic approach in portraying what a zero gravity vacuum environment is like. The only thing that kind of bothered me was how simple it seems for Stone and Kowalski to spacewalk between space stations. It only takes them a few minutes to leapfrog between installations. Are they really that close in real life?

  Whatever. Gravity is still a wonder of space cinema. It has great acting, effects, music, and camerawork. It's the best movie I've seen so far this year. If you're the least bit interested, then go watch it. And make sure it's in 3-D.

Rating: five stars out of five!