House of The Rising Sun

“A red sun rises; blood has been spilt this night.”

Legolas

I’m shooting from the hip this blogging season. Experimenting with new tactics like improvisation, sensationalism, and brutal honesty. Like the mythic lovechild of The Dali Lama and Bruce Lee – learning to let Love and Truth flow like Water. Call it a new aspiration. Oh yes, we have work to do, my friends. Time to reel in this Jobu Tupaki monkey mind and laser focus it on a bb of hydrogen tritium.

Reflecting my new goal of concentration is a warrior training montage I’m brainstorming. Inspired in part by my friend here, Uri, (Life of Uri) who is going for his Karate black belt next month🥋

One of the side dishes I’m cooking up for the ‘taj is the Japanese Aircraft Carrier takeoff scene from Pearl Harbor (2001). Only, the original film editing is so egregious I might not be able to use it at all.

The Michael Bay enigma is well documented in the movie blogging lore, but I’m not afraid to rehash it. And note, that I do so out of love. I shared my first kiss seeing Transformers (2007). Armageddon (1998) makes me sing Steven Tyler (if you dare picture that😅) The Rock (1997) was a guiding force in my previous montage, A Dark Night (2022). Share in the comments your own experiences with Bay movies, and/or gripes. In the meantime I’ll share mine – the editing.

This aircraft carrier scene features no less than a dozen breathtaking, gorgeous cinematic shots. All ruined by hyperactive cutting. Bull-in-a-china-shop. See, in order to montage it, is has to be a complete visual thought. One, singular. When the admiral drops the takeoff flag with the fury of seven samurais blazing through his eyes, I want to savor that moment, for seconds. Instead we only get it for like a 1/4 of one second, and it’s from 3 different camera angles. At the same time, it’s also intercut with the planes taking off, again from multiple angles. Whyyy. We only need one, guys☝️One, that’s it.

Now go ahead, put your hands on your hips and call me out in the snotty voice, “Well if you’re so mister smarty pants then why aren’t YOU working on Mr. Bay’s movies, huh?”

End rant