Ten Favorite Screen Characters Tag

Hamlette tagged me for this on her blog.  The tag is to list 10 of your favorite fictional movie or television series characters.  Of course, that was so open-ended, I had way more than ten favorite characters.  So, I started categorizing those favorites, and... it got out of control.  I love way too many characters!  And with Hobbit/Lord of the Rings still on my mind, the lists were kind of... boring and familiar.

Instead of current favorites or all-time favorites, I'm selecting the most reasonable of my various sub-categories, because it had exactly ten people in it.  Convenient!

So, these are my ten favorite screen characters who have also influenced me and/or changed my life, in both big and small ways. Sometimes a character simply teaches me more about myself.  But yes, I'm one of those fool people who can be affected quite strongly by fiction.  There is power in words.  It's one of the many reasons I became a writer.

1. Kronos (Valentine Pelka, guest star on several episodes of Highlander, the TV series, 1997)

2. Borodin (Sam Neill in The Hunt For Red October, 1990)

3. Messala (Stephen Boyd, Ben-Hur, 1959)

4. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford, Raiders of the Lost Ark, 1981)

5. James Bond (Sean Connery)

6. Sgt. Saunders (Vic Morrow, Combat! TV series 1962-1967))

7. Tonto (Johnny Depp, The Lone Ranger, 2013)

8. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor, The Phantom Menace, 1999)

9.  Ken Hutchinson (David Soul, Starsky & Hutch TV series, 1975-1979)

10.   Agent John Garrett (Bill Paxton, Agents of SHIELD TV series, 2014)

Interestingly, most of the fictional women who influenced me were in operas (and books), not movies or television.  Although opera pre-dates movies and television for me, so perhaps that's no surprise.  Long before I was allowed to watch a James Bond movie, there was opera.  So, to balance this list out slightly, (and since my favorite visual version of this opera is actually a film from 1976), I'm adding on Floria Tosca.  Here was a woman who needed no rescuing, and she remains my all-time favorite, and most influential, woman character of all time.

Floria Tosca (Raina Kabaivanska) and Mario Cavaradossi (Placido Domingo)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl – A Conversation

As part of Hamlette’s Piratical Blogathon, Hamlette and I reminisced about the Pirates of the Caribbean movies while simultaneously listening to the soundtrack for POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl.  We both love the original Pirates movie and thought it would be fun, rather than either of us writing a review of it, to discuss the movie instead.  Our favorite scenes and characters, why the first movie was so great and the second and third failed to capture that same magic.

Hamlette:  I remember buying this album -- so desperate to just keep the piratey joy alive once the movie left the theater.  I have track 3 up on my CD and ohhhhhhhhhh, I love this song, this bouncy, poundy sailing theme.  I had a hard time finding this soundtrack, actually, and I would listen to the Gladiator soundtrack because it has a teensy bit that sounds somewhat like this.  I had to wait for like a week for it to be in, and then once I got it, I think it stayed in my CD player all summer.  Listened to absolutely nothing else.

DKoren:   awww

Hamlette:  I remember seeing the trailer for this like five times before it came out, and just being so crazy excited for a Johnny Depp Pirate Movie!!!!  There was that swooshy thing where he holds the rope and flies up onto the boat, and I was in looooooooooooove with that moment in the trailer.

DKoren:   I remember going back and seeing this movie four or five times.

Hamlette:  I think I saw it three times.  What's your favorite moment in the movie?

DKoren:   In the end finale, when Jack shoots Barbossa and goes all serious.

Hamlette:  I'm not entirely sure if I have One Favorite Moment.

DKoren:   With Jack, I absolutely love his serious moments.  When he goes serious, I swoon.  When he's his normal fast-talking self, he’s amusing, but not a character I really care about.

Hamlette:  "So there is a curse.  That's interesting."  That's another of my favorite moments.  I love how he says "in-tres-ting."

DKoren:    "This shot is not meant for you."  That's another one of mine.  It’s another serious moment, that pleading with Will to "please move!"

Hamlette:   yes

DKoren:    But that whole moment in the finale where he slices his hand with the coin, tosses it to Will, and shoots Barbossa... that is THE reason I watch this movie.  I wait and wait for that.  And then it's over in ten seconds.

Hamlette:  Well, that's the way of Perfect Moments.

DKoren:   There're plenty of other parts I love too, just not with that intensity.

Hamlette:  If you were writing it, it would've been your Scene of Scenes.

DKoren:   Yes, the ultimate carrot scene.  That first shot of him on the rigging (where he’s again looking serious)... totally amazing moment.

Hamlette:  I think now, after four movies, it's hard to remember just how Different his Captain Jack was -- I mean, I remember sitting in the theater thinking, "DUDE!  This is all so completely new!"  I never knew what to expect one moment to the next.  Which I loved -- because it wasn't just another actiony kid-oriented movie, it was clever and devious and tricksy and... yeah.

DKoren:   That's a good way to put it.

Hamlette:  I have to say, I think Elizabeth Swan is another of those roles I would love to play, or characters I'd like to be.

DKoren:   I can see that.

Hamlette:  I remember just going, "I want to do that!  And that!  And that!"

DKoren:   She's really cool.

Hamlette:  She's very collected -- she doesn't freak out easily.

DKoren:   She's a character I wanted to be friends with.

Hamlette:  She thinks on her feet really well:  I'm going to hide here, I'm going to ask for parley, I'm going to pretend I'm not the governor's daughter.

DKoren:   Yeah, she's very smart.  I love that about her.

Hamlette:  She's not a damsel in distress at all.  Which was also refreshing, along with Captain Jack's unpredictability.

DKoren:   "She'll be insufferable now."

Hamlette:  Indeed.

DKoren:   I wanted to be Will Turner.

Hamlette:  Well, we'd make a fine pair, then!  Okay, so what makes you want to be Will?  Cuz I honestly -- like Elizabeth -- get impatient with him at times.

DKoren:   He makes swords, he practices with them, he's willing to do anything to rescue Kiera, he breaks a pirate out of jail and yells at Norrington.  He figures things out and doesn't want to be Jack's leverage.  He does everything I would do, were I in his shoes.

DKoren:   The way he thinks... I relate to that.  Like figuring Jack would be his best bet for tracking pirates.  And, of course, rescuing Jack at the end from execution and being willing to die for his actions, conscious clear.  I would totally do that.

Hamlette:  I do love the ending.

DKoren:   The swordfighting scene in the blacksmith shop is probably my second favorite scene in the movie.

Hamlette:  Oh, it is splendid!  It might actually be my favorite overall scene.  It could go on another ten minutes and I'd be happy.

DKoren:   Yes, I can watch the two of them cross blades for hours.

Hamlette:  He's more cautious and... circuitous than Elizabeth, which is probably why I identify more with her -- I just want to confront things and be done.  As long as I have a plan, I'm good.  Even if it's not a great plan.  Let’s talk a little about why Curse of the Black Pearl is splendid and the others range from meh to okay?  I think the reason Black Pearl works and the others are silly is because of the writing.  Specifically, how Jack is written. They wrote him straight in the first one, and Johnny twisted him to his own ends.  For the others, they wrote him silly, and so he became a caricature.  That's my take, anyway.

DKoren:   They assumed because Jack was the most popular character that if they took his character and blew him up to larger proportions, it would be even better.

Hamlette:  Yes.

DKoren:   Forgetting that what made him work so well is what you said, he was written straight.

Hamlette:  I mean, he does have some silly lines, the whole thing about the sea turtles... But he delivers the silly lines straight, and the straight lines off-kilter, and so it's just... unbalancedly brilliant.  But if it's all written silly, then it's too balanced somehow, and it just gets ordinary.

DKoren:   Yes.  That.  He also worked so well because Will and Elizabeth counter his personality perfectly in the first movie.

Hamlette:  They're all earnest and he's -- deadly earnest, but hiding it.

DKoren:   There's also a decided lack of a good villain in the second and third.

Hamlette:  This is true.

DKoren:   Davy Jones... sorry, but he's just silly.

Hamlette:  I think, also, in the fourth one... Jack has dignity again.

DKoren:   Yes, quite a bit more.

Hamlette:  What makes him so funny in the first one is he is so dignified!  And in the most ridiculous moments!

DKoren:   But he has to clash with a much better villain in On Stranger Tides, so that helps.

Hamlette:  Yes, that helps too.  Worthy adversary is important.

DKoren:   Also, 2 & 3 had the most ridiculous action sequences.

Hamlette:  I haven't seen them since the theater either, so memory has faded.

DKoren:   I mean, I love action, but that stupid rolling wheel...

Hamlette:  Oh, yes!  I remember the wheel.  That was atrocious.

DKoren:   Nothing in the first one is really beyond the scope of reality.  They don't defy physics.

Hamlette:  Or, a reality where there are skeleton pirates.

DKoren:   Well, yeah.

Hamlette:  But yes, people can do those things.  Boats behave that way.

DKoren:   And then it goes all unbelievable and silly.  (But Norrington gets scruffy and demoted, and that's a bonus point for 2 & 3.)

Hamlette:  (True -- he got a lot more interesting.)

DKoren:   (And Stellan is a bonus.)

Hamlette:  (Stellan!  Yes!)  About the only thing I remember really clearly from 2 & 3 is the very end, the final stinger on 3, where Elizabeth and the son were on the island, ready for Will to return.  I loved that moment, and the rest of it was just... there.

DKoren:   I do remember when we saw 2 in the theater, my sister came out and said, "Wow, I can't believe how happy I was to see Barbossa show up."

Hamlette:  Lol!  Yeah, Barbossa was a breath of stale but refreshing air.

DKoren:   Because he was such a good villain in the first one, and there was nothing like that in the second one.

Hamlette:  It lacked a tree, as I recall -- no good structure.

DKoren:   And was very convoluted for lacking structure.

Hamlette:  Turns out that just More Jack Sparrow doesn't make up for Not Enough Good Writing.

DKoren:   yep, very true.

And that's it for our reminisces for today.  Don't forget to check out the blogathon for reviews of other pirate movies and books.

Rango (2011)

I'm sorry I missed this one in the theater, as this is one enjoyable and very funny movie.  Not for little ones.  Even though it's animated, the humor here is more adult, is a bit crude in a few places, and most of what makes this movie so funny would fly right over my nephew's head.  Rather existential searches for self are not exactly on a five-year-old's radar.  Though there is plenty of action that will keep him happy... when he's a few years older. But I loved it and immediately bought a copy after I returned the Neflix DVD.



The plots concerns a sheltered and lonely Chameleon lizard who ends up unexpectedly in the Mojave desert, in the animal-populated town of Dirt.  It's a town that pays homage to the towns of old classic Westerns, complete with the usual complement of Western characters, from good guys to bad guys.  The town is suffering from extreme drought, and if they can't find out what happened to the water soon, they'll all die.  The lizard (who is really on a quest to find his own identity) embraces his sudden shift in his fortune and accepts a position as the new sheriff of the town.  But can he truly become his new identity? 

As a huge Western fan, this movie delighted me with all its references (subtle and overt) to the Western genre.  I love the brief bit of the Magnificent Seven theme that plays through one scene.  I love the mariachi band owls who serve as narrators and Greek chorus.  I love the Spirit of the West, whose appearance made me clap outloud with delight.  Too perfect.

And by far the best part of this movie is simply watching the character of Rango (voiced perfectly by Johnny Depp) as he makes up stories, tries to blend in, has multiple adventures in this animal-version of the Old West on his quest to find himself.  Rango may be just an animated lizard, but he's one of my top favorite Johnny Depp chracters.  Just love him, his crazy dialogue and antics, in this movie.

The first forty minutes are definitely my favorite part of this film, though I love the rest too.  The rest is more plot-driven and serious, the first half is just plain laugh-out-loud fun.

The animation is pretty eye-poppingly amazing.  This one is by ILM, and wow, it is outstanding.  I've had to pause it on certain parts, like the hawk, just to study the details and ooh and ahh over how amazing it looks.  There is so much detail to these characters, to the landscape, to the swirls of dust.  I don't know how they do it, but I'm hoping they do another animated movie, cuz this one was first-rate.



This movie is also extremely quotable. My current most quoted lines are:

"Crunchy creamy cookie candy cupcake."
"I think the metaphor broke my spleen."
"Stay OUT of my peripheral vision!"
"Get your slimy webbed phalanges off my boots!"

I think every one of those gets said at least once a day.  I've watched the whole movie three times already, and the first half at least six times -- and that's just in the last two weeks.  It just doesn't get old.

Just wish I'd caught it in the movie theater!  I'll bet that animation would have looked even more spectacular on the big screen.

The Tourist (2010)

This is going to be a Very Spoilery review.  Please please please do not read if you want to see this movie, because I'm going to ruin the ending.  Because I'm too angry with this movie not to rant about it, and I can't rant about what I didn't like without spoiling the ending.

You have been warned!

There's quite a few things wrong wth this movie, but there's also quite a few things right.  One of the things wrong is the casting.  Now, I really like Angelina Jolie.  She's one of my favorite current actresses.  I think she's cool, beautiful, and fun to watch.  But she didn't work for me in this film.  I'm not sure what it is, exactly.  She's so busy being aloof and mysterious that I failed to connect with her, or see why Frank, Johnny Depp's character, would fall for her, other than she's beautiful.  Her character either isn't strong enough, or isn't vulnerable enough.  But I know she can be a lot more than a pretty face, so her character's distinct lack of personality in this movie was very disappointing.

But Paul Bettany and Timothy Dalton are in it, and they both have personality to spare so they somewhat make up for her.  And Johnny Depp, of course, is always good.  The Venice locale is lovely, though... flat.  As in, this movie could have been set in any city in the world.  They just happened to choose Venice, but it fails to become part of the movie.

And then there's the ending. 

Cardinal rule of writing... don't waste your reader's time.  Same thing applies to movies.  Do not waste your audience's time.  How do you waste their time?  By developing characters they like, giving those characters an arc, letting those characters step beyond their ordinary lives to do something extraordinary... then throwing all that development out the window.  It's cheating.  It's like the "it's only a dream!" ending.  It makes me mad.

And now for the big spoilers.  You see, Johnny Depp's playing a character named Frank.  A math teacher from Wisconsin, on vacation in Venice.  He gets sucked into a dangerous convoluted plot, to be used as bait against his knowledge, basically, to catch a thief.  Cool.  Right on board.  There's a bunch of British, French, Italian agents trying to catch the thief.  There's also a ruthless, brutal gangster who will do anything to get his money back from that thief.  Cool.  still onboard.  So, in our finale, Angelina Jolie is caught by the gangster and threatened if she can't tell him where the hidden money is.  And so, our math teacher from Wisconsin goes in to confront the bad guys when the British agents won't help her.  He goes in to save her cuz he's fallen in love with her.  Dude, this is cool.  This is awesome.  This is an ordinary guy going beyond his ordinary life for the woman he loves.  I am soooooo on board with this. 

But no.  Surprise!  He's not really a math teacher from Wisconsin.  He's actually the thief everyone's been looking for the whole movie... hahah, fooled ya!  Isn't that clever?

Movie... I hate you for taking away what could have been an awesome ending. I wouldn't have cared if Frank had gotten killed trying to save her, or if she was killed because he was in over his head and couldn't save her, or they ended up in jail or lived happily every after.  As long as the movie fulfilled the promise it set up from the very title of the movie -- an ordinary guy willing to do whatever it takes.  But nope, it cheated.  It made it all a dream.  It ended up wasting my time, made me want to bang my head against the wall, and... well, gave me a ranting blog post.

Wasn't that exciting?

I'm sure some people will love the "surprise" ending.  But I am definitely not one of them.

The Lone Ranger (2013)

As I learned a long time ago, what the critics say is totally irrelevant to whether or not a movie is going to hit my personal buttons.  I liked Lone Ranger a lot on the first viewing, loved it by the third viewing.  Yeah, I've been back to see it a few times.  It was much better the second time, as I'd accepted the things that bugged me, and I could just sit back and enjoy it for what it is.  Which is a highly amusing and enjoyable Western, with characters I loved, dialogue that made me laugh out loud, and that all important piece of the puzzle for me -- a very good score.  And considering the composer is Hans Zimmer, that is super high praise from me.  This is the first score of his I've truly liked since... well, since Black Rain.  It works perfectly in the film and I've been listening to it on repeat at home.

If you want to read a great review of this movie, one that is fair and hits the faults as well as the good, this review sums it all up perfectly.  He addresses all the critics' points, and his analysis is fascinating.  There's not much I can say about the good and bad of this film that he didn't say better.  Go read it if you want to see what Lone Ranger is really like.  It's well worth the read.

I should say I come to this film with no Lone Ranger baggage.  I did not watch the old series.  My parents did, avidly, so the Lone Ranger was something I was always familiar with, but not intimately so.  When the 1980 movie, The Legend of the Lone Ranger, came out, we all went and saw it.  And it stunk.  And that was the only Lone Ranger I ever knew.  (I recently re-watched Legend... and it was pretty much as bad as I remember.  Not terrible, just so cheesy that it was hard to sit through and not continuously roll my eyes.)

I love how the story is told by old Tonto.  For me, it's a great framing device that allows the story to be a little wacky and off.  It's the prerogative of storytellers throughout the ages to make up whatever they want.  And I love that there are questions the boy asks about the story, that Tonto doesn't answer. This is the kind of stuff my writerly half digs to pieces.

And I absolutely love Tonto.  Johnny Depp, for me, is perfect in the role in this particular version.  And I think he looks great.  Even on first viewing, this instantly became my favorite Depp character.  I loved the first Pirates movie, but could do without the sequels.  Tonto is a hundred times more interesting and awesome than Jack Sparrow, with a far more interesting personality.

But I was also impressed with Armie Hammer as John Reid.  Sure his version of the Lone Ranger may not be the ideal strong hero type out the starting gate, but he's so earnest and determined and full of high values and ideals, that I really liked him.  And I thought his growth worked well here.  And he sure does wear that suit, hat, and mask well.



I also loved James Dale Badge as Dan Reid.  I had seen him earlier this summer as the main henchman in Iron Man 3, but I didn't even recognize him in Lone Ranger until after I read his name.  He is so different in this, in looks, voice, actions, and he's perfect as a Texas Ranger and John's older brother. 

The bad guys all work for me too.  Hard to recognize William Fincter under that ugly makeup, but he's there.

And the horse... can't leave without mentioning that the horse is hilarious.

I also love that the script is quite smart, in that it doesn't dumb things down for the audience.  There are many subtle touches and moments in this film that I appreciated immensely. 

A lot of the scenery is Monument Valley, which is beautiful, though I wish the colors weren't so washed out.  That's one of my biggest complaints, which is really a minor thing overall.  I didn't find it too long, and didn't want to leave the theater.  I came out of the movie wanting to look for my horse, not my car... and that's what I want out of my movies... to escape, to immerse in another world, and to come out still in that world.

This one works for me.

For another review, check out Hamlette's take on it.  She comes from a very strong love of the Clayton Moore/Jay Silverheels versions, so I enjoyed reading her perspective.  I admit, the previews for Lone Ranger weren't that good, and I might have passed on this one if she hadn't recommended I go.  I'm so very glad I did.