March 28, 2014

• "Why the Film Adaptation of 'Atlas Shrugged' Failed, and Will Continue To Fail"

  If I remember correctly, that's the full title of a2-hours-plus video, created by one Jordan Owen, whom I've yet to look up on the Internet but he appears to be, at least among other things, a composer.

  Jordan also is, like me, a huge fan of Ayn Rand's novel, "Atlas Shrugged," and, like me, something of a libertarian torn between histories of being either liberal or conservative at various times in our lives.

  He is much younger than I am, and has much healthier lungs, because I could never talk that long without growing painfully hoarse.  Also, Jordan is much more repelled by the cinematic efforts than I am.  To capsulize his review, he terms Parts 1 and 2, released over the past couple of years, as "a pitiful act of cinematic defecation."  That's more a function of how much he loved the novel than of how he hated the movies, but his point is that almost anyone could have done a better job of making a movie than did John Aglioloro, whose expertise as far as either of us can tell stops and ends with enough business acumen to sell exercise equipment.  Enough acumen, that is, to pile up enough money so that he could afford to purchase the film rights and then literally lose millions in the making and marketing of Atlas Shrugged, Parts 1 and 2.

  The video is terribly long, and I wish the several minutes of showing a violent confrontation between Tea Party enthusiasts and protesters had been omitted or drastically shortened.  Maybe you can skip over that part, or go to the bathroom while it's playing.

  The rest of the video is well worth playing.  I know it's more than two hours long, and I never could have watched it if Barbara had been home and either wanted my attention or wanted to sleep (I gotta get me some headphones).  But the video IS well worth an investment of time.

  *****

  JordanOwen42 is a guy I'd love to have a conversation with.  Apparently he's a regular on YouTube and long-windedness is a habit.

  ***** Friday night edit*****

  I've just deleted the link to Jordan's 2-hour rant that, after listening to it for about a minute, determined that it is nothing more than a stupid defense of the porn industry.  Had I given it more of a chance, it is barely possible that I might have realized I judged it too harshly.

  So I also take back my wish to have a conversation with this guy.  Before I say anything else, I'll just quit while I'm behind.

  Nevertheless, I still recommend watching his video wherein he discusses the filming of the novel, "Atlas Shrugged."  Basically I agreed with everything he said except the enjoyability of the films.  I loved Part 1 and I liked Part 2 enough to see it twice.  Part 1 was a good film, in my opinion, and any disappointments I felt were minor.  Part 2 was clearly inferior, and perhaps deserved Jordan's scathing remarks.

   

   

  • 6:25 am
  • 4 Comments