Michael Andrew's Blog, page 29

Rocketman

I heard so many positive things about this film and enjoyed Bohemian Rhapsody, I thought Id give it a try. Make no mistake, Elton John is one of the biggest & most successful musicians of all time. I was surprised to learn there were so many familiar songs I have heard that didn't know were his. I appreciated learning about his lyricist and his role in Eltons success. In many ways, the film kind of felt like a review of all of his hits and of course his backstory. It was definitely engaging in that you can feel the pain and the reasoning for his pain, being desperate for real love.

There were many things I thought were fantastic, Taron Egerton was simply amazing in his depiction of Elton. Amazing cinematography, directing, acting, emotion. Even the colors were all very well thought out.

SPOILER ALERT-

This is what I didn't like about the movie, the story itself.

We all suffer greatly. Each and every one of us, including feelings of wanting to be loved. The film is great in that you can really relate to what he went through personally, however I felt that his suffering & struggle was more about his inability to deal with massive success brought on mostly because he was gifted from day one.

Here's another way of saying this: How many stories of an individual being desperate for love have we never heard of because they were not successful? Is their pain and suffering any more less because they were not? Shouldn't we actually try to empathize more for those who weren't born as music prodigies, who do not have the fame and resources to tell their own stories because they were not? Wouldnt their stories be more interesting as they didnt have such a gift to their advantage?

Maybe thats brutal, but the film goes to great lengths to point out he was very, very good with music naturally, he was born with it. Yes, he had to study and practice, and he was no doubt prolific, but for me to summarize the story would be "he was a prodigy raised by unloving parents and his massive success alienated him further from meaningful relationships, which was compounded only by his feeling sorry for himself and his access to drugs". Not the most inspirational story when you look at it that way. I find stories where there is a massive obstacle to overcome against all odds more inspiring. The obstacles Elton dealt with were his parents and him feeling sorry for himself. (Ouch) Right?

That said, this self destructive journey is very common with many highly successful musicians, they find a way to use their success to self destruct. Some prevent it before it happens, others end up killing themselves.

But...the good part is he eventually matures, learns to deal with it, and finds the inner peace he was looking for. I felt like I appreciated the movie more for understanding about how prolific Elton John was than his personal struggles.

Any movie that can make you sit and analyze enough to do a review like this is obviously a good sign. Definitely a rental if you are into music biopics.

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Published on June 15, 2019 08:25

My new 3D Printer is up & running, it’s amazing...

My new 3D Printer is up & running, it's amazing how much prices have dropped and the all new features they have since my first one back inn2013. I'll likely hang on to my Replicator 2x, but this Prusa Mk3s is really impressing me. It can use pretty much any material and was under $800. I enjoyed putting it together, if you are in the market for a 3D printer I would say start here. I've been thinking about putting a course together on the subject and it's likely going to happen soon. If you know how to use these things, and can use them to solve problems for others, it's as good as printing money, #prusai3mk3 #replicator2x #3dprinting #3dprint

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Published on June 10, 2019 16:32

Oahu has some amazing beaches... just wow #Oahu...

Oahu has some amazing beaches... just wow #Oahu #Hawaii #luckywelivehawaii

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Published on June 07, 2019 15:11

Firmware Wars | Maven Nation Podcast #70

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Published on June 04, 2019 08:37

Hanauma Bay today! #Oahu #luckywelivehawaii

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Published on June 02, 2019 12:24

Hanauma Bay today!

Hanauma Bay today! #Oahu #luckywelivehawaii

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Published on June 02, 2019 12:24

Time for a break, on Oahu this week with good...

Time for a break, on Oahu this week with good friends. After Pearl Harbor and PCC what are the best things to do here?

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Published on June 01, 2019 20:22

#1 Reason Skilled Photographers Fail : Workflow Ratios | Maven Nation Podcast #69

Thank you to Proven Nutrition for sponsoring this episode of the Maven Nation. Try Corefit for free (just cover shipping)

Michael's "Maven" Paracord Camera Straps:

SKINNY

Black

Purple

Blue

WIDE

Black:

Blue

Army Green

Orange

Purple

Desert Camo

#WorkflowRatio #WorkflowRatioTutorial #PhotographyWorkflow

Music:

Siine - Better Came Along

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/M...

Siine - C'est La Vie

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/V...

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Published on May 28, 2019 10:01

Brightburn

Watch the trailer and you will know exactly what this film is about and what it is trying to do / explore. Because of this, it felt like there was an identity crisis, if you go down this path, it had to be a horror movie, because, well thats what happens when superheroes go bad. The problem with this, was there was no empathy developed for the antagonist. They tried, but it fell short because it was mostly done through pictures or drawings, not a real human connection.

There are some definitely impressive things about the film, such as being independently shot over 29 days (seriously, this is ridiculously amazing). It is good filmmaking work, but as a story, I just wasn't into it, even if we are exploring legendary ideas of a different polarity. This has been done already, they are called villains.

This is a skip altogether.

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Published on May 25, 2019 18:14

Want to see what it’s like on a movie set & how...

Want to see what it's like on a movie set & how many people are involved in a short pilot? Check out my latest YouTube video where I show you a small taste of what's involved. I only interviewed about half of the crew too! Link in my profile - #bts #pilot #indie #c700