Unsolicited Reviews

Saturday was quite the day for my entertainment needs. First, Nickelodian aired the one-hour finale to "The Legend of Korra" then I saw Brave.




Spoilers. Just FYI.




































So, "The Legend of Korra". This sequel to "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was a twelve-part mini-series set about seventy years later. Korra, the protagonist, is the successor to the now-deceased Avatar Aang.

In a world where certain people are born with the ability to "bend" (manipulate the classic "elements" of Air, Earth, Fire, or Water), one person is born as the "Avatar". The Avatar is a bridge between the spirit world and the material. Sort of a Dali Lama and super-powered sheriff. The Avatar is also the only person in all the world capable of "bending" all four of the classic elements (and presumably mastering the various specializations.

Korra is in many ways Aang's polar opposite. Aang was a spiritual person who avoided conflict and mastered Airbending quickly, but had to go through a steady education to pick up the other four elements. Korra, on the other hand, mastered Waterbending (the power native to her culture), Earthbending, and Firebending quickly but had terrible trouble with Airbending. She is also aggressive and not interested in the spiritual.

By the age of 16, the headstrong Korra finishes the final touches of mastering Earth, Fire, and Waterbending. She then flees the "compound" she's been raised and educated in to go to "Republic City", a massive New York-meets-Shanghai steampunkish city where she can find Tenzin, the son of Aang, and last Airbending master in the world.

There, Korra encounters allies in the form of the brooding Firebender Mako and his goofy Earthbending brother Bolin as well as the smart and capable Asami, daughter of industrialist Hiroshi Sato (whose company builds all the technology, such as cars, electrical equipment, etc.). She also encounters the "Equalist" movement, a group of people determined to do away with the "tyranny" of Benders and the de facto caste-state that exists with Benders having power over non-Benders.

The Equalists are led by the mysterious Amon, a masked man who possesses the ability to take away a Bender's powers.

The series was twelve episodes leading up to the final conflict between Korra and Amon and Korra's learning how to come into her own.

It was an entertaining romp, though the stories felt rushed and a bit compacted. There were a lot of shout-outs to the previous series and a really great back-story. I kind of wish they'd spread the story out, for all that. There was a LOT of "deus ex machina" and contrived plot elements. I had a hard time tracking some of the plot progressions (Korra learning to Airbend, the love triangle between Korra, Mako, and Asami, etc.). The final revelation with Amon was clever, but could have stood a little more exposition.

Still, a good offering. I'll be interested to see if they go ahead with a season two.

That brings me to Brave.

Pixar's latest offering is a gorgeous fairy tale. At the core of it is a story about the cliche complications that ensue between a teenage Merida and her mother.

Merida, the protagonist and heroine, is a strong-willed teenage girl who - if she ran a personal ad - would say something like:

Likes outdoors, horse rides, rock-climbing, letting hair blow free, and archery. Really likes archery.
Dislikes formality, nagging, tight dresses, and being objectified.

I'm not going to get too into the plot. Suffice it to say there's magic and a curse. There's a demonic bear, a witch, and unsurprising problems.

Most of that is irrelevant, really. As with most Pixar offerings, the core of the story is the "human" element of the relationship between Merida and her mother Elinor.

It's cute. A little trite, but cute. I recommended it as viewing to members of my own family, though I probably should have not presented it as a "must-see". I might have delivered the wrong message there. Oh well.

For all that, I loved the movie. I'd see it again in a heartbeat.