Hola Dannie aqui,
Last night "Ready Player One" premiered at SXSW 2018, I waited over three hours in a line of hundreds of festival goers from all over our little blue planet. The wait was highly enjoyable as conversations were a plentiful myriad of geekdom, and hopes that the one and only Speilberg may grant us with an appearance were flying about like a nerd conspiracy theory. While waiting SXSW supplied us with some entertainment in line, they had actors portraying the "Sixer's" as well as some members of the Rebellion marching through the line, delivering delightful live performances that helped the morale of the eager crowd. When the line finally began to move the crowd cheered, and the energy in the air was truly electric, the over a hundred-year-old Paramount theatre filled to the brim with avid film freaks, being watched over appropriately by the muralled ceiling portrait of Saint Cecilia (Patron Saint of the Arts). Eventually finding my seat, I waited with extreme antici-----pation, then the festival president came out and introduced the director...
Holy shit, it was like the Beatles took the stage, men and women alike screamed and totally lost their shit, there were tears, people jumping up and down, and as soon as Uncle Spielberg opened his mouth the auditorium hushed in immediate awe and respect. I was in shock almost, it was a truly surreal moment to see right before you a filmmaker that in all honesty helped mold not only me but generations of cine-maniacs!
Spielberg then invited the cast, and writers out to join him for the introduction of the film, and the crowd went wild. He at one point said that the Paramount's screen was perhaps too small for a film this visually gigantic, and that upon first viewing stay focussed on the center of the screen to not become consumed by trying to catch all the nostalgic and geek-laden imagery that can distract from the importance of the story. So, I took Stevens advice upon watching the film for the first time, I mean for fuck's sake it is Spielberg.
Okay, I loved this book, and to be absolutely honest I was terrified that they would Michael Bay the fuck out of it and thus lose the humanity of the characters. I have been in love with the majority of Spielberg's work, and when I first learned he would be directing my heart filled, but still, I was trepidatious. So much could go wrong...
Well, folks, I am utterly delighted to say they got it right. Now there is stuff missing from the book, but really people what is missing, to me was totally fine. The film worked on every mindblowing level. The race scene left me thinking of Ben Hur's Chariot race, The French Connection, and it blew Speedracer out of the fucking water. Imagine the best race scene you have ever seen, now think what it would be like on LSD while also having cinematic classics surrounding you 360 degrees! Also, I hated the race scenes from Speedracer, they actually made me kinda nauseous, I was worried that would happen with RP1, it did not it flowed so organically that your eyes were drawn specifically where they should be.
I can not express the total elation I felt during and after this film. It is a triumphant telling of Ernest Clines story. The actors all give immaculate performances, the characters are fleshed out, even in their avatar forms they still are at the core human beings. The villain is a proper corporate douchebag poser which I loved hating. The comedic elements of the film are perfectly dispersed and fucking hilarious. The humanity of Halliday's character and story bring that awkward silliness and sadness that made us all fall in love with his character in the book. The "Sixers" are very reminiscent of THX 1138 and the socio-economic environment of the film is beyond depressing, and believable. This film truly has it all. I am doing my best to be spoiler free as requested by Mr. Spielberg. This is very hard. I want to sing its song from every mountaintop! The film is chock full of multiple climatic geekgasms impossible to keep a count on. I loved this film with every EVERY fiber of my being, it was made for geeks and geekettes like me and you! Oh, and the fucking Iron Giant, oh boils and ghouls what a treat y'all have coming. I can not wait to see this at the IMAX, as many times as my pocketbook will allow. Holy Mother of Monsters this film is SOOOOOOOOOOO FFFFFUUUUUCCCCKKKKKIIINNNNGGGG AAAWWWEEESSSOOOMMMEEE!
"Ready Player One" was a great book, it was the first book my son really fell in love with, he has read it more than four times, my man has read it twice, neither of them was with me last night. I came home beaming, smiling ear to ear like the Cheshire cat. Yes, seeing Mr. Spielberg and breathing the same oxygen was exciting, however, the film was more so. It is one of my new favorite films, it has everything I wanted, and is going to blow millions of minds, and perhaps make VR a more mainstream option for gaming, but also the film centers on real life. Real experiences and the importance of being present and ready to take leaps of faith in every reality, the importance of love, friendship, comradery, and philosophy. This film is intelligently crafted and has at its core a huge heart, see it on March 29th everywhere, I already have my IMAX tickets awaiting me I suggest you all out there in interweb-land see this as soon as possible. Gamers will love this film, Movie geeks will lose their fucking minds, and those who are not pop culture obsessed weirdos will also love this film, anyone who doesn't have castrated their inner child, and are just sad. I can only love this film it was magnificent! Congratulations to Ernie, and everyone involved in making undeniable movie magic a reality, this film is going to be box office gold, but more importantly, the soul of the story is an emotionally adrenaline-filled ride through cinematic history and carries with it a hopeful perspective in a somewhat hopeless future. It is just so fracking good y'all! I included some pictures from photographer Gary Miller the one below is Spielberg's hands holding his notes for the introduction too cool thanks, Gary!
Stay Strong, Live Good, Love Movies!
Dannie aka Pekosa Peligrosa
