Monthly Archives: January 2015

Movies

9 Baffling First Drafts of Classic Movie Posters…

Used to be one of the biggest selling points for movies (before the internet gave you all manner of information about the film as it was being made) was the movie poster.  I’ve commented before on how I first learned of Escape From New York thanks to its beautiful, iconic poster…

But like all things in life, the “perfect” image in a movie poster often arrived after considerable work and the discarding of ideas.  Some of those early poster ideas, it turns out, were really terrible given the iconic images we eventually got.

Cracked.com offers a delightful list of 9 “Baffling” first drafts of movie posters, and each and every one of them certainly fits the bill:

http://www.cracked.com/article_22046_9-baffling-first-drafts-classic-movie-posters.html

Alas, there is no “baffling” first draft of Escape From New York presented within this list, but easily my favorite “what the hell were they thinking” first poster draft has to go to:

…Good God…

If you liked that, you need to check out the rest!

 

 

Movies

American Sniper…and liar?

When the first trailers for American Sniper, Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial film starring Bradley Cooper (already a HUGE box office success) came out, I was entranced.  The trailer connected with me like few recent trailers have.  After seeing it, I absolutely, positively wanted to see the film.

Today, shortly after the film’s release, my huge interest in seeing the film has dropped to zero and I no longer have any interest in seeing it.  The reason is simple: The book this film was based on has been found to be, to put it kindly, fast and loose with certain facts.

One of the novel’s “facts”, in particular, is author and “American Sniper” Chris Kyle’s assertion (repeated several times by him to the media) that he got into a fight with -and beat up on- Jesse Ventura.  This assertion landed Mr. Kyle and, after he was killed, his estate, in court.

Mr. Ventura claimed Mr. Kyle’s story was an outright lie and that this lie defamed his character.  Though defamation of character suits are often hard to prove, much less win, Mr. Ventura did both and stands to make a tidy sum from the victory:

http://www.slate.com/articles/news-and-politics/jurisprudence/2015/01/american-sniper-lawsuit-chris-kyle-told-lies-about-jesse-ventura.html

The article linked to above mentions other “dubious” claims made by Mr. Kyle in his book.  While many, if not most, involve things that happened outside his military life and therefore are hard to verify, I nonetheless completely lost my interest in this work.

Understand, I know almost all biographical films stretch/compress/change the truth to suit their needs.  For that matter, I know there have been biographical films that merged several real life people into one character for the sake of streamlining their story.

But at least in these cases the biographical material follows something that actually happened and, one hopes, the makers get the spirit if not the complete and total minute by minute reality of the situations they’re presenting.

I know the whole Jesse Ventura thing is not used in the film and it has been purged from the book but, again, if several untruths are uncovered, does it not make us question how much of what is presented is “real”?

Again, for me, this is a no-brainer.  If the film was presented as a fictional work, I’d be there.  But as a biography, I’m uncomfortable supporting something that can’t be trusted to be real.

Movies, TV

Michael Mann…Hollywood’s Greatest Hack?

So wonders Daniel Engber for Slate Magazine, who went on an epic quest to watch all the movies and TV shows Mr. Mann personally had a hand in making.  He came up with some fascinating insights into his work:

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_completist/2015/01/michael-mann-movies-i-watched-them-all-plus-the-tv-shows-here-s-what-i-learned.html

I recall a while back someone (maybe even Mr. Engber himself!) watched all of Steven Spielberg’s movies and, like Mr. Engber does with Mr. Mann, comes to a realization that certain themes/story ideas tend to repeat themselves.  In the case of Mr. Mann, Mr. Engber notes that it appears Mr. Mann returns to the same general story, complete sometimes with identical dialogue, as if trying to improve on the work.

This does not surprise me.

There are plenty of authors, artists, musicians, and, yes, filmmakers who to some degree or another repeat previous works.  Some do so in plain sight (director Alfred Hitchcock twice made the film The Man Who Knew Too Much, first in 1935 and again in 1956).  Author Clive Clusser, I’ve noted before, tended -at least until I stopped reading his works- to repeat the same general story that started in the past with the sinking of some famous vessel, then fast forward to the “near future” where his books took place and the hero has to recover the sunken vessel and its usually deadly cargo before the bad guys do.

James Bond films have/had also settled into a standard plot: You started with a slam bang action montage which sometimes, though not always, would have something to do with the film itself.  You had Bond and his usual characters introduced, then Bond would go off to face the situation he was tasked to take care of.  In the process, he would seduce a woman, often a relative innocent but a woman who somehow was involved in the nefarious goings on and she would often become the victim of the bad guys.  Bond would take that woman’s death as incentive to keep after the bad guys, in the process falling for/seducing a second woman (who may working for the bad guys or be a wishy washy mercenary) and with her by his side take on the bad guys and ultimately triumph.

But, as I noted before, sometimes the stories get really similar.  The 1967 Bond film You Only Live Twice was essentially remade as The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) which, in turn was essentially remade as Moonraker (1979).

Getting back to Mr. Mann, I find several of his films incredibly good.  Heat, Manhunter, Collateral (though the story gets rather preposterous after a while), and, yes, even the very crazy The Keep.  I also respect what he brought to television.  While Miami Vice might not have aged that well, the show was a watershed moment in TV creation.  I also greatly enjoyed Crime Story.

But I will be the first to say the I could NOT sit though all of Mr. Mann’s works.  Hell, it’s hard enough for me to keep the DVR’s free memory above 40% as it is.

Still, a fascinating article for those interested in reading about Mr. Mann’s film output.

Movies, TV

Interested in Amazon’s latest pilots…?

Here’s a good review of the latest batch of them, from James Poniewozik for Time Magazine:

http://time.com/3670536/amazon-new-pilots-review-man-in-the-high-castle/

Of the ones mentioned, the one that intrigues me the most is The Man In The High Castle.  Based on a story by Phillip K. Dick, the show explores an alternate 1962, where the Nazis and Japanese won WWII and have split the U.S. in two.

The others mentioned, I have to be brutally honest, either mildly (really mildly) appeal to me or don’t at all.  I suspect the odds of me catching any of the others is pretty low.

Speaking of which, anyone else notice we’re living in a hyperentertainment world?  Used to be the amount of entertainment stimulation available to you was very limited.  Nowadays with the internet, cable, DVD/BluRay, Netflix, Red Box, Hulu, Amazon, etc. etc. etc. you have to be picky about exactly what you have time for.  At any given moment you have access to literally thousands of songs, movies, TV shows, books, apps, video games, etc. etc.

For my part I have a very large collection of DVDs/BluRays and it scares me to think how much money I’ve spent over the years buying various features…and how many of them I have yet to see.  Just off the top of my head, I recently picked up X:Men Days of Future Past (have yet to see it), The Long Goodbye (seen it before but wanted to see it again…yet haven’t), Jodorowsky’s Dune (have yet to see it), Breakheart Pass (loved this Charles Bronson film but its been a long time since I’ve seen it and wanted to revisit it), Roshomon (one of the few “classic” Kurasawa films I have yet to see), 8 1/2 (considered one of Fellini’s best films yet one I have yet to see).  And that’s not to mention the various TV series I picked up complete sets of and wanted to see or re-see but haven’t had the time.  Among others, I have the complete series sets of Perry Mason, Mannix, Twilight Zone, Thriller, Farscape, and Battlestar: Galactica.  I’ve seen most of Farscape and Battlestar: Galactica (new series) when they aired, but always wanted to revisit them.  If only I had the time!

Maybe one day when I’m old(er) and retired…

General

Canadian Target’s failure…

Yesterday I read that all the Target stores in Canada were going to shut down.  To me, this was a mighty strange thing.  I like Target well enough.  It’s a decent place to pick up stuff at reasonable prices, from electronics to DVD/BluRays to Food (human as well as pet) to candy to clothing to…well, you get the idea.  Target, like Walmart, is a “one stop shop”, where you can find just about all your needs in one convenient location.

So why would a store that is so successful in the United States be a failure in Canada?  Turns out there was a pretty good reason.  Check it out in this article presented in Slate magazine and by Jordan Weismann and, in particular, the damning photographic evidence that explains better than anything else the reason for Target’s failure north of the border:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/01/15/target-closing-in-canada-these-pictures-show-why-it-failed.html

General, Music

Because you had to know…

…Every David Bowie hairstyle from 1964 to 2014 in one GIF:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/01/14/david-bowie-hairstyle-gif-and-chart-shows-50-years-of-bowie-hairdos.html

For those too lazy to click on the link, here’s the GIF, though I suggest you check out the link if you want (NEED DAMMIT!) a full chart that shows you each individual picture…

Bowie_Hairstyle_GIF

Movies

Supernova (2000) a BluRay release review…

…by me!

A while back I happened to catch the theatrical version of the film Supernova on TV and couldn’t help but re-watch it (you can read my review here).  I noted in my review that I had seen the film once years ago, on DVD, and that version of the film was “R” rated (the theatrical release was PG-13).  Despite the film’s many, many, many flaws, I was fascinated with it, if only because of the talent in front of and behind the cameras.

Anyway, I wrote my review and, considering the film’s non-reception and audience lack of interest, I assumed the DVD would be the last I ever heard of the film.

No one would be crazy enough to release the movie on BluRay…right?

Much to my shock came the announcement that Shout! Factory was doing just that (read about that here).  Considering the company’s previous movie releases, I was hoping they would include some really interesting special features.  The previous DVD release included several “cut” scenes, among them a darker alternate ending.  I was hoping this BluRay might include Mr. Hill’s initial “cut” of the film, made shortly before he abandoned the project.

Well, such is unfortunately not the case.  But if you’re like me and find the film and its history fascinating, this BluRay is certainly worth getting…though compared to the special features present on other Shout! Factory releases it may not be quite as robust as one might have hoped.

To begin, the version of the film presented on this BluRay is indeed the “R” rated version found on the DVD.  The theatrical version is nowhere to be found and I think that’s a shame.  Because of this I can’t compare the different cuts more directly but its safe to say the R rated version is the one that features the topless appearances by actress Robin Tunney.

I’ve already gone into the plot of this movie before so I won’t repeat myself.  Instead, let me focus on the extras.  Here’s what you get:

1) New interviews with actors Lou Diamond Phillips and Robert Foster (I really wish they could have interviewed lead actor James Spader but neither he nor any of the other actors involved in this film, including Angela Bassett and Robin Tunney, make appearances) and producers Daniel Chuba and Jack Sholder.  What each of them present is an interesting behind the scenes look at how the film -let’s be blunt here- rolled off the rails and ultimately failed.  Their stories are informative without being nasty.  They rightfully praise certain elements within the movie (if nothing else, the cinematography is quite gorgeous) but do not try to convince you this film is somehow better than it is.

Lou Diamond Phillips offers one of the more interesting comments when he states that it is a testament to director Walter Hill’s creativity that when he left the film there was enough material left behind to make as coherent a movie as the one that was ultimately released.

Unfortunately, I believe this is the only “new” extra you’re going to find on the BluRay versus the DVD version released many years before.

2) Deleted scenes.  Several deleted scenes, all of which I’m pretty sure were on the previous DVD version, appear here and give you a glimpse into what might have been.  The original voice of the ship’s A.I. computer “Sweetie” was a whole lot more annoying than the one they ultimately settled for.  Worse, a second male A.I. voice was present in the cut scenes of Spader’s investigation in the mining colony and, incredibly, this one was just as annoying as the unusued “Sweetie” voice.  So glad they got rid of that!  Finally, you get the much darker alternate ending.  I happen to like this ending more than the “uplifting” one present in this cut.

3) The theatrical trailer.  Ugh.  While Supernova was far from “great” or even “good”, it is astonishing to witness the film’s inept trailer.  What you see embedded below is easily far worse than the film it was trying to “sell”.  Thankfully, none of those 70’s rock songs were present in any way-shape-or-form within the movie itself.

Interestingly, the theatrical trailer features several glimpses at cut sequences.  Even more interesting, the special effects of the spaceship, at least to my eye and on the BluRay, appear sharper in this trailer than what was presented in the film.  It seems the makers of the film decided to add a soft light around the ship effects when they released the final cut.

So, for what its worth, this is what you get if you’re willing to take a risk and pick up a copy of the BluRay release of Supernova.  Again, buyer beware.  Just because this film fascinated me doesn’t mean it’ll do the same for you!

Movies

Escape From New York…remake?!

The on-again off-again saga of the Escape From New York remake appears to be on once again:

http://io9.com/get-ready-escape-from-new-york-is-going-to-be-remade-b-1679396764

Granted, this remake of the original 1981 John Carpenter directed cult film in the very early stages with no “names” attached, though it is my understanding John Carpenter will serve as a producer (though I could be very wrong, I get the impression he won’t be all that involved in this new film other than lending his name to that particular role).

As for the new film…frankly I don’t know.  Way back in 1981 when the original was released, I really liked the concept but wound up loving parts of the movie more than the entirety of the product.  There were moments of sheer brilliance and, given the very low budget, Mr. Carpenter and company had, they did an excellent job creating something that looked a hell of a lot bigger than it actually was.  And Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken?  Easily one of his all time best roles (to me a little better than the great roles he had in Carpenter’s The Thing and Big Trouble In Little China).

The problem with the film was that somewhere toward the middle of it that low budget started to show and, to my eyes, hurt the overall product.  I hadn’t mentioned it before but there is also one specific part in the film, immediately after the baseball-bat gladiatorial match, that from a writing standpoint sticks out like a sore thumb.  For those who haven’t seen the film, Plissken is captured by the bad guys and forced into a gladiatorial match against a very fierce and imposing opponent.  He is not expected to survive the match but somehow does.  Almost immediately after the match is over, all those villains surrounding him abruptly leave the arena (there is other skullduggery afoot) and essentially forget all about their captive, which allows him to escape from their clutches.  Though the scene is handled reasonably well, it is a weak point in the film.  If the bad guys wanted Plissken dead, why not put a bullet in his head immediately after the match was over?

Regardless, I have a soft spot for the original movie and I don’t know if remaking it is such a good idea (it was already done, btw, with Carpenter and Russell with very diminished results as Escape From L.A.).  I’ve also been annoyed that a truly good BluRay version of the movie is not available as of yet.  True you can get a good “bells and whistles” version on DVD, but I really want to see the film in HD…

…but yesterday, just before finding out about the remake, I discovered this:

https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/action-adventure/escape-from-new-york-collector-s-edition

Product images modal efnybrcover72dpi

The release is scheduled for April.  I guess it’s time to pre-order!

Movies

Spy trailer…

First heard about this movie a while ago, the latest from Director Paul Feig and starring Melissa McCarthy (whose previous collaborations included the hysterical Bridesmaids and The Heat).  Didn’t hear much about it since then and was surprised to find that the film already has a trailer!  And the film also features Jude Law and Jason Statham?!

As it is a Paul Feig/Melissa McCarthy film, if you’re going to check out the trailer, you have to go with the redband version:

Seems fun but, frankly, I can’t say this trailer lit things up as much as I hoped.  Still, it was miles more interesting/funny than the awful trailer for Sex Tape and the premise of Melissa McCarthy doing a James Bond-type spoof is, while not necessarily a super original concept, one that has potential.

The real curiosity for me is how Jude Law and, especially, Jason Statham works in this.  These two could be the key to this film really taking off.

TV

Should you cut the cable cord…?

A question I’ve started to consider of late: Is it time to end my association with cable services?  Because of the many streaming services available, I’ve become more and more curious whether doing so might save me money while still allowing me to see the stuff I want to see.

But if your interest is largely economic (and whose isn’t?), Slate magazine’s Chris Kirk offers a handy online calculator which allows you to check to see how much you might save if you were to cut your cable bill and join those streaming services:

http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2015/01/should-i-cut-the-cable-cord-decide-on-streaming-services-with-this-calculator.html

Very interesting food for thought!