Sketchin’ 29

Don’t know why I haven’t found enough time to do more sketches but its been a while since I’ve posted one.

I take that back.

There have been other sketches I’ve done but haven’t felt were worth posting.  Some I’ve come close to finishing but decided it just wasn’t working.

C’est la vie.

Anyway, this is one I did manage to finish up yesterday.  I like it:

This is from the original 1982 Tron, a film I was so damn excited to see back in the day but which turned out to be a disappointment.

The graphics/effects, for the time, were out of this world but the reality is that the film was… well… far less interesting than the effects.

In fact, I was amused when in 2010 the very belated sequel, Tron: Legacy came out and Disney, the movie’s producers, made it quite difficult for audiences to get their hands on the original film, something you would figure they’d be more than happy to do.  Yet there was no “special edition” of the original movie made available via DVD.  Nothing at all.

I suspect they knew what I did: That the original film wasn’t all that good so just keep the whole thing mysterious and release the DVD later on, which they did.

Alas, the sequel was just as weak, IMHO, story wise as the original while the effects were quite amazing.

I suppose the more things change, the more they stay the same?

Even though the movie(s) may not have been all that much, I do still like the original’s visuals and enjoyed taking on this image.

It Comes At Night (2017) a (mildly) belated review

The commercial ends and Alex Trebek smiles to the cameras.  We’re watching the latest episode of Jeopardy.

Alex: E. R. Torre, you’re in a bit of a hole with negative $1,398,032, but you’ve got a little better than five minutes to make it all up. (Offers the camera a “yeah, right” smile and rolls his eyes)  So, what category would you like to start your (suppresses a chuckle) comeback?

E. R. Torre: Let’s take Films That Make You Want To Slit Your Wrists for $200.

Alex: All right, let’s see what–

E. R. Torre: Oh, and Alex?

Alex: (sighs) Yes Mr. Torre?

E. R. Torre: The comeback has officially begun, baby!!!

I recall when the (unfortunately) named It Comes At Night (2017) er… came out.  The critics were ecstatic about it, calling it a dark, nightmarish vision.  Over at Rottentomatoes.com, the film earned an impressive 89% positive among the critics.

Here’s the movie’s trailer:

But here’s the thing: While the critics loved the film, audiences weren’t quite as intrigued.

In fact, over at that very same Rottentomatoes.com subsection devoted to this movie, you’ll find that audiences gave it a far less positive approval rating of only 44%.

Ladies and gents, I’m siding with audiences on this one.

It Comes At Night is a post-apocalyptic thriller in the vein of recent zombie features/TV shows except that instead of zombies the very small cast in what I imagine was a very low budget film fights to survive against a disease that has decimated humanity.

When our adventure starts, we’re introduced to a small family consisting of Paul (Joel Edgerton), his wife Sarah (Carmen Ejogo), son Travis (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), and Sarah’s infected father (David Pendleton).

Father is, for all intents and purposes, gone.  The infection has taken him and he looks like something from a proper horror film.  His eyes are black orbs and blood seeps out of his mouth.  The danger from the infected, we find, lies in the fact that they are contagious rather than a physical threat.  Both Sarah and Paul deal with him while protected by gas masks.  Sarah gives the man some last words before they take him outside, put a bullet in his head, and burn his body.

As you can see, the fun has just begun!

We find these now three survivalists have a very tight regimen for dealing with the dangers of this post-apocalyptic world.  They’ve barricaded their home and have one entrance/exit.

In through that exit comes, one night (it does come at night!), Will (Christopher Abbott).  He’s quickly disarmed, beaten, dragged out of the house, and tied to a tree.  We learn that if a person is infected, they’ll show signs of said infection within 24 hours.  When Will makes it through that time period, Paul talks to him, roughly, and wants to know what his deal is.

Will states he has a wife and child and broke into the house thinking it was empty and while looking for supplies… specifically water.  Though the film doesn’t come right out and state it, one gets the impression that the infection is in the water as Paul and his family are quite diligent in filtering it.

Anyway, Will and Paul make a tenuous peace and head out.  They eventually get Will’s wife (Riley Keough) and child and the two families try to make a go of it before tragedy eventually overtakes them.

I won’t give away everything -though believe it or not these plot developments, meager though they are, have just given you roughly 1/2 of the film- but suffice it to say things don’t end well for the entire group.

The movie mostly follows the sometimes distorted visions of Travis, Paul’s 17 year old son, who is having a tough time dealing with the deaths and horrors of the apocalypse.  He isn’t helped by the fact that his parents try to shield him from these horrors and that only serves to augment them in his mind.

As one may have implied from what I noted above, It Comes At Night, unfortunately, has too little plot and too long a runtime, in my humble opinion.  Had this been a one hour episode of, say, a show like The Walking Dead it might have worked out better as my patience was severely tried as the production dragged along.

When we do eventually reach the film’s end/resolution, I felt there were also too many things up in the air.  I don’t mind a film that leaves a lot of mystery behind, but this one’s mysteries aren’t all that earth shattering and it didn’t feel like a mystery was needed.

Who was ultimately responsible for what happened?  We don’t know.  Yet instead of appreciating the mystery, I found I didn’t care all that much.  Who was infected, who wasn’t?  Again, it didn’t matter all that much.

When so little matters, one can’t help but feel the film has failed in its mission.

The bottom line is that I’ve seen films like this before and while It Comes At Night is stylish and well directed and well acted, works like it –better works, it must be said- are out there and are worth pursuing before giving this movie a try.

Alas, a pass for me.

Tom Petty’s passing…

And the beat -sadly- goes on.

Just yesterday I noted the string of bad news coming since last week and continuing through to the latest -and largest- mass shooting which occurred in Las Vegas.

Thought things couldn’t get worse but, of course, they always can.

Word came last afternoon/night that singer Tom Petty had died.  Then, that he wasn’t dead but, worse yet, that he was taken to a hospital after a heart attack and, as per do not resuscitate orders, was taken off life support systems after being found to have no brain activity.

Man.

Today, word came that he had indeed passed away, something that was expected given that last bit of news and, of course, I offer my condolences to his family and friends.

I distinctly remember the first time I heard or at least noticed a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers song.  Back in those stone age days before the internet and when MTV first hit the airwaves, I was amused and entertained with this video, which used the then very popular Mel Gibson film Mad Max 2 aka The Road Warrior as a visual template:

The song wasn’t bad, either!

Look, I’m not going to lie: I was never a HUGE fan of Mr. Petty.  For me, his singing style was not my cup of tea as it was just a little too Bob Dylan-esq.

Having said that, the man knew how to create memorable songs.  He had a string of very popular and very deserved hits and was an ever present fixture of the radio stations I’ve listened to for most of my life.

I could list his most popular/well known songs but I suspect most people out there know them quite well.  While his voice may not have thrilled me, there is little doubt his musical legacy is large and He will be remembered for many, many years to come.

As an artist, ultimately that is your hope, to create something that will entertain and amuse people even when you’re gone.

So Rest In Peace, Mr. Petty.

I believe it’s time for me to listen to more than a few of your songs, for old time’s sake.

Sometimes it feels there’s nothing but bad news…

What a nasty week its been.

I mean, I don’t know where to start here.

First you have the incredible -yet not unexpected, given their general incompetence- incredibly slow response to the tragedy in Puerto Rico.

I mean, its one thing to react so freaking slowly to an entire island nation of 3.5 million -US citizens, I must note!- being almost completely wiped out by a hurricane but its quite another for our Commander in Chief to then pick a twitter war fight with the Mayor of that island when she’s clearly desperate to get any help she can.

And this was after our wonderful leader got into a twitter war fight with, of all things, the NFL because of players kneeling for the national anthem!  And misinterpreting the kneeling as a sign of disrespect to the anthem when its a peaceful protest regarding the violent abuse/killings by some police (and by the Gods I hope its only a very small percentage) against unarmed black folks?!

Seriously?!

It seems that just when I thought Mr. Trump couldn’t get any lower, he proves there are depths untold he can still sink.

And then I wake up to the news of yet another mass shooting, this one the largest ever (congratulations, you fucking psychopath… may you rot in hell) in Las Vegas.

I’ve noted before that I simply do not understand the U.S. fascination with guns.

I. Just. Don’t.  Get. It.

Yet here we go again, another mass shooting and offers of sympathy and prayers and, ultimately, you know what?  Once again absolutely nothing will be done about it.

We have to get a driver’s license to drive a car, essentially proving you can drive and are not a danger to others on the road.  Further, you have to register your car and insure it, in case you harm others or their property.

Why can’t we do any of these things with regard to guns?

The reasons are pretty clear.  The Gun Lobby/NRA is very powerful and have successfully interlinked the idea of being able to buy weapons with “freedom” and all things ‘Murican.  Further, those currently in power are intricately linked to the NRA/Gun Lobby and they have little interest in doing anything “adverse” to them.

And by “adverse” I mean anything that would hurt the Gun Lobby’s bottom line: Profits in selling guns.

It’s a shitty situation and one that doesn’t seem to have any easy solutions in the near future.

What a terrible way to begin a week… after going through a terrible week as it was.

My heart is with all those in both Puerto Rico and Las Vegas.

Too bad there’s isn’t all that much more I can offer but my sympathies.