Category Archives: Movies

Movies

Razzies…

Way, waaaaaay back in the 1980’s or thereabouts I found this book and thought it was hilarious…

Written by Harry and Michael Medved (yes, the same Michael Medved who has become a pretty far right wing commentator) and originally released in 1980, the book focused on terrible movies and made fun of them and the ineptitude shown within.

As I said, I found the book hilarious and, over time, making fun of films became something of a sport. Perhaps the most famous example of doing so is the delightful Mystery Science Theater 3000 show, which has existed in various iterations and with various hosts since 1988 and has branched off -with a few of the original cast members of MST3K into RiffTrax in 2006.

Back in 1981, and perhaps as a result of the success of The Golden Turkey Awards (or perhaps not, I don’t know), the Golden Raspberry Awards premiered. Known as the “Razzies”, the so-called awards are meant to be a polar opposite of the Oscars in that they “award” movies and actors whom they feel in that year did particularly bad work.

This year, they nominated actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong, all of 12 years old, for worst acting in the Firestarter film and, after a backlash, decided to remove her from the nomination. (If you’re interested, you can read the entire story, presented on CNN.com and written by Lisa Respers France, here)

I feel the backlash is appropriate. Ridiculing some misguided or poorly received work by someone who probably should know better is somewhat understandable. But blasting a 12 year old child for doing what was likely the best she could in a (from what I’ve read) poor overall production? Seems harsh.

…and yet…

I can’t help but feel the notion of blasting artists of all/any ages on very public forums for perceived poor works has become distasteful, at least to me.

The market usually dictates hits and misses and there have been times when films were released to great scorn and subsequently were viewed far differently.

The very first Razzies, for example, nominated director Stanley Kubrick and actress Shelley Duvall for their work on The Shining, a film that over the years has come to be viewed by many -including me- as one of the very best horror films ever made.

Further, Shelley Duvall’s nomination as worst actress was voided years later when it was revealed she likely had a very bad working experience (to say the least) on the set of The Shining.

Having said all this, I admit: When I was much younger I found making fun of others’ works and failures was a pretty damn fun game.

But then I became a writer and things changed.

It has been noted that “no one sets out to make a terrible movie” and I would expand that quote into music and writing as well as TV. Everyone who first puts pen to paper or picks up a guitar or sings their first note hopes -and dreams- the work they create will be successful.

At times, it simply isn’t. The Shining, when the movie was first released, wasn’t all that successful. Critically, it had mixed reactions from audiences. Even to this day author Stephen King, whose novel was the basis for the movie, has had a very negative opinion about the work.

Remember way back when a few paragraphs above how I said I consider The Shining one of the all time best horror films ever made?

Welp, I saw it in theaters when it was first released (cough-old-fart-cough) and I didn’t like it.

At all.

Over time I caught bits and pieces of the film on TV when it aired and, over that time, I finally got it. The Shining was not meant to be a film that filled you with horror or slammed you with scary jumps (though it had a couple). The film was meant to seep into your psyche, to make you ill at ease and to descend, along with its small cast, into this pleasant looking -but deadly- hellscape of a Hotel.

I haven’t seen the remake of Firestarter but based on reviews I’ve seen, the film is likely dreadful.

To which I say: So what?

The filmmakers tried and possibly failed to make a good film.

Again: So what?

Many have before and many will again.

My point is: Why waste energy slamming the movie and the creators? Why not move on and find something you like and cherish rather than dwell on something you hate?

I’ve seen plenty of stuff I felt was terrible. I’ve read books that have disappointed me mightily. There are whole categories of music I simply don’t like.

But I’ve realized there’s little point in dwelling on it beyond looking at this as a learning experience.

As a writer, sometimes the stuff that doesn’t work offers lessons to me as to what not to do which, hopefully, helps me make things that are, in the end, better for those lessons.

Anyway, just a random thought (I should trademark that, no?!)

General, Movies

Rust…

A little over a year ago cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot by Alec Baldwin on the set of the movie Rust.

It is my understanding they were filming a scene where Baldwin’s character aims his gun at the camera and fires. The gun Baldwin used had live ammunition in it and Ms. Hutchins, who was behind the camera, was shot and killed while the movie’s director, Joel Souza, was hit in the shoulder.

The event is an indisputable tragedy and, further, should never, never, never have happened.

It is abundantly clear someone on the movie’s staff was very careless with either checking the guns used on the set or HUGELY irresponsible in bringing live ammo there. Alec Baldwin was handed a gun that obviously did not have blanks in it and therefore the tragedy happened.

Yesterday, prosecutors decided to charge Alec Baldwin and Hannah Gutierrez Reed, the movie’s armorer, with involuntary manslaughter.

Though I don’t know the intimate details of the charges. SAG-AFTRA, the actors’ guild, came out with a response to these charges against Alec Baldwin…

SAG-AFTRA Defends Alec Baldwin Over ‘Rust’ Charges, Calls Prosecutor ‘Wrong and Uninformed’ – IndieWire

They state:

The guidelines do not make it the performer’s responsibility to check any firearm. Performers train to perform, and they are not required or expected to be experts on guns or experienced in their use. The industry assigns that responsibility to qualified professionals who oversee their use and handling in every aspect. Anyone issued a firearm on set must be given training and guidance in its safe handling and use, but all activity with firearms on a set must be under the careful supervision and control of the professional armorer and the employer.

I agree with this.

However -and I could very well be wrong here- I believe Mr. Baldwin is being charged as the producer of the movie rather than the “actor” within. As a producer, he then may have some responsibility in making sure the set is safe. However, given the way credits are doled out in movies, his “producer” role may have been in name only.

The big question, unanswered to this point, is how live rounds made their way to this movie set. I suspect we may never get an answer to that.

Ms. Reed, the armorer, has stated she thought the ammunition within the gun was “dummy” rounds.

Either way, tragedy occurred and now we have charges brought forward.

I have to wonder, given today’s technology and the use of CGI effects, why any movie set has to have a “real” gun in it, even if it is watched and checked diligently.

Why, I wonder, aren’t there studios who have warehouses full of dummy guns which realistically “kick” when fired but cannot actually be loaded with real ammunition? In post-production studios can add sound effects and CGI flashes for the gunshots and at least that way everyone is far safer, no?

Movies

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022) a (very mildly) belated review

Back in 2019 -truly a lifetime ago, given all that’s happened to myself and the world at large!- I went out to the movie theater for the very last time before COVID hit hard to see the film Knives Out.

The film, directed and written by Rian Johnson, was a murder mystery featuring Daniel Craig playing Benoit Blanc, the “world’s greatest detective” dealing with a shifty/suspicious family whose benefactor was apparently murdered.

I never saw the whole film, alas, as I received a call somewhere half-way through the film and was forced to deal with a business problem. As a result of the call I missed some 10 minutes or so of the movie and the call and situation left me so fucking bitter I decided it wasn’t in much of a mood to see the rest of the film. So I sat in the lobby and waited for the movie to finish so I could rejoin the group I went with and head out.

I never did bother to see the rest of the film, the bitterness of the situation still being there, despite eventually purchasing the film and considering watching it through.

Anyway, COVID hit and it wouldn’t be until Murder on the Nile -another murder mystery film!- a couple of years later until I once again went to a theater.

When I heard about Glass Onion, I was curious. Despite everything that happened, I enjoyed what I saw of Knives Out and was curious to see the sequel. Netfix bought up the rights to the production and future Rian Johnson/Blanc movies and, after a very brief theatrical release, the film was shuffled onto Netflix’s streaming service where I got to see it uninterrupted.

Glass Onion involves a quirky billionaire named Miles Bron (no doubt an amalgam of such real life billionaires like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Steve Jobs) quite well played by Edward Norton who invites his closest friends (played by, among others, Kate Hudson, Dave Bautista, Kathryn Hahn, and Madeline Cline) to his beautiful island retreat to participate in a murder mystery.

The set up of Glass Onion takes pretty freely from what is arguably Agatha Christie’s best novel, And Then There Were None, and has our diverse cast isolated on this island where the “game” of murder becomes a very real thing after a while.

Like Knives Out, though, the matter isn’t a totally grim affair. There is plenty of humor and outrageous sequences and while there is suspense, one never feels this film is an out and outright thriller like it could have been.

I enjoyed it for what it was, a sugary confection without too many deeper layers. The mystery itself is pretty dopey if you spend too much time thinking about it and involves some things which simply wouldn’t happen in real life. I won’t get into SPOILERS but suffice to say these are pretty pulpy and silly as well.

If you roll with it, you’ll have fun with Glass Onion.

If you don’t…

I’m kinda on the fence here. To some degree I could accept a lot that was expected of the viewers but there were points where things were just a little too crazed.

Some have criticized the movie for having our detective know things that he shouldn’t. However, I think they’re wrong. The things he didn’t witness firsthand it was clear he was told about so that wasn’t such a big thing.

However…

You know, I do want to talk about them but I don’t want to SPOIL things for others so I’ll get to it in a bit.

Before I do, let me offer this conclusion: Glass Onion is a fun film that, while at times outrageous, doesn’t kill you with the silliness. It’s worth a look and I do ultimately recommend it.

Now then…

SPOILERS FOLLOW!!!!

BEWARE!!!

Ok… still there? Well, you have been warned!

The film involves, as we will soon find, a group of very diverse individuals who all have a connection to Edward Norton’s Bron but who clearly do not necessarily like him very much. He is a puppetmaster, of sorts, and their success was something that came through him.

Worse, it appears one of the guests who arrives turned on him. She, we will learn, had a brilliant idea and Bron appeared to have taken it from her. The idea is a McGuffin. We’re never quite sure what exactly this was though it seems like it might have been some kind of website like a Facebook which was then stripped from her control.

Anyway, her arrival at this party causes all the others to react. See, they all know that she created the billion dollar idea that Bron took but they are so tied into him and his money they dare not cross him.

Then, later on, it turns out the character is actually dead, having been murdered just before the party but whose murder still hasn’t reached the news. And it turns out she has a twin sister who is the one taking her place and who has asked Blanc to come to this party… he was not, you see, invited to come in the first place!

My issues with Glass Onion lie entirely in the paragraph I wrote above.

That’s an awful lot of stuff to accept at face value and I suspect those who enjoy the film likely will be ok with this while those who don’t like the film will find at least some of what I wrote above hard to accept.

I’m truly on the fence here. The idea of a person dying/being murdered yet they are able to keep this from the news is… tough to accept. Worse still is accepting the character has a twin sister who conveniently is able then to take her place/appear at this island party. Even tougher is understanding how she was invited to this party in the first place given what seems a bad relationship with the host and even harder still is how Blanc gets to the party despite not being invited… yet our host accepts his being there without much protest.

I mean, wouldn’t there be some kind of security at the docks before being sent to the island? Because if Blanc could get to the island and no one particularly cared, then what was to stop a whole gaggle of other uninvited people from going there?

It… defies logic, truly.

Yet I stand by what I said: Glass Onion is nonetheless an enjoyable though sugary confection. It will, at the least, entertain you.

For the second time: Recommended!

Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Movies

Henry Cavill is out…

…as Superman, that is.

It’s been quite literally years since the last time Henry Cavill donned the famous Superman costume for any significant length of time. It was back when Joss Whedon was doing re-shoots of the Justice League film which infamously had Cavill maintain his mustache from Mission: Impossible which was then digitally removed… quite badly.

Since then, there’s been speculation as to whether Henry Cavill would ever return to the character. To Mr. Cavill’s credit, he didn’t stoke the fires or try to pressure the studios. If anything, he’s been very low key about the possibility and (I strongly suspect on his side) hope of eventually returning to the character.

Cavill’s Superman would show up again, minus Cavill himself, in the first Shazam! film…

Yeah, they wanted Cavill to appear at the movie’s end in his Superman costume but couldn’t. Instead, they had another actor don Cavill’s costume and showed Superman from the neck down. A cheesy solution, I suppose, but what can you do?

Then, Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam showed up and, at its end, fans of Henry Cavill had a distinct thrill at the end of the film… a cameo by Henry Cavill himself…!

I suspect this cameo -supposedly pushed by Dwayne Johnson himself- helped Black Adam draw what it did in the box office, though there are conflicting analysis of how well -or badly- the film did in the end.

Regardless, we had this article by Adam B. Vary appear on variety.com:

Henry Cavill: “I am back as Superman”

Alas, that cameo turned out -at least for the time being- Henry Cavill’s last big hurrah as the famous comic book character.

Yesterday and on Instagram, Mr. Cavill posted the following:

Again, Mr. Cavill takes the very high road and, without bitterness, announced his retirement from the character.

Warner Brothers has been, frankly, a mess of late and this is above and beyond their DC Comics properties. When James Gunn was announced as the new “head” of the DC properties, speculation began that maybe he would start with a “clean slate” and build from the bottom up with the characters… which would mean many of the actors we have come to associate with the DC properties might have seen their last appearances as such.

Interestingly, there are still a couple of “old” DC movies to come. There’s Aquaman 2, Shazam 2, and The Flash. There was, infamously, the Batgirl film which was cancelled after being close to complete and we also heard Patty Jenkins is out as Wonder Woman director. Is Gal Gadot also done with the role?

Jason Momoa, interestingly enough, supposedly met with Gunn and was ecstatic with whatever project they proposed he be in. The safe bet is that Momoa is going to play Lobo…

Truthfully when it was originally announced that Momoa was joining the DC universe, many thought playing Lobo was a no-brainer and Aquaman, who is most often drawn as this…

…seemed an odd choice.

I felt it worked in the end, but it doesn’t entirely shock me that Momoa may be cast as Lobo. If so, will his Aquaman days be gone?

As with so many other things, time will tell!

General, Movies

On the road to normalcy…?

As we come closer to the end of 2022, it occurs to me this past year seems to have been the year when the COVID pandemic became less serious than before.

In large part, I suspect, is the amount of vaccines people have taken. As of October and according to bloomberg.com, 12.7 billion shots have been given to date worldwide. The same article notes 613 million doses have been distributed in the United States alone.

There’s also the fact that, unlike the early years of COVID, we now have a better understanding of treatments for those who are infected versus when precious little was known.

Nowadays, it is rare to see people with masks on in stores or out and about in general. I’ve had four shots, the two initial shots and two booster shots to date. I may have caught COVID during the very first wave of the pandemic and before we in the United States even knew it was here. We’re talking about very late January or early February of 2020.

My father, it turned out, caught COVID but didn’t know it… and why would he when it wasn’t yet thought to be in the U.S.? Anyway, people around him also got sick and that included me, though my illness was incredibly mild and amounted to feeling really fatigued. It wouldn’t be until nearly a year later when going to a yearly checkup that blood samples revealed he had COVID antibodies in his system and the only time he was sick was back then in early 2020.

Anyhow, by March of 2020 it was official that COVID was in the U.S. and it seemed the country and the world was in an upheaval.

And as I said above, it now appears the wave, now nearly three years later, has crested.

That’s not to say everything is what is was before. There are high rates of respiratory illnesses appearing in children and there are still those who are catching COVID. Hospitals, too, are seeing an influx of patients but, again, it seems like maybe the worst of it is over.

So are we approaching some return to normalcy?

I don’t think so. Not yet anyway.

I’m a big fan of movies but it seems like the movie industry in particular has taken some serious body shots from not only COVID but the internet and streaming services and I seriously wonder if it will every go back to what it was before.

When the COVID lockdowns began in earnest, there were several films the movie studios had hoped to release but were forced to hold back. Once they were released, it seemed like it was either too early or they wound up going to streaming and… I don’t know how “well” they did that way.

The bigger ones seem to be Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Wonder Woman 84, and the last Daniel Craig Bond film, No Time To Die. Regardless of what one feels about these three films, and there were those who didn’t like them, they seemed to come and go and I can’t help but feel they didn’t do all that well at the box office.

Since then, there have been movies that have done extremely well. Top Gun: Maverick, for example, has been a box office juggernaut. The latest Spider-Man film also did very well. But they seem to be exceptions rather than the norm.

The streaming services from the various movie studios tried to step in where movie theaters were unable to and certain movies were released “simultaneously” in theaters and streaming or, in other cases, very shortly after the theatrical release and this, I feel, might have created unintended consequences.

Why bother going to a movie theater, especially during the time when doing so might be somewhat risky, when you can simply watch the same film in your home and via streaming?

In the past, when we had crappy television sets, there was a clear visual advantage to seeing films in theaters. Nowadays, with new technology and genuinely massive television screens available showing films in Ultra HD, there is less and less difference watching at home versus in theaters.

The purchase of Warner Brothers has also resulted in some really concerning news. Of course there was the infamous “cancellation” of several features, including the all but complete Batgirl film, and one wonders if maybe the new company might be having some genuine financial difficulties.

James Gunn, director of Guardian of the Galaxy and the second Suicide Squad film, has been put in charge of the DC comic book character properties and reportedly they are coming up with some kind of multi-year plan for the release of features more akin to what Marvel did in its early phases.

…but…

I can’t help wonder if maybe at this point the whole superhero genre is dangerously close to being done.

Mind you, box office receipts would say otherwise but even the many Marvel properties released of late don’t seem to be garnering the enthusiasm of before, even if they do still seem to be box-office gold. I suppose, in the end, if they keep making a profit they will continue being made but where before you hardly heard anyone say anything negative about the Marvel features, now you have many people noting they don’t feel these newer works are all that special.

I’m no psychic so I don’t know how things will turn out. Perhaps the movie industry will dust itself off and get back on its proverbial feet and we’ll once again look forward to new releases like before.

And as the movie industry goes, perhaps so too will the rest of our lives. The pandemic sure does feel like it is slowly fading from our lives versus what we faced before.

Can a new normalcy return?

General, Movies, TV

Midterms are (finally!) over

Obviously, POLITICS FOLLOW…

So a couple of days ago and on December 6th George had their run-off election to determine who would serve the next six years in the Senate, incumbent Democratic candidate Rafael Warnock or Republican ex-football player Hershel Walker.

There was a runoff because in the midterm elections held on November 8th, Mr. Warnock didn’t receive the necessary 50% of the votes needed to be declared the outright winner. He did receive the most votes, mind you, but just not enough. So the runoff came and, while the results were close, Mr. Warnock won.

This effectively ends what seems like a too long midterm election cycle, one that proved surprising in many ways.

Chief among them is the fact that the supposed “red wave” never materialized. While Republicans did regain control over the House of Representatives, their margin of victory is very slim…

In the House of Representatives, the magic number is 218 and, as you can see from the graphic above, Republicans gained 10 seats to have an 11 vote margin over Democrats but only 5 votes which can provide them a majority in any votes. In other words, if a measly 6 Republicans decide they don’t like whatever is being presented on the floor and the Democratic party holds their votes together, whatever proposals may not pass.

One would think Republicans can maintain a united front. After all, for the previous two years the Democratic Party held the exact same numbers. However, unlike the Democratic Party, the Republican party is far more fractured and there are far right wing elements within it which are trying to exert their power and this may not sit well with others within the party who aren’t quite as extreme in their views.

We’ll see.

As far as Mr. Warnock, he represents the 51st Democratic Senator. In the Senate, there are 100 representatives and the current Vice President can serve as a “tie breaker”. In this election cycle, not only did the Republicans underperform in the House, though they did gain control, in the Senate they actually lost one seat. Now, the Democratic Party has an actual majority here, which will help them with their legislation and, especially judicial picks. Now the committees which push judicial candidates for formal votes will have a Democratic majority which therefore means these picks will be sent to the full Senate much more quickly.

In this day and age, a positive for sure.

In the meantime, Ex-President Donald Trump seems to be having a very bad time of late. He recently hosted Kayne West and Mr. West decided to bring along Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist, to the event. This, along with a court finding the Trump Organization found guilty on all counts of tax evasion, begins to show how bad a time he’s been having of late. Add to that the fact that the majority of candidates he endorsed for this election cycle, including Mr. Walker, lost and you start to see the first inklings of the Republican party maybe realizing he is a drain on their party.

Maybe.

Politics are an interesting and, especially these days, toxic topic to delve into.

On December 5th it was announced actress Kirstie Alley, perhaps best known for her role in the TV show Cheers, had passed away from cancer at the age of 71. My first experience seeing her was in the wonderful Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, easily (IMHO of course!) the best of the Star Trek theatrical movies…

I don’t know Ms. Alley other than the roles she’s played on movies or TV but I was surprised to see many people opining on how (here comes that word again) toxic she had become in the past ten or so years. Seems Ms. Alley, who is also a Scientologist (another strike against her to many!) also became very pro-Trump and hard right wing in her final years, espousing some of the more far out/lunatic rantings coming from that side.

I genuinely feel for people who have fallen into the sway of these right wing politics, especially the things offered from right wing media that seem from the outside looking in as being idiotic at best and dangerous at worst.

In the past few generations, really since Nixon was essentially booted from the White House, it seems like the ring wing in this country has slowly but effectively weaponized their strategies and have used the media to a sometimes alarming degree in swaying voters their way.

And they have taken a lot of people into their sway, including, it would seem, Ms. Alley.

Maybe I’m naive but its my hope that many of these people realize that much of the hate -and it usually is just that, focused hate- is being used to outrage them and keep them in their camp. Hate can be like a drug, one that keeps people in your sway.

I’m not saying these people are mindless drones, though at times they may talk like them.

Perhaps with this election and the fact that Republicans -and especially those who seemed to be farthest right- lost and underperformed as they did that maybe this particular dam is starting to crack.

We’ll see, won’t we?

Movies

Metropolis (1927) a (ridiculously belated) review

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I’ve mentioned it before so forgive me if I’m being repetitious: There are three films I consider my all time favorites.

One is Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. A second is the Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais starring Orpheus (1950).

The third, and one I often feel inches the other two out as the best of the three (on another day, you might find me thinking differently, though!) is the majestic 1927 Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou Metropolis.

Based on the novel of the same name that Thea von Harbou wrote (Lang and von Harbou, at the time were married), Metropolis is a staggering work of science fiction, a film whose influence is still felt, I feel, in modern cinema…

…and it had been a while since I sat down and watched it start to end and figured it was time to do so.

So last week, during Thanksgiving, I was on a flight to visit my daughter and downloaded the film to my VUDU app. Interestingly, sitting next to me was a guy who was watching Andor on his cell phone (I couldn’t tell you which episode of the series it was as I haven’t seen them myself). I did catch a few scenes and I was struck by how the characters were dressed in this dreary gray, like worker bees. And not unlike, I would point out, the drearily dressed working class in Metropolis, where these images come from.

For many, many years and since the release of Metropolis, the only way to see it was in a truncated form. Some 25 or so minutes of the film were cut from it after its disastrous premiere.

Why?

Because the studios invested a ton of money in the film and the early word was the film was going to be a financial disaster for them. So the studios took the film and cut it down by those 25 or so minutes in the hopes that a shorter film could play more often in theaters and thus the studio wouldn’t lose their proverbial shirts.

Thing is, back in 1927 and when this was done, there was no sense that future generations would want to -or even care to- see any films made then. The thought was they were made, released, and that was that.

So those cut scenes were lost and, for decades, it was feared audiences would never get to see Metropolis as Lang and von Harbou originally intended.

I first became aware of this sad reality when I first saw the film way, way back in 1984. Musician Giorgio Moroder, a fan of the film, decided to try to reconstruct it as best he could and added a then “new” soundtrack to the film featuring, among others, Pat Benetar, Billy Squire, and Freddie Mercury. This version of the film is available to be seen on Youtube.com for free…

I was, quite frankly, blown away by the experience. This version of the movie impacted me in such a profound way that it led to, among other things, the inspiration to my first published work, The Dark Fringe, which envisioned a Metropolis-like megacity meshed with a film noir crime…

But what also took my imagination, and saddened me considerably, was one of the first captions presented in this version of the film:

“Fritz Lang made this film in 1926. Against his wishes the film was subsequently shortened for its American release which left the story disjointed, difficult to comprehend, and caused the loss of many scenes, most of which have disappeared forever.”

That last bit, in particular, was simply heartbreaking.

But because of Moroder’s release, and because of these words, others started to look for a “complete” copy of Metropolis. And as it would turn out, in 2008 and by a near miracle, a 16mm print of the complete Metropolis was found in the Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Truly it was a miracle this single copy survived: Apparently representatives of an Argentinian movie distribution company were present at the premiere of Metropolis in Germany and secured a copy of the film right after said premiere and just before the studio started cutting the film down.

They flew with their complete copy to Argentina and it remained in a vault there, undiscovered, until 2008. This print was cleaned up as best as possible and the “cut” scenes added to the more pristine sequences and, in 2010, The Complete Metropolis was released…

…and here’s the trailer for The Complete Metropolis…

When I first saw it, I was again blown away by what I was seeing. The added sequences -which are notable because their quality isn’t as good as the rest- enhanced the story tremendously, creating more suspense and action and filling in gaps which I could only imagine.

Now, the title of the film is something of a misnomer. Because as brilliant as it is, it isn’t the complete film. There remain two sequences that, alas, were too corroded to be able to be salvaged. One involved a preacher’s sermon and the other involved Joh Frederson, the “master” of Metropolis fighting against Rotwang, the movie’s villain.

But, other than those two sequences, we now have a very complete film.

And watching it again, while flying back home last week, was a magical experience. For a work that is now approaching 100 years, Metropolis remains an incredibly ambitious work.

It is pulpy, action filled, and, yes, at times cheesy. It presents an incredibly ambitious plot which touches upon religion and myth, society and the function of its citizens. Perhaps naively ultimately offers a solution to society’s ills, yet the conclusion is so touching I can’t help but feel tears well up when I watch it.

If you haven’t seen Metropolis yet, you really should.

I will repeat, it is a very old silent movie and you have to check some of your expectations and understandings of more modern cinema at the door.

But if you’re like me and you give it a chance, you’ll come to realize there’s a reason this film is considered the great-granddaddy of science fiction works.

It’s not just a great film.

It’s easily one of the very greatest films ever made.

POST-SCRIPT: It occurred to me while watching the film that the “cut” scenes which were added and which have a lesser quality might be great targets for enhancement. Given what Peter Jackson has done with the Get Back documentary and his They Shall Not Grow Old film, perhaps it would be nice if he -or people who have access to some of the software he’s used to enhance the older images presented on both these works, could work their magic on Metropolis.

One can dream, can’t they?

Books/Literature, Comic Books/Graphic Novels, Computers/Electronics, General, Movies, Music, TV, Video Games

What will become of the movie industry…?

Stumbled upon this rather grim article written by Tony Maglio and presented on indiewire.com…

Warner Bros Discover lost 2.4 Billion and Lionsgate lost 1.8 Billion and its not even dinnertime

The article rightfully wonders how film studios can survive with such staggering losses and, frankly, I wonder the same.

Looking at this from a longer view, it seems to me this is part and parcel of, of all things, the arrival of home computers and the internet.

Let me explain.

When home computers first appeared they were crude yet began changing the landscape. I’m old enough to have been part of the very first generation to have one way, waaaaaaaayyyy back in the early 1980’s. My first computer was the venerable Atari 800…

Compared to what we now have, the Atari 800 was a laughably crude and for the most part primitive machine. And yet I almost instantly found a use for it. See, I was in high school at the time and the word processing program it had allowed me to write reports and get them printed out (on an equally crude and extremely slow printer) which was an incredible blessing!

No longer did I have to use a typewriter and white out errors or have to start all over again when I made too many errors. With Atari’s Word Processor, I could type and correct the whole thing and print it out only when it was ready!

A truly marvelous innovation!

Of course, the Atari computers didn’t last and soon IBM and Apple computers appeared. Apple was viewed as more “graphic” intensive but the IBM computers seemed to have the leg up. They were constantly improving and, like the mania to buy new iPhones or new gaming computers, one expected each new generation of IBM or Windows based computers to be better and better.

And they were!

And then came the internet, which is essentially phase two.

Now, you could interact with people all over the world. You could communicate via email. You could send files…

When MP3s became a thing, you no longer needed to store your music on CDs or have those vinyl records (by then, cassettes were a thing of the past and, yes, I know vinyl records are making a comeback).

You could keep your music on your computer and soon enough, even buy albums digitally without having to leave the comfort of your home. Suddenly, all those music stores I frequented -some of which were incredibly large!- were gone…

Then came the Kindle and the iPad and, as with music, now you didn’t need to actually buy physical copies of books. You could buy digital copies and buy and read them in the comfort of your home and, just like that, bookstores also became something of a thing of the past.

Certainly in my area there are only a fraction of them around like there used to be!

Alas, next in line were movies.

With the ability to create music and book files, it wasn’t long before digital copies of movies became a thing as well. Further, Netflix appeared and showed the industry that streaming was also a viable option to watching movies and TV shows.

However, people still went to theaters to see the latest releases, so things seemed to be going ok…

Until COVID hit.

Suddenly people were homebound and the studios had to hold back on releasing their upcoming films. In some cases, these films eventually were released but appeared on streaming services very quickly afterwards. It’s fair to say that films such as Wonder Woman 84, No Time to Die, and Tenet, regardless of their quality (and I know some feel they’re not great films at all), would have performed far better had COVID not kept them from being released as they should have been… and those are the three “biggest” films I can think of offhand which were victims of COVID.

Here’s the thing I’ve come to notice after spending all these years watching the ebb and flow of entertainment: Something that is big at one point might suddenly become old hat really quickly.

There was a time disco music ruled. Then, suddenly, no one wanted to hear disco music. There was a time grunge ruled. Then, it was gone.

Movie theaters for so many years have been THE place to go see new films. But with COVID, we stopped going to them en mass. Yes, there are exceptions (Top Gun Maverick and the latest Spider-Man film being two of them) but in general the entire industry is in a funk.

And now that COVID is somewhat a thing of the past (get vaccinated, people!) we’re seeing that audiences aren’t necessarily flocking back to see the latest movies. At least not quite yet.

For we have seen movies appear on various streaming services and some of us figure we’ll just wait a month or two and see whatever film is currently in theaters then.

It’s happened to me, quite frankly, with Black Adam. I’m certainly curious to see it (Dr. Fate is a favorite comic book character of mine and the fact that they got Pierce Brosnan to play the role delights me!) but frankly… I can wait.

How many other people are saying the same thing?

I’ve mentioned it before to friends of mine, but we still don’t know the extent to which the internet and home computers will affect our lives. We’re seeing it, day by day, from the early days when I realized I could use a Word Processor to write my High School reports, to realizing you can have your entire music collection on a small memory card to realizing you can have your entire library (books, comic books, magazines, etc.) on a memory card as well, to where we now realize we can stream or own movies on that same memory card.

Where will it all ultimately end?

I guess we’ll all find out together.

Movies

The Naked Gun & Naked Gun 2 1/2 cut scenes…

In the mood for some levity?

Posted to YouTube was this, clips from the TV presentation of the hilarious The Naked Gun. Some of these clips were used in lieu of the more suggestive ones in the theatrical cut (spoilers… the “nice beaver” line is …uh… replaced)…

For me, the clip that I most enjoyed finally seeing comes toward the end, when Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) faces off against Ludwig (Ricardo Montalban) at the Baseball stadium.

When I originally saw the film way, waaaaaaaaaaayyyy back when it was originally released I noticed the Umpire padding Drebin had on went from inflated to “deflated” without any explanation… at least in the theatrical cut of the film.

These clips show you what happened!

Since we’re on the subject, how about exptended/cut/TV alternates from the movie’s sequel, The Naked Gun 2 1/2?

Enjoy!

Movies

Barbarian (2022) a (almost right on time!) review

Heard a lot of good things about this film when it was released in August and, thanks to the speedy move from theaters to streaming, I managed to catch Barbarian a few days ago.

Here’s the trailer:

Barbarian is an intriguing horror film whose plot is probably best left for viewers to discover, so I won’t get too into what happens.

I will say this much (and you can see some of it in the trailer above) we start with Tess (Georgina Campbell, quite good) showing up at a home she rented through Airbnb only to discover another person, Kieth (Bill Skarsgård, also quite good) is already there renting it. His rental was through another agency and it looks like a simple screw up, though Tess is rightfully uncomfortable with the whole situation and takes a while before warming up -with plenty of guards up- to Kieth.

I’ll not say more, except that the home carries a very scary history and plenty of deep secrets, all of which will be revealed in the end.

I liked the film but will fault it on its tone. It’s kinda all over the place, at times outright horror while at other times seems to be emulating the crazed horror/comedy stylings of an Evil Dead 2. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but it does make the film feel at times off kilter and unfocused, like it is either not sure where it was going with some of its elements and/or parts of its tone were made up as they went along.

There is also a lot of misdirection, of characters who seem like they might play a larger role in the story but don’t and things that are done which seem like they might be important but aren’t (there’s a Checkov’s gun-like artifact you can spot in the trailer above which has absolutely no payoff and I can’t help but wonder if maybe as the film was being edited down that payoff element was ultimately cut).

Still, Barbarian is ultimately a very entertaining horror/comedy hybrid and while not all of its parts may mesh perfectly well, it is ultimately worth the wild ride.

Recommended.