Watch Movies TV Reviews: Juni 2019

Minggu, 30 Juni 2019

iWant: Review of MOMOL NIGHTS: Risque and Risky

Watch Movies TV - July 1, 2019

Peng (Kim Molina) could not move on from the break-up of a long-term relationship. Her three friends (Vera, Kate Alejandrino and Prince Stefan) advised her to seek out opportunities to MOMOL ("make out - make out lang") with random strangers who catch her attention in the bars they frequent. One guy who made a big impression on Peng was the tall and handsome Marco (Kit Thompson). So when serendipity willed it that they shared a ride together on a taxi, Peng took the bull by the horns and went for it.

Being Gen X, I had no idea about local acronyms like MOMOL until I heard them being mentioned and discussed on a notoriously naughty night-time radio show a few years back. Far from being a thing kept only among more liberal-minded young people, MOMOL has just become the title of a movie being digitally released on the iWant app. Now, I guess everyone knows or will know what this sexual practice means.

The colorful and frenetic storytelling style of director Benedict Mique will appeal to its millennial target audience. However for a parent of teenagers like me, the whole youth culture presented here was actually scary. In many current Filipino films. sexual encounters are already shown to be inevitable even at the courtship stage among millennials. However, this film took my apprehensions further as it actually promoted MOMOL (and one-night stands) with strangers as a thrilling experience everyone should try at least once in their lives. The very first line already says this, and the final lines reinforce it further.

This was a very different Kim Molina from the girl I first knew from musical stage productions like "Rak of Aegis" and "Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady." Well as Peng, she still had that cute, funny and likable "sister" vibe around her, which was why it was shocking to see her here going for it aggressively in daring sex scenes. Her vibrant sense of humor kept her character afloat, but this also made the sexual risks she took feel scarier.

As Marco, Kit Thompson effortlessly projected that quiet elusive mysterious man vibe women like Peng found irresistible. He was largely just used as eye candy for most of the film, with barely enough lines to say, coasting along with his brooding stares and flashy smiles. Thankfully , he did get to flex some dramatic acting muscle towards the end which reveal his sensitive side and potential for more to offer in future projects.

Call me an old fuddy-duddy, but I personally feel this was a dangerous film for vulnerable young women to watch. It spoke to heartbroken women and advises them to do something very high risk to satisfy "needs." Peng caved into the intense peer pressure exerted by her more sexually-adventurous friends to try these lusty escapades she would not normally try on her own. The MOMOL here went all the way to a one-night stand or two, breaking the list of rules it set. Peng was just lucky that Marco, while a player, was not a total monster.

I'm all for women standing up and going for what they want, but Peng's story with Marco is only a fairy tale and some naive young people may not recognize it as such. In the dangerous world of crime and disease we live in today, young people need to realize that lines need to be drawn especially when it comes to these sexual matters. Viewer discretion is warned in the very first frame before the movie itself began, but this material being freely available online, can this discretion ever be assured?

As a film reviewer, I rate it 6/10 for its technical merits. But based on what I have written above as a concerned parent, I think I have made myself clear on how I would rate it on its moral merits.

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle

Watch Movies TV -***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion (or other commenters), that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching! Every video that shows Robert De Niro's career should be required by law to include this film.

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle – 3 out of 5

I used to watch reruns of The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle as a kid. I wouldn’t go as far to say I was a huge fan but I had fun with the cartoons. When the live-action film came out in 2000, I was already well over the days of watching Moose and Squirrel and was a college kid who felt he was “too cool” for this feature. After being reminded of its existence and due to the fact I’m way more laidback now when it concerns properties of entertainment I decided to finally check out The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle.

Was there fanboys in 2000 all saying this film was going to ruin their childhood?

Looks like Trump's cabinet.

35 years after their cancellation, Rocky (voiced by June Foray) and Bullwinkle (voice by Keith Scott) are watching their hometown of Frostbite Falls fall apart around them. As they struggle, their archenemies; Fearless Leader (Robert De Niro), Boris (Jason Alexander) and Natasha (Rene Russo) have entered the real world after signing a contract with a Hollywood film studio and now intend to brainwash the country with bad television in order to make Fearless Leader the president. The FBI sends out agent Karen Sympathy (Piper Perabo) to bring in Rocky and Bullwinkle from the cartoon world and work with them to stop this nefarious plan. However, the road to victory gets a little bumpy and filled with cartoon hijinks.

I don't want to be controversial but...why does Bullwinkle wear gloves?

Two things struck and stuck with me with The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and they are the fact this feature really nailed the comedic tone of the original cartoon show and that there are TONS of big name actors in this film. While both Jason Alexander and Robert De Niro have been reportedly stated that they did the film for the paycheck (which is cool, I’m a performer and have done many a shows just so I can get some money—especially when I was a standup comic) but the film is just jam packed with big names and recognizable stars. Rene Russo, Janeane Garofalo, Carl Reiner, Jonathan Winters, John Goodman, Kenan & Kel, Randy Quaid and Billy Crystal (to name just a few) all have roles or surprise cameos in this film. Every time a new star showed up I found myself wondering if the budget for this film was enormous and a lot were doing it for the money or were some of these stars big fans of the characters and the old cartoon show. Either way, it was kinda impressive to see this amazing amount of stars in a property like Rocky and Bullwinkle.

John Goodman's presence makes any film marginally better.
Even this one. It's science.

What was actually pretty impressive about the film is how it nailed the overall tone of how the original cartoon was. The humor and the story itself feels like it was directly lifted from the old series and it was actually pretty admirable that the production never compromised itself to fit in with how the world was turning in 2000. Imagine how awful that could have been? A soundtrack featuring Limp Bizkit and the Insane Clown Posse, the characters dropping the R-word to describe things they hate and chugging Go-gurt as they skateboard. While I dug that the film avoided feeling like a product of the 00’s and stayed true to its roots this dynamic was also its partial undoing.

Bobby and I have a lot in common. He's a human being. I'm a human being.
He did The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle for the paycheck and paychecks
are the only reason I go to my day job. And that's about it.

I won’t argue that The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle is a bad movie but it is one that I just didn’t find that funny. Granted, there are some jokes here and there that are amusing and made me chuckle but I never laughed very hard at the film. The movie is going for a more wholesome, innocent approach with the humor and that’s fine because that’s how the cartoon was but the jokes just fell a little flat for me. Thankfully, the humor isn’t too cringe-y but sometimes they do come off very cheesy and made the whole thing feel like one long Dad Joke. It’s funny in theory but never enough to be laugh-out-loud funny.

I admire the faith that Karen puts in Rocky. I wouldn't trust a cartoon squirrel
to carry me and fly me around at great heights.

The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle is a fine movie. It’s not doing anything particularly wrong as it keeps the tone of the cartoon, has a great cast and the animation to bring the characters to life may not be earth-shatteringly amazing but works for the aesthetic of the characters but it doesn’t change the fact the film is a bit meh when it comes to its humor. This end result equals a film that is kinda forgettable. In 2000 I would have been too cool to watch this film and never would have stopped telling people how dumb it was so people would realize how awesome I was that I found it beneath me but 2019 I find that I watched it, it didn’t resonate with me and I just shrug my shoulders over it.

Vox Lux

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Distributor: Curzon

Starring: Natalie Portman, Raffey Cassidy, Jude Law, Jennifer Ehle, Stacy Martin, Micheal Richardson & Christopher Abbott.

Running Time: 114 Mins

Seen At:HOME, Manchester, Wednesday, 8^th May, 2019.

Brady Corbet, today’s American equivalent of the British ‘angry young men’ of the sixties, frequently played troubled, broken souls as an actor. None more so than the best friend of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s conflicted hustler in Gregg Araki’s uncompromisingly punishing Mysterious Skin. After turning director with 2015’s Childhood Of A Leader, there’s a synchronised irony to the fact that his terrific, absorbing follow-up, Vox Lux, could’ve not only so easily been quite literally dubbed that ‘difficult second album’ directorially, but is a deceptively profound piece, plunged headlong into the strangest and most instantaneous of zeitgeists: that of celebrity. It brilliantly and very topically foregrounds our current preoccupations with fame, validation and the distortion of truth at any cost. Infinitely timely, without hammering its politic stance home with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, as filmmakers such as Harmony Korine or enfante terrible Xavier Dolan could’ve done - it’s a chilly, expertly framed, gloriously uncompromising expose, as understated as it is unapologetically exaggerated - caught in the beautifully constructed, hyperbolic whirligig of consumerist pressure.

There’s a bold, Herrmann-esque, lyrically hallucinogenic score, the last from the late Scott Walker, who’s Vertigo-inducing, pounding, swooningly romanticised strings don’t feel a bit out of place, even in today’s aural landscape.

Opening in an act of stark, shocking style, when a 1999 high school is subjected to a horrendous shooting, with hauntingly indirect echoes of Columbine, which injures the shy Celeste (brilliantly played in teenage form by Raffey Cassidy, so striking in Tomorrowland and Killing Of A Sacred Deer). At the community’s candlelit vigil, she channels the collective mourning into an Adele-style pop-anthem, Wrapped Up, which unexpectedly goes global, turning her into an overnight star.

Taken begrudgingly under the wing of Jude Law’s washed-up music producer (Law’s best performance since 2012’s Anna Karenina), Cassidy’s fantastically assured, yet glassy-eyed demeanour, illustrates Celeste’s descension into someone already slightly jaded by a meteoric rise to fame. There’s a brilliant scene where she’s drawn into a vacuous evening liaison with a disinterested rock-band frontman (Micheal Richardson, grandson to Vanessa Redgrave) while they listen to her self-penned singles in the background.

Fast-forward twenty years to the present, and Celeste (who’s own daughter is also played by Cassidy), has now transfigured into a Bolan-like, unstable pre-millennial, courted by somewhat inevitable controversy. A glam-rock, quasi-Gaga figure, all peroxide purple quiff and temper tantrum, now played with barnstorming fearlessness by a career-best Natalie Portman, giving an absolute powerhouse performance of self-disillusionment. Her adult Celeste has lost that innocuous sheen of innocence, and Portman’s portrayal is deliciously mannered: twitchy, inflected and drug-addled. It’s the type of no-holds-barred, glorious star-turn, you so rarely see now, one which Academy votes should plump for in next year’s awards season - but probably won’t. She hides behind the high-street celebrity’s customarily eponymous dark sunglasses, to escape the perpetual scrum of press intrusion, and faces off mercilessly in a milkshake bar, against a fan who asks for a selfie, during a fractured attempt at mother/daughter bonding.

There’s a refreshingly minimalist approach to today’s wholly distracting spin-cycle of technology. Corbet doesn’t resort to citing mention of apps, filters or dreaded tweets that all-too often pop up on-screen - dating it immediately. Lol Crawley’s voyeuristic, constantly ominous cinematography, is almost reminiscent of Kubrick at times: static, singular shots, choosing to focus - in faux pop-documentary style - on one perspective, namely Celeste’s – always resisting rebelliously to cut to wide, never revealing the full picture.

Its thematic daring, in tackling an eclectic playlist of terrorism, pop, fame and politics, is handled every bit as delicately as Celeste’s fragile psyche. She holds the ISIS-like, publicity-seeking organisation to account at a press conference, and is in the grip of an electrically charged interview with a journalist (a cameo from the wonderfully unassuming Christopher Abbott, currently wowing as Yoyo, the lead in Catch-22).

She’s also in the frenzied midst of an exhaustive live tour of insistent ‘rebirth’. While approaching meltdown in her dressing room, condemning (punctuated between banshee wails) at being: ‘Treated like she’s not a person’ – you realize just how accurately acute the film must be in chronicling the transient, ever-fluctuating trajectory of celebrity. The tour’s grand-standing crowd-pleasers are written by a similarly unconventional iconoclast - Sia.

As the astonishing final scenes inside a huge arena arrive, with Portman decked-out in glitter and sequins, still tinged with that ever-present hollow strive for adoration, at too high a price, Corbet’s propulsive vision and verve plays out in the metronome of memory rather like the ultra-digitised career its anti-protagonist longs for: streamed on an endless loop, polarising, a deliberately acquired taste, but one you just can’t stop watching.

Rating: * * * * *

Screaming Sunday - Child's Play

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Movie rating: 52/100
Plot: A mother gives her 13-year-old son a toy doll for his birthday, unaware of its more sinister nature.
The heroes: The kids, because it's the cool thing these days to have the children battle the horror antagonist. After all, It is the most successful horror film in history.
The antagonists: That one disgruntled employee.
Best scene: The reveal of what Chucky did to the world's crappiest boyfriend.
Oh-oh something's not right line: Did you say Chucky?
What makes it so great? This is not a great movie but it's much better than I expected it to be after its lazy, disgusting and quite frankly hugely unprofessional marketing campaign with Chucky murdering Toy Story characters. The film is much more fun than other recent horror films - I am looking at you, Brightburn - and it is surprisingly emotional. Granted I always feel for CGI characters, but I was genuinely surprised how much I empathized with Chucky, This whole situation happened because of someone messing up his programming and all he wanted was to be a good friend. There's also plenty of humor here and the actors do a really great job - Aubrey Plaza somehow sells being somebody's mom, Gabriel Bateman is really good as Andy and Brian Tyree Henry provides a lot of comic relief.
Scare factor:

- 1/5 evil pumpkins - Not that scary but there are few disturbing things here, if you are a cat person you are in for a bad time.
Gore factor:

- 2/5 bloody Leatherfaces - There is quite a bit of gore but it's so over the top it's not really scary.
Is there a twist? No.
Unsuitable for: Parents. Toy owners. Cat owners. People who still have Christmas lights hanging around.
Repercussions: You'll smash your phone, fearing Siri.

Great Bikini Bowling Bash (4½ Stars)

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This is the fifth film directed by Dean McKendrick, made in 2013. It's arguably his best film. It starts off with a plot that's typical for the bikini films of the 1990's, and then veers off in a different direction. It's as if Dean, who also wrote the screenplay, wanted to make a parody of the bikini films. He's making fun of the films that claimed that any failing business could be saved by girls in bikinis. Maybe that worked in the 1990's, but now we're in the 21st Century. Property prices have risen, and the value of bikini girls has fallen. Who wants to see bikini-clad girls in a bowling alley when you can see completely naked girls online?

On the other hand, it's difficult to find girls online as beautiful as Mary Carey and Krissy Lynn. That's one of the main attractions of Dean McKendrick's films: the girls are beautiful. They're glamorous and bigger than life, by which I'm not just referring to their breast size.

Now let's talk about the plot. Pay attention, I'll be testing you later! Candy (in the middle, played by Sophia Bella) is the owner of Regal Lanes, a bowling alley she's inherited from her father. She runs the alley with the assistance of Jenn (Krissy Lynn) and Lucy (Mary Carey). The business is doing badly. There hardly seem to be any visitors. Maybe it's because Lucy is spending too much time off work. She's trying to find a man on online dating sites. After 48 Internet dates she's discovered that all the men are interested in is one-night-stands. Poor girl. I'd definitely give her a second chance.

The unsympathetic building owner, Mr. Grabowski (Mike Gaglio), gives Candy notice to the end of the month. He wants to sell the building to a new owner who will turn it into a Stan's Club. What's that? Candy only has a few weeks to raise enough money to buy the building herself. In typical bikini film manner, she arranges a bowling competition in which the girls all wear bikinis. It's a raving success. They earn $5,485. Wow! Unfortunately, that's $2,994,515 short of what they need. As I said, inflation has put bikinis out of business. It's a sad, sad world.

The girls are close to despair, when they hear that Troy Smith, the world bowling champion, is in town. He learnt to bowl at Regal Lanes, so maybe he'll donate the three million dollars they need. Jenn volunteers to speak to him. "If I can't persuade a man to part with a few million dollars, who can?" I can guarantee she could never get a few million dollars out of me, but at least she could get my last few hundred dollars, leaving me broke and panting.

Jenn has a lot to offer, but she's evidently new to hustling. She needs to work on her technique. If you want to squeeze a few million dollars out of a man you have to take the cash while he's hot and worked up. That's when he's at his weakest. Jenn seduces Troy before asking for the cash. Bad idea. After he's got what he wants he changes his mind and says No. Hustling is strictly a cash-in-advance job. Unless the man is a gentleman, of course. I'm polite and respectful. If I promise $3,000,000 while I'm on my back I'll pay up afterwards. Maybe with a few zeros removed.

But the girls don't give up. They challenge Troy to a bowling contest. If they win, he has to give them $4,000,000. That's the price of the building, plus a million for renovation. If he wins he can have a foursome with the girls.

The girls have a secret weapon. Matt (Eric Masterson), who seems to be the bowling alley's only customer, is a brilliant player and an even better coach. He teaches the girls all they need to know about bowling the day before the contest. If it's that easy, I want him to teach me as well!

Can you guess what the result of the contest is? Please, it should be so obvious that no spoilers are necessary.

The film isn't just about saving the bowling alley. The girls have to be saved as well. Matt confesses that he's always loved Lucy, and proposes marriage, which she immediately accepts. The motto of the story is, "Don't look for romance on the Internet when there's a man with big balls standing right in front of you".

Troy falls for Jenn and promises to take her away from her life as a poor waitress. Maybe h's seen her inner beauty, or maybe he just feels guilty after the way he used her.

And Candy lives happily forever after with her lawyer boyfriend, Frank (Ryan Driller). Wait! Did I forget to post a photo of him? This screenshot should make up for it.

The film is out of print, sadly, like most of Dean McKendrick's films. If you send an email to Fred Olen Ray of Retromedia Entertainment, he might have a spare copy that he'll part with for a reasonable price.

The Rotting Zombie's Round-up of Horror News for June 2019

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This year is going by so quickly, it seems like only yesterday I was doing the news round-up post for May. It's a humid day today so I'm feeling kinda sleepy, though sure that won't affect this post! I had planned to have Monday as a designated blog day, but that was too much so am spreading the weeks posts out over three days, and putting up one post every two days.

The surreal anthology show Bible Black currently has its first episode free to watch. Apparently this has been banned in several states in America. The show is almost like a graphic novel come to life and features dark and twisted stories.

The excellent found footage horror Butterfly Kisses has now been released on various VOD platforms that includes iTunes, Google, Xbox, Amazon and Vimeo. It follows a wannabe filmmaker who discovers a box full of creepy DVR cassettes and decides to edit them together so he can release a real life found footage film. I said of this "is a film that reminds me just how much I love horror."
I mentioned in May's news round-up that there was going to be an anthology book about the legend of Peeping Tom (the evil force from Butterfly Kisses) released, and now there is a podcast that has been released that goes more into this fictional legend. Hosted by Michael Joy, he is joined by the director of the film, Erik Kristopher Myers, and the author of the upcoming book 'In The Blink of An Eye', Patrick Glover. The podcast can be found here.

Also recently released is the bizarre, yet great Rondo that I described as "an exciting, darkly comedic revenge thriller", and which pays homage to the exploitation films of the 1970's. It is now out on DVD and VOD.

Cautionary Comics have announced Offworlder issue #1 that is 'an Epic Fantasy that mixes History with Science Fiction'. It stars Henry Gunn who is a seventh century Scotsman that gets abducted by an alien race. They want him to stop an evil alien race from conquering the universe. It has been described as 'Highlander in space'. For more details check out the Indiegogo page here.

Drag queen horror film Killer Unicorn has been acquired by Indican Pictures. It is the latest film from director Drew Bolton and writer Jose D. Alvarez. It takes place in the underground dance scene of Brooklyn, New York and is about a serial killer who targets drag queens. It came to theatres in the U.S June 14th, and will be coming to DVD and Digital platforms July 9th.

Terror Films have acquired worldwide rights to ride-share feature horror-thriller End Trip. It features Aaron Jay Rome (who wrote, directed, and produced this) as Brandon, a rideshare driver who picks up Judd (Dean West). The two seem to be striking up a new friendship but for one of them things are about to get dangerous. This was due for release on June 21st, initially in North America on Prime Video and Vudu. Later in the year will see it get released on other platforms, and on DVD.

Gothic/Death Rock band Christian Death have released a new video for their song 'Forgiven'. This comes from their latest album The Root of All Evilution. You can check that out below. Christian Death are currently on tour.

Jeff Payne's (The Pale Faced Lady, Michael Myers Versus Jason Vorhees) is currently working on a sequel to The Pale Faced Lady. I said of that short film that there were not any surprises to be found, it was also slightly experimental with how the story was told. The sequel sounds like it will be traditional as it is to focus on one character and takes place in real time, as opposed to the almost fairytale style story of the first one. Payne is a genius when it comes to editing so I look forward to seeing if this can build on the ideas of the first film.

Small Town Monsters have revealed a first look at their new docudrama MOMO: The Missouri Monster. This intends to tell the real life story of the titular creature. It was said to be a hair covered three-toed creature that prowled the forests of Star Hill during the summer of 1972.

I had originally planned to end this months news post here, but in the past week I have received some more info about cool new things and so hot off the press...

Creature Feature Weekend is coming to Gettysburg this August. This is a new horror convention that is going to run from 30th August to 1st September. Confirmed special guests include among them Corey Feldman and Jamison Newlander (The Lost Boys), Joe Bob Briggs (The Last Drive-In), Glen Ennis (Freddy vs Jason), Tom Woodruff (Aliens, Pumpkinhead), Billy Bryan (Army of Darkness, Ghostbusters) and Walter Phelan (House of 1,000 Corpses, Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight). If you're interested tickets can be brought here.

The only information I have for this next one is a title - Vampyrz on a Boat, and going by the trailer this seems like an accurate description of what the film will involve. This one comes from Firebreathing Films.

Spider-Man

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Directed by Sam Raimi.

2002. Rated PG-13, 121 minutes.

Cast:

Tobey Maguire

Kirsten Dunst

Willem Dafoe

James Franco

Rosemary Harris

J. K. Simmons

Cliff Robertson

Joe Manganiello

Bill Nunn

Elizabeth Banks

Octavia Spencer

"Macho Man" Randy Savage

After the success of Blade and X-Men, Sony, who owned the rights to Marvel's most famous hero, decided it was time to bring Spider-Man to the big screen, worldwide. Since this was his cinematic debut in most countries, America included, we all knew we were getting an origin story. It feeds us the traditional tale many of us know and love. High school outcast Peter Parker (Maguire) gets bitten by a radioactive spider and develops many of that creature's natural abilities. He can climb walls, has super-strength, and can spin webs from his wrist. That last bit is a wrinkle added just for the movie, and we'll discuss it further. As Peter himself tells us, though, this story is not really about him but about a girl - Mary Jane, aka MJ (Dunst). He's been in love with her since forever, but she doesn't seem to share the same feelings, and dates popular jock Flash Thompson (Manganiello). Peter's Uncle Ben (Robertson) is killed shortly after Peter gets his powers, and it's kind of Peter's fault, so he's feeling even worst than most would be in that situation. Meanwhile, his best friend Harry's (Franco) dad, Norman Osborn (Dafoe) has tested a strength enhancer on himself with disastrous results. He becomes the Green Goblin and causes a whole lot of trouble once the board forces him out of Oscorp, his own company.

Back in 2002, when this came out, the first thing audiences were looking for was the same thing I was looking for when revisiting this in 2019 and especially after watching the made-for-TV Spidey movies from the 70s. We all want to see if the special fx are sufficient enough to support and enhance a movie based on a guy who climbs walls and swings all over New York City on a web. For the most part, they do. Things got off to a rocky start because the first wall-climbing scene of the movie doesn't look a whole lot better than the Nicholas Hammond version of the character. It significantly improves in a hurry. There a few noticeable green screen shots, but nothing much worse than much of what's made today. The bigger issue is something Roger Ebert pointed out back in '02. I agreed with it then and noticed it on this rewatch. The cgi Spider-Man bouncing all over the screen doesn't always convey the proper weight of a man doing such things. Again, it's nothing that's so bad that it couldn't happen today. I just saw a number of shots in Avengers: Endgame that were pretty easily spotted as computer generated, yet there weren't many complaints about the fx in that movie. The same applies here. While the mix with some of the practical fx in the film isn't quite seamless, it's good enough to maintain the illusion.

That illusion is created by the story-telling. Before it tries to wow us with its visuals, the movie meticulously builds the world of Spider-Man. It takes the most well known aspects of our hero's origin and brings them to life the way ardent fans always imagined and quickly bringing newcomers up to speed. In a fairly short amount of time, the film manages to forge an emotional connection between Peter and the audience. We instantly feel all the years this poor dude has spent pining over MJ. Likewise, we understand how important his Uncle Ben and Aunt May (Harris) are to him. To do so, the writing sticks fairly close to the source material and much of the casting is perfect. Maguire is really good as the titular character. He appears a tad old for the role, but makes up for it by really seeming to be deeply touched by every setback Peter suffers. J. K. Simmons and Rosemary Harris are the gold standard for the characters they play, J. Jonah Jameson and Aunt May, respectively. They both seem to have stepped off the pages of the comic books and directly onto the screen. The big get is Kirsten Dunst as MJ. Her individual acting is very good, but what really sells it is her chemistry with Maguire. They feel like lifelong next door neighbors and friends with ever-growing feelings for one another. This magical connection creates the current upon which the entire film (franchise?) floats.

The casting falters a bit when it comes to the Osborn family. Willem Dafoe is a fantastic actor, but he doesn't take the best approach to Norman/Green Goblin. He's a bit over the top as he's clearly just doing his version of a cackling comic book villain. It doesn't help that one of his big moments has him screaming at his own reflection in the mirror. Neither is it beneficial that the mask he has to wear as Green Goblin is the stupidest looking thing ever. Dafoe is good enough to make it work, but it still seems like he sold the character a bit short. James Franco as Harry is more problematic. The script burdens him with many sudden changes in demeanor and he fails to handle any of them. Rather than Harry quickly running the gamut of emotions, it feels like James Franco acting. Some of what he does is downright laughable.

The movie's shortcomings are not nearly enough to sink this ship. It cruises along on the Peter-MJ connection to give us a story strong enough for us to forgive many of its sins. It generally sticks close to the character's tried and true path to success. The biggest place where the movie diverges from its source material is one of its biggest triumphs. The comics always had Peter having to create his own web using some super-sciency process. Here, his webbing is organic and shot straight from his wrists. I never understood why Spider-Man couldn't organically produce his own web. If we're talking about a guy who gains the ability of a spider, that would seem to be a logical inclusion. Kudos to director Sam Raimi and anyone else involved in the decision to make that part of this story. And its a story that holds up very well. There are some nitpicks to be had, but overall, Spider-Man is a movie that draws us in and not only makes us believe a man could do all the amazing things a spider can, but also makes us believe he is a young man with real feelings. We simultaneously want to nurture him and be saved by him.

Click here for more Into the Spider-Week festivities

Sabtu, 29 Juni 2019

NIGHT AFFAIR (Le desordre et la nuit,1958)

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Jean Gabin's film career lasted from the 1930s to the 1970s and had two major phases. In the first, he was a leading man. In the second, from 1954's Touchez pas au grisbi forward, he was a middle-aged tough guy in films presumably appealing primarily to men. Unsurprisingly, Gabin could still play the leading man at least early on in this latter stage, even though he'd become a thicker, courser looking figure. The Gabin character's romance with the female lead in this Gilles Grangier detective story may be its most challenging feature, not just because of the 25-year age difference between the star and Nadja Tiller, but also because of the initially violent way these kooky Frenchpersons bond with each other.

Like many a French crime picture, Night Affair focuses on a nightclub. This one's a jazz club operated by Marquis (Robert Berri), who has a stable of black entertainers including floor show dancers, a band and star singer Valentine Horse (blacklisted U.S. chanteuse Hazel Scott). It boasts a racially mixed clientele, though it's hard for an outsider to tell whether this marked the place as progressive or decadent in the eyes of the original audience. The club hosts a tense meeting between a drug dealer (Roger Hanin) and his impatient buyer, Blasco, (Robert Manuel), after which the dealer, with his moll in tow, goes out to pick up his supply. From out of nowhere the buyer is shot down, and the moll, Lucky Fridel (Tiller) abruptly drives away.

The vice squad assigns Inspector Vallois (Gabin) to the case, despite his enduring affection for "grape juice." He ends up taking the flirtatious Lucky to her apartment, where they exchange slaps -- she starts it -- before going to bed. It looks like it'll only be a one-night stand when Vallois discovers, to his disgust, that Lucky, a German girl who aspires to singing like a Negro, is a cocaine addict. Still, the lonely detective follows her to a party at Valentine Horses's apartment in the hope of finding more out about her milieu. When the party ends violently, Blasco goes for treatment to a private physician or pharmacist (Danielle Darrieux) who may hold crucial pieces of the drug ring and murder puzzle.

Night Affair is more whodunit than crime story -- there's little urgency felt among the criminal element about the abrupt interruption of the drug supply -- and even more than that it's Vallois' crusade to redeem Lucky. Even though Gabin is technically a romantic lead, his is really a patriarchal role. It's telling that the film ends with Lucky entering a rehab facility, with the promise of a happy reunion with Vallois, rather than with the reunion. That finish is reminiscent of those relatively sympathetic morality plays where the repentant outlaw agrees to serve a light sentence on the understanding that he'll live happily afterward. The important thing here seems not so much that Lucky and Vallois might live happily ever after, but that by convincing Lucky to take her medicine, so to speak, Vallois has restored some moral order to the world. On some level you could call it a conservative film for that reason, but regardless of that the music is quite good and the spectacle of Gabin righteously slapping folks around -- men, too -- is entertaining on your choice of levels.

Marvel Years 08.11 - November 1968

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Spectacular Spider-Man #2

This is the biggest Spider-Man month ever. Three comics are published with a total of 118 pages, namely Spectacular Spider-Man #2 (58 pages), Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5 (40 pages) and Amazing Spider-Man #66 (20 pages). All three of these comics were written by Stan Lee.

With three stories independent of one another being published at the same time, there are continuity problems. I'll engage in apologetics to put these three stories in the right order, even though I suspect that Stan Lee might have got mixed up because he was juggling too many plates at once. I assume that Amazing Spider-Man #66 was written and drawn in the normal monthly schedule, just in time to meet the deadline at the printers. It's possible that Spectacular Spider-Man #2 was written and drawn two to three months ago, before Stan knew what he would write in Amazing Spider-Man #64 to #66. As for Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5, it's so detached from the current storylines that it might have been written even earlier, maybe the beginning of the year.

However, the order in which I've put them is Spectacular Spider-Man #2, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5, then Amazing Spider-Man #66, despite the problems with Norman Osborn.

Spectacular Spider-Man #2 shows Norman Osborn regaining his memory, then losing it again. Amazing Spider-Man #66 shows that Norman Osborn has regained most of his memory, so it must happen some time after Spectacular Spider-Man #2. By "some time" I mean a significant amount of time, such as the time that Spider-Man would need to fly to Algeria and back. The problem with this is that in Amazing Spider-Man #66 Spider-Man retrieves his camera which he left on top of the Daily Bugle during his fight with the Vulture, which makes it seem like this is only a short time after he left the prison infirmary in Amazing Spider-Man #65. It's possible that Spider-Man forgot about his camera due to the stress of fighting the Green Goblin and travelling to Algeria. A bigger problem is that in Amazing Spider-Man #66 Gwen Stacy tells Peter Parker that she's forgiven him, but in Spectacular Spider-Man #2 they've already made up. Maybe I should abandon my attempt at apologetics and admit that Stan Lee just got things wrong by writing the stories in different orders.

Title: The Goblin Lives!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Romita

Villain: Green Goblin

Regulars: Aunt May, Mary Jane Watson, Captain Stacy, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, J. Jonah Jameson

After watching a presentation of film footage of Spider-Man fighting the Green Goblin, Norman Osborn's memory returns and he remembers who he is. He intends to unmask and defeat Spider-Man in front of his friends, so he invites Peter Parker, Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson and his son Harry to a party. Peter gets rid of the others by setting off the fire alarm. The Green Goblin flies to Aunt May's house, but Spider-Man stops him before he gets there. Using one of the Goblin's own hallucinogenic pumpkins, Spider-Man takes away his memory again. It won't last long.

Captain Stacy is really cool. He's the only one who can see that J. Jonah Jameson needs psychiatric help.

This page is printed on the inside of the front cover. It's evidence that the magazine was being pitched at readers who didn't know Spider-Man.

The first issue of Spectacular Spider-Man was released in July 1968. It was scheduled to be a bi-monthly comic, but we had to wait four months for the second issue. This ad at the end of the comic promises a story called "The Mystery of the TV Terror" in the next issue, but the story never comes. Spectacular Spider-Man was cancelled after two issues. My suspicion is that it was because of distribution problems.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #5

Title: The Parents of Peter Parker!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Larry Lieber

Villain: Red Skull

Regulars: Aunt May, Uncle Ben (flashback), Harry Osborn (cameo), Gwen Stacy (cameo)

Guests: Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm

I totally forgot that Peter Parker's parents had ever been mentioned in the comics. It's possible that I never read this comic before today. I was a regular reader of Marvel Comics from 1962 to 1968, but after the increase in the number of monthly titles in early 1968 I no longer bought everything I could lay my hands on. It wasn't until 1974 that I had more money and could buy (almost) everything again.

Peter Parker finds newspaper clippings about his parents, Richard and Mary Parker, so he begs his Aunt May to tell him about them. They were killed in Algeria when Peter was a small child, and they were considered to have been working for a foreign government. Peter becomes obsessed with this over the next few days, and he wants to find out the truth. He can't afford to fly to Algeria, so Reed Richards gives him a lift.

In Algeria Spider-Man meets the Red Skull. His father used to work for the Red Skull, but it turns out he was an undercover agent for America. The Red Skull killed him when he discovered he was working against him. This means that his father died a hero.

Amazing Spider-Man #66

Title: The Madness of Mysterio!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: John Romita

Villain: Mysterio, Green Goblin, Wizard (flashback)

Regulars: Aunt May, Captain Stacy, Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Betty Brant, Ned Leeds

Mysterio returns, after last being seen in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #4. He commits crimes to attract Spider-Man's attention. In a fight Mysterio surrounds Spider-Man with thick smoke, and when he can see again he's only six inches tall.

With a sad heart, Peter Parker sells the motorbike that he bought in Amazing Spider-Man #41. It's the end of an era.

The Crazy Credits tell us that Artie Simek lovingly lettered the comic and Irving Fearless Forbush supplied the special effects.

Fantastic Four #80

Title: Where treads the Living Totem?

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four (Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm)

Villain: Tomazooma (robot)

Regulars: Crystal, Wyatt Wingfoot

The Fantastic Four receive a letter from Wyatt Wingfoot, telling them that he's gone back to his reservation to help them deal with evil spirits. Reed Richards, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm fly to the reservation while Crystal remains behind to look after Susan Richards.

At the reservation, the Indians are being terrorised by Tomazooma, a giant who is supposedly the tribe's protective spirit. The Fantastic Four discover that it's really a robot built by a Russian oil company that wants to drive them from the land.

This time the Thing needs two panels to deliver his battle cry: It's clobbering time.

I'm glad Wyatt Wingfoot is back. We last saw him in Fantastic Four #61. I thought Stan Lee had forgotten him.

Fantastic Four Annual #6

The Fantastic Four annuals are normally used to showcase major new events in the life of Marvel's first family, and this is no exception. It's the birth of Reed and Susan's first child.

Title: Let there be Life!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four: (Reed Richards, Susan Richards, Ben Grimm, Johnny Storm)

Villain: Annihilus

Regulars: Crystal

Susan Richards is about to give birth, but there are irregularities in her blood stream that might kill both the baby and the mother. Reed Richards is certain that the only material that can keep her safe is an element only found in the Negative Zone. Together with the Thing and the Human Torch he enters the Negative Zone through the portal in his laboratory.

They encounter a tyrant called Annihilus who is conquering planet after planet in the Negative Zone. He carries a Cosmic Control Rod (TM) on his chest that increases his power and gives him eternal life. The Fantastic Three steal this rod and attempt to leave the Negative Zone, but Annihilus blocks the way. They reach an agreement. Reed can siphon off a small amount of the element if he returns the rod to Annihilus.

The Thing's battle cry is heard for the first time ever in the Negative Zone: It's clobbering time!

Back on Earth, the treatment is successful, and the baby is born whose name is... spoilers!

The Incredible Hulk #109

Title: The Monster and the Man-Beast!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Herb Trimpe

Villain: Chinese soldiers, Swamp Men

Regulars: General Ross, Major Talbot

Guests: Ka-Zar

The title of this story doesn't make sense. Who or what is the Man-Beast?

The Hulk is still wandering around in China. At a remote army base the soldiers try unsuccessfully to kill him. They launch a rocket into space carrying a missile with which they intend to threaten the USA. The Hulk thinks it's a way for him to escape the Earth, so he jumps onto it and hitches a ride, but the additional weight makes the rocket crash in the Antarctic. The Hulk tumbles through the ice into the underground kingdom of Ka-Zar.

The Hulk turns into Bruce Banner, and he's captured by the Swamp Men. Ka-Zar frees him. He shows Bruce a mysterious machine that someone has set up in a cave. Bruce analyses it, and he deduces that it will change the speed of the Earth's rotation, creating chaos and ultimately the Earth's destruction. He wants to disarm the machine, but the Swamp Men attack, and the stress makes him turn back into the Hulk. He easily repels the Swamp Men, but he's now forgotten what the machine does.

The Avengers #58

Title: Even an Android can cry

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: John Buscema

Avengers: Hawkeye, Goliath, Wasp, Black Panther, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Vision

Villain: Ultron-5

Cameos: Hercules, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Hulk, Spider-Man, Black Widow

Flashbacks: Zemo, Enchantress, Executioner, Wonder Man

In reader polls this issue has repeatedly been voted one of the best comics ever written.

The Avengers are summoned to vote on the Vision's application to become an Avenger. Captain America goads the Vision into a fight to prove that he's strong enough to be an Avenger. He passes this test, but they still want to know who he is. All the Vision can remember is that he woke up in Ultron's laboratory and was ordered to destroy the Avengers.

Goliath realises that he's also lost his memory about a recent experiment, so the Avengers travel to his out-of-town laboratory, a house that has now been boarded up. Here he remembers. He created a robot which he called Ultron. The robot called Hank Pym Daddy, but then threatened to kill him. Ultron made him lose his memory, saying he would come back to attack him in the future.

The laboratory has been left intact. Only the memory tapes of Simon Williams aka Wonder man are missing. Iron Man tells the others the story of Wonder Man from Avengers #9, but then adds that after his death his memories and his personality were stored on tape. They deduce that these tapes were used by Ultron to create the Vision.

Vision pretends to be cold and emotionless, but when nobody is watching him he cries.

Captain America #107

Title: If the past be not dead

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

Villain: Dr. Faustus

A psychiatrist called Dr. Faustus has prescribed Captain America medication that induces nightmares. He wants to drive him mad, so that he will be committed to a mental asylum.

Come on... what man in his right mind would trust a psychiatrist with a name like that?

Daredevil #46

Title: The Final Jest!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Gene Colan

Villain: Jester

Regulars: Foggy Nelson, Debbie Harris, Karen Page (vision)

This issue has two splash pages, This is page one...

... and this is page two. Gene Colan's art is brilliant and imaginative. The page layouts are far removed from Jack Kirby's static layouts. In this issue there's not a single page in which the panels are arranged at rectangles. This gives the whole story an element of chaos.

Daredevil wakes up before the trustee prisoner can unmask him. He escapes by disguising himself as a doctor.

Daredevil finally realises that the man he supposedly murdered on the bridge was the Jester. To lure him into the open he poses as the Jester and gives a n interview on live television. Luckily the Jester is a television junky, so he rushes to the studio to face the impostor. Daredevil, in his own costume, unmasks the Jester on live TV, and everyone sees that it's the man he's supposed to have killed.

Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #6

Title: Doom must fall!

Writer: Roy Thomas, Archie Goodwin
Artist: Frank Springer

Villain: The Others

After debuting as a guest artist in Nick Fury #4, Frank Springer takes over as the regular artist in this issue. Once more he draws the splash page on page three. Maybe 3 is his lucky number?

It's noticeable in this issue that Frank Springer is doing his best to imitate Jim Steranko's style. It's a good imitation, but not as good as the original. There's only one Jim Steranko.

The SHIELD pilot Cliff Randall is acting strangely. It's revealed that he's a member of an alien race who call themselves the Others. They crash landed on the Earth 20 years ago, fleeing from an interplanetary war. Since then they've been building a new space ship to help them escape. They need the force of a giant asteroid striking the Earth to propel themselves back to their own planet. This will destroy the Earth, but they don't think that the Earth has any qualities that make it worth preserving.

At the last moment Cliff crashes the space ship into the approaching asteroid, destroying the Others but saving the Earth.

Doctor Strange #174

Title: The Power and the Pendulum

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Gene Colan

Villain: Lord Nekron

Regulars: Clea, Victoria Bentley, Wong

Doctor Strange might be the Master of the Mystic Arts, but he understands nothing of women. He openly displays his love for Clea while Victoria Bentley, who also loves him, looks on. Making things worse, when he answers the invitation of a certain Lord Nekron he takes Victoria with him to England.

Lord Nekron has made a deal with Satannish. He will be given eternal life and eternal fame if he can find someone to take is place as Satannish's slave within 12 months. The time is almost complete, and he casts spells to imprison Doctor Strange in his castle. Doctor Strange defeats him by making time run faster while they fight.

Iron Man #7

Title: The Maggia Strikes

Writer: Archie Goodwin
Artist: George Tuska

Villain: Gladiator, Whitney Frost, Masked Marauder (flashback)

Regulars: Jasper Sitwell, Janice Cord

Guests: Daredevil (flashback)

The Maggia, under the leadership of Whitney Frost (Big M) is preparing to steal equipment from Tony Stark's factory. They are now assisted by the Gladiator, who we last saw in Daredevil Annual #1. He recommends that they defeat Iron Man first, so they kidnap Tony Stark to lure him. Janice Cord and her lawyer are also with him when he's kidnapped.

Tony slips away and puts on his Iron Man suit. While he's fighting the Gladiator, Big M and her men go to Tony's factory.

Sub-Mariner #7

Title: For President, the Man called Destiny!

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: John Buscema

Villain: Tiger Shark, Destiny (Pail Destine)

Regulars: Dorma, Diane Arliss

Prince Namor's scientists are trying without success to cure the madness of Tiger Shark. Namor thinks they can succeed if he brings his sister, Diane Arliss, from New York. He wants to go alone, but Lady Dorma insists on accompanying him because she's jealous. Women!

In New York, Prince Namor finds that his enemy Destiny is campaigning to become President. The Helmet of Power is hypnotising everyone who listens to him. Namor battles Destiny at a television station, and Destiny falls to his death.

Captain Marvel #7

Title: Die, Town, Die!

Writer: Arnold Drake
Artist: Don Heck

Villain: Quasimodo

Regulars: Ronan the Accuser, Yon-Rogg, Una, Carol Danvers

Captain Mar-Vell has returned to the Kree Homeworld to be interrogated concerning his alleged betrayal of the Kree by not carrying out Yon Rogg's orders. He skilfully answers the questions in a way that fools the lie detector machine. Then he returns to Earth. He's ordered to test humanity's resistance to the Virus Z-3 by unleashing it in an American city.

He's interrupted by Quasimodo attacking Cape Canaveral to steal the computer energy. Their battle leads them to a theme park inhabited by robots modelled as 1890's townspeople. I would have said this is plagiarising "Westworld", but "Westworld" wasn't made until 1973. After Mar-Vell defeats Quasimodo he cuts off the power, making the robots collapse. Watching from space, Yon-Rogg thinks this is a result of the virus being unleashed.

The Crazy Credits have new nicknames for the comics creative team. Stan Lee is "Speed Of Light". Arnold Drake is "Super Nova". Don Heck is "4th Dimensional". John Tartaglione is "Solar Swinger". But what about Sam Rosen? He's merely "Down-To-Earth". As far as I'm concerned he should be up in the stars with the others.

Thor #158

Title: The way it was!

Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby

Villains (flashbacks): Stone Men From Saturn, Loki, Executioner, Cobra, Ulik, Karnilla, Destroyer

Regulars (flashbacks): Odin, Heimdall, Sif, Balder, Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, Loki, Jane Foster

Guests (flashbacks): Hercules

This comic reprints Thor's whole 13-page origin story from Journey Into Mystery #83, with a 3-page introduction and a 4-page summing up.

Donald Blake remembers the words written on the hammer that he found in the Norwegian cave: "Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor". If this is true, he wonders where the real Thor is.

The Crazy Credits say that Irving Forbush provides the heraldry. I'm not sure what that means. Does it mean that he designed the Asgardian plaques?

X-Men #50

Like last month, the cover is once more drawn by Jim Steranko. This is one of the best covers ever. The story itself has also been drawn by him, but somehow it's not up to his usual standards. It's like he didn't have enough time. The fact that he didn't do the inking himself backs up my suspicion.

Title: City of Mutants

Writer: Arnold Drake
Artist: Jim Steranko

X-Men: Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Angel, Beast, Iceman

Villain: Mesmero, Demi-Men, Magneto

Regulars: Lorna Dane

Cyclops, Angel, Beast and Marvel Girl break into Mesmero's lair to free Iceman. Marvel Girl suggests that they let themselves be defeated so that they will be carried to Iceman.

Lorna Dane is put in a machine to unleash her latent mutant powers. It's revealed that she's Magneto's daughter. She turns against the Demi-Men rather than serve Mesmero.

Magneto appears, who evidently didn't die in Avengers #53.

Title: This Boy, this Bombshell!

Writer: Arnold Drake
Artist: Werner Roth

X-Men: Beast

Hank McCoy grows up as a mutant. His abilities make him an outstanding high school football player. He stops a gang trying to rob the box office. This is televised, which brings him to the attention of a criminal called the Conquistador (unnamed in this issue)

Marvel Super-Heroes #17

Title: The Black Knight Reborn

Writer: Roy Thomas
Artist: Howard Purcell

Villain: Modred, Le Sabre (Paul Richarde)

Dane Whitman travels to England to look at a castle that he's inherited from his uncle, Nathan Garrett. He's impatient to sell it. He finds his way to a hidden dungeon, where he meets the ghost of his ancestor, Sir Percy of Scandia. He was the original Black Knight who served King Arthur. Merlin gave Sir Percy an ebony sword, made from the metal of a meteorite, which would make him invincible. He could only be killed by a weapon made of the same metal. Modred , King Arthur's nephew, killed first the king, then Sir Percy, using a dagger made from the meteorite.

Now Sir Percy calls Dane Whitman to take his place. He gives him the ebony sword to battle the forces of evil.

Modred summons a petty criminal, Paul Richarde, and tells him to fight the Black Knight. He gives him the same dagger that killed Sir Percy. The Black Knight defeats him in a short battle.

Dane Whitman says that it was difficult to get a winged horse through customs. In 1968 it was just as difficult to bring a normal horse into England because of the strict quarantine laws to combat rabies.

Howard Purcell only ever drew a few comics for Marvel. Most of his work was for DC. This picture shows why he should have drawn more comics for Marvel.

Other comics published this month:

Millie the Model #164 (Stan Lee, Stan Goldberg)
Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos #60 (Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers)
Captain Savage and his Leatherneck Raiders #8 (Gary Friedrich, Dick Ayers)