The Mandalorian and Grogu

George Lucas once said that Star Wars was aimed at 12 year olds when it came out in 1977. That so happened to be my age at the time. Perhaps he meant the 12 year old in all of us. That summer I saw the movie 13 times in various theatres in Winnipeg. I bought the books, has the stickers and bought the soundtrack. But I was also able to laugh at it. In junior high, we were ever parodying it. A classmate had written something where the hero was named Puke Groundjogger.

In the time of no Internet, the Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. was the kickoff to a season of horror, sci-fi and fantasy leaving the serious film worthy of Oscar consideration in November and December. Jaws, a horror, film in 1975 was the first of this May long weekend blockbusters. The following summer it was The Omen. The 1970s had a number of studios who were still experimenting with a number of hotshot young directors like Spielberg and Lucas.

Star Wars didn't invent the sequel. Hollywood had been doing that already for decades. Even serious films like the The Godfather warranted a sequel two years after the first one. It is not surprising that the overwhelming popularity of Star Wars saw sequels produced. The first was a movie for CBS called Holiday Special, a universally derided show. However, the Christmas special in 1978 did introduce one of the most popular characters in the Star Wars universe: Boba Fett. He was the original Mandalorian and was featured as a cartoon segment made by Canada's Nelvana Studios.

The Holiday Special, which I did see, was broadcast only once and has become legendary for how poorly it was received. It was not just dreck and but complete sewage. You can only really see in poor quality uploads. Still, it was from this awful piece of TV trash that a character emerged that formed the base of a race called the Mandalorians.

One of the things I learned very early on as a TV and film viewer was sometimes studios would pander. Someone who was 12 didn't want the writing or characters to insult our intelligence. Holiday Special insulted everyone despite some jewels in it. Boba Fett, begat Mando, the Mandalorian. So that part of the equation was good. And the look, feel and voice of Mandalorians in their armour owes a lot to Nelvana of Canada.

The chaos in the movie studio business of acquisition, firings, strikes and general effort to monetize every aspect of a production often leaves very little effort in original material being made. It is no wonder why some creative people, actors, writers and directors, have moved to streaming series so that longer form stories can be done and where budgets are large. And so, it was an attractive move for Jon Favreau who was pitching a Star Wars series. He was partnered with Dave Filoni who had been carrying the water for the franchise in animation with the Clone Wars on cable. The animated series were by far the more clever and original of the Star Wars material.

Still, animated series still have at their hearts a younger audience even though they attract kids of all ages. Some of the easy humour of droids or Ewoks in animation has to be measured when done as a live action show. There is no substitute for good writing and good characters. Make no mistake, The Mandalorian through three season was good writing and good story. And the producers had a fourth season all lined up when the actors and writers strike took place.

Even now, Hollywood is having to come to terms with the strike and the change around the world of streaming and mega-corporations controlling everything. Disney is a mega-corporation. However, even they are up against a world economy that is in flux. And pushback from unions, inflation, toxic fans and fear of new ideas can make any attempt to create something subject to pressure to conform to certain lobbies. Because of the backlog at Disney, they believed the Mandalorian would make for a good feature film.

This meant the planned villain for the fourth season, Admiral Thrawn, was off the table. No one has said whether a fourth season is off the table forever. Presumably, it successful, Mandalorian and Grogu stays in film. Regardless, this meant a new villain had to be created. For whatever reason, it was decided it should be the Hutts. Since Jabba was dead, it was thought that maybe the Jabba's relatives, the Hutt Twins might make good villains. This was a mistake. At best, they were minor and the quest to find Rotta, Jabba's son in exchange for information seemed like thin soup.

However, first Colonel Ward, played by Sigourney Weaver in an underwritten role, sends Mando on a mission to hunt Imperial Remnants. We are dropped into one of these missions just like a James Bond teaser minus the hit single credits. The terrible bonifides of the bad guy are established as he bullies and kills and then Mando and Grogu come save the day. Various storm troopers and walkers are blown up in set action pieces as we see Grogu and Mando work together. The fact that most reviews don't even mention the beginning shows it literally was about starting with a bang and showing Mando take out Imperials.

The reward for Mando by Colonel Ward was a replacement ship for the lost Razor Crest from the series. One can only imagine the fandom swooning. While there is nothing wrong with the parade of ships, equipment and blasters, the service to the fans can derail storytelling. Much like the push for characters having romantic relationship has proven tricky in Star Wars. Sometimes the fanbase will call you woke, some will disagree with matches and will literally send hate mail to actors who have nothing to do with the writing of the story. It is a bit interesting to see Weaver and Pascal portray characters about parenthood. Weaver with Alien and Pascal with The Mandalorian.

Rotta, voiced by Jeremy Allen White, is not a typical Hutt. He is one forged by the fighting pits and seems to revel as a fan favourite. His cousins, a brother and sister known only as The Twins have featured in both Boba Fett series and The Mandalorian have offered intelligence for the rescue of their nephew whom they have not seen since he was a child. Even Mando expresses doubt but Colonel Ward says they need the information to go after one of her game cards of former Imperials. The comparison to the Iraq War is plain to see. As mentioned, the Hutts seem small potatoes even in the streaming series. And even with CGI, the old puppetry feels more real that what we see on screen.

The story moves swiftly along and the Hutts relay only the flimsiest of clues but it leads to a planet outside the old empire. The strength of the series is always Mando and Grogu but it bubbles along with featured players. In the case of the planet our heroes go to, it is a four armed cook at the street vendor voiced by a nervous Martin Scorsese. Through him we learn of where Rotta is and what he is doing in the fighting pits. It is how Mando finds out about Lord Janu who runs the pits and specifically, Rotta.

The special effects are pretty impressive throughout but the musical score really carries the film in a way we have not seen in some time. I think what could have used some work is some characters floating in and out, sometimes involved in the mission and then other times on the sidelines. One specific character is Garazeb "Zeb" Orellios is in and then out helping Mando and Grogu but he always seems to be on call.

The animated series of Star Wars Rebels has been ripe material for use on The Mandalorian. For Star Wars fans, not all might be familiar with the storylines from the animated series. And for younger fans, they might not know all the Star Wars history and characters. Each story in film still has to have one coherent story.

I think I can't reveal too much more of the storyline without giving everything away. A lot of is riding on this movie for Disney and trying to appeal to as big an audience without peeving those off looking for woke moments to criticize, or lack of X-wing fighter or no romance moments. Tick off every box or don't and the accusations of pandering will come or not paying enough attention to Star Wars main touchstones.

Some movies I have to see again to properly assess just as a restaurant review based on a single visit might not capture everything about what you can get. I liked a lot of the movie to see it again and enjoy it once more. Unlike Star Wars in 1977 which I saw 13 times, I think I might be able to enjoy this a few more times. I don't know that I will be buying all the merchandise as I did back in the 1970s. For Disney, that sales of toys for this movie might outmatch the box office. And for that alone, it will get a sequel.

Rebel Moon Pretty but Lacks a Great Story

Zack Snyder is something of a legend in term of visual feasts on the screen. Comic and hero stories have a distinctive style and clearly identify it as his work. Batman looks very different coming from Snyder than it does coming from Tim Burton. Nothing is quite a visual as 300. He has his fans who support anything and everything he does. Even when it is not a box office success, he enjoys a cult status that has some people return over and over again.

Rebel Moon, according to Snyder himself, owes a lot to westerns, Kurosawa, Star Wars and a whole lot of sci-fi and fantasy. Nothing wrong with that. Still, it is hard to stand out. Star Wars, Dune and the Matrix all revolve around someone being the chosen one with special powers. Those three movies though managed to breakthrough and make you care about the characters even if the story was a familiar one. 

It is said there are 7 basic plots, 36 possible story dramatic situations that a creative work can take. Much like a Harlequin romance, a basic formula exists that if followed will reach a successful conclusion. Snyder wants our heroine in Rebel Moon to be the glue for a rebellion against an evil empire. To muddy the waters, we find out our heroine has been hiding for years for her complicit past. Immediately, this makes her character different from the Star Wars type where Luke was an innocent. Even in the Matrix, Neo, despite being a hacker, is not complicit in the controlling forces or even aware of them.

Kora, played by Sofia Bouetella, has a tragic beginning of loss and has been indoctrinated as a child soldier. This isn't a bad way to go. In Star Wars, The Force Awakens, Finn is a stormtrooper who can not stomach the brutality of the regime. In the two Rebel Moon movies, we learn that Kora only regrets her part in the killing of the royal family. Her escape into hiding, is when the Imperium implicates her entirely of the crime.

Hiding out in a village living a simple life is not a redemption story to this point. It is a Nazi in Argentina after WWII story. From the point of view of the viewer, while there may be sympathy for being child soldier, the crimes cannot be overlooked. I can not be the only one who thought this. 

I addition, the Imperium requiring so much from one hamlet in combatting rebels is just a bit of a stretch. I can imagine the warship that the Imperium has very little need of such a paltry amount of grain. And one tiny village on an entire planet warrants that much attention? Movies of this nature generally require a McGuffin to propel the story forward. The McGuffin being the thing that everyone is seeking. Where is it here? The village and its grain just doesn't seem that important.

Almost every part of the movie is beautiful to watch. Visual effects are as flashy as you will find in sci-fi. There are a number of actors cast who are quite capable but never enough to work with. There are already plans for a third movie so it shows that Snyder continues to have fans and that people are definitely craving a good space opera. Perhaps they know what they are doing with Rebel Moon but I found I was already forgetting a lot from the previous movie.

No Time to Die James Bond

The author of James Bond died the year before I was born. Ian Fleming had created a character working for an intelligence agency that people were not particularly well informed about.  While Bond was not the first agent with a licence to kill (Johnny Fedora) came first, he was the most enduring. The film life of James Bond has extended decades and has included other writers continuing the storyline.

The movies started years before I was born and by the time I began watching in 1971 on TV, there were several done. There would be a few more before before I'd be old enough to see a movie on the screen in 1977 with The Spy Who Loved Me. From then on, I saw all of them in theatres. And re-watched all the old ones.

Roger Moore became the Bond I saw most because Sean Connery did not appear as Bond from 1971 until 1983. In that year, as I finished high school and started university) both Roger Moore and Sean Connery appeared in competing Bonds. I saw both. Inevitably, even then, a comparison of Bonds arrived with every new one and Moore and Connery were compared even then. Throw along A George Lazenby and David Niven into the works too. I actually liked Lazenby even as he appears to be universally loathed. I did find On Her Majesty's Secret Service a compelling story. As for Niven, I don't think I have ever seen the full version of his Bond parody.

James Bond in movies, like the books themselves, was never going to be limited to the realpolitik of the Cold War. The villains were greater then mere nation state and Bond was not going to cultivate sources using tradecraft. As M in the movies said...Bond was a blunt instrument with a licence to kill. He was a man who was going to be pointed at something and had permission to kill to get it. And this was only fair because those opposed to him were out to kill him too.

None of this would work if Bond was not an attractive character with great humour and and a supportive cast of Bond women and fellow agents from Q to Moneypenny. As Britain has changed, so has Bond. No longer a smoker for some time now, Bond also encounters women who are formidable including his former boss M. He's a man who struggles to recover from physical as well as mental injury on the job. In the past Bond barely bent the crease is his pants and it certainly wouldn't have left him anguished of people who were lost along the way.

Each era of Bond over the decades including Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan were enjoyable as the moved from gritty to glam and from more grounded to fantastical. Charismatic villains with world spanning ambition were always lurking and could only be foiled by the British agent Bond. 

One of the best game of punters has been the speculation about who the next Bond will be. It can be a cruel sport. And by the time an actor has been chosen, they sometimes have aged out of the desired range Bond should be. Or at least by the time they are finished the role can qualify for a pension. Both Moore and Connery were up there, Moore still putting Bonds out till mid 1980s.

Pierce Brosnan appeared to have the tap on the shoulder after Moore but contract obligations had him tied down and the role went to Timothy Dalton. Known more for theatre than movies, Dalton was a mystery to many audiences. I had only seem him in the less than successful Flash Gordon. He wasn't a bad Bond but the influence of Lethal Weapon and other 1980s movies played a part in storylines revolving around arms dealers and drug lords. It seemed less worldly ambitious for a Bond villain. 

The long wait for Brosnan to take over the role of Bond attracted top tier directors and while the storylines and some other casting brought questions, the action oriented charms of the lead and world wide locations and effects harkened back to earlier times. The box offices were enormous. Despite his success, he was dismissed as Bond with no real explanation aside from that he was nearly 50 years old.

Speculation about who was to play Bond was rampant and Daniel Craig being chosen surprised many. Too blonde, too rough, too short...too not Bond. I had seen him in a few movies such Lara Croft and Munich. I thought he was a good actor but I was wondering if they had a Timothy Dalton on their hands who was more unknown to the general public. The producers themselves probably thought that simply leaving off where Brosnan left off was just not on. It seemed an origin story was in order. And why not? Every other serial seemed to do it. Why not Bond?

The very quick origin story showed how Bond rose to become 007 in Casino Royale. It was only snippets but it had never been done before. It embraced Daniel Craig's muscular and rough attributes in fight and chase scenes that pushed the boundaries of what M called the "blunt instrument." However, it also introduced how he found his favourite drink and first time with his favourite car the Aston Martin DB5. And lastly, ended with his famous "Bond, James Bond."

Daniel Craig in Casino Royale got to rock a few tuxes and fight in them and replace them over and over in a high stakes card game. And the first woman Bond met Vesper Lynd in Casino Royal, would haunt his career the rest of his days. Vesper played by Eva Green was no mere damsel in the movie, Her character had strength and will and would be memorable for incredible dialogue and compelling storyline.

Any thought that Daniel Craig was not a perfect Bond and that producers and writers were correct in going back to the beginning was erased by Casino Royale. What's more, the movie ended in a cliffhanger because only a single layer of onion had been peeled. This would go on to include all of the Daniel Craig's Bonds until the conclusion with No Time to Die. And each had a level of personal growth in the character that felt all the more real with Craig's acting.

Is it possible to watch No Time to Die without seeing the four Craig movies before? Yes, but there are so many reference points for the story that you are richer for it knowing the pain and commitment Bond has gone through. Characters who were just foils for levity have weightier presence and Bond women are their own women.

No Time To Die is a fine wrap up to this series of five movies with Daniel Craig. For those who originally thought Craig was not the Bond they were looking for, it is hard to imagine who if any could fit in his shoes. And how do you continue a storyline knowing the character has reached the end of an arc? Can you really introduce a new Bond as you did in the past and not have audiences not quite accept that as they did in the past?

Everyone is speculating more on who will be the new Bond rather than how they will be the new Bond. A re-boot might not be accepted. A continuation of the character will not likely be accepted. Thankfully, a clever writer might be able to solve this. But we have seen whole seasons of TV series explained as dreams or suggesting all the characters were dead and in some twilight zone. Not sure that will cut the mustard. I have an idea of how it might go but then in I'm not sure that is at all how the producers will take it.

In Winnipeg, from the 1970s on through till today, we have been able to watch Bond marathons on CKND, TBS and other networks. I suspect Daniel Craig's Bond might come to be one of the better loved ones for generations to come.

The Purge, The Mist, Lost in Space Reviews

The Purge movies have always been just a little bit more than violence. The politics behind it seems vaguely what an out of control America might do. The movie series introduced the concept and went back and explained a bit how it all started. The TV series gives even more background but delves right into the action with a new Purge just about to happen.

The series from 2018 runs 10 episodes and in Canada was on Amazon Prime. The second season begins this October.

The series follow a number on people who are willing participants in The Purge to those that are the victims of it. No particular actor stands out though a few are known actors. The rest are carrying their first show. Any thought that a long form story would be more compelling is lost by the fact that the actors are not particularly likable. That isn't always a problem but if that is the case, the character has someone you love to hate instead. We don't get that either.

The Purge only take places for 12 hours once a year. Not sure what I was expecting but perhaps it was a better character arc. For example, The Walking Dead first episode really set up a good reason to follow the entire first season. The Purge really didn't do that for me.

By the way, one of the reasons I left The Walking Dead and stopped watching Fear The Walking Dead was that they were relentlessly downbeat. And increasingly they had unlikable characters. And I'm not talking about the villains. The Purge never caught me is that they didn't have characters I wanted to follow. Moreover, they had characters that struck me as too stupid to live. This is a worse crime in my book.

I won't be watching the second season.

The Mist which aired on the Spike Channel in the U.S. and Canada was based on the Stephen King story and the movie of 2007. The series ran an episode run in 2017 and can be caught on some streaming services now. It was cancelled by Spike.

The book, the movie and the series have various difference but the one consistency is that a fog descends on a town and traps people in their homes or for many, a supermarket/mall. Also consistent is that in the mists are creatures that are killing people.

The series started off promising and the ratings indicated a winner. However, somewhere along the show went off the rails. A major departure was that the mist did not only have creatures within it but mind altering visions. While this might have made for interesting back stories, it also raised serious questions.

There were hints that there were chosen people who were immune. This led to persecution or blindly following someone for messianic reasons. The book and the original movie were more clear that people took sides out of fear not and that religion took a part in dividing people. The series took the position that nature was judging humanity. To say the least it was a bit muddled.

What wasn't muddled was the same thing that The Purge was guilty of: no likable characters.

The book left things off somewhat hopefully that somewhere far off there was a place the mist had left alone. Our remaining characters head there. The movie had a Twilight Zone-like ending which I won't spoil. The TV series left things off that our major characters have escaped the mall and are now headed to where the mist all began.

We'll never know what that is cause the show was cancelled. Even if it had been renewed I would have not watched.

Lost in Space on Netflix, not be confused from the TV series of 1965-1969, is a 2018 releases series released on the streamer. Like the series before it, the show is based on the 1812 novel Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss about a family shipwrecked in the West Indies. It has been adapted countless times but putting the story into space was possibly the most innovative. There was also a movie in 1998 that had some seriously questionable special effects and wooden dialogue. The bad dialogue might have been forgivable for sci-fi but not terrible special effects.

A family caught up in extreme circumstances makes for a compelling story. Setting it in space sets the imagination running. The original series went through a number of phases including from black and white to colour and from more serious to whimsical. Some people loved part of the show but not all of it and that varied year to year. And eventually, the show fell into a trap of Dr. Smith, Robot and youngest boy Will Robinson as the central characters. That would be popular and also be its undoing. The robot's phrase of Danger Will Robinson Danger would live on long after the series.

It seems that the space version of Swiss Family Robinson falls into the same traps every time. There is nothing wrong with the initial premise that Earth is facing increasing pressures due to population or catastrophe or hostilities. Colonization and using families as a unit makes sense insofar as cohesion, especially if there is no return to Earth. However, it can make things boring too if you have no outsiders who may be friends, foes, romantic partners, competitors or any and all configurations.

It seems Lost in Space writers have considered this and the reasons previous versions of the show failed. However, ultimately the same Dr. Smith, boy and robot format appears to what is relied upon. In 10 episodes it is surprising how little character depth actually happens. Almost everyone is a cardboard cutout.

There are a few good actors on the show but they hardly seem to have enough that makes standout. The series has been renewed for another season. I'm prepared to see if the show breaks out. It is important to know that many of the best TV series of all time had at least 20 to 24 episodes to show their worth. Still, my patience is wearing with this show.

Prime Review: Jack Ryan

Amazon Prime is going up head to head with Netflix. To do this requires more exclusive material. To that end they acquired TV rights to one of feature films most popular characters over the last few decades who wasn't a superhero. Jack Ryan, the CIA agent from novelist Tom Clancy book series, has been played by some of Hollywood's leading actors including Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck and Chris Prine. Joining that list is John Krasinski who not only had the lead role but server as one of the producers of the show.

Season 1 aired in 2018 and was so successful that a second season and then a third was ordered by Amazon. The first season ran as an origin story for Jack Ryan which we have seen a little bit of in the feature films but with an eight episode arc, the audience gets to see a little more of a how a CIA agent begins dating the woman who will becomes his future wife.

The series differs from the books and movies in that Ryan in the book/movie past had a Soviet profiling job in the CIA whereas in a contemporary setting he is a financial analyst tracking money. His girlfriend Cathy works in infectious diseases rather than as an eye surgeon. Other back stories of some of the characters have changed according to present day threats.

The first season runs eight episodes and show how Jack goes from low level financial analyst to full CIA operative out in the field in pursuit of a terrorist. John Krasinski as Jack Ryan and Abbie Cornish as Cathy Mueller make for compelling characters as they begin to intersect both romantically and professionally.

The action cross crosses the world and the threat remains elusive as to whether it is chemical, biological or something else. All the while, the politics in CIA and elsewhere threaten to put Jack on the shelf.

Second season on Prime is coming soon as 8 episodes went all too fast. Look forward to where they take this version of Jack Ryan in coming seasons.

TV and Movie Reviews Snapshot...Chernobyl

With so many competing streaming services, cable and premium channels and regular TV, it could generally be said peak TV has arrived. Streaming is even competing with movies now with a short window in theatres and then exclusive rights on Netflix or Amazon or whatever.

I occasionally review movies here but don't get to as many as I once did. That's the price of work and also trying to do other recreational things within and outside the city. Time and a budget are always at a premium.

In the days of fewer channels, the shared experience of watching things together at the same time on TV or theatres was huge in its immediacy. Now, only live sports is that immediate. Video recording starting in the 1980s changed things a lot but it was more about the speed than total loss of immediacy. For example, recording TV usually meant you tried to watch the recorded program within a short timespan. The reasoning behind that was that blank tapes were not exactly cheap in the beginning.

TV series were rarely rented or sold on tape as they would take up so much space.  I remember how the only video cassettes I often saw of series were Seinfelds.

Streaming has killed both the video rentals market as well as downloads. The only recordings people make now are with PVRs for TV. Even that is not really owned by you. It is digitally stored and has some limits. It can expire and delete. You can reach maximum amount of storage. It is not the same as having the movie or TV series in your hand. But then again people seem to have accepted that.

My big complaint about cable has been and still is that despite so many channels there is not as much international TV series or movies on it. Netflix and others in the never ending drive to feed content goes everywhere to find as well as fund it. And now other streamers are doing it too.

Truth be told the big studios and broadcasters are all reaching a convergence where they do everything from theatrical releases, DVDs, Video on Demand, network and cable, streaming and downloads. And working with partners to create bigger productions, shared budgets or access to other markets including broadcast and production.

HBO has become more than a premium cable channel. In Canada it is now an anchor for Crave TV in Canada for their streamer. Game of Thrones has been an important part of driving traffic to the channel in recent years. However, it is not the only quality program that has come from there. In some ways HBO originally faced the same accusation that it mostly made money from movie content produced by other studios including its own. If that was once true, it isn't the case now. They have produced their own material from all the way back to the 1980s. In 1983, they produced Fraggle Rock which was filmed in Canada in partnership with CBC.

Following Game of Thrones many wondered if HBO still had the chops to draw eyeballs to their network. That has proved true with Chernobyl.

Chernobyl

This is a five part mini-series based on the real event of the explosion in a nuclear plant in the USSR in 1986. It is by the far the scariest series I have ever seen. The first episode I could only take in short amounts. So deep was my sense of dread that I winced every time a decision was made that was truly and curled up in fear as it unfolded.

There has been a great deal made about how authentic the series is. Complaints and kudos are all over the place. The producers went to great lengths to tell the story and make it look and feel like 1986. However, it is a dramatization and some characters are a composite. And the dialogue is at best a guess as the interactions among the players. 

While there is a large cast, there main focus is on three. The actors are Jared Harris, Stellan Skargard and Emily Watson. Essentially, the represent the political and scientific response to the nuclear disaster. Quite simply the performances by the stars is simply the best are are likely to be forgotten during award season.

As for the story, the first episode starts off with a bang and confusion and absolute terror. That horror comes from the fact that no one seems to know what happened or how bad it is. There is denial even as evidence of people being exposed to huge doses of radiation is exhibited. Once the extent of the continuing disaster happens, the story in future episodes tells what the response is in terms of evacuations, putting the fire out and the capping the damage.

The continued exposure and deaths of those responding to the crisis weighs even as the investigation goes on side by side of the response to the explosion. And throughout this, the oppressive and secret Soviet society denies, covers up or otherwise inhibits the truth until it threatens all the Soviet Union and Europe.

The final episode takes place in a court and re-creates how and why the explosion takes place. It is still frightening but intercut with explanations that make it more clinical. In the end, the story concludes with vignettes about the players in the story.

All in all it is great television. The best. I suspect the ending might have been more conclusive with an a death estimate but even now there is controversy in regards to it all in both the east and the west. Still, great television on a subject you would not expect such great writing and acting from.

Movie Review: Spider-Man Far From Home Review

In fifteen years we have seen a lot of Spider-Mans. Sony has done origin stories with two different actors and the first started well and ended off worse and the second didn't gain traction. Good but quite enough for the marquee hero of the Marvel universe. More concerning for Sony/Columbia Pictures was that their asset was on the outside looking in at Marvel Entertainment/Disney's 22 film enterprise with dozens of superheroes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This is no longer the case as Marvel Entertainment bridged the gap between Spider-Man's two studios, Sony and Disney, and made it possible for Spider-Man to be with his Avenger superhero friends. As of the time of this review, Far From Home has scored one of the most successful 4th of July openings in history. Already it is being talked about as possibly saving the summer box office as the latest X-Men and Men in Black franchises fizzled.

The young actor chosen to play Spider-Man Tom Holland was put under the wing of Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr. both figuratively and literally.  The two had real chemistry together in the first Spider-Man movie Homecoming as well as the Avengers movie. For those not wanting to be spoiled read no further. The new movie Far From Home is how young Peter Parker/Spider-Man is coping with the loss of his mentor Tony Stark/Iron Man. He is mourning and wants to take a break from the monstrous responsibility of being an Avenger.

The timeline of Spider-Man makes it a direct follow-up of Avengers: Endgame. Not only does Peter Parker have to still cope with high school, he has to cope that like half his class, he didn't age during "the snap." This means he goes back to school where he left off five years later with kids who would have been in junior high when half the universe disappeared. A funny scene in the movie demonstrates how students from the marching band appear in the gym when the snap is undone. Everyone is bumping into one another as it is so unexpected and sudden.

Suffice to say everyone is still adjusting to the new world including Peter Parker. All he would like to do is going on a field trip and tell the girl he likes how he feels and perhaps kiss her for the first time. If only Nick Fury as played by Samuel Jackson would let him. He and former SHIELD member Maria Hill (Colbie Smulders) need Spider-Man as the ranks of the Avengers are depleted due to deaths and other assignments. Peter dodges the calls even as Happy (Jon Favreau) warns him Fury won't be put off. Happy, Iron Man's best friend and still working for Pepper Potts at Stark Industries looks out for Peter and gives him a gift of Tony's glasses as per the inventor's last request. To confuse things more it appears that Happy and his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) might be dating.

Peter continues to ghost Nick Fury even as the world seems to be fighting off a new threat known as the Elementals. Since it seems far away, Peter concentrate on his European trip and his plan to get next to his crush MJ played by Zendaya who capture the awkward, geeky but beautiful girl perfectly. At every turn his plans seem to be thwarted and his best pal Ned (Jacob Batalon) who said they should be bachelor's in Europe suddenly has a girlfriend even before their flight arrives.

The gift that Peter gets from Tony is the man's glasses which we learn is tied to an Artificial Intelligence called E.D.I.T.H. that controls the database and battle drones of Stark Industries. In his haste to remove a potential rival for MJ's attention, he almost has a drone strike do the job for him. It once again affirms to him that he is over his head.

The humour and action are never far away and even as Nick Fury highjacks his school trip and even gets him a superhero disguise which gets dubbed the Night Monkey. He fight the Elemental threat with the aid of Jake Gyllenhaal's character of Beck/Mysterio. It is then in desperation to shake the unworthiness, he gives Beck Tony's glasses and the key to the database.

It is only after in the presence of MJ where she reveals to him that she knows he is Spider-Man that he sees evidence that Mysterio is a fraud and how dangerous he is. This inevitably sets up a high profile clash, various turns and surprises and incredible CGI action.

For an audience, it never completely overwhelms because Tom Holland makes you believe everything you see and hear with an authenticity and humour throughout. It feels like this movie is both the close of story behind and a representation of the story ahead. In other words, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is in good hands.

Double secret spoiler ahead!

The mid credit scenes have so many twists and funny parts and action that it is a shocker when Spider-Man is outed as Peter Parker.

And in the very end credit, we see Nick Fury in a funny scene in space. Only seeing it will somehow explain it.

Netflix Review: Trapped

It used to PBS that could reliably bring non-North American drama to Canada. The private channels had plenty of U.S. fare to choose from and where mandated, produced Canadian material that was sometimes indistinguishable from the American stuff. CBC, on the other hand, was mandated to produce Canadian drama so material from say, Europe, would have had to have been co-produced for unique reasons.

In recent years more work is done in partnerships and demand for unique voices is strong right around the world. Canadian material has reached such a high level of production in terms of story, acting and location that its audience is no longer limited to home geography.

In today's broadcast world, Canadians see some material from overseas on Canadian channels but it is still very limited. PBS continues to be a powerhouse but skews heavily British. Nothing wrong with that except there has been other exception material missed along the way.

Nordic Noir are the words to describe movies and series coming out of places like Sweden, Norway and now Iceland. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series out of Sweden is some of the best television you are going to find on Netflix. Occupied from Norway was amazing. And now from Iceland we have Trapped.

It is a series that can be found on Netflix and is now into its second season running 20 episodes. It is very binge-worthy. Each season revolves predominantly on one case and the complications that surround it. Agatha Christie being channeled through the beautiful lens of Iceland and story about a dogged police officer and his team.

The story takes place Seydisfjordur, an isolated port town in Eastern Iceland connected to other area by a single desolate road, airport and port. The Chief of Police Andri has left under a cloud from work in Reykjavik but still commands respect despite enemies. His family life is in turmoil. His wife has split up with him and is seeing someone new in the capital. His daughters, who remain with him, are school bullies. To make matters worse his wife is coming to town with the boyfriends to take the daughters away. All of this, of course, is happening under one roof as the weather worsens.

As a blizzard heads towards the town, a torso of a body is pulled from a fishing boat just as a ferry pulls into port arriving from the mainland bringing with it Icelander, assorted Europeans and others. The ship is held as Andri and his team of two officers try to figure out who the culprit is as the storms socks them in. No one can leave and no help can come in. And the murderer is most certainly in their midst.

The title Trapped certainly holds true over ten episodes. Haunting, suspenseful and full of twists, it is hard to stop watching. The writing, acting, production, music and beautiful scenery it makes it far from ordinary.

The second season of 10 episodes doesn't replicate the blizzard conditions but emphasizes how people and society themselves are trapped in patterns that are difficult to break. We catch up with Andri who is back in Reykjavik but who ends up heading back to Seydisfjordur because of an attempted assassination is linked to a militant group in the isolated town.

Once again murder drives the investigation but this time it is also right wing politics, international business, the environment, foreign workers and deep family secrets showing how people are trapped by the past, present and future. And poor Chief Andri has to deal with a daughter whose nose for trouble puts her in the path of a killer.

Old characters are re-visited and some are doing better than others. All of this again is shown amidst the beauty of Iceland and how it continues to try to pull itself up from the economic crisis of 2008. So much has been displaced and for many, such a the sheepherders clad in their Icelandic sweaters, it has brought out the worst in them. But there is more to it all and is rooted in the deep horrible secrets of one family in town.

The two seasons of this show are worth sitting through even with captions. As fine a production as you will find in the world.

Movie Review: Avengers Endgame

In Hollywood history there is nothing really to compare to Marvel's 22 movies over a ten year period leading up to a crescendo finale with the stars of all the previous movies in it. The budgets generally were in the hundreds of millions and the box office would eventually grow to $21 billion. Actors, directors, writers and the best crews in the business collaborated on something called the Marvel Cinematic Universe on a story that originally was told in a comic book.

It could have all gone so wrong.

Marvel knew the only sure way for the business plan to work was to go back to their expansive cast of characters and work with material they exclusively held the rights to. This was no easy task as the company has already licensed Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four and others to Columbia, New Line and 20th Century Fox, It was unlikely any of those studios would want their own movie franchises hurt by a competing Marvel Studios.

It would all start in 2008 with Iron Man and the casting of Robert Downey Jr. in what was supported to be the start of a new self-financed series of movies. It might have seemed like a slam dunk at the time but there was nervousness about Downey and of the story itself connecting. There was no real telling if acceptance of the whole franchise would be forthcoming. In the end, Marvel's decision and the work of some key people and a whole lot of collaboration made the whole thing seem flawless.

To view Avengers Endgame as a stand alone movie would be like turning to a book and reading the last chapter and understanding all that came before. This became the fun in each movie over the last ten years. A thread of storylines, clues and previews were intertwined and some characters would appear in a number of movies whether it be Nick Fury or Black Widow or Hulk himself. To this end all of the characters would unite as the Avengers. This happened over four movies. The best way to think of Endgame is to think of it as part 2 of the previous Infinity Wars. Endgame takes place three weeks after the events of that movie.

Since the movie is entering just shy of a month in theatres, most of the spoilers are now out of the way but for those that have not seen it stop reading now.

Snap.

The Russo Brothers as directors and Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely as writers continue from Infinity Wars into Endgame. The two movies were shot back to back but the snap of Thano's fingers has cut the universe's population in half. It also means half the Avengers are gone and we have a defeated and demoralized group of superheroes left. Some of the questions of why some characters were missing from the last movie are answered. Captain Marvel played by Brie Larsen, Ant-Man played by Paul Rudd and Hawkeye played by Jeremy Renner have their absences accounted for. In the case of Hawkeye, choosing to be with his family instead of the Avengers cost Clint Barton his whole family and turned him to a man wracked with grief and anger.

Tony Stark/Iron Man played by Robert Downey's Jr. is nursing terrible physical and mental wounds while marooned on a ship with Nebula played by Ken Gillan. They are the only ones left after fighting Thanos and losing. Tony is full of regrets over his love with Pepper Potts and of losing teen Spider-Man to the snap that also took Dr. Strange and most of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Only Captain Marvel's rescue after three weeks of drifting brings Tony and Nebula back to Earth.

The rump of Avengers and left and Nebula include Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Rocket Racoon, War Machine, Captain America and Iron Man quickly locate Thanos and pursue him only to find he had destroyed the Infinity Stones. Nebula says Thanos would not lie on such a thing and his injuries indicate he was exposed to great energy, presumably when the stones were eliminated. Thor, knowing there is now no way to undo The Snap, kills Thanos in a rage.

Five years jump in the story and back on Earth, the devastation of losing half the population brings an relenting mourning for some. For others like Tony, he still has Pepper with who he retreats with and builds a life away from grief and guilt, particularly of Spider-Man who he was extremely fond of. The opposite side the coin in Clint Barton/Hawkeye who did not take part in the Infinity Wars yet loses his entire family to The Snap. His rage turn him into vigilante killer of all those deemed evil who remain alive.

The arrival of Scott Lang Ant-Man from the time realm changes the course of the Avengers. He too was not present during the Infinity Wars but his safe and successful trip through time shows a possible way to reverse what Thanos has done. This raises a lot of questions as well as resistance from the group. For Tony Stark who has carved out some happiness with Pepper as well as having a child, it could reverse all that. He only agrees with Pepper's blessing and the promise that restoration will only happen doesn't erase the past five years.

The last five years have been hard ones for others. Natasha Romanoff has basically been head of Avengers/Shield and doing what she can with Captain America, Rhodes and Rocket along with Captain Marvel. She is exhausted, especially since Hulk, Thor and Iron-Man have taken leave.

Avengers Endgame explore how grief has strained the team to the limits and who has stepped up, almost unexpectedly so. However, Ant-Man's return brings a new enthusiasm  as well as some humour to the prospect that the The Snap can be undone. Funny discussions related to time travel and pop culture were particularly noteworthy.

The explain the plot surrounding the actual time travel and retrieval of the Infinity Stones and the renewed battle with Thanos really defies description. But a Smart Hulk, an overweight and distracted Thor and too smart for his own good Iron Man make for a lot of fun, if confusing, action pieces. The Snap is reversed and Hulk wounded badly but the battle is not over as Thanos travels from the past into the future to stop the plan. This time though he faces a full restored Avengers and allies team that tips the balance. Captain Marvel is a difference maker in the fight but it is Tony Stark as Iron Man who makes the sacrifice for them all.

It is a satisfying ending to ten years of filmmaking. Even if a character is brought back (does anyone ever really die in comics?) it will probably not be the same actors we have grown to love. But this might not be a bad thing. How many actors have played Spider-Man, Hulk, Rhodes? Audiences have shown a willingness to go on. And so the series will. At the end of the movie was a trailer for the new Spider-Man that picks up right where Avengers leaves off.

Here's to the next 10 years.

Movie Review: Long Shot

Long Shot as a romantic comedy is definitely going to be different if Seth Rogen in it. No amount of personal humiliation limits him. Charlize Theron has a wide range of material which includes some romance stuff but in recent years her fare has leaned towards action and drama befitting an Oscar-winning performer. It is not surprising that the script by Dan Sterling (The Interview) and Liz Hannah (The Post) had them both come aboard as producers and stars since the roles play to each of their strengths. Directed by Jonathan Levine (50/50) the story is of a U.S. Secretary of State slowing falling for a lefty journalist who is brought on to write for her in the lead to a potential presidential run.

Charlize Theron channels her inner Veep, Clinton and Madam Secretary to make for a compelling single and earnest Secretary of State. The President played by Bob Odenkirk is a ridiculous Trump-like cutout of a man who gained office via acting in television and wants to leave the presidency after a single term to pursue an acting career in the movies. This opens the door to Theron's character making a run for the president.

There is some political satire in watching Theron playing Charlotte Field running for president but it is Shallow State versus Deep State. It is likely many women will recognize the standard for them is different than for a man. In a meeting looking at her strengths it is revealed none of it is related to her policy but on perceived likability. It is there that she finds that polls say her weakness is humour.
This information is related to her by a very funny Lisa Kudrow in all to short appearance.

Seth Rogen plays Fred Flarsky  a recently unemployed journalist who quit when a FOX-like owner played by Andy Serkis buys his publication. His best friend played by the very funny O'Shea Jackson Jr. drops everything to commiserate with Fred and take him to a swish part featuring Boyz II Men. Little does Fred know that his former babysitter and girl crush Charlotte will be there.

There is good chemistry between Rogen and Theron that comes from mostly good writing, acting that throw it all out there and good foils in supporting cast. In Theron's case, some of the funny moments to work off comes from her assistants June Dianne Raphael and Ravi Patel. When Charlotte sees Fred at the party as well as his encounter with the man who caused him to quit journalism, she is amused and intrigued. Despite strong misgivings of her staff she looks at his writing and sees in Fred a person that might be able to find a relateable and funny voice she can communicate policy.

Fred is not interested in the job unless it is full out policy change and not the typical politician program than means nothing. She agrees and soon it becomes clear that he is the right man for the job and helps her connect and make real progress on a world-wide tour the get an environmental agreement. The Canadian prime minister played by appears throughout as a genial, handsome empty suit with an unfortunate laugh. It is hilarious as a send up of Trudeau.

Theron is an exceptional actor who makes you believe that she is a real person trying to make it in a fake world. In the movie she swears, fills her face, wants to have rough sex and take drugs. With Fred she feels she can let her hair down although her and she knows that her image can't show this. Despite all this they fall in love.

This is a romantic comedy at its heart and while it is some politics, lots of raunch and quite a bit of satire, it has a sweetness about it that wins the audience over. The continued dominance of superheroes in the movies might just leave a window open for some funny entertainment mixed with a 90s nostalgia vibe. But this isn't your momma's rom-com unless she liked to be spanked. Also, there is one Seth Rogen moment right out of There's Something About Mary that had the audience laughing for several minutes afterwards. A sweet movie...yes, but be prepared for outrageous moments that are as crude as you might find on the screen anywhere.

Netflix Review: Secret City

There are two seasons of Secret City on Netflix starring Anna Torv as an investigative reporter on one the Daily Ntion based out of Australia's capital Canberra. The term Secret City comes from John le Carre's The Honourable Schoolboy, the follow-up to the George Smiley epic Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. This should give viewers an idea that the series will have a strong espionage angle.

This series was based on the political novels of Chris Uhlmann and Steve Lewis and their books The Marmalade Files and the Mandarin Code. The main protagonist is journalist Harriet Dunkley working with the Daily Nation who stumbles upon a young man drowned during the course of her morning rowing. Immediately she sniffs a story and leads to a conspiracy that threatens her life as well as others.

A number of series in Australia have explored the feelings Australians have on the subject of big brother and the state. The China and United States dynamic plays a huge role on modern Australia who feel squeezed and vulnerable while their own state monitors its citizens for signs of protest. It is a level of paranoia we don't see on Canadian TV too much as we seem more focused on corporate control on our lives. This could be a reflection of how much corporations like HBC and Canadian Pacific Railway settled huge portions of Canada. Distrust runs deep.

Anna Torv as Harry the investigative political reporter hearkens back to an older journalism that is hard to find today. She is not a TV personality but a writer who is part of the press gallery in Canberra covering national politics. Shot on location in the capital, Secret City really shows off an area of Australia that has largely been unseen by many. The modern capital building has only been in existence since 1988. Netflix has a number of series courtesy of some of the film funding from Canberra government support and the result is seeing a different side of Australia.

Insights into Australia's intelligence organizations works and fear of both China and the United States plays a huge role as Harry investigates cabinet ministers and spies alike. Murder follows her around, some of it very close to her, that leaves her reeling and not sure who to trust. The first 2016 season of six episodes end climatically but with some unresolved issues which set up the premise of the next season.

The second season in 2018 has Harriet being released from prison for crimes related to her news reporting which violated the law. She remains convinced she knows who the traitor working for China bit wants to turn her back on Canberra and almost succeeds. The troubles of her friend from her prison and a job offer to act as an Independent MP's media adviser bring her back to center of action.

It is there that she stumbles upon information revealing a cover-up of a bomb attack in Australia. The deaths of one family is pinned on Pakistan but Harriet gets video showing it was a drone missile from Australia itself responsible for the attack.

One again the espionage and politics of China and the United States pushes Australia one way and the other. She finds that the conspiracy keeps even the new prime minister out of the loop. Uneasy alliances with some Australian intelligence people and side stories of arms dealing keep the story clipping along. Over two seasons the times that Anna Torv plays second fiddle is when Oscar winning Jacki Weaver is on screen first as Attorney-General and later Minister of Home Affairs Catriona Bailey.

A political thriller worth watching for those who like a spy story, action and great acting and writing performances. Hopefully, a season 3 is in the cards.

Netflix Review: The Code

One of the things that many mystery and thriller lovers have gravitated towards is Nordic Noir.  The international fare from Sweden, Norway and Iceland have gripped audiences world-wide. But is this type of noir only limited to the icy north? The Code from Australia would seem to disagree. It was produced in 2014 and Season 1 is on the Netflix now. One more season is expected to be added soon.

Canadians have enjoyed series from Australia before. We just don't see them as often as say Britain who eat up all content from down under. Netflix is now bring more Australian content than ever into Canada.

The plot of The Code is set around two brothers. One of the brother's is a political reporter for an online news organization and the other is an autistic hacker who is barely functional after brushes with the law. The journalist Ned played by Dan Spielman stumbles onto a story in the outback of an accident involving a death that has political implications all the way to the capital. Against his better judge Ned asks his brother Jesse played by Ashley Zukerman to use his skills to clean up a cellphone video that might shed some light on what happened. As per usual Jesse goes too far and while investigating further hacks into a site sensitive to the government setting off a trail of violence that follows the two brothers around. Jesse has a form of autism that makes his adept at computers and not so good with people. His journalist brother has always looked out for him through it has worn him down in terms of not having a life truly his own.

Creator Shelley Birse focuses on a deeply ingrained fear of what the security apparatus of the country has done to Australia's liberties. Canberra features almost like a character in the series for those who have really never seen the capital say versus Sydney. The other beautiful but fly ridden place featured is Broken Hill in New South Wales. It is out in the Outback where a suspicious accident leaves one teenager dead and other suffering an unknown malady.

A blonde Lucy Lawless is a teacher named Alex out in the town of Lindara in the Broken Hill area and senses something is deeply wrong and connects with Ned who has received a tip from an old flame working in the Deputy Prime Minister's office in Australia. Eventually a cellphone video reveals something more sinister took place besides a collision and that the government is involved. The video becomes a McGuffin with people pursuing it and trying to shut it down.

The series taps into a very deep seated fear that seems to permeate Australia about the government, police and intelligence services. If Canadians feel they fixate too much on the United States, they should see Australian TV. The Code builds up the paranoia and fear to a crescendo as the two brothers try to figure out and get out of the mess of cracking the computer code of a government linked Corporation called Physanto.

At six episodes, the series moves at a great clip and concludes with just a little bit of paranoia at the end to make it all worthwhile. A fun series shot in an area of Australia not usually seen in a noir like way not done nearly often enough in Australia. Try catching it if you like thrillers, espionage, conspiracy and murder.

Movie Review: The Girl in the Spider's Web

To say The Girl in the Spider's Web is related to the same book written by David Lagercrantz as a continuation of Stieg Larsson's trilogy Millennium series would be a stretch. Sure writer/director Fede Alvarez used characters from the fourth book and referenced the initial trilogy but the plotline is only very loosely based on what the book is about. Additional screenwriting by Jay Basu and Steven Knight rounded out all the writers who would eventually have a hand in bringing the story to the screen. It didn't help.

David Lagercrantz has written two books featuring characters from the original Stieg Larsson trilogy. They are NOT Stieg Larsson but were sufficiently well thought out thrillers that delved more into the history of the girl Lisbeth Salander and her relationship with journalist Mikael Blomquist. They were worthy successors in the absence of the now diseased Larsson (although it might have been interesting to see what this unpublished fourth manuscript that he wrote).

The original trilogy had been adapted by Sweden for a feature film/television broadcast and was wonderfully cast and adapted for the screen. Likewise, an American adaption by David Fincher was extremely well done and made the top 10 lists for film the year it came out. Both Sweden and the U.S. had a box office hit. The lack of any U.S. follow-up has been confounding but it may have been about not being able to get the whole cast back together at the same time for sequels. Daniel Craig, for one, had James Bond commitments that would have been harder to work around.

Rooney Mara who had played Lisbeth Salander in the American feature was ready to go again but ultimately the decision was to go with a younger cast and skip book two and three and go with a soft re-boot of the series using David Lagerantz's book The Girl in the Spider's Web. Initial casting on the award-winning Claire Foy of Netflix's The Crown seemed promising. The rest of the cast seemed capable, quite young and altogether too pretty. Even Plague was more adorable than anyone might have expected if they knew the books.

The big failure wasn't the casting though it was the writing that went off book in more ways that one. They essentially created an entirely new storyline that can only be loosely connected to Lagerantz's book or the trilogy. It seems the script is built on set action pieces that don't appear in the book and it comes at the expense of any character building. Almost all of the characters are cardboard cut-outs. There is zero chemistry between any of them!

I think a key mistake is for Lisbeth Salander's memory of her sister coming back in snippets. This is what Mikael Bloomquist's quest is. It is also in keeping with his investigative journalist profession. Salander is a cipher because any time she has tried to tell her story, it has hurt her. We get to know her by her actions. Through Blomquist's investigation of her actions, we get her back story.

The Girl in the Spider's Web was the biggest box office failure the series has ever seen. I won't go on anymore about its failures. Suffice to say that I hope that the Swedes do a version that does it justice.

1982 Films: Blade Runner and The Thing

I had not seen Blade Runner 2049 when it first came out. Thanksgiving weekend in Canada is not as busy as the U.S. but it is busy enough. Between work and dinner, a journey out to the movie just didn't seem to be in the offing. Plus the length of the film left me somewhat intimidated. It is only recently that I've seen it.

The box office for opening weekend for the new Blade Runner was...bad. Made for an estimated $150 million and starring original actor Harrison Ford with Canadians Ryan Gosling co-starring and Denis Villeneuve directing, it was expected to be a blockbuster. It was number 1 on opening weekend but with sluggish numbers. The adult nature made the movie not so kid friendly plus women had little to appeal to them in terms of characters. Ridley Scott admitted the movie at nearly nearly three hours might have been too long. Reviews were excellent but many said it was not an action movie.

I liked the original and still like to learn new things about it or immerse myself in the style of it, the music, the intricacies of the story and Harrison Ford as well as Rutger Hauer. The original Blade Runner movie was one of several sci-fi movies that year that did not do well at the box office in the year it came out.

The reason that 1982 was a bad year for a lot of sci-fi was because of E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial. The movie was released on June 11 that summer and for weeks after crushed the competition. Anything sci-fi that came out later than summer was crushed by the juggernaut that Spielberg created.

Luckily, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan came out June 4 on the weekend before or it might have suffered the same fate as other competing movies. The summer of 1982 really was all about E.T. Movies like Blade Runner and The Thing and others finished far in the wake of that fan favourite.

Were it not for a second life in burgeoning video rental business, it is hard to say what would have happened to movies that had slipped below the radar. Premium movie channels were still a year away in 1983. TV channels such as CKND offered tons of movies from 1974 on but they tended to be older fare and more recent movies didn't show up for some time. Late night TV elsewhere sometimes had movies but it was more likely to be filled by oodles of syndicated TV series.

I saw movies every weekend in 1982. I was still in high school and had a few part-time jobs including delivering the Free Press which was an evening paper at that time. I always had money for movies and partook at the theatre far more than I do now. The hype leading up to a movie had far less of a lead time as it does today. Often a movie trailer would only appear a few weeks before a release in theatres and maybe a week before on television commercials. Movies would come out on Fridays and reviews in the Saturday newspapers. I'd see movies on the Friday and mostly went in blind save for I had previewed the story in an entertainment magazine or in the case of sci-fi in the magazine Starlog.

Starlog started around the time my passion for sci-fi began in the mid 1970s. I'll wrote more on it in another post. Suffice to say though I was very aware of directors John Carpenter and and Ridley Scott from the movies I'd seen of theirs. In truth, I was more aware of Carpenter because of Halloween in 1978, The Fog in 1980 and especially Escape from New York in 1981. I first read about The Thing coming in Starlog and there were trailers which I saw which made me want to see it before Blade Runner.

I loved Ridley Scott's The Thing but heard next to nothing about it aside from the fact that Harrison Ford was going to be it. It was a toss up what movie to see that weekend first but with a bigger body of work and more familiarity with Carpenter, I went to see The Thing with a high school buddy.

Oh my gosh, what a terrifying movie! I was very familiar with Kurt Russell from his Disney to Elvis days and after Escape from New York, it likely tipped the balance in favour of The Thing. And what a movie! Loved the setting, the cast, the music, the writing and suspense and yes, the horror. The special effects were truly scary and this was when things had to be done without a computer. In many ways it felt more real and terrifying.

I saw Blade Runner a week later and it was like nothing like I'd ever seen. It wasn't the cold antiseptic future many earth bound sci-fis portrayed. This was a messy, dark, wet, corrupt and frightening. It was a full realized world and Harrison Ford is tired and dogged detective and narrator. And the ending. It left even director and actor years later debating what in fact it meant. Amazing film.

Even with what was two of the more influential sci-fi movies of all time on the same weekend in the same summer, they both flopped to the E.T. juggernaut. By late 1982/early 1983, the amount of Canadians homes to have a VCR exploded and the mom and pop video stores were everywhere. This is where movies like The Thing and Blade Runner found a new life, success and critical claim.

I have seen both films numerous times over the years but I can say this: I have only seen E.T. twice. I saw it in theatres that same summer and later as a video rental and never again. It was a very good film but there really was not much more I could get out of it.

It is easy to see why a movie that appeals to families would dominate an entire summer. It is very fortunate that the video market allowed for overlooked films to get a second chance.

Blade Runner 2049 was a very good film but unlike Ridley Scott's original, it didn't break any new ground in the look and feel that turned out to be so influential. And it was long which meant getting to the part where our protagonist meets Harrison Ford takes a while. I liked the movie but it is easy to see why one again such a film would do poorly at the box office.

As a last note, a film was done as a prequel to The Thing. It was also very good but travelled down the same worn path of the original like an overlay. It was also a critical and box office failure.

It should be noted that both Carpenter and Scott were not trusted by the studios. After The Thing Carpenter lost a studio gig for Firestarter as well as his confidence. Scott took nearly three years to get Legend produced and like Blade Runner had it edited to a version that was far from his vision. This just goes to show both directors took a while to be recognized for work that are now regarded as classics.

Media is fractious nowadays. Even big tentpole movies can be overlooked. It is no wonder that even small works get plowed under. Netflix has helped with re-discovering old TV series and movies. In 2019 the field competing with Netflix grows as Disney and Warner brothers join the competition. However, let's hope that some movies get a second life via a re-thinking or word of mouth or by sheer chance like The Thing and Blade Runner did.

Movie Review: Avengers: Infinity War

It is hard to believe that the seeds for Avengers: Infinity War was laid in a decision to create a new Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that utilized superheroes whose rights or distribution had not been picked up by other studios. Marvel Studios would keep things in-house and would reap the benefits financially compared to their licencing agreements that were less lucrative. More importantly, they would have creative control across multiple platforms on their work.

In 2008 the film portion of MCU released Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr. which went on to monster success thereby rejuvenating Marvel and the actor as well. Over the next ten years 18 more films would be released covering many of the other comic superheroes from Thor to Black Panther. All of them would be within the same universe and slowly linked through a series of Easter Eggs that would reveal plot points that would gather all the characters into the Avengers along with Guardians of the Galaxy.

Success was not guaranteed. Fortunately, no box office bombs crippled the project as it went along although some re-casting of characters took place such as Hulk and James Rhodes of the Iron Man movies. Most of the disagreements being over pay and creative control.

Marvel chose quite the talent pool of writers, directors and cast. However, they had seen other properties such Fantastic Four never live up to expectations when done by other studios. As a result, the studio had certain parameters as well as requirements for each of their films. Incredibly, the nearly two films a year pace satisfied nearly everyone and the hallmark of the end credits was to wait for the snippet or sometimes two snippets of a cliffhanger for what was to come next.

And so it comes down to Infinity War where the build up to one of the great villains Thanos (John Brolin) has been gathering. Directors Anthony and Joseph Russo with a good Marvel background of Captain America movies as well as TV comedies were well chosen for the ability to blend action and drama with an ever present humour. And this is a good thing because from the very beginning the audience's favourite characters are fodder for the villain's ambitions. The script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely deftly gives the heroes screen time that plays to their previous strengths from storylines over the past ten years. The writers themselves know those characters well since they scripted four Marvel movies and polished a fifth not to mention created a spin-off TV series Agent Carter.

The talent pool in writing and directing is what attracts the huge amount of acting talent. Over twenty actors compete for screen time with many never working together before in Marvel's universe. Suffice to say, it is interesting to see Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) make for a good match in powers, action and humour.

It is hard to review without giving away the entire story but suffice to say that the villain Thanos has been gathering Infinity Stones as part of his plot to cull the universe of beings for its own good. He doesn't see himself as a bad guy. His view is that with a random fifty per cent of people gone, the universe will be stronger with more resources to use. Without his intervention, he believes universal collapse like on his own planet of Titan is inevitable.

With the McGuffin being the Mind, Soul, Time, Space, Reality and Power stones, heroes and villains alike are searching and battling in multiple locations. As far as the main filming location was, Georgia was the home of the bulk of the work with a few side trips to New York. It is a testament to the state that they can now do a $300 million movie with the best of the world studios.

The Guardians of the Galaxy cross over into Avengers as Thanos has been a thorn in their side for some time. Gamora played by Zoe Saldana has a particularly strong role to play as she is step daughter to Thanos. In many ways, this movie is an origin story for Gamora and Thanos.

The critics, the fanboys/girls will all have something to love about this movie. A few quibbles: Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) is good for the most part but the recklessness of his character at one point had me throwing my arms up in the air. In addition, Vision (Paul Bethany) has a stone in the middle of his forehead and yet we see hum use few of his powers used to defend himself.

Despite some confounding moments, the movie is a rip-roaring yarn. Some of the pay-off might come in the next movie since so many people are not sure how to take the ending. A few tears were shed to be sure. But there was a lot of action and laughs along the way.

Movie Review: I Feel Pretty

Even the earliest silent films have told the story about the protagonist wishing they were someone else. Through the power of the camera, they are transformed into beautiful and more confident versions of themselves. The Enchanted Cottage started off as a play, then 1924 silent movie and finally a 1945 motion picture. Audiences were delighted to see the war wounded man and a plain woman see each other as beautiful. The transformation takes place on camera as well and we see how beautiful the couple are. It is all revealed at the end that beauty is a matter of perception and that real beauty is deeper than that.

I Feel Pretty is a vehicle for the comedy talents of Amy Schumer who has lived her life fearlessly as a stand-up comedian and as an actress. In the movie she plays Renee Barrett, a back office worker for a large cosmetics company who is unhappy about her job, her looks and her lack of a relationship. She does have good friends (Busy Philpps, Aidy Bryant) and initiative but like her spin class, she seems to be cycling in place. In a moment of silly inspiration while watching the movie Big she runs out and throws a coin in a pond and hopes to transform. She doesn't. Or rather, it doesn't happen till the next day when she falls off her bike in class and wakes up and sees a different person.

Unlike The Enchanted College or Big, we don't see our heroine change into anything. She is the same person. What changes is that she feels pretty and confident and acts that way. Of course, since it is Amy Schumer, it is over the top confident. In short order, we see Renee trade phone numbers with a guy (Rory Scovel) and actually call and arrange a date. More importantly, the new confidence inspires the pursuit of a job at head office.

The movie can't be talked about without mention Michelle Williams performance as Avery LeClair. She is practically unrecognizable with the long hair and squeaky voice and no one can tell if she is a hero or villain when it comes to Renee. One thing is clear, Michelle Williams steals scenes that she is in.

Other characters such as Lauren Hutton doesn't have much to work with as the founder of Lily LeClair.  Emily Ratajkowski appears as Mallory, an impossibly pretty girl with confidence problems. Character interactions with Renee shows where the script could use work in showing more human moments. Too many wasted moments mark the film. Thinking on the movie Big which I Feel Pretty shows a clip from, I kept waiting for that moment where humour and creativity combine for that great scene. I doesn't happen.

The audience wants to see Amy Schumer be outrageous and we do get that in a strip scene at a bar but the writer/directors Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein just have enough to break through to something more extraordinary. Subsequently, I Feel Pretty is likely to do less well that Schumer's previous outings in Trainwreck and Snatched and that's a shame.

 Eventually, Schumer will find a role worthy of her talents.

Movie Review: Finding Your Feet

Finding Your Feet is a British romantic comedy written by Nick Moorcroft and Meg Leonard and directed by Richard Loncraine. Unlike the vast majority of films out there, it has an older cast and makes no apologies for it. No one likes dwelling on frailties and aging, it is why Hollywood pretty much is youth obsessed and overlooks a large segment of the population in entertainment.

In the UK, the entertainment industry is somewhat like Canada's in that people move back and forth from stage to TV to film. It happens in the States too but there seems more rigid dividing lines which keep people in their lanes. The cast of Finding Your Feet's experience allows them to capture the character they are portraying in those small moments and in the cinematic ones as well. Too often in the big budget films, character gives way to special effects and a lack of story. The comedic timing of TV is evident everywhere and the choreographed dancing is the stage's contribution and the cinematic moments of a morning swim, the boats on the canal or streets of London or Rome all contribute to the storytelling.

The plot starts off ordinarily enough. Lady Sandra Abbot (Imelda Staunton) prepares for her husband's retirement with a party only to find her husband has been having an affair for a number of years. She leaves in a big blow-up in front of everyone and end up at her sister's council estate with her brand name luggage and an air of privilege despite her desperate situation. The sister Bif (Celia Imrie) is a never married Bohemian who has been estranged from her sibling in part due to the class differences which really never mattered to her. Despite the misgivings, Bif takes Sandra in and upon hearing her sister's weeping in the night embarks to bring her out of her shell and try to live a little.

With some prompting Sandra joins her sister at a community club dance hall. It is where she meets Charlie (Timothy Spall), Jackie (Joanna Lumley) and Ted (David Hayman) who are friends with her sister. She treats them rather disdainfully. Their patience and compassion win the day and Sandra comes out of her shell and re-connects with dancing, something she had left behind in childhood.

The feel good moments of the movie outweigh the dramatic and the highly skilled cast make audiences smile and laugh. If there is a weak area of the movie, it is the dancing. It is also the one confounding aspect of the movie in that the final dance number has no real lead in showing how they prepared for in terms of practice or costumes. It just happens.

Aside from that quibble, the movie delivers the goods with a general good script and solid performances and is the antithesis of what Hollywood generally delivers. A good night out.

Movie Review: Ready Player One

Ready Player One started off as a debut science fiction novel in 2011 written by screenwriter Ernest Cline. In 2010, a bidding war by publishers and studios over the completed work saw Random House and Warner Bros. emerge as the rights holders. At that time Cline negotiated for first crack at the screenplay of his own book. The movie was originally set to premiere before Christmas but the fear that the new Star Wars sequel would compete heavily pushed the release to March of 2018.

The involvement of Steven Spielberg immediately makes this movie a tent-pole affair. His ability to direct and produce a movie and the 1980s touchstones the book covers are like catnip no one can resist. Still, because the book has a devoted fandom, criticism can be toxic lest you set a foot wrong. For the most part Spielberg does it right with a script from the creator Cline (Fanboys) and Zak Penn (X Men: The Last Stand) ensuring it would be cinematic.

Tye Sheridan (X-Men: Apocalypse) stars as Wade Watts/Parzival, an orphan in 2045 living in a slum within the United States where nearly everyone escapes to a virtual reality world called OASIS created by the late James Halliday. The real world don't nearly complete with the VR one and people world-wide spend their time there being whatever they want and doing whatever they want leaving only to eat and sleep. Wade within this world is a Gunter, a person in search an Easter egg left by Halliday through his avatar Anorak. Finding three keys and solving the puzzle of each will leave the user as the sole owner of the OASIS, the largest and richest company in the world.

The task is so difficult and the reward so great that the second largest company in the world and owner of much of the equipment used to access the VR world has legions of indentured slaves working to crack the problem. Wade and a few independent others pursue their own leads in Anorak's Quest despite the odds against them. Among this group Wade has a friendship with four but knows nothing about them in the real world. Moreover, it appears OASIS doesn't know the real world identities of its users. This is obviously in sharp contrast to today's Facebook.

Make no mistake though, virtual money is what the game is about and it takes real money to play it. And the real world consequences are being wiped out virtually and in reality. The future in 2045 in megacity Columbus doesn't look all that great. However, the OASIS is shown in the book and Spielberg's movie as a joyful place. The 1980s and 90's music, video games and cultural references is a fanboy/girl's dream. It is hard not to be swept up in the DeLorean, King Kong and Iron Giant parts of the film without smiling.

The creator of OASIS James Halliday (Mark Rylance) is an amalgam of Gates/Jobs/Rainman and we get to see his story and wonder how it went all wrong. Perhaps it was lost love of woman he should have made an effort to be with or the business partner who was forced out over direction of the company. It is for the users to guess in a virtual museum of every memory of the creator preserved and watched over by the Curator.

Our protagonist Wade's main motivation in being a Gunter is to be able to leave the slum he lives in. His High Fives friends inside the game keep him engaged and he even starts to fall in love with one them, a VR redhead called Ar3emis (Olivia Cooke). She brushes him by telling him bluntly that he doesn't even know anything about her except what she wants to reveal. Wade's friend Aech confirms by saying his love interest could be a dude named Chuck.

The consistent failure by Wade and everyone else in the game to even get the first key to Easter Egg makes him go back to the drawing board where he takes a different approach that end ups landing him the breakthrough the find the key. He shares that info with his four friend of the High Fives and together they top the leader board. This draws the attention of the bad guys from IOI whose chief wants to either to get Wade work for him to be crushed underfoot so that his company can rule the world. With the help of a bounty hunter and an assassin, they track down Wade in both the real and virtual worlds.

There are real life lessons and perhaps insights to be made about the type of world Ready Player One is. Critics and fans are likely to love this movie. However, as noted, some fans of the literary work might and will hate parts if not the whole movie for not capturing the essence of the book. To that end, acceptance is needed that to be cinematic and for the sake of time limits of film, things need to be adapted. In today's world 3D is overused. In this movie it is as well done as you will see in film.

Look for some fun parts for The Shining as well as Child Play's Chuckie showing up that really rev up the action. And a Buckaroo Banzai salute that is awesome. Despite amazing box office in North America and especially China, this movie will probably be discovered by more in weeks and months to come. Quite simply, audiences are overwhelmed in much the same way Ready Player One's world is an assault on the senses. The only difference now between the 1980s is that we seem to experience things differently, on different platforms, at different times and less together than ever before.