Ten Weeks And Counting Down To 007

It's no secret that "Goldfinger" is my favorite Bond film. It is the perfect blend of Fleming's novel and the film series as it is being established. In some cases, it improves upon the novel (instead of actually robbing Fort Knox, Goldfinger's plan is to irradiate the gold in the vaults to increase the value of his own -- who knows which is more realistic, but it sounds more sinister). In other cases, it does some silly stuff if you think too hard about it (if Goldfinger is going to kill all the mobsters anyway, why does he let Solo leave only to kill him off property -- wouldn't it have been easier to just kill all of them together).

Connery is at his best as Bond in this film. The dry wit doesn't overtake anything (that would come later). His supporting cast has only one week link (Cec Linder as Felix Leiter is a sign of things to come as the character becomes a revolving door of actors who leave no impact on an underwritten and badly used character who Fleming had given much dimensionality to in the novels). Goldfinger and Oddjob are a formidable pair of villain and henchman that would not be matched in the series again. Gert Froebe and Harold Sakata play their roles amazingly well (in spite of Froebe's vocals being dubbed by another actor). Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore is another great piece in the mix who is very different from the previous Bond girls.

The gadgets the series would become known for really get their start here (in spite of the trick briefcase and garotte watch in the previous film). The tricked out Aston Martin DB5 is an amazing piece of work that doesn't go completely off the deep end (those would come later).

The third time is the charm as "Goldfinger" remains one of the best (if not the best) films in the series. It moves, entertains, remains suspenseful and leaves you wanting more...

"Thunderball" is a good Bond film. It was the biggest Bond film yet...and it was born in fire...because essentially it is a movie based on a novel that is based on a screenplay for a movie that was never made and then got made...twice...

For more on that story, I highly recommend Robert Sellers' book "The Battle for Bond" as it explores all the aspects of the court case that eventually killed Ian Fleming and beyond to MGM's legal battles up to the reboot of the series with "Casino Royale". Seek out the first edition if you can as the second edition had to remove a few things.

Anyway...the film itself is fun, but a bit slow paced, long and bloated. Luckily, Connery is still at the top of his game (this would change with the next film) and he's got nice support from the various pigeon-holed formula pieces. Aldofo Celi as the one-eyed villain Largo, Claudine Auger as Bond girl Domino, Lucianna Paluzzi as female assassin Fiona Volpe who seduces Bond then tries to kill him before he turns the tables all serve their characters well and round them out nicely...even Martine Beswick as sacrificial lamb Paula does a nice job. We get the third Felix Leiter in four films with Rik Van Nutter who may look more like Jack Lord than Cec Linder did (Linder made Felix look like Bond's uncle instead of a peer -- even though the actor was younger than Connery), but Van Nutter is kind of bland and not given much to do (he would have repeated the role as he was apparently signed for three films, but they couldn't figure out how to shoe horn the character into the next two films).

The gadgets come out in full force for this under water adventure. From the jet pack of the opening scene, to a reappearance of the Aston Martin DB5 (now with water jets that shoot out the back) to the small breathing device, geiger counter watch and underwater gear (sleds and spears) used in the slow moving final battle.

Well adapted from Fleming's novel (which makes sense since the novel was a screenplay first), the film is still fun and works...but it's slower pace is noticeable (especially if watched right after "Goldfinger" -- the shortest Bond film to that point...and this was the longest Bond film to that point).

But Bond-mania was at its height...so you knew he'd return...more next week...

Be seeing you.

Eleven Weeks And Counting Down To 007

I decided since we have a new James Bond movie opening this fall that it was time to start plowing through the series again from start to finish. So...without further ado...here we go...

It's interesting watching "Dr. No". For the first film in a series, it sets things up very nicely. We get a great intro to the world of the British spy before we get that classic intro to the man himself. Bond. James Bond. The scene in the casino still works to give us everything we need to know about the man. How calm, cool and collected he is...

The film lays down the "formula" that would continue to be cycled and recycled for 50 years. A villain with some sort of deformity bent on world domination? Check. A beautiful woman who helps Bond on his mission? Check. A second beautiful woman who is a villain but gets seduced by Bond? Check. An ally? Check. A second ally who gets sacrificed? Check. A weirdly elaborate base for the villain that gets blown up in spectacular fashion? Check.

Fleming's novel is actually one of his weaker entries, but screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Joanna Harwood adapt it well by taking what works and improving on the stuff that doesn't. Even the addition of CIA Agent Felix Leiter (who isn't in the novel) works well (partially because of the casting of Jack Lord who has a nice screen presence...too bad he didn't return to the part in later films due to his own ego). The film moves at a nice pace and looks good in spite of its rather meager budget (it's hard to imagine that the producers wanted to film "Thunderball" first on this budget).

"Dr. No" is a taught spy film that still packs a punch and remains an impressive start to the 007 franchise.

The second entry in the series, "From Russia With Love", actually takes a bit of a step away from the formula that was being established (whether that was on purpose or not who knows). Sure we've got a few of the pieces, but instead of one villain we get two in Rosa Klebb and Red Grant. One could argue we get four if you count Kronsteen and Blofeld...or five if you throw in Krilencu the Assassin as well. And maybe that's where the "formula" drifts...Fleming's novel was so well written (it was one of President Kennedy's favorite novels) that the filmmakers didn't really do much to adapt it to the screen (aside from adding the helicopter chase ripped off from "North by Northwest" and the boat chase that follows it -- just to add some exciting action and a large explosion at the end of the film).

The film works because the crew knew what not to tamper with from the book. Connery is growing into the role of Bond nicely and he's supported not only by the usual supporting cast (Bernard Lee's M and Lois Maxwell's Moneypenny are now joined by Desmond Llewellyn's Q) but by the rest of the amazing cast. Robert Shaw's cold assassin Grant is one of the best written villains in the entire series (and the fight on board the Orient Express is as action packed as any modern film). Pedro Armendariz, Lotte Lenya and even Daniela Bianchi all add the right tone to each of their parts.

The film moves at a nice pace and keeps the viewer highly engaged. The mix of action and suspense sets the right mood while allowing a bit of the wit the series would become more known for as time goes on to shine through.

Within two years and two films, 007 had exploded across the screen and left a nice foot print to build off of. Next up, the two of the biggest Bond films ever change the course of the series...

Be seeing you.

National Film Registry 1990: Viewing # 5 = Top Hat

I'm not a huge fan of Fred Astaire (I always found Gene Kelly more my style). But I can't deny he was an amazing dancer. Nowhere does that become even more apparent when he's paired with Ginger Rogers.

This was their fourth film together. The plot is almost standard romantic comedy, leaning towards farce (mistaken identity, slamming doors, jealous lovers, etc). And it's a rather slight story that is really just a vehicle for the amazing dance numbers between Astaire and Rogers as well as some stuff for just Astaire. The camera stays on the artists to keep every move in frame, something which becomes even more attractive when in the final large number (The Piccolino) the camera keeps cutting away from one Busby Berkeley style shot to dissolve into the next without any rhyme or reason or rhythm in the flow. But I guess that's okay as once Fred and Ginger join the dance, the shot stays the same to keep them in your view the whole time.

This is a fun, yet slight, film. As to why this was nominated over "Swing Time" (which entered NFR later) is anyone's guess. Perhaps it was the added plus of having a score by Irving Berlin...but it could have just been a flip of a coin as well.

Next week: "Dodsworth" from 1936.

A Galaxy Not So Far Away...

I've been a comic book fan pretty much since I saw "Swamp Thing" in 1982 with my grandfather in Florida. Sure I had seen "Super Friends" and "Superman: The Movie" among other cartoons, movies and TV shows, but I really didn't avidly read comics until this point in time. After the movie, my grandfather took me to a comic book store and bought me a few comic books. I don't remember all of the titles we got that day, but Swamp Thing and Green Lantern were among them. And it's been a long crazy ride ever since.

Green Lantern has been my favorite hero ever since (his books are the only one's I've consistently read since 1982 -- even when I stopped reading other books in college, I still read Green Lantern). Why? He's got a magic ring that he can pretty much do anything with. If he can think of it, he can create it. Who wouldn't want that?

So...pretty much since then I've been living with this character and his mythos in my head: my own movie building itself over the years...so there was a good chance for disappointment when an actual movie finally appeared. And the very first trailer released almost made all those fears about how "wrong" a Green Lantern movie could potentially be come true. Luckily, a second trailer seemed to waylay those fears.

So, how's the actual film? As a fan, it's a bit hit or miss. Sitting there in the dark and having the movie start with a voice over by a character we have yet to meet (Tomar Re) narrating what could be a complex info-dump brought to mind the opening of David Lynch's adaptation of "Dune". This was not a film I wanted in my head while watching "Green Lantern" (as much as I actually like "Dune"). Luckily, that "complex info dump" just skimmed the surface and moved on quickly to Earth and Hal Jordan and friends.

I'm not going to recount all that happens point for point, but the very basics of Hal Jordan's origin make up the film (recklessly cocky test pilot gets chosen by the ring of a dying alien "policeman" to replace him...he gets trained to use the ring and stops the bad guy) are all there. Yes...there is much more to it, but the film moves so fast through everything it's trying to introduce that it almost feels as if some stuff was left on the cutting room floor. There are holes in the backstory (Hal, Carol and Hector Hammond all seem to know each other from childhood, but this comes out only as the film progresses), there's not enough of the Corps (only Sinestro, Kilowog and Tomar Re get name checks or even any real screen time -- everyone else is pretty much there for Mattel to actually have a line of action figures that are more than guys in suits) and the end, while fun and action packed has a bit of logic missing to it (Hal defeats an unstoppable force all by himself is just a bit too much to swallow...it couldn't have hurt to throw in at least one other Lantern -- Tomar Re perhaps since he's from the neighboring sector-- who helps him for a bit of the battle before Hal single-handedly stops Parallax).

Surprisingly, after all the "controversy" of Ryan Reynolds as Hal we see him in action and I actually like him in the role. He's not perfect, but he's good and he's not Jack Black (who could have been Green Lantern a number of years ago if studio execs had gotten their way). He brings the right amount of cockiness and recklessness to the part without turning into Van Wilder. The scene involving Green Lantern's first public appearance is a great example. We get the chaos of a man trying to learn/control his powers coupled with a man trying to do the right thing.

The rest of the cast also hit the right notes. They may not be served well by some of the dialogue (which sometimes gets a bit cheesy in the case of Blake Lively and at other times gets a bit repetitious in reminding us that the rings run on willpower and that fear is bad), but almost all of them work what they're given the best they can. There's not enough of some characters (mostly the other Green Lanterns) and too much of others (Tim Robbins as Hector Hammond's Senator-Father is completely in "I'm smiling cause I'm getting a paycheck" mode).

The movie has some problems as far as I'm concerned (aside from James Newton Howard's score which is easily the worst score for a super-hero film in the history of super-hero films). The biggest problem as I mentioned is that it moves too quickly and doesn't go deep enough into the backstory of the human characters. We get that Hal, Carol and Hector all have some sort of history, but I wanted to see more of it. Hal has a family (brothers, nephew, etc) and we get one great scene with them and then they are never seen or mentioned again. Yet, the story is able to find a minute to give us the ENTIRE backstory of Amanda Waller (played here by Angela Bassett in a far different portrayal from Pam Grier's on "Smallville" whom I preferred) in flashback because she's going to obviously become the DC Comics movie version of Marvel's Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) by appearing in every other DC movie (well...except the Christopher Nolan movies). This makes the missing parts of the larger characters' backstory that much more glaring.

But the film is never boring and keeps up it's pace nicely. It's fun and entertaining, but far from perfect. Comic fans will enjoy the film but miss some of the deeper nuances of the original medium. Non-comics fans should enjoy the movie in spite of some cheesiness and plot-holes.

Stay for the end credits (you don't have to stay all the way until the end) to see the obligatory "set up the sequel" scene that makes no sense for the character it involves in the context of this film no matter how cool it looks or how inevitable the comic fans know it is.

No...it's not the film I always envisioned which was something akin to a sci-fi version of "Lawrence of Arabia" (but not like "Avatar" which was just a remake of "Lawrence of Arabia") with a structure that kept us on Earth from the start until the curve ball of the dying Abin Sur arrives. Keeping the space part a "secret" until it needs to come into the story might have given us a bit more to hook us into all the human characters better. But at the end of the day, it is fun and I hope it does well enough to warrant a sequel that can be more like "Spider-Man 2" or "The Dark Knight" and less like "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" or "Iron Man 2".

"Green Lantern" is a fun, if not perfect, start to a super-hero film franchise with loads of potential.

Next up: My favorite Marvel hero after Doctor Strange: Captain America.

Be seeing you.

You'll Behold In Breathless Wonder, The God Of Thurnder, Mighty Thor!

Back in my comic book reading/collecting hay days (and I say that knowing full well how silly it sounds since I'm pretty sure those days are still with us or back in full force), my favorite characters tended to be DC denizens. Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, The Flash, Blue Devil, Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, The Question, Captain Atom, Superman...that's how my list would start when asked who my favorite heroes were.

But there were (and still are) some Marvel characters I followed...in order it was always Captain America, Doctor Strange, Thor, Fantastic Four, Avengers and that's pretty much it (although I've added a few in more recent times).

My love of Thor probably came from my elementary school days when I was fascinated by the Vikings and Norse mythology. The first movie I ever made (in 6th grade) was all about the Vikings (it's lost to the ages as it pretty much burned up in the projector after it's first and only viewing). So when I started getting into reading comic books, I soon discovered the God of Thunder and all of his friends.

"Thor" comes to us as part of a massive plan by Marvel Studios to get as many of their heroes onto the big screen in a giant inter-connected universe so we can get "The Avengers" all up there. This process started with 2008's "Iron Man" and "The Incredible Hulk", continued with last year's "Iron Man 2" and concludes this year with "Thor" and "Captain America: The First Avenger". Each of these movies has had to serve several purposes and they've each hit them to varying degrees of success. Today, I'm just looking at "Thor" (but I'll look back at all of them next year when "The Avengers" hits).

"Thor" needs to set up the Marvel version of the Norse mythology, stand on it's own as a self contained story, set itself up as a potential franchise and connect itself to "The Avengers". All of this needs to be done with perfect balance in order to attract both a core audience of comic book fans, fantasy film fans and new viewers. It succeeds at most of this very well.

Slightly different from the typical Super Hero film that starts off with the young hero gaining his powers at around the same time the villain also gains their powers only to follow them on a collision course finishing in a rousing (or lackluster) finale battle, "Thor" begins with a team of scientists chasing some weird storm patterns in the desert of New Mexico. The team consists of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings). In middle of the chaos and confusion they run over a man who seemed to come out of the storm. We then get a good long flashback to how this man, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), got there.

Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) are the sons of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and he is grooming one of them to eventually replace him as King of Asgard. Many years ago there was a war between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. But a peace was arranged and kept in place until the day that Odin was to announce Thor as his replacement when a small group of Frost Giants break into Asgard and steal back the source of their power taken during the war. They are easily dispatched, but Thor, being the hot head he is decides to venture to Jotunheim to teach the Frost Giants a lesson. The group consists of Loki, Sif (Jaimie Alexander), Fandral (Joshua Dallas), Hogun (Tadanabou Asano) and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) and their invasion is a disaster. Luckily, they are saved by Odin who was warned by Asgard's all-seeing, all-knowing bridgekeeper Heimdall (Idris Elba). Odin, angered by Thor's impetuousness, strips him of his power and banishes him to Midgard (Earth) where we pick up with him being hit by Jane's van in the storm.

Thor's landing on Earth, as well as the landing of his magical hammer Mjolnir which contains his powers and can only be lifted by someone worthy, attract the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. who swarm into New Mexico under the leadership of Agent Coulson (played by Clark Gregg again/still). While Coulson and his men try to unravel the hammer's mystery, Thor tries to regain his powers on Earth with Loki ascending to the throne of Asgard in his place. And that's a good place to stop the description of the plot.

Director Kenneth Branagh and his crew have taken many fantastical elements from the comic books that could easily have seemed silly on the big screen and made them look cool. Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge that connects Asgard to the other nine realms, is neither a Rainbow, nor a Bridge, but at the same time encompasses the look of both into parts if it's design (it's more of a giant transporter device with an aiming barrel). Asgard itself is a wonder to behold with all the pomp and circumstance a city where gods live deserves to have. Thor's use of his hammer also comes off looking cool when he uses it to launch himself like a bullet to some location (this is how he flies) or when he just spins it around to clock his enemies in the head.

The casting if near perfect. Hemsworth brings the right balance of arrogance and, later, humility to Thor. Hiddleston's performance as the trickster Loki is Oscar-worthy in my book. He is devious without tipping his hand as to why he's really doing what he's doing and never turns into the scenery-chewing cartoon he could easily be. He is a manipulator of epic proportions. Hopkins brings the right amount of authority to Odin and has thankfully stopped playing the parody of himself that he has more often done than not since 1991's "Silence of the Lambs".

The rest of the cast gets their jobs done with their limited screen time (it's a lot to cram all these characters into one film, and yet I still felt like if they were going to, they could have crammed in one brief scene with the missing and missed Baldar the Brave...hopefully the sequel will just explain he was visiting one of the other nine realms or Hawaii). There are two exceptions here that I would be remiss to mention and it's no real fault of the actors. You could easily strip Kat Denning's Darcy from the film and it would change nothing beyond losing one or two "hip" throw-away one-liners. And Rene Russo's Frigga, Queen of Asgard and Wife of Odin, seems to be there in the same way Billy Dee Williams played Harvey Dent in 1989's "Batman". She's hopefully there for a bigger part in the sequel, but here she looks as if she's waiting for her paycheck (she's a better actress than that).

The story is structured nicely and takes 40 plus years of Marvel Comics stories and blends them into an understandable and logical story that is easy enough for any non-comic book fan to follow while still giving the geeks their gold (mentions of Donald Blake, Bruce Banner and a few other Marvel things abound). Even the inclusion of S.H.I.E.L.D., mostly there just to keep the connections between films going, makes sense here (it has to since it has been so intricately attached to the entire Earth-based part of the story). This connection only falls apart with the two "extraneous" scenes that were obviously included after the fact. Watching Jeremy Renner's "Agent Barton" (better known as the archer Hawkeye in the comics) run around with a bow and arrow while Thor is fighting off soldiers in his quest to get to Mjolnir, while "cool" is obviously an afterthought as he has no interaction with anyone in the film beyond radio contact. And stick around to the very end of the end credits to catch the obligatory Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) scene that connects this film to both "Captain America: The First Avenger", "The Avengers" and whatever sequel to "Thor" that may come our way. It is nothing special and will confuse anyone who isn't familiar with a long history of magical objects in the Marvel Universe.

Branagh has outdone himself and used his Shakespearean background to give Asgard all the pomposity it deserves. He keeps the pace of the story in motion with nary a slow spot to be seen. And structurally this may be his best and "tightest" film since "Dead Again" (let's face it, after "Henry V" his Shakespeare is all over the place and "Mary SHelley's Frankenstein" while fun is a mess). While there are too many writers credited for the film, it doesn't feel like the story passed through five people and you can feel the spine of J. Michael Straczynski's recent run on the comic book through a good chunk of the film (JMS also has a very fun cameo...see if you can guess who he is...Marvel Comics' own Stan Lee also has his obligatory cameo as well). Patrick Doyle's score fits the proceedings well (and may be the first score in a long time that I may actually pick up on CD). And the cinematography by Haris Zambarloukos is always interesting, composed well and easy on the eyes (we saw this in 2D, but there didn't seem to be anything in the film beyond the look of Bifrost that could possibly benefit from the headaches and extra fees for 3D).

This film is easily on par with the better of the previous Marvel Comics films ("Iron Man", "Spider-man 2", "X2" and "Blade") and sets out to do what it must very successfully. As a start to the summer movie season, it couldn't give us a better note to start on. I'm even more excited for "Captain America: The First Avenger" after seeing this. But next up is the one I'm more nervous and excited for..."Green Lantern". Thankfully, Warner changed their marketing on that one and the new trailers give the film the right vibe where that first trailer made me want to not see the film.

Until next time.

Be seeing you.

What's Opera, Doc?

After almost nine years of being with my wife, she finally found an opera to drag me to that I actually enjoyed. It took some help and pushing from some friends, but the unthinkable happened. I figured my third live opera would be my last (you know the old "three strikes and you're out rule"), but I really did enjoy it. Before we get to my review, let's take a look at my history with the art form.

Aside from knowing some names of operas and pieces from some operas, my viewing experience as a whole was limited to "The Rabbit of Seville" and "What's Opera, Doc?" The first opera the wife dragged me to (and that's being mean because let's face it...I make my own decisions, she doesn't drag me...if I didn't want to go I could always fake an illness or throw myself down the stairs to fake an injury) was a Mozart piece called "The Abduction from the Seraglio". We went because we had a friend in the show. It was an English version, so it was easy to understand. And while I was impressed with the singing (especially by our friend), the story was boring and the music repetitive. It was repetitive and boring. Boring and repetitive. It bored me and said the same thing over and over and over and over...

Sorry...

My next live opera experience was at The Met. The wife wound up with tickets from a co-worker. Fifth row, center for "Samson and Delilah". Sung in French, set of Seti Alpha Six and performed by the touring company of "Fiddler on the Roof" using leftover backdrops from "Oklahoma" and running over three hours...

Well...I think the above description says it all...bored, confused and uncomfortable (physically and mentally...the wife was pregnant and the seats at the Met were designed the same way they design airplane seats -- only with no actual pitch -- the box we sat in last night was designed for 4 seats, but had 7 crammed into it), "Samson and Delilah" made me never want to go again...

But my wife loves opera and doesn't get to go very much any more...so I knew eventually I'd go again (although I did watch a DVD of Handel's "Julius Caesar" when I was doing research for my own production of Shakespeare's play).

Rossini's "Le Comte Ory" is about a rogue (Count Ory) who instead of going off to fight in the Crusades, stays behind to seduce all the women whose husbands have left by pretending to leave and disguising himself as a hermit/prophet. When he is outed by his own page upon the announcement that the husbands will be returning, he tries one last time to seduce a countess by posing as a nun and infiltrating her castle with his men (also dressed as nuns). Or at least that's what I gathered from listening to the French opera without glancing too often at the text titles (funny enough, I took some High School French and thought the opera was in Italian because Rossini was Italian until I realized that I recognized some of the lyrics).

Anyway...the show was presented as a "show within a show" as we're watching an 18th Century (?) Theater company move all the set pieces around under the direction of their stage manager. This just added some nice comedic touches to an already funny piece. Add in good company, a good meal beforehand and some nice weather (not too cold and clear) and it was a nice night for opera.

I will probably even go again...I've seen the preview for The Met's Ring Cycle and while I don't think I could sit through the whole thing (the second part is 5 and 1/2 hours long), I would love to see the first part (it's only 2 and 1/2 hours long) as it looks amazing. In fact, the preview makes you wonder why so much money was spent on "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" when it looks like The Met is doing something even more complicated. Here's a peak: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/production.aspx?id=11052

Be seeing you.

King of the Impossible: 30 Years And Counting

This is always an odd time of year for me. Depression sets in as the anniversary of my father's death approaches. This year it's been 30 years. So the round numbered anniversaries get worse as they seem to mark milestones.

It also happens to be the 30th Anniversary of the Dino DeLaurentiis produced, Mike Hodges directed, Lorenzo Semple Jr. written film version of Alex Raymond's classic comic strip icon "Flash Gordon". Which does temper my sadness a bit.

I first got introduced to Flash Gordon when I was around 7 or 8 and living in NYC. PBS was airing the old Buster Crabbe serials and my dad got me hooked into them. We watched all three of them as they aired and I loved every minute of them...partially because of their wondrously retro special effects and partially because I was watching them with my dad who had already introduced me to other sci-fi stuff like "Star Trek". I didn't know it at the time, but the story of the outsider who comes to unite a disparate group against a common enemy was a story I would come to love when I eventually saw it again in "Lawrence of Arabia" and then loathe as I saw both "Flash" and "Lawrence" get ripped off in "Dances with Wolves" and more recently "Avatar". "Flash" was there first and even in his bad incarnations (I can't watch the 1950s TV series), he does it better.

We knew the movie was opening in 1980 and I was looking forward to my father taking me to see it. Unfortunately, tragedy took that option away. But in the few weeks that followed his death I did get to see the film and it took me out of myself and my sorrows for two hours. I even saw it a second time in the theaters. It was "Flash Gordon" and it was great...

Well...it wasn't "great" as a film...but it was "great fun"...and 30 years later it still is. The over-the-top cheese and camp of the whole thing just works beautifully. I know you can argue what makes something camp and there are many who say that it has to have a knowing wink at what's going on and that this film doesn't satisfy that...but I say they're wrong, it does and it does it with such glee.

But I'm not here to argue the hows and the whys...just to say how much I love this character, his story and , in particular, this version of it. Is it the best version of Flash Gordon? No. After Alex Raymond's original comic strips (which I've read a few times after tracking down the old Kitchen Sink reprints I had the first few volumes of), the best adaptation has to be the first season of "The New Adventures of Flash Gordon" which aired as a Saturday morning cartoon on NBC in 1979. The first 16 episodes of the series are faithful to the look and feel of Raymond's stories. Unfortunately, NBC mandated an overhaul for the second season that took a serialized story and gave us self-contained episodes that played down to kids and added a cute cuddly dragon named Gremlin.

The animated series actually came about when Filmation did a movie version that got repurposed into the series. The movie version can be seen on YouTube and is probably even more faithful to the material (especially as it's much darker ). The entire NBC series was available on DVD from BCI but is now out of print.

While this was airing and in the wake of the success of "Star Wars" when everyone was going to sci-fi (even James Bond), came this overblown, brightly colored, thunderously scored ball of fun in film form.

Flash is played by Sam J. Jones, former Playgirl playmate, who plays the part as little more than a himbo (he's a football player now instead of Raymond's polo player). Luckily, he and his leading lady (Melody Anderson as travel agent-cum-cheerleader Dale Arden) are surrounded by some really great actors who are not only playing their roles with a "seriousness" you don't find in most sci-fi, but they're obviously having fun doing it. Max Von Sydow, Chaim Topol, Timothy Dalton, Brian Blessed, Ornella Muti, Peter Wyngarde and Mariangella Melato are all in fine scenery chewing form...but not quite of Shatner-esque proportions so as to make things completely ridiculous (check out Ming's chat with Flash in Vultan's Sky City which strikes the right balance of fun and fear).

Between the amazing design of the film (costumes and set design were all by Danilo Donati and look like a cross between Raymond's drawings and schlocky 60's Euro Sci-Fi...just look at the various minions of Ming...we have "ducks," "samurai" and "football players" all looking fantastically ridiculous) and the rousing & rocking score by Queen (aided by some orchestral pieces by Howard Blake) that brought the "iconic" theme that everyone can recognize from the opening drum beats and intermingled "flashes" of thunder throughout, the film is just fun. It was fun for an 11-year-old trying to forget his situation and it is fun for a 41-year-old looking forward to sharing a viewing with his boys as his father did with him using an earlier version of the story.

Of course, I'll also show them the Buster Crabbe versions...and the Filmation version...and Raymond's original comics...

And I'll share with them the DC Comics re-invention from the late 1980s that would have made a great movie in itself (it holds up well enough, but does feel a bit dated for a comic book)...and the more recent re-invention from Ardden Entertainment that seems to have a few sequel comic book mini-series on the way (although they've had "coming attractions" for them with art samples on their website for over a year and nothing has actually hit the shelves). This one is off to a great start and I can't wait (but seem to have to) to see where they're taking it.

I don't know if I'll ever share the Sci-Fi (now SyFy) TV series from a few years ago as it strayed too far from it's roots (even though I really liked some of the acting and characterizations). They could have called it "Buck Rogers" for all the actual connections it had to Raymond's original work.

So we've covered films and comics...but what about my other love? Surely there have got to be "Flash Gordon" toys somewhere in the house? Yes...but not as much as one would think...and some stuff that I had as a kid that are lamentably gone.

Mego had made 4 figures and a playset (Flash, Dale, Zarkov and Ming) back in the 70s...and I loved those...but I have no idea what happened to them...most likely they got played with until they fell apart like the rest of my Megos.

Mattel made a line of figures to go along with the animated series...but that was only 8 figures and two ships...also, played with until they fell apart. I even remember painting the Flash Gordon figure to make him look more like the movie version -- which had no action figures at the time. Luckily, nostalgians of my age who run toy companies have changed that. Bif Bang Pow created a line of "staction figures" three years ago (more statue than action figure since they have limited articulation) that consisted of Flash, Ming, Dale, Barin and Klytus with variations of each (look...Klytus is in his "death pose" with eyes bulging and tongue hanging out) and a second Flash in his "Flash T-Shirt". They also did bobbleheads of Ming & Flash. And just about to hit toy stores, and the ones I'm most excited about, are "Mego-like" figures of Ming & Flash from the film. I'm hoping these do well enough to get us the rest of the main characters in the same 8 inch format. Sure, it's not a 12 inch version that I've always dreamed of, but it'll suffice (you can insert your own phallic jokes here).

A small toy company called Go Hero has also released a 1/6 scale version of Flash Gordon from the Buster Crabbe serials. They have talked about also releasing a Charles Middleton Ming as a companion piece, but it's been over a year since Flash hit the shelves so who knows if Ming will ever see the light of day.

Meanwhile, the movie I love so much hasn't fared as well as I think it should on the home video front. Sure, it's always looked and sounded great. It was one of the first films I ever owned on VHS...which was replaced with a widescreen Laser Disc...which then got replaced by the DVD "Savior of the Universe" edition that contained two rather bland featurettes (one being an interview with screenwriter Lorenzo Semple, Jr. and the other being an interview with comic book artist Alex Ross who loves the film probably more than I do...doesn't mean I should get my own interview on a DVD). This has now been "upgraded" to the Blu-Ray which looks amazing, sounds amazing, but has the same disappointing extras (this is especially disappointing in light of the fact that the Region 2 UK DVD has an interview with director Mike Hodges, a commentary by Hodges and a second commentary by actor Brian Blessed and that there is also a commentary in existence -- done for a radio show -- by Sam Jones & Melody Anderson). Maybe someday, the movie will get the respect it deserves on video in the area of "supplemental extras". hey...I dreamed of eventually have real action figures from the movie and at least we're getting Flash & Ming for now.

Well...I think I've said enough about Flash Gordon. I wish my dad had lived to see the film. I think he would have enjoyed it as much as I have over the years. I hope my sons do as well.

We'll know eventually.

Be seeing you.

Where Had I Gone, Joe DiMaggio??

Hey folks,

Been a while, no?

Sometimes life gets in the way of things we intend to do...and that's pretty much what happens with this blog every so often. Well...more than every so often...Actually, every so often I sit down and bang out an entry exclaiming why I haven't done this in a while and we go back to silence for a few months.

But I've kind of missed doing this on a somewhat regular basis. Sure, Facebook status updates seem to take it's place on a daily basis...but it's not the same.

So we start, like I have with a whole bunch of things lately, with baby steps. Slowly getting myself back into the swing of things. Today, we take a look at the last few days in TV watching and what's on the DVR.

I used to enjoy writing about the end of each TV season and giving quick "shout outs" to shows not returning and previewing shows that will be new in the fall. But honestly, did I really care to write about "Flash Forward" at the end of last season when I still had a backlog of five episodes to catch up on that I didn't care to watch (they finally got erased from both DVRs this week to make room for new episodes and quite frankly if I ever get a hankering to see the show again instead of reading Wikipedia to find out how it ended, there are other options).

So Monday night brought the first new episode of "House." What can I say about the show? It's still well written and well acted and it's gonna be interesting to see where they take the whole House/Cuddy relationship (I believe they're now referred to as "Huddy" in the press as if they were a fictional version of "Bennifer").

We recorded "Chuck" but haven't gotten around to it yet. Looking forward to it in spite of really hoping they'd cast Lynda Carter as Chuck's mom (not that it was ever mentioned or even rumored, it was just a wish of mine). I'm sure Linda Hamilton will be fine.

Since my CBS boycott ended with the premiere of "Criminal Minds" five years ago, we decided to test the waters on a few new shows. Because both my wife and I are struggling with weight issues, we watched "Mike and Molly". While there are lots of stereotypes and old fat jokes, the leads are really likable and engaging and I'm hoping the show will grow out of it. We'll see where it's at after 5 episodes (which is two more than my usual 3 episode tryout).

I also braved the waters of "Hawaii Five-O" myself. This remake feels more like they took some names and a theme song from an old show and blended it with the cliches of a bunch of other shows. One annoying thing is the way too fast-paced editing and dark lighting. I didn't notice until the end when they killed the bad guy that it was James Marsters. It was enjoyable enough and certainly something that can be "noise" in the background while I'm doing other things (like maybe writing one of these). We'll see what the next two episodes bring.

I did record "The Event" but haven't gotten to it yet.

Tuesday night brought a new episode of "Glee" and what has to be the funniest concept for a new character in a while, the new female football coach. I'm embarrassed to admit I thought it was a guy playing a woman, but apparently that's a female. The show's still as goofy as ever (for a Glee Club with no budget, since it keeps getting slashed, they seem to be able to break out into well lit and finely edited musical montages without getting weird looks from the other students) and remains a guilty pleasure for us.

We did record "Raising Hope" and "Running Wild" but have not gotten to them yet.

Wednesday brought back new episodes of ABC's sitcom triple threat of "The Middle", "Modern Family" and the unfortunately named "Cougar Town." All three shows started the season off on the same foot they ended last season -- the funny one. To have a good two hour block of comedy though, the network is gonna have to find a better show than "Better With You" which was little more than a cutesy, cliched and negligible show that has trapped some good talent in sitcom limbo. I'd like to toss out the idea of bringing back "Better Off Ted" which the network squandered for two seasons...not that it'll ever happen, but it would make a nice compliment.

I recorded the season premiere of "Criminal Minds" but I don't know how long it'll take me to get to it. I kinda fizzled out half way through last season and haven't caught up. No real reason for that beyond life getting in the way.

And while I also recorded "The Defenders" and "The Whole Truth" I don't think I actually care about watching them and will most likely delete them unless someone can give me good reason not to.

Thursday night was a long night as we went to see "1776" at Curtain Call (Stamford's Community Theater) and didn't get back until 11:30 since it's a three hour show. But we did unwind with the new episodes of "Community" and "30 Rock" and were much happier after all that funny. (I do wish Cablevision's DVRs would actually accept recordings to go over by a minute -- you can program it, but it never seems to stick -- cause we keep losing the very end of "Community" and the bits with Abed and Troy are hysterical).

We also caught "S*&! My Dad Says" which was funnier than it should have been since it's based on some guy's Twitter account (something that "Community" poked fun at nicely).

I caught up on "Fringe" and "The Apprentice" since my wife doesn't care for either show. "Fringe" is probably the best secret on TV. I don't know why I'm still watching "The Apprentice". I think doing so stops me from going out to look at car accidents.

The last thing I watch before going to bed every night is "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart". It is as much "news" as any of the hour long talking head shows on any of the 24/7 cable noise channels, but with much more humor. And while Stewart does lean to the left, he is able to dish it out to both sides with ease. I'll probably tackle some political topics around Election Day for the hell of it since it seems like everyone else yaps about it 24/7 in other venues. So maybe I should make them feel the way I do when I read their one-sided, narrow-minded screeds?

Anyway...will report on/review the shows I've recorded but not seen as I watch them and will do the same with other stuff I'm planning on watching...

So until then...be seeing you.

Behind the Face(book) Day 3

Another day of Facebook updates uncoded (trust me, this will get less interesting as time goes on)...

is thankful that not only did Duncan sleep in his crib all night (after we finally got him in it around 10:30), but he's still asleep. Of course, Malcolm decided to climb into our bed at some point during the night and was pretty much up by 6. You win some, you lose some.

Juggling the sleep patterns of two kids can be exhausting...

officially hates Wednesday drop offs now that I'm leaving both boys at the JCC. Malcolm needs to be there no later than 9:15, but Duncan can't be dropped off until 9:30. Those 15 minutes of extra bonding time made him miserable when they finally opened the doors. Now I'm stuck at my parents' house waiting for some workmen...bored, bored, bored...

Sure its only 15 minutes between taking Malcolm to his class and Duncan to day care...but in those 15 minutes Duncan had phone trying to jam his plastic "Bob the Builder" phone into the coin return slot of a vending machine and I kept pulling it out (much to his delight -- and the nice thing was it fit perfectly)...so by the time we could go in, he didn't want me to leave...but its one of those things you do quickly, like taking off a band-aid...and he had a great day.

has pulled the trigger and started the process on switching from Cablevisionless to Direct TV.

More on this later...

Day 3 of the Wii Active 30 Day Challenge said to rest...so I did 30 minutes on the Elliptical...I'll rest later...

I figured I'm in a groove and while I could have done a workout with Wii Active anyway by just pushing the button, I decided to change things up a bit by "resting" with the game (still filled out my journals) and doing straight cardio.

Direct TV has been ordered (thanks Liz & Darin)...earliest installation is January 21 because lots of people are jumping off the Cablevisionless ship...

We know someone in the install business that we met through doing theater. If we signed up for Direct TV through his company we'd get an extra discount. I talked at length to him about my fears that we would not be able to get a good signal because of all the trees around our house. He spoke to his tech people and they claim that this isn't much of a problem these days. Less than 1% of installs have to be aborted because of lack of signal. So I figured let's try it...worst case scenario is we have a day like the one we had when AT&T tried to install U-Verse -- a waste of time -- best case is we're out from unble the thumb of Cablevision for TV service.

The sad part is that things are only going to get worse across the boards between the distributors (Cablevision, Direct TV, etc) and the providers (the various networks). In the case of what caused us to switch, both Cablevision and Scripss (owners of Food Network & HGTV among others) are at fault. And the only people who are gonna get hurt are the consumers because everything is about pleasing the bottom line of the stock holders and has nothing to do with keeping the customer base happy. Look for more battles like this, more channels removed from various distributor's lineups, rate increases and a major overhaul in how we the consumer eventually get to the programming. Look for the internet to help change that even more drastically over the next few years.

just had the best (or maybe second best) tamale he's ever eaten (which I believe brings the total in 40 years to like 4 -- 3 in the last 7 years).

Our cleaning lady brought us tamales she made over the holidays and they were yummy...almost as good as or maybe better than my sister-in-law's...of course, its hard to keep track of how good things taste when there's at least a year between eating them...but they are good.

isn't sure if it's funny, ironic or just plain stupid that 45 days after the failure of AT&T to get U-Verse into my house, they've sent me a postcard about how "my rates" are going up as of February 1. I'm gonna go with just plain stupidity. And now to watch an all new ABC Comedy line-up (just wish "Ted" were part of i...t, but we got a nice double dose last night).

Of course its just a blanket postcard that AT&T sends to all of its customers, but I found it pretty funny.

Meanwhile, ABC has finally gathered together an almost perfect night of shows on Wednesdays. "The Middle" is a funny show about a middle class family who lives in the middle of nowhere just trying to get by in life. The situations they find themselves in are easy to relate to, especially if you have kids. Patricia Heaton's voice overs are cliche, but you get used to them. The show would work just as well without them. "Modern Family" is probably the best comedy currently on TV. This "documentary" about the lives of an extended family has a top-notch cast and is always funny. "Cougar Town" should be something I dislike (not a big Courtney Cox fan), but it works well because of her supporting cast and the writing. And now they've added "Ugly Betty" to the end of the night, possibly saving it from the death it was experiencing on Friday nights. The show isn't as fresh as it once was, but it is still enjoyable.

Now all ABC has to do is find one more 30 minute comedy to plug the hole left by "Hank" (someday Kelsey Grammar will get a good show that people will want to watch again). I'm hoping they just move "Better Off Ted" onto Wednesdays. Its dying a painful death paired with the revamped "Scrubs" (which I have been referring to as either "After Scrubs" or "The Shitcom Formerly Known As Scrubs" because itis that bad). "Ted" is as funny as "Modern Family" but in a different and more surreal way. This office comedy takes a huge poke at the corporate workplace with a cast of quirky characters who wind up in unreal situations. Funny stuff.

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times... who are all you people?

Occasionally I like to use quotes from various sources as a staus update -- sometimes to see if someone gets the reference, sometimes because of my mood -- This one comes from the TV series "The Critic" and was uttered by Jay Sherman's father. No reason in posting it other than finding it funny (and yet somewhat appropriate for a social networking site where I don't necessarily really know everyone I'm "friends" with).

Be seeing you.

Behind the Face(book) Day 2

Doing this a few hours later than expected because it took longer to get Duncan in bed last night.

Is sore all over...but in that good way...once both boys are out of the house today we do today's Wii Active workout and continue with the binge and purge of stuff around here...

Tuesdays are busy days for the wife. She takes Malcolm to school, then teaches a music class (although that will probably get cancelled since there were only 3 kids signed up and only 1 showed up so she pulled Duncan out of babysitting so he could be part of the class), then she picks up Malcolm, takes both boys to their music class, then Malcolm to therapy (with Duncan tagging along) before coming home around 5pm. So it gives me a good chunk of alone time in the house to try and get stuff done.

Finished day 2 of Wii Active's 30 Day Challenge. Got through all 18 exercizes without strangling myself on the nunchuk cord (my height, arm span and the shortness of the cord helped with that...an extension would be nice, but I'm pretty sure I'd wind up hanging myself in the process). Thankfully, no Inline skating today.

The biggest problem with using the Wii for working out is the nunchuk. Having the cord flopping around is a pain. My arms are too long so doing extensions means I actually have to move both arms a bit just so the cord doesn't pull out of its socket. The same thing goes with running or lunges where the nunchuk is in the thigh strap. One friend suggested going wireless, but another said that the wireless ones have very mixed reviews and suggested an extension. After yesterday's workout, wireless would be the only way to go as an extension to make the wire longer would be worse. So now I gotta figure out which one's the best...more research...yay!

apparently has Bette Davis thighs now...after today's Wii Active workout and all the moving stuff up and down the stairs all day, they're just bitching me out.

By the middle of the day, after working out and moving various things around various rooms (like the 4 VCRs that are just taking up space in my office and are now in our mudroom waiting for a decision on their final destination -- not sure if the $20 I could attempt to get for each on eBay is worth the effort and they may just get donated), my upper leg muscles were screaming at me to stop and sit down for a while. It would take a few more hours before I did that.

I've been telling Malcolm Indiana Jones stories at bedtime (made much more friendly to a 4-year-old) and I'm pretty sure my version of "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is much better than the actual film. On tonight's "Daily Show" I hope that George Lucas at least apologizes for something stupid he did in the last decade.

Every night I watch "The Daily Show" at 11pm for my "news" (let's face it -- Jon Stewart's "opinions" are probably more valid than Glenn Beck's), but I rarely watch the interview segment unless its someone I'm really interested in seeing. Lucas was on to plug a book (which he did successfully as I now want to read it). The interview was funny (Stewart didn't let Lucas off the hook for the weaker "Star Wars" prequels) and interesting (Lucas has his reasons for doing what he does and was able to refer back to a segment earlier in the show about how people remember "earlier times" -- while he may have "ruined" our movies, there is a generation of kids who prefer the prequels, however wrong they may be).

One day after they announce the next Bond movie is "on hold" until MGM gets sold, they announce that Sam Mendes is directing??? Not fair.

MGM is up for sale and a few days ago the Bond producers finally came out and said that pre-production was on hold pending said sale. Now, they've apparently done an about-face and are trying to fast track the film using the director of "American Beauty". This should be an interesting film if the script can be up to snuff -- more "Casino" and less "Quantum".

That would have just been weird...

The Doctor Who News Page: Torchwood The Musical?

I posted this link to share with friends on Facebook. The idea of Russel Davies making a musical based on "Torchwood" with the guys from ABBA is weird, but intriguing...especially if John Barrowman were to still be involved (he's got an amazing voice and is probably one of the better aspects of the film version of the musical version of "The Producers" even if he's in a very small role).

Well...that's all for today...tomorrow...who knows...we've got a technician coming out from Direct TV to see if we can get a good signal at our house (I doubtful), but if we can we'll be getting rid of Cablevision (well...not their internet for now as what we've got is priced well and very fast).

Be seeing you.

Behind the Face(book)

A while ago, someone suggested I compile my Facebook updates here for those who aren't on that social networking site. So for the next few days I'm going to experiment with that a bit. But you'll get a bit more "thought" here about those status updates...

The day started with:

A new day (week, month, year) has dawned. Time for change...but first...ouch...I'm in pain....owie, owie ,owie...

I slept wrong (again). Duncan's sleep patterns have been in disarray since Thanksgiving and getting him back on track has been a royal pain in the ass. The last week or two has involved all of us going to bed once Malcolm is asleep and as soon as Duncan falls asleep in our bed he gets transferred to his crib. But inevitably he winds up back in our bed most nights and its hard to sleep with an 18 month old kicking you all night long.

Has officially downgraded his Cablevision account. The only thing we'll be "missing" is "Entourage" when it returns with new episodes...I figure we can wait for Netflix to get it...or borrow a recording from someone we know...but we're saving money now and hitting Cablevision where it hurts (wish we could just drop the...m entirely, but we can't). New year, new changes, new rules.

For those who don't know, Cablevision and Scripps (the company that owns Food Network & HGTV) have stopped negotiating and those channels were pulled from Cablevision's lineup. These are channels that the wife and I do watch a lot and would love to pay a fair price for if any company started doing "a la carte" services (they won't). It took losing two channels to finally realize that I don't need the package I have with Cablevision so we went from IO Gold to Family plus IO and are now saving $30 a month. If I could change TV providers I would, but we have too many trees to get a good signal for Direct TV (I can barely get my XM Radio to work in the house), Verizon's FIOS isn't in our area and AT&T's U-Verse hasn't made it down the hill yet (we're 1000 feet short for a good signal -- I know this because I wasted a day trying to get it installed when they were telling me that it was new to our area. Turns out its not our whole area -- but I got $50 in credit from them for my torubles and was told to check again in February as they may have gotten closer).

Just finished his first workout using Wii Active. Starting with small goals & the "30 Day Challenge". Can't do the inline skating (just can't get the hang of it) and need wireless nunchucks (well...would prefer wireless nunchucks). Now on to packing up the holiday decorations.

I'm 40 and I'm a fat emotional eater. It's time to get my act together -- one day at a time, ten pounds at a time. Today was a good day for both the intake of food and the expenditure of energy. My thighs are sore from the lunges -- but its a good sore. The holiday decorations got packed up, but they won't go back into storage until tomorrow or Wednesday.

Dear ABC, We get that you cancelled "Eastwick" because only my wife and I are still watching and appreciate that you were willing to continue airing what you had paid for...but it would have been nice to have you air the episodes in order cause the one you aired on 12/30 didn't pick up where the previous episode left off.

ABC cancelled the show after paying for 13 episodes that got made. They were going to burn them all off before 2009 ended, but they were only able to get to 11 of the 13. For some reason, they skipped episode 11 and aired 12 instead as a "final" episode. This wouldn't have been a problem if the show had stand alone episodes, but its very much a serial and they jumped from the ladies kidnapping a character to them having killed him without showing us the inbetween. Its kind of unfortunate the show got canned as its been pretty interesting. It started off as "Desperate Housewitches" and evolved into a nice mystery piece/retelling of John Updike's novel. Luckily, the two "missing" episodes will be airing in the U.K. this month, so we can at least see them through other means.

I kind of understand why ABC jumped an episode with "Eastwick" (there's some semblence of closure on one story), but they shouldn't have left a big gaping hole in that story by making the jump. Meanwhile, my wife was watching "Supernanny" because we no longer have Food Network or HGTV to keep her busy at night. I have a... new reason to hate Cablevision now...

So "Eastwick" ended with Daryl and the ladies reunited (some closure even though there was a gaping hole as to why he left and where he went) while leaving us with new plot threads just starting. Oh well...

The wife has been searching for shows to fill the void left by Cablevision's short sighted stupidity...so she catches "Supernanny" and the episode is about a family trying to get a 2 year old to sleep at a normal hour -- something we need help with...but the solution was nothing we haven't tried anyway...so we're still at square one.

Anyway...I'm still thinking about the final David Tennant "Doctor Who" episode. While it wasn't bad, it wasn't the best send-off it could have been (SPOILER ALERT). If you're gonna bring back Gallifrey and the rest of the Time Lords either do it or don't. This part of the story needed more time to play out and less "we're back, nevermind, we're gone again" two seconds later. Add to that Russel Davies self indulgent "goodbye" (I think the end of "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" was shorter) and the silly use of a name from the old series and a woman with no real identity -- two things that only played into the concept of fanwankery -- and you've got a bit of a mess with some fun moments and some nice, touching moments. I look forward to seeing what Matt Smith does beyond what seemed to be channeling Heath Ledger in the last moments.

Anyway -- that's all for today, we'll do this again tomorrow.

Be seeing you.

Stephen King's The Simpsons Movie

The first Stephen King novel I read was The Shining. I was in 8th Grade at the time and had just seen the movie which had scared the shit out of me. It wouldn't be until I went back and read King's other novels that I realized how much a masterpiece the book is and how much the film is completely disconnected from it. But I was hooked and I've been reading King's work with anticipation ever since.

Whenever he published a new novel, I'd buy it and crack it open the day it was published. I fondly remember plowing through It in 2 days (and being somewhat disappointed in the ending). The last King novel I read all the way through was Black House. I skipped over Dreamcatcher (don't remember why), but came back to it in March of 2002. It became my workout book. I could only read it while I was riding the recumbent bike. I got about halfway through before April came around and I had my aneurysm. It took me 2 years to eventually pick the book up and finish it. And while I still continued picking up his new books (From a Buick 8, Everything's Eventual, The Dark Tower V, VI & VII, The Colorado Kid, Cell, Lisey's Story, Blaze, Duma Key and Just After Sunset), I didn't actually open them to read (although I did try reading Cell -- got about 50 pages in and stopped).

And then somewhere, somehow, an enthusiasm built in me for his latest novel Under the Dome. Not sure why, maybe it was because it was a mythical book that King had tried writing twice before and never finished (once under the title of The Cannibals). It arrived and I opened it and started reading. Two days later I was done.

Under the Dome concerns the town of Chester's Mill in Maine (where else). One day an invisible dome descends upon the town covering the whole thing area (exactly on its borders) and cutting it off from civilization. King paints a great portrait of what would happen if something like this existed. Moving vehicles would smash into it, the air would become still then stale and as the wind blew particles outside they would slowly collect on the surface turning the view into a murkey muddy mess.

Meanwhile, in the town society starts to fall apart. Like The Stand and The Mist before it, Under the Dome is really a look at how society can unravel at the seams when faced with unexplainable circumstances. People start falling into two categories: those that want to proactively find a way out (change) and those that want to proactively find a way to use the situation to their advantage because its a "new world order" (in actuality preserving the status quo). King's political commentary is not subtle at all. The town is run by a group of Selectmen, but it is the Second Selectman who really runs the show (and he's not happy that Obama's president).

King is still able to present us with a huge cast of characters that remain three dimensional and engaging. His writing style has always been one of accessibility that easily drags a reader in. Here, he keeps you engaged for the entire run of the novel -- even up to the somewhat disappointing ending. Let's face it, if a giant dome were to appear and seal off an entire town one day there would only be two explanations: it's man-made (meaning "the government") or its alien. I won't tell you which one King opts for, but it leads of a vague, confusing and somewhat silly resolution at the end.

All in all, Under the Dome falls on the better end of the King spectrum. It isn't The Stand, but it isn't The Tommyknockers either. Its worth a read whether you like King or not.

Meanwhile, it has inspired me to "catch up" on what I've missed. I'm probably going to start with The Dark Tower books and go back to the beginning of the series. Anyone interested in starting a book club to discuss them?

Be seeing you.

Too Many Children...

So the Sci-Fi Channel (I refuse to refer to them as SyFy because that's just plain stupid) aired a remake of "Children of the Corn", a mediocre Stephen King story from his "Night Shift" collection.

King's short story isn't the best of that collection, nor is it the worst. It does pack enough of a punch and contains King's great penchant for developed characters and visceral images.

The 1984 big screen adaptation just got a 25th Anniversary Blu Ray release, which is kind of funny for a film that was/is a big cheesy pile of crap that took the title, some characters and some "events" from King's story and fashioned something "new" (cliched). It proved the old adage that a short story doesn't have enough meat on its bones for a full length feature by going off in several different directions.

But the film developed enough of a cult following to spawn more sequels than it deserved almost a decade after the fact. The sequels had barely any connections to the original film let alone the original short story, but they obviously made some money since there's still the threat of another one looming over us all.

Stephen King had written a script for the 1984 film that was rejected by the producers at the time. The new TV version is apparently credited to both King and director Donald P. Borchers (who is also one of the producers of the 1984 film). Now, I don't know how much of this is really King (obviously he either worked on it or decided not to contest the credit), but the film is a very faithful adaptation of King's short story. Of course, that aspect now highlights both the deficiencies of King's story being made into a feature and Borchers' directing ability.

In regards to the former, we are presented with Vicky & Burt (on their way to California in the 1970s to help their marriage) who spend about 45 minutes yelling at each other after they accidentally run over a dead child. When they arrive at the next town to report the accident, they discover a strange cult of children who worship a god known as "He Who Walks Behind The Rows". We then get 30 minutes of Burt being chased through the corn fields and then 15 minutes of a silly ending complete with Vietnam flashback and gratuitous sex scene (between minors) before we reach the end of the story as King wrote it.

Any real scares are robbed of their power as Borchers shows his hand seconds before he should. The biggest "creep" factor of King's story is that you never see the kids until Vicky & Burt get to the town and even then we don't see them until Burt does some exploring and figures out that there's something odd. Here, as in the 1984 film, we see the kids right from the beginning and I think it does deflate the concept of doing a "faithful" adaptation of King's story.

This new film has also gotten a release on DVD in an uncut version with several extras. I may revisit this at some point later in life if I get bored and can find it really cheap (like $5), but for now I'm good with having seen this on Sci-Fi where the commercial interruptions kept me from leaping up and throwing a brick at my TV. This was a noble effort, but a completely missed and wasted opportunity.

The nice thing is that I'm sure this won't be the last word on this "franchise".

Be seeing you.

Testing

So I'm testing out a blogging app from my iPhone...nothing to see here unless I can get a picture posted as well.



-- What do you know...it's me and my new hat! Now let's see about posting video...

-- hmmmm...not sure that worked, but we're posting anyway.

-- Posted from my iPhone

Spider-Mouse??? And just where will Superman be coming from?

So the big shock at the start of the week was the announcement that Disney was buying Marvel Comics for $4 billion (hmmm...wasn't that a number similar to some unused funds from the government bailouts of one of the banks or something???)...

As the week has worn on, there has been lots of muscle flexing and few real answers to some major questions.

Disney did state up front in their press release that any existing deals between Marvel and other companies would be honored until they came to an end. All nice and good, but does anyone really expect Disney to sit by and let Universal Studios have the Hulk & Spidey walking around taking photos until that deal ends (and I have no idea when that is). Universal was quick to release their own statement about the Marvel characters remaining an integral part of the Orlando park's experience.

Fox also did some "damage" control by announcing a producer & writer for a previously barely mentioned 2nd reboot of "Fantastic Four" (which had been mentioned a few months ago with a reboot of "Daredevil" as well). Apparently, Fox has rights to make movies from the Marvel characters they've licensed for as long as they continue to make movies based on those characters (apparently not a problem for the X-Men franchise which has made enough money to keep chugging along, but FF makes two movies that gross $154 million and $131 million and those numbers are considered bad).

The head scratcher here is why Disney would make a deal and then have to wait for the real heavy hitters (on the movie front) to come back into the fold. Spider-Man is tied up at Sony for about another 10 years. The X-Men, Fantastic Four and Daredevil are at Fox for who knows how long. Blade is at Warner (for now). Everyone else is still in the Marvel Studios "box", but some of them are tied to distribution deals with other studios (mostly Paramount who has distribution for Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, but I believe that Universal still has those rights for the Hulk).

Maybe they're willing to wait on those deals and just exploit the rights to everything else they can get now (just because Spidey's at Sony doesn't mean Disney can't slap him on underwear of all shapes and sizes).

Another oddity to this deal comes on the comic book front. Disney's had a presence for years in the comic book market and owning the largest publisher of comics gives them easier access...but how does this affect the deal Disney made with Boom Studios (a much smaller comic book company) who has been publishing comic books based on various Pixar properties and The Muppets for about a year now?

This will most likely be a good deal all around at the end of the day (especially if Disney treats Marvel how they treat Pixar and keeps their hands off the creative end)...but there are plenty of questions that need answering before everything makes sense.

It will be an interesting development.

In other comic book legal news, a judge has given various rights to the heirs of Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster concerning the creation of Superman. The specifics can be found online elsewhere (and by more knowledgible people), but it seems that Warner has until 2011 to make another Superman movie before they lose the rights they have to the families. On top of that, unless they cut a separate deal with the families certain "origin" info is off limites (like all the planet Krypton related material).

I expect at the end of the day the families and DC/Warner will come to a financial arrangement to keep everything together (its not like the families would take a Superman without Lois & Lex to Marvel and restart everything from scratch -- and I don't see Warner letting go of Superman's background). But it could get more nasty before its all over since there are lawyers involved.

Anyway...be seeing you.

Taking The Train Is Easy As 1, 2, 3

I've always been a big fan of train movies. "The Cassandra Crossing", "Murder On The Orient Express," "The Train," "Runaway Train" and "The Taking Of Pelham 1, 2, 3" are all great films. The latter is especially one of my favorites.

Based on a novel, "The Taking Of Pelham 1, 2, 3" stars Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw, respectively, as a NYC MTA Police Detective and a man holding a train car of people hostage for ransom. The battle of wits between the two men as the city grinds to a halt is tense and mesmerizing. The film is a great reflection on its time and yet still stands the test of time. It is both a moment frozen in time (New York in the 1970s) and timeless.

This is probably why the film has been remade (for the second time actually since there is a 1998 TV Movie with Edward James Olmos and Vincent D'Onofrio replacing Matthau and Shaw). This time on the big screen we have Denzel Washington and John Travolta in the roles previously played by Matthau and Shaw. Of course, things have been modernized and updated for a post 9/11 New York.

Both characters get a bit more of a backstory this time (Washington's Garber is no longer a detective, he's just a dispatcher for the MTA -- well, not just a dispatcher but that's what he's doing when the film starts as he's also under investigation for taking a bribe). Gone are the colorful code names of the original foursome who hijacked the train (most likely since Quentin Tarantino used the same gimmick in "Reservoir Dogs" and most people will just assume this film was ripping that off instead of being the other way around) and a laptop with an internet connection has been added onto the train (maybe to replace the now missing/changed undercover cop, but also to give the events that "in your face" feeling we get from living in a society where we can almost be "watched" 24/7 anyway).

Washington and Travolta keep things moving with the help of screenwriter Brian Helgeland. The dialogue is sharp and crisp (though I'm convinced that Travolta's role may have been written with Samuel L. Jackson in mind since he tends to end sentences with "mother fucker" one too many times). The editing may be a bit "herky jerky" at times, but it actually fits the film nicely (as does the music score & song choices which also seem a bit jarring at first). Director Tony Scott keeps things flowing and tense throughout most of the film. It is only when we finally get off the train for the last third of the film when things start to lose steam. The ending is also not as satisfying as that of the original, but luckily these changes don't derail the whole proceedings.

If you're looking for a quality remake of a classic film that can stand on its own without "replacing" the original, you could do a lot worse than "The Taking Of Pelham 1, 2, 3." Its also a great popcorn flick to boot.

Hopefully, any success from this film will bring about a special edition DVD or Blu Ray of the original (as well as some sort of release for the 1998 TV Movie which is not available on any format including VHS). At the very least, seeing this has finally inspired me to read the damn book.

Be seeing you.

2009-2010 Upfronts Part 5: The CW

And finaly we have the upfronts for The WB...I mean UPN...I mean The CW (which has pruned most of the UPN type shows now and is mostly emulating The WB's teenage bent). I don't watch much on this network, so I don't have much to say beyond reporting what the new lineup is. You may notice there are no half hour sitcoms.

MONDAY

8pm GOSSIP GIRL-- Returns for a 3rd Season

9pm ONE TREE HILL -- Returns for a 7th Season.

TUESDAY

8pm 90210 -- Returns for a 2nd Season.

9pm MELROSE PLACE -- I guess since 90210 has been a success the return of that show's spin-off was inevitable.

WEDNESDAY

8pm AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL -- Returns for a 13th Season? Really? And a 14th? Yikes!

9pm THE BEAUTIFUL LIFE -- Its about models and stars Micha Barton. Do you need to know more? Is there more?

THURSDAY

8pm THE VAMPIRE DIARIES -- Cashing in on the whole "Twlight"/"True Blood" machine seemed inevitable. Two vampire brothers (one good, one evil) battle for one girl. Meh.

9pm SUPERNATURAL-- Returns for a 5th Season. Suppsedly a good show, but I've never watched more than 5 minutes.

FRIDAY

8pm SMALLVILLE -- Returns for a 9th Season. This is apparently the "Coach" of Comic Book Shows. Yes, we still watch...but half the time I'm not sure why. Story logic goes out the window (and that's saying a lot for a Comic Book based show). The cast is still doing an admirable job considering the material half the time. The best episodes are the ones that feature other DC Comics characters. I hope that this will be the last season (and a move to Friday night seems to suggest that, but this is The CW and not one of the other networks so all bets are off), but Tom Welling is apparently signed to a 10th Season as well. I say, let Season 9 go to 26 episodes. That would make 200 episodes total. Then put Superman back where he belongs: on the big screen.

9pm AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL (Encore) -- We need more of this?

MIDSEASON

Parental Discreation Advised -- A girl who has lived with foster families all her life finally finds her real parents and tries to make them a family.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Easy Money -- 1 Season/8 Episodes/4 Unaired

In Harm's Way -- 1 Season/10 Episodes/5 Unaired

Valentine -- 1 Season/8 Episodes./4 Unaired

The Game -- 3 Seasons/64 Episodes

Everybody Hates Chris -- 4 Seasons/88 Episodes

Reaper -- 2 Seasons/31 Episodes -- The first season of this show was a lot of fun. Most of that was due to Ray Wise as Satan. The second season was missing something, but it was still mostly fun. The series finale is next week and I hope it wraps up as much as it can...but I'm sure it won't. If you didn't see this, I do recommend catching it on DVD as both seasons will be available soon after the show's run ends.

That's all for the major networks. I'll be back tomorrow or Saturday with a wrap-up of what I'll be watching.

Be seeing you.

2009-2010 Upfronts Part 4: CBS

Beyond "Criminal Minds" not much has won me over on CBS since my boycott years ago (you can look for the story elsewhere in my blog). It was a good excuse to prune my TV viewing and I still look for those excuses (in attempts to not watch new shows). So I don't really have much to say about most of these shows on CBS as I don't watch most of them. I'll try not to get too snarky.

MONDAY

8pm HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER

8:30 ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE -- Jenna Elfman stars as a single woman who finds herself "accidentally" pregnant. I'm sure it'll fit in with the rest of the network's comedies.

9pm TWO AND A HALF MEN -- I think they're going to try and break "According To Jim's" record for longest running mediocre comedy that you eventually forget is even on.

9:30 THE BIG BANG THEORY

10pm CSI: MIAMI-- Still on the air if only so Joel McHale can keep making fun of it on "The Soup"

TUESDAY

8pm NCIS -- What does this stand for anyway? No Carpet Is Stained? No CBS Is Stagnant?

9pm NCIS: LOS ANGELES -- A Spin-off that airs right after the original? And its not "CSI" based? Chris O'Donnell & LL Cool J star.

10pm THE GOOD WIFE -- Its a law drama mixed with a family drama as Julianna Margulies stars as a woman who goes back to her original job as a defense attourney after her husband (Chris Noth) is thrown in jail for a sex/political scandal. Christine Baranski also stars as a lawyer/mentor for Margulies. Hmmmm...may give it a shot.

WEDNESDAY

8pm THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE-- I'm still waiting for "The Old Adventures of New Christine"

8:30 GARY UNMARRIED

9pm CRIMINAL MINDS-- Sure I broke my CBS boycott because Mandy Patinkin was returning to TV, but I stuck around because even without him the show is still well written and well acted. And now we've got Joe Montegna which may be even better.

10pm CSI: NY-- Of the three shows in this "franchise", this is the one I really liked...but I was watching them on DVD and eventually had to prune the silly stuff from the collection (a work in progress). I do miss this on occassion, but not enough to go back.

THURSDAY

8pm SURVIVOR

9pm CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

10pm THE MENTALIST

FRIDAY

8pm GHOST WHISPERER -- If you didn't think this was a rip-off of NBC's "Medium" you might now that that...

9pm MEDIUM -- has moved to CBS

10pm NUMB3RS

SATURDAY

8pm CRIMETIME SATURDAY

10pm 48 HOURS MYSTERY

SUNDAY

7pm 60 MINUTES

8pm THE AMAZING RACE -- Is it really that Amazing?

9pm THREE RIVERS --A medical show. How original.

10pm COLD CASE

MIDSEASON

Arranged Marriage -- Because we haven't seen enough humiliation during all the other "reality" shows on TV.

Undercover Boss -- A show where high level executives (you know...the guys who caused our economy to collapse) take a "pay cut" to find out what its really like to work in their companies. Now only if the bozos had done this years ago we wouldn't be in the mess they made.

The Bridge -- A cop show. Haven't seen one of these in a while. Especially on CBS' schedule.

Miami Trauma -- I'm pretty sure this is where the injured of "CSI: Miami" are gonna wind up. I know its where Caruso goes when he jabs himself in the eye with his sunglasses.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

Eleventh Hour -- 1 Season/18 Episodes -- Meant to watch this as I like Rufus Sewell. Oh well.

The Ex-List -- 1 Season/13 Episodes/9 Unaired

Game Show In My Head -- 1 Season/1 Episode -- Guess it should have stayed in his head (whoever "he" is)

Harper's Island -- 1 Season/13 Episodes -- I liked the concept but apparently not enough to bother watching after it got terrible reviews.

The Unit -- 4 Seasons/69 Episodes -- Maybe Dennis Haysbert can get a job in Season 8 of "24" as a David Palmer clone or twin or maybe the real one isn't really dead.

Without A Trace -- 7 Seasons/160 Episodes -- And now it will live up to its title...wait...if both Eric Close & Dennis Haysbert are out of work...maybe CBS can finally bring back "Now And Again" especially since Glenn Gordon Carron is now working for them again since "Medium" has changed networks (I know that isn't how any of this works, but I can still have dreams, no?)

Worst Week -- 1 Season/15 Episodes

Tomorrow brings the end of the Network Upfronts with The CW.

Be seeing you.

2009-2010 Upfronts Part 3: NBC

Yesterday NBC also announced their new fall schedule. I'm tackling my thoughts today.

MONDAY
8pm Heroes (September) -- I stopped watching mid-way through this past season. Not sure if I'm going to continue with a 4th season...we'll see if I catch up with the episodes during the summer. This show really went off the track.

8pm Chuck (January) -- Glad this got a renewal. Even if its only 13 episodes and will be subsidized by Subway (meaning I expect Sarah to no longer be working at the Frogurt place -- assuming she doesn't get axed because of budget cuts on the show -- but I assume we'll lose all the Buy More characters before that happens).

9pm Trauma (September) -- Sounds like "ER" without the budget or baggage. Blah.

9pm Day One (January) -- Sounds like CBS' late lamented "Jericho" with more destruction and rebuilding. Maybe I'll give it an episode.

10pm The Jay Leno Show -- This is either going to be smartest thing NBC has done in years or the dumbest. Either way, it's gonna cost them less than what a scripted show would.

TUESDAY
8pm The Biggest Loser (two-hour edition in September/90 minute edition in January) -- I really should try to get on this show next time they have auditions.

9:30 100 Questions (January) -- This sitcom focuses on a woman who joins a dating service and each question in their questionnaire will serve as a look back on where she's been in romance before. At least that's what I got from the description. Yawn.

10pm The Jay Leno Show

WEDNESDAY
8pm Parenthood (September) -- Based on the hit movie of 20 years ago, this already spawned a failed TV series. This reimagining (they're no longer the Buckmans, they're the Bravermans) has nothing going for it beyond an interesting cast that doesn't interest me enough to watch (Craig T. Nelson, Maura Tierney, Bonnie Bedlia).

8pm Mercy (January) -- So NBC needs two medical shows to replace "ER"? Yawn.

9pm Law & Order: Special Victims Unit -- Its the one I don't watch, but its still kicking around for an 11th Season.

10pm The Jay Leno Show

THURSDAY
8pm SNL Weekend Update Thursday (multi-episode run in September) -- Nice to know they're ready for Prime Time after all these years.

8pm Community (January) -- Joel McHale and Chevy Chase star in this sitcom about a Community College. McHale gets me watching. Chase makes me a bit leery, but after his wonderful turn on "Chuck" as an evil Bill Gates he may do well here.

8:30 Parks and Recreation -- Didn't watch it. Returns for a 2nd Season.

9pm The Office -- Returns for a 6th Season and I still don't watch because I thought the British version was better.

9:30 Community (September)

9:30 30 Rock (January) -- Funniest sitcom around returns for a 4th Season. YAY!!!!

10pm The Jay Leno Show

FRIDAY
8pm Law & Order -- Its the Energizer Bunny of TV shows. 20 Seasons and it keeps going and going and going and going...

9pm Southland -- Returns for a 2nd Season. Don't watch, don't care.

10pm The Jay Leno Show

SATURDAY
8pm Dateline NBC -- Yay! More news shows. (Sarcasm)

9pm Trauma (encore broadcast September)

9pm Southland (encore broadcast January)

10pm Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (encore broadcast)

SUNDAY (September)
7pm Football Night in America

8:20 NBC Sunday Night Football

SUNDAY (January)

7pm Dateline NBC
8pm The Marriage Ref -- Sure the title sounds like a bad sitcom, but its actually a show that mixes "The View" and "Real Time With Bill Mahr" with "Oprah" and "Seinfeld" (since Jerry's the producer of this). Could be interesting.
9pm The Celebrity Apprentice (season premiere; two-hour edition) -- While its the funniest train wreck on TV, two hours is WAY TOO MUCH (and don't get me started on the THREE HOUR Season Finale this year).

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

My Name Is Earl -- 4 Seasons/96 Episodes -- I stopped watching after Season 3. The show just got boring by that point.

Medium -- 5 Seasons/95 Episodes -- The show kind of petered out for me during Season 3. I figured I'd eventually catch up, but that hasn't happened. I do like Glenn Gordon Carron's shows and may eventually come back to it -- epspecially since its now moving to CBS on Friday nights. Let's see what that brings (more tomorrow).

Howie Do It -- 1 Season/21 Episodes -- Howie Mandel does his own "Candid Camera"/prank show. Didn't realize it even lasted as long as it did.

Deal Or No Deal -- 4 Seasons/203 Episodes -- Don't worry. Only the Prime Time version is going away. You can still catch the goofiness in daytime syndication.

America's Toughest Jobs -- 1 Season/9 Episodes -- I'd say one of the toughest jobs was keeping this show on the air, but there are shows that didn't even last this long.

Chopping Block -- 1 Season/3 Episodes -- Too many Chef-based Reality Shows spoil "The Soup".

Crusoe -- 1 Season/13 Episodes -- Had he been time travelling on his island, he may have lasted longer.

Kath & Kim -- 1 Season/17 Episodes -- Just proves my point that Molly Shannon isn't funny.

Kings -- 1 Season/12 Episodes (7 Unaired) -- Saw the one episode my friend was in as an extra. The rest are waiting to be watched on my DVR (along with many other shows including the last 4 episodes of "Raines" -- which will tell you how long I sometimes keep things on my DVR).

Knight Rider -- 1 Season/17 Episodes -- I was never a big fan of the original version. Now I can never get a chance to not become one of this version either.

Life -- 2 Seasons/32 Episodes -- They should have picked a better title or a better board game to be based on (like "Clue" or "Monopoly" or even "Sorry").

Lipstick Jungle -- 2 Seasons/20 Episodes -- Apparently only "Sex in the City" can be "Sex in the City".

Momma's Boys -- 1 Season/6 Episodes -- Looked like it could have been a fun train wreck, but I was busy doing other stuff.

My Own Worst Enemy -- 1 Season/9 Episodes -- Meant to watch this show -- and I still can as its one of the few cancelled shows turning up on DVD.

Superstars of Dance -- 1 Season/5 Episodes -- Apparently they weren't that super.

ER -- 15 Seasons/331 Episodes -- 15 years ago I made my choice and went with "Chicago Hope" as MY medical drama. Never regretted it, haven't looked back, haven't peeked in. Was this show any good?

Back tomorrow with CBS (should be short as they haven't really recovered on my schedule from my boycott years ago).

Be seeing you.