tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66353146375025154512024-02-18T20:37:12.614-08:00Bud's ReviewsEcclectic array of movies discussed, w/occasional rambling.budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.comBlogger570125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-18554874605413140202021-04-02T10:24:00.001-07:002021-04-02T10:24:52.389-07:00GODZILLA vs. KONG (2021)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlkcVBPrvMJQ3wzDTH_XGmTJpVDwx8DiNUEMyvvFiMk-AUJQhyLWVd2o38BDQqDfjd72YOON_Oa888twv0eDxY_OvD2VfurKmrYqrb-B9HQNjX3TrUZgOCEbG8eZvl_Ibzs6kjQ0RA7U/s580/GvK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="474" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOlkcVBPrvMJQ3wzDTH_XGmTJpVDwx8DiNUEMyvvFiMk-AUJQhyLWVd2o38BDQqDfjd72YOON_Oa888twv0eDxY_OvD2VfurKmrYqrb-B9HQNjX3TrUZgOCEbG8eZvl_Ibzs6kjQ0RA7U/w524-h640/GvK.jpg" width="524" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">So. my brother and I grew up HUGE Godzilla and King Kong fans. Just as I was always a Superman fan and he was a Batman fan, when it came to those two loveable behemoths, I loved King Kong while he loved Godzilla. We both, however, always wanted to see a knock-down, slobberknocker battle royale between the two - and, as we loved WORLD'S FINEST comics, which teamed up Superman and Batman as best friends and contemporaries, we wanted Kong and 'Zilla to eventually team up. That was our hope as we both approached this film - me in Kentucky, and he in North Carolina.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"> I do not want to give anything away, and perhaps I will eventually elaborate on the film as a whole, but - despite my deep and abiding love for <b>KONG ON SKULL ISLAND</b>, and my vast dislike for <b>GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS</b> - this movie blew me away with its visuals.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">No, I didn't say its plot was iron clad in terms of narrative structure. In fact, there are story elements that absolutely make no sense whatsoever - but I didn't care. I wanted to see Kong and 'Zilla brawl.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">These were some of my reactions:</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeoqvINn_FU3Eu9a71BO8KhfGj9HnbRebXPGBlpM4dntJDhm922pVkJIg5nBHNuPvC4EpXEJCZi9wp_35iuDjv8lcEZi_6onl3r9cajpISJI0C1Hwjer8J5-enDJqlzJXfOf0M-3fVQU/s2048/godzilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1953" data-original-width="2048" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeoqvINn_FU3Eu9a71BO8KhfGj9HnbRebXPGBlpM4dntJDhm922pVkJIg5nBHNuPvC4EpXEJCZi9wp_35iuDjv8lcEZi_6onl3r9cajpISJI0C1Hwjer8J5-enDJqlzJXfOf0M-3fVQU/w320-h305/godzilla.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheaqYvch547tWbjC7UyAgHHTWmW2BYZPqjF7koI6EZwzGc01XXW0Xyh8fOiJQ5cNGwvHIg5ihhD0kobtl_J3CmShlqWcrCmKUcE5TrNF6MmR35JQ_ASCA5LgfEVTw3JWiVr235pa3w6iE/s1483/me+gvk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1459" data-original-width="1483" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheaqYvch547tWbjC7UyAgHHTWmW2BYZPqjF7koI6EZwzGc01XXW0Xyh8fOiJQ5cNGwvHIg5ihhD0kobtl_J3CmShlqWcrCmKUcE5TrNF6MmR35JQ_ASCA5LgfEVTw3JWiVr235pa3w6iE/s320/me+gvk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_3772zDSR1jbFuxlg6acjmMDZpC6hLFWlhtfB-ZdduYCecvVeHb39It6jRK_FQs6ANTw6_mLiCbI7pGR1uA4NWoBy8osq_O0NOgSqqcnq4PxvXldldDR-OAz4KaxnmmUpNNeoMWDGRE/s2048/moi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1398" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_3772zDSR1jbFuxlg6acjmMDZpC6hLFWlhtfB-ZdduYCecvVeHb39It6jRK_FQs6ANTw6_mLiCbI7pGR1uA4NWoBy8osq_O0NOgSqqcnq4PxvXldldDR-OAz4KaxnmmUpNNeoMWDGRE/w273-h400/moi.jpg" width="273" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">As mindless, buttered popcorn fun, this one was a major winner to me. I literally became a child again watching this. I loved it. I just wish I could have seen it with my brother, and in a theater.</span><br />budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-58116792168545006912021-04-02T09:38:00.000-07:002021-04-02T09:38:13.930-07:00Zach Snyder's JUSTICE LEAGUE (2021)<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jcXyLdMXWxNhi56YR_jgsTGIN_Jl6FIm9Fi7E9X6eLLqsWt2Km5kn31EMbD2cnEWwEy-NUqfMAdeTLxr1tLRO-G3gk4As9xgfX_t1aIqmCa6NG31ij3qkXEDtY1Cd2glLJ1BLiySWeE/s500/JLA+ZS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="394" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_jcXyLdMXWxNhi56YR_jgsTGIN_Jl6FIm9Fi7E9X6eLLqsWt2Km5kn31EMbD2cnEWwEy-NUqfMAdeTLxr1tLRO-G3gk4As9xgfX_t1aIqmCa6NG31ij3qkXEDtY1Cd2glLJ1BLiySWeE/w315-h400/JLA+ZS.jpg" width="315" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">After a 4-year campaign begging Warner Brothers to release the Snyder Cut of <b>JUSTICE LEAGUE</b>, it finally happened. It aired on HBO MAX in late March of 2021 to much fanfare, and some criticism. The intent of the campaign was created so it could be compared to the Joss Whedon version that reworked Snyder's vision and nearly reinvented it - and was released to theaters to great disappointment.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Snyder cut runs 4 hours but, fortunately, it's been broken into manageable segments for consumption in parts for viewers who want to see it. I saw it during a week-long stay in the hospital and, while I rather enjoyed the Whedon cut when it came out, the Snyder cut repeatedly made my fanboy jaw drop. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Not only is the Snyder cut fantastic, in my opinion, I feel it blows the Whedon cut right out of the water. There is more character development, plot lines are clarified, Cyborg is used to better effect, and the Snyder iteration of Steppenwulf and Darkseid are chilling. They don't look like CGI creations for the most part, as they did in the Whedon cut -- or was Darkseid never shown? I can't remember.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Scenes Whedon scripted filmed are excised, and - frankly - a couple are missed. I missed the sequence when Aquaman sat on Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth, and started rambling about how hot she was, but when considered the allegations of sexist behavior on Whedon's sets, well, maybe it's for the best. I did, however, miss the race between Superman and the Flash, as it was a highlight for me.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The best thing about this movie, to me, were the extended action sequences, the fresh characterizations of the superheroes, and - finally - Superman in his black Kryptonian uniform. Also, the omission of the cornball Russian family sequences, which made no sense to me whatsoever (what - there's only one family in Russia?).<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Snyder's film made me reconsider my stance on his first JLA effort, <b>MAN OF STEEL</b>, which I just wasn't prepared for when it came out. I'd just spent a month in the hospital, and seeing so many alterations to my favorite hero's back story, and particularly his lack of the traditional red trunks, and the Sci Fi infusions that seemed straight out of THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES and DRAGON RIDERS OF PERN, I just didn't like it. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">JLA Extended, which is what I'll call it, inspired me to rewatch <b>MAN OF STEEL</b>, and - this time - I actually liked it. Mainly because I understood what Snyder was trying to achieve after seeing JLA Extended. It also made <b>BATMAN v SUPERMAN</b>, which I already loved, just that much better.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Sure, there are some things I think needed alteration, but - for the life of me, I can't recall what they were. Well, maybe the cliff-hanger ending that may well never be resolved except in comics and graphic novels.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">All in all, I loved this movie. A lot.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kwPnf5oRodKxs2gNnG5gl4V5EegfzezTQnRAC5M7LlqRGAkjEkvpn0kVRCjTCbQQ54mCgVCg9GtOzE-B1TXIp-wrm5B3esThQ_DHm330AYAycYdyxkNUlonpTo3RCHe7SkU1iNFJGWI/s666/JLA+Supes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="507" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8kwPnf5oRodKxs2gNnG5gl4V5EegfzezTQnRAC5M7LlqRGAkjEkvpn0kVRCjTCbQQ54mCgVCg9GtOzE-B1TXIp-wrm5B3esThQ_DHm330AYAycYdyxkNUlonpTo3RCHe7SkU1iNFJGWI/w305-h400/JLA+Supes.jpg" width="305" /></a></span></div><br /><p></p>budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-55273812808392344932021-02-06T22:36:00.001-08:002021-02-25T15:45:22.468-08:00Updates, Updates, Updates...<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwsB7LDxUoraxjuumpZGjoBR82p745VVvWx-0-KoqDBa4cqBmTyFG1iW17cB4b6aC1HAUh-ibe3PDfGUzV3tcRUNdHR1ezRFVigKugfO7JguQoTbSecZwd434bpJD0mrvivoE6lTBsT0/s511/Calendar.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="423" data-original-width="511" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwsB7LDxUoraxjuumpZGjoBR82p745VVvWx-0-KoqDBa4cqBmTyFG1iW17cB4b6aC1HAUh-ibe3PDfGUzV3tcRUNdHR1ezRFVigKugfO7JguQoTbSecZwd434bpJD0mrvivoE6lTBsT0/w400-h331/Calendar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's been a while since I've posted a review due to illness, and this post will be brief as I'm still sick, but I'll make some comments about some things I've seen during the Covid-19 quarantine. And, no, I don't have Covid. My health situation relates to ongoing chronic ailments that have been plaguing me for the last several years.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Before I proceed, I do want to let those that are interested know the release of the <b>QUEEN OF HEARTS </b>fan-film was delayed because of the Covid Crisis, but all of the principal photography was completed, and a 4-hour rough cut of the movie has been assembled. It's being edited and should launch on YouTube in the next couple of months. Its director, Cameron Cloutier, is working diligently to see to this, all setbacks aside. I'll let readers of this blog know when it launches and, yes, it will be free of charge.</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Right now,<i> </i>I have a major head cold, so I'm not going to go into great detail about the following movies. I'll just comment on what I liked, and didn't like, and even then I won't be able to say an awful lot. I think I'll stick with the DC Animated movies I've seen in the last few months, but not necessarily according to their order of release. How about from favorite to least favorite?</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoj9kEqVkGy0s6040MHdifurxle2l6JujPA-uLW6K_Q2_3BZiFtZoqZVj9fcaD_hinRa6Glgi3hYcrEhyiT5EzCvNQn89arUR-oOAKgMViRAvRVZmgA8OciObDze-LYDN10WZF1fEKi58/s446/smoft.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="446" data-original-width="392" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoj9kEqVkGy0s6040MHdifurxle2l6JujPA-uLW6K_Q2_3BZiFtZoqZVj9fcaD_hinRa6Glgi3hYcrEhyiT5EzCvNQn89arUR-oOAKgMViRAvRVZmgA8OciObDze-LYDN10WZF1fEKi58/w562-h640/smoft.jpg" width="562" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>SUPERMAN: THE MAN OF TOMORROW</b>. Yet another retelling of Superman's origin, but I didn't mind. It seemed rather Old School, and I'm okay with that. My favorite thing about this was the fact that the DC character, <i>LOBO,</i> was showcased in it. Some folks didn't like this, but I thought it was pretty fun.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeTAwdkO4UW5lVnN9Iwn2TBiWDL8oWnFiwR-fUvTs8E5yDxAhO9NBYDrlmKhrbjcOLGSI7QyUvTYf90slGgUmRqYdrHIM_LKfuaiCx9TjpssamJiCAcXGUEsBEknFWQRAW8M3iFsq9HE/s600/DC2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeTAwdkO4UW5lVnN9Iwn2TBiWDL8oWnFiwR-fUvTs8E5yDxAhO9NBYDrlmKhrbjcOLGSI7QyUvTYf90slGgUmRqYdrHIM_LKfuaiCx9TjpssamJiCAcXGUEsBEknFWQRAW8M3iFsq9HE/w426-h640/DC2.jpg" width="426" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Take a page from Bruce Lee's <b>ENTER THE DRAGON</b>, add a mix of the <i>Dr. Strange</i> origin movie, mix some elements of the old <b>KUNG FU</b> series, toss in some Pop Psychology, add some Fortune Cookie Wisdom, and some elements from Christopher Nolan's <b>DARK KNIGHT</b> trilogy and the theatrical cut of DC's live action <b>JUSTICE LEAGUE</b> film, and set it all in what seems to be the 1970's, and you have <i>this.</i> There's also a heavy dose of the older <i>James Bond</i> films pitched in for good measure. Since I was born in 1966, I thought it was fun for the most part, but I could have done without the promiscuity.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Tjs8yJClSwRmCApD4xRjFyMux_KuEQnALThwDkJKe-ufK6GrCfJc4HrUVjImg2q7wqXD48J6Vc2C9QYk0DkEMPNODkt7BgL4NN5V1-euy6-Yfn2bOARwshRs9Ey-Lkvvp77q22elEho/s442/deathstroke.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="382" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Tjs8yJClSwRmCApD4xRjFyMux_KuEQnALThwDkJKe-ufK6GrCfJc4HrUVjImg2q7wqXD48J6Vc2C9QYk0DkEMPNODkt7BgL4NN5V1-euy6-Yfn2bOARwshRs9Ey-Lkvvp77q22elEho/w346-h400/deathstroke.jpg" width="346" /></a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Not sure why DC's <i>Deathstroke</i> warranted his own feature, but I'm assuming it's because the character was featured in the second season of <b>TITANS</b>, and made an appearance at the end of the credits for the theatrical release of <b>JUSTICE LEAGUE</b>. Most comic fans know that <i>Deathstroke</i> preceded Marvel's <i>Deadpool</i>, and the latter character was initially envisioned as a parody of the former. While <i>Deadpool</i> is a sarcastic blabbermouth, <i>Deathstroke</i> is silent, brooding, and extremely calculating. <i>Deathstroke</i> is s master of weaponry. and he does speak when he needs to, but he is nearly always presented as a stoic anti-hero who broods over his family or their possible endangerment. Such is the case with this film, and yet they toss some sex into the mix, and even show <i>Deathstroke's</i> bare cartoon butt <i>in flagrante deliocto</i> at one point. Was this really necessary? Aside from the things I didn't care for, it was okay, but I expect more from DC.</span><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDivf7R8EsBU1u-18unvtuuEC5OT7Nq8PLIyiCuTqqQS486bmxXoJnIYvjJr02tM_GanjXcnyARgAGIAFa_YgezPT3qHON-IVTs0nbdS-J3aHZ1VzexfmnomMVXaI7ufHpIoOPuj_YGU/s600/DC.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiDivf7R8EsBU1u-18unvtuuEC5OT7Nq8PLIyiCuTqqQS486bmxXoJnIYvjJr02tM_GanjXcnyARgAGIAFa_YgezPT3qHON-IVTs0nbdS-J3aHZ1VzexfmnomMVXaI7ufHpIoOPuj_YGU/w426-h640/DC.jpg" width="426" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was many years ago that the animated arm of DC Comics released <b>BATMAN: UNDER THE RED HOOD</b>, and it was alright, but I can't for the life of me figure out why they retold that story, and spent the bulk of the movie showcasing Batman and Superman, costumed as their secret identities, sitting in a diner as Batman/Bruce Wayne rehashes the story of Jason Todd while Clark Kent/Superman listens and occasionally offers advice. I was totally bored, and think it was the weakest release of the DC animated production company so far - even worse than the one that showcased Harley Quinn. There's a version with alternate endings, but I wasn't interested enough to give them a watch. Been there, done that, had the tee shirt, wore it out, and threw it away. Something different needs to be done. There are too many misses of late rather than home runs. No, sir. I didn't like it.</span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span>@LambThe #TheLamb</span><br /><br /></p></div>budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-85452289443043305532020-07-01T13:05:00.000-07:002020-07-02T06:50:34.742-07:00Queen of Hearts: A Twin Peaks Fanfilm (2020) It's a WRAP!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNibuWvv8isW-zl_nOtW8fVqHVoARgXdOM_SHDpnJwFhPjMnORlOAz-rN9hrtL72-w3r7lh_JKG2QQPt9YO959xg8P6GpeWXyWrV4Jj1zzoBlkUWRQYme-H8modYBGwWtqQd_9deOS3m0/s1600/104872086_10157126702321646_7290634442676285727_n+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="717" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNibuWvv8isW-zl_nOtW8fVqHVoARgXdOM_SHDpnJwFhPjMnORlOAz-rN9hrtL72-w3r7lh_JKG2QQPt9YO959xg8P6GpeWXyWrV4Jj1zzoBlkUWRQYme-H8modYBGwWtqQd_9deOS3m0/s640/104872086_10157126702321646_7290634442676285727_n+%25282%2529.jpg" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Director Cameron Cloutier's long-awaited Twin Peaks Fanfilm, QUEEN OF HEARTS has wrapped! Now it needs to be edited, tweaked, and prepared for its premiere in November...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cloutier, recently featured in part on the first installment of the HBO docuseries, <i>I'll Be Gone in the Dark </i>about the Golden State Killer, has released some Behind the Scenes photographs of his TWIN PEAKS production, and I thought I'd share a few of them to spark some curiosity, and to spur on some excitement for the film. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing this when it's all said and done. In no particular order, and only revealing that the actress playing Annie is also one of the film's producers, and Cloutier is the gentleman with white, cropped hair, usually shown wearing his blue jacket, I present to you some fan art, and a peek at what took place off screen, and on screen. November can't get here quickly enough. I'm so glad "It is happening again".</span></div>
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budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-26838344118394957172020-07-01T11:58:00.003-07:002020-07-01T12:03:37.000-07:00DC Animated: Justice League Dark - Apokolips War (2020)<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is the second animated JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK film, and it seems to also be the final installment of the initial JUSTICE LEAGUE series of animated movies. This is made plain at the very end of the movie, which features a sequence that promises new things to come - for better or for ill, depending on whether or not you like hard resets in a franchise. Me? I don't like them. I prefer the classic material, and don't like to see radical changes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The title of the movie says it all, really, and it makes me wonder if it's an allusion to the impending Zac Snyder cut of the live action JUSTICE LEAGUE movie next year sometime, that will feature Apocolips as its primary villain, as was originally intended. I, for one, am extremely excited about this. But I wasn't too thrilled with <b>JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK: APOCOLIPS WAR</b>. In fact, I didn't like it. Probably as much as I didn't like the animated adaptation of RED SON, which I also panned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The usual gang of "Dark" superheroes that formulate JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK are all accounted for in this film, but there are several instances where other established characters appear. Some are presented differently than we've ever known them before. There's adult language, and an overt series of comments from John Constantine (the Hellblazer) that imply he once engaged in gay bestiality with a fish person whom he calls his "ex." Seriously, was this needed? How did such a comment enhance the viewing experience? DC seems to be trying different ways to appear "progressive" but, for me, it always feels like a kick in the teeth. I don't care how Constantine has been presented in the HELLBLAZER comics, or in other mediums, he's entirely unlikeable in this effort.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The mishmash of scenes and </span><span style="font-size: large;">situations in this film are forgettable at best, and include material from the INFINITE CRISIS and CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS story-lines. Despite some material that is contradictory to those plots, the hard reboot at the end of the film smacks of DC's NEW 52 and REBIRTH reboots.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There's not a whole lot to be said other than, if you're inclined to dislike features of this sort where A,) A threat arises, B.) Abstract Defensive measures are taken and, C.) characters are killed and are somehow reanimated to enable the primary heroes to assemble as if this were a new concept, ignore this. I felt it was a sad waste of my time, even though it hinted at the possibility of multiverses, which are no longer as disliked as they were in 1986. If you understand that last sentence, you're a true comic fan.</span></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-19032548903370776532020-07-01T11:11:00.001-07:002020-07-02T07:12:45.837-07:00DC Animated: SUPERMAN - RED SON (2020)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8hky3iiXOkLcWttr_mq3HeaTeOospCcsimW2zokzIrdznzZQhj-Kgx4FUDlPJ9aoMJ9hnSqK-rzz5K_X-ALOxWs_j5SIEBnFvP5hK2GQ4_dPAWjZEvR9YifMsk9iLULfIGEeyxxb7JSQ/s1600/Red+Son+Movie.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1426" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8hky3iiXOkLcWttr_mq3HeaTeOospCcsimW2zokzIrdznzZQhj-Kgx4FUDlPJ9aoMJ9hnSqK-rzz5K_X-ALOxWs_j5SIEBnFvP5hK2GQ4_dPAWjZEvR9YifMsk9iLULfIGEeyxxb7JSQ/s640/Red+Son+Movie.jpg" width="448" /></a></div>
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<font size="5"><span>When the DC <i>Elseworld's</i> graphic novel, SUPERMAN - RED SON, was released, it immediately became one of my all-time favorite DC Graphic Novels due to its serious handling of its concept.<br /></span></font></div>
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<font size="5"><span>As the cover of the Graphic Novel implies, RED SON details what might have happened if the infant Superman's rocket landed in Russia rather than in Smallville, Kansas. The manner in which the story plays out is intricate, but one can easily cipher how things are ultimately resolved. I was extremely excited when it was announced that the animated arm of DC Comics was releasing an animated movie version. I couldn't wait to see it. But I totally forgot the old addage of "Be Careful What You Wish For - You Just Might Get It."</span></font></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjielz51xAhG9YfHWesjLFxnIE5MlHYNRfuhtmlXsWHl8a16JNTIHYpIrVLXmK_eXqJnSsr0mWZd-EGhucIY8TXts6spgceChVwDiPTqX_3ag_Ac_NBBgbdcNAOStrpoLpr-9yc30BeZv4/s1600/red+son+image.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="496" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjielz51xAhG9YfHWesjLFxnIE5MlHYNRfuhtmlXsWHl8a16JNTIHYpIrVLXmK_eXqJnSsr0mWZd-EGhucIY8TXts6spgceChVwDiPTqX_3ag_Ac_NBBgbdcNAOStrpoLpr-9yc30BeZv4/s640/red+son+image.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<font size="5"><span>To be frank, the animated version of RED SON is a complete and utter failure from start to finish when compared to its source material. I was sorely disappointed.</span></font></div><font size="5">
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<font size="5"><span>The movie's story begins and ends differently than the Graphic Novel, and it makes multiple changes in the plot and structure (and even some of the meaning) of the Graphic Novel original. There's obscene language at the near start of the film, and it's just not gritty enough as a whole. The artwork in the original book was grim, and dark. The movie is light and has a Saturday Morning Cartoon vibe. I just didn't like it. And that makes me sad. I don't really want to say any more about it than that.</span></font></div><font size="5">
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<font size="5"><span>Some may like it just fine, but I simply did not. So many people have speculated about alternate realities regarding Superman's arrival on Earth, and the RED SON graphic novel handled it so well. I wish I could say the same of its adaptation. <br /></span></font></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span><br /></span></font></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span>When I was younger, even I wondered what would happen if Superman arrived somewhere else on Earth other than Kansas. But one idea won't leave me:</span></font></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span><br /></span></font></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span>What if Baby Superman's ship landed near Hollywood prior to the beginnings of the Silent Movie era? Maybe Clark (presumably under another pseudonym) could have an interest in film and, as a young adult, looks for work on the set of one of Charlie Chaplin's earliest films. After he accidentally rescues someone from falling debris due to a mishap, and it's recorded on film, he is approached by Chaplin, who admires his ability to supercede him and Buster Keaton with his stunt work. He offers Clark (maybe even labelled as such after the then up-and-coming Clark Gable) a job as his chauffeur, and they plot out a way to introduce Cinema to its first-ever Superhero.</span></font></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span><br /></span></font></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span>The silent Superman films become massive hits and, to disguise himself from his rabid fan-base, Clark dons a moustache, and sunglasses - and, to honor Chaplin, a chauffeur's cap and uniform. His Superman garb is that of a Circus Strongman (he may even be called "The Strong Man" in his movies), so it really would be easy for him to live a literal double life.</span></font></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span><br /></span></font></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span>After an event occurs that results in Clark rescuing someone unexpectedly (or stopping a crime in progress), his fan base grows as the press begins to take notice. Especially a certain Gossip Columnist named "Lois."</span></font></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span><br /></span></font></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><font size="5"><span>People start emulating Clark's heroics, and he becomes an inspirational Urban Legend. Many think his covert rescues are advertising gimmicks, and the story grows from there. Are you listening, @DCcomics ?<br /></span></font></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-52141422177348069162020-07-01T10:50:00.002-07:002020-07-01T10:50:56.350-07:00WHAT in the WORLD is going ON?!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RxyhglnvCHan-W0UcZQ9UrJQimSlS3GBzWSS4bzDCyIpCd5dGisKVGnlSWFUXV0gvKd22zRjBKeejmbm9p2mMRbdVjcNE9BvuTns0sOQ329M870lT4SQRh4x5-sgDy7HGqtyQ4w6ORw/s1600/F-Bomb+Final.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RxyhglnvCHan-W0UcZQ9UrJQimSlS3GBzWSS4bzDCyIpCd5dGisKVGnlSWFUXV0gvKd22zRjBKeejmbm9p2mMRbdVjcNE9BvuTns0sOQ329M870lT4SQRh4x5-sgDy7HGqtyQ4w6ORw/s640/F-Bomb+Final.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the Fall of 1993, my older cousin and I spent a little over a week in the U.K., sight-seeing. We spent a lot of time riding the trains, and experiencing the culture, and doing a lot of listening to conversations that seemed to be openly broadcast between individuals. On one special excursion, we went to the Cliffs of Dover, and to Dover Castle (which I delightfully explored). At the end of the day, we had to hop a train back to London, and there was a group of young school children who, apparently, had gone to Dover Castle on a field trip.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The children on the train couldn't have been older than 10, and I would guess that they were around 8 or 9. I sat down and waited for my cousin to get to the train, and pretended to pay no mind to the youngsters, who were bouncing in their seats and acting silly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It wasn't too long before these kids let loose with a torrent of expletives, both profane and obscene, and they did this quite loudly, as if I wasn't even there in front of them. I was shocked, because I'd never heard kids talk like that before in my entire life. Not even in the boy's locker rooms at school. Being a lifelong Anglophile, I was sorely disappointed by all I heard and, to be honest, it made me really sad because I thought their vulgar talk was not needed, and sullied any respect I may have ultimately engendered for them.<br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One evening before we left, my cousin and I walked past Westminster Abbey, and there were two men walking side by side, cursing like sailors. I was upset by this, because we were on the grounds of one of the most famous churches in the world, and they didn't seem to care one whit that they were on hallowed ground. I felt embarrassed for them. Embarrassed, because they didn't know what they sounded like, and how wrong I felt it was to merge the Sacred with the Profane, which is what they were doing, They were also adding Obscenity to the mix, and it was no big deal for them,<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Longtime readers know that I am an ordained minister, and something of a Puritan at times, but hearing all this foul language being uttered so casually in England back then made me think of the Bible verse in the Epistle of James, Chapter 3, which states that one tree cannot produce both bitter water and sweet at the same time... Similarly, I feel that intelligence and obscenity/profanity hold a similar problem.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">To my way of thinking, profanity and obscenity do not enhance dialogue. Ever. In fact, it's not needed under any circumstance, or in any situation. Some movies seem to assume that, if there's not a curse word in every other sentence or more, the movie can't or won't be taken seriously. I Say this is simply not so.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Can you imagine a Shakespearean play in which characters used the foul language of today with impunity? Sure, there was some tawdry verbiage of the period in some of the Great Bard;s works, and some allusions to sordid topics, but it was always uttered with precision and was deemed acceptable by both audiences and the Royalty and Nobility for whom it was written.<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since I was in Britain in 1992, I have seen a serious decline in intelligent conversation across the board - and especially in Film and Television. I've also seen reports I don't buy into that state that people who swear are more trustworthy. Largely because they don't hold anything back, and tell you exactly what they think - unfettered from the constraints of acceptable communication in Polite Society.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">My wife and I first noticed the shift in acceptable language when we'd watch television shows that, even after censorship, allowed words like G-D, but censored other less offensive "bad words."The TV show SOUTH PARK was the first to test the boundaries, but eventually even television show <i>titles</i> started being littered with "cuss words." Remember the William Shatner show, "S#it My Dad Says"? What about "Don't trust the B---- in Apartment #3"? I could elaborate, but I won't. You get the idea, and I'm sure you've been exposed to them.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">A few years ago, the television series SUPERNATURAL had one of the two leads claim someone was "dumber than a bag of dicks," and now it's commonplace to hear this on TV, especially on Cable.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Who fell asleep at the censorship wheel at Standards and Practices, set a precedent, and opened the floodgates to language that was once deemed unacceptable? Aren't there any limits anymore to what can be heard on TV?<br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It would be boring if I elaborated further on the de-evolution of language but, suffice to say, it's all gone downhill, and gets worst all the time. Movies, at least, warn viewers in advance that there may be rough sailing ahead when it comes to dialogue. Television shows, as I mentioned earlier, (particularly Cable shows) would be considered R-rated when compared to what was acceptable back in the day. Foul words just do <i>not</i> enhance a movie or show, let alone a conversation, yet they now seem to be a requirement. It's gone past the point where one can overlook such talk in a movie or show with a gritty setting with "street" characters.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">It's almost as if filthy dialogue was now being forced on viewers, whether they like it or not, and the worst offenders are streaming from unexpected places.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you scan through the titles I've reviewed on this blog, you can easily see that I am an ardent fan of Superhero movies. I also enjoy clean Superhero shows. Note the word "clean."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">I am not embarrassed to say that I have been a lifelong Comic Book fan. Particularly DC Comics. I initially liked the CW television shows that were loosely based on DC Comics and characters -- but then they became too political, and I lost interest. I enjoy superhero stories that are adventure-based, but ever since SMALLVILLE first aired (and, for the record, I detest that show for straying from long-established continuity and setting the template for all other shows that came in its wake to do the same), it seems as though all of the CW shows hinge on lengthy conversations, established television formulas, and those stupid side glances and pauses that are meant to convey sincerity. My motto has always been "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" when it comes to TV shows based on comic books. Movies, too, for that matter, but let me finalize my thoughts on what I see going on in other television shows based on comic books.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">When DC announced it was launching its own streaming service, I was excited. I thought it was going to be great. Then they announced which shows they were going to be producing for fans: TEEN TITANS, DOOM PATROL, and SWAMP THING (which was to be filmed in my home town of Wilmington, NC).</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The TEEN TITANS actually looked like good representations of their comic book counterparts but, from the very first episode, the show featured pervasive usage of the F word. In fact, it was spewing freely from their mouths. It made me feel rather ill, because I'd never even seen ONE issue of the TEEN TITANS comic where this particular word was tossed around by the teenage characters with impunity. To me, it was a betrayal of what the characters were based on and stood for. The second season wasn't much better, but the TEEN TITANS show was not the worst offender.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">DOOM PATROL was initially promoted on a singular episode of TEEN TITANS, and it featured cleaner dialogue than all the other episodes of that show. The writers seemed to get that foul language wasn't needed. But then came the DOOM PATROL show.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The DOOM PATROL show is, in a word, nasty. It's nasty in that I would hate to count how many times foul, obscene, and profane language is used. Particularly by Brandon Frasier's character, but even moreso by Mary, the female character with multiple personalities. Every other word seems to be "F," and I can't understand why. Why is it needed?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">In a fan forum on-line, I complained about hearing characters I've been aware of for over 40 years use harsh and profane language. One knucklehead responded, "I like to hear them cuss, because people cuss." Does that mean you like to see people commit murder because people commit murder? Personally, I thought it was an ignorant argument.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">SWAMP THING was cancelled before it finished its first full season. This was due to a grave financial miscalculation by the North Carolina State Treasury that negatively affected its producers and backers ability to monetarily produce the show. Interestingly enough, SWAMP THING featured the least amount of course language of any of the shows DC has produced thus far for its streaming service.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The potty-mouthed DOOM PATROL's second season continued its trend of puking out the "F" word, and I have to say that - while I like its original (and innocent) source material, I can't stomach this show because of its R-Rated language and Sex Scenes, so I'm not a fan. I'm not really a fan of the TEEN TITANS show, either. I just can't endorse them...</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ultimately, I just wish this detestable trend would fade away. I just don't get it. Too much is too much. I'd prefer not to want to take a shower to wash away the crud I've been exposed to when I watch any kind of TV show or movie. And while I may be in the vast minority when it comes to being sensitive about such things -- I really don't care. Seems like Common Sense to me.<br /></span></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-4385807406363848922020-06-23T19:09:00.000-07:002020-07-02T06:47:46.658-07:00Queen of Hearts: A Twin Peaks Fanfilm -- Release date!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bUf9Aj_AKIjrbUQY4wTTICjtrhrKKCGXuIS3sMfR9_FIEOzAXkoCDatAR4R1dFvzaXT4Yb6Z-ko1S84VWj78JkL4bG6ps0RXYvvtfl6GH_X4uQnjA01_8xGSjYP-mtJcg34Yxe0dYwo/s1600/104433058_10157144984741646_6949340803735556262_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="671" data-original-width="960" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9bUf9Aj_AKIjrbUQY4wTTICjtrhrKKCGXuIS3sMfR9_FIEOzAXkoCDatAR4R1dFvzaXT4Yb6Z-ko1S84VWj78JkL4bG6ps0RXYvvtfl6GH_X4uQnjA01_8xGSjYP-mtJcg34Yxe0dYwo/s640/104433058_10157144984741646_6949340803735556262_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Once the COVID-19 Quarantine Restrictions eased up, Cameron Cloutier (the writer & director of <b>QUEEN OF HEARTS</b>) and his cast dove right back into the production to shoot their final scenes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Everyone involved is very excited, and Cameron recently released the actual and, hopefully, final release date - fingers crossed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so, without further ado, note the words on the following image:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWblEmDZchpCsR55ElNvZ4y-sSFBSc9dCTDKrkp3WINS1JEEGWporYjIlUJx0UaVXSxhy9nDh10uGjlerBx0ZOoRVg8BqkiosoPn7bzR8_g52MYMsdrUC44hFYp0gea-trMpvQlWWguE/s1600/5eefea093099e9001c733553.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="959" data-original-width="1024" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnWblEmDZchpCsR55ElNvZ4y-sSFBSc9dCTDKrkp3WINS1JEEGWporYjIlUJx0UaVXSxhy9nDh10uGjlerBx0ZOoRVg8BqkiosoPn7bzR8_g52MYMsdrUC44hFYp0gea-trMpvQlWWguE/s640/5eefea093099e9001c733553.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Spread the word on all your preferred Social Media platforms, and look for updates on the <b>Queen of Hearts</b> Facebook and Twitter pages...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the meantime, take a seat in the Red Room, and have yourself a cup of dang fine coffee and a piece of cherry pie. <i>It is happening again. </i></span></div>
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budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-25823098724376836572020-04-10T15:31:00.000-07:002020-04-10T17:50:15.063-07:00Queen of Hearts: A Twin Peaks Fan-film -- Update!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUDhxynTPNdjj4nGXdkV6xfOBmY5rxgyZbkcyn7R9QrbzSSkOQ60Xyt53Fcs3Hoh6lXEqfsGevCrxsV9TiQLKenJm4TDPTSdhGFk6Hl3rRCIjE7CI06Fdb72ybRdtrkBK2-o9YyjJsxI/s1600/Annie+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="720" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUDhxynTPNdjj4nGXdkV6xfOBmY5rxgyZbkcyn7R9QrbzSSkOQ60Xyt53Fcs3Hoh6lXEqfsGevCrxsV9TiQLKenJm4TDPTSdhGFk6Hl3rRCIjE7CI06Fdb72ybRdtrkBK2-o9YyjJsxI/s640/Annie+5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Well, no one saw it coming. No one was expecting the COVID-19 quarantine. It's shut just about everything down. Restaurants, Movie Theaters, and - unfortunately - the final round of shooting for the <b>Queen of Hearts</b> production. With only a little bit left to go, the Director - Cameron Cloutier - and his cast - had to postpone wrapping up until we're all given the "Okay" signal from the powers that be. Well, maybe it should be a Thumbs Up in honor of Dale Cooper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Director of the fan-film has posted several clips of the film on <span style="color: red;"><b>YouTube</b></span>, and recently posted its first official trailer, which you can find <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V0h6qz4fTY" target="_blank">here.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">YouTube Vlogger Michael Snow posted his affirmative reaction to the trailer in a video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywrdJ8isO-8&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">here.</a> In it, he discusses his excitement about the forthcoming movie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The film has several spots on Social Media platforms where you can keep up with how things have gone, and will soon (hopefully) be going.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">One is the <b>Queen of Hearts</b> <span style="color: blue;"><b>Facebook</b></span> page; it's private, so you have to request to be added to it. You can find it <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/2173663476243028" target="_blank">here. </a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">There's a fairly regular podcast on <span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Youtube</b></span> that's hosted by the director the film, but it's not exclusively devoted to <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>QUEEN OF HEARTS</b></span> (there's quite a bit of <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>TWIN PEAKS</b></span> material, and David Lynch discussions, and general movie and TV talk). It's called <b>OBNOXIOUS AND ANONYMOUS</b>, and can be found <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0hoE4h1oj1_nVu6CLLovZw" target="_blank">here.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">On <b>Twitter</b>, be sure to check out the <a href="https://twitter.com/queenofheartstp" target="_blank">QUEEN OF HEARTS: A TWIN PEAKS FANFILM</a> account. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">There's also an <b>Instagram</b> account focusing on the progress of the film that can be found <a href="https://www.instagram.com/queenofhearts_twinpeaksfanfilm/" target="_blank">here.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I have watched and re-watched the trailer, and think it's going to be a <i>really</i> good tribute to <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>TWIN PEAKS</b></span> and, especially, the Annie Blackburn character. I have been extremely impressed with what I've seen to date, and trust other <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>TWIN PEAKS</b></span> fans will be, too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">If you would like to help bring positive attention to this endeavor, consider using the following hashtags when, or if, you post about it: #SaveAnnie #QueenofHearts #TwinPeaks and #Fanfilm -- and don't forget to give the <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>YouTube</b></span> videos a good ol' Dale Cooper THUMBS UP!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Remember, this is a <i>not-for-profit</i> fan-film, and the budget has been minimal compared to big budget films from Hollywood. The Directer is doing the very best he can with limited means, and I think he's done really great work thus far. This project is not to be regarded as an official part of <span style="color: #38761d;"><b>TWIN PEAKS</b></span> canon and lore (although it would be nice if it could be), but merely a heart-felt tribute. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I close with some photographs from the film, in no particular order, and a shot from an item made by a fan of Mr. Cloutier's work:</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Note that this is the self-same church where Alfred Hitchcock filmed pivotal scenes in his classic film VERTIGO...</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5r9e2jpLdZw29C6ZUZW9MJK0CgCP0yb1o0XgRTQN1Lfgine-rd5fq3pbDB_pw2vMvDZCJ06E81P72c40o0pAH3_IQY0Dq2djYXO_RJyVCC3qc7Cvcl2hRtch945WMWxnvLSlceh_1gbw/s1600/Annie+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="802" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5r9e2jpLdZw29C6ZUZW9MJK0CgCP0yb1o0XgRTQN1Lfgine-rd5fq3pbDB_pw2vMvDZCJ06E81P72c40o0pAH3_IQY0Dq2djYXO_RJyVCC3qc7Cvcl2hRtch945WMWxnvLSlceh_1gbw/s640/Annie+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6W5TCfylozSM8OMwyHnQT2aWjB8Sj7a9xwm-jfajxc615q75mYY1yfPU7Ru2R2mZuwFWs_NdMdu38QLI4Bwr8TMfkqLssKwVfoNblrTs2Xj6sSkaIoiTntf6IKoDrQHLKaFWVDUEy18/s1600/Annie+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="841" data-original-width="843" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_6W5TCfylozSM8OMwyHnQT2aWjB8Sj7a9xwm-jfajxc615q75mYY1yfPU7Ru2R2mZuwFWs_NdMdu38QLI4Bwr8TMfkqLssKwVfoNblrTs2Xj6sSkaIoiTntf6IKoDrQHLKaFWVDUEy18/s640/Annie+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I wish the director, Cameron Cloutier, and the cast of the film, the very best of luck as they await the conclusion of filming.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsfWjoyVafzp4hqrq-pBf3Xw79ulmtJG6QHRRhLkNyirLGRcTkLF7pSjyg4mIk3pf1ccqJrTt9fIiDa1rd45Qdyy3DhLXFSXA4jwxe0tpiPfAoJVt8omRUvIityuDcmWmqU_Ylp7eQgI/s1600/Twin+Peaks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="981" data-original-width="1050" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjsfWjoyVafzp4hqrq-pBf3Xw79ulmtJG6QHRRhLkNyirLGRcTkLF7pSjyg4mIk3pf1ccqJrTt9fIiDa1rd45Qdyy3DhLXFSXA4jwxe0tpiPfAoJVt8omRUvIityuDcmWmqU_Ylp7eQgI/s640/Twin+Peaks.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">#AnnieLives #SaveAnnie #QueenofHearts #ObnoxiousandAnonymous</span></div>
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budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-28611211476478997442020-02-16T15:40:00.000-08:002020-04-09T13:19:43.582-07:00A Twin Peaks Fan-Film: Queen of Hearts (2020) A Coming Attraction...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiUE22DmvM5MbrTz9jbqZTb1IGVjRJcdJqjFVBkJ6PlS4TYjinABD8jW_owOxpwlW9cH5fCgEfzNc0du5emBdd-pPDRS8oaoFofyVMgiBgR5LjrL2cweztlgep_DKfj03G8Uo0ibS6F8/s1600/QoH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikiUE22DmvM5MbrTz9jbqZTb1IGVjRJcdJqjFVBkJ6PlS4TYjinABD8jW_owOxpwlW9cH5fCgEfzNc0du5emBdd-pPDRS8oaoFofyVMgiBgR5LjrL2cweztlgep_DKfj03G8Uo0ibS6F8/s640/QoH.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Periodically, I'll write up a review or an essay about an impending Fan-Film. This "Coming Attraction" essay briefly details an upcoming project I am extremely excited about seeing...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the summer of 2019, rumors spread like wildfire across the internet that a <i>fourth</i> season of the the enigmatic television series <b>TWIN PEAKS</b> was soon to be announced. All because of a cryptic Tweet that didn't necessarily state this, but led <b>TWIN PEAKS</b> fans to wonder if it was a near certainty. It wasn't to pan out this way, but <b>TWIN PEAKS </b>fervor kicked into high gear for a time. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kEx6C1Xo4QZykjF4wZsdxH6jQJ-vQmGa66sww0rYrW0UcOQKV7njwlAphyphenhyphenn5pMdGlsNzwfqLsVXbSrskyLkhDIePocPfk4ep2ZEsFx-x2Rw-KSB3mRdzzQf3iQwou9sYi0ZCGxKDvJk/s1600/QoH2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1kEx6C1Xo4QZykjF4wZsdxH6jQJ-vQmGa66sww0rYrW0UcOQKV7njwlAphyphenhyphenn5pMdGlsNzwfqLsVXbSrskyLkhDIePocPfk4ep2ZEsFx-x2Rw-KSB3mRdzzQf3iQwou9sYi0ZCGxKDvJk/s640/QoH2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Of all the conversations revolving around <b>TWIN PEAKS</b> that summer, the most interesting one was that <b>TWIN PEAKS</b> MegaFan, Cameron Cloutier, was in the process of creating his own take on a certain aspect of <b>TWIN PEAKS</b> lore, in the form of a not-for-profit Fan Film: <i>Queen of Hearts.</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_9RDYclqK1wI7qacZuVrWgGeSCSdYoFN-mP0f3Ab10Ok12Gil_4TAMRVuDBJgWP2hiDarOMIlpzDOF1a3vBDlyT04HDocAl2HBIjgkWvU6kwTIci7anakpuOdyOgDE7yG75__vUNkMU/s1600/QoH5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="679" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6_9RDYclqK1wI7qacZuVrWgGeSCSdYoFN-mP0f3Ab10Ok12Gil_4TAMRVuDBJgWP2hiDarOMIlpzDOF1a3vBDlyT04HDocAl2HBIjgkWvU6kwTIci7anakpuOdyOgDE7yG75__vUNkMU/s640/QoH5.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For the last several years, Cameron Cloutier has run perhaps the very best <b>TWIN PEAKS</b>-centric YouTube channel, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0hoE4h1oj1_nVu6CLLovZw" target="_blank"><i>OBNOXIOUS AND ANONYMOUS</i></a>. Cameron has an astounding knowledge and an abiding passion for all things <b>TWIN PEAKS</b> and, like me, has harbored hopes since the end of the second season of the show, that the conclusion of that season would be resolved. When the third season was announced, hopes rose that "The Return" would address what Cameron and I both felt couldn't be avoided -- and yet it was.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk64XCVeTZnTsjBSoSXJEZBx6vyOvmvefRoTBBaK3tEYdOpeZmhFiWQMrMU1meAWcPyvtMq9ocqzWzjTTr4a7Lrg_AdlQNX9ByHpkVDV2ySdazLiYpoD1H1pD17e6QF-VrpLpACftsSLE/s1600/QoH8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="540" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk64XCVeTZnTsjBSoSXJEZBx6vyOvmvefRoTBBaK3tEYdOpeZmhFiWQMrMU1meAWcPyvtMq9ocqzWzjTTr4a7Lrg_AdlQNX9ByHpkVDV2ySdazLiYpoD1H1pD17e6QF-VrpLpACftsSLE/s640/QoH8.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the second season of the series, and even in part during the later theatrical release, <b>FIRE WALK WITH ME</b>, the elements that caught mine and Cameron's attention were prominent. In fact, it seemed as though any possible third season of the show would have to address them. And, as I stated earlier, Season 3: The Return did not, when it aired on Showtime. In fact, while the conclusion of season 2 resulted in the creation of the character later named "Mr. C," who becomes central to "The Return," season 3 never acknowledges those events!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfLh9jhUbi7VzO-Hmmq4NAMHLw-Ka6WUxATjcPvPzpJ8YpAKImdks5bS_F-Jv9cG7NuI7MegwWqsVdAbAPTcmMvdU_SIXmIxU9PfmV4majHLSidEZK52snvXdOAwc1_CAt8MKbilrS-M/s1600/QoH7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="239" data-original-width="320" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfLh9jhUbi7VzO-Hmmq4NAMHLw-Ka6WUxATjcPvPzpJ8YpAKImdks5bS_F-Jv9cG7NuI7MegwWqsVdAbAPTcmMvdU_SIXmIxU9PfmV4majHLSidEZK52snvXdOAwc1_CAt8MKbilrS-M/s640/QoH7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Before we proceed, it would probably behoove me to offer up a brief description of what I've been alluding to regarding Season 2.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Most people are aware that Season 1 of <b>TWIN PEAKS</b> revolved around FBI agent Dale Cooper's attempts to resolve the mysterious murder of a popular high school student named Laura Palmer. For good or for ill, the murder was resolved, and when the show returned, the Second Season was something of a mixed bag of tricks. The highlights, however (at least for Cameron and for me), were two plot lines that converged at the end of the series. The storyline with a character named Windom Earle, and the storyline that centers around a character named Annie Blackburn.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Around mid-way through Season 2, Agent Dale Cooper meets Annie Blackburn, the beautiful younger sister of the late Peggy Lipton's character, Norma Jennings. Annie is played by Heather Graham, and she is the epitome of beauty and virtue. It's never explained why she was never mentioned on the show before she was introduced, but Dale falls head over heels in love with her, and vice versa.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The other plot line that was worth exploring further dealt with Windom Earle, a former FBI agent, and Dale Cooper's arch nemesis. At one point in that season, Dale confesses to Annie that he and Windom Earle were once partners, and it's also revealed that they often played Chess together. Earle turned evil when Dale and Earl's wife, Caroline, had an affair. Windom Earle killed Caroline for her betrayal, and swore vengeance on Dale, claiming that - one day - he would exact his revenge. Clues that this is about to occur start to pop up (such as Chess pieces at scenes of crimes), and Dale does his best to prepare for whatever Windom Earle would sling his way.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the final few episodes of Season 2, Windom Earle disguises himself in order to infiltrate the throngs of people attending the annual Miss Twin Peaks Beauty Pageant, which Annie is competing in. Hiding behind the main stage curtain, Windom Earle ultimately causes the house lights in the theater to go off, and chaos ensues. Attendees begin to scatter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As soon as he has a chance to make his move, Earle abducts Annie, who actually won the pageant. We quickly learn through exposition that Earle is aware of the portal in the woods that leads to the curtained Red Room where the Giant and the Man from Another Place reside. Earl drives Annie there, against her will. Luckily, Dale figures out Earl's destination, but trails behind him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When he arrives at the location he needs to investigate, Dale figures out how to enter the realm where the Red Room exists. After Cooper finds the spot where the portal is - long story short, he encounters a series of apparitions, including his lost love, Katherine, who transforms into Annie before his eyes. Suddenly, Annie is on the ground, bleeding from her mouth and stomach - the same places Caroline was wounded prior to her death. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Essentially, Annie is last seen bleeding from her nose on the floor of what most <b>TWIN PEAKS</b> fans refer to as "The Other Place." Windom Earle appears from behind a curtain and asks Dale if he is willing to trade his soul for the life of his love. Dale says "yes," and Earle stabs him in the stomach. Then the evil being known as "Bob" appears and says, "He can't take your soul. I will take HIS!" and he holds a hand above Earl's head, and fire is released from Earle's skull, and it enters his hand, rendering Earl into a trance-like state. The next time we see Dale Cooper, he's unconscious, and Sheriff Truman takes him back to his room,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The local physician of Twin Peaks and Sheriff Truman hold vigil over Cooper while he sleeps and, when he awakens, Cooper acts very strangely. He goes into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and when he looks in the mirror we do not see Dale Cooper's reflection. We see Bob looking back at Cooper. Cooper smashes his forehead into the bathroom mirror, and after bizarrely squeezing all the toothpaste out of its tube, repeatedly asks, "How's Annie?" while laughing maniacally. Fade to Black. End of Season 2. It would be over 20 years before Season 4 began, yet all of what was just described is largely ignored.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After the show's two seasons, David Lynch released the film <b>FIRE WALK WITH ME</b> to theaters. Annie appears in a very memorable sequence in which she is seen lying in Laura Palmer's bed, bloodied face and all. She gives Laura a cryptic message, and when Lynch shot season 3, Annie is never mentioned. It's like she was never a part of the TWIN PEAKS universe. Windom Earle is never mentioned again, either, except in Mark Frost's TWIN PEAKS book, THE FINAL DOSSIER, but his take on the fates of these characters is entirely dissatisfying.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8AI72iLdvFIfD_itVS7xS9TrNT9DDQsXcgLq1mLrkScNDLi_CGPfg-atdNqnwaiKvYv1HvD850kRuMkuKtxfpni1DtM36parllDP111RZZbbrxOVWvldkctDU7Eb0olck4Ln4rNdmFNg/s1600/Queen+of+Hearts+A+Twin+Peaks+Fan+Film.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="629" data-original-width="629" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8AI72iLdvFIfD_itVS7xS9TrNT9DDQsXcgLq1mLrkScNDLi_CGPfg-atdNqnwaiKvYv1HvD850kRuMkuKtxfpni1DtM36parllDP111RZZbbrxOVWvldkctDU7Eb0olck4Ln4rNdmFNg/s640/Queen+of+Hearts+A+Twin+Peaks+Fan+Film.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It appears that Cameron Cloutier is going to amend the transgressions of the final season of his favorite Television Show. I'm not really certain what's entailed in the plot of his fan-film but, based on the stills he's released since filming began, I suspect the following: part of Cameron's fan-film will detail Dale Cooper's past with Windom Earl in greater detail, including how Caroline Earl came to be killed after her romance with Dale Cooper was discovered. And especially the romance between Dale and Annie Blackburn. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Cameron has been doing painstaking work on this project, and only the Lord knows how long it germinated in his heart, mind, and soul before he got to this point. I, for one, am anticipating only good things when he uploads it to Youtube this summer. Excitement grows as other TWIN PEAKS fans await the release, too, and many</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">have produced fan art and sent it to Cameron. I'll close out with three examples, and some stills from behind the scenes:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXyAGIxhxDvnbuuhuj0n34YATidpJ5vXEhDQvFrJQTjWY2692_4hHKUjWckvvbewfpdHNN6JbutU5fEmIVFQ4walV02yTV-dhg0RFTU1KQYmWMBYIVm4TBpVY3ojYgQyyhNK_Z_lThS4/s1600/wcc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="282" data-original-width="540" height="334" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXyAGIxhxDvnbuuhuj0n34YATidpJ5vXEhDQvFrJQTjWY2692_4hHKUjWckvvbewfpdHNN6JbutU5fEmIVFQ4walV02yTV-dhg0RFTU1KQYmWMBYIVm4TBpVY3ojYgQyyhNK_Z_lThS4/s640/wcc.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtOi6nXUlr07vmVV8zZYOgUEIO3XeCk5T8zeLCVXTrMNdWbWxU7cFtToSnst-cP3FvL4n5pXJu59NnxRRaNpT6vvLt9eWUGv4QKjKEqpkoeQe34vg2xU_VYCu-8VKYqNd0n7BOvz8W0E/s1600/48051735_10155776182876646_4926309943570595840_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="526" data-original-width="620" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijtOi6nXUlr07vmVV8zZYOgUEIO3XeCk5T8zeLCVXTrMNdWbWxU7cFtToSnst-cP3FvL4n5pXJu59NnxRRaNpT6vvLt9eWUGv4QKjKEqpkoeQe34vg2xU_VYCu-8VKYqNd0n7BOvz8W0E/s640/48051735_10155776182876646_4926309943570595840_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Be on the lookout for this production. I sure will be!</span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">*NOTICE*</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">DUE TO THE COVID-19 QUARRATINE, THIS PRODUCTION HAS BEEN DELAYED UNTIL </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">THE CAST & CREW CAN</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>SAFELY REGROUP! </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT! </b></span></span></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-52063951127489060562020-01-24T18:58:00.000-08:002020-07-01T13:16:00.467-07:00A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85PvbAWTr5-qB1YpBf8RdNMq6EegzPSfqh1rjlovNsKjkxibJTLEbDw96bH5f4vp_5JPWTmsLSe_LtT1UMeyyJaPQGgqWYd1nape4FwTORt6xjYyXM880EIXoMs30gqn_R9C28IplZcY/s1600/Mr.+Rogers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="674" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85PvbAWTr5-qB1YpBf8RdNMq6EegzPSfqh1rjlovNsKjkxibJTLEbDw96bH5f4vp_5JPWTmsLSe_LtT1UMeyyJaPQGgqWYd1nape4FwTORt6xjYyXM880EIXoMs30gqn_R9C28IplZcY/s640/Mr.+Rogers.jpg" width="430" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">A lot of people my age (I'm currently 53) were really concerned when news got out that this movie was about to be released. They were mostly concerned that the movie would ruin their childhood memories of the late Fred Rogers in some way. A documentary about his life, <b>WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?</b> was released in 2018, and grossed over $100 million dollars at the box office, so it was only a matter of time before Hollywood wanted its piece of the pie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">People seemed to calm down somewhat when it was reported that Tom Hanks, the modern day Jimmy Stewart, agreed to play the lead, but I still saw people my age holding their breath with anticipation of its release, horrified it would uncover something insidious about the man. What it could have been, I have no idea, but I guess it would be tantamount to learning something creepy about Bob Ross, and his happy little trees...and some folks just didn't want to consider the prospect of such a possibility.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I rather liked the 2018 documentary, but I was somewhat indifferent to the thought of seeing the movie. I grew up adoring MISTER ROGERS' NEIGHBORHOOD. I'd make sure to carve out time each day after school, and I loved all the characters - both the puppets, and the human beings alike. I was disappointed, frankly, that Tom Hanks was to be Mr. Rogers. To me, he may have walked somewhat like him, and wore the same clothes, and had a similar haircut -- but, even in the trailers, Tom Hanks just didn't capture Mr. Rogers for me...not at all. Not in looks, physique and, especially in the way he spoke. I thought, though, that I might get used to Hanks as Rogers when I saw the movie...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When I finally saw it after it was released, I very quickly came to realize that the much-ballyhooed film wasn't really a "Mr. Rogers" movie at all. Mostly it's about a reporter who is trying to interview the PBS icon. Mr. Rogers, however, isn't really interested, and if he was as psychically gifted in real life as he was presented in the movie, he probably wouldn't have been on a PBS children's program, but would have been doing something else altogether.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The bulk of the movie revolves around the fore-mentioned reporter who aspires to meet Mister Rogers and interview him. Instead of focusing on Mister Rogers, the director seems intent on focusing on the reporter's misery and pained past. Mr. Rogers, like a magical guru with a powerful ability to quietly read the emotional states of others, immediately discerns what's wrong with the reporter, which initially freaks him out, and he leaves Mr. Rogers as quickly as he can, and encounters him a spattering of times throughout the movie.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fred Rogers is presented in the film as an almost divine being with no flaws whatsoever and, being a Presbyterian minister in real life, I'm sure he would have been extremely uncomfortable with the notion. Ministers, after all, are just people like everyone else, with flaws and foibles like all other human beings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Mrs. Fred Rogers tells the reporter at one point in the film that Mr. Rogers is extremely flawed, but we never see this displayed for viewers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It seemed odd to me that Mr. Rogers was not the primary character in a film that claimed to be ostensibly about him. I wanted to know about his life, and what factors swayed him to personify the character my generation came to love. I also wondered why the director didn't just break down and incorporate a scenario in which Rogers somehow interacted with Bob Ross. They should have also given him angel wings and a halo. It was almost annoying that they crafted a caricature of what the real Mr. Rogers must have been like, and not a more conventional biopic. It was also almost annoying that the powers that be chose Tom Hanks to play Rogers, since I don' think he was quite able to pull off appearing to be the physical and spiritual essence of the man, and he certainly didn't sound like him to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When all was said and done, I was very disappointed with this film, and I can't say I'd recommend it. Sorry, but I don't want to be this Mr, Roger's neighbor...</span></div>
<br />budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-13622338717830585022019-12-25T18:27:00.000-08:002019-12-25T18:27:07.974-08:00STAR WARS: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well, it's a wrap. The "Skywalker" Saga has come to an end. For better or worse, whether we liked this last installment or not, it's done. There may be more <b>STAR WARS</b> films, but they won't be about the lineage and prodigy of Anakin and Luke Skywalker. At least according to Disney Studios.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Since <b>THE FORCE AWAKENS</b>, audiences have been led down a series of trails that, ultimately, didn't end up where anyone suspected - particularly die-hard <b>STAR WARS</b> fans. Sure. we've had opportunities to visit with old friends of the screen, like Luke, Leia, Chewy, and Han (and in this one, Lando Calrissian, whose path intersects with Ray's in a too-convenient-to-not-be-contrived manner), but even then it's as if they're making special appearances in an unofficial spin-off of sorts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE FORCE AWAKENS</b> had a lot of callbacks to the 1977 original and it's follow-up, <b>THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK</b> and <b>RETURN OF THE JEDI</b>. Then <b>THE LAST JEDI</b> came out, and the audiences were split right down the middle as to whether or not they liked or hated the way its director took the plot into unexpected directions. Personally, I liked the first two installments of this last trilogy of the series, but I'm still processing this last one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not quite sure how I feel about <b>THE RISE OF SKYWALKER</b>, to be honest. While I didn't dislike it anywhere near as much as I did <b>RETURN OF THE JEDI</b> (which I've always despised), I didn't like it as much as <b>THE FORCE AWAKENS</b> and <b>THE LAST JEDI</b>. Seems to me the series was offering nothing less than diminishing returns as the years progressed, and while <b>THE FORCE AWAKENS</b> seemed to offer hope that the ship's course was being corrected, it appears that <b>THE RISE OF SKYWALKER</b> was a production determined to bend over backward to correct what some fans disliked in <b>THE LAST JEDI</b>. It also seemed to be going out of its way to pay homage to the original film and the first two sequels, but barely any at all to the prequels. There were multiple scenes that echoed the 1977 film, and while JJ Abrams tried to correct some of the missteps of the original films from the late 70's & early 80's, I felt it was just too little, too late, and done incorrectly somehow.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE RISE OF SKYWALKER</b> is one of those movies that's paced so tightly that you're barely given time to process things. From the opening crawl, viewers are involuntarily provoked to ask questions that are never fully answered - at least not in a direct way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's no secret that Emperor Palpatine is believed to have returned in this film, but we never hear how he may have escaped death at the hands of Darth Vader in 1983's <b>RETURN OF THE JEDI</b>. Viewers might as well have been told something akin to "oh, he has his ways of cheating death," but we never receive a satisfactory explanation in regard to the possibility. The opening crawl notes that the newer Star Warriors have intercepted a vocal message from the late Emperor, but I couldn't help but wonder how they'd know it was <i>his</i> voice, and not someone else's! It just seemed too convenient that they "just knew," with no explanation how. But this movie was overflowing with such convenient plot contrivances, and they were all very easily identifiable, even by my 17-year-old son.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The subplot from <b>THE LAST JEDI</b>, in which others outside the Skywalker line have Jedi abilities is never really referred to, except when Finn references having a "feeling" about something. But he's not a Skywalker. In fact, as far as we know, the only individual who has Jedi abilities that can be said to be related to Luke and Leia by blood is Leia's son, Ben, better known as Kylo Ren. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Knights of Ren are shown fleetingly, but we never get all that clear a look at them, and we initially know nothing of their backgrounds. Kylo Ren is still in pursuit of Rey, but we're never really told why he has been instructed to hunt her down, and by whom, since he is now the Supreme Commander of the Galactic Empire. Who outranks such an individual? Certainly not Snoke, who was slain in the last film, by no less than Kylo Ren himself!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rey's lineage is finally revealed, but there's a whole lot of double-talk about her parents' identity -- and the fullness of the revelation just left me completely flat as they were certainly characters audiences have not been anticipating, or even ever heard of. It reminded me of the disappointment I felt when <b>STAR TREK: THE FINAL FRONTIER</b> introduced audiences to the brother Mr. Spock never acknowledged in any medium whatsoever, and we were expected to just accept the existence of Sybok as canon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE RISE OF SKYWALKER</b> is loaded with false leads, and sleight of hand plot manipulations, and it just seemed disjointed, somehow, from the previous two films, and the original trilogy (not the prequels), although there are multiple visual call-backs to them. I felt somewhat cheated, when all was said and done, but not as bad as I did when I was 17 years old with<b> RETURN OF THE JEDI</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As I related at the start of these thoughts, I'm just relieved it's finally over. It may not have ended the way I liked, necessarily, but it did come to a conclusion. To be honest, I feel like it was a conclusion that was designed by a committee. I preferred <b>SOLO</b> over this movie, and it <i>also</i> left me with somewhat conflicted emotions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For me, the only <b>STAR WARS</b> films that matter in the grand scheme of things, is <b>STAR WARS</b> (1977) and <b>THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK</b> (1980). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After <b>RETURN OF THE JEDI</b> (1983), all the other films (including the prequels, which were made, I contend, to justify <b>RETURN OF THE JEDI</b>) were nothing less than pale imitations from a parallel cinematic universe somewhere. I just pretend they don't exist in the back of my mind. Although I did enjoy <b>ROGUE ONE</b> quite a bit. But did it <i>need</i> to be made?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By the way, did anyone else hope to see the Mandalorian in this, or Baby Yoda? I was looking for them, but I never spotted them -- they would have made me like this a little bit more than I did. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now. don't get me wrong: I didn't hate this movie, and I'm not mad -- it just didn't knock my socks off like I hoped it would.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let's cross our fingers and hope the next "new" trilogy with the moniker of <b>STAR WARS</b> in front of the title is built upon a solid framework, and the creators don't deviate from a master plan for the stories that follow as a whole. The latest trilogy, as I analyze it from a distance, suffers from precisely George Lucas and company did with the original trilogy -- it was obviously made up as they went along, and then all involved pretended as if it wasn't.</span></div>
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budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-79324233357245493782019-11-13T19:31:00.000-08:002019-11-13T19:31:36.139-08:00JOKER (2019) - Spoiler Heavy Discussion...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>SPOILER </b><span style="color: #274e13;"><b>HEAVY </b><span style="background-color: white;"><b><span style="color: red;">COMMENTS <span style="color: #274e13;">AHEAD...<span style="color: red;">DO <u>NOT</u> READ UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN THIS MOVIE...</span></span></span></b></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is my theory that the <b>JOKER</b> featured in the new movie is, in fact, one of the many Joker personas that exists in the fictional character's mind. In short, I think he suffers from multiple personality disorder and has an over-inflated vision of his own grandeur. This villain has been played by, primarily, four other actors before the current one played by Joaquin Phoenix, and each one has a different flair and approach to villainy. Some variations have been widely embraced by some generations, and others have been rejected. This is okay in my opinion and, if the Joker were real, I think he/they would take no small amount of delight in this dichotomy. We must remember, however, that the character's true beginnings can be found in the Batman comic books of old, and note that I said "beginnings" and not "origins".</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">People have come up with multiple theories about this film, and posted them on the internet. One notes that there are sequences that seem to have completely emulated the late Brandon Lee's last film, <b>THE CROW</b>:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another film theorist noted that, in every scene in which there was a clock shown in <b>JOKER</b>, its face was set at the same exact time, and someone stated they believed it was meant to look like a crooked smile. Another said they thought it meant that no time had passed throughout the course of the film - but that seems a bit of a stretch for me. The director of the film stated publicly he was just a continuity accident, and meant nothing - they just forgot to change the times on the clocks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Getting back to the many faces of the Joker, the last actor to play the character was Jared Leto, who played an insane gangsta version of him in <b>SUICIDE SQUAD</b> who was much more youthful than all previous incarnations. Leto's take was widely detested, and I kept waiting for him to be revealed as one of the Joker's henchmen who took on the mantle of <i>the Crown Prince of Crime</i> and merged him with <i>Scarface</i> or, perhaps, was an insane son of the Joker. I also felt that his take on Joker needed modifications, but it didn't quite bother me as much as it did most detractors and comic book purists.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some camps despised Jack Nicholson's 1989 approach to the role, but the majority of folks who counted themselves as Batman comic fans didn't mind, although I have some thoughts which I will express shortly. Still, it would be fair to say that he turned Batman into something of a joke, as will also be discussed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">My first Joker, outside of the comics, was Caesar Romero's version on the old Adam West-starring BATMAN television series. To me, as a child, he was <i>the</i> physical incarnation of the Joker, and in a very real sense, he still is. Bear in mind that I was born in 1966, and I had no clue the show was meant to be a camp take on the comic book characters so, to me, the show was terribly real. I spent many restless evenings when I was older and saw the show in re-runs, because I thought Batman was in very real, life-threatening danger as each episode ended with a cliff-hanger. Romero actually scared me somewhat, and whenever I read Batman comics once I learned to read, I heard <i>his</i> voice in my head with every Joker word balloon...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then came Jack Nicholson's turn at <i>Bat,</i> so to speak. To me, Nicholson was Jack Torrence from Stanley Kubrick's version of <b>THE SHINING</b>, so I expected him to be a little crazy. What I did not expect was for the 1989 film's script to be crazy. As nice as it is to look at, there are some things about it that just don't make sense, and there are some things I just don't care for as a lifelong Batman fan (Batman ranks right below Superman to me). One thing that bugged me was the Joker's origin story, in which he was depicted as a gangster named Jack Napier before he fell into a vat of chemicals that turned him into the Joker. In the comics, there's never been a canonical origin story for the villain, but two of the modern films featuring Batman's key nemesis gave him one. This film, and the most recent one. In the other movies, he was understood to have already been around as the story is unveiled.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The primary thing that bugged me about the 1989 film, however, was the Joker's goons. I couldn't understand why they were so loyal to him. Especially when, in one bizarre sequence, he shoots and kills Bob, his top henchman, and then says he needs a moment to grieve. That scene made me stop and reflect on all the Joker stories I'd read, and the way his goons, in every iteration, are blindly loyal to him. Even to the point that they're willing to die for him. Now, hold that thought. We'll get back to it shortly. I feel the need to nitpick a little more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the Joker parade sequence, after the Joker shoots and kills Bob, Batman tries to shoot the Joker down with machine guns from his Batwing. Batman <u>never</u> uses a gun in the comics, and he does not kill, either. EVER. Well, this was true for Batman classic; I don't know what his personal code is now, with all the comic book revamps over the years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The key problem with the Batwing sequence is this: After Batman descends from the clouds above Gotham, Batman uses faulty technology to control his machine guns. He misses the Joker entirely. Then the Joker draws a gun from his vest, and its barrel telescopes outward in an unbelievable fashion. With one shot, the Joker blasts the Batwing right into the nearest building behind him. Technology fails, but an unwieldy and impractical gun succeeds? It makes no sense.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RvHhDlxioxF34EYbvJK7UE_6wOtjONooC9gv1hUyDoWiHNraewwYYGnYW2BqByxsazZmG86iCHsez7n75u4KcBAYD4NwOFSfe-s5EC82_sCnWziI6Ki1gbs7_P2BB_EO1l-GQz5HuV8/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="793" data-original-width="863" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RvHhDlxioxF34EYbvJK7UE_6wOtjONooC9gv1hUyDoWiHNraewwYYGnYW2BqByxsazZmG86iCHsez7n75u4KcBAYD4NwOFSfe-s5EC82_sCnWziI6Ki1gbs7_P2BB_EO1l-GQz5HuV8/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What also makes no sense is the way the Joker's goons blindly follow him, with no clear depiction of how they benefit from this, or are even financially remunerated. Ask anyone on the street if they would display such allegiance to a costumed lunatic, and see what they would say...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Batman and the Joker have their final grapple atop the cathedral where the Batwing crashed. Before this occurs, though, Batman kills at least one of the Joker's henchmen by tossing him into a stairwell that has multiple floors. Batman also spontaneously remembers that the pre-Joker criminal, Jack Napier, murdered his parents in Crime Alley and repeats to the Joker his catchphrase, "You ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?" Batman then says, "You made me." The Joker responds with "</span><span style="font-size: large;">What is this? I say you made me and you have to say I made you? How childish can </span><span style="font-size: large;">you get? You're insane". This is almost as cringe-inducing a revelation and exchange as the one modern audiences complain about in <b>BATMAN v SUPERMAN</b>, when Superman says to Batman, "save Martha," and Batman freaks out because that's the name of his mother, too.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"> And, once again, Batman breaks one of his cardinal rules...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQeLR_5hfsqrJ4WedSBsVHzF2Pw7RPaMruBPDfnz47n6MaSM1X0QFjGxgUkoD7zQIK1zDAY8NOxP5Gqa6KkXhFT-vQekY7ol0M0unhbI2urwoV5y8JSPMqvvozGFocwvtnEE79bo_8pM/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="298" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQeLR_5hfsqrJ4WedSBsVHzF2Pw7RPaMruBPDfnz47n6MaSM1X0QFjGxgUkoD7zQIK1zDAY8NOxP5Gqa6KkXhFT-vQekY7ol0M0unhbI2urwoV5y8JSPMqvvozGFocwvtnEE79bo_8pM/s640/8.jpg" width="496" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At the end of the Tim Burton film, the Joker seemingly falls to his death from atop the cathedral, and Batman doesn't make too big of an effort to save him but, rather, his constantly screaming love interest, Vicki Vale. I said "seemingly" earlier because, to me, it just looked like it was too easy a death for the Joker. It has always made me wonder if it actually <i>was</i> the Joker, a Joker look-alike, or an identical Joker robot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The main reason I wonder about the latter is the weird laugh we hear playing over and over when Commissioner Gordon examines his supposed corpse. It sounds like a voice box machine, and the Joker is never shown utilizing one in the entire film. Earlier, in his scrap with Batman, he pops off an arm like he's a mannequin, and pulls chattering teeth from his mouth. Could these be interpreted as hints that the Joker that Batman was fighting was some sort of automaton? It's kind of open-ended, with no clear answer. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the final analysis, I never could understand why the producers would allow Burton to kill off the Joker when he's always been such a mainstay in Batman stories. His origin isn't really needed -- he just <i>is. </i>And it certainly wasn't necessary to kill a character that had just been primed for further installments of the Batman saga. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When Heath Ledger took over the role, his untimely and tragic death, sadly, made it necessary to stop involving the Joker in future installments of the Christopher Nolan trilogy.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdIENmXOXHD17VK4jh57HJ-btmIaCmOyPXf09dzSiC_cP9ZdURQBXYAaMhNhHuDL37BbBxcH-WP5vI_n1f9e_6ePIRmYQWCMxDPeTM4eG0mwUphGtHObxoosSkVcEU3sVNDUrk29No4U/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="1225" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjdIENmXOXHD17VK4jh57HJ-btmIaCmOyPXf09dzSiC_cP9ZdURQBXYAaMhNhHuDL37BbBxcH-WP5vI_n1f9e_6ePIRmYQWCMxDPeTM4eG0mwUphGtHObxoosSkVcEU3sVNDUrk29No4U/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Heith Ledger's Joker spoke of multiple origins, and almost spoke of them as Forrest Gump did of a box of chocolates, revealing that you never really knew what you were going to get -- and that's appropriate for such a character. It's actually something of a joke of sorts.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXz4E1K3441cN2XmLbO-laesu9nO9gv2BqvvmP07kYeUhLiejJWUHqWfVRuiOvj2BaKLvyqQ_820VD-7XGoZTgPh_kU5QuehUttrLkCLq2vvMhMN4AJ47SVbnkOnbyRobAv4VlFAtE08/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="933" data-original-width="772" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXz4E1K3441cN2XmLbO-laesu9nO9gv2BqvvmP07kYeUhLiejJWUHqWfVRuiOvj2BaKLvyqQ_820VD-7XGoZTgPh_kU5QuehUttrLkCLq2vvMhMN4AJ47SVbnkOnbyRobAv4VlFAtE08/s640/10.jpg" width="528" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Bear in mind that I didn't much care for the Nolan trilogy too much, but I respected Heath Ledger's performance, even though he wasn't "my" Joker. Mine comes straight from the comics, and I never felt Ledger's Joker fully did. He did, however, have an army of goons who, once again, were loyal to him to the bitter end for no apparent reason I can think of.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRTiHdL0x_ITC8qNcICMboi9PPRLxnMPSf238f5xJhH55RrEN4MWE8R1BnAg0_b7_uUyj8tr2C3ISBqDePQtfgsnbcwr0VOExtN_pLHGczpDLouqdeePIYGU_qodr6fx3lmkmNlSm9nU/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="650" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpRTiHdL0x_ITC8qNcICMboi9PPRLxnMPSf238f5xJhH55RrEN4MWE8R1BnAg0_b7_uUyj8tr2C3ISBqDePQtfgsnbcwr0VOExtN_pLHGczpDLouqdeePIYGU_qodr6fx3lmkmNlSm9nU/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In <b>The Dark Knight</b>, the thugs aren't interested in monetary gain, even though they're shown robbing a bank at the start of the movie.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfB_aP_ahfxtlnoTXBYptxJd99BBx4u5Q-aQSY-OZOdLvdo-CllSnswy7i-4B_uCGrizBF8JIny3bh16C1R9hGrd7TFrl5B4dd6zn5Cko4PffGGIfAcBQXDrJpfkqyt1a9vCwV7RgYkkI/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="442" data-original-width="600" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfB_aP_ahfxtlnoTXBYptxJd99BBx4u5Q-aQSY-OZOdLvdo-CllSnswy7i-4B_uCGrizBF8JIny3bh16C1R9hGrd7TFrl5B4dd6zn5Cko4PffGGIfAcBQXDrJpfkqyt1a9vCwV7RgYkkI/s640/12.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recall that the Joker burns all the money he steals to make a point later in the movie.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgJZ3bZrO0OWx1U52szAnI8LL8r-FaFIQbKnoGLYuerV4AQALQk-dOzsmbyEQCfnM8Pe8eDkYNzKCM4CtQ6t3OiUg2lKWFXAPPJCaEDdK275Bgwn7Spt9LCYdumJ6HiPi-zxiEEIW4M0/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="546" data-original-width="432" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidgJZ3bZrO0OWx1U52szAnI8LL8r-FaFIQbKnoGLYuerV4AQALQk-dOzsmbyEQCfnM8Pe8eDkYNzKCM4CtQ6t3OiUg2lKWFXAPPJCaEDdK275Bgwn7Spt9LCYdumJ6HiPi-zxiEEIW4M0/s640/13.jpg" width="506" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So why <i>are</i> his goons so loyal to the Joker? It's really hard to say in the Nolan films.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LCdGKzGtmQSv3X5ih7cFy0qSUm11D05DA_D6Equh1dxyG68xLrrSN9rJxZ-U3cYZZxOidtlA2mOfYgs2t8aI-JRgiBUjFRsoA3NHfsrCdScXXWfcQWtpJvCbJl70keBIePGVvVl44yI/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="667" height="526" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LCdGKzGtmQSv3X5ih7cFy0qSUm11D05DA_D6Equh1dxyG68xLrrSN9rJxZ-U3cYZZxOidtlA2mOfYgs2t8aI-JRgiBUjFRsoA3NHfsrCdScXXWfcQWtpJvCbJl70keBIePGVvVl44yI/s640/14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Even Jared Leto's Joker has loyal-to-the-death goons in <b>SUICIDE SQUAD</b>! It makes no sense!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeUzF4IcDPk4pfip8UgarMHnOg7spPxExziZ816YC_Qg5MyFN1bbHRkKVMDtaBktwmh75nke8nYjf3N21Zi3xhIokslpsA6ZlHt71umtUOw-0TxfCtfdBKx8lS43f_vpg9fiE-YdwPSk/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="600" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmeUzF4IcDPk4pfip8UgarMHnOg7spPxExziZ816YC_Qg5MyFN1bbHRkKVMDtaBktwmh75nke8nYjf3N21Zi3xhIokslpsA6ZlHt71umtUOw-0TxfCtfdBKx8lS43f_vpg9fiE-YdwPSk/s640/15.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Joker in <b>SUICIDE SQUAD</b> seems to ply his henchmen with women, but that's the only Batman movie I can think of that shows the Joker doing such a thing. None of the other Batman films give us even the slightest clue why the Joker's goons obey his every command, or what they have to gain for it.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNxmTLWa95R7CdiZpNNo-GFdYHKZRhzYHiFRRQloqy3jMVYn9LITcjYRLzRQ25FcLbqCRN50IvM_vDjpbMgz5cASpIdjjQcHpkReJ80MRrgF2FsaLxE02QpjPxi22o8FJvEQDmZHGcsY/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="341" data-original-width="492" height="442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYNxmTLWa95R7CdiZpNNo-GFdYHKZRhzYHiFRRQloqy3jMVYn9LITcjYRLzRQ25FcLbqCRN50IvM_vDjpbMgz5cASpIdjjQcHpkReJ80MRrgF2FsaLxE02QpjPxi22o8FJvEQDmZHGcsY/s640/16.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It's a fairly well-known fact that the original Joker, a crime lord of Gotham, and a serial killer before the criminological title was ever created, was based on the lead character in the 1928 silent film <b>THE MAN WHO LAUGHS</b>. The Joker was intended to be terrifyingly creepy but, over time, he devolved into a campy character. Probably in the 1950's, after Congress had its hearings about the theoretically dangerous nature of spooky comic books. Spooky stories were watered down, and watered down, and they became a mere shadow of what they were in their prime.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAPKohbGG9b1MzgJ6eH64G8kkqeABoaZxuvbvOd_0dKVEBqm4hJ8-3-IgWABBH7NaEqsA7q1-JDzLAXV9V27jlRI6YbCOcHutRu1F6eiKZuiJ8HHqgbkV3vXlepGVjOvJkNaijbEXwC8/s1600/17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="605" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidAPKohbGG9b1MzgJ6eH64G8kkqeABoaZxuvbvOd_0dKVEBqm4hJ8-3-IgWABBH7NaEqsA7q1-JDzLAXV9V27jlRI6YbCOcHutRu1F6eiKZuiJ8HHqgbkV3vXlepGVjOvJkNaijbEXwC8/s640/17.jpg" width="504" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Joker started out somewhat scary, but after the advent of television and Saturday morning Batman cartoons, he lost his ability to creep fans out.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcCQkQ8rRhYn1yXXJrb85cL7OVYUFE2N3H5ZQVdYAKCD31dLUOggO0CWXLOc_-EMyeSMoJ5JSqAeeQbyMur6nrbzpJnnrjWZYKN5curGSvxNatYfbU0qf794IRhW_OdwMkjQfVfWY4fk/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXcCQkQ8rRhYn1yXXJrb85cL7OVYUFE2N3H5ZQVdYAKCD31dLUOggO0CWXLOc_-EMyeSMoJ5JSqAeeQbyMur6nrbzpJnnrjWZYKN5curGSvxNatYfbU0qf794IRhW_OdwMkjQfVfWY4fk/s640/18.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In my opinion, the only Joker that I would describe as creepy like his original incarnation, is Joaquin's Joker, Arthur Fleck. He seems <i>truly</i></span><span style="font-size: large;"> mad.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDHf3MlhjdMUuNyl7d17ICL8sYK147MfzV6n02CP4x2FK7VvybyqdcFOLFjfwYSGtl2LBlKSodF5qumBrH2Qonska1XdpPPTqFWhh22UAv8s4E3uPM8CHZwqqtwEOvcUN5cyuHtEu_Tyc/s1600/Joaquin+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDHf3MlhjdMUuNyl7d17ICL8sYK147MfzV6n02CP4x2FK7VvybyqdcFOLFjfwYSGtl2LBlKSodF5qumBrH2Qonska1XdpPPTqFWhh22UAv8s4E3uPM8CHZwqqtwEOvcUN5cyuHtEu_Tyc/s640/Joaquin+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUrerx0ZnkcLhGVWj0VtMIk67CoM3Nor9u9fixP77GyHwwmAns8t6YNIH6x7uylx8ziY5A0YUcIY0ptMuqD6jgzvnhMzNF3LG4cBd7Z6RA_FggUl73YjMA_36SlF7GsfAm8Yvxni2L6c/s1600/19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="940" height="482" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfUrerx0ZnkcLhGVWj0VtMIk67CoM3Nor9u9fixP77GyHwwmAns8t6YNIH6x7uylx8ziY5A0YUcIY0ptMuqD6jgzvnhMzNF3LG4cBd7Z6RA_FggUl73YjMA_36SlF7GsfAm8Yvxni2L6c/s640/19.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For my money, the best Joker is a <i>scary</i> Joker, and the original from the comics and the most recent incarnation of the character on film is easily the scariest, or at least the most unnerving. Especially when considering that some speculate that Arthur Fleck imagined <i>everything</i> he is shown doing in the movie, including what he was supposed to be discussing with the Arkham Asylum therapist he murders offscreen at the end of the film. Perhaps he <i>did</i> do some, or even most of those things -- perhaps every Joker we've ever known is one of his many personalities...and Arthur Fleck is just one of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe, in a fever dream, while pondering his past, the Joker stumbled across thoughts of years past, before Batman came to be. Perhaps he thought of Thomas Wayne, and wondered if he actually lied about not being his father, and forged Arthur's birth documents. If he <i>was</i> his father, it would certainly explain why Arthur's Joker was the exact opposite of what Batman would become in the future. They have always been the polar opposite of one another. Maybe he connected the idea of his possible lineage with Batman somehow, but didn't quite put the pieces of the puzzle together. It's all speculation, of course, but it makes for interesting thinking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Again, I feel like Joaquin's Joker is an amalgamation of all that came before, all things Joker, and all things totally insane. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-lOSSdPw0w-24euOQh_i6RUfwmRzTI79qQ_ca6ujoyAaG5sFrEQbJvBWv4uxOvIAzo0m2vDmg_C_Wp_btxZmxYB8ndzbATbDEINtAjK4CVhQvYyKNBwuRdZLGPKwlXjpKxbOYIejM3I/s1600/20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="487" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga-lOSSdPw0w-24euOQh_i6RUfwmRzTI79qQ_ca6ujoyAaG5sFrEQbJvBWv4uxOvIAzo0m2vDmg_C_Wp_btxZmxYB8ndzbATbDEINtAjK4CVhQvYyKNBwuRdZLGPKwlXjpKxbOYIejM3I/s640/20.jpg" width="576" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVaMu_Uhf806WZNMgKQsODOyqXnzTA9Ul_fEus9K-2tucwLsKcVd485lWd3PpCPnUq_2-pe1doR6Ii8FLUVB4GP-hdW2-TeTEMRyitxgUTMxAPQ_eyFY-aXRsjrr-va6oRtOgrne1dkI0/s1600/Joke+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="811" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVaMu_Uhf806WZNMgKQsODOyqXnzTA9Ul_fEus9K-2tucwLsKcVd485lWd3PpCPnUq_2-pe1doR6Ii8FLUVB4GP-hdW2-TeTEMRyitxgUTMxAPQ_eyFY-aXRsjrr-va6oRtOgrne1dkI0/s640/Joke+%25282%2529.jpg" width="580" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The best thing about <b>JOKER</b> (2019) to me, though, is the fact that it finally answers a long-standing puzzle I've wondered about for years, and alluded to earlier.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After Joker kills the three fellows on the train, he becomes a figurehead for a cause celebre to the massive throngs of downtrodden people in Gotham. For them, it seems obvious that the Joker represents how they all need to stand against "the Man," and Society at large. They begin to dress and act like Joker -- to the point that they murder two policemen who are in pursuit of Arthur Fleck near the end of the movie. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyPgvMbHIfgXsuBShbyeX4300YyUdrF8yTp9Ds7h728r6jpIPzHjQQD8fCPxLYQf66VF2O71wlwlC-PU68mmVRR1Yhs1Z1cpA_tPRAXPB0-Z1XPgn-InWHjN3vzxwm0eFmWNRvDd-olXs/s1600/thugs+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="1600" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyPgvMbHIfgXsuBShbyeX4300YyUdrF8yTp9Ds7h728r6jpIPzHjQQD8fCPxLYQf66VF2O71wlwlC-PU68mmVRR1Yhs1Z1cpA_tPRAXPB0-Z1XPgn-InWHjN3vzxwm0eFmWNRvDd-olXs/s640/thugs+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Later, after Arthur (or Joker), shoots Robert DeNiro's character, the television personality Murray Franklyn, in the head on live TV, the streets erupt in support of Arthur's deed. The people in the crowds cheer for him and seem to venerate him as a sort of Messianic figure -- and it's almost as if they would be willing to do anything, <i>everything</i> he commands. He becomes their icon, their ruler, and their king, although he doesn't realize it at the time. He does celebrate it, however, and we can envision what will happen in years to come. <b>JOKER</b> is the first movie to implicitly explain why the Joker's goons do all that they do for him, and why they're so loyal to him.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Unfortunately, in <a href="https://www.indiewire.com/2019/10/joker-government-protests-lebanon-hong-kong-1202185602/" target="_blank">real life</a>, protestors in China, Chile, Iraq, and other places have emulated the thugs of the Joker in <b>JOKER</b>, and dress as the title character as they rail against political systems they feel are corrupt and oblivious to the expressed needs and wants of the people. This is precisely what authorities in America feared would happen here, but thankfully never did. Instead, the steps the Joker dances on in the movie has become a hot spot for people wanting to take selfies there.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYq9ZKAnwd1VVC4nqIcfvBm7HOLWKQ23IWeICr7xI9MFVOWvBMv0Zc0IwVgyRIDm2s8a7_7snNhSJ26fD71V6I_xNJLfVYzrY7Z4MIEAtHOq_G9WIkYrKA5XeLW2NjFNVDb6qNXggATyI/s1600/Stand+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="235" data-original-width="388" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYq9ZKAnwd1VVC4nqIcfvBm7HOLWKQ23IWeICr7xI9MFVOWvBMv0Zc0IwVgyRIDm2s8a7_7snNhSJ26fD71V6I_xNJLfVYzrY7Z4MIEAtHOq_G9WIkYrKA5XeLW2NjFNVDb6qNXggATyI/s640/Stand+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Like Heath Ledger's Joker, Joaquin's seems to enjoy watching the world burn.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKTYELDjJ3_Ri-YnNUFmnh1qqZ4Gr2of0HWPCcKuXWEgQLoAlHZDeVKPpU7AD4eX8QuutQxE3LQ_9qSyeIgtOCXRCRgxTCuS14jeLU662vxLxRNjJL7gzfiBaaLl6QJNtpPRVaLZsWjY/s1600/Stand+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="307" data-original-width="475" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAKTYELDjJ3_Ri-YnNUFmnh1qqZ4Gr2of0HWPCcKuXWEgQLoAlHZDeVKPpU7AD4eX8QuutQxE3LQ_9qSyeIgtOCXRCRgxTCuS14jeLU662vxLxRNjJL7gzfiBaaLl6QJNtpPRVaLZsWjY/s640/Stand+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-38123552277819572842019-11-12T21:05:00.001-08:002019-11-23T19:23:23.474-08:00Doctor Sleep (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YjQEIRS9aVtcQDo1rX2bNA4erqSubq8e9EQhEIyffDu415D0YjTfT5IgrLq-f_GIrm2UxMF2DLIAToXWWm7BSc1pukakKTgvynjTdVGJ7x0jPnCzu2LoF7aO5z0p4O1bx956g255vf4/s1600/Doctor+Sleep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1YjQEIRS9aVtcQDo1rX2bNA4erqSubq8e9EQhEIyffDu415D0YjTfT5IgrLq-f_GIrm2UxMF2DLIAToXWWm7BSc1pukakKTgvynjTdVGJ7x0jPnCzu2LoF7aO5z0p4O1bx956g255vf4/s640/Doctor+Sleep.jpg" width="420" /> </a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some years ago, I sent a message to Stephen King asking why he'd never done a sequel to any of his novels (outside of his DARK TOWER series), and had he ever considered writing a story about what happened to Danny Torrence from his 1977, THE SHINING when he grew up, or Charlie McGee from his 1980 novel, FIRESTARTER? Better yet, I suggested, what if Danny and Charlie met, fell in love, got married, and eventually had children. Would their children have powers? If they did, how strong would their powers be, and what kind of powers would they have? --- Now, I have no clue whether he ever even got that message, but he later wrote somewhere that other fans had asked similar questions about the fates of some of his characters as well. Perhaps our questions reached him somehow, in some form or fashion, and led him to ponder them, but he eventually decided to wrote a sequel to THE SHINING, which he called DOCTOR SLEEP, released in 2013.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To me, DOCTOR SLEEP the novel was really good for a Stephen King work. I really enjoyed it, and I was actually sad when I finished it. When word came out that it was being made into a film, I was very excited.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The film version of DOCTOR SLEEP truncates the core highlights of the novel up to a certain point, but eventually goes its own way. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the very ending of the film made me mad, and I will leave it up to the viewer to find out why.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some elements of the novel are wholly ignored, but the primary item that irked me by its absence was the fact that the primary villain, Rose the Hat, a soul vampire of sorts, would exude a singular fang when about to devour her prey; she never actually uses it to bite anyone, mind you, so it made me wonder why Stephen King thought it was necessary. A scene dealing with Rose the Hat floating outside the female protagonist's window that reminded me of the scene with Danny Glick in 'SALEM'S LOT was also cut. Frankly, a lot was cut out of the novel, but I'm not necessarily complaining because the bottom line is, I actually liked this movie for the most part, and I liked the way some of the changes in the structure of the tale were reorganized. Except for the very ending. Again - watch the movie after you've read the novel, and you'll understand why.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Essentially, <b>DOCTOR SLEEP</b> is about what happened to Danny Torrence from THE SHINING when he grew up. The twist to the film version, though, is that it merges the original novel from 1977, the Stanley Kubrick film adaptation from 1980, and the 2013 novel that served as Stephen King's first official prose sequel. Yes, I'm aware that many of the films adapted from his works have had sequels, but Stephen King didn't write any of them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>DOCTOR SLEEP</b>, both the novel and the film, not only deal with the psychic scars Danny acquired from the first tale, but it also deals with the fact that Danny grew up to become an alcoholic like his father, Jack. Danny is tormented by both literal and figurative demons, and he has to learn to come to terms with both.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The story spans an 8-year period as far as Danny is concerned, but it also features villainous soul-vampires who call themselves "The True Knot." Members of The True Knot have the ability to suck the souls from their mesmerized victims in the form of smokey ectoplasm they refer to as "steam," which is drawn from their prey's mouths like frozen breath on a freezing Winter's day. Their prey, typically, are individuals like Danny, who have either latent or potent psychic abilities. The True Knot remind me very much of the bad guys in Stephen King's <b>SLEEPWALKERS</b>, and of the troll in <b>CAT'S EYE</b>, particularly in the way they suck the smokey life from people.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stephen King's SLEEPWALKERS</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLrftpxD0pwlw3Cb4iMB3TPveRMA7p3w0pJesC-TvZCcOJPu-G6MjpEbN9Xz14r6J81bUJu-FhxL8pK0B8vzBLnhUCQe9Mv1KaQM-DH0gj3Sk_VuD6OJaNMEa0C5sDNaSQYHKC-jX0h4/s1600/cat%2527s+eye+screencap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="1131" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCLrftpxD0pwlw3Cb4iMB3TPveRMA7p3w0pJesC-TvZCcOJPu-G6MjpEbN9Xz14r6J81bUJu-FhxL8pK0B8vzBLnhUCQe9Mv1KaQM-DH0gj3Sk_VuD6OJaNMEa0C5sDNaSQYHKC-jX0h4/s640/cat%2527s+eye+screencap.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stephen King's Cat's Eye</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The True Knot have lived for hundreds of years, apparently, like the vampires in the movie <b>NEAR DARK</b>, and while they look like a band of roving hippies, they have accumulated great wealth which enables them to roam the highways of America in search of their next psychic meal. Their leader is a drop-dead gorgeous woman played by the beautiful Rebecca Ferguson, who is always spotted wearing a small hat, and her presence seems to channel Stevie Nicks from the rock band Fleetwood Mac. She is called "Rose the Hat" for obvious reasons, and she has acquired the ability to store some of the "steam" from their victims in special canisters, which she opens on occasion to feed the members of her roaming caravan. She also has the ability to astral project, and survey areas where those with psychic abilities reside.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLspV7GSVsEVPuBBkJO1_ChyphenhyphenfeMKxSy87QcMO3ke2Cxk3R0wDqrw0mh37uyPsNEX4QZ3cQBJ7z6JJ8tL4EyPC49B0PABX1FxbFqJhRX_r4Z3_I7D8afkpTuTkN07L78pMtsosqiZ2vcGw/s1600/doctor-sleep-true-knot-slice.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="600" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLspV7GSVsEVPuBBkJO1_ChyphenhyphenfeMKxSy87QcMO3ke2Cxk3R0wDqrw0mh37uyPsNEX4QZ3cQBJ7z6JJ8tL4EyPC49B0PABX1FxbFqJhRX_r4Z3_I7D8afkpTuTkN07L78pMtsosqiZ2vcGw/s640/doctor-sleep-true-knot-slice.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When Danny Torrence decides to settle down in a quaint New Hampshire town, he is soon contacted psychically by a little girl named Abra Stone via a chalkboard in the room he rents for $80 a week. She writes "Hello" with a smiley face instead of an "o" on a chalkboard, and he writes back, and then their exchange grows more and more complicated from there -- particularly when Abra has a vision of the True Knot attacking a particular person for the "steam" that is produced by their psychic abilities and their primal fear. Abra sends Danny a psychic message about what she saw, with a particularly familiar word: REDRUM, which he spies reflected in a bedroom mirror. Abra has written it backward on her "wall," and Danny reads it normally on his when he turns around. Eventually, Danny and Abra meet. Abra is determined to make the True Knot pay for what the atrociousness they have committed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The novel and the book diverge from one another not long after the True Knot learn of Abra's existence, and this is due to the extreme amount of power that Abra possesses and Rose the Hat senses. When Abra catches Rose spying on her psychically, she blasts her backwards and away and, in one scene, knocks her on her butt in a grocery store. This doesn't discourage Rose from pursuing Abra for her psychic "steam." Instead, it makes her desire it even more, so a final confrontation is inevitable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The finale of the book and novel both hearkened back to the finale of King's 'SALEM'S LOT in a way, but the conclusion of the movie is closer to the 1977 SHINING novel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The director of the film, Mike Flanagan, is clearly a fan of the Stanley Kubrick film, and he painstakingly reconstructed the interior of the Overlook Hotel as depicted in the Kubrick film. The ghosts of the Overlook are featured in the film.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The primary highlights of the movie involve the cast, who all play their roles as sincerely as one could possibly imagine. Ewan MacGregor plays Danny Torrence, newcomer Kyliegh Currin (a fantastic and lovable child actress) plays Abra Stone, and Rose the Hat is played by the extremely lovely Rebecca Ferguson. Many of the remaining cast are easily recognizable for their character work as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Fans of the King novel and Kubrick film will enjoy this movie. I won't say it's "better than the novel" because it's its own thing, but both are excellent. I particularly love the novel because of a sequence set in my home town of Wilmington, NC. It wasn't referenced in the movie, though, which was disappointing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The movie is rated "R" for some occasional nudity displayed by the bathtub ghost woman but, other than that, it could probably have been given a lower rating. It is, perhaps, a good thing it was rated "R," though, since it features several sequences of child endangerment. I really enjoyed this movie. Except for the very ending. I prefer the novel's resolution much more.</span> </div>
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<br />budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-24043196795792203582019-10-14T22:35:00.000-07:002019-11-15T23:00:39.871-08:00JOKER (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: lime;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">Yet another review of an R-rated film, ya'll. This is clearly an important film, and it's having a profound impact on Cinema as we know it as some are debating the merit of the movie's themes. It features very dark subject matter and conveys a feeling of depressing oppressiveness that no one seems to want to address publicly. It also has scenes of intense violence and some very adult language at times. The violence in the movie may appear hyper-realistic at first blush, but it's nowhere near as gory as some have claimed, I don't think, despite a few sequences entailing spattering blood or bullet wounds filmed from a distance that clarity isn't possible, although many may think, as they did in the past with <b>PSYCHO</b> and <b>THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE</b>, that the violence was entirely blatant and viscerally upsetting; the director used techniques to accomplish the faux violence that would probably have made Alfred Hitchcock and Tobe Hooper proud in that the initial impact of the violence is implied, and we are only allowed to see the after effects of the false violence. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: lime;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">Bear im mind, however, that this is not a movie for young children, and when my wife and I attended a recent screening, we saw parents buying a ticket for a youngster who couldn't have been older than 8-years-old. It was a little girl. Knowing the little bit about what we were about to experience, when they escorted her to the screening room, I felt my stomach clench into a knot. Let's hope she wasn't traumatized by what she was exposed to as young kids have some difficulty separating fantasy from reality. This movie is not for sensitive viewers, despite the fact that it doesn't feature situations that movie-goers haven't seen worse representations of. Still, some have walked out of showings around the country, so see it with discretion if you see it at all. Use your own best judgment.</span></span></span></span><b><span style="background-color: lime;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: lime;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Warning:</span></span></span> I had two troublesome Wisdom Teeth extracted recently, and my dentist prescribed Hydrocodone for a few days, and it makes me hyper and think really fast. This review probably perambulates a lot from point to point, and I apologize for that, so please don't get upset with me if I backtrack on some in my descriptions of what plays out in the first act of the this movie's 3-act storyline. And now I shall begin, as I occasionally do, with some personal thoughts. I apologize for rambling so. Let's hope I'm making sense here.</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I was in my early 20's when the late, great River Phoenix started acting, and it wasn't long after River started getting a lot of notices and great acting opportunities that his little brother, Joaquin, started to break into pictures, too. On the weekend River overdosed and passed away, I was laid up from a major car wreck that literally turned the right side of my body black and purple from the impact, seriously injured my neck, and required I be in a leg cast from ankle to knee on my right leg. <i>Crazy Drunk Drivers</i>. If you get that reference in that closing sentence there at the end, you're from my generation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I cried when I learned that Joaquin was with his older brother, River, and witnessed his death after failed attempts to resuscitate him; I cried, and not from my physical pain, but from the thought of the broken hearts all around the country and, especially the broken heart of Martha Plimpton, who was River's off-and-on girlfriend in real life, and especially for young Joaquin and their family. I wanted to <i>do</i> something,<i> say</i> something that could help River's family overcome their pain, but didn't really know how. So I did all I knew to do, and that was to follow his career as I knew that deep down he would aspire to walk the same Hollywood trail his brother did, sometimes making braver than usual choices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The next big breakout role for Joaquin was about 5 years later as the villainous young nobleman in Ridley Scott's <b>GLADIATOR</b>, and he did a <i>fantastic</i> job with the part. Years later, after a month-long stint in the hospital due to severe pancreatitis due to an infection that required my gall bladder be removed and my insides medically vacuumed out, I was shocked to see him wholly capture the spiritual essence of one of my childhood heroes in a film on DVD as I recovered, when he played Johnny Cash in <b>WALK THE LINE</b>. I watched his unabashed and brave performance over and over and over from my parsonage's couch while I was required to be on bedrest due to an intense weight loss and physical complications related to my illness. A wonderful parishioner named Earl lent me the movie, and I immediately bought my own copy when I was well enough, and then I started collecting every Cash biography I could lay my hands on. Joaquin <i>became</i> Johnny Cash in that movie, and he <i>deserved</i> the Oscar he did not get for the role.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Over the years, I have infrequently recalled when Joaquin was once known as "Leaf Phoenix," and was a featured player in the original movie version of <b>PARENTHOOD</b>, and had larger roles in <b>SIGNS</b>, <b>THE VILLAGE</b>, <b>THE MASTER</b>, and <b>HER</b>. He's done other memorable work, but there was a time when he seemed to have eschewed his late brother's trail and was walking the same road as the mysterious actor Crispin Glover. Particularly when Joaquin prepared for the lead role in the weird and very fake documentary that was directed by Casey Affleck, <b>I'M STILL HERE</b>. Look it up on Wikipedia for a better understanding of what happened, but know that I was really worried about Joaquin's career at that time, and for a while after. On national television programs, a burly-bearded Joaquin Phoenix publicly claimed he was retiring from acting for good, and was going to become a full-time rapper! It was nothing less than bizarre, and it seemed to last forever until it was revealed to be a hoax! Was I ever relieved.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not really sure why I felt an affinity for certain actors who sprang into prominence in the 1980's and early 1990's, but I just loved nearly any movie (with a few exceptions) that featured Nicholas Cage (but he eventually fell from grace with me due to some horrific acting choices in some really lame movies), Matthew Modine, Sean Penn, John Cusack, and River Phoenix - who I thought had the largest chance for acclaim due to his charisma and serious approach to the acting craft. I was aware of his little brother, "Leaf," but when he initially started getting notices and starred in a few movies, most of them were what I regarded as Kid Flicks, so I didn't bother seeing them. And then the tragedy with River occurred, and I felt intense sympathy for River's younger brother, who clearly adored him. Probably because I have a younger brother, and we both experienced parental loss when our father died of cancer when I was 16 and my brother was 10. Somehow, I equated Joaquin with my own brother, so that was another factor in my desire to follow his acting career over the years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Over the years, Joaquin made some role choices that I found questionable at best, but I enjoyed him in <b>DON'T WORRY, HE WON'T GET FAR ON FOOT</b> a couple of years ago, so I knew there was still hope. I was aware he was into some branch of the Method Acting school of thought, so not much truly surprised me. Then I heard he was prepping for yet another take on the infamous DC Character, Batman's nemesis, <i>The Joker</i>, who I've known about since Caesar Romero first played the role in the late 1960's when I was in diapers, then by Jack Nicholson in 1989. I was curiously nonplussed by Heath Ledger's performance as <i>The Joker</i> in <b>THE</b> <b>DARK KNIGHT FALLS</b>, and was one of the few who just didn't care for Christopher Nolan's take on the Batman saga in his mega-trilogy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There wasn't a single <i>Dark Knight</i> movie I liked, to be honest. I just thought they were trying too hard, and missed the entire point of what made the Batman of the comics tick, and he was certainly never presented as <i>the Dark Knight Detective</i> as he is in the comics and cartoons of old. I've always defined Christian Bales take as a "Poor Little Rich Boy Who Likes to Play James Bond While Wearing a Black, Caped Rubber Suit." All that scratchy voice nonsense just irked me. And I hated that each movie was set up with a promise that their storyline would be grounded in realistic scenarios, but they all ended with final acts that involved implausible concepts. In the first movie, it was an insane water machine. In the second one, we were expected to believe that Lucious Fox could design cell phone software for Bruce Wayne that could bypass proprietary encryption software in ALL cell phones, and allow Batboy to access anyone and everyone's phone to formulate a simulation of a Bat's radar. It was insane! Don't get me started on how the third movie desecrated the character, Bane, and made him something that was entirely in direct proportional contrast to the way he was presented in the comics, and spoke in such a manner that he couldn't be understood without straining your ears if you were even successful just a little bit! Plus, Bane cries, and Batman survives a major explosion at the end?! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Beyond the old <i>BATMAN</i> movie serials, movies, TV shows, and cartoons, Mark Hamill's vocal iteration in <i>BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES</i> is my favorite take on the Joker after Caesar Romero's time in the 1960's live action role in the Adam West show. These two are followed by Jack Nicholson's take in the Tim Burton film, although I do have my issues with large chunks of that movie despite it defining BATMAN and THE JOKER on celluloid for decades for movie-goers who had never once picked up the original comics as I had. Heath Ledger was just too far removed from what I considered a character who should have been more "Comic Book"-related than Dramatic. So what was Joaquin going to do with it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">To my way of thinking, and bear in mind that I tend to be a Purist, and someone who's almost always a fan of an original incarnation of a comic book character, The Joker, in my mind's eye, will <i>always</i> look like THIS to me, as he did in the comics in the 1970's, but I digress, and hope you'll continue on with my rambling for just a bit more -- trust me, there's a method to my madness:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Way back when <i>SMALLVILLE </i>was on the air as a long-running television series, there was a lot of industry talk about a <i>Young Bruce Wayne</i> spin-off that told the tale of how the young billionaire became Batman. I think I read that it was going to be partially based on Frank Miller's <i>BATMAN: YEAR ONE</i> graphic novel, but it never came to fruition, and was redeveloped into the show <i>ARROW,</i> which I've never been able to bring myself to watch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've tried to watch <i>ARROW</i>, but its take on Oliver Queen is clearly based on the Bruce Wayne character that was envisioned for the <i>SMALLVILLE</i> spin-off. Oliver doesn't look or act like Oliver Queen from the comics and old cartoons, and I guess this might be explained in their impending "Crisis on Infinite Earths" cross-overs that are due in late 2019. I'll update this review after they've aired, probably in early 2020.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Oliver Queen in the original comics was more of a free spirit, with a broad sense of humor and a broader sense of sarcasm. He was presented as a groovy, hippy-like hero who was into the anti-culture movement to a degree. He was always presented as a person who loved to smile when it was appropriate, and he - sort of - dressed like a Robin Hood attired in green. Sure, he was a crack shot with a bow and arrow, but he sported a blonde goatee, and was nearly always smiling and laughing! The new incarnation of the character is too stoic for me, and too gloomy and moody. I just don't like him. I talked with DC Comics artist Neal Addams about the differences when I first met him at a convention, and he told me he had hopes that the character would evolve into the comic character he famously drew for so many years, but it looks to me that time is running out for that as a possibility.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">One of the conceits of <i>SMALLVILLE</i>, and then <i>GOTHAM</i>, was that neither of these programs would </span><span style="font-size: large;">purportedly </span><span style="font-size: large;">ever show Superman or Batman as they were originally known. The oath of the creators of <i>SMALLVILLE</i> was reportedly "No tights, no flights," but they broke this promise when the show ultimately wrapped up. Bruce Wayne was never supposed to be shown transforming into Batman, but - since I gave up on the show after its second season due to its lack of faithfulness to the old comic book continuity, and the absurdity of some storylines (like the one with Clayface), and especially because of the goofed-up way they handled a potentially great new version of the Joker only to kill him off almost as quickly as they introduced him, without giving him time to develop.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There was a time on <i>GOTHAM</i>, after the young Joker was first introduced, that the writers may have been planning to create other versions of the Joker, who simply kept taking up the mantel of the "Crown Prince of Crime," and pretending like they were the original Joker all along, sort of like the Dread Pirate Roberts in <b>THE PRINCESS BRIDE</b>. To be honest, I didn't mind that notion because, as Heath Ledger's take on the character states at one point in <b>THE DARK KNIGHT</b>, it was rather impossible to pin down a specific origin story, especially in the comics -- It was more of a hypothetical game of Mix and Match or Multiple Choice. And this proves to be the case with Joaquin's take of the character in <b>JOKER</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Joaquin Phoenix <b>JOKER</b> is, essentially, a beaten-down husk of a man. His story is sad, his life is one of drudgery, and he suffers from extreme mental illness. If this new take on the character and film extends from any celluloid lineage, it's clearly the love child of Martin Scorcese's Travis Bickle in <b>TAXI DRIVER</b> and Rupert Pupkin in <b>THE KING OF COMEDY </b>(both characters were portrayed by Robert DeNiro, by the way, who is featured in this new movie in a pivotal role). There's also a little of Frank Miller's <b>V FOR VENDETTA</b> tossed into the mix for good measure, if the final act proves to be true and not a delusion of the title character.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The main emphasis of this movie is the dire situation of the mentally ill who cannot be treated due to a lack of governmental funds or seeming interest or concern, and how many of them are disenfranchised on the outskirts of a culture that celebrates the Rich.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the movie, Gotham City is in a state of crisis due to its ever-increasing rise of crime and gang activities, and there is a general lack compassion for the less fortunate. Joaquin's character, Arthur Fleck (note that his last name is an adjective that describes a very small smudge of color and/or light in a much more observable object) works as a costumed sign twirler to support his ailing mother, Peggy. Arthur goes out every day dressed as a circus clown because he aspires to aspire others to laugh and enjoy their own plights in life as best they can. Arthur claims in one fantasy sequence that his mother, Peggy, told him from the time he was a child that he was born to bring happiness to the world. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Arthur's dream goal is to be a standup comic, but he has a personality disorder that is his biggest obstacle as we eventually see in its raw ugliness as he tries to perform some jokes from his personal joke book at a night club. When he steps up to the mike, he can't stop laughing inappropriately and seemingly, uncomfortably. Someone in the club records the act with a camcorder, and submits it to a late night talk show that Arthur and his mom watch every night when he comes home from work, but that's really just one cog in the larger wheel of the plot. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't seen the movie yet, but I do want to address the key opening portion of the film that ignites the massive chain reaction in the film's conclusion, which I shall refrain from describing as best I can.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When the movie opens, and it's set around 1981 if the visual clues in some scenes hold any meaning, we see something occur that sets all that follows into motion, as I've just implied. Arthur, doing his daily sign-twirling job, is violently attacked by a gang of young hoodlums who steal his sign and run off with it for sport. He chases them into an alley, is </span><span style="font-size: large;">unexpectedly </span><span style="font-size: large;">smashed in the head by his own wooden sign from behind, and the hoodlums then steal his wallet, and kick him brutally into unconsciousness. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Arthur ends up being hospitalized (or, perhaps temporarily institutionalized), and even though his co-workers at the clock-in/changing room for his sign-twirling job know about what happened, they (apparently as a willful act for some reason) neglect to tell their mutual boss. When Arthur is healthy enough to return to work, his boss claims the people who hired Arthur to twirl the sign at the start of the movie believe he just didn't bother to show up for work, and simply <i>stole</i> their "valuable" hand-painted piece of refuse "Everything Must Go!" sign, which they demand the cost of be taken from his paycheck! Talk about adding insult to injury!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While getting ready for a performance, one of Arthur's coworkers mysteriously gifts him with a handgun for future "protection" and, I suspect, as potential leverage to blackmail him in the future somehow. Arthur - who is taking heavy doses of medication to help him to tame his intense depression and control his personality disorder that causes him to laugh at inappropriate times - takes to carrying the gun around, snuggled in his pants under his belt. He makes an appearance at a Children's Ward at a local hospital, and apparently forgets he has the gun on his person and, while dancing for the laughing children, it falls to the floor in plain sight of both the kids and their attending nurses. Arthur quickly hides the gun, and puts his finger to his lips as if begging them to keep what just happened a secret. His boss then fires him by phone because of this incident, even though Arthur tells him the gun was nothing less than a prop (which it clearly wasn't).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">On the train ride home, Arthur mourns the loss of the one job he truly loved, and when 3 young and very drunk Wall Street brokers harass a young woman on the subway ride home, Arthur starts to laugh uncontrollably and inappropriately. The drunken jerks then turn to him for an object of harassment, and he begins to laugh even harder due to the rising stress of the situation. They resort to beating and kicking him, and he goes into full-on panic mode, pulls out the hand gun he was given, and shoots them down, chasing one out onto the bottom set of subway stairs, and shooting him repeatedly in the back until the young business man expires.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After the shooting, Arthur is clearly in shock. He runs away from the crime scene as fast as he can, and he hides in an empty public bathroom. Either he starts doing Tai Chi to calm himself down, or he begins to slowly dance to center himself, but then he goes home to his mother, and acts as if nothing happened that evening. The story of the shooting becomes the focus of several news agencies but, because no one was around when the shootings occurred, the depictions of what transpired begin to grow in the telling. Still, the police begin looking into the case, and soon start interviewing anyone who works or worked as a professional clown in the area surrounding the scene of the shootings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Every night, his mother asks him if they've received a letter in reply to one she wrote to a prominent industrialist in Gotham, a certain Mr. Thomas Wayne, and every night Arthur tells her that, "no," there was no mail in the box. He seems to truly love his ill mother, and children, and in certain parts of the film he proves he's capable of some semblance of romantic love when he is dumbstruck by a beautiful new neighbor who moves into his apartment building. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Clearly, Arthur wants to be "normal," and yet he feels driven to be someone who stands out from the norm, and do something worthy of note in his life --- but things always seem to be pushing him down, preventing him from accomplishing anything that could bring him proper attention for a job well done. He becomes wholly defeated emotionally, and contemplates suicide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Government funds are suspended due to budget cuts at the Health department, and Arthur's counselor tells him they can no longer meet as their office is closing within the next couple of days. Arthur asks where he will get his much-needed medication, but we never hear the answer. Instead, we're left to wonder if the rest of the film is a mix of fantasy or reality -- and I'm not really certain we'll ever know. As I stated earlier, I don't want to spoil the second and third acts of the film for those who haven't seen it yet, and want to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Because there are thematic elements in the movie that strike home for some viewers because they are so steeped in our current reality, I'm not really surprised that some agencies are concerned that it might ignite some political or terrorist movements who seek social change at all costs. However, they said this might happen when <b>THE WARRIORS</b> came out when I was a kid, and it didn't, and large groups of Protestants rallied against Scorcese's <b>THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST</b> before it was released, yet nothing really happened. Film-maker Kevin Smith's blasphemous comedy, <b>DOGMA</b>, was protested by Catholics before it premiered, and Smith created mock signs of his own, and joined in with them to monitor what they were saying they were opposed to; he notoriously ended up on the news, denying who he clearly was. With all these films, what was anticipated to be a major cultural event sparking all kinds of violence and social shifts, never happened. What was expected to be a Social Tsunami wound up being a mere ripple in a pond by a miniscule pebble, and the ripple actually originated because of those who protested because of subject matter they thought <i>might</i> offend them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>JOKER</b> was described as a troublesome prospect for some in authority positions, and some took to attempting to hampen its release. However, its proven to be a big hit despite some who are opposed to what they improperly (in my opinion) assume that the movie is telling the masses to "Burn the Rich," and allow Political Anarchy and Social Upheaval to reign in the streets. Some have expected cities to be set ablaze because of the misperception of what this movie is attempting to draw attention to, which is the plight of the mentally ill and the disenfranchised! And didn't these same fear-mongers predict this selfsame thing prior to the release of Spike Lee's film version of the the life of <b>MALCOLM X</b> only to see nothing happen that was worthy of note? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, people are furious about certain things that occur all around us every day, and without any semblance of rhyme or reason, but why do movies and video games almost always get called into question due to fears of happenings that seldom ever take place?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Before I could order tickets for JOKER, I had to click a box that pledged to the theater that I would agree to the following rule:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqwY1N0jH5dqSiPEVE9hh_4DNV7URzElaRSxrCFeUlmoEz-2Jt2mTO-H2XCJQddU84dkChWbY2ANRmA7plLLZgjQSjJG2JBZlMVOoOWvf-7j02vmndGusYAGqjzp_g6ikGszhStnMqOO4/s1600/IMG_2623.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="792" data-original-width="658" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqwY1N0jH5dqSiPEVE9hh_4DNV7URzElaRSxrCFeUlmoEz-2Jt2mTO-H2XCJQddU84dkChWbY2ANRmA7plLLZgjQSjJG2JBZlMVOoOWvf-7j02vmndGusYAGqjzp_g6ikGszhStnMqOO4/s640/IMG_2623.jpg" width="530" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"> And when I arrived at the theater, I saw the following notice on the theater door:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">It would probably be irresponsible for me not to acknowledge the terrible theater shootings in Colorado by the lunatic dressed as the Joker when Christopher Nolan's <b>THE DARK KNIGHT RISES</b> premiered. That's probably why my local theater established these rules. But it was a singular and isolated event that would have been much worse if a greater hype had been built up by whack jobs like that murderous psychopath who committed those atrocities. People like him are generally an exception to the rules of conventional society, and not everyone wants to storm the gates of every institution in the country because of policies and leaders they don't agree with -- although it does happen, and it's usually over past events or impending ones. But that's a subject for another discussion in a completely different forum. This is a movie review blog, and it's my blog, and I aspire to be respectful to all to the very best of my ability. Getting back to <b>JOKER</b> now...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Joaquin's performance in this film is so intense, and so fine-tuned, and so utterly ensnared by the essence of the character in the script that I felt sorry for him throughout the duration of the movie. I wanted to cry. I wanted to help him somehow -- just as I did when Joaquin's brother expired before his young eyes all those many years ago. It seems to me that his performance may have served as some sort of catharsis for him, and offered him a release of sorts from his inner pain, but that's nothing less than speculation on my part, and perhaps I'm reading to much into his method. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">When the movie was over, I overhead my wife tell one of the movie theater's staff workers that she was completely amazed by how Joaquin "vanished" into the part. She was mesmerized throughout the entire duration of the film, and that's something quite unusual for her. I was riveted as well, and kept looking for Easter Eggs, and found all I was looking for, and more. If I tried to point out various allusions to Batman's comic book origins, and the one-off story of the Joker's origin in which he was a failed stand-up comedian who became a villain once called "The Red Hood" before he fell into a vat of chemicals that changed his facial appearance and hair color, she "shushed" me every time! By the way, that Joker origin story was probably best presented in the DC graphic novel revision of it, <i>THE KILLING JOKE</i>, which the director of <b>JOKER</b>, Todd Phillips, says was a source of inspiration for the film. There is an animated take on the novel, which I've reviewed on this blog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So, was this movie the "true" origin of the Joker, or was it a fantasy story constructed by someone suffering from mental illness? See the movie, and I'll let you decide for yourself. As for me, I regard this movie as something beyond your average cinema fare. It was more akin to a work of art making some profound observations about how we should all treat one another in an age of intolerance and false unawareness of the homeless and mentally ill. I was deeply impacted by this movie, and I think I'll be pondering it for quite some time. Bravo, Director Todd Phillips, and Bravo, Joaquin -- you did some fantastic work with this film. It was nothing less than profound. And I say this as someone who was initially quite skeptical when I learned it was going to be made. I don't understand why some viewers weren't as impacted and impressed as I was but, hey, "That's life!" See the movie, and you'll understand that final reference.</span><br />
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budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-35384228026399978502019-10-14T18:09:00.000-07:002019-10-15T06:53:44.692-07:00In the Tall Grass (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yet another NETFLIX-produced "movie," based on yet another Stephen King property, this one being a novella collaboration with his son, Joe Hill.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Frankly, <b>IN THE TALL GRASS</b> begins with what seems to have some promise, and almost feels as though it was closely connected to his short story that launched a film adaptation in the 1980's and a long-running movie franchise that is lingering on to this day, <b>CHILDREN OF THE CORN. </b>As the plot - such as it is - progresses, it proves to be its own animal, and could be better described as "Children of the Grass." It starts out pedestrian enough, and then becomes mysterious, and culminates in a watered-down attempt at what could best be described as "Cosmic Horror," which was in the wheelhouse of King's favorite Horror author, H.P. Lovecraft. Unfortunately, it falls short in the end, and leaves viewers with more questions than answers. I was really disappointed when all was said and done.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Have you ever been a passenger in a car, and saw someone standing on a street corner, or walking down the sidewalk, that looked like someone you possibly knew? When I was a teenager, after I was exposed to the original<i> TWILIGHT ZONE,</i> I used to make up stories in which I saw my late father on the side of the road after he'd passed away. I also made up a story where, as an adult, I went back to my hometown and saw my younger self on the side of the road - and I stopped to talk with myself, but my younger incarnation ran away before I could. You could probably imagine where the story went from there but, if you can't, send me a private message, and I'll tell you what happened.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the past, when I was a Pastor, I often found myself escorting packs of kids to Corn Mazes in the Fall with my youth ministers. Someone would almost invariably get lost in the maze, and sometimes we'd find ourselves going in circles in failed attempts to find the missing kids, or get out of the maze altogether. Every turn looked like the one before sometimes, and it would usually behoove us to leave markers in place so we wouldn't repeat our previous failed attempts to escape or reunite. That's essentially what the larger part of this movie is like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Two siblings are on a road trip as the story begins. It seems somewhat reminiscent to the opening of the original <b>JEEPERS CREEPERS</b> movie, really, except that the female lead is pregnant. Her brother is driving and, through exposition, we learn that the girl has recently broken up with the father of her unborn child. Her brother is abnormally protective of his sister, and never wanted her with the father of the baby anyway. This odd twosome pass a strange church building called CHURCH OF BLACK ROCK, and we can see at one point that several cars are parked around the church, and one of them is the same make and model as "Christine," the automobile that was the centerpiece of King's novel of the same name (which was made into a movie by John Carpenter when I was still in High School). </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The female lead becomes nauseated as they approach the church, and she asks her brother to pull over so she can take care of her situation outside of their car instead of inside it. On the opposite side of the church are fields of high grass that almost look identical to the rows of corn in the film version of <i>CHILDREN OF THE CORN</i>. Suddenly, the shout of a child is heard crying for someone to help him out of the tall grass of the title. The girl enters the field, and eventually it's as if the grass is formulating itself somehow into an elaborate maze, and is prohibiting her from leaving. Her brother also enters and he, too, is entrapped. The precise order of who enters when is immaterial as I'm sure you can figure out the basic premise of this production, and I have no intention whatsoever to watch it again to put things aright in my mind. I've got better things to ponder than this waste of time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There is a reunion of the siblings, and the lost boy who was crying for help in the grass is revealed, and even the girls' estranged boyfriend comes looking for her and the boyfriend, too, gets trapped. The little boy explains that he was separated from his dog once they entered the grass, and was then separated from his mother, and his father, played by Patrick Wilson, who is or was a supposed Christian minister who had gone into sales for a later-in-life vocational change or some such.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The little boy eventually finds his dog, but only because the dog apparently died in the field somewhere (apparently some time ago as it's covered with flies), and the boy claims to have found his dog in that state before. The boy claims "dead things don't move" in the tall grass. <i>Why</i> this is so is never explained. Neither is the way that time speeds up, or those who get out end up back in time a few days, sometimes before they ever arrived in the grass. The boy's parents eventually show up at different times, and the father leads everyone to the center of the grassy field where, in an open clearing, we see a huge black rock that supposedly has magical properties that are bestowed upon whomever touches it. We soon discover it has driven the former pastor mad. Why? Because all Christians in Stephen King stories, since he first started being published, are overbearing and maniacal, power-crazed lunatics. And this former pastor is no different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Like in his other novella, <i>THE MIST,</i> the pastor aspires to be a leader of the small group and, just like Mrs. Carmody in that story, he demands a blood sacrifice for the living grass that now surrounds them. And what better sacrifice is there but that unborn baby?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It gets stranger than this and, I'm sorry, but despite having a few special effects sequences that are somewhat memorable, the rest of the story is not. It's really not worth your time to watch it. Especially if you're not interested in fantasy cults and Wibbley-Wobbley, Timey-Wimey stories that don't really make much sense and cause any chance to reason through them to get lost in the shuffle with Bizarro World fantasy sequences. In one, we see the grass take on human form, with a grinding face of grass with a black hole whirling in its center. In another, we see hoards of humanoid forms arise from the center of the earth without explanation and, in another one, the former pastor attacks the pregnant female of the group, and forces her to eat her baby fresh from her womb. I promise you, it makes no sense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stephen King once said that, if he can't scare his audience, he'll go for gore -- and he doesn't fail to live up to this promise in <b>IN THE TALL GRASS</b>. A movie in which people are trapped in a time warp within a field of living grass. I kept looking for "He Who Walks Behind the Rows" to appear. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By the by, I never could discern where King's contributions to the tale, and Joe Hill's, merged or separated, and it kept making me think of Hill's recent cable mini-series about a psychic vampire, <i>N0S4R2</i>, which featured veiled references to some of Joe's dad's work, primarily the killer clown from <b>IT</b>. In fact, Joe's lead vampire goes into a bar where Pennywise is standing and having a beer. When the clown sees the vampire, he becomes horrified, and rushes out of the bar with one of his infamous red balloons in tow. Apparently, Joe and Stephen can't write without referring to King's literary universe in some form or fashion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Don't get lost in <b>IN THE TALL GRASS</b>. There are better ways to waste time. Watch the original <b>CHILDREN OF THE CORN</b> instead. It's not perfect, but it's a far cry better than this drek. </span></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-74794685844278386792019-10-14T13:14:00.000-07:002019-10-16T07:58:44.893-07:00El Camino - A BREAKING BAD Movie (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdj2MDtzFiX-g2Zih2mrUFHezVyZqfNGyJ3nhB80ssfq3OHdLBGhjgkugmJrg3GV9cX_hcZCdd69vXuRGu0rNNMPeMY_FzOD9pXUT1BF5fGbv1MlrpbBwh2X68rwX1LgCy2FWxFqQHUk/s1600/El+Camino+%25282019%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="475" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpdj2MDtzFiX-g2Zih2mrUFHezVyZqfNGyJ3nhB80ssfq3OHdLBGhjgkugmJrg3GV9cX_hcZCdd69vXuRGu0rNNMPeMY_FzOD9pXUT1BF5fGbv1MlrpbBwh2X68rwX1LgCy2FWxFqQHUk/s640/El+Camino+%25282019%2529.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Okay, so I've been breaking my own rules of late, but only in cases where the lines have become somewhat grey. In no way am I intending to condone the things I've railed about in the past. I still don't think they're needed (i.e., blatant profanity and cursing, violence for violence's sake, and scenes entailing brief nudity of sexual nature). But every once in a while, exceptions have to be made, and - for lack of a better turn of phrase - offensive material has to be intentionally screened out in our minds so we can consider the source and the context. If I had my way, offensive material - <i>which I am aware is subjective to every viewer</i> - could be excised, but that would raise the whole issue of censorship, which I am not in favor of, so we have to simply accept some things as they are, or ignore them altogether. Ignoring them rarely allows someone to broaden their perspectives of other world views.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If it seems as if I'm addressing skeptical Christian readers of this site, well, I kind of am. Some have lambasted me for daring to "sully my mind" with some of the material I've reviewed here but, to me, this encapsulates why there is a disconnect between some Christians and those who refrain from identifying themselves as such. The two sides hold opposing viewpoints, and they usually never dare to mesh effectively. Arguments ensue, and that leads no one anywhere. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Speaking frankly, I hold to the position that Christians cannot afford to make themselves into interesting targets by burying their heads in the sand like ostriches when they regard movies and television shows that aren't "Christian" as something to be avoided. If they don't screen such things accordingly, and if they don't make themselves aware of what the "worldly" are interested in, how can the opposing camps communicate effectively?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">While it's very true that there are some lines that I feel should not be crossed, there are also instances where "worldly" shows and movies are so well-constructed, and so compelling, they have to be regarded as examples of what can be labelled nothing less than effective STORY-TELLING. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">With all that having been said, I have to admit that - after the first few seasons of <i>BREAKING BAD</i> aired, I was curious about all of the accolades it was receiving, so I checked it out, and started binge-watching. Despite some of the violent scenarios, the more sordid visual subject matter, and the R-rated language, the core story was simply riveting. I watched the show to its final episodes from there on out, and then became hooked on <i>BETTER CALL SAUL</i>, which is its excellent sister/prequel series. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In many ways, I sometimes wonder if I prefer <i>BETTER CALL SAUL</i> over <i>BREAKING BAD.</i> The star of the show, Bob Odenkirk, does a fantastic job playing the titular character, Saul Goodman (Attorney at Law). That series reveals to audiences what makes Saul tick, and what led him down the road to using his unusually sharp and perceptive mind to profit from bending the Law to its near breaking point. It's really a very engaging and healthy branch that sprang out of the strong narrative tree that is <i>BREAKING BAD</i>, but that's not what this review is supposed to be about.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The basic fact is, <i>BREAKING BAD</i>, for my money,was the greatest television series to ever flow like a thematic visual novel ever produced. <i>BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER</i> comes in a close second, but it featured material that made me uncomfortable at times, and it seemed to rush into its final season a little too fast - just as many say <i>GAME OF THRONES</i> did. But those are discussions for another time, and this isn't really the place. <i>BUFFY</i> was more of a Comic Book-style allegory about growing into adulthood, and <i>who knows</i> what <i>GAME OF THRONES</i> was meant to be with its twisted themes entailing a nearly complete lack of normative morality? I only bring these issues up to set up my review for <b>EL CAMINO</b>. I apologize if I took too long.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>BREAKING BAD,</i> when it was on the air, had a strong beginning, middle and end. It was so well-layered, and so well-constructed, and so well-acted, that in the face of its occasional subject matter that I would normally blanche at --- as a student of Cinema and Television Arts, and Pop Culture in general --- it had to get a pass. I regard <i>BREAKING BAD</i> as a visual work of secular Art that I personally doubt can ever be topped from a story-telling point of view. It can be analyzed, and scrutinized, and studied, and metaphorically "autopsied" for decades because of the many thematic elements it entailed, and how it was constructed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Vince Gilligan, the creator of <i>BREAKING BAD </i>and <i>BETTER CALL SAUL</i> claims in several interviews that his intent in making the initial series was very intentional. He wanted to tell a story in which the innocent and fictional school teacher Mr. Chips, from the film <b>GOODBYE, MR. CHIPS</b>, is transformed into the gangster/criminal/drug-dealer <b>SCARFACE</b> by the time it is concluded. And he succeeded brilliantly. For my money, it was very similar in its basic structure to the classic story of <i>The Devil and Danial Webster</i> and, perhaps more recognizably, the mythological story of <i>Doctor Faustus.</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>BREAKING BAD</i> made viewers wonder what makes people "break bad." The primary character of the series, Walter White - a High School Chemistry teacher who is diagnosed with terminal cancer - accidentally/on purpose opts to create a perfected form of crystal meth (that mysteriously turns <i>blue,</i> which is impossible in the real world) to sell to drug addicts on the Black Market. He does this as part of a collaborative effort with a former student of his, Jessie Pinkman, who is discovered by White to be a low-profile dealer nicknamed "Captain Cook." </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Originally intended to be slain through the run of the original series, Jessie Pinkman became so beloved by viewers and the show's creative team, they opted to let him survive -- with his fate being left unknown and only intimated at in the end of the show's 5-year run. Aaron Paul played Jessie Pinkman, and Bryan Cranston played Walter White.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Quite some time has passed since <i>BREAKING BAD</i> ended, and there's been a year-long gap since the last season of <i>BETTER CALL SAUL</i> ended (and it seems to be dove-tailing into the original show as it creeps toward what appears to be a final 5th season). Many staunch fans of the original show have been clamoring to find out what happened to Jessie when the proverbial smoke cleared in <i>BREAKING BAD</i>'s final episode. Well, we find out in <b>EL CAMINO</b>, which was not produced by AMC, on which the original show aired, but by NETFLIX -- so, technically, it doesn't really have a <i>rating</i>, per se.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The movie details the PTSD that Jessie Pinkman experiences after the initial show wrapped up, and it ping-pongs back and forth through flashbacks how he winds up where he is at the start of the film. We learn more about the torturous experiences Jessie underwent at the hands of the perfectionistic Crime Lord, Gus Fring's, and some Neo Nazi dealers and their henchmen, and offers us a clear picture of Jessie's inner soul in unexpected ways.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Todd, played by Jesse Plemons, was one of Fring's primary henchmen, and the nephew of a Neo Nazi Dealer in <i>BREAKING BAD</i>, and is one of the main characters of this film. If the production has a singular flaw, it's that Plemons doesn't quite look as youthful or thin as he did when the original show was on the air. Still, his performance is excellent, and he should be commended for it. Aaron Paul, however, looks like he hasn't aged a bit, and this is probably true for the rest of the cast as well. I honestly like Plemons as an actor, but since he appeared in the second season of the television series <i>FARGO </i>a few years back<i>,</i> I hadn't noticed his looks changing all that much. Such comments make me feel superficial, I guess, but I truly don't mean to be. I guess I'm concerned for him since his appearance has changed so dramatically in the intervening years, and it sometimes took me out of the movie when they were trying to convince me that the flashbacks showed him when he was younger and healthier-looking.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It would be unfair to spoil any of the plot details of the movie, but there are many cameos by some of the staple characters of the original show in flashbacks. Several subplots that were once left dangling are tied up effectively, there's tension galore, and it's nail-bitingly exciting. The movie feels like a near-perfect extension of the show. And new characters are introduced as well as updated iterations of old and beloved ones -- including an excellent final performance by Robert Forster, who passed away just after this movie started streaming.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will leave it up to readers of this review blog who plan on watching this film to discover if the ending is satisfactory or unsatisfactory - and whether or not it leaves the possibility for more follow-ups to be possible. Like the original<i> BREAKING BAD,</i> this movie is an extrapolation of a metaphorical spiritual journey, and every journey must sadly come to an end at some point. My only wish is that they'd taken a chance and released this at theaters, and not just on Netflix. Not that there's anything wrong with streaming, necessarily. Maybe one day I'll explain why I feel as I do about it having been released at the movies. In the meantime, like the horizon ahead of us, it will remain a mystery, just as Jessie Pinkman's future will.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you're a <i>BREAKING BAD</i> fan, this is simply a must-see production for you. Props to all behind its creation. It does feature some salty language and some violence, so viewer discretion is advised.</span></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-42472603817907751232019-10-07T13:44:00.000-07:002019-10-07T13:44:00.775-07:00Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLtCreVXixd0y5zgr9JuzYpe8QHvnVoKj9TmE7T0LJ8T6SB4hERCDq96FP_bXXKskWsGrSOhsLHDmYHOrDcTIwmziv_ejorWxZ4GvNSjGTKymBbp8_IjS2dc8kC_zbVc-I9aLKOJvopo/s1600/WonderWomanBloodlines.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisLtCreVXixd0y5zgr9JuzYpe8QHvnVoKj9TmE7T0LJ8T6SB4hERCDq96FP_bXXKskWsGrSOhsLHDmYHOrDcTIwmziv_ejorWxZ4GvNSjGTKymBbp8_IjS2dc8kC_zbVc-I9aLKOJvopo/s640/WonderWomanBloodlines.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This latest release from the animated arm of DC Comics, frankly, left me totally underwhelmed. It seemed unnecessary, it dragged in the middle, and its soft reboot of Wonder Woman's origin was clearly a shallow attempt at making the character and her associates <i>politically correct</i> and supposedly more relatable to modern audiences. But what about old-timers like me, who prefer the classic iterations? Don't we matter anymore? To me, the first Wonder Woman stories count as the true origin of the character, politically correct or not. Even the recent live action <b>Wonder Woman</b> movie was closer to the "true" origin. This version is closer in nature to the New 52 comic stories. In fact, I'd wager it's an offshoot of New 52's character, merged with the tweaked animated movies - namely the<b> JLA</b> adventures, like <b>JLA: WAR</b>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wonder Woman already featured in a solo animated movie about a decade ago, so why DC felt the need to revamp her origin <i>again</i> after the live action movie's origin story is baffling but, even worse, it's <i>annoying! </i>Especially when those adventures both showcased disparate origin stories.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Instead of being set in the World War I era like the movie or Golden Age Comic Book origin, this story is contemporary, and set in the present era. Steve Trevor becomes Princess Diana's romantic interest after his jet is shot down by Darkseid's parademons (who are only seen in the movie's opening), and she rescues him. He never really does anything to earn her admiration, either, and both he, and this newest incarnation of Etta Candy, seem incapable of being much of anything other than sarcastic and snarky. Regardless, Steve convinces Diana to come into "Man's World," and she agrees to, only to be housed with a single mother whose teenaged daughter begins to resent the attention her mom pays to Wonder Woman.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wonder Woman, somehow, forgets where Paradise Island is, but she recalls that she had to resort to threatening her mother with violence to leave in order to protect Steve Trevor and investigate the modern world, so there is tension between mother and daughter. It's, sort of, an inversion of the dynamic between Thor and Oden in the <i>THOR</i> stories by Marvel. And it's a far cry from the competition between the Amazons to discern who was worthy to investigate and help the modern world that was a staple of Wonder Woman's comic book origins for decades.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Diana is a babe in the woods in America, and I thought this was portrayed adequately in <b>JLA: WAR</b>, especially in the sequence where the character is introduced to ice cream and instantly falls in love with it. I personally thought that the bulk of this presentation was redundant, in a <i>been-there-seen-that</i> sort of way, and especially these interstitial portions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Wonder Woman's primary villains are reintroduced, and updated, but I personally didn't find them innovating or appealing. In fact, I prefer the original incarnations of Cheetah, and Giganta, etc. New villains are introduced as well, but they seem to have been cut from the same cloth as characters on the CW <i>SUPERGIRL</i> show. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The animated version of "Dr. Poison" even features in this installment to, I guess, serve as a bridge between this release and the live action film which featured her. Most of the villains, though, look as if they were stolen from Marvel Comics instead of from DC Comics -- especially Cheetah, who looks like Marvel's Tigra, and Giganta, who looks like an oversized Jean Grey.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6e83t8pTYEysLAeDipqIXga9ufI1J9WVJQX5vHL1zMoSGRyGmvGOWOZbv57xYn5yNrpTkANlsqJMlXMA6MDvaixNcPma1ECOIWLR3s-N4PBKJeUmWbDVNYXOUVDFMD3JeCxeMkfN2VqQ/s1600/Tigra_Portrait_Art.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1284" data-original-width="985" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6e83t8pTYEysLAeDipqIXga9ufI1J9WVJQX5vHL1zMoSGRyGmvGOWOZbv57xYn5yNrpTkANlsqJMlXMA6MDvaixNcPma1ECOIWLR3s-N4PBKJeUmWbDVNYXOUVDFMD3JeCxeMkfN2VqQ/s640/Tigra_Portrait_Art.webp" width="490" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marvel's TIGRA</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3LQbQ3xiNW2viLVQt-PsSGA1_suvhscobDKq0RfE5VINHQno-GZt4IBfiXmZWtN5slJI41o0bHOezsNi8WZW2jFvJw-H_CBehR4QWl3KkXR0FzPWDRtftO54Z5WpwJmSfeMTxjWWcKI/s1600/Marvel+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="941" data-original-width="662" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3LQbQ3xiNW2viLVQt-PsSGA1_suvhscobDKq0RfE5VINHQno-GZt4IBfiXmZWtN5slJI41o0bHOezsNi8WZW2jFvJw-H_CBehR4QWl3KkXR0FzPWDRtftO54Z5WpwJmSfeMTxjWWcKI/s640/Marvel+%25282%2529.jpg" width="450" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marvel's Jean Grey</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As seen in the DVD cover at the top of this review, Wonder Woman also battles a new villain who, due to a festering grudge against the Amazonian princess, agrees to undergo experiments that promise to give her super-powers that will allow her to defeat Wonder Woman. This villain looks markedly like one iteration of Marvel's X-Men characters, Archangel. In short, there's not a lot of original subject matter in this one. It's all been done before and, in most cases, it's been done better. I'll take the classic Wonder Woman stories any day.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8AFCSTXDqnIgG_1JG-cO1aRQUYFg6ZCD7V88Uh3TnGvZ6977BQ349mSFz_YueA_DY4AUPmJu_CqIH8m3a_wG5g1V4-HBhWBSE-Y-4_GqGHaa84zLpWrp2exXKViyE4n2XG_9Ra4ZISfM/s1600/2427596-2139251_archangel_h599.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="836" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8AFCSTXDqnIgG_1JG-cO1aRQUYFg6ZCD7V88Uh3TnGvZ6977BQ349mSFz_YueA_DY4AUPmJu_CqIH8m3a_wG5g1V4-HBhWBSE-Y-4_GqGHaa84zLpWrp2exXKViyE4n2XG_9Ra4ZISfM/s640/2427596-2139251_archangel_h599.jpg" width="556" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>WONDER WOMAN: BLOODLINES</b> introduces a new arch-nemesis for Princess Diana at one point, but the new character is rather bland. Her dialogue, like the annoying new take on Etta Candy, is cliched, and all the antagonists in this production are one-trick ponies. I just didn't care for this movie. I didn't see where it really spoke to me in any way, and it had no message for viewers of any real merit except for lame rhetoric about the importance of family, and honesty, and integrity -- but haven't we heard all that before? </span></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-57441980600002607512019-09-26T09:33:00.000-07:002019-09-27T18:52:34.642-07:00Scarefest 2019 Photo-Essay<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCV_N_VCkE1RJjrW2vLbuZ7CXOAReTxP8nyGxUAf5FKd4diPxM-pfu3Z4PffalA_9G8yuZdfHleTvv4Ji1-MFIXXsbeQhcn1gmEAzjHxEOedA1qSie0jQR9QJ60F6MZstjffOmtf8WXjg/s1600/00.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="1059" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCV_N_VCkE1RJjrW2vLbuZ7CXOAReTxP8nyGxUAf5FKd4diPxM-pfu3Z4PffalA_9G8yuZdfHleTvv4Ji1-MFIXXsbeQhcn1gmEAzjHxEOedA1qSie0jQR9QJ60F6MZstjffOmtf8WXjg/s640/00.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This year was eventful; I got to speak twice, and we had a handful of celebrities cancel due to scheduling conflicts and illness, and then a few days later, character actor Sid Haig passed away. Both my wife and I worked as his table assistant a couple of times, so we had a lot of memorable conversations with him. He will be missed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I've again decided to post mostly pictures this year, with just a few comments now and then. Note that I did not take all these photographs. I took several, but most of them come from the official Scarefest website, and from the Facebook Scarefest page, where there are hundreds more... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZChW7LdnPY2XN3BzaNrwdYQKUO-qoqseL719AFEhLFK6epkXAwW0tSdvLYadlwvyB_41aBGsTvU2fzDpaOW16nI98ZYrl8f0QXwvny8DIx_kTsjmqlB4ATwmHseJ4u_iQW7vcrTy6LuI/s1600/0+Scarefest+LOGO+FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="788" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZChW7LdnPY2XN3BzaNrwdYQKUO-qoqseL719AFEhLFK6epkXAwW0tSdvLYadlwvyB_41aBGsTvU2fzDpaOW16nI98ZYrl8f0QXwvny8DIx_kTsjmqlB4ATwmHseJ4u_iQW7vcrTy6LuI/s640/0+Scarefest+LOGO+FINAL.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjvkPV9fTqohTuOP_FSaruPlsDRkPjv-0kKCklrGEQpM730Py9yYX9FzbwLgTxMl6DdK3H2jC2oSHBC7JAAyY8W8fDNxMuRFZZPJydvZattsx47RDIae11Wiuh0MEqeUQ_Rwpqzn4sBI/s1600/Alex+Vincent+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="335" data-original-width="536" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjvkPV9fTqohTuOP_FSaruPlsDRkPjv-0kKCklrGEQpM730Py9yYX9FzbwLgTxMl6DdK3H2jC2oSHBC7JAAyY8W8fDNxMuRFZZPJydvZattsx47RDIae11Wiuh0MEqeUQ_Rwpqzn4sBI/s640/Alex+Vincent+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original "Andy" from the original CHILD'S PLAY movies. I've met him once before...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5W5bndyLzeIM_C11D5O9q_GHPQDF8pmiCPKGNsVq0_xYoAJ-OmKPNOGMqrcjMOP83FFD3Tol0mR2Q31dIVGUW7U3Hy78iVBSVZp0O8m-SMbirHg1f8W_BTvLs_Wdb5iD1JW6cshwDytU/s1600/Alex+Vincent+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="862" data-original-width="777" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5W5bndyLzeIM_C11D5O9q_GHPQDF8pmiCPKGNsVq0_xYoAJ-OmKPNOGMqrcjMOP83FFD3Tol0mR2Q31dIVGUW7U3Hy78iVBSVZp0O8m-SMbirHg1f8W_BTvLs_Wdb5iD1JW6cshwDytU/s640/Alex+Vincent+2.jpg" width="576" /></a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdytNXjBlptZcG3OwsFNxKEb9cC9l1zRod7y17vbGeEHWhX0fy6ZUp6lX8Jcz-JgVY3VL28u_NSfKprBvVqkQVOEA2fb2cyKorlJURamXo3Iqs1kwloIL_RqQbZnaTO1TVQXDs6PnZ72c/s1600/Beverly+Randolph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="586" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdytNXjBlptZcG3OwsFNxKEb9cC9l1zRod7y17vbGeEHWhX0fy6ZUp6lX8Jcz-JgVY3VL28u_NSfKprBvVqkQVOEA2fb2cyKorlJURamXo3Iqs1kwloIL_RqQbZnaTO1TVQXDs6PnZ72c/s640/Beverly+Randolph.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I met Beverly several years ago, and she is a dear, sweet person...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52VL6s_xaa1PJRNaf31DJY6kzLOX-cZ3bGj_Rzryt5PNJt7e5oeI4W_RzEwPQiVchDXmau6YR6LBRpyftVPtZPt6J_uiUR5U3F8MnvoEWRTnE_wwuJje0haqVO883U-hXy2JArswJ2J8/s1600/Bruce+Campbell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="568" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj52VL6s_xaa1PJRNaf31DJY6kzLOX-cZ3bGj_Rzryt5PNJt7e5oeI4W_RzEwPQiVchDXmau6YR6LBRpyftVPtZPt6J_uiUR5U3F8MnvoEWRTnE_wwuJje0haqVO883U-hXy2JArswJ2J8/s640/Bruce+Campbell.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've met Bruce before, at HORROR HOUND, years ago...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_LHMaBI20x3p8US3i6ziQQ8wdxVoglhzw6htSNlPRGfK9a53sbA2x4IM4W-FbhI4T-J4XPh4INyoQ1Dh3Z59jSKpqQeR5AKmNkE36gxiFiACCe_MTNVleltL-uRAxCndZLPF2oCDVoQ/s1600/Bruce.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1422" data-original-width="629" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_LHMaBI20x3p8US3i6ziQQ8wdxVoglhzw6htSNlPRGfK9a53sbA2x4IM4W-FbhI4T-J4XPh4INyoQ1Dh3Z59jSKpqQeR5AKmNkE36gxiFiACCe_MTNVleltL-uRAxCndZLPF2oCDVoQ/s640/Bruce.JPG" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Or was it FRIGHT NIGHT? I get them all mixed up. Bruce is a cult figure among Horror buffs, and he usually has long lines of fans wanting to see him.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVywdTlHfodpA4Rd2_tddMoRGSxxqLoDGt05sz2ohVwKAA1QcraCBuZTVjxFHNZGIChNt6fXkUw7hOjOn-VYTZpTryYTK17237q_zt5qZTBGCwW9CI4dzRvvfac_Zd66gfhraHx-SB1g/s1600/Bruce+Campbell+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="488" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVywdTlHfodpA4Rd2_tddMoRGSxxqLoDGt05sz2ohVwKAA1QcraCBuZTVjxFHNZGIChNt6fXkUw7hOjOn-VYTZpTryYTK17237q_zt5qZTBGCwW9CI4dzRvvfac_Zd66gfhraHx-SB1g/s640/Bruce+Campbell+3.jpg" width="398" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULjW-NEzpQzdqHzFFwMR0FUikx3sNfv6DHsXeWdl9k21iOoVHunOp18Uu7Pk9CM6idh0-cCzveRIha87gh4gXDQ8SJ0U5Xjra5raS_k1xWWRe5zrtcYeO7vEuzu1gV5kAtWgeYWh7Rt0/s1600/Christine+Elise+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="486" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULjW-NEzpQzdqHzFFwMR0FUikx3sNfv6DHsXeWdl9k21iOoVHunOp18Uu7Pk9CM6idh0-cCzveRIha87gh4gXDQ8SJ0U5Xjra5raS_k1xWWRe5zrtcYeO7vEuzu1gV5kAtWgeYWh7Rt0/s640/Christine+Elise+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the stars of the second CHILD'S PLAY...</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJPbcQv15aGoT1CPcR4NPEp7UyPeglRUUY9GPYuL2o86p-Q95jPWG3piJf5T9RJNTIgQZbx90X8PLr1a7U5B2uJoBL35nfECh4QjFVwQD9a95L9uEOxdeLh8JlU1iVNLyYXsSmGNvBe8/s1600/Christine+Elise+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="688" data-original-width="407" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJPbcQv15aGoT1CPcR4NPEp7UyPeglRUUY9GPYuL2o86p-Q95jPWG3piJf5T9RJNTIgQZbx90X8PLr1a7U5B2uJoBL35nfECh4QjFVwQD9a95L9uEOxdeLh8JlU1iVNLyYXsSmGNvBe8/s640/Christine+Elise+2.jpg" width="376" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1Hv5P1Vl8g7mq-7ZQj7ce3_mpQpKM4esMXbrHKfHNKwQapq3gl1VfzESSdLWZURuokT39uyI5osZG8VNTNesrsF6Fhm3jRIgMC_8oQGcUqTZIotLKfFiDw2Ubgic4xbaY_qorC53pSE/s1600/Christine+Elise+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy1Hv5P1Vl8g7mq-7ZQj7ce3_mpQpKM4esMXbrHKfHNKwQapq3gl1VfzESSdLWZURuokT39uyI5osZG8VNTNesrsF6Fhm3jRIgMC_8oQGcUqTZIotLKfFiDw2Ubgic4xbaY_qorC53pSE/s640/Christine+Elise+3.JPG" width="426" /></a></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv32B40N73tbZZ9AsS1bbiKvXwioptXWC_CzXJ449zNq3mtXRkIWVVd89ksF5203AkXQkiI3BrMoUiYuZH-56a9v-ZPaRbBMGqcPOv7PO3lgXbizyswJGtZ5JvPmyK9boTZBEAn0_n-Rg/s1600/Clu+Galagher+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="565" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv32B40N73tbZZ9AsS1bbiKvXwioptXWC_CzXJ449zNq3mtXRkIWVVd89ksF5203AkXQkiI3BrMoUiYuZH-56a9v-ZPaRbBMGqcPOv7PO3lgXbizyswJGtZ5JvPmyK9boTZBEAn0_n-Rg/s640/Clu+Galagher+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of my absolute favorite character actors. Clu starred in THE VIRGINIAN, and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD as "Bert," the owner of the cadaver storehouse... He was a delight.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-OFlUoCY4vThZPAFQslIeDNvE4pO9TDXXnwbafegZZsjqdMqPyVNK48UHEs_ny3u0XlPAUjhtLuvxjRV1vrShWIzZpJ-4awkbA3PLsH_PaAl5fE2U-1TO5Ujt4R-7CEiKCG0Y2yOKbA/s1600/David+Howard+Thornton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="271" data-original-width="447" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt-OFlUoCY4vThZPAFQslIeDNvE4pO9TDXXnwbafegZZsjqdMqPyVNK48UHEs_ny3u0XlPAUjhtLuvxjRV1vrShWIzZpJ-4awkbA3PLsH_PaAl5fE2U-1TO5Ujt4R-7CEiKCG0Y2yOKbA/s640/David+Howard+Thornton.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">David Howard Thornton plays "Art the Clown" in the extremely low budget TERRIFIER movies.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvDK39CVp57Wa-g4qLbqBJO8n0dMdRwaz20PnvmsVhRGEneWWp0HLHCrKEnsp74CuwduJ88SerASuCYkpsXo-yFjVO4RFLpPXMi0PBXreNuv489uXhZidV3QXCuSH7H1Er7kPEDCYYjw/s1600/Dee+Snyder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="336" data-original-width="581" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVvDK39CVp57Wa-g4qLbqBJO8n0dMdRwaz20PnvmsVhRGEneWWp0HLHCrKEnsp74CuwduJ88SerASuCYkpsXo-yFjVO4RFLpPXMi0PBXreNuv489uXhZidV3QXCuSH7H1Er7kPEDCYYjw/s640/Dee+Snyder.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lead singer of the 1980's heavy metal band, Dee Snyder was approached by my wife who asked him why I wasn't a fan. He basically told her, "Because he's stupid," which ticked me off, and I replied, "I have three degrees, sir. Two are Masters." He didn't know how to respond.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrQEJNoCdoLF6Sq9pkY9FLSoewK4nEacuv_5Lp0Plc7D1wQ38kZsn4bTYD-coGb2_yK_6wSXVFnxCEBus884UnK6wlcUA4f5kgyrc-Oc7r929OmJviAKIQnazaHg8X8N3A2hnO23fuls/s1600/Felissa+Rose+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="318" data-original-width="579" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWrQEJNoCdoLF6Sq9pkY9FLSoewK4nEacuv_5Lp0Plc7D1wQ38kZsn4bTYD-coGb2_yK_6wSXVFnxCEBus884UnK6wlcUA4f5kgyrc-Oc7r929OmJviAKIQnazaHg8X8N3A2hnO23fuls/s640/Felissa+Rose+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our favorites; she's a really sweet person. And she loves Hershey's Chocolate...so we always bring her a bar.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QiAg3u0luhglLtwRQEd16vjMgBoHssmsAKb1hBUoEZq1tO22f5P7ep7V3FIjTW4S9J0v9P71vFYaahmHi_xTwCmEDuyT8CEoGfagIe1Huj0wszndp3xKw582tM6uZ-nwzr76-zCJLhQ/s1600/G+Tom+Mack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="263" data-original-width="487" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QiAg3u0luhglLtwRQEd16vjMgBoHssmsAKb1hBUoEZq1tO22f5P7ep7V3FIjTW4S9J0v9P71vFYaahmHi_xTwCmEDuyT8CEoGfagIe1Huj0wszndp3xKw582tM6uZ-nwzr76-zCJLhQ/s640/G+Tom+Mack.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This gentleman worked on the soundtrack for THE LOST BOYS, which is one of my wife's all-time favorites.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWkceJrZ5tYnY97NxwFJAuN6fhpAHxxl216nJ2MOTI1sLry507431OIDuBriU-79JT01RpqP1k9HB3bHN4Hq5APd8PKX0XcEQ73Aewdzy7a5QO1uRYuhKBBKvqNR1O_BwFUyccBcuAJg/s1600/GB2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="639" data-original-width="960" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguWkceJrZ5tYnY97NxwFJAuN6fhpAHxxl216nJ2MOTI1sLry507431OIDuBriU-79JT01RpqP1k9HB3bHN4Hq5APd8PKX0XcEQ73Aewdzy7a5QO1uRYuhKBBKvqNR1O_BwFUyccBcuAJg/s640/GB2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GHOST BROTHERS are three awesome guys. I had a fairly long theological discussion with them.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOC5Y9g_RGnSxQhDcIkbZcOXdlxkxArEmhr9EvzewSuXq3NL8cYlvBd7VwLPO_gx-EnLtZD8DxAe4T8Dp2wL842o5MPPeAOysyIfQGF_q4RPcPVFtVtAOVJc3Uzodocr6uHaaWxFwOYY/s1600/John+Kassir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="306" data-original-width="525" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOC5Y9g_RGnSxQhDcIkbZcOXdlxkxArEmhr9EvzewSuXq3NL8cYlvBd7VwLPO_gx-EnLtZD8DxAe4T8Dp2wL842o5MPPeAOysyIfQGF_q4RPcPVFtVtAOVJc3Uzodocr6uHaaWxFwOYY/s640/John+Kassir.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Met Mr.Kassir at least three times. He wasn't as vocal on the intercom this year, thank goodness.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE5jIxyHZKoqT5dh5ju2gAHKNYho8Z-9EnY4769sZwizEuAdLYYqrq_eTFh_jPyPTjXSkzniqmVx3scgbIpA6MjasSKBNLF-j8sEVZCQ4Cvq6TRrALMMHBuAVgIrutAFj8O4W-wtDAic/s1600/Sid+%2526+Renee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="635" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuE5jIxyHZKoqT5dh5ju2gAHKNYho8Z-9EnY4769sZwizEuAdLYYqrq_eTFh_jPyPTjXSkzniqmVx3scgbIpA6MjasSKBNLF-j8sEVZCQ4Cvq6TRrALMMHBuAVgIrutAFj8O4W-wtDAic/s640/Sid+%2526+Renee.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sid & my wife, at a con some years ago. She and I both worked as his assistant, two years apart.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsPmiiCXvKkqMdEOIxTitvgOmbRSDw_QSLDnfnRMVnWGSknLp4VN8wgQSe5zD3p4eIhtdQCMRSVZ5FJ8wipqN0WiaXYFEWdlCS8dupH9NaJlrLjXs0mR2PvFzMk77MXvfa23zeREdZRI/s1600/Sid+Haig+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="274" data-original-width="483" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjsPmiiCXvKkqMdEOIxTitvgOmbRSDw_QSLDnfnRMVnWGSknLp4VN8wgQSe5zD3p4eIhtdQCMRSVZ5FJ8wipqN0WiaXYFEWdlCS8dupH9NaJlrLjXs0mR2PvFzMk77MXvfa23zeREdZRI/s640/Sid+Haig+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sid was scheduled to come to Scarefest, but had to cancel due to illness.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HWCKXTAawqR4ODd91yKPk_zY69XA5VhBrTHufNW2K-4zeCqhyphenhyphen9Seq7oEWaBPRubCZYJsru6QOKNaMZiNLfTVWLdpUglEn3xhGm1Bc6XCG8sWhFVioOU0OhMx6G8AJE6xmCz-8f0fXLo/s1600/SID+HAIG+Autograph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="1119" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HWCKXTAawqR4ODd91yKPk_zY69XA5VhBrTHufNW2K-4zeCqhyphenhyphen9Seq7oEWaBPRubCZYJsru6QOKNaMZiNLfTVWLdpUglEn3xhGm1Bc6XCG8sWhFVioOU0OhMx6G8AJE6xmCz-8f0fXLo/s640/SID+HAIG+Autograph.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sid's autograph on this item, and the DVD case below...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HOt1ynhvOdPCvBBQEkZc0LjcFGVSBwXjJUqPN6k0ipPyNeSQKH-OiGL90ih6c9OCpDA6htIN-KbDCz4-sIrqCglAnWkwg9kST-Fv2mG2w0SvmnnwxL7C1zXbdiRBsvmSMENL4cSqeZ0/s1600/sid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="657" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3HOt1ynhvOdPCvBBQEkZc0LjcFGVSBwXjJUqPN6k0ipPyNeSQKH-OiGL90ih6c9OCpDA6htIN-KbDCz4-sIrqCglAnWkwg9kST-Fv2mG2w0SvmnnwxL7C1zXbdiRBsvmSMENL4cSqeZ0/s640/sid.jpg" width="438" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sid, you will be missed.</td></tr>
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budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-79882282104078056902019-09-19T20:31:00.005-07:002019-12-13T17:12:33.205-08:00Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJ51txyF1lu5ODlsr676w5JJkrFK-NDZAVNnedOPwhGqPGhtaTD0WocUjTpnsTFuZJ7anqeCRZbvuhU9_s7jZstBmzOjFne78eJtWxRmgpS6qvPv0GPcpz2oSwSaG6RJ5DTsaOC4k2TA/s1600/580e5e0084540331e61a63690e974409.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1080" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghJ51txyF1lu5ODlsr676w5JJkrFK-NDZAVNnedOPwhGqPGhtaTD0WocUjTpnsTFuZJ7anqeCRZbvuhU9_s7jZstBmzOjFne78eJtWxRmgpS6qvPv0GPcpz2oSwSaG6RJ5DTsaOC4k2TA/s640/580e5e0084540331e61a63690e974409.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In what I would assume was an attempt to beat the final installment of the <b>IT</b> series, <b>SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK</b> was released, and it received fairly good reviews. A PG-13 Horror movie based on a series of 'Children's Books' in the 1990's, it's actually an anthology piece that features a bookend introductory tale and concluding tale that merges the rest of the movie into a singular narrative with varying pieces, almost like a jigsaw puzzle transformed into a story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Set in 1968. the movie follows a small group of teenagers who accidentally uncover a magical book of sorts in the local haunted house. The book features stories the teens become enmeshed in and, most of them, witness its stories come to life and steal them away to a mysterious and unknown realm by hideous monsters heretofore unseen save a scarecrow that seems rather familiar.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKB_-6hyphenhyphenKmzfBfI8XscuW8QOD13HGjRis4-t1NWooZ6Wwwr2pB5Cb3vTlU_AOi0-5FQcn_rNAhNl_mobFF6vsXXBsQzJRTX94pGleih88SqxQI39gXwh9tmVqCzqY80X5EUn69SIcjN68/s1600/17001+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="857" data-original-width="594" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKB_-6hyphenhyphenKmzfBfI8XscuW8QOD13HGjRis4-t1NWooZ6Wwwr2pB5Cb3vTlU_AOi0-5FQcn_rNAhNl_mobFF6vsXXBsQzJRTX94pGleih88SqxQI39gXwh9tmVqCzqY80X5EUn69SIcjN68/s640/17001+%25282%2529.jpg" width="442" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If there's a moral to any of the stories, I'm not quite sure what it is. It's not on par with the EC Horror Comics of the 1950's, which featured tales that had a moral twist at the end. The book upon which the movie is based was big in the 1990's, so the movie was apparently made for readers from that time period. It has an R.L. Stine feel, but isn't quite as childish and silly. In fact, some of the creatures in the film are somewhat frightening if not bizarre and ghoulish.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps the most relatable narrative in this series of brief stories revolves around a pretty girl who has a spider lay eggs in her cheek. It's quite horrific when dozens of spiders burst out of her face, so if that sort of thing - or a traditional ghost story - isn't for you, avoid this movie altogether, If you're into the ghoulish, however, you'll probably like it. What I don't understand is why not a single story is related in the dark if the title boasts the notion that it consists of stories to tell <i>in the dark? </i>Apparently 2019 is the year of the Horror Movie, and this one was made with teens in mind.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvrXNmPZysgPWboqQfbWXV7uZ8T7xv8YQ78WUJqxHyvTzDdoSKBgYnyi5BelZjkcabOSqvOdmS4uhFy043yMf9W9HVBTNV9hOo_pKfxPS9wI_IbbhCG5fdHVY9XSFRXVHEpJKfCJR2pE/s1600/scary-stories-to-tell-in-the-dark-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1481" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMvrXNmPZysgPWboqQfbWXV7uZ8T7xv8YQ78WUJqxHyvTzDdoSKBgYnyi5BelZjkcabOSqvOdmS4uhFy043yMf9W9HVBTNV9hOo_pKfxPS9wI_IbbhCG5fdHVY9XSFRXVHEpJKfCJR2pE/s640/scary-stories-to-tell-in-the-dark-poster.jpg" width="432" /></a></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-24417134554286318602019-09-12T18:41:00.000-07:002019-11-23T19:20:31.617-08:00IT - Chapter 2 (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25s1JMWL9aQhTapll7vzjct-a3cYDHo_hTwzl5nAk6izb5Cf7Op6Iwy_OKFFFCChZuX8o_GzZhyphenhyphen9DPmUivUNQN4joF6ucXulBlLWpVO9zoJwCPmUvqWCdi49oC9l2G9abmkX4HJNrBOs/s1600/IT+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1021" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj25s1JMWL9aQhTapll7vzjct-a3cYDHo_hTwzl5nAk6izb5Cf7Op6Iwy_OKFFFCChZuX8o_GzZhyphenhyphen9DPmUivUNQN4joF6ucXulBlLWpVO9zoJwCPmUvqWCdi49oC9l2G9abmkX4HJNrBOs/s640/IT+2.jpg" width="430" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And so, as the poster says, everything must end. The <b>IT</b> saga included. At nearly 3 hours in length, it <i>needed</i> to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, I'm once again going against my policy of reviewing R-rated features that have scenes of gratuitous blood-letting and murderous mayhem. But, since I reviewed the first film in 2017, I figured I might as well review this installment. Especially since, despite its rating, the primary plot may well be appealing to younger audiences, <i>such as it is. </i>This movie, however, is <i>not</i> for children.<br /><i></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">This go-round is decidedly more<i> adult</i> than the last one. It features not only the bloody murder of children, it features a graphic sequence of gay-bashing and violence, and a suicide that, like the gay-bashing scene that opens the movie, was wholly unnecessary and could have been excised altogether. My concern is that it will inspire anti-gay radicals to follow suit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In <b>IT - Chapter 2</b>, the back-story and origin of Pennywise the shape-shifting and demonic clown is revealed. The being, as in the novel, is discovered to be an alien from outer space. And not only is it an alien, it's an <i>ancient</i> alien. A being that is older than humanity, a'la the Cthulhu of H.P. Lovecraft's tales, but nowhere near as cosmic or mind-boggling. In the television mini-series original, one of the villains looks into the "Deadlights" of Pennywise, and it makes his hair turn white, and he ends up in an insane asylum. This is as close to a Lovecraftian twist as IT ever comes, beyond the giant Turtle Being that created our universe. But that's material for another discussion altogether.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The now-adult members of the "Loser's Club" attempt a fictional Native American ritual named after an old B-movie from 1984, "<b>C.H.U.D.</b>" (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers), but only after reuniting when their buddy Mike calls them and reminds them they'd all promised to return in 27 years if Pennywise became active once again after a self-imposed hibernation. How Mike obtained their contact information is never explained. This is particularly troublesome when the movie goes out of its way to reveal that no one from the first film, save Mike, recalls what happened when they were kids.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When the members of the Loser's Club return to their hometown, they all witness their own greatest fears individually, after they seek out a personal totem to defeat Pennywise with. Why they have to temporarily separate is never explained, just as Mike having their phone numbers after 27 years is presented as believable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The remnant of the film rehashes what transpired in the 2017 movie, and it causes the latter quarter of the movie to drag. There are a few scares, but there's also an over-reliance this time around on Computer-Generated Imagery. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Only <i>one</i> scene scared me, for personal reasons, but in the end, I was just glad to see <b>IT</b> come to a conclusion. Even though there was a closing sequence that was lifted whole cloth from <b>STAND BY ME</b>, Word Processor and all. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another sequence clearly inspired by a famous scene from a Stephen King novel featured a zombie behind the steering wheel of a car, which was a concept taken from the novel, but not the film version of <b>CHRISTINE</b>. When John Carpenter directed that movie, he was accused of over-reliance on gore because of the myriad of effects in <b>THE THING</b>, and opted not to include it; he later regretted that decision -- but the scene in this movie will probably make him change his mind because it was just that corny.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Let's cross our fingers there won't be any sequels, or prequels, or variations on the over-arching theme, which is: Whether we want to admit it or not, we all have scars from our childhood, and sometimes we forget about bad things that happened, but they almost always come back to haunt us in some form or another.</span></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-3785353849346372652019-09-05T21:55:00.000-07:002019-09-05T21:55:10.917-07:00X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheO-xesKUC4-yAEjJGPV1aD4pJ2rdF0zo4TgKW2cLvuS1VKq3jehyhkARUSw3ZzBTU6eR4vB4eY8x4uUr3P5t6ytNgluIcAKLlEn2IcXFRtkESzAsqawGsRjMIbQP9wZeWFdXt-hTm04g/s1600/Dark+Phoenix.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="631" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheO-xesKUC4-yAEjJGPV1aD4pJ2rdF0zo4TgKW2cLvuS1VKq3jehyhkARUSw3ZzBTU6eR4vB4eY8x4uUr3P5t6ytNgluIcAKLlEn2IcXFRtkESzAsqawGsRjMIbQP9wZeWFdXt-hTm04g/s640/Dark+Phoenix.jpg" width="402" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Who would be crazy enough to launch a new superhero movie and, even worse, a superhero movie that features a rehash of a story line from earlier in the franchise, in the wake of the highest-grossing superhero movie of all time? In fact, it's now the highest-grossing film of all time in general - <b>AVENGERS: ENDGAME</b>. I'll tell you who: the suits at Sony Pictures, who must have assumed they had a surefire box office winner on their hands with the latest, and probably last, <b>X-MEN</b> feature before the rights to the films and story lines <i>finally</i> switch over to Marvel.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The core plot of this film has been done before, in the 2006 movie, <b>X-MEN: THE LAST STAND</b>, which was directed by Brett Ratner. Many fans of the X-Men comics it was based on declared it an inferior and abominable insult to their fanboy and fangirl sensibilities. I wonder what they're saying about it now? I recall that I rather liked it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">When we first learned of the new movie - well before the release of <b>ENDGAME</b> - my daughter and wife were extremely excited. Especially since it was slated to be released on my wife's birthday, and my daughter especially loved the <i>X-MEN</i> since Sophie Turner from <i>GAME OF THRONES</i> joined the cast. The movie also boasts Jessica Chastain in is cast, who is one of my daughter's favorite actresses of all time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ENDGAME</b> left my entire family and I both excited and spent. We weren't really ready for a new superhero movie, so we all opted not to go see <b>DARK PHOENIX</b>, which was the first time since <b>WOLVERINE</b> and <b>LOGAN</b> that we missed an <i>X-MEN</i> movie at the cinema. Plus. it was excoriated by critics as being the worst of the worst.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">By August, Sony Pictures made it available for digital download, so we decided to see if it was as bad as we'd heard, and we were surprised. It was, more or less, a very mixed bag. Both <i>okay</i> and yet <i>not that good</i>, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">At first, we thought the movie was another case of "not as bad as many claimed," As it progressed, however, we quickly came to the conclusion that, <i>yeah,</i> it was pretty bad, but not nearly as bad as some claimed. It had its moments.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">For me, the most troublesome aspect of this release was the fact that an alien race appears in it with the objective of overtaking the world, but they're never identified by name. Even worse, they hope to harness the power of an unnamed space being that seems entirely lifted out of the failed DC movie, <b>GREEN LANTERN</b>, and was called Parallax in that box office bomb. Question: why steal a concept from a movie everyone hated?</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">There's really no point to elaborate on this movie's plot. It wasted Quicksilver, who was the highlight of all the previous films he was in. It killed off two major characters in scenarios that wholly lacked emotion. It transformed Charles Xavier from a selfless hero to an uncaring and self-centered liar, and all the actors seemed bored out of their minds and deliver their lines wholly devoid of any semblance</span><span style="font-size: large;"> of passion.</span><span style="font-size: large;"> Even when the Xavier Institute was renamed at story's end. The cast goes through the motions in this one, folks, and this movie's loaded with cliches, unless such things as rainy day funerals are commonplace. I didn't realize we weren't supped to bury and grieve our cherished loved ones after they've passed in blustery rain storms that - I guess - symbolize our tears.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Even the anti-hero Magneto's powers ebb and wane when he attempts to use them in this movie, and it just seems as though things happen because the plot - such as it is - required it. It's the world's first Color-by-Numbers, Mad-Lib superhero movie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">What.A.Waste.</span></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-16580781036983592532019-08-09T22:25:00.001-07:002019-08-09T22:25:26.484-07:00Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (2019) A Spoiler-Heavy Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMDs-zLtTunK-LYcPxkqLefrF3XFXSREHBmWiwYFLXjlj3scVugIeZWHgVAwNapw4rlh_NpmElV_x_8GvgXj7WE2Oi26Ha42QSWKHe1gpNWadZPTuuR_i1zCDzI_Apdhzi3VTckUGAFg/s1600/Once.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMDs-zLtTunK-LYcPxkqLefrF3XFXSREHBmWiwYFLXjlj3scVugIeZWHgVAwNapw4rlh_NpmElV_x_8GvgXj7WE2Oi26Ha42QSWKHe1gpNWadZPTuuR_i1zCDzI_Apdhzi3VTckUGAFg/s640/Once.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Yes,</i> I know I'm breaking my own rules by reviewing this, but Quentin Tarantino's latest movie <i>has</i> to be discussed. Tarantino, one of the few remaining modern day "Celebrity Directors," has managed to become a magnet for controversy in the last decade or so and, after a prior decade or so of adulation, there now seems to be a cabal of critics and nay-sayers who are apparently intent on tarnishing his name, his reputation, and his films. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Tarantino's take on World War II and - particularly- the historical demise of Adolf Hitler in 2009's<b> </b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>INGLORIOUS BASTERDS </b>was certainly fodder for deep discussions on the purpose of film and the role of film-makers.<b> </b>His inversion of old and long-established Cowboy tropes in <b>D</b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>JANGO UNCHAINED</b> (2012) was also begging to be the subject of debate, but seemed to generate more negative press after the film's star - Jamie Foxx - made an appearance on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, and proffered some tongue-in-cheek jokes that have ever since branded him a racist by some (despite the fact that his lines were scripted).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just before <b>PULP FICTION</b> came out in 1994, I read some of the reviews about it from England and, even before I got to see it, I learned about Quentin's 1992 film, <b>RESERVOIR DOGS</b>, which I got to see when it was released on home video. I actually showed it to my future wife and, despite the material in it that caused us concern, she just loved it. Especially, for some peculiar reason, Michael Madson's character -- even though he was a bad guy in the film.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Both films were absolutely riddled with harsh language of the worst possible kind, and my wife and I did our level best to ignore it. <b>PULP FICTION</b> was much worse, and one critic claimed the characters used the "F" word over 260 times. It was around that time that I noticed harsh and abrasive language was becoming more and more commonplace in film. Now, all these years later, you can rarely see a movie <i>without</i> harsh language, and it's even got that way in TV shows. I don't blame Quentin Tarantino, mind you. I heard such talk used freely when I visited the U.K. in 1992, so I knew it would eventually come to America. I just didn't - and don't - think it's necessary to talk that way. Especially in films or on television. It's pretty bad when streaming shows based on DC Comic stories, like TITANS and DOOM PATROL, and even SWAMP THING, feature the <i>F-bomb</i> so often that once-innocent characters now talk like it's a legal requirement. But, as always, I digress.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD</b> has unnecessary gluts of foul language like its predecessors, but I have yet to see a critic discuss whether or not it offended them as it did me and my wife. Instead, the critics have been lambasting it for how many times women speak in a Tarantino film as opposed to how often the male characters speak, and what was meant by an advertisement campaign where the ellipses differ from location to location. All wastes of time, if you ask me, but that's beside the point. And, for the record, note that I separated "Once Upon a Time" and "in Hollywood" with intentionality.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>ONCE UPON A TIME...IN HOLLYWOOD</b> is a very adult fairy tale. Like Tarantino's other films, it doesn't feature explicit sex, but there <i>are</i> references from time to time. If you can wade past the heavy waves of cursing, the story is extremely interesting, although it's unconventional in the way that it climaxes in much the same way that <b>INGLORIOUS BASTERDS</b> did.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The movie is set in the late 1960's. The entire story occurs during the year 1969, and culminates in the month of August. If you're a student of history, or are aware of what occurred during that time, the film is even more interesting than one would expect. In fact, it's almost like going back in time, if time could be twisted to make allowances for the director's myriad of fancies and fantasies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Leonardo DeCaprio plays a television actor named Rick Dalton, whose career in winding down, and Brad Pitt plays his stunt double and best friend. Cliff Booth. Booth drives Dalton around after Dalton loses his driving privileges and he, known for Westerns on episodic television, is approached by his agent (played by Al Pacino) very early in the film about starring in a series of spaghetti Westerns in Rome. Clearly, this is an echo of Clint Eastward, who was summoned to Italy to star in the original "Man with No Name" trilogy, directed by Sergio Leone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As the movie sets events in motion, we are exposed to how Tarantino envisions Hollywood movie and television productions were shot in 1969. There are multiple cameos by look-alike actors playing roles like Steve McQueen and Bruce Lee. They're not always depicted in the most flattering light, especially Bruce Lee, who comes across as arrogant, and nothing like the legend he truly was. But it's Tarantino's movie, and he can do what he wants. Booth, for example, engages Bruce Lee in a supposedly friendly exhibition of his martial arts practices and then Booth, unbelievably, handily defeats him. That would never have happened but, again, it's Quentin Tarantino's movie, so what can one do? They're his toys in his playground. He can do what he wants. Perhaps the big question, though, is "but <i>should</i> he?" If we all did what we <i>wanted</i> to, just because we <i>could,</i> the world would be in a real fix!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Aside from Booth and Dalton, the other primary focus of the movie is Sharon Tate, wonderfully portrayed by the gorgeous Margot Robbie. Many have complained that her characterization has been presented as a "trophy figure," but how can that be since Tarantino was a kid when she was murdered in real life? Others have complained that she's presented as a mindless <i>cipher,</i> a trope of the 1960's, but I personally don't think Tarantino does this at all. I think he viewed her when growing up as the very image of a beautiful and sweet-appearing woman that we should admire more than we pity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sharon Tate, as played by Margot Robbie, doesn't speak all that often, but we <i>do</i> see what's on her mind by her actions, and she seems to appear as close an approximation of what she must have been like to those who knew her: Innocent, Sweet, and Beautiful. She was married to the Polish director Roman Polanski before he became a poster child for scandal and the seduction of a young woman he supposedly assaulted after giving her drugs and alcohol. Sharon Tate appears to be loyal to Polanski, and is excited about the prospect of becoming a Hollywood legend -- which she did in real life, but not for her acting prowess or good looks. Instead, she's become better remembered as the most <i>known</i> victim of the murderous representatives of the notorious Manson family, sent to do "the devil's business" one hot August night in 1969 by Charles Manson himself. Manson is seen only once in the film, by the way, in what amounts to a limited cameo; he's portrayed by the very same actor who plays the same role in the second season of the Netflix dramatic series MINDHUNTER.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you're more than a little aware of the happenings of that time period in history, the story builds towards what seems to be an unavoidable climax and brush with cruel fate. Quentin Tarantino, however, seems to be in love with just the mere <i>thought</i> of Sharon Tate, and what he wishes <i>had</i> happened that night is what we see, rather than another run-of-the-mill retelling of that sad tale.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you've ever seen Sharon Tate in the "Matt Helm" Dean Martin film, <b>THE WRECKING CREW</b> (which is showcased in this movie), <b>THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS</b>, or in <b>THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS</b> (better known in some circles as "Pardon Me, but Your Teeth are in my Neck," or <b>DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES</b>), or even her 15 appearances on THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES, you'll understand the innocence and purity she projected. She was utterly gorgeous, and it's no wonder that Tarantino became fixated on her when writing and directing his script if, in fact, he did. And it sure looks like he did. He apparently went to great lengths to make Margot Robbie look like her spitting image. The movie is more a tribute to her than anything else, if you ask me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In regard to the sequences with the members of the Manson Family cult, Quentin Tarantino presents these oddballs as spooky in a quiet, brooding way, and there are times where his depictions of them are nothing less than nerve-jarring. His depiction of them as filthy, drug-abusing hippies who survive by panhandling and digging through other people's trash is pretty much what I've seen in documentaries and such, and they even sing a tune I've heard in one as they march down the sidewalk, arm-in-arm.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Anyone who claims Tarantino is a "hack," and his movies are "derivative trash," haven't been paying attention. If you analyze his films, each one has a message of some sort to convey, or serves as a powerful allegory -- he just silently asks us to hunt for what he's conveying, and to ponder the movie we've just seen, which we generally do. I personally think he's more than a "celebrity director." I think he's an auteur with a unique style all his own - even when he clearly pays homage to movies and television shows he's loved or been impacted by for one reason or another. There's nothing wrong, per se, with what he does - and he does it exceedingly well. There are no "new" stories, anyway, just variations and amalgamations of tales that have come before. And with film, you can pretty much tell any story you want to, whether you should or shouldn't. That's really beside the point.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Another aspect of this particular movie that I liked was Tarantino's presentation of the creative ways movies and television shows are filmed. This has become something of a running theme in some of his movies, with the exception of those set in time periods before movies were produced for the masses. <b>INGLORIOUS BASTERDS</b>, for example, is very affectionate in its depiction of film production during World War II -- it could even be argued that, in a round-about way, he was telling the audience that, with the advent of historical documentation on film of major events happening in the world, Hitler's reign of terror was brought to an end - particularly after America was exposed to footage of what the madman had wrought upon the millions who suffered during the Holocaust. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>DEATH PROOF</b>, Tarantino's half of the 2007 "Grindhouse" movie he made with Robert Rodriguez, deals with a murderous male "bad guy" stunt double called "Stuntman Mike," and a female stunt double "good guy." Kurt Russell plays <i>Stuntman Mike</i> in that feature, and he also appears in this film as a stuntman overseer. I was hoping there was some sort of connection, but there wasn't a clear one -- I haven't figured one out yet, anyway. Since I've been an extra in a few movies back in my younger days, I always think such things are interesting. Why these scenes were incorporated into the story, though, I'm not really sure -- but they were interesting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some have claimed that this movie 'meanders,' but there didn't seem to be any scenes that <i>didn't</i> propel the narrative to its ultimate conclusion, foul language and violence, and all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">As was the case with many of Tarantino's earlier pictures, tension mounts in the closing moments. In this film, we watch nervously as members of the Manson Family prepare for their murderous rampage, but thanks to an acid-laced cigarette, things don't go according to plan. I found myself laughing and wondering why during much of the mayhem in the final scenes, and when it became apparent that things weren't going to pan out as they did in the 'real world,' I felt relieved, and then, remorse. I left the theater feeling sad because, regardless of the presentation of events that seemed to spring from the mind, mouth, and pen of a person who would claim, "things would have turned out differently if I had been there." The hard truth of the matter is, BUT THEY <u>DIDN'T</u>. This movie truly <i>was</i> a fairy tale. Two hours and forty-odd minutes of diversionary stories that converse together at the end, and are designed to make audience members wonder <i>what could have been.</i> I <i>could</i> complain, but one question stops me dead in my tracks every time: Isn't that what movies are for in the first place?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Quentin Tarantino has written a cinematic love letter to two things, when all is said and done: to late 1960's Hollywood (and the era of that time period in cultural history), and to the late and beautiful screen goddess, Sharon Tate. God rest her pitiable soul. </span><br />
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budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-25245625510810754152019-08-01T21:01:00.001-07:002019-08-01T21:01:50.099-07:00BATMAN: HUSH (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">The animated arm of Warner Brothers/DC Comics strikes again with another winning adaptation of some famous <i>Batman</i> stories. Note that I used the term "adaptation."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>HUSH</i> is one of the most popular <i>Batman</i> stories ever published. This film, however, bypasses the original's conclusion in favor of its own, and - somehow - it works. The movie also incorporates "the Wedding" storyline from earlier this year, where Batman and Catwoman fall in love and decide to team up and, also, get married.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Every well-known hero who's worked with Batman over the years makes an appearance in this film, and we're even introduced to one of Bruce Wayne's oldest friends, whom we've never seen before (and from whom he's been estranged for years).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The movie also features practically ever member of Batman's Rogue's Gallery, including Bane and Poison Ivy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">After the mysterious Hush shoots Batman's swing line while he's on a rooftop in Gotham, Batman falls several stories and is seriously injured to the point that he requires a temporary replacement. At first I thought they were going to borrow from <i>BATMAN: KNIGHTFALL</i>, but they only emulate parts of that story as well as several others. Most of the fun in this film revolves around trying to guess which parts of the movie come from which story.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>HUSH</b> is the first animated film from DC with no teaser at the end, but I'm sure there will be more to come in the future, if fans of the original structure of the <i>HUSH</i> story don't revolt because of the amendments made. In my opinion, they were necessary, and other than the lapse of morality between Batman and Catwoman, and her proclivity to swear a bit too much, I don't think I'd want DC or Warners to change a thing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Along with the awesome streaming series DC is wrapping up, <i>SWAMP THING </i>(I didn't care too much for <i>DOOM PATROL</i> and both it, and its precursor, <i>TITANS,</i> featured far too much cursing for my taste, as does <i>SWAMP THING</i>), this movie - <b>HUSH</b> - begs the question, why aren't DC's cinematic efforts as strong? And why are the animated Marvel films so <i>weak? </i>I don't even know when Marvel last released an animated feature, other than the excellent <b>SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE</b>, which was a theatrical film<i> </i>and not a straight-to-home release.</span></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6635314637502515451.post-75018443433791846892019-08-01T20:10:00.000-07:002019-08-01T20:10:45.612-07:00Men in Black International (2019))<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">The <b>MEN IN BLACK</b> franchise began in 1997. The first film initially revolved around a fairly young Will Smith as Agent "J," and a crusty, seasoned Tommy Lee Jones as Agent "K." Both are members of an armed intelligence team whose specialty was protecting the earth against "the Scum of the Universe." The series seemed to come to a conclusion with <b>MEN IN BLACK II</b>, which was released in 2002. The second feature starred Rosario Dawson in an act of stunt casting, since she was the "it girl" at that time. Then, out of the blue, <b>MEN IN BLACK III</b> was released a full decade later, in 2012. The primary focal point of the third film was the stunt casting of Josh Brolin as a much younger version of Tommy Lee Jones' character, K, but it still featured Will Smith as "J."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>MEN IN BLACK III</b> seemed to be the absolute resolution of the series and, for me, the franchise had gotten to the point where all the plot-lines had entwined themselves into a knot like a <i>James Bond</i> movie from the 70's and 80's. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL</b>, like the third film in the series, seemed to come right out of the blue. It was unanticipated, unexpected and, apparently, unwanted by fans of the first film. Worst of all, it only features Agents J and K in a singular painting at MIB HQ, and the movie clearly suffers from it. It makes fans of the original feel as if they're holding their breath, and are never given any oxygen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The stunt casting in this fourth installment includes Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, and a potpourri of new Hollywood faces. The film, however, seems to think it was hedging all bets on the popularity of Chris Heimsworth and his co-star from <b>THOR: RAGNAROK</b>, Tessa Thompson (who was also a major character in the two <b>CREED</b> films, and played a character on HBO's <i>Westworld</i>).</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">In this failed reboot, a double agent is uncovered among the ranks of the<i> Men in Black</i> team, and Heimsworth and Thompson are assigned to figure out who it is, and what their motives are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The movie is practically an inversion of the first film in the series, with a few modest twists. In the first movie, Will Smith's character accidentally stumbles onto the<i> Men in Black </i>and is inducted into their ranks and, in this latest installment, Tessa Thompson's character utilizes her own powers of deduction to find out how she can become a member of such an elite intergalactic team.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Much of the material is rehashed from the first three films and, probably, the best joke in the whole movie revolves around Chris Haimsworth's character's attempts to defend himself against an alien enemy with a tiny hammer. This, of course, is a nod to the fact that he has long played The God of Thunder in Marvel's <b>AVENGERS</b> films, including its latest release, <b>ENDGAME</b>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">As a whole, the movie features some really good effects work and some fairly decent performances by its cast, but it's almost entirely forgettable. I doubt I even remember it was made in the years to come. It just didn't impress me. Cameos by Will Smith's J, and Tommy Lee Jones' K, would have gone a long, long way to help improve this cinematic fluff, but not a whole lot.</span></div>
budsreviews.blogspot.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14475612638883867406noreply@blogger.com0