New Streaming: The Mandalorian- 'The Believer'

 As the finale comes, let's look back a bit at how we got to this place.  SPOILER-free Recap time!

A desperate man must do desperate things.  As such, they must willingly hang out with Bill Burr.

All joking aside, they need him to access some Empire Terminals for information.
I really want to see the Devil-looking guy from Episode 6 back too.  

Am I alone?

They travel to a new Planet, but find that it won't be easy to get in and out with the information.

Just once, it should be- just to mess with us, the Audience.

The plan involves taking a dangerous transport and going in undercover.  

What could go wrong?

Will they find a way in or will the welcoming committee not be kind?

To find out, stream the Episode now.

A simple story that turns into something much more.  

Obviously, I'm not going into SPOILERS.  As such, I'll do my best to keep this vague.  What they do right here is showing you a new location that still feels like it fits into Star Wars.  You see new Aliens and Vehicles too- nice.  

We get to see old and new Characters interact too.  It is interesting to see more of the 'behind the Scenes' aspects of the Empire too, something that has mostly been lacking in the Series as a whole.  Other than that one guy in the last Trilogy, did we get any?  

The biggest thing is getting more backstory and motivation on Burr's Character, who was fun but pretty one-note back in Episode 6.  Seriously, I want Devil-looking guy back- is that so wrong?!?  

I'll leave it to the 1,042 other Sites that try to SPOIL the Show the next morning to cover the other big thing this Episode.  

All I will say is that we're nearly to the end and we got another breed of Alien Bad Guys- now with Hover Sleds.

Next time, the final Episode.  Am I ready to stop watching this Show already?  See you then...

New Crap: Robert Reborn (2019)

 My early Christmas Present for myself is to be done with these Films- at least until the next one.  One more hurrah for Robert...

It has been a while since the last one (not long enough!) and our 'Hero' is now in Russia under Stalin.

Yeah, that's a good place to hide!

Oh and he has two new Puppets...somehow.

All 3 of the Russians they could afford hear about how someone from Germany is hiding out.

As luck would have it, one of them is into Dolls.

Yeah, I like Dolls.  Can I watch that Film instead?

In a weird bit, we get a long scene of The Toymaker taunting/questioning a fake Russian (fake in the Film too, not just the Actor) before Robert kills him.

After that, a random guy identifies him to 3 Russians anyways, so...what was the point?

We also get this weirdly-shot Puppet Show where the idea is that he impresses the Audience with his 'living' dolls.

The problem is that this Film's Budget and they can't even show ONE walking in full-frame (which they could do back in the first Child's Play!), so...it means nothing.

I won't SPOIL too much of the Plot, but basically he ends up on a Plane full of Russians.  Can he think/fight his way out?

To find out, watch the Film.

Alot more of the same, so...yea?  There's not much new here.  Honestly, if you sub out the fake Nazis for the fake Communists, it is about the same.  People want the book.  He brings his dolls to life.  They kill evil people in old-timey Uniforms.  He isn't a good guy.  That's about it.  Plus, we jump ahead from the main Story and get NO FOLLOW UP on the 'Robert is stolen' Scene from the last Film.  Was that really supposed to set up the original Film?  Did I miss something?!?  The timeline here just gets muddier here, so we really are trying to be like the Puppet Master Films, I guess!  So he hid in Russia for a while and then ends up, as far as I can tell, in the Present day.  Of course, he apparently also stays hidden there in the last one, so where are we going with this?  Speaking of the timeline, this Film also begins with a random Flashback to the origin of Robert and/or the Book.  This time, it is showing us a truncated version of the original Robert being killed and being put into the doll...which is also named Robert.  For all of the crap, Arrow got for its linear Flashbacks told throughout the first 5-6 Seasons, they have nothing on this!  Like the other Films, there's barely a Plot and they still can't afford to make the doll effects worthwhile.  Given how silly things and confusing things have gotten, I just assume that this is the next Film we're getting in the Series...

As always, no Budget and no creativity.  If you like to spend alot of time waiting for little payoff (pun fully intended), this is for you.

'80s Fun: Streets of Fire (1984)

 We go from a '90s Film set in the Future (of 11 years ago) to an '80s Film from set in the 1950s...kind of.  

This is Streets of Fire, a 1984 Film that is arguably a strong Cult Classic.  That means that it didn't do well in Theaters, sadly (mostly) ending any plans for a Series.  

I added the mostly part since there apparently was a Sequel (of sorts) made around 2010.  I'm in no rush to see it.  This Films lives or dies basically on whether or not you like the whole motif.  

You have to remember that there was a big revival of '50s looks, sounds and all around vibes at this time.  

As such, Walter Hill- the Director of 48 Hours- was given plenty of money by Joel Silver to make this 'Rock & Roll Fantasy.'  The Film features a number of notable Stars from a young Diane Lane (who was 18, but playing older) to Rick Moranis to Ed Begley Jr as a Random Hobo.  

Why not?!?  This was designed to be a big breakout role for its Lead- Michael Pare.  

The fact that I have to say that tells you how well that worked out for him.  The Plot involves a Rock & Roll Band, a kidnapping, a return to Town from a big brother and, oh yeah, Willem Dafoe as an evil Biker Gang Leader!  I love to bury the lead.  

To find out how weird and wild this can be, read on...

After a surprisingly low key Title Card, we get a band playing in a City.  It's 'Another Time and Another Place,' but also clearly Chicago.

Enjoy seeing a young Diane Lane and hearing someone sing instead of her.

The Concert is broken up by a Biker Gang attacking everyone, including Moranis and Bill Paxton with hair that would make a young Morrisey jealous.

The Leader- Dafoe- takes Lane and they escape the Police/Mob.

A Waitress calls her Brother- Pare- to come home.

Right on cue, he's there to beat up *a different gang* to show off his stuff (and steal their car).

Supposedly, this is the inspiration for Haggar from Final Fight.  Decide for yourself.

Alongside a Cab Driver (who's role was written for a man, but then rewritten for her), he's hired by Moranis, who manages Lane.

Oh, and Lane is his Ex.
Also, Moranis is Lane's current Boyfriend too.

Awkward Car Ride Time!

A daring plan is hatched to blow up some bikes, shoot some Bikers and just make alot of chaos.

It works and Lane is rescued.
Dafoe is annoyed...but also excited to have a real challenge.  He wants a rematch!

The escape is not easy as all of the chaos alerted some Cops and they obviously can't use the same car from earlier.

After meeting Robert Townsend, Rene Russo's Bodyguard from Freejack (what are the odds?!?) AND the future Bubba from Forrest Gump, he blows up some Cop Cars with single shotgun blasts.

Where's MythBusters when I need them?!?

Having saved Lane, Pare is paid...but turns down his share of the money.  He still loves Lane, you see.

They hook up one last time, but he makes it clear that he's not right for her.
Star-crossed Lovers and all that.

A threat from Dafoe's Lead Henchman (Lee Ving, who would be promoted by the time Dudes came around) leads to the Cops telling Pare to leave.

Naturally, he doesn't and fights Dafoe in a rough brawl.

He leaves before the big Concert (which closes out the last 10 minutes of the Film) and drives off with the Cabbie.

See you...oh right, not for a long time (and probably not worth the wait).  The End.

A fun, flashy and kind of weird Film.  

On the surface, it all sounds pretty normal.  Big, macho guy beats up Bikers to rescue his woman.  How quaint.  Underneath all of that, you have a weird air of real, but fake-looking with the City.  

Part-intentional and part-accidental, the Film's Setting looks just unreal enough to make you go 'hmm' without being pure fantasy.  Part of the reason, as it turns out is that they spent over $1 million on a tarp for the whole area to mimic the night sky for many Scenes.  

Damn- that's a very '80s way to deal with having young Actors on set!  There's also a certain vibe to the whole Film that you're definitely going to either love or hate.  

It has a surreal feel to it since it is an '80s Film trying to look like a '50s Film- or at least an exaggerated version of one. 

 Obviously, Thunder Road wasn't nearly this interesting!  A big part of the origin of this Story was its Writer making a Checklist of what he'd want to see in a Film- Bikers, Men Fighting for Honor, etc- and putting it all in here.  

For me, it worked.  

It feels just '80s enough to give me the crazy excess and just '50s enough to feel retro for its day.  Pare delivers here, as does Moranis as the Lovable Prick, Amy Madigan as the Gruff (but Lovable) Cabbie and Lane in the (thankfully expanded) role of Rock & Roll Singer Girlfriend.  Hell, even Lee Ving makes the most of his mostly-silent Henchman Role.  

The Film sadly flew under the radar then and still kind of does now.  If you like this kind of crazy, Rock & Roll Fantasy, check it out.  

Now Gumshoes, can you solve the mystery of...The Mysterious Cameo?!?

Next time, I try to be topical sometimes here.  As such, how about a Stephen King Mini-Series before the new one?  Stay tuned...

'90s Trash?: Freejack (1992)

 As people finally get to enjoy Cyberpunk 2077 for all its qualities and faults, see how people couldn't *quite* emulate the aesthetic in 1992.  This is Freejack, which is based loosely on a 1959 Book.  In it, people take people from the past right before their deaths and use their bodies to become essentially 'immortal.'  Released in and taking place in 1992, the Film gives us the dark, dystopian future of...2009.  Yeah, maybe aim higher.  To be fair, they kind of forced themselves to pick a relatively-short jump, but I'll get into that later.  The Film is anchored by Emilio Estevez and...that sure dates the Film.  I mean no disrespect to the guy (who seems nice and talented enough), but the phrase 'Starring Emilio Estevez' immediately gives away the Film's release Decade.  I suppose 'Starring Mick Jagger' might as well.  Hell, the idea that the 'Feeling Hot Hot Hot' Guy is a Supporting Player really tells you that this is a '90s Film.  The Film comes to us from arguably the King of Making Sequels to Films He Didn't Make the Original Of- Geoff Murphy.  He's the man that brought us Young Guns II, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory and Fortress 2.  On the Writing/Producing front, we have a name that isn't that recognizable, but is actually notable.  Ronald Shusett was a Co-Writer on Alien, as well as King Kong Lives, Dead & Buried, Total Recall, Above the Law & Alien vs. Predator.  Good Resume.  This is one of those Films where nobody involved seems to like it.  Actors crap on it, the Studio isn't happy and the Director blames the Production Company.  Oh boy.  To find out if they all have a point, read on...

In 1992, Emilio is a Racecar Driver with a happy girlfriend- Rene Russo- and a good life.

In 2009, Mick Jagger is a 'Bonejacker' (people who steal people from the past) who needs a new body for his Boss.

Using old-future tech, they take Estevez right before his car crashes.  He is set to be lobotomized, but escapes.

Since he's on the loose, he's now a Freejack.

  
Somehow everyone knows what this is, but we also NEVER see anyone that had this same operation go right.  Why isn't a henchman like this, for instance?

Jagger is now sent to capture Estevez, setting the Plot fully in motion.

Oh and his Boss here is Jonathan Banks, now much more famous for being 'Mike Ehrmantraut on Breaking Bad.
It makes me think that I should cover another Sci-Fi Film from around this time with a future BB Star on it...

He meets up with Russo (who I guess is supposed to be 17 years older with bigger hair) and things don't exactly go well.

While he's been gone, she's become a big Businesswoman.  Her Boss- Anthony Hopkins- only talks to her via video calls.

So, seriously, if you haven't figured out where this is going, I can't help you!

The Film is about 70% Action Scenes in the middle, so I can skip ahead.  They're good, but don't add much story.

The finale is where things get complicated, so try to stick with me...

They pretend to be hostile to get to Banks, who says he knows they aren't and will let them go.  He wants Hopkins to die and he'll gain the company.

He tries to betray them, of course, and they see through it.

They find a digital world upstairs (naturally) where Hopkins' mind resides.  He confesses his love for Russo and says that's why they picked Estevez.  He offers to die and let him pretend to be Hopkins.

He, of course, tries to betray them.  The switch almost happens for real but then Russo shoots the machine.

Estevez bluffs that it worked and Banks is killed.  Minutes later, he asks to as 'Hopkins' to drive Russo somewhere else...

...but that gives him away to Jagger, who...doesn't care and let them.  Now are you over, Movie?  Damn!

A fairly-dumb, but fun Movie that definitely thinks that it is more than it really is.  The complaint leveled against the Film by Estevez is that Murphy focused too much on action.  I haven't seen the cut that alleged bombed at Test Screenings, but I can imagine.  Given what we get, there is ALOT of fairly-mindless Action Scenes that are fun...but don't progress the Story or build up the Characters.  It shows off plenty of skill in shooting them though.  The Plot itself has alot of promise.  The idea of a Freejack is interesting.  The idea of being deposited in the Future is interesting.  The idea of fighting for the right to control your own body is oddly-topical in a weird sort of way.  The problem is just not following through with enough.  As I said, a Freejack is a common enough thing to have a nickname.  Why don't we hear about more of them?  For instance, have Estevez be helped by some and maybe meet a hiding place where they are.  To expand on the Theme, have Banks be someone who stole his body ages ago.  That is an extra motivator for him to be after Estevez- it reminds him of what he could have lost.  Instead, they have him go 'Get him!' alot and be kicked in the dick by a Nun.  No, really.  Hopkins is there to do all sorts of stuff at the end, which is a shame.  His presence is sorely-needed in the rest of the Film to give it some gravitas.  Jagger was apparently-approached very last minute and signed on, even getting a part for his then-wife Jerry Hall.  He's said that if he'd actually read the Script- they just described the Plot- and thought about it, he'd have said 'No.'  For what it is worth, he adds some fun character here.  If his part was a bit smaller and less important in the finale, I'd be 100% on board.  So is Freejack 'terrible' like Hopkins said?  No.  It is a bit of wasted potential that, to be honest, wouldn't offend me to see remade with some TLC.  Given that it is set in the past-future from 1992, it's kind of funny how the Mind Transfer Device makes me think of that famous Crossfire Commercial from the actual future (1993)…

Next up, I go from Sci-Fi to Fantasy...kind of.  It is a Rock & Roll Fantasy from the 1980s!  Stay tuned...

New Streaming: The Mandalorian- 'The Tragedy'

 As we come into the next Episode, let's remember how we got here.  This Title doesn't bode well...

Our Hero and The Child make it to the place they were told to go to.

Why not make the last leg of the trip in style?

He puts The Child on the rock like he was told and prepares to leave him for a Jedi to find...

However, company arrives- alot of it!

I can't really say any more without SPOILERS...

So I won't.  I'll just leave you with one man who is happier than you'd probably hope.

To find out what happened, stream the Show.

An interesting, action-packed Episode.  

Seeing the Credits, I realized that it was Directed by Robert Rodriguez.  

That all makes sense then- you don't hire him to Direct an Episode where The Mandalorian plays Chess for 45 minutes.  

The Mandalorian's Gambit?  Copyright that shit!  

Where was I?  Oh right.  So I can't talk about too much more Plot-wise, since, again, SPOILERS.  I will say that if you paid attention throughout the last 13 Episodes, you get rewarded.  A big meeting finally happens.  We see someone who hasn't been seen in a while.  It is called 'The Tragedy,' so you know that bad stuff is going to happen.  

Time will tell how much this one matters in the long run.  Was it just a fun, action-packed Episode designed to make fanboys squeal?  

Will it be key to the final two Episodes?  Will I continue to ask questions that I can't answer right away?  

Whatever happens, kudos to a Show that can make a Shifter Knob carry emotional weight!

Next time, we cover the new Episode and whatever surprises it may bring.  After this one, who knows?!?  See you then...

Streaming Standard: Transformers- War For Cybertron: Siege

 This would have been done sooner, but it took me 3 days just to write the Title for this!

Seriously, that is a very verbose Title, but at least with some reason behind it.

Netflix decided to make people actually LIKE Transformers again and paid for this Series to be made.  It tells the new/old origins of the titular beings on the titular location.  It is going to be 3 Parts, so Siege is the first Chapter.

Let's see what they can do (even with non-Union Voice Actors)...

As you can probably guess, this is about the War for Cybertron.

On one side, you have the Autobots, who are losing the War due to lower numbers and resources.

Sadly, they are also missing Peter Cullen as Optimus' voice due to, as mentioned, the whole non-Union thing.  Damn.

On the other side, the Decepticons are winning due to their strong numbers, ground advantage and willingness to kill (as much as you can kill Robots) freely.

Stuck in the middle is Bumblebee, who is neutral on the whole thing and just making a living as a scrapper.

Given who it is, you know that he'll play a big part in the whole thing before long...

As the Episodes go on, things get desperate for both side.

Some Heroes do surprising things that probably won't end well for them.
Some Villains do especially-bad things that will probably not work out in the long term.

Oh, and Starscream is trying to take charge.

Some things never change.

To see how it all turns out (for Part 1), stream the Show.

A good, but definitely dark Show.  

The Story is a strong one.  They made an interesting choice to plop you down in the latter stages of the War.  

On one hand, you don't get to see many of the things they tell you happened- battles and such.  

On the other hand, it puts you right in there with them as things seem at their worst.  You feel for them here, which is something that you don't always get with Transformers stories.  

To be fair, I'm critiquing the Films more than anything else.  This one doesn't include a token Human Character or anything either.  

What they do that is quite intriguing here is trying to introduce moral gray areas to a conflict, which is sorely-needed.  If it is just 'Autobots good, Decepticons bad,' you can only do so much.  Here you see people on both sides questioning what is going on.  

What they decide to do in response to those actions makes up the core conflicts of the Show.  Seeing Optimus pushed to do desperate moves that his own people question- interesting.  Seeing Decepticons questioning how far Megatron is willing to go- interesting.  

With just 6 Episodes, the Pacing here is strong as the tension builds and the situation escalates.  There's no 'skippable' Episode here.  The dark tone may put off some people, to be fair, so bear that in mind.  Even so, I enjoyed Part 1 as a casual fan (I'm more of a GI Joe guy).  

After seeing Cybertron, there's no wonder that they all want to keep it...

If you like Transformers, but want to see more a bleak, nuanced story, this is for you.  It always looks nice, even when there is seemingly-no hope.

A Tribute to the Underrated Work of Daria Nicolodi

 2020 is a Year so rife with Bad News that you can still miss stuff!

For instance, back on November 26th, we lost a legend of Italian Cinema- Ms. Daria Nicolodi.

It is easy to see her for one thing, so let's address that first...

Depending on who you ask and when, she was either Married to Dario Argento or they were just a couple for a long time.

They are Italian, so it could be either.

That means that she was Asia Argento's Mother.

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There's more to her than that.  
She was also a pretty notable Writer...

While she only has 4 separate Credits (plus one for a Remake), the Films are

* The Black Cat
* Inferno
* Paganini Horror
* Suspiria

That's a good Resume!

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On top of that, she has many, many Acting Credits in notable Films.
Many of them are in Argento Films, but there's more to it than that.

She appeared in Films by Mario Bava, Lamberto Bava, Michele Soavi and Luigi Cozzi.

One of the latter Credits is as the Narrator in Sinbad of the Seven Seas, so that's something fun for me!

***

For her integral role in so many Classic Films, she'll be missed by all of us out there that never even met her.

RIP Daria Nicolodi