Oscar Flix?: The Disaster Artist

In a Year with the story of the Pentagon Papers, here's the story of how they made The Room (sort of)...

In California, a strange young/old man named Tommy Wiseau is trying to be an Actor.

He meets Greg Sestero, who also wants to be an Actor.  He likes Tommy...even if he's a bit confused by his, well, everything.

The pair realize that they share a love of Hollywood and move to L.A. to get jobs.  They play fast and loose with time here, as Bait came out in 2001 and Thirteen Ghosts in 2001.  Our last time stamp was 1998...

Oh and they- like Full Moon does now- ignore the fact that Retro Puppet Master exists.

Greg inspires Tommy to make a Film and this leads to all of the insanity behind setting up the Film (within this Film).

Tommy buys Camera Equipment instead of leasing, shoots with both Digital and 35mm (at the same time) and pointlessly-builds Sets he doesn't need- just to name a few.

The Shooting- and the insanity- begins!

Will a divide between Greg and Tommy ruin things? Will the Film still suck?

To find out, watch this now Golden Globe-winning Film.

It's almost a really-good Film.  To note, I'm not exactly an expert on James Franco-Directed Films as this is my first.  Right off the bat, I don't *love* The Room, but I don't hate it as a 'bad movie to laugh at' either.  For me, I just enjoy different stuff like Plan 9 or Birdemic.  I'm kind of between the 'I've seen The Room 15x' and the 'What the hell is this Movie they're talking about?!?' demographics to boot.  So with that in mind, the Film is good...but uneven.  When it is about how strange and inept Tommy Wiseau is, I liked it.  When it is about how he's just a sad soul, I care less.  I never quite grew as attached to the whole Tommy and Greg dynamic as the Film wanted either.  The familial casting thing is a bit of a distraction, even if both of them are good.  I was actually more interested in all of the Supporting Players, which leads me to my bigger issue.  Why isn't this more about the actual making of the Film?  When it does get to it, it has a tendency to randomly cut away to a Greg Scene somewhere else or him with the girlfriend (played by Dave Franco's real wife).  Show me more of people trying to act under his direction.  This one was simply made too soon, since most of Wiseau's secrets are still just that.  There's not enough meat and not enough desire to bite.  They made this one for Tommy, as opposed to making it about the event and damn him if he's bothered by it.  It's too soon and too nice overall.  He's just a weirdo, the Film says, but a sincere, loveable one.  The Disaster Artist isn't ultimately a bad Film though.  After all, Tommy didn't Direct it.  Comparison shot time...

A somewhat-uneven mix of 'look how bad this is" and "look how great these people are."  The two don't really mesh, but the separate elements work on their own.

Quick Reviews: Alien Covenant

After the confusing mess that was Prometheus, my hopes for this one weren't high.  Was I wrong or right?

Some 40 years before Alien, the Covenant is trying to find a new home for humanity.

My issue- why they have to go is never explained.  We never see Earth in this Franchise, so...what happened?

A freak accident damages the Ship (and kills James Franco!), so when they find a habitable Planet nearby, they decide to check it out.

Bad stuff happens as little Xenomorphs kill some of the people, while others are infected and killed.

The survivors run into David from Prometheus.  If you want to know how, you have to watch a random Video Fox put online before the Film was released.  That's...dumb.

He explains that this is the Home Planet of the Engineers and that the ship 'accidentally' released a bio-weapon that killed them all.

So if you were waiting for years to see the pay-off to David and Shaw confront the Engineers, they just removed the pay-off entirely.  Nice.

At this point, the Film alternates between weird monologues between the 2 Fassbenders and some mild Action.

Who will live?  Who will die?  To find out, watch the Film.

This should be better.  While I didn't love Prometheus, the Ending was interesting enough to see followed-through on.  Unfortunately, the only follow-through you get is a shot of Guy Pearce without old-age make-up on (Scenes like this were cut from that Film).  Instead of that, we get another generic rehash of the set-up to Alien (group dynamic) that starts out interesting, but quickly devolves into two Fassbenders playing the flute.  There really is a lot of flute.  The whole thing is just way too in love with its own Mythos, which is funny considering that this is all new, made-up stuff.  Alien was about a mysterious creature picking people off.  Now by the 6th Film, they are creature created by a combination of Space Engineers and a decade of experimentation by an evil, humanity-hating Android.  Did we need this?  Do we need another Film to expand this Story any more?  The bottom line- the Film is just not interesting.  There's no way that this should be possible, but it is.  Take us away, Film Promotion better than the Film...

A bit of a boring mess.  It can't quite agree what kind of Film it wants to be, which hurts everything.

Lost in Translation?: Masters of the Universe

I love He-Man.  The Film, however, was a big disappointment.

Thanks for ruining He-Man AND Captain America, Canon Films!

With that said, this Poster is kind of awesome....

Bad ass!

That's all I can say.

Enjoy the original...

Basically, I made it just look brighter and better.  It's still badass without me- just duller.

Quick Reviews: Saban's Power Rangers

2017 had a lot of highs and lows.  It also had a lot of Superhero Films.  Does this stack up to Marvel or DC?

In somewhere in California, a trio of 'teens' (the youngest Actor is 20) have nothing in common, but 'fate' brings them together at a Quarry.

They find a bunch of stones...I mean, Coins.  The objects spare their lives after a train hits their van and we basically get a retread of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man.

They return to the quarry and find a Spaceship hidden under the water.  Does it relate to that Intro Scene set 65 Million Years ago?

BB-82 here tells them that they are now Power Rangers and must become a team in a little over a week.  To fight what?

Why it is Rita Repulsa, of course, now looking like a blend of Poison Ivy and Viper from the Nick Fury TV Movie with David Hasselhoff.

She wants to, say it with me, destroy the Earth and conquer the Galaxy.

Can they learn to work together and stop Goldar?  Is this just Pacific Rim?

To find out, watch the Film.

A bunch of good, interesting ideas surrounded by cliché ones.  The Film as a whole only kind of works.  Much like the Bay-produced Ninja Turtles Film, you have to really dig through a lot of nonsense to get to the good stuff.  The relationship between the Characters- as cliché and filler as it is- does feel natural.  The Acting is overall quite good, even if some people don't deliver.  The Story has some obvious problems, the biggest of which is just how much they drag it out.  They make you wait too long for them in the Suits.  I get that you want it to feel special, but it is too much.  To be fair, The Avengers don't fight together for a while in their Film.  On the other hand, you see Cap, Iron Man and company doing stuff separately and/or against each other.  Imagine if the first 90 minutes of that Film was just them hanging out with no Costumes on.  Even with great-to-good Actors (like they had), it would be disappointing, right?  Hell, Batman is in costume in the opening Scene of Justice League (as flawed as that Film is).  The funniest thing to me is that an offhand line about the one Ranger possibly being a Lesbian (or at least unsure about dating Boys) got it banned in Russia...and I completely missed it.  It was that important.  The bottom line: the Film is slow and only delivers a little.  It wasn't a big hit (making back its Budget though), but at least it led to something more important...

There's a bunch of good ideas buried in this color-corrected, over-serious Film.  If they get a Sequel, maybe they can learn from what worked and what didn't.

My Crazy Youth: The Time that The Centurions Fought...Dracula

So this exists.

For Christmas, I got the multi-disc set containing the entire run of Centurions.  Naturally, I went right to finding the weirdest Episodes I could.  If you aren't a child of the '80s or never watched it, here's a refresher.  3 men (later 5) wore themed exo-suits (which is a tad redundant) that allowed them to use thematic weapon systems (for Air, Land or Sea).  Why?  They had to battle Doc Terror and Hacker, who is ironically quite dumb and probably didn't know Basic.  It's a pretty transparent Toy Line grab, but I still grew up loving the Show.  To give you an idea how weird this Show could get, the first one on the Disc was about Terror controlling whales to destroy bridges using a whale song...whilst inside of a giant, whale-shaped submarine and with a kidnapped Organist.  That's NOT the Episode we're highlighting, so bear that in mind.  The key thing to understand is that this Show is built around them constantly getting into their suits (after yelling 'Power Ex-treme!') and fighting Robots.  How does Dracula fit in?  Let's see...

The trio is called in to help Transylvania fend off a Doc Terror attack.  They accidentally address what must happen *constantly* as Max (the Sea guy) has nothing to do at first.

Of course, he goes in to check the Security and is called into action SECONDS LATER making this...entirely pointless.

They take out his forces- they were after a Monitoring Station if you were curious- and they crash into a Mountain.  They survive this and hike on foot to...

Castle Dracula.

No, really.

They convince Dracula to help them by calling the Centurions 'men of the law' and he attacks them at their weakest...and kidnaps Max.  Aim big, Drac!

The pair can't get their suits due to plot contrivance, so they go in with just their wits.  When confronted by a crossbow-wielding Max, Ace...takes out a cross.  This works.

I don't know why, Jake.  It just does.

The pair finally get their suits and absolutely wreck the place.  In fact...

They literally do (lamp shading it by saying 'Just like in the Movies.').  Jake here, however, is not shown leaving and he's in that bulky-ass suit, so...dead.

Nope.  Just bad Continuity.  Dracula flees the Sun and the bad guys escape (somehow).  The End.

Wow.  This was weird.  It was just a normal Show about guys in Power Armor battling 2 Cyborgs bent on world-domination until this point.  I kid, I kid.  The Show was always a bit weird, but generally just in the realm of Science-Fiction.  Giant Robots, Cyborgs and the like- all good.  Vampires, however, are another thing entirely.  It's also interesting how they do a whole Episode with nobody being turned into a Vampire, even a minor Character/Villager.  I'm sure it had to do with Standards & Practices.  The biggest thing is the disconnect between the Theme and the use of Villain.  They never have any of them really battle Dracula in their suits.  The closest thing they do is have Ace chase him around in his bat form until he flies into the view of the Sun.  The rest of them just fight robots and blow up a Generator.  Kind of weak, right?  In any event, this still exists and the World is greater for it.  Speaking of great, look who worked on the Show...

Amazing how you could go from 'Guys in Suits fight Robots' to 'Let's have Dracula show up!'  The 80s really did have the best drugs, I guess.

Top 10 TV Moments of my 2017

Everyone loves Top 10 Lists about Television.  I haven't done one yet.

I also don't watch a lot of the stuff that usually ends up on these- like The Leftovers or Master of None.  As such, mine is going to be a bit different and (hopefully) a little a controversial.

Let's see what I've got...

Runner Up: All of the times that Shows stopped their Plot cold for Flashback/Side-Character Episodes (e.c. Master of None, Stranger Things, American Gods and The Handmaid's Tale).  Is that a new trend?

10. Taking Out Daddy (Iron Fist): I'm sure that this Show is on nobody's Top 10 List but mine.  Oh well.  In this big moment, the Businessman Son has been in the control of his not-really-dead Dad for around a Decade.  He finally snaps after one too many comment and stabs him to death!

Being a Comic Book Show with Magic on it, the killing doesn't take.  Even so, damn!

9. The Tick isn't a fan of ultra-violence (The Tick): The new version of the Show definitely delivers. Tick and Arthur are fighting some henchman alongside another Superhero- who happens to be in the Punisher mold. He keeps trying to kill the bad guys, leading to our Hero hilariously stopping him on multiple occasions. Fun stuff.

8. Watching the Film Reel (The Man in the High Castle): While I never got too far into this Show, one moment still stood out to me.  When our Heroine first watches the Reel showing how America won in WWII (changed from being a Book from, well, the Book), she breaks down crying.

Hell, if I saw a Film Reel now showing how Hillary actually won, I might too.  Trump Joke Quota reached.

7. All of Jessica Jones (The Defenders): This one may be a bit of a cheat, but hear me out. Every moment that I really, really liked from this Netflix Show tended to involve her. I liked her 'Am I the only one that doesn't know Karate?' line. I liked her entering a Scene by shoving an SUV through a wall. I liked everything about her. Bring on Season 2 already!

6. Rick vs The President (Rick & Morty): There were a lot of great moments this Season.  I was torn between this and the Citadel Episode as a whole.  For me though, this fight- starting out with one-upmanship and ending in an actual brawl- is a great micro chasm for all of the ingenuity behind the Show.  From Rick's unexplained death touch to the hidden twins to invisible commandos, it was all fun.

5. The Bomb Episode (Twin Peaks): A bit of cop-out, perhaps.  There are lots of micro-moments sprinkled throughout the Season that I loved.  It just wasn't generally consistent enough for me to pick one out.  So let's go with the 40-minute acid trip that just never let up.

4. Eleven vs The Portal (Stranger Things): I suppose I should remember to review this Season, huh?  While people are mostly in love with it (save for the Eleven Episode), I want to highlight the bit that stood out to me.  They used the Demodogs to make the threat more minor, but vast.  So, in contrast, seeing the giant creature behind the Portal was awe-inspiring.  When will that show up, if ever?

3. The Interrogation Room (American Gods): This Season was mostly style over substance, but what a show it was!  I almost went with Gillian Anderson appearing as 'Lucy' or 'Bowie,' but thought that this bit encapsulated the Show better.  Media makes big, grand promises- complete with visual aids-, while Mr. Nobody shows up to be creepy as hell.  More Crispin Glover in Season 2, am I right?

2. The First Feast (Channel Zero- The No-End House): Due to the slow burn nature of this Show, it is less about moments.  In spite of that, the first time that you see how The Father 'eats,' it is quite freaky and memorable.  Who thinks of something like that?

1. Trapped in the Car (The Handmaid's Tale): Could it be anything else from this Season?  In spite of my issue with her being a Scientologist, I really loved Elisabeth Moss in this Show.  She had so many great moments of quiet strength and sadness.  To me, however, the biggest moment is when her Mistress shows her the Daughter she hasn't seen in so long (time is a bit vague here), but won't let her exit the car.  It is powerful and heart-wrenching, even to someone who will never be a Mother.  Damn!

So that was my List.  I'm sure that I didn't hit upon everyone's favorite moments, but...who cares?

Lost in Translation: Alone in the Dark (1982)

1982's Alone in the Dark is kind of in an odd place.  It is famous...but not really.

Alone in the Dark would later become the name of a Game Series and terrible pair of Movies.

It started with this Slasher Film starring some real legends though.  Let's see how Europe sold it (by way of someone sharing this on Facebook)...

It is like Jaws...but with a knife.

For the record, I don't remember a Scene like this in the Film (which is about a trio of deranged killers).  Neat though.

Here's the original...

Not that different, but we can all agree that I make everything better.

The Pros and Cons of 'Twin Peaks': Season 3

Way back in October, I finished with the Series.  Since then, silence (mostly).

I was planning to wait a month or so before writing my final piece on the Show, but time and the Holidays get ahead of me.

Since so much crazy happened and I'm not in love with all of it, I'm going to break it down in Sections.

Might as well try and new set-up for a Show this weird.

Pro: It is definitely a David Lynch Show- I really liked Season 1 of Peaks.  I still quite liked Season 2 of it as well.  That is definitely the most divisive of the first 2 Seasons for a number of reasons.

Did Lynch give up on the Show for a bit after the killer's reveal?  Maybe.  Did the Show suffer for it?  Not that much, really.  The Show turned from being solely about that mystery to being about the Town and all of its mysteries.  It was longer and less-focused- sure.

With Season 3, there is no disconnect.  This is Lynch through and through.

Con: It is an unfiltered David Lynch Show- There is a certain level of crazy that works.  There is a certain level of crazy that doesn't.

The Show tended to venture a bit too far at times throughout the run.  It could usually pull back, but weird moments were littered throughout the Show with much explanation.

For example- a shot rings out in the night.  The Deputy discovers that a kid accidentally fired a gun in a Van.  While trying to sort that out, a woman starts yelling at him about the traffic delay (since all of them stopped).  All of a sudden, a kid in her van starts screaming like he's possessed...and they cut away to something else.

Unless I missed it, this had no resolution.  There are many other things like that- including Mrs. Palmer killing a guy after revealing a spatial void behind her face.

There was nobody there to make sure that these all got elaborated on properly is my point.

Pro: Many good uses of returning Cast Members- As a Sequel show, this one often delivered.  It didn't just give you new people to deal with.  In addition to them, many notable people returned to add something to the Plot- be it big or minor.

If nothing else, it gave us the set-up for the weirdest one-off Character in the Show- Michael Cera.

Con: Many missing Cast Members or underused ones- I can't blame Lynch for the fact that human beings die.  That should be obvious.  That said...

Where were people like Piper Laurie, Ian Buchanan, Joan Chen, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kenneth Welsh (just in The Void), Mary Jo Deschanel and others?  Did they turn it down like Michael J. Andersen (who did play the Character on Scooby-Doo Mystery Incorporated!)?

Considering that some of the Actors were long dead- like Frank Silva- and still got a part, this stands out to me.

I'll deal with the Big Ed thing later...

Pro: Unique Vision- This might be similar to the first Pro, but I want to mix the positives and negatives.  This Season was lauded for its look and vision.  That Bomb Episode makes many Best TV Episodes of the Year Lists, after all.

Con: Pay off- So permit me to ramble for a bit...

What happened with Big Ed and Norma?  What exactly is wrong with Deputy Truman?  Did that guy kill himself in the Woods?  Did Becky get over it all?  What was up with the screaming kid in the car?  What is the story with Audrey?!?

Oh and what in the hell am I supposed to get about the Finale?

Pro: Kyle McLachlan shines- The crux of the Show was seemingly-built around him.  Without question, the man delivered.

As BOB Cooper, he was intense and interesting.  As Doug-E Cooper, he was committed to the Character.  As Dale (brief as it was), he was also quite good.

That said...

Con: Too much Doug-E- We get it, Lynch.  You trolled us.  Are you happy now?

No, I'm still not over it.

Pro: The Bomb Episode- While I don't love it as much as every Critic online seems to, I can't deny how visually-impressive and unique it is.  The Bomb, the bug and the bit at the Radio Station are all interesting to see.

Good luck decoding all of it, of course.

Con: The giant, pointless Retcon- This is a more personal one for me, especially since I haven't seen anyone else talk about it.

Season 2's Arc for Nadine had her lose memory after a suicide attempt and think that she was in High School.  At that point, she romanced a teen and had super-strength (for no clear reason).  During that time, Ed tried to get with Norma, who'd he'd long for going on a decade or so.

Before the Season (and Series, for 25 years) ends, Nadine gets her memory back and says that she's okay with Ed and Norma being together- catching them in the act and smiling.

In The Return, she abruptly announces in a later Episode to Ed that she's okay with him and Norma being together.  With her consent, he goes to her and they finally hook up.

Seriously?!?  Did you actually watch the Show, Mr. Lynch?  What was the point of that?!?

Pro/Con: It leaves you wanting more- For this final one, why not a combination?

On one hand, the Show answers many questions and delivers on the set-up done in 1991.  While doing so, it also sets up new things for you to wonder about.

On the other hand, will there even be a pay-off?  Was Lynch so sure that he'd get yet another Season/Series?  Is there a deal we don't know about?

More importantly, does he want there to be a final pay-off?  Is he content with just leaving the mystery there?

I guess, like many of you, I'm stuck waiting and watching.

Twin Peaks- you were weird as hell this year, but I mostly-loved you.  You just made it so hard to give you a chance sometimes.

'Black'ish: Crocodile (Black Mirror)

We got a whole bunch of new Episodes to watch and Review!  I need to play catch-up, especially since I've barely touched Season 3.

To make up for lost time, here's one from Season 4.  I'll do the Star Trek one later.  Instead, this bleak tale...

This icy tale begins with an accident and continues with the long-term effects on one of the people involved.

Some 15 Years later, an Insurance Investigator is working a case in the area.  Since this is Black Mirror, she can scan recent memories of yours with a device.

The cover-up for the crime leads to even more crime!  Did someone witness it?  Can she trust herself with the information?

When it comes down to it, can she hide her guilt while being looked at for help with a different case?  To find out, watch the Show.

I can't SPOIL this now, can I?

Dark, dark stuff.  Black Mirror is not always a fun, wacky Show.  In fact, it almost never is.  I'm not sure why I even presented that as a possible option.  In this case, they go cold, bleak and dark without looking back.  The Story involves murder and people who aren't always potential victims.  The Science Fiction element is fairly-minimal, but also integral.  This feels like a world with Science-Fiction tech available, but it also isn't some advanced civilization with flying cars or any of that.  They really only have the one major thing and it is integral to the Plot.  Like much of the Show, this Episode is much more about the human drama of it all.  These people have nice, little touches that make them feel real.  That's important for something like this, since you need to be anchored to the world and rooting for these Characters.  Not everyone is easy to root for, of course.  Crocodile is a good, but bleak Drama with Science-Fiction elements.  If you look at it for a deep dive of Science Fiction, you won't get it.  You'll certainly get 'the feels' as people say though...

Next time, I jump back to finish up with Season 3 some more.  Is VR deadly?  See you then...