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Reviews
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024)
It Won't Lift Your Spirits
...and I'll admit here and now that I wasn't enamored with the original though quietly applauded its original take on the subject, and I truly wanted to know what could possibly be done to the cinematic story 36 years thereafter, in arguably more enlightened times.
All credit to the lead actors given what they're handed. If Michael Keaton deserves star billing (and he does) then so do the lead trio of actors playing Deetzes and the conniving aspirant for seamlessly blending in and contributing. The supporting cast just look like they wanna have fun. (The Maitlands appear for all of one second and Mr Deetz does indeed appear throughout the movie in a creative if not gory way; towards the end he's truly a running gag.)
There's a Webwide complaint that we should see more of Beetlejuice in the movie. You'll find more than enough of him in the animated series, so be content with what you see of him in a decidedly crowded time and space. (In places I was reminded of The Frighteners, another genre movie that threw everything it had at you, at times all at once.)
Does the sequel further the story? That depends on how far in just about any direction that you truly want to go with the story. Only a handful of lines of spoken dialogue sound topical. The end scenes that apparently have the Web in a tizzy pay homage to either a Mario Bava movie (that I've not seen) or an Edgar Allan Poe poem (that I've read). Or both. Or neither.
The movie theater audience I sat amongst was participatory near the level of a midnight viewing (of course) of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. So if you seek entertainment you'll very likely get that too.
But I still can't assure you that you'll be satisfied with the end result. Perhaps after all these decades we can if not should learn that Death is to be acknowledged and respected but not openly mocked. I'll simply say I got "B-squared" out of my system by getting it into my system, and that had to have been the creative team's idea from the get-go.
(Credit-watcher that I am, look for Bo Welch's name therein. Then read more about Bo.)
Doomwatch: In the Dark (1971)
Familiar Territory, Elevated
A deliberately paced if not outright slow piece of drama that may well have been inspired by the original 1972 television play by Brian Clark, Whose Life Is It Anyway? That television play was later adapted by Clark for the stage, then adapted by Clark and the American screenwriter Reginald Rose as a feature film starring Richard Dreyfuss.
What sets this apart is the subject portrayal of the more-than-bedridden character by Patrick Troughton. Fans of Doctor Who will instantly recognize him as an actor with considerable range; speaking personally he's tied with Jon Pertwee as my favorite Doctor. I daresay Troughton has even less to work with here to get his improbable point across.
I've long seen print and on-line references to this vintage TV series but I've lately felt inspired to view more of it. Certain episodes are reportedly "among the missing" from the BBC video archives.
The Day Mars Invaded Earth (1962)
In Spite of Myself
...I sat through the chance introduction to the end and did not regard that time wasted.
Sure, a B-minus look permeates the production, but the DP helped on The (original) Outer Limits, a Stateside TV series that often displayed quite a distinctive look. The lead resembles and sometimes acts like John Gilbert. You likely won't recognize anyone else. (UPDATE: Now I see Marie Windsor EVERYWHERE.) I recognized the "old house" bowling alley from There Will Be Blood.
But you won't spot any rubberized monsters or lumbering oilcan robots. You will start to creep out when you see smoke emanating from places it shouldn't. In places the film score elevates the rest. And some thought had to have been given to plot, articulate and deliberately pace the depiction of the even-then-well-worn theme of...okay, let's call it a succession plan...with at times nothing more than inference.
Rarity of rarities, the closing shot gives you pause. Try to resolve any drama that way and it either makes you feel quite cross or makes you blink. This one delivers.
Ghost in the Shell SAC_2045 (2020)
A Very Worthy Successor
(...but first remember this review is of the first of at least two planned seasons. Speaking personally, I do not expect a third.)
If the viewer is new to this then I recommend first viewing the two prior Stand Alone Complex televised series and the feature film follow-up Solid State Society. And don't let the "soft-shell porn" of the title sequence or occasional hyperactivity and ultra-violence dissuade the viewer from what over the long term is a very thoughtful continuation of life (and in particular law enforcement) in an outwardly familiar yet inwardly very strange new world.
If the viewer is not new to this then what was a Special Forces Unit named Public Security Section 9 has gone mercenary but soon finds itself reconstituted with familiar faces as it more than occasionally clashes with both "post-humans" that are perceived as "a shared enemy of humanity" that promotes "sustainable war" and "the collapse of the existing social order", and a "Post-human Response Agency" that is nominally associated with "the American Empire".
Part of the beauty of this as well as the prior series and movie is that none explains everything, and for that much credit should go to their principal writer and (here) co-director Kamiyama Kenji. The viewer is challenged to remain challenged by the background, and rightly so. So don't let the above references and those to the "Global Simultaneous Default" and "autistic mode" and "the first bank robbery in 25 years" (among many others) distract from the tantalizing prospect of resolving the main story arc, or at least making one think that is resolved let alone even a purposive goal. (In my blinkered view the recent second-season trailer gives away precisely nothing.)
As for the first season things start to thematically gel with the fifth, sixth and eighth of the 12 episodes, then take a glacially slow yet still jarring turn starting with the tenth. (The introduction of Thinkpol reminds me of the Steve Allen short story "The Public Hating".) I would advise against binge-watching and recommend viewing each episode at least twice, returning only after an intentional break.
The transition from the prior series and movie is not seamless. The first episode is anchored to a sociopolitical premise that is already dated. There are new characters, including an Agent Smith lookalike and a fangirl-savant who gets on one's nerves a tad too quickly. The musical score in places merely echoes those of Kanno Yoko for the prior series and movie. And once again a REAL book by a 20th-century author plays a role.
But the Tachikoma "think tanks" are also back, the inevitable-as-Thanos full-CGI treatment gets familiar quickly enough, and retaining the core English-language voice actors from the prior series and movie for dubbing is a nice touch.
I'd said this for the prior series and say it for this one: Brace for intelligence. I'll return to this review to reflect the second season of this series if viewing that makes me do metaphysical backflips or disappoints.
Ad Astra (2019)
Star Mope
...and that's pretty much what this movie amounts to.
If the aim was to get inside an astronaut's head, that of Brad Pitt's character provides plenty of--oh, very well--space. All credit to the actor for wanting us to stay with him throughout and just see what he would do next. Everyone else in the movie is window dressing, and if one lingers long enough he or she bears the distinct expression that reads, "What exactly ARE we doing Out Here?"
Credit as well to the cinematography, film/sound editing and VFX. Essentially before you realize it you've spanned Earth (and near-LEO), the Moon and Mars, pause at the Asteroid Belt, then wave to Jupiter and Saturn on your way to Neptune...and back. No mean feat that.
But it's all set in an alternate reality saddled with science that's optimistic, suspect, deeply flawed, and at times howlingly funny. (To be fair, viewing Gravity had the same effect on me.) Sure, I'm all for acknowledging the need for dramatic license to sustain the nominal pace and viewers' interest, but wouldn't striving to get it right instead add to and enhance the intended dramatic impact?
A note about the score: Max Richter's work is surprisingly affecting, as if he challenged himself to compose "the music of the spheres" with the sounds we actually measure and monitor Space by. And the end credits' introduction to one work by Nils Frahm suit perfectly.
But this movie set the bar just a tad too high for a plot that kept knocking the bar off with each attempt, "per Aspera" notwithstanding.
Bluey (2018)
Young Life Lessons From OZ
...and some elder life lessons as well.
Want to be a kid again? Even better, want to remember your elders the way you think they were or should have been?
At my age I truly don't go out of my way to search for children's entertainment, but chancing upon this Stateside gave me pause when I heard the characters speaking the ever-so-slightly gentrified "strine" that had been music to my ears, oh, maybe 40 years ago?
The magic sets in with viewing a string of the eight-or-so minutes of each episode, with or without the "squirts" around. The only common theme is the immediate family. On first viewing watch them play; on second viewing pay attention to the music.
A "sitcom" this is not. At least three episodes remind me of M. Hulot, while I find "Asparagus" oddly unsettling. And, yes, viewing this Stateside must mean it's ever-so-slightly Disneyfied. If that means more get to view then all the better.
I would have very much liked to have sat in on a recording session if only to establish whether the script and storyboarding were done first, afterwards, or half-and-half, and with what degree of "improv" among the voice actors. But the results are seamless and positively habit-forming. Good habits, I would surely hope.
Another lesson, perhaps unintentional yet highly important to the truly young viewers, is that English can be spoken ever-so differently yet remain perfectly understandable. Bear this in mind the next time you need search for your "sunnies" or use your home "whirly bin" and are directly asked about "grey nomads" and why grilled sausages proliferate (or don't) when you vote.
Whatever your age and locale, do enjoy this most uncommon show.
The Suicide Squad (2021)
More Is Indeed Less
Loud. Real, real loud. In places outright annoying (including flashbacks that don't flash that far back) and disturbing (with a mother-love sight gag that sailed clean over my head not once but twice). But much effort goes into something that just makes me go "Meh," and nearly real, real loud.
So what rates this a "6"? An undeniably fine cast, and when allowed, their acting. I would have liked to have seen and known more (but not by reading) about several characters, and as in precious few other movies I'd like to see more of their respective actors' work. I grant that ensemble acting is no simple or given thing, and here we need contend with a veritable General Meta-Assembly whose members compete for our attention no matter how familiar at least some may appear.
I'll go on record as admitting I favor its nominal and reportedly studio-recut predecessor. (You know the one: Drop the article from its title.) Perhaps this sentiment is grounded in that movie's novelty and the distinct impression that all who participated in that full well knew this. That's not quite the case with this iteration, of which a spectacular example involves one Harley Quinn, which is a shame, for Margot Robbie can do anything she sets her sights on. In contrast Daniela Melchior's character sleepily steals every scene she is in.
It's worth the view but feel entitled to set the bar higher.
P. S. I commend its location shooting in Panama, a beautiful place if you strive to know it better.
The Outer Limits: The Sixth Finger (1963)
The Premise Is Utter Bilge
...but this remains among my favorite episodes of The (original) Outer Limits because its premise is more than offset by the direction, photography and acting, that last part in particular by David McCallum.
I hold this series in high regard if only because I viewed many of the episodes at their Stateside TV broadcast premieres. I didn't consider The (original) Twilight Zone preparatory in any way, for viewing that at an impressionable age hadn't scared me--on the outside--while TOL pulled all the stops the network censors would explicitly permit, and that took as much courage.
If you can, read up on how TOL was conceived, pitched and produced. I wouldn't call it ahead of its time (save for its episode "O. B. I. T.") but what it managed with what it had available should continue to be studied. Joseph Stefano edited the first-season scripts, and he himself merits study.
As for this episode, focus on McCallum, whose portrayal progresses along with his makeup. There must have been an agreement to "keep the face free" so he could "act through the makeup". Truly, his is a transcendent performance.
And, yes, to address other reviewers' concerns, maybe this wasn't set in Wales, maybe they were company police who could in fact bear arms "on premises", and maybe McCallum's character in his most advanced state just couldn't bring himself to remotely manipulate that of Jill Haworth (or, maybe he did anyway). Regardless, you'll want to stay to the very end. In these times that alone provides sufficient incentive for a viewing.
Finally, there's more than a little George Bernard Shaw in the script, but "Man and Superman" isn't the GBS play to read. Instead, find "Back to Methuselah". And be sure you're well rested, for this playwright just loved to explain things...and himself...a lot.
The Black Cat (1934)
We Are the Monsters
When I'd first viewed this as part of my effective introduction to the other Universal Studios horror classics, my initial reaction was pretty much along the lines of, "Whunh?" Talky, not in the least scary or even teasingly explicit, and where were the monsters?
A little further on I'd asked a sage who in hindsight resembled Bill D. Cat and loved the odd turn of phrase for his opinion on the movie. "Aah, yes," he answered, "a movie that desperately tries to show you what it isn't and not show you what it truly is." "Ooooookaaaaaay," was my then-youthful yet studied response.
Fast forward some decades and a relatively unimpeded view of a far cleaner print. I don't think I can spoil this movie for you even if I wanted to. But, perhaps with the benefit of hindsight, I'll offer the following for the uninitiated.
Bela Lugosi is outstanding. In the blink of an eye he transitions from "I vahnt you" to someone sympathetic, susceptible, and vulnerable. This takes chops (no pun intended), and here you see them all.
Boris Karloff plays a character who is, in the simplest meaning of the word, a sadist. I get the distinct impression he himself didn't like the role, but consummate professional and studio-contract player that he was, Karloff delivered the goods, sometimes like a cat.
The plot is incidental but keeps you involved and has just as much as it takes to disturb you but not compel you to know more. The production design is a cross between German Expressionism, American Art Deco and downright Dada. The musical score is indeed Name That (Classical) Tune with more than a little Schubert. And other reviews correctly point out that the Motion Picture Production ("Hays") Code was just then getting enforced across the board.
So, if you've not viewed this, or not viewed this in quite the while, have something vinous handy and keep the ambient lighting low but full-spectrum. Here there be monsters.
The Twilight Zone: Deaths-Head Revisited (1961)
"Why Does It Still Stand?"
These twenty-or-so minutes of vintage television are Rod Serling at his most powerful. The theme of this episode of the (original) Zone goes without saying yet needs be continually said. My fellow users recap the theme far better, but if you're unacquainted with this particular episode consider surprising yourself.
It's also perhaps the best proof that Serling was at his best with "one-on-ones," one character addressing a group, or the leader of the group addressing one character. In short Serling was a speechifier, and with the (original) Zone he felt he had as much control over the forum as he could reasonably aspire to. Fine actors knew what to truly do with that gift. You see plenty of that in this episode.
But practitioners or even dabblers in the script- or screenwriting craft should study the (original) Zone episodes, in particular those of 30 or fewer minutes in duration, to see AND hear how that style could be wisely and effectively paced, bearing in mind there were then (far) fewer commercial breaks on Stateside TV. Graduate to the series' fourth season hour-long episodes and decide how well that style worked in comparison...and occasionally didn't.
And see if you can get away with any of that today...
Vremya pervykh (2017)
Name Two Cosmonauts
Depending on the definition there are more than a hundred. Find a portrait (ca. 1965) of the first eleven. You will doubtless notice Valentina Tereshkova and should read more about Vladimir Komarov, but unless you truly are a student of manned spaceflight only two names should come to mind: Yuri Gagarin and Alexei Leonov. This movie is Leonov's tale.
I don't view movies like this for their accuracy or dramatic license, while documentaries can only be what they are. (After decades books on the subject only improve on the pertinent tale.) This movie is very well made, paced and acted. (Subtitles never distract me, and it's the first Russian movie I've viewed in quite the while.) Whether you feel compelled to compare it with, say, Apollo 13 or First Man, it is nonetheless another view that you should at least tacitly consent as valid while it strives to entertain, as all movies should but not all manage.
If Leonov comes across as larger than life, the man in real life had every right to be so regarded. He was both a fighter and test pilot AND an artist, and it is no exaggeration to say he was welcomed everywhere. Honor his memory for these reasons as well.
We should also fully keep in mind that when Out There becomes Our Big Backyard (as apparently planned) we should not remember the names of Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos for leading the way but learn and remember the names and backgrounds of, and perhaps emulate, the human travelers who challenge, explore, discover and survive while facing the very great risk of not returning. That risk shall ever be so.
(As for books, I highly recommend those of the Outward Odyssey: A People's History of Spaceflight series published by the University of Nebraska Press.)
The Twilight Zone: He's Alive (1963)
Rod Wrote This Way
...and if this episode of The (original) Twilight Zone is your introduction to him then you've a good deal more of Serling to sample. The man was a warrior, a fighter, a teacher, and above all a writer with Something To Say. I can't imagine a more direct approach to the topic, with an element of fantasy that is not only typical of the Zone but at times is graced with lyrical yet hard-hitting dialogue. As a storyteller Serling truly did know when to stop.
I'd lately (and fortuitously) viewed this episode after some decades; my first viewing was at an impressionable age while I was still trying to get my head around the underlying horror. With the benefit of hindsight one user's reminder of the then-contemporary George Lincoln Rockwell is quite apt. Indeed, by today's standards the treatment is mild but understandably so (primetime Stateside network television broadcast, understand), and I don't for a moment doubt the sincerity of all concerned.
A youthful Dennis Hopper is something of a revelation. Catch Howard Caine, Ludwig Donath and the director Paul Mazursky as well. But one misgiving? At the moment of the Great Reveal of Peter Vollmer's mysterious benefactor what steps out of the shadows but a silent and well-dressed caricature bearing an expression that reads, "Well, who did you expect, the Good Humor Man?" A glimpse in three dimensions of the sociopath behind the words in uniform would likely have sent viewers scurrying...along with "tonight's sponsors".
Cry Freedom (1987)
This Is Not a Movie About Stephen Biko
...it is instead a movie about Donald Woods and his family. This is its proper context.
I agree with other users who say they felt Cry Freedom could have said and depicted a great deal more. And I agree with those who say they felt it couldn't possibly have done so. For this reason alone I commend even the attempt and don't for a moment doubt its sincerity and commitment by all involved. (Woods and his wife Wendy were "principal consultants" on the movie.)
It does reside on my very select list of movies that compelled me to read more on their depicted subject. To this end I very highly recommend Woods' updated version of the book that is at the heart of this movie along with his autobiography Asking for Trouble and Filming With Attenborough: The Making of Cry Freedom. Then read as much by and about Biko himself as you can find, in particular the selection I Write What I Like.
If you know nothing else about the movie but only suspect that apartheid was (to be charitable) unpleasant, Cry Freedom will leave a mark.
A.L.F. (1987)
I Don't Want To Forget This Toon
...that ran for three seasons but technically consisted of four, the first two being ALF: The Animated Series and the second two being ALF Tales. Both arguably ran Stateside on NBC-TV concurrently over three years, at times in an hour-long format that paired episodes from each. The casual viewer would be forgiven for confusing the two.
I frankly hadn't thought of either show in, what, 30-plus years? And I only lately recalled these when challenged by a friend to name animated spin-offs of prime-time sitcoms and dramas. (Only one of the latter came to mind, Star Trek: The Animated Series.) At least in my view ALF the prime-time offering had worn itself thin fairly quickly, principally because the only insight we got concerning its star came from, well, its star.
But ALF:TAS came back to me VERY quickly as a show that took the new medium and format and ran with it clear across the galaxy while gleefully toying with the viewer's head and much of its contents. For starters we're on the planet Melmac in all its glory and cats, and the lead character has another name among family and friends. Remarkable character design and backgrounds too.
No "dumbdown" for the kids and no adult humor to speak of or even wink at but inside jokes, puns and sight gags like you wouldn't believe and in many ways reminiscent of the legendary Jay Ward. To say this toon cries out for a full re-issue would be charitable. Anybody else Out There remember?
(UPDATE: The nominal two seasons of ALF:TAS appear available for on-line viewing and download from a provider that just about anyone can guess. I task myself to view all the episodes. At times there is more than a streak of the Firesigns in its humor, and that's enough to raise it above your standard Saturday morning toonfare.)