Here is a list of films I will either be watching or recommend. The one's with * I highly recommend.
Remembering Maureen O'Hara Schedule
Saturday 31 October 2015
HOLY HORRORS FOR HALLOWEEN FILM FESTIVAL: JUG FACE
Long time readers know that when Halloween rolls around, I usually like to recommend a few religious themed genre movies that manage to avoid the standard trappings of exorcism and/or miserable priests on the verge of losing their faith. Alas, thanks to the art project I mentioned in my last post, I don’t have the time to do a full blown film festival this year. Still, its finished now, so I think I can squeeze in at least one holy horror. Past entries in this series have included The Wicker Man, Bless The Child, The Believers, Brimstone & Treacle, This Night I’ll Possess Your Corpse, and one of my favorite Christopher Lee movies, The Devil Rides Out. This year, I think we’ll go with the oddly titled Jug Face.
“A pregnant woman fights to avoid being sacrificed to the demonic beast that protects her backwoods village in this earthy tale of terror featuring Larry Fessenden and Sean Young. When the pit beast selects its victim, entranced potter Dawai (Sean Bridgers) creates a jug featuring the likeness of the chosen one. Ada (Lauren Ashley Carter) is pregnant with her brother's child when she discovers that she is next in line for sacrifice. Determined to give her child a fighting chance at life, Ada resists with every ounce of her being. Meanwhile, without a sacrifice, the dreaded creature will emerge to slaughter the entire terrified village.” ~ AllMovie Guide
“The Pit wants what it wants.”
“Whatever is, was long ago given its name, and human nature is known; mortals cannot contend in judgment with One who is stronger.” – Ecclesiastes 6:10, NABRE
If you’re looking for a scary movie to watch with the whole family this Halloween, you might want to give Jug Face a pass. Not because it’s excessively gory (there’s only a few stray intestines here or there) or overly frightening (I can’t recall a single jump scare), but simply because any film that begins with its teenage heroine willingly having incestuous sex with her brother out in the middle of the woods is probably not the one you’ll want to share with the kiddies.
Of course, you might be wondering why you’d want to watch Jug Face yourself given the distasteful subject matter of its opening. Well, because the fact that it is distasteful is central to the whole plot. You see, intercut with the young couple’s, er… coupling are scenes of a shallow pit full of muddy water and a potter sculpting something out of clay. The meaning of these images is quickly revealed as we learn that the teenaged Ada is something of a rebellious misfit in the isolated backwoods community in which she lives, primarily because she doesn’t want to follow the tenets of her people’s religion. On the surface this seems reasonable, seeing as how said religion basically involves worshiping the thing which lives in the aforementioned mud hole because it heals people and occasionally providing it with a human sacrifice so it won’t stop.
Reasonable or not, however, The Pit does not suffer dissent lightly. Therefore, it’s no surprise when the face on the jug being sculpted by the mesmerized Dawai in the opening scene is revealed to be none other than Ada herself. As luck would have it, though, Ada manages to stumble across the jug while Dawai is still in a trance, affording her the opportunity to hide it before anyone realizes she has been chosen. Relieved that she has avoided a smiting from her god, Ada moves on to other, more normal backwoods teenage concerns, things like how to avoid her arranged marriage to the local doofus and how to hide the fact that she’s pregnant with her brother’s child when she’s supposed to be a virgin.
The Pit doesn’t take kindly to Ada’s attempt to avoid her appointment with the ceremonial dagger, though, and begins punishing the rest of the community in grisly fashion. Hicks though they may be, it only takes one disemboweled corpse for the community to realize something fishy is gong on. From that point on, the rest of the movie involves Ada’s efforts to escape to the outside world before she can be identified as the fugitive jug face and dragged before The Pit to have her throat ritualistically slit from ear to ear.
Jug Face is writer/director Chad Crawford Kinkle’s freshmen effort and it definitely has its flaws (the lil’ dead boy who keeps popping up to talk to Ada has some particularly ineffective CGI), but for a hillbilly horror movie made on half a shoestring budget, it’s pretty effective in establishing a creepy atmosphere. Plus, Hinkle’s script has more on its mind than just being another creature feature (which is good since we never actually get to see the creature), as there’s quite a bit of critique of religion going on in the story. Now, if you’ve run across Jug Face on any horror blogs, the sense might be that the critique is mostly negative. Take these comments, for instance…
“There are few things more frightening than those unwavering in their beliefs, especially when it comes at the expense of their loved ones.” Brad McHargue, Dread Central
“At its roots, it's a relatable scenario that people in plenty of walks of life may face: gay teens who risk being disowned by their parents should they come out, family members shunned when they choose another religion, etc. Should you choose the family and friends who choose their faith and beliefs over you?” Stacie Ponder, Final Girl
“They deem this life normal with blind devotion to this creature and this could feasibly be a damning sub-textual commentary on how religions handicap followers from being able to think critically.” Dave J. Wilson, Cinematic Shocks
So yeah, based on musings such as those, one could be forgiven in thinking that Jug Face is an outright condemnation of all religion.
I’m not so sure, though. The thing is, even if such an interpretation was Kinkle’s intention, the ending of Jug Face plays a very mean trick on those who would hold such an opinion. You see, while a lot of folks are comparing Jug Face to The Wicker Man (the original, not the one with the damned bees), the movie actually has a lot more in common with Wes Craven’s Deadly Blessing. Both films are ostensibly anti-religion, but both have a denouement which seems to indicate that the religious loonies were right all along, that their tradition is best maintained and that their God cannot be denied.
The dirty truth of the narrative is that Ada brings her death sentence upon herself. Though the movie doesn’t explicitly state that Ada’s actions mark her as the next sacrifice, the juxtaposition in the opening montage between her incestuous dalliance and the making of the jug with her face on it strongly suggests that is the case. And then, of course, her actions to escape her ordained fate directly lead to harm for everybody else, thereby condemning her even more. This part might seem unfair to the uninitiated, but any good Catholic should be able to tell you there is a communal aspect to every sin. Even our most secret indiscretions harm others. That’s one of the reasons we have confession in the first place.
But nobody wants to hear that kind of stuff anymore. Really, when you come down to it, I believe a lot of the uncomfortable feelings which Jug Face provokes stem from the fact that while its sympathies lie with Ada, it doesn’t flinch from the notion that her sins have a price which must be paid. I imagine most viewers would feel a lot more comfortable seeing Ada receive her god’s mercy rather than its justice.
That’s the real horror of Jug Face, though. It’s pit god demands justice, but never evidences any sign that it can be merciful. It’s the knife and nothing else. And that’s why whatever religion Jug Face is critiquing, it’s a false one. Real life Christianity isn’t supposed to be like that (not when it’s done right, anyway), as it should offer both justice and mercy. Not that too many people want the justice part, mind you. “Today in broad circles, even among believers, an image has prevailed of a Jesus who demands nothing, never scolds, who accepts everyone and everything, who no longer does anything but affirm us.” wrote a pre-Pope Cardinal Ratzinger. “The Jesus of the Gospels is quite different, demanding, bold. The Jesus who makes everything okay for everyone is a phantom, a dream, not a real figure. The Jesus of the Gospels is certainly not convenient for us…. We must again set out on the way to this real Jesus.”
Jesus talked about Hell more than any figure in the Bible; he was all about justice. And yet, he’s also the one who died on the cross and willingly paid the price for our sins so we could all avoid Hell, so he pretty much had the mercy thing down as well. But let’s never forget that he performed that act of mercy precisely because the demands of justice had to be met, not shoved aside and ignored. We do ourselves no favor when we demand mercy, but deny that we ever did anything to require it in the first place. Even Ada learns that hard lesson in the end.
Friday 30 October 2015
Halloween in Hollywood
Frances Dee, 1931
Shirley Temple
Jane Withers, 1936
Carole Lombard
Myrna Loy
Jean Arthur
The Three Stooges
Paulette Goddard
Clifton Webb, Marlene Dietrich, & Elizabeth Allan at Basil Rathbone's Halloween party
Esther Williams
Ruth Roman
Debbie Reynolds
Vera-Ellen
Janet Leigh
Ava Gardner
Jane Russell
Doris Day
Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis
Gloria Swanson
Alfred Hitchcock
Basil Rathbone, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, & Vincent Price
Suzanne Pleshette
Deborah Walley
Shirley MacLaine, Artists and Models (1955)
All images found via Pinterest. Check out last year's post here.
Thursday 29 October 2015
So Goes My Love (1946)
Watching So Goes My Love (1946) for an old favorite actress - Myrna Loy, introduced me to a new favorite actor - Don Ameche.
So Goes My Love is about a country girl (Loy) who goes to the city to find and marry a rich man (whether she loves him or not) and ends up marrying a poor, eccentric inventor (Ameche). With her by his side however, he becomes successful and she gets the rich husband, the big house, AND love.
Though Loy's performance is flawless as always, it is Ameche who really steals the film. His solemn-faced delivery paired with ridiculous actions made this film a lot of fun to watch. My favorite scene is near the beginning: Ameche and Loy are riding the streetcar (their characters have not yet been introduced). As they are passing a church where a wedding has just clearly taken place, Ameche jumps off the streetcar, runs over to join the wedding crowd, throws rice on the newlyweds, and runs to jump back on the streetcar - all without changing his facial expression. When Loy queries, "Friends of yours?" he replies, "No, I just like weddings." (correct me if I quoted this wrong, I don't own this movie so I couldn't double-check).
Another favorite scene is when Loy arrives at her cousins house and meets her friends. They ask her why she is here and she replies that she has come to the city to find a rich husband. One of the woman says to her teenage daughter "Shocking! Daughter, cover your ears!"
Then there's this hilarious scene when Ameche informs Loy he is definitely NOT the man for her.
The scene at the party, with Ameche shaking his head at Loy to let her know which of her dancing partners don't fit her requirements, and the wedding scene are also hilarious. I could go on and on but you should really just watch it for yourself. You can also read the full plot synopsis on the TCM website here.
Trivia:
The Universal International backlot was used for the wagon ride scene. The two houses used in the film were constructed on stage 12. In 1950, the stock units from the sound stage sets were reconstructed on the new colonial street. The "Maxim house" was used in the movie " One Desire" (1955) and the "Allison Home" used in the movie "Harvey" (1950) In 1964 Universal studios tour guides called the sets the "Munster House" (Maxim house) and the "Harvey house" . Today the sets are located on Wisteria Lane - 4349 Wisteria Lane (Allison Home) - 4351 Wisteria Lane (Maxim house). ~ source
Don Ameche and Myrna Loy died only eight days apart: Ameche on Dec. 6, 1993 and Loy on Dec. 14, 1993.
Bobby Driscoll, who plays Percy, later did the voice for Disney's Peter Pan (1953). Wish I would have known that when I watched it...
While looking for information for this post I discovered So Goes My Love is a fanciful biopic of inventor Hiram Maxim (1840-1916) - which explains the odd ending. He invented the first portable, automatic machine gun, and held patents on the mousetrap and hair-curling irons (which is in the film-see clip above). In 1867 he married Jane Budden. His son, Hiram Percy (1869-1936), was an automotive pioneer and co-founder of ARRL (American Radio Relay League). Hiram and Jane also had two daughters: Florence and Adelaide. ~ source
The film is based on the book A Genius in the Family by Maxim's son, Percy. The description on Amazon reads: "This book contains Hiram Percy Maxim's memories of growing up with his brilliant but eccentric father, Hiram Stephens Maxim, scientist, engineer and inventor of the famous Maxim gun. Sometimes poignant and often very funny, these anecdotes are delightfully told and give a fascinating picture of 19th Century life in one extraordinary American family." It can be purchased on Amazon for $19.99. There is also a copy on Thriftbooks (a fantastic site for used books) for $3.59 with free shipping on orders over $10.
This post is part of the Universal Blogathon hosted by Silver Scenes. Be sure and check out all of the other great posts on films and stars from Universal Studios.
So Goes My Love is about a country girl (Loy) who goes to the city to find and marry a rich man (whether she loves him or not) and ends up marrying a poor, eccentric inventor (Ameche). With her by his side however, he becomes successful and she gets the rich husband, the big house, AND love.
Though Loy's performance is flawless as always, it is Ameche who really steals the film. His solemn-faced delivery paired with ridiculous actions made this film a lot of fun to watch. My favorite scene is near the beginning: Ameche and Loy are riding the streetcar (their characters have not yet been introduced). As they are passing a church where a wedding has just clearly taken place, Ameche jumps off the streetcar, runs over to join the wedding crowd, throws rice on the newlyweds, and runs to jump back on the streetcar - all without changing his facial expression. When Loy queries, "Friends of yours?" he replies, "No, I just like weddings." (correct me if I quoted this wrong, I don't own this movie so I couldn't double-check).
Another favorite scene is when Loy arrives at her cousins house and meets her friends. They ask her why she is here and she replies that she has come to the city to find a rich husband. One of the woman says to her teenage daughter "Shocking! Daughter, cover your ears!"
Then there's this hilarious scene when Ameche informs Loy he is definitely NOT the man for her.
This is the only clip on YouTube unfortunately.
The scene at the party, with Ameche shaking his head at Loy to let her know which of her dancing partners don't fit her requirements, and the wedding scene are also hilarious. I could go on and on but you should really just watch it for yourself. You can also read the full plot synopsis on the TCM website here.
Trivia:
The Universal International backlot was used for the wagon ride scene. The two houses used in the film were constructed on stage 12. In 1950, the stock units from the sound stage sets were reconstructed on the new colonial street. The "Maxim house" was used in the movie " One Desire" (1955) and the "Allison Home" used in the movie "Harvey" (1950) In 1964 Universal studios tour guides called the sets the "Munster House" (Maxim house) and the "Harvey house" . Today the sets are located on Wisteria Lane - 4349 Wisteria Lane (Allison Home) - 4351 Wisteria Lane (Maxim house). ~ source
Pictures throughout the post used with permission by Dennis Dickens Universal Stonecutter. You can see lots of other great photos here and on his Pinterest Board. He also has several other boards devoted to Universal Studios and their films.
Don Ameche and Myrna Loy died only eight days apart: Ameche on Dec. 6, 1993 and Loy on Dec. 14, 1993.
Bobby Driscoll, who plays Percy, later did the voice for Disney's Peter Pan (1953). Wish I would have known that when I watched it...
While looking for information for this post I discovered So Goes My Love is a fanciful biopic of inventor Hiram Maxim (1840-1916) - which explains the odd ending. He invented the first portable, automatic machine gun, and held patents on the mousetrap and hair-curling irons (which is in the film-see clip above). In 1867 he married Jane Budden. His son, Hiram Percy (1869-1936), was an automotive pioneer and co-founder of ARRL (American Radio Relay League). Hiram and Jane also had two daughters: Florence and Adelaide. ~ source
The film is based on the book A Genius in the Family by Maxim's son, Percy. The description on Amazon reads: "This book contains Hiram Percy Maxim's memories of growing up with his brilliant but eccentric father, Hiram Stephens Maxim, scientist, engineer and inventor of the famous Maxim gun. Sometimes poignant and often very funny, these anecdotes are delightfully told and give a fascinating picture of 19th Century life in one extraordinary American family." It can be purchased on Amazon for $19.99. There is also a copy on Thriftbooks (a fantastic site for used books) for $3.59 with free shipping on orders over $10.
So Goes My Love airs on TCM January 20, 2016 at 11:30am
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Also, look for my post of films to watch on TCM in November this evening!
TV RECAP: Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Season 3 - Episode 5: "4,722 Hours"
NOTE: As ever, articles like this are brought to you in part by The MovieBob Patreon.
At this point, there are probably three types of AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D fans (with significant crossover, of course):
1. Marvel Cinematic Universe completists watching to make absolutely sure that they don't miss any subplots, threads, etc being either launched or tied-up here.
2. Fans of all things Marvel and/or comics in general watching to make sure they don't miss appearances by any characters or iconography that hasn't shown up elsewhere yet.
3. People who've genuinely become invested in the characters/world of this specific show, care about the characters and want to know what happens to them.
"4,722 HOURS" is a rare episode that feels designed with Audience #3 exclusively in mind: It's a single story strictly involving the series' own storylines, no cutaways to any other subplots and no (definitive, at least for now) ties to either the Cinematic or Comics Universe. It also happened to be pretty damn well-executed and a fine acting showcase for Elizabeth Henstridge, which I imagine helped soothe the lack of case-specific goodies for viewers of other stripes.
SPOILERS follow:
For those just jumping onboard: Midway through Season 2's back-half, it was discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D has been in (high-level secret) possession of a mysterious stone monolith that morphs into a "living" liquid form and back again seemingly at random and has existed on Earth since ancient times. In the final moments of the season finale, said monolith managed to leak out of it's containment-cell long enough to liquefy and (apparently) swallow Agent Jemma Simmons whole. Earlier this season, it was discovered that the monolith actually functions as a time-space portal and that Simmons was still alive... but had been zapped off to a mysterious alien planet that looks absolutely nothing like the California desert processed through a blue day-for-night filter.
Through the obsessive dedication to her rescue of her BFF-who'd-really-really-really-like-to-be-more Agent Fitz, Simmons was rescued and yanked back to Earth early on but has demonstrated signs of detachment and strange behavior ever since - particularly in a resistance to picking up her awkward mutual courtship with Fitz where it left off (he had just finished managing to ask her out to a for-real romantic dinner when the monolith "ate" her.) This culminated in a stinger from two episodes ago, wherein she confided in fellow Agent Bobbi "Mockingbird" Morse that the real issue she was having was that she was desperate to get back to wherever it was she'd been marooned. "4,722 HOURS" presents Simmons' story of her ordeal as she relates it to Fitz (who's help she requires to "go back"), in order to explain not only where she was and why she'd want to return... but why she was so reluctant to tell him in the first place.
The fact that there weren't many other reasons for her to keep a secret from her best (only?) lifelong friend that made any sense, it would appear that most fans already figured that last part (she met and fell into a romantic relationship with someone else while offworld) out well beforehand. But even with the guessing games neutralized, the meat of the story (NASA sent an astronaut team through the portal 14 years ago, Simmons is rescued and ultimately falls in love with the last survivor of the doomed expedition, Will Daniels) was compelling and interesting; even as the "showcase" stuff re: Simmons showing off her DIY survivalist chops before meeting Will was frontloaded into the beginning.
Budgetary issues for non-recurring FX, sets, etc is AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D's consistent bugbear, and while there's a certain amount of charm in the oldschool B-movie solutions this episode pulls out to try and work around it (I almost wish they'd gone all the way and just openly shot in Bronson Canyon - or did they?) it's hard not to wish that the alien world looked a little more "alien" or that there was more creature-feature action than Henstridge (however enthusiastically) pretending to wrestle a floppy rubber tentacle we're meant to imagine is attached to some much larger water-monster. Still, if they were saving the money for their big "mystery heavy" (the planet is "haunted" by a shadowy shape-shifter who comes and goes with the aid of a powerful sandstorm) it was probably worth it, as those sequences were impressively "different" for the series.
On the other hand, much as I enjoyed this one, I'm worried about where it's going. Fitz's luckless longing for his platonic lifemate has been at the core of his carefully-managed "adorkable" persona from the beginning of the show, it's been fun to watch AGENTS prod at it for drama to make him even more likable/identifiable (he has now endured drowning, shootouts with terrorists and diving into a black hole for this woman, but - awww! - still stammers like a schoolboy when actually trying to ask her out) and it's very in-character for him to immediately decide to help her rescue Will is perfectly in-character... but I hope they don't take this too far in the obvious direction.
Yeah, it's hard not to feel the character (he risked his life multiple times over to save her and it turns out she met someone else? Ouch!), but "Woe is me! Even the female nerds I actually have things in common with prefer jocks!" (it's made expressly clear that Will isn't a scientist, he was the other astronauts' macho survivalist backup) is a really tiresome male nerd angst trope, and I'd really hate to see Fitz become an icon to the internet MRA "male geeks are denied the sex we're entitled to!" set because the show decides to give him one righteous feeling-sorry-for-himself monologue too many over this. (By the same token, I'm genuinely depressed imagining how much slut-shaming hatemail and forum-posting is being directed at Henstridge right now.)
BULLET POINTS:
At this point, there are probably three types of AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D fans (with significant crossover, of course):
1. Marvel Cinematic Universe completists watching to make absolutely sure that they don't miss any subplots, threads, etc being either launched or tied-up here.
2. Fans of all things Marvel and/or comics in general watching to make sure they don't miss appearances by any characters or iconography that hasn't shown up elsewhere yet.
3. People who've genuinely become invested in the characters/world of this specific show, care about the characters and want to know what happens to them.
"4,722 HOURS" is a rare episode that feels designed with Audience #3 exclusively in mind: It's a single story strictly involving the series' own storylines, no cutaways to any other subplots and no (definitive, at least for now) ties to either the Cinematic or Comics Universe. It also happened to be pretty damn well-executed and a fine acting showcase for Elizabeth Henstridge, which I imagine helped soothe the lack of case-specific goodies for viewers of other stripes.
SPOILERS follow:
For those just jumping onboard: Midway through Season 2's back-half, it was discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D has been in (high-level secret) possession of a mysterious stone monolith that morphs into a "living" liquid form and back again seemingly at random and has existed on Earth since ancient times. In the final moments of the season finale, said monolith managed to leak out of it's containment-cell long enough to liquefy and (apparently) swallow Agent Jemma Simmons whole. Earlier this season, it was discovered that the monolith actually functions as a time-space portal and that Simmons was still alive... but had been zapped off to a mysterious alien planet that looks absolutely nothing like the California desert processed through a blue day-for-night filter.
Through the obsessive dedication to her rescue of her BFF-who'd-really-really-really-like-to-be-more Agent Fitz, Simmons was rescued and yanked back to Earth early on but has demonstrated signs of detachment and strange behavior ever since - particularly in a resistance to picking up her awkward mutual courtship with Fitz where it left off (he had just finished managing to ask her out to a for-real romantic dinner when the monolith "ate" her.) This culminated in a stinger from two episodes ago, wherein she confided in fellow Agent Bobbi "Mockingbird" Morse that the real issue she was having was that she was desperate to get back to wherever it was she'd been marooned. "4,722 HOURS" presents Simmons' story of her ordeal as she relates it to Fitz (who's help she requires to "go back"), in order to explain not only where she was and why she'd want to return... but why she was so reluctant to tell him in the first place.
The fact that there weren't many other reasons for her to keep a secret from her best (only?) lifelong friend that made any sense, it would appear that most fans already figured that last part (she met and fell into a romantic relationship with someone else while offworld) out well beforehand. But even with the guessing games neutralized, the meat of the story (NASA sent an astronaut team through the portal 14 years ago, Simmons is rescued and ultimately falls in love with the last survivor of the doomed expedition, Will Daniels) was compelling and interesting; even as the "showcase" stuff re: Simmons showing off her DIY survivalist chops before meeting Will was frontloaded into the beginning.
Budgetary issues for non-recurring FX, sets, etc is AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D's consistent bugbear, and while there's a certain amount of charm in the oldschool B-movie solutions this episode pulls out to try and work around it (I almost wish they'd gone all the way and just openly shot in Bronson Canyon - or did they?) it's hard not to wish that the alien world looked a little more "alien" or that there was more creature-feature action than Henstridge (however enthusiastically) pretending to wrestle a floppy rubber tentacle we're meant to imagine is attached to some much larger water-monster. Still, if they were saving the money for their big "mystery heavy" (the planet is "haunted" by a shadowy shape-shifter who comes and goes with the aid of a powerful sandstorm) it was probably worth it, as those sequences were impressively "different" for the series.
On the other hand, much as I enjoyed this one, I'm worried about where it's going. Fitz's luckless longing for his platonic lifemate has been at the core of his carefully-managed "adorkable" persona from the beginning of the show, it's been fun to watch AGENTS prod at it for drama to make him even more likable/identifiable (he has now endured drowning, shootouts with terrorists and diving into a black hole for this woman, but - awww! - still stammers like a schoolboy when actually trying to ask her out) and it's very in-character for him to immediately decide to help her rescue Will is perfectly in-character... but I hope they don't take this too far in the obvious direction.
Yeah, it's hard not to feel the character (he risked his life multiple times over to save her and it turns out she met someone else? Ouch!), but "Woe is me! Even the female nerds I actually have things in common with prefer jocks!" (it's made expressly clear that Will isn't a scientist, he was the other astronauts' macho survivalist backup) is a really tiresome male nerd angst trope, and I'd really hate to see Fitz become an icon to the internet MRA "male geeks are denied the sex we're entitled to!" set because the show decides to give him one righteous feeling-sorry-for-himself monologue too many over this. (By the same token, I'm genuinely depressed imagining how much slut-shaming hatemail and forum-posting is being directed at Henstridge right now.)
BULLET POINTS:
- Yes, when Will said that the planet "has moods," my first thought was Ego: The Living Planet, too.
- I'll say it but I bet I'm not the only one thinking it: How cool would it have been if "Will Daniels" had been John Jameson III instead? It's unlikely, but I wonder if that was ever floated as a possibility - he's never been among the most important tertiary Marvel characters (so he's probably not a big part of anyone's movie plans) and it'd be quite a "we're still worth paying attention to!" coup for AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D to have debuted the first official piece of the MCU-official SPIDER-MAN world.
- If AGENTS does one thing consistently, it's nesting reveals and twists inside one another in multiple layers. As such, it's probably safe to say that there's more to Will than we already know. The fact that we only "know" that his crewmates went space-mad and had to be killed in self-defense from his story (Simmons finds the bodies of transportees from other eras, but not them) his very science-ish understanding of the planet's glowing-hot substrata, etc. I hope he's not an out-and-out villain, as that would play way too much toward the "Lament of The Nice Guy" stuff I'm hoping they avoid re: Fitz.
- That said, if Will IS a villain, a possibility would be that he's actually just a further manifestation of whatever the Big Evil on the planet is (see below) and all his actions have been to trick Simmons into pulling him/it onto Earth. (Alternate theory: He's a Skrull.)
- On the other hand, y'know what we've been hearing a lot lately? "Death," used in atypical contexts. The Hebrew symbol for the word was on the scroll Fitz found that helped unlock what the monolith was, and Will refers to the Big Evil in the sandstorm as a personification of Death. As readers of these recaps are likely already aware, Death Personified is a major Cosmic Marvel figure whose romantic attention is the motivating goal of INFINITY WAR's big central villain. So, there's that.
- On the other hand, if Death is going to be an MCU character (I still think it's more likely they'll conflate Death and Hela into one character, debuting in either DOCTOR STRANGE, THOR: RAGNAROK or both) I can't really imagine AGENTS getting to be the place where she first appears. More likely, though, I think the whole monolith/portal/weird-planet subplot will tie back into the Inhumans/Kree business that's still technically the "A-plot" of Season 3.
NEXT WEEK:
"AMONG US HIDE..." is mainly promising more of the "Let's Get Ward!" storyline (yawn) but with Bobbi finally getting back into the field (yay!) for what may or may not still be a build towards the spin-off. The teaser is being explicit calling Andrew dead, but I don't care - I'm still thinking he's Lash. The title, incidentally, is a reference to Fantastic Four Issue #45, which featured the debut of the original Inhumans Royal Family; so presumably there'll be more from that storyline as well.
ALSO: We're still awaiting the appearance of Powers Boothe, who's scheduled to reprise his role as the (now former) Security Council head from AVENGERS and WINTER SOLDIER. Word is AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D will reveal his character name if Gideon Malick, which some fans are predicting is a clue that he'll be the MCU version of Albert Malik, aka Red Skull II.
Wednesday 28 October 2015
PODCAST 175: Orson Welles' War of the Worlds [Happy Halloween Edition]
Monday 26 October 2015
Really That Good UPDATE
Hey gang.
So, update on the status of the next REALLY THAT GOOD episode. Short version: It's coming, and soon. Obviously, I did not want to let the series go this long with VACATION as the most recent installment, but sometimes life gets in the way.
I could probably blame my recent health concerns, but the fact is it's less about that and more about that being the impetus to reconnect with parts of my life that I'd allowed to become detached. A social life, even one as haphazardly-managed as mine, is important to cultivate; and a side-effect of this is less time alloted between paid work to give over to passion projects - particularly passion projects that don't (for the most part) generate funding in and of themselves outside of viewers being hopefully wooed to chip in at The MovieBob Patreon.
That having been said, a greater impediment still was that I happened upon a situation where a film turned out to be impossible to place in proper retrospect without talking about its direct sequel, which in turn was impossible to itself quantify without talking about its predecessor. As such, the next REALLY THAT GOOD has become (by necessity) a two-film piece; which presents a new set of challenges and a rethinking of style and approach - which I believe I have cracked, hence this update.
I usually try to do these things as surprises, but since you've been kept waiting long enough I figured a small tease, at least, is in order. So...
The next REALLY THAT GOOD, ideally hitting in early November, will be Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN & SPIDER-MAN 2.
I've been picking away at this/these one/two for awhile in the background now, and I'm excited for how it's coming together. I can't wait to share it with you all, and I hope you'll find the wait worth it.
P.S. Just for a further tease, I also hope to have a second episode ready for late-November and at least one for December as well. One is a Christmas movie (that I am mentally-preparing to record sound for while remaining verbally-composed), the other is about a boat. Stay tuned :)
So, update on the status of the next REALLY THAT GOOD episode. Short version: It's coming, and soon. Obviously, I did not want to let the series go this long with VACATION as the most recent installment, but sometimes life gets in the way.
I could probably blame my recent health concerns, but the fact is it's less about that and more about that being the impetus to reconnect with parts of my life that I'd allowed to become detached. A social life, even one as haphazardly-managed as mine, is important to cultivate; and a side-effect of this is less time alloted between paid work to give over to passion projects - particularly passion projects that don't (for the most part) generate funding in and of themselves outside of viewers being hopefully wooed to chip in at The MovieBob Patreon.
That having been said, a greater impediment still was that I happened upon a situation where a film turned out to be impossible to place in proper retrospect without talking about its direct sequel, which in turn was impossible to itself quantify without talking about its predecessor. As such, the next REALLY THAT GOOD has become (by necessity) a two-film piece; which presents a new set of challenges and a rethinking of style and approach - which I believe I have cracked, hence this update.
I usually try to do these things as surprises, but since you've been kept waiting long enough I figured a small tease, at least, is in order. So...
The next REALLY THAT GOOD, ideally hitting in early November, will be Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN & SPIDER-MAN 2.
I've been picking away at this/these one/two for awhile in the background now, and I'm excited for how it's coming together. I can't wait to share it with you all, and I hope you'll find the wait worth it.
P.S. Just for a further tease, I also hope to have a second episode ready for late-November and at least one for December as well. One is a Christmas movie (that I am mentally-preparing to record sound for while remaining verbally-composed), the other is about a boat. Stay tuned :)
Sunday 25 October 2015
HAPPY HAPPY HALLOWEEN IX
For obvious reasons, Halloween has traditionally been the busy season around this blog. This year, however, I was commissioned (along with a lot of better illustrators) to produce some cartoons for a small Catholic publishing company and had to spend my spare time working on those instead. Still, I couldn’t let the holiday creep by without offering our yearly suggestions for cheap and easy to make costumes based on some of the movies we’ve discussed over the past twelve months, either here or over at Aleteia. Long time readers know that we provide this annual service for those Christians who can’t stand one more year of dressing up like a nun or an Old Testament prophet, but would still like their disguises to reflect their beliefs in some way.
Let’s start out with one for the fellows, and a pretty easy one at that. In fact, all you really need to dress up as this threatening apparition from The Devil Rides Out is a red bed sheet (white sheet soaked in RIT dye acceptable) to wrap around your infernal nether regions. Body oil is optional, if not actively discouraged. Oddly enough, for a movie full of Christian symbolism, this one demon actually calls to mind a shaytanic jinn, one of those non-angelic spiritual beings Muslims believe inhabit the unseen world. But that’s okay. Go as this guy and you just might remind folks that evil is real and out to get you, no matter what you do or don’t believe.
Now that we’ve got the guys covered (the necessary bits anyway), we can turn our attention to the ladies. For you, we suggest going as uber-businesswoman Claire from this year’s blockbuster, Jurassic World. Claire’s all-white skirt and blouse ensemble should come relatively cheap, with most of it probably already hanging in your closet. The only accessories you should have to spring for are a red glow stick (our lawyers advise we not recommend actual flaming torches) to attract dinosaurs with and, more importantly, a pair of 3.5-in. nude Sam Edelman heels in your size. Heels, as you probably know by now, are the preferred foot ware in which to outrun enraged monsters created by profit-minded mad scientists. Actress Bryce Dallas Howard, who played Claire, explained, “She’s in high heels because she’s a woman who has been in high heels her whole life and she can f****** sprint in them. She can. That’s kind of how I perceived it. She doesn’t have to be in menswear and flats in order to outrun a T-Rex. That’s what women can do.” Sure, why not? So slip on those pumps, go trick or treating, and be sure to remind everyone you meet that science must serve mankind, not just men’s wallets.
If you’d prefer a more unisex look to your costume this year, then the possessed Christie’s getup from Ninja III: The Domination is just the ensemble for you. Throw on some used coveralls, a ski mask, and some dollar store ninja gear and nobody will know what you are under there. Of course, to make the costume 100% authentic, you’ll need to slather on tons of mascara as well, but let’s face it, this is 2015, so they still won’t be able to tell what you are under there. Sigh.
But enough of all these solo suggestions. If you’re in the market for a couple’s costume, why not try out Mavis & Jonathan’s wedding attire from Hotel Transylvania 2. For Mavis, all you ladies can just pull out your little black dress, add a veil and some fake vampire fangs, and you’re good to go. As for you fellows, it’s not prom season, so you should be able to pick up a tux pretty cheap. Just add a carrot-top wig and and you’re ready to walk the aisle. Or your neighborhood streets as the case may be. Not only will you make a lovely couple, but you’ll be a shining example of how love can overcome all the problems a mixed-marriage might present.
And finally, if you need something for the whole family, why not make yourselves up as the stalwart heroes from Big Ass Spider! Between Goodwill and the Dollar Store (again), these outfits should be fairly inexpensive to throw together. Of course, one of you might want to dress up as a big ass spider so everyone gets the point, but thanks to the Internet…
…that should be no problem. So, not only can the whole family participate, but you’ll be making a statement on how everyday working class guys and gals are just as heroic and worthy of praise as all those folks flying around in capes. You know, kind of like how the apostles were.
Well, hope this gave everyone some useful hints for costume ideas this year. Until next time, Happy Happy Halloween everyone.
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