#ten comments

TEN NOT SPOILERY COMMENTS ABOUT JAMES GUNN’S SUPERMAN

1. Of the trailers I saw in advance, most of the scenes shown are from early in the movie, so quite a bit of the plot was new to me.

2. Regarding end-credit-scenes: mid-credit there is a brief shot of Superman sitting on the moon looking at the Earth. At the very, very end of the credits (after what must be a thousand names of digital artists) there is a short scene between Superman and another character. It’s just a joke— I couldn’t tell if it was somehow a reference to a future movie.

3. I liked both Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill as Superman, but their movies were flawed. I think this new movie does Superman & Clark Kent justice. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan may be the best modern Lois & Clark. Both are very good. (But it’s odd that he looks better physically as Clark, his Superman uniform looks frumpy.)

4. When the movie’s cast was announced, I thought it was too big (there are 17 character posters). I feared Superman would get crowded out of his own movie. BUT the pacing of the movie helps a lot to keep it focused on Superman.

5. I liked Ma & Pa Kent, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, and surprisingly Sara Sampaio as Eve Teschmacher. Oh, I especially liked Alan Tudyk who does the voice of Robot #4.

6. The one character I never want to see again is Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner. He looks fat, he wears a bad wig, and is not funny.

7. At times, the movie feels a little too comic booky— going to the very edge of campy.

8. We’ve already had 2 movies where Lex Luthor broke into the forest of Solitude. Did we need another? (No!)

9. I wish Lex Luthor had NOT been the main villain (maybe build towards that in a future movie). But Nicholas Hoult (the prettiest Lex so far) has nowhere to go if he’s in another movie. Both the actor and the character have spent their “wad,” so to speak. 

If you are a fan of fashion, you might consider tracking down the new film “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris”

Ten Comments ABOUT “Ford vs Ferrari”

1. When the trailer was first released for “Ford vs. Ferrari a few month ago, I did some research on Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby - I do not recommend that - see the movie with a fresh mind.

2. Matt Damon plays Carroll Shelby, a former race car driver turned race car designer who receives an offer from Ford Motor Company that he can’t refuse - build a car that can beat Farrari at Le Mans endurance race (24 hours).

3. Christian Bale plays Ken Miles, a race car driver who flaps his lips too much but is down in his luck; apparently he is English but I thought Bale’s accent sounded Australian.

4. Both Damon and Bale already have Oscar buzz about their performances and they deserve it; the characters are very different - and I suspect their acting styles are as well.

5. Jon Bernthal plays Lee Iacocca; he is prominent early in the film but steps to the background 1/2 thru; he’s good in the role (and as an aside, he has the most kissable looking lips).

6. Josh Lucas plays a weasely Ford exec - doesn’t he get tired of always playing weasels? I first noticed him 16 years ago in Ang Lee’s “Hulk” (2003) where he played a weasel and he’s still playing WEASELS!

7. Ray McKinnon plays Phil Remington, a member of Shelby’s team; he has a great scene with Noah Jupe (playing Ken Miles’ son) - both are terrific and either could be worthy of a Supporting Actor nod.

8. There is only one female role of note (Caitriona Balfe as Miles’ wife); the rest are all nameless secretaries; while that may reflect the fact that few women were involved in professional race car driving in the 1960s; it also means this movie won’t pass the Bechdel Test.

9. The movie is more humorous than I expected (but not a comedy); the scene shown in the trailers of Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts) taking a ride in the GT40 Mark II May be the funniest.

10. Like most modern movies FvF is a little too long (2hr 32 m); but that may have to do with my general disinterest in race car driving; there are only so many closeups of brakes being hit, gears being shifted, and clutches being pressed that you can take before they become boring.

Bonus: I will say that when the Ford GT40 Mark II and the Ferrari 330 P3 are both reveals - they are beautiful cars.

TEN COMMENTS ABOUT “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”

I finally got a chance to watch the Netflix series “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” and over all enjoyed it.

Love the opening credits that pay homage to both the original comic and the recent horror comic. (See link below)

Kiernan Shipka is terrific as Sabrina; she definitely showed promise as Sally Draper on “Mad Men”.

Miranda Otto is great as the uptight Aunt Zelda and a great foil for her sister…

… Aunt Hilda played by Lucy Davis; I loved Davis as Etta Candy in the “Wonder Woman” movie and it’s fun to see more of her here.

I can’t say enough good about Michelle Gomez as Mrs. Wardwell (aka Madam Satan); I actually didn’t care for her as Missy on Doctor Who, but here she’s devilishly delightful.

A couple of former BattleStar Galactica Cast members appear in a few episodes.

The Greendale police department must put a lid of all the missing pizza deliver boy reports and other deaths in town - sort of like the police in Sunnydale.

The show definitely wouldn’t have worked on the CW because of all the satanic references - born again Christians and other holy rollers would have had conniption fits.

Main criticism of the show is pacing of each episode was a little slow with perhaps too many side plots and soap opera elements.

TEN COMMENTS ABOUT “TERMINATOR DARK FATE”

1. “Terminator Dark Fate” hold as 70% score at Rottentomatoes - I think it’s pretty good and would rate it even higher.

2. The first 2 action sequences in particular are very good.

3. When T2 was released, the special effects used for Robert Patrick’s T-1000 were amazing, but I rewatched it recently and I didn’t think it held up 28 years later.

4. But the effects for Diego Boneta’s Rev-9 are terrific and there is a twist that makes him even more formidable; and like Patrick his normal stature and calm demeanor are more interesting than a muscle bound behemoth.

5. I’m not slighting Arnold BTW; he’s actually quite good - one of his best acting performances.

6. But Arnold’s character’s Latina wife and son made me think of his own Latina mistress and son and scandal.

7. Mackenzie Davis and Natalia Reyes (the new Kyle & Sarah) are also very good.

8. But maybe the best performance is by Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor - could she be nominated for an Oscar playing a foul mouthed action hero? Don’t know but if was in the Academy I’d vote for her.

9. I’ll be curious if the Toxic Fandom goes rabid about this sequel. They campaigned against women heroes in the new Star Wars films, chased an ethnic actress off twitter, and tried to bring down the “Ms Marvel” movie.

TEN COMMENTS ABOUT “DOOM PATROL”

Doom Patrol is a superhero team from DC Comics, first publish in “My Greatest Adventure” #80 (June 1963); it’s a team of misfits shunned by society and led by a scientist in a wheel chair (predating the X-Men by 3 months).

It was reinvented in 1988 by writer Grant Morrison as a surreal journey through the strange and bizarre.

In 2019 a live action TV series of the Doom Patrol premiered on the DC Universe streaming service starring Timothy Dalton, Alan Tudyk, Brendan Fraser and Matt Bomer garnering a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The show put the characters and stories into a salad spinner and created something unique, adult, and entertaining.

Matt Bomer plays Larry Traynor, a test pilot who gets merged with a strange energy being from outer space; a crash unfortunately makes him look like crispy bacon necessitating body bandages that are a metaphor for hiding secrets (one of which is that he’s gay); Negative Man is one of my favorite characters.

April Bowlby plays Rita Farr, a Hollywood actress who got exposed to strange gases that cause her body to periodically morph into a blobby substance; although the effect isn’t perfect, Bowlby’s performance is my favorite; her story arc is the most interesting.

Brendan Fraser plays race car driver Cliffe Steele who suffers a major crash where only his brain survived; Nile Caulder (Dalton) rescues him by placing the brain in a clunky looking Robotman body; I can’t say Robotman is a favorite characters - he’s always angry, yells and swears too much.

Diane Guerrero plays Crazy Jane who suffers from Dissociative identity disorder and has 64 personalities each with their own superpower; Guerrero is a great actress effectively creating multiple personalities but unfortunately her main character is also angry too much, yelling and swearing like a trucker; and in general I find split personality characters can be over done.

Joivan Wade plays Vic Stone (aka Cyborg); in the comics (1980) Cyborg was originally a member of the Teen Titans but in 2011 DC decided to retconn him into an original member of the Justice League but waiting 4 years to give him his own comic; he’s bummed around DC properties included a forgettable appearance in the “Justice League” movie; but maybe the character has found the perfect home - he fits in with the Doom Patrol and Wade is likable in the role.

Season One of “Doom Patrol” is now on Blu-ray so if you’re looking for something that isn’t the same-old-same-old check it out but fasten you’re seat belts because you done what to be Niles Caulder’s next victi—- I mean next patient.

TEN COMMENTS ABOUT “JOKER”

I had some reservations about seeing “Joker” but a friend wanted to know what I thought.

So I decided to see it on $6 Tuesday - and I’m glad I did - “Joker” is one of the best movies I have seen this year.

Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as Arthur Fleck (aka Joker) is terrific and it would be a shame if he wasn’t nominated for an Oscar.

The movie is no more violent that dozens of movies Hollywood puts out each year; people are protesting the movie because it’s violent and based on a comic character.

But they don’t realize the average comic readers is at least 35+ (but DC probably should not have advertised the movie on the back cover of its comics this month).

The movie is set in 1981 but it reminds me of Trump’s America - a society that doesn’t care about the poor; so this Joker becoming a rallying point for the forgotten and disenfranchised of society.

This “Joker” is a disturbed man who’s mind is slowly circling the drain - he actually doesn’t want to be a victim but the uncaring society around him drives him towards that direction. (See Note below.)

Robert De Niro plays a late night TV host - a reversal of his role in 1981’s “King of Comedy”.

If you cut out all references to Gotham City or Thomas Wayne, the story would still stand on it own; Thomas Wayne has always been depicted as a benefactor to Gotham and an inspiration for Bruce - here, not so much.

Scenes that I liked best: the early subway car scene (was one stockbroker deliberately made to look like Eric Trump?); when Joker arrives at his girlfriend’s apartment late at night; the subway car full of clowns; the reference to “Zorro the Gay Blade” as the Thomas Family exited the theater.

TEN COMMENTS ABOUT “LOST IN SPACE”

1. I loved the 1960s adventure series “Lost in Space” so much so that I think I wanted to “be” Will Robinson (played by Billy Mumy) whose best friend was a robot; and I think I cried myself to sleep when I read in the newspaper the show might be cancelled.

2. As a adult I still like the B&W first season - the art design looks great and there are many excellent episode that are still effective today (especially the first 6 or 7 episodes that could run as one continuous story).

3. I ignore the 2nd and 3rd seasons that tried to compete with Adam West’s “Batman” to see which show could be the most campy - but the prancing Dr. Smith, LIS will always win.

4. I saw the 1998 movie starring Matt Leblanc and William Hurt; Leblanc was fine but Hurt thought he was in a tragedy written by Shakespeare; both Jack Johnson and Jared Harris we’re horribly miscast as Will.

5. If you listen to the commentary on the DVD, at some point the producers start apologizing for the half finished effects and lamenting what might have been.

6. I’ve seen portions of the incomplete 2004 WB pilot - no Smith, Penny is a baby and they added another brother; production values were good but it was missing the spirit of the original.

7. Netflix released a new 10 episode series in 2018 that largely follows the format of the original show with some changes: the Robinsons are part of a larger colonist group traveling to Alpha Centauri; Dr Smith (played by Bill Mumy) has his identity stolen by the possibly psychotic June Harris (played by Parker Posey); and the robot is from an alien race with less than friendly intentions;

8. The first season involved numerous perilous events in each episode, emulating the original’s weekly cliffhangers; by the end I grew a little weary of them AND Smith’s shenanigans; and I wasn’t a fan of Maxwell Jenkins as Will who played him as a scaredy-cat.

9. Season 2 was released at Christmas and improved on the first season: Will’s character was stronger; Smith’s behavior was better established, as was the families treatment of her; and the plot diverted quite a bit from the original in new ways.