Merry Star Wars!

In approximately 14 hours I will have bought a bag of popcorn and a soft drink, executed my pre-show bladder relief, and will be reclined and ready for the latest episode of the Star Wars saga. It's an exciting day to be alive!

I will then repeat the entire process Saturday morning for a repeat viewing with the family. Good times.

Great Directorial Debuts

History is littered with people who failed in endeavors prior to finding success.  Henry Ford, Bill Gates, and Walt Disney all had early businesses flop.  Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton both failed to reach their full potential early in life but eventually became synonymous with the term genius.  And Thomas Edison’s great claim to fame of inventing the lightbulb took 1,000 unsuccessful attempts before achieving success.

Those historic figures have provided countless educators and motivational speakers the needed rags-to-riches story that has inspired average people to aspire toward greatness, despite suffering setbacks and disappointments along the way.  In fact, it really isn’t all that interesting to hear of someone who intrinsically never faced obstacles on their way to victory, which may ultimately be the reason this post is a failure.  However, I wanted to look at directors whose first films were financial and critical successes.  It might be blind luck or it could be great source material/phenomenal cast and crews that lead to a great directorial debut, but let’s look at a few directors who triumphed with their first feature-length film.

Alex Garland inspired this post after watching his 2015 debut Ex Machina.  Garland benefitted from both a great story and superb acting from Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, and Alicia Vikander.  The film was such a hit, it was recognized by the National Board of Review as one of the ten best independent films of the year, which the qualifier of “independent” isn’t really necessary as it is one of the best films of the year in general.  It also received the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, beating out the big-budget movies The Martian, Mad Max: Fury Road, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  It also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and Vikander’s performance received BAFTA, Golden Globe, Empire, and Saturn award nominations.  The film was also nominated for and won countless additional awards, but one in particular that stands out is the BAFTA nomination Garland received for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer.

So what are some other great directorial debuts?  Let’s take a look at ten specific directors who saw initial success and see if a correlation can be found to predict the potential direction of Garland’s career.

District 9 (2009) – Neill Blomkamp

In 2009, South African-Canadian director, producer, screenwriter, and animator Neill Blomkamp hit the scene with a science-fiction film that could have been confused for a modern-day Star Trek episode in that the depictions of humanity, xenophobia, and social segregation were set against the backdrop of alien invaders being regulated to live in a South African ghetto.  The film, adapted from an earlier short film Blomkamp had done, was highly praised and won the 2010 Saturn Award for Best International Film.  It also received four Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Editing.

Prior to District 9, Blomkamp made a handful of short films and since then has continued making thought-provoking science-fiction movies with 2013’s Elysium and 2015’s Chappie, but to less critical acclaim.  It was planned for Blomkamp to continue the Alien franchise with a sequel that would somewhat reboot the series and ignore the third and fourth installments, instead focusing on a direct sequel to James Cameron’s 1986 entry, Aliens.  However, those plans are currently on hold while Ridley Scott continues the prequel stories that began with 2012’s Prometheus and continued with Alien: Resurrection.  Untitled third and fourth films will be released later on.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994) – Frank Darabont

Despite ultimately receiving numerous Oscar nominations and becoming a quintessential must-see movie after countless broadcasts on TNT, Frank Darabont’s feature film directorial debut was considered a box-office bomb at the time.  It has even garnered such a (mainstream) cult following that many consider it to be the best film of 1994.  Along with its seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Actor, and Screenplay, it also received two Golden Globe nominations, two Screen Actor Guild nominations, a Writers Guild of America nomination, and Darabont also received a Directors Guild nomination.  The Shawshank Redemption has even become such a significant piece of cinema, in 2015 it was selected to the United States Library of Congress to be preserved in the National Film Registry.

Darabont’s career prior to 1994 was made up of directing a short film and a television movie.  Since directing The Shawshank Redemption, Darabont has gone on to helm The Green Mile, The Majestic, and The Mist, earning several accolades along the way.  He was also a creative force behind the earliest seasons of AMC’s The Walking Dead.

Dances with Wolves (1990) – Kevin Costner

Having appeared in a handful of forgetful movies, being known as “the unseen dead guy” in The Big Chill, and riding the popularity he had generated from The Untouchables, Bull Durham, and Field of Dreams, Kevin Costner bore the challenge of directing himself in 1990’s Dances with Wolves.  The gamble paid off though with Academy Awards for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Score, Editing, Cinematography, and Sound.  It also received nominations in the actor, supporting actor, supporting actress, art direction, and costume design categories.  Other nominations and awards include the BAFTAs, Golden Globes, numerous critics associations, and multiple guilds.

Unfortunately Costner didn’t stop while he was ahead.  He went on to star in several hit Hollywood films, but his directorial filmography is somewhat of a blemish on his career post-Dances with Wolves.  The list of movies Costner directed after his award-winning directorial debut includes The Postman and Open Range.  Only one of those is considered “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes.

Ordinary People (1980) – Robert Redford

After 20 years of establishing iconic silver screen characters like the Sundance Kid, Jeremiah Johnson, Johnny Hooker, Jay Gatsby, and Bob Woodward, Robert Redford stepped behind the camera for 1980’s Ordinary People.  The career move resulted in four Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Supporting Actor, with two additional nominations, five Golden Globe awards, and several other accolades.

Redford’s directorial career has been made up of hits and misses, which is pretty normal for anyone who has nine directorial features under their belt.  The closest similar success to Ordinary People was 1994’s Quiz Show, which was up for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, along with The Shawshank Redemption.  Both would ultimately lose to Forrest Gump.  I should note that I consider Quiz Show to be a more enjoyable picture than Ordinary People, but that is just a personal preference opinion.

Mad Max (1979) – George Miller

With three short films under his belt, Australian filmmaker George Miller burst onto the scene with the first feature in a dystopian series by the name of Mad Max.  Not receiving the accolades others on this list have garnered, Mad Max was well received by critics from around the globe and did receive several nominations, and a few wins, from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.  It has become a point of reference when discussing post-apocalyptic films and its 2015 sequel, Mad Max: Fury Road, also a Miller-helmed movie, would end up gathering ten Academy Award nominations that included the Best Picture category.

Miller’s directorial credits include all four Mad Max films, a portion of the Twilight Zone: The Movie, and a family friendly portion of his life that consists of Babe: Pig in the City and both Happy Feet pictures.  Although a release date has not yet been set, Miller has continuously teased the fifth Mad Max film, claiming it will be titled Mad Max: Fury Road.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) – Mike Nichols

Considered an auteur director, Mike Nichols was able to get the best out of his actors, which is clearly evident in his first feature film, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  Having made his start in theater and with multiple works on Broadway prior to 1966, Nichols acquired four Oscar-worthy performances from his four actors, with two of them winning their respective categories.  Along with the four acting nominations, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? also received nine other nominations, making it eligible in every category possible at the time of the ceremony.  This was a feat only accomplished one other time in Academy history, with 1931’s Cimarron.  The film also received seven Golden Globe nominations and three BAFTA awards.

Nichols certainly didn’t peak at the start of his career.  He went on to have a prolific career in both theater and Hollywood.  His films, which also include The Graduate, Catch-22, Silkwood, and Working Girl, have garnered a total of 42 and 56 Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, respectively, and seven and 17 wins.

The 400 Blows (1959) – Francois Truffaut

Mike Nichols may have been considered an auteur filmmaker, but Francois Truffaut wrote the book on auteur cinema, or better said he wrote the essay on it.  Truffaut began his career as a film critic, and he took the critic part of the job very literally.  In 1954, Truffaut wrote an article condemning screenwriters and producers in the mainstream French cinema industry and after several years of publishing film analysis, directing a few short films along the way, and being inspired by Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil, he decided to make his feature-length directorial debut with The 400 Blows.

To say that Truffaut’s career started off well would be quite an understatement.  The 400 Blows wound up winning numerous awards, including the Best Director Award at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival, the Critics Award of the New York Film Critics’ Circle, and the Best European Film Award at 1960’s Bodil Awards.  It is also a film that holds the very rare 100% “Certified Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Truffaut went on to make 20 more films following The 400 Blows, only one of which, Fahrenheit 451, was filmed in English.  Many were well received and Truffaut is consistently in the conversation of most notable filmmakers of all time.

Marty (1955) – Delbert Mann

Directing more than 100 live television dramas prior to working in movies in 1955, Delbert Mann alternated between cinema and television throughout his career.  Whilst having a successful career that spanned 45 years, Mann is most certainly best known for winning the Best Director Academy Award and heading the production of a Best Picture winner with Marty.  Other Oscar accomplishments were Best Actor for Ernest Borgnine and Best Screenplay, as well as four other nominations.

Marty is another example of a 100% “Certified Fresh” film on Rotten Tomatoes and received extremely high praise upon its release.  It was also the winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival.  Despite the positive reviews and impressive accolades, Mann’s other films don’t really stand out as examples of the same impressive quality, with 1958’s Separate Table being the only real inspiring other work.

The Maltese Falcon (1941) – John Huston

One might consider directing one of the greatest film noir detective movies of all time as being the apex of a career, but John Huston was just getting started.  Huston transitioned from screenwriting to directing with The Maltese Falcon, which today is considered an all-time great movie, but it had already failed twice before at Warner Bros. Studios.  Huston was able to prove that third time really was a charm as his version has become a quintessential example of film noir, even being considered to be the first major film noir.

The Maltese Falcon was an immediate success, both financially and critically.  It went on to receive three Oscar nominations, include Best Picture, and was one of the initial inductees to the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.

Huston’s career will likely always be linked to Humphrey Bogart since the two collaborated multiple times, but his filmography was made up of more than just Bogart hits.  Among Huston’s great films are The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Asphalt Jungle, The African Queen, Moulin Rouge, and Prizzi’s Honor.  He also had a short stint on the first big-screen adaptation of Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale, however, that movie ended up hiring five different directors, it’s a comedic spoof of the official James Bond film series, and it’s an unintelligible mess that I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer through.  I only included that fact since I am a James Bond fanatic.

Citizen Kane (1941) – Orson Welles

Any regular reader of this blog, or even friends of mine who don’t normally make it to this website, already knows the high praise I have for Orson Welles and Citizen Kane.  It’s the greatest movie ever made.  He was a visionary at the young age of 21.  Yada, yada, yada.  Instead of highlighting all the great things about Citizen Kane I will simply include a snippet of information about Welles’ career after his directorial debut.

Prior to making his feature film debut, Welles directed some short films and a silent short for a play.  Following Citizen Kane, Welles struggled to make another masterpiece, not due to lack of talent though.  Instead, his troubles came from meddling studios and a passion for the craft, even to a fault.  There were approximately 20 unfinished film projects Welles had worked on at one point or another at the time of his death.  That is seven more movies unfinished than completed that Welles either directed or co-directed, and none of his completed films ever made a profit upon their initial release.

Orson Welles is a fascinating character study, as much so as his fictional character Charles Foster Kane.  Although no other film has reached the pinnacle heights of master filmmaking that Citizen Kane did, the other movies that are widely considered to be successes include The Magnificent Ambersons, The Lady from Shanghai, Touch of Evil, and F for Fake.

Here is a list of some other impressive starts from first-time directors:

Primer (2004) – Shane Carruth

Reservoir Dogs (1992) – Quinten Tarantino (did a partially lost black-and-white amateur film prior; Tarantino himself referred to it as his film school)

This is Spinal Tap (1984) – Rob Reiner (did TV movies prior)

Diner (1982) – Barry Levinson (did a TV movie prior)

Caddyshack (1980) – Harold Ramis

Night of the Living Dead (1968) – George A Romero (did a single short film prior)

The Night of the Hunter (1955) – Charles Laughton (only directing credit; went uncredited for work on The Man on the Eiffel Tower [1949])

Finally Got Around To Seeing The Newest Friendly Neighborhood Spider-man

Although he had been teased in a previous Marvel movie, Tom Holland's Spider-man got his own feature-length film earlier this year and Joanna and I finally made it to the theaters for a viewing.  Like when most movies in a series I enjoy are released, I make it a point to rank them in order of most enjoyable to most reviled.  In the case of Spider-man: Homecoming, it fell on the more favorable end of the list.

Before getting to my latest rankings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, I should note that while I enjoy most of the films from Marvel Studios, I mostly prefer the DC characters.  That's not to say I fall in the camp of "DC is great and Marvel is horrible" that seems to run rampant in Internet comment sections, but when asked by my son Jack to start naming superheroes and villains I gravitate toward the DC cast of characters first.  The only real knowledge I have of Marvel characters is what I learn in my study prior to a new MCU film release.

Yet, despite finding the characters of DC more appealing to my adult tastes, the DC movies since they started trying to create their own cinematic universe has been pretty terrible.  I'll eventually get around to ranking the DC Cinematic Universe, but for now that list would consist of a few above average flicks with the remaining movies being incoherent mayhem put to celluloid.

Those previous two paragraphs were basically a longer way of saying that Marvel is doing a good job of making enjoyable popcorn movies that fit together nicely in their own world, but none have really stood out as anything that should be considered the greatest comic book inspired films of all time.  On with the list.

16. Iron Man 2

15. Thor: The Dark World

14. Captain America: The First Avenger

13. The Incredible Hulk

12. The Avengers

11. Iron Man 3

10. Avengers: Age of Ultron

9. Thor

8. Ant-man

7. Doctor Strange

6. Captain America: Civil War

5. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2

4. Spider-man: Homecoming

3. Iron Man

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

Overrating Or Selective Viewing

So far with 2017 more than halfway over, I have seen 12 movies released this calendar year.  It turns out that half of those I gave a rating of eight stars.  Another three received seven stars.  This leaves only three films left, which earned six stars, three stars, and two stars (oh how terrible the Alien and Underworld series have become).

Having a year with six, or even 10, films rated eight stars or higher isn't abnormal.  However, I still have Oscar season to get through, which likely means that another three or four will get some high ratings.  And that doesn't include the surprise standouts or great films I've also missed the past seven months.

This revelation has led me to believe that one of two things is happening.  Either I am overrating movies that are good, but not great, or I've become extremely good at picking out the great films to see and this is going to end up being an impressive year in film.  I'm hoping it is the latter.

Bond 25 Updates

This week has been a good one in regard to the next production in the James Bond film franchise.  It was reported late yesterday that Bond 25, which is the current title for the film since an official title hasn't yet been announced, would be released into U.S. theaters on November 8, 2019, with British moviegoers getting the movie about a week earlier.  I've always wanted to see a Bond movie in Great Britain and my wife and I considered going for Spectre but it unfortunately didn't work out.  Maybe it will be Bond 25 that is the milestone film for me that I see for the first time on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Following the official announcement that Bond 25 would be released in late 2019, the New York Times is reporting that it is a done deal for Daniel Craig to return to the role for his fifth movie.  For a long time there have been rumors that Craig would return, but most of those were being reported by disreputable sources in tabloid magazines and newspapers.  Having a credible media outlet like the New York Times report Craig's return gives the long-standing rumors some validity.

Hopefully an official announcement is made soon and then we can start speculating on who the director will be, what the movie's title is, and whether they will continue the Blofeld/Spectre storyline.

A Brief Guide To The James Bond Actors

It has been more than 18 months since the release of Spectre and the speculation as to whether Daniel Craig will return to the role of James Bond has not stopped.  It seems every month about two or three new rumors emerge as to whether Craig will don the suit again or the producers have decided to move on to a new actor.  Although it's frustrating to not know one way or the other whether Craig will make a fifth 007 film (which I believe he will, and maybe even a possible sixth), I thought I would reflect on the six actors who have portrayed James Bond in the official series and what aspect of the character they brought to the silver screen.

First up is Sean Connery, who is the original Bond.  Connery was a tough spy, but also suave.  There is a story that 007 author Ian Fleming once said of Connery that he walked like a panther.

Second is George Lazenby, who is the one-film Bond.  Lazenby was a model who had never been in a movie, which the lack of experience shows a bit in the role.

Third is Roger Moore, who is the hammy Bond.  Moore didn't do his stunts, which is very obvious when you watch his movies, and he turned Bond into a silly film series.

Fourth is Timothy Dalton, who is the Shakespeare Bond.  Dalton attempted to bring the literary Bond character to the screen and make the man less of a superhero.  He was basically the Daniel Craig of the 1980s.

Fifth is Pierce Brosnan, who is the pretty-boy Bond.  Brosnan couldn't decide whether he wanted to be more of a Connery or more of a Moore.  He wanted to be serious, suave, and campy all at the same time.

Sixth is Daniel Craig, who is the gritty Bond.  Craig retconned the series in order to ground the movies and is the most physically fit of all the Bond actors.  He is basically the Daniel Craig of the 21st century.

Empire Magazine's 100 Greatest Films List Signifies A Sad State of Affairs

This month's issue of Empire includes the magazine's recent audience poll that resulted in the top 100 films of all time, and while there are certainly a few films that were placed precisely where they belong, the majority of the list is a reflection of short-term praise and recent box office success being an indicator of what is considered "greatest" by current audience members.

The highlights include The Godfather at the top of the list, The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, and Jaws also making the top 10, and having three Alfred Hitchcock films included (although I could make arguments that they are missing a few more).

However, there are three major issues I have with allowing "the people" to make this list.  My first matter of contention is with Citizen Kane being at 46.  I understand that today's movie-going audience doesn't really take the classics into consideration when coming up with the best movies of all time, which will be detailed a little further in my second point of frustration, but to regulate Orson Welles' masterpiece to the back of the top 50 is a crime.  It's become a cliché to say that Citizen Kane is the greatest movie of all time, and yet it truly is a seminal historical marker in the timeline of American cinema.  I get it not being a favorite, must-see movie for everyone, but its influence on modern moviemaking should still regulate it to the top 10.

My second argument against Empire's fan-favorite list is that it doesn't include a single silent film.  Again, this falls under today's generation of moviegoers not wanting to watch a medium that requires reading dialogue when they could simply watch a more modern film that has the dialogue spoken audibly, but there are plenty of silent films that deserve a spot on the top 100 list of greatest films.  Even rattling off the great ones, such as Metropolis, City Lights, The General, Birth of a Nation, Battleship Potemkin, and The Passion of Joan of Arc, would be a disservice to all the others that deserve consideration.  #silentfilmsmatter

And lastly, the comic book elephant in the room.  I understand that this is the era of the comic book movie and shared universes that combine superheroes to each other's films, but to claim that The Dark Knight is the third best movie ever made and three Marvel movies deserving spots ranging from as high as 34 to as low as 79 is just asinine.  The only comic book movie that deserves to be on a top 100 list of all time is The Dark Knight, I will give you that, but to say it is third overall is ludicrous.  There are still a lot of problems with the second of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy that should set it back several spots on this list.  The reign of the geek is at an all-time high and has resulted in allowing four comic book movies to make its way onto this list, but by doing so it has done a great disservice to films of much greater quality and higher importance.

Luckily next month Empire is releasing another top 100 films list that will be put together by industry employees, so hopefully it will be a little more in line with what a top 100 greatest movies list should look like.  Obviously these lists are arbitrary and cannot be validated by a single person, but a list should have more weight behind it when it is made up by those who know what it takes to make a great film and the details lacking in a good, but not great one.

R.I.P. Sir Roger Moore, Dead At 89

For the first time ever in the history of the official James Bond film series, all actors to have portrayed James Bond are not alive.  Although he was the third actor to portray the British super-spy, he was the oldest of all the actors.  He had three years on the original star of the series, Sean Connery.  So the odds were best that Moore would be the first to go, but you really can never be sure of these things and the timing, obviously, was a mystery to all of when this day would come.

Moore, who was my second least favorite incarnation of the character and that is only because George Lazenby quit the role after one movie so it is hard to get a really good gauge of what kind of Bond he could have become had he been given a few more films to flesh out the character, starred in his first Bond movie in 1973 with Live and Let Die.  He would end up being Bond for the most official films, with a grand total of seven.  He vacated the role after 1985’s A View to a Kill.

Moore’s take on the role was a much lighter tone than Connery, with many of his films becoming slapstick takes on the role, which would be lambasted by Connery fans and younger viewers who grew up on Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig as being campy.  I would probably be considered a part of that group and find many of Moore’s 007 movies hard to get through at times.

Since a Bond actor has never passed before I’m not sure what sort of tribute I will do, but it will likely be watching one of his Bond movies tonight after the family goes to bed.  The obvious choice is The Spy Who Loved Me, which is his best film in the series, but I might try to mix it up with Live and Let Die or Octopussy.

Anyway, this is a rambling way to say that it is a sad day to be a Bond fan.  I’m not on the verge of tears or needing to abandon all responsibilities for the day like some people are claiming on message boards across the world, but I will try to find some time to pay tribute to a man who was truly a tremendous ambassador to the Bond franchise and helped carry the torch for a fictional character I love.

Another Season, Another Marvel Movie To Rank

With the release of Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 a couple of weeks ago, I have considered its inclusion in the Marvel Cinematic Universe pantheon and with a small change to the  middle of my rankings since the premiere of Doctor Strange late last year I have come up with a new ranking of the Marvel movies.  Compared with lists across the Internet, the only real shocker for my list is my disregard for the team-up Avenger films.  I am not as high on the Joss Whedon-directed movies as most.

It will be clear that my love of the Guardians sequel likely stems from the unbridled joy I get from multiple viewings of its predecessor.  I could even tell on a second screening of the Guardians of the Galaxy sequel that its faults were a little more blatant and unforgiving than first realized.  However, even with all its burdens, and the heavy-handed messages about "family" that gives the viewer a feeling they are in the midst of one of the too-many Fast and Furious movies, it is still a thrilling, laugh-out-loud entry in the MCU worthy of a generous place on the overall rankings.

Without further ado, here is my updated list of the MCU films:

15. Iron Man 2

14. Thor: The Dark World

13. Captain America: The First Avenger

12. The Avengers

11. The Incredible Hulk

10. Iron Man 3

9. Avengers: Age of Ultron

8. Thor

7. Ant-man

6. Doctor Strange

5. Captain America: Civil War

4. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2

3. Iron Man

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

(Not) Live (Not) Tweeting 'Legion' Episode 8

I don't really have a ton of things to say about this episode.  I've finally come to a point that I am comfortable with everything they are throwing at me.  Overall, the series was very solid, horrifying at times, and constantly made you question what you were viewing.

The episode ends on a cliffhanger, like 95% of television series these days.  Lucky for us a second season has already been approved.

(Not) Live (Not) Tweeting 'Legion' Episode 7

"Is she, I want to say, Chinese?"

Even though it makes zero sense in the context of reality and/or television conventions, the silent movie treatment works for this show.

Revisionist History Of 'Return Of The Jedi'

While recently listening to a podcast debating the merits that episode one of the Star Wars saga, The Phantom Menace, is better than Return of the Jedi, the sixth episode, a repeated argument between those debating the topic was that similar to many of the childish jokes and immature characters like Jar Jar Binks found in The Phantom Menace, the Ewoks of Return of the Jedi were created for children.  The only problem with this "argument" is that it isn't true.  Although the introduction of the Ewoks might have certainly been beneficial from a financial standpoint as it would sell a lot of toys to child viewers, that certainly wasn't the reason for their inclusion.  Instead it is a different financial reason.

In reality, the moon of Endor, where the Ewoks were found to be inhabiting, was supposed to be the home of Wookies, which is the same species of alien as Chewbacca.  The only problem was there weren't enough actors to have a clan of Wookies join the third act battle and the costumes would cost too much to create.  Instead, George Lucas changed the Wookies to Ewoks, resulting in numerous dwarves being used and little costumes being much less expensive to make.

So in reality, George Lucas' wasn't yet the hack director who turned a beloved space opera franchise into a child's Saturday morning cartoon political soap opera.  He was still just a writer making things up as he went along, who was limited by technology and budgets because he didn't yet have a computer smart enough to build all the characters for him.

Don't blame the Ewoks on children.  It isn't their fault.

(Not) Live (Not) Tweeting 'Legion' Episode 6

Nina Simone + Aubrey Plaza = Winning

Kudos to the production team and behind-the-scenes crew/interns for the detailed work.  Having to destroy, clean, again destroy, again clean, and then repeat another six or seven times a scene in David's apartment kitchen from the past for a two-second clip in a single episode is the work of the unsung heroes.

Are we ever going to address the man living in the willow tree at the psychiatric hospital?

(Not) Live (Not) Tweeting 'Legion' Episode 5

It took more than half the season, but I finally feel comfortable in this world.  Things that a single episode before would have resulted in needing to either watch again or it would have resulted in me sitting with my mouth open as unexplainable things passed over my dumb head, now I finally feel like I am starting to get a firm grasp.

There's a moment in this episode that feel like Wes Anderson directed.

(Not) Live (Not) Tweeting 'Legion' Episode 4

Just when you think you are starting to get a firm grasp of this show, they start with a wicked curveball that completely throws you off again.

"See, memory is an illusion."  Great line.

Beat poetry?  Where else but FX?

(Not) Live (Not) Tweeting 'Legion' Episode 3

This episode would be what happens if Stephen King's It monster and Christopher Nolan's dream team from Inception had a child that eventually became a member of the X-men.

(Not) Live (Not) Tweeting 'Legion' Episode 2

Welcome to the second of eight posts that will deal with the FX program Legion.  This will be short and sweet.

The audience is, I believe, supposed to be as much in the dark about the goings on of this show as David is.  It seems the creators of the show are putting the viewer in David's shoes in that we are learning the potential of David's powers, what is reality and what is inside his head, and who David really is at the same time David is doing so.

I dig it.

(Not) Live (Not) Tweeting 'Legion' Episode 1

While I'm nearly three months late and I don't have a Twitter account, I feel the FX television show Legion deserves a bit of a review, and it needs to be done on an episode-by-episode basis.  So this is my live tweeting version of watching Legion that is neither live nor in tweets.

First off, this show is weird.  And I don't mean weird like with Fargo, another FX series, that characters are quirky and oddball events happen in a 60-minute period.  When I say it is weird, I mean it doesn't completely make sense after a single episode.  But it is also filmed in a weird style.  The pacing and editing is extremely confusing (purposefully so).  Although I've never watched Mr. Robot, I feel like Legion is similar in that it makes you question every second of what you are viewing as to whether it is the main character's imagination or the show's reality.

However, that doesn't mean I don't like it.  Anything that starts with music from the Who and later includes the Rolling Stones is going to be enjoyed. 

I look forward to the remaining seven episodes and will try to have some reflecting thoughts following each episode for these (not) live (not) tweeting posts.

R.I.P. Robert Osborne

A long-time houseguest of mine passed away today.  Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne died at the age of 84.

Osborne started his Hollywood career as an actor, but quickly made the transition to writing.  He penned a reference book about the Academy Awards and had a column in The Hollywood Reporter for more than 25 years.  He eventually made the move to television, where he started on The Movie Channel, but when TCM began broadcasting in 1994, Osborne was there to introduce the network's very first film, Gone with the Wind.

In regard to Osborne's career on TCM, Screencrush writer Matt Singer says it best:

"Though Osborne wielded an expert's knowledge of film history, he never came off as an elitist snob.  He never made viewers feel inferior just because they hadn't seen Dark Victory before; he was always excited that they were ready to watch Dark Victory now.  He made old movies accessible, setting an inclusive tone and striking an inspiring example."

Several of my friends know, even if I'm not going to watch television, I turn the TV on and set it to TCM simply to give the network ratings.  It is because of that odd sense of loyalty that Osborne could be heard throughout my house nightly.  It is a disappointing day for film lovers.

Happy 49th Birthday Daniel Craig

Now somebody make a decision regarding the lead actor for 007.  I'm tired of waiting.

Last Night's Oscar Blunder Kills A Hollywood Rumor

It has long been speculated, but not really believed, that when Marisa Tomei won her Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for My Cousin Vinny in 1993 it was a mistake and she was in reality not the true winner.  The story goes something like this.

Jack Palance, being old, senile, and a bit of a wildcard, either couldn't read the name on the card he pulled from the envelope or he was a bit too drunk from the evening's festivities and simply selected the last name from the teleprompter, which happened to be Tomei.  She was a young actress who had starred in a comedy film from a year before and the other four nominees were more respected and had been a part of more Academy-friendly films (otherwise known as Oscar bait movies) that were fresh on the minds of voters.

While most in the film industry have accepted that Tomei was the true winner, many media outlets have continued the legend of her false victory.  I think it is safe to say that after last night's debacle of an ending with La La Land being named Best Picture when Moonlight was the real winner, Tomei's Oscar is legitimate.  The reason I believe this to be true is because the same accounting firm that was responsible for Tomei's award being given, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), was also behind the awkwardness of last night's Academy Awards finale.  PwC has been the official accounting firm of the Academy Awards since the 1930s and they have representatives at the awards show to ensure that no mistakes are made, which was finally seen to be true during the broadcast last night.

When the wrong movie was awarded, the PwC reps stepped in during the acceptance speeches to correct the mistake.  There is no reason to believe the same thing wouldn't have happened in 1993 with Tomei on stage holding a statue that belonged to another.  Hopefully last night's events will put to sleep once and for all the Tomei myth.

Don't Let The 'La La Land' Hype Ruin Any Expectations

Last weekend I saw La La Land for the first time and after hearing nothing but glowing praise (to say the least) I was expecting the greatest musical since Singing in the Rain.  While it was a very well-crafted piece of work, I wasn't as in love with it as I thought I would be.

Well, after reflecting on it for about a week I can safely say that I let expectations influence my overall enjoyment of the film.  I didn't think this movie would resonate with me like it has.  There's always a couple of movie a year that I cannot stop thinking about for days afterward.  It happened with the cinematography of The Revenant last year and the editing of Birdman two years ago.  I really didn't expect that kind of thing with La La Land, but I've been humming the soundtrack for days, considering the massive achievement in choreography it took to execute the opening dance number on a Los Angeles freeway, and pondering all the references to previous movie musicals and classic films director Damien Chazelle was able to fit into two hours while making something of his own.

My initial response to La La Land was that I really liked it, but didn't love it.  Yet, in the past week that reaction has incrementally increased from great appreciation to sincere pleasure.  La La Land is not only a technical marvel but an honest-to-goodness likable hit.  I regret letting assumptions of what I thought it was going to be like influence my ultimate enjoyment of the film.

Coen Brothers' Full Filmography Ranked

There are a handful of filmmakers out there that I have seen everything they've ever directed/written/shot/whatever.  Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick come to mind quickly.  I lack having watched Charlie Wilson's War to complete the writing credits of Aaron Sorkin.

Another entity of filmmakers I've had the pleasure of enjoying all of their work is Joel and Ethan Coen.  Together they've written and directed 17 feature films, of which I've now been able to decide which is my favorite and which is so much not so that it hurts to even include with the best of their work.  With no further ado, here is the full filmography of the Coen brothers ranked from worst to best.

17. Intolerable Cruelty

16. The Ladykillers

15. A Serious Man

14. The Man Who Wasn't There

13. Burn After Reading

12. O Brother, Where Art Thou?

11. Hail, Caeser!

10. Barton Fink

9. Inside Llewyn Davis

8. True Grit

7. The Hudsucker Proxy

6. Blood Simple

5. The Big Lebowski

4. Miller's Crossing

3. No Country for Old Men

2. Raising Arizona

1. Fargo

First-Half Best Picture Nominee Rankings

After seeing four of the five Academy Award nominated best picture films this past Saturday, my ranking of them would be Manchester by the Sea first, Fences second, La La Land third, and Hell or High Water last.  However, that doesn't mean that Hell or High Water is a bad film.

The more I reflect on La La Land, the more I seem to like it.  It might overtake Fences at some point, but I'm not quite ready to move it to a higher ranking just yet. 

This coming Saturday will be the final five films.  Those are going to be Moonlight, Lion, Hacksaw Ridge, Arrival, and Hidden Figures.  We'll see where they fall in with the other four.

Hans Zimmer Love

At church on Sunday some friends and I got into a discussion regarding the film scores Hans Zimmer has produced.  That in turn led me to listening to the Interstellar soundtrack while at work today, which then led to pondering my favorite music from Zimmer.  Narrowing down to only five was hard enough, especially since after looking into all the soundtracks he has been a part of that I wasn't aware of, but having to put his numerous masterpieces in a ranked order is near impossible.  Therefore, I will be listing eight films total, three of which are honorable mentions and five are my favorites.  The honorable mentions could have gone longer, but you have to draw a line somewhere.  The below list of three and five are in order of their theatrical release date.

Honorable Mention:

The Lion King

Sherlock Holmes

Interstellar

Top Five:

Crimson Tide

The Rock

Gladiator

The Dark Knight

Inception

Anticipation Grows

With the announcement yesterday of the Academy Award nominations, the countdown has officially begun for the AMC Best Picture Showcase.  This is an event I have attended more often than not in the past decade and has become a staple in my yearly happenings.  Tickets go on sale this Friday and I am looking forward to the schedule in order to see what movies are grouped together on which days, as it is a two-day event.

Some years, especially when there were only five nominees allowed, the field wasn't quite as enticing as others, but during the past few events the majority of the movies shown have been on my must-see list at one time or another.  And this year is no different.

A friend of mine who has recently started joining Joanna and I at the showcase is going to miss a film or two on one of the Saturdays due to being double-booked.  It got me to wondering what my ranking of the films is based on my anticipation.  This will no doubt end up not being the list of my favorite to least favorite of the movies as there are always surprises, both good and bad, each year.

If I had to classify the Oscar nominees in the Best Picture category in order of the most enthusiastic I am about seeing, it would probably be the following:

La La Land

Arrival

Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

Moonlight

Fences

Manchester by the Sea

Hacksaw Ridge

Lion

My only disappointment is that Sully was not included in the category as I missed it in theaters.  It seems a little unconventional that as a guy I would put a musical at the top of my must-see list and the war movie near the bottom, but I love Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling and I've heard nothing but great things about La La Land.

We'll see how things end up with the nine movies being ranked in order of favorite to least liked, but I can guarantee it won't look like the above.

Marvel & DC: A Decade Reflection

When provided two titans of merchandising, the masses usually force us to pick a side, whether that’s Coke or Pepsi (I’m a Dr. Pepper man myself), Miracle Whip or mayonnaise (whatever), or Ford or Chevy (the Japanese know what’s up).  Rivalries are even found in the brand of comic books you read.  Diehards refuse to be admirers of both Marvel and DC.

That gap of opposition has become a cavern since Marvel hit the ground running in 2008 with its cinematic universe.  The merits of Marvel versus DC in the mediums of comic book and film/television aren’t what I really want to focus on today.  Both have their pros and cons.  Instead, what I want to reflect on is how much has changed in the past decade.

I don’t think anyone could argue with the success Marvel has had with their cinematic universe.  Even DC fans have to concede that the box office numbers and critical acceptance of Marvel’s films in the past decade have been better than anyone could have expected.  And now DC is dipping their toes in a similar pool with an extended universe that includes its cast of characters Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg.  But those toes are finding that the waters are more tepid than Marvel’s oasis.

This time 10 years ago, the only valuable character DC had at the box office was Batman after Christopher Nolan rebooted the character in 2005 with Batman Begins.  Although Nolan’s Batman was all DC really had going for itself at the time, it was the beginning of a cultural phenomenon in regard to what a comic book movie could be.  A semi-reboot/sequel to Richard Donner’s Superman series had been attempted with Superman Returns, oddly enough directed by Bryan Singer who had huge success with Marvel’s X-men franchise, but audience reaction wasn’t quite what Warner Bros. had hoped for and the series died again, only to be completely overhauled in 2013.

In the mid-2000s, Marvel had more properties in theaters than DC, yet, they were mostly under different production companies.  Spider-man was with Sony and the X-men and Fantastic Four were controlled by Fox.  Despite previous success with X-Men, X2, Spider-Man, and Spider-Man 2, Marvel would soon realize that quantity is not the same as quality.  Some of the box office flops and/or critical bombs included Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, X-Men: The Last Stand, Ghost Rider, and Spider-Man 3.

So at the beginning of 2007, DC is feeling really good with Nolan’s follow-up film The Dark Knight a year away and Marvel is working on an experiment to make numerous films with multiple comic book characters in order to have crossover events that resemble the comic book universe.  This is a huge gamble for Marvel and could be financial suicide.

So what happens in the following 10 years?  Well, Marvel’s gamble pays off and DC decides to implement the highest form of flattery by imitating what Marvel did.  And after last night’s viewing of Suicide Squad, it is my opinion that they are doing a poor job of it.  Even Marvel has had some disappointing movies in its series of 14 films, but for the most part they have done a great job of providing superior entertainment and bringing to life the characters who have lived mostly in hand-drawn pages for so long.  DC is taking a different approach with its properties and not having the same kind of early success that Marvel did.

My issues with Suicide Squad were that the plot is convoluted, the pacing erratic (which one explanation is that, like with Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, there was a much longer story told and after heavy editing it discredited the film more than it helped), Will Smith plays the same character Will Smith plays in all Will Smith movies, Jared Leto’s incarnation of the Joker isn’t as menacing as Heath Ledger’s turn in the Nolan trilogy (despite trying desperately to be more terrifying but ending up in the realm of silliness that even Cesar Romero’s role in the Batman television series didn’t quite produce), the villain’s motivation and scheme are nonsensical, and all the best/funniest parts of the movie are in the plethora of trailers.  The only real high point is Margot Robbie’s portrayal of Harley Quinn (but I could be a little bias).

If you were to go back 10 years and forecast the potential of DC and Marvel-based movies for the future, it would have seemed that DC would be the company on the rise and Marvel having to scramble to catch up.  Yet, DC has only had three official films in its extended universe, and all three have been met with critical and fan backlash.  The average Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores for the DC films have been 36 and 46.3, respectively.  The averages for Marvel are 81.6 and 66.3, respectively.

DC still has time to right the ship with Wonder Woman coming out this summer and Justice League in the fall, but they are far behind Marvel, who is in the midst of Phase Three with solo films for new characters like Spider-man, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel between now and 2019 along with sequels to already established hits.

Who knows how things will look in another decade?  DC might overtake Marvel in storytelling and box office hits.  Or, what is still incredibly likely, the comic book movie phenomenon could be in an unstoppable pitfall due to oversaturation of the genre.  Only time will tell.