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.

National Film Registry Announces Latest Inductees

In 1988, the National Film Preservation Act was established, which has resulted in the National Film Preservation Board selecting up to 25 films each year for preservation.  The movies selected, which include not only feature-length theatrical-released classics but also newsreels, silent films, experimental films, short films, movies that have lost copyright protection, film serials, home movies, documentaries, and independent films, are considered to be “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

The only real criterion for inclusion into the National Film Registry is that the film is at least 10 years old.  There are six movies that were accepted upon their first ballot eligibility.  Those include Raging Bull, Do the Right Thing, Goodfellas, Toy Story, Fargo, and 13 Lakes.  That last one is an interesting selection since all it is really is more than two hours of 13 long, uncut takes of different lakes in America.  There is no dialogue or story to follow.  I haven’t seen the film, so am unable to give my take on it, not that you would really care what I think of a movie showcasing American lakes, but apparently the NFPB considered it a significant enough piece of work to include for preservation.

This year’s films to be preserved range from silent and black-and-white classics to more recent hit films that have stood the test of time.  Below is the list of films, arranged in alphabetical order.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916)

The Atomic Café (1982)

Ball of Fire (1941)

The Beau Brummels (1928)

The Birds (1963)

Blackboard Jungle (1955)

The Breakfast Club (1985)

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)

East of Eden (1955)

Funny Girl (1968)

Life of an American Fireman (1903)

The Lion King (1994)

Lost Horizon (1937)

Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)

Paris is Burning (1990)

Point Blank (1967)

The Princess Bride (1987)

Putney Swope (1969)

Rushmore (1998)

Solomon Sir Jones films (1924-28)

Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)

Suzanne, Suzanne (1982)

Thelma & Louise (1991)

A Walk in the Sun (1945)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

The most shocking revelation from this list is that The Birds and The Lion King weren’t already in the National Film Registry.  Also, it is great to see Who Framed Roger Rabbit make it in for preservation.  That movie is the one I have seen the most times in the theater.  13.  That’s the number, in case you were wonder how many times it was.  And that does not include home theaters.  That is actually paying for a ticket, getting popcorn, and sitting in a dark theater with strangers for one hour and 44 minutes (22 1/2 hours if you combined all of my sittings).  If you take into account that I was 7 years old at the time, that is pretty impressive that I found enough liberal adults to take me to the theater 13 different times to see a film noir loaded with sexuality and vulgarity about a wise-cracking rabbit and sourpuss detective solving a whodunit mystery set in 1947 Los Angeles.  I must have been one cute, persuasive kid.  What happened?

While we are on the subject of the National Film Registry, I decided to do a quick look over the list and see what the most heinous omissions are.  They include:

The Defiant Ones (1958)

True Grit (1969)

The Poseidon Adventure (1972)

Carrie (1976)

Aliens (1986)

Die Hard (1988)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Clueless (1995)

Titanic (1997)

American Beauty (1999)

Fight Club (1999)

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Marvel Cinematic Universe Rankings

With 14 films already in the bag and another eight in development, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is ripe for the ranking.  I recently made it to a new theater that opened near my house to view Marvel's latest installment, Doctor Strange.  As you will be able to tell from my list below, it was a very good entry in the series and opens the door to allow Marvel access to a lot of mystical elements of the comics that previously had only been dabbled with in the sci-fi films of Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy.  Alternate realities and astral planes hadn't been something the people of Earth were aware existed.

Other than a strong antagonist, which is a constant complaint with Marvel's movies but Mads Mikkelsen does a better job than most of his fellow Marvel villains at presenting a little more meat to the role of Kaecilius, my only real beef with the movie was Rachel McAdams.  I feel she is highly overrated as an actress and could easily be replaced by someone with actual talent.

Here is my list of Marvel's cinematic universe movies from worst to best.

14. Iron Man 2

13. Thor: The Dark World

12. Captain America: The First Avenger

11. The Avengers

10. The Incredible Hulk

9. Iron Man 3

8. Avengers: Age of Ultron

7. Ant-man

6. Thor

5. Doctor Strange

4. Captain America: Civil War

3. Iron Man

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

A Trip Down The Rabbit Hole Of My Mind

Another title for this post could have been, "How Christopher Nolan/Hans Zimmer Incepted Bond's Music In Our Earholes."

Stick with me for a minute because this is going to get a little convoluted.  So I recently went to see the latest Marvel movie, Doctor Strange, and the visual effects got me wanting to watch Inception again.  Although I cannot watch movies at work I do listen to music on YouTube a lot.  Instead of watching Inception I decided to listen to the soundtrack.  That led to hearing music similar to a previous James Bond movie.  Now, it is well documented that the music during the climactic snow scenes in Inception was inspired by the soundtrack of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, a Bond movie from 1969, and Christopher Nolan is a big fan of the 007 film series.  But what I didn't realize is Nolan's 2010 movie also borrowed from the David Arnold-scored Bond entry, Quantum of Solace.

To recap, Doctor Strange visual effects led to Inception visual effects, which led to Inception soundtrack, which led to Quantum of Solace soundtrack.  Doctor Strange.  Inception.  Quantum of Solace.  Bears.  Beets.  Battlestar Galactica.

There is a fine line between homage and outright theft.  It probably depends on your overall liking of the person attempting to honor the source material that determines whether you consider it a tribute or a blatant copy.  Since I respect Zimmer's musical style and Nolan's directorial craft, I give them a pass.

If you've never noticed the similarities between the Bond soundtracks and the Inception score, check out the final battle on Piz Gloria in On Her Majesty's Secret Service compared to the snow sequence from Inception, as well as the opera sequence from Quantum of Solace alongside "Old Souls" and "Waiting for a Train" from Inception.

Closing Time For 102.1 The Edge

It was announced yesterday that Dallas/Fort Worth's alternative rock station KDGE 102.1 The Edge would be ceasing operations and moving to 97.1 The Eagle.  During the FM station's transition, Semisonic's 1998 hit "Closing Time" has been put on a continuous loop with a brief message from Radio Voiceover Guy explaining the move.  The choice in music, which is a little too on the nose in my opinion, got my friends and I wondering about the royalties for the song being played so much.

I put in the minimal work effort to find out how much an artist gets paid for their song being played on the radio, and it turns out that it isn't that much.  Keep in mind that I have no idea how accurate the following calculations will be because I don't really care enough to put forth the effort to research the true amount a person gets from having their song played on the radio.  With that caveat, let's proceed.

Apparently when a song is played on the radio, and I'm not counting Pandora or other streaming services as being in that group, the writer of the song and the publisher receive approximately 12 cents from a major market station, which KDGE would fall under.  College stations get away with only paying half that amount.  So of that 12 cents, the writer and publisher have to split it.

Dan Wilson, lead singer for Semisonic, composed "Closing Time," therefore he would be eligible for the six cents per play that The Edge is shilling for its transition.  I'm not entirely sure when the station decided to put "Closing Time" on a loop, but it will end today at 5:30 p.m.  Assuming it started at 5:30 p.m. yesterday, that is a full 24 hours of "Closing Time."

The album version, which is the rendition being heard today, lasts 4:33.  Including the quick explanation that The Edge is moving to The Eagle, the entire time it takes for "Closing Time" to play and the next rendition of "Closing Time" to begin is approximately five minutes flat.  If you multiply that out by 24 hours you get 480 times of hearing "Closing Time," which in my estimation is more than enough for one lifetime.

Having to play "Closing Time" 480 times at 12 cents a pop would cost the station $57.60.  Half of that goes to Semisonic for writing the song.  So either Dan Wilson gets $28.80 alone for writing the song or the three band members each get $9.60, depending on the agreement the band had when it came to song writing.

I guess if you are a "glass is half empty" kind of person you would say, "Wow, only 30 bucks for an entire day's worth of song playing.  Really?"  But if you are a "glass half full" person, then it would be, "That's $30 I didn't have before and I didn't do anything at this moment to earn it."  Sure, they took the time in 1998 to write out the song and polish it up for radio play, but nearly 20 years later you aren't doing anything at all to earn that money.

On a side note, did anyone know that the lead singer of Semisonic was the Grammy-award winning guy behind Adele's 21?  I certainly didn't.

25 Favorite U2 Songs

Since meeting my friend James in the Stephen F. Austin State University dorms, my naïve musical sensibilities were enhanced with the introduction of the glorious Irish band U2.  Like so many other dummies going about their normal lives, I had heard plenty of U2 songs and enjoyed most of them, but it didn't dawn on me that so many of these songs I had been tapping my toe along with and belting out choruses, sometimes substituting the wrong words like we do with many tunes we aren't quite familiar enough with (yeah, I'm looking at you Joanna and your Twenty One Pilots "Stressed Out" remix), were all from the same group.

After nearly two decades of buying up their CDs, chasing after them on world tours (going to Canada to see a show counts as world travel in my eyes), shaking hands with The Edge outside Reunion Arena, and even holding the lyrics (along with about six other super-fans) for Bono one evening due to having not rehearsed the old song enough to re-memorize the lines, I figured it was time to try and narrow down what my favorite songs actually were for my favorite band.  Normally I would have made a top 10 list, as that is what I love to do.  However, with 13 studio albums, five compilation albums, one live album, and approximately 60 singles from said records, trying to narrow it down to only 10 songs wasn't fair to one of the greatest rock and roll groups of all time.

Therefore, below are my top 25 songs from U2's collection of music.  The top four are probably in line with most people's favorites, probably mixed around a bit though, but after that it gets a little more personalized.  Take for instance number 14 (spoiler alert, it is "When Love Comes to Town").  Prior to my trip to Vancouver for the opening of the Innocence + Experience Tour last year, that song might have only been in the bottom 25 of this list.  However, after the passing of B.B. King, coincidentally, on the night of the opening show, the following day the group added the song to their set and fans (with James and me among them) were treated to a live version of the song, which was the first time that had happened in 23 years.  That personal experience has elevated the song a lot and now, instead of just hearing a blues collaboration between U2 and B.B. King, it has become a cerebral memorial of the trip in general.

So without further ado, here are my personal favorite 25 U2 songs:

1. "With or Without You"

2. "One"

3. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

4. "Where the Streets Have No Name"

5. "Love is Blindness"

6. "All I Want is You"

7. "City of Blinding Lights"

8. "Beautiful Day"

9. "Mysterious Ways"

10. "Numb"

11. "Walk On"

12. "Sunday Bloody Sunday"

13. "Pride (In the Name of Love)"

14. "When Love Comes to Town"

15. "Please"

16. "Every Breaking Wave"

17. "The Wanderer"

18. "Hawkmoon 269"

19. "The Troubles"

20. "Window in the Skies"

21. "God Part II"

22. "The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)"

23. "No Line on the Horizon"

24. "Elevation"

25. "Magnificent"

It's Been Too Long

I don't really have much to add today.  I've been really busy with work and stressed by some other things going on that I haven't had much time to do any writing.  There was an article on MSN.com today that ranked all the Alfred Hitchcock movies, which made me realize that I haven't ever done that.  I've seen all of his films, so I'm not quite sure why I've never tasked myself with ranking them all.  So I guess I could put that on my plate as well.

As far as personal stuff going on, I'm watching Game of Thrones and only have a few episodes left before being completely caught up.  Westworld is my new obsession.  I've been put in charge of the Halloween decorations at work (which is a big mistake), but they decided I was best qualified because it is a baseball theme and I am the most knowledgeable of the sport.

We've settled into our new house and are trying to wrap up all the projects, but as soon as we finish one, it seems a new problem arises.  Yet, that is pretty much what owning a home is.

Hopefully I have something of more substance next time and it doesn't take as long to post.  Until then.

'Alien' Franchise Directors & Writers

In a recent interview as part of the marketing campaign for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, actress Felicity Jones, who is the lead of the picture and will be portraying a hard-to-control rebellion member, spoke about her inspiration for the character.  It will likely come as no surprise that she credited Sigourney Weaver’s role in 1979’s Alien as a major influence.

For nearly four decades now the quintessential female action star has either been heavily influenced by or compared to Weaver’s character Ellen Ripley.  The most common adjective when speaking about Ripley is “badass,” but over the course of four films in the Alien franchise Ripley wasn’t simply a one-note character of action and “badassary.”  Ripley also had an emotional side (although that was slowly eroded away over four films), and it is that balance between action and drama that has made Ripley such an impactful character for so many years.

It was the quote from Jones about the Alien movies that got me thinking about the overall franchise and what the four films have in common.  That commonality is that they are so different and the main ingredient for their differences is that no film has the same director and few have the same writers.

You may not realize this, but three of the four Alien movies have been directed by some of the greatest legends of the film industry.  That group includes Ridley Scott (who is continuing the Alien story with prequels in the form of 2012’s Prometheus, next year’s Alien: Covenant and follow-up films that will lead into the first film of the franchise), James Cameron, and David Fincher.  Even the last film with a relatively unknown director to American audiences had Joss Whedon, of Marvel Avengers fame, as its writer.

Let’s take a look at the filmmakers of each movie in the Alien franchise and see the credentials that were showcased in each production.

Alien (1979)

Director: Ridley Scott

Writers: Ronald Shusett (Story) and Dan O’Bannon (Story and Screenplay)

If you don’t know who Ridley Scott is, I’m not really sure what your even doing reading this post.  His films have garnered a total of 39 Oscar nominations, winning a total of nine.  Alien, which is among the annals of greatest horror/sci-fi films of all time, was only his second directorial effort.  He also helmed Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, and The Martian.  Another footnote of Ridley’s directorial career is that he was behind the Apple Macintosh commercial titled “1984.”

Ronald Shusett is probably best known for writing the screenplay from the Philip K. Dick short story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” which ultimately became the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film Total Recall.  His other credits include executive producer of Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report and screen story for Alien vs. Predator, a crossover film combining the xenomorph alien and hunter alien from the Predator franchise.

Shusett worked with Dan O’Bannon to help flesh out the original story that would become the working script of Alien.  However, it was originally O’Bannon’s idea of a horror movie set in space.  O’Bannon’s other work includes special computer effects on Star Wars and a co-writer credit for Total Recall.

I don’t think I’m stepping out of line in regard to Shusett and O’Bannon’s careers when I say that the true reason for success with the first film in the series was Scott’s direction, the practical effects used to heighten tension, and the fact that audiences hadn’t seen anything like Alien before.  Audiences and critics both have heaped an endless amount of praise on Alien, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 97%, Metacritic score of 88, and IMDb rating of 8.5.

Aliens (1986)

Director: James Cameron

Writers: Walter Hill (Story), David Giler (Story), and James Cameron (Story and Screenplay)

James Cameron’s career is summed up with two words: perfectionism and dictatorship.  Those who admire and appreciate Cameron use the term perfectionism.  Those who don’t respect Cameron and have no wish to collaborate with him again tend to throw around the term dictatorship and synonymous adjectives.  Regardless of his method’s Cameron has contributed some of the biggest grossing and most-entertaining movies in cinema history.  His filmography includes directing, writing, and/or producing The Terminator, The Abyss, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, Titanic, and Avatar.

Getting his start as a second assistant director on The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt, and Woody Allen’s Take the Money and Run, Walter Hill went on to work as a director or screenwriter for such films as The Warriors, 48 Hrs., Brewster’s Millions, Aliens, Another 48 Hrs., and Alien 3.  He was also a producer on all films in the Alien franchise (including the crossover events with the Predator).

David Giler started in television, but his film credits include production credits for all Alien movies, penning the Tom Hanks comedy The Money Pit, and uncredited work on Beverly Hills Cop II.

Again it is safe to say that this is another case of the director’s talents and vision having more influence than the screenwriters’ work.  Ultimately, Aliens was just as acclaimed as the first film, garnering a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 87 at Metacritic, and 8.4 on IMDb. It even mirrored Alien in box office success.

Alien 3 (1992)

Director: David Fincher

Writers: Walter Hill (Screenplay), David Giler (Screenplay), Larry Ferguson (Screenplay), and Vincent Ward (Story)

David Fincher’s first directorial effort was the third entry in the Alien series, and it is arguably his worst.  Since that time, he has gone on to direct Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl.  He is also an executive producer, and director of two episodes, of the Netflix series House of Cards.  Fincher has also directed music videos for artists including The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Billy Idol, Aerosmith, Paula Abdul, Rick Springfield, Nine Inch Nails, Justin Timberlake, and Jay Z.

The works of Hill and Giler have already been covered, so let’s move on to the third screenplay writer of the film, Larry Ferguson.  In addition to Alien 3, Ferguson wrote Highlander, Beverly Hills Cop II, and The Hunt for Red October.  In addition to writing The Hunt for Red October, he also had a small role as Chief of the Boat on the USS Dallas.

Vincent Ward was responsible for the original story of Alien 3.  His only other major film credit is an executive producer for the Tom Cruise-starring The Last Samurai.

Having an incredible talent making his directorial debut alongside two veterans of the Alien franchise and a credible writer in Ferguson with some legitimate hits under his belt wasn’t enough to save this installment of the series.  Alien 3 is by all accounts a flop, both critically and financially, despite taking in five million more than its budget at the domestic box office.  The movie stands at 44% on Rotten Tomatoes, 59 at Metacritic and IMDb users have put it at 6.4.

Alien: Resurrection (1997)

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Writer: Joss Whedon

Fans of French cinema will know the title Amélie, however it is likely that most outside of France haven’t the foggiest notion what I am referencing.  Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet gained acclaim following his debut Delicatessen and sophomore effort, The City of Lost Children.  He was then given the reigns of the fourth Alien film, Alien: Resurrection.  Following a disappointing release, Jeunet returned to France to make Amélie, which is widely regarded as his greatest achievement, and A Very Long Engagement.

To say Joss Whedon is a geek-boy God would be an understatement, and a little ironic considering Whedon is an atheist.  His contributions to television and film include writing, producing, and directing Buffy the Vampire Slayer (both film and television versions), Roseanne, Toy Story, The Office, Dollhouse, Glee, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Firefly, and Serenity.  He also went uncredited with work on Speed, Waterworld, Twister, and X-Men.

Alien: Resurrection has its defenders out there, but mostly it is derided as a failure.  Rotten Tomatoes has it rated at 54%, Metacritic scored it at 63, and it sits at 6.3 on IMDb.  It also tanked at the domestic box office, making only $47 million on a $70 million budget.

I should likely include Scott’s Prometheus in this post, considering it also has a strong female lead that must battle alien creatures, but I like that the first four movies in the Alien franchise were directed by different men with varying careers and influences.  Incorporating Prometheus and giving Scott two films in the post would alter how each movie is perceived, especially since he plans on continuing with the Prometheus story in another three films, giving his first feature a little more authority.

In this day and age where movie universes are connecting all the threads of a film series and having a single director or a production overseer making sure it all works seamlessly, it is a little refreshing to get an uncommon take and different atmosphere with each entry in the series.