- Published on
Dare I suggest: there isn’t a person among us who hasn’t in some way, shape, or form imagined how he or she would react in the midst of a critical crisis.
Some of this might be little more than a sad commentary on our age but given the prevalence of things like school or public shootings, we’ve had to take a more prepared step in countering these developments. Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, such events were commonplace in drive-in restaurants or workplace settings (if you believed the nighttime news broadcasts), and – having lived through that era as well – I can attest to the fact that each of us in our respective minds’ eyes tried to conceive of such a danger, what we might do about it, and whether or not we could assist our fellow man. Hollywood has even gotten in on the act, churning out crowd-pleasing fare like First Blood (1982), Die Hard (1988), or even the vastly darker The Strangers (2008) … all variations on a formula that pitted the rugged individual against an oppressive force of evil that required a “come to Jesus” moment as a catalyst against senseless cruelty.
While Becky (2020) isn’t likely going to start a trend of pre-pubescent do-gooders going toe-to-toe against some homicidal maniacs, I think it’s still a damn effective piece of storytelling exploring much of the same substance. Clearly, this young lady has had to push herself to the limits of what’s possible (or probable) in such dire circumstance. While the flick may fall short so far as realists are concerned, those behind it might take comfort in knowing it’s still a nifty little piece of bloody work for those of us who don’t turn away from the controversial, the unnecessary, or the downright subversive.
You go, girl. You go.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“Spunky and rebellious, Becky is brought to a weekend getaway at a lake house by her father Jeff in an effort to try to reconnect. The trip immediately takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts on the run, led by the merciless Dominick, suddenly invade the lake house.”
There’s a catharsis that goes along with reconciling the loss of a loved one that rarely – if ever – really aligns itself from stories of the youngest among us. Most of this is probably owed to the fact that children aren’t screenwriters, so the adults in the room are vastly more comfortable in crafting fare that traffics in their own age group. Kids – it would seem – are always depicted as far more resilient anyway, and given the reality that their lives are just beginning perhaps the yarn-spinners in Hollywood and beyond are simply content with letting them go with the flow?
Into this cinematic opportunity comes Becky (played by Lulu Wilson). Clearly, the kid is not all right, so much so that she’s sheltered herself away from daddy dearest (Joel McHale) after a vicious battle with cancer claims the life of her mother. Seeking to reconcile with his daughter on the cusp of wedding Kayla (Amanda Brugel) and bringing her young son Ty (Isaiah Rockcliffe) into his life, Jeff seems to be moving very fast … and that’s when reality rears its ugly head(s) in the guise of four escaped convicts who’ll stop at nothing to recover a mysterious key that’s gone missing at the central lakehouse.
Some of this might be little more than a sad commentary on our age but given the prevalence of things like school or public shootings, we’ve had to take a more prepared step in countering these developments. Back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, such events were commonplace in drive-in restaurants or workplace settings (if you believed the nighttime news broadcasts), and – having lived through that era as well – I can attest to the fact that each of us in our respective minds’ eyes tried to conceive of such a danger, what we might do about it, and whether or not we could assist our fellow man. Hollywood has even gotten in on the act, churning out crowd-pleasing fare like First Blood (1982), Die Hard (1988), or even the vastly darker The Strangers (2008) … all variations on a formula that pitted the rugged individual against an oppressive force of evil that required a “come to Jesus” moment as a catalyst against senseless cruelty.
While Becky (2020) isn’t likely going to start a trend of pre-pubescent do-gooders going toe-to-toe against some homicidal maniacs, I think it’s still a damn effective piece of storytelling exploring much of the same substance. Clearly, this young lady has had to push herself to the limits of what’s possible (or probable) in such dire circumstance. While the flick may fall short so far as realists are concerned, those behind it might take comfort in knowing it’s still a nifty little piece of bloody work for those of us who don’t turn away from the controversial, the unnecessary, or the downright subversive.
You go, girl. You go.
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“Spunky and rebellious, Becky is brought to a weekend getaway at a lake house by her father Jeff in an effort to try to reconnect. The trip immediately takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts on the run, led by the merciless Dominick, suddenly invade the lake house.”
There’s a catharsis that goes along with reconciling the loss of a loved one that rarely – if ever – really aligns itself from stories of the youngest among us. Most of this is probably owed to the fact that children aren’t screenwriters, so the adults in the room are vastly more comfortable in crafting fare that traffics in their own age group. Kids – it would seem – are always depicted as far more resilient anyway, and given the reality that their lives are just beginning perhaps the yarn-spinners in Hollywood and beyond are simply content with letting them go with the flow?
Into this cinematic opportunity comes Becky (played by Lulu Wilson). Clearly, the kid is not all right, so much so that she’s sheltered herself away from daddy dearest (Joel McHale) after a vicious battle with cancer claims the life of her mother. Seeking to reconcile with his daughter on the cusp of wedding Kayla (Amanda Brugel) and bringing her young son Ty (Isaiah Rockcliffe) into his life, Jeff seems to be moving very fast … and that’s when reality rears its ugly head(s) in the guise of four escaped convicts who’ll stop at nothing to recover a mysterious key that’s gone missing at the central lakehouse.
Alas, the screenwriter team of Ruckus Skye, Lane Skye, and Nick Morris never invest so much as any explanation for how this key came to be in hiding at a house seemingly only owned by Jeff and his family (their belongings are everywhere, so am I to assume it’s only a rental?). Nor do co-directors Jonathon Milott and Cary Murnion seem to be that interested in hammering out so obvious a plot point. Instead, the film achieves maximum velocity reasonably well – after some interesting parallel set-ups to the lives of hardened criminals alongside ‘tweenagers’ – and goes full speed ahead, crafting out sequences one bloodier than the last in order to turn young Becky into the youngest version of Die Hard’s John McClane in screen record.
Now, don’t get me wrong: I’ve absolutely no problem admitting that I had a helluva lot of fun with this one. The storytellers achieve just enough cohesiveness to this back-to-basics carnival attraction of a young whippersnapper eeking out one win after another over some nasty ne’er-do-wells. No, it may not be all that believable – seeing how Becky takes a solid hit to the chest from one of the screen’s physically biggest guys around (Robert Maillet, in a great role) and can still get up to walk it off not long after – but that’s the sheer vicariousness of a good thrill ride in action. There’s not a wealth of realism any where in any of this … and that’s okay. You’re meant to cheer our young lady of action, and – in that respect – this is about as lean and mean and obscene as audiences expect.
If anything, Becky does devolve into a modestly predictable ending – sorry, I won’t spoil it – and I expected a bit more from something that toyed so openly in areas other filmmakers likely wouldn’t experiment with. After all, you’ve given her a serious blood lust, so why not let her take credit for all of the kills instead of – ahem – relying on a bit of fortunate assistance? It isn’t as if the audience will be paying for her psychological evaluation after … will we?
Becky (2020) was produced by Yale Productions, BondIt Media Capital, Boulder Light Pictures, and a host of other contributors. (For a complete list, you can check out IMDB.com.) DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated via Ronin Flix. As for the technical specifications? Though I’m no trained video expert, I thought the accompanying sights and sounds to this feature presentation were all quite good. As for the special features? This Special Edition release should please fans of the project as the packaging boasts several featurettes exploring the behind-the-scenes efforts as well as an audio commentary with talent and crew. It’s definitely a nice assortment.
Highly recommended.
My opinion of this might be in the minority, but I thoroughly enjoyed this grim, psychological revenge picture for what it was: Becky (2020) is probably not going to embraced by all, but fans of the cinematically subversive might want to check this out. Granted, it still lacks a degree of realism some who think and write about film might aspire to, but that’s chump change … especially when the narrative focus is a ‘tweenager’ going hellbent apesh#t on some would-be attackers in her moments of blood rage. Yes, it’s imperfect. Yes, it’s missing a bit of pragmatism. Yes, a few moments might be hard to swallow. But any film that has Kevin James losing an eye can’t be all that bad … can it?
Can it?
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Ronin Flix provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Becky: Special Edition (2020) by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Now, don’t get me wrong: I’ve absolutely no problem admitting that I had a helluva lot of fun with this one. The storytellers achieve just enough cohesiveness to this back-to-basics carnival attraction of a young whippersnapper eeking out one win after another over some nasty ne’er-do-wells. No, it may not be all that believable – seeing how Becky takes a solid hit to the chest from one of the screen’s physically biggest guys around (Robert Maillet, in a great role) and can still get up to walk it off not long after – but that’s the sheer vicariousness of a good thrill ride in action. There’s not a wealth of realism any where in any of this … and that’s okay. You’re meant to cheer our young lady of action, and – in that respect – this is about as lean and mean and obscene as audiences expect.
If anything, Becky does devolve into a modestly predictable ending – sorry, I won’t spoil it – and I expected a bit more from something that toyed so openly in areas other filmmakers likely wouldn’t experiment with. After all, you’ve given her a serious blood lust, so why not let her take credit for all of the kills instead of – ahem – relying on a bit of fortunate assistance? It isn’t as if the audience will be paying for her psychological evaluation after … will we?
Becky (2020) was produced by Yale Productions, BondIt Media Capital, Boulder Light Pictures, and a host of other contributors. (For a complete list, you can check out IMDB.com.) DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated via Ronin Flix. As for the technical specifications? Though I’m no trained video expert, I thought the accompanying sights and sounds to this feature presentation were all quite good. As for the special features? This Special Edition release should please fans of the project as the packaging boasts several featurettes exploring the behind-the-scenes efforts as well as an audio commentary with talent and crew. It’s definitely a nice assortment.
Highly recommended.
My opinion of this might be in the minority, but I thoroughly enjoyed this grim, psychological revenge picture for what it was: Becky (2020) is probably not going to embraced by all, but fans of the cinematically subversive might want to check this out. Granted, it still lacks a degree of realism some who think and write about film might aspire to, but that’s chump change … especially when the narrative focus is a ‘tweenager’ going hellbent apesh#t on some would-be attackers in her moments of blood rage. Yes, it’s imperfect. Yes, it’s missing a bit of pragmatism. Yes, a few moments might be hard to swallow. But any film that has Kevin James losing an eye can’t be all that bad … can it?
Can it?
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Ronin Flix provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of Becky: Special Edition (2020) by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
- Published on
In a recent interview, two of Andor’s supporting players – Denise Gough as ‘Dedra Meero’ and Kyle Soller as ‘Syril Karn’ – shared the observation that – ahem – the villains they play in this iteration of the Star Wars universe are actually ‘heroes’ in the broader framework of the show. While it could be thematically argued that perhaps these two talents’ observation needs a bit more context to be considered even remotely accurate, I’d argue that we’d have to be looking at the biggest piece of historical revisionism of a fictional property to get anywhere near the point where agents of the Galactic Empire are ‘the good guys’ in this universe far, far away. Suspecting just how deeply Kathleen Kennedy wants to wipe the slate clean and kinda/sorta start over with her own interpretation of things, who knows where Andor might go next … but, yeah, look for the white males to continue to be the source of all things evil.
Indeed, stranger things have possibly happened since the Mouse House took the reins of Star Wars, and I shudder at the prospect of just how, say, Vader himself might emerge to be the source for all that is good in this program. This isn’t to say that the show deserves some credit for perhaps trying to add a bit of nuance to what’s otherwise a reasonably classic tale of good-versus-evil. I guess, rather, it’s that I’m an old, old dog, and I’d rather not have some new trick forced down my throat as some late-breaking development. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer knowing just who’s wearing the black hats as well as knowing whom I am supposed to cheer for.
Still, I think “Nobody’s Listening” – the ninth episode in Andor’s first season – does represent a small yet monumental step forward: with the reality of an endless incarceration serving as the fate awaiting those who’ve run up against the dark legal side of Palpatine’s Empire, audiences are finally given an all-new reason to hate the status quo. Once you enter this prison, there’s genuinely no way out – it would seem – and this development appears to be the catalyst that’ll unite freedom fighters – maybe even those properly sentenced – in their bid to overthrow Imperial aggression.
Given the predicament, I think it best for me (in the very least) to stop thinking so much about Andor, certainly as it either compares or doesn’t to the wider tapestry of the George Lucas creation. Because they’re insisted “this is the adult Star Wars,” I suspect its storytellers require a different rubric with which to consider good and bad. Yes, that might even leave enough wiggle room for Meero and Karn to somehow (miraculously!) be players we should be secretly cheering on, though their somewhat shared affinity to torture as well as making the lives of others into an absolute sh#tstorm compels this free-thinker to – ahem – freethink otherwise.
As a performance piece, Andor includes much of what’s come before, which is to say that it’s palatable at best though predictable at worst. While there might be some suggestions as to who our heroes and villains are (Gilroy himself is on record as suggesting Mon Mothma derives from – ahem – Nancy Pelosi), the creatives have all produced small moments worth a bit of attention. Though Diego Luna remains his dour self (imbuing Andor with enough anger to spawn a rebellion all by himself, it would seem), the always interesting Andy Serkis has touched on just the right measure of spineless conformity and institutional self-loathing to elevate an otherwise routine turncoat ‘Kino Loy’ into the fledgling rebel you always knew had to be in the universe but had yet to encounter. Hopefully he’ll last a bit longer than one suspects, but folks who’ve toed the traditional company line for so long and so faithfully tend to wind up as worm food sooner as opposed to later. Only time will tell.
If nothing else, kudos to “Nobody’s Listening” for finally serving up a rallying cry for those who would seek an end to their forced servitude. It was a brilliant moment delivered with a tug on the heartstrings, and – for what that’s worth – Star Wars doesn’t strike as many of those harmonizing chords these days as perhaps it should. (Fandom … sigh … it can be so divisive!) Audiences hungry for escapist fare do have cause to tune in at this point onward … all I can say is that I do wholeheartedly hope that now that we’ve found the heart of what looks to be a building rebellion that we don’t squander it on another handful of episodes delivering us nowhere new or interesting.
(Here’s looking at you, Boba Fett.)
-- EZ
Indeed, stranger things have possibly happened since the Mouse House took the reins of Star Wars, and I shudder at the prospect of just how, say, Vader himself might emerge to be the source for all that is good in this program. This isn’t to say that the show deserves some credit for perhaps trying to add a bit of nuance to what’s otherwise a reasonably classic tale of good-versus-evil. I guess, rather, it’s that I’m an old, old dog, and I’d rather not have some new trick forced down my throat as some late-breaking development. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer knowing just who’s wearing the black hats as well as knowing whom I am supposed to cheer for.
Still, I think “Nobody’s Listening” – the ninth episode in Andor’s first season – does represent a small yet monumental step forward: with the reality of an endless incarceration serving as the fate awaiting those who’ve run up against the dark legal side of Palpatine’s Empire, audiences are finally given an all-new reason to hate the status quo. Once you enter this prison, there’s genuinely no way out – it would seem – and this development appears to be the catalyst that’ll unite freedom fighters – maybe even those properly sentenced – in their bid to overthrow Imperial aggression.
Given the predicament, I think it best for me (in the very least) to stop thinking so much about Andor, certainly as it either compares or doesn’t to the wider tapestry of the George Lucas creation. Because they’re insisted “this is the adult Star Wars,” I suspect its storytellers require a different rubric with which to consider good and bad. Yes, that might even leave enough wiggle room for Meero and Karn to somehow (miraculously!) be players we should be secretly cheering on, though their somewhat shared affinity to torture as well as making the lives of others into an absolute sh#tstorm compels this free-thinker to – ahem – freethink otherwise.
As a performance piece, Andor includes much of what’s come before, which is to say that it’s palatable at best though predictable at worst. While there might be some suggestions as to who our heroes and villains are (Gilroy himself is on record as suggesting Mon Mothma derives from – ahem – Nancy Pelosi), the creatives have all produced small moments worth a bit of attention. Though Diego Luna remains his dour self (imbuing Andor with enough anger to spawn a rebellion all by himself, it would seem), the always interesting Andy Serkis has touched on just the right measure of spineless conformity and institutional self-loathing to elevate an otherwise routine turncoat ‘Kino Loy’ into the fledgling rebel you always knew had to be in the universe but had yet to encounter. Hopefully he’ll last a bit longer than one suspects, but folks who’ve toed the traditional company line for so long and so faithfully tend to wind up as worm food sooner as opposed to later. Only time will tell.
If nothing else, kudos to “Nobody’s Listening” for finally serving up a rallying cry for those who would seek an end to their forced servitude. It was a brilliant moment delivered with a tug on the heartstrings, and – for what that’s worth – Star Wars doesn’t strike as many of those harmonizing chords these days as perhaps it should. (Fandom … sigh … it can be so divisive!) Audiences hungry for escapist fare do have cause to tune in at this point onward … all I can say is that I do wholeheartedly hope that now that we’ve found the heart of what looks to be a building rebellion that we don’t squander it on another handful of episodes delivering us nowhere new or interesting.
(Here’s looking at you, Boba Fett.)
-- EZ
- Published on
Ever since Science Fiction has been around for the masses-at-large, storytellers have demonstrated an interest in ‘the making of a man.’
Why, even the immortal literature classic Frankenstein – from Mary Shelley – couldn’t pass up on the idea of what it takes to both manufacture an all-new breed of mankind while positing exactly what measure of science would be required to give it life. The novel has long been credited with founding the wider SciFi movement in its earliest days, and it’s this ongoing interest in ‘life from lifelessness’ that has fueled tales both dark and light across the motion picture industry.
What Korean auteur Park Hoon-Jung’s latest effort does – The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One – with its considerable effects work is it gives the Frankenstein story yet one more contemporary makeover, one that’s meant to inspire audiences with the incredible shock-and-awe. Though it likely could’ve been successful with a ‘less-is-more’ aesthetic, why keep it simple when studios are willing to pony up more special effects sequences than were truly needed?
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“After a mysterious girl emerges as the sole survivor of a bloody raid on the research facility behind the top-secret Witch Program, she is rescued by a pair of civilians who soon realize the girl is both very powerful and in very grave danger. However, as the assassins tasked with locating and silencing the girl move ever closer, the lives of everyone around her fall under increasingly great peril.”
As you can guess, the problem with joining any ongoing saga ‘in progress’ is that newcomers to it are likely to be missing a great deal of context. For as efficiently as The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One irons out some of these particulars for audiences, it’s still – say – the middle chapter in what’s likely being reported as a trilogy; and I’ll have to admit being more than a bit confused about what exactly is going on in this somewhat bizarre cinematic universe. By appearances, the bottom line is that there’s some obvious genetic tinkering going on in this Korean extravaganza – one that’s intent on creating a race of superhumans who can neither die nor be defeated – but that’s about all that came clean in its one-hundred-and-forty-minute running time.
Why, even the immortal literature classic Frankenstein – from Mary Shelley – couldn’t pass up on the idea of what it takes to both manufacture an all-new breed of mankind while positing exactly what measure of science would be required to give it life. The novel has long been credited with founding the wider SciFi movement in its earliest days, and it’s this ongoing interest in ‘life from lifelessness’ that has fueled tales both dark and light across the motion picture industry.
What Korean auteur Park Hoon-Jung’s latest effort does – The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One – with its considerable effects work is it gives the Frankenstein story yet one more contemporary makeover, one that’s meant to inspire audiences with the incredible shock-and-awe. Though it likely could’ve been successful with a ‘less-is-more’ aesthetic, why keep it simple when studios are willing to pony up more special effects sequences than were truly needed?
(NOTE: The following review will contain minor spoilers necessary solely for the discussion of plot and/or characters. If you’re the type of reader who prefers a review entirely spoiler-free, then I’d encourage you to skip down to the last few paragraphs for the final assessment. If, however, you’re accepting of a few modest hints at ‘things to come,’ then read on …)
From the product packaging:
“After a mysterious girl emerges as the sole survivor of a bloody raid on the research facility behind the top-secret Witch Program, she is rescued by a pair of civilians who soon realize the girl is both very powerful and in very grave danger. However, as the assassins tasked with locating and silencing the girl move ever closer, the lives of everyone around her fall under increasingly great peril.”
As you can guess, the problem with joining any ongoing saga ‘in progress’ is that newcomers to it are likely to be missing a great deal of context. For as efficiently as The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One irons out some of these particulars for audiences, it’s still – say – the middle chapter in what’s likely being reported as a trilogy; and I’ll have to admit being more than a bit confused about what exactly is going on in this somewhat bizarre cinematic universe. By appearances, the bottom line is that there’s some obvious genetic tinkering going on in this Korean extravaganza – one that’s intent on creating a race of superhumans who can neither die nor be defeated – but that’s about all that came clean in its one-hundred-and-forty-minute running time.
Alas, the script alone could’ve used a bit of pruning, though I’m not entirely certain where cuts might begin. Accomplished and acclaimed writer/director Park Hoon-Jung starts slowly but ramps up the action very quickly, layering on one government conspiracy after another, in a tale about competing agencies trying to get the business of cloning all under control (or not, maybe). While the pace isn’t relentless, it’s certainly one that doesn’t quite do the overall picture any favors: about the time it appeared as if I knew who the good guys were, another plot twist took the narrative in another direction, and come the big finish I’m no longer convinced that there were any ‘white hats’ in the reckless onslaught of bigger and bigger death sequences of the closing 30-minute showdown.
Still, The Witch tries very hard to gain some mileage out of small moments, and Park gives each of his fresh-faced players – yes, even the villainous ones – probably just enough screen time that they should’ve been more memorable than they were here. A clearer plotline – one that might’ve more accurately spelled out just who all of these players were, why they were constantly at odds, and what their respective secret missions were – would’ve definitely eliminated some confusion. The performances work well enough – the screen-chewing superkillers are all equally vile, as they should be – but without a bit more information and context this one was just a bit too hard to swallow as a separate meal.
The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One (2022) was produced by Next Entertainment World. DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated via the good people at Well Go USA Entertainment. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I thought the sights and sounds were quite good, though there’s an obvious over-reliance in the big finale for some – ahem – not-very-convincing CGI effects work … but it is what it is. As for the special features? There’s an all-too-brief behind-the-scenes featurette that barely fits the bill.
Mildly recommended.
2018’s The Witch: Part 1 – The Subversion was apparently a bit of a cinematic phenomenon – at least enough to give it a sequel – but as I’d not seen it I can only admit to being lost throughout so very much of The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One’s action and premise. Superficially, it would appear to involve some competing groups of superhumans – there are hints of genetic tampering along with some other nefarious government actions – but, honestly, it’s all a bit confusing. The fact that it’s clearly left open for another one suggests your understanding and enjoyment of it might require seeing Part 1 … if for no better reason than to know just whom you’re supposed to be rooting for in this visual soup.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Well GO USA provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of The Witch: Part 2 - The Other One (2022) by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
Still, The Witch tries very hard to gain some mileage out of small moments, and Park gives each of his fresh-faced players – yes, even the villainous ones – probably just enough screen time that they should’ve been more memorable than they were here. A clearer plotline – one that might’ve more accurately spelled out just who all of these players were, why they were constantly at odds, and what their respective secret missions were – would’ve definitely eliminated some confusion. The performances work well enough – the screen-chewing superkillers are all equally vile, as they should be – but without a bit more information and context this one was just a bit too hard to swallow as a separate meal.
The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One (2022) was produced by Next Entertainment World. DVD distribution (for this particular release) is being coordinated via the good people at Well Go USA Entertainment. As for the technical specifications? While I’m no trained video expert, I thought the sights and sounds were quite good, though there’s an obvious over-reliance in the big finale for some – ahem – not-very-convincing CGI effects work … but it is what it is. As for the special features? There’s an all-too-brief behind-the-scenes featurette that barely fits the bill.
Mildly recommended.
2018’s The Witch: Part 1 – The Subversion was apparently a bit of a cinematic phenomenon – at least enough to give it a sequel – but as I’d not seen it I can only admit to being lost throughout so very much of The Witch: Part 2 – The Other One’s action and premise. Superficially, it would appear to involve some competing groups of superhumans – there are hints of genetic tampering along with some other nefarious government actions – but, honestly, it’s all a bit confusing. The fact that it’s clearly left open for another one suggests your understanding and enjoyment of it might require seeing Part 1 … if for no better reason than to know just whom you’re supposed to be rooting for in this visual soup.
In the interests of fairness, I’m pleased to disclose that the fine folks at Well GO USA provided me with a complimentary Blu-ray of The Witch: Part 2 - The Other One (2022) by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review; and their contribution to me in no way, shape, or form influenced my opinion of it.
-- EZ
- Published on
The business of making movies is -- well -- big business, and the comic book cinematic universe just keeps chugging along at the speed of light and sound.
While this particular sub-genre of Action/Fantasy films has been enjoying a newfound respectability from an industry that used to treat these projects like red-headed stepchildren, Marvel Studios deserves the lion's share of the credit for ushering in this whole new world. Unlike others, I'm not inclined to single out any single performer, director, or creator as being so key that he, she, or it couldn't have been replaced somewhere or sometime along the way, but there are no doubt some key movers and shakers who are all-too-happy to take such credit. So far as I honestly care, I'm interesting in see good stories told with a degree of passion and professionalism; as such, I'm just happy to see this train moving down the tracks.
Where I do tend to diverge from the group think in the whole DC Vs Marvel argument is this whole buggaboo about managing them.
For example, Kevin Feige has done an incredible job in cementing Marvel Studios as a hugely successful cornerstone for the Walt Disney Company. He's hired good talent. He's recruited top storytellers. He's insisted on an internal continuity to all of these various productions, tying them together with crossovers and cameos, much to the delight of Marvel's most ardent fans. And he's certainly kept his eyes on an awful lot of moving pieces, so much so that it's easy to agree he's probably the person best-suited to do what needs to be done in that universe.
In comparison (with a notable exception here or there I'm not getting into because that's not the point of this piece), the DC Universe films have been all over the map. Some have been embraced as cultural and creative blockbusters (the Batman films from Christopher Nolan), while the rest ... well, they know who they are so I'll leave them functionally unnamed at this point. It's this lack of a figurehead behind-the-scenes some argue have accounted for low to zero cohesiveness in these various projects, and fans have long clamored for Warner Bros. to "put up or shut up" in finding their own version of Feige to pick up the slack.
So ... egads ...
It's been reported that James Gunn and Peter Safran -- two names that have been joined at the hip for some time now -- have been blessed with stewardship of the all-new DC Studios ... meaning that now we're even basically copying Marvel's production house namesake as we are their storytelling sensibilities, it might seem. (For those unaware, Gunn was responsible for bringing the Guardians Of The Galaxy films to the silver screen.) While some of the reporting indicates that Warner Bros. top honcho David Zaslav -- a name met with probably as much controversy as Gunn's has been historically -- will still be involved in perhaps some way, audiences need either find comfort or seek refuge in knowing that changes are a'brewing on the DC horizon.
If anything, the timing of this announcement seems a bit suspect to me.
Though Zaslav had promised a central braintrust was being considered for the DC projects, media reports (cough cough) had almost been unanimous in implying that this responsibility would somehow be falling onto actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's shoulders. (Can you smell what he's cooking?) Johnson himself has even appeared to have been laying the groundwork for such responsibility, taking each and every occasion over the last year to hype up his Black Adam (2022) as being the golden-jeweled gamechanger Warner Bros' needed. However, only a week or two into Black Adam's respectable but far from gamechanging box office performance, the big Zas annointed Gunn and Safran with the shared crown. (No word yet on what all of this might mean for Johnson's political future, but maybe he'll be teaming up with Stacey Abrams in that whole 'President Of The Universe' title for Star Trek on Paramount+.)
I've always said that I, as a viewer, rarely invest too much interest in cast and crew information because I've learned -- over time -- that ultimately what matters to me is a good story. Good stories endure. They can feature both good and bad actors, and they often times are blessed (or cursed) with the involvement and skilled cooperation of good and bad directors, writers, craftspeople, and the like. I will say that Gunn's predilection for quirky characters -- with even quirkier, darker, and more subversive situations -- may not produce the kind of box office the WB thinks ... but, as always, I'm certainly willing to be proven wrong. Yes. Proven wrong again.
-- EZ
While this particular sub-genre of Action/Fantasy films has been enjoying a newfound respectability from an industry that used to treat these projects like red-headed stepchildren, Marvel Studios deserves the lion's share of the credit for ushering in this whole new world. Unlike others, I'm not inclined to single out any single performer, director, or creator as being so key that he, she, or it couldn't have been replaced somewhere or sometime along the way, but there are no doubt some key movers and shakers who are all-too-happy to take such credit. So far as I honestly care, I'm interesting in see good stories told with a degree of passion and professionalism; as such, I'm just happy to see this train moving down the tracks.
Where I do tend to diverge from the group think in the whole DC Vs Marvel argument is this whole buggaboo about managing them.
For example, Kevin Feige has done an incredible job in cementing Marvel Studios as a hugely successful cornerstone for the Walt Disney Company. He's hired good talent. He's recruited top storytellers. He's insisted on an internal continuity to all of these various productions, tying them together with crossovers and cameos, much to the delight of Marvel's most ardent fans. And he's certainly kept his eyes on an awful lot of moving pieces, so much so that it's easy to agree he's probably the person best-suited to do what needs to be done in that universe.
In comparison (with a notable exception here or there I'm not getting into because that's not the point of this piece), the DC Universe films have been all over the map. Some have been embraced as cultural and creative blockbusters (the Batman films from Christopher Nolan), while the rest ... well, they know who they are so I'll leave them functionally unnamed at this point. It's this lack of a figurehead behind-the-scenes some argue have accounted for low to zero cohesiveness in these various projects, and fans have long clamored for Warner Bros. to "put up or shut up" in finding their own version of Feige to pick up the slack.
So ... egads ...
It's been reported that James Gunn and Peter Safran -- two names that have been joined at the hip for some time now -- have been blessed with stewardship of the all-new DC Studios ... meaning that now we're even basically copying Marvel's production house namesake as we are their storytelling sensibilities, it might seem. (For those unaware, Gunn was responsible for bringing the Guardians Of The Galaxy films to the silver screen.) While some of the reporting indicates that Warner Bros. top honcho David Zaslav -- a name met with probably as much controversy as Gunn's has been historically -- will still be involved in perhaps some way, audiences need either find comfort or seek refuge in knowing that changes are a'brewing on the DC horizon.
If anything, the timing of this announcement seems a bit suspect to me.
Though Zaslav had promised a central braintrust was being considered for the DC projects, media reports (cough cough) had almost been unanimous in implying that this responsibility would somehow be falling onto actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson's shoulders. (Can you smell what he's cooking?) Johnson himself has even appeared to have been laying the groundwork for such responsibility, taking each and every occasion over the last year to hype up his Black Adam (2022) as being the golden-jeweled gamechanger Warner Bros' needed. However, only a week or two into Black Adam's respectable but far from gamechanging box office performance, the big Zas annointed Gunn and Safran with the shared crown. (No word yet on what all of this might mean for Johnson's political future, but maybe he'll be teaming up with Stacey Abrams in that whole 'President Of The Universe' title for Star Trek on Paramount+.)
I've always said that I, as a viewer, rarely invest too much interest in cast and crew information because I've learned -- over time -- that ultimately what matters to me is a good story. Good stories endure. They can feature both good and bad actors, and they often times are blessed (or cursed) with the involvement and skilled cooperation of good and bad directors, writers, craftspeople, and the like. I will say that Gunn's predilection for quirky characters -- with even quirkier, darker, and more subversive situations -- may not produce the kind of box office the WB thinks ... but, as always, I'm certainly willing to be proven wrong. Yes. Proven wrong again.
-- EZ
- Published on
Good morning, and Happy Thursday, peeps!
I just wanted to pass along a quick note regarding why the original content on the MainPage this week has been a bit ... well ... slow. That's because your editor-in-chief -- your very own Imperious Leader -- has come down with a gnarly case of the COVID. Yes, the gift that keeps on giving and taking and destroying our greater society at large has finally rested on my shoulders somehow -- still have no idea how I came down with it as no one in my immediate quarters (that I'm aware of) have shown symptoms. As so many online have opined about it, I can confirm that, yes, it's probably as bad and as frightening as a virus can be. Despite all of my best efforts to shake it loose from me bones, it just keeps hanging on and hanging on and hanging on, mostly in the form of a fever, a flushing, and some God awful body aches. Most of each day, I'm able to get the fever under control, and then the fatigue hits in, and I'm down for the count.
In any event, I do have some items I'm working on -- one review just about written and another one in the hopper, as they say -- so keep your eyes peeled.
In the meantime, send any of that galactic healing energy my way, if you would please.
-- EZ
I just wanted to pass along a quick note regarding why the original content on the MainPage this week has been a bit ... well ... slow. That's because your editor-in-chief -- your very own Imperious Leader -- has come down with a gnarly case of the COVID. Yes, the gift that keeps on giving and taking and destroying our greater society at large has finally rested on my shoulders somehow -- still have no idea how I came down with it as no one in my immediate quarters (that I'm aware of) have shown symptoms. As so many online have opined about it, I can confirm that, yes, it's probably as bad and as frightening as a virus can be. Despite all of my best efforts to shake it loose from me bones, it just keeps hanging on and hanging on and hanging on, mostly in the form of a fever, a flushing, and some God awful body aches. Most of each day, I'm able to get the fever under control, and then the fatigue hits in, and I'm down for the count.
In any event, I do have some items I'm working on -- one review just about written and another one in the hopper, as they say -- so keep your eyes peeled.
In the meantime, send any of that galactic healing energy my way, if you would please.
-- EZ
- Published on
Well, well, well …
Another end to an era within the broader phenomenon that is the SciFi/Fantasy juggernaut Doctor Who as star Jodie Whittaker bid adieu to the role, an incarnation that saw the once popular program lose another million (or so) in regular viewers (depending upon which source one chooses to believe). Showrunner Chris Chibnall is also departing – perhaps with his tail between his legs, as they say – and the BBC has brought back previous-showrunning-mastermind Russell T. Davies perhaps in hopes of bringing back a bit of elegance to the franchise that saw some of its highest numbers ever under his tenure. In a bit of last-minute tinkering, Davies also brought back previous Doctor David Tennant – in a well-hidden turn of events – whose popularity alone might help rejuvenate the program if (and only if) the stories can get back into territory audiences can again embrace.
Sigh.
But, as her crowning achievement in world of Who, Whittaker went out with a respectable bang: “The Power Of The Doctor” honestly felt a bit to me like it was perhaps Chibnall and company’s most formulaic outing. It felt like – unlike so much of what he’d crafted before – the showrunner went to great lengths to check every box on that list of what audiences expect in a regeneration episode. You’ve gotta have big villains? Check! You’ve gotta have big guest stars? Check! You’ve gotta have a scenario worth of bringing one incarnation of the Doctor to a close? Check! So while there certainly was no freshness of concept here, at the very least audiences’ appetites would be satiated with what they’ve come to expect from a big finish.
As a consequence, it’s still a bit difficult to find much to praise in “The Power.”
I guess it’s safe to suggest that Chibnall introduced what could be termed a Doctor Who heaven. This proposed afterlife rests on the edge of a great chasm, and previous versions of the Doctor himself inhabit a single body, morphing from one to the next with no rhyme or reason (except to serve the narrative, of course). Given that – ahem – Whittaker was supposed to be one of those incarnations, I can’t explain the logic for why she wasn’t equally trapped in that singular body talking to herself – well, except Chibnall likely wanted viewers to know she wasn’t yet passed on – but I hope you get the point. If not, here it is: it was clearly a screenwriter’s invention, and so obvious a ploy tends to weaken the plot.
Also, the showrunner brought back a little something called ‘forced regeneration,’ a Who phenomenon that hadn’t seen the light of day in over fifty years of the show’s long tenure. (Yes, folks, Who has certainly been around a long, long time!) The villainous ‘The Master’ has decided that he now wants to take on the ongoing personae of The Doctor himself (or herself, it would seem), leaving Whittaker in existential limbo (referenced above). By triggering her demise, The Master is then able to slip his consciousness and physical form into her body, and now he intends to … well … this is where it gets more than a bit nebulous.
Ahem.
Another end to an era within the broader phenomenon that is the SciFi/Fantasy juggernaut Doctor Who as star Jodie Whittaker bid adieu to the role, an incarnation that saw the once popular program lose another million (or so) in regular viewers (depending upon which source one chooses to believe). Showrunner Chris Chibnall is also departing – perhaps with his tail between his legs, as they say – and the BBC has brought back previous-showrunning-mastermind Russell T. Davies perhaps in hopes of bringing back a bit of elegance to the franchise that saw some of its highest numbers ever under his tenure. In a bit of last-minute tinkering, Davies also brought back previous Doctor David Tennant – in a well-hidden turn of events – whose popularity alone might help rejuvenate the program if (and only if) the stories can get back into territory audiences can again embrace.
Sigh.
But, as her crowning achievement in world of Who, Whittaker went out with a respectable bang: “The Power Of The Doctor” honestly felt a bit to me like it was perhaps Chibnall and company’s most formulaic outing. It felt like – unlike so much of what he’d crafted before – the showrunner went to great lengths to check every box on that list of what audiences expect in a regeneration episode. You’ve gotta have big villains? Check! You’ve gotta have big guest stars? Check! You’ve gotta have a scenario worth of bringing one incarnation of the Doctor to a close? Check! So while there certainly was no freshness of concept here, at the very least audiences’ appetites would be satiated with what they’ve come to expect from a big finish.
As a consequence, it’s still a bit difficult to find much to praise in “The Power.”
I guess it’s safe to suggest that Chibnall introduced what could be termed a Doctor Who heaven. This proposed afterlife rests on the edge of a great chasm, and previous versions of the Doctor himself inhabit a single body, morphing from one to the next with no rhyme or reason (except to serve the narrative, of course). Given that – ahem – Whittaker was supposed to be one of those incarnations, I can’t explain the logic for why she wasn’t equally trapped in that singular body talking to herself – well, except Chibnall likely wanted viewers to know she wasn’t yet passed on – but I hope you get the point. If not, here it is: it was clearly a screenwriter’s invention, and so obvious a ploy tends to weaken the plot.
Also, the showrunner brought back a little something called ‘forced regeneration,’ a Who phenomenon that hadn’t seen the light of day in over fifty years of the show’s long tenure. (Yes, folks, Who has certainly been around a long, long time!) The villainous ‘The Master’ has decided that he now wants to take on the ongoing personae of The Doctor himself (or herself, it would seem), leaving Whittaker in existential limbo (referenced above). By triggering her demise, The Master is then able to slip his consciousness and physical form into her body, and now he intends to … well … this is where it gets more than a bit nebulous.
Ahem.
Apparently, The Master’s goal is to now travel about time and the galaxies as the Doctor but his intent is to leave a trail of death and destruction in the good man’s (or good woman’s) name wherein the legitimate Doctor would leave happiness, candy, and roses. But there’s also this little subplot and The Master destroying the Earth in the process … so apparently no one will be around in this wide, wide universe to truly appreciate the Doctor’s trials and tribulations as that’s largely what we know as being the time traveler’s history, right? Though the audience is occasionally treated to fables involving the Doctor’s do-gooding with other planets, I’ve always had the impression that the vast majority of these deeds involve the Earth, so in destroying it The Master certainly sacrifices the lion’s share of history with which to remake in his image.
Kinda lame, no?
Well, if one is looking for logic from villainy, then one would do well to avoid looking too deeply into “The Power.” As so, so, so many who review programming online have pointed out, the Doctor’s regeneration sequence has never involved a change of clothes … but in Whittaker’s big finish when she’s morphing into the afore-inhabited David Tennant, there’s also a brand-new change of clothes! Now, yes, that might be a first for the franchise, but here’s hoping that it very well may involve a series of events (or, at least, a plausible fictional explanation) as Tennant explores just where the beloved being will be going when the show resumes in a year or so.
As for Whittaker’s legacy?
Gosh. You know, that’s a tough nut to crack. I’ve said before – and I pretty much stick to it here – I’ve had no overwhelming problem with the actress’ work on the show. Doctor Who has always been a program that embraces a kinda/sorta wide-eyed innocence to its stories, and Jodie has certainly maintained that focus. So very much of the Doctor’s adventures has always been about doing the right thing even despite the circumstances and making it all come out shockingly fantastic in the end, and I supposed the actress stuck that landing each time she was asked to do it. All of that brouhaha that was rustled up early on – the business about the male Doctor now being reincarnated as a woman – I just honestly paid little attention to. While I can say I understood both sides of it, I pretty much stuck by “it’s the stories that matter,” and I feel vindicated in that.
Namely: the stories just weren’t all that good.
There could be any number of reasons why that could be, but I can assure you that absolutely none of those reasons tie back to the gender of the lead. Some of it could be that Chibnall expressly spent the bulk of his first season as showrunner promising to take the show somewhere different – hoping to introduce new creatures and new species – when maybe want audiences truly want is a continuation of normalcy. The fact that neither he nor Whittaker were all that interested in where the show was as a bit of legacy programming perhaps influenced them to dabble in directions audiences just didn’t or hadn’t thought about; and I suppose there will be vastly more written on the show’s successes and/or failures in the years ahead.
Also – and, again, I’ve tried to remain consistent on this every time I’m asked – Whittaker wasn’t really blessed with any exceptional companions. (OK, haters, this is not a reflection on any actor or actress’ skills in the role; this is just an observation that this assortment of characters was fairly uninteresting.) While I’ve no interested in hashing each of these characters about – though I’ll reserve my right to do so at some later date, should I choose – I will say that, honestly, the only one I cared about and/or enjoyed seeing was Graham. Yes, G-R-A-H-A-M. The occasional curmudgeon. He was the only human among the bunch that I connected with as he almost always – even at his ripened age – conveyed a sense of dealing with the extraordinary when it presented itself to the team. Though I didn’t care for his particular backstory, I loved what this character brought to each and every adventure – even the somewhat boring ones – and I’m glad Who proved yet again that there’s one more reason to respect your elders for the young’uns in the audience.
As a final episode, was “The Power Of The Doctor” all that it could’ve been?
Well, I don’t think any finale is ever everything it could be, but Whittaker went out a bit more strongly than she came in … and that’s something I think we can all be thankful for.
-- EZ
Kinda lame, no?
Well, if one is looking for logic from villainy, then one would do well to avoid looking too deeply into “The Power.” As so, so, so many who review programming online have pointed out, the Doctor’s regeneration sequence has never involved a change of clothes … but in Whittaker’s big finish when she’s morphing into the afore-inhabited David Tennant, there’s also a brand-new change of clothes! Now, yes, that might be a first for the franchise, but here’s hoping that it very well may involve a series of events (or, at least, a plausible fictional explanation) as Tennant explores just where the beloved being will be going when the show resumes in a year or so.
As for Whittaker’s legacy?
Gosh. You know, that’s a tough nut to crack. I’ve said before – and I pretty much stick to it here – I’ve had no overwhelming problem with the actress’ work on the show. Doctor Who has always been a program that embraces a kinda/sorta wide-eyed innocence to its stories, and Jodie has certainly maintained that focus. So very much of the Doctor’s adventures has always been about doing the right thing even despite the circumstances and making it all come out shockingly fantastic in the end, and I supposed the actress stuck that landing each time she was asked to do it. All of that brouhaha that was rustled up early on – the business about the male Doctor now being reincarnated as a woman – I just honestly paid little attention to. While I can say I understood both sides of it, I pretty much stuck by “it’s the stories that matter,” and I feel vindicated in that.
Namely: the stories just weren’t all that good.
There could be any number of reasons why that could be, but I can assure you that absolutely none of those reasons tie back to the gender of the lead. Some of it could be that Chibnall expressly spent the bulk of his first season as showrunner promising to take the show somewhere different – hoping to introduce new creatures and new species – when maybe want audiences truly want is a continuation of normalcy. The fact that neither he nor Whittaker were all that interested in where the show was as a bit of legacy programming perhaps influenced them to dabble in directions audiences just didn’t or hadn’t thought about; and I suppose there will be vastly more written on the show’s successes and/or failures in the years ahead.
Also – and, again, I’ve tried to remain consistent on this every time I’m asked – Whittaker wasn’t really blessed with any exceptional companions. (OK, haters, this is not a reflection on any actor or actress’ skills in the role; this is just an observation that this assortment of characters was fairly uninteresting.) While I’ve no interested in hashing each of these characters about – though I’ll reserve my right to do so at some later date, should I choose – I will say that, honestly, the only one I cared about and/or enjoyed seeing was Graham. Yes, G-R-A-H-A-M. The occasional curmudgeon. He was the only human among the bunch that I connected with as he almost always – even at his ripened age – conveyed a sense of dealing with the extraordinary when it presented itself to the team. Though I didn’t care for his particular backstory, I loved what this character brought to each and every adventure – even the somewhat boring ones – and I’m glad Who proved yet again that there’s one more reason to respect your elders for the young’uns in the audience.
As a final episode, was “The Power Of The Doctor” all that it could’ve been?
Well, I don’t think any finale is ever everything it could be, but Whittaker went out a bit more strongly than she came in … and that’s something I think we can all be thankful for.
-- EZ
- Published on
Alas, gentle readers, some mysteries remain lost to the ages ... and one of those such mysteries is the original release date for 1982's Nightbeast from Amazing Film Productions. All that IMDB.com reports is that it was originally screened theatrically some time during November of that year, so I'm doing like I do and giving it a bit of coverage on the first of the month along with any other releases that suffer the same fate.
In any event ...
Nightbeast certainly looks to be a bit of a stinker, but it's also alleged to be the very first screen credit for Hollywood wonderchild J.J. Abrams, the filmmaker more affectionately known as JarJar to his -- ahem -- fans. (He's cited as 'Jeffrey Abrams' and 'composer' in the credits.) Written and directed by Don Dohler, the film told the tale of a dastardly space alien who created quite a bloody stir amongst the locals of a small town . For those who appreciate a bit more clarity to their Science Fiction and Fantasy affairs, here's the entire plot rundown as provided by our friends at Wikipedia.org for good measure:
"A small alien spaceship is cruising around the solar system. When it reaches the vicinity of Earth, it is struck by an asteroid and crashes at night in the small town of Perry Hall. Some hunters hear the impact and alert the county sheriff, Cinder. When they go investigating on their own, however, the pilot emerges and kills them with a disintegrator ray. The beast also attacks a couple in their home, and a family out for a drive.
Cinder confronts the beast with his men and some armed residents including a man named Jamie. However, the beast appears invulnerable to bullets and they lose many men to the disintegrator. The next morning, they enlist the help of an expert marksman who shoots off the disintegrator, disarming the beast. However, the marksman's son and another officer perish during the shootout.
The police department begin evacuating the town. However, they are unable to convince mayor Bert Wicker to cancel his party for governor Embry. Meanwhile, a delinquent named Drago abuses his girlfriend, who has been sleeping with Jamie. The police then arrive to give her the evacuation order, and after they leave, Drago returns and strangles the girl. When Cinder's police find out that Wicker's party is in progress, Jamie bluffs that poison gas is escaping from a nearby mine and the partygoers flee in panic. Wicker and his secretary Mary Jane, dispirited by this turn of events, stay home and begin drinking heavily.
At the office of doctor Steven Price, the beast appears and kills a few men. Price and nurse Ruth hide in the basement, and devise a trap to electrocute the beast with some frayed electrical cord. It works, and the beast flees the building. The body of Drago's girl gets discovered and taken to Price; Jamie, suspecting Drago, goes out on his dirt bike and beats him. Soon after, Cinder and his deputy Lisa discover a mutilated corpse, and the beast shows up. Lisa and Cinder make their escape, and the sheriff injures his leg in the process. Lisa takes him to her house to heal, and they have sex.
Meanwhile, Wicker and Mary Jane have gotten very drunk. Price is sent to watch over them until they can be evacuated. However, the beast gets past Price and kills Mary Jane in the basement. Her screams wake Wicker, and the beast rips his head off when he investigates. Cinder arrives afterwards, and Jamie suggests electrocuting the beast with a high-voltage coil from the local power plant. Price, thinking back to his success with the electrical trap, supports this course of action, and the sheriff drives out to the power plant with his men. There, Drago assaults Ruth and Cinder, but is stopped when Jamie shoots him with a shotgun.
Cinder and his crew return to Wicker's house and begin setting up their trap, laying metal wire between the trees and connecting it to the coil, which will discharge when they throw the circuit breakers. The beast takes them by surprise, and Jamie must hold onto the wire to keep it inside the trap. They throw the breakers, and the surge makes the beast explode, and takes Jamie with it as well. The camera pans up to the stars overhead and the film ends."
I've done a bit of web-searched on the title, but I've really come up empty on any other details that might help celebrating this curious little feature. I did find a trailer provided by the folks at Vinegar Syndrome who apparently did a limited edition re-release for this one on home video; and I'll be plugging that in below for posterity.
In any event ...
Nightbeast certainly looks to be a bit of a stinker, but it's also alleged to be the very first screen credit for Hollywood wonderchild J.J. Abrams, the filmmaker more affectionately known as JarJar to his -- ahem -- fans. (He's cited as 'Jeffrey Abrams' and 'composer' in the credits.) Written and directed by Don Dohler, the film told the tale of a dastardly space alien who created quite a bloody stir amongst the locals of a small town . For those who appreciate a bit more clarity to their Science Fiction and Fantasy affairs, here's the entire plot rundown as provided by our friends at Wikipedia.org for good measure:
"A small alien spaceship is cruising around the solar system. When it reaches the vicinity of Earth, it is struck by an asteroid and crashes at night in the small town of Perry Hall. Some hunters hear the impact and alert the county sheriff, Cinder. When they go investigating on their own, however, the pilot emerges and kills them with a disintegrator ray. The beast also attacks a couple in their home, and a family out for a drive.
Cinder confronts the beast with his men and some armed residents including a man named Jamie. However, the beast appears invulnerable to bullets and they lose many men to the disintegrator. The next morning, they enlist the help of an expert marksman who shoots off the disintegrator, disarming the beast. However, the marksman's son and another officer perish during the shootout.
The police department begin evacuating the town. However, they are unable to convince mayor Bert Wicker to cancel his party for governor Embry. Meanwhile, a delinquent named Drago abuses his girlfriend, who has been sleeping with Jamie. The police then arrive to give her the evacuation order, and after they leave, Drago returns and strangles the girl. When Cinder's police find out that Wicker's party is in progress, Jamie bluffs that poison gas is escaping from a nearby mine and the partygoers flee in panic. Wicker and his secretary Mary Jane, dispirited by this turn of events, stay home and begin drinking heavily.
At the office of doctor Steven Price, the beast appears and kills a few men. Price and nurse Ruth hide in the basement, and devise a trap to electrocute the beast with some frayed electrical cord. It works, and the beast flees the building. The body of Drago's girl gets discovered and taken to Price; Jamie, suspecting Drago, goes out on his dirt bike and beats him. Soon after, Cinder and his deputy Lisa discover a mutilated corpse, and the beast shows up. Lisa and Cinder make their escape, and the sheriff injures his leg in the process. Lisa takes him to her house to heal, and they have sex.
Meanwhile, Wicker and Mary Jane have gotten very drunk. Price is sent to watch over them until they can be evacuated. However, the beast gets past Price and kills Mary Jane in the basement. Her screams wake Wicker, and the beast rips his head off when he investigates. Cinder arrives afterwards, and Jamie suggests electrocuting the beast with a high-voltage coil from the local power plant. Price, thinking back to his success with the electrical trap, supports this course of action, and the sheriff drives out to the power plant with his men. There, Drago assaults Ruth and Cinder, but is stopped when Jamie shoots him with a shotgun.
Cinder and his crew return to Wicker's house and begin setting up their trap, laying metal wire between the trees and connecting it to the coil, which will discharge when they throw the circuit breakers. The beast takes them by surprise, and Jamie must hold onto the wire to keep it inside the trap. They throw the breakers, and the surge makes the beast explode, and takes Jamie with it as well. The camera pans up to the stars overhead and the film ends."
I've done a bit of web-searched on the title, but I've really come up empty on any other details that might help celebrating this curious little feature. I did find a trailer provided by the folks at Vinegar Syndrome who apparently did a limited edition re-release for this one on home video; and I'll be plugging that in below for posterity.
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
-- EZ
- Published on
Against my better instincts, I have decided to ponder the entire first season of HBO’s Fantasy/Melodrama House Of The Dragon in a single piece, mostly because I’ve promised to do so to readers, friends, and family who do check in from time-to-time. Otherwise, I think I’d just my individual episode reviews speak for themselves; but I do think viewing them as a single entity might be a worthwhile exercise for those interested.
Buyer beware: you may not like what you read.
General housekeeping information: for those born on an island or amongst the Amish, Dragon is a sequel/prequel to Game Of Thrones. The George RR Martin saga ran for eight fun-filled seasons on the pay channel network, often time garnering headlines for its somewhat violent weddings, gratuitous sex, and big action sequences. As I’ve mentioned before, it ended with some controversy – a debate still rages in unquiet corners of the Internet where folks secretly hope for a do-over – but I felt that anyway convinced it was all somehow going to end happily really weren’t watching the same program I was. But because it was so popular with audiences and critics, HBO smartly hitched their wagon to the franchise and will be rolling out additional series in perpetuity.
“Okay … and how was House Of The Dragon’s first season?” you ask.
In a word: uneven.
In some ways, an unevenness can be a good thing, right? It can make a show feel edgy or contemporary in ways that other programs can’t. Life itself rarely makes perfect sense, so why not explore the lives, loves, and lessons of some real royal bastards and badasses in a way mankind may not have seen before. There’s an unpredictability to some of the developments; they still should feel organic, or one risks being dubbed gratuitous for gratuitous’ sake. And there’s a boldness to trying something not so much out-of-the-norm as it is just to the left (or right) of sane. Critics often embrace the extraordinary over the ordinary, so who’s to say weaving this particular tapestry as unconventionally as you can is a bad idea?
Well …
One would think that given the vastness of the source material that a room of screenwriters working in concert might be able to recognize some of the downsides to their ten episodes as designed. Characters come and go – some of them seemingly very important, but the audience is given fairly little substance with which to get to know them in any functional way – and more than a few of them get introduced solely to be killed off moments later. Were this a half hour sitcom, then perhaps laughs would’ve been scored; but in the context of a period Fantasy with so many stories, backstories, and incorporated fictional mythology I found it occasionally difficult to know what to make of the sudden death. Why him? Why her? Why now? Did I miss the significance? Something about it tells me these once-living folks were important – why else would they appear in this story – but I just can’t tell the difference between those with greater import and those people who were truly, ultimately disposable. Most of this confusion is because there seem to be absolutely no consequences to murdering anyone in this version of the Seven Kingdoms, and I don’t quite understand why that is.
Buyer beware: you may not like what you read.
General housekeeping information: for those born on an island or amongst the Amish, Dragon is a sequel/prequel to Game Of Thrones. The George RR Martin saga ran for eight fun-filled seasons on the pay channel network, often time garnering headlines for its somewhat violent weddings, gratuitous sex, and big action sequences. As I’ve mentioned before, it ended with some controversy – a debate still rages in unquiet corners of the Internet where folks secretly hope for a do-over – but I felt that anyway convinced it was all somehow going to end happily really weren’t watching the same program I was. But because it was so popular with audiences and critics, HBO smartly hitched their wagon to the franchise and will be rolling out additional series in perpetuity.
“Okay … and how was House Of The Dragon’s first season?” you ask.
In a word: uneven.
In some ways, an unevenness can be a good thing, right? It can make a show feel edgy or contemporary in ways that other programs can’t. Life itself rarely makes perfect sense, so why not explore the lives, loves, and lessons of some real royal bastards and badasses in a way mankind may not have seen before. There’s an unpredictability to some of the developments; they still should feel organic, or one risks being dubbed gratuitous for gratuitous’ sake. And there’s a boldness to trying something not so much out-of-the-norm as it is just to the left (or right) of sane. Critics often embrace the extraordinary over the ordinary, so who’s to say weaving this particular tapestry as unconventionally as you can is a bad idea?
Well …
One would think that given the vastness of the source material that a room of screenwriters working in concert might be able to recognize some of the downsides to their ten episodes as designed. Characters come and go – some of them seemingly very important, but the audience is given fairly little substance with which to get to know them in any functional way – and more than a few of them get introduced solely to be killed off moments later. Were this a half hour sitcom, then perhaps laughs would’ve been scored; but in the context of a period Fantasy with so many stories, backstories, and incorporated fictional mythology I found it occasionally difficult to know what to make of the sudden death. Why him? Why her? Why now? Did I miss the significance? Something about it tells me these once-living folks were important – why else would they appear in this story – but I just can’t tell the difference between those with greater import and those people who were truly, ultimately disposable. Most of this confusion is because there seem to be absolutely no consequences to murdering anyone in this version of the Seven Kingdoms, and I don’t quite understand why that is.
Also, it probably didn’t help alleviate viewers confusion that Dragon required a handful of significant time jumps in order to tell the story as provided. On some occasions, so many years passed that producers had to recast an actor or an actress; but when not every player is brought in with a new face, there’s a bit of narrative disconnect that must be ironed out with exposition. (Exposition is a buzzkiller. It ruins everything when it’s used. Take my word for it. Or don’t.) So folks at home had to watch the season perhaps a bit more closely than they were accustomed to (Game Of Thrones’ last two seasons were far more about spectacle than they were substance), and the end result may’ve been part of why I found all of this set-up so clunky.
All shows are required to have a measure of conflict, if for no other reason is the fact that good drama often evolves from the intersection of these issues. The players are meant to clash, both in words and action. They must take sides. Brothers turn on fathers. Daughters defy their mothers. Peasants rebel because of their plight. Often times, fledgling writers mistake high tension or screaming arguments as great theater because – in most instances – that’s all they know. Yet Dragon benefits largely as it’s evolved from a novel (or series of them), so author Martin has provided a spine about which these creative folks are building a body. In the process, I can’t help but wonder if they’ve sidelined whatever Martin wanted his bold tale to be about in favor of highlighting these equally nefarious characters.
Thus far, however, Dragon isn’t anything like a contemporary good vs. evil story as I heard one person recently describe it to friends.
I say this because – quite frankly – there are no good people in it. None that I see, at least. As a consequence, we’re left with “the lesser of the evils” story, and that’s a tough sell for a long haul. Why? Well, viewers want to root for someone. It’s kinda/sorta part of being along for the vicarious thrill. But when you’re given no hero – just a never-ending stream of anti-heroes – you’re fundamentally rooting for a villain because everyone is one. There’s been no effective character development to suggest otherwise (not that I’ve seen), so viewers can’t quite find the show’s moral core. (I know I can’t.) Stories lacking a moral center – even if it isn’t a code you and I believe in – flounder and flail because they’re always slaves to their respective circumstance. When events alone propel the tale – and not a foundation of right confronting wrong – then the stories go nowhere fast. This one, however, is going pretty slowly.
In fact, one might easily conclude that all of the first season – the time jumps, the imperfect characters, etc. – was little more than an expansive if not exhaustive set-up for an inevitable conflict. A lot of ground is covered (ten years? fifteen years?), and – as I hope I’ve been clear – context is certainly not these showrunners’ strength. Today’s screenwriters like to christen this “long-form storytelling,” and I suppose that’s probably about as accurate a moniker as it is inaccurate. There’s little story – again, a never-ending parade of events linked solely by the people who experience them – and viewers won’t know what to make of it until, when, and if it all concludes. That can be a long, long, long wait. Game Of Thrones – by comparison – felt as if it was narratively staged around big events – ones that often explored cause and effect – so it was reasonably easy to go with the flow, as they say. Dragon lacks an organic tide; instead, we’re hurled ahead months if not years, all by a script’s convention, with only the hope that we’ll recognize everything when we get there.
I’m not sure we will.
-- EZ
All shows are required to have a measure of conflict, if for no other reason is the fact that good drama often evolves from the intersection of these issues. The players are meant to clash, both in words and action. They must take sides. Brothers turn on fathers. Daughters defy their mothers. Peasants rebel because of their plight. Often times, fledgling writers mistake high tension or screaming arguments as great theater because – in most instances – that’s all they know. Yet Dragon benefits largely as it’s evolved from a novel (or series of them), so author Martin has provided a spine about which these creative folks are building a body. In the process, I can’t help but wonder if they’ve sidelined whatever Martin wanted his bold tale to be about in favor of highlighting these equally nefarious characters.
Thus far, however, Dragon isn’t anything like a contemporary good vs. evil story as I heard one person recently describe it to friends.
I say this because – quite frankly – there are no good people in it. None that I see, at least. As a consequence, we’re left with “the lesser of the evils” story, and that’s a tough sell for a long haul. Why? Well, viewers want to root for someone. It’s kinda/sorta part of being along for the vicarious thrill. But when you’re given no hero – just a never-ending stream of anti-heroes – you’re fundamentally rooting for a villain because everyone is one. There’s been no effective character development to suggest otherwise (not that I’ve seen), so viewers can’t quite find the show’s moral core. (I know I can’t.) Stories lacking a moral center – even if it isn’t a code you and I believe in – flounder and flail because they’re always slaves to their respective circumstance. When events alone propel the tale – and not a foundation of right confronting wrong – then the stories go nowhere fast. This one, however, is going pretty slowly.
In fact, one might easily conclude that all of the first season – the time jumps, the imperfect characters, etc. – was little more than an expansive if not exhaustive set-up for an inevitable conflict. A lot of ground is covered (ten years? fifteen years?), and – as I hope I’ve been clear – context is certainly not these showrunners’ strength. Today’s screenwriters like to christen this “long-form storytelling,” and I suppose that’s probably about as accurate a moniker as it is inaccurate. There’s little story – again, a never-ending parade of events linked solely by the people who experience them – and viewers won’t know what to make of it until, when, and if it all concludes. That can be a long, long, long wait. Game Of Thrones – by comparison – felt as if it was narratively staged around big events – ones that often explored cause and effect – so it was reasonably easy to go with the flow, as they say. Dragon lacks an organic tide; instead, we’re hurled ahead months if not years, all by a script’s convention, with only the hope that we’ll recognize everything when we get there.
I’m not sure we will.
-- EZ
- Published on
Yes, yes, and yes!
It isn't every day that I get to stop and smell the sweet, sweet aroma of success, but October 26th is officially one for our records book, folks, as -- just this morning -- the corresponding citations page (here) reached an incredible 100 different bits of SciFi, Fantasy, and Horror trivia for interested readers.
I've always said that -- way, way back when I started cataloguing such minutiae -- that the inevitable goal would be to have, at least, 100 different citations on any given day of the calendar year. While it's taken me an incredible amount of research -- along with formatting changes and the like -- some of these days are starting to shape up the way I like. That's why I thought it entirely appropriate to pen a quick acknowledgement post to honor all of these movers, shakers, smilers, and knuckleheads ... as well as giving myself an affectionate nod.
It ain't easy, peeps. It's a time-consuming entity, this place is. But I do it out of my never-ending love of genre, and -- if nothing else -- I hope that comes through with each and every little factoid I'm thrilled to add to this space. This place is constantly, constantly growing: I just checked my research archives, and -- even though I'm probably done with my tinkering for today -- I still have well over fifty other items for October 26th that I'm hoping to get up in black-and-white. As I said, it just takes time.
In any event, this will likely be the only post on the MainPage for today. I have a dental appointment later this morning, so I'm off to see that wizard shortly.
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
It isn't every day that I get to stop and smell the sweet, sweet aroma of success, but October 26th is officially one for our records book, folks, as -- just this morning -- the corresponding citations page (here) reached an incredible 100 different bits of SciFi, Fantasy, and Horror trivia for interested readers.
I've always said that -- way, way back when I started cataloguing such minutiae -- that the inevitable goal would be to have, at least, 100 different citations on any given day of the calendar year. While it's taken me an incredible amount of research -- along with formatting changes and the like -- some of these days are starting to shape up the way I like. That's why I thought it entirely appropriate to pen a quick acknowledgement post to honor all of these movers, shakers, smilers, and knuckleheads ... as well as giving myself an affectionate nod.
It ain't easy, peeps. It's a time-consuming entity, this place is. But I do it out of my never-ending love of genre, and -- if nothing else -- I hope that comes through with each and every little factoid I'm thrilled to add to this space. This place is constantly, constantly growing: I just checked my research archives, and -- even though I'm probably done with my tinkering for today -- I still have well over fifty other items for October 26th that I'm hoping to get up in black-and-white. As I said, it just takes time.
In any event, this will likely be the only post on the MainPage for today. I have a dental appointment later this morning, so I'm off to see that wizard shortly.
As always, thanks for reading ... and live long and prosper!
-- EZ
- Published on
In case you folks don’t already know this, it gets increasingly difficult to talk in substantive terms about a growing number of franchises.
Back before the days of the Internet, scribes and critics didn’t really have to worry about so much daily (or routine) interaction with their readership. A controversial opinion – when properly couched with both the distance from the general public as well as the reality that opposing forces were vastly less likely to meet – was just that … a controversial opinion. It was rarely met with choruses to boycott an outlet or cries for authors to be censored into oblivion. Back then, people honestly had better things to do with their time; yet, today, every Tom, Dick, Harry, Marcia, Jan, or Cindy has a blog, a vlog, a Facebook group, or the wide, wide Twittersphere with which to put out a call to arms. That can be unnerving to some, but those who know me best will tell you that my propensity to ‘give a damn’ flamed out decades ago.
In fact, I’ve rarely ever given that a second thought … and this is because I write to express my own opinion, not to influence others about what’s good, what’s bad, what’s exceptional, or what’s hot garbage. I like what I like – I try to express my fondness for the things I discover (or vice versa) – and I let the chips fall however they may. I figure if I have to crash and burn, then I should be forever free to do it all of my own accord … so take that, Internet haters.
All of this brings me to “Announcement,” the seventh episode in the Disney+ Star Wars series Andor … which, quite frankly, is a bit boring.
I know, I know, I know. I’m not allowed to say that because somehow my opinion magically and mystically invades your safe space, making it a big no-no. Well, buckle up, buttercup, because that latest 50-minute experience was a bit of a slog … necessarily. Big things came down in the installment right before, so – from a narrative standpoint – it was now time for audiences to catch their breath, for the characters in the galaxy far far away to come to grips with these latest developments, and for changes to occur that would set up the next part of the action.
Back before the days of the Internet, scribes and critics didn’t really have to worry about so much daily (or routine) interaction with their readership. A controversial opinion – when properly couched with both the distance from the general public as well as the reality that opposing forces were vastly less likely to meet – was just that … a controversial opinion. It was rarely met with choruses to boycott an outlet or cries for authors to be censored into oblivion. Back then, people honestly had better things to do with their time; yet, today, every Tom, Dick, Harry, Marcia, Jan, or Cindy has a blog, a vlog, a Facebook group, or the wide, wide Twittersphere with which to put out a call to arms. That can be unnerving to some, but those who know me best will tell you that my propensity to ‘give a damn’ flamed out decades ago.
In fact, I’ve rarely ever given that a second thought … and this is because I write to express my own opinion, not to influence others about what’s good, what’s bad, what’s exceptional, or what’s hot garbage. I like what I like – I try to express my fondness for the things I discover (or vice versa) – and I let the chips fall however they may. I figure if I have to crash and burn, then I should be forever free to do it all of my own accord … so take that, Internet haters.
All of this brings me to “Announcement,” the seventh episode in the Disney+ Star Wars series Andor … which, quite frankly, is a bit boring.
I know, I know, I know. I’m not allowed to say that because somehow my opinion magically and mystically invades your safe space, making it a big no-no. Well, buckle up, buttercup, because that latest 50-minute experience was a bit of a slog … necessarily. Big things came down in the installment right before, so – from a narrative standpoint – it was now time for audiences to catch their breath, for the characters in the galaxy far far away to come to grips with these latest developments, and for changes to occur that would set up the next part of the action.
That fact that I found it a bit tedious is, ultimately, inconsequential. (I’m sure that there are plenty other critics out there who continue to swoon of every moment – blemished or not – and that’s perfectly cool.) I suspect that the pace will pick up again – not via another moderately successful bank heist, hopefully – and we’ll be off to the races once more. But creator Tony Gilroy and his band of screenwriters really ought to be a bit more learned in moving what resembles a plot forward. All of this means is that I’m struggling with their style. Such is life.
But as a character … I still don’t trust Cassian Andor.
I know, I know, I know. How can I say that? He’s a critical darling! Well, that may be the case, but as I’ve said before I found him the least interesting character in all of Rogue One – his introduction to this cinematic universe – but he was salvaged in the small way of giving him an identifiable arc, one that showed he could stand for something when the chips were down. At this juncture in Andor, he clearly doesn’t. To make matters worse, he makes some of the dumbest choices imaginable – i.e. returning home, daring capture or incarceration, walking about freely on a beach resort planet (Space Malibu?) teeming with Imperial operatives.
Come the end of “Announcement,” I turned to my wife and asked, “Just how stupid can one supposed cunning criminal be?”
The fact that he’s survived this long without being either jailed or killed has almost officially defied logic – look for the impending press release from Kathleen Kennedy’s office or thereabouts. Not only is he uninteresting and untrustworthy, he’s now categorically stupid.
This is the best the rebels can hope for?
Naturally, I do hope that the evolution of him from ‘doddering scamp’ to ‘hero of the Alliance’ is worth the wait.
At this point, I think it’s fair for me to conclude that – as a stand-alone property – I just don’t find Andor all that interesting. This isn’t to say that it hasn’t had some nice moments or maybe even a good performance or two. If I were that intrigued by Cassian himself, then I might feel more invested in the show (at this point, which is all I’m referencing, folks); but given the fact that this storyline is intended to be part and parcel of a broader universe I’m not all that impressed.
-- EZ
But as a character … I still don’t trust Cassian Andor.
I know, I know, I know. How can I say that? He’s a critical darling! Well, that may be the case, but as I’ve said before I found him the least interesting character in all of Rogue One – his introduction to this cinematic universe – but he was salvaged in the small way of giving him an identifiable arc, one that showed he could stand for something when the chips were down. At this juncture in Andor, he clearly doesn’t. To make matters worse, he makes some of the dumbest choices imaginable – i.e. returning home, daring capture or incarceration, walking about freely on a beach resort planet (Space Malibu?) teeming with Imperial operatives.
Come the end of “Announcement,” I turned to my wife and asked, “Just how stupid can one supposed cunning criminal be?”
The fact that he’s survived this long without being either jailed or killed has almost officially defied logic – look for the impending press release from Kathleen Kennedy’s office or thereabouts. Not only is he uninteresting and untrustworthy, he’s now categorically stupid.
This is the best the rebels can hope for?
Naturally, I do hope that the evolution of him from ‘doddering scamp’ to ‘hero of the Alliance’ is worth the wait.
At this point, I think it’s fair for me to conclude that – as a stand-alone property – I just don’t find Andor all that interesting. This isn’t to say that it hasn’t had some nice moments or maybe even a good performance or two. If I were that intrigued by Cassian himself, then I might feel more invested in the show (at this point, which is all I’m referencing, folks); but given the fact that this storyline is intended to be part and parcel of a broader universe I’m not all that impressed.
-- EZ