About 15 years ago, when I read Dante's Inferno (I actually read the entire Divine Comedy) along with the copious notes explaining all the characters, I thought, 'This is pretty cool, but it would be awesome if someone did a modern update with references a modern audience can get.' And now the Thrillpeddlers have done just that, in about the most outrageous way possible, in reviving a play that was written...15 years ago, about the time I read the Inferno! Whoooaaah!
Anyway, this glam-rock musical version is a crazy trip, breezily taking you through all 9 circles courtesy of the Hellavator. Xaron is the guide for knocked-out nightclub singer Dante and her new-found friend Virgil. The dead characters range all over history and pop culture, from Cleopatra to the lesbian couple of Mama Cass and Karen Carpenter (opposites attract?) From Lucrecia Borgia to Joan of Arc to Aimee Semple MacPherson (look it up.) All the time with wild costumes (or...parts of costumes) and comedic songs. All the while they're plagued by Furies and Demons, and like any good Thrillpeddlers show, they get right up into the audience (even to play with one's luxurious hair.) What fun.
And if their publicist hasn't announced it yet, let me get the scoop and tell you all that it's run (which was supposed to end soon) has been extended through September 12th! Awesome!
Friday, July 24, 2015
Jason watches ANT-MAN
Okay, I've figured out the rules for Marvel movies. If you want to see fairly interesting, funny, enjoyable movies, see the new character stand-alone films. If you want to see something that moves the universe forward, see a Captain America film. If you want to see bloated fan service, see an Avengers film.
I thought it was interesting to actually make the origin film be the origin of the second Ant-Man (um...I guess spoiler?) but it works really well. Paul Rudd makes an appealing hero as Scott Lang, once you make the leap to believe him as a jailbird (recently released and swearing to go legit.) Michael Douglas makes an excellent mentor as Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man (explained a bit in exposition and flashback scenes.) The action is good, the comic parts work, and there's fun to be had exploring the tiny, tiny world. And the conflict is refreshingly small-scale...kind of. I mean, there's the part of the plot where Hydra might get their hands on shrinking technology and that would be a disastrous weapon if they had it. But that has much less emotional weight than Scott fighting to protect his daughter.
A final note, it seems like there's an awful lot of movies that take place in San Francisco nowadays (even TERMINATOR GENISYS, in a series that has always been in L.A., had to move it to San Francisco and make sure that ground zero for the machine invasion is Oakland.) And that's cool. But kudos for the restraint in not using the cliche of destroying the Golden Gate Bridge.
Running Time: 117 minutes
My Total Minutes: 403,416
I thought it was interesting to actually make the origin film be the origin of the second Ant-Man (um...I guess spoiler?) but it works really well. Paul Rudd makes an appealing hero as Scott Lang, once you make the leap to believe him as a jailbird (recently released and swearing to go legit.) Michael Douglas makes an excellent mentor as Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man (explained a bit in exposition and flashback scenes.) The action is good, the comic parts work, and there's fun to be had exploring the tiny, tiny world. And the conflict is refreshingly small-scale...kind of. I mean, there's the part of the plot where Hydra might get their hands on shrinking technology and that would be a disastrous weapon if they had it. But that has much less emotional weight than Scott fighting to protect his daughter.
A final note, it seems like there's an awful lot of movies that take place in San Francisco nowadays (even TERMINATOR GENISYS, in a series that has always been in L.A., had to move it to San Francisco and make sure that ground zero for the machine invasion is Oakland.) And that's cool. But kudos for the restraint in not using the cliche of destroying the Golden Gate Bridge.
Running Time: 117 minutes
My Total Minutes: 403,416
Jason goes to the Niles Film Museum for a Leonard Nimoy tribute
What does he have to do with silent film? Why did we do this?
Nothing. And because we can
First up was a veritable smorgasbord (love that word) of clips from Creature Features, interviews, Star Trek bloopers, etc. all courtesy of local historical documentary filmmaker and friend of the museum Tom Wyrsch (look for a couple of his shows coming to the museum in October!) They're all edited together in a clever and playful way that allows Leonard Nimoy to basically tell the story of his career. Very cool.
And then a brief intermission, a costume contest (where everyone knew the Klingon had to win) and the feature film.
KID MONK BARONI (1952): Nimoy's first starring role, and in the first scenes he's nearly unrecognizable, not just because he's so young (he was about 20 at the time) but because his face is partially hidden under a ridiculously bent up nose. This makes him a fighter, the tough leader of a Little Italy street gang. When they're caught tearing apart a banister for firewood, local priest Father Callahan (Richard Rober) takes him under his wing and teaches him how to box. He finds a home in the church with friends and perhaps a nice girl. And boxing teaches him discipline and a little respect. And he's good enough that he starts winning some amateur bouts and is looking to go pro. But insecurities over his looks lead him to make bad decisions. And when he gets plastic surgery and becomes a younger version of that handsome Vulcan we all know (seriously, on a side note, Zachary Quinto does really look like a young Leonard Nimoy)...that doesn't help him with his psychological issues. In fact, fear of messing up his face actually makes him a worse boxer. A good story well told, and a solid morality tale that still works, mostly.
Total Running Time: 158 minutes
My Total Minutes: 403,299
Nothing. And because we can
First up was a veritable smorgasbord (love that word) of clips from Creature Features, interviews, Star Trek bloopers, etc. all courtesy of local historical documentary filmmaker and friend of the museum Tom Wyrsch (look for a couple of his shows coming to the museum in October!) They're all edited together in a clever and playful way that allows Leonard Nimoy to basically tell the story of his career. Very cool.
And then a brief intermission, a costume contest (where everyone knew the Klingon had to win) and the feature film.
KID MONK BARONI (1952): Nimoy's first starring role, and in the first scenes he's nearly unrecognizable, not just because he's so young (he was about 20 at the time) but because his face is partially hidden under a ridiculously bent up nose. This makes him a fighter, the tough leader of a Little Italy street gang. When they're caught tearing apart a banister for firewood, local priest Father Callahan (Richard Rober) takes him under his wing and teaches him how to box. He finds a home in the church with friends and perhaps a nice girl. And boxing teaches him discipline and a little respect. And he's good enough that he starts winning some amateur bouts and is looking to go pro. But insecurities over his looks lead him to make bad decisions. And when he gets plastic surgery and becomes a younger version of that handsome Vulcan we all know (seriously, on a side note, Zachary Quinto does really look like a young Leonard Nimoy)...that doesn't help him with his psychological issues. In fact, fear of messing up his face actually makes him a worse boxer. A good story well told, and a solid morality tale that still works, mostly.
Total Running Time: 158 minutes
My Total Minutes: 403,299
Jason watches TRAINWRECK
And yup, it's pretty darn funny. Amy Schumer, who I think is smart enough and has worked at it long enough to be more than a flash-in-the-pan hottest comedian of the moment, is hilarious. But it's the supporting cast that makes it work. Colin Quinn is her kinda racist, definitely philandering father who teaches her (at way too young of an age) that monogamy isn't normal. Bill Hader has great chemistry as her partner, although except for one surgery-on-no-sleep scene his wackier comic skills are kept in check for him to play a very appealing straight man. Dave Attell has what amounts to a recurring cameo as a wise-cracking homeless man outside her building. Vanessa Bayer is her best friend who is just as into pro-drinking and pro-hookup as she is. Probably the best supporting character is the surprisingly hilarious John Cena as her somewhat serious, possibly gay boyfriend. Oh, and Tilda Swinton almost unrecognizable as her acerbic boss. And lots of others, what I'm saying is kudos to the casting. Oh, and Lebron James, hilarious as Lebron James.
As for the story, it feels like a formula rom-com, but on deeper reflection it subverts the formula nicely. Despite the title, Amy isn't really damaged. She has a good career. She's promiscuous, but despite the occasional walk-of-shame she's not really slut-shamed, she's 100% sex-positive. Maybe more importantly, when she meets Bill Hader's handsome sports doctor character, there isn't an instant hate that has to fester over the entire movie until they realize they love each other (seriously, something like 90% of ostensible rom-coms are actually hate-fuck flicks.) Instead, they seem attracted to immediately. And they even go ahead and say it pretty early on. And they start dating. Because that part is easy. It's not complicated to go from hating someone to liking them (it's often idiotic, but it's not complicated.) What's complicated is going from liking someone to being willing to make significant life changes for them. And that's what the movie's about. And nails it mostly perfectly.
Running Time: 125 minutes
My Total Minutes: 403,141
As for the story, it feels like a formula rom-com, but on deeper reflection it subverts the formula nicely. Despite the title, Amy isn't really damaged. She has a good career. She's promiscuous, but despite the occasional walk-of-shame she's not really slut-shamed, she's 100% sex-positive. Maybe more importantly, when she meets Bill Hader's handsome sports doctor character, there isn't an instant hate that has to fester over the entire movie until they realize they love each other (seriously, something like 90% of ostensible rom-coms are actually hate-fuck flicks.) Instead, they seem attracted to immediately. And they even go ahead and say it pretty early on. And they start dating. Because that part is easy. It's not complicated to go from hating someone to liking them (it's often idiotic, but it's not complicated.) What's complicated is going from liking someone to being willing to make significant life changes for them. And that's what the movie's about. And nails it mostly perfectly.
Running Time: 125 minutes
My Total Minutes: 403,141
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Jason goes to Mindites for Maniacs and Drives Nowhere Fast
Woo hoo! Midnites for Maniacs! I was at the Castro last Friday for a double bill...er, triple bill...um, but one was a short film...so a two-and-a-half bill of wild automotive action flicks.
First up was MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981): Before FURY ROAD this was easily my favorite Mad Max movie, and it's still definitely the one I've watched the most. So it was amazing to realize how much I had forgotten. Like the rape scene. Or the opening sequence. But it still has all the energy I remember. And watching it after FURY ROAD you can see how a lot of the ideas that started here became bigger, better, and wilder there. Like the endless chase, of course. Or people crucified on the fronts of cars. Or a strong female warrior who is never treated differently for being female. Or the opening shot with Max driving off in the Interceptor. Or the music box. Or....
You know what, there's a fan theory going around that says Max in FURY ROAD is really the feral kid from ROAD WARRIOR. This explains how Max doesn't seem to age even though it must have taken a lot of time to build up the civilization in FURY ROAD. I don't buy it. What I think makes more sense is that they're the same story. Mad Max is a legend, told by survivors and their descendants long after some sort of peaceful civilization has been rebuilt (this is actually kind of explicit in the narrator framing device.) And like most legends, they grow the more they get told. So the first time the narrator tells this story around a campfire, it goes like ROAD WARRIOR. But he keeps embellishing it every time, and so maybe the tenth time he tells it it sound more like FURY ROAD.
Either that or they're just two stories, and they both kick ass.
THE HITCHER (1986): And then this sick classic. A driver, Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) is hired to drive a car from Chicago to California. On the monotonous drive he dozes off and almost crashes into a truck. So he picks up a hitchhiker, John Ryder (Rutger Hauer) to keep him company and keep him awake. But Ryder turns out to be a psycho who threatens to kill him (specifically to cut of his legs, and arms, and head.) And when he narrowly escapes, Ryder starts to stalk him, kill others, and frame him for his crimes. Gruesome, tense, and all the more interesting for the apparent lack of motivation for Ryder. The dude's just evil...of some sort. But what struck me was a line early on, where Halsey asks him what he wants and Ryder replies "I want you to stop me." There are theories that Halsey actually crashed into the truck and died in the beginning, and that this is some sort of hallucination before he dies. Or this is hell and Ryder is the devil. Or that Ryder actually is Halsey suffering from split personality. Whatever Ryder is, he's an evil that came out of nowhere for the sole purpose of convincing Halsey to grow a pair and kill him. Which explains why sometimes Ryder seems to be helping Halsey (like busting him out of jail...and killing all the cops there.) If nothing else, it's a very interesting take on the nature of evil.
CHINA LAKE (1983): And then we got this little bonus. The first short by the director of THE HITCHER, Robert Harmon. Charles Napier plays an L.A. cop on vacation in China Lake, a depressed little dump of the town where he can get some peace and quiet and do whatever he wants. Like kill any locals who annoy him...or whom he thinks would just be amusing to kill. You can see the style of THE HITCHER being developed here. Visual storytelling with little dialogue. Mysterious motivations for the villain (anti-hero?) A sick, sadistic sensibility. And some solid violence. You know, good stuff.
Total Running Time: 225 minutes
My Total Minutes: 403,016
First up was MAD MAX 2: THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981): Before FURY ROAD this was easily my favorite Mad Max movie, and it's still definitely the one I've watched the most. So it was amazing to realize how much I had forgotten. Like the rape scene. Or the opening sequence. But it still has all the energy I remember. And watching it after FURY ROAD you can see how a lot of the ideas that started here became bigger, better, and wilder there. Like the endless chase, of course. Or people crucified on the fronts of cars. Or a strong female warrior who is never treated differently for being female. Or the opening shot with Max driving off in the Interceptor. Or the music box. Or....
You know what, there's a fan theory going around that says Max in FURY ROAD is really the feral kid from ROAD WARRIOR. This explains how Max doesn't seem to age even though it must have taken a lot of time to build up the civilization in FURY ROAD. I don't buy it. What I think makes more sense is that they're the same story. Mad Max is a legend, told by survivors and their descendants long after some sort of peaceful civilization has been rebuilt (this is actually kind of explicit in the narrator framing device.) And like most legends, they grow the more they get told. So the first time the narrator tells this story around a campfire, it goes like ROAD WARRIOR. But he keeps embellishing it every time, and so maybe the tenth time he tells it it sound more like FURY ROAD.
Either that or they're just two stories, and they both kick ass.
THE HITCHER (1986): And then this sick classic. A driver, Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell) is hired to drive a car from Chicago to California. On the monotonous drive he dozes off and almost crashes into a truck. So he picks up a hitchhiker, John Ryder (Rutger Hauer) to keep him company and keep him awake. But Ryder turns out to be a psycho who threatens to kill him (specifically to cut of his legs, and arms, and head.) And when he narrowly escapes, Ryder starts to stalk him, kill others, and frame him for his crimes. Gruesome, tense, and all the more interesting for the apparent lack of motivation for Ryder. The dude's just evil...of some sort. But what struck me was a line early on, where Halsey asks him what he wants and Ryder replies "I want you to stop me." There are theories that Halsey actually crashed into the truck and died in the beginning, and that this is some sort of hallucination before he dies. Or this is hell and Ryder is the devil. Or that Ryder actually is Halsey suffering from split personality. Whatever Ryder is, he's an evil that came out of nowhere for the sole purpose of convincing Halsey to grow a pair and kill him. Which explains why sometimes Ryder seems to be helping Halsey (like busting him out of jail...and killing all the cops there.) If nothing else, it's a very interesting take on the nature of evil.
CHINA LAKE (1983): And then we got this little bonus. The first short by the director of THE HITCHER, Robert Harmon. Charles Napier plays an L.A. cop on vacation in China Lake, a depressed little dump of the town where he can get some peace and quiet and do whatever he wants. Like kill any locals who annoy him...or whom he thinks would just be amusing to kill. You can see the style of THE HITCHER being developed here. Visual storytelling with little dialogue. Mysterious motivations for the villain (anti-hero?) A sick, sadistic sensibility. And some solid violence. You know, good stuff.
Total Running Time: 225 minutes
My Total Minutes: 403,016
Jason watches SPY
Well, that was pretty funny. Melissa McCarthy is very funny and an appealing lead as the stay-in-the-command center brains of the operations conducted by suave superspy Jude Law. But when the entire active agent list is leaked, they need to send someone in the field who isn't known--her. She employs an interesting comedic mix of befuddled awkwardness, quick wits, and a surprisingly violent rage. And her comic chemistry with all her co-stars are great, but none more so than with Jason Statham, playing the super-violent loose cannon spy. Seriously, you could make a movie of 2 hours of just them arguing and I'd watch it. Pretty fun, but I can't seriously be scared of a villain who's only up to level 95 of Candy Crush.
Running Time: 120 minutes
My Total Minutes: 402,665
Running Time: 120 minutes
My Total Minutes: 402,665
Jason watches TERMINATOR GENISYS
A.k.a. TERMINATOR: BAT SHIT INSANITY
Okay, the first TERMINATOR was a B-movie that was much, much better than it had any right to be. The second one was a big-budget sequel to a B-movie that was also much, much better than it should've been. Then there was TERMINATOR: MILK THE FRANCHISE, and TERMINATOR: MILK THE FRANCHISE IN THE FUTURE, and of course TERMINATOR: MILK THE FRANCHISE THE TV SERIES (which I actually like a lot, but mostly because I'm a Summer Glau fan.)
But with this one, they're not milking the franchise, they're blowing it up. And for some reason I freakin' love it. I don't want to get into spoilers, but it seems like the writers were sitting around saying "how can we make a Terminator movie that completely defies your expectations at every turn?" One big twist is revealed in the trailers, but there's a bigger one later on. And perhaps the biggest non-spoiler twist is that Schwarzenegger is actually the best actor in this movie. Yup, this doesn't succeed on great acting, or great writing, or even great special effects (they're good, about up to standard for modern CGI effect, which means that there is no weight to the objects. This is more of a general gripe about the state of most modern effects rather than a point against this movie in particular.) Nope, this movie succeeds (and it does succeed) on sheer audacity and bat-shit insanity. And I loved it.
Running Time: 126 minutes
My Total Minutes: 402,791
Okay, the first TERMINATOR was a B-movie that was much, much better than it had any right to be. The second one was a big-budget sequel to a B-movie that was also much, much better than it should've been. Then there was TERMINATOR: MILK THE FRANCHISE, and TERMINATOR: MILK THE FRANCHISE IN THE FUTURE, and of course TERMINATOR: MILK THE FRANCHISE THE TV SERIES (which I actually like a lot, but mostly because I'm a Summer Glau fan.)
But with this one, they're not milking the franchise, they're blowing it up. And for some reason I freakin' love it. I don't want to get into spoilers, but it seems like the writers were sitting around saying "how can we make a Terminator movie that completely defies your expectations at every turn?" One big twist is revealed in the trailers, but there's a bigger one later on. And perhaps the biggest non-spoiler twist is that Schwarzenegger is actually the best actor in this movie. Yup, this doesn't succeed on great acting, or great writing, or even great special effects (they're good, about up to standard for modern CGI effect, which means that there is no weight to the objects. This is more of a general gripe about the state of most modern effects rather than a point against this movie in particular.) Nope, this movie succeeds (and it does succeed) on sheer audacity and bat-shit insanity. And I loved it.
Running Time: 126 minutes
My Total Minutes: 402,791
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