tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90141062024-03-07T18:25:17.584-08:00Zaki's Corner / Zaki HasanAuthor. Film Critic. Host of Many Podcasts.Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.comBlogger3886125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-38937829780297959512022-06-19T10:37:00.004-07:002022-06-19T10:42:31.162-07:00Batman Returns Turns 30<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTD2q_IztvfgCBWIwrEJ2VTcL48HGLqNoENw9xZQFiHU2DrHayHAUdMsj-XLOu3ES-3xfsQKOWCKcmWfcjvo_vv6V2nEasPLjgi0qnGu1_glI8WSMUIdd9bWOBfwzZFkj1U26oLS6_PttbvME5dExN-EUSbmNx1MX2MgH9VnFDfmAJCZrV7Q/s1296/Batman%20Returns.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="730" data-original-width="1296" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTD2q_IztvfgCBWIwrEJ2VTcL48HGLqNoENw9xZQFiHU2DrHayHAUdMsj-XLOu3ES-3xfsQKOWCKcmWfcjvo_vv6V2nEasPLjgi0qnGu1_glI8WSMUIdd9bWOBfwzZFkj1U26oLS6_PttbvME5dExN-EUSbmNx1MX2MgH9VnFDfmAJCZrV7Q/w640-h360/Batman%20Returns.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />When the time came to craft a follow-up to his 1989 mega-hit <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Tim Burton made exactly the movie he wanted -- and exactly the movie Warner Bros. didn't.</span><p></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-08b70f28-7fff-ce77-9ade-edf11f19e68d"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Given how superheroes have taken over cinemas for the last decade or so, it's easy to forget what a gamble that initial </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> had been when it first came out. The only serious take on superheroes before then had been </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Superman</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, directed by Richard Donner and starring Christopher Reeve, in 1978, and that series didn't take long to peter out, with 1987's </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Superman IV: The Quest For Peace</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> signaling the ignominious end (for nearly twenty years, it would turn out) of the Man of Steel's big screen career.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But then came </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and bat-hype. Arriving in theaters amidst an avalanche of toys, T-shirts, and other tie-ins, the Caped Crusader’s ballyhooed big budget revamp shifted the landscape for big screen blockbusters so rapidly that it caught nearly everyone by surprise except for the kids and comic book fans who eagerly drank it all up and went to theaters again and again. By the time it finished its theatrical run, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> '89 had made more than $400 million worldwide against a $35 mil budget, and birthed a genuine cultural phenomenon in the process.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Given that, it's easy to see why Warner Bros. wanted to get a sequel into theaters as quickly as possible. However, in those innocent days before things like sequel clauses had become standard operating procedure when signing talent to big ticket franchises like this, the first thing they needed to do was woo director Burton back into the big chair, and the second was to get star Michael Keaton to don the rubber cape and cowl yet again. Given that the reticent Burton didn't have a particularly good time making the first one, getting him to come aboard for a follow-up wasn’t the easiest ask. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUQ1Ibp4ZmYX7oIapJYVzOTZEOMkXuNFFovx9dnjgNbTDMVU9Y04puwHKSITffqZjH1x1_nf-QK3rJvTG54E1e10G2YY7SWeJzTkZpM6zo9qXJASA3Y-UXKvaJJdczMCvP8rfiBaTNgtT3WaHB7PWkkicPoY-FxVhTWaJ6ptRFZoTbcc6cA/s1800/Batman%20Returns%202.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1800" data-original-width="1216" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUQ1Ibp4ZmYX7oIapJYVzOTZEOMkXuNFFovx9dnjgNbTDMVU9Y04puwHKSITffqZjH1x1_nf-QK3rJvTG54E1e10G2YY7SWeJzTkZpM6zo9qXJASA3Y-UXKvaJJdczMCvP8rfiBaTNgtT3WaHB7PWkkicPoY-FxVhTWaJ6ptRFZoTbcc6cA/w270-h400/Batman%20Returns%202.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><br />What ultimately got Burton back into the fold was the promise of creative control, with the previous film's hands-on producing duo of Jon Peters & Peter Guber kicked upstairs and given ceremonial executive producer titles. Thus, with Burton now firmly in charge, Keaton quickly signed on (after a significant salary boost), and the director hired screenwriter Daniel Waters (</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heathers</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) to help him shape a very different vision than what the studio likely expected for the borning </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman 2</span><p></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Burton, the chance to sequelize one of the biggest hits of all time was less about repeating himself than it was was a chance to tell a tragicomic Christmas parable that showcased his particular storytelling proclivities while largely eschewing faithfulness to the DC Comics mythology. The resultant mix makes </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman Returns</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which hit theaters in summer of 1992, unlike any Batman project to emerge before or since, and perhaps the most daring superhero sequel ever made for how thoroughly it serves as a vehicle for its director's unfettered id. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The story begins with the birth of a monstrously deformed child to the wealthy Cobblepot family of Gotham (Paul Reubens & Diane Salinger), who promptly dump the baby in his carriage into the Gotham River. Picking up three decades later, the child has grown into the monstrous Penguin (Danny Devito), who orchestrates a crime wave from his sewer layer and eventually forms an alliance with corrupt businessman Max Schreck (Christopher Walken), who puts the Penguin forward as a mayoral candidate with his backing. Meanwhile, Schreck's secretary Selina Kyle (Michelle Pfeiffer) suffers a near-death experience at her employer's hands, but comes back to life thanks to the magical intervention of a coterie of cats. This in turn prompts her to fashion a leather-vinyl costume and take on the identity of Catwoman.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You'll notice, I've barely mentioned Batman and/or Bruce Wayne thus far, and it tells you what an overstuffed confection </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman Returns</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> is that the title hero feels like more of a guest star in this one then he did last time (where he was almost blown off the screen by Jack Nicholson’s bombastic Joker). Burton’s interests are clearly more focused on the sideshow escapees he’s assembled, like something out of a German expressionist film (it’s no accident that DeVito’s Oswald Cobblepot, when duded up in topcoat and tails, looks exactly like Werner Krauss’ Caligari from the 1920 silent horror classic The </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cabinet of Dr. Caligari</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Indeed, the entire project feels less rooted in reality than the gothic skyline and cityscapes that production designer Anton Furst created for the previous entry. (Furst passed away in 1991.) Instead, Burton worked with </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Returns</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> designer Bo Welch (who he’d previously teamed with on </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Beetlejuice</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Edward Scissorhands</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) to further loosen Gotham City from the tethers of reality, reimagining it as a Grand Guignol dreamscape, a nightmarish fairy land where even the joyful spirit of Christmas is subsumed by a feeling of ominous, encroaching dread.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As such, it’s somehow kind of remarkable how Keaton is able to ground the proceedings and make a mark, all while further deepening and enriching his very unique take on millionaire Bruce Wayne and his bat-winged alter ego. The central romance between Wayne and Selina Kyle -- both in and out of their black leather ensembles -- proves surprisingly poignant, as we watch these two characters who are clearly meant to be together yet never can be (“Don't you see,” says Wayne to Selina at the climax, “We're the same. Split down the middle.”)</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In addition to the romance that he plays masterfully with Pfeiffer, Keaton also had the opportunity this second time out to show new dimensions of Wayne to the audience, including letting us see him go “undercover” in the boardroom opposite Walken’s Schreck (who is truly at his most Christopher Walken-esque here), plying his playboy persona to uncover new information about the tycoon’s plans. Seeing how confidently Keaton settled back into the role for his sophomore offering can’t help but make you mourn for all the follow-up performances we never got from Keaton in further Bat-sequels.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The actor was famously loyal to his director, and had made clear in contemporaneous interviews that without Burton at the helm, his interest in any future outings would be substantially dimmed. With that in mind, it’s also easy to see when viewed holistically why </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman Returns</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> would end up being Burton’s swan song from the franchise he’d played such an instrumental role in bringing into the world. The dark subject matter and even darker (at times) execution, while perfectly in line with Burton’s own sensibilities, would prove a bridge too far for many parents who were being asked to buy </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman Returns</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">-themed backpacks and Happy Meals.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Above and beyond making a successful sequel, Warner Bros. wanted to move merchandise the same way it had done three years earlier, and that’s hard to do when your flick starts with a child being abandoned into the sewers and the villain’s big scheme is to kidnap and kill every firstborn child in the city. And so, while </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman Returns</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> had a then-record opening weekend of $46 million, audiences soon tapered off. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">With a $266 million global haul, it was a huge success, no doubt, but it also cost more than the first one and made substantially less, and so the studio couldn’t help but feel they’d left some money on the table. This then prompted a massive creative reshuffling behind-the-scenes for the franchise’s next installment, 1995’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman Forever</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which was directed by Joel Schumacher and starred Val Kilmer (this take too would prove hugely successful...until 1997’s </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman & Robin</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, when it suddenly wasn’t).</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Time has the ability to add new textures to cinematic experiences that might not be apparent upon initial release, and when viewed with the benefit of three decades' worth of hindsight, it’s impossible not to appreciate </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman Returns</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> for the fascinating oddity that it is. While the story beats are often incongruous in both narrative and tone, there’s unquestionable artistry in the mad world Burton imagined, and the confidence with which he dropped that vision right smack into the middle of what was purportedly a mainstream, family entertainment.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 2005, thirteen years after the curtain came down on the Burton wing of the Bat-mythos, director Christopher Nolan took the reins of the property with </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman Begins</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and its subsequent sequels, imbuing it in the process with a spirit of grounded-ness and realism that stands in stark contrast with Burton’s dreamlike, fanciful take. In 2022, Matt Reeves helmed <i>The Batman</i>, and again took things in a gritty, "realistic" direction. Rather than one approach being better or more “right,” this just demonstrates the character’s remarkably elastic ability to withstand multiple tonal resets. It also highlights the special place of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Batman Returns</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in the character’s history, as a filmmaker’s very personal statement about love, loss, and loneliness draped in the scalloped leather cape of a summer superhero blockbuster.</span></p>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-43280128903919163532021-03-30T19:00:00.001-07:002021-03-30T19:54:05.705-07:00Zaki's Review: Godzilla vs. Kong<p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7SG2HFrtO5YgpZj_ickkjL4Nnfv4ulnwHEH-a_7_bR4tS-nP-trFuLa3BynUAk3SoqHaqe3alRxJ3rxbeQKA7o5qEZf6m6m-Y2QuoiiD4BuZK8Q8Z3MJ07dcNYRbTpENk_uh/s1280/KvG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="670" data-original-width="1280" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk7SG2HFrtO5YgpZj_ickkjL4Nnfv4ulnwHEH-a_7_bR4tS-nP-trFuLa3BynUAk3SoqHaqe3alRxJ3rxbeQKA7o5qEZf6m6m-Y2QuoiiD4BuZK8Q8Z3MJ07dcNYRbTpENk_uh/w568-h298/KvG.jpg" width="568" /></a></i></div><i><br />Godzilla vs. Kong</i> delivers exactly what the title promises. The film, fourth in Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Monsterverse” of kaiju movies that began with 2014’s <i>Godzilla</i> and 2017’s <i>Kong: Skull Island</i>, pits the two giant monsters against each other for the first time since the Japanese-produced <i>King Kong vs. Godzilla</i> in 1962. That one-off battle retained enough of a Godzilla-sized footprint in pop culture that, no matter how many other creatures the Japanese lizard squared off against, it was this pairing that seemed as inevitable as it was unlikely. <p></p><p>Of course, 49 years was probably long enough for the two icons to chill in their respective corners, so the timing couldn’t be more right for this long-in-coming rematch, one afforded the blockbuster budget and razzle-dazzle we’d expect in 2021. As directed by Adam Wingard from a screenplay by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein, <i>Godzilla vs. Kong</i> not only lives up to the bone-crunching, building-smashing promise of its title, it also brings together numerous threads laid out over the three Monsterverse chapters thus far.</p><p><a href="https://www.ign.com/articles/godzilla-vs-kong-review">Continue reading at IGN...</a></p>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-28319759234708955072021-03-30T08:00:00.003-07:002021-03-30T19:30:06.168-07:00King Kong's Japanese Adventures<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-fVuh14Ma7tFjqtMA5guxjZFtPPDn47jCQ2fW9ERk1f_LTnG5YBHb4Unv0QijnuCUim3GjLi39MhDySYRLwKur5itlj_KxneVr-t4YeVeggGxxSEHICgzn3jIi70KonLgrRy/s1400/KvG.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1400" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-fVuh14Ma7tFjqtMA5guxjZFtPPDn47jCQ2fW9ERk1f_LTnG5YBHb4Unv0QijnuCUim3GjLi39MhDySYRLwKur5itlj_KxneVr-t4YeVeggGxxSEHICgzn3jIi70KonLgrRy/w400-h200/KvG.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;">King Kong was supposed to fight the Frankenstein monster.</h3><p></p><p>Things didn’t quite work out that way, but it was that kernel of an idea, dreamed up by veteran special effects expert WIllis O’Brien, that began the Great Ape's long journey toward what would end up becoming <i>King Kong vs. Godzilla</i>, and his brief two-film stint as a fightin’ kaiju for Toho Studios. While that film would serve as the beginning of a bold new chapter for Godzilla, it’s no less of a fascinating footnote in the history of King Kong.</p><p>Sure, when Kong tumbled off the Empire State Building at the close of his eponymous RKO feature film in 1933, that should’ve been it for the so-called Eighth Wonder of the World, but he was simply too big a character (literally and iconically) for death to be the actual end. And while it would take a few decades for him to make a belated return to the big screen, it seems entirely appropriate it would happen opposite a supersized foe who had become just as iconic in the interim.</p><p>As the effects guru who worked his stop motion magic on the 1933 <i>King Kong</i>, O’Brien was at least as instrumental to its success as director Merian C. Cooper, who dreamed up the idea to begin with. Kong remained a beloved artifact even decades after its release, and the effects artist’s idea — alternately titled <i>King Kong vs. Prometheus</i> — hinged on a modern day descendant of Dr. Frankenstein creating a new, giant-sized version of the monster, all leading up to a throwdown with a revived Kong in San Francisco.</p><p>As tends to happen sometimes, the proposed project languished in the Hollywood pipeline for several years before producer John Beck, apparently without O’Brien’s knowledge, took the idea to Japan and Toho, where it was quickly picked up and retrofitted into a Godzilla sequel. At this point, the series had been dormant since 1954’s <i>Godzilla Raids Again</i>, but the addition to the bill of an international superstar like Kong was exactly the shot of electrically-infused adrenaline the franchise needed.</p><p>Unfortunately for O’Brien, the eventual film didn’t merely jettison the trappings of his initial story, but also the stop motion effects he’d pioneered, opting instead for Toho’s tried-and-true man-in-the-suit approach. (Separate from O’Brien, Merian Cooper – by then in his mid-seventies – was also quite upset when he learned of the project’s development, going so far as trying unsuccessfully to sue in hopes of pulling a legal level to prevent its production.)</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKusi77NKow4D0-BHTXwj2dmeP2vuY1DNtNDx17h4I-ecmoi8RoL3xikpOxh-ro4Ry_KJVA-ROcDei_ov4fhcKEOEKwWaic2-jgZWzERTA8dgNlFfwY6ArldW-bA5jz4R1niw/s1500/King+Kong+Escapes.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNKusi77NKow4D0-BHTXwj2dmeP2vuY1DNtNDx17h4I-ecmoi8RoL3xikpOxh-ro4Ry_KJVA-ROcDei_ov4fhcKEOEKwWaic2-jgZWzERTA8dgNlFfwY6ArldW-bA5jz4R1niw/w266-h400/King+Kong+Escapes.jpg" width="266" /></a>Directed by original <i>Godzilla</i> helmer Ishirō Honda, <i>King Kong vs. Godzilla</i> still has some social commentary laced in (Honda satirizes consumerism and TV culture by equating his monster mash to a ratings battle), it also marked Toho’s transition into the campy monster v. monster romps it would come to be defined by during both the Showa period. Picking up roughly from <i>Godzilla Raids Again</i>, it begins with Godzilla awakened from inside a glacier by an American sub and making a beeline towards Japan for his usual city-destroying ways. </p><p>Elsewhere, Kong is captured from his monster-infested home on Faro Island (née Skull Island) and taken to Japan. It’s not long before the throwdown promised by the title ensues in earnest. And though it’s never explained how Kong survived his precipitous fall in 1933, or why he’s substantially larger than his American incarnation, or why he absorbs and radiates electrical energy, none of that really matters. Kong was already a huge star in Japan, so of course they’d literalize that by making him huge. </p><p>And while there’s been a longstanding myth of Japanese and American audiences being treated to two different versions of the movie, with Godzilla triumphing in the Japanese cut and vice versa, this has long since been disproven. In fact, at the time, Kong was popular enough in Japan to not only merit top billing over relative newcomer Godzilla, but also come out ahead in the big brawl. At that particular pop cultural moment, this was Kong’s turf, and Godzilla was just borrowing it.</p><p>After a vicious battle at sea between the two titans, Kong surfaces and sets off to his island home. Godzilla doesn’t. (Spoiler: He was fine.) Viewed through today’s more cynical prism, <i>King Kong vs. Godzilla</i> is, of course, hilarious. It’s also a lot of fun. It has a sense of earnestness that makes it both endearing and engaging. At the time, this was the biggest one-on-one monster brawl since the Frankenstein Monster took on the Wolf Man nearly twenty years earlier, and even now it holds a singular appeal all its own for exactly that reason.</p><p>But while Godzilla would rapidly rear his scaly head yet again in twelve more features during Toho’s Showa era, Kong’s journey would be slightly more abbreviated. His one and only curtain call for the studio would come five years later in <i>King Kong Escapes</i>, a frothy confection far more comical and far less substantial than its predecessor. Its release in 1967 would ultimately signal Kong’s exit from further escapades in cinemas for the next decade.</p><p>The goal this time was to create a spritely creature feature for the under-ten set, and on that score it mostly succeeded. The film itself was (loosely) based on the American-Japanese co-produced Saturday morning ‘toon <i>The King Kong Show</i>, which featured the big guy befriending the family of an American scientist living on Skull Island. In between hanging out with pre-teen pal Bobby, Kong would take time to thrash the various creatures showing up to cause trouble.</p><p>It was silly, disposable fluff, and the kids loved it. Thus, following <i>The King Kong Show</i>’s debut on ABC in 1966, producers Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass (they of the perennial Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas special) hit up Toho, whose previous licensing rights were still in effect, about turning it into a live action feature. In response, the studio initially contrived an idea called <i>King Kong vs. Ebirah</i>, which would have seen him square off with a giant mutated shrimp, along with their old standby Mothra.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkssgmBmD52CKkzs7uLTZtn-RDXinN09qIZOMo2W0MDMqps7ckVCG0wUJEJULmVwKaIXh-JvMcKdkRQcMno_16DMOu4ZIl32oNA-eGi4N9Otnl026F8z8ktgI7IiTTsVK5FF0/s720/Kong+Show.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkssgmBmD52CKkzs7uLTZtn-RDXinN09qIZOMo2W0MDMqps7ckVCG0wUJEJULmVwKaIXh-JvMcKdkRQcMno_16DMOu4ZIl32oNA-eGi4N9Otnl026F8z8ktgI7IiTTsVK5FF0/w320-h240/Kong+Show.png" width="320" /></a>However, the TV producers weren’t interested in straying so far from the template they’d laid in place via the animated series, and with a few modifications <i>King Kong Escapes</i> arrived in 1967. (The rejected idea got made in ‘66 after swapping Godzilla in for Kong.) Again helmed by Ishirō Honda, Toho’s final Kong flick saw him facing off against the dual-villainy of the evil Dr. Who (not to be confused with that other Doctor Who) and his giant robotic creation Mechani-Kong. Both baddies were lifted right out of the TV show, and they brought with them the exact same level of sophistication (i.e. not much).</p><p>Unlike the big battle with Godzilla, <i>King Kong Escapes</i> doesn’t have much intrinsic value today other than as a strange pit stop in the character’s eighty-eight year journey. With its chintzy special effects and comical gorilla suit, it’s almost impossible to take seriously for anyone who didn’t grow up with it, especially when compared to what audiences today have become conditioned to expect. It’s simply an odd little curio that came and went without making much of a mark. </p><p>While Toho tried to get a third Kong movie into production, the window on their license was rapidly closing, and it would be nearly a decade before the ape again got to strut his stuff, this time via producer Dino De Laurentiis’ much-hyped 1976 remake (which was a substantial success and not the massive flop it’s sometimes labeled as). As for Toho’s tenure as Kong’s captors, the two projects during the Showa era are markers of the remarkable cultural capital the character continued to enjoy several decades after his debut -- an appeal that transcended cultures and stretched from one ocean to the other.</p>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-13624882928994109902021-03-18T09:00:00.001-07:002021-03-18T13:45:48.280-07:00Zaki's Review: The Falcon and the Winter Soldier<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPbNUck5NXtQMnS9iYo_ezKstlTlGujo2rKjZC7-wkzrKfYQAtbifRi48ML-mPkWXdXunjdmNlpLTqBB9vXv8EDOI8lo7TJR12qk110I6JnF-s0mMRSNV812v6LvBrOfc-lGC/s1024/FaWS1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1024" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinPbNUck5NXtQMnS9iYo_ezKstlTlGujo2rKjZC7-wkzrKfYQAtbifRi48ML-mPkWXdXunjdmNlpLTqBB9vXv8EDOI8lo7TJR12qk110I6JnF-s0mMRSNV812v6LvBrOfc-lGC/w400-h266/FaWS1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />If you thought the folks at Marvel Studios were going to give fans a breather after the emotionally fraught final hour of <i>WandaVision</i>, the Disney-owned superhero factory has other ideas. And if this week’s premiere of <i>The Falcon and the Winter Soldier</i> is anything to go by, they have every intention of remaining at the forefront of the cultural conversation. <p></p><p>During the 13 years since the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the studio has smartly used its varied characters and tones as a way to keep the brand continually refreshed, with everything from period pieces and espionage thrillers to space operas and teen dramas encompassed within its 23-film canvas. That commitment is very much in evidence with its latest streaming offerings on Disney+.</p><p><a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/review-marvel-keeps-brand-fresh-with-introspective-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-premiere?fbclid=IwAR0yOW9HoxeDiUV5-EY_venJeJMeyZ8iHEV4TbhYaUlYpKgfMd3FS-PYtwY">Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle...</a></p>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-35888237234615645722021-03-17T23:59:00.013-07:002021-03-19T20:27:12.417-07:00Zaki's Review: Zack Snyder's Justice League<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Du0OXKtHmHrGCQYN8d2OglRLhcVg6u4wjJ9g6CyY3F1a9eXTVjpvwqfjXrecoxOM2fWyyERZyLHUIndHLPAEDpCD9JZFsmm6RJ4BUyeyrCuV2KucpFnqx2J0RgSX7eFLOfBU/s2000/ZSJL2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1270" data-original-width="2000" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Du0OXKtHmHrGCQYN8d2OglRLhcVg6u4wjJ9g6CyY3F1a9eXTVjpvwqfjXrecoxOM2fWyyERZyLHUIndHLPAEDpCD9JZFsmm6RJ4BUyeyrCuV2KucpFnqx2J0RgSX7eFLOfBU/w497-h316/ZSJL2.jpg" width="497" /></a></div></div><p></p><p><a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2017/11/zakis-review-justice-league.html">When <i>Justice League</i> hit theaters four years ago</a>, I was among the few critics who was positive about the superhero team-up picture, which represented a culmination of sorts for Warner Bros.’ longstanding ambitions to get their roster of DC superheroes into the same kind of shared cinematic universe Disney’s Marvel lineup had been running laps around them with for almost a decade. Things didn’t quite turn out the way they probably hoped.</p><p>After all, even as the project may have been a culmination for its studio, it very much wasn’t for the credited director, Zack Snyder, who departed the production midway through post due to a family tragedy and the impinging cacophony of notes and interference. The resultant release, shepherded through reshoots and rewrites by <i>Avengers</i> writer/director Joss Whedon, was a Frankenstein monster of a thing that <span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">—</span> though not absent of charms <span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">—</span> took a mighty trouncing at the box office while failing to evoke the ethos of either filmmaker.</p><p>That the film bearing his name had so little to do with his desired aims was an untended sore for both the director and his fans, and would likely have remained so for the foreseeable future. But miracles can happen in the age of streaming, and with AT&T desperate to line up exclusive content for its shiny new streaming service, a window was opened for Snyder <span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">—</span> given an additional $70 mil to add the finishing touches <span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">—</span> to see the vision he was explicitly hired for to completion. </p><p>And so, several years and one inescapable hashtag later, HBO Max debuts <i>Zack Snyder’s Justice League</i>, running a cool 242 minutes and allowing its director reclaim his original intentions for the superhero opus unceremoniously snatched away from him while expanding on and adding to it. And make no mistake, this re-edit is an improvement in just about every measurable way on the version that preceded it.</p><p>More importantly, the Snyder cut is stylistically consistent and of a piece with its two predecessors, allowing the three to stand together as a trilogy should this represent the end of the road for this particular corner of the DC Comics Cinematic Multiverse. It’s doubtful <i>Zack Snyder's Justice League</i> would have hit theaters in 2017 in this form and it’s an open question whether it would’ve been better received at the box office, but I'm glad the circumstances materialized for it to happen.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04EoWHxym3ucTxqkPsgn_FJtj2aLhxMcW_tlbtMN74FIJ99_r4KQJ_UHycdJblUk1cvDQnFQA2may5ENLKhXQYxjf_ZgFSCNHlkZRN0cim2rfIWHkVAzSGkMaCaV-LAv7LEI1/s1778/ZSJL.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1778" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04EoWHxym3ucTxqkPsgn_FJtj2aLhxMcW_tlbtMN74FIJ99_r4KQJ_UHycdJblUk1cvDQnFQA2may5ENLKhXQYxjf_ZgFSCNHlkZRN0cim2rfIWHkVAzSGkMaCaV-LAv7LEI1/w270-h400/ZSJL.jpg" width="270" /></a></p><p></p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: left;">The story is the same, with Chris Terrio getting sole screenplay credit here as opposed to his shared credit with Whedon on the theatrical cut: Superman (Henry Cavill) is dead following the events of 2016’s </span><i style="text-align: left;">Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice</i><span style="text-align: left;">. And Batman (Ben Affleck) intends to follow through on his graveside vow to continue the late hero’s legacy and pull together a roster of the World’s Greatest Heroes to stave off an impending invasion from the distant planet Apokolips. </span></p><p></p><p>All your favorites are back: Jason Momoa’s <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2018/12/zakis-review-aquaman.html">Aquaman</a>! Gal Gadot’s <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2020/12/zakis-review-wonder-woman-1984.html">Wonder Woman</a>! Plus: Ezra Miller as Flash! Ray Fisher as Cyborg! The villain is still the New God Steppenwolf, still voiced by Ciarán Hinds, but benefitting from an entirely new CGI design as well as more screentime and context for his master plan to play out (as well as an appearance by the even-bigger baddie Darkseid, laying track for an intended sequel that will likely never be).</p><p>As it turns out, being able to watch Snyder’s cut validates every complaint about how the director was treated by the studio. The added runtime means more time to set up the stakes, the mood, and the tension to make the third act showdown actually feel earned. More importantly, it affords more time for our heroes to interact in ways building up their camaraderie and echoing the longstanding relationships they have with one another in the DC comic books.</p><p>The biggest beneficiary on that front is Ray Fisher. The Cyborg actor has been especially outspoken online about his dissatisfaction with the theatrical cut, and it’s plain to see why. His Victor Stone, a former football player given a cybernetic upgrade following a devastating car accident, was entirely robbed of his arc in the transition from one helmer to the next. In addition to being personally upsetting for Fisher it was an unquestionable loss to the film, with Cyborg’s relationship with scientist father Silas (Joe Morton) bracketing the narrative.</p><p>It’s not just Fisher, though. Miller is still the wiseacre of the bunch, but he gets some pathos added to his arc. We also get more of Affleck’s Bruce Wayne tossing banter back and forth with aide-de-camp Alfred (Jeremy Irons), and a return from the dead for Henry Cavill’s Superman that neatly ties a bow around his introduction in Man of Steel. With recent news seeming to hint at Cavill’s time with the cape being over (which will be a shame if true), this makes for a solid way to potentially close out his tenure.</p><p>Yes, this project still bears all the Zack Snyder hallmarks that tend to rub people the wrong way, including the muted color palette and a super-destructo third act that dials things up to eleven. But it's amazing how much the additional breathing room smooths over those potential rough patches. Helpfully divided up into "episodes" with different chapter titles to facilitate watching it like a miniseries, the broader canvas doesn't feel needlessly padded and instead actually lets the story build up to the big moments.</p><p>In fact, it tells you something that even as it stretches to a full four hours, this cut of <i>Justice League</i> manages to feel like half that. Several bits of business were added in following Snyder’s departure <span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">—</span> one-liners, new exposition scenes <span face="Roboto, arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #202124; font-size: 16px;">—</span> many of which were fine, but none of which were missed for their absence from this cut. Meanwhile, everything newly added back in just made me wonder why it was cut in the first place. It’s just that much better, and it’s not even close.</p><p>(Also gone, by the way, is the entirety of Danny Elfman’s music score, replaced with Snyder’s original composer Tom Holkenborg, a.k.a. Junkie XL.) </p><p>Obviously if you’re one of the legions of folks who were clamoring for this (some more nicely than others), you’re already onboard. But even if you haven’t, it'll make you appreciate in hindsight the groundwork the other movies laid. I say that as someone who <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2013/06/zakis-review-man-of-steel.html">very much liked <i>Man of Steel</i></a> but <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2016/03/zakis-review-batman-v-superman-dawn-of.html">very much didn’t like <i>Batman v. Superman</i></a>. I still think that latter film has shortcomings in structure and execution (made less so, no doubt, by the longer “Ultimate Edition”), but I’m willing to allow that the Snyder cut of<i> Justice League</i> makes that movie’s perceived debits worth weathering. I hope those who were similarly turned off will find their way back.</p><p>It’s funny how the benefits of both time and contrast work in Snyder’s favor here, allowing for what was an enjoyable-if-perfunctory adventure to become an epic event with a scale appropriate to the momentous meet-up it depicts. Although playing within the same rough narrative sandbox as the theatrical cut, the changes in both tone and tempo are so multitudinous as to make <i>Zack Snyder’s Justice League</i> essentially a different movie. Not so much an extended cut or a director’s cut, but the definitive cut. The earlier one need never have existed, and it certainly never need be watched again. <b>A</b></p>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-34934577679182046682021-03-05T17:00:00.001-08:002021-03-30T19:58:51.579-07:00Zaki's Review: WandaVision<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85fceA_yfAes44KWcsnsFXagKoftX0UpQbvFmGnpRBEWPtNdZsIt7TIUju5RcDXpoHwAEZEKwiYOGokVqTkwcXT7SHrd2xs3zLUW_KwKBlCVv7az8LRsPThr3IH7Rutsr_Gk-/s1024/WandaVision.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh85fceA_yfAes44KWcsnsFXagKoftX0UpQbvFmGnpRBEWPtNdZsIt7TIUju5RcDXpoHwAEZEKwiYOGokVqTkwcXT7SHrd2xs3zLUW_KwKBlCVv7az8LRsPThr3IH7Rutsr_Gk-/w640-h360/WandaVision.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />The premiere of the first Marvel miniseries, <i>WandaVision</i> on Disney+, dropped its titular twosome into a TV utopia that painstakingly emulated the ethos of ’50s and ’60s sitcom favorites like <i>The Dick Van Dyke Show</i> and <i>Bewitched</i>, while asking viewers to exercise patience as the plot unfolded. That patience was tested at times as the show’s weekly release schedule led to heated online discussions with every new episode, spawning all manner of fan theories and speculation leading up to its finale on Friday, March 5. <p></p><p>With the ninth and final episode (appropriately titled “The Series Finale”), answers were plentiful. And while the resolution left some fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe unsatisfied — those who hoped for a drop-in from Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange, or the MCU debut of <i>X-Men</i> and <i>Fantastic Four</i> characters — “WandaVision” wrapped with an ending that’s mostly honest with its audience yet true to itself.</p><p><a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/wandavision-finale-what-the-disney-series-ending-says-about-marvels-future">Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle...</a></p>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-21701528601516057532020-12-25T09:57:00.008-08:002020-12-27T05:44:35.061-08:00Zaki's Review: Wonder Woman 1984<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VFJCQ2PHGxdGH37n093gbb0uLZggQDGPyqHotydgGzn6ajzXpSzal0iHP9R89p6_JFFx4Luwy9X6AVcfvhA_Lr1mJ6V0tU3GkwLBZWnZtRX1u2YP-x2ef8tYJ6MCSovoGAWp/s1400/Wonder+Woman+1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5VFJCQ2PHGxdGH37n093gbb0uLZggQDGPyqHotydgGzn6ajzXpSzal0iHP9R89p6_JFFx4Luwy9X6AVcfvhA_Lr1mJ6V0tU3GkwLBZWnZtRX1u2YP-x2ef8tYJ6MCSovoGAWp/w640-h320/Wonder+Woman+1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Three years ago <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2017/06/zakis-review-wonder-woman.html"><i>Wonder Woman</i> arrived in theaters</a> and managed to capture the zeitgeist on its way to more than $800 million at the global box office. The comic book opus directed by Patty Jenkins and starring Gal Gadot was remarkable for the ways it operated within the familiar structural confines of a tried-and-true superhero origin story while using its World War I setting to comment on some larger truths about humankind and also advancing an unapologetically feminist mission statement. <p></p><p>The sequence about an hour in when the title character makes her confident, costumed debut at the Belgian front, advancing across No Man’s Land when no other soldier can, remains as potent and energizing now as when it was in theaters, and I suspect it will remain a crown jewel among superhero films for the foreseeable future. As such, given the remarkable path that had been blazed ahead of it, perhaps it’s inevitable that a sequel was going to come up short. <i>Wonder Woman 1984</i> is mostly fine -- I certainly didn’t regret having watched it -- but it's disposable and surface-level in a way the first one wasn't. <span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneGzP6CPEqNws9Di8MSYYic93Tjbj4ljMzBydvB4PM2aR90uVYw-y4O2yVzP2V6FOGuJqFDQrKeoi-f34Kyc4nyKqdRQxeaOMxwMWwmPWjS37srqJ4VO-w584zHXEmDp1yn8f/s2048/Wonder+Woman+2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1389" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneGzP6CPEqNws9Di8MSYYic93Tjbj4ljMzBydvB4PM2aR90uVYw-y4O2yVzP2V6FOGuJqFDQrKeoi-f34Kyc4nyKqdRQxeaOMxwMWwmPWjS37srqJ4VO-w584zHXEmDp1yn8f/w271-h400/Wonder+Woman+2.jpg" width="271" /></a></div>In addition to Gal Gadot back in tiara-and-bracelets, Patty Jenkins is back behind-the-camera as well as shaping the story for this follow-up (sharing screenplay credit with Geoff Johns and David Callaham). For this entry the story jumps ahead from the wartime venue of movie one to the Orwellian date noted in the title, where Wonder Woman operates anonymously in the World of Man, meting out justice in her costumed guise while working as an anthropologist in her alter ego of Diana Prince. In a way, it's a bit of an homage to the 1970s <i>Wonder Woman</i> television series starring Lynda Carter, which began with a World War II setting before pulling up stakes to present day ‘70s.<p></p><p>Even this many decades later, the immortal Diana lives a lonely life, still mourning the loss of wartime love Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), who gave his life to save the world, but a chance encounter with a magic wishing stone brings her lost love back into her life. That same stone also works its mojo on Diana’s mousey museum colleague Barbara Minerva (Kristen Wiig), whose desire to be just like her friend ends up giving her a new confidence and the ability to toss men around. Of course, the real engine driving the plot is the get-rich scheme of TV conman Maxwell Lord (Pedro Pascal), who has designs on using said McGuffin to make turn the fantasy persona he’s projected to the world into the real thing. Yeah, he’s a Donald Trump caricature, but unlike the real guy, Pascal imbues his character with some sense of empathy and pathos.</p><p>So yes, Pascal (who’s having a pretty good year between this and <i><a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/the-mandalorian-closes-season-two-on-a-creative-high-with-an-epic-star-wars-cameo">The Mandalorian</a></i>) is fun to watch here. But as before, the best thing about the film is Gal Gadot, who effortlessly embodies Diana’s confidence and strength while also imbuing her with vulnerability -- no mean feat when you’re talking about the immortal daughter of Zeus who looks like she was sculpted out of marble. In addition to the title star, that they found a way to involve Pine in a way that works for the story was not only welcome but smart, as the pair has the kind of connection that makes us rejoice in seeing them reunited (although the mechanics surrounding Trevor’s resurrection do seem a bit dicey if you think too deeply about them).</p><p>And so, while the central romance works exactly as well here as it did previously, everything else seems like a step down. The action sequences seem perfunctory, and the fan-turned-villain relationship with Wiig’s Minverva (a.k.a. Cheetah) is a variation on what we’ve seen countless times before. In fact, probably the biggest problem is how this is cobbled together from pieces of other superhero flicks: A little bit of <i>Superman II</i>, a little bit of <i>Superman III</i>, and <a href="http://moviefilmpodcast.com/home/2020/03/15/the-moviefilm-commentary-track-batman-forever/">a whole lot of <i>Batman Forever</i></a>. None of that is inherently bad, but it’s a far cry from the first one. And the fact that this sequel does fall so far short of its predecessor even with all the talent involved does make one wonder if there’s perhaps not as much juice in this series as one might have hoped.</p><p>Let’s talk for a second about the 1984 setting. Why? Other than the (admittedly pleasing) sight of a shopping mall filled with ‘80s-era stores, there’s nothing textually making the “Me” Decade necessary for this story to exist within. Sure, Lord is appealing to people’s greed in Gordon Gekko fashion, but last I checked that hasn’t exactly been drained out of the human experience in the interim. If anything, knowing it’s set in 1984 actually hogties our suspension of disbelief a bit. Given this story exists within a timeline that also includes the present-set <i><a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2016/03/zakis-review-batman-v-superman-dawn-of.html">Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2017/11/zakis-review-justice-league.html">Justice League</a></i>, we know nothing too drastic can happen in 1984 because of where things have to end up.</p><p>Unlike, say, <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2014/05/zakis-review-x-men-days-of-future-past.html">2014’s <i>X-Men: Days of Future Past</i></a>, which is explicitly set in an anything-goes alternate 1973, with this one there’s a bit of watching the clock and waiting for the inevitable reset button to be hit the more the wishing stone-related shenanigans spin out of control and engulf the world. On top of that, when Pascal’s Max Lord shows up in front of the President of the United States (Stuart Milligan), it’s either a really bad Ronald Reagan impression or not meant to be Reagan at all. Either way, it makes it seem like the movie isn’t interested in committing to its own conceit. Other than Diana having to coexist with her Justice League colleagues and be a public figure, I’m not sure what would have been lost by setting this in the here-and-now.</p><p>While the third act does manage to avoid <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2016/08/zakis-review-suicide-squad.html">“blue sky beam”</a> stakes that have become a particular pebble in my shoe when it comes to these kinds of films, it's still overblown in a way that's simply too big to be resolved believably. As a result, what we get instead feels artificial and cloying (and somewhat at odds with human nature). And while the action sequences are enjoyable, they’re too few and far between -- and none pack the instant iconography of No Man’s Land. As before, the best parts of <i>Wonder Woman 1984</i> are Gadot and Pine. Their scenes together and easy chemistry make it worth watching. Two movies in, Patty Jenkins' love and respect for the character and her history is unquestionable, but will an eventual third <i>Wonder Woman</i> solo outing be an improvement? Let's hope wishing can make it so. <b>B-</b></p>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-53205972126649019622020-02-20T08:28:00.001-08:002020-12-26T23:40:10.353-08:00Zaki’s Review: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi56vcgtHwNkFM2X3Q4i1LD-czxk84nI4TSFSsimLnZRRxybUJtWLZrr_tw5PUKNX5ekh5E6fxNHOa0M7-PluSQsivRtR4h-q3dDhzb7EbOaBJTWFu_9el-vbxA2n3iA8H1Bgib/s1600/D25BF957-6241-4EED-BA9B-82D61DEA7F64.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="600" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi56vcgtHwNkFM2X3Q4i1LD-czxk84nI4TSFSsimLnZRRxybUJtWLZrr_tw5PUKNX5ekh5E6fxNHOa0M7-PluSQsivRtR4h-q3dDhzb7EbOaBJTWFu_9el-vbxA2n3iA8H1Bgib/s400/D25BF957-6241-4EED-BA9B-82D61DEA7F64.jpeg" width="500" /></a></div>
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In the seven years <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2013/06/zakis-review-man-of-steel.html">since <i>Man of Steel</i>’s release</a> raised the curtain on a post-<i>Dark Knight</i> reality for DC Comics on the big screen, Warner Bros.’ superhero shop has spanned the gamut both critically and commercially, achieving some of its highest highs (<i>Joker</i>’s billion-dollar, Oscar-winning success) and lowest lows (<i><a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2017/11/zakis-review-justice-league.html">Justice League</a></i>, natch). Still, the one thing you can say about the various DC releases is that most of them take big swings creatively, and that’s certainly the case for Cathy Yan’s <i>Birds of Prey</i>.</div>
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Despite being saddled with the needlessly unwieldy subtitle “The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn,” it manages to duck-and-weave through a suitably bonkers plot. What it does most smartly is to use Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn (one of the few universally acclaimed elements in the otherwise-polarizing <i>Suicide Squad</i> — <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2016/08/zakis-review-suicide-squad.html">a movie I enjoyed</a> — from 2016) to serve as a bridge for audiences to the titular heroes, a band of butt-kicking female crimefighters who’ve been doing their thing in the four-color realm for more than twenty years now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYHge1x9GF_jme-kpra-gsOTtrtrjuqv8idy6guQ6PeitLuRL-gSIp-nfSEAyEgSgRAWIJ1O8fUMqXTFGKCFR4gxSiYtMD6KQ4HBUCyM35M5gEBocVyvqIn7EmgheFSVVS0L_/s1600/93CDC82B-BDAF-4180-9D77-E613E67477B5.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgYHge1x9GF_jme-kpra-gsOTtrtrjuqv8idy6guQ6PeitLuRL-gSIp-nfSEAyEgSgRAWIJ1O8fUMqXTFGKCFR4gxSiYtMD6KQ4HBUCyM35M5gEBocVyvqIn7EmgheFSVVS0L_/s400/93CDC82B-BDAF-4180-9D77-E613E67477B5.jpeg" width="268" /> </a>There’s Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez), a down-and-out Gotham cop who’s had just about enough of being stuck in the chain-of-command. There’s Black Canary (Jurnee Smollett), armed with a glass-shattering sonic scream. There’s Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), heiress to a wealthy crime family who’s trained since childhood to mete out lethal punishment to those who wronged her back in the day. And then, of course, there’s Harley, the narrative glue holding the whole thing together.<br />
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Following her <i>Suicide Squad</i> caper, you see, she found herself on the outs with the Joker (the Jared Leto version, even though the actor himself has long since vacated the role in favor of more <i>Morbius</i> pastures), and decides to make a statement that she’s single and ready to mingle. This not only gets the attention of the Gotham Police Department (though, noticeably, not a certain rodent-clad vigilante of some distinction), but also that of Roman Sionis, a.k.a. Black Mask, an up-and-coming crime boss (played by Ewan McGregor, having the absolute time of his life hamming it up like a guest villain on the 1960s <i>Batman</i> TV show), who sees an opportunity to raise his own profile.<br />
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And so it is that before too long Harley has been roped into a scheme involving a stolen diamond and teenage pickpocket Cassandra Cain (Ella Jay Basco). Will she learn the value of friendship and teamwork? Possibly, but no one said fantabulous emancipations come easy. Now, in fairness, the over-the-top fandom for Harley Quinn has largely escaped me, but I fully acknowledge I’m in the minority there, and it’s not hard to see why WB decided to lean into Robbie’s version of the character.<br />
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Introduced as a foil for the Joker in the 1992 <i>Batman: The Animated Series</i>, Harley has steadily become a beloved mainstay, embodying for DC a lot of the same manic, break-the-fourth-wall energy that Deadpool epitomizes over at Marvel. And just as star Ryan Reynolds found a perfect pairing for himself in that role (which new owner Disney has every intention of continuing after taking over the rights from Fox), so too does Warners aim to mine the alchemy they stumbled into with Robbie and Harley. And with the Oscar-nominated star serving double duty as producer too, it’s clear she’s done a lot behind-the-scenes to make this entry stand apart from its predecessor.<br />
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While it absolutely exists within the same world as <i>Squad</i>, it’s also distinct both visually and tonally. Credit here to both Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson for their approach to the material, which feels like a riff on Guy Richie’s gangster oeuvre in much the same way Todd Phillips was clearly penning an elaborate mash note to Scorsese with <i>Joker</i>. This may also explain the (mistaken, in my opinion) decision to go with an “R” rating for Harley’s adventure. for the sake of the ephemeral street cred that comes from being able to say a few naughty words.<br />
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The underlying story and characters here are strong enough that the “R” rating wasn’t really necessary. One of the great things that separates this batch of DC films from crosstown rival Disney’s massive Marvel Cinematic Universe is the distinct desire to have each production do its own thing stylistically. Sure, that means the swings tend to be much wilder, but it also means each one is expanding the boundaries of what kinds of movies characters can be encompassed by. Between <i><a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2017/06/zakis-review-wonder-woman.html">Wonder Woman</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2018/12/zakis-review-aquaman.html">Aquaman</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2019/04/zakis-review-shazam.html">Shazam!</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2019/10/zakis-review-joker.html">Joker</a></i>, we had four very distinct takes on superhero cinema, all of which made a mark their own way.<br />
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And now with <i>Birds of Prey</i> (which really should’ve been called “Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey,” or some such thing), we have another. The joys of this film are smaller than some of those others, but that seems appropriate because the stakes are smaller too. This isn’t about super characters flinging themselves at each other as glass rains down on horrified citizens. It’s not about stopping a blue beam that’s shooting into the sky. Instead, it’s about a group of very different women learning to value each other while kicking a lot of tail along the way. That’s plenty fantabulous for me. <b>B</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">For more <i>Birds of Prey</i> talk, including plenty of spoilers, check out the latest episode of the MovieFilm Podcast <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-moviefilm-podcast_1">at this link</a> or via the embed below:</span><br />
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Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-26367840193350008252020-02-14T12:00:00.000-08:002020-02-20T08:36:08.898-08:00Zaki’s Review: Fantasy Island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Slowly but steadily, Michael Peña is amassing a sturdy niche built on reprising the Hispanic heartthrobs of 1970s television. He did it three years ago when he took on Erik Estrada’s stretch pants and motorcycle in the big-screen adaptation of <i>CHiPs</i>, and now here he is getting his Ricardo Montalbán on as the enigmatic Mr. Roarke in the Blumhouse reimagining of <i>Fantasy Island</i>.<br />
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And as before, Peña is the least bad thing about an enterprise whose reason to exist seems tenuous at best. After all, <i>Fantasy Island</i> isn’t exactly a franchise that commands much cultural capital today, more than 40 years after its small screen heyday. And while producer Jason Blum’s Blumhouse shingle has built a well-earned reputation for reliable chills on a low budget, the very audiences who might be drawn in will probably be clueless as to its origins, which in turn makes one wonder who the movie is aimed at.<br />
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<a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/review-fantasy-island-remake-is-worse-than-the-old-tv-reruns">Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle...</a>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-49568231856879339042020-01-16T17:00:00.000-08:002020-02-20T08:32:29.013-08:00Zaki’s Review: Troop Zero<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Debuting Friday, Jan. 17, on Amazon after making an impressive sprint through the festival circuit last year, <i>Troop Zero</i> is a charming fable shining a spotlight on quirky characters going about their quirky lives in a quirky slice of Americana. While the premise could easily have become cloying in the wrong hands, the execution keeps it just this side of saccharine. It’s the kind of movie that might have been lost in theaters, but it feels perfectly at home on a streaming service.<br />
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As directed by duo Bert & Bertie (Amber Finlayson and Katie Ellwood), <i>Troop Zero</i> has echoes of <i>The Bad News Bears</i> and <i>The Sandlot</i> in its depiction of colorful underdogs during a bygone era. But it manages to stand on the shoulders of those films and also stand apart, thanks to its winning cast and playful adventurousness, culminating in a fun bit of business involving — without getting into spoilers — David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”<br />
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<a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/review-troop-zero-adds-a-little-stardust-to-the-lovable-underdog-kid-story">Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle...</a>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-53879149959269953022020-01-02T17:00:00.000-08:002020-01-10T11:06:14.979-08:00Reviving the classic TV miniseries in the streaming era<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Anyone who watched television from the ’70s through the ’90s can attest to that special thrill of seeing the “special presentation” bumper and theme music appear on one of the three (later four) big networks in anticipation of the latest big-deal TV miniseries. That stamp preceded miniseries such as <i>Roots</i> and <i>The Thorn Birds</i>, TV events that defined generations.<br />
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Mind you, the miniseries has been a staple of television going back to the earliest days of the industry — and it continues on to this very day. But nonetheless, those decades were something of a boom time for the broadcast networks airing short-run events based on best-selling books or true life events — when the story was simply too big or ambitious to be easily contained in a single, two-hour treatment.<br />
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<a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/reviving-the-classic-tv-miniseries-in-the-streaming-era">Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle...</a>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-64324982190092525402019-12-30T17:00:00.000-08:002020-01-10T10:53:05.511-08:00The MovieFilm Podcast: The Mandalorian - Season 1 Wrap-Up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The MovieFilm boys convene one last time in 2019 to take stock of the reaction to <em>Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker</em> and discuss the debut season of <em>The Mandalorian</em>. It’s a relaxing post-Christmas hangout, and you can hear it via the embed below or at <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moviefilm-podcast/id549057901">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zakis-corner/the-moviefilm-podcast">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-moviefilm-podca-29693296/">iHeartRadio</a>, and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1H6xIRs0RWBABQb03WphIG">Spotify</a>! As we always ask, please hit up <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MovieFilmPodcast/">our Facebook page</a> or e-mail <a data-blogger-escaped-href="mailto:moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com" href="https://draft.blogger.com/null">moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com</a> to let us know how we’re doing!
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Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-42039651101739415482019-12-26T17:00:00.000-08:002020-01-10T10:57:46.613-08:00Zaki’s Retro Review: The Godfather: Part III<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Despite the fact that <i>The Godfather</i> Trilogy remains one of the most revered and beloved sets of films in cinematic history, the third leg of the trifecta has remained a sore spot from nearly the moment of its release — 29 years ago this month.<br />
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And on one hand, it’s not hard to see why. The first two installments, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written with Mario Puzo adapting his own best-selling novel, were released in 1972 and 1974, quickly soaring to popular and critical acclaim. And, in a feat that remains unmatched, both won best picture Oscars. <i>The Godfather: Part III</i> earned a nomination for that honor, but is largely regarded as “Most Disappointing Belated Follow-up to Beloved Franchise” title among many (nearly a decade before Coppola pal George Lucas snatched it away with his first <i>Star Wars</i> prequel film).<br />
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Time, though, has a way of changing perspectives. And in this era of streaming immediacy, <i>The Godfather</i> Trilogy needs to be viewed through a different lens, of sorts. This transcendent trilogy isn’t best consumed in piecemeal fashion over nearly two decades, but one after the other, allowing Coppola’s intentions to more vividly emerge.<br />
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<a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/the-godfather-part-iii-makes-a-little-more-sense-in-the-streaming-era">Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle...</a>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-40680540268636418732019-12-24T10:00:00.000-08:002020-01-10T10:45:58.971-08:00The MovieFilm Podcast: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The latest (last?) installment of the <em>Star Wars</em> saga is here, and per MovieFilm tradition, we dispense with our usual format and instead go all-in for a show-length dissection of <em>The Rise of Skywalker</em>! Did returning director J.J. Abrams stick the landing on the 42-years-in-the-making epic, or did Lucasfilm drop a load of Bantha poodoo? Listen as we unpack the plot, delve into the details, and just generally give our hot takes on what we loved, what we didn’t, and where we’d like to see things go next in the galaxy far, far away. You can listen through the embed below or at <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moviefilm-podcast/id549057901">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zakis-corner/the-moviefilm-podcast">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-moviefilm-podca-29693296/">iHeartRadio</a>, and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1H6xIRs0RWBABQb03WphIG">Spotify</a>! As we always ask, please hit up <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MovieFilmPodcast/">our Facebook page</a> or e-mail <a href="mailto:moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com">moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com</a> to let us know how we’re doing!<br />
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Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-44632794394201944102019-12-18T23:48:00.001-08:002019-12-20T08:24:33.940-08:00Zaki’s Review: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-0921ba02-7fff-b39e-99c7-8b01590d5a01" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Simpsons</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">’ fourth season episode “Rosebud,” Homer Simpson turns to his wife and says, “Marge, I'm confused. Is this a happy ending or a sad ending?” to which she responds, “It's an ending. That's enough.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When the </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Star Wars</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> sequel trilogy began with 2015’s </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Force Awakens</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2015/12/zakis-review-star-wars-force-awakens.html">I noted that</a> while the film was a promising beginning it was hard to judge holistically because “so much of the stuff being teased or built-up relies on a payoff we won't see for two, possibly four more years.” Well, here we are four years later, with </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> arriving to put the seal on this tranche of the legendary space series. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And how do I feel about the way returning director J.J. Abrams ties things off? Well, it’s an ending. And at least for me, that’s enough. It’s a flawed but ultimately rewarding close to this current crop of <i>Star Wars</i> flicks.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Gyp8aRXJGxju93UDaI7z1r_b2EOTJN3u5p32PPNRxrGtvVQi87locSaK8-mRUVYXQnbhd6nBBMv5jtr7CbFOWSmZ20GJXvy5qgwmDMGL2p7fKBM0IEesRfdCk-3WjT-2GVsC/s1600/36FC27DE-9B0A-4ABC-AEAD-53D1C7B61FAE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Gyp8aRXJGxju93UDaI7z1r_b2EOTJN3u5p32PPNRxrGtvVQi87locSaK8-mRUVYXQnbhd6nBBMv5jtr7CbFOWSmZ20GJXvy5qgwmDMGL2p7fKBM0IEesRfdCk-3WjT-2GVsC/s400/36FC27DE-9B0A-4ABC-AEAD-53D1C7B61FAE.jpeg" width="268" /> </a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Plot-wise, a lot has happened between the closing credits of 2017’s </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Last Jedi </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">and the opening crawl of this one, foremost among them that the evil Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) is alive and...not well, but surprisingly hardy considering he was last seen plummeting to his death in the depths of the soon-to-explode Death Star at the conclusion of 1983’s </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Return of the Jedi</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Turns out Palpatine has been scheming in absentia for decades, amassing a secret fleet of Star Destroyers armed with planet-destroying technology and waiting for the right moment to reveal himself. Not just that, he’s made a deal with Supreme Leader Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) — elevated to head of First Order last time — to fulfil his wannabe-Sith ambitions after bringing him Jedi-in-training Rey (Daisy Ridley) for...reasons.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s a promising start, and things remain promising as we quickly transition to our favorite Resistance (Rebel?) heroes, Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) as they make like a space-bound Riggs & Murtaugh aboard the <i>Millennium Falcon</i>, still gamely piloted by erstwhile Wookiee Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo). Meanwhile, Rey is sequestered with the Resistance, continuing her Jedi tutelage under the watchful eye of General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But wait, you say, didn’t Carrie Fisher pass away almost exactly three years ago, well before </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rise of Skywalker</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> was a twinkle in J.J. Abrams’ eye? Well, that’s where the magic of CGI, body doubles, and unused footage of Fisher from </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Force Awakens</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> are repurposed to allow Leia to have some measure of presence in the trilogy’s closing chapter. It’s by no means an ideal situation, and you can’t help but wonder what the context of her dialogue was, but it sure beats inserting a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tvAjX5ACPo">Poochie-esque</a> “By the way, Leia died on the way back to her home planet</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">” during the opening crawl.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anyway, Rey is still ForceTiming with Kylo — speaking to him and occupying the same physical space even as they’re several star systems apart — and it turns out there’s still more to Rey’s past than the very definite answer provided in the last movie may have led us to believe. Oh, and along the way we get a ghostly return for dear, deceased Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), as well as a belated appearance by Billy Dee Williams to remind us all why we loved Lando Calrissian (and frustrate us at their waiting so long to bring Williams back in the role). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing you can’t say about Abrams is that he doesn’t leave it all on the field as he closes things out. He makes some big swerves that could have come off contrived, but I honestly tracked with most of it. Not to say every plot choice or story digression necessarily sticks, but they’ve clearly made a concerted effort to lean into the series’ familiar iconography to hold things aloft on a little cloud of nostalgia, and I’m all about it. Bring on the fanservice. All of it. This is a series with forty-plus years of accrued emotional investment, and what better time than with the supposed final chapter to dip into that well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At this point, the saga has well and truly been passed along to the new generation of characters, and all pull their weight. Isaac and Boyega get some new fun moments, with a spotlight on Poe’s heretofore unrevealed backstory, and Finn meeting several other former Stormtroopers who bolted from the First Order the same way he did. But of course, the heart of the story remains the ideological conflict between Rey and Ren, and Ridley and Driver both excel at the story beats they’re asked to play. Driver especially gets some pretty great moments here that further mark Kylo Ren as one of the most fascinating characters in the entire saga.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U20Vj8hn2_2dJHEhnxksofTepbwIPoI-qn0UwXxWkjtfbKOhLpm3TX5nrY-jqOt0AeYrU7cIr9lh18I82b-Mt0PsonSHPIQrjOJTMdsMRc6rUC6ELCIWhkIfW6nrjPf7a6K0/s1600/F9C3BC50-FC77-41FC-B43A-94A04AB86E1A.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="359" data-original-width="600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7U20Vj8hn2_2dJHEhnxksofTepbwIPoI-qn0UwXxWkjtfbKOhLpm3TX5nrY-jqOt0AeYrU7cIr9lh18I82b-Mt0PsonSHPIQrjOJTMdsMRc6rUC6ELCIWhkIfW6nrjPf7a6K0/s320/F9C3BC50-FC77-41FC-B43A-94A04AB86E1A.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">That said, it’s worth mentioning that while the ways in which Abrams and company contrived to weave a performance out of Carrie Fisher’s outtakes is a truly remarkable feat, it could just as easily serve as a metaphor for this entire trilogy and the haphazard way it’s skidded from one episode to the next. Unlike the previous six entries, this batch of episodes started without a clear plan or single, overarching vision, leaving each film to work around whatever was done previously.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The result has been jarring and sometimes disjointed experience when viewed in two year increments, but one wonders whether these criticisms will seem more galling or more picayune with all nine chapters belonging to the ages. Certainly with </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Last Jedi</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, writer/director Rian Johnson came in with <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2017/12/zakis-review-star-wars-last-jedi.html">the express intent of shaking the franchise</a> loose of its hoariest tropes, up to and including its nuanced, controversial handling of former series lead Luke Skywalker. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That Johnson’s approach was polarizing goes without saying, and that also probably explains why Disney and Lucasfilm dragooned Abrams to return (after </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jurassic World</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> helmer Colin Trevorrow parted ways with the studio over those dreaded “creative difference”) to craft this threequel (alongside co-writer Chris Terrio), hoping no doubt he’d nail audience expectations the same way Luke Skywalker used to bullseye womp rats in his T-16 skyhopper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As such, this installment marks something of a retrenchment. Not to say it necessarily rejects or outright retcons what Johnson did, but it sure takes pains to keep it at arm’s length while doubling down on crowd-pleasing spectacle. But when you think about it, that’s not altogether different from a similar shift we saw between the original trilogy’s second and third entries, and maybe that’s why this worked for me: I knew walking into the theater exactly what kind of experience to expect, and that’s what I got. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Rise of Skywalker</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> packs every second of its nearly two-and-half hour runtime with some kind of business intended to drive home the Very Important nature of the story being told. It’s overstuffed and broad and messy, but it’s also emotional and powerful and resonant. It’s probably the least affecting of the three </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Star Wars</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> “ending” movies (</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2005/05/talking-some-sith.html">Revenge of the Sith</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Return of the Jedi</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> being the others), and is a marked qualitative step down from its immediate predecessor, but it nonetheless ably closes the book on the Skywalker Saga (for now) and proves the Force is still a force. </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">B-</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: x-small; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For more <i>Star Wars</i> content, check out the MovieFilm Podcast’s brand-new commentary track for <i>Episode III - Revenge of the Sith</i> <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/user/10187989/the-moviefilm-commentary-track-star-wars_10">at this link</a> or via the embed below:</span><br />
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Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-53876306674017648742019-12-17T18:00:00.000-08:002019-12-19T11:53:53.475-08:00Zaki's Retro Review: Avatar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ten years ago, director James Cameron’s <i>Avatar</i> arrived in theaters and proceeded to lay waste to an armload of box office records on its way to earning $2.8 billion in worldwide box office revenue. Even now, with inflation always helping the more recent movie hits, the gross of <i>Avatar</i> is the second-highest in Hollywood history.<br />
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Cameron, the visionary behind the <i>Terminator</i> franchise, had accomplished the same feat with <i>Titanic</i> during its first theatrical voyage a little over a decade earlier. That movie earned $2.1 billion, and is third on the all-time box office list.</div>
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Both are impressive, but the all-out dominance of <i>Avatar</i> at the global box office was somehow more impressive for the ways it took advantage of cutting-edge technology to make the film more than simply a movie. It became an experience, the type of pop culture moment that transcended the medium to become something everybody had to witness on the big screen, then talk about the next day at work. And, yet, a decade after setting standards for visual effects and box office dominance, <i>Avatar</i> is virtually absent from our everyday cultural dialogues.<br />
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<a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/avatar-was-a-major-hit-10-years-ago-so-why-arent-we-still-talking-about-it">Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle...</a></div>
Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-30593182536223898882019-12-17T12:00:00.000-08:002019-12-19T11:12:08.071-08:00The MovieFilm Commentary Track: Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The end of the Skywalker Saga is upon us, and as is MovieFilm tradition, the boys celebrate the release of a brand new <i>Star Wars</i> installment by dropping a commentary track for a previous one. This time around we delve into the episode that closed out the prequel trilogy, 2005’s <i>Revenge of the Sith</i>! Listen in as we share our production anecdotes, amusing observations, and our personal histories with the story of Anakin Skywalker’s final descent into the dreaded Darth Vader! Listen via the embed below or at <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moviefilm-podcast/id549057901">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zakis-corner/the-moviefilm-podcast">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-moviefilm-podca-29693296/">iHeartRadio</a>, and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1H6xIRs0RWBABQb03WphIG">Spotify</a>! As we always ask, please hit up <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MovieFilmPodcast/">our Facebook page</a> or e-mail <a href="mailto:moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com">moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com</a> to let us know how we’re doing!<br />
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Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-47317941401394111802019-12-16T14:00:00.000-08:002020-01-10T11:09:58.717-08:00George Lucas was right: Star Wars is for kids, and that’s OK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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George Lucas was right.<br />
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From virtually the moment the genre-defining scenarist behind the <i>Star Wars </i>saga first dropped his legendary creation into our collective lap in 1977, he deployed the refrain — early and often — that this was a story truly meant to be enjoyed and appreciated by children. And insofar as that first batch of primordial <i>Star Wars</i> fans were concerned, it’s a message that seemed to take root without too much trouble.<br />
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But somewhere along the way — as one movie turned to three, as three turned to six, and on and on — that lesson got lost. Even as <i>Star Wars</i> branding festooned action figures, backpacks, cereal boxes and everything else aimed explicitly at kids, the decades subsequent to the original film’s 1977 release saw <i>Star Wars</i> transform from a skillfully crafted piece of escapism into something more akin to the Jedi religion the Skywalker saga revolves around.<br />
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<a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/george-lucas-was-right-star-wars-is-for-kids-and-thats-ok">Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle...</a>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-28020020467581527352019-12-13T12:00:00.000-08:002019-12-19T11:08:41.832-08:00The MovieFilm Commentary Track: First Blood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnReoOFQg4o8LsQeKx91lu_aTGCSnaG-cbdp7fbMSNAzq2RwlslipOZa8s7TOcGF10a9jW8CHWuh6QYxGxURrcWp7ZjqizYNBeXCjn-FsECn-cwMHHWIZ6MNGoa3RjOtTy5Vp/s1600/Rambo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnReoOFQg4o8LsQeKx91lu_aTGCSnaG-cbdp7fbMSNAzq2RwlslipOZa8s7TOcGF10a9jW8CHWuh6QYxGxURrcWp7ZjqizYNBeXCjn-FsECn-cwMHHWIZ6MNGoa3RjOtTy5Vp/s400/Rambo.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
This coming week sees the release of <i>Rambo: Last Blood</i> on home video, bringing to a close the cinematic cycle of <b>Sylvester Stallone</b>’s alter ego: Troubled Vietnam vet John Rambo. With that in mind, the MovieFilm boys decided to hop in the time machine and check out the movie that started it all, 1982’s <i>First Blood</i>. Watch along with us or simply listen as we talk through the action opus that accidentally birthed a franchise, talking about the historical context, production anecdotes, and what the legacy of Rambo is nearly forty years later. Listen via the embed below or at <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moviefilm-podcast/id549057901">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zakis-corner/the-moviefilm-podcast">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-moviefilm-podca-29693296/">iHeartRadio</a>, and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1H6xIRs0RWBABQb03WphIG">Spotify</a>! As we always ask, please hit up <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MovieFilmPodcast/">our Facebook page</a> or e-mail <a href="mailto:moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com">moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com</a> to let us know how we’re doing!<br />
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Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-37407161886831336312019-12-12T13:00:00.000-08:002019-12-19T11:05:31.737-08:00Nostalgia Theater Podcast: Star Wars – The Skywalker Journey Returns Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With the impending release of <i>Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker</i>, I was honored to moderate a conversation on behalf of the Commonwealth Club of California with Mashable’s <b>Chris Taylor</b>, author of <a href="https://amzn.to/2RLI7rf"><i>How Star Wars Conquered the Universe</i></a>, and Starwars.com contributor <b>Bryan Young</b>, as they discussed everything Star Wars: What has the film franchise meant to American culture? What can we expect with episode 9 and beyond? Why did the film franchise have such an impact? And what do the films say about our current political system, religion and technology? Click below to listen, or subscribe at <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nostalgia-theater-moviefilm/id1073831734" title="http://">iTunes</a>, <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/nostalgia-theater-a-moviefilm-podcast" title="http://">Stitcher Radio</a>, <a href="http://tunein.com/radio/Nostalgia-Theater-A-MovieFilm-Podcast-p826071/" title="http://">TuneIn Radio</a>, or <a href="https://goo.gl/app/playmusic?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/Izjjwf644vvcn7z3yonqu3te4ly?t%3DNostalgia_Theater:_A_MovieFilm_Podcast" title="">Google Play</a> (and remember to leave a review!). As always, send all questions or comments our way via <a href="https://draft.blogger.com/MovieFilmPodcast@gmail.com" title="http://">MovieFilmPodcast@gmail.com</a>, and don't forget to hit "like" on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MovieFilmPodcast/">our Facebook page</a>.<br />
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Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-3632229355232111162019-12-10T15:00:00.000-08:002019-12-12T13:34:42.235-08:00Zaki's Review: Jumanji: The Next Level<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When <i>Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle</i> hit theaters two years ago, it represented something of a gamble for home studio Sony.<br />
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OK, when you have Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart and Jack Black populating your cast, maybe “gamble” is overstating things a bit. Nonetheless, the film had the task of building off a Robin Williams vehicle from 1995 that had grown only more beloved since the actor’s passing in 2014. Even more of an obstacle, it was scheduled to arrive in theaters days after a <i>Star Wars</i> epic was expected to mint all the money.<br />
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So, needless to say, the dice were stacked against the <i>Jumanji</i> redux being anything other than a here-and-gone punch line, a cynical cash grab based on a pre-existing IP. But then the unlikeliest of scenarios played out in quick succession: (A) It was good. Really good. And, (B) It not only held its own against the Force of <i>The Last Jedi</i>, it actually sailed to nearly a billion dollars at the global box office and became one of the biggest hits in the history of Sony Pictures.<br />
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<a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/review-jumanji-the-next-level-is-still-a-game-worth-watching">Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle...</a></div>
Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-33326560387037009632019-12-07T17:00:00.000-08:002019-12-12T13:30:09.631-08:00The MovieFilm Podcast: Knives Out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Director Rian Johnson‘s star-studded whodunnit <i>Knives Out</i> is in theaters now, winning over critics and audiences alike, and MovieFilm is here with some spoiler-filled thoughts! In addition, Brian gives his take on Martin Scorsese’s much-anticipated <i>The Irishaman</i>, Zaki offers a rapturous reaction to the upcoming war film <i>1917</i>, and the boys discuss word of impending <i>Star Trek</i> and <i>Planet of the Apes</i> sequels, as well as the new trailers for <i>Black Widow</i> and the 25th James Bond epic, <i>No Time to Die</i>! You can hear it all via the embed below or at <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moviefilm-podcast/id549057901">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zakis-corner/the-moviefilm-podcast">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-moviefilm-podca-29693296/">iHeartRadio</a>, and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1H6xIRs0RWBABQb03WphIG">Spotify</a>! As we always ask, please hit up <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MovieFilmPodcast/">our Facebook page</a> or e-mail <a href="mailto:moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com">moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com</a> to let us know how we’re doing!<br />
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Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-10790828204166138762019-11-27T17:00:00.000-08:002019-12-12T13:22:49.096-08:00The MovieFilm Podcast: Ford v. Ferrari<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It’s Thanksgiving Eve, and the MovieFilm boys are thankful to have plenty to discuss! This week: <i>A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood</i>! <i>Ford v. Ferrari</i>! We also have some more thoughts on the <i>Star Wars</i> series <i>The Mandalorian</i> as we count down to the release of <i>The Rise of Skywalker</i>! Plus: <i>The Fugitive</i> gets remade! <i>Godzilla vs. Kong</i> gets delayed! And much more! Listen via the embed below or at <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-moviefilm-podcast/id549057901">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/zakis-corner/the-moviefilm-podcast">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-the-moviefilm-podca-29693296/">iHeartRadio</a>, and <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/1H6xIRs0RWBABQb03WphIG">Spotify</a>! As we always ask, please hit up <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MovieFilmPodcast/">our Facebook page</a> or e-mail <a href="mailto:moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com">moviefilmpodcast@gmail.com</a> to let us know how we’re doing!<br />
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Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-105834463583331852019-11-20T17:00:00.000-08:002019-12-12T13:22:28.373-08:00Zaki's Review: Atlantics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The role of the ocean as a source of both life and death is a recurring visual and narrative motif throughout director Mati Diop’s <i>Atlantics</i>, the award-winning Oscar contender arriving on Netflix this month, with a limited theatrical run starting Friday, Nov 22. Diop, already a famed actress in her native France, uses the alternately ominous and uplifting visual of the ocean’s thrashing waves as a haunting through line while she navigates class and cultural divides in Senegal.<br />
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<i>Atlantics</i> has already garnered considerable acclaim on the festival circuit, including winning Grand Prix at Cannes this year, and it’s not hard to see why. Adapting her own 2009 short film "Atlantiques” to feature length, Diop spins a haunting tale of love and loss that effectively intermingles various genres while also painting a vivid portrait of life in Senegal that feels so real and immediate it’s impossible not to create some connection to the characters occupying the frame.<br />
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<a href="https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/movies-tv/review-atlantics-shows-us-a-rare-view-of-life-and-love-in-senegal">Continue reading at the San Francisco Chronicle...</a>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9014106.post-77979484144976101942019-11-19T06:34:00.004-08:002019-11-19T09:45:17.326-08:00Zaki’s Review: It: Chapter Two (2019)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When I wrote <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2017/09/zakis-review-it-chapter-one-2017.html">my review of <i>It: Chapter One</i></a> two years back, I left it on a bit of a “to be continued,” the same as the film itself. As I said back then, my view of part one was going to end up being largely contingent on how well or how badly part two managed to stick the landing. Well, here we are, ready to discuss the conclusion of the clown-eats-kids scare factory, and I guess my collective response is...could’ve been worse, could’ve been better.<br />
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Again directed by Andy Muschietti (this time with script by Gary Dauberman), <i>It: Chapter Two</i> wraps up the Stephen King novel by bringing the story into the present day, with our grown up band of Losers drummed back into service when Mike (Isaiah Mustafa), the only one of the gang to stay in the sleepy burg of Derry, Maine, notifies them that gruesome killings have begun once again, signaling the return of demonic clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgaard).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXmdd2tOIcsvu6wfAUKk-fiRlLNGEgcFGBxo0TmObCbCAjdHZnR-mo5uM0CL3OMsYQINgimOnreWsFfy-Efca8nTTiYNcVTQeTfN0P_Dn4qxOgFdZBJeGnG75lNcbvNwJjgQM/s1600/37A58CAB-49E1-4281-821E-19B673E395AE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="453" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqXmdd2tOIcsvu6wfAUKk-fiRlLNGEgcFGBxo0TmObCbCAjdHZnR-mo5uM0CL3OMsYQINgimOnreWsFfy-Efca8nTTiYNcVTQeTfN0P_Dn4qxOgFdZBJeGnG75lNcbvNwJjgQM/s400/37A58CAB-49E1-4281-821E-19B673E395AE.jpeg" width="266" /> </a>They took an oath, you may recall, that should the need arise they’d again do what needed to be done. But that was a long time ago, and now each of them have their own lives and only faint memories of their experience three decades ago. And thus we get the extended catch-up sequence letting us know how the former Losers are now winning (or not).<br />
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Bill (James McAvoy) is a successful screenwriter. Stan (Andy Bean) is happily married while Bev (Jessica Chastain) is trapped in an abusive marriage. Meanwhile, Eddie (James Ransone) is an insurance adjuster. Richie (Bill Hader) is a successful comic, and Ben (Jay Ryan) is now a hugely successful architect (and thin and handsome, to boot).<br />
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So, life has moved on for the gang, but they’re nonetheless compelled to return to Derry to clean up unfinished business. And at a plus-sized runtime of three-plus hours, there’s clearly a lot of business that requires doing. Now, normally you’d think that would be long enough to give the story breathing room that had been denied it in the previous It adaptation, the 1990 miniseries (which clocked three hours for the entire story).<br />
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However, it feels at times both too laborious and too abrupt. It’s not so much the runtime but what they do with it, spending far too much time on some sequences and giving precious little attention to others. Now, some of this can be chalked up to the difficulties that arise when adapting from page to screen, and some of it can be attributed to King’s prose proving famously unable to stick the landing (something the film itself winks at a few times).<br />
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Now, the stuff that works works very well. The casting, for one, is absolutely spot-on. Every single one of the adult Losers is entirely believable as the decades-later incarnation of their childhood counterpart. Hader in particular is a rock star here. While he’s been impressive in dramatic roles for awhile now, he brings something extra to grown-up Richie that makes his arc in the film feel more meaningful.<br />
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Unfortunately, for every point there’s a counterpoint, and in thus instance that means James McAvoy — who’s wildly talented and a perfect bit of casting — gets left utterly adrift by a script that failed to give Bill a meaningful journey to follow. This is itself a result of those aforementioned page-to-screen difficulties, which saw the majority of Bill’s arc sacrificed to the exigencies of screen time and script utility, but it’s a real disservice to both actor and character. (It also marks <a href="http://www.zakiscorner.com/2019/06/zakis-review-dark-phoenix.html">the second unsatisfying pairing</a> of McAvoy and Chastain this year.)<br />
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As a result, the ostensible leader of the Losers feels like a supporting player, and as a result, the third act showdown with Pennywise lacks at least some of the urgency it really ought to have had. Another problem which is endemic to both adaptations of this story (as well as, arguably, the story itself) is that the third act conclusion gets lost in a lot of mystical hugger-mugger enveloped in questionable effects. To be honest, this was the same issue that plagued the 1990 TV version, so at least it’s consistent.<br />
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Ultimately, as the ballyhooed wrap-up to a collective five-hour epic, <i>It: Chapter Two</i> feels rushed in a way that’s frankly perplexing given how much time is spent on the slow burn for the first two thirds. That said, I also wonder how much this will really matter when the totality of the story is viewed minus the two-year wait between chapters. Will audiences be more forgiving or less? I have no idea, but It’s at least worthy of discussing, and that’s not nothing. <b>C</b>Zakihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06150118173142516267noreply@blogger.com0