Film Diary.

 

Watched a couple films:

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- Your place or mine? (2023).

A slim romantic comedy, somewhat the textbook definition of "fluff". Delivers more or less what it promises with no further ambition. Thus, easy to watch and even easier to forget.

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- Now you see me (2013).

Four stage magicians stage a series of international heists, drawing the attention of several agencies bent on stopping them. Very entertaining thriller that, like its leads, knows the importance of a good spectacle and how to use misdiection. Slim as well, but quite entertaining.

***

Looking

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- Looking: the movie (2016. Dir. Andrew Haigh).

Roughly one year after running away from a disastrous relationship, Patrick comes back to San Francisco for a wedding --and to finally face the consequences of his own mistakes. There may well be a light at the end of the tunnel...

Conclusion to the notable gay tv show, essentially tying up all loose ends. A very satisfying ending to the series, if naturally difficult to follow as a separate movie (really it serves as the third season). Nearly the entire cast returns, and manages to make it feel as if not a day had passed since the last broadcast episode.

In sort, recommended alongside the show itself --one of the most thought-provoking gay series I've seen yet.

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Film (and tv) diary.

 Some stuff I watched recently:

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- Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's revenge.

- Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of the realms.

- Mortal Kombat (2021).

Assorted animation and live-action adaptations of the infamous video-game franchise. And anybody who's played any of the games knows these are at their best when they embrace how cheesy and silly the whole thing is. Same here, then: All of these work best when they stop pretending to be a serious story and merely have fun with the over-the-top violence and (literally) outlandish scenarios. Thus: Good, mindless fun.

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- Venom: Let there be carnage.

Likewise for superhero movies: The best ones are the ones that won't take themselves too seriously and merely have fun. This, then is one of the better exampled, particularly for letting the subtext of the first film pretty much become text. A gleefully entertainin romp that requires you to sit back, not think about things too hard and just enjoy the action fest that is also essentially a gay romantic comedy.

***

- Looking (2 seasons).

This meanwhile is something else --a gay tv show that is quite possibly the most "quiet", low-key I've seen yet. The life of three gay friends in San Francisco told in whispers rather than shouts. In other words, a very intriguing show, followed by a movie that served as the conclusion. More than worth a watch.

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Film Diary.

 Some movies I've been able to watch recently (...ish).

Animated:

- Wonder Woman (2009).

Fairly decent early foray into having solo movies for Wonder Woman. Better than the latter "Bloodlines" --but the live-action ones were better, and this one suffers from a wildly uneven script (you can practically hear the two credited story writers fencing over the tone). Overall entertaining but missing something.  

- Teen Titans: The Judas Contract (2017).

Loose adaptation of the infamous comic book arc. So-so, not nearly as fun as the version from the Teen Titans cartoon. The updated cast and setting both feel rather underused, too.

- Justice League Dark: Apokolips war (2020).

This one is just plan BAD. Quite gratuitously gory and grim, to the point that sails way past self-parody and into "just plain sad" territory.

- Freedom Fighters: The Ray (2017 - 2018).

Perhaps the only animated DC superhero movie to star a gay lead. Released both as movie and as mini-series, this is quite worthy of a watch --a very rare good superhero yarn released in the current century.

- Teen Titans Go & DC Superhero Girls: Mayhem in the multiverse (2022).

Essentially the movie of the underrated tv show "DC Superhero Girls" (second version that is) disguised as a crossover film. Surprisingly fun and well-written, definitely recommended.   

Live-action (and gay):

- The Prom (2020).

Film adaptation of the stage musical, itself loosely based on a real-life anecdote. Surprisingly good, if overlong musical. Worth a watch for the powerhouse performance of lead Jo Ellen Pellman and a couple suprisingly touching songs.

- Behind the candelabra (2013).

Biopic about Liberace, told from the POV of his boytoy of ten years (Scott Thorson, whose memoir is the basis for this film). Tremendously underrated and more than worth a few looks.

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Personal news.

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I have been updating more and more sporadically here due to circumstances I did not want. 

A series of hospital visits that today culiminated with the news that... I have leukemia. 

There is nothing to add to that except that... I hope to be here around yet. One way or another. 

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Survival Street

 - Survival Street. 4 issues. James Asmus, Jim Festante, et al.

In the very near future, assorted companies have gained more and more ground and 'rights' --now they control all politics. Every state belongs to a particular corporation. Entertainment is pure open propaganda. Edutainment for children is dead --but not their actors! There are still children to save --literally and figuratively. There are so many bad guys to not just bring down but whose public image needs to be carefully dismantled. And there are a few sellouts to deal with, too...

What could have easily become yet another example of embarassingly puerile takes on famous children's media instead is revealed to be a surprisingly smart comic --and yes, smart is the word. The over-the-top covers parodying famous Sesame St. characters do not remotely do justice to the world within --a world in which immigrant children are forced to fight out-of-control wildfires in California; where the governor of Texas wants to implement a law that will allow toddlers to carry weapons; where out-of-control celebrities and internet personalities have fully bought into their self-made hype. 

The comic is not without a couple misses here and there -- the analogy about colonization somewhat falls flat on its face due to the insistence of making it the island where puppets apparently come from. The climax can seem just a touch too convenient...

...but all in all the moments of hope amidst the despair of so-real-it's-hardly-satire feel earned. On the whole a comic more than worth checking out.

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Extra movies.

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Also watched: 

- Glass Onion. Engaging, fan-favorite sequel to the equally beloved whodunit "Knives Out". A very rare case in which the fandom adoration for the movie is mostly deserved. Entertertaining and clever.

- The pale blue eye. Overlong mystery yarn that starts as a quirky homage to grim thrillers a la The purple rivers --and descends into a so-so rape-revenge supsenser by the end. Not the worst, could have been far better.  

- The imitation game. Biopic about Alan Turing and his Enigma creation. As straight-washed, edges-sanded-down as you'd expect but an okay mainstream introduction to more complex themes. Could be better.
 

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Midnighter and Apollo.

 

- Midnighter and Apollo. Steve Orlando, Fernando Blanco, et. al.

Midnighter: the killing machine on the side of the good. His boyfriend Apollo, a sun god. A vengeful criminal willing to make deals with demons. And a long-forgotten pioneering gay sorcerer... These elements will collide in an explosive, exciting --and surprisingly touching action yarn.

Extraordinarily fun comic that manages to mix the wide-screen gory violence of the characters' early Image / Wildstorm days with long-running DC history. From the excellent use of criminally underrated characters like Extraño and the Tasmanian Devil (the one of the Global Guardians, mind!), to a final page that doesn't just reference but challenges Alan Moore's infamous "Whatever happened to the man of tomorrow?" --the result is the kind of explosive, unforgiving gay superhero fantasy we've so long waited for.

Quite recommended. 

 

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Bubble

- Bubble. (Japan, 2022. Dir. Tetsuroh Araki)

After the world is invaded by mysterious alien bubbles that bend the laws of physics, Tokyo is walled off as a particularly dangerous zone. But inside live several teams of teenagers spending their time in hair-rising parkour competitions for trade. One, of them, champion Hibiki, has dealt with hypersensitive hearing since he was a child. Increasingly, he hears a haunting zone coming from the destroyed Tokyo tower...

Charming, highly energetic YA (for teenagers) action yarn, a contemporary take of sorts on "The little mermaid". Gorgeously animated in both action and quiet moments and with a delightful cast, the result is a highly entertaining film for youths. Quite recommended.

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January 2022 extras.

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More stuff finished in the last month.

- Voir. A collection of film essays ranging from genre to format to design to cultural impact. Thoughtful and ponderous, quite recommended --each of the six essays.

- Sailor Moon Eternal. I re-watched the entire "Sailor Moon Crystal" anime, then these two movies  --it holds up much better than we remember all in all, away from pointless discourse and seen more as its own thing.

 

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My heart is a chainsaw

 

- My heart is a chainsaw. Stephen Graham Jones.

Jade Daniels, half Blackfoot, desperately seeks an escape from her stiffling, lonely life. She finds solace in pranks --and especially in her open vice: Slasher films. She's even written several lenghty essays on the matter. Thus, it is perhaps fitting when she starts noticing unmistable signs that an horror tale of the kind is about to unfold on her sleepy Idaho town. But Jade is about to learn that sometimes reality can be far, far harsher than the most brutal films...

Extraordinay novel from Graham Jones, described as his third slasher (after "Demon theory" and "The last final girl"). As is often the case with Jones' fiction it is at once a gleefully wicked pulp yarn --and underneath that bloody mask, a complex, thoughtful meditation on loneliness, abuse, and the historical consequences of racism, segregation and genocide. Like the best writers of the style, Jones plants subtle clues in plain sight --the resulting gut punch as they unfurl and reveal themselves all the more effective because of that.

Quite recommended all in all --and hopefully used to start several fascinating discussions.

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December 2022 extras.

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Also watched, near the end of the month: 

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TV SHOWS

LIVE ACTION

- Wednesday. 

- The Good Cop. 

Copaganda at its most blatant, being a sitcom that asks us to believe that a policeman arrested and discharged for drug traffic is undeniably a good and sympathetic guy. Even as he tries to kill someone he has a personal grudge against. None of it presented as a black comedy even. 

- The Boys, season 2.

ANIMATED

- Bojack Horseman, season 3. 

MOVIES

- Black Adam. 

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Trigger Warning

 

- Trigger Warning: Short fictions and disturbances. Neil Gaiman. 

Gaiman’s third short story collection, after “Smoke and mirrors” and “Fragile things” offers another mix of fantasy, horror, humor —with some sci-fi even, plus poetry, short-shorts and even a novella! All dealing with sudden changes in the world, as noted by both title and introduction. Even Gaiman’s traditional short story hidden in the Introduction!

Far less shocking than a title like “trigger warning” would suggest, yet it’s a very good, very enjoyable collection. often more memorable than the previous “Fragile things”. There is a recurrent theme of fairytales, folklore and rituals. Some brought to modern times, others essentially taking place in all eras and none. All sort of familiar faces show up, from assorted folk characters to tv personalities like Dr. Who and even Gaiman’s own Shadow (of the novel “American Gods” and others). Also famous fairytale and literary characters here and there. 

On the whole, accessible both to longtime Gaiman fans and to newcomers. While not entirely on par with his 90’s work, certainly the pinnacle of his creativity, it’s still very much a kind of book downright needed nowadays. Both stimulating and thought-provoking. 

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November 2022 Extras

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Also read / watched in the month: 

TV SHOWS

LIVE ACTION

- The midnight club. 

Inspired by assorted books from 90’s YA horror author Christopher Pike (not just the titular one). Good companion to other recent adaptations of YA / Children’s horror —like the "Fear Street" and "Goosebumps" movies (all drawn from R. L. Stine), or “Scary tales to tell in the dark” —and one would be tempted to include the tv series “I know what you did last summer”, had that one not been a disappointment. 

In any case, The midnight club is a fairly entertaining thriller that, like the Fear Street movie trilogy, brings the diversity (in particular the Queerness) that was barely present in the original books. 

- Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of curiosities. 

Fairly entertaining horror anthology. Though at times it’s little more than a new season of “Masters of Horror”, rather than the Twilight Zone vibe it seems to be aiming for, it’s nevertheless worth a look for horror aficionados. 

- The boys (season 1). 

Media satire disguised as a bad-taste superhero parody. Better than one would expect from the trailers, if still more clever than intelligent. Still, worth a look —definitely not for everyone, however. 

ANIMATED

- Dead end: Paranormal park. (season 2)

Extraordinary dark fantasy for children, notable both for the queer elements (that are here an integral part of the story) and for becoming an apologia for rebellion against God. Quite recommended. 

- Zootopia+. 

Shorts derived from the famous movie. Nicely animated and amusing, if short enough to count almost as deleted scenes. Still, pretty entertaining. 

- Sailor Moon Crystal. (Seasons 1 - 2)

The much maligned second anime adaptation of the world-famous manga —I found it to hold up surprisingly well. Perhaps it works much better completely ignoring the Fandom Discourse around it, both positive and negative, and simply watching this one on its own merits. 

WEBCOMIC

- Some other animal’s meat. Emily Carroll. 

Excellently creepy horror comic from a master of the genre. The basis for a Cabinet of curiosities episode that truly did not do justice to the original. 

MOVIES

- Sailor Moon R: The movie. 

- Sailor Moon S: The movie. 

- Sailor Moon SuperS: The movie. 

The movies spun off from the original anime all hold up nicely, each with their own themes and aesthetic.

- Sing.

So-so animated musical. While entertaining and nice to look at, something is missing and overall is fairly unmemorable. 

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Spooky comics.

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Read the following comic book anthologies: 

- Archie Halloween Spectacular. 

- Archie & Friends Thrills and Chills. 

- Jinx: Grim fairy tales. 

- Weirder mysteries. 

From Archie comics; the first two all-ages, the latter rated Teen. Somewhat slim, but pretty fun, suitably spooky. 

- Infinite Halloween. 

- The multiverse who laughs.

From DC comics. Scary tales set in the DC Universe, often to its detriment —the first volume is 13 tales that feel like they would be much better without the superhero element (not to mention as a stand-alone). The second is possibly the apotheosis of fandom obsession with things they ultimately dislike —familiar DC stories, diving deep into decades of continuity, but all re-told as something of a gross-out contest. 

- Tales from the darkside. 

IDW adaptation of a failed tv revival from Joe Hill. As is typical of Hill a little too weird for Horror, yet firmly unwilling to let his tales be anything BUT horror, and thus too cynical for Fantasy. 

- Creepshow.

Image revival of the famous anthology movies —much better, and the most successful anthology of this list, after the Archie ones —very much for adults in this case. 

Fun little bunch for the end of the spooky season. 

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Something wicked this way comes

 

- Something wicked this way comes. Ray Bradbury. 

To the quaint Green Town, Illinois, a strange carnival has come, bringing Halloween with it at least a week earlier. For most of the residents, it means something delightful… perhaps even tempting —it offers certain things they badly desire. For two boys, it is a nightmare come true. And for one of the boys’ weary father, it may well come to represent something else…

Seminal dark fantasy novel by Bradbury; a book whose influence is writ large in so much latter fiction. From latter 20th century classic horror / fantasy authors (ranging as diverse as Stephen King, R. L. Stine and Richard Matheson) to more general fiction for children. A mix of horrific, sentimental and even subtly erotic. 

However, the novel itself is undeniably dated. The sentimental parts now and then feel corny, to say nothing of eyebrow-raising (that last chapter in particular…). The characters’ motivations can often feel unpleasantly moralistic. And to top it off, it’s a rare case in which Bradbury’s ornamental prose sometimes gets in the way of his own tale, often obscuring rather than emphasizing. 

Sometimes it even feels like other books closely tied to this one —such as the short story collection “The illustrated man” —hold up much better. 

Still, a classic that is worth a look for both historical value (genre history especially) and as part of Bradbury’s multi-faceted world. 

*

Menace from the deep

- Killer Species #1: Menace from the deep. Michael P. Spradlin.

Emmet Doyle, the son of a famous wildlife expert, has just moved against his will to the Florida Everglades swamps. But the reason his father has been summoned is nothing ordinary. There is a new predator species it seems —something that looks alarming man-made. Something that is preying on snakes and boas... and might well soon hunger for something else... When Emmet and and another scientist’s son, Calvin Geaux, run afoul of one of the new beasts, they will learn just how dangerous a new invasive species can be. Particularly when driven by human arrogance…

Very entertaining 2013 sci-fi yarn for children, the first in a four-book series about genetically engineered monsters. Drawing cues from famous sci-fi thrillers a la Michael Crichton or Arthur Herzog, it quite surpasses Crichton and about matches Herzog —with bonus point for this being a book for children that in many ways is far better written than too many thrillers for adults. The good handling of influences results in both convincing scientific mumbo-jargon and fairly believable characters. 

While the suspense and creature attack scenes can be somewhat lacking it’s nevertheless a breezy, entertaining read. Recommended overall. 

*

Werewolf by night

 - Werewolf by night. (2022. Dir. Michael Giacchino)

Five monster hunters gather for a special hunt —whoever can snuff a monster on the loose will gain the mythical artifact know as the Bloodstone. Among them are seasoned hunters (one with 100 confirmed kills!), an unwelcome special guest and more. But everyone involved has a few plans of their own —soon, the lines between hunter and hunted will be blurred…

Surprisingly effective halloween special drawn from the Marvel comics (and thankfully keeping the connection to the bloated MCU to a minimum), and effectively functioning as an old-fashioned monster yarn. Give or take a few more modern touches, that is —from the mix of practical and cg effects to certain updates for the characters (dig Jack’s skull makeup!). Dig also delightfully ghoulish touches such as the puppeteered corpse playing host. 

A satisfyingly entertaining yarn for the spooky season!

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Into the pit

 - Fazbear Frights #1: Into the pit. Scott Cawthon & Elley Cooper. 

A collection of three short stories: Into the pit, To be beautiful, and Count the ways, plus an epilogue. The first in a twelve (and a bonus 13) book series in the vein of Goosebumps and imitators (horror books for children), and presented as spun off the infamous video game franchise “Five nights at Freddy’s”. All twelve books are linked by the epilogues which form the story of the Stitchwraith. 

The entire Franchise has been and remains heavily criticized due to creator Cawthon’s repugnant morals and political actions. Beyond that, where the game has been often mocked for its bare-bones story and structure (even considering that it’s intended for children), this book series presents the curiosity of being intended for children yet featuring an unusually high level of gore, dismemberment and other similar violent actions. While also thorough omitting the very notion of queer people, to better fit said repugnant morals. 

In themselves the stories are formulaic or rather typical of the genre: All child characters express a certain wish (to have a fun summer, to be conventionally pretty, to be left alone) and all are punished in extreme ways for it. 

“Into the pit” has the protagonist discovering a portal to 1985, then paying the prize of his father being replaced with a supposedly murderous animatronic. But as the rabbit character doesn’t actually do anything menacing in the entire story, the fact that our protagonist eventually hangs him to death feels less like a valiant action than to hinting that we are following a budding sociopath. 

“To be beautiful” has, as far too many tales of the ilk, a young female character who is both relentless mocked by the very narration for her appearance (the very first words in this tale are “fat and flat”), and then punished for wanting to be different —complete with a lovely description of body bags filled with severed human parts. Moral tales at their most annoying. 

“Count the ways” likewise mocks our young female protagonist for dressing in the Goth style and daring to have a romantic idea of death (the story entirely glosses over the idea of goth boys), leading her to be dismissed as judgmental for not having friends and then ambiguously killed by a surprisingly chatty animatronic. 

In sort —delivers what it promises but for this particular genre (horror for children)… believe me, there are better options out there. 

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. (2022. Dir. George C. Wolfe)

During a sweltering summer day in 1927, singer Ma Rainey, dubbed The Mother of Blues, is en route to a recording session. As her band waits for her and rehearses, the musicians share anecdotes about daily frustrations —sometimes, about deeply rooted horrors. In particular, ambitious Levee clashes with his older, religious, somewhat uptight bandmates. Rainey meanwhile wages a careful battle between her ego and the constant menace of losing her carefully calculated privileges. All passions and frustrations will come out with music. Thus the recording session becomes a day of soul-searching —precisely what the true blues is all about! 

Terrific film adaptation of the classic August Wilson stage-play, itself loosely based on real-life anecdotes. From the careful recreation of the era’s fashions to the powerhouse performances and the thorough dissection of racial conflicts then and now. The commentary on the violence that is sometimes performed between the oppressed as the only valve left to them itself remains both shocking and poignant. And of course, there's the highly energetic musical performances. 

In sort, not to be missed. 

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