MRM : Thor, the best of Phase 1 MCU

 

The coming-of-age story of a petulant boy who is headstrong, proud, vain, arrogant, petty, foolish, greedy and likes to start fights so that people will sing the songs of his victories… that old chestnut…

Did I mention this coming-of-age story is really about a man from another world?  Did I mention this world is seen as Asgard, the fabled dream world of the gods of the Norse? 

Did I mention that the boy isn’t really a boy, he’s a man, nearly 1,500 years old, with god like strength and a hammer that could take down a skyscraper?  Did I forget to mention it’s the legendary God of Thunder, Thor?  But still, a coming-of-age film about a young man who needs to be what it’s like to sacrifice for others.

It’s got a great supporting cast, from two worlds, to help Thor become the man he’s supposed to be.

Odin is just plain fed-up with Thor’s pompous behavior, if he’s not bragging about his “victories in war”, even if it was just a fight that he picked, or he’s whining about how he knows better and should be making more decisions for Asgard and more.  So, before he goes into the Odin-sleep, he banishes Thor and takes his hammer so that it must be earned, wielded by a man worthy of it’s “power”, the power of Thor, and sends them both to Midgard (Earth), separately.

During a battle with the frost giants, Loki notices something strange about when he is touched by them, when he gets back to Asgard he questions Odin to his origins and learns the truth that he's not Odin's blood son.  During their argument, Odin slips into slumber.

As Thor is on earth, having to deal with life here, without his hammer and powers, Odin sleeps and Thor’s brother Loki, assumes part of the thrown, his dark heart wanting to take over Asgard for himself.  He acts like a complete pain in the @$$ for quite a while.

SHIELD comes in and takes "collects" all of the work of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and her associates, Darcy (Kat Dennings) & Professor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) who becomes a major part of the Avengers saga.

I especially like the seen as Agent Phil Coulson watches Thor try to retrieve Mjolnir and fails, it's one of the most powerful scenes of the early MCU.

Selvig rescues Thor from SHIELD by claiming he's a physicist with mental problems, calling him Dr. Donald Blake (a reference to Thor's alter-ego in the comics).

In the meantime, Lady Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three travel to Midgard (Earth) in search of their missing friend.  Loki visits Thor and tells him that Odin has died and that his mother has also banished him from his home.  Watching this scene it's hard to believe that he eventually turns to the good guys side.

Loki sends Odin's mighty Destroyer to finally finish off Thor and his friends so he can take complete control.

Eventually Thor is put to the ultimate test to save his new friends on earth, including his love, Jane Foster and has to sacrifice himself to save them, but in that, earning his place as God Of Thunder and the return of his hammer, Mjolnir.  It's an emotional scene and it moves you, it makes you believe. 

We find out later that this battle in a small town has a huge impact on others in the Marvel Universe, namely Nick Fury and SHIELD, it's what they use as an excuse to make weapons from the tesseract.

The post credit scene of Erik Selvig and Nick Fury is good and really leaves a good tease for Loki's return, but is still pretty small compared to many of the other post credits.

This film is easily the best telling and example of Thor, with Kenneth Branagh directing, it went the way it should, unlike later when they go for the small minded comedy.  This is how Thor should be depicted.

Overall the film gets 🌟🌟🌟🌟 and a half out of five.  Because it took you to the realm of the comic book, like Aquaman or Wonder Woman, it made it feel like a comic book hero come to life.  The balance of the scenes from Earth to Asgard is great, Branagh did an exceptional job.

FFF and Happy Birthday to TINA TURNER

 

Another birthday for Femme Fatale Friday as we celebrate one of the greatest entertainers of all time, and an epic icon of music, Tina Turner 💖

Anna Mae Bullock was born on November 26th 1939, she began her career in 1957 as part of, Turner's Kings of Rhythm, being called, Little Ann.

In 1960 she was introduced as, Tina Turner on a duet, with Ike Turner, and the team became one of the biggest musical forces with incredible hits like, Proud Mary, River Deep-Mountain High, and, Natbush City Limits.  And, she appeared in the film, Tommy, along with The Who, Ann-Margret and others, it remains one of the most iconic rock music motion pictures of all time.

Her infamous relationship with Ike ended in 1976 and the star continued to perform their original songs.  Her divorce was final in 1978 but their label released two more albums under their name.  After that she spent several years as more of a "nostalgic act" playing hotel ballrooms.

But in 1981, Rod Stewart asked Tina to perform "Hot Legs" with him on an episode of Saturday Night LIVE.  She then started opening for the Rolling Stones, appearing with Mick on stage for some duets.

In 1983 she was signed to Capitol Records and released the album, Private Dancer, which ended up going 5X Platinum and relaunching her career for a completely new era and generations.  To this day, it's considered one of the greatest comebacks in musical history.

In 1984 she achieved her one and only #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, with "What's Love Got to Do With It" but would go on to have numerous Top 10 singles like,  "Better Be Good To Me" and "Private Dancer".  In 1985 she would go on to co-star with Mel Gibson in, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and score another Top 10 with, "We Don't Need Another Hero".

Turner's star has only gotten brighter since then, cementing her as one of the greatest female legends of rock and roll, considered by many to be the, Queen of Rock N Roll.

She is one of the most powerful stage performers of all time, always including incredible dance numbers as part of her shows, she was a force on stage, and noted for one of the most impressive pair of legs of all time.  Proud Mary still is one of the most incredible songs of all time to me and always will be.

Happy Birthday, Tina Turner! 

Christopher Robin - A true Disney classic, all grown up.

In the middle of Disney putting out lackluster remakes, overflowing with enough CGI to scare George Lucas, it was refreshing to see them put out a truly beautiful, family film again.

Being that it stars, Obi Wan Kanobi (Ewan McGregor) I was, at first, expecting some big moment, something bold and dramatic.  The film was reminding me of, Secondhand Lions and I guess I was waiting for this films version of the fight scene between Hub and the teenagers, but it never came, but by the end of the film, it was okay.  It’s a relaxing and truly enjoyable, family film.  It left we with an uplifting and peaceful feeling, that childlike innocence of, everything’s going to be okay… 

Alongside McGregor is one of the new sensations of Hollywood, Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter from the MCU) who is not only one of the most talented actresses to come along in a while but also one of the most classic beauties in many decades.  Atwell plays McGregor’s wife, Evelyn who has stuck with Christopher through thick and thin, including many years of him being away for World War II.  

Then one day, as he is very stressed about life, Christopher Robin is hiding out in the park across from his home in London, when he hears an old and familiar voice… Pooh.  Robin turns around to Pooh Bear carrying on a conversation with him as if he’s only been gone a week.  Robin first thinks he’s gone mad, but Pooh had come looking for him to help him find his fellow citizens of the ‘Hundred Acre Woods, and the adventure begins.

The incredible Jim Cummings voices Pooh & Tigger, while Dr Who, Peter Cabaldi voices Rabbit and the amazing Brad Garrett voices Eeyore.  The voices and the old Winnie the Pooh music worked into the films beautiful score bring back a flood of memories.

Contrary to some very foolish sites and lists, this is NOT a remake or reboot at all, it’s a sequel.

It’s like a coming of age film but in reverse, sort of, it shows us the importance of holding on to things that are truly important in life, about priorities but at the same time, about the old Disney adage, don’t completely grow up, or you might lose a very important part of yourself. 

The writing is inspired as Pooh’s naive and childlike view of the world really helps to put a lot of adult things in a clearer perspective.  The film shows that just because we get smarter, doesn’t mean we know more, and certainly doesn’t automatically make us wiser.  In fact, it’s Pooh’s innocent wisdom that really helps Christopher Robin and his family see what is important in their lives.

This film gets 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 out of five, it really does remind you of the classic Disney family films we grew up on, and that Disney has been missing the mark on for a long time.  I can not recommend this film highly enough as a true, FAMILY Film!

 

Toon Tuesday : The New Scooby Doo movies

Almost definitely one of the top three incarnations of Scooby Doo, the New Scooby Doo movies were two part shows featuring guest appearances by a wide array of famous names.

From Batman & Robin, to the Harlem Globetrotters, to the Three Stooges, the show ran the gambit of fun but also did some with great celebrities like Don Knotts, Sandy Duncan and even country music star, Jerry Reed.

It was truly a fun show but even then a lot of fans asked why there wasn't more, why they didn't have more of the other Hanna-Barbera characters in the mix, like Captain Caveman and Space Ghost.  In more recent (and pretty lousy) incarnations of the shows, they did bring in more characters but it isn't even close to the magic of the originals, not at all.

There was a host of greats that could have been part of this series, although some might have taken a bit of a stretch for the, Scooby-verse, a character like H&B's version of Godzilla could have been a guest hero and it would have been more in the scope of the gangs adventures.

A character like Carl Kolchak (from Kolchak the Night Stalker) might have been a bit over the top but the character was wide open in that era for such a crossover, perhaps the character needed to crossover from Scooby Doo to a group that goes after real monsters, it could have been a great move.

The 80's was no shortage of insane possibilities for the show, the Ghostbusters is an easy one to toss out, or the gang of kids from, The Monster Squad, or even Gizmo & Billy from, Gremlins.

Today, the fools who horribly run Hanna-Barbera & The Cartoon Network do some decent films once in a while, Scooby Doo meet KISS, was a pretty good crossover, but so many others are just plain ridiculous and written for very dull intellects, no matter the age.

One of the great team ups from Hanna Barbera I always thought was an automatic winner was the Scooby gang meeting Blue Falcon & Dinomutt but they have already tried and screwed that up, bad.

Hopefully someone will come along and take the reigns at Hanna Barbera/Cartoon Network that will stop making programs/movies that just dumb down the audience and glorify stupidity rather than enlighten and entertain! 


 

MRM : Iron Man 2 aka, Tony's Ego part 2

Marvel doubled down with the 2nd installment of the MCU as Iron Man 2 took to the screen.  Looking back from today, we realize that the MCU isn't what we thought it was back then, so much centers around or leads back to, Tony Stark.

We start the film with Tonys tribute to Tonys ego, his resurrection of the Stark Expo, a whole year of it, or it was supposed to have gone on for a year... we never found out if they tried to finish it or not.

On his way out, a cameo by the always hot, Kate Mara, who serves Tony with an order to appear before the senate armed services committee hearing, which turns into a fun scene of Tony (Robert Downey Jr) making complete fools out of Senator Stern (Garry Shandling, who later turns out to be part of Hydra) and a political committee attempting to forcibly take the "Iron Man weapon" from him.  He also makes a fool out of fellow billionaire/designer (not really hard to do with this guy) Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell).

Another film where the Stark family history comes back biting, this time in the form of the son of a man who helped Howard Stark (John Slattery) design the arc reactor and then was shuffled off to Siberia to keep him from the world, never sharing a penny for his work and creations.

Ivan Vanko, the supervillain known as, Whiplash (Mickey Rourke, who should have won the Oscar for, The Wrestler) is the son of Starks former scientist and is out to avenge what was done to him, in a vodka fueled rage.

Back in his hotrod workshop, we find out that Stark is being poisoned by the cell in his chest that is keeping him alive and that the use of the Iron Man suit only makes it worse, but he does everything to keep it to himself, and he turns control of Stark Industries over to Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).

This film introduces Natasha Romanoff, aka The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) as part of Stark Industries staff, he first scene in a funny bit with the films director, Jon Favreau, in his role as, Happy Hogan.

Tony, Pepper, Happy and Natasha travel to Monaco, where Elon Musk makes a cameo, Tony then subs himself in for his own Formula 1 driver, but the race is interrupted by Whiplash.  In another of the moments that is the way Iron Man should be, we see Tony change into the suit via a special briefcase, again the nuts & bolts of the suit being far better than the weak and lazy writing with "nanotech".

It's here that the MCU touches, ever so briefly, on one of the biggest parts of Tony's past, his alcoholism, as was featured in the comics in the 1970s, but came to help define and humble the character, this version could use some humility, they didn’t take this part seriously enough at all.

During one of Starks benders, he throws a massive party as his mansion and uses the Iron Man armor to blow up water melons.  James "Roadie" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) steps in and takes one of Tony's Iron Man suits.

Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and Black Widow stage an intervention in a donut shop, where Widow sticks Tony with a sirum that helps to curb the effects of the paldium poisoning, for now.

Agent of SHIELD, Phil Coulson is assigned to babysit Stark as he's locked in his mansion to review a bunch of his dad's old work and movies from his version of the Stark Expo.  It's in these films that we hear Howard Stark's comment, "all things are possible through technology", and Marvel seems to want that to be their new motto over the classic, With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility, because hey, who should be or needs to be when your a, playboy-billionaire-philanthorpist... right?

Coulson leaves to "take care of something more important in the southwest (the discovery of Thor's hammer), Tony takes off to tell Pepper happy birthday and apologize.  While in his old office he gets a revelation while looking at the old scale model of his dad's Stark Expo.

To cure himself and to defeat Danko, Tony must fulfil his fathers dream, that he didn't have the technology back in his day.

Justin Hammer frees Danko and gets him to work on his own line of iron men, but Danko has a different plan.  The final battle is a pretty good one, although Whiplash being regulated to just another battle suit seems to be a slap to the classic villain.

Overall, the movie is really a lot about Tony's ego and little to do with the Avengers and/or the MCU, except to introduce Black Widow (which they could have done with her own movie) and War Machine... oh, and we also see Tony save a young Peter Parker at the Stark Expo (which the kids identity was thrown in LONG after the films release).  As far as an Iron Man adventure, it was too much Stark and not enough Iron Man, they could have done better.  It gets 🌟 and a half stars out of five, just because Scarlett Johansson looked so good in that suit.  The film is mainly about pushing the, "all things are possible through technology" 💩 than anything else... but the third film is even worse, but we'll get to that...

 

Happy Anniversary KISS Army

It was on this day in 1975 that two rabid KISS fans in Terre Haute Indiana formed, The KISS Army when a local station, WVTS refused to play the rock bands music.

Bill Starkey and Jay Evans began constantly calling the station and sending in letters (including some that threatened to "blow up the station", which I do NOT recommend anyone doing, or threatening to do, ever) that the stations program director, Rich Dickerson finally gave in and started playing the band and referring to the KISS Army on the air.  In no time, fans were calling the station asking how to enlist in the KISS Army.

The official logo was created by Dennis Woloch and Vincent DiGelando of Howard Marks Inc advertising firm that was working with KISS and Bill Aucoin at the time, and was made the official fan club in 1976.

The show on November 21st 1975 (10,000 seats) was completely sold out, Bill Starkey was brought on stage and awarded a plaque by the band.

In 2010, Terre Haute Indiana officially declared that November 21st would now be known as, KISS Army Day.

Here is a photo of Starkey & Dickerson with the band the day before that show in 1975.

According to the former KISS merchandising manager, at it's peak, the KISS Army generated $5,000 per day with a membership of over 100,000 strong.

Like the great fan effort that kept Star Trek on the air, this shows what can happen when the fans come together for what they believe in!  ROCK ON!!!  46 years strong!!!

 

Family Movie Night PLUS - GHOSTBUSTERS

 I'm not old enough to remember the days of a cartoon & news reel before the motion pictures in the theater, but I do remember some theaters still running a cartoon before a Disney movie here and there, when I was a kid.

With today's technology and the availability of so much on DVD/Blu-Ray/Youtube we can really enjoy things better than ever before.

Instead of just a plain old movie night, why not pair the movie up with some other bits of the past to make it even better?

Pick a cartoon short that goes with the general theme of the movie your watching and a half-hour episode of a television show that does the same.

For an easy one, I went with this set that, to me, is a great mix....

"Ghostbusters", released June 8th 1984, the comedy/adventure classic as the main showing, it's a really fun family film that almost everyone still enjoys, it's got a great history and we just had the new sequel, "After Life", just came out.

Before Ghostbusters, go all the way back to Christmas Eve, 1937 when Disney released "The Lonesome Ghosts", starring Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck & Goofy as the Ajax Ghost Exterminators Agency, who are called to a house to rid it of ghosts, trouble is, it's the four trouble-making ghosts who called them in.  You can find the short version of this short, with about 2+ minutes cut from the original, on Youtube.

Then after Ghostbusters, an episode of "The Real Ghostbusters" animated show, "Citizen Ghost", where Peter tells the story of how Slimer came to live with the gang at the firehouse and follows directly up after the original film.  The suits the Ghostbusters wore to battle Gozer were supposed to be disposed of (oops Venkman) and take on a life of their own, with doubles of the team that try to take out the originals and take their place.  It's available on the DVD Series collection.

Watched together, it all just flows and makes for a really fun night for the family along with your favorite pizza (New York style, of course).  And it should all take less than 2.5 hours but it's something that the family should remember. 

What combinations can you think of that go together?

Just a quick historical note of irony, as "Lonesome Ghosts" debuted on Christmas Eve 1937 in theaters,  With no mention in the schedule at all, HBO gave its subscribers a major surprise Christmas present on Christmas Eve 1984 with a single airing of, "Ghostbusters", which didn't make it's official HBO debut until March 1985.  It's a Christmas Eve tradition of a surprise showing that they would continue for several years.

Friday Night Fights : Batman vs Batman (Burton vs Nolan's vision of Gotham)

 Typically, Friday Night Fights is a battle of the people, characters or films, but on this one I wanted to let the two directors versions of Gotham City, is the subject of this main event match!

The two are worlds apart in their vision and approach... which do you prefer?

Tim Burton went with a very dark & brooding version of Gotham with a very gothic look that made one completely unsure of the year or even the era the film takes place in.  The 1989 film took place in a very fictional surrounding.

Almost everything in Burton's world was outrageous, it was a great fit in theaters for the 1980s and early 90s, and I believe would still hold up today, perhaps that's the direction DC should head with it's films...

Burton took the fan into the world of the comic books, into the world of The Batman and the citizens of Gotham.  He did this early, using a family lost in Gotham as any of us would be, our first trip there, trying to find our way around.

While in the 2005 film, Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan went with a much more realistic Gotham City, something similar that one might find in a New York, Boston or Detroit. 

Even stately Wayne manor seemed as if it were somewhere not that far away from where I was, maybe as close as just outside my town or up in the northeast but still part of my world.

Nolan brought Batman to the real world, in spectacular fashion, along with the citizens of Gotham, into a city that might be just outside the theater you were watching the film in.

When Bruce Wayne got beat up by the mob, and went out into the world to find a path to defeat the criminals, we felt as if he was crossing our own world.  This is the direction that the DCEU has taken but has all of it's characters in such dark versions of them, so serious, all the time.

Personally, I prefer the Tim Burton version, the one where we go into the comic book world, as great comic book movies have always done, draw us into their world to follow and share the adventures of those heroes in their own environment.   We have more than enough movies that take place in our own world and that might be happening right outside the theater we are in, but I go to see these to get away from that world, the same reason I'd pick up a comic book as a kid, an escape to another place.

Happy Birthday & Happy Freaky Friday to Jodie Foster

 

Given certain circumstances, I thought I'd forgo the usual name for the weekly post, and just wish a grand, Happy Birthday to one of the finest actresses of our age, Jodie Foster.

To simply address her as an, Academy Award Winner, even adding the word "multiple" doesn't seem to do justice to her spectacular, and often overlooked career.

One of the best things about Foster is her life of steering clear of most scandals and bad press, but the one she had is more than enough for a lifetime, and we'll skip discussion of it on this one.   

Foster's career started almost by accident, as her mom had totted her along to an audition for her older brother, in a Coppertone commercial in 1965, and the casting agents took a shine to her.  She and her brother would go on to do many commercial roles up until 1969, that year she had a reccurring role on, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, starring Bill Bixby.

It was in the 1970's that her life would change forever as she was cast in two films by famed director, Martin Scorcese, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and then, as a child prostitute in, Taxi Driver.  For this role Foster had to undergo psychiatric assessment and was always accompanied on set by a social worker.  Her older sister would "stand in" for her during the more sexual scenes.

It was during this film that she was allowed to develop her own character and realized that acting was an artistic craft rather than just acting like a kid in front of the camera, for it, she was nominated for an Academy Award.

Later she would return to Disney for another memorable role, Freaky Friday, where her teen character switched bodies with her mother, it was a box office smash and would later be remade.  She would also make the Disney film, Candleshoe, starring opposite, David Niven.

In 1980 she began as a full time student at Yale University, she put college first and would only make films during her summer breaks.

It was in college that she really began to take her career as an actress more seriously and stopped looking at it as an "unintelligent profession", she wanted to take the next steps in more serious films.

In 1988 she had her "breakthrough" role as a rape survivor in the film, The Accused, based on a real case, and tackled the real world problem of "victim blaming" in cases like it.  Due to the films content, the production was trying on both cast and crew, especially when they filmed the rape scene, Foster was not happy with her performance in the film, and thought it would end her career, instead it was a major success and Foster received an Oscar and Golden Globe for her performance. 

In 1991 she would take on her most famous role, FBI trainee, Clarice Starling in, Silence of the Lambs, opposite Anthony Hopkins as the bone-chilling, Hannibal Lecter.  Both characters are considered two of the best cinematic hero's and villains of all time, like her previous film Taxi Driver, Silence of the Lambs is one of the films preserved in the, National Film Registry.

In 1994 she would replace Meg Ryan in the western-comedy remake of a classic television show, Maverick, costarring with Mel Gibson, and televisions original Maverick, James Garner.  This is my personal favorite of her career, because she and her fellow cast seemed to genuinely have fun making the film.

Foster has started her own production company and gone on to star in many more films and even take charge behind the camera, directing films and episodes of hit television shows like, Orange is the New Black.

One of the things that I've kept from discussing but been sharing in pictures is that Foster is one of Hollywood's most underrated beauties, and even though not always showing it in film, has always kept herself in great shape, she really is one of Hollywood's most naturally sexy women as well, but has only used her looks when a part specifically calls for it.  Foster is one of the great Class Acts of Hollywood.

It is with great respect and deep admiration that I wish to once again say, Happy Birthday Jodie Foster. 💘

Throwback Thursday : Happy Birthday Mickey Mouse

 

Happy Birthday to one of the great American Icons, Mickey Mouse.

It was on this day in 1928 that Steamboat Willie debuted in theaters and gave us a truly classic character for our nation to embrace.

Over the last 93 years, Mickey Mouse has grown to being beyond a household name, he's become part of the fabric of our culture, and Disney with him.

Walt Disney designed Mickey, whose full name is Michael Theodore Mouse, in a garage after being inspired by a little mouse running around.

Mickey's legacy has helped create over 130 feature length animated films, over 300 live-action films, nearly two dozen theme parks and almost every type of merchandise you can imagine.

More than that, Mickey and his friends have created millions upon millions dreams and dreams come true, for children of all ages around the world.

Holiday decorating, when is, "too soon"?

Yes, we're here, the holiday season is upon us and we're seeing retailers push the boundaries of putting out Christmas items sooner and sooner each year.

What is the proper etiquette for decorating at home for Christmas, or any holiday, for that matter?  How soon do you put out your decorations?  Is it different times for inside versus outside?  How far to you go?  How far would you like to go with decorating?

Me, I'm BIG into celebrating holidays and wish I could do more for just about all the major ones, throughout the year.  For me, the "Holiday season" begins at Labor Day Weekend and goes through Valentine's Day... or maybe even year round, now that I really think about it, but my thoughts go to the upcoming holidays just after Labor Day.

Labor Day weekend was always special to me because I grew up thinking of it as a giving holiday, where you donated to make someone else's life better.  The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, volunteering and seeing Firefighters at the busy corners collecting donations in their boots.  That's what it still means to me to this day and always will.

Labor Day weekend was also the "official" end of summer because we always started school that Tuesday, it ran from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend, seemed like a pretty good system for schools.

Then there is, Halloween 🎃, a great holiday for all, despite what some might say, there is absolutely nothing wrong with celebrating it!

The decorations in the house for Halloween go up on September 1st and the ones on the outside of the house go up the day after Labor Day, proudly.

This is also the time of year when the holiday specials/cartoons start showing on television.  I kind of miss the days when we had to wait all year from them, rather than having them on DVD to watch when we want, they were more special because of the anticipation. 

Decoratively it's also the change from summer to fall, my favorite of the four seasons.

In the stores, we see earlier and earlier signs of Halloween but also .... that dreaded thing .... school supplies 😆 

The Halloween decor is changed out on November 1st, but most can double with celebrating Thanksgiving, or The Harvest and Fall. 

An extra long weekend of family, food, football and 😬 shopping... 

But to a few of us we still honor the holiday with a showing of that classic episode of, WKRP in Cincinnati... "As god is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.." 😆  I've got 3 or 4 different t-shirts I wear over the weekend for it.. "Oh the humanity!" 

But, in the stores, the Christmas decor has been up for a while now, earlier and earlier, seems a bit nuts, but we really need a BIG, BOLD, BRIGHT and BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS Holiday this year, no question about that! 🎅

My Christmas decor starts on Thanksgiving night indoors, and then the outdoor usually shifts that Sunday. 🎄

Finally we come to that big yule log of the holidays, Christmas, the day that eats us alive with stress until we wake up that morning and see the smiles, cheer and love of our families. 💗  Even as a non-believer I celebrate the holiday, as one of Love, and we could all use a bit more love in our lives.

The decorations stay up until the 2nd or 3rd of January, to try and hold onto that special cheer that only Christmas brings.

With the New Year comes the promise of rebirth, change, and promises we usually only half keep, but still make many of them each year.

However you celebrate The Holiday Season, please for yourself and others, celebrate it LOUD & PROUD!!! 


 

MRM : Iron Man (2008) aka, Tony’s Ego Part 1

 

In the actual kickoff of the MCU, we get, at least through our worlds timeline, Tony’s Ego : Part One…. I mean, Iron Man!

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) is pushed as the MCU's "golden boy" instead of Captain America so that Hollywood can push the, "all things are possible through technology" 💩

We start with Stark's motorcade being attacked with an IED in the Middle East, then flashback 36 hours to give everyone an idea of Tony's "priorities" in life, like sleeping with hot reporters, or gambling while he's supposed to be at company functions.

Here, we're introduced to James "Roadie" Rhodes (Terrence Howard) who is Tony's old friend and military connection, Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) who is Tony's butler/top guy, and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) who is Tony's secretary/handler.

Then back to real time, after showing off his latest weapon system, The Jericho, the motorcade is attacked and Stark is injured, then put back together in the cave/stronghold of a terrorist group so he can build a Jericho system for them.  instead, he builds what is known in the MCU as the, Mark I suit, a crude version of Iron Man that look a lot like the comics early rendition of the character that he uses to escape his captors.

When he returns to civilization (nice product placement, Burger King, although I don't remember the stores doing anything around the film, at all) he decides that mass weapons manufacturing isn't his thing anymore (in a VERY public press conference, where we first meet, Agent Coulson).  Back at the mansion we see Tony & Pepper have a funny buy crazy moment of, Operation, when she helps him change out the reactor in his chest. 😆  It was good he interrupted her when he did as she was wasting her time with that screaming idiot and stock market wanna-be analyst, Jim Cramer.

He then goes on to design the, Mark II suit, gold and hotrod red (introducing us to JARVIS) and starts his campaign against terrorists that are using his weapons against innocents.  In one fight he's pursued by American fighter jets and has to admit to Roadie that it's him in the armor.

One of the major mistakes of the film is them acting as if they don't have the name, SHIELD in place yet, when in other films we know that it's been in use for decades, going back and watching this, it makes Coulson really look bad, and he's one guy they shouldn't do that to.

In a bid to overthrow the company, it turns out that his number two guy, Obediah Stain (Jeff Bridges, who is awesome, too bad they killed him off) was behind the attack on Tony in the Middle East, he wants to take control of the company so he can keep supplying weapons to whoever has the money, no matter who they are used against.  In that, he takes the reactor from Stark's chest to power his own version of the Mark I, best known in the comics as, Iron Monger.

Of course Tony wins the day & saves the girl, finally realizing that Pepper Potts is the one for him, as he announces to the world, "I am Iron Man."

The post credit scene of Tony and Nick Fury would be the kickoff of the MCU, but really could have/should have been done a bit different with Fury trying to knock down Tony's ego a bit more by telling him that  he's not the only super hero in the world, but since he's Tony Stark he has to do things in public instead of under the radar like "the others".  

Overall it's a pretty good super hero film and origin story for the modern age.

The best part of this movie, is that it's the nuts & bolts Iron Man, the way it should be, the real machine work, clockwork style, not the weak and foolish "nanotech" nonsense they go for in later films.  Seeing that first time he locks on the armor to go after the bad guys and first "super hero landing" is really a great thing!!!

The use of classic rock, namely AC/DC is incredible and greatly helps in connecting the different generations of fans for the comic books and the new films.

Robert Downey Jr is perfect for the role, he comes off as a spoiled brat billionaire playboy, that you want to cheer for but also wouldn't mind slapping the hell out of here and there.  Downey really put his life back together after years of substance abuse, he now uses his role to help people, especially kids needing prosthetics, he's turned into a real life hero.

For the film alone, it get's 🌟🌟 and a half stars but for the kickoff of the MCU, just one, Cap should have been the focus, that  isn't about Downey or Favreau, it's about Marvel's mistake.

I'm always sorry we never got to see this model of the the Iron Man armor from the late early 70's, it's an obvious punchline just waiting to happen, as Tony could call this one, his Horny Armor 😆 given the look of the helmet...  But, there are several versions of the armor that I wish we could have seen.

Happy Birthday to a Radio Legend

Happy Birthday to the late, great, Dick Powell, know to many back in the golden days of radio as, Richard Diamond Private Detective.

Normally it's Story Time Sunday over on my facebook pages and I like to share spoken classic word stories from different eras.

Richard Diamond Private Detective is one of my all time favorites, not only do you get a great and fun adventure from this wise cracking gum shoe, but you usually got a song at the end of the episode, as Diamond would sing to his red head sweetheart, Helen Asher (Virginia Gregg).

Powell was cast as Phillip Marlowe, Private Eye in the film, Murder, My Sweet. He also played other hard-boiled detective characters on radio and screen.  One of the funniest parts of Richard Diamond was that he would poke fun at his former role as, Marlowe, on occasion asking if they've cancelled the Phillip Marlowe  show yet. 

With all the parts he played, Richard Diamond is easily his more remembered and beloved.

From solving the mystery of a haunted house to saving a tempermental seal, his adventures were full of action but always light hearted and quick witted, with plenty of one liners and zingers, Diamond would fire them off at anyone, faster than his gun.

Many of Powell's great adventures and laughs can be heard on Sirius/XM Radio's, Radio Spirits (channel 148) or on CD from the Radio Spirits website.  BIG Thanks to Greg Bell media for keeping this classic radio programs, and the memory of Dick Powell alive and well. 

Happy Birthday, Mr. Powell.

 

Best Disney Live-Action Remakes

 

Movies are one of my greatest joys in life, have been for as long as I can remember, and I hope that never changes. 💖

When I was growing up, the Fox Theater in Springfield MO would show a different Disney matinee each Saturday afternoon, and so I got to see all the classics (and some not so classic) on the big screen. 

But in the last 20 years, Disney has had no real creativity to it, if not for Pixar, I’m not sure that Disney would ever been able to purchase the Star Wars or Marvel universes, and might not even be going.  The lack of new material out of Disney is truly disturbing, although some of their live-action remakes are actually pretty damn good.

Recently I made the mistake of watching another asinine video from the woke😝 fools at “watch mojo”, one of the internets collections of brainless little twits who wouldn’t know a good movie if a theater fell on them… with a dragon sitting on top of it.  So, when they put out a video trying to rank the, Disney Live-Action Remakes, I just had to chime in.  

1. Maleficent (2014)

This is easily the best of the bunch because it doesn’t give us a predictable copy of the animated original, it’s fresh, and creative as we get the point of view of the “evil” sorceress herself and learn that not all stories are as they were originally told, I personally like this telling more than the original.  The story is inventive, the characters are strong and the actors are really into their roles, especially Jolie.

2.  101 Dalmatians (1996)

They got the description for this one mostly correct, Glen Close makes this film, REALLY makes this film, she is over the top but also still gives us just barely enough believability that you are hooked in and enjoy the ride.

3.  Alice In Wonderland (2010)

I remember when I heard that Tim Burton was making this and how excited it would be to see his interpretation of this classic tale, and he really did not disappoint at all, it was incredible.  Those at mojo didn’t seem to get it, they didn’t seem to understand it at all, but their videos normally show off that it doesn’t take much push to get something over their heads.  This film is an all around visual delight, Depp is phenomenal at The Hatter, possibly his best role outside of Captain Jack Sparrow, he captured the real nature of The Mad Hatter.  I’m wondering if the children are “watch mojo” have ever read ANY of these books???

4. The Jungle Book (2016)

This one they did get a bit right but also over praised it a good bit, it’s very well done and the talking animals fit in very well and it all seems visually believable, although it misses the mark of the colorful playfulness of the animated version.  The voices are good, borderline on very good, but not great.

5.  Dumbo (2019)

Again, the crew at mojo missed SO much on this one, but they were busy being “woke”😝 about the original and its “bad parts”, which in reality, were not and still aren’t, not for the era it was made.  The film was a bit darker than the original and the humor went with it and was a bit more grown up (that explains why they didn’t get it).  The lil fella is ADORABLE though… and the, “monkey in the desk” bit was hysterical! 

Then there are two that aren’t even remakes/reboots….

Cruella (2021)

This isn’t a remake, it’s a prequel, “the making of Cruella” not a remake of, 101 Dalmatians at all.  Unique and BOLD, this film deserves to be on many great lists.  Stone isn’t Close, but she’s not trying to be, she’s being a young Cruella.  Great flick!

Christopher Robin (2018)

This one isn’t a remake either, it’s a sequel, it’s what happens after Robin grows up, grows away from his friends from the 100 Acre Woods, and it’s magical to an older soul.

My guess is that as they get older, the folks at mojo will understand this film better, or maybe not, they are a bit thick.  This movie is a reconnection to youth, letting one know that it’s okay to not totally grow up and that some thing, no matter how childish they seem, are worth believing in and worth holding onto.

Two very high honorable mentions here…

The Jungle Book (1994) & Mulan (2020)

Both of these are for sticking much closer to the source material, to the point that they aren’t remakes of the Disney animated films, they just have the same names and produced by the same company, again, another part of all this that just flew over their heads.  Both are really great films! 👍

Then there are ones on their list that simply NEVER should have been made… remade… however you want to look at it...

Aladdin (2019)
Without Robin Williams, this remake shouldn't have even been considered.  All respect to Will Smith but he just isn't in the same universe as Williams for this role.  If they were determined to make this, it should have had a heavy rewrite and darker tone (no pun intended), for the big kids, instead of trying to copy Williams.

Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Now I am ALWAYS ready to see Emma Watson💘 on the big screen, that lil lady is a spectacular actress and to me, absolutely STUNNING! 😍 but the other characters just don’t do it.  Gaston comes off as a really wimped out version of the original, the Beast looks like a bad oil painting and the other castle characters just have no real personality to them, like the plates, they are just flat.  Then there is the “wokeness” 😝, the push of an lgbtq character on the film, it would have been no big deal if the media hadn’t shoved it down our throat… maybe that’s not the best way to put it… 😆

The Sorcerers Apprentice (2010) 
Was just LOUSY from start to finish, why they even put it on the list is a mystery unless they just like hearing the sound of their own voice… which is most likely.

The Lion King (2019)
Although the thought of the visuals would be insanely great on a big screen, my interest stopped completely when it was announced that Beyonce’ and Oprah were part of the project, and after seeing it, it was just boring as hell, and the visuals were not as cool as a lot you get from the National Geographic Channel.  This film is the epitome of showing just how desperate Disney is these days, it’s sad to the point of pathetic.

Lady and The Tramp (2019) and Pete’s Dragon (2016) 
Were more of the same, showing that they just want to make a new film to see how much $$$ they can make, to hell with the originals.  Both are barely watchable, not to mention the parts left out of Lady and the Tramp due to the mental illness of “wokeness” 😝.

Cinderella (2021)

Of all the animated Disney classics to put on the big screen in live action, THIS is one of the two tops to go for, along with Snow White, but it fell flat.  Kenneth Branagh did a great job and it has some stunning visuals, but who cast the lead?  Cinderella is supposed to be the definition of beautiful Disney Princess and that young lady is somewhat pretty… okay, not really, she’s just not, this character should be STUNNING Beautiful when fixed up, but … no.  We’ll see what happens when Snow White comes out.  If this makes me seem cruel or “mean”, to the small minded, so be it, even if it’s just an honesty you don’t like.

Femme Fatale Friday : ANNE HATHAWAY

A very Happy Birthday to the amazing 💖 Anne Hathaway 💖 who is also this weeks, Femme Fatale.

Born in Brooklyn New York (you can see that side come out a time or two in, Dark Knight Rises) in 1982 and named after the bride of, William Shakespeare's wife, to parents originally from Philadelphia, her mother an actress, whose father was a prominent Philly radio personality and her father a lawyer.

In high school she was nominated for the Paper Mill's Rising Star Award for best high school performance in the state of New Jersey.  She was also the first and only teen admitted to the award-winning acting program at The Barrow Group of New York, performing 2 concerts at Carnegie Hall as a member of the All-Eastern US High School Honors Choir.

Hathaway's first major role was on the short lives show, Get Real, but it was her lead in the films, The Princess Diaries (2001), that got the worlds attention and captured a lot of hearts, including mine. 😉  It couldn't have been easy that early on playing opposite screen legend, Julie Andrews, but it spawned a very successful sequel (2004), it was the filming schedule for that sequel that would cost her the female lead role in, Phantom of the Opera, as Hathaway was one of New York's leading sopranos and has an amazing voice.

Hathaway was also well known early for her sensuality and confidence as a model.  She would follow in Andrews footsteps of stepping away from family friendly roles as she appeared topless in the film, Havoc (2005).  She has been quoted as saying that she doesn't mind being naked for a role if it serves a purpose for the film.

Gary Marshall, director of, The Princess Diaries said, "The multi-talented Hathaway is a combination of Julia Roberts, Audrey Hepburn and Judy Garland."  Quite the honor to be put into a category with such legends so early on in her career.

Known by Annie, to her friends, she's shown herself to be bold and proud of her NYC life at public appearances.

In 2012 was cast in, Les Miserables, suggested for the role by Hugh Jackman and went on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, for the role she also won BAFTA Award, Critic's Choice Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award.

Also in 2012 was cast as, Selina Kyle aka Catwoman in, The Dark Knight Rises.  I hope that someday she also finds her way into the, MCU.

Hathaway also co-starred in Alice in Wonderland (2010) & Alice Through the Looking Glass (2016), with Johnny Depp.

Hathaway was given a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2019.  She is married with two sons.

Not only one of the hottest (in many ways) actresses of the last decade but also one of the most powerful in the acting world, turning down numerous parts over "creative differences", being very choosey about how she is portrayed on screen.

Anne Hathaway is one of my absolute favorites and I wish her a very wonderful Birthday weekend! 💘


 

Throwback Thursday : Wolverine

Once upon a time, Wolverine was even cooler than he is now, he was 5'2" of adamantium & mutant fury, could go toe-to-toe with the Hulk and was the most popular character in the Marvel Universe.

Then one day, some goof decided to make him more "normal", whatever the hell that is, but it really did a lot of damage to the character and caused a cascade that dropped Marvel's sales for years.

There were several attempts to make the character part of some animated shows but they never pulled it off.

To me, the best think about Logan was the complete lack of an origin, it was guesswork, hints, teases, and a lot of crazy rumors.  There were stories about him in a photo during the War Between the States and his flashbacks to something resembling Feudal Japan, then there are the connections he has around the world that couldn't possibly be made in a regular human lifetime.

The origin they gave him was, and still is, absolutely terrible, in fact, putting it into movie form only showed how bad it is, let's hope that Kevin Feige goes back to the classic Wolverine that made "the little guy" the biggest in the Marvel Universe.

With Wolverine, the only thing you knew, was that you never knew, and that was what made his stories so damn good.  In ways, he was like the Batman, he would pull off stunts against the Hellfire Club and miraculous returns from the dead or four... 

Why "fix" something that wasn't broken?  Not sure why Marvel ever went for it, it made zero sense, and today makes even less.  It's the most outrageous parts of the MCU that are the best, and the best has yet to come, we hope.... 

Coming up, January 1st 2022, my ULTIMATE MCU list....