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!!!