Stephen Craig: “I loved the ending. It was campy, do you agree?”
Me: “Oh yeah, very…The ending was 3-D: dark, delicious, and ah geez, what was it, oh yeah, delightful!”
And indeed it is. We both loved how the script deviated from the original 1989 movie, which was excellent, by the way, but by having the daughter Rachael die and come back from the dead instead of the younger son, Gage, the tale veers off on a devilishly deviant tangent that ends in a sinister fashion (spoiler withheld).
Starring Jason Clarke as Dr. Louis Creed, Jon Lithgow as neighbor Jud Crandall, and Jete’ Laurence as daughter Ellie, this is a spin of the classic “monkey’s paw” yarn that works beautifully. The tale explores the macabre, weighty but fascinating world of the death of loved ones and of our own mortality. PT is “smart zombie” tale, closer to vampires than George Romero’s mindless, human-flesh-eating obsessed undead. The beings that are resurrected from the special Micmac burial ground look like the original person or pet but harbor a hidden, evil streak poses lethal danger to the loved ones of the reanimated being.
I see that some critics say the pacing is too slow but I thought the pacing, with the exception of perhaps one too many flashbacks of the mother Rachael as a young child helping take care of her dying mother Zelda, was fine. It made the characters fully human and worth caring for. The only flaw worth noting is from the source material and the filmmakers failure to address it is the primary reason I can’t give this movie a perfect score. And that is the failure of the parents, after they move to an isolated home right by a busy road, to build some kind of protective fencing for their cat and young children. Other than that, I love how the new version of “Pet Sematary” keeps the parts of the original source material that do work and change the story from the younger Gage getting killed by a speeding semi to the older daughter Ellie.
As Jud says, “Sometimes dead is better” and I would amend that slightly to say that sometimes the original is story is fine but sometimes that are parts you should change. In this case, I think the producer and director made the right decision by having Ellie die and come back from the special burial ground.
I give it 9 kernels. Everything was perfect except for minor plot issues.
My co-host also gave it a 9.0. kernels out of 10.0. We talk about how fabulously Jon Lithgow as next-door neighbor, Jud Crandall, says the line, “Sometimes dead is better.” I add that Fred Gwynne (in the original) says it with more of an Eastern accent.
Fred Gwynne as Jud Crandall in original “Pet Sematary”
Seeing this wonderful flick inspired by Stephen King has me even more pumped up for the next, and final, “It” installment. It’s going to be released Sept. 5th, a day after my birthday. Bring it on, baby!
#1 – SC: “One of the first
things Billy Batson does after he gets superpowers is to go buy
beer.” LE: “If I suddenly got superpowers at that age I’d do
the same thing.”
#2
– SC: “Okay, which would you rather have, invisibility or the
power to fly?” LE: “Okay I have flip flopped on this one. I’d
rather have invisibility so I can be that fly on the wall. I figure I
can already fly because we have jetpacks but as far as I know, no
one’s invented a way to become invisible. SC: “It’s close but
I’ll take flying.” LE: “We can work together. You can have the
aerial view while I’m on the ground checking things out.”
#3 — SC: “I give it 8.5 kernels. How about you, Lee?” LE: “I’m gonna see your 8.5 and raise it to 10!” SC: “Wow, our first perfect score.” LE: “And maybe the last.” Fist bump ensues.
Okay, I’ll admit it. My score was too high. I got caught up in the excitement (maybe it was the exclamation point! at the end of the title?) of the Shazam phenomena. I mean today I would rate it 9.0, maybe 9.5, but Stephen had a great point about all the monsters that represented the Seven Deadly Sins all kind of blended together in a grayish, evil, metaphorical soup. They should have been different colors or shaped uniquely or something to visually clue in the audience which one was which. Not a HUGE deal but still, a strike against the movie that prevents it from being perfect.
And BTW, my comment in re this might be the last 10 we ever give out on the show turned out to be wrong! Both Stephen and I gave “Avengers: Endgame” a 10 (guest reviewer David Rasmussen give a 9.5 with the length being the only glitch he saw in the movie). So this wasn’t my personal best performance but I think I at least partially redeemed myself with one of my jokes on Lee’s Jokes of the Week:
NOTE: I explain on the show why I can get away with telling a marine biologist joke: It’s because a famous fictional character, Gomer Pyle, who was a Marine, liked to use the phrase, “Shazam, Seargant Carter!”
Okay, here’s the joke: What do you call a marine biologist who’s bad at their job? Answer: A submarine biologist.
Virginia-class U.S. Navy Submarine (most advanced nuclear-powered sub)
Historical note: Captain Marvel was Shazam’s original name when the character was first crafted, as a Superman knockoff, in 1939. He was relaunched in 1973 as Shazam after decades of lawsuits and the debut of Marvel’s own Captain Marvel.
Lastly, this from Quora.com user Sayan Mukherjee: Young Billy Batson got his powers from the wizard Shazam, and his name is an acronym, the letters standing for Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury. The point being, he gets certain attributes from these characters, such as the thunderbolt of Zeus and the speed of Mercury.
And that, my movie- and superhero-loving friends, concludes this “The Movie Review Show” blog about episode #4 of our show on YouTube. Here’s the link to that episode:
Since it was our 5th episode (every five episodes we do something different and special), we had a guest reviewer, David Rasmussen, join us on the show. And in addition to recommending a book on magic, Stephen actually performed a magic trick (he read David R.’s mind) plus I told bonus jokes, a total of nine!
Highlights from the show:
#1 – SC: “Early in the movie there’s a lot of drama but not very much action.” LE: “They had to devise a pretty complex plan (to retrieve the Infinity Stones) so there is a lot of intellectual stuff going on so it’s gonna be slower paced…But it sets up what happens in the 2nd half of the movie, which is almost non-stop action.”
#2 – SC: “I wrote down in my
notes that was more than a movie. It was an experience.” DR: “Yeah,
the experience of a lifetime.” LE: “It was like Marvel Comics
created a VR ride and it sucked you into their universe.”
#3 – LE: “It definitely
didn’t feel like a three-hour movie. I thought the pacing was
great. For the finale of a huge franchise like this is you needed all
the time to do things right.” DR: “I would love to go back and
watch this movie again to see what I missed…because that movie was
huge.”
#4 – After looking up
Metacritic rating (77): SC: “You know what guys, I’m gonna say
this: You guys are wrong!”
#5 – After all three reviewers finished hugging, Lee said, “Reviewers assemble!”
Avengers: Endgame Poster
And now, drum roll, please, highlights from Lee’s Jokes of the Week:
How does the Incredible Hulk earn money on the side? Answer: He flips houses.
If Dr. Banner always cites his sources, does he become the Credible Hulk?
What do you call Iron Man without his costume? Answer: Stark Naked
What did Cptn. America say to the Avengers after they entered an Ikea store? Answer: “Avengers, assemble!”
Lastly, Stephen and I both gave it 10 kernels while David scored it 9.5 (he thoughjt it should have been a wee bit shorter). And that’s all for this post for our review of the finale of the Avengers epic run of movies.
It’s
a mostly-stellar neo-noir, kid-friendly fantasy detective/mystery
tale that is both a wonderful introduction for Pokémon newbies and a
successful translation of an iconic kids video game to the big
screen. The film is an enjoyable movieization of a longtime global
video-game phenomenon that is campy, preposterous and for the most
part, works.
R.J. Palmer, an illustrator who made his mark with online illustrations of Pokémon characters, helped create concept designs for the movie. Nigel Phelps, production designer, bathes Ryme City in neon shades of light and rain-dampened streets. It was shot with 35MM Kodak film, which contributed to the realistic feel of fantastical images in an imaginary world.
Movie Poster of “Pokemon Detective Pikachu”
Director
Rob Letterman of “Goosebumps” fame and the other writers fill the
film with Easter eggs and admittedly were inspired by and influenced
by “Blade Runner”, Tim Burton’s “Batman” (1989) and a 1949
British film noir entitled “The Third Man”.
Dazzling, sophisticated and well-employed F/X, meticulous, right-on portrayals of the epic cast of Pokémon characters, especially the detective hero Pikachu, and generous dollops of humor overpower the at times confusing plot twists and chaotic action scenes. Its assets easily outpace the liabilities, which leads my score: 8 kernels of popcorn!
LEE’S JOKES OF THE WEEK
1)
What
does Pikachu
say when he gets
gassy while drinking milk? Answer:
I’m
Zaptos intolerant!
2) What product is the hero the Pokémon movie going to promote? Answer: Chewing gum. As in “pick a chew”.
3) What happens when you combine the Pokémon movie with the Avengers final two movies? Answer: Half of the Pokémon characters die!
Stephen: “I thought the scenery and lighting in ‘A Whole New World’ was dark and boring.” Lee: “Apparently Disney’s new world is dark and boring.”
Later on, I said, “The only reason this movie was redone was that Disney knew there was a market for it and they’d make a lot of money. Which they have. It’s doing great at the box office.”
Stephen later commented (I’m paraphrasing), “Even though I haven’t seen the original version, I have to believe Robin Williams did a better job as the Genie.” I replied, “Will Smith did a decent job but because the director of the movie and Disney kept the Genie’s dialogue almost identical to the original script so people can’t help comparing the two. It’s not fair to Will Smith and you can blame Disney for that.”
After we saw how absurdly high the scores were on Rotten Tomatoes (94%) and Metacritic (86%), I half-jokingly said Disney must have hired a bunch of people to write reviews on those sites. Stephen said the scores were so high because it was a fun movie and even though some of the acting was bad, most moviegoers aren’t that picky and won’t notice it.
It’s a shame Disney didn’t let Guy Ritchie take the story in a different direction than the 1992 film. One obvious choice would have been to let the feminist advocate for representative democracy, Princess Jasimine (played by Naomi Scott) be a bigger part of the story. Instead of just making her the sultan, which was a fantastic start, I would have omitted the part about her changing the law to allow her to marry Aladdin. Just let her focus on being a fantastic leader and make Aladdin a really close friend instead of a husband. It would have a been gutsy, nontraditional take on the original film that would have resonated with today’s mostly-feminist-movement-supporters moviegoers.
Will Smith + CGI = Uncanny Valley
The overly muscled, blue physique with Will Smith’s face stuck on top doesn’t work. Maybe if the actor playing the Genie wasn’t so well known it would have been okay but Smith’s iconic career that’s not the case. You can’t blame the actor. It’s Disney and the director, who was paid by Disney. Guy Ritchie is best known for creative, gritty and gutsy re-imagining of the Sherlock Holmes franchise and the movie “Snatch” but his signature edgy directorial style is watered down here.
So while the immense production budget allows for lavish scenes for the familiar songs to play out against, the musical numbers, except for the forced, horrible “Speechless” sang by Princess Naomi, are identical to the original.
The original animated “Aladdin” worked so well because of the expert 2D animation and manic comedic performance by the unparalleled Robin Williams. The live-action version doesn’t work because it tries too hard to be a CGI version of the original using an iconic actor largely rehashing a legend’s hilarious improvised lines.
We hit double digits with this bad boy! That’s right, “The Movie Review Show” turned ten with this show. We’d originally planned to have a special guest on the show like we did when David Rasumussen was on episode #5 when we reviewed the epic “Avengers: Endgame” https://youtu.be/4wVuueh3Vfk but after we discovered the person couldn’t make it, we decided to change the format of the show. Instead of Stephen’s Recommendation and my Jokes of the Week, Stephen and I each revealed our favorite movie of all time, regardless of genre.
We both really, really liked this film. I gave it almost a perfect score and Stephen wasn’t far behind. I mean, what’s not to like? The F/X, like you’d expect from Marvel Studios, is exquisite. The cinematography is awe-inspiring as we hit Venice, Austrian Alps, Prague, London, and New York City. The cast is excellent. From titular Spider-Man/Peter Parker played by Tom Holland and Nick Fury played by Samuel L. Jackson to Mysterio by Jake Gyllenhaal and a fine supporting cast led by Zendaya, Jacob Batalon and Jon Favreau as Peter Parker’s love interest, Peter Parker’s best friend and Peter Parker’s assistant, respectively, the acting is topnotch. For details, watch our show on YouTube. The plot, like “Avengers: Endgame” begins slowly as it sets up the story lines and action that follow, but once the first elemental creature appears on screen, look out. It’s action and eye candy galore!
Water Elemental Creature
Our only issue with the plot is the thinly-disguised “Night Monkey” costume he uses in Europe. Other than the darker color, he still looks like Spider-Man and he acts (i.e. – shoots webs, swings around, etc.) like the arachnid-inspired superhero so that came off as kind of lame. Not a huge deal but still, it was a mark against the movie.
“Night Monkey” Disguise
Now onto our favorite movies of all time! First Stephen Craig chose “Joe Versus the Volcano” https://youtu.be/cmQDIne3CLo.
Joe Versus the Volcano – 1990 Movie Poster
It received mixed reviews from the critics. Among the film’s fans was Roger Ebert, who officially gave it 3.5/4.0 but later on publicly wondered why he didn’t give it a perfect 4.0. Stephen loved it so much because of the fabulous love story and the way the story worked on multiple levels. The main character symbolizes the average Joe, and hence his name Joe. In one scene the Tom Hanks-portrayed character has a defect in one of his shoes and declares “I’m trying to save my sole”, which also could apply to him trying to save his soul. There are metaphors for heaven as well.
Quotes from the movie that Stephen read:
#1: Patricia: My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement.
#2: Joe Banks to Angelica Graynamore: Listen to me. If you have a choice between killing yourself and doing something you’re scared of doing, why not take the leap and do the thing you’re scared of doing?
Correction: In the show I said the movie won two Oscars but it actually won five Oscars.
American Beauty – After telling wife the vintage Firebird in their driveway is his, Lester declares, “I rule!”
Lester Burnham Fantasizing About Daughter’s Friend Angela
Again Roger Ebert surfaces in our movie-review world. He gave the film a 100 while writing for the Chicago Sun-Tribune as did two other major movie reviewers. It got an 86 on Metacritic. Perhaps the thing I like most about the movie is that it makes you think about really big, important, and interesting topics: 1) Nature of God; 2) Human beings’ connection to God; 3) Existence and nature of life after death; 4) Disparity between our outer and inner realities; 5) Truth: how can we find and remember it.
Kevin Spacey plays an unhappy, dysfunctional, 42-year-old man whose personal relationships and career leave him dead inside. At the beginning of the movie, he declares he will die within six months and that he doesn’t, at this point, know that, but in some ways he’s dead already. The movie is about showing not only how Lester ends up dying but also how he truly discovers how to be alive right up until he’s murdered.
My two quotes were:
1) Lester: You know those posters that say ‘today is the first day of the rest of your life’? Well that’s true for every day except one. The day you die.
2) Lester (right before he’s shot in the back of the head by the secretly gay next-door neighbor nicknamed The Colonel): I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn’t a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time… For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout camp, watching falling stars… And yellow leaves, from the maple trees, that lined our street… Or my grandmother’s hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper… And the first time I saw my cousin Tony’s brand new Firebird… And Janie… And Janie… And… Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me… but it’s hard to stay mad, when there’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that’s about to burst… And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can’t feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life… You have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m sure. But don’t worry… you will someday.
In both movies there’s an undercurrent of magic running through the main character. In both films the director is straining to show the audience just what a truly amazing, astounding and awe-inspiring world we live in. The key is the individual must be be like the mythic hero figure and leave their old, boring, and unfulfilling life behind and be brave enough to embark on a dangerous but exciting journey into another world.
Bill Moyers interviews author, editor and teacher Joseph Campbell on the PBS series, The Power of Myth.
“We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell
The Movie Review Show starring Stephen Craig and Lee Eide 