Guardians

And we are back in action. Last week, many of you commented how there was only one write-up and that was on Sunday. With a series of migraines and tearing more muscles than I ever wanted, I am still not exactly skibbling along. Yeah I am writing this from my laptop because...ow.

The next complaint to address has been that there has been too many "schlocky horror and jiggly girl films, and I need to diversify my pantheon of writing."   Um have you read this blog before?    So with this in mind and the spirit of Halloween on the rise, I'll review something other than just horror. 

Killjoys. Today we look into a Russian superhero film released in 2017 which looks promising in the Avengers have differences but we settle them long enough to save the world kind of vibe. This is Guardians.

Group photo! No pushing and shoving, kids.

Note no trash pandas nor talking ficus to be found. Our story establishes credibility during the Cold War.   For those of the ages of 20 and up, we were neck and neck with spies, Rambo dropping his balls in Russians' faces and enough nuclear 180 megaton warheads to cook the planet to a nice even simmer.   Also space race.

We open with old timey stock footage of the Cold War era, unleashing spy planes, jet fighters, JFK giving us a stirring speech so you know that First Secretary Nikita Khrushchev was ready to bang a shoe during a UN Meeting and amazing vocals by Yuliya Tereshchenko.  Oh NATO, yeah you really did deal with a lot.

We see an assortment of medical trials, charts, graphics and early 50s tech as several people seems to be worked on or altered.  Whether it is genetic manipulation, mutations from hmm..Chernobyl perhaps?   80's reference!!

Testing mecha tank units and showing off deployment and effectiveness against T 34 and T 70 tanks when the mechas have a T-1000 Robocop moment and turn the contents of those tanks into chunky salsa and took out a Mil Mi-24 (heavy armored helicopter) with one missile.   Then took out the test control room.   Hmm probably a software glitch.   We'll iron that out in no time. Shock of all shocks, the advanced tech has been taken over by...a hybrid of Bane and Whiplash?   So Mickey Rourke or Tom Hardy.  Take your pick.

With this new threat imposing on the Motherland, who do they turn to? Well this isn't Marvel so no Winter Guard. Google it, Russian superhero team from the early 80s. An organization called Patriot (yes similar to SHIELD) gets the news and gets to work debriefing these agents to an series of experiments that hailed as far back as the late 40s. Recombining DNA, cybernetics in its infancy and genetic manipulation.

Dr Avgust Kuratov (Stanislav Shirin of Vse o muzhchinakh and Guardians) was discredited when dedicated his life to a project known as Module 1, a remote access to dominate any device with an engine running through it.  Saaaaay, aren't we biochemical batteries?   Moving on, Not Colonel Fury, General major Dolgov (Vyacheslav Razbegaev of Dark Planet, Dark Planet: Rebellion, Antkiller D.K., Bashnya, Bayker and Underworld Trilogy: The Cop) does a bit of exposition plot dump similar to Samuel Jackson via Avengers so yes the formula is fairly close and blah blah blah. No friggin aliens, Asgardians or frozen old timey guys, so move on.

Experiments gone awry, Kuratov became superhuman in strength, stamina and mass.

For honor! For Capcom!

Major Larina (Valeriya Shkirando of Battalion, Diggery, All That Jam, Guardians Obmen and S'parta)Not Maria Hill has been given the less than desirable task of reassembling a team of beings specifically capable of this looming terror. She must do this within two weeks so they can prep, outfit and hope equip these beings for the impeding fight ahead. With a man that can Earth bend, Ler (Sebastien Sisak of Racism in the Subway, Rosalie, Through the Air, Drift, The Earthquake, Guardians and Unforgiven), a geokinetic if you will, is promised revenge on Kuratov to him.  Um, not sure if that is standard protocol but hell he seems to be in.

A young man out of the deserts of Kazakhstan moves like the wind and deadly with two curved blades. Kind of looks like he is cosplaying Strider via Capcom but all in black, Khan (Sanjar Madi of The Other Side, Tale of a Pink Hare, Yolki 2, Hunting the Phantom and Guardians), to Siberia in the foot hills lurks Arus (Anton Pampushnyy of Bednaya Liz, Mstitel Poor Liz, Tatort, Come on- Therapy for the Undecided and Stepmother's Tales), an 8 foot high werebear and 6 foot in human form. Lastly, at Moscow Circus performance is Kseniya (Alina Lanina of Sled, Kuhnya, Guardians and Pervye) a girl with the ability for decent hand to hand combat, turn invisible and water abilities is...um an aqua ballet performer?   Yeah I am stumped on this one.

Mecha Tank. So cool to say and type.

To go further, all Guardians are roughly 40 years older than they physically appear. Apparently Kuratov's experiments stopped or stunted their aging process. That roughly puts them all about 90.

Kuratov is plotting to back the old chestnut of take over the world with his clone army. Cue the John Williams music.

Can the Guardians fight against this madman??? Will there be anything of Moscow left to save???

With a budget of 380,000,000 rubles...translates to about 5 million dollars, the effects for CGI, wirework, slo mo camera speeds, fight choreography and gun fu, it's pretty damn impressive.

Personally I hope it gets a sequel.

Yes, we can argue it is part of the foundation that is team of misfits, argue a bit, join forces and tackle the main antagonist. Hey that is the building blocks of far too many films, people. So before you start casting stones at a geokinetic(controls earth and rock), an invisible bad ass, a speedster with a wicked set of blades and a werebear with a minigun... give it a view first.

FYI, you can find this on Amazon for about 3 bucks to rent for two days just so you know or you Prime folk can watch it for free I believe.

Baloo??

Michael Crichton Week: Congo

Day 3 of Michael Crichton Week brings about a less flattering one of his looser translated books. The offbeat attitude of the film is a bit more humor than the novel but it felt like the forced zany of the Brendan Fraser Mummy movies. This is Congo.

Damn teleconference!

An expedition for a telecommunications corporation TraviCom, employees Charles Travis (Bruce Campbell of The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Icebreaker, Jack of All Trades, Spider-Man, Sky High, Burn Notice and Ash vs Evil Dead) and Jeff Weems (Taylor Nichols of Barcelona, Boiler Room, Jurassic Park III, Black Mail, Hide Away, Freeloaders, Possessions and Godzilla) have made their discovery, a blue diamond that will boost their satellite signals 100 times over. To celebrate, they call TraviCom to boast the good news showing video and audio link when they realize the rest of their expedition team are dead and then...silence.

I FLOSS!!!

Meanwhile back at TraviCom HQ Karen Ross (Laura Linney of Searching for Bobby Fischer, Primal Fear, Absolute Power, The Truman Show, You Can Count on Me, Mystic River, Love Actually, Man of the Year and The Nanny Diaries) is desperate to regain contact with the expedition via remote to pan around the remains of the team, their supplies and tents. Ross bolts to get ahold of CEO and Charles' dad, R.B. Travis (Joe Don Baker of Guns of the Magnificent Seven, Walking Tall, Golden Needles, Mitchell, The Pack, The Shadow Chikara, Final Justice, The Living Daylights, Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies) who is concerned about his son and party and Ross offers to lead to a new team to find Charles ASAP.

Meanwhile Dr. Elliot (Dylan Walsh of Congo, Nip/Tuck, The Lake House, NCIS: New Orleans and Unforgettable) a primatologist teaching a young gorilla named Amy sign language and she has this cobbled backpack with a portable battery pack that helps her translate her sign language to English so she can be the first to offer communications from primates to humans. And I thought all you need bananas and chest beating. Naturally the upper one percenters, college alumni and philanthropists doesn't seem interested in Elliot's request. A Romanian name of Herkermer Homolka (Tim Curry of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Legend, Clue, Fish Police, FernGully: The Last Rainforest, Muppet Treasure Island, Voltron: The Third Dimension and Family Affair) offers to pay to take young Amy and the doc out to the Congo and Ross joins them in the trek.

Grr.  I guess.  Whatever.

While in Africa (Costa Rica regions and Kenya) the team meets up Munro Kelly (Ernie Hudson of Human Tornado, Highcliffe Manor, White Mama, Ghostbusters, The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians, The Last Precinct, The Crow, Levitation, Shark Attack, Miss Congeniality, Oz and Everything's Jake) to lead them in the deep jungles but they got scooped up by a militia captain name of Wanta (Delroy Lindo of Beauty and the Beast, A Man Called Hawk, Bright Angel, The Hard Way, Malcolm X, Clockers, Broken Arrow, Romeo Must Die, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Heist, The Last Castle, Sahara, Domino and Point Break) capturing the lot of them and offering his services for an mildly obscene fee. Heading to a Lost City of Zinj next to this fabled diamond mine the expedition's camp is completely wrecked and a grey gorilla had clearly had been slaughtering outlanders left and right.

Will the team find Charles still alive? What is the significance of the gorilla and this lost city? 

The gorillas are practical effect bodysuits and fairly strong stuntmen for that rather than the lesser CGI. Bruce Campbell originally auditioned for Dr. Elliot but ended up with Charles Travis role instead. The volcano was actually an active volcano called Volcan Arenal, in Costa Rica. The funniest fact is the pilot of 727 was played by none other Jimmy Buffett. 

Truly my accent is what keeps this film together.

Bruce Lee Stardom: Fist of Fury

Hey all we are back again for Day 2 of Bruce Lee Stardom. I had no other title that seemed suiting. This film is Bruce's second lead starring role giving again not just well deserved ass-whippings a plenty but trying to tell a story of a young man paying respects to the mentor that molded him from a young lad into the man he is today. The journey is a man happy in his life's decisions but must put his plans on hold in order to get the justice that is due. This is Fist of Fury a.k.a. The Chinese Connection.

Hope that dojo has a lot of ice...for these punks.

Chen Zhen (Bruce Lee) arrives in Shanghai returns to his martial arts school during the time of the Japanese occupation of Shanghai. He wishes to be engaged to Yuan Le-erh (Nora Miao of The Big Boss, The Story of Daisy, Jin xuan feng, The Way of the Dragon, The Devil's Treasure, Tokyo-Seoul-Bangkok and The Skyhawk) and wishes to tell his sifu (mentor or master) the good news when he finds his master has died and the funeral is proceeding as he arrives. A man in such robust health suddenly passes away seems strange.

A shrine of memory.

No sooner have 2 days past in their mourning, a couple of students plus the dojo's intrepreter Wu (Ping Ou Wei of Fist of Fury, Way of the Dragon, Fists of Bruce Lee, Kung-Fu Commandos, Fist of Fury III, The Art of War by Sun Tzu) of (Clan Tang) brings a rude message to the school calling them, "The Sick Men of Asia" and referencing the students lower than dogs, tipping their hands to the students that now suspect the dojo of doing in their master. Regardless of the teachings of his master preaching defense not offense, Chen must satisfy his own lust for revenge and tromp these men that would make a mockery of his teachings. Granted doing so does also mock what his master stood for but you try to rationalize with a pissed off man of his skill and temper.

Sorry. Holding in a sneeze.

As a former student of martial arts what I find most offensive the rivalry between two different schools of thought. Martial arts disciplines mind, body and spirit and both schools are guilty of insulting those very beliefs. That being said though, kick some ass, Bruce! Omg the fight scenes in this flick are sick! Yeah I know the theme offended me but damn Lee was on fire beating the monkey crap out of the rooms. With that however, Chen only exasperates the situation causing more violence towards Japanese on Chinese and vice versa.

Will this bring shame on their collective houses? Can the conflict be resolved? Can't we all just get along?

A quick observation from a Westerner. The depictions of Japanese versus Chinese in this film is very profound and both viewed each other as inferior beings. This staple making the Japanese thugs and with their heirs on end makes them come off as arrogant and heartless but at the same time I cannot speak for how each people viewed one another at this time in life. The Chinese are being shown stout of heart but suffering from the same pig headed stubborn streak as well.

Now this was to take place at this timeline early 19^th century during the occupation but a few goofs happened such as: Extras wearing 1970s clothing and haircut styles, cars in the background parked in the distance and an old school phonograph player playing which didn't exist until latter 19^th century. The only reason I knew it was the timeline portrayed was due to a narration of this struggle. Most of this was shot in studio and a few exterior scenes so clearly it was a larger budget than The Big Boss and nowhere near as violent but the message showed two cultures not fully aware why they must hate one another.

Whoops, got to close to Bruce.

Animals

Well we are back and this time I am tackling a random title via werewolf movie that I have never heard of and that sound perfectly safe. After all, Vampire Chicks with Chainsaws certainly wasn't a vast disappointment...when it ended. Thankfully I recognize a few actors of this film so already I am feeling a bit better. Will this be an episodic primal level that was the original The Howling and An American Werewolf in London, or will I get something of The Howling II: Striba Bitch? This is Animals.

Geez, Buffy is drunk again.  Just run a tab. I'll pay it later.

We open with a narrative of animality vs humanity bringing us right to our opening credits. A quick pace perhaps but we'll just have to see. Our story focuses mostly on Jarrett (Marc Blucas of Summer Catch, We Were Soldiers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, First Daughter, After Sex, Knight and Day, Necessary Roughness and Blue Bloods) who peaked in his high school football days, now spends his time working a crappy job busting rock at a concrete plant, getting hammered at the bar his buddy runs. Jarrett's football days ended when he got injured against the Eagles and he had no further plans in life. This particular night the fish aren't really biting when through the door walks in Nora (Nicki Aycox of Providence, Jeepers Creepers II, Ed, Over There, The X-Files: I Want to Believe, Joy Ride 2: Dead Ahead, Supernatural and The Employer) with a sultry look, a devil may care attitude and screams trouble.

Is that Oil of Olay? 

Our little Nora apparently likes a good hunt as seen prior with these Girls Gone Wild schmucks conning her in Reno to get busy on camera. Let's just say the unedited footage might not be for any viewers that weren't heading for torture porn in the first place. That's not really Nora's problem though. Her biggest problem is her on again, off again mad as a box of cats boyfriend Vic (Naveen Andrews of Lost, The Ten Commandments, Planet Terror, Sinbad, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland and Sense8). Vic is brutal, vicious and quite possibly exudes more pheromones than most males. Understandable when (SPOILER) he happens to be a lycanthrope. Nora has attempted to leave him many times but he always ends up tracking her down and cutting a bloody swathe while doing it. Nora saunters in the bar and you already get the vibe she is on the prowl. Maybe for a meal and some company or maybe to embrace the beast within. Jarrett notices her but doesn't register that she would want him for anything aside from lugging firewood.

Taking the goof back they get a bit freaky when she bites Jarrett and then the real fun begins. What's interesting about this movie its the pace and tension does not sway, giving life to humanity struggling to keep that ever-lurking beast at bay. I am expecting Dark Wolf all over again, jiggly girls and really bad CGI but instead of that, we get a surprisingly suspenseful thriller with hints of passion and intelligently written. Will Jarrett be able to fight off his new urges and handle Vic or will Vic slaughter everyone Jarret holds dear?

Not gonna lie here, there are problems with the movie. First 30 minutes feels a bit off and establishing characters is not a big priority aside from Vic bad and Jarret good fella. Not a huge fan of this weird CGI fish eye lens as the predator POV shot but that was their spin on it instead the cliche red lens on the camera. These blues and greens were an odd choice. That being said, Andrews steals the show as Vic and Blucas stuns me with his range of emotions in this film, I honestly thought he was just going to deliver dialogue with a stoic expression on his face, courtesy of the Keanu Reeves Range of Emotion School but he really impressed the hell out of me. Yes guys, there is gore. The red runs enough to feed a colony of vampires and yes there is some nudity so you are starved there either. It's clever and brings a different light on werewolves which I haven't seen successfully done in a while.

TUMMY RUMBLY!!!!

The Flash Season 1

Hey there folks! Welcome back to my rambling...oh wait that is the podcast. Be that as it may, are you superhero fans? Do you like the idea for live action incorporation of the characters on film and TV? Let's face it, since Blade and X-Men we have been living the superhero craziness and overall they have been enjoyable. Yes there is more than a handful we could all grump, bitch and complain about but the general vibe is superheroes are still cool. That being said, you have to give the love to DC comics bringing Green Arrow from Arrow, Supergirl from Supergirl and even Gotham some props that they deserve. The biggest draw thus far has been the Scarlet Speedster himself the Flash. This is The Flash Season 1.

Yes my outfit looks a little silly.

We catch back with Barry Allen (Grant Gustin of CSI: Miami, 90210, Glee, Vixen and Arrow) almost a year after STAR labs particle accelerator accident caused a massive surge of engeries across Central City and rendered Barry unconscious from it. Nine months after the accident, Barry wakes up to find the city is pretty much the same, his job still being there and his adopted family has been concerned for him. His impromptu dad, Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin of Ally McBeal, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Joyful Noise, Puncture and Smash) has a new partner Eddie (Rick Cosnett of The Trojan Horse, The Vampire Diaries, Quantico and Skybound) who happens to be dating Barry's best friend, surrogate sister and love of his life Iris (Candice Patton of The Young and the Restless, Sorority Forever, Entourage, The Game and The Flash).

So why can't I be hot and nerdy like you, Bethany?

Barry starts seeing things happen quicker, moving faster than he ever has and in general is disturbed by it. Going back to STAR labs he meets the team of scientists that have been watching over him since the accident. Biochemist Dr. Bethany Snow (Danielle Panabaker of Sky High, Home of the Giants, Shark, The Crazies, The Ward, Friday the 13^th, Bones and Necessary Roughness), electronics engineer Cisco Ramone (Carlos Valdes of Arrow, Vixen and The Flash) and founder of STAR Labs Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavangh of Bang Bang You're Dead, Ed, Love Monkey, Two Weeks, Eli Stone and Scrubs). With a bit of testing and work up they find out that Barry has developed superhuman speed and accelerated healing from such.

After having a heart to heart with the Arrow, Barry decides to become a hero to thwart crime in a way that being a CSI never allowed him to. Take care of fires, bank heists and overall bad men and women in a flash. But with every hero must be a cadre of villains. A rogues' gallery if you will and boy I never thought you could make Captain Cold cool. Wentworth Miller of Prison Break manages this well as well as his co-star Dominic Purcell of Blade Trinity and Prison Break as the pyromaniac Heatwave.

Can the Flash speed through whatever is thrown at him or will be come in dead last?

Okay fan boys and girls, yes a few things have been altered to fit a soap opera format... get over it. You nitpick about all the show isn't and you will not enjoy a thing of it. Gustin delivers with a warm, trusting heart and still bops the baddies. Hell Ollie is darker than the comic character is and this is also an fun show. We even have some reprises from the original 1990 series as John Wesley Shipp plays Barry's dad wrongfully accused of being his wife's murderer. He played Barry/Flash in the day. We get a visit of The Trickster via Mark Hamil who looks bonkers and even Amanda Pays who played Dr. Tina McGee in the 1990 series so there is fun to be had and a new generation of heroes to be seen and heard.

Those aren't Betty Davis eyes!

Local Talent: A Streetcar Named Desire

Howdy all and welcome to Day 1 of Local Talent This man I speak of has been a general to Julius Caesar, a Wild One, been through Guys and Dolls, he has been to The Appaloosa and even has portrayed The Godfather. Native to these plains of wheat,corn and beef production, he debuted on Broadway in October 19^th of 1944 in "I Remember Mama" as an astounding success that he made his first film debut in Fred Zinnermann's The Men in 1950, about a paralized war vet trying to adjust to the world without his limbs. I speak of none other than Marlon Brando. This particular blog covers one of his earliest films of heartache, woe and an excellent performance. This is A Streetcar Named Desire.

The face of every domestic disturbance.

Named after the play by playwright and author Tennessee Williams (The Glass Menagerie, Summer and Smoke, The Rose Tattoo, Cat on a Hot Tin Room, Suddenly, Last Summer and The Night of the Iguana) this drama with a hint of film noir hails from a story of a southern belle, Blanche Dubois (Vivien Leigh of Fire Over England, Storm in a Teacup, A Yank at Oxford, Gone with the Wind 21 Days Together, Waterloo Bridge and Ship of Fools) an aristocrat seeks refuge after an series of losses along with her sister and brother-in-law in a rickety, run-down tenement in New Orleans. Blanche a high school teacher leaves her beloved home of Auriol Mississippi with her sister Stella Kowalski (Kim Hunter of Actor's Studio, Anything Can Happen, Storm Center, Playhouse 90, Lamp at Midnight, Planet of the Apes, All My Children and Born Innocent) and her brother-in-law Stanley (Marlon Brando of The Men, Viva Zapata!, The Wild One, On the Waterfront, Guys and Dolls, The Chase, The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris and Apocalypse Now). As she tells her sister, Blanche explains that the family estate, Belle Reve has been claimed by the town and there is nothing to be done about it. Stanley convinced otherwise, proceeds to go through her papers only to end up fighting with Blanche's poems sent to her by her late husband. Our thuggish brute simply defends his actions by saying his was looking out for his family and tells Blanche that Stella is going to have a baby. Clearly reason enough to behave like a thoughtless jackass.

Clearly I am superior to Jessica Tandy.

A collection of Stanley's poker buddies come over and one stands out above the rest, a fella named Mitch (Karl Malden of On the Waterfront, How the West Was Won, Patton, The Streets of San Francisco, Captains Courageous, Meteor, Skag and Nuts) who is decent, fair and honest. Blanche takes a liking to him but Stanley's drunken rage causes his buddies to vamoose when he up and slaps Stella. Hiding at Eunice's (Peg Hillias of A Streetcar Named Desire, The Wayward Girl, That Night! And Peyton Place) until Stanley redeems himself by carrying Stella to bed, Blanche has curbed her tongue long enough. That morning she is adamant about Stella leaving her subhuman animal of a husband and coming away with her.

Does Stanley stand for this abuse? Is Blanche hiding deep seeded secrets? Will these two kooky kids work out?

A few points of interest on our film now. Nine members of the original Broadway cast repeated their roles in the movie, only Vivien Leigh was chosen over Jessica Tandy for the roles of Blanche given Leigh's popularity of Gone With the Wind. Despite the incredible performance of Brando's part he loathed and detested his character to no end. Nominated for 12 awards winning four at the 24^th Academy Awards, this film set an Oscar record being the first film to win three acting categories. Best Actress (Vivien Leigh), Best Supporting Actor (Karl Malden), Best Supporting Actress (Kim Hunter) and Best Art Direction (Richard Day and George Hopkins)

Toss the wife in the pot and the game is gonna heat up!

Seasons Continue: Burn Notice Season 5

Hello all and welcome to Day 1 of Seasons Continue. Now before I get chastised about letting Supernatural fall behind, I would point out... I forget crap. It happens. That being said we now look at the further adventures of our favorite burnt spy. HAHA!!! Yeah you can wait for Supernatural, punkers. As we move on, taking down a major Black Ops crew operating off the books is deemed bad by the intelligence communities. As a driving force to stop this unofficial creation, Weston is brought to Washington to have some face time with one of his former mentors.

This is Burn Notice Season 5.

Hold me closer, tiny photo.

The CIA using Michael's solid intel allowed them to follow the trail of bread crumbs leading to the heads of the company and bringing them in or six feet under. With that being said, Michael is also on a short leash as he has his own CIA liason Max (Grant Show of Melrose Place, The Girl Next Door, Swingtown, Accidentally on Purpose, Private Practice and Big Love) making sure that Weston sticks to the prodical and not making it up as he goes along.

Months of investigation and team missions have put this into play but something crucial seems to be missing... Oh yeah, how about Sam, Fi and newcomer Jesse?? As luck would have it, Sam has slimmed down and wowing the ladies and I can imagine Bruce Campbell not having to flip flop between weight is much better for it. Fi is trying her level best to not rub the CIA the wrong way but she is not a team player when there is that much red tape in the way. Counter-Intelligence Agent Jesse decides against going back to the biz when he felt helping the little guys and gals hands on was something he was proud of doing. That being said and all he is working for a major security firm that are more than generous in their stipend and love of his skills.

Sam, stop staring at Fi's legs.

Michael's mom is making changes in her life and we also see little brother Nate make some appearances so all seems to be going well until... Max has been shot and killed, and the killer managed to put the murder weapon in Michael's hands. Covering his tracks, he also covered Max's killer's tracks. The CIA pissed in losing a good man, has their watch dog to solve this mystery requiring Michael to be at least 4 steps ahead of Agent Pearce (Lauren Stamile of Grey's Anatomy, Alligator Point, Community, The Event, Complications and CSI: Cyber) who wants the man that murdered her friend and colleague. With the clock ticking, the lies that will only cover Michael so far and trust that can be easily believed as a front, the gang need to get Weston cleared of these charges.

Weston is also dealing with the nagging sensation is the company that burned him actually dead and buried? Could this just be his paranoia kicking in or are the ashes of the old rising anew?

Season 5 brings in some solid writing and griping suspension. You have a spy drama showing its "A" game and presenting so many unknown elements along with still being able to assist people with their problems. Clients are being helped and the crew really are meshing together as a dynamic. Admittedly I wasn't really sure about Coby Bell's character Jesse Porter, who felt like a watered down version of Michael but he has come to the edge of the abyss without blinking last season and it was great seeing him back. Familiar faces make their way in and provide good performances. Is Dead Larry gone for good or will he hurt Michael to the bone? Tune in and find out!

 

So Heather Locklear... you get to make out with her, Grant?

Made for TV Movie: The Day After

Hey all. Greetings for Day 2 of Made for TV Movies. Now we covered the supernatural and thriller all in one helping of Darren McGavin and trust me that was fun. The thing I recall growing up with was the impeding Nuclear Winter that was always the buzz word as a wee lad. With the Soviet Union and America having pissing matches over Capitalism and Communism this particular looming threat was always there and Hollywood took notice. They're sharp about these kind of things. When writer Edward Hume (Cannon, The Streets of San Francisco, Barnaby Jones and Parole) was contracted to give the popular theme of nuclear fallout, what if we saw it from the eyes of those that believed it could happen but never in even their darkest days would predict this would be the day of all days. This is The Day After.

Poker?  I'd hardly even know her. HAH!

With our writer/director Nicholas Meyer (Time After Time, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Volunteers, Company Business, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Vendetta) bringing us this story is the accounts and events leading up to thermonuclear war??? Did we miss a few steps? The Soviet Union is showing to have a arms buildup in East Germany which they claim is nothing more than Warsaw Pact (Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance) exercises similar to our own NATO but the states are not having it. In the late hours of September 15^th, the news broadcast a massive rebellion in the East German Army, following that is an immediate Soviet block of West Berlin. With the states poised to push "the button" they tell the Soviets to end their blockade for this will be considered an act of war. With the refusal on the Soviets the President orders all military force to the ready.

Traffic on the K-10 seems a little light now.

Our story opens with the after effects the nuclear attack on Lawrence Kansas and Kansas City (Missouri) told from the point of view each character. Dr. Russel Oakes (Jason Robards of Once Upon a Time in the West, All the President's Men, Laguna Heat, The Good Mother, Parenthood, The Civil War and Mark Twain and Me) is a professor of hematology teaching at University of Kansas is working in at the hospital when the news reports start pouring in, the Soviets have gone too far and the hammer and sickle is pointed at the states. Oakes worried for his wife trieds for a telephone booth but apparently Clark Kent and the rest of the Justice League are all hogging them. He then jumps in his car and hauls for Lawerence via the freeway when the Emergency Broadcast System alert goes off. Airman First Class Billy McCoy (William Allen Young of Knots Landing, Babylon 5, Almost Dead, Moesha, Any Day Now and CSI: Miami) ready for the 30 day paid furlow has been cut short due to Whitman AFB has recieved a DEFCON 2 alert. As a missile technician he has to be at the silos and gets to witness first-hand launching. What is to become of these existing farms, communities and the people?

This story gives good dramatic weight what with the impeding build up the bombs dropping all these characters each have something going on in their lives only to utimately finding out they are not masters of their own fate. It shows every facet of humanity. From those willing to heed the call to help one another, to the cowardly and greedy. No one concept is overlooked and what is truly the End of Days as we know it. Capturing the best and worst of humanity is what this film set out to do and gathering all the lives it effected with end results. Not too shabby and this scared the crap out of me as a boy. To be honest, it still does.

Remember when portable TVs were this heavy? Haha back to the film now.

Made for TV Movies

Welcome one and all! I have returned!!!! We are scrambling to get the Rotten Ramblin' On Podcast Campaign out there to folks. This week we are trying to get funds to get the podcast up and running and the hope we will build a podcast for folks to listen. With that being said this week I will be tackling a concept that has been hitting our idiot boxes since the mid 60's. I speak of Made for TV Movies. The term is a full-length film that was produced for and/or distributed by a TV network and I are made specifically for television.

TV Movies is the action is!

The first ever TV movie began in 1961 with the NBC Saturday Night at the Movies. The first of these being the 1964 film, See How They Run which is a chase film with children stalked by hired killers after they accidentally took a piece of evidence that points to a cartel which murdered their dad. Intense concept, right? Aside from the creature feature Sy-Fy silliness, the TV Movie has massed audiences of various ages and generations.

I plan to find 5 completely different genre based films for TV to give a better perspective and scope and allows for decent story-lines. Ranging from nuclear war, police dramas, murder mysteries and family oriented films.

Fabulous hair means drama on the way.

Adrian Paul Week

Salutations low beings!! It is I!! Sorry, I just never really get to use that level of melodramatics.

Welcome back to the blog that keeps you guessing what horrific crap or fabulous gem we will discover as we approach the beginning of the week. Two weeks prior in the land of Omaha adjacent to Council Bluffs, several folk were enjoying Britishfest (which had an impressive turn out of people by the by) in which the mid-westerners got embrace tea time, biccies, memorabilia of all things across the pond. We were saddened when guest appearance of Jason Connery (Sir Sean Connery's Son) was not available to join us but were rewarded with a fellow of notoriety, Adrian Paul of Highlander fame. Enjoying a brief conversation with the gent in question and getting my primitive VHS signed by him I was impressed to see a humble man rather than a guy that could have had an ego the size of the planet.

Adrian Paul is Poncho Villa!!!

It had also clicked that I don't believe aside from a vampire film and maybe a V/R film I have really reviewed his works and thought, "Well dammit, time to fix that." So this week shall revolve around a man who modeled to see the world, became a dancer and choreographer, giving him the ability to speak French and Italian fluently. With at least 5 different forms of martial arts under his belt including: Kung Fu, La Fut, Hung Gar, Tae-Kwon-Do and Wing Chun, he has became a cinematic swordsmaster primarily in Katana and Broadsword. A tad depressing at his vastly superior build than I but hey he just figured out what a barbell set was before I did.

With that in mind, let us delve into the week and maybe we will discover why this chap seems so appealing. (Ladies and gay men need NOT tell me more pornographic reasons, please.)

Cut!  Chris lost his contact again!

As the Seasons Go On:

Howdy folks!  Sorry this is starting a bit late.  Migraines makes Jake a cranky writer/person/boyfriend and in general a real dick to be around.  That aside, this week I blew the dust of my archived TV series to talk about.  No the bag of tricks is not empty, merely a detour was made around.  As you may have noticed I tend to write about series that hold my interest and not enough of them for the general public so I am getting some TV series of past and present the love and attention that many of you wrote me back about.

Little something for the ladies.

Again I can be reached at the following: https://twitter.com/RottenReelz and https://www.facebook.com/RottenReelzReviews  for all comments, queries and complaints so keep them coming, folks.  Always love some feedback.  I am going to jump in the way back machine as soon as I can gag and bind Sherman and go cruising the timestream with Mr. Peabody.   Or I will just fly around with that madman with the blue box.  Either works.   At this time my co-host Shawn and I will be starting up an Indiegogo beg-a-thon for funds for our podcast Rotten Ramblin' On.   We are just working out the kinks on that and should have it up and running before August.   So without further adieu I present you the week and hope as always, you are amused and informed.   Keep those comments coming in people!

What do you mean Season 111??? Dear God gimme strength!

Drama in Cinema: Nebraska

Greetings readers and welcome back for Day 2 of Drama in Cinema... I remember why I don't watch this particular genre now. It is either very depressing, holds too much of the other genres to confuse the viewer or it drags on to the point where even the existential viewer has clawed his eyes out. With this in mind we turn to a decent drama director Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt and Sideways), a fellow Nebraskan that seems to want to capture the entire state on film in one facet or another. With Bruce Dern as a boozed up aging and confused father wanting to leave Montana to go to Nebraska to claim his million dollar prize. This is Nebraska.

Almost feels like life passed him by.

Woody Grant (Bruce Dern of Silent Running, The Great Gatsby, Black Sunday, 1969, Diggstown, Mulholland Falls, The Astronaut Farmer, Big Love and Django Unchained) is bound and determined to go to Nebraska to claim his prize from the Million Dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing. He can no longer drive, he cannot convince his wife Kate (June Squibb of Scent of a Woman, Meet Joe Black, About Schmidt and Axe Cop) to leave Billings Montana and claim his prize.

His sons David (Will Forte of Saturday Night Live, Rock of Ages, The Watch, The Lego Movie, The Awesomes and The Last Man on Earth) and Ross (Bob Odenkirk of The Larry Sanders Show, Mr. Show, Run Ronnie Run, Tom Goes to the Mayor, How I Met Your Mother and Breaking Bad) are telling him that he needs to stop doing this and just mail for his winnings rather than walking 900 some miles away. Yeah google that crazy right there!

Dad... where are your pants?

David's life keeps being put on hold because Woody tries to walk to Nebraska so he decides just drive his father to Lincoln and get this prize winning out of his system. David gripes about Woody's drinking and Woody grumbles about David trying to create a bonding experience with going to Rushmore. Lincoln doesn't even have an ear and it doesn't look finished. With a fall and 10 stitches later David is really worried about his father's drinking but is so passive aggressive with everything and everyone in his life that he really doesn't know how to stand up to life. Getting the rest of the family as a get together in the hopes his dad can value more out of life.

On their way they stop off in Hawthorne and Woody gets a little blitzed again. David truly loves his dad but doesn't know what to do with him or for him. Woody feels like a prisoner in the car and doesn't lash out as his life isn't his own. People talk about him like he isn't even in the room. David's cousins are a bit sluggish, babbling about how far they have traveled and the span of time it took them to get there. Their aspirations astound me.

Will Woody collect his money? Will he and David have a better life together?

A few points to make on this movie now.

With digital cameras to helm the shoot, this entire film is in black and white with anamorphic lenses giving it an appeal to the audiences. This is Payne's fourth movie in Nebraska after Citizen Ruth, Election and About Schmidt. Gene Hackman, Robert Forster, Jack Nicholson and Robert Duvall were considered for Woody. With the success of The Descendants allowed Payne to make Nebraska after trying for over ten years.

Whole lot of inbreeding there.