Year of 100 Films: 35 – Blade
This Stephen Norrington film was released in 1998 and helped pave the way for the breakout films X-Men and Spider-Man. More than any other film before those two, this helped kick off the superhero film explosion we’re still experiencing over 25 years later.
Written by David S Goyer, this adaptation of a relatively obscure side character from Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan’s 1970’s Tomb of Dracula, Blade had an impressive cast with Kris Kristofferson, N’Bushe Wright, Udo Kier, Donal Logue, Stephen Dorff, Arly Jover, Tim Guinee, Sanaa Lathan and in the title role Wesley Snipes.
Plot: Doctor Karen Jensen, a haematologist, is dragged inadvertently after being bitten into a covert war, on one side a society of well hidden and connected vampire houses, lead by pure blood slow aging vampires (Hominus Nocturna) and those younger ones who were bitten and infected with vampirism. The purebloods led by Dragonetti preferring to hide in the shadows and survive are challenged by a more militant and hedonistic tribe led by Deacon Frost. On the other side is Whistler, an old man who survived the brutal massacre of his family and seeks revenge, the other side of that team is Blade, a vampire/human hybrid with regular aging and ability to walk in the daylight. Blade struggles against the thirst for blood that all vampires share and battles the rest of the vampires to reclaim the life he took from them. Frost has found information that could unearth La Magra, the blood god, who could change the whole world and put vampires on top and the rest of the world on the menu. Blade and Karen have to try and put a stop to Frost’s plan to embody La Magra, before his thirst and her becoming a vampire take that chance away from them,
Notes: It’s hard to think that this film is 26 years old at time of writing. Blade was not a character many people thought of, so liberties were taken with the character as on the page, gone was the disco sensibilities and wooden knives and turn of phrase, new was the all leather look, silver weapons and enhanced strength. Comics soon took this, admittedly better, version to it’s heart and you can thank this film for improving that character there as well. So with a blank slate, what you could do was play it as you wanted and see where that took you. The film has a generational quality, the old and stuffy purebloods and Whistler, dying of cancer on one side and Blade and Frost representing a new wave. Rather than gothic and subtle, Frost’s vampires are hedonists and ravers, clearly enjoying their power and preying on the sheep like and oblivious human beings. This film made vampires cool, but Blade was cooler. Snipes owns the screen all decked out in leather, silver and taciturn comments. Blade says little but his actions do a lot of talking.
The plot is paper thin and lacks any kind of nuance, the characterisation is slight, somewhere between a wisp of silk and a trick of the light, but action? Yeah that works. With the heavy bass dance music, flashy fight scenes and explosive action, this film recognises it’s a silly action movie and owns it, then revels in it. It’s fun and frenetic in places and never outstays it’s welcome. Is it corny? Yes. Is it outlandish and video-gamey? Once again that’s a yes, but with the last couple of attempts by Marvel (Howard the Duck and Captain “Rubber-Ears” America) it was proof that you can do super hero movies and make them fun. 8/10
Year of 100 Films: 36 – A Few Good Men
This 1992 legal drama was written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by Rob Reiner and had a textbook all star cast of stars and solid character actors including Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore, Kiefer Sutherland, Kevin Bacon, Cuba Gooding Jnr, Kevin Pollack, JT Walsh, Noah Wylie, Christopher Guest, Xander Berkley, J A Preston, Wolfgang Bodison, James Marshall and Michael DeLorenzo.
Plot: Guantanamo base in Cuba, a US marine Lance Corporal and a Private First Class, Hal Dawson and Lauden Downy perform a corrective punishment on another Private, Willy Santiago. It goes badly and Santiago dies. The marines surrender and a court martial is arranged. The defence assigned in Daniel Caffee, a junior naval officer in the JAG corps, who is a relaxed lawyer just treading water in the Navy after a promise to his dead father, he’s an expert in plea bargaining and without a single bit of information recommends a guilty plea and a deal of 6 years, this infuriates Lt Comm. Jo Anne Galloway who is his co-council along with Sam Weinberg. Caffee works out that he’s been assigned to get this done quietly so to help the career of the Gitmo marine’s CO Colonel Nathan Jessop who along with his subordinates want to keep the details of all this in house. Caffee bucks his own tradition and pleads not guilty and this becomes a tense legal drama with two marines who have admitted guilt and an inexperienced lawyer up against an experienced prosecutor unwittingly following an agenda and if Caffee fails, the marines could lose their freedom, or their very lives.
Notes: This is a veritable who’s who of a-list stars at one time or another, future stars of film and TV and quality character actors even if you discount the leads Cruise and Nicholson. There’s two films here, one is everything up to the final scene, which has a mixture of clever dialogue, twists and drama and believe me, that’s good stuff. But then at the end there’s the final confrontation and if you don’t know, then I won’t ruin it, but most likely you do and nothing else needs saying. Cruise exudes charm and plays off the earnest Demi Moore really well, without it completely devolving into the usual romantic subplot crap you expect. Everyone does well with a tight script with Wolfgang Blodison a surprise as the buttoned down Dawson who is prepared to face what he has done and cannot conceive of the idea that he could get out of it. But we’re all here to see Nicholson, playing another loveable/unlikeable character who forces your attention to him whenever he’s on screen. He’s arch as hell, but in the way you know he can pull off and despite how stage the last scene is, creates a performance that stays with you.
I love this film and honestly it’s damn near perfect, this is a 9/10 film that is almost a comfort watch at this point.
Year of 100 Films: 37 – Serenity
This 2005 film written and directed by Joss Whedon and was a follow up to his cult TV show Firefly. It’s cast included Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Ron Glass, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Morena Baccarin, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Summer Glau.
Plot: 2517 and in a star system colonised by a humanity too numerous for each flies the crew of the firefly class ship Serenity are on the ragged edge. Veterans of the losing side of a civil war Capt Mal Reynolds and Zoe live with longtime accomplices hired muscle Jayne Cobb, pilot Wash and mechanic Kaylee and work any job they can. From smuggling to robbery and salvage. Along the way they gain Simon and River Tam, a rich doctor from a rich world and his sister are on the run from the government that tortured an experimented on her. After many failed attempts to retrieve her, the Alliance Parliament have sent a operative to retrieve her, this calm and well spoken gentleman has no name, no official identity and no qualms about doing anything and everything to get the job done.
Mal and his crew have to evade this operative, canabalistic Reavers and the Alliance military to learn what secret has been driving River further insane and then take this secret and reveal it to everyone.
Notes: Okay before I start, there have been several allegations made my several people about the writer/director. Predatory behaviour, misogyny and harassment are wrong and if this guy made a film now, not sure I’d be too interested in seeing it, but I first saw this and bought this long before this came to light and so I am going to try and separate art from artist. So what we’re left with is a bit of an insider movie. It’s clearly made for fans of the TV Show Firefly and serves to put a cap on it and give a degree of closure for the gone too soon show.
We have action a plenty, quip filled dialogue and a warning about giving in to authority, because they’ll go too far and that belief is a reason to do good things as well as justification to do evil. Our hero is flawed and complex and shoots unarmed people 3 times in the space of 2 hours and yet, you’re still very much on his side. Fillion takes the centre stage and is having fun with it. Everyone else is on good form and Ejiofor is chilling as the polite and friendly monster who comforts a man as he kills him. The make up effects are great and we finally see the near mythical Reavers from the series. It’s all of the Whedon-tropes on display, the evil being very evil, the monsters being metaphor like, the heroes being flawed and conflicted men or formidable women who kick just as much ass. I was struck by the end both how I’d want more of this, but honestly it was a loving farewell to the best underdog ship in the ‘verse and I was happy to watch it again and share it with my boy. This is not perfect, but it’s a 9 out of 10 film and I doubt you can change my mind on this.
TV Show Drinking Games – X-Men the Animated Series
I’m not a drinker, but I do enjoy drinking games. A bit oxymoronic, but let me elaborate. The drinking game I enjoy is one developed with the MIGHTY Rosie as we started watching TV together lo those many years ago. We took specific gulps of drinks when tropes started to be show up in TV shows. The big one was the show Smallville. One day if I do a re-watch, I’ll go through that one. But the point is, it was a bit of soft drink silliness that enhanced a communal TV experience. I have a similar one with any adapted media thing, comic book TV shows are particularly bad for this, the unnecessary easter egg. You know the thing, where a street is named after a writer, or a thing that fans of the original know, but the average person won’t etc. I used to enjoy them, now I just see the the “umm actually” of it all, so I had to make that fun again.
But once again, I digress. In honour of the new X-Men ’97 series continuing on from the X-Men animated series from the 90’s me and my son are watching the series from the start and after the first 13 episode season came up with the following times to drink.
1: Beast quotes either literature of poetry.
2: Jean Grey makes a sound that’s a little inappropriate for a kids TV show.
3: Gratuitous T&A (seriously, one was so bad, it became a meme.)
4: Gambit refers to himself in the 3rd person, or tries to kiss Rogue
5: Storm declaims when using her powers.
6: Jubilee points out she’s not a kid
7: Cyclops and Jean Grey go romantic melodrama.
I do with this soft drinks because my liver can only take so much.
So that’s the game, you can do this with any show that was either long enough for patterns to repeat, or has repeated things enough to make a game.
It’s a silly little thing, but it does add a bit of joy to a shared activity and lets be honest, we need that sometimes.
5 for Friday 23: Making Teachers Nervous
Here were are, after February has slinked away with it’s extra day. I’m paid monthly, so I worked yesterday effectively for £0, that’s all I’m going to say here, because this is a positive place. so lets get to it.
1: Oooh, he stopped laughing.
Parents evening came and with the recent bullying related issues suffered by my little juggernaut of a son, myself and his mum, the MIGHTY Rosie, were on the warpath. One teacher when confronted with a failure to move a problem student went with the ‘my bad’ defense. Well we spoke to a few others. When the kid he didn’t move passed us in the hall and I was informed who it was after, I responded with “I’m glad you told me after he passed.” I laughed, my boy laughed and so did Mr ‘My Bad’, I turned with the coldest look I had to offer, funny how he stopped laughing. He was more scared of my boy’s mum, but never hurts to remind people when they have failed the people who matter. So some teacher and several kids are having uncomfortable meetings today and I feel my boy and his parents are listened to. Time will tell, but I feel positive. His schoolwork? Never a question, he’s a good student and a kind and polite soul. His only negative, he’s too enthusiastic in history. That’s a nice problem to have isn’t it?
2: Serenity now! Or maybe in 490 years.
As part of our re-watch of the TV show Firefly, we finished on the 2005 film Serenity. An action packed (and apparently at times jump scare packed) film that drew a line under the show and it was nice to share a film I remember so well that nearly 20 years after being filmed, still stands up.
3: Winter is coming and now it’s going!
This week saw the last time until late October that the sun set before 6pm. Lighter nights are coming and I will see my home in daylight when I arrive before too long. While it’s still cold as b@lls, there is sunshine coming and a long winter has come to an end.
4: Can’t be a miserable b@stard all the time.
It was commented that this week, I have been coming into work with a bit more cheer to me than usual. Maybe a corner has been turned, but I am feeling more positive in general and I think posts like this may help with that.
5: With your shield, or on it.
Walking into work last Friday, after that seeing the rainbow. I stopped at a charity shop that had yet to open. On top of a bin bag of donations (I hate that btw, under a couple of signs that say don’t just leave your stuff here, someone left their stuff there, we can be better than this surely?) I saw a hardback edition of the Frank Miller graphic novel 300. I read this many years ago and saw the film, but the thing itself is a $30 trade (£23.40 in local money) and it always seemed a little pricey. But someone had already paid that and had donated it. I noted it and decided after post last week’s 5 to go back for it. I’d had balked at £20, but £15? £10, I’d consider a bargain. So I go in, find it and also the 90’s movie the Commitments (one of those I’ve been looking for. So I take them to the till, then I find out the price, 3 for £1. I was stunned and so I got them and a Sin City trade. So ended up saving £23, I bought new socks (yeah, they sell new socks in some charity shops) because I honestly couldn’t walk out with all that for £1. So a few more pounds later and I’m so chuffed with that sale.
That was my 5, what was yours?
Five for Friday 22: Paint the whole world
Here we are again internet people, the winter is winding down and Friday is here, time for to find my five.
1: 4 is a nicer number
Because of a teacher training day, my son was off on Monday and I was able to have that day too. Walk through town, relaxing afternoon and the knowledge that what felt like Monday, would be in fact Tuesday, well that was an added bonus.
2: That was … not a disaster
Whilst not one for recipes, my and my boy made dinner on Monday and Thursday night together using one of the gusto boxes. He assisted me on a set of sweet and smoky barbecue chicken fajitas on Monday and last night I helped him with a tomato and mozarella risotto. Whilst neither meal looked like the picture, everyone involved enjoyed.
3: Shiny
As part of the attempt to avoid his choices in TV (Damn you YouTube!!!!) I’ve been trying to show my son the TV I enjoyed in years gone by and this last week it’s been the early 00’s sci-fi western Firefly and he’s been so engaged and it has sparked excitement and conversations in equal measure. Not sure what we’ll replace it with yet, but this has been a nice thing.
4: Writing
Whilst I’ve been less prolific on some things on here, my other blog MyMarvelLifePresents has been heading towards the ends of the current Page of Apocalypse features and I’ve been enjoying these looks at the 90’s excesses and the hidden gems within. I have just posted one today, although not one I particularly wanted to post. These structured posts are ones I enjoy doing and I look forward to how it all ends up.
5: Up above the streets and houses….
On my way to work, between the rain I saw a beautiful rainbow, light refracting through rainwater reminding you of the beauty inherent in this world. It’s hope for a new day written in light and put me in a great mood to start the day. Maybe that didn’t last, but it would have been less of a good day without it.
Well that’s my five, what about you internet people, can you find five positives to get you through to the weekend?
Whether you can or can’t take care of yourselves and one another.
Love to you all
Year of 100 Films: 38 – Morbius
This 2022 film was directed by Daniel Espinoza and starred Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Tyrese Gibson, Al Madrigal and Jared Harris.
Plot: Dying of a blood disease, Dr Michael Morbius (a specialist in blood borne illness and inventor of a synthetic blood substitute) is desperate to find the cure for him and his childhood friend/financial backer Lucien (who everyone calls Milo as an in-joke) and discovers a potential lead with a species of vampire bat. He experiments and after over a hundred tests of a derived serum, one of his white mice lives and so hundreds of more tests lead to a possible cure, but not a legal one. I mean you can see where this is going, but on we go. He tests the serum and is transformed into a living vampire. He starts by going all rampagy on mercenaries, but when he gets home, he tries to manage his condition with synthetic blood, which for a period of 6 hours (and decreasing) he is healthy, strong and has a bat like hearing/echo location gift. What he doesn’t know is that Milo has taken the serum too and after his rampage, just keeps on killing because he’s enjoyed it. The police investigate Michael, blaming him for all the new bodies and now Michael is on the run and has to stop his best friend before the police stop him.
Notes: Let’s play superhero movie bingo. Tortured scientist, evil reflection as the main villain, woman in love with hero and yet isn’t with hero, someone is the best in the world/leading expert, links to potential spin-offs and larger universe, CGI heavy final fight and a plan that anyone should have pointed out was a mistake…BINGO!!
Yes, few surprises. One of the few was casting Jared Leto a man who hasn’t seemed to age in a couple of decades as the only vampire who actually ages? Weird choice. But this is actually a good film, it’s not great and it’s a formula, but so are romantic comedies, sports films and 80% action films, I don’t know how that would be a relevant argument. Leto is very capable in the role, a very understated performance, which fits a man who’s had health issues his entire life and spends all his time in a lab. Jared Harris does his reliable oddball mentor character and Matt Smith plays an odd character with an ill-fitting suit and non-human characteristics, so a stretch for him as you can imagine.
But it does prove something, that a lot of the mid-level, lower tier Spider-Adjacent characters have enough legs to have their own films and that an actor can make me care about Morbius, I mean it’s Morbius!
So in the end, it’s not a classic, but the hate it’s got is unnecessary and it should be enjoyed just as the b-level superhero film it is. 7/10.
Year of 100 Films: 40 – Margin Call
This 2011 film was written and directed by J C Chandor and had a murders row of talented actors including Stanley Tucci, Zachary Quinto, Penn Badgley, Paul Bettany, Kevin Spacey, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, Aasif Mandvi, Jeremy Irons and Mary McDonnell
Plot: Just at the dawn of the 2008 financial crisis, the risk management division of a bank is making layoffs. One mid-level employee is removed just before he can finish an analysis of the company’s assets and so passes it to one of his subordinates. This employee, Peter finishes the calculation and works out that it means that the company’s mortgage based assets are toxic and are putting the bank at great risk of financial instability. This goes up the chain through different managers until the top of the bank works out that they have to liquidate their positions, basically off-load all of their risky assets to anyone who’ll take them rather than risk losing the bank itself. Now the head of risk management has to convince his traders to sell everything, making them unemployed and almost unemployable in the process. When all is said and done, whose jobs are safe? What does that mean for the rest of Wall Street?
Notes: This is the sub-prime mortgage based financial crash from the point of view of a fictionalised bank’s staff both on the trading floor and the skyscrapers above them. The tension of people explaining in a highly technical manner that the bank is f***ed and so is anyone connected to it. It doesn’t paint these guys as good guys, but there’s an attempt to humanise them. For the most part they are people trying to do a job that if they didn’t someone would. When faced with a moral choice, not everyone makes it, that makes it a bit true to life, in times of crisis we often make the self interested decisions, leaving the long term consequences to be dealt with later. It was however gripping. This was a film about banking, showing the problems of rich a**eholes, but I was invested from start to finish and it is something of a hidden gem that’s worth checking out. I’m glad I did 8/10
Year of 100 Films: 41 – Analyse That
Analyse That was the 2002 follow up to Analyse This and kept the same cast including Robert DeNiro as well as Lisa Kudrow, Kyle Sahiby and Joe Viterelli. Once again the script was co-written and the film was directed by Harold Ramis.
Plot: After a couple of botched assassination attempts, Paul Vitti fakes a breakdown to try and get an early release. His old therapist Dr Ben Sobel is roped in to take him in and help him get back on his feet mentally before his parole hearing in several weeks, which means him being stable and gainfully employed. Ben is struggling with his own issues after the sudden death of his father, a man he had very complex and not many warm feelings about. Now Ben has to keep Paul in a job as well as prevent him from either being killed by rival families or falling back into old habits with his old crew including a returning Jelly.
This was a lot more uneven than the last one, I lost interest a couple of times, but when it was on, it was a lot of fun. It suffers the from not being necessary. The previous film ended so solidly that it feels cheap to go back, but a cheap joke can still make you laugh. If you enjoyed the first one, it’s nice to see those characters again, if not then I’d zip by this one, you won’t miss that much. 6/10
A Munky on Merseyside 