Buckle up kids, this is a long one, cause it's taken me awhile to put my thoughts in order. (It's also pretty vulgar, because I am wound up and I tend to swear more when I'm upset, so earmuffs.)

Hollywood, you have a problem, and it's far past time to acknowledge it.

Not only acknowledge, but drag it kicking and screaming from the darkness into the light and destroy it for the backward thinking, archaic and demeaning thing it is.

I'm talking (of course) about rampant sexism, misogyny and rape culture.

It's been the subject of a joke for too long. "The Casting Couch". And we all nervously laugh because it just couldn't be true, could it? But it is. It has been a joke for so long, there must be an element of truth to it. Rich white men in power are using their money and their power to take advantage of others, specifically women.

I've seen it first hand in scripts, where the female protagonists are always described with words like "attractive", "buxom", "full lips", "a figure to die for" etc... There is nary a word about their personality, or how an actor might tackle the role. Just a physical description of them.

I've seen it first hand in casting sessions, where directors are going after a certain "look".

I've seen the clips in movies that depict uncomfortable women being asked to say or do things they shouldn't have to in order to get an acting job.

I've heard the jokes that the award hosts make. Those thinly veiled barbs that the audience chuckles at nervously, then looks around to see if any of the producers noticed.

And as accusation after accusation piles up on Harvey Weinstein (and now others as these brave women AND MEN come forward) I can only say enough is enough.

On behalf of all men, you fuckers need to knock this shit off. It's unbecoming, uncalled for, unwelcome and WRONG.

As someone who used to look up to people like Weinstein, I am sickened and disgusted. This was a role model? This was someone I thought to emulate in a business sense? This was someone I was envious of his success?

Fuck you Harvey.

As someone attempting to make a living off of Hollywood now and wanting to make a living IN Hollywood eventually, you need to be setting a higher standard for me to look up to.

Women are people, not objects. They are Human fucking beings. They don't deserve this sub par treatment and constant harassment. Meetings should NOT be held in hotel rooms. If you are too busy to meet in the lobby or your office, you are too busy to have that meeting. These women really aren't interested in talking through an open bathroom door while you shower. They aren't interested in giving you a massage, sharing your champagne, man handling your prick, or trading in sexual favors for parts in movies.

They are applying for a job. The end.

How you could abuse your position is beyond me. Oh, I know it's been going on since the beginning, and everyone has turned a blind eye to it, and blah, blah, blah.

Fuck that shit.

Movies are my religion, get it? The culture, the experience, the magic of the silver screen. And like these assholes who wanna shoot up movie theatres, you are taking a shit in my church.

Knock it the fuck off and crawl back under whatever primeval rock spit you out.

That goes for all the rest of you too. Wether you are a movie mogul or a politician, I am so tired of seeing these reports, of looking at FRIENDS pages plastered with #MeToo I could scream. In many ways, that's what this rant is: One big long scream into the net either. I have no delusions, Harvey, I know you're not reading my post and rethinking your life. But maybe, someone out there is who will be in a position of power someday. And maybe they'll remember this moment and go "No More."

No fucking more.

​Okay, this is a long (and raw) rant, so bear with me...

Yesterday sucked, and it sucked hardcore. It wasn't one event, piece of bad news or even catastrophic loss, it was just a series of little things that became big things that spiraled out of control and became an avalanche of negativity and frustration. It was the kind of soul sucking, emotionally draining, full of dumb ass fucktardary that can break a person. I was that person, and I nearly broke. Like collapsed into a sobbing mess at work kind of broke. THAT'S how much yesterday sucked.
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And now with the light of a new day upon us, I have a resolution. Most New Year's resolutions are losing weight, or making more money, or staying in contact with friends and family more, etc... And those are fine. I have those same ones too. But for the last several years I've kinda sworn off the resolution bit, cause it doesn't really change anything it seems, other than to make me feel even more a failure when said resolution is forgotten about and so much dust by February.

​I have a simple one. I'm gonna carry this pin with me.

Everywhere, everyday.

If you saw Tomorrowland, you may know why. If not, I'll briefly explain. In the movie, the pin induces a gateway vision to a wonderful place known as Tomorrowland; where jetpacks exist, impossible things happen, and there is by-God hope.
And that's what I need in my life. Some positive waves and hope. Don't misunderstand, I'm not buried under the weight of depression (at least, I don't think I am) I'm not giving you a sob story. Just relaying the tale of a bad day. But the thing about bad days is that they end. Tomorrow will be better.

The pin is a reminder that tomorrow, or at least the promise of tomorrow is better than now. Whatever shit life throws at me, whatever bog I'm trapped in, whatever little things that become big things... I'll grab the pin, and know that tomorrow will be better. Period. Cause it has to be.

​The promise of tomorrow.

This simple thought brought a weight off my shoulders this morning, and a smile to my face. I feel better. I feel INSPIRED. I feel creative. I feel READY. All those emotions I felt when watching the movie, I feel now. The pin sits on my desk at the moment.staring at me with hope. With promise.

The promise of tomorrow.

Now stand aside, I've got shit to do.

There’s a conceit among comic and movie fans that Zack Snyder just isn’t very good. The man has been vilified time and again, in print reviews, in on-line blogs, and the hearts and minds of many geeks. I would like to construct a different view, arguing that in-fact the man is a competent and wonderful director of thought provoking escapism and faithful comic adaptations.
In order to do this, I must first point to another director who IS regarded among comic fans as a competent and wonderful director of thought provoking escapism and faithful comic adaptations: Edgar Wright.

Some would argue Wright isn’t even a fair measuring stick, since the majority of his big screen work (The Cornetto Trilogy) comes hitched to the wagon that is Simon Pegg, but I think a large chunk of the argument can be made with those three films. Edgar Wright understands his genre, whatever genre in which he is working.

Shaun Of The Dead is a hilarious spoof of zombie movies. But it is not just a send up in the same manner that Scary Movie is a spoof of horror films. Shaun Of The Deadis simultaneously a slacker buddy flick and a romantic comedy set in a zombie movie, but is also a zombie movie in it’s own right. What makes a zombie movie? Well, zombies obviously, but also the rules: like shots to the head, biting gets you infected, and the slow, relentless march toward inevitability. What makes the film work is that it plays by the same rules that govern the zombie movie universe. Edgar Wright understands this, and NEVER sacrifices those rules for the sake of a joke or steps out-of-bounds.

He plays by the rules of that genre.

Likewise, Hot Fuzz is a hilarious send up of the action/buddy cop movie that was such a stable of the American film scape of the 80s and 90s. But, it’s not just a spoof of films it references like Lethal Weapon, Bad Boys and Point Break, because it respects the rules of the genre and adheres to them. Think about it, everything that Nick Frost’s Danny asks about (“Ever fired a gun whilst leaping through the air?” “Ever fired two guns whilst leaping through the air?”) is a standard trope of cop action flicks. And every one of them happens by the time Hot Fuzz has unspooled, down to the fact that a cop can’t solve the case until he’s been suspended from the force. The film never steps outside the confines of what it’s emulating, for this is it’s own law.

But it’s Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World that makes the strongest case for Edgar Wright, by following the rules of the video game genre, AND being a faithful adaptation (without the benefits of Simon Pegg’s acting or writing). First off, the movie stays very faithful to the books, in some cases breaking down panel by panel and transforming them into storyboards for scenes. Scott and Ramona’s date is one example, even going so far as to keep character placement and shot selection within the boundaries set by the printed book. The next day, when she skates off and melts snow in her wake, it’s a perfectly realized visual of the original image. And of course there’s motion lines and the onomatopoeias that visually float in the air when they appear and occasionally interact with the characters.

Fans of the comic are quick to point out that yes, there are some changes here and there, and minor subplots that were left out, but you only have so much time in a movie to tell the “A” plot. Even in the omissions Wright make right by choosing which ones to leave out.
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But the film also adheres to video game logic. Scott’s opponents burst into coins when defeated, because that’s the kind of thing that happens in video games. It’s structured like a game with mini-bosses leading up to the big boss fight. And after Scott gains an extra life (and is forced to use it) he doesn’t just pick up where he left off, he has to fight the boss level all over again, (starting outside the club and working his way to Gideon, but in true gamer fashion, correcting the mistakes he’s made along the way). The film is all about the language of video games, and Edgar Wright nails it, for he speaks the dialogue. Note the use of color in all the fight scenes. It looks like a video game. To top it all off, like Video game fights—which never lose the player amidst the action—the well-choreographed fight moves within Scott Pilgrim never leave you confused as to who is who or where they are in relation to anyone else.

It’s many of these same technical elements that define Zach Snyder’s work. Like Edgar Wright, he worked on the small screen first, doing commercials instead of television shows, but burst onto the big screen with his own zombie film, the reimagining of George Romero’s Dawn Of The Dead. When studio heads at Universal complained, “You’re a commercial director. Make it look like a commercial. Why does it look like this?” Snyder replied, “It’s just not appropriate. This is like a cult movie; it should look like a cult movie not like a Hollywood slick freak-out. It should be a love letter to the original movie, not a copy or mock of the original movie.”

But it’s 300 that really begins to showcase what Zack Snyder is capable of. Taking Frank Miller’s dark, violent retelling of the battle of Thermopile and transforming it into a living, breathing film is no small feat, and yet the film perfectly mirrors the style and look of the comic. And again, within the confines of the world that has been created, the rules are obeyed. The Spartans are heroic, the blood is splashy, and in the end, the heroes still die. But despite the epic and chaotic nature of the battles you never loose focus on who is fighting whom. This may be helped that the invading Persian army is pretty much a mass of faceless threats, (just like the book) but the Spartan characters fare much better and are treated with deft diligence.

Watchmen is a masterpiece of filmmaking. Unlike the film version of V For Vendetta(which took great liberties with Alan Moore’s original source work) Watchmen changed only two “major” things. One, the comic within a comic story was excised (becoming a separate motion comic of it’s own), and I do not lament its loss. While a fun story, Tales Of The Black Freighter was more an example of world building than an integral piece of the story, simply a thread of the tapestry that didn’t really make it “A” plot needed.

The second change could be construed as blasphemous: the changing of the ending. Instead of the giant psychic space squid imagined as a threat to the world to band together in the graphic novel, it’s changed to Dr. Manhattan himself. First off, a giant psychic space squid? That’s what Ozymandias came up with? Space Squid?!? Seriously? Wouldn’t that just cause the humans to run to the supers for protection instead of bandying together?

Secondly, with the nuclear countdown clock a repeated theme throughout the novel and film, doesn’t it make more sense for an exploding Dr. Manhattan to be responsible to show our folly? I know a naked blue guy taking out New York would seriously make me rethink my atomic stockpile. With all due respect to Alan Moore for not liking the splashy Hollywood movie process, Snyder perfectly distilled down his very plot dense novel into something digestible, while still keeping it entertaining and entrenched in the world Moore created. Watchmen still feels like its set in alternate universe 1980s where Nixon is still president.
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It’s also gloriously brilliant in it’s imagery, like when Dr. Manhattan is on Mars and builds the clockwork machine. Those are images I couldn’t wait to see captured and Snyder did it beautifully. The same hold true for Night Owl and Silk Specter hooking up. Between this and the sex scene in 300, I’d pay to see a Zach Snyder porno.

Sucker Punch is either masterful or vile depending on your take, but I fall on masterful. While an original story, the dream within a dream world is very video game/comic book genre and again abides by the rules that dictate interactions within. The guns are big, the girl’s outfits are not, (in some scenes “scantily clad” doesn’t hold enough weight), and when all else fails, grab a sword. I know people want to jump on the “Zach Snyder is very anti women” bandwagon because of this one. Is he in fact, objectifying them by setting up a scenario that can best be described as a fan boy wet dream? Does it not apply because he has made them strong, masters of their own destiny? Or is it simply a case of playing by the rules of the genre?
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Unfortunately, Now I have to try to back up my argument with Man Of Steel. Believe me, I could fill 3 times the space here on what I didn't like about the movie. But I will say that It’s a spectacular achievement in action films, probably last summer’s most eye-popping spectacle. I’ve come to expect no less from Zach Snyder. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem much like a Superman movie to me. For all the hyperbole about hope, there isn’t much on display here. I like my Superman a bit more humanized. Yes, I grew up with Christopher Reeve, who will forever be Superman. But even comparing the film to the comics that inspired it, Sups seems a bit off his game. It’s not the killing of Zod that bothered me as it did so many other fan boys shouting “Superman does not kill!” He does. Look it up. When necessary it has happened before. I have no problem with that. It’s the lack of compassion and concern that lead up to that moment. How many innocent people were wiped out in the fight between Kal-El and Zod because the Man Of Steel refused to take the fight outside?

But despite those faults, Man Of Steel still manages to play by the rules established within the superhero universe and remain faithful to the Superman mythos. In that regard, I submit that Zach Snyder is in fact, a competent director, much like Michael Bay. I know, its en vogue to hate on Michael “Explosions” Bay the same way it’s now cool to hate on George Lucas and Star Wars. And yes, he bastardized the Transformers movies. But before that, he made good solid action films that helped redefine a genre. Bad Boys, The Rock and yes, even Armageddon are masterfully made and very entertaining.
Zach Snyder does no less. I'll hold my breath for Superman/Batman (or whatever we're calling it this week) and see how he does.

Maybe I'll need to revise my title to "In Defense Of Zach Snyder's Early Films". Or maybe not.

"Bond, James Bond."

Mel and I have been on mission, on her majesty's secret service, you might say. 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the release of DR. NO to theaters, and today sees the US release of SKYFALL, the newest Bond film in the franchise.

​Despite the fact that the 24 films (26 if you count the "non-canonical" NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN and the original CASINO ROYALE starring David Niven, Peter Sellers and Woody Allen) have no strong plot ties to bring them together, we decided (well, I decided and she went along with it) to do a marathon of ALL of the bond films this year, starting in May. We averaged three a month, starting with DR. NO and working our way forward. I'd seen them all before of course. I know of Sean Connery's appeal as the first (and some fan's ONLY Bond), I grew up with Roger Moore, so in many ways, he's MY Bond, and fell for Pierce Brosnan's perfect blend between the two, but after the re-watch, I finally feel qualified to offer up my Top Ten list:

​4. LICENSE TO KILL (1989) - Timothy Dalton gets a bad rap among the Bond fan community for this one, the lowest grossing film in the series. BUT, take into account it was released in Summer of '89, the biggest summer ever at the time. It faced stiff competition from BATMAN, INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, LETHAL WEAPON 2, GHOSTBUSTERS 2 and more.

​I remember seeing this one in the theater Friday night opening weekend. Just me, and six other people.

​Opening weekend.

Yikes did it get clobbered financially, and Bond has never strayed back into summer release waters again. BUT, it's a great movie, with Robert Davi playing a drug kingpin who fed Bond's CIA friend Felix Liter to the sharks. This time, it's personal screamed the ads. And they were right. Bond went all the way off the reservation to extract his revenge, pulling off some of the greatest stunt work involving semi-trucks ever, and all before CGI. Well done sir. Well done.

​I am of course aware that everyone has their own ideas of what makes a great Bond film, and one man's trash is another man's treasure. If you agree (or disagree) with my picks, let me know!