Babylon 5: The Road Home (2023) Directed by Matt Peters

 While waiting for a rumoured reboot of Babylon 5 the groundbreaking TV show from the 90s we were treated to a surprise animated movie with the original characters and starring the voices of the surviving cast. 

The story revolves around a time travel/ alternate universe concept that has new Interstellar Alliance president John Sheridan leaping around reality because of an accident involving a new power source starting up. It was written by J. Michael Straczynski who created the original show and all it's various spinoffs. The animation is pretty good and some of the shots are beautifully done and while it might be heavy on fan service, seeing these characters in a new adventure that takes place before the end of the series was nothing short of wonderful. This will limit it's appeal to newcomers but it obviously wan't made for anyone not familiar with the original but it also likely added new enthusiasm that the reboot, long spoken about but never materializing might actually be coming. 

I admit I am a fan of the show and this was at treat for me even though multiverse/time travel plots are not my favourite thing in the world. The proposed new show will not be a continuation so this was a last chance to see it in it's old form with the characters and actors fans like me love so much. 

TV series: Monarch - legacy of Monsters

 

Evidently I have been n a Japanese monster kick lately. We had a chance to watch the Legendary TV series Monarch - Legacy of monsters recently. Legendary is the studio making the new American Godzilla and King Kong movies which have been getting worse with each one. I have to say the Series was much more interesting and better put together. There are damn few monsters but much more interesting characters and situations and mysteries to get you involved. 

A young  San Franciscan woman goes to her father's in Tokyo and discovers he  has another family there. She meets her new brother and the two go on hunt to find their father with the brother's ex girlfriend and get caught up in the history and intrigue of Monarch, the organization that is trying to control the giant monsters appearing over the earth since Godzilla attacked in 2014. The series at the same time follows the beginning of the organization by following the scientists and military man who founded it. 

I won't spoil much but everyone seems to be related and no one is to be trusted. It moves along and throws in enough monsters to remind you they are still there and it has Kurt Russel and his son playing the same character in different time periods. Like most of these mystery mongering plots, it takes awhile to find anything out but it's not boring. I will say the last 2 episodes basically cover everything in the first 8 and you could watch those two and be pretty much up to date and not have missed too much. It, of course ends on cliffhanger and I will watch if a second series comes around. I liked everyone in it more than anyone is any of the films and while not earth shattering, it did leave me curious for what happens next. 

October Horrors: Curse of Dracula (1979)

 

This isn't really a movie... or even a TV movie. It is a re-editing from the 70s TV show "Cliffhangers" which gave us some interesting , if not cheesy, stories broken u in classical serial style. The Dracula section of the show is actually quite fun and interesting. The lead gives Dracula a little depth and this re-edit is done very well and, though long, keeps you interested. The whole thing is as available on You Tube as you can see above! 

The Twilight Zone (TV show) 2019 show runner: Jordan Peele

There have been a few attempts to recreate Rod Serling's Classic anthology show, The Twilight Zone. The original is a highlight in TV history and a monument to how good writing  and acting can produce truly remarkable and important art that can change how people think and feel. Those that followed were lesser shows, not always bad, but Serling is an act impossible to follow.

When the 2019 version as announced with Peele in charge I was reticent, but excited. He seemed a good choice. He was a Serling fan and had a sense of how to mix social commentary with great entertainment that made you think.

I won't be spring anything, just making a general comment of the show for his 10 episode run.

Overall: Pretty damn good. Great acting, actors, cinematography and the ideas were all solid. Does it live up to the original? Of course not, or not yet, anyway. It's a different show in a different time and Peele does not shy away from that while at the same time reminding us he knows he is treading on eggshells with fans and new viewers alike. Everyone has an idea what the Twilight Zone is - including those who have never seen even one episode. The entire season plays with the idea of recreating the original, then years off into its own thing, a smart move in my opinion.

Not every episode is successful but that can be said for the 60s version as well. We all know the classics stories over its 5 year run, but they weren't all classics. Some were pretty bad in fact, like every other show with 156 episodes and filmed on a time and money budget. The 2019 version looks fantastic and casting was amazing, but not every story will appeal to every viewer and I think most would have profited from a 30 minute over and hour format. There are plenty of Easter eggs to keep long time fans happy and it does not shy away from some biting social commentary. Sometimes it's way too on the nose for it's own good. There are connections from one episode to another and it seemed there was a theme beyond the stated "When the truth is not the truth - what dimension are you even in?". These connections and themes come around in the last episode which is totally meta commentary on the show itself and what it is trying to do.

One thing I wanted more of and didn't get were twists that hit me like they did in Serling's incarnation. Even knowing what the twist was, on repeated viewing they repeatedly shocked you. I had the opportunity to watch some Serling episodes with people who had somehow never seen the show and the look on their faces and how those twists suddenly opened them up to new ideas was amazing.

There is time for this show to do all that - it has been renewed and I have to say I am looking forward to it.

Bye, Mr. Drucker

YOU WERE REAL - OBIT HERE

Vibrator Joke

George Burns - ahead of his time:

Whoa. Top Chef Masters Channels The Andy Griffith Show

Not movies related per se, but who doesn't love Don Knotts or his reincarnation.

RIP Arnold Stang

He was the Chunky man when I was little, but also Top Cat fercrissakes. You all probably know more about him than I but if he was on the tube you knew hilarity would result.
NYT Obit here

Margret On Williams

I Just Took A Ride In A Smoochball Machine

Grande Ourse (2009)

Grande Ourse was a TV show from the years 2004-2006 about mysterious goings on in a remote mining town in Northern Québec. This a film based on those characters and actually spring from the storylines at the end of the show’s run, but manages to not make it a requirement to have seen the show in order to follow what’s happening on screen.

The movie is intriguing and the storyline twisted.. it follows into quite a few alternate realities, and delves into it’s own brand of occult and paranormal tangents. The 3 main characters are all from the original show and played by the same actors. Louis-Bernard Lapointe (Marc Messier) as the reporter turned clairvoyant, Émile Biron (Normand Daneau) his doting assistant and boyfriend to Gastonne Béliveau (Fanny Mallette) a police officer who seems to take her gun out at the sign of.. well anything. Even while following an unarmed old woman and child through the streets. She doesn’t hold it right either, which distracted me a bit.

The cinematography is really excellent. The abduction of one of the main characters is really creepy as is the «witch» who looks like a real version of a Brother’s Quay puppet. Her little boy companion does traditional Québec dances, which are creepy enough to me (just watch any episode of «Soirée Canadienne»). There is different lighting and colour treatment for each «reality» which helps keeps things somewhat straight in your head... the story is too odd to desribe without ruining something in the plot. I will say the film is not over when you think it is and some important questions are answered (sort of) by a funny one liner in a little epilogue.




What I really liked about it most of all was the world it presented... very original yet gothic horror in many ways. The story was not rushed, there are no real «action» sequences or explosions, just an engaging and challenging plot to keep you guessing what will happen next.

I am not sure if it’s available in the USA... it says it has English subtitles, but I didn’t actually bother to check if it really did of how good they were. In many ways, the series was Quebec’s «Twin Peaks» and this film does the legacy justice I think.

Roller Girl

Just A Dream Away

Hello Doctor

Sex Bombs Away!

Raquel Rides Again!

Everything seems to fit

Tudoring Around

I bet if Henry the VIII looked like HBO's Jonathan Rhys Myers (instead of fat Ronald Long) Samantha wouldn't be so worried about being stuck in the 16th century.

cut to 1:30 mark

Malvina (played by Arlene Martel): "This trip through time will teach you a lesson. In other's affairs not to mess in. Back to Henry the 8th go you. The moment you meet him is the moment you'll rue."

Raquel!

Dead Set

Just watched it. The imagery is painterly, the idea is clever, the violence appropriately disgusting - no boring gaps, limited preposterous, putting-oneself-in-danger moments- and like his Nathan Barley, atmospherically apt, like umami for the eyes.

Here's Charlie Brooker unnecessarily apologizing for it. Podcast.

Trailer:


Another (clearer) trailer here

Simon Pegg in a very complimentary review, centered on his disagreement with the concept of running zombies. Article.

The E4 site

BTW, zombies run.