Ghost: 2 Big To Rig

A bit early for a satanized Sunday but no matter!

My lord if Black Sabbath ever got a film that would complete my holy trinity of bands, Ghost and Violent Vira of course being the other two. I was happy as a clam going to the cinemas to see the Skeletour, and as any good reviewer would I did my research keeping up with the Ghoulbanger's Ball on Youtube and hearing all the buzz from fans on the Twitter when the tour was ongoing so I was pretty stoked! Not disappointed at all, got to see the new Papa, a new era, and met some very nice fans one of which gifted me a ribbon with a pendant which I'm wearing with pride as I write. I was smiling like a huge dork the whole time and I very much appreciated the behind the scenes tidbits we got sprinkled in between the live set in Mexico City. Speaking of which I knew Mexico City was THE place to shoot the film cause they fucking bring it and it was actually very touching seeing a little tribute to not just the city but the multitude of fans in attendance. True I may have been a broke bitch and couldn't see the band live but it still was wonderful to see everyone who did. Needless to say the performances themselves were grand and any interaction with Papa was a highlight, the man just hits my funny bone constantly (hey hey) and the ghouls particularly our hunky Storm and our breathtaking ghoulettes Cirrus, Aurora, and Azura are my personal favorites. I did expect more songs from Skeletà but we get a healthy variety from all the albums with the standout songs being Satanized, Mummy Dust, and Dance Macabre for my money's worth. Massive love to the stage set up with digital backdrops, pyro, and a 7-ton grucifix light emplacement hovering above, they clearly went apeshit and it makes for a visually dazzling display to say the least! The only thing I didn't like is it was over too quickly, and indeed it is shorter than Rite Here Rite Now but that had plot to it and while we don't get anything here it won't deduct points. There's a lot of love and appreciation found within and I can safely say I'm happy with it and am waiting for a physical release. I loved it, I had a wonderful time, and fingers double crossed I can experience it firsthand in the future. 4 stars, 9/10, and that does it for this month but next week we have some tributes to give. If you have ghosts, you have everything...

Wicked For Good

Oh thank God. I liked it way better.

Now that we've shed the schoolyard nonsense this is soooo much more up my alley. I would boil the plot down to the machinations of the Wizard against Elphaba in a tug of war over Oz, but it's way way more about the muddied complicated relationship between our two main characters. With Glinda really trying to come to terms with everything that went down last film and finding out when you get everything you want how unhappy you can still be, while Elphaba is kinda figuring out just how far she wants to go in her crusade while still trying to make her own place in the world and her relationship with Glinda. It's fairly riveting stuff truth be honest and investing to boot, and I'm quite happy to announce they barely even touch the Wizard Of Oz story as they should though it did crack me up how they jab at the transitional ownership of the Silver Slippers. This is really the movie to showcase for award season regarding Cynthia and Ariana's acting chops cause not only do they get to really belt out some songs but my God they can do soooo much acting with their eyes alone. In fact near the end I was like a hairbreadth away from having an emotional breakdown, because at a certain point that's not acting. That's Cynthia and Ariana loving each other so much and knowing the end is near, it's hard not to feel something at that moment. I don't need to tell you about their performances but I will say they got even better. Jonathan Bailey was good as ever, able to convey a lot of conflicted interest even without an abundance of screen time and once again the man just knows how to make my jaw drop and my face blush. No spoilers here by a long shot, but gotdamn that was...yeah. Jeff, I love you to bits Jeff, you were still kinda out there but you know what? It makes sense for the character and even though he's still a bastard I kinda still like him! Michelle really got to embrace that villain role and never did I ever think I could hate one of her characters, but man that's good writing and acting to make someone so detestable. Production values are still at their high standard but even I'll admit the scale didn't seem larger, which makes sense cause it is a more personal drama but the spectacle is still strong. Songs were still decent, I think if I had to pick one it's probably Elphaba's villain song just cause it's been 84 years since I've heard a villainous song so automatic win there! It did absolutely address the questions I had in my In Retrospect, answered other questions I didn't even ask in the first place, and gave me an ending that had more twists than a pretzel. Now the only thing left to do is watch the whole damn thing in one go to give my final words on it but that'll come at a later point. Hell if I get really lucky I may see the stage play itself, that would be rad! But all in all, it's a better film in my estimation and I'm happy to have went to see it. I give it 4 stars, 8.5/10, and that is it for this week. Next week will be busy with the holiday and super special plans of my own but I'll have hopefully one more new release for you before the abysmal season which shall not be named rears it's ugly head from the frozen depths of Hell. Halloween gods I beseech you to grant me strength and guide me through the brightly lit wastes.

In Retrospect: Wicked

Wellll I still enjoy it. Kinda.

Now, admittedly I feel like I was off my rocker putting this in my top 10 of last year cause I'm so split on it. Production wise, stellar, phenomenal, 10/10 visually! Story, oooh boy does it still grate on my goddamn nerves and I know the movie is saying a lot about prejudice, questioning authority, and simultaneously mocking and yet maybe encouraging popularity and shallow people. I get it, I understand it, still just seems like a slightly mishandled story considering you know...we're in the land of Oz. Allegory in fantasy is nothing new, but not every fantasy setting has to do it you feel me? It's really just the bitchiness and flat out bullying poor Elphie has to put up with, like girl I'd be sick of that too! Cynthia my darling, my beautiful star, I can confirm on repeated viewing your performance is still strong as a mountain and I can't honestly wait to see where it goes this Friday! Ariana still simultaneously drives me nuts and makes me laugh my ass off, I never really gravitated towards ditzy characters regardless of gender but Glinda for some reason just works for me so well. Will however state none of the songs really grabbed me second time around, closest we kinda got was Defying Gravity but you know that's our big fuck off emotional catharsis song so of course it has a higher standing, and I can practically hear the theater kids lighting their torches in the distance due to that remark to which I say unto you, we got a whole other movie that could change my mind so chill out. And yeah that's something I really gotta take into consideration, it's not a complete movie or experience until credits roll on Wicked For Good. And yes even despite my grumblings on the story and characters, I am strongly curious to see what could possibly come next. Like how much of the Wizard Of Oz will we retread? Will we see Elphaba become a much colder, darker, malevolent force? How the hell are the Silver Slippers gonna come into play cause as far as I know they belong to Nessarose and Dorothy has them by the time she returns to the Emerald City soooo are they really gonna kill off the protagonist's sister? It would be ballsy. So obviously I have interest still, I no doubt will see many pairings of black and pink, green skin and plain skin which is marvellous. Make movies events, you only live once. Did I friggin' call it or what on the whole costuming and production winning Oscar gold? I mean fuck the Academy Award's straight to hell you no film watching hack twats, but I love when I'm right (which is often)! I'm getting way off track here but you want opinions, you'll get opinions. So bottom line the production is more what keeps it at an 8/10 overall, if we judged purely on story this would actually be skirting a 6/10, but who the hell am I to talk? We gotta finish the damn movie first so I will see you at the movies!

Wicked

Well that kinda ruins Wizard Of Oz for me.

Not even because it's bad, far from it but this story does indeed take things from a certain point of view. Now I haven't seen the musical, frankly I feel like I should after seeing the movie, so we just gotta go off the movie as gospel. I bet most people didn't know the musical itself is based off a book painting the Wicked Witch as a more sympathetic character and is one of the few villain origin stories I know of. So we follow the life of Elphaba from childhood transitioning into her magic school years where she's horribly ostricized by her peers but makes an unlikely friend in the most popular witch Glinda before getting swept up in this plot that I just can't fully divulge into. For a film pushing nearly 3 hours with credits it breezed by and I like the pace of it, presumably this is act 1 before the intermission on stage so it doesn't have to rush anything. Granted I wasn't that big a fan of how they potray the denizens of Oz, I mean I get it we have to score sympathy points for Elphaba somehow, but I can't decide if this is terrible screen writing or just shitty character writing, but everybody save for like 5 characters are the biggest biased bitches who treat Elphaba like she's the walking plague, constantly giving her good grief to the point where we just cross over into Mean Girls territory and I hate that movie with my entire soul, it's just grating. And even Glinda takes a minute to warm up to her, thank God she actually grew a spine or I'd want to shove the silver slippers straight up her tightwad ass. Now the acting from Cynthia and Arianna is actually really good, perfectly embedding themselves in these characters, stage differences be damned. Cynthia easily has the most emotional performance and indeed I had at least two or three moments where the waterworks were welling up, obviously she's our main character so we get the most insight into Elphaba's character as a ultimately good willed and kind spirit and I think she did a marvellous job bringing the heart and vocals big time. Arianna truthfully made me laugh my ass off despite the valley girl ditz and rudeness, she still has those pipes, and while it took a hot minute for Glinda to make friends with Elphaba I did buy the friendship between the two a good deal. Jonathan Bailey as a quasi-love interest between Elphy and Glinda, Fiyero is a self proclaimed shallow and self centered man and yet somehow is charming and a joy to watch. Now that's gotta be witchcraft. He may even have my favorite song number, he's just a shameless flirt and kind of a big dumb hunk, I have no idea what happened but I rather like him! Michelle Yeoh hell yeah, get to see my lady woman in another role as the most prolific professor of the magic university Madame Morrible was a treat to watch and she had more to do than just be a mentor figure so that was nice. Jeff Goldblum, I don't know whose call this was to get him as the Wizard but I strongly applaud that person because it is about as strange as you would expect but is so fun to just see him kinda screw around and just have a fun time performing so that was excellent. The set design and costuming is practically a character in and of itself, they spared no expense in this production showing a good scale of familair and new Oz locations with stellar and I do mean stellar costuming. Probably gonna be the easiest Oscar snag we've seen in recent memory to be honest! As for the musical numbers, though I didn't have any I absolutely adored or feverishly abhorred they were decent songs with full fledged choreographed dances included most times, yeah it's an actual lavish musical, but the vocal performances were spot on throughout! Had no friggin' clue this was part one so I felt slightly baited and switched but that also means I can't judge it because it isn't fully out yet! It's Dune all over again. So as a placeholder score I give it 3 stars, 8/10! I enjoyed it a good deal and can recommend it whether you've seen the stage show or not, and it was fun to waffle on about Wizard Of Oz for a week. Sadly I don't have much planned for next week due to the holiday and I was trying to find something fitting that exquisite fall atmosphere so join me next week for a very overlooked Cartoon Network series.

The Wizard Of Oz

Weird to think I got to Return To Oz years before touching the original.

I mean is there even a point to review Wizard Of Oz? So many people have watched it from a young age, myself included but I'll admit it's probably been 20 years since I last saw it, and yet it leaves such an indelible mark on everyone to where you can recount the film almost flawlessly even if you've seen it just once. Young farm girl from Kansas named Dorothy is bored with her life, tornado transports her to the magical land of Oz where she hits the radar of two witches as she gains magical ruby slippers, and a quest to return home begins as Dorothy encounters a Scarecrow with no brain, a Tin Man with no heart, and a Cowardly Lion lacking courage as they venture to the Emerald City to speak with the eponymous Wizard. I have absolutely no clue why this story is as memorable or as engrossing in the culture 85 years later, but I can pin it down on one particular thing. This movie is a weird movie, break it down anyway you like from the plot or the production or anything and there simply is no other film like it, and your brain remembers such elements because of how strange it is. Hell the scope of the, for lack of a better word, "iceberg" this movie has gained for almost a century is kinda wild, break this down with me here. We have just the iconography of the land of Oz and all the design choices firmly embedded like Wile E. Coyote into the ground of our pop culture, Margaret Hamilton appearing on Mr. Rogers showing off her costume and telling kids not to be afraid of witches, we have a myth of one of the actors commiting suicide on film by hanging, we have the coded phrase "friends of Dorothy" used for decades by homosexuals seeking like minded people, we have Dark Side Of The fraking MOON somehow syncing up to the first 40 minutes of the film! Star Wars ain't got shit on the levels of lore The Wizard Of Oz has garnered. It should be impossible for a film like this to have gained this much of a reputation, and from the 1930s??? Many people think it was the 50s because that's when color film entered the fray, and speaking of which could you imagine walking into this movie in 1939 and seeing the kaleidoscope of color presented here? The color footage itself was nothing short of a gamble on an experimental method by the future kings themselves Technicolor! What even is this movie?? It has to be magic, there's just no way. And I'll level with you right here right now, this movie scared me a bit as a kid, not just the Witch though her red smoke and fireball entrance is still incredible, but the talking trees, the haunted forest, the flying monkeys still kinda weird me out a bit, the flippin' twister that's some scary stuff right there, but the big one strangely was the red sand hourglass counting down until the Witch was going to kill Dorothy which just set my nerves on edge and filled me with dread and uncertainty, and it's still as vivid a feeling way back when in contrast to now. I will freely admit though for a musical, the songs are often pretty dang short but they hit frequently enough to justify that genre and are all memorable as the film itself. I feel Judy Garland gets all the spotlight for this film and for just being 16 she does do mighty good, easily playing a girl with a heart of gold and she can hit those emotional marks especially towards the end, not even acting but seemingly being Dorothy! But I have to give fair dues to everyone here. Margaret Hamilton by all accounts was a joy and to know she was a big fan of the books and easily crafted top 10 movie villain material is positively legendary in my book! In fact if I was being both incredibly honest and yet also praising to the heavens, the Wicked Witch is childhood fears solidified and personified in one clean move. Is it any wonder this character has practically grown into her own outside of this film? Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, about as nàive as Dorothy but a stalwart friend to the end and probably aside from the Witch is my favorite character, and trivia note here on rewatch, with the high definition transfer you can notice the face makeup looks like burlap bags, awesome! Jack Haley as the Tin Man, who has my vote for best design among our protagonists is more easily than others coded as a friend of Dorothy, with a sentimental glean in his eye and a more femme voice and mannerism but it certainly doesn't detract from the performance! And of course Bert Lahr as our wannabe king of the forest as the Lion, I don't know what it is but his performance still got as much a kick out of me as it did when I was younger, the physical acting and the accent just add to the humor so well and hands down was my favorite as a kid, so it's good to know somethings never change. And I would be remiss to leave out Frank Morgan as the Wizard, even though you don't truly see him much until the end he has this affability and knowledge about him, after all 'wizard' is an off shoot of 'wise one', so he has that quality to him even if it doesn't match what we think of when we hear the term nowadays. Now the production value was insanely huge for 1939, over 2 million smackaroos as a matter of fact but every penny can be seen on screen from environment pieces certainly, architecture, costuming especially, painted backdrops that yeah are noticeable, but it's a technical marvel to behold in all seriousness fully showcasing fantasy and imagination and that my dear ones are what movies are made for. Even if the story doesn't necessarily do much for you, there is far more that you can appreciate on screen. I keep trying to wrap my head around the impact this movie has, which is funny because it barely made it's money back but as time passed it was re-released, it was broadcasted on television a lot, home video came around and through persistence got to be an untempered classic. I don't really know what to rate it, I feel it's above such things but if I had to lay it all down and put a number to it I'd give it 4 stars, 9/10! And now we turn the clock simultaneously forward and backward to the 2013 prequel so stay tuned until next time.

Joker Folie À Deux

I do apologize for the halt in the Rings series, yesterday was indeed a day and I barely got any work done so accept this movie review as my burnt offering.

Madness For Two? Don't mind if I do! If there ever was a word to concisely sum up this movie it would be, ballsy. I mean a comic book musical movie, that is polarizing enough as is! But me being a bit of a theater kid and fan of musicals, my reaction when that tidbit of information was, far out. This movie is one part court drama, one part romance, with a splash of musical and is that everyone's beverage of choice? Of course not, but I'll recommend it anyway. So we pick up not long after the ending of the last movie with Arthur in Arkham getting ready for his court case when he meets musically inclined Lee and a mad romance blooms, with Arthur almost having an identity crisis during the trial that could lead to his death. How on earth do you make a sequel to Joker? The answer is, you go off the rails and do your own shit unapologetically making an already unique movie all the more a beast of it's own. We kick off the movie with a Looney Tunes style short, which is a splendid gauge cause if you don't like that the musical madness ain't gonna do much for you either. Well while we are on that topic how was the music? I didn't expect original composition per sé but the selection of songs they picked were good ones, and there is indeed many a musical moment, and the vocal performances from Joaquin and Lady Gaga worked well. Even the romance while kind of a switcheroo in the Joker/Harley dynamic I found to be interesting and just fine, not super deep but functional. I felt the movie did a very good job proposing the question of is it Arthur or is it Joker? Is there indeed a split personality or is the man also the legend? It's not super involved or has monologues of flowery dialogue, because Joaquin can do so much with his face and before he even meets Lee he's kind of in a rut very much like comatose Joker in The Dark Knight Returns. How the Joker got his groove back would be a fun subtitle. The pacing is good, it gets artsy from time to time which of course my cinema snob heart sings to see, the direction taking in terms of plot is in short bold, and I am almost waiting with baited breath how this movie will be recieved now or a year from now or even a decade from now. 3 stars from me, 8/10, and we cap off the week with the forging of the Seven.

Poultrygeist

I'm not disappointed.

Despite the absolute shitstorm hellscape I was briefly aware of on the production of this movie, Poultrygeist is my second favorite Troma movie now. The adage "art through adversity" exists for a reason and this might be the most biting and outrageous commentary on not only fast food but social outcry as well. Based around a fried chicken restaurant built on an indian burial ground we follow the plight of hapless dipshit Arbie who when confronted with his liberally minded and newly lesbionic girlfriend Wendy out of spite works at the fast food joint, as cross contamination with food and obvious green death goo births zombie chicken people and the fight to stay alive is on. Easily the funniest since Toxic Avenger both in the blunt lines and visual gags, you can tell they had a lot to say but credit must go to the actors who make it as funny as it is. Jason Yachanin is nothing short of hilariously dumb as Arbie, honestly to the point where he's an unlikeable prick who somehow still makes you laugh. Very few people in fact are present who you can cheer for! Kate Graham as Wendy slays me with some of her line deliveries and her run makes me almost weep just thinking about it now, and Wendy is unabashedly a stance on the mostly ditzy bimbo who's a try hard environmentalist fighting the good fight (or at least attempting to). Robin L. Watkins is our human villain this time around, the epitome of corpulence and greed as the restaurant chain's leader who does everything in his power to keep the food running amidst all the body fluids painting the walls. But is it parody if it's true? If legends have a kernel of truth to them, parodies have a thick layer of truth to them. My choice of favorite character is Hummus, mainly because every character gives her shit on her muslim heritage which is beyond unwarranted and she gets to save the day at the end, so I dig that. Oh did I mention it's kind of a musical too? It's not prevalent throughout, but we do get legit music numbers when characters sing their feels or have a debate complete with backup dancers, I won't lie it's pretty catchy. The special effects have never been more gross or bloody and while I'm not positive what the budget was it all came together super well, from the zombie chicken prosthetics, to the geysers of blood, to the shall we say creative implements utilized it's very impressive what all they got on screen. In fact it certainly sounds like a miracle there was even a movie at all, and I'm interested to watch the documentary for myself which is on record as required viewing material if you ever want to work at Troma. It certainly makes me appreciate the film all the more when you hear it's such a hassle to get done. We sure went out on a high note and I'm very pleased to have finally gotten my hands on that underground niche of shock cinema, but knowing me I kinda figured I would enjoy it anyway! And you're in luck if you sick bastards want in as well because every movie reviewed here and then some is available 100% free on Tubi. 4 stars, 8/10, and in the words of Johnny Olson come on down!

Wonka

I...will accept that.

Again, had next to zero inkling what this movie would be but I stepped in happy and open minded and was rewarded for my efforts. I feel the trailers did kind of a disservice, it was really pushing the Gene Wilder-isms and origin story card to get butts in seats, when in actuality the film is a beast of it's own entirely. In fact it is folly and a waste of time to compare this with the 70s film, it's like seeing a person with the same hair color, eye color, and even the same shape of their noses but everything else is different entirely. Even the angle of it's a prequel to Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory is null and void, it uses elements of that film with some being more on the nose than others but ultimately is a fun and fancy free film with plenty of ludicrous nonsense. But a little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest man. So our tale begins with a young Mr. Wonka setting foot back on dry land after seven years of seafaring to a city where he wants to open his first shop. Now the odd thing about this town that I noticed is everyone is for the most part british and cockney in accent, but I swear I saw a street sign in german but no architecture was german. Very strange. But anywho! So, and this is a no horseshit Jack statement, there is a chocolate cartel conspiring against the candyman and on top of that this movie gets a tiny bit little orphan Annie, and a squad of workers chip in to help open the store. That's the basic gist and for a film around the 2 hour mark keeps a very good pace, with more musical numbers than Willy and Charlie combined and it is exactly as I suspected. You get every flavor of song you can think of, introductory song, aspiration song, villain song, sad song, the works with full blown can-can dancing included at times. The songs are passable, I didn't adore nor despise any of them, and Timothée actually has a pretty decent singing voice. And yeah his performance is entirely his own, he has moments of Gene but at the end of the day is his own unique iteration. The emotion and humor is there from all the characters, with a good bit of love going towards Paterson Joseph, Jim Carter, Keegan-Michael Key, and of course Rowan Atkinson who were a joy to see. Though I feel slightly bait and switched when it came to Sally Hawkins but all is forgiven for I got to see her rapturous beauty if only for a moment. And to be honest I was fawning a bit over Rakhee Thakrar too. The sets and colors are great, the movie is actually really dang funny and I was probably the only one cracking up in that theater, even the plain absurdity of Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa works surprisingly well I mean this director knew what tone and style he wanted and nailed it pretty succesfully! It is a fun movie and thankfully not terribly saccharine, so it is a recommendation. It's honestly tied with the 70s version for me but I give it 3.5 stars, 7.5/10! And I think the end may almost be here, but I may have a trick or two up my sleeves for you to enjoy.

Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory

No better time to take a small jaunt down memory lane.

I'm sure for my generation and the one previous, this film has been an early watch in our childhoods but I'm rather curious as to what people think of it today. Whether they be kids or adults, because while I've always liked the movie I've never loved it. It's not been a staple of my childhood, but I'm sure it is for someone. So the story goes a poor young lad named Charlie is living his less than good life when the reclusive owner of the biggest candy making factory in the world sends out five golden tickets to gain entry to the factory and see all the fantastical and wonderous things within. Now what I really have to commend the film for is actually the fact that it's age kinda helps it work. It's shot in 1970s West Germany, the clothing and production design are embedded in the 70s, and you'd be surprised how much the film...not necessarily lolligags about but rathers does a fair bit of world building cause you see news coverage, and TV interviews, and even just random scenes of superflous characters, which makes it almost seem like you're watching a piece of real world history. All the contraptions and inventions in the factory are absurd and ludicrous but have that children's story twinge to it like you really just stepped into another world entirely. Yeah you can poke fun at the movie almost from minute one to end credits a lot of people do, but credit goes to all the people who worked on the movie to make it as good as they did. Speaking of children's stories this was one, in a series of books written by Roald Dahl the guy who also wrote The Witches (90s family film that probably traumatized a few kids), The BFG (not to be associated with Doom), and also Matilda (underground gem feverishly lauded by adults my age), and it may be a bit of a shock to learn he really did despise and detest this adaptation of his work. Also surprising was that the movie didn't do all that well in theaters and more got it's reputation through video rentals as time went on. I can very firmly say the reason to watch the film is Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka, and the film does a pretty good job building up this mystery of the factory and it's proprietor I mean you don't even see the guy until the 40 minute mark in this one hour and forty minute film, but once he's there you can't. Look. Away. And I LOVE the potrayal here, cause you can't get a read on him! He's kind and yet dispassionate at instances, he clearly is a well read individual but he's a bit off his damn rocker at the same time, I mean you kinda have to be to come up with all this edible foolishness but there's this wide eyed sparkle and stare about him not far off from a mad scientist in one certain shot. Maybe that's why they picked him for Young Frankenstein. Gene is a walking talking marvel in this picture and still probably won't be topped anytime soon. Not ever to discredit the kids in this movie, in all seriousness this is actually pretty great child acting for the time, each with memorable and easily definable characters with individual flaws. It does take on a Grimm's Fairy Tales aspect with each kid having a vice or deadly sin as it were and it bites them in the ass sooner rather than later, but even Charlie is still a kid with wants and woes and isn't pigeonholed into a "good kid" category. It's interesting to watch it again and pick up on so much that didn't even register as a kid, even if the tunnel really doesn't make that much sense still and yeahhh let's discuss the tunnel shall we. Um, I love it. It's a bad acid trip in the middle of a children's film, has the balls to show a live chicken beheaded in full, scary ass poetry is recited which of course I know by heart, and ends almost as quickly as it began. Why??? How?? I don't know why it's there or how they came to that decision to make it, but I'm so happy they did. I really love when kid's films get just creepy and weird, it happens more with films from the 70s and 80s, another great example that I see no one talk about is the scene where Charlie is outside the gates of the factory at nightfall and for absolutely no reason this man who has a rickety cart filled with friggin' cleavers and butcher knives recites some creepy ass poetry about little men then walks off. Why is it there? Beats me man but it's something memorable. Maybe there's a message to the offbeat weird shit, maybe it's just to give people the heebie jeebies. Probably the latter. And it's a musical to boot, there's a fair few songs in this film! Now I attribute that more to the fact that it's a children's film and that's more common in such features, but the songs aren't bad even if some are strangely brief. It's just such a tiny bit of an anomaly this movie, I dare say there isn't another film like it even if compared to next time's review, I'm sure it was an oddball picture when it released and it hasn't lost it's unique individualistic bizzare quality since. It's a sure fire watch for the sole reason of seing Gene do what he does beautifully and make an opinion of your own. I give it 3 stars, 7.5/10, Tim Burton version next time.

The Worst Witch

Maybe I spoke too soon on the whole cult movie thing.

Cause there are cult movies and then there are CULT movies, and I don't think it gets cultier than this. I'm sure I discovered this movie existed along with several other individuals through the magic of YouTube with Tim Curry's smash hit Anything Can Happen On Halloween and I decided sod it, let's see the movie. It's...humble. That's the best way I could describe it, it's a TV movie on a shoestring budget in the mid 80s, concerning a young but clumsy witch by the name of Mildred Hubble as she desperately tries to learn magic at a prodigious school. That's the basic gist and for a movie at a whopping 80 minutes, actually has a pretty decent pace and doesn't get super involved. It's really some Halloween fluff for young kids but has a bit of charm to it. I'm almost certain I would treasure this movie if I saw it around the age of 5, like I did with stuff like Halloweentown, and I know it is far far from everyone's taste but I actually quite liked it. I think the reason it worked so well for me is due to the cast, Fairuza Balk is great in this movie! She has so much heart and makes it all seem believable, she really did come into this with the best attitude and now I can say I've seen her in 2 witchy films. Diana Rigg is in the movie too, it's kinda wild how we got a quantum of star power into this, and likewise she plays it incredibly straight taking on a very genderbent Severus Snape role which I didn't quite know I needed in life but she's a treasure. It's actually kinda funny knowing Tim who plays The Grand Wizard is the best known part of the movie but he's maybe in it for a bit over 5 minutes, and it's even more hilarious cause every girl at this school, student or teacher, goes absolutely gaga for him! It was a different time, you could be like 9 years old and crush hardcore on a guy three times your age there was nothing weird about it back then. He is pretty majestic and God knows if I had the time and materials he would be my Halloween costume without question or doubt, and the song is magnificently bizzare in a way only the 80s could deliver. It's a extremely rudimentary film but if you like that sort of underground, buried, long forgotten sort of mood to productions where you can just get in the mindset and have fun with it, even if you see it just once you might like it a fair bit. The movie produced one of the most boisterously evil laughs of my life, and it was indeed unironically funny at times but for that alone it gets a gold sticky star from me. You can find the whole flippin' film on the YouTubes so if you need an hour to burn might as well see green screen witches flying about. 3 stars, 7.5/10, and tomorrow we get to a film that once again I could have sworn I reviewed years ago. Old age, it's not fun kids.

Love Never Dies

Oh boy, how do I summarize Love Never Dies? Oh God...here we go.

I need to make a few things perfectly clear! Set the Wayback Machine for 2009/2010, I'm hip deep into Phantom obsession and believe you me I was there okay. I was there when the announcement was made, I was there seeing theory videos from fans and behind the scenes from the creators, I was there when the soundtrack dropped, I was there on the official website doing all the fun stuff, and I was there when the intial run had begun and reviews started coming in. And I seriously am about to get a punjab lasso around my throat, before being beaten to death by a mob and summarily thrown into the Seine when I say, I do NOT hate Love Never Dies. In fact if I am being horrifically embarassingly honest, I had more Love Never Dies tracks on my MP3 player back in the day than I had Phantom Of The Opera tracks and I'm pretty sure both musicals are tied with songs now on my phone. So just bear with, please. I was 15 when this production began, I never saw it live, and it wasn't until many years later after the Phantom obsession died down I discovered very much like the 25th anniversary they filmed a performance, with the Australia cast in a real theater with a real audience. And hearing so much about the story and character progression that was only limited to my imagination for so long I had to watch it. So this isn't my first viewing and far from my first listen. Kay? Kay. So let's friggin' do this. Set 10 years after the original the Phantom has crossed the sea and set up shop at Coney Island but is very much still not over Christine and pulls some strings to get her back to perform for him again. She arrives with Raoul and their son Gustave unaware of the situation but when the hammer drops she has to make a decision, sing once more for her angel of music or run like hell with the family unit. Things get a bit more complicated but we'll leave it at that! I don't want to divulge much here so I'll refrain from saying massive spoilers as much as I can but we have to discuss this film and more importantly the overall production before all is said and done. I'll admit when Phantom ended, full catharsis, semi-open ending, regardless of whether I saw it on stage or screen, the thought of a continuation never crossed my mind. Everyone loved the ending so there you go. No more, no less, no demand. Yet, here we are. We got a sequel to Phantom Of The Opera that nobody ever asked for. But why? Other than perhaps highly lucrative sales for Lord Andy, I don't know. I feel strongly even stalwart in the defense of this production that a sequel could genuinely work and work well. You get elements and snippets of that in this film, where you could flat out make a sequel that deconstructs every single relationship in Phantom and just delve into it from both past and present standings. The romance between the Phantom and Christine, the fledgling relationship between Christine and Raoul, how the Giry's connect to the Phantom after a decade of being together, Gustave's fascination with the Phantom's world and machinations, you could write genuinely insightful and emotional stuff from that. But even with the choices made in the initial run that may have been redacted or altered slightly for this version, it ain't half bad! The Phantom is an absolute broken man without his lady love, a shell of his former self and almost flat out dying from a broken heart, and the revelations that come shake him to his foundations because he's so defeated and longing for a reprisal. Christine and Raoul's marriage has broken down, Raoul lost all his money and spiraled into alcoholism, Christine has some doubts and regrets about choosing Raoul at the end, and Gustave takes more after his mother than father. Madame Giry and Meg have dedicated a decade of their lives to smuggle the Phantom out of France and help him build his carnival venue Fantasma, going through years of hell and have been happy to essentially serve him so they can have a better future and how they percieve Christine as a major upheaval of their lives. That's some compelling stuff that can be expanded on more and honestly, if they have made changes version after version, run after run, who the hell says they can't do a massive rewrite from the ground up? Not to say what we got is a shambles, I very much like the majority of it and can roll with how it progresses. Because there's so many little touches most importantly in the acting and characterization that I feel is a huge improvement over the debut, that adds to the drama, romance, and tragedy. Ben Lewis may not have that rocky stunning singing voice of Ramin Karimloo, but he does admirable and his acting seems incredibly Universal Monster almost Bela Lugosi-esque with his powerful stare and slight accent, and even when he gets to act big (cause theater am I right) it doesn't feel overblown. I really dig his look from head to toe and that they give him a threatning edge feels much more in line with the original musical. Anna O'Byrne as Christine is very beautiful and has a good singing voice, she brings a bit more fire to her acting calling out the Phantom when he reappears and feels like she has infinite more depth than the original. Again it's the little touches of her interactions with Gustave, or how she has so much unsaid emotion on her face with Raoul or whether she wants to perform I mean that's good stuff that goes a ways. Simon Gleeson I feel the writing for Raoul helped him out a lot cause Raoul was almost a flat out abusive son of a bitch the first go around release but they've mellowed him a notch, giving more of a depressed man trying to get his life together again while still partly living in a bottle vibe, so when he has that unguarded moment where he shows his emotions you feel something from that, it's not as brutish or cold as the West End version. Sharon Millerchip just gives me even more reason to crush on Meg Giry, yeah I'm sorry if the decision was Christine or Meg I'm going Meg. Odd? Incredibly, she's barely there in the book and even more rare in adaptations, I can't explain it, Meg just has my heart. I know people who howled betrayal and character assassination when it came to Meg in this story, but again they've tweaked it and fine tuned it for this production where she's not....creepy psycho obssessed phangirl, and more made her still the sweet and young girl trying to make the best of the situation, holds the Phantom's opinion highly, is genuinely thrilled to be able to see Christine again, and those little character moments pay gigantic dividends when it comes to Meg in this film which makes her story so much more tragic. Plus Sharon has an absolutely lovely singing voice and is cute as a button. I don't know what you expect from me anymore. Leave me be. The character of Gustave doesn't really have much to do during the story, he comes off more as a plot element instead of a character, but Jack Lyall has a bright and crazy singing voice for one so young and ain't half a bad actor either so what can you do? I think my biggest complaint isn't really what anybody would expect me to say but, this theater that they performed at in Melbourne had a really small stage. Small in terms of width and not so much depth, even though the scene transitions and set designs are really damn good it can feel a bit claustrophobic and I kept noticing it. But everything else, the sets, costumes, makeup, and overall color and motion look great! They take a slightly darker edge to the carnival scenery and the performers therein, and even though the props and furniture do seem sparse it doesn't detract from a scene. Of course I can't talk about this movie without mentioning the score, and as stated above I've listened to this music plenty. In my incredibly humble opinion I feel they excised the right musical numbers, kept the best, changed some things here and there but ultimately as an improvement. Not as a slam against these singers, cause I damn well assure you I could not do better, when my mind plays these songs I hear Ramin, Sierra, and the original West End cast giving such powerful emotion to some numbers, but I still enjoy and appreciate the australian cast here full force. I actually feel the acting bits are superior to the singing bits here but the singing is still good. And just for the hell of it let's talk favorites. I'm split on making one of the few instrumental songs The Coney Island Waltz into a lyrical song so just stick to the album on that one. Till I Hear You Sing may honestly be my favorite of the tracks, with real powderkegs of emotion with certain singers at the helm and just a beautiful lament from the Phantom. It's hard for me not to sing along with it. Speaking of which, The Beauty Underneath goddamn is this a rocking wild tune that put my mind in a stranglehold and I begged for more when the album hit, it's a split decision between this and the Phantom's solo as best song of the entire album. Both Devil Take The Hindmost's are respectively great duets and quartets, I think the quartet is my favorite of those two with so many intertwining melodies where it's almost addicting to listen to. Good stuff man. And the less we speak of the beauty of bathing the better, don't despise it but good lord that's a whoooole other can of worms. No thanks. And as for the ending well, my lips are sealed but you know what? It made me feel a tinge of emotion if only for one moment so it isn't a failure. That's how I'd sum up the entirety of Love Never Dies, despite what people said, despite the not so popular and consistent runs, despite the direction Lord Andy wanted to take for the sequel, it didn't fail. It's just one more piece of Phantomy goodness to enjoy and it is so not the worst. Not by a longshot across a country mile several lightyears from our galaxy. I give it 3 stars, 7.5/10! And The Phantom himself has stopped haunting Broadway after 3 decades, so nothing clearly lasts forever. But it's never really gone. Who is the Phantom? He is...whatever you want him to be.

King Creole

I know I probably could have left it at Bubba Ho-Tep, but more Elvis ain't a bad thing.

I was kinda stumped for Elvis material before the new movie but I heard on good account that this movie is one of his best, and it just so happens to be his favorite movie that he ever made so how could you go wrong. I heard tale that James Dean was originally considered for the role and knowing that, I kinda get why the movie is this way. The story concerns flunking high school student Danny who keeps getting into scuffs, and eventually is dragged into this tug of war with a gangster in New Orleans, trying to stay out of trouble and perform as a singer while also getting involved in a rough situation. You can very clearly see a lot of story elements and characterization that would fit in a movie like Rebel Without A Cause which came out 3 years before this. But Elvis Presley shows he can act and of course you get plenty of singing from him but you can see he nails this character. He's got a temper, he doesn't want to be like his dad, he's got the charm and personality that could get him in trouble, and you can read quite a bit in his face. He does really good work. Now I know I could question how romance works in this movie, but hey it was the 50s and in a romance kind of movie all it would take is 5 minutes one on one with a lady for both of you to be head over heels in love. That being said I dare say the best character is Ronnie played by always striking and gorgeous Carolyn Jones, I mean my God this character is just put through the ringer and she can convey just how mistreated, broken, tired, and longing for love this woman is. It's quite remarkable really how she just captures it all and makes you want the best for her so easily. Walter Matthau is a diiiiiick in this movie, full blown asshole, I haven't seen him in many antagonistic roles so I was impressed. The drama is prevalent throughout, with dashes of music and I can honestly say this movie is an easier sell than most musicals. Sure I have faith in Elvis Presley's acting talents, but the man was built to sing and that's what you want, it's more folk music with some blues zest rather than his typical rock and roll stuff but you better believe I got the happy feet and was having a good time with it. That ending though, Jesus Christ was that a downer. I was genuinely upset I won't lie, but that's the telltale sign of being invested in a movie. I wanted to know what was gonna happen, will these characters get a happy ending, you feel the emotion and get the characters so the movie works very very well. Shot in pristine black and white with good sets, nice lighting, it even dips it's pinky toe in some experimental shots for one bit. The editing is a bit weird at a few instances but that's truthfully the only bad thing I can say about it. If ever you were curious about Elvis' acting roles this would be the prime example. I give it 4 stars, 8/10, and next time we'll be getting nothing but raw talent and music galore with the Comeback Special.

A Hard Day's Night

A very spur of the moment review but well worth talking about.

I was just channel surfing with my mom and we caught the opening of this movie and I stuck around for two reasons, one my mom is still a very big Beatles fan and the other being I never saw it before. Oh I knew of the film's reputation, released during the height of Beatlemania, on the Criterion Collection, it was a very hastily put together production, so on and so forth. Not at all bad full truth, in fact the camera placements and editing is so unique to this film, they do good casting besides the band themselves, it's shot around London so it retains that british feel throughout. It's almost potrayed as an absurdist comedy detailing the events of just one day in the lives of John, Paul, George, and Ringo as they evade the screaming hordes of fans, deal with their manager, cut loose to enjoy themselves, and perform. I suppose it could technically be classed as a musical because they do an assortment of songs, and a good solid chunk of The Beatle's disocgraphy I am not terribly familiar with save for She Loves You in this film and it is good music. When 50+ year music can not only get my feet tapping like mad but also give me goosebumps, clearly there's something right about it. And you know it really and truly put their fame into perspective, because they were so young when the band skyrocketed and no one had any inkling of how big they would get, and you know that they would cut loose and not do business/band stuff all day every day to just enjoy their youth. There was a really great quote, and from my favorite of the bunch Ringo, "Being middle-aged and old takes up most of your time, doesn't it?", and I won't lie to you man it scared the shit out of me. You only get one good solid crack at being young, so enjoy it while it lasts before you get old, bitter, and broken like me. I genuinely am torn on my favorite character in this, and I almost use bunny ears for that but let's face it the boys are just being themselves, they don't need to act they just need to read the dialogue and it by God works, but it's a toss up between John and Paul's grandfather who is the utter antithesis of what his physicality would lead you to believe. You think it would be this horrendous stereotype of the stuffy brit, but he is just as wild if not more so than the group, always scheming to get some money, running up and around causing good grief, it's quite beautiful actually. It really is this bizzare, slightly stretched yet altogether true, window of time movie. The black and white stock was lovely and I must give all my props to the director, the writing is very funny and feels all too natural with the band banter, I'd say this film is a silly piece of nonsense but it is much more than that really and you can tell when watching it. It really is this fascinating piece of cinema that can't really be labelled. It's not a documentary, it's sort of a musical, it's comedic but does more than that, I'm stumped. I had a grand time with it and would have no problem seeing it again in the future, so I give it 3.5 stars, 8/10, give this thing a whirl seriously, it took me on a trip and I was not upset where I ended up.

Cabaret

Holy hell that was good.

It was an interesting experience to watch Cabaret, I knew nothing about it and only heard the name mentioned in passing, so I decided on a whim to review it when I had other contenders because I wanted to know more about it. At first I found the style and direction a bit odd, but as the movie progressed I became more in tune with the movie and greatly appreciated it to the point where when the credits rolled I was thoroughly impressed. But it wasn't so much the story, or characters, or dialogue, or any singular aspect of the film, but all the elements combined as a whole. The story is really bare bones with a british writer living in 1930s Berlin with an american performer who works at a cabaret as a friendship and soon romance build between them. Now that might sound so uninteresting but when you see the film it makes sense. The best and only way I can describe it is the main characters very much live in a bubble of their own, never acknowledging the grim meathook realities of Germany at that time and living absent mindedly. Which is personified in Liza Minelli's character Sally who I totally loved but also at the same time I couldn't fully grasp her character, not in a bad way by any stretch of the imagination because the performance and writing is really good, but she seems very scatter brained and has dreams of becoming rich and an actress while having a very wild personality. It's so different but she feels like a incredibly real person, you don't know everything about the friends and people in your life, unlike in films where every bit of information is dolled out to us, there's for lack of a better word ambiguity to her just like a real world human being. Michael York is quite good too, more or less a blank slate that we see this town and these characters through his eyes but fine work regardless. I would absolutely classify this as a unconventional musical, there are a handful of songs throughout and they do reflect upon certain aspects of the plot, but every musical number is performed at the cabaret or a venue, there is no elaborate song and dance numbers on a sidewalk or a bedroom, everything you see is done diegetically in the real world. Which is not what you would normally consider a musical, and to be honest the best songs are done by Liza but the thing is, a cabaret venue is not where you go to listen to great music, outstanding vocals, or dramatic performances. It is escapist entertainment of the common kind. Which I genuinely appreciate, and the film flat out says you come to the cabaret to forget your lives and troubles and that life itself is a cabaret. That is more accurate now than back then in the 30s. Do you have any idea how much media exists today where it's just there for brief entertainment that encompasses all types of variety? That practically embodies YouTube. And the one song that isn't performed at the cabaret, Tomorrow Belongs To Me caught some heat back then because people thought it was a pro-nazi song and granted you hear this quite nice song being performed by a young boy with a really good voice only to discover he's part of the Hitler youth is kind of chilling, and that entire scene could be a microcosm of Germany at that moment of time. You just don't expect that. And that's how I would sum Cabaret up, an unexpected pleasure. Yes, it's always great fun to talk about the movies you love and enjoy but in my humble opinion the movies you walk out of with so much more than you expected, are the best movie going experiences. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and understand why it practically almost swept the Oscars in 1973, winning almost every category it was nominated for except for Best Picture and Best Script. An easy 4 stars, 8/10! A strong end to this week but what will come next? Difficult to see, always in motion is the future so join me this weekend to discuss plans of action.

Camelot

As a musical it might not be the best, but as a film it is worthy of praise.

Based off of the stage play of the same name, Camelot went through a few trials and tribulations before it came to cinemas in 1967 but I truly believe it is a great movie. The production values are high with sets that look as real as castles that the filmmakers actually shot at in Europe, the costumes are flowing and beautiful, and the star power gives the film a good weight. For me Richard Harris is my definitive King Arthur, many a time in days gone by a good friend of mine would debate with me in my english class that Clive Owen was the best King Arthur of the screen to which I strongly disagreed and said that Sir Richard Harris was the superior version, and every viewing of this movie only strengthens my opinion. Vanessa Redgrave does quite well as Queen Guenevere and while I take issue with the character, her performance and overall acting is very good. Franco Nero might be the best Lancelot I've seen, encapsulating the character's traits as well as physique, and while his singing voice might have been dubbed the acting from him is still very strong. Now the musical numbers I must admit are more miss and less hit, with only a handful peppered throughout the course of a 3 hour film but the way the film utilizes them are where it hits it's stride, the songs summarize who the character is at that moment in time. I Wonder What The King Is Doing Tonight shows that Arthur is a very shy king, not really knowing what to do with the throne and wishes he were doing anything else in life except being a king, C'est Moi shows how highly Lancelot thinks of himself, that he can do no wrong, has never lost a battle, and boasts a very vauntage opinion of himself. How To Handle A Woman expresses Arthur's conflicted emotions about Guenevere and how he doesn't quite know how to make her happy but soon comes to the realization is to simply love her in any way regardless. Which is very odd for a musical because every single musical I have ever seen the songs are either fun fluff that really contribute nothing or it's a character singing their feels in a way to where even a child can fully comprehend how they are feeling, but here without the musical numbers the film would not be affected much. It's a very emotional and morally complex film that is interesting drama because of these characters, we don't really need the musical numbers but simply the story. And once again the plot revolves around a love triangle between our three leads but truthfully the way they handle it is simultaneously brilliant and....bizzare. I'm sorry, as much praise as I can give this film I don't quite get why Guenevere falls in love with Lancelot, it seems more like something you need to read into than the film just telling you. He shows up, they sing a song about how everyone are horny immoral slags in the month of May, they meet and sort of flirt(?), then inexplicably she starts manipulating knights to fight Lancelot to....what exactly? Prove his worth? Does she just get all hot and bothered seeing men fight over her? I have absolutely no idea. But they become a couple and a not so subtle one at that because even Arthur knows but here is where the film gets brilliant. I love, love, love, like love ×1000 the morality system this movie sets up, might for right, violence is not strength and compassion is not weakness, and that revenge is utterly worthless, this is the reason why I will always choose Richard Harris! He is a civilised man in an uncivilized time, and his character moments and his for lack of a better word ethics, is what elevates this movie for me, he knows his wife, his queen is with essentially his best friend and for a brief moment he wants vengeance but he stops and thinks about their lives, their decisions, their own personal pain and he does not wish to harm them in any way because he loves them regardless. It reminds me of when the 12th Doctor tells Clara "Do you think that I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?", he looks beyond his own feelings throughout the movie and only tries to do what's right for everybody, those are qualities sorely needed in people today. It's really an amazing performance and he almost singlehandedly carries the film, I could talk about it all day and still not say everything I could ever wish to say about this character. It's a very forward thinking stance for a film made in the late 60s that can still be very much applied today, hell maybe even more so. I think, no I know I'm biased a bit towards this movie, and believe it or not this is the favorite film of my one of my favorite reviewers ever, and I could not more highly recommemd you watch his show if I tried. I heard about Camelot a long time ago by Linkara a cokic book reviewer with an online show Atop The Fourth Wall, and his passion and love for that movie left quite an impact on me and made me resolve to see it for myself and I couldn't agree with him more. He gives a quite powerful and very real statement as to why Camelot is his favorite film, and how it made him a better person. Very few times have I seen such moments but they stick with me to this day when someone just stops for a minute and really just sort of, lays themselves bare and speaks their heart as well as their mind. It's something I appreciate and my love for this film has only grown since I first watched it. The ending is kind of a downer ending, you really have no idea how the story for Arthur ends, I mean it ends with a glimmer of hope but nothing fully concrete which is again very much against films of that era in Hollywood let alone musicals. Musicals are pretty cut and dry when you get right down to it in terms of story, characters, and meaning, and really the only two I have ever seen with depth and this kind of ambiguity to them (that I personally have seen of course) is Camelot and Mary Poppins. Camelot and Marry Poppins don't have basic, plain, two dimensional characters where you know everything about them and how their stories will play out, they focus more on character than just spectacle and fun but they both have their moments, they really break that mold of musicals. They gave better stories than you expected them to give. I love this film, it's by no means perfect but what it does it affects me in a strong way, and I think it deserves more appreciation and love nowadays. 4 stars, 8/10, I am so glad I got to talk about this movie and we got one more before the end of the week. Give it a shot guys seriously.

Phantom Of The Opera At The Royal Albert Hall

I figure I'd throw my hat into the month of March musical madness, and look at some musicals I haven't talked about yet.

Well it's official, Phantom is now the longest running show in history, been played for almost 35 years and a special commemorative DVD was released on it's 25th anniversary which we'll look at today. Now I will say I have actually seen the show live years ago and very much loved it, yet even I can't fathom why this show has practically been god tier theatre since it's premiere. I know people say oh Phantom Of The Opera is just dramatic fluff for teenage girls and midwestern moms and while I am slightly biased with me being a major fan of the character in multiple iterations across books, films, and musicals I very much enjoy the story. We start off in the dilapidated opera house as we get some preamble and a tiny taste of mystery before things get spectacular with the unveiling of the chandelier and one of the all time most iconic and awesome musical pieces is performed as we're whisked away to the grand days of the opera populaire, and from then it follows the classic story of the love triangle between Christine Daae, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagney, and the eponymous Phantom. I love everything about it, the songs are wonderful, the acting is mighty fine, even the more hokey things like a fireball casting man in a mask is pretty damn great, big emotional ending, expertly crafted staging, the whole lot. I think it's quite safe to say this is the most popular version of the character, unless you know some hardcore movie fans who know of the Lon Chaney 1925 silent classic, this is the version everyone knows about. The 1925 film saved Gaston Leroux's story from absolute obscurity, and the stage show propelled it to a househeld name. This particular production is the most lavish I've seen of any production, fully utilizing the Royal Albert Hall and modern technology to create a seamless spectacle of music and visuals, and rightfully so with it being that special occasion. We have quite possibly the most beloved and well known actors playing the Phantom and Christine after Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess. These two are something truly special to see, both with very powerful and outstanding vocals but also very strong acting particularly in Ramin's case. He goes 150% and I love it, I can hear some people say it's a bit much but well...the book version is a drama queen of the highest level so I can accept it. Now with this being a taped event that was actually broadcasted to cinemas around the world, it's shot incredibly well and the camera always knows where to be to show the full range of the performances with the editing being spot on. The musical itself is about two hours long but it has a very special encore that lasts almost 30 minutes with the cast, original creators, and even the man himself Lord Andy to show their appreciation for the fans and their partners in show business which is actually quite sweet and you can tell they have immense love and respect for everyone who made the show possible. I know such a task as filming a live show is difficult to do and I can only imagine how the original run went, but good lord I've seen countless recordings on good old VHS camcorders of the stage show because we couldn't get a high quality official release of it, and I'm not terribly upset that it took 25 years to finally get it because I can understand why and with such a well executed production it does almost make up for it but I'm a greedy fan and always wanted a copy of my own to watch whenever. It's certainly not for everyone, I can admit the source material is flawed but musicals like I've said before are not logical, it's all about suspension of disbelief and the emotions which is the most likely reason this show is still running strong. Is it perfect? No. Is it very entertaining and engaging? Absolutely. The cast is downright amazing, the sets and costumes are extravagant but not to the point of ludicrous taste, the music.....ohh my gawd it is so good! You can say what you will about the story, but no one can deny this is masterfully crafted music in every single scene even if it's not a main big famous song. I was a total nerd for this stuff a decade ago and my love for it has certainly not waned, this is a real treat and if you've always wanted to see it but don't have a theatre production near your home that is about to do it, pick this up and enjoy yourself. I'd give it a high 9/10, what slight issue I take with this can be forgiven due to the craftsmanship and emotion of this play. Certainly a strong start to the week, but what comes next for our musical tribute? Something unexpected but a movie I've been meaning to talk about for quite some time. Until then my friend.

Halloween Is Grinch Night

Well at least I'm happy I saw it.

I mean a concept like this is brilliant, take one of the most well known characters in children's media and swap out the background of Christmas for Halloween, and just tell a fun little story. Made an entire 11 years after the beloved Christmas classic, Grinch Night centers around a dark and blustery night in the town of Whoville which signals the eternal grump on Mt. Crumpit to descend to the town and bring a wagon filled of creepy and surreal monsters to celebrate the night. But a young Who by the name of Eucharia is intent on halting the Grinch from his macabre dance, and I actually really wish he wasn't in the movie. I mean think about it, we could have another Night On Bald Mountain with Dr. Seuss visuals and crazy music, that would be an incredible thing! I kinda have a love/hate relationship with this short, it has wonderful visuals perfectly encapsulating a dark autumn night where the moon is shining bright, with crisp colored leaves and orange filled lands. But I wish it did focus more on Halloween like the other one focused on Christmas, throw some costumes or bobbing for apples in and not some severely lacking Halloween iconography which to be frank is a sin! They never even bring up Halloween, it's only Grinch Night, so they have Christmas but not Halloween. I've never been more horrified in all of my years. But it almost is made up entirely because of the Grinch's paraphernalia wagon which is easily the best part of the short, with some comparing it to the Pink Elephants from Dumbo but I see more of Heffalumps And Woozles from Winnie The Pooh in terms of music and tone. It is a trippy, surreal, and even a bit creepy freakout, almost something Dr. Jonathan Crane would create with such interesting designs and wild music. This is the reason you should watch this special! And it actually won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program, plus was favored above all other adaptations by Dr. Seuss himself. I really did like it but I wanted so much more of that Halloween goodness, but I'm sure kids and adults can enjoy it just the same. It may be for more little kids, but they deserve something fun and spooky to watch next month. But now I desperately want some animation with love and attention to Halloween and all it encompasses....next time.

In Retrospect: Teen Titans Go To The Movies

Rest in peace Stan Lee.

Yeah, after that very sad news I needed an upbeat movie so I picked this one. And it made me so happy, not just to see Stan in I think his final film cameo but to enjoy the movie that I continue to love. I think the big factor of why I do not only In Retrospects but even 2nd Viewing's are because the first time around you're swept up in the experience. Watching the Titans face Slade for the first time in all it's wacky, lore filled humor with such crisp and beautiful animation is awesome, so on second viewing I appreciated the film more and dare even say enjoyed it more than the first time. If the rumors are true, Teen Titans Go will end next year and the original Titans will come back which by no means is a bad thing. I love both shows but my absolute favorite episodes of Teen Titans were the goof off episodes, no real serious plot, just fun antics with these great characters though I enjoyed every episode I saw. So to have a show devoted to comedy and the absent seriousness was something to enjoy. I love Teen Titans Go, it is a wonderful show that is bulletproof to any criticism, and is more akin to the 60s Batman tv show than the 2000s cartoon. And honestly, I'm very happy they got a movie, ley alone a theatrically wide released movie before the end. Not many shows or hell cartoons get such luxuries, so there's something to be admired. True not every joke works but there are at least 2 good laughs to every silent dismissal, and it's the wacky personalities of this world that make it so endearing and fun to watch. And to see Stan Lee in a DC movie just for the love of him doing cameos is something wonderful in this world, the man loved comics and superheroes and it didn't matter if they were his or not, he appreciated and built characters and stories that will no doubt last long after we're gone. And though a DC fan I am forever, even I loved Stan Lee and his true dedication to the art and importance of comic book characters. Excelsior indeed my friend.

Phantom Of The Opera (1943)

Now for the first Phantom movie in color.

This adaptation takes a few liberties with the source material, but I attribute it to the time when the movie was made, World War 2 was raging so classic monsters weren't exactly scary anymore leading the filmmakers to focus more on a colorful spectacle to entertain audiences. Compared to the Chaney version, this film doesn't have much horror in it but it's still a fine film and even won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography which is evident from the very first shot, it really gives a grand scale and shows off the still lavish original set from the 1925 film. The story concers a poor violinist Claudin, who has spent years helping a young singer Christine to finally be a great singer before his face is scarred by acid and he takes to haunting the Paris Opera House. Somewhat similar to the original novel, but as I said takes some liberties. Hell in the original script Claudin was supposed to be Christine's father, but they cut it because of the romance subplot which was a wise decision to say the least, but it's like they never refilmed previous scenes so Claudin acts very paternal around Christine but for seemingly unknown reasons. And on top of that we get two Raoul's in this version leading to quite a few attempts at comedy that fail miserably, so I can honestly live without that. But beyond that small problem the cast is quite good, Claude Raines is a fine Phantom and for a man of small frame his voice is what gives him power (Just like in the book!), and Susanna Foster is ridiculously pretty and an excellent singer. Speaking of which, there's at least 3 or 4 musical numbers though only one is actually worth a damn in my opinion, Lullaby Of The Bells which is beyond beautiful. So if musicals aren't your taste, I don't blame you if you fast forward through them. But beyond that, it's a good film and should be seen at least once. I have to say Claude Raines Phantom look is quite possibly my favorite of them all, not so much in disfigurement but costume, it looks so cool. You know what's odd? Waaaay back in either my first or second year of reviews, probably my first I went out and bought all the essential Universal Monster movies. So Dracula, Frankenstein, Bride Of Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolf Man, and Creature From The Black Lagoon, all on seperate DVD's and this version was the Phantom movie of that collection. Now me personally I would have put the Lon Chaney version but I think it's still public domain. Like Universal owns the rights, kind of? And this is the one that comes packaged in every box set or nearly all of them. There's nothing wrong with that, but this is not the Phantom movie that pops in my head when I think of this character. In fact, the only other Monster movie that I can think of where you don't think of the original is The Mummy. Because there's been what, like 5 different Mummies? Imhotep, Kharis, the Hammer Mummy, the 90s Mummy, and now Sofia Boutella. Most people usually think of either the 90s or the original Mummy, but I'm getting off track here. Do recommend it for at least one viewing, and later this week it's Hammer time!

The Producers

That's gotta be the best musical I've ever seen. But not for the reasons you think.

The Producers is...an odd film. One of Mel Brooks' earliest comedy films, before he really hit his stride with other movies we will look at this week, focusing on the subsequent parody and genius breakdown of everybody's favorite topic. Nazism. Hooray! But Mel knew how to do it and do it well. A washed out musical producer teams up with a fragile and immasculated accountant who gives a rather confusing and yet logical idea of how a musical that bombs big time can garner more money than a hit. You have to watch the scene to try and comprehend the full scope of the idea, because I could barely make heads or tails of it. Which leads to them finding the most flawless musical bomb in human history, "Springtime For Hitler", and thus production begins. It has been awhile since I've seen this movie, the last time I saw it I was in high school and I enjoyed the humor and parody, but I think I enjoyed it even more now. Zero Mostel is a brilliant, slimy, swindling man in this movie and my God is it beautiful. He is enjoying every last minute of it and plays this to perfection. And then we have Gene Wilder. Oh Gene, I miss you. He never ceased to make me laugh, and delivers one of his most neurotic, crazed, and frantically energized performances and I just have to say, thank you Mel. Thank you so much for bringing Gene into your productions, he really made these movies beyond great for me. And surprisingly this movie holds one of the most inspirational and triumphant moments in cinema, and it barely lasts for maybe 2 minutes but it really lifted me up! And now for the parody, now I totally get Mel's standpoint on it, and I know fully well I am nowhere near intelligent enough to discuss parody on such a touchy subject matter. And honestly I'm surprised recently people had to enforce the idea that nazis are bad, that blew my mind that such a statement had to be enforced and repeated, it's kinda depressing we live in a world where people still don't exactly mind following an ideology that caused the deaths of over 6 million people. Laughter at nazis cannot bring justice to the people that died, but it can tarnish their image and strength and bring them down, and truthfully I can't argue that. It's not American History X where the movie almost romanticizes being a neo-nazi or Life Is Beautiful where it is an utter and complete slap in the face of every single last one of those people that were in a concentration camp, it parodies the nazi party in a musical. Could you take anybody who is a nazi seriously after that? It tarnishes and rips and burns their reputation and stance in history through a ridiculous opening number. Comedy is controversial, comedy is a global way of breaking down barriers and addressing problems, all comedy stems from misery. Mel Brooks could make fun of nazis but nobody else really can, why? Well it takes someone far smarter and well read than me to explain it, so go see Lindsay Ellis once again, this woman seriously has taught me more than any film school could. Her video essay on The Producers is not only worth your time, but explains everything that I simply cannot. But I'm not here to discuss comedy and nazis, I'm here to tell you if it is a good movie and it really is. The comedy, while not the endless punches of Blazing Saddles, or the well paced and clever jokes of Young Frankenstein, is still funny especially with Gene Wilder on screen, and the story while odd is still engaging and entertaining, it's a really good movie. But tomorrow we look at quite possibly my favorite Mel Brooks' movie, Blazing Saddles!