E.R. Torre's Blog, page 134

Madeleine Lebeau and Darwyn Cooke, RIP

As 2016 churns on, one thing that seems to mark this year as so very different than others is the amount of passings we’ve experienced so far.  While in any given year “big named” people pass, it seems we’ve seen more than our share of late.

As the headline indicates, two individuals have passed.  One I’m very familiar with and the other is an incredible curiosity, at least to me.

Casablanca actress Madeleine Lebeau, 92, passes away

While not the “biggest” star within what many consider one of the all-time best films ever made, Actress , the last surviving cast member of that famous film, nontheless made an indelible mark, particularly in this scene…

Ms. Lebeau has an interesting smaller story within the larger Casablanca plot and her tearful “Vive La France” at the end of the song was reportedly a very genuine reaction.  One who isn’t familiar with Casablanca can be forgiven for not knowing the movie was made and released in 1942 and while World War II raged.  Many of the actors who participated in this film, including Ms. Lebeau, faced harrowing experiences not unlike what was presented in the movie and therefore the lines between reality and fiction blurred for them.  In the case of Ms. Lebeau, she had already faced difficulties fleeing from war torn Europe and getting to the United States, not unlike her character in the movie who was desperate to flee the Nazi presence.

Rest in peace, Ms. Lebeau.

A couple of days ago it was announced via facebook and by his family that comic book and animation artist/writer Darwyn Cooke was receiving palliative care for his cancer.  While the term may not be familiar to many, palliative care refers to care given to those who have serious illnesses and it’s focus is to provide relief from the symptoms and stress and improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.  In most cases, palliative care is synonymous with “end of life” care.  In the case of Mr. Cooke, this was sadly the case as the day after the family announcement and on May 14th it was announced Mr. Cooke had passed away.

I really, really liked the work of Mr. Cooke.  His artwork was deceptively simple looking yet had a great 1950’s pop vibe to it.  Here are just some example of his work:

While perhaps best known for his work on the various Batman animated series and for his DC superhero work (The New Frontier in particular is quite fabulous) a few of his last projects involved graphic novel versions of Richard Stark’s “Parker” series (the last image above is from that).  In the end Mr. Cooke made four graphic novel adaptations, including The Hunter (the first Parker book which has been filmed as Point Blank with Lee Marvin, Payback with Mel Gibson, and Parker with Jason Stratham and Jennifer Lopez), The Outfit (filmed with the same name with Robert Duvall in the title role), The Score, and Slayground.

I haven’t checked out the last two graphic novels as of yet.  Looks like it’s something to add to my reading list.

Rest in Peace, Mr. Cooke.

Castle done…

Call this tying some loose ends.  A while back (you can read it here) I wrote about my curiosity with the fact the next season of the TV show Castle, its 9th, would not have one of the show’s two leads, actress .  Here she is in a promo photo with her co-star …

Though no fan of the show, I found the news incredibly…weird.  As I mentioned in the previous blog post there was a summer I caught a block of episodes (it was on TBS or TNT and I couldn’t tell you which season they were from) and found the show a light, entertaining affair, a thematic throwback to the old Bruce Willis/Sybill Shepherd Moonlighting or the Pierce Brosnan/Stephanie Zimbalist Remington Steele shows from the 1980’s.  All these shows have the commonality of a strong female character butting heads against a dashing male co-star…and you knew romance was just around the corner along with whatever mystery they were currently facing.

Anyway, when I heard the next season of Castle would not feature Ms. Katic, I wondered just how they could continue the show without its co-lead.

Well, wonder no more:

Castle cancelled: Stana Katic pens note to fans, and other cast reactions

While it was pure speculation on my part, I nonetheless speculated Ms. Katic’s leaving the show wasn’t under the most pleasant of circumstances.  The reason for my suspicions was that the announcement of her not returning to the show seemed to come out of no where and the actress provided no information regarding this departure.  It almost seemed like the creators of the show gave up on her at the last minute, whether it be due to monetary issues (perhaps she was in a contract year and was demanding even better pay) or…something else.

My curiosity aroused, I investigating further and found there were rumors Ms. Katic didn’t get along well with the show’s staff and/or her co-star.  Frankly, I tend to discount these rumors as unfortunately they’re all too typical when it comes to the female leads in a popular show.

Yes, I’m talking sexism here.

For those too young to know, back in the days of Moonlighting there were plenty of rumors of Cybill Shepherd being a “diva”,  Even today there are similar rumors being reported concerning , the female –natch– co-star of Blindspot.

As I said above, it appears I no longer have to wonder how a Stana Katic-less Castle will play out.

The answer is: It won’t.

So you just finished making your very own time machine…

…the question becomes, how far back in time could you travel and still understand English?

Fascinating stuff, though I suspect if you could create a time travel machine creating some kind of device to translate all languages (even very old English) should be a cinch.

Corrosive Knights, a 5/12/16 update

The image above consists of two folders.  The lower, thicker folder is filled with all 8 drafts of Corrosive Knights Book #6, whose cover (but not title, not yet anyway!) will look like this:

My update today is this: I’m done with draft #8, which I started on April 7, so it took me just a little over one month to read that latest draft, make revisions by pen, then transfer said revisions to the computer.

Once done this morning, I printed out the new draft, #9, and intend to start reading/revising it by either later today or tomorrow.  Draft #9 is within that smaller blue folder on top of the thicker one filled with older drafts.

So, where does book #6 stand as of today?  There’s good news to relate along with a bit of bad news.

First the good: I think I’ve nailed the book’s plot down completely.  As of this draft the book runs a very healthy 102,817 words long though it is possible/likely when I finish the revisions to come (I’ll get to that in a moment) that number will go downwards.

Again, the story is pretty much all there, which is an incredibly big step toward its completion.

Now the (somewhat) bad: I did add a bit of stuff to the book this previous go-around, especially towards the novel’s conclusion and this will need revision and its why I suspect the word count will drop.  I have a very bad habit of repeating things and have to catch myself and make sure I do this as little as possible.

The second somewhat bad thing is that I feel this novel will require two more full revisions and perhaps another couple of smaller, targeted revisions focused on those elements I added last.  If I don’t do them right, the book will fail.

So, it took me approximately one month to do this revision, a rather short period of time and I suspect subsequent revisions will take even less time, provided I’m not busy doing other things.  Unfortunately summer is just about upon us and at least two of the next three weekends will be swamped for me.

If I had to make a guess as to when the book will be done and considering my very bad previous predictions (I had hoped to finish the book in February, then May…I really should retire from the business of making predictions), it is conceivable the book will be ready around August.

But, again, this is pure guesswork on my part.

Regardless, book #6 in the Corrosive Knights series is moving along very well and I couldn’t be happier with the story told.  It will make for another great piece of the series and trust me when I say I’m incredibly eager to get it released.

Soon, my friends.

Soon.

Ah, technology…

As I’ve stated many times before, I’m fascinated by new technologies.  Be it something as mundane as battery life or cell phones or computers or self-driving cars, among other things, I’m so there.

When Amazon announced their latest gadget, the Amazon Echo a while back, I was very intrigued…

Here is an interesting review of the device which gives you an even better idea of what it is all about:

As intriguing as the machine appears, the things it is capable of doing were things I do through other means and, while I considered buying the Echo, in the end I felt I didn’t need this device.  Still, I suspect the device will go through many iterations and become better and better as new generations of it are produced so I wouldn’t be surprised if sometime in the future I change my mind and feel it is worth purchasing.

If you do feel like you want to get this device, you may want to check out this fascinating article by Matt Novak and found on Paleofuture before doing so:

The FBI can neither confirm nor deny wiretapping your Amazon Echo

That’s right, kids, a device that listens to you 24/7 (assuming you keep it on all day and night) and is connected to the internet is also a singularly beautiful device for hackers -be they FBI agents or…others- to gain access to your home and, yes, listen in to whatever you and your family says in the privacy of your home.

Like many others, when I was young and in high school we were assigned George Orwell’s famous novel 1984.  It was frightening work that presented a society where all freedoms were stripped from its citizens.

In today’s world technology that would fit right at home in the novel 1984 comes in shiny, pretty colors and entices us to buy rather than frightens us away.  Thus, consumers voluntarily and without realizing it may place such devices in their homes without realizing they offer access to their privacy.

So, buyer beware.  As intriguing as these devices may seem, one needs to realize they are internet connected microphones which others could hack into.

You’ve been warned.

Superhero movies…

A couple of days ago I noted I’d probably pass on Captain America: Civil War during its theatrical run (not that the few bucks I would have contributed to its box office haul would be missed!).

While the reviews for this film, as opposed to Batman v. Superman, have been very good and the movie currently rests at an impressive 90% positive among critics and a near equal 92% positive among audiences, from reading the reviews I’ve found myself feeling less and less enthused about seeing the movie.

I noted some of the critiques against the film here, but should note one in particular which bugs me quite a bit: These movies are becoming part of a progressively longer chain of movies and there is no end in sight.

When the first Iron Man film appeared you had that clever “after the credits” bit which offered a fascinating, tantalizing glimpse into what future Marvel films could bring.  Over time these Marvel films have become, IMHO of course, more a “chapter” in some larger story which, frankly, doesn’t seem all that coherent in the larger sense or has any particular goal/end in mind.

While we’ve been teased the idea of Thanos being a “big bad” in the upcoming Avengers films for a while now, it too feels like just another part of a continuing story and when its done, there will be something to come after it.

Now, those who have read my current Corrosive Knights series may point their fingers at me and say: “Aren’t you essentially doing the same?”  I am, after all, writing a multi-part series and some of the novels, in particular the first three, do not appear to interconnect at all.

Thing is, by the fourth and especially fifth books they do interconnect.  Every one of them.  And by the end of the series, which will come very soon, you’ll see that the entirety of this project amounted to one very large, elaborate story.

As far as the Marvel films are concerned, other than hints of characters to come, I don’t feel many of them interconnected to form a larger story.  Note that I say “many” not “all” in that previous sentence.

And it becomes even more bothersome to have the current film, Captain America: Civil War just come out and the wheels are already in motion to hype the next film…

The Avengers Have Already Started Hyping the Crap Out of Infinity War

Now, lest you think I’m critiquing Marvel and conveniently ignoring the DC films, take heart, I’m not.

Batman v. Superman seems to be trying for the same “larger picture” story and dropped quite a number of hints regarding the two-part Justice League film(s) which follow.  The largest hint, of course, is that Darkseid will be the films’ big bad.  DC at this point only has one film as their “universe” and therefore at least as of this moment haven’t built up the same “to be continued” sense Marvel has done.

Another, larger aspect of this which bugs is the fact that Captain America: Civil War appeared to be a very close variation on the same themes of Batman v. Superman.  Many critics and fans have noted this and were not bothered in the least with the similarities.  They focus on CA and note it is a better film than BvS and I won’t argue their opinion.

What I will argue, however, is that however “bad” you may feel Batman v. Superman was, and there are plenty of people out there who did feel that way, me not included, it bothers me that with the advent of the launch of the DC “universe” films we’re already starting to find such similarities in plot between them and those coming from Marvel.

Granted the comic book version of Civil War came out before BvS started filming, but BvS was filmed -though not ready to be released, obviously- nearly a year before CA started filming.  The makers of CA noted the BvS story “inspired” them to go in other directions with their CA movie.  The other direction wound up being a thematically similar one to BvS.

And like it or not, we’re about to get more direct comparisons between these film universes. The Justice League films, a two parter whose first half will be released next year, will apparently deal with our heroes fighting Darkseid.  The image below is of Darkseid, created by comic book legend (and the man who co-created most of Marvel’s characters currently gracing the screen) Jack Kirby.

And this is Thanos, the big bad villain already shown in Guardians of the Galaxy and talked about in various Marvel films.  This will be the scheduled villain presented in the (also!) two part Avengers films, the first of which is scheduled to be released in two years:

Look familiar?  Thanos was created by comic book writer/artist Jim Starlin.  This is Mr. Starlin’s account of how the character came to be:

Kirby had done the New Gods, which I thought was terrific. He was over at DC at the time. I came up with some things that were inspired by that. You’d think that Thanos was inspired by Darkseid, but that was not the case when I showed up. In my first Thanos drawings, if he looked like anybody, it was Metron. I had all these different gods and things I wanted to do, which became Thanos and the Titans. Roy took one look at the guy in the Metron-like chair and said: “Beef him up! If you’re going to steal one of the New Gods, at least rip off Darkseid, the really good one!”

For the record, this is Metron as drawn by its creator, Jack Kirby:

I like comic book movies.  I really enjoyed Captain America: Winter Soldier because it tried -and in my mind succeeded- in doing something different with the concept of superheroes.  But one of the reasons I find it hard to get myself to the cinema to see Civil War is because somewhere deep down inside -and among other things- it bothers me to see a film come out so closely after Batman v. Superman that appears to essentially take the same concept as its own.

Again, this isn’t the only reason my desire to see the film has diminished, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t one of the more prominent ones.  The fact that the next few years will give us two movies each featuring the Justice League vs. Darkseid and the Avengers vs. Thanos also bugs me.

Its like instead of the studios trying to come up with their own unique spin on the superhero movie they’re instead competing to make the better version of the same superhero film.

Very, very weird.

15 Under-The-Radar Movies You Won’t Want to Miss this Summer

A few days back (you can read the post here) I wrote about an article noting the 13 upcoming “blockbusters” of this summer’s movie season.  Here’s a second list, also provided by Huffingtonpost.com and written by Matthew Jacobs involving…

15 Under-The-Radar Movies You Won’t Want To Miss This Summer

Clearly none of these films will earn Captain America: Civil War-type box-office, but some are indeed intriguing and could be worth your while.  For me, I’m curious about the insane sounding The Lobster, the equally insane sounding Swiss-Army Man, and the eerie looking The Neon Demon.

But there’s one film on this list that, frankly, I’m having a very hard time getting my head around.  I mean, is this film some kind of joke?  It can’t be what it purports to be, right?  There has to be more that…

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  The film in question is called Nine Lives and it features Kevin Spacey, Christopher Walken, and Jennifer Gardner and involves…seriously, words can’t describe it.  Here’s a teaser trailer:

And here’s the longer trailer which gives you more of this movie’s “plot”…

No, I will not be going to see it.  The fact that the producers of this film somehow got both Kevin Spacey AND Christopher Walken involved in this…

Seriously, words fail me.

Mr. Holmes (2015) a (mildly) belated review

It’s been said Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is, along with Tarzan, Superman, Batman, and Mickey Mouse, among the most recognizable fictional creations of all time.  The character has certainly been incredibly popular since his first appearance in 1887.  Of late, and perhaps starting with the great BBC series Sherlock featuring Benedict Cumberpatch, the character seems to be everywhere.  Along with Sherlock, you’ve also got the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies (a third film which is about to be made) and Elementary, the American updating of the Sherlock Holmes concept.

Add to the list 2015’s starring Mr. Holmes.

Based on a novel by Mitch Cullin, Mr. Holmes involves a 93 year old Sherlock Holmes (Ian McKellen) and his contentious relationship with his housekeeper () and warmer relationship with her son (), all while he’s trying desperately to fight off senility via herbal remedies and tries very hard to remember what happened during his final case, a case his current melancholia convinces him was a colossal failure/disaster.

He is certain the last case was a big failure because it caused him to leave his beloved field and he lives with a constant ache regarding what may have happened.  Over the course of the movie, bits and pieces of memory coalesce and we, along with Sherlock Holmes, soon experience the details of this final, tragic case.

As described above, it sounds pretty interesting, no?

I mean, it’s not a Sherlock Holmes story without some intriguing mystery, and you certainly have some right off the bat.  Ignoring for a moment the events surrounding that last forgotten case, the viewer wonders what happened to Watson?  Mrs. Hudson?  His brother Mycroft?  All this while presenting us with one tantalizing “final” mystery.

I mean, what more could you ask?  As a viewer one should be right there, invested in the story and curious as to where its headed.

Alas…

The movie, unfortunately, starts really slowly.  It picks ups here and there but by the end I was never as engaged as I hoped I would be.  Mr. Holmes follows our title character through three different eras.  The “present” of very late 1940’s or very early 1950’s (more of less) England takes up the bulk of the story.  It is here we follow the very elderly Sherlock Holmes as he deals with his mortality, loss of memory, and desperate need to remember that last case.

There’s a first layer of flashbacks interwoven within involving Mr. Holmes’ trip to post-WWII 1947 Japan where, with the aid of a local man, he searches for an herb in the ashes of Hiroshima that will, he hopes, help with his diminishing memory.

Finally, there’s the third layer of flashbacks which follows Sherlock Holmes’ last case which occurred in and around 1920 or thereabouts and involve your more typical Holmesian elements: A frustrated husband, a wife who acts strangely, a possible psychic feeding off that woman’s misfortunes…

As intriguing as this may all sound, when all is said and done the story’s mysteries (there are one for each epoch) wind up being not all that engaging.  Despite good acting, cinematography, and direction, the story presented didn’t do it for me.  Or, to use a well-worn cliche, despite plenty of beautiful scenery and following Holmes through potentially engaging eras and settings, there isn’t all that much “there” there.

While the plot fizzles, I was particularly frustrated by the way this movie portrays diminished mental capacity.  We don’t know if Mr. Holmes is suffering from Alzheimers but indications are given that his mental faculties in the movie’s “present” are bordering on severely damaged.

In my previous life I worked at a rehab center and I’ve had plenty of first hand experience with people suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, and head trauma.  Given these experiences, I couldn’t help but feel the way Holmes’ diminished mental capacity is presented those who wrote this story either don’t know all that much about or, worse, didn’t care to educate themselves on the issues behind the story they’re telling.

Instead, they offer a “movie friendly” version of dementia, and its so outside the realm of reality as to be insulting.  For example, it is stated that Mr. Holmes’ last case was some thirty years ago and since that time he’s been agonizing in trying to remember it.

Yet for the sake of the movie, he suddenly is able to piece it all together by…concentrating really hard?  By getting a lost item related to that last case?  Worse, his recall is incremental and (here we go with the “movie friendly” issue) CHRONOLOGICAL.

That’s right kids, the memory never comes back to him all at once but instead in convenient bits and pieces and in the proper temporal order.

Really.

Before I go, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out one of the film’s smaller mysteries, that involving the death of Mr. Holmes’ bees.

That’s right, his bees.

Not to brag, but I figured that out waaaaay before Mr. Holmes.  Then again, I’m a spry middle aged man as opposed to a 93 year old one-time genius suffering from a motion picture version of diminished mental faculties.

Let’s call it a tie.

I love ya, Ian McKellen, but I just can’t recommend Mr. Holmes.

10 of the most mysterious sites spotted via Google Earth

As a kid I used to love reading about anything “mysterious” out there.  Be it the Bermuda Triangle, Oak Island, lost civilizations, ancient treasures, vanished individuals (Amelia Earhart, etc.) I loved the stuff.

Still do, though at this point in my life its clear many of these so-called “mysteries” may amount to quite a bit of fanciful thinking.  For example, much as I’ve enjoyed watching The Curse of Oak Island, I do so only to scratch a childhood itch.  I first read about the supposed Oak Island buried treasure in the mid 1970’s and while watching The Curse of Oak Island I’m still fascinated to see the actual island and the places I read about so long ago.  Having said that, its become abundantly clear the only buried “treasure” this island contains is in peoples’ minds.

So, having said all that, here’s a fascinating link, via aol.com, to

10 of the Most Mysterious Sites Spotted Via Google Earth

What’s most fascinating, unlike the Oak Island treasure, is the fact that these things are visible, albeit via satellite.  Of the ones listed, this is the one that I found the most interesting:

If you watch the video found at the link, it describes the above as being in Eloy, Arizona.  Its obviously a landing strip which, according to the narrator has “no significant buildings or refueling apparatus nearby”.  The narrator states that Arizona is “overflowing” with abandoned airstrips, many of them dating back to World War II and this strip could very well be one of them.  However, it does appear remarkably well preserved if it was indeed abandoned.  If it wasn’t abandoned and it is being cared for the question becomes: By who and why?

Now, something somewhat different, 10 Places Google Earth is Hiding From You:

13 Blockbusters that could define 2016’s summer movie season…

…at least according to Matthew Jacobs at Huffington Post:

13 Blockbusters that could define 2016’s summer movie season

Of the listed films, the latest X-Men film is curiously absent.  I was also surprised to realize Robert Redford (!!!!) was in the Pete’s Dragon remake.  This proved a surprise almost on the level of finding he was in Captain America: The Winter Soldier…as the bad guy and very cleverly subverting his good guy roles/image he projected in his 1970’s films.

So, of the 13 films listed, what am I most curious about and/or looking forward to seeing?

I’ll see Captain America: Civil War eventually but I have to admit some of the air is out of that particular balloon.  The reviews I’ve read, both positive and negative, revealed enough of the movie’s plot for me and I’m finding it…nonsensical.  I never read the comic books this story is based on, though it is my understanding the movie doesn’t follow that particular story all that closely but still, I’m just not buying what they’re selling here.  The closest analogy to the gray feelings I’m currently having about this film is like when Avatar was about to be released.  I remain a HUGE fan of James Cameron’s early sci-fi works (Terminator and Aliens, natch) and when I heard he was going back to his sci-fi “roots” I couldn’t have been more excited to see whatever he was going to release.  Yet the more I read about Avatar and the story it presented, the less interested I was in seeing the film.  Ultimately I didn’t see it then and to this date haven’t bothered to see it at all.  Will the same happen to CA:CW?  I don’t know…

Ghostbusters (note that I’ve passed over the six films between Captain America: Civil War and this one.  While some of those films have me curious, none I’m particularly excited to see).  People have railed against the movie’s trailer to the point where it is supposedly the most disliked trailer on YouTube.  I didn’t think the trailer was that awful…

…but I will admit it wasn’t all that incredible, either.  I do hope the film winds up working as I like director/writer Paul Fieg and his association(s) with both Melissa McCarthy and Kristen Wiig.  We’ll see.

Jason Bourne.  Years ago and upon the release of the last Matt Damon starring Bourne film, Mr. Damon was asked about future Bourne films and, if my memory is correct, he answered something to the effect that this would be the last one as these movies were getting to the point where they were repeating themselves.  Again, if my memory is correct, this was a particularly brave thing to say about a franchise series that was turning in a tremendous amount of money and showed Mr. Damon was moving on.  Well, that last Bourne film, The Bourne Ultimatum, came out in 2007 so its been almost 10 years since Mr. Damon’s filled that role and perhaps the time off has allowed him to reflect and, more importantly, refresh himself on the role.  As a writer who’s desperate to finish off a novel series he’s been working on for nearly ten years straight, I can understand the need to go into other directions now and again.  Hopefully, this film will be a welcome return to the Bourne series following the (IMHO) pretty lame 2012 Jeremy Renner “sideways” sequel The Bourne Legacy.

Suicide Squad.  Color me very intrigued with this one.  When I first heard about the film being made and released hot off the heels of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, I shook my head.  “Suicide Squad?” I thought. “That’s what they’re following BvS with?  Why not something bigger?”  And then came the magnificent trailers…

Could it get any better than that?  Incredibly, the second official trailer was just as good:

Of the films listed, this is the one I most look forward to seeing as of this point in time.  By the way, if you’ve checked out the IMDB page for this film, Clint Eastwood’s son and up and coming actor is listed second after Margot Robbie (who plays Harely Quinn) in the cast yet the character he portrays is mysteriously absent.  Just a guess here (and I may be completely wrong) but I suspect he’s playing the grown up Richard “Dick” Grayson, aka the original Robin (as in Batman and…) and who subsequently (as an adult) became Nightwing.  Just speculation on my part but he looks the role and Batman appears in this film, so why wouldn’t the Caped Crusader want someone he can trust looking over this motley group?

Aaaaaannnnnnddd…that’s pretty much it.  The films I haven’t listed, as I stated above, are interesting to me to various degrees but, admittedly, not enough to make me want to pencil them in to see theatrically.