Category: Movies

Brainiac On Banjo: No… Doctor No

Brainiac On Banjo: No… Doctor No

Have no fear, look who’s here…James Bond…They’ve got us on the run…With guns…And knives…We’re fighting for our lives…Have no fear, Bond is here…He’s gonna to save the world at Casino Royale! – “Casino Royale” (1967) written by Burt Bacharach.

I’ve long had a curious relationship with Doctor No, and it started with a comic book whose publication was truly weird.

It started in early 1963 — January 31st, if you’re setting your WABAC machine. That was a Thursday, new comics day at my friendly neighborhood drug store, and DC Comics’ Showcase was one of my favorites. Not that it mattered: my 12 year-old paws would claw through each and every comic on the rack. At the time the Doctor No adaptation interrupted their Tommy Tomorrow try-out series which offered some great Lee Elias art and some rather thin writing from Arnold Drake. I wasn’t disappointed about the interruption, but I still have a fondness for that Elias work.

I had not heard of Doctor No, nor James Bond, nor Ian Fleming. I was curious as to why the story looked like it should have appeared in Classics Illustrated. DC’s comics had a house style — more of a house attitude — and this did not fit in. But I enjoyed the book and was disappointed Bond did not return in the following issue. Showcase was a try-out book that usually introduced new series in three-issue increments. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: No… Doctor No”

Brainiac On Banjo: A.I’s Just A Photocopier.

Brainiac On Banjo: A.I’s Just A Photocopier.

I’m all alone, so are we all. We destroyed the government. We’re destroying time. No more problems on the way — Clones (We’re All), written by Alice Cooper.

According to last Friday’s Hollywood Reporter, “A federal judge on Friday upheld a finding from the U.S. Copyright Office that a piece of art created by AI [artificial intelligence] is not open to protection. The ruling was delivered in an order turning down Stephen Thaler’s bid challenging the government’s position refusing to register works made by AI. Copyright law has “never stretched so far” to “protect works generated by new forms of technology operating absent any guiding human hand,” U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell found.”

That certainly is good news to creators of all sorts — not just artists, but writers and other producers of copyrightable or patentable products. However, I suspect the majority of such gifted people will not waste carbon dioxide emitting a deep sigh of relief. Damn near all of them have been to this rodeo dozens of times; more likely hundreds. The longer you stay in the business, the more you slip on corporate dogshit.

Do not think the producers and corporate princes reading about this ruling will say “well, jeez, maybe we should start acting in a morally acceptable manner.” Hell, no. The vast majority of media moguls who possess an “annual compensation package” in excess of ten million dollars per annum confuse having their package reduced by as a direct kick to their… package. Whereas that seems fair to me, my WGA and AFTRA memberships expired a while ago. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: A.I’s Just A Photocopier.”

With Further Ado #259: A Beach Book and a Movie (promotion)

With Further Ado #259: A Beach Book and a Movie (promotion)

I’ve been swimming, I’ve partied at the water’s edge, I’ve watched some gorgeous sunsets, but I haven’t read a book on the beach yet. I shouldn’t moan and whine, it’s been an outrageously fantastic summer so far. But still… there’s something about reading a book with your toes in the sand, copious amounts of sunscreen on your nose with summer stretched out in front of you.

After really enjoying a short story collection, Jess Thompson’s The Angel of Rome and Other Stories, I’m resolved to reach more short stories.

Before I get to solving this book-on-the-beach conundrum, I want to discuss a trend and genre. Continue reading “With Further Ado #259: A Beach Book and a Movie (promotion)”

With Further Ado #248: Ithaca College Guest Column Winner – A Look at Toxic Star Wars Fandom

With Further Ado #248: Ithaca College Guest Column Winner – A Look at Toxic Star Wars Fandom

It’s the big finish for that class I teach at Ithaca College that focuses on pop culture, running conventions and entrepreneurism.  Classes have ended and the final is this week.

Here’s our third and winning entry for this year’s column contest. Nina Singh is an impressive student, and a good writer too. I think her column will give you something to think about!

Congrats on a great year, Nina.

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Star Wars Toxicity: A Look at Lizzo’s Backlash and Beyond

By: Nina Singh

Lizzo as Duchess Bombardier

It is a sad reality that many Star Wars fans have devolved into a toxic and intolerant community. This became apparent yet again when Lizzo, a popular musician and actress, appeared in an episode of The Mandalorian. The backlash against her casting is a prime example of how some fans have lost sight of what it means to be a true fan of the franchise.

For those who are unfamiliar with The Mandalorian, it is a popular Disney+ show set in the Star Wars universe. It follows the adventures of a bounty hunter named Din Djarin, who is also known as the Mandalorian. In one of the recent episodes, Lizzo made a brief appearance as Duchess Bombardier, one of the glamorous and wealthy rulers of Plazir-15, an independent planet. Continue reading “With Further Ado #248: Ithaca College Guest Column Winner – A Look at Toxic Star Wars Fandom”

Brainiac On Banjo: Billion Dollar Babies?

Brainiac On Banjo: Billion Dollar Babies?

Hey girl, we’ve got to get out of this place. There’s got to be something better than this. I need you, but I hate to see you this way. If I were Superman then we’d fly away. (Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman, written by Ray Davies.

This past week has been quite full of two things, the first one being news.

Among the very few items in the news that promoted a sense of hope and tranquility was the communication from the very fan-friendly co-head of Warner’s DC Studios James Gunn, who tweeted the eventual possibility of a big-ass Marvel / DC crossover movie. He pointed out that he remains good friends with Marvel Media Emperor Kevin Feige, particularly with Gunn’s third and final Guardians of the Galaxy movie set to drop any day now, and that they talk all the time.

Well, that’s amusing. Maybe it will happen, although I have no doubt that would come off no earlier than a year with a “7” in it at best. But I’ve been through this before over on the publishing side, and you’ll note that the last time a DC / Marvel comic came out was well before any of Marc Alan Fishman’s multitude of children were born. When the first such effort was announced the word around DC Comics was “why should we give Marvel such a massive promotion opportunity?” Yet the 1976 Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man tabloid tome was published, and it was worthy. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Billion Dollar Babies?”

Trailer Recap: Blue Beetle, Across the SpiderVerse, Barbie, Ahsoka, and one more.

Trailer Recap: Blue Beetle, Across the SpiderVerse, Barbie, Ahsoka, and one more.

What a huge week in trailer releases this has been!?! All of my nerdy fanboy nerve endings are buzzing with anticipation for some of the amazing geeky productions that are headed our way. While there are already a couple of big movies on the horizon like this week’s Super Mario Bros and May’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol.3 along with June’s The Flash, there are some very cool things coming up right behind them.

Blue Beetle

The first trailer that I came across this week was for the Blue Beetle movie that releases August 18th from director Angel Manuel Soto staring Xolo Maridueña as Jamie Reyes. While this is the last piece of DC Studios content that is not 100% under authorship of the new regime of James Gunn and Peter Safran, we are hoping it sticks and is the type of tone that we get from the new DC Universe. It has an excellent mix of seriousness, humor, responsibility, and hope. Those are what I am looking for in superhero stories.

Continue reading “Trailer Recap: Blue Beetle, Across the SpiderVerse, Barbie, Ahsoka, and one more.”

With Further Ado #343: SXSW Part 3- Mrs. Davis, Tetris & Motion Comics (kind of)

With Further Ado #343: SXSW Part 3- Mrs. Davis, Tetris & Motion Comics (kind of)

Let’s take one more bite out of the SXSW apple. I’ve been writing about this business + music festival. There was a lot going on, and here’s three more pop culture efforts to focus on:

Who’s That Nun?

AI’s been such a big topic, a scary topic, It makes sense that an action hero will rise to fight it. I hadn’t quite expected this particular action hero.

In the spirit of the “Keep Austin Weird” mantra that is woven into the background fabric of the SXSW festival, it was kind of fun to see a couple of nuns whoosh by in a pedicab. But then when I saw “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS NUN?” posters plastered around downtown Austin, it was apparent something was up.

It was all a promotion for the upcoming Peacock show, Mrs. Davis. The Hollywood Reporter described the show like this:

Mrs. Davis is a perfectly timed warning about AI Madness

It’s a Catholic nun vs. AI in a wild new drama for the creators Damon Lindelof (The Watchmen) and Tara Hernandez (Big Bang Theory) that pits faith against technology run amok: “The most exciting thing about ‘Mrs. Davis’ is that there’s nothing like ‘Mrs. Davis.’”

Continue reading “With Further Ado #343: SXSW Part 3- Mrs. Davis, Tetris & Motion Comics (kind of)”

Brainiac on Banjo: Bond… Hoagy Bond?

Brainiac on Banjo: Bond… Hoagy Bond?

Have no fear, look who’s here… James Bond… They’ve got us on the run… With guns… And knives… We’re fighting for our lives. – Casino Royale, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

The US release of the first James Bond comic book.

Sherlock Holmes. Tarzan. Superman. James Kirk. James Bond. The public’s continuing appetite for heroic fantasy superstars has long been well established, and ever since communication went mass they have been at the center of the most prevalent form of entertainment worldwide. This is a truth that validates our low-brow culture: it turns out that both boys and girls just want to have fun.

Not all such characters live forever. Tarzan, like The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, Bulldog Drummond and many other superstars of action, are in serious danger of being relegated to the storage stacks of cultural history. Of course, that death need not be permanent: Doctor Who, Star Trek and several others have been successfully resurrected and modernized without destroying the fabric of their creation.

When it comes to one of the most successful heroes, at the present we are on hold. Daniel Craig has retired as the latest James Bond and, even though the next Bond flick is just entering its development stage I can’t help but wonder how they’ll pull off James’ inevitable resurrection. Continue reading “Brainiac on Banjo: Bond… Hoagy Bond?”

Ranking Movies Between Laundry and Taxes #001: A 95th Oscar Primer

Ranking Movies Between Laundry and Taxes #001: A 95th Oscar Primer

So the 95th Academy Awards are quickly approaching, a time when we all wait for Oscar Claus to come down our chimneys and grant us our myriad of movie wishes. We all pray Oscar Claus will give us that pony or that laptop or, I don’t know, a nomination for any woman director, but it’s safer to just expect a pile of plain, predictable, and very white men’s socks.

But who cares, right? That’s the question we ask ourselves each year. The celebrities wearing their shiny gems and gowns will again trade some more shiny things amongst themselves, and we will watch while eating our Hot Cheetos in one hand and Googling in the other where to stream My Year of Dicks. Who cares, indeed?

Okay well, this is embarrassing, but I do care. Part of me still believes in Oscar Claus and knows that, if you wait long enough and you’ve been really good, you might just get a Best Picture win for Parasite. Mostly, I just fricking love the movies. I love watching them, celebrating them, analyzing them, and having healthy debates about them far, far away from the Twitter mosh pit. I’m the guy that says you really should watch The Revenant, and, yes, you’re supposed to feel like a pulverized lemon by the end. I’m the guy that recites Nicole Kidman’s AMC monologue at parties. Yep… that’s me. Sorry about that.

Like I said, I love movies. I don’t love movie politics. I don’t care whether or not a movie won at SAG or BAFTA or ESPN and what that statistically says about its chances this coming Sunday. I just care about good movies being watched by more people. So, I’m not going to list my Oscars predictions for each category at stake, as many journalists might. I’m instead going to highlight the 2022 movies I watched and suggest the ones you should watch. Continue reading “Ranking Movies Between Laundry and Taxes #001: A 95th Oscar Primer”

Brainiac On Banjo: Tiny Heroes Vs Tiny Minds

Brainiac On Banjo: Tiny Heroes Vs Tiny Minds

Now Fatherland, Fatherland, show us the sign your children have waited to see. The morning will come when the world is mine; tomorrow belongs to me. “Tomorrow Belongs To Me,” written by John Kander for the play “Cabaret.”

I loathe going to movies alone. If the flick is great, I wanna talk about it. If the flick sucks, I wanna commiserate with a friend. Most movies are somewhere in between, and if I picked the right companion the after-movie discussion can be better than the viewing experience itself. In seeing Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania, I was joined by my dear friend Martha Thomases, of DC and Marvel fame. We’ve enjoyed some great movies together, although some would be defined by critics as shitty.

Is a movie shitty even if you had a good time? Well, perhaps by consensus, but that should not humble your experience retroactively. Portal-to-portal, going out to the movies these days is an expensive proposition: the old phrase “coming soon to a theater near you” is obsolete because the vast majority of humanity no longer lives near a movie theater (Martha is a lucky exception). So when you add up all of your expenses, assuming you are willing to pay the going theater rate for a quarter’s worth of pop corn, seeing any movie in the theater is likely to cost the better part of a mortgage payment. Of course, those few surviving movie palaces of yesteryear are now showing live theater and kinda-live concerts, so we’ve got to shoehorn ourselves into little boxes made of ticky-tacky and endure twenty minutes of commercials before we get to the trailers.

But it’s a choice we, as the paying audience, choose to make. Not so much the movie critics. They have to see damn near everything, and I sympathize. They’ve been subjected to so many flickering images it’s a wonder they’re not all epileptics. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Tiny Heroes Vs Tiny Minds”