My New Favorite People

Okay, I admit it: I have a bit of an anarchist streak.  I get a peculiar joy out of people causing random chaos.  Rush Limbaugh’s Operation Chaos amuses the hell out of me, for example.  An Englishman who dressed up in gold lame’, wore a mask, and called himslef the Angle Grinder Man will forever be one of my favorite real-life superheros.  And, the second I learned about Flash Mobbing, I wanted to be part of one.  But there stands a group now who takes the simple flash mob and elevates it to an art form.  That group is Improv Everywhere.

This group sets up “missions” in public places in which they do some performance piece, slightly disrupting and altering the days of those who witness it.  The first of theirs I saw was the by now well-known Grand Central Station freeze:

 

And among their latest is a totally out-of-nowhere musical performed by people who had, until they started singing, seemed like normal mall workers and patrons. 

 

Sheer brilliance.
(h/t to rifftrax for showcasing the musical)

Why the Knight Rider TV movie didn’t suck

Knight Rider, the 2008 TV movie, has been graciously provided by moviesfoundonline.com, and thanks to them, I was finally allowed the chance to see it.  This “backdoor pilot” (so-called because it may lead to a TV series, but wasn’t necessarily designed to) stars Justin Bruening (One Life to Live and All My Children) and Deanna Russo (The Young and the Restless). 

The movie was a touch over-acted (what else do you expect in movie carried by soap opera stars?), but the cameos and supporting cast did much, both to temper the acting dynamic and to stave off the annoyance that comes with it.  Character actor Bruce Davison was well-chosen for the part of K.I.T.T. creator Charles Graiman.  But the real coup for the producers was getting Val Kilmer to give voice to the car.

Only in television do you find A-list stars playing ventriloquist to machinery while younger and less experienced ensemble actors carry the show.

Still, those familiar with mid-80s action-adventure television, and specifically with David Hasselhoff’s work in it, should see the minor overacting in this one as more of an homage.  Indeed, the whole tone of the show was remeniscent of the genre, and did it well. 

Other things to like about it: the car is much cooler, if you can get past the minor annoyances regarding the bad science involved in camoflaging said vehicle.  Kilmer really does make a good KITT, though I’d have like to see better lines written for him.  The orginal KITT really had some pretty good lines, and I’d have like to see something similar for the new one — as was, it was almost a waste of their A-lister.

The opening credits did make me smile, however.  As the familiar opening keyboard gave way to the house/industrial makeover, I even smiled wider.  Okay, I enjoy house/industrial.  Sue me.  Oh, here’s the opening sequence, if you’re interested.

 

One final reason the movie didn’t suck.   Two words: The Hoff.  As the movie progressed I realized how very, very disappointed I’d be if Hasselhoff failed to make an appearance.  Especially once it had set up as a sequal instead of a reimagining, and that, further, Michael Knight was the main character’s father.  If he hadn’t shown up, the producers would have required a firing first, and then perhaps being hung by their fingernails in the Chinese Hell of the Crappy TV Movie Producers.  Fortunately, though in very wide demand in Germany, Mr. Hasselhoff was both available and able to be persuaded to make a cameo appearnance. 

Good on you, producers.

If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth checking out.  I even almost hope they go ahead with the series.  God knows, Bruening and Russo could stand to move on from Soap Opera stardom.

New Domain Names — and free!

MediaJerk now has a new domain name: www.mediajerk.tk.

We’ll see how disruptive any advertising might be, but for now, from a media perspective, this is a practice I highly recommend.  Just by going to www.dot.tk, you can register your current website for a completely free domain name.  As far as I’m concerned, why should you have to pay 13 bucks a year for a domain that looks better on a t-shirt?

There’s my quick ‘n’ dirty review.  I’ll have more if I start to get pissed off by any advertising they may add to my blog.

More content forthcoming.  It turns out that having two more kids makes one’s life tremendously difficult, and it becomes much harder to pay attention to the media.  Which is pretty vital to this particular blog, no?

My poor wife is subjecting herself to “Your Mama Don’t Dance.”  Maybe I’ll do a write up of that cesspool of inbreeding.

Establishing my Browncoat Cred: Firefly Companions and then some

Last week, I finally picked up the “Firefly” Official Companion — both volumes.  Point of interest: you can get both for a pretty decent price over at Amazon.  Had a bit of money left over, so I also got the comic, “Serenity: Those Left Behind,” which, for fans who haven’t read it, goes a bit further into what happened between the final episode of “Firefly,” and the beginning of “Serenity” — including why Shepard Book left the ship.

The Companions (a word which, as a Browncoat, I have some trouble saying in reference to a book) are mostly comprised of some concept art, photos and scripts (if you have both books, you get scripts for every single episode, which is great).  Also included is some production trivia and commentary which, though it doesn’t further your journey into the “Firefly” universe, is a great way for fans to get better acquanted with the thought processes of Joss Whedon, the producers, writers, actors and staff.

Fans may have hoped for a little more concept art, and perhaps a bit more commentary, but what you get is still great.  For one, it’s nice to be able to read the translations of the Chinese spoken throughout the shows and finally be able to know just what it is the characters are saying.  That itself is both enlightening and, often, hilarious.

Personally, I’d have liked a bit more insight into the “Firefly” universe, though the books do a pretty good job with it.  One thing I’d have liked to see is the official rules for “Tall Card.”  In the DVD commentary, Adam Baldwin mentions that there were official rules, though according to the Firefly Wiki (linked above), that may have been an error on his part.  But still.

In short, the Companions are great for any Browncoat.  Personally, now that both volumes are available, I wouldn’t bother getting one without the other.  For one, Volume II completes an interview with Joss Whedon started in Volume I.  For another, you can get both for about 30 bucks, and a fan who reads the first volume will miss the completion of the second.

The comic, “Serenity: Those Left Behind” is a great addition to the Firefly story, as I mentioned above.  The most eye-opening thing about it is the furtherance of Book’s character, and the near-dissolution of his relationship to Mal.  The book, much like anything produced after the show, was created for fans — and like everything else, the care with which it was crafted shows the depth of Whedon’s appreciation for them.

Though there are many other items that any Browncoat would love to have, such as books of essays on the philosophy and universe of “Firefly,” documentaries, etc., these three volumes are a heck of a good way to start your collection.  Well, these, and an “I aim to misbehave” t-shirt.

The Cult of Film I: “The Last Shark”

To explain the 1981 Italian hack-job known as “L’ Ultimo Squalo (The Last Shark),” I would direct the reader’s attention first to a pretty bad Bob Dylan impersonator, to be found within about 30 minutes of the movie: a similar sound, but zero substance.  The same could be said about this film, in relation to its source material: “Jaws.”

Before continuing, a note on the title.  “L’ Ultimo Squalo” appears to be the result of an Italian misunderstanding of American misuse of English.  Though we Americans (in our usual, language-bastardizing fashion) often use the word “Ultimate” to mean “best,” “greatest” or something in that vein (for example, The Ultimate Fighter), the root of the word, and the word itself actually mean “Last,” or “end.”  I suspect the Italian filmmakers attempted to appeal to an American audience with a movie about “The Ultimate Shark,” but, rather amusingly, and similar to everything else about this movie, it was lost in the translation.

The movie, made by people who have obviously never bothered to even read a book about sharks, is a blatant “Jaws” rip-off.  The filmmakers never even bothered to hide the fact (although, with characters like a novelist named Peter Benton, they may well have been trying to pretend it was an homage rather than theft –though it may just indicate the exact lack of creativity suggested by the rest of the script).  The plot itself if more full of holes than the surfboard at the beginning of the movie, and you don’t even have to be a particularly careful observer to note the several oddities and inconsistancies in the action — like how a giant Great White is able to swallow a 200-lb man in two gulps, but has trouble with a 20-lb morsel of meat.

Still, the movie is fun for the reasons all bad movies are fun, in an MST3K kinda way.  For this reason, and just because it’s so darned hard to find, it’s certainly worth a look.  Its cult status is due largely to the successful suit brought by Universal, which shut down all exhibition and release of the film in the US.  This has made it available mostly as bootleg or Japanese laserdisc.  Fortunately for us, though, our friends at moviesfoundonline.com have found a copy and made it available for everyone’s — er — enjoyment.

Guilty Pleasure 3: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter (novels)

Vampires, ultraviolence and explicit sex.  Yup.  Sounds like a Guilty Pleasure to me. 

I picked up Laurell K. Hamilton’s “The Laughing Corpse” almost by accident at the local library.  I quickly followed that up with “Lunatic Cafe,” “Circus of the Damned,” and “The Killing Dance.”  And more followed.  Maybe when I have the chance to look at them again, I’ll actually read them in order.

The Blake series follows an “Animator” — that is, somebody who riases people from the dead for the purposes of gaining information, who moonlights as a vampire hunter.  I don’t know if Ms. Hamilton realizes she’s writing for post-adolescent boys in 30-year-old bodies, or if she honestly believes she’s writing for women — but it is just a damn cool series.

Speaking of Guilty Pleasures, that is also the name of Hamilton’s Anita Blake comic series, published by Marvel.  I also didn’t know this existed until today.  Frick.  ‘Cuz I have all kinds of disposable income.