Superman

        

       

         Christopher Nolan has elevated the idea of a super hero film to heights previously unimaginable. His batman films are peppered with ambiguity, real emotions, and deep riddles about the human condition. Batman is no doubt one of the darker sides of all of comics and arguably the most beloved comic book character of all time. But arguably the most iconic comic book superhero of all time is Superman.

I love Batman as a character for all of his scars and human complexity the way I love Travis Bickle  from "The Taxi Driver" as being a completely raw genuine human flawed character and as Nolan's newest epic film trilogy dubbed "The Dark Knight Trilogy"   showed us that Batman is truly a broken tragic man searching for meaning in a lonely existence, 'god's lonely man', that he always has been in the comics and has always been touched upon in the films, even in the classic Burton films. 
But Batman is embraced because he represents that old cliche that makes sense in our world 'how much can just one man accomplish'. Superman represents wholly something different.

Superman for me of course has echos with the Moses and Jesus stories. Echos of being an outcast, an orphan (just like Batman), an immigrant, and an American. But I do not love the character for misplaced patriotism, the echos of religion, greek myth, or some misplaced form of idealism. I love this character because I am human. And because I am human, I dream.

"The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease to forever be able to do it" - J.M. Barrie ~ Peter Pan



As good as most Batman stories are none of them that I've ever seen have that sense of whimsy that to me belong in fairy tales but has always belonged in "Superman" just a little grain that has kept me glued to something more, something beyond what a man represents, something beyond what a man can even be. A symbol, and echo, a poem, a thimble, a kiss and as most people remember this scene in "Superman 1978" it will always remind me of Wendy and Peter; forever fighting and forever in love.

When you dream ? Have you ever dreamed of flying ? Unguided and not gliding ?

Superman doesn't represent the human condition, he represents human dreams.   And while a lot of people think "Superman Returns" wasn't the "Superman" they were looking for. Here's hoping that somewhere between Zack Snyder's visual senseand Christopher Nolan's  sense of storytelling. There is bound to be something worth seeing in "Man of Steel"


It is standing on the shoulders of giants. And giants of expectation. But judging by the trailer it is trying to be it's own thing and not follow in the footsteps of a major giant whose very memory is imprinted on almost all film lovers. 

Man of Steel still has quite a legacy to live up to.










"I'm not living the life I thought I would lead, but it does have meaning, purpose. there is love ... there is joy ... there is laughter. - Christopher Reeve

"Kingdom Come" is dedicated to Christopher Reeve. The only man who made you believe a man could fly.



And I rarely see Batman smile.

Film; Poetry and Rhythm

I think poetry and rhythm are what separates good films from great films. Watching "Akira" now and marveling at the structure and pacing , granted it is a masterpiece, considered the very best in it's genre. But the reason I dig film as an artistic medium is it's the culmination of multiple art forms, acting, editing, directing, sometimes dance, painting, and a variety of other things that come together in one final product and if all the pieces fit, than that indeed is something to marvel at.  That's probably why a movie like "Cloud Atlas" had me so enveloped because it moves like poetry and took a great risk and great effort to pull off and for my money's worth the pieces fit. I think subconsciously this is why people get enraptured with great epic film. They aren't just great stories, they're great poetry, great opera, great parable, great escapism and when done right all the things that nourish the senses and intellect.

On the Road Review

 

          "On the Road" is a book about certain events in the life of it's author Jack Kerouac when he went on a series of pot and Benzedrine induced road trips and adventures during the late 1940's, filled with jazz, sex, and misadventure.

          The book was  written in 1951 apparently on a paper towel roll he'd gotten because he was out of paper and the impending prose would later be published by Viking press in 1957 and be a major catalyst in spawning what has been referred to as 'The Beat Movement'.
 (Excerpts from this text would be extremely bizarre in the "Star Wars" title scroll.)


I've only read about the first 3 chapters of this book. Yeah listed on Time Magazine's list of 100 greatest modern novels and I only got 3 chapters in and the Modern Library ranked it as 55th on its list of 100 best English-language novels as well.

So let's talk about the movie . . .

If you know anything about the book you know that each character represents a real life person...the names have been changed blah blah blah. If you know the history of the beat movement and the 3 catylists that started it are Kerouac and this book. "Howl" an epic poem by Alan Ginsberg  and "Naked Lunch" by William Burroughs.  All three of which make  an appearance in this film. Obviously Kerouac is played by actor Sam Riley  whose only other film role I can think of is as Ian Curtis in "Control" the movie about the band Joy Division.  (Which makes me hope that Sam will be the kind of actor that chooses his roles and persona very carefully, so I'm eager to see what he'll do next.)

Viggo Mortensen as "Old Bull Lee" or his real life counter part William Burroughs.


Garrett Hedlund plays the lead character or better yet the catalyst, "Dean Moriarty" or Neal Cassady (also one of the very best performances in the film)


Tom Sturridge plays Carlo Marx also known as classic beat poet Alan Ginsberg (he was the one I didn't notice right away, mainly because I'm used to the look of the older bearded Ginsberg.) 
(Who sadly isn't in the film a whole lot, but I guess it's based on a true story.)

I like this film and I like this film a lot more now that I'm still thinking about it.



      One of the most striking things about this film is the cast, it gets to a point in the film where you say oh she's in it, he's in it, she's in this too wow. Your almost blown away by the variety of great character actors in the ensemble. But even with Francis Coppola producing, even with IFC and Sundance backing the film, even with great reviews in countries like France, even with this cast I cannot see this film appealing to a mass audience do to one glaringly obvious fact...and a fact of the novel as well. The novel was written in one night on a paper towel in a Benzedrine kick and spewed out two parts life philosophy and quick paced anecdotes about wild impromptu road trips across the country...it has absolutely no plot.

      This is extremely compelling because of the vastness of the cast and attention to the detail of the period. This film does not look cheap in any way. It's edited and moves like free form jazz from one moment and story arch to the next and seemly stops to pause before it turns another corner. The cinematography captures the starkness and beauty of how America was in the late 1940's. And it's just a serious of sexual endeavors, talking about writing, doing drugs, going to jazz clubs and the occasional pauses and beautiful poetic moments of sobering up and looking at real life through those glass eyes. For the most part I refer to Dean Moriarty as the lead character not Sal mainly because Sam plays a great reactionist, for the most part, like the audience he is along for the ride that is his wild friend Dean. Most people are used to the main characters in a film being all about action but the main character in this film pauses and goes along for the ride and is mostly about reaction which allows the film to have beautiful, sometimes funny, quiet reflective moments about everyday wild life being caught up in the shit-storm and passion and energy that was Neal Cassidy's (Dean's) real life. The film is a masterpiece in terms of poetic pauses and moments of 'real life' clarity and all the sloppiness that ensues in an 'adventure' that most adventure films tend to forget.

"Boys and Girls in America have such a sad time together; sophistication demands that they submit to sex immediately without proper preliminary talk. Not courting talk - real strait talk about souls, for life is holy and every moment is precious."― Jack Kerouac, On the Road


 The beat movement defined a generation and continues to influence writers, artists, and poets.

 This is the meaning of the film. It's a mediation on life and it's meanings. It says that everything in it doesn't have to be so rigidly structured and much like the style of the generation the film isn't structured. The film plays like a stream of consciousness memory recall from point to point, anecdote to anecdote and moment to moment.

As I have said, the film lacks a structure but everything else about it is top notch, the music, acting, character moments, cinematography and everything else about it. So if you like the stream of conciousness style and especially if you like the book this film is for you.

What "Dazed and Confused" did for teenagers in the 1970's  "On the Road" does for poets and writers in the 1940's and does it with just as much passion and zest.

If you don't mind a style that is kind of like the Jazz of the period and if you don't need a rock solid plot to 'know what the film is about' or if a film doesn't really need to be about anything solid, just about reflections of life...than this film is probably for you.

    

   "So in America when the sun goes down and I sit on the old broken-down river pier watching the long, long skies over New Jersey and sense all that raw land that rolls in one unbelievable huge bulge over to the West Coast, and all that road going, and all the people dreaming in the immensity of it, and in Iowa I know by now the children must be crying in the land where they let the children cry, and tonight the stars'll be out, and don't you know that God is Pooh Bear? the evening star must be drooping and shedding her sparkler dims on the prairie, which is just before the coming of complete night that blesses the earth, darkens all the rivers, cups the peaks and folds the final shore in, and nobody, nobody knows what's going to happen to anybody besides the forlorn rags of growing old, I think of Dean Moriarty, I even think of Old Dean Moriarty the father we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty."

     This movie is about how you affect other people's lives, and how the people you surround yourself with affect yours...so if you're the type of person who can "Howl" for Carl Solomon, than you probably wouldn't mind going on the road with Dean Moriarty. 

Night Gallery

"Night Gallery" was a show released by Universal Studios in the 1970's featuring short horror and science fiction stories in an anthology format. It was hosted by the legendary Rod Serling creator of the Twilight Zone who submitted scripts for the show but didn't have any real creative control which is why the show has kind of a bizarre humorous tone. The show has been forgotten by most but remembered by some like me who grew up on it. The Twilight Zone is as close to a masterpiece as a show can get (even though not all episodes were classics) but because of the host association "Night Gallery" had always been unfairly compared to that show. It also only had 3 seasons unfortunately. For me this show is almost the perfect balance between shows like "The Twilight Zone" and "Tales From the Crypt" it has that perfect edge of bizarre morality plays with a flair for very theatrical sets and set pieces but it does dabble in a little darker subject matter and plays with humor much more and some of the episodes feel down right like films which gets more into the vibe of 'Crypt' but it's that mixture of feeling that has caused me to fall in love with it. That and unlike 'Zone' and 'Crypt' where each episode seems to follow a similar style "Night Gallery" was allowed much more creative room to experiment, some episodes flopped, some were gems, and others I'd consider television masterpieces…but "Night Gallery" did something different it dared to experiment with style. 

The show is set up by introducing a painting that segues into a story and most episodes have 3 segments: 2 evenly lengthened episodes and maybe bridged or ended with 1 incredibly short one.  So I've divided my list into 3 branches. My Top 5 paintings…My top 3 Shot Subjects…and my Top 10 longer episodes. 

Top 5 Paintings 

5. Linndeman's Catch (This is a good episode, not a great one, but it's no wear near as beautiful as this painting.) 

4. The Ring with the Velvet Ropes (One of my favorite episodes of the show and a particularly intriguing painting.) 

3. You Can't Get Help Like that Anymore (One of the very few science fiction episodes and a beautifully tragic painting that practically spells out the entire episode.)  

2. A Question of Fear (My number 1 favorite episode. I love the simplicity of the imagery and unlike other Night Gallery episodes and paintings this one is mainly to give you the idea of the theme and not meant to be something literally derived from the episode.)

1. The Other Way Out (One of my favorite episodes but I absolutely love the tragedy of this painting.)

Top 3 Short Subjects - Since these are all extremely short subjects I'll let them speak for themselves. The show used to button segments sometimes with these incredibly short and bizarre humorous segments. According to the history Serling hated but I find rather charming like an appetizer in between meals, just to cleanse the psychological palette with humor. Only one of these 3 has a painting associated with it that I know about. 

1. Room for One Less (Lost episode) 

2. Satisfaction Guaranteed (This one is silly as hell) 

3. The Merciful 

Top 10 Favorite Episodes

10. The Cemetery 

The Cemetery is the very first episode in the pilot T.V. movie that preceded the series. And it stands on it's own as one of the best in my opinion due to the brilliant performances. Also this short actually utilizes paintings in the story which is a touch I extremely enjoy.

9. The Other Way Out (I cannot find this episode online) 

This episode is rather cliched from nowadays. It plays in a familiar vein of a revenge tale but because of it's rather dark ending even with it's simple set-up it's a flavor of mystery and intrigue I rather enjoy. Though I do love the creepy house with trap door genre.

8. Cool Air (One of my least favorite paintings) 

Based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft (One of two in the "NIght Gallery" the other is "Pickman's Model" a basic simple premise with a punch and a beautifully gothic book end. I wouldn't want to spoil this one.   

7. Marmalade Wine 

                 (It's the middle segment of this episode)



Possibly the most unique and bizarre entry into the entire series…and on of my favorites because of it's unique dreamlike, german expressionist look and bizarre style of acting. I can't imagine this one being on most people's favorites list but it's on mine because I respect the unique qualities of it, there aren't any other episodes like the feel of it. And I dig it for being that quirky, unique with just a level of bizarre dark humor. Even the painting that goes with it looks nothing like any other Night Gallery painting.  

6.The Sins of the Father (One of my least favorite paintings, I kinda get what it's supposed to represent but it's 3 sectioned and there is no need for it, I think he could have thought of one image to sum this idea up, however it is a fantastic episode.)  

              (I cannot find this episode online)

This is possibly the biggest episode with the most lavish outdoor sets though for me most of the drama takes place in a doorway and two different rooms. It's sad to say that some of the bizarre rituals of the past have been long forgotten by time but the ritual of a sin-eater is one you don't see to often in basically any form of fiction and this story tackling that subject makes it unique to fiction but not just the simple premise of a sin-eater it's the punch at the end that even though I don't believe in the concept (I doubt many do or really ever did) it still shocks me to empathize with a character who might fully believe in the concept of eating the sins of another. The ending packs such a punch in this regard it's not even funny even with they slowly show it coming and if you're sharp enough you can predict it…but when it comes I found it truly shocking. 

http://www.hulu.com/watch/58780

(This episode is on Hulu and well worth the check out) 

5. Class of 99

This episode just has balls. I knew the ending long before I saw this episode but it ropes across like an ensemble short play that takes place in one room…a class room with an extremely unique set of curriculum. The societal and racial overtones are what really pinned me to my seat. Rod Serling said this was one of his all time favorite scripts and I can 100% see why.

4. The Ring with the Velvet Ropes 

This episode echos almost completely the themes of an old Twilight Zone episode titled "A Game of Pool" only this time it's that sweet science known as boxing. The twist I saw coming a mile away, the setup feels extremely Twilight Zone, also one of my favorite paintings but somehow this one just gets me I think it's mainly for how well the actor playing the hidden champion is or how the idea of a champion no one knows about that seems to well exist in his own universe (when you see the episode it'll make sense) completely intrigues me. I guess from a script standpoint maybe there are better episodes out there but this one just gets me. Even though I saw the end coming I was bowled over. Maybe because it's a really good boxing story in the midst of all this Sci Fi and horror. 

3. A Feast of Blood 

This is possibly one of the most ridiculous episodes and it mainly holds my attention because of the very strong almost play quality script. The beautiful pale blond woman in a very unsubtle blood red dress and the hypnotic quality of the lead actor…yes the punchline or final twist is possibly the cheesiest thing I've ever seen…but the build-up to it is so exquisitely written and when the punch finally does come I sincerely was beside myself laughing I can't help not put this on my all time favorites. The actors play the absurdity with utter conviction and I just love it.

2. Silent Snow, Secret Snow (Probably my 6th favorite painting.)

This show doesn't even belong in the Night Gallery. It isn't science fiction, it isn't a ghost story, a horror story, a story about dreams, or a short macabre one-note-story about death, Dracula, or the like…"Silent Snow, Secret Snow" feels like a classic short film and in my opinion should be remembered with such love and fondness as Raymond Burr's "The Snowman" accept this isn't a loving tale about Christmas but more like a beautiful poem about a child's psychosis…with much a richness of depth than ever. The great Orson Wells narrates this episode and it adds to the layers of richness and the juxtaposition of the snow shots and the mundane life are what makes this episode a classic hopefully to be discovered for future generations.




(There is also a 1966 movie based on this story.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silent_Snow,_Secret_Snow

1. A Question of Fear 

This episode is absolutely superb. If you like old haunted house stories, Leslie Nelson with an eye patch and as a villain and twists and turns at every corner than this episode is for you. It starts with one of the oldest cliches…I bet you can't spend a night in this haunted house…but the episode goes to darker, richer, and deeper places than the cheesy special effects and the overly cliche premise should allow, with an ending that is truly bizarre for the 1970's and would still be considered bizarre for 2012. The acting is superb. The effects are cheesy as hell, but it makes sense. And the level of detail to the ending punchline has been set up so brilliantly it is one of the few types of television drama's that may require a second viewing. + As an added bonus one of my all time favorite paintings. I think this episode gets overlooked in the cannon of the show.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/58806

Copy and Past the above code* I believe all the episodes are on Hulu. 

There is no riddle to life

Deep down human beings despite the society built up around them telling them to behave 'properly' we still love to act like animals & maybe just a step up like wild tribal men if you doubt this, go to a club, concert, or just a wild party, & see how with a certain set of tunes, notes, and maybe drugs & alcohol ordinary men and women will dance like fools and shout to gods that don't exist & wild men will try to make sense of it all...& eventually give up when all you can do is laugh at the true simplicity of human nature, peppered for flavor with some semblance of complexity but just enough to taste. The only certainty in life, is there is no certainty and the moment you think there is you start to kid yourself and cease to fully enjoy it.