Quill & Claw/Pen & Paw

I feel bad for science fiction. It, like fantasy, seems like it could be proliferating in our omnibus of media, but, in reality, when it comes to the movie, again, like fantasy, there's really only a smidgen of films that are TRUE science fiction. Star Wars , believe it or not, is not. It's a space opera or fantasy. Not that it matters.  Star Trek fits the bill frequently, but the movies are hit or miss, and tend to have a crapload of television reruns to satisfy our science fiction movie tastes. Fantasy? Lord of the Rings? That's the only active fantasy title out of a Disney movie that I can really think of. Oh, don't get me wrong, there's a few gazillion titles, but in my movie-phile brain, why can't I think of them off the top of my tiny head? Because they didn't make that much of a mark on me or the public? I will admit, however, one title does pop up-the Fifth Element, by Frenchman Luc Besson.  Yeh, there we go. As soon as I ...

I guess, when you think about it, we grow accustomed to many things. Like, the fact that pink eye is part of growing up, that older brothers are homicidal, and that Hollywood, when given too much cash, forgets about art-and wants to make more cash. We've talked about it here before. How show business will not give the creative types too much control if there's a potential to make money. The formula is there and they have a great many second and third houses to be concerned about. And there's successes, truly. I mean, look at my own last review. I love Spiderman: Homecoming . But it's a sequel/reboot, shared studio to create more cash out of the cash chow. But it's also a good, fun, movie that works. Is this comfortable enough for you? We're comfortable about that. We've grown accustomed to this comfortable situation. I've lost hope on the summer movie release titles-having dissolved into a series of sequels of stories I'm following. Goo...

Another summer. A time when the blockbusters and tent poles were erected and hurled at us with such advertising abandon, you prayed that seeing the movie would make the commercials stop. Alas, like last year, the studios are releasing so many big event movies, the market is saturated. We benefit, as an audience, because the formula for success has become so ingrained, that, in the end, even bad movies are, well, kinda okay. No one tries anything new. So, yeah, it's been a bit of a pause since the last review. What's there to really notice. I've been going to the beach and catching up with family. You know, those other summer options. We treated ourselves to Spiderman:  Homecoming , however, this week and I can't help thinking I should be saying SOMETHING. Yes, I'm comic book geek. Yes, this whole genre of film, the superhero film is something that was basically created to keep me ordering popcorn. I am okay with this. I can see every plot twist and turn and...

My poor husOtter. He tried, when we first started dating all those moons ago, to see what made me tick. I found paperback copies of Frankenstein and Dracula scattered under his coffee table and end table, all the pages shortly dog-ear-ed. He'd apologize, and admit, eventually, that I would have to see my horror movies alone. He'd ride the Haunted Mansion, but a walk-through house was too much. Horror, as it seems, is a very personal and distinct experience. We all have those things that scare us to immobility; we also have those things we allow. My mother? She LOVED Hitchcock movies. When I would come home from the video store in high school on a Saturday night, they were all that was left that the rabble did not wish to see. She and I would watch bevies of those thrillers. Bring home Friday the 13th ? Halloween? No. But Fatal Attraction was a standout. She had what was safe scary, what she could digest. And that which was unacceptable. Even I do. I believe, for my tast...

When Caitlyn Jenner came out, I congratulated her. Same with Michael Sam. And, every time, people responded positively. It is a good thing. I was once that gay kid who wondered if there were others. I couldn't see them in media, I had no idea. And that loneliness was lethal. Truly, lethal. I just needed a reason to know that I was not going to be a fat, ugly kid, a pariah forever, and I might as well end it now. It's not like my family could help (I would later learn that they would, but that's not what we're looking at, here). So, even if I didn't have a direct relationship with the famous, if they could do it, if they could voice their experiences and I could see the parallels, I had hope. What was it my buddy, Harvey Milk said," You gotta give them hope."  With each famous individual coming out, hope grew. With ever gay cinema character, hope grew. With every recognition that didn't end up in death, hope grew. In a world where white stra...

Theme parks look like money makers. The crowds, the merchandise, the people willing to pay big bucks to wait in line more than actually doing anything like seeing attractions. They really can cash it in. Since you pay one, always raising, price, you can't wheel and deal and budget. One lump sum into the pockets of various shareholders. Movie makers? On the other hand? Simple. You can rotate your property to digital home services for those who aren't willing to shell out the movie tickets, and maybe make some kind of profit. The theater? That doesn't have to be rebuilt, you just install another movie. And you can play it a few times a day to earn your cash. Disney, always looking for another way to sell their wares (these people can get the lint out of your pockets, so don't say you weren't warned-and don't worry, I drank the Kool-Aid too, every single fucking time), elected to rebrand their famed attractions at the turn of the century. Taking a page from t...

First the Handmaid's Tale . A novel approach to, well, a novel-it went ahead and made me think of critiquing something in a different manner. Such a brave new world, with such people in it. Now? This. As you know, I'm kinda into my Disney crap. This blog is not a location for such elaboration, but more of an intro as to where I'm going with this. I was afforded an opportunity this weekend, on Mother's Day, to be exact, to see Disney World's latest "land" over at their Animal Kingdom. This land? This specific locale is based on the famed Avatar  and it's setting, the off-planet moon of Pandora. This new land located in the area that used to be housing Camp Minnie-Mickey, a completely failed attempt to fill space that was going to be holding the "legendary beasts" section of the park. They already had real animals. They had extinct animals over in Dinoland. This was going to be the corner of the park that housed dragons and mythical beast...