Coronavirus Pandemic Day 524 - Will Monday Movie Mania Ever Come Back?

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, I had a regular feature on my blog where I reviewed whatever motion picture DH and I had seen at the local theater over the weekend.

Back in the early days of our marriage, Friday was date night. We hit a local restaurant and went to see a movie. EVERY Friday. When Oscar nominations came out, we'd viewed nearly every nominee. Those we hadn't seen yet? Well, that was the mission--see them before the actual awards broadcast.

Once GK was born, we had to back off on trips to the theater until he was old enough to go with us.

I was thrilled when 2020 rolled around. There were lots of things scheduled for release I wanted to see. GK was off being an adult. And DH and I started off with Birds of Prey.

That turned out to be the last movie we saw in the theater. When I returned from a writers' workshop, we discussed seeing Bloodshot at the theater. I didn't feel comfortable going since I tend to pick up every germ in a ten-mile radius. The following Monday, Governor DeWine shut down Ohio.

We've resorted to watching new or recent releases on one of the various streaming services we subscribe to. Granted, it's not the same as being in a theater with greasy popcorn and a zillion mouthbreathers.

However, I don't know if the change in venue is affecting my perceptions, or if the movies I would normally love have truly gone downhill.

Wonder Woman '84 could have been better. Bloodshot was boring even by Vin Diesel standards And don't get me started about The Suicide Squad.

Stellar cast, stellar director, and a what-the-holy-fuck script.

I know things won't be the same after the pandemic, but I'm damn well going to deliver better entertainment in my books than the crap I've been watching lately.

You people deserve it.

TGIF! TGIF! TGIF!

After a couple of nights of decent sleep, I felt halfway decent this morning. We have steady electricity, hot water, and A/C again.

Tonight, DH and I are doing Mexican food and watching The Suicide Squad. Tomorrow, we'll work on the yard and flower beds. Sunday, we're meeting some friends from Cincinnati for brunch.

Frankly, I can use the breather.

What are y'all up to this weekend?

The George Lucas Effect

In the old days of movie-making and publishing, the original creator didn't have a whole lot of control over the final packaging of the product. There was only one version of a movie or a book. We didn't have the director's cut or the extended version or the author's preferred text.

In some ways, that control is a good thing. The extended version of Suicide Squad makes a hell of a lot more sense than the theatrical version. The same with the author's preferred text of American Gods. Both of these expand on the original versions without changing the essential character of the work.

Then there's George Lucas.

*sigh* He's changed the original version of Star Wars so many times it's become an embarrassment. The most egregious of these changes is the "Who shot first" question. By changing the Han-Greedo confrontation, George turned Han from a bad-ass space pirate to TSTL joke.

And therein lies one of the dangers to any artist who cannot let their work stand on its own merit. By trying to "fix" something, which was frankly the best possible art for your age and/or experience, you can end up ruining it.

First of all, I would hope that ALL artists improve as they practice their craft. And most of us do.

The problem is when we look at our first works, our older selves see how amateurish our older work is. To us. The mistakes and miscues are glaring. To us. And there's a part of us that wants to "fix" the problem so we don't look too stupid. To us.

Unfortunately, "fixing" those problems insults our readers. What we're really telling them is "You're such an idiot for buying and loving my shit work".

The other side is maybe our work wasn't shit to begin with. Sometimes, it's the inner or outer critic who enjoys pissing on your art really talking. And that's someone you want to ignore.

So what brought this up?

I'm going through the paperback proofs of my novels. Yes, there's some typos that weren't caught by any of the five editors or myself six years ago when the book was first published. But that's akin to when the boom mike accidentally gets caught in the shot. With today's digital processes, boom mikes can be edited out of the film. Typos can be fixed.

But what you really need to do is resist the urge to change the story itself. You do your fans a disservice by telling them the story they loved is "wrong". You do yourself a disservice by not acknowledging and accepting you have grown as an artist. And you turn into the crazy politicians who want to redefine "truth" every time Winston Smith blinks.

When you're looking at your older works, resist the urge to change shit. Otherwise, you could turn your hero from a badass to TSTL, and that ruins the story for everyone. Relish the imperfection because they show your path as an artist!

Monday Movie Mania - Suicide Squad

This is one of those times that I totally disagree with critics and fandom. I loved this movie!

For those who know nothing about it other than the trash talk on the internet, this is DC's version of The Dirty Dozen. And if you haven't seen the Lee Marvin classic, well, I highly suggest that you educate yourself.

But like the WWII classic, the filmmakers don't have enough time to explore all the characters, which makes me a little sad. And it's pretty obvious who the redshirts are. But there's also depth to the characters the film team focuses on.


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SPOILERS


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PROS
1) Margot Robbie is picture and tone perfect as Harley Quinn. While the character's style in the movie is closer to Quinn's latest incarnation of the comics, Margot definitely channels the original Harley, Arleen Sorkin. For that alone, I love Robbie.

2) In this version, Joker and Harley have a Sid & Nancy/Natural Born Killers type of relationship. It is warped, co-dependent, and viciously entertaining.

3) The ladies control the movie. The gist of the story is the Enchantress trying to escape Amanda Waller's clutches and reunite with her brother.

4) Speaking of the ladies, Viola Davis was everything I expected out of Amanda Waller. She rocked as the SS's government organizer who's every bit as nasty and deadly as the supervillians she "recruits".

5) I didn't think Will Smith would do another superhero movie after Hancock. His Deadshot isn't as hard-bitten as the comic version, but he made it work as the alpha male of the team.

6) The music chosen for each character's introduction worked, especially "You Don't Own Me" for Harley.


CONS
1) I would have liked more Killer Croc. I don't know if the character wasn't given more, or if his scenes landed on the cutting room floor. But he seemed wasted in the movie except for the climax.

2) Key scene transitions were obviously missing, but it wasn't as bad as BvS. There's already talk of an extended cut, just like was done for BvS.


I think this is one of those things where the critics have a bug up their butts when something that's normally geek culture goes mainstream. It's okay if Hollywood does it one or two times, but heaven forbid, more movies from the geek culture come out in one year. Guess what, critics? Superhero movies aren't going away. Hollywood finally has the tools to do them right. Granted, that doesn't mean they will, i.e. the last Fantastic Four flick.

Overall though, I would still give Suicide Squad a solid 7 out of 10 stars.

News That Makes Me *SQUEEE*

I think I just had a geek girl-gasm!