Blog Archives
Our Puzzling Future
Have you pulled the blanket down from over your head? Yes, that presidential debate last night was real and wasn’t an SNL sketch…yet.
The always entertaining and insightful author and essayist Christopher Buckley’s rationale for relieving himself the responsibility of satirizing high-stakes political circumstances was, once again, effortlessly reaffirmed during yesterday’s presidential debate. His imaginatively shrewd writing that amusingly paints the politically powerful with shades of absurdity and twinkling nonsense now needs no outside author, as the starring characters from both sides have willingly taken on his role as penman and penwoman.
Mr. Buckley can’t believe he used to make this stuff up.
On a completely alternative, and therefore happy note, the only spectacle being promoted on television more than the presidential debate is the new Dan Brown book adapted for the silver screen. Skipping the slightly underwhelming 2009 “The Lost Symbol,” Mr. Brown’s 2013 thriller “Inferno” was chosen for grand cinematic treatment. Having read “Inferno,” the excited anticipation for the movie is warranted. Get ready for a fun, thought-provoking ride! Incredibly, from the little shown in the trailer, every one of the scenes look precisely as I pictured them with my imagination from just words on a page.
A testament to the brilliant vision of both Dan Brown and Ron Howard.
Favoring suspense over information, the engrossing plot and pulse-racing sequences won’t be disclosed. The spectacular reveals and intellectual twists-and-turns deserve genuine shock and awe, coupled with unnerving curiosity and reality.
And who better to preview and hype Robert Langdon’s adventures than, well, Robert Langdon himself.
October 28th cannot arrive soon enough. As surprising as this will read, readers and audiences will learn more and feel better equipped to confront the complexities of the world (past, present and future) from a Dan Brown novel and/or film than from a modern presidential debate.
And Dan Brown’s “Inferno” deals with hell…
Sci-Fi’s Newest Passengers
Is there space for another movie about…space?
Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence star in a new film Passengers that, as far as we know, tells the story of two people aboard a space ship/stunningly awesome city in the stars who wake up from their slumber 90 years early to chaos that builds and builds towards an explosive third act. At this point, the primary question surrounding this movie is whether it’s solely rooted in cutting-edge entertainment or if it combines special effects and a subtle, yet profound commentary about the current state of humanity? The best films incorporate both qualities with cleverly disguised dialogue and open-ended questions without giving clear, direct answers hidden throughout the film worthy of Houdini himself.
Let’s check out the Avalon together.
On December 21st of this year, we’ll discover if Passengers has what it takes to be in the driver’s seat of innovative science-fiction.
Happy Monday!
“Goonies never say die!”
As Brand Josh Brolin can attest, Goonies were really never supposed to say two other words on set…
The Goonies, to this day, still has some of the most passionate and protective fans around, which says a lot since the movie was released back in 1985. Count myself among those fans. Incredibly, this cult classic was the the product of some of cinema’s most imaginative storytellers: Richard Donner (Superman, Lethal Weapon I, II & III), Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, Gremlins, Adventures in Babysitting) and Steven Spielberg (drop the mic). That triple threat actually seems more odd than the plot to The Goonies.
Here’s to channeling Josh Brolin’s amazement for what this week will present to us, except with a slightly different word choice.
Have an Awe-Inspiring Week!
Well(es), That Happened
“Wait, what was wrong?” was probably bouncing around the head of Orson Welles nearly 78 years ago.
Wednesday is a great day to wonder. For instance, did Orson Welles invent the viral video (technically, viral broadcasting)?
The radio broadcast “War of the Worlds” (adapted from author H.G. Wells) caused an uproar with the American public on the evening of October 30, 1938 because of the realism conveyed through the audible airwaves. In 2016, the equivalent would be staging and enacting a fake global war on TV with vivid, realistic detail and unimaginable consequence and panic. The hysteria generated by the “War of the Worlds” broadcast is still widely viewed today with incomparable impact.
Question: Have you seen Orson Welles respond to journalists following “War of the Worlds”?
Jimmy’s Daily Planet has the scoop from that famous Sundae Sunday night broadcast.
Rosebud…
Actually, Rosebud has no relevance here. This blog post is about Orson Welles, so it felt right.
Reflecting on the power of mass communication, it makes one cogitate the possibility of a cinematic equivalence occurring in the modern era? With the instantaneous and cross-checking nature of social media and Google, could anything similar to the radio broadcast of “War of the Worlds” happen again? Even if unintentional?
Either way, as Frasier Crane would say, “I’m listening.”
Jimmy's Daily Planet 