Surprise Netflixing!

[zrath]

Netflix keeps sending me stuff, and I keep watching it!
It's like cinematic Tetris! Sort of...
Anyway, onwards!

Freakazoid - Season 1 - "Pineapples. Hula girls! Surfboards. Hula girls! Hula girls! Hula girls!"
12 years after it went off the air, Warner Bros finally got off its massive suited duff and put this on DVD.
"Freakazoid" is probably the most bizarre cartoon to ever be put on broadcast television AND to be approved
for production by someone of Steven Speilberg's caliber (namely, Steven Speilberg).
Freakazoid is the alter-ego of one Dexter Douglas, a 16 year-old computer nerd who got accidentally sucked
into "Cyberspace" by a faulty chip. Yeah, well, you know, this was 1995. Anyway, he absorbed the knowledge
of the whole Internet and went cuckoo. So Freakazoid's real superpower is his insanity, which he uses to
utterly befuddle and confuse his enemies. The show contained tons of pop culture and current events
references and since it was in an early-morning time slot (you know, for kids!), it didn't do so well.
It ran for two seasons (24 episodes total) and zhen, zee plug, she was pulled!
Season 1 has 14 episodes spread over 3 sides of 2 DVDs (DVD #2 is a "flippy", with stuff on both sides).
There are commentaries on 3 episodes: 1 and 2, and whichever one has the E.T. parody.
All 3 commentaries feature Paul Rugg (writer/story editor/Freakazoid voice), John MCann (writer/story editor),
and Tom Ruegger (senior producer/writer). There are a few bonus features, nothing spectacular: a 17-minute
"making of" thing chronicling the creation of "Freakazoid", and a collection of amusing Freakazoid-less
"Freakazoid" promos. Kids' WB needed promos for "Freakazoid" but there was no footage available yet, so the
Freakacrew whipped up a languid monochrome cruise ship vacation spot thing with a relaxed female voice-over.
Then they reused the animation 6 more times while changing the voice-over and the onscreen text.
The show is just as deranged and scatterbrained as I remember it to be. It's frankly pretty stupid at times
but it's still better than what comes out of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim these days.
I will no doubt own this eventually. :D

The Call Of Cthulhu - in Mythoscope!!
I was recently made aware of the existence of this 47-minute silent film adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's book
by the magical and mystical defenbaugh. To my great surprise, Netflix actually had it!
The movie was realized by a group calling themselves the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society.
They set about making a 1920's style silent black and white flick with mostly period special effects.
And you know what? It's pretty darn cool! It really captures the old-school moviemaking vibe!
If you're at all interested in the big guy with the mouth tentacles, you need to rent (or buy) this puppy!

Jumper - "Why are you walking?" "I like to walk for a change. Makes me feel normal."
So, apparently, Nightcrawler isn't the only one who can teleport. Whiny teenagers can do it too. :D
Okay okay, Hayden Christensen is not a teenager (anymore) and he's less whiny here.
He plays a young man who can teleport, and it works just like Nightwalker's power: he has to see where
he is going. This also works with photographs, interestingly enough. He eventually discovers that someone
is chasing after him and that there's a secret society dedicated to the eradication of "Jumpers".
Samuel L. Jackson is one of those "Paladins". The movie is a veritable travelogue, with our Jumper jumping
all over the world. The film isn't very good though. The special effects are pretty spectacular, with
teleportation portrayed as a violent disruption of the space-time continuum, as opposed to a simple camera
trick accompanied by a goofy sound effect. But the acting is pretty flat and there's no chemistry.
Rent it for the effects.

The Bank Job -
Based on a true story, and with some extra stuff added to make it interesting, this film gives Jason Statham
a much-needed break from his usual run of mindless actioners and allows him to stretch his other acting muscles.
Set in 1971, "The Bank Job" revolves around a group of low-rent London criminals led by Statham who are
tricked by an old flame of Statham into breaking into a bank vault so that she can retrieve some incriminating
blackmail photos of a certain royal personage taken by a Trinidadese black power leader (a nasty piece of work).
The rest of the gang is totally unaware of this and they're simply planning to take as much loot as they can
and retire. Unfortunately, some of the bank's customers are less than savory characters and they won't let
their property simply disappear. Things spin out of control as different factions vie for different items.
There's some really good performances there and a great recreation of early '70s London.
This is a British film with a British cast so not too many names are familiar to me. Aside from Jason Statham,
I recognized Saffron Burrows as the old flame and David Suchet, who's done tons of stuff.
Another film I watched with the English subtitles turned on to catch all the Britishisms. :D
This is an excellent thriller and caper film, and I heartily recommend it to all!

Comments

[girlfmkitty.livejournal.com]

If you watch "The Bank Job" with Spanish subtitles, you'd be reading my work... ;)

[zrath.livejournal.com]

Sweet!
I know it's work, but what did you think of the movie?

[girlfmkitty.livejournal.com]

Oh, I loved it! I'm a huge Jason Statham fan, so I was happy to work on whatever featured him, but it was a really nice movie...

[mr-squiddle.livejournal.com]

Can we let a mention of Freakazoid go by without calling attention to the Creeper episode of Batman TAS?


Evidently not!

[zrath.livejournal.com]

Hey, whaddayawant? It's just a cursory glance at DVDs I watch!
They're not full reviews.
Yes, The Creeper was closer to the original concept of the Freakazoid character.
Also, Bruce Timm did the original character designs but couldn't bring the kind of funny that Steven Spielberg wanted, apparently, so Tom Ruegger was brought in as producer.
It's all there in the 17-minute featurette on the DVD.
Rent it/buy it now!

[paka.livejournal.com]

I really loved the Call of Cthulhu movie. I think framing it in the context of an old silent film was brilliant - it doesn't just fit the period when this was written, but it also means you go in without expecting modern special effects and elaborate sets, so what they provide seems natural and easy to accept.

[zrath.livejournal.com]

I concur!
George Méliès would be proud.