THE MAXX (1995)

March 22, 2021

(VOD/DVD) THE MAXX was a short-lived animated adaptation of Sam Keith’s comic book featured in MTV’s similarly short-lived ODDITIES block and, to this day, remains one of the most faithful — and most intriguing — comic book adaptations ever.

THE MAXX is about a spandex-clad vagrant (The Maxx) who believes himself to be the protector of Julie Winters, a complicated social worker who is being tormented by a man known as Mr. Gone. The Maxx sometimes slips into another realm known as The Outback, where he’s a noble warrior instead of a homeless man in a purple suit. If it sounds slightly ridiculous, well, -comics-, but it’s essentially a hard-boiled vehicle to explore repression and trauma.

While the narrative and characters would be interesting enough on its own, what really makes the series stand out is how it adapted Keith’s extremely stylized artwork and layouts to TV: they essentially ripped the panels from his comic, and -then- animated them. Occasionally they throw in some CGI or live action video footage, but the majority of it is exactly what you would have seen and read in the first twelve issues of the comics. Amazingly, instead of feeling like a hollow recreation, it feels vibrant and thrilling and often even funny.

If Keith’s comic were a lesser work, it might not have translated so well to bizarro late-night 15-minute programming, but instead it feels fresh and audacious, even today. There’s never been anything that looks or feels like THE MAXX, and it’s unlikely there ever will be.

You can watch all 13 episodes in around three hours. It used to be stream via MTV.com (albeit as a very poor transfer) but it’s now it’s only available to purchase via DVD or the usual VOD outlets. However, resourceful folks can find episodes through Vimeo (but you didn’t hear that from me).

DETECTIVE PIKACHU (2019)

March 21, 2021

(VOD) Now wait, hear me out:

  • It’s a visual marvel that WAS SHOT ON FILM on because Oscar-nominated cinematographer John Mathieson wanted it to look like BLADE RUNNER, and I’d argue that he succeeded
  • It reminds me of Jim Henson’s DOG CITY — a childhood favorite of mine — in that it’s family-friendly noir, but still damn smart. (That said: not nearly as much of a spoof, but very close to one.)
  • It’s darker than you’d expect and has better character development than necessary
  • I have only played POKEMON SNAP and had no proper pre-existing knowledge of the characters or the world and I still loved it
  • It’s worth watching just for the closing reveal
  • I’m short on time today, hence these bullet points

THE CLOCKS (1963)

One could say it was an academic exercise on Christie’s behalf, to pen a Poirot tale in which he solves everything from his apartment, or perhaps it started off as something else, and she opted to insert Poirot in it, just to show that Poirot could still deduce without investigating. (He is, quite literally, an armchair detective here.)

I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone but the biggest Christie fans, but there is a lot in it for those willing to pick it up: the town is lushly built out, the espionage details are deftly — albeit stodgily — handled, but most importantly: she — via Poirot, of course — opines quite a bit on the history of detective fiction, and weaves quite a bit of her favorite trappings it into the tale. While reading it, I fully realized I was missing out on about half of the neatly dropped references.

Again, only for the hardcore, but I found it both intriguing and illuminating.

I have two more Poirot novels left to read: THIRD GIRL and ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER, but I plan to cap this seven-year endeavor off with a re-read of the ‘final’ Poirot novel, CURTAIN.

https://www.agathachristie.com/stories/the-clocks

BROADCAST NEWS (1987)

March 20, 2021

(HBO MAX/VOD) I watch BROADCAST NEWS about every five years, and every time my appreciation for it grows. I love how adults are posited more like immature teens, but still have to tackle serious issues like balancing their career and their personal desires; I love how the newsroom was brutally portrayed; I marvel at the unsure balancing of the love triangle; Jane Craig’s character is still a breath of fresh air, and how Holly Hunter absolutely nails her very distinct blend of determination, confidence, and anxiety; oh, how stellar the camerawork is, and the exactly attention paid to each edit.

My most recent viewing was by far the most special. Not only did I nab tickets to see it at TCM Fest 2017 so I finally managed to see it on a big screen — and with a bigger audience than my traditional audience of one — not only did Ben Mankiewicz lead a discussion with director James L. Brooks about the film, but co-star Albert Brooks was the surprise guest! Given how reluctant Brooks is to join in anything that comes close to an interview event, I was stunned to see him join James L. Brooks on stage, and I couldn’t have been happier to see -and- hear these two giants of dramatic and romantic comedy discuss this magnificent work.

I’d like to recommend Caroline Seide’s relatively recent article on BROADCAST NEWS — it’s part of her AV Club series ‘When Romance Met Comedy’ — as it’s a finely detailed examination as to why the film works so well, why it resonated then, and why it still holds up.

UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD (1991)

March 19, 2021

A warning: today’s entry is a bit more personal and deals with death. My apologies.

(Criterion/YouTube) There are better respected Wim Wenders films than UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD, but it’s long been one of my personal favorites of his. I have yet to see the recent director’s cut — like JUSTICE LEAGUE, like DUNE, folks have been endlessly clamoring for his four-hour edit of this film, which is featured in the new Criterion edition of the film — but the theatrical cut still features all of the hallmarks of quintessential Wenders films, including emotional ennui, distanced communication, and road trips but, atypical for Wenders, it’s contained in a sci-fi neo-noir coating.

It’s one of the first films I recognized as ‘an international affair’, which means that Wenders finagled funding from more than a few countries to realize his vision. It has a lot of people, a lot of odd events, and a lot of languages but, despite all of that, and despite the ramshackle plotting, despite the fact that it takes place in a very prescient future 1999, it’s a very challenging, very soulful and melancholy meditation on technology, humanity, and memories.

Ah, but I’m burying the lede. This movie was one of the first films I bonded over with my college friend Nick. We both loved the high-concept nature of it and, both of us being goths, were enraptured with the soundtrack, especially the contributions from CRIME & THE CITY SOLUTION, Nick Cave, and Julee Cruise.

While we grew in parallel as we aged — over the years we shared a lot about esoteric bands, cooking, the cosmos, and computer science — we always had this film as a touchstone. He’s someone I could always reach out to and instantly reconnect with.

He passed away in his sleep on March 3rd. He was one of the nicest, most accepting people I’ve ever known and, if you were his friend, he always had your back. I’m not exaggerating when I say he saved my life at least once — I was a naive college youth and he was a weathered post-grad — and I’m heartbroken that I was unable to return the favor.

I really miss him and just want to hold those memories close.

GALAVANT (2015-2016)

March 18, 2021

(DVD/VOD) While at first blush, this fantasy musical TV series from ABC (owned by Disney) may look like it’s solely for musical theater nerds and, while I may qualify for that moniker — I admit to spending some time in high school pit orchestra, and I did willfully throw away good money to see CATS on stage two years ago — it’s smart and clever and fun enough for everyone.

Created by Dan Fogelman (who penned the similarly subversive princess film TANGLED, but is probably best known now as the creator of THIS IS US), it’s a gleefully self-aware gaggle of fairy tale male savior tropes turned on its ear, all to the tune of Alan Menken songs. Even better, every single one of the characters are interesting and very human, all fleshed out and given their own quirks, despite the fact that the show could have coasted along on caricatures.

The cast is phenomenal and includes Timothy Omundson as the idiotic king (handsomely unrecognizable from his days on MONK), Vinnie Jones as the king’s heavy hand (yes, he does sing, and he’s hilarious), Mallory Jansen as Galavant’s ‘stolen’ love, Luke Youngblood (COMMUNITY’s Magnitude) as a plucky sidekick, not to mention an astounding guest cast including: Rutger Hauer, Weird Al, John Stamos, Hugh Bonneville, Kylie Minogue, Nick Frost, and Anthony Head.

It’s utterly delightful but inexplicably unavailable via Disney+. That said, it’s well-worth hunting down a digital copy or the DVD set.

There’s a very long trailer for the first season, but it amplifies the drama and downplays the music and comedy. I recommend the German trailer instead, which is just the intro of the pilot but with German subtitles.

Disney Germany S1 opener:

American S1 trailer:

If you still aren’t sold, check out these S2 trailers/openers, because that’s really when the show doubled-down on its very specific brand of nonsense:

S2 opener:

S2’s penultimate episode’s opener (don’t be afraid of spoilers!):

I’m very grateful to my wife for boosting this show to me, even though I bluntly said ‘I don’t think I need that’ when she first recommended it to me.

HOUSEKEEPING (1987)

March 17, 2021

(VOD) I didn’t realize this going into HOUSEKEEPING, but it’s an adaptation of Marilynne Robinson’s first novel of the same name. If you aren’t familiar with Robinson, she’s probably better known for her series of GILEAD novels, which examines the small but sprawling matters of a family.

(I’ll note I’ve only read the second novel in the series, HOME, so I may be misrepresenting the series a bit.)

In any case, Bill Forsyth (writer/director of BEING HUMAN and LOCAL HERO) adapted Robinson’s novel, which is a story of two sisters who are abandoned by their mother, then looked after by their aunt, an eccentric with more than a few issues, but not in the cute AUNTIE MAME way. It’s quietly, but mannerly, handled, feeling more like a prestige picture as opposed to an indie piece, but never loses sight of the characters, all of whom are unique and grow and brush against societal and cultural norms in their own way.

I’ll note that the trailer most certainly positions the film as a sort of unconventional wacky comedy. It is not that at all.

JUDY & PUNCH (2019)

March 16, 2021

(Hulu/hoopla/kanopy/VOD) One trend that I love with genre films nowadays is how many women actors are getting chances at directing their own pieces. I just mentioned Brea Grant yesterday — still probably best known for her performance in HEROES — but also BLACK CHRISTMAS (2019) director Sophia Takal, HAPPIEST SEASON director Mary Holland, cult comedian and PREVENGE’s Alice Lowe, THE WOMAN’s Pollyanna McIntosh helming DARLIN’ and, also, Mirrah Foulkes who directed JUDY & PUNCH, but has also appeared in THE CROWN, TOP OF THE LAKE: CHINA GIRL, and ANIMAL KINGDOM.

As you may suspect from the name, JUDY & PUNCH is a revenge twist on the British puppet theater/domestic violence mainstay, while still taking place in the 17th century, but also has witches (of a sort). It’s an odd genre film with very specific music choices, including a very idiosyncratic soundtrack that includes a lot of anachronistic synth covers, and an oddly unnecessary cover of LAIBACH’s cover of OPUS’ -Life is Life-. It’s not perfect, and there is a lot of abuse, but I’ll take weird swings like this any day of the week.

Sadly, the film runs a bit long — the middle feels more than a little padded — but when you have Mia Wasikowska (CRIMSON PEAK, STOKER) and Damon Herriman (ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, but he’ll always be Dewey Crowe from JUSTIFIED to me), I’d also be tempted to fight to include every scene you shot.

LUCKY (2020)

March 15, 2021

(AMC+/Shudder/VOD) Back when I recommended 12 HOUR SHIFT last month, I mentioned that writer/director Brea Grant was one of the hardest working people in genre film, and here she is starring in a screenplay she wrote, one of the rawest psychological thrillers I’ve seen in some time. Here she and director Natasha Kermani seem to be channeling Charlie Kaufmann or Repulsion-era Roman Polanski in the best way possible, as this is one very surreal exploration of assault and victimhood. It’s a shockingly original film that makes the most of exploiting slasher tropes, and I can’t wait to see what Grant does next.

If I have one quibble, one complaint about the film, it’s that no author signs the slipcover of a book and, every time I witness it via the trailer or in the film, it’s like nails on a chalkboard. (I fully realize they had her sign the slipcover because this allowed them to only have to print up slipcovers, rather than fake the innards of a book, but it still irks me!)

MR. SOUL! (2018)

March 14, 2021

(HBO MAX) I’m embarrassed that I was completely unaware of the existence of the Black variety TV show SOUL!, which ran from 1968 to 1973, a bit before my time. The show was an overstuffed marvel of wall-to-wall talent, featuring musicians, writers, and poets, and this documentary that extolls it is absolutely fascinating.

Despite the doc being named after the host of the show, Ellis Haizlip, and co-directed by his niece, it’s rather light on particulars about his life. Instead it focuses more on what he accomplished through the show than being a personal profile, which isn’t an admonishment, merely an observation.

Either way, be prepared to take notes while watching it, as there are a litany of acts and individuals noted in the doc that deserve your additional attention.

(Grateful to Damon Locks for posting about this doc, which I wouldn’t have otherwise seen.)