Retracing Steps and Finding Footings - Friday Video Distractions with Mike Norton

 

  Another week already?!
   Too much going on for me at work, medical concerns, and then the remnants of Ida tearing through to make Wednesday and Thursday a bit of a mess. As a result, this is likely to be more a case of quick looks at things on my list to check out.
     Disney's ticked me off by sticking to a theatrical release only for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, a wholly irresponsible thing to do during a resurgent pandemic. This makes it the first Marvel Cinematic Universe release since 2008 which I won't have seen while it's new. Evading spoilers for a few days is a reasonable aim, but not for the length of time involved here. I'm peeved and disappointed, which I say both as a nearly life-long Marvel fan and as a much more recent Disney shareholder.
     Moving on to brighter things...
    While it's been available since mid-July, I've only just started to look at McCartney 3, 2, 1 (on Hulu). It's an engaging, 6-part documentary/interview series in which interviewer and producer Rick Rubin talks with Paul McCartney, mostly while standing at a mixing board or in reach of a keyboard or other instrument, dissecting Sir Paul's musical history. The segments are roughly half an hour each, and the first two (which are all I've made time for) flew past.

   It's a broad, deep, organic session that delves into the music, memories and personalities involved. As Paul is still so active and vital at 79, he has taken on a new layer of interest for me of late as I contemplate, in a hopeful spirit, a planned transition to a new stage of life for myself in (again, leaning hard on the hope) less than five years. This as I attempt to build something that at least resembles a rounded life for myself for the first time in too, too many years.   

     Shifting for a moment away from video, I've also been reading one of Dick Van Dyke's books, his 2015 musings on engaging life and staying vital, Keep Moving.
     Both as I've been trying to reduce clutter and because I got a deal on a Kindle download for $2.99 plus tax, I picked it up recently in that formless form.  Eighty nine at the time he published and was out talking about it during a podcast I recently heard an encore presentation of, it caught my attention in part because even in the kindliest-to-me light I'd have to admit that at 89 the man is livelier and more engaged in life than I am at 60, and really than I've been for most of my adult life. I'm so completely out of touch with such fundamental things as what makes me happy, that I'm becoming my own biggest project. It's long overdue work. A race between me and the Reaper for my remains.
     Certainly, it's not a case of looking for a template, but tips and points to consider are always valuable. End of digression, and back to video media.
     While it's a bit farther off, I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention that fans of Paul McCartney and the Beatles, who also have or are considering getting Disney +, will get to see The Beatles: Get Back late this November. This is the documentary project by Peter Jackson, originally planned for theatrical release, where he had full and unfettered access to 55 hours of previously unseen film footage from the 1969 Let It Be sessions. Protracted editing sessions and overall delays due to COVID led to a rethinking of the project, so it will arrive in three parts, on November 25, 26 & 27 - Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Buyer's Remorse Saturday or whatever grim appellation, if any, that day already has. Here's the preview montage Jackson put out about 8 months ago, when it was still being worked on for theaters.

     I'm looking forward to taking that in during a holiday weekend I already look forward to as the true start of the end-of-year holidays. Something else to digest, but sans calories, during a weekend where ideally I get to stay put. A win:win. I'll make a point of mentioning it again when it's imminent.
     Back to the present, and back again over on Hulu, a new, 10-part comedy series has just landed. Only Murders In the Building (2021) stars Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez and Aaron Dominguez. The episodes range from 26 to 35 minutes long, and it seems to have enough potential to give it a try.

      And so it did! Ten episodes, wrapping October 19th, brought us into their increasingly convoluted worlds as the task of solving a mystery slowly wore away each character's protective insulation. I was happy to see a second season was approved back in September. I'll only note that season one ends with the overt set-up for season two.
          Over on Amazon Prime, on some odd whim, I decided to look at the latest from the crew of Top Gear. That would be The Grand Tour: Lochdown. Yes, it's a pandemic and Scottish, dual-duty pun. Don't blame me. I've only watched the first ten minutes (I'm looking with yearning toward the end of the work week) and am reasonably encouraged.
         I've never been a car guy - if it doesn't have the brand and model clearly printed on it, I'm unlikely to be able to identify a vehicle an easy 80% of the time, and I've never had pictures of a dream car on my wall or in my school locker - but Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have proven entertaining competitively playing off each other in the past, and cars are their lingua franca -- or their surrogates for penis size or urine stream length and strength.
     For this one, the premise is the question: Why did 1970s American luxury and oversized muscle cars fail to catch on in the U.K., while our exported music, film, food and fashion did? To attempt to find an answer, each of them bought a car from the period, and they took to the road for a tour of Scotland while they tried to work the problem through.

      Hopefully it'll hold up. If not, it's not as if I'm lacking for things to get to.
     Last week's piece included Nicolas Cage's latest horror action comedy, Willy's Wonderland, which prompted Thursday blogger Joseph Finn, during a conversation a few of us had, to mention a 2009 documentary, the Rock-Afire Explosion, which is all about the animatronix that were the precursor to the ones repurposed for Chuck E. Cheese restaurants - which was the point where I became aware of them. Garbo (who handles Tuesdays on the Consortium of Seven, along with patching any gaps when we're missing a contributor, and who oversees blog operations in general) found it over on YouTube, so I thought it not a bad idea to add it here. It's often interesting to take a fairly deep dive into something one was largely unaware of, especially to meet those people for whom it was a very big deal. Bring your kindliest eyes.

     Going back to Amazon Prime, I was recently made aware of an at least conceptually interesting project that was crowdfunded via Kickstarter: Howl From Beyond the Fog (2021 70 minutes). It started as a 2019 short film that was used to get the money for this fuller version.
     Set in the Meiji Period (roughly 1868-1912), a blind girl named Takiri and a blind monster named Nebula find a special bond, and stand against greedy developers. It's done using puppets and miniatures.

     Full disclosure, I've taken one quick run at it, but I'm admittedly not in the best, most patient frame of mind this week, and so didn't stick with it long. I'm planning to give it another look.
     Updated note from 2024: A cursory check seems to indicate the later, full-length version may have gone somewhere, and it's possible only the 25min precursor may be lying around these days.
     Finally, closing with another black and white sci-fi or horror film that would have fit in with a weekend horror host, I thought I'd go for the drive-in double feature companion piece to last week's Not Of This Earth, (Still kicking around over on YouTube) it's another Roger Corman produced and directed affair: Attack of the Crab Monsters (1957  63 minutes). I'll leave the obvious dating mishap jokes to those fond of reaching for the low branches.  Starring Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, and a 33 year-old Russell Johnson, seven years before appearing in the role that would forever brand him: Professor Roy Hinkley on Gilligan's Island. The fuzzy picture quality was almost bad enough that I chose something else, but given the effects budget it may be more of a kindness than a deficiency. (Hey! While I'll keep this here as a fall-back, I checked and it's also over on Tubi! If you can reach this site, you can reach Tubi, and that site costs nothing. You'll just need to put up with a modest number of commercials.

     They made an honest attempt with it, and if you meet them halfway it manages an effective, creepy vibe, as the new expedition tries to discover what became of the old one.
     ... and that should be enough for this week.
     Oh, hell, I tossed a clearer shot of the crab monster down at the bottom. Don't say I never gave you anything. You'll need to melt your own tub of butter.
     Look for the link next week, when we should be in our first week in the new, Year Three virtual digs for the Consortium of Seven. Take care!  - Mike