The EYG boys helped in the creation of this site. We had big plans when we decided that we were going to embrace our geekness, but that did not quite come to fruition. Of course, I have continued to work the site and I love it.
Fact is that they are the EYG boys and, though I do not see them as much as I would like to, they are my friends and I am grateful for their parts in my life.
DailyView: Day 213, Movie 300
On the 213th day of the DailyView, we have hit movie number 300. When I started back in April of this year, I did not expect to have watched this all the way till now and I did not expect to come anywhere near 300 movies. This DailyView has been something that I have been quite proud of and it has been challenging.
Thank goodness for HBO Max, which has been one of the best of the streaming services for available movies that I have not seen. Number 300 is on that site as well. It was a film dealing with a topic that I loved growing up, the Loch Ness Monster. I was always one of those kids who believed in and read about Nessie, Bigfoot, yetis, UFOs and other strange phenomenon. So this film appealed to me when I found it on HBO Max. It had been on my queue for a few weeks, but this fit into the schedule today.
Young Angus (Alex Etel), whose father was killed fighting in World War II on a boat that was sunk, lived with his family on the shores of Loch Ness. One day, he discovered an egg around the loch and he took it with him home. The egg hatched and there was a strange creature inside, a creature that Angus had never seen before.
Handyman Lewis Mowbray (Ben Chaplin) just started working for Angus’s mother Anne (Emily Watson) when he came across Angus trying to hide the creature. Lewis told Angus that he believed the beast was a water horse, a mythical Scottish creature and there is only one that can exist at a time.
Soldiers from the British army, led by Captain Hamilton (David Morrissey), take up residence in the castle where Anne and her family maintain, and begin to cause trouble. The dog of one of the soldiers started chasing the water horse, named Crusoe by Angus, which led Angus and Lewis to release the creature into the loch.
The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is an enjoyable family film that takes your typical boy and his pet story and infuses it with humor, some drama, and a lot of heartfelt moments. Alex Etel does a good job leading the film and carrying on the relationship with the giant CGI creature. Never easy for an actor, Etel is very believable and covers the emotional beats well.
The rest of the cast is fine. I’m not sure why Captain Hamilton made such a swap midway through the film. He started off as a horrible character, but changed as the story progressed.
The CGI was decent. It may not match up with today’s level of quality, but for 2007, there was nothing that really stood out as terrible. Again, it is important for the character of Crusoe to be believable or else no one would buy into the story.
The story of Angus is told to a young couple by Brian Cox and this way of setting up a story works very well, and this time the trope benefits from the skill of Cox as an actor.
While it may be predictable at times, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is a fun family film that is full of adventure and heart.
Every year, there are movies that are initially released in the prior year that I only see in the current one. Usually it has to do with releasing a film for Academy Award consideration. However, in 2021, things got complicated. They pushed the Oscar presentation back a few months and changed the release date to make a movie eligible.
That messed with my usual plan here, but I still considered movies that were eligible for Oscars last year to be movie for 2020 in this situation.
Another tweak here was that I did the DailyView and there were 2020 movies that I had not watched before included. These movies also fall into this category.
I am doing the top 5 of movies released in 2020 that I watched in 2021.
#5. My Octopus Teacher. A doc that I watched on Netflix in the DailyView. It was a lot of fun.
#4. The Father. An amazing performance from Sir Anthony Hopkins, one that earned him an Academy Award win.
#3. Minari. Featuring Steven Yeun, one of the top foreign language films of the past year.
#2. Nomadland. Chloé Zhao’s Oscar winning effort that included an exceptional performance from Frances McDormand.
#1. One Night in Miami. The story of what happened one night when Cassius Clay, Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Malcom X met in a hotel room in Miami.
Other 2020 films that I considered for this list included: Most Rarely Sometimes Always, The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Judas and the Black Messiah and the White Tiger.
Peter Jackson’s documentary trilogy, The Beatles: Get Back, concluded today on Disney + with the third part to the series debuting, with where everything had been building to… the rooftop session.
It is iconic now, but to watch the Beatles performing, interspersed with the crowd on the street being interviewed and watching the police get the run around by the Beatles’ people was a hoot. Hearing from people on the street who loved what was happening to those people who thought it was just a gigantic disturbance was truly fun.
The first hour or so of part 3 felt a little anticlimactic as we just got more of the rehearsal footage that we got heavily in the first two parts, but it is no doubt fascinating. The process by which these musical geniuses came up with and developed these classic songs was amazing to watch. From Ringo starting a bit from Octopus’s Garden to George coming in with lyrics he wrote the night before for Old Brown Shoe and watching them tweak these into what we would know later is just amazing. Still, there may have been a touch too much.
However, every scene with Paul’s little stepdaughter Heather and her interactions with the rest of the band was absolute gold. Watching the Beatles embrace that childlike humor and fun was an absolute treasure.
I was unaware that several of the songs recorded on the rooftop actually wound up as the final version on the final LP, Let It Be.
It speaks to the enormity of the Beatles that this three episode documentary created such a stir in the community and that Disney + was willing to release it on their streaming platform. It has been over 50 years since the Beatles broke up and two of them have passed away, yet the hunger for the band remains at a high level. Jackson does a wonderful job creating a story out of this footage and giving us an up close look at these four iconic musicians from the greatest band of all time.
I want more event-like releases from Disney +. This was absolutely worth the 8+ hours I committed to it.
This is always one of my favorite times of the year around EYG because it is very busy and there are a lot of newness. It is unlike the rest of the year, because we are looking back and moving forward. It has also become history with all of the list of the things we have done over the years. Categories such as:
Previous Winners: Gal Gadot, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jennifer Lawrence, Marvel Studios, J.J. Abrams, Josh Brolin, Damon Lindelof & Regina King, Netflix
Previous winners: John Carter, Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Lone Ranger, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Expendables 3, Jem and the Holograms, Pan, Rock the Casbah, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Robin Hood (2018), Mortal Engines, Playmobil: The Movie, The Rhythm Section
Previous Winners: Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Robin Williams (Aladdin- honorary), Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War), Ryan Reynolds (Detective Pikachu), Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian)
Previous Winners: Emjay Anthony (Chef), Jacob Trembley (Room), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Dafne Keen (Logan), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Noah Jupe (Honey Boy), McKenna Grace (Troop Zero)
Previous winners: Stan Lee (three times), John Cena, Chris Evans, Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Yoda, J.K. Simmons, Harrison Ford, Rudy Giuliani
Previous winners: Rey (Star Wars), Mockingbird (Marvel Comics), Wonder Woman (DCEU), The Shirewolves, Captain Marvel, Kamala Harris
…among many more.
Kristen Stewart has come a long way from Bella Swan in the Twilight franchise, all the way to the Princess of Wales.
Stewart’s performance as Princess Diana in this piece of historical fiction, which looks at her decision to end her marriage to Prince Charles is haunting, at times frightening and sad. The fictionalized account places Diana with the rest of the Royal Family at Christmas holiday at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, England.
We see a rebellious Diana, going out of her way to not follow instructions from the people around her. We see a depressed Diana, who is clearly saddened and suffering from Prince Charles (Jack Farthing) and his poorly hidden affair. We see a physically challenged Diana who is forcing herself to regurgitate the meals she has eaten. And we see a mentally challenged Diana who is having hallucinations of Anne Boleyn (Amy Manson).
Kristen Stewart brings a realism to all these circumstances as we see the declining star who was Princess Diana. She is so believable as the iconic princess that she carries the entire production.
This is not a biopic so if you are coming into the picture with expectations of learning more about the last years of Diana’s life, you will be disappointed. This is more of a teardown of the way the Royal Family is treated and handled, presenting a challenge for those who have come from outside in. The schedules of everything from exactly what to wear to where you should be to what you are expected to do makes for a very difficult life and one that brought feelings of claustrophobia and isolation to this Diana.
There was a scene in a car at the end of the movie, which I will not spoil, that cause me to roll my eyes, but the rest of Spencer was a powerful portrait of what the demands of a world watching can do to a person, especially when you lack the support or the confidence to do what you have to do.
Kristen Stewart should be remembered around Academy Award nominations as she is exceptional here.
3.8 stars
DailyView: Day 212, Movie 299
Earlier today I was watching the live version of the Top 10 Show with Matt Knost and John Rocha. I rarely get a chance to see them live since I am normally in class, but since this was Black Friday, I was at home and I took advantage of the opportunity. The topic this week was Top 10 Songs from Movies, which is a ginormous topic. However, one song that they had in common near the top of their lists, was the song Lose Yourself, by Eminem. This made me remember that 8 Mile was on my list for the DailyView.
I am not a fan of rap music, but I do like Lose Yourself, so I found 8 Mile on HBO Max and watched it. I must say that Eminem was impressive in his big screen debut, even if he was basically playing himself. There was plenty of speculation that the film was heavily biographic with Eminem’s youth growing up on the streets of Detroit, but that does not take away from a powerful performance in his first major role.
Jimmy Smith (Eminem), nicknamed B-Rabbit, is trying to get through life and hoping to get a break as a rapper. He had to move back in with his alcoholic mother (Kim Basinger) and his sister Lily (Chloe Greenfield) when he was struggling to keep a job.
Things got worse when he froze during a battle rap competition creating all sorts of conflict for the young white rapper.
The film continued to toss these conflicts at B-Rabbit as it builds toward him returning to the battle rap stage to show what he was capable of doing.
The story was stitched together with several scenes that felt connected slightly. Still, each moment showed something of the character of B-Rabbit and the friends that he hung around with.
The film included performances from Anthony Mackie, Michael Shannon, Brittany Murphy, Omar Benson Miller, Proof, Mekhi Phifer, Taryn Manning and De’Angelo Wilson.
The battle rap at the end of the film was excellent and highlighted their skills at the rap.
8 Mile was an enjoyable film and I liked it even despite not being a fan of rap.
Part two of Peter Jackson’s epic documentary on the Get Back recording sessions featuring the Beatles dropped on Disney + today, picking right up from where part one left off.
When we left part one, George Harrison had left the band and they had gone to a meeting that, as the film indicated, did not go very well.
So there led to some deep discussions about the future of the band and what they were going to do, especially when John was late the next day and speculation was that he maybe was not coming in. Paul dropped the quote, “And then there was two” referencing him and Ringo.
However, John did eventually arrive and the three of them played around for much of the day. There was an uncertainty around what the band was going to do and exactly how they were going to continue with their project.
After deciding to switch sites to Apple EMI studios helped soothe some issues and George returned. What really seemed to help the Beatles was the arrival and subsequent use of keyboardist Billy Preston, one of George’s friends, who they convinced to play the piano so the other members of the Beatles would not have to. This helped their idea of playing the songs live to tape.
Billy Preston brought an energy back to the Fab Four, and helped them out. In fact, on the days when Preston was not available because of another show he was working on, you could see that the Beatles were less on task.
This leads to the idea of the rooftop concert as a solution to their live performance problem. When Paul had this suggested to him, you could see his eyes light up and the expression on his face brightened.
We got a cameo from EYG Hall of Famer Peter Sellers early in the episode, during the Is John coming part. Oh, and the Yoko Ono singing while Paul drummed was ear-splitting. It cannot be described.
Can’t wait to wrap up the documentary tomorrow.
It is that time of the year once again!
It is time to start the EYG Year in Review for the year 2021. Lots of amazing things happened as well as a few that were not that great. We will be looking at the whole year, including giving out our typical yearly awards.
As we start taking a few steps towards the return of some semblance of normal after the insanity of 2020, a look back can help us understand where we are heading.
A Thanksgiving tradition. The Turkey Drop is one of the best half hours of television ever, and certainly right at the top of the Thanksgiving moments. I laugh every time I watch it.
DailyView: Day 211, Movie 298
This was my second Beatles inspired DailyView today in honor of the new Disney + documentary by Peter Jackson, The Beatles: Get Back (which was tremendous). Unfortunately, neither of the DailyView entries were up to par.
That certainly goes for teh Beatles juke box musical, Across the Universe.
When Jude (Jim Sturgess) left Liverpool to travel to America in search of his absent father, he met the rambunctious Max (Joe Anderson) and his lovely sister Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). The trio were carefree and happily singing Beatles songs, until Max is drafted to head to the Vietnam War.
There are many problems with this musical, but the music is not one of them. The Beatles songs are great and if you just listen to them, you might enjoy yourself. Of course, if you just listen to them, you may as well play the CD instead.
So much of the plot and a bunch of characters are involved here simply to get Beatles songs into the film. Many of them make no sense in the overall story of the movie and are there just to say they are there. Bono of U2 showed up just to sing The Benefit of Mr. Kite. I believe that is the total of his appearance.
Characters are introduced with names that tell you they are going to have a song around them. There was a Prudence (T.V. Carpio), Lucy, Jude and JoJo (Martin Luther).
If this was intended as simply an extended music video with the different Beatles songs, I could deal with it. However, they are pretending that this is a feature film and that should have some kind of compelling… or at least understandable story. Across the Universe does not. Across the Universe tries to tie all of the 1960s unrest and major events with Beatles songs when they should have tied them to a story.
What an amazing couple of hours.
The first part of the documentary series, The Beatles: Get Back from director Peter Jackson debuted on Disney + on Thanksgiving with part 2 coming tomorrow and part 3 on Saturday. On the whole, there is over 8 hours of footage in the three parts detailing the “Get Back” sessions that helped lead to the break up of the Beatles.
I loved the way Peter Jackson stayed out of the way here and let the footage tell the story. He would throw in some on screen text when the narrative needed a little specificity, but there was no sign of a voice over and no talking heads who want to hang on to the groups success (I’m looking at you Beatles: Up Close & Personal).
Jackson gained the footage of these sessions, which had originally been intended as a documentary back in 1969-70, and he arranged it to show not only the creative process of one of the most brilliant bands in music history, but also how that creativity put strains on the individuals in the group and how it led to an eventual split.
Watching the Beatles, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr for those of you living under a rock, working through arrangements of a group of brand new songs on a deadline because of a TV special they were going to record was utterly fascinating. The creative process that these men showed during this was inspiring and quite impressive. The songs we knew, but they were in mid creation so some lyrics were rough and incomplete.
You could feel the tension between the group, especially with Paul and George, who clashed over the guitar bits throughout the part 1. John seemed to be constantly late to the sessions, which was also called out by the boys.
Part 1 ends with George Harrison having left the sessions saying that he was done, that he was leaving the Beatles. The film let us know that they set up a meeting with the Beatles on a Sunday and, ominously, the meeting did not go well.
I’m very excited for part two tomorrow on Disney +.
SPOILERS FOR HIT MONKEY EPISODE 2
“Bright Lights, Big City“
Whoa. The pilot episode of Hit Monkey was good, but episode two is absolutely insane. I loved it. There were so many shocking and hilarious moments in the show. Jason Sudeikis is a riot as Bryce, the ghost who is bonded to Hit Monkey, following him around and giving his opinions whether wanted or not.
My favorite line came in the battle with the old woman.
“She’s going to play through it“
Of course, it was a reference to her having her right arm torn off.
That fight with the old woman was brutal and showed why I am watching this on Hulu and not Disney + and why this is not MCU canon. Bloody and violent, Hit Monkey is something that I did not know that I needed.
We also got the origin of the monkey suit. No pun intended.
I love this so far. Excited to see episode three at a later point.
DailyView: Day 211, Movie 297
I am preparing to watch the first installment of the new Beatles documentary from Peter Jackson on Disney +, Beatles: Get Back. It looks to be an epic doc, with the first installment clocking in at over 2 and a half hours. I am saving that for after lunch today, so to prep for the show, I looked for something Beatles for the DailyView today. Time wise, Across the Universe did not fit (maybe tonight), but I found another documentary on Amazon Prime called The Beatles: Up Close and Personal that fit much better into the schedule.
Sadly, I did not enjoy this documentary very much.
Make no mistake, there are some great uses of the Beatles’ classic music. That was easily the best part of the doc.
However, the rest of the doc just felt like it was stories that were being told by the hangers-on.
Pete Best, one of the original drummers with the Beatles before being replaced with Ringo Starr, did a lot of the heavy lifting on the storytelling, and his constant reference to him being a Beatle felt wrong. He used a lot of “we” and “us” in the tales, and the doc does not seem to realize that Pete Best was not in any of the clips of the Beatles playing because he was out of the band by then.
The most interesting part of the doc was retelling about when Pete Best was released from the Beatles.
This felt like a group of people desperately trying to cash in on the success of the Beatles. It is reportedly unauthorized. I sure hope Get Back is better than this one.
Food. Family. Friends.
Lots to be thankful for…
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 