DailyView: Day 78, Movie 133

After watching the season finale of Loki the other day on Disney +, I viewed the review of the series from YouTube critic and personality Dan Murrell and he made a reference to the opening scene and the audio clips from the MCU to the scene from Contact, calling it an homage to the movie. I had Contact on the DailyView list of films as a possible watch, so I thought this would be a nice one to pick up at this point. Dan was right about the similar idea with the Loki scene. The introduction to Contact is very much alike.

Contact starred Jodie Foster as a scientist whose team was involved in the investigation of extraterrestrial contact, mostly with messages from space. The film started with the scientific community looking down upon her and her group, even casting them aside. This led Dr. Elle Arroway (Foster) to desperately search for funding to maintain her project.

During this time, she comes in contact with Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey), a renowned author and theologian, and they developed a short-term relationship.

After successfully finding funding, Elle’s team had a huge breakthrough, discovering a complicated message from a star called Vega. Within the message, which included the return broadcast of a video of Adolf Hitler at the 1936 Olympics, they found a diagram for a machine they believed was a transportation device to exchange ideas between the two races.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Contact is adapted from a novel of the same name by Carl Sagan. There are a lot of high concepts and scientific properties involved with this science fiction tale. It makes the movie feel smart and realistic despite the fantastical special effects and scenes from the last act of the movie. In fact, the realism of the first part of the film pays off when the more sci-fi aspects take affect.

The performances are all very solid. Jodie Foster is great as the dedicated and, at times, fiery scientist. There is a top notch cast here including Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, David Morse, Jena Malone, William Fichtner, James Woods, John Hurt, Angela Bassett, Rob Lowe, and Geoffrey Blake.

The movie was set in the middle of the Bill Clinton presidency and clips of President Clinton were used to show his involvement. There were plenty of other journalist and TV personalities who made cameos such as Larry King, Geraldo Rivera, Bernard Shaw, Bryant Gumbel among others. There are also plenty of real life politicians and famous individuals appearing in cameos such as Geraldine Ferraro, Robert Novak, Jay Leno, John Holliman, and Dee Dee Myers.

I was not a fan of the relationship the movie provided between Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey. I did not believe this relationship at all, which stemmed from a one night stand. McConaughney’s character did several things to betray Foster that I, personally, would never have let the snake back to my life. It was certainly the weakest of the part of the film.

Contact may have been a tad long too, coming in a 2 and 1/2 hours, but most of the movie was intelligent and compelling. There were solid performances and is probably would really be like if an alien race contacted the earth.

DailyView: Day 78, Movie 132

One of the most acclaimed documentaries of all time is When We Were Kings, the story of the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Africa that became known as “The Rumble in the Jungle.” I had thought about watching this before, but I was under the impression that it was over three hours and movies that long are tough to commit to. However, I was looking at the Showtime app on Amazon and I came across this movie and it was listed as an hour and a half for runtime. I was both shocked and excited. This made this choice for the DailyView a much easier one.

When We Were King was more than just a look at the Ali-Foreman fight. It encompassed the entire black culture of the time, looking at political questions, music and how Muhammad Ali personified all of these. The focus of the film was more on Ali than Foreman for sure because of how charismatic and engaging the former champion was. Listening to the talking heads come on the screen and build the environment of the match was fascinating.

You can’t go wrong just putting the camera on Ali and letting it go. He was so charismatic, so outgoing that even though people did not believe he stood a chance with the young and powerful current champion George Foreman, a show was going to be put on.

The documentary dives into Don King some as well, in particular the efforts he had in putting the fight together. He was able to convince both Ali and Foreman that he could get them $5 million dollars each to create the fight, despite King not having $10 million dollars. Involvement of Zaire dictator Mobutu Sese Seko not only financed King’s match, but brought it to the continent of Africa. Ali had been outspoken about a lot of the politics of black culture and the American treatment of blacks so holding this fight in Africa played into that narrative heavily.

The film brought James Brown, The Spinners and B.B. King to the front as well, discussing the black music festival that was planned. We heard comments from Howard Cosell, Norman Mailer, Spike Lee, George Plimpton, Odessa Clay, and Thomas Hauser.

The analysis during the footage of the fight was fascinating and gave a real inside knowledge to not only what happened leading up to the fight, but how Ali was able to pull off what was considered one of the great upsets in sports history. It was mentioned that George Foreman went into an extended depression for two years following the knockout, which sounds like an extremely intriguing story as well.

Muhammad Ali is one of the brightest lights of both black and American sports, transcending past just an athlete. This doc does a beautiful job of highlighting that fact.

When We Were Kings Bomaye!

DailyView: Day 77, Movie 131

I have recently come to appreciate the character of Conan the Barbarian from his current run in the Marvel Comics run. When the original movies came out starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was not interested. I have recently seen Conan the Barbarian from 1982 and I did not love it. The sequel to this brings Arnold back to the sandal, sword and sorcery genre of pulp films as Conan the Destroyer.

Created by Robert E. Howard, Conan has been a successful pulp[ character for years, including several successful runs in comics. Conan the Barbarian #1 (Marvel) has been inducted into this year’s EYG Hall of Fame while Conan was inducted las year.

You probably do not find a better actor to play Conan than Arnold Schwarzenegger. The original film was darker and more tragic, focusing on Conan’s early life and his search for vengeance. Conan the Destroyer is considerably less dark, bordering on silliness, including some dumb comedic moments such as a drunk Conan.

Conan is hired by Queen Taramis (Sarah Douglas) to escort her niece Princess Jehnna (Olivia D’Abo) in retrieving a magical crystal that will help them procure the horn that legends say can awaken the god of dreams, Dagoth (Andre the Giant).

Conan has a band of people with him including Jehnna’s bodyguard Bombaata (Wilt Chamberlain), Zula (Grace Jones), wizard Akiro (Mako), and the cowardly Malak (Tracey Walker).

This is a silly movie with a ridiculous plot and special effects that are laughable. I felt for poor Andre the Giant beneath the terrible costume they had him.

I was disappointed to see that Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway were credited with writing this. As two of the extremely talented comic book writers, including those already writing Conan comics (Roy Thomas was credited with writing the aforementioned EYG Hall of Fame comic Conan #1) because the dialogue was atrocious and the plot was simplistic.

I actually had several belly laughs from this movie, which I assumed was not supposed to be the case. I am not sure what they were going for here, but it finished off the Conan franchise in movies for years, despite ending with the coolest shot of the whole film, Arnold sitting on a throne as King Conan, clearly a movie that they would have liked to make, but never did. I wonder why? (Sarcasm)

DailyView: Day 77, Movie 130

With Loki coming to a close today, I spent a good chunk of the morning with that series and the variety of YouTube reactions for it. Because of that, time slipped away so it meant that I would be watching another Charlie Chaplin short for the DailyView. Today’s film was called The Rink and it goes all the way back to 1916.

Charlie Chaplin is his typically bumbling, clumsy self as a waiter at a restaurant who takes his lunch break to a roller skating rink where he meets up with a young lady (Edna Purviance).

Charlie Chaplin on roller skates was way more fluid and graceful than I thought he was going to be. However, when others would get in his way or cause him to off balance, the resulting pratfalls and slapstick was hilarious. While the material at the restaurant was fairly typical, the roller skating scenes were tremendous.

I enjoyed the music that served as the film’s soundtrack more than several other Chaplin films. I am not sure why I noticed this one as much as I did, but it was great.

Charlie Chaplin’s roller skating was certainly the highlight here and worth the time. It was a lot of fun and quick.

DailyView: Day 76, Movie 129

Luc Besson has directed a bunch of great movies such as Lucy, La Femme Nikita, and my personal favorite of his, The Fifth Element. Today for the DailyView, we will be looking at another one of Besson’s thrillers, Léon: The Professional.

Léon: The Professional was the debut of Natalie Portman in the young role of Mathilda, the 12-year old girl whose family is murdered by police officer Stansfield (Gary Oldman) and his staff from the DEA. She escaped from the same fate by hiding out in the neighboring apartment of Léon (Jean Reno), a professional hitman. She convinces him to let her stay with him and teach her the tricks of the trade of being a “cleaner.”

The relationship between Jean Reno and Natalie Portman is so wonderful and just a little bit uncomfortable. This is one of the most intriguing relationships in the movie. Gary Oldman is just wicked as can be here too. Oldman is an amazing actor and he creates a character here that is just horrendous and you cheer for him to get his.

This is a simple story and depends on the skills of its performers to carry it through. It is extremely violent as well, as it does not shy away from showing the viciousness of that life style. Léon is shown as being an example of one of the best hitmen around.

Léon: The Professional is a wonderful film, a story of connections amidst a world of violence and corruption. Jen Reno and Natalie Portman created the most unique pair on the screen ever and Gary Oldman is as evil as you’re ever going to see. There was humor, thrills and excitement throughout.

DailyView: Day 75, Movie 128

The EYG Hall of Famers Monty Python had some classic movies in their careers. Monty Python and the Holy Grail has always been my favorite and the Monty Python movie that I returned to several times. I had never seen the Life of Brian before and so I thought this would be a good time to change that.

Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman) was a young Jewish-Roman man who was born, on the same day, next door to Jesus and was mistaken as the Messiah. Brian joined a political movement to get the Romans out of Judea, and he was able to paint slogans on the wall in Jerusalem. The desperate people of Judea hooked on to Brian, looking to him as a prophet, despite no evidence. Captured by the Roman army, Brian faced an unhappy fate of the same man he was born beside.

Putting their spin on the story of the Christ crucifixion, Monty Python is not afraid to go for the laugh in whatever topic they satirize. In this case, they faced plenty of cries of blasphemy from the religious people of the world. The fact that it works and is very funny gives Monty Python the ability to get past the aanger.

The movie ends with one of the greatest moments with the song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” sung by Eric Idle and the rest of the people being crucified. It is a brilliant end to the movie and is one of the best songs Monty Python has ever done.

Monty Python is Eric Idol, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. They were fearless and went for the laugh no matter what.

DailyView: Day 75, Movie 127

I knew I had to really focus on this one because David Lynch has been creating bizarre movies and shows for decades. I was a huge fan of Twin Peaks, even when I was not sure exactly what was going on. So when today’s DailyView was to be Mulholland Drive, I knew I had to pay explicit attention. Even then, I came out with the same surreal feelings I had during Twin Peaks (especially season three from Showtime).

Outlining a narrative here is a challenge as well, since there is so many parts that seem to have no purpose or that dangle without any real explanation. Reportedly, this was originally developed as a pilot for a TV series and perhaps some of those plot threads were meant to be developed more during a season.

We start with a terrible car crash on Mulholland Drive in California where a beautiful woman is injured and wanders around the neighborhood. She winds up in an apartment that was empty and is found, naked in the shower, by Betty (Naomi Watts), a wannabe actress who is staying temporarily in the apartment, owned by her Aunt Ruth. The woman realizes that she has amnesia and cannot remember anything. She calls herself Rita (Laura Harring) after Rita Hayworth whose name she sees on a movie poster.

They discover Rita’s purse is filled with packets of money and a mysterious blue key. Betty and Rita begin to try and discover Rita’s true identity.

Meanwhile, there is also a subplot involving a director Adam (Justin Theroux) and his movie. He is trying to find the perfect lead for his film but his efforts are being rebuked by the mob, which has wormed their way into the project and who wants Adam to cast Camilla Rhodes.

There are so many things that happen here that are bizarre, including a strange man hiding behind the diner called Winkie’s. There were several dreamlike situations that made you wonder exactly what was happening during the movie. There is also a time when Betty disappears and Naomi Watts begins playing the character Diane Selwyn and we see this story from a new perspective, with Rita now being the mysterious Camilla Rhodes.

There was a hilarious scene involving (former LOST star, Mark Pellegrino- who was Jacob) as a hitman who is trying to locate Rita (I think) and winds up killing three people. It was a dark humor for sure, but his bumbling made the scene really funny.

The film is filled with the imagery much like many of David Lynch’s projects are. The dancing dwarf from Twin Peaks, Michael J. Anderson, is here too as a man with a small head in a wheelchair. He was apparently behind the movies in Hollywood and called Mr. Roque.

This is a wild experience and I am not sure I know what happened, but I enjoyed what I saw. It made me think back to Twin Peaks and that is always a good thing. Naomi Watts was great , as she always seems to be. Give it your attention and get your mind active.

DailyView: Day 74, Movie 126

I have come to really enjoy the work of actor Jimmy Stewart. I had only a limited exposure to Jimmy Stewart before I started this DailyView, but since I have added Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance, and this one to my previous knowledge of Stewart’s work including Rear Window, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, Rope, and, of course, It’s A Wonderful Life. Anatomy of a Murder fits right in with this list of classic movies from Mr. Stewart.

Directed by Otto Preminger, Anatomy of a Murder is one of the greatest courtroom drama films of all-time. The case from the film, based on a true murder, is filled with twists and keeps the audience guessing about what is truly going on.

Local Michigan attorney and recently disposed district attorney Paul Biegler (James Stewart) is approached to take the case of Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara), a lieutenant in the army, who had been accused of murdering a bartender Barney Quill, who had supposedly raped his wife Laura (Lee Remick). Biegler knew his case was thin and that his client looked guilty, so he came up with the defense of temporary insanity.

The district attorney brings in hotshot prosecutor Claude Dancer (George C. Scott) to help with the case. Dancer tried his best to keep the reputed rape out of the trial, but once it came in, he went after Laura with a vengeance.

What I enjoyed most about the story was the way there felt as if there was something being hidden by everyone involved. I was never quite sure I knew exactly what had happened the night of the rape and eventual murder.

None of the character involved in this case, with the possible exception of Judge Weaver (Joseph N. Welch), were above reproach. Both sides of the case were shown or implied that they were coaching witnesses or downright putting witnesses into the case that were not necessarily the most honest. Laura was shown as a definite flirtatious woman who did not seem to be happy in her marriage. Manion may or may not have beaten his wife at times.

There are top line performances here including Jimmy Stewart and George C. Scott. Arthur O’Connell was an intriguing character, Parnell McCarthy, an alcoholic lawyer who teamed up with Biegler on the case. I say he is intriguing because he has little importance on the story, but he does provide an important detail for the defense.

This was a long movie, but the pacing was really solid so it seemed to pass quickly. I thought this was an exception film with a cast that took the quality material and brought it to another level.

DailyView: Day 73 Movie 125

One of the most iconic films from the late eighties is Weekend at Bernie’s, but it always looked to be too stupid to watch. Yes, it was a cultural classic, but I just did not have a lot of interest. It seemed like the right time to finally watch the film for the DailyView.

This was just too stupid for me.

Two schmucks, Richard (Jonathan Silverman) and Larry (Andrew McCarthy), discovered an error in the finances of the company they worked for worth millions of dollars. Thinking this was their big break, they took the error to their boss, Bernie Lomax (Terry Kiser). Little did they know, the error was from Bernie, who was stealing from the company. Bernie invited them to his weekend house where he planned to make it look like a murder-suicide.

However, Bernie had some trouble of his own with his mafia partner (Louis Giambalvo), whose girl (Catherine Parks) Bernie was having an affair with. He decided that Bernie needed to die instead and he sent hitman (Don Calfa) to kill him. He gives Bernie an overdose and leaves him to be discovered. Richard and Larry arrive and find Bernie dead and they decide to continue the part that arrived at Bernie’s house.

They hauled Bernie around in a ton of slapstick scenes, apparently meant to be funny.

I guess Bernie’s body does not stiffen after death.

This was so frenetic and chaotic and just downright stupid that I checked out early into the main arc of the story. I did not like either of the leads and using the dead body as a prop overstayed its welcome. I have no idea how they squeezed out a sequel to this, but I will not be finding out.

There was nothing funny here. Bernie is dead. That was the entire joke. That was not funny. I do not even remember giggling once. I disliked Weekend at Bernie’s no matter how much of a classic it is considered.

This one was DOA for me.