Happy New Year: 2021 Review!
Greetings, New Year’s Eve is finally here and, to mark the occasion, so is my last blog update for 2021. As per usual, I will be discussing my picks for the best titles in the entertainment categories that I experienced or wrote about during these past several months. Feel free to comment below on what media you enjoyed in 2021 or if there are any particular upcoming projects that you are looking forward to in the next year.
Unfortunately, 2021 felt like a bit of a washout due to the lack of cultural events or memorable moments and a more cynical or perhaps, by this point, a more realistic person would argue that 2022 will be more of the same. Despite this, one thing to note about this year was the great effort made to celebrate 10 years of Write Wise. It is a great credit to this small community that the site is still growing strong after a decade in existence, that the stories are getting bigger and better and that there is no indication that it is slowing down. I am looking forward to what will happen next year on the site but for now I’ll be discussing my winning choices.
Television Show of the Year: GLOW
Staring Alison Brie, Betty Gilpin and Marc Maron to name a few from a large and memorable cast, ‘GLOW’ lasted for 3 fantastic seasons before being cancelled by Netflix due to Covid-19 restrictions. As a result, the last planned season will likely never be seen which is a shame as it had ended on something of a cliff hanger and there were still many plotlines left to explore. The series is a dramatization of the real 1980s show, the Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, and follows the increasingly complicated relations between the numerous women who participate in the theatrical wrestling matches. The tenuous friendship and personal rivalry between the leads of Ruth Wilder and Debbie Eagan is one of my favourite aspects about this programme and I’d recommend that you watch it if you haven’t done so already.
Book of the Year: The Hellbound Heart
Known for being the source material of the famed horror movie ‘Hellraiser’, the Hellbound Heart was written by Clive Barker in 1986. The book, published one year before the film was released, introduced readers to the horrifying and sadomasochistic world of the Cenobites and the iconic Pinhead as Kirsty attempts to escape their pleasurable torture. It is similar to the aforementioned movie for the most part but one key difference is Kirsty’s relationship to Rory for in the film adaptation she is his daughter but in the novel Kirsty is merely a friend. If you enjoyed the story on the big screen then I imagine you would appreciate the one on paper as well.
Game of the Year: Half-Life
There is not much that needs to be said about this classic first person shooter game. Released back in 1998, Half-Life lets the player control the silent protagonist of Gordon Freeman as he battles his way out of the Black Mesa Research Facility after an experiment goes horribly wrong. There is no shortage of enemy AIs in this beloved game, either extra-terrestrial or human, and the game play has a developed a nostalgic feel to it over time. Despite being a few decades old by this point, Half-Life and its sequels still stand out as a creative high point for gaming industry.
Film of the Year: The Elephant Man
A much more down to earth film one would expect from the surreal director David Lynch who introduced the world to the bizarre series of ‘Twin Peaks’ and the cult hit of ‘Eraserhead’, the Elephant Man is based on the life of Joseph Merrick and the deformities that made him a celebrity in Victorian England. John Hurt gives an impressive performance as Merrick, while under heavy prosthetics, and his touching friendship with Anthony Hopkin’s Frederick Treves is most certainly a highlight of the movie that is worth emphasising. I also appreciated the decision taken to have it in black and white as this give the picture an almost timeless quality to it.
That about wraps it up for 2021. I hope we will be able to look upon 2022 with fondness 12 months down the line. My blog will return in January, with its usual style, to review a famous pop culture television show from the 1960s that I enjoyed watching recently for the first time. Have a great New Year!
Quote of the Day
Can the Spider-Man come out to play?
The Green Goblin / Norman Osborn
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Merry Christmas 2021!
Greetings, it is that time of year again and that means it is time for me to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope that you have a good day tomorrow and are taking it easy for the next few days. As per usual, there is only one blog update left for the year in which I will be doing my annual review of the media I enjoyed. I had a lot of fun entering Write Wise’s challenge this year with my novelette, ‘The Night of the Gremlins!’, and found the entries submitted in the entirety of 2021 to be among some of the best work that we have produce as a blogging community so far. I’m already drawing up plans for my writing projects for the next year and I can’t wait to see what you are going to do next. Have a merry Christmas!
Quote of the Day
Merry Christmas, Alfred. Good will toward men... and women.
Bruce Wayne/Batman
Batman Returns
Last Night in Soho
Greetings, ‘Last Night in Soho’ is a 2021 horror film directed and co-written by Edgar Wright. The director is perhaps best known for his contributions on the Cornetto Trilogy but he was also involved in various works such as ‘Spaced’, ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’, ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ ‘Ant-Man’ and the critically acclaimed ‘Baby Driver’. The film stars upcoming actress Thomasin McKenzie, known for being in Taika Waititi’s ‘Jojo Rabbit’, as the main protagonist named Eloise ‘Ellie’ Turner. Other notable cast members include Anya Taylor-Joy, Matt Smith, the late Diana Rigg, Terence Stamp and Pauline McLynn. The music was composed by Steven Price and, similar to ‘Baby Driver’, this movie contains a lot of retro hits from artists such as Peter and Gordon, Sandie Shaw, the Kinks, Cilla Black and Barry Ryan.
The plot begins when aspiring fashion designer, Ellie, is accepted into the London College of Fashion as a first year student. After spending most of her life in rural Cornwall, Ellie is excited by the prospects of moving to metropolitan London and the sense of freedom that comes with it. She quickly comes to realize that her optimistic dreams and the harsh reality are too very different scenarios as her love of Swinging Sixties culture, her rural background as well as her dress style makes her stand out from the rest of the students. It is also subtly hinted that Ellie has a connection to the supernatural when she sees her deceased mother’s reflection in mirrors which further adds to her alienation. After deciding that she wasn’t going to get on with her snobbish roommate called Jocasta, Ellie decided to take up accommodation in a rundown bedsit run by the elderly Miss Collins.
Ellie is more at home in the older flat as she is able to play her old hits in peace and is encouraged to do so by the nostalgic Collins. During her first night there, Ellie falls asleep and wakes up in another time. She has been transported back to the glitz and glamour of London during the 1960s in a dreamy vision. At the Café de Paris she watches as a confident blonde makes her way around the club and introduces herself as Sandie to a teddy boy named Jack. Sandie explains that she wants to be a singer at the Café. Being a manager, Jack agrees to launch her career in showbiz and the two begin a relationship in which he gives Sandie a love bite on her neck. Ellie wakes from the blissful dream and discovers the hickey is on her own neck. Suspecting the dream may have been real in some sense, Ellie looks forward to visiting the London of the past once more but is oblivious to how her paranormal perception will come to haunt her.
I really enjoyed this film and appreciated the visual style Wright brought to the screen as well as the accompanying soundtrack that really added to the experience. I was never entirely sure where the plot was headed but I certainly had fun watching it unfold towards its climactic ending and trying to unravel the mystery. Most characters were well developed, with Ellie and Sandie being particularly well done, but some of the more secondary characters never got much chance to grow in my opinion although this is a minor point. After thoroughly enjoying this and his previous work ‘Baby Driver’, I am keen to see what else Edgar Wright has in store for his next venture in storytelling.
Plot=10/10
Characters=8/10
Special Effects=10/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
Song is over, Baby. But I'm afraid you still have to face the music.
Buddy
Baby Driver
The Quiz Part 13
Greetings, November has come once again and that can only mean one thing. My quiz, that now long standing annual tradition, has returned to put you through the paces and see who can come out on top. The answers are, as always, at the bottom of the page and please remember to put your score in the comments. Joh earned first place last year with 9 correct answers out of 10 while Aaron and Mark tied in second place with 7 points each. I’m intrigued to see who will come where in the ranking this year. Good luck!
1. David Burke and Edward Hardwicke both played Dr. John Watson in Granada Television’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ but who portrayed the titular character in what is regarded as one of the finest performances depicting the famed detective?
2. Who said this? – "You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Well, then who the Hell else are you talking- You talking to me? Well, I'm the only one here."
3. Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, the King of the Lombards and the Emperor of the Romans, formed which European empire in the Middle Ages?
4. Which of these villains is primarily from Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery? – A. Red Skull B. Doctor Doom. C. Magneto. D. The Shocker E. Thanos
5. How many Wallace and Gromit movies are there in the main series when the feature film ‘Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit’ is included but spin-offs such as ‘Shaun the Sheep Movie’ are not counted?
6. What is the name of the haunted American town in which the Headless Horseman pursues Ichabod Crane in Washington Irving’s famous story that was published in 1820?
7. Name the character.
8. Unscramble the letters to reveal an actor- MHERUYPH ATOGBR
9. Was ‘Truth’ published before or after ‘The Feud’ on Write Wise?
10. Which Nintendo video game console was the successor to the Wii and was released in 2012?
Spoilers!
1. Jeremy Brett
2. Travis Bickle
3. The Carolingian Empire
4. D. The Shocker
5. 5 Films
6. Sleepy Hollow
7. The G-Man
8. Humphrey Bogart
9. Before
10. Nintendo Wii U
Quote of the Day
Ah, Gunther, I can't pay for this right now because I'm not working, so I've had to cut down on some luxuries like uh, paying for stuff.
Joey
Friends
Silver Bullet
Greetings, ‘Silver Bullet’ is a movie from 1985 that was directed by Dan Attias, which is currently the only feature film that he has directed in his career, and it is based on the Stephen King novella, ‘Cycle of the Werewolf’. The book had only been published two years earlier in 1983 and skews early on in King’s bibliography. The movie has a considerable cast, staring the likes of Corey Haim, Gary Busey, Megan Follows, Terry O’Quinn and Everett McGill who may be best known for his reoccurring role on Twin Peaks. The music was composed by Jay Chattaway who is mostly known for his work on several Star Trek series including Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise.
The plot is set in the quiet town of Tarker’s Mills, Maine, and begins when a lone railroad worker by the name of Arnie Westrum is working late into the night. The isolated Arnie is slaughtered by an unseen attacker, the result of which severs the head from his body. His mangled remains are found the next morning to the shock of the residents in the sleepy little town. That would prove to be only the first murder and the killer would keep returning to pick off unsuspecting locals. Among the victim’s is Brady Kincaid, a close friend of the wheelchair bound child Marty Coslaw. The latest murder is the last straw for the people of Tarker’s Mills and, having grown dissatisfied with the unsuccessful efforts of the local sheriff Joe Hales, they form a vigilante group. Joe, fearing what an unruly mob could do in the name of justice, tries to stop them but is ultimately powerless to reel them in. The hunt goes disastrously for the vigilantes in which some are killed by the attacker they sought.
With the murderer still on the loose, Hale orders a curfew to be put in place and cancels any official 4th July celebrations in the interests of public safety. The Coslaw family decide to hold their own celebration and Marty’s eccentric uncle, Red, is invited to join in on the festivities. Red gifts Marty with a custom built wheelchair, complete with motor engine, and named it the ‘Silver Bullet’ upon delivering it to his nephew. He also gives Marty some fireworks, hoping that it would help cheer him up after the death of his friend and being confined to his own home. Marty is thankful for the presents and sneaks out of his room that night to let off some fireworks at a bridge some miles away from his home. He isn’t alone. The fireworks draw the attention of the werewolf. A terrified Marty, thinking quickly, fires a rocket at the creature once he sees it. The firework lodges in the werewolf’s eye and explodes but, as Marty flees, it is revealed that the monster is still alive.
‘Silver Bullet’ is a solid werewolf movie overall and worth a watch for fans of lycanthropes but it wouldn’t be on par with the often touted pinnacle of werewolf movies, ‘An American Werewolf in London’. The book, which is King’s shortest novel as it is comprised of only 127 pages, and the film are fairly similar in terms of plot. While they both attempt to give a voice to several characters in the larger setting of the town, it mostly focuses on Marty and his unusual uncle as he accidently uncovers the identity of the werewolf. If you’re looking for a werewolf movie to watch and have already seen some of the more famous names in the genre, I’d certainly recommended giving ‘Silver Bullet’ a go.
Plot=7/10
Characters=6/10
Special Effects=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the Day
It was the boogeyman.
Laurie Strode
Halloween
The Kominsky Method
Greetings, ‘The Kominsky Method’ is a Netflix original television series created by Chuck Lorre who is known for creating hit shows like ‘Two and a Half Men’ and ‘The Big Bang Theory’ that have carved out their place in popular culture. By comparison, ‘The Kominsky Method’ could be described as a series that has flown under the radar even while having significant stars such as the two main leads of Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin. Other prominent cast members include Sarah Baker, Nancy Travis, Paul Reiser, Kathleen Turner and Haley Joel Osment. There is also a significant number of special guests that appear during the course of the show such as Danny DeVito, Elliot Gould and Bob Odenkirk. The music was conducted by Jeff Cardoni who has composed for other programmes with some of more notable ones being ‘CSI: Miami’, ‘Pimp My Ride’ and ‘Wilfred’.
The plot revolves around the life of Sandy Kominsky, an aging actor who had a brief stint in the limelight but became an acting coach after he felt he was never going to land a significant role in the movie business. Even though he resigned himself to teaching, Kominsky couldn’t help but hope that he might one day hit the big time and become recognised as a high calibre actor. Sandy is best friends with his agent, Norman Newlander, a fellow figure in the industry who is also getting on in years and a rather cranky individual. The two characters have an interesting relationship which involves them constantly trading barbs with each other but ultimately being able to understand their respective experiences as they share common ground due to working in the same fields. Norman is going through a rough patch in his life at the beginning of the show as his daughter, Phoebe, is a complete screw up who is in and out of rehab clinics while his wife, Eileen, is losing her battle with cancer.
As this is ongoing, Sandy takes a fancy to one of his acting students called Lisa who he discovers has an attraction to him too. After some debate as to if it is a good idea to date one of his students, Sandy decides to throw caution to the wind and seize the day by asking her out. Lisa agrees and the two go on a date. All is going well until it is interrupted when Sandy’s adult daughter from a failed marriage, Mindy, informs him via phone call that Eileen has died. In a memorable first date, Sandy takes Lisa, who asked to come along as a form of support, and his daughter Mindy to the hospital that Eileen was taken to. They discover that Norman won’t leave his wife’s side and it takes a while for Sandy to convince his friend that he is able to break away from her and take the important initial step of going home as part of the long healing process.
In my opinion, ‘The Kominsky Method’ is a very different beast to the crowd pleasers made by Lorre as mentioned previously for a few reasons. The first is that it followed a distinguishable plot that only ran for 3 seasons from 2018 to 2021 and consists of 22 episodes in total while the others lasted for considerably longer, resulting in meandering storylines. Another factor is that it typically deals with more serious topics and relies on light, witty humour to brighten the mood as opposed to attempting to garner a laugh from the audience every minute or so with situational comedy. Due to this, I suspect ‘The Kominsky Method’ would be less accessible to some audiences and may be overlooked because of it. Nonetheless, I enjoyed this programme and would recommend it if you are looking for a drama with some light hearted humour that can be watched in a fairly short amount of time.
Plot=7/10
Characters=8/10
Special Effects=6/10
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
The point is ladies and gentlemen that greed, for lack of a better word, is good.
Gordon Gekko
Wall Street
