3 TV Shows Based on Movies You Should Be Watching

I can understand being a little exhausted by all of the reboots and remakes in modern cinema but I try to be optimistic about it.  I don't really see more Spider-Man films as a bad thing, even with the exceptionally high bar I have for the franchise.  Besides, there's still a place for original cinematic storytelling and that place is on TV (or TV-like websites).  After all, it is the Golden Age of television.  A single episode of Breaking Bad alone is better than 90% of movies.  Even the superhero genre, the other increasingly derided trend in movies, is doing well on the small screen.  Flash, Arrow, and Daredevil are all among the best of TV.  Maybe the best indicator that TV has overtaken film is the excellence of the shows based on movies that are, while not necessarily better than the original, worthy successors and hold their own in this Golden Age.  Shows like these,

'From Dusk till Dawn'

That's a gun.  You got that that's a gun, right?  Cuz it's kind of blurry.

Robert Rodriguez is the reigning king of dumb action movies for people too smart for Michael Bay.  In 1996 he made the movie From Dusk till Dawn, written by his friend Quentin Tarantino, which is famous for starting out as a tense crime film before suddenly and violently twisting into a magnificent vampire film.  In late 2013 Rodriguez launched El Rey, a new TV network with From Dusk till Dawn: The Series premiering in 2014 at the forefront, surrounded by the kinds of unglamorous movies that inspired Rodriguez's work.  The first season of FDtD:TS retells the original story with a more gradual genre change and much more emphasis on the mythology surrounding the supernatural aspects.  Rodriguez has always proudly displayed his Mexican heritage and in the new show he uses ancient Mexican lore to build a dense mythology and I love a dense mythology.  The '96 film is also known as one of George Clooney's first major leading parts as one half of the Gecko Brothers, the other played by Tarantino.  Actors D.J. Contra and Zane Holtz ably step into the roles originally played by a director suitably creepy enough to play a sociopath and Quentin Tarantino.  The second season premiered this week, starting a brand new chapter for the Gecko brothers.

'Fargo'

The same year From Dusk till Dawn was released another violent film came out.  Instead of the Mexico/U.S. border, The Coen Brothers' Fargo takes place in the snow covered plains of Minnesota.  It does feature two hardened criminals, but they're hardly the protagonists.  That position belongs to the wholesome and dedicated Police Chief Marge Gunderson, played by Frances McDormand.  However, the TV series has little to do with that.  The first season follows another upstanding lawwoman named Molly Solverson as she investigates the chaos surrounding a local insurance salesman with a dark streak, and the evil drifter who brings that kind of thing out of everyone he meets.  Sherlock's Martin Freeman plays the salesman Lester as he becomes more aggressive while losing all regard for others and Billy Bob Thornton plays the sadistic drifter.  In the end both are conquered by Molly, played by the terrific Allison Tolman.  The second season will begin in October and once again will only be loosely tied to the first season and the movie.

Hopefully 'American Horror Story'

 Speaking of "barely connected," American Horror Story isn't directly based on any movie, but by its very concept it is influenced by all kinds of horror.  The first season was about a haunted house not unlike The Amityville Horror for instance.  The fifth season, beginning in October, will center on a hotel.  It seems very likely that it will be influenced by The Shining, which is easily one of the greatest horror films ever made and happens to take place in a hotel.  Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece (redundant?) was cited as an influence on the show five years ago, but hopefully the new season will kick the Kubrick into high gear.  They say "good artists copy, great artists steal" and "if you're going to steal, steal from the best."  If there is ever a time to steal from Stanley Kubrick it's when you're making a horror TV show set in a hotel.

3 Character Actors Who Should Be Household Names

A character actor is a kind of an actor who is not very famous but works often and is usually pretty good at their job.  The people in this position are pretty much guaranteed to not be known by name by the average viewer.  By face, they may be known by millions but by name they are known only as "he was in... uh... ahh... what was it... ehh... ahh... *reaches for phone but doesn't know what to type into search bar, moves on with life*."  The only character actor who might be considered a household name is Christopher Walken.  J.K. Simmons could be close since Whiplash came out but that probably won't last much longer.  They're both very talented and deserving of the attention but there are a lot of people who are good at acting and as worthy of praise as the A-list stars at the award ceremonies.

Ray Wise

If you know who Ray Wise is then you're probably a fan of Twin Peaks so congratulations on seeing the appeal of that show which eludes me so.  Although I can't seem to work up any lasting interest in Twin Peaks, and I have tried several times, Ray Wise's performance as Leland Palmer is by far my favorite part.  I first became aware of Wise for his role as The Devil in the decent supernatural comedy Reaper where he was once again easily the best part.  Wise also has some impressive film credits, most notably 1987's RoboCop.  Recently, Wise has had recurring roles in Mad Men and Fresh Off The Boat.  In 2017 he will return as Leland Palmer in the new Twin Peaks sequel series so I guess it's about time I gave it another shot because I'm desperate to like everything so that maybe everyone will like me.

Ethan Suplee

Ethan Suplee is probably best known as a fat teenager in the mid to late 90's, playing a bully with the soul of a poet in Boy Meets World and a white football player with soul in Remember the Titans.  Around the same time he also appeared in a few Kevin Smith movies, most memorably as the guy staring at a Magic Eye poster who just can't seem to find the sailboat.  In 2005 he played a major role in My Name is Earl as the titular Earl's brother Randy.  Many of Suplee's characters are remarkably naive and innocent like Randy or Louie in Titans.  Others are more aggressive, the most extreme probably being a neo-Nazi skinhead in American History X.  Recently, Suplee dropped some pounds, allowing him to play a husky dirt bag in The Wolf of Wall Street.  ("Dirt bag" might sound harsh but it accurately describes every single character in that movie.)

Peter Boyle

Through the late 90's and early 00's Peter Boyle was a familiar face to many thanks to his role as the crotchety grandfather Frank Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond.  However, Boyle had a fascinating career for decades before that.  He appeared in at least two bonafide film classics in the 70's.  He played Wizard in Scorsese's Taxi Driver and Frankenstein's monster in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein.  Before that he played the lead role in the critically acclaimed Joe from director John G. Avildsen.  Outside of Joe, Frankenstein and Raymond Boyle rarely played lead roles but he was fantastic in all of them, big or small, right up to his death in 2006.  Unfortunately, my favorite Boyle performance is almost impossible to find online.  I don't know why.  I can't imagine there being any legal difficulties with a couple of Marlon Brando impressions and some banjo music but if you ever get a chance to watch the "Dueling Brando's" sketch from SNL I highly recommend it.

X-Men and the Messiah but not 'Messiah Complex'

Earlier this week comic book writer Gail Simone went on a light rant about crossovers and events (limited series with story lines that are slightly more grandiose than typical comics and/or feature several different series).

I like event books. I like crossovers. A lot of writers hate them, I love the challenge of finding a good story inside a puzzle box.

— GAIL SIMONE (@GailSimone) August 9, 2015

 It all got me thinking about my favorite crossover, X-Men: Battle of The Atom.  At the time, it helped that I was already reading three of the four books involved in the story.  However, I usually need something to latch on to like a metaphor or theme before I become invested in any story.  Battle of The Atom got my attention with one of my favorite literary devices, the Messiah analogy.  The Christ shows up in the subtext of several stories I love, perhaps most prominently in the characters Harry Potter, Superman, and Neo from The Matrix.

In Battle of The Atom the Christian themes center on Jean Grey, or more specifically young Jean Grey.  The catalyst for the crossover is the presence of the main characters from All-New X-Men, the original five X-Men who have been brought forward in time to the present, specifically Bobby "Iceman" Drake, Scott "Cyclops" Summers, Hank "Beast" McCoy, Warren "Angel" Worthington, and Jean Grey.  These five teenagers have no clue about the endless amounts of sci-fi tragedy and hi-jinks that are ahead of them.  That is until Jean Grey reads everyone's minds in our present and learns about her future, including her death(s).

Those parentheses are one of several reasons Jean Grey is perfect for a Messiah story.  Resurrection is kind of her whole thing.  She has a special connection to a strange cosmic entity called The Phoenix Force.  When Jean first died in the late 70's she was resurrected thanks to the Phoenix.  Then she turned evil and died again.  Then in the mid/late 80's it was revealed that she was in a comatose state the whole time and it was actually the Phoenix with the face and personality of Jean that turned evil and died.  Finally, the actual Jean Grey died in the early 00's.  (For more X-Planation I recommend the podcast of X-Perts Rachel and Miles.  For my purposes let's assume that every time it seemed like Jean died she actually died.)

It's worth noting that the first two times Jean died it was to save other people.  First she exposed herself to dangerous radiation to help her teammates reach Earth safely after a bit of space travel.  That's when Phoenix showed up and bonded with Jean, giving her immense power.  When Jean lost control of the Phoenix she ultimately killed herself to prevent Phoenix from hurting anyone else.

However, Battle of The Atom is less about Jean's death than it is about her destiny to die.  This is about a young Jean long before the events of The Phoenix Saga.  A Jean with near complete knowledge of her own future, which, paired with her insight into the minds of those around her makes her about as omniscient as a person can be.  Most importantly she knows that when she returns to her proper time period she will be fated to die young.  The emotional through line of the story is Jean's fear of that fate, not unlike the actual Jesus Christ who prayed "let this cup pass from me."

Although, Jean isn't the only Christlike character struggling with the concept of life and death.  In the first issue of Battle of The Atom the young X-Men from the past team up with adult Cyclops' team of young X-Men from the present to confront a new mutant and fight some giant robot Sentinels while they're at it.  Towards the end of the battle young Cyclops gets fatally wounded, causing adult Cyclops to disappear.  Young Cyclops is resurrected by a member of adult Cyclops's team with healing powers named Christopher, which is almost too on the nose to be intentional.

Even though Jean doesn't perform the act, the scene calls to mind Lazarus' resurrection by Jesus shortly before the crucifixion.

Both Cyclopseseses near death experience frightens all of the adults and they agree it's time for the young X-Men to go back to their own time.  Before the young X-Men can go anywhere another team of mutants comes through the "Time Cube."  They claim to be the future X-Men but are actually the villainous future Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.  Among them are an adult version of past Jean Grey and an older version of present Beast.

Notice Beast looking vaguely demonic with his horn and talons.
  Jean Grey is the one in the sinister skeletal mask, also slightly demonic.

These mutants have a bad plan and execute it poorly.  Their main goal is to send back the original five X-Men, which was probably going to happen anyway.  At least, it was going to be attempted, but when the Brotherhood tries to send them back they are unsuccessful for unknown time paradox reasons.  However, the collision of past, present, and future not only makes for a fun time travel story but also presents three "trinities" that almost mirror the Holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

There are now three versions of Beast from three different points in time.  Later a future Iceman will arrive, who has a Dumbledore/Gandalf vibe, both are God-like characters in stories dense with religious subtext.  The present version of Jean Grey is dead, but her legacy looms over the story like a spirit.  The future versions of Angel and Cyclops are presumably absent because Angel is boring and Cyclops would over complicate things.  Also, there's a guy named Angel who looks like an Angel floating around during the whole story.

The arrival of the future mutants and all the secrets they hide from Jean's telepathy freak her out.  She tries to convince young Beast to run away with her but his scientific curiosity overpowers his crush on her.  She settles for Cyclops who is unhesitant to join her.

Ok, so it's not quite as
eloquent as "die by the sword."

It doesn't take long for everyone to realize that they are missing.  When they catch up to the teenagers, Jean twice plays the role of pacifist.  Like Jesus warning Simon that living by the sword will lead to death by the sword, Jean urges Cyclops not to use his eye blasts.  Later, when all hell has broken loose Jean relents to return to the past to save the future, in the process stopping Deadpool from killing himself and ending the violence temporarily.  
          





Back at the X-Men headquarters/school chaos erupts again as the Brotherhood is revealed and half of them fight the present and newly arrived future X-Men while the other half tries and fails to send back the original X-Men.  Interestingly, while all this is going on young Jean takes a back seat, saying little more than a sentence for three issues, echoing the three days Jesus spent in his tomb.  I'll admit that this, more than anything else, is a bit of a stretch but it's still an amusing coincidence.

Finally, in the last issue young Jean accepts her fate as she fights her future self.  Almost immediately after that future Jean's powers overload and the evil version dies, fulfilling the promise of Jean's death.

There are a handful of other images that evoke religious themes.

I can't put my finger on it but there's something about the recap page in the first issue.

The next page resembles the Last Supper.

 

On the cover of the 2nd issue Scott and Jean's powers form halos of sorts.

In the same issue Cyclops trips through a clothesline and winds up looking like Mary Magdalene.

And there's future Jean kneeling before young Jean.

All comics art is by Frank Cho, Stuart Immonen, David Lopez, Chris Bachalo and Guiseppe Camuncoli.

If I missed anything let me know in the comments or Twitter or whatever.

Just Straight Up Talking About My Favorite TV Shows

In the past two months I have written two blog posts about my favorite movies.  First I straight up talked about my top 3, then I discussed some of my selections from the BBC's list of the greatest American films of all time.  As much as I love movies, I might like TV even more.  I certainly spend more time watching it.  After all, I'm a hip young person living it up in the golden age of television.  It's only fair that I give the medium the attention it deserves so here are my 3 favorite TV shows as of now.

The Flash

The Flash is only going into its second season this fall but the first was so strong that I don't have any hesitation calling it one of my favorite shows.  It's an exceptionally fun show with a great cast and stellar effects that would be impressive even on a premium cable budget.  Like its parent show Arrow, The Flash does an excellent job of pulling from its decades of source material while still defying expectations.  The season finale alone was one of the best hours of television since Breaking Bad went off the air.  It was also one of the best sci-fi episodes in recent memory, combining fantasy science with sentiment, philosophy, and a dash of action in the tradition of Star Trek.  If future seasons are even half as good as the first the series will be a success.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

https://1481hyperionavenue.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/ten-years-on/

I was introduced to the Buffyverse through the spin-off Angel.  I happened to see Angel himself on the front page of Hulu and recognized the actor David Boreanez from Bones.  Once I finished watching Angel I went back and started on it's parent show Buffy.  After that I would have still said Angel was my favorite because I saw it first.  Then I watched the two side by side and came to the conclusion that Buffy is not only my favorite of the two but might be one of the greatest TV series of all time.  It's consistently funny, smart, and as relevant and topical today as it was over a decade ago, which is a lot.  Also, I'm admittedly a sucker for a dense mythology.  Maybe it was a mistake to watch all seven seasons of Buffy twice in the span of about eight years, which is almost as long as it took for it to air once, but the worst part is having to fight the temptation to do it all over again because that would just be too much.  Also, I skipped the first two seasons the second time.  That was a huge mistake because I missed a lot of quality Seth Green time.

Seinfeld

I typically try to not pit creative works against each other.  Even thought I prefer Buffy to Angel I'm the first to admit that the latter is still a fantastic show.  However, for some reason I can't help but compare Friends to Seinfeld which is really not fair to the former.  I can understand the appeal of Friends but next to Seinfeld it looks like a middle school production of a transcript from Keeping Up With the Kardashians.  No other show in history has so perfectly captured the desperation to make sense of the world and carve one's place in it as well as Seinfeld.  The characters spend all their time reaching for their desires while observing, if not following, the rules of society.  They'll do whatever it takes to get what they want even if it's just to get in that perfect comeback and there is no better comeback than "the jerk store called and they're running out of you."