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| John Wesley Shipp as The Flash (19990 - 1991) |
This Static Age is focusing on
The Flash (1990 – 1991) which lasted
for one season only and 21 episodes in total (not including its awesome pilot
episode). It is of course about the titular superhero (John Wesley Shipp), a
cop (coming from a family of cops) that gained his super power – i.e. running
faster than anybody (and eating insane amounts of food) – during an accident
and fighting since then against it as well as several criminal elements. He is
approached by scientist Christina McGee (Amanda Pays) who is doing research on
the effects of the accident. Based upon the comic books from DC, this is
amazing and quite reminiscent of Sam Raimi’s and Tim Burton’s superhero epics
from the era. The theme song was composed by Danny Elfman.
The feature-length pilot episode is about a gang of bikers led by a
maniac ex-cop who wants to get revenge from the force that betrayed him and in
order to do that he organizes a series of terrorist attacks within the city and
most of them targeted towards police officers. ‘Out of Control’ is about a
series of disappearances of homeless people that may be connected with a
mutated monster that resembles a werewolf. In ‘Watching the Detectives’, Flash
is recruited against his will by the mob; starring Dick Miller. ‘Honor Among
Thieves’ is about a bunch of professional thieves that target a museum. ‘Double
Vision’ finds Flash experiencing blackouts that may be connected with black
magic. In ‘Sins of the Father’, Barry Allen’s father (M. Emmet Walsh) is in
trouble because a bank robber that he had convicted escapes and is looking for
revenge. ‘Child’s Play’ is about two homeless kids that get involved with the
drug-pushing underworld. In ‘Shroud of Death’ a judge is killed while the
murderer leaves behind a piece of a medal; is a female ninja involved? ‘Ghost
in the Machine’ is about the titular villain from the 1950s (the episode goes
on the extra mile in order to provide some atmosphere by recreating that
cherished decade for a scene or two) that comes back and intends to use
technology (video and computer in particular) in order to blackmail his way of
getting millions of dollars by the city council. ‘Sight Unseen’ is about Star
Lab’s (the science lab in which Christina is working) latest problem, namely
the sudden appearance of a murderous invisible man that is offing scientists
related with the facilities. ‘The Trickster’ is about the eponymous illusionist
that became an arch villain. ‘Tina, Is That You?’ is about the Christina,
Flash’s sidekick, that starts acting weird and for a brief amount of time
becomes the superhero’s enemy. In ‘Be My Baby’ The Flash ends up babysitting.
In ‘Fast Forward’ Barry Allen goes to the future only to find out that he’s not
The Flash anymore and that Central City has been taken over by the order of
Nicholas Pike (Michael Nader). ‘Deadly Nightshade’ is about the titular vigilante
that takes out criminals, until The Flash teams with the original Nightshade in
order to stop the panic in the streets, but he also finds the time to flirt
with a psychologist weirdo (Denise Crosby) and kidnap Fosnight (Dick Miller).
And now, let’s switch our focus towards some recent shows…
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| The Handmaid's Tale - Season 3 art |
The 3rd season of The
Handmaid’s Tale (2017 – ongoing) is offering further dystopian aesthetics
when the plot is following American women and children immigrating to Canada in
search for a better life, away from the Trump-ish nightmares of their homeland
in which they have to surround their bodies to an ultra-conservative and
religious system that turns them into birth-giving machines. Although creator
Bruce Miller’s is one of the most astounding series we have seen the last
decade, it is still a bit problematic in its politics; its heart seems to be in
the right place, but plot choices such as the sanctification of Canada (a
country that has been not entirely innocent in regards to its handling of
immigration), or the depiction of futuristic supermarket and faceless and
soulless consumerist institutions (as if they are not already like that in the
present day and haven’t been since their beginning), or the implication that
Darwin’s ‘The Descent of Man’ may be a tool for people of power (why not for
people of the resistance that seems to be around the corner?), seem a bit
biased. Maybe the series’ most thoughtful idea is when the main characters
visit Washington where the handmaids are forced to wear a bounding veil on
their faces that is covering their shut-by-rings mouths, essentially completely
silencing them (both figuratively and practically), which is a clear nod to the
world of Islamic fascism. The series would be better off without its endless
flashbacks that provide origin stories of most members of the cast. Living in
Greece and writing for a U.S. blog during these dark times when insane
conservatism have taken over both countries, I unfortunately am in the position
to understand that this is science fiction, but it is not that far away from
the realities that may be coming. Let’s hope that the series become a warning
textbook for the people, rather than an instruction manual for governments.
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| Dracula - Season 1 art |
Consisting of 3 episodes (all of them of feature length), Dracula (2020), broadcasted on BBC and
now streaming on Netflix, is offering a brand new spin on the classic book by
Bram Stoker (the screenplay was written by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat) but
maintains its beautiful atmosphere as well. By being scary most of the times
and also occasionally gory, not to mention Claes Bang’s excellent performance
as the Count, it is a great addition to the endless list of vampire shows.
Plus, it may be the first time we see the de-aging progress on Dracula, since
Jess Franco’s filmic version.
And finally, please allow me to speak a word or two about some recent
mainstream films…
Director Johannes Roberts’ (who also penned the screenplay with Ernest
Riera) 47 Meters Down: Uncaged
(2019) is about four girls that decide to go scuba diving in an gorgeous but
secluded location, that once they enter a cave they are attacked by a bunch of
great white sharks. This sequel to the unexpected 2017 hit is boring, but
thankfully lasts for less than 90 minutes so it doesn’t really outstay its
welcome.
And finally I caught up with a couple of Blaxploitation revival films
from Netflix [Craig Brewer’s Dolemite is
My Name (2019) with Eddie Murphy in the title role (as well as an array of
excellent supporting players that include Snoop Dogg and Wesley Snipes; and Tim
Story’s Shaft (2019), in which the titular
legend (Samuel L. Jackson) is now a hard-boiled detective, whose softy son
(Jessie T. Usher) works as a data analyst for the FBI and is now working
(against the orders from his superiors) on the case of a synagogue that might
be involved with the death of his veteran friend and drug smuggling from
Afghanistan].
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| In the Tall Grass (2019) poster |
Speaking of Netflix, director Vincenzo Natali’s (who also penned the
screenplay, based on a novel by Stephen King and Joe Hill) In the Tall Grass (2019) is about, well, people that get lost in a
tall grass field and they cannot get out. This horror programmer invests in the
excellent act one’s build-up, it loses steam when twist after twist take away
its potential.
Still speaking of Netflix, the best film they have produced so far is
definitely Martin Scorsese’s The
Irishman (2019), in which aged mob hitman Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro,
acting with great maturity) recalls his days in the ranks of organized crime,
when he was ordered by his mentor Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci, coming out of retirement
for this particular film only) to watch out for union leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al
Pacino, better than ever); whereas Scorsese’s previous gangster epics were
mostly about the fun these people had with killing and stealing, and living the
life in general, this one is about loss and grief (a very dark picture indeed),
and how if you don’t lose everything by
the force of law, you will lose them thanks to your choices, and you will die a
lonely piece of shit – a true masterpiece that comes highly recommended.
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| Joker (2019) poster |
And speaking of Robert De Niro, he of course is co-starring as Murray
Franklin in Todd Philips’ Joker
(2019), an origin story of the titular villain (Joaquin Phoenix). We get to see
how Arthur Fleck (Joker’s real name) went from a trouble childhood (there is a
question of whether he was adopted or not) to being bullied on the streets of a
faceless city (New York posing as Gotham) that has space only for Wall Street
scumbags and none that doesn’t fit into the normativity’s rules. Sure, the
Joker is psychotic, but there really is no need in pointing a finger to him; if
you are still a human being, you must point the finger towards the people that
made him one. After all, the Joker’s ever-relevant motives for revolution of
the oppressed are much more ethical than the motives of rich and corrupted
idiots such as the Wayne people. A lot of controversy has surrounded the film
since its release, but although the people that staged such reactions are
claiming that they found its violence needless and meaningless, in reality
those people are afraid of the film’s message, which is that we will fight
back! And guess what, if society rejects us, we will become kings of the
misfits.
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| The Addams Family (2019) art |
In the animated The Addams Family
(2019), the titular family is forced (by torch-wielding rednecks) to relocate
to a New Jersey haunted Castle. Their new home is satisfactorily horrible, but their
problems start when a nearby town’s real estate television star wants the dark
family’s aesthetics to vanish. Directed by Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon, this
is the perfect homage to both the series and the films that preceded it, and of
course the comic strips, but it had me wondering, who’d be its audience in this
day and age.
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| Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) poster |
In director Tim Miller’s Terminator:
Dark Fate (2019), Dani Ramos (Natalia Reyes) is hunted by an advanced robot
model (Gabriel Luna), and a half-human/half-robot (Mackenzie Davis) is there to
protect her. It seems that they will need all the help in the world and that
comes in the form of old-timers Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, hamming it up
like there’s no tomorrow) and a T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Quite possibly
the most meaningless film in its cannon, it is not even good enough to count as
a decent fan-pleaser; no wonder it put the final nail in the franchise’s
coffin.
Directed by Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing (the duo that also penned the
screenplay), Blumhouse’s The Gallows Act
II (2019) is a rehash of the first film’s storyline (Charlie is haunting
the titular stage-play which results to the death of its cast), but it is much
better than its predecessor (a task that wasn’t that difficult, considering
that the original was a subpar ‘found footage’ programmer that became a hit for
reasons I cannot understand).
Set in the industry fashion (the clothes on display are particularly
stunning), the Soska sisters’ Rabid
(2019) is following the young wannabe Rose (the immensely beautiful Laura
Vandervoort), whose career is seemingly cut short when she is badly hurt in a
car accident. Disfigured and suffering she agrees to become part of an
experimental steam cell project that essentially gives her life a much-needed
reboot, but there are consequences. This remake of the same-titled David
Cronenberg body horror classic is visceral and gory but it is also pretty much
needless, although it makes for a decent enough viewing experience to not make
you angry.
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