02-28-2019, 02:18 PM
(02-27-2019, 10:29 PM)bionicbob Wrote: LIFE AFTER FLASH (2019)
To this very day, 1980's Flash Gordon starring Sam J. Jones is one of my favourite all time movies. It's blend of camp, earnestness, over the top comic book production design and, of course, magnificent score by Queen, makes it my go to movie when I am feeling down.
Thus, seeing this documentary pop up On-Demand understandably piqued my curiosity and I must say I found myself happily rewarded. The doc is partly a behind the scenes making of the original movie and the impact it had on its fans, tied together my Sam J. Jones up and down and up again journey through Hollywood.
I was struck my Jones honesty about the mistakes and bad choices he made through his life. Also, the hard upbringing and tragedy that struck his life early on was revelatory and sad. But there is an inspirational element to story, as he changed direction in his life at the age of 50, become a professional security bodyguard and refocused his priorities towards his family. In fact, the interview portions with his grown children are wonderful.
Most of the original movie cast and production team are interviewed and all provide new insights. Brian Blessed in particular is a delight. His love for the original movie and the Flash Gordon comic strip is infectious!
I went in expecting a retrospective style documentary but what I got was so much more. The doc left me smiling and feeling inspired.
A must watch for any fans of the original movie!
Two Thumbs WAY, WAY UP!!!!
^ Ooh, that sounds good. Which streaming service is it on?
The Wife (2018)
After seeing 2014's pretentious 'Listen Up Philip', I was put-off by this being another film starring Jonathan Pryce as a celebrated yet insecure author. The film-making here is very bland but the subtle power of the interplay between the husband and wife more than made up for that (Directing style might've just got in the way?). Hardly any of the tension is in the words, it's all in what they really mean behind the eyes. I might be naive but I was unconvinced by the main premise that sexism within the 1960s US publishing industry was so overwhelming that a female author (the greatest in the world) would easily accept that her work had no hope of publication. Harper Lee won a Pulitzer in 1960 and so had loads of other women by that point. Although even if I didn't buy it, Glenn Close made me believe that her character did.
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