Smallville 3.03 - Extinction

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I have a complaint about this week's podcast. It was made without Tom Welling. Supposedly there was a family matter at short notice, so he couldn't take part. Things like that can happen, but I think the podcast should have been postponed instead of carrying on without him. Smallville fans would have understood.

Ryan Tellez stepped up and became the anchor-man number two, but it's not the same. The Smallville podcast is all about the two main actors, Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum. Without them, i.e. without both of them, it's just not the same.

But let's get to the episode. It's the first day of the hew year at Smallville High. Clark and his friends are now juniors, which means they're aged 16 to 17 for the rest of this season.

Lovestruck teenager Jake Pollen has heard that Lana Lang has broken up with Clark Kent, so he plucks up the courage to approach her. He says Hi to her, and all he gets back is a disinterested Hi as she drives off. Without actually turning him down, she's made it clear that he stands no chance with her. A normal young man would swallow his pride and look for another girl, someone who isn't out of his league. Not Jake. If he can't have Lana, nobody can.

That evening Lana goes to the school's swimming pool for a swim. Wow! She's way out of my league as well. I had girlfriends when I was 16, but none of them were as beautiful as Kristin Kreuk. But why is she swimming by herself? Does she have special privileges for after-school activities?

What Lana doesn't know is that Jake is sitting on the bottom of the pool, apparently able to breathe under water. He grabs her leg and pulls her down. She might have died, but an unseen figure shoots him. Before Lana has a chance to thank her rescuer, he throws a piece of meteor rock into the pool on which the word "Freak" is written.

Clark speaks to Jake's best friend, Van McNulty, to ask what his motives are, but he doesn't get any clues. Van only speaks about his father, a war hero who was recently murdered.

Lana and Chloe both think that the mystery shooter was a hero, but Clark isn't convinced. He thinks Lana could have been saved without killing Jake. Chloe reveals that she suspected Jake was a meteor freak. She'd been keeping a file on him. The coroner's report confirms it by revealing that he had gills. Talking with Clark, she puts two and two together, although poorly written dialogue hides the reason for their conclusions.

This news report says that Van McNulty was bludgeoned to death, and the suspect is known to the police, but he isn't named. Chloe talks about Van wanting revenge for his father's murder, but it doesn't make sense. What the episode doesn't mention is that we saw Mr. McNulty's death in a previous episode. He was killed by the shapeshifter Tina Greer in the episode "Visage". That makes it all obvious. Van is seeking revenge on meteor freaks in general.

Clark takes Pete Ross to Van's hunting cabin. They find a large armoury, much more than a typical hunter would own, and information that's been stolen from Chloe's computer. There are files on proven and suspected meteor freaks, including Jake Pollen. The next person in the list is Lex Luthor, suspected because he has an abnormal white blood cell count and is seemingly immune to illness. Clark rushes to Metropolis just as Van McNulty is attempting to assassinate Lex. Clark catches the bullet, which is witnessed by Van. Clark catches Van, but in the struggle meteor rocks fall out of his rucksack, making Clark collapse. Van realises that this is Clark's weakness.

That evening Van smelts meteor rocks to make kryptonite bullets. The next day he lies in wait at the Kent Farm to attack Clark. When the bullet is fired, Clark instinctively tries to catch it, but it pierces his hand and buries itself in his shoulder. Van leaves, assuming Clark is dead. Jonathan Kent manages to pull the bullet out with pliers. Clark rapidly heals.

Van goes to the Talon and tells Lana he's the one who saved her life. He tells her that he's also killed Clark for her own good. The only person worse than a meteor freak, he says, is someone who loves a meteor freak. She rings the police to report Clark's death, after which Van takes her prisoner.

Sheriff Nancy Adams visits the farm and finds Clark alive and well. "The rumours of your death have been greatly exaggerated, Mr. Kent".

Clark knows that Van carries a police scanner, so he uses a police radio to tell Van that he's still alive and wants to meet him at the school. Van says he'll use a whole clip of bullets to kill Clark. At the school Van fires bullets at Clark, but they don't harm him because he's wearing a bulletproof vest made out of lead. Van is arrested and taken to a mental asylum.

In a subplot, Chloe Sullivan tells Lionel Luthor that she no longer wants to do research on Clark Kent for him. He tells her that if she stops working for him she'll fire her father. Lionel is the real bad guy in the series, much worse than Lex.

Lana visits Clark at the farm and tells him that even if he were in some way infected by the meteor rocks, she'd still stand by him. Silly, silly Clark. He could have used this to reveal his secret to her. She's someone he can trust completely. But he backs away again. She's the right girl for him.

In the podcast Michael Rosenbaum calls "Extinction" a freak-of-the-week episode. He's wrong. Van McNulty isn't a freak, he's a normal man. If anything, he's a non-freak-of-the-week. I'm sure Tom would have contradicted Michael, if he'd been there.

Let's hope Tom is back next week.

Always hold on to Smallville.

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A Royal Night Out (4½ Stars)

This is an absolutely delightful film that I have to keep returning to. It's about the Queen I've known and loved all my life, and her precocious little sister. The film is fictional, but wrapped in a series of true events. It's best enjoyed if you don't try to work out what's true and what isn't. Just accept the whole film as it is.

I wonder if one day there will be a film of King Charles' teenage antics. That would be amusing.

I've been having problems with the temperature the last few days, especially today. I don't understand it. Earlier today it was 28 degrees, which was too much for me. Anything over 25 makes me sweat. But now the temperature is only 18 degrees, and I'm still sweating. I need to go to bed with my fan turned up.

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Daliland (4 Stars)

I'm always excited to see a new film by Mary Harron, especially on the big screen. "Daliland" is untypical for her, because it's less feminocentric than her previous films.

The main character is James Linton, an assistant at a New York gallery that's planned an exhibition of Salvador Dali's works. To be precise, the gallery wants to present his new works and offer them for sale. The gallery has given Dali large financial advances, but he still hasn't painted enough new artworks for the exhibition. Dali is living an extravagant lifestyle in a luxurious hotel, having frequent parties. He's living like a rock star, but he's forgotten that he needs to make money.

James is sent to help Dali and assist him in his work, but he's drawn into the lavish lifestyle. Dali's wife Gala is a businesswoman who encourages her husband to work, but she also spends a lot of money on her young lover, a man she calls Jesus. He's Jeff Fenholt, who's playing the lead role in "Jesus Christ Superstar" on Broadway. I'd never heard of him, but I suspect that he's portrayed unfairly. He claims he'll become a big rock star, but his singing (in the film) is embarrassingly bad. He tells Alice Cooper, a close friend of Dali's, that his music is dull and he'll soon be forgotten, but everyone will remember the name Jeff Fenholt. Jeff who?

Dali may be a talented artist, but he's spending more than he earns. James discovers that people who work for Dali are earning money off him without his knowledge.

The film is well made, but Salvador Dali and his wife Gala are both unpleasant people. Maybe Gala is slightly more pleasant. It's terrible to see how wealth and success can corrupt so badly.

The Equalizer 3 (4½ Stars)

Some films are worth seeing in the cinema more than once. I went to see "The Equalizer 3" a week ago, and it fascinated me. Robert McCall is so different to John Wick. He doesn't rush into a battle with his guns blazing. It's not a bullet ballet. Robert McCall times his action fastidiously. He's always looking at his watch, whether it's nine seconds or six minutes. He's a man of habit, habits that could be called an obsessive compulsive disorder. When he sits in a cafe he spreads two napkins on the table before he begins to drink.

The film ends with him settling in Altamonte, a small town on the Italian coast. He's just passing through, but he likes the place so much that he doesn't want to leave. Is it that easy? Doesn't he need a visa or a residency permit? I don't know what the laws in Italy are, so I shan't argue about it.

"The Equalizer 3" is a film that will find its way into my Blu-ray collection.

Enough Said (3½ Stars)

This is a lightweight comedy that throws up some relevant questions in passing.

Eva is a divorced massage therapist. She tells her friends that she wants to remarry, but she isn't actively looking for a new man.

At a party she meets a man called Albert, a film historian. He knows everything about old television shows, but nothing about today's shows. At first she's not attracted to him, mainly because of his weight. but she likes his sense of humour and decides to go on a date. At the same party she meets a poet called Marianne. Yes, she makes money from writing books of poetry. That must be a difficult career. Marianne asks for Eva's number to book a massage.

Eva and Albert grow to like one another. They talk to each other about their ex-spouses. That's what divorced people do, isn't it? Eva also becomes friends with Marianne, and they both talk about theit ex-husbands.

But then Eva realises that Albert is Marianne's ex-husband. Eva finds little characteristics of Albert cute, but Marianne talks about the same characteristics annoying her. It's okay to date a man like that, but can Eva stay with him for years, or even the rest of her life?

I shan't say any more about the film. I'll just give some general thoughts. Divorce isn't pleasant. I know what I'm talking about, because I've been divorced twice. Divorce should be avoided if at all possible. If a woman is annoyed by the way her husband stirs his salsa, maybe it's her problem, not his. Little things should never lead to the end of a marriage, they should be worked out together. But if you're already divorced, it's terrible when you tell bad things about your ex. I'm horrified to hear the lies that my (first) ex-wife has told people about me. She's unable to admit that she was at fault for the marriage breaking down – and they were big things, not small things – so she's invented things to give me the blame.

What I'm trying to say is that you should try to avoid divorce, but if it's not possible you should deal politely with your ex. Don't talk too much about him/her, and give him/her a chance to make a new relationship.

Success Rate:  + 1.2

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Where the wild things are (3 Stars)

This film is based on a children's book written by Maurice Sendak in 1963. The director Spike Jonze insists that he made the film for children, but many critics claim it isn't suitable for young children.

Max is a nine-year-old boy who has difficulty fitting in. He prefers to play alone. He builds an igloo outside his house, but his sister's friends demolish it. He's angry with his sister for not telling them off. Later that evening he wants to spend time with his mother, but she ignores him when her boyfriend visits. Dressed in a wolf suit, he runs round the house throwing things on the floor. When she scolds him, he runs away.

At the side of a lake he finds a small boat. He gets in it, and the wind blows him far, far away. He arrives at a island so far away that it's no longer winter. It's inhabited by seven large furry monsters who're in the middle of an argument. When Max goes to speak with them they want to eat him, so he says that he's the king of a far-off land, and he has magical powers that will make them happy. They agree to make him their king.

For a while they're contented, until they start to believe he's a fake.

I haven't read the book, so I can only judge the film on its own merits. I don't fully understand it. Does Max really travel to a magical land, or is it just a child's fantasy? He spends a long time on the island, many days, but when he returns home it seems like only a few hours have passed.

Spike Jonze has directed four films. The other three are "Being John Malkovich". "Adaptation" and "Her". They're all films that I like a lot, but I found difficulty relating to "Where the wild things are".

Success Rate:  - 1.0

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Masha and the Bear 2.2.2 - Kidding Around

This episode was first broadcast on 11th October 2013.

It's a sunny day in Russia. Bear is playing with his model plane.

Masha's pig is cooling off by swimming in the water. Supposedly her name is Rosie, but she hasn't been named in the series so far, so I'll just call her Pig.

I always thought it's just a little puddle outside Masha's house, but look how deep it is.

When Pig climbs out of the water, Masha is waiting. She thinks Pig might have a cold.

So Masha pushes Pig to the Wolves' ambulance to get a first aid kit.

The Wolves aren't at home, they're out catching butterflies. No, they aren't butterfly collectors. They want to eat them!

Pig's pushchair is broken – did you notice it in the picture above? – so Masha tries to repair it. But she's clumsy and dislodges the ambulance. It rolls down the hill and crashes into Bear's fence.

Masha's been a naughty girl. She needs to be punished.

So she's sent to stand in the corner. That's good parenting. Well, Masha isn't really Bear's daughter, but she lives alone in the forest, so he acts as her parent.

Bear thinks back to when he had to stand in the corner as a child.

The other animals think it's funny, but Bear reminds them of their childhood. Pig had to stand in the corner when she was naughty.

So did Rabbit.

But every punishment comes to an end. Bear takes Masha into the garden and lets her play with his model plane.

The Truman Show (5 Stars)

I recently rebought "The Truman Show" on the recommendation of Jeff from the YouTube channel "Films At Home". He's someone whose opinion I respect when it comes to buying 4K discs. He said that the 4K release of "The Truman Show" is much better than anything that's been available until now. I can see what he means. The Blu-ray disc I've been watching until now isn't that bad, but it was made in the early days of Blu-ray, and there was room for improvement.

Today I watched the film paying close attention to the video quality. I didn't see much difference in the first ten minutes, but as the film progressed I was bowled over by the quality. It's the most impressive in the last 30 minutes. It's true that when I paused the film I could see occasional dirt specks on the picture, but what else can you expect from a film made with a film camera?

I've watched "The Truman Show" more often than any other film, more than 30 times. Is it possible to still take a new message? Today it hit me that the only way for Truman to discover the nature of the world around him is to overcome his fears. He's been afraid of water all his life, but he climbs into a boat and sails into the unknown. Can I do that? Am I capable of doing something I've never done before, instead of relaxing and accepting the world as it's presented to me? Probably not.

Success Rate:  + 2.4

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Planes (3½ Stars)

Disney Wednesday #21

After watching the second Planes film two days ago, my grandson Oliver insisted on watching the first. It introduces us to the cute orange plane, Dusty Crophopper. He's a crop duster who believes he can do more. He wants to become a racing plane. He's trained by the retired navy war plane Skipper Riley. He qualifies for a race around the world, competing against seasoned racing planes. Most of the other planes welcome the newcomer, but the reigning champion, Ripslinger, mocks him and says that he doesn't stand a chance. Dusty does badly in the first few legs of the race, but he edges into the lead. Ripslinger resorts to dirty tricks to win the race.

"Planes" is better than the second film. I still can't relate to the concept of talking airplanes, but I felt sympathy with the underdog competing in a race he can't hope to win.

Success Rate:  + 2.8

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Smallville 3.02 - Phoenix

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This is the second part of the story that began in the episode "Exile". It's taken me a long time to get round to it, the delays caused by holidays and a new computer. I'm not a naive computer user who just buys a computer off the shelf, then turns it on and starts using it. I spent weeks defining the specifications for a custom computer, and when I had it I needed days to set it up with the software I needed for my work as a blogger.

In the last episode we found out that Clark Kent has spent three month living wild in Metropolis. Wearing the red kryptonite ring removed his inhibitions, so he was living a life of crime, stealing money from cash machines to fund his luxurious lifestyle. Jor-El gave Clark's father Jonathan strength and speed to match Clark's, so that he could bring him home. Jonathan challenged Clark while he was robbing Lionel Luthor's vault in Luthorcorp.

Jonathan knocks Clark through the window, and they fall I don't know how many storeys into a basement below. After a hard fight Clark hits a stone pillar and shatters his ring. This brings Clark back to his senses, and Jonathan also loses his powers, having accomplished his job. Clark returns home, carrying his father in his arms.

Someone else returns home. Lex Luthor has been rescued from the island where his plane crashed. He knows that his wife Helen was responsible, but he also blames his father. He threatens Lionel with a gun, but Lionel insists that he's innocent. The only thing that convinces him is that he knows that if his father had wanted to kill him he wouldn't have failed.

Lionel might not have been involved with the attempt on his son's life, but he knows who was. His men have been spying on Helen, and he has evidence that she's been working for the crime boss Morgan Edge. It's shocking to see that Lionel and Morgan are friends. At least, they're friends on the surface. When it comes to money they're fast to deceive one another. There's some back and forth with the contents of Lionel's vault. The item stolen by Clark is a metal box containing the blood sample that he gave in the episode "Fever". Lex stole the blood sample from Helen's office in the hospital, but he gave it back to Helen to prove he loved her. Instead of keeping it, she sold it to Lionel Luthor. Morgan Edge wanted to steal it to sell it back to Lionel. How did Morgan know what it was or why it was valuable?

Back on the farm, Clark destroys the vial with the blood sample. Morgan comes to the farm to demand the vial, holding Clark's parents at gunpoint. Clark has to offer a replacement. but his skin is usually too hard to be pierced. He holds green kryptonite in his hand while cutting his arm to draw blood, letting it drip into a jar. Morgan sees that the kryptonite weakens him, so he straps it to Clark's chest and takes him prisoner. Morgan arranges to meet Lionel at the docks. He gives him the blood sample first, and then says that he has the source of the blood in his truck, not telling him that the source is Clark. As they walk towards the truck Clark breaks free and makes the truck explode with his heat vision. Lionel accuses Morgan of trying to kill him, and there's a shootout. One of Morgan's men is killed, and Morgan is possibly killed.

In the podcast there was a discussion about the docks. Metropolis is supposed to be in Kansas, a landlocked state, so there can't be any docks. Tom Welling said that he's read that Metropolis is an alternative name for Chicago. Michael Rosenbaum said that Metropolis represents Cleveland. They said that they need to ask an expert.

I'm sorry, asking an expert won't do any good, because DC itself has never been consistent about the location of Metropolis. When the Superman comics were first written in 1939, Metropolis was a fictional city that represented New York. Gotham also represented New York. It's true that Metropolis was later located in Illinois, either near Chicago or Chicago itself. In the 1990's DC stated that Metropolis was in Delaware. In the comics Smallville was originally said to be located in rural Illinois, but now it's said to be in Kansas, within sight of Metropolis. So where is Metropolis? Nobody knows.

While Morgan was meeting Lionel, he left one of his men in the farm to guard Jonathan and Martha. Lana Lang visited, and the man tried to hold her as well. That's not so easy. She's a feisty 16-year-old. She stamped on his boot and hit him in the face with her elbow. After a sharp knee to the groin he fell back onto a pitchfork and died.

Don't mess with Lana Lang!

Lex tells his wife he'd like to make a new start with her and go on another honeymoon. In the plane he tells her that he knows she drugged him before letting the plane crash. Helen pulls a gun on him, but he grabs it, and in the struggle they shoot the pilot. Lex takes over the control of the plane. When he goes to check on Helen, she's jumped out of the plane in a parachute. He assumes she's gone into hiding, but it's more convenient to tell everyone she's dead.

On returning, Lex tells his father that he wants to accept his offer to run Luthorcorp with him. Is he being genuine? Lionel is suspicious, but they're now partners.

In the last episode we found out that the Kent farm is bankrupt and is up for auction. Lex comes to the farm and tells Jonathan that he's bought the farm, but he 's put Jonathan and Martha's names on the deed. All he wants in return is to be considered part of the family.

When Clark first returns to Smallville after his three month absence, Lana doesn't know if she can trust him. She finally rides to the farm and tells Clark she wants things to be as they were before. He turns her down. He says that he has to protect her, without saying what he's protecting her from. He tells her that a relationship between them can't work. He's not the right guy for her.

Lana rides away on horseback, a parallel to the scene where Clark departed in "Exodus".

Emmanuelle Vaugier takes part in the podcast as a guest star. Michael says that she looks just as young as she did when she played Helen Bryce/Luthor 20 years ago. I disagree. I think she looks younger. Michael and Emmanuelle have been friends ever since they met on the set of "Smallville". It's been a few years since they last met, partially the result of Corona, but they want to get together and hang out again soon.

Does this guy look like he's 51?

(If that question sounds random, watch the podcast).

Always hold on to Smallville.

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Fire Walk With Me (4½ Stars)

This is the September selection for the monthly "Best Of Cinema" It's a film I own on DVD, but I haven't watched it for a long time. It was made in 1992, and it's a prequel to the television series "Twin Peaks". I first watched "Twin Peaks" in 2004 (according to my Amazon purchase history), and I watched "Fire Walk With Me" immediately afterwards. I re-watched "Twin Peaks" in 2014, but I didn't watch "Fire Walk With Me" again. I'm not sure why.

Let me start by saying that I don't think "Fire Walk With Me" is a well made film. It makes no concessions for the viewer. The characters appear randomly in the film, some named, some not, and anyone who hasn't seen the series probably has no idea what's happening.

But it's a David Lynch film, so is it necessary to understand it? The psychedelic imagery is compelling and drew me in, and I'm sure it would have had the same effect if I'd never watched the series.

The film is made up of two parts. In the first part we see an investigation of the murder of Teresa Banks. The murder isn't solved, and one of the detectives mysteriously disappears. The second part, which takes place a year later, shows the last seven days of Laura Palmer. In the series special agent Cooper spent weeks painfully researching clues to figure out what happened. Many of the clues pointed in the wrong direction. In the film we see exactly what happened.

After watching the film I checked the availability of "Fire Walk With Me" on 4K, and I found that the release date is November this year, alongside a 4K release of "Lost Highway". Wow! While reading up on it I found rumours on social media that "Twin Peaks" will be released on 4K. I've only watched my Blu-ray box set once, but that wouldn't stop me buying it yet again.

"Fire Walk With Me" is a film that overwhelms me. I've only deducted half a star because there's too much smoking.

Success Rate:  - 2.4

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Planes: Fire and Rescue (3 Stars)

Disney Wednesday #20

"Planes: Fire and Rescue", sometimes called "Planes 2", is a sequel to "Planes" and a spin-off of the Cars franchise. That means that the film has no humans, animated or otherwise, it's just full of talking vehicles: planes, cars and trains.

I haven't watched "Planes", but I can figure out what happened in the first film. Dusty Crophopper was a successful racing plane, but now his gearbox is damaged and he can no longer fly at full speed. We all get old, don't we? He doesn't want to disappear into retirement, so he looks for a way to prove he can be useful. He signs up to be trained as a firefighter, i.e. a firefighting plane. If I were no longer as fit as I used to be, that's the last career I'd choose!

Oliver selected this film today, and he greatly enjoyed it. Maybe I should let him watch the Cars films as well. Personally, I found the film annoying. I can't relate to talking airplanes. When I was a child I read the stories of Thomas the Tank Engine, but I'm out of that phase now.

Success Rate:  + 0.9

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The Last Voyage of the Demeter (4 Stars)

Bram Stoker's "Dracula" is the story filmed more often than any other. There was an article in Empire magazine listing 50 movie adaptations. It only included direct adaptations of the story itself, not every film in which Count Dracula appears as a character. I read that article twenty years ago, so how many times has it been filmed since then?

"The Last Voyage of the Demeter" is a special case. It's an adaptation of a single chapter in Bram Stoker's novel. It deals with the journey by ship from Bulgaria to England. The ship, called Demeter, left Varna on 6th July 1897 heading to London, but it went of course and was shipwrecked in Whitby in northern England on 6th August 1897. The police found the captain's log, in which the mysterious deaths of the crew members were described. Everyone on the ship was dead.

The main character in the film is Clemens, a doctor who doesn't appear in the book. He's given a place in the crew at the last moment when a superstitious crew member backs out. Clemens is a scientist who only believes what he sees with his own eyes. Even when he sees men and animals with their necks ripped out he tries to find a logical explanation.

I expected the film to show everyone dying, as in the book, but Clemens survives. That disappointed me, but in a way I understand it. Modern audiences don't like tragic tales in which everyone dies. There has to be at least one survivor. For me this spoils the story.

It's a horrific film in a claustrophobic environment. There's no way to escape. The crew of the Demeter fight in vain against Dracula, a seemingly invincible opponent. It's a good film, despite deviating from the original story.