Scott Pilgrim vs The World (4½ Stars)

Rather than review the film (which I've done in the past), I'll write about a strange experience that I had with the Blu-ray disc today. As I've pointed out in previous reviews, I find the film's alternate ending much better. It's not really an alternate ending, it was the original ending. It was (supposedly) badly received at test screenings, so it was refilmed.

I need to explain. The film begins with Scott dating a Chinese schoolgirl called Knives Chau. He dumps her when he meets a girl called Ramona Flowers. To be with Ramona he needs to defeat her seven ex-lovers in battle. Knives still has feelings for Scott, so she assists him in his fights.

Now to the endings. In the original ending Ramona tells Scott that Knives is better for him, so Scott returns to her. In the ending used in the film, Knives accepts that Ramona is better for him, and he walks off with Ramona.

I can see the point. The test audience was confused by Scott fighting for a girl, then deciding he didn't want her. I see it differently. Knives was perfect for Scott from the beginning, and she loved him so selflessly that she even helped him get his new girlfriend.

I own video editing software, so after watching the film I wanted to put the old ending back into the film. I never want to watch the new ending again. But then something weird happened. The alternate ending isn't on the Blu-ray. It's a film that I originally bought on DVD, so I compared the two discs. The alternate ending is listed as an extra on the DVD, but not on the Blu-ray.

But that's not the end of the story. I analysed the Blu-ray on my computer, and I found the alternate ending. It's on the disc, but there's no link to it. It's a mastering error. So I can create a personal version with the original ending after all.

Or maybe it's an Easter Egg? Some Blu-ray discs have hidden menus that can only be accessed by clicking on invisible buttons. I have a British Blu-ray. Is the American version also missing the alternate ending? I'm curious.

Success Rate:  - 1.8

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World's End (5 Stars)

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost play two old friends who haven't seen each other for 20 years. They reunite to do a pub crawl in their former home town of Newton Haven. Twelve pubs, starting at "The First Post" and ending at "The World's End". Very appropriate names. But what are they staring at?

Schoolgirls! There's something delightfully sexy about girls in school uniforms, and clever women know how to take advantage of it, even in later years.

As it turns out, the schoolgirls aren't human, but even aliens know how to drive men crazy by dressing in school uniforms.

I would have surrendered to the alien schoolgirls, but the two heroes resist them and fight them to the death. As a result, society breaks down and all that there is to remind them of the past is Cornetto wrappers. There must be a moral in there somewhere.

Success Rate:  + 0.3

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Die Wiese (5 Stars)

The film's title means "The Meadow". And that's what it's about. I don't know whether it's correct to call it a documentary. It's a nature film, and what a nature film! There must have been a lot of technical expertise put into making the film. Flowers are shown opening and closing. Animals are shown close up. 

The film takes place over a period of 12 months, from spring to spring. At the start of the film we see a female deer (a doe) having two babies. We see them again several times in the course of the film. Always in close up shots.

This is the cameraman/filmmaker, Jan Haft. We don't see him in the film itself, he's always behind the camera. He made the film in northern Germany, close to the Polish border.

The film makes statements about conserving the environment, but they're balanced. For instance, the narrator defends the yearly mowing of the meadow. He says that if the meadow weren't regularly trimmed the land would become a forest, destroying the unique wildlife in the meadow.

I don't have the exact figures, but the film was a financial success when it was released in 2019. It was a popular film for visits by school classes. It's overwhelmingly beautiful.

Hot Fuzz (5 Stars)

Here they are again, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the greatest comedy duo of the 21st Century. The only others who come close are Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart. In this film Simon Pegg (on the right, in case you didn't know) plays Nicholas Angel, a police officer who's been transferred from London to Sandford in Gloucestershire. The London police force didn't want him because he was too efficient and showed everyone else up. Nick Frost (on the left) plays Danny Butterman, a Sandford police officer who joined the police force because his father told him to do it.

The biggest crimes in Sandford are people cutting their neighbours' hedges. There hasn't been a murder in the village for years, but Nicholas soon discovers why. Whenever someone is killed the coroner declares it an accidental death.

Nicholas is all business. He refuses to eat Black Forest Gateau at work.

But he's willing to eat a Cornetto on duty. It's not a problem as long as he isn't driving.

In 2006 Olivia Colman was still unknown. What a cute smile!

"Hot Fuzz" takes a while to get going, but once it starts it's an amazing film.

Success Rate:  + 4.7

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Shaun of the Dead (4 Stars)

Oh wait a minute! That's the wrong film! Let's start again!

I think I got the right Shaun this time. His white shirt confused me, but he's definitely not a sheep. Or is he? He walks in a daze through his daily life, not noticing that he's in the middle of a zombie apocalypse.

As long as the shops are still open and he can buy Cornetto ice cream, why should he bother about zombies walking the streets? It might look weird that he's carrying the Cornetto in his mouth, but he needs both hands to open his Coca Cola can.

Shaun doesn't get serious until he finds a zombie in his back garden. Together with his flatmate Ed they finish her off with whatever weapons they can find.

Back in the house they look at one another in shock. Is it because they've just killed their first zombie, or because Ed wants to know why his Cornetto wrapper is wet?

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are both great comedians in their own right, but as a team they're unbeatable. Laurel and Hardy, Bud Spencer and Terence Hill, and now Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They should make more films together.

Success Rate:  + 4.5

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Rome 1.06 - Egeria

This episode takes place two months after Titus Pullo killed Evander, Niobe's lover and the father of her young baby. Since his disappearance Evander's wife Lyde, Niobe's sister, has been living with her. There has been constant wailing by both women. Pullo decides to put an end to it. He claims to have investigated Evander's disappearance, and he's heard that he had gambling debts. He's either fled the country, or what's more likely, he's been murdered. This lie has a positive effect on the family. Lyde leaves and returns to her home in Spain. Niobe decides to move on. She has sex with her husband Vorenus for the first time since he returned from Gaul, hoping to have a new baby.

Mark Antony is working to cement Caesar's power in Rome. In the absence of most of the Senators, he promotes Servilius, the most senior Senator remaining, to consul, on condition that he passes a few laws. Caesar is to be made co-consul. In all the outer provinces the agricultural workers must be one third free men. Until now agricultural labour has been done almost entirely by slaves, and the new law will be effectively a tax on the wealthy landowners. Mark Antony makes a blunt hint that he'll kill Servilius if he doesn't get what he wants.

Caesar reports to Rome that he's been unable to fight with Pompey in Greece. He's been chasing him, but Pompey is always one step ahead. This isn't cowardice. Pompey is using the time to gather more legions, and he now outnumbers Caesar's forces ten to one. He requests that Mark Antony sail with the 13th Legion to Greece to support him.

Pullo is still teaching 14-year-old Ocatvian (the future Emperor Augustus) how to be a man. This involves primarily lessons in swordsmanship. His mother Atia says that this isn't enough. He needs to lose his virginity. Atia gives Pullo the money for a high quality brothel run by a matron called Egeria. This is the name of a mythical creature that was revered as a counsellor of women. Was that a name chosen by the matron or her real name? We can only speculate. Octavian is offered a slave girl who was captured somewhere in Eastern Europe when she was young. The price is more than two years wages for a soldier. I don't know what to say. What sorts of customers did Egeria usually have? Who could afford women like that?

This episode seems to be all about sex. Did "Rome" need a ratings boost in the middle of the first season? Atia invites Mark Antony for a meal and seduces him. She asks him to stay in Rome instead of joining Caesar in Greece. She suggests that they get married, and she can offer him protection when Pompey returns. He tells her that he would never betray his friend Caesar, and he storms out.

The episode ends with Vorenus, Pullo and the rest of the 13th Legion in stormy seas on their way to Greece.

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Scream 6 (5 Stars)

The box office success of "Scream 5" (or whatever it was called) has paved the way for a new trilogy. "Scream 6" is a sequel of the requel, as film fan Mindy puts it. If "requel" isn't in the English dictionary, it ought to be. It's a movie which revisits the subject matter of an earlier film but is not a remake or a linear continuation of its plot. "Scream 5" might not have been a reboot of the Scream franchise, but it started the film series again with new ideas.

Gale Weathers has to continue fighting evil by herself after the death of her on-off lover Dewey in the last film.

Before you ask, this is Mindy.

The new trilogy is running parallel to the original trilogy. In "Scream 5" we met the high school teenagers in Woodsboro. Now they're college students in New York. "Scream 6" acknowledges "Scream 4" by bringing back the original character Kirby Riley. The last time we saw her she was in school. Now she's an FBI agent. Time flies.

This is the first film in the series made without Sidney Prescott. The actress Neve Campbell said it was time for her to move on, but I suspect it was because she wanted more money. Whatever the reason, she's promised to come back in the seventh film.

Success Rate:  + 3.1

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Scream 2022 (5 Stars)

There's some confusion about the name of this film. When it was released in the cinemas it was called "Scream", the same name as the original film, giving the impression that it was a reboot. On the Blu-ray disc I'm holding in my hand it's called "Scream 2022". But most fans call the film "Scream 5". That would be the most logical name.

The film isn't a reboot. It continues from the original films. To be precise, it continues from the original trilogy, without denying the fourth film. "Scream 3" was made in 2000, and "Scream 4" was made in 2011. The on-screen timeline is the same as the real time between the film releases. 22 years has gone by since the events of "Scream 3".

Gale Weathers and Dewey are now divorced, even though it's made clear that they still love one another. Dewey couldn't keep up with her. They moved to New York, which was a living Hell for the boy from a small town. He left her in the middle of the night. He was really leaving the city, not her, but it was a poor thing for him to walk out and let her wake up in the morning in an empty bed.

Dewey is falling apart. He lives alone in a shabby trailer. He's stopped shaving. His only pleasure in life is watching Gale on the "Good Morning" television show.

In all four films Dewey has been stabbed, but he survived. It's been a standard trope of the series. This time he's stabbed again, but he doesn't get up. Without Gale, what does he have to live for?

Farewell, Dewey.

Success Rate:  + 3.8

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Scream 4 (4½ Stars)

What's happened with Gale Weathers and her husband Dwight Riley, nicknamed Dewey? At the end of the last film they were so happy. Whenever we see them together in "Scream 4" they're arguing. It must be tough when a sheriff is married to an investigative reporter. He says something is police business, but she insists on knowing about it because reporters need to know everything. They could discuss it calmly behind closed doors, but she has to humiliate him in public by calling him Sheriff Dewey.

As it turns out, Sheriff Riley (to give him his correct title) needs his wife's assistance. She shows more skill than him in tracking down the new killer wearing the Ghostface mask.

"Scream 4" was made 11 years after "Scream 3". Was it necessary? The story could have been left to rest after the first three films neatly tied up the trilogy. It was the studios that put pressure on Wes Craven to make a fourth film. Decisions are made by money. "Scream 4" should have been the first film in a second trilogy, but it never got that far, for several reasons. It made a profit, but it was less successful than expected. It was produced by the Weinstein Company, which ceased operating due to the sex scandals surrounding Harvey Weinstein. But the main reason was the death of the director, Wes Craven. The Scream franchise couldn't continue without him.

What I like about this film is the return to a predominantly teenage cast. It has the atmosphere of the first film. And the high school students deal with a crisis in the same way: "There's a killer in town? Let's have a party".

Success Rate:  + 0.4

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Scream 3 (5 Stars)

After the hot passion in the last film, you might think that Gale Weathers and Dewey are an item.

But Gale was obviously too much for him, so he's settled tor Jennifer Jolie, the actress who plays Gale Weathers in the Stab films. (In case you don't know, the Stab films are the Scream films within the films. It all gets very meta). Dewey would rather have a fake Gale than no Gale at all.

But a few deaths later, Dewey finds his way back to the real Gale. He doesn't have much choice, now that the fake Gale is dead. Dewey finally proposes to her. So they live happily ever after? Wait till the next film to find out.

Why is it that Dewey always look scared when Gale kisses him.

The first three films go through three phases in Sidney Prescott's life:

"Scream" shows Sidney and her friends as high school teenagers.

"Scream 2" shows Sidney and her friends as college students.

"Scream 3" shows Sidney as a young working adult. She's become a recluse and doesn't have any friends.

Success Rate:  + 2.1

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Scream 2 (5 Stars)

Gale Weathers and Dewey get off to a rough start in "Scream 2". Dewey accuses Gale of exploiting Sidney by writing a book about her mother's murder.

But they can't resist one another. An hour later they enjoy their first kiss.

Within minutes Gale is all over him. She's the apex predator. When she wants a man she takes him, and the small town policeman is unable to resist.

That's as far as they get. There's a killer in the next room watching them.

Wait for the next film to see how the romance continues.

Success Rate:  + 5.2

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Scream (5 Stars)

As I've recently said, my son Benjamin prefers horror films over all other genres. I have nothing against horror films, but I don't want to watch only horror films for the two weeks that he's visiting me. I tried to calm things down with "Annette" and "White Noise" yesterday, but after the second film he insisted on watching a horror film today. I suggested watching the six Scream films, and he immediately agreed. It's been years since he last watched them. I suggested watching two films a day for three days, but this morning he said he wants to watch three films a day. Why not? They're great films.

The only problem with watching so many films is that I won't have enough time and energy left to write lengthy reviews. I'll keep to a minimum. If you're not happy, you can find my previous, more detailed reviews in my alphabetical list of posts.

 I'll just point out one thing that I didn't mention in my previous reviews. The Scream films feature an on-off relationship between Deputy Dwight Riley (nicknamed Dewey) and the news reporter Gale Weathers. She has a way with words. When she first meets him she tells him that he looks young. Dewey takes it as a compliment, but then she adds that he doesn't look a day over 12.

Way back in 2015 I created my first animated GIF using Photoshop. It was fun, but I never did it again. It's a lot of tedious work, and the resulting animation is huge. There are tools for creating GIFs automatically, if I ever want to make one again. Here's my GIF showing Rose McGowan going down to a chilly cellar. Click on the picture to see everything moving.

Success Rate:  + 10.4

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White Noise (3 Stars)

Netflix Thursday #44

I have a Netflix account that I share with my son Benjamin. He doesn't have many films on disc, so he uses it a lot. I don't use the account much. Sometimes I don't log in for months. Recently I received an email advertising "White Noise" as a new film on Netflix. I checked the trailer, and it looked interesting, so I decided to watch it today.

How can I describe it? It's well filmed and the acting is competent, but what's the point? In the first half of the film there's an environmental disaster, when toxic chemicals spill from a train and a poisonous cloud spreads through Ohio. In the second half a college professor finds out his wife is secretly taking pills to stop her being afraid of dying. What do the two subjects have to so with one another?

The film is based on a novel, so it's possible that the book would answer my question. I won't bother reading it to find out. "White Noise" was a monumental box office flop before being taken to streaming. That's one of the good reasons for Netflix. It collects films that nobody wants to pay money to watch.

Success Rate:  - 1012.1

Annette (5 Stars)

I have over 2000 films on DVD and Blu-ray, so I need to organise them. I keep the films I've just watched or intend to watch soon in my bedroom, but my main collection is in the cellar, neatly organised in alphabetical order. I boast that I can walk into the cellar and grab any film I want to watch within 10 seconds, usually much faster. But in October I had a problem. I wanted to watch "Annette", and I couldn't find it anywhere. It wasn't in the cellar, so I hunted for it everywhere. First I looked in all the logical places where I might have mislaid it. Then I looked in all the stupid places. I hunted for weeks. It really annoyed me. Finally I gave up and re-ordered it in Amazon's Black Friday sale. It was cheap, much cheaper than the price I'd originally paid for it, so I was happy, even though it wasn't in stock and I had to wait three weeks to get it.

Then, on the same day the replacement disc arrived, I found the old disc. The trouble with ordering my films alphabetically is that I rely on the system. If I make a mistake in placing the films in my shelves I'm in a mess. That's what happened. I was taking another film from my shelf, and there was "Annette" staring at me, neatly placed between "Aaaaaaaah" and "Abominable Doctor Phibes". I could have kicked myself for my stupidity. It was only five places out of order, but I never noticed it when I was looking for it.

There might be other films out of order, but the problem is that I only discover that a film is misplaced when I want to watch it. There are films that I only watch once in five years or even less. I only discover a mistake when I fail to find a film within 10 seconds. By then it's too late.

I'm really glad that I could watch "Annette" again today. I only gave it an average rating the last two times I watched it. I didn't enjoy the music, and I found the main character (Annette's father) unpleasant. And yet the film stuck in my mind. I was sure I would like it more if I watched it again. And I did. Yes, Annette's father is unpleasant, but that's the whole point of the film. An elegant opera singer falls in love with an obscene, provocative comedian. Opposites attract, we all know that, but can such relationships survive? In "Annette" we see that the relationship is doomed to failure from the beginning.

It's a brilliant film.

Success Rate:  - 5.0

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