Morbius (4½ Stars)

Netflix Thursday #36

The cover above was the first appearance of Morbius in Amazing Spider-Man #101, dated October 1971. Don't be put off by Spider-Man having six arms. It was a silly idea that Marvel had which only lasted a few issues.

Today I'm visiting my son Benjamin in Obersontheim. The weather is freezing! It's -8C up here on the hill, three degrees colder than where I live in Münchingen. He's more of a gamer than a film fan, so he relies on streaming services. I picked "Morbius" on Netflix as a film he hasn't watched before.

"Morbius" didn't do as well as expected at the box office, but at least it made a slight profit. It's a dark film, which is probably the reason not as many fans went to see it. How big is the overlap between Marvel fans and horror movie fans? I can't judge by myself, because I'll watch anything.

The post credit scenes tie in with the multiverse. As far as I know, Morbius lives in the same universe as Venom, Earth-TRN688. In the mid-credits scenes – there are two of them – the Vulture jumps from Earth-199999 and proposes teaming up with Morbius to fight with Spider-Man. Does that make sense? We've never seen Earth-TRN688's version of Spider-Man. It would make more sense for Morbius to jump into Earth-199999. I have the impression that Marvel Studios doesn't know what it's doing. Apart from that, it currently seems unlikely that "Morbius" will have a sequel, so we can safely ignore the mid-credits scenes. They never happened.

Overall, Marvel is in a state of turmoil. "The Marvels" was a big flop, due to a few factors.

1. There's a general slump in cinema visitors.

2. There's a super-hero fatigue after too many Marvel films.

3. Disney, which now owns Marvel Studios, is being mismanaged by Bob Iger.

What's the future of Marvel in the movies? Nobody knows. If "Deadpool 3" isn't a success this year, there's no hope for Marvel.

Success Rate:  + 0.2

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Jackie Brown (5 Stars)

After watching an underwhelming film in the cinema this afternoon, I thought it was a good idea to pick another film from my top 100 film list. What better choice than "Jackie Brown", currently in 34th place? It's an homage to the blaxploitation films of the 1970's, but let's be honest: were any of the blaxploitation films half as good as "Jackie Brown"? It's a classic, considered by many to be Quentin Tarantino's best film.

One small criticism I have is that the film needs to be remastered. Many of the scenes are slightly blurred. A film like this deserves to be presented in the best possible quality.

I like pictures of a beautiful woman when the camera is pointing up at her. It makes the woman look like a Goddess. And that's what Pam Grier is. She's a Goddess. She's a giant among women, beautiful and powerful.

Success Rate:  + 4.2

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Cars (3 Stars)

Disney Wednesday #22

After watching "Planes" a few weeks ago, my grandson Oliver said he wanted to watch "Cars". Have any of my regular readers noticed that I've added his name as a label to all the films he's watched with me? It helps me keep track of his viewing history, although he's started watching films with other family members.

"Cars" is an animated film made by Pixar Studios for Walt Disney in 2006. It takes place in a world populated by intelligent speaking cars. It's about a newbie racing car called Lightning McQueen who wants to win the prestigious Piston Cup. The first race is a three-way draw with the reigning champion Strip Weathers and the arrogant Chick Hicks. A second race is scheduled in Los Angeles a week later. On the journey Lightning falls out of his transport truck. He races towards California, but he's stopped for speeding and has to do community service in the small town of Radiator Springs. It lies on Route 66 and used to be a busy community, but now that Interstate 40 has been built it's practically a ghost town. The residents roll around complaining about the good old days. Lightning was always a loner, but he begins to make friends with the cars in Radiator Springs.

I have mixed feelings about the film. The story is interesting, but I'm put off by the constant fast, hectic dialogue. Apart from that, the concept of talking cars doesn't appeal to me. Oliver liked the film a lot, so maybe I should try to see it more from a child's perspective.

There are several well known actors who provide the voice for the cars, including Owen Wilson as Lightning McQueen. Why? I don't see the point in hiring successful Hollywood actors for voice roles. It must make the film more expensive. For me as a viewer it just makes me scratch my head when I hear a voice. "Is that <fill-in-the blank>? It sounds like him". I'm sure there are lesser known voice actors who can do just as good a job.

Success Rate:  + 1.9

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The Flash (3 Stars)

"The film is considered one of the biggest box-office bombs of all-time, with expected losses for Warner Bros to be as much as $200 million".

So it wasn't just me who didn't like "The Flash"? DC Studios are obviously jumping on the multiverse bandwagon. If Marvel can do it, so can they. The comparisons weren't lost on the others in the audience. When I was walking out I was following two DC fans in their thirties. One of them said, "It's a better multiverse film than Spider-Man", and he pointed to a poster of "Across the Spider-Verse", which is also showing at the moment. That's a bad comparison, putting two average quality films side by side. They should have compared it with "Spider-Man: No Way Home", which is a much better film.

Even as far as the subject matter is concerned, "The Flash" is more similar to "No Way Home". Barry Allen (the Flash) meets three different versions of Batman, played by Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton and George Clooney". If DC insists on changes in their version of the multiverse, they should have changed the actor playing Barry Allen. In the TV series the Flash is played by Grant Gustin, who's a terrific actor. In the film Ezra Miller is awful. But let's be fair to him. Maybe he's okay as an actor, it's just the way he was told to play the role. He's an idiot, making one clumsy mistake after another. That's not the Flash that we know in the comics.

The only part of the film that I liked was the two minutes when Wonder Woman appeared. Gal Gadot is a beautiful actress. We should have seen more of her and less of Batman. And less of the Flash.

I haven't written anything about the plot. Go and see the film yourself. Or don't bother. If you're a big DC fan, like the two men in my cinema, you might like it. The other 95% of the world can give it a miss.

Morbius (4½ Stars)

Today is only the second time I've watched "Morbius", but it's growing on me already. The biggest hindrance in me giving the film a full five star rating is that Michael Morbius is a very unsexy vampire. It's an accurate depiction, because he's always been unsexy in the comics.

My fascination with vampires began when I saw the film "Vamp" while on holiday in the mid-1980's. I was fascinated to see Grace Jones as a vampire. At that time in my life I considered her the ultimate in sex appeal. I didn't see "Vamp" again for more than 20 years, but I watched many other vampire films, and the sexiest vampires were in the films of Jean Rollin. Despite being 100% heterosexual, I could recognise the appeal of Christopher Lee as a vampire. Even Bela Lugosi had a certain sex appeal, in a creepy way. I found David Boreanaz annoying because of his eternally miserable face, but James Marsters was a slick, sexy vampire. And Drusilla! Yes, Drusilla was my dream woman. I'd moved on from Grace Jones.

I had a phase in the early 2000's when I would buy any vampire film on DVD without knowing anything about the film. Some of the films were good, others were a waste of money. I'm more selective nowadays.

Morbius isn't a sexy vampire, not in the least. He's a horrific character. That's the way Jared Leto was paid to portray him, and he did a good job. Morbius is also a tragic figure. He doesn't want to kill anyone, but when he's overcome by bloodlust he can't help himself.

I'm curious to see how Morbius will develop in future films, if any are made. Jared Leto has repeatedly expressed interest in making more films, possibly as a villain facing Spider-Man, but there are no signs that the films will be made. "Morbius" the film was only a minor box office success, but the critics tore it apart. A film needs to be a huge success for the studios to ignore the critics.

Success Rate:  + 0.2

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Morbius (4 Stars)

Netflix Thursday #12

I missed "Morbius" in the cinema while I was in hospital earlier this year. Today I finally managed to see it on Netflix. I'll buy it on Blu-ray when the price drops.

Morbius was never one of my favourite Marvel characters. He was introduced in the early 1970's when Marvel was attempting to return to its roots by publishing more horror stories. At this time comics were written about Dracula, the Mummy and the Frankenstein monster. Morbius was an attempt to write about a vampire who was an integral part of the Marvel Universe (although that phrase wasn't common at the time). It's no coincidence that he was introduced in October 1971, the month when Stan Lee stopped writing. Marvel was heading in a different direction.

Over the years Morbius has come and gone in the comics. After his first appearance in Spider-Man #101 and #102, he had a guest appearance in Marvel Team-Up, a series frequently used for showcasing lesser known heroes. It wasn't until February 1974 that he was given a solo series in Adventure Into Fear, but it was cancelled after only 12 issues.

I was pleasantly surprised that the film doesn't have the comedy elements of other recent Marvel films. But something is missing. I sat and enjoyed the film, but I wouldn't say that it excited me. Jared Leto is doubtlessly a good actor, but I couldn't relate to his character. His romance with Martine Bancroft was important in the comics, but it's hardly more than a crush in the film. If the story had shown more of a romantic tragedy, it would have been better.

The film was a moderate box office success, though nowhere as successful as expected. Will there be a sequel? Probably not. It's more likely that Morbius will return in other Marvel films. The mid-credits scene suggests a tie-in with the MCU via a multiversal rift. Sigh... I'm getting sick of hearing about the multiverse.

Success Rate:  + 0.2

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Jackie Brown (5 Stars)

Quentin Tarantino has said that he'll only make ten films. So far he's made nine films, which means his next film will be his last. He claims that most directors end their career with poor films, and these are the films they'll always be remembered for. He wants to stop while he's at his peak. I think he has too little faith in himself. I could name many directors who have remained good after making many films, starting with Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg.

On the other hand, I think Quentin has already passed his peak. If you look at my top 100 films list, you'll see that it contains seven of his nine films. The two films missing from the list are his last two films, "Hateful Eight" and "Once upon a time in Hollywood". I'm not saying that they're bad films, but they're not up to the quality of his earlier films. "The Hateful Eight" lacks the detailed character development of films like "Jackie Brown", while "Once upon a time in Hollywood" seems to lack direction. Quentin himself says that "Death Proof" is his weakest film, but I strongly disagree. It could have been slightly improved by making the car chase longer, but I can't say anything else against it.

Today I watched "Jackie Brown" using the enhanced trivia track, a text commentary while the film is running. I don't want to write anything more about the film after reviewing it five times already, so I'll just talk about one thing in the text commentary:

"As Jackie is walking towards Max Cherry, the song playing is Natural High, performed by Bloodstone. Quentin Tarantino says this is one of the greatest soul ballads of the 1970's. According to Quentin, when white audiences hear this song, they think Max is falling in love with Jackie, but when black audiences hear this song, the audience is falling in love with Jackie".

I don't understand why Quentin thinks white and black audiences react differently when hearing the song. It doesn't make sense. It's obvious to me that the song is played to show Max is falling in love with Jackie at first sight. That isn't just because I'm white. And why does Quentin think only black audiences would fall in love with Jackie? I had a crush on her for years.

Success Rate:  + 4.2

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The Protégé (3 Stars)

Sometimes I'm too impatient for my own good.

At last year's Fantasy Film Festival there were trailers for this film every day. Probably three trailers a day. The trailer interested me, because the film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Keaton and Maggie Q, three of my favourite actors. I searched for the film after the festival. It wasn't available on streaming, and the price on Amazon was too high. So I left it on the list of items to buy later. Month after month went by. The price slowly dropped until it was something I was willing to pay. Only 6.50 Euros. One last check to see if it was available on streaming. No, so I clicked Purchase. It arrived yesterday.

Later yesterday I received an email from Amazon telling me there was a new film available with Prime Video. You guessed it: "The Protégé". Annoying. I'm contributing to Jeff Bezos' wealth.

Samuel L. Jackson plays Moody, a contract killer. In 1991 he's paid to assassinate someone in Vietnam. After finishing the job he hears shooting nearby. He finds a room full of dead bodies and a small girl holding a gun. They'd broken into the apartment and killed her mother, so she picked up a gun that one of the men foolishly put down. Moody recognises the girl's potential, so he adopts her and trains her to be a killer.

30 years later Moody and Anna are an unstoppable team. Moody is secretively trying to locate someone, not even telling Anna who it is. Assassins kill Moody and everyone associated with him. Only Anna survives. She realises that the attack has something to do with the person Moody was hunting, so she finds the name and carries on the search.

The search takes her back to Vietnam. She meets a man called Michael Rembrandt who works with the men who killed Moody, although he says he never approved of the killing. In theory they're enemies, but there's too much raw chemistry for them to kill one another, and they end up in bed together.

Great acting by the main cast, but the story itself is lacking magic.

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The Founder (4½ Stars)

True Stories #24

Name: Ray Kroc

Lived: 5 October 1902 – 14 January 1984

Film dates: 1954 to 1970

Film made in 2016

I've known Michael Keaton for many years, but I've only recently realised what a great actor he is. I wouldn't say that he's improving. He's always been good. I just took him for granted until now. I'm now at the stage where I want to watch any film he appears in. That's an honour he shares with Jim Carrey, Gemma Arterton and Chloe Grace Moretz. Usually I judge films by their directors, but these are a small group of actors that I always want to watch.

Ray Kroc wasn't a pleasant man. "The Founder" makes him sympathetic to the viewer, but that's the result of Michael Keaton's smooth acting. If I'd met the real Raymond Kroc I would probably have been taken in by his charm. He was a charismatic man, but beneath the surface was ruthless greed.

In 1954 Ray Kroc was a travelling salesman. He wasn't poor, but he wasn't rich either. In the words of his wife, their savings went up and down. He had an idea, it worked, so he made money. Then he had another idea, and it didn't work, so he lost money. Then he had a new idea that was successful, so he made money again. It was an endless cycle for him.

Then he saw a small drive-in restaurant called McDonald's in San Bernadino, Texas. It was a family business run by the brothers Dick and Mac McDonald. Ray wanted McDonald's for himself, and he did everything he could to steal the business for himself.

Ray Kroc was a parasite, and like most parasites he seemed pleasant at first. He persuaded the McDonald brothers to expand their operation. "Franchise" was the buzz word. Ray took it upon himself to open new restaurants all across America. He had control over all the new restaurants, while the brothers just had their original restaurant, so Ray grew into a market giant while the brothers remained local tradesmen. It was like a cuckoo growing up in a nest. The time came when he pushed the other birds out of the nest. He forced Dick and Mac out of business shortly after the events of the film.

Ray Kroc had the temerity to call himself the founder of McDonald's. He called one of his restaurants in Illinois the #1 store as a provocation to the McDonald brothers. It's kept this name until today.

If I were a man with strong principles I'd boycott McDonald's after watching this film. I'm not. Besides, if I boycotted every company that was founded by greedy businessmen I'd be naked and starving by now. I have friends in England who boycott Wetherspoons pubs because of the owner's political views, but they're the pubs that sell the cheapest beer, so I don't care what Tim Martin says. McDonald's sells good food for a cheap price, though probably not as good as it was in the 1950's. I don't often visit McDonald's these days, maybe twice a year, but by coincidence I visited McDonald's two days ago before going to see "Licorice Pizza". There was a buy one get one free deal for Big Macs, so I bought two. I only intended to eat one and save the other till later, but it was cold, so I ate both on the bench in front of the cinema.

Michael Keaton's acting is incredible. It's the mark of a good actor that he can make us like a bad guy.

Success Rate:  + 1.4

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Jackie Brown (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #41

This is an amazing film. I've written about it a few times, usually concentrating on Pam Grier. Today I'll do something different. In an early scene Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson) is showing his partner Louis Gara (Robert De Niro) a film featuring the guns he sells. This film, called "Chicks who love guns", is included in full in the Blu-ray's special features. Here's a small gallery of the girls in the film with their weapons of choice.

---

Hi, I'm Sidney. I'm a personal trainer and Miss Orange County finalist, and this is my Tec-9. The popular Tec-9 is designed after the Russian KG-99 submachine gun. It boasts 32 rounds of 9 mm firepower and can spit bullets at a rate of 700 rounds per minute. Made in America, the Tec-9 is most often used by police SWAT teams and military personnel. Because it's both compact and lightweight, the Tec-9 acquires its target with ease, making this little brute the perfect choice for home defence. I love my Tec-9.

---

Hi, I'm Cindy. I'm a student and a part-time actress, and I'd like to show you my Steyr AUG. AUG stands for Army Universal Gun. A primary design emphasis behind this weapon was for use from vehicles. Talk about versatile, it goes from a 223 to a 9 mm carbine with no tools. The Steyr AUG is a snap to use.

---

I'm Gloria. I'm a full time model and actress. You might remember me from "Girls just wanna have guns". This is the famous AK-47. With over 50 million manufactured in ten countries, the AK-47 is the most popular assault rifle in the world. This is the Chinese model. You can tell by the extra rivets running through the metal struts. Nothing gets between me and my AK.

---

Hi, I'm Brittany. I'm part-time actress, dancer and model. This is the Italian Beretta model 12S. It shoots 500 rounds of full metal jacket 9 mm Luger at 1270 feet per second. At 10 pounds it's really heavy for such a small gun, but the weight and balance really reduce muzzle rise during firing. I've never held anything that felt so strong and confident.

---

Hi there, I'm Tammy Jo. I'm an exotic dancer and a calendar girl for a national chain of tyre wholesalers. This is the Mossberg 500, a 12 gauge pump-action shotgun. It's made in America, just like me. It holds five shells in the magazine, one in the pipe and can fire a round as fast as I pump the slide. It's got an 18 inch standard chunk barrel and weighs in about six and a half pounds dry. The Mossberg comes in handy when you don't have much time to aim and you've got plenty of close range stopping power. You'll love the thrill of having this much raw power in your hands.

---

As in Quentin Tarantino's last two films, there's a scene where people look into a car trunk. There's a similar scene in "Death Proof".

Success Rate:  + 4.2

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The Founder (4½ Stars)

I can't help myself. This is a film have to keep returning to. Something about it fascinates me, and I can't even say what it is. Michael Keaton's acting is brilliant, but that's not it. It might be the squeaky clean atmosphere of America in the 1960's. It's a bright, almost too perfect world. The sun is always shining. There's never too much traffic. The streets are clean, except in scenes where Ray Kroc is picking up rubbish.

Maybe I'm fascinated by the success of greed. Ray Kroc says twice, at the beginning and the end of the film, that the most important word is persistence, but what characterises him isn't persistence, it's greed. He saw an opportunity, and he grabbed it without any consideration for others. He took as much as he could, and he gave as little as possible back. Dick and Mac McDonald had created something visionary. Ray wanted it, so he ripped it out of their hands. They were hard-working and naive. They weren't strong enough to deal with Ray Kroc. They were foolish enough to trust him.

I have to ask what's gone wrong with McDonald's as a company. It worked perfectly in the early days, before and after Kroc. In those days you ordered a burger, and it was given to you within 30 seconds. That's not possible any more, even when a restaurant is empty. The streamlined efficiency of the 1950's restaurants has been replaced by sluggish, disinterested workers in the 21st Century. Another problem is that the menu is too big. In the 1950's there was only one hamburger, with or without cheese.

Just look at that menu. What else do you need? Just make one hamburger and make it perfect.

This is a cheeseburger I bought at McDonald's last week. The bread was dry, the meat wasn't juicy, and the cheese tasted like plastic. It was so disgusting that I wasn't sure I wanted to eat it. Dick and Mac must be turning in their graves.

McDonald's has lost its way. Let's make McDonald's great again.

Success Rate:  + 1.4

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