Dogma (1999)

 "Bethany, bless the sink!"

I watched, and enjoyed this film, many years ago but, as often happens as the decades pass- and I am not, you understand, in any way confessing to being middle aged- I remembered very litttle. Last night was pretty much a second first viewing.

And it's superb. As a comedy, it's bloody good, with a constant stream of laughs. Linda Fiorentino is perfect as the star. Chris Rock and Alan Rickman are both brilliant. George Carlin is perfect casting as a down-with-the-kids cardinal. Some dodgy angel wing CGI aside- and we can be forgiving, because it's 1999- there's not much wrong with this.

It is, of course, a very different beast from the very '90s slacker romantic comedies for which Kevin Smith had previously been known, although there's a fair bit of that sort of thing here. But the religious stuff is obviously going to come across as provocative, not least with Bethany working at an abortion clinic and (spoilers!) the plot requiring God's life support machine to be switched off. Casting Alanis Morissette as God is, of course, entirely uncontroversial.

And yet... I don't get this film to be mocking faith, or religion itself, in any way, but rather the reactionary and socially conservative structure that eventually inserts itself around every religion. I've never had any religious faith myself, I wasn't brought up with it and am simply unable to believe in something without empirical proof, but even I was moved by Bethany's drunken nostalgia for a time when she had a childlike, simple faith. But perhaps this film also hints at a deeper truth. Divine or not, this Jesus person seems to have been anything but conservative.

Chasing Amy (1997)

 "Since you like chicks, right, do you just look at yourself naked in the mirror all the time?"

Time for another View Askewniverse film in my meandering marathon... and this one is not only bloody good, but beneathe the humour it explores some rather serious themes. Don't get me wrong, I like good films of any genre, but I tend not to seek out many romantic comedies because, well, I'm a bloke. Sometimes, I feel, even the good ones can have a very superficial, greetings card view of love and relatiobships. Yes, Richard Curtis, I'm looking at you.

This film is not like that. This is real.

I've seen this film before, at uni, but that was, ahem, a couple of years ago. I've lived a lot and loved a lot since then. And, well, 1997 was a long time ago. At least, I hope fewer men today are as much of a dick as Holden.

It's interesting looking back into an age when acceptance of LGBT issues (although the T wasn't thought about much back then) was evolving. The twentysomething characters here don't approve of bigotry, the word "homophobia" exists, although quite new, and, as illustrated by Banky, we have that by now dated trope that men who are bigoted about gay men are in denial about their own sexuality.

But the crux of it all is the sexual politics between women and men. Because Alyssa is completely wonderful- witty, funny, kind, fun and basically an amazing person. Holden is very lucky that she loves him.And she does. She gives up her friendships to be with him. She gives him everything.

He doesn't deserve her. He goes all wobbly because... she dares to have a sexual past while being female. Yep, double standards again. And very immature attitudes to threesomes, ployamory and sex in general, skewered brilliantly by Kevin Smith. He destroys both his relationship with the love of his life and his relationship with his best friend. His heart is broken. Good. Serves him right. But breaking Alyssa's heart is unforgiveable. We get an ambiguous ending... Holden doesn't deserve a happy one.

This film is mature, devastating, superbly acted and written, and has some very nice directorial touches. There's also some bloody good humour, as we'd expect, and a great character in Hooper. Silent Bob, of course, steals the show.

This is, overall, a far more serious film than its two predecessors. It will break your heart. But it's very, very good indeed.

Mallrats (1995)

"And don't ever lose that nipple!"

Finding a quote for a Kevin Smith film is not exactly the most difficult thing ever, which says something in itself.

Ok, this isn't quite as good as Clerks. It's similar- a geek-cum-romantic comedy with slapstick, wit, heart and profound '90s-ness, but it doesn't have the art house look or the hard hitting ending, nor is thereas much depth behind the humour and the cool. This is Kevin Smith by numbers, with a moderately bigger budget.

But you know what? If this is what Kevin Smith comes up with when he's relatively uninspired, I'll take it. It may not be his best work, but it's still awesome. In fact, it's awesome for the deliberately Road Runner-esque scenes of Jay and Silent Bob trying to get past the security guard and destroy the stage. Stan Lee gets an awesome cameo. The Easter Bunny gets a damn good kicking. Some excellent points are made about Superman's sex life.

The performances are superb. Jason Mewes is excellent as Jay, and we see a lot more of him and Silent Bob, always a good thing. But it's the central comic performance of Jason Lee who holds the film together. The Blind Date-style conclusion is neatly done and, unlike in Clerks, the two sets of lovers are back together by the end. The slacker will forever remain a '90s trope; sunce the 2008 crash, and certainly now, it stands revealed as a luxury from a more prosperous era. But the geek, nonetheless, shall inherit the Earth/.

Clerks (1994)

 "She broke your heart and inadvertently drove men to deviant lifestyles."

I haven't seen this wonderful film since I was at uni. What took me so long? It is, first of all, hilarious. But, for this fortysomething, it's so gloriously, nostalgia-inducingly '90s, and my '90s. The '90s of slacker culture, Grunge, Douglas Coupland and lumberjack shirts. Oh, and landlines and video stores.

The soundtrack is glorious too- Soul Asylum, Bad Religion, proper '90s stuff. But the film is far more than just a comedy. The structure is based on Dante's Divine Comedy. Yes, I know it's filmed as it is because it was made on the cheap, but it looks so wonderfully arthouse, which somehow works.

The characters are superb too. The put-upon Dante, our audience identification character who isn't even supposed to be here today, seems decent on the surface. But there's no two ways about it: he's being unfaithful to his very lovely girlfriend, and gets what he deserves.

Both he and Randal are aimless in their McJobs, suitably for the zeitgeist but reflecting a more prosperous age where such directionless apathy was a luxury that could be afforded. We explore that lifestyle here, with Randal at least having some self-awareness.

Most of all, though, the comedy is wonderful, real, inspired, and contains nuggets of wisdom. I can certainly confirm milkmaids exist. I am a bearded example. I'll get the latest date no matter what.

I think it's going to have to be full steam ahead with the View Askew-niverse for me. It's been too long.

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- Cleaved in Twain

 "I'd sure like to fist him!"

Yeah, there was only going to be one possibility for this episode's quote.

This is, of course, an outstanding episode, and not only because Kevin Smith totally leaned in to our childish jokes about Fisto there. It seemed almost impossible to top the cliffhanger at the end of last episode before this agonising break, but the episode pretty much managed it.

The extended scenes of the now-godlike Skeletor gloating over his enemies are eletrifying, and a triumph for Mark Hamill. The Sorceress- after a moving flashback showing her having to leave her baby daughter with Duncan- gets a heroic death. But all seems bleak as our heroes escape, with Skeletor now seeming both all-powerful and genuinely terrifying, proceeding to turn the entire population of King Randor's city into an Army of the Dead.

Cruelly, this includes (ahem) Fisto and Clamp-Champ, who get heroic deaths... only for their souls to be unjustly damned by Skeletor. Ouch. That's bleak.

And yet, after an episode of increasing bleakness, we end on a note of hope, and a brilliant conceptual leap- Adam calls upon the Power of Grayskull without the sword. And, er, seems to turn into some kind of Incredible Hulk. Which is sort of appropriate, because in 1982 or so, when I was five, the series of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ended on Children's ITV ad was replaced with the then-new cartoon of The Incredible Hulk.

I'm already addicted. This is awesome.

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- The Forge at the Forest of Forever

 "We saved the world... didn't we."

Oh my. It's weird that this is (for now) only five episodes long, but this is a proper season finale and no mistake.

So much happens. The quest narrative moves to Preternia, a kind of good place Eternians go when they die. But this is more of a Valhalla than a Heaven, full of hunts and machismo and old heroes like He-Ro and wise old King Grayskull. But Adam stands out- of all the legendary heroes, only he chooses his weaker form. 

There are good character scenes between Teela and Adam, but we have no clue until the end how dramatic things are going to be. Roboto's death is a very big, very emotional scene. Adam's decision to return to Earth to help his friend, knowing he will sacrifice all chance of returning to afterlife, is moving. 

But it seems as though all is well. Adam speaks the words we know so well, and magic returns to Eternia.. and then it happens: Skeletor, unsuspectedly hiding in Lyn's staff, returns, and fatally stabs Adam mid-transformation. All is lost, and it's a bloody good cliffhanger.

More please. How long do we have to wait?

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- Land of the Dead

 "Oh, bollocks..."

This episode is, perhaps, a little more formulaic than its predecessors in that it has our prtagonists on a quest in Hell- more of a Hades really. Here they are tested by Scare Glow, played by the great Tony Todd and, I've just discovered, one of the last classic toys released, at the same time as the movie characters. And it's all, really, about Teela facing her fear, namely that Adam never really trusted her.

There's some good stuff here, not least Orko's background and the revelation that his self-esteem issues stem from his upbringing. He has an increasingly nice bond with Evil Lyn, perhaps the wisest of all the characters. It's good to see Trollia. And the ending is, of course, splendidly shocking. But this felt more like a space-filling middle episode than most.

Still, that's only a relative criticism in an impressive series, and the characterisation continues to impress.

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- The Most Dangerous Man in Eternia

"I don't know why I thought the lady named Evil-Lyn would be nice..."

Another rushed evening, so blogging this.

I've never read any Joseph Campbell, and probably never will: I tend to take a dim view of overly reductive classification of mythical narratives into quests, hero's journey or any of that. Taken too far it shrinks the world of story to be smaller than it should be. This episode, however, is blatantly part of an overall quest narrative and also features a reconciliation, of sorts, between father and daughter.

Kevin Smith, of course, is far too clever not to be meta about this. Theres rather a lot going on, and not just the witty dialogue ("He-Man had the sense of humour of a teenager who didn't get out much"). There's Man-at-Arms being the typical old ex-hero who refuses to get back in the saddle, nicely subverted by Roboto. There's the splendid Evil-Lyn's gloriously cynical advice to Andra and Teela as she regrets wasting her life with Skeletor and, more broadly, a realigning of allegiances across the board. The conveniently easy definitions of good and evil are gone.

This is good stuff- well-written and acted. I'm enjoying the He-Man vs Skeletor flashbacks at the start of each episode, too.

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- The Poisoned Chalice

 "Cry havoc and let slip these cogs of war!"

I was going to blog The Boys tonight, as I like to alternate. Alas, I'm pushed for time, so the shorter alternative it is.

This is another brilliant episode, shattering the staus quo of an old early '80s filmastion cartoon by removing the reset button and introducing an arc, an ever-changing status quo and a milieu in which any character can die- as Tri-Klops (Henry Rollins!) says, we are no longer in an era of Skeletor's repeated absurd and moribund plans. We're all fortysomethings now, after all.

At firt, it seems as though we have a story of the week to introduce a new staus quo as Teela and her new friend, some time having passed, work as mercenaries. We get a whiff of Stinkor, played by Jay of "and Silent Bob" fame.

We also get a fascinating elaboration of the backstory. Magic is dying, as in Visionaries. Tri-Klops is leading a cult of cyborg technology, complete with body horror transformations. Eternia was the first planet, and both it will rot without magic. A newly cynical Teela, and Andra, must quest for the two halves of the sword of power, in Heaven and Hell. With Evil Lyn. 

The plot thickens, deepens and becomes more interesting. This is such a fresh take. I love it.

Masters of the Universe: Revelations- The Power of Grayskull

 "You can't tend a garden without pulling a few weeds..."

Obviously I was never going to blog the original '80s cartoon. Xennial that I am, and as important Masters of the Universe was to my primary school days as well as those of ever other little boy born in 1977 or thereabouts, I prefer to leave such never-ending cartoons with their big red reset buttons out of the blog. There wouldn't be anything of substance to write about, and I'm no druggie.

This, however, is quite another prospect. For some reason, after blogging more that 750 films, I've never got round to  doing any by Kevin Smith, but in my twenties I was a massive fan of Jay and Silent Bob. His involvement makes this a must-blog.

And it doesn't disappoint. We begin by leaning into the nostalgia, with the introductory art even deliberately homaging the art style of those little comic books  you used to get with the toys. It shows us all our favourite characters being themselves, wallowing in nostalgia, although having a bit of metatextual fun with the catchphrases.

And then, magnificently, it punctures everything as surely as Adam punctures Orko's semi-metaphorical bubble.We learn the secrets of Castle Grayskull- and the whole edifice is a massive exercise in misdirection, to distract Skeletor from what lies beneath- the lair of the Elders, and the Orb that is the source of Eternia's magic and, apprarently, creation itself. At last, as reflected in the dialogue, Skeletor's endless failures are over. At last, as Skeletor sardonically remarks, He-Man finally uses his famous sword to seemingly kill his nemesis. The narrative rules are ended, and that big red reset button is destroyed, never to be pressed again.

The first to die is obscure (and smelly!) goodie Moss Man, but He-Man and Skeletor soon die and, in a dramatic- and perhaps too sudden- final scene, it all collapses as the King and Queen learn simulaneusly that their son was He-Man and that he is dead. Randor's, er, rancour, his banishing of Duncan and Teela's own outburst are perhaps a little too much to accept, even with this stellar cast, bt it all feels so fresh, and Masters of the Universe is at last unpredictable. Hooray.

If one must wallow in nistalgia, one must at least do something new and interesting with it, and upset all the right people. So far Kevn smith certainly seems to be doing that.

Daredevil (2003)

"I want a bloody costume!"

Oh dear. Oh dear oh dear.

I remember seeing this at the pictures when it came out. As far as I can recall I didn't hate it. I may not have been overwhelmed but I was, at least, moderately whelmed. This time, though... oh dear. I'm afraid this review is going to be quite the spanking.

Please understand that this film isn't awful merely because it stars Ben Affleck, which is never a good thing, or even that Affleck is in even worse form than usual. Jon Favreau is awful (he should stick to directing), Jennifer Garner phones in her performance, and while Michael Clarke Duncan is a good actor he's miscast as the Kingpin. He has a kind face. You just can't cast him as a baddie, although it doesn't help that the Kingpin's lines are the worst in the film. Only Colin Farrell manages to shine by, wisely, chewing the scenery with gusto as it's the only thing you can do with lines like that.

And that brings us to the script, a steaming pile of dung. It beggars belief that anyone seriously thought this script was ready for production. It's clear from the performances that the cast doesn't exactly believe in it. None of the characters are well-developed. Far too much time is spent on a totally unnecessary recap of Daredevil's origin- why are superhero films always doing this?- and Daredevil doesn't act or feel like Daredevil. He kills. He beats people up and generally behaves like a homicidal Batman. It just feels wrong.

At least we can keep ourselves entertained by counting all the names of comics creators here. I'm not sure how Joe Quesada feels about giving his name to a rapist, but Kevin Smith gets a cameo as "Jack Kirby" (and Frank Miller gets a brief cameo as, naturally, does Stan Lee) and Jack Murdock has recently fought "Miller, Mack, Bendis" and is seen fighting John Romita.

Still, this film is a turd. It's not even entertainingly bad. For the morbidly curious only.