Hawkeye: A television program: A review by Warren Bull

 

Image from Wikkimedia

Hawkeye, the Television Program: A Review by Warren Bull

 

(This blog has been re-published from Warren's 2022 blogs. We will continue to re-post his blogs until he is able to return to WWK.)

 

This miniseries created by Jonathan Igla is based on the characters from Marvel Comics. Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Tony Dalton and Vera Farmiga star in this production. If you are not acquainted with Marvel Comic book heroes, you may not know that Hawkeye, also known as Clint Barton, is a member of a group of superheroes called The Avengers. Among the group he is unique in a number of ways. He does not have a technological suit of flying armor like Ironman. He was not physically enhanced by accident such as a bite from a radioactive spider (Spiderman) or exposure to gamma rays (The Hulk), or by plan such as injection with an unreproducible super-secret solution intended to produce a nearly invincible soldier (Captain America) or assassin (Black Widow.)  And he is definitely not a God (Thor.)

 

Hawkeye is a regular person who is in extraordinary physical shape who is an expert archer, martial artist, and swordsman. Hawkeye has a secret identity of sorts in that he has a wife and three children, which he keeps secret from the Avengers except from his friend Black Widow.

 

So, he is a superhero who is not super and his secret identity is that he is a husband and father. I find the twist on what makes someone “super” interesting.

 

The character is different in movies and in this television show than the character in the comics. The show has humorous inside references to the differences, for example in the comics he wears a purple costume that shows up from time to time in the series. When his wannabe sidekick in the series suggests he wear something like the costume, he rejects it. “I’m trying to stay in the shadows. My wife would divorce me if I wore something like that.”

 

One of the things I like about the series is its willingness to make fun of the comic characters. Hawkeye attends a Broadway musical based on the Avengers who have saved New York (a long and complicated story I will not go into), he turns his hearing aid off, and walks out. There are references to Mocking Jay, comic conventions, and adult roleplaying games. At one point he insists, “I am not a role model.” The series avoids taking the characters and the comic too seriously. 

 

Poor Clint Barton who is in New York to spend time with his children just before Christmas gets dragged into a gang war with an all-too-eager young women who has copied his skills and wants to be like the Hawkeye of legend.  Clint wants to clear up the mess and get home in time for Christmas.

 

The action is movie-like with remarkably poor shooting from the bad guys and gals and incredible escapes. The dialog is funnier if you get the movie references. I enjoy the skewed superhero approach. It is fun, lightweight material for when you have time to kill. 

 

 

 

 

The Good Fight Television Series: A Review by Warren Bull

 

Image from Stillnessinmotion on Unsplash

The Good Fight television series:  A Review by Warren Bull

I had heard of Binge-worthy television shows, but I had never been so caught up by a series that I watched several episodes in a row until I saw “The Good Fight.” I watched a “Scorpion” television series subplot through four episodes on two successive days. I watched the first three episodes of “Picard” in one sitting because I missed the series when it came out and I have watched other shows through the entire run that I had not seen on their first run. But with “The Good Fight,” I started in the early afternoon and continued with only necessary breaks until late at night.

My interest was piqued by an article in the June 20, 2020 issue of the New Yorker about Robert and Michelle King. I wrote before about their television series “Evil,” that, unlikely as it sounds, is a unique and clever presentation combining elements of horror, fantasy, and theology in a thoughtful and unexpected way.  The couple also made “The Good Wife,” which was successful for seven year or so on CBS, but which did not catch my interest as much as the other two.

According to the article in the New Yorker about Robert and Michelle King, they dated for four years. They scheduled an informational meeting with a priest to see if he would consider the possibility of allowing Robert, a devote Catholic the middle of seven children, and Michelle, a secular Jew, and the only child of Holocaust survivors, to marry in the church. When the priest pulled out a calendar, they were too shy to object. Maybe it is the range of backgrounds and experiences that fosters the melding of dissimilar concepts in a creative way.

What hooked me immediately with “The Good Fight” was the opening that showed a liberal lawyer waking up to the unimaginable shock that Donald Trump had been elected President. I remember being shocked by the event too. I identified with the way expectations had been upended, institutions had been uprooted from their traditions, and people formerly on the fringes of society felt empowered to express opinions openly.  The show addressed new topics (to me) including Ponzi Schemes, online bullying, and the creation of realistic false videos by using images and voices by sophisticated computer generation tools. It depicted attorneys defending reprehensible actions and jockeying for positions within a law firm. I was very much interested in the way interactions between races were shown when as part of the plot a white lawyer joined an all-Black law firm. 

For me, this was great television and I give it my highest recommendation.

A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place 2: Movies Reviewed by Warren Bull

 

Image by Ally Griffin on Unspace

A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place II: Movies reviewed by Warren Bull

These wickedly frightening horror films were written by Bryan Wood, Scott Beck, and John Krasinski from a story by Woods and Beck. The two developed the story in college. Krasinski read their spec script in 2016. He was hired to do additional writing and directing the next year.

Krasinski and his wife, Emily Blunt, were cast as parents (Lee and Evelyn) who try to protect their children played by Millicent Simmonds (Regan, who is deaf), Noah Jupe (Marcus, the second-born) and Cade Woodward (four-year-old Beau) after the world is invaded by blind monsters with acute hearing, incredible speed, toughness, and viciousness.

Millicent Simmonds was cast for her role in part because she is deaf and has used American Sign Language (ASL) for years. She taught the rest of the cast to use ASL. It made sense for parents to know sign language since they had a deaf daughter. The father used short messages striving for survival and protection of his children. The mother was more emotional and inclusive. The daughter used angry teenage signs, defiant and confrontational. Subtitles were used to clarify the experience for the audience, but the signing alone was beautifully expressive.

As something of an experiment with silence, special care was taken with sounds of the film. Scenes from Regan’s point of view were completely silent to reflect her experience. Small sounds like dice rolling on a table were added and amplified in the studio. When sounds occur, the shots were staged to show what made the sound. The eyeless monsters made clicking sound like the echo-location of bats. 

The film was shot almost exclusively in Dutchess and Ulster counties in upstate New York. Filmmakers spent the budget locally including buying 20 tons of corn from local farmers. They used, a soundstage in Pawling in Dutchess County for some scenes. Main street in Little Falls in Herkimer County, New York and the Springtown Truss Bridge in Ulster County were prominent actual locations used in the movie. 

The plot starts after the aliens have landed. The back story was cleverly told in the headlines of yellowed newspapers and signs on deserted store windows. The family had developed visual alarms around their farm and created barricades. The tension built with a believable series of events that I refuse to reveal, considering how often painstakingly planned twists and surprises are ruined for readers and movie goers by reviewers.  

The film was chosen by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute as one of the best ten films of 2018. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and a Writers Guild of America Award. Emily Blunt won a Screen Actors award for Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role.  It grossed more than $350 million world-wide. Stephen King said, “A QUIET PLACE is an extraordinary piece of work. Terrific acting, but the main thing is the SILENCE, and how it makes the camera’s eye open wide in a way few movies manage.”

For A Quiet Place 2, John Krasinski wrote and directed the continuing saga. Although the release was delayed by COVID, this story adds Cillian Murphy and Dijmon Hounson to the cast all of whom perform admirably. Although Krasinski was reluctant to direct a sequel at first, he thought of an approach that appealed to him as a father and presented his idea to Paramount. He was given a budget three times as big as the original movie. Publicity was extensive. 

Without trying to create a franchise, the plot involved more action, but maintained the importance of sound and silence. It did not try to do too much. The sound editor said they did not want to be “too cool.” There was no sophomore slump. The film was released for streaming 45 days after its theatrical release. Predicted to earn between $40 million and $125 million world-wide, it grossed $297.4 million and became the first post-COVID film to gross $100 million. 

Both movies scared the daylights out of me. I give them my highest ratings.

My Outlaw Brother: A Movie Review by Warren Bull

 

Image by Drew Dau on Unsplash

Evil Television Series: A Review by Warren Bull

 

Image from Peter Forster on Unsplash

Evil: The Television Series: A Review by Warren Bull

I see this series as proof that any genre can be well-written. Although I do not usually read romance novels, I have read some that I consider exceptional. Cookbooks hold little interest to me, but I rate a few as serious literature. This series does the same for a genre that I rarely read and generally do not care for, namely horror -politically correctly labeled supernatural. 

The creators, Robert and Michelle King have written successful movies and television series including The Good Wife, a legal series that ran for seven seasons.

During its first two seasons, Evil has been nominated for 25 awards without winning any. The ensemble cast includes Katja Herbers as Dr. Kristen Bouchard, a lapsed Catholic agnostic, who is a forensic psychologist and mother of four daughters. Mike Colter plays David Acosta, a Black devout Catholic studying to become a priest, who had visions in the past and sometimes seeks them through the use of hallucinogens. Aasif Mandvi, appears as Ben Shakir, who has a religious background as a Muslim but now considers himself an atheist. He is a contractor, computer expert, and equipment handler, the most skeptical of the three.

Kristen, David, and Ben are hired by the Catholic Church to investigate possible demonic possession and possible miracles. Kristen tries to differentiate possession from mental illness. Ben seeks scientific explanations for events. David struggles with the church's history of sexual abuse, policies about the treatment of Blacks and women, and the White male-dominated hierarchy of the church, but he sees possession as a real possibility.

Kristen is the main POV character. Herbers as Kristen portrays a range of emotions in a kaleidoscope of situations with aplomb. She gives an air of believability that anchors events that are very hard for the viewer to accept as even barely possible. With a lesser actress, this could be campy or utter crap. The other two primary characters carry complex storylines with ease. The extensive supporting cast adds depth and interest. Several cast members present vivid and distinct characters. The basic concept is interesting and allows for serious questions of ethics and religion. 

Another strength is the creative representations of demons, djinn, and monsters. There is nothing cheap or distracting in how that is done. 

I do not like blood and gore, but it is justified within the boundaries of the show. Some tropes are unavoidable like – There’s a zombie/vampire/monster around here. Let’s go search for it individually. I also don’t like the tendency to put children in danger.

I don’t recommend watching the show with your children, or anyone else’s children but with consenting adults who appreciate skill in storytelling, I recommend this highly.

The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis, signed by Dillon His Self: Not Reviewed by Warren Bull

The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis, signed by Dillon His Self:

Not Reviewed by Warren Bull

 

This is not a book review. I would like to review the book, but I cannot. There is a 55-person-long waiting list at Ada Community Library’s Lake Hazel Branch in Boise, Idaho for the only copy. Fortunately, the library will not allow people to renew their hold on the book. Unfortunately, once checked out it can be kept for four weeks.

I hear the plot involves Dillon putting an exploding star on his Christmas tree that sends him back to the first Thanksgiving and the North Pole. That’s all I know about it.

The eight-year-old Author, Dillon Helbig, completed the 81-page tome and illustrated it in December of last year. He was so proud of his work that when visiting the library with his grandmother, he slipped the book onto a children’s picture bookshelf without permission. He told his mom, Susan. When they returned two days later it was gone.

The library staff recognized what a great book it was. They decided it met the selection criteria for their graphic novel section. Dillon gleefully agreed to let them put a bar code on the cover and include it with other books.

Apparently, Dillon was not self-promoting. He just wanted to share the story. There is talk of creating an ebook version. Dillon says he is working on a sequel in which the Grinch visits his home. His dog, Rusty, will be a major character in his work-in-progress. He also has an idea for a new project about a jacket-eating closet. 

Do you think the library has a waiting list for books they plan to acquire? 

Sorry, I have to go now. I have a few phone calls to make.

Here is the link for more information. [insert link here]