Movies — The Blank Page

Yes, okay, you caught me. I was one of those kids. The ones going around quoting Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. I’m sorry. I’m not proud of it. I told people to give Jackie Brown another try. I defended Narc a lot. I said people should try Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead when they’re in the right mood and listened to certain soundtracks to the point where my friends might’ve tried to hide them.

Me and my tribe back then laughed a bit too loud when Doug Liman does the sly little nod to the Goodfellas tracking shot in Swingers, after they’ve already talked about it. We gave each other knowing looks during Get Shorty. We were Miramax kids, before we knew exactly what had been going on there. We liked our crime movies slick and fast talking and we kept a close eye out for names like Elmore Leonard, even if occasionally meant we got something fairly low rate on our screens.

Nostalgia, big lizards and teenage mood swings

Okay, I don’t do this very often. I really don’t. There was a time when I wrote reviews of every movie I went to see. Not for this for website, though. Not for anyone. I wrote them for me. For no reason at all, really. Spot the only child.

This is was back when I used to stick every cinema ticket to my bedroom wall. Which took a lot of blue tack and left a lot of holes when I moved out of my parents’ house.

Anyway, this weekend, I managed to watch a few movies, so I thought why not share my findings with the rest of the class.

Breeze & Norman

There are two types of people in the world and they’re living in your head. They vary depending on the person they’re inside. If you’re trying to stay healthy, then one person will definitely being trying to convince you to keep on the diet, whilst the other one is saying surely you’ve been good for long enough to earn at least one treat. If you’re trying to focus on getting something done then you know one of those people in your head is going to be telling you that there’s no harm in taking just one little night off.

Ticket Tape

Never mind. I don’t want to talk about DC. If I get onto DC, then I’ll have to talk about Marvel and how they’re going to ruin the MCU just by continuing to play the odds. They could have taken a step back with Endgame. It was a solid ending, it gave everything they’d been spinning together an arc. But, no, now it’s TV tie ins and cartoons and it won’t last. It can’t last. None of this can last. It’s going to reach a point where comic book movies become a joke.

2020, Comic books, Movies, Multiverse, OverthinkingChristopher Long23 August 2020TENET, DC Fandome, MCU, Bill and Ted, CinemaComment

I don't know such stuff

Of course, back then November 2019 seemed an impossibly long way away. Never mind your galaxies far, far away. Blade Runner felt even more unreachable, if only because we’d been told at the start just how close to our lives it might be. The flying cars. The replicants. The seething streets and the nightmare skyline. Flames erupting into the darkness from skyscraper high chimneys. Towering advertisements for soft drinks and escape blaring into the night at all hours. The rain and the traffic never stopping.

Movies, Nostalgia, Blade RunnerChristopher Long25 November 2019Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, Batman, Tim Burton, Ridley Scott, Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Cine, CinemaComment

Who's Who 13: A Swing and a Ms

She sat beside his bed. A weak coffee clutched in her hand, when she liked it strong. She’d asked for it strong. Very strong. Incredibly strong. So strong it could’ve beaten her in an argument. Instead they’d handed her something milky enough to be mistaken for a late breakfast.

Story, Short story, Movies, Flash fictionChristopher Long1 March 2019Who's who, Story, Zombies, Pirates, Acting, OscarsComment

Differences. Creative Differences.

Oh, Danny Boyle. The press, the press are calling.
Yep, there’s no way that hasn’t already been written online at least a thousand times. To be honest, if I had his number, I’d be calling. Or maybe I’d be better calling the good folks at Eon Productions. Just to find out what happened. I want to know exactly why they parted ways with such an established and interesting director.

These Seats are Great

Before Fluff became available to buy. Before May Day appeared in Britain and mysteriously brought with it the one thing we British were never expecting, sun. Before I walked out of a cinema and declared Infinity War to be one of the best blockbuster experiences I’ve had the pleasure to enjoy, the universe taught me a valuable lesson.

Fluff, Overthinking, Movies, Comic booksChristopher Long10 May 2018Marvel, Showcase, XLR, Thanos, Brian BlessedComment