Seen in September

Rocky and Rylan in Project Hail Mary

End of summertime viewing. The beginning of the fall schedule. Remember when TV had seasons? No? Don't worry, it never mattered much. For the first time in a long time I saw a couple of Toronto International Film Festival mantinees. I thought the cost of tickets would deter the crowds but that didn't seem to happen ("gala" screenings cost over a $100 a seat, while "regular" old films in the festival went for about $35). One great thing about seeing a movie during a festival is actually the audience, not the film itself. Everyone is usually into it and are up for whatever they're about to see, and that feeling might be worth the cost of admission.

Project Hail Mary
Prime Video
Ryan Gosling saves the world, and then another world. Rylan Grace (Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship with temporary amnesia (presumably caused by the hibernation process he’s just woken from) and pieces together what led to his predicament. The predicament is that he’s the only surviving astronaut sent to find out what is killing our sun. This sci-fi story is from Andy Weir, the author of The Martian, so it’s a fun mix of actual science and actual fiction. Along the way, we discover Grace wasn’t really the typical hero you might expect sent to save the Earth. He also meets and collaborates with an alien who he nicknames Rocky based on the alien’s appearance. There are a lot of fun “what-ifs” and set pieces that have a satisfying (if slightly open) ending.

Pompeii: Out of Time
Disney+
Did you know Tom Hiddleston studied Classics and learned Latin at university? Well, now you do because he won’t shut up about it. Hiddleston’s interest in antiquity and the real human tragedy of Pompeii is at the core of this limited series that walks us through the volcanic explosion that led to the loss of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The plaintiff.

Coyote vs Acme
This movie, based on a one-page comedic short in the New Yorker, Coyote v. Acme, was highly anticipated, if only just to see it make it to theatres. A contemporary financial strategy of studios like Warner Brothers has become to burn millions of dollars making a film only to decide the result is more valuable as a tax write-off. I suppose the calculus is that instead of paying for marketing and distribution, you simply shelve the film and use the cost to balance the books. Fortunately, that business-savvy cynicism lost out in this case as Hollywood creators let fans know this is a good film and deserved better than being a line item in an accountant’s ledger. As a fan of Looney Tunes, I enjoyed seeing the cast of characters come back to life in a Roger Rabbit-like movie that had cartoons living among live-action actors. One thing I didn't like was the washed out colouring of the film. I assume that was a choice to make the cartoon characters pop more on screen but I would say it gave the entire movie an unappealing pallor. It is amazing to me that Warner’s has squandered these characters in a way that, say, Disney or the Muppets never would. We find Wiley E. Coyote convincing a small claims lawyer to take on the Amazon-like mega corporation, ACME, in a civil suit. Is Wiley really looking for reparations, or is his genius-level scheming something more? As one reviewer said, this might be the most surprising anti-corporate film of the year.

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I am Someone's Boomer

You might be old if…

There was a point when I realized that I had become the thing I hate. The establishment. As it turned out, I loved it. Yet, just as my peeps became the adjudicators of culture, it was over. For a moment, we were a small but powerful lobby. I recall seeing the film Spider-Man: Homecoming and was struck by how the music was my music. At first, I thought, “This soundtrack is awesome. The Ramones, The English Beat, Flock of Seagulls, Spoon!” These are Gen Xer touchstones. Then I thought, “Hey? What’s going on here?” Turns out, my nostalgia was the new discovery for the kiddos. Not fair! Get your own music, you entitled brats! Oh, they have their own music… but now they’re taking ownership of our music too? Growing up in the 70s and 80s, one thing that bothered me was the ever present Boomers who made television, films and controlled the music of our airwaves. It took me years to accept Bob Dylan's talent because I was simply too exhausted from hearing Boomers make a saint out of old guy who sang in an uninterpretable mumble.

It is amusing when someone “discovers” something “new” without realizing that isn’t new in any way other than to themselves. I just saw a post about someone discovering technical draughting pens, of the type I used in school and had been used by my professors before me, as the new great thing. They are not new, nor great. They clog like the Dickens and are impossible to clean. I do remember those moments as a kid when I’d learn something mind-blowing only to hear everyone else has known it all along. I once came home from school asking our mother if she knew the human heart didn’t look anything like a cartoon Valentine. When she laughed and said, “Of course,” my only thought was, “Why didn’t you tell me? What else do you know?” But… kids today (yes, I hear it), digital natives that they are, act like they invented the Internet. I have really bad news for you. Some Boomers invented the Internet, so, you know, blame them for its continuing decline.

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