I'm Now! The Story Of Mudhoney

Rock on!

Hello, fellow connoisseurs from around the globe and milky way. Every once in a while the S.P.A.M. Alternative team takes a break from their current duty of reviewing films and takes a look at other important elements of our human culture like video games, collecting and music. Today's entry will take us to the deep roots that shaped the story of one of the most important (and heavily under rated) punk rock bands of all times: Mudhoney.

I'm Now: The Story Of Mudhoney is a 2012 brilliant documentary that in only 100 minutes tells the story of the Seattle band that help built a music scene from within, hell! they were the Seattle music scene! 

OK, so where shall we begin? Ah! I know! let's get into our DeLorean time machine and set the time clock to 1991 and the G.P.S. to Seattle, Washington. Once people and media got sick of glam rock and 80's synth pop crappy music, their eyes and ears found a new pleasant target to aim to: Grunge! AKA Seattle Sound. In the annals of pop culture history I'm pretty sure whenever someone looks for the "Grungy" sound of the 90's through Google or any other research tool he or she will inevitably be taken straight to: Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden & Alice In Chains. Also, if you happen to know people that was actually the target audience of the Grunge years (early 90's) they will probably answer the same four names. Unless, they were really into that kind music. Such is the case of this documentary. Here you won't find a visual essay  on the most popular bands the Seattle scene spawned, here you will find a visual essay on the most important band to ever come out of Seattle in the late 80's and early 90's. In fact, Mudhoney is probably one of the three most influential musical acts to ever come out of the Northwest coast. The other being obviously Jimi Hendrix & The Sonics. 

This band is punk rock history, trust me.

The Grunge Years!

Early Beginnings.

The stories that happened behind the band's origin are all told by its main characters, no filler material here, only the real deal. As soon as the film opens, we are told how important the band was to Sub Pop Records since their early beginnings. Before there was Mudhoney, there was Green River,  a seminal punk rock band that would release their albums under the above mentioned company's tutelage. The thing is, Green River disbanded right after they started selling their albums, so that kinda killed the hopes of making it big for the little Seattle based record company. Fortunately, that was only a momentary impasse because out of Green River's ashes two important musical names would rise: Mudhoney & Mother Love Bone. Evidently, Mudhoney would stick to Green River's hardcore punk rock roots while MLB would go into a more glam rock sound. Sub Pop believed in Mudhoney's music so they released their first E.P. "Superfuzz Bigmuff" and bang! as soon as it was an oven fresh release it became a major seller (in the area) In addition, their first single "Touch Me I'm Sick" is probably the very first "Grunge anthem" and also a collectable due to production issues (vinyl were painted in many different colors) The single attracted attention and the band enjoyed moderate success in the United States. Mudhoney quickly became Sub Pop's flagship band. Sonic Youth, who were fans of the band, had invited Mudhoney to join them for a tour in the UK in 1989. After this tour Superfuzz Bigmuff entered the British indie charts and they received a respectable amount of press coverage. The band released their first self-titled album, Mudhoney, in 1989.

Later, they released their second album, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, in 1991. After the album's release they were offered a deal with Reprise Records, and they joined the label in 1992 putting an end to a long term relationship with their mother label. The band explains working with Sub Pop wasn't getting any better for them since their interest was now fully focused in Nirvana's career.

Much Punk, Very Rock!

Steve Turner, the Eric Clapton of Grunge.

The Grunge Years.

Mudhoney's first album with Reprise was Piece of Cake. In a 2008 Mojo magazine article, Turner explained the album references "how easily things had come to them...the songs were kinda half-baked..." They also contributed a track "Overblown" at this time to the soundtrack to the romantic grunge film Singles.

With their 1995 album My Brother the Cow they mixed their earlier and more recent sound, but Turner explained in an article in Mojo, "There was a backlash after Kurt [Cobain] killed himself. The English press were so angry that we were still around. Those were some of the worst reviews we'd ever gotten. We were mocked for still existing."Here's where the documentary points out an interesting, yet unfortunate event in the band's life. Mark Arm wrote a song called "Into Yer Shtick" The song was a direct attack into the people who was feeding off of the Seattle musicianship scene. Before we continue, take a look at the lyrics:

You're so tormented, Demented, Indebted
To all the assholes, Just like you, Who've come and gone
Before you predictable, Just plain dull, Why don't you, Blow your brains out, too, You're so into yer shtik

You're so hounded, Ungrounded, Surrounded, By scum suckin' leeches
Who will shovel your shit, Sweep your dirt up before and after, man
Feed your ego, They never tell you no, All of you, Make me sick
You're so into yer shtik, And they're all into your shtik

Well, Mitchell's got a new girl, She's nineteen, Hollywood model, Star of the screen, Well, she's up here, To support the scene, It's all part, Of his rock and roll fantasy

Stan was at the bar, With bandaged hands, They tried to dry him out, And he got mad, Cut his fist, Punchin' hospital glass, Made his myth, Now he's trapped

Susie's just a girl, Who's doin' her job, That came to New York And wanted a car
Workin' with the management, To the stars, Kissin' ass, Is a part of the job
Well, it's part of the job, Yeah, it's part of the job, Oh she loves her job
What the hell, She does it so well

I'm not perfect, I've lived a life of mistakes, I'm not perfect, But there's one thing I can't take, You are into yer shtik, You're so into yer shtik, And they're so into yer shtik, Fuck you, you make me sick.

This is a cool ad.

Friends will  be friends.

Essentially, what happened was that Courtney Love made some phone calls to Reprise Records stating how upset she was with the song as she assumed it was written about her persona alone. for reasons unknown to Mudhoney, Reprise Records sort of wanted them to hit the road as soon as the record deal contract was over. In the documentary Mark Arm admits the song is about her and many other people who showed up only after the grass was greener in Seattle. Now, let's be fair and remember that the band had previously recorded a song about how it felt to be in the spotlight (Overblown in the 1992 Singles OST)

Obviously, the Grunge explosion opened the door to thousands of fake alt rock artists who dressed up a la Seattleite  so the criticism is more against a tendency rather than against a single person. In fact, Grunge is to music what Exploitation is to cinema, so in a way, or in many ways, when something's good it is inevitably going to be imitated.


Mudhoney's criticism of the over publicized Seattle music scene had nothing to do with them not being as popular as other bands, in fact at the very end of the documentary Mark Arm declares his band's reason to do music is because music is their goal, they never wanted to be rich and famous, they don't see their music as a means to achieve vain popularity, music is the very product of their work. 

When asked about working with Nirvana & Pearl Jam they recall working with Nirvana was terrible as their road crew felt like working with businessmen whose only concern was to squeeze Nirvana's agenda to make more profits out of it. On the other hand, the once considered "sellout band" Pearl Jam, was a whole different deal. To date, both bands healthily tour together around the world.

Russ Meyer inspired the band's name.

Nobody knows that I'm new wave.

Post Grunge Years, I'm Now!

After Kurt Cobain killed himself the Seattle musicianship scene seemed to have lost his number one icon, thus making people think of "Grunge" as something that was inevitably dying, so it was time for both the music industry and the consumer to move on to something else. Of course, that was a mass media thing, in reality there were many Seattle bands alive and kicking, and boy, to date they still are rocking the Kasbah.  


Things you can learn from watching I'm Now:

1. Nirvana wasn't the first band to save Sub Pop Records from bankruptcy. It was Mudhoney and it did twice. The first time was in 1988 with their debut single and later E.P. The second time was in 1990 with their second full length album.
2. The European tour financed by Sub Pop in the 1988 made Mudhoney the first "Grunge" band to be popular overseas.
3. Soundgarden was the opening act in an early Mudhoney concert.
4. Courtney Love doesn't like Mudhoney.
5.  Mudhoney members have daytime jobs like any other mortal being. 
6. They're OK if you call them a Grunge band.
7. According to Mark Arm, the word Grunge was used in Australia circa 1981 to refer to dirty, loud music.
8. Once they started working for Reprise Records they would spend the money check meant to pay the recording of an album in entertainment since they were almost self-produced. 
9. If you buy at Sub Pop's online store, there is a 100% probability that Mark Arm himself would send your items. How fucking cool is that?
10. Sub Pop is so grateful of Mudhoney's influence over their business that they're willing to record all of their following albums even if they don't sell a minimum amount of copies. 
11. Drugs are bad, even for rock stars.
12. There is so much to the Seattle scene than Nirvana. 
13. Nirvana didn't come up with anything new. They were just a radio friendly version of Mudhoney.

Grown ups.

The Space Needle surrenders!

"I'm Now: The Story of Mudhoney" explores the formation and influential sway of the group during the transitional period of American rock in the early-to-mid Nineties. Director-producers Ryan Short and Adam Pease (who have in the past done a documentary on grunge principals Tad) assemble Mudhoney's story with accuracy and moreover, an entertaining grasp of art house utilizing interjected footage of old films in smarmy fashion to accent certain points (mostly in condemnation of corporate label greed). Their film is fast-paced, so much you're half-screaming at them to let the snippets of Mudhoney's tunes play longer, but that's more testament to Short and Pease's shrewdness in selling their story, as it is to the hyper, giddy throb of the music itself. 

Overall, a magnificent piece that allows the world to take a closer look into a really important rock band that despite not being massively popular, they're truly an influential number. The documentary also features interviews with band members of Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, Tad and Soundgarden to name a few. If rock music is your thing, this documentary will deliver. If rock music is not your thing, please do the world a favor and kill yourself as soon as possible. 

Here's the documentary trailer:

Here's an instructive video on how to play the documentary properly:

Here's their "controversial" song "Into Yer Shtick":

Enter the Ninja

Don't mess with a White Ninja!

The 80's were a unique decade in so many ways, that I will introduce you to today's magnificent forgotten gem with a small time travel capsule. Whenever someone thinks of the 80's he's likely to describe the explosion of canned pop music, glam rock, horrible hairdo, violent warfare events (ok, this happens all the time) the greatest videogame consoles, going to the Arcade center and watching magnificent cartoons and Animé. However, not many seem to remember that the 80's were the golden decade for video rental stores thus providing the film making industry a huge field of interest. I remember how cool it was to browse for the weirdest, most obscure titles next to my dad. He would rent sexploitation, I would rent martial arts, cartoons and early OVAS.

Today's entry is one step above the many martial arts flicks made during the 80's. Usually, when we think of the "one man army" and/or "ultimate hero" cliche, we think of Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Silvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Nevertheless, the true connoisseur knows for sure that those were not the only tough men around. In fact, Italy provided the world of cinema with three magnificent men: Terence Hill, Bud Spencer and Franco Nero.  

Don't worry, I'm the good guy!

Django does Ninjitsu!

Enter The Ninja, is a 1981 movie filmed in its entirety in the Philippines (you would surprise at the amount of movies that were made there during the 70's & 80's) The lead role is in charge of the Italian equivalent of all the American action heroes put together, and  no, I'm not exaggerating. Cole (Franco Nero)  is a former war hero (no, not Vietnam) who spends his time in Japan perfecting his body and soul through the secret art of ninjitsu, while in the Philippines his best friend Frank (Alex Courtney) is having a bad time as he's being constantly harassed by a businessman who wants his property. Unaware of this, Cole finishes his training, thus being granted the Ninja master degree. 

Back in the Philippines, Mr. Venarius (an over the top Christopher George) is preparing for a final warning on Frank's property. The property in stake is worth millions of dollars as it's got a massive oil fountain about to be discovered. 

Are you talking to me?

Tell me more about fuckjitsu please.

The movies universe, as you already know, is a unique place where coincidences conveniently happen to help plot development so, Cole decides to pay a little visit to his old time friend. Nevertheless, Frank has changed so much since the last time they met. His hero days are long gone, and his current days are spent drinking while Mary Ann(Susan George) his sexy wife with a beautiful British accent, takes his place as "the man".  Seeing all of this, makes Cole decide to give Frank a hand. 

As above mentioned, Enter the Ninja is one step above its counterparts in many aspects. On the one hand, the acting is above average, at least for this kind of movies (Check the American Ninja saga and you'll see what I mean) Also, despite not being that original, the plot makes sense and the scenes develop accordingly with lots of action in between. On the other hand, the special effects, the fight choreographs, the ninja costumes and gadgets where all developed with extra care and it shows. In addition, W. Michael Lewis & Laurin Rinder's score set the mood for each of the characters and the pace of the movie. Something many martial arts films from the same decade lack deeply. Menahem Golan knew what he was doing when he directed this gem. Furthermore, Franco Nero gives the film credibility and his convincing performance is that of an experienced actor. 

Do films know something we don't about business men?

Mary Ann in her prime.

The body count in this movie is amongst the highest on its genre and that's the magic of the film universe as there are no cops around, not even for a second during the whole deal, which leaves you wondering if it's convenient to take that vacation cruise to the Philippines with that amount of killing. Cole, says "Ninjas don't kill, Ninjas terminate" and that they only do it for protection of themselves or in this film case, protection of the weakest (my god, it seems like every Manila inhabitant is in danger if they cross themselves with the White Ninja) 

Of course, taking down Venarius' thugs is no deal at all for Cole, so after several failed attempts, Mr. bad businessman decides to hire a true Japanese Ninja, someone from the not so distant past Cole lived in Japan. Enter: Hasegawa(Sho Kosugi) the black ninja, who not only is Cole's former ninjitsu classmate but also, the exact opposite of everything our hero stands for. This guy has no self control, he likes to show off his Ninja talents no matter how helpless his victims are. This guy, enjoys murder like I enjoy my coffee in the morning. Eventually, he destroys Frank property, mercilessly attacks his workers and gets the job done, meaning he kills Frank and kidnaps Mary Ann, so that (obviously) Cole will meet Mr. Venarius buy offer inevitably. 

Fruit Ninja? Never heard of her!

Hasegawa gets the lady.

Overall, a great piece of entertainment. This film will not only please martial arts fans but also, the casual viewer and obviously the connoisseur. Besides, you don't wanna miss one of the best performances Franco Nero has ever done out of the many western like films he's done before. Also, Susan George is a hottie for sure! a pity she's not in the nude though.

Here's the movie trailer:

Django 2 IL Grande Ritorno (Django Strikes Again)

Bad guys better hit the road fast 'cause Django is back!

Django is a 1966 Italian Western film directed by Sergio Corbucci and starring Franco Nero in the eponymous role. The film earned a reputation as being one of the most violent films ever made up to that point and was subsequently refused a certificate in Britain until 1993, when it was eventually issued an 18 certificate. The film was downgraded to a 15 certificate in 2004.

Although the name is referenced in over thirty unofficial "sequels" from the time of the film's release until the early 1970s in an effort to capitalize on the success of the original, most of these films were unofficial, featuring neither Corbucci nor Nero. Nevertheless, Nero did reprise his role as Django in 1987's Django 2: Il Grande Ritorno (Django Strikes Again), in the only official sequel to be written by Corbucci. Nero also has a cameo role as the eponymous character in 2012's  Django Unchained.

Former cowboy, current monk.

The bad guy and his servant.

The official sequel project was born in parallel with Duccio Tessari's Tex e il signore degli abissi, in view of a commercial revival of the Italo-western cinema. After the commercial failure of Tex, Sergio Corbucci, who had initially accepted the direction of the sequel and had just written the story of the film, eventually refused to shoot it. Nevertheless, since Franco Nero was still interested in the sequel, the filming continued under the direction of Nello Rossati.

 

The film was filmed in its entirety in Colombia, hence the excellent Spanish pronunciation of most of the supporting cast. Also, it was the last appearance of Christopher Connelly, who died of cancer the following year.

 

Now let's get down to business and discuss the plot:

Twenty years after our last encounter with a machine-gun toting wanderer named Django, we finally get to see what became of him in the years since his big gun-down in the cemetery, shooting the bad men with hands turned to hamburger under the hooves of horses (Remember, the 30 unofficial sequels are not canon Django)

Django becoming a slave.

I'm back bitches!

This time around, the conventions of the first movie have been completely thrown out the window, a bold move on the part of the filmmakers that raised the ire of many Django fanatics. They proceeded to monkey around with the rule book and delivered a truly surprising sequel.

While numerous impostors strutted their stuff across movie screens for twenty years, the real Django headed south, leaving the sun-baked border towns of the first movie for even stranger places. Laying low and living the life of a cloistered monk, he traded his hat, pistols, and wanderlust for long hair and robes, his coffin long since buried.

Also gone are the influences of Sergio Leone and the American westerns, replaced by action and heroics more in the vein of Schwarzenegger and Rambo, prompting the brooding Django to try his hand at snappy verbal quips as he blows up and blows away heavies, "Here, smoke this.", while the ending is reminiscent of the Charles Bronson vehicle The Evil That Men Do.

One man army.

Gimme a blowjob before Django gets here, I know I'm  gonna die.

Overall, I thought it was great, with some inspired villainy by butterfly lover Christopher Connelly and a sympathetic role for the great Donald Pleasence. Franco Nero is as good as ever and actually more likable this time, going from amoral gunman to holy avenger and protector of children.

It's now been twenty-plus years since we last saw him. I think that maybe it's high time for Django to strike yet again. 

Here's the movie trailer:

Wu Du (The Five Deadly Venoms)

Your ass is about to be wiped out!

Hello fellow connoisseurs, as you might by now, here at S.P.A.M. Alternative we like to pay homage to cult gems most of the time, and lately, it seems like all we've been doing is focusing on the hype caused by the latest entries in the world of cinema, so in order to bring balance to the force, today we'll return to our roots to share a selection of perhaps, the 5 most influential Chinese martial arts ever made (yep, all from the 70's under the careful hands of the Shaw Brothers, you know who they are) so, I give you Wu Du AKA, Five Venoms/The Five Deadly Venoms, the ultimate Kung-Fu fighting movie!

This is definitely one of the best kung-fu movies ever, and may be one of the best movies ever... It's got a great plot that functions like a puzzle, with lots of intrigue and suspense. This film is full of cat and mouse games and deceptions, with people hiding their identities and their natures. The characters in this film live and breath much more than your average kung-fu movie characters. They are all interesting and compelling and the movie does a good job at giving them scenes to show their personality's and desires.

Five powerful masters, each with a unique fighting style.

Epicness!

The fight scenes play out like little stories and many of them are very original and exciting. It has cool training sequences and martial arts skills that are so awesome they enter the realm of fantasy. There are 5 members of the poison clan each one with his own style that mimics the special skill of a venomous animal. The styles of each of these characters are fun to watch and you can see the techniques they use in training applied during the film... When this happens, The director uses quick cutting back to the training scene to draw a parallel. These cuts are accompanied by music changes and sound effects and the whole thing really works nicely.

One thing about this movie that is very original is the way it treats death. The director Chang Cheh was obviously very concerned that the film not trivialize death. This makes some of the scenes in the movie much more effective. We actually care when people are killed in this film. This is because the camera lingers on the horror of death even when the bad guys are killed. Some of the sequences in this movie are truly gut wrenching. When characters go in search of vengeance you really feel their anger and pain.

Fight!

Awesome fight sequences!

At the same time, this is also a fun movie. It has all the typical things you expect from a traditional kung-fu film. There is bad dubbing, The characters are willing to fight at the drop of a hat. Some of the sound effects are hilarious and at times the behavior of the characters is incredibly unrealistic... all this just adds to the greatness of the film.

And lets not forget that this director was a visual stylist much more gifted than most of his contemporaries. If you watch this movie closely you will notice that the technical prowess on display is virtuoso. Everything goes by so fast (because of the quick cutting style and the rapid camera movements of the genre) that it is easy to overlook how beautiful the movie really is. The lighting and composition are spectacular at times. The camera work and movement is extremely sophisticated along with very interesting fast paced editing... In the scenes that portray suspense and intrigue for example, imagine Hitchcock moving at about twice the speed. Chang Cheh was truly a master craftsman and artist who knew his genre and was able to produce important material while working within it's confines. He doesn't rattle the boat of the kung fu genre film, but in a subtle way his skills permeate every scene and every shot and they add greatly to the quality of the work. He is an important filmmaker who continues to influence many people.

The brotherhood of the Venoms.

1000 fists VS Steel!

This is the real package A kung-fu movie that delivers on every level. It's art, it's trash, it's emotionally moving, and it's fun, it has a true sense of morality, but doesn't allow that morality to get in the way of delivering good action. I recommend it to everybody whether you are a fan of this genre or not. Furthermore, if you are a fan of martial arts Animé or fighting games in the style of Street Fighter & Mortal Kombat you will find a lot of appealing similarities.

This film did so well, that another movie made in the same year (1978) was promoted in North America as the sequel of the Five Venoms, that movie was Crippled Avengers also known as The Return of the Five Venoms and Mortal Combat. As always, a review is on its way and until then, kick ass!

Here's the movie trailer:

The Flash (2014 Pilot)

Zoom! I mean Flash!

In today's world where the internet is the largest spoiler bucket we have at the touch of our fingers, The Flash Pilot, as expected, would leak some time near the official air date in October. However, the pilot leaked online earlier than expected, and since then, everyone’s been trying to get a glimpse of what DC's greatest superhero to not have his own movie so far looks like on the smaller screen.

There are a lot of talking points, regarding the shows structure and characters, and a lot of discussion has been going on regarding the effects that will go into making Flash’s running sequences look great. Well the effects are great, you can rest assured. A lot of thought seems to have gone into how Barry will look when he’s zipping around at hazardous speeds.

WARNING! Spoilers ahead! GTFOD if you don't wanna spoil the fun! 

The plot itself seemed rushed to me, with the creators trying to cover so many aspects of the story within the 45 minutes. So, let's take a quick look at what happened after the credits rolled:

1. Barry Allen dealing with his new powers and coming to terms with it (very quickly I might add but, since He's the fastest man alive, it adds up)

 
2. His back story before the lightning, along with some mystery to his mother death (Actually, if read comic books you will know what happened and what will happen in the not so distant future) If DC Comics did one thing good when they rebooted their universe into the "New 52 Universe", it definitely was the Flashpoint saga and the CW guys are aware of that, so expect huge surprises in the near future.

3. The supporting cast is introduced very quickly, and at this point they all seem like very weak characters with the exception of Barry's dad (played by the original series Flash, John Wesley Shipp) and detective Joe West (friend of the family who aided Barry after he lost his mother in the most Flashpoint scene possible) Hopefully this will be polished in later episodes, otherwise the show will suck badly.

4. The formation of the team that supports Barry on his crusade positively reminds you of the original 90s Flash Star Labs team. 

5. Taking down his very first bad guy with ease, you know Flash is super extra powerful and we actually, graphically see that happen and that is a good thing, aren't you tired of seeing the hero's journey being told over and over again?

6. Hell, they even made time for Oliver Queen’s arrow to throw Barry some advice "The lightning bolt chose You" and the superhero cliche "Wear a mask".

7. Like Arrow and Smallville, the series is filmed in Beautiful British Columbia, specifically in my city, gorgeous Vancouver.  You'd  be surprised to find out how many films and series have been filmed here. Don't believe me? check This list for movies and here for television series.

The Past will change the future.

Barry Allen on the job.

CW checked every formulaic element in the checklist with this pilot, from setting up potential episodic challenges for our hero and his new team to face every week, to a couple of underlying mysteries from Barry’s troubled past, and also secrets within the team itself. For sure, this TV show will give true comic book fans what they've been looking for for years. Definitely, this will be nothing like the ultimate piece of cock sucking crap Smallville was.

It really does feel like a case of running before you can walk, which is extremely ironic. They could easily have spent the pilot familiarizing the audience with the characters, and closing it out with Barry realizing what has happened to him, or even have Barry go up against some small time thug. Instead it seems more mechanical. The characters seem to be ‘in the way’ things that the producers wanted to get out of the way to get to the ‘fun stuff’.

And this is sad, because they’ve managed to assemble a great cast here. The acting is all around much better than Arrow, which let’s be honest, has cringe worthy acting ever so often. Grant Gustin is great in character, and far surpasses Stephen Amell's acting chops(fitness is another story). I already feel like I am going to enjoy watching this tea m more than Arrow’s, which is a huge plus point for the show.

The necessary cop sidekick.

Barry Allen meets the friend zone.

Sure, Seeing Barry suit up, and fight his first baddie (apparently the Weather Wizard) is great, and the climax is fitting, with some real scale to it as well. But I can’t help but wish there was more to it however, this is a pilot and there will be more for sure, so all we gotta do is to control our cravings and perhaps, re-watching the original 90's Flash series which was really really cool and still ranks amongst my all time favorites.

I’m certain we’re going to see a lot of fun moments in the coming episodes with Barry training and becoming adept with his powers, and that’s one thing to definitely look forward to. I’m also looking forward to seeing Barry interact with his team more, the chemistry between them looks great, and they seem to play off each other really well. In addition, the plot teases Flash's fans with some really interesting Easter eggs pointing out future appearances of super villains not only from the Flash universe but also, from the DC universe so we definitely want to see more of this new CW project.

One thing I particularly didn't enjoy that much was that Barry Allen's character looks and feels too young compared to the source material. Perhaps, the approach producers chose to take was to make Barry Allen more like his younger counterpart Wally West. Anyways, I'm getting old and the industry knows they need to appeal to younger audiences in order to succeed. Nevertheless, John Wesley Shipp's impersonation is (up to this point at least) way better as it depicts a more mature, self assured hero. 

Thank god this is a CGI explosion 'case we love BC Place.

Getting ready to kick some ass.

Given the familiarity the show has to its elder brother, this is that part where I inevitably compare Flash to Arrow, so here goes:

Everything that felt fresh about Arrow when it debuted, feels derivative here. The producers seemed to have adopted the approach that worked for Arrow too closely while creating Flash, which could lead to Flash seeming more like a spin off, or even a remake of sorts of Arrow. The elevator pitch for the show seems to have been “ ….Arrow, but lighter, with much better acting”.

I really hope that going forward the approach is markedly different, because where Oliver Queen’s Arrow has an array of weapons and skills at his disposal; Barry’s Flash is more like a one trick pony. Sure his speed itself sets up many interesting scenarios, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing Barry outrun sound, and who knows, maybe even touch light speeds on the show, but the onus is on the show runners to keep audiences interested like the original 90's Flash did for one excellent season, with an array of super criminals and excellent acting, plus a mind bending score composed by Danny Elfman.

The newly up to date Flash suit.

Gotta be faster!

Consider in contrast, a show like ‘Gotham’ set to debut later this year as well. Audiences are excited to see the origins of so many characters that they’ve come to know over the years. That itself is enough to keep audiences engaged for a few weeks at least. With Flash though, the next few episodes are going to play a very important role in determining whether audiences are going to be invested in the new set of characters here, or if they are content with ones they are already familiar with in Arrow. Fortunately, since the producers chose to tease us with the Flashpoint story arc plus the meta human incident we will for sure enjoy a great show that will finally put the Flash in the place he deserves because, he is truly an amazing comic book character that I urge film makers to do justice. Arrow & Gotham will never have the chance of doing as good as this show will.

Here's the pilot trailer:

And as a bonus a behind the scenes teaser:

Lucy

Girl power taken to God level.

For the last decade, Luc Besson has been among the most reliable producers, writers and directors making thrilling, mindless entertainment, which makes "Lucy," a film about a woman accessing 100 percent of her brain capacity, somewhat ironic. In all seriousness, however, "Lucy" is a departure from the filmmaker's gritty, revenge-driven track record of late, though not necessarily a noticeable improvement.

Like most of Besson's films, "Lucy" is a straightforward, concept-driven action movie: Lucy (Scarlett Johansson), an American in Taiwan, gets kidnapped by a wealthy organized crime boss (Min-sik Choi, of "Oldboy" fame) who stuffs a package of a new synthetic drug in her body for smuggling purposes, but the plan takes a turn when the package ruptures and Lucy begins experiencing its mind-enhancing effects. Consuming knowledge and experience cell growth at an unprecedented rate, she seeks to turn the tables on her captors.

What have you done to me?

Worry about what I'm going to do ya now slut.

But while "Lucy" is a pretty clear-cut concept, the plot is rather messy. As Lucy begins to unlock more and more of her brain and power, she understandably becomes more than just revenge- driven and becomes obsessed with sharing her knowledge with Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman). The script ends up being 50 percent philosophical and theory-based, and it seems Besson is more fascinated with this idea of humans accessing their full brain capacity and what we would learn about our existence than he is with crafting a compelling story.

What results is a film that talks an interesting and intelligent game but plays out in somewhat dumb fashion. In other words, "Lucy" is easily the most thought-provoking film Besson has made in the last 10 years at least, but it ranks behind many of those recent films in terms of being a compelling watch. Eventually, the concept of what's happening to Lucy's brain flies off the handle and we can no longer understand the science or theory behind it. The movie gets abstract and flat-out trippy in a way we haven't seen from Besson since "The Fifth Element." At times you have to wonder if he was watching too much Terrence Malick when he made this one.

We want our drugs back.

Come and get'em japs!

Johansson, of course, makes for an eternally watchable leading lady. Even when Besson injects a few emotion-driven moments that feel completely out of place, she makes the most out of them, as if somewhere inside the hollow vessel of her character is a multi-dimensional person. Even the casting of Freeman as the professor, who exists exclusively to explain what's happening to Lucy, adds a certain legitimacy to the film.

To Besson's credit, he manages to create enough thought-provoking moments to make "Lucy" feel like a smart and unique film. There are some big ideas within this concept and though he mostly scratches the surface, he manages to create enough of a hook to pull the audience into the movie. Although it plays out so differently compared to films like "Taken" and "The Transporter" series, Besson again proves to be innovative as far as surface-level entertainment goes.

Well, actually I'm not a real professor y'know.

She needs to take a dump, I can smell it.

Massive Diarrhea.

It's also tremendously helpful that "Lucy," like most of Besson's films, is short. At less than 90 minutes, it doesn't toil about long enough to let its faults drag it down. For everything it's missing, it's still efficient. That's the kind of low-risk approach that most flawed movies could stand to benefit from and that Besson had proved time and time again to be pretty reliable in delivering.

Here's the movie trailer: