Although the music in Rise of the Pink Ladies doesn’t hit the same high notes as the cinematic musical, it’s still a fun look at the pressures one can find in high school life set in California.
There are many reasons I believe Rise of the Pink Ladies (RotPL) works as a prequel to the world known as Grease. Although the time takes place about two years before the cinematic musical, it’s easy to see how it ties all together. The two tweens who eventually become the supporting leads in the story that shaped the IP are recognizable, and yay for Rizzo! Although I didn’t catch the series when it was streaming, I’m thankful Paramount sent me the home video release to evaluate this series.
Because of internal shuffling of the company’s assets and perhaps also low ratings, the decision to cancel and remove the series was not out of malice. It’s now on Apple TV and Amazon, but as for whether there’s more story to tell, I’ll answer that at the end.
Although this film won’t give rise to a net urban legend, it does well to say be careful in what you wish for, than reap, with Dark Harvest!
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Available on VOD and Amazon Prime
At long last, the film Dark Harvest is ready to reap! As crops fail, and one sleepy, unknown mid-western town needs to find the means to survive, just what they must do is literally the stuff of nightmares! The novel by Norman Partridge draws from various sources, and it’s only that not only I approve of, but perhaps also Stephen King!
Here, David Slade’s adaptation of the book is gentle on the ideas. Although it’s very weak in giving the supernatural terror an appropriate background story, I just went with it. It’s rare to get a creature that might give Michael Myers a run for his money. This new terror’s hatchet job is far more gory and flick of the wrist than what the other shambling mound of muscle can do, and I believe part of his origins may allude to some relationship with Spring-heeled Jack.
THE OTHER FELLOW paints a rich picture of the worldwide digital and cultural footprint of cinema’s most famous spy. And what being in that looming shadow actually means for people when it creates an identity crisis like no other.
What would it be like to share your name with legendary movie spy James Bond? In Matthew Bauer’s excellent documentary, The Other Fellow answers that question and delves into the rich culture that surrounds this icon. A full movie review can be read here, and as for meeting these blokes, it can now be freely viewed for Amazon Prime subscribers.
OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS
1952. ‘Goldeneye’, Jamaica.
When British author Ian Fleming creates the character of 007, he needs to christen him with a “really flat, quiet name”. Perusing one of his favourite books BIRDS OF THE WEST INDIES Fleming steals the name of a Philadelphia ornithologist by the name of James Bond…
All I can hope for is that Amazon Prime is committed to producing Rings of Power in full.
Spoiler Alert
The only issue I have with Amazon committing to bring more Lord of the Rings to life concerns what parts of J. R. R. Tolkien’s appendices are key to the shaping of The Rings of Power? I appreciate the fact the X-Ray feature links to additional material to help folks understand the source, and if its supposed to segway to the films, its not teasing at anything yet!
This multimedia company is promising to produce five seasons. As long as they can deliver the episodes on a timely basis, I’ll be watching. I don’t mind a soft ten month break, but any longer can be tough.
As a casual fan, the ring-verse which portends the future can’t be altered; we know the finale–about how the One Ring must be destroyed to save all of Middle Earth in the main series, which takes place in the far off future. As for The Hobbit, there’s no Sméagol–I’m fairly sure he isn’t born.
To see how it all begins is based on the indexes and notes Tolkien scribed. However, not everyone wants to read the unfinished tales and compendiums to understand where everything fits. And I’m glad showrunners John D. Payne and Patrick McKay are attempting to unpack all of this scholar’s works into a serialised format.
The first two episodes are heavy. A lot of introductions are needed to bring fans back up to speed, and what we see has to establish who are the good guys and the bad. Or, in this work’s case, is fated to fall to the might of Sauron when he returns.
Academics may not want to be interviewed after watching Science Friction, a fascinating and very revealing documentary about how others can get made.
Science Friction is an excellent documentary that examines if that favourite network program on History, Travel Channel or A&E is getting their facts right. Skeptoid Media wants to debunk more than just the supernatural. This work targets all those other specials about archaeology, geology and zoology. Programs like Ancient Aliens and Ghost Adventures are their least of their worries.
Those scholars who’ve appeared in these specials say a lot of what they have expressed is taken out of context. Dr. David S. Anderson, Jonathan Davis, and Dr. Ken Feder are misrepresented. They make up a third of the people interviewed to expound what these shows have gotten wrong. It’s easy for viewers to fact check themselves, but these days, not even Google is safe, unless the information presented is annotated and given a bibliography. In this piece’s case, it’s to have a website to list the credentials of the people they’ve interviewed.