With the new film Fifty Shades of Grey coming out for Valentine’s Day, many couples will be tempted to spend their hard-earned cash to see it. Instead, lets look at why 2002’s Secretary is the smarter alternative.

To start, lets look at story. A young woman meets an older man in a position of power named Mr. Grey, the two become attracted to each other and embark on a BDSM relationship. Yes we just described both films with that one simple sentence. Two movies dealing with intense sexual relationships, focused primarily on BDSM, and having the male leads named Mr. Grey. The films diverge from here and show two very different takes on this lifestyle. Fifty Shades puts all the power into the man’s hands and focuses on the purely sexual side, making the female lead little more than a toy for his amusement. Secretary concerns itself with showing a fairly traditional love story, boy meets girls, boy and girl flirt, something goes wrong, girl tries to get boy back … but dressing such a traditional idea with an untraditional relationship. At it’s core Secretary is still a love story where Fifty Shades is a lust story.

Now lets look a little closer at the characters. Fifty Shades presents us with Christian Grey, a rich wildly successful businessman, and Anastasia Steele, a naive college student and virgin still finding her place in the world. In Secretary we meet Lee Holloway, a smart but damaged young woman, lacking in social skills and just out of the hospital for self harm, and E. Edward Grey, an odd, socially awkward attorney, who while successful is modestly so. The imbalance in these relationships becomes apparent immediately. Where on one side we have a rich powerful man towering over a shrinking violet, on the other hand we have two socially awkward people looking for someone who can appreciate them for their odd behavior and taboo desires. Where Christian Grey almost forces Anastasia into a new and frightening lifestyle, E. Edward Grey pulls back from Miss Holloway and she becomes the pursuer. Secretary is not only the more balanced story, it’s the one that empowers women.

This brings us to a fundamental problem with Fifty Shades of Grey. From what I’ve read of the BDSM community, a driving force seems to be that both parties enter into it with full knowledge and desire of what is going to happen. Whether through safe words or  agreement ahead of time, everyone involved knows their boundaries and they all sought out what they are getting into. Anastasia may be curious about what she is presented with but she’s really satisfying Grey’s desires, not any pre-existing ones of her own. Again Secretary shows us both parties enjoyed BDSM activities prior to meeting, they are satisfying both of their desires.

Next, lets look at our talent. Fifty Shades brings us Jamie Dornan, whose biggest role to date was the sheriff on Once Upon a Time, and Dakota Johnson who has only had some small film roles and one failed sitcom. They are brought together under the eye of director Sam Taylor-Johnson in her second full length feature. While they all seem to have some talent, they are by and large untested and unproven. Secretary also has a director with a limited body of work, Steven Shainberg, who boasts just a small handful of directing and producing credits over a twenty year career. He had the luck however of having two strong lead actors in Maggie Gyllenhaal (who had already been in ten feature films by 2002), and James Spader, whose performances are always deliciously odd but fascinatingly so. Despite being seventeen years apart in age the two of them work wonderfully together, bringing both an odd, socially inept, weirdness as well as a sweet childlike sensitivity to their characters.

Both films are adaptations of existing works, Secretary is an adaptation of the short story “Bad Behavior” by Mary Gaitskill. Fifty Shades of Grey started its life as Twilight fan fiction titled “Master of the Universe” which E. L. James published under the pseudonym “Snowqueen’s Icedragon.” Yes, that last sentence is a real thing which I just typed and you have just read. For many people the words “Fan Fiction” and Twilight will be all it takes to deter you from seeing the film. Kudos to you for being so smart.

While I’m sure people will flock to theaters to see Fifty Shades of Grey, I can only hope that a few people will take that time and watch (or even rewatch) a much lesser known film which tells a beautiful if unconventional story. Plus while the average movie ticket costs eight dollars, Secretary is available streaming for a very reasonable $2.99, money well spent.

  

Valentine’s Day is once more upon us, and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than with a classic romantic comedy starring the legendary Clark Gable and Doris Day as this week’s Throwback Thursday. Courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection, Teacher’s Pet (1958) is an enjoyable rom-com about Erica Stone (Day), who is an effervescent journalism professor, and James Gannon (Gable), a hardboiled city newspaper editor who doesn’t believe a good journalist needs to be educated in the classroom.

In the grand tradition of all rom-coms that have come before and since, there is a meet-cute (boy and girl meet in a memorable way), followed by boy deceives girl and girl finds out and resents him for it, and then in the end, the two are able to forget about their misunderstanding because they realize they’re crazy about one another. In the case of Teacher’s Pet, the meet-cute occurs when Stone sends a letter to Gannon asking him if he would be a guest speaker in her classroom to inspire her students. Gannon scoffs at the letter and sends a rather scathing reply saying that he doesn’t subscribe to the concept of teaching journalism when individuals who want to be reporters should be knocking about as hangers-on in the newsroom, learning from seasoned veterans such as himself as they go.

However, not all newspapermen seem to agree. When the managing editor gets wind of the letter, he encourages Gannon to go and help Stone, but when Gannon arrives to the classroom, Stone mistakes him for a new student. I guess it’s his instant attraction to her/his desire to prove her wrong that causes him not to correct her and one can hardly blame him for not wanting to after she reads aloud his letter mocking him in front of the class. If this film had taken place in modern times, she probably would’ve recognized him as Gannon thanks to his social media profile photos, but back in the ‘50s, I guess it’s plausible she didn’t recognize a city editor she’d never met in person before.

The rest of the film pans out about as you’d expect it would. He of course continues to pose as a student and she sees “promise” in him as a budding journalist despite his age (which brings me to another key point). When the film first came out, critics didn’t like the 20-year age gap between Day and Gable, saying he was miscast in the role due to his age. Why would she be attracted to him as a student protege when he was obviously closer to retirement age? I read some fascinating trivia via IMDb that said both Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart turned down the role because they felt they were too old for it, and the film was shot in black-and-white to try to make Gable appear younger. While the gap is definitely noticeable, he seemed so spry in the role that it’s actually hard for me to believe that he died a few years later in 1960.

Teacher’s Pet also features some other familiar faces among its supporting cast, including fan favorite Gig Young as Dr. Hugo Pine (Gable’s adversary in pursuit of Day); Mamie Van Doren as a singer/casual love interest for Gable; Jack Albertson (Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) as a newspaper plant tour guide; Charles Lane (What isn’t that man in? He guest-starred in numerous television programs and films over his long-spanning career but I recognized him mostly as Potter’s right-hand man in It’s a Wonderful Life); and Marion Ross from Happy Days fame.

Being a former journalism student myself, this film interested me for more reasons than one. I semi-agree with Gable’s character’s belief system that the only way one can learn to become a good reporter is to be thrown into a fast-paced newsroom environment. I know I, for one, learned so much more being active in multiple publications than I did in the majority of my journalism classes during my four years of college. The semester I served as editor-in-chief of our weekly campus newspaper opened my eyes to the world around me more than half of my lectures did. You can spend a lifetime in the classroom discussing technique, writing tips, ethics and the like, but until you’re actually hands-on in that field, I’m not sure how much that education means. There’s a great one-liner in Teacher’s Pet stating, “To me, journalism is, ah, like a hangover. You can read about it for years, but until you’ve actually experienced it, you have no conception of what it’s really like.”

I also believe a reporter’s basic instincts as a captivating storyteller are something an individual is born with and not something that can be successfully taught. You can learn the techniques all you want, but if you’re not good at connecting with a reader, all those fancy techniques are in vain. Crafting an article is so much more than the “who, what, where, when and why.” It’s hard to believe that the wise gem “Newspapers can’t compete in reporting what happened any more, but they can and should tell the public why it happened.” comes courtesy of a film all the way from 1958 because that seems so relevant in today’s world!

I found Teacher’s Pet to be a hidden gem that I’d never heard of, let alone seen before. Poor Gig Young just never seems to get Doris Day. Another of my favorite classic rom-coms also pairs the two stars as a couple that’s never meant to be (Young at Heart) because another leading man (Frank Sinatra) sweeps in and takes her away from him. I guess his role is to be the affable, intelligent, handsome but nonetheless forever second-best man in Doris’ life – a role that does suit him to an admirable tee. While Gig shines in his supporting role, I guess if a girl can land a man like Clark Gable – whether he’s aging or not – she’s gotta go for it! Despite what the critics said, Gable still oozes charm from every pore in this film and proves he still had what it took to be a handsome leading man.

If there was ever a venerable children’s franchise that refused to die, Power Rangers may just be the one. What started in 1993 has now spawned a two decade long authorization of fun television programming, movies, video games, and countless action figures – and I have been with them every single step of the way. It’s been several months since I’ve penned an editorial for CliqueClack, but having Power Rangers back on my flat screen has rather reinvigorated me.

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen … I’m back.

Power Rangers Dino Charge premiered on Nickelodeon on Saturday afternoon though if you’re a fan like me, chances are you probably watched the premiere episode one week early on Nick.com. At any rate, the first installment really set the tone for Dino Charge and based upon what was shown, fans and casual viewers are in for a ride. Instead of the typical totalitarian villain bent on conquering the planet, Power Rangers Dino Charge concerns Sledge, a vile intergalactic bounty hunter on the hunt for the Energems. Who could blame him? All powerful gems with endless energies aren’t exactly available on EBay or Amazon.com. However, there to oppose him are the Power Rangers, who in this series harness the dynamisms and strengths of the ancient dinosaurs.

As has become the norm of the Power Rangers series, the sole mission of our favorite spandex clad heroes is to keep the planet safe and they are armed with an incredible arsenal to help them do so. This season features the usual line up of five rangers – just like previous seasons – but instead of three young men and two young women, there is only one young lady this time. That’s actually pretty interesting considering that’s how it usually is in the Japanese program that the show is adapted from.

However, that’s not the only significant change. Anyone that reads my editorials knows that I’m a big supporter of diversity on television. And by big, I mean colossal. This is why it pleases me to see a team of ethnically diverse superheroes this season. We have Brennan Mejia, a talented and athletically fit Mexican actor portraying Tyler, the Red Ranger and leader of the team. We also have Yoshua Sudarso, a gifted Idonesian actor portraying Koda, the Blue Ranger – the one Ranger that I always used to be on the playground as a child. But perhaps most notable is the fact that fans of the series have now been treated to an African-American Pink Ranger, the first time this has ever happened in Power Rangers history.

Consider my mind blown.

As Shelby, the Pink Ranger, Camille Hyde brings a certain warmth to the role. Now, I know some enthusiasts probably don’t want to make such a big deal about diversity in a program that’s typically aimed towards children. However, the fact of the matter is that it is now 2015. The world is colorful. I commend the brains behind Dino Charge for choosing a cast of capable young actors that children will not only be able to look up to, but see themselves in. I personally feel that there is something to be said of the fact that the first episode predominately featured both the Red Ranger and Pink Ranger in leading roles. In fact, they were the only two Rangers given the chance to change – ahem, morph – into their superhero counterparts to take down a monster wreaking havoc. I have but one word for this – Awesome!

Perchance the same thing can be said about the writing of the show as well. I noticed a massive improvement in the script over the last season of the series, Megaforce. When watching Megaforce, I often found myself confused and unnerved by numerous plot holes and unanswered questions. However, Dino Charge seems to have a solid plot. The pilot episode did a hell of a job setting up the season and establishing the mythology for the show. It was a full ten minutes before the main cast members were even introduced – and the Green Ranger, one of the core members of the team, didn’t even make an appearance in the episode. That’s a bold move by Power Ranger standards. Heck, that’s a bold move by television standards period.

My only real complaint is that I feel Nickelodeon should have just aired the second episode after the first. I think a one hour premiere would have been more effective. However, if suspense is what they were looking to create then they have certainly done well. Make no doubt about it, I will definitely be tuning in next Saturday.

After all, if history is any indication, these Rangers are here to stay.

Hey, there! Keep up with writer Jaylen Christie by following him on Twitter @thesuperflynerd! Tweet him! He’ll tweet you back!

Mankind has long held a fascination with eerie things that go bump in the night and the mysterious fraternal orders that are bound by duty to keep us safe from such creatures. In Universal Pictures’ latest offering Seventh Son, we’re introduced to The Wardstone Chronicles (UK)/The Last Apprentice (US), a young-adult series written by author Joseph Delaney. This book series follows the supernatural adventures of Thomas “Tom” Ward (Ben Barnes), who is the seventh son of a seventh son, and therefore the apprentice of Spook John Gregory (Jeff Bridges). In this fictional world, a Spook is the title given to a knight who is bound by duty to fight against supernatural evil.

Only the seventh son of a seventh son is deemed strong enough to fight the good fight against a gaggle of ghosts, ghasts, witches, boggarts and the like. It seems this is a dying breed, as Gregory is the last of the Spook Masters. All of his apprentices have ultimately failed, having been killed by dark forces during their extensive training process. This is all bad enough for Gregory to contend with, but when you throw in the fact that the blood red moon is rising – an event that only happens once a century – and Mother Malkin (Julianne Moore) is once more free and gathering her evil minions to take over humanity, well it becomes a dire situation not for the faint of heart indeed. Mother Malkin is the evil queen of the witches. She is very powerful and dangerous with bloodthirsty, vengeful feelings for the Spook. She will stop at nothing to see that the Spook and his young apprentice fail their quest to undermine her uprising.

After Gregory’s latest protégé (Kit Harington) is killed by Mother Malkin at the beginning of the film, he is tasked with finding a suitable replacement immediately, for the ominous blood red moon is coming in just a week’s time. His travels lead him to young Tom, who is the seventh son of a simple farmer who was also a seventh son. There is more to Tom than meets the eye. He has haunting visions – mostly about Mother Malkin – that he doesn’t understand. One gets the impression that destiny has brought the Spook to his last apprentice, for maybe, just maybe, he is the key to Mother Malkin’s undoing.

While I haven’t read any of the book series, I was instantly drawn to the character of Tom. I love stories about humble, reluctant heroes; stories about people coming of age, meeting their destinies and embarking upon a noble quest or two. I think we all like to believe there is something deep-down special about us and that’s why we look to these types of heroes. I’m also a sucker for just about anything supernatural. When you throw in a good monster or two, I’m definitely down for the fight.

Seventh Son throws an abundance of monsters on the screen to delight the audience. Some of them are funny, some of them are creepy and some of them are cool to look at. The 3D effects enrich the overall experience, but it felt like the effects could have been better at times. When Mother Malkin summons her evil cronies, one is almost overwhelmed by the variety of creatures being presented. There’s Urag (a man who transforms into the most vicious-looking bear you’ve ever seen), Radu (the fearsome leader of a band of ninja assassins who also transforms into a dragon), Sarakin (a lady who transforms into a fierce jaguar), a four-armed, sword-yielding maniac known as Virahadra and Mother Malkin’s twisted witch sister, Bony Lizzie, who also (yawns) transforms into a dragon of a different color. By the end, it feels more like a dragon fight instead of a fight between good vs evil.

A friend of mine suggested I go into the film picturing everything Jeff Bridges says in his Dude voice from The Big Lebowski to make it more enjoyable if my interest started to wane. I don’t have the heart to tell him that this would be almost impossible because Bridges’ character mumbles almost unintelligibly throughout the film and sometimes I’m not even sure what he was saying, yet alone did I have the time to picture someone else saying it.

That’s not to say I didn’t like Seventh Son. I’d be lying if I said that my inner 10-year-old who often ponders such questions as “what do monsters have nightmares about?” wasn’t satisfied on some level. There are elements to it that interested me, and I especially enjoyed the fact that Ben Barnes was in it. In fact, I just crushed on him a couple of weeks ago in the historical television miniseries Sons of Liberty in which he played the affable Sam Adams. There’s also a love angle involving Tom and one of the witches (Alice played by Alicia Vikander) that is tender and playful and provides nice breaks from the effects-heavy action sequences. I also believe the villains were all well cast, especially Djimon Hounsou as Radu. He was a badass.

However, much like The Hobbit, I think some of the richness of the fictional world was perhaps lost in this film adaptation. While I enjoyed it, I felt it never quite managed to transcend into the film it possibly could have been given the imaginative subject material (and perhaps some of the higher-ups felt this too, for I read the film’s release date was pushed back). Upon reading an online synopsis of the first book, it seems the story was almost completely changed (including the addition of new characters), and I’m not sure it was for the better. While I won’t bash the film as much as some of the other reviews I’ve seen, I can certainly understand why fans of the book series might be disappointed with the final product. I think Seventh Son had lofty goals of being the next great supernatural fantasy, but it fell more than a little short of the prize. If you’re looking for a cheesy fantasy a la the ones of your childhood, it should be right up your alley.

 [easyazon_image align=”none” height=”30″ identifier=”0060766204″ locale=”US” src=”https://cliqueclack.com/p/files/2015/02/51RhtXoedIL.SL30.jpg” tag=”cliqueclack-20″ width=”20″]

Fewer things in life are more adorable than a cuddly, chubby penguin. Penguins have long been my favorite animal ever since my city’s zoo invested in a state-of-the-art penguin exhibit in which you can watch the graceful black and white birds playfully frolic and swim underneath your feet (looking through a glass floor) as they go from one side of their arctic backdrop to the other. Last year, a childhood wish finally came true for me – I finally had a behind-the-scenes, one-on-one personal penguin encounter at an aquarium in which I was given a half-hour with several penguins and actually got to pet some of them.

The cuteness of penguins and the amount of attention and special exhibits such as the aforementioned ones that are given them is very much the heart of the plot of DreamWorks Animation’s Penguins of Madagascar. That’s right – the hilarious penguins who pretty much stole the show for me in the previous Madagascar movies were finally given their own full-length feature. Skipper, Kowalski, Rico and Private are back in full throttle as furry agents of international espionage, and their antics are as funny as ever. I especially enjoyed the beginning of the movie, which sets the background for how this lovable quartet first came to be by showing them as baby penguins who don’t want to continue aimlessly marching in formation across the frozen tundra, as an overzealous penguin documentary crew looks on.

It was apparent right from the start that Skipper was a natural-born leader, for he always possessed that certain necessary charisma and audacity to question nature and the status quo. It was equally apparent that Kowalski was meant to be the “brains” of the outfit, while Rico was clearly meant to be their demolition expert due to his unique ability to swallow random objects that could be of use as weapons later on. And just as clearly, much to his dismay, it was evident that Private was meant to be their mascot. For what Private seemingly lacks in brains, he more than makes up for with a noble heart, an unwavering sense of loyalty and his irresistible cuteness. (Seriously, I just want to squeeze him!)

Familial love is really what fuels the penguins on their adventurous pursuits. They operate as a cohesive unit because of how much they care for and look out for one another. When you mess with one penguin, you unleash the fury and unstoppable force of all four, as the movie’s villain – Dr. Octavius Brine – quickly finds out when he kidnaps Private. Dr. Brine, a.k.a. Dave the Octopus (voiced by the remarkable John Malkovich), has suffered a lifetime of misery and penguin envy, being forced from zoo to zoo to make room for more penguin exhibits because that’s really what the people want to see (guilty as charged!). Dave has spent years upon years formulating his ultimate plan of revenge, finally developing a secret weapon that will rid the world of penguins and their cuteness once and for all. Is there really a super villainous plot more dastardly than that?

Naturally, it’s up to the penguin quartet to thwart his plans with some much-needed help from some other arctic animals-turned-espionage experts known as The North Wind. The North Wind is led by Agent Classified, a wolf voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. One of the most adorable things about this movie is the fact that Cumberbatch has trouble pronouncing the word penguin in his sexy British accent. (It really shouldn’t be as funny as it is.) The group also consists of a clever snow owl named Eva (Annet Mahendru), a feisty explosives specialist seal named Short Fuse (Ken Jeong), and a protective polar bear named Corporal (Peter Stormare) who loves the penguins as much as humans do. The North Wind and the penguins must put their egos aside and learn to work together to stop the evil genius and his minions of brightly-colored, at-times hilarious cephalopods.

The plot was actually perfect if you’re a penguin-lover like me, and the voice actors are all superb. Malkovich portrays an excellent villain who you know is in the wrong but you can’t help but feel more than a little sorry for in his misguided attempt to become adored. I think it’s interesting that Skipper is voiced by Tom McGrath, who codirected the first three Madagascar films and also served as this one’s executive producer. Apparently, he meant to merely fill in until a “real actor” was picked for the part in the original Madagascar movie, but once everyone involved heard him as Skipper, it became obvious that there was no other Skipper for the part. McGrath is joined in the penguin brotherhood by Chris Miller as Kowalski, Christopher Knights as Private and Conrad Vernon as Rico.

Penguins of Madagascar is another wonderful holiday gem from DreamWorks that is meant to be enjoyed with your entire family. The antics are a kindred spirit to the cartoons of yesteryear, paying homage to the animated world of falling anvils, zany pratfalls, visual gags, witty one-liners and colorful characters that don’t take themselves too seriously. One of the funniest jokes is the repeated usage of celebrity name puns uttered by Dave, which include, “Nicolas, cage them!” and “Drew, Barry, more!” Your kids aren’t likely to pick up on all of those, but I’m sure they will make you chuckle in your seat. I know I did, anyway.

Penguins of Madagascar proves there’s so much more to penguins than just that cuddly exterior. At the very least, I kept giggling at their shared affinity for cheesy poofs despite the mess they make when you eat them. Overall, the movie moves along at a fast pace that actually left me wanting more after roughly 90 minutes. Maybe they’ll be given a sequel now?

[easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”none” asin=”B000AY74OG” cloaking=”default” height=”160″ localization=”default” locale=”US” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51WcmsXeieL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”cliqueclack-20″ width=”114″] [easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”none” asin=”B001NCDFTW” cloaking=”default” height=”160″ localization=”default” locale=”US” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51l5B9V-dgL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”cliqueclack-20″ width=”113″] [easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”none” asin=”B005LAIHW2″ cloaking=”default” height=”160″ localization=”default” locale=”US” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51sASoQheuL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”cliqueclack-20″ width=”113″]

Between the first of October and the end of January, you can usually count on one or more movies that quickly make you forget all of the flash and bombast of the movies that had been out just a few months before. The time of superheroes, teenage dramas, special effects extravaganza and their kin is over. Now it’s time for the more thoughtful, adult, “meaningful” movies to light up the silver screen in the hopes of attaining good critical notices, big audiences and major awards. (Of course, there is another Hobbit movie coming so it won’t all be quiet dramas until 2015.)

One of those movies that critics love to dub “Oscar bait” has been slowly rolling out to theaters in major markets and is going wider now. That film is Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) starring Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Andrea Riseborough and Zach Galifianakis. That the film is being released during Oscar season is understandable because, well, it’s simply a brilliant piece of filmmaking.

The story centers on Riggan Thomas (Keaton), a once popular movie star whose fame came from playing the superhero Birdman (wink, wink). Faced with becoming simply a Trivial Pursuit answer, Riggan decides to mount a Broadway play that he will write, direct and star in. It’s a huge undertaking for someone who’s never been on Broadway, and an even bigger undertaking for a Hollywood movie star, the likes of which are usually looked down upon by seasoned Broadway thespians.

Sensing his show is going to be one of the biggest disasters Broadway has ever seen, Riggan replaces his male co-star in a most unorthodox way and secures a name who sells tickets on Broadway. Except Mike Shiner (Norton) takes the Method to the extreme and causes Riggan more problems than he really needs at this point. While trying to save his show and his career, Riggan risks losing his grip on sanity as the spectre of the Birdman continues to haunt him.

Iñárritu’s story is the blackest of comedies and a scathing attack on an actor’s ego (not to mention a theatre critic’s). It’s also a poison pen letter to Hollywood crassness as much as it is a slap in the face to Broadway snootiness. And while all of that sounds unappealing, it’s truly very, very funny (and even moreso for those who follow any facet of the entertainment industry). Of course, what helps sell the premise is the casting of former Batman Michael Keaton, helping to blur the line between the film’s fiction and the reality of Keaton’s career.

Deny as they might, audiences are certainly going to believe Keaton is playing a thinly veiled version of himself. Whether he is or isn’t (and I’m not aware of Keaton mounting his own Broadway show), Keaton is superb playing a man with a tenuous grip on reality, bravely exposing as much of his soul (and body) as he possibly can. It certainly is the year’s first true Oscar-worthy performance by an actor in a leading role.

It also doesn’t seem an accident that Norton was cast as the notoriously difficult, self-centered Broadway star. Norton’s been known to have his battles with directors on and off the set, so his Mike Shiner may just have a little Norton in him. Everyone else in the cast also turns in superlative performances from the main stars to the smaller roles. Great acting all around.

However, the real star of the movie is Iñárritu from his contributions to the script to his amazing directorial style. I’ve only seen one of Iñárritu’s previous films, Babel, and while I was not a fan of the movie I did appreciate the directorial flair. With Birdman, Iñárritu pulls off an amazing feat by shooting the film as one continuous take. Of course it’s not really one take, but with clever edits and digital trickery (like shooting directly into mirrors), Iñárritu has made Birdman this year’s Gravity.

If the film falters anywhere, it’s in the final moments that may not wrap things up in a satisfactory way for some viewers. Other than that, Birdman is just brilliant from the acting and writing to production design, lighting and directing. It really is the whole package and is the first movie of the year that gets us thinking of awards consideration. Don’t miss it!

The story of Dracula has been around, well, since Bram Stoker published his book in 1897 (which was by no means the first vampire tale). Stoker introduced the world to the aristocratic count from Transylvania, but Stoker’s tale was made up from whole cloth. The author’s point to the story was actually about Continental Europeans invading England. The book wasn’t even titled Dracula until a few weeks before publication when Stoker came across the name and historical accounts of Vlad Tepes (the character was originally called Count Wampyre).

Since then, it’s been believed that Stoker’s Dracula was based on the real Dracula, blurring the lines of fact and fiction. No film has really touched upon the historical Dracula except for a brief prologue in Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and further blurring that line is the new horror/action thriller Dracula Untold.

The new film tells the mostly true story of Vlad Tepes (Luke Evans), Transylvanian ruler trying to protect his land from the Turks. Transylvania has been enjoying a time of peace until Turkish ruler Mehmed (Dominic Cooper) demands 10,000 boys as young as 10 years of age to fight in his army. Knowing an invasion is imminent unless he complies, Vlad seeks out a creature living in a distant mountain to gain the strength to fight Mehmed’s army.

It turns out this creature is a centuries old vampire who can offer Vlad what he needs, but there could be consequences. Once Vlad drinks of the elder’s blood, he’ll have the power he needs but he has to fight the thirst for blood for three days. If he fails, the elder’s curse is broken and Vlad is doomed to an eternity of hiding in the darkness.

Dracula Untold isn’t a great film, but it’s not a bad film either. The first part of the film, especially the scene with the elder, is pretty riveting. The last part of the film, when Vlad has to make a decision that will defeat the Turks but could come with some tragic consequences if he doesn’t quite think things through is also great fun. The mid-section of the movie, with the back-and-forth between Vlad and Mehmed, and Vlad trying to hide his condition from his family while fighting his thirst gets a little draggy.

The performances are all fine, but Luke Evans dominates the screen as he’s in pretty much every frame (unless he’s a bunch of special effects bats). He’s strong, loving, magnetic, devoted to his family and the people of Transylvania. Also a standout is Charles Dance as the elder, bringing a true sense of dread to his one scene with Evans. The movie really could have used a little more of him.

Director Gary Shore tries to keep things moving along, and while it is a big special effects extravaganza he does keep the use of CGI under control, used mainly during the big battle scenes. What’s really interesting about the movie now is that it has apparently become a launching pad for a new series of movies featuring the classic Universal monsters. The Mummy is already in the works, and as that will take place in the present it appears a new ending was added to this film bringing Dracula into the present as well (sort of like at the end of the first Captain America movie). It’s an interesting ending if you know your Dracula trivia, but it leaves one big unanswered question about another character who technically should not be there (unless I missed something).

Dracula Untold does use a lot of historical fact to bring the story of Vlad Tepes to the screen, so it gets points for that. I just wish it could have been a little more interesting between its bookends. It will be interesting now to see if Universal can create its own Marvel-style universe with its most famous movie characters.

The following is a Guest Review written by Monique Mercer.

Mr. Wesley E. Smith, Executive producer of Forgotten Four, started his journey making this movie about four magnificent men when he met Bill Willis about 8 years ago. He was quite fascinated by all the stories. So was I.

Forgotten Four is about four young men who broke the color barrier in pro football: Marion Motley, Woody Strode, Bill Willis, and Kenny Washington. The movie chronicled the humble beginnings of each man and how they fit into the evolution of pro football. During the 1920’s football was integrated. In 1921 Black players Fitz Pollard and Bobby Marshall played in the National Football League. After the Great Depression football was closed off to Blacks.

In 1933 George Preston Marshall held an owner’s meeting and demanded that Blacks not be allowed to play pro football. Blacks were not allowed to play in the NFL again until 1946 when the Cleveland Browns signed Marion Motley and Bill Willis. Later that year the LA Rams owner was pressured in to signing Woody Strode and Kenny Washington.

On the East Coast Paul Brown was a strict but fair coach, then owner. He knew the formula to win. He required all his players to work as a team on and off the field. This was an advantage for Marion Motley and Bill Willis for their team mates stood up for them when other teams would hurt or attack them. On the other hand Woody Strode and Kenny Washington were not so lucky. Dan Reeves the owner of their team, the LA Rams, hated Blacks. He was pressured into signing the two men in order to have a place for his team to play at the Los Angeles Coliseum. These two men had to defend themselves not only against other teams and fans but their own team members as well. They were kicked, punched, and hit before and after plays and even their hands were stepped on when they were on the ground.

All four players were exceptional at the top of their game so what events made two of these men succeed in their sport and two men get lost in the shuffle of history? At a special screening of the film, an esteemed panel answered this and many other questions. The panel consisted of social activist Jeffrey Johnson, Executive Director of White House Initiatives David Johns, IMPACT co-founder Joe Briggs, Executive Producer Wesley E. Smith, and Sports Business Journal media reporter John Ourand.

While attending the screening I got to ask a question of the panel: Do you think Paul Brown’s support of his players assisted in getting them into the Hall of Fame? All the panelists collectively said yes! Because of Paul Brown’s support, both Motley and Willis went on to be inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968 and 1977. The audience was asked to ponder the question why Woody Strode and Kenny Washington were not inducted.

I grew up in Cleveland and was personally touched by the doors these men opened. It was nice to go to a game and see so many black faces like me. My father, Harry L. Stiggers, was a doctor and often times when Black players got injured or sick they needed to see a Black doctor. My father was one of those doctors. I met many of the players for the Cleveland Browns and The Cleveland Indians. Many became personal family friends that came to our house often mostly for my mother’s good cooking.

What I liked about the movie was how it humanized the four men. Family members, friends, players and news commentators spoke on their genuine love of the game and each man’s character. They were hard working loving fathers, supportive team mates, good friends and elite athletes. These men were ordinary people who carried the weight of their race on their shoulders. These four men had what it takes to be the best at what they did. They will go down in history for what they did but they will remembered for what they did stood for. Fortitude, perseverance and their humanity helped open the doors for the ones to follow.

What happened to these men after their football careers were over?

• Marion Motley became a whiskey salesman, a lottery worker, a postal worker, and also worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services.
• Bill Willis enjoyed working with children and took a position as an assistant Recreation Commissioner in Cleveland than he became Chairman of the Ohio Youth Commission.
• Kenny Washington became a police officer for the City of Los Angeles, he was also a contestant in a popular TV show You Bet Your Life.
• Woody Strode became an actor. Woody Strode had roles in many famous movies: Spartacus, Once Upon A Time In The West, The Professional, The Quick and The Dead and many others. He was also a wine maker. What I found fascinating about this man is that he married a Hawaiian Princess and was treated like royalty in Europe but he continued to make his home in Los Angeles.

I would have liked to see more personal information about the men. I was left with many questions. I was now curious and could not wait to race home and find out more about them. But I was still left to wonder if anyone is pushing for the induction of Strode and Washington in to the Hall of Fame.

Forgotten Four is now airing on EPIX and EPIX On Demand.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once observed, “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.” Have you ever tried to look for a needle in a haystack for the one you love? Maybe you have, but I’m betting most of you out there haven’t. We go about our daily routines toiling our lives away to achieve a piece of that poetic greatness Longfellow described, only maybe occasionally taking time out to make those we love smile.

Several months back, I was blogging about a space cartoon (Hanna Barbera’s Space Stars) and reminiscing about a title whose name had escaped me. I erroneously thought it was titled The Third Planet from the Sun and was frustrated that I couldn’t find ANY evidence of it on the Internet. I hadn’t seen this cartoon since I was maybe 12. I knew I wasn’t crazy or making it up. I’m happy to report that my boyfriend finally found it for me on the Internet – its correct title is The Mystery of the Third Planet and the entire cartoon can be found on YouTube (in English and Russian, but we’ll get to that later).

As soon as that bittersweet-sounding music cued up and the narrator began the tale, “This is the story of an adventure that will take us beyond our universe to the third planet in the system of the sun of Alderaban, where strange creatures are to be found, where we hope to solve a mystery,” I got a little misty-eyed as the memories of watching this repeatedly at my grandparents’ house flooded over me in nostalgic waves. It represents a time in my life in which I couldn’t get enough of anything involving space exploration, for it was my childhood dream to be an astronaut.

The animation on The Mystery of the Third Planet is bizarrely beautiful and highly imaginative, which sums up my style pretty well. To put it simply, it looked different than any of my other cartoons. To this day, I still don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it. There are a lot of reasons why it didn’t look like anything else I was watching as a child. Upon doing some Internet research, The Mystery of the Third Planet (a.k.a. The Secret of the Third Planet and Tayna tretey planety in Russian) is an animated feature from 1981 that was produced by the Soyuzmultfilm Studio in Moscow and directed by Roman Kachanov. What are the odds that my beloved cartoon came from Cold War-era Russia with love? It’s based on a children’s science fiction novella titled Alice’s Travel from the Alisa (Alice) Selezneva book series written by Kir Bulychov. While considered a cult classic in Russia, I’m betting most other U.S. children of the ‘80s do not share my affinity for this movie – and that’s truly a shame.

The year is 2186, and the plot revolves around a girl named Alice, her father Professor Seleznyov and his right-hand man Captain Green who embark upon a space expedition to gather rare animals from across the universe for a planned space animal zoo on Earth. Along the way, they get caught up in the world of espionage and a mystery involving the disappearance of Captains Kim and Buran, as well as the extinction of speak birds, who only speak the truth and mimic everything they see and hear (imagine how popular these would be in real life!).

For some inexplicable reason, the main characters were renamed Kristen and Professor Adam Steele in the English-dubbed version that I am familiar with, although Commander Green was not renamed. It was released in the United States first in 1987 and again in the 1990s on VHS. According to Wikipedia, Alice and the Mystery of the Third Planet was also released on a 1999 DVD collection and various other DVDs with different cover art. I would love to own a copy of this in my personal collection, but it seems hard to come by unless you order it on Amazon or a like site.

One of the most interesting characters is introduced early on – Ramos, the loud-mouthed colorful “person” with wild, green hair, googley eyes, a bulbous nose, multi-arms and roller skates found on the planet Bluke who is also an expert in rare animals (pictured above). Some of the more elusive figures include Dr. Bentley, Kim and Buran, and Nobody, a pig-like creature that looks and sounds like a throwback to Peter Lorre, down to his laugh and mannerisms. The planets’ backdrops and inhabitants are so visually wild they’re not to be missed – especially that planet at the end, which is exactly where I would want to live out the remainder of my days minus those ugly, menacing spear birds. That flora and fauna look so enchanting! Where else but this movie will you see a purple flying cow, a diamond turtle, mirror flowers, robots waiting tables in a diner offering “Earth breakfasts” or rocks that are capable of projecting images from the past? Those who know me best will probably have little difficulty understanding why this was one of my childhood favorites.

If you’re looking for an animated movie that is as vibrant and imaginative as it is obscure, you can’t go wrong with The Mystery of the Third Planet. It moves at a fast pace with lots of twists and turns along the way that translate into it not being everyone’s cup of tea. But it was certainly something I really enjoyed as a child that I’m happy beyond belief to be able to share with others today as part of this unusual Throwback Thursday installment of CliqueClack. Sometimes when you go looking for a needle in a haystack, you can make a person’s day with the smallest amount of effort.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWTPMCD3SeQ

If you watch the 1995 version on YouTube (Alice and the Mystery of the Third Planet), it has a different dialogue and the names haven’t been changed. This leads me to believe that it might more closely follow the Russian translation. However, this is not the movie and dialogue I remember from my youth. I find the variances in the different versions further add to the tale’s mysterious charm.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lEoewc7Yns

[easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”none” asin=”6304190417″ cloaking=”default” height=”160″ localization=”default” locale=”US” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516aTvEeTvL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”cliqueclack-20″ width=”85″]

In 2006, a small Irish movie made some big waves, becoming a sleeper hit and earning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. That movie was Once, the tale of an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant who meet, discover a common ground with music and begin writing songs together that express their growing relationship. While the plot may have been a bit thin, the movie succeeded on the back of the music by film’s stars Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, including the Oscar winning “Falling Slowly.”

The film seemed an unlikely choice to be transformed into a Broadway musical, but writer Enda Walsh and director John Carney (who also directed the film) found something magical about the music and created a show that went on to win eight Tony Awards including Best Musical. Now Once is touring the North America and has made its second stop (of thirty-three engagements) at Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theatre.

Unnamed Guy (Stuart Ward) is a struggling musician who fixes vacuum cleaners in his dad’s shop while pining away for the girl who got away … far away to New York, leaving Guy ready to ditch his music because it all reminds him of her. A chance encounter with Girl (Dani de Waal), a Czech immigrant with a young child and marital issues, ignites the musical spark in Guy once again as they become collaborators with the dream of producing a CD. Girl keeps pushing Guy to take off for New York to find his lost love, but Guy’s feelings for Girl are deepening, causing complications for them both.

I didn’t know what to expect from the show – not having seen the movie – and the TV commercials made it seem like a melancholy love story, but I was pleasantly surprised by how funny the show really is. In fact, the audience is a part of the show upon entering the theatre as members are welcomed on stage to mingle with the cast, have a drink from the on stage bar, and enjoy a few musical numbers before the actual show begins. You actually feel like you’re a part of the story by the time the lights dim and the actual story gets started.

The show works around a single set that become many different locations through the movement of the cast, various props and lighting. One minute it’s a music shop, the next it’s Guy’s bedroom and then a recording studio. The production is brilliantly designed to move from place to place as smoothly and quickly as possible without ever actually moving anything more than a few chairs or tables.

Contributing to the show’s many charms is the company of actor/musicians who rarely leave the stage, usually lined up and seated on either side of the stage when they’re not part of a scene, but also contributing to the music when needed. Each of them also has a specific character as well, so they all get a pretty good workout with acting, dancing and playing an instrument (in some cases, several different instruments).

But the stars of the show are Ward and de Waal. Ward is perfectly angsty and angry as the show begins but he never goes into a caricature. He is a real person with real feelings and frustrations over his situation. He also has a magnificently raw and powerful voice that can deliver the sweetest melodies and powerful, aggressive vocals sometimes in the same song. He gives Guy a lot of heart and we as an audience want to see him succeed. De Waal is absolutely charming with her Czech accent and dry humor (“I’m always serious. I’m Czech.”). Her Girl is almost like an angel sent to give Guy the kick in the butt he needs, and even without saying as much, we can tell she’s falling in love with him as he is with her. De Waal has a solo late in the second act that will just make your heart ache as she privately expresses her feelings in song. It’s a remarkable performance all around.

I don’t think it’s possible for anyone to not fall in love with Guy and Girl by the end of the show. The music is terrific, the performances are magnetic, and the production just draws you in to this world of love and music. The story uses the film’s framework as a starting point, but giving Guy the lost love as the impetus to create his music is a bit stronger for storytelling than the movie’s Guy who just doesn’t have the confidence to perform his songs. Overall, Once is just a lovely show to savor if it comes to a venue near you.

Once runs through September 14 in Baltimore, then heads across the country with stops in Nashville, Charlotte, Madison, Memphis, Cincinnati, Dallas, Tulsa, Detroit, Austin, Houston, New Orleans, Tucson, Sacramento and more, concluding at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in July 2015. Visit the show’s official website for more details.

[easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”none” asin=”B006ZKAG3U” cloaking=”default” height=”159″ localization=”default” locale=”US” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ggmcGUd3L._SL160_.jpg” tag=”cliqueclack-20″ width=”160″] [easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”none” asin=”B000X1Z0BU” cloaking=”default” height=”160″ localization=”default” locale=”US” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51hYiOISA%2BL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”cliqueclack-20″ width=”110″] [easyazon_image add_to_cart=”default” align=”none” asin=”B00I6OVHHM” cloaking=”default” height=”160″ localization=”default” locale=”US” nofollow=”default” new_window=”default” src=”https://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51s85QHcynL._SL160_.jpg” tag=”cliqueclack-20″ width=”120″]