Author Archives: Jedadiah Leland

Game Review: Rock, Paper, Scissors! (2022, William Moore)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

As is explained in the description of this interactive fiction game, you are a contestant in the biggest Rock, Paper, Scissors! tournament in history.  I did not even know that there was such a tournament!  While the crowd watches, no doubt spellbound, you and an opponent challenge one another to a battle of who can cover rock, cut paper, and blunt scissors!

That’s the entire game.  It’s just Rock, Paper, Scissors over and over again.  Sometimes you win.  Sometimes you lose.  Sometimes, you tie.  It says something about the way that interactive fiction works that this is one of the more addictive games that I’ve played this year.  You don’t get anything for winning.  As far as I can tell, the tournament goes on until the player decides to stop playing.  But I will be damned if I didn’t get caught up in whether or not I would be able to pick the right hand gesture.  By typing “rules,” you can command that the rules be displayed so you can see how and why your opponent picked whatever it is that they picked during each round but I preferred to keep the game mechanics a mystery.

It did take me a few turns to figure out how to actually initiate the game with the opponent.  The version of the game that I played did not understand the commands “play” or “challenge.”  Eventually, I got  frustrated and wrote “Hit Opponent,” because violence is always the last resort while trying to guess the verb while playing interactive fiction.  It turned out that was exactly the right command.

Play Rock, Paper, Scissors!

Music Video of the Day: What We’re All About by Sum 41 (2002, directed by Marc Klasfeld)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

In this song from the soundtrack of the 2002 Spider-Man film, Sum 41 plays upside down, in the best tradition of Spider-Man fans everywhere.  Along with keeping an eye out for clips from the film, also watch out for Slayer’s Kerry King, who shows up to remind everyone what rock is all about.  As someone who grew up with an MTV that played music, I miss the music videos that always used to be released to promote movies.  I always enjoyed the mix of performance footage with the most kinetic scenes from the movie.

This music video was directed by Marc Klasfeld, who has directed music videos for literally everyone.  Don’t even think about becoming a rock star if you can’t get Marc Klasfeld to direct at least one music video for you.

Enjoy!

The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1982, directed by Jerrold Freedman)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

“He wet his pants on my mother’s rug!”

That’s what happens when you’re the boy who drinks too much.

In this made for television social problem film, a young Scott Baio plays Buff Saunders.  Buff is a high school student, a star hockey player, and an alcoholic.  He drinks because he grew up with an alcoholic father (played by Don Murray) and he learned early that drinking could make him feel confident whenever he was feeling insecure.  When Buff’s drinking gets out of control and he starts getting into fights, blowing off school, and seriously injuring himself, he is sent to a rehab center, one that is out of town so that the hockey team doesn’t find out that he’s an alcoholic.  His best friend, Billy (Lance Kerwin), rides the bus every day so that he can be there to support Buff but Buff’s own father cannot bring himself to come down there.  At first, Buff refuses to admit that he has a problem and won’t even speak up in the group meetings.  Eventually, even Billy starts to get tired of Buff’s attitude and his refusal to admit that his drinking has gotten out of control.  When Billy says that he’s not going to spend his birthday watching Buff sulk at rehab, Buff is forced to take a look at what his life has become.

The Boy Who Drank Too Much was basically an after school special that got the primetime movie treatment.  Scott Baio was in a lot of these movies, which is one reason why it is sometimes tempting to laugh at them today.  Baio was never really a bad actor but he was one of those actors who came across as being smarmy even when he was supposed to be playing a sympathetic or sincere character.  That’s especially true in The Boy Who Drank Too Much.  Even when Buff finally seems to be serious about controlling his drinking, you still never believe his sincerity.  When he apologizes for all the harm that his drinking has caused, he still seems like he’s waiting for the chance to grab the flask that he’s hidden somewhere in the room.  For the most part, though, that works for the character.  Baio’s playing an alcoholic who, for the majority of the movie, just tells people what he thinks they want to hear to get them off his back.

The movie does a good job of showing how a problem like alcoholism can be passed down through the generations.  Lance Kerwin and especially Don Murray both give good performances as the two people closest to Buff.  Murray appeared in and helped to produce a lot of social problem films like this one and it’s obvious that his heart was really in his performance here.  Ed Lauter took a break from appearing in every single Charles Bronson film to play Kerwin’s father and the lovely Toni Kalem, who was one of the most underrated actresses of the era, appears as well.  For a television production that’s trying very hard to be socially relevant, The Boy Who Drank Too Much isn’t bad.

Music Video of the Day: Big Brat by Phantom Planet (2003, directed by Spike Jonze)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Big Brat, which appeared on Phantom Planet’s self-titled third album, has twice gotten a lot of attention.  The first time was when it was released as a single in 2003 and the Spike Jonze-directed music video went into regular rotation on MTV.  (This was when MTV still played videos and had some actual influence.)  The second time was in 2012, when it was included on the soundtrack of The Amazing Spider-Man.

The video features the band performing and shooting a low budget zombie film.  (Remember that 2003 was long before the current zombie boom, showing that both the band and director Spike Jonze were far ahead of the curve.)  This is yet another video in which Spike Jonze displays his love of media and pop culture.  Jonze, of course, has gone on to have a very successful career as a director of idiosyncratic feature films.

Enjoy!

The Shooter (1997, directed by Fred Olen Ray)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

While riding his horse through the old, Michael Atherton (Michael Dudikoff) discovers a group of thuggish ranch hands attacking a prostitute named Wendy (Valerie Wildman).  Because Michael is known as being the Shooter, he has no problem coolly gunning the men down and saving Wendy’s life.  Unfortunately, for Michael, one of the dead men is the son of a fearsome rancher named Jerry Krants (William Smith) and Jerry has his own reasons for wanting Wendy dead.  Michael may be the Shooter but Jerry Krants is William Smith so you automatically know that it is not a good idea to mess with him.

In the grand spaghetti western tradition, Krants has his men kidnap Michael, beat him up, and crucify him outside of town.  The men leave Michael for dead but, after they’ve left, Wendy repays Michael’s kindness by untying him from the cross, nursing him back to health, and saving his life.  (The same thing used to happen to Clint Eastwood, except he usually had to nurse himself back to health without anyone else’s help.)  With everyone else believing him to be dead, Michael rides into town to get his violent revenge against Krants and his men.  With all of the townspeople convinced that Michael has returned as a ghost, only the town’s power-hungry sheriff, Kyle Tapert (Randy Travis), understands what has actually happened.  Tapert makes plans to use Michael’s return for his own advantage.  While it wouldn’t look good for Tapert to openly murder all of his opponents, what if he killed them and then framed Michael?  And then what if he made himself a hero by being the one to end Michael’s reign of terror?

Directed by Fred Olen Ray, The Shooter is a low-budget western that turned out to be far better than I was expecting.  Ray is obviously a fan of the western genre and, with The Shooter, he’s made a respectful and, by his standards, restrained homage to the classic spaghetti westerns of old.  He even shows some undeniable skill when it comes to building up the suspense before the climatic showdown.  Ray indulges in every western cliché imaginable but he does so with the respect of a true fan.

With his less than grizzled screen presence, Michael Dudikoff is slightly miscast as a Clint Eastwood-style gunslinger but the rest of the cast is made up of genre veterans who give it their best.  In particular, William Smith shows why he was one of the busiest “bad guys” working in the movies.  To me, the most surprising part of the film was that the casting of Randy Travis as a villain actually worked.  Fred Olen Ray made good use of Travis’s natural amiability, making Kyle into a villain who will give you friendly smile right before he opens fire.  Also be sure to keep an eye out for Andrew Stevens, playing the man who records Michael’s story.  It wouldn’t be a Fed Olen Ray movie without Andrew Stevens playing at least a small role.

Low-budget, undemanding, and made with obvious care, The Shooter is film that will be appreciated by western fans everywhere.

The Boys are Back In Town: Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head Episodes 1 & 2

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Having done both America and the universe, Beavis and Butt-Head are back where they belong!

I just watched the first two episodes of Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head on Paramount+.  The boys are once again spending their days sitting on the couch and watching videos.  They’ve got a flat screen now and, like the rest of the world, they’ve abandoned MTV for TikTok and YouTube.  Judging by these two episode, they’re a little smarter now than they were during their original run.  Butt-Head can now read (if he puts some effort into it) and Beavis knows how to use a drill.  Of course, smart is a relative term when it comes to Beavis and Butt-Head.  They haven’t changed that much.  They’re still getting trapped in boxes and they still can’t score.  Beavis still loves fire but, as he discovers during the first episode, Fire can be a tough taskmaster.

Beavis and Butt-Had aren’t the only ones to return.  Mr. Van Driessen and Mr. Anderson return in the second episode.  Mr. Van Driessen tells the boys that people will buy fresh honey.  Mr. Anderson tries to warn the boys about a giant wasp’s nest.  You see where it’s going but it doesn’t make it any less funny.  Unfortunately, Stewart hasn’t returned yet.  Is he still wearing his Winger t-shirt in 2022?

Each episode features two separate stories, along with cut-away scenes of Beavis and Butt-Head watching and commenting on videos.  The first episode started with Beavis and Butt-Head wrecking havoc at an escape room and it ended with Beavis talking to a dumpster fire.  The Escape Room story wasn’t anything special but it did serve to reintroduce Beavis and Butt-Head so it served its purpose.  The Dumpster Fire segment was better and it featured a rare solo turn for Beavis.  I loved that Fire’s instructions to Beavis were not what you would expect.  Get some exercise.  Recycle.  Think about college.  Fire cares!

The first episode was all about reintroducing Beavis and Butt-Head but the second episode showed the series settling into its groove.  The first story featured Beavis and Butt-Head getting trapped in a box.  Beavis, always the optimist, thought that maybe they should just get used to living in the box and that maybe some chicks would show up.  When they realized they were running out of air, Butt-Head started taking deep breaths to try to get as much of the air as possible before Beavis could get it.  The second story was a stone cold Beavis and Butt-Head classic, featuring farmer’s markets, wasps, shampoo, and of course, Mr. Van Driessen and Mr. Anderson.  Everyone knows that Beavis and Butt-Head never score and never will score.  The second episode reminded us that Mr. Van Driessen never score either and it’s usually Beavis and Butt-Head’s fault.  After years of being humiliated and often grievously injured by Beavis and Butt-Head, Mr. Van Driessen still hasn’t given up on them.  Maybe he should.

Of the videos that the boys critiqued, the highlight was Beavis revealing his love for BTS but I also liked their commentary on a creepy Cale Dobbs video.  Their TikTok commentaries seem like they’ll be more uneven but I did enjoy their reaction to the man explaining how to do a prison tattoo.  That will be a good skill to have when the boys inevitably end up in prison.

The most important thing about, though, is that Beavis and Butt-Head are back!  Just in time, too.  The world is finally stupid enough to benefit from their insight.

Music Video of the Day: Signal Fire by Snow Patrol (2007, directed by Paul McGuigan)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Tobey Maguire’s third outing of Spider-Man doesn’t get much respect, despite the worthy efforts of Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and Sam Raimi.  Spider-Man 3 has always felt overstuffed and, when compared to Maguire’s other two outings, it’s easy to see that Spider-Man 3 is often just going through the motions.  I still like the soundtrack, though.

Snow Patrol’s Signal Fire was the only single to be released from the soundtrack.  The video not only advertises the film but it also pays homage to not only the previous two films but what they meant to those of us who viewed them.  I remember when this video came out, some people felt that the school play concept was saying that the movies were meant for kids but I think, instead, the concept shows that the movies reminded viewers of what it was like to be young, hopeful, confused, and sad all at the same time.  The Maguire Spider-Man films comprised a coming-of-age trilogy and that’s what this video is all about.

Enjoy!

Body Slam (1987, directed by Hal Needham)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Music promoter M. Harry Smilac (Dirk Benedict) used to be a big deal in Los Angeles but lately, his ability to create stars appears to have left him.  He still has his Porsche and his car phone but he is also several thousand dollars in debt and he only has one client, a garage hair band called Kick.  No one wants to book Kick because no one wants to work with a known screw-up like Harry.

Desperate for money, Harry agrees to serve as the entertainment chairman for a stuffy candidate for governor.  It’s while looking for potential acts to headline a fundraiser that Harry meets Quick Rick Roberts (Roddy Piper).  When Harry sees Rick getting ripped off by a promoter, Harry assumes that Rick is a musical act and quickly offers to be Rick’s agent.  It’s only after Rick has agreed that Harry discovers that Rick doesn’t play an instrument and can’t sing a note.  Instead, Rick is a professional wrestler and, by singing him, Harry has now made an enemy of Rick’s former manager, Captain Lou Munaro (played by, you guessed it, Captain Lou Albano).

Now, Harry has to find a way to pay his creditors, make stars out of both Kick and Rick, and win the hand of Candace VanVargen (Tanya Roberts), the daughter of a wealthy political benefactor.  What if there was some way to combine rock and roll with wrestling?

Dirk Benedict, Tanya Roberts, Roddy Pipper, and Captain Lou Albana, all appearing in a movie directed by Hal Needham?  Body Slam is one of the most 80s films ever made.  It’s not really a bad film.  In typical Needham fashion, it’s a loose mix of broad comedy and scenes designed to appeal to teenage boys and their fathers.  There’s a lot wrestling.  There’s a lot of spandex.  The movie opens with Harry ogling a woman in a bikini.  Body Slam knew who its audience would be.  Dirk Benedict gives a surprisingly nimble comedic performance and even Tanya Roberts has some deliberately funny moments.  Roddy Piper is likable as the steady and fair-minded Rick.  There’s nothing subtle about Captain Lou Albano’s performance but what else would you expect from a man wearing that many rubber bands?  As was typical of Needham’s films, some of the director’s friends show up in cameos.  John Astin plays a car salesman.  Charles Nelson Reilly plays a talk show host.  Billy Barty gets into an argument with Captain Lou.  Burt Reynolds is nowhere to be seen.

Unfortunately, not many people got to see Body Slam when it was originally released.  Body Slam was going to be Hal Needham’s big comeback film after the disappointing Megaforce but the film’s producers didn’t care much for the changes that Needham made to their script and they sued to keep the film from being released.  As a result, the film never got a theatrical release and it was instead sent straight to VHS, with very little fanfare.  It has since developed a cult following amongst old school wrestling fans.

Body Slam is a typically amiable Hal Needham film.  It’s nothing special but it’s enjoyable if you’re in the mood for it.

Music Video of the Day: We Are by Ana Johnsson (2004, directed by Antti Jokinen)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today’s music video of the day comes from the soundtrack of Spider-Man 2.

While Ana Johnsson and her band wake up with the neighbors and move the furniture across the floor, clips from Spider-Man 2 are shown.  This video highlights that, even more than as an action or comic book movie, Spider-Man 2 was originally advertised as being a love story.  Doctor Octopus was driven made by love while Spider-Man got a chance to show his love for Mary Jane Watson.  That might seem pretty simple and obvious today but, in 2004, a comic book movie trying to deal with actual human emotions was a big deal.

This music video was directed by Antti Jokinen, who has gone on to find great success as a feature film director in his native Finland.

Enjoy!

Avenger (2006, directed by Robert Markowitz)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Calvin Dexter (Sam Elliott) is a former CIA agent who now works as a professional avenger.  No, that doesn’t mean that he knows Iron Man or that he works with John Steed and Mrs. Peel.  Instead it means that, motivated by his own feelings of hopelessness after his daughter was killed in Panama, Calvin offers his services to anyone who needs more help than the law can or will provide.  Calvin Dexter is not your typical, cynical ex-spy.  He is trying to make the world a better place by taking out its worst inhabitants.  He is such an idealist that he even has a “No Peace Without Justice” bumper sticker on his pickup truck.

When Dexter is hired to track down Rickie, the son of an old friend, he discovers that Rickie was captured while working for a charity that was trying to help refugees in Bosnia.  Rickie was tortured and murdered by men working for the Serbian warlord, Zoran Zilic (David Hayman).  Dexter sets out to avenge Rickie’s death.  Unfortunately, CIA director Paul Devereux (James Cromwell) considers Zilic to be a security asset.  He doesn’t care how many people Zilic kills as long as he’s useful to U.S. Intelligence.  Devereux sends another CIA agent, Frank McBride (Timothy Hutton), to stop Dexter by any means necessary.

Based on a novel by Fredrick Forsyth and produced for the TNT network, Avenger is one of those movies that used to show up often on late night television.  I can remember it playing in the background during more than one late night study session in college.  It’s the ideal film for late night viewing because there are enough twists and turns to hold your attention but the story is still easy to follow.  While the movie does have an important point to make about the war crimes that took place in Bosnia and America’s role in protecting some of the worst perpetrators of those crimes, its main strength is the determined performance of Sam Elliott.  Elliott is one of the few actors who has mastered the art of being both laid back and laser focused at the same time.  He plays Dexter like a modern day frontier marshal, traveling to the most dangerous parts of world to dispense simple but effective justice.

Avenger is fast-paced and it will hold your attention.  Sometimes, it feels like it could have been a pilot for a potential show and it is easy to imagine Dexter traveling to a different country each week and taking out a new international villain.  Timothy Hutton has a few good scenes as the rival CIA agent, even if he can’t match Sam Elliott’s killer charisma.  As usual, James Cromwell is well-cast as a government official who thinks that the ends can justify any means.  Whenever I see a movie like this, featuring Cromwell as the epitome of what everyone hates about the establishment, I’m reminded that it’s been a long time since he played Archie Bunker’s reliably goofy best friend, Stretch Cunningham.