Civil War The only thing better than Civil War is the press tour Kirsten Dunst did for it. Not that anything she said was controversial, but because she came across as a cool-headed actress with perspective and confidence. She spoke out against genocide (wow!), avoiding plastic surgery (pot calling the kettle black?), and the stupidity of method acting. It was cool and endeared me to her even more. She’s cool, but you know what’s also cool? This movie. Of course,...
Lisa Frankenstein Look, I don’t know much about Diablo Cody, except that she’s got a niche audience. I saw Juno and thought it was fine. Just fine. I know she did Jennifer’s Body, which has a cult following. She’s also worked non-stop on movies and TV shows both as a writer and creator, so she’s the real deal, right? I think the main draw of Lisa Frankenstein is that it’s got Cody’s involvement… and that 80s aesthetic. The concept sounds...
Sailor Moon RComplete Second Season We seldom get second chances in life. I’m not talking about the big stuff, I’m talking about the stuff that matters: the little things. As an anime fan in general, I always dismissed Sailor Moon as being silly, for children, or just simply embarrassing (having established the short skirts and speed lines trope which prevails judgement of the anime genre). However, it’s presence (read: ubiquity) in Japanese pop culture is inescapable, and as...
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Let’s go back to a time when kids’ movies would scare the living daylights out of you. Let’s talk about ET. This is a movie I remember seeing once as a little kid and don’t really think about much. Sure, it’s cherished by a select few, but those are also the people who won’t stop talking about Sandlot and have a shuffle truffle tattoo on their arm. How are you supposed to take these overgrown infants...
The Maltese Falcon When the pandemic started, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to go through the AFI 100 list. Get some takeout, queue up a movie rental from the library, and get educated. I made it through all of them except Sophie’s Choice (I don’t know if it’s the feel-good movie for a new parent) and Intolerance (my endurance for silent movies is low, especially a 3+ hour one). Through it all, I laughed (both WITH...
Cool Hand Luke We’re excited here at Ground Control Magazine to get a chance to highlight the WB100 series where Warner Brothers are celebrating 100 years of entertainment by giving a much-needed re-release to some of the titans in their movie catalog. Paul Newman deserves celebrating and especially Cool Hand Luke: a movie infinitely quoted and referenced. The odd thing on this second watch of Cool Hand Luke is just how difficult it is to get a handle on...
Star Trek: Prodigy Season 1 What can I possibly say about Star Trek that hasn’t been said already. If you don’t know what it is, get a clue and get on board. I was very late to the party but have since gone very deep. Star Trek is a warm fuzzy place I don’t think I’ll ever want to leave. For a franchise that has done so much over so many years the idea of Prodigy sounds like a...
Sailor MoonComplete First Season We seldom get second chances in life. I’m not talking about the big stuff, I’m talking about the stuff that matters: the little things. As an anime fan in general, I always dismissed Sailor Moon as being silly, for children, or just simply embarrassing (having established the short skirts and speed lines trope which prevails judgement of the anime genre). However, it’s presence (read: ubiquity) in Japanese pop culture is inescapable, and as more...
Picard – Season 2 I’ve got my answer locked and loaded when/if someone asks me which Star Trek series is the best. It’s the Original Series, simply because it was my first taste of the franchise, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. However, I know that the correct answer when someone asks which series is the best or where they should start, the answer is probably The Next Generation. I’m currently in the middle of...
Star Trek: DiscoverySeason 3 Boy I sure do love Star Trek, but over the years it’s becoming evident that Star Trek doesn’t necessarily love me back. And I’m talking about Discovery here. It’s not that Discovery isn’t “real Star Trek,” it’s just that it hasn’t been able to find a model and stick to it. And I’m being very generous here. It’s like a relationship with an ex-girlfriend right now, where it started out looking great, but slowly I found...