¶ Review of 'Twisters'
Welcome back, midnight viewers to Father Malone's weekly round up. I'm Father Malone and with me parsing through the waves of streaming services is my co host Ripley. Jean. Say hi to the folks. Ripley. There she is, and here we are once again. We're going to go with the most current choice of the week, and then we'll get to our individual picks. Because you're the co host, you
can decide the order when you're the host. Never okay, this one's still in theaters, though I'm pretty sure you can get it on any streamer right now, though it's going to cost you in more ways than one. Remember when James Cameron took a meeting at twentieth Century Fox and he wrote on a whiteboard alien, and then at the end he wrote S and then he drew two lines through the S, turning it into a dollar side. That man was a prophet or is it profit fit?
I'm technically your dad, so every joke to you is a dad joke.
Okay.
As popular as Aliens was, that pluralization craze just never really took off. Maybe it was a unique occurrence here to help solidify that theory is twisters s plural more than one, though there was more than one in the first film, so it doesn't really make sense. I mean, in Alien there was one alien. So when you called it aliens and a fuckload of aliens showed up, it made sense anyway.
Twisters, Gosh, whatever's in there, it's big and it's moving fast.
Drive God, fort it's Tyler Rowens calls himself Tornado Wrangler.
If you feel it, I said, if you feel it.
All right here?
Oh she's perfect, she's gorgeous.
You thought you'd could destroyed a tornado, We never had a chance.
You want one.
You don't face your fears, you're rid them.
We got to dance, dance?
Was that it?
Nope.
Back in nineteen ninety six, when the trailer for Twisters hit theaters, it was pretty exhilarating. It resonated along with Backdraft as far as ideas that had just been sitting around forever without any cinematic attention. Storm Chasers Tornadoes sounds like a million dollar idea or a two million dollar idea, which is what Michael Crichton got for that pamphlet of a screenplay that required on set rewrites at a cost of one hundred thousand dollars a week by the likes
of Joss Whedon and Steven Zaleen. Now, this definitely wasn't the first time a trailer over promised on a premise. What was gripping to me wasn't the CGI devastation or that fucking cow. It was the tense use of the film's prologue, young Helen Hunt and her family trying desperately to survive when the tornado hits, the father just holding on for dear life. I thought it was pretty harrowing.
It's less so in its full state in the film, which was never really sure why it was other than they kept dropping black frames into the trailer as if the lights were going off and on, which was super effective and missing from the film. But then that film, to me, is wildly disappointing overall. Why are there villains an evil science team? The film has the biggest, most ferocious antagonist in history, but I guess it's not looking to make a few bucks, so it isn't as evil
as carry always. Oh my god, this was my first experience with Philip Seymour Hoffman. My god, they made me really dislike Philip Seymour Hoffman suckage. Ugh, that film has barely anything to do with twisters because in decades later and there are no returning characters, and there are only a couple of clumsy callbacks to the original film. By the way, is there no other frame of reference with tornadoes than the Wizard of Oz? The evil science team
in this one has another Dorothy. But now we've got three new components, tin man, scarecrow, and lack of vision of the screenwriter. What's the plot this time? Instead of Helen Hunt losing her father to a tornado as a young girl, we get our lead character, played by Daisy Edgar Jones. She's like a waspy mirror sorvino. She bungles an experiment that leads to the death of three of her friends, including her boyfriend. In a prolong set five
years ago. One of the friends that get sucked up into the sky is Kiernan Shipka Sabrina, the teenage witch. I can never decide if she's a good actress or if I just feel proud of her like a surrogate dad, having watched her grown up on Mad Men. I don't know. Someday I'll figure that out. Daisy Edgar Jones has to come back to the storm chasing life after five years, and when she does, everything's changed. Now there are teams. There's a good team and a bad team. But Witch
is witch doesn't matter. They're both insufferable. Glenn Powell leads the YouTube group of wacky folk. They've got drones, they got fireworks, they got trucks that drill themselves into the ground, even at an airport. No spoilers, but if this film was at all interested in reality, Glenn is going to spend a long time speaking to the TSA and other government agencies. As the credits are rolling, this twisters. It's not a good movie. The effects are superior, and it
looks fucking fantastic. This has more beautiful Americana than three Michael Bay films put together, and the scenes of destruction are admittedly spectacular, but you know what it cost one hundred and fifty five million dollars. It better look fucking great. Though.
¶ Father Malone's Pick: 'The Evil Dead' (2013)
I will commend the film for not making the grievous mistake of including a scene with the shining playing at a drive in. That was the first time I noticed the phenomenon. I'd rather be watching the film. The characters are watching than the film with them in it. I think Twisters is actually superior to the first film, but it's far more frustrating because in the middle of the second act, Daisy Edgar Jones and Glenn Powell dispense with their teams for an interlude with Jones's mom, played by
the always welcome more Tyranny. Put her in more things. She's always solid in drama or co remember her in news radio? Remember her? On er nuff said. Anyway, the scenes between the two leads they hint at a far superior film. Once they stripped it of action movie and romantic comedy cliches, it became a movie about two people finding each other through a shared obsession. And suddenly there
were stakes, Suddenly there were characters. Suddenly I cared, and then the teams came back, and it's a race against time and blah blah blah. I checked out. Like I said, it's better than the original in a lot of ways, but I hated that movie. So it's not really a recommendation. But I suppose if you don't want to waste your money, then it is a recommendation. But I am not recommending Twisters. See it for free. When you want to see it. Of course you didn't like it. The concept of wind
confused is you. We're gonna do my selection next because you just keep picking bangers, so we're saving that for last. I don't know why first equals best to you. Phoenix doesn't open for the undeads. She's the headliner. You're the headliner, your Phoenix. I'm the undeads. I'm the juicy fruits. I did used to rock Amene Papadar. It was green and a foot high. You would have loved it. And here's something I loved. It's on Max right now, so it's
free if you subscribe. Seeing Alien Romulus last week got me pondering the career of fedde Alvarez, particularly his American debut. It was a remake. My god, is there anything original? Yes, this movie. This is exactly how you remake a classic film from twenty thirteen. This is the evil Dead.
Crazing You mean arlier in this book I'm on.
You don't understand there was something in the woods.
And think it's India WI. Now I.
Released something from that book, something evil.
This thing is attached to me as soul. You're going to have to kill her. You are all going to die tonight.
You're lain again, not another.
Time to go.
¶ Nostalgia Trip: 'Terrahawks'
The original Evil Dead is at classic no doubt, as is its sequel, and it's seql and to a lesser degree, a far lesser degree that Ash versus Evil Dead series and Evil Dead fans a voracious man. Too much is never enough. They got three movies and a TV series and they're still howling for the return of Ash Williams. So when it was announced that an Ash Free remake was on the way, let's just say fans weren't thrilled. But I remember the establishment backlash against John Carpenter's The Thing,
So fuck that way of thinking. If someone has a good idea and it's not some bi committee nonsense, the fucking go for it. You actually have a better chance of improving a horror film than pretty much any other genre. And I'd gladly stick Alvarez's remake up against The Thing or the Fly. That's right, it's that good. He took this troumpe of young adults out in the woods, unleashing
evil and turned it on its head. Here the group have come to the cabin to help the lead Mia played by Gene Levy, to clean up from her latest relapse in drug addiction. It's a potent setup, and it pays off over and over, and while we've all grown accustomed to the over the top, so excessive it becomes laughable levels of gore. In the avil Dead films, Alvarez wisely returns the horror to more intimate and relatable levels. Look, it's going to rain blood at some point, but it
feels like an inevitability and not a cheap joke. The performances are strong across the board, and there are genuine moments of dread, and there were some scenes that, honestly, when I watched it the first time, I found so hardcore I looked away. And all those effects. They're practical, which is another nice nod to the original. They are also wildly effective. Here's the thing, this is actually a sequel.
Ash's car is there rusting away when our characters arrive, and I know everyone embraced Evil Dead Rise, which I found to be just okay. I never connected with anyone in it, so it was just a matter of watching a bunch of characters run and hide and bleed and drool. But I didn't care at all what was said and done. I cared about Mia still do, still holding out hope
for a proper sequel with her in it. Speaking of MIAs and now, look, I'm not trying to pit anyone against each other here, but everyone's going on and on about Mia Goth. But it seems to me like she's cultivating a scream queen persona, which to me just reeks of effort, just trying too hard. Is that a gen X thing?
I don't know.
But even if we don't hold that against her, lack of eyebrows is off putting. But Jane Levy, who's had a damned fine career weaving in and out of many genres, is the real deal. She is a scream queen supreme this film, and especially in Alvarez's follow up, Don't Breathe. They ought to put her in the pantheon of horror icons, and she has fine, healthy eyebrows. I think Evil Dead still would have worked with a different lead. But I'm glad we don't have to find out Evil Dead stop
being a snob. Go watch it. I know, well, we're here, we're here now. I got to reveal something about you. Ripley can be a bit rambunctious. When we're watching potential shows and movies to cover here, for instance, Initially, my idea for this episode was to be a canine themed episode for my delightful co host, but every dog movie I put on was met with a chorus embarking in general freaking outness. So I was shocked when she positively
locked onto this next pick. I mean, it's dog free, but oh my god, her pick is mine as well. I don't play much in the arena of nostalgia. It's fine re experiencing things, but too often people want to live there and that's gross. But the re experiencing itself, the flood of memories coming back, Oh boy, did that ever happen? When we randomly ended up watching this show that I used to consume like a fiend when I was eleven years old. This was serious and daydreaming and
detailed doodling. That kind of a show. It was the last from producer Jerry Anderson. He's the man that brought us Thunderbirds, which sadly most will only remember as the inspiration for Team America World Police. That marionette style you all remember is on full display here, though with a twist no strings at all from nineteen eighty three Terra Hawks.
The year twenty to twenty, alien forces attack Mars, destroying the NASA base. Their ships locked together to form the base from which they will launch their attacks on Earth. The Aliens are led by Zelda. Zelda and her evil powers present a constant threat to Earth one thousand feet below the battle Hawk, flagship of the Terra Hawks, an elite fighting force dedicated to the defense of planet Earth. Doctor Einstein commander of the Terra Hawks, one of nine clones.
He daily commits his memory to the data dump of the Terra Hawk mainframe computer. But when Einstein dies, Einstein's experience is induced into the clone's brain and Tiger Einstein, the Cat with nine Lives, is back their devil. Pilot of Hawk Wing, Captain Kate Testlo, Gunnery Officer hawkye Her fabulous mountain home reflects her success as an international recording artist. Meet her, A and R Man Stu Dapples.
What's happening still?
Right?
Then? What's happening?
Okay? You know this? Kate kiss her?
She's late?
You know again?
Yeah?
The Zeroid led by Sergeant Major Zero. They have been programmed with different personalities spaceflight all right, two is that that is five to five?
Why can't he be normal like the rest of us.
Let's see how that kettlehawks can cope with your little talks. Finally, in suspended animation, Zelda's terrifying monsters brought from other planets in the universe to be unleashed against planet Earth. Sram, Lord of Felamy, A mighty Spoorrilla, Yury, the space Bear, Mooyd, Master of infinite Disguise. I wear many faces, but have none of my own, and many more, all being kept on ice for future episodes. Terra Hawks something for Everyone,
A final message from the White House. Terra Hawks a family show that proves that you can please all of
¶ Conclusion and Farewell
the people, all of the time.
I had an odd relationship with the Thunderbirds. I loved those ships, loved the models, loved the action, and I could not get past the goddamned Marionettes. I'm sorry, but nineteen sixty string Tech was pretty hard to swallow after Star Wars, and there was a glood of shitty kids television made in the wake of Star Wars. Jason of Star Command comes to mind, And as bad as they were, there was nary a string in sight. I know that's an odd determining factor. But I fully accepted the muppets,
so it's not a puppet thing. I know it's not a puppetry thing because once Jerry Anderson dispensed with super marianation, replacing it with super macronation, that's where marionettes are replaced with hand puppets. It became a whole different thing. The distinction shouldn't matter, but it does. It gives the characters a range of movement denied in the other series. Another reason I couldn't get behind the Thunderbirds was how goddamned leftover nineteen fifty squeaky clean it was. It was like
Johnny Quest. They were also goddamned earnest. I'm sure it was corny when it was being made, but by nineteen eighty three it deserved its own unique popcorn bucket from AMC. So you can imagine my confusion one early Saturday morning when a show comes on that, at first glance seems to be nothing more than a Thunderbird's clone, But then you a little closer. Not only is it employing the superior super macrination, but the entire show is a lot looser, funnier,
dead layer and really odd ball. You heard that little trailer. I cut that together from what I'm assuming was a presentation trailer for affiliates who were deciding whether or not to program the show. It was fourteen minutes initially, but from it, I'm sure you've got a sense of how fucking bonkers this show was. Tara Hawks are the Earth
based defending heroes. Each character has their own signature vehicle, and they're all assisted by zeroids, these metal spheres that pre date BB eight, though these actually open up to reveal faces that look very similar to that of Vincent in the Black Hole. The zeroids have distinct personalities and their own odd foibles that infuriate our lead character. He's constantly dressing down these most helpful characters for yearning to
be more human. The guy freaking out on them, by the way, is a clone and he dies on the show. This is a kid's show. I'll get back to that. Hold on. So the Tara Hawks are cool, their vehicles, their army of zeroids are all totally badass, all of the models. The base is underneath the White House, which cracks open every time a ship takes off, unless they're coming up from their underwater base, in which case they create a whirlpool in the middle of the ocean that
they use to fly out of. The show is incredibly inventive, It is incredibly clever, and if you love practical effects, you can't get any more practical than this. It is ambitious and serialized, and the villains on occasion are genuinely fucking scary. The main Badizelda in her offspring aren't just out and out scary, but they're androids who have chosen a human appearance. But the human appearance they've chosen basically look like apples left to dry on a window sill.
They're leathery, walking corpses. They look like Gramma at the end of Texas Chainsaw Massacre too. That's what they've chosen to assimilate with. But the fact that they have it, it's easy to forget that they're synthetic because they're from a race of androids that rev volted against their slave masters and fled to Mars, and now they want Earth. This series is complicated and crazy. One of the leads is a pop star, so on occasion the show just
stops for a performance. Everything is animate, the cars, the vehicles, the tools, they all have personalities and again this is a kids show. Rewatching these and yes, I watched a good twenty or so of the thirty nine episodes available, this has solidified my belief that up until recently, British people could not conceive of science fiction as anything other than for children. This, according to them, is a kids show.
Doctor who was a kid show. Now it certainly started out that way, with lessons from the Doctor for his young companions, and it certainly fucking feels like that once again this current season, Russell. But I remember watching Genesis of the Daleks. That's the fourth Doctor, the Madman with
the scarf, you know, the best Doctor. That's a two part time travel episode where the Doctor is given the opportunity to wipe out the the unstoppable killing machines that the time Lords have been at war with for millennia before they were created. And it's scary and it's exciting, and it's a contemplation on genocide, no question, no question about it. It's a debate that occurs on screen, and
it's a kids show. The UK television industry absolutely warped generations of young minds by showing them shows like that and like terror Ox. Now, having said that, I can't stress how good this show is, how much it demands of its young audience, how much it respects its young audience. So I guess I'm kind of recommending this to people with kids. I'd say twelve is probably the cutoff. They're probably not going to think it's cool after that and the intro age. I'm just going to leave up to you.
But I can't imagine there's much more out there that could compare with this show. And it's free on Uroku right now, all thirty nine glorious episodes, you know. Before we go, I just want to mention one last thing about it. The lead character, Doctor nietin Doctor Einstein. He's constantly playing this video game, right, He's trying to beat
some elusive high score. It's a running gag throughout the entire series, right, whenever he's not around the lead zeroid Sergeant Majors Zero, not to be confused with Dix Heut the French zeroid, but the handlebar mustache. Anyway, he constantly plays the video game and is just crushing it just to just to fuck with Einstein. I don't know, man, I love this show. I'm glad I rewatched it. I'm still rewatching it. I have about nineteen more to go. And speaking of going, yes, it's time to say goodbye
young Ripley. You are absolutely going to watch the rest of those episodes with me. It's my TV. Fine, if you're poking working the mouse, watch anything you want on the computer. Midnight Viewers, thank you once again for joining us here at the roundup. Be sure to tune in this Friday and we have an all new Anthologies attack where Antonio Lapoor and I will be living life on
the multiplane camera play of Walt Disney's classic Fantasia. Until then, I should point out that Midnight Viewing is part of the weirding Way media group and our theme song was composed by HP. If you want to support the show, the easiest way is giving us a five star review on Apple podcast It makes a huge difference. Or you can share the show or tell someone to give it
a try. Although, if you're one of those rare creatures with extra money in your pocket and a end to support a show, you can go to patreon dot com, slash father them alone and subscribe. You'll get shows. You'll get shows early and commercial free and bonus content that these plebes aren't privy two and bonus content that these plebs aren't privy to plebs plebes. I heard it in
a video game as plebs. I always thought it was plebes. Anyway, until next time, I'm going to leave you with a line from this pump at Extravaganza Tara Hawks, stay on this channel. This is an emergency.
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