#Chris Black

[bizarrobrain]

[what-the-whump]

Whumptober 2023 | No.31

Emptiness - Setbacks - "Take it easy."

Chris Black, aka Swaino in Sea Patrol - 4x05 - Paradise Lost

[j-h-s]

[michaelsmosey]

"Will being more masculine make you happy, healthier, or more successful? Society as a whole has shifted to focusing on constant self-betterment. Many of these podcasts swerve from potty humor and politics to evangelizing the importance of utilizing every second to be stronger, better, and more prepared. I don’t think wellness and self-improvement are political, but because of these shows and their outlooks, they have become intertwined. Many of these male podcasters are acting, playing it up for the downloads, and leaning into what works. - None is about being funny or having any honest political convictions; it’s about making money. I don’t trust any of it, and neither should you."

Chris Black; Joe Rogan, Kingmaker?

[captainpikeachu]

Okay so now that both the showrunner and Kurt Russell have addressed Lee’s fate and future, I figured I should compiled their comments here.

This is what Kurt said in regards to Lee’s future and a season 2:

And this is what showrunner Chris Black said:

So the consensus seems to be that Lee got a complete arc in season 1, but if season 2 comes around then there’s always room for more and Kurt and Wyatt seems willing to return for more.

Basically, Lee Shaw is totally not dead. 😎

[coffee-and-cusswords]

chris black by chris fenimore

[howtomakeyouslowdown]

[cantsayidont]

I put on the first couple of episodes of MONARCH: LEGACY OF MONSTERS, Chris Black and Matt Fraction's cumbersomely titled Godzilla spinoff show (which I guess is a follow-on to the 2014 American GODZILLA movie, which I haven't seen). I thought it would be fun, but so far it mostly feels pretty hackish: It appears heavily inspired by the Warren Ellis/John Cassady Wildstorm comic PLANETARY, but everything about the narrative structure is unnecessarily convoluted and cryptic, presumably in an effort to seem interesting; none of the present-day characters' motivations make any sense; the flashback sequences are tiresome; and three episodes in, the main story has yet to develop any actual direction or urgency, so it's mostly just flailing about. Also, for a Toho-licensed spinoff of a quintessential Japanese monster franchise, it's awfully dismissive of and condescending towards its Japanese characters, especially the ones who aren't Japanese-American.

I dunno — I've liked the (brief) parts where Godzilla shows up, but the gaijin-to-Gojira ratio is disproportionately high, and the script and acting are only slightly above the SHARKNADO level.

[rickchung]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (prods. Chris Black & Matt Fraction).

Apple's spin-off series spanning the MonterVerse universe of crossover films including Legendary's American Godzilla franchise doubles down on its mythology and the backstories of its human characters told over three different generations. What's most surprising is how the human characters are largely intresting and have clear motivations to follow as the monster madness unfolds around them across multiple timelines in the 1950s, mid-'70s, and 2015. Despite some clunky elements, much of the series is an entertaining watch.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Masterminds (1997)

While I didn't enjoy this film, that doesn't mean you won't. No matter what I say, the people involved in this project did it: they actually made a movie. That's something to be applauded. With that established...

“What if we made Die Hard PG-13, and set it in a high school?” That sums up 1997's Masterminds. It’s as bad an idea as it sounds.

Cool dude hacker man “Ozzie” Paxton (Vincent Kartheiser) is caught trying to sell bootlegs by his father (Matt Craven) and step mom (Annabelle Gurwitch). As punishment, he has to bring his step-sister Melissa (Katie Stuart) to her prestigious school. There, he stumbles upon a plot by Race Bentley (Patrick Stewart) to hold the children of the richest families ransom. With the police unable to access the building and all the youngsters held hostage by terrorists, a lone teen must take the villains down.

Let me make things clear. Masterminds is not LIKE Die Hard but in high school. Aside from the deaths and a few differences (notably, the quality of the film), it IS Die Hard set in high school. The foreign villain with an accent taking everyone hostage who claims to have one motive but secretly has another which hides his escape plan, a scene of the hero crawling through air ducts while minions search for him, a lone confidante on the outside of the school who communicates with our hero through a walkie-talkies, a hostage related to the protagonist (but with a different last name) praying she won't be discovered, the bad guys impersonating security guards, the villains predicting the authorities’ every move and integrating them as part of their plan… it’s all here! The rating, actors and shorter running time -“only” 105 minutes” rather than the 132 minutes of Die Hard - along with the change of scenery are all that prevent Masterminds from being a litteral carbon copy.

This movie is so ’90s, it makes your teeth hurt. For a while, laughing at the hair, lingo, extravagant use of skateboards and computers will be entertaining. You’ll have fun throwing your own lines at the screen ("Now I know what a lunchables feels like!"). Director Roger Christian makes the disdain come naturally. There’s nothing to endear you to the protagonist. He’s trying too hard to be cool instead of just being cool like Ferris Bueller. You learn nothing about his sister so if she gets saved or not doesn’t feel like it matters. The other hostages? They're heirs to super rich families in the middle of a $100 million dollar deal. This makes them nearly impossible to relate to. As a teen, I would’ve killed for some of the laser grid security systems Ozzie has in his room in lieu of… a door knob that locks. Eventually, however, the utter lack of imagination makes you realize what a waste of time this is. There isn't a person alive who wouldn't rather watch Die Hard.

Masterminds is a film whose audience has disappeared. Even at the time it was made, I think people would’ve seen through it and dismissed this knock-off without hesitation. You can find its best scene - a moment in which Patrick Stewart’s character pre-eminently celebrates his victory with a silly dance - on YouTube. If you can’t, it’s no big loss. (December 6, 2019)

[saintgoner]

[bizarrobrain]

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[johnwilhelmy]

The idea is to be authentic, clear, clever, and not take yourself too seriously.

[michaelsmosey]

"But that doesn’t fully explain why so many of us want to dress like cowboys right now - maybe the simplest answer is best: Pulling on a pair of Luccheses is a way to imagine a simpler life, one in which you rise with the sun, wear cool clothes, work with your hands, and fall asleep the moment your head hits the pillow. Not sending emails eight hours a day might be the greatest fantasy of all." - Chris Black; Why We're Dressing Like Cowboys Now

[milkcricket]

the vast energy in this single frame is i think beyond human comprehension