Avengers Academy

On board the Disney Magic is something I think all of my fellow comic book fans, and especially my fellow Avengers fanatics would be interested in - it's Avengers Academy.

I have been a huge proponent of the Disney Cruise since I first started coming on them, and one of the misinterpretations many folks have is that it's for kids, or that it will be filled with kids. The answer to that is yes and no. The Disney Cruise is for everyone, of any age, and yes, it has many kids, but the fact is - you hardly ever see them. There are entire areas of the ship dedicated to kids of various ages and daycare facilities. They are hardly ever around, and sometimes they don't want to even join their parents for meals.

One of the reasons the kids are so occupied and so passionate about staying in their pens, ahem, I mean, areas, is Avengers Academy. It's like an interactive summer camp (although only for the duration of your cruise) where kids learn to be Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and help the Avengers.

There's a whole training area with interactive computer games, as well as displays of Thor's hammer, Captain America's shield, and Iron Man's Mark VI Protype Armor. Yeah, I know Cool with a capital C, but it gets better…

You can be Iron Man. Yeah, seriously. Kinda like green screen, you can be the star of your own comic book testing Iron Man's armor, seeing how you fly, how you use your repulsor beams, and all that cool stuff. Now, more than I wish I was a kid again, I wish I was an Avenger!

Damn Yankees

Damn Yankees ~ This was the first TCM event we attended on the TCM Classic Cruise on board the Disney Magic. I had seen the movie Damn Yankees as a kid, and I think the stage show with The Bride at some point. I'm not a Broadway guy so a lot of these tend to run together for me, sorry.

I remember seeing the film as a result of seeing Tab Hunter in his brief role on "Forever Fernwood," the sequel to "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman." I can't remember what he played, but I remember it was a big deal that he was on the show, the implication being that he was a big star, so when I saw one of his movies roll around on TV Guide, I tuned in, and that movie was Damn Yankees.

The best part of the TCM Cruises are that you get to watch movies with the stars introducing and discussing them. When they showed Damn Yankees the first night of the cruise, it was preceded by TCM host Robert Osborne briefly interviewing Tab Hunter on stage and talking a little bit about the film. Hunter's insights on the old studio system, his being the odd man out with the cast brought over from the Broadway show, and his coming up as a teen idol were fascinating, and made the event for me. The Bride and I were wiped from the long day, so we didn't make it through the whole movie, so I caught it when they showed it the next day, sadly sans Tab Hunter.

Neither baseball movies nor musicals are really in my wheelhouse, but a baseball movie musical based on Faust? I'm all in. Joe wants his team, the Washington Senators to win, so he offers to sell his soul to the Devil in exchange for a win, and alternately turn himself into a super player to join the team. The Devil, played wonderfully by pre-"My Favorite Martian" (and even Fast Times at Ridgemont High) Ray Walston, grants him everything he wants, yet what he really wants is his old life back - all set to music.

Tab Hunter is earnest, introspective, and personable as heck, much more than a simple stage musical deserves. The young Jean Stapleton is a delight in every scene she's in (and steals), and quirky but sexy Gwen Verdon, considered by some not pretty enough to play the vivacious Lola burns up the screen whenever she is on screen, another scene stealer.

Damn Yankees is an enjoyable musical romp, more Faust than baseball, and containing more songs than you thought you knew from the show. Definitely worth a look, worthwhile just for Ray Walston, but tab, Gwen, and Jean are great too, and you'll be humming at least one tune afterwards.

TCM Cruise 2014

This was a dream come true, and the best birthday gift I think I've ever gotten, but for my fiftieth, The Bride got us tickets on the TCM Cruise, and as if that wasn't cool enough, it was a chartered cruise on board the newly renovated Disney Magic. My favorite thing, movies, on my happy place, the Disney Cruise - this was heaven.

At this point I'm going to tell you about the guests and the movie schedule, but as I've said before on The GAR! Podcast, it could be anyone or anything, I was already happy. The first and foremost guests were the two main Turner Classic Movies hosts, Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz. These two guys are the best, and crazy cool authorities on everything cinema, amazing founts of movie knowledge. I'll let you in on a secret, sometimes I just tune in for their intros and outros of movies, and skip the movies themselves.

The first star sighting was as we waited to board the ship at Port Canaveral. We saw Richard Dreyfuss arrive, and go right on board. All smiles, he laughed and waved, friendly to a fault. Later as I walked around the ship waiting for the launch party, I spied Alex Trebek. He was the polar opposite of Dreyfuss, looking as if someone had crapped in his Cheerios and he was about to bite someone's head off. I'd been told his trivia events were a lot of fun, but at first sight, I second thoughts about attending.

My third star sighting was the lovely Shirley Jones, all eighty years of her. She was even more exuberant and friendly than Dreyfuss. Smiling, greeting fans, and wow, stunning. There is surely a painting in her attic because she looked fantastic, not a day over twenty-five. Later than day she was interviewed by Ben Mankiewicz in the huge Walt Disney Theatre, happily telling tales of behind the scenes of her movies, her TV work, and even her sex life (buy the book).

As the week went on, and I began to get the vibe of how things work, it became apparent that this was more TCM Cruise than Disney Cruise. People were friendlier, if you can believe that. Granted, everyone is happy and friendly on the Disney Cruise as you all have something in common, here, that thing in common is super-focused, making for a tighter sense of community. Everyone says hi and asks how you are, and especially what are you seeing next.

The movies are phenomenal, and constant, playing in three venues, sometimes more. Add in events, interviews, and just plain old regular cruise stuff, and there can seriously be too much to see. There will be sacrifices, you will be disappointed in what you miss, but what you see… that will rock your world. It's more than seeing a favorite film on the big screen, it's having it introduced live, and sometimes by the stars of the film… wow, just wow.

Imagine seeing The Music Man and Elmer Gantry with Shirley Jones, Jaws and Mr. Holland's Opus with Richard Dreyfuss, The Sea Hawk with Errol Flynn's daughter, and John Barrymore in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde and Buster Keaton in The Navigator with a live orchestra providing the soundtrack. Imagine seeing The African Queen on the big screen then going outside to see the real African Queen. Yeah, that's how it is. Awesome. Best. Birthday. Ever.

Arrow S03 E06: "Guilty"

At first glance there seems to be a bit of a bait and switch here with this episode titled "Guilty." Our cliffhanger last time had Roy remembering a very realistic dream in which he killed Sara by physically throwing arrows at her. It's either some mental and physical residue from the Mirakuru, or some sort of induced dream. Based on the 'previously on "Arrow"' opening, I'm going to guess the former, but still it seems like the title implies a completely different storyline.

At least Roy is aware that the Mirakuru might be back and behind this. At least he's getting smarter as time goes by, unlike certain archers we could mention. Roy and Felicity have some good moments this episode as He comes clean with her about his fears and his dreams, highlights for both actors. Emily Bett Rickards is always good, but this time Colton Haynes matches her. Calm shock follows when Roy tells the rest of Team Arrow he thinks he killed Sara.

In Flashback Hong Kong, the mystery origins of China White, and Katana for that matter, continue. I had to laugh out loud when Maseo tells Oliver he has to work on his patience, something he's obviously made zero progress on in the intervening seven years. Katana does not like Oliver one bit, but tries to help him with his patience and memory. I have to wonder if this animosity will continue when and if she encounters Arrow in the present.

I have always loved the character of Wildcat from my first exposure in the old JLA/JSA team-ups to his Brave and the Bold appearances to finally reading his Golden Age stories in Sensation Comics. Despite the younger age of our Wildcat here, I am digging J.R. Ramirez as Ted Grant. I like his performance, his almost sensei like down to earth advice and training, and just the idea of a young Ted Grant in the present day. Hey DC Comics, this is the kind of refreshing new spin you should be shooting for if you bring Wildcat into the New 52. I also loved to shout out early in the episode to Irwin Hasen, the creator of Wildcat.

Laurel is training with Ted, they go to dinner and when they return, there's a dead guy strung up in the gym just like the guys in Arrow's latest case. It doesn't look good, but Ted has Laurel as an alibi. Oliver is neither pleased with Laurel's involvement here nor her being trained by Grant. She's becoming Black Canary whether he wants her to or not - we've all seen the costume online with the bad wig and no fishnets. Why can't she just wear Sara's outfit?

Ted and Arrow's first combat is awesome, his revelation that he was once a vigilante is even cooler, but the unintended accidental invention of the boxing glove arrow is the best. The idea that Ted was a vigilante six years ago until an accident retired him is intriguing. Sara was only active a short time as well. Over in "The Flash," a possible future indicates a ten-year career. In the Arrowverse is the turnover in heroes that short? Is a decade maybe a long term career? This could be an interesting precedent, how long does Arrow have with his dangerous lifestyle?

Speaking of dangerous, the current case and main story of the episode brings home the theme of the subplot. It was Ted's vigilante sidekick who's framing him now, vultures coming home to roost. If Oliver cuts Roy loose for killing Sara, will it come back to haunt him years later like it did for Ted? That said, the sidekick vs. sidekick fight was pretty cool. And I liked that the Arsenal name is finally out on the table.

Rather than actually tying up the loose ends of this episode in a nice tidy bundle, it ties them up into a knot of confusion. Did Roy kill Sara, or was it just a flashback to the murder he actually did commit? My bet is the latter, but if so, why does it seem the arrows were thrown? And what does Cupid want with Ted's ex-sidekick? And did she kill him?

Next: Cupid!

Leonard Part 6

Leonard Part 6 ~ For those who weren't around, it's difficult to explain what a gigantic television phenomenon "The Cosby Show" was back in its day. It was such a ratings blockbuster for NBC that the other networks either programmed around it, or counter-programmed. CBS started "The Flash" (the 90s version) at 8:30 after "Cosby." Fledgling Fox went head to head, moving "The Simpsons" to Thursday nights and adding Michael Jackson whenever possible. For a time "Cosby" was unbeatable.

Bill Cosby chose this time to go back into the movies. The problem was that his popular TV series was derived mostly his then-new family style stand-up, as seen in Himself, but his comeback to film, Leonard Part 6 was more old school Bill Cosby. At least a decade out of date and mocking what the mainstream loved, this action adventure comedy tanked big time. 1971 audiences would have loved Leonard Part 6.

The 'part 6' of the title is explained away by our narrator, the titular Leonard Parker's butler, who says his retired secret agent boss' first five adventures had been confiscated because of national security. He's pulled back into action to stop a madwoman who can control the world's animals. Yeah, it's Ace Ventura without the laughs.

Watching Leonard Part 6 again after many many years, I had to wonder, pitifully, if a laugh track might have helped at all. Some of it is amusing in a Naked Gun or Pink Panther way, some of the situations might be funny on a skit show, but the fact is its a movie and it goes on and on. Saddest of all is Cosby himself who seems to sleepwalk through this mess with all the energy of the Boris Karloff Mummy. As someone who grew up on the man's comedy records, this was heartbreaking.

Leonard Part 6 would make an excellent double bill with Hudson Hawk, or maybe as a lead-in to the inexplicably entertaining and successful True Lies. They are all essentially the same type of flick. Only seek out as a curiosity, otherwise avoid this.