BABY DRIVER: Screening #2 brain dump…

This post is gonna be a spoiler-tastic collection of notes, thoughts, Edgar/Easter eggs, and crazy talk on elements of Edgar Wright's BABY DRIVER after a second screening tonight.

(You can review my post-screening-1 ramble here.)

About names and casting…

Buddy—Jason Van Horn.

I couldn't hold onto his last name after my first screening, just vaguely recalled it being Van Winklevossy, y'know? Something that fit Bats's educated guess from an uneducated man. But this time, I remembered, and hours later, I get it! I think? Jason VAN HORN! =)

Darling—Monica Costello.

In the car after taking care of the Butcher & friends, the crew press each other about their names and Buddy explains that they only know each other by nicknames, aka "monickers." With punny timing, Darling then reveals that her real name is Monica. We find out her last name is Costello from a breaking news bulletin later. My mind always jumps to Abbott-and- but I don't think that applies here. =)

Griff—short for Griffin.

We never get his real name, but that doesn't matter so much here. We do get Griffin, as in the legendary eagle-lion mashup beast, depending on the culture and time in which you ask, supposedly supernaturally wise and partial to gold treasure and testing humans with riddles.

Frack, am I confusing them w/sphinxes? Hrm…I'm gonna go with it, just to get my thoughts down.

After the first heist, Griff takes it on himself to find out what makes Baby tick, believing his quiet and aloofness to be signs that he considers himself better than the rest of the crew. He explains to Baby—You can't do crime without being a little criminal…One day, you're gonna get blood on your hands.

I wish I could remember more/all of what he says to Baby, but I'd bet all of it is and/or comes true.
Even if the name isn't a perfect connect, he still plays a Cassandra-like Wrightian soothsayer in the shape of a bank robber.

Doc.

I don't think we get any clue as to his altar ego, if he has one. All we know is he's a heist mastermind with impressive resources and a line on people with nasal troubles. We do see him sharing drinks w/Big Boi and Killer Mike at Bacchanalia, tho. ENT to hip-hop stars who was once in love, too? =)

Bats—Leon.

The batty lion. That works. I think we must've gotten his last name in that breaking news report, too, but I missed it. Nuts.

Eddie No-Nose—formerly Eddie the Nose.

Heh. That's a No-Nose no-no, page 1.

J.D.

I didn't catch any hint as to his real name. Maybe it's a filmmaking reference, like R2-D2? But specific to something or someone disposable? Or maybe a clue as to his fate, when or if he's ever discovered, post-sunset, he'd surely be tagged as a John Doe, right?

The Butcher—never get his name, but the actor? OMG! STILL ALIVE! =)

Crazy amazing casting and a damn impressive delivery of a pig-themed bad cop sales pitch! Perhaps PHANTOM holds a special place in Wright's heart? I know it does in mine. Or perhaps it's the man's extensive and inspiring oeuvre as a whole. In any case, a joyous experience seeing him in the BABY DRIVER world.

And the rest…

Now, whatever I can recall that I want to recall, roughly in the order of appearance in the film…

The graffiti behind Baby is definitely updated between his trip to Octane and back to the Healey building. Maybe in more than one place, but I'm only sure about the "RIGHT" + "Shake Shake" art. On the way to Octane, along with Baby's "Harlem Shuffle" track syncing with graffiti and posted words in the environment, we see Baby match poses with wall art of a guy looking up to the sky and play "air horn" in front of show window featuring a trumpet. On his way back, a sandwich board doomsayer tells him that he must save himself from sin, and when crossing the street, a police car just passes him by before turning on its siren.

I wonder…Could the lyrics to "Harlem Shuffle" be a map to one of the getaway scenes? Or the acts and plot of the entire film…?

Hrm…Maybe…? Certainly can't put it past Professor Wright =)

When Baby flips thru channels at home w/Joe early on, there's a series of channel audio bits that felt a lot like SHAUN OF THE DEAD. The MONSTERS, INC bit that Baby uses on Doc—"You and I are a team. Nothing is more important than our friendship."—is part of it. At the end, we see coverage of a bullfight, a matador stepping around a skewered but undefeated bull. We hear, and see via cc—"The bull still stands." In the moment, that seems to be comment on Baby's sticking with his one-more-job-and-I'm-done plan, despite Joe's objection.

However, before we cut to the next scene, the announcer continues, talking about how the matador, having failed to finish the bull from horseback, must now try his luck on foot, which is kind of what happens to Baby after the Post Office robbery and also in his finale duel with Buddy in the parking garage. Post-Post Office, after skewering Bats, Baby (and Buddy and Darling) have to abandon their steed and escape on foot.

Later, when it's down to Baby and Deb vs. Buddy, they start car-v-car (the red Charger and the police cruiser), but Baby tells Debra they have to get out of the car so that he can end this, and although he does that just to get into a different car, the final confrontation has all of the players on their feet. Well, y'know, until they're not any more.

I think the second time we see Baby or Joe channel-hopping at home, Noel Fielding appears on screen for a few seconds. On my first screening, I thought it was a clip from THE MIGHTY BOOSH, but now I realize that it's from the video for Mint Royale's "Blue Song," which Wright directed and was sort of an early short form riff of his BABY DRIVER concept. A wheelman waiting on his crew to the sound—and duration—of a favorite song of the right length.

Debora vs. her sister Mary for songs with their names.

Bo's Diner decor/wall art—Route 66, couple in a convertible. Same as one of the postcards Deb sends Baby in jail.

Where is Bo's Diner? If ever in the area, gotta go—gotta go!

Laundromat decor/wall art—rockets and space.

Was the decor in the dinner and 'mat redone for the movie, or left as found?

The senior waitress says that Baby's been coming there since before she started. She thinks/heard that his mom used to work there. Lucky for Baby Deb thinks that more sweet than creepy. =)

BABY: I have different iPods for different days, different moods…

Bo's Diner number—555-1270. I think that was it. December 1970? Does that line up with a significant birthday or cinematic event?

There's a beautiful pair of shots one after the other when Baby, at home, calls Debora at Bo's. He's framed in a doorway of a darkened room, Joe in the lit living room behind him, with most of the dark on screen to the right. Then we see Deb, framed by the dark foreground of part of the kitchen, or maybe a supply/pantry area, to the left, with the light of the diner behind her. There's a palpable sense of their connection thru that phone line that crosses a darkness between them.

Or something. =)

Baby notices JD's "HAT" neck tattoo. JD explains that it used to read "HATE" but he had it "fixed" to be more marketable to prospective employers. After all…

JD: Who doesn't like hats?

Baby invites Debora to "Buck & Ella" for the finest wining and dining of all the wine and dine in town.

Deb and Baby make music with their glasses at Buck & Ella. The whole non-verbal carousel cam montage of their date there is in wonderful sync to the music. LA LA LAND, eat your hat! (Cuz, who doesn't like hats, right? =)

DOC: Take the buds out, shades off. Take the nephew, it'll be less suspicious.

I remember thinking that this seems like a way for Doc to set Baby up for capture later, getting his uncovered face caught on camera. A contingency plan to keep Doc under his thumb? Or put him away after this job?

NEPHEW SAM: You have a mint that says "Sam?"


When Baby and Sam deliver their reconnaissance report, I think Doc says, "Chips off the old block." A hint of actual fatherly affection? A Fagin-like show of pride? A clue to his brother's identity? Something else?

POSTAL WORKER: Everybody wants happiness, nobody wants pain, but you can't have a rainbow without a little rain.

This after saying she's working "9 to 5, just like Dolly."

It's a sweet connect to the rain that falls the next day, the day of the Post Office heist, and the rainbow that appears five years later when Deb picks up Miles on his release from prison, ready to drive west on 20 in a car they can't afford with a plan they don't have.

I guess that's romantic? Sounds like a lot of stress to me. =)

Whenever someone slams a door or trunk, we hear Baby's tinnitus ringing. Always a flashback to the accident?

BATS: You don't need a score for a score!

And he talks about Hex Songs…
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
"End of the Road"
"Hotel California"

BATS: An educated guess from an uneducated man.

Bats at Bo's "reading" Buddy and Darling. They rob banks to support doing drugs. Bats does drugs to support robbing banks. They're on vacation; he's at work.

The bill at Bo's for four Cokes, aka three Cokes and one Coca: $5.70. Baby leaves a 20 and a note: Road trip 2am.

When Baby and Deb are on the run after shooting Buddy at Bo's, Baby steps into a phone booth in a bit of empty lot to call Doc, who is not helpful. The booth has graffiti on its clear walls of tentacles reaching up from the ground—a visual representation of the realization of Griff's prophecy? This is just before they—Bonnie and Clyde? More like Bonnie and Bonnie—acquire the red Charger from the vaping punks. One of them asks Baby to leave him his phone but since it's playing the music, Baby says—Nope. =)

BABY: Fuck you, Buddy.

Paraphrasing Elvis? FYB vs TCB? =)

I didn't mention it in my previous ramble, but Baby definitely vibes Elvis at least as much as Han throughout the movie, and earlier, actually. When lip syncing to the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion's "Bellbottoms" in the opening heist, he's definitely channeling Elvis for me.

Caught in the credits this time that WALTER HILL is the ASL interpreter for Joe in the courtroom at Baby's trial. Only heard, not seen.

Also, Baby's prisoner number is 28071978—the release date of Walter Hill's THE DRIVER. =)

WHO gives Baby his mail in jail? Not credited (in order of appearance, he should've been last, and the judge was last). Whoever it is has a very unique look, and a distinctive voice. Guess I'll just have to see it again!

Keep on keepin' on~

BABY DRIVER: Take a Ride w/Edgar Wright's Rockin' Wheelman

Thanks to the Brattle Theatre and the Independent Film Festival of Boston, I got to watch BABY DRIVER at an advanced screening last week!

It is a gorgeous musical roller coaster ride of a film. Writer and director Edgar Wright supercharges another beloved cinematic icon-slash-genre—the Wheelman or Driver—with his remarkable style, vision, wit, and rhythm. While not *a* musical, per se, BABY DRIVER is very musical, delivering snappy dialogue, sharp looks, slick moves, death-defying driving, and brutal gunplay, all choreographed to a soundtrack beautifully interwoven with the film…

There's not a lot more to say, really, beyond additional superlatives upon superlatives, and I don't want to go into scenes or characters too deeply and give up any of the fun. I think I'll just let one of the trailers do the talking…

Bottom line—GO SEE THIS MOVIE! And see it IN THE THEATER!

[rant]
And for Space Pope's sake, do NOT take your phone out for any reason while the movie is running. You just paid $10 to $20 for this amazing experience! We live in an age of wonder that allows you to ignore a movie for free at home. Save the spacebooking, twitting, and txting for later. Or if you're gonna do that, or even look at a message on your annoyingly-bright-in-a-darkened-theater phone, get out of your seat, walk to an exit, behind a barrier, or *maybe* the back wall, out of anyone's view, and then have a look, respond if you must, and get back to the show. If you're waiting on your wife to finish delivering, or the funeral parlor's supposed to call about Pop's arrangements, or you're expecting a call from the doctor with those test results—WTF are you doing at the movies? If your phone lights up and you can see it, believe me, everyone next to and behind you can see it. Keep it in your pocket. If you see someone next to or near you futzing w/a screen, do everyone a favor, be your own (and my) hero, and ask them to put it away or take it outside.

[/rant]

Beware, beyond this point, I'm gonna start lobbing spoilers into my rambling. So, exit pursued by a bear now if you haven't seen BABY DRIVER already!

CRITS (oh-so-minor, probably more like backhanded compliments).

I don't feel the heart in this that I do in the Cornetto films. Those films—SHAUN OF THE DEAD, HOT FUZZ, THE WORLD'S END—had relationships at their centers. But I have to say that my not feeling that with BABY DRIVER is very fair and true to the driver genre. You don't get the warm fuzzies thinking about BULLITT, THE BLUES BROTHERS, or THE FRENCH CONNECTION, right? Well, okay, maybe THE BLUES BROTHERS. =)

The characters tend to be flat and archetypal, taking a back seat *sorry-not-sorry* to the action and style. Wright does get me rooting for some of the baddies along the way, because of their professionalism, circumstance, charisma, and, well, moral relativism. And while they may be flat, they own their two dimensions and are memorable, essential, love- and hate-able in their own ways.

Of course, we know who we're rooting for—our Baby on board.

Maybe this isn't fair to BABY DRIVER, but I'd *just* seen Walter Hill's THE DRIVER, right before it, and was so frickin' impressed with its style and tension and story-slash-chase-telling cinematography. I found myself wanting more from the final car-v-car showdown in BABY. I feel like both Wright's BABY DRIVER and Refn's DRIVE put their tightest and tautest chase set piece at the start of their films. They are a-ma-zing intros to each film experience, but greedy me, I want even higher peaks in the middle and the end.

Oh, don't get me wrong—there ARE more peaks, gorgeously choreographed, executed, shot, and edited peaks, throughout. It's been a week now and I still feel my thoughts are vibrating from the experience.

I'm gonna see it again, so maybe I'll revisit this notion of the "starting with dessert" problem, if that's what it is. Maybe it was having THE DRIVER on my palate affecting my perspective…

LOVES.

I love the reason that Baby is always listening to his music. I don't know which movie or story first used music as a way to time and count off the steps to a heist—at the moment I can only think of HUDSON HAWK =) —but I was almost surprised that that seemed to be what was happening with Baby's character in the film's opening chase scene (w/Buddy, Darling, and Griff). It almost seemed too, well, easy…y'know, for Edgar Wright. But it *is* Edgar Wright, so we know he's gonna do something brilliant with it.

Yeah, I know. Sometimes I wish I could watch a movie with my 9-yo brain, and not think so much.

Then we see Baby on his apparently regular walk to Octane coffee, and in a beautiful "Harlem Shuffle" music video starring Baby against the graffiti of Atlanta streets, we learn that music permeates every moment of Baby's life. Man, when Debora walks by outside the shop in front of the rainbow heart—so simply perfect. =)

And I'm pretty sure that when he retraces his steps, "Shake Shake" has been added to a column or wall that had "Right" on the way in.

Later we learn that there's more method to Baby's madness for music. Doc explains that he suffers from tinnitus, and music helps keep the ringing in his ears at bay. Later still, we learn that he has a habit of recording much of what he hears, using the audio as samples in musical creations of his own. I really wish we'd been able to see him create some more of those, and/or hear more from his extensive library.

WRIGHTS.

Some little bits of fun that I feel are somehow Wright-ian, whether intended by the director or not. =)

J.D., of Bats's crew, is given a simple assignment—pick up three HALLOWEEN Michael Myers masks for use in the robbery. What does he show up with? Three Mike Myers (as Austin Powers) Halloween masks. When questioned about his cluelessness, one of the gang tries to clarify—The Bad Guy from HALLOWEEN, the movie! To which he replies—Oh! You mean Jason! And hey—What's Buddy's real name? Jason! As in Jason from FRIDAY THE 13th? As in the guy who keeps getting killed by never dies?

And what's Baby's real name? M I L E S of course!

Hrm…Good thing Wright didn't make this movie on the continent somewhere or Canada. His name would've been Kilometers! *groan*

Bananas! Doc reveals that's the phone call confirmation code word he receives from his contacts after a successful interaction. Darling reacts to the playing of one of Baby's tapes—"Is he slow?"—with B-A-N-A-N-A-S. When the Butcher's Atlanta PD colleagues show up for revenge on Doc, they give him the code word—"Bananas!"—along with some hot lead.

The invisible camera returns! In WORLD'S END, Wright shoots a scene between Simon Pegg and Rosamund Pike in the restroom of a pub with the camera pointed squarely at the mirror on the wall. Sure, it could be digital magic, but I can't help but wonder if Wright has pulled off some practical magic. Just the right lighting combined with a glass plate at the correct complementary angle or something? Well, whatever he did then, he does again in…I want to say at least two shots—maybe three, with reflections in a car exterior?—in BABY DRIVER. My lame brain is now only recalling one, tho, in a pan across the washing machines of a laundromat, a sweet bit of Courtship, American Style.

Yeah, probably some "simple" digital trickery…But maybe only for the last 10% that some Houdini-like stage magic couldn't quite cover? I want to know but don't want to. =)

And speaking of courtship—I kind of adore how Baby sharing his earbuds with Debora physically connects them while they're moving around the laundromat and talking. It turns their conversation into a sweet dance number. A bit of Wright magic.

Becky & Ella? In the elevator down to P1, P2, and P3 after the first job, Buddy promises to take Darling to Bacchanalia, for the best wining and dining around, or something to that effect. When Debora presses Baby for an idea on where they'll go out, he tells her what sounds like "Becky and Ella" for the best wining and dining around. NB: Found out Bacchanalia *is* an actual ATL restaurant, but I don't believe we ever see its name or signage on screen.

I WONDER…

About the "Spirit of 85" or whatever it was called. Doc mentions it to help establish Baby's cred. Apparently Baby tied the Atlanta PD in knots on what sounded like a crazy prolonged chase involving a cloverleaf interchange of highways. I think the word "spaghetti" was used? No doubt native Atlantans will appreciate the description of the feat. Baby's Kessel Run? =)

Oh, man! Who is responsible for Baby's wardrobe? For half if not most of the film, he is strategically yet uncannily decked out in duds that scream "Han Solo" to me. I'm talking A NEW HOPE—black vest over white shirt with dark pants.

After the film, I was told that our Baby, Ansel Elgort, had been on the short list for the young Han Solo film. I honestly had no idea as I did and do my best to block that sort of "news" as much as possible when it comes to films I'm looking forward to.

When I heard about the LEGO MOVIE directors being dismissed from the project, I thought that maybe they'd seen BABY DRIVER and realized that Edgar Wright had already made the movie—what's the point now? =)

And in the Hollywood minute before Ron Howard was announced, I wondered if maybe BABY DRIVER might possibly be the perfect proof of capabilities for Wright as the new director. Alas—*sigh*—not to be.

I wonder just what the heck happened with Disney/Marvel/ANT-MAN and Wright.

CINEMA SERENDIPITY…

I love it when my experience of films and shows connect in little unexpected ways…

Last week, I got to see Edgar Wright's amazing action jukebox, BABY DRIVER. The next night, I caught Kumail Nanjani and Emily Gordon's hilarious, heart-warming and -punching rom-coma-com, THE BIG SICK. And tonight, a week later, experienced Bong Joon Ho's OKJA on the big screen before it streams on Netflix.

Yeah, none of that connects on paper, but in my head it's a different story… =)

In THE BIG SICK, Kumail and Emily's non-dating dates reveal his obsession with cricket and appreciation of zombies, which of course would logically add up to a SHAUN OF THE DEAD poster on his bedroom wall. That's some solid math, and reminded me that I've followed some twitter exchanges between them about movies (about ROGUE ONE, Riz Ahmed, representation, and a buddy heist film).

The content of OKJA does not directly connect to anything Wrightian (as far as I could tell on a first viewing), but Bong Joon Ho's previous film, the must-see sci-fi fable SNOWPIERCER, features Jamie Bell as a character named Edgar, apparently named for Wright. That note, plus the fact that Edgar was best buddy of Chris Evans's Curtis, inspired a meta-mashup poster for SNOWPIERCER starring SCOTT PILGRIM's Lucas Lee.

Yeah, like I said…it's all in my head.

Why do I have a feeling like this will be read back to me in court at a later date?

BABY DRIVER AT AN ADVANCED SCREENING…?

Oh—how did I get to see all these films in the theater? And before their wide release dates? The Brattle Theatre and the Independent Film Festival of Boston are my enablers-slash-suppliers. If you're Boston-local and love moviegoing, I *highly* recommend you check their schedules and membership privileges, join/donate/support either or both, and see some amazing movies!

Allright, enough a-ramblin'. If you made it this far, I'm sorry and thanks much. Now, get thee to the theater and BABY DRIVER up!

Keep on keepin' on~

12 MONKEYS: 3x02: Guardians: Catching up w/Jennifer Goines…

A transcript—so, y’know, *SPOILERS*—of the opening to season 3 episode 2 of 12 MONKEYS. Our hero, Jennifer Goines, finds herself in 1920s Paris, having survived being dropped into the trenches of WWI four or five years earlier…

---

Where am I right now? Somewhere warm? Safe? With people who care about me? Nope. Not me! Some of us got left behind. So, what do you do when you're stranded in the wrong place…? The wrong time…?

JENNIFER: Just take these and mail them to America in 95 years.
PRIEST: We'll all be dead in 95 years.
JENNIFER: Then get God to do it.
PRIEST: You're insane.

What do you do when not even God will help? You accept that the only one you can rely on is yourself.

How do you send a message to the future? How does ET phone home?

You need a venue. You gotta make a splash big enough to hit ‘em a hundered years from now.

Make ‘em laugh!
[ CHAPLIN ]


Make ‘em cry!
[ E.T. ]

Give ‘em what they want!
[ ALIEN (a masterful production =) ]

Just when you've got ‘em right in the palm of your hand…
[ JAWS ]

…you hit ‘em w/the goods!

Your message—your piece de resistance! The story you were born to tell!

GODDESS: People of Earth…I am the Goddess of Time. I have traveled many centuries to vanquish my enemy…the Witness.
WITNESS: Never! Despite your mesmerizing beauty and your luxurious hair, my army will destroy all of time!
GODDESS: No, you won't! [Thrusts sword.]
WITNESS: [Gags.] Blood! Blood! Blood! [Croaks.]
GODDESS: The Army of the 12 Monkeys is no more! Now, I must travel back to my own time!
Je Splinter! (I splinter!) The end.

[ Francois tears up the poster for L’ARMEE DE 12 SINGES. ]

JENNIFER: But Francois, give it a chance! If you don’t advertise, how will I build an audience?
FRANCOIS: No one understands “time travel”!
JENNIFER: Uh, the smart ones do.
FRANCOIS: Do the space one! Or something with magic. People love magic.
JENNIFER: But I need this to be a hit! For the history books! So I can be discovered!

---

I do believe that Sean and/or Terry have just revealed their true purpose behind 12 MONKEYS (and perhaps a version of the show’s behind-the-scenes struggles?). They've created the show—and its audience—as a message in a bottle, tossed into the timestream, to be recovered by *their* Lasky, Adler, and Jones. I do hope that their Team Splinter finds this post and comes back for them!

But, y’know, maybe not til they fix the mess that we call reality—*cough*2016election!

And/or finish up season 4. =)

Unmake history!

Keep on keepin’ on~

12 MONKEYS: Season 3 pre-binge thoughts…

Some last-minute SEASON 3 thoughts and wishful thinking…

---

TUNING FORK/TEMPORAL FENCE?

I still like my previous thoughts on this device as something that helps James focus his abilities, or as a piece of appropriated Witness/Black Hat tech that he psychometrically reads.

However, over the weekend I caught an ad on Syfy that shows James apparently planting the/a fork in the ground, like a flag. Maybe he just needed to support his weight on a trek or climb, but it really had the feel of a claim or border staking, y'know? Makes me think that it may be used to set up a spacetime perimeter, perhaps to protect a region of time and space around 2044 and the Splinter Facility. Or maybe a temporal roadblock, to protect the past from further interference from the future. The idea would be that wherever and whenever these forks are planted some kind of temporal interference wave would be generated, causing time traveling and time scanning tech originating from the future to read only noise. Maybe only one needs to be placed, maybe a set of them, to define a fence, wall, or ring.

Hrm…Maybe it's a temporal perimeter alarm, a tripwire for an early warning system for Cole and Team Splinter?

---

THE BLACK HATS.

Are the hats functional? A component that's paired with the vests? And matching shoes and gloves? Is there a lot of rain (or too much sun?) in the far future? Or in the red tea zone? The rain always HAS washed away most of the blood, right?

What about the style/design? We look at the Witness in Titan, and his followers all wear uniforms based on his garb. So, just for the heck of it, let's assume the Black Hats are doing the same, dressing to honor and identify with their leader. Who do we know that kind of owns that silhouette?

Tall Man! Possibly and/or Tall Dad, now that we've seen him.

So, I'm predict-o-hoping that we'll see Tall Man stage a coup in Titan, having recruited a chunk of the Witness's followers to his own brand of Time-entology, and scarper off to some hidden Time fortress or zone of his own. Could there be a second Titan? Why build one when you can have two for twice the price, right? From there he did/can/will launch his attacks on our Team Splinter and the Witness in order to ensure some cosmic outcome or order—or chaos, he seems to like that—of his own.

I really do like that option. He gets to throw off the rigid fate-itude of the Witness's machinations. He gets to kick the Witness in the pants for deceiving his Messenger mother (Mantis/Vivian/Mother). And with a Time force of his own, he will get the chance to "set things right." Remember what she told Tall Boy on her death bed in 1971…

MOTHER: Have faith that the Witness has spoken, and that one day you, my son, will set things right…

And he can launch his coup while the Witness is weak, a child or adolescent, still learning the Witness trade. Remember, he's *safe* in Titan. No one's saying he's *powerful* in Titan. Maybe Tall Man's schism is history to the Witness's personal timeline, but (intentionally?) hidden from him since he was a child or youth at the time and required/requires TM's apparently faithful service in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

In any case, if Tall Man does break away with his own Time-tech-savvy army, he becomes a perfect greater enemy to both Team Splinter and the Witness.

---

JENNIFER + DEACON!

DEACON: See something you like, Granny?
JENN: Not yet.

Jennifer 2044 recognizes Deacon and we think the "not yet" refers only to the scar on his face. I think and hope now that it means Deacon himself, whom Jennifer 2016 will eventually fall for. They have the clever/snarky pop culture common ground and "self preservation was never my thing" could probably apply to both of them at the right time. Also, crazy as it seems, Deacon killing her was kind of the ultimate ice breaker. A testament to the talents of the creators and writers.

I love it when Deacon nods in approval at…

JENN: It's better to have a hen today…then an egg tomorrow.

What's the best "ship" tag for them? #Jenncon? #Deanifer? #Teddifer? #Jennodore?

And of course Deacon survived the attack on Titan! He's safe under that dumpster—duh! =)

Seriously, tho. He definitely survived. He's f@cking Deacon! Captured, maybe, scarred, definitely, but not dead. I like him for an unlikely knight of Time. I saw some fan art that evoked for me the Hound of GAME OF THRONES—Deacon Clegane. I so want that. Protector of one Mother (of the Witness) and partner of another (of the Daughters)?

---

FURTHER (PAST) ADVENTURES OF AGENT GALE.

I really need the S-Files ("S" for "Splinter" =) of Agent Robert Gale revealed this season. At least ONE of them, pretty pleez?

GALE: Y'know, Cole. I've known you a long time…
COLE: Whaddyamean? We met once, in 44, right?
GALE: Right…

And I *so* want his granddaughter to be staking out the Emerson in the hopes of meeting, and helping, Cole and company. Remember, there was an empty TaB can in room 607.

---

TITAN ICON/SIGN OF THE WITNESS.

I'm really hoping we'll see a meaningful origin or explanation of the Titan icon. It evokes a figure and an arrow. Seeing an arrow in the world of 12 MONKEYS, I think of Time. So it makes sense that it would be a representation of the Witness himself—a being of Time. Who first makes the mark, tho? I know the teaser showed us the icon painted in red (blood?) on a wall, with Jennifer and probably young W gazing at it, but I'm not convinced that's the moment of its creation. Does it create itself? Copied from one of the pendants? Perhaps it originates with the Druze, once they learn what the Witness is and can do. It's their sign for him, glazed into their centuries-old pottery time capsules.

Other ways to read the glyph? It could be two figures, defining the arrow with the space between them. Cassie and Cole? Back-to-back step dancing? =)

I wonder if it tessellates interestingly. I think the result would give us a kind of a mask, not Witness/plague doctor shaped, tho. Maybe its first inscription is in a different orientation, as an arrow pointing to something.

---

THAT KID.

Remember that time when Whitley, Deacon, and company were on patrol while the red skies were moving in? They run into a kid whom they assume came from a closeby refugee settlement…

KID: They're all gone…
WHITLEY: Your parents…They get caught in it?
KID nods, then walks back into time storm…

Think we'll get to see the other side of that storm this season? See where and when that kid came from as well as who his parents are?

Of course I *want* him to be young Witness, and his parents, "caught in it," would be Cassie and James. Maybe little Hot Pocket is being put through some tests or training by Tall Man using the splinter tunnels of Titan, or experiencing the onset of his temporal abilities in an unexpected and uncontrolled way.

---

Only two days til the 3-night event! Guess we'll get some answers soon enough =)

Unmake history!

Keep on keepin' on~

GOTG 2: First screening spoiler-ful brain dump…

Saw GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 tonight for the first time—woo-hoo!

I'm not gonna go into much in the way of criticism of the film here except to say that it's a rockin' good time that goes deeper on character and a little shorter on plotting than the Volume 1. What I *am* gonna do is some half-baked comic book fanboy rambling and appreciation.

Gotta say, I was kind of WTF? when I realized that Sylvester Stallone's character, Grand Poobah of the Ravagers, was going by Stakar, who in the Marvel Universe is also known as Starhawk, aka "The One Who Knows." It seemed like a weird direction to take that namesake. Of course, it's still pretty much in line with Yondu's translation from page to screen, right?

I didn't think that while watching the movie, tho. What "fixed" Stakar for me was one of the end credits scenes, where we see Stakar saying how pleased he is to be able to reassemble old friends-slash-teammates, including Martinex (Stakar's crystalline right hand, Plutonian in the comics), Charlie-27 (superstrong Jovian in the comics, played by Ving Rhames), and Aleta (comics Starhawk's wife, played by Michelle Yeoh). This is Starhawk assembling a roster of the OGs, from the 30th century team of Marvel comics!

But—it's not to do any guardian-ing, but instead so they can go rob the heck out of the galaxy. Hrm…Some pretty heavy hitters—Sly, Ving, Michelle. How do they fit into upcoming MCU shenanigans? GOTG allies? GOTG imposters? Maybe their story-slash-heist unfolds in end credits scenes over a few movies? Right now they don't click in place for me.

Still, very fun to see the MCU's version of the 30th century OGs.

Tazerface! The reaction to that name in the film is so perfect! I wonder which Marvel writer created him and what s/he thinks about what's become of him? From what I remember of the comics, he was some kind of enhanced Badoon who had a personal beef w/the 30th century Guardians.

Nice to see Yondu upgrade his arrow fin tech to more closely match Marvel comics' Yondu's natural fin. Legitimately sad to see him go already, even if he did get a proper Ravager funereal sendoff. He got a pretty decent arc, and even though you could see the biodad vs. real dad conflict-slash-realization from 40 clicks away, the actual unfolding of it was pretty rewarding and okay, even a bit emotional. Nicely done, Rooker and Gunn!

Kurt Russell as Peter's dad. Kinda perfect. Ego as Peter's dad? Weird, but a good and creative answer to the question of MCU Peter Quill's paternity. I don't think comics Ego ever walked as a man, but I also don't think he was ever just a floating space brain, either. *Immediately* flashed to FUTURAMA. =)

I think I first met Ego in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR. Or maybe it was ROM? In any case, I thought he was part of the FF's universe, so was surprised to find him playing a part in the MCU. But then I remembered that when he met the FF, he'd already encountered Thor, so he's fair game as an Avengers connection. We did get one shot of Ego the Living Planet as he looks in the comics, a giant face defined by the landscape and funky organelles of the planet. I was hoping for more, tho, and maybe some of the funky macro-microbiological stuff from the comics, too, like humanoid antibodies and freaky scaled-up cells and organs, y'know? Instead, we get some gooey energy tendrils and Ego's Kurt Russell—and David Hasselhoff!—looking host body in various states of disrepair. Not bad, but y'know, a comic fanboy's heart wants what it wants—giant antibodies! =)

It's nice to see Mantis on the GOTG roster, but her introduction seemed a bit crowbarred in. Ego keeps her as a pet and sleep aide. Her unique empathic powers enable her to help Ego sleep, because apparently he has trouble sleeping? Would've been nice to get a better explanation for her presence. Maybe she helps tame Ego's growing insanity/instability?

Huh. Ego calls himself a Celestial, and Peter immediately asks him if he means that he's a god. So, MCU spacefarers are familiar with the term? Until Ego called himself one, I thought that Celestial referred exclusively to the giant space gods, one of whom's head has become the world-station known as Knowhere.

I think in the comics, Ego is a legitimate Elder of the Universe, like the Collector and Gamemaster. Celestial as a title for him doesn't seem quite right to me, but o well…

It *does* perhaps help with the logic of Mantis attaining a title of Celestial Madonna, tho.

I wish there was maybe one or two more scenes-slash-steps to Nebula and Gamora's hatchet burying, but the arc does work quite well. Also very touching and smart to have Peter's eulogy for Yondu—the part about searching for something for so long only to realize it was next to you all the time (would getting Survivor's "The Search is Over" have been too nail on the head?)—apply both to the sisters' bond as well as "this unspoken thing"/CHEERS-Sam-and-Dianne between Peter and Gamora.

The make-your-own-family theme is pretty irresistible. For a 40-something story consumer like myself, on paper that notion can seem trite and tired, but with these characters, and this writing, it still works on me. Several crescendos really helped, I think. Peter's reaction to Ego's admission of giving his mother that tumor (that was a smart stroke, no sympathy for Ego after that). Nebula's description of the duels Thanos forced on Gamora and herself, and the price she paid for her losses. Yondu and Rocket's breakthrough therapy session.

Heh. Nice to see Stan Lee as a distinct space-suited character in conversation with the Watchers on the surface of some planet or moon in one of the stargate jumps, and then in one of the end credits scenes. The Watchers actually walk away from him as he explains that he's still got more stories for them. Very nice. =)

In retrospect, I want to say that I should've seen the Adam Warlock cocoon coming when we were introduced to the golden-skinned Sovereign, but no, there was too much fun stuff going on with them to make me think of that while watching the movie. LOVE their ENDER'S GAME-y remote control space navy action.

But, yeah—Adam Frickin' Warlock! =)

Love the sweet laser balls weapons system on Yondu's heist ship, perfect for general offense and defense, reconfigurable for drilling into the core of a living planet, as well as a Death Blossom! =)

When Howard the Duck showed up again in a space bar where the Ravagers were hanging out, the audience reaction was loud enough that I couldn't catch any of his dialogue. Nuts.

Hrm…I think that's all I've got right now. I'm a bit frazzled when it comes to processing cinema right now as I'm coming off of eight days and 21 films of festivalizing. If I come up with more thoughts before my next GOTG2 screening, I may add/edit to this, and if a next screening fires up the tired synapses with more ideas, observations, and/or crazy talk, I'll ramble out a new post.

Keep on keepin' on~

12 MONKEYS: Season 3 Teaser: Updated thoughts…

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My third installment of trailer breakdown crazy talk. If you’ve got the time, please check out the first ramble (covering the trailer bits from start to finish).

This post is going to include some more thoughts on the first clips of Cole in the post-apoc, the meaning of one of Cole's line that seems to be about passing on some undesirable traits to his son, a description of how to Kat and James can back at/to the future, a connection between the Witness's ensemble and the Black Hats' Time Vests, and—surprise surprise—probably a few tangents.

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James and the Giant Fork

Early in the trailer, we see James standing outside the Splinter facility, time tuning fork in hand, the camera moving around him just a bit. The trailer then cuts to him standing in what looks to be a post-apoc Times Square. The camera is behind him in this shot, but still moving around him just a bit.

I rambled a bit about the possible functionality of the Time Fork—that it enhances his “James Cole doesn’t need a time machine” abilities, allowing him to induce and better navigate red-leaf-tea zone visits at will—but didn’t realize that we were being shown proof of it in those clips.

What if those clips are part of the same camera move around Cole, and what’s happening is that he is scrolling through time and space, similar to how 2044 Jennifer guided Katarina through spacetime during their mad red tea party. So, the full scene would start w/the camera in front of Cole, with the lab behind him. Then the camera moves in a circle with Cole its focus in the center while time and space change around him, showing us what he sees as he messes w/the 4-way rocker switch on his Time Fork controller, attempting to dial in a specific moment and location.

I suspect that this ability may only be a form of mental/astral projection, allowing him to see and hear what happens at a certain time and place, but not actually physically visit. MAYbe with some practice he can possess someone other than himself, tho, and affect things via a host body, the way the Witness can and has.

Time Fork? Time Trident? Time Bident? Timedent? Time Tongs? Chrono-prong?

COLE: If there's something wrong with him, he got it from me…

Cole apparently wants to take responsibility for his son’s darkness or wrongness…

As Hank Hill would say—That boy ain’t right.

However, I want to believe that line of Cole’s about his son getting something wrong from his side of the family isn’t be about guilt or self-hate or a darkness within him, but an actual physiological issue. Cole’s pretty literally a freak of nature right now. The oldest Splinter-based time traveler around, known to Primaries of several generations, only known survivor of a personal physical paradox, and mental time traveler.

What if he’s concerned about passing on some dangerous condition to his boy? Hrm…When we’ve seen the Witness in his tricked out Plague Doctor get-up, there’s been…machinery, right? Possibly something along the lines of a respirator or life support. Maybe that’s exactly what it is. Maybe the child of two time skippers is fated to be formidable in the mental and temporal planes, but frail in the physical one?

Or better/worse yet, what if he’s worried about passing on special abilities?

What if what’s important about little Hot Pocket is not that he *is* the Witness, or grows up to be the Witness, but that he’s the ideal *vessel* for the Witness. As the offspring of two Splinternauts, one of them uniquely favored by Time (as Lillian put it—James Cole don’t need no stinkin’ time machine!), it would come as no surprise if Jimmy, Jr. exhibited abilities similar to his parents, the Messengers, and even Primaries, and perhaps some beyond them.

Back to the 80s =)

I like to think so many things about this. I’m really hoping it’s not just 15 seconds out of a 2 minute montage that shows Team Splinter walking thru the Emerson in eight different eras wearing eight sets of characteristic wardrobe.

I love that James is basically dressed as Marty McFly, a callback to season 1…

COLE: Still don't believe me, do you?

AARON: I believe this cult is real, but no, I don't think you're Marty McFly.

COLE: Who?

Is there any way they’re doing a 21 JUMP STREET, infiltrating a high school dance or prom at the hotel? Please o please? =)

What would the prom theme or song be—”Time After Time?” “The Time to Remember?” “We’ve Got Tonight?” “The Power of Love?” =)

What are the odds that Jennifer Goines put together everyone’s ensembles for this particular mission?

If they’re stuck in the 80s for a while, with some downtime, Jennifer should really be taking them on field trips to the movies. If not for simple entertainment value, then as educational resources, so that the rest of Team Splinter can better understand Primary Jennifer’s eccentric way of expressing herself.

The clock on the mantel in room 607 is also frozen on 10:04, right? Will we get to see the moment/reason that stopped the Emerson’s clocks? In my earlier post, I wondered if we might meet Agent Gale’s granddaughter, Roberta…

Maybe she’s inspired by the Emerson’s clocks to add that detail to her screenplay for BACK TO THE FUTURE? =)

Getting Back at/to the Future!

I’ve got a good scenario to go with this moment…

At the end of season 2, we see Cole get into the chair and splinter away. The splinter beam is blue-white, same as it’s always been when Jones sends someone to the *past.” I imagine that what Jones does next is get in the chair herself after setting the controls to splinter her to the same coordinates as Cole—Raritan National Laboratory, sometime between 2015 and 2040, let’s say 2024, just for the heck of it.

The image above is what greets them…Project: Splinter…mothballed. Remember, after Ramse’s henchman is found dead in the lab, Elliot Jones’s project is shut down (thus freeing him up to work on Titan). In the wake of the spreading plague, the facility would be shut down, secured, but unmanned.

Why would Kat and James jump back to a time when Splinter was shut down? So that they could use the machine to splinter into the future! Remember, Elliot Jones’s machine succeeded in sending Cassandra Railly (and English ivy) decades into the future. Note that the splinter beam for those events appeared gold, not blue. We see a golden splinter seconds later in the teaser…

Remember…

GOLD : to the future

BLUE : to the past

GREEN: to the present (time travel without the time =)

RED: failure/malfunction?

I suggest that when Katarina and the rest of her team revived the Beast in the 2040s, and configured it for travel into the past, they disabled its to-the-future capability. Perhaps it’s still possible in 2044, but would require significant mechanical and electronic overhaul, practically impossible for Jones without her team.

So, in order for James to make a jump ahead to catch Titan in the future, he needs to jump back to 2024, so that he can jump forward to 2163.

And in that shot of the cloaked Beast, we’re seeing Katarina first arriving in 2024.

At least, that’s my theory. It could also be that 2163, or some other year, post-2044, after she and Team Splinter have had to leave the temporal facility for an extended time, maybe even before it happens in her personal timeline.

But I really like the idea of one step backward, two steps forward to get to the future. =)

From the Witness’s Suit to the Black Hats’ Vests…

Somewhere in my 12 MONKEYS ramblings, I wondered about the Witness’s need for a life support apparatus. The first few times we see him on the show, the mask seemed like it might decorative, serving to hide his identity while instilling fear in those who see him, as well as associate him with plague doctors, and so, plagues.

In later appearances, we see that the mask seems to be sealed, its sockets holding eyepieces/lenses, and its “beak” connected via hoses to a breathing apparatus under his robe, attached to his body. So, the Witness wears some kind of life support or encounter suit. Why?

I had several thoughts…

1. His travels thru time have taken a physical toll on his health and body. Also in line with that, he may be extremely long lived, and although he may be aging slowly, he’s lived long enough that even the serum-enhanced metabolism passed down to him from his parents can only do so much in the face of centuries of life.

2. The suit and mask provide enhancements to his natural or scientifically augmented time-associated abilities—mental and physical time travel as well as some kind of vision. Maybe it provides him a controllable dose of red leaf extract on demand to activate and/or supe up those powers. Like Time-Bane.

3. The suit and mask provide protection from paradox exposure and reality rewrites. This is the most game-changing possibility, so of course, it’s the one I really love. =)

This would mean that he could interact with himself in other moments of his personal timeline without any danger of pain or paradox. The suit completely contains his…essence, so that when he is in the same room with himself at a different age, the universe doesn’t detect two of him in the same place, and so doesn’t “know” to trigger a paradox event.

This might lead to some perilous narrative knots, but knowing Terry and company, those knots would only lead to amazing ways of resolving them. I won’t go down those rabbit holes just now. Maybe in another post.

What does the Witness’s spacetimesuit have to do with the Time Vests we see on the Black Hats (Time Shadows?) and Evil Annie Lennox? Well, I’m thinking that these vests are the next generation version of the Witness’s gear, allowing the wearer to travel thru time and affect changes without altering his or her personal history or any danger of paradox. I think this is also a clue that we’ll be dealing with a new player in the Time War in season 3—a faction/society/culture from a future farther off than 2163—

OLIVIA: …the very edge of time…an inch from falling over…

—possibly even an alternate, or earlier, timeline (a longshot, I think), or a kind of limbo, outside of time (not as much of a long shot). They would be the great grandchildren of time travel and a threat to both the Witness’s Army and Team Splinter.

Wacky fun ensues! =)

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The Witness is coming…

But so is Team Splinter! =)

Keep on keepin’ on~