Film Review-Clerks III

Kevin Smith, the once-indie film-making prodigy, has made his entire career not from his film Clerks, but from the tale of its production. In 1993, Smith famously used multiple credit cards and raised $27,575 to create a charming, dialogue-driven film during his off-hours at the New Jersey convenience store where he worked during the day. 

As a fan of Clerks and Clerks II, I gave Kevin Smith’s latest film, Clerks III, a chance despite his recent lacklustre output. While it is marginally better than Tusk and Yoga Hosers, it falls short in many ways. The movie is a meta-comedy that heavily relies on references and recreations of scenes from the original film, which can be expected, but the execution is so lazy and uninspired that it left me in disbelief. The film fails to expand on the source material in any meaningful way, making it one of the laziest sequels I have ever seen.

Kevin Smith seems to have made a deliberate decision to cater solely to his podcast subscribers, which I am, and alienate everyone else, which is unfortunate. The movie is filled with callbacks and references to the original, but the way it was written — by simply rehashing old material — ensures that it will never be as quotable as its predecessor. While the original film was endlessly quotable, this one falls short due to its lack of originality.

⭐️⭐️

Live-Action He-Man on the way

It’s been in development hell for nearly 20 years, but Sony’s live-action He-Man movie has finally taken another step closer to actually happening.

Kyle Allen (West Side Story) has been cast to play Adam, an orphan who discovers he is a prince destined to be the saviour of a faraway land. He must quickly learn of his power and the importance of saving his true home from an evil force.

The film will release on Netflix internationally, whilst releasing theatrically in China.

Exec Producer Robbie Brenner said:

“Masters of the Universe is an iconic property that shaped the imaginations of an entire generation of kids with the message of becoming the best version of yourself. With our partners at Netflix, we look forward to showing audiences that anything can happen in Eternia. We are continuing to unlock this global franchise in new ways, and we can’t wait to see Kyle battle it out with Skeletor in this epic live-action saga”.

He-Man has had a comeback recently, with the controversial ‘Masters of the universe’ by Kevin Smith and the more child-friendly version, ‘He-Man and the masters of the universe’ by Rob David.

As an 80s baby, He-Man holds a special place in my heart. The original series started in 1983 and was the first children’s programme to get a syndication deal in the US.

“Ashamed” Kevin Smith to donate future royalties

After many allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape against Harvey Weinstein. Writer, director and actor Kevin Smith spoke out on social media in answer to a Twitter prompt.

“He financed the first 14 years of my career – and now I know while I was profiting, others were in terrible pain,” Smith said of the powerful producer in a tweet on Oct. 9. “It makes me feel ashamed.”


Now, Smith has vowed to donate all future royalties, from his Weinstein-produced films to women in film, a nonprofit organisation.

Smith spoke about his decision, on the latest episode of his Hollywood babble-on podcast. Telling co-host Ralph Garman:

“My entire career is tied up with the man… It’s been a weird f***ing week, man. I just wanted to make some f***ing movies and that’s it. That’s why I came, that’s why I made ‘Clerks.’ And no f***ing movie is worth all this. Like, my entire career, f**k it, take it. It’s wrapped up in something really f***ing horrible.”

Smith hopes the money he’s donating will help women succeed without having to encounter men like Weinstein, in Hollywood.

He added, that even if the Weinstein Company goes under, he’ll donate $2,000 a month, to Women in Film. He has also offered to serve as a mentor to female filmmakers.

[amazon_link asins=’B00525QHSW’ template=’ProductAd’ store=’bawi-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’3264fb07-b43e-11e7-9855-edac41b17864′]

Start your 30 day free Audible trial.

Kevin Smith is killing off Silent Bob

You may or may not know that Kevin Smith is working on a “True North Trilogy” of films set in Canada, the first was Tusk, the second is the upcoming Yoga Hosers. The third will be Moose Jaws, which Smith describes as “Jaws with a Moose”. 

The writer/director/actor/Podcaster talked about the final instalment in the trilogy, in an interview with the Australian News Outlet news.com.au.
In the interview Smith reveals that he and Jason Mewes will reprise their roles as Jay and Silent Bob. It turns out this is going to be the film in which he kills off Silent Bob. 

Smith said:

“I just finished writing the scene where Silent Bob gets eaten by the moose. That’s how he fucking goes out!

Isn’t that fun? I was talking to Jay Mewes about Moose Jaws and I’m like, ‘I’m thinking about bringing us in as the Captain Quint character’. And he goes, ‘Yeah, but Quint gets killed!’ I was like, ‘One of us has to get eaten’. And he was like, ‘You. Not me’. I was like, ‘Why?’ And he was like, ‘Because I wanna be in other movies!’ Fair enough, dude. So, rather than let him go out with dignity, he’ll be eaten by a fucking moose.”

Seeing as Mallrats 2 and Clerks 3 are still in development, I’d say we have a few more years of Silent Bob yet.

Episode 133:Jon Schnepp/Holly Payne interview

Martyn talks to director Jon Schnepp, and producer Holly Payne, about their upcoming documentary, The Death Of Superman Lives: What happened?

Martyn and Jon then geek out about Superhero movies in general.

Jon Schnepp has directed episodes of Metalocalypse, The Venture Bros. and a segment of The ABC’s of Death. He is also known for his work with Collider, appearing regularly as a panelist on the site’s Collider Movie Talk, Collider Nightmares, and Collider Heroes series, the latter of which he hosts. His company, Schneppzone, works on short films and television series.

Jon and Holly will be screening the movie at the MCM expo on May 22 and 23rd, get tickets here.

Follow them on twitter:

Jon-@JonSchnepp

Holly-@HollykPayne

The movie-@TDOSLWH

Visit the official website

Jon is also the host of three podcasts, check out AMC movie talkAMC Heroes, and Sweaty Nerds.

The podcast is available from all good podcast services, such as but not limited to;

Amazon Music, Podchaser, Player FM, Stitcher, and Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to support the show, then please shop via our Amazon link. A small percentage goes our way, at no extra cost to you.

Check out our Youtube.

Twitter:

Martyn – @BadWilf

Gerrod –@InGerrodsMind

Pete – @BeeblePete

Kevin Smith teases Mallrats sequel

It’s well known that Kevin Smith’s Mallrats was a complete box office bomb. The writer/actor/director’s follow-up to the beloved Clerks nearly ended his film career. 

However it developed a huge cult following a few years later, after it arrived on VHS. I still place it in my top five Kevin Smith movies.

Smith has teased his Twitter followers with a sequel. 

It wouldn’t be unheard of for Smith to return to an old project, he was making cinematic universes before they were common place.

My problem with a Mallrats sequel is that Jason Lee and the gang and now in their mid-forties, it would be a little bit ridiculous for them to still be running round a shopping centre. 


Kevin Smith visits the Star Wars set

It’s well documented that Kevin Smith is a die hard Star Wars fan, he has referenced the franchise in nearly all of his films.
Smith is currently in the UK, touring two of his many podcasts and was invited along to the set by JJ Abrams.
Due to the NDA (non disclosure agreement) that he had to sign, he couldn’t reveal any details of the film. But he did put out this picture on his Instagram account with the following text.

“Visited JJ and his EP VII set. I signed the NDA so all I can share are this old Bantha-Tracks subscriber’s tears and snotty nose of joy. The Force is WITH this movie. Holy Sith…”

Smith mentioned on the most recent episode of Hollywood babble-on, which was record before the visit:

“I got an Email about a month ago from a dude who was like ‘Hey Kev, we haven’t talked in a while. Been thinking about you.
We just started shooting in the desert, man. We’re heading over to London, if you’re gonna be in London, then blow me up and roll up on the set, man’.
signed JJ Abrams.

So I hit him back and I was like, ‘I am gonna be in fucking England. I’m coming over to do some shows with my friend Ralph’.

So he was like ‘oh great, then you’ve gotta come stop by the set’.

So, I was just like, wow. How easy was this? I didn’t have to ask, he hit me up out of nowhere and shit.
And I’m sitting there going, I don’t know him that well. So I started second guessing it and I was like you know what, I’ve gotta see if this is legit. So I wrote him back an email and I was like
‘I just checked in with your office, so I’m all set to visit. But just in case, I wanna put this out there just in case you hit the wrong Kevin in your address book, this is Kevin Smith. The Clerks guy’
and he wrote back the perfect email, just a two letter response ‘oh fuck’.”

DVD review: Kevin Smith-Too Fat For 40

I’ve been a Kevin Smith fan since I was 13, I first saw Clerks in 1995, when my older cousin rented it from his local video store. Something about Smith’s movies and his sense of humour just speaks to me. I’m an avid SMOdcast listener and I look forward to every DVD release of his Q&A specials.

Smith is best when he’s on stage, he is a raconteur and it’s quite clear that he loves what he does. He’s confident, cool performer that truly appreciates his adoring fans.
Too Fat for 40 isn’t the greatest of Smith’s Q&A specials, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t any good. The tales he tells are sometimes heartwarming, but always pant wittingly funny. This special mainly focuses on the stress involved in directing the movie, Cop Out. During the Cop Out chat, Bruce Willis is Smith’s main target. The stories he tells about the actor are revealing and extremely funny.

There’s an “Encore” Q&A, which is just as good as the main Q&A. There’s also a making-of feature and a brand new intro.
If you’re a Kevin Smith fan or, just a fan of standup in general, then Too Fat for 40 won’t disappoint you.

Kevin Smith is touring the UK soon, check out smodcast.com for details

Too Fat For 40 is available from Amazon and Netflix.



Blu Ray review: Red State

Three virgin, high-school friends think they’re on to a sure thing. One of them has found a woman online, that will sleep with all three of them, but they are soon caught in a trap by Pastor Abin Cooper and his Five Points Church. Albin Cooper is based on the real-life head of the Westboro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps.

Five Points protest at funerals with signs saying “Anal penetration, equals eternal damnation” etc.  But Cooper believes that homosexuals are sinners and must be wiped off the Earth.  In its first half, Red State is almost horror film. A gay man is murdered, quite brutally and the three high-school boys are next.  However, half-way through, it turns from a horror film into a shoot ‘em up, action movie. The transition doesn’t really hurt the film.  What hurts the film is that the tension that Smith created, in the first half, completely vanishes in the second half. It’s almost two different films. In the first half, Smith showed incredible restraint in not adding much comedy, but in the second half, during the middle of the shoot out, characters start cracking jokes and asking for tea. Which is a shame, the tension could have been cranked up a bit. By far, the first half of the movie is the strongest part.



Now Red state is a massive departure for Kevin Smith. You could even argue that it’s his first grown-up movie. The visuals are stunning, which is really impressive for Smith, he has never been known as a visual director.  He’s been criticised in the past, for static camera shots and simple lighting.  But, with Red State, Smith has created a style that works incredibly well, for the movie. Shaky camera-work is nothing new, but it is a huge step forward for Smith. The film has no background music, which really makes it more atmospheric, all we get is the sound of bullets and Cooper, singing hymns.

This is easily Kevin Smith’s best work as a director. It’s something different; it doesn’t feel like a Kevin Smith movie. We are seeing him mature here. But, he seems to be lacking the confidence, he needed for this. The introduction of five points isn’t handled in the best way. We learn about them, in a classroom and it’s just too much exposition. John Goodman’s character exists only for exposition, which is a waste of the actor’s talent.

Overall the film is good, it’s just not great. But, it is great to see Smith break away from his comedy roots and try something a bit more ambitious. It’s a shame that Smith, has announced that his next film, Hit Somebody, will be his last, as Red State is such a huge step forward for him, it would be interesting to see what else he could come back with. Let’s just hope, that Red State and Hit Somebody is such huge, global hits that he’ll change his mind and come out of retirement.

Video
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Audio

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (less)

Subtitles

English, English SDH, Spanish
English, English SDH, Spanish (less)

Discs
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)



Film Review: Red State

Three virgin high school friends think they’re on to a sure thing. One of them has found a woman online that will sleep with all three of them but they are soon caught in a trap by Pastor Albin Cooper and his Five Points Church. Albin Cooper is based on the real-life head of the Westboro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps.

Five Points protest at funerals with signs saying “anal penetration equals eternal damnation,” etc – Cooper believes that homosexuals are sinners and must be wiped off the Earth.  In its first half, Red State is almost a horror film. A gay man is murdered quite brutally and the three high-school boys are next.  However, halfway through it turns from a horror film into a shoot ‘em up action movie; the transition doesn’t really hurt the film.  What hurts is that the tension that Smith created in the first half completely vanishes in the second; it’s almost two different films. In the first half, Smith showed incredible restraint in not adding much comedy but in the second half, during the middle of the shoot out, characters start cracking jokes and asking for tea. Which is a shame, since the tension could have been cranked up a bit. By far the first half of the movie is the strongest part.



Red state is a massive departure for Kevin Smith. You could even argue that it’s his first grown-up movie. The visuals are stunning which is really impressive for Smith; he has never been known as a visual director.  He’s been criticised in the past for static camera setups and simple lighting but with Red State, Smith has created a style that works incredibly well. Shaky camera work is nothing new but it is a huge step forward for Smith. The film has no background music which really makes it more atmospheric; all we get is the sound of bullets and Cooper singing hymns.

This is easily Kevin Smith’s best work as a director. It’s something different and doesn’t feel like ‘a Kevin Smith movie.’ We are seeing him mature here but he seems to be lacking the confidence he needed for this. The introduction of Five Points isn’t handled in the best way. We learn about them in a classroom and it’s just too much exposition. John Goodman’s character exists only for exposition which is a waste of the actor’s talent.

Overall the film is good, it’s just not great. But it is great to see Smith break away from his comedy roots and try something a bit more ambitious. It’s a shame that he’s announced his next film, Hit Somebody, will be his last as Red State is such a huge step forward for him. It would be interesting to see what else he could come back with. Let’s just hope that Red State and Hit Somebody is such huge, global hits that he’ll change his mind and come out of retirement.