Mr-Fusion

For some reason I was expecting something more like "The Toys That Made Us", and was pleasantly surprised to find a well-produced, polished documentary with solid editing and noble intent.

"Power of Grayskull" goes way back to the very beginning, to the original guys that greenlit the toyline and those that dreamt up the details. How MOTU was born from the ashes of a failed Conan license and, through writers of both comic and cartoon, an entire lore was fleshed out.

For anyone who knows this backstory, there's probably nothing new here. But it's the presentation that matters. Original artwork, a wealth of interviews and a casual mien offer an easygoing trip down memory lane. And I loved it.

Steve Martin's effortless charm is on full display in "The Jerk", his first star vehicle, and the opening in a notable line of movies with Carl Reiner.

Like Caddyshack, the plot structure is a little aimless (somewhat saggy in the middle) but the majority of jokes land gracefully. Martin's playing a lovable dimwit (like, impossibly stupid) that bumbles his way into love and wealth and loses both just as easily. The murderous M. Emmet Walsh is completely random, yet results in one of the film's most memorable lines ("He hates these cans! Stay away from the cans!"). Even I was surprised how hard I was laughing through some of this. Even when you know what's going to happen, it's still funny. And a big part of the fun is watching the comic situations build, with usually facepalming results.

You're just not ready for how dumb this guy is, and then it hits.

A fascinating character study of a young newswoman grappling with mental illness (or on the spectrum?). She's smart and capable, deserving of her coworkers' praise but too defensive to accept it. That same insecurity extreme to her romantic life; her loneliness is simply awful. The movie depicts Christine Chubbuck as a person who wants bigger and better, but not at the cost of doing what she loves; she's a human-interest reporter in a newsroom culture that stresses "if it bleeds it leads".

The point I'm getting at here is that the film isn't about the tragedy of Christine as it is her painful life. It's surprisingly empathetic given her place as a TV history footnote, and Rebecca Hall deserves immense credit for her standout performance; it is exceptional. There isn't a lot of they're about this reporter, but Hall humanizes her admirably.

This isn't a shocking story, it's a heartbreaking one. I constantly wanted her to find happiness that just wasn't there.