TWILIT TALES:

struggling to come to grips with the mad world

of beastly CGI enhanced blockbuster film art

in the twilit and allegorical film art

of Richard Kelly

by Gary W. Wright

        Right from the ending beginning, the film art life of James Richard Kelly was enveloped by darkness, disillusionment, anger, doubt, and despair and had been for disaffected and turbulent decades before he took up the cause.  For the helicopter crash that killed actor/writer/director Vic Morrow and illegally hired and employed child extras Renee Chen and My-ca Le around 2:20 am in the early morning of July 23, 1982 on the George Folsey jr. produced John Landis set of the twilit, allegorical, slightly computer generated imagery [CGI] enhanced, Kathleen Kennedy associate produced, Frank Marshall produced, and Landis and Steven Spielberg executive produced Landis, Spielberg, Joe Dante and George Miller docufeature film TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE [1983] had shocked and outraged audiences, particularly young Boomer brat audiences for whom the film was created, turning them against film art, film artists, and Hollywood and causing them to leave behind the Temple Theatre.  Thus, chances of succeeding with a film art life were already against Kelly when he responded to the deadly crash by creating bold, brilliant, confident, original, creative, innovative, and surprisingly mature films that implicitly addressed the TZ disaster, the dread allegorical Zone Wars that it kicked off, and the post-82 emphasis on ahuman CGI to help prevent another on set disaster by creating dangerous effects sequences digitally starting when donned the writer/director hats and collaborated with Flower Films, Newmarket, and Pandora to create his first twilit, allegorical, slightly CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film DONNIE DARKO [2001], released on January 19, 2001.

“And what if you could go back in time

and take those hours of pain and darkness

and replace them with something better?”

        Curiously, the film’s fourth opening title identified the film as “…A richard kelly FILM”, an odd but implicit affirmation of the pride Kelly had in the film that also set the stage for the oddness of the film.  An oddness that began when a young, medium sized, slim, handsome, brunette, enviably acne free, and implicitly Toto linked teenaged boy-played by Jake Gyllenhaal-woke up by the dawn’s early light on October 1, 1988 to find to his confused and amused surprise that he was sleeping on a road in his pajamas in a silent setting of rolling, green, verdant, stunningly beautiful, visionary, and Hollywood hills evoking hills, a surreal beginning heightened by the equally dreamy, haunting, surreal, and softly swelling sounds of the original, twilit, allegorical, and Michael Andrews composed instrumental tune “Carpathian Ridge” [2001].  Then this puzzled, amused, and unknown teenaged boy got on his black Nishiki ten speed road racer bicycle and rode it down from the dreamy hills and into a town revealed by a M.A.D.D. sponsored October 26-30 1988 Hallowe’en Carnival promoting sign to be the Hollywood cadenced suburb of Middlesex, Virginia-fittingly Hollywood cadenced, as the film was actually created in the Greater Los Angeles area [GLAA]-and equally fittingly passed by a red 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am at the moment Ian McCulloch sung “…killing time” during the playing of the twilit, allegorical, and McCulloch, Pete DeFreitas, Les Pattinson, and Will Sergeant written Echo & The Bunnymen tune “The Killing Moon” [1984].

        Soon the unknown teenaged boy rode up to his house and past his middle aged, tall, slim, handsome, grey haired, genial, President George W. Bush sr. and Republican Party luvin’, and implicitly David Lynch and Uncle Henry linked father Edward “Eddie” Darko-played by Holmes Osborne-using a leaf blower on the fallen leaves in the large and tree and shrub filled front yard and mischievously turning to use the blower on his older but still young, slim, pretty, brunette, and party and Yarn Barn luvin’ twenty-something sister Elizabeth Darko-played by Jake’s real life sister Maggie Gyllenhaal.  Riding up the side of his house, he soon walked past and his middle aged, slim, equally pretty, brunette, intelligent, book luvin’, and implicitly Auntie Em linked mother Rose-played by Mary McConnell-sitting in a lawn chair while his younger sister, the short, slim, cute, brunette, sweet, and unicorn luvin’ Munchkin girl Samantha Darko-played by Daveigh Chase-bounced on a trampoline in the equally large and flower, shrub, and tree filled backyard when he entered the back door of the house.  Significantly, Rose was reading the twilit and allegorical Screamin’ Stephen King indie docufiction novel It [1986], openly and immediately linking the film to the twilit fiction and film art of the dread allegorical Zone Wars.  The storied presence of King also openly linked the film to the twilit and disastrous year of 1982 via the eerily and presciently twilit and allegorical indie docufiction novels The Running Man [May 1982] and The Gunslinger [June 1982], the eerily and presciently twilit and allegorical indie docufiction novella quartet Different Seasons [August 1982], and via his role as the poor, ragged, foolish, loot lustin’, and implicitly Spielberg and Scarecrow linked farmer Jordy Verrill in “The Lonesome Death Of Jordy Verrill”, the second and implicitly Scarecrow themed episode of the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, implicitly Ozian themed film roasting, and King scripted George A. Romero indie docufeature film CREEPSHOW [November 1982].

        Later at dinner that night, Rose and the rest of the Darko family not only affirmed that that the mysterious teenaged boy was the eponymous and titular Donald “Donnie” Darko, but also increased the film’s link to and implicit interest in the twilit and disastrous year of 1982.  For the two adults and three children around the kitchen table evoked the two adults and three children of the implicitly Francis Coppola family linked Freeling family in the twilit, allegorical, Kennedy and Marshall produced and Spielberg co-written/co-produced Tobe Hooper docufeature film POLTERGEIST [1982].  In addition, POLTERGEIST, like CREEPSHOW, was not only released in the fall of ’82 only months after the TZ disaster, it was inspired by the allegorical and Richard Matheson written Paul Stewart telefilm “Little Girl Lost” [1962], a season three episode of the original TWILIGHT ZONE telefilm series, making it eerily and presciently fitting that Paul Stewart was also the name of the special f/x man who set the explosives used in the TZ disaster and went on to become one of the five co-defendants along with Landis in the subsequent TZ trial.  Thus, with all sorts of twilit allusions appearing at the beginning of DONNIE DARKO, and only the troubled face of Donnie appearing in the bathroom mirror as he took some hated but prescribed medicine later that night to implicitly affirm that he was now at one with his troubled mirror reflection Dark Side, it was not too surprising that the famous door to the Twilight Zone literally opened later that night in the early morning of October 2, 1988. 

For Darko was awakened by an eerie, sepulchral and telepathic voice commanding him to wake up, get out of bed, leave his room with its Bubo the mechanical owl evoking bedside table evoking lamp and rubik cube windows, and sleepwalk downstairs and out of the house by the front door.  Significantly, shortly before Darko opened and walked out the twilit front door and stepped into the Twilight Zone, his point of view [POV] and the camera glanced up to reveal a chandelier hanging in the entranceway slightly before and above the door.  This shot recalled a similar upward panning POV shot that revealed a similar chandelier hanging from a ceiling in an apartment at the beginning of the eerily twilit and allegorical Spielberg docufeature telefilm “Eyes” [1969], the first episode of the three part pilot telefilm of the Rod Serling telefilm series NIGHT GALLERY [1969-73], openly linking the film and Darko to Serling, Spielberg, the TWILIGHT ZONE, and the TZ disaster.

        Then, in the darkness outside, Darko met the owner of the dreaming telepathic voice, a creepy, grey and white, and implicitly Spielberg and Scarecrow linked bunnyman with a goofy grin named Frank-played by James Duval-whose name evoked Marshall, who sort of resembled a fusion of Bugs Bunny, the nightmare rabbit in “It’s A Good Life”, the third Dante episode of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, and the tall, slim, mostly red and yellow, goofily grinning, and implicitly Landis and Scarecrow linked Gungan Jar Jar Binks-played by Ahmed Best-in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Spielberg and James Cameron roasting Lucas indie animaction film STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE [1999], and who reminded us of the Echo & The Bunnymen tune that accompanied Darko on his bike ride home at the beginning of the film.  Eerily, Scarey Frank was met standing silently and motionless in the Earthy green grass of a nearby golf course, reminding us that the giddy, goofy, song and dance luvin’, and implicitly Canadian Co-operative Commonwealth Federation [CCF] J.S. Woodsworth and Earth linked Scarecrow-played by Ray Bolger-was met in a farmer’s corn field in the magical land of Oz in the allegorical and implicitly Canadian Prime Minister William King and German Chancellor Adolf Hitler roasting Victor Fleming film THE WIZARD OF OZ [1939], ironically signalling that the healing Ozian dream had begun for Darko with the arrival of this twilit nightmare bunnyman.  This despite the fact that Scarey Frank warned Darko that the world would end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds, a prophecy that brought the fateful, twilit, and backwards number 82 into the film and almost came true for the Darko family far earlier when a mysterious jet engine fell from the sky on the Darko house in the early morning hours of October 2, 1988 like the TZ helicopter fell out of nowhere from the sky in the early morning hours of July 23, 1982 soon after Donnie left the house to join Frank, crushing Donnie’s book, drawing, and photo filled second floor bedroom.  Just as significantly, an unknowing Darko was woken up the next morning on the greens of the local golf course by Doctor Fisher-played by Arthur Taxier-and his friend, who turned out to be the middle aged and heighted, blonde, handsome, and implicitly Cameron and ironically Cowardly Lion linked as fear conquering motivational speaker James “Jim” Cunningham-played by Patrick Swayze-another unexpected wakeup that again linked young Darko to God’s green Earth, and, hence, to the Scarecrow.

        Soon after the accident, Darko nervously returned to Middlesex Ridge School [MRS], a private Christian high school for mischievous Munchkin Mongrel boys and girls.  Curiously, waiting for the school bus with Donnie, Samantha, and the young, short, slim, pretty, reddish haired, and implicitly Eric Idle linked Joanie James-played by Jazzie Mahannah-were his young, short, slim, brunette and implicitly Terry Jones and Michael Palin linked pals Ronald Fisher and Sean Smith-played by Stuart Stone and Gary Lundy, respectively-and a young, big, chubby, and shy student named Cherita Chen-played by Jolene Purdy-whose surname evoked that of Renee Chen, the girl extra who was the first to die in the TZ disaster.  Alas, upon arrival in the hallways of MRS, Darko, Fisher, and Smith quickly met and were sneered at by the malevolent and implicitly Folsey jr. and Landis linked diabolic duo of Ricky Danforth and Seth Devlin-ironically played by Seth Rogen and Alex Greenwald, respectively-to the sound of the twilit, allegorical, prescient, and Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith written Tears for Fears tune “Head Over Heels” [1985], reaffirming the film’s implicit interest in the TZ disaster.  The arrival soon after of the short, slim, grim, devout, hectoring, and implicitly Wicked Witch of the West linked gym teacher Miss Kitty Farmer-played by Beth Grant-and the shorter, slim, cute, brunette, shy, and implicitly Dorothy linked Gretchen Ross-whose surname reminded us that in 1982 Steve Ross was CEO of Warner Brothers, the studio that oversaw and released TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, and was played by Jena Malone-also affirmed the implicit twilit spirit and the Ozian theme of DONNIE DARKO. 

        Curiously, Donnie and Gretchen’s first class was a thoughtful examination of the classic allegorical and implicitly British Commonwealth roasting Graham Greene indie docufiction short story “The Destructors” [1954] that was presided over by the young, short, beautiful, auburn haired, bespectacled, curvaceous, and archetypically frustrated, sarcastic, heartbroken, and implicitly Maggie Weston linked English teacher Ms. Karen Pomeroy-played by film executive producer Drew Barrymore, who openly linked the film to Spielberg and the twilit and disastrous year of 1982 via her character Gertrude “Gertie” Thomas in the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Terry Gilliam addressing Spielberg docufeature film E.T., THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL [1982].  A fitting reminder of Gilliam, for shortly before the arrival of Ms. Pomeroy, we also met Cowardly Cunningham again, revealed to be the author of the allegorical and fear liberating self help book Attitudinal Beliefs [200?], and the middle aged, tall, balding, clean shaven, suited, and implicitly Great Oz linked MRS Principal Cole-played by David Moreland-who was implicitly linked to MADcap Gilliam inspiration Harvey Kurtzman.  Fitting indeed, for the names of Principal Cole and James “Jim” Cunningham evoked that of a Gilliam character who was as confused and as troubled as Darko, the young, bald, muscular, resigned, despondent, quixotic, and implicitly Lucas and Tin Man linked future time traveller James “Jim” Cole-played by Bruce Willis-who died in the midst of his time travelling travails trying and failing to save the world at the end of the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and sadcap Gilliam animaction artbuster 12 MONKEYS [1995], an allusion that set us up for the equally deadly and desperate time travelling back to the future past to save the world ending of DONNIE DARKO and now linked Darko to either Gilliam, Lucas or Spielberg.

        Most likely Gilliam, for over the course of the rest of October of 1988 until the fateful date prophesied by Frank, who continued to eerily haunt and speak to Donnie over the course of the month and even urged him in a dream to use an axe to break open a water main in the basement of MRS that flooded the school and briefly and implicitly linked him to the Tin Man and Water, Darko underwent sessions with an old, short, slim, beautiful, grey haired, and implicitly Connie Booth linked psychiatrist named Doctor Lilian Thurman-played by the fittingly surnamed Katharine Ross-in her framed drawing, painting, and photograph filled office.  These tumultuous sessions with Dr. Thurman, which often discussed Donnie’s fear that he would die alone without knowing whether or not God really existed, evoked Cole’s equally tumultuous run-ins with the young, tall, slim, beautiful, brainy, literary, and implicitly Kathryn Bigelow and Dorothy linked psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly-played by Madeleine Stowe-in 12 MONKEYS, reaffirming the implicit link of Darko to Gilliam.  Curiously, Darko also had a fateful encounter with the old, short, slim, long white haired, and perhaps Ida Lupino and implicitly Glinda the Good Witch of the North linked Dr. Roberta Sparrow-played by Patience Cleveland-who assured him that everyone dies alone.  This fateful encounter led to earnest after school discussions with his physics teacher, the young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, clean cut and shaven, friendly, intelligent, and implicitly Tin Man linked Doctor Kenneth Monitoff-played by Noah Wyle-who surprised him with the news that Dr. Sparrow was the author of the helpful, insightful, and allegorical tome The Philosophy Of Time Travel [19??], leading to exuberant discussions about the possibility of time travel and about the equally helpful, insightful, and allegorical Dr. Stephen Hawking tome A Brief History Of Time [1988].

        Away from school, Donnie and Gretchen went out one dark and spooky night for a date at the eerily deserted Aero Theatre, where the two teen luvbirds experienced a Hallowe’en double feature of the allegorical Sam Raimi indie docufeature film EVIL DEAD [1981] and the allegorical and implicitly Lucas addressing Martin Scorsese indie docufeature film THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST [1988].  The release dates of these two films reminded us that Gilliam was linked to those two years via the presciently twilit, allegorical, brilliant, creative, and madcap Gilliam indie animaction film TIME BANDITS [1981], which took him Skyrockin’ to the early height of his madcap career in the Last Good Year of Film, and the daylit, allegorical, brilliant, madcap, creative, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Cameron addressing indie animaction artbuster THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN [1988], which dropped Gilliam to the early depths of his sadcap career, to reaffirm the implicit link of Darko to Gilliam.  Thus, it was fitting that classic English pop tunes like “Head Over Heels” and “The Killing Moon” were heard on the soundtrack along with the haunting and surreal instrumental pieces composed by Andrews, for they reminded us that Gilliam had left the United States for London in the late Sixties and remained, becoming a cut-out animator for MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS [1967-1763] and making two funny feature films with the Pythons before heading off to make his own brilliant, creative, madcap, idiosyncratic, and indomitably indie animaction film art.

Eerily, after Gretchen fell asleep, Donnie had a fateful and spectral encounter with the despondent and apologetic ghost of Frank, who sat beside Ross and took off his mask to reveal that he was also a teen, albeit one with a shot out and gory hole for a right eye.  Even more curious, at the urging of Frank, Donnie pulled down the hood of his black hoodie, left the Aero Theatre, wandered over to Cunningham’s big house while the motivational speaker was MCing an evening student talent show at MRS, and burned down the house.  This arson linked Darko to the Cowardly Lion and to Fire, reminding us that Darko was already linked to the Earthy Scarecrow by his two outdoor wakeups, and to the axe wielding and Water linked Tin Man via the school water pipe chopping. 

Unexpectedly, and shortly before the end of the film, Donnie, Gretchen, “Hollywood Hulk” Ron, and Seanan the Barbarian left a raucous Hallowe’en party fittingly attended by a teen Wicked Witch of the West being held at the Darko home unusually on October 29, 1988 that was part of the Middlesex Hallowe’en Carnival advertised on the sign at the beginning of the film and that evoked the tragicomic sequence where the young, short, slim, brunette, cute, and implicitly Gilliam linked Munchkin boy Elliot Thomas-played by the coincidentally surnamed Henry Thomas-took the eponymous and ghost white bedsheet draped extraterrestrial E.T. trick or treating in E.T., THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL.  Fleeing into the fateful early morning of October 30, 1988, the day ominously foretold by Frank to bring the end of the world that the film had inexorably approached day by relentless day, Donnie, Gretchen, and the boys rode off into the cool dark night on their bicycles and over to the secluded house of Dr. Sparrow for Ozian insight.  Alas for the kids, however, instead of insight, the trip led to them being waylaid by the knife wielding Ricky and Seth in the cellar of the house of Dr. Sparrow and stumbling back out of the Hollywood cadenced cellar door and into the hallowed night. 

Even worse, after a brief scuffle with the diabolical duo, Darko watched Gretchen die to his furious horror when she was run over by that red 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that had already been seen roaring by Darko as he rode home on his ten speed from his wakeup in the dreaming hills at the beginning of the film and now revealed to have the twilit and J.D. Jedi license of JD6 4892 and to be driven by a horrified Frank, the missing boyfriend of Elizabeth, wearing the nightmare bunnyman suit that turned out to be just a homemade Hallowe’en costume, as the visions of Frank that Darko experienced throughout the film turned out to actually be haunting memories of the twilit and nightmarish future.  Indeed, Frank was revealed without the mask to be a normal and fully alive albeit shocked, horrified, and distraught teen with no eye wounds, after last appearing as a spooky ghost with a gory hole where his right eye should have been in the Aero Theatre, and initially as that nightmare bunnyman.  Ironically, and for his part, after first met as an innocent albeit puzzled teen waking up in the dawn’s early light in the Hollywood hills surrounding Middlesex, Donnie had now progressed into a righteously furious killer and the true nightmare almost man who took a gun stolen from his parents’ room to shoot Frank dead in the right eye and give him that gory hole in revenge for inadvertently killing Gretchen. 

Then, after carrying her corpse like a monster in a horror film through the silent early morning suburban streets in a familiar and classic scene accentuated by the skeleton bones costume he was wearing to implicitly affirm that he was indeed now more monstrous than nightmare bunnyman Frank, Donnie instead of Cunningham, who was outed as an Evil luver of child porn, was ironically rewarded for using doggedly devout determination to conquer his fear that he would die alone as Dr. Sparrow warned before receiving any reassuring confirmation of the existence of God and having faith in God despite his troubles by being carried back in time by God at the end of the film in a sequence that began with a divinely sent CGI tornado that openly linked him to Air and evoked the tornado in the black and white Dirty Thirties Kansas prologue of THE WIZARD OF OZ, thus implicitly reaffirming the Ozian theme of the film and implicitly linking Darko to the four healing and harmonizing Ozian elements in the same order that they were encountered in THE WIZARD OF OZ, ironically making the troubled teen a whole and harmonious person.

        Just as significantly, this divine CGI tornado ripped off a jet engine from the passenger plane taking Rose and Samantha back to Middlesex after competing with Joanie and her fellow MRS troupe members of Sparkle Motion in a dance competition in California, evoking the plane wrecking gremlin-played by Larry Cedar-in “Nightmare At 20,000 Feet”, the fourth Miller episode of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE.  As the engine fell out of the sky, an equally CGI and divine fourth dimensional Einstein/Hawking space-time wormhole suddenly appeared like the time travelling portals in TIME BANDITS and took the errant engine and Darko head over heels back through time from the morning of October 30, 1988 to the early morning of October 2, 1988 when the mysterious engine first fell on the roof of the Darko family home on top of the bedroom of Darko, bringing the film full circle back to the beginning ending of DONNIE DARKO, evoking the madcap trips to the past of the mischievous and blockbuster loot lustin’ Munchkin film bandits in TIME BANDITS and the equally madcap trips of Cole to the past to save the world in 12 MONKEYS, and implicitly linking Darko to the Great Oz-played by Frank Morgan-drifting off into the sky in his hot air balloon at the end of THE WIZARD OF OZ.  But not entirely back to the beginning ending of the film, for this time Darko was not saved by being woken up by Frank and persuaded to sleepwalk out of the Darko home.  As a result, Darko was killed when the falling jet engine smashed through the roof of the Darko home and crushed him and his room like the all crushing allegorical foot of Bronzino that Gilliam used to humourous effect in his cut-out animation for MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS.

        A moving death of brave and resolute Sir Darko, indeed, and one that reminded us that Cole was gunned down after travelling back to the past in an equally desperate attempt to prevent a world wide plague and to save the future at the end of 12 MONKEYS, reaffirming the implicit link of Darko to Gilliam.  Darko’s moving death also evoked the sight and sound of the equally brave, determined, resolute but older, short, slim, handsome, blonde, and implicitly Lynch and Scarecrow linked future time traveller Kyle Reese-played by Michael Biehn-dying in the past to save the future at the end of the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed and implicitly Lucas and Lynch roasting Cameron indie docufeature Zonebuster THE TERMINATOR [1984], and the more moving sight and sound of the young, medium height, slim, handsome, blonde, and implicitly Lynch and Scarecrow linked Jack Dawson-played by Leonardo DiCaprio-dying after he helped save the young, short, beautiful, red haired, curvaceous, and implicitly Dorothy and film art linked Rose Bukater-played by Kate Winslet-at the disastrous and catastrophic end of the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Cameron indie docufeature Zonebuster TITANIC [1997], reaffirming the implication that the film was addressing Cameron on one level.  Indeed, the CGI “spears” that Darko saw bursting out of the bellies of friends and family while watching football one weakend afternoon on the tube that evoked the extraterrestrial CGI water probe seen in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Spielberg and Amy Irving addressing Cameron indie docufeature Zonebuster THE ABYSS [1989] also affirmed the implicit link of Cunningham to Cameron.

Significantly, however, while Cole and Reese both failed in their time travelling missions, Darko succeeded in his, making his death not as tragicomic or as meaningless as the deaths of Cole and Reese.  Indeed, despite being cruelly kissed by fateful free will, Darko’s death was not in vain, as he died so that others could live in true Christian Messianic fashion.  For his death prevented him from meeting and developing a relationship with Ross only to see her die to his furious horror in the early hours of that fateful and deadly morning of October 30th, 1988 when she was run over by Frank in his bitchin’ and twilit red Trans Am, allowing her to bike curiously onto Darko’s street as the sad, sweet, lonely, wistful, twilit, allegorical, Orzabal written, and Gary Jules sung Tears for Fears tune “Mad World” [1982] finished playing and sombrely ponder the jet engine embedded in the roof of the Darko house before waving sympathetically to a distraught Rose in the curiously healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic, and diseased, disharmonious, and catastrophic end.  However, while saving Gretchen, Darko’s death did prevent him from killing Frank and “killing” the reputation of Cunningham, implying that while Kelly thought that Gilliam might defeat or even kill himself trying to save indie film art by defeating Cameron, Dante, Kennedy, Landis, Lucas, Lynch, Marshall, and Spielberg with his film art, his defeat or death would not be in vain, as his brilliant, creative, innovative, madcap, and amazing indie animaction film art would still help triumph over the TZ disaster, kick off a daylit and Skyrockin’ new era of film art, and be luved and treasured by audiences in a fine, original, memorable, and haunting feature film with an equally memorable and haunting soundtrack by Andrews that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to E.T., THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL, EVIL DEAD, “Eyes”, MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS, the STAR WARS Classic and Tragic Trilogies, T1, T2, THE ABYSS, ‘The Destructors’, THE WIZARD OF OZ, TIME BANDITS, TITANIC, 12 MONKEYS, TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed and implicitly Bigelow, Lucas, Lynch and Francis Coppola addressing Cameron indie docufeature Zonebuster TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY [1991], the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and implicitly Stanley Kubrick roasting Lucas indie docufeature film THX 1138 [1971], and the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and Kennedy, Marshall, and Spielberg produced Robert Zemickis docufeature film BACK TO THE FUTURE [1985].

        Alas for Kelly and his talented cast and crew, while DONNIE DARKO was the first great film of the year, decade, century, and millenium, the truly fantastic, moving, and memorable film did not succeed with audiences on its initial release, but went on to become a “cult” hit as the years passed.  The moving and tormented sadolescent life and brave sacrifice of Darko also unfortunately anticipated the arrival on the internet of another tormented and traumatized ex-sadolescent outraged and haunted by, and eager to exorcise, the TZ disaster and kick off a brave and daylit new era of Skyrockin’ film art in the fitful, fulminatin’, weird, wiry, wacky, wily, lonely, solitary, indie, and always tragicomic form of Zone War “scholar” Gary W. Wright aka the poor ol’ Gardevil, Fan with no Fear.  Indeed, the two angry, despondent, lonely, tormented, weird, wacky, creepy, solitary, indie, and book, film, and hoodie luvin’ characters were so eerily similar, Donnie Darko was Gary W. Wright, Gary W. Wright was Donnie Darko, and both were Gary Darko. 

For his part, Spielberg implicitly responded to DONNIE DARKO by implicitly and admiringly roasting Kelly in the implicit form of the young, medium heighted, slim, handsome, brunette, unusually mature, confident, smooth talking, and lady killing teen con artist Frank Abagnale jr.-played by Leonardo DiCaprio-in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature film CATCH ME IF YOU CAN [2002], a film released on December 16, 2002 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by allusions to DONNIE DARKO.  Then, fittingly, given that conquering fear, particularly the fear of dying alone before receiving confirmation of the existence and support of God, was a major theme in DONNIE DARKO, two years after the film’s release Kelly was implicitly linked by Marvel, New Regency, and Twentieth Century Fox to a hero without fear in the twilit, allegorical, elektrafying, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Mark S. Johnson indie super satirical animaction film DAREDEVIL [2003], a film perhaps partly inspired by Gretchen wondering aloud if Donnie was a superhero on their first awkward walk home from MRS that was released on February 9, 2003 about a man without fear who was implicitly linked to John F. Kennedy jr. when he was created by Beamin’ Bill Everett, Jolly Jack “King” Kirby and Smilin’ Stan “the Man” Lee for Marvel Comics.

“Because I can.

Because I’m not afraid.”

        Indeed, Kelly was implicitly linked to the young, tall, red haired, blind but all seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, feeling, and understanding, battle scarred but handsome, intelligent, educated, muscular, strong, fit, courageous, determined, vengeful, indie, and fearless but conflicted Catholic and New York lawyer Matthew “Matt” Murdock aka “Daredevil, the man without fear”-played by Scott Terra as a grey t-shirt and hoodie, blue jeans, and skateboard luvin’ lad, and by Ben Affleck as a laddish and black t-shirt, blue jeans, painkiller, and rock n roll luvin’ man, respectively-throughout the fine feature film, making it fitting that the alliterative name and “DD” initials of Daredevil evoked the equally alliterative name and D. D. initials of Donnie Darko.  In addition, Murdock’s young, tall, heavyset, brunette, goofy, genial, suit luvin’, and implicitly Gilliam and Tin Man linked lawyer partner Franklin “Foggy” Nelson-played by Jon Favreau-and his middle aged, handsome, despondent, alcoholic, and implicitly Spielberg and Wicked Witch of the East linked ex-boxer and gang enforcer father Jack Murdock aka “the Devil”-played by David Keith-affirmed the implicit Kelly addressing intent of the film, reminding us of all of the allusions to E.T., THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL, MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS, POLTERGEIST, TIME BANDITS, and 12 MONKEYS in DONNIE DARKO. 

        Thus, the sight and sound of Daredevil teaming up with the young, medium heighted, beautiful, brunette, slim, curvaceous, muscular, strong, fit, and fittingly fearless martial arts warrioress Elektra Natchios-inspired by a character created by Frolickin’ Frank Miller for Marvel Comics, and played by Jennifer Garner-and battling to defeat and rid New York City of the middle aged, big, handsome, shaven headed, heavyset, beastly, violent, cigar, grey pinstripe suit, and red rose luvin’, blockbuster loot lusting, and implicitly Lucas and Wicked Witch of the West linked gang boss Wilson Fisk aka “the Kingpin”-perhaps originally linked to DC editor Mort Weisinger, evoking Don P. Colley’s amiable hologram SRT in THX 1138, and played by Michael C. Duncan-and the young, short, slim, shaven headed, muscular, gleefully psychopathic, Wicked black t-shirt and leather luvin’, and implicitly Lynch and Nikko linked “Bullseye”-played by Colin Farrell-was implicitly linked to the battle of the equally indie and fearless Kelly to defeat CGI enhanced blockbuster beasts with more thoughtful and slightly CGI enhanced indie film art, an implication affirmed by the film’s allusions to DONNIE DARKO, the Matrix Trilogy, the STAR WARS Classic and Tragic Trilogies, THE WIZARD OF OZ, THX 1138, the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Bigelow and Monty Montgomery indie docufeature film THE LOVELESS [1981], the shrewdly twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Bigelow indie docufeature film NEAR DARK [1987], the daylit and twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Bigelow indie docufeature film BLUE STEEL [1990], the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Lucas addressing and Coppola and Spielberg roasting Bigelow indie docufeature artbuster STRANGE DAYS [1995], and the brilliant, twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, fantastic realist, and darkly satirical Gilliam animaction film FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS [1998]. 

        Alas for audiences, while a fine and memorable feature film, DAREDEVIL was not as successful as hoped.  Even worse, like DONNIE DARKO, DAREDEVIL also unfortunately anticipated the arrival of a Fan with no Fear that some mockingly called Gardevil-complete with lines of dialogue like “All right!”, “You all right?”, “Isn’t that right?”, “I’ll be all right”, “H-h-h-here, right this way”, and “I’m sure you’ll do the right thing”-in another eerily and woefully prescient memory of the twilit future past.  As for Kelly, the unexpected and uncertain new terrorist combating reality set off by 911 inspired him in part to don the writer/director hats and return with Grant, Osborne, and Lisa K. Wyatt-who played indomitable MRS secretary Linda Connie and an equally indomitable fear conqueror in a Cunningham motivational video in DONNIE DARKO-and co-producer Sean McKittrick, editor Sam Bauer, costume designer April Ferry, production designer Alexander Hammond, and director of photography [DOP] Steven Poster-all from DONNIE DARKO-and now also with Destination and Cherry Road Films and Samuel Goldwyn to creatively address the new post-911 era and its war on Moslem terror, quantum teleportation, the inescapable and tormenting fires of teen horniness, “reality television”, the continuing mysterious ways of God, destiny, and time travel, puerile pornography, the soothing sounds of rock n roll, and boisterous Budweiser beer, and to also implicitly address the dread allegorical Zone Wars and its battlin’ film artists including Gilliam and the increase in CGI in their implicitly Ozian themed film art in the equally confident, mature, brilliant, fearless, original, creative, tragicomic, twilit, allegorical, slightly CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film SOUTHLAND TALES [2006], which was first screened at Cannes on May 21, 2006.

“Pandora’s box had been left exposed

to prying eyes.”

        Significantly, the film began not with opening titles but with a home video of the relaxed and convivial celebration of the July 4, 2005 holiday in a festive and patriotically bedecked neighbourhood in Abilene, Texas filmed at 6:53 pm by two mischievous Munchkin boys.  The festive scene reminded us that DONNIE DARKO began its closing beginning climax in the early morning hours of October 30, 1988, and also evoked the more sad and sombre sight and sound of neighbours gathered around the Darko house after the jet engine fell on the roof of the house and killed Donnie at the back to the future past end of the film.  An ominous reminder, for the relaxed and festive July 4^th spirit was soon shattered by a shocking explosion and a CGI mushroom cloud as a blockbuster nuclear bomb attack on Abilene sent the United States into World War Three, implicitly allowing Kelly to use SOUTHLAND TALES on one level to explore his fear that the repercussions of 911 would drag the U.S. into another world war as well as to implicitly use the film to address blockbuster CGI enhanced or all CGI films in SOUTHLAND TALES.

        Curiously, this World War Three was covered on a multi-television and computer screen Doomsday Scenario Interface [DSI] and shifted to the implicit Emerald City of Los Angeles, where the story of the tragicomic events of July 3rd and 4th, 2008 were laconically narrated in a film long voiceover [VO] by the young, medium heighted, slim, brunette, handsome, clean cut and shaven but Falujah battle facially scarred, muscular, strong, inexplicably omniscient, Book Of Revelations luving and quoting, and implicitly Quentin Tarantino and Scarecrow linked ex-actor, ex-Marine, Iraq War vet, and Santa Monica Pier security man and drug dealer Pilot Abilene-whose surname equally inexplicably evoked the bombing of Abilene as if he was the personification of the city, and who was played by Justin Timberlake-as he sat in his computer and rifle equipped chair on the roof of a restaurant on the Santa Monica pier with a curious, multi-armed, and all CGI machine seen behind him in the waters of Santa Monica Bay.  Curiously, Abilene’s film long VO narration evoked the film long VO narration of the adult Murdock in DAREDEVIL and the film long VO narration of the middle aged, medium heighted, slim, handsome, muscular, strong, cynical, resigned, and implicitly Matthew Robbins linked ex-Los Angeles Police Department [LAPD] “Blade Runner” Richard “Rick” Deckard-played by Harrison Ford-in the original theatrical release of the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Sir Ridley Scott indie docufeature artbuster BLADE RUNNER [1982], linking another Kelly film to the twilit and disastrous year of 1982.  Indeed, the presence on the production of conceptual artist Ron Cobb openly linked SOUTHLAND TALES to BLADE RUNNER and the twilit and disastrous summer of ’82, for Cobb also worked as a conceptual artist on BLADE RUNNER. a film also set in a future L.A. 

        Significantly, Abilene not only told the story of World War Three, he also introduced and, with the same inexplicable omniscience, told the tragicomic and intertwined stories of all of the madcap and embattled main characters of SOUTHLAND TALES, intertwined and battling main characters who were implicitly linked to battling and intertwined Zone War film artists, implicitly linking World War Three to the dread allegorical Zone Wars.  For the nuclear bombing of Abilene polarized the U.S. even more than normal and led a twilit trio of years later to a madcap battle breaking out in the hot summer of 2008 between Los Angeles based members of the Republican Party and its new USident cybersecurity monitoring department and radical members of a far left group based in Venice Beach, CA known as the Neo-Marxists with pragmatically crass and indie lone wolves who exploited or jeered at both sides lurking at the fringes and sometimes between the two groups, a madcap battle that implicitly evoked the equally madcap and determined war in the world of film art set off by the TZ disaster and by the equally explosive and polarizing arrival of CGI that by 2006 led those film artists who eagerly embraced CGI enhancement and digital film battling those film artists who were opposed to CGI enhancement for fear that it would destroy the vital humanity of film art and also preferred celluloid film to digital film, with indie lone wolf film artists jeering at and exploiting both sides, implying that Kelly was roasting this real life cinematic battle on another level in SOUTHLAND TALES. 

Curiously, the first madcap character introduced by Abilene was the young, tall, handsome, muscular, strong, tattooed, indie, Budweiser and hoodie luvin’, amnesia sufferin’, and implicitly O.J. Simpson and Cowardly Lion linked Hollywood action film star turned Iraq War soldier and aspiring film artist Boxer Santaros-played by Dwayne Johnson-met waking up on Santa Monica Beach in the dawn’s early light wearing a hoodie and track pants not far from Abilene in his security chair on the roof of a Santa Monica pier restaurant, evoking the sight and sound of Darko waking up in his pjs in the dawn’s early light in the surreal, beautiful, and Hollywood Hills evoking hills surrounding Middlesex, VA at the beginning of DONNIE DARKO.  A fitting link to Darko, for Santaros turned out to also be a fourth dimensional time traveller from the future who led the narrative to characters in the ranks of the implicitly CGI and digital film promoting and embracing ranks like his wife, the young, medium heighted, slim, beautiful, blonde, and implicitly and ironically Bigelow linked Madeline Frost-Santaros-played by Mandy Moore-the old, dimunitive, grey haired, mysterious, usually black clad, and implicitly Glinda the Good linked Doktor Katarina Kuntzler-played by Zelda Rubinstein-the old, short, chubby, grey and black haired, eccentric, usually black clad, exuberantly duplicitous, and implicitly Lucas and Great Oz linked Nobel prize winning “renegade scientist” and wonderful Wizard, Baron Von Westphalen-who arrived out of nowhere in the Southland in classic Great Oz fashion, and was played by Wallace Shawn-the old, medium heighted, slim, handsome, grey haired, fittingly Robert Frost quotin’, and implicitly Lynch and Nikko linked Texas Senator and candidate for Vice-President in the 2008 U.S. election candidate Robert “Bobby” Frost-played by Osborne-the Baron’s mother, the old, short, slim, grey haired, creepy, usually black clad, and implicitly Spielberg linked Dr. Inga Von Westphalen-played by Grant-the young, short, slim, black haired, eyed, moustached, and bearded, usually black clad, and implicitly Tim Burton linked Dr. Soberin Exx-played by Curtis Armstrong-the young, medium heighted, slim, sensual, slinky, exotic, mysterious, always black clad, and implicitly Sofia Carmina [SCC] Coppola linked companion of the Baron, Serpentine-played by Bai Ling-the old, tall, slim, grey haired, genial, duplicitous, suit luvin’, and implicitly David Cronenberg linked Republican advisor Vaughan Smallhouse-played by John Larroquette-the old, heavyset, grey haired and bearded, mysterious, and Philip K. Dick resembling and implicitly linked General Simon Theory-played by Kevin Smith, who openly linked the film to DAREDEVIL via his cameo as a forensics lab technician named Kirby in that film-and Bobby’s younger wife, the middle aged, slim, beautiful, auburn, icy, callous, cruel, Wicked black clad, and implicitly Alana Smithee and Wicked Witch of the West linked Nana Mae Frost, who was also the Urban Pacification Unit [UPU] 5 head of the mischievous Munchkin filled L.A. HQ of USident-played by Miranda Richardson.

        For their part, leading the implicitly CGI and digital film rejecting, Republican battling, and CGI free celluloid film preferring Neo-Marxist ranks were the young, medium heighted, handsome, shaven dark haired and dark eyed, muscular, strong, fit, amnesia sufferin’, and implicitly Gilliam and Tin Man linked and fellow fourth dimensional rift and time travelling UPU2 Officers Roland and Ronald Taverner-who turned out to have been split into a past and a future self like Santaros after driving Santaros through a fourth dimensional rift in the fabric of space/time in the Nevada desert near Lake Mead that evoked the fourth dimensional rift that opened up and transported Darko back to the future past end of the beginning of DONNIE DARKO, and who were both played by Seann W. Scott-whose surname openly affirmed the film’s link to BLADE RUNNER and the twilit and disastrous summer of 1982, for Taverner shared the surname of Jason Taverner, a tv star in the allegorical Dick indie docufiction novel Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said [1974], reminding us that the allegorical and implicitly Disney animatronic “people” roasting Dick indie docufiction novel Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? [1968] inspired the creation of BLADE RUNNER -the young, short, slim, baby faced, and implicitly Johnny Depp linked USident mole Kenny Chan-played by Mike Nielsen-the old, medium heighted, grey haired, chubby, Dick luving and quoting and implicitly Alfred Hitchcock linked UPU2 Officer Barton “Bart” Bookman-played by Jon Lovitz-the young, slim, beautiful, blonde, intelligent, courageous, and implicitly Sarah Polley linked Veronica Mung aka “Dream”-played by Amy Poehler-the middle aged, medium heighted, slim, auburn haired, bitter, vengeful, and implicitly Susan Siedelman linked adult film director Cyndi Pinzicki-played by Nora Dunn-the young, medium heighted, slim, and implicitly Clement Virgo linked Dion Element-played by Wood Harris-the young, tall, heavy set, red haired and goateed, genial, and implicitly Joss Whedon linked Bing Zinneman-played by Todd Berger-and the young, short, dreadlocked, muscular, fit, fearless, pugnacious, and implicitly Larry Wachowski linked Zora Carmichaels-played by Cheri Oteri-who openly affirmed the link of the film to BLADE RUNNER, for Zora evoked the equally pugnacious renegade Replicant Zhora-played by Joanna Cassidy-in BLADE RUNNER. 

Last but not least, and in addition to Santaros, leading the ranks of pragmatically crass indie lone wolves who exploited or jeered at both sides were the old, tall, slim, greying brown haired, bitter, nasty, ice cream truck driving, and implicitly Cameron linked illegal weapons dealer and father of Veronica, Walter Mung-played by Christophe Lambert-the young, short, red mohawked, tattooed, muscular, ultra indie, and implicitly Cox linked punk rocker Jimmy Hermosa-played by Aaron Dillar-the young, short, slim, black haired, eyed, moustached, and goateed, despondent, and implicitly Landis linked draft dodger Martin Kefauver-played by Lou T. Pucci- the young, medium heighted, chubby, junk food and Santaros besotted, and implicitly Madonna linked Starla Von Luft-played by Michelle Durrett-the young, tall, shaven headed, heavy set, and implicitly Andy Wachowski linked drug dealer and pimp Fortunio Balducci-played by Will Sasso-and the young, short, slim, beautiful, peroxide blonde, sex luvin’, and implicitly Dorothy linked bimbo porn and “reality tv” star and aspiring film star/screenwriter/pop star/media personality Krysta Kapowsk aka “Krysta NOW”-co-author with Santaros of a screenplay called THE POWER, and played by Sarah M. Gellar.

        Fittingly, and to affirm the implicit film artist roasting intent of SOUTHLAND TALES, the film’s many tragicomic characters, madcap narrative and its post-nuclear sneak attack agitated, soldier filled, terrorism obsessed and edgy L.A. bristling with mounted machine gunners evoked the numerous and equally tragicomic characters and madcap narrative of the post-Pearl Harbour attack agitated, soldier and sailor filled, Japanese invasion obsessed and edgy L.A. bristling with anti-aircraft gunners of the presciently twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed and implicitly New Hollywood film artist roasting Spielberg docufeature film 1941 [1979], a grimly fitting allusion indeed given Spielberg’s link to the TZ disaster and the role he played in setting off the allegorical Zone Wars and its tragicomic obsession with CGI enhanced film art to prevent another fatal film set debacle.  Indeed, Santa Monica beach and its amusement park and pier figured as prominently in 1941 as in SOUTHLAND TALES, while the beautiful, blonde, exuberantly clueless, constantly costume, hairdom and makeup changing Kapowski resembled the equally young, short, slim, blonde, beautiful, vapid and implicitly Dorothy linked teen Betty Douglas-played by Dianne Kay-of 1941, affirming the implicit link of the two films.

        Indeed, Treer Products, the company owned by Baron Von Westphalen, whose off-shore Utopia Three power generator seen in the water behind Abilene produced, via tidal movement and “quantum entanglement”, the renewable, hydroelectric, CGI realized and linked wireless “energy field” and alternate fuel source known as “Fluid Karma” developed to compensate for Middle East oil embargoes-the eccentric exuberance with which the Baron promoted Fluid Karma evoking the eccentric exuberance with which Lucas promoted CGI at the time, affirming the implicit link of the Baron to Lucas-also affirmed the film’s link to 1941.  For Treer Products evoked resigned and patriotic Motor Sergeant Frank Tree-played by Dan Akroyd-a surname that reminded us that the surname of L. Frank Baum, the author of the allegorical and implicitly Queen Victoria and United Kingdom roasting children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz [1900] also meant “tree”, affirming the implicit Ozian theme of 1941 and SOUTHLAND TALES.  Equally fittingly, the film also alluded to the many battling, zany, and implicitly film art linked characters, creative chaos, and L.A. settings of both STRANGE DAYS and the twilit, allegorical, slightly CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Alex Cox indie docufeature film REPO MAN [1984]-another fine feature film where Bud and Lite-played by Harry D. Stanton and Sy Richardson, respectively-were just as omnipresent as in SOUTHLAND TALES.

        Allusions to past implicitly film artist and Hollywood roastin’ and GLAA based films that came to a head at the end of the film when many of the tragicomic characters headed up into the nighttime July 4^th sky aboard the Wizard Baron’s huge, mirror and Treer ad sided and bottomed, BLADE RUNNER Offworld colony promotional blimp evoking, and Fluid Karma powered blockbuster CGI enhanced beast the Jenny Von Westphalen Megazeppelin on its Titanic evoking maiden voyage.  Meanwhile, back on the ground, Roland Taverner escaped being arrested or assassinated by his fellow UPU officers only to be chanced upon and knocked out with a needle to the neck filled with Liquid Karma by the elder Mung, who tossed him into the back of his ice cream truck and tied him up, where he lay blissfully oblivious to the mad world raging and rioting in the now dark streets of L.A.  Tragicomically, Mung was also blissfully oblivious to the stolen ATM being dragged through the streets behind a fleeing SUV being driven by Kefauver with Roland’s brother Ronald beside him wearing the UPU uniform taken from Roland.  Hitting the ATM, the ice cream truck flew through the air and then landed hard on its side, killing Mung and waking up Roland. 

Working free of his restraints and stumbling outside, a shocked Roland found his equally shocked brother Ronald staring back at him nearby, evoking Donnie’s meetings with the eerie and spooky future and gory right eyed ghost of Frank in DONNIE DARKO.  Thus, it was fitting that the left eye of Roland was soon shot out and Ronald was clipped in the right leg by either a Neo-Marxist Rebel or an UPU officer shooting at each other around them in the embattled nighttime streets of downtown L.A.  Stumbling back into the ice cream truck, Roland reached out a glowing right hand to Ronald which he accepted with his right hand, causing a heady and transcendent union of the past and future and, implicitly, an union of pre-CGI film art and post-CGI film art to take place, for the ice cream truck began to rise slowly, serenely, and silently in the air, with a startled Kefauver leaping on the roof for the ride, evoking the equally slowly, serenely, and silently floating ’64 Chevy Malibu at the end of REPO MAN before it made the jump to light speed and blasted off to its own madcap galaxy far, far away.  Drawing level in the sky with the Jenny Von Westphalen, Kefauver blasted a missile from a shoulder fired and heat seeking Syrian ground to air rocket launcher while standing on the roof of that serenely and peacefully floating ice cream truck and blew up the blockbuster CGI Megazeppelin beast in an eucatastrophic CGI explosion that implicitly ended the neo eon of daylit and Skyrockin’ CGI enhanced film art whose development Landis had unexpectedly and frantically spurred on when the equally explosive, fiery, and fatal TZ disaster ended the daylit, Skyrockin’, and tentatively CGI developin’ New Hollywood era in reality. 

Curiously, the gleefully duplicitous Wizard, Baron Von Westphalen, his mother Dr. Von Westphalen, his mysterious Munchkin colleague Dr. Kuntzler, and the equally mysterious Theory in his secret control room died along with most of the rest of the zany film’s implicitly CGI supporting characters in the spectacular CGI explosion that took out the blockbuster CGI MegaZeppelin beast, a huge explosion that reminded us that blockbuster explosions often ended the films of the STAR WARS Classic Trilogy and the STAR WARS Tragic Trilogy, reaffirming the implicit interest in Lucas on one level in SOUTHLAND TALES.  Thus, Kelly implied that he felt that Lucas had failed to kick off a neo eon of CGI film art with the STAR WARS Tragic Trilogy, and also implicitly affirmed that he wanted to leave behind the twilit and disastrous year of ’82 and the CGI enhancement that had been developed and perfected after the TZ disaster.  For Baron Von Westphalen and Dr. Kuntzler were played by Shawn and Rubinstein, respectively, who were openly linked forever to 1982 by his role as himself in the allegorical Louis Malle indie docufeature film MY DINNER WITH ANDRE [1982] and by her role as the fearless and intrepid ghostbuster Tangina in POLTERGEIST, while the Dick resembling and implicitly linked Theory was also openly linked to the twilit and disastrous year of ’82 forever via BLADE RUNNER and the March 5, 1982 death of Dick.  Indeed, the fact that Smallhouse, the Southern aide de camp of Republican Sen. Frost, died along with the wacky Baron, Dr. Kuntzler and the other main characters on the Jenny Von Westphalen, was played by Larroquette openly affirmed the implicit TZ disaster exorcising intent of the end of SOUTHLAND TALES, for Larroquette openly linked the film to 1982-83, Landis, Spielberg and the TZ disaster through his role as an unmasked Southern KKK member menacing the old, medium heighted, slim, handsome, grey haired, angry, bitter, and implicitly Richard Rush linked Bill Connor-played by Morrow-in the opening Landis episode of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE.

        Just as curiously, the implicitly Lynch linked Frost also died in the explosion that took out the Jenny Von Westphalen, implying that Kelly thought Lynch would not make it in the neo millennium of film art despite not being interested in CGI.  Indeed, the film’s allusions to the twilit, allegorical and L.A. set Lynch moving paintings LOST HIGHWAY [1997] and MULHOLLAND DRIVE [2001] as well as to the twilit and allegorical Lynch moving painting DUNE [1984] reaffirmed the film’s implicit film artist roasting intent and the implicit link of Frost to Lynch.  In fact, the sight and sound of the young, tall, beautiful, brunette, and statuesque singer Rebekah Del Rio returning from MULHOLLAND DRIVE as herself in a Wicked black bodice burstin’ dress early into the sequence set on the MegaZeppelin to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” in Spanish and English while fittingly accompanied by an Ozian string quartet called the Section Quartet-comprised of Daphne Chen on violin, Richard Dodd on cello, Eric Gorfain on violin, and Leah Katz on viola, respectively- openly linked SOUTHLAND TALES to that dream-like and mysterious indie moving painting.

Last but not least, the explosive demise of the Jenny Von Westphalen also evoked the nuclear explosion near Abilene also on July 4, 2005 that began the film, thus bringing the film full explosive and celebratory circle.  Celebratory, indeed, for multi-coloured explosions of regular fireworks lit up the nighttime sky as some L.A. streets filled with citizens celebrating a new Independence Day on July 4, 2008 while others fought each other and UPU2 officers, evoking the sight and sound of exuberant partygoers who filled the downtown L.A. core and rang in New Year’s Eve 1999 while fighting raged between celebrants and the police at the end of STRANGE DAYS, and the fighting between sailors and soldiers in the dance clubs and streets of L.A. in 1941.  Significantly, two of the few characters who were not killed in the MegaZeppelin explosion or in the fighting in the street were the past and future selves of Taverner, whose warm, luvin’, glowin’, forgivin’, healing, and harmonizing handshake reconciled these two selves while still floating inside Mung’s ice cream truck at the again curiously healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic, and diseased, disharmonious, and catastrophic, end of the film.  Thus, Kelly either implicitly hoped that Gilliam would reconcile his madcap animaction film art with the CGI age and continue to succeed as a CGI enhanced animaction film artist, or implied his delight that Gilliam had already achieved this reconciliation the previous year with the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, fantastic realist, madcap and satirical indie animaction film THE BROTHERS GRIMM [2005] and the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, fantastic realist, sadcap, and satirical indie animaction film TIDELAND [2005].  Curiously, Abilene also survived, partying down in the street, implying that Kelly hoped that Tarantino would also continue to succeed as a film artist in a film that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to BLADE RUNNER, DAREDEVIL, DONNIE DARKO, DUNE, Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said, LOST HIGHWAY, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, 1941, REPO MAN, the STAR WARS Classic and Tragic Trilogies, STRANGE DAYS, T1, THE WIZARD OF OZ, THX 1138, TITANIC, 12 MONKEYS, the twilit, allegorical, brilliant, madcap, Ozian themed, and implicitly Landis roasting Gilliam indie animaction artbuster BRAZIL [1985], the daylit, twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Tarantino indie docufeature film PULP FICTION [1994], and the allegorical Robert Aldrich feature film KISS ME DEADLY [1955].

Alas for Kelly and company, while a brilliant, creative, courageous, innovative, hilarious, and satirical film, SOUTHLAND TALES bombed in the Temple Theatre, just like 1941, REPO MAN, and STRANGE DAYS before it, thus completing a quixotic, elementally Ozian, and Foursfull quartet of openly implicitly Hollywood and its film artist roastin’ films that failed to find audiences.  Perhaps its rambling and non-traditional structure and its embrace of controversial subjects like openly roasting the war on terror killed the film.  Perhaps the rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner” sung by Del Rio turned off audiences in the United States, given that it began in Spanish before segueing into English, which was probably just as illegal in the US as it was in Canada, where the national anthem “O Canada” can only be sung in English and French, the country’s two official languages.  Perhaps the fact that the film’s opening and closing July 4^th celebrations and its implicit roast of Landis, Lucas, and Spielberg and their film art again eerily anticipated the arrival on the film art scene of weird, wily, traumatized, troubled, rantin’, ravin’, solitary, and indie Zone War “scholar” Gary Darko also turned off audiences.  At any rate, and for what ever reason, the brilliant satirical masterpiece SOUTHLAND TALES was rejected by global audiences, and it was back to the drawing board for young Kelly.

Curiously, not long after the release of SOUTHLAND TALES, Bryan Singer implicitly roasted Kelly in the implicit form of the young, short, slim, handsome, brunette, and implicitly Kelly and Tin Man linked DAILY PLANET assistant editor Richard White-played by James Marsden-the boyfriend of the young, short, slim, beautiful, brunette, and implicitly Diablo Cody and Dorothy linked Lois Lane-played by Kate Bosworth-to the frustrated dismay of the young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, muscular, super strong, indomitable, and implicitly Jason Reitman and Cowardly Lion linked Clark “Kal-El” Kent aka “Superman”-played by Brandon Routh-in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed super satirical animaction film SUPERMAN RETURNS [2006], a film released on June 21, 2006 that was inspired by characters created by Genial Gene Siegel and Joltin’ Joe Shuster for DC.  Lynch also fittingly and implicitly roasted Kelly that year in the implicit form of the young, short, slim, black haired and eyed, handsome, bespectacled, and cigarette luvin’ actor Devon Berk-played by Justin Theroux-in the twilit and allegorical indie moving painting INLAND EMPIRE [2006], a film released on September 6, 2006 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by allusions to DONNIE DARKO.

        The following year, Virgo implied that the madcap SOUTHLAND TALES left him wondering if Kelly was more than just a brilliant and confident young film artist who featured racist characters in his film art and was actually a racist himself and symbolically forced Kelly to prove himself by having the young, tall, slim, handsome, muscular, strong, hardened, and implicitly Kelly linked pugilist ex-con Donnie Rose-played by Rossif Sutherland-free himself from a racist cloud that hung over him by agreeing to a boxing match with a young, medium heighted, slim, handsome, muscular, and strong boxer of African descent named Ossie Paris-played by Flex Alexander-in the twilit and allegorical indie docufeature film POOR BOY’S GAME [2007], a film released on February 11, 2007 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by allusions to DAREDEVIL, DONNIE DARKO, and SOUTHLAND TALES.  Not long after, Raimi implied his dislike of SOUTHLAND TALES and implicitly brought his Spider-Man Trilogy to a trimatic conclusion by having the young, medium heighted, slim, brunette, exuberantly geeky, radioactive CGI spider powered, and implicitly Cronenberg and Scarecrow linked DAILY BUGLE photographer Peter Parker aka “Spider-Man”-played by Tobey Maguire-triumph over the middle aged and heighted, heavyset, handsome, brunette, muscular, strong, and implicitly Kelly and Cowardly Lion linked Flint Marko aka “the Sandman”-played by Drew H. Church-and the young, medium heighted, slim, blonde, and implicitly Timberlake and Tin Man linked Edward “Eddie” Brock jr. aka “Venom”-played by Topher Grace-at the end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie super satirical animaction film SPIDER-MAN 3 [2007], a film released on April 3, 2007 whose implicit Kelly roasting intent on one level was also affirmed by the film’s allusions to DAREDEVIL, DONNIE DARKO, and SOUTHLAND TALES.

        Then Rawson M. Thurber kicked off the next year by implying his hope that Kelly would leave behind his implicit obsessions with Gilliam, Lucas, and Lynch and head off into bold new time travelling cinematic territory like the young, medium heighted, slim, brunette, handsome, clean cut and shaven, squeaky clean, and implicitly Kelly linked economics student Arthur “Art” Bechstein-played by Jon Foster-left behind the wild young, medium heighted, heavyset, brunette, and implicitly Gilliam linked Cleveland Arning-played by Peter Sarsgaard-the implicit Lucas linked Mohammed-played by Omid Abtahi-and his gangster father, the old, medium heighted, heavyset, grey haired, and implicitly Lynch linked Joseph “Joe” Bechstein-played by Nick Nolte-after a memorable summer of ’83 in Pittsburgh at the end of the daylit and allegorical indie docufeature film THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH [2008], a film released on January 20, 2008 that was inspired by the twilit and allegorical Michael Chabon indie docufiction novel The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh [1988] and whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by the importance of books and reading in the film and by the film’s allusions to DONNIE DARKO, LOST HIGHWAY, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, SOUTHLAND TALES, 12 MONKEYS, the allegorical and implicitly New Hollywood roasting Gilliam and Terry Jones co-directed indie docufeature film MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL [1975] and the twilit, allegorical, and Ozian themed Lynch indie telemoving painting series TWIN PEAKS [1990-91].  Three months later, Andy and Lana Wachowski implicitly linked Kelly to the Evil, young, slim, brunette, petulant, vainglorious and implicitly Nikko linked World Racing League (WRL) racer Snake Oiler-played by Christian Oliver-who was taken on and taken out by the Good, young, short, slim, brunette, down to earth, modest, virtuous, and implicitly Sir Peter Jackson and Scarecrow linked indie WRL racer Speed Racer-played by Nicholas Elia as a boy and by Emile Hirsch as a young man, respectively-at the end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed animaction film SPEED RACER [2008], a film released on April 28, 2008.

        Later that year, Peter Sollett also implicitly linked Kelly to lonely lovestruck indie bass playin’ teen Nick O’Leary-played by Michael Cera-in the twilit and allegorical indie docufeature film NICK & NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST [2008], a film released on September 6, 2008 that was inspired by the twilit and allegorical Rachel Cohn and David Levithan indie docufiction novel Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist [2006].  Curiously, the film ended with Nick abandoning the young, short, slim, sexy, and implicitly Hollywood linked blonde Tris-played by Alexis Dziena-for the young, short, beautiful, brunette, statuesque, and implicitly SCC linked Norah Silverberg-played by Kat Dennings-implying the hope of Sollett that Kelly would also stick to indie film art instead of brainless Hollywood blockbuster beasts.  The following year, Tarantino had the young, slim, medium heighted, handsome, brunette, clean cut and shaven, muscular, strong, legendary, exuberantly vengeful and violent, and implicitly Kelly linked anti-Nazi rogue German soldier Hugo Stiglitz-played by Til Schweiger-evoke the brave self sacrifice of Donnie by being bravely killed fighting the Nazis he hated so that others could live in the daylit, allegorical, slightly CGI enhanced, and conventionally linear indie docufeature film INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS [2009], released on May 20, 2009.  Not long after, Reitman implicitly linked the unusually confident and mature Kelly to the middle aged, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, black suit and tie wearing, confident, experienced, knowing, likably unlikable, and sympathetically callous veteran dismissal expert Ryan Bingham-played by George Clooney-in the twilit, allegorical, brash, confident, human, intelligent, original, shrewd, knowing, satirical, montage luvin’, slightly CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film UP IN THE AIR [2009], released on September 5, 2009 and inspired by the twilit and allegorical Walter Kirn indie docufiction novel Up In The Air [2001].

        Making it fitting that shortly after the release of UP IN THE AIR, Kelly “returned” to Virginia for real this time when he donned the writer/director/co-producer hats and teamed up again with Bauer, Durrett, Ferry, Hammond, McKittrick, Osborne, Poster, Wyatt, SOUTHLAND TALES co-executive producer Edward H. Hamm jr. and now also with Media Rights Capital, radar pictures, and Warner Brothers on his next and more subdued but still confident, mature, brilliant, original, creative, twilit, allegorical, slightly CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film THE BOX [2009], a film released on September 17, 2009 that was inspired by the allegorical Matheson short story “Button, Button” [1970], a film openly linked to the Twilight Zone as it was based on a story written by one of the most prolific writers for the original TWILIGHT ZONE telefilm series who had also revised his original teleplay for the allegorical Richard Donner telefilm “Nightmare At 20,000 Feet” [1963], a season five episode of the original TWILIGHT ZONE telefilm series, for the fourth and final Miller episode of TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE, and a story that had also inspired the twilit and allegorical Peter Medak telefilm “Button, Button” [1986], which was one half of episode twenty of season one of the Eighties revamp of the TWILIGHT ZONE telefilm series, amply affirming the implicit twilit spirit of the latest Kelly film and making it all too fitting that it was made with Warner Brothers, the studio that supervised and released TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE.

“Well then,

push the button,

see what happens.”

        Curiously, after no opening titles like DONNIE DARKO and SOUTHLAND TALES, and a mysterious and classified National Security Agency [NSA] internal memo meant for NSA Deputy Director Martin Teague that stated that a lightning strike survivor named Arlington James Steward had recovered from the strike and had constructed an equally mysterious device and was delivering it to private residences, the film began with the young, short, slim, handsome, brunette, big eared, intelligent, educated, comic and sly fi luvin’, and implicitly Lucas and Tin Man linked Arthur “Art” Lewis-the sight of him happily driving his beloved silver 1972 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray fittingly evoking the lifelong luv of cars of Lucas, and played by Marsden-and his young, short, slim, beautiful, blonde, intelligent, educated, physically challenged, and implicitly Polley and Dorothy linked wife Norma Lewis-played by Cameron Diaz-being woken up in their bed in their Christmas decorated house in Richmond, Virginia at 5:45 am in the early morning of December 16, 1976 by the sound of their front door bell ringing, evoking the sight and sound of Darko waking up in the hills outside Middlesex, VA at the beginning of DONNIE DARKO, implicitly affirming that Kelly was bringing a Twilit Trilogy full triangular circle with THE BOX.  Significantly, after Arthur, Norma, and eventually also their young, short, slim, handsome, brunette, and implicitly Munchkin linked son Walter-played by Sam O. Stone-had woken up and opened the front door, they found an equally mysterious wooden box with a button on top on their doorstep.

        Just as significantly, later that day, the old, tall, heavy set, handsome, thinning white haired, clean shaven, genial, courteous, polite, but creepy, intimidating, strange, mysterious, grey hatted and suited, perhaps extraterrestrial intelligence controlled, and implicitly Coppola and Wicked Witch of the West linked lightning strike survivor Arlington J. Steward-the left side of his face horrifically burned, scarred and sheared off by the lightning strike, and played by Frank Langella-the mysterious character mentioned in the opening NSA internal memo, visited the Lewis house and made Norma, a luving and luvly but physically handicapped housewife and low paid Libby Hill Academy English teacher who evoked Ms. Pomeroy in DONNIE DARKO, an offer she couldn’t refuse to make a million dollars in cash neatly contained in a briefcase if she would kill a stranger somewhere in the world by pushing the button on top of the mysterious box that he left on the Lewis doorstep earlier that morning.  Alas for Norma, she decided to give up on her financially struggling and physically imperfect but vital humanity and pushed the murderous button for the million dollar reward, a decisive push that dragged her and her husband Art, who turned out to be a NASA camera expert and aspiring but failed astronaut, and their son and Libby Hill Academy student Walter into a twilit nightmare. 

A twilit nightmare that led to many of the residents of Richmond turning against the Lewis family at the bidding of Steward as surely as audiences turned against Lucas in ’82 and then again in ’99-including one citizen who looked and acted like a grim Zombie of King, evoking the sight of Rose Darko reading It in DONNIE DARKO to reaffirm that Kelly was indeed bringing the Twilit Trilogy full triangular circle-to Walter going as blind as Murdock and deaf as well, and to Arthur being forced by the short, slim, pretty, sweet but creepy, and implicitly Eleanor Coppola and Glinda linked Clymene Steward-played by Deborah Rush-to choose the right one path amongst three TIME BANDITS evoking and all CGI space/time portals of destiny, a choice which set off a surreal and space/time defying closing sequence less evocative of that at the end of DONNIE DARKO and more like that at the end of MULHOLLAND DRIVE after the young, medium heighted, beautiful, black haired and eyed, curvaceous, and implicitly Bigelow and Wicked Witch of the East linked Rita aka Diane-played by Laura E. Harring-unlocked and opened the mysterious blue cube, affirming the implicit link of Art’s old, medium heighted, slim, tall, grey haired, and genial Richmond Police Department [RPD] detective father-in-law Richard “Dick” Burns-played by Osborne-to Lynch.  Sadly, like the closing surreal and space/time bending of MULHOLLAND DRIVE, which led to the triumph of Rita/Diane but the failure and the suicide of the young, short, slim, blonde, pretty, perky, petite, innocent, naïve and implicitly SCC and Dorothy linked Betty Elms-played by Naomi Watts-this surreal closing sequence also ended in death with Art shooting his own young, slim, and beautiful blonde Norma through the heart, murdering her to end the twilightmare and return sight and sound to Walter in another deadly and moving but curiously healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic, and diseased, disharmonious, and catastrophic, end to a Kelly film thus openly linking a foolish lust for money to the end of the luv, hopes, and dreams of Art, implying that Kelly believed that Lucas had killed his film art and his life as a film artist when he abandoned film art for film art’s sake to create blockbuster CGI enhanced beasts like the STAR WARS Classic and Tragic Trilogies and also chose to help Kennedy, Landis, Marshall, and Spielberg escape justice in the TZ disaster, unlike Coppola, who was a longtime friend of Lucas and an uncompromising film artist who had always been committed to film art for film art’s sake rather than film art for beastly CGI enhanced blockbuster loot’s sake and who had nothing to do with the post-TZ disaster duplicity that saved Kennedy, Landis, Marshall, and Spielberg from criminal convictions in the TZ disaster, making it fitting that Osborne returned as Burns, given that Lynch was another bloodied but unbowed film art for film art’s sake film artist.  With the death of Norma, Kelly also implied that Polley was wrong to implicitly sympathize with Lucas in the implicit form of the old, medium heighted, grey haired, moustached, and bearded, distraught, and retired Norse mythology Professor Grant Andersson-played by Gordon Pinsent-in the daylit and allegorical indie docufeature film AWAY FROM HER [2006], a dual implicit allegorical intent affirmed by the film’s allusions to AWAY FROM HER, “Button, Button”, DONNIE DARKO, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, the STAR WARS Classic and Tragic Trilogies, THE WIZARD OF OZ, TIME BANDITS, the allegorical and implicitly David Secter roasting Coppola indie docufeature film YOU’RE A BIG BOY NOW [1966], the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Cameron roasting Coppola indie docufeature artbuster BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA [1992], the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and implicitly Lynch roasting Coppola indie docufeature film YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH [2007], and the daylit and allegorical Lucas indie docufeature film AMERICAN GRAFFITI [1973].

        Last but not least, it was also fitting that the name of Art Lewis evoked that of actor Art Lewis, who played a drunk in the allegorical Robert Florey telefilm “The Fever” [1960], a first season episode of the original TWILIGHT ZONE telefilm series, reaffirming the implicitly twilit spirit of THE BOX.  For “The Fever” was about a man named Franklin Gibbs-played by Everett Sloane-who succumbed to a madcap and fatal lust for slot machine loot on a trip to Las Vegas with his wife, a madcap and deadly lust that evoked the equally madcap and beastly lust for blockbuster fortune and glory that overwhelmed New Hollywood film artists over the course of the Seventies and early Eighties and set the stage for the TZ disaster.  This implicitly twilit dimension to THE BOX was also affirmed by the fact that Arthur, Norma, and Walter created another twilit trio composed of one female and two males that evoked the fateful twilit trio of Vic, Renee, and My-ca.  Twilit, indeed, given that the Lewis family lived at 7321 Park in Richmond, VA, and that the day that Norma pushed the button and destroyed the life and luv of Art she and Art woke up at 7:23 am in a double trouble allusion to the July 23, 1982 day of the TZ disaster.

        Alas for Kelly, while another fine, brilliant, creative, innovative, memorable, and haunting film like DONNIE DARKO and SOUTHLAND TALES, THE BOX was also a box office bomb like the latter film.  Thus, perhaps not surprisingly, given this latest failure and the implicit fear and loathing with which beastly and blockbuster CGI enhanced film art was treated in DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES, and THE BOX, Kelly disappeared from the Temple Theatre like Lynch after 2009.  However, while the allegorical film art of Kelly disappeared, Kelly did not entirely disappear.  For Cameron implicitly linked Richard “Rich” Kelly to Jacob “Jake” Sully-played by Sam Worthington-and sent the paralyzed from the waist down military vet to the brave new Dagobah and Endor evoking CGI lunar moon of Pandora where, after undergoing difficult trials and tribulations, he became one with the local Na’vi warriors and only the sixth Na’vi in their history on Pandora to ever ride a CGI enhanced blockbuster beast of a leonopteryx, implying that Cameron believed that despite his talent and confidence, Kelly still had a ways to go before he truly became a successful film artist in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced and Ozian themed animaction Zonebuster AVATAR [2009], a film released on December 10, 2009 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by the film’s allusions to DAREDEVIL, DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES and the STAR WARS Classic and Tragic Trilogies, and by the fact that Pandora was the name of one of the production companies that produced DONNIE DARKO. 

Fittingly, given Kelly’s implicit fondness for books, the following year, David Mitchell had the implicitly Lucas linked Doctor Lucas Marinus help the implicitly Kelly linked Jacob de Zoet and the implicitly SCC linked Aibagawa Orito triumph over the insidious and either implicitly Cameron or Spielberg linked Lord Abbot Enomoto in the twilit and allegorical indie docufiction novel The Thousand Autumns Of Jacob De Zoet [May 2010], an implicit allegorical intent affirmed by the novel’s allusions to DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES, THE BOX and the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced and Ozian themed SCC indie docufeature film LOST IN TRANSLATION [2003].  Significantly, later that year Disney collaborated again with Byron Howard and now also with Nathan Greno to fuse old school Disney fairy tale with new school CGI and to also implicitly hope that Polley, who had started out as a film and telefilm actor and had since left behind acting and emerged as a film artist herself with AWAY FROM HER, would triumph over Amy Irving and work together with Gilliam and the equally young and talented film artist Kelly to make great films like the young, beautiful, green eyed, magical healing blonde haired, and implicitly Polley and Dorothy linked Rapunzel of the Canada cadenced kingdom of Corona-played by Moore, who openly linked the film to Kelly via her role as Madeline Frost-Santaros in SOUTHLAND TALES, as a teen and by Delaney R. Stein as a girl, respectively-and her small, green, silent but expressive, and implicitly Gilliam and Toto linked chameleon familiar Pascal-no doubt an implicit nod to Gilliam’s famous ability to change genres from one fine and madcap film after another with carefree and chameleon-like abandon-teamed up with the young, handsome, brunette, roguish, and implicitly Kelly and Scarecrow linked Flynn Rider aka “Eugene Fitzherbert”-played by Zachary Levi-and his valiant, crime hating, apple luvin’, Bucephalus evoking, and implicitly Johnson linked white stallion Maximus to triumph over the old, grey haired, haggard, and implicitly Irving and Wicked Witch of the West linked “Step”-Mother Gothel-played by Donna Murphy-and to marry Rider at the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, and Ozian themed indie CGI animated feature film TANGLED [2010], a film released on November 24, 2010 that was inspired by the allegorical Brothers Grimm fairy tale “Rapunzel” and whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by allusions to the Matrix Trilogy, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN, THE BROTHERS GRIMM, THE WIZARD OF OZ, TIME BANDITS.

        For her part, Polley implicitly roasted Kelly in the implicit form of the young, medium height, chubby, brunette, clean shaven, goofy, and chicken and t-shirt luvin’ Lou-fittingly played by Seth Rogen, who had played Ricky Danforth in DONNIE DARKO-and implicitly toasted Lucas in the implicit form of young, slim, handsome, black haired and eyed, clean shaven, and virile Dan-played by the fittingly named Luke Kirby-in the daylit and allegorical indie docufeature film TAKE THIS WALTZ [2011], a film released on September 10, 2011 whose implicit Kelly addressing intent on one level was affirmed by the film’s allusions to DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES, and THE BOX.  Then Derek Cianfrance implicitly addressed Kelly in the twilit, allegorical and CGI enhanced indie docufeature film THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES [2012], released on September 7, 2012.

“You’re too smart for your own good.”

        Not that the film’s implicit Kelly addressing intent was apparent at the outset, for Act One of the film began in Schenectady, New York on another night on the carnival circuit with the young, medium heighted, slim, blonde, handsome, muscular, strong, Mark Hamill evoking, and implicitly Lucas linked indie motorcycle stunt rider Luke Glanton-as haunted by his missing father as Luke Skywalker, and played by Ryan Gosling-roaring around with two other stunt motorcyclists inside a spherical and Death Star evoking metal stunt cage in a tight and trimatic trio that reminded us of the three films of the STAR WARS Classic and Tragic Trilogies.  Afterwards, Glanton met up again with a young, short, beautiful, curvaceous, and Linda Ronstadt evoking old flame named Romina Gutierrez-played by Eva Mendes-one year after their fling and discovered that he was the father of their young infant son Jason Kancam-played by Angelo Anthony Pizza.  Shocked by the news, Glanton quit the carny circuit to stay in Schenectady to help Romina look after Jason. 

Unfortunately, unable to find a well paying job, he allowed himself to be persuaded by a friend he met in town, the middle aged, short, slim, brunette, creepy, and implicitly Spielberg linked Robin Van Der Hook-played by Ben Mendelsohn-to join him on a spree of blockbuster bank robberies.  Alas, all went well until Glanton had a falling out with Van Der Hook and decided to rob one final bank alone, a third robbery where everything went wrong and where the pursuing Schenectady Police Department [SPD] finally caught up with his escaping motorcycle and, after a wipeout led to a short pursuit on foot, the young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, clean cut and shaven, muscular, strong, and implicitly Kelly linked SPD Officer Avery Cross-played by Bradley Cooper-shot him dead in a confrontation, ending Act One.

        Act Two revolved around Officer Cross recovering from the gunshot wound to the right thigh that Glanton left him with, and coping with his newfound wounded hero status and his guilt about leaving Jason and Romina without a father and a boyfriend.  Act Two also revolved around Officer Cross dealing with his wounded demotion to evidence room supervisor, a demotion that slowly made him aware of and involved in the practice of corrupt SPD cops led by Detective Peter Deluca-played by Ray Liotta-dipping into the captured evidence so they could plant it on criminals and make showy arrests.  Leading to Officer Cross bringing his knowledge and evidence to the old, short, slim, and all too shewd and knowing District Attorney Bill Kilcullen-played by Bruce Greenwood-in return for a promise that DA Kilcullen would go after these corrupt cops, give him full immunity from prosecution, and make him assistant DA.  All of which DA Kilcullen resignedly agreed to do, leading to the arrest of all of the corrupt SPD cops, and the end of Act Two.

        Act Three began fifteen years later at the funeral of Judge Albert Cross-played by Harris Yulin-the father of Assistant DA Cross, where the now divorced Assistant DA, campaigning to be made District Attorney, met his ex-wife Jennifer-played by Rose Byrne-who persuaded him to allow their perhaps Jason Reitman linked son A.J.-played by Emory Cohen-to live with him.  Curiously, living with his serious and determined father led the drug luvin’ stoner slacker A.J. to meet the now teenaged and short, slim, cute, blonde, and perhaps Gary W. Wright linked indie Rebel Jason Kancam-played by Dane DeHaan-in high school and bond over their mutual fondness for drugs.  A drug addled bond that eventually led to Kancam finding out to his horror while attending a party at Cross’s house that A.J.’s father was the ex-SPD officer who shot and killed his dad.  A revelation that led to an angry and violent confrontation between the two teens, and the next day to Kancam getting a gun, returning to the Cross house, sneaking in, knocking out A.J., and then confronting and kidnapping Avery soon after when he returned home. 

Forcing Avery to drive them both in his car outside town and then to walk into the woods and kneel down, Jason almost shot and killed him, but decided against it, in the end.  Taking Avery’s wallet, money, and car, Jason hurried out of the woods and drove off, leaving Avery to complete his successful run for DA with A.J. beside him onstage at the victory celebration, implying the hope of Cianfrance that Kelly would succeed again as a film artist, and perhaps also implying his hope that Reitman would continue to succeed as a film artist, an implicit interest in Kelly on one level affirmed by the film’s allusions to DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES and THE BOX.  As for Jason, he eventually reappeared buying an used motorcycle and then hopped on, started it up, and roared off west on his own Journey of Self Discovery, ending Act Three and the film on a fittingly trimatic note and implying that Cianfrance believed that a bit of the indie Rebel spirit of Lucas would live on in the bodies, hearts, minds, and souls of audiences despite the disappointing, embittering, infuriating and even shocking misadventures of Lucas, and perhaps also implying the new hope of Cianfrance that the poor ol’ Gardevil would succeed with his Zone War website, an implicit interest in Lucas and Wright on two levels that was affirmed by allusions to AMERICAN GRAFFITI, the STAR WARS Classic Trilogy, the STAR WARS Tragic Trilogy, and THX 1138.

The following year, Joseph Kosinski and company implicitly and sympathetically addressed Kelly’s sojourn in fourth dimensional film limbo and also implicitly hoped that if he returned to film art that he would stay away from the Hollywood establishment and remain an indomitably indie film artist no matter the cost like the middle aged, short, slim, handsome, brunette, clean cut and shaven, muscular, strong, dedicated, t-shirt, jeans, and classic rock luvin’, and implicitly Kelly and Scarecrow linked post-apocalyptic Earth straggler Jack Harper-played by Tom Cruise-turned down a chance to remain a powerless puppet of the pitiless CGI enhanced blockbuster machine world run by the offworld Titans of Earth and blew himself and their ahuman machinations up to save the fallible and imperfect but endearing, enduring, and vitally human Rebellion at the diseased, disharmonious, and catastrophic but healing, harmonious, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature film OBLIVION [2013], a film released on March 26, 2013 whose implicit Kelly addressing intent was affirmed by the importance placed on books and reading in the film and by the film’s allusions to DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES, THE BOX, THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.  For his part, Christopher Nolan implicitly hoped that Cameron would return to the Temple Theatre with another great Zonebustin’ feature film like the middle aged, tall, slim, handsome, t-shirt and jeans luvin’, struggling, and implicitly Cameron and Great Oz linked space/time traveller and bookshelf ghost Joseph “Coop” Cooper-played by Matthew McConaughey-left behind his young, short, slim, cute, red haired, intelligent, rebellious, book and ghost luvin’, and implicitly Polley and Dorothy linked daughter Murphy “Murph” Cooper-played by Mackenzie Foy at ten, and by Jessica Chastain as an adult, respectively-and his young, medium heighted, slim, brunette, farm, hoodie, and jeans luvin’, and implicitly Kelly and Scarecrow linked son Thomas “Tom” Cooper-played by Timothee Chalamet as a teen, and by Casey Affleck as an adult, respectively-on a post-apocalyptic Earth to travel through the solar system to a wormhole near Saturn and journey through it and a gargantuan black hole before eventually making his way out of a third dimensional trap in a five dimensional space/time warp and back to reality on a wristwatch saved Earth to the delight of the ailing and elderly Murph-played by Ellen Burstyn-at the ending beginning of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature film INTERSTELLAR [2014], a film released on October 26, 2014 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by the film’s allusions to AVATAR, DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES, THE ABYSS, THE BOX, THE WIZARD OF OZ, the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Cameron docufeature Zonebuster ALIENS [1986], and the allegorical and Ozian themed Stanley Kubrick docufeature artbuster 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY [1968].

        As for Disney, Marvel, and Paintin’ Peyton Reed, they implied that, despite not returning to the Temple Theatre with a brilliant and innovative new indie film and his consequent continued diminished presence, that Kelly and his indomitable commitment to brilliant, confident, creative, original, unusually mature, and slightly CGI enhanced indie docufeature film art were still worthy of another super satirical roast and toast in the new and improved Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie super satirical animaction film ANT-MAN [2015], a film released on June 29, 2015.

“Don’t let your past

determine your future.”

        Mischievous, indeed, for the film began with the young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, clean cut and shaven, equally brilliant, creative, and talented but tragicomically naïve, innocent, goofy, backpack, hoody and t-shirt luvin’, Mango Fruit Blast hatin’, sexually ambiguous, San Fran based, and implicitly Kelly and Scarecrow linked cat burglar, safe cracker, and electrical engineer Scott Lang aka “Ant-Man”-based on a character created by Jocund John Byrne, Bashful Bob Layton and Dapper David Michelinie for Marvel Comics, and played by Paul Rudd-being released from San Quentin Prison after serving three years for being a modern Robin Hood.  Picked up outside San Quen by his ex-cellmate, the young, exuberant, goofy, moustached and goateed, and implicitly Cowardly Lion linked friend Luis-played by Michael Pena-Lang was driven back to the apartment Luis shared with two other ex-con blues brothers, the young, quiet, immobile, moustached, grey toque luvin’, and implicitly Tin Man linked Dave-played by Tip “T.I.” Harris-and the young, tall, lean, black haired and eyed, Fifties rockin’ haircut, and implicitly Joe Strummer and Great Oz linked Kurt-played by David Dastmalchian.  Alas for Lang, after quickly losing a Baskins Robbins gig, he was reluctantly lured back to a life of crime by these three Sweathog evoking ex-cons and persuaded to break into the house of a retired millionaire “…living off his golden parachute”. 

This break-in led to Lang being arrested again, much to the dismay of Lang’s young, short, brunette, and cute Munchkin daughter Cassandra aka the Donnie evoking “Cassie”-who resembled a girl seen in an anti-Proposition 69 Republican tv ad in SOUTHLAND TALES, and was played by Abby R. Fortson-and his young, medium heighted, slim, blonde, beautiful, and implicitly Farrah Fawcett and Glinda linked ex-wife Margaret aka the Donnie and Maggie Gyllenhaal evoking “Maggie”-played by Judy Greer-and.  However, luckily for Lang, he was quickly freed by and working hard with the old, short, slim, bespectacled, suited, bitter, haunted, lonely, regretful, wistful, single, and implicitly Landis and Great Oz linked Doctor Henry “Hank” Pym aka the original “Ant-Man”-based on a character implicitly linked to Frank Frazetta created by Kirby, Lee and Laughin’ Larry Lieber for Marvel Comics, and played by Michael Douglas-and the young, short, slim, beautiful, brunette, brainy, single, angry, bitter, jealous, resentful, and implicitly Kate Capshaw and Dorothy linked Dr. Hope Van Dyne-created by Tantric Tom DeFalco and Ribald Ron Frenz for Marvel Comics, and played by Evangeline Lilly-to master the Pym Particle and turn his diminished Ant-Man presence and size to Good use and to also master some red shrinking and blue enlarging discs created by Dr. Pym, and his own miniature elemental Ozian quartet of Earth linked giant tropical bullet ants, Fire linked fire ants, Water linked crazy ants, and Air linked carpenter ants. 

Curiously, the frustrating struggle to get Lang’s Ant-Man mojo working evoked the equally frustrating struggle of the old, tall, slim, intelligent, and cranky Dr. Grace Augustine-played by Sigourney Weaver-and her team of scientists to get Sully’s Nav’i avatar mojo working on Pandora in AVATAR, reaffirming the implicit link of Kelly to Lang and to Sully.  The sight and sound of Ant-Man learning to ride a flying ant that he named “Ant-thony” also evoked the sight and sound of Sully learning to ride a flying banshee and the dread blockbuster leonopteryx beast in AVATAR, again affirming the implicit link of Lang and Sully to Kelly.  The presence of Lang’s potential brother-in-law, the young, tall, handsome, burly, and implicitly Francis Coppola and Tin Man linked San Francisco Police Department [SFPD] Officer Jim Paxton-played by Bobby Cannavale-reaffirmed the film’s allusions to Cameron and AVATAR, reminding us that Wild Bill Paxton was Cameron’s lucky charm actor who appeared in many of his most successful films, and also reaffirmed the diminished presence theme of the film, reminding us that, as with Capshaw, Kelly, and Landis, the once prominent Coppola had also faded from view by 2015.  The presence of Harris as Paxton’s partner in the SFPD, Officer Gale, not only also affirmed the film’s implicit interest in Cameron as his surname reminded us that Cameron was once married to film producer Gale A. Hurd, but also openly affirmed the film’s implicit Kelly addressing intent, as Harris played the implicitly Virgo linked Dion Element in SOUTHLAND TALES.

Once he had mastered his astonishing newfound powers, Lang desperately used them to triumph over the young, tall, slim, bald, dastardly, fortune and glory lustin’, suit luvin’, Lex Luthor evoking, and implicitly Jeff Bezos and Wicked Witch of the West linked Pym Technologies turned Cross Technologies CEO Dr. Darren Cross aka “Yellowjacket”-played by Corey Stoll-and his older, medium heighted, grey haired, suit luvin’, and implicitly Nikko linked HYDRA stooge Mitchell Carson-played by Martin Donovan-and to also escape the all CGI and fourth dimension evoking quantum zone by briefly transforming from Ant-Man to Giant Man in a “Little Girl Lost” and POLTERGEIST evoking escapade toward the end of the film.  Thus, Dis, Marv, and Reed implied not only their continued support for Kelly but also their hope that Kelly would triumph over his fears and troubles and return to prominence in the Temple Theatre with another great film that would triumph over pesky Bezos and his Amazon Corp. in the healing, harmonizing, eucatastrophic, and Spidey anticipating end of a film whose implicit Kelly and Landis addressing intent was affirmed by allusions to AVATAR, DONNIE DARKO, “Little Girl Lost”, the Matrix Trilogy, NICK & NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST, OBLIVION, POLTERGEIST, POOR BOY’S GAME, SOUTHLAND TALES, THE BOX, THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH, THE WIZARD OF OZ, TITANIC, and the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, and equally mischief and mayhem filled Landis docufeature film THE BLUES BROTHERS [1980]. 

Last but not least, Lang’s descent into the CGI enhanced quantum realm at the end of the film reaffirmed the film’s implicit Kelly addressing intent, as the twilit CGI quantum zone evoked the CGI trips through the fourth dimension in DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES, and THE BOX.  Significantly, Ant-Man’s small but memorable dustup with the young, tall, handsome, muscular, strong, keen eyed, vigilant, wise crackin’, and implicitly Will Smith linked Samuel “Sam” Wilson aka “Falcon”-played by Anthony Mackie-midway through the film also introduced Lang to the dissembling Avengers, an embattled introduction that was expanded when Disney, Marvel, and Amiable Anthony and Jovial Joseph Russo collaborated with Mackie and Rudd to make good on the possibility of Lang teaming up with Wilson hinted at in the teaser scene at the end of all of the closing titles of ANT-MAN by bringing luvable lunk Lang back to the MCU for another combative encounter with most of the rest of the Avengers when they cut loose with some seriously mischievous merry Marvel marchin’ mayhem in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie super satirical animaction film CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR [2016], a film released on April 12, 2016 that was based on a superhero group created by Kirby and Lee for Marvel Comics.

“I got something kinda big.

But I can’t hold it very long.”

        Indeed, the young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, clean cut and shaven, equally brilliant, creative, and talented but tragicomically naïve, innocent, goofy, hoody and t-shirt luvin’, sexually ambiguous, and implicitly Kelly linked Scott Lang aka “Ant-Man/Giant Man”-played again by Rudd-assembled at the end of the film at the Leipzig Airport in Germany with the young, tall, handsome, muscular, strong, keen eyed, vigilant, wise crackin’, and implicitly Will Smith linked Samuel “Sam” Wilson aka “Falcon”-played again by Mackie-and the rest of the implicitly American film artist linked dissembling Avengers who were opposed to the restrictive United Nations Sokovia Accords and were inspired and led by the unusually young, tall, handsome, blonde, clean cut and shaven, muscular, strong, ironically polite, patriotic, virtuous, indomitable but kind, gentle, sweet, luvin’, and implicitly Clint Eastwood and Tin Man linked super soldier Steven “Steve” Rogers aka “Captain America”-inspired by a character created by Kirby and Joltin’ Joe Simon for Timely Comics, the predecessor of Marvel Comics, and played by Chris Evans-and who included in their ranks the also unusually young, tall, handsome, dark brown haired and eyed, muscular, strong, tough, mysterious, one-armed, and implicitly Gilliam and Nikko linked indie assassin James “Bucky” Barnes aka “the Winter Soldier”-played by Scowlin’ Sebastian Stan “the Man”-and joined their battle against the implicitly Canadian film artist linked dissembling Avengers who embraced the UN Sokovia Accords and were inspired and led by the young, medium heighted, handsome, brunette, muscular, strong, bold, brash, brilliant, cocky, confident, creative, original, likably unlikable, and implicitly young Reitman and Cowardly Lion linked Anthony “Tony” Stark aka “Iron Man”-inspired by a character implicitly originally linked to Campbell Soup tin can luvin’ machine man wannabe Andrew “Andy” Warhol created by Kirby, Lee, Doughty Don Heck, and Laughin’ Larry Lieber for Marvel Comics, and played by Robert Downey jr.-and who included in their ranks the young, short, slim, shy, studious, weird, wiry, wacky, radioactive spider powered, t-shirt, jeans, hoodie, and backpack luvin’, and implicitly Zone War “film scholar” Gary W. Wright aka the poor ol’ Gardevil [POG] linked teen high school student Peter Parker aka “Spider-Man” aka “Spider-ling” aka “Spider-Boy” aka “Crime Fighting Spider”-inspired by a character created, and originally implicitly linked to, Wallace “Wally” Wood by Kirby, Lee, and Sweet Steve Ditko for Marvel Comics, and played by Tom “Dutch” Holland-much to the grim, vengeful, mischievous, and despondent delight of the young, short, slim, brunette, unremarkable, ambiguous, machine breaking, and implicitly Dante and Wicked Witch of the West linked Colonel Helmut Zemo-who casually and impishly defied the superhero and supervillain code by rockin’ regular duds throughout the film, and was played by Daniel Bruhl-all of which evoked the even more tragicomic sight and sound of implicitly American and Canadian film artist linked characters battling each other throughout SOUTHLAND TALES to reaffirm the implicit link of Lang to Kelly. 

Humourously, given that Lang surprised everyone by unexpectedly showing off his ability to briefly transform from Ant-Man to Giant Man toward the end of this super rumble, Dis and Marv implicitly reaffirmed and the Russo Brothers implicitly affirmed their hope that Kelly would return to prominence with another brilliant, creative, original, and unusually mature hit film like DONNIE DARKO.  As long as Kelly was not implicitly cut down by an insightful review of that eagerly awaited film by the poor ol’ Gardevil, as the spontaneous and STAR WARS Classic Trilogy inspired quick thinking and rebel webbing of the weird and wily webhead brought Giant Man down to size near the end of that memorable super rumble at the Leipzig airport.  A hard return to relentless reality that was increased when luvable and lanky lunk Lang was arrested and imprisoned in the super secure underwater Raft Prison with Wilson and several other heroes at the end of the film for participating in the super rumble, setting audiences up for his continued imprisonment when met again in his next solo adventure in a film that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to ANT-MAN, BRAZIL, the Matrix Trilogy, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL, THE WIZARD OF OZ, TIME BANDITS, 12 MONKEYS, the twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, and implicitly John and Deborah Landis roastin’ and toastin’ Dante docuefeature film GREMLINS [1984], the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Russo Brothers indie super satirical animaction film CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER [2014], and the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed Joshin’ Joss Whedon indie super satirical animaction film AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON [2015].

Curiously, later that same year Tim Burton implicitly joined the implicit chorus of film artist voices calling for the return of Kelly when he implicitly linked Kelly to Jacob “Jake” Portman-played by Asa Butterfield-and had him help the eccentric and implicitly Milla Jovovich linked time manipulator Miss Alma Peregrine-played by Eva Green-and a group of X-Men evoking and truly peculiar children fight off the implicitly Cronenberg linked Barron-played by Samuel L. Jackson-and his Evil Hollows compadres in the twilit, allegorical and CGI enhanced animaction arbuster MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN [2016], a film released on September 25, 2016 whose implicit Kelly addressing intent was affirmed by allusions to DONNIE DARKO and THE BOX.  The following year, Disney collaborated with Tom Caulfield and Stephen Sandoval and also again with Levi and Moore to exuberantly affirm that the spirit of indie hand animated film art was alive and well at the Mouse House and to also implicitly reaffirm their fondness for Gilliam, Johnson, Kelly, and Polley by having the young, beautiful, green eyed, magical healing blonde haired, and implicitly Polley and Dorothy linked Princess Rapunzel-played again by Moore-team up again with the young, handsome, brunette, roguish, flyin’ pan luvin’, and implicitly Kelly and Scarecrow linked Flynn Rider aka “Eugene Fitzherbert”-played again by Levi-the small, green, silent but expressive, and implicitly Gilliam and Toto linked chameleon Pascal, and the valiant, crime hating, apple luvin’, Bucephalus evoking, and implicitly Johnson linked white stallion Maximus, and now also with the confident, assertive, acerbic, intimidating, black haired and eyed, and implicitly Sarah Sugarman linked Lady-in-Waiting Cassandra-played by Eden Espinosa-to triumph over the beautiful, brunette, bitter, brooding, and implicitly SCC and Wicked Witch of the West linked Lady Caine-played by Laura Benanti-to the relieved delight of the kindly, greying, and implicitly Mick Polley and Great Oz linked King Frederic-played by Clancy Brown-and the equally kindly but more beautiful, slim, brunette, and implicitly Bigelow and Glinda linked Queen Arianna-played by Julie Bowen-at the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie hand animated film TANGLED: BEFORE EVER AFTER [2017], a telefilm released on March 10, 2017 that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to TANGLED, THE BROTHERS GRIMM, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed, and implicitly Lucas roasting SCC indie docufeature film MARIE ANTOINETTE [2006].

As for DC, Warners, Zack Snyder, and Joss Whedon, they implicitly disagreed with Dis and Marv by having the exuberantly Evil, huge, intimidating, nasty, double horned helmeted, axe wielding, all CGI, and implicitly Kelly and Wicked Witch of the West linked extraterrestrial exile Steppenwolf-played by Ciaran Hinds-and his attempt to end his exile and destroy Earth with the help of an unholy and twilit trinity of Mother Boxes of Doom [MBOD] and legions of insect men stopped by the tall, handsome, muscular, kind but steely, powerful, sincere, and equally pure, innocent, virtuous, raised rom the dead, and implicitly Reitman and Toto linked Kal-El aka Clark Kent aka “Superman”-played by Henry Cavill-the middle aged, tall, handsome, muscular, haunted, troubled, and implicitly Snyder and Scarecrow linked Wayne Enterprises CEO Bruce Wayne aka “Batman”-inspired by a character created by and originally implicitly linked to creepy WEIRD TALES writer H.P. Lovecraft by Brilliant Bill Finger and Bouncin’ Bob Kane for DC, and played by Ben Affleck-the young, short, slim, goofy, and implicitly Jay Baruchel and Great Oz linked “…very attractive Jewish boy” Barry Allen aka “the Flash”-played by Ezra Miller-the young, tall, handsome, long brown haired, moustached, and bearded, muscular, strong, tattooed, and implicitly Sir Peter Jackson and Cowardly Lion linked Arthur Curry aka “Aquaman”-a tragicomic implication indeed, given that Sir Jackson was a short, chubby, and giddy geek of a Kiwi Hobbit, and played by Jason Momoa-the medium height, slim, beautiful, muscular, strong, pure, innocent, virtuous, courageous, indomitable, fashion luvin’, multilingual, time travelling, armoured headband, breastplate, and bracelets wearin’, shield, sword, and golden lasso wieldin’, and implicitly Jolie and Dorothy linked Amazon Princess Diana aka Diana Prince aka “Wonder Woman”-inspired by the character created by dapper and DISC and woman luvin’ Doctor William M. Marston for DC, and played by Gal Gadot-and the young, tall, handsome, muscular, strong, and implicitly Spike Lee and Tin Man linked Victor “Vic” Stone aka “Cyborg”-Ray Fisher-at the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed super satirical animaction film JUSTICE LEAGUE [2017], a film released on October 26, 2017 whose implicit Kelly roasting intent on one level was affirmed by allusions to ANT-MAN, DONNIE DARKO, the Matrix Trilogy, SOUTHLAND TALES, THE BOX, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.  For their part, Dis, Marv, and the Russo Brothers implicitly evoked the brilliant and innovative indie spirit of Kelly the following year when they returned to the MCU for their biggest film yet in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed super satirical animaction film AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR [2018], released on April 23, 2018.

“In order to take the stone,

you must lose that which you love.

A soul for a soul.”

        For while lanky lunky Lang did not appear in the film due to being released from the super secure underwater Raft Prison and now being under house arrest in San Francisco for leaving the U.S. to fight in the super brawl in Germany at the end of CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, the spirit of Kelly and his film art haunted the film like the future ghost of Frank haunted DONNIE DARKO and the lovelorn spirit of Jenny Von Westphalen haunted SOUTHLAND TALES.  Indeed, the sight and sound of the Asgardian refugee CGI spaceship Statesman being blown up by the even larger CGI spaceship Sanctuary II of the towering, purple, bald, vainglorious, universal harmony obsessed, sweet smelling, and implicitly ex-Disney CEO Michael Eisner linked mad all CGI Titan, Thanos-played by Josh Brolin-at the beginning of the film evoked the sight and sound of the Treer Megazeppelin Jenny Von Westphalen being blown up by Kefauver at the end of SOUTHLAND TALES.  The anguished sight and sound of the young, handsome, brunette, muscular, strong, half-human/half-Celestial, and implicitly Luc Besson and Great Oz linked Peter Quill aka “Star Lord”-played by Chris Pratt-working up the nerve to kill the young, green, slim, sweet but deadly and implicitly Lilly Wachowski and Dorothy linked Gamora-played by Zoe Saldana-to save her from the insidious intentions of her adoptive “father” Thanos; the equally anguished sight and sound of Thanos killing alien Gamora in order to possess the orange Soul Infinity Stone on the deadly planet Vormir; and the ultimately anguished sight and sound of the young, short, slim, beautiful, buxom, bewitching, red haired, and implicitly Emily Stofle and Glinda linked potential Avenger Wanda Maximoff aka “the Scarlet Witch”-played by Elizabeth Olsen-using her strange magic to kill the tall, slim, muscular, red faced, cerebral, soulless, strange, and implicitly Cronenberg linked android Vision-played by Paul Bettany-in a desperate and failed attempt to prevent the yellow Mind Infinity Stone in his forehead from falling into the truly sinister left-handed Infinity Gauntlet of Thanos before he wiped out half the living beings in the MCU all also evoked the anguished sight and sound of Art killing Norma at the end of THE BOX in order to atone for pressing the button on the box and killing someone they did not know and to save and heal Walter. 

Last but not least, the sight and sound of and the tall, slim, long black haired, curvaceous, muscular, black clad, creepy, hacking and slashing luvin’, and all CGI Proxima Midnight-implicitly linked to Lisa Marie, and played by Carrie Coon-telling Maximoff that “…[Vision will] die alone, as will you”, shortly before the Scarlet Witch ironically used her witchcraft to kill her in the big battle in Wakanda at the end of the film also evoked the sight and sound of the old and solitary Sparrow telling Darko that everyone dies alone in their one and only meeting in DONNIE DARKO.  All of which prepared audiences for Disney, Marvel, and Reed to collaborate again with Cannavale, Dastmalchian, Douglas, Fortson, Greer, Harris, Lilly, Pena, and Rudd for more bruising blockbuster battles, merry marchin’ Marvel mischief and mayhem, and tumultuous time travellin’ trips into the all CGI and fourth dimension evoking quantum zone in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed super satirical animaction film ANT-MAN AND THE WASP [2018], a film released on June 25, 2018.

“Quantum entanglement,

Scott.”

        Curiously, the film began with the young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, clean cut and shaven, equally brilliant, creative, and talented but tragicomically naïve, innocent, goofy, hoody, and t-shirt luvin’, sexually ambiguous, and implicitly Kelly and Great Oz linked Scott Lang aka “Ant-Man/Giant Man”-played again by Rudd-played again by Rudd-passing his last three days of house arrest in San Francisco for defying Article 3 of the UN Sokovia Accords and going to Germany without permission to join the super rumble in Leipzig by battling his way through a maze in his house with his young, short, brunette, cute, and mischievous Munchkin daughter Cassandra aka “Cassie” aka “Antoinette”-played again by Fortson.  However, with the help of some game and mischievous CGI ants, Lang was still able to evade the young, short, slim, black haired and eyed, baby faced, intrepid, and implicitly Tin Man linked FBI Agent Jimmy Woo-played by Randall Park-and leave the house to team up again with the old, short, slim, bespectacled, suited, bitter, haunted, lonely, regretful, wistful, single, and implicitly Landis and Great Oz linked Dr. Henry “Hank” Pym aka the original “Ant-Man”-played again by Douglas-and the young, short, slim, beautiful, brunette, brainy, single, and implicitly Capshaw and Dorothy linked Dr. Hope Van Dyne aka “the Wasp”-played again by Lilly and as a girl by Madeleine McGraw, respectively-to battle Hank’s bitter and disgruntled ex-colleague and ex-employee, the old, tall, burly, grey haired and bearded, and implicitly Brian De Palma and Nikko linked Dr. William “Bill” Foster aka “Goliath”-implicitly linked to another film artist who had faded into obscurity like Kelly and Landis, and played by Laurence Fishburne-and his adoptive daughter, the young, short, slim, beautiful, brunette, creepy, troubled, and implicitly Meghan Markle and Wicked Witch of the West linked Ava Starr aka “Ghost”-played by Hannah John-Kamen and in a flashback as a girl by RaeLynn Bratten, respectively-a supervillianess whose “molecular disequilibrium” problem caused her to constantly flicker uncertainly in and out of existence in an implicitly wry comment on how Markle was now uncertain whether she was an American “commoner” or English “royalty” in her new role as the wife of Prince Harry.  

Just as curiously, while they were frantically trying to come to grips with the elusive and allusive Ghost and to continue to evade and even break free from the intrepid Woo and the FBI, Lang also worked hard with Dr. Pym and the Wasp to free Hank’s old, short, slim, long grey haired, beautiful, brainy, lonely, and implicitly Deborah Nadoolman and Glinda linked wife Dr. Janet Van Dyne aka the original “Wasp”-based on a character implicitly linked to Eleanor “Ellie” Frazetta, the beautiful and sweet WASP wife of Frazetta, created by Kirby, Lee and Eager Ernie Hart for Marvel Comics, and fittingly played by Michelle Pfeiffer, who played beautiful and mysterious jewel thief Diana in the twilit and allegorical Landis docufeature film INTO THE NIGHT [1985] to openly link Janet, Hank, and the film to Landis-from the Twilight Zone of the all CGI and fourth dimension evoking quantum zone with the help of a quantum tunnel and quantum pod in a “Little Girl Lost” and POLTERGEIST evoking quest due to her shrinking between the molecules and going subatomic to deactivate a blockbuster bomb while on an urgent mission as the original Wasp with the original Ant-Man back in the Sixties, a mission that succeeded but left her forever after trapped in the quantum zone to the horrified despair of Dr. Pym.  Given that Scott, Hope, and Hank did in fact succeed in freeing Janet from the twilit CGI quantum zone with the help of a brief psychic link between Janet and Scott, and Hope saved Scott from drowning, and all succeeded in defeating the pesky Ghost with the help of the newfound healing quantum touch of Janet to bring both quests to a successful conclusion and continued to evade Woo and the FBI, in the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end, with Ant-Man also allowed to cut loose as Giant Man again as in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR along the way, Dis, Marv, and Reed reaffirmed their hope that Kelly would return to prominence with a brilliant new film and also implied their hope that CGI had become so advanced that film artists would never again have to worry about fatal film set disasters, thus freeing John and Deborah-the wife of Landis and longtime costume designer for his films-from the Twilight Zone and ending the dread allegorical Zone Wars at last in a film that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, DONNIE DARKO, the Matrix Trilogy, NICK & NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST, SOUTHLAND TALES, THE BLUES BROTHERS, THE BOX, THE WIZARD OF OZ, TIME BANDITS, the eerily and presciently twilit and allegorical Landis docu feature film ANIMAL HOUSE [1978], the eerily and presciently twilit, allegorical, Ozian themed, Lucas executive produced, and Marshall produced Spielberg indie docufeature film RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK [1981], and the allegorical Gordon Douglas feature film THEM! [1954]. 

Significantly, however, whether a daylit and brave neo eon of CGI enhanced film art would truly begin in the new millennium was suddenly left in doubt at the end of the film, for after being sent to the twilit and fourth dimension evoking CGI quantum zone by Hank, Hope, and Janet via a quantum tunnel built in the back of a classic 70’s van, Lang was left trapped in that twilit and fourth dimension evoking CGI quantum zone after successfully collecting healing quantum particles to help solve Starr’s phasing problem to set audiences up for her return as a sour superheroine of sorts in a future MCU film when the twilit trio dissolved away and disappeared into limbo like many of the other marvelous superheroes and superheroines at the end of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.  Preparing audiences for the sight and sound of Lang returning in the next assemblin’, dissemblin’, avengin’ and eagerly awaited chapter of the MCU to come.

        Curiously, before that fantastic film arrived, DC, Warners, and David F. Sandberg implied that they had had a change of heart and now also hoped that Kelly would spring back to life with a super film after ten years of wandering in the wilderness like the young, cute, brunette, despondent, lonely and implicitly Kelly and Scarecrow linked orphan teen William “Billy” Batson-played by Asher Angel-sprung into super life as the multi-powered and implicitly Kelly linked Captain Marvel aka Shazam-played by Zachary Levi-after ten years of wandering in the wilderness after being abandoned by his mother Marilyn Batson-played by Caroline Palmer-before taking on and taking out the bald, creepy and implicitly Steven Soderbergh and Wicked Witch of the West linked Doctor Thaddeus Sivana-played by Ethan Pugiotto as a boy, and by Mark Strong as an adult, respectively-in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced and Ozian themed super satirical animaction film SHAZAM! [2019], a film released on March 25, 2019 whose implicit allegorical intent was affirmed by allusions to THE BOX, making it fitting that SHAZAM! was released in the tenth anniversary year of that fine and fearless feature film.  Even more curiously, later that year DC, Warners, and then HBO implied their hope that Kelly would return from the dead and get back on super track with another fantastic film like the young, short, slim, handsome, brunette, clean shaven, muscular, strong, fear full, troubled, rash, rebellious, indie, plain t-shirt, jeans, and hoodie luvin’, and implicitly Kelly and Tin Man linked teen Jason Todd aka “Robin”-played by Curran Walters-embraced the path of Good before “dying”, returning from the dead as the Evil “Red Hood”, but eventually renouncing Evil and embracing Good and battling Evildoers again with the rest of the implicitly film artist linked Teen Titans including the equally young, short, slim, pretty, multi-hair coloured, gothic, spooky, part demon/part human, and implicitly SCC and Dorothy linked teen Rachel Roth aka “Raven”-played by Teagan Croft-the young, tall, slim, beautiful, muscular, strong, solar powered, and implicitly Ava DuVernay and Glinda linked Koriand’r aka Kory Anders aka “Starfire”-played by Mame-Anna Diop-and the young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, muscular, strong, traumatized, haunted, troubled, and implicitly Spike Jonze and Scarecrow linked teen Richard “Dick” Grayson aka “the other Robin” aka “Nightwing”-played by Brenton Thwaites- in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed super satirical docufeature telefilm soap opera series TITANS [2018-2023], a series first released on October 12, 2018 that implicitly affirmed its allegorical interest in Kelly on one level with allusions to DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES, and THE BOX.

Significantly, Dis, Marv, and the Russo Brothers then finally collaborated again with Downey jr., Douglas, Evans, Holland, Lilley, Mackie, Pfeiffer, and Rudd on the most eagerly awaited film of the new year, decade, and millenium and implicitly addressed Kelly again on one level when the remaining dissemblin’ Avengers assembled to solve the Thanos Conundrum in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie super satirical animaction film AVENGERS: ENDGAME [2019], released on April 22, 2019.

“So,

BACK TO THE FUTURE

is a bunch of bullshit?”

        Indeed, the young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, clean cut and shaven, brilliant, creative, and talented but tragicomically naïve, innocent, goofy, sexually ambiguous, and implicitly Kelly and Great Oz linked Scott Lang aka “Ant-Man/Giant Man”-played again by Rudd, and also by Bazlo and Loen LeClair as a baby, Jackson A. Dunn as a twelve year old, and Lee Moore as a ninety-three year old, respectively-returned back to the future San Francisco from imprisonment in the fourth dimension evoking and all CGI quantum zone when a rat ran over the top of the controls of the classic Seventies van turned quantum teleportation tunnel that Dr. Pym and the Van Dynes used to send Lang to the quantum zone at the end of ANT-MAN AND THE WASP and turned the machine back on.  Freeing Lang to run frantically through the streets of San Francisco to meet his five year older but still young, tall, slim, beautiful, and brunette teen daughter Cassandra “Cassie” Lang-played by Emma Fuhrmann-before driving cross country to the Avengers HQ in New York to team up with all of the marvelous heroes that were not dissolved and sent to limbo at the end of AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR.

Significantly, Lang’s suggestion that they enter the twilit and fourth dimension evoking CGI quantum zone together and exit before the arrival of the towering, purple, bald, vainglorious, universal harmony obsessed, and implicitly Eisner and Wicked Witch of the West linked mad all CGI Titan, Thanos-the left side of his face almost as horrifically scarred and damaged as that of Steward in THE BOX after using the Infinity Stones to destroy the Infinity Stones at the ending beginning of the film, and played again by Brolin-at various points in the future past in order to hunt down the six Infinity Stones and then use them to defeat the pesky and cosmic balance mad Titan was soon resignedly embraced by the Avengers, reaffirming the implicit fondness of Dis, Marv, and the Russo Brothers for Kelly.  Working out the details, they were soon on a multi-time travelling adventure into the future past, where the unusually young, tall, handsome, blonde, clean cut and shaven, muscular, strong, ironically polite, patriotic, virtuous, indomitable but kind, gentle, sweet, luvin’, and implicitly Eastwood and Tin Man linked super soldier Steven “Steve” Rogers aka “Captain America”-played again by Evans-and the short, slim, blue, tough, slightly less nasty and violent, and implicitly Lana Wachowski and Nikka linked cyborg Nebula-played by Karen Gillan-met and battled their past selves, evoking the sight and sound of the past and future selves of Santaros and Taverner confronting each other at the end of SOUTHLAND TALES, reaffirming the implicit interest in Kelly on one level and his implicit link to Lang in AVENGERS: ENDGAME. 

The horrific sight and sound of the young, short, slim, red haired, sexy, smart, strong, deadly, human, and implicitly SCC and Dorothy linked Russian ex-assassin and ex-model Natasha Romanoff aka “the Black Widow”-played by Scarlett Johansson-dying in front of the anguished eyes of the middle aged, short, handsome, brunette, clean cut and shaven, lean but muscular, strong, shrewd, knowing, experienced, indie and implicitly Sir Scott, Scarecrow and Earth linked Clinton “Clint” Barton aka “Hawkeye”-played by Jeremy Renner-in order to recapture the orange Soul Infinity Stone during another deadly trip to creepy Vormir again evoked the sight and sound of Norma dying in front of the anguished eyes of Art in order to atone for using the box and to save Walter at the end of THE BOX and Donnie sacrificing himself in order to save Gretchen at the end of DONNIE DARKO to again affirm the implicit interest in Kelly on one level and his implicit link to Lang in AVENGERS: ENDGAME.  Last but not least, the sight and sound of Lang staring rapturously out of a window in the Avengers complex in upstate New York at the renewed mad world after the middle aged, huge, green, muscular, handsome, beamin’, genial, talkative, clothing and glasses wearing, thoughtful, brilliant, creative, all CGI, and implicitly Lucas linked Doctor Bruce Banner aka “Smart Hulk”-played by Mark Ruffalo-restored the MCU with a snap of his right Infinity Gauntleted hand only to watch a rocket from the huge CGI Sanctuary II spaceship roar toward the window shortly before the final showdown with the returned from the past Wicked Thanos and his malevolent minions at the end of the film evoked not only the past and future selves of Santoros and Taverner again but also the sight and sound of Pinzicki and Smallhouse watching through the side windows of the MegaZeppelin as the rocket blasted by Kefauver roared toward the blockbuster CGI enhanced flying beast at the end of SOUTHLAND TALES, reaffirming the implicit link of Lang to Kelly and the implicit interest in the film art of Kelly on one level in AVENGERS: ENDGAME. 

Thus, the fact that Lang succeeded in helping the assemblin’ and dissemblin’ Avengers finally and ultimately defeat the Wicked Thanos and his malevolent minions, ending the Eisner Era [EE] of the Walt Disney Company and kicking off the Disney CEO Blockbuster Robert “Bob” Iger Era [IE], and bringing life, health, and harmony back to the MCU in a super spectacular eucatastrophic triumph implicitly reaffirmed the hope of Dis and Marv and now the Russo Brothers on one level that Kelly would triumph over his fears and return to the Temple Theatre with another brilliant, confident, creative, and original indie docufeature film, making it also fitting that AVENGERS: ENDGAME was released in the tenth anniversary year of THE BOX and affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, AVENGERS: INFINTY WAR, BRAZIL, DONNIE DARKO, INTERSTELLAR, TIME BANDITS, SOUTHLAND TALES, THE BOX, and THE WIZARD OF OZ.

        Two and a half years later, Lana Wachowski also implicitly linked Kelly to the new young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, and Wicked Witch of the West linked Agent Smith-played by Jonathan Groff-and had him take on and try to take out the neo middle aged, short, slim, handsome, black haired and eyed, and implicitly Reitman and Scarecrow linked Neo-played again by Keanu Reeves-in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed docufeature film THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS [2021], a film released on December 16, 2021 whose implicit Kelly roasting intent on one level was affirmed by allusions to DONNIE DARKO and SOUTHLAND TALES.  As for Dis, Marv and Reed, they implicitly decided it was time for more super encouragement for Kelly, for two years later they teamed up again with Dastmalchian, Douglas, Lilley, Park, Pfeiffer, Rudd, Stoll, and Gregg Turkington-who played the geeky, skinny, impressed, respectin’, and implicitly Carl Sagan linked Baskins-Robbins store manager Dale in ANT-MAN-and returned to the MCU to kick off the new film year and wrap up an implicit Kelly Trilogy in the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed super satirical animaction film ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA [2023], a film released on February 15, 2023.

“You mean you started a war…

That’s what monsters do.”

Curiously, after the usual flickering and action packed panels of Marvel Comics turned into the usual flickering and action packed frames of Marvel Studios to the swelling sound of a familiar triumphant theme, the film unexpectedly began with a creepy prologue where the old, short, slim, long grey haired, beautiful, brainy, lonely, and implicitly Deborah Nadoolman and Glinda linked wife Janet Van Dyne aka the original “Wasp”-played again by Pfeiffer-was still trapped in the dark, spooky, twilit, and fourth dimension evoking CGI quantum zone where a crashing spaceship soon and unexpectedly brought a mysterious person-played by Jonathan Majors.  Then the scene shifted to San Francisco, where we discovered the young, tall, slim, handsome, brunette, clean cut and shaven, equally brilliant, creative, and talented but tragicomically naïve, innocent, goofy, hoody and t-shirt luvin’, sexually ambiguous, and implicitly Kelly and Great Oz linked Scott Lang aka “Ant-Man/Giant Man”-played again by Rudd-wandering the streets and being happily hailed by everyone for playing such a large role in saving the universe back in AVENGERS: ENDGAME to the fittingly wistful and goofily upbeat sound of the allegorical and John Sebastian written and performed theme tune “Welcome Back” [1975] from the WELCOME BACK KOTTER telefilm series [1975-79] first released during the year that Kelly was born, a fame helped by the fact that he was also a bestselling author of a memoir called Look Out For The Little Guy! [2023], a book that was actually released at the same time as the film.

But not free from trouble despite being free from Thanos, for he was soon shrunk and sucked down into the twilit and fourth dimension evoking CGI quantum zone with Janet, the old, short, slim, bespectacled, suited, more upbeat and happy, remarried, and implicitly Landis and Tin Man linked Dr. Henry “Hank” Pym aka the original “Ant-Man”-played again by Douglas-his new wife, the young, short, slim, beautiful, brunette, brainy, and implicitly Capshaw and Dorothy linked PymvanDyne CEO Hope Van Dyne aka “the Wasp”-her hair now a short boy cut, played again by Lilly-and Lang’s young, medium heighted, slim, beautiful, red haired, curvaceous, brainy, rebellious, t-shirt and jeans luvin’, and implicitly Molly Ringwald and mischievous Munchkin linked sadolescent daughter Cassie Lang aka “Ant-Girl/Giant Girl”-played by Kathryn Newton-where they joined forces with the young, slim, indomitable, and implicitly Wachowski linked rebel leader Jentorra-played by Katy O’Brian-and her eclectic and tragicomic but exuberant and indomitable Rebels including the despondent and resigned telepath Quaz-played by William J. Harper-and the unholy pink Oozoid Veb-played by Dastmalchian- to battle and to defeat the mysterious arrival seen in the prologue who turned out to be the cruel, callous, fittingly dimunitive, hated, and implicitly Russian President “Mad” Vlad Putin and Wicked Witch of the West linked exile Kang the Conqueror-still played by Majors-his favourite flying, big headed, small bodied, strange, simpering, and implicitly Bezos and Nikko the Flying Monkey King linked lackey the Mechanical Organism Designed Only For Killing or M.O.D.O.K.-played by Stoll-and his Cylon voiced Quantumnut robot legions before blastin’ back to the present San Fran and a revised edition of Look Out For The Little Guy! in the healing, harmonizing, and eucatastrophic end.  Thus, Dis, Marv, and Peyton implied their hope that a popular uprising would always triumph over and sweep away the equally Evil, cruel, callous, and hated Putin and finally establish freedom and democracy in perennially imprisoned Russia in a film that affirmed its implicit allegorical intent with allusions to ANT-MAN, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP, AVENGERS: ENDGAME, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, DONNIE DARKO, “Little Girl Lost”, the Matrix Trilogy, POLTERGEIST, SOUTHLAND TALES, the STAR WARS Classic and Tragic Trilogies, THE BOX, THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS, THE WIZARD OF OZ, TIME BANDITS, and THX 1138, evoking not only the implicit interest in Lucas in the film art of Kelly but the implicit fondness of the Wachowski Sisters for the film art of Lucas, and the implicit link of Lucas to the young, slim, handsome, and cyberrockin’ Neo-played by Keanu Reeves-in the Matrix Trilogy.

Alas, while the marvelous heroes and heroines appeared to succeed in their quest, multiple alternate versions of Kang amassed after his apparent death for a return engagement in another super satirical animaction film to come, evoking the “probability storm” that had earlier created thousands of tiny Langs in the twilit and fourth dimension evoking CGI quantum zone, and the equally multitudinous, madcap, and grandiose versions of the medium heighted, red haired, black sunglassed and suited, liberated, and implicitly Morrow linked Agent Smith-played by Hugo Weaving-in the twilit, allegorical, CGI enhanced, Ozian themed and implicitly Lucas addressing Lana and Lilly Wachowski indie animaction hung fu film THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS [2003] to reaffirm the implicit interest in Wachowski on one level in ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA.  Curiously, not long after the release of ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA, DC, Warners and Sandberg teamed up again to implicitly link Kelly to the not quite so lonely and also implicitly Scarecrow linked teen William “Billy” Batson aka Captain Marvel aka Shazam-played again by Angel and Levi, respectively-and had him take on and take out the vengeful and implicitly SCC/Wicked Witch of the East and Eleanor Coppola/Wicked Witch of the West linked Titanesses Kalypso and Hespera-played by Lucy Liu and Helen Mirren, respectively-at the healing, harmonizing and eucatastrophic end of the daylit, allegorical, CGI enhanced and Ozian themed super satirical animaction film SHAZAM!  FURY OF THE GODS [2023], released on March 15, 2023.  For his part, Clint Eastwood also implicitly weighed in on Kelly in the daylit, allegorical, slightly CGI enhanced, and Ozian themed indie docufeature film JUROR #2 [2024], released on October 27, 2024.

“And she…

she made me finally want to…

take responsibility for myself.”

Indeed, Eastwood implied in the sight and sound of the young, handsome, Art Lewis resembling and implicitly Kelly and Tin Man linked journalist Justin Kemp-played by Nicholas Hoult-struggling to decide whether to reveal to the police that he probably accidentally and unknowingly hit and killed the young, beautiful, blonde, younger Polley resembling, Norma Lewis evoking, and implicitly Wicked Witch of the East linked Kendall A. Carter-played by Eastwood’s daughter Francesca Eastwood-while driving home from Rowdy’s Hideaway roadside bar one dark and stormy night and accept the criticism and jail sentence for the accident or be quiet and live a false quiet life and let her implicitly Kevin Smith and Scarecrow linked boyfriend James M. Sythe-played by Gabriel Basso-take an incorrect murder rap and life sentence for Carter’s death that it was better for Kelly to return to making film art despite the criticism he might receive for his films than live a quiet but false non-film art creating life.  Thus, it was fitting that the film ended with Kemp being confronted at the front door of his home by the prosecutor of the case, the blonde, slim, newly appointed, and implicitly Polley and Glinda linked District Attorney Faith Killebrew-played by Toni Collette-who resembled both an older Polley and an older Norma, reminding us that Norma, the implicit symbol of film art, was left as dead as Kendall at the end of THE BOX and that Kelly had yet to resurrect her with another fantastic film, an implicit allegorical intent affirmed by the fine feature film’s allusions to DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES and THE BOX.

Thus, JUROR NO. 2 was another implicit and memorable nod to Kelly that would hopefully inspire the indomitably indie film artist to stop encouraging audiences to think that he was dead, to cease to resist the call of film art, to finally leave behind his self imposed exile in the twilit CGI limbo of the fourth dimension, and to use his strong will to triumph over fickle fate by returning like Lang and even Cooper to three dimensional reality and the Temple Theatre with another brilliant, confident, complex, creative, fearless, mature, thought provoking, and ironically CGI bashing CGI enhanced indie docufeature film with another contrasting healing and diseased, harmonious and disharmonious, and eucatastrophic and catastrophic ending perhaps set at Earthy and Springing Easter to complete his elementally Ozian Holiday Quartet.  For Bigelow, Coppola, Cronenberg, Gilliam, Lucas, Lynch, and Sir Scott had all also lived very difficult film art lives during which they had been dismissed and scorned by audiences and been forced to work and battle hard for decades to win them, the major studios, and the august Academy of Arts and Sciences back to their sides until they were finally embraced and rewarded with success and, in some cases, golden Oscars or Lifetime Achievement Awards.  Inspiring real life super sagas that made it clear they did that hope there still was that Kelly could also blast from the future past with another bold, brilliant, confident, original, creative, innovative, mature, and successful indie masterpiece which cause him to be embraced again by audiences and allow him to leave behind “Little” Richard status and rise again to “Big” Dick prominence-or, given his implicit luv of Gilliam, was that “Biguth Dickuth” prominence?-it would and also reaffirm his luv of allegorical and satirical indie docufeature film art, books, classic pop music, and…Twilit Tales.

Bibliography

Kelly, Richard.  The Donnie Darko Book.  London: Faber and Faber Limited, 2003.

-----.  Southland Tales: the prelude saga.  Anaheim, CA: Graphitti Designs, Inc., 2007.

Lang, Scott with Rob Kutner.  Look Out For The Little Guy!  New York: Hyperion Avenue, 2023.

Mitchell, David.  The Thousand Autumns Of Jacob De Zoet.  Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2010.