Weekend Watch: Light & Magic, Harley Quinn Season 3
Effects expertise and a delightful DC comics character.
Image Credit: Disney+
Welcome to the latest edition of Weekend Watch, in which I recommend (or occasionally warn against) movies or TV shows I’ve been checking out. This week, peeking behind the curtain at the origins of an effects powerhouse and the welcome return of an anarchic animated favourite. Follow James on Twitter: @jamwhite
Light & Magic as a documentary presents a particular challenge if you’ve seen (or read) enough behind-the-scenes looks at Industrial Light & Magic and the various geniuses who work there.
You’ve probably heard lots of the stories of the cobbled-together, figured-out early days providing the incredible (to this day) effects work for Star Wars back in the 1970s. And you’ll know how the evolution from models and physical camera rigs to CG and virtual sets was a painful process even as it revolutionised the industry.
So what is there left for this new documentary, overseen by filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, to say? As it turns out, plenty, though you might still be wishing it dug deeper into some of the personal conflicts.
That was never likely to happen, though it does touch on some sorer points than you might expect from a documentary backed by Disney and Lucasfilm. Kicking off its story in the tough birth era of ILM – created by George Lucas specifically because he couldn’t find companies able to deliver what he was after – it chronicles the experiences of some of the power players of visual effects, including John Dykstra, Ken Ralston, Phil Tippett, Joe Johnston, Dennis Muren and more. They were a scrappy bunch, going from making their own shorts to working against stressful deadlines to innovate much of how effects were created until the early 1990s (and with techniques that are still industry standard today).
Though effects work is still fraught and full of deadlines, big egos and budget crunches, it’s enlightening to see more of what was happening back in the 1970s and ‘80s, with directors such as Lucas, Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis giving their input alongside those who were labouring to bring their visions to life.
And while the big names are naturally front and centre, there is a healthy portion dedicated to people who don’t get the recognition they always deserve, such as Rose Duignan and Jean Bolte.
Yes, I might have wished that we got more insight into Dykstra’s leaving the company and some more talk of the tension between the original model teams and the CG whizzes who arrived and shook up the company, but at least there are candid, interesting interviews with Tippett and more on that front. And the documentary is full of new footage following the teams at work.
It was never going to fly as deeply into the trenches as some – myself included – might have preferred but Light & Magic still has revelations to share and fascinating stories of how some of the most famous effects in movie history were brought to life.
All six episodes of Light & Magic are on Disney+ now.
Image Credit: HBO Max
The DC Extended Universe on the big screen might not quite have figured a cohesive direction, but on TV, chaos reigns. In the best way possible.
Though the CW’s DC shows might be winding down, DC’s animated division continues to crush quality, anarchic entertainment and few series can match the madcap thrills of Harley Quinn.
With a fittingly loopy voice performance from Kaley Cuoco (who clearly loves pushing the boundaries on every script from showrunners Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker and their team), it’s a rude, raucous and decidedly not kid-friendly ride.
In this incarnation, Harley is not the Joker’s (Alan Tudyk) girlfriend – they broke up at the start of the series and Harley has looked to become her own brand of criminal kingpin (or queenpin). She’s found a lair, recruited a gang (changeable, but usually including Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) King Shark (Ron Funches) and Clayface (Tudyk again), and caused havoc all over Gotham City.
Season Three picks up shortly after the events of the second. Ivy and Harley are a couple, Commissioner Gordon is after them for their most recent caper and, in the second episode at least, Nightwing voiced with hilarious self-seriousness by What We Do In The Shadows’ Harvey Guillén, is back in town and teaming up again with the Bat-family.
Yet what you really need to know is that Harley Quinn’s freewheeling, DC-spoofing tone is unchanged, and the references come thick and fast. No comic book character from the DCU is safe, and the gags also hit various pop culture targets. Bane (James Adomian) narrating a tricky problem in his life like he’s Sex And The City’s Carrie Bradshaw? Yup, they do it – in an episode in which he admits he also bought the wedding dress from the show’s first spin-off movie because he’s a collector and couldn’t pass up vintage Vivienne Westwood.
There’s a genuine joy to be had here, and while the humour’s sometimes scattershot, the character work is spot on. Harley Quinn might just be the best DC show on right now – or at the very least, the nuttiest.
The first three episodes of Harley Quinn Season 3 are on HBO Max in the US. New episodes will debut weekly on Thursdays. There is no news yet on when the new season will land in the UK via E4.