Digging into the Oscar vault - Stagecoach with John Wayne, Harvey with James Stewart and Winnie the Pooh

I'm afraid I'm about to disappoint some of my friends because I have yet to see Gone Girl, Fury,The Judge or any other new movie even though I had Friday off. It's not that I don't want to, I've just become one with my recliner and loathe going out. I may be one more Law and Order marathon away from an intervention. But that does not mean I have been slacking, oh no, I knocked another four movies off of the list this weekend, and while they were all extremely different (no theme weekend for me), they all got a thumbs up.

10/17/14 The Hellstrom Chronicle, Best Documentary, 1971

The title of this movie struck me as something that could have been a Robert Heinlein or Isaac Asimov book. It definitely had science fiction elements and even used a few clips from some sci-fi movies. This won for Best Documentary, even though the character of the title, Dr. Nils Hellstrom, is fictional and some of his proposed theories are a little wacky (some seem spot on forty-three years later). Dr. Hellstrom is an entomologist (at least I think so based on his interest, but he's just called a scientist in the Wikipedia write-up). Anyway, Dr. Hellstrom has an very doomsday point of view and sees humans on a path to war or conflict with insects and he goes on to recap the evolution of insects over the past million of years. The macrophotography is incredible; too incredible if you don't like bugs, like me. There are closeups of insects being born, having sex, fighting and dying. It's quite the circle of life. This is the type of thing that used to be on The Learning Channel  or The Discovery Channel and that is still shown on PBS (support your local PBS station). The Dr. Hellstrom character is played by Lawrence Pressman (who may be familiar from his many television appearances) with his tongue firmly in cheek. I was debating whether or not to recommend this for younger viewers, and I guess I would leave that up to you. It can be a little scary and gross in parts (yes, I think nature should be clean and neat) and there are about 10-15 minutes devoted to sex among the insects. Of course, you could look at that as a great opportunity to have that birds and bees discussion you've been avoiding. Squeamishness aside, I did enjoy it and I think the quality of the photography holds up all these years later.

10/19/14 Harvey, Best Supporting Actress, 1950

Harvey is the story of Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart) an affable man with a drinking problem and an invisible (imaginary?) white rabbit as a companion, Harvey. Harvey, by the way, is known as a 'pooka', a creature from Celtic mythology. Elwood lives with his sister, Veta (Josephine Hull in her Oscar winning role) and her daughter, Myrtle Mae. Veta and Myrtle Mae are concerned about Elwood's insistence on Harvey's existence; Elwood introduces Harvey to everyone he meets, even the bartender at his favorite bar serves up two martinis without a second thought. Veta wants to have Elwood committed to a rest home/sanatorium, one, to cure Elwood of his hallucinations and two, to keep him out of the way as Myrtle Mae tries to find a suitor. This is where things go a little off the rails, with the staff at Chumley Rest thinking that Veta is the one who needs to be institutionalized. It's pretty comical. Elwood goes through these events totally non-plussed, not troubled at all by those who don't believe in Harvey. James Stewart plays this straight, no camp, no over-eager selling and trying to convince us Harvey is there, and after a while, you kind of start to believe it yourself. Amid the chaos caused by the confusion over whom should be checked in to Chumley Rest, there are some other stories happening; one is the budding romance between Myrtle Mae and Marvin, a nurse at Chumley Rest (Marvin is played by Jesse White, the Maytag repairman); another is the love/hate/love relationship with Dr. Sanderson and Nurse Kelly, also employed at Chumley Rest. Elwood helps bring the two contentious lovers together, or maybe it was Harvey. Dr. Chumley offers Elwood the chance to be normal and stop seeing Harvey if he takes an injection. Through some intervention (Harvey?), Elwood does not get the injection. I liked Harvey, it had some funny bits and James Stewart is always fun to watch. In the introduction to the DVD, Stewart provides some insight to his feelings about the movie and the play (Stewart and Hull played their roles on Broadway first). I thought it was interesting that so many children attended the Saturday matinees because there are references to sex and the whole alcoholic aspect. I don't know if I would recommend this for kids. The good thing is the movie is short enough that you can watch it first and then decide for yourself.

10/19/14 Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, Best Animated Short Film, 1968

Is there anything more comforting than Winnie the Pooh? I think not. I could listen to Sebastian Cabot narrate the phone book, but when he's narrating the adventures of the Hundred Acre Wood, it's just so soothing. I think Winnie the Pooh is timeless, especially the short films made in the late 1960s and early 1970s (I find the later versions don't have quite the same feel). Pooh and his friends experience Winds-day, which is at it sounds, very windy and blustery and rainy. We meet all of Pooh's friends like Kanga and Roo, Rabbit, Tigger, Owl and my favorite, Eeyore. The Blustery Day contains quite a bit of action and characters (it's only about 26 minutes long) including the Heffalumps and Woozles as well as songs by the song-writing team of Richard and Robert Sherman. There is something special about Pooh and the very simple lens with which he looks at life; it's just not that complicated, and that is so refreshing, he has no ulterior motives. There is a book called The Tao of Pooh, I should probably dig that out. One of my favorite things about Disney animated films is figuring out who the voices are and what other characters they have done (this was before big celebrities voicing characters). I had a great time following the different links on Wikipedia to get these tidbits: Sterling Holloway was Pooh, he was also the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Stork in  Dumbo; Paul Winchell played Tigger and he was also Gargamel from The Smurfs among a plethora of voice-over roles; Hal Smith as Owl might be better known to audiences as Otis the town drunk in The Andy Griffith Show; and the inimitable Sebastian Cabot, also known as Mr. French from Family Affair. I watched this on a VHS tape (yes, you read that right), but I believe this may also be available with some other Winnie the Pooh shorts on DVD.

10/19/14 Stagecoach, Best Supporting Actor, Best Music (scoring), 1939, national film registry

John Wayne birth place, Winterset, Iowa

1939 was a great year in film: Gone with the Wind (10 Academy Awards), Wuthering Heights, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Wizard of Oz and John Wayne's first major role as The Ringo Kid in Stagecoach. Whew. John Ford directed John Wayne, Claire Trevor as Dallas, John Carradine as Hatfield, Andy Devine as Buck and Thomas Mitchell as Doc Boone, his Oscar-winning role. Nine characters or as the movie poster in the Wikipedia posting says, "9 Strange People" are heading to Lordsburg, New Mexico Territory via the titular stagecoach through Apache country. The Ringo Kid is out for revenge against the men who killed his family. Dallas has been kicked out of town for being a woman of ill-repute and Doc Boone is the town drunk and leaving town for greener pastures. We learn more about the characters as they proceed on their journey, almost like a western Canterbury Tales (Chaucer would be pleased). I have to admit I am not as familiar with the work of John Ford as I probably should be, but Stagecoach has been called one of the most influential films made (Wikipedia article). I was more interested in that it was John Wayne's first major role and he definitely seems like a natural and was very charming; I liked watching his scenes with Claire Trevor (who won the Oscar for her part in Key Largo and was nominated for her role in The High and the Mighty, with John Wayne), and I was rooting for the two of them to ride off into the sunset. Thomas Mitchell starred in two of the year's major films, Gone with the Wind (he was Scarlett O'Hara's father) and Stagecoach. I enjoyed the movie and look forward to watching more John Ford films (he has won the most Oscars for a director, so I'll have plenty of opportunity).

Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, The Boxtrolls and The Illusionist

10/5/14 National Velvet, Best Supporting Actress, Best Film Editing, 1944, National Film Registry

As I was watching National Velvet I thought it was a terrible shame that I had grown up in the era where it was fashionable to make fun of Elizabeth Taylor for being overweight, for being with Richard Burton (AGAIN) and for drug addiction, but not really understanding her body of work (BUtterfield 8, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Cleopatra, among others). As I watched a very young Elizabeth Taylor (who was 12 and in her first successful film), I was kind of reminded of Jodie Foster who also began acting a very young age and seemed so effortless while doing it. I'm kind of surprised that this movie doesn't get shown more often when you consider the utter crap that is run ad nauseum, this is a great family movie with a classic cast, in addition to Taylor as Velvet Brown, Mickey Rooney is Mi, a young man who knows horses; a very young Angela Lansbury as Edwina Brown; Donald Crisp as Herbert Brown; and Anne Revere in her Oscar-winning role as Araminty Brown. National Velvet is based on the book by Enid Bagnold and is set in 1920s England (although interestingly the film was made in California). Mi is wandering the roads after his father's death, looking for someone who was in his father's address book, the someone happens to be the somewhat mysterious and Yoda-like Mrs. Brown. Velvet and Mi meet 'The Pie' as he is escaping from his farm, with his exasperated owner, Farmer Ede chasing him. Farmer Ede is so tired of The Pie's escapades he raffles him off, and Velvet is the lucky winner. Mi is convinced The Pie has what it takes to run in the Grand National steeplechase, although Mr. Brown is extremely skeptical, but Mrs. Brown, who is the quiet authority in the family, provides the entry fee and entrusts Mi to take it to London and also find a rider. Velvet is the electric current that supplies the electricity and energy and unwavering faith in The Pie's abilities. That's really the high level summary, there are other little things that happen throughout the movie that you kind of have to see, like Anne Revere as Mrs. Brown, she is subtle and strong and aside from not speaking in inverted syntax, she possesses a clear-eyed wisdom of the world. The category for Best Supporting Actress in 1945 was chock full of great performances, including Angela Lansbury nominated for her role in The Picture of Dorian Gray (she was nominated the year before in Gaslight), and Eve Arden and Ann Blyth both for the roles in Mildred Pierce. I'm glad I didn't have to vote. Elizabeth Taylor held her own and her charm comes through and she has a great relationship with Mi. Mickey Rooney is Mickey Rooney, he was born acting but when he's really on, he doesn't seem like he's acting. One thing that may seem odd is that Mi doesn't really have anything of an English accent; in this day and age, we would have expected him to adopt some kind of Irish brogue or something, but perhaps back then, and with Rooney, that would have seemed so unbelievable. He was so well-known to the American movie-going public as Andy Hardy and other 'American' characters, I would not have believed any kind of accent. It's really not critical to the movie anyway. I watched this movie shortly after the #heforshe campaign came out and as more dialogue was being had about girls and women and equality, and while you can disagree with me, I think this is a great movie that showcases the strength of women and what they can do when they are 'stubborn', and it's not a bad thing. Mrs. Brown and Velvet are strong, free-thinking women who have their own opinions and thoughts and are willing to take risks for what they want. And the support and encouragement that Mi gives to Velvet is great, and devoid of malice or jealousy. Not that you have to sit down and have some kind of heavy metaphysical discussion, but it's a nice thing to keep in mind. This is a great family movie and as we are quickly coming into the holiday movie season and you're looking for a movie to watch on a cold autumn or winter weekend with the kids, cast yourself back to 1944 and enjoy this one.

10/12/14 The Boxtrolls, 2014 not yet nominated

Well, this could have been really weird and creepy. In my head I knew that The Boxtrolls was geared towards kids, but in my universe, the kids had already seen in and I would be alone in the theater on a Sunday at 10:45. Um, no. I have no idea what thoughts went through the parents' heads as I made way to my perch in the last row, by myself, sans child(ren). The theater was far from packed, but there were plenty of rugrats, and for once, I was zen about it, after all, this was their movie, I was just visiting. And, when I think about it, the kids were more well-behaved than I could have imagined; it was their parents who could not leave their smartphones in their pockets. Anyway, you probably want to know about the movie. The Boxtrolls takes place in an imaginary land, Cheesebridge, inhabited by people and scary, unknown creatures called "Boxtrolls" who go through the town late at night and take things, kind of like "The Borrowers", like wheels, gears, boxes, etc. Archibald Snatcher (voiced by Sir Ben Kingsley occasionally sounding like Michael Caine) is the Boxtrolls' nemesis and wants to wipe them out and is almost successful with his henchman, Mr. Pickles, Mr. Stout and Mr. Gristle (Tracy Morgan). They don't count on Eggs, a boy who has been raised by the Boxtrolls, and Winnie, the daughter of one of the town fathers, to fight back. There is a lot going on in the movie, and while it may appeal to little kids with the wonderful stop-motion animation and some of the silly, physical humor, there are some bits that adults can enjoy as well, like the existential issues raised by Mr. Stout and Mr. Pickles, the drag queen-esque bit with Madame Frou-Frou, and the oblique and obvious cheese references (or maybe it's just me who enjoyed the references a fromage). There are some 'scary' moments, but unless your child is really sensitive, I think they'll be okay, because all's well that end's well (kids do like to be scared just a little). I loved the underground world of the Boxtrolls, I found it creative and novel and wonderfully fun. I think there is a good chance the movie will be nominated for Best Animated Feature and possibly nominated for Best Song (you never know) "The Boxtrolls Song" written by Eric Idle of Monty Python fame. If you see it in the theater (it was actually a 3D movie), stay until the very end, there is a little treat for those of you who read the credits.

10/12/14 The Illusionist, nominated for Best Animated Feature, 2010

I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but I kind stopped paying a lot of attention to The Illusionist about 25 minutes into it. I think it would have been better off as an animated short. The Illusionist was done by the same creative team who did The Triplets of Belleville, which I actually liked and thought it was really clever. The Illusionist is based on a story/play by famous French comedian/writer Jacques Tati, and is drawn in the style of The Triplets, and like The Triplets, it has very little dialog, and so relies on the visuals alone to tell the story, and I think that's where it lost me. The illusionist of the title, Tatischeff, is a down on his luck magician who befriends a young girl who thinks he really is magical. They leave Paris and head to a small Scottish town where Tatischeff takes on odd jobs to support them. There is something very sad about the movie, it's possible I missed the funny bits. Like I said, I think it would have gone over better in a short format. If you're an animation enthusiast, I would suggest The Triplets  of Belleville over this one since the styles are similar and both have a bittersweet storyline.

I really have a lot of current movies I want to see, and I'm going to try and knock some of those out next week (I wish they weren't over two and half hours, though). I also have a lot of classics coming from the library, so look for more activity in the coming weeks.

The Normal Heart, Bridges of Madison County, Louie, The Best Years of Our Lives, Words and Pictures

Well, it's not like I wasn't doing anything, but it probably seems like it. So without further ado.

The Normal Heart, winner Outstanding Television Movie - Emmy, 2014

It always seems inappropriate to me to say I 'loved' or 'enjoyed' a movie about AIDS or the Holocaust or anything that is about such a serious topic, but what do you say? The Normal Heart was a movie based on the play by Larry Kramer and had a laundry list of television, movie and theater actors that would make any casting director drool. The Normal Heart is set in New York City in the early 1980s and stars Mark Ruffalo as Ned Weeks, our protagonist, and follows him as the New York gay community begins to experience the epidemic that came to be known as AIDS. Julia Roberts is Dr. Brookner as the doctor who treats and documents these cases as they come in; her character is brave in her refusal to cower to the fear the disease has inflicted on caregivers and the public. Alfred Molina is Ben Weeks, Ned's older brother who manages Ned's finances and does not quite accept his brother's homosexuality as normal or healthy. Matt Bomer is Ned's lover who contracts AIDS. There is a litany of other actors, some who were in the Broadway play like Jim Parsons and Joe Mantello. Larry Kramer has been a polarizing figure in the gay community for decades and Ned seems to take on those qualities, an outspoken criticism of the gay community for ignoring AIDS and confronting politicians and potential allies, and the conviction that his is the right way and the only way. This movie does not shy away from anything, not the sex, not the ravages of the disease and not the internal conflicts, nor should it. With the passage of time, it seems that the outbreak of AIDS has been forgotten, the incredible fear that came with it, the deaths of people like Rock Hudson and Freddie Mercury, Liberace that brought the discussion to the general public. The acting is passionate and intense, the frustration is palpable as Dr. Brookner's request for funding and to be included in the research is so haughtily denied. The sadness when Ned says he will no longer speak to his brother until Ben acknowledges that he is an equal and not sick or abnormal is familiar to too many gays and lesbians. This is hard to watch but I think it's worth it. A couple of years ago there was an Oscar-nominated movie that parallels the events in The Normal Heart called How to Survive a Plague that I also recommend as well as Longtime Companion that came out in 1989 and follows a group of friends in the early days of AIDS as well.

Roseman Bridge, Winterset, Iowa 2014

The Bridges of Madison County, nominated Best Actress, 1995

(sigh) One of the things that happens when people find out you watch movies and write about them is they love to recommend movies for you. If I'm really not interested, I usually lie or tell them I have a list a mile long of movies that I have to watch. I kind of set myself up for this one, The Bridges of Madison County, because I told several people that I was going to Iowa and that I saw the bridges of Madison County and the inevitable question was - have you seen the movie? No, it was not on my list, of that I was sure, but a friend from work was insistent, pleading her case that she loved it and it was wonderful and would make me cry. I thought is there a sports documentary hidden in there, because otherwise, I probably won't be crying. I didn't think I would watch it, but then I thought, crap, I should just watch it and then I can use my picture (above) and cross it off the list (I'm not sure what list, but it's crossed off now). Okay, so the movie stars Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep as two people who find each other in 1960s Iowa; she is a farm wife, Francesca, who gave up a lot to be with her husband on his family farm in Winterset, Madison County, Iowa, and he is a photographer, Robert, who is on assignment for National Geographic to shoot the bridges of Madison County. The movie is told in flashback after Francesca's death and her grown children learn of the brief, but impactful, affair. Meryl Streep lost the Oscar to Susan Sarandon in her role as Sister Prejean in Dead Man Walking. I have seen a lot of Meryl Streep movies, and while I think it's fair to say she is pretty excellent in everything she does, I didn't think this was an Oscar-winning role or performance. Francesca and Robert embark on a whirlwind affair while her family is at the Illinois State Fair, and he asks her to go off with him. She wisely declines, knowing that the magic of the four days probably could not be sustained, although she feels the effects of the affair for many years. There you go. The movie was close to three hours, or at least that's how it felt. It was nice to see my neighbors to the south get a little recognition and I guess it brings in a lot of tourists who want to see the bridges (I only saw two and then was pretty much done). I have now seen the bridges and the movie, I refuse to read the book.

Louie, Season 1, 2010

I don't know, I usually don't buy into hype. I'm the anti-hype person, but after watching Louie win Emmys for the past couple of years, I thought I might be missing something. (insert very long, painful silence)
Yeah, no. There were funny bits, but mostly, it was really not my type of comedy, and I use that word loosely. There are currently three other seasons, but I think I'll quit while I'm ahead and just wait impatiently for the next season of Veep to come to my library.

The Best Years of Our Lives, Best Motion Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Writing - Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Honorary Award, AFI #37, 1946

Most of you have probably never heard of The Best Years of Our Lives even though it one seven competitive Oscars and was one of the blockbusters of its time. The Best Years of Our Lives follows three servicemen as they come home from World War II; coincidentally they all live in the same town. They represent the Navy, Airforce and Army and range from being a young man in his early twenties to an older man who has been married twenty years and has two older children. William Wyler directed; Frederic March (who won an Oscar as Best Actor) is Sergeant Al Stephenson who is married to Milly (the wonderful Myrna Loy) and was a bank manager in his previous life; Dana Andrews is Captain Fred Derry who was a bomber pilot but was a soda jerk prior to joining the service. Harold Russell, who was the first non-actor to win a competitive Oscar, was Petty Officer Homer Parrish; Russell actually did lose his hands in the war and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but he was also given an honorary Oscar because the Academy did not think he would win. Hoagy Carmichael is Homer's Uncle Butch and he runs the best bar in town which serves as a meeting place for the guys. As I thought about how I would try to describe all of the different things that go on the movie, I had this visual of swim lanes (if you work in Project Management, then you might understand what I'm trying to convey). The three men are linked because they travel home together, then go their separate ways, then come back together, and so on. That's kind of what makes the movie so long, there's a lot of story to tell. In one way, this movie is very much a period piece, but in other ways, this story could be told today, with our veterans coming back from whatever theater of war they were in and trying to deal with getting back to normal, with injuries you can see and injuries you can't. They didn't call it PTSD back in the 1940s, but that's what it would be recognized as now. Anyway, Al comes back to his loving family and his job at the bank. He's given a promotion to work with small business loans for veterans. Fred returns and looks for his wife whom he married during his training; he struggles in the real world because he doesn't want to go back to the soda fountain, but he doesn't have formal training (these days, the fact that he had to learn how to fly one of those massive bombers would count as some kind of training). He also finds out his wife really isn't interested in him since he doesn't have any money. Homer comes home with his two hooks (his words) but he hasn't really told his family or his girlfriend, Wilma, so they are surprised when they see them. Homer takes it all in stride, well aware that people may be nervous about him or think he can't do anything; he proves them wrong, being able to light matches (think about it, we're used to using our fingers to hold them match), shoot a gun. Harold Russell held his own, and if I didn't know he had never acted before, I don't think I would have known from his performance. Homer doesn't want Wilma to be stuck with him and tries to keep his distance. Wilma, to her credit, isn't having it, and is persistent. He finally gives in and I thought one of the sweetest moments I have seen on film is when he takes her to his room and shows her what his nightly routine is like, so she can have an idea what she is getting into. He shows her how he takes off his robe, his prosthesis and then for all intents and purposes, he's helpless. She doesn't care. It was just a brutally honest few minutes. If the movie was made today, the repercussions of the PTSD and trying to fit in probably would have been more graphic, peppered with swear words, violence and maybe not have had such a positive outcome. So, if you watch this movie (and I hope you do), don't be too quick to characterize it as hokey or unreal.

Words and Pictures not nominated, 2014

This was another movie that someone recommended. It stars Juliet Binoche and Clive Owen as teachers at a private prep school in Maine (I swear they must have been right on the Canadian border, but that's neither here nor there). Juliet Binoche is an artist and is teaching the Honors Art Class, she also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis. Clive Owen is an English teacher who has more than an obsession with the English language and a drinking problem. They somehow become engaged in a debate on which is more necessary or powerful, words or pictures. The debate draws in the students who create poems and paintings to make their points. It certainly is an interesting concept, and the dialog is peppered with quick wit and an appreciation of language. There's some other stuff going on as both characters are knocked back by their respective diseases. I really did not care for Owen's character, I found him smug and arrogant and obnoxious. Binoche was a little more likable than her character in the Before the Dawn/Sunrise/Sunset trilogy, but I guess I really didn't like her either. However, saying all of that, the movie does make you think about words and images and their power, and if you are interested in that debate, then you might like this.

Fleetwood Mac, September 30, 2014 - Target Center, Minneapolis

I have gone to a lot of concerts over the pat year, and this was the biggest venue I have been to since I saw Peter Gabriel at the United Center in Chicago. The only reason I went was because Christine McVie rejoined the band, and she wrote my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs. The show was amazing, the band opened with "The Chain" and as far as I'm concerned just rocked it the whole night. Mick Fleetwood and John McVie have been the unchanging factors in the history of Fleetwood Mac, and they really are one of the best rhythm sections out there. Mick Fleetwood, who is well past 60, still bangs the drums with such ferocity it's hard to believe. Lindsay Buckingham, who I go hot and cold on, he always seems to diffident, has a unique guitar style and gets some great sounds and had a couple incredible solos. This was the first concert of the latest tour and the Target Center was sold out and very engaged and appreciative, as was the band. They thanked the audience several times, not just the 'thank you very much' but they expounded on how excited they were to start the tour, and start it with Christine McVie. It was a love fest up there. They played for over two and a half hours and did all the hits and I was trying to mentally tick them off my list. I was pretty high up, although towards the center, so I was head on, but they were awfully teeny down there. Thank god they had huge screens. I hope this iteration sticks around, they say they are also working on a new record. I would see them again (only these five, otherwise, forget it). My only complaints are actually about the audience, and at first I was going to blame Minnesotans, but I think this may be how it is these days. What the frack is it about talking through the concert? Seriously? It's not a damned football game or a picnic or a pizza party in your living room. Shut the hell up. Then, the chick behind me apparently felt like she was at home in her chaise lounge because she had her feet up over the end of the seat, right behind my head. I don't drink at concerts (or anywhere really), one I don't like the taste of beer, and the thought of paying $8 for a beer is just obscene, but then if you drink 32 ounces of beer, at some point, you're going to have to expel it, so the up and down, just makes me nuts. Then, I paid a lot of money to see this show, and I don't want to miss anything. If I missed "You make loving fun" because I was in the bathroom, I would have been devastated. I guess that's your choice, but could you be less annoying going up and down the stairs? Oh, that felt good. Thanks for listening. If you can, see Fleetwood Mac when they come to town, you will not regret it.