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.
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| 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.
