Belated anniversary posting - Mister Rogers, The Quiet Man, From Here to Eternity, Night of the Living Dead

Before I launch into the reviews, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the 6th anniversary of the blog. I should have compiled some statistics, but failing any accurate count, I can safely say I have blogged about over 1,000 movies: full length, short, documentary, science fiction, award winners and losers, wonderful films and not so wonderful films. I have around 728 Oscar winners left to watch; two left from the BBC list (down to one after this writing); one left on the American Film Institute list; and 486 on the National Film Registry. At times, it seems insurmountable, other times it feels like I'm making great strides. So, without further ado, let's make some great strides.

7/21/18 Won't You Be My Neighbor, 2018, not yet nominated

After watching Won't You Be My Neighbor, the documentary on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood and its creator, Fred Rogers, left me with a greater appreciation for the man and his care, insight and sincerity in working with children. It was almost a crusade, and that's not meant in a negative way; he truly believed that children deserve to be treated with respect and not talked down to with the typical condescension found in children's programming. Mr. Rogers broke all kinds of barriers (the episode where he cools his feet in a wading pool and invites Officer Clemmons (black actor Francois Clemmons) to join him, it spoke volumes in a country struggling with the Civil Rights Movement. Rogers and his puppets addressed other issues in a way children could understand. There was a period of time when it was fashionable to mock Mr. Rogers, I mean, nobody could be that good and kind, could they? And while our world has moved at a crazy pace, and it's common for children to watch shows with violence, sex, swearing, innuendo, and maybe Mister Rogers would be out of place in 2018, I'd like to think he wouldn't be. I think Fred Rogers and the Land of Make Believe is sorely missed. Won't You Be My Neighbor is worth watching for the insights from the actors, the crew and his family.

8/26/18 From Here to Eternity, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing - Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography (B&W), Best Film Editing, Best Sound, National Film Registry, 1953

We have all probably seen the scene of Burt Lancaster rolling in the surf with Deborah Kerr, but there is so much more to From Here to Eternity than that. Set in Hawaii in the weeks leading up to Pearl Harbor, the movie follows three men and their struggles and challenges in the same Army company. Lancaster is First Sergeant Warden, an efficient, cool, tough leader, who has no desire or love for commissioned officers; he does have a desire for the wife of his captain, Karen Holmes (Deborah Kerr). Montgomery Clift is Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, a man who does things for his own reasons, including take a demotion and taking abuse from others in his company for refusing to box on the regimental team. Frank Sinatra is Maggio (Sinatra won the Best Supporting Actor for his role), a seemingly happy go lucky private, who is Prewitt's only friend. Maggio takes Prewitt to a private club off base where Prewitt meets Lorene (Donna Reed in her Oscar-winning role); Lorene and her co-workers are paid to dance and socialize with the members, but they start seeing each other. In addition to the leading actors, the cast is filled with actors in smaller roles that would go on to become stars themselves: Ernest Borgnine as Fatso, a sergeant who gives Maggio a hard time for being Italian and sets in motion one of the key plot points; Jack Warden; George Reeves (televison's Superman); and Claude Akins. Nineteen fifty-three was a great year for films (Shane, The Robe, Stalag 17, Roman Holiday), and I can't imagine having to pick winners from those films and the others of that year, and I have found that looking back, sometimes there's more hype than quality. I would not say that here. I really enjoyed the different story lines in the film, and the characters; the more I watch of Burt Lancaster, the more I love him; and Sinatra seemed like a natural for Maggio. I'm glad I finally watched it.

8/26/18 Ant-Man and The Wasp, not yet nominated, 2018

Well, like I told a couple of my friends, it was okay, not great; I didn't feel compelled to tell people they HAD to see it, like I did for Wonder Woman or Black Panther. The story line is not even worth me trying to recount to you; it did sort of answer some questions in the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline, sort of. The 'big' thing is this is the first Marvel movie to have a female superhero in the title (why that wasn't the Black Widow, I don't know). The science and the cinematography are very well done, and there's some funny quips. Maybe because I was so shocked that I liked the first Ant-Man so much, I just felt a little let down.

8/26/18 The Quiet Man, Best Director, Best Cinematography, 1952, National Film Registry

In The Quiet Man John Ford directs John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in one of their several collaborations, and won an Oscar for it. It's definitely not the typical John Wayne Western, being set in rural Ireland in the 1920s, and Wayne is retired boxer Sean Thornton who has returned to the land of his parents. Thornton makes a big impression on the locals, including Mary Kate Danaher (O'Hara), but most of them do not know who he is. It's not really a boxing movie or a farming movie, it's romantic comedy, complete with misunderstandings and romantic subterfuge. Danaher is an independent, spitfire of a woman, who battles her brother, Squire Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen) as well as Thornton. I don't think there's anything very deep or sophisticated in the story itself, it's just enjoyable to watch O'Hara and Wayne go head to head, and there is a comedic aspect to the film, especially from Barry Fitzgerald as Michealeen Flynn. The scenery and cinematography are beautiful, and I almost felt compelled to book a trip to Ireland.

9/1/18 Night of the Living Dead, 1968, BBC #85, National Film Registry

I have not made any secret  of the fact that I really do not like horror movies, and after watching cult-classic Night of the Living Dead that hasn't changed. For one horrific night, all over America, dead people are coming back to 'life' or a state of animation, and killing and eating other people. Mmmm, delish. George Romero directed the first in his series of zombie movies on a small budget, with several actors playing multiple roles, and pretty minimal effects (compared to what we are used to in horror movies). Set in western Pennsylvania, brother and sister, Johnny and Barbra, are visiting their father's grave when a strange man comes towards them; he grabs Barbra when Johnny comes to her rescue (a noble, but fatal decision). Barbra runs off towards a house where she meets Ben. Ben is determined to fight off the zombies, even as he tries to engage Barbra in their own survival. They discover there are other people hiding in the house, and there are different ideas as to how to defeat or escape the zombies. I am certainly not going to spoil it for you. It was scary, suspenseful and gross and gory. If that's your thing, you have probably seen it already. I am just so thrilled it is off the lists.

The BBC list with 25th Hour & Red River, and two more nominees from 2016: Land of Mine, Silence

6/3/17 25th Hour, 2002, #94 BBC

If you've read recent entries here, you know that my relationship with the BBC 100 list is very hot and cold, sometimes it's downright confounding. That's probably the reason I'm always so pleasantly surprised when I like or really enjoy a movie from it. 25th Hour was directed by Spike Lee and stars Edward Norton as Monty Brogan, a young drug dealer on his way to prison; Barry Pepper and Philip Seymour Hoffman as his two best friends Frank and Jake; Rosario Dawson is his girlfriend, Naturelle; and Brian Cox is his dad. Most of the movie follows Monty as he spends his last day of freedom, hanging out with his friends and his girlfriend, settling up with Russian mob that financed his drug business, and re-thinking his life. It's not a big ideas or big statement movie, it just tells a story, and Norton is understated, in a wonderfully engaging way. I don't normally pull for the drug dealer to come out on top, but I was really hoping Monty would make it out of prison okay. He shows his soft side early in the movie when he rescues a dog that is near death, and then takes him home. Maybe Doyle (the dog) is the beginning of Monty's redemption (I don't know, just thinking out loud). Monty is definitely not your stereotypical drug dealer, that's for sure. The movie is set in New York City and the shadow of 9/11; there are references to the first responders who died in the towers (Monty's father was a fireman); Frank's apartment overlooks the pit that was the World Trade Center; and there is a provocative inner dialog that has Monty raging against all of the immigrant/non-white groups living in New York. New York is Spike Lee's 'space' if you will, as much a character as one of the actors. The one character or storyline that didn't seem to go anywhere was with Anna Paquin as Mary D'Annunzio, who is one of Jake's students. She flirts with Jake, and he is not able to completely resist her charms. I would have liked more time on Naturelle and Monty, or Jake, Frank and Monty. There are no real 'special effects', not too much violence (it's there, but part of the story, not gratuitous), no nudity, the only sex is whatever Mary is trying to do; the emphasis is on the characters, and that is what made me want to watch this movie and care about the characters. You may not have heard about this movie before, but you have now.

6/9/17 Red River, 1948, #66 BBC, National Film Registry

Director Howard Hawks has four films on the BBC list of best American films; he probably should have had more, and his movies have won Oscars and are embedded into our collective film psyche (His Girl Friday, The Big Sleep, To Have or Have Not, Bringing Up and dozens more). So, combine Hawks with John Wayne and a host of other Hollywood names, like Montgomery Clift, Walter Brennan, and Noah Beery, you are likely to have a pretty good movie. Or an absolutely fabulous western, if you prefer. Thomas Dunson (Wayne) is a headstrong, and not entirely likeable, cattle rancher, looking to make a life out west in Texas. He's joined by his trusty cook and hand, Nadine Groot (the original) (played by Walter Brennan), and eventually a young boy, Matthew (Clift plays the older Matthew), who has lost his family in a raid. Dunson and his men build and grow a huge cattle operation, but because of the Civil War and the new laws of Reconstruction and the carpet baggers that have down from the north, the price of cattle has been driven way down. Dunson embarks on a massive cattle drive to Missouri, and it's the cattle drive that makes up most of the film. This ain't no City Slickers, that's for sure. Before the men set off, Dunson makes them sign a contract saying they won't leave the drive before it's finished (which is ironic, because that's kind of what he did in the beginning of the film), and he's very strict and tough, and there is only his way; he and Matthew, whom he has adopted, often disagree on the best way to do...everything. There is a bitter parting of the ways when Matthew and some of the other men suggest heading to Kansas instead of Missouri; but Dunson insists on Missouri and Matt and the others rebel, beating up Dunson, and heading to Abilene. It's not that they want to steal anything from Dunson, they just do not want to go his way, and are tired of his dictatorial behavior. The cattle drive took over 100 days, and a lot of things happened, like rain, and heat, and stampedes, a mutiny, and a girl. Yes, a girl. Dang it. The film opened with Dunson's love interest trying to follow him, unfortunately for her, that didn't go as planned. The other woman of the story, Tess Millay (Joanne Dru) is a dance hall girl who almost immediately falls in love with Matt, and he with her, I suppose. But, of course, he doesn't want her to follow him on the cattle drive. They do meet up again in Abilene as Matt and Dunson square off against each other, and, it seems the reason they make up is because of Tess. Honestly, that whole story line was weak and really not needed. I'm not an expert on Westerns, so I just go by if I enjoyed the movie or not. I did; it was different from the cowboys and Indians westerns, although there were Indians as part of the story, but not the whole story; there was some comedy provided mainly by Walter Brennan and the teeth he lost in a card game; this was one of Clift's very early movies, a few years before his Oscar-nominated role in A Place in the Sun; and John Wayne was mostly unlikeable, which I don't think happened that often (although, I could be wrong). I will say that the makeup, especially for Wayne was HORRIBLE; they had to age him fourteen years, so they put on a terrible hairpiece that looked so fake, it was ridiculous. The film score is magnificent, done by Dimitri Tiomkin, who did so many movie scores, but a few are Rio Bravo, High Noon, and Dial M for Murder.  I don't know exactly why this is on the BBC 100 list, but it is (I don't understand what makes it so special).

6/9/17 Silence, nominated Best Cinematography, 2016

If I didn't know that Martin Scorsese directed Silence, I don't think I would have guessed it in a million years. It is a film set in 16th century Japan focusing on a few of the Jesuit priests who went to Japan to spread Christianity, and the resistance they encountered from the Japanese rulers. It wasn't just resistance, but brutal torture and often, death, inflicted on their converts and the priests. Andrew Garfield is Portuguese padre, Sebastiao Rodrigues and Adam Driver is fellow priest, Francisco Garupe who head to Japan looking for their teacher, Cristovao Ferreira. Along the way, Rodrigues and Garupe meet many converts who are hiding and fear for their lives. They are sold out to the local samurai, and wherever they go, they bring danger to the people and themselves. These are tests of faith for both men, who had no idea or true understanding of what happened to the followers of Jesus. Rodrigues and Garupe often quarreled about the extent and depth of belief that the villagers should embrace; if they renounced Christ and stepped on an image of him, that was often enough to 'renounce' the faith, and save their lives. This would be practical, but many refused and were put to death. The two men split up to reduce the risks to the villagers and hopefully find Father Ferreira. Rodrigues is the main protagonist, and we follow him as he is captured by the chief inquisitor, and has to watch as faithful converts are murdered in front of him, and the bloodbath will continue until he commits apostasy. Father Ferreira is brought to try and convince Rodrigues to renounce his faith, to save the others. They debate the value and importance of spreading Christianity to countries like Japan. Ferreira, who committed apostasy years before, believes it's hopeless and pointless, and that there is much to learn from the Japanese. The movie is beautifully filmed, but it is brutal, there is no shying away from the varieties of torture that were used. I know there is a lot of controversy around the church, and the role of the Jesuits in converting the native inhabitants, sometimes just as forcefully. I thought it was interesting that Andrew Garfield was in another role that saw him persecuted for his faith (Oscar-nominated Hacksaw Ridge also from 2016); in this film, however, his faith was shaken and he questioned it and himself more than in Hacksaw Ridge. I liked the movie, but it took me forever to even watch it because I was so afraid of its almost three hour run time (in fact, I could have seen it in the theater, but the thought of sitting there for so long frightened me). I don't think it's one of those 'must-see' movies, but if you're the least bit interested, I say go for it.

6/10/17 Land of Mine, nominated Best Foreign Film, 2016

Land of Mine is a kick in the stomach. Even though it's set in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the message applies to the ongoing wars, and society, today. It made me think of All Quiet on the Western Front, and the senseless deaths of young men, boys, really. The movie takes place in Denmark, a country that was occupied by Germany during World War II, except after the war, Denmark was one of the victors and used young German soldiers to clear German land mines. On the one hand, you could say, good, that's what should be done, and Sergeant Rasmussen seems to agree. He is merciless and, seems to me, very cruel; but, he and his countrymen have been released from the German oppression. On the other hand, the young men in front of him are boys, maybe 18, not more than 20 years old, and they didn't plant those land mines. At some point the madness has to stop. Rasmussen doesn't flinch when the boys ask for food; he simply says no, he doesn't care if they starve or die, and tells them that. One of the boys makes the point that it would be 'better' if they died out there, clearing land mines, than from starvation; Rasmussen doesn't budge. Clearing the land mines is a dangerous business; if you're not killed outright, you could be maimed; the mines are fickle, and even when they are disarmed, they can still explode. This is a true story that has not been told, and writer/director Martin Zandvliet did his research and pulled facts together from different sources. Zandvliet shows the humanity of the young men as well as their principle jailer, Rasmussen. He keeps the viewer off balance, even when you think you know what is going to happen, it still jars you. This probably isn't at the top of anyone's list to see this summer, with so many blockbusters out there, but it's a movie that makes you think and feel, and that's more than a lot of movies can say.

This leaves one more film from 2016 to see (out of winners and nominees, The Salesman).

John Wayne, Orson Welles, Hitchcock, Tootsie and Frida - something for everyone

3/13/16 Rio Bravo, 1959, #41 BBC, National Film Registry

Rio Bravo was directed by Howard Hawks (His Girl Friday) and stars John Wayne, Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson. It kind of seems like an unusual combination, but it really works. Toss in Walter Brennan, a couple of songs sung by Martin and Nelson, pretty good banter and you have a movie perfect for a Saturday afternoon at the cabin (since it's getting to be that time again). Sheriff John T. Chance (Wayne) is guarding a high value target (as we would say these days) and doesn't have a large pool of deputies, so he scrapes the bottom of the barrel. Chance puts his faith in Dude (Martin), an alcoholic cowboy who used to be a great shot; Stumpy (Brennan) who makes up in heart and spirit with what he lacks in physical mobility; Colorado (Nelson), a young cowboy who works for a friend of Chance and only joins Chance when his boss is gunned down by someone trying to free Joe Burdette. I liked the movie; there was a little bit of suspense, some great shooting, and like I have gotten used to from Hawks' films - quick, rapid fire dialog. John Wayne may have been one of the great unintentional straight men, putting the lines out there for Brennan to hit out of the park. The one thing I really didn't like, and I don't feel that it added to the movie, was Chance's relationship with Feathers (Angie Dickinson). Otherwise, it was fun.  

3/13/16 Touch of Evil, 1958, #51 BBC, National Film Registry

Orson Welles wrote, directed and starred in this dark, moody and tense thriller set on the borders of the United States and Mexico. Welles is Captain Hank Quinlan (he is under a lot of makeup, but he's there) and Charlton Heston is Miguel "Mike" Vargas, a drug enforcement official from Mexico who has just married his American wife, Susie (Janet Leigh). They stumble upon a car bomb that goes off on the American side of the border and kills an American businessman.Vargas and Quinlan engage in a turf war of sorts, with Quinlan predictably against Vargas's presence in the investigation of the bombing, as well as biased against Mexicans in general. Susie is not thrilled about being in Mexico, and while she waits for Mike to finish his official business, she waits in a motel, owned by "Uncle Joe" Grandi, a Mexican mob-type figure who has his fingers in all kinds of things. Susie (Janet Leigh is relegated to panicked looks, hysterical screaming and crying, necessary, but annoying) is cut-off from Mike and his American counterparts and is harassed and tormented by Uncle Joe's minions. This seems like a throwaway part of the story, but it does bring everything together in the end. We are not sure if Quinlan is just a hard-boiled cop, upset at Vargas's presence, or a corrupt and jaded man. There is a hint of sadness in him and we don't get the whole story, but we get hints, through his conversations with his loyal partner, Pete, as well as his reminiscences with Tanya (Marlene Dietrich), a brothel owner. I am not overly familiar with the work of Marlene Dietrich, but I thought she was wonderfully understated, but strong, and I would have liked to see more interactions with Tanya and Quinlan (that could have been a totally separate movie). The last twenty minutes are really intense and very suspenseful. Once I got past Charlton Heston as Mexican (I thought surely there were Mexican or Mexican-American actors, but maybe they went with Heston for star power), and Susie/Janet Leigh's whininess, I was very enthralled. If I didn't know Welles was involved, I would have thought this was a Hitchcock film, except it didn't have any of those comedic touches that Hitchcock used. If you are looking for a film noir for your next movie night, I suggest A Touch of Evil.

3/19/16 Frida, Best Makeup, Best Original Score, 2002 

Frida is a bio-pic about Mexican surrealist Frida Kahlo (Selma Hayek) and her husband and painter, Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina). The movie introduces us to a young Frida Kahlo, playful, philosophical, and in love, when she is involved in a devastating trolley versus bus accident, where she experiences injuries that affect her the rest of her life. She has a lot of time to paint and draw as she recuperates from many surgeries; and upon her recovery, she visits famed Mexican painter, Diego Rivera. They bond over art, but also politics as they are both Communists/Socialists. They swear to remain friends, because Rivera has a terrible reputation as a womanizer, and that promise lasts about 60 seconds. What follows is a tumultuous and passionate love affair that informs Frida's art, although to be fair, the movie features both artists' work as they traveled together as Rivera did his murals in America (Detroit, New York City, Chicago). Frida and Diego both had relationships outside of their marriage and it seemed to work for them, until Diego had an affair with Frida's sister and later after they reconciled, Frida had an affair with Leon Trotsky. This was a world where politics and art collided. I liked the movie, and I liked the way the artwork was shown, and for Frida how much of her inner pain, physical and emotional, came through her work. I was less thrilled with the surrealistic 'vignettes' that director Julie Taymor included. I thought they were annoying; others may disagree. I learned a lot about both artists, and Hayek and Molina were Frida and Rivera; it was truly a tragic love story. I probably would not have watched this movie if it wasn't on my list, but I am glad I did.

3/19/16 Marnie, 1964, #47 BBC

What can I say about Hitchcock? He is the master of suspense, and I always (always) get his movies with a lump in my throat because I am so sure I am going to be scared out of my wits, even before watching them or even knowing what they're about. I'm sure he would be pleased. I made sure to watch Marnie, starring Sean Connery and Tippi Hedren, during the day so I would not have nightmares before bedtime. Seriously. And not that I was disappointed, but I didn't have any nightmares and quite enjoyed the movie. Tippi Hedren is the title character, Marnie, who has a bad habit of stealing from her employers and then disappearing into a new identity. She's quite effective until she meets Mark Rutland (the ever so suave Sean Connery) who owns Rutland Publishing. Through a variety of special effects as well as the powerful score, by Bernard Hermann, gives us some clue that Marnie isn't a hardened criminal, but a damaged young woman (think back to Hitchock's Spellbound or Vertigo) who needs the understanding Rutland to 'fix' her. There were times when I felt things dragged a bit or that the acting from the other characters was pretty bad, but the last thirty minutes are outstanding. Since I watched A Touch of Evil just a few days before Marnie I was making comparisons in my mind about the films, the camera angles, the use of suspense and letting the viewer know only what the director wanted us to know and the use of visual and sound effects to heighten the tension. Marnie may be one of my favorite Hitchcock films now. I have to watch Psycho and perhaps I will get up the courage...or not.

3/19/16 Tootsie, 1982, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, #69 AFI, National Film Registry

A friend and I were talking about how so many movies (it seems) that were made decades ago that had racist or sexist elements still seemed to be relevant today. I saw Tootsie when it came out in the theaters over thirty years ago and I remember my friends and I thought it was hilarious and that Dustin Hoffman was awesome (actually, I don't think 'awesome' was in the lingo as much as it is these days). It went on to be one of the year's best movies and was nominated for ten Oscars, although only winning one. Dustin Hoffman is Michael Dorsey, an out of work and difficult to work with actor in New York City who finally gets a job on a soap opera as Dorothy Michaels. The only other person who knows about this twist is Dorsey's roommate and playwright, Jeff played Bill Murray who is nonplussed by his friend's behavior. Teri Garr is Sandy Lester a friend and fellow actor who also struggles to find employment. Much to his surprise, Michael gets the role on the soap (the audition is hilarious, with the producer and director imploring the cameramen not to get too close); and this new role leads Michael to see how hard it is for actresses who face more discrimination and harassment by their co-stars and employers. Michael, being a sensitive soul, decides to make his character, Emily Kimberly, a voice for these women, and "she" becomes a rallying point for women around the country. I don't often laugh out loud at movies, they're not that funny or I'm just laughing on the inside, but I laughed a lot during Tootsie. Hoffman is surrounded by a great cast (Jessica Lange, Geena Davis, Charles Durning, Dabney Coleman, Sydney Pollack) and they all play off of one another so well; they are so believable in their belief in Dorothy's existence. Teri Garr and Jessica Lange were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress, with Lange winning. I was worried that I would not find Tootsie as funny the second time around, but I was wrong. It was funny, still current in some respects, and nostalgic in others (the Stephen Bishop soundtrack). If you haven't seen this one in a while, you should watch it. 

The BBC 100 list - Goodfellas, His Girl Friday, Meet Me in St. Louis

3/4/16 Goodfellas, Best Supporting Actor, 1980 #92 AFI, #20 BBC, National Film Registry 

 If  you're a fan of Robert DeNiro, Martin Scorcese, The Sopranos or  The Godfather, you have probably seen this movie at least once, but I'm guessing four or five times. I have also seen it a few times, but I wanted to watch it once more before reviewing it. Goodfellas is based on a true story and real life gangsters and is told from the perspective of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), an Irish-Italian associate of the New York mob. Henry starts hanging out with the wise guys as a young kid and is easily drawn into the lifestyle. He gets as close to the inner circle as he could without being a made man. His two closest friends are James "Jimmy the Gent" Conway (Robert DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci in his Oscar-winning role); they are both hot-headed, but Tommy is even more so, losing it on more than one occasion. Tommy is over-the-top, maybe even psychotic. Against a direct order by Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino), Henry gets involved in the drug business, and starts using. He brings his wife Karen (Lorraine Bracco) into it as well. Things take an inevitable turn for the worst for the Hills and several of their friends. I like the movie, I like the pacing; Scorcese takes us through four decades, from 1955 through the early 1980s, but it doesn't drag on, or at least it didn't feel that way to me. I do think that if you're going to really follow the different, minor characters, it can be challenging. There are a lot of people moving in and out of the scenes, and most of the time it's not that important, but then when they start getting knocked off, it's handy to know who they are or why they are being whacked. An underlying plot (Hill was not directly involved) was the Lufthansa Airlines robbery at LaGuardia Airport in 1978, which is not gone into in detail, but the repercussions ripple throughout the gang. If you do not know about it, it may be confusing. Of course, maybe not, maybe you pay better attention than I do.

3/5/16 A Woman Under the Influence, 1974, #31 BBC, National Film Registry

I think I should have been under the influence while watching this movie. It may have made the yelling and jumpy story more tolerable. May have, no guarantees. A Woman Under the Influence has been cited as influential, inspiring, groundbreaking, etc., so I finally watched it. I think this may be one of those instances where at the time it was released, 1974, John Cassavetes' film starring his wife, Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk, was all of those things. Forty years later, it seemed like a movie of lost opportunities. Gena Rowlands is Mabel Longhetti and Peter Falk is her husband, Nick. Mabel is a housewife and mother of three young children, who seems to be desperately lonely and depressed as she is home alone during the day, while Nick is out with his friends and co-workers during the day, and sometimes during the night when there is an emergency (he is some kind of public works employee). Nick describes Mabel as different, quirky, but he is tolerant and seems to understand her. If the movie was made today, her idiosyncrasies might have been attributed to post-partum depression or another diagnosable mental illness; but Mabel just seems wacky, close to hurting herself or her children, and she is put in a mental hospital. We never see Mabel getting help or treatment, we see Nick playing with the kids (actually getting them drunk on little sips of beer), and then having a party for Mabel's return. There are too many gaps for me, and a lot of shouting and repetition of lines, almost as if they were being improvised. Usually I will check out Wikipedia, but I didn't want to be swayed, and I still haven't looked. I will say that Rowlands was really good and was nominated for Best Actress, losing out to Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. Peter Falk was in more of the film that Rowlands, and showed a side that was very un-Columbo-like (some of you may not even be familiar with Falk's role as the wrinkled Detective Columbo). For film buffs, you should probably see this, or you have already; but if you're a casual movie fan, looking for a fun Saturday night movie, this is not it. Sorry.

3/6/16 His Girl Friday, 1940, #50 BBC, National Film Registry

Howard Hawks teams up again with Cary Grant for another comedy classic (Bringing Up Baby with Katherine Hepburn), but this time he pairs Grant with Rosalind Russell.  His Girl Friday is set in the world of newspapers, with Grant as Walter Burns, the editor of The Morning Post and Russell is Hildy Burns, his ex-wife, ace reporter, and the person who knows him better than he knows himself. Hildy has returned to town with her fiance, Bruce Baldwin (Ralph Bellamy), insurance salesman. Hildy plans to come to town, say her goodbyes, and head off for her life of domestic bliss in Albany, New York. But with the biggest story in the city going on, the impending execution of a white man for killing a colored policeman, and possible riots, Walter wants his best reporter on the case. After a series of comedic turns, Hildy takes the job, only to find Bruce getting into trouble with a little help from Walter. The verbal exchanges between Grant and Russell are blazing fast and witty, similar to Grant's other movie roles. It is fun to watch. This comedic jousting takes place over the very serious business of race riots, hangings and political corruption. Russell as Grant's sparring partner is well up to the task, as well as the other characters, most of whom are other newspaper reporters or politicians. I am going to say I enjoyed the movie, and then appear to back off of that statement. I did enjoy the movie, I have become a huge Cary Grant fan through this project, but some of the language used to describe the African American population (there are no black actors in the film, unless they are in a subservient role, but I don't think they were) is archaic and offensive, and perhaps it wasn't offensive in the 1940s, but I don't think it was necessary to include in the script. Also, looking at the film seventy years later, in our current political climate, we have not come all that far in race relations. That seems to be my observation after I watch a lot of movies, especially lately. So, having enumerated by concerns and objections, I liked seeing a strong female character and Cary Grant seems to shine when he is paired up with a strong foil.

3/6/2016 Meet Me in St. Louis, 1944, #80 BBC, National Film Registry 

I find that when I watch most musicals, I'm really not interested in the story, since the stories are generally flimsy and just a framework for the songs, and most of the time, I would rather listen to the songs. That's kind of how I felt watching Meet Me in St. Louis starring Judy Garland, Margaret O'Brien and Mary Astor (The Maltese Falcon). The Smith family lives in St. Louis, Missouri in the early 1900s, leading up to the World's Fair in 1904. The Smith family has four daughters (including Garland and O'Brien) and one son and the story mostly revolves around their different romantic lives. The musical is full of songs, my favorite is "The Trolley Song", hands down. The movie was nominated for four Oscars, for Best Song, Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Best Score, but surprising to me, not Best Costume. The costumes were beautiful, and perhaps it was the cinematography that made them stand out so much. Judy Garland holds a special place in my heart going back to my first encounter with The Wizard of Oz, but my father loved her, and would often play "Judy Garland - Live at Carnegie Hall". She was a special talent. Margaret O'Brien won a special Juvenile Oscar for her work that year, but I found her character of Tootie to be so incredibly annoying, that if she was my sister, I would have pushed her in the river. Oh the drama. I know some people love the big MGM musicals, and if you do, you should watch this. It wasn't my favorite overall, but the music is good.

 

Busch Stadium, St. Louis, with The Arch in the background

3/9/16 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, 1962, #45 BBC, National Film Registry 

The last time John Wayne, John Ford and I spent any time together, I was severely disappointed and confused. I watched The Searchers and was only too glad when it was over. But I knew the Duke and I had seen better days, and I really love James Stewart, so I was quite optimistic as I watched The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. Stewart as Senator Ransom Stoddard returns to Shinbone (state unknown) for the funeral of an old friend. Stoddard and his wife, Hallie (Vera Miles) come back after years as Governor, Ambassador and US Senator. Stoddard gives an interview to a young reporter and the editor of the local paper, and the movie takes us back in time to a young, idealistic Stoddard, heading westward to begin a law practice. Unfortunately, his stagecoach is held up by Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) and his cronies (Lee Van Cleef and Strother Martin as creepy and violent villains). Stoddard is brought into town by Tom Doniphon (Wayne) and left in the care of Hallie and her friends, the Ericsons. As Stoddard heals, he decides to make his home in Shinbone, working for the local paper as well as holding classes for all in town who are interested, and begin his law practice. Valance and his pals often come into town, and nothing good ever happens when they do; Valance hounds Stoddard, trying to provoke a response; he doesn't get one from Stoddard, but Doniphon doesn't back down from Valance. Doniphon tries to convince Stoddard, whom he addresses as "pilgrim", to get a gun and be prepared to use it. Stoddard resists, but eventually realizes he cannot reason with Valance. As this conflict is going on, the territory is applying for statehood, and like many western states, there was intense disagreement on statehood: cattlemen often did not want the rules of statehood (see Shane) and could be very violent and aggressive against the farmers, or sodbusters, as they called them. That was the case here, with Valance on the side of the cattlemen and Doniphon and Stoddard and the others of Shinbone, for statehood. Things get even worse after Stoddard and Dutton Peabody, the newspaper publisher are elected by the town to be Shinbone's delegates to the convention on statehood. I definitely felt more engaged and interested in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance than I did with The Searchers. John Wayne's Doniphon is a bit of a complex character, obviously attracted to Hallie, but for some reason, he moves very slowly when it comes to her, eventually losing her to Stoddard; he's clearly a capable gunman, but bides his time with Valance. I did get a little tired of hearing "pilgrim", it got a bit overused, but that's a small complaint. Doniphon and Stoddard were often on the same side of the argument, but they differed in how to resolve it. The supporting characters like Peabody, the doctor, the sheriff and others, added variety and flavor and humor to the violence of Valance. The movie was filmed in black and white, which worked, even though color was available. Wikipedia lists contrasting reasons for this: money or Wayne and Stewart were older in real life than their characters and color film would have highlighted that.

Three years and still going with Citizen Kane, Shane, Taxi Driver and The Searchers

 You read that right, it's been three years since I began this compulsion to write about Oscar-winning and Oscar-nominated films, which then began including any movie (because you never know, it might be nominated) and then various live performances that I have seen. There's really no science or training involved, it's just a way to share my opinions and thoughts, maybe get you to see a movie you would otherwise miss or maybe prevent you from wasting 2 or more hours of your life. You're welcome. One of the things that has happened since I started blogging is people are always asking me what's the best movie I've seen lately or have I seen "Centipede Man" or whatever it was (um, no). It's nice and flattering, but I sometimes want to say just read the blog, but the truth is many times I actually can't remember what I've watched once I've written about it. In a good month I will watch 15-20 movies, maybe go to one or two live performances and maybe read a book connected with a movie I've seen. Paraphrasing IT support, I have to periodically clear my cache, which means I don't actually remember everything. Putting it into perspective, over the pat three years I have watched and reviewed: 362 Oscar-winning movies (out of 1196 winners), dozens of Oscar-nominated films, 59 out of 100 of the AFI 100 Best films, 102 out of 625 films on the National Film Registry and 32 of 100 from the newly added BBC top 100 American films. Without further ado, I will begin adding to the list.

8/12/15 Shane, Best Cinematography, Color, 1953, #45 AFI, National Film Registry

Shane is a Western starring Alan Ladd as Shane, Van Heflin and Jean Arthur as Joe and Marian Starrett, Brandon DeWilde as their son, Joey and Jack Palance as Jack Wilson. Shane is a mysterious stranger in Wyoming who is befriended by Joey and his parents who are struggling to establish their homestead despite threats from cattle rancher Rufus Ryker. George Stevens (Giant, Diary of Anne Frank) directed and the award winning cinematography was done by Loyal Griggs (The Ten Commandments) and the outdoor scenes, especially against the mountains, was really breathtaking. The story of the conflict between ranchers and homesteaders isn't exactly new, nor is the mysterious stranger aspect, but I liked the way Ladd didn't overwhelm a scene with a macho act, but he also wasn't afraid to throw a punch and his/Shane's interaction with Joey was fun and a little heartbreaking to watch. Brandon DeWilde was fun to watch, he had some of the best facial expressions, during the fight at the general store/saloon where Shane and Big Joe take on Ryker's men, his eyes get as big as saucers. There was a sexual tension between Marian and Shane and some dialog that makes me think something was edited out. DeWilde and Palance were both nominated for Best Supporting Actor that year but lost to Frank Sinatra in From Here To Eternity. I really liked this movie, not really appreciating the influence that it had on other film makes, just enjoying the scenery, the action and the acting which is a lot more than I can say for our next movie, The Searchers.

8/13/15 The Searchers, 1956 #96 AFI, National Film Registry, #5 BBC

I am at a loss. This has to be one of the worst or at least not interesting movies I have watched in a while, but it's on three out of four of my lists. The Searchers stars John Wayne as Ethan Edwards, a veteran of the Civil War who returns to his family in West Texas, leaves to chase some rustled cattle, then comes back to his brother's home to find some of the family killed, except for the two girls who are believed to have been captured by the Comanches. Ethan and the family's adopted son, Martin Pawley, set off to find the girls. To say Ethan doesn't really like Martin is a gross understatement, and a lot of the movie has the two of them bickering and quarreling. The movie covers several years, and it just was exhausting. The end, I thought, was ridiculously anti-climatic as they find Ethan's niece, Debbie (Natalie Wood), now a member of a Comanche tribe and unwilling to go home. The Searchers was directed by John Ford, but that's not enough for me to say why it's considered a masterpiece, compared to Stagecoach or True Grit, both which starred John Wayne; I also do not get Ethan Edwards as a compelling character. You can watch it if you want or have a list, but otherwise, skip it.

8/14/15 Citizen Kane, Best Writing - Original Screenplay, 1941, #1 AFI, National Film Registry, #1 BBC

The Battle Over Citizen Kane, 1996

This is the granddaddy of them all, co-written, directed and produced by Orson Welles and starring him as the titular Kane. There is probably as much written about the movie as there is about the making of the movie and the battle with William Randolph Hearst. The story of Charles Foster Kane is told in a series of flashbacks, relying on the memories of Kane's closest associates and employees; Kane is modeled on several wealthy men of the period, most notably Hearst, and along those lines, Kane becomes a powerful newspaper publisher. The movie follows Kane as he leaves his home in Colorado with his parents to move east to become the ward of wealthy banker, Walter Parks Thatcher. Kane buys a struggling paper with great aspirations to use the paper to lift the poor and protect those who cannot protect themselves, one of the great muckrakers. Kane later marries the niece of the President and we see the marriage deteriorate over a period of years through a montage. Kane later builds a castle called Xanadu where his second wife is practically kept captive. Over the years, we see Kane go from a vibrant young man who loved life and everything it had to offer to a controlling unhappy man, convinced that he could buy and build his happiness, when he is really just miserable. Kane and his closest friend, Jedidiah Leland (Joseph Cotton) eventually grow apart as Leland doesn't approve of Kane's manipulation of events to create headlines. I liked how the story unfolded and it reminded me a little of Rebecca (lately a lot of movies remind me of Rebecca) because we only learn about Kane from his associates, nothing is firsthand knowledge, and you'll have to figure out who or what Rosebud is for yourself. You may or may not be impressed with Citizen Kane, but the filming techniques used at the time were very innovative, and when you also consider that Orson Welles was directing and starring in his first film, coming from his radio career ("War of the Worlds") and the Mercury Theater group and also that most of the actors in the film had never acted in films before, oh and that Welles was 26 when Citizen Kane was completed. Welles is very dashing and handsome and has a great speaking voice, I enjoyed just listening to him. Watching Citizen Kane is almost prerequisite for film buffs as much for the techniques and the story but also to watch a genius at work, a genius that never reached that height again, and to see the film that has influenced so many directors.

I was fortunate that with the library's copy of Citizen Kane a copy of The Battle Over Citizen Kane was included. This documentary talks about the fight between William Randolph Hearst and Orson Welles over the release of Citizen Kane. It takes the viewer back to 1941 and puts into historical context Hearst's power and influence and Welles' stubbornness and artistic vision. It was very helpful.

8/22/15 Taxi Driver, 1976 #52 AFI, National Film Registry, #19 BBC

Almost everyone who watches movies is familiar with the character of Travis Bickle and his famous line "You talking to me?" even if they haven't seen the movie itself. Robert DeNiro stars as Travis Bickle, a former Marine who looks for an overnight job to cope with his insomnia and finds one driving a taxi in some of the seedier parts of New York City. Some of the people that Bickle meets include Wizard (Peter Boyle) a long-time taxi driver, Betsy (Cybill Shepherd) who is a campaign worker for presidential candidate Charles Palantine and Iris (a young Jodie Foster) a prostitute who is pimped by Matthew (Harvey Keitel). Unlike Charles Foster Kane who we only see through the eyes of others, we see what Travis sees although we don't always understand the relevance of it to him, and we don't really know a lot about his past; and we gradually see Travis lose his grip on reality as he clumsily pursues Betsy, taking her to a Swedish sex film. You get the feeling that he really doesn't think there's anything wrong or perverted about it and he doesn't understand why she is so upset. This rejection leads him to try to assassinate Palantine, perhaps trying to win back Betsy. As this is going on, he also meets Iris, a young prostitute who gets in his cab but his roughly grabbed out by Matthew. Something about her affects Travis and he seeks her out, not for sex, but to try and help her escape her life of sex and drugs. Foster isn't in the film as much as DeNiro, but when she is onscreen you are drawn to watching her, her wise-beyond-her years attitude seems natural and not pretend. Bickle has a sense of right and wrong, that in some way is innocent and in others very judgmental; given the time period, it's possible that Bickle was in Vietnam, all we really get from the film (not notes in Wikipedia or special features) is that Travis was a Marine, not if he experienced the horrors of combat. I had a preconception that Bickle was a raving psychopath, and he may be unbalanced, but DeNiro exerts a control over the character that makes you want to watch and see what happens next. Foster and DeNiro were both nominated for Oscars, and in one of the most befuddling wins, Beatrice Straight won that year for her less than 10 minutes on screen in Network, beating out Foster, but also Jane Alexander in All the President's Men and Piper Laurie in Carrie - crazy. DeNiro lost out to Peter Finch, also from Network; both men played very emotionally stressed characters, maybe Bickle was too much at that time. I don't want to tell you how the movie ends, because it was kind of a surprise to me and if you haven't seen it, you should, and I don't want to ruin it. Taxi Driver was directed by Martin Scorcese and written by Paul Shrader, a team that would work together several more times. Scorcese captures the New York City of the 1970s which was gritty and makes it as much a character as Bickle or Iris.

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).

The Duke, Omar, Enough Said, Mary Fahl at the Dakota

I'm not really sure where to start, so I'll just type and we'll see what comes out. It will be a surprise for me too.

7/19/14 The High and the Mighty, 1954, Best Original Musical Score

I don't know, there are better movies out there in all kinds of ways, and while the musical score, by Dmitri Tiomkin (Gunfight at the OK Corral, High Noon, the Alamo) was certainly very grand and majestic, but it's not enough to make anyone watch the movie unless it's on a list. The High and the Mighty is set on a plane traveling from Hawaii to San Francisco when disaster strikes. John Wayne plays veteran co-pilot, Dan Roman in a very non-Western role, and he plays Dan in a very subdued and controlled manner; Robert Stack is Captain John Sullivan; the rest of the cast may be virtually unknown to 21st century audiences. Each passenger on the plan has a story or an issue they get to wrestle with, especially as they face impending doom (okay, I am being a bit melodramatic). Film critic, Leonard Maltin does an introduction to the movie, trying to put it into context, giving a little background. He cautions the viewer not to get caught up in any perceived anachronisms and to accept the movie on its own terms (I really like that phrase and I may have to use that again). I think that's a fair warning, but at the same time, it's very hard, as a traveler, and not smile at the huge differences in airports, commercial flights, and other things. I was laughing at the gate check-in process, where the gate agent greeted every passenger by name, and then as a way to identify themselves, they loudly proclaimed their date of birth. Oh, the PII (that's personal information)!! Then about 15 people get on this huge plane with a lot of empty seats, and the solo child traveler gets two seats and promptly falls asleep and stays asleep the entire trip, even through what must have been an incredible drop in cabin pressure as Dan Roman must open the door to throw out all the luggage (I kid you not). The cast of characters seemed like a roll call of stereotypes: the hardened dame, the married couple that is drifting apart, the bitter man, and on and on. This is referred to as one of the first 'disaster' movies, but I think someone has to die in a disaster movie, and there actually has to be a disaster. Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I wasn't all that concerned. You might find more entertainment watching Airport with Dean Martin and Helen Hayes. An interesting fact is that the movie was directed by William Wellman who directed Wings (another movie about airplanes) which was the first movie to win Best Picture in 1927.

7/20/2014 Enough Said, not nominated, 2013

There was a lot of buzz when this movie came out, and I really wanted to go, and of course, I ran out of time. This was one of James Gandolfini's last movies and he was partnered with Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep). The result is a movie that I want to watch over again with friends to see if they get it like I got it. Nicole Holofcener wrote and directed this slice of life with a deft hand. Gandolfini is Albert, a divorced, middle-aged, portly man who is enjoying his bachelorhood and the freedom to swirl his guac to weed out the irons. He's a little quieter than the perky Eva, a divorcee who works as a masseuse and is preparing to send her only child off to school on the East coast. Albert and Eva meet at a party and even though Eva didn't find any of the men at the party attractive, she and Albert go out on a date. Of course, Eva has to be funny, or at least she thinks she's funny (those two are not always the same), and she is bemused by Albert's straight man routine. Eva's best friends are played by Toni Collette (The Way, Way Back) as Sarah and Ben Falcone (Bridesmaids) as Will, who have some kind of weird tension in their marriage. Of course, this wouldn't be a movie unless there was some plot twist, which I don't really want to give away, although you will probably figure it out soon enough). There were some laugh out loud moments, some chuckles and a couple of occasions where I found myself talking to the television saying 'this is not going to end well'. This is my favorite type of movie and the kind I really try to get people to see, like The Way, Way Back or The Kings of Summer. There is something that you can connect with, whether it's that feeling of pushing a joke a little too far and hurting your partner, or enjoying lively banter with them, or like in The Way, Way Back, the feeling of isolation and awkwardness. This is the kind of movie that I would gravitate to normally. What can I say about Gandolfini and Louis-Dreyfus who made their onscreen relationship seem effortless, not like they were acting at all? Louis-Dreyfus is a treasure, and she has great comedic chops and her dramatic ones weren't that bad either. Gandolfini was in many roles that were counter to Tony Soprano, like Carol in Where the Wild Things Are or The Last Castle where he was a power-crazed Colonel facing off against Robert Redford (great movie), but this role struck me as something different; he played the part in a reactionary way, in that Eva (or his daughter) would create the action and he had to create an appropriate reaction, if that makes sense. A friend and I were talking about why this was not nominated for any Oscars, and I think 2013 was a great year for movies and there were so many worthy films, but I do think it was a great omission in not nominating this movie for anything. But do not let that stop you. The next time you want a movie without CGI, guns, naked people, or costumed heroes, get this movie (I'm not judging you if you do like to watch CGI naked people with guns).

7/20/2014 Omar, nominated Best Foreign Film, 2013

The timing of me watching this movie was a little unsettling and I was wondering how I would handle it, would I be able to watch it objectively. Omar is set in what is known as the Occupied Territories in Israel. Omar is a young, Palestinian man who is hoping to get permission from his friend, Tarek, to court and date Tarek's sister, Nadia. Omar is also hanging out with Tarek and their other friend, Amjad, and planning attacks on Israeli soldiers. One of their forays does not go well and Omar is captured and put in jail and through trickery basically admits he would never admit to his crime (and in the Alice-through-the-looking-glass world Omar lives in, this is considered an admission of guilt). Omar is told he must help the Israeli army get more information on his comrades or Nadia would be hurt. It took a really long time for me to get into the movie and I occasionally lost the plot, but there were some good twists in the story and once I felt connected to Omar, the movie came through. It was hard to watch some of the tactics used by Omar's handlers, and it would be naive of me to think that torture doesn't happen, but I wish it didn't nonetheless. Adam Bakri plays Omar and he carries off the complexity of his character very well. The backdrop of the conflict between Arabs and Jews in Israel is one setting among many possibilities: Ireland/N. Ireland; Basque separatists in Spain, or in the US where perhaps a gang member has to turn on his friends. I think that the personal conflict is the larger canvas on which to create, and it's that part which got me. I honestly did not see the last twenty minutes coming, and I thought, nice one (to the writer and director Hany Abu-Assad), well played. I think this deserved more of a chance than The Great Beauty, which you may remember, I hated.

7/19/14 Mary Fahl at the Dakota Jazz Club, Minneapolis

Even if you don't know Mary Fahl's name, you may very well know her voice from the band from the 1990s October Project. From the moment I heard her voice on "Bury My Lovely", I was hooked. The lyrics were kind of mysterious, allegorical and layered, and Mary's voice was the perfect vehicle with its haunting depth. I still listen to both CDs, especially when I drive from Minnesota to Ohio because they are just the kick in the ass I need after driving seven or eight hours. I discovered Mary again in the early 2000s while watching the movie Gods and Generals about the events leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg. She had a song on the soundtrack that once again grabbed me by the throat called "Going Home" and that led me to her album "The Other Side of Time". I have been waiting for a while for Mary to come to the Twin Cities, especially once my finances improved. The date was announced back in March that Mary would be coming to town to promote her latest album "Love and Gravity", and she was coming to the Dakota Jazz Club, just down the street from where I work. I bought my ticket for a floor table, stage left and counted the days. It was a perfect Minnesota summer evening for a trip downtown. Mary came on stage, just her and her guitars. She started off the show by asking if there were any October Project fans (of course there were) and easing our fears by saying that she would sing some of the favorites, and then said that she's a talker, she likes to talk about the songs and what they mean, and then she started. The show was a fantastic collection of October Project songs ("Ariel", "Bury My Lovely", "Be My Hero"), covers (Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now", "Nessun Dorma by Puccini) and a lot of Mary's own material. It was very cool to hear the story about how she came to write the song for Anne Rice's audio book for The Wolves of Midwinter, "Exiles" or "The Dawning of the Day" for the movie The Guys. Even though Mary only had her guitar, all of the songs seemed very full and did not seem like they were lacking anything. One of the best things about small venues is a lot of times the artists will stay to sign CDs and chat. I'm not a great chatter, but I was going to stay and get a couple of CDs. Mary was really generous and engaged with everyone in front of me, even the poor guy who made the very clumsy comparison to Jim Nabors aka Gomer Pyle. Mary's husband Rich thought it was hilarious and Mary handled it with great humor. What the gentleman was trying to say was that Mary does not look like her voice sounds (Jim Nabors has quite the singing voice, but you would not think that if you only knew about Gomer); Mary is not very tall and she really isn't what you expect if you have only heard her because her voice is so big (it has just occurred to me that I may be butchering the analogy as well). Anyway, I'll leave you with this thought, check out "Love and Gravity" with songs inspired by Johnny and June (Cash), werewolves, Blind Willie Johnson. It includes the cover of "Both Sides Now" and an original song called "Cottonwood" which I can listen to over and over.

Summer is here - Her, Ernest and Celestine, The Abyss, The Way, Way Back and more

The past week or so has been full of movies, television shows, concerts and even a road trip. Who says the Midwest is boring? I had the great pleasure of seeing Eddie Izzard on his "Force Majeure" tour of America. It was the first time I had seen him live, but I have been a fan for a long time. He is brilliant, switching voices to play different characters (he didn't invoke his famous James Mason-as-God impersonation though), using history, current events and peculiar observations (Myanmar, Liberia and the US are the only countries not using the metric system, think about that) to engage his audience. If you have a chance to see him, do not miss the chance. This past Thursday I also saw Brit Floyd, a Pink Floyd tribute band. I must be a bigger Pink Floyd fan than I thought, because I knew most of the songs and had a great time. The light show was tremendous. Something you might see at a real Pink Floyd concert. The show wasn't sold out, which is too bad, but the the audience was really into it. Shine on.


6/15/14 Her, Best Original Screenplay, 2013

Ah, Spike Jonze, how you vex me. When I saw the preview for Her, I was initially intrigued by the concept of a human/Operating system relationship, then I thought, eh, don't really care, and then it was nominated and won an Oscar and it ended up on my list. Her is set in the future where you can personalize your own Operating System and have a virtual relationship with it. Joaquin Phoenix is Theodore Twombly, a man who redefines morose; Theodore just isn't very happy with life, he misses his soon to be ex-wife; has a great, but platonic relationship with Amy (Amy Adams) a video game designer; and isn't having much luck in the dating world. Theodore gets a new operating system with artificial intelligence and she names herself "Samantha" (Scarlett Johannson). Samantha evolves and eventually develops emotions and feelings, and helps Theodore to shed a good part of the dark cloud that hangs over him like Mount Doom. Theodore and Samantha can't have a physical relationship, but it does become intimate in a virtual way. Unfortunately for Theodore, Samantha has constant desire to grow and learn and have more relationships with others, including other Operating Systems. I like Joaquin Phoenix, even when he's in a crap movie (The Master), he is fully committed to the role and I am quickly becoming a Scarlett Johansson fan (I think I was indifferent before), and she did a great job as this disembodied character, using only her voice to act (even in animation, there is a character to relate to), and as I mentioned, I was interested in the concept. But, I guess, as the movie wore on, I was less and less interested. Whatever emotional or intellectual chord Spike Jonze strikes in other people, totally misses with me. I guess it made some people cry at the end. Her was nominated for several Oscars, but with the fields so deep in the acting, picture, song and other categories, it was a long shot.

6/21/14 Ernest & Celestine, nominated for Best Animated Feature, 2013

Haven't heard of it? Unfortunately, that's probably a pretty common response. Ernest & Celestine is not a blockbuster, it's not filled with special effects, CGI or a big soundtrack, but what it is is more important. It's a wonderfully small, cozy, charming movie. Ernest & Celestine was nominated for Best Animated Feature, going up against Frozen, Despicable Me 2, The Croods and The Wind Rises; if Frozen wasn't such a box office monster, Ernest & Celestine might have had more of a chance. Ernest is a bear (voiced by Forest Whitaker in an English version) who is very hungry and he goes into town. Celestine (Mackenzie Foy) is a young mouse, living in what seems to be an orphanage and is governed by The Grey One (the inimitable Lauren Bacall) who tells stories of big bad bears and what they want to do to little mice. Celestine is the only one who doesn't have this fear. Ernest and Celestine meet in some unusual circumstances and forge a strong bond (half the fun was being surprised at the turn of events, so you will have to see it for yourself). There are several other notable actors voicing characters, including Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, William H. Macy and Paul Giamatti. There are some very dramatic scenes that younger kids may find scary, but they don't last too long and they are in between funny and heartwarming scenes. The story is wonderful and it would be nice to have a few more movies that are suitable for all ages (I actually watched this with my usual movie family sans the kid this time) and we all loved it. The animation is very subtle, with a watercolor feel and a muted palette. There's always a discussion about strong role models for young girls, and even though Celestine is a mouse, she's very brave and loving and wants to follow her dream (being an artist). Her relationship with Ernest is anything but traditional, but in a time where the definition of "family" is constantly being updated, this film accomplishes a lot in less than 90 minutes. I would give this two fist pumps and encourage you to get this from Netflix or your local library for your next family movie night.

6/22/14 The Abyss, Best Visual Effects, 1989

This movie suffers from a sever identity crisis. Is it a suspense film, an alien film, a sci-fi film? Yeah, I don't know either. A US submarine is inexplicably sunk, the crew is lost, but the Navy has to get it back because it has nuclear warheads on it. They don't have the equipment to go down, but a private oil firm does, and they send Ed Harris and his crew, with some Navy S.E.A.L.S. along for expertise with the armaments. Visually, the movie is pretty cool, and just reading about some of the filming techniques, very cool, but otherwise, I didn't care, don't care and you can't make me. It is like a waterlogged version of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I thought this would be suspenseful, it really wasn't; I thought it might be scary, it wasn't either; the aliens weren't even very cool. James Cameron is in love with himself; there is a director's cut of the movie that runs 170 minutes - that is almost three hours. I don't know, I just kept waiting for something else to happen. Maybe they should have just made it a rescue movie, a la The Poseidon Adventure. It won for Best Visual Effects, beating out The Adventures of Baron von Munchausen, which I saw in the theaters when it was first released, and I thought the effects were spectacular. I guess I'm glad I don't get a vote. There are scarier movies, more suspenseful movies and better acted movies, so unless you have a list to check, I'd skip it.

6/19/14 Crazy Love, Documentary, 2007

I don't remember how I stumbled upon this documentary, I probably saw something somewhere and followed it down the Wikipedia rabbit hole. Crazy Love is a documentary about Burt Pugach and Linda Riss; Pugach and Riss dated in the late 1950s, early 1960s, until Linda found out that Burt was still married. Linda tried to break off the relationship, but Burt was extremely possessive and jealous. He infamously hired some thugs to throw lye in Linda's face which ultimately blinded her. Pugach was found guilty and sentenced to jail time. Throughout this whole thing, Burt continued to profess his love for Linda. After Burt was released, fourteen years later, Burt and Linda began dating again and eventually married. Yes, that would be the "crazy love" part. They actually remained married until Linda died a few years ago, and despite some bickering captured during the interviews, they seemed to be in love. Burt Pugach really comes across as a schmuck, and you have to wonder what Linda saw in him before or after, although several people close to them say he treated her very well. There are a lot of documentaries out there, and unless this story really grabs your interest, you can probably skip it.

6/19/14 Rabbit-Proof Fence, 2002

This movie kept popping up in my Netflix recommendations and I kept ignoring it until I found out that Peter Gabriel had done the movie score, so I got it from the library and finally watched it. Rabbit-Proof Fence is set in Western Australia in the 1930s and is about the treatment towards young mix-race aboriginal children, called half-castes by the Australian government's protector for the aborigines, A.O. Neville. The movie is based on a true story and taken from a book written by aboriginal writer, Doris Pilkington Garimara about her mother. Kenneth Branagh plays A.O. Neville with just the right amount of paternalism and fervor, who believes in his righteous course of actions, actions that include tearing children away from their families to make them be 'more white'. Molly, her little sister, Daisy and their cousin, Gracie, are taken from their mothers and grandmother over 1500 miles away to the Moore River Settlement, where they can only speak English, must pray in the 'English way'. Girls who try to escape are inevitably caught by Moodoo the Tracker and whipped and put in an isolation box. Despite this threat, Molly is determined that the girls will find their way back, using the rabbit-proof fence, going through wilderness, going hungry, with the territorial authorities and Moodoo looking for them. Neville is beside himself that these three little girls could escape, and elude capture. Everlyn Sampi plays Molly with a strength and determination that is rarely found in grownups, much less a child, but she knows she will get home to her mother, she refuses to give up. Cool Hand Luke would have been proud of her. This film tells a story of the Stolen Generations that is probably not widely known in America, although America has its own parallel with the Native American Indian boarding schools where Native American children were taken from their homes and sent to schools to learn the European-American culture, speaking English, etc. Both practices were continued through the latter part of the 20th century; and they were carried out by people who really believed that they were doing these things in the best interests of the children. It does make it hard to watch at times, but it's worth it. Gabriel does his usual brilliant job at capturing the atmosphere of the moment (Birdy,  Passion) and uses a vast array of international musicians.

6/21/14 The Way, Way Back, 2013

I had seen the trailer for The Way, Way Back in the theater and knew I wanted to see it; and then of course, there were a million movies I had to see and it didn't happen. Do you remember sitting in the back of your parents' or family friends' station wagon, and sitting in the 'way, way back'? Yeah, it was cool then, you were away from your parents' hearing and you could just hang out and be cool and perhaps make inappropriate gestures to the cars behind you, or wave, if you had manners. But, there is something uncool about Duncan (Liam James)sitting in the way, way back of his mother's boyfriend's station wagon on the way to the beach; it isolates him and separates him from his mom. Trent (Steve Carrell) is a total jerk, belittling and harassing Duncan in the guise of 'making it work'. Pam (Toni Collette) is Duncan's mom and is torn between her son and her boyfriend. Duncan doesn't really fit into the beach scene and stumbles across Water Wizz and Owen (Sam Rockwell), who has a don't give a shit attitude about most things. Duncan starts working at Water Wizz and finds a place he belongs and is happy, although he doesn't share his new-found happiness with his mom. The movie does a great job of balancing the humor of being an adolescent with some difficulty of coming from a divorced home and the usual angst of being a teenager. We had some laugh out loud moments, usually attributed to Allison Janney, who plays the intrusive, but well-meaning neighbor, Betty or Lewis (Jim Rash), the Schleprock of Water Wizz. Owen and Duncan forge a strong bond and you get the feeling that both actors really enjoyed themselves, and actually the whole cast. If you haven't seen it, add this to your list; it might be one to watch with your older kids (if you have them, I mean, don't go get some kids just to watch this movie). The soundtrack was really good and fit well with the movie. I wish I had seen this sooner, but I imagine I will watch it again. Collette and Carrell were both in Little Miss Sunshine, a movie that surprised me by how much I loved it; Janney was in Juno, Finding Nemo and "The West Wing", among others and can be funny or dramatic; Sam Rockwell pops up in movies, and some of those movies aren't very good, but he works as Owen, who could easily become overbearing and obnoxious.

June 2014, Above Suspicion, Series 1-4, TV series

"Above Suspicion" is an ITV series based on the novels of Lynda LaPlante, the same write who brought us "Prime Suspect". "Above Suspicion" stars Kelly Reilly and Ciaran Hinds as DI Anna Travis and DCS James Langdon. They frequently butt heads, Langdon being a very demanding governor. I binge-watched the series over the past two weeks, and I hope they do more. You can see Travis get her footing and feel more comfortable in challenging her co-workers and Langdon. The crimes in "Above Suspicion" are very graphic, especially in the first series, very similar to what was shown in "Prime Suspect"; it's no Miss Marple or Midsommer Murders; it's violent and full of profanity. Ciaran Hinds is so good; he portrays Langdon as blustery, somewhat chauvinistic, a flawed, but good copper. Reilly as Travis is also flawed, sometimes forgetting she is part of a team, annoying her co-workers; let's face it, nobody's perfect, but you are interested to see if maybe one day she will be the next DCI Tennyson.

Whew. I probably would have had a few more movies, but I took a little road trip down to Winterset and Van Meter, Iowa. In Van Meter, I went to the Bob Feller Museum to pay homage to one of the best pitchers, and gentlemen, in baseball. If you're a baseball fan, and close to Iowa/Minnesota, make a stop. And also of interest to a cinephile is the birthplace of Marion Morrison, better known as John Wayne, in Winterset, Iowa. The birthplace is only 12 miles away from Van Meter. The tiny house packs a wallop with a lot of memorabilia from The Duke's over 150 movies (that's right over 150 credited roles), including an eye patch (I think it's from True Grit), replicas of shotguns and revolvers, signed letters and photographs from Hollywood legends like Bob Hope, Ronald Reagan, Maureen O'Hara and others. They are building a new museum near the house. The guide for our tour was very knowledgeable about Wayne's career and had stories about other visitors who knew Duke. I also saw two of the Bridges of Madison County, and while I thought they were cool, my heart didn't go pitter patter when I saw them; but bridges aren't my thing. So, for those of you who thought Iowa was just flyover country or a place where political pundits gather every four years, think again. It's really nice down there and perhaps I'll venture out and visit the Amana colonies next time.