Long time gone, but I'm back - Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, Henry Fonda, Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett

It's been a while. Writer's block sucks. This is going to be quick and dirty, and I hope to get back on track.

6/20/18 Now, Voyager, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, 1942

Bette Davis stars as the ugly duckling turned swan, Charlotte Vale, in this film that also features Claude Rains and Paul Heinreid. Charlotte is dominated by her mother and matriarch of the Vale family (Gladys Cooper); she is bullied so much so that she is sent to a sanitarium under the treatment of Dr. Jaquith (Claude Rains). Charlotte blossoms and discovers her own personality and strength. Davis was nominated for Best Actress, but Greer Garson won for her role as Kay Miniver in Mrs. Miniver; Katharine Hepburn was nominated as Tess Harding in Woman of the Year, and Joan Fontaine in Rebecca as The Second Mrs. DeWinter. I enjoyed the film and watching Charlotte's transformation. There was something about the film that seemed relevant today, over seventy five years later.

6/21/18 The Adventures of Robin Hood, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, 1938

The Adventures of Robin Hood is a fun movie; Errol Flynn seems to be enjoying his role as Robin Hood, teasing and basically giving Prince John (Claude Rains) and Sir Guy of Gisbourne (Basil Rathbone) a very hard time until King Richard returns to England from the Crusades. The movie has swashbuckling action, humor, a love story featuring Maid Marian (Olivia de Havilland) and Robin, and an Oscar-winning score. The fabulous Technicolor is still eye-popping (even on my twenty year old television), I can't imagine what it was like on a big screen when most films were still in black and white (Now Voyager was released four years after this was in black and white). If you're looking for a fun movie for a weekend at the cabin, I would recommend this one.

6/23/18 One Survivor Remembers, Best Documentary Short, National Film Registry, 1995

As we lose Holocaust survivors to age, it becomes more and more important to remember their stories and what those stories mean to us, especially in the upside down world we're living in these days. Survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein narrates her story and the story of her family, who perished in the camps. Her experience is one of destruction and death, but also resilience, strength and love. The film is available on YouTube (and hopefully in the link below) and her acceptance speech at the Academy Awards show is included and it is well worth watching.

6/23/18 The Anderson Platoon, Best Documentary Feature, 1967

In the 21st century, with the 24-hour news cycles and smartphone videos coming from every corner of the world, it may be hard to imagine a time when it wasn't quite as common for a film crew to be embedded with a platoon that is in combat. French director Pierre Schoendoerffer was with the American 1st Cavalry Division in South Vietnam, specifically a platoon led by West Point graduate, Lieutenant Joseph Anderson. The film takes us into the jungle and combat, we also get brief biographies on the soldiers, and updates on injuries and mortalities. The Vietnam War was controversial and divisive, but the film really focuses on the soldiers, the young men, barely into their twenties, who are far from home, and trying to survive.

6/30/18 The Bad and the Beautiful, Best Supporting Actress, Best Art Direction (B&W), Best Cinematography (B&W), Best Costume Design (B&W), Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay, National Film Registry, 1952

I feel like I should have loved this movie, but I didn't. It was fine, I liked it, but it seemed derivative, a lot of Citizen Kane and a little bit of Ace in the Hole (also starring Kirk Douglas). Douglas is Jonathan Shields, a producer/studio head, who has no qualms about using people to advance his career, even if it hurts others. Three of these 'others' are gathered together, and in flashbacks, we learn how Shields cheated, betrayed or hurt them. Gloria Grahame won the Best Supporting Actress for her role as the Southern belle wife of one of the people that Shields hurt; she was on screen for less than twenty five minutes, and I personally think it should have gone to Jean Hagen as Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain. Watching the film was timely because a few weeks earlier I watched Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, starring Annette Bening as Grahame. I think your life will continue on if you don't watch this, but if you do watch it, I don't think it's the worst thing in the world, either.

6/30/18 Ocean's 8, not yet nominated 2018

I don't have any great analysis on Ocean's 8 starring Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway and a cast of very talented actresses. It was a fun, smart, fast paced eist movie, along the lines of the other "Ocean's" movies. I would actually watch it again, which I don't say very often about any movie. Will it be nominated? Very possibly not, but I don't care. It's probably going to be out on video/streaming soon, and it would be great for a movie night (pretty much for the whole family). 

7/8/18 Jezebel, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, National Film Registry, 1938

It took me a while to get into Jezebel, starring Bette Davis as spoiled Southern belle Julie Marsden. I don't know, perhaps I was distracted. It was really towards the end that I appreciated what the movie was about. It also stars Henry Fonda as Julie's frustrated beau. It is 1850s New Orleans and Julie is headstrong and not afraid to defy conventions, and while that may be admired today, it causes her and her family embarrassment. Watching Davis in Now, Voyager and then Jezebel, you can see her range and why she is considered such a great actress; two very different characters, although they are united by their ultimate strength. It's not a movie to watch if you're looking for laughs or an escape from the world, but it is worth watching.

7/8/18 Dodsworth, Best Art Direction, National Film Registry, 1936

I had never heard of Dodsworth before, and I hadn't read anything about it before I watched it, so I had no idea what it was about. I would consider it a pleasant surprise. William Wyler directed Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton and Mary Astor in this look at marriage in the first half of the twentieth century. In some ways, it takes a very common occurrence, the husband (Huston as Sam Dodsworth) retires and decides he wants to do all those things he and his wife (Chatterton as Fran Dodsworth) didn't have time for, and then they both find out (although Fran might have known all along) that they don't necessarily want the same things, and Fran is a little freer in finding other companions. I was rooting for Sam all the way, even as he struck up a friendship with Edith Cortright (Mary Astor) and found his bliss in Italy. I truly was not certain how the movie would end, and I'm not going to tell you, but if you want to try a movie off the beaten path (have you ever heard of Dodsworth?) pick it up from the library or Netflix.

Back to the Future, Close Encounters of the boring kind, Apocalypse Now

10/30/16 Back to the Future, Best Sound Effects Editing, 1985 #56 BBC, National Film Registry

I don't have any deep, insightful comments for Back to the Future. If there is some philosophical meaning, I've missed it. I can say that over 20 years later, it's still a fun movie. I can even say I understand why it's on the National Film Registry, but not so sure why it's on the BBC list (that list has to be the most perplexing of the four). Anyway, in case you have lived under a rock or are under thirty and you are not familiar with Back to the Future, a brief synopsis follows. Michael J. Fox is Marty McFly, a sort of hip high schooler who is friends with Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), a 'mad scientist' with a dream of building a time machine. Marty's parents, George and Lorraine (Crispin Glover and Lea Thompson) are less than average, schlumpy and defeated, especially in the eyes of Biff (Thomas F. Wilson), a high school classmate and George's boss. Doc Brown builds his time machine, in the form of a DeLorean and powers it with plutonium stolen from a group of Libyans. Doc Brown gets shot at by the Libyans as he his ready to test the DeLorean, and McFly jumps in trying to escape. Marty goes back to 1955, when his parents were in high school. Marty tries to fit in as the new kid and being a peer to his parents. All kinds of time shifting things can and do happen. Fox is perfect as McFly, with a wise-cracking and and engaging manner. Lloyd, who is also known to fans of the television show Taxi as Reverend Jim, is addled and compelling, the science teacher we all wish we had. The movie is fun and has fun with the time travel aspect, including Marty McFly influencing Chuck Berry and his duck walk. It also raises the question of what happens if you change one little thing in history - what else gets changed? The movie is fun and family friendly, and has tons of great trivia questions (like, do you know what a DeLorean is?). It won't go down as one of my favorite movies ever, but I also don't resent watching it again (see below).

11/4/16 Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Best Cinematography, 1977 #75 BBC, National Film Registry

Oh my god. I didn't really get into this movie when I saw it the first time almost 40 years ago; I thought there was a chance that now that I'm older and wiser and appreciate things that I didn't before (early bed times, vegetables, Westerns), maybe I would like it now. Nope, no, uh-uh. I kind of liked the last 10 minutes, but honestly, I just didn't care. I just could not suspend my sense of disbelief for any length of time. In my opinion, not one of Steven Spielberg's best films, even though it's #75 on the BBC's 100 Best American Films, and it's on the National Film Registry as being of historical significance. Perhaps I'll give you that it was groundbreaking; I'm sure my dad would say that, in fact, I think he owned it, but he also made me watch Star Trek  re-runs my entire childhood.

11/5/16 Apocalypse Now, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography 1979, #30 AFI, #90 BBC, National Film Registry

There are a couple of versions of Apocalypse Now, but I only watched the original cut, which is the one that was nominated for the Oscars and is on all three of the other lists. Apocalypse Now is set during the Vietnam War, but is based on Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, which is set in the Congo (I have not read the book, so I cannot do any kind of compare or contrast). The movie is seen through the point of view of Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen), and follows his journey to find Colonel Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando) and kill him; Kurtz has created his own ideology, and in turn, amassed loyal and fanatical followers, some from the army, but some also from the indigenous Montagnards in Cambodia. He has become a threat to army and they want him eliminated. The time that Willard actually spends with Kurtz is far less than the time spent on the journey up river with members of the PBR Street Gang, led by the Chief, Chef, Mr. Clean (a very young Laurence Fishburne) and Lance Johnson. They're not all that thrilled with having to escort Willard and they have their own conflicts, with him, each other and others in the military. The group meets up with an Air Cavalry regiment, led by Lt. Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall), who admires Lance Johnson because of his reputation as a surfer (Kilgore/Duvall also utters the famous phrase 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning'); Dennis Hopper as an American photojournalist who seems to be under the spell of Kurtz. I was surprised that Sheen wasn't nominated for Best Actor for his role; it's through his eyes we experience the story, and the senselessness of the war and the death that surrounds the him and his comrades in arms, the twisted irony that is his mission: trying to kill a decorated U.S.Special Forces colonel in neutral country, a man who would otherwise be a hero. The movie is filled with complexities, a lot of dialogue, symbolism, multiple viewings reveal different things; it's also a movie that comes with its own legend and movie about the movie Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. None of this is surprising when you consider that Francis Ford Coppola directed, produced, co-wrote the screenplay and the score. I was shocked and a little upset that a movie this intense, well-acted (Hopper annoyed me and have the time I couldn't understand what he was saying, but aside from that), thought-provoking, only won two of the eight Oscars for which it was nominated. And, not to disparage Kramer v. Kramer, but really? Kramer v. Kramer won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (again, Sheen not even nominated), Best Adapted Screenplay. That's kind of like would you like a really good frozen pizza or a delicious pizza from (Twin Cities' own) Pizza Luce. Um, Pizza Luce please. Which one do people still talk about 35 years later? It's an investment in time and attention, but one that I think is totally worth it. It has far more of a place in cinematic and social history than many of the other films of that year.

The Wrecking Crew, A Most Violent Year, Double Indemnity

6/13/15 A Most Violent Year, 2014

There was a lot of buzz when A Most Violent Year came out for Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac, but it came away with no Oscar nominations. The movie is set in the early 1980s in New York City and Oscar Isaac is Abel Morales, a business man with a focus on heating oil who is looking to expand his business; Jessica Chastain is his wife, Anna Morales. Oscar does his best to remain a legitimate and law-abiding businessman, even as his trucks and drivers are being assaulted and hijacked by unknown assailants. A Most Violent Year takes us to the seedy underbelly of the business world in the 1980s (and probably the 1960s and 1970s and perhaps today if The Sopranos is to be believed) with Abel taking out loans at ridiculous terms and rates and competing with the Mafia and fighting to keep the justice system (represented by David Oyelowo Assistant District Attorney Lawrence) off of his back. I found myself rooting for Abel to succeed against the money lenders, the Mafia and his other competitors. I liked this movie, it's got an intelligent plot, occasionally confusing, and Isaac and Chastain deliver the goods (they are both chameleons and disappear into their roles); Albert Brooks was totally unrecognizable to me as Abel's attorney. The first thing that actually struck me about the movie was the way it looked; it had this gritty/gauzy look, like a filter was used. There are a lot of pretentious films out there, trying to be too smart for their own good, and they annoy me; this is not one of those films. Check it out.


6/14/15 Last Days in Vietnam, nominated Best Documentary 2014

I think this is the first of the 2015 nominated feature documentaries I have seen, and it's very powerful and moving. The focus of the documentary, directed by Rory Kennedy, is the evacuation of Americans as well as their South Vietnamese allies and families. The men interviewed worked at the American Embassy in Saigon, or soldiers or sailors who helped transport the Vietnamese out of Vietnam; Vietnamese were also interviewed, some were children or teenagers at the time, others were soldiers or intelligence officers helping the Americans. The Vietnam war went on for over twenty-five years, beginning with French involvement in Indochina and then the Americans took over until 1975, and it can get very confusing if a film tries to cover it all, so it is very helpful that Kennedy focuses on one particular set of events, those leading up to and including the evacuations. Not only is the history of the war confusing, even forty years later it can stir strong feelings when talking about the 'rightness' or even 'righteousness' of fighting the Communists, a position that has often put US policy in bed with right-wing dictators. And did you see how fast I went down that rabbit hole? That's what happens when you talk about Vietnam. Kennedy looks at the war in a telescoped way that cuts out a lot of details regarding the South Vietnamese regime, the American politics and politicians, so this is just one piece of a very large puzzle - but it's worth watching. First, politics cannot deny that there were many heroic individuals who knowingly disobeyed orders to help get their comrades and families out of Vietnam; pilots who flew almost 24 hours back and forth between the embassy and aircraft carriers delivering their human cargo; sailors who embraced the now homeless and stateless refugees on their ships. Second, the brave Vietnamese who left everything behind to embark on a very uncertain future, possibly in America, but at that time, nobody could guarantee what was going to happen; and I use 'brave' intentionally because it takes a lot of guts to go to a foreign country where you may or may not speak the language, you probably won't be welcomed with open arms and you may never get back to your homeland. Last Days in Vietnam is not the whole story, but it is an important episode in a war that still often divides this country.


6/19/15 Damn Yankees, Ordway Theater, St. Paul., MN

A friend had an extra ticket to last Friday's performance of Damn Yankees at the Ordway in St. Paul, so I went along. I had no expectations and only a vague idea of the story, except that it had a baseball storyline and it was a musical.  This was a little more than a friend of mine who thought I meant the 1980s hair band. The show opens with loyal Washington Senators fan, Joe Boyd (Lawrence Clayton) watches his team lose again as his wife Meg (Ann Morrison) bemoans the loss of her husband for six months of the year to watch baseball. Mr. Applegate (Monte Riegel Wheeler) mysteriously appears to offer Joe the chance of a lifetime - to play for his beloved Senators, but it's a deal with the devil as he must leave his old life behind, including Meg. Joe takes the deal and becomes Joe Hardy (Thay Floyd) a hitting phenom. Joe misses his old life, and often wanders his neighborhood, hoping to see Meg, even though he can't tell her anything. Mr. Appleton fears he is losing his hold on Joe and brings in Lola (Tari Kelley), his devilish assistant to keep him on the dark side. There is a lot to like about this production: the band, which plays on stage in 'bleachers', was great and never overpowered the actors; the actors; , leads and supporting cast, sounded great and brought a lot of joy to the songs, including songs like "Heart" and "Whatever Lola wants, Lola gets" (the two songs I had heard before), and "Those were the good old days" sung by Mr. Applegate as he reminisces about disasters and plagues was a lot of fun and played with appropriate campiness; the set which used the space on the stage very creatively (the Ordway stage is not very large, or it did not seem that way to me from my seat on the side). It was a great night for baseball, or a musical about baseball (a bit of trivia - the Washington Senators eventually moved to Minnesota to become the Minnesota Twins).

6/20/15 Double Indemnity, 1944, #38 AFI, National Film Registry

I am not going to tell you too much about Double Indemnity the Oscar-nominated film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray and Edward G. Robinson because part of the fun of the movie is watching it unfold. What I will say is that as it opened it reminded me of Sunset Boulevard and Laura with its use of a narrator who was part of the story and you kind of have to pay attention. Fred MacMurray is Walter Neff, an insurance salesman who meets Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), the beautiful wife of current client. Robinson is Barton Keyes, an adjustor at the same insurance company, and a friend of Neff's. The movie is dark and moody, and is cited as the first film noir; as I said, it reminded me a little of Sunset Boulevard, with the narrator but also the femme fatale character, both directed by Wilder. I don't recall seeing Barbara Stanwyck in too much other than "Big Valley" and "The Thornbirds", so this was a new look for me; and the same kind of goes for Fred MacMurray, I have seen him in "My Three Sons", Flubber and a few other Disney films, but nothing so serious. They were both very good and very sleazy. Robinson added a bit of comedic relief even as he provided insight into the events that were transpiring. There is a lot of cinematic history tied to the making of the film: Raymond Chandler co-wrote the script with Wilder, but Chandler was so difficult due to his drinking that Wilder later wrote The Lost Weekend about an alcoholic writer; it took a long time to get the film made because it was found to violate the Hays Code, censoring agency of the day.

6/21/15 The Wrecking Crew, not yet nominated 2015

I have been waiting for this DVD to arrive ever since the Kickstarter completed last year. I am so happy that I was able to support Denny Tedesco in his goal to bring the story of The Wrecking Crew to film. The Wrecking Crew was the nickname of a group of West Coast studio musicians in the 1960s and 1970s who played on thousands of songs for a wide range of artists, including Nat King Cole, Dean Martin, Nancy Sinatra, The Beach Boys, The Monkees and more. Denny Tedesco is telling the story of his father and guitarist, Tommy Tedesco and his fellow musicians who often played without credits on the albums. The movie has interviews taken over the past years with some of the musicians, including Tommy Tedesco, drummers Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer, guitarists Al Casey, Bill Pitman and Glen Campbell, bassists Carol Kaye (the only woman from the main ensemble as far as a I could tell), Joe Osborn, just to name a few; studio footage, interviews with some of the artists they worked with; home movies. It is so cool to hear how they very often arranged their own parts or even came up with their parts after being given a basic idea by the producer (Carol Kaye gives some great insight to the bass line for "The Beat Goes On" by Sonny and Cher and other songs). What's crazy is to hear how busy these musicians were, sometimes playing from 9:00 in the morning until midnight, for different artists in different studios. The musicians from The Wrecking Crew encountered the same challenges that their counterparts at Motown (Standing in the Shadows), FAME Studios (Muscle Shoals) and some of the singers in Twenty Feet from Stardom faced, which was a certain amount of anonymity to the music audience (although not to other musicians and singers) as well as the changing landscape of music - bands playing their own instruments, new technologies, obscurity. The music that is included (that was part of the delay in releasing the full film, because Tedesco had to get the publishing clearance to include the music) is a landscape of America at the time, they are songs I grew up with thanks to my parents, and to have the backstory behind the creation gave me a greater appreciation for songs that I took for granted. The movie was in theaters in March of this year, but it's available as a download or DVD, the soundtrack is also available. 
 

Returning to action with a few movies and concerts - The Sapphires, Jesus Henry Christ, Mike & the Mechanics and more

I'm baaack. I bet some of you were wondering what the heck happened. Me too to be honest. I felt like I was run over by a truck.  It's not like I wasn't watching anything, but I had a hard time writing. So, after an absence of a MONTH, I'll try to be better.

2/24/2015 The Sapphires, 2012

I kept seeing the trailer for The Sapphires and my interest was piqued. It's a film that is initially set in Australia in the mid-1960s and features an Aboriginal family of singers who go to Vietnam to entertain the troops. It's actually based on a true story. The girls face discrimination in Australia and see a chance to sing, make some money and see the world by signing up to sing in Vietnam, much against the wishes of their mother. Sisters Cynthia, Gail and Julie along with their cousin Kay are 'discovered' by a wayward talent scout, Dave, and he helps shepherd them through their travels. Even as the sisters face racism at home, there is some veiled racism towards their cousin Kay, who was passing for white in Australia. I was drawn to the movie originally because of the music of that period, but I along the way I became interested in their story. It's based on the lives of the writer's mother and her sister, but it is not a strict biography, nor does it claim to be. The role of Dave is played by Chris O'Dowd (Officer Rhodes in Bridesmaids) and he is the only actor with whom I was familiar. I enjoyed the movie and the music, a down under version of Dream Girls, sort of.

2/26/2015 Jesus Henry Christ, 2012

Jesus Henry Christ is another movie that I only heard of through the trailer on DVD rentals, and it stars Toni Collette, whom I really like. To say the movie is quirky is a mild understatement. Toni Collette plays Patricia who had a most unfortunate childhood and her adulthood is not unfortunate, but definitely not normal. Patricia has a son, Henry, by artificial insemination; Henry is a genius and has a videographic memory and narrates the story. Patricia and Henry meet Dr. Slavkin O'Hara (Michael Sheen), who has some revolutionary ideas about on gender bias that he tries out on his daughter, Audrey, much to her dismay. There are some funny moments in the movie, but I think I was somewhat disappointed that I didn't laugh more. I think as usual, the funniest bits were in the trailer. There are some painful, bittersweet scenes with Henry's grandfather and as Slavkin and Patricia try to figure out their kids, and the kids learn to live with the disappointment of their parents. Toni Collette was in two of my favorite 'sleeper' movies, Little Miss Sunshine and also The Way, Way Back, both times in the role of mother, and she is good here (she actually has more to do). I didn't love the movie, but I think it's different and original enough to warrant a viewing (I have left out much of the plot because part of the fun is how it all unravels).

2/2015 Force Majeure, 2014

There was a period in my life when I loved anything Swedish, even if it was dreary or too intelligent for me to grasp,  it didn't matter. I am now in my curmudgeonly years and am a little harder to please. Force Majeure was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2014 Golden Globes, and I added it to my list in anticipation that it would be nominated for an Oscar. It was not nominated, but I watched it anyway (because it was mostly in Swedish). A Swedish family is in the French Alps on a skiing holiday, husband Tomas is trying to disconnect from work and enjoy time with his wife, Ebba and their two children, Vera and Harry. Everything seems to be going fine as the family sits down to enjoy lunch overlooking the mountains when an avalanche approaches dangerously close to them. As Ebba yells and tries to grab the children, Tomas is nowhere to be seen; he has run off. Ultimately, the avalanche stops short of the resort, but metaphorically, it runs over the family's trust. The incident goes unspoken of for a while, but it eats away at Ebba, and it seems that it is troubling the children as well. How could Tomas run off and leave them behind? The conflict comes when Tomas denies he ran off and Ebba challenges him. When you think they have it resolved, something else happens that derails their recovery. You wonder and hope that Tomas and Ebba can make peace and reconcile, but I was still uncertain at the end of the film. I can deal with ambiguity, but I felt unsatisfied.

2/2015 The Nutty Professor, Best Makeup, 1996

I am a huge fan of the original The Nutty Professor with Jerry Lewis, having watched it many Saturdays on WUAB channel 43 in Cleveland, and I was never too interested to see the remake starring Eddie Murphy, and I had no idea it actually won an Oscar for Best Makeup, and that I would now have to watch it. It was on television and so I watched it. It wasn't terrible. Eddie Murphy stars as Sherman Klump (and several of his relatives in different makeup) a university professor who is working on a miracle weight-loss drug (Klump is very overweight himself). After he meets Carla (Jada Pinkett) and has an awkward date, he takes his own drug, and undergoes an incredible transformation into a sleek, confident, cocky character, Buddy Love. Sherman and Buddy engage in a struggle to subdue the other which results in some pretty humorous moments. The movie was not the worst way to spend a couple of hours, and it didn't take any extra brain cells and I laughed, which is pretty good in my book. As for the award, it beat out Star Trek: First Contact and Ghosts of Mississippi, and Eddie Murphy probably should have gotten some kind of award for actually being subjected to most of the makeup applications. You knew it was him, and yet, somehow you believed it was different people, or if you didn't, it was still pretty neat to see him as various characters. Looking back now, twenty years later, make up has come so far, like The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc., it seems pretty tame, but I think it holds up pretty well.

3/3/2015 Beyond the Lights nominated for Best Original Song, 2014

Beyond the Lights is a movie ostensibly about the music business, but also as the title implies, the life beyond the lights, off stage. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (from Belle) is Noni Jean, a young English singer making it big in America partnering with a young rap star. Noni Jean's mother, Macy Jean (Minnie Driver) is more determined that her daughter be successful than Noni is, as evident in the opening scenes. Macy raised Noni on her own and is very possessive and controlling and as a viewer you wonder if she has Noni's best interest at heart. Noni is in Los Angeles and while drunk decides to see what it's like over the balcony at the hotel when she is rescued by Kaz Nichol (Nate Parker) a police officer. This is when we really get the view beyond the lights as the publicity machine works overtime to cover up and explain away the incident. Kaz is concerned about Noni but eventually falls in love with her and tries to protect her from herself and the music business; they head to Mexico for a break. The Nina Simone "Blackbird" is a recurring theme in the movie, it's the song that a very young Noni sings, a capella at a talent show and she later sings it at a karaoke bar in Mexico. Eventually, Noni gets back to the music world, seemingly on her own terms, with Kaz and the music she wants to sing. There are bits of originality in the film, but I don't think it is necessarily groundbreaking (the most shocking thing to me was to see Minnie Driver as a helicopter mother). That's not to say that I didn't enjoy it, I did. I liked the music, especially hearing "Blackbird", a song with which I was not familiar. "Grateful" was nominated for Best Original Song (losing out to "Glory" from Selma); and it was a very good song, especially as performed by Rita Ora at the Oscars.

The Musical Box, The Arcada Theater, St. Charles, Illinois 3/7/15

I don't know if I'm obsessive, perhaps more of a completist, but I don't want to quibble, I like what I like and I like Genesis. Since I was way too young to see them in what many refer to as the golden years (1970 - 1975), any chance to see The Musical Box, tribute band nonpareil, I am taking. This was the third concert I have seen of theirs, in three different venues (The Pabst Theater, Milwaukee, Skyway Theater, Minneapolis and most recently, The Arcada Theater, St. Charles). I have seen the "Selling England by the Pound" and "Foxtrot" shows, and they don't disappoint. They recreate the sets of the period, even down to Phil Collins' white overalls and Peter Gabriel's costumes and dialog. The playing is amazing, the guitar solos and the Mellotron sounds on "Watcher of the Skies". This was the Foxtrot show, so it featured more songs from that album, including "Get Em Out by Friday", "Can-Utility and the Coastliners" and the epic "Supper's Ready" as well as songs from "Nursery Cryme" like "The Musical Box", "Fountain of Salmacis". For those of you who think of Genesis as only "I Can't Dance" or "Invisible Touch", this might shake you to your foundations, but in a great way. My sincere hope is that they bring back "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" tour. The Arcada is a great old theater in St. Charles, Illinois, near the Fox River. There isn't a bad seat in the house (unless the seat itself is bad, which could happen), and it's a great venue outside of Chicago.

Mike & The Mechanics, Pabst Theater, Milwaukee 3/19/15

The last time I saw Mike & the Mechanics it was 1986 and I was getting ready to graduate high school. My friend and I had front row seats at Music Hall (or Public Hall, I can't remember) and we had a great time. Mike & the Mechanics was the side project of guitarist/bassist Mike Rutherford of Genesis and they had been dormant until a few years ago. You may remember the hits "The Living Years", "Silent Running" and "All I Need is a Miracle" from the late 1980s. They have been touring in Europe for a while and I had no confidence they would come back to the States, but, they did. They were going to Cleveland, Chicago and Milwaukee, so I had quite a few options. The Milwaukee venue, The Pabst Theater was the clincher, because it is a great space to see a concert, great seats, even from row T, where I was. And even better access to the band, because the stage door is easily accessible to fans (not that you can walk right in, but easy to hang out by). And apparently, I am getting nerdier as I get older, but I hung out there with the older fans before the show hoping for an autograph, and I got Mike's signature on I Know What I Like which is considered the Genesis bible (no pun intended) by Armando Gallo. Anyway, that was pretty awesome. Then the show started and Daryl Steurmer, longtime bassist and guitarist with Genesis in their touring band opened and played some pretty incredible guitar, and I later got his autograph as well. Then M&M started, and hit the highlights from the Mechanics catalog and threw in two Genesis songs ("Turn it on again" and "I can't dance") for good measure. The band has two new singers now, Andrew Roachford (singing mostly the Paul Carrack songs) and Tim Howard (singing the Paul Young parts) and they had a lot of energy and the crowd seemed to respond quite well. The set opened with "Beggar on a Beach of Gold", and then honestly I'm not sure of the order, but they played "Silent Running", "The Living Years", "All I Need is a Miracle" complete with the Paul Young inspired singalong, which I remembered quite well from 1986,  and "Try to Save Me" and "The Road", both songs from the latest album "The Road". It was an incredible night. I almost totally forgot that I had been up since 4 in the morning to catch a plane.

The Age of Innocence, The Deer Hunter and Schindler's List - It really wasn't as depressing as it sounds

As I prepare to write these blogs, I often look at the selection of movies and ask myself what was I thinking. Then I sit silently waiting for me to answer. I told a friend of mine what I watched and I could see him shaking his head through the email 'What a depressing New Year's at your house'. It was a teeny bit less than gleeful, but not all that much different from a normal day.

12/29/13 The Age of Innocence, Best Costume Design, 1993

The costumes were nice.....

Oh, you probably want a little more than that, but I have to say, I wasn't all that inspired to write a lot more, but since you stopped by, I'll try. The Age of Innocence is set in late 19th century New York City and stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder and the narrative talents of Joanne Woodward. It's a story of a man who has to choose to do what society expects of versus what his heart desires. Yep, that's it. I don't have to have a movie with lots of explosions or plot twists, I like a movie that slowly unfolds, but please, for the love of Alfred Hitchcock, please make SOMETHING happen. It's beautifully filmed and as mentioned above, the costumes are pretty. Martin Scorsese directed, and it is different from The Departed and Goodfellas, that's for sure. Do yourself a favor and check out Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility instead.

12/31/13 The Wolverine, probably won't be nominated for anything, 2013

Carrying on a New Year's tradition from last year, I went to watch a movie at a friend's house and ate too much pizza and was home before 11:00. Do you remember when it was a big deal to stay up late on New Year's and ring it in with Johnny Carson? Then you got old and it's all you can do to stay up until 9:00? Yep, I'm there. In fact, I only went to my friend's house last year after she promised they would not be staying up until midnight. I think there's something wrong with me. Anyway, we watched The Wolverine and well, we didn't hate it. There was actually a lot going on in the story, and it seemed a little unfocused at times, or kind of like when you make an ice cream sundae and put too many toppings on with too many flavors of ice cream and your tastebuds are like "What the heck is going on?". But, I did like the take on The Wolverine's story which focused on his time in Japan (if you watch any of the animated Wolverine, there are several episodes that take place in Japan); I also liked the introduction of Yukio who was a great (female) foil to Wolverine. I haven't checked, but I hope she makes an appearance in the upcoming X-Men movie; the actress, Tao Okamoto was very good. I also liked Mariko, who, I believe plays Logan's love interest in the animated series); she was not helpless or frail, just needed some back up. The actress who played Viper was terrible. I'm sorry, but I cannot sugarcoat it. I don't think it's going to be nominated for any Oscars, even sound editing or effects, but I figure better safe than sorry. Is there anyone else on the planet who can play Wolverine beside Hugh Jackman? I think not. If you like the super hero genre or seeing Hugh Jackman without a shirt, or just like a good action movie, you should check it out. It was fun to watch and there is a scene that hints at X-Men: Days of Future Past.

1/1/14 The Deer Hunter, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, Best Sound, 1978 #53 on AFI

The Deer Hunter is an incredibly intense three hours and I recommend that if you plan to watch it, just prepare yourself. It tells the story of a group of friends in a small Pennsylvania steel town, focusing on three of the men who went to Vietnam and are forever changed by their experience. The first part of the movie shows the guys working in a steel mill then horsing around at the local bar, and then one of them getting married (John Savage as Steven). The wedding and reception scene show the family ties the men have to one another. They share a Russian heritage and the wedding takes place in a real Russian Orthodox church in Cleveland, Ohio; several scenes were filmed in Cleveland and in other parts of Ohio. Mike (Robert DeNiro), Steven, and Nick (Christopher Walken who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor) join three other friends for one last deer hunt before they go off to Vietnam. John Cazale plays Stanley and this was Cazale's last role before he died of cancer; John (George Dzundza) and Axel (George Aspegren) round out the group. The scene jumps to Vietnam where Nick, Steve and Mike meet up and are eventually captured. The following scenes are probably some of the most intense you can watch. The prisoners are forced to play Russian Roulette against each other and Mike, who is clearly the leader in the group of friends, acts as cheerleader, coach and sergeant as he encourages Steven to be be brave and pull the trigger. Mike and Nick face off against each other, with Mike exhorting Nick. Mike has a plan and due to his bravado and guts, he makes it happen (I say bravado because I would imagine that Mike had to put on a strong front for his friends as well as the Viet Cong). The three friends escape and they all take different paths to freedom, and they lose track of one another. The last act shows the homecoming of Mike, a hero, who is very uncomfortable with being treated like one. Mike is welcomed home by Angela (Meryl Streep) who was engaged to Nick, but they comfort each other because Nick is missing.

There is almost as much myth surrounding the making of The Deer Hunter as there is around the movie itself. There is some great acting here with some of the best actors of the late 20th century, and the story is compelling, especially when you consider that in 1978 the Vietnam war was barely over (1975) and another Vietnam-era movie, Coming Home, was also nominated for several awards that same year. My issue, which is not original, either for me or for the movie, is that it could use some more editing; I think there were some scenes that did not add anything to the movie by being so long; I would have liked to have learned more about Steven, although he is clearly secondary to the relationship between Mike and Nick. My other issue are the scenes of the deer hunting (there is one in the beginning and one at the end) and that is only because the movie is set in western Pennsylvania, known for its coal country and steel mills, and to my knowledge, there are no mountains even close to the size of what is shown in the movie, and that's because those scenes were filmed in Washington state. It might be a small detail, especially if you're not familiar with that part of the country, but it bothered me. Anyway, this movie has become such a part of our cultural lexicon and is on so many lists for best films (#53 on the American Film Institute list of 100 best films) and it does show Christopher Walken and Robert DeNiro in amazing performances, it is a must see.

1/1/14 Schindler's List, Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, 1993, #8 on AFI

I saw Schindler's List when it was originally released in theaters 20 years ago, and the thing I most remember is the absolute silence when it was over. We were all so overwhelmed. That is one of the great things about seeing movies in a theater mostly with people you don't know, you can share a communal experience, like exhilaration at the end of the last Harry Potter movie or collective emotional exhaustion like after Schindler's List or Boys Don't Cry. Schindler's List has been on television at least once or twice in the intervening two decades but I have not been able to watch it, it was just too hard (and it's 3 1/2 hours long). I don't know why I felt like I needed to watch it again at this time, but I am glad I did. Liam Neeson, in an Oscar-nominated role, plays Oskar Schindler, a member of the Nazi party, an unabashed capitalist and seeming womanizer turned humanitarian and Righteous Gentile. Ben Kingsley plays his trusted bookkeeper and 'adviser', Itzhak Stern. Ralph Fiennes gives a sublime performance as Amon Goeth, the sadistic camp commandant; Fiennes was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar (this was the year of Philadelphia with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington). At first, Schindler embarks on a money-making enterprise to manufacture enamelware to sell to the German Army and he needs laborers; Stern helps him find workers among the Jews in the ghetto and destined for concentration camps. Eventually, Schindler finds a new motivation for his work - to save the Jews. Along the way, he bribes, cajoles and argues with different Nazi officials to keep his 'essential' workers; he even forms a strange, utilitarian bond with Goeth. Steven Spielberg directed Schindler's List and layers the symbolism using music, cinematography (especially the use of black and white film with subtle and limited use of color) in addition to the actions of the characters. The music is so powerful and it really is one of those scores that is inextricably linked to the film. The wonderful John Williams composed the score and Itzhak Perlman is the featured player; the music alone will make you weep. This movie is special and should be required watching for everyone over 16 because it tells a true story, and while it can be very graphic, it uses those images sparingly (I think the mini-series The Holocaust is much more graphic and over a longer period of time, over 6 hours of viewing); and there are not a lot of stories about those who risked so much to save strangers (Schindler did not know the people he saved until they began working for him); and there were people throughout Poland, Hungary, France and other countries who did this. I was fine watching the movie until the last scene which features the real life survivors and Schindler's widow placing stones on his grave, he is buried in Jerusalem. Placing stones on headstones is a Jewish tradition. I lost it; my heart of stone couldn't hold out anymore. As an aside, and if you would like to see Ralph Fiennes on the other side of the fence, so to speak, I highly recommend Sunshine in which he plays three characters from the same family of Hungarian-Jews; it is a semi-autobiographical film by Istvan Szabo, and one of the characters is in a concentration camp. I came across the movie by accident, but I am glad I did.

A little of this, a little of that - Purple Rain, Finding Neverland

Dang it's cold. Jack Frost is covering most of the country this weekend, and Minnesota is no exception (Minnesotans take a sick pride in how cold it gets here, just sick I tell you; it's a strange game of one-ups manship). This translates into guilt-free movie watching, because what else can you do? I mean, besides clean and watch football. This movie-watching mission that I have been on for over a year has its ups and downs. Some movies are hard to watch, as in they are really terrible, the subject matter is difficult, or they are literally hard to watch because the DVD won't play. These are 21st century/first world problems.

This weekend was intended to be a variety of films and I was kind of excited to watch all of them (well, maybe excited is an overstatement). So, let us begin.

12/7/13 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay 1975

I really wanted to like this movie, and I was well on my way until about half-way through the DVD stopped working. I wish that would have happened with another movie, damn it. I haven't given up, but I wanted you to know that I tried.

12/7/13 Purple Rain, Best Original Song Score, 1984

Color me clueless but I have never understood the magic or mystique of Prince. I realize I may be treading on Minneapolis hometown pride, but I stand Buckeye strong. It might be easy to say that I am an old fuddy duddy, but I was 17 when Purple Rain was released and I didn't get it then. I was excited to see the First Avenue club on film, I pass it on my walk every day; and I wanted to see Minneapolis in the years between Mary Tyler Moore and when I moved here. It wasn't enough. The acting is dreadful, although to be fair, it wasn't nominated for any acting awards. The movie was terrible, and my heart would not have been broken in this DVD stopped playing. Curse my luck. The music is fine if not a little self-indulgent. In the 1980s I was much more into Progressive Rock and now my tastes have changed, but not enough. Sorry. Feel free to take my place in line the next time Prince has one of his events at Paisley park. Peace out.

12/7/13 Finding Neverland, Best Original Score, 2004

This was such a nice treat after suffering through Purple Rain. I remember when the movie came out, and didn't pay much attention, but it shows up on my list, and now I have to pay attention. Finding Neverland tells the story of J.M Barrie and his friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family and the inspiration for Peter Pan. Johnny Depp plays Barrie and Kate Winslet is Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, a recently widowed mother of four boys. Barrie and the boys forge a bond and they serve as his creative muse. One of the boys, Peter, proves to be a bit of challenge as he is still dealing with the death of his father and is far too serious for a boy fo his age. The movie is based on real events and is called 'semi-autobiographical', and I'm not really sure what the distinction is here. Depp employs a Scottish brogue, and I'm not an expert, but it sounded good to me. Winslet doesn't disappoint although I would not say the role was a huge stretch (she was awesome in The Reader and Mildred Pierce). I really did enjoy the film and if you are looking for something to watch with the family over the holidays, I totally recommend Finding Neverland, I think the kids will enjoy the fantasy scenes that may engage their imaginations. The other parts of the story may not keep their attention (especially if they're younger), but it's worth a try. The movie won for Best Original Score, beating out Lemony Snicket's: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and The Passion of The Christ.

12/7/13 The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, nominated Best Documentary, 2009

I bumped this movie up in my queue after I finished watching Hearts and Minds the 1974 winner of Best Documentary. Ellsberg, through his role at the RAND corporation, came to possess documents that showed the American people were being lied to about the Vietnam war. The documentary has the benefit of 30 years of hindsight and more information (Nixon's resignation, Watergate, etc.) and provides insight into the evolution of Ellsberg's personal philosophy, from supporting the war to being willing to go to jail for opposing the war and releasing what came to be known as The Pentagon Papers. Ellsberg's fight to release the documents is cited as one of the most important First Amendment cases in American history. As I was watching this, I couldn't help but draw my own comparisons between what Ellsberg did and how he (and the newspapers) published the information and what Edward Snowden did. There are recorded excerpts of President Nixon calling Ellsberg a traitor and pretty much calling for his head on a silver platter. Ellsberg worked with different papers around the country to get the documents published, and when those avenues were diverted, he also worked with Senator Mike Gravel of Alaska to make them public. It was all very cloak and dagger stuff. The most striking difference between Ellsberg and his friend Tony Russo were willing to go to jail for what they did, and Snowden fled the country. That is a big difference to me, but other than that, I found it hard to separate the two actions, even though I wanted to, it seems easier for me to reconcile and even cheer what Ellsberg did, but I cannot do the same for Snowden. The Most Dangerous Man in America lost the Academy Award to Inside Job which was about the financial crisis and the corruption of people in the financial services industry, which was an incredible documentary as well.

12/8/13 Wallander, Series 2, 2010

What can I say? I just finished The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell, a Kurt Wallander mystery and was in the mood to depress the hell out of myself some more, so I watched Series 2 of Wallander, which stars Kenneth Branagh as Wallander. I don't know why I keep reading the books and watching the shows, perhaps it touches my inner Scandinavian, morose and somber. Like anything based on a book, the episodes vary greatly from the books; I understand why they make changes to the storylines, combine characters, change timeframes, but it annoyed me for The Fifth Woman episode. Mankell infuses the books with some subtle and not so subtle social commentary, changes in Sweden, immigration, the Europeanization that was beginning to come to Sweden (some of the books are set in the 1990s); Wallander is morose, serious, and surprisingly sensitive. If you want to see early Branagh, check him out in Henry V, it's almost 25 years since it was released, but he is superb.

Sometimes 'good' has to be good enough: Speed, Tsotsi and Hearts and Minds

As usual, my eyes were bigger than, well, my eyes. I had eight movies going into this weekend, and only got through three, although, to be fair, I also got through Season 1 of "Wallander". I don't know why I do that, it always seems like such a great idea to have a television series to break up the movies, but then I get sucked in, and have to watch the whole thing. That's okay, I still finished three movies, and did my laundry...a successful weekend. A friend of mine asked if I take notes when I'm watching the movies so I can use them in my write-ups. I do not, I sometimes think I should so I can capture some of my insightful observations, but I worry I would get too distracted. So, I rely on my memory, which is usually pretty good, at least for my impressions, if not always everything else. [this blog was interrupted by a serious case of writer's block]

11/22/13 Hearts and Minds, Best Documentary Feature, 1974

Hearts and Minds uses contemporaneous interviews and footage filmed around Vietnam. I always find it interesting to watch a documentary like this, that when it was originally was shown, was current and could have been a segment on the evening news, and to watch it now, it's actually 'history' or 'historical'. I have vague memories of watching the news (in the days before 24-hour cable channels, when watching the television news was kind of a family event, at least in our house) and seeing protests on television and the helicopters in Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War. I think it's safe to say that in the almost forty years since this documentary was released, there has been an evolution in the thought-process regarding the US involvement in the war, the feelings about the soldiers as well as those evading the draft, and the Vietnamese people themselves. Some of the people interviewed for the film express some very racist views of the 'Oriental' cultures in general and the Vietnamese people in particular. These opinions can actually be transported back in time to the Crusades and the views of Europeans about the Arabs, Americans and Europeans about the Japanese during the Second World War, and forward to the current wars/conflicts in the Middle East: non-Caucasians are identified as savages, backwards, illiterate, etc. In some cases this is just based on skin color, but then usually combined with their religious practices. That was forty years ago. Fast forward to today and the feelings that people have (had) for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the people of those countries. In some ways, things haven't changed that much, and in others, maybe they have. There seems to be a very distinct separation between the men and women fighting the war (defending our country) and the war itself. The question of whether we should have been in Vietnam at all and what was the rationale exists today. The answer in the 1950s - 1970s was to fight against Communism (there are some interesting interviews with North Vietnamese and anti-war protesters describing their fight as a war of independence, shaking of the colonial powers - sound familiar?); the answer for the current conflicts is to protect oil interests and fight terrorism. I don't think this is the best documentary I have ever seen, but I do think it is an interesting look back at watershed moment in US history. The film is very clearly slanted towards the anti-war camp and makes no real attempt at unbiased reporting, and I think as long as you know that, you can still get something out of it.

11/23/13 Speed, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, 1994

Once again, I am late to the party. This was the first time I have ever watched Speed (no, I was not under a rock). I have to say, after watching four hours of depressing, moping Kurt Wallander, this was a nice change of pace. There is nothing overly thought-provoking about this movie about a bus that is rigged to explode if the speed drops below fifty miles an hour. Dennis Hopper is the psychopathic demolition man who is bent on revenge against the police (I'm not giving anything away here); Keanu Reeves is the hero cop who doesn't have too much trouble bending or breaking the rules to save the citizens of Los Angeles; Sandra Bullock winds up driving the bus through the streets of Los Angeles. Like I said, this is not complicated. The reason it works is that it's fun: there are explosions; witty banter between the characters Jeff Daniels and Reeves; Reeves and Bullock; crazy driving skills; a great look at 1990s computer technology (gasp); and Dennis Hopper is nuts. The movie won for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing, and after watching a few of these winners, it does seem that there is a lot of hard work that goes into making sure explosions and traffic sounds and gun shots all sync up to make the experience come through the speakers. I should note that (knock wood), I am watching the same television I bought in 1993, and it doesn't even know what surround sound or HDTV are, so I'm sure I am missing out on a lot. It wasn't a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

11/24/13 Tsotsi, Best Foreign Language Film, 2005

I really wanted to love this movie, and I feel bad because I only liked it and even then, it took a while to get to like. Tsotsi is set in South Africa and follows a gang of kids, focusing on the leader, David (known as Tsotsi). David and his crew rob people, steal things, whatever they need to do to survive. After a series of events, Tsotsi shoots a woman, then steals her car, and discovers that her baby is in it. The overarching story is watching this tough kid (and they are kids) learn to deal with his past and open his heart to this little baby. That is some nice character development; it's not simple and straightforward, there are some zigs and zags in the road. Tsotsi forms an unexpected bond with the father of the baby and I wanted to see how that played out. South Africa is a complex country with a complex history (and present), and there is something about it that has intrigued me for a long time, and the movie captures a little of that. Things are not always black and white, cut and dried. There are circumstances. I can't put my finger on why I am struggling with this; I think it's because I was not interested in some of the peripheral characters, and found it hard to care. It was a little over halfway through that I found myself engaged. The movie was based on a book by Athol Fugard, so perhaps there is more in the book that I was looking for than was in the movie. I can't give this a big thumbs up, but I can't say don't see it. Perhaps it will resonate with you more than me. I am glad I saw it, and sometimes that's all you can hope for. I have 680 more movies to go, and I'm sure there are going to be movies I will encourage you to avoid; this isn't one of them.

On a side note, as you may know if you are a regular reader (thank you for that), I love documentaries. I would imagine that documentaries don't often get the big studio budgets that a comic book hero or a talking car get. That's where Kickstarter comes in; there are some good projects out there, and I am hoping that two of them come to fruition. Feel free to check them out (or the many others). One is about Magda, who was a Jewish spy during World War II; she's still around at 91 and this movie is telling her story. The other project is about The Wrecking Crew, studio musicians who played and supported an incredible number of acts like Simon and Garfunkle, The Beach Boys, and more. I love movies like this (if you have not seen Standing in the Shadows about the musicians who made up the Motown sound, you really should; it made me cry). I supported a project that was successfully funded a little while ago about the last surviving US veteran from World War I, called Pershing's Last Patriot. I'm usually ranting against social media and the participatory activities it spawns (no, the irony is not lost on me), but the idea of micro-funding/crowd-funding something that is of interest, is pretty cool.  It's a small way to support artists, designers, creators.

Ah, I think the writer's block is gone. Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Hanukkah.

A trip to an exotic land with 'Indochine'

8/18/13 Indochine, Best Foreign Film, 1992

What better way to spend a day off than to get new tires on your car? Well, you can top it off with writing a review on a beautiful movie and then heading off to St. Cloud to hear Dar Williams. Let me say this first, I think that Catherine Deneuve is terribly under-appreciated in the US. Most people may know her from her makeup commercials or The Hunger (which I have never seen, or not yet, anyway); I haven't seen most of her movies either, but when I do, I always want more. Indochine is set in French Indochina and tells the story of a rubber plantation owner, Eliane Devries (Deneuve) and her relationship with her adopted Vietnamese daughter, Camille. Camille was orphaned after her parents, who were royalty, were killed in a plane crash. It is a sweeping story that covers several decades (1910s through the 1950s) and over that time examines the impacts of French colonialism on the region, as well as the swirl of Communism coming over from neighboring China. Oh, and there is Devries's relationships with her workers, the opium den, Jean-Baptiste Le Guen, a French naval officer, much younger than Devries. As you can tell from my few sentences, there is a lot happening in this movie and you really have to watch it unfold to appreciate it. It helps to have a little understanding of the regional history (FYI, the war in Vietnam did not start in the 1960s with the United States). I think it is interesting to see movies or read stories that examine another country's imperial and colonial history (I am not using those terms pejoratively, so I hope they are not taken that way) since I am much more familiar with the colonial past of the United States. Always looking for the teachable moment. The settings are beautiful, with great vista views, as well as scenes filmed in 1930s/1940s Saigon. This movie is very patient and deliberate with its pacing to let the narrative unfold (this is code for it is a long film), but I did like it very much. Catherine Deneuve owns her role, and goes through a variety of emotions and there were a few moments I did not like her very much, but she definitely played a very strong female character. Indochine won for Best Foreign film and Deneuve was nominated as Best Actress (similar to Amour in 2012). She lost out to Emma Thompson in Howards End, and I saw that movie when it first came out; Emma Thompson is good in just about everything, but I just don't know if she beat out Deneuve here. The movies are polar opposites, so it may not be a fair comparison, but there you go.

Oliver Stone will never be accused of being too subtle

5/9/13, Platoon -  Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing 1986

I would not say I was a fan or an expert on war movies, but it seems like I have seen quite a few, and definitely have some thoughts. I think if people who make the decision to go to war (civil war, insurgence, invasion) watched any good war movie, they might opt for something less destructive. Okay, I realize that is probably the most naive thing I have ever written, but one can hope. There has been an evolution in war movies, from people being shot, but very little blood ever being shown, or bullet holes,  people dying from imaginary wounds, relying on their acting skills to convey the extent of their wounds to incredibly graphic depictions of the hell that is war, limbs being blown up and mangled, blood pooling out from wounds. The realism or neo-realism (I couldn't tell you the difference, but I think they both apply) has made watching war movies a visceral experience. Platoon is in this latter category; plenty of realistic injuries and language to go around. Oliver Stone and Charlie Sheen team up for the first time here (the second time was in Wall Street). Charlie plays Chris Taylor, a newbie to Vietnam; he's unusual because he voluntarily enlisted. The movie is mainly told from his perspective and experience. Taylor and his platoon are torn between the rivalry of Sergeant Bob Barnes (played maniacally by Tom Berenger in an Oscar-nominated performance) and Sergeant Elias (played by Willem Dafoe also in an Oscar-nominated performance, one might be able to make the observation that his portrayal of Elias presaged his role as Jesus Christ in The Last Temptation of Christ). Barnes and Elias have served in Vietnam longer than the others and have different ways of dealing with the men. I think it would be too simplistic to say Barnes was evil and Elias was good, but there is no question that the two men are antagonists and that their conflicted relationship is critical to the plot. Vietnam was a war unlike previous wars in that it was often very hard to tell who the enemy really was, was it a 12 year old villager, an old farmer or the young man taking care of his grandmother. This uncertainty, the lack of full support of the American public, and the overbearing tropical conditions helped create the chaos and almost Lord of the Flies atmosphere. The battle that takes place at the end of the movie was incredibly powerful and had me wondering who was going to survive. Platoon won for Best Picture in 1986, and when you look at the other nominees (Hannah and Her Sisters, The Mission, Children of a Lesser God, A Room with a View), I think Platoon is so different in its base, tone, characters, I'm not sure how you compare. Oliver Stone also won for Best Director. The nominees for Best Director were almost a one to one match for Best Picture. Stone also inserted himself into the movie as a commander barking orders. Again, if you're the director and writer, you can probably do that, but really, please don't (unless you're Woody Allen). It was nice to see Charlie Sheen acting, although he will never be confused for Christian Bale.