At the Cinema - November 2016

Arrival – 10

One of the little thrills of being a movie-lover is when you see one that provokes much discussion and deciphering afterwards.  I have a pantheon of such movies:  The Conversation, Nashville, Cabaret, The Godfather.  Welcome “Arrival” to that pantheon as it took me a little while to figure it out.  The water isn’t deep, it’s just murky.

What a pleasure to watch a beautifully crafted story edited to perfection.  It’s complex and it ends up circling the most important concept of life, the concept that has always been the most intriguing to me.  I’m not going to disclose it here. 

Two things I will say about this movie.  First, Amy Adams is terrific, probably even Oscar-worthy.  Much of the movie’s emotion is deployed in close-ups of her face as she reacts to what she sees and hears. She plays a linguist who is sent to try to communicate with one of several alien objects that are hovering over earth.  They have brought us something, and the clock is ticking, because the military is getting itchy.  She must figure out what they want.  All this intrigue is laid out ingeniously.

The second thing I want to say, is that if you have a young daughter, tread carefully. There is a subplot that could be upsetting.

Anything beyond these comments would serve to spoil a pretty cool movie experience, one that you will enjoy unraveling when it all sinks in.

 

Manchester By the Sea –9

Casey Affleck is another early Oscar favorite for his performance as Lee Chandler, a man with a very troubled past who, when his brother dies, finds himself as the unqualified and unwilling guardian to his nephew Patrick played equally well by Lucas Hedges. 

This is a character study of tragic intensity.  Lee is beyond damaged and Affleck captures it all with an epic performance.  I have been an Affleck fan since seeing him in Baby Gone Baby which I consider the best movie of this century.  It was directed by his brother Ben Affleck, whom I just want to shake and say “more movies like this please.” 

This is not an easy movie to digest.  It is slow moving, and there are no easy resolutions to the struggles the two main characters are going through.  While Patrick is wrestling with high school issues, like how to keep two girlfriends from finding out about each other. Lee is wrestling with having to move from Boston back to Manchester where he’s a pariah to the locals.  The presence of his ex-wife Randi, played  explosively by Michelle Williams, further complicates his life.  Manchester is a lovely place, but he doesn’t want to be there.

Writer/Director Kenneth Lonergan treats the audience like adults.  He paints a canvas and lets the viewer interpret.  It’s slow and melodic and haunting.

Edge of Seventeen – 6

All three of these movies are distressing to old school parents, and I guess I’m just officially an old fogie.  If this is what it’s like to be a teenager today, I’m glad I’m safely into my 60’s. 

Hallee Steinfeld, who is a budding singing and acting superstar plays Nadine, a young girl who has never really fit in.  When she finally gets a BFF (yes, I know what that means) in Krista they seem destined to grow old together.  Then Nadine’s shallow world is shattered when Krista, (a beautiful Haley Lu Richardson) becomes the girlfriend of Nadine’s older brother (Blake Jenner). 

Teen angst in 2016 hasn’t changed much, but my angst was elevated by the obliviousness of the parents.  Bobby Knight once said that kids haven’t changed, but parents sure have.  Bingo.  I guess Woody Harrellson, who is terrific as Nadine’s sparring teacher, is the responsible adult in the movie.  Let that sink in for a moment.

Sometimes movies are over my head.  This one just whizzed past my ear.

Saints Report # 11 - November 27, 2016

Welcome back Triple G. 

Great to see you in the Superdome again.

Do you die your hair with those cute little highlights?

You remember Drew Brees don’t you?

He’s about to slice and dice your defense to the tune of 28 of 36 for 310 yards and 4 touchdowns.

By the way, did you add that extra G to your name, or was that a parental decision?

I don’t think you’ve met Mark "Straightline" Ingram.

About twice a year he has a good game and he’s about to slash and dash your vaunted defense.

I don’t think you’ve met Michael Thomas either.

He’s just a rookie but he’s about to gash and mash you to the point of embarrassment for more than a third of Brees’ yardage.

You remember Zach Strief don’t you?

He’s still anchoring an offensive line that is going to push and mush your famous defensive line in their most dominant performance of the year. 

Of course you remember Sean Payton.

Your “affect the head” strategy cost Sean a year of his coaching life, and he’s going to make you pay for that today by designing a pounding to remember.

You remember Micky Loomis right?

He’d like those 2 draft choices back that your Bountygate cost him, because he could ill afford to lose draft choices, given that he’s rather hit or miss in the evaluation department.

You remember Tom Benson don’t you?

You were a major contributor to getting him that Lombardi trophy, and I’m sure he’s grateful, as we are all, but if you could slip Tom half a mil to pay back that fine, he’d probably get you a great deal on a used car.

Oh, and one more, this is Willie Snead.  He’ll be the salt in your wound today.  Don’t take it personally that he'll end with a better QB rating than Brees.

Finally, sorry to hear that you’ve not spoken to Sean Payton.  He’s about to punish you to the tune of a 49 – 21 “paybacks are hell” type of thrashing that we rarely see in the Superdome these days.  We haven’t fared too well against the Rams in recent years, but a 555 yard change is gonna come.  We’ll move to 5-6 and continue to give our fan base that slight glimmer of hope that makes them tune in.  We want to party like it’s 2009.  Remember?

Saints Report # 10 - November 17, 2016

Take Sunday off.
We get this Sunday off after a Thursday night debacle.

In the space of 5 days it all fell apart for the New Orleans Saints.

The second loss in that period, to Carolina 23-20, looked so much like the Sunday loss to Denver that you could practically hear Dionne Warwick singing.  The pattern is that familiar.  First the offense struggles, turning the ball over and digging a hole.  Then the offense leads a comeback, only to be derailed by a special teams disaster.  

 In the case of Thursday night, Marcus Murphy proved to be no improvement over previous return men when he decided to stop the momentum of a kick headed out of bounds and carry it out at the one yard line for a nice little 40 yard swing.  It was the latest bonehead kick return move in an incompetent kick return year.  (By the way, who told him he could wear Pierre Thomas' #23). 

Then there are the blocked kicks.  Carolina feasted on the film that the Saints must not be watching. Their block of a field goal attempt was like an instant replay of the Denver block 5 days earlier, right down to a return down the sideline.  Only a weak penalty on Carolina prevented it from being a total déjà vu.

There’s a particular irony to the special teams struggles that have derailed a mildly promising year.  The Sean Payton legacy is built on iconic special teams plays – the Steve Gleason blocked punt, and the “Ambush” onside kick in the Super Bowl.  These were daring plays that pale in comparison to the adventures in placekicking that this season has become.  I’ve often said that if you can’t run the ball one yard when you need it, you don’t deserve to win.  Here’s another tidbit.  If you can’t block for your kicking game, you don’t deserve to win.  What makes this even harder to swallow is that the defense is actually improving.  You can’t pin these two losses on the defense.

So, unless they can turn this inexplicable ineptitude around, the 4-6 Saints will have wasted another year.  They almost certainly have to close the season with a 6 game winning streak to make the playoffs.  They are in need of a Sunday off as much as their fans are.  They sure have plenty to think about.  They wander through games like they’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, an apt metaphor if there ever was one.