Saints Report #1 September 10, 2023

The Saints started their season with a nail-biting 16-15 barn burner that taught us a few things:

• The Defense is good.  Very Good. Marshawn Lattimore is probably the best cornerback we've ever had, and Demario Davis just seems to get better and better.  The defense is solid, and when they held the Titans to a field goal after a fumble of the opening kick-off, (an event that prompted me to utter the immortal words of a friend, "Wait til next year,") I felt we were going to win.  Imagine if Drew had had this defense for about 5 years.  There aren’t any more Derrick Henry’s on the schedule, right?
• The Saints kept the right kicker. We had our doubts, didn’t we?  While Blake Groupe was hammering the ball through poles, Wil Lutz was missing a field goal, an extra point, and flubbing an onside kick in Denver’s 1 point loss, undoubtedly irritating Sean Payton, who may have kept the wrong kicker. 
• Derek Carr looked good.  He’s a good Quarterback.  No one has ever called him a great one, but we don’t need great with this defense.  He has talented wide receivers to work with and he should be fine, if we find a running game to help him out.
• The offensive line was not good enough, but we have to remember that the Titans have a pretty good defense.  Fortunately, the Titans Quarterback looks like a journeyman, which is what he will probably be pretty soon.
• The Saints couldn’t run the ball, which is a must, but they came up with one big run at the end of the game to seal the win in the fourth quarter when first downs that keep the clock running are just as important as kicking field goals.
• Finally, the officials haven’t changed.  They missed an obvious interference call, and a disputed touchdown catch could’ve gone either way.  Those potential 14 points would’ve broken the game open.  As I left the Caesar’s Superdome and walked down the “over/under” ramp and out onto “longshot” road I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe the NFL likes to keep the games close.  

I didn't get a chance to write my annual NFL prediction column this year, so here it is:

Patrick Mahomes (unless he gets hurt).

An off-schedule Post

Happy Anniversary to me.
It was 1 year ago today that I had my back surgery.
It was supposed to be a simple lumbar fusion, like the one I had 25 years ago.
It turned out to be anything but simple.

I try to remember the pain I was in going into surgery, as I try to answer some simple questions.

Would I do it again?  Probably not, if I had known what the complications were going to be, but after addressing the staff infection, my new doctor thinks the bones are now going to fuse.

I don’t.  We’ll see.

After the hospitalization and 8 weeks of antibiotic infusion, I had about 3 weeks of very minor discomfort.  I was feeling good!  Then, about 8/12, right before we were leaving to go to help David and his family move into a new house, I twisted my back, putting me to bed with leg and nerve pain that exceeded any previous pain I’ve had.  It has slowly calmed down, but I’m on pins and needles about the future nerve pain.  Hint – today was a rough day.

Would I advise people to have back surgery?  Simple – avoid until you just can’t take it.  Surgery should be a last resort.

Things I learned in the last year.

1. Facebook is a game changer.  We complain about it, but so many are wired in.  Because my pain was front and center, and I was writing about it like a whiney baby, I heard from hundreds of people – people that 20 years ago would have had no idea what was going on.  I communicated often with people I haven’t seen in 40 years.  It was a joy and a delight and a needed distraction. 
2. Speaking of Facebook…you can’t get rid of adds or see all your friends by copying and pasting anything, especially if it starts off with the words “It worked!”  What is that?  A premonition?  To see your friends – interact with them, hit a “like” on their page and watch what happens.  You’ll see more.  You’ll also see other friends less.  Let the logarithms work.   And as for ads – you are going to see them.  That’s how META makes money.  But, if you don’t like the ads you’re seeing, just hit those three little dots in the upper right-hand corner of the ad and go to work.  It will knock out what you don’t want.  For example, every time I opened Facebook I would get a DirecTV ad first thing.  Same ad, so I finally went in and told them to stop giving me DirectTv ads.  So they did.  They replaced it with something else just as aggravating. 
3. Speaking of DirecTV, did you notice India landed on the moon yesterday?  That call center money must be big.  DirecTV, Caremark pharmacy, and several others I deal with use an Indian call center and I just can’t understand what they’re saying, and I don’t care how well they’ve been trained they usually can’t help me.  I immediately ask for someone in America.  I felt bad about it, but when you’re delirious and someone sounds like they are blowing your name through a pipe, I just can’t. 
4. But the Call Centers aren’t the only ones I can’t make out.  Is everybody using Closed Captioning as much as me? There were many days when I just gave up on the sound, even British programs, well especially British programs, and turned the sound down and just read it.  I don’t like to do this, because I think it lessens the impact and sometimes the print precedes the words.  To make matters worse, my bedroom TV sometimes goes out of sync by 5 seconds or so.  So, just imagine me in bed, in pain, on painkillers, watching this, trying to read the words on a scene that has already ended.    
5. Medically for just a minute, I sure learned a lot about modern medicine.  Modern Medicine is mostly what I call “conveyer belt” service.  You think you are getting personal care, but you usually aren’t.  Some are great, but some are just trying to move you along.  I’m just going to say this:  I must have researched and read 100 articles and easily watched 500 videos over the last year.  YOU MUST TAKE CHARGE AND HAVE THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.  You know how so many commercials start with “ask your doctor about?”  Well, you better.  They don’t seem to mind anymore when you refer to the internet and start a sentence, with “I googled it, and it said grapefruit would help.”  As for asking questions, like “How long before I can go cartwheeling,” don’t think they are going to tell you without asking.  My number one complaint is not what they tell you, but what they don’t.
6. It’s really hard when you go through a year like this, because you miss so much.  This was certainly not the “retirement plan.”  I certainly didn’t want to miss a jazz fest.  There were people that I would’ve normally helped but couldn’t, and some tiny little people that needed my attention.  I did it because I thought it would pay off in the future.  I sure hope so.   If you know me you probably thought “well, he’ll just watch movies,” and I did, but not nearly as many as you would’ve thought.  It’s not that much fun to be drugged and drowsy and it’s hard to concentrate, especially with that hearing problem I was talking about. 
7. Lastly, it’s really hard to go through something like this without someone who has vowed “in sickness and in health.”  I don’t like to need attention, but my wife never blinked, never left her post.  She stood on that wall because I needed her on that wall.  I couldn’t have survived this without her.  Through 3 emergency room visits, and at least 40 doctor appointments.  If you don’t have a spouse like Liz, get one.  Hard to find, but well worth it.

Still recovering in Mississippi, 

Rick

 

 

 

Media Captures - June and July

Oppenheimer – 7

Recently there was a poll on Facebook asking for the best lines in Movie History.  There were hundreds of great lines but here’s a sampling:  “You want me on that wall, you need me on that wall,” “You want the truth…you can’t handle the truth,”

Yes, there were several from one movie, one movie where it was great actors cutting loose.  I watched it again just to be sure, but guess what isn’t in that wonderful courtroom scene – a thunderous soundtrack.

It’s a simple, great scene, with some background music that only starts as Jack Nicholson is lead away.

Let’s give that movie the Christopher Nolan treatment.  The courtroom scene would be 3 hours long, with flashback scenes interspersed telling the story with black and white, ghostly effects, a sex scene in the courtroom, maybe even the actual code red acted out.  It would be emphasized with a thunderous soundtrack, a sonic boom after each Cruise line, and maybe violins screeching over Nicholson’s speech.

Make no mistake, times have changed.  The theater experience will never be the same.  What could have been a straight-line story (God Forbid) collides with what I guess is the hyped-up expectations of today’s audience.  Oppenheimer is a marvelized super hero movie, just without Batman.  There’s a great movie here, certainly a great story, trying to get out.  The effects and mostly the horrible soundtrack that dominate this movie are an assault on the senses.  It’s a Nolan movie so it jumps around through time like a bumblebee looking for whatever it is they look for.  There are some great scenes in the movie.  I loved the story.  I saw no reason for the show-off special effects, as entertaining as they might be.  For  example, the wonderful Emily Blunt has a big scene at the end of the movie where she’s being interrogated.  There’s great byplay between her and the questioner, played by Jason Clarke (also great as the bad guy.)  But, Nolan can’t just let it go and trust his actors.  He has to juice it up with totally unnecessary rapid cuts.  In fact, all the acting is great in the movie, but other than Robert Downey, Jr, Nolan just doesn’t trust them, particularly Cillian Murphy as Oppenheimer who gets the brunt of the soundtrack where his pensive thoughts are accompanied by thundering herds, or those screeching violins. It’s like a fourth Batman, except you can’t tell the villain by his cigarettes.  Everyone kind of looks alike and it’s hard to get a grasp on the many scientists.  Nolan should have gone all the way, and played an individual theme song for each, like relievers coming out of the bullpen.

I fully understand that Oppenheimer has been a critical and commercial success, with many awards ahead for those who participated.  Sorry, for me it was a 3-hour hearing test.

 

Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning part 1 – 7

There is no bigger fan of this franchise and Tom Cruise than me.  He loves movies and is dedicated to giving the audience all he’s got.  The last episodeof MI, “Fallout” is for me the greatest action picture I’ve ever seen.  But I now realize that at the end of Fallout, Director Christopher McQuarrie uses a gimmick that he falls in love with – dueling action scenes.  Thus, almost every action scene in this movie has one wild scene after another spliced together in a two-for-the-price of one adventure.  It’s not enough to be on a zip line.  There has to be crocodiles underneath with a helicopter about to crash into the zip line while the two operators of the line are slashing each other with butter knives.  In the middle of the movie we are treated to two great fight scenes:  Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt in a tight alley with Pom Klementieff (she’s terrific, and we’d love to see more of her – but we won’t) and a very important and heartbreaking fight to the death on a bridge.  The scenes are both critical to the story and I’d love to see them in their entirety, but no.  Cutting back and forth, two fights at once. I just wanted to yell at the editor, “Stop.”  The truth is, the alley scene had a lot of blurry motion that may have been telling us that those wonderfully choregraphed Cruise fights of the past are just too much for Cruise in his 60’s.  Cruise says he wants to shoot these into his 80’s.  He’s gonna need a stuntman.  Ask Indy.

This goes on throughout the movie, and it’s just too much.

What else is over the top?  Well, it’s time to retire the face-making briefcase.  How does it make hair anyway?

It wouldn’t be a Tom Cruise Movie without him running.  But his lungs must be phenomenal, because once again he’s running for miles at a full sprint, and not out of breath when he reaches his destination.

In his 60’s.  Geez, my standards aren’t that high, I just want a little believability, and there is no “stunt” he does like the running, heavily edited.  Here’s an idea.  Mission Impossible:  The Training Movie.  This I gotta see. 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - 7

What does it say about a movie that features an 80 year old actor doing such far-fetched action scenes that when the movie turns into a time travel saga, that’s the most believable part?  Let’s just say I spent the first two thirds of this movie laughing at the ridiculous things Indy can still do.  Or should I say, his stunt man does, and it’s pretty obvious.  Here I am at 70 and if someone told me to “Run!” I’d look at them like they’d lost their mind.  Having said that, in the last half hour there’s a time travel wrinkle that I really liked.  The destination was a wonderous piece, and it only made me long for what could have been.  Next up, Indiana Jones and the Wheelchair of Doom.

Asteroid City – 9

And the movie I expected to like the least was the one I liked the most.  Wes Anderson has never been one of my favorite directors, but I love what he’s doing here.  The first half is hilarious as you are introduced to a city like no other, where aliens seem to have dropped their asteroid.  It takes place in the fifties, so a family is on vacation and their car breaks down in this magical town.  Because back in the day, the annual road trip with a breakdown, and a search for a mechanic, accompanied by the exasperation of my father, was par for the course. 

Luther:  The Fallen Sun – 8

Idris Elba returns to his role as Luther, the London DCI, super “copper” who starts the movie by going to jail.  Luther had made a promise to a mother to find her son and he had failed.   So the killer is not only going free,but working quite nicely as a serial killer.  So, what would you do?  Well Luther breaks out of jail to continue to hunt, while being hunted himself.  So, there.  All the Luther touches are there. 

What is almost funny as Indiana Jones, is that Luther is always in this big heavy overcoat, fighting, even swimming and you want to yell “take that coat off!” 

Pretty much up to the standards of the series, while cashing in on its binge popularity.

Memory – 8 

Wouldn’t it be nice if we all found our mission late in life like Liam Neeson has done?  Here’s another one of his churn-outs, but the surprise is, it’s better than most.  He’s a hit man who is trying to face down memory loss, and it’s actually pretty good.

The Mauritanian – 8

A true story about lawyers played by Jodie Foster and Benedict Cumberbatch getting ready to duke it out over Guantanamo detainees after 9/11 when they begin to realize some pretty nasty things have gone on.  Wait for it.  The closing credits where they tell you the stats.  Unbelievable.

Extraction 2 – 8

This extraction is better than the last one.  Surprisingly. 
 

Creed III - 8

Creed has retired to a life of luxury when he gets challenged by a boyhood chum who’s been locked away in a prison, hitting a heavy bag with a lot of anger.  No surprises here, as Michael B Jordan shows some promise as a director.  Just as good as the first two, but let’s not beat a dead horse.  It should be over.

 
The Trip - 8
The Trip to Italy - 8

Pretty funny.  Two guys travel and write about England, and Italy, eating the local cuisine and while I wish they would talk more about what they are eating instead of Michael Caine so much, I really enjoyed these.  The British sense of humor is on full display.

 

BINGING

The Blacklist – 10

I’m not going to jump up and down over the final episodes of this series, which just wound up season 10, other than to acknowledge the amazing storytelling and execution for 10 years and over 200 episodes.  It held my interest until the end, and perhaps as people discover it streaming, like I did, it will become an American Classic, and James Spader’s portrayal of Red Reddington, whoever he was, will go down in TV history as one of the greats.  I hope so.

Hijack – 9

Speaking of Idris Elba, here he is as a negotiator stuck on a hijacked flight and having to lead the passengers in a quest to stay alive. This is a 7-episode Apple series told in real time, which makes it interesting to me.  It started off as good, and really accelerated at the end.  Apple TV is going to challenge the other streamers for quality offerings.

Suits - 10 so far

How did I miss this?  Why didn't anybody tell me?  I'm only into season two but this one has the potential to join the pantheon of great law shows like from The Good Wife to Perry Mason.  Really Enjoying it, every night.  

 

DOCUMENTARIES 

The Luckiest Guy in the World - 10
Stephen Curry:  Underrated – 9
Quarterback – 9
Arnold - 8

The Luckiest Guy in the World is Bill Walton, or so he says over and over in the 30 for 30 ESPN 4 parter on his career and life.  This is a terrific remembrance for me as I watched those dominant UCLA teams win title after title.  Injuries derailed Walton’s career, but I remember his championship year with the Portland Trailblazers because I had never seen a center pass like he did as his team hit layup after layup.

Bill Walton was different, and this documentary got me listening to The Grateful Dead channel on Sirius.

The Steph Curry piece is mostly about his doubters.  The Walton and Curry docs have one thing in common.  Feet.  Their early NBA careers were derailed by injuries to the lower extremities, which is good to know for Pelican fans “Waiting for Zion” which would be a great book title.  What I love about both of these is the brief glimpses we get into their workouts and what they had to do to overcome.

Quarterback is a Netflix coverage of 3 NFL quarterbacks throughout the 2022 season.  The season ends dramatically different for each of the three, but unfortunately, you already know that.  Again, the most interesting part is in the preparation.  

And then there’s Arnold Schwarzenegger.  His life story is pretty amazing as he came to America solely on the basis of the work habits that transformed his body.  He then parlayed his success at bodybuilding into the movies, and then, in the most amazing of flukes, was elected Governor of California. 

Obviously, I enjoy sports-related documentaries, and all 4 of these were more enjoyable than my movie theater sojourns.

 

 

Wham – 8
Music Box – Jason Isbell:  Running with Our Eyes Closed – 9

And as we all know I’m also a sucker for music documentaries, and here’s two artists that I wouldn’t have on my cassettes (call back) but they still have fascinating stories of perseverance, talent, and dedication.

CLASSICS

Jeanne Dielman -9

What, you never heard of this movie?  Neither had I until it jumped to the top of the Sound and Sight critics’ poll as the number one, best movie of all time.  It’s basically a three-hour long examination of a woman moving around her apartment.  Oh, and she’s receiving male friends if you know what I mean and I think you do.  And she’s tired of what she’s doing for a living and seems to have had enough.  But it’s pretty subtle, until a surprising ending.  It’s a good movie, and it did hold my attention for 3 hours


Night Train to Munich – 8
There was a lot of cloak and dagger going on in the 40’s, and here’s a pretty good movie about the lead up to WWII.    Starring Rex Harrison with a lot of plot twists, it’s as good as any of these you could catch.


Nights of Cabiria – 7

Fellini’s 1957 film about a young prostitute named Cabiria (Giulietta Masina, played by his wife) is an interesting character study.  Masina won a Best Actress award at Cannes for this, and I didn’t even know they give out such awards.  She’s a bright face in what was for me a sluggish movie.   

Elevator to the Gallows – 9

As I try to work my way through many of the neo-noir classics as TCM is insisting, I found this one to be better than most.  A guy commits a crime of passion and is then stuck in an elevator for hours while he gets implicated in another murder.  Can he get away with murder?  Will the police figure this out?  Great story that would make a worthwhile remake.

Storm Warning – 8

A young Doris Day and an aging Ginger Rogers play sisters, great casting, and they are up against the KKK in a small southern town.  Decent, and predictable.

 

Beau Travail – 8

This is a 1999 French film based on the novel Billy Budd that I had never heard of until it kept coming up on lists as the movie with the greatest ending of all time.  I don’t know about all that, as I’ll stick with The Sixth Sense, but it is also ranked #7 on the Sight and Sound Poll of the all-time best.  Don’t know about that either.  It’s about the French Foreign Legion as they prepare to go to war.  Maybe I just didn’t get it.    

Here's the latest Sight and Sound poll by critics:  https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time

Here's the critics' poll:  https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/directors-100-greatest-films-all-time

Finally, if you've read this far, you deserve a special gift.  Check it out because I promise you will never see anything like this again:

Media Captures - March, April, May

 A 3 Month Supply just for you. 

I have returned to my voluminous consumption of media, as I am 9 months into this debilitating back adventure, and tv is options 1,2, and 3. 

However, you will also see that no Pulitzer Prize is forthcoming as I am relegated to short stints at my desk, bringing forth mere snapshots.  In fact I’m polishing this on my iPad so patience is being tested.   I’m just hoping to provide some guidance for you as you wade through the streaming wars.  Another reason for my return to watching is that I had my apparently quite thick cataracts removed.
Thus, my TV picture sparkles with clarity and a high volume of streaming 4K content that I’ve been missing.
Amazing.  Let’s begin. 

SPORTS

Don’t usually talk about sports outside the Saints cluster, but I watch a lot, much to the Queen’s dismay as it interferes with her SVU binge, so I thought I would comment.

NBA – I must brag that last year with about a month left in the season I placed a very rare sports bet on the Warriors to win it all, and they did.  This year I watched even more NBA and was totally convinced that the Celtics would be champs, but fortunately was unable to get to the window.  They sputtered in the conference finals against the 8th seeded Miami Heat, who got the memo on the intensity needed in the playoffs.

MLB – Got the package, and again, the picture is incredible.  Where do these leagues get their cameras?  Someone alerted me to the Apple+ Friday night game and there was a camera on the ump. Amazing
As for the rule changes, love the pitch clock and the end of the shift.  Not crazy about the pickoff limits because it reeks of all those NFL rule changes to aid the offense, and starting extra innings with an unearned runner on second is ridiculous for the purist, but perfect for the nation that is poised in wait for the triple-stuffed Oreo, and an insatiable desire for variations of a 60 year old game show. 

GAMLBING - Pete Rose, Alex Karrass. Paul Hornung must all be rolling over in their bed/graves as every sport has fully embraced and partnered with the likes of, well, every casino that can afford an app developer.  If there’s a slippery slope, we are already in rapid descent.  I think gambling addiction destroys families and sometimes careers of players who can’t resist the temptation to use their knowledge or influence.  I’m not against gambling, I occasionally indulge.  I’m scared of the societal effect. The NBA, NFL, and MLB just couldn’t sit on the sidelines anymore and leave that money on the table. Greed is quite the instigator. I wonder where we will be in 20 years.  My guess is, with a lot of ugly credit bureaus, and that’s the least concern.  Now, back to our programming.

 

MOVIES

Reality - 10

Director Tina Satter took an FBI transcript of the arrest of a government whistleblower named Reality Winner (I’m serious) and shot a movie word for word from the transcript. 

It’s riveting. This is what FBI agents really look like. Reality is played by Sidney Sweeney and there wasn’t a moment when I didn’t think I was watching Reality.  Sweeney is magical  The movie is short, essentially a 1 act play.  Terrific, and unlike any movie I’ve ever seen. 

Till – 9

A difficult film to watch, particularly for a Mississippi resident like myself.  I’ve seen racial prejudices passed down from generation to generation, lessening only a little bit at a time. 

Similarly this is a slow methodical movie, made the way they used to make movies – a concentration on the story and the lives of the characters.  No punches pulled, this is excellent.

Air - 9

It is no secret that I’m a fan of Director Ben Affleck. I consider Gone Baby Gone a masterpiece and Best Picture Oscared Argo nothing to sneeze at. The Town was overblown, but Air possesses the proper inflation. It’s the story of how Nike signed Michael Jordan to his first shoe contract. Jordan never appears in the movie, but Matt Damon as Nike rep Sonny Vaccaro, and Viola Davis as Jordan’s Mom pick up the slack to make it some first class pop entertainment. Witty and wonderful. 

Marcel the Shell with Shoes on – 9

Speaking of Shoes.  This is one of those movies that could never have been made without the internet.

An internet start that was just enough of a sensation to merit a full movie, it became an unlikely hit behind the efforts of the creators.  Their magic touch continues with this gem of a movie.  If you get a chance, just sit back and enjoy the creativity, especially the wonderful ending.

 

 

A Man Called Otto – 8
Tom Hanks plays grumpy and it’s pretty good.  Reminded me of the recent Clint Eastwood “feel goods” but let’s hope Tom is ready to take over that throne.

Respect – 8

Liked this more than I thought I would, mostly because of Jennifer Hudson, who is probably the only person alive who could carry the weight of playing Aretha Franklin.

Did you know Aretha was pregnant at 12, then again at 14?  Her family and friends kept referring to her demons, but geez, who wouldn’t have issues with what she went through.  It’s an amazing story.  If you like music, I’d recommend.

 

Empire of Light - 7

An acting extravaganza for Olivia Coleman.  Most of the action takes place in a British movie theater around the time Chariots of Fire was released, so a good time is being had by all until a racial incident outside the theater that shows the British weren’t much different from the Americans in that era.  It’s an interesting movie, but engagement was low. 

I Wanna Dance with Somebody – 8

The punches aren’t pulled as much as they just graze on Whitney Houston’s apparently bisexual love life intertangled with her drug addictions in this biography of the great singer.  If you were a fan, like I was and still am, you’ll like the way the music is handled in this film.  Whitney’s vocals are dubbed in, and Naomi Ackie has some of the moves down, but I got the impression that no one really knows much of the truth of her life.  Or they’re not talking.  But, I know this:  Sure do miss her music, and we could use it about now.  It would be nice to dance.

One More Time – 7

This is a dubbed Swedish comedy that had a few good moments, but because the people looked like Americans, I’m just going to admit I felt like I was watching something that was out of sync.

 

The Mother – 7

If you are behind on your action cliches, here’s JLo to walk you through them.  She’s an operative that has made the bad guys so mad, she must give up her new born baby to protect the child from their wrath.    It takes the same bad guys 14 years to find the little whipper snapper and they are still serious about punishing JLo, so she comes out of retirement in Alaska and guess what?  She hasn’t lost her deadly skills.  Which always amazes me.  She gets the opportunity to teach the skills to her daughter and set the booby traps and wait for the bad guys.
The first half of this movie is just awful, but it actually perks up a little after the mother and child  reunion.  This movie has been crucified by reviewers and the public, so proceed with caution.

 

Ticket to Paradise - 6

This movie struck me as a weak drink, not that I would know. It’s a comedy heavily reliant on the charisma and talent of George Clooney and Julia Roberts who play two ex’s who just can’t let it go so the insults fly.  Predictably, the ice starts to melt, and eventually you just give up any thought of suspense. 

They travel to Bali to keep their daughter, played by the over-talented Kaitlyn Deven, from an impulsive marriage to a local.  Predictable and if this is the movie that “revived the rom-com” they were deader then I thought. 

 

Women Talking – 7

This movie was surprisingly nominated for Best Picture, and stars the great Julie Buckley, so I figured I’d check it out.

The women are talking about leaving a small Mennonite sect over the abuse the men heap on the women, and it’s pretty lurid.  Endure it and stay, or hit the road en masse – that’s the question.

It’s a talkie alright, and not really my cup of venom. 

 

Causeway – 7

Jennifer Lawrence plays Lynsey, a soldier recovering from a brain injury in New Orleans.  She stays with her mother, a poor role model, and she wants to redeploy to Afghanistan  She forms a friendship with a man who is also recovering, played by an Oscar Nominated Brian Henry. Thus, two of the most low-key, gifted actors try to navigate their way. Well done, but in the end the glacial pace did me in. 

The Raid 2 - 4

Want crazy action, and nothing else?  This is your movie.  

Stormy Monday - 6

Sting and Tommy Lee Jones in the same movie!  In 1988!  It’s about a power play over a London Jazz Club, and I’d never heard of it, but you may have noticed the internet is mostly comprised of lists and this was on one about great jazz movies.  It shouldn’t have been, but it’s mildly entertaining. 

Ghosted - 6

Anna de Arnis may be the most charismatic actress working this side of Margot Robbie, and fresh off an Oscar Nomination and an Ozzie win, you’d think she’d have a great manager reviewing scripts and putting her in great movies. 

You’d be wrong. Here she plays one of those Super Secret Agents who has a fun time with one of the Chrises, then ghosts him. But he is persistent, and fortunately a wrestler, which will come in handy. Right. 

 

Still:  A Michael J. Fox Movie – 10

They are pumping out celebrity documentaries these days, and this is easily the best. It shook me. Don’t miss it.

Being Mary Tyler Moore – 9 

No young person can understand the role played by Laura Petrie and Mary Richards, characters played by Mary Tyler Moore in the prime days of American TV comedies.  We grew up with her, but we didn’t know her. You will now. Mary had some personal demons, and they are revealed here.  Talented and fascinating. 
 

Love to Love you:  Donna Summer – 8

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a documentary stun me before the title even hits the screen.  I had heard Donna Summer sing her “sexy” songs a million times, but had never seen her perform them.  Wow. The rest of the doc is none to shabby. I loved her music, and probably spent more time dancing to her than any other artist. 

I loved it, but they left out some great songs.

Call Me Kate – 9

Katherine Hepburn bounced from great movie to bomb and from Howard Hughes to Spencer Tracy so to say she led an interesting life would be an understatement. It’s all recounted in another fascinating documentary. 

Pretty Baby Brooke Shields – 8

I know, I watch too many celebrity documentaries.

I find them interesting mostly because of the luck involved.  There are boatloads of talented people, but how some get their big break is usually a matter of right place, right time. In Brook’s case it was right, or wrong, depending on your viewpoint, stage mother.  This difference here is it takes two parts to tell this roller coaster story 

Fats Domino – The Big Beat: Fats Domino and the Birth of Rock N Roll – 9 

I love movies like this. Show me inside the production of some hits and the evolution of a star like Fats and I’m a happy viewer. 

The Brothers Warner – 8

This is a simple little documentary about the four Warner Brothers, but particularly Jack, who kinda fleeced his remaining brothers out of the company.  I watched it on TCM, but there’s a similar and glossier version of the same story on MAX as it’s got their catalog 

 
BINGES

Chernobyl - 10

Forgive me. I waited way too long to check out one of HBO’s best series ever. This is a masterpiece about the aftermath of the Russian Nuclear accident, how they tried to hide it, and what actually happened. Nothing else in this blog is in this league. 

The Night Agent -10

An excellent twisty 10 part binge that accomplished the most difficult task - it held my interest for all 10 episodes. A thriller about an FBI agent on special assignment in the basement of the White House. He answers the phone, and it’s a distress call that will shake the political world. First class, well written and well acted.

Daisy Jones & the Six - 7

Elvis’s granddaughter Riley Keough becomes a star right in front of us in the Stevie Nicks modeled role of Daisy Jones. The story is erratic and difficult and ends like How I met Your Mother. I liked some scenes but as a whole I just never bought it. Maybe you will. 

 

CLASSICS

One Way Passage - 7

It’s late night and there’s a William Powell movie on TCM. Count me in. Not as good as The Thin Man, or Manhattan Melodrama but what is?

Leave Her to Heaven - 8

I think I’ve worked my way through every neo noir classic. This one stars Cornel Wilde, Gene Tierney,  and Jeanne Crain and it’s a little different because it’s in color and a costar is a young, unrecognizable Vincent Price.  Hint, Gene is jealous. 

 

Influencers

Well, it’s nearing 3 in the morning, and I can’t sleep, because I’m thinking of two people we lost yesterday.  They ran into that oncoming train called mortality.  Just a few hours ago I learned about one. 

First, we lost my good friend Gary Stehlow, or “Strop” as he called himself more than we did.  Gary joined our Long Beach Class of 1971 coming from Pass Christian I believe, with his two buddies, Jack McDermid and Steve Woodfield, and as I wasn’t native of Long Beach, I hung out with them, starting life-long friendships.  There were even times I thought they liked me.  We used to gather at Steve’s house on the beach, at least until Camille spread it over west Long Beach, and later at Jack’s phenomenal house on Beatline Road, sight of the building of legendary class floats.  There has never been one pass down Beatline where I haven’t thought of those days.  We’d talk of fast cars and fast women, hoping someday we might actually experience such worldly things.  Just great times.  Strop was always in the middle of everything our class did.

I’ve gotten to see him and talk to him a lot in recent years and watched him battle MS.  They tell me he died of a heart attack, but that would only be because MS took so much out of him.  His demeaner and enthusiasm never changed, from what I saw.  The first time I saw him walking with a cane broke my heart.  I think it was the first time I’d seen one of my contemporaries needing help, although others soon followed, and these days I need one from time to time, and I don’t like it. 

Gary had a ministry at Parchman Prison for many years and I know he was proud of the difference he made in the lives of many.  He was one of those great guys, with a million stories to tell, who came into my life and never left.  We always stayed in touch, even in the days when it wasn’t easy to.  I know his family and friends will miss him and I hope they don’t mind my sendoff.  Gary, you made a difference  and you will be missed.  I’m thinking of his wonderful wife Anne tonight and what one must feel in these moments.

One of my high school teachers, Mrs. Mary Sessions died in her sleep two nights ago.  I have to be honest.  I’m taken aback by all the love being expressed for her on social media, because that’s not the way I remember it.  She was a commanding presence.  She was a strict disciplinarian as I recall.  I think we were all a little scared of her, and she taught typing.  No one brought picnic baskets.  She was a taskmaster, and we drilled and drilled.  I remember her class to be one where the light bulb suddenly came on, and I battled it out for fastest typist in the class with the late Danny Niolet, a title a lost. 

Around 1980 I was muddling along in the Ford Credit collection department, writing my notes on index cards, and then one day they wheeled the computers in.  I remember it like it was yesterday, and can still see those big boxes.  Suddenly I was a keyboard superstar with the competitive advantage Mrs Sessions had drilled into me.  Talk about an “influencer.”  Mrs. Sessions had a huge impact on hundreds, maybe thousands of lives. 

Mrs. Sessions’ daughter Beth was in our class and a good friend whom I’ve gotten to reconnect with over the last few years.  I know her mother battled cancer (anyone that lived on Lynwood Circle that didn’t?) and I think I’ve expressed to her how much impact her mother had on me.  Just another one of the unsung teachers that move our society along.  We name roads and bridges after athletes, artists, and celebrities, but I sure have a better idea. 

Goodbye to two that made a difference in my life, in completely different ways.

Media Captures - February 2023

Please forgive the brevity of my comments, but I’m slowly resuming my viewing, if not my writing.

DOCUMENTARIES

All that Breathes (HBO) – 10

I have to admit that this movie is a perspective builder.  It’s about two brothers in India who spend their evenings nursing birds called “kites” that fall out of the smoggy skies in Delhi.  In America we get very upset about concepts – wokeism, socialism, conservativeism, liberalism, etc – things you can’t reach out and touch.

In Delhi, the problems are all touchable:  rats, air quality, insects, roads that aren’t roads anymore but are rivers, mosquitos, and numerous other troubling things.  Living conditions are so horrible, that for at least one night you will turn off you TV and appreciate the way we get to live in America.  This documentary is quiet and low-key because the images speak for themselves, and it starts with the incredible opening scene.  This is the second Indian film I've fallen in love with, but it is as far from RRR as one can get in tone.  What makes it different is that it snagged an Oscar Nomination (for Best Documentary) something RRR inexplicably missed out on. It is also the first documentary to win the award at both Cannes and Sundance.  Check it out.

Dionne Warwick:  Don’t Make Me Over (HBO) – 8

Right before Burt Bacharach died this month, there we were watching the story of Dionne, and her ability to enhance the music of Hal David and Bacharach.  But wait, there’s more.  Turns out Dionne is quite the defiant one, telling people what she will and won’t do, as well as gathering a bunch of rappers together and telling them to tone done their lyrics about women.

I have always been a Warwick fan, but I came out of this a bigger one.

STREAMING

Cunk on Earth (Netflix)– 10

Nobody does sarcasm like the British, and this is one brilliantly sarcastic history series. Just wonderful, and its episodes fly by.

She Said – 10

In the tradition of great journalism movies like “Spotlight” and “All the President’s Men,” this movie is an open-field tackle of Harvey Weinstein and similar abusers.  It opens the door on the “me, too” movement.  Instead of Woodward and Bernstein, we get Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, two reporters for the New York Times who dig in on Wesinstein and his abuses, and just won’t let go.  It’s amazing that investigative journalism still has a bite, and this is a big, relevant dish.  

Sharper (Apple+) – 9

This a straight-forward Con story.  It’s well done, and the best part is that it’s totally plausible, not one of those crazy plot twist extravaganzas.  A fun watch that offers nice surprises along the way.


You People (Netflix) – 8

A silly little movie about interracial romance that had me laughing most of the way.  Great to see Eddie Murphy again.

I See You – 8

You're scanning through Netflix looking for a surprise, and you see Helen Hunt and say, “this may be worth a try.”   Helen plays a psychologist who has been a bad wife and her family has turned on her.  Her teenage son is not pleased with her, and her husband is a detective who is investigating a string of murders.  Turns out there’s a lot going on in her house.  Interesting story

Ambulance – 6

Don’t let the title fool you.  This is just shoot ‘em up, cops and robbers porn.  It’s a Michael Bay Watch wherein a bank robbery goes bad and the two stars, Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Yateen II commandeer an Ambulance but have to contend with a medic (a terrific Eliza Gonzalez) as they try to escape. As deep as most Bay movies, which is a kiddie pool in the back yard.

House of Gucci – 7

Lady Gaga outshines the rest of the cast in another true-story fashion house drama.  Wow, there sure is a lot of intrigue, murder, and mayhem behind those expensive purses.  Not my area of interest, but Gaga is something else.

 

Nate Bargatze – 10

Nate has 3 streaming standup specials that are laugh out loud funny, and if you thought in today’s time it would be impossible to do comedy without profanity, let this clean comedian shock you, nicely.  I love it when a comedian picks apart our daily life, and he may be the hottest comic going right now.

 

CLASSICS

Bone Tomahawk – 10

I’d heard about this movie for years, but what I didn’t know was that it would give me, and any person of the male persuasion, nightmares.  Kurt Russell’s presence got spousal attention, especially since it’s a western, like Tombstone, but it’s also a little bit of a horror movie, with a great story and that one gruesome scene that you won’t forget.  Trust me.

Detour – 7

I watched this because it is considered one of the great “film Noir” movies, and at just over an hour it was appealing.  Hokey and more over-acting “drama” than I can take.

The Man Who Wasn’t There – 8

My second neo-noir watch was of a Coen Brothers movie I must have missed along the way.  It’s from 2001 and was lauded for the performances of Billy Bob Thornton and Frances McDormand who are unhappily married and plotting against each other.  I don’t get fooled by plot twists too often, but this one was worthy and got me. 

Finally, my Oscar predictions:

Best Picture:  Will win:  Everything, Everywhere, All at Once (even though I still haven't made my way through it.)  Should Win:  Top Gun:  Maverick

Best Director:  Will Win:  The EEAO pair.     Should Win:  Joseph Kosinski (oops, not nominated)

Best Actor:  Will Win: Austin Bulter, Elvis.    Should Win:  Austin Butler

Best Actress:  Will Win: Cate Blanchett, Tar.     Should Win:  Ana DeArmas, Blonde

Best Supporting Actor:  Will Win: Ke Huy Quan.     Should Win:  Barry Keoghan, The Banshees

Best Supporting Actress:  Will Win:  Angela Bassett.   Should Win: Kerry Condon, The Banshees

Caveat:  I'm a poor judge this year, as I have seen only a few of these movies.  

Best of 2022

Please forgive my 6-month Surgical Sabbatical from blog-writing while I was recovering from a Spinal Fusion, and a special thanks to both of you who asked where my blog was.

First let me comment on the Saints, who gave me little to write about, had I wanted to.  The internet uproar by citizen GM’s and play callers was formidable, but the reality is that they were only a few plays away from duplicating last year’s record.  Wil Lutz had an off-year, and Alvin Kamara had a crucial fumble.  These are physical mistakes that are going to happen.  What can’t happen is Mark Ingram’s mental error of running out of bounds against Tampa.  Veterans should know better.  Rest assured that the Saints are going to hover around .500 until the next franchise quarterback comes around, and I’m not holding my breath as we’ve had exactly two in over 50 years.

As for my media musings, during my recovery I expected to just plop down and drink in movies.  However, I found pain and pain killers aren’t conducive to that kind of concentration.

I saw only two movies in theaters, well worth it, but also sprang for a lot of streamers just out of theaters.

It would bore you to death if I wrote about everything I saw over the last 6 months, but I’m going to provide a year-end ranking, knowing I have a lot more to catch up on.

MOVIES

1,  RRR – 10
2.  Belfast – 10
3.  Wind River – 10
4.  Train to Busan – 10
5.  Top Gun - Maverick – 9
6.  Elvis – 9
7.  Emily the Criminal - 9
8.  King Richard – 9
9.  The Banshees of Inisherin - 9
10. The Pale Blue Eye - 9
The Worst Person in the World – 9
Nobody -9
Drive My Car - 9
The Menu – 8
Aftersun - 8
Queenpins – 8
Don’t Worry Darling - 8
Licorice Pizza – 8
Cha Cha Real Smooth – 8
Blue Bayou - 8
Hustle - 8
The Vault – 8
Nightmare Alley - 8
Free Guy – 8
Glass Onion:  A Knives Out Mystery - 7
The Tender Bar – 8
The Eyes of Tammy Faye - 7
Blonde - 7
Old - 7
The Lost Daughter – 7
Black Crab – 7
Georgetown – 7
Cleaner - 7
Vengeance – 7
The 355 – 7
Inside Man:  Most Wanted - 7
Kimi – 6
Nope – 6
The Gray Man -6
Amsterdam - 6
The Humans – 6
The Marksman – 6
All The Old Knives – 5
Toscana - 4
The Card Counter - 2

TELEVISON

1.  Dopesick – 10
2.  Better Call Saul – 10
3.. The Blacklist – 10
4.  Black Bird - 10
5.  We Own This City – 10
6.  Justified – 9
7.  The Bear - 9
8.  Bad Sisters – 9
9.  After Life (Season 3) – 9
10.  The English - 8
Reacher – 8
Jack Ryan (Season 3) – 8
The Old Man – 7
Dog - 7
The Lincoln Lawyer – 6
Surface - 6
Five Days at Memorial – 5
Dark Wind - 5

DOCUMENTARIES

1.   It Was The Music – 11

2.       Adrienne - 10
3.       Flee – 10
4.       George Carlin’s American Dream - 10

5.       Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues - 10

6.       The Captain – 10
7.       Hemingway – 10
8.       Howard Stern Interview with Bruce Springsteen – 10
9.       A Crime on the Bayou – 10
10.   The Last Movie Stars – 9
Lucy and Desi - 9
Jazz Fest:  A New Orleans Story – 9
Mind over Murder – 9
The Tinder Swindler - 9
Rising - 9
Sheryl – 9
Untold:  The story of the Girlfriend who didn’t Exist – 9
The Way Down:  Part Two - 9
Shut Up and Dribble – 9
Kareem:  Minority of One - 9
Icahn:  The Restless Billionaire - 9
Untold:  Operation Flagrant Foul - 8
Laurel Canyon - 8
Brian Wilson:  Long Promised Road - 8
Say Hey Willie Mays - 8
Closed For Storm – 8
Like a Rolling Stone:  the Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres - 8

CLASSICS

Unfaithfully Yours – 10
Master and Commander:  Far Side of the World – 10
Red Rover - 10
The 400 Blows – 9
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – 9
Little Shop Around the Corner – 9
The Before Trilogy - 9
Thunder Road - 8
Sweet Smell of Success – 7
Boondock Saints – 7
King of Marvin Gardens – 6
The Ambassador – 4
Black Narcissus – 2

 

The Ozzies of 2022

Best Picture – RRR
Best Actor – Austin Butler, Elvis
Best Actress – Aubrey Plaza, Emily the Criminal
Best Supporting Actor – Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Best Supporting Actress – Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inshirin
Best Director – Joseph Kosinski, Top Gun
Best Documentary – It Was the Music

 

The Lizzies

Best TV Series – Dopesick
Best Actor – Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Best Actress – Rhee Seahorn, Better Call Saul
Best Supporting Actor – Michael McKean, Better Call Saul
Best Supporting Actress – Kaitlyn Deaver, Dopesick