At the Cinema - March/April 2016

This is that time of the year when I’m distracted by festivals, disillusioned by politics, and dependent on television for screen entertainment.  Thus, you get two months of movie going and TV blog for the price of one.

Midnight Special – 9

There’s nothing wrong with a little genuine science fiction film making, and this one’s pretty cool.  It involves a religious cult trying to recapture a very gifted young boy who may or not be of this world.  This movie works as a thriller, a chase movie, and most importantly as a supernatural ride with a nifty final explanation. 

The chase takes place across Louisiana, so you know it’s going to be strange.

10 Cloverfield Lane – 8

There’s nothing wrong with a little end of the world science fiction, and this one’s very good too. 

John Goodman has built himself a neat little end of the world bunker, where else but in Louisiana, and he saves a young girl (or does he?) after she wrecks her car while fleeing the “war.”  It feels like a post apocalyptic "Room" and I just wish I hadn't spent most of the movie trying to figure out who the other actor in the bunker was.  (I knew him from The Newsroom.)

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot – 7

Tina Fey plays a war correspondent in Afghanistan in this not-much-comedy story.  She exerts her unusual charisma, and the main thing I got out of this movie was a burning desire to spend an hour with Tina Fey someday.  Her star power carries a less that nifty movie, although the presence of Margot Robbie doesn't hurt.  

Scanning the Satellite

Nothing Left Unsaid – 10

If I’ve ever seen a more engrossing documentary than this HBO story of Gloria Vanderbilt and her son Anderson Cooper, I can’t remember it.  I couldn’t have even told you a thing about Gloria Vanderbilt before I watched this, but talk about a full life - Her ups and downs are such pinnacles and devastations that it made me feel like I’ve been sleep walking through life.  What a story.  I never intended to watch this, but it caught me by surprise, and by the throat.

Vinyl – 9

This HBO miniseries is hard to watch because of the constant drug use, but a lot of fun because of the amazing actors they got to play a plethora of rock stars.  Whoever did the casting is the star of this show.  The music is fun.  The performances are wild.  

American Idol - 8

Gone for now, but just for fun I'd thought I'd do an approximate ranking of some of my all-time favorite contestants,  Feel free to give me yours:

Kelly Clarkson, whom I missed in that first season.   Having now watched all of her performances I wander if AI would have been as big without her.  What if there had been a lesser winner in season one?  

Jordan Sparks, the only winner I picked right out of the gate.

Haley Reinhardt

David Cook

Allison Iraheta, unfairly maligned by Simon Cowell.

Katherine McPhee

Casey Abrams

Pia Toscano

Chris Daughtery

Siobhan Magnus

Angie Miller

Joshua Ledet

Melinda Doolittle

The Good Wife - 10, 10, 10

Next Sunday is the final episode of another series I never expected to like.  Somehow we got caught up in this amazing drama.  Fantastic weekly scripts were the hallmark of this story of a law firm, Chicago politics, families, and love affairs.  This has been a masterpiece of story telling.

It now ranks, not that anyone cares, as my second favorite network drama of all time, behind the legendary Hill Street Blues. 

Billions – 10

This Showtime series is magical for one reason.  You’ve got the great Paul Giamatti as the Federal Prosecutor trying to pin crime and punishment on a flashy hedge fund manager played by Damian Lewis (Homeland) a Showtime Golden Boy.  Malin Ackerman is also terrific as Lewis’ equally gutsy wife.  But the magic here is in the performance of Maggie Siff who absolutely blows them off the screen as the wife/psychiatrist caught between the battling testosterone of the two male leads.  She is riveting and amazing and I don’t pick the Emmys, but if I did, the race would be over already.  She’s that good.  Just as Carrie Coon blew me away on The Leftovers, and has been justly rewarded, watch for Maggie to be.  

A Gamble Like No Other

About once a year I stir things up with a controversial blog, in the misguided belief that I can change a single mind.  It’s that time again.

Do you watch old movies?

How does all that smoking look now?

I always despised smoking, and I’ve lost numerous friends to lung disease caused by it. 

My parents were heavy smokers that lived into their 80’s before their lungs gave out, so their lives may not have been shortened that much.  I can remember the discussions we had.  They always used to say that when they started smoking they didn’t know it was bad for them.  I used to counter that yes, but you had been smoking for 20 years when the Surgeon General gave you the bad news, and you continued for 40 more years.  I lost those arguments.  They never quit.  On his deathbed, the last thing my Dad asked me was, “Did you bring me a cigarette?”

I find it pretty cool that we have by and large eradicated smoking in the U.S.  It is also kind of interesting that the change was brought about more by lawyers than lawmakers.  I won’t be around to see it, but I can’t help but wonder what the ultimate outcome will be as lawyers set their sights on football, guns, and even education.  It’s going to be an interesting century.

I have a little more sympathy now in my 60’s.  I wouldn’t recommend my eating habits to anyone and even though I try from time to time, it’s damn hard to change them.  I sure do enjoy good food.  And bad food.  Regardless, I’ve always said that, in the rearview mirror we often look pretty stupid.  As time rolls on, people will say, “What made you think it was a good idea to suck smoke into your lungs?”  Well, it seemed cool at the time.  What else can you say?  “Rick, what made you think it was a good idea to never eat a vegetable?” 

Which brings me to global warning, or climate change. 

I’m not a scientist (a favorite line) but I kind of trust them.  I like my cell phone.  I even got rid of my land line.  I like my car.  I like my HD TV.  I like my doctor.  I like the fact that I’ve made it to 62 when I wouldn’t have made it to 50 if I’d been born a century earlier.  When I was growing up I read Dick Tracy and watched Star Trek, and look where we are today.  It was science fiction.  It’s not fiction anymore.  We’ve done pretty well by science.

No, I’m not a scientist.  What is a scientist?  A person who is dedicated to a single subject.  They spend years in school.  They spend countless hours in labs.  They do experiments.  They analyze the data.  They think about their field of study most of their waking hours and that is their passion.  What is your passion?  Books?  Wine?  Television?  Your business?

Well a scientist earns our trust as they study disease, and medicine, and the earth, and space, and yes the weather.  

And it goes without saying that they are human, so they make mistakes too.  Our country, more than any other, is responsible for so much science, to borrow a phrase from Mark Watney, “we’ve scienced the shit out of it.”  Life that is.  Imagine a day, just 50 years ago, when we had to walk all the way to the TV to change the channels.  The three channels.  The 3 black and white channels.

Scientists study, develop, innovate, and we advance.  So, before I go refuting scientists I’d need a whole lot of reason, especially looking down the barrel of an overwhelming scientific consensus.

But for some reason, there’s one science that one political party in one country rejects, and it happens to be my country, the greatest country there has ever been.  

Why would a party deny this one thing – that some things we are doing are accelerating climate change?  Well, two reasons it appears to me.  First, if it is a truth, it is an inconvenient one that, if addressed as advocated, could radically interfere with corporate profits.  Exxon, and others, have  waged a 20 year disinformation campaign to protect their profits that would make the tobacco lobby green with envy.  

Secondly, it may conflict with the faith aspect, that only a God controls the climate, not man. 

There is recent precedent however to refute those points.  Excessive aerosol spray put a hole in the ozone layer, and we banned aerosol spray and closed the hole.  Great work scientists.  Great work America.  Crisis averted.  Glad we did it.  The economic impact of less aerosol spray has long since been diluted into the larger economy.  Anybody remember smog?  It’s not as prevalent, despite the unpopularity of catalytic converters.  We all hate them.  Addressing global warming as advocated would be significantly more costly.  Would it be worth it, to again disrupt our economy?  It’s certainly a worthwhile argument.

Let’s have it.

In one of the recent debates, candidate John Kasich broke with the Republican establishment (he’s doomed) and said that he believed that humans were affecting climate change, and then he hinted that maybe, just maybe there was another great opportunity for America in wind, solar, nuclear, natural gas, and even coal burned cleanly.  Lead the world in innovation?  Us?  The crowd that had just cheered candidate Marco Rubio's answer to the same question, was silent.  Rubio had said that he was all for mitigating the effects of climate change and rising seas.  

Address the symptoms, not the cause.  Glad scientists don't take that approach.

And the leading candidate, Donald Trump, thinks its a Chinese plot.  (He's wrong about that, although he is right about currency manipulation.)

I haven't watched the debates much, but I doubt that the environment has come up much.  

It's a hot potato.  Better to not talk about it.

Here’s my bottom line on climate change.

Why gamble with our planet?

Is this where we really want to stake our ideological claim, when THE PLANET is at stake?

Is this where we really want to gamble?

Do we really want future generations to look back at us and say, “You knew, and you did nothing?”

(another movie quote)

Is this the time and place for this pissing match? 

Wouldn’t it be safer to assume that we are changing the climate and take steps to address it?

What happens if we’re wrong and climate change is inevitable??

What’s the cost?

Money? 

When you’re dead, money won’t matter, but your legacy will.  And your grandchildren, and great grandchildren will be living on the planet you left for them.

Do you want them to be proud of you, or laughing at you?

Your call.

Here’s one last example of how we can change.  I heard the stories growing up in Pittsburgh, so these are pictures that have always fascinated me. 

The first one was taken at 9 am on a winter morning in 1945. 

The second was at 11 am on November 5, 1945.

The steel city was so clouded in smoke from the steel mills that the sun was rarely seen.

The city had no choice but to enact smog control measures.  Then they began to clean up, which is what the third picture shows.  Ultimately the city continued as a steel center for 50 more years.  Now it is a vibrant city with new economic engines. 

Man affects the climate.

The degree to which he does can be argued about. 

Gamble all you want. 

Gamble with the economy. 

Gamble with the taxes in Kansas. 

Gamble with a ridiculous budget deficit. 

Gamble with your lungs.

Gamble with email servers. 

Gamble with immigration. 

I really don’t care. 

If it doesn’t go your way, you can even gamble and move to another country, as so many are threatening to do now.

But you can’t move to another planet. 

If we’re wrong all it will cost is some money.

And here’s some news. 

You ARE going to die. 

Having shitloads of money won’t change that. 

Leaving a ton of money to your next of kin may be good for them, it may not.

Leaving a planet to them – definitely good.   

If you think I’m just a mouthy liberal let me enlighten you as to why I’m an independent:

I am often socially liberal, but fiscally conservative.

Yes, money is important.

I take the extremely conservative position that to save this country we need to stop spending more money than we take in as revenue, or we run the risk of financial collapse.

To me a Democrat will spend one third more than they take in.

A Republican will spend 33% more than they take in.

They both wield the Great American Credit Card with criminal impunity.

They both are fiscally irresponsible, and those chickens are going to come home to roost as well.

We need a Balanced Budget Amendment more than anything I can think of, and it’s the one issue I haven’t heard anything about during the campaign.

There is absolutely no respect for the American Tax Payer. 

I don’t mind taxes – I mind how they’re spent (wasted.)

Our government is putting our beloved country at great risk the way they spend money we don’t have.

But, putting our planet at great risk is something else. 

Yes, earth is going to change over the centuries.

We don’t need to accelerate it.

Let’s not gamble with the planet.

We’ve only got one.

At the Cinema - February 2016

Deadpool – 8
I haven’t been particularly enamored by the onslaught of movies coming from Marvel studios.  The fact that they have big plans for 5000 or so movies over the next 20 years doesn’t excite me.  I didn't know there were that many comic books.  So far the productions have ranged from terrible to mildly entertaining.  But with their latest release, Deadpool, they may have actually hit on a decent formula. 

The formula?  R-rated, by virtue of a lot of suggestive banter, a few racy scenes, and a whole lot of raw humor.  If that approach works about 90% of the time, like it does in this movie, you’ve got a crowd-pleaser.  Marvel certainly has shown the ability to bring in a crowd with savy marketing.  Actually delivering on the entertainment promise is a whole new level for them.

This one starts off with a complicated action sequence during which Ryan Reynolds slows down the action to tell the backstory of how he fell in love, how he got his superpowers, and how that messed up his love life.   There’s about a 20-minute scene during which Reynolds acquires those superpowers, and it is great film-making.  Add in a redemptive third act and you’ve got the makings of a solid box office hit.  A starring role for Firefly's Morena Baccharin is another big plus.  This one exceeds the “mildly entertaining” level and bumps right up against “very.”

Hail, Caesar – 5

The Coen Brothers latest is a hodgepodge, mess of a movie.  I have no idea what their point was.  There are a lot of stars splitting a few good moments.  It may be a tribute to Hollywood.  It may be a showcase for George Clooney to act against type.  It may be a payday.  Whatever it is, it didn’t work for me. 

Scanning the Satelite

Becoming Mike Nichols – 8

This is a really nice HBO documentary consisting of a lengthy interview of the late Mike Nichols, who spills the beans on many of his productions, including Barefoot in the Park, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf, and most interestingly, The Graduate.

THE ACADEMY AWARDS

I usually enjoy watching the Oscars, which will air tonight.  I am usually in disagreement with the Best Picture, but my taste is weird, and I expect this year to be no different.  I’ve heard of some people who want to skip the first half hour because of Chris Rock.  I’ve always thought he was a great comedian, but his first time doing the Oscars fell flat, and the fact that he’s hosting in such a controversial year, will only lend to the audience gasps.  In my case it would be more appropriate for me to skip the last half hour.  I expect Mad Max:  Fury Road to dominate the technical awards, winning 5 or 6 but getting shut out during the last 30 minutes when the big awards roll out.

There were some great 2015 movies, but the movie that’s probably going to take the big prize was not one of them for me at least, which is par for my course.

So here are my predictions:

Best Picture

Will Win:  The Revenant.  It will join the list of infamous wrong picks that had late momentum.  It’s a grandstanding movie that will have little long term impact, other than a certain actor’s gratification. Move over Crash, take a seat Shakespeare.

Should Win:  Mad Max:  Fury Road, which history will treat as an epic, amazing cinematic achievement, one of the best action movies of all time, and certainly the greatest chase movie ever. 

Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant, and I’ll be happy for him.

Should Win:  Matt Damon for the Martian, the movie we'll watch way more than Leo's. 

Best Actress: 

Will Win:  Brie Larson is easily the best of the nominees anchoring a great movie with a great performance.

Should Win:  Charlize Theron in Mad Max.  Wait, she wasn’t even nominated

Best Director: 

Will Win:  George Miller, Mad Max.  I’m hoping for an upset over the heavily favored Inarritu, who is poised to win his 2^nd consecutive Oscar for Director, for The Revenant..

Should Win:  George Miller for bringing home his 20-year vision and re-creating a totally unique world.

Best Supporting Actor:

Will Win:  Sylvester Stallone for Creed

Should Win:  Sylvester Stallone for a lifetime achievement Award as Rocky Balboa

Best Supporting Actress

Will Win:  Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl (a combo award for her star-making work in Ex Machina)

Should Win:  Rooney Mara for Carol, although neither of these were really supporting roles.

And the rest of my predictions, with an occasional dissent:

Best Original Screenplay – Spotlight

Best Adapted Screenplay – The Big Short

Best Cinematography – The Revenant (although I’ll be rooting for Mad Max)

Best Costume Design – Mad Max:  Fury Road

Best Film Editing – Mad Max:  Fury Road

Best Makeup & Hair – Mad Max:  Fury Road

Best Production Design – Mad Max:  Fury Road

Best Score – The Hateful Eight

Best Song – Til it Happens to You, from The Hunting Ground

Best Sound Editing – Mad Max:  Fury Road

Best Sound Mixing –  Mad Max:  Fury Road

Best Visual Effects – Star Wars:  The Force Awakens (although I’ll be rooting for Mad Max)

Best Animated Feature – Inside Out

Best Documentary Feature – Amy

Best Foreign Language Film – Son of Saul

Best Animated Short – Sanjays Super Team

Best Documentary Short – Body Team 12

Best Live Action Short – Shok

No matter what happens, the show will be an endurance contest, and I’ll be expressing my sentiments throughout.  Enjoy.

At the Cinema - January 2016

More 2015 Movies (that I’ve added to my rankings post of last month)

Room – 9

Depressing but hauntingly beautiful, this movie is a tale of a mother and son and their inhabitance of two environments.  First, there’s the claustrophobic room where Joy Emerson has been imprisoned for 7 years by a rapist she calls Old Nick.  She has had a son named Jack and has no choice but to act as a sex slave for Nick in exchange for safety and supplies.  Later on, when her environment changes to another location, she must adapt to an equally difficult situation.  At the center of her life is her son, and his protection is paramount.  She must guide his intellectual and emotional development with few tools at her disposal.  She can never let her motherly instincts diminish in either location.

Brie Larson Is expected to coast to an Oscar for her performance as Joy.  The camera is in tight, make-up-less close-up for most of the movie and Larson conveys her anguish and anxiety.  The most successful movies transport you not just to a specific time and place, but they transplant your emotions right into the center of the story, so you feel those anxieties so much that you squirm in your seat. 

This is such a movie.

The Revenant – 8

In different parts:  Brutal, harrowing, disturbing, graphic, difficult, well-acted, chilling, absorbing, off-putting, hard to watch, masterful, dark, manipulative, conceited, cold, overwhelming, amazing, lengthy, distant, flawed, well directed, astonishing, jarring, stirring, memorable, well photographed, raw, extravagant, relentless, bloody, seductive, impressive, gruesome, grisly, grueling, groundbreaking, and ultimately – exhausting.  This is the story of a man seeking revenge after being left for dead.

Some Questions and Answers:

Will it win an Oscar for Best Picture?

Probably

Should it?

Probably Not.  Every year there’s a late comer whose buzz dominates the time right around voting season, and The Revenant has played its hand perfectly.  But, I can’t see it as a treasured classic, and there are a couple of films that deserve that status above this one

Will Leonardo DiCaprio win the Oscar for Best Actor?

Yes

Should he?

Yes, as a make-up call for Wolf of Wall Street, and as an award for surviving the filming of this movie.  In the end, he is the reason to see The Revenant, where he answers the question “how far will you go to get what you want, whether it’s revenge, or an award?”

The Hateful Eight – 8

No, this is not a televised debate.

It is Quentin Tarantino’s eighth movie, or so he states right up front.  He has said that he will make 10 movies. 

That’s important because his movies have gotten progressively, or regressively depending on your point of view, more bloody, gruesome, and outrageous.

He writes these stories from scratch, then begins to stockpile the blood it will need.

This is kind of a Reservoir Dogs in the snowy, wild, wild west, as he claustrophobically throws 7 or so bad men and one bad woman, played with great gusto and tolerance by Jennifer Jason Leigh, into a blizzard enveloped cabin. 

They snarl and bicker and in the least surprising part of a Tarantino movie ever, commence to shooting each other’s heads off.

It’s pretty entertaining because of his knack for storytelling, backstories, and dialogue, but in the end it’s all about the bloodshed.  All of which makes me wonder if he gets to his 10^th movie and it will just be flying body parts.

Carol -7

This movie provided me with my biggest laugh of the month when after viewing, I saw a commercial advertising this is a “thriller.”  This movie is to thriller as I am to heavyweight champion of the world. 

Thriller is not the way I would describe it.  Let me think.  I’ve got it – un-thrilling.

This is the much acclaimed story of two 1950’s era women who fall into a forbidden lesbian relationship.  Carol as icily played by Cate Blanchet, has the most to lose.  She’s about to divorce her husband (Kyle Chandler) and their young daughter is about to be the subject of their tug of war.   Threzz (Rooney Mara) will slowly, and I mean really slowly, fall in love with Carol. 

The problem with all this is that it takes place in the 50’s and moves at the pace of a 1950’s movie.  It’s languid and leisurely, and while I like a character study as much as the next heavyweight, this movie is about 50 years too late and 50 minutes too slow in getting to the point. 

SCANNING THE SATELLITE

Making a Murderer – 8

I succumbed to the publicity and gave up 42% of a full day to watch the 10 episodes of this Netflix documentary.  It follows the case of Steven Avery, a Wisconsin resident who was wrongfully convicted of a rape, served 18 years, and then was released.  He celebrated his freedom by murdering a female photographer.  Or so his embarrassed county police force claims.  Or they framed him.   It’s all pretty confusing, and the story is filled with red herrings and abandoned information.  You keep expecting them to come back to points, but they disappear.  To say there are lingering questions that never get answered is an understatement, and a real puzzle as they have over 10 hours to cover everything.  You would think….

Two young film students shot this over the course of 10 years, and it takes a pretty firm stance that there’s been a miscarriage of justice.  By the end I had two feelings. I felt like I had been dragged through the court system, and I wanted to see the rest of the story.  But this is compelling story telling and I’m sure there’s a million similar stories out there. 

The problem with the documentary, as well as the trial outcomes, well with just about everything from politics to the judicial system is that there is an expectation of “fairness” and a search for “truth.”  Neither is the case.  America is about “adversarial” processes that lead to “winning.”  Ask any politician.  Ask any attorney.  Ask Bill Belichick.  It’s the end that counts, not the means.  And that’s a shame.  

2015 Year End Rankings

Every year I write about the movies I see, and give a purely personal ranking, including how I scored the movie on a scale of 1 to 10.

Here’s my 2015 list

Mad Max:  Fury Road                                        10
Spotlight                                                              10
The Gift                                                                10
The Martian                                                        10
Inside Out                                                            10
Creed                                                                    10
Bridge of Spies                                                    10
Concussion                                                          10
McFarland USA                                                    9
Black Mass                                                            9

  

The Big Short                                                      9
Brooklyn                                                              9
Room                                                                   9
Star Wars:  The Force Awakens                       9
Mission Impossible:  Rogue Nation                9
Trainwreck                                                          9
Love and Mercy                                                 9
Pitch Perfect 2                                                    9
Spectre                                                                8
The Revenant                                                     8
Truth                                                                    8
Ex Machina                                                         8
Jurassic World                                                    8
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl                       8
The Hateful Eight                                               8
The Visit                                                              8
Kingman:  The Secret Service                          8
The Intern                                                           8
Ted 2                                                                    8
Spy                                                                       7
San Andreas                                                       7
Steve Jobs                                                           7
Carol                                                                    7
Run All Night                                                      7
Terminator:  Genysis                                        6
Sicario                                                                 6
Crimson Peak                                                     5
The Man from Uncle                                        5
The Boy Next Door                                           5
Focus                                                                   5
The Avengers:  Age of Ultron                          4
The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay Pt 2            3
A Million Ways to Die in the West                  2
The Age of Adaline                                            2
Entourage                                                           1

Documentaries
Requiem for the Dead:  American Spring 2014                    10

Going Clear:  Scientology and the Prison of Belief               10
Frank Sinatra:  All or Nothing at All                                         10

Jinx – The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst                            10

The Seven Five                                                                            10

Amy                                                                                                 9

I’ll Be Me – Glen Campbell                                                          9

Compared to What – the Journey of Barney Frank                9
Citizenfour                                                                                     8

And the OZZIES go to:

Best Picture – Mad Max:  Fury Road

Best Actor – Matt Damon in The Martian

Best Actress – Charlize Theron in Mad Max

Best Supporting Actor – David Morse in Concussion

Best Supporting Actress – Rebecca Ferguson in Mission Impossible

Best Director:  George Miller, Mad Max

Best Screenplay – Josh Singer and Tom McCarthy, Spotlight

I’m adding a TV Show ranking and awards, since we are in a golden age (and I spent an inordinate amount of time recovering from knee surgery):

Rectify
Fargo
The Good Wife
Last Week Tonight:  John Oliver
Real Time with Bill Maher
Silicon Valley
You’re the Worst
The Leftovers
The Profit
Seth Myers

And the LIZZIES go to

Best Show:  Rectify

Best Actor:  Aden Young in Rectify

Best Actress:  Aya Cash in You’re the Worst

Best Supporting Actor:  Clayne Crawford in Rectify

Best Supporting Actress:  Abigail Spencer in Rectify

Best Director:  Ray McKinnon for Rectify

Saints Last Report - January 3, 2016

Now we know.

Carly Simon has revealed who she wrote that song about.

Not “You’re so Vain.”

No.

"Anticipation"

And no it’s not about ketchup.

It’s about the plight of the New Orleans Saints fans.

Because now is the best part of the year.

The Anticipation of next year, because we are fully gullible, and the season is too stressful.

49 times we’ve fallen for it, and only once been rewarded.

So, here’s how it will go.

We’ll wait at least a day to see if Payton will remain the coach.

We’ll spend 116 days looking forward to the draft.

We’ll talk about Drew Brees and the salary cap.

Then, we’ll get excited about our 49^th straight outstanding draft

We’ll wait 150 days until the mini camps

We’ll wait 210 days until training camps opened.

We’ll believe the hype – the team looks great.

We’ll forget they’re playing against each other.

We’ll get excited about the 4 pre-season games.

They look pretty good.

Anticipation will be at a fever pitch.

Sometime in September, the balloon will burst.

We’ll realize that we’ve improved, but so has everybody else.

Will next year, our 50^th season, yield our 13^th winning season? 

Anticipation

Well, one thing that makes the 119 days of actual season bearable is when you can sweep the season series from the equally inept and fanatically hated Atlanta Falcons.  With a last second field goal, following one of the rarest events of the season, a big-play interception from the Saints defense, the Saints vanquished those dirtiest of birds 20 – 17.  It was another great game for Brees, who continued his hot streak and won his 100th game as a Saint.  That's right.  He is the starting pitcher for 100 of the Saints lifetime 331 wins.  That's 30% of the franchise wins by playing in 20% of their games.  Amazing.  Brees regained his discipline this year and only threw 11 interceptions.  Another positive sign was the play of Brandon Coleman, who despite a huge drop at the end of the game, continued an upward trend at year-end.  Maybe he is the Colston replacement he was touted to be.  Maybe Tim Hightower will stick around.  We’ve got plenty of time to talk about it.

Thus the Saints finish 7 – 9, their 37^th season of .500 or below. 

Anticipation misplaced.  

But the wait til next year has officially begun.  

At the Cinema - December 2015

As a movie lover, I kind of hate December.  The studios hold movies all year long then release them during the holidays.  Some get lost in the shuffle, as no one could possibly see them all.   Some get yanked from theaters before any word of mouth can develop.  Some blockbusters take up so many theaters, there's no room for any secondary film.  So my December report lacks some movies I wanted to get in here, but they will have to wait, like Point Break, Sisters, The Revenant, The Hateful Eight, Carol, and Joy.  I’ll get to them.

Spotlight – 10

When I look back at 2015 I will think of two classic movies that should stand forever, and this is one of them.  As I exited the theater I was so furious I had to try to think about something else.  I didn’t want to think about it, and I didn’t want to talk about it.  The raw emotion that this movie generates has to be experienced to be appreciated.

This is the story of the Pulitzer Prize winning, investigative “Spotlight” team of 5 reporters at the Boston Globe who investigated the local Catholic Church’s handling of abusive priests over several decades.  It’s low-key, methodical, and detailed as they plod through allegations that begin to slowly expand to an incredible level.  The new editor of the Globe, played by Liev Shreiber, pushes the team to go beyond the horror of the abuse, and to dig into the system of the church, and how they moved priests around repeatedly after transgressions. 

You’ll gasp in unison with the audience as you watch the year’s best ensemble cast plow their way through the heartbreak.  You'll wince at the pressure that is exerted on them from a community that is 53% Catholic, probably the highest in the nation.  Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, and Mark Ruffalo are superb, along with the rest of the cast.  They bring the heat.

Many have compared this to “All the President’s Men” as a wonderful examination of journalism.  It has that kind of intensity.  I find it most interesting that the movie hasn’t made it to Mississippi yet.  We had to go to New Orleans to see its one single daily showing.  The theater was packed.  What’s going on here?  It’s been in release for weeks.  Many more millions will see the fantasy movies than this one, and that’s a shame.  This is some serious stuff, and I’ll be fascinated to see who sees it, and who refuses to see it.   Yes, two classic movies in 2015 – one that I’ll watch over and over, and one that I don’t think I can watch again.

Creed – 10

This is the second great sports movie of 2015, along with McFarland USA.  Let’s face it – it’s not that hard to make a good sports movie.  From Rocky to Rudy the principles have been the same.  Underdog, knocked down, gets back up, fights through adversity, overcomes against the odds – all while the music swells to just the right rousing volume.  Or don’t you hum the Rocky theme as you finish your workout?

So, how does this latest Rocky installment rise to such great heights?  Several reasons.  The script and direction by second time director Ryan Coogler are nearly perfect.  The boxing scenes are the best ever filmed because they are so up close.  Also, I really appreciated the fact that like most real boxing, a lot of the punches don’t land, which movies usually get wrong; although I must say that towards the end it does get to the point where fighters are just pummeling each other and it begins to look like the rather ridiculous old Rocky fights where a punch never missed.  The lure of blood I guess.

Sylvestor Stallone revisits his Rocky character at a new crossroads in his life, with a new fight on his hands.  Michael B. Jordan is pitch perfect as the really, really angry young man Adonis Creed, illegitimate son of the late Apollo Creed, who died in the fictional ring of Rocky IV before the fictional Adonis was born.  Adonis, who has been reluctant to identify with the Creed name, seems to have so much anger that a boxing ring is the perfect place to keep him out of trouble.  Somehow the movie manages to make all that fiction seem real, and while we know its fiction, we are so invested in the characters, that when that music swells, well we’re going to lose it.  We’ve been had by another great sports movie.

Concussion – 10

Surprisingly, here’s another great sports movie.  Yet, it’s not typical in any way.  There’s no swelling music here, just drama building to a crescendo.

It starts with one of the great performances of the year that unfortunately will go unrecognized.  David Morse, who has been great so many times, is stunning as Mike Webster, the retired and battered center of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  He may have been the greatest center to ever play.  But, something is wrong with Webster.  Headaches, dizziness, and a desperation that has him living in his truck as he descends into a madness.  That desperation is seen in the face of his doctor – Dr. Julian Bailes, the former Steelers team doctor, played by Alec Baldwin, who can only ask, “What am I missing?”

When Webster dies it’s up to Dr. Bennet Omalu to find out during an autopsy and subsequent research what was happening.  Will Smith gives the performance of his career as Omalu as he investigates several more NFL deaths, names the condition CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) and suffers the backlash from the NFL and the public.  Omalu is from Nigeria, and he doesn’t understand football, and his quest to speak for the dead makes for one hell of a movie.

The incredible juggernaut that is capitalism, that has driven the prosperity of our country past every other economy in the world, has had one unfortunate side effect.  Sometimes science gets put on hold for the sake of profits.  It happened with tobacco, and it wasn’t the government that slowed down the roll and the role of big tobacco.  It was another group of profiteers (we’ll call them lawyers) who held tobacco accountable.  It’s happening today in climate change, as those that would be impacted by adjustments cry “hoax.”  But, imagine taking on what could be argued as the most powerful force in the U.S. – the sport that we all love to watch.  Perhaps when the dust has settled, and the cost of repetitive impact on the brain has been fully analyzed, football will go the way of tobacco.  Hard to imagine, but something to ponder, and another reason I’d like to be reincarnated in about a hundred years  – just to see what happens.

Star Wars:  The Force Awakens - 9

Less relevant words have never been written than what I think of this movie.  That’s because you need no guidance.  You are either a Star Wars zealot that only the walls of confinement could keep you from seeing this movie several times, or you are a Star Wars fan like me, that likes the franchise and thinks the first two were pretty hard to top as space entertainment, but you didn’t go overboard into full-on worship.  Or, you don’t care anything about it, which puts you in the distinct minority that is a threat to Disney’s stock price.  You see Disney paid 4 billion dollars, that’s billion with a b to George Lucas for the rights to Star Wars, and their quest to get a return on that exorbitant investment will be as fascinating to watch for the rest of my life as anything else I can think of, business-wise.  That they’ve turned the creativity over to JJ Abrams who reinvigorated Star Trek, then abused it in the second run, makes it all the more interesting.  Can it hold his attention?  Can it hold mine?  Can they maintain the hype?  Every time I watched a commercial, I thought about it.  Why are they advertising so much?  Is there anyone who hasn’t decided whether or not they’re going to see it?  Are they still trying to persuade undecided voters?

I remember driving from Hattiesburg to New Orleans with some fraternity brothers to catch the first movie, and I don’t think there was another time we did that.  It was a movie-going thrill that has been rivaled few times. 

Movie-making technology has improved tremendously in the 38 intervening years.  That’s evident from the opening moments of The Force Awakens and Abrams commits to the story telling with his usual verve.

It begins on a planet called Jakku where the inhabitants speak with a British accent.  I’m referring to the new star of the star wars, Daisy Ridley, who as Rey, brings that accent and the youthful enthusiasm that the series needed to revive it.  There was a lot riding on her casting and it’s a home run.  She has the charisma needed to carry the next few installments and that’s great news.  Throw in mixes of nostalgia and humor, old characters and new, old robots and new, and the wars have begun.  While the movie’s first hour is largely set-up, it’s the second half of the movie where the action is pumped up to the level of excitement that Disney is going to need.  Buy or Sell? 

The Big Short - 9

As I was moving up the ranks in my previous corporate life, and buying a new house in a new city every few years, my VP told me, “always buy more house than you can afford.  Qualify for the lower payment of the adjustable rate, and your income will grow as your payment grows.”  Of course his intention was partly to keep me motivated.  Great approach for someone who would probably never be in a house for very long.  But, who would have thought it would be applied to millions of first-time buyers?

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the mortgage loan crisis.  I would maintain there’s nothing wrong with stressing the opportunities of home ownership.  But something went wrong, then it got packaged and sold.  The risk was not properly assessed.  And then there was money to be made betting against it but by some who saw that it was all going to come crashing down. 

Those who saw profit opportunity in the crash (we’ll call them prognosticators) are portrayed here by Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale.  They specialize in numbers and it’s Bale’s character (Burel) who recognizes the inevitable first and has to convince some banks they need to create and sell him an insurance instrument whereby he can bet against them, which they are all too willing to do as they laugh at him. Thus a convoluted market is born, but it turns out to be one of many that the banks are playing around with.  When it all comes crashing down, it’s the American taxpayer of about 2053 who comes to the rescue.  Don’t get me started.

Needless to say the movie is fascinating.  It’s told in a very herky jerky style with gimmicks like celebrities explaining things to the audience.  For example, here’s Margot Robbie taking a bubble bath and explaining something, but I wasn’t really focused on what she was saying.  It’s the most poorly edited scene I’ve seen in movie in years (it’s like they weren’t even trying to match shots) but I doubt anyone will care.  The movie uses so many different styles and approaches that I think it most compares to Annie Hall.

This is based on a Michael Lewis book.  I’ve read some of his books (Moneyball and Boomerang) and he has a way of explaining complicated things so well, that I’m going to have to read this book to, in the hopes that maybe someday, just once in my life, I’ll be in the smart minority.  I maintain that how we got to the housing collapse and how we dealt with it is going to make for some fascinating economic history reading for many years to come. 

Scanning the Satellite

The Seven Five – 10

Showtime is showing this incredible documentary about police corruption in Brooklyn during the 1980’s.  It consists of interviews of many of the primary players in the bust of many cops, but most importantly Michael Dowd, known as the dirtiest copy ever.  How he earned that distinction will stun you and keep you shaking your head throughout.  It’s an unbelievable story.

Focus – 5

Lovely to look at, but too ridiculous to believe for longer than 30 seconds is this con man caper film with the stunning Margot Robbie and the always appealing Will Smith.  I will sum this up by saying I can suspend disbelief for 2 hours, but not common sense.  The only thing entertaining in this movie is how farfetched it becomes. 

The Boy Next Door – 5

There’s something wrong with my remote control.  Every time I leave the room it switches to the Lifetime channel or the Hallmark Channel.  They feature different movies but only one plot.  This is one of those movies with one big difference – Jennifer Lopez – so it got a theater release.  She is so charismatic that you actually believe some of this.  Then, you can’t believe you wasted 2 hours.

Saints Report # 15 - December 27, 2015

The New Orleans Saints began their playoff run and march to the Super Bowl with a 38 – 27 spanking of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Superdome on Sunday.  Next up are the Atlanta Falcons whom they should handle handily, and they’ll be back in the Superbowl.

That, ladies and gentlemen is what we call fantasy football.

Back on planet earth, Drew Brees mimicked Superman with one of his near-perfect games.  Just when you thought he might sit down for the year due to an injured foot, he rattles the dome with 412 passing yards, and staked the Saints to a 24-0 lead.  He now has 4546 yards passing for the year, and with one game to go would surely be staring at another 5000 yard season had he not missed a game.  All the more remarkable in that Marques Colston was inactive due to injury, and Ben Watson was hobbled.  He got support from Brandin Cooks, who had a big game while going over 1100 yards receiving for the year, and Tim Hightower, who broke the 100 yard rushing mark, the rarest of achievements in this offense.  Hightower fortunately looks more like Pierre Thomas than Mark Ingram and hopefully management is noticing.  Traveris Cadet, back with the Saints this week, got action over CJ Spiller, whom it looks like Payton has sat down for the year.  Spiller apparently has never fully recovered from knee surgery, which is a condition I fully understand. 

The defense played well at times, with Delvin Breaux standing out, but they still set an NFL record for touchdown passes allowed with 43.  With one game to go, they may set a record that can never be broken.

For the Jaguars, they couldn’t even induce a penalty out of Brandon Browner, although they did beat him with a bomb.  Bombed and booed, Brandon Browner looks bamboozled.  Bummer.

So with only the Falcons left, who got Mercury Morris drunk again when they upset Carolina, the Saints look to the future.  Rumors are rampant about Payton and Brees, while idiots in the media implore Tom Benson to sell his teams.  Hey, Tom, please dump your $2 billion worth of businesses because I said so. 

Try Craig’s List.

See you in Atlanta for the Fed-Ex Going Nowhere Bowl.  It will be the official start of the wait til next year.

Saints Report # 14 - December 21, 2015

Are you ready for some football?

Well - you're going to have to wait.

The New Orleans Saints began to apply the finishing flourishes to their season of mediocrity on Monday night by taking it on the chin from a team thought to be more hapless than them.  Nope, the Detroit Lions beat the tar out of the defenseless Saints 35-27 and it wasn’t that close.  Only a dramatic late comeback led by a hobbled Drew Brees made it seem close. 

The Saints found new ways to lose.  They spotted the Lions a 28-3 lead by playing a first half of defense that can only be described as token.  The end result was something they had never done in the BP era – they lost a game when they didn’t commit a turnover.  Previously they had been 30 – 0.  Is this rock bottom?   Maybe their previous record of invincibility in nationally televised night games evaporating is rock bottom. 

Brees tore his plantar fascia during the second half and should close out the year on injured reserve.  Rookie Garret Grayson should be allowed to gain valuable experience by starting the last 2 games.

Forgetaboutit.

That’s not the way the Saints operate.  It would be logical.

And that’s all you need to know. 

 

Saints Report # 13 - December 13, 2015

Saints fans are still waiting for his first end zone dance.

But he won’t dance.  Don’t ask him.

Marques Colston caught 2 touchdown passes from Drew Brees in the Saints surprising 24-17 victory in Tampa.  It brought to 71 the number of times they have combined for a touchdown.  That puts them 5th all-time.

Drew Brees threw his 421^st career touchdown pass, as he moved into 4^th place on the all time list, with only Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre ahead of him.  It’s impressive company and the headlines will say that Brees led the Saints to a workmanlike win.  Another story will be on Tim Hightower who came out of retirement this year and looked better than a lot of higher priced running backs the Saints have on their roster, and there’s no reason to beat that horse any deader than it already is.

The defense played easily their best game of the year by rendering Jameis Winston ineffective and holding Brandon Browner to only one penalty, although Kyle Wilson tried to step into the penalty role with three.

But, my focus is on the Quiet Storm. 

Colston came out of Hofstra and the Saints saw something they liked and picked him in the 7^th round of the 2006 draft.  His chemistry was immediate with Brees and for 10 years they’ve been the Saints most reliable combo.

No one could have forseen what Colston would mean to the team and its fans. 

He is now the Saints all-time leader in touchdowns, receiving yards, and receptions.   

He’s in the twilight of his career now, as he approaches the 10,000 yard mark.  This year there have been more drops than usual, but as the season progressed it seems that he has taken a few sips from the fountain of youth.  Brees is looking for him in the clutch again, and he has responded with several critical catches, just as he did on a 3^rd and 11 Sunday.  He famously sleeps in a hyperbolic chamber to take care of this body, and Sean Payton gives him a day off now and then from practice to heal. 

Colston has made his living roaming the middle of the field, taking shots and fighting for yardage after a catch in heavy traffic.  A drop now and then is understandable.  Name another receiver like him who has lasted this long while jumping up exposed to catch a ball in the seam. 

Here are the quarterback/receiver combinations just ahead:

Peyton Manning to Marvin Harrison 112

Steve Young to Jerry Rice 85

Dan Marino to Mark Clayton 79

Phillip Rivers to Antonio Gates 73

There you have something to root for in a lost season.  Sure, the Saints could win out and finish 8 – 8, and technically they haven’t been eliminated.  I’ll be rooting for The Quiet Storm to finish strong and maybe squeeze one more year out of his aching body.

There’s an old saying that I really like.  It is “when you get in the end zone act like you’ve been there before.”  That’s been a habit of Colston’s since day one.

Unselfish. Unrecognized, unflappable, underappreciated.  He has done everything you could ask a receiver to do.

Except dance. 

He's been in the end zone before, and he'll be there again, giving the Saints a touch of class on and off the field.  #12 - the Saints all-time leading receiver.