Summer of Soul – 10
I am loping toward my 50th Class Reunion in October. My beloved Long Beach Mississippi High School Class of 1971 will gather and reminisce. Every day I count down a song on our private Facebook page. First, I did 1968, the beginning of our sophomore year, our first year of high school. As I write this I am powering through the music of 1969 and I’ve got to tell you it has been a blast to revisit songs I had forgotten. It was a year of sparkling bands and unique music, dampened only by the fact that the number one song of the year was done by a band that didn’t exist, the Archies. Fake Band.
Some web sites say 1969 was the year that changed everything. It started with Joe Namath surprising sports fans. The Beatles appeared in public for the last time, on a roof, and then John and Yoko occupied a bed. Vietnam War protests grew. On July 20th the US put a man on the moon, and it distracted people from the fact that Senator Ted Kennedy had just put a woman in the drink. On August 9th Charles Manson and his followers committed murder. August 15th began Woodstock. In October the New York Mets amazingly won the World Series. Midnight Cowboy hit the theaters, but I wasn’t allowed in. John Wayne finally won an Oscar, and Easy Rider stunned audiences, while Sundance couldn’t swim. Glen Campbell was at his peak, and we all fixated on Rowan and Martin and Johnny Carson.
But if you lived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that isn’t why you remember 1969. Hurricane Camille hit us and took roofs, houses, and lives. For many of us, it is the most memorable event of our lifetime. I can still hear the wind.
Turns out something else happened in 1969. Promoters put on a music festival in Harlem featuring a lot of great acts as well as the rhetoric of the time. Someone filmed the festival and sat on the footage for 51 years., and the performances of acts from Sly and the Family Stone to Stevie Wonder, to Nina Simone are terrific. The footage has been Questloved into an often-riveting Hulu documentary. It’s like a real live time capsule unfolding right in front of your eyes. Let me forewarn you. You won’t like all of it. Like most things that hit screens today, it has a viewpoint. But the music is great, and anybody can appreciate how far we’ve come.
Woodstock ’99: Peace, Love, and Rage – 10
At the other end of the emotional spectrum is another documentary masterpiece, appearing on HBO. Thirty years after the legendary 1969 Woodstock festival in upstate New York, the promoters, having had a modestly successful revival in 1994, said “let’s do it again.” Now the first Woodstock had some problems, and they may have been glossed over, but the 1999 iteration was an epic disaster. Everything that seemed a good idea at the time turned out to be a bad idea at the time.
This documentary is not for the faint of heart. The incredible footage, narration, and blaming combine to make this a harrowing, unbelievable watch. This is a stunning piece of work. Much like the first documentary, I had no idea.
McCartney 1,2,3 – 10
My hobby is audio-equipment and I thought I was done, but after watching this little 6 episode Hulu series with Rick Rubin interviewing Paul McCartney at a studio mixing board, I’m wanting one, with all the master tapes of course.
Rick and Paul sit at the board and work their way through the famous songs. Yes, there’s a heavy emphasis on Paul’s base playing, and his ego never takes a break, but it is a fascinating walk.
Rubin pulls some amazing tidbits out of Paul about how the Beatles worked, how they recorded, and how they created their incredible catalog. It is a feast for any music lover, unless you just hate the Beatles. If you do, please don’t tell me.
But, if you love music, this is a must watch, and an easy one, as it’s broken up into under 30 minute pieces, which is a master stroke. It would not have played as well as say a 2 or 3 hour movie. Peter Jackson has a Beatles documentary coming out this year, and Hulu may have beaten him to the punch. Since I recently discovered I’m probably related to one of the Beatles, probably the cute one, it’s even more interesting. I knew my grandfather had come over on the boat from England in the 1890’s, but I didn’t know he was from Liverpool until I recently found his grade school report cards when digging through my mother’s memorabilia. Here’s a picture of him on the boat, with our relative. You decide.
In The Heights – 8
More accurately, story 5, music 6, dancing 9. This is a melting pot of a movie about the largely Latin population of Washington Heights in New York City.
The Dancing is fantastic and simply carries the movie. I wasn’t crazy about the music, and I recognized a lot of the melodies that Lin Manuel-Miranda would use in Hamilton.
But it is the story that took its toll on me. There is a major “location” deception that just misrepresents what is going on. I hate when that happens. It reminded me of Fight Club, where I just felt manipulated because a major character is revealed at the end of the movie to not really exist. Same thing happens here, and it was a huge turn off for me. But that’s just me. I love musicals and I appreciate what they were trying to do. The performances are great and I look forward to seeing it again, because next time I’ll be ready for the ending. Not that the ending is a downer. It’s unnecessary slight of hand.
Roadrunner – 9
Oscar winning director Alex Negron (20 feet from Stardom) never met Anthony Bourdain and pieced together footage to try to answer the question of why someone so popular, rich and famous would kill himself. Bourdain parlayed a great book and a charismatic camera presence and took us around the world for many years. But there’s more to the story. There’s addiction. There are broken marriages, and bad relationships. There was arrogance. But mostly, there was a camera. How would you like to be filmed constantly for over 20 years? He let a crew follow him and footage that was not seen on TV gets seen here. This is as an in-depth dive into suicide as you’ll ever want to see on camera. But in the end it was very clear to me, and I might be wrong, that one event pushed him over the edge. It is that one event that men take the hardest. Let me know what you think.
I can already tell you that if Roadrunner survives a little controversy it will vie with Summer of Soul for an Oscar for outstanding Documentary. Although with so many great documentaries being produced, it promises to be another banner year.
Barb and Starr Go to Vista Del Mar – 7
A mildly amusing Kristen Wiig vehicle that wears thin pretty quickly and is burdened with a totally unnecessary subplot. There are some funny moments in about an hour worth of comedy stretched out with filler. Glad I didn’t see this one in a theater. Offbeat, off putting, and off my radar forever.
Jolt – 6
Kate Beckinsale, who will always be Selene to me, is a former bouncer with
anger issues to such an extent that she is hooked up to some electric shock
device devised by Stanley Tucci who is apparently back from Italy. The idea is she will shock herself before she
starts throwing bad actors around like a rag doll. The action isn’t bad and the ending was a
surprise, so I’ll give it that. But the
level of action ridiculousness is pretty high and the sets are garish
Amazon is desperate to make original content and capture more of the streaming
market, so that they can pile more boxes into my garage. Their latest attempt is to take 47 year old
Kate Beckinsale and give her a part that should have been played by a 22 year
old. This could be taken as ageism, but
I’m a huge Kate fan. In this flick she
is heavily made up, perhaps as part of the character, and between the botox and
makeup reminded me of Joan Rivers. That’s
not a good thing. There is a shot of her
waist that makes her look 16. I just don’t
know what’s real anymore.
The Kominsky Method (final season) – 9
Michael Douglas goes it alone on the 6 episode final season of Netflix’s homage to old age. The final season is not nearly as funny as the first two seasons but makes up for it with poignancy and new focal points, like Kominsky’s ex-wife played by Kathleen Turner. If you’re in my age bracket this series is not to be missed. If you’re significantly younger, you might not relate now – but your time is coming. If you are lamenting the lack of comedies, this may be your ticket.
Blood Red Sky – 9
Netflix’s recent hit movie involves a very sick woman who gets on a airplane going from Europe to the US. She hopes that an American doctor can cure what’s ailing her so she lives long enough to raise her son, who is accompanying her. Then, the airplane gets hijacked and she must protect him. What follows is a bloody mess. It’s a thrill ride in the air that I won’t give away, but I will say it is slowed by some really unnecessary flashbacks on the ground. Stay in the air. Stay claustrophobic. Stay hungry.
The Ice Road – 7
It was only a matter of time before Liam Neeson started churning out adventure for streaming networks, so here we go. I’m guessing this is what the tv show Ice Road Truckers is like. Liam has to get equipment up into Canada to save a group of trapped miners. The problem is that the ice roads are melting, the trucks might be too heavy for them, and bad guys might not want him to make it. You get the picture. Neeson is fairly reliable as an action star, and this is exactly what you think it will be. Not bad. A diversion.
Woody Allen Film Festival
Woody Allen churns out a movie a year, but they don’t come to many U.S. theaters anymore. Europe is now his hotspot, as he is still revered there. Since 2007 I’ve only seen 4 of his movies in theaters. His U.S. reputation, if it wasn’t shot before this year’s HBO Docuseries, is certainly mincemeat today. And yet, for some reason Amazon Prime seems to have a deal with him to back and play his movies, and all those movies I’ve missed are available, and since I’m still a fan of his work, I thought I would watch what I’ve missed.
It wasn’t easy, as this is some uneven work.
In theaters I saw Blue Jasmine (2013 - hated it) Midnight in Paris (2011 - loved it), Whatever Works (2009 - meh), and Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008 -loved it) in theaters
Cassandra’s Dream (2007) and You Will Meet a Tall Dark
Stranger (2010) are not available for free, so they will have to wait. Here we go..
To Rome with Love (2012) – 3
If this is the movie that began Woody’s fall, it is easy to
see why. The script is a disaster, with
time-bending that would embarrass Christopher Nolan. Woody Allen, the actor, is cringeworthy as he
lapseinto an exaggeration of his old schtick.
The good laughs (there are about 5) are outnumbered by the laughs at the
preposterousness of events (about 10). Woody
Allen tropes are recycled and stale.
Alec Baldwin wanders around muse-like, commenting on the events as if he
is in Xanadu. This is simply one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, but it
could have one purpose. Turn off the
sound and watch it as a Rome travelogue.
It will make you want to visit, just not with any of these bozos.
Magic in the Moonlight (2014) – 7
By no means terrible and Emma Stone makes it worth watching,
but Woody’s attempt at a surprise ending was obvious at about the halfway
mark. Most of the movie is so tentative,
it’s like the characters can’t believe what they’re having to say. I couldn’t either.
Irrational Man (2015) – 8
Easily the best of what I saw, because when you’ve lost your
funny bone, make a serious movie.
Joaquin Phoenix is a small-college Philosophy professor who is being
chased around campus by a fellow teacher (Parker Posey) and a student, played
by Emma Stone. He is in a
“my-life-has-no-meaning” funk when he decides to commit an outrageous crime
that pulls him out of his depression.
Somehow between the actors and the script they pull this off, as there
isn’t a false moment. Absent the
straining for laughs, this movie is economical and direct, with a perfect
soundtrack. I’m not a Phoenix fan, but I
bought him here, and the ladies live up to their reputation. Good stuff.
Café Society (2016) – 6
For all Woody’s problems, a lot of stars still want a Woody
film on their IMDB page, but sometimes Woody should just say no, and he should
have said no to Jesse Eisenberg who may be able to carry Facebook, but can’t
carry a period piece. When Woody’s
script isn’t just throwing star references from the 30’s around like confetti,
he’s narrating Goodfellas in a nightclub, for no reason but to fill time, or maybe
show off his sets or casting.
Woody is famous for handing a script to his actors and
expecting them to act with little direction.
Jesse needed direction, but the good news is that Kristen Stewart and
Blake Lively were up to the task and were fun to watch. I read back over the reviews of this film and
it was well-received by the critics. Go
figure.
Wonder Wheel – (2017) - 7
Kate Winslet doesn’t need direction and even makes an affair
with a much younger Justin Timberlake seem plausible in this love triangle set
in Coney Island. Kate is married to Humpty
- Jim Belushi, and that should explain things. Humpty’s daughter comes home from her marriage to a mobster and she soon
completes the triangle. This is a throw
away piece except for Kate, who is as reliable as a float on a sinking ship.
A Rainy Day in New York (2019) - 6
The star of this movie is New York. A bland Elle Fanning and an uninteresting
Timothy Chalamet came to the city to celebrate their relationship, not test it,
but ambition gets in the way. In what is
largely a remake of the Rome movie of 2012, Woody rips himself off, and it’s
not good. The acting is blah, but the
reliable Allen soundtrack and shots of New York carry the day. It certainly made me want to go to the
Carlyle (at least as much as that great episode of High Fidelity did.) Don’t let the feeble script distract you from
the scenery.
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