MOVIES
Crime 101 – 9
Ventured out to see a movie in a theater. I have to admit what I liked the most was
seeing it in a D-Box theater. The seats
vibrate with the action, plus they are perfectly heated. So I went home to see if I could get them for
the house, and they are a tad expensive. But, if you win the lottery, keep me in mind.
Oh, the movie. Very good action thriller
with the stars Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and particularly Halle Berry
doing great work. Not quite on the level
of the great LA crime movies like Chinatown and LA Confidential, but I got the
impression that everyone took their time writing and filming it to make sure it
all fit together nicely. Better than the
typical “made for Netflix” stuff I’m getting a little tired of.
Sing Street – 9
Nice little movie about a bullied teenager who thinks he has only one chance to
get the girl, by forming a band. The
young man, who is played by Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, who would later go on to be
“the guy” in Best Picture winner CODA, is perfectly credible I found this 2016 movie because it was made be
the same director of Once, John Carney, and the girl is played by Lucy Boynton of Bohemian Rhapsody.
Blue Moon – 7
Ethan Hawke is up for an Oscar for playing lyricist Lorenz Hart, the closeted,
alcoholic partner of Richard Rodgers, later to be replaced by Oscar
Hammerstein. He is extremely irritating to watch throughout. All the action takes place
in Sardi’s after the Broadway premier of Oklahoma! Other than surprising work by Margaret
Qualley in a supporting role, the movie was a slight disappointment to me. We learned some things about Hart, but little
about his music, some of which is phenomenal.
As a friend of mine pointed out, the setting is so static, this would have been a good play. We learned that Hart hated the title tune,
which he was famous for. That makes two
of us.
STREAMING/BINGING
and what’s left of Network Television
Under The Banner of Heaven – 10
This is an FX murder mystery from a few years ago. It’s set in a Utah town heavily populated by Mormons, including the lead detective Jeb, played with great conviction by Andrew Garfield. If you know me, you know I don’t think much of religion, and this is one scary little cultish story as Jeb must take the lead in keeping the community calm after the ritualistic killing of a mother and her 15 month old child. That’s gruesome enough but her in-laws are the suspects, and it could be because she wasn’t devout enough. Simply horrifying.
Untamed – 8
Decent mystery set in Yosemite National Park that made me want to go there. I can always tell who the bad guy is very
early in these things. I call it Rick’s
Law, and I’ll be happy to share it with you if you ask me, and I saw it in a
couple of shows recently. Eric Bana
plays the investigator, one of those guys who is out of favor with his
superiors, because of course he’s the only kind of lawman who can actually
solve crimes. So, there’s a lot of chalk
here, but the scenery makes it worth the 6 episodes, which occupied us on a
Sunday.
DOCUMENTARIES
Miracle: The Boys of ’80 – 10
Netflix did us all a great favor by gathering the surviving members of the 1980
Gold Medal winning USA hockey team together in Lake Placid, the location of the
greatest upset in sports history. If you
don’t know about this, because you’re too young, I invite you to dive in on how
Herb Brooks coached this team to such an improbable victory. I remember a TV movie on the subject, then a
great feature movie, “Miracle,”
available on Disney+. This one
brings it all home, as the participants tell their story. It’s simply one of the most unforgettable events of my lifetime, which is important as I remember things less and
less. But I haven’t forgotten Mark
Johnson, Mike Eruzione, and most of all the coach, Herb Brooks
Beatles Anthology – 10
The Disney channel has the 10 episode Beatles Anthology. There are the 9 original 1 hour episodes and
then a 10th episode covering the 3 remaining Beatles coming together
to add their talents to an old John Lennon recording so they could release one
more single. For a household that is
almost all-Beatles, all the time (or so I am accused) this is a 10 hour fever
dream, as the narrators go album by album.
To me, it was just riveting.
Paul McCartney Man on the Run – 8
Documentarian Morgan Nevil has put together a 2 hour documentary that covers the period of the Beatles break-up mostly from Paul’s perspective. As Paul goes through a period of producing records with only a few good songs on each, his production is not comparing favorably to the other former Beatles and he is blamed for the breakup. He struggles with his new group, Wings, as they face the daunting task of being compared to the Beatles. The documentary goes through about 1980 when John Lennon was assassinated.
I didn’t find that Neville tried to turn Paul into an angel as Paul went through a variety of struggles. Linda McCartney is criticized for her singing, and as the documentary ends, she is complaining about how tired she is. Is this the beginning of the end for her? We never really find out, as the documentary ends hinting that Paul is getting his mojo back. His modest catalog of the last 50 years is nonetheless impressive, and he happily plays his Beatle songs in concert now. No, he never produced an equivalent to “Imagine,” but he’s done fine.
Immediate Family – 9
Wonderful follow-up to the famous documentary The Wrecking Crew, which pulled
back the curtain on the studio musicians who actually recorded so many of the
hits we listened to. This documentary
kind of runs out of steam after about an hour, but it puts faces to the music
of our youth.
CLASSICS
Lonesome Dove – 10
The recent demise of Robert Duvall suggested that we watch a few of his films, so we started with the 6 hours of immaculate storytelling by Larry McMurtry. I never had watched this and back in 1989 I was not watching much TV, so forgive me, but since I’m the only one who missed it then, I won’t tell you about it, other than it’s as epic as its reputation, and the relationship between former Texas Rangers played by Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones is as real a story of friendship as you’ll probably ever see on a screen. Every bit as great as I’d always heard.
To Have and Have Not – 9
The original Bogart and Bacall movie, where she told him to whistle and he fell
in love with a 19 year old. Their charisma is evident as they trot through a pedestrian Casablanca-like
plot. Nice movie.
Manhattan Melodrama – 10
One of my all-time favorites and the one movie that I don’t understand why there hasn’t been an update made.
Midnight in Paris – 10
The current favorite for Valentine’s Day movie despite Woody Allen falling further and further down the Epstein rabbit hole, with no apparent regret. Here I am wishing I all had all 50 or so of his movies on Blu Ray, even the really bad ones.
The Last Waltz - 10
The Scorcese documentary about The Band’s last concert is
generally considered the best concert film of all time. It holds up pretty well
YOU
TUBE
Hold the Mayo – 9
A new category, since we spend a lot of time on You
Tube. First an acknowledgement of 300
episodes of Red Beans & Rice eating.
If you don’t live in the New Orleans area, here’s an explanation. In this area, it is a tradition (albeit one
that I don’t participate in, yet find fascinating) to eat Red Beans & Rice
every Monday. This guy went out 300
Mondays in a row before he shut it down, hilariously and profanely (you’ve been
warned) sampling RB&R at restaurants in the area. More than a few times we sped on over to a
reviewed spot to see what they were cooking.
Hats off to a great effort.
Here's the channel: (1879) Hold The Mayo - YouTube
Track Star – 10
Three years ago a guy in New York City would stop strangers and give away money
to them if they could “name the artist” on a musical track. Now,
celebrities travel to him to try their luck.
Of course, it’s now expanded into a podcast, but the host’s musical
knowledge of every genre is mind-blowing as he mixes it up with his
guests. It's addictive. Suggested episodes: Maya Rudolph and Jon Batiste to start
with. Favorite Podcast: Ken Burns
Here's the address: (1879) Track Star* - YouTube
Isaac Brown – 9
Imagine a music producer who has never listened to The
Beatles (among others). Then watch him
listen to each Beatles album from start to finish. His reaction is genuine and informative. Don’t always agree with him, but I don’t
agree with myself on things I wrote a year ago.
There are many of these channels where some current artist or critic
listens to “our” music for the first time, and they are always shocked, I guess
because today’s music is so lame.
Check him out here: (1879) Isaac Brown - YouTube
THE
OSCARS
Here’s my take on the Academy awards to be awarded on March 15th, and I’ll be watching, even if you won’t be. Two weeks away which means they'll be a lot of "shut up and act" rhetoric by then. Should be fun.
Best Picture:
Will Win: One Battle
After Another
All year long it’s been a forgone conclusion that “One Battle After Another”
was going to triumph, but I see Hamnet gaining “Green Book” like late momentum,
with its overwhelming emotional advantage. I smell a possible upset, but the
odds are long.
Best Director
Will Win: Paul Thomas Anderson (It’s his
year, for OBAA)
Should Win: Chloe
Zhan for Hamnet, but that’s just me
Best Actor
Will Win: Timothee Chalamet
Should Win: Michael
B. Jordan
As much as I like Tim, I couldn’t stand his movie, while I loved “Sinners.” And Timothee got robbed last year as Bob Dylan,
so it will be a make-up Oscar.
Best Actress
Will win: Jesse
Buckley
Should win: Jesse
Buckley
The industry is talking about this as one of the greatest performances of all
time, and I agree. It’s incredible and
as a long-time fan, I couldn’t be happier.
Look for it to be the highlight of the night.
Best Supporting Actor
Will Win: Sean Penn
Should Win: Sean Penn
Best Supporting Actress
Will Win: Amy Madigan
Should Win: Amy
Madigan
Possibly the most competitive category of the night with the
award going to Amy for a lifetime of achievement over the astounding work of Teyana
Taylor in OBAA.
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