My Love Letter to New Orleans

On the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a group called Evacuteer.org is trying to raise money to place 17 statues around New Orleans.  These would be evacuation bus stops for people who need help getting out if another hurricane were to hit.
As part of their fundraising, they have solicited "love letters to New Orleans" from people to help raise money and awareness, and people like Archie Manning, Steve Gleason, and the Neville Brothers have contributed essays.
Here's the one I posted on their web site:


My family moved to Long Beach, Mississippi just as the Saints were born in New Orleans.
Although I was only in 7th grade, we became rabid and frustrated fans immediately.  The travels to mystical New Orleans were many, and my parents brought us to all the classic restaurants like Brennans, Antoines, and Arnauds, as well as an occasional Saints game.  I even got to a Super Bowl, climbing to the top of Tulane Stadium on crutches to watch the Steelers beat the Vikings.

When I attended college in Hattiesburg, me and my buddies would frequently travel to New Orleans.  One of the reason would be to eat a great slab of prime rib at the long-gone Victoria Station.  We thought it was incredible.  I remember one of my marketing professors, Dr. Tom Smith, asking me what the hell I was doing going down there to eat beef when there was so much other great food.

I would soon learn what he was talking about.  I graduated and took a job in New Orleans and began to get it.  From 1978 to 1988 I loved the whole area, and it loved me back to the tune of about 30 pounds.  And I didn't have any money!  If I'd had, well I hate to think how much more trouble I would have gotten into.  There is no other culture in America like New Orleans.  I often say I've never traveled outside the US, except when I go to New Orleans.

Between the fact that I married a beautiful Louisiana girl who claims to have resided at one time or another in every New Orleans neighborhood, and the fact that my job took me to every single street on both banks of the river, I began to drink it in and really appreciate the uniqueness of south Louisiana.

In 1988 we began moving around the country for my job, and we finally moved back to Mississippi in 1999.  While we were away, we began to form our guidelines for the rest of our life.  Never miss a Jazz Fest, never miss a Saints game, never eat gumbo north of I-10, never miss a hot restaurant, and never stop sweating (whether you're sweating out a hurricane's path, or just sweating.)

I can't believe it's been 10 years since Katrina, but what I can believe is the depth of the resolve and the love that we all feel for this whole area.  The Who Dat nation has a unique set of landmarks to us - whether it's dinner at Brigtsen's, Crawfish Monica at the Jazz Fest, a Ferdi at Mother's, Grilled oysters at just about every restaurant now, the Acura Stage, a snoball at Hansen's, a Saenger experience, a Central Grocery muffaletta, a stroll down Frenchman Street, or Royal, or even Bourbon, a shrimp po-boy at Parkway, or the thrill of falling in love with another restaurant, you just can't beat New Orleans.  When a Saints fan thanks and welcomes a visiting fan for the other team (which doesn't happen in any other place in America, believe me) it tells you two things - we know how our bread is buttered, and there's going to be a lot of it.

Dressed.

At the Cinema - July 2015

Trainwreck – 9

I laughed.  I cried.  I held my bladder.

Like all Judd Apatow-directed movies, Trainwreck fears brevity – that a joke might be missed, that an opportunity to squeeze in one more one-liner might pass without exploitation.  Someday he’s going to helm a classic, and it will be when he takes a page from “Annie Hall” – you can do a great romantic comedy in about 90 minutes.

So that’s what’s wrong with Trainwreck. 

Everything else is just about right.  One of the hottest comedians on the planet, Amy Schumer, somehow found the time to write and star in this.  Although both she and Apatow are badly in need of an editor willing to use the scissors, she continues her winning streak by perfectly painting a picture of a young woman struggling to mature in the way that we are led to believe young women struggle today.  Amy (played by Amy) is promiscuous, often under the influence, and still successfully navigating a career.  Bill Hader as the love interest shows off real acting chops, and even LeBron James’ stunt casting kind of works, even though he could be lumped with a lot of other cameos that are in the movie for some reason.  Q:  Why is LeBron spending so much time in New York? A: He travels a lot.   Is there really a large Chris Evert fan base out there, (other than me?)

The humor is about as R-rated as humor can get, and when Amy and Judd get a “bit” going they beat it to death until every laugh has been wrung out of the subject, whether it’s oral sex or tampons.  That’s a blessing and a curse, depending on how provincial your taste is.  I saw a lot of cringing, but no one left the packed house (largely of women, which I found interesting.)  I suspect they knew what they were in for when they bought the ticket.  So, in raunch-com, Apatow terms, save the overly-long aspect, this movie is damn near terrific.  Even when they slam the comedy brakes on, and I do mean slam, half way through the movie, they seem to know what they are doing, even if it’s still just a too conventional guy gets girl, guy loses girl, guy gets girl story like every other romance ever filmed.  Let’s face it, the envelope-pushing vulgarity in this one will be tame 5 years from now.  By then, this may be a classic. 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – 8
In the middle of special effects summer, here comes a movie with real, well fictional, but they seem real, people.  Other than a few cartoons thrown in, this is just a normal movie, and it’s a welcome addition after being avenged, terminated, faulted, and dinosaured to begin the summer.

“Me” is an awkward high school senior, (is there any other kind?) whose overbearing-to-the-point-that-I-wanted-to-runaway mother forces him to go be nice to a classmate who has leukemia.  They reluctantly become friends as they don’t seem to have anyone else, and their story proceeds through their senior year. 

Well, they do have Earl, his co-collaborator on a bunch of home movies that you will only appreciate if you are a movie buff.  This probably explains why this movie won the grand jury prize at Sundance.  Movie Freaks will love it.  Most will like it.  It’s heart-warming and sad, and happy, and kind of stupid.  Just like high school.

Ted 2 – 8

I’ve rarely seen such a tasteless display of filmmaking.  I also rarely laugh this hard.

This is a gross, vulgar, drug-infested piece of film making that had me in stitches throughout.

I liked the first Ted ok, as the bear gimmick seemed to be a vehicle for director Seth McFarlane to cram as much crudeness into an R-rated comedy as he could.  He somehow surpasses that threshold here, and the bits are often a case of piling on.

The audience was full of Ted-lovers, so I didn’t see anybody walk out like I would have expected.  You already know if you’ll like this movie.  You already know if you can tolerate it.   MacFarlane has the same gift as Amy Schumer, just not the nuance.  But, if you’re going to let a bear drive your car, guess there’s not much room for nuance.

Amy – 9

Amy Winehouse was not much equipped for life, much less fame.  This documentary, one of the year’s best, painstakingly tells the story of her rise and fall.  She just wanted to sing jazz, and get high.  Money, fame and the paparazzi increased her opportunity and torment and her descent was rapid.  Scarred by a family breakup, and enabled by some hangers-on, she lapsed and relapsed.  On the night she won a Grammy, she was sober and remarked winning wasn’t much fun because she wasn’t high.  As I watched this chronicle of drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, I just didn’t understand how someone could abuse themselves this way.  Winehouse joined the 27 Club, when she died at that age, as did overdosers Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, and Jimi Hendrix as well as Kurt Cobain who committed suicide at that age.   What sets Amy Winehouse’s death apart is that its inevitability was captured on video, and is presented here for the world to learn from.  If it wants to.  The music is amazing, and the lessons are real.  Worth seeing for both.

Terminator:  Genysis - 6

For an old TV series on its last legs, people often point to a specific moment of incredulity and call it “jumping the shark” which refers to a Happy Days episode that featured Fonzie water skiing.  For me however I always watch for that what-if “dream” episode.  That’s a sure sign the writers are running out of ideas and the TV series is on its last legs.

When does a movie series jump?  If Terminator is an indicator, it’s when the writers start re-writing what has happened before in previous iterations.  I’ve never forgiven the writers of Star Trek 2 for making up a new destiny for Captain Pike, (in conflict with a legendary original episode) and now the Terminator series has gone off the rails. 

That’s not to say the movie isn’t entertaining and filled with terrific special effects and cool fights.  It is.

But, the storyline of time travel, with different Terminators flying back and forth through the years, has become so convoluted that it could be a parlor game.  Much like Star Trek, many years of back-story are now irrelevant and I can just see the writer’s table discussing this for a year, justifying their alternate history.  Bah Humbug I say. 

Therefore, I can’t even explain the plot of this movie, other than to say John Conner sends Kyle Reese back in time to save his mother, just like the first movie, only this time Sara Conner is a bad-ass and has been fighting with and against Terminators since 1973.  New actors are in the roles, and they’re not going to make you forget the original cast.  Then there’s Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has always been the centerpiece of this story.  In this movie sometimes he’s old, sometimes he’s digitally enhanced, sometimes he’s young, and sometimes he’s just searching for that next catch phrase.

We love Ahnold

He told us “I’ll be back” and he came back.

He told us “Asta la vista baby” when he thought we wouldn’t see him again.

He told us he was going to Sacramento and “terminate” and off he went.

He told us he needed a maid and we believed him.

Now we’ve got something to tell him.

Say “adios” to the Terminator series. 

Let it go.

Asta La Vista.

Please.

SCANNING THE SATELITTE

John Wick – 8

Keanu Reeves plays a retired kick-ass assassin whose wife has just died.  Three thugs steal his car and kill his dog.  Big mistake.  John Wick is willing to produce an incredible body count to avenge that dog.

This is just an action movie, no more no less.  It’s well done and Reeves has the moves that Tom Cruise showed off when he was the assassin in Collateral.   You know the genre – only one highly paid, highly skilled assassin can actually hit the target and he’s the star.  Great atmosphere, great action – well done.

Two Night Stand – 6

On-line hook ups get an hour and a half treatment in a movie I don’t think ever made it to theaters but is probably getting some play now because the young guy is played by Miles Teller, who was so good in Whiplash.  Of course, he’s not the reason to watch.  Analeigh Tipton is because she oozes cute all over the screen.  The main question in this movie is why do so many women (like Analeigh) get that writing tattoo on their back shoulder blade?  What’s the point?  Who reads this?  Their partner before they go to bed every night?  Is “spoon reading” a thing?  Seen this tattoo placement several times now.  Can someone explain, before I make a fool of myself by trying to get real close to some girl's back to read it.

True Detective – Season two – 8

True Detective is not any easier to decipher in season two than it was in season one.  But, the acting, writing, atmosphere, and story have pulled me in again, not to mention a shootout for the ages.  With five episodes down, and three to go, the series has been torn apart be the critics and the fans of season one, but they were never going to duplicate that buzz, so I’m enjoying this for what it is, HBO doing what it does best, taking chances.

Rectify – Season three – 10

I’ve made it my personal mission to beat the drum for the Sundance channel’s Rectify.

Rectify is the most authentic portrait of the south ever put on any screen. It’s a slow, meandering story of family complexities, and that it somehow captures everything from the pace of life to the accents is nothing short of miraculous.  It’s not an action series.  It’s about relationships, and every line is authentic.  If you’re not watching, go back to the 6 episode season one (Sundance channel or Netflix) and let this masterpiece slowly wash over you like a good book.  This story has progressed in season three to the point where I am in awe.  With patience, you will be enthralled.  It has won a Peabody Award, which is rarely presented to a TV drama.   It’s the story of a man exonerated by DNA evidence from being on death row for 19 years.  How he is received by his new and old family, and the community; and how he tries to fit in is remarkable story telling.  This is one of the series that 10 years from now we'll fondly remember as where we first noticed several stars-to-be, particularly Abigail Spencer who is so good it hurts.  (She's also in True Detective.) Bravo Sundance.

At the Cinema - June 2015

Love and Mercy - 8
You’ll like this movie if you like(d) the Beach Boys, and the more you know about them, the more you’ll  probably like this movie. 

This is the partial story of Brian Wilson.  In order to cover his life director Bill Pohlad has two actors play Wilson.  Paul Dano is the young Brian Wilson and he is spectacular in the role.  John Cusack plays the older Brian Wilson, and while he is a little less convincing, and doesn’t bear much physical resemblance, he certainly brings the angst.  In fact if there were a subtitle for this movie, “bring the angst” would be as good as any.

In the Dano portion, Wilson is trying to break free of both his father and live performing which he dislikes because of the traveling.  In the Cusack section, it’s over-medicating psychiatrist Dr. Eugene Landry that Wilson must break free from.  If not for the efforts of his girlfriend Melinda (beautifully played by the ever versatile Elizabeth Banks) Brian may never have emerged from his funk. 

Oh, there’s enough story here for two movies, and because I just re-watched the miniseries about the Beach Boys which was more in-depth I was able to fill in the blanks.  I’m not sure if someone who doesn’t know the Beach Boys story is going to know what’s going on. 

The best parts of the movie are the recording studio scenes where we get an up close glimpse of Wilson’s creation of such classics as Good Vibrations, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, and God Only Knows.  If the whole movie had just been about the music, and there was certainly enough studio drama and dissent to fill a script, the movie would have been spectacular.  Unfortunately the exhilaration of the music is darkened by the outside influences, and while Pohlad intertwines the stories to some distraction, it’s a story well told, but not all told.  We'll take it.

Jurassic World – 8

You’ll like this movie if you liked Jurassic Park and thrill rides when you were a kid.  Jurassic World is a new amusement park conveniently located where Jurassic Park went awry and undoubtedly Jurassic World II will do the same in about 3 years.  There has been some genetic engineering of dinosaurs going on that is running concurrent with the development of 3D and movie technology.  So what you have here is a nearly flawless special effects roller coast ride that is alternately silly and thrilling, as well as a throwback to every adventure close call cliché that can be jammed into a movie.

Don’t worry, it’s fun, fun, fun until the bad guys let Indominus Rex get away.  That’s the genetic mutation dinosaur designed to bring more business into the park.  Indominus Rex has trained to be nasty, so when he gets loose the adventure begins.  It’s up to Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard to try to stop him and they are properly heroic.  I had a problem with one huge plot hole at the end of the movie, but it’s fun enough for me to overlook that. 

Entourage – 1

For the one time I laughed.

It was a really good line and I don’t remember it.  I wish I did, because I paid a steep price for just one joke.

Filled with cameos that made little sense, this is one of the most disappointing movie experiences since 1845.  I liked the HBO Series.  I hated this movie.

Disjointed, poorly written, poorly acted, poorly directed, poorly conceived and poorly funny, the movie picks up where the series left off, kind of.  It gives a short explanation of why things are the way they are (hint – no Sasha Gray - and she is sorely missed) and it’s all downhill from there.  The timeline makes no sense and it’s a concoction of scenes that just don’t work.  In fact this movie is so bad it made me question my taste in ever watching the series.  Can a movie make the series worse?  I didn’t think so, but I didn’t know how bad a movie could be.

Spy – 7

Melissa McCarthy gets to rattle off enough one-liners to circle the equator in this fairly amusing spy spoof.  It’s often spinning at such a breakneck pace, with jokes so rapid-fire, that one wants to slow it all down and try to comprehend it.  But I guess that’s what DVD’s are for.  She plays a CIA recruit who works in the headquarter basement talking in the ear of her favorite spy.  When circumstances require her to leave the friendly confines it turns out she is a great field agent, of course.  Rose Byrne is terrific as her nemesis and there are some laugh out loud bits here.  It kind of makes me wish they’d whip a lighter touch on James Bond.

San Andreas – 7

You’ll like this movie if you like video games.

The destruction in this movie about a huge west coast earthquake is on such a large scale, that you know you’re looking at computer graphics.  There’s no other way they could have done this.  But, you don’t seem to mind, and that’s a little sad.

While the action is credible and even thrilling at times, I couldn’t get past the Hollywood casting problem that is in the news.  The directors and producers of the movie Aloha have taken an immense amount of flack for casting the lily white Emma Stone as an Hawaiian, which has angered a whole state.

This movie is even worse.  Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson is the hero of the movie.  He lost a daughter in a rafting accident, which led to the breakup of his marriage to Carla Gugino, who finally gets a major starring role.  They spend much of the movie trying to rescue their remaining daughter, played by Alexandra Daddario.

Now Alexandra Daddario IS stunning.  She is also a great actress because she makes you actually believe the single most implausible part of the movie, that a charismatic, beautiful girl who has undoubtedly been hit on by every male in the world, would still be the friendliest young lady on the planet.  No way.  It’s like if (insert the most beautiful woman you can think of here) was walking through a mall saying hi to everyone, and specifically stopped to flirt with you. (Yes, I inserted Angelina Jolie)

But the other thing that I never believed for a minute was that she was the daughter of the Rock.  The Rock’s Wikipedia page states that he is half Samoan, half Black.  This girl has no trace of being anything but even more lily white than Emma Stone.  They really couldn’t find someone that kind of resembled him to play this part?  It would have been like casting Brad Pitt as the son of Oprah Winfrey and Forest Whitaker in Lee Roberts’ The Butler.  I’m not making any comment on race here, just on Hollywood’s casting practices.  I don’t think everyone needs to be white.  A hint of believability would be nice.  But of course when the Rock can commander a helicopter, a truck, a plane, and a boat in under 2 hours and narrowly escape death 14 times (I’m guessing) it lets you know believability is not really the priority.

Having said all that, Alexandra Daddario is probably the best non-computer-generated part of the movie, and she’s on her way to being a big star.  She deserves it after having to perform the ultimate stretch part. 

One more thing.  If you live anywhere close to the San Andreas fault, pack.   Move.

Documentaries

Requiem for the Dead:  American Spring 2014 – 10

Most people I know love guns and there’s no point in debating them.  But in the spring of 2014 an estimated 8000 people were killed by gunfire in the USA.  This riveting HBO documentary tries to put a face on those 8000 people.  Some were accidents, some were suicides, some were murder, and some were other crimes.  But every one of them devastated a family somewhere, and this documentary shoves as many stories and pictures as a person can stand into its one hour running time.  I couldn’t have watched 2 hours of this.  There’s one case in particular that changed my opinion on something within the gun debate.  I don’t expect it will change any minds but I dare you to watch.  

I’ll Be Me – 9

CNN is airing this documentary about Glen Campbell and his ongoing battle with Alzheimer’s.  Showing footage on and off stage of his last concert tour, this paints a very personal portrait of what this disease does to its victims.  I was a big Campbell fan, but even if you never heard of him, this is powerful and moving..

At the Cinema - May 2015

Mad Max:  Fury Road – 10

You’ll like this movie if you liked The Road Warrior and have tried to forget Beyond Thunderdome.

Australian director George Miller launched the un-likeliest of movie franchises when he starred an unknown actor named Mel Gibson in a low-budget gem called Mad Max in 1979.  It was worthy of a sequel.  Now, the sequel to a surprise hit always has a bigger budget and a longer running time.  But it isn’t always a classic like Mad Max 2:  The Road Warrior released in 1981.  How classic?  A recent Rolling Stone Reader’s poll ranked it the number 1 all-time action movie.  More on that poll later.

It’s pretty common that the third movie disappoints, and Mad Max:  Beyond Thunderdome in 1985 lived down to that expectation.  The series seemed to have died and Miller turned his attention to the Babe movies.

Which brings us to 2015 and the amazing Fury Road.

If there is any justice in the world, in about 8 months Mad Max will win the Oscar for Best Cinematography.   I try not to make these statements too quickly, but Fury may be the best chase movie ever made.  There are a number of reasons for that.

First, that’s all it is.  It’s really one long extended chase movie.  It’s full bore and relentless in its action from the first seconds.  By the time it stops to take a breath and kind of explain things, the audience is too amped up to care. 

Second, the stunts are so audacious and realistic that it makes the CGI loaded action movies of today look pretty ridiculous.  I'm sure there's some CGI in the crowd scenes, and one dust bowl scene, but I think everything else is real, or as movie-making real as it gets.

Third, there’s no blurry action.  Movies, especially in flight sequences tend to make you want to believe something happened, instead of showing you.  Here, you see it all and if anything the motion is sped up, yet it's clear as a bell.

Finally, there’s a big surprise.  Tom Hardy ably assumes the Mad Max role.  But it is Charlize Theron as Furiosa (a character worthy of a movie all her own) that carries the narrative of the movie.  I couldn’t have been more surprised.  Not that she can act – I already knew that.  It’s that Miller would essentially gamble the franchise by turning this into a feminist statement of empowerment.  Actors don't win Oscars for roles in action movies, and Charlize shows what an injustice that can be. 

Furiosa is trying to free the sex slaves of the emperor of a water-starved civilization.  She sets off on a breakneck escape and we are soon blessed with actual character development right in the middle of the chaos.  It’s all an amazing achievement in narrative, action, and movie-making.  Don’t ask me how they did it.  While it’s not for everyone, if you like action for action’s sake, this is a movie to savor.  Hold on tight.

Pitch Perfect 2 – 9

You’ll like this movie if you liked Pitch Perfect, and if you like Anna Kendrick, and if you don’t like Anna Kendrick, we need to have a long talk.

Pitch Perfect was a surprise hit in 2012, carried by Kendrick and her musical chops which were honed on Broadway since she was a youngster.  With good musicals not exactly the norm on the big screen it became a cultural phenomenon of sorts, aided by the viral nature of its music.

A sequel was inevitable and you can queue up the rules.  Bigger Budget, longer running time, etc. etc.  It’s kind of the opposite of deflategate.  It’s Inflategate.  First time director Elizabeth Banks goes for it in a big way.  The movie isn’t perfect.  There’s a lot of fluff and filler, extending the running time unnecessarily, probably to justify the budget, and fill out the soundtrack.  It goes on too long, and the ending is inevitable, including a blatant Glee-copy.

Those are the negatives.  The positives dwarf those things and there’s a ton of fun along the way.  The acting and performances are delightful, as that little sprite of talent Anna Kendrick carries the day, while all the supporting characters are terrific as well, including the newest Barden Bella, Haley Steinfeld.

The movie is hilarious, especially in the first 30 minutes when the Bellas are disgraced in a performance for the President and a full house at Lincoln Center.  The setup is thus in place.  They are suspended from competition unless they can win the World Title of A Capella.  Their often uproarious journey is set.  Don’t think too much, just go with it.

The Age of Adaline – 2
At 4 PM on Mother’s day I officially concluded my entertainment obligation for the day when I eagerly left the theater of my yearly chick flick. 

This is the story of Adaline, played stoically by Blake Lively.  Her aging is halted in an accident when her car goes underwater and is struck by lightning.  We know this because there is a narrator to explain it like he’s Rod Serling.  This sets the tone for everything that is wrong with the movie.  When you are not confident in the visual story-telling you are attempting, have someone ominously explain it.  But, of course all narration reminds me of the insipid and insufferable Carrie Bradshaw, so kill me now, which is what I think I said exiting the theater.  Narration is a red flag, and it's just the beginning in this flick.

This is obviously a fantasy, so while there is no expectation of believability in the story, it would be nice if there was something else to grab unto in this movie.  Alas, nothing.  The relationships, the chemistry (or lack thereof), the acting, the narrator, the story, the people – it’s all so lame as to be a snooze fest of the glossiest order.  Even my beloved Ellen Burstyn is so irritating as Adaline’s daughter that it is no wonder everyone is so unhappy.  If “24” returns I expect watching this movie to replace waterboarding in the torture scenes.  If I had to watch this movie looped over and over I'd confess to anything.

The Avengers:  Age of Ultron – 4

It is only because I have the highest regard for director Joss Whedon that I went to see this sequel to the first Avengers movie, which I despised.  I wanted to see if Joss could improve on the first one.  Good news – he has.  Bad News – not by much.

Apparently there is a timeline that extends from the first movie, through a TV series (Marvel’s Agents of Shield) into this movie that will explain what the hell is going on.  The movie starts in full bore action with the Avengers attacking some outpost, and I can only assume a viewer of the TV series would know what was going on.  As for me, I’ve never been lost faster.

There are some good action scenes, and that’s clearly the strong suit here, but this is the 5^th movie that Robert Downey’s Iron Man has appeared in, challenging the Hugh Jackman “Wolverine” perpetual portrayal.  Gosh they must make a lot of dough to keep doing the same thing over and over.  Despite the Whedon banter, none of the superheroes are particularly interesting, and the feeling one gets is that the biggest Issue they had was cramming this story down to 2 ½ hours or so.

I’m not going to even try to tell you what this movie is about above the razzle dazzle, something about a monster robot named Ultron getting artificial intelligence, and becoming a menace to society, more than even a Kardashian.

Halfway through the movie Samuel L Jackson appears because Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were apparently unavailable to play the token old actor role which the 3 of them must fight over IN EVERY SINGLE MOVIE.

The Avengers will apparently make a boatload of money for Whedon, and I’m happy for him.  Now, please, a sequel to Serenity.  A real story about human beings would be nice.

And in conclusion let’s look at the Rolling Stone’s Reader Poll for Best Action movies:

10 Die Hard

9 Terminator 2:  Judgement Day
8 Raiders of the Lost Ark
7 Rambo
6 Lethal Weapon
5 The Matrix
4 Predator
3 The Bourne Identity
2 Alien
1 The Road Warrior

Here’s mine but I had to turn mine up to 20:

1 Jaws

2 Star Wars
3 Die Hard
4 Terminator 2:  Judgement Day
5 Raiders of the Lost Ark
6 The Abyss
7 Lethal Weapon
8 Serenity
9 The Road Warrior
10 Terminator
11 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
12 The Warriors
13 Minority Report
14 Kill Bill 2
15 Vanishing Point
16 Saving Private Ryan
17 Alien
18 The Dark Knight Rises
19 The Long Kiss Goodnight 
20 Billy Jack

What’s yours?

At the Cinema - April 2015

Frank Sinatra:  All or Nothing at All – 10

This HBO Documentary is more than just a portrait of the pre-eminent performer of the 20^th Century.  It’s quite simply a history lesson.  Alex Gibney does it again with a fabulous documentary using the plot device of Sinatra’s 1971 retirement concert as the backdrop.  The evolution of society is painted against the evolution of music.  I grew up in a home where his records were played constantly, and my mother the bobby soxer never wavered in her love for Sinatra.  I got to see him in concert, and I understood his importance.  If you do, or do not understand his importance, see this.  The talent, the flaws, the romances, the Mafia, the Kennedys, the influence, are all here.  To say Sinatra lived a full life would be the understatement of that century.

What I remember about listening to Sinatra was the respect he had for each song.  He would give credit to the composer, the arranger, and his band.  He didn’t have the greatest voice, but he had a gift for nuance and inflection, and most importantly he delivered the song like he meant it.  Vocal lessons should start with his catalog, which by the way I still have, although the Sirously Sinatra station on satellite radio has rendered that less necessary.

Gibney shows us why Sinatra was a presence.  In my mother’s last few moments I put my ipod on her pillow and let her leave to Sinatra, because he once said “may the last voice you hear be mine,” and that seemed like a fine idea.

Ex Machina – 8

It was the last day of the month and I realized the improbable had happened.  I hadn’t seen a movie in a theater all month, mostly because I found none interesting.  But this movie looked up my alley – bizarre – so I took a flier.

Oscar Isaac, the guy who played Llewyen Davis, couldn’t be more different here.  He plays tech genius Nathan Bateman who has invented google (although the names have been changed to protect the dominant) and he lives in a secluded compound where he’s programming life-like robots with artificial intelligence.  He brings one of his employees, Caleb Smith (Domhall Gleeson) to his secluded compound to introduce him to his latest creation, Ava.  He wants Caleb to conduct a Turing test – find out how realistic she is.  Well she’s real enough for Caleb to fall for her, and the results are as awkward as well, real romance. 

The setting and the special effects are pretty magical.  It’s a cool movie, although not groundbreaking.  However, the reference to Turing made me think of Alan Turing, whom I assumed the test is named after.  His story is told in The Imitation Game, which was my pick for best movie of 2014.  So, when I left the theater I stopped at Best Buy and bought the newly released blu ray of that movie and watched it again.  Even better the second time.  I also hit the Wikipedia page of “Turing test” and found out why they named the movie “The Imitation Game” which was never explained.  I digress and ramble but there’s a lot to think about here.  In summary, I’ve learned a lot, including don’t fall in love with a robot.

At the Cinema - March 2015

March 2015 will forever be known as HBO month – the month they changed the world with 2 documentaries of epic consequences.

Going Clear:  Scientology and the Prison of Belief – 10
I admit that I’ve always been a Tom Cruise fan.  He takes his craft seriously and he produces one credible movie after another, featuring first class production values, good stories, and action thrills.  He loves movies and he has built a strong Hollywood legacy.

This doesn’t change one fact.

Tom Cruise is nuts.

The case for that is made clear, very clear in this nauseating expose of his “religion,” Scientology.  This is not to say that Cruise is the worst thing in this documentary.  That is reserved for the leaders, past and present of Scientology.

With clarity and purpose, director Alex Gibney gives a history lesson of the origins and evolution of this cult, then moves swiftly into the atrocities it commits to keep the sheep in line.  That anybody would look the other way as current leader David Miscavage (allegedly) bullies, imprisons, and beats his minions into submission is particularly galling, but that powerful people like Tom Cruise and John Travolta would stand behind these methods is sickening. 
What’s the number one problem in the world?  I happen to think it’s brainwashing, and never has a stronger case been made that you can get a group of people to do anything, if you know what you’re doing.  Case in point, when Miscavage sentences people into captivity for years at a time, until their mind gets right.

Former high ranking accomplices tell the story succinctly and convincingly and I’m sure there have been stronger, more sickening documentaries made, but I can’t think of one at this moment.  It is appalling that in this day and age cults can still hold people captive, and it’s a practice that needs to end today.  Hopefully someone in our law enforcement community watches this and realizes that it is time to act.  Tom Cruise acts every day, but he’s not going to be the one to act on this.

Allow me to rant a little.  We are in a golden age of brainwashing, and none of us are immune.  Here’s why.

For many years I have thought that you could sum up everything that was wrong with America in one word:

NIKE.

Overpriced product made by foreign slave labor, endorsed by athletes paid exorbitantly (thus inflating prices further) to entice young impressionable purchasers to pay more than they could afford because they over-prioritized the owning of something that should have been optional.  A luxury, not a requirement.  Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Lebron James.  Do the math that justifies paying them around $20 million a year to endorse shoes.  

But now I have a new dirty word.

NEWSFEED.

As best exemplified by Facebook, we are voluntarily and involuntarily force fed that which we already believe, constantly reinforcing our opinion.  Much of what I see in “made-up” headlines is ridiculous.  But it doesn’t matter, it will be gone tomorrow, and replaced by another ridiculous headline – not there to inform you – just there as clickbait.

The result is that we never get balanced and fair reporting.  No matter what happens the minions line up on both sides of the story, and you’ll receive your side’s interpretation early and often, article after article.

If you want to hear diversity of opinion, believe me you are going to have to work to find it.  The computers are working behind the scenes to get you what they know you want, not what you need.

Your best hope is that you have friends who will argue with you and call out your BS.  But it doesn’t happen much.  

I’m talking about more than just politics, but James Baker, Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of State said it best recently in reference to politics, “The middle in our politics is sort of disappearing.  This middle is where you govern from.  And if you’re going to govern in bipartisan fashion, you’re not going to get 100% of what you want.  You might get 80% but you have to give up a little, and you have to compromise.  We’ve gotten away from that.”

Ain’t it the truth?  When we are children we are impressionable.  As we grow we may be gullible at times.  At times we are pliable.  Sometimes we are bullied relentlessly.  That’s what this movie is about. 

The unrelenting pressure of brainwashing. Do yourself a favor. See this stunning documentary.  

Jinx – The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst – 10

This is a 6 part documentary that we watched in its entirety the day HBO aired the last episode.  The day before that Durst got arrested in a New Orleans hotel on Canal Street.  The expectation is that he will be charged with murder in California.
I won’t spoil the last sounds in the last episode, but let’s say it’s a crescendo.  Durst is a silver-spoon born New York City real estate tycoon, who never came close to running the family empire.  That task fell to his younger brother, and if that happened to you, you could go live in the country on your millions and just cash the checks.  Robert Durst didn’t do that.  What he did or didn’t do, was kill a few folks for reasons unknown.  He killed a man in Galveston, chopped him into little pieces, and then was found not guilty when he claimed self-defense.

His wife disappeared and his probable accomplice herself got murdered in Beverly Hills.

And those are the ones we know about.

What does it all mean?  Is this person crazy?  Entitled?  A psychopath?  Cocky?

Cocky definitely, because he actually contacted the filmmakers and agreed to be interviewed after seeing their feature film of his story.

Most of us don’t hang around with accused murderers.  Oh, we see them on the screen all the time, but we don’t get the deep insight this movie gives us.  Durst is ice cold, and you don’t think he will ever crack.  It’s quite possible that the film-maker’s adeptness is what has brought the curtain down on his free time.  That’s something law enforcement had been unable to do.

Kingsman:  The Secret Service – 8

You’ll like this movie if you like the idea of an outlandish, undercover, unsanctioned clan of James Bond wannabes trying to do good deeds and fight evil.  That’s the premise of this movie that has the gall to cast Colin Firth in the lead role as a tough-as-nails superspy in a secret British service.  Those Brits have all the fun.   That’s the casting coup of the movie.  The casting mistake is to tell Samuel L Jackson to play the villain as a lisping genius.  Jackson is the only weak part of this movie, which gives a completely entertaining variation on the James Bond/Jason Bourne persona.  It’s funny, ridiculous, action packed, and so much is going on that your head may explode.

Run All Night – 7

The latest Liam Neeson entry is an effective eye-for-an-eye buddy film.  Neeson’s character, Jimmy Conlon, has been a bad-deed-doer for his lifelong mob buddy Shawn Maguire, played with gusto by Ed Harris. When Neeson has to kill Maguire’s son to protect his own very estranged son, Maguire vows revenge by dawn.   The pot boils over as the movie becomes a blood bath.  Not to say it isn’t a lot of fun, in a Funny Bloody Funday sort of way.

A Million Ways to Die in the West – 2

Given that I like Seth MacFarlane and given that I am not easily offended, even by the most tasteless of comedy, I must admit that even when comedy is tasteless, I like there to be a little modicum of wit attached.  “Wit” never made it to the set on this movie.  Just being tasteless for the sake of tastelessness does not justify spending $40 million to do it.  With that money we could have built 4 new high schools, or provided years of water for a country that doesn’t have clean drinking water.  Insert what you could have done with that money here.  

Maybe we could have even rescued some scientologists.

At the Cinema - February 2015

McFarland USA – 9
You’ll like this movie if you liked Rudy and Rocky.
Those two movies are all-time sport tearjerkers built around the thrill of competition and fighting on the playground of a sport.
In this stand-up and cheer movie Kevin Costner plays an exiled football coach who has moved his family into one of the poorest counties in America, populated by mostly Mexicans who pick the California fruit – all their lives.  Coach White, whose very name is a continual source of amusement to his students, soon realizes that the football team is hopeless, but the school is full of runners who have to run to their jobs in the fields before and after school.
It’s a tough life and White and his family soon become educated in the customs of the community and realize that maybe their vagabond coaching journey may have ended in a worthwhile destination.  White’s ragtag cross country team begins climbing the competitive heights and he sees their abilities as a way to a better life for them, maybe even a college education.

The cast is uniformly terrific and this is just a great sports movie, told lovingly.  There’s been no hype to this movie, but don’t let that fool you.  If you like sports, go see this.  It’s exhilarating in a way that only sports movies can be.

Still Alice – 9
You’ll like this movie if you like great acting.
I was genuinely surprised how much I liked this movie.  I knew Julianne Moore was the favorite for the Oscar, and she eventually won it.  It was well deserved.
What I didn’t expect was how compelling the movie would be.  Don’t confuse that statement with it being an enjoyable movie.  It’s very difficult to watch at times, and anyone who struggles with their memory from time to time has to feel sympathetic.

Julianne plays Alice, a teacher at Columbia University who becomes afflicted with early onset Alzheimers.  There are little heartbreaking signs at first, like when she introduces herself to someone twice.  Then as it gets worse, there is a devastating scene where she can’t find the bathroom in her own house.   

There is realistic and profound family reaction from her husband played by Alec Baldwin, and two daughters (Kristen Stewart and Kate Bosworth) as they struggle with the present and the future, including the genetic impact of the disease.

It’s all exposed like a raw nerve, and while Moore carries the movie, it will surprise you with its depth.

Citizenfour – 8
This is the movie that won the Best Documentary Oscar, and I will admit I struggled with it.  It’s the story of Edward Snowden, who in one of his first acts as whistleblower calls documentary film maker Laura Poitras to his Hong Kong hotel room.  He then begins spilling the beans on how America spies on its citizens. 

I wrestled with the issues present as the movie unfolds, and unfold it does as Snowden makes world wide headlines.  First, I can remember reading 1984 and being scared that our future could be one of surveillance by the government.  The actions described here make George Orwell seem like a simpleton.  But then Orwell never experienced terrorism and digital warfare.  So, while the government seems to be going over the line, they are successfully thwarting much of what we want them to protect us from. 
Then there’s Snowden, who is either a traitor or a hero, depending on your viewpoint. 

I consider myself pretty open minded and came to this with no pre-disposition.  The movie didn’t resolve it for me.  Guess I’m still evolving.  Let me know what you think.  This is an important documentary, but let’s face it, the story isn’t over yet, which is just as well, as I need to see more "unfolding."

Oscar Predictions

The year is 1993.  The Oscar for the best picture of 1992 goes to Unforgiven, Clint Eastwood’s definitive western.  Scent of a Woman (pretty bad), The Crying Game (a one impact-scene movie), and Howard’s End (the yearly high-end British entry) are close behind and anticipation is high that it’s too close to call between the 4 pictures.

The fifth movie is a throw-in, considered undeserving given it’s dearth of other nominations.  Only one nomination of consequence – supporting actor.

That next year another western goes virtually unnoticed, and doesn’t score a single nomination, even a much deserved supporting actor nomination. 

The movies in question – A Few Good Men and Tombstone – are now beloved and watched over and over while the other movies have faded into the rarely-viewed stratosphere of obscurity.  Val Kilmer’s turn as Doc Holiday is epic, and no one remembers who won the Oscar that year.  But it wasn’t Jack “You need me on that hill,” Nicholson nor Val “I’m your Huckleberry” Kilmer the next year.

And that’s just 1993.

So, as I make my Oscar predictions keep in mind that they will be about as much a prediction of a movie’s future status as the Oscar’s themselves.  Little to none.  As little as a Little Emperor.

In a year of great movies, I can truthfully say I have no idea which ones will hold up and which ones will be classics 20 years from now.  I think I only missed 3 or 4 predictions last year.  I’m not nearly as confident this year.

So here are my predictions:

Best Picture

Should win:  The Imitation Game.  Only because it was my favorite of the pictures I saw.
Will Win – Boyhood, because it is an amazing technical achievement, although Birdman is actually the favorite and has the momentum

Birdman is the strangest movie of the nominees, so I have no idea how it will hold up.  Could be a classic – could be forgotten in a year, and I have no idea which.

Best Actor:
Should win:  Benedict Cumberbatch for a wonderful performance in The Imitation Game

Will Win:  Eddie Redmayne for a terrific performance as Stephen Hawking.  The best upset chance of the night is probably Bradley Cooper in this category, but the race appears close between Redmayne and Michael Keaton.

Best Actress:

Should win and will win:  Julianne Moore for Still Alice

Best Director:

Should win:  Christopher Nolan for Interstellar.  That’s right, he wasn’t even nominated, but he continues to be the most innovative, underappreciated visionary in movies.
Will win:  Richard Linklater for Boyhood

Best Supporting Actress;

Should and Will Win:  Patricia Arquette for Boyhood

Best Supporting Actor:

Should and Will Win:  JK Simmons for Whiplash

Other Predictions:

Best Adapted Screenplay – The Imitation Game

Best Original Screenplay – Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Animated Feature Film – How to Train Your Dragon 2

Best Foreign Language Film – Ida

Best Documentary – Citizenfour

Best Documentary Short Subject – Crisis Hotline:  Veterans Press 1

Best Original Score – Interstellar

Best Original Song – Glory, from Selma

Best Sound Editing – American Sniper

Best Sound Mixing – American Sniper

Best Production Design – Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Cinematography – Birdman

Best Makeup – Guardians of the Galaxy

Best Costume Design – Grand Budapest Hotel

Best Editing – Boyhood

Best Visual Effects – Dawn of Planet of the Apes

Best Animated Short – The Dam Keeper

Best Live Action Short – Parvaneh 

More importantly, this is the official end of the potato chip season at our house that began with football season, and tonight I will try to put the chips away until September.  And after the Oscars, I may cue up one of my favorite movies, LA Confidential, an incredible achievement that had the misfortune of coming out the same year as Titanic.  That’s the way it goes sometimes.  Or, maybe I’ll watch Raging Bull or try to save Private Ryan again.  It’s really ok, if you don’t win, you still might be a classic, and you’ll be singing in the rain for eternity.

At The Cinema - January 2015

Whiplash – 10

You’ll like this movie if you like music, drums, and drama.

In my formative music years of the 60’s all of us male types could pound out the great drum solo of In-a-Gada-da-Vida on the table at Burger King, even if we had no idea what the song was about.  We would wait til midnight and hope we would hear it on Beaker Street, a rock radio show on 50,000 watt KAAY in Little Rock that would often play the 17 minute version.  Drummers Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, john Bonham, Charlie Watts - they were the revered.

So, I grew up listening to guitars and drums.  That those two instruments have dominated pop music for over 50 years is certainly not what my parents expected.  Whatever happened to the big band era?

So finally, along comes a great drum movie.  It happens to lean toward jazz and those big bands, but make no mistake – the rock and roll foundation is here.

Miles Teller plays a young drummer trying to get through Shaeffer Performing Arts School in New York.  He aspires to join the highest jazz group in the school, run by the tyrannical conductor played by JK Simmons.  Simmons is a journeyman actor who has the role of his life here, and he delivers a slam dunk Oscar-destined performance.  His manipulations present the obstacle that his young musicians have to overcome to achieve greatness.  In the end this movie is about the dedication, persistence, and talent it takes to get to the top. 

This is one of those thrilling movies that tells its story in a logical, precise manner.  You can’t beat it.

Birdman (or the unexpected virtue of ignorance) – 8

This universally acclaimed movie comes flying in on a most erratic path.  A month ago Michael Keaton was the favorite for Best Actor, although the buzz has faded.  He plays an actor who previously starred as the superhero of the title.  Now he’s trying to put on a Broadway play and he’s getting help from a cast of characters played by Emma Stone, Amy Ryan, Naomi Watts, and Edward Norton who are all excellent, and all with problems that will rival his.

This movie is simply crazy.  Fantasy blends with reality, and there’s not a stable head in the bunch.  It’s hard to follow at times, and sometimes the point of it all is elusive.  But, there’s a rousing ending to it all, and it’s fun and even inspirational when it’s all said and done.  

2014 - The Year in Cinema

My 2014 Ranking of Movies - including how I scored them on a scale of 1-10.

THE TOP TEN

The Imitation Game – 10

Interstellar – 10
Whiplash - 10

Edge of Tomorrow - 9

Selma – 9

Boyhood - 9

The Theory of Everything – 9

Jack Ryan:  Shadow Recruit - 9

American Sniper - 9
Still Alice - 9

Lucy - 8
Nightcrawler - 8
Gone Girl – 8

Philomena (2013) - 9

Chef - 8

Top Five - 8

Jersey Boys – 8
Birdman - 8

Kings of Summer (2013) - 8

Million Dollar Arm – 8

Unbroken – 8
The Grand Budapest Hotel - 8

Parkland (2013) - 8

Disconnect (2012) - 8

Divergent - 8

Guardians of the Galaxy – 7

A Walk Among the Tombstones – 7

Foxcatcher - 7

Neighbors - 7                                     

Get on Up – 7

This is Where I Leave You - 7

Hunger Games – Mockingjay – 7

All is Lost (2013) - 7

The Judge – 7

Draft Day – 7

Three Days to Kill – 6

The Monuments Men – 6

August:  Osage County - 6

Documentaries

Life Itself – 10

Tim’s Vermeer – 9

The Act of Killing (2013) - 9

Kidnapped for Christ – 9

The Cheshire Murders – 9

The Case Against Proposition 8 - 8

The Armstrong Lie – 8

Captivated:  The Trials of Pamela Smart - 8

Big Star – Nothing Can Hurt Me - 7

And the Ozzies go to:  

Best Picture – The Imitation Game

Best Actor – Benedict Cumberbatch in The Imitation Game

Best Actress – Rosamund Pike in Gone Girl

Best Supporting Actor – Chadwick Boseman in Draft Day

Best Supporting Actress – Patricia Arquette in Boyhood

Best Director - Christopher Nolan, Interstellar

Best Screenplay - Christopher McQuarrie, Jez Butterworth, and John-Henry Butterworth for Edge of Tomorrow.

Here's what all the critics think:
http://www.metacritic.com/feature/film-critic-top-10-lists-best-movies-of-2014