The last post of this year will be a fitting set of tales: Tales of Terror/Twice-Told Tales (1962/1963), two horror anthologies by Roger Corman, starring Vincent Price.
Terror is a trio of stories based on Poe. The first, Morelia, has young Maggie Locke visiting her father, Price, in his mouldering New England mansion. Her mother died in childbirth and he never forgave her. Now she has come back to say she is dying. It turns out her mother never forgave her either, and Price has been keeping her mouldering body in the bedroom.
The Black Cat is probably our favorite. It features Peter Lorre as an abusive drunk with a beautiful wife, Joyce Jamison. To get some free drinks, he crashes a wine tasting event and challenges wine champion Price to a drink-off. Although he gets very drunk, he can identify any wine - I think it ends in a tie. But when Price takes Lorre home, he meets Jamison, and sparks fly. Lorre winds up plotting to brick them together in a wall. Since he is named Montresor Herringbone and Price is Fortunato there is a bit of Cask of Amontillado in this tale - allowing Lorre to intone the immortal line, “yes, for the love of God!”
The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar has Price in the title role, with Basil Rathbone as the mesmerist who soothes the pain of his mortal illness. He also uses his powers to prolong the moment of death indefinitely. But can he control this undead creature he has created?
Twice-Told Tales is based on a stories by Hawthorne. The first is Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment. Two old scientists get together, Sebastian Cabot and price. They visit the corpse of Cabot’s betrothed, who died before they could be wed. They find her perfectly preserved, and deduce that the mineral water dripping from the ceiling of the vault has special powers. They drink it and become young, and even revive the girl, Mari Blanchard. But it comes out that Price was her lover, and it doesn’t end happily.
In Rappicini’s Daughter, Price keeps his daughter, Joyce Taylor, in a garden of poisonous plants so that no man will ever love and betray her. Her very touch is as poison as the weird plants in the garden. Brett Halsey woos her, but how will he overcome her curse. We liked this one a lot, due to the crazy garden.
The final tale is The House of Seven Gables, in somewhat abbreviated form. Although I have visited the actual house in Salem, I’ve never read the story. Here, Price comes back to the house, even though all the men in his family who stay there die due to an old curse. It is not the best story, but it does feature the lovely Beverly Garland.
So, two movies, six tales, filled with Price and other horror faves. Worth it if only for drunk Peter Lorre. In the busy holiday season, we had to watch one of two at a time, then get back to work or go to bed. A great way to end the season. Happy Holidays!
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
Sunday, December 29, 2019
All Truism
It’s All True (1993) is a documentary about Orson Welles’ unmade Brazilian film of the same name. It seems that Welles was working on an idea for an anthology film, made in a semi-documentary style. The first part, filmed in Mexico with non-actors, was about the love between a boy and his bull. Before he got very far, he was approached by the US government. To support the “good neighbor” policy, designed to keep South America out of the Axis sphere, he was asked to go to Brazil and film there. He came up with the idea of making a movie about samba, and filmed a lot of Carnaval.
Around that time, a group of poor fishermen with rafts called jangadas made a perilous trip to Rio to ask for the social services they deserve. They became national celebrities and Welles decided to do one part of the film about them. However, when he recreated their triumphant arrival in Rio, the jangada overturned, and their leader, Jacaré, was drowned. Welles pledged that he would complete the film to honor the cause.
But as so often happened with Welles, studio interference caught up with him. Management changed and the jangadieros protest was suspiciously communist. He struggled on after the money dried up, but eventually had to abandon it. This is the first part of the film.
The second part is a reconstruction of the jangadiero movie, from existing footage found and recovered. It is shot in lyrical silent black and white, like a documentary. Some parts, like the triangular sails against the sparkling sea are almost abstract. There is a sketched in love story but it isn’t important.
I don’t know if Welles could have made these bits and bobs into a real hit movie, but it would have been interesting to see. He claims that a voodoo priest who had been promised a part in the movie cursed it when the funding ran out. He may have been right - I don’t think he had an easy time making a movie after this.
Around that time, a group of poor fishermen with rafts called jangadas made a perilous trip to Rio to ask for the social services they deserve. They became national celebrities and Welles decided to do one part of the film about them. However, when he recreated their triumphant arrival in Rio, the jangada overturned, and their leader, Jacaré, was drowned. Welles pledged that he would complete the film to honor the cause.
But as so often happened with Welles, studio interference caught up with him. Management changed and the jangadieros protest was suspiciously communist. He struggled on after the money dried up, but eventually had to abandon it. This is the first part of the film.
The second part is a reconstruction of the jangadiero movie, from existing footage found and recovered. It is shot in lyrical silent black and white, like a documentary. Some parts, like the triangular sails against the sparkling sea are almost abstract. There is a sketched in love story but it isn’t important.
I don’t know if Welles could have made these bits and bobs into a real hit movie, but it would have been interesting to see. He claims that a voodoo priest who had been promised a part in the movie cursed it when the funding ran out. He may have been right - I don’t think he had an easy time making a movie after this.
Monday, December 23, 2019
Movie of Sorrowful Countenance
So Terry Gilliam finally released his famously doomed film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2019). Conceived in the 80s (if I remember correctly, I’m not looking it up again), he shot a little in the early 2000s with Johnny Depp, got flooded out, lost funding, and got a famous documentary out of it. Now, it comes to life, starring Adam Driver (who, Ms. Spenser says, is in everything now).
He plays a director filming a Don Quixote themed commercial in Spain. It isn’t going well. His boss, Stellar Skateboard, has found a DVD of his student film about Don Quixote, and hopes it will inspire him. His boss’s wife, Olga Kurlyenko, seduces him, but he is more interested in watching the DVD.
The next day, he realizes that the village he filmed it in is nearby, and heads off. In flashback, we see him and his college buddies partying in the little town and enlisting the locals to be in the film. He picks an old cobbler to be the knight (Jonathan Pryce), and the 15-year-old daughter (Joana Ribeiro) of the tavern keeper as Dulcinea.
In the village, he finds people indifferent or hostile. Ribeiro has run off to the city to be a whore, as her father says. And Pryce is now a madman who believes he truly is Don Quixote, being kept by an old woman as a tourist attraction. He decides Driver is Sancho Panza, and they escape to find adventures (accidentally setting the town on fire as they leave - and maybe killing a policeman or two).
Their first adventure involves a windmill, and Pryce is wounded. A group of seeming Gypsies in a ruin take them in, but Driver comes to suspect that they are terrorists. As things spiral out of control, he wakes up, and it was a dream - the people are just undocumented immigrants.
From here on, things continue to spiral. Ribeiro shows up for the commercial shoot as part of a Russian oligarchs retinue. She has been a wannabe actress and “escort” and is sort of owned by the Russian, but doesn’t accept Driver’s apology. She has the life she wanted, sort of. The boss wants to find out who is doing his wife. There is a mysterious gypsy. There are wild costume parties, and Pryce acting crazy. And it ends in madness.
I liked this movie a lot, especially the way it wove madness and reality together, while always escalating. But recently Gilliam has been bad-mouthing Black Panther as an unrealistic portrayal of Africa, and I’m mad at him (along with everyone else on the internet). So I don’t know what to think. I guess I’ll watch Lost in La Mancha and get over it.
He plays a director filming a Don Quixote themed commercial in Spain. It isn’t going well. His boss, Stellar Skateboard, has found a DVD of his student film about Don Quixote, and hopes it will inspire him. His boss’s wife, Olga Kurlyenko, seduces him, but he is more interested in watching the DVD.
The next day, he realizes that the village he filmed it in is nearby, and heads off. In flashback, we see him and his college buddies partying in the little town and enlisting the locals to be in the film. He picks an old cobbler to be the knight (Jonathan Pryce), and the 15-year-old daughter (Joana Ribeiro) of the tavern keeper as Dulcinea.
In the village, he finds people indifferent or hostile. Ribeiro has run off to the city to be a whore, as her father says. And Pryce is now a madman who believes he truly is Don Quixote, being kept by an old woman as a tourist attraction. He decides Driver is Sancho Panza, and they escape to find adventures (accidentally setting the town on fire as they leave - and maybe killing a policeman or two).
Their first adventure involves a windmill, and Pryce is wounded. A group of seeming Gypsies in a ruin take them in, but Driver comes to suspect that they are terrorists. As things spiral out of control, he wakes up, and it was a dream - the people are just undocumented immigrants.
From here on, things continue to spiral. Ribeiro shows up for the commercial shoot as part of a Russian oligarchs retinue. She has been a wannabe actress and “escort” and is sort of owned by the Russian, but doesn’t accept Driver’s apology. She has the life she wanted, sort of. The boss wants to find out who is doing his wife. There is a mysterious gypsy. There are wild costume parties, and Pryce acting crazy. And it ends in madness.
I liked this movie a lot, especially the way it wove madness and reality together, while always escalating. But recently Gilliam has been bad-mouthing Black Panther as an unrealistic portrayal of Africa, and I’m mad at him (along with everyone else on the internet). So I don’t know what to think. I guess I’ll watch Lost in La Mancha and get over it.
Sunday, December 22, 2019
Slammer
Bandslam (2009) is another movie not really meant for us, but we liked it.
It stars Gaelan Connell as a chinless, bad-haired high-school freshman loser. He is obsessed with music, and writes an email to David Bowie every day (which is never answered). He has no friends. His single mom, Lisa Kudrow, tells him they are moving to Connecticut, where maybe he won’t be bullied. But he suspects nothing will change.
However, on his first day he meets Vanessa Hudgens as Sa5m (the “5” is silent), a gothy depressive loner who will hang out with him, although she doesn’t do friends. Also, super-popular senior Aly Michalka corrals him into helping her with the daycare for kids of students. (The kids are like 5 years old, but the actors playing the students are around 30, so just roll with it.)
He also finds out that the school is obsessed with Bandslam, a state-wide (nation-wide?) battle of the bands. Their school’s entry is The Glory Dogs, fronted by Michalka’s ex. They are a pretty hot band, with a kind of up-tempo Springsteen sound, with an R&B horn section. I would expect Connell to be pretty psyched, but maybe they weren’t “alt” enough for him.
When Michalka tries to introduce him to the Velvet Underground (while “Femme Fatale” plays on the soundtrack), she discovers he is very well versed in rock. She takes him to check out here band, featuring bassist Bug (a Flea wannabe) (Charlie Saxton) and guitarist Omar (Tim Jo). They rip through a hot version of “Amphetamine”, which Connell ruthlessly criticizes. So Michalka asks him to be their manager.
It turns out that they used to be Glory Dogs, but got thrown out because Michalka broke up with Scott Porter, their douchy lead singer. Connell’s image is to fatten their sound by corralling a classic pianist and cellist and finding the hottest drummer in school, a burnout played by Ryan Donawho. He only agrees to join because he thinks Connell’s mom is hot.
Through this all, Connell is painfully shy and awkward, but he’s trying.
The basic conflict, other than Connell’s struggle with loserdom, is that his friendship with hot, cool, caring Michalka is getting in the way of any romance with Hudgens. And why is a senior even acknowledging a loser like Connell? When we find out, it all comes apart, then back together. They go the Bandslam and (SPOILER) lose. But maybe the real Bandslam is the friends you made along the way.
Never mind all of that, how’s the music? As indicated, it’s pretty hot, although it definitely gets more indie-pop as it goes along. A third-wave ska version of a Bread song is featured, and there’s an “original”number that is pretty dire - especially from a kid who worships CBGB’s.
Also, how does a loser like Connell get two of the hottest girls in school latching onto him on his first day? I’m going to say, unreliable narrator. Let’s assume he is better looking and they are more average, and he is just seeing them, and himself through the eyes of teen angst. But how does he get to manage and arrange for a band when he doesn’t sing or play?
Never mind, it’s just a show. A pretty good one - not as good as, say, Booksmart but in the same league. If teen movies are mostly like this, we should watch more.
It stars Gaelan Connell as a chinless, bad-haired high-school freshman loser. He is obsessed with music, and writes an email to David Bowie every day (which is never answered). He has no friends. His single mom, Lisa Kudrow, tells him they are moving to Connecticut, where maybe he won’t be bullied. But he suspects nothing will change.
However, on his first day he meets Vanessa Hudgens as Sa5m (the “5” is silent), a gothy depressive loner who will hang out with him, although she doesn’t do friends. Also, super-popular senior Aly Michalka corrals him into helping her with the daycare for kids of students. (The kids are like 5 years old, but the actors playing the students are around 30, so just roll with it.)
He also finds out that the school is obsessed with Bandslam, a state-wide (nation-wide?) battle of the bands. Their school’s entry is The Glory Dogs, fronted by Michalka’s ex. They are a pretty hot band, with a kind of up-tempo Springsteen sound, with an R&B horn section. I would expect Connell to be pretty psyched, but maybe they weren’t “alt” enough for him.
When Michalka tries to introduce him to the Velvet Underground (while “Femme Fatale” plays on the soundtrack), she discovers he is very well versed in rock. She takes him to check out here band, featuring bassist Bug (a Flea wannabe) (Charlie Saxton) and guitarist Omar (Tim Jo). They rip through a hot version of “Amphetamine”, which Connell ruthlessly criticizes. So Michalka asks him to be their manager.
It turns out that they used to be Glory Dogs, but got thrown out because Michalka broke up with Scott Porter, their douchy lead singer. Connell’s image is to fatten their sound by corralling a classic pianist and cellist and finding the hottest drummer in school, a burnout played by Ryan Donawho. He only agrees to join because he thinks Connell’s mom is hot.
Through this all, Connell is painfully shy and awkward, but he’s trying.
The basic conflict, other than Connell’s struggle with loserdom, is that his friendship with hot, cool, caring Michalka is getting in the way of any romance with Hudgens. And why is a senior even acknowledging a loser like Connell? When we find out, it all comes apart, then back together. They go the Bandslam and (SPOILER) lose. But maybe the real Bandslam is the friends you made along the way.
Never mind all of that, how’s the music? As indicated, it’s pretty hot, although it definitely gets more indie-pop as it goes along. A third-wave ska version of a Bread song is featured, and there’s an “original”number that is pretty dire - especially from a kid who worships CBGB’s.
Also, how does a loser like Connell get two of the hottest girls in school latching onto him on his first day? I’m going to say, unreliable narrator. Let’s assume he is better looking and they are more average, and he is just seeing them, and himself through the eyes of teen angst. But how does he get to manage and arrange for a band when he doesn’t sing or play?
Never mind, it’s just a show. A pretty good one - not as good as, say, Booksmart but in the same league. If teen movies are mostly like this, we should watch more.
Friday, December 20, 2019
Shafted
Shaft (2019) turns out to be a sequel of Shaft (2000) which we haven’t seen. That didn’t cause much confusion.
It starts in 1989 with John Shaft II (Samuel L. Jackson) and his wife Regina Hall arguing in his car, with baby John in the back. When the bad guys shoot up the car, Hall has had enough and takes the baby out of Shaft’s life. Cut to present day. Baby Shaft, a.k.a. J.J. (Jessie T. Usher) is all grown up - a bougie data analyst for the FBI. He is friends with nurse Alexandra Shipp and Avan Jogia, a Moslem and recovering addict. When Jogia dies of an ‘overdose’, J.J. decides to investigate. He heads for the worst drug den he can find and asks to talk to the boss. Since he’s a college educated nerd, this doesn’t go well. He is going to need help. His dad.
This is mostly a comedy - the joke being the contrast between Jackson’s bad-assedness and Usher’s softer approach. Take his friendship with Shipp. He’s clearly in love with her, but doesn’t want to break up the friendship so won’t move on her. Jackson just tells him to smash it - not quite the right approach either, but he has a point.
And of course, his granddad, the original Shaft, Richard Roundtree, gets involved.
Sadly, although this is all fairly well done, it is pretty predictable. In fact, it has a TV sit-com feel to it. A good one, maybe - and these days that can be great - but not a great movie. But fun forgettable fluff is still fun, and I might even watch this again, or at least the 2000 version.
It starts in 1989 with John Shaft II (Samuel L. Jackson) and his wife Regina Hall arguing in his car, with baby John in the back. When the bad guys shoot up the car, Hall has had enough and takes the baby out of Shaft’s life. Cut to present day. Baby Shaft, a.k.a. J.J. (Jessie T. Usher) is all grown up - a bougie data analyst for the FBI. He is friends with nurse Alexandra Shipp and Avan Jogia, a Moslem and recovering addict. When Jogia dies of an ‘overdose’, J.J. decides to investigate. He heads for the worst drug den he can find and asks to talk to the boss. Since he’s a college educated nerd, this doesn’t go well. He is going to need help. His dad.
This is mostly a comedy - the joke being the contrast between Jackson’s bad-assedness and Usher’s softer approach. Take his friendship with Shipp. He’s clearly in love with her, but doesn’t want to break up the friendship so won’t move on her. Jackson just tells him to smash it - not quite the right approach either, but he has a point.
And of course, his granddad, the original Shaft, Richard Roundtree, gets involved.
Sadly, although this is all fairly well done, it is pretty predictable. In fact, it has a TV sit-com feel to it. A good one, maybe - and these days that can be great - but not a great movie. But fun forgettable fluff is still fun, and I might even watch this again, or at least the 2000 version.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
Silly Monsters, Super Creeps
Another oldies double bill - this time a pair of horror comedies: You'll Find Out/Zombies on Broadway (1940/1945).
Although it features Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Peter Lorre, You’ll Find Out is actually a Kay Kyser vehicle. Kyser was dance band leader who also had a radio quiz show: Kay Kyser and his Kollege of Musical Knowledge. A debutante, Helen Parrish, booked his band to play at her house party - an old, not that dark, house.
They arrive on a stormy night and meet batty Aunt Alma Kruger. She has been hosting mystic medium Bela Lugosi, who her lawyer and old family friend Boris Karloff is suspicious of, but admits that he does seem to have some powers. Of course, everyone listens to Karloff because he seems like such a kind and trustworthy sort. Parrish has invited a debunker of the supernatural, but with the road washed out, he might not make it. Wait - here he is, and it’s Peter Lorre! Another trustworthy sort, just look at him.
I’m sure you can imagine the hi-jinks, including the full suite of spook tricks that Lugosi employs for his act. Dennis O’Keefe is on hand as Parrish’s boyfriend, and makes little impression, which is kind of his trademark.
Although I’d heard of Kay Kyser, I didn’t realize that his cornet player was Ish Kabibble - who was not what I was expecting at all. He looks like a mixture of Jerry Lewis and Moe Howard (around the hair) and maintains a deadpan look of puzzlement throughout. I was expecting someone more Yiddish.
Zombies features the comedy team of Wally Brown and Alan Carney, a knockoff Abbott and Costello. They are PR men for Sheldon Leonard’s new nightclub, the Zombie Hut. They promise to get him a real zombie in time for the opening, and he promises them they’ll be in trouble if they don’t. So after some silliness in a museum, they head for the island of San Sebastián, the only place where real zombies can be found.
Does that fictional island sound familiar? Wait until you hear calypso singer Sir Lancelot serenading them when they arrive. Or when they meet skeletal zombie Darby Jones. These are all clear callbacks to I Walked with a Zombie. Except that the mad scientist making the zombies is Bela Lugosi - for a touch of White Zombie.
This is far from hilarious, but it’s kind of cute. It’s basically forgettable. At least Bela got a paycheck.
Although it features Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Peter Lorre, You’ll Find Out is actually a Kay Kyser vehicle. Kyser was dance band leader who also had a radio quiz show: Kay Kyser and his Kollege of Musical Knowledge. A debutante, Helen Parrish, booked his band to play at her house party - an old, not that dark, house.
They arrive on a stormy night and meet batty Aunt Alma Kruger. She has been hosting mystic medium Bela Lugosi, who her lawyer and old family friend Boris Karloff is suspicious of, but admits that he does seem to have some powers. Of course, everyone listens to Karloff because he seems like such a kind and trustworthy sort. Parrish has invited a debunker of the supernatural, but with the road washed out, he might not make it. Wait - here he is, and it’s Peter Lorre! Another trustworthy sort, just look at him.
I’m sure you can imagine the hi-jinks, including the full suite of spook tricks that Lugosi employs for his act. Dennis O’Keefe is on hand as Parrish’s boyfriend, and makes little impression, which is kind of his trademark.
Although I’d heard of Kay Kyser, I didn’t realize that his cornet player was Ish Kabibble - who was not what I was expecting at all. He looks like a mixture of Jerry Lewis and Moe Howard (around the hair) and maintains a deadpan look of puzzlement throughout. I was expecting someone more Yiddish.
Zombies features the comedy team of Wally Brown and Alan Carney, a knockoff Abbott and Costello. They are PR men for Sheldon Leonard’s new nightclub, the Zombie Hut. They promise to get him a real zombie in time for the opening, and he promises them they’ll be in trouble if they don’t. So after some silliness in a museum, they head for the island of San Sebastián, the only place where real zombies can be found.
Does that fictional island sound familiar? Wait until you hear calypso singer Sir Lancelot serenading them when they arrive. Or when they meet skeletal zombie Darby Jones. These are all clear callbacks to I Walked with a Zombie. Except that the mad scientist making the zombies is Bela Lugosi - for a touch of White Zombie.
This is far from hilarious, but it’s kind of cute. It’s basically forgettable. At least Bela got a paycheck.
Thursday, December 12, 2019
Blood-Sucking Gangsters
Speaking of Yayan Ruhian, we watched Yakuza Apocalypse (2015). He only had a small role, but I was looking for an excuse.
It starts with a yakuza boss getting into a gunfight against incredible odds and winning. Our hero and narrator, Hayato Ichihara, talks about how loved and respected the yakuza are in his small town, and how he became one, becoming the boss’ bodyguard. But the boss is killed, and just before he dies, he bites Ichihara.
You see, he was a vampire all along, and now Ichihara is too. Before he quite realizes it, he starts turning townspeople, leading to a rash of vampirism. But that’s not the worst part - the same people who killed the boss are after him.
This seems like a pretty cool horror-thriller, but it’s actually an absurdist comedy. For example, when Ichihara turns, one of the boss’ helpers explains the rules with the help of a blackboard: Only civilians taste good, yakuza have little nutrition. But yakuza must not kill civilians, so this leads to a dilemma. The boss solved it by imprisoning enemy yakuza and reforming them by forcing them to learn to knit, and torturing them when they show anger or aggression. Once they are gentle and sweet, he kills them and sucks their blood.
One of the assassins sent to kill him is a priest in a Portuguese ruff collar who only speaks English and carries a coffin (like Django). Another is a nerdy backpacker tourist (Yayan Ruhian). But the strongest opponent is a guy in a frog mascot furry costume. SPOILER - when he takes the head off of his costume - he really has a frog head! But he can grow to the size of Godzilla!
When we started watching this, I had forgotten it was a Takashi Miike film. He usually makes very violent films, and this qualifies. I’ve mainly seen his more serious fare (like Thirteen Assassins), but I guess he makes a lot of violent comedies as well. There seems to be some kind of social commentary here: both vampires and gangsters live of the blood of the normals. But it doesn’t really seem to come together, and might just be a red herring. So don’t come to this looking for sense and sanity. You have been warned.
It starts with a yakuza boss getting into a gunfight against incredible odds and winning. Our hero and narrator, Hayato Ichihara, talks about how loved and respected the yakuza are in his small town, and how he became one, becoming the boss’ bodyguard. But the boss is killed, and just before he dies, he bites Ichihara.
You see, he was a vampire all along, and now Ichihara is too. Before he quite realizes it, he starts turning townspeople, leading to a rash of vampirism. But that’s not the worst part - the same people who killed the boss are after him.
This seems like a pretty cool horror-thriller, but it’s actually an absurdist comedy. For example, when Ichihara turns, one of the boss’ helpers explains the rules with the help of a blackboard: Only civilians taste good, yakuza have little nutrition. But yakuza must not kill civilians, so this leads to a dilemma. The boss solved it by imprisoning enemy yakuza and reforming them by forcing them to learn to knit, and torturing them when they show anger or aggression. Once they are gentle and sweet, he kills them and sucks their blood.
One of the assassins sent to kill him is a priest in a Portuguese ruff collar who only speaks English and carries a coffin (like Django). Another is a nerdy backpacker tourist (Yayan Ruhian). But the strongest opponent is a guy in a frog mascot furry costume. SPOILER - when he takes the head off of his costume - he really has a frog head! But he can grow to the size of Godzilla!
When we started watching this, I had forgotten it was a Takashi Miike film. He usually makes very violent films, and this qualifies. I’ve mainly seen his more serious fare (like Thirteen Assassins), but I guess he makes a lot of violent comedies as well. There seems to be some kind of social commentary here: both vampires and gangsters live of the blood of the normals. But it doesn’t really seem to come together, and might just be a red herring. So don’t come to this looking for sense and sanity. You have been warned.
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Canyoneros
Echo in the Canyon (2019) is one of those music documentaries that we love, about a period in music that we love. But it has some problems that make it hard for us to love.
It is narrated by Jakob Dylan, who had the idea for the movie when watching Model Shop, the Jacques Demy movie which we are going to watch once we watch Lola, to which it is sort of a sequel. It takes place in Vietnam-era Los Angeles and it got him thinking about that time - especially the music. So he decided to make a film about the Echo Canyon scene. Being a Dylan, he can call on a lot of musicians.
So he gets interviews with David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Steven Stills, Brian Wilson, Tom Petty, Michelle Phillips, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and a host of others. He also gets some friends together to sing and talk about the songs of the time, including Cat Power, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, and Beck. They talk about Buffalo Springfield and the Byrds, how they inspired the Mamas and the Papas, the Beach Boys and how they inspired the Beatles and vice versa. They play archival footage of the bands and play their own versions. One very sweet scene has them playing “I Guess I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” with Brian Wilson. When they start he asks what key they are playing in, and Dylan says Eb. Brian says - there’s your problem, you’re in the wrong key. Never mind, play it in any key you want.
This is all very cool as far as it goes. The old guys tell great stories (especially Crosby, who admits that he was an asshole). Since I’m old, I don’t really know the new kids, but their renditions are mostly great. At least there are women in the young crowd. Of the older generation, only Michelle represents the female persuasion, and she only talks about who she was sleeping with. Someone (Stills?) mentions Judy Collins, only to say he stole a few bars of one of her songs to make one of his own. Joni Mitchell, who wrote “Ladies of the Canyon” about this scene, is not mentioned.
Of course, other canyon dwellers who don’t really fit the mold, like Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart aren’t mentioned either. So this take is far from definitive. I was hoping for a broader look at the time and place. Also, Dylan seems personable and doesn’t impose himself on the narrative, but is just a little too blank for me. Good looking, though, like his dad.
It is narrated by Jakob Dylan, who had the idea for the movie when watching Model Shop, the Jacques Demy movie which we are going to watch once we watch Lola, to which it is sort of a sequel. It takes place in Vietnam-era Los Angeles and it got him thinking about that time - especially the music. So he decided to make a film about the Echo Canyon scene. Being a Dylan, he can call on a lot of musicians.
So he gets interviews with David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Steven Stills, Brian Wilson, Tom Petty, Michelle Phillips, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and a host of others. He also gets some friends together to sing and talk about the songs of the time, including Cat Power, Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, and Beck. They talk about Buffalo Springfield and the Byrds, how they inspired the Mamas and the Papas, the Beach Boys and how they inspired the Beatles and vice versa. They play archival footage of the bands and play their own versions. One very sweet scene has them playing “I Guess I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times” with Brian Wilson. When they start he asks what key they are playing in, and Dylan says Eb. Brian says - there’s your problem, you’re in the wrong key. Never mind, play it in any key you want.
This is all very cool as far as it goes. The old guys tell great stories (especially Crosby, who admits that he was an asshole). Since I’m old, I don’t really know the new kids, but their renditions are mostly great. At least there are women in the young crowd. Of the older generation, only Michelle represents the female persuasion, and she only talks about who she was sleeping with. Someone (Stills?) mentions Judy Collins, only to say he stole a few bars of one of her songs to make one of his own. Joni Mitchell, who wrote “Ladies of the Canyon” about this scene, is not mentioned.
Of course, other canyon dwellers who don’t really fit the mold, like Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart aren’t mentioned either. So this take is far from definitive. I was hoping for a broader look at the time and place. Also, Dylan seems personable and doesn’t impose himself on the narrative, but is just a little too blank for me. Good looking, though, like his dad.
Monday, December 9, 2019
Get Smart
Booksmart (2019) was so much fun. I saw it described as Superbad with girls, but smarter. I've actually never seen Superbad, but I believe it.
It stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as two high school seniors on the last day of school. They are sort of the class nerds. Feldstein is class president, a strident feminist who plans to go to Georgetown after she graduates from Yale. Dever is a an out lesbian, who is volunteering in Botswana over the summer. They have a joyous friendship, goofing around and acting shocked at how awesome the other one is. But at school, they stick to themselves, eating lunch alone together, or bugging the principal about student council duties.
Then, in the bathroom, Feldstein overhears some of her classmates talking about her and what a drag she is. She confronts them, saying that while they were partying, she was studying, and now she's going to Yale. It turns out that they all have pretty good plans - Stanford, Yale also, and the stoner kid isn't going to college because he has an offer at Google. Feldstein realizes that avoiding socializing and parties have all been for naught, and vows to change her ways. She will go to a senior party.
She convinces Dever to go to one of the popular kids' party, because the girl who Dever has a crush on will be there. She doesn't admit that she has a crush on the guy who's throwing the party. The only problem - they don't know where the party is.
I'm sure this is the plot of a dozen movies (Superbad?), but it's the way they pull it off. First, they get taken to the rich kid's party on a yacht - and are the only ones who show up, except his druggie girlfriend. These are both pretty stock characters, but with some real definition - especially Billie Lourde, the girlfriend.
Then they wind up at the drama kids' party - a formal murder mystery party with a sit down dinner. This is not their scene, but it gets worse when the hallucinogen that Lourde dosed them with kicks in. They hallucinate that they have turned into Barbie dolls.
And so on. A couple of things I liked: Although Feldstein is a bit stocky, with a kind of bulldog face, nobody mentions this - they just trash her personality. Nobody slams Dever for being gay, just for being killjoy. Also, these kids are known by their peers. They aren't anonymous nobodies. And their peers include semi-outcasts like the rich kid, the druggie and the flamboyant drama kids. When I was in high school, I was kind of an outcast nerd, but I realized years later that I was actually pretty well known. Maybe not popular or respected, but not just an extra in a busy school corridor. Also, even the party kids are getting into good schools - I wasn't exactly a party kid, probably more of a burnout, and I got into a good school. So, maybe this is a 1% problems movie, but I relate.
But in addition to a tried-and-true plot and some interesting social observation, it's just really fun. The girls have a deep friendship and are articulate and fun, even if they are also shy and socially backwards. And although everything does NOT work out, they do go to a party, take drugs, and make out with someone (even if it wasn't what they planned). I love happy endings.
It stars Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as two high school seniors on the last day of school. They are sort of the class nerds. Feldstein is class president, a strident feminist who plans to go to Georgetown after she graduates from Yale. Dever is a an out lesbian, who is volunteering in Botswana over the summer. They have a joyous friendship, goofing around and acting shocked at how awesome the other one is. But at school, they stick to themselves, eating lunch alone together, or bugging the principal about student council duties.
Then, in the bathroom, Feldstein overhears some of her classmates talking about her and what a drag she is. She confronts them, saying that while they were partying, she was studying, and now she's going to Yale. It turns out that they all have pretty good plans - Stanford, Yale also, and the stoner kid isn't going to college because he has an offer at Google. Feldstein realizes that avoiding socializing and parties have all been for naught, and vows to change her ways. She will go to a senior party.
She convinces Dever to go to one of the popular kids' party, because the girl who Dever has a crush on will be there. She doesn't admit that she has a crush on the guy who's throwing the party. The only problem - they don't know where the party is.
I'm sure this is the plot of a dozen movies (Superbad?), but it's the way they pull it off. First, they get taken to the rich kid's party on a yacht - and are the only ones who show up, except his druggie girlfriend. These are both pretty stock characters, but with some real definition - especially Billie Lourde, the girlfriend.
Then they wind up at the drama kids' party - a formal murder mystery party with a sit down dinner. This is not their scene, but it gets worse when the hallucinogen that Lourde dosed them with kicks in. They hallucinate that they have turned into Barbie dolls.
And so on. A couple of things I liked: Although Feldstein is a bit stocky, with a kind of bulldog face, nobody mentions this - they just trash her personality. Nobody slams Dever for being gay, just for being killjoy. Also, these kids are known by their peers. They aren't anonymous nobodies. And their peers include semi-outcasts like the rich kid, the druggie and the flamboyant drama kids. When I was in high school, I was kind of an outcast nerd, but I realized years later that I was actually pretty well known. Maybe not popular or respected, but not just an extra in a busy school corridor. Also, even the party kids are getting into good schools - I wasn't exactly a party kid, probably more of a burnout, and I got into a good school. So, maybe this is a 1% problems movie, but I relate.
But in addition to a tried-and-true plot and some interesting social observation, it's just really fun. The girls have a deep friendship and are articulate and fun, even if they are also shy and socially backwards. And although everything does NOT work out, they do go to a party, take drugs, and make out with someone (even if it wasn't what they planned). I love happy endings.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Java Jive
We watched Merantau (2009) because Yayan Ruhian caught Ms. Spenser’s attention in John Wick 3. I’ve seen him and crew in The Raid, but had this queued up for just such an occasion.
It starts in rural Sumatra with Star Iki Uwais practicing solo Pencak Silat, an Indonesian martial arts style. He goes home to his mother and brother and they talk about his upcoming merantau, the ritual that men in his region take part in. It means traveling to the big city and gaining experience and success. His brother came home from his merantau, which put him in disgrace, but his mother assures him he can come home whenever he wants.
He gets to Jakarta and finds it to be a hard place, and no one wants to hire him to teach Silat. When a little kid steals his wallet, he chases him down and finds the kid’s sister being shaken down by her pimp, so he intervenes. That gets the girl fired from her dancing gig, and doesn’t appreciate it. Of course, he has to save her many more times, in bigger and bigger fights against worse and worse opponents.
This is a regular martial arts movie in a lot of ways. It doesn’t have the relentless drive that director Gareth Evans later achieved with Iko Uwais in The Raid, which influenced the current crop of action movies like JW3. The fights are very good - Silat is an interesting style, even though we don’t see a kerambit in action or much in the way of stick fighting. But the emphasis is mostly on the suffering Uwais endures while still taking on the bad guys and protecting the girl and her brother.
Ruhian’s role was a small one - a guy like Uwais who came to the big city, but sold his skills to the mob. His fight with Uwais in the elevator is significant, but maybe not the best in the movie.
It starts in rural Sumatra with Star Iki Uwais practicing solo Pencak Silat, an Indonesian martial arts style. He goes home to his mother and brother and they talk about his upcoming merantau, the ritual that men in his region take part in. It means traveling to the big city and gaining experience and success. His brother came home from his merantau, which put him in disgrace, but his mother assures him he can come home whenever he wants.
He gets to Jakarta and finds it to be a hard place, and no one wants to hire him to teach Silat. When a little kid steals his wallet, he chases him down and finds the kid’s sister being shaken down by her pimp, so he intervenes. That gets the girl fired from her dancing gig, and doesn’t appreciate it. Of course, he has to save her many more times, in bigger and bigger fights against worse and worse opponents.
This is a regular martial arts movie in a lot of ways. It doesn’t have the relentless drive that director Gareth Evans later achieved with Iko Uwais in The Raid, which influenced the current crop of action movies like JW3. The fights are very good - Silat is an interesting style, even though we don’t see a kerambit in action or much in the way of stick fighting. But the emphasis is mostly on the suffering Uwais endures while still taking on the bad guys and protecting the girl and her brother.
Ruhian’s role was a small one - a guy like Uwais who came to the big city, but sold his skills to the mob. His fight with Uwais in the elevator is significant, but maybe not the best in the movie.
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