Before the broadcast: Revolt of the Inductees.

Codifying an art form into legitimacy is in theory an interesting way of at least allowing the art form to become highbrow culture.  One way to do this is by presenting awards and treasures for what we may consider the best in one's respective fields and ideals.  In effect, the highbrow worlds intertwining business, commerce, governance, academia, history and medicine can use their theoretical stamps of approval on one such aspect of pop culture.  Rock and Roll and/or Pop Music is one such field.  How do you know if what you are seeing and hearing is Rock and Pop?  Well, I tend to agree with David Byrne when he mentions that a rock concert has so many interactions going on with the artists and audiences involved.  If you are required to attend in formal attire and play the music with notation in hand; not to mention make no personal gestures between audience and artists and, most importantly, do not make the show unique in your own way if dealing with no longer living writers; then you are watching a classical performance.  Which by the way is quite fine, albeit much of the music and performances you will see and hear resonate from a time long gone and rather ancient.

There may come a time when certain forms of contemporary songwriting and music playing is given the same revenance and acquired taste given in classical music.  I suspect we are seeing that somewhat in Jazz music of the big band era (Glenn Miller, the Dorsey Brothers) and Broadway show tunes.  And yet, the Rock and Roll era has been around since the early blues era of the 1930's and has no sign of slowing down.  It does show signs of changing formats and popularity, but the idea of the now still stands.  So you can imagine what we collectively feel at this time every year when the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony comes around.  And in 2016, this was the induction ceremony when the inductees that appeared more or less told the Nominating Committee, Jann Wenner, Play-Tone (Tom Hanks' production company) and the sponsors to go screw themselves with the rough end of a pineapple.

Yes, it actually happened, and apparently the brass at the RRHOF are unable to do a thing about it.  This year inducted were N.W.A. (I assume Dr. Dre will be inducted on his own later on), Deep Purple, Steve Miller, Chicago, Cheap Trick and Bert Berns (1929-1967).  I would like to focus on the leading four inductees in 2016 for this essay.  Each of them had issues with the Hall this year. The family of Bert Berns did not have any issues pertaining to Berns' posthumous induction, nor did Cheap Trick have any explicit problems.  I will say that Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen did thank the Rock Hall for limiting the amount of tickets so that Nielsen's family did not need to find seating for what will be his 9 grandchildren.

Perhaps the most obvious band drama this year came from Chicago.  You would not think this would be the case, seeing that many of the band members are still together after some 49 years in the business.  Well, just for a moment forget about who showed up and notice who was not there.  Many of you will say Terry Kath, and of course you would be right; although his daughter did accept the award on his behalf.  Mind you, Terry Kath died in a tragic accident in 1978.

I'm namely referring to Peter Cetera in who did not show up.  Knowing Chicago's history and a great deal of what went down with Cetera and the rest of the band during the 1980's, it was a certainty that he would not show up.  You can't say Peter Cetera didn't try to get a reunion going.  However, it appears that issues stemming from their 1981-1985 era when David Foster was their producer and collaborated with Cetera on songwriting, not to mention their resurgence of the time, is still a mixed blessing on the rest of the band's part.  Rightly or wrongly, that era did happen; and rightly or wrongly, Chicago has not been the same since Terry Kath died and Peter Cetera left.  I am also aware that financially Cetera is wealthier than the current version of Chicago put together.  So jealousy abounds.

If any band inducted this year were known to have personality issues, it would have to have been Deep Purple.  Let's get this out of the way: Ritchie Blackmore did not show up.  Apparently Blackmore did not consider the idea of showing up, nor did the current band want him there.  And yes, Rod Evans wasn't there either, Mr. Evans wouldn't be caught dead as it were showing his face in public relating to anything Deep Purple; not after the fake Deep Purple of 1980.  None the less, it appeared that the producers of the show and the RRHOF basically wanted to induct Deep Purple first and shorten the speeches of the living inductees who were there and limit the amount of songs to perform just to get it over with.  Glenn Hughes has come out and pretty much confirmed these theories.

N.W.A. did show up, including Dr. Dre for the first of what will be 2 inductions (Dre will go in on his own a couple years from now as a Non-Performer).  The living inductees were willing to perform with someone well known doing Eazy-E's impressive rapping.  However, the Rock Hall and the producers of the show had other ideas as to how performances and reservations would be approached.  Needless to say, both sides were at an impasse; and as is customary in certain matters, N.W.A. accepted and gave their speeches yet did not perform.

Okay, so issues with bands and groups; not a surprise.  It does become a surprise when an issue arrives regarding an individual artist.  In this year, Steve Miller may have done us all a great service.  Though quite honored and accepting of the induction, Steve Miller did expose a number of odd choices and hypocritical matters pertaining to how the RRHOF operates and the issues regarding the induction ceremony.

This was during the induction acceptance speech. After performing, Miller had some words to say in a press interview.

There has indeed been more to discuss about the events and revelations from last week, both from Steve Miller and regarding the flawed structure of the Nominating Committee and the voting process at large.  In a later essay, one in which I will cross-post alongside my involvement with the Future Rock legends website, a lot more will be said regarding how to effectively reform the RRHOF.  I think in essence it needs to be similar to how we at FRL promote our Revisited/Projected Rock Hall Project.

Tune in to this station,

Robert

Oscars 2016: the unintentional CB4 sequel

Way back in 1993, just after departing Saturday Night Live, Chris Rock starred in and co-wrote a pretty underrated comedy/musical on the hip-hop/r & b music scene of the day; not to mention a look at African-American culture as perceived by black people thinking of how white people saw them.  It was named CB4; and was ostensibly a parody and homage to Dr. Dre and N.W.A and Public Enemy along with other like minded artists.  Typical of audiences at the time, CB4 was give good write up yet meager box office.  It did not even matter that Phil Hartman was in this movie, as were a litany of important African-American celebrities.  Few Caucasian audiences saw CB4, nor even bothered to understand the social commentary within the laughter.

So we flash forward 23 years, and it is the night of the 88th annual Oscars, or Academy Awards if you are more perfunctory.  I watched it, and I was quite impressed with Chris Rock throughout the night.  I also applaud the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in their commitment to be more diversified in their minority outreaches.  Yet, here is the rub: and mind you, I do say this being a white Caucasian man of 33.  As the night went on, the knowledge of the current African-American issues and the white counterparts were becoming a bit much.  Now, it was supposed to become a bit much.  However, it appeared that we were watching a real life CB4 occur.

By that I mean, a lot of what was mentioned was brilliant and thoughtful.  None the less, for every two brilliant observations, thee were at least the same amount of questionable and awkward moments.  Once again even the awkward moments were unintentional, yet there they were.  For instance,  was there a need for Stacey Dash's appearance? I am not so sure putting forth an appearance from a rare Republican-oriented celebrity was successful.  Also, while I do applaud the quick and important pledge drive for audience members to donate $65,000 for the Girls Scouts; it did come on the same night a number of African-American artists, including Ava Duvernay, were hosting a fundraiser in Flint, Michigan in support of alleviating the poisoned water crisis.  The donated totals for that fundraiser were less than the amount of money donated to the Girl Scouts on Oscar night.

In addition, when the three young Asian-American men were presented as members of Price Waterhouse Coopers, I think the joke fell flat on its face.  Fortunately, that is about the only missteps I had noticed.  Pretty much everything else was on point and rather hilarious.  What might be found as awkward are moments I thought were brilliant.  Now, there is a big difference between the Oscars and the Grammys:  in the Oscars, the awards matter along with the show.  Indeed, the awards make the show and always have.

Well, I was not 100% on my predictions. Indeed, some of my predictions were way off.  So, you may be wondering, what do I think of these newly minted award winners?  On the surface, I have few to no complaints whatsoever.  None the less, were I to go category by category, here is what I would consider of these award winners.

Best Visual Effects: I was genuinely surprised to see Ex Machina win.  A damn good movie, one in which I hope more people will look at in the near future.  It was amazing how Alicia Vikander looked in that movie.

Best Film Editing:  No surprise it went to Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Makeup and Hairstyle:  Once again it was Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Production Design:  Mad Max: Fury Road won the award.  I had an idea it would go that route.

Best Sound Editing:  it was Mad Max: Fury Road once again.  I of course am quite pleased with the decision.

Best Animated Short Film:  This was one of the biggest surprises of the night.  I was expecting World Of Tomorrow to have won the award.  In its place the Oscar went to Bear Story, which is unique in it is the first Chilean movie to receive an Oscar of any sort.

Best Live-Action Short Film:  The award went to Stutterer, a short film which I was not certain would win the Oscar.  I was not expecting it, and indeed I have yet to see the short film.  Hopefully it is well made.

Best Documentary Short Subject: I was hoping Claude Lanzmann: Spectres Of The Shoah would have taken the all important prize.  Seeing as how Shoah is one of the most important movies in recent memory, one would have thought a recognition by the Academy would suffice after a considerably long wait for recognition.  None the less, the award and perhaps some financial funding for the film makers' next project was given to A Girl In The River: The Price Of Forgiveness.  I did indeed get to see the documentary when it was on HBO, and it is quite compelling.  In point of fact, the reaction to A Girl In The River is promising, with the hope that honor killings in Pakistan will be eliminated.  Perhaps I should have taken the impact of a documentary on a government as more important than a legacy of a great film and its astounding director.

Best Costume Design:  I was hoping Sandy Powell would have received her Oscar for her impressive designs in Carol.  Alas, the award went to costume designer Jenny Beavan for her designs used in Mad Max: Fury Road.  I have no complaints on this matter, as the designs were quite important to the visual aspect of Mad Max, all four of the films to be precise.

Best Sound Mixing:  I was under the assumption that Gary Rydstrom would have received another Oscar due to his involvement in Bridge Of Spies.  None the less, the award went to Chris Jenkins, Gregg Rudloff and Ben Osmo for their sound designs utilized in Mad Max: Fury Road.  This marked the sixth award Mad Max: Fury Road won, the most of any movie.  And again, it was quite an important aspect for one of the bravest action movies to come in at least my lifetime.

Best Documentary Feature:  I was really expecting the Joshua Oppenheimer film The Look Of Silence to be honored.  Interestingly, the award went to Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees for their film Amy.  Sadly, I have yet to see this interesting documentary on Amy Winehouse; on that matter, I had thought the Nina Simone biographical documentary What Happened, Miss Simone? would have taken the award.  Perhaps I should now see Amy.

Best Animated Film:  Interestingly, I did get to see Anomolisa just before the Oscars.  And I was equally impressed and even emotionally floored with Charlie Kaufman's newest movie.  Heck, I think Tom Noonan should have gotten a Best Supporting Actor nomination, and you will know why once you see it. None the less, I was pleased when Pete Docter won the award for his movie Inside Out.  Do go see Inside Out, both children and parents.  You will not regret the experience.

Best Foreign Language Film:  No surprise, it went to Laszlo Nemes and his debut movie Son Of Saul.  I have only seen clips of this movie, so I do hope to get to see the full movie fairly soon.

Best Original Score:  In a rather touching and meaningful gesture, Ennio Morricone won his First Oscar outside of an honorary one for his work in The Hateful Eight.  I still have not seen that movie yet, though I have listened to the score and it is fantastic. I am not certain if it is among his best, though an award of this magnitude is legitimate.

Best Original Song:  I thought it was a given that Lady Gaga and Diane Warren were to win the Oscar this year.  Gaga's performance of Till It Happens To You had me in tears.  In a surprising move, Sam Smith won the Oscar for his song The Writing's On The Wall, as heard in Spectre.  It is a decent song, and I do commend Sam Smith for his interesting writing and performing.  Yet, it is far from being even among the best James Bond songs.  In my opinion, this one is.

Best Cinematography:  Well, Emmanuel Luzbeki won his second Oscar involving The Revenant.  Well deserved, though I am now wondering if Roger Deakins will ever receive an Oscar now.  Yet, that is irrelevant, as Luzbeki is one of the best DPs in the business these days.

Best Original Screenplay:  I am extremely pleased that Tom McCarthy won this award for Spotlight.  I have been impressed with McCarthy's prowess ever since he was involved with The Wire; and we can now see that early period pay off well.

Best Adapted Screenplay:  In a rather brave and ballsy move, Adam McKay won for the screenplay based on Michael Lewis' book The Big Short.  I thought it was quite an impressive storytelling technique and was pleased with the overall messages displayed.  Indeed, The Big Short has led me to reconsider McKay's other films, both with Will Ferrell and on his own.  Mr. McKay is a very socially and politically keen filmmaker.

Best Supporting Actor:  I was hoping Tom Hardy would have won and I was expecting Sylvester Stallone to win.  So you can imagine that it came as a complete surprise to see Mark Rylance win for his involvement in Bridge Of Spies.  I liked Bridge Of Spies and consider it to be one of Steven Spielberg's better films from his more recent period.  I was also impressed with the screenplay which involved the Coen Brothers.  Indeed, Mr. Rylance stood out in a role which marks only the second time an actor won for a Steven Spielberg film.

Best Supporting Actress:  I thought Rooney Mara sould have been the winner, and while I did not see The Hateful Eight I did see Jennifer Jason Leigh in her moving role in Anomolisa and hoped an Oscar would have come for her.  Instead, it went to Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl.  I have yet to see that movie, and am aware that not everyone thought it was great.  I did however see Ex Machina, and was impressed with Ms. Vikander in that particular role. So for me, I feel Alicia Vikander won mainly for her role in Ex Machina, rather than The Danish Girl. In that regard, I can easily justify her Oscar win.

Best Actor:  Leonardo DiCaprio at long last won an Oscar in The Revenant.  Though I still think the Academy should have nominated more worthy candidates along with DiCaprio, including Michael B. Jordan, Abraham Atta, the cast of Straight Outta Compton, Jacob Tremblay and David Thewlis to name a few; Mr. DiCaprio deserved this Oscar and I a pleased with it.  To think, it has now been 25 years since he became a known actor, starting with one of the Critters movies.  How far we come.

Best Actress:  I liked Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan in their movies, and think Charlotte Rampling is an underrated performer.  Yet I was happy to see Brie Larson win for her role in Room.  It is a most brilliant movie, and deserves the accolades it has received.  My only regret is that Jacob Tremblay was not nominated for Best Actor, and Joan Allen for Best Supporting Actress.  Of course Ms. Allen is well known, and I expect Ms. Larson and Mr. Tremblay to be well involved in films for years to come.

Best Director:  for the second year, the award went to Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu for his film The Revenant.  Mr. Innaritu is one of the most visually impressive filmmakers around today, and The Revenant was quite the master work.

Best Picture:  many times, a Best Director win means a Best Picture win.  So I was by the end of the night expecting The Revenant to collect the top prize.  Instead, Best Picture went to Spotlight, produced by Michael Sugar, Steve Golin, Nicole Rocklin and Blye Pagon Faust.  I have said before that Spotlight was the best movie I saw in 2015, and I am pleased the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences thinks the same way.  By the way, it is still in theaters and now on demand, as are many of the movies discussed in these past essays.  Do see them, and especially go see Spotlight.

Well, those are my thoughts on the Oscars this year, where social and political matters were rightfully at the forefront of the awards and ideas were presented.  I must say this needed to be published earlier.  None the less, I have been attempting to conjure what and how to respond to this ongoing political problem we call the 2016 Presidential Primaries.  It did make its way to the Oscars, of course.  None the less, we now have nine months for the election to take place.  And at some point, this will be warranted to be said when all heck breaks loose.

A more playful of the famous words Martin Lawrence uttered in Bad Boys 2.

Take care and more political discussions to come,

Robert

PS.  By all means, do go see CB4.  It is rather good and still topical.

Predicting the 2015 Oscars, Part 2

Now that we have gotten the lesser known but equally important Oscar categories out of the way, I think it is time to look at the other categories.  These categories are the ones everyone will be talking about by Monday morning.


Best Costume Design:

Not going to win: The Danish Girl
Might contend: Mad Max: Fury Road and The Revenant
Nominees to look for :
Sandy Powell, Carol
Sandy Powell, Cinderella

I believe Sandy Powell will win Best Costume Design, and it will be for Ms. Powell's impressive designs for Carol.  I honestly cannot see this award going to another costume designer for this year, as Ms. Powell was excellent last year.

Best Sound Mixing:

Not going to win: The Martian
Might contend: Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Nominee certain to win:
Gary Rydstrom, et al., Bridge Of Spies

At this point in the film industry, Gary Rydstrom may just be the most important and innovative sound engineer today.  And clearly Mr. Rydstrom was innovative yet again for his designs used in Bridge Of Spies, particularly in the 5.1 mix I heard in the theater and on Blu-Ray.

Best Original Song:

Not going to win: Simple Song #3, from Youth
Nominees to look for:
The Weeknd, et al., Earned It, from Fifty Shades Of Grey
Anohni Hegarty, et al., Manta Ray, from Racing Extinction
Lady Gaga and Diane Warren, Til It Happens To You, from The Hunting Ground
Sam Smith, et al., The Writing's On The Wall, from Spectre

I happened to like Earned It and Manta Ray, even though their respective movies left much to be desired.  Then again, The Weeknd is quite the good singer, and Anohni is someone that will likely get more notice stateside.  I happened to like Spectre, and of course Sam Smith is one of the best singers out there today.
None the less, Till It Happens To You happens to be one of Lady Gaga's most impressive songs; to say nothing of it being one of Diane Warren's best too.  I expect Gaga's performance to be one of the highlights of the show, as it was last year and most recently at the Grammys.  Indeed, Vice President Joe Biden will be introducing her performance in advocacy of the rights of victims of sexual assault.  And having seen The Hunting Ground, I am convinced this is the right way to honor the movie with a great song.

Best Documentary Feature:

Not going to win: Amy, Cartel Land, What Happened, Miss Simone?, and Winter On Fire: Ukraine's Fight For Freedom
Nominee certain to win:
Joshua Oppeneimer, et al., The Look Of Silence

Joshua Oppenheimer has brought forth a most amazing documentary that is a perfect companion piece to his 2012 film The Act Of Killing. I was most particularly impressed with the involvement and reporting taken place to expose the darker secrets of the 1965 purge of communists in Indonesia.  This documentary will certainly win.

Best Foreign language Film

Not going to win: Embrace Of The Serpent, Theeb, and A War
Nominees to watch:
Danize Gamze Erguven, Mustang
Laszlo Nemes, Son Of Saul

Son Of Saul will win best Foreign Language film this year.  It is not even close.  A rather innovative debut for Laszlo Nemes which I think will be looked at as one of the defining movies of 2015, and perhaps a defining anti-war movie.

Best Animated Film:

Not going to win: Boy & The World and Shaun The Sheep Movie
Nominees to watch:
Charlie Kaufman, et al., Anomolisa
Pete Docter, et al., Inside Out
Hiromasa Yonebayashi, et al., When Marnie Was There

I still have yet to see Anomolisa, and hope t see it fairly soon.  None the less, I thought Inside Out was one of the best films of 2015, and the best Disney and Pixar created in quite some time.  Inside Out will in all likelihood be the recipient of a much deserved Oscar.  By the way, if you have children; have them see Inside Out with you.  It will be beneficial for the young and old.

Best Original Screenplay:

Not going to win: Bridge Of Spies
Might pull off an upset: Straight Outta Compton
Nominees to watch:
Alex Garland, Ex Machina
Pete Docter, et al., Inside Out
Tom McCarthy, et al., Spotlight

I was completely blown away by Tom McCarthy's writing in Spotlight.  However, what Pete Docter accomplished with his team in creating Inside Out is astonishing.  It resonates to anyone that has seen this movie, and I hope that Inside Out can be a positive influence on anybody that is in a depressive state.  Again, I was completely impressed with the very intelligent writing.

Best original Score:

Not going to win: Thomas Newman, Bridge Of Spies
Contenders for the Oscar:
Carter Burwell, Carol
Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Johann Johannson, Sicario
John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I have not yet seen The Hateful Eight, yet i did get to hear excerpts from Ennio Morricone's score.  It is quite good, and might win the Oscar.  I think that my sentimental pick would be John Williams, perhaps the most important composer of his field; apart from Mr. Morricone and Carter Burwell.  None the less, the score to any Star Wars movie is of such importance, that without it the movies fall apart.  So I am hoping John Williams will win the Oscar; yet I will not be upset if it goes to an equally deserving composer.

Best Cinematography:

Roger Deakins, Sicario
Edward Lachman, Carol
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant
Robert Richardson, The Hateful Eight
John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road

John Seale quite honestly should win Best Cinematography, in recognition of a most impressive and groundbreaking action-adventure film.  None the less, at some point Roger Deakins needs to get his much deserved Oscar.  I do wonder if Sicario will be the movie to end the streak.  It was shot very well too.

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Not going to win: Drew Goddard, The Martian: from the Andy Weir novel.

Contenders for the Oscar:
Adam McKay et al., The Big Short: from the Michael Lewis book.
Nick Hornby, Brooklyn: from the Colm Toibin novel
Carol: adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel,, initially named The Price Of Salt
Emma Donoghue, Room: adapted from her novel.

All four contenders are worthy of an Oscar.  I would like to see Emma Donoghue win this important award, particularly in adapting her own novel to an excellent movie.  Truthfuly though, I would hope that Adam McKay and his team win the award for their highly intelligent and multi-layered script of The Big Short.

Best Supporting Actor:

Not going to win: Mark Rylance, Bridge Of Spies

Contenders for the Oscar:
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Sylvester Stallone, Creed

I personally would like to see Tom Hardy win Best Supporting Actor.  Mr. Hardy's presence in The Revenant was just completely astounding, and he held his own.  I also really liked Mark Ruffalo, whom I consider one of the better actors that can be involved with socially conscious films.

Yet, I think Sylvester Stallone will take home the Oscar this year.  Creed was one of the more pleasant surprises in 2015: a worthy follow up and an important addendum to the Rocky movies.  And Sylvester Stallone did a tremendous role which was surprisingly poignant once more.  Indeed in light of Tony Burton (Duke in the Rocky movies) having passed away just recently, I am convinced that Mr. Stallone is going to receive his long deserved Oscar.

Best Supporting Actress:

Not going to win:  Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl; and Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs

Contenders for the Oscar:
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight

Again, I have not seen The Hateful Eight yet; but I do like Jennifer Jason Leigh and would be pleased with her winning.  Having mentioned that, I was particularly impressed with Rooney Mara in her role in Carol.  In my opinion, this is a stunning role that I would hope gets Ms. Mara an Oscar.

Best Actor:

Not going to win: Bryan Cranston, Trumbo; Matt Damon, The Martian; Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs; and Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl.

Going to win:
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant

This is the one virtual lock for the Oscar season this year.  Mr. DiCaprio is long deserving of an Oscar, and honestly the competition this year is not as impressive.  Yet, Leonardo DiCaprio should prepare for his well deserved gold statue.

Best Actress:

Not going to win:  Jennifer Lawrence, Joy

Contenders for the Oscar:
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Soairse Ronan, Brooklyn

I have yet to see 45 years, though I do like Charlotte Rampling.  Having mentioned that, in a rather tight and impressive category, I think Brie Larson should win Best Actress this year.  It was quite revealing and impressive.

Best Director:

Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road

It would be a ballsy and brave move for George Miller to win the Oscar.  I would hope Tom McCarthy gets this Oscar and some much deserved acclaim.  Yet, I will not be surprised to see Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu win a second consecutive Best Director Oscar.  A.G.I. is one of the most impressive and unique filmmakers of his or any era.  The Revenant certainly proves this ideal.

Best Picture:

Not going to win:  Steven Spielberg, et al., Bridge Of Spies, and Simon Kinberg and Sir Ridley Scott, et al., The Martian

Could pull off an upset:
Brooklyn
Room
Spotlight

Contending to win it all:

Brad Pitt, et al., The Big Short
George Miller, et al., Mad Max: Fury Road
Arnon Milchan and Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, et al., The Revenant

Once again, the ballsiest and most brave choice would be Mad Max: Fury Road.  My personal choice would be Spotlight.  None the less, the likely and more interesting Best Picture may be The Revenant.  Perhaps AMPAS is awarding Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu The Revenant and from last year Birdman due to the oversight of not honoring 21 Grams and Babel years ago; both of those movies having become modern classics.  Having mentioned that, Birdman and The Revenant are likely going to be modern new classics for many years to come.

I note this is last minute.  None the less, this is before the show begins.  So, now on with the show!  My responses to come in a timely manner.

Happy viewing,

Robert

Handicapping the Oscars, Year 2

On February 28, 2016, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present the 88th annual Academy Awards; better known as the Oscars.  The past year in movies, 2015, was a watershed year in that matters pertaining to how films are distributed and what types of films should get nominations will the focal point for a discussion on the future of the industry.  In all fairness, I am not too certain what will be the future of Hollywood; though I suspect movies will always be around because it is the art form that has shaped our society for some 100 years now.

It is with this idea that I bring forth for the second year my thoughts on the nominations for each Oscar category, and who I think is most deserving of a statue.  Having seen many of the nominated movies, I can certainly attest to these films deserving of a nomination or perhaps even a win in their respective categories. Think of this as a continuation of what Siskel and Ebert had done every year with their hour-long special If We Picked The Winners.  And yes, every category will be looked into.

Best Visual Effects:
Ex Machina
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I am hoping the visual effects team from Star Wars: The Force Awakens gets the award. Yet I was quite impressed with the practical effects used in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Best Film Editing:
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant
Spotlight
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

In the same result as we see in Visual Effects, I would like to see either Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Mad Max: Fury Road take the prize.  A good action adventure film needs to have a competent and dedicated editor or editors to make the perfect cut for a movie.  These two films are clear examples of how editing is needed to make an audience enthralled with what they are seeing.

Best Make-Up and Hairstyle:
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared.
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Revenant

I am more inclined to see The Revenant win this award.  The most impressive Make-Up jobs tend to be the ones that seem most realistic.  This is not to take away Mad Max: Fury Road in its approach to Make-Up and Hairstyle; yet The Revenant was more interesting.

Best Production Design:
Bridge Of Spies
The Danish Girl
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant

I would be pleased for either Mad Max: Fury Road or The Revenant winning this all important category.  Though I would prefer The Revenant due once again to its realistic approach to designs.

Best Sound Editing:
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
The Revenant
Sicario
Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Sound Editing is quite an important award in the process of cutting and splicing soundscapes and audio to enhance a movie.  How I see it, the Revenant did best in the approach to Sound Editing.  I was quite impressed with the results.

Best Animated Short Film:
Bear Story
Prologue
Sanjay's Super Team
We Can't Live Without Cosmos
World Of Tomorrow

I was very impressed with World Of Tomorrow.  Indeed, it is quite possibly one of the better experimental animated films to come out in recent years.  It is a near certainty that World Of Tomorrow will win Best Animated Short.

Best Live Action Short:
Ave Maria
Day One
Everything Will Be Okay
Shok
Stutterer

Shok seems to be the most interesting Short Subject to win this award.  It is a very good period piece regarding the war in Kosovo in the 1990s.

Best Documentary Short Subject:
Body Team 12
Chau, Behind The Lines
Claude Lanzmann, Spectres Of The Shoah
A Girl In The River: The Price Of Forgiveness
Last Day Of Freedom

I am hoping that Claude Lanzmann: Spectres Of The Shoah wins this category.  Shoah, though extremely long even for a documentary, is one of the better movies to have been released in some 40 years.  This seems to be the most proper way of rectifying the oversight.

Now that is part one of my look at the Oscar nominees this year.  The remaining categories are a bit more thorough to consider and thus, since this took me a while to finish, I have decided to present a part two which will be posted shortly.

More to come; stay tuned,

Robert

And the Oscar goes to...

It has been nearly a week since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for 2015 films in the next Oscars telecast on February 28.  This will be the 89th annual Academy Awards ceremony, the most prestigious and important night for the motion picture industry centered in Hollywood.  It also happens to be one of the few awards shows I tend to watch as much as I can: they easily run overtime.  So, what do I think of the nominations this year?

For the past three years, after Roger Ebert passed away, I have been attempting to see movies that I know will be excellent.  That fortunately results in getting to look at movies year round that are quite good and are easily Oscar caliber.  That is not to say there were some clunkers I saw this past year, but they were few and far between.  In this regard, I was able to see many of the nominated movies this past year; the most recent of which is the Lenny Abrahamson movie Room, which I highly recommend though it is not for the faint of heart.  A great deal of these movies that I saw have one thing in common:  the filmmakers and people involved with these movies are lily white mostly.  Half of the films I saw this year only had white people.  This was not a choice of mine; the fact is the bulk of what is considered best in 2015 were what we may consider white movies.  There are exceptions: the newest Spike Lee masterwork Chi-Raq, Straight Outta Compton, Creed, possibly Sicario, and I would surmise Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Those movies dealt with issues and people that are minorities.  Let it be known, I have not yet seen Quentin Tarantino's new film The Hateful Eight.

I want to take notice of Chi-Raq for a moment.  Any one that has seen Spike Lee's latest joint would immediately consider this not only among the best of 2015, yet perhaps Mr. Lee's most coherent and innovative movie in recent years.  I tend to think all of Spike Lee's movies, including recent films like Oldboy, are interesting and innovative.  By the way, I hope the three hour plus director's cut of Oldboy is released soon enough.  Back to Chi-Raq, it was a marvelous film; Teyonah Parris is a star in the making, Nick Cannon can actually act, and anytime Angela Basset, Jennifer Hudson and Samuel L. Jackson appear in a movie of this sort you know to expect some of the best method acting around.

And I watched it on Amazon Prime.

Yes, Amazon Prime.  Indeed, Jeff Bezos of Amazon teamed with Spike Lee's 40 Acres And A Mule Filmworks along with Roadside Attractions in financing this film.  Rather than what would be perceived as a one time deal; online streaming and financing is going to be the future of how we view movies.  We are seeing this in the realm of American television, wherein Netflix, Amazon, Vimeo, YouTube, Apple and other providers are not only distributing shows; these businesses are financing newer talent and taking the risks to produce quality series that networks are not prone to carry.  As a result of the web's omnipresence, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmys) have allowed web shows to qualify for their respective awards.

Up to now, there has not been a need for the Oscars to look at this web presence.  However, that is going to change; what with Chi-Raq being shown on Amazon and Netflix co-financing Beasts Of No Nations, a movie I have not yet seen.  Rest assured, as the trend continues for most multiplexes to show only the movies guaranteed to fill the box office, more important and thoughtful films will be exhibited online first.  And I am sad to say, this will affect African-American cinema; notably non-action based films by African-Americans.  It is already a rare sight when a black culture film like Dear White People is able to be released to theaters nationwide, much less been seen willingly by white people.  I mentioned that when I saw that movie, which by the way also starred Teyonah Parris, there were about a dozen or so in the theater seeing it; maybe two people in there were white, including me.

This brings me to something that has been brought to my attention, along with others recently.  The membership of the Academy happens to be some 80% white, and 76% of that 80% being men.  The average minimal age for most Academy members is 60.  As well, as much as we do not like to admit this, nearly all Academy members have not gotten over the end of the New Hollywood era; that period of time when the studios and their parent companies allowed free reign in what movies were made. Thus, the voting members tend to look at awarding people from that time (1963-1993) or those that remind the voters of that time period.  A noble and understandable gesture; yet it has been 23 years since what I consider the end of New Hollywood, when Steven Spielberg changed course in his movies starting with Schindler's List.  I hope to explain why I think it marked an end of an era later on.

It is rather obvious that, in this post Roger Ebert, post movie house era of films, AMPAS will need to alter their membership and outlook.  There have been small steps recently, including Spike Lee receiving an honorary Oscar and Cheryl Boone Isaacs becoming the first female African American President of the Academy.  Yet those are just small measures; far more important will be issues pertaining to qualifications for movies shown online or on demand first.  This will go along with a greater emphasis on independent films and more avant garde choices.  Perhaps there will be a newer New Hollywood that can emerge.

That being said, what are my Oscar predictions?  Well in short, I thought the best movie of 2015 was the Tom McCarthy directed Spotlight.  Quite obviously, Spotlight is a movie that fits the paradigm of what New Hollywood represented, and has the ability to show risk taking in a blockbuster or nothing environment.  It is my hope that Spotlight wins Best Picture, Tom McCarthy wins Best Director, and Mr. McCarthy along with Josh Singer win Best Original Screenplay at least.  I would like to see Leonardo Dicaprio win Best Actor in The Revenant, and I do hope Brie Larson or Soairse Ronan win Best Actress in either Room or Brooklyn, respectively.  I have not yet seen the Charlotte Rampling movie 45 years, yet I do consider Ms. Rampling to be one of the more iconic screen presences in her lifetime.  I think Rooney Mara should win Best Supporting Actress in Carol, though I have yet to see the Quentin Tarantino film The Hateful Eight which nabbed Jennifer Jason Leigh her first nomination.  Mind you, I did like Rachel McAdams in Spotlight.  And this might be a bit controversial; yet I think Tom Hardy is most deserving of a Best Supporting Actor win in The Revenant. Though of course, Mark Ruffalo is a great actor himself, particularly in Spotlight.

  Best Adapted Screenplay is a bit of a push: I liked what Emma Donoghue accomplished in writing her own screenplay to Room based on her novel.  I was also amazed at Adam McKay and Charles Randolph adapting Michael Lewis' book The Big Short into an impressive film.  Either one would be fine by me.  Best Cinematography should go to Roger Deakins who shot Sicario, though I would also think John Seale for his involvement with Mad Max: Fury Road would be a wise choice.  Best Editing should go to Margaret Sixel who edited Mad Max: Fury Road, though I was impressed with Tom McArdle and his approach to cutting Spotlight.  And I would like to see Carter Burwell finally win an Oscar for his musical score used in Carol.

There are of course other nominees and other categories to consider.  And I will be doing that in the week or so running up to the February 28 awards ceremony.  Right now, these are my inferences and hopes for who will take home the prize.  Just to let it be known: I will be watching and I do hope to either live blog the event or perhaps even record my reactions on video while it is still ongoing.  I commit to not delaying the live blogging like what happened last year; albeit that was also due to getting laid off from my previous job the day after last year's Oscars.  This time should be quite different.

One other thing I want to mention.  I am a subscriber to YouTube's Red paid membership site.  I am pleased that I can see content that otherwise would be restricted or ad driven on the free site.  None the less, I am hoping YouTube Red will be allowed to start streaming movies through the subscription service.  As of now, some movies of importance are allowed without paying extra.  Most of these films though are of this quality.

These are the sorts of films I watch when snow weekends are here.

One more week until the first primaries: stay tuned for my thoughts,

Robert

A tale of two Halls of Fame

On Wednesday, the National Baseball Hall Of Fame, dedicated to presumably honor the greats in Major League Baseball and American Baseball at the highest levels, announced the results of the vote taken late last year by the BBWAA.  The BBWAA are the organization of sports writers devoted to covering MLB and making their slack-jawed opinions known whether we want them or not.  Every year, a select number of recently retired ballplayers who have been inactive for at least five years are voted by these writers to receive this prestigious honor.  And in most cases, ballplayers that deserve the honor are routinely denied the honor of having a day devoted to them and a permanent plaque in Cooperstown, NY.

For 2016, only 2 ballplayers will receive a plaque.  These players are Ken Griffey Jr., one of the better center fielders of the 1990s and early 2000s who totaled more than 620 home runs and a slew of personal records; and Mike Piazza, perhaps the best hitting catcher of his era with over 420 home runs and 2600 hits.  Being from New York, most of the attention is on Piazza getting in; more so now since he will go in as a Met.  By the way, Junior Griffey is going in as a Mariner, but that was a given.  It is all well and good, until you realize the amount of ballplayers and off-the-field leaders who are not in the Hall of Fame, either still alive or since passed away.

I was going to provide a list of these oversights, yet that will be for another time.  Suffice to say, these oversights, brought forth by a collection of sportswriters and self-proclaimed moralists who think only the purest of pure shall be granted induction, have greatly delineated most people's interest in the Hall of Fame beyond a regional level.  I will have more to say about this one day.  It might though be a multi-part examination of the Hall of Fame which I know few of you have interest in reading about now, so perhaps in the summer this will suffice.

Now, onto a more lively and exciting Hall of Fame discussion.  One day after the Baseball Hall of Fame announced their inductees, the Pro Football Hall Of Fame announced the 18 finalists for their Class of 2016.  The 8 inductees will be revealed at the NFL Honors one day before Super Bowl 50, February 6, 2016.  Now right then and there, the reveal carries a lot more weight in the NFL than MLB cares to be involved with.  As well, the 18 finalists are of such great importance that any of these finalists could be inducted this year and no problems would be had for who went in and who did not.  The 18 finalists are:

Morten Andersen
Steve Atwater
Don Coryell (1924-2010)
Terrell Davis
Edward DeBartolo Jr.
Tony Dungy
Alan Faneca
Brett Favre
Kevin Greene
Marvin Harrison
Joe Jacoby
Edgerrin James
John Lynch
Terrell Owens
Orlando Pace
Ken Stabler (1945-2015)
Dick Stanfel (1927-2015)
Kurt Warner

With that in mind, discussion these next few weeks will turn to who gets inducted, when we are not following the playoffs and being armchair quarterbacks.  As I mentioned before, 8 of the 18 finalists are likely to be inducted.  4 of them are certain locks.  These would be Brett Favre, Ken Stabler, Dick Stanfel and Edward DeBartolo Jr.  Stabler and Stanfel made it to be Senior Committee nominees, and Debartolo Jr. is the Contributor nominee; that means three of the eight slots are to be reserved for these specialized candidates. I am certain all three will go in.  It also goes without saying that Brett Favre is a certain lock, and I need not explain why.

So that leaves 4 finalists to be inducted.  Here is how I see the direction this will go. From what I gather, the four I would choose to go along with the obvious locks are as follows:

Kurt Warner:  I do realize we are talking about inducting three quaterbacks getting in one year.  However, there have been no quatrerbacks inducted since 2006; so the Hall of Fame is in need of ending the quarterback drought.  Warner's backstory and accomplishments speak for themselves I believe.

Kevin Greene:  when Kevin Greene retired after 15 years following the 1999 season, Mr. Greene amassed 160 quarterback sacks.  Not only was it the third best total of that era; it was and still is the most sacks by a linebacker.  Only Lawrence Taylor came closest with 142 sacks.  Nine times during his career, Kevin Greene led his team in sacks, and had been a pivotal component in being a defensive leader for playoff teams.  It is often hard to pick which team Greene made the most impact for, though I think it was the LA Rams.  None the less, Kevin Greene was clearly one of the more consistent linebackers and defensive play makers of his time, and should finally get the long sought induction this year.

Tony Dungy:  starting as an effective assistant coach, and then becoming a most impressive head coach with the Bucs and Colts; Tony Dungy had an impressive track record in turning around piss-poor teams and making them playoff contenders.  The results are impressive: 148 wins, 10 seasons of 10 or more wins, only one losing season, only two seasons not making the playoffs, three conference championship games, and in 2007 winning Super Bowl 41.  With that, Dungy became the first African-American head coach of a Super-Bowl winning team.  Not only that, Tony Dungy was and still is an important mentor and role model to his players and active in numerous charitable activities; not to mention his impressive transition to NBC's football coverage and analysis.

Marvin Harrison:  never the flashiest player, Marvin Harrison went on to become one of the better wide receivers in the game.  Along with perhaps the best wide receiver in Colts history.  To this day, Harrison holds the record for the most receptions in one season, set in 2002 with 143.  He also had nine seasons of 10 or more touchdowns and 1000 receiving yards, 4 seasons of 100 receptions, only one season in playing less than 10 games, 188 starts out of 190 games played, 1,102 receptions, 128 touchdowns and 14,580 yards.  Harrison is also part of the most accomplished quarterback to wide receiver tandem in NFL history along side Peyton Manning.  And yes, he did win a Super Bowl as well.

Once again, I presume these will be the eight inductees announced next month.  I do think there will be five finalists that could also get selected this year which would not surprise me.

Terrell Owens:  though having never won a Super Bowl, and not as consistent in his later years than his 49ers tenure; Terrell Owens was quite the good wide receiver.  Owens was also one of the best characters in the game as well, complimenting his 153 touchdowns and numerous records of importance.

Terrell Davis:  he only played 7 seasons, and then only the first four were fantastic.  Yet I keep mentioning this opinion:  the Denver Broncos do not win back to back Super Bowls without Terrell Davis, who came and went as if he were a bright comet.  Very comparable to the shortened career of Gale Sayers, whom by the way went in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot though never appearing in the playoffs.  If Sayers is in, Davis should go in one day.

Alan Faneca:  a great Steelers offensive lineman similar to Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson.  Faneca also had 11 fumble recoveries and started 201 out of 206 games played.  As well, for a retired player, Alan Faneca looks much better today than in his playing years.

Orlando Pace:  Pace was the leading fulcrum in guiding the greatest show on turf during the halcyon era of the Rams.  He started 165 out of 169 games played and recovered 9 fumbles along the way.

Morten Andersen:  the all time leader in games played, points, field goals, points after touchdowns, field goals of at least 50 yards, and holds the team records for kicking in both the Saints and the Falcons.  Andersen became the prototype for the idea of the kicker to be the deciding factor in not only a win for a team, but also an identity.

I think Steve Atwater may be waiting at least another year.  Don Coryell might get a posthumous induction, though Coryell not having been to a Super Bowl is a bit of a damper.  John Lynch will get inducted one day, though it may take a few years.  Edgerrin James will likely go in one or two years from now.  And Joe Jacoby is a candidate that could be a surprise inductee, though I am just not seeing it this year.

Well, those are my thoughts on the two different Halls of Fame.  Truthfully it is really only the Pro Football Hall of Fame that my focus was on; not a surprise since I am more interested in football than baseball.

I have also been informed that this marks one year since I started this weblog page.  To all that are continuing on this journey with me; I offer my heartfelt thanks and appreciation.  2016 is promising to be a very intriguing year and one full of newer possibilities and avenues to show my opinions.  I hope you will like what is coming next.

More coming; stay tuned,

Robert

An Award that means little and a Station that means a lot

This Sunday, I and others watched the American Music Awards.  Some of the performances were quite excellent; I really liked seeing Coldplay, Alanis Morrisette, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Meghan Trainor and Celine Dion.  Yet, the others either had a bit of an off night; or they are not that great singers and performers as one may think.  I do not outright hate them; yet I am not one to buy their CDs or hear their new songs on Apple Music and iTunes.  Of the leading artists that either performed or were there, I can think of only one band or artist that is among the all time greats:

Coldplay.

The only other artists that come close to being legendary and influential singers that night were:

Alanis Morrisette
Gwen Stefani
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Carrie Underwood

The rest, even though I may like them; I do not think they will ever sniff the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or even receive a Lifetime Grammy, AMA, or MTV award.  It is quite clear that the mainstream music scene is running out of ideas.

And yet, there is some good music to still be found.  One place that I do find it, apart from the Apple Music service, is the radio station of Fordham University.  It is 90.7 WFUV, and it frankly is a godsend.  If you want to get a sampling of the best music of 2015, WFUV is the station to go to.  In fact, here are some songs I have heard on WFUV  released this year that might eventually make my personal best of music list next month.  Do have a look and see if you like these.


Adele - Hello

Kurt Vile - Pretty Pimpin

Tame Impala - The Less I Know The Better

Dawes - Things Happen

Josh Tillman aka Father John Misty - True Affection

John Grant and Tracey Thorn - Disappointing

Nathaniel Rateliff - SOB

Dave Gahan - All Of This And Nothing

New Order - Restless

And again this is just a Small sampling of some of the best music one can find: albeit, I doubt I Heart Media will play these songs on their stations, and you can forget MTV showing any of these videos.

One more song. This ties with the Christmas and holiday seasons upon us.

Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You

More observations of the year to come as we draw it to a close.

Have a good night,

Robert

We blew it!

The title refers to one of the iconic lines in movie history, when Captain America (Peter Fonda) disagrees with Billy (Dennis Hopper) on their success of their cross country trek in Easy Rider.  A little afterwards, both main characters are killed by a ragtag group of ignorant rednecks.  In retrospect, it may not have been the best idea to have the two leads make their money off of drugs and getting in on a wild mind trip.  These sorts of ambiguities are not shown in most movies.  Indeed, the rare times these ambiguities are shown involve the drug war.  We can go on a long discussion regarding the drug war and its abject failure; that will be for another time.

For now, our focus is the drug war's effect on law enforcement and public policy.  Two weeks ago, the newest film from Denis Villeneuve, Sicario, was released.  It marks Villeneuve's second collaboration with Academy Award nominated Roger Deakins, and involves a great screenplay from newcomer Taylor Sheridan.  As well, Thad Luckinbill (J.T. Hellstrom on The Young and the Restless) was one of the producers of this movie, along with his twin brother Trent, as part of their new Black Label Media company.  By all accounts, this is a great movie; in fact one of the best films of this year, along with some of the best acting people like Emily Blunt and Benicio Del Toro have shown in quite some time.  Like many of these sorts of fictional works, Sicario tells us a heck of a lot more about our failed drug policies than what we can usually expect from our leaders.  Rarely if ever will you see a political figure declare the "War On Drugs" to have failed and been bad policy from the word go.  Because to do that would reveal greater truths that would cause the public great outrage.

By this point, I am going to expose some important plot points this movie explores; although going in you should know that Denis Villeneuve does not go for happy endings. Just about every film of Villeneuve's involve moral ambiguity.  Sicario brings this to the forefront in the last hour or so. While not going into full detail, what seems like a clear cut operation to curtail the finances of Mexican drug lords turns into a continuation of US Government policy in effectively running the drug trade.  It is evident when Victor Garber's character pretty much sanctions these extrajudicial means of obtaining a drug cartel's finances; it is more pronounced when Emily Blunt's character gets into a one-night stand with a corrupt Texas cop played by Jon Bernthal that is found to be a bag man for the cartel's leaders.  And it is most obviously evident when twice in Sicario Benecio Del Toro's character is mentioned by his code name Medellin.

If you are not familiar with the word and meaning of Medellin, or if you only remember it as Vincent Chase's first movie he directed yet was panned (see Entourage), the Medellin drug cartel in Colombia was during the late 1970's through early 1990's the most profitable drug running operation known to man.  And while it was Pablo Escobar that ruled society with sort of an iron fist before he was gunned down in 1993; the financial whirlwind was benefited most by (gasp!) the United States Government.  This is pretty much explained after the second time we hear Del Toro's character mentioned as Medellin after Alejandro (Del Toro) pretty much seeks out his wife and daughter's killer alone.

It is that second time when Kate (Blunt) hears the phrase; leading to her punching Josh Brolin's character, a CIA task force leader, in the face.  Afterwards, Brolin's character states that the US Government needs to resurrect the Medellin cartel in order to curb the turf wars in Mexico.  And it is due to, as Matt (Brolin) states "20 million people snorting and smoking this stuff"; this stuff being cocaine, of course.  And yes, Alejandro does get to murder the drug cartel leader and his family while having dinner.  And it is implied that Kate leaves the agency after signing papers legislating the legality of the drug operations.  All the same, nothing is truly ended.  The side story of a father and cop from Juarez doing supply routes in order to get some extra money just to get by ends in that cop being killed by Alejandro.  The last scene shows his wife and son attending a soccer game the son is playing; you can hear gunfire as the game goes on.  Indeed, that reminded me of how for many in thee countries the way out is through sports, association football in particular.  Even so, there is no guarantee one will get out alive through sports.  The year after Pablo Escobar was killed; Andres Escobar (no relation) was gunned down by a rival cartel after accidentally causing Team Colombia to use their quarterfinal round in the 1994 World Cup: the infamous own goal game.

It is quite amazing yet sad that a great deal of policies and funding for programs and other matters pertaining to the United States is continually done through the proliferation of illegal drugs.  I know the easiest thing to do would be to have everyone stop taking this shit; yet it is this same shit that finances these extrajudicial operations the United States Government does without consequence.  I firmly believe a movie can tell people a greater truth than what we may witness in our real life news reports.  For me, this is the second film in as many years that exposes our country's double standards at least regarding drug usage and proliferation.  Last year Kill The Messenger, one of the better movies of 2014, did not get as much public attention as it should have; apparently the truth is still a bitter pill to swallow among moviegoers at large.  Fortunately, Sicario is still playing at theaters near you; and you can also eventually see it on demand or on Blu-Ray; same goes with Kill The Messenger.  Do go see this movie.  I will have more to say regarding the drug war culture soon enough.

Talk to you shortly,

Robert

Impressions on Show Me A Hero

In my previous essay, I gave a brief primer on what I think might be the most important miniseries of 2015.  That would be the David Simon & Paul Haggis 6 part miniseries Show Me A Hero.  Since I gave a synopsis and background on the events referenced in the miniseries, and mentioned some of the more noted actors and up-and-comers with great roles; I felt it best to mention some interesting aspects of what I saw that impressed me quite well.  Perhaps if you saw it, you may think the same.

Show Me A Hero begins with Nick Wasiscko (Oscar Isaac) getting out of his car and passing by the burial plot of his father.  Interspersed without much words is a cutaway shot of Wasiscko's beeper going off to remind him to call 911.  We see this scene two other times.  The second time is at the beginning of part 4, when we then see Nick looking at a person and thinking it is his father; although we do not see Nick regurgitating his Maalox.  The final time is at the end; which is the culmination of what would turn out to be his final day in life.  You see, on October 29, 1993, Nick Wasiscko killed himself right near his father's burial plot.  It was the culmination of a spiral which would have Mr. Wasiscko not be on a ballot on election day for the first time in 8 years.  By that point in his life, although married to a smart person and effectively free from the grind of Yonkers politics, Nick Wasiscko was despondent over a perceived investigation into finances accrued during his time as Mayor: although nothing relating to corruption was ever found. 

This reminded me of a technique Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu has used in his movies.  In that, Innaritu begins his films with a scene or dream that may mean something.  It is repeated at the end, only this time in an alternate fashion under a different point of view and/or an added context.  I must say I was impressed with this storytelling technique; which I think is more of a Paul Haggis trademark than you would expect from David Simon.  Initially, I did not place the scenes at the graveyard as being flash forwards until the final 20 minutes or so for Part 6.  The giveaway for me was seeing Oscar Isaac wearing the same green turtleneck as you see when Show Me A Hero starts.  That is when I realized the initial scenes at the graveyard would be repeated and enhanced at the end.  And indeed it does, coupled with a David Simon trademark ending montage and where are the rest now texts interspersed. 

This brings me to another observance about Show Me A Hero that rather stunned me.  In past David Simon series such as Homicide, The Wire, Generation Kill and Treme; characters eventually move on, many living yet some having passed.  Yet, particularly regarding The Wire, we are left with the realization that while there are changes, nothing really has changed.  Think of it: the Baltimore Homicide unit still fights an uphill cause of righting the wrongs of the city; The Game still continues even though as Slim Charles says "It just got more fierce"; we are still in Iraq and in other military zones in the Middle East; and New Orleans is still in a lengthy process of recovering. 

It is rather different in Show Me A Hero.  That is because the public housing project in Yonkers works, even to this day with some 200 projects developed each year.  Those still alive are still living in Yonkers and/or Westchester County, yet there lives are a heck of a lot better than decades prior.  As well, the legal matters regarding the City of Yonkers were eventually settled....in 2007!  None the less, they are settled.  Possibly the one leading constant in the past 28 years has been Judge Leonard B. Sand still on the bench; albeit as a senior district court judge but still quite active. 

In part 1 of this essay, I alluded to the Clarke Peters character,  Robert Mayhawk, as plausibly being a fictional composite character of the many different community organizers and land developers that were involved in the early 1990s.  I suppose I am correct in this assessment, as can be witnessed in the final end credits montage of the actor and his/her real life counterpart.  There clearly is not one for Clarke Peters.  I do feel however that Mr. Peters' role is an important piece of the puzzle when examining the matters pertaining to the housing project.  As well, similar to Peters' roles as Lester Freamon in The Wire and Big Chief in Treme, there is a sense of moral clarity and realistic ideals that his character provides to others.  I think of a scene in part 6, where Mayhawk, Oscar Newman (Peter Riegert) and others are hosting a seminar for proper neighbor policy.  Clearly, many of the African-American homeowners are feeling belittled and/or insulted.  Yet, Mayhawk responds with what TV Tropes likes to call an armor-piercing question.  I'm paraphrasing here, but what is said is that in wanting a better life, most things would be different.  Not necessarily better, but different.  So with that in mind, is it better to be in a different environment with a promising future, or a bleak future with same results?  Well, as we see towards the end, the homeowners understand these matters and are able to make different yet better lives for themselves.  Obviously it is best shown with Doreen Henderson (Natalie Paul), who has indeed become an important figure in the community. 

Show Me A Hero utilizes songs from two distinct singer songwriters.  One is Bruce Springsteen, which at times seems like during the run of the miniseries we are hearing a greatest hits package.  It is quite meticulously done and fits the scenes these songs are placed in.  A more specific and yet important example is Steve Earle.  Mr. Earle has appeared in supporting roles in The Wire and Treme; and in Show Me A Hero a deep cut from his album The Hard Way is played at the end of every installment.  It is a song named When The People Find Out.  Here is the initial recording from 1990. 

In the last installment, a newer acoustic version is heard which is more somber.  I personally prefer the newer version, which is far more biting and attentive to Earle's lyrical wisdom.  Now, there is another song played on the last installment which I am not too sure what it is, though it sounds quite good.

One final impression Show Me A Hero had on me, and I think I am not alone in this regard.  I found this miniseries to be more promising and important than a film Paul Haggis did 10 years ago.  That movie of course was Crash, which I did like and still think was a surprise gem in 2005; I do not think it was worthy of a Best Picture Oscar, as I would have preferred Munich or Syriana as better movies that year.  None the less, this is one of Mr. Haggis' best projects he has done recently.  And one of two this year, the other being his involvement in the Alex Gibney documentary Going Clear; of which I mentioned in an earlier post.

Quite honestly, I am looking forward to what will be the next David Simon series or film he and his team at Blown Deadline have up their sleeve.  Understandably, initiating a newer series or film or even book will take time; yet I look forward when the time comes.  I feel the same way for Paul Haggis and his team at Pretty Pictures.  Indeed, on a different matter, I am glad to see Mr. Haggis not need Scientology to advance in his endeavors.

Oh, one final thing.  The person in elderly care in Part 1 of Show Me A Hero looked fairly familiar.  I have now found out the actor was Rene Auberjonois; quite a nice cameo from one of the more iconic Hey, It's That Guy actors out there.  Here is one of his more known roles.

In short, Show Me A Hero is on my shortlist for the best television in 2015; it is already for me the best miniseries.  If this were a movie, it would definitely be among the best of this year.  In fact, if Show Me A Hero cannot get Emmy nominations; I do not see why it should not receive Oscar nominations.  It is that good.

All The Pieces Matter,

Robert

PS.  Related to Scientology.  I am becoming convinced that the Church of Scientology had a role in the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman.  I will explain more soon.

Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy.

This past Sunday night, while many my age and a number of others were watching the MTV VMAs in a year that did not honor the types of music you find on Fordham University's radio station; I was watching the concluding two hours of what I think is HBO's third important television event of the year.  The first two were the Andrew Jarecki documentary miniseries The Jinx and the Alex Gibney film Going Clear.  I could possibly add a third already in Andy Samberg's brilliant sports faux biography 7 Days In Hell.  Yet, this might have outclassed all three of them.

David Simon is clearly one of the most inventive writers and producers of TV out there today.  Show Me A Hero, a collaboration of ideas between Simon and his team along with noted filmmaker and Oscar winner Paul Haggis, is easily the best television program to have been shown this year.  It may not be at the same groundbreaking and innovative functions set forth in The Wire; yet this does come quite close in miniseries form.  Like many of Mr. Simon's projects, this delves in relations in a community in changing times.  However, this story told is one that is entirely true.

When Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan was first elected to the US Senate in 1976, one of his goals relative to his home state of New York was to see implementation of housing for families and individuals with lower income levels relative to the norm in the state.  It was not until the 1982 election of Gov. Mario Cuomo, a fellow New York Democrat and political figure with a working class background, that Sen. Moynihan was able to have a statewide ally in housing plans.  At the time, New York was a state where there were an equalization between liberal minded areas and conservative minded areas.  Usually in the cities like Manhattan and the Five Boroughs, then as now, projects like public housing were given wide support. 

However, the suburbs and rural sections of the state were far more conservative and Republican oriented.  None the less, some of these enclaves like Long Island (namely Nassau County) were able to acquiesce to federal mandates for housing; willing to go along due to Republican Sen. Al D'Amato's approval of the projects.  A noted suburb that held out in initiating public housing was the Westchester County city of Yonkers.  Yonkers at that time, and now even, is a location for city dwellers without having to actually live in the city; that would include the Bronx.  Not making derogatory statements; just mentioning a fact that people who want to be close to NYC yet are not living there will prefer the housing locations in Westchester County as a more family friendly alternative.  Much of the demographics of Yonkers in the 1980s were for the most part well-to-do white families. 

That all began to change by 1987.  As a result of federally funded legislation to desegregate public housing, New York Southern District Court Judge Leonard B. Sand declared the city of Yonkers in contempt of court.  This was followed by an order to develop 200 housing quarters for lower income families in Yonkers' east side.  Many of the people living in Yonkers did not take this order lightly.  As I mentioned before, it was a predominately Republican community rejecting the more Democratic minded policies that needed to be done.  It is here that Show Me A Hero offers the stories and glimpses of many of these people who were either directly involved with providing the housing or were tenants for these projects.

Like many of David Simon's series, there is not one central person to look at when so many lives are intertwined.  Yet if there is a central figure, it would need to be Yonkers Mayor Nick Wasiscko, a Democrat who was elected to the city Council in 1985 at just 26.  Two years later, Wasiscko was elected as the youngest Mayor in the history of Yonkers at only 28.  In this miniseries, Oscar Isaac portrays Nick Wasicko in a role that were there any justice in this world he would have been given the Emmy for Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie straight away.  In some respects, Mr. Isaac shows us a multi-tiered look at Wasiscko that does not make him look like the second coming of a Lincoln or a Roosevelt.  In fact, Wasiscko was elected Mayor on a platform of rejecting the housing decision.  Yet, after Wasiscko's election, the City of Yonkers' appeal was lost. 

There is a line in the miniseries that Oscar Isaac says during one of the more raucous council meetings which I think sums up the need to press forward with the housing projects.  The line, "Majority rules but it cannot rule contrary to the law", does give the noted conundrum on how certain matters of law need to be accepted.  And admittedly, the first three parts of this miniseries might be found by non political people to be a bit dry; what with the emphasis placed on the city council as well as the federal circuit courts.  Yet, there are not too many movies or shows that relate to the inner workings of local government when it is usually the decisions of a town council or city ordinance that will directly affect the needs and desires of its populace. 

As I mentioned earlier, Oscar Isaac and his portrayal of Nick Wasiscko may seem to be the central focus of this miniseries.  Yet, there are of course many other actor involved that merit recognition.

Catherine Keener:  her portrayal of Yonkers resident and advocate Mary Dorman would also be worthy of at least an Emmy nomination.  Keener does not show up until part two; yet it is an interesting yet understated role that reflects Mrs. Dorman's evolution from being against the public housing initiative to becoming one of the few white homeowners outside of public office willing to become friends and partners with the African-American and Hispanic communities.  There is no dramatic epiphany or any sort of emotional outburst making the change known.  Rather, similar to the gradual evolution of characters we saw on The Wire (and I am particularly thinking of Andre Royo's brilliant Bubbles), the eventual reversal of ideals comes without forewarning and yet feels as if these ideals were already in the making.

Alfred Molina:  Molina plays Mayor Hank Spallone, whom defeated Wasiscko for the job in 1989 before Spallone himself was defeated two years later.  Mayor Spallone was a brash sort of political figure that felt more at ease with being the antagonistic pest, rather than running a city.  Mr. Molina is one of our greatest actors, and even in a kind of smaller scale role, when Molina is on screen, he owns the scene. 

Ilfenesh Hadera:  she is a newly minted actress that portrays Alma Febles; a single mother from Puerto Rico that would over the years become a success story in earning a decent living and providing well for her children and now grandchildren.

Natalie Paul:  another new actress who plays Doreen Henderson.  Ms. Henderson started out having drug problems which intensified after the death of a male companion in the inner cities (played by one of the kids from season four of The Wire; I think the one that played Namond.)  She did become a success story in effectively being the leading advocate for people living in public housing, similar to what Mary Dorman was for her community. 

LaTanya Richardson Jackson:  her portrayal of Norma O'Neal is rather interesting.  Ms. O'Neal was a nurse practitioner who eventually went blind due to diabetes.  She also was very much involved in matters relating to housing, yet did not fully integrate due to different forms of opinions with newer generations of civil rights leaders. 

Clarke Peters:  the important gem in any David Simon series.  Mr. Peters only shows up in the last two parts, yet it is his portrayal of Robert Mayhawk (possibly not an actual person) that provides the conscience and wisdom of the matters relating to housing and integration.  And like in previous roles, Clarke Peters has the lines which I think matter most.

Carla Quevedo:  her portrayal of Nay Wasiscko is quite important, namely as the eventual better half of the relationship.  I do hope we hear more from Ms. Quevedo to come.

There are of course other roles and many other actors to note for this miniseries.  Winona Ryder doing excellent work as Vinni Restiano, Jim Belushi in a rare dramatic role as Mayor Angelo Martinelli, Bob Balaban doing superbly as Judge Leonard B. Sand, Jon Bernthal providing some important ideals as NAACP lawyer Mike Sussman, Peter Riegert in the role of Oscar Newman that is an important insight into how housing plans are developed.  Dominique Fishback is another up and comer portraying young single mother Billie Rowan. 

I will have a second essay to explain a lot more on many of the interesting touches made to this miniseries.  Perhaps this one is quite long as is.  None the less, it is a great miniseries; one that I think should be required viewing for anyone involved with community services pertaining to local matters.

More coming; stay tuned,

Robert

PS.  I am liking the new Google logo.  And I am keenly interested in what Alphabet will bring to the table of new ideas.

That One Summer: One Hour Photo

It has now been exactly one year since Robin Williams died.  One year in which I and may others keep wondering what has changed since then.  One year that we have been asking ourselves if we were able to see the warning signs of a sad and troubled soul who had a gift for making people better in thoughts and laughter when needed.  When I heard that Robin Williams had committed suicide, I kept thinking to 12 years before, when I and many others saw an excellent movie Mr. Williams was in that I think would have been the game changer in how many saw him.  That movie was One Hour Photo; one of the few times I walked out of the theater feeling disturbed. 

One Hour Photo is quite possibly one of the better movies of 2002, and certainly amongst the creepiest films to have been produced.  It was one of those movies that needed repeated viewing and a thorough analysis to what was just seen.  Like many of the great horror films, it would leave audiences wondering what they had just seen, and unsure of the ending being presented.  In some ways, I think this was due to this movie being written and directed by Mark Romanek; an innovative filmmaker of music videos.  Amazingly, One Hour Photo was only his second film outside of the video music genre.  Yet as opposed to the usual jump cuts and flash photography involved in some of Mr. Romanek's videos (Scream, 99 Problems, Closer, The Perfect Drug, Speed Of Sound), One Hour Photo was sparse in its visual outlook.

Most importantly, what mattered was the story being told and seeing Robin Williams at his most creepiest up to that point.  In short, Mr. Williams played a 50-plus year old loner, Sy Parrish, who spends his days as the photo developer at a CVS knockoff.  Over time, Sy becomes concerned about the dealings of a young family, the Yorkins.  What sends Sy over his limits is a drop off that Will Yorkin (Michael Vartan) delivers containing photos of Will and his mistress Maya (Erin Daniels).  And yet, the troubles and disintegration of the Yorkins, including that of Nina (Connie Nielsen), is secondary compared with Sy's inner turmoil and demons becoming more and more public. 

Now, since this movie was completed in 2002, I trust many of you have seen One Hour Photo.  With that in mind, some important matters relating to plot and storytelling are needed to be clarified. 

Did the kid know his father was cheating?
I think so.  One of the discussions on the IMDB and AICN message boards at the time noticed how Romanek showed the young man playing Jake seem a bit embarrassed at Connie Nielsen's character looking at the photos of Will and Maya at the beach.  In fact, there is no shock coming out of Jake.  I think, and so did others at the time, Jake took those photos of his father and his mistress; likely attending the same vacation at the same beach.  This may also explain how Jake seems to become more deadpan and apathetic during the course of the movie.  I found it to be a rather brilliant move for a film of this caliber.  Any sort of overacting and emphasis on the kid, and this movie fails. 

Why the obsession over a family who is not all what they seem?
Mr. Williams does not at any one moment in this movie give us reason to necessarily hate Sy.  I suppose this is because we in real life have noticed, or perhaps have ourselves been, lonely people without much to look forward to except our version of a hyper reality.  We may look at the photos, videos, stories and ideals of a family or group of people and choose to see only what we want to believe.  If for instance you see a family doing something wonderful while you are not; it is little surprise that any of us would feel even at the least jealous and envious.  Certainly, Sy getting fired and then discovering the photos of Vartan and Daniels kissing ends that form of obsession and unqualified need for acceptance into the Yorkin family, as it were.  This leads to an interesting debate that continues to infest message boards when discussing this movie.

Was Robin Williams' character, Sy Parrish, sexually molested as a child by his father?
The answer is yes.  A movie that is intelligent and disturbing as what One Hour Photo is does not need to explicitly tell you everything.  Mark Romanek has not ever in his fictional movies tried to hammer us with plot points and explicit revelations that are the bane of every cookie cutter horror movie.  What Mr. Williams says to Eriq La Salle at the end effectively reveals both Sy's past and I am certain what has happened to Jake. 

Did Sy take the pornographic pictures at the hotel?
You do not see them as evidence, yet I think those photos were taken and kept by Sy as an insurance policy or blackmail against Will.  The last shot of the movie of Mr. Williams integrated with the Yorkins can be taken as different interpretations as to whether it is real or imagined.  It could very well be real, and that the Vartan and Nielsen's characters will need to acquiesce to Sy whenever he sees fit.  Once again, a rather clever move of storytelling format. 

One Hour Photo remains a great movie to this day.  I had hoped that Robin Williams would have at least garnered a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars; though sadly it was not to be.  Perhaps this was not mentioned or even thought about at the time; yet I think if One Hour Photo had gotten a following similar to many of the horror franchises of the last 10 years, or perhaps even the word of mouth momentum the new Joel Edgerton film The Gift has received, certain career trajectories would have been altered.  I will believe till I am blue in the face that with both Insomnia and One Hour Photo, along with a sharp return to stand-up, Robin Williams was re inventing himself in a way that I think would have provided a newer fan base.  As I said, these movies were quite successful, and a lot of media attention  was made. Yet, and here is the kicker, not getting a Best Actor nomination  may have given Mr. Williams doubts about showing his darker side.  Or perhaps not; his Oscar in Good Will Hunting was quite edgy itself.  And of course, Robin Williams never stopped being funny. 

We may never truly know how he felt.  Unless there is a biography of considerable regard on his life published, Robin Williams' inner feelings may well be considered foreign to us.  Sure, many of us get depressed; a number even think of ending it all.  And quite a few of us do suffer from illness.  Perhaps one day we will know.  None the less, we did have a renaissance in the life of Robin Williams in 2002, a rather interesting life we all looked up to That One Summer.

So was a great life in a weary world,

Robert

PS.  I will have more to say about The Gift coming shortly.  It is though a must see movie.  And I am still working the cogs at getting to upload videos, including my own. 

That One Summer: Live On Broadway

Growing up, there were not many TV channels that showed stand up comedy.  By that I mean, an actual live stand up routine outside of a talk show or some special programming.  One of the few channels to watch both up and coming comics and seasoned veterans was HBO.  And it was HBO that broadcasted the first stand up special starring Robin Williams.  That was back in 1978 at The Roxy; a performance we know was fueled by Mr. Williams' addiction to cocaine yet was quite brilliant.  It must be seen to be appreciated. 

Robin Williams went on to star in quite a few more comedy specials, each shown on HBO.  Also, Mr. Williams became involved with Comic Relief for many years.  Each of those comedy stand up shows were hilarious and insightful.  Indeed, it is difficult to say which one of his specials was the best.  I can tell you that in the Summer of 2002, one of Mr. Williams' stand up shows was broadcasted live on HBO that nearly everyone wanted to see.  I can remember it being talked about days and even weeks afterwards.  It was Robin Williams: Live On Broadway.  And in short, I probably did not laugh as hard and as often as I did that night.

It was not even a year after 911, and for me it seemed that topical social political humor was about to be thrown out the window, as it were.  People then, as now, more interested and comforted in bathroom jokes and celebrity impersonations and parodies.  Yet, by 2002, that was changing and quite rightly so.  Bill Maher may have been the spark that got political humor going again; to say nothing of the likes of George Carlin and others leading the way.  Yet I think that night in July, it was Robin Williams that dared to go all out.  Of course, Mr. Williams always went all out in his beliefs.  A very good example involved this little gem.

"Oh, guess what?  Congress has passed a bill to secretly assassinate Saddam Hussein.

So what they have done, is announce the US' plans to secretly assassinate Saddam Hussein.

I wonder if he knows?"

The audience both live and watching just about fell to the floor laughing.  In that one humorous observation, Robin Williams told everyone what a waste of time and money an invasion of Iraq would be.  That of course was one of many different people and things he made fun of that night.  I honestly do not know where to start with the best bits.

Would it be his Scotsman explaining golf?

His look at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City?

Mr. Williams doing a very succinct Donald Rumsfeld?

His extremely hilarious look at religion?  Which I might add only Bill Maher was on par with in that department?

Robin Williams observing that after 911, not much has changed in New York attitudes? 

His takedown on our at the time growing plastic surgery and medicine for sex fetishes?

Whatever it was, that night Robin Williams showed a vitality and sharp mind that I suppose was undervalued given Mr. Williams' film roles and cheery personality.  Yet, Robin Williams had always been edgy in his stand up comedy.  Go back and look at his comedy specials before Live On Broadway and even afterwards and you will see his genius on full display.  Plus, if you had received the DVD version, there was a lot more where that came from. 

At that point in Mr. Williams' life, it seemed like he was at the top of his influence; possibly far more influential than at any other time in his life.  And there was still more to come from Robin Williams in 2002.  Indeed, by August movie audiences were treated to one of the defining roles Mr. Williams had done in his life and one which, for myself, I walked out of the theater feeling disturbed.  That movie was of course One Hour Photo; a role of his that I had thought would have garnered Robin Williams another Academy Award nomination.  Alas, it did not.  Yet, it was the culmination of a revitalization that should have, if given more of a look, been the spark that changed Mr. Williams' trajectory in his humor and his acting. None the less, we still have That One Summer.

An essay on One Hour Photo is forthcoming,

Robert

PS.  Here in its complete glory is the Live On Broadway special I was talking about.