RIP Jman

RIP Charles P

Ye Old-Timey Cinema

I've been watching a truck load of black and white flicks via YouTube. He Walked by Night is full of yummy camera work by John Alton.  After a beloved officer is shot on the way home from work, the Los Angeles county police department put out a dragnet (yep) to catch the killer. The thing I really like about these old timey cop films is they usually contain a lot of old school procedural police work. Some of the best cop shop scenes are of Jack Webb as a young gee-whiz cop forensic expert. The L.A. sewer system chase scenes near the end are beautifully shot.

No, I'm not a Jerry Lewis fan, but The Delicate Delinquent is worth a watch. Jerry Lewis is Sydney L. Pythias, a janitor who is mistaken for a gang member. A very young Darren McGavin, so young in fact you can see his freckles, plays Mike Damon, the cop who wants to give juvies a second chance like he had. Martha Hyer simmers as Ms. Henshaw who is oh-so-pretty, but oh-so-strict.

The bongo drum Blackboard Jungle opening is cool. Jerry keeps the wacko screwball stuff to a minimum with only brief outbursts of knuckle headedness. Mike Damon wears a pair of Jack LaLanne pants to dinner that seem to have no visible fly.  An honorable mentions goes to Robert Ivers as Monk. He was a like a slightly too thin, poor-man's James Dean.

Angela Landsbury is oh-so-hot in A Life at Stake.  You can see the water steaming around her in the pool scene! I must admit I had no idea Angela looked like this in her heyday. Her "hunk" co-star Keith Andes must've gone to the Cigar Store Indian School of Method Acting. No wonder she's drinking in so many scenes. I bet she was thinking - "Get this dead fish in a suit out of here!"  While no one is going to mistake this film for a theatrical masterpiece, it's certainly a time capsule flash back of 1954 L.A.

Dead Washer

RIP Mr. Jones

Oddly enough, I woke this morning to the beginning strains of "Life on Mars?", my 4:00 AM iPhone alarm song,I  and I lay in bed for a few minutes thinking about about how long I'd been a Bowie fan. As a bit of an outcast (under statement) in a small midwest town, I loved David Bowie. He was this beautiful, slinky, intergalactic pirate, whose songs were about such otherworldly, wonderful subjects. 

It was such a gift to watch the 1980 Floor Show on The Midnight Special. I could not believe I would actually be able to see an entire show dedicated to Bowie and his band. Oh my godz! My young mind was blown. The show was perfect, smart, and oh so cool. The "I Got You Babe" duet with Marianne Faithful, who dressed like a nun and was so obviously high, was brilliant. 

I caused quite a sensation in grade school when I wore a red dog collar to school. Diamond Dogs had just come out and was ready to show my support. People freaked out. My step mother and dad were so angry at me - it made absolutely no sense to them. They would retell the story, as if I'd woken up and decided to wear the dog's collar to school. In their defense, they were always looking for ways to solidify the fact that I had to be bonkers. They sadly missed the point. 

As an adult, I see that I was paying homage to probably the single most important cultural icon and artist of our time. It makes me smile that I was lucky enough to have at least caught a glimpse of the Thin White Duke in all his glory. 

The dog collar, btw, was purchased new; it was not borrowed from the dog. 

Amelie

I am no doubt the next to the last person to see Amelie. There's got to be one more person…

Like a lot of folks, I am a huge fan of Jean-Pierre Juenet, but I sort of figured I wouldn't care for this film. Yep. I've watched the beginning a couple of times but never even made it half way through. 

Thanks to Netflix I can watch when the mood strikes,  so I decided to give it a go earlier in the week. People love this film - WATCH IT TO SEE WHY!

Yes, the story is cute, but oh my, that color palette - red, green and the occasional pop of blue. I was pausing just to soak in the colors - godz, look at all this green - and to drool over the crazy details in each set. 

Of the complementary pairs, red and green is really hard to get right. Primary green and red show up in traditional Mexican folks art and of course, Christmas. That's part of the battle - using these two colors together can get you pigeon holed. As odd as it sounds, this color palette is never "obvious" in the film. I am not sure how this is possible.

Amelie's apartment is full of gorgeous reds. Basically, everything is red, save the lamps which were apparently added post production. 

I would never have thought blue would work like this, but it does, or does it?

However, I can count the scenes with pops of blue on one hand.

Who doesn't want to hang out in the Two Windmills cafe?  All the tinkling thick glasses, diffused lightning, and people watching possibilities - *sigh*. Apparently Jean-Pierre bugged the owner for almost a year before being allowed to film in the actual cafe near where he lives. The place was ready to close its doors and now it's quite the tourist destination. 

For me, the message was - there are interesting people all around you - just open your eyes - get to know them. Mr. Dufayel and Lucien are prime examples of folks who were pushed to side but have much to offer.

It could've been the case that Nino was some sort of perv and it was all for naught. Who hasn't thought someone would be interesting only to find out they were a dud? I've been on the dud-end of that.

Andy Warhol said:

“Fantasy love is much better than reality love. Never doing it is very exciting. The most exciting attractions are between two opposites that never meet.”

Is it my favorite Jean-Pierre movie? No. For now, my fav is The City of Lost Children, however, I have been chomping at the bit to watch The Young and Prodigious T. S. Spivet and it looks quite promising.

My Lunch Room Lady

Janet Goss was a real life lunch room lady - she was my lunch room in grade school. She was always the one who spoke to us  When someone says "lunch room lady" I always picture Janet. I don't mean that in a cruel way, I mean that in a good way. I always remember her big laugh and she seemed to be joking with her co-workers too. I think Janet would've been fun to work with and I saw her several times hand out extra bread and butter sandwiches to some of the really hungry kids. As an adult, I realize that's two good trait to have; a sense of humor and a willingness to right a wrong. 

Susan Hodgin

What a tragic loss.  Susan Hodgin passed away on August 22 2014 at the young age of 36 after a long battle with colon cancer. She was hands down the best instructor I ever had at Indiana Art Center. Her paintings were so large and layered; they literally loomed. This very tiny gal created enormous works of abstract art.

She was also one one the most humble persons I'd ever met. She had half the front gallery at IAC filled with her paintings during one class session and she never even mentioned it. 

Via the ever helpful internets, I was able to find a couple of interesting articles about her. One old friend posted this story about a younger Susan and Mother Artist Project did a feature on Susan. The pics in the last article capture the Susan I remember; those enormous colorful paintings and and those oh so sensible boots. 

Update: Last Friday at Harrison Art Center featured Susan's paintings in the Underground Gallery. Her style had clearly changed considerably. The canvases were smaller and the colors are a bit more muted, but they still possess that incredible sense of depth and power. 

Robin Williams, Lauren Bacall and Jay Adams

I never really ever got to see a full episode of Mork and Mindy. I had graduated from high school in the middle of its run and spent my time working during the day at a crap job and hanging out with friends at night; we didn't sit around and watch the telly. I caught a glimpse or two of the series at other folk's houses. I remember thinking Robin looked cute in his rainbow suspenders. Oddly enough, Robin evolved into more of an actor rather than a comedian.

I decided it was high time to re-watch The Fisher King again. I was afraid the experience would end uplike most of the formerly "edgy for their time" moves I've re-watched; I'd be disappointed and I'd see right through all the trickery that once dazzled me. Oh, was I wrong. It was like watching The Fisher King for the first time and…. oh……the transformation of Manhattan into a Medieval-esc village just makes my heart sing. The Chinese restaurant date scene is just so beautiful. The entire cast is spot on. Every scene had me looking around at objects and dust and oh man - the attention to detail in the matters is oh so Terry G. Don't even think about getting me started talking about the Red Knight. *swoon* I've added The Fisher King to my very short list of movies I could watch over and over again.

I cannot imagine what Bogart thought when he met Bacall for the first time. She is just so pretty, even by today's standards. She is simply stunning. I can't imagine what Bacall must've thought when she met Bogart for the first time. Interestingly enough, he was married at the time, but has I always say - you can't fight pheromones. He must've been one heck of a character to be around. She do doubt could've had her pick of the Hollywood Hunk litter, but chose Bogey instead.

Her acting style, what few films I've seen her in, seems to be playing these beautiful yet cold characters. Her characters are somewhat aloof, which I guess makes for a much more interesting character profile when you look like that and yet seem so detached. Dang!

I remember seeing skateboard magazines in the local drug stores when I was a kid. These California tan kids with summer sun highlights in their hair graced the pages of these rags. They looked like some sort of alien life form from some endless summer beach town planet. They even made tube socks look cool.  C. R. Stecyk III's stunning photography perfectly captured the poetry in motion. This link is a wee bit macho, but it has great pics of Jay. 

Lords of Dogtown also makes the short list of movies I can watch again and again. I cannot get enough of that 70's stuff.

Jay Adams didn't grab the corporate sponsor coat tails like the rest of the Z-boys even though he was arguably one of the best skaters. RIP Jay.

Headhunters

Introducing himself in voice over narration, Roger Brown (Anskel Hennie) is a very smug CEO-level recruiter (headhunter). He has a very beautiful Nordic trophy wife Diana (Synnove Macody Lund), a mistress on the side, and a modernistic jaw dropping house. In order to finance this extravagant life style, Roger is a part-time art thief. Everything changes when Clas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) shows up at Diana's art gallery opening and Roger decides Clas would be perfect for a job opening he's been trying to fill. Things go horribly awry in fairly short order. Roger goes from smug shithead to scared shitless in about sixty seconds.

Headhunters is a clever Norwegian comedic thriller based on Jo Nesbo's best-selling novel.  My eyes were all over place trying to pick out the artifacts that make up life in Norway and I just couldn't get enough of local fauna. However, don't pick at the plot details. It's not a movie that takes itself seriously - relax. This film careens along and I must say, everything I thought I had figured out turned out to be wrong.

Ode to James Garner (and the 70's)

RIP James G. My version of James was  Jim Rockford; Jim drove a bitchin' gold Pontiac Firebird and he tried to make a buck as a PI. Admittedly, The Rockford Files was pretty good TV for the 70's.

The phone messages at the beginning of every episode were a hoot. Nice touch.

I watched the first episode - The Kirkoff Case today. It was chic-a-block full of all the goodness of the the 70's had to offer. Seriously, in one single episode you get to see a grumpy doberman pincher, a old time photography dark room, a swinging tennis club, a dude in a cowboy hat, a cop or two with serious pattern baldness, and a kick ass car chase scene on a golf course.

I'm probably going to watch a few more episodes. Thank you, James!

Ida

Ida is a stunning film by Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski. A week before she is to take her vows to become a nun, Ana is told that she must meet with her only surviving relative, aunt Wanda, a woman she has never met. Reluctantly, Ana agrees, only to be told by Wanda that Ana is actually an orphan named Ida and her parents were killed in WW II.

Ida/Ana and Wanda set out to find the actual location where her parents are buried. Both of them reveal a bit about themselves as the journey progresses. It's 1962 and this film looks as if it was actually filmed in a Polish village in 1962.

The cinematography is breath taking. Filmed in 4:3 aspect ratio this movie looks more like photographs from a bygone era than a film. 

I am so delighted that in an age of endless super hero movies there are people out there crafting worthy cinema.

Surfwise

The film follows Doc Paskowitz as he dragged his 9 children and wife around the world in a non-stop surf's up pursuit of being a better man/surfer. In 1956 he gave up a very lucrative medical practice in Hawaii, money is the root of all evil by the way, to enjoy surfing day in, day out with his wife and soon to be 9 children.

They get about in a series of beat camper vans, the kids aren't allowed to attend normal school, and mom must breast feed each child a minimum of two years. The documentary also shows how adult kids struggle today to deal with the after math of such a stringently healthy-eating (daily morning gruel) and nomadic lifestyle.

This is a fascinating film to watch. There is a lot of stock footage from the family's 70's early travels. It's  not quite as simple as one man's ego trumps everyone else's needs - which of course is part of the problem. It's a very frank film. The kids talk about holding their ears when they heard their parents having sex every night. This is a reality checker for me. Doc says he wants to be a better man/father, but at the end of the day, he'd rather surf and shag - family be damned.

The Snowtown Murders

The Snowtown Murders is one of those rare three-headed baby movies: I know I shouldn't stare, but I can't take my eye off it. Masterfully directed by Justin Kurzel. Almost everyone in this film is a first timer including director Justin Kurzel. One of the few "vet" actors, Daniel Henshall makes the charismatic John Bunting a farther figure who manipulates those who look to him for guidance. That is really an understatement.  This movie makes No Country for Old Men look like an episode of The Monkees.

The phrase "the banality of evil" is quite appropriate here. Single mom Lizzie lives in a bleak, forgotten suburb with four teenage boys. She's just dumped a not-so-great man friend and the mind numbingly boring days stretch on. Enter John Bunting. The food gets better; bacon and even snow peas are common place. Oddly enough, John seems to always have a hearty appetite.  Birthday parties at the skating rink, ice cream and a macabre bag of tricks.  Ariel Castro showed us that a seemingly normal guy can live a disturbing and sinister other life right under everyone's nose. John Bunting is such a bloke.

Do not be mistaken; this is a disturbing film to watch.  There aren't a lot of difficult scenes, but the  unspeakable events in those scenes, and trust me, I couldn't watch the entire scene in some cases are so raw and real. This isn't gratuitous violence either. I think the world needs to see John Bunting's violence for what is was. He didn't act alone. I think this is the most disturbing thing for me - he managed to not only get 2 other blokes in the 'hood to help out, but also managed to get 16 year old Jamie Vlassaski to join in on the torture and killing of friends and relatives.

The sound track is disturbing in its own right; a staccato track of scratches and scrapes that mimic the victim's time in the tub. Justin Kurzel gets the details right - junk cars with ripped seats, outdoor ash trays sitting in the rain, and cheap, thin torn wall paper.

Watch…because you must. Don't blame me if you can't stop.

Gilda and Yasujiro Ozu's Good Morning

I must admit, I had no idea that Rita Hayworth was that beautiful. Honestly, I could not imagine being that atractive. While Gilda is not a great movie (by any stretch of anyone's imagination), it is a time capsule of Rita's stunning beauty. And, no, that's not her singing that famous song that will stick in your craw for the next couple of day.

Glen Ford stars as Johnny - cuckold on a string if you ask me.

Yasujiro Ozu's Good Morning is a peek into suburban Tokyo life in 1959 as a pair of adorable boys decide they will do anything to get a television. There's gossip, sales men, and awkward neighbor interactions. My eyes were all over the interior scenes - discarded Japanese beer boxes as storage and the ever ubiquitous rice cooker. Families lived uncomfortably close by Western standards, in very small condos, but after dinner…swoon…folks would sit around and read.

Someone Else - Pravada

Pravada is one of my fav local bands. Jesse Lee's singing/songwriting is quite Ray Davies-esc. Jesse's Bambi-eyed wife can be seen in the video peering through the bars on the jail cell and in the line up.

Hitchcock

I watched Hitchcock the other night, despite all the bad reviews I'd read about it. The movie is based on the non-fiction book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho. Fresh from the success of North by Northwest, the studios want more of the same. The movie follows Hitchcock (Sir Anthony Hopkins freakishly absorbs Hitchcock) and his wife Alma (Dame Helen Mirren shines) as they struggle to bring Psycho to life. They put up $800,000 of their own money and in order to further pinch pennies, they must use the crew who filmed the TV series. 

A very strong cast rounds out the rest of the film. Toni Collette is Peggy Robertson, Hitch's trusted assistant, Scarlett Johansson sizzles as Janet Leigh, and James D'Arcy is a dead ringer as a young Anthony Perkins. The only fly in the ointment is Jessica Biel as Vera Miles; she seemed asleep at the wheel most of the time.

My fav parts of the movie were the bits about their day to day life. I paused at the refrigerator scene. Oh my godz - what would Hitch (as he let his intimates call him) like to snack on? 

Another aspect of the film that really appealed to me was the the constant jealousy of associates this creative pair seemed to have with each other. I thought it was cute and refreshing. Instead of uber hottie jealously, you had real people jealous of their spouse's time spent with co-workers. Alma was jealous of Hitch's attention to leading ladies and Hitch was jealous of Alma's time spent with creative writing buddy Whitfield Cook. 

I want to read the book now; it's at the top of my required summer reading list.

Stray Dog and Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me

I've wanted to see Stray Dog for quite some time. I've always regretted missing the 35 mm film showing at IMA a couple of years ago. Akira Kurosawa's gorgeously shot film noir master piece staring two of his most esteemed actors: Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura. During a heat wave that envelops Tokyo (there are fans galore both manual and electric) rookie cop Murakami loses his gun (a Colt) on a trolley to a pickpocket. The gun turns up in a series of shootings and Murakami must find the gun before others are killed.

Guilt ridden Murakami teams up with detective Sato to canvas the city and thus the ultimate mismatched partners film noir is born. Toshiro and Takashi are magic together. I must say it is refreshing to see them both out of samurai clothing and in something contemporary.

Akira is a master film maker. Murakami and Sato pursue leads through the sweltering streets of Tokyo. 

Every scene is beautifully framed. 

And now for something completely different….

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is a documentary about a band from Memphis who never made it big; a  real life Almost Famous, if you will. These guys had it all - the looks and the hooks and the record deal, but fate was dealing for the house (yes, I am rolling my eyes on that one). You are no doubt familiar with lead singer Alex Chilton. At the ancient age of sixteen he was the blue eyed soul singer of "The Letter". Their first album titled #1 Record was a hit with the critics but due to legal problems at Stax Records the album did not make into stores.

This documentary left me feeling nothing for these guys, although it had all the ingredients I normally like: tormented creative song writer with mental issues, haunted by former self singer. I honestly could not care less about this band. While sitting in my NetFlix queue, I, for the longest time, thought this was a mocumentary. The songs remind of the could-have-been songs written for fictional rock films set in the late 60's early 70's. Speaking of songs, since I've watched this documentary, I've run across quite a few videos of various bands doing the song September Gurls. I'm sure I've heard this song in the past and wondered what the heck I was hearing. In an odd twist of fate, this song does tend to stick to the noodle.

I think Alex Chilton had Miley Cyrus syndrome (too famous too young) as he went on to front a punk band among other endeavors. Honestly, don't call yourselves Big Star and don't call your first album #1 Record - the Godz of Pride can see you a mile away.

On the other hand I cannot seem to get enough of the poster child for tormented creative artist Syd Barrett. He wrote and sang the bulk of the songs in the early days of Pink Floyd. When full blown madness set in and Syd had to go, the rest of band were at a loss; what do we do now? Ahh….yes….

Dallas Buyers Club

The Oscar buzz got me, and like a bunch of other folks, worked up to see Dallas Buyers Club. I took my cat to the vet a few weeks ago and we got on the subject of absolutely needing to watch DBC.

Wow. This film actually looks like it was filmed in 1985. Kudos to the sound guy. Little touches like hearing a train in distance and I remember hearing church bells at one point added to the realism. I get the Oscar thing now too. Pretty darn impressive acting; Matthew and Jared just gobbled up their roles.

For me it was a movie about being told your options and you deciding to make your own options.

I think this is an important film, least we forget how ignorant people were about AIDS and how it ultimately affected both the homosexual and non-homosexual communities.  Please don't forget Ryan White. Ryan, a life long hemophiliac,  was given a very short time to live after he was diagnosed with AIDS.  Ryan received weekly transfusions of Factor VIII which was contaminated. Nearly 90% of hemophiliacs who received transfusion using Factor VIII between 1979 and 1984 became infected.

It's also an important film because it clearly shows how our treatment of gay men has evolved. Back in the day, not only was it not acceptable to society to be gay, it wasn't acceptable to have gay friends. I remember people asking me, "How can you be friends with that queer?" Good point - if only his knuckles were closer to the ground he'd be the perfect beast. Times have changed. Everyone wants to have a gay friend. I belong to film buff group and the chicks practically cat fight over the gay couple in the group. "They're my gay friends, I go to their house." "They're my gay friends, I go to their house and watch movies."

Oddly enough, I was at Farm Aid April 7, 1990 @ the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis. Rumor had it that Elton John was visiting Ryan White and was going to make an appearance. This was pre-internet, so it was all speculation. When he appeared on stage, it became so surreal. I don't believe there was a dry eye in the house.

Finding Vivian Maier

I want to see this movie!

What riveting images!