February 22, 2021

30 Coins: I finished watching the series on Crave through HBO Europe. It is in Spanish with subtitles. It has 8 episodes. It is a psychological thriller, with a religious base. In short, when Jesus was betrayed by Judas, these are the coins that were his payment from the Romans. Later, of course, Judas kills himself and these coins scatter to the winds. As you start the series a number of very strange and inexplicable incidents happen in this very small Spanish town. The local Mayor is a handsome married man, who co-owns a local hotel as well as slaughterhouse business with his wife. There is a new priest in town, for whom we learn some history and then a pretty Vet. I won’t detail the strangeness of the first couple episodes, but it is a precursor to more strange things. The focus later becomes what is happening in Vatican City, and those who are close to the Pope. The local priest gets more engaged as he has some history with some of these characters. Darkness abounds with powerful forces at work. You learn that these coins are in many ways like the Ark of the Covenant – where any army with them, is regarded as invincible. Apparently both Napoleon and Hitler had interest in these coins. I have to admit that I was hoping for more in the finale. That last episode was a bit disappointing in what was expected to be a bog blow out in this small town. A strange fog has enveloped the town and the bad guys are gathering. I won’t share further except to say that the episode was a little more bloody and gory than I felt was necessary. The townspeople generally are simplistic and caricatures, with the gossipy women and injured young cripple. This had its moments. Those who are queasy in any way won’t enjoy. Those who like to have a religiously based thriller can do worse than checking this out.

Network: This mid-70s film, was nominated for a Best Picture, but Oscars for Best Actor (Peter Finch) and Best Actress (Faye Dunaway). Others include Best Supporting Actress and Writing. It is surprisingly very relevant for today’s audiences, holding up very well as a tale about the perils of TV, with turning news into entertainment. Funnily enough, much of what was spoken about firmly tongue-in-cheek in this movie has actually taken place and speaks to current issues of the day. It has a great cast also adding Robert Duvall in the over-the-top, cut throat TV bean counter wanting to generate money rather than worry about the quality of the broadcasting. Also included is older William Holden as the veteran News executive, and good friend to the lead anchor (played by Finch). Each is very good with a drama which moves along well. Most movie fans would know the scene of Finch as the trenchcoated newsman yelling for people to go to their windows and shout “I’m MAD as hell and I am not going to take it anymore!!!” Truer words haven’t been spoken for a people collectively, then and especially now. That anchor after being told his ratings are slipping and he is being replaced before this goes on air and announces rather matter-of-factly that he will commit suicide on air in a week’s time. A network with falling ratings decides to keep him on the air as his numbers jump markedly upon making the announcement. The philosophical argument is that a new generation who doesn’t read books nor read newspapers gets all their information from the TV. The TV lies to them (sound familiar??!). The Finch character as the anchor who has become unhinged shows the danger of giving such a person an airwave with an audience. He becomes popular. His news show has become entertainment with a soothsayer and him leading the way. I had only previously seen snippets from this movie, without seeing it from beginning to end. I am glad that I watched it, and think that anyone involved in TV or interested in the dynamic of news as a business should see how this was viewed back almost 50 years ago. Much of what they discuss has become reality in a world of CNN and Fox News with opinion rather than news. Facebook and other social media have taken it to the next level where people don’t even get the same streams within their newsfeed. But those are other movies for other times, and previously reviewed. If you don’t know Network, then I would recommend it. As an aside, the wardrobe worn by Dunaway in a work environment was a bit surprisingly with plunging necklines and no bra. I would expect that in today’s work environment this would be frowned upon, at a minimum and HR worthy with a corrective plan at its height. Suffice it to say that times have changed from that perspective.

February 15th, 2021(Family Day)

The Big Sick: This romantic comedy starring Pakistani comedian Kumail Nanjiani (you will recognize him if you watch any stand up specials). It tells the story of his romantic life and how he met his wife. He was doing a stand up routine in Chicago and there was a young pretty blond woman cheering him on rather loudly. She caught his eye, and after the set they struck up a conversation. His traditional Pakistani family, especially his Mom, wanted him to marry another Pakistani girl. They believe in arranged marriages and Mom was intent on introducing him to various potential suitors while at the same time trying to get him to go to law school (rather than be a comedian). His challenge is in balancing this life with a girl he seems to get along with really well, and being the dutiful son to his parents, who have no trouble reminding him that he owes them everything. It can’t be easy being a young person trying to get through life and overlaying cultural pressures that place boundaries on just where one’s life can go. Isn’t the point in moving to North America allowing your children to have freedoms that you didn’t have growing up? The story is more emotionally impactful than I thought that it would be. Without giving too much away, Emily (the young lady) ends up in hospital and Kumail meets her parents, played by Holly Hunter and Ray Romano, with a story that has them being more than just one dimensional. It is refreshing and adds to the story. Life is full of choices and he learns to make some on his own, despite outside pressures. I can recommend this and encourage the reader to seek it out on Crave or wherever such movies are streaming. In Alison’s words “it didn’t suck” and I would echo that sentiment and be a little more positive about it.

Now, in the sucking department, on Netflix there is a documentary four part series on a young Canadian woman’s disappearance at a seedy hotel in Los Angeles. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel is four hours of your life that you won’t get back if you choose to watch it. When you see uber-producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer associated with it, you may think it will actually hold your attention. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is a rather simple story of a mystery surrounding a 21yo woman disappearing in a very sketchy hotel in LA. She wanted to spread her wings from Vancouver after UBC grad and see some of the world. She disappears after a short stay in San Diego and then arriving in LA. A few learnings for me is that “web sleuths” are people with way too much time on their hands. The conspiracy theorists can virtually find anything that supports their interpretation of events, despite facts to the contrary. I also think that hotels that advertise themselves as “budget” aren’t always being truthful in their location, in this case right on the edge of LA’s Skidrow. That wasn’t advertised to young people from around the world, looking for a clean bed with running water. To say that these guests got more than what they bargained for is an understatement. There is also a clip from a security camera where the young woman is shown and you see it time and time again. In short, this series could have been a 20 minute segment on 60 Minutes or similar. So much time is wasted pursuing red herrings and listening to people’s opinion who just simply don’t matter. One also learns that those who sling their opinions around without much proof can harm those who are innocent. Sad really that defamation and libel laws which are just as valid in an online world, aren’t always a remedy that can help the targeted party. Cyber-bulling and shaming are serious business in this world. Avoid this if you can, much like the Cecil Hotel!!

February 8th, 2021

Mank: The Golden Globe nominations came out last week for the Film and TV Dramas and Comedies. On that listing came the Netflix film,Mank with an impressive cast including lead Gary Oldman, Amanda Seyfried, Lily Collins (Phil’s daughter), and Tom Burke as Orson Welles. Oldman plays Herman Mankiewicz, who was a writer in Old Hollywood. For a lowly writer he seems to be very well connected with powerful friends, including Leo B Mayer and William Randolph Hearst among them. He is a drunk but a well respected writer. He is tasked with writing Welles’ Citizen Kane, which Welles at 24yo was brought in to resurrect RKO Pictures’ fortunes. It is a black and white period piece set in the early 1940s with flashbacks. Actually the flashbacks can be somewhat of a distraction, taking away from the direction that the story seems to be focused on. It isn’t clear to me how the gubernatorial election in California from 1934 impacted the Kane storyline, despite having some nice tie-ins to more recent Presidential elections, and that is a criticism for me. It’s all very fuzzy. I would be much more interested in the making of the classic film. The other major distraction for me is how a 62yo Gary Oldman, plays the 33yo Mank from 1940. Why? Add to this the backstory of his Oscar winning role of Winston Churchill and him claiming that he must have a fat suit, because he refused to add the weight that he said would be difficult to ever get back off after filming. Well, he seems to have added the weight on himself, perhaps he swallowed the Best Actor Award? One cannot say. In the end, I cannot recommend this film. It was long and slow. It had brilliant production design for places like Hearst Castle, which in many ways one should know a little of that story (Hearst and Marion Davies) to put into context what transpires. It looks beautiful. The plot is a headscratcher from which Hollywood types will vote for it (like Birdman a couple years ago).

The Flight Attendant: This Kaley Cuoco TV series is named as a Best Drama (Musical or Comedy)??, and her as a Best Actress. Ummmm, no. To me, the lines of Comedy get blurred when there is a murder to be investigated. The series is all about that. So it’s no Schitt’s Creek. The eight episode storyline leans heavily on the pretty and drunkard young blond flight attendant and her life. In many ways it channels the character of Amy Schumer in Trainwreck from 2016. Schumer is funnier. But here there are these surreal flashbacks when our constantly drinking protagonist messed up in a situation that clearly is way over her head that push this intoAmerican Werewolf in London territory. Strange and yet an important plotline that they continue to perpetuate. She is after all just someone who is a “party girl” and hooking up on a layover (literally and figuratively) with a handsome guy in first class. Much of what happens is a drunken haze for her, but it comes back to her in snippets. It all becomes a little too nice and tidy in the final episode. You KNOW that they will be working on a sequel (season 2) so that many of the characters have to continue on. I won’t be rushing out to see this character enter more shady situations. I don’t think one wins awards for being pretty and acting drunk. There is more than that.

Tom Segura –(Netflix) I have seen now three separate comedy specials by this guy, and I like him. I like his point of view and the stories that he tells. It is light entertainment that is welcome in these times. Much like Jim Jefferies he has a cutting humour, doesn’t really care about political correctness and makes interesting human observations. Smile and enjoy!

February 1st, 2021

In and Of Itself: I have to give credit where credit is due; Alison had brought this to my attention. It is a film of a play that had 554 performances in NYC. Frank Oz directs. Stephen Colbert and his wife are Executive Producers. It is a one man show starring Derek DelGaudio who is a very unassuming guy. I didn’t really know what to expect, but it has stuck with me for days afterwards. For those Canadians of my generation, you likely will remember The Amazing Kreskin on CityTv during the early 70s. Kreskin was a self-labelled mentalist, who was also a magician. DelGaudio is a storyteller, who while imparting stories of his life, his also introduces a little bit of magic on his own. The film is structured in six rough sections. In each he matter-of-factly describes the story. Each story gets a little more and more fantastic, so stay with it if the first story makes you pause a little. You will be rewarded. By the end, without giving too much away, I was quite simply amazed at what I was watching. The section involving letters and the section regarding the labelling cards were jaw dropping for me. There are some life lessons, and one that sticks out to me is that you never can really tell just by looking at someone the depth of their experiences and character. From the perspective from someone who can enjoy playing cards from time to time, I think I have plenty to learn (or at the very least reason to be cautious!!) I rented from http://www.cineplex.com, but it is also available on Rogers On Demand and Hulu in the US. Definitely worth your time. I have recommended to those around me and the office.

Pieces of a Woman: Vanessa Kirby is getting plenty of work these days. From her introduction a couple years back in her role as the young Princess Margaret in The Crown, Seasons 1 and 2, she has been in Mission Impossible as well as two more MI movies in the next while. In this drama she plays a young woman who is very pregnant. Her partner, unmarried is the blue collar Shia LaBeouf, and Mom (poorly cast in my opinion) as 88 yo Ellen Burstyn. Kirby is 32yo, and Burstyn looks every year of her 88 years (hell she was a Mom in The Exorcist back in the early 1970s). Kirby and LaBeouf are anxious about being parents and have chosen to have a home birth, with the assistance of midwife. The trailer shows Kirby in a court room setting, so on some level you know that this will go wrong somewhere along the way. It does. It reminds me more of a film like Revolutionary Road, where you see the poor choices, lack of communication, and escalating tension between a couple. Burstyn as the Mom interferes more than she comfortably should. There are some cringe-worthy exchanges between the primary actors. In the end, it was not very satisfying. It was too long. In some ways, choices made were surprising and others were outright unreal. Perhaps they were possible but not for me. Not worthy of your time. As an aside, there was a very uncomfortable encounter between the couple, which I later found out LaBeouf was accused by an ex-GF of mental and physical abuse. It put this in a different light.

https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1223901/vanessa-kirby-reacts-to-abuse-allegations-against-co-star-shia-labeouf

Tony Parker: The Final Shot: I have to admit that not being a huge basketball fan and I haven’t paid much attention to NBA champions that didn’t have the name LeBron James associated with them (not because I am a fan, far from it) but just that he gets so much attention. So when I saw that there was a documentary on Tony Parker, a guy who I only knew as the former spouse of Eva Longoria, all of the background and his story was new to me. This young man who was born in Belgium, and grew up in Normandy France area. He was a highly skilled but undersized point guy (6’2″). This documentary was French and thus has subtitles. I had no idea that Parker was a major part in 4 NBA Championships with San Antonio as well as being Playoff MVP one year. Tim Duncan and David Robinson were also part of these teams. He had a remarkable career and seemed to be one the first European players brought over to play in the NBA. San Antonio seemed to be a team that was able to identify and recruit young talent in Europe. Others soon followed after their success. All I came away from after the show was a sense of arrogance about the man, maybe it is just the French accent. But in the way that Tiger Woods in his documentary tried to downplay his talent, fame and money and all that came with it, Tony Parker has no issue with having the theme park like waterslide in his Texas residence. Maybe this is just in how it is shown (heaven knows Tiger Woods has the yachts, houses and private jets too). But in my mind, Tiger Woods is on a different level, and earnings on a different scale. So I would say that for the avid basketball fan, this would be worthwhile. For the more casual view, like me, I didn’t take as much away from it.