October 21, 2024

The Penguin: I have been struggling with The Penguin, as I had indicated just last week. I struggled with a Batman story with no reference at to Batman. I understand that this is a backstory for the super-villian Penguin, played by Colin Farrell who looks as unrecognizable here as he did in the movie version with Robert Patinson. But I have said that already. But last Sunday night when I was watching episode four, entitled Cent’Ann, this was a turning point in terms of bringing the story of the Penguin, but also the story of Sophia Falcone, played well by Cristin Milioti. This episode is focused on Sophia and her backstory. Until this time, she is a character who is being relegated to the back seat by her own family and the male mob family members. Things change, and we see how.

We are shown how her father, Carmine, played by Mark Strong ruled with an iron fist. He had some questionable interactions with some members in a club and Sophia even as a young woman had some insight into it. She was viewed in the early episodes as this loose cannon, a crazy member of the family who should be ignored. The powers that be wanted to basically eliminate her and her influence. What we see is a young woman who was wronged, and she through sheer guts and determination overcame the substantial barriers put before her. She takes a negative aspect of Arkham mental institution into something that she can use for power and notoriety. This brings things together for me, and this was the best episode in the series. Milioti is excellent. The time invested in the first three episodes is rewarded with a backstory with aspects of Girl Interupted, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the Godfather. Lofty company indeed. The viewer can see her substantial motivation as the episode unfolds. It is a very satisfying ending, at least in my opinion. I look forward to episode 5.

We Live in Time: This movie was part of the TIFF line up with its worldwide release September 7th. It was released with much fanfare with its cast members Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. Two A-list stars who put together a formidable team in this love story, drama.

The story is a simple one, told so many times before of how two people fall in love and then build a life together. What is does really well is stay authentic to the compelling characters, and most notably for Florence Pugh’s Almut, who really steals the show. Garfield plays Tobias as her love interest.

The story is told a various times, and does not follow a linear progression, so you need to pay attention. The biggest help is Pugh’s hairstyles. We know things later, but shown earlier in the movie which have to then see how they unfolded. I give nothing away from what has already been disclosed in the trailer that Pugh has some medical issues. The movie has a feeling like others before it in the vein of 1970s A Love Story with Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Niell, City of Angels or even An Autumn in New York. This is a more-than-one-Kleenex type of movie. It pulls at your heart strings because you care about the people. There are conversations early in the relationship which you don’t typically see in a movie like this. A discussion about children which is unusual on screen, and it makes what happens later more poignant. It is well written and delivered well. Garfield and Pugh definitely have chemistry, and I have read reports about the film crew talking about the couple going on in love scenes long after the director had said “cut”. I can see how that happened.

As to the movie, and where it goes, I am thoroughly impressed by the resilience, the commitment to one another, despite serious circumstances shows a couple who decides quite consciously to live for the day, and not spend too much time focusing on the “what might happen” in the future. The couple communicates generally pretty well about things but with a couple notable hiccups. I am reminded that no one is perfect, and the perfect mate does not exist. Everyone has challenges. No one gets through unscatched. The important question is whether as a couple that your time on this planet is made better with this person in your life. No one is promised another day. In these circumstances it brings those questions to the forefront, and asks the viewer “if this couple can act in such a manner, as shown on screen, what’s up with YOU?” Deep issues abound, like why are we here? What really matters? What is your legacy? How do you want to be remembered? Who will remember what about you? I recommend this movie if you have a beating heart and have ever had any romantic feelings at all for anyone.

October 14th, 2024

Saturday Night: Saturday Night Live is into their 50th season, and while having some ups and downs over the decades it is regarded as an iconic series of sketch television. Hollywood stars like Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Bill Murray, Kristen Wiig, and Kate McKinnon are all alumni. But it wasn’t always this way. Back on October 11, 1975, producer Lorne Michaels was green lighted by NBC to put together a late night show with a bunch of unknown twenty-something comedians for a show that was anything but fully baked. For the first episode, Michaels had lined up comics, like George Carlin to host, a number of musical acts, and sketch comics from places like Second City in Chicago. Among the now familiar cast included Gilda Radner, Lorraine Newman, Dan Ackroyd, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtain, Garrett Morris and John Belushi. Acts on the sidelines included Billy Crystal, who later joined the cast in 1984.

The film which premiered at Teleride Film Festival in August, is directed by Ivan Reitman’s son Jason. Ivan worked with many SNL actors and those behind the scenes like Harold Ramis. The movie focuses on the disorganized chaos in the hours leading up to the live show airing at 11:30PM that fateful night. There is Michaels trying to organize the show by segments on the main storyboard, the actors becoming familiar with their roles, and the NBC brass, who we learn was expecting and hoping for this to be a massive failure and continue to negotiate with Johnny Carson who was the King of Late Night. The viewer knows where all of this will lead but it is a colourful journey.

I think that this movie did a find job of finding actors to play those people who starred in the show. I think that those portraying Belushi, Ackroyd, Morris (the BMO advertising guy), Newman and George Carlin were excellent in how they looked and sounded. The movie made no attempts to dissuade the feeling I had had for years that Chevy Chase was and is an asshole. Plain and simple. From NBC workers refusing to help set up the brick stage, to the refusal of Belushi to sign his contract, to the roles played of guests Andy Kaufman and Jim Henson with the Muppets, it all seems so very unbelievably chaotic. One wonders just how long Michaels had been given to bring this together. The sheer number of people expected to be on stage for the program was unreal. Dick Ebersol who co-created the series with Michaels isn’t really shown in a favourable light, despite calling out what seemed to be obvious to everyone else but Michaels. In the end, for those who are fans of SNL, you will get some insight into putting together a variety show, and doing it all live before an audience who wasn’t really clear what they would be seeing. There are some surprise cameos throughout and a few chuckles. I was not rolling in the aisle, but it made me laugh a few times. Is it a big screen movie? No, not really. This would be just fine on the smaller screen.

The Penguin: I have seen three episodes of this new series focusing on the Penguin character that was introduced in the modern Batman films in the Robert Pattinson version from 2022. Although the movie focused more on Paul Dano’s The Riddler, Colin Ferrell was present too. This series speaks to the backstory of this Penguin. First and foremost, in the film I was surprised to realize that the person playing The Penguin was actually Ferrell. His face, voice and body were tranformed into this unique character. Of course the Penguin has been played memorably in the past by Burgess Meredith (with his monocle, purple top hat and cigarette holder) as well as Danny Devito for Tim Burton.

Farrell plays the Penguin and a middle management worker in a crime family who wants more for himself and his reputation. He is willing to risk it all by inserting himself into a mob family war, by being the instigator for it. He plays an integral part to the happenings all the while showing himself to both side as being an invaluable asset with inside information. He uses people to get his own way and to promote his own self interests. It has been a slow burn as he becomes closer to the sister of a fallen Falcone member after the death of the head of the Falcone family. Sofia Falcone is played well by Cristin Milioti, who I remember from the Broadway musical Once. She plays an intense woman, who has previously been mistreated by being placed in a sanatorium, but it debatable whether she really needed it. She too is looking to become more relevant and exert her influence in a mostly all-male dominated mob world. She has intense almost black eyes.

I am still struggling trying to get into this series. Yes I know that the focus is the backstory of a mob character. But this is a Batman Gotham world. I am missing that Batman piece, where he isn’t even mentioned. The episode where the walls of the city are bombed by the Riddler to have the city flooded, still has no mention of the caped crusader. Yes, there is intrigue with the Penguin and he actions, crossing both of his supposed masters in a performance by Farrell that is really good. I just wish that he had more to work with. Maybe this will pick up the pace, but for me I am hoping that it is sooner rather than later.

October 7th, 2024

Tragically Hip No Dress Rehearsal: This documentary was released this year at TIFF, directed by the older brother of the deceased lead singer Gord Downie, and with the attendance and full cooperation of the remaining members of the band. I feel as though I should be listening to the song “Courage” or “Wheat Kings” as I write it. The Tragically Hip are a Kingston Ontario based band that gained massive popularity and fame within this country, from sea to shining sea. Their principal song writer (lyrics to be sure) came from the lead singer who in his early 50s was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer. He died in October 2017. The last concert that they played on a farewell tour was the second most watched TV show in Canadian history, watched by almost half the nation’s households. Such was the notoriety of the band. The thorough four-part documentary goes through warts and all the bands rise, popularity, struggles and then the ending with the final appearances for Gord.

Much is made by the fact that this band never “made it big” in the United States, but they defend this as a conscious choice. They are small town Canadian band. Small town Ontario and write very Canadian stories, like about former Toronto Maple Leaf Bill Barilko from reading the back of a hockey card (the song Fifty-Mission Cap). From playing high school auditoriums and bars in Kingston, they grew to be filling arenas around the world. But nowhere were they so beloved as in Canada. It has taken 7 years for these very private remaining members to come forward with this very personal memoir of their times in the band, both good and bad.

I love the creative process, and it always astounds me where ideas come from, seemingly from out of thin air. How words, for which we see Gord mastering the art as he jots down ideas incessantly into an ever-present notebook, can later be turned into lyrics. The rest of the band comes in to help bring it to life. They are a band of brothers, and we see the closeness. It is a moving tribute, and pays it due respect to the family members who for love of their children, supported them with a vehicle to allow touring. Then there are later wives and children who see their Dads go off to perform and return many weeks later. These boys lived their childhood dreams of playing music for a living. They learn along the way the business of music too. Making choices which reflect their own sensibilties, like refusing to do a concert and promotion for Tower Records which wanted to make a big splash in Canada – and these devoutly loyal customers of Sam the Record Man, declined. Much of the music, and those tunes that you recognize were produced in places like New Orleans and other places well away from Ontario. For me I like The Hip, but I am no superfan. I have a number of their songs on my IPhone. I didn’t watch their last concert until the end, as having seen Gord in his prime at a concert in Darien Lake, I didn’t like seeing him courageously performing this last time. At the end you could see the toll that it took on him. For those who don’t know the music, seek it out. Lots of Youtubes out there for their popular songs. Songs from Road Apples, Fully Completely and Day for Night are three albums with success that many bands cannot duplicate. They are worth a listen, at least to understand what Canadians choose to listen to those of their own. I think there is plenty of hyperbole surrounding the band as “the greatest poetry ever put to music in Canada”. There are so many great Canadian acts and artists that this is arogant, including among many Neil Young, Robbie Robertson, Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan, Tom Cochrane, Guess Who, BTO, Bryan Adams and many many others. This is worthy of your time.

Bill Gates: What Is Next? The Future: Also on Netflix is this documentary with Bill Gates and various celebrity guests (like James Cameron, Lady Gaga, or Dr Fauci, Bernie Sanders) which addresses topical issues like Artificial Intelligence, Global Warming, Fake News and Social Media, Billionaires and being too rich and Outsmarting Disease.

It is fascinating listening to this man address the issues of the day and how he, after stepping down as CEO of Microsoft, has been spending his time trying to make the planet a better place, one issue at a time. His charitable company, started when he and his wife were still together, has spent billions of dollars in the hopes of making a difference. He challenges other billionaires to do the same with their wealth. He takes no pleasure it seems as being acknowledged as the Richest Man in the World. With great wealth, comes great responsibility it would seem.

He will further acknowledge that the tech moguls he stands with at Facebook, Google, Amazon have created the social media where the long term effects weren’t fully understood or realized. How could they be? But much like the proverbial toothpaste, it can’t be put back into the tube. So he poses to the next generation the questions of dealing with massive issues like global warming, which they note needs immediate attention on a number of fronts (transportation, energy, food, etc). For those who are interested in this perspective, you also see how many won’t be interested as they see this as “liberal left” thinking. But for a man who deals with facts and business, he has some keen insight while not having all the solutions. But if were to rely on an opinion as to where things could be going, this is someone that I would want to listen to. He did foresee the personal computer on every work desk, and in every home. He didn’t foresee it being in the palm of our hands in the beginning but not everyone bats 1.000. Well worth your time.

Love is Blind Season 7: This new season just dropped is set in Washington DC. It follows the familiar pattern where it will be the contestants who will decide and reveal whether it is worth watching. The first season was very watchable for likeable people who you cared about. I am only an episode and half in, and already I am undecided. I am hopeful that the second half of episode 2 will show us a large cross section of the contestants. It is early days in the pods as people talk, and try to connect. The over-use of the word “like” admittedly hurts my ears for these mid-20-somethings and early 30s people. But that is me showing my age. All of these seasons are mind candy, which I can watch after a day of work and decompress. Watch at your own risk. 🙂

September 30, 2024

Mothers’ Instinct: This movie stars Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway. Two A-list actors who have a real following. Chastain has won the Best Actress Oscar, for her work as Tammy Faye Bakker, but I have been disappointed in some of her choices of movies in the recent past. This movie just adds to it. Some of those include Ava, IT Chapter 2, and The Forgiven, which for the most part she is also acting as Producer with her production company. These just haven’t been very strong. They seem to be more independent, smaller budget films which in itself is not an issue but the stories haven’t been very compelling. I have liked Chastain ever since I saw her work in the Mallick film Tree of Life back in 2011. This is a story about two housewives in suburban America in the 60s or so given the attire. Chastain playing Alice, and Hathaway playing her best friend Celine are having a party for Celine. There are husbands and kids and friends gathering at the party. The two are genuinely connected and support one another. Then tragedy strikes.

There is blame and suspicion between the women and a level of discomfort and strain between the two that wasn’t there before. Based on a book by Belgian writer Barbara Abel, unread by me. There are then a series of incidents which creates more drama, suspicion and paranoia. But is it justified? Is there really something sinister going on, and if so then who is telling the truth? Would you believe a spouse who after a tragic event is then telling fantastical stories that seem so out of character. The men are really there for window dressing and don’t add much to the story. I will not delve further into it, but I was mediocre and predictable even when it tries very hard not to be. It’s almost as if there was a desire to take it to a wild extreme that seems implausible. Yes it is Hollywood. But still if there is a full exploration of the bond between these women and what could make it unravel this deals with it superficially. I cannot recommend.

Captain Fantastic: One would be forgiven in thinking that by the title, this movie from 2016 (not sure how it slipped through the cracks for me) was a superhero movie. It isn’t. It is on Netflix and I caught it this past weekend. Starring Viggo Mortensen, who garnered an Oscar nomination for his role, which was definitely merited. He plays Ben Cash, a father of six children who has made the choice with his wife Leslie to get off the grid with the children and live in the remote areas of Washington State, but it just as easily be Alaska. As we open the story, Ben has the children to himself is he is hunting a deer with them. They all have wilderness skills, and he ensures that they are all reading and thinking critically. There are some informative exchanges between the father and children showing the nature of their relationship and their bond. The set up of this tight family informs when something happens which from his face we see that Ben was half expecting it. There are choices to make with the family and he struggles mightily with the dilemma. Ben is torn between his commitment to his wife and her wishes, and the security of his life in the wilderness with his children. Add into that some formidable drama with his Wife’s family.

I feel a lot of the same energy and writing with this story as with the Oscar Winner CODA from 2021. There are real debates on what is in the best interests of the children, and how, if at all, they should be eventually integrating into society. The children run from the eldest son of an age to be applying for College to the very young who are in early primary school. Ben needs to think through his priorities and what is truly important for him and his children. He has a paradox of always telling the truth, and treating each of his children as growing people capable of doing of knowing more than most adults give them credit for, while at the same time with limited means financially a trip to the grocery store becomes an operation involving all of the children. For a man who believes deeply that people are to be judged by their actions it has him re-examine the direction of his life and the leadership of these children. The children are each with their own strengths and attitudes, not just window dressing. They imapct on their father. I found this an engaging and emotional journey with a family who I care about. The one daughter’s explanation of the book Lolita that she is reading was great insight to the father and his family. I felt that interaction showed so much of this teachings. There really hasn’t been a lot of quality films out this year, but this one if you are like me missed it the first time, I think you should check out. By the way, Casey Affleck won the Best Actor for Manchester by the Sea (which I refer to a Misery by the Ocean) and for me I would rather Mortensen had won the award. I am glad that I got to know the Cash family, and I am hopeful that they will do well. I will admit that I was puzzled about where the funds came from for the proposed ending, but I was happy to go with it.

September 23, 2024

Firebrand: Who knew that there was a Henry VIII period piece released in 2023 with Jude Law and Alicia Vikander? Certainly not me, and I am a fan of the period and the intrigue of that time. Henry VIII was the King of England from 1509 until 1547. He was obsessed with having a male heir and to that end was married no less than six times. He was so committed to this aim that he took on the Catholic church, and made himself his own religion to allow the annullment to his first wife. He was first married to Catharine of Aragon for 24 years (1509-1533), which generally the films and books about the time do not focus on. They show him as impetuous and demanding a child. Later he had two of his wives beheaded (Anne Boelyn and Catherine Howard). This movie focuses on the last marriage to Catherine Parr who he married in 1543 until Henry’s death in 1547. While married, Henry was in France and he had called Catherine his wife the regent (acting in his stead doing the business of government).

Jude Law shows Henry as a man who was in constant pain from his leg. It was an infection that would not heal with the medicine of the day. He was gaining weight and moved from being fairly lucid to being more unstable and eratic. He seemed to have a conspiracy complex of those around him always looking to find ways to hurt him. Law shows this well. He is married to Catherine Parr who was well regarded and genuinely seemed to have affection for the King. Still he was a woman in difficult times, and surrounded by men who wanted power and prestige. Vikander plays Catherine and shows her torment in being married to this unpredictable man. Of course no woman was thought to be ready to rule but she embraces acting as a stpe-mother to Henry’s children including the young Edward and also Mary and Elizabeth (two future queens of England) who are taught some valuable skills. I liked the interaction between the two capable actors. Vikander walks a fine line, especially with power in the balance along with her life. It was no secret about how Henry treated his prior wives, and the children knew it too. I am not clear how historically accurate the ending of this movie is but it is something to ponder. At the very least it is a story that is compelling. I do find more than a little hard to believe but that is alright. I haven’t seen Vikander in a while but it was a welcome sight to watch her work again. I think that Law is a versatile actor who gets better as he ages. If you can find this movie, it is worth checking out.

September 16, 2024

Sunday night is the Emmy’s, and as I am writing this I don’t know who the winners are. I find it interesting that the Best Drama series is all streaming services. Included in the nominees are: Shogun, 3 Body Problem, Mr and Mrs Smith, Fallout, Slow Horses, The Crown, Gilded Age and Morning Show. I do not get all of these series on my limited list of streaming services. I have seen The Crown, which will be difficult to beat since that series has been completed. And what a series it has been. I do think that the did an excellent job of concluding it. I have also seen 3 Body problem, which I enjoyed and I just finished watching the first season of Shogun, from FX. I think Anna Sawai as Moriko in Shogun wins the Emmy for Best Actress. Stating it for the record here.

Shogun: James Clavell published this book back in 1975. Set in the year 1600, the book is a work loosely based on history, all of which I was not familiar. I am actually was reading the book as my older brother had talked about it previously and I remember him liking it. He has since told me that he prefers other similar books. I am 420 pages into the 1200 page paperback. I also remember that my Mom was deeply entrenched in watching the Richard Chamberlain starring series back in 1980. I have recollection of it being on TV, but no real recollection of what happened and how close to the book that it remained. I then started watching the FX series, and by episode 3 it was surpassing where I had read. The story is one of power and internal civil war among competing regions of Japan after the death of the Taiko (Supreme Leader) who has relegated his powers to a Regent Council of 5 members who will hold power before the very young son of the Taiko comes of age to lead. The intrigue occurs between the regents. One of whom is Lord Toranaga. In the midst of these circumstances, a foreign, unknown ship crashes onto the shores after a perilous journey killimng most of the crew. They come under a Dutch flag but have as their new Captain a young British navigator, which the Japanese call Anjin.

Lord Toranaga with his translator Moriko

The various parties interract with plenty of drama, lead by the regents but with supporting characters and family members intermingling. All of the language among the Japanes characters are in Japanese with subtitles. This keeps the authenticity high. There is the church, brought in by the previous outworlders Portugese, who have an detailed maps of travelling around South America to reach Japan and China. The Dutch are catching up, and also as enemies of the Portugese on the oceans. The outsiders realize that the Japanese are different from them, but highly focused on loyalty, honour and duty. There is an uneasy relationship between the Christians and the Japanese leaders. Anjin brings a different perspective onto it. The story is about that political battle, but also about the foreigner Anjin and how he becomes a valued member of the Toronaga house, raising in stature and titles much to the chagrin of those in the Toronaga inner circle. There are some surprising plot turns as this moves along. I was engaged, intrigued and surprised. This is well acted, with fully formed characters who have motivations of their own. In yet another series, there are strong women who have substantial contributions to be made, despite the times and and their place in Japanese society. I look forward to seeing more of this.

September 2nd, 2024 Labour Day

End of summer is here. Man it flew by fast!! In Toronto we have the CNE (Canadian National Exhibition) Air Show all weekend. It’s fun!!

Mad Max 2: Road Warrior – back in 1982 George Miller released the sequel to his first film in this series set in Australia after an apocalypse. I decided to revisit this film after the most recent Furiosa just released and reviewed by me with Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth. The latest release lacks all of the things that made the Road Warrior movie some compelling and a success that drove the series forward. Mel Gibson is the young star who builds this successful role into super stardom.
But what’s the difference? Same director. Many years later in a similar world.
For me it’s the human heart and soul of the original. There were a band of people that you cared about. They were keeping their decency and humanity while fighting off the vermin of society, leftovers in an age when violence and might rule the day. The good guys wearing white are introduced after we see Max (the former cop) on the wild highways with chases and explosions. Everyone is seeking petrol which is in limited supply.
Max has a dutiful and loyal dog who helps him greatly and early on meets up with a gangly stranger who has a flying helicopter contraption.
They aren’t exactly friends as Max makes him a prisoner. Together they see a task, hoping to help the protectors of a refinery who seek new life and hope. The bad guys with two ferocious and merciless leaders just want what they want. The gas, and along with it the power. The intrigue begins along with the humanity in a few forms. The mercenary and loner learns a lesson about being human and having purpose.

The contrast is striking to Furiosa where it seemed the focus was on the crazy stunts and make up while losing any sense of connection. Humungous and his sidekick are played straight and intensely in Road Warrior. Hemsworth have made it a caricature. It is laughable how Hemsworth plays his role which is as disingenuous as the make up and prosthetic nose and chin that he wears.
Sometimes it isn’t a good idea to remake what was a success. Having said that Mad Max: Fury Road was a decent episode in the series. There is always another movie to be made and more money to be made at the box office.

August 26th, 2024

Find Me Falling: Netflix has released this romantic comedy starring Harry Connick Jr who plays a worldwide music star who has decided to move to the island of Cyprus. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Meditteranean in the eastern end of the sea close to Turkey, Syria and Greece. The scenery is very similar to Greece. His reasons for choosing this destination become apparent pretty quickly. He has decided to slow down, focus less on his career, and his first step is buying a piece of property which has an enticing cliff, but one that he learns has positives and negatives.

He is introduced to the local grocery store and woman in charge who sends along a pleasant young woman to deliver his purchases to him. Things happen. The reasons for his choosing Cyprus materialize with a history lesson for Harry and a woman on the island. The rest is fairly predictable. There are issues to be addressed and Harry needs to show that he is a changed man. He is hoping that his presence on the island shows that this is the case. Overall, this is a straightforward romantic comedy film set in a pretty location. I like the travel log as I have never been to Cyprus but it looks nice. I don’t need to meet Harry when I am there.

Love Is Blind UK: The Love is Blind franchise began in 2020 in the US has had six seasons. It has spawned eight (!!) international shows including Love is Blind Sweden, Love is Blind Mexico and now UK. I prefer watching where the contestants are speaking English and I don’t need subtitles but I have been told that Love is Blind Japan was very interesting to watch.

This season has 11 episodes and then a still unreleased episode 12 with having the contestants come back together in a reunion show. As in the US, the show puts together 28 singles who are unable to see the members of the opposite sex, but can speak with them in pods. The pods are small rooms with opaque seperators where each one of the dating couple can have a seat and just chat. The couples will continue with dating and chats, and only if they become engaged do they actually meet face to face. Then the next phase of the experiment occurs where the engaged couples head to an exotic beach location to explore their physical connection. Finally they come back to home (in this case London) and meet friends, families and utlimately decide if they want to actuall marry in the last episodes of the show. For the UK, we have six couples who passed the exotic destination test and went to the altar.

Of course this is mind candy. Reality TV with real lives impacted and at stake. I liked this season and those involved generally, because I think that they generally communicated well, and were in the show for the right reasons. A few were a little older, and this is beneficial to the overall feeling. They want to find their match, this is a new idea from the apps and online world which can be very superficial focusing on looks alone. By contrast the idea is these contestants fall for the person, the content of what they say, how they say it and their values. The intrigue happens when a contestant is choosing between more than one person and has to make a choice before ever setting eyes on these people. Of course for dramatic purposes those people have an opportunity to meet those people that they rejected. It all culminates with a dramatic finale with friends and family there, wearing full dress and tuxedo and deciding whether to marry or never see the person again. For me, I was cheering for many of the couples. Others may not seem ready, or have those around them who aren’t ready for them to be married (like a parent). I can say that I was surprised at a few of the end results. I do hope that there are more UK versions with their fun accents and hopefully people wanting to find love rather than their 15 mins of TV time. I think in this genre of dating reality shows that this was one of the better seasons. I have never professed to being immune from watching mindless TV!!

August 12, 2024

First of all, this is my eldest son’s birthday today and I wanted to send a great big shout out to him! It’s a milestone birthday for him and I am a very lucky Dad to have him in my life. He makes me proud every day. Happy Birthday!

A Quiet Place: Day One: In 2018, the original and surprise sci-fi thriller hit A Quiet Place was released. I was a fan of the John Krasinski story, with his direction, along with him acting with his wife in real life Emily Blunt. The premise was a subtle but important turn on the typical alien invader story. In that story the alien creatures were seemingly without weakness, and were roaming freely through the US and in this smaller US farming community. The movie follows a family and three kids struggling through this invasion. The sequeal released in 2020 continued on with the story for Emily Blunt and family.

This story has nothing to do with Emily Blunt and her family. It is a prequel set in NYC with all new characters. The primary character here, named Samira, is played by Lupita Nyong’o who is a woman stricken with cancer in a hospice facility. The is alone with her cat, and is down on her life and life in general. Then the unexpected for those in the film happens as images and events very reminiscent of 9-11 takes place throughout the city. Raining down from above come these meteorites which are these blurs as attacking creatures with devastating effect.

Buildings are falling, dust flies, fires begin, explosions occur and people are wiped out. In all of this madness we follow Samira who works to navigate her way to safety. Crawling under trucks, running through dusty streets in clouds of dust with an unseen danger, clearly killing these people around her. In all of this, she inexplicably manages to keep her cat close to her. Of course one has to check reality at the door at times. In this case I thought about the practicalities of trying to film these scenes with an adult cat, without Nyong’o being scratched and bitten to shreds. But in the film, with all the chaos going on around her, she still manages to find her cat. Not just once. There was a moment about halfway through the film when in my head I said “if she finds that cat one more time in all of this, I have to stop the film.” I stopped it. Incredibly!

Having been a fan of the first effort especially, I feel as though this story was a cash grab, taking advantage of the goodwill built up in the earlier films. The first film works especially because of the family angle. Mom, Dad, kids and how they interact. Emily Blunt’s character was also pregnant in the first film, and you just agonize with her as she is about the give birth in the scenes. That isn’t present here, despite the best of intentions in trying to gain sympathy for Samira’s cancer condition and diagnosis. She meets some random people who help her, show humanity and give her hope. From a character who talks to her therapy group about how her life was “shit” then before everything happened. I do think that life in North America in 2024 doesn’t have people generally appreciate just how good things are for us. Life even 100 years ago, let alone 400 years ago would have been. She learns some lessons, but as an audience member it didn’t work for me. So I am not able to recommend this. Unfortunately.

House of the Dragon Season 2: The second season of this series finished last Sunday with the eighth and final episode. Apparently there are two more seasons to go. We get to see the trials and tribulations among the Targaryan family as they battle for the crown of the departed King Viserys. There are two camps, Viserys’ daughter Rhaenyra, who was promised the crown by her father in no uncertain terms, but then the son of Viserys’ second wife Aegon. Aegon is one of a few heirs with Alicent Hightower and Viserys.

But as a season, I don’t think it ends in a way that is Game of Thrones worthy. I know that I will harp on this, but if you are marketing this series, and using the Game of Thrones theme song, then you must expect some comparisons with the original series. This doesn’t have the same families and characters weaving amongst each other (although there are some), nor the number of locations within Westeros and beyond. In this way it seems like GOT Lite. This season also didn’t end with an expected cliff hanger.

This feels more as pieces were being placed on a board and then the movements are going to take place later on. I like some of the placements, with the moves being made on both side of the potential battle (Aegon and family versus Rhaenyra and allies). I also note that the women seem to be more stable leaders than the men, certainly within the Targaryen family where the men and boys show themelves to be power hungry and viscious. The one episode where the dragons battle as I wrote about earlier was excellent. But the last couple of episodes have once again moved into more plot heavy dialogue. I wish that it moved quicker. I wish that there were episodes like the dragon battle episode. It seemed that Game of Thrones was able to build off on one another on multiple fronts. I will continue to watch. I do like the production values. I also generally like the actors, and the performances. But the quality of the story and writing seems more borrowed from Wolf Hall or The Other Boleyn Girl or the Tudors, all having to deal with the Henry VIII. Of course it is not completely this story but there are certainly elements of it.

August 5th, 2024

The Bikeriders: So I was intrigued with this film when I saw that the cast included Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon and Jodie Comer was being promoted. It is an impressive cast with Hardy, who has done some laudable work although recently nothing memorable (no I can’t say that Venom is something to be proud), but also Austin Butler as Elvis and Comer who was outstanding in Killing Eve. The plot seemed to be a mixture of Sons of Anarchy and Good Fellas. I was hoping for the best.

The plot focuses in a real biker club that happened back in the 1970s in the Midwest. Tom Hardy started as a guy who liked his motorcycle and gathered up some friends to have a motorcycle racing club. He called them the The Vandals of Chicago. They grew in numbers. But I am getting ahead of myself, because the story starts well into the history with the Austin Butler character in a bar and refusing to take off his “colours” (the bike jacket). He was already a member, and he was already married. There is a voiceover where his wife, played by Jodie Comer explains that he was a fiery, independent man who was very loyal to a fault. She talks through her romance with him and her being part of this gang of riders. As it grows it gains members who are not too loyal to the leadership of Hardy nor to its principles.

The story carries on but for me it was a weak effort. I wouldn’t think that succession of the leader is an important as one might think. I also wouldn’t think that Comer who, knowing fully what she was get into, would be so surprised at how things end up turning out for her. The same could be said for Hardy, who mumbles through mostly of his lines, and doesn’t really show himself to be full of leadership material. But maybe that’s the point – from a guy who who came from humble wants and beginnings to leading a very large multiple city gang. In the end I feel as though this was an opportunity missed. This cast deserved a better story with people who were more than typecast thugs.

Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1: Kevin Costner won the Oscar for directing back in 1990 with Dances with Wolves. It seems like he enjoys spending more time on horses and in nature. The success of Yellowstone has allowed him more time and a place of power to do another western project it would seem. This is the effort.

The story is set in multiple states at the end of the 1800s. The west is being explored and populated by immigrants. There are advertisements in the easter coastal cities to encourage a move the wild wild west. Land and opportunity for those who are willing to work for it. Of course there are the indigenous tribes who have populated the lands for many generations. Although the concept of ownership of the land is different they have experienced those immigrants and their armies who take without offering anything. So there are conflicts with innocents who deserve better. From various States we move to a smaller community conflict with a revenge story with two brothers. It is somewhat similar to Unforgiven.

So where does Costner fit into all this? He is an individual who seems to have a primary focus on gold mining. He makes money here and there, and gets targeted by the local lady of the evening who sees him as a potential Sugar Daddy. Things happen and Costner ends up getting involved more deeply than he was hoping. His path changes and he takes on different responsibilities freely. The bad brothers who confront Costner’s character are laughably evil with a predictable outcome. Costner plays the bad ass “man with no name” alright, but not on par with Clint Eastwood.

The challenge of course with all this is that this is slow moving with not enough development of the characters or the underlying stories. This is part one, with factions including the indigenous populations, the army, the ranchers and individuals just trying to make their way in life. The foundation is laid here but for me I wanted to see more development of the characters. I won’t be anxious to catch the second episode, but one can hope that it addresses a story that is balanced and fair to how things happened as opposed to the versions that we have been privy to for many years.