Apologies for last week but I was travelling on holiday and did not have a chance to write. Now I am back.
All of Us Strangers: Andrew Scott stars along with Paul Mescal in this 2023 release. Claire Foy co-stars along with Jamie Bell.
Andrew Scott is one of the most versatile actors these days. He seems to be able to pivot from various roles and be effective in each of them. From Bond, to Sherlock, recently released Ripley then also Fleabag.
He plays a screenwriter named Adam living in London. He lives alone in a condo that is sparsely populated and has a neighbour who makes an unusual proposition for him. He declines.
He begins a stroll down memory lane. The audience isn’t quite clear as to how much of his journey is real or imagined. He had dredged up some photographs in his possessions safely stored away under his bed. This is a movie about Adam’s relationships and not about his career.
He reconsiders the neighbour and they have a tryst. Turns out that he is gay but they discuss “queer” being a more elegant description.
From there Adam continues his stroll down memory lane. We learn more as he revisits this past, wwith a short train ride used to transport him into to memories. But are they just memories? There is no explanation as to these travels. Without disclosing too much, the travels allow for a discussion of attitudes of the past and then present day about various ideas but mainly about being gay (back in the 1980s until present day). Perception and memories are very interesting and they are explored. Imagine speaking to someone and having a conversation with them in real time and seeing them, and hearing them with their full selves. How different might the reality be from how you had imagined it?
Then this story goes deeper. The present and the past collide. Discussions are held that are heartfelt and real. Scott shows a range of emotion to bring this story to life for Adam. So much is revealed in his face and moments when he says very little.
I really enjoyed this. This movie asks, fundamentally, how much do we really know one another? Even those who raised us and were there for us from the day we started our journey on this planet. How much can we anticipate for our actions today that we think are seemingly meant to help us and heal us? In the end none of us is promised another day.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: I am not having a great deal of luck these days with movies I am seeing in the theatre. After the debaucle that was The Fall Guy, I was anticipating seeing this movie. It had been well hyped, with plenty of commercials and trailers that I have done my best to try and avoid. I wanted to see this latest installment with fresh eyes and an open mind. I was a really big fan of the original from 1968 with Charleton Heston and Roddy McDowell. The last trilogy with Andy Serkis as the focal point with Caesar I quite liked as well. The world was decimated from a man made illness that basically resulted with apes, lead by Caesar, revolting and overtaking the humans. This movie starts with the burial of Casear through cremation by open fire. Then it fast forwards through a number of generations, and the teachings of Casear are being fractionalized. We begin in this new time with three young chimpanees underdoing a tribe ritual where they are to seek an eagle’s egg, obtained from an eagles nest nearby. One of the young apes, Noa (played by Owen Teague) is the son of the tribe’s leader in charge of the eagles and rookery.
In short order, Noa is tasked with seeking revenge for a series of events for which he feels responsible. It is debateable about whether this is the case. There is a competing tribe of apes that was causing havoc. There was also the emergence of a mysterious human who has been seen nearby Noa on occassion. Things happen. There is a situation involving the aggressive apes, seemingly lead by a gorilla, but in fact there is another leader who has taken on the name of Caesar but has twisted the words to be something that seems to reinforce his own position as leader. There is a task which I won’t dive into further, along with the appearance of another human who is helping this leader ape.
For me, despite the references cinematically in scenes that are set, like an attack on the mute human colony in a field of high vegetation by the apes, the efforts to channel the story and feelings of the original fall flat. There is no real connection to the latest Caesar movie trolgy as well. Instead, it is a weak story with very good technical capabilties with the look and feel of the faces of the apes. There is this new human aspect which builds upon the Taylor “if there’s one talking human, then there would be another and another” from back in 1968. But again, it doesn’t translate as well in this instance. Human structures are more front and centre here with the ape population, or at least the leaders, thinking that they need to obtain it to have power or retain it. In short, I didn’t like this very much. The tie in back to the eagle tribe was weak, and it became evident pretty early on that this was the beginning of a new series of films. In other words there wasn’t much resolved in this episode. But sadly the opening volley has to be stronger to make us want to see more. Instead I don’t look ahead towards this future conflict with the humans who would appear to hold a military advantage along with a (possible) intellectual one. This movie made $237M this weekend globally, but I feel that it unfairly leveraged the goodwill from the latest trilogy while not having much new to offer. This is a pass for me.
The Miracle Club: This was a movie recommendation from a colleague. I wanted to check it out when it was mentioned that it was set in Ireland. I had hoped that there would be some quality Irish scenery. Starring Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates, Laura Linney and others it tells the tale of a small group of older people in a part of Dublin with a history and unresolved conflict.
We have different generations involved, and the death of one of the older women in the community, the mother of the Linney character brings them all together to rehash the stories from the past.
Billed as a comedy, this isn’t very funny. Instead it is filled with more drama as the women’s stories unfold and are retold. Maggie Smith is in mourning for years. Her son passed away years ago. It seems he was very much in love with the Linney character. She decided to leave many years ago to America and not return. Linney had vowed not to see her Mother again. Kathy Bates was her friend at the time. So the community has decided to try and visit a town in France (Lourdes) where in the church there is a statue of Mary which from time to time allegedly performs miracles. Within the group there is a young woman with a son who doesn’t speak. That is one of the issues that they hope to resolve.
For me, movies that try too hard to pull heart strings feel more like manipulation. There are good actresses here from which to gain a quality performance. But it is lacking in strength of plot. It all seems so very artificial. Linney has unresolved issues with her Mom, and also with the other women, principally the Smith character but also with Bates of course who is more direct in her conflict with Linney and what she has done. In the end there are tears and resolution and some apologies. I wish I could say that I enjoyed it but it didn’t really work. I cannot recommend.
Baby Reindeer: This is a new series on Netflix and is based on a true life story of the writer, star and creator Richard Gadd. Told in seven short episodes which are generally around 30 minutes, it tells the story of an aspiring comic, who is paying the bills with being a bartender. At the bar, by happenstance he assists a weeping woman who is seemingly distressed. This becomes a turning point in the direction of his life. The story becomes one of a stalker and her pray, as he tries to extricate himself from what becomes very uncomfortable and awkward situation.
Martha claims to be a lawyer. The story explores the connection between the parties and their own foibles and challenges. The audience will be surprised at various stages on the actions of these two people. They are both very flawed and make decisions that are surprising and shocking in places. Gadd plays Donny Dunn but he goes by other names as well. He makes very little and lives with the mother of a former girlfriend. He is also interested in trans-women on top of that. He is currently dating a trans-woman but he is not really sure about his own sexuality. The series is in many ways a self-exploration for Donny. After a series of odd events and a gradual intensification of stalking, choices are made which would seemingly be the opposite of what you would intend, for example after you have chosen to try and get the police involved. But then you look to take things into your own hands, running at cross purposes. Things happen. The turning point is in Episode 6. The strain of the stalking has taken its toll, and his career is stalling, as one would expect. Apparently Gadd claims that his stalker sent more than 41,071 emails, 350 hours of voicemails, 744 tweets, 46 Facebook messages and 106 pages of letters. This goes to show that the stalking was off-the-charts intense. Of course I imagine that some of this was exaggerated for dramatic effect. Even if only half of this story and events are true then it’s quite surprsing. This has been a sleeper hit for Netflix. I had been forewarned that there would be a turn in this which was surpising, and I had been waited for it, and it didn’t really come. However, I had wondered where this would go and how it would resolve itself. In the end, the resolution was unexpected. It was okay. I feel as though none of the characters were likeable. They make poor choices. But it can be a case study for those who live very different lives. Richard has created a series for himself. He isn’t overly funny and this very much reveals a great deal about himself and his demons.
Bullet Train: This 2022 movie was released on Netlfix. Riddle me this, Batman, how a movie with Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock and Michael Shannon can be a complete failure? This is utterly a mess from beginning to end. Pitt has been put on a bullet train in Japan to obtain a suitcase. Seems simple enough. He while entering the train he is glued to his phone and having an ongoing dialog with a mystery female voice on the other side.
Of course the story isn’t so simple. There are others on the train who have different motivations even after Pitt has managed to find the suitcase quicker than one would expect. There is a bad guy (played by Shannon), he has a son, among his offspring and the suitcase is filled with his money. All the time I am sensing that someone watched Snakes on a Plane, and wants to channel a smart ass Samuel L Jackson and then also be the hitman on his “last job”. It is difficult to best describe the plot as it twists and turns onto itself as characters betray each other as circumstances change. Of course there are big fights, none of which are on a level with a John Wick or Atomic Blonde or Jason Bourne. The CGI for the more intense train related scenes especially in the last act are just over the top ridiculous. Much like this movie. I cannot over-emphasize how thankful I was when it was over. I had plenty of eye rolls. The snappy smarmy Pitt quips fall flat and the humour didn’t hit the mark. At least I was saved the theatre cost, which I sadly didn’t avoid for The Fall Guy last weekend! Next…!
The Fall Guy: Imagine that I didn’t know that this 2024 release with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt would be based on the characters from the 1980s TV show starring Lee Majors in his post-$6 Million Dollar Man phase. I saw the trailer and thought that I like both leads, and it looks like it is a stunt man based film.
In arriving at the theatre and the beginning of the movie starts, Ryan Gosling refers to himself as Colt Seavers and I immediately rolled my eyes. Then the pick up truck from the show is there too a beige high wheeled truck. As the movie carries on, I am surprised why Blunt and Gosling would be involved in it. The plot was so contrived with a love story between Gosling and Blunt’s characters where he was a stunt man, and she was a camera operator on a set. Colt is the stunt double for a pompous Tom Cruise-like character making various action-filled movies. He has his own preferred producer, played by Ted Lasso‘s Hannah Waddingham. Waddingham isn’t one of the talented actors whose talents are wasted here. She is over the top and obnoxious. She is looking to get this new space movie completed, but the star has disappeared. Colt eighteen months earlier suffered a bad accident but is encouraged to come back to the business.
There is tension as Colt returns to the set where Blunt’s character is now a director. Things happen. There is even a scene with Colt in a truck and he’s listening to a Taylor Swift song. This is along with the Kiss “I Was Made for Loving You” song blasted out from the beginning. There are various attempts to bring forward images and ideas from the 80s (like a reference to Miami Vice) and other homages to the time, but it literally falls flat. The underlying premise falls flat because we don’t really have much of a connection with the actors except the goodwill that they have brought from other, better roles. Gosling does have comedic talent in roles like Nice Guys from 2016, but I don’t chuckle once here. It was a rolling of the eyes, and then looking to the ceiling as more cheesey lines and silly plot lines are delivered. I am ashamed and sad that I was brought into the theatre to see this. Maybe Gosling and Blunt wanted an excuse to have a paid vacation in Australia. As a movie goer I am surprised that all those involved in this don’t open their cheque books and refund those who spend money to watch it.
Note that if you choose to go, you will get a major easter egg at the end of the credits much like a Ferris Bueller type end. You have been warned as it answers a question that no one ever even wanted to ask…you’ll know when you see it. But this is a hard pass for me. One can be hopeful that more in-theatre releases coming soon like Kingdon of the Planet of the Apes is better than this clunker. Has there been a decent stunt guy related movie? Yes, check out The Stunt Man with Peter O’Toole from 1980.
Spaceman: Netflix has just released this new film starring Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan and Pano Dano. An imporessive cast really. In truth, I am not really an Adam Sandler fan, at least not the silly comedy films that he was known for principally. This is NOT that, as this is far more serious. In summary, this was a movie that was weird, then it got really weird. Assuming you were able to get over that weirdness, then it grounded itself in a bit of a strange way. That likely doesn’t help a reader too much, but ultimately it became a more simple relationship movie, but let’s rewind a little on the initial premise.
The Czech Republic has sent Jakub Prochaka (Sandler) into deep space to explore this phenomenon that has entered the solar system. It is a long mission, and Jakub has been in space about 6 months on his own. He leaves behind a wife, played by Mulligan, and she isn’t very happy about her their relationship. She tries to initiate the longest Dear John in the history of mankind by satellite telephone, but the Space Agency powers that be have not permitted it to be sent. So the silence created between the husband and wife begins to weigh on Jakub. Enter in the weirdness, which I won’t fully describe for fear of spoiling it. Suffice it to say that something unusual happens within the spacecraft, and the audience is left to wonder how it can possibly be. A dialogue begins which one wonders is a symptom of isolation, and the worry of one man being projected into something more tangible. It also may be a necessary movie/plot device to avoid having the solitary astronaut pondering his thoughts alone.
I see aspects of many movies in this, like The Martian, Interstellar, Gravity and 2001: A Space Odyssey. There is even some Cast Away involved here too. All of them are better movies. In many ways, the story of a self-absorbed narcissist with an important job (or with very fixed goals) and a troubled marriage could be told without space at all. He could be a trucker from Green Bay with a wife in Albuquerque on a long haul when all of this goes down. Of course the Interstellar moments wouldn’t necessarily work in that instance (they will be evident when they happen in the last act) but by then it doesn’t matter. The final act does make this more about human connection, but the path to get it there was muddled. Sandler didn’t convince me ultimately in the role since I don’t see him as an astronaut-worthy person in terms of the science and math knowledge that would be required. Mulligan was alright, in a bland sort of way since she didn’t really have a lot to do. The flashbacks were dreamy and all, but much of whether you like this will be in those philosophical discussions with the voice of Paul Dano (who also played in similar voice the Riddler from Robert Pattinson’s The Batman). He has done many quality roles. In any event, I can’t recommend this, as one needs to be really patient and set aside the weird logic that goes in behind it. It is after all NHL playoff season, and there is plenty of hockey to be seen each night.
October Sky: This is an oldie but a goodie. A movie from 1999 presently on Netflix, but with a really good cast including Chris Cooper, Laura Dern and a young Jake Gyllenhaal. This was Jake’s fifth movie at the time and his first in a lead role. The story is based on a true story of a group of high school aged young men in West Virginia living in a small coal mining town in the mid 1950s. The movie starts with the news announcement of the Soviet sputnik being launched above the earth. It was a captivating time post WWII, and the perception that the Soviets were looking to begin the Cold War with domination of space, and drop downs and use surveillance above the US with no opposition. Homer Hickam, played by Gyllenahaal, is energized by the story and thoughts of space. He lives with his older, football playing brother, and his Mom and Dad, head of the union at the local coal mine (Chris Cooper). The mine is struggling financially to extract more coal from the ground, but still incurring the costs of labour and equipment.
Young Homer decides that he wants to make rockets, and sets upon himself to learn as much as he can about rockets and building them. Dad doesn’t improve, Mom cares only that he doesn’t “blow himself up”. Most encouragement comes from his young teacher, Miss Riley who wants at least some of her students to have a future that doesn’t involve being a miner, wants these boys to enter a local Science Fair and have the possibility of a college education and a life outside this little town.
The performances are all good. Cooper can play a tough Old Man as well as anyone, and has his heart set on his older boy getting a football scholarship and younger son following in his footsteps in the mine and leading the men below. Mining is a dangerous pursuit, and Dad takes the protection of his men seriously. Father and son butt heads with respect to his career ambitions, with harsh words and tension. Still there is an underlying respect and love between them. Mom chips in as well, lending some support when it is needed. It is a feel good story as the boys learn from their mistakes, which are many, and have some guidance from locals who know a thing or two about metalurgy among other things. The town, once there is some notoriety, rally around the boys as they find materials and forge cylinders to make the body of their rockets as well as try new fuels. I enjoyed watching this again after many years, but it still has some emotional impact. I like the characters. Sadly the town and Dad don’t see what is plain to teacher and young Homer that the days of the mine are numbered. It’s good to see young people get inspired, work hard to learn and advance. Enjoy.
Rebel Moon: Part 2– The Scargiver: This is part 2 of the series on Netflix, which was not memorable for me in the first episode. This continues in the story. The Scargiver refers to the character Kora played by Sofia Boutella.
Much of this story I had forgotten, but basically in a Star Wars theme, there was an evil empire who comes upon a farming planet and the resident Grand Moff Tarkin character, decides he wants to extract a lot of supplies from the people to replenish his large spacecraft. There is a rebellion among the farming community using some local people with a beef against the Empire people.
What I can say is that the second half of this part two is really just one big battle, with plenty of characters fighting and dying for their respective causes. The principal rebel character, Kora is a former member of the Empire and has decided to leave to be on her own. She has been brought into the farmer’s battle and will work to lead them as an insider. But does it all really matter? I cannot really answer that. I find the visuals here to be competent, but the story along the leaders and rebels is weak. There is a Part III, which is not something I look forward to, to be honest. Ed Skrein plays Atticus Noble as the bad Empire guy with the Hitler-like haircut and outfits. He tends to play these bad chanracters, as he did in Deadpool, but for me he was better in Midway as a hero. I just find that he is a little over-the-top on the bad side and it takes away from the story. Boutella as the heroine, is adequate but that is how I feel about the whole exercise. It is adequate, and I think that money could be spent on a project that has more to offer the viewer. It is quite a commitment for the viewer to watch all of this, but with no real underlying message. I cannot recommend.
Jimmy Carr – Natural Born Killer: This 2024 Netflix special has just been released. I saw in May 2023 Jimmy in Toronto for his Terribly Funny tour. Much of the material in this latest special was covered in what I saw. I like Jimmy Carr, the British comedian but he can be an acquired taste. He expects his audience to pick up on his quite deadpan delivery and doesn’t pause for those to catch up.
He covers off plenty of taboo subjects including rape, and pedophiles, step-fathers, dating, relationships etc with the same vigour. He engages with the audience from time to time and it can lead to some good improv laughs. He has other specials on netflix and each of them is worth checking out if you like his brand of humour and delivery. I highly recommend for me and those with that same sense of humour. For others, your mileage may vary!!
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire: When I was a kid, after primary school was done, they would have on Channel 29 Buffalo “Creature Feature Week” where they would show back to back monster movies. They were Godzilla, Kong, and other creatures with titles that seemed more like a wrestling match (like Mothra vs Godzilla from 1964). King Kong vs Godzilla (1962) was very poorly dressed (literally a man in an ape suit, as this was still pre-Planet of the Apes). It was two men in costumes wrestling on a train set with hydro lines and small homes and dinky toys. It was campy fun after a day at school.
Fast forward from TV movies from 1978ish 40+ years to the present day and we have a lot more technology to assist with bringing forth the images of these two gigantic creatures and the world that they inhabit. This is the next installment in a series, where the human characters were all interested earlier. There was Rececca Hall (scientist), her adopted doaughter and Dan Stevens (as a biologist). As a team they were aware of Kong and studied him, but the first clash with Godzilla brought about new set of issues. The adopted daughter, seemed to have a connection with Kong and they communicated through sign language. Yes Kong knows how to sign.
In this latest movie, Kong and Godzilla have gone their separate ways, Kong to his world, which if you haven’t seen the first one won’t be disclosed here. Godzilla has been dealing a variety of creatures. He seems to like sleeping in a Coliseum in Rome, but seems to have a tendancy to cause havoc in other well known cities. It seems monsters don’t have fights in Des Moines or Saskatoon. The damage of course to historical buildings, bridges and sights is substantial. But nevermind. Things happen. Monsters fight monsters. An improbable journey takes places for the humans and puts them into areas that are foreign. We are introduced to another monster, which brings back memories from many years back.
In the end, is this compelling movie making? I saw this in IMAX, and there are some impressive visuals. The story is quite complex and you have to overlook some logical challenges. But generally not a great deal has changed since the Creature Feature Week. It seems that despite technological advances that it is still men in suits prancing around on model railway sets. One key difference is that Kong is the more natural or human of the two, and is injured, sustains injuries unlike the others. It is convenient that the biologist is able of helping Kong with his injuries as they are sustained. In the end it is campy fun, with some good visuals. Sometimes entertainment for entertainment’s sake is okay. The humans are here for window dressing and little else.
Scoop: Recently released on Netflix, this new movie tells the story of the BBC interview with Prince Andrew over the allegations of his relationship with disgraced female teenage sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein. But going back in time before the interview, we get the context of why Prince Andrew would ever entertain such an interview. Starring Gillian Anderson as BBC interviewer Emily Maitlis, Billie Piper plays Sam McAlister (both from the BBC) and Rufus Sewell plays Prince Andrew.
As part of the interview, it is Sam McAlister who is looking to obtain the story and get the interview with the Prince. The Prince has been dogged by his relationship with Epstein persistently, and hw has chosen to ignore it beyond flat out denials. But with Epstein’s sudden apparenent suicide in a New York holding cell, all the questions arise again in this story. Andrew wants it just to go away so he can continue with his Royal duties and the entrepreneur work that he is doing. Here was a chance to once and for all clear his name. As we both know this interview was the downfall of the Prince who after it aired was quickly stripped of his titles and Royal duties. However much this show looked to try and create suspense, it didn’t really work well. Since we know the ending in real life, there is little drama in wondering whether the Palace will be stepping in and preventing the interview from being aired. The remarkable thing really is how delusional the Prince was for his performance within the interview and post. He truly had no idea just how poorly he came off, and how ridiculous his answers and explanations were. He was so dreadly out of touch. His reaction when the interview concluded with Anderson’s character shows how out of touch that he was. Overall this movie was a Meh for me. I do think that Gillian Anderson has developed and grown tremendously in her craft, especially since her early days of X-Files. Her range and projects have outshone David Duchovny considerably. Still this was not overly compelling and Sewell for me didn’t really capture the Prince.
Today around 3:15PM, local Toronto time and in Buffalo where the path of totality takes place, there will be a total eclipse of the sun, which is the first time since 1925 for our region. This is regarded as a once in a lifetime event for these parts. The next eclipse doesn’t happen until 2044, but is mostly in Alberta and western States. So if you are reading this in the morning, then you may want to be prepared to pause and see it first hand, although of course with proper eye protection. So enjoy this historic event.
BitConned: There is a new documentary that speaks to the BitCoin phenomenon from just a few years back. By a few years back we are talking about 2017 and the eventual explosion of BitCoin as an alternate currency and means of monetary exchange between people. Enter some young men with sketchy backgrounds who look upon the unregulated BitCoin world as an opportunity to make money out of thin air, while profiting from the hype and human desire to win the lottery.
Specifically these young men, native New Yorkers but living in Miami, are looking to find a way to address the problem of spending the value one has stored in the bitcoin that they have accumulated. One of the challenges of course is monetizing a volatile value as it fluctutates dramatically from day to day and hour to hour.
These three guys pictured here basically borrowed an idea they heard from an Asian company about creating a debit card that allows the card holder to use their bitcoin to purchase whatever they choose. Once purchased, the proper amount of bitcoin is deducted from their balance. The concept was intriguing as the value of bitcoin was increasing dramatically, and more everyday people began to hear about it, and look to invest in it. So what did these guys do? They started off by shedding a failed Miami Exotics car company, and then starting up Centra Card which according to their website was backed by VISA. Also Bancorp. Each of these three men pictured here had LinkedIn websites which showed them as coming from Harvard Business School, and they had a CEO as a silent investor with extensive banking experience. The story unfolds as the celebrity endoresements roll in from people like Floyd Merriweather. With another positive article written by a different source, the money through an ICO (Initial Coin Offering) started coming in. However much these three wanted to pursue a legitimate company, they seemed to get sidetracked with the money.
For me, what is shocking, really is the whole US (and North American) judicial process and when charges get laid through the SEC, and the trials begin the ultimate results. It was shocking to be sure, but it isn’t surprising. One wonders about sentencing and how an informer with a tattoo of the word “loyalty” on his body is then treated through the judicial system. As a lawyer, I am saddened with the results.
Three Body Problem: Apparently this is the most expensive Netflix series ever. This is Season 1. There are eight episodes, each approximately one hour each. It is from the book from Chinese author Chixin Liu. Overall, I enjoyed this series which was written by the Game of Thrones pairing of David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. You will see many Game of Thrones actors making appearances. This is a remake of a thirty episode Chinese series named Three-Body.
I went into watching this not knowing the background nor the story. The early episodes begin with a premise of well known scientists ending their lives under bizarre circumstances. One has writing on his premises wall much like the scribblings from A Beautiful Mind, or Knowing with Nicolas Cage. It is all very mysterious. There is one Saul Durand, a brilliant scientist who is perplexed by his scientific work no longer providing the same results as one would expect (contrary to all scientific theory with repeatable data). A manager and colleague later ends up taking her own life. Naturally there are police that are curious about these deaths and one in particular is looking to put the pieces together. Friends of scientist Durant gather and want to discuss the bizarre circumstances. In yet another parallel story to this there is a story about one of the scientists who shortly before her death was playing a video game. Such a game involves wearing a silver helmet-like device for those who are invited to play and involves a realistic world and technology that currently doesn’t exist in gaming. As the story moves on, this then takes on a new flavour with flashbacks of happenings in China in the 1960s which have had substantial and material impact on where the story goes. I was not expecting the direction in which it was taken. There are some parallels with Game of Thrones in that you don’t know where it will go, and what will happen to some of the characters, both good and bad. Obviously there are more books and more story to be told. This is still early days. I will continue to watch and see where this goes.
Marley: The documentary from 2012 currently on Netflix is a really good companion piece to the recently released, and reviewed last week by me Bob Marley: One Love. I found this documentary much more satisfying and a more complete discussion about the man, the times and his music. How that music became a unifying force in his home country of Jamaica, but also around the world in become a symbol for peace and understanding. The One Love movie had Rita’s children, like Ziggy and others well involved. It shows in the end product. I sure as heck wouldn’t want an ex-wife or one-of-many relationships writing my story and filming it.
One of the things glossed over in the movie was that Bob had 11 children from 7 different women, including a former Miss World, Cindy Brakespeare. Rita was married to Bob at a very early age, but they spent significant time apart, even though she was also one of the backup singers in his band. She self-professes to be more of a manager for him for his groupies than his wife.
Bob Marley was well followed and there was plenty of film taken of him. His tours and performances were also well filmed, even including the critical Jamaica performance where he brought the two opposing political leaders on stage and joined hands with them. This was part of his power to bring together people, with his energy and his music. He was beloved in Jamaica and yet spent much of his adult time away from Jamaica. A poor boy from Trenchtown, with a musical talent and a desire to be heard. His music lives and speaks to people many years after his early death at age 36. How tragic that he never took doctors and physicals seriously, including addressing the big toe issue that he had and which he was never prepared to remedy to utlimately save his life. Soccer, it seems, was far too important for his own fun and recreation that losing that toe would have been too much for him.
Together the latest movie and this documentary provide a more balanced and full review of the life of this remarkable man. The power of music, time and again, shows how it can live forever and resonate with people for years and years to come. This is well worth watching.
The Exorcist: I was recently in Washington DC and Georgetown to see the cherry blossoms in bloom. I also managed to get over the Georgetown University area and made of point of seeing the location for filming of the famous horror movie. What I found was a house not far from the main entrance to the University where the house was used for outdoor shots of where Regan (played by Linda Blair) and her Mom, actress Chris MacNeil (played by Ellen Burstyn) lived while she was shooting a movie.
This above is the famous picture of Father Merrin, played by Max Von Sydow, entering the house.
What you note now from the house is that it is NOT the “L” shape that it was in the film. As a result, there is NO WAY that Father Karras could have leapt from Regan’s window down those stairs, since he would have to have jumped across the parking lot. They just aren’t that close. It is noted that production added a false wing to the house for filming. That way it would be more believable for the scene where Father Karras leaped out of Regan’s bedroom window and fell down the flight of stairs to his death.
Overall it was really cool to see this, as well as the scenes filmed the main campus of the University.
The Trust: A Game of Greed: I had heard through work colleagues about this Netflix series. It is really a train wreck, with people looking to take part of a $250,000 prize to start. Then through various tests, there are challenges to their own integrity as well as the groups, and they must decide themselves whether to vote out members of that trust. All it takes is for one person to vote out a member potentially to have them removed.
The personalities clash or look to work together all in the name of the game and creating drama. So far, it is scary to see people in what they decide to share and not share, and then what the results can be. Some are more willing to play for the team, while others are quick to try and cull the herd of those who are viewed as “unpredictable” or “wild cards”. Only if you like these kinds of shows should you be tuning in. Otherwise it is passable.
Bob Marley: One Love: This was released in theatres and stars the unknown to me Kingsley Ben-Adir who plays in the title role. I think that he does an excellent job in this role. This is not a comprehensive biography of the life of Bob Marley, with only glimpses into some of his early days. Rather, this story begins at the time when Jamaica was gaining its independence from the United Kingdom, and there was political violence in and around Jamaica.
Bob Marley and his Wailer band were getting more well known, but there was a great deal of violence, including an attempted assassination of Bob in a house, where before the home invasion his wife Rita (played by Lashna Lynch from the most recent James Bond and The Woman King fame) was shot in her car. It was political in nature because Bob was looking to have a free concert for all, to help join everyone together with music. Bob was a true believer in Rastafarian beliefs.
After the assassination attempt, Bob had suggested Rita and the children leave and seek refuge and safety in the US. Rita made a full recovery from her shooting, but was very lucky to have survived. She had a complicated relationship with Bob, on top of being a back up singer in the band. For me, I had limited knowledge of Rita, but nothing was very positive. She seemed intent on maximizing her own profit from her relationship with Bob.
The movie I found a bit slow, and I would have liked to see more of the creative process in Bob creating these iconic worldwide hits. Where was the inspiration for the songs? Some of which were shown but not in the detail I would like to see. Certainly when you visit Jamaica you hear this music at every resort and around the island. The ONLY place on the island that smoking pot is legal is at Bob’s house. But I digress. In summary, I like the music and the main performance. I think that there could have been more detail. I note that many of Bob’s children were involved in producing and the music in this production. They did well in choosing the actor for their Dad without a doubt.
Ghislaine Maxwell: Filthy Rich: This is a documentary on Netflix, which outlines the heiress Ghislaine Maxwell, daughter of British media magnet, and disgraced business owner Robert Maxwell. He disappeared from his yacht, named after his daughter Ghislaine, and was found a day later. Later he was found to have taken millions in pensions from his employees. Ghislaine then moved to NYC, and managed to find herself another rich man Jeffrey Epstein. The main story is her involvement, and trial, for the sexual escapades of Jeffrey Epstein, her literal partner in crime, and herself.
Epstein is now infamous for being one of the world’s most notorious sexual predators of young girls in Florida, and around the world. Ghislaine, as she was accused, was the faciliator to bring in these young women for the sexual exploits. She recruited the girls directly initially, including stalking some retail workers from fancy stores in NYC, and then later became the trainer for other young girls to find other girls. Often this started as massages, either of Epstein’s feet or more full body. Each girl was well paid for their encounters but there were a few that resisted and turned on Ghislaine, Jeffrey and some of their famous clients like Prince Andrew. Ghislaine at one point had said that Epstein had a “medical condition” where he must orgasm mutiple times a day, and that she just couldn’t “keep up”. This documentary gives some background into Ghislaine’s life and then about the people accusing her in the trial. Epstein was arrested, imprisoned in NY and mysteriously was found dead in his cell of an apparent suicide. Ghislaine was left to be accused and tried. They authorities needed to find her first.
In the end, you see that justice (eventually) is served, but not after it took a beating with the plea deal that Epstein managed to secure in Florida for himself upon his first charges being laid. Sadly Epstein and Maxwell together had no regard for those who they viewed as targets for their own sexual gratification, and used money and power to coerce and threaten most to just play along. There was a fund to assist those who were abused by Epstein and Maxwell, and it’s a start for those who are looking to put their lives back together.
Mondays With Robbie 