December 26, 2020

Twenty Streams

Like everybody else, we devoured many movies and series (some of them new to us, and others Classic re-views) during the Recent Unpleasantness:

Midway — This pretty well-told tale of the pivotal Pacific battle of WWII brought me to the somewhat distressing realization that from now on, war movies may need to go to the Selfie level with the main character to hold the attention of our smartphone-lovin’ younger generation

Dazed & Confused — The movie does very well to capture the small wins (and losses) of being 15 to 18 years old. Freshman “Mitch” experiences the all-time most excellent day ever, avoids hazing for awhile, gets invited to the older kids’ bash, secures the baseball “W”, makes out with a sophomore girl, and even gets served. Mitch reminds me exactly of a guy I know, and I happily told my McCallum boys all about him – a natural athlete who was also incredibly lucky (Also: LOVE all the Adam Goldberg stuff, picking a fight with a dude who is going to wail on you. That’s real life!)

Much of the production took place on McCallum High turf (but the actual “school” used was an Austin middle school). Most of the characters’ houses are on Shoal Creek Avenue. The burgers hangout Top Notch is still there. The ballfield where “Mitch” is pitching is still McCallum’s home field (in a nearby city park). Turns out, that deja vu feeling I experienced my first time there was right on the money

Friday Night Lights — This 2004 Texas high school football tale, mostly true, of the 1988 Odessa-Permian Panthers remains fresh. Shot at Southside Market in Elgin, the coaches’ triple coin-toss scene is a personal favorite. Leading directly into the playoffs montage sequence, with ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid,” well — that sequence is *mint* my friend

Joker — Solid, solidly disturbing, and this movie is also a huge nod to “The King of Comedy,” a Scorsese/Deniro project from 1982 featuring a character’s incremental insanity 

Midsommar — Cannot unsee and would like to get those two hours back

“Last Dance,” best dance — ESPN’s multi-part exploration of the 1998 NBA season for the Chicago Bulls was appointment viewing. (Born after all this happened, our three boys were spellbound nonetheless.) It will remain a pop culture highlight of the ’20s. Michael Jordan’s participation validates the project. He had never before granted lengthy interviews, so it was great getting his honest takes on all of it (with the huge Partagas and a glass of Scotch alongside). So many familiar faces also appeared, from my time among the Chicago sports media. With the smallest “seat,” first with the White Sox press corps and later working with McDonald’s in sports marketing, I was lucky enough to have been (a bit) connected. Nostalgia never felt so good

Once Upon… Hollywood — The movie’s soundtrack album is a near-perfect time capsule of late ’60s AM radio. Tarantino and his music supervisor Mary Ramos culled original 1969 KHJ-AM ‘Boss Radio’ recordings, featuring DJs like The Real Don Steele spinning hits alongside period-authentic ads for cologne, tanning butter and Mug Root Beer. Sourced from actual broadcasts and home recording, the LP includes radio drops and commercial spots, plus, it’s in mono. Very clever.

[ADDING, MAY 2023]
I highly recommend the audible of the movie’s “novelization,” narrated by Jennifer Jason Leigh. It has more depth, and you realize that Quentin Tarantino is focused far more on Cliff Booth’s [the Brad Pitt character’s] thoughts and actions. Tarantino’s book, Cinema Speculation, provides even more context, lending overall insight into QT’s heroes and favorite movies. Listening to both while driving on road trips to Indy, Tulsa and Dallas was great and here’s hoping that Tarantino will make the companion movie to tell us the story of the fascinating “Cliff.”

Limitless — Great premise. The best ones are always “just around the corner” takes on modern life and this one offers the viewer the tempting potential to hyper optimize your potential… at a price. Best moment for me occurs in the late-going when the Bradley Cooper main character tells the Mandarin waiter a joke in his language, and they both laugh

No Country for Old Men — Random and senseless and with no real closure, just like life

True Detective (the McConaughey and Harrelson season) — The casting, performances and writing are terrific and no other “True D” episodic even comes close, in my book. This narrative has a bit of a “Twin Peaks” feel, focusing on the partnership of the two flawed men investigating two mysteries spanning 17 years. Woody Harrelson is magnetic, and I loved McConaughey’s portrayal of the distant, obsessive Rust Cohle. His hyper-aware monologue about “Having a dream that you mattered” is epic. McConaughey has become a Paul Newman-in-his-prime type of figure, and this ominous, bizarre 2014 miniseries began the “run” he’s currently on

Person of Interest (the CBS series) —For a network show, this was timely and well-conceived. Honestly, this was the “View of The Year” for us. We found online one of those episode guides to narrow in on the key 80 percent of the 103 episodes that aired between 2011 and 2016. Wished it would have never ended

Ballad of Buster Scruggs — Mixed bag of Coen Brothers vignettes. Only one is a total clunker. One of my favorites was about an old-timer who goes from town to town in a wagon with an armless, legless fella who recites Shakespeare and more for the citizenry. Now that’s Entertainment!

Molly’s Game — Like another recent Aaron Sorkin-penned favorite, “The Social Network,” this is a truly excellent script/movie. I have watched several scenes, several times and anytime this one or “Social” airs, I always pick up something new. Jessica Chastain has super, old-Hollywood appeal

Also on the Aaron Sorkin topic, I watched “The Trial of the Chicago Seven” (Netflix), another Sorkinfest, with great dialog and performances. I only found out later that (of course) the more dramatic moments are heavily embellished: 

• The script elevates the Ramsey Clark thing to “big, bad lie” status which does not seem to have actually happened that way; similarly, the Hilton hotel bar incident (Haymarket) is that “people” were pushed through a window not THE main characters

• Radical, and serious troublemaker Abbie Hoffman portrayed as a lucid witness who scores points did not happen — in truth, Hoffman turned the trial into a circus. [My source, from memory, here is The People’s Almanac from high school with Brother Eugene]

• The pacifist Dellinger, who is dead and cannot defend himself, is also wrongly depicted as punching a bailiff. 

“The defense called countercultural singers, including Phil Ochs, Arlo Guthrie and Judy Collins – who sang ‘Where Have All the Flowers Gone?’ from the stand – as well as writers Norman Mailer and Allen Ginsberg, LSD advocate Timothy Leary, and civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, to testify” [Source: Wikipedia] 

…Why not include that?  Seems significant to characterize the actual event.

In closing, I thoroughly enjoyed the fairy tale that Tom Hayden was super-swell, and Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin were lovable pals. Now, let’s see someone make Bryan Burrough’s 2018, “Days of Rage: America’s Radical Underground” into a movie, or better still, a documentary. [Channeling my late Dad: “Tell it like it really was on those punks!”]

The Firm — Hasn’t aged well from the big-ticket thriller I recall. Making matters worse, the Memphis boogie-woogie piano soundtrack is flat-out jarring, Verdict: re-read the novel

Xanadu — A terrific pop soundtrack (Olivia Newton-John; Electric Light Orchestra) in search of a disco-fantasy movie, but this one’s so worth re-watching for all the wrong reasons! The plot is silly, the acting far from great, yet we could not look away… Bonus: Gene Kelly, rollerskating!

Billions — Despite multiple plot threads requiring suspension of disbelief at unattainable levels, this SHO creation from Brian (“Rounders”) Koppelman nevertheless still holds my attention. As for Damian Lewis’ “Axe” character, I feel it’s Lance Armstrong with a dash of Mark Cuban. My personal favorite character is the fixer, “Hall,” played by Terry Kinney. I want to be Hall

ADDING MAY 2023: Billion started to suck after Season 3 and then fell off a cliff after Damian Lewis’ Season 5 departure. No Axe = no point. As a stunt they’re bringing back Lewis and Axe (allegedly) in the upcoming season, but I note he’s only listed for 4-5 episodes. Why do I get the feeling it’ll be like Three’s Company after Suzanne Somers’ firing — they’d have Crissy call Jack and Janet on the phone for 30 seconds, LOL.

Narcos — Solidly crafted. Narcos is the compelling “based on actual events” Netflix episodic of Pablo Escobar as told by a DEA agent working in Colombia during the cartel’s rise. (Later I streamed “Narcos Mexico,” and then “The Last Narco,” a Netflix four-part documentary on Kiki Camarena’s death. Recommend as an appendix) 

Zero Zero Zero — This entirely original Italian production (released to Amazon Prime) tracks the path of shiploads of drugs and money from Mexico to Italy. The gripping tension and fascination of how to move massive shipments of contraband originate within the New Orleans-based shipping family who broker the action – at an incredibly high cost. Highly recommend. Andrea Riseborough and Gabriel Byrne are fantastic

Deliverance — Powerful, and still holds up 48 years later. Someday soon I will start crafting my musical, “Deliverance on Ice”

The Big Short — A better-than-expected adaptation of the well-researched Michael Lewis book. Having said, I still think 2011’s “Margin Call” (fictionalized fall of Lehman Brothers) is a better script and a more realistic character study

Ozark — “Breaking Bad” goes to Branson. The first 20 minutes? Holy shit 

The Last Kingdom — Fun BBC fantasy series, liberally fictionalizing the early time period of the Saxon-Dane wars (not that I would know…) Great cast including Alexander Dreymon’s likable Alpha outsider “Uhtred,” one of the best characters to inhabit the genre of late, and Ian “Backbeat” Hart as badass priest, “Beocca.” Binge-watched with Rob

Miracle — Source of the single greatest pre-game speech in movie history, which is the reason to watch. Here’s Kurt Russell, as Coach Herb Brooks, in a masterpiece of brevity: “Great moments are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One game. If we played ’em ten times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight. Tonight, we skate with them. Tonight, we stay with them. And we shut them down because we can! Tonight, WE are the greatest hockey team in the world. You were born to be hockey players. Every one of you. And you were meant to be here tonight. This is your time. Their time is done. It’s over. I’m sick and tired of hearing about what a great hockey team the Soviets have. Screw ’em! This is your time. Now go out there and take it.”