My Favorite "Found" Bands in 2014

As I always mention when making these yearly lists, some of these bands/singer songwriters have been around for awhile.  It just so happens that I just ran into them recently.

DWNTWN.  This is a band I ran into on a Monday night at the Bootleg a couple years back.  It wasn't until their Satellite residency earlier this year that I found out that I love this band.

French Style Furs.  Cold War Kids wrapped up in dare I say a cooler sound?

W.A.R.S. Great Northern re-invented and re-launched.  Need I say more?

Dorothy.  Sunset Strip sound turning heads in the East Side music scene.

So Many Wizards.  Here's a band I know has been around for awhile.  I just recently caught them, however.  This band doesn't look like they'd perform dreamy pop, but they do.

Mount Saint.  Just caught this band this December.  Layer upon layer slowly building into a beautiful sound.

HOTT MT Their sound is mysterious.

yoYa. "Am I seeing what I want, or just some fool’s gold?"  Lingering desires.

ZiBBZ.  European influenced thrill sound.

Cillie Barnes.  A friend told me she used to be in Family of the Year.  

A Movie Review: Big Eyes

Big Eyes. We meet Margaret Keane (Amy Adams) as she is getting ready to flee her home.  She and her daughter, Jane (Delaney Raye), jump into the car and head off to San Francisco.  Margaret is able to find a job painting pictures on the sides of baby cribs.  She makes extra money by painting on the streets of San Francisco during the weekends.  This is where she runs into her future husband, Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz).  Walter tells glamorous stories about how he took art classes in Europe.  He wins Margaret over and they're soon married.  A problem arises in their marriage.  Walter Keane purchases wall space at a jazz club.  He puts up his paintings alongside his wife's.  Everyone is drawn to his wife's paintings that portray young girls with big eyes and no one pays any attention to his own work of the streets of Europe.  Well, he finds a way around this problem.  He starts to claim that he in the painter behind his wife's works.  He convinces his wife to go along with this lie.  It starts to put a strain on the family relationships:  Margaret with her daughter, Margaret with his husband.

This movie is fascinating to watch.  Walter Keane has certain strengths.  He can sell and promote.  The problem is that he wants to be a painter and he isn't a very good one.  He is so consumed by this desire to be a famous painter that he turns into the thief, claiming the works of his wife as his own.  Luckily for him, he happened to come across a woman who was talented and also felt a need to provide a stable environment for her daughter.  This desire to provide her daughter a good life results in Margaret going along with this fraud.  This tacit agreement only works for so long, because Walter gradually becomes abusive.  The mental stress of this massive fraud impacts everyone in the family.  And so during the movie you're just loving your hatred of Walter Keane.

As mentioned, Walter pushes Margaret too far and instead of cracking under the pressure, Margaret makes a decision that she made once before, she grabs her daughter and they leave.  They move to Hawaii.  Walter's reach still goes to Hawaii, but then Margaret decides to to do more than just runaway.  She decides to sue Walter.  During the last part of this movie, the movie turns from watching a cruel Walter into watching what happens when a bully finds out that the timid has decided to take a stand.  The movie becomes a great fun farce that turns hysterical once we reach the court room scene where the judge makes a decision that would make King Solomon proud.

I came into this movie knowing nothing about the true story of Margaret Keane.  All I knew about the movie was from the trailers.  And so I have a great appreciation of how this movie reveals a very key fact about this story.  There are at least two hints that are written into the movie (when Walter is attempting to get his paintings hung at an art gallery and when Walter, Margaret and Jane are out painting together) that tie everything together as the movie heads for the finish line.

I also love how during the movie, Jane runs off for a few moments when Margaret is painting on the sidewalk.  Margaret starts to look to the side, but she isn't looking for her daughter.  She is looking at Walter (this being the first time they meet).  There isn't even panic in her eyes that she can no longer see her daughter anywhere.  And then it hit me:  hey, this movie is showing how life was in the 1960s, not how life is in the 2010s.  
            

A Movie Review: The Internship

The Internship. Billy (Vince Vaughn) and Nick (Owen Wilson) are salesmen. They sell watches. Unfortunately, their boss decides to shut down the business and head into retirement. Nick takes a job selling beds, but is convinced by Billy to go for an internship at Google. Somehow they make it through the interview round and get a spot at Google for the summer. The problem is that Google divides their interns into teams and only gives offers to one team.  Billy and Nick are left with a group of individuals who aren't necessarily seen as the brightest interns -- though this is obviously a relative term considering the folks on the team are indeed very smart.  So it is quickly looking like Billy and Nick have found themselves a nice summer job that won't go beyond the summer.

This is a pleasant enough comedy that provides a few laughs. There is one gag that goes too far; however.  Billy's lack of Internet knowledge is just too much.  Constantly hearing "on the line" instead of "online" and Billy not knowing that there is something out there called Instagram is a real head scratcher after awhile.  At some point, you just start thinking that he really doesn't deserve a job at Google.

Though I don't consider this a great comedy, it is an adequate one.  And it does achieve something that I think is rare in your average comedy:  it actually challenges the viewers to think a little bigger regarding their life goals.  That might sound strange from a Vince Vaughn/Owen Wilson movie, but this movie does make you wonder if you can't achieve something more in life.


  

 

A Movie Review. 300: Rise of an Empire

300: Rise of an Empire.   Before taking a look at this movie, it is always interesting to read up on what liberties were taken in a movie.  This link provides some interesting notes regarding the movie.  Did Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) kill King Darius (Igal Naor)?  No.  Did Artemisia (Eva Green) die in battle?  No.  Was Artemisia a commander during the naval battle?  Yes.

300: Rise of an Empire parallels the events of the first movie, 300.  Athenian Themistokles makes a name for himself before the events of the Spartan 300 by defeating the Persians and killing King Darius (as mentioned above, King Darius did not die in this battle).  The movie then jumps forward to the naval battles between the Greeks and Persians that occur during the events of the original movie.  As with the land battle in the original movie, the Greeks are severely outnumbered on the sea.  In fact, during the initial naval confrontations, the Persians are okay with their loses as they know they can take a few losses just as long as the Greeks take their lumps, also.

This movie has its moments though over-all it is a movie that one could have skipped at the theater and watched instead via HBO or Redbox or Netflix or whatever other source.  The moments that this movie does have are grand.  Eva Green as Artemisia is a joy to watch.  She's out there for vengeance and it shows when she goes up against Themistokles.  I also love her utter disdain of her naval officers as they fail to have the strategic skills that can be seen in Themistokles.  And both the steamy sex scene and battle confrontation between Artemisia and Themistokles is just pure eye candy (well, maybe a sword fight isn't considered eye candy, but it does rank up there as an intense struggle).

The problem is that the interaction between Artemisia and Themistokles are so intense that it makes the rest of the movie feel inferior.  Maybe there is just something more interesting about a land battle versus a naval battle (maybe why the original 300 seems like a superior movie); however, I do admit I found it fascinating watching the Greek naval strategies play out.            

A Movie Review: RoboCop

RoboCop. Will humans every lose their humanity via programmed robotic technological?  With tech devices such as Google glasses, maybe that is a question to start asking.  The question is:  is this the movie to deal with that question?

Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is a clean cop in the dirty city of Detroit.  How he and his partner Jack Lewis (Michael Kenneth Williams) stayed clean while cops all around them were dirty isn't a story that is told.  All we know is that we have two cops trying to make Detroit just a tad safer.  Both are targeted for their investigation.  Jack suffers a gunshot wound.  While Jack recuperates in the hospital, Alex finds his car malfunctioning in his driveway.  He goes out to investigate.  The car blows up.  He is now severely injured.

His wife is approached by OmniCorp, who offers to do all they can to keep Alex alive -- this means turning him into part-robot (actually around 90% robot).  OmniCorp wants to use drone technology to replace human police officers.  The American people aren't buying it and so neither is Congress.  OmniCorp believes that if they can make drone technology more presentable, they can change public perception.  And so they turn Alex into RoboCop.

This movie does have some interesting commentary that it attempts to address.  Will humanity eventually find itself drained of what makes us human by the technology we are developing?  That is perhaps the big issue, but the movie also questions how we allow the media and current events to shape our thinking versus us having a solid philosophical footing that we can use to develop our thoughts when change arrives.  My problem is that these concepts are wrapped into a movie that seems purposely designed to look like a b-movie action flick.  This b-movie atmosphere is perfectly presented in Samuel L Jackson's over-the-top portrayal of media personality Pat Novak.

I saw this movie on pay television.  Would I have hated myself if I had spent money on it in a theater?  No, but I wouldn't have walked out feeling like I'd seen a great flick either.

      

Ian/Media Jeweler at The Echo

Ian. This bands lists their influence as being Andy Kaufman.  I have to disagree.  I think their music is inspired by various indie rockers from the 1980s.  How about 10,000 Maniacs?  Siouxsie and the Banshees?  They mentioned on stage that they're moving to Los Angeles from Boston.  I think Boston has lost an awesome band.  Those vocals have a purity to them that keeps your attention.

Media Jeweler.  This is a band that doesn't realize it is in a band.  Highlight moment:  as their set is drawing to a close, one member is still jamming while the other is packing things up.  Highlight moment 2:  one member runs off stage, disappears in The Echo's Green Room, and comes back with a handful of mini-chocolate candies to toss into the crowd.  This is a band of individual musicians who somehow are tossed up into the air and by magic end up on the same stage to jam.  What are they doing?  Whatever they're doing, it works.

A Movie Review. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. When it comes to sequels related to movie series like Harry Potter and Hunger Games, you feel like you need to see the next one.  As for this third Hobbit movie, you feel like you're being taken to the cleaners -- as in there is financial abuse going on here by the studio.

The movie basically feels like one long battle scene.  The movie starts with Bard (Luke Evans) taking on the dragon.  His city is laid waste by the dragon, but as with many who feel they are invincible, Dragon Smaug doesn't take his opponent as seriously as he should.  Just like David (as in David and Goliath), Bard finds Smaug's weak spot and takes advantage of it.  You're one dead dragon.

Bard leads his people up to the abandoned city of Erebor.  He needs shelter for his people and also wants Dwarve King Thorin (Richard Armitage) to honor his agreement to share the treasures that were under Smaug's control.  A problem arises, Thorin is not in a proper state of mind.  Elves also arrive at the scene, led by Thranduil (Lee Pace).  They demand their treasures back, as well.  At the same time, Orcs are marching towards Erebor.  A dwarve army arrives on the scene to support Thorin (perhaps not realizing that Thorin is being unreasonable).  The sides are about to clash when the orcs arrive for battle.

Now we have three major forces on the same field.  It doesn't take long for the elves and dwarves to realize they better put aside their disagreements.  A major battle breaks out.

In between the battle against Smaug and the orc army, there are some in between scenes of humans trying to find shelter, Gandalf (Ian McKellen) needing assistance from Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Elrond (Hugo Weaving), and Legolas (Orlando Bloom) and Tauriel (Evangeline Lilly) going off on an adventure that gets stopped when they run into an orc army that sends them back to Erebor.

As mentioned, this movie has the feel of financial abuse.  It just feels like the only purpose of the movie is to show one long battle scene along with a seriously drawn out farewell.  And then what's up with the battle scene?  The dwarves prepare for battle by going into a Greek style defense, but they don't stay in that position for long.  If this type of battle formation worked well for the Greeks in war, why didn't the dwarves battle it out in that formation instead of just using it for show?  And how is it that a well train elvish army loses like 90% of its soldiers while a highly untrained human army loses maybe 10%?  And it just looked like the orcs were all talk with no bite.  It looked like every elf or dwarve was able to kill 10 orcs with relative ease.  A rather useless allie for the evil eye, I'd say.



    

A Movie Review. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. I have to admit I'm a Tom Clancy fan. But as for this movie: I doubt we'll be seeing a sequel any time soon. Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) is a graduate student in the UK when 9/11 hits New York. He immediately volunteers for military service. A helicopter that he is in gets hit by a surface to air missile. He survives, but has a broken back. While doing physical therapy, he meets a therapist named Cathy Muller (Keira Knightley). Though not shown, soon after he finishes his therapy, they begin dating. He also happens to catch the eye of the CIA, particularly Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner). The CIA found some intelligence write-ups he'd done while serving in the military. The CIA is impressed and recruit him. His role in the CIA is to get a job on Wall Street and track dirty money. Some money moves in Russia grab his attention. Off to Russia he goes. 

Spoilers below, but hopefully I'm not giving away too much.

Okay, where to start with my disdain for the movie.  First, we meet Jack's antagonist early in the movie, a Russian named Victor Cherevin (Kenneth Branagh).  He's shooting up drugs.  We are led to believe that he's a wealthy drug addict.  We later learn this is just a weak setup to make Cathy Muller look intelligent.

Second, Jack is trying to save the world.  He's in a fight.  The person he is fighting is seen clinging for survival.  Jack runs to a vehicle.  Cut scene.  Next thing we see, Jack is driving the vehicle (now how he got the vehicle to where he got the vehicle is beyond me) and the guy is in the back of the vehicle.  Now how exactly did this guy get into the back of the vehicle?

Third, major spoiler, but if I recall a major part of this scene was in the trailers.  Jack arrives in Russia and is met by a bodyguard employed by Victor Cherevin.  Now let's remember that yes Victor is Jack's antagonist, but he's also a wealthy individual who does business with Jack's bank.  There is no reason yet for Victor to believe that Jack is a CIA agent though obviously he might not be all that pleased that the bank is sending someone over to investigate his actions.  This bodyguard takes Jack up to the hotel and then attempts to assassinate him.  And why exactly would Victor put a hit man on a bank employee?  Isn't that going a bit far.  Are the Russians that crazy?

To me, this movie has so many problems with logic that it isn't worth seeing even if the awesome Keira Knightley stars in this movie.

The Rebel Light/Mount Saint/The Black and The White at Bootleg HiFi

The Rebel Light.  They make you think about spending a warm summer afternoon at a Southern California beach.  Then they bring out the trumpet and you feel like you're dancing on the beach.

Mount Saint.  Hey, most of the band members are from Glendale.  Glendale isn't the hippest place in Southern California, but I also live in Glendale so I'm sold.  I immediately recognized one member of the band though I couldn't exactly place him.  I did a little digging and saw that Drew Beck is also in (or was in) Chasing Kings.  There is just this layer upon layer style to their music that holds you attention.

The Black and the White.  A light touch of funk.  A full show of energy.  A touch of dance.  A drummer who kicks it off.  A bassist who lets the lights play along with him.  A lead singer who whips to the side in quick motion.  You'll find yourself wanting to press close to the stage.

A Movie Review: Go

Go. Claire (Katie Holmes) is having a conversation with some individual in a cafe. She's saying how random life is. We then flash back to a grocery store where Claire works. Along with Claire, we meet Ronna (Sarah Polley), Simon (Desmond Askew) and Mannie (Nathan Bexton). (Side note: I swear that Desmond Askew looks exactly like Simon Pegg.) The movie starts at this store with three different story lines. First, we follow Ronna's story line. She's about to get evicted from her apartment. (I do believe she later claims to be seventeen so who knows why she's living on her own). She picks up an additional shift from Desmond. She's approached by two individuals, Adam (Scott Wolf) and Zach (Jay Mohr), who claim that they usually buy drugs off of Desmond. Desperate for money, she tells them she'll get them some. To do so, she goes to Simon's drug dealer, Todd (Timothy Olyphant), and convinces him to sell her some drugs.

The second story line follows Simon. He gives Claire the extra shift because he wants to head off to Las Vegas with his buddies. He gets into a load of trouble there with his main friend Marcus (Taye Diggs). They end up stealing a car and heading off to a strip club. Simon does some inappropriate touching and the bouncer comes in to rough him up. The bouncer didn't notice that Simon had carried in a gun with him (a gun he found in the car). Simon shoots the bouncer. Simon and Marcus get out of there quickly.

The third story line follows Adam and Zach. They're actually actors that we notice on the television in the grocery store's staff room. They've actually been caught with drugs and so the police are forcing them to work a sting. Their target is Simon, but they end up targeting Ronna who is taking Simon's shift. Adam and Zach find out that the cop, Burke (William Fichner) they're working for is one strange dude and that Burke's wife, Irene (Jane Krakowski), is just as strange.

This is one of those six degrees of connection movies that just sort of works.  I know that a teen movie versus a drug crime movie (though drugs are involved in both movies) are not at all similar, but while watching Go I was thinking about a similar six degrees type movie called Traffic that was made around the same time.  Traffic vs Go:  no comparison.  Of course, it might have something to do with the fact that I'm no longer anywhere close to being a teenager and so my taste in movies has changed.

ZiBBZ and Los Angelics at Silverlake Lounge

It was time to do a hit and run at Silverlake Lounge.  I really wanted to see ZiBBZ and I also really wanted to make sure I headed home before the rain started.

Los Angelics.  I walked in and Los Angelics was turning Silverlake Lounge into a dance club.  I was thinking, "Did I just walk into Club Moscow?"  Two girls putting on the synchronized moves.  Two guys playing the synths that rocked on suspension springs.  This band is meant for a New Year's Eve party.

ZiBBZ.  I saw them at Brokechella.  And I was thinking, "This band has the Sunset Strip written all over it."  This was my first time seeing them since that time and I didn't catch them on the Sunset Strip at all.  I caught them at Silverlake Lounge.  A much closer location for me.  Stee on drums had a moment of going all Whiplash for us all.  The crowd loved it.  Coco provides the EuroPop energy.

 

A Movie Review: Escape Plan

Escape Plan. Not the worse movie, not the best movie.  Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) is a security specialist.  His specialty is to escape from prisons around the country.  For some reason, someone has it out for him.  His next job is actually a setup and he ends up in top secret prison.  While in prison, he is befriended by Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger).  Together, they attempt to escape from this prison.  A complication is that they appear to be deep underground and are never allowed to see the sun.  So if they do escape they have no idea if they're in the middle of the desert or Greenland or the ocean.

So this is a top secret prison that seems to imprison at least some individuals based on bribes paid to the prison.  That just seems outrageous.  And then, wouldn't one think that Ray Breslin, a top security specialist, would have at least some clue regarding this prison. Sure it is a secret prison, but someone in that field must have heard rumors.  In order to escape from the prison, Ray and Rottmayer need to know where they are.  They convince another prisoner to join their plot.  This prisoner somehow convinces the jailer to allow him to spend time outside.  Now why would a jailer who runs a secret prison that attempts to hide its location from everyone -- especially the prisoners -- make such an error in judgement?

This honestly just feels like a b-movie version of a potential summer blockbuster (not that I think this idea works as a summer blockbuster movie).



  

The Singles/W.A.R.S./Kissing Cousins at The Satellite

The Singles. I saw them at Brokechella back in April.  I say take The Beatles and add in a touch of The Rolling Stones and you have The Singles.  Or sometimes switch the examples around so that they sound more like The Rolling Stones.  Nicky Veltman, the drummer, had some unexpected problems during their set.  Her microphone just wouldn't stay in place.  To help her out, one guy jumped on stage and tried his best.  The microphone stayed in place for a song or two.  Then the sound guy came up on stage and tried to tape the microphone in place.  It still didn't work out.  And I have to add one other thing about the drummer:  she has one quirky onstage smile.

W.A.R.S.. I fell in love with a band called Great Northern when I saw them at the Eagle Rock Music Festival oh so long ago.  I caught them as often as I could.  And then they disappeared from the music scene.  For awhile, I thought it was because they were recording a new album, but after awhile I just concluded they had decided to call it quits.  Well, they're back as W.A.R.S.  And I'm so happy they're back.

Kissing Cousins. Four gals with a guy on drums.  Their music just drives forward in a fury of madness.  And yet they look rather calm on stage.  In fact, they don't even look like they're in a rock band.  One dresses as if she was at church.  Another like she's having brunch in Echo Park (a written nod to the comedian that introduced the bands at The Satellite).  A third like she was having a fun time at Griffith Park and the final enjoying a Friday house party.  Diversity (okay, all female, but in style) works for this band.

A Movie Review: Foxcatcher

Foxcatcher is based on true events. Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) and David Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) are brothers and Olympic champions in wrestling.  Both won gold medals in the 1984 Olympics.  Wrestling isn't a high profile sport so even with gold medals they are still struggling to make ends meet.  The movie opens up with Mark Schultz giving a school speech for just $20.  Considering inflation, that's perhaps $50 in today's money?  Not very much at all.

Luck that really isn't luck hits Mark Schultz.  One of the richest men in America, John du Pont (Steve Carell), has an interest in wrestling.  He wants to put America at the top of the wrestling world.  John du Pont's assistant gives Mark a call and asks him to meet with his boss.  Mark is asked to move to the du Pont compound where he'll be put in charge of developing and training future wrestling champions.  Mark soon ends up being John du Pont's puppet, having to give praise where praise is not due.  You also get the sense that John du Pont really thinks more highly of David (as a better coach, maybe not as a better wrestler) and that hiring Mark was just a way to try and get David into the fold.

Mark is soon introduced to cocaine by John du Pont.  One almost suspects that this cocaine introduction was done on purpose, perhaps John du Pont is thinking that a washed-up Mark will finally convince David to join the compound.  David eventually does sign-up, which leads to a disastrous ending.  

I have to admit that during this Oscar season of movie releases, I haven't been into the based on true event movies.  The Imitation Game.  The Theory of Everything.  And now Foxcatcher.  There is some great acting in all three movies.  You get an interesting history lesson.  But over-all, they're just okay in my opinion.

In regards to Foxcatcher, I love Steve Carell's portrayal of John du Pont.  Here's one of the richest men in the world and his only desire in life is to gain his mother's approval.  Yet, he does have an independent streak.  He knows his mother hates wrestling and that she'd rather see him excel in the equestrian sport.  He prefers to go his own way, but still desires his mother's approval.  This inability to gain her approval perhaps plays a role in his mental illness weakness that eventually wrecks havoc for the Schultz family.    

Mark Ruffalo portrays a loving brother and family man as David Schultz.  He probably has an understanding that his younger brother has more inherent ability than him (though unlikely the better wrestler as David appears to understand strategy better), but never shows any jealousy.  And instead is someone who always encourages.

If you're interesting in the accuracy of the movie, click on this Slate link.

The Sunset Drifters and Austin Herbert at the Silverlake Lounge

Austin Hebert.  Lyric of the night, "I have this guitar full of blues."  Getting inspiration from his American Aquarium Wolves cap, Austin brought some blues to the Silverlake Lounge.

The Sunset Drifters.  This band has 2 members from another band that I used to follow, The Monthlies.  I'd argue their set had two parts to it.  The first part had an Americana sound to it.  Then the back half drifted towards how The Monthlies would sound if a pedal steel was added to the mix.  I have to admit I was partial to the back half of the set.  The band almost decided to cut one song from their set.  I'm happy they didn't as I really loved that last song.

A Movie Review: The Imitation Game

The Imitation Game is based on the true events surrounding World War II where the Allies were attempting to crack the Nazi Enigma machine.  The code breaker and father of the computer was Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) with help from Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley) and Hugh Alexander (Matthew Goode).  Though Turing is an obvious brilliant mathematician, he has one major problem in life -- two actually.  His one problem is that he just doesn't get along with people.  Though Turing is the most qualified individual in the UK to crack the Nazi Enigma machine, he still needs a team around him.  Via some prodding from Clarke, Turing begins to develop those relationships with his team.  Advancements that were once slow, start to speed up as everyone buys into his vision.

The Imitation Game jumps nicely between three time frames in Turing's life.  Though it focuses mostly on his work during World War II, it also deals with his early years and those soon after the war.  As mentioned, Turing has two problems.  His second problem is that he is a homosexual.  Now one reading this might say, what are you talking about?  Well, during World War II, if someone was discovered to be a homosexual in the UK, it led to either a prison term or the requirement to take hormone treatment (at least these are the options presented in the movie).  His homosexuality is uncovered via unintended circumstances.  After the war, Turing paid an individual for sex.  This man latter broke into Turing's home.  The police arrive at the scene and Turing is very uncooperative.  This peaks the interest of one of the detectives.  Doing some digging, the detective uncovers that the home invasion was actually done by the man that Turing paid for sex.  In his own way, Turing asks for understanding from the detective and reveals to the detective and to us his involvement in breaking the Nazi machine.

Though I have my problems with the movie, I do love the arrogance (along with perhaps a touch of autism) that Benedict Cumberbatch brings to the role.  My problem with the movie is that while it does deal with an important event in history, is it really a story meant for the big screen?  To me, this is a really a subject matter that should be dealt in the form of a book.  The movie only briefly mentions (in less than 5 seconds) how the Enigma machine was used to plan D-Day.  Wouldn't it be far more interesting to read a chapter about how the Allies planned D-Day directly based on the intelligence they received from Enigma?  And what about additional back stories on Clarke and Alexander?

Finally, here's a major problem I have with the movie.  One reason homosexuality was a crime (other than the fact that it just wasn't socially acceptable) was the fear that one could get blackmailed.  Isn't the fact that Turing is telling the detective about his role in Enigma and his basic plea for understanding a sort of subliminal proof on why this law was needed?  Turing is giving away top secret information to a detective.  Yes, those scenes with the detective indicate how ridiculous this law is, treating a national hero like a criminal just due to his sexual preference.  On the other hand, I think this movie can also be interpreted in those interactions as saying something that it didn't intend to say.      

      

A Movie Review: Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6 is a Disney animated movie.  The lead character is Hiro (voiced by Ryan Potter) who lives in the city of San Fransokyo.  He spends his time creating robots so that he can participate in the  city's underground robot wars.  For some reason, such events are illegal in San Fransokyo.  (Wouldn't one think that the police have more pressing crimes that would take up their time?)  His older brother, Tadashi (voiced by Daniel Henney), wants him to pursue an education in robotics.  Hiro resists.  Tadashi brings Hiro via a sly side trip to his university and gives a tour of all the cool projects that various students are creating.  This includes an introduction to a medical robot that Tadashi is designing, Baymax (voiced by Scott Adsit).  Hiro can't resist any longer and wants to join the program; however, in order to join the program he has to present a project that impresses the leading professor at the university, Robert Callaghan (voiced by James Cromwell).

Hiro invents microbots that can form whatever the mind desires.  Thoughts of images desired are transmitted to the microbots via a device that sits nicely around a person's head.  Hiro is immediately accepted to the program and is off to celebrate with his brother and future fellow classmates.  Unfortunately, a fire explodes (perhaps via a project that didn't go all that well) in the university's laboratory.  It is learned that Callaghan is still in the building.  Tadashi rushes into the burning building to find Callaghan.  The building explodes, killing Tadashi.

Hiro goes into a state of depression.  While hidden away in his room, he has an accident.  Out pops Baymax from the side of his brother's bed.  At the same time, Hiro notices that a single microbot that is in his possession begins to act strangely.  It seems to want to get pulled in a specific direction.  Hiro and Baymax allow the microbot to guide them to a warehouse where they soon learn that someone has decided to mass produce microbots for less than noble reasons.

I don't believe this is one of the better animation movies to come out of Disney.  First off, who really thinks that designing microbots that can be controlled by a person's thoughts is a good idea?  I immediately couldn't help but think about all the bad things individuals could do with such a creation.  My next irritation regarding the movie was that over-the-top product placement of our evil character who looked all too similar to a character from Star Wars.  Finally, this movie just didn't seem to have much heart to it.

  

A Movie Review: Nightcrawler

Nightcrawler. Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhall) is near rock bottom. In order to survive, he steals various metal parts such as manhole covers and fences, selling these items at discount rates to unscrupulous construction managers.  There is also just something off in his personality.  He comes across in a controlled frenzied manner.  This is just someone you know will explode at any moment and you don't want to be around him when he does.  Unfortunately, some people just can't see that.

Louis drives pass a horrible accident and decides to stop.  An independent video crew (nightcrawler crew) arrives on the scene and starts to shoot video of the rescue.  Louis asks what they are doing.  Hoping for a job, he asks for one and is denied.  This doesn't stop him.  He pawns off a bike that he steals at the beach and buys himself a hand-held video camera and a police scanner.  He shoots video of a shooting victim and is able to sell it to a local news producer, Nina Romina (Rene Russo).  He soon makes a name for himself by taking aggressive, unethical and many times criminal actions to capture the gruesome violence that Nina wants to air.

What soon turns into a blackmail-like relationship between Louis and Nina really drives this movie.  Jake Gyllenhall plays his role perfectly as the near psychotic individual.  He also takes actions that you know will eventually land him in front of a judge and jury (be it during the movie or if this was representative of real life and was allowed to play out).  There is no desire to cheer on his character.  One can only have disdain for Louis.  One might think that Rene Russo's character would get some sympathy.  And in may ways she deserves some.  Here is an individual who used to be a newscaster and then as she aged she went into producing; however, she doesn't have the talent to succeed and finds herself drifting down the producer totem pole.  In order to stop her career slide, she swings for gruesome news porn.  This results in allowing Louis to manipulate their relationship.  She is the victim of a sinister individual.  Yet, on the other hand, she also deserves some disdain as we see an individual who purposely debases her journalistic standards for higher television ratings and to save her job.  Wasn't there another way? one has to ask.

Is this a feel good movie?  Not at all.  You may actual leave the movie feeling dirty, but I think that's the point:  you've spent close to 2 hours watching an individual doing wrong.        



 

A Movie Review: The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything. This movie is based on the relationship/marriage between physicist Stephen Hawking (Eddie Remayne) and Jane Hawking (Felicity Jones).  The two meet at a university party.  Jane's friend doesn't think much of Stephen, but Jane is enamored.  Though Jane has at least one other suitor, the two soon become a steady couple.  Then disaster hits.  Stephen is diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease).  They decide they will get married, knowing that Stephen likely has only 2 years left to live.  Stephen's father, Frank (Simon McBurney), warns Jane that she is making a decision that will have ramifications that she doesn't fully appreciate.  His warning sets the tone for the movie.

Their marriage starts out wonderfully, but after a second child and Stephen's continued declining health the stresses start to show.  Stephen doesn't want assistance, but Jane insists that it is necessary.  Seeing Jane's growing stress levels, her mother encourages her to head off to church (perhaps even knowing/planning that an individual at the church has the time and desire to assist the family).  At the church, Jane meets Jonathan Hellyer Jones (Charlie Cox) who has been struck with a family tragedy.  He soon joins the family as a friend/assistant.  Stephen soon picks up that there is an emotional bond that is growing between Jane and Jonathan, but he also understands that his wife needs emotional support and that his family needs Jonathan.  This bond between Jane and Jonathan; however, causes tensions between Jane and her in-laws and so Jonathan is asked to step aside.  The stress of marriage grows further as Stephen starts to develop an emotional bond with a nurse the family eventually has to hire, Elaine Mason (Maxine Peake).

The movie does dwell on the various scientific breakthroughs made by Stephen Hawking, but its main focus is on relationships.  Yes, Stephen and Jane had to deal with a rather more difficult circumstance than most relationships, but the movie still gives an over-view of many relationships that fall apart.  ALS is the driving force that damages their relationship, but there is also the underlying threads of religious differences, affairs of the heart and plain old stubbornness.  One can see how their relationship may still be strong today if certain adjustments were made along the way.  Stephen should have understood that even though he has a brilliant mind, he was still causing undo physical burdens on his wife that should have been addressed earlier in the marriage.  Also, (maybe not true in reality) perhaps hiring/using really attractive people as an assistant and nurse wasn't such a good idea.

The two main leads do a wonderful job in the movie.  Eddie Remayne does a brilliant job showing the gradual growing ALS symptoms.  And I just loved seeing Felicity Jones on the screen again.  I know she's being in a number of films, but the last time I saw her on the screen was also the first time I saw her on the screen in the movie Like Crazy.  So it has been awhile.

There are a couple funny jokes regarding America in this film.  The first is when Stephen Hawking tells his friend the bad news about his disease, which he labels as ALS as well as Lou Gehrig's disease.  His friend is totally unaware of who this Lou Gehrig is.  A second joke comes around when Stephen Hawking has to finally depend on a computer to talk for him.  The joke is that the computer sounds American.  The look on everyone's faces is hysterical.      

Now for my final opinion.  Is this a must see movie in the movie theater?  I have to say no.  This is movie that can probably wait until it hits HBO, Redbox, Netflix or whatever other non-theater method one uses to watch movies.  In no way is this an awful movie.  It just doesn't have that must see vibe.

Note:  As with most biographical movies, some liberties are taken.  If you want a breakdown of some of the facts and fictions, click on this Time link.

A Movie Review: Whiplash

Whiplash.  Andrew (Miles Teller) is a drumming protégé on the path to greatness. He’s 19, attending the number one music school in the nation, Shaffer Conservatory of Music. It doesn’t take long for Fletcher (J.K. Simmons), the top educator at Shaffer, to notice Andrew. Fletcher quickly places Andrew into his band.

Fletcher is the drill sergeant of music school educators. He only wants to teach the most talented and determined students in the school. And if a student isn’t living up to Fletcher’s initial assessment, Fletcher won’t hesitate to remedy the situation by kicking the student out of his band. The problem with Fletcher’s teaching style is that not only is he a drill sergeant (which I’m sure many of us have come across teachers/professors who make heavy demands on their students), but he doesn’t hesitate in conducting psychologically warfare on his students. On Andrew’s first day with Fletcher’s band, Fletcher comes over and inquires in an inquisitive way about Andrew’s parents. He learns that Andrew’s mother left when he was just a young child. Well, within moments when Andrew doesn’t keep precise tempo, Fletcher goes on the attack with that information.

Of course, Fletcher might have hand selected a young student who is a mirror image of himself. 
Andrew also isn’t above demeaning people. When at an extended family gathering, the focus goes to his cousins. One of them is playing Division III football (I believe this was high school, I could be wrong). Andrew quickly goes for the throat, making the justifiable argument that he’s on the path to success while his cousin will never get the opportunity to play in the NFL. A brutally honest assessment, but lacking in humility. He also breaks-up with his girlfriend, Nicole (Melissa Benoist), in a harsh way by telling her that she’s consuming his time, time that he needs to dedicate to his drums.

This movie is about the drive for success. You’d think that sure there will be drama associated with reaching for success, but you probably don’t understand the intensity that this movie brings to that subject. At times, you’re on the edge of your seat. Some of the most engaging moments come at the most unexpected scenes: no dialogue, musician practicing alone, seriously? Yes, actually.

This movie is also about psychological abuse. Yes, the movie focuses on Andrew, but I see Fletcher as the focal point. Fletcher’s style of teaching works on a handful, but it also sends most up the wall, diminishing their sense of self-worth. In one scene, Fletcher sets up a competition between 3 drummers: Andrew and two others. It is clear throughout the movie that Andrew is the most talented drummer in the school. It is obviously to the audience that Fletcher is trying to drive Andrew, but I think on a more subtle note there is cruelty towards the other two drummers. The other two drummers are just pawns in this game. It isn’t like Fletcher is bringing in another talented drummer who actually might compete for the position. In a way, it is a cruel passive aggressive way to indicate to the other drummers that they should find new careers.

There have been two really wonderfully movies about music this year: Whiplash and Begin Again. Begin Again is about the joy of creating music. Whiplash is about the potential toll to reach such creative genius. I really hope both receive Oscar considerations in various categories.

Here’s my one problem with the movie and potential spoiler alert: Andrew puts aside the drums for the summer. He later runs into Fletcher who invites him to join a JVC Jazz band. Somehow Andrew is in near top form after taking a few months away from the drums. I don’t care if you’re a top athlete, musician, politician, lawyer, doctor: I really don’t think that one can immediately return to top form and that is my one complaint about this movie. Yes, a nitpicking complaint.

A Movie Review: Birdman

Birdman. Riggan (Michael Keaton) was once one of the top Hollywood actors, starring in three Birdman superhero movies. That success eventually faded and he is left with the real life ruins. His daughter, Sam (Emma Stone), is a recovering drug addict. His marriage to Sylvia (Amy Ryan) ended in divorce due to at least one, if not more, infidelities -- he actually slept with another woman in their house during a party.


He is now attempting to gain back his relevancy.  He has written a Broadway play and is directing and acting in it.  He is trying to rebuild his relationship with his daughter and has hired her as his assistant.  He also appears to be on good terms with his ex-wife.  He even has a much younger girlfriend/actress, Laura (Andrea Risborough) -- 30 years if you just go by the age of the two real life actors.  He also has a great friend/lawyer, Jake (Zach Galifianakis).

But what appears to be a rejuvenation just hides the chaos that is underneath it all.  He has poured his life savings into the play and if it flops he is in financial ruin.  What might be a lucky break, actually turns into a potential negative.  One of the actors in the play, who isn't very good, has an onstage accident.  One of the actresses, Lesley (Naomi Watts), happens to be sleeping with a top Broadway actor, Mike (Edward Norton).  Mike has helped Lesley prepare for her role and has fallen in love with the play and wants to be in it.  What a break for Riggan, except for the fact that Mike attempts to steal the spotlight both in the press and on the stage.  Riggan, himself, may also be having severe mental delusions that could potentially cause him to take actions that would harm him.

This movie focuses on the self-doubt, self loathing and low self-esteem that perhaps pervades many of those who act in Hollywood and Broadway.  Riggan.  Lesley.  Laura.  They all have crises of confidence.  Even Mike has doubts and finds refuge onstage via his method acting.  And honestly, all that emotional chaos slowly just got on my nerves.  Add onto that the delusions that Riggan is suffering and I found myself just waiting out the movie.  The movie has great scenes and I felt within myself the desire to want to love this movie, but as it progressed I knew I wasn't going to emotionally connect with these characters.

Also, in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but think, "Is this just Broadway's ripoff of Black Swan?"  Riggan and Nina (Natalie Portman) both had delusions.  You even get a sexy make out scene between Naomi Watts and Andrea Riseborough.  Of course, the make out scene isn't as explicit as Black Swan, which maybe sums it all up:  this just doesn't grab you like a great movie should.      

Wake Up Lucid/Rainbow Jackson/Dorothy at Bootleg HiFi

Wake Up Lucid. They put that guitar through a workout.  And then on more than a few occasions the drummer explodes into a violent tantrum.  Their music will make you lucid quickly upon waking up from a deep slumber.  Put their music on and you'll be getting ready for the day in record time, speeding along with their sound.

Rainbow Jackson.  I couldn't help but think that this is a band that Daryl Dixon of the Walking Dead probably fronted before the zombies took over the world -- well, okay, maybe not the pre-zombie Daryl, but the S5 Daryl.  A band too cool to define and one willing to bang it up a little on stage.

Dorothy.  This was my third time seeing this Sunset Strip-style goddess.  She stripped down in this set, going acoustic. Going acoustic lets the emotions ring.  I really loved "After Midnight."  The "Nothing Good Comes After Midnight" chorus just dripped with reflection, perhaps even a touch of regret.

Sunset Strip goddess.  There was great collection of liquids up on stage though not all included alcohol.  There was one coffee cup.

There is that gentle soul.  She was careful not to destroy the stage.  Being acoustic, she had a stool that she was sitting on.  She got tired of sitting and decided to move it off stage.  Sure, she flipped it over, but in a rather careful manner.  And at the end, she carefully put down the microphone, instead of just dropping it with a thump.

Comment of the set:  It's starting to look like a kitchen up here.

Movie Reviews: Broken City and Gangster Squad

I recently saw a couple movies that I DVR'd that are tangentially in the same genre:  Gangster Squad and Broken City.

Gangster Squad.  This story tells the true life story of how LAPD Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) brought together a group of fellow police to bring down gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn).  Though the movie is based on a true story, it takes a lot of liberties as can be read in the following link.

Mickey Cohen rules Los Angeles.  He has all the top city officials in his back pocket -- well, most of them.  Sgt. O'Mara wants to protect and serve his community.  A young woman arrives in Los Angeles via train.  A man posing as a Hollywood agent approaches her and convinces this young woman to come with him.  The intent is to gang rape her.  Sgt. O'Mara is also at the train station and follows the two all the way to an apartment tower (which if I know my Los Angeles is the apartment tower at Franklin Ave and N. Bronson Ave).  This is Mickey Cohen territory.  Sgt. O'Mara's partner refuses to go in to save the young woman, but Sgt. O'Mara feels it is his duty and into the apartment tower he goes.

Sgt. O'Mara does save the young woman and is soon given the authority to bring down Mickey Cohen.

This is a fun popcorn movie.  If you happened to click on the link that I mention above, you know that a lot more bullets flew in this movie than did in real life.  So one has to realize that you're really just seeing a movie that was inspired by real events and has decided to take a significant amount of liberties.  I did get a kick out of seeing an Officer Darryl Gates (Josh Pence) make a couple appearances.

Broken City.  I tend to enjoy watching movies and television shows that have complex plot lines, but for Broken City I soon found myself lost in the real estate dealings that were flying around as the back story.  Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) murders a known rapist of a 16 year-old girl.  The rapist happened to go free and Taggart took things too far.  Mayor Nicholas Hostetler (Russell Crowe) decides to ignore the evidence, but forces Taggart to resign.
  

Seven years later (Biblical number, no doubt), Mayor Hostetler employs Taggart as a private detective.  His job is to determine if the Mayor's wife, Cathleen Hostetler (Catherine Zeta-Jones), is having an affair.

For me, this movie had too much going on.  This might have made a great HBO television series where a deeper dive could take place, but I think this less than 2 hour movie throws too much at the screen.  There is political corruption.  There is a mayoral race.  Two relationships are falling apart.  This is a movie that you probably need to watch three times to understand all the different story plots, but why would anyone want to do that.

Endless Bummer and Feels at The Smell

I headed over to The Smell to catch one of my favorite bands, Feels.  Along the way, I was able to catch Endless Bummer.  This band plays punk with screaming abandon.  Add in some flying hair mixed in with their sound and the output drove The Smell crowd into mosh pit heaven.

Feels.  If Endless Bummer caused a mosh pit heaven to form, I think it is appropriate to say that Feels created meditative bliss.  The new member, Amy Allen, on bass fits in quite nicely with the remaining members of Raw Geronimo.  She strikes a pose in the middle, making a statement that she's there to set the beat to your thoughts.

Magnolia Memoir and Dreaming Bull at Silverlake Lounge

Magnolia Memoir.  Mela Lee, the lead singer, at times sings with tender care and at other times turns on the dynamic vocals.  Add in the theatrics of the pianist and the coolness of the occasionally inserted stand-up bass, and you get one enjoyable 30 minute set.

Dreaming Bull. They have that Southern Rock down solid.  One really doesn't know if you're supposed to be dancing in New Orleans' French Quarters or at a gospel revival tent series.  The two dancers on the stage were surely possessed by the music.  

Movie Reviews: We're the Millers and Grudge Match

We're the Millers.  David Clark (Jason Sudeikis) is a small time pot dealer.  Unfortunately for him, he is robbed of his pot stash and cash.  He owes his supplier for the pot.  To cover his debts, David is told he has to go to Mexico to transport pot back into America.  He decides that it might make it easier to cross back into America if he could act like he was returning from a family vacation.  The problem:  he doesn't have a family.  And so he goes about trying to put together a family.  His wife, a stripper named Rose O'Reilly (Jennifer Aniston).  His daughter, a runway named Casey Mathis (Emma Roberts).  His son, a rather strange young man named Kenny Rossmore (Will Poulter).

I found this movie to be surprisingly entertaining.  I'm not really into drug comedies.  How High?  Harold and Kumar?  These movies generally don't do it for me.  But this movie's comedy doesn't really revolve around folks getting high.  It is really about four nearly randomly selected individuals slowly coming together as a real family and the random fun that results from all of that.

Does this movie rank up there with some of the better comedies of recent years such as This Is the End?  No way, but if you're looking for a few laughs, why not spend time with this made-up family.


Grudge Match.  Henry 'Razor' Sharp (Sylvester Stallone) and Billy 'The Kid' McDonnen (Robert De Niro) were once boxing rivals equivalent to Dempsey vs. Tunney.  Thirty years have passed since their famous bout.  McDonnen lives a successful life as a restaurant owner (hey, that sort of sounds like Dempsey).  Sharp meanwhile has just found out that he is getting laid-off from his manufacturing job (this doesn't exactly sound like Tunney, oh well).

In comes wannabe boxing promoter, Dante Slate, Jr (Kevin Hart), who wants to put on a rematch between Sharp and McDonnen.  Sharp wants nothing to do with this idea, but a confrontation with McDonnen results in a fight date being set.

This movie has the occasional Rocky joke to make it amusing, but it really isn't worth one's time.  Yes, Alan Arkin, Kim Basinger, Jon Bernthal, and LL Cool J provide this movie with a great supporting cast, but it just isn't enough.  The problem isn't the actors, it's the script which just doesn't hit us with enough amusing moments.

Note:  Stallone is in much better shape than De Niro so the fight and the tension regarding who will win the fight makes no sense.  Yes, this movie is a comedy and so realism (see We're the Millers) isn't a requirement, but seriously.

A Movie Review: Interstellar

Interstellar.  This movie provides the viewer with an engrossing story line and stunning visuals.  At 169 minutes, I didn't even feel the time pass though a person to my left did as he moaned and groaned more than a handful of times.  Part of me thinks that guy was a physicist who just couldn't deal with the creative license that movies are given.

The movie starts with our world in obvious demise.  Though not featured on a global scale, we are able to see on a local scale that traumatic environmental disaster has hit the earth.  The disaster is so great that the world is forced to make certain decisions dictated by government.  Here are a couple examples:

On the good side, nations have dismantled their armies.  There is world peace.

On the bad side, freedoms are limited.  Individuals can no longer decide their own destinies.  The government dictates careers.  Since farmers are needed, individuals are forced into farming.

Also, in order to encourage cooperation between nations, text books are cleansed of subject matters that might offend other nations.

Cooper (Matthew McConaughhey) is a farmer (though it would appear he chose that career versus it being forced onto him).  Prior to this, he was a test pilot/NASA astronaut.  He has two children Murph (Mackenzie Foy/Jessica Chastain/Ellen Burstyn) and Tom (Timothée Chalamet/Casey Affleck).  His father-in-law also lives with them, Donald (John Lithgow).  His wife died a few years back.  They head off one day to catch the equivalent of a bush league baseball game.  A massive dust storm starts to approach so folks hurry off to get back home.  There isn't any panic as this is just normal life.

Once home, Murph realizes that she left her bedroom window open.  Cooper and Murph rush up to her bedroom, which is covered in dust.  Interestingly, there is a gravitational anomaly that has happened.  The dust leaves a distinct design on the bedroom floor.  Cooper studies this for hours and realizes that there is something there, coordinates.  He uses this to discover the all to conveniently close black budget NASA facility.  NASA is attempting to save mankind.  "They" (unexplained beings) have opened up a worm hole that provides passage to a new Earth.  Humanity just needs to find this new planet(s).  

Matthew McConaughey does a brilliant acting job in this movie.  The emotions he displays when he catches up with years worth of videos sent to him from Tom is gripping.  And as we hit the final minutes of the movie, his acting becomes intense.

Though I don't think this is a Best Picture quality movie, I do think it is well worth the price of admission.

Now I'm not saying this movie doesn't have flaws and so (along with potential spoilers) . . .

As a note, the reason for the global environmental disaster isn't placed on over-dependency on fossil fuel, but on over-population.  The movie mentioned via Professor Brand (Michael Caine) that NASA refused to use the space technology to destroy a large segment of the global population.  A very noble refusal and yet (SPOILER) Professor Brand purposely sets things up so that Plan B is really the default and only option (Plan B being that humanity is left behind and frozen human embryos are used to re-start the human race on another planet), which brings up a degree of hypocrisy that is perhaps unrealized by Professor Brand.  On the other hand, if I understood correctly, one reason for NASA's refusal to destroy a large segment of the world's population was that it wouldn't have reversed the cycle of disappearing oxygen supplies, which I guess if you follow that path Professor Brand is a genocidal maniac anyways.  Instead of immediately having blood on his hands, he decided to just focus on the species and let the rest of humanity suffocate to death.

I am not an Anne Hathaway hater.  Well, okay, initially I was when she was doing The Princess Diaries movies, but then she turned me into a lover.  So I love that Anne Hathaway is in the movie; however, what was a touch annoying about this movie was the feeling that Christopher Nolan was bringing back the old gang:  Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, William Devane and perhaps one or two others.  Even Topher Grace sort of reminded me of a placeholder actor for Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Cooper doesn't appear to have had any rust after a number of years away from flying space ships.  Mercy, if I'm away from something for more than 3 months, I quickly start to forget procedures and such.

That scene where Cooper has to separate from Brand:  ah, too much like Gravity, maybe?!?  I understand the need, maybe just write the script differently.

"They" end up being the future us.  My problem:  humanity is supposed to suffocate in the not to distant future so how can there be an us?  Of course, I suppose, the idea of all humanity eventually suffocating was a dire prediction and not the actually outcome.  I understand the Terminator movies use the same SciFi technique, but in the Terminator movies there is a future us whereas in Interstellar there isn't supposed to be a future us.

And technically, when the new planet was found, how many of the billions in human population actually were able to travel to this new planet?  How many spacecraft needed to be built?  Hundreds of thousands?  How is that even possible?  How many were left behind on Earth?

The sound editing/score is so loud that I often had a hard time hearing the dialogue.  I was; however, able to make out the gist of things until the final concluding sentence or two where I didn't catch a single word, which is a real shame as I suspect that it was supposed to provide an over-all philosophical conclusion to the movie.  I have spent time searching the Internet to find what those concluding words were with no luck -- though I did find out that others also had the same issue hearing those words.

A Movie Review: Fury

Fury. This movie tells the World War II tale of a Sherman tank crew led by Sergeant Don Collier (Brad Pitt). His team includes Boyd Swan (Shia LaBeouf), Trini Garcia (Michael Pena) and Grady Travis (Jon Bernthal). Their alternate driver was killed in action and they are assigned a trained typist, Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman).  This doesn't sit well with Collier, but he has to work with what he has.

The crew doesn't have much time to get Ellison up to speed.  The Allies at this point are assured of victory, but this has resulted in a desperate Germany that has its back against the wall and has decided to go out fighting versus surrendering.  Since the war is now in Germany, the Allies supply lines are extended. Making stands that will protect the supply lines are essential.  Having someone who doesn't wish to kill the enemy just won't due, especially when it puts American lives at risk.  Ellison is forced to take an action that ranks as a war crime (technically he didn't commit the war crime).
My one psychological problem with this movie is Ellison.  Could someone who is an office-level army grunt find it within himself to adjust to the battlefield as quickly as he did?  Within what is perhaps two days, he's off killing Germans without qualm.  I don't know.

I did enjoy watching the crew dynamics.  The crew is tight and Ellison is the outsider.  They give him a hard time, melding him in the best way they know how into an effective member of their crew.  There is also jealousy that results when Collier takes Ellison solo up to an apartment where eggs are exchanged for sex.  (I think there is a flaw in this scene.  I believe I saw 6 eggs exchanged; however, seven individuals are eventually eating those eggs.)  The other members of the crew show up to the apartment and are not that pleased with the situation.  Of course, two of the members had found their woman (perhaps three) so it seemed to me that Collier was simply trying to get Ellison some sex.

Part of me suspects that this movie tries to walk a tightrope in one respect.  I think we have a gut feeling that Germans, Japanese and Italians were not the only soldiers who committed war crimes during World War II.  Germans who surrendered are executed.  The one thing the movie won't do is showing potential rapes happening.  Instead, women are treated as temporary prostitutes where food is exchanged for sex.  Did rapes happen, I suspect so, especially by slightly mentally unstable individuals like Travis.

Do I recommend this movie:  yes, definitely worth your time.

A Movie Review: A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange.  Alex (Malcolm McDowell) is a psychopathic delinquent.  We meet him as he and his gang are off beating up a homeless man, getting into a fight with a rival gang and driving off to a random home where they beat up a Mr. Alexander (Patrick Magee) and rape his wife Mrs. Alexander (Adrienne Corri).  This all happens during one night of violence.

He has a falling out with his gang.  When they are in the middle of a home robbery, the police arrive.  As he runs out of the house, one member of his gang smashes a bottle across his face.  They then take off, leaving him as the scapegoat.

The woman dies and he is sentenced to prison.  There, he volunteers for aversion therapy.  If it works, he is promised his freedom.

This isn't a violent movie in the sense of violent movies we now see in the theaters.  We don't see faces blown apart with rapid gunfire.  It is violent in the sense that the movie deals with a violent society and we see folks being violated physically (including rape).

The movie also deals with the topic of free will.  Even if we are able to "heal" a person from their violent behavior, is it appropriate?  And even if one can take away a person's free will, does free will eventually re-assert itself?  Before being released from prison, Alex is put through a couple of test before an audience.  One test has a beautiful naked woman brought before him.  He becomes ill.  Then in the final scene, Alex's free will has returned and so has his original character.  That character would surely have molested that young woman and then taken the beating he no doubt would have gotten from the jailer.

Also, I think a theme in the movie is that prison is a way to protect society from improper behavior.  When Alex is released he ends up at the house of Mr. Alexander (via an unfortunate encounter with his former gang).  There isn't any initial recognition by Mr. Alexander, but he eventually realizes who Alex is.  He concocts a scheme to torment Alex.  So here we have a model citizen who when given the opportunity turns into a version of Alex driven by a desire for vengence.

Movie Review: The Children's Hour

The Children's Hour (1961).  Karen Wright (Audrey Hepburn) and Martha Dobie (Shirley MacLaine) run an all girls boarding school that caters to the upper-middle class.  The two have a relatively nice life.

They are best friends.  Karen is being wooed by Dr. Joe Cardin (James Garner), which causes some concern with Martha (that she will no longer be an important part of Karen's life).  Perhaps their one major glitch is that Martha's aunt, Mrs. Lily Mortar (Miriam Hopkins), also works at the school.  It is more of a pity hire, a person who must be tolerated.  She is a former actress who would be indigent if not for this position.  She's also a tad unstable or let's just say over-dramatic.

Though Lily might be just a glitch in their life, they do have a major problem.  The major problem is problem child Mary Tilford (Karen Balkin) who ranks right up there with the girl from The Bad Seed as one of the most evil girls in film history.  Mary is constantly disciplined.  In revenge, she puts together a rumor based on two facts:  Lily (being over-dramatic) calls the friendship between Karen and Martha "unnatural" and Karen and Martha often talk with each other in their separate bedrooms.  Though the word lesbian is never spoken, you know that this is the accusation that Mary spreads.  Within hours, all the girls are pulled from the school.

This movie might appear dated, but perhaps not.  Something like this could happen in 2014 at say a religious school.

Since this is a movie that was made in 1961, I'm not sure this should be considered a spoiler, but it is revealed that Martha does have "unnatural" feelings towards Karen.  And in the end, she commits suicide.  One could say that even though this movie argues against small town morals and gossip, it also takes an anti-homosexual stance in those final scenes.  I don't know the movie statistics, but I do believe that it is standard that individuals considered to have moral/ethical short-comings are the ones more likely to die versus those who live in virtue.  On the other hand, one could argue that the meaning of those final scenes is that Martha just couldn't handle the societal condemnation and this was her attempt to free herself.  The final scene of the movie is focused on Karen as she walks away from the funeral.  She ignores the others that are there, as well, perhaps there out of their own moral shame.  I think this is the key scene to debate.  What exactly does it mean?

Do I recommend seeing this movie?  Yes.

Movie Review: Love in the Afternoon

Love in the Afternoon.  This has to rank as one of Audrey Hepburn's worst movies.  I barely made it through the movie.  The most irritating moments in this movie were the musicians that constantly followed Frank Flannagan (Gary Cooper) around everywhere.  Though it is meant to be amusing, it just gets tiring after awhile.

Ariane Chavasse (Audrey Hepburn) is in college majoring in Music.  Her father, Claude Chavasse (Maurice Chevalier), is a private detective.  He is approached by a Monsieur X (John McGiver) who is convinced that his wife is having an affair with a middle-aged playboy, Frank Flannagan.

Ariane begins to track her father's research and becomes infatuated with Frank Flannagan.  She learns that Frank is having an affair with Monsieur X's wife.  She also learns that Monsieur X plans to take things into his own hands (he has a gun).  So she heads off to the hotel where she warns Frank about the impending danger.

Ariane and Frank then carry on a brief affair.  Then off he goes.  Do they eventually re-connect?

The major problem I had with this movie was the idea that Frank could woe Ariane.  If I did my math right, when this movie was released, Gary Cooper was 56 while Audrey Hepburn was 28.  That's a 28 year difference.  In reality, Frank looks 56 while Ariane looks like she is a 20 year-old college student, which makes the age gap look more like 36.  Of course, these romances do occur in real life, but it is not the norm.

Also, even though Frank is portrayed as a playboy via news clippings, it really never feels that way via his interactions with Ariane and his various other female lovers.  Instead, he appears to just be a well-mannered, wealthy individual who loves women, many that he probably shouldn't be wooing.  That hardly makes him a playboy in my mind (the women, yes; the lifestyle, no).

Unfortunately, for those Gary Cooper, Audrey Hepburn and Billy Wilder (director) fans out there, I think you can take a pass on this movie.