Category Archives: Poetry

2019 Blindspot Pick #6: Amadeus (1984)

31 Wednesday Jul 2019

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How must it be to be a genius,
Masterpieces to be mined
In the mind,
Unrefined,
And so gradually defined
In an act of new creation
Not unlike how God designed?

Oh, to birth such instant classics,
Such a rare, eternal prize!
Oh, what highs
In human eyes,
We crave as we mythologize,
And what despair we suffer when
Our limits cut us down to size.

Comparisons are no avail
If we’re defined by how we fail.
______________________

MPAA rating: PG for the original, R for the Director’s Cut, due to brief language and nudity

For me, Amadeus is the perfect candidate for a Blindspot pick. I’ve been putting it off for far too long, even getting it from the library a while ago and letting it sit around until I had to return it. On top of that, I kept being reminded of it; the recent anime Steins;Gate 0 had an AI called Amadeus and explicitly referenced the rivalry between Mozart and Salieri, and I also just rediscovered the classic ‘80s tune “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco, inspired by this film. I even got a recent Final Jeopardy question wrong because I didn’t realize Amadeus was based on a play, making it perfect for MovieRob’s Genre Grandeur this month as well. Thus, at long last, it seemed only right to watch the Best Picture of 1984, since I was clearly being pointed toward it.

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Winner of eight Oscars, Amadeus is a powerhouse for both acting and music. For his role of Salieri, F. Murray Abraham deservingly won the Oscar for Best Actor, ironically defeating Tom Hulce as his unwitting rival Mozart. Salieri is a tortured soul, deranged and aged far past his prime when the film opens in 1823, and tells a priest of how his classical musical career was overshadowed by the flippant but undeniable talent of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Hulce portrays Mozart as a frivolous man-child, a “creature” as Salieri refers to him, whose high-pitched laugh grows increasingly annoying, yet the elder composer recognizes Mozart’s gift and blames God for leaving Salieri so comparatively untalented. Both performances are brilliantly nuanced, especially by the tragic end, but the Academy chose right that year.

Yet the music is just as much a character as the dueling composers. As Salieri points out early on, everyone recognizes Mozart’s best work, and his best work is put on full display, with even extended stage performances from opera like The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni. (I watched Milos Forman’s Director’s Cut.) Lovers of classical music will revel in the score, but even non-fans will likely appreciate watching the inception of masterpieces that have stood the test of time.

While I recognize the film as a magnum opus for everyone involved, there’s something that bugs me and keeps it from ranking among my favorites. It may seem shallow or unsympathetic, but as I watched Salieri spiral into a tortured wretch of envy, cursing God for giving Mozart the talent he craved for himself, I just wanted to slap him and say “Get over it!” It’s drama, and I know such unbridled jealousy does happen, but I hate when people compare themselves to others because no matter how good you are at anything, there will always be someone better. Salieri had a high-profile position, money, and respect, and instead of viewing Mozart as a colleague, however vulgar he may have been, he made him the source of an inferiority complex, ultimately contributing to his ruin, for which Salieri received nothing but guilt. He may have blamed God, but the fault was his own. It’s a marvelously complicated portrayal of destructive envy that nonetheless frustrated me almost as much as Mozart’s laugh.

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Looking back, 1984 was undoubtedly one of the big movie years in history, and it says a lot that Amadeus was able to sweep the Oscars that year, winning Best Picture, Actor, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, and Sound. Impeccably mounted in its 18th/19th-century setting, it’s an overly long but outstanding period piece conveying a historic rivalry that, while fictionalized, still resonates.

Best line: (Salieri) “All I wanted was to sing to God. He gave me that longing… and then made me mute. Why? Tell me that. If He didn’t want me to praise Him with music, why implant the desire, like a lust in my body, and then deny me the talent?”

 

Rank:  List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
642 Followers and Counting

 

Apollo 11 (2019) / For All Mankind (1989)

20 Saturday Jul 2019

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A lonely halo is the moon,
A muse for which romantics croon,
And nobody is quite immune
From such a storied, distant sphere.

Upon its face, mankind has walked,
From which the moon no doubt was shocked,
For how could men have flown and docked
Upon this pioneering pier?

And now, alone again, the moon
Has only space for its commune
And wonders if we’ll come back soon
To face and further its frontier.
_____________________

MPAA rating for Apollo 11:  G
MPAA rating for For All Mankind:  Not Rated (G is fine)

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 50 years to the day since man first landed on the moon. Those familiar with this blog probably already know that my family has a personal connection to the space program, my grandfather having worked for NASA from 1955 to 1973 and my mother working for NASA contractors during the space shuttle program. That personal connection heightens even more my appreciation for the spectacular feat of engineering and cooperation that was the Apollo 11 mission, a mission depicted in several documentaries, two of which seemed perfect to review today.

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Both documentaries were released as anniversary retrospectives, 1989’s For All Mankind on the 20th anniversary of the first moon landing, and this year’s Apollo 11 for the 50th anniversary. Both films are entirely archival, made up of actual footage from the Apollo program, though For All Mankind also features voiceovers from interviews with the astronauts. While they both follow the same structure and even share a few of the same shots, both are exceptional in different ways.

Apollo 11 has been making the rounds on TV and theaters, raking in acclaim along the way. It’s an excellent account of the mission, from the monumental launch of the Saturn V rocket as crowds of onlookers marveled from a distance to the tense landing sequence plagued by false alarms. Its best aspect is the visual restoration of the footage, which now lacks any trace of the age inherent to film from 50 years ago. As with Peter Jackson’s They Will Not Grow Old, the footage looks fresh and recent, making every moment feel immediate and much more real than some ancient faded images.

The only drawback for me was how strictly archival the film was, without any narration or sound other than what was filmed. This made several extended scenes of space borderline boring; while the spacecraft’s staggering speeds and dwindling fuel gauge were added for the sake of context and danger (with far-too-small captions), interest definitely depends on how mentally engaged the viewer is, since there isn’t always much happening visually.

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Interestingly, after taking 10 years for its assembly and release, For All Mankind had the same issue, originally compiled from old NASA footage without voiceover, only for director Al Reinert to add in interviews based on audience feedback. I thought these interviews added a lot to the film, providing insight directly from those who lived these missions, including Jim Lovell, Michael Collins, and Jack Swigert. You might have noticed that not all of them were on the Apollo 11 mission; that’s because For All Mankind, despite being edited to look like one mission from start to finish, is actually a compilation of all the Apollo moon missions, with a little Gemini thrown in.

The footage may not have the crispness of Apollo 11, but I found that For All Mankind offered far more unique and memorable scenes that I had never seen before: an astronaut making a sandwich in zero gravity, a montage of astronauts playing and repeatedly falling over on the moon, David Scott of Apollo 15 dropping a feather and a hammer to prove Galileo’s theory of gravity correct. I only wish there were some captions or on-screen notes saying which mission each clip was from and which interviewee was speaking during the voiceovers. For All Mankind may not be as detailed as Apollo 11 (the Apollo 13 disaster is glossed over in a matter of minutes), but I thought it offered a more engaging history lesson than the more recent film, ending with a touching tribute to the space program’s casualties, both American and Russian. It’s up there with the best documentaries I’ve seen.

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Now fifty from that historic day, it’s equally hard to believe that we haven’t been back to the moon in over 46 years since then. I realize some may view space exploration as an impractical pursuit, but Apollo 11 was an amazing moment in human history, and I sincerely hope that the spirit of dreaming and daring that made it possible will again yield fruit and prove what mankind is capable of accomplishing. In the meantime, we at least have some great documentaries (which I recommend far more than last year’s First Man) to remind us of our past achievements and perhaps renew that same spirit.

Best line, not counting the really famous quotes: (from For All Mankind, summing up how all this was possible) “We are all in this together as a team effort. We’re gonna make it work, and I don’t know how to make it work; I don’t know how to do most of this mission, but I do know that I can assure you that my piece of it is gonna work, and it won’t fail because of me.”

Rank (using thumbs for documentaries):

Apollo 11 – One thumb up, one thumb down
For All Mankind – Two thumbs up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
636 Followers and Counting

 

The Bookshop (2018)

07 Sunday Jul 2019

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A bookshop contains many shelves-worth of portals
To lives and to lands unexplored by mere mortals,
Until they are cracked and the pages are spread
To reveal a new world that takes shape as it’s read.

I grieve at the thought that these hubs of insight
Are losing appeal as the futures ignite,
And though that may happen, my shelves are well-stocked
With worlds and their doors that still wait to be knocked.
___________________

MPAA Rating:  PG

Some movies come and go without making a splash, but I don’t think this one even made a ripple, at least in the U.S., which is a shame. Based on Penelope Fitzgerald’s 1978 novel, The Bookshop is a Spanish-British-German co-production that fits into an all-too rare genre: the quiet literature-lover’s drama. It’s funny that the 56% Rotten Tomatoes synopsis specifically criticizes its “meandering pace,” since my VC and I thought that was one of its strengths, and anyone who liked 84 Charing Cross Road or The Book Thief will likely agree.

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Emily Mortimer plays Florence Green, a widow who tries to make a fresh start by opening a bookshop in the small English seaside town of Hardborough in 1959. She starts to make unexpected connections with a young assistant (Honor Kneafsey) and the town’s book-loving recluse (Bill Nighy), but her use of what is called the Old House draws the ire of a local wealthy socialite (Patricia Clarkson), who wants to use it as an art center. None of the performances are showy, but they’re all quiet and believable, with Mortimer and Nighy in particular fostering a rare, subdued chemistry.

The Bookshop is simple but heartfelt, and the quaint setting and provincial townsfolk lend themselves to a fond sense of yesteryear, even if it also highlights how quietly cruel the world can be. As much as I enjoyed the bulk of the film, its ending is depressing and less than satisfying in its lack of detail; I suspect the same is true for the source material, but it’s a strong story in desperate need of an epilogue. Yet these kinds of book-lovers’ movies are infrequent enough that I can forgive its flaws. Like You’ve Got Mail and 84 Charing Cross Road, its eloquent affinity for literature is bittersweet and worth cherishing. (Plus, it really makes me want to check out the work of Ray Bradbury.)

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Best lines:  (Mr. Brundish, played by Nighy) “In the case of biographies, it’s better, I find, if they’re about good people, whereas novels are much more interesting if they are about nasty people.”

and

(Mr. Brundish, to Clarkson’s Mrs. Gamart) “Old age is not the same thing as historical interest. Otherwise, you and I would be far more interesting than we are.”

 

Rank:  List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
636 Followers and Counting

 

Kelly’s Heroes (1970)

04 Thursday Jul 2019

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Patriotism’s the best motivation
To battle a foe in defense of one’s nation,
But riches can be a compelling incentive
To make soldiers patient, resolved, and inventive.
So to end a war quickly, our side should begin
By telling our troops, to our rivals’ chagrin,
“They’ve got tons of gold, and it’s yours if you win!”
_________________

MPAA rating:  GP (PG-13 by today’s standards)

I kind of wish I could have written about a more patriotic film for July 4 than a heist film about soldiers stealing Nazi gold, but at least it was an American effort! Kelly’s Heroes has a lot of the same star-studded military appeal as other World War II films like The Dirty Dozen or The Great Escape, and it owes quite a bit to a stellar cast that seemed to be having fun making it.

With big names like Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Donald Sutherland, and Carroll O’Connor (a year before All in the Family started), you’d think that most of the film’s budget went into collecting its stars, which also include other recognizable faces like Harry Dean Stanton, Stuart Margolin, and Gavin MacLeod. But they still had plenty to spend on explosions and certainly don’t disappoint in the pyrotechnics department. Eastwood is his usual squinty-eyed self as the titular Kelly, who comes up with the heist plan when he learns of a bank full of gold bars behind enemy lines, but Donald Sutherland is easily the stand-out as the tank commander Oddball, an anachronistic hippy who always seems high as he exalts the power of positive thinking. Between him and Rickles, Kelly’s Heroes has much more comedy than your typical war film, though its lighthearted tone is somewhat undercut when the death toll starts rising.
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It’s funny that I can’t help but associate this film now with the anime Girls und Panzer, a ridiculous but fun exercise in tank war games, since the series actually shows some characters watching Kelly’s Heroes (specifically the scene where the German tank’s turret is stuck between a building and a tree) and one character goes undercover under the code name “Oddball.” So Kelly’s Heroes is clearly popular overseas as well. I’m not sure how much of it carries truth, since it was based on an apparently real wartime robbery that was covered up, but it’s a likable blending of genres that exemplifies collaboration through mutual self-interest and overcomes my usual reservations about heist movies, since it’s not illegal if you’re stealing from Nazis, right? It may not have gotten as much contemporary critical love as other war movies of that year, like MASH or Patton, but, for me, Kelly’s Heroes is easily the most watchable of the bunch.

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Best line:  (Rickles as Crapgame, while they creep through a minefield) “Hey! I found one!”
(Big Joe) “What kind is it?”
(Crapgame) “The kind that blows up! How the hell do I know what kind it is?”

 

Rank:  List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
636 Followers and Counting

 

Green Book (2018)

01 Monday Jul 2019

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Road trips are an odd affair,
The constant movement far from home,
A different bed come every night,
The landscape shifting out of sight
As cars continuously roam
On quests their occupants must share.

Friends may think they have rapport,
Until the road bares every irk
In ways that cannot be ignored,
And likewise those with no accord
May find that under quarrels lurk
A bond they never knew before.
_________________

MPAA rating:  PG-13

Who doesn’t love a movie about unlikely friendships? From Lethal Weapon to Driving Miss Daisy, there’s something universally appealing about two very different people overcoming those differences in favor of mutual respect, and, as with those two examples and this film, race is often one of those separators. Green Book is the latest crowd-pleasing member of the genre that also dives into that racial divide, and while some have accused it of not diving deeply enough, it hit an amusing and poignant balance that I enjoyed enormously.

It’s hard to believe that Viggo Mortenson is Danish, much less that he once played Aragorn in Lord of the Rings, considering how perfectly he inhabits the role of an overweight Italian-American bouncer named Tony Vallelonga, a.k.a. Tony Lip. Despite some latent racism, he grudgingly accepts a job as a driver for famed black pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali), who needs transportation and protection during a two-month concert tour of the South in 1962. Even beyond race, they couldn’t be more different, Tony crude and confrontational, Dr. Shirley sophisticated and haughty; hence, the unlikely friendship. It’s a role reversal of expected stereotypes of the era, and the two actors embrace the dichotomy while forming unexpected bonds through food, music, language, and the recognition of right and wrong.

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Many have called Green Book a reversal of Driving Miss Daisy, and while the point is not unfounded, Green Book has a more socially conscious goal in mind. It may not dive as deeply as some people may have wanted, but its view of race relations still feels honest and ultimately hopeful. (Incidentally, “some people” also say that Driving Miss Daisy and this film were unworthy Best Picture winners, but, in my opinion, “some people” are wrong.)

I really don’t get a lot of the backlash toward this movie, like the supposedly tone-deaf scene where Tony teaches Dr. Shirley how to eat fried chicken. It’s like critics are trying to filter it through every potential-racism, social justice lens they have at their disposal, while I don’t see it as anything but an example of the different worlds to which these two characters have been exposed. They each share pieces of those worlds with each other during their journey, whether it be Shirley’s eloquence in composing Tony’s letters home for him or Tony’s unwillingness to accept any insult. And while there are shades of the dreaded “white savior” tropes that critics make far too much of, I’d argue that Tony gets more from Dr. Shirley than the other way around, particularly a changed perspective on his former prejudice.

Contrary to the assertions of writer/producer (and Tony’s son) Nick Vallelonga, some of Dr. Shirley’s family have denounced Green Book as untruthful, claiming that his and Tony’s relationship was nothing more than that of employer and employee, while other sources have come out with evidence that they were in fact friends. Either way, Green Book takes its historical inspiration and creates a wholly satisfying road-trip movie, especially for those who don’t try to psychoanalyze its themes too deeply.

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Though it could have focused more on The Negro Motorist Green Book of its title, I, for one, am glad for its Oscar success, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor for Ali. The performances and script are full of charm, humor, and empathy, and Green Book fits comfortably among the great unlikely friendship road movies, with an ending that even directly recalls the last scene of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. Race is a touchy subject these days, and while many may disagree, this movie serves as a welcome reminder that mutual understanding can seem unlikely but is always within reach.

Best lines:  (Tony Lip) “The world’s full of lonely people afraid to make the first move.”

and

(Dr. Shirley, channeling MLK) “You never win with violence. You only win when you maintain your dignity.”

 

Rank:  List-Worthy

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
636 Followers and Counting

 

First Man (2018)

24 Monday Jun 2019

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Space is a place where dreams are sent,
And there they wait for man’s ascent.
They wait and know that man was meant
To problem-solve, defy, invent,
And once the atmosphere is rent,
They’ll welcome us and our event
And say our effort was well-spent.

Space is a place of ill intent
That never gave man its consent
To test and dare and circumvent
The earth’s frontiers which won’t relent.
It waits to challenge and prevent
Man’s mystifying discontent,
So resolute and heaven-bent.

Space can hold wonders and laments,
Our certain death or will to thrive.
All these things it represents;
We’ll know for sure when we arrive.
_______________________

MPAA rating:  PG-13

Having loved La La Land, I was eagerly awaiting director Damien Chazelle’s next feature, especially when I learned it would be about Neil Armstrong and the moon landing. Both my mom and I have a special tie to the space program, since my grandfather worked for NASA and worked on the Apollo missions. When we heard some mixed reviews, we assumed that those naysayers just weren’t very interested in the space program, but our personal connection would be enough to overcome any faults. I wish that were true, because, as much as we wanted to love First Man, it was a bitter disappointment for my family.

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I’ve always enjoyed movies about space, whether it’s Gravity, The Right Stuff, or Apollo 13, not to mention any number of sci-fi films, yet I haven’t been so bored by one since Marooned. First Man had a tough job in detailing the life and work of a man who was famously laconic and understated, and while Ryan Gosling’s portrayal of Neil Armstrong is both of those things, he doesn’t add enough to the blank face and muted reactions to keep Armstrong from seeming just dull. The same goes for Claire Foy as his long-suffering wife Janet; she outshines Gosling with a few emotional fireworks, but their final scene together is a weird conclusion of emotional constipation, which also doesn’t mention their eventual divorce.

As for its portrayal of the space program, First Man does feature some riveting moments that showcase Armstrong’s levelheadedness and which haven’t been put to film before, such as a close call during one of his experimental test flights or the near disaster of Gemini 8. (I don’t recall the Apollo 1 fire being re-created before now in as much detail either.) The problem is that Chazelle chooses to focus on the claustrophobia of these moments by giving most of them a first-person, shaky-cam view that stays inside the cockpit, rarely letting us see what’s happening outside the spacecraft. It’s a clear artistic choice that gets old fast, and while I heard the moon landing itself makes it all worth it, there was nothing particularly special about that scene either. I appreciated its silent poignancy, but I was also distracted by the bizarre absence of stars. What makes it more bizarre is that I looked back at actual Apollo 11 photos, and there were no stars visible there either! Did I just never notice the black emptiness of space? Why wouldn’t there be stars? I realize that gripe is no longer the movie’s fault, but it still puzzles me on an astrophysical level.

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The subject may be historic, the casting may be full of recognizable faces, and the filmmaking pedigree may be impressive, but First Man was an unfortunate misfire for me. Compared with La La Land, it’s certainly a testament to Chazelle’s range as a director, but all those pluses just couldn’t overcome a weak script that didn’t spark enough interest in its potentially prosaic subject. And considering the visual extravaganzas that took place in Avengers: Infinity War and Ready Player One, it makes no sense to me that this would win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. I wanted to like it, and I still think a great movie could be made about Armstrong and Apollo 11, but sadly First Man is not it.

Best line:  (Armstrong) “I don’t know what space exploration will uncover, but I don’t think it’ll be exploration just for the sake of exploration. I think it’ll be more the fact that it allows us to see things. That maybe we should have seen a long time ago. But just haven’t been able to until now.”

 

Rank:  Dishonorable Mention

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
635 Followers and Counting

 

Shazam! (2019)

17 Monday Jun 2019

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Deep in a magic dimension few know,
A once mighty wizard in weakness resides,
Guarding great evil since eons ago,
And keeping it sealed, he yet watches and hides.
With the rise of a hero, his fall coincides.

Somewhere it’s certain this champion waits
To prove himself worthy and purest of heart,
But waiting has led to the direst of straits,
And now the old wizard has need to impart
His power to one perhaps not quite as smart
Or noble or unselfish as he prefers,
But beggars aren’t choosers for superpowers.
Perhaps in this boy, a new champion stirs.
_____________________

MPAA rating:  PG-13

It’s amazing that, within months of each other, both Marvel and DC put out films about their respective characters named Captain Marvel. DC’s version predates Marvel’s but is now known as Shazam, a word that was apparently just his catchphrase for transforming into a muscle-bound hero. This superhero-now-known-as-Shazam may date back to 1939 and have two TV series from the 1970s/80s to his name, but I was unfamiliar with the character and greatly enjoyed this introduction to him.

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As expected from the trailers, Shazam is basically Big with superpowers, but it does quite a bit right in taking the same concept of a boy in an adult’s body and running with it in unexpected and largely fun directions. After being separated from his mother, young Billy Batson (Asher Angel) grows up as a foster kid desperate to find her and always landing in trouble. Eventually, he’s taken in by the generous Vasquezes (Cooper Andrews and Marta Milans) and their gaggle of fellow foster kids, including superhero-fan Freddy Freeman (Jack Dylan Grazer). Soon, Billy is unexpectedly summoned by a weakening wizard named Shazam (Djimon Hounsou) and gifted with the body and abilities of a superhero, in order to stop a raging villain (Mark Strong) with the power of the seven deadly sins.

Like I said, I wasn’t aware of Shazam’s existence, much less the fact that his name is an acronym, representing his gifts of the Wisdom of Solomon, the Strength of Hercules, the Stamina of Atlas, the Power of Zeus, the Courage of Achilles, and the Speed of Mercury. (I suppose I’ll ignore the historical/Biblical figure of Solomon being lumped in with Greek and Roman myths.) Yet not knowing about the character helped me appreciate the story without any preconceived opinions about how it should be, as would be the case with Superman or Batman. It was interesting then to research afterward and realize how much of the plot had its roots in the comics. (I’m just nerdy like that; I always study a movie’s backstory before or after seeing it.)

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The kid actors are delightful, and Zachary Levi is perfectly cast as Billy’s adult form, nailing the juvenile mentality and wide-eyed wonder of a boy turned into a man and discovering what superpowers he has. It’s goofy and frequently hilarious, which is quite the contrast to Strong’s scenes as the magic-obsessed Doctor Sivana. The shifts in tone can be quite jarring at times, with Sivana’s Sins manifesting in one surprisingly violent scene that could have been toned down. Nevertheless, I appreciated how Billy’s sense of feeling unworthy reflected Sivana’s, like the latter was a dark reflection of the former, making Sivana prime archenemy material.

Shazam might just be my favorite installment yet of the DC Extended Universe, a fun exercise in wish fulfillment that is deepened by a heartwarming message of adoptive family. For anyone who enjoyed the familial themes of Meet the Robinsons or Spy Kids, Shazam is similarly gratifying. As an origin story, this is the rare DC property that can hold its own next to Marvel, and I, for one, look forward to more superhero movies like it.

 

Rank: List-Worthy (tied with Captain Marvel, because I can)

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
634 Followers and Counting

 

2019 Blindspot Pick #5: Best in Show (2000)

10 Monday Jun 2019

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Behold, the yearly dog parade,
A purebred canine cavalcade,
Where dogs and humans side by side
Will strut their stuff with puppy pride.

Akitas, corgis, Komondors,
So many march upon all fours,
From toys that bring to mind a rat
To mastiffs who could eat a cat.

There goes the Rottweiler and hound,
Content to prance around and round.
And there’s the Yorkshire terrier
Who broke the cuteness barrier.

There’s Marmaduke and Lassie here,
And dear Old Yeller (sheds a tear),
And Hachi, Benji, Beethoven,
With Scooby Doo and Rin Tin Tin.
(I’d say their breeds, but for the young,
Their screen names just roll off the tongue.)

There goes a walking mop on paws,
And poodles barbered…well, because,
And pugs and shar peis that are set
With ugly charm I don’t quite get.

And by each furry quadrupedal
Rival vying for a medal
Walk the humans with concern,
Who reap rewards their pooches earn.
_____________________

MPAA rating:  PG-13

I can’t recall exactly what prompted me to add Best in Show to my list of Blindspots this year, but I’d gotten the general impression that it was a great classic comedy that I’d somehow missed out on until now. Directed and co-written by Christopher Guest, clearly inspired by his time starring in This Is Spinal Tap, this mockumentary about the weird world of dog shows isn’t quite worthy of the blue ribbon I was expecting.

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These mockumentary films seem to me an acquired taste, so dependent on improv and awkwardness, and with this film and This Is Spinal Tap being the only two I’ve seen, I don’t think I’ve acquired it yet. My family watches the National Dog Show every Thanksgiving, so I was interested in seeing a comedy built around the backstage drama of quirky competitors. And quirky they are, including an obsessively competitive couple (Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock), a suburban schmoe (Eugene Levy) and his formerly promiscuous wife (Catherine O’Hara), a pair of gay Shih Tzu lovers (Michael McKean and John Michael Higgins), a backwoods fisherman (Guest), and a trophy wife (Jennifer Coolidge) and her stressed trainer (Jane Lynch).

Through their interactions and direct interviews, we see all of their insecurities, secrets, checkered pasts, and eccentricities firsthand, and while there’s no denying the talent of the cast, the material never rises above mere amusement. Some of the shenanigans, such as Posey and Hitchcock’s fanaticism over their dog’s toy, are actually more sad than funny, and Fred Willard’s role as the dog show’s absent-minded commentator struggles so hard to be constantly funny that he’s sort of annoying instead. (Interestingly, John Michael Higgins would go on to play a similar but IMO funnier announcer in the Pitch Perfect films.)

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Yet, even if it could use more belly laughs, Best in Show was still amusing, and, based on my own dog preferences, I was pleased with the eventual winner of the competition. Plus, I did enjoy the large and recognizable cast, which also included Ed Begley, Jr. and Bob Balaban. Best in Show might not have been as funny as I’d hoped, but it did reaffirm something about myself: I’m much more of a cat person.

Best line: (Sherri Ann Cabot, about her decrepit rich husband) “We have so much in common; we both love soup and snow peas, we love the outdoors, and talking and not talking. We could not talk or talk forever and still find things to not talk about.”

 

Rank: Honorable Mention

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
634 Followers and Counting

 

2019 Blindspot Pick #4: The Longest Day (1962)

06 Thursday Jun 2019

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“Damn the torpedoes.” “Remember the Maine!”
“Remember the Alamo!” was the refrain
Of the boys and the men
Who fought time and again,
Who offered their country their blood and their pain.

And on June the sixth of 1944,
Such men charged the beaches of Normandy’s shore.
They leaped from the sky
Knowing well they could die,
And waded through carnage that had been their corps.

The weather unfriendly, the Germans less so,
The struggle brought many a foe and friend low.
The Allies that day
Put their grit on display,
And paid a debt we who are living still owe.
_____________________

MPAA rating: G (should be at least PG)

About two years ago, I reviewed Saving Private Ryan, one of that year’s Blindspots, so it seemed only fitting to review another Blindspot pick about D-Day on June 6, the day the world was saved by the Allied forces. The Longest Day may be an older film, but its re-creation of the struggle on the beaches of Normandy is more expansive than Spielberg’s and well worthy of being ranked among the great war movies of all time.

While Saving Private Ryan had a focused plot with developed characters, The Longest Day is much more concerned with the broader history of the D-Day landings: the cautious planning, the German belief that no invasion would come that June, the watching of weather reports, the confusion of battle, and the plethora of individual stories, most of which have a basis in truth. At nearly three hours long, it might have been called The Longest Movie, yet it’s rarely boring. It may take two thirds of its runtime to reach the point that Saving Private Ryan begins, but it offers much more insight into the strategy and planning that went into the assault and the various efforts of the Americans, British, French, paratroopers, and French civilians, as well as the German side, all presented realistically with dialogue in their native tongue.

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Saving Private Ryan may be known for its battle scenes, but The Longest Day is no slouch either, depicting the invasion on an impressively epic scale. After the ships hit the beaches, there are a number of jaw-dropping aerial tracking shots that offer an incredible view of the battlefield, and without CGI, I can only imagine the work that went into creating such carefully orchestrated scenes. The fact that many of the cast and crew actually saw action on D-Day and contributed their first-hand accounts, along with many of those who are actually depicted in the film, only adds to the authenticity of the production, something no film in the future could hope to match.

The one thing The Longest Day doesn’t have is clearly defined characters, despite a cast jam-packed with stars of the day. It may have won deserving Oscars for its cinematography and special effects, but there’s a reason it didn’t get any acting nominations, simply because there’s not enough for any one actor to do.  John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Robert Mitchum are probably the biggest stars, but you’ll likely recognize the names or faces of Red Buttons, Jeffrey Hunter, Roddy McDowall, Rod Steiger, Richard Burton, Sean Connery, and Peter Lawford, to name only a few. With such a who’s who of talent, it was just a tad disappointing that we spend so little time with any of them, sometimes only a single scene, and don’t always find out what became of them. Yet this is a film about the events rather than the people (the name and rank labels are more for context than for actually keeping track of the characters), and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially with so many triumphant, sad, or ironic episodes throughout that are worth telling but don’t necessarily warrant a movie of their own.

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My own grandfather was among the men who stormed the beaches of Normandy, and films like Saving Private Ryan and The Longest Day really help me as a detached viewer to appreciate the sacrifices of what was truly the Greatest Generation. As for which film is better, I’m torn. Saving Private Ryan held much more visceral emotion but largely through extreme violence I usually steer clear of; for normal viewing, I think I prefer The Longest Day’s presentation of bloodless action that still denotes the grand and hellish reality of war. Both have their place, one raw and poignant, the other detailed and comprehensive, and I’m grateful to have finally seen both through this Blindspot series. One ship commander tells his men, “You remember it. Remember every bit of it, ’cause we are on the eve of a day that people are going to talk about long after we are dead and gone.” Thanks in part to films like this, he’s absolutely right.

Best line: (said by both an American and a German, an insightful contrast) “Sometimes I wonder which side God is on.”

 

Rank: List-Worthy (tied with Saving Private Ryan)

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
633 Followers and Counting

 

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

05 Wednesday Jun 2019

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They say that you cannot return to the days
When the world held the awe it no longer displays.
The people and scenes are no more in their prime,
And you aren’t the you that you were at the time.
The flavors and sounds may be echoing still,
But the farther you get, the more gone is the thrill.

The memory seals them away as in glass,
Preserving their pricelessness as the years pass.
And even as foolish modernity tries
Revisiting heirlooms to revitalize,
Nostalgia may warrant a smile and sigh
At the echoes that fade but are sure not to die.
_______________________

MPAA rating: PG

There are some movies that shouldn’t be touched by Hollywood’s incessant need to remake its old classics, not necessarily because the originals are better by default, but because there’s no way they can compete with a film that was, is, and always will be a classic. I thought for sure that Mary Poppins was one of those movies, but Disney had other ideas. What they delivered in Mary Poppins Returns is as close as the modern day can come to the old-school style that created its predecessor, but try as it might, there’s just something missing.

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Julie Andrews is irreplaceable, but when I heard Emily Blunt was to play Poppins, I figured she had the best chance of anyone to fill her shoes. And in many ways, she does, right from the moment she floats in on the end of a kite flown by one of Michael Banks’s children. Michael (Ben Whishaw) is all grown up now, a widower still reeling from the loss of his wife and struggling to hold onto the family home. Despite his and Jane’s (Emily Mortimer) best efforts, Michael’s three largely responsible kids are in need of some comfort and whimsy, and thus Mary Poppins steps in, perhaps a bit more smile-prone than before but close to the way they/we all remember her.

Mary Poppins Returns is a lot like Star Wars: The Force Awakens in its faithful adherence to the original (some might say too faithful). It follows the general plot of its forerunner to a tee, the same character types, the same sequence of events. Instead of jumping into a chalk drawing, they spin into a cracked ceramic bowl for another semi-animated holiday; instead of floating with Mary’s Uncle Albert, they turn upside-down with her cousin Topsy (Meryl Streep). In place of Dick Van Dyke’s chimney sweep Bert, there’s Lin-Manuel Miranda as lamplighter Jack, doing an excellent job at being casually charming. There are differences, of course, such as the presence of a genuine villain in Colin Firth’s bank president, but sticking so close to the original formula just begs for direct comparison, and Mary Poppins Returns just doesn’t quite match the first.

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Yet it’s so close to the spirit of the original that I can’t help but wonder how much the original relies on nostalgia. Mary Poppins is an incomparable, wholesome family movie, but I am surprised at times to think that Julie Andrews won her Oscar for it rather than The Sound of Music. Its plot is loose and episodic, so I can’t criticize the sequel for being the same. I knew my VC, as a staunch fan of the first film, would have the hardest time accepting Mary Poppins Returns, and while she gave it a good try and liked the beginning, she essentially checked out when it no longer conformed to her idea of what Mary Poppins should be.

At one point in the entertaining segment with animation, Mary gets up on stage to perform with Jack and sings some slightly risqué lyrics. My VC immediately thought, “Mary Poppins would never do that,” and the facsimiled magic was broken. That’s why revisiting such classics is so potentially treacherous; while original content is subject to the creator’s whims, sequels and remakes depend on the audience’s. The same happened with The Last Jedi and the whole “not my Luke” debacle; I loved the film but couldn’t deny all of its criticisms. As with Mary Poppins Returns, it’s simply a matter of whether it bothers you or not.

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It probably sounds like I didn’t like Mary Poppins Returns, but I did, just not as much as its classic forebear. The music and choreography aren’t as memorable, and by the two-thirds mark, it was bordering on boring, making me think it could have benefited from a shorter runtime than 130 minutes. Yet it has an old-school charm, evident in both the vintage streets of live-action London and the small but welcome return of some 2D Disney animation. In many ways, I’m just glad that movies like this can still be made today and perhaps capture the hearts and future nostalgia of another generation. It at least does no harm to the legacy and spirit of the original and, especially toward the end, comes closer than I ever thought a modern-made Mary Poppins sequel could come.

Best line: (Mary Poppins, singing) “Nothing’s gone forever, only out of place.”

 

Rank: List Runner-Up

 

© 2019 S.G. Liput
633 Followers and Counting