Change Your Image
haefele-18458
Reviews
Angry Neighbors (2022)
Not for everyone
I loved this movie. I recently saw another movie about an elderly curmudgeon "A Man Called Otto" with Tom Hanks. I stopped watching it after 20 minutes. It didn't ring true for me. Frank Langella's curmudgeon did. I laughed all the way through this movie. I suspect a person would need to be an elderly disaffected crank themselves to fully appreciate this film. I qualify. As of this writing, I am 8 months away from being 70 years old. I identified greatly with Mr. Langella's character. So unhappy with the changes in the world. Thank goodness, I am not as bitter or as angry as he. I felt sorry for his loneliness and isolation. I have been a fan of Mr. Langella since 1970, the year he starred in "Diary of a Mad Housewfe" and Mel Brook's "The Twelve Chairs". These two movies really showcased his talent and versatility. At 84 or 85 he won't be with us too much longer. He is still amazing. And I've been a fan of Stockard Channing since her 1973 TV movie with Ed Asner "The Girl Most Likely to..." I don't know how to describe Ms. Channing appeal. I have simply always felt it. Especially loved her in "Grease".
As I said in the heading, this movie is not for everyone. But, I would bet that most elderly, intellectually inclined men would enjoy it. "The Vanity of Human Wishes". I love it. And I loved this movie. I would have rated it an 8, but I wanted to counter the low ratings of reviewers who didn't get it.
Helter Skelter (1976)
Charlie and me
First off, "Charlie and me" is just a joke. I've never met him. (Thank goodness). But, through odd coincidence, I've known people who partied with the "family" near Death Valley and in 1971, in San Francisco, I met a weird person who claimed to have been a member of the family. He called himself "the white rabbit" and he carried a newspaper clipping to prove his claim. And he was just nutty enough to make me believe him. I was seventeen and on the streets. I had just hitchhiked to San Francisco (no flowers in my hair) with a sleeping bag and 7 dollars. I arrived in the evening. My first night I slept in Golden Gate park. In the morning, I took a bus downtown to look for food and shelter. There were hippies and street people everywhere. For a middle class kid from Southern California it was amazing and fascinating. I approached someone asking for help and was directed to a place called Hospitality House. It no longer exists, but I think it was on Turk or Golden Gate, just off Market. I have no idea who financed it. It was a free place to hang out during the day and at night they handed out folding mats for sleeping. And it was wall-to-wall young people all over the floor. It was here that I met the "White Rabbit".
He was short, fat, greasy, dirty, smelly with coke bottle glasses, and as I said, weird. But, he was friendly and offered to show me how to get by on the street. He was proud of his connection to Manson. He told me that after (or maybe during?) Charlie's trial, some of the girls wanted to commit a crime. I can't remember if they wanted to rob a bank or kill someone. Anyway he was supposed to preform some part and he flubbed it and they kicked him out of the family. His newspaper clipping gave his real name and his white rabbit nickname. He told me he got on disability by taking acid right before his eligibility interview and acting crazy. I remember thinking that he really was probably crazy. He made a little money writing freelance reviews of porno films for a local underground newspaper (the Berkeley Barb maybe?). He showed me how to sneak into movie theaters on Market Street. After hanging out for a couple or three days he wanted to go to Berkeley for some reason and he wanted me to panhandle (beg) with him for the fare. I asked one person for spare change and received a quarter. I asked another and got fifty cents. I asked another and got a dirty look! That was the last time I ever asked a stranger for money. Too sensitive to rejection. Anyway, he got mad because I wouldn't beg and we parted company. I never saw him again. I was a little relieved, honestly. And I went home to Southern California shortly thereafter.
I attended grades 5,6,8,9 and 10 in a small desert town in the high desert about 180 miles NE of Los Angeles, named Trona. There were some hippies living in a canyon, not too far away and many Trona high school kids partied with them. When I was in 10th grade I talked with a senior who had gone there. He was a popular, intelligent person, but on this day he was talking crazy. He told me about orgies and drugs and I didn't believe most of what he said. But, his mind seemed disordered and I was a little afraid for him. I thought maybe he had taken LSD and was possibly damaged for life. I was a 15 year old never-been-kissed virgin. Never had a drink, let alone a drug. As he spoke I was totally incredulous. It was not until years later that I discovered that it was true. That the Trona high school kids actually did party with the Manson family. As a side note, I saw the senior in question at a high school reunion over 40 years later and he has had a wonderful life, still married to his high school sweetheart. He told me that, of course, Charlie wasn't famous (or infamous) then. And he didn't impress my friend at all. He said he was a little twerp and he would have clobbered Charlie if he messed with him. That's enough personal BS.
I have just read every review here wondering if anyone would have a personal connection with Charlie and his "family". There wasn't a single one. That surprised me. So I decided to tell my little story.
As far as the movie goes, I thought it was great when I saw it on TV in 1976. And I just borrowed it from the library and watched it for the first time since then. For me, it still holds up very well.
For those who think Charlie or these events were unique, or an aberration, think Jim Jones, David Koresh (sp?), mass suicide in Southern California (that weird end-of-days, computer cult), etc. Etc.
Damn Yankees (1958)
GOAT.
The greatest baseball movie of all time, period!
"Whatever Lola Wants Lola Gets", sexiest thing ever recorded on celluloid. Gwen Verdon. No subsequent actress/dancer has ever matched her in this role, though many have tried.
The Root Cause (2016)
INCREDIBLE
I have resisted signing up with IMDB, though I use it frequently. But I was SHOCKED to see ZERO reviews for this documentary. I couldn't let that go. So, they got me.
This may be the best and the most important documentary I've ever seen and I've seen hundreds.
The human race has plunged ahead blindly without ever asking where we were going or why.
This film tells us where we are headed and why and its terrifying. And that is an understatement.
Why no reviews?
Has no one but me seen this???
I randomly stumbled across it on Amazon Prime. I've since bought copies of the DVD on Amazon, one for me and one for a friend.
It looks like the human species may be coming to an abrupt end. Greta Thunberg was and is right. But it's not just global warming, it's nitrogen overloading, species loss and so much more. The web of life is falling apart.
Can we change our ways?
Is it already too late?
Watch this.
And then, you decide.