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Reviews
Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road (2021)
Brian Wilson Endless Journey Through Tragedy and Triumph
God bless Jason Fine for being a friend Brian can trust and for creating this peek into his life. I watched this on a trans-Atlantic flight and had plenty of time to pause, rewind, and repeat segments that piqued my interest. Overall I loved the pacing and details wrapped inside this documentary, and as a journalist myself, I could understand Fine's style of questioning. But after awhile it seemed that this was less of a conversation between two friends and more of a "mobile interview" for the cameras. Granted, that had to be done to create the documentary and cue things up for clips, but when Brian reveals that he's often scared and that Fine's voice helps calm him down, you want Fine to reciprocate by letting down his guard and being more compassionate.
Nowhere was I waiting for this more than in the segment when Fine tells Brian that a mutual friend had died. Brian is at first shocked and, as the news sinks in, begins crying softly. Instead of pulling the car over, getting out, and asking Brian if he wants a hug so Brian can cry it out and process his emotions, the drive continues and the tone of the dialogue is as cold as if he had told him he'd found a quarter in the street. You feel Brian's pain as he is left grappling with the news on his own. It seemed to be the perfect place to forgot the roles of interviewer/subject and reveal some compassion for your friend. That's a feeling that lasts each time you see Brian -- you want to reach through the screen and give him a hug just to help alleviate his turmoil..
Aside from that indelible moment (and missed opportunity), Long Promised Road is a wonderful introduction into the life and mind of an extraordinarily resilient man. If there was a magic wand that could restore someone's mental health, Brian Wilson would be the perfect candidate. For all he's gone through and all he's given, he deserves it.
My Fair Lady (1964)
The Perfect Film for Fans of Emotional Abuse and Threats of Physical Violence
Last night I was in the mood for a musical, so I turned back to a film I'd enjoyed in the past. While I always shuddered at Henry Higgins' derogatory and commanding final line ("Fetch my slippers") which proved his character was less a male chanteuse who could string together some clever lyrics and rap-style rhyme, at heart he was an emotionally abusive and controlling narcissist with an inability to mature. Worse yet, I had forgotten the level of his ghastliness. In the first few minutes of the film when Eliza's in the streets selling flowers, Higgins ridicules her in front of her friends and treats her as if she's garbage. When she arrives at his home, he further degrades her by treating her like she's his property.
Sure, I know times have changed since the early 1960s, but how did they not understand that when he very literally threatens to kill her, lock her in the basement, and have her beaten if she refuses to complete her lessons that it may not be a message women (or anyone who's not a cruel, manipulative, misogynist) would appreciate? Of course, beyond Higgins' abusive nature you'll also need to set aside the vast gaps in age, upbringing, culture, education, and his implied bisexuality that would suggest it would be impossible for these two to ever form a healthy relationship -- much less any physical attraction from Eliza for a puffy senior citizen. While I have the ability to suspend disbelief, it's impossible to suspend the revulsion of Higgins' character. It's a film that doesn't age well. Twenty minutes in, the penny dropped and I dropped out.
Diner (1982)
Were Men That Awful?
I'd heard of this film for decades and finally got around to watching it. I wish I hadn't. The lingering thought that sticks with me is that it's a film that laughs off the abuse of women. One loser sticks his junk in a box of popcorn to get his girlfriend to grab it -- and then lies to her about it and makes her feel guilty for being upset. Later he tries to disguise his friend's wife so he can shag her to win a bet. Another loser verbally and emotionally abuses his wife when she puts his records in the wrong order. Another loser confines his fiancee in a basement and grills her on sports trivia and breaks off their engagement when she fails the test. Sheer cruelty masked as humor. PS: I'm a guy and was still disgusted.
Marriage Story (2019)
I Saw it Coming
While I give credit to the writer/director (who some people have heard of, although I hadn't) for being able to create a film, what he created was... what? My wife and I watched it last night and, from the beginning, I could tell this was going to be syrupy, self-indulgent, molasses-slow movie that, I assume, drew from his background in theatre and film. The characters in the stock company, the neurotic sister who acted like a child, the child who acted like a brat, the mediator who plays a cartoon character, and the dialogue between the two lawyers that I could visualize being delivered at a table reading kept me at a distance. Then there was the loooooooooong monologue delivered by the lead actress that, as she shared it with her lawyer, seemed so artificial and contrived that I felt sorry for her that she had to read what I'd imagine the writer thought would be an epic presentation. Like the lawyers' dialogue, you could visualize the writer knocking it out and the actress trying to make it real. Instead, all you hear is a Hollywood actress reading a Hollywood director's lines and without the illusion of reality -- which carries all the way through the ten hours of this two-hour film -- it's difficult to get into it. How this got six Academy Award nominations is anyone's guess. Maybe it's an inside joke.
Moneyball (2011)
Why?
Not a Brad Pitt fan -- when I watch him I never forget that it's HIM -- he doesn't seem to disappear into his roles (like Phillip Seymour Hoffman could do). Anyway, the high marks and buzz about this movie along with Jonah Hill's rave reviews made me take a look. But for more than two hours I wondered "Where is this thing going?" There seemed to be no real point to it, no real payoff, nothing. Once again, Pitt confirmed my earlier perception and he was always... him. An actor reciting a script in a movie that had no message aside from a new take on hiring players. Certainly not enough to hold my attention, and it makes me wonder how may layers of approvals it had to get -- or if the eye candy was enough to get executives to give it a green light.
Little Fockers (2010)
Nightmares about this movie!
I woke up this morning to take the dog out, and went back to bed but I found that I couldn't sleep -- I was thinking of what a waste of time and money this was. Scene by scene I could see it all replayed again. I thought of the awful script, acting, directing, no laughs, awful concept, pointless, gross, stupid, bad, senseless.... other than that it was fine. How this was given a green light, how preview audiences let this go to theatres and not straight to video or a landfill, how anyone thought a movie titled to make the kids the stars when they hardly have a thing to do with it... Save your money, warn your friends -- don't let anyone see this.
Elvis in Concert (1977)
A Warning for Young Rockers
This should be the lead item in a warning package distributed to fledgling rock stars. God forbid you get everything you want and nothing that you need -- and this is the evidence of that when it happens. Elvis has squandered the last of his self respect and self worth and is relying on a pack of self-serving sycophants to prop up his dying career and his dying body. It's a tragic tale of excess and indulgence and I recall when it first aired after his death how shocked people were to be able to see -- without blinders -- how pathetic and tragic he was. Only 42 -- it seems so young now. But Colonel Parker and the sad pack of wolves known as 'Memphis Mafia' only saw him as the golden goose and were ready to use him until he dropped in order to prop up their own finances and failed lives. They did, but he died.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
A Plodding Cartoon About Bureaucracy
I counted about 4-5 action sequences, and the rest was the trite cliché of a bunch of agents in a dark room playing with computers that create only-in-the-movies graphics and speaking to each other through dialogue was as mundane and predictable as the acting. If you're ready to sit through two hours of dark rooms and suspicious looks and obvious foreshadowing and sinister motives made by people you assumed were sinister to begin with, then this is right up your alley. Add to this the annoyingly persistent cinema verite/hand-held camera style to add unnecessary drama to ordinary situations and you've got yourself a flawed movie there, pappy. The least impressive follow-up to two very impressive movies.
Lost in Translation (2003)
Makes Boring Seem Exciting
A bad travelogue. How long did they want me to wait and watch this lady in her room, on the street, back in her room, in the bar and then back in her room? Bill Murray tried, but he couldn't make this slow-paced, molasses movie move an inch. Pointless and a waste of time.