Kicking and Screaming (1995) ***

Pretty rough around the edges, but the actors sell it well especially the great Chris Eigeman. Early Noah Baumbach effort is strained at times but clearly shows the talent and the smarts.

SPIEGEL Interview with John Cleese - SPIEGEL ONLINE

SPIEGEL: Somewhere in your book you call Terry Jones a "swarthy, excitable, plump, Celtic demi-dwarf." Apart from that, is everything okay between the two of you?

Cleese: We always fought, Terry and I, and we don't understand each other. But there's a genuine affection. We were playing two old women in the reunion show last year, and I don't know why, but we started holding hands before the lights came on. We disagree a lot. And Terry Gilliam has only said two things in his life that I agree with but there's still an affection. We all went in completely different directions after Monty Python. Eric went into music, Terry Gilliam directs movies -- he is wonderful at images, but not very good at narrative. Terry Jones does all sorts of things. Michael does a lot of programs about travel and painting. I don't know what I've done.

Paul McCartney defends Kanye West over use of racial slur - Daily Dish

McCartney also revealed his wife Nancy Shevell was less charitable over the performance, adding, “It really shocked Nancy, because she’d been to school with a lot of black kids and been immersed in that experience.”

Paul, Paul, Paul. Just say "Some of her best friends are..." instead.

Still Life (2006) *

Incoherence, intentionally or not, is a tough sell in a film. You need a charismatic star, extremely breathtaking cinematography, art direction and maybe all 3. This film has none.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) **

Very well crafted film, good pacing, never felt too long, interesting art direction, fine actors. However, I was very familiar with the source material so that probably influences my opinion regarding the tempo and understand-ability of the complicated plot. Oldman is a liability in that he plays Smiley as fairly comatose and I never got the feeling he was a real person.

Bottling water without scrutiny

Even with California deep in drought, the federal agency hasn't assessed the impacts of the bottled water business on springs and streams in two watersheds that sustain sensitive habitats in the national forest. The lack of oversight is symptomatic of a Forest Service limited by tight budgets and focused on other issues, and of a regulatory system in California that allows the bottled water industry to operate with little independent tracking of the potential toll on the environment.

It seems incredible that the state IS tracking residential water use, and rightfully so, yet corporations' water usage is not?

Cosmopolis (2012) **

Interesting premise that starts well but peters out quickly despite some knockout star cameos especially Juliette Binoche. The actors are fine but the approach is too laid back for such a thin thread of a story.

Parents ask S.F. Archdiocese to remove school’s leaders - SFGate

Illo, who also didn’t speak during the hour-and-a-half meeting, said afterward that it’s a difficult situation and acknowledged that there is a lot of tension and anxiety between himself and the school parents. He said there have been misunderstandings, but now he’ll leave it to the archbishop to decide what happens next.
“It was a good forum,” Illo said. “It’s important to hear their perspective.”

'Yoga Pants are Ruining Women' and Other Style Advice From Fran Lebowitz

To me, the main difference between young people now and the people I was young with isn't so much style, it's the relationships they have with their parents. Their parents like them much more than ours liked us. Our parents weren't our friends. They disapproved of us. All our parents cared about was how we behaved, not how we felt, not what we wanted. But now I see my friends on the phones with their, what, 30-year-old kids? And they're talking about feelings. You would think this kind of relationship would make this adult children more relaxed, but instead they're more concerned. Parent-child relationships have become so collegiate. And so when these grown children go into the world, they expect a certain amount of attention. And they're very disappointed.

Kenneth Branagh "Hopeful" About Martin Scorsese Macbeth

Speaking about the possible Scorsese movie, Branagh revealed, “To some extent the invitation is for the maestro to do what he will with this, to be very impressionistic with it and very abstract.” That should help set it apart from the many other Macbeth adaptations that have hit stage and screen over the centuries — including one due out this year, with Justin Kurzel directing and Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard starring.

House of Strangers (1949) *

Bizarre saga of deranged Sicilian patriarch and his equally deranged offspring. Any resemblance to actual human beings is purely coincidental and minimal. A few nicely done tracking shots and Edward G. does a nice job.

Pickpocket (1959) *

A blank slate of a film, in which the actors give non-performances and the viewer supplies the emotion and motivation. This makes for an interesting movie but not an engaging or enjoyable one.

Clint Eastwood Describes His Near-Death Experience, Says 'American Sniper' Is Anti-War (Exclusive) - Hollywood Reporter

EASTWOOD: I did. Apocalypse Now, they… [Francis Ford] Coppola called me up and asked me if I wanted to do the young guy I think later played by Martin Sheen. And asked me if I wanted to play that and I said gee, I don't know I don’t understand this show too much. I did read Heart of Darkness when I was young and so I kind of knew where it was going but then I said no, I don’t think I can go off for that long a time. He was going to go 16 weeks in the Philippines. And then Steve McQueen called me and he says why don’t you come on and you come on and play this role? I said I thought you were going to play that role because I'd read somewhere that he was going to play.

EASTWOOD: He said no, no, he said I want to play the Kurtz role that [Marlon] Brando ended up playing. And I said well why do you want to play that? He says well, I get the same money but I only have to work two weeks. [LAUGHTER] I said well you've figured it out. I said I don't know about going to the Philippines and there’s a lot of unknown factors maybe over there and I'd just gotten through building a house and everything and I thought no I don’t want to go away that long.

The Big Combo (1955) *

Every cliche in the noir book is tried and found wanting in this bad but earnest flick. If the cinematography or acting or SOMETHING was exceptional it might have worked but this is very poorly written.

Biutiful (2010) **

Javier Bardem carries the picture as best he can but it's ultimately not enough despite some exceptional moments. Too long and too unrelentingly bleak, even if that is the point, to be entertaining or enjoyable.

A Doll's House (1973) ***

Top notch cast brings the classic Ibsen play to life. Doesn't look or feel like a filmed play, but some of the actors are disconcertingly old for their parts.

Fargo (1996) ****

Perfectly crafted combination noir and character study hits just the right tones using all the keys. Tremendous pacing, pitch perfect performances, nifty combination of subtlety and overt violence.

The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013) ****

Exquisitely and imaginatively animated Japanese folk tale shows Disney a thing or two about adapting "fairy tales" for the screen and intentionally or not blows away all their "Princess" movies. The impact of the final reel is profound.

Marlene (1984) **

Interesting document of how to make a film documentary about an individual who does not want to be photographed. Marlene Dietrich tries very hard not to reveal her true self but in her non-comments, denials and protestations as well as the subtle cinematic tricks of director Maximilian Schell we get a glimpse here and there.

Thérèse (2012) **

The difficulty of making a story which mainly takes place inside the characters' heads into compelling cinema is evident in this sumptuously filmed saga of between the wars Bordeaux families where individuality is irrelevant and only the family, and the pines, matter. It doesn't quite pull it off.

In a World... (2013) ***

Excellent writer-director debut for comic actress Lake Bell who shows a visual flair, a solid casting sense and a way with a one liner. Fred Melamed is terrific as usual.

A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014) *

Another violent revenge noir for Liam Neeson, this one even more sadistic and gratuitously brutal than the others. Artless and ugly.

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) **

Watchable but oddly un-erotic and un-romantic depiction of what ostensibly should be an erotic romance. Uninspired casting.

Belle (2013) **

Bland period piece depicting sexist and racist English cultural rubrics of the 18th century. Film assumes its noble purpose is all that matters.

Marathon Man (1976) **

It's really well put together, Sir Larry and Dusty give "A" list performances, Marthe is lovely, NYC looks gritty and grimy in that awesome '70's way, but the implausibility of it all is too much in the end. Still, it's worth seeing if only to be reminded of a time when only the bad guys used torture.

'Arrested Development' Season 5 Air Date: What's In Store For Next Installment?

“Right now I’m cutting a version of season four that tells it chronologically,” said Hurwitz in an interview with Pretentious Film Majors. “There’s more of a story that has to be told somehow, and we’ve got the whole story broken. Season four was always meant to be like act one of a three-act structure.”

Solo con tu pareja (1991) *

Disappointing first feature from otherwise talented director Alfonso Cuaron is ostensibly a rom-com/sex farce but it's lit like a dour crime drama, not funny and not the least romantic.

Miller's Crossing (1990) ***

Typically solid Coen's production doesn't soar to the heights of some of their other films, but it's still packed with smart and witty scenes and some terrific supporting performances.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) ****

How to do an action/fantasy film right. One of the greats.

The Humbling (2014) **

It's always Pacino you're watching, but he's interesting to watch plus he has excellent support from Greta Gerwig. Opens and closes a lot like another film but without the same panache.

Jupiter Ascending (2015) **

Overlong, repetitive and predictable, this grand space opera does have a handful of superb action sequences that break the over-cut, shaky-cam approach of most action films these days. Excellent art direction, makeup, costumes it's just not quite there in terms of compelling narrative or compelling leads.

Letter To The Millennials — Medium

So one of the things I want to teach you about is a time from 1965–1980 when the artists really ruled both the music and the film industries. Some said "the lunatics had taken over the asylum” (and, amusingly enough, David Geffen named his record company Asylum), but if you look at the quality of work that was produced, it was extraordinary; in fact, most of it is still watched and listened to today. Moreover, in that period the most artistic work also sold the best: The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper was without doubt the best record of the year but also the best selling, and The Godfather was similarly both best movie of the year and the biggest box office hit. That’s not happening right now, and I want to try to understand why that is.

Aside from the subjective distinction about what constitutes "the most artistic work", during that period (65-80) the artists and the majority of the public were the same generation. It was because the Baby Boomers numbers were so huge they were, and still are, the primary market force. Today, Boomers don't go the movies very often (or buy as much music) but Millenials do it's just that their numbers are nowhere near as large as the Boomers so they are a market force, just not on the scale of the Boomers' heyday. Great movies and music are still being made today, arguably better than ever, but the market is much more diverse than ever so to be a "best seller" the movie/song has to be appreciated by all segments and that usually spells "artistic" disaster.

Note: Starting with this post, excerpts from the linked content will be shown in Italics at the top of the post.

The Case for Hollywood History by Francine Prose | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books

"Until recently, I’d assumed it was understood that Hollywood would emphasize the 'story' aspects of history, and that a distortion of real events, on screen, would hardly constitute a lie. Except for those cases in which I felt that a film was being used as propaganda—Zero Dark Thirty comes to mind—I’d never been particularly disturbed, and certainly not surprised, to learn that a feature film had altered a real event so as to ramp up the drama. At what point, I wonder, did we start expecting films to tell the truth about the past? And won’t we be in trouble if we do?

The films of the '70's represented a major shift in style for mainstream films towards a more realistic portrayal of everyday reality. The idea was to better reflect the reality of most moviegoers rather than present an escape. Thus, movies came to be seen as more "real". Compare nearly any film from 1952 with any film from 1972. The former are not even attempting to represent reality, but a 'story' reality and the viewer knows this. Films today trade on this almost hyper-reality, trying to convince the viewer that they are watching in effect a "newsreel" and not a fictional narrative. THIS is the problem when your "story" is supposed to be something that really happened and the movie wants you to believe it really happened but it DID NOT HAPPEN. That's usually called "lying". The thing is, this is NOT a big problem to correct. Just change the names of the people involved, move the locale, switch the genders, do SOMETHING CREATIVE and stop trying to sell tickets "based on true events" that never happened.

Age of Consent (1969) **

The great Michael Powell's last film and like all his others it's interesting and beautifully shot if not entirely compelling. Certain directors could learn a lot about "finding something to look at" just by viewing this film. Uneven but enjoyable.

Stairway to Heaven (1946) ***

Romantic fantasy of WWII aviator who miraculously and mistakenly survives plane crash and must defend his life in a sort of way station to Eternity in order to keep it. Spectacular images and surprisingly intelligent script are high points but there's a section of the "court room" discourse that veers off into a lengthy and irrelevant history lesson that really takes you out of the picture. Still the visuals are worth it.

Grammys 2015: Transcript of Bob Dylan's MusiCares Person of Year speech - LA Times

"Johnny Cash recorded some of my songs early on, too, up in about '63, when he was all skin and bones. He traveled long, he traveled hard, but he was a hero of mine. I heard many of his songs growing up. I knew them better than I knew my own. 'Big River,' 'I Walk the Line.'

"'How high's the water, Mama?' I wrote 'It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)' with that song reverberating inside my head. I still ask, 'How high is the water, mama?' Johnny was an intense character. And he saw that people were putting me down playing electric music, and he posted letters to magazines scolding people, telling them to shut up and let him sing.

"In Johnny Cash's world -- hardcore Southern drama -- that kind of thing didn't exist. Nobody told anybody what to sing or what not to sing. They just didn't do that kind of thing. I'm always going to thank him for that. Johnny Cash was a giant of a man, the man in black. And I'll always cherish the friendship we had until the day there is no more days."

Crazy, rambling, confessional, score-settling monologue by Bob Dylan. And sorry, Bob, your voice IS shot.

Undernews: Study: Monsanto helped kill the monarch butterfly

"The report makes it abundantly clear: two decades of Roundup Ready crops have nearly eradicated milkweed—the monarch caterpillar’s sole source of food—in cropland of the monarch’s vital Midwest breeding ground."

The Lion in Winter (1968) **

12th century English royal court shenanigans brought to rambunctious life by a fine cast with an even finer script. The scenes stretched out to "expand" the original play are unnecessary and detract from the experience however.

Bitter Victory (1957) **

Odd WWII film set in North Africa dares to ask when is it "war" and when is it "murder" instead of just being a pro-Allies propaganda flick. Admirable, but the script and leads are not quite up to the task.

On gospel, Abba and the death of the record: an audience with Brian Eno | Interview | Music | The Guardian

"'I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a living from them for a while were lucky. There is no reason why anyone should have made so much money from selling records except that everything was right for this period of time. I always knew it would run out sooner or later. It couldn't last, and now it's running out. I don't particularly care that it is and like the way things are going. The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel. Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth. Then gas came along and you'd be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate – history's moving along. Recorded music equals whale blubber. Eventually, something else will replace it.'"

The Pro Dumpster Diver Who's Making Thousands Off America's Biggest Retailers | WIRED

"While researching his book, Humes obtained what was one of the last interviews with William Rathje, the late University of Arizona garbage researcher. During that conversation, the archaeologist said that US overconsumption reminded him of the ancient civilizations he had studied, in which the moment that extravagance began to outstrip resources always seemed to signal the descent into contraction and decline. In Garbology, Humes urged a break with that historical pattern and an all-out commitment to cutting waste. But in his conversation with Rathje, the university researcher noted one big problem with this idea: 'No great civilization of the past has ever pulled this off,' Humes says Rathje told him. 'None.'”

Sirens (1993) ***

Superb casting helps this straightforward look at Australian painter Norman Lindsey who had a penchant for nudes. With models like this can you blame him? Nicely done.

Undernews: Recovered history: The biggest protest with the most arrests in American history

"Yet Mayday has no place in our collective memory, thanks in part to the pop culture habit of shoe-horning protest history into 'the Sixties.' This nonviolent radical action, moreover, doesn't fit into the classic narrative of the New Left's rise and fall, a story in which noble democratic ideals degenerate into bitterness and violence; large movement organizations are painstakingly built and then collapse; and revolutionary phantasms overtake a radicalism based on homegrown traditions of dissent."

We are creatures of narrative, yet reality doesn't have any.

via https://twitter.com/bnroj/lists/links

Bernie: A blunder for the ages : Sports

"And maybe just a tad lucky, too. Brady won his first Super Bowl, at the end of the 2001 season, when Rams coach Mike Martz had a lapse in strategy by failing to give enough carries to future Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk."

Again with this canard! If you check the stats for SB XXXVI you'll see that Faulk averaged 4.5 yards per carry whereas Warner had 8.3 yards per throw. They should have thrown MORE not less, as most NFL teams have discovered since. The Rams lost because they had 3 turnovers (and a missed field goal) and the Patriots had none. You seldom win any game with a differential like that.

And the Seahawks didn't lose because they called a pass play at the 1 yard line. They called the WRONG pass play, a very risky pass play to the inside, and Wilson failed to realize it in time and throw the ball out of the end zone.

All the Light in the Sky (2012) ***

Thoughtful look at how we deal with the passing of time personally, as a culture, as a species in the perceptions of a contemporary actress who has reached an age when the parts are not so forthcoming. Well shot in a gorgeous location with appealing leads and an intelligent and subtle "script" although it seems like a complete improv.

The Two Faces of January (2014) ***

A vacation in Greece in 1962 turns into a twisty noir with familial subtexts. Beautiful scenery, beautiful actors, sharply paced and well shot.

Is Warner a first-ballot Hall of Famer? : Sports

“'What solidified his Hall of Fame career ... is when he went to Arizona and took that organization to a Super Bowl,'” Faulk said."

Most definitely. Plus there's this spectacular conference championship game that might never be topped.

Julia (1977) ***

A thin thread of a story (apparently fictional) but the film is engrossing and thoughtful. A fine script, direction and good cast all turn in top notch work.

San Francisco priest bars altar girls, sparks another controversy | National Catholic Reporter

"The first, he said, is that 'boys usually end up losing interest [in altar service] because girls generally do a better job.'

"The second and more important reason, Illo said, is that 'altar service is intrinsically tied to the priesthood and serve as feeder programs for the seminary.'

"'If the Catholic Church ordained women, altar girls would make sense, but the Catholic priesthood is a male charism,' he said. 'Nothing awakens a desire for the priesthood like service at the altar among the brotherhood of young men. At the risk of generalizing, I suspect young men serving with young women might just distract them from the sacrifice of the Mass, and perhaps even from a priestly vocation.'"

Against stupidity the very gods themselves contend in vain.

Dangerous Crossing (1953) **

Slick studio noir suffers from a lack of star power in the leads, but it's a fast paced closed box yarn (all the action takes place on a cruise ship) with some interesting scenes.

The Great Silence (1968) **

Snowy spaghetti western suffers from a horrible dub job, but is watchable for its cinematography, the lovely Vonetta McGee, and an ending that actually follows the logic of the bleak and despairing story.

Election (1999) ****

Sharp, merciless satire is perfectly cast and perfectly executed. Hilarious and profoundly sad often at the same time. Brilliant film.

Paul Thomas Anderson Reveals the Secrets of 'Inherent Vice' | Rolling Stone

"You can go big, or you can just do a lot of close-ups.

"There are a lot of close-ups in Inherent Vice, aren't there? It wasn't by design, but right here [holds hand in front of his face] always seemed to be the best place to be. You know, a lot of these locations, there's not much else to look at. They're kind of dingy little motel rooms and apartments and stuff, so. . . . Plus, what's better than a Jena Malone close-up? Not much. Pretty high on the list of great things."

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he's joking. I mean, he HAS to be joking, right? "Not much else to look at"??? Isn't that YOUR job pal?

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) ***

Effective mashup of Groundhog Day and Aliens unfortunately goes for the Hollywood ending when they had a terrific, poignant and meaningful one already. It's still a great ride to get there and Cruise's best picture in years.

George Lucas details plans to make, but not release, two new films | Hero Complex – movies, comics, pop culture – Los Angeles Times

“'The way [the films] are, they’re not really movies that can be released,' Lucas said of his upcoming projects during a recent phone call from New York City, where he was promoting 'Strange Magic.' 'They’re movies more for myself and maybe I’ll show them to some of my friends.

“'It costs more to put them out there than it does to make ‘em,' he continued. 'These are movies that are never going to make any money or anything.'”

Whatever happened to George Lucas? I mean, how did he become such an idiot? If anything, it is EASIER to distribute a film nowadays than ever before. What he is talking about is major studio distribution which is essentially marketing and so riddled with bloat and corruption. But with a little imagination and effort, films can be distributed directly to theatres quite easily since they're all digital now. I don't think European filmmakers have the same concerns.

Foxcatcher (2014) **

Another in the despicable "based on a true story" genre that changes those true events to fit "the requirements of narrative". Aside from that the film is too long and drawn out but features 3 transformative lead performances that are all excellent and worth seeing.

Inherent Vice (2014) *

Apparently you are either on this film's wavelength or you're not. I was not. I could not make sense of the plot, and that's not always necessary, but it is necessary that it appears as though the plot (or whatever the protagonist is doing) makes SOME sort of logical sense even if that logic only exists in the film's world. Otherwise, unless the actors/characters are especially charismatic (not in this case), the viewer tends not to care. Plus I don't like films that are almost exclusively shot in closeups.

Sunset Blvd. (1950) ****

Deliciously creepy smack down of behind-the-scenes Hollywood. Iconic performances by Swanson and von Stroheim and a script that still surprises 60+ years later.

Australian actor Rod Taylor dead at 84: Legendary star suffers a heart attack at LA home | dailytelegraph.com.au

“I couldn’t live without it. And I don’t do it just for money. I love it. It is an honorable art. I am proud to be an actor. I pray and try every day to be a better actor. ... I am a poor student sitting at the feet of giants, yearning for their wisdom and begging for lessons that might one day make me a complete artist, so that if all goes well, I may one day sit beside them.”

Young & Beautiful (2013) ***

Subtle and direct at the same time is a tough trick to pull off but Ozon manages it. Beautifully shot with beautiful women.

Cardinal Raymond Burke: 'Feminized' church and altar girls caused priest shortage | National Catholic Reporter

"'Apart from the priest, the sanctuary has become full of women,' he said. 'The activities in the parish and even the liturgy have been influenced by women and have become so feminine in many places that men do not want to get involved.

"Burke, a liturgical traditionalist and a doctrinal conservative, also said that 'men need to dress and act like men in a way that is respectful to themselves, to women and to children.'"

Wow. Read the whole thing. There's lots more incredible quotes. Sit down before you do though. Can Francis take away Burke's zucchetto? Please?

Oscar Films & the Prison of Historical Accuracy -- Vulture

"Because, surprise! These movies are not documentaries, nor are they acts of journalism. (And even documentaries don’t always need to be totally accurate — just ask Werner Herzog.) They’re narrative works, and just like any other narrative work, they need to be true to themselves — to the demands of drama, to the demands of (yes) entertainment, and even to the demands of the broader truths they’re trying to evoke."

If that is the case it is quite simple to just change the names of the people involved and don't make the claim "Based on true events" because the ONLY reason a film does that is to fool the prospective viewer into believing she will see THE TRUE EVENTS! It is wrong.

Murder, My Sweet (1944) **

The crackling Raymond Chandler dialogue is all there, the femme fatales, the confusing plot lines, the shady moral landscape, the elusive MacGuffin, but Dick Powell is no Bogie and Anne Shirley is no Bacall. Dull.

The Loved One (1965) ***

Outrageous, bizarre, creepy and very funny satire on Hollywood and the high end funeral business. Beautifully shot in black and white with terrific performances from Jonathan Winters and Rod Steiger who nearly steals the show as Mr. Joyboy. Too bad the film is nearly sunk by the complete miscasting of Robert Morse in the lead. Thousands of able British actors and you have to cast a guy who can't even fake an accent? Really detracts from the overall effect.

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) **

Silly, colorful, crammed to the gills with CGI, this comic book flick at least has a good retro soundtrack to listen to as you try to decipher just what is happening in the nearly non-stop action sequences.

The One I Love (2014) ***

Nicely executed extended Twilight Zone episode is subtle and truthful. Well acted and cast.

Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) ***

Way better than it should be, fast paced, appropriately silly riff on BTTF with a manic, hilarious performance by Rob Corddry.

2014 In Review: Movies

**** Birdman
**** The Grand Budapest Hotel
*** A Most Wanted Man
*** The Box Trolls
*** The Double
*** Ida
*** Non-Stop
*** Under The Skin
** Big Eyes
** Interstellar
** The Lego Movie
** Life Itself
** Lucy
** Magic In The Moonlight
** Noah
** St. Vincent
** The Wind Rises
* The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
* The Monuments Men
* The Quiet Ones

Big Eyes (2014) **

Pretty dull, straightforward biopic hardly identifiable as a Tim Burton movie. Interesting but un-involving.

Zelig (1983) ****

Droll curiosity, quite a technical achievement but not particularly memorable. UPDATE (9/10/26): This is a masterpiece. First viewing, you are distracted by the incredible "in camera" effects. Subsequent viewings you can enjoy the sharp writing, direction and one-liners.

2014 In Review: Music

**** Chrissie Hynde - Stockholm
**** Drowners - Drowners
**** Dum Dum Girls - Too True
**** Ex Hex - Rips
**** Jenny Lewis - The Voyager
**** La Sera - Hour of the Dawn
**** New Pornographers - Brill Bruisers
**** Pains of Being Pure at Heart, The - Days of Abandon
*** Architecture In Helsinki - Now And 4Eva
*** Army Navy - The Wilderness Inside
*** Belle Brigade, The - Just Because
*** Both, The - The Both
*** Broken Bells - After the Disco
*** Bryan Ferry - Avonmore
*** Inspiral Carpets - Inspiral Carpets
*** Kooks, The - Listen
*** Muffs, The - Whoop Dee Doo
*** New Mendicants, The - Into The Lime
*** Peter Buck - I Am Back To Blow Your Mind Once Again
*** Raveonettes, The - Pe'ahi
*** Roseanne Cash - The River And The Thread
*** Snowbird - Moon
*** Stevie Nicks - 24 karat gold - songs from the vault
*** Suzanne Vega - Tales From The Realm of The Queen of Pentacles
*** TV on the Radio - Seeds
*** Tacocat - NVM
*** We Are Scientists - tv en francais
** Honeyblood - Honeyblood
** Hooray For Earth - Racy
** Hospitality - Trouble
** Kitten - Kitten
** Larkin Poe - Kin
** Lust For Youth - International
** Neil Finn - Dizzy Heights
** Phantogram - Voices
** Robyn Hitchcock - The Man Upstairs
** Sarah McLachlan - Shine On
** Sharon Van Etten - Are We There
** Shonen Knife - Overdrive
** Sinead O'Connor - I'm not bossy, I'm the boss
** Sleeper Agent - About Last Night
** Spoon - They Want My Soul
** Temples - Sun Structures
** Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Hypnotic Eye
** Tori Amos - Unrepentant Geraldines
** U2 - Songs Of Innocence
** Vashti Bunyan - Heartleap
* Juliet Dagger, The - Hi-Ya
* Mr Little Jeans - Pocketknife
* Natalie Merchant - Natalie Merchant
* St. Vincent - St. Vincent
* tUnE-yArDs - Nikki Nack

The Wind Rises (2013) **

Gorgeously animated but the lack of a compelling story can't hold attention for its long running time. Disappointing.

Half of All Children Will Be Autistic by 2025, Warns Senior Research Scientist at MIT | The Alliance for Natural Health USA

"This month, the USDA released a study finding that although there were detectable levels of pesticide residue in more than half of food tested by the agency, 99% of samples taken were found to be within levels the government deems safe, and 40% were found to have no detectable trace of pesticides at all. The USDA added, however, that due to 'cost concerns,' it did not test for residues of glyphosate. Let’s repeat that: they never tested for the active ingredient in the most widely used herbicide in the world. 'Cost concerns'? How absurd—unless they mean it will cost them too much in terms of the special relationship between the USDA and Monsanto. You may recall the revolving door between Monsanto and the federal government, with agency officials becoming high-paying executives—and vice versa! Money, power, prestige: it’s all there. Monsanto and the USDA love to scratch each others’ backs. Clearly this omission was purposeful."

Shadows and Fog (1991) ***

With a look and story frame "lovingly ripped off" from Fritz Lang, Woody adds some good one liners, another who's who cast and some clever musings on the battle of the sexes and the nature of evil.

The Double (2013) ***

Part Kafka, Gilliam, Lynch and the first half is stunning but the overall impact falters as the story loses steam and the logic of the film seems to slip.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) *

Peter Jackson can REALLY stretch out a scene. The film is bloated, repetitive and heavy handed. The entire trilogy would have been a terrific single film. As it is, it's a sprawling mess.

Alice (1990) ***

Wonderfully designed and sumptuously shot fable about getting outside your comfort zone for true happiness. Great cast, typical Woody film (and that's a good thing).

Are You An Introvert Or An Extrovert? What It Means For Your Career | Fast Company | Business Innovation

"Introverted people are known for thinking things through before they speak, enjoying small, close groups of friends and one-on-one time, needing time alone to recharge, and being upset by unexpected changes or last-minute surprises. Introverts are not necessarily shy and may not even avoid social situations, but they will definitely need some time alone or just with close friends or family after spending time in a big crowd."

September (1987) ***

Apparently Woody doesn't think too much of this film, but it's another well written, acted and shot Chekovian study of (again, white elite) people and the secrets and lies they keep to avoid despair.

Interiors (1978) ***

Gorgeous looking examination of an insular elite family of upper crust New Yorkers and the havoc wreaked by the patriarch's divorce and remarriage. Well written and acted but doesn't quite reach universality although some of the characters are exceptionally well drawn.

The Police in America Are Becoming Illegitimate | Rolling Stone

"This policy of constantly badgering people for trifles generates bloodcurdling anger in 'hot spot' neighborhoods with industrial efficiency. And then something like the Garner case happens and it all comes into relief. Six armed police officers tackling and killing a man for selling a 75-cent cigarette.

"That was economic regulation turned lethal, a situation made all the more ridiculous by the fact that we no longer prosecute the countless serious economic crimes committed in this same city. A ferry ride away from Staten Island, on Wall Street, the pure unmolested freedom to fleece whoever you want is considered the sacred birthright of every rake with a briefcase.

"If Lloyd Blankfein or Jamie Dimon had come up with the concept of selling loosies, they'd go to their graves defending it as free economic expression that 'creates liquidity' and should never be regulated."

Random Harvest (1942) **

Well done weepie with excellent lead performances although Colman seems a bit too old for the part.

The Front (1976) **

Never quite manages to rise above its contrived origins and Woody is miscast, but the great Zero Mostel is so good he almost pulls it off.

The Time Traveler's Wife (2009) *

Maybe Terrence Malick could have done something with the source material but this literal adaptation just does not work.

Fedora (1978) **

The story is just not as emotion packed as the director thinks it is and the actors just aren't capable of providing the difference. A little too "inside Hollywood".

Ida (2013) ***

Tightly paced, crisply shot in black and white, a portrait of human beings pushed to the brink of despair and sometimes beyond. Difficult, but well made and often profound.

The Case for Policing Reform Is Much Bigger Than Michael Brown - The Atlantic

"As a longtime proponent of sweeping reforms to the criminal justice system, I'm extremely apprehensive of the impulse to treat the killing of Michael Brown as a focal rallying point, even granting that the case has mobilized people and attention. His death is a perfect illustration of the need for dashboard cameras on every patrol vehicle and lapel cameras on every police officer in America. The way officials in Ferguson reacted to the protests over his death did illustrate the alarming militarization of U.S. police agencies. But when it comes to the problem of police officers using excessive force, including lethal force, against people they encounter, there are scores of cases that better illustrate the problem."

Why It’s Impossible to Indict a Cop | The Nation

"Wanton overpolicing had poisoned relations between the people and their government well before Darren Wilson shot dead Michael Brown. Less mediagenic than police militarization and far more insidious is law enforcement’s daily harassment of citizens for petty offenses. The local government in Ferguson has been treating its residents and neighbors less like free people with rights than like revenue milk-cows to be exploited to the max. Citations and fines for petty offenses are profligately inflicted on residents, particularly black residents. According to a blockbuster report issued by St. Louis’s ArchCity Defenders advocacy group, over 20 percent of city revenue comes from municipal courts (making them the city’s second-largest source of revenue), which issued enough warrants last year to slap three warrants, $312 worth, on every household in the town."

I Am Love (2009) **

Beautifully photographed with an appealing cast but the central love affair is unconvincing and it's hard to feel for the characters.

Birdman (2014) ****

Original, funny, audacious and inventive. The entire cast is outstanding led by a career re-defining performance by Mr. Mom.

An Oral History of the Epic Space Film The Right Stuff | WIRED

"PHILIP KAUFMAN: We combined the great NASA footage with pieces that were built on the set. We were pioneering in that kind of insertion of actors into historical events. For example, we combined footage of the real Alan Shepard being loaded into the capsule with Scott Glenn doing it on the stage. We had Scott Glenn shaking hands with Kennedy; they did the same thing in Forrest Gump and made a big thing out of spending a million dollars to do it. We did that in one afternoon."

Moving from film stock to digital, at least so far, has achieved less creative results. All you have to do is animate the scene you want via CGI and show it in near darkness or with extreme short cuts so you can't really tell what is going on and the brain of the viewer fills in the blanks. Sad.

Quantum Experiment Shows How Time ‘Emerges’ from Entanglement — The Physics arXiv Blog — Medium

"The experiment involves the creation of a toy universe consisting of a pair of entangled photons and an observer that can measure their state in one of two ways. In the first, the observer measures the evolution of the system by becoming entangled with it. In the second, a god-like observer measures the evolution against an external clock which is entirely independent of the toy universe.

"The experimental details are straightforward. The entangled photons each have a polarisation which can be changed by passing it through a birefringent plate. In the first set up, the observer measures the polarisation of one photon, thereby becoming entangled with it. He or she then compares this with the polarisation of the second photon. The difference is a measure of time.

"In the second set up, the photons again both pass through the birefringent plates which change their polarisations. However, in this case, the observer only measures the global properties of both photons by comparing them against an independent clock.

"In this case, the observer cannot detect any difference between the photons without becoming entangled with one or the other. And if there is no difference, the system appears static. In other words, time does not emerge."

Genetically Modified Organisms Risk Global Ruin, Says Black Swan Author — The Physics arXiv Blog — Medium

"One of the arguments that genetically modified crops are safe is that it is no more unnatural than the selective farming that people have been doing for generations. However, Taleb and co argue that this kind of farming is different from the current practice because any mistake in the form of a harmful variation will almost certainly be localised and die out as a result. This is the natural process of selection.

"Over many generations, humans have chosen and adapted biological organisms that are relatively safe for consumption, even though there are many organisms that are not safe, including parts of and varieties of the crops that we do cultivate.

"By contrast, genetic engineering works in a very different way. This process introduces rapid changes on a global scale. But selection cannot operate on this scale, they argue.

“'There is no comparison between tinkering with the selective breeding of genetic components of organisms that have previously undergone extensive histories of selection and the top-down engineering of taking a gene from a fish and putting it into a tomato,' they argue. 'Saying that such a product is natural misses the process of natural selection by which things become “natural.”'”

Fading Gigolo (2013) ***

An appealing cast, just as long as it needs to be, interesting quirks, and Woody being "Woody" add up to an entertaining 90 minutes.

BBC News - Reagan's apology to Thatcher over Grenada revealed

"The release confirms that President Reagan secretly recorded his discussions in the White House situation room, a habit that was previously thought to have ended with Richard Nixon's departure from office."

I guess some habits are just too hard to break.

via @HealeyParera

Obamacare Architect Jon Gruber Says Deceiving Americans Necessary to Pass Bill | naked capitalism

"This recently-posted video (hat tip Daily Signal) shows Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber matter-of-factly stating that an honestly and simply described Obamacare would not have passed Congress. Preying on 'the stupidity of the American voter' was necessary to get the bill passed. Of course, Gruber deems that to be a good thing."

It's a shame we no longer prosecute fraud.

Interstellar (2014) **

The two stars are for a half dozen stunning space travel set pieces and some cool robots. Otherwise this is a bloated, heavy handed jumble of some of the hoariest sci-fi plot cliches ever filmed, and some troubling ultra-right messages. Very disappointing.

Alps (2011) ***

Follow up to Dogtooth is totally different yet very similar. Mind bending premise played out to horrific conclusions. Yorgos Lanthimos is a director to watch for.

Sophia Loren explains her infamous side eye in Jayne Mansfield photo | PopWatch | EW.com

"'She came right for my table. She knew everyone was watching. She sat down. And now, she was barely… Listen. Look at the picture. Where are my eyes? I’m staring at her nipples because I am afraid they are about to come onto my plate. In my face you can see the fear. I’m so frightened that everything in her dress is going to blow—BOOM!—and spill all over the table.'"

Jacques Pepin’s last series for KQED shares his 'Heart & Soul’ - San Francisco Chronicle

"He says it has not been any more emotional for him to film this series, even knowing this is his final one.

"After all, he’s adamant that this is not the last you’ll see of him. He plans to do a book tour next year, continue teaching at Boston University and the International Culinary Center, and appear at Aspen Food & Wine.

“'I’ll do the same as I’ve always done, but just less of it,' he says. 'I won’t become a hermit. There is no retirement. As long as I’m hungry, I will cook.'”

To me, his series are the best TV shows, not just cooking shows, ever.