Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
My wife was reading lists of romantic movies yesterday, and disparaging the lists. After reading them to me, she asked me what romantic movies I would recommend. We like these games.
Four movies came to mind after brief thought:
After realizing I’d given four, I decided I needed a fifth. “And of course, one of my favorite movies, ‘Blade Runner’.”
Pausing, she looked up in thought, and then smiled and nodded.
We saw ‘Lion’, starring Dev Patel and Mara Rooney at the theater today. Now I’m suitably grounded. Stories of refugees are heard and read daily. Less often do we hear of the orphans and poverty in places like India. All whip me for my smugness about my ‘difficulties’. Yes, we all recognize there are different types of struggles along Maslow’s hierarchy, and when we overcome the basic needs of food, shelter and security, we find new intellectual, technological and emotional complaints. My first world complaints about poor television quality available when I’m streaming, our ‘outrageous’ prices for goods and services and the lack of restaurants should be vanquished for a while.
As for the movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it. No flaws were noticed. The story is that of Saroo Brierly, who became separated from his family and lost when he was five years old in India in the late 1980s. Dev Patel plays the adult Saroo Brierly.I’ve always admired Dev Patel’s acting skills and he didn’t let me down. Sunny Pawar, the actor who played young Saroo, gave an excellent performance. It was impressive work for a first role. Nicole Kidman gave a strong performance, as did many others.
The first twenty to thirty minutes, exploring and developing what happened to Saroo and his brother, Guddu, were taut and gripping. My shoes were drenched by the film’s end, from my wife and others crying during so many emotional scenes. I, being a testosterone loaded man, didn’t cry nor sniffle. Yeah, right. Throughout, I admired Saroo and his relationship with his mother and brother and the desire to find them, cheering him on as he struggled through the effort. Adapted from the true story, the film is based on the book, ‘A Long Way Home’. Besides the title differences, HistoryvsHollywood.com reports few factual differences from the book.
The film has been nominated for six Academy Awards. It’s as worthy a contender as ‘LaLa Land’, ‘Hidden Figures’, ‘Moonlight’, ‘Silence’, ‘Arrival’, ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’, Manchester by the Sea’, ‘Loving’, and ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’. We’ve see all of these for this awards season.
We’re going to see the Oscar nominated short documentary films this afternoon. What of you? Have you seen any Oscar nominated flicks?
Some mental activity racing along my axons today.
Cheers
My wife had her book club last night. This is important in the sequence of events. With her present, I would not have watched ‘The Edge of Tomorrow’. It stars Tom Cruise.
She does not like Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise is, meh, to me. His acting doesn’t wow me but that means I set my expectations low. When they’re exceeded, I’m pleased. Most of his roles don’t require deep emotions. They’re generally action oriented. He’s required to show bewilderment, determination, and fearless resolve. He handles that fine.
I wanted to see ‘The Edge of Tomorrow’ because it’s a science-fiction film. Besides black humor, British humor, and drama, I enjoy science-fiction the best. It’s great if all of it can be combined in one film. I acknowledge, too, that I’m being redundant, calling out black humor and British humor as though they’re different. Well, they are; some British humor is silly humor.
I never read the original novel the movie was based on (‘All You Need is Kill’). I knew, from exposure, the general premise that Tom, as Major Cage, was trapped into repeating the same day again and again, and it was during a war with alien invaders. I winced when I saw his name was Cage and he was essentially caged by events, but that’s a personal problem for me. I knew, too, that he becomes a better soldier and saves the world through his groundhog day military life. I didn’t know the details.
I won’t share any more, though, so as not to give away further plot. I enjoyed the movie more than anticipated. It had fewer holes that I expected, and I didn’t find myself re-casting it. I particularly enjoyed Tom’s betrayal of Cage in the movie’s opening twenty minutes, as his paradigms are shifted for him.
Anyway, fun film, not too gritty or gory, not really violent as it’s all CGI. It’s worthwhile watching with a glass of wine when your spouse is out.
This song popped into my head yesterday while cleaning in the bathroom.
I don’t know why.
I rarely understand what causes the selections that stream into my iBrain for me to watch, hear and think about. It’s a bona fide mystery.
But it’s a fun tune, a bit older, of course. I know it from the movie, ‘Earth Girls Are Easy’. That was released in 1988. Let’s see, call it a romantic, science-comedy with musical overtones. It was an astonishing cast: Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, Charles Rocket, Jim Carrey, Damon Wayans, with others.
This song is ‘Cause I’m A Blonde’, by Downtown Julie Brown.
Walking around, I’ve just recognized how much my little town of Ashland, population about twenty grand, offers visitors and residents. Of course, it’s all about experiences here. On center stage is the the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Green Show (free) but there is also the annual Ashland International Film Festival. Southern Oregon University generate learning activities. Your reading fixes can be attended through Bloomsbury, the Book Exchange, and the Book Wagon.
Want a marijuana high or need a medical high? We have you covered. Marijuana is legal in our state, county, and town. Several dispensaries are here to guide you through your choices. You can smoke, vape or eat to fill your need, although you can’t do it out in public, as signs will remind you. Locally produced chocolates are made at Branson’s to handle that munchie or go to Market of Choice and ogle their pastries, breads, pies, cakes, cookies, scones and cheeses, or ice creams, pastries and gelato at Mix, on the plaza.
Prefer an amber or red ale, pilsner, IPA, porter, stout or lager? Local breweries, led by Caldera Brewing and Standing Stone Brewing, are doing great. Fill your growler at Gil’s or Growler Guys. Gil’s is alongside Ruby’s, where flavorful wraps and sandwiches can be ordered. Ruby’s and Gil’s share owners so you can buy at one place and consume the other. This is pretty cool; Ruby’s has patio sitting available where you can dine in sunshine. Gil’s patio is covered and has fire pits.
Growler Guys also have fire pits. Having a beer as the wind blows your face, the rain falls a few inches away, and a fire warms you as you watch people and cars pass is an an elemental experience.
If beer and grass aren’t to your taste, you can enjoy wines from multiple local vineyards, like Weisinger, literally down the street from me. Or zip across the valley to Belle Fiori. Don’t want to drink and drive? Don’t worry, you can enjoy tastings at several locations and the local wines are offered in multiple restaurants.
Yeah, like to eat? As a progressive town, vegans and vegetarians are taken care of, but places like Smithfields will satisfy carnivores. Lark’s is wonderful for more unique dining choices. Although we lack decent Mediterranean and Greek fares IMO, the downtown area and plaza can see you through yearnings for American, Sushi, Chinese, Mexican, English, French, and Italian. Martolli’s sells sensational pizzas whole and by the slice. Louie’s on the plaza is one of our favorite places to eat. Brothers, Breadboard, Morning Glory and Waffle Barn will do you for breakfast and lunch, but you can have an awesome Chicago style sandwich at Sammich. But the Ashland Food Co-op creates some of the best sandwiches and wraps, which are sold in several local stores and cafes.
Naturally, there is a farmer and grower’s market, run by the RV Growers. Fresh produce, prepared foods like pies are available at the Saturday’s Grower’s Market. The Tuesday’s Grower’s Market has a larger location, and food trucks are present to serve you as you shop. Coffee shops all over the place, less now than there were a few years ago. Noble Coffee is one of several places roasting and grinding their own coffee beans. Zoey’s handles local demands for ice cream and milkshakes. If your burden is clothing shopping, the downtown is full of new and used clothing stores and boutiques. Every Saturday during the summer and fall, the Art
Or just wander through Lithia Park by the creek, following the trails, or sitting by the ponds, watching ducks or enjoying the deer’s presence as they meander through town and the park, nibbling at plants and grasses, looking at you as you look at them.
It’s amazing. Prefer skiing, hit Mt Ashland. Want to venture further away, we’re located just off Interstate 5, seventeen miles north of the California border, less than three hundred miles from San Francisco to the south and Portland to the north, and there are many amazing places between those two.
I’d write more about it all, but I’m hungry.
The beer group met last night, and I attended. Naturally, conversations rotated around weather, movies, literature, science, Trump and murder.
The murder is the worse topic of the moment. A twelve-year-old boy, Zeke, stabbed his fifty-two-year-old Mother to death and injured his older sister. We were asking why this happened. Three of the beerites personally know the family. Zeke was a loner, without many friends. The family seemed well off, living in a 4,000 square foot home in a good location. They’d just moved in in 2015.
The father was away. He flew home to this situation yesterday afternoon, his wife in the morgue, killed by his son, his son in a juvenile lock-up, and his daughter in the hospital, injured by his son.
Returning to more comfortable topics, several members told of bad weather experiences, sliding off roads, breaking axles, encountering abandoned vehicles, having chains snap. Then it was to the movies, where nobody save me has seen anything recently except ‘Rogue One’.
That was astonishing; ‘Fences’ was a play here last year and several went to see it. It was mildly surprising to learn they didn’t see the movie. I’d seen the movie and was eager to discuss and the rest. A few were talking about going to see ‘La La Land’ because of the Golden Globe Awards won. None had seen ‘Manchester by the Sea’, ‘Loving’, ‘Moonlight’, ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’. Two others had seen ‘Arrival’. Most surprising was that none had seen ‘Hidden Figures’. Several of them were engineers in the space program in 1962 and were working on the problems highlighted in the movie. I’d think they’d want to see how the era was portrayed, if nothing else.
But no; they waxed on about different problems and the creative solutions found for them, and the challenges of new math, or of coping with the complexities of shifting variables very quickly and things never experienced before.
TRump, of course, was villified. Not all were Hillary supporters, but none present can stand TRump. With head-shaking and angry voices, we talked about his press conference, the urine leaks, the Conway interview with Seth Meyers, the recall of the ambassadors, and his plan to turn his finances over to family members.
Ed, celebrating his eighty-fourth year, bought the beer and pizza. The rest of us donated twenty dollars to the cause of supporting STEM in school and after-school activities in local poor and under-privileged areas.
The establishment was still offering that porter that we all detest, and will continue offering it until the keg is gone. Fortunately, we endured with some local Ashland Amber and Ninkasi’s Total Domination IPA. It was a good evening in the warmth of friendship, and a pleasant way to whittle off a few hours of life.
I’ve been thinking about the writing process once again, specifically my writing process.
Catching a piece of ‘Mike & Molly’ triggered the thinking. Molly, as a teacher, decides to write, and quickly and seemingly easily writes a book, finds a publisher, gets it published and so on. Although I know from other glimpses of the show that she struggled at times, the sitcom’s presentation of writing effort and success is the sort of sequence that makes me growl and pour a fresh glass of wine to guzzle my irritation. This is the sort of story-telling that makes people say, “I’ve always wanted to write a novel,” the sort of avenue of writing that makes other people ask, “Are you published yet?” Because it is just that fucking easy.
Everyone can present their own movies about writers and why they like them. I liked these movies because of their focus on writers and their processes, and the struggles they encounter while trying to write. These movies present the sense of battle that I feel I endure on frequent days, a sense of battle imposed by the tensions of living, struggling to write, coping with low self-esteem and pursuing a prize in isolation, all somehow with the sense and understanding that no matter what I write or achieve, I’ll probably never be happy with it.
‘Adaptation’. Number one, I’m a Charlie Kaufman fan. He wrote this screenplay. Number two, I’m a Spike Jonz fan, and he directed the film.
This movie has a good cast: Nicholas Cage as a writer, Charlie Kaufman, struggling to adapt ‘The Orchid Thief’, but then we have Tilda Swinton and Meryl Streep, Brian Cox and Chris Cooper, and Judy Greer and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Kaufman is going nuts trying to write the screenplay. In an interview given in 2002, Kaufman says, “The emotions that Charlie is going through are real and they reflect what I was goin’ through when I was trying to write the script.”
Then there is the question of Charlie Kaufman’s twin brother, who helps him write the movie. I often refer to my writing side as another person who happens to live in my shell, and that’s how I interpreted Donald Kaufman’s existence, since Donald is fictional.
‘Stranger than Fiction’. I’m not a huge Will Farrell fan. I like Emma Thompson but I was quite ready to not like this movie (because I am not a huge Will Farrell fan), so I was surprised that I enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed Emma T as Karen struggling with writer’s block and pensively thinking through what she wants to write, rejecting different approaches and hating herself and the world in the process…but also coming to grips with it all.
That, also, is part of the writing life.
‘Wonder Boys’. I’m once again influenced by the cast and inspiration here, as much as anything, considering myself a fan of Michaels Chabon and Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Francis McDormand, Alan Tudyk and Robert Downy, Jr.
This movie is about several writers as played by Douglas and Maguire. One is the aging, struggling novelist trying to publish another novel, whose novel is now over twenty-five hundred pages; the other is a brilliant young talent (Maguire) on the verge of his career.
‘Barfly’. Kind of based on Charles Bukowski’s life, this is a gritty portrayal of the complications that haunt humans, including writers. Our writer in this movie is Henry. As so many are, Henry is self-aware and intelligent but victimizes himself and his supporters by his inability to deal with his flaws. And so, he begins and ends the movie changed but the same, fighting with the bartender in back of the bar.
Charles Bukowski wrote the screenplay. Mickey Rourke played the fictionalized version of Bukowski, Henry.
Honorable Mention:
‘Death at A Funeral’. I’ve never seen the American version of this film, just the original British, which represents a great example of British black humor.
The Brit version’s cast includes Peter Dinklage, Alan Tudyk, Keely Hawes, Jane Asher, Matthew Macfadyen and Rupert Graves. Macfadyen and Graves play brothers who are writers. Graves is successful, living it up in New York and fawned upon by everyone as the famous writer while Macfadyen has remained at home, coping with his parents and his marriage and struggling to write a novel. This is carried through into the writing of the eulogy; Macfadyen’s character, Daniel, is writing it, and everyone is disappointed that his brother, Robert (played by Graves), isn’t writing it.
That’s the basic premise of their relationship. I don’t want to spoil the movie by revealing more.
I’m not an expert on these matters, or a pro critic or anything. Please, offer your take on any movies that attract your interest because of their portrayal of writers.
I always want more.
I went to the theaters three times this week. Saw three different movies and ate half of a box of Hot Tamales.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Academy darling Eddie Redmayne stars in this movie adapted from J.K. Rowlings’ work. A fantastic idea with lots of extrapolation of earlier ideas presented, this is a popcorn movie. The Harry Potter world expands into America and adulthood. There is light love, light comedy, light suspense and expected resolution. It’s a visual movie, and in my experience, movies dependent on visuals play longer.
Which it did.
Rotten Tomatoes rates it at 74. I put the assessment a little higher: 79.
Amy Adams is the star of ‘Arrival’. Again, we experience many ideas previously presented but with a few interesting twists of quantum mechanics and human biology. Like ‘Somewhere In Time‘ (Christopher Reeves and Jane Seymour, 1980) this movie delivers more questions than answers. It’s a fun exercise and experience. I do feel that Jeremy Renner, an actor whose work I enjoy, is under-utilized, and the ads stating that Amy Adams is a linguist leading a team seems a little misleading, as she does most of the solving. There is rarely a sense of teamwork. It’s more about her hunt for the solution and how it fits into her personal grief.
Rotten Tomatoes gives it at 94 but I assess it at 90.
Barry Jenkins is the writer and director behind this movie. Brutal and human, depicting humanities’ complexities, fragility and strength, this is more like a play in three acts. I enjoyed the acting, directing and writing. There are gaps; nothing is cleanly explained, and pain and love is endured, much like most of our messy lives. I prefer fiction where full explanations aren’t given.
The RT rating is 98, and I agree.
Coming Attractions offers many interesting choices.
One movie that wasn’t presented but I know is coming is another ‘Blade Runner’ movie. You know I’m getting ready for it.
Michael Seidel, writer 