Misery Compounded
Reviews and Comments by Ken Burke
I invite you to join me on a regular basis to see how my responses to current cinematic offerings compare to the critical establishment, which I’ll refer to as either the CCAL (Collective Critics at Large) when they’re supportive or the OCCU (Often Cranky Critics Universe) when they go negative.
Opening Chatter (no spoilers): This photo 👆(focus on the large image of the woman with a cap, glasses, and smile) features my marvelous wife, Nina Kindblad, secure in her cutout form at the Oakland Coliseum (section 139, row 42, seat 2) where this avatar of her Oakland Athletics fandom cheers on the A’s who earlier this week become the American League Western Division champs for the first time since 2013. Both she and I sent in our photos (as noted in the Opening Chatter of Two Guys’ August 20, 2020 posting) as other fans have been doing for the A’s and many other teams in this COVID-impacted-season (fees for such to charity), so hopefully her cutoff will continue to witness more victories as the playoffs begin next week on Sept. 29th (oddly enough, my photo never made it into a cutout through some snafu so her image is also in section 138, row 39, although you can’t see that one as easily in the panoramic view of the ballpark that I zeroed in on to bring you this shot of Nina). So, go A’s (!) all the way to this asterisk-bound-version of the World Series due to end late October. Please note, though, another important happening next week: no new posting from Two Guys in the Dark (we’ll be back on roughly Oct. 8, 2020, though). Nina’s birthday comes around next week (a significant one, 70) so we’re chancing getting away for a few days, driving down the CA coast to Cambria (where my parents once stayed for a short time before Dad was shipped off for his contribution to WW II in the Philippines, Mom then back to Texas) for a few days to celebrate (masking/social-distancing all the way, of course). We’ll be following the A’s playoff action from afar, cheering them on to victories (?) while Nina’s double-images in the outfield gives an added sense of our presence. (She’s probably the only one in the place with 2 cutouts; we’re hoping that special status conveys some magical help to the guys on the field as well.)
OK, on to what’s this blog’s supposed to be about, film reviews, where I’ve got 2 for you this week because maybe that much chatter—along with my TCM cable recommendations much farther below—will provide enough cinematic-content for you to read about/watch to get you through the tragic loss of nothing new from Two Guys in the Dark for a couple of weeks. (Of course, if this isn’t enough you can also work your way through the Two Guys extensive archive on the right side of this page, look over our Summary of Reviews, match any interest there with JustWatch to find out where you might be able to stream something [however, if you’re as retrograde as me, you could consult Netflix for an actual DVD]; failing all that, one other possibility, on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 9-10:30 ET on most major TV networks, is the first Presidential Debate of 2020 between Donald Trump and Joe Biden [or, if you’re trying to avoid politics for as long as possible, you could watch/record/re-watch football games from the previous/upcoming weekends and/or jump into the start of Major League Baseball’s postseason—see, the possibilities are endless, even if none of them are quite the thrill of reading the latest fabulously-well-informed-yammerings from Two Guys in the Dark].) What could also easily fill your time, though, is unraveling the interwoven-plot-strands from The Devil All the Time, a fascinating-although-emotionally-brutal-film (using some on-screen-violence but not nearly as much as there could be considering the themes of this story) with enough narrative-twists to keep you busy for awhile making sense of it all while contemplating the consequences of how lives take nasty turns in these backwoods locales in a timeframe spanning the end of WW II to the intensification of the Vietnam War where little goes right for almost anyone just trying to arrive whole in following scenes.
Also, in the Short Takes section I’ll encourage you to watch/ruminate on a very-timely-documentary, The Social Dilemma, about how the ever-present-impact of extensive social media on our lives is manipulating us in ways we might not fully be aware of, which is causing us to invest ourselves in algorithm-determined-choices meant to do little more than enhance the profits of enormous tech companies and abundant advertisers; plus, in that section I’ll offer suggestions for some choices on the Turner Classic Movies channel (but too much extra text for line-justified-layout like you see here [Related Links stuff at each posting’s end is similarly-ragged], at least to be done by this burned-out-BlogSpot-drone—oh, tedious software!) along with my standard dose of industry-related-trivia. Both films reviewed this week are available free from Netflix streaming if you’re a subscriber.
Here’s the trailer for The Devil All the Time:
(Use the full screen button in the image’s lower right to enlarge it; activate
that same button or use the “esc” keyboard key to return to normal size.)
If you can abide plot spoilers read on, but this blog’s intended for those who’ve seen the film or want to save some $. To help any of you who want to learn more details yet avoid those important plot-reveals I’ll identify any give-away sentences/sentence-clusters like this:
⇒The first and last words will be noted with arrows and red.⇐ OK, now continue on if you prefer.
What Happens: (This plot's somewhat-convoluted—or, maybe just interestingly-constructed—so bear with me as I hope to bring it all together by the end; oh, wait, if you don’t want to read my spoiler sentences farther below you won’t make it to the end, so hustle on over to your TV, call up Netflix streaming, watch the film so you can possibly fill any gaps from my blued-review-parts. In the meantime, you could watch this short video [5:26] on what to know before seeing The Devil …, where you’ll find no spoilers, just notations of major themes along with background info on major actors and the director. In my summary, though, I’ll mostly follow the film’s events in chronological order despite the on-screen-flow often constructed in flashbacks.) With ongoing clarifications from an off-screen-narrator, we learn that in 1945 ex-Marine Willard Russell (Bill SkarsgÃ¥rd) was on his way home to Coal Creek, WV from combat in the South Pacific when he stopped at a diner about 10 hours away in Meade, OH where he’s impressed with a waitress, Charlotte (Haley Bennett), because she takes a break to go into the alley, give some food to a homeless man who’s been chased away by the manager (although we won’t know the implications of this for awhile, on that same day photographer Carl Henderson [Jason Clarke] meets Sandy [Riley Keough] in that same diner; later, they’ll be married, just like Will and Charlotte). In Will’s final leg of the trip he’s being driven by Uncle Earskell (David Atkinson), Mom Emma’s (Kristin Griffith) brother, presented with a present by Will, a German Luger pistol, supposedly the one used in Adolph Hitler’s suicide (Earskell’s dubious of the gun’s heritage [as am I] but accepts it anyway). Back home, Emma’s determined Will should marry local girl Helen Hatton (Mia Wasikowska), but his interest lies with Charlotte; that problem’s resolved in 1950 when Helen becomes enchanted with an evangelical preacher, Roy Laferty (Harry Melling), who practices overcoming fear by covering his head with spiders, accompanied on guitar by his cousin Theodore (Pokey LaFarge); Helen marries Roy, although Will made his decision a couple of years earlier because when he moves his family (Charlotte and their 9-year-old-son Arvin [Michael Banks Repeta]) to a very small town (pop. 400), Knockemstiff, OH (an actual place, near Meade)—where they settle in a rustic cabin (no running water) in the woods—it’s now 1957. Most everyone in this rural hamlet’s related somehow, indicating the chronic-misery this film’s well-designed to explore.
We’ll need to backtrack a little, though, because within those previous years Helen and Roy had a little girl, Lenora (Ever Eloise Landrum), left by her parents to stay with Emma and Earskell for a few days while the Lafertys take a short trip as Roy’s coming out of a 2-week-seclusion so no one would see him swollen up from being bitten by a spider; now, he’s full of “God’s calling” again, thinking he has the power to resurrect the dead so in the Ohio woods he kills Helen with a screwdriver but fails to bring her back to life (all the while Theodore’s watching from the back seat of their car). Roy buries Helen (she’s found years later), then sets off for WV to retrieve Lenora (in 1957 if I’m correct).
Back at the Russell residence (which the earnest parents are saving up to buy, hoping to fully set down roots), Will’s constructed a wooden cross near the house where he frequently prays, largely to assuage his emotional-suffering over a wartime atrocity (one of several events shown in flashback) where he found Japanese soldiers had crucified Marine Sgt. Miller Jones who wasn’t dead yet so Will shot him to relieve his suffering. One day while praying with Arvin, Will overhears a couple of passing local hunters joke about raping Charlotte so, later, after explaining to his boy about the world being full of sons-of-bitches who need to be taken to task when the timing’s right he drives into the village with his son (whom he’s encouraged to be more aggressive toward kids who are picking on him), brutally attacks the 2 guys, beating them bloody. Trying to protect Charlotte doesn’t do much good, though, because she dies of cancer leading to grief-stricken-Will killing himself with a knife so as to join her in the afterlife. Local cop Lee Bodecker (Sebastian Stan) takes Arvin to WA to live with his grandmother, in the process the kid becomes a step-brother to little Lenora because neither parent returned—Roy was picked up on the road (after slipping away from Theodore the morning after Helen’s death) by Carl and Sandy (remember them?) with a homicidal-kink of encouraging hitchhikers to have sex with Sandy while Carl photographs them, after which the confused guy’s killed; Roy refused the sex, was killed by Carl anyway. Oh, did I mention Sandy is Lee’s sister? So even though he knows she also functions as a local prostitute he overlooks it, avoiding scandal-tainting as he runs for office, eventually elected Sheriff in this gruesome Meade-Knockemstiff region.
We then shift to 1965 where Earskell gives Arvin (now played by Tom Holland) the Luger for his birthday (gratefully accepted), Arvin follows Dad’s philosophy of taking revenge on the wicked by singularly beating up 3 bullies who’ve frequently harassed Lenora (now played by Eliza Scanlen). Arvin’s also continued Will’s fervent investment in religion but not for the new, popular preacher (as best I got it, Earskell’s nephew who comes to this community after Arvin's Great Uncle goes away somewhere with an illness), Reverend Preston Teagardin (Robert Pattinson), there to replace missing-Roy, then he embarrasses Emma by commenting at a community dinner how chicken livers a poor parishioner (Emma) brought are as worthy as the finer meats offered by others (she takes it as an insult). ⇒Unfortunately, Lenora’s smitten with Teagardin, goes into the woods in his car, is seduced into sex (despite Preston’s young, pretty wife, Cynthia [Lucy Faust]), gets pregnant even as the pastor denies paternity (to save his reputation), encourages her to commit suicide which she sets out to do, changes her mind but accidently slips, hanging herself anyway; Arvin follows Teagardin into the woods, sees him having sex with another girl, confronts him in the church, then shoots him after more denials. Arvin goes on the run only to be picked up by ever-present-Carl and Sandy. Through an intense struggle, Arvin manages to kill both of them (inadvertently aided by Carl’s mistrust of his wife [she'd packed to leave him at one point, changed her mind] so the gun she had wasn’t loaded), then heads back to Knockemstiff; by now Lee’s learned of his sister’s violent crimes but burns all her photos so as to further protect her; he also makes the correct assumption Arvin’s responsible for Teagardin’s death so he’s on the trail of the boy. They have a shootout in the woods near the abandoned Russell shack, Arvin the victor again, after which he buries the Luger near his Dad’s makeshift cross. When we last see him he’s hitchhiking, picked up by a guy on his way to Cincinnati; Arvin begins to doze listing to the radio where President Lyndon Johnson’s declaring the U.S. won't be intimidated/beaten by force in Vietnam so our story ends with us unclear whether Arvin is ready to somehow move away from his life of violence or if he’s going to volunteer for the Army.⇐
So What? If, by now, you don’t have enough detail about this film from seeing it yourself (which I highly encourage even though you might find it a bit off-putting at times or maybe take offense at the depiction of the clergy—neither Roy nor Preston offer much in the way of redeeming qualities, but they’re not intended to represent all purveyors of the Holy Word [certainly Will’s faith is sincere, although he’s obsessed with it at times—almost demanding God not take Charlotte when she’s on her deathbed, then kills Jack, the family dog, as a sacrifice—nor is he any example of “turning the other cheek” where he feels revenge is needed, a trait he clearly conveys to Arvin]) you can get other tidbits about it from this video (8:42, but spoilers abound!) which, among other items, lets us know the author of the novel (same title, 2011) this film’s adapted from (after reading a summary I’d say the film largely follows the book’s narrative), Donald Ray Pollock, actually grew up in Knockemstiff; further, he serves as that consistent narrator for the film increasing the connection between the 2 works (also, his own child is used for baby Arvin in one scene). Of course, this story’s not all that supportive of lawmen either, at least where Lee’s concerned—while he’s complicit in his sister’s murders later, when we first see him he’s in a car with his girlfriend talking of the time when they’ll have a nicer place to cuddle so she won’t have to keep jacking him off in a Pepsi cup (which we get a clear implication of). Moreover, there are some other deaths and unsavory aspects of this story I haven’t even included in my plot summary, but I think you’ll get the idea enough of what’s happening here, what impact it might possibly have on you as a viewer, so if you’re intrigued I again encourage you to seek out watching The Devil All the Time, an apt title for these seemingly-cursed, downtrodden communities where only Emma doesn’t seem to be directly or indirectly connected to unsavory situations. (As best I can recall, she just disappears from the timeline; though likely with a lonely death as there doesn’t seem to be a lot of true love or empathy in these communities, which I hope weren’t so badly-miserable/infected with evil when prize-winning-author Pollock grew up there.)
I find The Devil … to be successfully evoking Fargo, in both its fabulous-film (Joel Coen, 1996) and well-conceived TV series incarnations (FX network, 2014-present [4th season beginning on Sunday, September 27, 2020 with Chris Rock, Jason Schwartzman, Jessie Buckley, Ben Whishaw, Timothy Olyphant]), also with some allusions to There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007). Maybe you wouldn’t give this new film that valuable a pedigree (indirect as it may be), but unless you’d be totally repulsed by it I think you’d be impressed enough with what happens, even though there’s little in terms of morality, attraction, nor inspiration to be found in either the circumstances or most of the characters. That may sound like faint praise, but instead I mean to give solid encouragement toward The Devil All the Time while acknowledging it’s disturbingly-creepy as it probes, explores, exposes the darker sides—in varying degrees of repulsiveness—of our frequently-denied, frail human nature.
Bottom Line Final Comments: If you’d do a little Internet search, though (which those interviewed in the film below, soon to be reviewed, might likely encourage you to never do again) you’d find the OCCU’s not nearly as enthusiastic as I am in supporting The Devil All the Time, with the Rotten Tomatoes critics only providing 65% positive reviews (from 140 surveyed, so they’re definite about their decisions) while the folks at Metacritic are their usual-less-supportive-selves with just a 54% average score. I can’t help it if they’re not as insightful as I am about the successful aspects of this film, with my often-respected Stephanie Zacharek of TIME typical of those who reject me, thoroughly dismiss it: “But mostly, The Devil All the Time is just a pileup of awful people doing terrible things, for no reason other than to prove how wretched humans can be. The template is pure Southern Gothic, but without the subtlety of top-drawer practitioners of the genre, like Flannery O’Connor and William Faulkner. […] as understated as a freight train rolling round the bend. [… ] Watching it is like spending two hours and change on a hard church pew, with nothing to show but a few splinters. Deliver us from evil—please.” Conversely, I can turn to a guy I know directly, Randy Myers of The [San Jose, CA] Mercury News, for support (while writing in a concise style I could only hope to emulate): “Campos has made a shattering portrait of religion and violence, a knotty, expressive work that bores deep into the soul of America.” So, either trust my tastes (not always a safe bet!) or slowly back away from The Devil … as your sensibilities may dictate. It’s free, easy to locate for subscribers to Netflix streaming.
But even if this film’s morbid-premise doesn’t appeal to you maybe you’ll still enjoy my chosen Musical Metaphor for its contents: What else but the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” (on their 1968 Beggars Banquet album) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f47TZePukuQ with Satan’s celebration of the deaths of Christ, the Romanoff Czar and his family, WW II soldiers, John and Robert Kennedy, along with eons of human waste and destruction where, paralleling the nefarious doings in this film, you’re right to wonder “the nature of my game” because it all seems so cruel and unnecessary, leaving us to wonder what Arvin’s learned in the process. What the Stones learned about “fire is the devil’s only friend”* came in their ill-fated-headlining of the 1969 Altamont Speedway concert (here’s a a much shorter account of that horrid event if you prefer)—east of Oakland and Livermore, CA—where the poor decision of hiring the Hell’s Angels to “police” the stage led to the stabbing death of concert-attendee Meredith Hunter by Angel Alan Passaro** so here's footage (8:39) of the song from then to show intentions gone terribly wrong, not unlike mistaken directions of many of the characters in The Devil All the Time. However, to try to end things here on a less bleak note—as we hope's the case for Arvin—here’s another live Stones performance (in Zilker Park, Austin TX [my old hometown], 2006) with no violence, just frantic activity from Mick Jagger in command of the stage, although for some of us any rendition of this song brings back memories of Altamont's events, hard to shake once you’ve seen the Maysles film (noted just below).
*A lyric about Altamont from Don McLean’s “American Pie,” song & album of the same name (1971).
** Given the band’s reaction to seeing themselves at this event I’d say this footage is from the doc that recorded/critiqued it, Gimme Shelter (Albert and David Maysles, 1970), but it’s been too long since I’ve seen that film to verify. Hunter’s death came during the Stones’ set, although there’s plenty of blame to go around as he's (high by some accounts) carrying a pistol while trying to get up on the stage, prevented by (likely-drunk) “security forces” paid with $500 of beer for their “services.”
SHORT TAKES (spoilers also appear here)
The Social Dilemma (Jeff Orlowski) rated PG-13
A challenging documentary exploring in useful detail the largely-unrecognized (or mistakenly-denied) impact of ubiquitous social media platforms constantly demanding our attention not so much for our benefit but more for the financial desires of big tech companies and oh-so-many-advertisers; testimony from key players in this industry, voicing their concerns about what they helped to create.
Here’s the trailer for The Social Dilemma:
Before reading further, please refer to the plot spoilers warning detailed far above.
If you’d like to find something less-disturbing than The Devil All the Time I’m afraid I can’t help you much with this documentary, The Social Dilemma—also free to subscribers of Netflix streaming— a concise (94 min.) exploration of the fears many have concerning the dominance of social media (with all its distortions, manipulations, addictions) in our world, the dire-concerns voiced here by people formerly of Google, Facebook, Pinterest, etc., along with academics and policy researchers, many of whom have contributed to the very situation they’re now condemning. While this is mostly direct-to-camera-testimony from these various people, there are also some actor-enactments of situations to illustrate what the commentators are talking about along with 3 human-manifestations of artificial intelligence giving us a sense of how the algorithms embedded in all of these Internet platforms are programmed to seek out probable attractions for computer users (most likely done on miniature devices, our cellphones) to constantly lure, retain, increase our attention, all for the benefit of advertisers attempting to mold our purchase “needs,” sociopolitical-manipulators wanting to convince us of the viability of their propaganda, and the tech giants themselves whose profits rise to enormous levels due to all this cyberspace activity. The content of this doc is easily absorbed, self-explanatory when watching it so I’ll just encourage you to do so rather than repeat all of its messages, although here are a couple of quotes from those used to drive home the main points: “Nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse.”—Sophocles; also note that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”—Arthur C. Clarke. Major concerns as well are noted about how all of our online activity is being monitored, fashioned into other strategies to grab us, keep us hooked, with attention given to how teenagers over the last decade are feeling more isolated, anxious, depressed in desperate search for enough “Likes” toward their existence, further increasing these platforms’ strategies for offering mediated comfort, just as truth becomes harder to discern within the flood of actual “fake news” being promoted by social manipulators, not the sincere attempts of legitimate news organizations to help us navigate all the disinformation we are bombarded with daily.
Still, despite all of these problems even those most worried about them have trouble articulating what the fundamental dangers are nor do they have much to offer in the way of solutions except to turn off notifications from all those various “news”/personal feeds so you’re not spending your time constantly being enticed to stay “informed.” Yet, even with the marvelous intentions of this film, it has its legitimate critics such as comedian John Crist (15:26) who generally agrees with/praises the contents of The Social Dilemma (using some useful—often quickly funny—visual inserts to enhance his direct-to-camera-approach) even as he questions the more-extreme-predictions for humanity’s future vs. this A.I.-driven-technology, notes the public already has negative attitudes toward social media that should mitigate some of its impact, and faults these producers for maintaining their own website to follow up on the doc’s contents where they also use “cookies” to track the activities of those who use their site; therefore, while I’m in complete agreement with the warning being raised by Orlowski and his commentators I do think we all need to take more active responsibility (more so than waiting on government regulation) for how we allow ourselves to be taken over by such social media presence* as well as continue to be aware of further/counter-arguments to what’s presented in this film, as with a Slate article: “But who gets to convey this information and how it is framed are also crucial. Amplifying voices who have always had a seat at the table and continuing to ignore those who haven’t will not lead us any closer to resolving the dilemma the film claims to present.” Nevertheless, the CCAL’s in strong support here with RT critics giving 88% positive reviews, those at MC with a 78% average score. An easy Musical Metaphor would be “I Put a Spell on You” (used in the film)—originally from “Screaming Jay” Hawkins in 1956, covered by many since then (take a look here if you like)—but I’m going to be more subtle by using Brian Wilson’s “Girl Don’t Tell Me” (from The Beach Boys 1965 Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!) album) at https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=C4gmoA4XrdA as being truly more in keeping with the film’s ultimate intentions of realizing you’ve been falsely-seduced, then making a decision not to fall for someone's lies anymore.
*While I try to limit myself as much as possible in the use of this stuff (no Twitter, Instagram, etc.) I do admit to my near-daily-perusal of Facebook (along with using it to attempt helping my efforts in attracting readers to this [advertising-free!] blog) to see what various people I know around the country/world are up to, trying to not get too wrapped up in political diatribes many are posting (although I do easily click “Like” for those I agree with). Further, when researching info for these postings I’m often drawn to what easily comes up in a Google search for a film’s title so I make no claim to be “above” any concerns raised by testimony in The Social Dilemma, even when I’d prefer it.
Suggestions for TCM cablecasts
At least until the pandemic subsides Two Guys also want to encourage you to consider movies you might be interested in that don’t require subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon Prime, similar Internet platforms (we may well be stuck inside for longer than those 30-day-free-initial-offers), or premium-tier-cable-TV-fees. While there are a good number of video networks offering movies of various sorts (mostly broken up by commercials), one dependable source of fine cinematic programming is Turner Classic Movies (available in lots of basic-cable-packages) so I’ll be offering suggestions of possible choices for you running from Thursday afternoon of the current week (I usually get this blog posted by early Thursday mornings) on through Thursday morning of the following week. All times are U.S. Eastern Daylight so if you see something of interest please verify actual show time in your area for the day listed. These recommendations are my particular favorites (no matter when they’re on, although some of those early-day-ones might need to be recorded, watched later), but there’s considerably more to pick from you might like better; feel free to explore their entire schedule here. You can also click on that + sign at the right of each listing to get additional, useful info.
I’ll bet if you checked that entire schedule link just above you’d find other options of interest, but these are the only ones grabbing my attention at present. Please dig in further for other possibilities.
Monday September 28, 2020
2:00 AM Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus, 1959) Brazilian film (subtitles!) made by a French director as a realistic-yet-lyrical retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus going into the underworld, attempting to bring his lover, Eurydice, back to life, using a good bit of music and a Carnaval setting. Orfeu's a trolley driver who meets newcomer Eurydice when she first arrives in Rio de Janeiro; from there it references the myth without directly transcribing it at all times. Oscar for Bes Foreign Language Film.
Wednesday September 30, 2020
6:00 PM Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955) Iconic James Dean role, a strong contender for best of his 3 powerful cinematic appearances (before his untimely death), as he plays a troubled teen whose independent streak just brings more difficulties from adults (including his parents) and a local gang, even as he tries to distance himself from his problems, escape from all of this hostility into a new life with his new friends (Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo), but further crises swirl around them.
Thursday October 1, 2020
8:00 PM La Strada (Federico Fellini, 1954) Cinema masterpiece, shows Fellini’s roots in Neorealism as he moves here somewhat in the realm of Lyrical Realism (before his full shift into Modernism). Story of a brutish strongman circus performer (Anthony Quinn) who buys a woman (Giulietta Masina) from a poor family to be his assistant, treats her badly, is violent toward a tightrope walker (Richard Basehart) who tries to befriend her. Superb acting. Won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Friday October 2, 2020
4:15 PM A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood, 1935) One of the most famous of Marx Brothers movies (just Groucho, Harpo, and Chico; Zeppo left the act) but, as their first with MGM, tamer than earlier work at Paramount so now the plot’s somewhat more coherent plus there are several musical numbers (including actual opera) added. Essentially, it’s an ocean liner trip from Italy to the U.S. (features the famous overcrowded-stateroom-scene) so an aspiring singer can become a big star.
8:00 PM Dracula (Tod Browning, 1931) The technology employed here looks a bit primitive by contemporary standards, the action’s not graphic at all compared to later tellings of the tale of this legendary, ageless vampire, but Bela Lugosi as the Count will always make this version worth a look (at 85 minutes it also doesn’t take too much of your time); somewhat follows Bram Stoker’s novel but considerably streamlined. Begins Universal Studio’s decades-run of memorable monster movies.
Saturday October 3, 2020
2:15 PM Key Largo (John Huston, 1948) Here’s another crucial gangster story, more in the film noir realm as exiled gangster Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson, alluding to his earlier Rico role in Little Caesar [1931]) is smuggled back into the country during a Florida hurricane where he and his gang take hotel occupants Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore hostage. Claire Trevor as Rocco’s desperate-for-a-drink-moll, Gaye Dawn, won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
8:00 PM Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) Oscar winner as Best Picture, Best Director (5 more) in this history-based-version of Brit T.E. Lawrence working with desert-dwelling Arabs against Ottoman Empire Turks in WW I, starring Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Alec Guinness, Claude Rains, José Ferrer, many others; monumental visuals calling for a decent-size widescreen format to see it on (no cell phones!) as well as time to spare because it runs for about 3½ hours.
Sunday October 4, 2020
9:00 PM The General (Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton, 1927) Considered by film historians as one of the greatest of silent films (no worries; soundtrack and intertitles provided for this cablecast) with Keaton as a Confederate railroad engineer during the Civil War when his prized train, The General, is stolen by Union forces so he gives chase. With our contemporary special effects unavailable when a bridge collapses, destroying a train, that’s all full-scale, grandly-authentic.
Tuesday October 6, 2020
3:30 AM Hamlet (Laurence Olivier, 1948) Masterful but slimmed-down version of Shakespeare’s masterpiece (no Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, or Fortinbras; still runs 155 min.—only Kenneth Branagh used the entire play [1996], his version runs 242 min.), Oscar winner for Best Picture, Actor (Olivier), B&W Art Direction-Set Decoration, B&W Costume Design. “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” for sure; what’s our conflicted prince going to do about it (you might repeatedly ask)?
9:45 AM Dinner at Eight (George Cukor, 1933) Another Hollywood classic adapted from a play, this grand comedy (95% on Rotten Tomatoes, although based on just 19 reviews) with a plot as thin as most 1930s musicals is still marvelous to watch in execution as major MGM stars of the day—among them Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Berry, Jean Harlow, Lionel Barrymore, Billie Burke (no relation to me)—endure various connived-complications to propel us toward the titular dinner.
If you’d like your own PDF of ratings/summaries of this week's reviews, suggestions for TCM cablecasts, links to Two Guys info click this link to access then save, print, or whatever you need.
Other Cinema-Related Stuff: Some items of possible interest: (1) U.S. movie theaters expect a difficult autumn this year; (2) Early Oscar-nominees-predictions in most of the categories; no comment, as I’ve had no chance to see most of these (some may become ineligible if they’re not released somehow within the next few months); (3) More new releases, including Black Widow and West Side Story pushed back (article includes a long list of releases planned for 2020-2021). As usual for now I’ll close out this section with Joni Mitchell’s "Big Yellow Taxi" (from her 1970 Ladies of the Canyon album)—because “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone”—and my reminder you can search for streaming/rental/purchase movie options at JustWatch.
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Here’s more information about The Devil All the Time:
https://www.netflix.com/title/81028870 (a standard Netflix skimpy official site)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k_aLC5jR2w (9:34 explores themes in the film, uses quotes from the director about his intentions but does get clearly into spoiler territory [ads interrupt at about 2:20, 4:40, 7:30])
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_devil_all_the_time
https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-devil-all-the-time
Here’s more information about The Social Dilemma:
https://www.netflix.com/title/81254224 (another skimpy Netflix official site)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwejNxoFkzk (6:08 the 5 most important takeaways from this documentary [if you have any trouble following this man’s accent use the little CC button on the lower right of the video screen to get closed captions])
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_social_dilemma
https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-social-dilemma
Please note that to Post a Comment below about our reviews you need to have either a Google account (which you can easily get at https://accounts.google.com/NewAccount if you need to sign up) or other sign-in identification from the pull-down menu below before you preview or post. You can also leave comments at our Facebook page, although you may have to somehow connect
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If you’d rather contact Ken directly rather than leaving a comment here please use my email address of kenburke409@gmail.com—type it directly if the link doesn’t work. (But if you truly have too much time on your hands you might want to explore some even-longer-and-more-obtuse-than-my-film-reviews-academic-articles about various cinematic topics at my website, https://kenburke.academia.edu, which could really give you something to talk to me about.)
If we did talk, though, you’d easily see how my early-70s-age informs my references, Musical Metaphors, etc. in these reviews because I’m clearly a guy of the later 20th century, not so much the contemporary world. I’ve come to accept my ongoing situation, though, realizing we all (if fate allows) keep getting older, we just have to embrace it, as Joni Mitchell did so well in "The Circle Game" offering sage advice even when she was quite young herself.
By the way, if you’re ever at The Hotel California knock on my door—but you know what the check-out policy is so be prepared to stay for awhile (quite an eternal while, in fact). Ken
P.S. Just to show that I haven’t fully flushed Texas out of my system here’s an alternative destination for you, Home in a Texas Bar, with Gary P. Nunn and Jerry Jeff Walker. But wherever the rest of my body may be my heart’s always with my longtime-companion, lover, and wife, Nina Kindblad, so here’s our favorite shared song—Neil Young’s "Harvest Moon"
—from the performance we saw at the Desert Trip concerts in Indio, CA on October 15, 2016 (as a full moon was rising over the stadium) because “I’m still in love with you,” my dearest, a never-changing-reality even as the moon waxes and wanes over the months/years to come.
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Finally, for the data-oriented among you, Google stats say over the past month the total unique hits at this site were 9,927 (as always, we thank all of you for your ongoing support with our hopes you’ll continue to be regular readers); below is a snapshot of where and by what means those responses have come from within the previous week (with appreciation for all those unspecified “Others” also):
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