How To Write A Poem

Rhyme
if you can't rhyme
Illiterate
if you can't illiterate
Speak truth

Cabin Weekend

Went up to a cabin in WI for my bachelor party, it was really fun to bring together and spend time with people I care about from different parts of my life. Things have been stressful with the wedding coming up quickly, work, and some other personal stuff so it was really nice and needed to get away for a bit.

Botox

Firstly
what is so desirable about youth
or the appearance of youth

what is so unwelcome about wrinkles

about the marks left by time

the cumulative traces of joys and worries

the streaks of myriad smiles

the signs of untold frowns

the ghosts of brows knitted in countless contemplations

the effect of that undeniable and ever-present gravity

which keeps us lovingly bound to our benefacting Mother

why deny these truths 

are they not crucial parts in the complex equation

that strung together make up the flesh and blood vessel in which our self resides

why judge and reject the body which does nothing but what we ask it to

Secondly

it doesn't work

no one is fooled

the result of botox

is appearing like you have gotten botox

Unhinged' A Review

Unhinged is a thriller about psychopathic cuck Tom(Russell Crowe) who opens the movie by killing his ex-wife and her new partner with a hammer. Rachel(Caren Pistorius) is a couple steps shy of a full blow Karen and when she honks to long at Tom in traffic he starts terrorizing her and killing those close to her.

Got to give it to him Crowe is giving this unmitigated hound of a script everything he's got. He has a deliciously over the top southern drawl, he glowers, he snarls, he grins with relish but even with all his star power he can't elevate this trash. Pistorius is out of her depth, unable to do free herself from the swamp of the script and the not particularly sympathetic character which she plays(even though the script makes repeated attempts to make her so). 

The movie opens with some idiotic fear mongering about road rage and is very transparently a rip off of 1993's Falling Down but the reason that movie was effective, but has certainly become problematic, is the gradual reveal of it's central character, the fact he is at first sympatric, we agree with some of his opinions if not his actions, then over time his true darkness is revealed. With Unhinged nothing is hidden, there is no transformation, none of the characters are particularly compelling, and as a result there is no particular tension built.

Crowe has still got it but the movie certainly doesn't.

Currently streaming on Amazon.

Don't See It.

'In The Heights' A Review

In The Heights is a musical drama based on the stage production of the same name. Usnavi(Anthony Ramos), our narrator, works in a bodega in the Washington Heights neighborhood of NYC which is under threat of gentrification. He has dreams of re-opening his father's bar in the Dominican Republic, the film also follows Vanessa(Melissa Barrera) who is an aspiring fashion designer and Usnavi's love interest, the third lead is Nina(Ariana Greenblatt) the academic hope of the neighborhood who returns after struggling in her first year at Stanford. Their three narratives are loosely woven together along with a handful of supporting characters set around a couple days in the summer where there is a blackout.

Ramos is magnetic, full of energy and presence, comfortable and efficient with Lin-Manuel Miranda's rap-singing style but he is burdened with a ton of exposition in his narration/direct address which is framed as a story being told to local kids with the narrative itself being a flashback. It's a convoluted device that isn't particularly necessary or successful and serves to frequently undercut the momentum of the main story. Both Barrera and Greenblatt are somewhat miscast, no denying their talent but they are unable to transcend the confines of the 2D ingénue roles in the script. Stephanie Beatriz as Carla and Dascha Polanco as Cuca fair way better, two actors brimming with charisma and even though in the script their characters are less developed are able to convey much more dimension. It's a shame they weren't cast in the leading roles or given more screentime. The other standout is Corey Hawkins as Benny, another performance filled with confidence and exuberance that goes beyond the page to bring the character to life.

Gorgeously colorful costumes, mostly on location filming, and beautifully intricate and large dance numbers deliver on the Musical promise but the focus is spread too thin among the characters, the themes and ideas a bit too fair ranging making the thesis somewhat vague. The source material premiered in 2007 and it shows, it feels dated in some of the plot machinations and it some of the saccharine sentiment. The sparse sequences of magical realism are odd rather than integrated. The diversity in front of and behind the camera is wonderful but the script needed an update particularly with how drastically the socio-political landscape has changed in the past several years. In The Heights is kind of lampooned in The 40-Year-Old Version particularly for this reason and it's a just dig. 

Not altogether successful or satisfying but a fun energetic musical adaptation if somewhat overlong.

Currently in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

Stream It.

The Crunch

Crunch time
time crime

burnout

re-route

swamped

whomp-whomp

snowed in

empty grin

up to the ears

watching Cheers

self care

wash your hair

it'll pass

like passing gas

'The Donut King' A Review

The Donut King is a documentary about Cambodian refugee Ted Ngoy who fled to the US after the Khmer Rogue revolution. After holding down multiple jobs he bought his first donut shop in California which quickly became an empire. He sponsored hundreds of Cambodian refugees/immigrants who he would employ in his shops and many of whom would then open their own independent donut shops. This effectively put Winchell's(California's biggest donut chain at the time) out of business and provided a path to livelihood for many of Ted's countryman. As Ted's influence and wealth grew there were inevitable complications. The documentary lays out Ted's story but also the story of many Cambodian American's and their enduring hold on the donut business in California.

Far reaching in tone and content, what first appears to be a quirky donut doc goes much deeper and somewhat darker, it highlights the stories of an inspiring group of Americans working hard towards the American Dream. At times, perhaps, oversimplifying and walking the line of playing into the 'model minority' stereotype it still shines a spotlight on an overlooked group, their history, their struggle, their endurance, and their success.

Way more complicated and complex than one would expect a documentary about donuts to be, there is a lot of interesting information and compelling stories within and it does a good job of trying to find balance and clarity in the historical context, the fallibility of it's subject, and the varied experiences of the group of Americans that are its focus. Although perhaps it's main subject, Ted, who's influence is indisputable is somewhat lionized when his personal life and his seeming longstanding connection to big-business Republican politicians is left mostly uninterrogated.

Currently streaming on Hulu.

Rent It.

Always Have A Book

A lesson I learned early on

waiting to get picked up

in a queue

stirring stew

for a tow

ahead of a show

doctor's office

during chorus

on a train

in a plane

undeserved detention

strained social obligation

always have a book

then you're never stuck

with worlds open to be plucked.

'Riders Of Justice' A Review

Riders Of Justice is a Danish revenge/dark comedy about an unlikely group of people brought together by a train accident which may have been an assassination. A soldier Markus(Mads Mikkelsen) returns home to his daughter Mathilde(Andrea Heick Gadeberg) after his wife is killed in a train accident. Shortly there after he is approached by an odd group of statisticians who believe, based on probability, that the accident was actually the concealed murder of a key witness against a criminal biker gang. They then work together to get revenge/justice.

Mikkelsen is excellent per usual and is able to provide some action movie bonafides as well as deploy some straight-man chops. The tone of the film is exceedingly odd particularly with the varied and big performances of the three sensitive, bookish, scientist types and although there is some gun play and fighting the focus is more on the growing interpersonal connections of the unlikely group and the bizarre dark sense of humor prevalent throughout.

Competently shot but without a lot of flare and an effective if unimposing soundtrack serve to highlight this weird alchemy of tone- character study/comedy/revenge inversion. It certainly will not be to everyone's taste and takes awhile to acclimate to particularly for a US viewer but has a lot to enjoy and for all it's strange, at times bleak machinations there is humor and hope on offer.

Familiar enough to enjoy, unique enough to interest.

Currently available for rent on most VOD platforms.

Rent It.

'A Quiet Place Part II' A Review

A Quiet Place Part II is a horror movie, the sequel to 2018's A Quiet Place. This installment picks up right where the first one left off save for a flashback to introduce Emmett(Cillian Murphy) a neighbor from when life was normal. After the events of the first movie the family must leave their home and make their way to the only signal fire they see on the horizon. There they meet Emmett who is initially reluctant to help them but who does so when Regan(Millicent Simmonds) sets out alone to a functioning radio tower to broadcast the feedback from her cochlear implant to help beat back the aliens. Sound convoluted? That's not even the half of it!

Simmonds is given more to do in the sequel she's the defacto lead, which is great, she is more than up to the challenge but the script fails her. Blunt's Evelyn is bafflingly sidelined for most of the run time. Murphy is mostly wasted and Noah Jupe, who plays Noah, is injured early on and beyond(believable) screams and gasps he doesn't have much to do.

The original was effective because of the conceit and the extensive use of silence, ASL, and sound. That interplay and tension isn't quite abandoned in Part 2 but almost and the absolutely controlled neatness of the plotting at the expense of character strains credulity to the breaking point. Writer/director John Krasinski is so concerned with creating an ah-ha cross-cutting crescendo of a finale he forgot to populate his story with actual humans. 

Too many absurdities to ignore rendering it if not unwatchable at least near constantly eye-roll inducing.

Currently in theaters and available to rent on most VOD platforms.

Don't See It.

One Day At A Time

One step at a time
one breath at a time

the baker goes on one bun at a time

one biscuit at a time

one brioche at a time

the lawyer goes on one brief at a time

one case at a time

one crime at a time

the mother goes on one cry at a time

one nap at a time

one snack at a time

the cook goes on one side at a time

one steak at a time

one leek at a time

the mason goes on one leak at a time

the climber goes on one peak at a time

the actor goes on one shriek at a time

one week at a time

one day at a time

one breath at a time

this is how we go on.

'Bo Burnham: Inside' A Review

Bo Burnham: Inside is billed as a "stand-up special" but is more akin to a documentary/art exploration. Written/shot/performed/edited by Bo Burnham who first became popular on youtube, then a touring stand-up, and in recent years has transitioned primarily into acting and directing gives here his most raw work yet. Taking place entirely in his guest house/shed over the course of the past year in quarantine he flits from bit to bit, song to song, all the while channeling the existential ennui and plaintive solitude we all experienced to some degree the past year.

Although shot in a long and narrow room Burnham clearly took great pains with the set ups, lighting, editing. There's the threat of claustrophobia but the viewer is never in its clutches, the "special" has momentum, punctuated by manic crescendos and listless pauses, it moves with a kind of desperate and courageous endurance. And it's funny certainly, the set pieces are relatively disparate, with little cohesion beyond the title and the circumstances under which it were shot. But we are also given much more introspection, doubt, pain, and honesty from Burnham. It has the polish of his early work but it's emotion is significantly richer and more truthful than his other more conventional specials, more of a piece with his recent directorial debut Eighth Grade.

Cataloguing the various sequences would be counter intuitive suffice it to say in its rawness, in its desperation, in its fortitude it diverts and inspires.

One of the first major cultural works to address the pandemic.

 Currently streaming on Netflix.

Don't Miss It.