The Numbers For 2018

Year #6 without a drink. I didn't do it alone, I couldn't. I've stayed sober because of the help of others and the grace of my Higher Power.

I read 62 books my top 5 were The Sudden Appearance of Hope, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, The Minotaur Takes A Cigarette Break, The Anubis Gates, and Paradox Bound.

I saw 82 movies in the theater.

I fired a gun for the first time.

We(Nicole and I) went to 2 author events(Christina Henry and Esther Perel).

We went to 2 Michelin starred restaurants(Topolobampo and Parachute).

We went to 4 weddings.

We went ice skating once.

I went on 3 vacations (Richmond, motorcycle trip around Lake Michigan, New Mexico).

I saw 1 adolescent hero- Broon.

I did 48 shows with Deep Schwa.

I did 47 shows with Sight Unseen.

I did 9 shows with Plane Station.

I did 4 shows with Terrific Six(various mixes of members from my first improv team The Album).

I directed 1 solo show.

I understudied and performed in the play Deerfield Inn once.

I wrote 68 poems, 3 essays, and did 9 readings.

I rode my motorcycle for 6 months.

I went to 1 magic show.

I went to 0 funerals.

I went to 0 plays.

I went to 0 concerts.

I helped celebrate my niece's 2nd birthday.

Nicole and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary.

A full year, a satisfying year, a fast year. I'm grateful for each and every day.

Airport Security

The young couple
in front of us
couldn't restrain
themselves
from kissing
and caressing
when they should
have been
binning
and progressing
their effects
so
I shoved his laptop
down the rollers
and tossed their shoes
to make room for us
and the hundred people
all waiting behind
the couple
didn't even notice
so lost were they
in youth
and hormonal desire.

'Vice' A Review

Vice is a montage heavy biopic about former Vice President Dick Cheney. The film opens on Dick(Christian Bale) getting pulled over for a DUI stop in the 60's, it flashes forward to him as VP getting rushed to a bunker directly after the 9/11 attacks. Flashing back and forth in time with considerable narration, still images, and archival footage the life of the elusive man-behind-the-throne of the W. Bush presidency is investigated and partially elucidated.

Bale, as always, gives every thing he has to the performance. Transforming and channeling Cheney in an astonishing way. Although much of Cheney's internal life, his thoughts and decisions, are still left unclear in the film you get the impression that Bale knows, that's how confident his portrayal is. Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney is also supremely confident, with an incredible scene between the two early on when Lynne calls Dick to the carpet for being a zero. The rest are well cast with Sam Rockwell as W. really shining unfortunately as a result of the fernetic format the actors really aren't given that much time to really act. There is virtually no scene longer than one minute that is not interrupted by narration, hard cuts, or cuts to still images. This creates a feeling of energy and momentum but a considerable amount of depth is lost.

It seems unclear who this film is for. Having lived through the time Cheney was in power myself this contains nothing particularly new. I would hazard a guess the film is meant to energize and educate the younger generation but even if that is the intent it would service the message more to let scenes breath and to let the phenomenal cast do their work. Part of the intent is to seemingly understand the motivations and mindset of Cheney and he is simply not onscreen enough to do that.

The film does succeed exceedingly well in conveying the nature of machinations of power. And confirms that old adage the power corrupts. As an echo and a warning to our current time and administration the film succeeds to a degree but art should not only reflect it should transcend or inspire. Ultimately the film, for all its ambitions and talent, lies relatively flat.

The question isn't how was and is our democracy perverted, at this juncture that is almost immaterial, and unfortunately that seems to be the sole focus of the film. The question is how do we move forward, what does the future hold, what can be done, what can we do. The film does not ask or answer these questions.

Rent It.

Florida Xmas

Spending the holiday down in Florida with Nicole's family. It's the first time I've been out of the Midwest for Xmas. A bit of an adjustment but beautiful weather and nice to spend time with Nicole's parents and sister.

 Saw the sunrise the day after we got here and then went to watch the sunset over the water.

Went on a hike through an abandoned sugar plantation now a state park. The park was totally deserted, the landscape was quiet and stunning but it was pretty eerie.

Santa came on Christmas Eve which was very exciting although he was a little grumpy. We opened presents, relaxed, and watched movies today. We head back tomorrow. It's been a fun, and warm, holiday. Different certainly than my family and our traditions and actual winter but it was really good and about time Nicole and I start splitting our time a bit more equally with our families.

Sunrise

Before Christ
there was The Sun
our first
and most literal
Higher Power.

We few awake
to witness the dawn
all turn precisely
to where She'll break
tapping into
that primordial compass
which never falters.

'Mary Poppins Returns' A Review

Mary Poppins Returns is a musical family film, a sequel to 1964's Mary Poppins, about the banks children all grown up. The film opens on 1935 London and recent widower Michael Banks(Ben Whishaw) is struggling to raise his three children and is in danger of defaulting on his mortgage. With the help of his sister Jane(Emily Mortimer), the lamplighter Jack(Lin-Manuel Miranda), and most importantly the titular Mary Poppins(Emily Blunt) the Banks family may come through on top and perhaps having learned something.

Blunt gives a fair Julie Andrews impression and imbues the character with a bit more of adventure and power rather than brusk silliness that we may be accustomed. It works but it doesn't exactly capture the nanny-we-wish-we-all had of the original. Miranda also does well but suffers from the same affliction as Blunt just falling short of getting out from the shadow of the original. Both are consummate performers, the choreography, singing, and straight acting is all compelling and done exceedingly well but neither of them takes big enough swings to get a big payoff. Whishaw, with one emotional scene, is by far the stand out bringing in a depth of emotion and vulnerability that exceeds its predecessor. The kids are great, the cast is all fun with a couple surprising cameos, but in following(and delivering) a successful sequel to the classic the actors aren't given, or take, a lot of risks. Satisfying but not particularly memorable.

The narrative on the other hand balances perfectly in paying omaĝe and creating something new. The formula is the same, Mary Poppins swoops in and takes the children on a series of imaginative musical adventures with the help of her dirty but charming sidekick. But the set pieces the songs are all new with nods and winks to the original but without ever sacrificing originality. And the message is delivered just as well if not better than the original. A call for hope and imagination rather than greed and despair powerful stuff.

See It.

'Mortal Engines' A Review

Mortal Engines is a post-apocalyptic steampunk movie based on the novel of the same name. Sometime in the 21st century the 60 Minute War devastates the world, not nuclear fallout but the laser-beam equivalent called MEDUSA. As a result people put wheels on cities which role around the blasted world hunting each other for resources. A thousand years have passed(or more its unclear) and London, one of the most fearsome predator cities, has left the UK to hunt the European continent. Hester Shaw(Hera Hilmar) purposefully gets caught by London in order to attempt to assassinate it's one its leaders who killed her mother Thaddeus Valentine(Hugo Weaving). She fails and is thrown off along with Tom Natsworthy(Robert Sheehan) a historian and wouldbe pilot. The two get tied up with the anti-traction league(a group that has settled on land and opposes the predator cities) and are set to oppose London as it seeks to become the world power. Sound complicated? It's even more convoluted than that!

There is no doubt the cast has talent but unfortunately because of the tone-deaf and nearly incomprehensible script and startling lack of direction all performances flounder save for the two seasoned actors Weaving and Stephen Lang(as the Terminator-esk machine-man Shrike). The accents are inconsistent for each actor as well as with respect to the world-building. There is no effective character development, what is there is loose, lazy, and derivative it amounts to nothing at all. A huge cast is feebly introduced, at the sacrifice of the lead character Hester, and then most of them are abandoned until they are needed to propel the increasingly manufactured plot. There is nothing wrong with casting a majority of unknown talent, Jihae as Anna Fang is an inspired choice, but they don't have the professional chops or experience to weather the thoroughly undercooked production without looking like what they are- exceedingly green.

Two of three criteria(all three is ideal) are needed in order to succeed- character, plot, and world-building. Ex-Machina had character and plot, Dredd had plot and world-building. there is a reason most successful genre movies, the two above included, have a small scale. Because its difficult to achieve without considerably focus. Mortal Engines fails on all criteria because it seems to have a fundamnetal misunderstanding of what makes a good story. Hester is the lead character, full stop, her story is the backbone of the narrative. We are given little context for her character until half the bloated run time has run its course. Not investment is created because we are introduced to ten characters in the first ten minutes and none of them carry any weight. Visually, sure, the movie at least has some original design- the cities, the airships, the cloths- but it is all glitzy CGI with no credible context in which to put them(uncompelling characters and a lethargic plot).

Despite all its numerous faults the "world-building" is perhaps the biggest. Genre fiction or film  is difficult and world-building is one of those most mercurial skills and traits of it. We can have dragons and magic, we can have zombies and vampires, we can have whole tractor cities that seemingly run on metal as fuel(?) and futuristic jet air ships with paper wings but they have to adhere to an internal and logic. There has to be solid reasoning and story that lay a foundation for the fantastic. It doesn't need to be possible in our reality but it needs to be reality that makes sense. Perhaps the book delves deeper into the history and technology of the world but the movie has an eye-roll inducing blend of lasers and jets and guns all the while bemoaning how "backward" the world is. There's also the fundamental justification for the predator cities themselves, the Earth clearly has bounced back form whatever devastation it once suffered, as such this overriding motivation for "resources" makes little to know sense. The amount of energy it would require to simply move these various gargantuan monstrosities is so huge it does not make sense with the technology the world purports to utilize. The list goes on and on.

Half-baked, unfocused, tonally(and totally) unaware.

Don't See It.

Heedless

I didn't realize what was at stake
when I voiced my incoherence
which came across
as judgement,
didn't realize until that moment
when it was threatened
what I took for granted,
didn't realize the pain
I could cause or feel
with tactless words.

Love is a dance
not a solo
a twinning
not a tyranny.

'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse' A Review

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse is an animated superhero movie based on the Marvel Comics Miles Morals/Spider-Man story line. Miles(Shameik Moore), Brooklynite and graffiti artist, struggles to adjust to his new elite school and his parents expectations. He spends time with his low-key easy-going uncle Aaron(Mahershala Ali) to get away from his overwhelming school work and pressures. One night while the two are out in an abandoned subway tunnel, a canvas for Miles found by his uncle, Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider and develops superhuman abilities. His stumbles upon a confrontation between the existing Spider-Man(voiced by Chris Pine, the Peter Parker we know) and a number of villains as they battle over the machine. Spider-Man is killed but not before charging Miles with the destruction of the machine, he flees, but not before the accelerator opens a door between alternate dimensions which draws various versions of Spider-Man into Miles' world.

The voice performances are all unilaterally good especially Moore and Brian Tyree Henry and  Luna Lauren Velez as Miles' mother and father. For all the action and meta elements what sustains the story is its unflinching commitment and sincerity to its characters. The family dynamic and Miles' coming-of-age lie at the center of the story, the supporting cast is wide and there is a lot of self-referential, pop culture elements as well as an almost taken-for-granted understanding of the parallel worlds theory but despite all the busyness(which is very fun and frequently funny) there is a real emotional story at its center. All the celebrity cameos and supporting turns are part of the pleasure of the film so I won't spoil it here but almost every voice is recognizable and it is clear that all the actors enjoy their parts substantially.

What is so impressive about the film is that it pulls off a supremely complicated juggling act. The emotional tract of the narrative is never compromised and Miles couldn't be on a more real and compelling journey. The alternate worlds element allows for not only fun psychedelic visuals and various forms of Spider-Heroes to team up but allows for gags and bits as well as commentary that a like-our-world-but-not-our-world allows from the poignant to the absurd. And all the while an ongoing playfulness is balanced with the action and more "sincere" elements. The other thing the film gets exactly right is its source material ie comics. This is the first comic book movie that actually justly incorporates comic book elements with the occasional panels flashing on the screen to meta-voice over and talk and think bubbles. It feels like a comic book but not in a way that is hack or distracting but in a way that elevates that material in a surprising way.

A diverse action packed superhero film that despite its seemingly complicated plot manages to be  clear, entertaining, and almost exuberant. And behind all the jokes there is a soft but staying message- anyone can be a hero.

See It.

Ink 2

I do not mark
my body
for others
to see it marked
I mark it
to remember
where I was
and when
who I was
and am.

'Roma' A Review

Roma is a drama about a maid in Mexico City in the early 1970's. The film takes place, roughly, over a year following Cleo(Yalitza Aparicio) as she cares for the household and four children of Sofia(Marina de Tavira). Shot in a rich black and white with alternatively graceful and thrilling long lived-in takes typical to writer/director Alfonso Cuarón the film takes a small story and shows it in all the wonder and heartbreak, all the grandeur and pain, that humanity offers at its most pure. Although produced and released on Netflix this is a film that unequivocally deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Newcomer Aparicio gives a masterful performance. She is on screen almost the entire film and carrie that weigh with an effortlessness that is captivating. She is totally emotionally available and not only in times of joy or despair but in every little flicker in between. We are with her on this journey, find the pleasure and boredom and frustration in the mundane day-to-day chores and activities. And we are with her seeing and feeling with her as she struggles with bigger challenges. There are so many stand-out scenes in the film to list them would be to simply recount it but there is one moment when Cleo is celebrating New Years toasting with a friend where she is bumped and her drink spills that is so powerful and so true to describe it as stunning would be an understatement. The honesty of her performance is captivating and unique, its not totally rare that an unknown non-actor gives a star, but it is rare that one gives such an dynamic, emphatic, almost mythic but at the same time totally human performance. The supporting cast are filled with amazing performances capturing life with all its complexities and humor and occasional darkness but none of them would work without Aparicio at the center. She grounds the story in the real but at the same time(with the assistance of the stunning camera work) elevate it to the divine.

The cinematography, no surprise from Cuarón, is breathtaking. Paired expertly and homogeneously with the lead performance the visuals give us what would appear to be mundane things- cleaning, laundry, long tracking shots of two friends walking down the street, a couple kissing at a movie theater- but with such patience and detail the richness, the reality, and the beauty are undeniable. The score is more subtle but equally evocative with a couple well placed and poignant diegetic moments and with an layered and immersive soundscape, in the theater at least utilizing surround sound more expertly than any experience I can recall.

The story and themes are simple but run deep. The story is small, a year in the life of a maid in a particular time, but what its really about is the glory and tragedy of the human experience. The themes are far reaching- sexual politics, gender disparity, class, race- you name it. As with real life the narrative touches on many things but its investigation of these themes is gentle, almost reverent. The lead is a maid and that is not ignored- her indigenous background, her poverty or circumstance-but her position is not the focal point, the film doesn't bludgeon or burden us with preaching, pontification, or flagellation. We see a life, a beautiful, complicated, layered life. The hardships aren't ignored they are accepted as reality, and given that, how can one transcend is the question. And that, ultimately, is what the film is about- transcendence.

In our age of turmoil where despair and hate are close Roma trumpets hope and grace and celebrates that thing we all share- being human.

Don't Miss It.

Ink

My cousin Phil
was the first person
I saw, in the flesh,
with tattoos
he looked like a biker
but was quiet
and unassuming
at 7
it was my first lesson
in the dissonance
between media
and reality.

In college
my roommate Bob
had a patterned piece
on his back
with a bass cleft
at its center,
he was a musician
and the rightness of it
struck me
its emblematic portent
defining, complementing
who he was or perhaps
wanted to be.

It wasn't the aesthetic
that attracted me
or the culture
I wanted to join
but the talismanic power
of image
burned into flesh
symbols
that provide meaning
and fortify identity
details of time
and place and purpose
a record of life lived.

'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2: The Crimes of Grindelwald'

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is a fantasy adventure movie the first sequel to the 2016 franchise starter. Set in the Potterverse in the first half of the 20th century the dark wizard Grindelwald(Johnny Depp) escapes his captivity in New York and sets out to woo powerful unstable magical force Credence(Ezra Miller). Dumbledore(Jude Law) sets our friendly neighborhood creature charmer Newt(Eddie Redmayne) on the task to find Credence and thwart Grindelwald.

None of the performances are particularly notable because no individual character is given any time to do much of anything other than puppet-like jerk through the convoluted, incredulity inducing, ultimately banal plotting. The one clear and present eye sore is Johnny Depp who puts in a thin, lazy, fleshy turn and begs the question why his casting was maintained from the first movie to this. His domestic abuse, bad behavior, willful substance abuse problems are all well documented which is reason enough to recast but even if you are a die hard separatist of the art and the artist it is unarguable that Depp hasn't given a more than adequate(at best) performance in 15 years. Whatever charisma or ability he once had is faded to nothing. Johnny Depp's casting is the most egregious error in a movie filled with them.

The narrative suffers from the worst habits of modern franchise filmmaking. It is all filler, the characters are moved like chess pieces around a board but nothing actually happens. With a two hour plus running time the only thing of significance that happens comes at the very end and ultimately its a MacGuffin we weren't even aware of. The successful aspect of the first installment was the chemistry of the core four leads especially the charm and humor of Dan Fogler as Jacob and Allison Sudol as Queenie. Grindelwald and the machinations of his rise are not terribly interesting especially since the performance and the story are but a pale approximation of something we've already seen ie Voldemort. The filmmakers seem not to be aware of why Harry Potter was a success, why the first film was a moderate success, or how to tell(or have forgotten) a competent engaging story. It's the people. Interesting people and compelling relationships make for good stories. Full stop.

The characters we are familiar with are given little screen time, are underdeveloped, and are separated in a ham-fisted way that goes against what we know about them as characters. A myriad of new characters are introduced but there are so many, needlessly, they are given no real context, backstory or development. The result is a bunch of two dimensional cut outs wobbling through the motions of an unbelievable piece of glittering CGI artistry.

Reminiscent of the failed 21st century Narnia series this franchise will derail if some serious adjustments aren't made.

Don't See It.

'The Favourite' A Review

The Favourite is part historical drama, part dark comedy loosely based on the brief reign of English monarch Queen Anne in the early 18th century. The film opens on the frail, volatile queen(Olivia Coleman) and her closest adviser, friend, and defacto head of state Sarah Chruchill(Rachel Weisz). Enter an estranged cousin fallen on hard times Abigail Hill(Emma Stone) who seeks to insinuate herself between the two in order to survive. Struggles of political, sexual, and emotional power simmer and erupt as the three combat for position, prestige, and favor.

Coleman is a revelation, rapidly cycling through kaleidoscopic emotions with such elegance and sincerity this seemingly pathetic character is fascinating and easily the strongest and most complex of the three leads. Her Anne is so raw but also so guileless, a fascinating portrait of a tragic life paired with the singular royal burdens of state. Weisz is captivating as the capable and commanding Churchill, a consummate politician, proficient with horses and guns, as well as etiquette. She is physical solid, almost imposing, and she moves through the film with an unflinching certainty which elevates her already inherent magnetism. Stone is the lone false step in casting. She is serviceable but is simply out classed by Colman and Weisz and as the narrative progresses and Stone is given more and more screen time this becomes more and more apparent. She doesn't have the range, or at least doesn't display it here, to captivate to the level that the film requires as it rounds into its third act. Her low key charm and wide eyes only go so far especially in comparison to Coleman's contagious effervescence and Weisz's emphatic confidence. The supporting cast are mostly men and all well cast and well played but they are mostly, and deliberately, window dressing in heavy makeup, involved outfits, and foppish wigs.

Visually the film is lush and stark in equal measure. Almost exclusively shot with wide-angel and fisheye lenses and confined to the palace a cavernous yet claustrophobic mood is evoked. Trance like and despite the period trappings seemingly out of time. The costumes feel appropriate but not period beholden. They serve to elevate, and evoke the moods and themes of the piece rather than a specific time. The ominous and repetitious score also serves to extenuate the mercurial genres and relationships the film encapsulates. The narrative is tight, fluctuating from absurd comedy to brutal drama on a dime without losing its way, however it does slow down considerably towards the end and concludes with more of an ellipses rather than a thrilling baffling crescendo which fans of director Yorgos Lanthimos may be accustomed to given his two previous films The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

Lanthimos always delivers something different, something unexpected, and always gets singular performances from actors. The script and Stone however fail somewhat to live up to the potential of the film. Not a deal breaker more a disappointment for those who are familiar with Lanthimos work. However it is his most approachable and accessible film while still maintaining his singular eye and bizarre(gratifying) sensibilities.

See It.

Roads

As I travel
this thread of asphalt
I wonder
at its convenience
and simplistic beauty
in a pocket out of time
I traverse the distance
to my destination.

And beyond
this small track
between Chicago Illinois
and Madison Wisconsin
I think of all the miles and roads
that continue
stretching to other cities
and forgotten towns
and sleepy nooks,
of this continent
and the one below
all connected
by lines of pavement
carved out
by ingenuity and sweat.

The complaint of traffic
seems myopic
given the freedom
accorded by the Road.

'Ralph Breaks The Internet' A Review

Ralph Breaks The Internet is an animated family film the sequel to 2012's Wreck-It Ralph. The retro arcade that is the home to Ralph(John C. Reilly) and Vanellope(Sarah Silverman) finally gets wifi and as such the video games characters have access to the monolithic internet. After the steering wheel of Vanellope's game is broken her and Ralph travel into it to search for eBay the mysterious place that has the only replacement wheel needed to fix her game. Through the journey their friendship is tested and Ralph's clingy behavior may cause an unmendable riff between them.

Both Reilly and Silverman bring there considerable talents to bear and in this installment are given richer emotional subtext in which to play in. There overt conflict relatable to anyone in a relationship or friendship as well as the implication of it an extended metaphor for our reliance on social media and our devices in general. Both the emotional text and the social commentary in the subtext are played with balance and honesty without sacrificing the mostly light tone of the film or its humor. The supporting cast is a parade of celebrity cameos and just solid character work. Most notably the scene with Vanellope and the Disney princesses is particularly fun. And on a more personal note Alex Moffat's turn as gamer kid Jimmy was delightful.

Visually packed almost to the point of clutter, the film juggles a series of allusions and references while still maintaing a streamlined and relatively pointed narrative. The soundtrack may not be as good as the first film but giving Vanellope "Slaughter Race" is particularly effective and pleasing. As depicted the internet is incongruously clean and positive but that is to be expected in a film aimed at grade schoolers and it throws enough issues and imparts enough applicable lessons that it gives this incarnation of the internet if not "truth" at least a version that can teach and is digestible by children.

Entertaining and emotionally satisfying with, at its heart, an important lesson- how to let go. A must for families with children, perhaps an evening in for those without.

Rent It.

Train Tides

Each route a line
each line a color
each color the cornucopia
of neighborhoods it touches
at the center,
Chicago's pulsing uroboros
the Loop
with trains
like tendrils
reliably crawling
(rarely running)
out and out and out
to the city's
ever dilating boarders
and back again.

We, the passengers
make up
the shifting personality
of each mercurial car
at times affluent or raucous
subdued or supportive
for some
the crowd, the press, the hassle
is but inconvenience
the stalwart CTA
merely function
but we are all citizens
of this City of Broad Shoulders
from the cackling homeless
to the loquacious elderly
to the misanthropic teens
covertly smoking between cars
and to all those more calm
and better mannered.

We are
the roiling mass
the humanity
that populate our
undersung metropolis
and the L
the Petri dish
in which we congregate
what could be more worthy
of participation.

'Widows' A Review

Widows is a heist/thriller set in Chicago. The film opens on a team of criminals who are killed, and their score destroyed, during a failed robbery. Jamal(Brian Tyree Henry) the crime boss who was robbed is a prospective alderman facing off against longstanding alderman's son Jack(Colin Farrell). In order to make a final campaign push Jamal taps Veronica(Viola Davis), the widow of the criminal leader Harry(Liam Neeson) who was killed, to pay his $2,000,000 debt. Veronica plans a score with the other widows in order to pay that debt.

Davis brings her colossal emotive abilities to bear paired with an unflinching authority to give the relatively commercial story some incredible nuance. Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Erivo round out the crew and all give solid performances. Debicki is given more to do, has more of an arc and transformation and as such shines a bit brighter, certainly showing some promising range above and beyond her previous turn as one of the villains in MI6. Erivo also stands out doing a lot with little, giving a commanding physical performances and conveying deep emotion and meaning with silence and looks. The remaining cast all give good performances Henry and Daniel Kaluuya as Jamal's brother and muscle especially but the titular leads are given virtually balanced screen time with their male supporting counter parts and as such it feels a bit uneven.

Visually the film is stunning, no surprise from co-writer/director Steve McQueen, the beginning heist sequence, an extended unbroken take care ride, the robbery the film culminates in all are breathtaking pieces of cinematography. McQueen bring his same impeccable casting, his clarity, and his sense of tension to this commercial tale as he does to his prestige dramas and indie films. As such this feels more like Michael Mann at his peak rather than standard action fare. And there is a point, a message, a theme greater than a cool heist. Its success varies but the attempt and incorporation into the genre is seamless.

The other thing he gets right is Chicago. Filming almost exclusively on the streets of Chicago neighborhoods and eschewing tourist landmarks he gets the feel of the city right. Any setting rendered truthfully elevates a narrative and any film not set in NYC or LA is a relief.

See It.

'Creed II' A Review

Creed II is a sports drama, a sequel to 2015's Creed, a continuation of the Rocky franchise. The film opens on a dingy apartment in the Ukraine. Ivan Drago(Dolph Lundgren) the Russian boxer who killed Apollo Creed in Rocky IV and was eventually defeated by Rocky has been ostracized by his homeland and has raised his son Viktor(Florian Munteanu) in exile hoping to one day retain his former boxing and social glory through his son. Adonis Creed(Michael B. Jordan) gets his title shot and wins but find the mantle of the champ uncomfortable. His relationship with Bianca(Tessa Thompson) grows as they make a life together. When Viktor surfaces in the US and challenges Adonis to a title bout his ambition, home life, and relationship with mentor and trainer Rocky(Sylvester Stallone) is put to the test.

Jordan gives a layered vulnerable performance, continuing to give Adonis emotional complexity belied by the typically straightforward genre. He balances that perfectly with his undeniably impressive physical look and performance. It's a delicate balance, one Stallone himself was only able to strike periodically, that of imposing and capable physical presence as well as accessible and varied feeling. His relationship with Thompson's character is more at the forefront in this installment and the two take full advantage of their excellent chemistry, Thompson continues to portray Bianca as a strong and caring partner who has her own ambitions and passions further complicating their dynamic which in turn makes it even more engaging. Stallone has played Rocky so often it is like a second skin, it is so natural and so familiar it cannot help but be a success. Rocky is a friend, father figure, and mentor for multiple generations. A true American hero who has ascended from fiction to myth. He isn't given as much to do as in the proceeding film but he is a comforting and inspiring presence as always. The big surprise is Lundgren and to a lesser extent Munteanu as the Drago father and son. A significant amount of time is given to their story and as such Ivan is no where near the paper-thin villain he once was. Lundgren gives all the hard edges we are use to but also surprising depth- failure, ambition, a twisted paternal pride. Their story runs in odd parallel to Adonis's own allowing the story to transcend boxing telling an almost operatic tale of fathers and sons.

There are some striking shots and sequences, the training montages especially, the boxing matches are engaging but the visual flair and innovation Coogler brought is somewhat lacking under the helm of director Stephen Caple Jr. which isn't necessary a bad thing. Caple's focus is much more on the familial aspect and tendrils of the Creed story. A breathtaking one take boxing match is lacking but what replaces it is an emotional roller coaster of love, legacy, discord, and ambition.

See It.

'The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs' A Review

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a western anthology film, the latest from the Coen Brothers. Six short start studded vignettes make up the film ranging from darkly comic, to darkly romantic, to just plain dark. Every section feels like a short film, the only thing connecting the pieces is the genre- western,  and as such, although beautiful and well acted, the film has little coherence and only a passing narrative satisfaction.

The Coen Brothers always have a remarkable cast and this is no exception- Liam Neeson, Tim Blake Nelson, Clancy Brown, Tom Waits, Stephen Root, Brendan Gleeson etc.- however they are all older white men(save for Zoe Kazan in a relatively thankless role). Not to say that any and all films need to have some element of diversity or inclusion but to get away with this kind of one-sided casting there has to be a reason and the quality of the work has to be high. The film is fine, kind of boring and derivative of the Coen Brothers previous work, worth a watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It is not original or interesting enough to get away with this kind of casting. The argument of "historical accuracy" officially holds no water. Narrative filmmaking is fiction therefore anything is possible. We are, and have been, saturated by the stories and performances of older white men. Take out the politics if you want the fact is diversity and inclusion makes for fresh and interesting storytelling. Don't get me wrong I love all the actors listed above but there performances and narrative impact suffer because every vignette centers around or is at least supported by one of them in such a way that they bleed together and are difficult to differentiate. The western has been a contentious genre since the beginning of it's decline from popularity and pervasiveness in the 70's. What would revitalize it, for a start, would be better more imaginative casting.

Visually, no surprise, the film is immaculate and striking. The score immersive and effective, especially paired with the actual songs in the first vignette from Nelson's singing cowboy. The problem is that ultimately the film is lazy and has no ambition. The Coen Brothers are aging and successful, the can do whatever they want with seemingly no parameters, oversight, or input and as such they can occasionally let their most lethargic ideas run slothfully wild.

A decent accompaniment to laundry folding but not much else.

Stream It.

Rancid

There is little
closer to purgatory
than the crowded
stuttering
stuffy train
during the evening
rush hour
but I discovered
there are degrees
of suffering.

The woman
appeared
relatively normal
twenty-something
Nordstrom's parka
innocuous
but she lugged with her
a neon teal and pink gym bag
which carried with it
a fetid stink.

The stench
filled the car
with such cringing force
you could not help
but ponder
it's deriving source
unwashed cloths perhaps
left fallow for years
or possibly
days old vomit
left to congeal and rot.

Dante did not
reconstruct
this particular misery
in his Divine Comedy
but I have to think
this banal woman
and her noxious sack
have some special place
for inflicting punishments
in the fiery hereafter.

'Suspiria' A Review

Suspiria is pedantic attempt at a genre picture, a remake of the 1977 cult classic. The movie opens on a Mennonite home where a woman lies dying. Cut to the frantic rain-soaked Patricia(Chloë Grace Moretz) running through the streets of 1977 Berlin to her psychologist Josef Klemperer(Tilda Swinton) to rave about the dance company of which she is a member that is run by witches. Cut to Susie(Dakota Johnson), presumably the daughter of the previously pictured dying Mennonite woman, who has come to Berlin to audition for said dance company run by Martha Graham surrogate Madame Blanc(Tilda Swinton). After a startling audition she is accepted.

Swinton, as is no surprise as she is one of our greatest living actors, is competent and compelling in both roles. She grounds the heightened and more operatic element with a realism and emotion which the story desperately needs. Unfortunately no one else in the entire ensemble takes the same approach. Their styles are a shotgun blast from bizarrely restrained minimalism to cacophonastic scenery-chewing incomprehensibility. I don't fault the actors themselves(except one) because its clear they received absolutely no direction when it came to actual performance. Moretz, typically good to great and never below charming(see The 5th Wave), puts in categorically the worst performance of her career- unhinged not as a character but as a clearly floundering and cringe-inducing actor saying lines that are ludicrous and devoid of any actual meaning. The one glaring black hole in the ensemble as far as talent is Dakota Johnson who basically replicates her Anastasia Steele role in Susie, which exceedingly peculiar given this is a completely different movie and a different character with a starkly different tone. Her portrayal is tissue-paper thin, she telegraphs naive so hard it comes across as vapid, you would expect such a clearly vacant performance on a middle school stage rather than a wide release motion picture. Unfortunately the supporting cast is filled out with interesting actors, dancers, and models who aren't given a chance to do much of anything and are constantly cut out and around in favor of the yawn-inducing Johnson.

There are a few visual flourishes most notably the evocative dream sequences. The dance pieces would be incredibly effective and elevate the movie if they weren't edited so frenetically. The camera is never aloud to sit still long enough to actually see the dance. There are so many cuts and flourishes and close ups all the meticulous(and truly impressive) choreography is almost totally wasted.

As to the themes, there are none, or maybe there are so many and they are all so lazily developed(read not at all) that it comes to the same thing. The Holocaust, the Lufthansa Flight 181 hijacking, purity, feminism, paganism etc. etc. are brought up but not explored or developed. It's as if the mere mention or implication of them paired with a disconnected albeit heightened style is suppose to suffice in place of an actual point of view or something new or of value to say.

No surprise the movie is pretentious, negligent, boring, and provides (the barest trace of) style over substance as it was directed by Luca Guadagnino perpetrator of Call Me By Your Name.

Worst of the year contender.

Don't See It.

'The Girl In The Spider's Web' A Review

The Girl In the Spider's Web is an action/thriller, a continuation/soft reboot of the Dragon Tattoo series. This installment finds the titular Girl aka Lisbeth Salender(Claire Foy) as the freelance hacker now turned freelance hacker/avenger. We open on Lisbeth mitigating some sweet justice on a corupt abusive CEO. She's then tasked with retrieving an NSA program that can access the entire world's nuclear arsenal. Her (successful) hack alerts NSA special agent Edwin Needham(LaKeith Stanfield ) who immediately departs to retrieve the program but she's also alerted an unknown crime syndicate. A high stakes game of cat-and-mouse ensues.

Certainly a more inspired casting choice than Rooney Mara, Foy does well as the beloved title character. She's not as dynamic as the originator of the role Noomi Rapace in the Swedish trilogy but she has the confidence, physical competence, and electricity that the role requires she just isn't given the material with which to soar. The issue isn't with her performance necessarily it is with the script which distills an emotionally complicated thriller into a thin James Bond wanna-be. Foy is an inspired choice, as is LaKeith Stanfield and Stephen Merchant(as the creator of the McGuffin) but the script doesn't allow these exceptional casting choices to do much beyond the rote mainstream.

The film begins with a very stylish scene, Lisbeth in white face paint literally stringing up a guilty man in his luxurious an austere high rise apartment. It's a striking compelling sequence, setting Lisbeth up as some kind of feminist Batman. But after that scene both the style and the substance dissipate quickly into predictable and relatively bland genre fair.

Stream It.

The winds of change have begun to blow

The winds of change have begun to blow
not gust or gale
but cooling breeze
a soothing balm
on a sweltering afternoon
not a clean cleansing down pour
but the promise of relief to come
for storms do not break from still stagnant skies
but must build and roll and break
before the lightening strikes
cleaving the air
and purging the land of heat and grime
not yet
the machine of history runs slow
and the race for Liberty marathon not sprint
but the winds of change have begun to blow
and the strength of the old guard withers
we need not repeat the sins of our forebears
activism followed by contented consumerism
the soul of America is at stake
and we will be the ones to decide
if She lives or if She dies
twisted by fear into the grave
or resurrected by compassion
the winds of change have begun to blow.
It is our time now.

'Bohemian Rhapsody' A Review

Bohemian Rhapsody is a biopic about the band Queen focusing on the late lead singer Freddy Mercury(Rami Malek). The film opens, as many of these do, on a late career come-back-like performance then cuts back to Mercury's youth following his life chronologically and ending on the show in the first scene. He meets two aspiring musicians while he's a baggage handler, the three pick up a bass player, and Queen after some fits and starts is born.

Malek goes for broke in his portrayal of Mercury and its mostly a success, the actor gives the performance tons of energy, tons of charm, and perhaps manages to capture a little bit of Mercury's magnetism. He clearly relishes the role and that interest and joy is contagious. The other band members provide a great foil and balance to Malek with more low-key but engaging turns. Lucy Boynton as Mercury's wife Mary has a bit more of a thankless one-dimensional role but does well with what is given her. Allen Leech as Paul Mercury's personal manager is pretty boring and unbelievable as the mustache twirling manipulative villain of the story.

The story structure is relatively rote, in the tradition of many of the musical biopics of the last fifteen years, visually the film is adequate but not particularly unique. What makes the film rise above of the expansive use of Queen's music, with an interesting and compelling choice to have Malek lip-sync and exclusively use Mercury's vocals. The other thing the film gets right is the spirit of the band, sometimes effectively but somewhat awkwardly explicitly stated in scenes. They are the outcasts, they make positive music, they try to touch people and get them together in a positive way. This message, more than anything, is what makes the film compelling. This is a message we can latch onto in our devise times- one of repeated explicit inclusivity and positivity. Is the film perfect? No. Terribly unique in form or structure? No. Periodically bogged down by manufactured drama? Yes. But at the heart of it is Malek as Mercury and the band, which mostly get along just fine, making music that people love. That's it. And that is what people respond to.

The message of the film is certainly at least a little tainted by the involvement of Bryan Singer. And as consumers of art we must grapple with the art vs. artist question, if we separate them and by how much. For me the film works despite Singer and is in no way a success of his. The film works because of the enthusiasm and chemistry of the actors, the fact that ultimately there is minimal drama and much of the film is the band and the various characters getting along, and most importantly the delightful and affirming music of Queen.

Say what you want but the infectious stomp-stomp-clap of We Will Rock You is undeniable.

See It.

'Halloween' A Review

Halloween is a slasher movie a sequel to the 1978 original. Forty years after the events of the first flick Laurie Strode(Jamie Lee Curtis) has been preparing her house, her arsenal, and her body for the return of Michael Myers, think Sarah Conner in T2. Her obsessive preparation has cost her two marriages, the estrangement of her daughter and granddaughter, as well as her mental health. On the eve of Halloween Michael Meyers is being transferred to a maximum security mental facility and subsequently escapes, free to stalk the streets of Haddonfield once again on Halloween!

Curtis puts in an authoritative, solid performance, this incarnation of Strode suffers from PTSD and has a single-minded goal: revenge. There is something incessantly satisfying about seeing Curtis as the competent gun-toting avenging angle however her performance is only periodically matched by the script which supports it. Judy Greer does a nice turn as Laurie's daughter Karen but there relationship is sped through, revealed clunkily in rapid exposition, and blown by in favor of numerous set-piece killings by the iconic villain. Laurie's granddaughter Allyson played by Andi Matichak also does well with what little she's given, but her subplot also is truncated, abridged to the point of having little to no weight. What we are here to see, and what the movie makes clear it is really only concerned about, is the Strode/Michael showdown. Which, once we get to it, is undeniably satisfying.

The score, composed by original director and composer John Carpenter, has the same eerie compulsive magnetism. There are some impressive steady elongated takes, enough visual style to be engaging, enough crowd-pleasing omages/echos of the original, but it is the theme that really disappoints. Horror as a genre, especially during its recent resurgence, flourishes on metaphor, contemporary relevance. And this incarnation of Halloween has a rich theme that it leaves mostly unexplored ie the Strode women, not only Laurie but her daughter and granddaughter, standing up to the phantom Michael Myers(standing in for, perhaps, the patriarchy). But that reading is a stretch and not fully flushed out or developed in the movie itself. It is a hopeful conclusion to draw but not an explicit one.

An entertaining holiday movie that lacks the richness or ingenuity to become a classic.

Rent It.

What's Up Doc?

In college
I called
all my PhD
teachers
"Doc"
a term
of endearment
and because
I knew
even then
I wouldn't
get much chance
to use
the moniker
often.
They all
tolerated it
to various
degrees
but
my calc prof
really got a bang
out of it
I don't recall
her name
probably because
I always
called her
"Doc"
and calculus
is some
fifteen years
in the rearview
but I remember
her clarity
and humor
in the classroom
and her eyeroll
and grin
whenever
I called her "Doc".

'First Man' A Review

First Man is a biopic about Neil Armstrong(Ryan Gosling) and the Apollo 11 moon landing. The film opens on a breathtaking scene of Armstrong as test pilot skating along above the atmosphere. It quickly transitions into the illness and untimely death of his young daughter which becomes the driving force of Armstrong as a character and the film. Cutting back and forth between Armstrong pouring himself obsessively into his work and his wife Janet(Claire Foy) who stoically but clearly pained takes care of their home and two sons essentially alone. The film culminates in the historical moon landing.

Gosling is reserved but maintains his inherent magnetism, proving if he hasn't already that he is the heir to the Hollywood leading man title seemingly recently vacated by Brad Pitt. He's good and gives more with doing a lot less. Foy also gives a dynamic performance and the film allows relatively equal time to both spouses. Cutting between Gosling's character's obsession at work with the very real and emotional isolation Foy's character is left in forced to take care of their home and children solo, this forces her to actually feel (the only real character who emotes at all) and as such she is the heart of the film. The supporting cast is stacked with talent albeit almost all white male middle aged talent, which has an adverse effect on how compelling any of the character arcs turn out to be.

Most of the entire film is shot on shaky hand-held with the occasional gasp-inducing panorama which creates a very lived-in intimate feel. And this is the most captivating aspect of the film, the cinematography clearly and cleanly puts us in this time and place in all its fear and potential triumph.

The craft of the film is inarguable. The issues are the questions of why and why now. It's not reasonable to expect movies coming out in the wake of our current cultural upheaval to address it either directly or indirectly however it is reasonable to expect some attempt at diversity and inclusion, it is reasonable to expect some kind of reaction. It is a movie about a major historical moment in US history and art is not made in a vacuum. Certainly there is some intention at play here but what is it, blandness? Some kind of ill-conceived "neutrality"? This film, however well made, could have been made at any time, it is a film populated by white males, mythologizing the stoic white male hero, hearkening back to a time of (even more strident) white male dominance. We have seen this story countless times and there is nothing in it, beyond a skilled cameraperson, that necessitates its retelling. There is a brief scene of Leon Bridges as Gil Scott-Heron performing Whitey On The Moon however it's inclusion is not addressed or explored or even really acknowledged in any way.

First Man is well made and entertaining to a point but it is as toothless as Damien Chazelle's previous Oscar contender La La Land and right now I think we should require more of our art not less. 23 years after Apollo 13 and 2 years after Hidden Figures this can't help but feel regressive.

Exceeding visuals, lacking content.

Rent It.

Feeling The Pull

Wrote this as part of a send of show for MB, also a podcast Your Stories.

I was born and raised in Rockford, IL about an hour and a half west of Chicago. Over the years it has periodically been, unjustly from my perspective, on various lists for worst cities in america. Say what you want about many of it’s aspects but Rockford has one of the best municipal park systems in the country. There are seven major parks and countless small neighborhood ones with playground equipment and sports fields scattered throughout the city, there are also a couple large county maintained forest preserves in the area. Taken together they offer substantial recreation, adventure, and beauty.

Growing up I was a chubby kid the subject of no small amount of ridicule and cruelty. But every summer I was able to escape my archetypal role when I went to camp. The Rockford Park District offered a variety of types of camps for all age groups and I attended them all. Day camp, sleep away camp, backpacking, and bike. I loved them all and what they all had in common were two things. At them I could be whoever I wanted to be. I brought into into them no baggage, no history. I could make friends easily because all of us were working from square one. The second thing was that they all involved, no surprise, being in nature. And I discovered a deep resonance with the forests and hills, the rivers and lakes that I spent my summers in. I felt at home in the woods, I felt comfortable, there was a time it was one of the only places I did. And as time went on I found I had an affinity for it- hiking, canoeing, making a fire and cooking over it- I wasn’t a boy scout but I developed skills.

When I aged out of going to camp I became a camp counselor and that summer job along with the measured relief of high school opened up my social circle and got me out of my shell. I was a camp counselor for seven years, all through high school and for the bulk of college. Those was some of the best summers of my life. Stinking like campfire and bug spray, arguing with 8 year olds about what was for lunch, driving the tractor with 30 screaming kids in the trailer behind me.

In college after a summer of working at Camp Conestoga some friends and I, instigated by our love of the outdoors, planned a trip west for a little national parks tour. We left in the afternoon and drove all night. It was dawn when we came into The Badlands National Park in South Dakota, the sky was a screaming yellow and all around us were these beautifully alien mud/rock formations spreading out to the horizon. We stood there in awe. It was breathtaking, we were silenced by the splendor and vastness of Mother Nature. And for a moment we were part of her grace. And that feeling is something I’ve chased after ever since.

After the Badlands we went to Yellowstone then the Rocky Mountains National Park where we hiked Pike’s peak. On our way down fueled by youthful idiocy and THC we began to jog down the mountain, then run, letting gravity pull us forward gaining momentum as we corned switchbacks and lept boulders. And for a good ten minutes it was pure exhilaration, we were conquering the mountain, we were young, we were invincible. But like Icarus, my hubris was inevitably punished. I lost my balance and fell, crashing and sliding on the gravel path. The camera I wore on a shoulder strap was broken and my arms and legs were scraped and bleeding. I was hurt and I was embarrassed but I popped up and my friends washed me off with the water from their canteens and we finished the decent at a more stately pace.

Since that first trip I’ve been the Glacier National Park, the Grand Tetons, the Grand Canyon, Shenandoah, and many state and local parks all across the country. I just got back a couple days ago from a trip with my girlfriend to New Mexico the major reason for our visit was to go to Carlsbad Caverns and the White Sands National Monument. Which we did and both were spectacular.

All this to say nature is one of my great passions. Wherever I go I seek out the closet park and I hike through it. It gives me an inexpressible joy and a deep satisfaction. I return to it again and again and again. I place my time, energy, and money on the altar of the Earth Mother. And I encourage you to find your passions whatever they may be, to pursue them if you’ve found them, and if you already are I wish you good luck and godspeed.

If some day pride gets the better of you, and the gods justly bring you low, simply pick yourself up and continue down the path because around the next turn, the next bend, is the next opportunity, the next adventure.

'Studio 54' A Review

Studio 54 is a documentary about the famous NYC night club. Through archival footage, talking head interviews, and archival stills the tale of the influential club and the watershed moment which created it are told.

The primary narrator is co-founder Ian Schrager and all the recountings circle to various degrees around his vision of events. It is interesting, most especially the cultural significance and the diversity both sexual and racial the Studio 54 mentality promoted, however there is little mention of drug use or little to no reference or even discussion of exploitation. Because the individuals interviewed for the film are all regulars and former employees it is all painted with a particularly rosy shade which is not bad however it is relatively thin.

There is much talk of Studio 54 being historic but the time is not really taken explore the why, we are seemingly just supposed to take it on the word of our talking heads. So the documentary, although informative and filled with some intriguing characters, either doesn't attempt or isn't able to go much below the surface.

Maybe more appropriate for an hour long streaming special rather than a feature release.

Stream It.

'The Old Man And The Gun' A Review

The Old Man And The Gun is a romantic crime film about aging bank robber Forrest(Robert Redford) and his low key courtship of Jewel(Sissy Spacek). The film concurrently follows Detective Hunt(Casey Affleck) as he attempts to catch Forrest. Through flashbacks and exposition the life of Forrest is told which doubles as omage and retrospective for Redford as he has said this will be his last acting role.

Redford is charming and rakish, with the class but also edge that we know from some of his most notable roles. This certainly more so than All Is Lost feels like the appropriate swan song for the screen legend. Spacek is the perfect foil for Redford, the two have wonderful chemistry and provide all their scenes with an ease and subtle magnetism that make the relatively sedate crime story that envelopes the romance more tolerable.

The film, in essence, is a showcase for Redford and Spacek and as such is a success. The bank robbing heist element, the low key meditation on life element, the cat-and-mouse element aren't particularly engaging or original but giving the opportunity for the two leads to do what they do is what makes the film worth while.

Rent It.

The Moon And Me

I stood on the porch
outside our rented cabin
in the mountains
smoking a cigarette.

I looked up
at the foggy sky
wishing
I could see the stars.

Then for a moment
a break, a glimpse
a tantalizing ten seconds
of the full and shining moon.

I wondered
who else was looking up
during this brief
sliver of time.

Who else
saw the moon I saw
perhaps no one
no one at all.

And the thought
did not fill me
with loneliness or ennui
but a deep and abiding comfort.

For a moment
it was just the mountain
the forest, the moon
and me.

'Venom' A Review

Venom is a superhero action movie, the lead character a spin-off from the Spider-Man comics featured on the big screen first in 2007's Spider-Man 3. Eddie Brock(Tom Hardy) is an investigative reporter who stumbles upon secret experiments going on in the Life Foundation headed by the pervertedly altruistic Carlton Drake(Riz Ahmed). Eddie bonds with an alien organism (the titular Venom) providing him with superhuman abilities and all hell breaks loose!

Other than Hardy's performance not much is surprising or out of the now well-worn tropes of superhero movies but its different enough to excite and entertain. Hardy plays Brock as a periodic badass but mostly a cowardly panicked buffoon. Hardy gets to execute some serious slapstick when Brock and Venom battle for control of the body and Hardy gets to go full on Nicolas Cage crazy with the bizarre buddy routine he does with Venom. Unfortunately this absurd and surprisingly delightful performance is smack in the middle of a relatively pedestrian comic book movie with the necessary rainy action scene, mustache twirling villain, underutilized female supporting character(hope Michelle Williams got a fat check), and the classic boring the-villain-is-a-literal-version-of-the-hero we saw in he first half dozen Marvel movies.

Visually serviceable but unimaginative and with a score that is distinctly out of place and an overall tone that is, to put it generously inconsistent, the only real reason to watch the movie is for Hardy's performance. If the movie tonally followed his lead it would have been a more unique and more entertaining experience.

Stream It.

'A Star Is Born' A Review

A Star Is Born is the fourth iteration of this musical drama about an aging alcoholic roots rock musician Jackson(Bradley Cooper) who discovers talented unknown Ally(Lady Gaga) in a drag club. He takes her under his wing professionally and concurrently the two begin a romance. As his star fades, her's rises.

There are two stand-out performances in this mostly derivative Oscar hopeful. Lady Gaga who's musical abilities are beyond question but who's acting chops were as yet untested. She delivers decisively on both counts. Providing a magnetic, emotional, strong lead performance balanced perfectly with her thrilling, goosebump inducing musical numbers. Same Elliot as Jackson's brother and road manager Bobby gives a masterful and all too brief turn, conveying oceans with looks, short sentences, and only the occasional scene. Writer, director, star Cooper puts on a startlingly distracting "character voice" and seems to be swept up in the ecstasy of his own creation and forgets to focus his performance. Some of the major issues are in the foundation of the film, the script, but Cooper's breezy portrayal seems to rely more on the aforementioned voice and the creative mythologizing of alcoholism rather than actual acting.

The first half of the film which focuses on Gaga and the titular birth of her star is quite compelling and the chemistry between the two leads is decent enough to skate by. The second half of the film shifts the focus to Cooper's character and the story quickly falls apart. The focus is scattered, it attempts to tell the story of an addict(at least it regurgitates the "romantic" untruths fostered by Hollywood and is quite frankly dangerous as well as dishonest in its implications), the rise of a star, the fall of a star, the selling out of a star(there is some sophomoric criticism of pop music that is incredibly odd and tone deaf given who Gaga is), and the tragedy of stardom. But in attempting all these things, again most incorrectly and irresponsibly addiction, it fails to successfully deliver on any of them.

For a film so filled with promise and talent it suffers from the most obvious pitfall(for a story in its fourth iteration) predictability, rote hollow story arcs. And given the current cultural conversations going on the fact that the power dynamics, the possible manipulation, the conceivably tit-for-tat "romance" we see on screen isn't acknowledge let alone delved into is astonishing. The ending especially is not only uncompelling and fails narratively its offensive in its portrayal of addiction. It bastardizes a very serious and exceedingly difficult to treat illness, which has reached epidemic levels in the past decade, not only for dramatic catharsis but failed dramatic catharsis at that.

Watch Gaga in the first 80 minutes then shut it off or just listen to the soundtrack.

Don't See It.

Gypsum

White Sands
dry heat
rolling dunes
sweating feet
rationed water
periodic snacks
untrod path
cutting tracks
one step
then another
all hail
Earth Mother

White Sands

Hiked through White Sands National Monument today. Another gorgeous and bizarre slice of nature. The park is surrounded by military bases and periodically in the distance you could hear the roar of jets. White Sands was the thing that made me want to go to New Mexico in the first place and it didn't disappoint.

Carlsbad

Into the cavern mouth we strode
seeking answers in the halls of stone
surrounded by the silent dark
a forest of rock, sharp and stark
deep beneath the surface gleam
with blinded fish & bats that preen
enclosed in the womb of Earth
waiting on a second birth.

Carlsbad Cavern

Got up early and drove to Carlsbad Caverns, the #1 on Nicole's list. One of the towns we drove through was an oil town with a refinery right off the main rode, across the street from the McDonald's and just out of town there were oil derricks and off in the distance flaming plumes, it was all very surreal. When we got the park they told us you could either take the elevator down or hike which we did.

The hike just doubled down on an already surreal day. It was dream-like, you're instructed not to speak above a whisper and most of the visitors oped for the elevator so we were virtually alone walking down.

Descending into the dark surrounded by these huge monolithic formations. It was awe-inspiring.

 Once you get to the bottom there's a loop of the main chamber which was much more populated, still very cool and beautiful, but nothing like the eerie transportive feeling I got on the way down.

Any phrase that is used enough to become a platitude has a tendency to lose meaning but visiting the caverns was and definitely felt like a "once in a lifetime" experience.

The Mountains In Fall

Frosted pines
rolling out
into the chill
time trapped
by boundless fog
crystalline forest
hidden peaks
and we
the only two
who see it.

Grindstone Lake

Nicole and I are in New Mexico for the week, staying in the mountains. It's about 20 degrees colder than it usually is here this time of year but we came prepared with many layers and are enjoying the truly awesome beauty around us.

 Went on our first hike today. Chilly but really wonderful.