'Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children' A Review

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children is a fantasy movie based on the young adult novel of the same name. Jake(Asa Butterfield) is a young teen friendless in Florida until he discovers that the fantastic stories his grandfather(Terence Stamp) have been telling him may be true. He sets off with his dad(Chris O'Dowd) to Wales to track down the children's home where his grandfather grew up. He discovers the stories are true and the home, positioned in a time loop repeating the same day in 1940, is populated by some peculiar children indeed.

Eva Green as the titular Miss Peregrine is electric, her considerable charisma and magnetism on full blast. Unfortunately she has hardly any screen time and the brief glimpses we get of her only put the already struggling lead Butterfield in harsher relief. Butterfield is awkward and gangly with all his teen insecurity on display, he is almost totally unbelievable because we can see him trying so hard. The peculiar children themselves are almost universally delightful, each with distinct looks and personalities, it makes you wish the plot wasn't so rushed so that they could actually have a chance to exist outside the "action" of the plot. O'Dowd's plays an incredibly confusing neglectful, immature, alcoholic(?) dad who not only doesn't fit in the story he doesn't seem real. The dynamic Kim Dickens as Jack's mom is stunningly underutilized appearing in, I believe, less then ten seconds of the film. Overall the cast are all good(some great) actors but either due to the lurching momentum of the script or muddled direction only half of them are actually successful in their roles. This is to say nothing of Sam Jackson's almost kabuki villain.

Visually the movie is imaginative and striking with vivid colors, imagery, and the characteristically Burtonesque touches of macabre. The story hurtles along so quickly we never get a chance to really care about whats happening or any of the characters its happening to. So much is cramed into the convoluted plot they forgot to stop and have some fun.

An uninspired adaptation with imaginative visuals and a brief but excellent performance by Eva Green.

Rent It.

I Saw You Leo

It's been ten years
since our Potbelly lunch
and eleven
since we shared a summer
as camp counselors
in northern Wisconsin
easily the worst of my life
but when I saw you
at the Second City
your name came back
with surprising alacrity
and I hope you understood
with my smile and
brief touch of your shoulder
that I saw you
and maintain some affection
for our brief connection
but I had no desire
to stop and reminisce
about those awful months
spent on that ugly lake front
surrounded by rich boys
and their perverse petulance.

Or perhaps
I did not want to be reminded of who I was then-
Sick, alone, and twenty-one.

Let Them Spin, We Will Win

This is a historic presidential election. The first woman major party nominee who is on track to be president, Hillary Clinton. Some of the singularity and importance of this has been lost due to Clinton's opponent, xenophobic sack of wet falafel Donald Trump, and the resulting exhausting negativity of both campaigns.

Last night was the first presidential debate and unequivocally Clinton won. Before the debate parallels were drawn to the 2000 election where Gore was wooden and scornful of Bush's lack of intellectualism which backfired. Clinton was prepared, poised, and calmly assertive. Paralells have been drawn to the 2008 election because of its historic nature. And leading up to that election it was a similarly "close race" with the subsequent Obama win. Through the lens of history this narrative of Trump "gaining ground" is suspect.

Not to say Clinton isn't flawed or that she will be any more progressive than the somewhat disappointing but steady tenure of Obama but there is only one outcome this election can and will take. The outcome of a Trump win is too bleak to even fathom and for those skeptical of Clinton John Oliver did an excellent piece on their respective scandals.

Certainly the state of the union is in need of massive reform and Clinton may not be able to deliver the kind of sweeping change the nation so desperately needs but things will get better. Slowly but surely. And perhaps pave the way for an honest-to-goodness progressive in the not too distant future.

Regardless of Trump's pandering, his provocative hate-speech, his appeal to the reptile in us all he will fail. His campaign will equivocate, rant, and pervert, its what they do. Let them spin, we will win. There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come. A woman will hold the highest office in government. 45th president of the United States Hillary Clinton.

'The Magnificent Seven' A Review

The Magnificent Seven is a western, a remake of the 1960 film of the same name itself a remake of the Japanese original Seven Samurai. The film opens in 1879 on a small mining town Rose Creek which is under the increasingly tight and violent rule of Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard). Searching for help Emma Cullen(Haley Bennett) encounters and persuades bounty hunter Sam Chisolm(Denzel Washington) to assist. Chisolm rounds up six rough and tumble warriors to stand up the robber baron and the inevitable confrontation ensues.

Washington's magnetism has not decreased with age, he is eminently watchable as always, especially refreshing with the glut of narratives with moral ambiguity, he is a hero plain and simple. The rest of the seven, although mostly underdeveloped, give playful performances with a couple nice flourishes. Notably Vincent D'Onofrio as the squeaking voiced barely sane religious mountain man and Byung-hun Lee and Ethan Hawk as Goodnight Robicheaux and Billy Rocks respectively who exhibit an understated romantic chemistry. The big misfire of the group is Chris Pratt as Joshua Faraday whose punching a bit above his weight. Without his normal levity to lean his typical charm isn't in full force and he fails to reach the sought after levels of menace and nihilistic bravado. Bennett does a good job, although not exactly showcased she fights and isn't a romantic interest, a success in and of itself even if her character lacks dimension(they all do).

The landscapes of the film are stunning, the gun play and horse work thrilling, there is only half a dozen CGI dynamite induced explosions which are slightly distracting but don't detract from the mostly evocative and transportive world the film builds with its production design and stunt work. The characters aren't as fully flushed out as you might like but the performances make up for most of those gaps and the script provides brief moments of illumination for the characters. flushing out the various perspectives with back story and inference with a surprising elegance. There are certainly over-the-top moments and periodic cliched moralizing but as a whole it works. In our current climate a film this straightforward is a rare pleasure.

Excellent action, great cast, and an unapologetic heroic yarn.

See It.

Snap Shot

I remember sitting outside my grandfather's hospital room.
As he lay dying.

Too afraid to be in the room for long
I hugged him and said "I love you"
and my father, perhaps, realizing
it was too much for a seven-year-old
or recognizing my wide-eyed panic
excused me into the hall.

I knew he was sick
and the illness grave
but I did not believe it possible that he could die,
did not think death itself was real
more a construct of fiction
displayed in Bambi and Princess Bride
not in life.
In fact I was convinced
of his recovery,
the vaulted figure of my grandfather
could not die
because I loved him.

And so I sat
alone and maybe bored
waiting for the trip to Baskin Robbins my father had promised.

The Necessity of Hope

Wrote this for Quenchers tonight.

Regardless of who you support this political season, regardless of your desired outcome, it is inarguable that it is toxic. Defined not by policy or ideals but baseness, negativity, and disdain. It calls to mind the 2008 election by comparison, which although certainly contentious, carried with it the promise of hope, the pledge of change. The idea that we could be better.

We live in a postmodern era. Culture and the arts predominantly defined by irony and detachment. Morality sacrificed for self reference. Heroism traded in for ambiguity. This movement is especially prevalent in this our Chicago comedy community. Not to say that it doesn’t have its place or isn’t entertaining. But absurdism, irony, breaking the fourth wall, anti-comedy, these things certainly have value but they, almost by definition, lack heart. They offer a safe reserve for the artist, a shield, from which to comment behind without risk. If everything is stupid, if you don’t put any real belief or idealism into your work, if you don’t put anything on the line, you can’t be judged. Can’t be ridiculed. Sincerity and faith, hope and optimism are dangerous because they can so easily be undermined. But in our world which is increasingly chaotic and cruel we are in need of these things more than ever. In need of inspiration to lift our spirits, hope of a brighter future to look toward. Faith that, perhaps, there is goodness in the world.

Here’s the thing despair is easy. Watch the news for ten minutes or spend $10 at the liquor store for rot gut and you can know futility. I’ve been to the darkness, I know what it is, there was a time I thought it wasn't worth it, conceded that the world at large was broken and my life as I knew it lost. Apathy is cheap. Misery cheaper still. If you’ll excuse the oft used metaphor. Falling down was easy. Getting back up took actual effort. There came a point where I made a decision. Enough. I clung to the small sliver of faith that I had that things would work out. I gathered all the shreds of hope I could muster that maybe I could have a better life. And over time I did. And it was not irony that helped me but hugs, companionship, and the liquid gold of sunrise on the lake.

Recently a friend was robbed at gunpoint. Irony, detachment, and moral grayness did not help them navigate the encounter or help them after. It was bravery that allowed them to endure and the love and support of friends that helped them get back on their feet. Another friend is seeking treatment for addiction and mental illness, absurdism does not help bolster their courage. The kindness and understanding of the ones they love does. Another relationship problems, another stress, another professional displacement, and another and another and another. We all have problems and face challenges on a daily basis. But we also have kisses, soft hands lovingly held, ice cream, unexpected gifts, and snorting laughter. The doctrine of our postmodern society does not fuel our perseverance, does not provide examples of grace, does not instill in us hope or offer the promise of joy, only persuades us from participation, only offers the safety of indifference. In the moment, perhaps, this is enough- escape. But in reality, in life, this is a recipe for dissatisfaction. Without emotional risk there is no reward.

When you hear words like hope, faith, love, truth, sincerity you may think them cliche or sickly sweet. It may call to mind Lifetime movies or family friendly entertainment. You may shy away from them as precarious or uncool. And I understand. But these ideas are not only what make life worth living but allow us to keep living it. In our world where terrorism, murder, and bigotry are on display every day it is the artist’s job not only to entertain but to move, not only to amuse but to inspire, not only to divert but to enliven. To remind us that while there is heartbreak there is also the glory of new life, of fears overcome, of first kisses, of ferris wheels, of warm embraces, of bedtime stories, of good conversation shared over hot coffee, of triumph.

Recently I was in the Target checkout line and the person behind the counter asked me my profession I replied “Insurance” they then told me they had recently had a fender bender and had some coverage questions. We talked for a couple minutes and I think I somewhat assuaged their claim related fears. We connected. And perhaps this interaction is mundane when compared to the striking majesty of nature or the symphony of true love but none the less there was a beauty to it. Two strangers for a moment sharing space and time.

I am uninterested in the absurd for its own sake, I am unaffected by witty remove, I am bored by non-sequiturs and quasi-surrealist presentation. I am unimpressed by deliberate and winking lack of commitment. I want to know what you think and need and believe. I want to know who you are. I want to know what thrills you what angers you what brings you joy. I want to know your pain because I will recognize it and together we can heal.

If you are called to irony stylistically I suppose I cannot fault you. But if you use it because its easy, to avoid judgement, as security, you are acting out of fear.

I believe things will work out. I believe, although flawed, most people are good. I believe that, given time, empathy is possible with almost anyone. I believe everyone deserves kindness and an attempt at understanding. I believe if we all made a concerted effort to treat each other with respect the world would improve faster than we could imagine. I believe my art should promote these beliefs.

We live in trying times. Tragedies and threats a daily occurrence. Now more than ever we must have hope. Cultivate it in ourselves and inspire it in others. Remember the joy of the apple orchard and pumpkin patch, the delight of friendship, the exhilaration of romance. We are the ones that shape tomorrow.

'Author: The JT Leroy Story' A Review

Author: The JT LeRoy Story is a documentary about the literary persona JT LeRoy created by author Laura Albert. Albert recounts her childhood, the creation of LeRoy by calling crisis hotlines, her eventual publication as LeRoy, the subsequent success, the perpetuation of the persona with Albert acting as cockney-accented manager Speedie and Albert's partner's half-sister Savannah as LeRoy, and the eventual reveal by the press. The majority of the film is narrated by Albert with archival footage and taped phone conversations interspersed.

The machinations and extent that Albert went to to create and maintain LeRoy are interesting as is the friendships LeRoy cultivated with celebrities but what becomes startlingly apparent over the course of the film is that Albert is seemingly unwell. There is a naked narcissism on display while Albert recounts the whole controversy, she clearly relishes it all and not only avoids any semblance of responsibility she acts as if no one involved has any. It seems clear she is living in a fantasy world populated by the various personas she created and the celebrities she interacted with. She makes frequent mention of "portals" which she never fully explains but seem to be gateways to fame. LeRoy passed through a portal when he met Bono. She discusses her problems with being overweight and only "felt like herself" after numerous surgeries. Not to say that body issues are superficial but the way she talks about it, with such a disconcerting fat-is-bad skinny-is-pretty attitude, comes across as totally lacking self-awareness.

As the story unfolds Albert seems to have no regard for the effect this deception she was the mastermind of had on people either as a writer or a friend. It's a protracted, indulgent, retelling of the controversy by its perpetrator who is an admitted and proven chronic fabricator thus everything she says is suspect. You'd probably get a clearer less biased version of the story by revisiting the 2006 New York Times article.

The JT LeRoy story certainly has fascinating elements- what is memoir/what is fiction, the separation of art and artist, and the possible motivation for a pretense on this scale- but nothing is ever fully discussed or explored. We spend the majority of the film listening to Albert and as time goes on you feel sad for her because of how many issues she's clearly grappling with(or avoiding), it feels almost invasive or exploitative.

A disconcerting look at an unstable author behind a minor literary scandal. A story more appropriate for a 40 minute podcast than a 110 minute feature film.

Don't See It.