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My thoughts on music and movies.

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No Country For Old Men Came Out 10 Years Ago... Hard to believe.

The film came out ten years ago. Its definitely one of the best films of the last 25 years.

“I was sheriff of this county when I was twenty-five. Hard to believe. Grandfather was a lawman. Father too. Me and him was sheriff at the same time, him in Plano and me here. I think he was pretty proud of that. I know I was.”

No Country For Old Men has all the elements of a great film.

The Coen Brothers find a way to make a Cormac McCarthy story their own. It feels like Cormac personally wrote the screenplay for them. The filmmakers bring the story to life by adding their signature filmmaking. It has the quirky characters, the poignant and unique dialogue, the simplistic plot, and the signature look. Audiences will not ignore the strength of the dialogue. The conversations are both poignant and meaningless at the same time. Within all of that, there’s a good balance of comedic and serious.

While there were great performances from everyone involved, the best was Javier Bardem’s. He blows the audience away  (no pun intended). He plays a hitman, Anton Chigurh, who has been hired to recover missing money. A poor man/former welder, Llewlyn Moss (Brolin) stumbles upon the two million dollars of cash, and runs away with it.  Chigurh hunts him down. Why? Money?Not exactly. As a viewer, you sense he has a moral code, but you don’t know why. The ambiguity makes the character so interesting. He travels carrying a tank of compressed air, and killing people with a cattle stun gun. He decides the fate with a flip of a coin. Javier Bardem shows us what could be considered one of the greatest villains on film.

Roger Deakins once again proves to be one of the best cinematographers working today, and possibly one of the best ever. I find it interesting that this film, for the most part has no score. It works for this film, because they really don’t need it to help build suspense. Did the Cohen Brothers make their masterpiece? One could argue that for hours. I do think, in my opinion, there hasn’t been a villain to top Anton Chirgurh.

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All Lives, You Say? (The Playlist)

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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

                                                       ★★★★

                                "We have to go back for Gamora!"

After finishing the second installment in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, it's plain to see that James Gunn knows how to make a good space opera without taking itself too seriously. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is a fun movie, and hardly has any flaws about it. The cast is superb, and the soundtrack heightens the experience.

I would look at Vol. 2 like a second episode in a series. The first film introduces the characters. Vol. 2 develops the characters even further. Much like Guardians, it has some heartfelt moments, but with a little bit more emotional weight.

Chris Pratt, Michael Rooker, Zoe Salanda, Bradley Cooper and Dave Batuista continue to bring their A-game. Newcomer Kurt Russell is convincing as Ego. The scene where Ego introduces Peter to his planet, you get a sense this is a nefarious character. It says a lot about how good of an actor he is, when you want to like him anyway.

Once again, the soundtrack helps to embody the feeling of nostalgia. Chris Pratt often looks back at his Earth days in nostalgia. He makes movie references. And, I'm sure fanboys of old Mp3 hardware will be very happy. (To be completely honest, I was more of a Creative Nomad guy.

I think James Gunn might be the first filmmaker of comic book films to have a consistent trilogy. He found a way to make the Space Exploration film lighthearted pleasure. Now that he's done it, no one else can without being accused of plagiarism.

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An Oral History of Wilco Concerts I Attended

Here’s a look back at Tweedy’s song break banter through the years.

Bonaroo Music Festival, June 11, 2004, Manchester, TN

Jeff: This is off A Ghost Is Born, our new record that’s not out yet. Anybody here heard it?

Crowd: YEAH!!!

Jeff: How’d that happen? Oh yeah, oh yeah… modern world. Song’s called “Muzzle of Bees…”

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Jeff: This is a song off our record called Mermaid Avenue… Woody Guthrie lyrics… There aren’t any beach balls? What gives? … We want black beach balls. (Plays “One by One”)

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Jeff: Alright. Beach balls. Can we get some smoked salmon? Nope? Back rub? (Plays “I’m A Wheel”)

Uptown Mix, September 22, 2004, Nashville, TN

Jeff: Hey Tennessee. You guys gonna vote? Are you guys vote for Bush?!

Crowd: (Mixed response)

Jeff: FUCK NO! Jesus Christ. When will this madness end?! It’s fucking insane! It’s gotta end. I’m sick of it! I’m sick of being lied to! It’s fucking lies. Motherfucking non-stop lies. I can’t take any more of this bull shit! … Thank you. (Plays “Christ For President”)

Jeff: Jesus Christ would have finished his commitment to the Texas National Guard! I know that for a fact!

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Jeff: I don’t think he’s here, but Ken Coomer, our old drummer lives in this town...  He’s always lived here. We love him. We’d like to send this song out to Ken, our second favorite drummer of all time. (Plays “Heavy Metal Drummer”)

Alabama Theatre, February 13, 2005, Birmingham, AL

Jeff: Hey, we just won a Grammy. (Plays “Late Greats”)

Chastain Amphitheater, June 19, 2007, Atlanta, GA

Jeff: I can’t believe you guys are willing to stand in the rain and get wet just so you can watch us play our instruments. (Plays “Walken”)

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The Silence of the Lambs

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "Starling! Starling! Crawford wants to see you in his office." The Silence of the Lambs is one of those films that peo...

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Afro Trump

Trump’s hair grows in the 1970s, when America was great. 

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Unforgiven

★ ★ ★ ★ "Just do it." Clint Eastwood has made a name for himself with Westerns. This time he plays a reformed gunslinger who has...

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Titanic

★★★★ "We are here." Some people love it, others roll their eyes at it. There’s no reason to call this a bad film. It’s a romance...

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Schindler’s List

                                                    ★★★★★  

                                                      "Name?"

Schindler's List is unquestionably, an extraordinary film.

I did not see a Liam Neeson film until Phantom Menance, but when I saw this it truly felt like I was watching his best performance. I think Schindler classifies as an anti-hero. He's not a perfect man. He's a Nazi, an adulterer, and he's ruled by money. Some how, you can't help but like the character. Ralph Fiennes' portryal of Amon Göth is quite disturbing. He just might be one of the most evil antagonists to ever be on film. As for Ben Kinglsey's performance, all I saw was Itzhak Stern. I did not know that he was in the film, and if I had, I doubt I would be thinking of the actor.

The black and white photography is a nice touch. It identifies the bleak tone, and era. By this point John Williams, has mastered bringing Spielberg's films to life. He proves again that he and Spielberg have one of the best, if not the best, director/composer relationships in film. The classical score accompanies the desaturated photography almost perfectly. This is probably one the most horrific Spielberg films ever made, next to Saving Private Ryan. It's gut wrenching, and quickly gets to your core. It's highly identifiable, and makes you identify with Schindler's internal struggle. You're in constant disbelief. The final scene was well done, and very touching. Seeing the people that were saved, makes it even more impactful.  The stones on his tombstone give us an even deeper understanding by how much he saved. It's truly a profound movie, and almost unfathomable.

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Forrest Gump

                                                         ★★★★

                                     “My name’s Forrest--Forrest Gump.”

You could easily label Forrest Gump as a sappy movie. Thats part of the charm. People hate this film for the reason that people love it. The sappy quality that the film possesses is not everyone's box of chocolate. 

Robert Zemekis has a talent for making you suspend your disbelief. Everything in the story is unbelievable, but the way Forrest tells it makes it interesting. Like the woman on the bench says, "I like the way you tell it."

It hits all the right cords. Many moments make you laugh out loud, others get you choked up. A good film should make you feel a range of all emotions.We see some technologies were still developing. 

The overdubbing is quite clumsy at times, but in a way adds to the humor. The way special effects artists make Lt. Dan Taylor look like he "didn't have no legs" was pretty innovative for the time.

The end of the film is the most emotional, devastating part. Forrest says that "I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time." That's the meaning of the floating feather that book ends in the movie. Can it be both? Shouldn't it be one or the other? I think the meaning of the film is that you don't know why or how things happen, it just does.

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Braveheart

                                                  ★★★★

"I shall tell you of William Wallace. Historians from England will say I am a liar. But history is written by those who have hung heroes."

Braveheart tells the story of real life Scottish knight, William Wallace. King Edwards "Longshanks" (McGoohan) invades and conquers Scotland after the death of King Alexander  III. Longshanks grants his noblemen land and privileges in Scotland. He even encourages them to help themselves to the Scots' wives. It is the death of Wallace's wife, Murron (McCormack) that serves as a catalyst for Scotland's fight for freedom.

William Wallace's quest for vengeance is what drives the plot. Any revenge plot can keep a viewer pealed to the screen. You root for them, and want them to get revenge and serve it to them, no matter how cold it may be.

It's no mystery that these battle scenes are intense, and exciting. Yes, they are incredibly gory but that's how it was back then in the 1300s. That's how it was back then when Mel Gibson was directing the story. These battle scenes were ahead of their time. Before 1995, there probably wasn't a film that had battle scenes with this level of gore, excitement, and suspense. Many other epic films and TV shows, I'm sure, took notes.

This is an incredible sophomoric debut for a director. Not many actors can say that they starred and directed in a giant, epic film. On top of that, it gained huge critical recognition. Gibson put on the best performance, and I think he did a fine job at directing this story, and getting the best performances out of his actors.

Whenever there is a historical film, there will always be someone complaining about its historical inaccuracies. We get things like William Wallace's army using tar and fire as a weapon of attack. His execution involved him being stretched and beheaded. He yells out "Freedom!" right before he dies. There are several critics that say all of these things are historically inaccurate. "He didn't really say Freedom!"

One thing filmmakers will never be able to escape is taking dramatic liberties. To quote  Hitchcock, "Don't let a little thing like history get in the way of good drama." I'm not sure if that quote is accurate, but I thought I heard him say that in a interview at some point. "Fake news."

What this film brought to the table is a vaguely accurate story with ridiculously violent battle scenes, likable characters, and a few laughs in between. I'd say that's not a bad film viewing experience.

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The English Patient

"There's meant to be lace in the next village - the boys are taking me." The English Patient is a good film. The film takes pl...

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Moonlight

March 9, 2017

"At some point you've got to decide who wanna be. Can't let nobody make that decision for you." - Juan

One word to describe this movie is subtlety. It is subtle in every aspect of film. The story, dialogue, acting, and cinematography. There is nothing wrong with this movie. I found nothing.

I really enjoyed the three-part structure. It’s a structure that audiences don’t see too often. There’s a peculiar freshness to it. It gives the film structure without being too predictable.

The performances are outstanding. You feel the humanness of every character. No one really seems like they’re trying to act. They’re just living and breathing in their environment. The standout performance for me was from Mershala Ali. The film opens with him, and from here through his humanity you can see what tone that this film is going to have. It’s really his performance that keeps engaged in the beginning. The other performers help the audience with this engagement.

The cinematography is just fascinating to watch. There’s a lot of variety of experimental shots here, and every one of them is very interesting to watch. Also, the color palette on every shot makes it very visually stimulating. The music is the icing on the cake. The classical music during Naomi Harris’ shots make you entranced. You can’t help but look away.

The formula makes for a great film watching experience. It deserves the attention that it has received.

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Twelve years ago, Wilco was nominated for two Grammys for the first time. What happened that night? They played one of their best shows in my hometown of Birmingham, AL at the Alabama Theatre. To this day, this truly was the greatest concert I attended. By the time they walked on stage, they had already won those Grammy’s. Jeff walked up to the mic, and nonchalantly goes “Hey, we uh won a grammy.” Then, they busted into “The Late Greats.” 

from AL.com, 2005: “Wilco is nominated for two Grammys this year, yet instead of attending the ceremonies tonight, they're playing in Birmingham, AL. The band didn't even consider the possibility of being nominated for a Grammy, so they booked shows throughout the month of February. "And guess where we're going to be on Grammy night," [bassist John] Stirratt says, laughing. "Can I just say that, instead of flying to L.A. and probably losing the Best Alternative Grammy to Bjork or someone else, we are going to be in Birmingham, Alabama? ... We would much rather be in Birmingham than at a Warner Bros. party in L.A. It's gonna be good to be there." Lead singer Jeff Tweedy agrees. ... Tweedy says he wasn't about to cancel [the] engagement for the tuxedo-heavy Grammy ceremony. "I can't say that having Grammy nominations means an enormous amount to us," he says. "I don't see it as being a validation of anything. To be really blunt, I don't have a lot of respect for the artists that have won Grammys. "On the other hand," he continues, "it's very exciting to be nominated for a Grammy because it makes your parents happy." But tonight at the Alabama Theatre, Wilco will be making their fans happy. At least, those lucky enough to have tickets to the sold-out show.”

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Robin Williams

Someone told me what it was like to work with Robin Williams. This is what they said.

"He was shooting a film, and it was close to wrapping. The final day went real long, and it had about a hundred background actors. Most actors don't acknowledge extras, but Robin was different. After a long day of shooting, Williams gave a heart warming speech to the background actors and crew about their dedication to the production. He then, started riffing on them, in the same way a comedian riffs on audience members at a stand up show. This lasted for forty five minutes. He picked out everyone. Literally everyone. Everyone in the production had the biggest smile on their face. It was a sight to see. Everyone knew there was something special about what they were witnessing. That's the kind of actor that he was."