FALL'S EYE PLEASURE and GONE GIRL AS A JOKE?

AUTUMN PAINT

  Tis the time of year when the blogosphere fills with fall color. Here's a contribution.

   Mid October in the Sierra Nevada is a treat. Providence provides a majestic palette.

   Perpetual gratitude to Ruth Armstrong who first alerted us to the wonders of the eastern slope and to Art Edis who suggested a fall color expedition in the June Lake region.

     Color hunters from around the globe share the mountain roads, lakesides and vistas in a joyful and hushed reverence. 

GONE GIRL

a divergent view

   The David Fincher film based on Gillian Flynn's well read book and powerfully written screen play is getting a lot of buzz. Fincher is a superb director and superb too are actors Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike and Kim Dickens. Pike's role is award nomination worthy. Neil Patrick Harris and Tyler Perry bring a lot in their small but important supporting roles.

   Some reviews have focused on the tight intrigue and mystery while others have plumbed the portrayal of marriage, manipulative madness, deceit and how truth can be quite a relative thing.  Fincher does all of that while moving a compelling story line ahead.  All of this is good.  Some of this is serious.  The brutality and deceit are troubling.  Still I left the theatre thinking what a clever joke it had been. I don't know if that is because of Flynn's writing or Fincher's directing or my sense of things after a life in journalism.

    Gone Girl was entertaining, with an emotional ride, but in the end was a kind of satire.  Look at how silly the media, especially cable news, and stories that spark feeding frenzy mobs really are. What does it say about the media and those who consume this stuff?  Look at how mercurial are fame and reputation.  Look at how vulnerable and relative "truth" is.  Look how a clever and deceptive mind can lead police, justice and media astray. Look at what happens in relationships.  Look what is says about honesty in being who you are.  Yep, Gone Girl does all of that and I think Fincher and company did it all in such a way that at the end we really need to chuckle and perhaps shake our heads. 

     I suspect most viewers wonder what happens next. You may have your own theory. The audience at our viewing left with a range of reaction and vocally so, which I understand happens with this film. Intense, even searching drama it was, but I wonder how many may see the humor in it all?

     See you down the trail

    

THE WEEKENDER-VISUALS

VISUALIZING

     THE WEEKENDER provides a few minutes of visual diversion for your weekend enjoyment.

Lonely Tree

     This caught my eye as I drove past a parking lot where they kept a narrow wedge of grass tipped off by a lone palm.  How are decisions like that made?

SPEAKING OF DRIVING
Here's a five minute excursion into driving
in the Sierra. You can find more polished and refined
videos, but this gives you a sense of the extraordinary
and expansive views available on the eastern slope.
 In a puff of self aggrandizement you may wish to pay attention to the "score."

REEL NOTES

for real

ARGO
Ben Affleck directed a riveting and suspenseful film, borrowed from an historic moment of success by a CIA clandestine operation during the Iran Hostage Crisis.
ARGO is  superbly entertaining and leaves you with a sense of fulfillment and success.  The acting is great, all around.
The attention to historic detail, especially in the casting match up is also great. I suspect this film will do well at the box office.  It is also one of those rare moments when
a member of the Intelligence Community is singled out for a victory, and that happened only because Bill Clinton declassified the operation during his administration.
This is a thoroughly enjoyable film. Oh yea-the 
short roles of John Goodman and Alan Arkin are
worth the price of admission alone!  But there is 
so much good about this film!
THE MASTER
I've told a few friends this is not a great film-too long-plodding-the script is lacking, including a sense of direction,
BUT it is worth seeing because of the acting.  This is especially true of Joaquin Phoenix's performance.  It is masterful, full of nuance and a kind of internal contortion and pain that powers his every moment on the screen. It is one of the most brilliant acting performances I've seen.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman is extraordinarily competent in his role as science fiction writer who becomes a cult leader.
Amy Adams as the highly wired wife is good as is Laura Dern and so are all of the supporting cast.  It's a decent introspection into a cult though it is the acting that makes it a worthwhile view.
Phoenix especially is to be commended for his memorable work.
See something this weekend that moves you.
See you down the trail.