Light/Breezes

Light/Breezes
SUNRISE AT DEATH VALLEY-Photo by Tom Cochrun
Showing posts with label Tom Hanks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Hanks. Show all posts

Monday, January 15, 2018

TOXIC-EXPLOITIVE and WELL DONE


shadow dance
    Just that time of day, the golden hour and the trees dance with their shadows.
     Wanted to start with something mellow, because a few graphs down we step into something deep.
America at its best
      The POST is one of those films that makes you wish everyone would take a couple of hours off to go see and then join into a national conversation.
       It is a beautiful and literate script by Josh Singer and Elizabeth Hannah and masterfully directed by the maestro, Steven Spielberg. They make it a great film, and so do Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks,  Matthew Rhys, Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, Tracy Letts, Carrie Coon, Bruce Greenwood as Robert McNamara, Sarah Paulson and in fact the entire cast. But what makes it important is the history, the constitutional, philosophical and political undercurrent and the decision of the Supreme Court. 
        We would be a worse nation if we did not know of the Pentagon Papers and learn how Presidents and a series of governments lied to us and then tried to hide behind national security. Worse too if the Supreme Court had not decided in favor of a free press and the right to publish.
       These issues, framed between the drama of Katherine Graham trying to manage in a man's world (another important storyline) and the battle between her as publisher and Editor Ben Bradlee, over the right and need to publish without interference, make for material that goes to the very heart and soul of this nation.
      Aside from being a great and entertaining film, it postures important questions for this very time in America. We swamp dive later. More immediately we tip toe along the fence line. 


about men and women
     Readers, please be gentle and think this through. If you don't, it may be  as Ed Murrow once said, "this just might do nobody any good."
       I subscribe to the notion of a "toxic masculinity" a variety of men behaving badly, very badly. It could be sexual aggression, manipulation, an exclusion of women, all of which have no place in civilized and decent social behavior.
       We have seen men fall because they possessed a toxic masculinity and made victims of women and other men. But we should remember not all masculinity is toxic and we must protect that fact. 
       Once a movement to redress grievances begins, pent up anger, injury and a desire to even the score can begin to affect our vision and shade more fine lines of distinction and even reason. There are indeed good men who possess and display a healthy masculinity. In fact they are allies in the #metoo, #timesup, human rights movements, as they should be. 
      It is my belief this needs to be understood- it important for men to begin to take ownership of how boys are taught and trained and how they learn what is proper and what is not. Good men need to teach and mentor boys. 
      It is a sick irony that some women who have been victimized work in an industry that helps explain why men behave badly. Television, Film, and music have profound impact on social mores and the adoption of masculine and feminine identities. 
      Violence that is so prevalent in forms of music, gaming, film and television also has a sexual component. 
       Once parents took it as a major responsibility but something has happened since those days. It's a challenge to find parents who even teach manners. Gone are the days when a majority of families taught their off spring to be ladies or gentlemen, to be courteous and respectful. Media is as dominant as parental guidance. 
       Yes we need to spend a lot of time as a culture figuring out the what and why for toxic masculinity and what can and should we do.
       But we should widen this discussion-and please hear me out. We should also address Explotive femininity as well. 
       Exploitive Femininity? Here's a notion-do you remember how you reacted when you saw Madonna's Like a Virgin video? I saw it in the newsroom on a pre-release. Some full disclosure here--I absolutely believe in artistic freedom, even to the point of making me, or anyone else uncomfortable. I am against any kind of censorship. I am an absolutist on the right to free speech. At the moment I saw the video I thought on the one hand, she was doing a good job of emoting sexuality and on the other, oh my gosh how is this going to shape the behavior of my daughters? That was a long time ago, tame by today's standards, and before dancing, body movement, style, lyrics became as explicit as they are.
        Any woman, for that matter anyone has the right to dress and express themselves as they wish without fear of being assaulted or violated. But- there are also consequences to every behavior.
      When little girls are taught to flaunt, tease, pose, act, pretend in behavior that is sensual or sexual, beyond their age or maturation, they are being trained in sexual exploitation. Four and five year olds being taught to move like  Beyonce, Lil Kim, Miley Cyrus, etc. etc. is twisted, and maybe even worse. How many kids are growing up wanting or pretending to be a singer who continues to visit their own genitalia? There are consequences to every behavior.
       Do you remember when strippers did their thing in bars and when cheer leaders acted more like gymnasts? I happen to think the human body is a beautiful thing, but it seems even professional dress is a lot more explicit and revealing. Who ever heard of side boob revelations? It's even a form of social media reporting. There is a time and place for everything. Again there are consequences.
      How many of you who have managed in an environment where there was a woman on staff who plied her wiles to woo, influence or try to manipulate you. I've attended  discussions where management techniques to stop and disarm the exploitation were on the table. I shut down those kind of advances, not so much because I was a paragon of virtue but because that kind of behavior was toxic, dangerous and could lead to serious repercussions for the manager and the company. Still there are people who use their sexuality as a tool. That too is Exploitive Femininity.
      I am not for a moment trying to dampen the reckoning that is underway and long over due, but I think our national conversation must be expansive, holistic and honest. All pieces of the sexual political puzzle need to be on the table.
     The point here is to suggest there is a lot about how boys and girls pick up cues as to how to be men and women, straight or gay, that needs examination and fixing. Now that we live in a world where trans, and in transition are identity groups, the conversation needs to be enlightened, intelligent and non judgmental.  It is complex and multi faceted.

        The work of artist Bryn Forbes symbolizes, for me the intricacies of the debate.
         His recent series A Light Behind Every Window explains the deeply byzantine and abstruse nature of sexual politics.
Frames from A Light Behind Every Window by Bryn Forbes

          It won't be an easy conversation, but it is necessary.
There is a lot to unpack. And, sadly, we have a sick and despicable role model marauding through our culture now and his supporters must come to accept guilt for his revolting and degrading behavior.
not worthy
     Have you seen the video of the idiot in chief blowing the lines of the National Anthem. The National Anthem for heavens sake!! He is supposed to be president and he doesn't know the national anthem?
     His comment-the shit hole statement-confirms his racism. I'm surprised by the reaction(?) of Mike Pence. Oh, you didn't see any either eh? Did he sell his soul to get on the ticket?
     It is bad enough the jerk is fouling the White House, worse that some 30% of American voters still support him. That too is toxic.

      See you down the trail.



       

Monday, October 3, 2016

Down The Path and Reel Stuff


 life altering experience
the tree once had more lofty goals and heights to reach. it adapts

reel stuff
   As the negative commercials and political bombast continue, the big screen offers a couple of great diversions.
    Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger is an enduring American hero, someone to celebrate and who lifts our spirit with the knowledge of our ability to be great. Tom Hanks is a great and timeless actor and Clint Eastwood is in a rare supreme category in film directing. Obviously Sully is worth your time. Everyone should see how our NTSB system functions and how the US Air landing on the Hudson was handled, where blame spreading and butt covering was an intent. Hero judgment and response saves the day, again.
   
    Some of us were so caught up in the Beatles mania we were not thinking about the impact they had on touring and what touring did to them. 
     They were the first to do arena and stadium rock-long before the mega equipment and rock tour entourages.
      The Beatles-Eight Days a Week-the Touring Years is a Ron Howard handling of archival film and recent interviews with Paul and Ringo and others. 
       Those earlier boys were bright, entertaining and capable of conquering the world. We revisit those days with annotations from now. The music, footage and infectious joy and mania are like a sip from a time machined brew. It leaves you high with a dose of the expansive and youthful feelings of the sixties and seventies. It feels good to channel those years. Howard does a brilliant weave of moments so that one feels part of the tour. It is an intimate look at the real boys to men.

missed opportunity?
some see a bloom
others see an old choke
perhaps you see a missed side dish

 down the path
  don't you think pathways are one of our better ideas? they can be inviting, especially so at sunset
 an ice cream truck awaits
   The arrangement behind the wine barrel, the stack of "spears" is the business end of an old hay rake. A ranch tool.
the shadows lengthen and a party awaits 


   See you down the trail.

Monday, October 19, 2015

REVIEWS AND TIPS

Early evening October moon over Cambria
REVIEWS
    The little gray cells were massaged nicely in the last few days and they can't refrain from sharing a few tips for you.
DOUBLE INSPIRATION
     He Named Me Malala is a spellbinding and inspiring documentary of Malala Yousafzai, the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner. Though the world knows her story, gunned down by the Taliban for speaking up for education for girls, the film takes you into her life and deeper into the context of the shooting and her extraordinary recovery and travel since. She is special and so is the film. The animated sequences are especially well done. You'll be left with a sense of hope despite the presence of the damnably wicked Taliban and Isis. Here is how good wins out.

     Bridge of Spies combines Hanks and Spielberg in a script written by the Cohen brothers and young Brit Matt Charman. 
     James Donovan was real and engineered and negotiated an extraordinary spy swap at the height of the cold war and the fear of nuclear war. Hanks gives life to an American who's effort and accomplishment is also inspiring.
     The Hank's as Donovan conversation about the "rule book"- the Constitution-with a CIA handler is a classic defense of a constitutional government that is forced to play by its own rules. At the apex of US-USSR tension and toe to toe, when the Soviet's test was to push until they got resistance, Donovan's insistence to do it properly was seen as a strength by both the East Germans and the Soviets who were also at odds. Again doing and saying the right thing wins. 
     Great to see history told in a Spielberg film. Mark Rylance as Col. Rudolph Abel, the Soviet Spy, creates a character who defines what it is to be laconic but also riveting. Hanks is masterful, but so is Rylance. Spielberg knows how to entertain and inform. The visual look, even the light in the scenes, puts you back in 1962. We think this is a great film.
OTHER REEL THOUGHTS
    Tobey Maguire's portrayal of Bobby Fischer in Pawn Sacrifice is one of the outstanding acting performances of the year.  Director Edward Zwick gives us an enthralling film about the 1972 world Chess championship and the intense mental game it is, including the haunted mind of Fischer. Liev
Schreiber scores as Russian Boris Spassky.

    Nancy Meyers (As Good as it Gets) new film The Intern is nothing but entertaining, a bit touching and a great study of values. De Niro and Anne Hathaway are great together as generational antagonists and eventual allies. A tag line or a working title could have been Baby Boomers meet the Millenials. This is a feel good film.

    My first viewing of this film was in my head as I read Jon Krakauer's Book Into Thin Air. Krakauer is not pleased by the film Everest that was written independently of his book, though it is based on the tragic incident in spring of 1996 when 8 climbers died in a ferocious blizzard on Mt Everest.
     Director Baltasar Kormakur tried to film some of the movie at 15 thousand feet but said he and the crew were so oxygen deprived most of the film was unusable. The real life episode played out at about double that altitude. The film underscores what Krakauer and other journalists have said of that ill fated day-too many people trying to summit, and too many bad judgements including by veterans who knew better.
      This is an intense adventure-disaster drama with a host of great actors making it powerful. Jason Clark, Thomas Wright, Josh Brolin, Jake Gylenhaal, Robin Wright, Keira Knightly, Emily Watson, Tom Goodman-Hill, Ang Phua Sherpa, John Hawkes, Michael Kelly and believe or not, even more. More than a couple of people I know came away from this film wondering even more strongly, why would someone put themselves through all that? That answer remains elusive.
         I hope Cambrians will avail themselves to the rollicking and even poignant comedy, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE that is playing the CCAT. I wish all could see this production.
     The work by Christopher Durang was the 2013 Tony winner and is perfect for the Cambria demographic.  It is fresh, timely and "speaks" to us. 
     Under Nancy Green's directing the cast provides what is a stunningly entertaining evening. Talented Jill Turnbow combines her ability to own a character with her brilliant comedic timing and punctuates the night with laugh after laugh, while also breaking your heart. Oz Barron is perfect as her brother and his climactic rant and harangue had the audience howling.  Susie Fulton as the third sibling was perfect as the glamorous movie star famous sister bound for a big change of life. Some of the best moments of the evening came from Priscilla McRoberts as the hilarious "psychic" house cleaner Cassandra. Kathryn Gucik brought a fresh and idealistic Nina to life, endearingly and Wade Tillotson was perfect as a boy toy who had trouble keeping on his clothing. 
      It is splendid when a full cast excels and in this case it made a brilliant script jump off the stage in a masterful and enjoyable way.     
 ALSO IN THE VILLAGE
  Lana's recent poster design, now an oil painting, is hanging at Cutruzzola Vineyards wine tasting room in Cambria's west village.
   As this post is a series of reviews, I thought I'd tell my favorite artist that she can add Poster Art to her resume that includes Plein Air, abstract, expressionism and ceramic work. She is a talented woman with an inexhaustible creativity.

    See you down the trail.

Friday, January 10, 2014

HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE IT? plus EVENING and GOOD WITH POPCORN-THE WEEKENDER

THE GLOAMING

WHEN STARS AND/OR POPCORN ARE ENOUGH
    A buddy, a former FBI agent and leader of a television investigative team said his lovely bride had to drag him "kicking and screaming" to SAVING MR. BANKS. He raved about it.  I understand why.
      We expected something else than the intricate and well woven back story to Walt Disney's making of Mary Poppins. First the 20 year courtship of the author P.L. Travers, and then her history as magnificently played by Emma Thompson, worthy of an Academy nomination at least. Tom Hanks was remarkable, as always, as Walt Disney.  Colin Farrell deserves a lot of applause for his Mr. Banks. Bradley Whitford and Jason Schwartzman were terrific in their supporting roles and Paul Giamatti was nomination worthy in his.  This is a touching, entertaining, fascinating and memorable film. First class in all ways.
HEY, DA BOYS MIX IT UP
    The GRUDGE MATCH is not for everyone, but if you are a De Niro, Stallone, Alan Arkin or Kim Bassinger fan, or if you simply like popcorn and cliche, you might enjoy it.  I did, even though it was reminiscent of a Rocky re-tread and the popcorn was outrageously expensive.
     I guess I was curious to see how a couple of old boys-my age-could handle the boxing gym and ring scenes. BTW Arkin stole a few scenes, as he does so well.  Bassinger need only show up. She remains a stunning beauty as she ages, not so De Niro and Stallone, but then how could they?
   This is a guys film probably. Jim Lampley's presence made me think I was watching an HBO boxing match, set up. I enjoyed the almost two hours, but then I like boxing, pop corn, De Niro and seeing how make up artists can help make Stallone becoming increasingly a punched up, punched out punchy old puncher.  
REAL LIFE COURAGE
    I hope you'll take 7 minutes to watch this exceptionally well done piece on an extraordinary person. This is real life heroism, just in getting by.  You'll feel better about almost everything after you've seen it.
WISH YOU COULD HAVE BEEN THERE
    Cambrian Tess Wright, prevailed again as Mistress of the Salon as she moderated a fascinating discussion about where a couple of Cambria artists fit into the modern art milieu. Full disclosure here, one of those artist is Lana with whom I have lived and who's art I have enjoyed for longer than you need to know.  The other is Bruce Marchese, a displaced Brooklyn lad who was hailed as an exuberant colorist.  Tess has presented a series of lectures on art and artists and I hope someday they'll be available for a wider distribution. Her research is superb and her rapport with artists is a treat to behold.  Thanks to the Wise Owl for a great venue.
    See you down the trail.

Monday, October 14, 2013

SEAL TEAM STEEL-YOUR NEWS IQ AND IT TAKES A VILLAGE

SEAL COOL
    REEL NOTES CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
    A couple of extraordinary things struck me in an otherwise excellent film, directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks, who seems incapable of anything but masterful. Hank's acting when he portrays Captain Phillips in shock, and the extraordinary low key cool of the real navy personnel who play acted their real life roles, are more than worth the ticket.
     Hanks emotional volume and visceral acting in this act were stunning. 
      As the operation drama reaches a peak, the screen fills with military and medical staff who are the real deal, apparently getting a pass to portray a role. They evince an Ã©lan. It is all about mission-efficient and in control.
     You see technology and intel being brought to conduct in the planning and execution of the operation. These touches are an additional layer of film making skill.
      The film is an enthralling adventure.  There are present issues with the real Captain Phillips' navigating and some of the Phillips' behavior was directorial interpretation. Though not unimportant, they do not affect the storytelling or power of engagement in Greengrass' film. For his part, Hanks has such a facile way of digging into a character and making them live he trades on credibility and you believe.   

 LOW DOWN ON LOW INFORMATION 
     How do you define a low information voter?
     If the recent work of Pew Research is indicative "low information" might be giving too much credit. Is stupid more appropriate?   How do you measure up?
     Link here to take a quick News IQ QuizYou may have your own editorial comment after you've seen your results and those of fellow voters.


LOCAL COLOR
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
    We treasure village life.  
    The simple pleasures are magnified, as when the grounds of the Cambria Historical Society became the gathering center for a Harvest Market-a kind of tag sale, ice cream social and music venue.  For those who do not know our village nestled in Monterey Pines between the Pacific and the Santa Lucia mountains, here are homespun autumn snapshots. 










a desert that is an appetizer
    See you down the trail.

Friday, November 2, 2012

THE WEEKENDER-GETS MY VOTE & WHAT A CLOUD

ADAPTABILITY & GRACE
      As we endure the final weekend of this campaign year we offer a video of a truly courageous man with real grace. 
ARCHIVE SNAPS
      
 REEL THOUGHTS
 CLOUD ATLAS
    Wachowski sibling films; Matrix-trilogy, V-for Vendetta and now Cloud Atlas have something more than an exotic locus, dynamic story arc, rich characters, tense drama and large action.  Their cinema realities, full of fantasy, have a coiling truth quest that make the films seem to be springboards for discussions of theology, spirituality, meaning and purpose.
    Cloud Atlas is many things, including a venue for extraordinary acting. Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Susan Sarandon, Bae Doo-na, Keith David, Ben Winshaw and Zhao Xun all play multiple roles and do so extraordinarily well augmented by mind-boggling make-up, wardrobe and special effects departments. 
     The film is a kind of cross between a Rorschack test and a Terrence Malick epic.  You can see many things in a directorial weave that requires you to pay attention. Fascinating, dazzling, intriguing, inspiring and just plain entertaining even if some leave confused while others believe they have been given one more clue to the purpose of life and the meaning of the universe. I leave wanting to talk with my philosophy major buddy and friends who are PhD's in theology. It would be great to have beer with 
Andy and Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer. What were they trying to say?
     It is a stimulatingly great 164 minutes that seem to fly by. There are precious few film makers who can hold you there for almost 3 hours, without an awareness of the hours going by. 
A TRIBUTE NOW TO THE 
EFFECT OF THOSE POLITICAL ADS
See you down the trail.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

A JEWEL, GOLD AND A DIAMOND

PRECIOUS- 
TOLD, FOUND, OLD
*Thoughts on an extraordinary new film
*A day of discovery
*A Neil Diamond encounter

REEL THOUGHTS
EXTREMELY LOUD AND OUTRAGEOUSLY CLOSE
I want to add a few more oxymorons to the title 
of the film-
uniquely extraordinary
powerfully moving
hauntingly reassuring.
This is not one of those big name (Tom Hanks,
Sandra Bullock, Max Van Sydow, Viola Davis)
formulaic and predictable films. Director Stephen
Daldry(The Reader, The Hours, Billy Elliot) keeps you off balance from the unsettling opening credits. He has a lot to work with.  Eric Roth's screenplay (Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Forest Gump,The Insider, Munich, Horse Whisperer)
is the latest in a series of brilliant scripts. He worked with
actor/writer Jonathan Safran Foer's  (Everything is Illuminated) book Extremely Loud and Outrageously Close.  These are some of the brightest, most
talented, gifted and cerebral people in film making.
What you get is a film that works on you in a 
special way.  The premise, a possibly near Asperger's syndrome nine year old, finds a key belonging to his father who died in the 9/11 attack. That launches him
on a search mission that leads viewers into a 
wonderful discovery of humanity and love.
Thomas Horn, the nine year old, carries this
film in a way that only seeing can convey.
Hanks and Bullock are again superb.
But Max Van Sydow, as a speechless man, is so good
he will etch a memory.  He uses no words, just
expressions,his eyes and body language. Wow!!!
It is an odd film, hard to categorize, makes you laugh,
cry, feel desperation and then joy.
Yea, guess I'm saying this is one you want to see. It's a jewel.
GOLD?
It was on this date in 1848 that gold was discovered
at Sutter's Mill, pictured below.
 Gold flecks in this creek set off what became
the gold rush of '49.
California was forever changed.
If you'd like a quick tour of California's Gold country
link here for an earlier post of the Mother Lode Highway.
A DIAMOND MEMORY
Noting that today is Neil Diamond's birthday
reminded me of an encounter years ago.
I was a college student working at a commercial station
that hosted a "Caravan of Stars" concert headlined by
Mr. Diamond who was just then breaking out. It was still very early in his career.
  Most of the tour traveled on a bus but we were told that Neil was traveling by motorcycle and would arrive later.
I had been scheduled to do dressing room interviews
with the singers as they were changing into their
performance outfits.  
Diamond arrived back stage, got a notice from the producer he was to be interviewed by me.  He came over to where
I was set up.  
"Hi I'm Neil, I'm here for my interview." 
"Nice to meet you.  I like your music, " I said.
"Would you like to change before the interview?" I added.
Diamond looked shocked, perplexed.
"What's wrong with this?" He said looking down at 
his jeans, boots and rubbing his leather jacket
over a ruffled shirt.
We did the interview.  I apologized in some mumbled manner
about insulting him.  He passed it off like it was no
big deal.
I soon noticed that more rock stars abandoned blazers, mohair suits and the like for "real" clothes. 
In his autobiography Keith Richards tells how the Stones
made that transition.  It was just a few months after the Diamond encounter the Stones
toured the mid-west and I was assigned to
a news conference with the lads.
No costumes for them.  Lots of cigarettes though. 
They had made the change.
Neil Diamond was the cutting edge of that cultural change
which just took a little longer to get to Muncie
Indiana in the mid '60's.
Thanks for the lesson, Neil.  Sorry again.
Happy Birthday.
See you down the trail.