Monthly Archives: May 2020

Music Video of the Day: Subterranean Homesick Blues (1965, directed by D.A. Pennebaker)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Today we wish a happy birthday to one of the most important figure in American music and American culture in general, Mr. Bob Dylan.

This music video was shot as a promo for the ground-breaking documentary, Don’t Look Back.  It was filmed in an alley near the Savoy Hotel in London.  The cards that Dylan flips throughout the video were written by Donovan, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Neuwirth and Dylan himself and, of course, both Ginsberg and Bob Neuwirth can spotted standing in the background of the video.  (Considering that Don’t Look Back features a famous scene in which Dylan absolutely humiliates Donovan, I always found it interesting that he played a role in the production of this video.  Did Donovan help write out the cards before or after the It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue incident?)  In typical Dylan fashion, the cards feature intentional misspellings and occasionally they don’t actually match up with the lyrics.  For instance, the song may mention needing “eleven dollar bills” but the card reads “twenty.”

Dylan filmed two other versions of this video, neither one of which was officially released but which can both be found in Martin Scorsese’s Dylan documentary, Don’t Look Back.  One was shot at a nearby park while the other was apparently filmed in the Savoy Hotel itself.  All three of the videos follow the same basic theme of Dylan flipping cards while Ginsberg and Neuwirth wander about in the background.

This song, which was inspired by the writings of Beats like Ginsberg and Kerouac (as well as, according to Bob Dylan, by the music of Chuck Berry), was Bob Dylan’s first top ten single in the U.S.

Enjoy!

 

Once Upon A Time In London (2019, directed by Simon Rumley)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

It’s not easy to make British gangsters seem boring but Once Upon A Time In London manages to do it.

Once Upon A Time In London deals with the period of time when British organized crime was still in its infancy, before the Krays came to power and made every London criminal with a good wardrobe into a minor celebrity.  The movie starts in the 30s with Jack Comer (Terry Stone) forming a crime syndicate out of a group of anti-fascists who originally came together to battle the members of Oswald Mosley’s pro-Nazi British Union of Fascists.  However, because that story would have possibly been interesting, the film then switches focus to Billy Hill (Leo Gregory), a younger gangster who used to work with Jack but who now wants to displace Jack as the top man in London organized crime.

It’s based on a true story and Jack Comer (or Jack Spot, as he was better known as) and Billy Hill were the type of flamboyant gangsters that could, in theory, be the subject of a really good movie.  Unfortunately, Once Upon A Time In London is not that film.  It’s a strange film, one that is overlong but which also feels as if it’s missing key scenes.  It’s often hard to follow why anyone is doing what they are doing.  The action skips from violent set piece to violent set piece but the film never takes the time to explain who is fighting who or for what reason so all of the violence doesn’t add up to anything.  The constant fights and torture scenes feel like they were lifted from other, better gangster films.  You’re never sure why Jack and Billy were working together in the first place so there’s no emotional stakes to their eventual rivalry.  That neither Terry Stone nor Leo Gregory gives a particularly interesting performance definitely does not help matters.

Once Upon A Time In London does deserve credit for its efforts to recreate the London of the 40s and 50s.  The clubs and the shabby suits all feel authentic and the dialogue is believably pungent, if not particularly interesting.  But, for all the care that went into recreating the era, the movie struggles to get us to care about any of it.

Once Upon A Time In London is disappointment.  There are many great stories to be told about British organized crime but this isn’t one of them.

Music Video of the Day: Bang (Starting Over) by Corey Hart (1990, directed by Meiert Avis)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Corey Hart is best known for defining the 80s with Sunglasses At Night but, as the saying goes, he did have other songs.

Bang (Starting Over) is the title track from Hart’s fifth album, Bang.  Unfortunately, Bang only produced one moderate hit and it wasn’t this song.  I say unfortunately because Bang (Starting Over) is actually a pretty good song and it just had the misfortune to be released at a time when musical tastes were changing.  Both the song and Hart are better appreciated now than they were in 1990.

This video was directed by Meier Avis, who has directed videos for just about everyone.

Enjoy!

Funny Pains: Documentary Review, Poster and Trailer

Posted on by paddiesthoughts

First off,

I am not a very good documentary reviewer, so, remember that going forward.

Second off:

Here is the poster Funny Pictures

 

Third Off:

Here is the trailer:

Review:

I got this screener thinking it would be all about Nikki Glasser and Jim Norton and comedy fun. Well, I was surprised. Jorge Cruz (Director) took his documentary in an entirely different direction (pun intended) than I anticipated.

I absolutely did not realize I was hooked.

Now, you are about to ask me why Wendi Starling is not the centerpiece of this documentary. Well, she is And you will just have to watch to find out why. I’m not going to tell you it broke my heart watching. It did! And I thank Jorge Cruz for taking me on that amazing ride!

Would I recommend this Documentary?

There is so much laughter and crying that I had watching it! So, absolutely, YES!

Where Can You Watch?

May, 26, 2020 check your VOD (And I definitely recommend you do!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

;

Cinemax Friday: Supreme Sanction (1999, directed by John Terlesky)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

Jordan McNamara (David Dukes) is a world-renowned news reporter who is investigating why some U.S. Army helicopters were mysteriously shot down.  The sinister Director (Ron Perlman) doesn’t want McNamara to uncover the answers.  So, he dispatches Dalton (Michael Madsen) to take care of the problem.

Dalton leads a group of assassins but everyone knows that his best sniper is Jenna (Kristy Swanson).  Jenna has killed a countless number of people for Dalton but, when it comes to McNamara, she can’t bring herself to pull the trigger.  It’s because Dalton foolishly orders Jenna to take the shot while McNamara is on a beach with his daughter.  Jenna is not willing to kill a man in front of his daughter.  When Jenna refuses to pull the trigger, she becomes a target herself and she’s forced to go on the run with McNamara and her only friend, a hacker named Marcus (Donald Faison).

Supreme Sanction doesn’t feature any nudity or, for that matter, any sex but the presence of Michael Madsen and Kristy Swanson in the cast makes this feel like a late night Cinemax film nonetheless.  The movie starts out slow and David Dukes (a good actor who is strangely bland here) really isn’t believable as world-renowned journalist but things pick up once Jenna and McNamara go on the run.  The first time you see Kristy Swanson behind a sniper rifle, your instinct might be too laugh but she gives a surprisingly natural performance and, by the end of the movie, she’s actually a credible action heroine.  Meanwhile, in the role of Marcus, Donald Faison gets all of the good lines.  He’s a hacker and, since this movie was made in 1999, that means that he’s the comic relief who can do just about anything.

Not surprisingly, the movie is stolen by Michael Madsen.  Madsen gives a standard Madsen performance here, delivering all of his lines in a threatening whisper and smirking whenever anyone tries to talk back to him but, even if he doesn’t do anything new, he’s still entertaining to watch.  Madsen is one of the few actors who can easily switch between appearing in B-movies and major productions and that’s because it’s hard to think of anyone who can play a smug, overconfident villain as well as he can.

Supreme Sanction is an unapologetic B-movie and it’s pretty damn entertaining.

Music Video Of The Day: I Belong To Me by Jessica Simpson (2006, dir by Matthew Rolston)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I went to the same high school as Jessica Simpson!

Of course, I didn’t go there at the same time that Jessica did.  Jessica was long gone by the time I started the 9th grade.  As well, I actually graduated while Jessica dropped out so she could become a super-rich celebrity instead.  That said, I did take a few classes that were taught by Jessica’s former teachers, who all agreed that Jessica was a sweet person.  To be honest, most of my classmates made a big deal about being kind of cynical about going to the same high school as Jessica Simpson.  You’re never more jaded than you are between the ages of 13 and 18.  Myself, I’ve always liked Jessica Simpson because we’re both from Texas and we both occasionally play dumb for the laughs.

Anyway, this song was written when Jessica was going through a very public divorce from Nick Lachey.  It’s an empowerment song that also happens to be really depressing, which is really the best type of song there is.  There’s something to be said for a good depressing song and a good depressing video.

Enjoy!

Cleaning Out The DVR: Black Hearted Killer (dir by Roxy Shih)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier tonight, I continued my quest to clean out my DVR by watching the Lifetime film, Black Hearted Killer.  This originally aired on April 5th and I missed it because …. well, to be honest, I don’t remember why I missed it.  I mean, April 5th — that was like a month ago which, in 2020 time, is the equivalent of several years.  Well, whatever my reason for missing it was, I’m sure it was an acceptable one.  Fortunately, I set my DVR to record the film.

Black Hearted Killer tells the story of three people and one heart.  When their daughter is tragically killed in an auto accident, Juley (Julie McNiven) and Dennis (Jon Abrahams) agree to donate her organs.  They don’t want to know who is going to get their daughter’s organs but they do agree to allow the hospital to tell the recipients where the organs came from.  Months later, Juley and Dennis are approached by Vera (Kelley Jackle).  Vera tells them that she has their daughter’s heart beating away inside of her and that she owes her life to them.  Dennis is like, “That’s nice.  Go away now.”  Juley, however, invites Vera to become a part of their life.

Juley is still struggling to recover from her daughter’s death.  She’s still haunted by nightmares.  Having Vera around allows Juley to feel as if she’s close to her daughter.  Dennis, however, is more suspicious of Vera and the effect that she’s having on Juley.  Dennis suspects that Vera’s motives may not be pure.  Not surprisingly (because this is a Lifetime film after all), it turns out that Dennis is right.

Black Hearted Killer is an entertaining Lifetime film.  By this point, we all kind of know what the general plot of these films is going to be.  From the minute that Vera shows up, we know that she can’t be trusted just because she’s a stranger in a Lifetime films and strangers always turn out to be trouble in these films.  The fact that the plot is kind of predictable is really one of the main appeals of a film like this.  We don’t watch to be surprised.  Instead, we watch so we can shake our heads at characters who apparently haven’t seen as many Lifetime films as we have.  In this film, it didn’t really take Vera long to show her true nature and she was an entertaining psycho.  Kelley Jackle did a good job playing her and Julie McNiven and Jon Abrahams were both well-cast as the couple who she victimizes.  I also liked Juley and Dennis’s house which, as veteran Lifetime observes know, is a very important part of any successful Lifetime movie.  The nicer the house, the better the movie.

As I watched the film, I found myself thinking about organ donation.  I guess, if I died and my organs were donated to someone else, it wouldn’t bother me because I would be dead and I probably wouldn’t know what was happening.  A part of me does worry about getting stranded in Purgatory without my liver but I guess I’d make do.  Still, I would have to wonder who would end up with my mismatched eyes or my heart or my …. well, you get the idea.  I would hope it wouldn’t be anyone mean.  If you get one of my organs, treat it nicely.

 

Isle of Dogs (2010, directed by Tammi Sutton)

Posted on by Jedadiah Leland

No, this is not the slow-moving Wes Anderson film from a few years back.

Instead, this is a film about a London crime boss named — don’t laugh — Darius (Andrew Howard).  Darius has an anger problem and it is not helped by all of the cocaine that he snorts at his club.  He also has a Russian wife named Nadia (Barbara Nedeljakova), a former prostitute who Darius says that he rescued.  Darius is insanely jealous.  When he suspects Nadia is having an affair, he takes the man who he suspects was her lover out to the countryside and, after a lot of yelling, eventually gets around to executing him.  The only problem is that Darius got the wrong guy!

Instead, Nadia’s lover is a low-level hood named Riley (Edward Hogg).  Nadia is waiting for Riley to show up at Darius’s country estate and take her away from her life as the trophy wife of an abusive psycho.  When a masked intruder shows up with a knife, things start to get more complicated.

Unfortunately, just because things get more complicated, that doesn’t mean that they get any more interesting.  For a film featuring frequent violence, graphic gore, and more than a little sex, Isle of Dogs is a remarkably dull affair.  A huge part of the problem is that the characters are never that interesting so you really don’t care when they lose a limb or are forced to commit a murder.  Darius, Nadia, and Riley are all stereotypes who will be easily recognized from other, better British gangster films.  At first, it seems like Andrew Howard’s energetic cursing might make bring some life to Darius but after a while, even Darius’s temper gets old.  I was hoping that the film would at least make good use of London but instead, the majority of the film takes place at Darius’s country estate, which looks like every other country estate.

There are some twists to the plot.  The film makes liberal use of flashbacks and flashforwards, though they don’t add up too much.  For some reason, there’s a scene of a naked Darius practicing his golf swing.  Someone loses an arm and barely flinches.  The film probably would have been better if Wes Anderson had directed it.  At least he would have brought along Bill Murray.