TV Review: Twin Peaks: The Return Part 9 (dir by David Lynch)

Posted on July 10, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As I watched Part 9 of Twin Peaks on Showtime tonight, it occurred to me that there really are only two types of people in the world.

There are people who love Twin Peaks.

And there are people who hate Twin Peaks and therefore, really don’t matter.

The problem is that, despite not being that important, that second group of people tends to be very vocal. They really want you to know how much they hate Twin Peaks. It’s funny to listen to them because you can tell that they think they’re being truth tellers. They think that they — and they alone — have the guts to admit the truth about Twin Peaks.

They remind me of this idiot who was in a Literature class that I took at the University of North Texas. Not only did she loudly announce that she would not be reading Lolita but she also said, “Would anyone actually read this book if this class didn’t force them to!?”

(She really seemed to think she was the first person to ever ask that very simple-minded question.)

Seriously, some people are so fucking stupid. Fortunately, for the rest of us, there was a new episode of Twin Peaks tonight! Here’s what happened!

Things open in the present day. We are no longer in 1956 and, I have to admit, I was kind of relieved to see that. As much as I loved and was intrigued by Part 8, there was also a part of me that was worried that Lynch would spent the next 4 episodes following the Woodsman around as he asked random people, “Got a light?”

(Make no mistake. If Lynch had gone in that direction, I would have happily watched all four of those episodes. Though I may not always understand his intentions, I have total faith in Lynch as an artist.)

Doppelganger Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) walks down a country road, still covered in blood. He spots a red bandana sitting on a fence post and, with a look of disgust on his face, snatches it.

Above South Dakota, Gordon (David Lynch), Tammy (Chrysta Bell), Albert (Miguel Ferrer), and Diane (Laura Dern) sit on a plane. Albert and Diane sleep. Gordon talks on the phone with Colonel Davis, while Tammy listens. Davis tells Gordon that the body (if not the head) of Major Garland Briggs has been found in Buckhorn.

“I don’t appreciate your language at all!” Gordon shouts back.

No, Gordon — BUCKhorn!

(It’s a corny joke, to be honest. But, as an actor, David Lynch sells the Hell out of it. There’s something undeniably charming about how much fun Lynch seems to be having in the role of Gordon Cole.)

Back on the ground, Doppelganger Cooper meets two of his associates, Chantel (Jennifer Jason Leigh, returning for the first time since Part Two) and Gary “Hutch” Hutchens (Tim Roth!). They have apparently commandeered a farm. Gary tells Doppelganger Cooper that the farm’s owners are “out back. Sleepin’.”

Meanwhile, back on the plane, Gordon tells Diane that they’re making a stop in Buckhorn, South Dakota. “Fuck you!” Diane replies, “I want to go home.” However, Gordon reveals that it’s a blue rose case.

While Gordon is explaining to the pilot that they’ll be making an unscheduled stop, he gets a call from Warden Murphy (James Morrison.)

“Cooper flew the coop!” Gordon announces and, again, Lynch delivers it with such unapologetic gusto that you can’t help but love both the director and the character.

Back at the farm, Chantel and Doppelganger Cooper walk around back and we see an old couple laying dead on the ground. As Chantel watches, Doppelganger puts in a call to Duncan Todd (Patrick Fischler) in Las Vegas. He asks if Dougie is dead. When Todd replies, “Not yet,” Doppelganger tells him, “It better be done the next time I call.”

Hutch brings the Doppelganger a rifle and a box of bullets. The Doppelganger tells Hutch that he wants the Warden dead within the next two days and then he has a “double header for you in Las Vegas.” Hutch then tells Chantel, who is apparently his wife, to “give the bossman a wet one.” Doppelganger and Chantel share a passionate kiss.

(What’s interesting is that the Doppelganger actually seems to sincerely like both Hutch and Chantel. He even calls Chantel “sweetheart.”)

This is actually from Part 6 but it’s the Fuscos!

At the Las Vegas Police Department, my favorite detectives — the Fuscos (Eric Edelstein, Dave Koechner, and Larry Clarke) — are asking Bushnell (the wonderfully distinguished Don Murray) if he can think of anyone who would want to harm either Dougie or Janey-E (Naomi Watts). Bushnell says no, though tempers do run high in the insurance business. He also mentions that Dougie has been working for him for 12 years and that he can occasionally seem slow because of the lingering effects of a car accident.

My favorite Fusco — Smiley Fusco — starts to giggle.

Out in the hallway, Dougie and Janey-E sit on a bench and wait, Bushnell approaches and tells the blank-faced Dougie/Cooper that he can take the rest of the day off. Janey-E says that’s great. She needs to get him to a doctor, anyway. Meanwhile, Dougie/Cooper stares, entranced first by an American flag and then on a random secretary who is wearing the same type of red high heels that Audrey Horne used to wear. Finally, he stares at an electrical socket and we’re reminded that the residents of the Black Lodge often travel through electrical currents.

Meanwhile, in their office, the Fuscos discuss the fact that there is no legal record of Dougie Jones even existing before 1997. Could he be in witness protection? D. Fusco has a friend at the Justice Department that he says he can call. The Fuscos then start to talk about broken taillights, which leads to Smiley Fusco giggling. Soon, all the Fuscos are laughing! Good times!

But it’s not all fun and games. D. Fusco also takes Dougie/Cooper a cup of coffee, the better to get his finger prints and his DNA.

Speaking of fingerprints, another officer announces that the prints off that gun have come back! It belonged to Ike the Spike ( Christophe Zajac-Denek), who has apparently been tracked down to a cheap motel. The Fuscos rush to the motel to “join the fun.” The police catch Ike just as he’s leaving his motel room. Smiley Fusco starts to giggle.

At the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department, Lucy (Kimmy Robertson) and Andy (Harry Goaz) shop for furniture online. Lucy wants a beige chair. Andy wants a red chair. Andy says that they can get the beige chair so Lucy orders the red chair. They’re so cute!

At the Horne House, Johnny Horne (Eric Rondell, who I guess is replacing Robert Bauer in the role) slams his head into a wall, crashing to the floor and leaving a bloody hole in the plaster. Sylvia Horne (Jan D’Arcy) cries over Johnny’s body.

Deputy Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) drops in on his mother (Charlotte Stewart), the wife of the late Garland Briggs. Bobby, however, does not come alone. He has brought Truman (Robert Forster) and Hawk (Michael Horse) with him. They ask her about Cooper’s final visit with Major Briggs, the visit that occurred the day before Briggs’s mysterious death.

Mrs. Briggs says that she’s not surprised. Before his death, Major Briggs told her that, one day, Truman, Hawk, and Bobby would ask her about Special Agent Dale Cooper. Mrs. Briggs says that the Major told her to give them something when they asked, a black tube that she has apparently been hiding in a chair for over 25 years.

What follows is a truly brilliant piece of acting from Charlotte Stewart, who previously starred in Lynch’s very first film, Eraserhead. Mrs. Briggs’s monologue, with it’s unapologetic mix of melodrama and sentiment, feels like a throw back to the old Twin Peaks. she explains that Major Briggs somehow always knew that Bobby would grow up to be a better man then he was at the time of the Major’s death.

At the Bucktorn morgue, Gordon, Tammy, Diane, and Albert meet with Knox (Adele Rene) and Macklay (Brent Briscoe). When Diane lights a cigarette, she deals with Macklay’s objections by pointing out that “It’s a fucking morgue!” After everyone else leaves to look at the Major’s headless body, Diane looks at a message on her phone: “AROUND THE DINNER TABLE. THE CONVERSATION IS LIVELY.”

Meanwhile, Macklay gets Gordon, Tammy, and Albert up to date on what’s been happening in the Bill Hasting case. Apparently, his lawyer — George — was arrested for the murder of Bill’s wife. (We, of course, know she was actually killed by the Doppelganger.) The day after, Bill’s secretary was killed by a car bomb.

“What’s happening in season 2?” Albert asks, a cheerful acknowledgement of the fact that Twin Peaks started out as a deliberately over the top nighttime soap opera.

As they stand over the Major’s headless body, Macklay goes on to explain that Bill and Ruth Davenport were working on “some strange little blog about an alternate dimension.” Apparently, in his final post, Bill wrote, “Today we entered the Zone and we met the Major…” Meanwhile, the coroner (Jane Adams) shows them the ring that she found in the Major’s stomach. She reads the inscription, “To Dougie, Love Janey-E.”

In Twin Peaks, Jerry (David Patrick Kelly) is still stoned and lost in the wilderness. He looks down at his shoes and hears a voice: “I am not your foot.” Is Jerry just really high or has his foot been possessed by something from the Black Lodge?

At the Sheriff’s Department, everyone is on their lunch break. Everyone but Truman, Bobby, and Hawk. They’re too busy trying to open that black tube. Fortunately, Bobby knows how to do it. (It basically involves throwing it down on the ground several times.) Inside the tube are two small pieces of paper. The first features a drawing of the two mountains (the literal twin peaks) and the following directions: “253 yards, east of Jack Rabbit’s Palace. Before leaving Jack Rabbit’s Palace, put some soil from that area in your pocket.” There are also two dates (10/1 and 10/2) and a time (2:53). Truman says that’s two days from now.

Bobby laughs, saying his father has apparently set all of this up so that he can be the hero. Apparently, Bobby knows exactly where Jack Rabbit’s Palace is because his father used to take him there when he was a little kid. It’s a place in the wilderness where they went to “make up stories.” Bobby was even the one who named the place Jack Rabbit’s Palace.

“He saw all this,” Truman says, “whatever this is.”

On the second piece of paper are a series of numbers and two words: “Cooper/Cooper.”

“Two Coopers,” Hawk says.

Back in South Dakota, Diane is joined outside by Gordon and Tammy. They watch Diane smoke. Gordon takes a puff off the cigarette. It’s a classic Lynch scene, one that turns social awkwardness into an art form.

Later, as Gordon, Albert, Diane, and Macklay watch, Tammy talks to Bill Hasting (Matthew Lillard). Bill does not appear to be adjusting well to prison. He will not stop sobbing. Tammy asks him about his blog, “Search for the Zone.” Bill explains that Ruth was very good at discovering hidden records. She could pinpoint the exact time and the exact place where they would be able to enter another dimension. Bill says that he and Ruth met the Major in another dimension. The Major was “hibernating” but he wanted to go to a different place and he asked Bill and Ruth to get him the “coordinates” of a secret military base. Bill says that they got the numbers but then “something terrible happened.” Others entered the dimension and attacked the Major and demanded to know the name of his Bill’s wife.

Tammy interrupts to show Bill six pictures and she asks him to identify the Major. Bill points to a picture of Garland Briggs. Bill then says that, after they gave him the coordinates, the Major floated up in the air and said two words: “Cooper, Cooper…” It was beautiful, Bill says. And then Ruth was dead and then suddenly, Bill woke up in his own house.

“I want to go scuba diving,” Bill wails.

Watching the scene, Albert says, “Fruitcake, anyone?”

That night, at the Great Northern, Ben (Richard Beymer) and Beverly (Ashley Judd) are still listening to the strange humming in his office. (Ben doesn’t seem to be too concerned about Johnny smashing his head into a wall earlier that day.) Then, in a totally surprising turn of events, Ben tells Beverly that he can’t have an affair with her.

“You’re a good man, Ben,” Beverly replies, reminding us that she’s still relatively new to town.

At the Roadhouse, two apparent meth heads have a conversation. One complains that she has a “wicked rash” under her arm pit.

And our episode ends with another haunting musical performance, this time from Au Revoir, Simone.

Obviously, this episode will not get as much attention as Part 8. This is a much more straight forward episode, or at least as straight forward as Twin Peaks is ever going to get. That said, after the high of Part 8, I was happy to get this rather normal episode. Not only did it reintroduce us to some characters and actors who I thought we may never see again (like Jennifer Jason Leigh and Matthew Lillard) but it also linked up several of the storylines that have been developing since Twin Peaks: The Return began. With this episode, David Lynch assured us that he does have a destination in mind.

I can’t wait to see where he’s taking us.

Twin Peaks on TSL:

16 Initial Thoughts on Twin Peaks: The Return Part 9 (dir by David Lynch)

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It’s back!

As always, these are just my initial thoughts on tonight’s episode of Twin Peaks. I’ll be posting a full recap either later tonight or sometime tomorrow!

With tonight’s episode, we are now halfway through Twin Peaks: The Return.
I was kind of relieved when tonight’s episode opened with Doppelganger Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) walking down that road. As much as I enjoyed Part 8, I was kind of worried that we’d end up spending the next four episodes in the 50s.
I have to be honest — I was not expecting Tim Roth to show up in South Dakota.
I get the feeling that David Lynch really enjoyed getting to say, “Cooper flew the coop!”
I was wondering if we’d ever see Jennifer Jason Leigh again.
The Fuscos need their own spin-off where they try to solve crimes.
Smiley Fusco is my favorite of the Fuscos.
There was something very touching about the way that Cooper/Dougie was staring at that American flag. And then, of course, the red high heels made him think of Audrey.
Awwwwww! Lucy and Andy are so sweet together.
No one tells Diane where she can smoke.
Okay, Jerry — once your shoe starts to talk to you, it’s time to lay off the weed.
To me, one of the best updates of the series is Bobby Briggs becoming a member of law enforcement. Dana Ashbrook still looks good, too.
Hey, Matthew Lillard’s back!
“Fruitcake, anyone?” Lol — oh, Albert.
For the record, I often hear a buzzing in my office here at the Shattered Lens, much like the one in Ben Horne’s office at the Great Northern. I’ve been meaning to talk to Arleigh about it for a while.
I want to go dance at the Roadhouse, even if it is run by the evil Renault family. That was Au Revoir Simone performing at the end.

Twin Peaks on TSL:

Music Video of the Day: Pretty Life by Jakalope (2004, dir by Lisa Mann and Vincent Marcone)

Posted on July 8, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The latest season of Degrassi dropped on Netflix today. Val’s already watched it and I’ll probably watch it this weekend.

In honor of this occasion, today’s music video of the day comes from the Canadian band, Jakalope. Not only was Jakalope’s best-known song, Feel It, prominently featured in the classic Ghost in the Machine episode of Degrassi but Jakalope also performed Degrassi’s opening theme song from season 4 to season 7. Part of my ritual, before watching any season of Degrassi, is to spend an hour listening to Jakalope. It gets me just in the right mood. My Canadian friends understand.

Pretty Life comes from Jakalope’s debut album, It Dreams. (It Dreams was co-produced by Trent Reznor and his unmistakable influence in present in both the songs and the videos.) After watching Pretty Life, be sure to check out the videos for Feel It and Go Away.

As an extra bonus, here is Jakalope performing the Degrassi theme song during season 4:

And here is the instrumental version that was used during seasons 6 and 7. These opening credits are taken from season 7. (If the opening credits seem a bit crowded that’s because, during season 7, apparently every teenager in Canada had a role on Degrassi.)

Enjoy!

Music Video of the Day: I Can’t Drive 55 by Sammy Hagar (1984, dir by Gil Bettman)

Posted on July 4, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Happy 4th of July!

When I was searching for the perfect music video for Independence Day, I did a google search for “Best Libertarian songs.” After all, as anyone who knows me can tell you, the only thing more firm than my love of cinema is my resentment of authority.

Anyway, as you can probably guess, my search led to me sitting through a lot of dreary progressive rock songs, the type that featured 20 minute drum solos and lyrics lifted from Ayn Rand. However, it also led me to a song called I Can’t Drive 55.

Though this song is just a little before my time, it still feels like it was specifically recorded just for me. I have always considered traffic laws, not just the laws themselves but the way they are enforced, to be the epitome of everything that can go wrong when people blindly respect authority.

Last year, I was mailed a ticket for running a red light. I’ll be the first to admit that I ran the red light but the time to ticket me was when I did it. Furthermore, if I’m going to be ticketed, I demand to be ticketed by a human being and not some machine that is impervious to being manipulated by tears. Sending me a ticket a month later and expecting me to pay it just because some camera recorded me bending the law is the first step to dictatorship. The second step is people passively paying the fine because “that’s the law.” Laws, after all, are man made and obeying them without question is giving mankind more respect than it’s earned through it actions.

As for the video, it also feels like it was specifically filmed for me. It’s actually a fun little video with a sense of humor and who hasn’t wanted to tell a traffic judge what he can do with his gavel?

Anyway, enjoy!

Have You Seen Jade Logue?

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

This is Jade Logue. She is 16 years old and was last seen in New York City on June 26th. Her last known location was in the Barclays Center/Fort Greene area of Brooklyn.

Jade is the daughter of actor Donal Logue, who is one of the actors who, even if you don’t know his name, you’d probably immediately recognize his face. He’s been in a lot of stuff. Right now, he plays Harvey Bullock on Gotham.

Needless to say, both Donal and Jade’s mother, Kasey Smith, are very concerned about Jade’s well-being. They have requested that anyone with any information about Jade’s whereabouts contact NYPD Detective Frank Liuzzi at 718 636 6547.

Music Video of the Day: Hangar 18 by Megadeth (1990, dir by Paul Boyington)

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

If y’all already didn’t already known in which direction my musical tastes tends to run, you probably could guess just by doing a search and seeing who, out of the 18 writers on the site, has spent the most time writing about The Chemical Brothers and the Electric Daisy Carnival. In other words, I’m not going to pretend that I know much about Megadeth.

But I do know that it’s World UFO Day and this video certainly seems to fit with the theme!

Enjoy and keep watching the skies!

Film Review: Baby Driver (dir by Edgar Wright)

Posted on June 29, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Baby Driver, the new film from director Edgar Wright, is awesome!

That’s the succinct way of putting it and, if you really want to fully enjoy this film, I suggest that you stop reading this review now. There’s no way that a review cannot, to a certain extent, spoil a movie. Baby Driver is a kinetic blend of action, comedy, romance, and music and it is a movie that you should see without any preconceived notions and expectations. It’s a movie that earns the right to surprise you with just how good and entertaining it is. It’s a movie that you should experience fresh.

So, go see the movie. Seriously, go right now. GET OUT OF HERE AND SEE THE MOVIE! This review will still be waiting for you when you get back. Who knows? Maybe, while you’re watching the movie, I’ll actually correct some of the typos. Or maybe not.

Anyway, go away. I’ll wait for you to return.

la dee da la dee da…

Okay, did you see the movie? It’s really great, isn’t it?

As a result of the childhood car accident that killed his parents, Baby (Ansel Elgort) has been left with a permanent case of tinnitus. He uses music to drown out the constant ringing in his ears. There’s almost never a time that Baby isn’t listening to his ipod. When we first see Baby, he’s sitting behind the wheel of a car, singing along with Jon Spencer and the Blues Explosion. The second time that we see him, he’s getting coffee while listening to Harlem Shuffle. In a delirious homage to Singin’ In The Rain (and in a scene that puts the opening traffic jam of La La Land to shame), Baby literally dances across the streets of Los Angeles. For Baby, every day is a musical.

Of course, Baby doesn’t just use music to block out the ringing. He also uses the music (and an ever-present pair of sunglasses) to keep the world out. He rarely speaks or even makes eye contact and, as long as he’s listening to his ipod, he has an excuse not to interact. He doesn’t have to explain the small scars around his eyes or how he makes his money. The few times that he does speak to people, it’s to record their voices, which he then turns into music. Music and the driving are the only two ways this orphan can express his feelings.

When the movie begins, Baby appears to be close to only two men. One is his deaf foster father, Joseph (CJ Jones). Baby lives with Joseph, in an apartment where Baby regularly stashes thousands of dollars. Joseph always watches in disapproval as Baby hides the money under the floorboards. Joseph signs at Baby that he deserves better than the life he’s leading. Baby always signs back that he’s only a few jobs away from being done.

Baby’s other father figure is Doc (Kevin Spacey). Doc is a rich and connected man. At times, he seems to sincerely care about Baby but there are other times when Doc is just as quick to threaten to kill him and everyone that he loves. Doc plans bank robberies for a living. Doc may change associates from robbery to robbery but one thing always remains consistent. Baby is always his driver because Baby is the best. As Doc explains it, the first time he saw Baby, he was stealing Doc’s Mercedes. Baby drives for Doc as a way of paying off his debt to the older man but you still believe Baby’s sincerity when he tells Doc, “We’re a team.” (One the film’s best throw-away jokes is the line where Doc reveals that he knows where Baby got the idea to say that.)

Things start to change for Baby when he meets Debora (Lily James), a waitress who appears to love music just as much he does. For Baby and Debora, it’s love at first sight but Doc has one more job that he needs Baby for. It’s their most dangerous job yet and, making thing even more complicated, are the three people who Doc has recruited to work with Baby. Buddy (Jon Hamm) is a former wall street banker who is eager to prove what a badass he is. Darling (Eiza Gonzalez) is his wife, who enjoys talking about how many of their former partners have died. And finally, there’s Bats (Jamie Foxx), a complete and total psycho who brags about never telling a single story that doesn’t end with someone getting killed.

Baby Driver is a propulsive blast of pure adrenaline, perhaps the closest that we will ever get to a genuine pulp musical. The action scenes left me literally breathless. I saw the movie at the Alamo Drafthouse and, before the film started, there was a clip of Edgar Wright listing his favorite car chases. He listed all of the usual suspects, Bullitt, The French Connection, Mad Max: Thunder Road. The chases scenes in Baby Driver can proudly be listed next to all of those scenes. This is genuinely exciting crime film, featuring wonderfully over-the-top turns from Foxx, Hamm, and especially Spacey.

But you know what? Baby Driver may be a great action film but what makes it special is that it’s also a film with a heart. Rather bravely, Edgar Wright has not only made an action musical but he’s also mixed in a very sincere and unabashedly sentimental love story. You never doubt for a second that Baby would give up everything — music, driving, even his life — for Debora. The scenes between Baby and Debora are almost deliriously romantic. Ansel Elgort and Lily James both share a very likable and very real chemistry. You want things to work out for Debora and Baby. You feel like they belong together and, when it looks like either Baby or Debora might be in danger, you worry for both of them. As exciting as the film’s action sequences were, it was the ending that brought tears to my eyes and that was almost totally due to the performances of Elgort and James.

Baby Driver is one of the best films that I’ve seen so far this year. See it this weekend! If you’ve already seen it, see it again! This film deserves to be rewarded.

Insomnia File #26: Rabbit Run (dir by Jack Smight)

Posted on June 28, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

What’s an Insomnia File? You know how some times you just can’t get any sleep and, at about three in the morning, you’ll find yourself watching whatever you can find on cable? This feature is all about those insomnia-inspired discoveries!

If, at one in the morning on Wednesday, you were suffering from insomnia, you could have turned over to TCM and watched the 1970 film, Rabbit Run. That’s what I did.

Rabbit Run is the epitome of a dumb lug film. In a dumb lug film, a male character finds himself living an unfulfilling life but he can’t figure out the reason. Why can’t he figure it out? Because he’s a dumb lug, with the emphasis on dumb. Usually, the viewer is supposed to sympathize with the dumb lug because he doesn’t mean to hurt anyone and everyone else in his world is somehow even more annoying than he is. Typically, the dumb lug will have an emotionally distant wife who refuses to have sex with him and who is usually portrayed as being somehow at fault for everything bad that has happened in the dumb lug’s face. (Want to see a more recent dumb lug film than Rabbit Run? American Beauty.) Ever since the silent era, there have been dumb lug films. In particular, male filmmakers and critics seem to love dumb lug films because they allow them to pat themselves on the back for admitting to being dumb while, at the same time, assuring them that everything is the fault of the wife or the girlfriend or the mother or the mother-in-law.

In Rabbit Run, the dumb lug is named Harry Angstrom (James Caan), though most people still remember him as Rabbit, the high school basketball star. Harry’s life peaked in high school. Now, he’s 28 and he can’t hold down a job. He’s married to Janice (Carrie Snodgress), who spends all of her time drinking and watching TV. He has a son and another baby is on the way. One day, when the pregnant Janice asks him to go out and get her a pack of cigarettes, Harry responds by getting in his car and driving all the way from Pennsylvania to Virginia.

When he returns to Pennsylvania, Rabbit doesn’t go back to his wife. Instead, he drops in on his former basketball coach (Jack Albertson) and begs for advice on what he should do. The coach, it turns out, is more than little creepy. He also has absolutely no practical advise to give. He does introduce Rabbit to a part-time prostitute named Ruth (Anjanette Comer). Rabbit quickly decides that he’s in love with Ruth and soon, he’s moved in with her.

Meanwhile, there’s all sorts of little things going on. Rabbit gets a job working as a gardener. Rabbit befriends the local Episcopal minister (Arthur Hill), even while the minister’s cynical wife (Melodie Johnson) tries to tempt Rabbit away from both his wife and his mistress. Rabbit both resents and envies the sexual freedom of the counter culture, as represented by his younger sister. And, of course, Janice is pregnant…

Rabbit Run is based on a highly acclaimed novel by John Updike. I haven’t read the novel so I can’t compare it to the film, beyond pointing out that many great works of literature have been turned into mediocre movies, largely because the director never found a way to visually translate whatever it was that made the book so memorable in the first place. Rabbit Run was directed by Jack Smight, who takes a rather frantic approach to the material. Since Rabbit Run is primarily a character study, it needed a director who would be willing to get out of the way and let the actors dominate the film. Instead, Smight overdirects, as if he was desperately trying to prove that he could keep up with all the other trendy filmmakers. The whole movie is full of extreme close-ups, abrupt jump cuts, intrusive music, and delusions of ennui. You find yourself wishing that someone had been willing to grab Smight and shout, “Calm down!”

(On the plus side, as far as the films of 1970 are concerned, Smight’s direction of Rabbit Run still isn’t as bad as Richard Rush’s direction of Gettting Straight.)

James Caan actually gives a likable performance as Rabbit, which is good because Rabbit would be totally unbearable if not played by an actor with at least a little genuine charisma. There’s nothing subtle about Caan’s performance but he makes it work. You never like Rabbit but, at the same time, you don’t hate him.

Unfortunately, there’s nothing subtle about the rest of the cast either. Something rather tragic happens about 80 minutes into the film and, as much as I knew I shouldn’t, I still found myself giggling because Carrie Snodgress’s performance was so bad that it was impossible for me to take any of it seriously. Even worse is Arthur Hill, as the minister who won’t stop trying to help Rabbit out. I eventually reached the point where, every time that sanctimonious character started to open his mouth, I found myself hoping someone would hit him over the head and knock him out. Among the major supporting players, only Anjanette Comer is allowed a chance to be something more than just a sterotype. Like Caan, she does the best that she can but ultimately. this is James Caan’s movie.

It’s a disappointing movie but it did not put me to sleep. Give credit for that to James Caan, who is the only reason to see Rabbit Run.

Previous Insomnia Files:

Film Review: Countdown (dir by Robert Altman)

Posted on June 27, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Earlier tonight, on TCM, I watched the 1968 science fiction film, Countdown.

Who will be the first man to walk on the moon? Will it be Chiz (Robert Duvall), who is a colonel in the Air Force and who has been training for years and who really should get the chance just because he has a really cool name like Chiz? Or will it be Chiz’s best friend, Lee (James Caan)? Lee may not have Chiz’s experience but he’s a scientist and selecting him would allow NASA to portray the mission of being one of peace as opposed to one of war. Add to that, Lee has a full head of hair and he looks like a young James Caan, who was an undeniably handsome man back in his younger days! I mean, seriously — who would you rather have as the face of the space program: Tom Hagen or Sonny Corleone?

Of course, it might not really matter who NASA picks because the Russians are determined to get to the moon as well. And you know what that means! If the Russians land on the moon first, they’ll turn it into a Socialist utopia and that’ll mean ugly architecture, bread lines, and a three-month wait for toilet paper. The stakes have never been higher!

Countdown was made and released at the height of the space race, at a time when Americans really did feel that they were competing with the Russians to be the first to reach the moon. (Of course later, it would be learned that the Russian space program actually managed to kill far more cosmonauts than it successfully sent into orbit.) It came out a year before Apollo 11 landed on the moon and Neil Armstrong became the first Earthling since Stanley Kubrick to ever step on the lunar surface. As such, it’s interesting to see how Countdown imagines the experience of exploring the moon. I won’t spoil who reaches the moon first but I will say that he moves remarkably quickly and with great ease for someone in a gravity-free environment.

Countdown is a good example of what I like to call a “time capsule” film. Seen today, it’s kinda slow and a bit predictable. For all the time that is spent on getting the astronauts ready to go into space, very little time is actually spent in orbit. This is a very Earth-bound film. And yet, if you’re a history nerd like me, it’s hard not to be a little bit fascinated by a movie like this. In everything, from its fashions to its dialogue to its cultural outlook, this is very much a document of its time. It may be a while until we have the technology necessary to travel through time. Until then, watching a film like this might be as close as I’ll ever get to experiencing what the straight, non-Hippie crowd was doing in 1968.

If you’re a student of film history, Countdown is significant for being one of the first films to be directed by Robert Altman. To be honest, if not for his name in the opening credits, you would probably never guess that Countdown was directed by one of America’s most influential and iconic directors. Altman specialized in making film that were almost defiantly iconaclastic and there’s very little of that to be found in Countdown. Admittedly, there are a few scenes that make use of overlapping dialogue and there’s a party scene that’s definitely Altmanesque. However, the only reason I really noticed that party scene is because I was specifically looking for evidence of Altman’s style. For the most part, the most identifiably Altmanesque element of Countdown is the casting of Michael Murphy in a small role.

The film is dominated by Robert Duvall and James Caan and, especially if you’re a fan of The Godfather, it’s undeniably fun to see these two acting opposite each other in something other than an epic gangster film. (Duvall and Caan also acted together in The Rain People and The Killer Elite and were reportedly great friends off-camera as well.) Duvall is especially good in Countdown, playing Chiz as a man torn between an innate sense of loyalty and his own competitive nature. The scenes between Duvall and Caan have a charge to them that occasionally bring some much-needed life to this film.

In the end, Countdown is a fairly forgettable film but it’s worth seeing as a piece of history.

TV Review: Twin Peaks: The Return Part 8 (dir by David Lynch)

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Lisa Marie Bowman

It is happening again.

Yeah, this isn’t going to be easy.

Tonight’s episode of Twin Peaks was … well, I’m not sure how to describe it. Basically, if you combined Tree of Life and Kiss Me Deadly with The Beast of Yucca Flats and Tombs of the Blind Dead, you would end up with something resembling tonight’s episode. Tonight’s episode was David Lynch at both his most brilliant and his most cheerfully defiant. Tonight was David Lynch unleashed. People either hated it or they loved it.

The recapper over at E! News Online hated it. I almost didn’t include a link to their recap, largely because the only reason they’re recapping Twin Peaks is to get the clicks. They’re certainly not recapping it because they have any sort of genuine understanding or, for that matter, interest in what Lynch is attempting to do. For the most part, their recap went something like this: “Oh my God, that was soooo weird and the nuclear explosion sequence went on forever and what was the deal with 1956 and look at all the snarky nicknames I’ve come up with for all the characters and oh my God, did I mention that I have a roommate?” If your main complaint about tonight’s episode is that it was “too weird,” then you obviously are not meant to be a part of this show’s audience.

As for the length of the nuclear explosion … seriously? What the Hell type of complaint is that? You might as well complain that the stargate sequence went on for too long in 2001 or maybe that Picasso shouldn’t have taken up so much space with Guernica. It’s easy to imagine this critic in Elizabethan England, whining that Hamlet was just too talky. Tonight, we were lucky enough to witness one of the most visually stunning sequences in the history of television and you actually have the freaking nerve to complain that it went on for too long? I understand that, over at the Kardashian network, being snarky is a part of the job but you can be snarky without being stupid about it.

I was not the only one disappointed by that recap…

(I usually try to cut recappers some slack. After all, you’re on a deadline and you’re trying to beat everyone else for those clicks and sometimes, you rush and you say something stupid. I’ve been there. Just ask Arleigh about the first season Game of Thrones recap where I somehow managed to mix up Jon Snow and Robb Stark. That was beyond embarrassing. But, again, there’s a difference between being rushed and being willfully ignorant about what you’ve just watched. For instance, there’s a reason why I wouldn’t even try to recap that football show starring Dwayne Johnson. I guess my point is that maybe E! should focus on what they’re good at, like promoting scripted reality programs and helping Scott Disick get laid.)

Anyway, here’s my attempt to recap what I watched. I will warn you right now that a mere recap is not going to do this episode justice. If you haven’t seen it, you need to watch it before reading any recap, regardless of who wrote it. Tonight, I saw images that I never expected to ever see on television. There were visuals of such unexpected beauty and haunting menace that you simply must see them for yourself.

We open with a classic David Lynch driving scene. Doppelganger Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and Ray (George Griffith) are driving down a country road in the middle of the night. The Warden attempted to put tracking devices on the car but Doppelganger Cooper was far too clever for him.

Ray apologizes for running off on Doppelganger Cooper and asks where Darya is. The Doppelganger says that she’s waiting for their phone call. (If you’ve seen the pilot episode, you know that she was murdered by the Doppelganger.) The Doppelganger says that Ray has something that he wants. Ray assures him that he does and that he all the “numbers memorized.” However, Ray thinks that it might be worth some money if the Doppelganger really wants what he has.

Doppelganger Cooper tells Ray that they’re going to a place called The Farm but Ray asks if they can pull over for a sec so he can, as he so charmingly puts it, “take a leak.”

“Go for it,” Doppelganger Cooper replies.

Well, not surprisingly, Ray has another reason for wanting to pull over. As soon as Doppelganger Cooper gets out of the car and demands the information, Ray shoots him.

“Tricked ya, fucker,” Ray says.

And that’s when things start to get … strange.

Suddenly, there is a flashing light and, as Ray watches, a group of dark men (much like the dark men who previously appeared in the South Dakota jail and outside the morgue) emerge from the woods. They surround the doppelganger. While some dance in a circle, others paw at the the body. Briefly, it appears as if Cooper’s chest has been opened and the smiling face of Killer BOB (Frank Silva) can be seen. Ray runs back to his car and speeds off while the dark men vanish.

As he drives away, Ray calls Phillip Jeffries and tells him that Cooper might be dead but he’s not 100% sure.

Meanwhile, at the Roadhouse, Nine Inch Nails performs. The recapper at E! felt that the Nine Inch Nails performance went on for too long, which again shows a remarkable ignorance about the importance of music in David Lynch’s work. (Considering how much Twin Peaks: The Return has in common with Lost Highway, the sudden appearance of Nine Inch Nails felt totally appropriate.)

As the song comes to an end, we cut back to the Doppelganger, who suddenly sits up. Has he come back to life or did those two gunshots really fail to kill him the first time? And what’s happening with Dougie/Cooper? It’s been suggested that the only way for Cooper to be Cooper again is for the Doppelganger to die and return to the Black Lodge. If the Doppelganger was dead for even a moment, does that mean Dougie/Cooper had a moment of clarity?

Those are all good questions that were not answered tonight because Lynch suddenly cuts from the Doppelganger to July 16th, 1945. Suddenly, we are in White Sands, New Mexico, listening as a voice counts down to zero. We watch from above as the world’s first atomic bomb is detonated. A mushroom cloud slowly and, it must be said, beautifully rises up into the sky.

The viewer plunges into the mushroom cloud and what follows is a mix of sound and image that so beautiful and so menacing that it is almost indescribable. We are surrounded by flames and explosions as we plunge into the heart of man-made destruction. In many ways, it reminded me of the Big Bang sequence of Terence Malick’s Tree of Life but, whereas Malick was imagining creation, Lynch is imagining destruction.

We find ourselves now looking at what appears to be a gas station in the middle of nowhere. Spurts of static are heard on the soundtrack while lights flash and shadowy men appear (and disappear) inside and outside of the station.

A figure floats in a gray space, apparently spitting up eggs. One of the eggs floats by us and, again, the face of Killer BOB is seen.

More flames. More explosions. A golden egg floats towards the camera. Briefly, we hear a heartbeat.

Cut to: the purple ocean that Cooper saw when he first escaped from the Black Lodge.

A woman who, in the end credits, is identified as being Senorita Dido (Joy Nash) sits in a gray drawing room. We hear an electronic clanking and a light starts to flash. The Giant (Carel Struycken) enters the room and turns off the alarm.

Moving slowly, the Giant walks up a flight of stairs. He walks into a theater, one that looks much like the Silencio theater from Mulholland Drive. On a screen, he watches the nuclear explosion. When he sees the egg with BOB’s face, the Giant suddenly starts to float into the air.

Senorita Dido enters the theater and watches as a golden cloud appears over the Giant’s head. From the cloud descends a golden egg, which Dido catches. In the egg, she sees the face of Laura Palmer. Dido kisses the egg and then releases it into the air. It’s sucked into a tube.

Dido stares at the screen, watching as the golden egg descends on Earth.

We cut to 1956. The New Mexico desert. (The rest of the episode is in black-and-white, giving these scenes a Beast of Yucca Flats feel. You can easily imagine Tor Johnson wandering about.) Another egg — this one much smaller, sits on the barren ground. It hatches and winged bug crawls out. (It looked like a mutated cockroach to me.)

Cut to the gas station, where a teenage couple is talking. (Coincidentally or not, they resemble James and Donna from the original series.) The girl (Tikaeni Faircrest) gets excited when she finds a penny on the ground. Well, who wouldn’t? Later, the boy (Xolo Mariduena) asks the girl for just one kiss. I’m not sure who they are or why they’re here but they’re both actually rather sweet.

A shadowy figure — the Woodsman (Robert Broski) — appears walking through the desert. The recapper at E! News apparently thought that the Woodsman was meant to be a “gorilla.” Of course, anyone who actually know anything about movies will immediately notice that the Woodsman looks a lot like the evil man who was living behind the dumpster in Mulholland Drive.

The monster from Mulholland Drive

The Woodsman from Twin Peaks, Part 8

The Woodsman stumbles across the highway. He approaches a couple in a car. “Got a light?” he asks, his voice deep and almost robotic. “Got a light?” he repeats, like a malfunctioning recording. The couple speeds away and we see that the Woodsman is not alone. At least two other shadowy men are with him.

A radio station, KPJK, sits in the middle of the desert. The Woodsman approaches.

We see that everyone in the nearby town — from an auto mechanic to a waitress to the teenage girl who found the penny — is listening to the station.

The woodsman enters the station. “Got a light?” he asks, before crushing the receptionist’s head with his gloved hand. He does the same thing to the station’s disc jockey but not before the Woodsman gets on the air and says, “This is the water and this is the well. Drink full and descend. The horse is the white of the eyes and dark within.”

As everyone in town listens to the Woodsman’s voice, they pass out. While the girl lies unconscious, the bug crawls into her mouth.

Having delivered his message and killed everyone at the station, the Woodsman walks into the night. The sound of a horse whinnying is heard.

And that’s it!

What does it all mean? I don’t know. What I do know is that I’ve never seen anything like it before. This was experimental cinema at its best. (And make no mistake. Twin Peaks is not a TV series as much as it’s an 18-hour movie.) Was it for everyone? No. Then again, nothing worthwhile ever is. David Lynch once described his first feature film, Eraserhead, as being a “dream of dark and disturbing things.” I can think of no better description for Part 8 of Twin Peaks.

The saga continues in two weeks! Will we still be in 1956? Will Dougie/Cooper ever snap back to normal? Will James Hurley ever show up again? Who knows!? But I will say this: I can’t wait to find out.

Twin Peaks on TSL: