esrosedotblog

There is a whole period in Rock and Roll history where everything happened on the West Coast.

A lot of hits were churned out during this period. Today's film is a documentary about the studio musicians who worked as backup for the star artists. They often made the whole thing work with their sounds an innovations.

The Wrecking Crew (2015)

The film is made by a son of one of the guys who did the heavy lifting behind the scenes for major acts.

There doesn't seem to be any anger around this at all. It is more about illuminating a side of that business that has been kept quiet because, hey, who wants to know that their favorite rock star can't lay down a decent lick?

I liked it. There were even some teary moments as always occur in one of these things. Nice feelings.

Labels: documentary, films, music

So, they are all caving.

Some holdouts. But recalcitrance in the face of the law is not unusual.

After Same-Sex Marriage Ruling, Southern States Fall in Line

The South will rise to the occasion, I am sure. Some little firefights here and there.

They owe no less to their gay and lesbian citizens to say nothing of their frequent adherence to "the rule of law" as an offense against minorities.

The tables turn.

The south is slow to move with the tide. They are behind on race, still. But they are part of us so patience is called for.

The grip of the evangelicals is strong in these states and if there is anyone who has lost badly with this it is the christers.

Or the ones who skew the "word of god" to their own message. But that is another story for another time.

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

A successful transfer from stage to film is rare.

Especially musicals.

But the film version of Stephen Sondheim's

Into the Woods (2014)

is the rare exception.

It helps that Sondheim's music is near symphonic so the film score is not overblown as is often the case.

And to be quite pedestrian about it, the sound synch with the actor's is superb.

I saw that they were singing it on set and that conveys.

It is a bit shorter than the stage version which we saw in New York but that is OK. I was not keeping time.

The surprise is Meryl Streep. I am not usually a fan but she excels here as do all the others. Chris Pine, Anne Kendrick and our Johnny Depp as the Wolf.

Very good. I suppose we will buy it. That makes it a 5 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films, music

We are in the grip of the dread "monsoon".

Although not really as a monsoon is technically a swirl of air off the Gulf of Mexico that swings west to encompass all the desert areas with rain and wind and shit.

This is just cloudy and a bit humid. Nothing we cannot handle and way less soppy than the humid days back east in Boston.

But, it does shatter a lot of illusions on the part of newcomers and tourists who come to the desert to have dry air.

Which we do.

Just not all the time.

It is like a snow day back east. We just stay in and enjoy the AC and do not put ourselves in a situation where we are tempted to complain about what is, after all, God's country in all other respects.

Labels: weather

I love anthology films.

This one has six short fictions which could stand alone if anyone would sit for 20-30 minutes with a DVD but no one will. So, they collect them.

Wild Tales (2014)

is an Argentinian collection. I know many of the actors and directors.

Some are stronger than others. All are good. Oscar nominated!

The grand finale is a wedding reception that goes awry in ways you could not expect. Wild tale indeed.

There are a couple that are scary. A few, the wedding particularly, are funny.

I would gladly watch this DVD again so it is a 4 out of Netflix5.

To be honest, I took a break in the middle and it made a big difference.

Labels: films

It is well worth paying attention to the language in the last paragraph of the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage.

This is highly charged emotional language which is compelling and forceful. It gives lie to the idea that laws are cold and indifferent.

The author is Anthony Kennedy.

Our hero.

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

"Now what do they want?"

"They are never satisfied"

"Those gays"

You are goddam right we are not satisfied. Still faced with discrimination in all ways imaginable, we want it all. And we are going to get it too.

Next Fight for Gay Rights: Bias in Jobs and Housing

John and I are very fortunate. We have money. We are well placed. We have lived in two of the most liberal states. Massachusetts and now California.

We have kids! We have grandkids.

The truth is that in some areas we pass. We look good. And are not a threat in anyway.

In fact, as far as I am concerned, I am a threat to the bigot because I will knock any of them on their ass. I remember getting cat calls in Las Vegas of all places. Someone threw a can. OK. Let's see, asshole motherfucker. And we "upped" to them or would have. But they were gone.

John is a long time hand holder in public. He cured me of my fears in that regard. And so on and on.

Bigots know who to pick on. They choose them. Bullies always have.

But if they get set on their asses often enough they will get wary.

A lot of straight people, white and black, may not realize that there is considerable discrimination and bias in housing, employment and the like.

It is subtle. But it is there and it is strong. To be singled out, to be the subject of hateful epithets, to be slighted for promotion, all that is the daily experience of many gay, lesbian, and yes I am getting it, transgenders! I am a work in progress on that just like the most knuckle dragging neanderthal straight man.

Satisfied?

You try hearing the word "faggot" mumbled. See the eye rolls.

And here is how it is different than "the blacks". Once we are discovered, we can be badgered covertly. It is not blatant. It is not clearly black and white to put it more bluntly. I was harassed in school, my defense was my brain. I was number one in my class and I had the support of enough kids to fight it off. Or, more importantly, not fight. I got swung on once and I hit him back so hard he fell on his ass. Reputation set.

Sissies have always been laughed at. Little do those bastards know that sissies are tough and resilient because they have to be. And, ironically, they are often great in bed because they have so much suppressed anger and are ready to be loved and love back hard. There is more about that but it is none of your business. We could take most boring straight men under the table and leave them bleary eyed. The equivalent of drinking them under the table.

But who would want to do that? Most of the bigoted men I have met are actually fat, unattractive boors who can't even get a hard on for themselves or find a woman who wants them in the first place.

Am I getting too mean here? I will stop now.

But you can read on. Here, where the so called "side issues" are discussed in more depth.

The fight has just begun.

Labels: gay rights, homophobia

Labels: gay marriage

It has been a routine Saturday.

No special events.

A rest.

I am working my way through the fifth season of Teen Wolf and finished another two episodes today.

I am still a fan.

I think what I like about the show is that it simply assumes belief in all the stuff and entities presented and expects that we will too.

I am totally into it and believe all of it while it is happening.

I think this requires a considerable skill in producing across the board.

Everyone assumes that what is going on is completely normal. Of course, this patina of normality is what makes the proceedings scary.

Taylor Posey who plays the Teen Wolf is almost boringly adolescent. Naive and reasonably smart as a kid. But when he becomes the wolf something happens and he is not necessarily superior, he is also learning his powers, but he is competent in a way that he is not as a teen.

All of the cast is satisfying to me. I have not found one member who is out of synch or on a different wavelength.

I also like that while there is some fear going on there is not any terror or hysterics. The people of Beacon Hill, where all this is taking place, are sober citizens who do their duty. Or at least get out of the way.

One surprising outcome of the series is that the one normal guy who is the teen werewolf's friend, Stiles, has become the star of the show. He is the spring that provides the motion and momentum. There are others, some of the adults, who give support, but Stiles is the key to it all. He knows everything the wolves know and is their secret holder. Pivotal.

Dylan Obrien plays this role and while still a bit of the "soubrette", the one who has the comic asides and provides relief from the tension, he is also a/the hero. A neat combination which has to be hard to carry off.

Everything about the show is satisfying and, for awhile, makes it easy to suspend disbelief. I even get scared and hold on to the side of my chair.

Labels: television

Labels: gay marriage, gay rights

We have been at a our current condo address for five years today.

It doesn't seem that long.

It is a little strange that in the same week, our old house is back on the market for 50% more than we got for it. But they are asking a lot.

That is history, though.

We are here and very happy with it. There is enough space and there is no maintenance at all. I do a little gardening in the front patio but it is pretty small potatoes and when I need some help I buy it.

There was a time when it was a puzzle to me why anyone would want to live in a condo. But when we found this place, I changed my mind almost immediately.

It has separate units and is not anything like the stereotype.

And, I have been able to keep a hand in by being on the Board and signing all the checks. Almost like my own house only not my money.

Labels: condo

They came through.

Gay Marriage Upheld by Supreme Court in Close Ruling

Very close for sure, but the score is not the point.

We have waited a long time for this.

I did not expect to see it in my lifetime.

My heart is very full. I don't have a lot to say. I think that I have said it all.

When there was no decision yesterday, I figured it would be a longer wait.

This is so good. Tears. Joy, sadness for the ones who did not see it happen. All that.

"Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."......Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Labels: gay marriage

Another start.

So many false starts. And then the jump.

And there we are. Where we were all the time but free.

Labels: gay life

Escalation of terror.

Now they are including beheading as part of the process.

The Arabs have always had a fondness for this. Dramatic, sudden, horrifying.

I would be interested in what Dr. Freud would have said about it.

I know it gets to me somehow.

What is a little bullet compared to one of those scimitar things?

Terrorism Suspected in Reported Attack on French Factory

It is strange what is scary for us.

The idea of my head rolling around is more upsetting than a bullet to the heart.

In any case, the main thing is that I would not want it to hurt so one can only hope for a competent executioner.

It is also interesting that the French are taking it on the chin lately. It seemed that for awhile they were out of the loop.

I guess not.

Labels: fanatics, muslims and arabs

I am in the grips of the early summer slowdown.

A little more indoor time. Dog walks after supper. Long days, now on the wane.

There is a little more leisure to everything.

Marcus and I took a little extra time at the noon walk to get acquainted with our new neighbors. A pair of Roadrunners.

I am not sure where they actually live. Perhaps over the fence in the field on the other side.

In any case they are all over our quadrant of the compound. On the walls, watching us closely. They are fearless.

They do not go "beep beep". More of a rattle call. Brrrrpppp!

They seem most interested in Marcus, not me. He is simply curious.

Unlike our other airedales, he does not go nuts in the presence of these birds or much else for that matter. Very serene.

But he does know they are there and is interested. Since they are almost a daily distraction, they are even less interesting than the fresher scents on the ground whether from some kitty out of its territory or, perhaps, some night life forms that did not register at the gate. Rabbits and the like.

There is one day-rabbit though which/who plans his appearances for maximum impact on the airedale. Waiting long enough but not too long before exploding from the bushes. Usually scaring the human at the same time.

Nature.

Labels: wildlife

I grew up rural.

And couldn't get out fast enough.

Today's film has a lot to offer the memory bank. A lot about why I got out. Had to.

But it is nice to go back for an anonymous visit.

Rich Hill (2014)

Things do not seem to have changed except for the phones and the little gadgets.

But the feeling of ennui is palpable. The slow kids know they are going no where and even the smart kids are not sure.

On the other hand, it is quiet and serene. Simpler.

It is hard to know what to make of it all. I am glad that there is still a place like this to come home to or to be home.

There are no villains here. No social statements, well hardly any. It is a documentary. Watch. Listen. Take it in.

It sure beats going to Rich Hill to see for myself.

A Sundance Documentary Grand Prize.

A 3 out of Netflix5.

Labels: documentary, films

For those who follow these things, I watched two episodes of Teen Wolf Season Four today.

Labels: films, television

The wing nuts think they have a lock on defending the family.

This delusion is what might just upset their apple cart. Defining "family" as a tightly run heterosexual and, probably, god fearing, church going unit, they fail to see that for years, gay men and women have been making their own family units. And, as a result encouraging many heterosexual groups, not all couples incidentally, to redefine their notions of marriage as well.

What has turned it is the kids.

Gay couples have been getting kids through adoption or surrogate activities foe quite awhile now and the evidence is in and quite clear that families do not suffer in the present of gay principals. I would not go so far as to claim that gay marriages are better for kids. I do not have that prejudice which so many hets have.

But I do know that my own family has flourished from the presence of a gay dad other than myself. And now, grandchildren. Who come visit on their own. Their two granddads.

Today, another article about gay kids.

How kids became the strongest argument for same-sex marriage

How dare these assholes disparage my family. My kids. My marriage.

While I do not often use such derogatory terms, I consider these people to be evil. Flat out. Mean, bigoted and sometimes so crazed with their surety that they do no good and sometimes seriously harm others.

Labels: gay adoption, gay families, gay history, gay marriage, gay rights

Of all the sports I know nothing about, hockey would be the foremost. Or least most.

But I still got behind and enjoyed today's film

Red Army (2014)

which is about the best hockey team in Russia and the world in its time.

The men who were there (and one or two wives) tell their story along with many clips of the action.

What sets it off is the way the team was a propaganda force for the old Soviet regime and, in the period covered here, became "free" in the sense that the old Union dissolved with perestroika.

But it is really a human interest film, people. Which is the best kind.

I will give it a 3 out of Netflix5. I enjoyed it and once is enough for me.

Labels: films, sports

Today's little gem of a "detective" story is riveting.

La chambre bleue / The Blue Room (2014)

Mathieu Amalric, a long time favorite of mine, adapted this George Simenon story, directed it and stars as the canny or conned man who finds his wife dead and then is accused of doing it.

The film is only 75 minutes long and very skillfully constructed to keep us guessing the whole time. In the manner of Alfred Hitchcock. We know some things "they" do not know but then there are a few things that Amalric knows that he is not telling.

The point of view keeps shifting with enough space to see how the director is placing his "evidence" before this.

I enjoyed it very much and would not mind seeing it again sometime. A 4 out of Netflix5.

And still to this day, in my book, Mathieu Amalric can do no wrong! Even if he did do it. But then again, did he?

Labels: films

And go out and buy a bottle!

Times sure are a-changin'.

Labels: gay friends, gay life, gay marriage, gay rights

I am so pleased to see this.

Nina Simone’s Time Is Now, Again

Her voice is so alive in my heart and mind.

Montreux 1976 - How it Feels to be Free

Labels: music

Today is Father's Day in the US.

A made up holiday but a nice one.

I certainly enjoy the attention.

Phone calls from kids, greetings, a present for "us" from the husband. Beautiful bed sheets, very high thread count. Black on black.

You are never too old for sexy bedsheets.

From Marcus a few trinkets. He is a good boy and knows for sure who is Dads are and what day it is. Every day is Dad's day for him.

And so on.

I know that it is a commercialized initiative but I don't care. There are other fake holidays that are more strongly associated with religion or even the national historical myths.

In any case, if it applies, Happy Father's Day to you. Where ever you are.

I have to think of my Dad who was so special for me. He is still quite alive in my heart.

Labels: fathers, holidays

I should have learned by now.

Shakespeare in the wrong hands is pretty bad. Pretentious, wordy in the wrong way and boring.

Today's proof is another of Ethan Hawkes voyages into Elizabethan theater.

Cymbelene (2015)Excruciating. There is not even interesting sword play. Did I say dull?

Why did I see it through? I do not know. But at least it gets a 2 out of Netflix5. Had I skipped through it would have been a one.

Labels: films

I am happy to say that I am married to my former "Certified Domestic Partner" John.

Now we are over that nonsense. He is my husband.

Is this an important distinction? To be married instead of just "partners". Emphatically yes. It felt different from the completion of the "I do" we each spoke.

It took a long time to break through the useless rigamarole that even "liberals" conceived. Just to cover up the reality that we still were second class citizens.

Now, in California, no more. We had the entire State vote and we got legitimatized.

And, now we hope to go national.

Gay Marriage's Moment

I don't know what the Supremes will do. There is suspense.

I want this for everyone.

If the hard right on the Court prevails, then the battle is not over. We will resume.

What do "the gays" want?

Simple.

To be accepted and have full respect from our fellow citizens. Respect. No more jokes. No more "tolerance".

I have a friend who says that he does not want to be "tolerated". Neither do I.

Acceptance. Pure and simple. Is that too much to ask?

For some, yes. It will take time but time will tell.

Labels: gay history, gay marriage, gay rights

Not a normal Saturday.

First a Meeting. That's normal.

Then a meeting of the condo board, normal for a third Saturday.

It was hot but we still got a good crowd. We did not move inside. We are too cheap to pay the rent!

But it did hurry us along.

A lot of nice stuff happened and I gave my Financial Report with ringing and resounding joy as we are in positive territory as we head into our ninth month. Our Fiscal Year begins in October.

We tentatively approved the budget for the next fiscal year as we will not meet again until September and we handled some security issues which we do not do much about. People are on their own with their cars and so on. It is not gated and we do not have security personnel.

Also some talk about where and how to manage in the drought. We have a lot of trees and bushes which we will do our best to preserve but we have already let go of the grass. No seeding this year. Minimum water. And a prayer.

Then home and a nap and on to a normal day.

Today's "movie" were more Teen Wolf Season Four episodes. I am a third through.

This series still just stops me cold. I am transfixed. As you know, I am not a teevee fan of any kind but I get this one totally.

Labels: condo, teen wolf

I love this video.

As one who waited for the world to get ready, I can attest to the fact that enough of it has always been ready to take the plunge. All in their own time.

No regrets for me.

Labels: coming out

Thie film is full of symbols.

The drying whale bones, the unforgiving sea, the incessant run of seasons.

And in the middle a tale of corruption and venality.

Even the church is in on the game that threatens to take the last outpost of a dying sea town away from the last guy who wants to live there.

This is a tale as old as civilization. Them that has wants. Them that has gets.

I thought it was a little long when I saw the first half yesterday, but now, with the conclusion, I take that back. It is as long as it needs to be and that is that.

Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

Leviathan (2014)

in beautiful color with a heavy dose of subtitles from the Russian.

But you can always rewind a little to gawk at the scenery and digest what the good guys and the bad guys are saying.

I also suspect that we could turn the sound off and still get what is going on.

A 4 ouit of Netflix5.

Labels: films

Today, the first half of a longish movie.

Leviathan (2014)

Lessons in morality on the Russian coast.

Not much politics, Mostly people as the town boss, a bully of course, comes down hard on a guy who is just trying to get along.

Splendid scenery on a wild seacoast. Lots of side trips. The movie probably doesn't need to be as long as it is, but once I quiet down and let it roll, the whole thing is worth sinking into.

Labels: films

Marcus and I are holding bachelor hall while John attends the 2015 Palm Springs International Shortfest

The only way I know to see short films anywhere.

I used to go but found the rigors of the crowds and schedules too challenging for my introvert.

Too bad but can't be helped.

This stay at home stuff means that I get to cook dinner with a fast hand on the frozen entree inventory. Which I really like. The down time and the entrees. I end up mostly with the Stouffer's Lean Cuisine which gets better all the time.

I think I have Cheese Tortellini tonight. Newly designed boxes.

As for Marcus, it doesn't involve too much more to feed him is afternoon meal and take him for a short pee-pee run. Usually John's job.

A good trade off. No cooking for a bit of pee-pee time. Dog bonding.

Labels: life, Marcus

It is hard to figure out who is who in today's film.

But it does sort itself out.

I think this is intentional to reflect how the new Red communist rebels and the old Czarist Russian Army find themselves still fighting a war that has already been decided. With others whose differences are really hard to discern.

In fact, the Whites are largely Hungarian conscripts who do not have a clue as to who or what they are fighting for.

To say that this confusion takes place on a grand scale is understatement.

Csillagosok, katonák /The Red and the White (1968)

I liked this film a lot just for the action. The political by play is not as important to me although if I was a "Russky" I would probably find it compelling. Miklós Jancsóis the director provides huge sweeping vistas. Lots of horses. A kind of "western".

It is interesting that the film was banned in Russia for many years because of its political slant. The Reds are depicted as clueless peasants much of the time. Barbaric.

I think this is the film's point. War is hell and a confused maelstrom of little hells.

The individual characters on all sides of the conflict carry on blindly. We are helped to see by the superb black and white cinematography. A lot of low level overheads from the same bi-planes we see coming at the rebels.

Mean and arbitrary. It certainly does not reflect the message the commies wanted it to. Hence, suppression.

And even though I found it hard to follow at times I always found my way back into it again. A 3 out of Netflix5. I enjoyed it but once was enough.

Labels: films

Today, a very favorite film.

One of my top five.

High Fidelity (2000)

by Stephen Frears with John Cusack, Jack Black, Todd Louiso and numerous other great people.

Robb manages a record store, all vinyl, and a series of record music geeks parade through.

It is a wonderful film which I have seen many times and will see many times more.

I do not get tired of it. Ever. It still has parts that seem completely new. Do they insert these between my viewings?

And it always surprises me that it is the work of Stephen Frears. First class movie genius.

I have been in that exact place above the Chicago River. A pilgrimage whenever I was there.

Labels: best films

Sam Fuller produced many films and some have made it to the Criterion Collection.

One of the highest honors.

Today's film is a black and white tough guy film starring Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Richard Kiley and the grand Thelma Ritter.

Pickup on South Street (1953)

It is highly likely that I saw this film when it came around.

I would have been in high school and working as an usher in the local movie theater.

This spins anti-communism, the art of the pickpocket, a love story and some good laughs into a great little production.

Surprisingly, the review says that this was a tough sell at the time. J. Edgar Hoover didn't like it because it depicted unethical FBI guys. The liberals didn't like it because it lambasted communism, and so on. But the audiences liked it.

Probably because the characters are wonderful and the film is very enjoyable. Start to finish. The political aspects, if any, slide past. More gangbusters than anything else.

The art of scene design and bw cinematography is on display here in a series of awe inspiring scenes. A lot of night and water.

I had a good time and would not mind seeing it again.

A 4 out of Netflix5.

Labels: films

This is such a mean spirited movie that I couldn't stand another minute of it.

I turned it off after a long half hour.

Maps to the Stars (2015)

It has some well liked actors who shame themselves by participating in this nasty piece of work.

It is not just another anti-Hollywood movie. It is a spectacle of excess and dysfunctional behavior. Encyclopedic.

I most regret that John Cusack participates in this stream of garbage.

A long distance from the happy characters of his early career.

That's all. I am not even going to put a trailer in this.

I will give it a 1 out of 5 because I shut it down after half an hour. I am going out now and get this out of my head. Pet my dog. Have a coke. Read some nice friendly pap on the internet.

I know! A game of Solitaire. Take me out of this world for a minute please and let me forget this filmic hangover.

Labels: films

Happy to see Hillary getting out the crowd and revving them up.

She filled the island.

I love the stage. Her logo. Also the blue suit and Bill along with a red tee shirt. The first spouse in waiting. Their love of the scramble is easy to see. Great visuals.

Also happy to see that Jebbie is having trouble. Shaky. Jeb Bush Works to Recover From a Shaky Start

It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

It is said here that his stuttery start has had the effect of putting him back in the very crowded pack. Still a bit ahead in the polls I see almost every morning on CNN but still back in the pack.

Labels: Hillary Clinton, Jeb Bush

I was a faithful listener of "Car Talk" for many years.

Well, not all of it. Parts. And mostly because I liked listening to the Magliozzi brothers, both MIT graduates incidentally.

Then I moved away from Boston and didn't follow them anymore although they were on NPR nationwide for a very long time.

Now, we have lost Tom. He is the one on the right. The older and wiser one with the maniacal laugh.

Tom Magliozzi, Popular Co-Host Of NPR's 'Car Talk,' Dies At 77

Sad. And I can't help noting that he was my age less a year.

I don't remember him or them at MIT but it is nice to know that we shared that.

I am losing peers. It made my father depressed and worried every time one of his friends would go. I try not to let that happen to me. At least the worry part. But it is difficult not to personalize it in that way.

I would rather personalize it with the memory of all the laughs I had with these guys. I didn't learn fuck all about cars but I sure got a lot of happiness out of it.

Labels: automobiles, nostalgia, radio

As a child of the "Cold War", I am a bit sensitive to temperature changes in our defense posture.

Now this.

U.S. Is Poised to Put Heavy Weaponry in Eastern Europe

I have to admit that this pleases me. I am not a peacenik.

And I do not like the look in Vladimir Putin's eyes. That sneaky slitty look.

I am not kidding.

I know. It is kind of primitive. But there it is. I don't trust the motherfucker.

I remember when we quit playing war with a German cast and switched to the Russians.

That is a long time ago and some water has gone over the dam since. But I am still wary. And so should everyone else be.

Labels: Russia

I had the equivalent of a full physical on my computer today.

Arduous.

Not for me but certainly for the guy who did it.

I had lots and lots of spam to get rid of. All kinds. Don't ask.

A lot of it has to do with visiting questionable web sites, mostly X rated.

I admit it.

It is a hard price to pay since most of the stops are not very enjoyable. Mostly because they are there.

No more now.

Also a lot of stuff that comes with making pics for the blog.

It is not unusual for an active computer lifer, he said.

It took two hours, me standing by and Adrian, the pro, asking questions.

I can say that it is running a lot faster now.

A lot of the slowness of the computer is from all the junk that got on here bootlegged to legitimate sites or downloads. You google something standard and it comes with an intermediate connection concocted by the spam guys.

I have wondered why people create spam. Is it malicious? Adrian says that a lot of it is to get you to see the unwanted site by this kind of masking.

So, I am making some resolutions.

Careful consideration before I start cruising the web again.

Part of it was that I have not had this done for quite awhile. He will come back in four or five months.

*rewritten

Labels: computer

Lots of great stories in today's movie. Small bits that add up.

The Imitation Game (2014)

Unfotunately the story has been wrung clear of any real pain or controversy.

For any of them.

That is OK with me. It is sometimes felt that any famous homosexual ought to get a good coming out story and to be politically correct.

But there were no nice coming out stories in this time frame. There are very few happy endings for homos. That had not been invented yet.

The main story here is not about that anyway. The hero is the Enigma Machine with which Turing and his workers broke the German military code and, it is estimated, ended the Second World War two years earlier than might have been.

There is no doubt that most of this actually did happen and, as a condensed spy story with real codes to break, is enough for me.

I think we have reached a point where making him a homo-hero would be going too far by half.

As it is, this is an interesting story based on true events and they do break the code and keep it quiet so that they won't tip the Germans off so they change their system. I do not think this is a spoiler. It is well known by now.

And so on.

Benedict Cumberbatch is very convincing as Turing. High marks for the rest of the cast as well.

I liked the film well enough and would not mind seeing it again but I would probably FF around some of it.

Sometimes, the British stiff upper lip irks me so that I want to slap a few smarmy faces.

Labels: films

In case you have not noticed, I have been on a bit of a hiatus.

My computer got a virus which made this tough to type. Then I liked the feeling of no obligation. And then I got bogged down in some guilt for not keeping it up.

And I feel invigorated!

So, I will try to do a better, if different job.

Perhaps the onset of summer here has something to do with it. Though we live in AC from about noon to sometime during the night.

Desert air gets cool fast when the sun goes down. We have been through all this before.

It is one of the nice features of being here. And of course it is all dry most of the time.

I have watched some good films this week. I Don't Want to Sleep Alone is a film about bisexuality by Ming-liang Tsai. Malaysia. Homeless Chinese immigrants look for love and find it in surprising places. And combinations.

Eastern Boys is a great film about a gang of young men who prey on gay men. They get picked up and then invite all their friends over. The apartment is ransacked and, of course, the closeted victim is afraid to do anything about it. One of the kids comes back to the victim and tries to make amends. He is, it turns out, gay and afraid to tell his friends. Things get even more complicated but the ending is quite satisfying. I always worry about this as we could go back to the unhappy outcomes for the gay sinners almost any time. But we do not.

The Circle is a docudrama depicting the true stories of a few gay men in Geneva. We see the story and then we meet the men. It is quite wonderful. As these men are. The actors are quite true to the story and we, or at least I, am not bothered they look nothing like the real guys. I am buying this so it is a 5 out of Netflix5.

There is not a lot of family news. Summer does this for us.

I will probably continue now with the blog and see how that goes. So far so good.

I sometimes forget how engaging black and white films are.

Today's film by Pierre Melville created early in his career shows both the power of the medium and the promise of Melfville’s early work.

Two Men in Manhattan (1959) is a classic piece of film noir. Dark and bright in turn.

Captivating.

A French security man has lost a UN delegate. The entire film is a search in the city itself. Very few studio scenes.

The night light of New York is fantastic to watch and the city we see is the city I knew as a young man, walking the same sidewalks.

I enjoyed the film a great deal and would not mind rewinding to see it again.

Labels: films

Today's film was The Last Metro (1980)

This is a good film. Takes some time to digest but the performances keep us in tune.

World War Two is so far away from me now that it is hard to remember its impact.

Films like this keep it fresh in my memory.

This was not my situation at all. I was safe within the national boundaries.

My Dad enlisted in the Navy. So my experience was remote but nevertheless traumatic. Formative.

Here a theater owner, a Jew takes up hiding in the cellar of the theater.

The plot, such as it is, depends on maintaining the subterfuge while performing plays with the Krauts in attendance.

Catherine Deneuve and the young Gerard Depardieu. A Truffaut film.

I have seen it several times and hence it has earned a 5 out of Netflix5 rating from me.

Labels: films