Category Archives: Movies

Stories about Stories and Storytellers: One for All the Writers Out There

All About Me, Arts, Books and Literature, Fiction, fiction, Movies, Uncategorized

Yesterday was rough. The weather sucked, my arthritis was really acting up, I’ve hit a wall in trying to get my book published, and I had to go to the grocery, a weekly task which is never pleasant, but managed to sink to new lows yesterday. It was all extremely frustrating, and those of you who know me know my natural response to frustration is complete, all-encompassing rage. It was a real treat for the lovely and longsuffering Jess to come home from her work at a real job to my irrational, yet deeply felt, temper tantrum, I’m sure.

When I got up this morning, I decided today was going to be different.

Once I got through my morning chores, I had some time before I had to clock in at my work-from-home job as a writing consultant at IU East, which is generally not something I consider a real job (I’ve had real jobs and didn’t care for it), but is the first job I’ve ever had that I liked and was really good at, so I thought I’d watch a movie.

Instead of my usual fare of violence, bloodshed, and light depravity, I chose Cyrano, My Love, which tells a fictional version of the writing and making of one of my favourite stories, Cyrano de Bergerac, by Edmond Rostand. I’ve loved the story ever since I was a kid and saw the 1950 film version with Jose Ferrer, laughed my ass off at 1987’s Roxanne, starring Steve Martin, was blown away by the 1990 version starring Gerard Depardieu, and really enjoyed the 2019 musical version starring Peter Dinklage (it didn’t quite work, but Dinklage was impressive, as always). I’ve even read the play itself a couple of times, and I’m delighted to report that Cyrano, My Love did not disappoint.

It is laugh-out-loud funny, and pretty deeply touching, traits it has in common with Rostand’s play. The writing, acting, costumes, and sets, are all first-rate. The only drawback I can see (for some) is that it’s in French, with subtitles. If you love Cyrano, don’t let that stop you (if you don’t love Cyrano, I can only assume that you’re not familiar with it. Any of the adaptations I mentioned above would be a great starting point, but keep in mind that the Depardieu version, while the most visually stunning, is also in French).

But enough of plugging Cyrano, My Love (although seriously, you should see it). What I really want to write about here is my love of stories about telling stories, stories about stories, and stories about the magic of stories and books. Two examples that I’ve already written about are Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of the Wind, and Robin Sloan’s Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore. A series I may have written about is Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series, in which Thursday, a literary detective has to find out who is kidnapping famous characters from their books. The Next novels are a wild, surreal ride through a literary amusement park – A lot of fun.

Sorry, but apparently it’s impossible for me to write about books without plugging those I really love. I’ll try to stay on track, but make no promises.

Anyway, all that got me thinking about the genre (?) of books about books, storytelling, and writing, which I’ve loved since long before I decided to try being a writer myself. I’ve been trying to figure out exactly WHY I love them so, and, to be honest, I really don’t think it’s all that complicated – they’re stories about my first, truly undying love, written by (generally speaking) really talented people in love with the same thing I love. They take characters I love in unexpected directions, while (also generally) remaining (reasonably) true to the original characters. It’s just FUN.

Then there are the books about books, which is to say books about why books matter, how a good one affects us, and what they give us. They bring books alive. Zafon’s book does that, beautifully. Another such story is John Connolly’s short story (novella?) The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository, in which a book lover ends up interacting with both books and characters in mysterious, funny, and intimate ways. Connolly is best known for his Charlie Parker mystery series – sort of like if Stephen King started writing Philip Marlowe novels, and my favourites, the Samuel Johnson series, in which a young boy and his pet daschaund, aided by a couple of incompetent demons have to save the world from Armageddon (repeatedly) – really funny stuff – but I digress (again!). Anyway, The Caxton Private Lending Library and Book Depository is available as an e-book for $5 or $6 bucks on Barnes and Noble, and Amazon. Money well spent.

Then there are the books about writers writing (or at least trying), a sub-genre which I can really relate to. One of the best examples is Michael Chabon’s Wonder Boys which, I’m a little bit ashamed to admit, I haven’t read yet, but I did love the movie. It’s about a literature professor struggling with writer’s block (among other things). The great Stephen King has dipped his toes (talons?) into this pool a few times, with Misery, The Dark Half, the underrated Duma Key and the non-fiction On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I know I can personally relate to feeling like something I’m writing is trying to destroy me.

It’s not just books though. Jess and I recently watched George Miller’s awesome Three Thousand Years of Longing. You probably know Miller from his awesome Mad Max series, or from the pretty-much-equally-awesome-but-in-a-totally-different-way family film (and Jess’ all-time favourite movie) Babe.

Three Thousand Years of Longing is about a scholar (Tilda Swinton) in the fields of stories and mythology who, while in Turkey, buys and accidentally breaks a vase containing a Djinn (Idris Elba). While she tries to figure out three wishes that won’t backfire on her, he tries to convince her he’s not a trickster by telling her stories of his life. Jess and I both loved it. It is funny, moving, and hypnotically beautiful.

It really reminded me of a very “for adults only” version of another favourite family movie, Secondhand Lions, starring two greats, Michael Caine and Robert Duvall. Chances are you’ve seen it. If you haven’t it’s a great, funny, and heartwarming movie about two cranky old coots telling tall tales about their lives to a neglected nephew. Both Caine and Duvall are on top of their game in this one.

Another great recent movie about storytellers is Babylon, with Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, about the hedonistic chaos that ruled Hollywood right at the changeover from silent films to talkies, and before the Hays Code that amounted to self-inflicted censorship. It is very funny, a little heartbreaking, and very raunchy.

Of course, movies about making movies is a whole sub-genre of its own with a lot of standouts: Tarentino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Barry Sonnenfeld’s Get Shorty (based on a book by the immortal Elmore Leonard), the Coen Brothers’ Hail Caesar!, Ben Stiller’s hysterical Tropic Thunder and, of course, one of the greatest musicals of all time, Singin’ In the Rain. There are innumerable others, good, bad, and indifferent, but those are my favourites.

Anyway, I could go on forever about this, but I’ll wrap it up with the book I’m currently reading: Guy Vanderhaeghe’s The Englishman’s Boy. It takes place in two separate timelines, one in the Old West, the other in 1920s Hollywood. You may recall me waxing rhapsodically about another Vanderhaeghe book, The Last Crossing. This one is just as good, maybe even better. If you haven’t read anything by Vanderhaeghe, you really, really should.

Well, I guess I’ve beaten this dead horse enough, although just thinking and writing about this has put me in a really good mood (or at least better than yesterday). I think I’ll stop now, and maybe take a shower (a pleasant little after-work surprise for Jess – Yes, I am just that sweet).

Thanks for reading!

Out of Time, Out of Place, Still Not Giving Up

All About Me, Arts, Books and Literature, Culture, Fiction, Movies

There is so much bad and/or stupid stuff going on in the world, and I frequently find myself really, really wanting to write about it. Then I take a step back and realize there are enough angry voices out there, and that I just really, really, don’t want to be one of them – at least not right now. Instead, I’ve decided to write about something I love: Westerns. Specifically Western movies.

Yes, I know I really need to figure out how to resize these pictures.

I’ve always loved westerns. Some of my earliest memories are of my little brother and I building pillow forts to watch High Chapparall on the TV. The only movies I remember my family ever going to were John Wayne movies (although dad did make an exception for Jeremiah Johnson – a glorious experience for seven-year-old me!). I would guess that Westerns have had a stronger influence on how I see the world than just about anything else.

Like any genre, the greatest westerns are those about much more than just cowboys and indians and gunfights and wagon trains and schoolmarms and whatnot. To be truly great, any movie or book has to be doing more than just telling a story: For example, Silverado is one of my favorite westerns. I never get tired of it, but it’s a fun western, not a great one.

One of the themes of most of the truly capital-G Great Westerns that resonates with me more every year are those about the passing of time and place. Sometimes it’s The Wild Bunch or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, or The Long Riders going down in hail of gunfire because they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) change with the times. Sometimes it’s The Outlaw Josey Wales or Jeremiah Johnson or Shane trying to make a new beginning, to put the past behind. Sometimes, of course, it’s those burnt-out old cowboys and gunslingers showing they’ve still got some fight left in them, like in Unforgiven, Ride the High Country, and Lonesome Dove.

I think the reason I used to love those stories was that, in addition to being capital G Great movies, I felt a lot of sympathy for those characters – and glad that was never going to happen to me. Now, I love them because I can empathize with those characters – because I feel like it’s happening to me. The world I live in is very unlike the world I grew up in, the world of my salad days. Now, it seems like sometimes I spend as much time looking for the remote or cursing because I’ve-hit-the-wrong-damned-button-and-now the-TV-is-asking-me-questions-and-I-can’t-figure-out-what-I’ve-done-wrong-or-how-to-make it-stop, than I do actually watching a movie or show.

I’m pretty sure that in another 10 years or so, I’m going to need to pay a kid just to hang around, turn the TV on, change the channel, etc. It’s really frightening, how fast technology is changing, and how bad I am at keeping up with it. Most days, I don’t even want to try.

Of course, it’s not just technology. It’s society. It’s always changing, and the one thing that doesn’t change is that the generation shouting “We Shall Overcome” at us old fogies will, before they know it, hear a new generation shouting it at them (a tip o’ the hat to Sir Terry Pratchett for that joke).

I’ll tell you what, if you want to feel out of place, try being a retired veteran who’s always worked with his back and his hands, starting a Creative Writing graduate program at a really, really, liberal college like Miami University! It’ll freak you right out. I know it freaked me right out, and not only was I really, really, trying to belong there, everyone there was really, really, trying to make me feel like I belonged.

I’d never even known that pronouns were an issue, until the first day of the program (which was on zoom, talk about an adjustment!), when the Prof. asked us all to introduce ourselves and give our pronouns. At first, I thought it was some kind of English joke. It was not.

Don’t get me wrong – I have no problem with the whole pronoun thing. I figure you’re entitled to be referred to however you want. My issue isn’t philosophical or political or religion-based, it is entirely a matter of an inability to change, no matter how hard I try. It is embarrassing and frustrating to be unable to refer to a perfectly lovely human being as “they” when, for my entire 50+ years, it’s always just been “he” or “she”*. I would sit there stammering and stumbling and cursing, trying to correct myself to “they”, feeling like a jerk and a linguistic dinosaur the whole time (and this was in my last semester of the program!).

Fortunately they (meaning the individual in question, not everybody in the room) was very understanding, and when I apologized after class, told me not to worry, that they appreciated that someone like me would even try, which was more than they got from their family. Honestly, after that, I didn’t know whether to feel better or worse.

But I digress – back to the Westerns!

This morning, I watched Out of the Wild (on Amazon) which, if not a great movie, was a really good one, about a broken-down, alcoholic cowboy forced to take a job at a dude ranch after no real ranch would hire him. It was a beautiful redemption story, but not sappy or sentimental. It put me in mind of the TV movie The Good Old Boys, based on a novel by the late, great Elmer Kelton, about another cowboy facing the end of the cowboying days.

By the way, you can’t go wrong with Elmer Kelton, but his best, in my opinion, are The Good Old Boys, The Time It Never Rained, and The Day the Cowboys Quit, precisely because they deal with the changing times.

Thinking about The Good Old Boys got me thinking about Monte Walsh (the awesome Lee Marvin version, not the Tom Selleck one). Monte Walsh is another one about an aging cowboy, and honestly, I don’t think anyone can do that role better than Lee Marvin (and I just learned that Jack Schaefer, the guy who wrote the book Shane also wrote Monte Walsh! I just bought it – I’ll let you know how it is).

Anyway, this has all been (for the most part anyway) waaaaaay more fun for me than writing about all the things that are wrong with the world and how I’d fix ’em. Probably more fun for you, too. At the very least, you’ve got some good books and movies to check out! By the way, you don’t have to be a man to enjoy them, especially not The Good Old Boys or Out of the Wild, which are basically love stories that even a strong, manly man like myself can love.

I guess that’s about it, for now anyway.

Thanks for reading!

*Or, to my shame, as “it” whenever there was some question. That was years ago, before I became friends with a trans man, and had to seriously start thinking about this stuff, back when I was a much less decent human being, and less Christian, something I’m trying to rectify. Can’t fix something if you can’t admit it’s broken.

Some More Recommendations for Your Reading/Watching/Listening Pleasure

Arts, Books and Literature, Movies, Music

Hi folks, just a few entertainment recommendations for you. Well maybe not for YOU, (you know who you are), but for everyone else. Some of these you’ve probably heard of, many you probably haven’t. I highly recommend all of these (for what that’s worth).

Books:

The Shadow of the Wind

A great book, but kind of hard to describe: sort of a literary, book-based coming-of-age thriller about how books can affect our lives. Takes place in Barcelona, Spain after WWII. Amazing writing, great characters, very suspenseful. Some cursing, some sex, but nothing too graphic/explicit. Best thing I’ve read in a while.

World Made By Hand

A great post-apocalyptic tale: In the not-too-distant future, society has collapsed, wars, famine, and epidemics have drastically reduced the population, and those left are living in a technology-free, early 19th century kind of world. Modern medicines and technology are things of the past, but most people are old enough to remember them, which just makes adjusting harder. A small town reaches a crisis point where they realize they must either dig in and start over, or give up and sink even deeper. A new religious group moves into town. Are they a force for good, or evil?

A great read: Exciting but thoughtful, dystopian but ultimately optimistic, very non-political. Reads more like a western than a typical dystopian story. World Made By Hand is the first of a series of four. It’s followed by The Witch of Hebron, A History of the Future, and The Harrows of Spring, all of which are really, really good. Some bad language, some violence, some sex, but none gratuitous, exploitative, or graphic. Really not much worse than most Louis L’amour books.

Wyoming Range War: The Infamous Invasion of Johnson County

A non-fiction account of the Johnson County War of 1891-2. A great examination of a little-known range war in which the big ranches/cattle interests literally recruited an army of hired guns and invaded Johnson County Wyoming with the intention of killing numerous small ranchers and law enforcement officials. Goes to great depth in examining the events that led up to it, and the aftermath, in addition to recounting the events of the actual invasion. A little dry/very detailed, but really worth reading. A great tale of power run amok, and what can happen when the little guy stands up to it. Also an eye-opener to those who think that “fake news” is something new.

Augustus Carp, Esquire

A very funny and frequently hilarious “autobiography” of a man so convinced of his own righteousness that he writes the story of his life to serve as an example to others of how they should live their lives. Surprisingly relevant (at least I thought so). Not a very long read, and very entertaining, although the language is somewhat old-fashioned (first published in 1924). Definitely the lightest of these four recommendations. Nothing objectionable.

Movies

Flu

Great Korean thriller about a city struck with an especially virulent strain of flu. Not a horror movie, but if you liked Train to Busan, you’ll enjoy this. One of the most likeable and amiable heroes I’ve ever seen in a movie of this kind, and once again proves that there’s nothing more tear-inducing than a 7-year-old Korean girl crying for her mother. Gotta hand it to the Koreans, they give this type of thing a lot more heart, and ramp up the suspense way more than most American films of this type. Some cursing, violence. A lot of flu-based gore. Great movie. Available on Amazon Prime.

The Terror: Infamy

Season two of AMC’s series The Terror. History-based horror, this time taking place in the Internment Camps of WWII America. A great blend of actual historical horror and supernatural horror, with the historical horror coming off as scarier. Like the best of any genre, it’s about more than just horror. It makes you think about much deeper issues (at least it did me). A great show. Some bad language, some violence, but nothing too extreme or graphic. Just as good as season one The Terror, which was based on the Dan Simmon’s fictional account of the real-life Franklin expedition to find the northwest passage. That was one of the few programs that I felt was actually better than the book (and I love the book). This recommendation is kind of a two-fer.

The Terror season one takes place in 1845-6. Two ships, the Erebus and the Terror, under the command of Sir John Franklin, become frozen in the Arctic ice while searching for the Northwest Passage. Not one of the crew was ever seen again. That part is all true. The show (and book) provide a partly realistic/partly supernatural explanation. Some violence and a lot of suspense.

JoJo Rabbit

Hands-down the best movie I’ve seen in a long time. A hilarious, heart-breaking, thought-provoking look at Nazism and the end of WWII through the eyes of a ten year old member of the Hitler Youth who discovers a Jewish girl hidden in the walls of his house. Amazing performances by the entire cast, and especially from Roman Griffin Davis (JoJo), Thomasin McKenzie (Elsa), Scarlett Johanson (Jojo’s mother), and Taika Waititi (Jojo’s imaginary best friend Adolph Hitler. He also wrote and directed it). I can’t say enough good about this movie. Jess and I both loved it. I can’t think of any higher recommendation. WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!!!!

Hunters

An Amazon Prime series about a group hunting Nazis in America in 1977. The most difficult recommendation here. It has come under completely understandable, legitimate, and valid fire from a number of people and groups (like the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum) for its historical inaccuracies regarding, and cartoonish embellishments of, Nazi atrocities in the camps (and, if that sounds stupid, read what they had to say, as well as what the show’s creator had to say in response.)

It is a very pulpy, cartoony show with overt nods to comic books, Quentin Tarentino (especially Inglorious Basterds) and other WWII fantasies like The Dirty Dozen and Kelly’s Heroes. I have a hard time taking anything seriously that includes the words “rag-tag group” to describe the heroes. That term pretty much always describes something that is basically a fantasy, and Hunters is definitely a fantasy.

What it comes down to, for me, is that it does what all good fiction based on historical “real events” does. Although it is, frankly, shitty history (and virtually anything based on “real events” is. If it wasn’t, no one would watch.), it asks the right questions (“was going to the moon worth doing if we had to smuggle Nazis in to do it?” and “What does the fact that we brought Nazis here and protected them to suit our ends say about us?” and “Was it worth it?” and “At what point do monster-hunters become monsters themselves?”), and it makes me feel the need to read more about the actual events, to try to understand not only what happened, but why it happened, and how those events affect us today, so that we can avoid/prevent repeats.

At any rate, it is the sketchiest recommendation here. Lots of violence, profanity, bloodshed, etc. However, I did find parts of it very moving and thought-provoking. If you can make it through the first 10-15 minutes, you’ll probably enjoy it.

Music:

I haven’t been checking out a lot of new stuff (and by that, I mean new to me), but I do have some recommendations for bands you might not otherwise hear about (and some you should already know).

The Bottle Rockets

A great Americana rock band that’s been around for almost 30 years. A lot of fun to listen to. Here’s one of my favorites of theirs, “Indianapolis“. If you like Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt, Lucero, or Drag the River, chances are you’ll like the Bottle Rockets. If you don’t know any of those bands, then you’re missing out. If you like Tom Petty, chances are you’ll like most of those bands.

The Old 97s

Another band that’s been around since 92. These guys fit in well with the Bottle Rockets and those other bands I mentioned. On the Cowpunk scale, they come down more on the Cow side, while the Bottle Rockets are more punk. If you’re a fan of Gram Parsons or The Flying Burrito Brothers, you’ll probably enjoy these guys. Great stuff with a great sense of humor to go along with that honky-tonk twang.

Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick

Okay, I know that most of you have probably heard of this one. However, I’ve recently reconnected with Tull, and with Thick as a Brick in particular. I find it amusing that an album recorded in 1972 and intended as a parody of the concept album genre, with the standard prog-rock obtuse lyrics should suddenly be relevant again (or at least I find it so). Do yourself a favor and listen to the whole songhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X15PsqN0DHc, not just the radio edit, and read the lyrics. Then check out Aqualung, War Child, and Too Old to Rock and Roll, Too Young to Die.

And finally,

RUSH

Of all the musicians/artists who’ve died recently, the one that hit me the most personally is Neil Peart of Rush. Not only was he one of, if not the, greatest rock drummers of all time, he was also a brilliant lyricist whose humanity, and view of the world was always tempered with love and mercy. Songs like “Limelight“, “Spirit of Radio“, “Freewill“, “Far Cry“, “Bravest Face“, “Subdivisions”, “Lakeside Park“, “Fly By Night“, “Making Memories“, “2112” (of course), and too many others to list, show an intelligence and transcendence that is rare in any kind of music, much less rock, and a lot of that came from Neil Peart. When we lost him, we lost a giant.

Anyway, I guess that’s about it for now. Happy reading/watching/listening!

And Now for Something Not Completely Different: A Few Recommendations

All About Me, Arts, Books and Literature, Culture, Movies, Music

Enough with dwelling on politics and all the bad stuff in the world. Also, I don’t want you guys thinking I’ve just turned into an Andy Rooney-type grouchy old dude who just hates everything. I’ve recently read, or watched, or listened to some really good stuff that has actually made me feel better.

Books:

I’ve got to admit, a lot of the books I’ve read lately have not been what you’d call “feel-good” reads – a lot of history books, particularly about the Indian wars. After reading a lot (a LOT) of that stuff (research for a new novel), I needed some lighter fair, so I read The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window And Disappeared, by Jonas Jonasson.

It is a really funny novel that’s sort of a mix between a caper novel and Forrest Gump (if Gump were Swedish, 100 years old, and a demolitions expert). It’s just a really fun novel to read, and surprisingly reassuring.

It’s also a very nice novel: little to no cursing, no sex, virtually no violence (lots of explosions, however), honestly, I can’t think of really anything objectionable about it. It is literally suitable for everyone. Seems a little weird to be recommending something like that. Anyway, it gets my highest recommendation. If you need a good laugh and some relief from the daily horrorshow of social media and 24-hour news, this is the book for you.

Next up, The Android’s Dream, by John Scalzi. I’m no huge fan of science fiction, but Scalzi is a really funny writer. I loved his novel RedShirts, which not only made me laugh, but made me think.

The Android’s Dream is about a guy who has to save humanity from interstellar war by saving a woman who – as a result of genetic experimentation and mad-sciencetry- has no idea that her DNA contains a specific kind of sheep DNA.

It’s pretty weird, and very funny, with lots of bad guys, some violence and bad language (nothing really gratuitous or extreme), a little romance, some interstellar political intrigue, and at least one extremely unusual and funny way of assassination. Highly recommended, especially for sci-fi fans.

Movies

We Have Always Lived In the Castle. Based on a novel by Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House, “The Lottery”). A really creepy story about two wealthy sisters living in the house where their parents were poisoned. Although the older sister was tried and acquitted of the murders, the girls are hated in the village. Things go from bad to worse when a cousin comes to visit.

Little to no sex, nudity, bad language. Some mob violence (old-fashioned pitchforks and torches type, not Godfather). Not particularly scary, but very unsettling, in a good way. Available on Netflix.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. Okay, yes, it’s just the film version of the book, but for those who don’t have time to read, it’s a really faithful version, and maintains the spirit of the book. In Swedish with English subtitles.

Ready or Not. A poor girl marries into a wealthy board game family. Whenever someone marries into the family, they must draw a card from a magic box and play the game indicated. There’s only one bad card, and this poor girl draws it. A really funny horror-comedy, and lots of fun to watch. One of the few movies I’ve seen in the theater that I didn’t regret going to see.

Lots of gratuitous almost everything: violence, bad language, bad behaviour, violence, bloodshed, violence, and a huge splatter factor. Oddly enough, no nudity, but plenty of everything else.

Should be coming out on video and streaming soon.

TV

Marianne. French tv show about a horror novel writer who is being tormented by a 16th century witch who wants her to keep writing. Not a great show – it’s French, dubbed into English, so the dialogue doesn’t always carry the emotional impact the scenes deserve – but it is very creepy, with some decent surprises.

Quite a bit of nudity, bad language, bloodshed, and violence. Available on Netflix.

Good Omens. Based on the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, it’s all about the endtimes. Really funny stuff, with a great cast, and a lot of heart. It shares quite a few plot points with The Omen and Rosemary’s Baby, but it’s much funnier than either of those.

I don’t really remember much in the way of violence, profanity, or nudity/sex, but then again, I’m probably pretty jaded. The whole thing is probably pretty objectionable for the more fundamentalists out there, but I think it asks a lot of questions that we ought to be asking.

Norsemen. Sort of a cross between Vikings and The Office. Really funny. Can’t really remember anything too objectionable, but then again, I’m pretty jaded.

Music

YYNOT. Kind of a strange band, at least for an old-timer like me. They started out as a kind of internet-based Rush cover band, but have coalesced into an actual band. They do awesome covers of Rush songs, and have now released two albums of original (heavily Rush-influenced) material. Both albums are really good. If you’re a fan of Rush, chances are you’ll like YYNOT. If you’re not a fan of Rush, you should give them a try anyway.

Bob Mould. If you like hard-edged, punk-tinged, pounding-but-melodic music, then check out Bob Mould. Whether as a solo act or part of the bands Husker Du and Sugar, he won’t let you down. Husker Du has been cited as very influential on the alt-rock scene of the 90’s. I highly recommend the Husker Du album Warehouse: Songs and Stories, the Sugar album Copper Blue, and his solo albums Patch the Sky and Silver Age.

The Wood Brothers. A great jazz/blues/folk band, similar to the Avett Brothers, but honestly, their songs are (to me anyway) much more memorable. Some really great stuff. I recommend the albums The Muse and Ways Not To Lose. If you like those, then go crazy.

Finally, the strangest of the bunch, Cynthia Hopkins. I think she’s really more of a performance artist than just a musician, but she makes some really great, weird, challenging music. I don’t really think she’s an acquired taste, I think she’s one of those that you either like or don’t like, at the first listen. At any rate, I really like her, and recommend the album The Truth: A Tragedy.

Anyway, I guess that oughta be enough for now. Remember, no matter how much bad crap gets flung at us, there’s a lot of good stuff out there too. Enjoy!

Multiculturalism: It’s Good for the Soul

All About Me, Arts, Books and Literature, Culture, fiction, Movies, Politics & Culture

Okay, I’ve got to admit that I’m no expert on “multiculturalism”. In fact, I looked it up just a few minutes ago to make sure I was writing about it. I’m still not completely sure but, since not knowing what I’m talking about is one of my trademarks, I’m going to press on ahead.

I would also like to point out that I am talking about myself in this post. Whether I’m talking about you is something you’ll have to decide for yourself.

It seems to me that one of the major things that is dividing us is a lack of empathy. We all think that we are the norm. That everybody should think the way we do, act the way we do, believe the way we do, etc. I know that’s unfortunately the case with me anyway (your mileage may vary). I can’t help it – I was raised to think this way, act this way, believe this way, and my parents, grandparents, Sunday School teachers, etc. couldn’t be wrong, right?

(Disclaimer: the thoughts, actions, and beliefs of the author are his own responsibility. His parents, grandparents, Sunday School teachers, etc. bear no responsibility for any stupid thing he may mistakenly attribute to them. They all acted in loving good faith, with malice toward none, and the author can really just be a bit of a jackass sometimes.)

At any rate, we could all do with a bit more empathy. I’ve found that many of the things I was brought up to think, feel, and believe (see disclaimer above) are just flat-out wrong. I’ve learned that to see the world for what it is, and why it is the way it is, I’ve got to be able to see the world through the eyes of people, groups, and cultures other than my own.

I’ve found that it helps to get out of my comfort zone – to read and watch things that are from outside my own experience – like watching foreign movies and reading novels by authors outside my own culture, like Africans, Indians (Asian and American), females, etc. To meet and make friends with people outside my own group – people from other cultures, other beliefs, other alignments (LGBT folks, women, Baptists, etc.)

My search for empathy has taught me some very weird, and some deeply unsettling things over the years. For example, did you know that in Scandinavian movies, anything that is not soul-crushingly depressing is considered slapstick comedy, and in India, even war movies based on historical fact can still stand to be jazzed up with a few musical interludes and dance numbers (At this point, I’d like to admit that my understanding of foreign cultures is very much a work in progress, and probably quite shallow at the time of this writing).

Something else I’ve learned through studying history and getting to know folks from other groups: Not all the good guys are white men, and not all the bad guys have darker complexions and weird, scary accents. In fact, in real life, the exact opposite has been true, as often as not. If you don’t believe me, study a little history.

The most important thing I’ve learned though, is that no matter how different those “others” may seem, we’ve all got way more in common than we have differences. No matter where we’re from or who we are, pretty much universally, people want to live in peace, we all want to raise our children in safety, we all want to make a decent living, and be able to live with some dignity and self-respect, without fear. That goes for me, for Africans, Asians, Russians, LGBT folks, men, women, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, liberals, conservatives, whites, blacks, even Baptists* and the French, and, in all likelihood, you too.

We’ve just got to learn to give each other the benefit of the doubt, at least try to see things from the others’ point of view, and stop listening to those who, in their search for power, try so hard to divide us.

Now I know that at this point you’re saying, “Hey Moon, how can I get me some of that empathy?” Well, it’s really not all that hard – just try seeing the world through the eyes of others. It doesn’t have to be anything important, in fact, entertainment is a good way to start. Just seeing how other cultures see, and portray common things, including themselves is a good start. Here are some links you might (or might not) enjoy.

Movies:

A really cool and entertaining historical war movie. Based on a true story. Lots of action, and just as historically inaccurate as Braveheart, Ragamuffin, or any other American film “based on a true story”. One warning: the subtitles are really hard to read – they’re yellow, and so is pretty much everything else in the movie. I recommend briefly reading up on the Battle of Saragarhi (it really is an amazing story of courage), and then just sit back and enjoy the show! It’s available on Netflix

https://www.hbo.com/video/the-no-1-ladies-detective-agency/seasons/season-01/videos/s1-trailer The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency is a great show about a female detective in Botswana. I’m not sure if it really counts as multicultural, since the novels it’s based on are written by a Scottish white guy, but I’m pretty sure he spends a lot of time in Africa. Anyway, it’s a really good show, very simple, very sweet, very charming. Great characters, lots of humor, virtually no bloodshed, violence, sex, bad language (at least not in the first novel or episode). Listen, if it has none of those things and I’m still highly recommending it, you know it’s gotta be good. Available on HBO. I also highly recommend the book

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbfkuN_MpvQ In Order of Disappearance is a Norwegian revenge thriller/comedy. There is an American remake with Liam Neeson, Cold Pursuit, but the original is better (lets face it, Liam Neeson going on a revenge rampage is nothing we haven’t seen 1000 times already). You probably know Stellan Skarsgard from the movie Mamma Mia! Revenge is definitely funnier with him. Available on Netflix.

Train to Busan. From Korea, and the best zombie movie since 28 Days Later. Really intense, but with real heart too. If you like horror, this is it done right. Available on Netflix.

Books:

Excellent book. Bent was half white, half Cheyenne, and lived most of his life with the Cheyenne. He survived the Sand Creek Massacre, and his perspective on the history of Colorado is pretty interesting. Also, a pretty easy read, very non-academic.

Written by a white guy, but a very good, brief, even-handed account of the Wounded Knee Massacre, and the events that led up to it.
A great black comedy about a man who grew up poor in India, but was determined not to stay that way.
Amazing and eye-opening.

Well, I guess that’s probably enough to start with. Enjoy!

*I really don’t have anything against Baptists. I just think it’s funny. I’m sure many Baptists are fine people. No, really, some of my best friends are Baptists.

Three Picks and a Pan

All About Me, Arts, Books and Literature, Culture, Movies

I’ve been reading and watching some pretty exciting stuff (to me anyway), and thought to myself, “Ya know, you should really tell someone about this.” So I am.

Pick #1: Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder, by Kent Nerburn. Non-Fiction. Five stars, two thumbs up, and a big smiley face.

I picked this up a couple years ago at the Crazy Horse monument in the Black Hills of S. Dakota, and it has sat on my shelf since then. Last week, I forgot the book I was reading at work, and found myself in the lamentable position of going to bed with nothing to read. Well that just wasn’t going to happen, and since this was on the top of the stack by my bed, I decided to give it a try.

I had my doubts as I plowed through the two introductions; they (especially the most recent) were a little on the self-congratulatory side, and left me thinking “Oh crap, is this gonna be another one of those “Let me explain Indians to you,” kind of books, written by a white guy, and loaded with self-aggrandizement and presenting Indians as a bunch of holy men and earth mothers? (I tend toward the skeptical side, and my own experience with Indians has pretty much wrecked that romanticized, Hollywoodized, 70’s liberal view).

Boy, was I in for a (pleasant) surprise. Nerburn has written a book that I very much wished I could write. There’s nothing romanticized here. Nerburn isn’t afraid to show his white preconceptions and biases, nor is he afraid to show those preconceptions and biases getting slapped down for the (well-meaning) bullshit that they are. Dan, the Indian elder Nerburn goes on the road with, isn’t some Black Elk wannabe, full of Native mysticism. Rather, he’s an old man from an exploited, impoverished, and conquered people who has spent his life thinking and trying to make sense of his world, and the white world that surrounds his.

In a lot of ways, Dan reminds me of Jim Charging Crow, a Lakota elder that I, and others in our group, were fortunate enough to become friends with. Full of good humor, but deeply suspicious of whites and their agendas.

Nerburn’s book has opened my eyes, clarified my vision, and at least partially answered questions that I’ve had on my mind for years.

A great book, and an invaluable one for anyone who seeks to help the Sioux, or who seeks a greater understanding of America the problems that face all of us.

 

Pick #2: The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga. Five stars, two thumbs up. Fiction.

A very different book, about a very different kind of Indian. The White Tiger is the story of Balram Halwai, who grows up impoverished in rural backwater of India, and how he rose from a peasant destined for a short, nasty, brutal life to become a successful entrepreneur. It’s a fascinating book: both horrifying and very funny, as it exposes the corruption rampant in India, and what happens when a man born with no options decides to make his own.

I found that, although it’s a very Indian story, that it’s also a universal story about corruption and what happens when a society rewards exploitation of the poor and the marginalized, instead of caring for them, and helping them.

A fantastic book; an easy read with some very important things to say.

 

Pick #3: Hostiles, a film by Scott Cooper. Fiction. Four stars, two thumbs up.

Hostiles, starring Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike, and Wes Studi, is a great movie, albeit one that plays fast and loose with actual history. While it is a western, it is, like all great westerns, about much, much more than just cowboys and Indians, and gunfights. It is a movie that attempts to show the cost that everyone paid (the Indians, the settlers, and the soldiers) to make America what it is today. It is also about the racism that has afflicted this nation since the day Columbus landed in the Caribbean. More importantly, it is about overcoming that racism, putting aside the biases and hatreds that separate us, and bringing people together through mutual, earned respect.

It doesn’t attempt to stick to the facts of history, something that really bothered me the first time I saw it (as a history buff, I kept getting side-tracked by the numerous historical inaccuracies), but once I got past that narrow view, I was able to see it for what it is: a parable of America, and, as that, it succeeds admirably. It’s one of those movies that sticks with you long after the end credits roll. It makes you think: about our country’s history, and about its present, as well as about our own, individual biases and prejudices, and where they come from.

All that philosophical wonkery aside, it is also a damned fine western, with great performances from everybody in it, lots of action, and gunfights. It is also pretty bloody and brutal in it’s depiction of the violence of the old west: definitely not one for the kiddies, or the faint of heart.

It is currently available on Netflix, and on DVD, and Blu-Ray.

 

And now the Pan: Woman Walks Ahead, a film by Susanna White.

Woman Walks Ahead, starring Jessica Chastain, Sam Rockwell, and Michael Greyeyes, is pretty much the exact opposite of Hostiles: It’s based on a true story, and plays fast and loose with actual history, and fails miserably in both telling its story, and in telling a larger truth.

It is the story of Caroline Weldon, a painter and activist for Indian rights, who went to Standing Rock Indian Reservation to paint a portrait of the great Sioux chief, Sitting Bull. So far, so good. Those things actually happened. What is inexplicable to me is why they felt it necessary to airbrush Weldon’s backstory, turning the somewhat Bohemian, divorced activist with a child born out of wedlock, into a widowed, society lady. The actual Weldon’s story is much more interesting.

Less mysterious is the film maker’s rearranging of historical events, to make things center around Weldon (after all the movie’s about her). However, despite what importance Weldon may have had, making this story about her is like making Mrs. Schindler the primary focus of Schindler’s List. I’m sure Frau Schindler made some important contributions, but the most important thing was saving Jews from the death camps.

The film goes so far as to turn Weldon into the stereotypical Great White Saviour, the Feminist Icon who inspires Sitting Bull to lead his people to vote against the “Allotment Treaty”. In reality, it was the Dawes Act, and, as an act of Congress, the Sioux never got a vote in it. The movie downplays the importance of the Ghost Dance, completely screws the pooch about the death of Sitting Bull, and turns Wounded Knee – a direct result of white hysteria about the Ghost Dance, and Sitting Bull’s death – into a footnote. There is a huge, important story here to be told. Instead, they made this movie.

Maybe the biggest mystery is this: weren’t there any actual Feminist Icons to make a movie about? Surely Hollywood hasn’t told the stories of all the women who’ve made huge sacrifices for not only women’t rights, but for civil rights in general. Why take a story about a pivotal moment in U.S. history, and dump all of the truly important stuff, stuff that still affects thousands, if not millions, of Americans every day, in order to manufacture a Feminist Icon? Women deserve better than that, Indians deserve better than that, Americans deserve better than that.

It’s currently on Amazon Prime Video and DVD, Blu-ray.

 

Anyway, that’s it. If you’re going to read three books this year, I strongly suggest that you start with Thumperica! A Novel of the Ghost of America Future. However, if you’re only going to read one or two books this year, give Thumperica a pass, and read Neither Wolf Nor Dog, and The White Tiger.

If you want to see a historical movie that ignores facts to state a larger truth, watch Hostiles.

If you want to see a historical movie that skews facts in order to get everything wrong, watch Woman Walks Ahead.

The Real Rich Mullins, Shameless Namedropping and the Cult of Personality

Culture, Movies, Religion

The only saint in our family, plus Jess, Wayne, and I
The only saint in our family, plus Jess, Wayne, and I

 

This morning I got up, got all the critters fed, and sat down to check my e-mail. Oddly, there were new comments on a post I wrote about my brother Rich Mullins a while back. When I checked the stats on my blog, that post had gotten over 200 views today. Now, that particular post has always been by far the most popular post I’ve ever written, which frankly is a little frustrating because I feel like I’ve written some pretty good posts that had absolutely nothing to do with him (of course, I could be wrong. It happens).

At one point, I had even considered just putting his name in the title of every post, just to try to get people to read my blog, but decided that would be taking shameless cynicism too far, even for me. I would also like to point out, at this point, that there is a point to this post that does actually have something to do with him (also, are there bonus points for getting the word “points” into one sentence multiple times, and if so, do parenthetical “points” count?), so don’t panic. This is merely the Shameless Namedropping bit. I like to ease into these things.

At any rate, I’ve gotta say thanks to all those who commented, both here and on the Facebook. They were all very nice. A couple of people even accused me of profundity, something that would make pretty much everyone who knows me laugh (I know it made me laugh). I am known for a lot of things, mostly involving bad temper and disgusting bodily functions, so it was nice to be considered profound for a change, no matter how far off-base it may be.

Even though the remarks were all nice and complimentary, I still found them disturbing to a certain extent. One of them invited me to join a Rich Mullins group on the Facebook (of which there are at least eight). This seems weird to me. Of course, it is also extremely gratifying, to know that he had, and continues to have, such an impact on people’s lives. However, I’ve got to ask, at what point does all this fan-girling (sorry, but it seems a lot like Tiger Beat for Christians) become kind of Idol Worshippy?

Now I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with fan pages, or sharing your admiration/fanship of somebody with like-minded people. Far from it. However, I do think it’s something that we all need to be careful about. This has been bothering me for a while, but one of the commenters kind of brought it all home for me. This person wrote that in all the videos of Rich, he was “always clean and usually upbeat”, but the movie “Ragamuffin” portrayed him as “looking pretty bad, and usually in a kind of downer mood, or like there was a cloud over him.  Any problems Rich had, aren’t talked about out there.  So I feel like someone is being deceptive.”

I think the simplest way to address this is to tackle the four different points separately:

First:

The way he seems in the videos: He was the way he seems in the videos; smart, caring, sensitive, intellectual, spiritual, funny, and clean. But you also have to understand that in those videos, he was onstage. He was at work. How many of us are the same at work and at home? A large part of a job is image, whether you’re a rock star, or a Walmart greeter. You’re expected to look a certain way, to act a certain way, to talk a certain way. There are things you are supposed to do, and things you’re not allowed to do. I’m no authority on Rich Mullins, I pretty much only knew Wayne, but I know he struggled with that “Image” thing a lot. I remember him complaining that the record company was always trying to get him to lose weight, dress a certain way, wear his hair a certain way, etc., and he found it very disingenuous. Rich Mullins’ “job”, to him, was pointing people toward God. His job, according to the record company was to sell records and make money. Sadly, it seems like, to way too many people, his job is to be a kind of substitute Messiah, a kind of, “Well, I know he’s not Jesus, but he’ll do until the real one comes back,” kind of thing. Again, I’m not accusing you, or anybody, but I’m pretty sure you know somebody like this. Think about it.

Second:

The way he seems in the movie: He was the way he seems in the movie. First, of course, you have to realize that IT WAS A MOVIE! It was an attempt to tell forty-some years of one man’s life in two hours. I don’t want to say that parts of it were made up, but PARTS OF IT WERE MADE UP! That in itself does not make it untruthful. The bits that were “made up” were representative of actual events compressed into a form that made narrative sense, just like some of the characters were composites of multiple people. Think of it like this: Take a drop of water. Try looking at it atom by atom. It doesn’t look anything like a drop of water. If, however, you step back and look at all those atoms collectively, it’s a drop of water. The job of the movie was to show you the drop of water, not it’s atomic composition. I hope that makes sense.

As far as the difference between Rich in the movie and Rich in the videos, that was a decision arrived at early on, by both our family and David Leo Schultz, the director. None of us were interested in making a movie that glorified Rich Mullins. Now a movie that did that would probably have made a whole lot more money (and frankly, in my weaker moments, when I’m worrying about the car payment or the property taxes, I wish it’s the movie Schultz had made), but it would have been antithetical to his whole life. As stated earlier, I really believe that he believed his job was in pointing people toward heaven, and he tried to do just that. We all wanted the movie to try to do the same. Schultz could have painted him as some kind of saint, kind of a Christian Yoda who’s got it all figured out, but that movie would have only glorified Rich, and Rich would have hated that (of course, he probably would have loved it too). Schultz took a braver approach: to show the other side, the private side. The side that only a few ever saw. I almost said were privileged to see, but frankly, there were a lot of times when it was no privilege, I’m sure. The movie Schultz made shows him as we all are; flawed, fallible, and frequently a complete asshole, but a complete asshole who never stopped loving God, who never stopped trying to please God. His struggle was not with God, but with himself, just like the rest of us. If you want the squeaky-clean, family-friendly Rich Mullins, watch the videos. If you want a man who accomplished remarkable things through the grace of God, in spite of his own shortcomings, who struggled daily, just like you and I, then watch the movie. If you really want to get to know him, watch them both.

I guess the best way to put it came from Rich himself. He once said something along the lines of, and I’m paraphrasing from memory here (I’m sure many of you are more familiar with it than I am), “People talk about how open I am, how I say just what I think. If they knew what I’m really thinking they’d say ‘Oh man, we gotta burn this guy’.” Feel free to correct this version.

Third:

Rich’s problems aren’t talked about: No kidding. Nobody wants to take potshots at RICH MULLINS! He’s our hero! In fact, I know that Dave Schultz has gotten some pretty incendiary hate mail for even attempting to show him as flawed. Listen, you want to know what problems Rich Mullins had? Look in the mirror. He had all the same problems you and I have. It wasn’t his problems that were extraordinary, it was his life. His problems and flaws, for the most part, were pretty mundane. He was poor, he was lonely, he had weaknesses and flaws, just like everyone who ever walked the face of the earth, except One.

Fourth:

Somebody’s being deceptive: Simply put, no one is being deceptive. First of all, deception requires intent and there is normally something to be gained through the deception. The videos are amateur videos of a man at work. They don’t purport to represent every facet of the man. If you think they do, then the mistake is yours. Nobody gains anything from posting them. The movie was professionally made and expensive. The approach was intentional. Schultz is not a stupid man. If he wanted to be deceptive, then he would have made a movie that would make money. Instead, he made a movie that glorified God rather than Rich Mullins, a movie that, instead of making people say, “OOOOH, that Rich Mullins! What a great Christian!” tried to make you say, “Okay, I’m not the only one who’s screwed up. God loved him, I’ll bet he loves me too.” Plus, I’m not even sure they’ve broken even yet.

The Difference:

The difference between the popular perception of RICH MULLINS! and the reality of Rich Mullins can best be seen, I think, by looking at one of his most popular songs, “Awesome God”.

Here is the song’s lyrics as he wrote and performed them:

When He rolls up His sleeves
He ain’t just putting on the ritz
(Our God is an awesome God)
There’s thunder in His footsteps
And lightning in His fists
(Our God is an awesome God)
And the Lord wasn’t joking when
He kicked ’em out of Eden
It wasn’t for no reason that He
she’d His blood
His return is very close and so
you better be believing that
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

And when the sky was starless
In the void of the night
(Our God is an awesome God)
He spoke into the darkness
And created the light
(Our God is an awesome God)
The judgement and wrath He
poured out on Sodom
The mercy and grace He gave
us at the cross
I hope that we have not too
quickly forgotten that
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God (God)
He reigns (He reigns…) from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

Our God is an awesome God (Our God is an awesome God)
He reigns from heaven above (He reigns from heaven above)
With wisdom, power, and love (With wisdom, power, and love)
Our God is an awesome God
Our God is an awesome God
Our God is an awesome God

Read more: Rich Mullins – Awesome God Lyrics | MetroLyrics

Now here is the version we sing in church:

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom, power, and love
Our God is an awesome God

See the difference? The version we sing is like the perception of RICH MULLINS!; Powerful, true, and above all, simple. The version he wrote is more like Rich Mullins; still powerful and true, but also awkward, kind of weird, thought- and question-provoking, and, I think, fairly deep, juxtaposing God’s vengeance with his Grace.

In contrast, the church version is just a mantra; essentially repetitive and hypnotic, requiring no thought at all, all too often just a mindless parroting of a slogan. Sure it sounds great, but there’s nothing there that isn’t said in a thousand other hymns.

I’m not saying that one is better than the other (for my part, I cringe at the thought of either version), but if I have to choose, I choose the one that makes me think.

Finally:

This brings me back around to my original point: the Cult of Personality. It seems like people may be taking RICH MULLINS! way too seriously. The fact that he was deeply flawed should not detract from our opinion of him, or what he had to say. Our opinion of him is a matter of complete inconsequence. If we say we are Christians, then the only person we should be fan-girling over is Jesus Christ.

OOPS!

Well now . . . that got a little preachy, didn’t it? Sorry. Sometimes I get a little carried away. I trust you’ll all have the good sense not to take anything I had to say too personally, or too seriously. To any of you who managed to slog all the way through this: Thank You! And now you know why I have no reputation for profundity.

More Great Movies You Might Not Have Heard Of: Foreign Film Edition

Arts, Movies

Okay, you can breathe a sigh of relief; this post has absolutely nothing to do with politics, religion, philosophy, ethics, or anything important. This one is just about movies. I love movies. All kinds of movies, but especially horror, suspense, action, and comedies. The following movie recommendations are all foreign movies, but from English-speaking countries (except Big Bad Wolves, which is Israeli), so you can enjoy these little gems without worrying about subtitles. They are all also available through Netflix, as well as other sources, I’m sure.

I will also try not to give away too much info. If you find your interest piqued, it’s easy enough to find all of the synopsis’ (synopsi? synopsis’s?) and spoilers you want on IMDB, Netflix, etc.

I’m sticking with the 5 ***** rating system, since I still don’t know how to make a star.

Housebound ****

A horror-comedy from New Zealand, about a young woman who is an incredibly incompetent criminal, as well as a thoroughly unpleasant person who is placed under house arrest – in her mother’s house, which she comes to suspect is haunted. Apparently New Zealand’s penal system is quite different from ours, but it makes for a darned entertaining movie. It is pretty suspenseful and funny, and much better than I expected it to be. The lead character is such a horrible person at the beginning, I thought it was going to be impossible to empathize with her, but she pulled it off.

Warning! Lots and lots of bad language.

Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead ****

Another one from New Zealand, this time, a low-budget zombie flick. Almost a zombie-movie-meets-Mad-Max, with a disco-loving mad scientist, with gallons of gore, an off-beat, Evil Dead 2 sense of humor, and at least two or three new twists on the genre (at least as far as I know they’re new). It’s not going to change your life, but, if you like zombies, you should enjoy this, especially if you liked Shaun of the Dead, Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn, and others of that nature.

Warning! Tons of violence, gallons of gore, lots and lots of bad language (I mean, c’mon, it’s a zombie movie, what do you expect?).

Grabbers ****

Another horror-comedy, this time from Ireland. A small island just off the coast of Ireland is invaded by vampiric, alien, Octomonsters, which are, fortunately, allergic to alcohol. Can an entire Irish village stay drunk long enough to beat the alien invasion? Low-budget, but pretty good special effects, along with a nice dose of Irish hominess, lots of laughs, and a few thrills make this an above-average comedic creature-feature, sort of an alcohol-fueled Irish Tremors.

Warning! Lots of drinking and bad language. Some gore and violence.

A Lonely Place To Die *****

This one is a straight-up thriller, from the U.K. Five friends mountaineering in the Scottish Highlands run afoul of human traffickers. An excellent thriller, with beautiful scenery, and some real shocks and scares. A no-kidding, edge-of-your-seat, nail-biter.

Warning! Violence and bad language.

Alan Partridge ****

Alan Partridge is a movie based on a character from BBC-TV played by Steve Coogan. Alan Partridge is the worst TV show host in the world, and, in the movie, has been relegated to hosting a mid-morning radio show in the Midlands. A disgruntled employee takes the radio station hostage, and it’s up to Alan to save the day. If you’re familiar with the character, then you know what you’re getting. If you’re not, you can check him out in the BBC-TV series, Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge, and Mid-Morning Matters. He’s narcissistic, oblivious, selfish, childish, and completely self-unaware. They are very funny (and very British) shows, and the movie Alan Partridge puts the character in the middle of a typical Bruce Willis-type situation. Extremely funny if you like British humor.

Warning! Bad language and some violence, but definitely the tamest movie on this list, content-wise.

 

Big Bad Wolves ****

Okay, it’s an Israeli film, which means if you don’t speak Hebrew, you’re gonna need the subtitles, but it’s well worth it. A maverick cop screws up the bust of a man suspected of killing children, and goes after the guy outside the system, and ends up joining forces with the father of one of the victims. It’s a grim and grisly vigilante/revenge movie that stops shy of the torture porn sub-genre, but still has some harrowing scenes involving torture. It is, however, never gratuitous, and the tension is relieved periodically by a healthy dose of humor. It’s also interesting in it’s examination of torture as a legitimate information-gathering instrument, as well as the ethical dilemma’s faced by all of the characters. It’s an excellent movie that gets right up against the grindhouse/gratuitous violence and bloodshed line, but never goes over it, and never looses sight of the ultimate question at the root of the movie: Did the suspect do it, and where do good men draw the line to find out?

Warning! Extreme violence and bad language.

Four Lions *****

British comedy about 5 homegrown Muslim British Jihadi’s. Granted, not the most conventional subject for comic treatment, but it works here. Extremely funny without ever making light of the damage or harm that extremists/terrorists do. A hard movie to describe, and an even harder one to make someone want to see, but if you take the time, it’ll make you laugh a lot, and make you think long after you stop laughing. Best movie in this list. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Warning! The usual, violence and bad language.

Anyway, I hope you’ll take the time to check out some of these great movies. They are all well worth seeing. Enjoy!

Things I don’t understand #3: Harry Potter and the Epicization of Everything

All About Me, Arts, Books and Literature, Culture, Movies, Politics & Culture

So I’m sitting in class today, and the professor is telling us about a meeting of the Honors Club that she’d like us to go to. She’s very excited about it, and then drops what she apparently thinks will be the big draw: the subject for discussion at the meeting will be . . . wait for it . . . HARRY POTTER!!!!! I’ll wait while you seethe in jealousy at the fact that you won’t be able to attend. Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah.

Oddly enough, I lost all interest in attending at that precise moment. I mean, seriously, this is college. This is where you’re supposed to get educated, to learn about new ideas, big ideas, and discuss them, and solve all the problems of the world, and harness all of our youthful enthusiasm (and I’m writing as a typical college student here, and not the crusty old fart that I actually am. What can I say, I got to the game late. Very Very Late.) to go out and set the world to rights. And the Honors Club (Arguably, perhaps even dubiously) the best and the brightest that the campus has to offer is meeting to discuss HARRY POTTER!!!!!

To be honest, I found it to be more than a little disconcerting. Can anybody please explain to me what is the big deal? Now I’ll admit that I’ve never actually read any of them. I did watch the first movie, and I’ve seen bits and pieces of the others. Nothing that I’ve seen has made me think that I’m missing anything. And yet, I’m surrounded by people, intelligent people (or at least people that I consider intelligent) and they freaking’ looooove HARRY POTTER!!!!! (Note. Please understand that the exclamation marks are an attempt to mimic the enthusiasm that otherwise normal people feel for HARRY POTTER!!!!! They are not meant to affect the entire sentence preceding the name HARRY POTTER!!!!! Please also note that I am using 5 exclamation marks, and all capital letters, both universally accepted signs of a diseased mind.)

Why are all these otherwise reasonably intelligent people so worked up about a series of children’s books? Is there anything actually original in them? Anything that hasn’t been done before about a thousand times? Or is it, as I suspect, just a matter of packaging and marketing? The special effects are SOOOO good!

Honestly, HARRY POTTER!!!!! isn’t the only aspect of modern popular culture (and I’m using the term loosely) that I don’t understand. Take the Hunger Games. Please. I took this kid I know to see one of them, and he was so excited. When it was over, I asked him what the big deal is. He started going on about how new and fresh it was, how it had never been done before, etc., etc. He was pretty much unfazed, even when I told him that it had been done before, in the Richard Bachman stories The Long Walk, and The Running Man, and that they had even made a movie out of The Running Man, with Arnold Schwarzeneggar, complete with people killing each other on a game show with a flaky host in a dystopian future, and it was done 30-40 years ago. Ok, I’ll grant you that Jennifer Lawrence is a whole lot hotter than Arnold, but still. Why did they need three books to basically cover something that Stephen King (Bachman was a nom de plume) did in two short and unrelated novellas?

Why does everything have to be so epic? Look at The Hobbit. One of the greatest and best-loved adventure stories of the 20th century. Then Peter Jackson gets hold of it, and it becomes a 9-hour epic. Of course, he had to make up a ton of stuff that wasn’t in the book in order to pad a great adventure into an epic. Granted, the movies are well made (as are the HARRY POTTER!!!!! and Hunger Games movies), but that’s not the point. My dad had a saying, “10 pounds of shit in a 5 pound bag” to describe a situation where too much stuff is crammed in. These epics have the opposite problem, “5 pounds of gold in a 10 pound bag of shit”. There is lots of good stuff, even in these movies, but it’s completely overwhelmed by all the pointless, repetitious, and just dull filler. And seriously, what’s the deal with the freaking Elves defying gravity and skateboarding across everything? That looked stupid, even in the Disney animated version of  Tarzan.

It’s not just movies, or movie series either. This epicization extends to individual scenes. The interminable fight scenes where, 5 minutes into it, I’m thinking, don’t any of these bad guys have a gun? Somebody please take two steps back and shoot Bruce Willis (or Stallone, or Jason Statham, or Jet Li, or whoever’s kung-fuing his way through hordes of bad guys tonight), so it can end. I don’t care if the bad guys win, I just want this fight to end. Then there’s the ever-popular chase scene. Those have gotten so endless that I don’t even pause the movie to go to the bathroom. Frankly, they’ve gotten so big they’re just dull. Everybody is so busy making things bigger, better, louder, (insert your own favorite _____er here).

It’s really kind of silly, but we just keep buying it. Literally. We bought the DVD, and the video game, and the movie-tie-in version of the book, and the soundtrack, and then the Blur-Ray, and then the Director’s Cut, and then the 10th anniversary edition (because it’s got all those cool “special” features), and the DVD’s and Blu-Rays of all the sequels, because, even though they weren’t really as good as the first, and the last 2 or 3 sucked, it would be aesthetically wrong to not have the whole epic.

It’s even affecting real life. People can’t just like anything any more, they have to be “obsessed” with it. I know people who are “obsessed” with this book, that author, that director, that movie series, those shoes, that tv show, the new flavor at Starbucks. Just liking it isn’t enough. Even loving it isn’t enough. Of course, maybe those people need to become obsessed briefly with a dictionary.

Now I’ll grant that when I was a kid, I got pretty carried away with a lot of things. Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings were my big things. But I got over it. I still really like them, but I’m certainly not obsessed with them. Honestly, I’ve still got a few things like authors that I get carried away with, and will buy pretty much anything they write. I like them a lot, and recommend them to everybody. But I also realize that they’re not everybody’s cup of tea. Frankly, I’d feel a little silly enthusing over a book or movie like a 12 year-old girl with a new copy of Tiger Beat with a fold-out of Justin Bieber (speaking of things I don’t understand).

I think it probably concerns me most because it makes me feel more mature in comparison to those overly enthusiastic fans of anything. Honestly, anything that makes me feel like the adult in any situation concerns me because I know how phenomenally immature I really am.

I just don’t understand.

 

Rich Mullins movie. Another freaking post.

All About Me, Arts, Culture, Movies, Religion

I got a comment on a previous post about the movie “Ragamuffin”. It was a very nice post from a very nice guy who was disappointed in the movie. He was disappointed that they didn’t show more of Wayne’s funny, charming side. That seems to be a fairly common complaint, so I thought I’d post my response to him here. Keep in mind that I don’t speak for any of the folks who made the movie. This is all my opinion, and mine alone. That said . . .

 

Hey Tom – I think you’re kinda missing the point of the movie. They could have gone with a different angle (and actor) and shown Wayne’s charming, witty, funny side, but that’s the side everyone knows, and the side everyone (well a lot of people anyway) emulates. The side that I think most of us look at and say, “Why aren’t I like that?” But the upshot of making that movie would have just been preaching to the choir, and ultimately just glorifying Wayne as some kind of paragon of Christianity. Let’s face it, if you want that kind of stuff, you can find a shitload without really even trying. Just go to U-tube. What they were trying to do was make a movie that we could all watch and say, “Holy shit, I am just like Rich Mullins in so many ways! Maybe God loves me too.” A movie that ultimately glorifies God and not a musician who sang about him. Don’t get me wrong, I think Wayne was a good man, and a good Christian, if there is such a thing (at the very least, he was a better Christian than me), but I think part of the problem today is this whole cult of personality that has taken over. Even the “real” news is inundated with pointless pablum about celebrities and how great this one is or how bad that one is. The reason for this is that’s what the people apparently want. To hold up Miley Cyrus or Lindsey Lohan as examples of how terrible people are, or to hold up Tom Hanks or Princess Diana or Rich Mullins as examples of what we all ought to try to be. At the very least, us Christians ought to know better, but instead, we make heroes out of guys like Wayne or Amy Grant or Billy Graham, and have the nerve to be offended when we find out they’re just as jacked up as we are. It’s especially bad once somebody like that dies, whether that someone is a celebrity or just a family member. Once they’re dead, we sanctify them. We block out all the bad stuff about them, or, if we can’t block it out, we make it funny and endearing. I’ve lost both parents, a brother and a sister, and did that to all of them. Only when this movie came out did I really start dealing with all of it. Up til now, recognizing the bad aspects of their personalities and behavior seemed like a betrayal of their memory. Now that I’ve started actually dealing with it though, I realize that to deny those aspects or to try to laugh them off is really robbing them of their humanity, and that is unfair to them, and unfair to myself. I love and miss them all, but if I could have them back, I’d want them back warts and all, because that’s who they were. I think if you really want to know who Rich Mullins was, then the movie they made tells a necessary part, especially when taken in context with all the truly wonderful things about him that everyone already knows.

Well, sorry about getting on my soapbox. I do understand where you’re coming from, and I hope my little rant here won’t stop you from reading more (normally, I’m a lot funnier). Anyway, take care and thanks for reading.