So, what the heck
have I been up to?
Six months of intense
and hellish training to be a prison guard to the young folks, that’s what: I
was in the bowels of the edjoomakashun system, lorded over by a series of
Dolores Umbridges—which thankfully in the long run, I was rejected for—
“Let’s use brutal, militaristic
techniques to keep the young’uns in line, to make them good little worker bees—oh,
there’s no jobs and poverty creates a toxic stress environment as well as cycle
of defeat? Not to mention the learned helplessness where folks say, ‘Why bother
to try and improve when the dice are loaded, the cards marked and the game is rigged right from the start?’ Well that’s not our problem….”
Basically it was like
dealing with the students of Mao’s Cultural Revolution: Obey or die!
Listen up boy, you gotta get your mind RIGHT.
Here’s the thing:
these Umbridges claim to “love the children,” but I believe they only do so in
the most abstract way….
But I’ve burned
enough bridges already…
One day I will go
into further detail—but today is not that day—today is September 1, and
it’s the start of the final quarter of 2014, and it’s a new page in my life.
Getting my ducks in a
row, looking forward, and NEVER giving up. The only way you’re going to stop me
is by chopping off my head—and then you better watch out: the Gypsy said if
that happens, my right hand with come after you…and avenge me.
Now, onto the movie
reviews! (Most of which will be very short; I just wanna get this one out of
the way—break the silence, and get back on track…)
(Why pictures of
eyes? Because they are always
watching you! The last six months were a horribly paranoid time for me, full of
tension and stress, and I am only now beginning to recover from the case of
PTSD that I picked up…)
Beyond Outrage (2012;
Takeshi Kitano) Great stuff! The
sequel to Outrage isn’t as
formalistic, but isn’t as violent either. Takeshi Kitano rules!
Cotton Comes to
Harlem (1970; Ossie Davis) After about 30 minutes, I had to watch most of this
at fast-forward—fabtastic location photography of Harlem from 1970, but overall
the film is uneven, unfunny and didn’t have a genuine perspective.
Sort of a proto Spike
Lee flick: lots of characters, lots of bits, lots of local characters, lots of
great singular moments, with many themes touched upon—but for whatever reason
(lack of funds? Studio interference?), this flick is half-baked. Many pointless
scenes go on and on, not advancing the plot, and are usually boring.
I read Chester Himes’ book and liked it a lot. Interestingly, the book is very accurate in its
location details—author Himes must’ve walked these Harlem streets.
The movie on the
other hand, does the typical Hollywood nonsense: Someone walking on Amsterdam
and 145th turns the corner and then they’re on Lenox and 125th!
Worst was during a car chase (that was actually well done and exciting) when a
car heading north on St. Nicholas turns right on 155th and then is
seen zooming along Riverside Drive and 145th. The location mix-up
was so prevalent, I began to wonder if it was some sort of in-joke.
A Dandy in Aspic
(1968; Anthony Mann, and Laurence Harvey, uncredited) Very paranoid, often dour
spy story bolted onto some mod stylishness. Excellent perfs throughout,
although Mia Farrow’s character is a red herring that is just TOO DAMN QUIRKY.
Otherwise, very enjoyable for me.
Apollo 18 (2011;
Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego)—Love this flick: reviewed HERE!
Rush (2013; Ron
Howard) Great racing movie with exceptional performances. A surprise flick that
I watched at Otto Mannix’s house. I would not have seen it otherwise. BTW, I heard Ron Howard is into S/M; can anyone confirm? Just curious is all...
A Field in England
(2013; Ben Wheatley) Wheatley’s finally hit his stride in my opinion in this fabulous tale of
two alchemists in battle. Fantastic and witty dialog, very intelligent—set in
1648 during England’s Civil War—film deserves to be next to Witchfinder General
or The Devils or Valhalla Rising—a film of mystery and grace, superb sound
design—where magic mushrooms play a big part of this tale of sorcery, but also
very spiritual—yet with a brilliantly disjointed editing scheme.
.jpg)
Perhaps my fave new
film of the year—a thoughtful and thought-provoking, incredibly unique genre
film that defies genre descriptions.
Live and Let Die (Guy
Hamilton; 1973) Basically this movie is a paranoid white racist’s wet dream: Voodoo,
evil black men selling dope and lustin' after de white wimmen...
It’s as if Black
People worldwide were some sort of giant criminal conspiracy, like a Negro
Hydra—by the end of the movie, every time you see a black
person, you see a potential threat! The flick is infectious paranoia! That
said, it’s a great action flick—but sick,
pretending to be a Blaxploitation flick, but should really be a tragedy about
Kananga/Mr. Big: Why is James Bond interfering with the internal affairs of a
sovereign nation?
It’s Blaxploitation
backlash; putting the Brothers down, and crushing them underfoot.
Burn! (1970; Gillo
Pontecorvo) Brilliant stuff, an all-time fave! Watch it HERE!
Screwed (1994;
Alexander Crawford) I’m in this movie! Formerly subtitled “Al Goldstein’s Kingdom of
Porn,” it’s a disjointed documentary looking at the dead porn publisher,
and the sleazy, crazy New York that no longer exists.
NO MOVIES SEEN IN
JULY!!! I was too busy fighting the brainwashing of the Umbridges, while trying
to teach some middle schoolers in the Bronx. I know I reached them, but my
so-called supervisors would rather have clueless, doe-eyed, inexperienced
just-graduated post-adolescents delivering their commands. Oh well…
August 2014
The Purge (2013;
James DeMonaco) I really like this flick (reviewed HERE) and I watched it
to refamiliarize myself with its concepts before seeing the sequel (which I
have yet to see, however…).
The Last Days on Mars
(2013; Ruari Robinson) A mission to Mars gets a zombie infection, and things
get really bad for the astronauts…
Starts off slow and
unimpressive, but grows in power, increasing the tension while never falling
into standard genre tropes. Smart and unique sci-fi, worth a look, but have
some patience…
Abandon Ship (1957;
Richard Sale) One of my all-time faves; required viewing if you ask me—reviewed HERE.
Patton (1970; Franklin
J. Schaffner) One of the best (and smartest) movies ever—a brilliant epic—they
sure don’t make ’em like this anymore.
Treasure Island
(1934; Victor Fleming) Watched on the recommendation of Erick K. at Acidemic, and he’s right! Old school entertainment that feels very “pre-code,”
with stuff they wouldn’t let be in a “kid’s movie” these days…
Twelve O’Clock High (1949;
Henry King) After Patton, I needed more intelligent and thoughtful war movies,
and picked this one. Hardly jingoistic, it’s an almost-noir about US bombers
over Germany, with an impeccable cast, but especially Gregory Peck giving a
subtle performance as a tough commander. This is a real man’s man movie, about
genuine guys doing tough things—not the “rough tough cream puff” bullshit
churned out by the Propaganda Machine these days.
The Mummy (1932; Karl
Freund) A disjointed, kind of silly movie helped by a fabulous perf by Boris
Karloff. Mood trumps sense in this movie, but it moves so quickly it doesn't matter, and Karloff
really grabs you as a 3,000-year-old wizard. Worth a look.
El Dorado (1966;
Howard Hawks) Goofy nonsense where Hawks remakes Rio Bravo again, but Leigh Brackett’s script provides some surprises,
with a young James Caan stealing the show. Also watched on recommendation from Acidemic.
Dr. Dolittle (1967;
Richard Fleischer) Hadn’t seen this since I was a kid. Love some of the songs,
but with the exception of the production design, actor Geoffrey Holder's wise and wily island leader, and L.B.
Abbott’s old school special effects, a bit of a terrible movie. But I do love
that song, “My Friend the Doctor.”
Muscle Shoals (2012; Greg
‘Freddy’ Camalier) Decent documentary about the town with some famous recording
studios, saved by vintage footage and some awesome music, but I really felt
like something was missing. A much better doc is the one about Stax (whose
musical output I prefer anyway), 2007’s Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story.
A Perfect Getaway:
The Director’s Cut (2009; David Twohy) Damn good mystery/thriller with some
neato twists and red herrings. Vacationing couple has to deal with some truly loathsome
villains, and it’s best to see this movie knowing nothing of what’s going to
happen. I also think that you should seek out the director’s cut since it
probably makes more sense.
Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013;
Frank Pavich) Genuinely trippy, almost hallucinatory documentary about one of
the greatest movies never made. Alejandro Jodorowsky is truly a shaman/madman
and when I grow up, I want to be just like him!
Books & Stories
Read in June
“The Adventure of the
Greek Interpreter,” a story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1893) The first
appearance of Mycroft Holmes and the Diogenes Club!
“Daughter of
Invention,” a story by Julia Alvarez (1988) Something read along with the
students in a friend’s class that I was sitting in.
Teach Like a Champion: 49
Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College by Doug Lemov (2010)—the new
Mein Kampf. Evil stuff that treats children worse than convicts. This is not
the way to improve the educational system: it’s a stealth method to increase
the drop-out rate.
The King Must Die by Mary Renault (1958) Fabulous “realistic,”
semi-historical retelling of the legend of Theseus. An action-adventure book
that will make you smarter!
The Devil Finds Work: Essays by James Baldwin (1976) Baldwin
takes on film criticism and does it brilliantly!
“The Lottery” by
Shirley Jackson (1948) The classic story about blah, blah, blah. Still taught
to kids who could care less…
NO BOOKS READ IN
JULY!!!
Books & Stories
Read in August [* = 'read before']
*) From Bauhaus to Our House by Tom Wolfe
(1981) Wolfe takes on modern architecture as only he can.
Imperial Earth by Arthur C. Clarke (1976)
Decent sci-fi—read to wash the horrors of the previous few months out of my
mind. This was the first book I read for “me” a while. In this book, Clarke predicts the iPad and "selfies," and messes with our heads by, about halfway through, revealing that the hero is a Black man: something shocking when you remember how lily-white sci-fi tends to be...
“Politics and the
English Language” by George Orwell (1946; essay) Orwell is a genius, and his
incisive thoughts still hold true.
The Serialist by David Gordon (2010) Great
read—a ghost writing ex-pornographer and tutor has to deal with the attention
of a serial killer. Fab stuff that deserves a better review from me, but I’m in
a hurry. Here’s a review(s) that does a better job than me!
“Kubrick” by Michael
Herr (1999) Very long Vanity Fair
magazine article about Herr's friendship/collaboration with Big Stan K. RIP.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1961) A damn
fine satire of self-important teachers who do more harm than good. Guess why I
read this?
Okay, that’s it. Let’s
hope I can get back to a semblance of a normal publishing schedule again, as well as more in-depth analysis…Of course, that might be tough with me starting graduate school...
I think I saw that version of Treasure Island on TV once. It was a pretty good adaptation of the story and Wallace Beery made a pretty good Long John Silver before Robert Newton's iconic take on the character. Also, Twelve O'Clock High is a classic.
ReplyDeleteJH, Thanks for dropping by!
ReplyDeleteNowadays, Beery's LJS is a breath of fresh air; when I see Newton's LJS, all I can think of is that Monty Python skit about overacting and scenery chewing...
I didn't mention in the article, but Twelve O'C. is why I've got the Leper Colony patch up top--also I felt like I was being assigned to the LC during my teacher training--
Them: "So, you want to teach Advanced English to high schoolers? We're putting you in a class of 7th grade Special Education kids, most of whom have ADHD."
Me: "?!?!?!"
BTW, *THANK YOU* for hating Godard--or as I call him, "Jean-Luc Garbage."
--Ivan
...although the Leper Colony patch above is not from WWII, but Vietnam era--a C-130 crew out of Japan, I believe...
ReplyDeleteBTW, it's never mentioned in the film (but in promo and background material), but Slim Pickens' B-52 in Dr. Strangelove is supposed to be named The Leper Colony...