by Sam Juliano
It would be hard for me to imagine a richer or more active week than the one my family and I enjoyed this past week. We only saw a single film in theaters, but movies were only a blip on the itinerary of this most memorable of seven day periods. Lucille and I got the once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Pope Francis, who made a whirlwind visit through Central Park late Friday afternoon during his hectic Big Apple sojourn. We paid our penance to realize this opportunity, made possible by a friend of many years, and stayed the course with a line of people that snaked up and around the 59th Street entrance of the park. It took a little over five (5) hours on the line before we finally made our way through the checkpoint to join the massive crowd of over 80,000 waiting to catch a fleeting glimpse of His Holiness as his Popemobile rolled down the road that split the crowd in half. We parked near the corner of 18th Street and Seventh Avenue, and took a subway up to Columbus Circle, arriving at our destination at around 11:00 A.M. Our legs took a serious hit with all that standing, but the exhilaration and goosebumps we absorbed during this Pope’s electrifying arrival will be something we’ll remember for the rest of our lives. This rock superstar of a Pope has not only moved mountains within the church, but has climbed Mount Everest for people of all faiths around the world.
Lucille, Sammy, Jeremy and I also attended the annual Warwick, New York Children’s Book Festival in the rustic town in Orange Countyon Saturday afternoon. Renowned author illustrators like Wendell and Florence Minor, Frane Lessac, Mark Greenwood, James and Lesa Ransome, Ame Dyckman and numerous others exhibited their work on tables, where book fans visited and made purchases. A real celebratory event!
Our entire family of seven attended the Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo Park, New York on Sunday afternoon on the final day of the two month festival that ran for the 38th consecutive years. Jousting matches, Shakespearean shows, castles, and medieval themes games, activities and traditions were highlighted in this most sublime of rural locations, and some remarkable talented people brought a measure of authenticity to the proceedings. We were particularly thrilled that our son Danny was called on from the audience to play Horatio in a comedic rendition of HAMLET.
We saw one film in theaters on Saturday night:
Pawn Sacrifice *** 1/2 (Saturday night) Chelsea Cinemas
The film focused on Bobby Fischer and the chess match of the century staged in 1972 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Toby Maguire seemed a bit over-the-top, but was fine enough as the eccentric American chess great whose behavior during the match was borderline crazed. I well remember the match and as an 18 year-old followed it on Channel 13 with commentator Shelby Lyman. I was an enthusiastic college chess player from 1971 to 1978. The film showed focused on Fischer’s increasing instability during his victorious match over Spassky, his gentlemanly Russian opponent. Many consider Fischer the greatest chess player of all-time. He died in Iceland at age 64 in 2010.
With the mania of the past week I was only able to revise a few links, but will try and do more as we move forward through the week:
At Noirish, the renowned writer (and voracious reader) John Grant has penned a superb review on 1952’s “A Killer Walks”: https://noirencyclopedia.wordpress.com/2015/09/26/killer-walks-a-1952/
At FilmsNoir.net Tony d’Ambra has posted a full list of films noir in US Library of Congress National Film Registry: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/list-of-films-noir-in-us-library-of-congress-national-film-registry.html/
Joel Bocko has published a brilliant review on “The Favorites – Place de la Republique” at The Dancing Image: http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-favorites-place-de-la-republique-88.html
Aaron West has posted the eighth installent of his podcast series at Criterion Blues entitled “Hiroshima Mon Amour & Romance Across Borders: http://criterionblues.com/2015/09/27/episode-8-hiroshima-mon-amour-romance-across-borders/
At Mondo 70 Samuel Wilson has posted an extraordinary review in his Pre-Code series, the 1932 “The Roadhouse Murder” http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2015/09/pre-code-parade-roadhouse-murder-1932.html
At Tuesdays with Laurie, our great friend Laurie Buchanan offers up a delightful “Cheese and Whine”: http://tuesdayswithlaurie.com/2015/09/13/cheese-and-whine/
Over at Attractive Variance Jamie Uhler offers us an authoritative musical capsule piece on The Who’s revered John Entwhistle, titled “One Day of Bass”: https://attractivevariance.wordpress.com/2015/08/31/one-day-of-bass/
At Movie Classics, Judy Geater has posted a fantastic piece on William Wellman’s 1942 “Thunder Birds”: https://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2015/09/10/thunder-birds-william-a-wellman-1942/
Our longtime friend the film maker and movie lover extraordinaire Jeffrey Goodman has posted Part 29 of his series on four films that recently has impressed him. His latest roundup contains some great stuff: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/2015/07/favorite-four-part-twenty-nine.html
Jeff Stroud brings a higher level of thought to his wonderful new post at The Reluctant Blogger titled “Blank Page”: https://jeffstroud.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/blank-page/
Over at Patricia’s Wisdom, the terrific book reviewer and friend Patricia Hamilton has penned an excellent review of Amanda Fillipacchi’s “The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty”: http://patriciaswisdom.com/2015/09/the-unfortunate-importance-of-beauty-a-novel-amanda-filipacchi/
At It Rains….You Get Wet Robert Tower has written another thoughtful post, this time on “The Death List: Part 4”: http://le0pard13.com/2015/09/25/the-death-list-part-4/
Roderick Heath has published a supedrbly sprawling essay on “Everest” at Ferdy-on-Films: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2015/everest-2015/25948/
J. D. Lafrance’s offers up a splendid review of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” at Radiator Heaven: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-talented-mr-ripley.html
Shubhajit Lahiri has penned an excellent review of Wim Wenders’ 1975 “Wrong Move” at Cinemascope: http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-wrong-move-1975.htm
Weeping Sam’s latest post at The Listening Ear is a terrific consideration of Iggy Pop and the Stooges in a post titled “Radio Burnin Up Alive”: http://listeningear.blogspot.com/2015/09/radio-burnin-up-above.html
At Overlook’s Corridor, the cinematic storm trooper Jaimie Grijalba is involved in a remarkable series focusing on Hispanic American films that have won awards. The latest in his impressive string is the 2014 Cuban work “Vestido De Novia”: https://overlookhotelfilm.wordpress.com/2015/07/18/5dop-5-vestido-de-novia-2014/
Terrill Welch’s incomparably beautiful Creative Potager blogsite offers up all kinds of nature-inspired sublimity, and the latest post “A Narrow Artistic Perspective on a Mayne Island Morning” is a stream-of-consciousness beauty: http://creativepotager.com/2015/08/25/a-narrow-artistic-perspective-on-a-mayne-island-morning/
At Filmicability Dean Treadway’s latest post is a superlative examination of the film year 1947: http://filmicability.blogspot.com/2015/09/1947-year-in-review.html
Sachin Gandhi has posted an utterly fantastic report on the 2015 Calgary International Film Festival, where he served as one of the programmers: http://likhna.blogspot.com/2015/09/calgary-international-film-festival-2015.html
At his new site Enic-Cine, murderous Ink has penned a brilliant piece on 1949’s “Late Spring” titled “Ozu, Pickles and Rice Bran” (Part 1):http://www.enic-cine.net/ozu-pickles-and-rice-bran-part-1/
David Schleicher has posted a riveting look at the most anticipated films for the 2015 Fall Season: http://theschleicherspin.com/2015/09/09/the-spin-on-the-most-anticipated-films-of-fall-2015/
At The Seventh Art the exceedingly gifted writer Srikanth offers up reviews on two Hindi films under the banner grouping titled “Love in the Time of Gonorrhea”: http://theseventhart.info/2015/08/02/love-in-the-time-of-gonorrhea/
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Quite a week indeed, Sammy. You got that close to the Pope? Wow. Must have been somethin’, my friend. Even without a lot of film to screen, you still had an impactful set of days. Thanks for this and the linkage! 🙂
Thanks so much Robert!! Yes this past week was really full and hectic, but as you note impactful. We will remember the Pope Francis visit for the rest of our days. Have a great week my friend.
I knew you would be there Sam 🙂
Bill McKibben (of 350.org) in August wrote a great article The Pope and the Planet in the New York Review of Books that beautifully highlights Frances’ broad appeal and his truly radical concern for social justice and the health of the planet…
“The deterioration of the environment, he says, is just one sign of this “reductionism which affects every aspect of human and social life.” And though “the idea of promoting a different cultural paradigm…is nowadays inconceivable,” the pope is determined to try exactly that, going beyond “urgent and partial responses to the immediate problems of pollution” to imagine a world where technology has been liberated to serve the poor, the rest of creation, and indeed the rest of us who pay our own price even amid our temporary prosperity. The present ecological crisis is “one small sign of the ethical, cultural and spiritual crisis of modernity,” he says, dangerous to the dignity of us all.”
PS: My bad. Thanks for the mention!
Tony, this article by McKibben is brilliant stuff! I always shake my head when I read the absurd objections from the right wingers that the Pope shouldn’t be adding his two cents on the environment. This progressive Pope also comes the closest of any before him in the manner he follows the teachings of Christ and has brought renewed energy and faith to disillusioned Catholics. The quote you present from the piece here is masterful. Thank you my friend!
Standing for such a long time to see the pope must have been a challenge, Sam, but I’m sure it was worth it.
Over the weekend I saw Lily Tomlin in Grandma. In the basis of mixed reviews, I was forewarned that it wouldn’t be great. Even so, I was disappointed, even revolted, over the film’s lack of quality. The script was pretty bad and the elements of craft sadly lacking. This movie is skating on Lily Love and its good intentions.
Pierre, it certainly tested the limits of our stamina, what with the five hour wait to get in and the sun beating down on us, but yes it was well worth it, when you consider the magnitude of this event and visit. I must say I am pretty much in agreement with you as far as GRANDMA is concerned. It was a tepid affair, one I have completely forgotten about now. Many thanks my friend!!!
I did not see a movie this past week or weekend at all, but I did see all of my children and 2 significant others as the girls plotted and planned a surprise retirement party for their Dad. My job was to keep him out of the new/old house and away from the Farmer’s Market and get him to the party on time. It was a tough job but I managed to fulfill my role and oh what a party it was. His brothers also came from far away and about 25 friends and his cycling friend cooked a superb feast including a Mondrian/ Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass cake.
We followed the Pope from afar and were impressed and then the Chinese President was here and a fatal accident on the freeway and I am amazed all our travelers could find the way to our humble party.
Busy, busy autumn for everyone – so glad you got to see the Pope.
Seeing movies is fun when possible, but you had much more going there Patricia of course. Sounds like a fabulous time was had by all! That cake is to die for! Yes, there was something intimate about seeing the television reports on the Pope. Sorry to hear about that fatal road accident. Yes we were happy to get the chance to see His Holiness, and will keep it in our memory bank. Autumn is indeed finally descending in these parts my friend. Hope you are enjoying a fine weekend!
An amazing succession of events Sam! Hard to believe you are still able to stand! I attended the Faire about six years ago. Barrels of fun!
Frank, I am barely standing! Ha! I do remember you saying you were to the Faire. Yes, it was an enjoyable time indeed. Many thanks my friend!
Sam –
Clearly, the 5+ hour wait was well worth it. I’m tickled pink that you and Lucille got to enjoy that unmatchable experience of a lifetime!
Your attendance at the Children’s Book Festival in Orange County on Saturday reminds me to ask: When are you going to start your annual Caldecott Contender book review series? If I’m not mistaken, it begins soon.
Your day at the Renaissance Faire sounds like it was a complete and total blast! How fun for Danny to play Horatio!
I second Laurie’s motion on the question of when the Caldecott series will be starting up.
Aye Laurie, it was indeed an experience of a lifetime, and would be even for non-Catholics. I usually start the Caldecott series in late October/early November, but this year I may begin a bit earlier. Last year’s total of 51 reviews was admittedly way over the top, but I’ll still do what I can this time around. 🙂 Thanks so much as ever for the enthusiasm my friend. Yes we too were really thrilled about Danny getting that on the spot part. 🙂 Have a great week my friend!
Hello Sam and everyone!
Wow, you may have had your holy moment Sam, what an incredible treat must’ve been, and seeing you commit to the wait, the standing and the waving is commendable, I hope this memory will come to you always as one of the most important of your life.
I had a boring week myself, I just saw some films, some from a festival, some on my own, but this Sunday I travel to Valdivia to the now classic Valdivia Film Festival trip that I do every year. Hoping to see some good ones, the new Apichatpong and the Miguel Gomes pictures are going to be there. So, the movies I saw were:
– Cube (1997, Vincenzo Natali) ****1/2 Whoops, this went down a bit, but it’s still a fucking great movie that in an intelligent manner frames its characters in a claustrophobic environment that gives way to the mystery and the inventive deaths. Obviously the first scene serves as a teaser of a brutality and blood that doesn’t happen in the rest of the film. Still, a great great great movie, though not a favorite for me anymore.
– Varan the Unbelievable (1958, Ishiro Honda) ***1/2 Maybe too derivative of Godzilla from 1954, but this was Honda’s way of saying that the second Godzilla film wasn’t the right path for this movie to go, so then he decided to remake Godzilla with a less charismatic and less sociologically/thematically important monster and without any sort of personality or intelligent design. Nevertheless, it still manages to portray a sensation of dread from a population that is still instilled with fear from any catastrophe. There are also some interesting elements of how they try to protect the capital of Japan above all, and how they bring forward a scientist towards the end, just like in the original Godzilla, but without any sort of emotional pathos attached to it. This is like a template of a plotless kaiju film, one that it’s a distillation of all the elements that make one and presented as is. The score lifted mostly from the original Godzilla says a lot about this movie.
– Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000, Masaaki Tezuka) *** Spends too much time fiddling with the humans and their personal nuanced dramas and experiences over the happenings of our favorite monster Godzilla, who is given another revamp on behalf of Toho to make up for the American version and the dry and sorrowful tone in which Godzilla 2000 ended. This time, while Godzilla is still a bad guy that they try to destroy, with a miniature black hole, he is attacked by a bug monster that never posits a real threat to anyone except the humans. The stakes here are low, but the film still manages to surprise with certain bold choices regarding the use of the rubber suits and how unintentionally compelling some of the dialogue ends up being, even if one has no reason whatsoever to sympathize with any character that isn’t a giant lizard that breathes fire.
– El Gran Vuelo (2014, Carolina Astudillo Muñoz) ***1/2 Ultimately sensual in its imagery due to its editing process, using found footage of many sources: family shootings in 8/16/35mm. But, sadly the film never manages to lure you into the story as much as its uniqueness is appealing: a woman who was part of the Spanish Communist Party is sentenced to death, yet she manages to escape prison, yet no trace of her ever appears again until this day. Lamentably, there’s no discovery, no new information, this is a tightly and creatively constructed investigation and construction that sometimes delves into personal film essay, yet never comes forward as truly personal as the unpersonal voices never become warmer, beyond informing and giving way to other voices, letters and documents that are valuable… but to whom?
– El Legado (2015, Roberto Anjari-Rossi) ***1/2 Amazing characters and funny moments make up for most of the length of this documentary that still manages to drag even at 77 minutes. I think this requires urgent re-editing to make it swift and tighter and more effective in its humor and as a better frame for these two wonderful characters. This has potential of being a great movie, because the characters have that potential of becoming emotionally-bounding.
– Persiguiendo al dragon (2014, Juan Camilo Olmos) ***1/2 A certainly disturbing portrait of addiction, self-harm and local color in the flesh of common life, as if nothing extraordinary was happening, our protagonist smokes marijuana, inhales cocaine and does crack in front of the camera, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, while also taking a look at the behind the scenes of the little business of drug trafficking that he has to sustain his life style. He sells his drug with the same passion and candor as his own philosophy and lifestyle to the director, whom he talks to constantly, giving the camera a conscious look that I think breaks a spell that would’ve been interesting as a peek inside a secret world. The ending almost gives the film a death, as its a montage on a song that is not good at all and gives us images of our protagonist, devoid of any context, and without any weight.
– Samurai Town Story Part I (1928, Masahiro Makino) ***1/2 Like watching the season finale of a series that you never saw any episode of.
– Samurai Town Story Part II (1929, Masahiro Makino) ***1/2 Like watching the less exciting second season of a TV series that promised a lot, oh, but still has some good characters and storylines.
– Show Me a Hero (2015, Paul Haggis) ****1/2 It is a dense work that might lead to an eventual rewatch in years to come, as its so dense not with information itself (though the plot does goes around and around the subjects of voting and housing that it could turn confusing, but it’s digestible) but with contradictions and representations of themes, those that render this work something major and to be reckoned with, only because it dares to tell this story from every angle that it wants and it’s problematic in that portrayal, but it doesn’t shy away as it’s a formal representation of a truth, or at least the sensation of that truth, or the feelings that it produced in those involved. The acting is superb across the board, but I want to particularly single out Natalie Paul, that should win an Emmy/Oscar whateverthefuck, and Oscar Isaac that may have here my favorite performance of the year that no one will give a shit about ever, but me.
– Sticks and Stones: Investigating the Blair Witch (1999, Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sanchez) ***1/2 A thing like this nowadays wouldn’t last two minutes, as it would get debunked. I miss those days.
That’s all, have a great week SAm!
Yes Jaimie, my “holy moment” indeed. It was an amazing week for sure, and as you suggest it won’t be forgotten. As always you forward a staggering weekly report. Of all the movies you report on here amazingly enough I only saw CUBE which is very fine. I’ve seen none of the others, but I did enjoy the a passionate and well-penned capsules. I do want very much to see SHOW ME A HERO. And I am excited to hear your report on the Valdivia Film Festival, which I well know you attend each and every year. I bet your uncover some great stuff!! Yes I do know that the Gomes stuff is getting a quite a bit of attention on the festival circuit.
Sam, I don’t know whether I mentioned this under one of your book reviews, but I did visit the Warwick Festival in 2011. A wonderful place to stage such an event, and always some great people on hand. Sounds like you all were over the map. Seeing the Pope was a defining moment for you and your wife.
Celeste, I do believe I remember you saying that indeed! And it is a fabulous location! Yes we certainly did make our rounds, and the Pope visit will always be cherished. Thanks, and have a great week my friend!
Wow Sam seems like you well enjoyed yourself last week. Glad you were able to see the Pope! Sounds exciting. I must admit I don’t know much about Bobby Fischer. The topic of the film sounds interesting although I’m sure overall it has mixed results. I watched The French Lieutenant’s Woman on the new Criterion disc. I think the film got better as it went along and was well acted. My wife and I also saw the new Far From the Madding Crowd, which I had higher hopes for. I found the second half to be rushed and didn’t feel all the points hit home well enough. I liked the book a great deal so the film was going to have to have been amazing for me to like it. Ultimately it doesn’t float my boat. We’re off for the weekend to Chicago to care for my niece and nephew. Have a great weekend!
Yes, one of the most amazing weeks ever Jon! Yes, as I’ve stated elsewhere on this thread it was exciting to see the Pope. I am not a regular Sunday church goer, but Lucille and I have raised out children as Catholics, and I’ve attended more church funeral and weddings in my lifetime home town church and elsewhere than I can count. You can get your first course on Bobby Fischer in this new film, which isn’t great but is still entertaining and generally accurate. I did myself follow that match as an avid chess fan back in the day. FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD is not the equal of the earlier Schlesinger film, I will say that. I too loved the book. Good to hear that FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN words better on re-viewings. Hope you are having a great weekend in the Windy City! 🙂
Sam, what an amazing and moving experience to have seen Pope Francis! I know that will always remain with you as one of your most special memories.
Pretty quiet still here unfortunately but I did manage two viewings – Assayas’ Clouds of Sils Maria and Baumbach’s Frances Ha. I was glad to see both but was especially impressed by the Assayas work and was left wanting to seek his other films I have yet to see.
Hope you are having a great week. Thanks so much, Sam!
Aye Jeffrey, it certainly was that, and at the expense of a five hour wait. It is a memory we will cherish. I did like both THE CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA and FRANCES HA, though I can well understand why you favor the former. Assayas is a great director, and one well worth a full examination. The week has been rather hectic but a memorable one. I wish you a special upcoming weekend my excellent friend!