by Sam Juliano
Because I have been caught with the once-every-four-years Presidential election bug, I’ve been away from the site and other blogs the last several weeks. For both parties the moment of truth has arrived with five crucial state primaries tomorrow that will pretty much define the race. I am expecting Bernie Sanders to prevail in Illinois and perhaps even Ohio, though I see Hillary Clinton winning a narrow contest in Missouri and much bigger wins in North Carolina and Florida. The results will insure that Sanders will continue on till the convention. On the Republican side Donald Trump will win the vital vote in Florida by a big margin, and will also triumph in North Carolina, Illinois and Missouri, though he will almost surely lose in Ohio to John Kasich. Watching the debates, the daily election cycle and the primary results has been quite a sobering experience to say the least. Similarly I’ve kept up with all the various commentaries, many quite fascinating.
Lucille and the three boys accompanied me to Mount Holly, New Jersey on Saturday afternoon to take in our friend Jeff Stroud’s art exhibition in a quaint home in the community on the outskirts of Philadelphia. We picked up one of the artist’s sublime creations too.
I have not given up on the links, but have been forced to take a short break because of the time-consuming nature of this feature at this time.
Lucille and I watched two new releases in theaters this past week:
Zootopia **** (Sunday) Edgewater multiplex
10 Cloverfield Lane *** (Friday) Secaucus multiplex
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Writers/Founders
Wonders in the Dark 
How’s the back, Sam? Better, I trust.
Thanks so much John. The situation has definitely improved, though I am not all the way back yet.
Fingers crossed it doesn’t take much longer!
Thanks so much John! I am 95% back now! 🙂
Interesting predictions on the Presidential Race we will see how this all unfolds. You don’t how surprised I was to see you and the family in Mt Holly at my curated exhibition, and grateful for you giving one of my photos a new home, they need to be shared with the world!
Get rest for you back and sending Reiki healing to you!
Thank you so much for attending the exhibition!
Jeff
Jeff, we had a wonderful time stopping down there and comment you again for displaying such outstanding work. As you saw the kids has a great time too! Yes, my back was bothering me, which as you saw resulted in my needing to sit almost all the time. But I do feel plenty better now, and hope I can turned the corner soon! As to the presidential race, it certainly has not been boring, and that an understatement! Have a great upcoming weekend my friend!
Sam I am pleased and envious at the same time that you were able to get to Jeff’s AND pick up a piece for your art collection. You will have to share or have Jeff share which one you chose.
As for your focus the last few weeks, I can understand completely! Even without an election I haven’t been online as much. Though I did get a new post up on Creative Potager finally about learning how to oil paint. I have resisted teaching painting for maybe 20 years but finally caved this winter. And you know it was kind of fun! I might even do it again in the the summer.
We are starting to gear up for a couple of months in Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island. We leave Near the end of April. I am looking forward to photographing and doing a few quick painting sketches of the east coast. All the best Sam to you and Lucille and everyone at Wonders in the Dark.
Terrill, that would have really been the dog’s bullocks if we all could have met up down there in Mount Holly! As you know I met Jeff as a result of my friendships with you and Laurie, and he is one spirited man. Lucille really fell in love with the work we picked up, and I’ve grown to love it too! I will send on a photo to you (of the item we acquired!) Thanks so much for the alert on that new post at CREATIVEPOTAGER. Will check it out today. Sounds like your painting class is a real treat! Oh now it MY turn to be jealous!!! Do you know how long we have hankered to visit Prince Edward Island?? For the last five years and beyond! We want to take in all the Anne of Green Gables attractions!! Wow, you painting there is real paradise immersion! Can’t wait to see the results and the photos! Have a fabulous time there! Have a terrific weekend my friend!
Donald Trump addresses the violence at his rallies:
Rule No. 1 – Never talk about Fight Club.
Rule No. 2 – Never talk about Fight Club.
~~~
To the legion of disgruntled critics chastising Terrence Malik for his current creative rut I offer this from another master, Jean Renoir:
“A director makes only one movie in his life.
Then he breaks it into pieces and makes it again.”
Cf. Antonioni, Bresson, Ozu, Welles.
I’m also baffled by the charges of sexism leveled at ‘Knight of Cups.’ A priori knowledge of Malik’s work reveals a devotional desire to populate his films with both male and female divinities, sacred objects to be gazed upon — Gere (‘Days of Heaven’); Farrell (‘The New World’); Pitt (‘The Tree of Life’) and now Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett. Beauty in both the symphonic (Mahler, Bach, Brahms) and the poetical sense (Keats) is a Malik leitmotif.
~~~
From ‘Broadway Melody of 1936’, the laugh line of the week.
Jack Benny to Sid Silvers (a mud fence in drag): “You make Wallace Beery look effeminate.” I roared for days.
Ha Mark!! I love that “Never argue about Fight Club” assertion and encore! As I just mentioned to Aaron (below) I have derived some of the most divine entertainment watching the GOP circus. Trump is a love to hate, hate to love candidate who has exhibited more charisma than anyone seeking this office in quite a time. It almost seems that his being a clueless buffoon is beside the point. We are enjoying the best reality show ever staged! I am rooting for Trump to take down the Republican establishment, and am defending the prediction I made at the time smug Nate had deduced he had a 3% chance. Taking the process seriously I am deeply saddened at the apparent fate of Bernie.
Great overall discussion there of KNIGHT OF CUPS which I did see (I now own the blu-ray) and think is mighty great. I am likewise baffled about that nonsensical sexism charges being charged on Malick. You make an excellent point about Malick populating his films with “male and female divinities” an documented the specifics. No wonder you laughed at that line from BROADWAY MELODY OF 1936, it is a classic. Beery being part of that equation is hysterical!! Ha!
Many thanks my friend! Have a great upcoming weekend!
Hello Sam and everyone!
Hope you have a great week and I’m sure I’ll come around to the movies you watched, they aren’t my usual fare but they’ve proven to be somewhat attractive for some reason. So, here are the movies I saw last week:
– The Babadook (2014, Jennifer Kent) ****1/2 For some reason I can’t stop putting this movie on.
– Dreams (1990, Akira Kurosawa) ****1/2 This got me very emotional, mainly because I suddenly remembered that this was among the last films that my grandmother saw when she was staying at my house, with cancer, in the final weeks before she died (about four years ago, so don’t worry about it). It starts with a wedding and it ends with a funeral, and I suddenly remembered that she was watching this silently, almost enraptured, even though it wasn’t really the kind of movies that she’d watch (she was a fan of most crime dramas and police procedurals as well as mopey dramas, of course), and I’m not going to say that this was her first Japanese film (I doubt it, she was 82, but who knows?), but this is almost a “Slow Cinema” movie. The way that it takes the silence and the scenery, in practically every dream, it’s entrancing, and she was with it the whole time. I can’t deny that when I was suddenly reminded that the final scene was a funeral, I almost cried.
I can’t win against this, it doesn’t matter how “truly” good or bad this movie is. I can’t win. It reminds me of the time that my grandmother came close to me through an “art” film.
– In the Mood for Love (2000, WKW) ***** Every Frame A Painting. Literally.
– Happy-Go-Lucky (2008, Mike Leigh) **** She is obviously a polarizing figure in terms of what your gut reaction will be to her unabashed optimism and what seems to be a joke at the tip of her tongue at every thing and every body. Specially when there are other films from the UK that have these sort of characters as a sort of pity and mockery, as well as sometimes being completely lighting bolts of hate. But in the body of Sally Hawkins I’d say that the persona is completely perfected, and I guess it matters a lot if this type is well performed, as here it becomes sound and understandable, even if there are elements from her that seem completely unbelievable, but what makes it work is that at times she can’t even believe it, like with the mumbling man from the street. I guess that I was mostly “off” in terms of plot engagement with this film until the last scene with the driver teacher, who gave the whole performance and the plot an entire layer of profundity, as if we’re not really looking at a narrative but more a slice of life.
– Operation Avalanche (2016, Matthew Johnson) ****1/2 Exhilarating, challenging, creative, Matt Johnson is my new “hey I had that idea before you, but you actually went out and made it, and now I hate you” director.
– Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016, Burr Steers) *** There must be some sort of award for movies that “I don’t know how they managed to pull this off and release it with a straight face”, because no matter how much I look at it, I can’t see this as a comedy. Sure, it has some “”””funny”””” moments, but it’s not shot and it’s not edited and it’s not done with comedy in its mind. It is what it is: completely ridiculous in its retelling of the story of Pride and Prejudice adding zombies… and I guess I would’ve found it funnier if I had seen any iteration of the films, or if I had seen an adaptation of it before seeing this movie, but this is how I roll, that’s how I get all the likes (I don’t). Why the “high” score then? Well, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised with the acting and ham that was served here, and while the zombies were eventually rendered useless, it was still seeing them in such a posh context. Also: the fact that they didn’t explore more the idea of how they sent their daughters to train how to kill zombies in China and Japan is maybe the best addition someone could ask for in this context.
– The Puppet Man (2016, Jacqueline Castel) **1/2 I wish I had THAT cinematographer, but to actually do some good stuff.
– Rosemary’s Baby (1968, Roman Polanski) ***** I didn’t expect this to have that much of Gender Roles Theory subtext, with the woman failing everything because of her will to be a mother, and the willingness of the man to succeed above everything else, no matter how much harm it would do. I knew that this film would be my cup of tea, exactly what I expected, but not for it to be this unnerving, so angry, so mean-spirited and so tonally specific, so that it never turns into a ridiculous romp (but it carefully goes on that line with the performance of the satanists). If there’s one thing against it is that it tries really hard for us to not believe what is really happening, and I guess until the end that’s what’s happening for the audience, not used to these kind of movies, but me as a viewer, I’d prefer the supernatural over the psychological because, honestly, it’s more fun.
– The Wind Knows that I’m Coming Home (2016, Jose Luis Torres Leiva) **** Smart, contemporary and ultimately fun film from José Luis Torres Leiva. While I can’t still completely pin down his style beyond some stylistic choices, I think this might be the best film that he’s done, because it manages to trump both his fictions and documentaries, as it is with this blend that he manages to put in front of our eyes the closest thing that could come to be an ideology: people are amazing, and people that come near people are amazing, and everyone is great, and every story matters. I think that could be what is at the bottom of Leiva’s soul right now.
That’s all, have a great week everyone!
Jaimie, sounds like we have some strong agreement this week on some of the films you watched! Kurosawa’s DREAMS is largely a beautiful film. I see it is extra moving for you as the last film you watched with your grandmother. Yes ROSEMARY’S BABY is masterful, and I am very taken with Komeda’s score. Yes IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is painterly and a treasure of a film. THE BABADOOK is an excellent recent era horror film in my view, so understandable why you continue to roll it. HAPPY-GO-LUCKY is a wonderful Mike Leigh film with a delightful lead performance. Those others I haven’t seen. Thanks for the great comment and congrats on another superlative week of film going. Have a great upcoming week my friend.
I am with you, also distracted (annoyed? bothered? frightened?) by the election and that has consumed a lot of my leisure time. Like you, I’ve also not been as active reading blogs, but am glad I caught this one.
Zootopia is high on my list.
Still trying to catch up with this year’s Oscar contenders. Caught Spotlight finally and seeing Carol soon. My vote still goes to Mad Max: Fury Road, but that might change soon.
Aaron, this is film time we are missing out on!!! Ha! Funny thing is that the Republican race for a number of reasons has been more fascinating, much as I know the Democrat one has been spoken for. I am a Democrat who will cast my vote for Sanders in the June 7th New Jersey primary, yet is the bizarre phenomenon known as “Trump” who has captured by attention. I could never, ever vote for such a man, but I am invested in seeing him bring down the Republican establishment, and have derived some of the most glorious entertainment in a long time during this process. As I say it is nearly certain to be Hillary vs. Trump. Happy to hear you got to SPOTLIGHT (solid film) and know MAD MAX is a big favorite of yours. If there is a change I am figuring on CAROL. Have a great upcoming weekend my friend!
Oh my gosh, Sam — I LOVE that you, Lucille, and the boys surprised our mutual friend, Jeff Stroud, in Mount Holly, New Jersey, to see his art exhibition, and bought a piece to take home with you! Knowing Jeff, he was beyond tickled pink!
Laurie, as you well know, Lucille and I met Jeff through your friendship with him. Certainly he is one passionate guy, and we were thrilled with the sublime work we picked up. A fabulous day! Jeff was similarly over the moon to see us. Have a great upcoming weekend my friend!
Sam, I finally saw Spotlight and thought it to be an excellent example of based-on-true-events filmmaking — a genre I’m not that fond of — but this one works well. My recurring emotional reaction throughout the screening was sadness, I guess you’d call it, over the pain of the victims’ experiences, while my companion said his ongoing response was anger iver the church’s handling of the matter.
The performance that stood out to me was that of Stanley Tucci, one of our strongest character actors.His role, of course, is not the kind that wins awards or nominations, but I greatly admire his body of work. In a stronger year this film wouldn’t have taken the Oscar, but I have no problem with its winning as The Revenant, despite its deep qualities, also had its flaws.
Pierre, I must say my overall sentiments are in line with yours. In a stronger year the film would not have triumphed, though on balance it is a solid and genuinely affecting work. I know some have made comparisons of it to ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (not in a positive way) but there are a number of significant differences to make such a connecting somewhat less than persuasive. No question Tucci is tops, though Ruffalo and McAdams are excellent. As you rightly contend Tucci is absolutely one of our finest character actors. Like Byron my basic emotion in regards to this film is anger, but sadness fits into the equation too. As a Catholic the fallout is even more relevant. Thank you my great friend!
Sam, like you I’ve been consumed with the presidential elections lately, as well as with the way presidential campaigns have been depicted in films and literature. I am slowly making my way through Sinclair Lewis’ novel IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE, about the rise of a fascist American president. It’s a bit of a slog -florid, archaic language, very broadly drawn satire – but fascinating nonethelesd.
I’ve also rewatched the HBO film GAME CHANGE, about Sarah Palin and her devastating effect on John McCain’s campaign, as well as my beloved NASHVILLE on my new Criterion blu-ray. There’s a blog post in all this, if only I can find time to write it.
I also watched Woody Allen’s dreadful misfire IRRATIONAL MAN.
Wow, I thought I was the only NASHVILLE freak around these parts. I never tire of it, always spotting some fresh detail with each viewing (ever notice how Shelley Duvall never wears the same wig twice?)
No, Mark, you are not alone. NASHVILLE has been my favorite movie ever since first seeing it in the theater in 1975. As you note, it only gets better on repeat viewings, and every thing it says about American politics remains as true and relevant today as it did 41 years ago.
Pat, you’ve taken it a step further. I’ve been unable to get to the political films yet, but that would be a great supplement for sure! The latest is that Hillary is close to sealing the deal it seems (though I still have hopes for Bernie to win some upcoming states) and that the anti-Trump forces are trying hard to derail his express. I’ve never read IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE. I tip my cap to you for adding that to the recent political flurry! Sarah Palin is a character, and she was certainly an albatross for McCain. Yes, the Woodman’s IRRATIONAL MAN is a dud an your beloved NASHVILLE (which won out 1975 FB poll as best film) is a masterpiece. Have a great upcoming week my friend.
I’ve never read IT CAN’T HAPPEN HERE.
It’s a novel that should be required reading in the schools of every democracy, alongside Orwell’s 1984.
John, that’s a persuasive proposition! I have read 1984 though. 🙂
Hey Sam,
Wow these last few weeks have really bogged me down with lots of work and family stuff going. We’ve also had a few of us under the weather so things have been challenging. Furthermore, I’ve really been watching college basketball and March Madness is heating up, so that will occupy my free time in the evenings. On the bright side, we have had some warmer weather with chances to get outside and go for walks as a family. Very nice. I do hope that you and your family are doing well Sam!
Yes the weather has certainly warmed up, though in March we do get a fluctuating arc. All is going well enough my friend. Seems like March is a kind of “in between” time, that usually yields a great deal of free time. But I guess I am generalizing on that front. Ha! Have a great upcoming week my friend.
How lucky are you to see Jeff Stroud’s work in person, I enjoy following him on line and seeing his amazing work. BROOKLYN just came on the list of new movies on my Comcast connection. I think I might try to figure out how to pay for it and watch it soon. Tom is out cycling in the sunshine and training for the STP…and I think I would enjoy seeing this movie.
I am still hoping for a ferry ride to see Terrill’s studio on Mayne Island – or maybe 2 ferry rides to see her work. Though I am privileged to own 2 pieces – Apple Blossom (which I use for my meditation focus) and Farmer’s Market, which just makes me smile with it’s delightful energy
Hope the back is improving and a good week ahead. We noticed this week that there are tons of Bernie signs around town, but zero Clinton signs here. The Democratic Caucus is March 26th and l know that lots and lots of friends are attending as they had to secure a larger venue for our old district and our new district meetings. Seattle has sent more money to Bernie that any other candidate to date and that has been a huge story.
Good week ahead
Patricia, this was the second time we got to see Jeff, who is a great guy and talented artist. The visit also made for a wonderful afternoon ride for Lucille and the three boys who joined us. I look forward to hearing what you think about BROOKLYN. I have an alternate suggestion for you in regards how to see it and I will shoot you a FB message tonight. Wow, a ferry to Terrill’s island paradise is a dream! I am not at all surprised to see far more Bernie signs, as your largely progressive state will probably carry Bernie to victory there. No surprise he has money to work with. Thanks so much my friend. Hope you have a very good upcoming week.
Sam, great to hear you have been immersing yourself in the election. I would like to more but have not carved out the time quite yet. It is an unusually compelling year though, no doubt.
This week I took in Godard’s Sauve qui peut (la vie). I still do not know his 80s work as well as I would like (and thought it somewhat maligned). No matter, his return here quite impressed me and reminded me that few filmmakers are able to communicate beauty, nature and playfulness as well as JLG.
Hope you’re having an awesome week!
Yes it has been quite a ride Jeffrey! It appears to be settling into an inevitable outcome, but still there can be some surprises. With the film season finally starting to heat up and the Tribeca Film Festival around the corner, I know where my focus will be in the coming weeks. I haven’t actually seen that particular Godard, but would like to, since it is from a period when I like his work more. A very busy and upbeat week indeed my friend! The best to you always!