Jilllian in high school production of “Shrek: the Musical.
by Sam Juliano
The deadline for the science-fiction ballots has been extended two weeks, making the final day for submission June 15th. Aside from an early ballot from Allan Fish, no others have been yet forwarded, though I expect my own will be very soon. The ballots will again by tabulated by Angelo A. D’Arminio Jr., and a Top 50 five-day-a-week countdown will commence in late June. Those planning to submit ballots can send them either to me directly or to the e mail chain presently circulating.
I predicted Donald Trump would win the GOP nomination all the way back in January, but just about everyone thought I’d be way off the mark. Of course my vote in the primary on June 7th will go to Bernie Sanders, but it is clear that Hillary will be the party nominee. We are certain to have quite the nasty November election.
Lucille and I were proud to attend out daughter Jillian’s high school play “Shrek: the Musical” on Saturday afternoon. A freshman, she played one of the Three Little Pigs on crutches after she sprained her ankle a few weeks back. We attended the latest Curious Reader Bookstore (Glen Rock, N.J.) presentation and signing in the morning of that same day (Sergio Ruzzier- “This is Not A Picture Book”), and saw the Palme d’Or winner DHEEPAN on Saturday evening at the IFC Film Center.
On Wednesday we met up with our good friend Joel Bocko at the Strand Bookstore and spent some time catching up and snacking at out Manhattan food mecca, the Dish. Always a great pleasure to meet Joel, a prince of a guy.
Dheepan **** 1/2 (Saturday night) IFC Film Center
I watched several films at home including the superlative 1963 science-fiction work from Czechoslovakia, IKARIE, which will rate very high on my countdown list. Masamura’s BLUE SKY MAIDEN and another by him were also superb.
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Trump and Hillary. Don’t know which one is worse. I have been working on my science fiction list Sam, should have it in a few weeks, but well before the new deadline. Your continues activities remain mind boggling.
Hint: It’s Trump.
Peter, I greatly look forward to your list. Have a great week my friend.
Sam, I wish you and Jeremy a great time in D.C. The temperatures in the low 70’s are ideal, but I see you may be getting showers on a few of the days.
You may run into Trump on Thursday. lol.
Thanks so much Frank! We had a great time – I’ll be talking a bit on it on tomorrow’s MMD. I never got to meet Trump! 🙂
I have started watching Season 2 of Frankie and Grace; have stopped watching the election news on TV. I have had a series of frightening dreams about the candidates and the Supreme Court- including RBG retiring. I think it is the thought of Trump choosing the next member and the Republicans blocking Clinton or Bernie’s choice for 8 years. The PPP poll released last night says 82% of those who are registered Republicans are planning on voting for Trump and 87% of those registered as Democrats are planning on voting Clinton style. I am holding on to my choice – Clinton is such an amazing woman and had to deal with so much abuse over the years. Overall a huge majority of women voters like cockroaches and hemorrhoids more that Trump. By giant margins.
Summer does not come here until after the 4th of July. Last 5 years it has been arriving earlier and earlier. Friday is supposed to climb to the 80s again this week. We have been having 80 degree weeks since March. Overwhelming actually.
Ill just be reading the next countdown again. Looking forward to it – everyone does such a great job.
I am trying to find someone to go see Mad Money with me. No luck so far. A truck came by and knocked the cable off the pole, we were without Internet and so were 3 neighbors. When Comcast came by they gave me a $10 credit off my bill and a On Demand movie – so I picked THE BIG SHORTY. I thought it was very good and quite informative.
My big question in all my nightmares is how can people vote against themselves so easily? We really are dumbed down
Patricia, I wouldn’t be too concerned about Ruth Bader Ginsburg retiring anytime soon:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/22/opinion/sunday/gail-collins-ruth-bader-ginsburg-has-no-interest-in-retiring.html?_r=0
She is resilient and notes some others didn’t step down until they were 90 ish. My choice for President is Bernie, but I have no problem with Hillary and agree with some of your assertions. I fear Trump far less than i feared Cruz, and find his candidacy a rather hysterical proposition. I haven’t laughed this much in years.
Thanks so much for the kind words about the countdown writing. The writers always seem to give it their all. Haven’t yet seen MAD MONEY. I agree that summer really starts after July 4th.
I love that cockroaches/hermeroids analogy!!! 🙂
Have a great week my friend! many thanks as always!
Hi Sam,
Just back from five days in Maine. The weather was cool and cloudy the entire week but we made the best of it.
Did manage to see two films…
Elvis and Nixon (***)
The Congressman (****1/2)
Have a great week!
John, you and Dorothy take the prisoners when it comes to traveling. Maine this time of year is paradise. I saw ELVIS AND NIXON and liked it just a bit better at 3.5. But we are in agreement on THE CONGRESSMAN. Have a great upcoming week my friend. Thank you as always.
Hello Sam and everyone!
Hope that you had a wonderful time and a good one for Jillian as well! I saw Dheepan last year in a film festival and I wasn’t as enthused, giving it ***1/2 mostly for its acting work, as I think most of the tension disappears in the last third of the film.
The movies I saw last week:
– Black Cat Mansion (1958, Nobuo Kagawaga) **** It uses the tropes of the normal ghost film of the time, the Kaidans and the others, to add an interesting monster: the cat-ghost-vampire. It has some pretty crazy sequences involving colors in the background and a roaster of ghosts that try to torment the guy responsible. For a moment I thought this would be a downer of a film, using the nested narratives as a way to prepare us for the inevitable, but in the end it doesn’t compromise its happy ending. Still, one of the best ghost films of the 50’s in Japan and one of the most entertaining in terms of pure visual craft and how amazing it is to see that old lady in cat makeup making her magic tricks.
– Blood Diner (1987, Jackie Kong) ***1/2 There’s a weird idea about how much anarchic energy is in this apparently low budget film, how much the death and the killings in this are a product of the complete absolute destruction energy inherent in the two main characters (one of them who can’t even fucking stand the face of a wrestler with the name of Hitler… which is noble, even if he kills and eats human flesh), but they are in the context of a film that requires their concentration and that their violence and killings are focused. The recipes and rituals of a cult that tries to revives a goddess is completely backwards to the thinking of these two that have the balls to go out with axes killing women and chopping off arms and legs, or just using a machine-gun and barraging through the bodies of naked women. It’s ass-backwards to what the tools of sacrifice usually seem to be about. Even at the end there are hooks and chains, something more akin to S&M (or Hellraiser) than to ritualistic pagan death. Yet, at the same time, it works as a way of providing conflict and as a source of humor. But sometimes Jackie Kong stretches the comedy for its own sake, and it could’ve had moments to be taken more seriously or without the forced idea that certain events should happen. Wow, I didn’t expect to write this much about this film, but it’s certainly not a “bad” film.
– Blood Freak (1972, Brad F. Grinter, Steve Hawkes) ** Sadly I couldn’t really save much from this. Sure, it gets kinda interesting at the end? I guess? The violence that is shown is somewhat creative, but I can’t get behind that paper mache mask and how bad it looks and how shitty the whole film looks really, as if it was shot around problems (for sure), but everyone was just forced to be there. It’s not a nice feeling.
– Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001, Shusuke Kaneko) **** Wonderful. Impressive. The fact that a Godzilla film can surprise this late into the series is just a cause for celebration. Here they decide to reboot the whole thing (and they said American studios were bad at rebooting series every few years), so that means that Godzilla is bad and the appearance of other monsters is strictly to build a new mythology of monsters, where their only purpose is to protect humanity and Earth from the destruction of Godzilla, and even Ghidorah is a good guy. But here the film doesn’t pull away from the punches, as even if a monster is good, it’s still a giant monster, and it can still cause some collateral damage. And I think that it’s the first time since the first movie in which we actually see some truly sad and gritty moments of human casualties and hospital sequences, like the one who made the first film a masterpiece. Here only the overlong runtime and the somewhat outdated digital special effects detract it from being a completely flawless film.
– The Mad Doctor (1933, David Hand) ***1/2 Macabre for real, and I don’t know how this was for kids, but it ends weakly.
– Remember (2015, Atom Egoyan) ***1/2 It’s a fine film that threads its plot device a little too neatly for a movie that it’s by such an experienced director. Atom Egoyan doesn’t bring much to this tale that is interesting in its outset and it has a couple of jolts along the way to keep you interested, but as it ends it fizzles out in its plot twists and explainings, as well as some atrocious acting by bit players. But here the marvel is to see Christopher Plummer acting, and he delivers oh so greatly.
That’s all, have a great week everyone!
Jaimie, I certainly can respect that we don’t completely agree on DHEEPAN, and understand your scene-specific reservations. Of the films you saw -and again a superlative round-up of them- I only myself took in THE MAD DOCTOR and the GODZILLA film. I probably would go a bit lower on both, but your ratings are fair enough. I always avoided BLOOD FREAK. have a great week my friend. Many thanks as always!
Sam, apologies I am just showing up. I am very interested in seeing the new Audiard film. It sounds like it is quite strong.
It has been far too quiet for me in terms of viewings. I only managed to see the doc, Beware of Mr. Baker, which I enjoyed as a portrait of someone I knew little about even if it did not affect deeply in the same way that my favorite documentaries do.
Hope you’re having a great week!