Beyond the Fireworks

Being a huge fan of American history, this is always been a special time of the year for me. The gaining of our independence and subsequent protection of our freedom is a long tale fraught with courage, determination, and sacrifice. The two films that always leap into my mind when I consider these virtues that have helped fashion the United States of America are Saving Private Ryan and Glory. I can never watch either of these without a lump climbing in to my throat and moisture finding its way into my eye. This year, in order to further recognize the holiday I wanted to gain a bit of perspective of its place in our collective story.

It originally started out in the years immediately after the Civil War when the combined loss of over 600,000 soldiers killed in the conflict created a new cultural focus on burial and remembrance. Its original name was Decoration Day and did not come to be known as Memorial Day until after World War Two. The date of May 30th was originally chosen as it had no affiliation with any specific battle and was a peak time for most flowers to be in bloom, according to White House historical accounts. In 1967 Congress passed legislation causing the holiday to be celebrated on the fourth Monday of May, much to the dismay of veterans who felt this change would weaken the observance of the actual holiday.

So this Memorial Day, let's keep in mind the real purpose of the holiday that is beyond the fireworks and bottles of sunscreen, the bags of charcoal and pool openings. Think of the people in our Armed Forces that are currently overseas and those that have gone on before. It is up to us to recognize what they do and what has been done by others in the past.

How about you, are there any books or films that you like to experience at this time of the year?

I wish everyone a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!

Pretty as a Cupcake, Tough as a 75-cent Steak

In the process of participating in the afore mentioned DVD move, I've had many an opportunity to glance at movie covers. One thing that stood out to me was the intricate art of the tagline, something I learned to appreciate while setting up movie displays when I worked at a movie theater.  I've referred to them before on this blog, but they deserve more attention than a brief mention.

Film taglines run the spectrum from awesome to awful, passing through the mid-line of bromidic and unimaginative along the way. They can either use wit to generate excitement for its movie or be the shoddy result of some marketing exec's uncaring effort to pay the bills. In this age of easy internet access and mass media marketing where movie trailers are almost like little movie experiences on their own, the tagline really has become a vestigial part of the movie-making machine. Many of the taglines that struck my eye lately were from the decades between 1940 and 1970, when a movie poster was all the information someone would get of an upcoming film, short of the coming attractions segment of their theater-going experience. Here are some of my favorites of those:

"This story was filmed on location .... inside a woman's soul!"

"Life is in their hands - Death is on their minds!"

"She's the Private Lady of a Public Enemy!"

"They're here."

(The tagline of the title also refers to "The Damned Don't Cry!") 

Now, this is not all to say that there have not been recent classics. The following taglines have a concrete hold in pop culture, where their true value has been not in advertising the film but in serving as an eternal memento of the modern classic:

"In space no one can hear you scream."

What taglines do you enjoy?

"Life is like a box of chocolates ..." 

Questions in the Shadows

Awards Season will wrap up this coming weekend with the spectacle and ceremony of the grandaddy of them all, the Oscars. I mention them because a few of the nominated films have provided incredible food for thought lately.

Out of all the major Oscars contenders making the rounds, three have managed to lodge together in my head as almost a single entity: Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty. While completely different in many aspects, the one major thread running through all of these is the spotlight on the United States government and the hurdles overcome, many times from within the government itself, to accomplish tasks of prodigious proportions. More to the point, all three were a narrative focusing on how the actions of individuals can impact the outcome of the system, thus altering national policy and even impacting foreign policy.

The two films of this group depicting the CIA, Argo and Zero Dark Thirty, form a syzygy with completely different tones and outcomes. While both offer a sobering view of the image of Americans abroad, Argo was a bit more comfortable to watch while Zero Dark Thirty was a film that needed to be seen but not necessarily enjoyed. While Argo maintained some character exploration and left the viewer with a bit of warmth in their heart, Zero Dark Thirty almost used the hunt for Osama Bin Laden itself as a main character to bleakly accentuate the question, "Where do we go from here?" I will long remember its final scene, and as far as endings go, it is one of my all-time favorites.

As for Lincoln, Spielberg delivers the genius and vision of Abraham Lincoln, no matter the slight massaging of actual history that was used to tell the story. The film was an incredible portrayal of the ultimate power of the American presidency combined with its most humbling limitations. At once an exegesis of Lincoln's personal life as well as an analysis of the workings of mid-19th century politics, Lincoln cast a microscopic view of a pivotal point in our nation's history.

In this sense, Argo, Lincoln, and Zero Dark Thirty all combine to provide the United States of America a long look at itself in the mirror. The questions of "how did we get here?", "who are we today?", "what is ahead of us?", and "how we are perceived by the rest of the world?" all may be in the background as the Oscars wash around us this week. But as awards season flows away, as the lights turn off and the red carpets are put away, these reflections will linger, if not loom. Hopefully we, both as a people and as individuals, can confront these ideas: digest them, be encouraged by our successes, acknowledge our failures, and help create a better world to live in.

Homage to Fromage

Can a bad movie be a good time?

When I was in college, my friends and I would hit up the local video store and rent movies that promised to be bad, merely to view as unintentional comedy. I can remember one time in particular, we were watching "Don't Go in the Woods" (the original 1981 version) that opened with a girl running in the woods. At this point, one of my friends exclaimed to the on-screen character, "Oh no! Didn't you listen to the title?!?" This brought everyone else low with laughter and the good time had begun.

Movies can transfix us. They can wring tears from our eyes and wrench our hearts. They can make our breath catch and make us lose it again. They can also make us laugh: either through sharp and witty dialogue, a comedic plot juxtaposition, or simply by a terrible script, plot, effects, etc.

Films that are downright atrocious in their original intent to be taken seriously can be offered a new lease in life if they're viewed with an amused eye, an open mind, and a modicum of patience. It is possible for a bad film to offer a good time if it affords you an opportunity to laugh and enjoy yourself. We have a couple titles in our DVD collection here at DPPL that fall under the description of a bad movie offering a great time (at least in my experience).

The first is a 1971 flick that I can never say the title of with a straight face: Werewolves on Wheels. It is a portrayal of a motorcycle gang that runs afoul of a creepy monk and his Satanic cohorts, causing the cult to transform the bikers into werewolves. Add in the sounds of early '70's psychedelic rock and you have yourself a masterpiece of cheese film. I stuck with it and managed not to lose interest until about an hour and 15 minutes into the film, which is great because it turned out to be only 79 minutes long. I thoroughly enjoyed the simplicity of the plot and recognized the effort the film's creators had put into the concept, but ultimately the reveal of the werewolves was a bit disappointing: they looked someone wearing a ski mask with teeth glued to it, which was in itself pretty funny. What made me pick it up? Well, I could not resist the tagline above the title on the cover: "IF YOU'RE HAIRY YOU BELONG ON A MOTORBIKE!"

The other film that I recommend if you're a fan of B movies is Bubba Ho-Tep. This one has Elvis and an African-American John F. Kennedy living in a nursing home in West Texas where an ancient Egyptian mummy comes calling to devour their souls. The outlandish concept is what places this movie in the "bad movie" category, but overall it was actually a decent comedy. Mystery author Joe Lansdale wrote the screenplay and Bruce Campbell completely nails the part of Elvis, giving it a feel of quality, but the effects were inferior and the story line may be too preposterous for some audiences (i.e. my wife). Bubba Ho-Tep is unique because it is a bad movie and it knows it! (Bruce Campbell has made a living of not taking himself seriously). This movie had me within its first ten seconds, when the definition of "Ho-tep" came on the screen, followed by that of "Bubba".

Does anyone out there agree that bad films still have value? Tell us a few of your favorites!

Lighten Up

And it is upon us. The ultimate Day After, Black Friday is the foot on the pedal that revs the engine of holiday shopping. There are a few ideas of where the term originated. Some people think it was traditionally the day when many retailers come out of the red part of their ledgers and into the positive end, the black side. While that may be true, the actual term "Black Friday" is said to have been coined in the mid-1970's by the Philadelphia police department in their chagrin of having to deal with jam-packed traffic and extremely crowded sidewalks on the 1st official Christmas shopping day after Thanksgiving (being from the greater Philadelphia area myself, I will choose to believe that origin as gospel).

It being a day of heavy and unrestrained shopping in retail stores (ie. many, many people in smallish, enclosed spaces), Black Friday has achieved a connotation of being a day filled with frustration, angst, and consternation. I'd like to encourage an alternative to venturing out into the merchandising blizzard out there: come to the library and get a holiday movie to watch with your family! We are open today and have a lot offer. The following is a list of my favorite holiday movies:

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
John Candy and Steve Martin offer up comedic genius in this odyssey to get home for the holidays.

A Christmas Story
"You'll shoot your eye out, kid!" One of the most quotable movies ever. Ever.

Grumpy Old Men
Another excellent comedic pairing, Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon act as best friends gone awry, upper Minnesota style.

Miracle on 34th Street (1947 version)
Doris Walker does not believe in Santa Claus, but her daughter Susan is not so sure herself. Very appropriate for Black Friday with the feud between Macy's and Gimble's.

It's a Wonderful Life
George Bailey realizes the impact he could have on other people's lives by seeing what life would be like without him. It's just not the holidays without watching this film.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Maybe I shouldn't admit to this, but Clark Griswold has long been a hero of mine. When I put Christmas lights out in front of and on my house for the first time this year, I will watch this movie for inspiration.

Which films do you like to watch around the holidays?

"What Music They Make"

The spooky season is here and this Halloween I'm going retro. If, like me, you are appalled by the violence and lack of imagination of most of the scary movies of today, might I recommend a return to where it all began: the Universal Pictures monster films of the 1930's and 40's.

When Bela Lugosi, starring as Dracula in the self-titled 1931 Universal studios hit, noticed wolves howling outside of Castle Dracula and said, "Listen to them, the children of the night - what music they make" he ushered in an unforgettable era of film-making that still resonates today. Universal would pump out 23 films over the next 17 years featuring Dracula, the Mummy, Frankenstein's monster, the Invisible Man, and the Wolf Man. Using new camera techniques, cutting-edge special effects for the time, and innovative costuming and make-up ideas (masterminded by Jack Pierce, pictured above) these films leapt into the imagination of the general public.

Recently, Universal has put together DVD editions known as the Legacy series for each of these monsters. They all include the character's original movie, the sequels that followed, and a documentary on how the movies were made, plus special features that include commentary during the film (a must-watch for anyone interested in film history). Here at Des Plaines Public we have the following Legacy editions: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, and The Wolf Man.

Have some fun experiencing the thrills of yesteryear.

Best Picure nominees? Well, thank you, but I have my own.

With the Golden Globes in our rear-view mirror, this time of year always makes me reflect on the best movies that I've seen this past year, and how there are more great movies than just those nominated for Hollywood awards. While I whole-heartedly congratulate the winners of the Golden Globes (especially Mr. Jeff Bridges!), I'd like to put forth my favorite movies of the past year.

1. Moon ~ Sam Rockwell plays an astronaut completing a three-year solo mission mining Earth's main energy source, helium, on the moon. Anxious to return home to see his family and to improve his declining health, strange events occur that make him question the integrity of the mining company, his sanity and even his own identity. The beauty of this film is that it embodies the idea of "less is more": allowing the film's subtle touches and retro sets to resonate alongside a fantastic soundtrack by Clint Mansell. Its small cast lends a terrific sense of intimacy with a man struggling with his growing isolation. I couldn't stop talking about this one after I'd seen it.

2. Hunger ~ Steve McQueen (no, another one) dazzles in his directorial debut depicting Irish Republican Army prisoner Bobby Sands (played by Michael Fassbender) in the 66 days of his hunger strike to gain political prisoner status from the British government. While at parts it is difficult to watch, the camera work and frank dialogue provide the film's depth. There is an incredible 17 minute-long dialogue scene shot in one take that clinched the movie for me. Whether you agree with Bobby Sands or not, there are few more intense portrayals of people dedicated to their beliefs.

3. Che: Part One - The Argentine ~ Five years after his trek across South America depicted in The Motorcycle Diaries, Che Guevara is now involved with fellow commandante Fidel Castro in leading the Cuban revolution of 1956-1959. Benicio Del Toro plays the lead perfectly, plumbing the depths of Che's historical persona as well as portraying his humanity. Whether as a proponent of harsh discipline willing to execute deserters from the cause or as a teacher showing his fellow comrades how to read, this film is an excellent and revealing depiction of an iconic figure. By the way, there is a Che: Part Two - The Guerilla, but I've not seen it yet (I'd like to finish Che's biography by Jon Lee Anderson before I do).

4. Drag Me to Hell ~ While the previous three movies have made the festival circuits, this one offers less critical acclaim and more pure fun! Director Sam Raimi proves that the magic he used to create the Evil Dead trilogy is still there; no one can mix horror and humor quite like he can. The premise is simple, a bank lender refuses to extend another loan to an old gypsy, who then curses the lender with a spirit that will drag her to hell in three days. What this movie lacks in complexity, it more than makes up with terrific action (i.e. the young heroine fending off the gypsy woman in the backseat of her car with a stapler). This movie offers up hearty laughter and genuine chills, a unique combination that landed itself on this list.

I'm curious to hear of your top movie nominees of the past year!

Truly Beautiful Movies

Soon the spotlight of world cinema will be cast upon the mighty Windy City as thousands of film enthusiasts will flock to the 45th Chicago International Film Festival from October 8th to the 22nd. They'll be among the first to view a wide variety of cinema offerings from around the globe at an event that has a storied history. It is the oldest competitive international film festival in North America: the first competition in October 1965 was held at the Carnegie Theater, and King Vidor, Stanley Kramer, and Bette Davis were honored for their impact on American cinema. Throughout the years the Chicago International Film Festival has placed a great emphasis on "fostering better understanding between cultures" and "making a positive contribution to the art form of the moving image" (according to their website).

It is at the Chicago International Film Festival that many movies gather a huge part of the momentum that turns them into strong Golden Globe and Oscar Award contenders. Just last year, films such as The Wrestler, Happy-Go-Lucky, Slumdog Millionaire (Chicago International Film Festival Audience Choice Award winner), and Gomorrah (Chicago International Film Festival Silver Hugo winner for Best Screenplay) were praised by festival-goers and went on to become multiple-time nominees (and for Slumdog Millionaire, major winners) during the Award season. Many people also got their first peek at my favorite vampire film ever made, Let the Right One In, at last year's festival.

Another excellent factor of the Chicago International Film Festival is the involvement of those who have helped create the films. This year it is possible to see director John Woo, actress Uma Thurman, and actors Martin Landau, Willem DaFoe, and Ben Foster, among others, talk about their pictures after a screening of them. Granted, the ticket price is usually higher when they will speak afterwards, but how often do you get a chance to watch a flick with Willem DaFoe?

Now, for as much as I love film and the city of Chicago, I've never attended the Chicago International Film Festival. Other plans always seem to come up or the festival arrives and ends before I realize it. This year, I am determined to get downtown for at least one flick. There a few I'd like to target: Red Cliff (directed by John Woo) depicting war, romance, and espionage on an epic scale at the end of the Han dynasty in 3rd century AD China; Berlin '36 where Jewish athletes combat hatred and racism as Germany unwillingly allows them to compete in the Olympics to avoid a boycott by other nations; Hipsters in which rock and roll and other blatantly American trends permeate young men and women in 1955 Moscow, making the authorities none too happy (many predict this film will become as popular as Slumdog Millionaire was last year); and Spy(ies) showing an airport worker being thrust into a world of fear, secret agents, and intrigue just by picking up the wrong bag.

Tickets for films at the festival are available through the website, but don't delay as they sell out pretty quickly. As a parting thought, consider what actress Jodie Foster has to say about this great Chicago tradition,"The Chicago International Film Festival reminds us that movies are truly beautiful.” Come downtown for a fresh cinematic perspective!

"I don't believe what I just saw!"

Hall of Fame baseball announcer Jack Buck summed up the magic of baseball with those immortal seven words. At the time, he was describing Kirk Gibson's game-ending (see also:"walk-off") home run that sent the Dodgers to a Game 1 victory over the Oakland Athletics in the 1988 World Series. It is now the height of baseball season: the game's best players and/or fan favorites will all meet each other in St. Louis for the All Star Game next week, and I am actually headed to my first game of the season this weekend (up in Milwaukee!). In my humble opinion there is no better fit for a long summer than the crack of the bat, the thump of catcher's mitt, the search for the next euphoric moment.

My heartstrings have always been tightly wrapped around a rubber ball, covered with a two pieces of leather that have been rubbed with a special mud taken from a secret spot along the Delaware River and hand-stitched 216 times to form a sphere. From the days of being a kid when I would open pack after pack of Topps baseball cards and get a jaw-ache from chewing the accumulation of gum that was included in those packs to the current day where I'm able to watch any ballgame in the country via the internet, baseball has always been my thing.

A major mile marker in my love for baseball occurred when I was 7 years old: the second time I went to see the Natural. My parents, brother, and I attempted to see the Natural one time before, but ended up walking into the wrong theater, where we were treated to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (another moment that altered the course of history for me, but that's a story for another day). The second time around to see the Natural, we managed to find the correct screen and my life was changed (again). For those of you not familiar with the movie, you probably would still know the ending, as it has become deeply interwoven into pop culture. Suffice to say, Roy Hobbs (played by Robert Redford) sends a fly ball into a bank of lights for a home run that wins his team the pennant (I still recommend watching the movie). This piece of cinema is really nothing without Randy Newman's masterfully composed score for that scene: it is the combination of these two that causes my scalp to tingle even 25 years after I first saw it.

What I enjoy about that clip is watching everyone's eyes as they see the one thing they wished for most at that moment come true (well, except maybe the catcher). It is a beautiful thing, a special moment, when someone hits a home run to end the game. I have seen one walk-off home run in my life: it was a minor league game about 15 years ago. Dan Held, the star of the Reading Phillies, cracked a three run homer over the left field fence to end the game in the bottom of the ninth and I was hugging perfect strangers in my excitement. It is a special memory of mine - a Roy Hobbs moment in real life - and its just one in a huge treasure chest of fantastic memories that baseball has already given to me. Every game I watch, every inning, every pitch, I am prepared for the next big play - the passion-filled moment where I put my hands to my head and exclaim, "I don't believe what I just saw!"