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Archive: January 2009

TV Shots

31 January 2009

Director Thomas Carter has created numerous stories over the years about the struggle to achieve one’s best. His emotionally moving feature film debut, Swing Kids (1993), about German youths who choose to resist the rise of National Socialism, was the subject of one of my first movie reviews. Carter’s Coach Carter (no relation) was one of 2005’s best pictures—a standout sports movie with a great lead performance by Samuel L. Jackson—and, whether portraying an intelligent athlete in CBS’ high school series, The White Shadow, or directing a dance-themed interracial romance (Save the Last Dance), he thrives on tackling material that emphasizes man’s virtues. His new television movie for cable’s TNT, a medical drama sponsored by Johnson & Johnson, Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Kimberly Elise, is no exception. Thomas Carter tells me about his latest work in this exclusive new interview.

Permalink | Posted in Interviews, Movies, Television

Politics Shots

30 January 2009

It’s been reported this week that, as he did with his Inaugural inclusion of anti-homosexual Rev. Rick Warren (and as I figured), President Obama has thrown gays ‘under the bus,’ as the saying goes. In the wake of the furor over theocrat Rev. Warren’s participation in the swearing-in of the nation’s new president, the administration leaked that they were considering allowing gays in the military, which recalls the last time a liberal Democratic president disavowed gays when Bill Clinton instituted the irrational and unjust ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy of dishonesty and repression. Now comes word that change will not occur. Apparently, Obama represents change from partial theocracy to more theocracy. Unlike President Harry Truman, who racially integrated the United States Army (and dropped the atomic bomb, twice) without hesitation, Obama favors more of the same irrational ideas in government. Gays are not a demonstrable threat to our military’s proper purpose—defense of the nation—and improper conduct is already prohibited. Gays, and all Americans, who were silent while the vile Rev. Warren basked in Obamamania aided an ominous threat to their own individual rights.

Speaking of Obama, I think his proposed spend-u-lus scheme is a disaster that will lead us toward economic Depression. Though Judeo-Christian socialist Republicans during the Bush administration caused this recession with their own Big Government schemes, Obama and the Democrats are making matters worse—and inflammatory talk radio host Rush Limbaugh is a lone voice of opposition. This Obama seems to grasp, singling Rush out for criticism—an alarming statement of opposition to a broadcaster from the nation’s top government official—and leading to an interesting segment on MSNBC’s Hardball, which aired an advertisement denouncing Rush as the leader of the Republican Party. On this issue, whatever the actions of Republicans, who stand for nothing, Rush has tapped the public’s opposition to National Socialism (bailouts, TARPs, nationalization of banks).

Hardball host Chris Matthews, who continues to speak his indepdendent mind, is exploring the possibility of making a movie based on his 1997 Free Press book about the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate, according to what I’ve heard through the grapevine. Of course, MSNBC is part of NBC Universal, which—until that business, too, is nationalized by the state or restricted from exercising its right to free speech—makes what are often good movies through its Universal Pictures studio. One of those movies is director Ron Howard’s outstanding Frost/Nixon.

Permalink | Posted in Politics

Spot & Pop Shots

26 January 2009

Between recent earthquakes, I managed to hike in the neighborhoods near Lake Hollywood, the man-made Hollywood Reservoir beneath the Hollywood sign. Rain cleared the air—you could see Redondo Beach—and brought the coyotes out in daylight. While backtracking down the Hollywood Hills, one broke away from the pack, swooping down a narrow street and darting toward a small dog—whose owner scared the coyote off in the nick of time. A few blocks later, another one dashed near a woman walking her pint-sized pooch with baby in tow. By then, word had traveled that two other coyotes were spotted. Coyotes are bold when they’re hungry—and dog owners ought to keep their pets on a leash—and it made for an exciting afternoon.

I’m thrilled to have discovered Duke Ellington’s (1899-1975) Piano in the Background, digitally remastered from the 1960 recording and an exciting 14-song collection. “[I]t is as a pianist that Duke exists as a musician,” wrote Irving Townsend in the original liner notes, included here. “He composes at the piano, and he teaches the band at the piano. He heads for the piano in any room he enters, and no hotel room he ever lived in is without one.” With new arrangements of Duke Ellington’s best known compositions—“Rockin’ in Rhythm,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing,” “Take the ‘A’ Train”)—and new liner notes by his longtime publicist, this jazz session practically bursts from the speakers. Played on his special 91-key (not the usual 88) piano.

Permalink | Posted in Music, Travel

Book Shots

22 January 2009

We the Living

Penguin has announced that it will publish a trade paperback for We the Living by Ayn Rand. The 1936 novel—Miss Rand’s first—about the evil of dictatorship, set in Soviet Russia, where she lived, has a new cover (see image) and, according to the publisher, a new introduction by Leonard Peikoff. The powerful We the Living, one of my favorite novels, is the last of Ayn Rand’s four novels to be reprinted in the larger trade paperback format. Publicity materials also make reference to a biography of Ayn Rand (1905-1982) that’s slated for sale later this year.

Not much to say about President Obama’s inauguration, except that I hope he keeps his pledges to pull troops out of Iraq, legalize stem cell research, abolish anti-abortion policies, defend absolute free speech, and favor nuclear power and offshore oil drilling. As the saying goes, don’t hold your breath. Besides his groundless opposition to seating the shamelessly opportunistic Roland Burris as his successor in the United States Senate, another Obamadrama—Caroline Kennedy (does anyone know what happened to Schlossberg?)—erupted this week when the indecisive, inarticulate, unqualified celebrity finally yanked her name from contention for Hillary Clinton’s vacant Senate seat. Early Obama supporter Kennedy, who was way out of line in her bizarre campaign, would not have even been considered without Barack Obama’s approval. Obamadrama, I have to think, is to be continued.

I posted a new interview to the Movies and Interviews indices: my recent discussion with Turner Classic Movies (TCM) host Robert Osborne (I’ve also added other exchanges with the movie historian) about his exclusive interview with Ernest Borgnine, which premieres on TCM on January 26. Mr. Osborne told me that future screen legends for possible TCM interviews include Sophia Loren (El Cid, Two Women) and Olivia de Havilland (Gone with the Wind, The Snake Pit), whom he said wants to wait until her autobiography is published. Read my interview with Robert Osborne here.

Permalink | Posted in Books, Interviews, Movies, Politics

Screen Shots

20 January 2009

I saw the trailer for Disney/Pixar’s Up, a movie with a crotchety old man as lead that’s slated for release this summer. It looks interesting, though so did Wall-E, which I found lacking. Also coming soon: Disney’s 70th anniversary Platinum DVD Edition for Pinocchio, which I have not seen. I’m planning on seeing its Hollywood big screen return with a friend who¹s an expert on the 1940 animated classic.

I watched those trailers on Disney’s new DVD for the 1988 animated musical, Oliver and Company, scheduled for re-release on DVD Feb. 3. This is not a memorable movie, and I don’t consider it a must for one’s Disney library. That said, as a younger Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook says in one of the archived publicity pieces included on the DVD, it paved the way for the following year’s box office smash, The Little Mermaid, and includes songs by Barry Manilow, Dean Pitchford, and Billy Joel. The picture’s an adaptation of the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, made as a live-action musical in the Oscar-winning 1968 Best Picture, Oliver! Here, a cat is the orphan, a dog is the Artful Dodger and Fagin is substantially kinder. Bill Sykes (Robert Loggia) is an Italian mobster type and he rides in the world’s only limousine to fit into subway stairwells. There’s also a scooter/shopping cart contraption that transports a pack of dogs and scales the Brooklyn Bridge.

Yes, Oliver and Company has problems. Opening shots of New York City are static—look for three prominent renderings of the Twin Towers (1973-2001)—the male leads leave something visually to be desired and emotional impact is muted at best. The music—Eighties pop rock melodies—is enjoyable and the DVD includes promotional spots with Roy Disney and Dick Cook (everything here is extremely brief) and a couple of cartoons, Puss Café and Lend a Paw, featuring Mickey Mouse’s dog, Pluto, which are better than the movie. Bring on Pinocchio.

Permalink | Posted in Movies, Walt Disney Studios

Pop, TV and Screen Shots

14 January 2009

Listening to Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, a good, continuous stream of ten rock tunes produced by Brian Eno. A driving, searching title track’s the best by far and the cover is a reproduction of French artist Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People.

Having recently been asked to name my favorite non-fiction writer, I was hard-pressed to come up with anyone who’s alive. That got me thinking about favorite journalists—also hard to come by—which leads to sharp Carol Marin, a Chicago broadcast reporter who recently pointed out in her Sun-Times column that President-elect Obama pre-selects journalists permitted to ask questions at his press conferences. Marin blithely wonders why the press is compliant with this presumptuous and journalistically improper practice.

Other fine voices of reason in the media: Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace, the only reporter to ask whether—not how—the government should intervene in the economy, Hardball’s persistently thoughtful Chris Matthews and MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, who offers an objective and often unique perspective on politics. On CNN, I gain value from straightforward work by Ali Velshi, Don Lemon and, when it comes to weather, meteorologist Rob Marciano.

Ernest Borgnine

Outside of news, television doesn’t offer much, though Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an exception. I can’t resist anything hosted by Robert Osborne, one of the most knowledgeable and, incidentally, distinguished persons on TV. His Private Screenings interview with Ernest Borgnine, which airs at 8 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday, January 26, is outstanding. If you love movies, you’ll want to watch.

Mr. Borgnine, an American Navy veteran (he rose to Gunner’s Mate, First Class) whose career in pictures spans 50 years, talks about his work—including his roles in Best Picture winners Marty (1955) and From Here to Eternity (1953)—his colleagues and his marriages to Katy Jurado (High Noon) and Ethel Merman (It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World). The unassuming star of TV’s McHale’s Navy turns 92 this month. With Osborne covering the essentials—a deft not deferential interviewer—Mr. Borgnine covers his life in New York, Italy, Virginia, where he worked at the Barter Theatre, Broadway and Hollywood, where he was first cast in the Louis de Rouchemont film Whistle at Eaton Falls, opposite Lloyd Bridges and Dorothy Gish.

Ernest Borgnine

Known for his role as brutal Sergeant Fatso Judson in From Here To Eternity with Sinatra, Lancaster, Clift and Deborah Kerr, the character actor snagged an Oscar® for his portrayal of a New York City butcher in Marty, an underrated classic about an ordinary man who chooses to break free from traditionalism and sameness and pursue his values on his own terms. Marty, part of TCM’s tribute slate, is a deserving winner. Others include The Catered Affair (written, like Marty, by the inimitable Paddy Chayefsky) with Bette Davis and the classic Bad Day at Black Rock with Spencer Tracy. Other credits include Torpedo Run, Ice Station Zebra, Flight of The Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen and The Poseidon Adventure.

Here’s TCM’s Jan. 26 schedule for the tribute to Ernest Borgnine:

8 p.m. Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine (2008) – premiere
9 p.m. Marty (1955) – starring Betsy Blair
11 p.m. Private Screenings: Ernest Borgnine (2008) – encore
Midnight The Last Command (1955) – starring Sterling Hayden
2:45 a.m. From Here to Eternity (1953) – starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra and Donna Reed
5 a.m. Torpedo Run (1958) – Glenn Ford, Diane Brewster and Dean Jones

Gran Torino

I finally saw Warner Bros.’ Gran Torino. I admit that I held off seeing it, figuring it would be another case for moral relativism from Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven, A Perfect World, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers), who tends to play anti-heroism as an ideal. Encouraged by Mr. Eastwood’s entertaining The Changeling (see earlier post), also released last year, I decided to take Gran Torino for a spin.

Consider this a qualified endorsement. Not a perfect movie, and, of course, not remotely heroic, it is involving as an arc of a fallen man’s attempt to restore value to his life. With a 1972 motor vehicle as a symbol of self-interest—with an undeniably benevolent depiction of Catholicism—Gran Torino putters and purrs toward the best redemptive treat in a long time. Coax Gramps or, perhaps better, a favorite older man of no genetic relation, out of the house and enjoy.

Beginning in a church, the picture weaves a conditional, not anything-goes, tale of forgiveness—an unspectacular relay race for a pair of loners. One is played by Mr. Eastwood, a stubborn old man afflicted by racism, and the other is played by an actor named Bee Vang—he dominates every scene—a bright, withdrawn young man tormented by an Asian gang.

Without spoiling the plot, the youngster, like the oldster, walks alone, reading a book and trying to be left alone in a cold, brutal subculture that destroys the one in the many. The mystical, collectivist Hmong people worship tradition and then wonder why their boys become brain-dead thugs in packs. As his spirited, Western-minded sister (excellent Ahney Her) puts it: “girls go to college, boys go to prison.” Clint Eastwood’s old man, growling while pushing his manual lawnmower, enters the fray with dramatic, appalling results.

This is post-Ford Motor Company Michigan, where sirens constantly blare in the distance and civilization everywhere is falling apart—in bones and in buildings, and on every block—which echoes the nation’s current demise. Amid the coot’s name-calling, an unending flow of low, vulgar terms, a glimmer of enlightenment emanates from the next-door neighbors. That it comes from immigrants, not natives or relatives, is not really surprising to this writer (who fervently holds that America’s best often come from the outside), and it lures the geriatrician into kind acts of selfishness.

Gran Torino is not a formula picture and his actions spring from a gentle awakening, stirred by a priest, of his better values. Responding to the virtues of his neighbors, Mr. Eastwood’s loner fixes himself, and, as a byproduct—not as moral obligation or government-mandated mentoring—he causes the young male to fix himself, too. He does it with tools—reason, restraint, reward—and the result is an engaging morality play.

Make no mistake, Clint Eastwood’s character is part pig and the anachronistically racist barbershop scenes, in particular, fail to function as valves of humor, but when it’s shined and ready to roll, Gran Torino provides a polished ride about a material possession which is purely selfish—with, for once, a nod toward an American, which is to say optimistic and individualistic, sense of life.

Permalink | Posted in Interviews, Movies, Music, Television

Blago vs. Obama

9 January 2009

Just watched Blago’s press conference—that is Rod Blagojevich, the governor of Illinois impeached by the Illinois legislature earlier today—and this flare-up in the battle of corrupt politicians is like watching ants work around an obstacle. It’s shaping up as David versus Goliath—with Blago showing how politically vulnerable the mighty Obama actually is.

The President-elect, pledging the prospect of massive government control of the United States economy, has his hands all over Blago’s impeachment saga. From the moment his presidential election was imminent, Obama spurned the tainted Democratic governor, which clearly sent sensitive Blago into a tizzy, as he was determined to retaliate by selling Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder of his own choosing.

Nabbed, though not indicted, by the feds for corruption, Blago was probably doing what every politician does, and that’s being generous. Having refused to resign and stared down the Democratic Party establishment—specifically the nation’s new president, who had openly opposed the appointment of Roland Burris to the vacant Senate seat—Blago is making, and scoring, a point. Quoting Ted Kennedy quoting Tennyson, Blago stood firm and vowed to fight impeachment, which now goes to the Illinois Senate for trial.

Citing his working class background, with welfare-state recipients in tow, he righteously asserted his welfare-statist credentials as circumstantial evidence of his innocence. This is not intended as a rationalization for wrongdoing, but Blago is acting like he knows that everyone in politics—Jesse Jackson, Jr., Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama—does what he did. For now, he’s beating the punditry, the press and the politicians at their own game—Roland Burris will be seated as Obama’s successor in the U.S. Senate—and the result is an Obamadrama between the funny-named Illinois pol and the Ivy League president-elect that overshadows the new administration—and serves as some sort of lesson for navigating the Obama presidency.

Permalink | Posted in Politics

Slumdog Millionaire and Rational Parenting

7 January 2009

Slumdog Millionaire

The highly touted Slumdog Millionaire is consistent, purposeful and predictable, though it is not my type of movie. The story of a child in the slums of Bombay (now called Mumbai), India, is a slice of low life that thrusts itself from inexplicable terror to inexplicable paradise, which makes it arbitrary and thus terribly uninvolving. What’s more, the visuals are vile and characters—wayward kids—are two-dimensional. They deliberate and make choices, but their future is fundamentally determined; an inexplicably corrupt society, making inexplicable progress, inexplicably turns for or against them.

The subtitled Slumdog Millionaire is also revolting, with numerous scenes depicting abuse, mutilation and torture of children, mostly boys (this widely praised picture again demonstrates Hollywood’s double standard, as Hounddog was vilified and blocked due to a single, organic child rape scene). Beatings, wild dogs, eyes being gouged out with kitchen utensils, sex slavery, burning flesh—this movie is repulsive, dumping a child in feces for laughs and delivering the misery to squeeze an artificially happy ending out of the last few minutes. The girl barely thinks, let alone speaks, and the boy, who becomes fixated on her after his mother dies, shuffles from crisis to crisis—and both of them are inexplicably controlled by a self-destructive older brother who kneels, prays and erupts with the phrase “God is great!” between inexplicable acts of good and evil.

The attention-deficient Slumdog Millionaire feels like it’s made for television, which explains why it uses a TV show (India’s variation of ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?) as a framing device. The gimmick, not character, is the hook. As such, Slumdog Millionaire is pure multiple choice—cheat, get lucky, be a genius or admit that life is rigged—and, with three out of four quickly discarded, the obvious final answer is something of a bore.

For those seeking answers to the day-to-day problems of raising healthy children the Rational Parenting List (RPL) is an uncomplicated, affordable, low-volume e-mail forum. Though created for parents who are Objectivist, it is also useful for non-parents, like me, and for non-Objectivists. RPL is moderated by Susan Crawford, RN, a wife and mother who has written and lectured on raising and educating children. Posts are typically cogent, informative and insightful. Discussion threads—about bed-wetting, hitting in school, discussing sex, politics and death with one’s child—are usually brief and polite. I especially like that issues are conducted in the proper spirit, granting a wide berth for making mistakes, which seems a crucial approach to parenting, a serious, potentially wonderful choice that can also be agonizingly difficult. In this sense, Susan’s RPL, fostering a kind, practical approach, is a respite as well as a resource. Those interested should write to rplist@aol.com.

Permalink | Posted in Children, Movies

States, Gays, Milk—and Benjamin Button

4 January 2009

Happy New Year!

Not that 2009 begins without cause for concern and, for many Americans, suffering. Three of the nation’s most important states—New York, Illinois, and California—are mired in some type of government crisis and politicians continue to proscribe the wrong solution, government intervention, to economic problems caused by government intervention. Months ago, President Bush, President-elect Obama, Republicans, Democrats, and the media demanded in unison that the multi-billion dollar bailout (read partial bank nationalization) be approved or the economy would collapse. When that monstrosity passed, the economy grew worse as a result, so the same gang demanded a bailout of auto companies, which will also lead to nationalization and government-run cars. Now, there’s talk of subsidizing (read controlling) newspapers. Anyone with an active mind can see where that leads.

With mounting financial problems, California—run by the Republican governor and Democratic legislature—is preparing to raise taxes on its citizens (including numerous fees on this and that which are essentially also taxes) which will hurt the people and further cripple the economy here. The state needs to slash programs and get out of the way of business.

New York is apparently on the verge of naming the highly unqualified daughter of a dead president, Caroline Kennedy, to the U.S. Senate, which represents what Ayn Rand called the “aristocracy of pull” and is the opposite of what the Founding Fathers sought in a government of, by, and for the people. Early in America’s history, men served after distinguishing themselves as practicing lawyers, businessmen and producers and becoming known and respected among the people. Not Caroline, who, like Sarah Palin, is an opportunist cashing in on celebrity worship. Kennedy isn’t qualified to serve as a garbage collector.

Trash describes Illinois politics and Gov. Blagojevich’s resistance to resignation is merely a sign that U.S. politicians no longer feel it necessary to step down in shame; instead, like Republican Sen. Larry Craig, they have no sense of decency let alone wrongdoing. Blago may have something on the President-elect and his Chicago gang—he’s certainly acting like he does—and brazen Blago is a pathetic figure. So is Roland Burris, deified by the press, who accepted the Senate appointment when he should have hung up. Barack Obama, who called Burris a fine man who is qualified but demanded that the Senate refuse to seat the legally designated senator, is offering a preview of his presidency—making an argument from intimidation while talking out of both sides of his mouth. If Burris is noble (he is not) and qualified (legally, he is), on what moral and/or legal grounds does the President-elect claim Burris should not serve in the Senate? The Illinois scandal speaks volumes about the incoming Obama administration.

So does Obama’s selection as his inaugural minister the Reverend Rick Warren, a rising Judeo-Christian who proposes tearing down separation of religion and state. Leonard Peikoff was right when he warned in a recent podcast that Obama is profoundly religious and we’re about to find out. That the anti-homosexual Warren was invited, and not disinvited in the wake of opposition, shows that Obama will actively seek to expand government-sponsored religion. Gays will be among the first to suffer under Obama; whether being thrown under the bus by that other liberal Democratic president that gay intellectuals unquestioningly supported—puny-minded Bill Clinton, who caved on gays in the military early in his administration—or the slow, incremental criminalization of sex that can only be achieved through the spread of religion in affairs of the state, gays, smarting from a Mormon-Catholic-Christian axis victory banning gay marriage, are religionist Obama’s first, not last, disposable constituency.

That the left and Judeo-Christians are comrades in the same cause—government control of individual lives—is fully on display in an excellent motion picture about a liberal Democrat who was the first openly gay elected official in the nation, Milk, which is outstanding on its own merits and especially thanks to left-winger Sean Penn. That Milk was gunned down by a religious Democrat is an ominous reminder for today’s homosexual of the dangers of supporting those, like Obama, who support religion in government. I recommend Milk to every adult who values the right to make private sexual choices. See it instead of watching Obama and his chosen reverend; it will brace you for what’s to come.

More uplifting, though no less somber, is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, an achievement in movies. I like the visual feast so much I want to see it again—if you can, see it beside someone you love—and it shows that Hollywood can reject the death premise and produce an invigorating and breathtaking movie about life.

Permalink | Posted in Movies, Politics