Watched this old Jimmy Stewart western the other day. It appears that after the Hitchcock movie era Stewart went back and played in quite a few Westerns.
In this movie Stewart joined Walter Brennan as two men determined to take a herd of cattle to the town of Dawson in Northern Alaska to take advantages for the inflationary prices for beef.
They run into some bad characters on this trip and Stewart is actually on the run from a trumped up hanging charge.
Not a great movie, barely a good one. But for me Jimmy Stewart makes it worthwhile.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Temple Grandin
This HBO production about a woman named Temple Grandin who while autistic in a time when children who were autistic were often institutionalized is quite a story. The wife picked this one out though I admit I watched it.
Clare Danes starred in the movie and did a great job, making us forget she was Clare Danes. In the role she played an autistic woman who goes to high school, college and eventually is an expert in cows. Her ability to see things differently as she is perceptive to light and noise becomes an asset to her.
There are many interesting things in this movie not all will I give away here. First and sadly in my mind however is the fact that doctors told mothers that autism might be due to a mothers failure to bond with a child at the correct time.
A good movie
Clare Danes starred in the movie and did a great job, making us forget she was Clare Danes. In the role she played an autistic woman who goes to high school, college and eventually is an expert in cows. Her ability to see things differently as she is perceptive to light and noise becomes an asset to her.
There are many interesting things in this movie not all will I give away here. First and sadly in my mind however is the fact that doctors told mothers that autism might be due to a mothers failure to bond with a child at the correct time.
A good movie
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Raging Bull
Watched this movie tonight. I have heard references to it many times and decided that the time had come to watch it.
I liked the movie. It was good. Martin Scorsece is a great director and this movie, shot in black and white, tells the story of Jake Lamotta a middleweight fighter in the 40's and 50's.
Robert Deniro plays Lamotta and Joe Pesci his brother. Lamotta was a great fighter but a seriously flawed person with an, at least from the movie, an almost psychotic paranoia and lack of trust of anybody.
Watching the old classic movies however this movie as good as it was is more realistic perhaps, more language, more blood and guts but to me it becomes apparent that those new tools are crutches. Telling the same story with all character is much harder.
A very good movie. Well worth watching
I liked the movie. It was good. Martin Scorsece is a great director and this movie, shot in black and white, tells the story of Jake Lamotta a middleweight fighter in the 40's and 50's.
Robert Deniro plays Lamotta and Joe Pesci his brother. Lamotta was a great fighter but a seriously flawed person with an, at least from the movie, an almost psychotic paranoia and lack of trust of anybody.
Watching the old classic movies however this movie as good as it was is more realistic perhaps, more language, more blood and guts but to me it becomes apparent that those new tools are crutches. Telling the same story with all character is much harder.
A very good movie. Well worth watching
Guess Whose Coming to Dinner
This classic movie from 1967 seems in many ways dated. However one can appreciate easily how controversial the movie was then. When we think about the conversations that parents have today, perhaps their children are coming out to them, or they are bringing home a partner of a different race.
These questions still bring distress to most parents.
In the movie Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy, and Katherine Hepburn star. Tracy and Hepburn as the parents of a young woman who brings home a black gentleman who she is love with and plans to marry.
Her parents are staunch liberals so face a true test of what they have preached in terms of equality.
Of course in this movie Poitier plays a Dr who is a very accomplished individual. This is much different than what many parents might face today. Still the message was delivered and the movie is good.
Perhaps the best parts are the Priest who is a family friend and has a good sense of humor and ethics about the whole thing and Isabel Sanford as the black maid who disagrees with the whole idea of an interracial relationship.
A good movie, perhaps a little dated. Still worth watching and Tracy and Hepburn were wonderful.
These questions still bring distress to most parents.
In the movie Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy, and Katherine Hepburn star. Tracy and Hepburn as the parents of a young woman who brings home a black gentleman who she is love with and plans to marry.
Her parents are staunch liberals so face a true test of what they have preached in terms of equality.
Of course in this movie Poitier plays a Dr who is a very accomplished individual. This is much different than what many parents might face today. Still the message was delivered and the movie is good.
Perhaps the best parts are the Priest who is a family friend and has a good sense of humor and ethics about the whole thing and Isabel Sanford as the black maid who disagrees with the whole idea of an interracial relationship.
A good movie, perhaps a little dated. Still worth watching and Tracy and Hepburn were wonderful.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
WWII in HD - The Air War
This two hour addition to the collection released by the History Channel centers on the Air War in Europe and the exploits of the 8th Air Force. Told through the eyes and memories of 4 men, one of whom was a Stars and Stripes reporter at the time named Andy Rooney ( yes that one) this is a wonderful history.
The attrition rate of these men in these battle groups was astronomical. Eventually to make sure that the Luftwaffe was a minimal force and that the Allies controlled the skies by D Day the mission changed. Bombers became bait and the fighters that initially escorted the bombers so that they could deliver their loads and escaped now accepted their primary goal as being to destroy the German fighters. If American bombers went down this was an acceptable loss. Think about being a member of a bomber crew that has to accomplish 25 missions knowing you are not much more than bait.
The courage of these men is a marvel. I read a comment on an earlier program perhaps it was Band of Brothers. How did they do it. They told themselves they were dead the minute they set foot in battle. Their was no expectation of living only of being brave and having what Hemingway would call a spectacular death.
A wonderful show. Something all young people should watch and understand. I, for one, have serious doubts about how this country would react to an external threat in these modern times
The attrition rate of these men in these battle groups was astronomical. Eventually to make sure that the Luftwaffe was a minimal force and that the Allies controlled the skies by D Day the mission changed. Bombers became bait and the fighters that initially escorted the bombers so that they could deliver their loads and escaped now accepted their primary goal as being to destroy the German fighters. If American bombers went down this was an acceptable loss. Think about being a member of a bomber crew that has to accomplish 25 missions knowing you are not much more than bait.
The courage of these men is a marvel. I read a comment on an earlier program perhaps it was Band of Brothers. How did they do it. They told themselves they were dead the minute they set foot in battle. Their was no expectation of living only of being brave and having what Hemingway would call a spectacular death.
A wonderful show. Something all young people should watch and understand. I, for one, have serious doubts about how this country would react to an external threat in these modern times
Bob Dylan in America by Sean Wilentz
I was very interested in this book and my wife picked it up for me as a gift. She is ever so thoughtful like that. It is never hard to buy me a gift, just get me a book. Sean Wilentz is a very good author of historical biography and such and I have enjoyed his work.
With his love of Dylan and his music this should have been a match made in heaven. It was not.
Wilentz did what he advised he would do but in the book he took snapshots of various times in Dylan's career and some sections were frankly just about as interesting as those times in Dylan's career.
A whole chapter about Blind Willie McTell and Delia and the history behind the songs was most likely more than I or about anyone needed.
The book does have value. The tracing of Dylans roots back to Aaron Copland the the folk singers of the 1940's was very good and informative.
Perhaps the best sections were the chapter on the making of Blonde on Blonde as well as the section on the Rolling Thunder Revue period of 1975. There were sections early in the book where I could not put it down.
Maybe Wilentz made the perfect metaphor for Bob. After the first 15 years there is much less to be excited about. It should be noted that those first 15 years however were the greatest period of any songwriter in the rock and roll era.
With his love of Dylan and his music this should have been a match made in heaven. It was not.
Wilentz did what he advised he would do but in the book he took snapshots of various times in Dylan's career and some sections were frankly just about as interesting as those times in Dylan's career.
A whole chapter about Blind Willie McTell and Delia and the history behind the songs was most likely more than I or about anyone needed.
The book does have value. The tracing of Dylans roots back to Aaron Copland the the folk singers of the 1940's was very good and informative.
Perhaps the best sections were the chapter on the making of Blonde on Blonde as well as the section on the Rolling Thunder Revue period of 1975. There were sections early in the book where I could not put it down.
Maybe Wilentz made the perfect metaphor for Bob. After the first 15 years there is much less to be excited about. It should be noted that those first 15 years however were the greatest period of any songwriter in the rock and roll era.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
This was quite a book. Long and very thick reading. As biographies go it was a difficult one to muddle through. But the reward was there.
Of all the forefathers perhaps only George Washington had more of an impact on his country and many feel for his long standing efforts to establish the United States on solid financial footing Washington may have even stood beneath Hamilton.
Hamilton had flaws, he was impulsive, made mistakes in his marriage, and was defensive in the extreme.
We have all heard the story of the duel that ended his life. Much talk takes place in the book about affairs of honor and the culture which fostered duels. It is interesting and for us at this juncture in our society we do find it easy to understand.
Last year I read a biography of Aaron Burr and it too told a good tale. In both cases the authors are more sympathetic to their subjects than their opponents. This is to be expected. Still I think that Chernow does a good job playing straight with the facts. Nancy Isenburg writing of Burr was a little more one sided. Or of course it could be that I feel this way for having read the Hamilton book most recently.
Perhaps the best historical judgment on Hamilton are his battles with everyone with the exception of Washington. It would seem that he was difficult at best and could alienate people on both sides of the party system. Jefferson, Adams and Madison all considered him a scoundrel and Monroe felt no better.
A rewarding book. Very well done
A fulfilling read.
Of all the forefathers perhaps only George Washington had more of an impact on his country and many feel for his long standing efforts to establish the United States on solid financial footing Washington may have even stood beneath Hamilton.
Hamilton had flaws, he was impulsive, made mistakes in his marriage, and was defensive in the extreme.
We have all heard the story of the duel that ended his life. Much talk takes place in the book about affairs of honor and the culture which fostered duels. It is interesting and for us at this juncture in our society we do find it easy to understand.
Last year I read a biography of Aaron Burr and it too told a good tale. In both cases the authors are more sympathetic to their subjects than their opponents. This is to be expected. Still I think that Chernow does a good job playing straight with the facts. Nancy Isenburg writing of Burr was a little more one sided. Or of course it could be that I feel this way for having read the Hamilton book most recently.
Perhaps the best historical judgment on Hamilton are his battles with everyone with the exception of Washington. It would seem that he was difficult at best and could alienate people on both sides of the party system. Jefferson, Adams and Madison all considered him a scoundrel and Monroe felt no better.
A rewarding book. Very well done
A fulfilling read.
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