Clinton / Trump debates

tonite's first debate was a disaster for Trump, typically coming unhinged and blowing any chance at maintaining a stable Presidential temperament, while Hillary had her cake and ate it too by being poised and on message despite Trump's constant interruptions and, of course, non stop lying.
But the big topic is his suspected cocaine drip that kept him sniffling all nite and heavy intake of water, he's getting pounded from all sides about it, minus his devotees who absurdly call it all in his favor.
This was a huge loss for him, whether it'll affect the polls or anything else we'll wait and see, but what a mess he made of the entire affair, and there's two more to come... if he shows up.
Like Chuck Todd said afterwards, whatever team is salty tomorrow knows they lost. Hillary was giddy as a goat at times up there, so I doubt they're drowning any sorrows with the bottle, but they probably want to bust out the champagne.

Clinton / Trump debates

Anzio (1968)

Watched Anzio on DVD a few days ago (9/23/16). The movie is about the Allied invasion of Anzio, Italy in World War II.

Actors that I recognize in this movie are Robert Mitchum, Peter Falk and Earl Holliman.

Anzio (1968)

Kubo and the Two Strings

Attended a late night showing of Kubo and the Two Strings last night (9/18/16) at the Ward Theater.

This movie blends animation, fantasy, adventure and several touches of humor along the way, that tells the story of a young storyteller named Kubo who has an interesting but conflicted family background. His dad is a samurai warrior leader and his mom a moon sprit. Trouble is the rest of his mom side of the family don't like the dad nor Kubo. Since they are all moon sprits they only cause Kubo trouble at night.

There is a quest to get three objects to stop the moon sprits and Kubo is aided by three magical (and of course conflicted) characters.

Kubo and the Two Strings

Suicide Squad

Saw the early evening showing of the Suicide Squad at the Ward Theater today (9/17/16).

Movie is based on the DC Comic series where a group of imprisoned super villains is given a chance to fight the good fight, if they disobey a very small bomb in their neck will go off.

This is also kind of a small sequel to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Suicide Squad

Battleground (1949)

For some reason some time ago, over time I purchased various movies on DVD that dealt with World War II. Some of these movies I did watch soon after purchase, while others I didn't watch and just took up space.

Recently I ran across a movie called Battleground in the collection which I didn't watch until recently (late in August), and just viewed it a second time today (9/16/16).

It is about a platoon in the 101st Airborne Division fighting during the siege of Bastogne in late 1944. Of the names of the actors I recognize in this movie were Van Johnson, Ricardo Montalban, James Whitmore, and Richard Jaeckel. I also saw James Arness name in the starting credits but he had a minor role in the movie and it wasn't until the second viewing that I managed to spot him in the scenes.

Battleground (1949)

Paris, je t'aime

Paris, je t’aime (2006)
Margo Martindale, Nick Nolte, Steve Buscemi, Juliet Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Bob Hoskins, Elijah Wood, Olga Kurylenko, Emily Mortimer, Alexander Payne, Natalie Portman, Ben Gazzara, Gena Rowlands, Gérard Depardieu. Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Alexander Payne, Gus Van Sant, Alfonso Cuarón, and others. (English and French, with English subtitles)

A tourist in Paris unintentionally gets involved in a young couple’s spat when he makes eye contact in the metro station. An EMT tends to a bleeding man whom she doesn’t realize she’s met before. An American man escorts a much younger woman down the street, begging her to trust him. These are three of the eighteen very short films that make up Paris, je t’aime. Each short is set in a different Parisian arrondissement (a word I just learned), each written and directed by a different team.

Films like this miss more often than they hit, but here is one that mostly gets it right. When you only have five minutes to tell a story, it seems you rely more on situation and pacing than on characters, dialogue, or plot, but characters, dialogue, and plot can make the difference between interesting and moving. Taken individually, not every short is moving, but most of them contribute to an overall stirring of feelings about (and feelings of) love. I especially like the sections directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Oliver Schmitz, Alexander Payne, and Paul Mayeda Berges with Gurinder Chadha (who directed Bend it Like Beckham together).

The acting is solid all around, but I was especially taken with Margo Martindale as a middle-aged American woman narrating her visit to Paris in an American’s schoolbook French. Martindale is an actor I’ve only recently discovered, and in this film, she is the best I’ve seen her.

Although I have mixed feelings about his chapter, Bob Hoskins is another standout: I don’t think I’ve seen him in anything except Who Framed Roger Rabbit, so his dignified English accent and bearing were a really nice surprise.

In Wes Craven’s scene, Emily Mortimer and Rufus Sewell do a nice job with a lovers’ argument in the cemetery where Oscar Wilde is buried, when Wilde’s grave inspires one to break up with the other, and Wilde himself seems to inspire the other to make it work. The scene is maybe the best put-together in the film, where everything seems to work together to shine on its own and contribute to the bigger picture.

If you like the film, see it twice. It’s a movie that rewards a second viewing, and if you see it on a DVD which includes the making-of featurette, see that too.

8/10 (IMDb rating)
83/100 (Criticker rating)

Paris, je t'aime

Concert Films

I enjoy a good concert movie, but until recently, I've had a narrow definition of a concert film. In my heart, I have always thought of a concert film as something released in movie theaters. But technology has made it possible to put that kind of quality together and bypass the older channels. This is important especially for fans of lesser-known bands, who could never have their concert films released for the movie-going public, and every band with a dedicated following now has concert DVDs (or digital downloads) available for its fans. So I'm loosening up my definition, although I don't really have the criteria in place yet. For example, should an MTV Unplugged video count as a concert movie?

What are some of the concert movies you most enjoyed? Here are some of mine.

• Rattle and Hum (U2) -- I saw this on opening night at Waikiki 1 or 2, and received a free poster. It was a fun show. I know a lot of people think it's a dumb movie, but I like it.
• The Song Remains the Same (Led Zep)
• Yessongs (Yes) -- one of my favorites. Such great music. and a great performance.
• The Last Waltz (The Band)
• Stop Making Sense (Talking Heads)
• Woodstock -- of course.
• The Concert for Bangladesh
• Iron Maiden: Flight 666 -- this is really more of a tour documentary, but songs at each stop are shown in their entirety, so I think it counts as a concert film.

Concert Films

The Last Waltz (1978)

The Last Waltz (1978)
The Band, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, The Staple Singers, Neil Diamond, Van Morrison, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Muddy Waters, Paul Butterfield, Emmylou Harris, Eric Clapton. Directed by Martin Scorsese.

“One is always a victim of the anthologizers,” mused my American literature professor in college. This went through my mind several times as I enjoyed the incredible music in The Last Waltz, the recorded document of The Band’s farewell concert in San Francisco. I enjoy The Band but always kind of kept it at armslength because I’ve never been a fan of Robbie Robertson, the group’s lead guitarist. Robertson is a friend of Martin Scorsese, and he worked with the director in producing the film. I’m not exactly blaming anyone, but the result is a film that often feels like it’s about Robertson and a bunch of guys he once performed with. As a member of Team Levon, I find this annoying.

Questionable editing decisions aside, this concert movie is a celebration of some terrific rock and roll. It’s just about impossible to pick a favorite performance, but two numbers that really moved me were Rick Danko’s heartbreaking “Stage Fright” and the group’s killer “The Weight” with the Staple Singers. That performance of “The Weight” is actually a studio version, not a rendition performed at the concert supposedly being documented. Knowing that a lot of the music was re-recorded in post-production in order to correct off-key notes and mistakes in playing takes a lot of the wind out of my sails, but pushing that out of my mind, the songs are great however they finally arrived on this piece of celluloid.

Taking it for what it is, as it is presented, it’s one of the best concert films I’ve ever seen. It’s awakened a long-dormant admiration of The Band, and given me a desire to explore their deeper cuts.

8/10 (IMDb rating)
82/100 (Criticker rating)

The Last Waltz (1978)

The Secret Life of Pets

Attended the mid-day showing of The Secret Life of Pets at the Kahala Theaters, which is the only place left on Oahu to watch this movie in the theaters.

The movie is about what pets do when their owners are not around and in one case we get to follow the adventures of Max the dog who has to put up with a new dog in the household named Duke. Initially the two of them don't get along but they have to put aside their differences when the two of them get loose in New York City and have to contend with stray cats, animal control officers, and a huge and diverse group of flushed down the toilet animals led by an ex-stage magician bunny who wants to start a revolution against the humans for abandoning them.

The Secret Life of Pets

Donovan's Reef (1963)

Was checking out my DVD collection last night (9/10/16) for something to watch and I decided on seeing Donovan's Reef.

The main reason for watching this movie was the fact it was filmed on Kauai and it also that kind of movie one catches in the middle of it but never seeing the entire presentation (sort of like The Birds).

Lots of shots of Hanamaulu Bay and the breakwater from Akukini Pier. Did notice that 33 minutes into the movie that there was smoke from a cane fire in the background.

Donovan's Reef (1963)

Moringa - super food?

any body have experience with this?
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Moringa - super food?

A New "Beat" for Honolulu!

On September 2, 2016, KHJZ ("93.9 Jamz")/ Honolulu dropped Rhythmic AC and returned to Rhythmic Top 40 as "93.9 The Beat." The move bring Honolulu back to having 3 Rhythmic Top 40s.

http://ift.tt/2caPDJ3

A New "Beat" for Honolulu!

The Secret of Kells (2009)

The Secret of Kells (2009)
Voices of Evan McGuire, Brendan Gleeson, Christen Mooney, and Mick Lally. Directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey. Written by Fabrice Ziolkowski.

“I have seen the book that turns darkness to light,” whispers a voice as The Secret of Kells opens. It’s a mysterious introduction to an eerie story about the origins of an awesome, beautiful book of the Gospels, illustrated (or “illuminated”) by the ninth century monks of the Abbey of Kells. The characters are people of faith, but they are worried about invasions by Vikings, so their Abbot is singularly focused on building a wall to protect his people and their holy work.

The artwork in this myth-like tale is gorgeous, bringing to life the creative spirit of the Book of Kells, and the movie is worth seeing just for that. Told from a young boy’s point of view, the story is decidedly targeted at children: simple and linear in plot, with just enough mystery and darkness to impart the highest-stakes feeling appropriate a book that turns darkness to light.

A couple more drafts of this script could have made it really something, if the writers had wished to make this also a story for grown-ups. Without proselytizing, the film doesn’t disguise the fact that it’s a story about a religious text, or that its characters have dedicated their lives to a religious cause. Here’s where some thoughtful, between-the-lines dialogue could have given grownup audiences more to chew on, particularly those with a casual interest in the book and its content. This is a selfish complaint, because I appreciate a recent wave of animated children’s movies that has made an effort to do something similar. As a movie for children, though, it’s more than adequate.

While the art is its greatest strength, the film’s animation is only fair to middling. One gets the sense that the budget was restrictive, especially compared to the ridiculous costs of films put out by Pixar and Disney. It’s possible that this was a conscious decision, a rougher animation employed to emulate the feeling of the turning of pages, for example, because when the motion needs more fluidity, as when the book’s beautiful illuminations come to life, it’s much more elegant.

Voice acting by most of the principal cast, especially Brendan Gleeson as the Abbot, is quite good, but the decision to cast a very young actor as the voice of the main character is a misstep. Very few young actors can deliver the dramatic nuance animated films require, so young Evan McGuire does about what you’d expect from a competent young actor: two or three notes that work okay, but very little in between.

Still, give it plus points for good music, great art, and subject matter that stretches far beyond the content of most children’s films. Younger viewers will appreciate a rebellious but serious-minded protagonist with a mysterious friendship and a misunderstanding father figure. Older viewers will love the art, which really is unlike anything I’ve seen in a movie. I kind of want to get several tattoos of scenes from the film.

7/10 (IMDb rating)
77/100 (Criticker rating)

The Secret of Kells (2009)