James Hathaway – Page 79

November 17, 2015

Spectre 007

The latest James Bond 007 spectacle does not disappoint. It is big, brawny, clever and relentless. Let’s start with the opening credits highlighted by the opening song sung by the incredible Sam Smith. Where do some of those notes come from? Look for an Oscar nomination for Best Song. But I digress.

The story line is dynamic. The cinematography is unbelievable, like you are on the set for the entire ride. More Oscar fodder here too. Plenty of bad guys, some really good bad guys. Christoph Waltz is at his best. And let’s not forget the requisite Bond girls, this time two and they are really good. All modes of transportation, virtually non-stop action with more twists and turns than the Hollywood freeway. Daniel Craig has never been better.

Rating: 4 Globes

Trumbo

Depending on your age, you may or may not recall the Hollywood Blacklist of suspected Communists from 1946 until 1960. In this film, Dalton Trumbo, Screenwriter, and then the most highly compensated writer in the industry, is called before the “House Un-American Activities Committee” to testify before Congress as to his political beliefs and the beliefs of others in the entertainment industry. He refused, was held in contempt and was imprisoned for 11 months.

After his release, he was unable to find employment and was shunned by most everyone in the industry. He, and his associates, began writing scripts for low budget movie producers and finally authored a couple of Oscar winning scripts. Eventually, times changed and Mr. Trumbo was finally recognized for his tenacity and perseverance.
Bryan Cranston plays the lead character with zeal. Director Jay Roach carefully recreates the period and the political climate of the day. Helen Mirren’s portrayal as Hedda Harper alone is worth seeing this movie.

Rating: 4 Globes

Brooklyn

This is a classic immigrant story set in 1951 about a young Irish girl who journeys to America for a new life leaving her Mom and sister behind. The poor thing is at first naive and unhappy, lives in a boarding house with other Irish women and struggles as a salesclerk in a department store.

She meets a young Italian man at a dance, they fall in love… She gets a call one day and feels compelled to go back to Ireland. You can probably fill in the blanks so I won’t tell you anymore, but there is a reason it is called “Brooklyn”.

All that said, it is a beautifully crafted film. Just the right amount of everything. It is well acted,visually satisfying, just the right mix of angst and humor even though it logs in just over two hours.

Rating: 3 Globes

Suffragette

Set in England of the late 1930s, this is based on true events about the movement to win the women’s right to vote. What came as a surprise was how violent and oppressive the culture was in that period. While the movement spanned all socio-economic classes, this story has a focus toward the lower labor class and the huge challenges as a result.
Directed by Sarah Gavron, starring Helena Bottom Carter and an extraordinary Carey Mulligan. Meryl Steep has a brief appearance as Emmeline Pankhurst, the leader of the suffragette movement forced underground.

Overall, it was an interesting glimpse at history and a reminder of a very different time less than a hundred years ago. Tidbit Fact: woman in Switzerland didn’t get to vote until 1971!

Rating: 2 Globes

Steve Jobs

First, I must confess. I was not interested in seeing this movie. I saw the documentary shortly after Job’s death and chose not to see the rendition staring Ashton Kutcher because it just didn’t sound realistic. That said, after hearing good things about the current film and seeking a second movie on a double feature day thanks to rain, I acquiesced and I am so glad I did.

This was more like a play than a movie. Michael Fassbender is exceptional as Jobs. And a big surprise, Kate Winslet is almost as extraordinary as Job’s Marketing Director. It is the combination of the screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and the delivery by Fassbender and the rest of the cast that makes this movie great.

I will also admit, I did not like Mr. Jobs or the way he conducted himself. There can be no denying his deficiencies or his genius. There just might be another Oscar or two when the season comes around.

Rating: 4 Globes

November 1, 2015

Sicario

Sicario is a film about the war on drugs, specifically focused on Mexico and its biggest drug kingpin. What makes this story exciting is Benicio Del Toro as the Mexico “insider done wrong, hell bent on revenge” working with off-the-grid US undercover agencies? The pace of this film is intense and relentless thanks to Director Denis Villeneuve’s portrayal of drug war’s operating landscape. Great acting, Emily Blunt and Josh Brolin are perfectly cast. Superb storytelling, but not always easy to watch (and not recommended for young children).
English and some Spanish with English subtitles.

Rating: 4 Globes
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The Martian

If, like me, you thought you could figure out the whole movie from the previews, guess again. This was an amazing film, suspense filled story, another home run for Matt Damon, and another spectacle for Director Ridley Scott. As you probably know by now, the Matt Damon character is left behind and presumed dead by his fellow astronauts during a freak storm forced an emergency takeoff in order to avoid disaster. But it is the rest of what happens on Earth, space, and Mars that makes this story interesting. It gets a little weak at the end, granted. But overall, great fun movie to watch.

Rating: 4 Globes
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Bridge of Spies

Tom Hanks is once again at the top of his game. This movie was created as a throw back to so many great suspense espionage movies of the cold war era. There are more twists and turns than a pretzel. Secret Agents galore, US, German, Russian. Lots of angst and tension to make you squirm a bit but nothing over the top. Another good solid Oscar likely movie from Spielberg and team. Must see if you are a Hanks or spy movie fan.
Minimal German and Russian with English subtitles.
Rating: 4 Globes
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Truth

This was are-enactment of the CBS 60 Minutes, Dan Rather story about President George W. Bush and his military service. The critics hated this film. Robert Redford stars as Rather along with Cate Blanchet as Mary Mapes as the news producer. I thought both performances were very good. I was also intrigued by the premise of the legions of conservative operatives running defense for the then President. “Me think you protest too much!”

Rating: 2 Globes
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Labyrinth of Lies

This was a fascinating film about German society in the post WW2 1960s, less than 20 years since the war ended. A young prosecutor discovers a social pattern ignoring or overlooking the presence of former Nazi wartime criminals wholly integrated in German society. Against the then social tide, the young official was finally granted approval to investigate and ultimately prosecute 22 Germans in the 1963-65 Frankfurt Auschwitz trials. This is a true story, intelligently crafted and ultimately powerful and compelling. It is an incredible peek behind the curtain of history.

German with English Subtitles

Rating: 3 Globes
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Room

Never heard of this film? Well, it is not to be missed! It starts very confusing, then it takes on a quirky inquisitive quality. Ah, finally making a little sense, this is a different kind of reality for this mother and child. Then more and more information is revealed until you realize what the story is really all about. I won’t tell you here because it would ruin the disturbing discovery and possibly the rest of the movie. This is truly groundbreaking movie making and it will be interesting to see Hollywood’s reaction. Excellent performances especially from the 5 year old boy. Where did that depth come from? Seek this one out and see for yourself. I found myself thinking about this one long after the movie ended.

Rating: 4 Globes
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Coming Home

Here is another great film we almost missed. It has limited distribution and until very recently little visibility. It is a Sony Classics release and will probably only last a week or two depending on your local film market. Do seek it out. You will be rewarded with a peek into the China of the Mao era, and maybe something to think about.

It is a heart wrenching story about a young couple torn away from each, the husband to a labor camp, the wife, injured in an accident loses some of her memory. The husband is released toward the end of China’s Cultural Revolution only to discover his wife does not recognize him.
Mandarin with English Subtitles

Rating: 4 Globes

Japan 2015

Now that jet lag has subsided and I am in my right mind, please see my observations below. I hope you enjoy.

First, just a quick travel observation. We left Osaka, Japan yesterday, Thursday at about 4:30 PM. We landed, at 10:00 AM Thursday. So officially, we returned to the US six hours before we left! It is one of the International Date Line things that happen every time you cross the dateline.

Another Quick side bar. Our 8 year old nephew, William, knew we were traveling to Asia. His Dad explained to him where we were and how it was tomorrow there from the US. Since William and we were following the playoffs and it was a day ahead, William asked by text if we knew who won the Houston/NY game. Too funny!! Oh, to be 8 again. 😋

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Impressions of Japan

Japan was a fascinating, strange, vaguely familiar place. Prior to this trip, we had only been to a few of Japan’s “cruise ports” for short day tours, mostly coastal sites of interest prior to this three week visit.

Now, my overarching observations. Japan is a big, first world country with all the benefits you would expect of a G7 world economic power.

Next, it is so clean, I could hardly believe it. And I mean everywhere!! Every street, every bus, cab, train, street car. Every restaurant, new, old, city, village. Every car, house, temple, office building, store. Every attraction, school, temple, shrine, park, tourist stop.

It is civilized. Everyone is polite. (well 99% but I do not want to be picky, unless you count fellow tourist/travelers. But that will be a future article.) Everything works and well! Hotel checkins were instant. Openings of anything, on time, every time. Same for closings. Taxis, buses, trains all on schedule EVERY time. It was almost uncanny. True fact: Japan’s train service last year, including their extensive high speed Bullet train, had an on time record within 36 seconds, yes I said seconds. Jaw dropping.

Bowing is a big thing. Mainly, three different bows. One for greeting (about 15 degrees), one for respect (about 30 degrees, as guests, we got a lot of those), and one for apologies (about 40-45 degrees). Bowing is so common, we found ourselves adding a small bow to every hello, goodbye or thank you.

Japan is not perfect. The first poke I’ll take is urban architecture. While there is an occasional superstar here and there, the country in general has the most boring, boxy, bunch of buildings I’ve seen anywhere. Yes, traditional housing and temples have their charm, but, they are squashed out by the endless boredom of concrete and glass office towers or apartment blocks with occasional attempts at some kind of architectural flare.

And now, (drumroll followed by the applause of my fellow travelers) FOOD. That one thing so many of us hit the road for! The sustenance of life and pleasure for the soul. It was general boring and mostly repetitive. This was somewhat a surprise for a country touting so many Michelin star restaurants. It was a big discovery to find the better restaurants cater to only to the wealthy and expense account crowd.

We made a few discoveries on our own but only a few. On the surprise front, on two different nights we ventured on our own for dinner, both nights the chef owners followed us outside afterwards and gave us full bows of thank you until we were out of sight. Humbling!!

Another surprise but over arching discovery we were not prepared for, was undercooked foods. Example: every egg, scrambled, fried or otherwise was half cooked or raw. I am not kidding. Same for bacon, sausage or even chicken, pork or beef. Bizarre!

You MUST eat rice! Every meal, every day, every day. We are not talking Uncle Ben’s here, or jasmine or basmati rice. We are talking full blown Japanese sticky short grain rice. And fish, sashimi (raw), sushi (also raw). At least one fish per each meal per day. The alternative was a life saving bowl of udon or ramen noodles served in a broth but often accompanied by vegetables and…some type of fish, shellfish and occasionally chicken or pork.

Personally, I love fish and sashimi/sushi are right up my alley but I must admit the rare pasta or pizza was devoured with delight.

On the highlight side. The countryside is very accessible everywhere and we were honored to be able to enjoy lots of it. The national parks and temples and shines and imperial palaces were amazing. The gardens are unlike any we have seen anywhere. In one park we saw gardeners plucking imperfect pine needles one by one and dropping them onto large tarps so as not to litter on the ground. Water features are an art form, stones and lanterns are messages, form and function are often the same. It was hard to come away from any such walk in a bad mood.

In ending, it must be said the people were amazing. Genuine, polite, helpful, forgiving, cheerful, focused. We met old folks still with a twinkle in the eye. Children, delightfully doing what children do, with glee in every action. Buddhist monks, going about their daily business, shepherding the poor and poor of spirit alike. Worker bees, working long hours and painful commutes in numbers that must be seen to be believed.

Japan is not perfect. It is still a male dominate society. Women are way behind on the equality front. This is slowly improving, so slowly. Tradition is paramount yet variety in all aspects of life seems to offer a crack in that armor. Time will tell.

Someday, I would like to see Japan again, in spring or in snow, maybe farther away from the urban centers. But for now, we’ve had enough and are pleased to be home and surrounded by all things familiar.

Japan Skyline