If you visit Rodney’s Grill inside the Fess Parker Doubletree, you’ll notice that during the evening hours they’re constantly projecting episodes from the Davy Crockett saga on the wall above the bar. Parker, a hotshot actor during the era of Dwight D. Eisenhower, starred as Crockett on the Disney hour in 1955 and ’56, and for a while was almost as big as the Beatles or Elvis. But every damn night must get old if you’re a Rodney’s regular. If I was running the show I would also screen clips from some of Parker’s other films including The Great Locomotive Chase (my personal favorite in which Parker played a Union spy and saboteur), Hell Is For Heroes, Battle Cry, Old Yeller and Them!
I don’t relate to “Orwellian invasion of privacy by way of mobile technology and social media” stories because my life is devoted to self-exposure by way of same (except when it comes to girlfriends — that stuff is off-limits unless I decide otherwise). Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, Patton Oswalt, John Boyega, Ellar Coltrane, Nate Corddry and Glenne Headly. Based on a book by Dave Eggers, adapted and directed by James Ponsoldt (The End of the Tour, The Spectacular Now). When a distributor decides to open a movie in April, there’s always a reason.
While visiting Los Olivos yesterday afternoon I figured a quick visit to the gates of what was once called Neverland (and is now called Sycamore Valley Ranch) might be interesting. I read not long ago that Michael Jackson‘s former estate had been sold, but for some reason I can’t find the latest link. Jackson abandoned the place in June 2005 in the wake of his acquittal on pedophile molestation and conspiracy. The love notes scrawled on the Spanish-styled wall outside the main gate reminded me of the sentiments written on the grave of Oscar Wilde in Pere Lachaise. The green hills and pastures as you approach the estate are almost blinding, like the greens of southern Ireland.




“Any veneer of plausible deniability about the Trump family’s greed and their transactional view of the most powerful job in the world was shattered this week by a defamation lawsuit the first lady, Melania Trump, filed. Mrs. Trump is suing The Daily Mail’s website in New York State court over a story published last year that included a baseless claim that the former model once worked as an escort. Mrs. Trump is certainly entitled to challenge the accuracy of that allegation and to argue that it was defamatory, but her assessment of the damage the claim has done to her earning potential is galling, and revelatory. As a result of the report published in August, Mrs. Trump contends in the suit, her ‘brand has lost significant value, and major business opportunities that were otherwise available to her have been lost and/or substantially impacted.’ The suit offers no specific examples of lost business opportunities [but] President Trump and his family have done little to assuage concerns that they see the White House as a cash cow.” — From a N.Y. Times editorial, posted on 2.7.

I’ve watched several video essays about Manchester By The Sea, but I hadn’t seen this one until early this morning. It has an extra quality so I thought I’d post it…that’s all.
A few days ago I succumbed to an unwise impulse and tossed a few crackers to this guy. He’s been dropping by ever since, of course. I will always feed animals — birds, squirrels, dogs, feral cats. I have a generous nature (or at least I do when I’ve got enough to spread around), and because feeding these guys generates a special feeling — a bond with nature, the universe and God herself.

William Hurt‘s short speech last night in Santa Barbara on behalf of Isabelle Huppert was a quiet corker. His remarks were clearly directed at the horrific political climate being generated out of the White House these days; more than a few came up to Hurt later and said “great speech!” Hurt costarred with Huppert in Ned Benson‘s The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (’12). Plus he’s fluent in French and owns (or at least owned the last time I checked) a residence not far from Paris. During the after-party we spoke about LSD, Altered States (i.e., Paddy Chayefsky vs. Ken Russell), Buddhism (a few years ago Hurt took a Columbia course in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and computer science), Hank Paulson (whom Hurt played in 2011’s Too Big To Fail), etc.
Elle‘s Isabelle Huppert charmed the pants off Santa Barbara last night during an Arlington theatre tribute. Indiewire‘s Anne Thompson handled the interview with polish and aplomb, and the great William Hurt, who had just driven himself up from Los Angeles, presented Huppert’s trophy. During the after-party I asked Huppert about Happy End, the Michael Haneke film costarring herself and Jean-Louis Trintignant that will almost certainly debut in Cannes three months hence. I’ve read that the film, shot in northern France, deals with the European immigrant crisis, but Huppert said not really — the crisis is more of a backdrop element than anything else. Huppert’s green-and-coral gown was the subject of muted conversation during the after-event; the general opinion was that the Best Actress nominee should probably wear a darker, more conservative gown on Oscar night.

“Not happening…way too laid back…zero narrative urgency,” I was muttering from the get-go. Basically the sixth episode of White Lotus Thai SERIOUSLY disappoints. Puttering around, way too slow. Things inch along but it’s all “woozy guilty lying aftermath to the big party night” stuff. Glacial pace…waiting, waiting. I was told...
I finally saw Walter Salles' I'm Still Here two days ago in Ojai. It's obviously an absorbing, very well-crafted, fact-based poltical drama, and yes, Fernanda Torres carries the whole thing on her shoulders. Superb actress. Fully deserving of her Best Actress nomination. But as good as it basically is...
After three-plus-years of delay and fiddling around, Bernard McMahon's Becoming Led Zeppelin, an obsequious 2021 doc about the early glory days of arguably the greatest metal-rock band of all time, is opening in IMAX today in roughly 200 theaters. Sony Pictures Classics is distributing. All I can say is, it...
To my great surprise and delight, Christy Hall's Daddio, which I was remiss in not seeing during last year's Telluride Film Festival, is a truly first-rate two-hander -- a pure-dialogue, character-revealing, heart-to-heart talkfest that knows what it's doing and ends sublimely. Yes, it all happens inside a Yellow Cab on...
7:45 pm: Okay, the initial light-hearted section (repartee, wedding, hospital, afterlife Joey Pants, healthy diet) was enjoyable, but Jesus, when and how did Martin Lawrence become Oliver Hardy? He’s funny in that bug-eyed, space-cadet way… 7:55 pm: And now it’s all cartel bad guys, ice-cold vibes, hard bullets, bad business,...

The Kamala surge is, I believe, mainly about two things — (a) people feeling lit up or joyful about being...
Unless Part Two of Kevin Costner's Horizon (Warner Bros., 8.16) somehow improves upon the sluggish initial installment and delivers something...
For me, A Dangerous Method (2011) is David Cronenberg's tastiest and wickedest film -- intense, sexually upfront and occasionally arousing...