Alas, No “Glory” Bump

by

I recently bought Criterion’s Tunes of Glory Bluray. I felt such holiday excitement as I popped it in, sitting on an ottoman with a cup of warm cider and anticipating some kind of luscious, old-school color bath, and in my favorite aspect ratio of 1.66:1…perfect!

Naturally I expected a “bump” of some kind — some kind of visual upgrade that would make this 1960 Ronald Neame film look like dessert. This is what Blurays are supposed to deliver, after all — versions of well-known films that look a little better than ever before, like they came straight from the lab, all fresh and gleaming. If Neame was somehow sitting beside me I would want him to exclaim, “My God, it’s never looked so good…heaven!”

Alas, the Criterion guys don’t necessarily believe in bumps. They deliver them frequently, but not always. Sometimes they get into one of their pissy moods and decide to throw a change-up.

Within five or ten minutes of watching their Tunes of Glory Bluray, I knew I’d been burned.

Sometimes Arthur Ibbetson‘s cinematography would look sufficient or, as some say, “good enough”; at other times it looked vaguely washed out and in one or two portions almost absurdly grainy. And it certainly lacked any semblance of what I would call sharpness.

Most of the time I felt as if I was watching a 16mm print bring projected onto somebody’s living room wall.

If you want to adopt a go-along attitude you could say it looks fine for the most part. There’s nothing “wrong” with the appearance of this 59 year-old British film except for the fact that it looks completely unexceptional and therefore hugely disappointing.

I had the same reaction to Criterion’s Rosemary’s Baby Bluray…a completely first-rate, professional-grade snooze.

From Gary Tooze’s recently posted DVD Beaver review: “It shifts quite dramatically from the weak SD but never looks crisp or glossy, maintaining the film’s grit and grain textures to the significantly higher degree offered by the HD resolution. There is an inherent softness and lack of depth that can give the perception of losing detail — it looks far more film-like in motion. I do see that it is slightly cropped on both side edges of the frame as compared to the old DVD. Overall the digital presentation gains significantly on the 4K restored Bluray.”

HE response: It’s fine but underwhelming…be honest! A first-rate transfer that will put you to sleep.

Criterion’s Tunes of Glory Bluray was restored in 2018 by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Film Archive and The Film Foundation in collaboration with Janus Films and The Museum of Modern Art. Restoration funding provided by George Lucas Family Foundation. The 35mm Eastman Color original camera negative and 35mm optical track positive are the sources of this digital restoration. 4K Scanning and Image Restoration by FotoKem Audio Restoration by Audio Mechanics.

Read more

Fassbinder’s “Despair”

by

I usually sleep six hours a night, sometimes seven. For a while I was in the habit of taking afternoon naps, which seemed like a good idea. But lately I’ve been taking Guarana, a natural caffeine-heavy appetite suppressant, and so the napping is more of an in-and-out thing. All to say I couldn’t wake up this morning to save my life. Slept until 10 am. Which explains the late start. On top of which I was ordered yesterday morning to vacuum all the rugs, etc. So that partially explains yesterday’s delay.

Safe Spaces

by

And here’s…Jennifer Jason Leigh, the unseen co-contributor and invisible costar of Marriage Story!

For seven or eight years Joe Wright was a cross between Chris Nolan, Sam Mendes and Steven Spielberg. Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, The Soloist, Hanna, Anna Karenina. I will never back away from the view that Karenina was drop-dead brilliant — the most thrilling and innovative adaptation of Tolstoy’s 1877 novel ever made. Then the calamity of Pan happened. Then Wright recovered somewhat with Darkest Hour, a conventional but reasonably effective biopic with an Oscar-winning lead performance.

And now Wright seems to be operating in the realm of…what, Curtis Hanson‘s The Bedroom Window? Maybe a touch of David Fincher‘s Panic Room? Something like that.

The Woman in the Window opens on 5.15.20. Written by Tracy Letts, shot by Bruno Delbonnel, scored by Danny Elfman and produced by Scott Rudin.

Big-city dwellers can hear someone shout or scream in the adjoining or upstairs apartment. Rear Window‘s James Stewart heard Raymond Burr‘s wife scream as he stared into a common backyard area in the West Village. But hearing a woman scream from across the street? Doubtful.

Thrown To The Lions

by

HE to Christianity Today‘s Mark Galli: The train left the station a long time ago, pal. Evangelical Christians have removed the entire Christian community from any ethical conversation about anything, for at least the next thousand years. Christian hucksters have been standing with rightwing corporate swine for decades now, starting with Reagan. Nobody’s listening. Yeshua will never stop throwing up. Over and out.

From Galli’s 12.19 editorial: “We have reserved judgment on Mr. Trump for years now. Some have criticized us for our reserve. But when it comes to condemning the behavior of another, patient charity must come first. So we have done our best to give evangelical Trump supporters their due, to try to understand their point of view, to see the prudential nature of so many political decisions they have made regarding Mr. Trump.

“To use an old cliché, it’s time to call a spade a spade, to say that no matter how many hands we win in this political poker game, we are playing with a stacked deck of gross immorality and ethical incompetence. And just when we think it’s time to push all our chips to the center of the table, that’s when the whole game will come crashing down. It will crash down on the reputation of evangelical religion and on the world’s understanding of the gospel. And it will come crashing down on a nation of men and women whose welfare is also our concern.”

Read more

Not Spelled “Mephistopheles”

by

I’m presuming this Cats sing-along wasn’t spontaneous. A group of devotees (and likely Kevin T. Porter pallies) almost certainly planned and rehearsed before the fact. Probably a less-than-1% chance that it happened otherwise. But if it did, it means something. Either way HE applauds the spirit of those who took part, even if they’re compulsive exhibitionists.

Significant info: Kevin Porter is a comedian, writer, podcast producer and, let’s just face it, A GOOD TIME.
He is the host and producer of the Good Christian Fun podcast. HE feels obliged to point out that in the current environment there is no such thing as “good Christian fun.” There is also the distinct possibility that given his religious leanings, Kevin may be a Trump supporter.

Read more

“Many Saints” In The Fall

by

Everyone is hot to see The Many Saints of Newark (Warner Bros., 9.25.20), otherwise known as the Sopranos prequel. It won’t open for another nine months, but it’s been research-screened a couple of times. It’s no run-of-the-mill crime drama, and I’m guessing it’ll play at one or more of the three major fall film festivals (Venice, Telluride, Toronto) of 2020. The Toronto gathering ends on 9.20 — Many Saints opens five days later.

[Click through to full story on HE-plus]

When Redford Was Good…

by

He was unsurpassed. He completely owns the Way We Were finale with Barbara Streisand. She obviously holds her end up, but 90% of the emotion is in Redford eyes, and in the masterful way he underplays his hand. Another actor with a little less discipline could have ruined it, but Redford knew; ditto director Sydney Pollack. As it is Marvin Hamlisch‘s music almost ruins it; just a bit more volume and a few more violins and the current would have dissipated.

Script Search

by

HE is seeking four scripts: (1) The Many Saints of Newark by David Chase and Lawrence Konner; (2) Nightmare Alley by Guillermo Del Toro and Kim Morgan; (3) News of The World by Luke Davies; and (4) The Witches by Robert Zemeckis. Thanks.

Holy Moley, Nanjiani!

by

Industry pally to HE: “When is HE going to post a think-piece about Kumail Nanjiani‘s much-buzzed-about body transformation for Marvel’s Eternals? As the literal geiger counter of Hollywood’s weight gain/loss neuroses, I feel you have a moral obligation to weigh in here. I myself scarcely know what to think about these things until I know where HE stands.”

HE to industry pally: “HE is more than impressed by Kumail’s transformation. I’m actually finding this photo a little scary. I mean, you could almost cast him as some kind of fierce-as-fuck guy in a mercenary film. The last time I spoke with Kumail he looked like his usual self. When and if he does stand-up at the Comedy Store will people be able to laugh? There’s something deeply unfunny about those pecs. Nonetheless, HE approves.”

Nanjiani: “I never thought I’d be one of those people who would post a thirsty shirtless photo, but I’ve worked way too hard for way too long.”

Peak Films of 20Teens

by

14 days hence begins the third decade of the 21st Century — the 2020s. Herewith my list of the top 15 films of the last decade (starting in 2010) as well as my year-by-year tallies, working backwards — 84 films in all:

TOP FIFTEEN OF THE LAST DECADE: Manchester By The Sea, A Separation, The Social Network, Zero Dark Thirty, The Irishman, Call Me By Your Name, Son of Saul, The Wolf of Wall Street, Leviathan, Joker, The Square, Moneyball, The Lighthouse, 12 Years A Slave, Dunkirk.

Best of 2019: The Irishman, Joker, Les Miserables, The Lighthouse, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, 1917, Marriage Story, Bombshell, Parasite, The Farewell (10).

Best of 2018: Roma, Green Book, First Reformed, Cold War, Hereditary, Capernaum, Vice, Happy As Lazzaro, Filmworker, First Man, Widows, Sicario — Day of the Soldado. (12).

Best of 2017: Call Me By Your Name, Dunkirk, Lady Bird, The Square, War For The Planet of the Apes, mother!, The Florida Project. (7)

Best of 2016: Manchester By The Sea, A Bigger Splash, La La Land, The Witch, Eye in the Sky, The Confirmation, The Invitation. (6)

Best of 2015: Spotlight, The Revenant; Mad Max: Fury Road; Beasts of No Nation; Love & Mercy, Son of Saul; Brooklyn; Carol, Everest, Ant-Man; The Big Short. (10)

Best of 2014: Birdman, Citizen Four, Leviathan, Gone Girl, Boyhood, Locke, Wild Tales. (7)

Best of 2013: The Wolf of Wall Street, 12 Years A Slave, Inside Llewyn Davis, Her, Dallas Buyers Club, Before Midnight, The Past, Frances Ha (8).

Best of 2012: Zero Dark Thirty, Silver Linings Playbook, Amour, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Barbara, The Grey, Moonrise Kingdom (7).

Best of 2011 (ditto): A Separation, Moneyball, Drive, Contagion, X-Men: First Class, Attack the Block (6).

Best of 2010: The Social Network, The Fighter, Black Swan, Inside Job, Let Me In, A Prophet, Animal Kingdom, Rabbit Hole, The Tillman Story, Winter’s Bone (10).

Son of Suburban Leaf Gutters

by

Originally posted on 8.3.18, or 16 months ago: Cleaning rain gutters is one of the most miserable chores I’ve ever had to do, especially if you live in the Northeast and you’re scooping out that sickening, ice-cold mush on a windy, freeezing day any time between late November and mid-April. While standing on an extension or step ladder, of course, with your cheeks turning red from the cold and your teeth chattering as you mutter profanities and generally curse God, the earth, your life, your father (the ogre who made you do this) and definitely the trees for dumping their leaves in the first place.

And of course, you always have peel back the frozen chicken-wire mesh that’s been attached to the gutters to keep the leaves out, which is to say “not really.” You also have to dump the frozen glop into a bucket or plastic garbage bag, which means you have to climb down and dump the contents every five or ten minutes. The only way your hands can stand the cold is to wear two sets of gloves — plastic dishwashing gloves covered by winter or all-weather work gloves. I’m getting angry all over again just thinking about this. This was my life in my mid teens. Awful. Here I am decades later and still bitching about it.

Read more

What Say Ye, Joe Popcorn?

by

Hollywood Elsewhere’s view is that (a) the Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic guys are being overly harsh about the shortcomings of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and (b) that despite the overly accelerated first half J.J. Abrams‘ film is at the very least “okay,” as a critic friend remarked two days ago.

As the first commercial screenings are beginning on the east coast as we speak (3 pm Pacific), HE is soliciting any and all reactions.

HE’s latest ranking of all Star Wars features, as of 12.19.19:

1. The Empire Strikes Back (far and away the best, a world-class film noir, a keeper now and forever)
2. A New Hope (very good opener, excellent Alec Guinness, not as gripping as Empire)
3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
4. The Last Jedi (excellent cinematography, didn’t care for the Luke fake-out finale or the casino sequence)
5. The Rise of Skywalker (if you can get past that first hour)
6. Return of the Jedi (HE will always hate the Ewoks and especially that Endor-celebration-around-a-bonfire ending)
7. The Force Awakens
8. Revenge of the Sith
9. Attack of the Clones
10. The Phantom Menace
11. Solo: A Star Wars Story

Read more