15 Songs I loved in 2015 + 5 more on the Edge of Glory

15 Songs I loved in 2015 + 5 more on the Edge of Glory
in alphabetical order

Blank Space Taylor Swift
BURNITUP! Janet Jackson with Missy Elliot
Can't Feel my Face The Weeknd
Cool for the Summer Demi Lovato
Dime Store Cowgirl Kacey Musgraves
The Eye Brandi Carlile
Fight Song Rachel Platten
Glory John Legend and Common (from Selma
I Know Places Ryan Adams
Million Years Ago Adele
Rebel Heart Madonna (favorite of the year)
Ring of Keys Sydney Lucas (from Fun Home)
She Used to be Mine Sara Barielles (from Waitress the musical)
When your Feet Won't Touch the Ground Matthew Morrison and Aiden Gemme (from Finding Neverland the musical)
You're so Beautiful Jussie Smollett (from Empire)


And 5 almost or ones that I forgot about

Delilah Florence and the Machine
FlashLight Jessie J (from Pitch Perfect 2)
The Night is Still Young Nicki Minaj
Uptown Funk Bruno Mar and Mark Ronson
WTF Missy Elliot with Pharrell Williams

Southpaw and a dozen sports movies for the non sporty

Southpaw is a movie about boxing that perhaps suffers ever so slightly because I just saw Creed a couple weeks ago.  Creed has an interesting story to tell while Southpaw bring practically every boxing cliche into one movie.   There is nothing terrible about it per se, but there is nothing we haven't seen many times before and  seen it done better.  It's all here: a boxer falls from grace to make a comeback, his wise coach reluctantly takes him on, and there is an  estranged family member.   I bet you can imagine how this will end.   There will be a boxing match and the main character will win. That's not really a spoiler because that is pretty much how it always happens unless it is a Rocky movie.  I think Jake Gyllenhaal is a great actor, and I admire his commitment, but frankly I think he was miscast in this role.  The best acting for me was done by the actor who played his  daughter, Oona Laurence.   Otherwise there isn't much special about this.

Southpaw 5 out of 10

I'm not a huge sport fan so it takes something extra to keep me entertained, so here in alphabetical order are 12 great sports movies for the non sports fan.  Their sport of choice is in parenthesis.

Bend it Like Beckham (soccer)
Creed (boxing)
Field of Dreams (baseball)
Foxcatcher (wrestling)
The Heart of the Game (basketball documentary)
Hoop Dreams (basketball documentary)
The Iron Ladies (volleyball)
The Karate Kid (karate. The 1980s version obviously)
A league of their own (baseball)
Million Dollar Baby (boxing)
Moneyball (baseball)
Murderball (Wheelchair rugby documentary)

Any that you would add?

The Top 15 TV series of 2015

The Top 15 Series of 2015. These can be comedy, drama, reality, and miniseries.

15.  Crazy Ex-girlfriend (CW)

The whole thing can be a little annoying Taylor Swift stalkery, however the songs are hilarious.   I hope this one lives to see another season.

14.  Fargo (FX)

This will be closer to the top of a litigator people's lists.  I actually preferred season 1 and some of this was out there.  I loved performances by Bokeem Woodbine, Jean Smart and especially Kirsten Dunst.

13.  Jane the Virgin (CW)

This great ensemble continues to charm in Season 2.  The show has even more heart this season.

12.  Parks and Recreation (NBC)

The Amy Poehler classic was a little uneven in its final time jumping season, but the series finale was perfect.

11.  Looking (HBO)

One of the most honest portrayals of gay men on television was cancelled too soon.  Luckily we have a HBO movie finale to look forward to in 2016.

10.  Mad Men (AMC)

The final season was a bit uneven but the last few episodes gave many of the characters resolution if not a happily ever after.  Jon Hamm finally won a well deserved Emmy for one of TVs iconic characters.

9.  Empire (FOX)

The show lost its way a bit at the beginning of Season 2, but brought it back before the mid season finale.   But in the first half of the year there was not a show that was more talked about. It deserved all the hype.  

8.  blackish (ABC)
blackish was very funny in season 1, but it came back in season 2 with something to say.  It took on church and the n word, and it always did it in a funny way.  The season finale is forgiven!

7.  The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)

It had lots of heart, but also nothing was off limits in the name of funny.  I can't wait to watch season 2 with some Peeno Noir.

6.  The Affair (Showtime)
Season 1 was more a relationship drama, but season 2 was more of a heavy plotted soap opera and there isn't any shame in that.

5. Survivor Cambodia- Second Chance (CBS)

Perhaps you have up on Survivor long ago. That's too bad because this season was the best season since the first season.

4.  Unreal (Lifetime)
Lifetime made an excellent show that was both a scathing look at realty television and respectful soap opera.  

3.  Transparent (Amazon)
The best show of 2014 was still amazing, but I personally could've used more Maura and less of her f$&@ up kids.  Fortunately , there was also more Judith Light.

2.  Getting On (HBO)

This is one of HBO's lesser noticed shows. It is based on a British comedy about a geriatric hospital.  Alex Borstein, Niecy Nash and Laurie Metcalf were comic and dramatic gold.   Sadly season 3 was the last.   Long live Varla!

1.  Please Like Me (Pivot)

The best show on television is an Australian show on a channel called Pivot that most people don't even know they have.  Season 1 was entertaining, season 2 was a bit dark but uneven, but this year season 3 was closest thing to television perfect.   It does an amazing job of showing what it's like to be in your 20s and what it's like to be human.

Mr. Holmes and the Case of the Actors Who Should Have Oscars.

Sir Ian McKellan is an actor I wish had an Oscar.  In fact I'd have given him two.     He was absolutely robbed for the film Gods and Monsters, and his Gandalf made this non fantasy loving guy love Lord of the Rings.  As he gets older his chances dwindle, but when I hard about Mr.  Holmes with him playing an elderly Sherlock Holmes, being directed by Gods and Monsters Bill Condom and co starring another relatively deserving Oscarless actor, Laura Linney, I thought there might be hope. But it is not to be.  Sir Ian McKellan is wonderful in the film, but it has all of the dramatic tension of a lesser episode of Downton Abbey.   It is too slight to even be considered for any any major nominations.  So again, I begin to give up hope  that Sir Ian will get an Oscar.  

That had me thinking about other deserving actors who have been nominated  but have never won. Here  are a few living actors who have been the bridesmaids but never the bride.


Glenn Close:
Should have an Oscar for: Dangerous Liaisons

My favorite female actors is also One of Oscar's biggest losers.  She has been nominated six times and honestly should have probably only won for Dangerous Liaisons and possibly Fatal Attraction (but I won't lie I was cheering for Cher that year).   Since movie roles are harder to find as actresses age unless they are name Meryl, she may have to wait until her inevitable honorary Oscar.

Johnny Depp
Should  have won an Oscar for: Edward  Scissorhands, a role he didn't receive a nomination for.

Johnny Depp has been nominated three times, and though he didn't win I would've been Ok  with a win for two of those three although he wouldn't have been my personal choice.  He probably won't ever win because quite frankly he could not care less.

Amy Adams
Should've won for: Junebug, her first nomination.

I've actually grown less enamored with Amy Adams roles since she has  continued to receive 5 nominations.   She does best at comedy mixed with drama and hopefully one day she will win for a deserved role.

Sigourney Weaver-
Should've won for: Being deliciously evil as Catherine in Working Girl.

 Another winless  actress after three nominations  whose time has maybe passed is Sigourney Weaver.  She had a great shot the year she was nominated for Workung Girl and Gorillas in the Mist  in the same year but it was not to be.  She has not been nominated since.

Leonardo Dicaprio
Should've won for: What's Earing Gilbert Grape and Django Unchained

Leonardo has been nominated 5 times.   This year  may be it.   I have not seen the The Revenant yet, but I will know soon if he deserves this seemingly inevitable Oscar or if it is a makeup career award.

oh and my grade for Mr. Holmes is 6 out of 10

While the world went loco over Star Wars, here are some movie I saw.

Here are a few movies I saw recently in theaters and at home.

Creed- I must admit when I saw that Michael B Jordan was following up his Fantastic Four flop with a Rocky sequel, I thought a promising Hollywood career was about to end before it really got started. Then the reviews came in for Creed, and they were exceedingly positive, so I had to see for myself.  They were correct. Creed is the sequel (and yes it is a sequel) that the original Rocky  deserved.  My eyes glaze over for most sports movies, and Creed is good because it has more story than boxing matches.  Michael B. Jordan does a great job carrying the torch, but Sylvester Stallone is really the one here that gives the really special performance here.  The one time student becomes the teacher here and gives a heart filled performance with depth as he shows us world weary Rocky facing his mortality.  It may not happen, but I hope Stallone is up for an Oscar this year! I also want this to be the end of the Rocky series as Creed is the comeback kid of a film series that became a joke. Alas I'm sure Hollywood won't let the series go out on this note.  

Creed 9 out of 10

The connection: it's basically a French version of the French connection with Academy Award winning Jean Dujardin in the lead.  It was also pretty boring, long and not particularly interesting.  I struggled to get through the last half.

The Connection 4 out of 10


Tangerine- Tangerine was filmed on an iPhone, but it is more than that gimmick.   It shows the Hollywood world through the eyes of two transgender women  trying to survive.  The glossy Hollywood scene is not here, and the film does a good job showing a world that any tourist could easily walk into, and not actually really even notice these people.  It's at times incredibly funny, but also amazingly sad.  I didn't think the acting was as great as some did, but Tangerine is definitely a movie I enjoyed.

Tangerine 7 out of 10

Ricki and the Flash- There was a good story here to be told and all the actors are game.  Unfortunately, too much of the story time is given to Meryl Streep and Rick Springfield performing Lady Gaga covers.  Both give nice performances when not just singing. As does the amazing Audra MacDonald in an underwritten supporting role.   The movie itself is underwritten.  Not enough time is given to Ricki's relationship with her family.  What could've been a great movie is merely decent.  

Ricki and the Flash 6 out of 10

Dope- in many ways Dope is just a entertaining 1980s styled sex comedy or John Hughes film starring a primarily African American cast.   What I liked about it though is how it turned many stereotypes on its head.  The lead character is a 90s hip hop loving nerd trying to get into college who has a hard time escaping his neighborhood.  How often do we see that kind of black character in film? Not often enough

Dope 7 out of 10

The Final Girls- I liked the idea of teenagers being pulled into the world of a 1980s slasher flick.  It has a bit too much of a Cabin in the Woods feel to me as it often heads into the absurd. However, a lot of laughs are to be had at the way it satirizes 1980s slasher movie.  The filmmakers are clearly making fun of something they love.

The Final Girls 6 out of 10.

Grading Adele 25: Track by Emotive Track

i thought about doing this when 25 came out since there was/is so much hype around it, but Entertainment weekly beat me to it.  I wanted to let the songs marinate a couple weeks so I could be as objective as possible.   I also want to put out that I am a fan of Adele, but I a not insane about her like some people. However, I'm certainly not an Adele hater.  So here we go.

1. Hello- You know it's a really nice song, but I'm probably never going to understand why it's as big as it is.  It is certainly lyrically strong while kind of so so musically.  I think it just came out at the right moment and set fire (to the rain)

Hello B+

2. Send my Love (To Your New Lover)- I like the jazzy bluesy turn that this album has taken, but my biggest complaint is how ballad heavy it is.  Rolling in the Deep is one of Adele's classics and there is very little up tempo like it  on this album.  Send Your Love is basically it and while it is no Rolling in the Deep, I like the different almost Calypso direction it goes.

Send My Love (To Your New Lover) B+

3.  I Miss You- Despite the drumbeats, this one is the perfect example of my one big complaint about this album.   There are a couple too many interchangeable ballads.   For me this is the least notable track on the album.

I miss you- C+

4.  When We Were Young- before you call me a hater, I will tell you I love this, and I hope I see many a torch song singer perform it at cabarets for years to come.  I also like that it gets away from the traditional verse-chorus hook pop song structure.  It deserves to be a classic.

When We Were Young A

5.  Remedy- Another ballad, but it's one of the better one in the album.  I like the piano on the track.

Remedy B+

6.  Water Under the Bridge- I can appreciate the little necessary pep in the step to this one, but it is tough one for me because I have a hard time with songs that have a cliche as their title.  It is a good song though.

Water Under the Bridge. B

7.  River Lea- I like the verses and the organ in this song, but I find the chorus repetitive and underwhelming.

River Lea B

8.  Love in the Dark- for me it is another interchangeable ballad that isn't particularly special.  It's fine.  I just feel like I've heard it before.  On this album.

Love in the Dark B-

9.  Million Years Ago- "He's a hater", you say.   I scoff.  I love this one.  In fact it's my favorite track on the album.  I love the bluesy sung in a divey cantina feel.  I love that Adele sings all of our regrets so we don't have to.  It probably won't be a hit track on the album.  Too bad.  It's perfect

Million Years Ago A+

10.  All I Ask- if there was just one more When We Were Young or Million Years ago on this album it would probably be my favorite album of the year.  But alas another interchangeable ballad.  Albeit a good one.  I like the Dionne Warwick feel at the end of the chorus.

All I Ask- B+

11.  Sweetest Devotion- it definitely feels like an end of the album track.  I would have liked the album to go out with a bang.   This doesn't quite accomplish that.  B-

Overall 25 is a good maybe great album that doesn't quite live up to the hype.  But what could?

25- If there was a great between B+ and B, I would give it that, but since there is not I give it a B+

Short Reviews of home viewed movies

The End of the tour: You don't have to know anything about the late author David Foster Walkace to enjoy this film that does a nic job to getting to the heart and humanity of an author who is being interviewed by a Rolling Stone reporter played by Jesse Eisenberg.   At about an hour and ten minutes the conversation between the two men starts to run its course a bit, but Jason Segel gives a career changing performance as David Foster Wallace.   While it's doubtful, it'd be nice to see him recognized when Oscar nominations come out.   7 out of 10

Me, Earl and the Dying Girl- While the three main character have interesting relationships in this film, the film itself is pretty basic Sundance indie.   There are lots of quirky cliches (like the folksy cool but annoying parents that almost no one in real life has), and the whole premise of the two leads remaking classic films is a flimsy one. The filmmaker should gave trusted that the leads could be interesting characters and telling their stories would have been enough.  6 out of 10

The Wolfpack- here is another film with teenagers remaking movies. This time it's about a group of brothers who are forced by their father to stay holed up in their New York apartment.   There should be an interesting story there, but only glimpses of it are told.  I did like when the brothers finally got to explore the world outside their apartment, but the film doesn't do much to differentiate between all of the similar looking brothers.  6 out of 10

The Salt of the earth- Sebastião Salgado is a great photographer, and here  he talks about how his beautiful photos as they are displayed on this screen this documentary is like watching someone's vacation slide show.   It's dull but very pretty.   I basically watched it because it was nominated for an Academ award for best documentary.   On a side now that I've seen all 5 nominees from last year. This is how I'd rank them.

5.  The Salt of the Earth
4. Last Days of Vietnam
3. CitizenFour
2.  Virunga
All of these are underwhelming.   I gave them all a 5 or 6.  The only documentary from these nominees that I can recommend without reservation is
1. Finding Vivian Maier

Hopefully the Academy will choose a better group of docs this year.


Cinderella- I was surprisingly charmed by this film. This may be the best version of Cinderella I've seen.  Even though there are basically no songs, Disney is able to use special effects in a powerful way to show the transformation Cinderella goes through to go to the ball.  It also takes a bit of a feminist bend on a story that definitely needs it.  My only minor complaints are that the story drags a bit after the ball (but this happens in every adaptation), and I would've liked to have seen Cate Blanchett go more over the top as the step mother.  Kenneth Branagh does a nice directing job here.  8 out of 10

Film Reviews: Slices of American Pie

When something tragic like the Paris attacks and 9/11 happen, the aftermath can bring out the best in humanity.  Unfortunately,as I have seen in the last couple weeks, it also does the opposite for some people.

Coincidentally the last two weekends I saw two films that were for good or bad truly unique American stories.

Spotlight directed by Thomas McCarthy is about one of America's (and ultimately the world's) most tragic stories.  It is about the cover up that happened to protect priests in Boston (and ultimately the rest of the country and the world) who were sexually abusing children.

The story is interestingly told from the media's point of view which was an interesting choice when you think about how much news media is disliked in modern American society.  What I hoped would not happen is that the media would be seen as the perfect savior of these victims.   Thankfully this is not that kind of story.  The movie doesn't point fingers in one place, but points it's fingers in multiple places and shows there is enough blame to go around even among the films protagonists, the Boston Globe news organization. Ultimately, the movie is brave enough to finally tell the story that desperately needs to be told.

This is a peak in Thomas McCarthy's sparse yet interesting directing career.  He has dealt with tough issues in a more folksy way before as he dealt with illegal immigration in the great film The Visitor.  This is his first film to take an unflinching look at a tough topic, and he gets away from a few of his indie film quirks. Hopefully what he does here in Spotlight is only the beginning for him.

As for the acting, this is truly an ensemble film and for the most part all of his main characters are able to show something interesting because of the capable actors playing them.   Liev Schreiber plays against type in perhaps his quietest least showy role ever.  Rachel McAdams is forgiven for the romance/romantic comedy hell she put many through.   Her role isnt so much a standout as it shows that she's been capable of so much more than what she was previously given.  Hopefully, she will be given that chance.  Michael Keaton plays Michael Keaton well here and coming on the heels of losing the Oscar in Birdman, he may get some recognition for this.   However, the actor who does the most with his role is not surprisingly Mark Ruffalo who is always great at making roles that are not always written as the most interesting and Making them into something that steals the show.

Spotlight isn't an easy film, but it is a must see.  It is one of those films that shows a dark side of our country and hopes that by being reminded of our dark moments in history, we will never let them happen again.

Much less dark is Brooklyn.  It's the American immigrant story that we have seen in film many times before  .  Especially now I can see that it might get criticized for glamorizing and white washing the immigration experience. That would beside the point though as Brooklyn tells the ultimate American Dream folktale  through the eyes of an Irish woman played by Saoirse Ronan who played the young manipulating child in the otherwise awful adaptation of Atonement.

The film is an important reminder especially now that America is a nation of immigrants and how dare we build walls and shield ourselves from others who may want their chance to partake in this land of opportunity.  It is ultimately not a heavy movie and doesn't need to be to get its message through.

Visually the movie is a beautiful painting. Backdrops, costumes and even eyes are colored with soft yet lush pastel colors.  The.performances are also great.  There are some nice supporting roles here for Jim Broadbent and especially Julie Walters.  Emory Cohen as Tony is likely to breakout big after this very charming role.   But it is young Saoirse Ronan who steers the film sometimes with only a
facial expression who deserves the most recognition.  She has the potential to have the career of the Meryl Streeps and the Glenn Closes of the world.

Brooklyn is a charming film and it is the kind of film that Hollywood used to make and rarely does anymore.  It is the kind of film that makes the viewer want to soar.

Spotlight 9 out of 10
Brooklyn 9 out of 10

Other great films that  show the dark side of religious power: The Magdalene Sisters, Doubt, The Boys of St. Vincent, Priest, and Deliver Us from Evil

Other great film about the American immigration experience: The Visitor, A Better Life, In America, House of Sand and Fog, and The Namesake.

My Top 20 Showstopping Singalong Musicals

This  is not to be confused with my favorite musicals of all time.  For example Next to Normal would be high on that list, but it's not exactly a sing a long musical so it's not on this list.  To qualify the show had to have three or more strong sing a long songs.  Jukebox musicals like Mamma Mia and American Idiot and musicals based on musical movies like Beauty and the Beast and Grease were not eligible.

20.. Guys and Dolls

Three best singalong songs: Three best singalong songs: Sit Down You're Rockin the Boat, Adelaide's Lament, I've never been in love before.  

19. Sound of Music (perhaps one of the mst overrated musicals, but it does have some strong songs)

My Favorite Things, Climb Every Mountain, Edelweiss

18.  Hairspray 

Good Morning Baltimore, You Can't Soo the Beat, I Can Hear the Bells.  

17.  Annie

Tomorrow, It's a hard knock life and Maybe

16. Sunset Boulevard

As if we never said Goodbye, The Lady's Paying and With One Look

15.  My Fair Lady

I could've danced all night, On the street where you live, Wouldn't it be loverly.  

14.  Matilda

Naughty, When I grow up, My House

13.  The King and I

Something Wonderful, I Have Dreamed, I Whistle a Happy Tune.  

12.  Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Wig in a Box, Midnight Radio, and Wicked Little Town

11. Phantom of the Opera

The show itself I don't think too much of, but it has a lot of great songs.  AllI Ask if You, Music of the Night, Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again.  

The Top 10

10.  Avenue Q. 

There's a fine fine line, Everyone's a little bit racist, if you were gay

9.  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

A Little Priest, Not While I'm Around, By The Sea

8.  A Chorus Line

Nothing, At the Ballet, What I Did for Love

7.  Evita
This is where I start having a hard time choosing only three.  Another Suitcase in Another Hall, Don't Cry for me Argentina, Rainbow High

6.  Cabaret
Cabaret, Maybe this time, Willkommen

5.  Wicked
The top 5 get five songs each.  Popular, Defying Gravity, For Good, I'm not that girl, No one mourns the Wicked.

4.  West Side Story
Somewhere, America, A Boy Like That/I Have a Love, I feel Pretty, One Hand OneHeart.  Even choosing just 5 was hard.

3.  Into the Woods
No one is alone, Moments in the Woods, I know things now, Giants in the sky, Stay with me

2. Rent
La Vie Boheme, Light my Candle, I'll Cover You, Tango Maureen, What You Own

1. Les Misérables
The perfect musical except when Javert sings.   It gets ten songs!  I dreamed a dream, Master of the House, Do You Hear The People Sing, one Day More, On my own, A little fall of rain, Empty Chaurs at Empty Tables, bring Him Home, Fantine's Death: Come to Me, Valjean's Death: Finale

Two horrors and a heart

Since it is Halliween week, I decided to pick up some new horror movies.

Insidious 3 was one of the films and I need to be reminded when part 4 inevitably comes out that I really don't like this horror franchise.  The first one was pretty good. I didn't like the second one at all, and the third one is just slightly better than 2.  Insidious 3 adds nothing new to the series, but what it does have is more Lin Shaye who is really the best part of the whole series.   If they want to keep going they really need to make her the lead. She,is much more compelling that Dermot Mulroney who is considered the lead of this one.

Then I caught We are Still Here which on the surface doesn't add much to the whole haunted house genre. But a funny thing happened, and I can't get this one out of my head.   The story itself isn't so fresh, but it feels very real because the cast is made up of middle age normal looking actors who you could just as easily spot at the grocery store.  While it is not particularly original, it does deserve a watch for its realistic approach to the genre.


Then I had enough of average horror films, and I needed some heart. I found that with I'll See you in My Dreams.  It's hard to believe that Blythe Danner has never been a lead in a film, but she has definitely earned the chance and she is the best part of this movie.  The movie itself is charming, but has its problem plot points that I won't ruin.  I liked the scenes with her friends.  Danner's character is friends with characters played by June Squibb, Rhea Perlman, and Mary Kay Place, who should be the next incarnation of The Golden Girls.  It's also nice to see Sam Elliot who will still be sexy at any age as well.  I would definitely not be disappointed if Blythe Danner gets an Oscar nomination for this.  It's a lovely performance.

Insidious 3- 5 out of 10
We Are Still Here 6 out of 10
I'll See you in my Dreams 7 out of 10

Actors of the future

In 2009 I saw a performance by a relatively unknown actor that blew me away. The actor was Carey Mulligan and the film was the excellent An Education.  I hoped that based on that performance, Mulligan would have an interest career ahead of her.  So far I have not been disappointed. She has made interesting choices as opposed to popular ones.  She has continued to show quality work in movies like Drive, Never Let me Go, and most notably in Shame with Michael Fassbender.  2015 has been a good year for her.  She is getting good reviews in Suffragette, and earlier this year she starred as a more conflicted Elizabeth Bennet type character in the costume drama Far From the Maddening Crowd.  In this film her character Bathsheba Everdene (she knows it is a terrible name) was not two but three men vying for her attention, but we know in the first five minutes who she should ultimately choose. The audience cheers for the brooding sexy sheep farmer played by Matthias Schoenaerts. With any luck Schoenaerts will be in every movie from now until the end of time.  There is nothing new here, but the leads have great chemistry.  It's charming, entertaining and comfortable.   It's streaming and on DVD now so check it out.

I bring Carey Mulligan up because 2015 has another fairly new performer blowing people away with an amazing performance.  Indie film lovers noticed Brie Larson a couple years ago in Short Term 12 and this summer she charmed larger audiences as Amy Schumer's sister in Traunwreck, but she may have just entered Academy award nominee with a great future ahead of her territory with an excellent performance in the new movie Room.

Room was a popular book a few years ago, and it is a hard book and movie to review without giving too much away.   Basically, it is a story told by a young child, played by Jacob Tremblay in one of the best performances I've seen a child actor ever give, about growing up in a small room with no contact  with anyone except his mother (played by Larson).  If you don't know the story that's as much plot as I am going to give away.  It is a riveting, harrowing and ultimately uplifting film and  Brie Larson will show you why she is one of the most interest actors to watch right now.  It is also great to see Joan Allen back again in a strong supporting performance.  Even if she a Little bit over botoxed these days, she is also an actor who has taken an interesting path and hopefully she will continue to get character roles like this as she gets older.

The subject matter of Room is a little tough, but it would be a shame to miss out on one of the best performances of the year by Brie Larson.  Get ready! This is an actor we will be hearing a lot more from!

Far from the Maddening Crowd 8 out of 10
Room 9 out of 10

If I chose the Emmys-The Winners

Oops I forgot about these! better late than never!

Best Female Actor  (Lead or Supporting) in a TV Movie or Miniseries
Khandi Alexander Bessie
Zoe Kazan Olive Kitteridge
Jessica Lange American Horror Story:Freak Show
Queen Latifah Bessie
Frances McDormand Olive Kitteridge-WINNER
Mo'Nique Bessie
Sarah Paulson American Horror Story: Freak Show

Best Male Actor (Lead or Supporting) in a TV movie or Mini Series
John Gallagher Jr.  Olive Kitteridge
Richard Jenkins Olive Kitteridge
Bill Murray Olive Kitteridge
David Oyelowo Nightingale- WINNER
Cory Michael Smith Olive Kitteridge
Michael Kenneth Williams Bessie
Finn Wittrock American Horror Story: Freak Show

Best TV movie. Or mini series

American Horror Story: Freak Show
Bessie
Nightingale
Olive  Kitteridge-WINNER


Best Reality Television Show
The Next Food Star
Project Runway
Rupaul's Drag Race
Shark Tank
Survivor
Top Chef Boston - WINNER


Best Guest Actress in a Series
Christine Baranski The Big Bang Theory
Kate Burton Scandal-WINNER
Marla Gibbs Scandal
Allison Janney Masters of Sex
Laurie Metcalf The Big Bang Theory
Rita Moreno Jane the Virgin
Julianne Nicholson Masters of Sex
Cicely Tyson Scandal

Best Supporting Actor in a Conedy Series
Tituss Burgess Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt-WINNER
Jaime Camil Jane the Virgin
Adam Driver Girls
Nick Offerman Parks and Recreation
Marcus Scribner blackish

Steve Zissis Togetherness

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Allison Janney Mom
Carol Kane    Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Jenifer Lewis blackish
Melanie Lynskey Togetherness-WINNER
Lauren Weedman Looking
Constance Wu Fresh off the Boat

Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson blackish
Jonathan Groff Looking
Chris Messina The Mindy Project
Jim Parsons The Big Bang Theory
Jeffery Tambor Transparent-WINNER
Josh Thomas Please Like Me

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Tracee Ellis Ross blackish -WINNER
Mindy Kaling The Mindy Project
Ellie Kemper Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Lisa Kudrow The Comeback
Amy Poehler Parks and Recreation
Gina Rodriguez Jane the Virgin

Best Comedy Series

Blackish
Getting on
Looking
Parks and Recreation
Togetherness
Transparent-WINNER
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Guest Actor in a Series
Christian Borle Masters of Sex
Beau Bridges Masters of Sex
Reg E. Cathey House of Cards
Jon Hamm Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt-WINNER
Paul Rudd Parks and Recreation
Sam Shepard Bloodline
Courtney B. Vance Scandal
Bradley Whitford Transparent

Best Supporting Actress in A Drama Series
Uzo Aduba Orange is the New Black
Annaleigh Ashford Masters of Sex
January Jones Mad Men
Maura Tierney the Affair
Lorraine Toussaint Orange is the New Black-WINNER
Bellamy Young Scandal

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jim Carter Downton Abbey
Michael Kelly House of Cards
Ben Mendelsohn Bloodline-WINNER
Joe Morton Scandal
Craig T Nelson Parenthood
Jussie Smollett Empire

Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Kyle Chandler Bloodline
Jon Hamm Mad Men
Freddie Highmore Bates Motel
Peter Krause Parenthood
Kevin Spacey House.of Cards
Dominic West The Affair-WINNER


Best Lead Actress in a Drama
Lizzie Caplan Masters of Sex
Olivia Colman Broadchurch
Viola Davis How to Get Away With Murder
Taraji B. Henson Empire
Ruth Wilson The Affair
Robin Wright House of Cards-WINNER

Best Drama Series
The Affair
Empire
House of Cards
Mad Men
Orange is t he New Black-WINNER

PParenthood
The Walking Dead

Film: Short reviews of films I have recently seen: Goodnight Mommy, About Elly, Mad Max:Fury Road and Unfriended

Goodnight Mommy: This German film doesn't  really feel like a horror movie until the  final third.  It's story about a mother who gets plastic surgery and her children think she's an imposter takes a scary  turn into its last act and its chills are numerous.  Try not to figure out the twist.  I figured it out and it's more fun to not know.   7 out of 10

About Elly: Since The Separation, my favorite film of 2011, Ashghar Farhadi is a director I get excited to see we work. What a treat it was to watch About Elly, an earlier film of his.  While it feels a little soapier than A Separation and The Past.  Farhadi's  trademark of taking small moments and making them compelling human drama is here on display.   I definitely recommend it to view the early work of a filmmaker who I'm convinced will one day be considered a master.   8 out of 10

Mad Max: Fury Road- It is hard to argue that there hasn't been a more beautifully filmed movie than this Mad Max for a long time.  But let's face it, it's really just a movie with a lot of battles and chasing across the desert. As much as I live  Tom Hardy, his Mad Max feels like a supporting character.  The real stars here are Nicholas Hoult and especially Charlize Theron.  5 out of 10

Unfriended: This teen horror movie takes place on a character's computer screen. It is a device that I thought would get old as it did in an episode of Modern Family, but it is done here to great effect and the film is surprisingly suspenseful and interesting.  While it's still teen horror schlock, this cautionary tale about cyber bullying surprised me and definitely could've been much worse.  6 out of 10

Music: Madonna Live- Taking back her Crown

Last night in TD Garden I saw my fourth Madonna concert in her Boston stop of the Rebel Heart Tour.   After seeing her on her Drowned World Tour in 2001, Hard Candy Tour in 2008, and the MDNA tour in 2012, it was do or die for me when it comes to shelling out money to see Madonna perform. She has always charged a lot for her shows but hasn't left me disappointed--until the MDNA tour.   Her age was showing as her dancing became less tight and frankly the music from that album mostly wasn't very good.  After that show, I said no more Madonna concerts.

Then Rebel Heart happens.  Though it is one of her worst selling albums, Rebel Heart is Madonna's best collection of music since Ray of Light in the mid/late 1990s.  So when I saw that she was coming to Boston after some considerable hemming and hawing I decided to go.  But this time I bought cheap seats--relatively speaking.  I was not disappointed.   Madonna has redeemed herself with her music and her live performing.

The set list has always been a tricky thing for Madonna shows.  She, of course, wants to play her new material, but she has a hard time striking a good mix between new and old.  She did it best on the Hard Candy tour, but she is mostly successful on this  tour.  She has eliminated most of the filler tracks on Reb el Heart (except Body Shop) and played mst all the of great tracks on Rebel Heart.  In Boston the only great track excluded was her adult contemporary hit Ghosttown which she alternates with Who's that Girl as an acoustic track. You can't go wrong with either of those, but it made me wish she would just perform both like she did in Brooklyn.  The title track of Rebel Heart was the stand out. I enjoyed most all the rest of the new material (again except Body Shop) including Holy Water which isn't one of my favorite tracks, but the stage arrangement definitely kicked up its game a notch.

As for her old material Madonna goes back on this tour--far.  Minus two  songs, she pretty much ignores everything after the True Blue album through  MDNA. The  set list was sprinkled generously with her hits from the 80s--many of which she usually doesn't sing live too much.   It did my 1980s 15 year old heart good to hear her sing the forementioned Who's that girl, True Blue, and Dress You Up.  But she went back even further to the song that was her first well known music video, Burning Up.   The show ended with Holiday, and I know some disagree, but I think she should end every show with this song.  It never gets old.  It's a perfect concert ending.

Performance wise Madonna is realizing her limitations and that is OK.  She still does plenty of dancing, but she leaves the complicated moves to her dancers.   This gives her more time for singing. There was noticeably less lip syncing on this tour.   It is also to her credit that she allows the dancers to shine without her.   One of the best performance pieces was for Illuminati which is a song that she is totally off stage for making a costume change.

Whatever I gained in a lower ticket price, I lost in merchandise purchases which included two new T  shirts and Madonna men's briefs.  :), but I left a happy guy.  Again live Madonna had been redeemed for me.   I will definitely be back for show number 5.  She didn't disappoint.

Film: The strange worlds of Paul Thomas Anderson.

I finally saw Paul Thomas Anderson's Inherent Vice, and I have to admit it was a chore to get through.   I think it is basically an incomprehensible mess, but as the case with everyone of his films there is something worthwhile about it.  While I can declare this my least favorite of his films, I have heard that it is a good adaptation of the book Inherent Vice, and if that is the case that story was pretty unfilmable.  So good on him!  There are also scene stealing  moments from Hong Chau and especially Josh Brolin.  The screenplay has some humorous moments, but it basically links a lot of stories and characters together without much development.  Maybe it is supposed to represent the drug haze that everyone in the films seems to be in.   I give it 5 out of 10.

Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the most interesting filmmakers of our time even with this slight disappointment.  Here are my rankings of his work.  It should be noted that only the bottom 2 scored less than an 8 out of 10 from me.

7. Inherent Vice
6.  Punch-Drunk Love- an interesting detour for Adam Sandler. If only he had continued in that direction.
5.    Hard Eight- It's Anderson's debut.  Honestly until I reviewed the synopsis I kind of forgot I had seen it.  While it is maybe forgettable long term, I enjoyed it in the moment.
4.  Magnolia- the frogs almost did it in for me, but fortunately there is a lot of amazing acting in this film including turns from Julianne Moore, Jason Robards, and even Tom Cruise
3. The Master- One of Joaquin Phoenix's best performances and one of many great Philip Seymour Hoffman performances (which often came from PT Anderson movies).
2.  There Will Be Blood- this is most likely the film that will stand the test of time and has the best chance of becoming a film classic.  Daniel Day Lewis gives an iconic performance

But my favorite is

1. Boogie Nights-  the first time I saw this I wasn't a fan and I especially hated the Sister Christian scene, but something made me revisit it and apparently I just needed to mature a bit.  Boogie Nights is just as much of a classic film as There Will be Blood, but it's story about the world of porn is slightly less palatable.  The casting is spot on. Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds and yes Heather Graham gives career best performances here.  This is where I discovered Don Cheadle, and Julianne Moore and Philip Seymour Hoffman give two of the most complicated and beautiful performances I have seen on film.

Film: Coming out from different views

Anyone who watches gay independent films or especially American gay independent films know that a coming out story is a dime a dozen.  But that's only if the coming out in question is a white middle class Midwestern boy. Those are a dime a dozen.  There are some members of the gay population who do not get their coming out stories shown quite as often.   Two films I watched over the weekend share a different kind of coming out story with some degree of success.

Boulevard tells the coming out story of a 60 year old man played by the late great Robin Williams in his final film role.  His character, named Nolan, comes to a point in his life that he can not go on any longer living a lie.   Many men have sort of a second adolescence when they come out after their teen years.  I came out when a I was 23 and I definitely had a second adolescence that wasn't always such a good thing.  that isn't always a good thing.  Nolan has a bit of a second adolescence himself which causes him to make some choices that could have him lose his job, his wife,--everything. One night Nolan befriends a hustler named Leo, and the film does a nice job showing that even though they gradually get a little closer throughout the film, Leo always still sees Nolan as a way to make money and not much more.

Nolan's meeting with Leo serves as the catalyst that eventually forces Leo to live his truth.  After awhile the male prostitute plot gets a little tired, and the film is best in Robin William's quieter moments of anguish.  His best acting is not in his interaction with the hustler, but also with his long suffering loving wife played excellently by Kathy Baker.  Boulevard is a decent film elevated by what should be regarded as one of Robin Willuam's best performances.

Another population we don't see represented enough in gay movies is black men.  Patrick Ian Polk has made a career of trying to right that wrong with independent films like Punks and TV series like Noah's Arc. He continues to tell gay African American men's stories in Blackbird,  the story of a religious teenage boy named Randy in small town Mississippi.

Blackbird has a lot going well for it.  It does a great job showing a religious teenager coming to terms with his sexuality, then dealing with his parents, and ultimately falling in love.  That would be enough of a movie in itself so it is frustrating that there is so much more.  Too much.  The film is based on a book which I haven't read, so all the other parts may have come from the book.   It ultimately deals with abortion, being clairavoyant, a missing child, STDs, changing a gay person back to straight.  Like I said, It is too much.  It doesn't need all that.  Polk's created a world where Randy dealing with his sexuality, surrounded by his friends and his family (Mo'Nique and Isaiah Washington are best in show as the parents. ) and that should be enough.  All the rest of the sub plots feel unnecessary and at times make the film go over the top into after school special territory.  There is a good film inside Blackbird it just struggles a bit getting passed the other subplots in the film.

Boulevard 7 out of 10
Blackbird 6 out of 10

Film: The most unnecessary sequels

Residents of nursing homes and gay men crying into their pillows that there will never be a Golden Girl reunion were perhaps pining for the sequel to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel called not so cleverly The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  But that's about it.  No one else cared.  And there was a moment as I was watching it that I wondered Why? This totally unnecessary sequel reminded me that I just thought the movie was decent but charming.  This one is not.  It is a total bore, I will admit that I was distracted  by shiny silver fox object Richard Gere appearing in this.  But even my childhood crush could not save this.....zzzzz.  Sorry I nodded off.  Please stop opening hotels for us, Maggie Smith!

I'll keep it short-4 out of 10.

But this film reminded me of 9 other completely unnecessary sequels I've seen.  Here they are in no particular order.

 The Hangover 2- because why wouldn't a group of men have a completely over the top chaotic night again? And then a third time (I didn't watch that one)?

Smokey and the Bandit 3- for some reason when I was a kid I saw this A LOT! But why does it exist? no Burt Reynolds! And no pre cry baby Sally Field! boo!

Sex and the City 2- because after everything was all tied up after the first movie, the NYC  besties would of course go to......Dubai?

Jaws 2 and 3D- wow that shark is really spiteful!

Home Alone 2-Lost in New York- I know that some people really like this, but while I can maybe forgive accidentally leaving your kid at home while you go on vacation once, if you lose him in NYC after that I'm calling Child protective services.

Caddyshack 2- movies without any of the original stars and low rent imitations of the original actors ALWAYS work.  At least they got another Kenny Loggins song.

Hannibal (sequel to Silence of the Lambs and NOT the great TV show) - not so much unnecessary as insulting.  Thomas Harris wrote a great female character for Silence of the Lambs then ruins Clarice Starling  in this one.

Grease 2- this one hurts because the nostalgic part of me loves it and the songs, but none of the original actors  were in it except the teachers and Frenchy, and most of the actors looked at least 30.  (I still love it though, cool riders!)

And Weekend at Bernies 2- How is his body not decomposing yet?

Film/TV Documenting Chaos

Over the last week I caught three different documentaries that told the stories of different chaotic lives with varying degrees of success.  

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief

There's is a moment in this film when they are explaining the belief system of the Scientology religion where I thought to myself, "I still have no idea what these people believe!".  What I do know is that Scuentology is insanity, and I've thought a lot this week about what would bring seemingly somewhat intelligent people  into this religion.  I still really have no idea.   What becomes more obvious through interviews of credible ex members is that the whole thing is a scam cult. Both John Travolta and Tom Cruise, perhaps the most famous scuentologists, are not interviewed, but they are given their own segments via news footage.  When  I finished John Travolta's segment, I just felt sorry for him because he is clearly struggling with some things if he needs to cling onto this.  Tom Cruise was a different story.  He clearly has an insane god complex, and now I am more resolute to not see any of his movies anymore. Luckily he hasn't made anything recently that I've actually wanted to see.  If you get a chance, catch this film. It is definitely interesting and exasperating.  

8 out,of 10

Kurt Cobain : Montage of Heck

Kurt Cobain's ultimately tragic story is told differently than a conventional documentary. While there are some interviews of loved ones, most of his story is told through home video footage, his music, and some of his other art work and journals. The artwork and journal entries are interesting at first but because a little bit repetitive by the end of the two hour  film.  The home video footage is more revealing.  The saddest and scariest moment is when he is interacting with his baby while he's totally fried on drugs.   As his parents, friends and the great Courtney Love tell his story, it becomes obvious that the story was always going to end the way that it did.  His legacy should be his musical talent and not the way he died.  Unfortunately, that isn't the way it will ever be.  

7 out of 10

Citizenfour

This was this year's Oscar winner for best documentary, and I can't really understand why.  Other than the fact that it was so timely, and the fact that this filmmaker had such access to Edward Snowden as he leaked classified information.  It had to be the immediacy of the event because this isn't great documentary film making.   Long moments of people staring and not talking does not tell me a story. The film definitely paints Snowden as a hero, while I don't  necessarily think it is quite that black and white.   I just think something with the intrigue of this story  shouldn't be this dull.  Hey, they got an Oscar. What do I know?

5 out of 10

Theatre: Broadway-ish

Over the past week I've been lucky enough to see three different performances  from three different  Broadway stars.  It's been one singular sensational week!

Idina Menzel in Concert-  I've Been following Idina's career since I fell in love with Rent, sigh, twenty years ago.   I finally was able to see her on Broadway last year in If/Then, a show and performance that I think is really underrated.  I was excited to catch her world tour last week in Boston. She sings a couple forgettable tracks from her previous studio albums, but the rest of her set was songs from her shows, songs from other Broadway shows and remakes.  She gives her all to every one of her singing performances.  Standouts were Defying Gravity, an acapella For Good, Annie's Tomorrow, and surprisingly a remake of Radiohead's Creep.  You can tell that the between song banter is not her specialty because those moments lessened the energy. Luckily, everything was back to a great place when she started singing again with that amazing unique voice. 

Waitress: A New Musical : 

Cambridge's excellent A.R.T. theater is presenting Waitress directed by  Diane Paulus before it heads to Broadway.   Paulus has had quite a streak at A.R.T. and Broadway with Tony favorite revivals Porgy and Bess and Pippin and the crowd pleasing Finding Neverland.   It remains to be seen if Waitress will continue her streak because it definitely needs some work.  The play does a great job recreating the setting of the original excellent film.  the dialogue and some characters are a  bit clunky though , but it's fixable.  I just hope they take the time to work on those things before heading to Broadway.  I didn't know what to think when I heard Sara Bareilles was writing the songs for the show, but they are definitely the highlight.  I'm very much looking forward to the cast recording even if there is one ballad too many in the second act.  There is some casting that may need to be changed for Broadway, but getting rid of Tony Winning Jessie Mueller would be a huge mistake.  Her unique voice is perfectly suited for the folky songs.   I'm cheering for this one to do well, but until some tweaking happens Broadway success seems iffy.  That said Boston seems to love the whole run has been sold out.  I had to buy a scalped ticket on Dtubhub to go at markup price.  The audience minus the theatre geeks I was sitting next to was not disappointed.   So what do I know?

Hedwig and the Angry Inch starring Taye Diggs-

It is coincidence that I saw Taye Diggs perform in the same week as his ex wife Idina Menzel. Hedwig is officially the show I've seen the most. After Saturday night's performance it was my 6th time to see it on and away from Broadway.  And while it was not my favorite performance of it,  Taye Diggs does a nice job of making it his own.   He has a nice time with an audience pointing out that he's, in fact, a black Hedwig, and poking fun at the primarily white Broadway audience.  He's a better singer than his Rent character showed. His jazzing up the Hedwig songs was surprisingly not unwelcome.  Hedwig finishes its successful Broadway run next week, and it is nice that it is going out with a talented cast and some diversity.  

If I chose the Emmy nominees: Part 3

Best Guest Actress in a Series
Christine Baranski The Big Bang Theory
Kate Burton Scandal
Marla Gibbs Scandal
Allison Janney Masters of Sex
Laurie Metcalf The Big Bang Theory
Rita Moreno Jane the Virgin
Julianne Nicholson Masters of Sex
Cicely Tyson Scandal

Best Supporting Actor in a Conedy Series
Tituss Burgess Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Jaime Camil Jane the Virgin
Adam Driver Girls
Nick Offerman Parks and Recreation
Marcus Scribner blackish
Steve Zissis Togetherness

Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Allison Janney Mom
Carol Kane    Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Jenifer Lewis blackish
Melanie Lynskey Togetherness
Lauren Weedman Looking
Constance Wu Fresh off the Boat

Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson blackish
Jonathan Groff Looking
Chris Messina The Mindy Project
Jim Parsons The Big Bang Theory
Jeffery Tambor Transparent
Josh Thomas Please Like Me

Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Tracee Ellis Ross blackish
Mindy Kaling The Mindy Project
Ellie Kemper Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Lisa Kudrow The Comeback
Amy Poehler Parks and Recreation
Gina Rodriguez Jane the Virgin

Best Comedy Series
Blackish
Getting on
Looking
Parks and Recreation
Togetherness
Transparent
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Part 2 : if I chose the Emmy nominees

Guest Actor in a Series
Christian Borle Masters of Sex
Beau Bridges Masters of Sex
Reg E. Cathey House of Cards
Jon Hamm Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Paul Rudd Parks and Recreation
Sam Shepard Bloodline
Courtney B. Vance Scandal
Bradley Whitford Transparent

Best Supporting Actress in A Drama Series
Uzo Aduba Orange is the New Black
Annaleigh Ashford Masters of Sex
January Jones Mad Men
Maura Tierney the Affair
Lorraine Toussaint Orange is the New Black
Bellamy Young Scandal

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jim Carter Downton Abbey
Michael Kelly House of Cards
Ben Mendelsohn Bloodline
Joe Morton Scandal
Craig T Nelson Parenthood
Jussie Smollett Empire

Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
Kyle Chandler Bloodline
Jon Hamm Mad Men
Freddie Highmore Bates Motel
Peter Krause Parenthood
Kevin Spacey House.of Cards
Dominic West The Affair

Best Lead Actress in a Drama
Lizzie Caplan Masters of Sex
Olivia Colman Broadchurch
Viola Davis How to Get Away With Murder
Taraji B. Henson Empire
Ruth Wilson The Affair
Robin Wright House of Cards

Best Drama Series
The Affair
Empire
House of Cards
Mad Men
Orange is he New Black
Parenthood
The Walking Dead

If I picked the Emmy Nominees. My favorites in television Part 1

Best Female Actor  (Lead or Supporting) in a TV Movie or Miniseries

Khandi Alexander Bessie
Zoe Kazan Olive Kitteridge
Jessica Lange American Horror Story:Freak Show
Queen Latifah Bessie
Frances McDormand Olive Kitteridge
Mo'Nique Bessie
Sarah Paulson American Horror Story: Freak Show

Best Male Actor (Lead or Supporting) in a TV movie or Mini Series
John Gallagher Jr.  Olive Kitteridge
Richard Jenkins Olive Kitteridge
Bill Murray Olive Kitteridge
David Oyelowo Nightingale
Cory Michael Smith Olive Kitteridge
Michael Kenneth Williams Bessie
Finn Wittrock American Horror Story: Freak Show

Best TV movie. Or mini series

American Horror Story: Freak Show
Bessie
Nightingale
Olive  Kitteridge.


Best Reality Television Show
The Next Food Star
Project Runway
Rupaul's Drag Race
Shark Tank
Survivor
Top Chef

Tomorrow the Drama series!

TV/Film: Bessie

A challenge that biography movies has is that a two hour space is never long enough to adequately explore the life story of anyone much less a person who has lived a million lives.   The bio pics that work best are often the ones that take a small period of time as part of the person's story.  The film Lincoln and the Broadway show turned future HBO movie Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill are examples of biographies that give you just a snapshot,of the life of their subject, but really allow you to get to know a part of his or her character.  Unfortunately, the script for Bessie which is the story of Bessie Smith decides to take on the life story route, and it just doesn't have enough time totally pull it off.

Fortunately, Bessie has a lot of really talented people working on it.  Dee Rees who made the excellent film Pariah does her best to make this more than a conventional bio pic and often she succeeds.  Rees is a talented filmmaker who deserves more opportunities.   There is one scene where Bessie played by Queen Latifah is playing in a juke joint while the Ku Kux Klan is mounting an attack outside.  The two separate scenes meld together seamlessly.  It is extremely well filmed and the story of that scene is well told.

Bessie is also fortunate to have an amazing cast.  Obviously Queen Latifah is the captain of the ship as Bessie.  She is particularly well suited for the role because of her musical background, and in a way she gives such a fine performance she almost makes it seem easy.   Michael Kenneth Williams, formerly the great Omar of the Wire, gives pretty much the only full fledged performance of any of the major male characters in the movie.  Williams is destined to be one of Hollywood's great character actors.  Khandi Alexander plays Bessie's older sometimes abusive sister.  No one plays steelyand cold while giving just a glimmer of warmth better than Alexander does.  Finally, Mo'Nique once again proves that it is Hollywood's big loss for not being able or wanting to be able to figure out what to do with her as an actress.  She plays Ma Rainey and though her screen time is limited, she owns every moment she is in the screen and makes you anticipate her return when she is gone.

There are several other characters in the movie but unfortunately due to time and script restrictions, none of them are very developed.   It would have been nice to see the character who play's Bessie's female lover to be more full fledged especially since the character is actually a composite of several women in Bessie's life.  These are generally small critiques.  Due to fine performances and a passionate filmmaker the story of Bessie Smith gets its due!

7 out of 10

Film and TV: Short Takes on some films I've watched recently

Life has been happening and I found myself getting a little behind, but here are some of the films from both the theatre and the the television that I have caught over the past few days.

Tangerines: This is not to be confused with a movie released this summer called Tangerine.  This was one of the five films nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, and I can now safely say that it is the best of the 5.   Unfortunately it's a pretty ho hum group of movies.  This one is an Estonian-Georian film that takes place in the 1990s during a time of war.  A tangerine farmer is in the middle of a battle from which he saves two men.  As fate would have it the men are from opposing sides of the battle and at first are at each other's throats, but they agree to not kill each other until they leave the farmer's house.  They learn a lesson that all people at war should learn and that is killing a man is killing a man regardless of what country he comes from.  The films short length makes the two enemies relationship turn a bit too quickly, but it is ultimately very watchable and touching.  

7 out of 10

The Clouds of Sils Maria- This  film about acting and aging is a great showcase for its three actresses Juliette Binoche, Chloe Grace armorers and especially Kristen Stewart (who is working her ass off to make us forget about those horrible Twilight movies).  The film itself tries to be deeper and more elusive than it really deserves to be.  By the end I kind of shrugged and said "What was that?" It is definitely worth it for the performances though

6 out of 10

Atari: Game Over

This is a short  documentary about the rise and fall of Atari video games mixed with the excavation of a pit in New Mexico that ends up being filled with unsold Atari cartridges.  It mainly deals with the game E.T. Which has been called "the worst video game ever" by many.  I played it when I was a kid and I can attest that it was pretty awful.  Since I was in the Atari generation I would have liked more about the rise and fall of Atari and its games and less digging around New Mexico.  As such it's a welcome fleeting diversion 

6 out of 10

And then I watched two HBO movies/mini series 

Olive Kittridge- Pleasantly surprised would be an understatement regarding this four part mini series. I didn't know what to expect, and a I really enjoyed this Frances McDormand led project.  It is basically the story of Olive Kittridge's life as she interacts with different people throughout it.  She is not necessarily a lovable person and McDormand is so good in the role at being hateable but also loveable.  This is probably the best performance of her career and yes I've seen Fargo and Almost Famous.  Richard Jenkins, Zoe Kasan, John Gallagher Jr., Cory Michael Smith and Bill Murray are also excellent in their roles of different sizes.  It is some of the best television that I have seen in some time. If it had been made as a film, I imagine it would have been Oscar nominated.  

9 out of 10

Nightingale-  Selma's David Oyelowo gives an amazing performance in this one man show about a man unraveling after he has killed his mother.  Even though it is only 80 minutes long the monologue goes on way too long. There just isn't enough story there for one person  to merit a full length film. It reminded me of this guy in high school who I remember didn't learn an assigned monologue so he just made up a very very dramatic one.  I probably shouldn't have thought about that considering the film's serious subject matter, but I did.  But definitely check it out for Oyelowo.  He proves again that he is the real deal.

6 out of 10

Travel: Europe 2015: Reflections

To think there was a time a few months ago that I considered not taking this trip.  That would have been a mistake! When you get the chance to travel, no matter where it is, take it!

As I always seem to be going somewhere and have already been to many places, this blog will continue, but here are some reflections on my big European adventure of 2015:

Most Misunderstood City: Amsterdam
The Keep Portland Weird Award Goes to: Berlin
Most Beautiful City: Vienna
The City Most friendly to visitors: Budapest
Most Surprising City: Sofia
Favorite Country: Greece
Favorite City: Budapest
Favorite All Around Location: Naxos, Greece
Best Views Santorini, Greece
Best Market : Naschmarkt in Vienna
Most Unique Experience: the public baths in Budapest
Most Unique Hotel: Hotel Cocoon in Munich
Favorite Hotel:  Hotel Grand Budapest
Hotel that Felt most like home: Galazia Studios, Naxos
Least Favorite Hotel: Hyatt by the airport in Amsterdam
Friendliest people- Naxos
Favorite Building- The Russian church officially known as  the Church Of St. Nicholas the Miracle Maker  in Sofia, Bulgaria
Best Meal- Grilled Squid stuffed with Feta in Athens
Worst Meal- I found a well regarded Hungarian Restaurant in Budapest, and while it was fine, it definitely isn't my favorite cuisine. 
Best Drink: I mostly drank beer but I had this great cocktail in Convivum in Santorini. It was a hybrid of a gin and tonic and a mojito. 
Worst Drink: Pear Palinka a Hungarian Brandy
Best Day: There were so many, but maybe when I just laid back in the Aegean Sea in Naxos and relaxed.  
Worst Day: The day I missed my train to Berlin was a tough one. 

It was a great trip! It was the third time I took a month long trip like this one, and this time i knew almost nothing about the places I was traveling to. This definitely made it more of an adventure! Who knows when or where my next traveling adventure will be?

I know places: Sofia

In planning this trip to Europe it was very important for me to go to places I had never been and knew very little about. That has been the case with the exception of Amsterdam--the place I flew into.

Even within that there are some places I pretty much knew nothing about. That would be the case in my trip to Sofia, Bulgaria.  As I prepared to travel to Europe and listed off the places that I was going to my friends. I saw a lot of smiling and head nodding until I mentioned Sofia.  Facial expressions sometimes went blank and sometimes full of wonder.  Some did not even know where Sofia or Bulgaria was, not unlike me a couple years ago.  Some wondered why? Others gave me suggestions on where I could go instead.  Some had heard it was dangerous and had a lot of poverty. I'm not going to lie. I did my own internet research (almost never a good idea) and sometimes wondered if I should go somewhere else.

Well guess what? All that was stupid.  Sofia is a beautiful amazing city.  It's a hidden gem I'm Europe.

I told my friend Boris when I arrived in Sofia that it was much different than I had expected.  There is a way Americans and perhaps other parts of the world often view Eastern Europe.  And it is often not pretty.  It's usually a gray view, a lot of concrete and a lot of disgruntled chubby people in a bread line.

Sofia, obviously, is none of those things.  It's vibrant, youthful and energetic.  It's perhaps one of the most colorful places I've ever been.  One of my favorite visual memories from my trip so far is a small place of worship in Sofia. Believe me cathedrals and temples in Europe are a dime a dozen.. But this one had the most amazing kelly green roof tiles that set it apart from other places.  It gave the building a magical enchanted look that I hadn't see in my viewings  of nearly 100 (I kid) cathedrals throughout Europe.  I should also tell you that Sofia has much grander and beautiful buildings to look at in the city. That  one is just special to me.

Every week night during the summer Sofia is busy with its residence and tourists having a beer, experiencing fine dining and then many walk into after hours entertainment.

My point is this: some people like to travel to the places they know.  And I guess that's fine.  I like to leave my comfort zone and be a little uncomfortable. But  for some reason Sofia was a little far outside my comfort zone even for me.  It shouldn't have been.  Go somewhere you know nothing about! Have an adventure! If you're afraid about safety issues, the federal government has a website that tells you where to be careful or not go.

Sofia was not on that website.  I owe the beautiful city of Sofia an apology for my preconceived notions.

Travel as in life  inherently has risk but those risks almost always pay off!

Some Like it Hot

Traveling to another country is always a great way to get,out of your comfort zone, but sometimes you have experiences in these places that are even more far removed from your comfort zone.  Such is the case with my experience of going to the public baths in Budapest.

The city of Budapest is split down the middle by the Danube River on the banks of this river there are  many thermal hot springs and Budapest has Mande some of these hot springs into public baths.  The baths that I went to were in an establishmentt called Rudas.

When you are in a foreign country you are always a bit out of your element, but sometimes I also choose activities that take me out of my comfort zone. Such is the case on the day in Budapest that I went to the public baths.

Even though that day the baths were co-ed, I still had no idea what to expect.  For the most part, things like this are not in our American culture, and from the moment I walked in I knew this was going to be an experience to remember.  

After I bought a bottle of water with gas, I walked up to reception. I told her "one" because that's a universal word. Everybody gets that.  She starts speaking to me in Hungarian and I have no idea what she is saying. Luckily a lady to my side was acting as my personal interpreter and she told me where to look to decide what package I wanted to buy.  To be honest, I just pointed and didn't really know what I was buying then reception gave me a price.  My interpreter whispered in my ear, "Do you need a towel?" So that added to the price.  Finally I was done with that, and I asked my interpreter where to go. She pointed me in a direction, and then I never saw her again.  

I managed to find the locker room. I was unsure it was the locker room because both men and women were in there. A man handed me a computerized wristband to let me in and assigned me to my locker.  It actually wasn't a locker at all. It was a small cabin.  It was about the same size as a confessional booth in a Catholic Church.  I did all my clothing changing in there, and I also left my belongings in there. Once I came out surprise surprise I didn't know how to lock the cabinet. So the attendant showed me how to lock the cabinet with my handy dandy wristband.  Then I walked with him to get my towel which was more a low thread count bed sheet than  a towel. I guess I could have brought one from the hotel, but that towel did its job. 

After some tentative wandering, I found room of baths.  I forgot to mention that because it was co-ed, everyone was required to wear bathing suits.  On same gender days that is not the case.  Anyway there is one big slightly warmer than lukewarm pool in the middle.  I sat there for awhile. It was kind of like sitting in a jacuzzi with a wonky heater except no jets and it smelled like sulfur.  After sitting here for awhile I experimented with the smaller pools In the corners. As I walked I found out each pool varied in temperature.  One was very cold, one was cool, one was warm and one was hot.  Strange as it seems, I spent the most time in the very hot one even though it was a little painful when I was first getting in. I did spend a little bit of time  in each of them.  While the whole building had been renovated the room of baths was very old  just as I expected it to be. Some people came in to relax. Some came into socialize.  It is definitely a traditional experience in Budapest culture.  

I have to admit that I wasn't getting a whole lot out of it, so I explored a little more. I saw that there was a sauna and a steam room. They  had warnings that they were only for people in good health.

The steam room was OK. It was hot but bearable.  The sign said it was 40 to 45 C.  That's over 100 degrees for the Americans.  After I left there I took a shower. They had a regular shower and then they had a more rustic big bucket that you just dump over your head by pulling a rope. I chose the latter. It was freezing water!  It was shocking to my senses but I'm glad I chose the more primeval expereince.

My final major activity was the sauna.  It was the hottest experience in my life. It was so hot you could smell the oils vaporizing from the wood.  It didn't have a temperature posted, but I was so hot that when I breathed it felt like the air coming from my mouth was going to turn into fire.  The other people sitting with me looked very calm and delighted.  I started to feel physically sick so I don't think I made it even 2 minutes. I quickly found a much cooler pool and settled for several minutes.  I discovered that those two minutes had temporarily taken all the tension out of my body.  He heat must have sucked all the toxins right out of me.  I was relaxed yet a little bit tired for the rest of the day.

In any case even though I was nervous to do it, it ended up being a worthwhile experience. On any kind of vacation, I highly recommend doing something that interests you but also makes you a little bit uncomfortable. 

To Market

When I lived in Seattle, my favorite place to go was hands down  the Pike Place Market. While it attracted lots of tourists, it never felt touristy.  I think what I like most about it as that it revealed a lot about Seattle. It shows off the cities resources as well as its quirks.  From the fish throwing vendors to the orca whale arts and crafts, you can really start to get insight into what Seattle is about--the personality of Seattle.

Most major cities in Europe have similar open air markets and they to reveal a lot about the cities personality.  I have learned a lot about the European cities I have been to by browsing through their open air markets. Each city has the essentials like produce, but every city has its own unique wares for sell.

In Amsterdam, boxes of tulip bulbs are sold everywhere in the market, several stands also sell a traditional Dutch blue and white inexpensive china pattern as well.  This time was my second visit to Amsterdam, and I noticed a newer trend at their markets.   There were many places with kits showing  how to grow marijauna.  Seeds included.  :)

Munich had lots of  heart shaped  crafts and baked goods. They also sold multiple flavor of  Schnapps.   I bought a couple bottles of the schnapps and I have to say it was definitely not the same Schnapps I was trying to get my hands on when I was in high school!


Here in Vienna, where I am about to end my stay, I've especially loved the open market called Nachtmarkt.  I've roamed through it several times. I have found traditional Viemnese cakes along with cheese stuffed olives, nuts, and lots of spices.  The spices alone make the experience different because they create an amazing smell throughout the market.   For a lunch snack I picked a fried pita like bread stuffed with feta and spinach.  It made a delicious snack! I also picked up 100 grams of vanilla caramels which I've been snacking on in my hotel room!

So if you're in a new city and you don't know where to start. Find out if they have an open air market and if they do go visit.  You can find out a lot about the culture of a new city!

Television: ICONS

Last night I watched two HBO documentaries about two icons.  They are most well known in the "gay world", but they deserve to be icons and revolutionaries for humanity.  Both Greg Louganis and Larry Kramer were two public figures that were important to me in my own coming out process during the mid 1990s and for many others earlier on.  As I watched their stories back to back I was a little sad by the depths of despair they both had seen, but mainly inspired by their influence and ability to endure and prosper.

When I was in high school I didn't really know that I was gay, but I probably should have.  One reason why is that I pretty much didn't like any sports, but I would always tell people that I looked forward to the Men's Diving competitions.  Yeah I really really should have known.  But Greg Louganis was a big part of why I enjoyed diving.  I was so used to athletes being these brutish hypermasculine caricatures, but here was someone who was shy and soft spoken while also insanely athletic.   I felt a strong connection to Louganis and of course that connection makes more sense as He has since come out as gay as well.  The documentary  Back on Board: Greg Louganis  does focus some on his personal life, but it also reminds us of his amazing diving career. What a career it was!  Each dive shown in the movie is beyond athleticism. They fall into the realm of what a professional ballet dancer does. In their own way each dive is art.

As I was coming out to myself, I read his book Breaking the Surface in secret.  It made me feel a little bit braver.  In 1995 Greg came out as both gay and HIV positive.  It cannot be stressed enough how rimportant  it was for him to do this.  Athletes such as Arthur Ashe and Magic Johnson had revealed they were HIV positive, but Louganis came out as both.  Even though it was only 20 years ago, things were much different for gay people then. It was hard enough being gay in 1995. I can't imagine having the courage it took to be HIV positive and then making the decision to be public about it.

The most heartbreaking part of the film to me was to see that in recent times Louganis has struggled financially.  While he was high profile, Louganis never received any of the endorsements that many athletes do after the Olympics. He never even was on a Wheaties box.  He reasons that he didn't receive major endorsements because he didn't fit into the traditional male athlete mold. He also says that even though he was not out as gay at the time, there were rumors and that may have also prevented him from receiving endorsements.

By the end of the film it looks like Louganis is a good place working as a mentor to divers and married to a man he met on Match.com.  His present ends happily and hopefully his future will continue to be as bright.

A little bit later in my coming out process after I had told a few of my friends, I found out that there were a bunch of books being given away in a warehouse closed to where I lived. I still do not know why this actually happened, but they were giving away perfectly good books with perhaps a slash on the cover so that they could not be resold.   It was an important moment in my life because I found a lot of gay fiction and non fiction books in that warehouse.  This was important because at that time the Internet was just starting and I had no idea where to look for resources about gay people  or how to meet other people like myself in the buckle of the Bible Belt.  Finding  those free  books was such a blessing at that time.  One of the books I found that day was The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer the somewhat fictionalized version of his very real experience during the beginning of the AIDS plague (his word) at the beginning of the 1980s.

Larry Kramer: In Love and Anger begins by showing a very frail Kramer approaching 80 years old in a hospital recovering from a liver transplant that was a result of his being HIV positive for over 30 years.  If you don't known the story of Larry, you should watch this documentary, read or catch a performance of the play The Normal Heart or at the least catch the decent HBO Movie version of it starring Mark Ruffalo.

Larry Kramer is a hero.  But he is a prickly grumpy hero.  During  the early 1980s until the beginning of 1990s the U.S. Government all but ignored that there was an AIDS plague happening in the USA.  It is likely they didn't take it seriously because it primarily effecting gay men in the U.S. At that time,  those administrations really didn't care if a bunch of gay men were eradicated from the planet.  Kramer blames former President Ronald Reagan and former NYC Mayor ED Koch for being most responsible for the epidemic going on for as long as it did.  But Larry Kramer and his group ACT UP wouldn't let me crisis be ignored.   The fact that HIV is now much more manageable can mostly be attributed to Kramer's efforts.  He was in your face and abrasive until his voice was heard and action was taken.  This often came at the expense of his family relationships as well as his close relationships within the ACT UP group.

Larry Kramer is one of the most important men in modern gay history. One day I hope gets as much credit as someone like Harvey Milk does. Even though Kramer's health is fading, I am glad that he has been able to see some of the fruits of his labor come to pass in current gay history.  But Larry Kramer will continue to say there is much more that needs to be done.

Both of these men came out as gay and HIV positive at a time when both were huge fears in American society.   I can say that coming out as gay without having the added stigma of being HIV positive was difficult enough for me.   However, I am thankful that these men made my path a little bit easier.  If you have HBO Now or GO check out these documentaries. Anyone could benefit from knowing more about these men's stories.

Pink Triangle

Across the street from the labyrinth Jewish Holocaust memorial in Berlin is a beautiful park with several small memorials and monuments strewn throughout.   I was on a mission to hunt down the memorial below.

Jewish people were obviously impacted by the Holocaust the most, but many people don't know that thousands of gay people were also put into concentration camps during this terrible time in history.  Instead of a yellow star that the Jews wore, gay people wore a pink triangle and that is why the pink triangle is one of the gay community's symbols today.  

It is not one of the popular structures to visit.  I stood near it for several minutes and only a couple came to look into the window which features a video of two men kissing.  I am glad though that this part  of history is being recognized.  It was truly an amazing,  emotional moment for me to get to see this. .  

Film: The "Truth" is stranger than "Fiction"

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter is one of those odd movies that is based on a true story.   Keeping in mind that anything based on a true story is fictionalized by the filmmakers, it is one of those obscure stories that makes you wince and wonder, "Did something like that really happen?"

There are some fairly major differences between the movie and the real life events, but I will leave some of that to your own interested research.  I will say that it is the story about Kumiko played by Babel's Academy Award nominee Rinko Kukuchi who is unhappy with her life in Japan.   She is obsessed with the film  Fargo and becomes fixated on coming to the USA to hunt for the treasure that is a plot point in that film.

The first half is a bit slow and blah like Kumiko's Japanese life, but it picks up when she finally gets to the USA and meets a few folks on her way to explore Fargo, North Dakota in the middle of winter. Kukuchi is a versatile actress, and it is nice to see her featured again after not seeing her too much since her Academy Award nomination.   It's an interesting film with enough quirk to blur the line between reality and fiction.

While I was watching this I started thinking about other films that were "based" on true life movies with stranger than fiction plot lines.  Here is a list of 13 that I think are good films.

127 Hours (Suspense/Drama)
Argo (Drama)
Bernie (Black comedy)
Catch me if you Can (drama with comedic and suspenseful elements)
The Conjuring (Horror)
Foxcatcher (Drama)
Hachi: A Dog's Tale (Family Drama)
Into the Wild (Drama)
Life is Beautiful (Foreign drama with comedic elements)
Monster (Drama with Horror elements)
Open Water (Suspense/Horror)
The People Vs. Larry Flynt (Drama with comedic elements)
Wolf  Creek (Horror)

What are some of your favorites?

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter 7 out of 10

Biting the Hand That Fed You

One of the big adventures of traveling is eating the types of food of the country you visit.  Generally I'm pretty open about trying food, but I have to admit the word liver in any menu description is a big turn off. It's fairly easy in countries with a lot of tourists to eat safely. You may even find some of your hometown favorites in your host city.  I'll admit when I see a rare Dunkin Donut or even a Starbucks, I scramble for my 2 euro change.  But try to resist.  :)

When I was in Amsterdam a few nights ago, a person I met invited me to come try the restaurant he worked at.  They served Dutch food. I have to admit that on my previous trip to Amsterdam the Dutch-est cuisine I had was delicious pancakes. So this time I was going to try some traditional Dutch food.  

The traditional dish I chose was called Stamppot.  I liked all the ingredients in it. I just didn't know if I'd like them mixed together. Stamppot is mashed potatoes mixed together with vegetables. I chose sauerkraut, but that night carrots and endive were also available. Then it is usually topped with a sausage and gravy. Mine was also topped with a meatball and Dutch bacon.  I was offered Dijon mustard as a condiment which I generously used.  

The verdict: it was delicious. Maybe it was a little meat heavy, but All the ingredients plus the Dijon mustard complimented each other well.  If I made an American version at home, I might make it with potatoes, sauerkraut and just bacon on top.  

But what if it had been terrible? Oh well, then I'd have had a terrible meal that I could talk to people about until my last breath on my death bed. . But it wasn't terrible.  And while it wasn't something I'd usually been drawn to on a menu, I'm glad I gave it a try.  

I'm in Germany now, and it's proving to be tricky in Berlin which is in  northeastern kind of central Germany.  The German food I'm finding here  seems to be influenced by southern Germany and Austria.  I'm going to travel to both of those places next.  I'm going to have to open my mind to adventure.  I'm going to have to find some other menu options before I'm all schnitzeled out!

Travel: You'll Never Get It Right!

I didn't do a lot of sight seeing today.  I gave myself recovery time for jet lag. I do this on every long trip.  Five years ago I used the first day to do a bus tour and a boat tour of Amsterdam.  I know these tours are cheesy, but I got to sit instead of walk around, and it gave me ideas on what to do for the rest of my trip.  Good tip! Thanks Marian!

But today I didn't do that because I've been to Amsterdam before. I felt a little more prepared this time around even though I'm only staying in Amsterdam a couple of days.  It made my first day which is usually my hardest day less challenging.

Most people who travel to a different country want to get it right.  Many good travelers research the differences  in culture of the country they are going so they don't commit any cultural faux pas.  If this doesn't cross your mind as a traveler, then may I suggest that you never leave your house. 😝

But here is the thing.  No matter how much you research and  no matter how hard you try, at some point probably very early on in your vacation you are going to mess it up.  You'll never totally get it right.

So my suggestion is embrace that you're going to make little mistakes. Take a breath and relax.  Stand at a restaurant with a clueless look on your face and wait for a hostess to seat you and have the greeter wonder why you won't sit down (unless of course that's not the case because it depends on the type of restaurants. ) In my first 12 hours in Europe I probably made at least a half a dozen little mistakes, and this is my 5th time here! Just don't be an asshole about it.  Be kind and say lots of pleases and thank yous.   The citizens of the country you go to will likely not negatively remember little mistakes you made, but they will remember if you acted like an asshole.

Off to Germany tomorrow!

Dan