Welcome to Hell, folks! The hell that’s being led by the Satan wearing a black leather jacket, a pompadour, and long-long sideburns. This Satan may haunt and torment you, but will also serve you cheap beer and show you some Russ Meyer films. I mean, if you’re going to be in Hell, it’s nice to have a host who wants you to have a good time.
Ironically, most people probably know the punk cover of this by the Rezillos (thanks to its use in “Jackass: The Movie”) more than they know the original by Fleetwood Mac (the pre-Lindsay Buckingham/Stevie Nicks version). However, the original is wonderful psychobilly by a band that’s not known for such things. Somewhere you can hear the Cramps taking notes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8P3kF2DHj4
One of the best films of the past decade was Alexander Payne’s acidic and poignant comedy-drama “Sideways.” While much of it is funny (painfully and raunchily so), it’s also very sad. Having been lost in my own head and ill-conceived creative ambitions in my 20s, let’s just say this film is very much of a “There but for the grace of God go I …” kind of film.
Paul Giamatti does a brilliant job in the lead role of Miles, a failed author and wine snob who is spending his days teaching middle school English and going to too many wine “tastings.” Giamatti does a brilliant job making you like a character who is not particularly likable. I can’t describe how Giamatti is able to do it, but you do find yourself rooting for Miles, despite your better instincts. Why Giamatti’s performance was not even nominated for that year’s Oscars is one of many examples of why the Oscars have very little credibility for me.
However, the Oscars didn’t get it completely wrong that year. “Sideways” was nominated for Best PIcture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Thomas Haden Church) and Best Supporting Actress (Virginia Madsen) and won its sole Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The film’s best scene is the one where Maya, played by Virginia Madsen, explains to the lead character Miles (played by Paul Giamatti) what she finds meaningful about wine, though she’s really talking about herself. This is one of the best films I’ve ever seen about love between people who are, well, of a certain age. A truly amazing speech from a very special and wonderful film.
While “Sideways” doesn’t have a traditional happy ending per se, it does give the long-suffering lead character a push towards happiness, and sometimes, that’s all you need.
Natalie Maines’s beautiful and moving cover of Pink Floyd’s “Mother,” performed live on the Howard Stern Show earlier this month. The stellar studio version is available on the “West of Memphis” soundtrack.
1. Director Tom Hooper really likes the wide angle lens with extreme close-ups on people’s faces. At times, I didn’t know if I was watching “Les Miserables” or “A Clockwork Orange”
2. Russell Crowe does a fine job singing and acting. No, I’m not going to buy the 30 Odd Foot of Grunts box set, but Crowe brought it. End of story.
3. Anne Hathaway does deserve the accolades she’s getting. When someone dominates that early in the awards season, you almost want to root against them. But she’s great and if she wins the Oscar, it won’t be undeserved.
4. All of the performances are good-great, from Hugh Jackman to Sacha Baron Cohen to Helena Bonham Carter to pretty much everyone else.
5. This movie is LOOOOOOONG!!!! Not quite “A.I.” long, but close.
6. As much as I resisted, the final line “To love someone is to see the face of God” always brings on the waterworks for me.
7. As I was leaving the theater, I saw my 7-year old visibly distraught. I thought that maybe he got swept up in the emotional ending until he said, “My God, that was the longest movie EVER!!!”
Final verdict: I liked it a lot, but let’s face it, this is a film you’re either going to love or hate. Yes, it’s such a shamelessly manipulative tear-jerker, it makes Steven Spielberg look like Jean-Luc Godard. But seriously, what did you expect? Hooper does what he’s supposed to and totally delivers a shamelessly manipulative tear-jerker.
If you don’t think you’ll like this movie, there is nothing here that will convert you. If you liked or loved the play, the film is a fine adaptation and you’ll enjoy it. And on the slim chance it wins the Best Picture Oscar this year, it won’t be the end of the world. Not because it would beat out better films, but because watching people lose their collective s–t if it wins is going to be really, really funny. And shame on anyone who thinks the Oscars have credibility anyway.
As an act of contrition, I will watch another film this week about an unjustly condemned man: “Penitentiary 3,”, starring Leon Isaac Kennedy, Anthony (“Luke” of “Luke and Laura”) Geary, and The Haiti Kid, playing the Midnight Thud, the scariest 3-foot crack-smoking prison rapist in movie history.
It’s time to turn the black light on, get your favorite mind-altering substance (hopefully legal) ready to ingest, and trip out to the Lumerians. If Hawkwind were a bit more punk sounding, they’d sound like this. Incredibly good modern psychedelic with an organ that rocks as hard as the guitars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piZCUdrvv0w
If you liked Sacha Baron Cohen’s “The Dictator,” here’s a film that’s the real deal … and arguably funnier. Back in the early 1970s, Franco-Swiss director Barbet Schroeder (who later went on to direct “Barfly,” “Reversal of Fortune,” and “Single White Female”) was hired by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin to make a film about him …
From here, I’ll go to the Wikipedia description:
Director Barbet Schroeder has characterized the film as a “self-portrait” by Amin. While Schroeder and cameraman Nestor Almendros were given unprecedented access to Amin’s daily life, the documentary makes it plain that many of the events (including the residents of a garrison town turning out en masse to greet Amin) were staged for their benefit. In several sequences, Amin actively directs the cameraman to particular points of interest, at one point shouting to “film that helicopter!”
However, Amin’s influence as a “director” went beyond the actual filming of Idi Amin Dada. As per his agreement with Amin, Barbet Schroeder made two versions of his documentary: the first, an hour-long cut, was released in Uganda and delivered directly to Amin, who was apparently pleased with the result. The second version was released only outside Uganda and contained an additional half-hour of footage and narration.
According to Schroeder, Amin dispatched his agents in Britain to watch the film and write down a full transcript of its contents. Amin soon sent a letter to Schroeder requesting additional cuts to the film, but Schroeder refused. In response, Amin rounded up almost 200 French citizens living in Uganda and confined them to a hotel surrounded by the Ugandan army, supplying them with Schroeder’s home telephone number and explaining that their release was conditional on Schroeder’s acquiescence. In the face of this dilemma, Schroeder made the requested cuts, replacing the 2½ minutes of excised footage with title cards crediting the gaps to Amin. On Amin’s fall from power, Schroeder restored the missing material, and most versions seen today contain the full footage.
However, as funny as this film is, it’s hard to laugh when you remember all of the horrible stuff Amin did to his people. The man may have been a delusional buffoon, but he was pure evil. He was later ousted from power and was exiled first to Libya and then to Saudi Arabia where Saudi royal family provided him refuge. Amin died a natural death … not exactly the ending he deserved.
Another beautiful cover by Ms. Spector … this time she’s doing a remarkable job on Johnny Thunders’ signature song. This time she’s backed up by Joey Ramone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhP9EvLoGWw
Ronnie Spector does a splendid job covering one of Billy Joel’s best songs, with the help of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFh96ssGisM
From the decadent and extremely trippy late 1960s masterpiece by directors Donald Cammell and Nicolas Roeg is the infamous sequence where Mick Jagger’s rock star character changes identities with James Fox’s gangster character. Things get very freaky very fast. Do not watch under the influence of any mind-altering substances.
“Performance” is a notorious masterpiece from the late 1960s. Its release was held up by at least two years by a skittish Warner Brothers. It was given an X-rating and dumped into midnight screenings. Some critics called it the most repulsive film ever made, one even describing it as the equivalent of someone sticking the dirtiest finger into the back of your throat to make you vomit. I wouldn’t go that far. But it’s still pretty intense. The clip is not safe for work or little ones.
Dave's Strange World 