Throw the ball!
Pop Culture Ephemera
- Talk to Me (2023) (Directed by Danny Phillippou / Michael Phillippou): “Apparently, it was the hand of someone who could connect with the dead, right, so everyone around him thought, let’s just cut his hand off.” – Joss. This Australian horror is well structured. The plot is simple on the surface. Teens discover that if you hold an embalmed hand and say, “Talk to me,” a spirit will inhabit you and talk through you. To disengage, they blow out a candle and let go of the hand. When the rules are broken, they unleash spirits into our world. Sophie Wilde as Mia is a career-making performance. I hope that we see much more of her in the future. The film counts on you buying that youth will embrace anything as a social-media craze. Instead of using this flirtation with spirits as a way to make a point, the second half of the film dives too deep into the personal traumas of the teens with a distracting backstory that felt unnecessary. It’s worth a watch because it’s beautifully constructed, looks good, and the acting is a notch above what normally passes for acceptable in the genre.
- The Sympathizer – “Give Us Some Good Lines” (2024) (S.1 E.4) (HBO): “Before this war is over, you will all be covered in blood.” – The Thespian. This is the fourth episode and the third different show that this has become. This isn’t a program that will appeal to a mainstream crowd. There are a mix of genres. The themes are what keep building upon each other. Each episode is dense with content visually and within the dialogue. This episode serves as a parody of ’70s war films, most of the nods to Apocalypse Now (1979), as the Captain (Hoa Xuande) is hired as a Cultural Consultant on a film set during the war in Vietnam called The Hamlet. It circles back to all three of the previous episodes at some point, and it puts the Captain back into his childhood. The episode needed a few more voiceovers to put perspective into the observations. The best part for me was David Duchovny as the overly Method Actor in the film doing what Duchovny does best, speaking his mind no matter who he offends. The episode is also Robert Downey Jr.’s best as he doesn’t rely on odd character attributes or wigs to cover himself. He’s just himself and at his dark comedy best.
- Randy Crawford – “One Day I’ll Fly Away” (1980) (from Now We May Begin): “What more can your love do for me? / When will love be through with me?” Even though Randy Crawford had one of the best R&B voices of the early 1980s, this is the only song that was close to a hit unfortunately. The song is better known today for the covers of it, specifically the Nicole Kidman version from Moulin Rouge! (2001). The song is a sad song about lost love but Crawford’s voice conveys a feeling of hope, that not all is lost. The chorus is an interpolation of elements of Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz Of The Flowers” from The Nutcracker ballet. It’s just a wonderful song.
- Mad Max (1979) (Directed by George Miller): “Are you listening, bronze? I am the Nightrider. I’m a fuel injected suicide machine. I am a rocker, I am a roller, I am a out-of-controller! I’m the Nightrider, baby!” – Nightrider. The Australian countryside is to George Miller what Monument Valley was to John Ford. The shots of Max (Mel Gibson) in his vehicles are often long shots from low angles with distant horizons that show how small man is against Nature. It might be confusing at first. Director Miller doesn’t have a budget for exposition, the plot starts right in the middle of a chase of Nightrider and asks the viewer to catch up on their own time. Max isn’t even truly Mad until the film is an hour old. It’s easy to see this as Death Wish (1974) meets Smokey and the Bandit (1977). It’s much closer to the genre disruption that Sam Raimi would give us in Evil Dead (1981) with a unique use of in-camera effect and editing to tell a story on a low budget. It holds up because it doesn’t try to do more than it can. There’s a tight script, and the action is filmed in a style that still feels fresh.
- A House on the Bayou (2021) (Directed by Alex McAulay): “This room wasn’t on the blueprint.” – Jessica. A husband and wife take their daughter (14) to a house in the Louisiana bayou while they try to save their marriage. This film has a hard time deciding what lane it’s trying to fill. It sets up like it could be an Amityville Horror (1979) type of haunted house film. Once we meet the inhabitants of the bayou, Isaac and Grandpappy, it takes on some Rob Zombie-lite vibes. There’s an odd combination of supernatural elements surrounding a room in the house, nose bleeds, and Isaac’s identity. Then it’s a strict morality play about the husband, John (Paul Schneider), and his affair. There are some nice twists, and it’s not without some good jump scares. I even liked the ending. Whoops. There’s an ending, and then there’s the three-minute speech by the police woman that tries to explain the events of the film that undercuts the feeling of dread right before that. I give it credit for doing something different in the gothic horror genre even if that doesn’t always work.
Best of the Rest
- I have no information on this cover by Vault for the John Lewis Christmas advert in 2016. It’s one of the more sad songs that they’ve used for the ads, and yet they churn out a cute, not overly nostalgic commercial. Good use of the song. I am glad Buster is happy now.
- Women choosing the bear over the man is not a new argument. The bear has always won. I was reminded of the very excellent graphic novel by Pamela Ribon, My Boyfriend Is A Bear (2018). It goes even further back to a great Labatt Blue commercial from around 2008.
- Eating Cheetos with your dominate hand can cause lots of other problems, as illustrated in “The Other Hand” ads from Cheetos. They remind us that a simple joke can be effective for 30 seconds.
Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback
- On the Sunday Morning Tuneage of 11/9/2008, the one bright spot in the terrible football year of 2008 was that Christian’s 7th Grade team won their District Championship. My #4 Favorite Movie of All-Time was The Wizard of Oz (1939). This amazing production holds a special place in my childhood memories for it’s “once a year” appearance on television. It has translated well into adulthood for me. It is likely my most owned film with more versions on VHS, DVD, etc than any other film in my collection. This is easily still a Top Ten in my rankings. True Blood (HBO) was still a favorite as it headed towards the end of Season One. I was barely hanging on with Heroes (NBC). There was a special coming up that had me very intrigued.
- Ricky Gervais: Out of England – The Stand-Up Special (2008) (HBO): “Don’t send horses to do medical procedures.” – Ricky on Humpty Dumpty. At this time, I knew Ricky Gervais from The Office UK (2003) and Extras (2005). He had done some UK stand-up specials, and I was sort of familiar with this new thing called a “podcast,” The Ricky Gervais Show (1998-2005). This special proves exactly why I think he is either really loved or really despised among viewers. He riffs on AIDS, obesity, Humpty Dumpty, and Stephen Hawking among others. No matter how offensive the topic, he’s dang charming and has a disarming laugh. I don’t agree with Jerry Seinfeld that this type of humor is dead these days; I think it’s that it isn’t delivered like this, without the condescending attitude.
1974 in Review
- May – Superman #275 (DC Comics): Written by Cary Bates and Art by Curt Swan. Spoiler Alert: Superman hasn’t actually “had it.”
- May 10 – The New York Nets defeated the Utah Stars in five games for the ABA Championship.
- May 20 – Sports Illustrated (May 20): Articles on the Boston Celtics taking the NBA title in seven games over the Milwaukee Bucks, A.J. Foyt claiming the pole position in Indy, and John Newcombe beating an up-and-coming, 17-year-old, Bjorn Borg for the WCT Championship.
What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?
Red Bull Summer Edition 2024: Curuba and Elderflower
It’s my twice-a-year purchase of a Red Bull. I’m more of a fan of the Winter Edition, as a rule. This year might be the same as this curuba and elderflower release isn’t a repeatable flavor. It’s overly sweet with a floral aftertaste. I would have liked it better if they had gone more down the ginger ale route for a flavor profile. This was just downright strange. I can’t recommend it as a refreshing summer drink.
Pepsi: Peach
I’m not a Pepsi Guy as most of you know. I cheered for the kid to get the jet from them. Every so often a flavor comes along that I want to try. I find Pepsi too sweet in general, so I was afraid of an overly sweet peach soda. Fake peach flavor can be very off putting. This is definitely a peach rings type of peach flavor. Yet somehow it isn’t too much of a sugar overload. This is going to be a top notch whiskey mixer for the rest of the summer. Bring on the Crown.
Rold Gold Selects: Pretzel Twists – Dill Pickle
I was surprised to find these at Kroger considering they have their own store brand version with exactly the same Dill Pickle. Those Private Selection ones are slightly better. I’m a Snyder’s pretzels guy. Much like the Pepsi, I get Rold Gold a few times a year to try new flavors. The pickle flavor hits you hard with the smell and when you first taste them. They are okay because the flavor doesn’t last too long. Look for the Kroger-branded ones further down the aisle.
“I’ll make it alone
When love is gone
Still you made your mark
Here in my heart” – Randy Crawford
Stay Hard
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