From the Couch Hole: It’s Getting Near Dawn

Previously on FTCH, Sherlock Jr was investigating some helter skelter at the summer’s end. Charlie says, “Same spirits, new forms, more butterbeer.” This week was our first hint of summer. I even had to mow the yard. End of February was just catching up around the house and at work. I’ll watch a little of the Oscar’s tonight even though I’m short on the main contenders. This week Peter and Max met Atilla at the conclave. Captain America basked in the sunshine of your love with a wild cherry and cream Pepsi. Remember, FTCH helps stop tartar where it starts.

Pop Culture Ephemera

• Bill Willingham – Peter & Max (2009) (Published by Vertigo Comics): “He told people what to do and no one ever told him what to do – except for sometimes his wife did, but Max already understood how marriages involved a private exception to many rules.” I have been a big fan of the Fables (Vertigo/DC Comics) comic series by Bill Willingham for years. I have had this prose novel (with a few illustrations) on my shelf for a long time, and it was finally time to read it. This is the story of Peter Piper (Pickled Pepper, you know) and Max Piper (Pied Piper of Hamelin). It’s a much darker story than you might imagine. The story mostly takes place in the Black Forest during Medieval times, and there’s a parallel story the comes together in contemporary New York City.
  
  Willingham has an easy style to his prose. It’s no surprise since the comic books are well written also. It’s an interesting companion to the graphic novels. You don’t need to know the history of the Fables to enjoy the story, but you are missing some significant backstory without it. The story of Peter and Max along with Bo Peep pulls from multiple fables. It’s a testament to the strength of the graphic novels that the best part of the book is an illustrated story at the end of the book that provides a previously unseen backstory to the war with the Adversary. I would suggest to start with the graphic novels before leaning into this moderately entertaining prose entry in the series.

Buy Peter & Max Hardcover

• Severance – “Attila” (2025) (S.2 E.6) (Apple+): “Many valid concerns were raised, that I look forward to addressing.” – Milchick. It’s easy to complain that questions aren’t often answered, but this episode takes us much closer to a conflict that must ultimately end this season. In Season One, the innies and the outies seemed world’s apart until the finale. This season has been about the blending of the innie and outie experiences. In the case of each character, their two worlds have reached a point of razor-thin differences. The episode revolves around the Mark S., Helly, and Helena triangle. It dominates the emotional energy of the story. The real work of the episode is done at the dinner with Irv, Burt, and Fields. I have not been able to shake the feeling that we are still following Irv because he’s the key to the history of Lumon. No further clues on Cold Harbor this episode, so I’m waiting for some cross-pollination of the stories before the end of this season.

Buy Ella Fitzgerald – Sunshine of Your Love CD

• Ella Fitzgerald – “Sunshine of Your Love” (1969) (from Sunshine of Your Love): “I’ll be with you, darling, soon / I’ll be with you when the stars start falling.” Ella was never shy to embrace other genres and bend them to her style. There was a rash of older artists from the late ’60s into the early ’70s who tried to cover modern rock songs in a way that didn’t sound authentic or respectful to the originals. This orchestration and Ella’s voice do the Cream tune some justice. It might get some more love after inclusion in Severance “Attila”, but this has made many of my playlists for decades. Dip into any Ella live performances from 1967-1974 for some great covers.

• Conclave (2024) (Directed by Edward Berger): “Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand-in-hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery. And therefore no need for faith” – Lawrence. The film gives away the complicated journey to picking a new Pope in the first scene. The old Pope has died and there’s a struggle to get the ring off his finger, remove the signet, and burn it. Things will not get any easier choosing the next Pontiff. The film is a bit of a puzzle, but not a mystery. The viewer is along for the ride while someone else puts the puzzle together. The cast is wonderful, with standout performances by John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci in particular. The politics of choosing the new Pope at the Conclave is fascinating. The machinations of the different factions as they play out is what works the best in the film. There’s lots of talk and very little action, as one might guess. It’s probably more accurate to call this a political thriller than a mystery or drama. I enjoyed the way the story flows, but all the talk is probably a little much for many viewers.

• Captain America: Brave New World (2025) (Directed by Julius Onah): “Steve gave them something to believe in, you give them something to aspire to.” – Bucky Barnes. I entered this film without the benefit of having watched The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+). I do have 50 years of comic-book continuity that doesn’t do me any good in this case. Don’t be fooled that this film has anything to do with Huxley’s Brave New World (1932). It isn’t even a “new world” for the MCU. It’s definitely the old Universe having a dying breath. The MCU will need to hit rock bottom before it can rebuild, and I’m afraid this isn’t that point yet. There’s plenty of room in this film to be bold and groundbreaking. There’s a fascist-leaning President (Harrison Ford) who is driven by his emotions. There is the forgotten black Captain America, and there’s a current black Captain America who is trying to figure out how to work within the system. None of these potentials are realized. In fact, they are just accepted as an acceptable reality without any moral judgement. The plot veers off into a Manchurian Candidate subplot that is tossed aside for action scenes. It feels like a television-series plot pumped up with an action-film budget. It’s going to find an audience because they all do. I’m just waiting for the point where the arrow will start to point up and forward.

Best of the Rest

• I liked Bobby McFerrin’s covers more than his original songs. This takes the Cream song and breaks it down even further than the Ella Fitzgerald version of “Sunshine of Your Love.” His vocal instrumentation is incredible. It’s a testament to the strength of the song that so many non-guitar-based versions work as well as they do. For those who love the guitar, I recommend covers by Living Colour and Funkadelic that reflect the guitar sound of their own eras also.

• Entertainment Weekly (3/28/97): “Best Commercials of All-Time” #32: Polaroid “One Step/Sun System” (1977): I was guilty of thinking that James Garner and Mariette Hartley were married in real life. That’s how great it was to see this line of commercials over a multi-year span (1977-1983) for Polaroid. The give and take was worthy of a sitcom. Mariette Hartley was rarely as charming as I found her in these ads. Definitely one of those campaigns worthy of a high ranking even if there wasn’t a signature single ad in the bunch.

• What a great idea for a advertising/show crossover. It’s scary for a young adult to be severed from their parents’ car insurance. Cute little nods to some of the intricate details of the show. We need more clever ads like this one.

Sunday Morning Tuneage Flashback

Buy Grosse Pointe Blank (15th Anniversary Edition) Blu-ray

• On the Sunday Morning Tuneage from 6/4/2007 to 7/12/2009, I ranked my 100 Favorite Films of All-Time. I did one per week with the arbitrary rule that they had to air on television that upcoming week. It ended up being a pretty representative list in retrospect. A few were ranked out of order, but I stick with that list for that point in my life. The 2009 stats check out.
  
  6 – Alfred Hitchcock films.
  5 – Steven Spielberg films.
  4 – Stanley Kubrick films.
  4 – Billy Wilder films.
  
  I’m going to attempt the impossible over the next 20 weeks. I’m going to use that old list as a template and rank five films a week, without planning it all out ahead of time. Remember, these are “favorite” and not necessarily “best” movies. Enjoy critiquing me along the way.
  
  2025 Running Stats (#71-100)
  • 2 – Directed by John Hughes
  • 2 – Directed by David Yates
  • 1 – 1920’s
  • 1 – 1940’s
  • 1 – 1950’s
  • 4 – 1960’s
  • 6 – 1970’s
  • 5 – 1980’s
  • 7 – 1990’s
  • 3 – 2000’s
  • 1 – 2010’s
  • 1 – 2020’s
    
• FAVORITE MOVIES OF ALL-TIME (2009)
  • 75. Blazing Saddles (1974)
  • 74. Sunrise (1927)
  • 73. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
  • 72. Blues Brothers (1980)
  • 71. Rio Bravo (1959)
    
• FAVORITE MOVIES OF ALL-TIME (2025)
  • 75. Grosse Point Blank (1997) (Dir. George Armitage): John Cusack had figured out a way to make films for over 20 years that made people exactly my age feel “heard.” I don’t watch this as often as I should.
  • 74. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) (Dir. Robert Wise): Other films in the franchise get more hype. This film is a blueprint for how to revive a television show for the big screen. It stays within the Roddenberry vision of what message of the show should be.
  • 73. Raising Arizona (1987) (Dir. Coen Bros.): They found their template here and would rarely find an equal to Nicolas Cage to fulfill their vision onscreen.
  • 72. Dune (2021) (Dir. Denis Villenueve): I wanted to “cheat” and put both of the films on the list here. They are as much a single story as any two-film combination in recent years. Even with the flaws, this is one of my favorite watch and rewatches of the past decade.
  • 71. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) (Dir. Wes Anderson): I stick by my claim I made when leaving the theater in 2001, this is one of the best written films that I’ve ever seen. Wes Anderson found a style here that he hasn’t left since.

1975 in Review

Buy Captain America The Man Who Sold The United States trade paperback

• March – Captain America #195 (Marvel Comics): Cover, art and written by Jack Kirby. “Stand aside Dum Dum. This “low-born” is coming through!” – Falcon. Nice to have the King on the title for this Big Daddy Madbomb arc. I know I read it, and I remember very little about it.
• March 1 – Aston Villa beat Norwich City, 1-0, in the Football League Cup (now called the Carabao Cup).
• March 1-8 – TV Guide. Cover art by Al Hirschfeld. The first season of Chico and the Man (NBC) is coming to an end as a Top Ten show. Freddie Prinze is as big a rising star as there is in 1975 and would commit suicide a couple years later. It’s still one of the saddest shames of this era of television to lose such a talented actor.

What the Hell Did I Put in My Mouth?

“I’m with you my love
The light’s shining through on you
Yes, I’m with you my love
It’s the morning and just we two” – Cream