Author: Roger

I'm a librarian. I hear music, even when it's not being played. I used to work at a comic book store, and it still informs my life. I won once on JEOPARDY! - ditto.

MOVIE REVIEW: The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel Is a cleverly oddball screwball comedy caper, yet melancholy tale of murder,

Grand_Budapest_HotelIn the first scene of The Grand Budapest Hotel, a young woman or girl walks through a cemetery, and I realize “She looks like a Wes Anderson character.” Is it the sensible shoes, or the way she walked? Not sure. Strange, because I had only seen two earlier Anderson films, The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), which I did not love, and Moonrise Kingdom (2012), which I enjoyed greatly.

This is “The adventures of Gustave H [Ralph Fiennes] , a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero [newcomer Tony Revolori], the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend” during a period when the world is rapidly changing. The tale is told by Mr. Moustafa [F. Murray Abraham], owner of the title structure. It’s a cleverly oddball screwball comedy caper, yet the melancholy tale of murder, theft, and love.

It’s so well made that one forgets how much skill is involved. It includes some stop-motion animation bits which I can only imagine would be diminished on home video. I laughed aloud more than a few times, almost all in the second half.

I rather liked this summary from James Berardinelli of ReelViews: “It offers an engaging 90+ minutes of unconventional, comedy-tinged adventure that references numerous classic movies while developing a style and narrative approach all its own.” Some elements of homage, yet its own film.

LOTS of familiar faces in the large cast, well used. Special props to Tilda Swinton, who plays an 84-year-old woman. My friend Steve Bissette noted that the highlights for him “included Willem Dafoe’s monstrous boogeyman/family hit man and Harvey Keitel’s appearance.”

He called the film an “absurdist faux-continental adventure and among Anderson’s most entertaining confections (and that’s saying a lot), with the usual precocity those who don’t enjoy Anderson’s work will revile and those of us who do savor.”

This was one of those exceedingly rare times we went out on a Friday night, to the Spectrum Theatre in Albany, and actually saw at least five people we knew, two in that very showing. So people really DO go out on date night. I never knew…
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I read a review of someone recently seeing Frozen. The reviewer wondered “Why on earth did this movie become a cultural touchstone?… It just wasn’t nearly as fantastic as people have made it out to be…” Then she answers her own question: “I suspect I would have enjoyed it much more if I hadn’t gone into watching it with the knowledge that it has become so popular. I was expecting a lot more, and I think high expectations kind of ruined it for me.” I totally agree, And if she saw it on video, rather than in the theater – I don’t know – THAT would be significantly important in a first viewing.

 

Art, science, Bible, baseball

You have this +1 sodium just hanging out when it hooks up with the -1 chloride.

josephhenry
More from New York Erratic:

Who is your favorite visual artist? Favorite director?

I tend to be rather catholic about these things. Here’s the best way to recognize the artist of paintings, BTW.

My church has Tiffany windows, which I like; the one above is one of them. Gordon Parks is a favorite photographer. Always though Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings were interesting, if not always practical. Van Gogh I enjoy, but there are so many more; I love going to the house in the Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, NY because it’s so eclectic. Did one of those Facebook things where you should live, and it came up with French Polynesia, which reminded me that I like Gauguin too.

But I guess my favorite visual artist is Rodin, whose work I find sensual as all get out, even if it isn’t all his work.

I took this list of a list of the 50 greatest directors of all time. Of all the directors whose films I’ve seen more that three Continue reading “Art, science, Bible, baseball”

N is for the Neville Brothers

Got to see the Neville Brothers on Thursday, August 6, 2009 at
River Front Park in Albany,

NevilleBrothersThe Neville Brothers, an American soul/funk/rhythm and blues group, was formed in 1977 in New Orleans, Louisiana, consisting of Art (b. 1937), Charles (b. 1938), Aaron (b. 1941), and Cyril (b. 1948).

But long before then, the brothers were involved in music. The Meters formed in 1965, led by Art on keyboards and vocals, and later including percussionist/vocalist Cyril. They had some R&B hits, but they were best known for backing other artists, for which they were thrice nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, including this past year.

Meanwhile, Aaron had hits going back to 1960. His biggest solo record was Tell It Like It Is [LISTEN], a #2 pop smash in 1967.

The first Neville Brothers music I heard regularly was the second LP, Fiyo on the Bayou, from 1981. I didn’t know then that, of the three songs that got lots of airplay on my favorite radio station at the time, Q104, two – Hey Pocky Way [LISTEN] and Fire on the Bayou [LISTEN] – had been Meters songs; the third song was Sweet Honey Dripper [LISTEN].

They were never a hits group but were a very popular touring band. Their albums from 1989, Yellow Moon, and 1990, Brother’s Keeper, were the most successful; LISTEN to the title track of Yellow Moon [LISTEN].

Aaron, by contrast, WAS more commercially successful, as a solo artist. His duet with Linda Ronstadt, Don’t Know Much [LISTEN], went to #2 in 1989.

Got to see the Neville Brothers on Thursday, August 6, 2009, at River Front Park in Albany, doing a mixture of Meters, Neville Brothers, and Aaron Neville songs, plus covers such as the Temptations’ Ball of Confusion [LISTEN].

ABC Wednesday – Round 14

Grey Anatomy’s ’80s Music; Stephen Colbert to CBS

The longtime president of Union College, Eliphalet Nott, was previously the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Albany.

greys-anatomyI noticed that Grey’s Anatomy had been using songs familiar to me, but by different artists from the originals. What I hadn’t sussed out is that the program will feature all ’80s covers for the remainder of season 10. Here’s a list of recent music.

For instance, Episode 14 included [LISTEN to all]:
Don’t You Want Me by Young Summer, originally by the Human League.
Man in the Mirror by J2, featuring Cameron The Public, originally by Michael Jackson.
All Through the Night by Sleeping at Last, originally by Jules Shear, popularized by Cyndi Lauper.
Don’t You Forget About Me by Wind & The Wave, originally by Simple Minds.

This is part of a collaborative effort between Grey’s creator Shonda Rhimes and music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas — what they call the ’80s Covers Project.
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My buddy Alan David Doane was musing about the limitations of the Stephen Colbert caricature on Comedy Central as a right-wing blowhard: “His ‘character’ gets in the way of providing the value and insight Jon Stewart delivers every day [on the Daily Show]… It was an amusing conceit that has proven limited in its capacity to entertain and enlighten, and this [then] current brouhaha seems to be the point where everybody has finally gotten as tired of it as I have always been.” It was always thus for me as well. I got the joke; I just didn’t think it was particularly funny over time.

When David Letterman announced his retirement from his CBS Late Night show, and Colbert was selected to replace him, I was hoping we’d then see the real Colbert. It will be so. Mark Evanier wrote quite a bit about all this HERE and HERE (what about Craig Ferguson, whose show follows Letterman) and HERE (why not Jon Stewart) and HERE. Also, Stephen Colbert hits back at Bill O’Reilly.
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I had to be rooting for Union College as it defeats Minnesota for the college hockey national championship. Not only was it a much smaller school, and an underdog against a perennial power, but it’s located in Schenectady, NY, in my metro area. Used to walk through the campus all the time in 1978.

Moreover, the longtime (1804-1866) president of the college, Eliphalet Nott, was previously (1802-1804) the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Albany, my present church home.
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Killing off a major character could be fatal to “The Good Wife”. I hope not, because it’s one of the few programs I actually watch and my favorite drama.

Why is life so complicated?

In honor of National Library Week, April 13-19 this year:

Helpdesk support back in the day. Original taken from the show “Øystein og jeg” on Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK)in 2001. With Øystein Backe (helper)and Rune Gokstad (desperate monk). Written by Knut Nærum.

You have NO idea what librarians goes through with the general public, but sometimes, it’s rather like this.

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