February 2023 - Page 4 of 6 - Ramblin' with Roger

Movie review: The Fabelmans

Director/co-writer Steven Spielberg

I believe the film The Fabelmans is underrated. That may seem to be an odd conclusion, given the fact that it won the Golden Globe for Best Drama and director Steven Spielberg. Plus, it’s been nominated for seven Academy Awards.

It’s the commentaries, and I’ve read a few of them, that say, e.g., that “the ending is something of a foregone conclusion, as we all know what happened to Spielberg.” I think this is a banal observation, given the number of movies based on actual events for which the audience may know the outcome.

In any case, the protagonist is Sammy Fabelman (Gabrielle LaBelle), whose life is a fictionalized portrayal of Spielberg’s journey. It’s the journey that is interesting.

His mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams), is a talented pianist without much chance to express it. Her artistic outlet was supporting Sammy’s desire to film everything, a passion that started after a family outing to a movie.

His dad, Burt (Paul Dano), a technological innovator, tolerates his son’s “hobby,” a term Sammy rails against. Burt’s friend and colleague Bennie (Seth Rogan) is a like an uncle to the Fabelman kids.

Family

The movie worked for me because it shared some universal truths about family dynamics. Couples are complicated. Secrets are kept. For instance, that uncle Boris (Judd Hirsch), who Mitzi’s mother warned Mitzi about from the grave, shows up.

Mostly, it’s about how, sometimes, an artist is compelled to do their art. Looking back at his growing up so late in his career may have given Spielberg the perspective a younger writer-director could not have mined as well.

Some critics thought it was overly sentimental. Sentimental, sure, but it also shows some family members as fish out of water, especially when the Fabelmans leave the relative comfort of Arizona for the foreign land that is California.

All the Oscar nominees are deserving. I was particularly taken by the not-nominated Paul Dano, whose Burt is walking a tightrope between being the left-brained breadwinner and trying to address his wife’s and son’s more right-brained passions.I’ve never favored the idea of a performance being ‘snubbed,” but some have used the term about his performance.

My wife and I saw the film at Albany’s Spectrum Theatre in mid-January.

Sunday Stealing: 7 Layer Meme

Not for me to say

The Sunday Stealing post this week is the 7 Layer Meme. I misread it as 7 Lager Meme because of the font.Except for the fact that I don’t drink beer, that could have been interesting.

LAYER 1: Tell us your…

* Eye color: Brown

* Hair color: What hair? Mostly gray.

* Height: 5’11 5/8″

* Righty or lefty: Righty

LAYER 2: What’s…

* Your heritage: I wrote about this last year here.

* The shoes you wore today: Brown

* Your weakness: Left knee from torn meniscus in 1994

* Your fears: Being late

* And your perfect pizza: Sausage and mushroom

* Goals you’d like to achieve: Writing this blog post

* Your first waking thoughts: What time is it?

* Your best physical feature: My eyes.

* And your most missed memory: Presently, my high school yearbook. It may turn up.

LAYER 3: Do you…

* Smoke: No.

* Cuss: Increasingly since 2015.

* Sing: Often.

* Do you think you’ve been in love: Sure.

* Did you go to college: Yes. Then to grad school, twice, one time to completition.

* Liked high school: Mostly.

* Believe in yourself: Occasionally.

* Think you’re attractive: Not for me to say.

* Think you’re a health freak: No.

* Like thunderstorms: If I’m home.

* Play an instrument: Not really.

FORE!

LAYER 4: In the past month have you…

* Drunk alcohol/Smoked: No (X2)

* Done a drug: Tylenol

* Made out: no

* Gone on a date: Yes, to dinner.

* Gone to the mall: No. I hate malls. Unless you count strip malls.

* Eaten an entire box of Oreos/Eaten sushi: No (X2)

* Been on stage: Define “stage” – I’ve been at a church lectern

* Been dumped/Gone skating/Gone skinny dipping: No (X3)

Fortunately, the conditional “in the last month” is there, or there would be a whole lot more to write here.

LAYER 5: Have you ever…

* Played a game that required removal of clothing: No.

* Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Yes. The last time was almost 31 years ago when I was a pallnbearer for a dear friend and on my birthday.

* Been caught “doing something”: Probably. Likely more than once.

* And been called a tease: Possibly

* Gotten beaten up: I wouldn’t say “beaten up”, but punched, yes, I wrote about this here.

LAYER 6:

* Age you did get/hope to be married: 19

* How do you want to die: Saving someone or in my sleep

* What did you want to be when you grew up: Minister or lawyer

* What country would you most like to visit: France

Seven and Seven Is – Love

LAYER 7: Now tell…

* Name a person you could trust with your life: Uthaclena

* The name of a favorite CD that you own: Peter Gabriel’s third album, sometimes called Melt. I have it in German on LP and English. Gabriel’s birthday is this week!

* Number of piercings/Number of tattoos: zero (X2)

* Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: dozens. In Binghamton relating to community events. My picture was in the paper singing “O Come All Ye Faithful” when I was six, according to the caption. There was the story about the Green Family Singers and at least one tied to my 1972 car accident.

In Albany, NY when I worked for FantaCo, the comic book store (1980-1988), there were a handful of stories, plus one UPI piece that got picked up by papers in CA, IL, ME, OK, PA, UT and WA in April-June, 1982.

There was a story about me and the 1990 Census in the Schenectady Gazette.

After I was on JEOPARDY in 1998, I got a few mentions, once in the Boston Globe and several times in the Albany Times Union. I was a blogger for the TU’s community blog (2008-2021), and occasionally an excerpt would show up in the print newspaper. There is a picture of me singing at my present church at some point in the 2010s.

* Name a past experience that you regret: “Regrets, I’ve a few, But again, too few to mention.” It’s not that I don’t have things I wish I had done differently. It’s that there were things learned from the experiences.

Seven Nation Army-White Stripes

Burt Bacharach (1928-2023)

Academy Award winner

The New York Times obituary for Burt Bacharach quoted the composer from his 2013 autobiography, “Anyone Who Had a Heart: My Life and Music,” written with Robert Greenfield.

“Mr. Bacharach suggested that as a songwriter, he had been ‘luckier than most.’

“’Most composers sit in a room by themselves, and nobody knows what they look like,’ he wrote. ‘People may have heard some of their songs, but they never get to see them onstage or on television.’ Because he was also a performer, he noted, ‘I get to make a direct connection with people.’

“’Whether it’s just a handshake or being stopped on the street and asked for an autograph or having someone comment on a song I’ve written,’ Mr. Bacharach added, ‘that connection is really meaningful and powerful for me.’”

I thought about that sentiment back in 2012 when Burt’s long-time writing partner, Hal David, died. His passing did not receive the notice I felt his body of work deserved.

On the other hand, Hal wasn’t “sleepy-eyed handsome and suave” or married to Angie Dickinson, the Rat Pack-affiliated star of the television show Police Woman. Burt was, from 1965 to 1981, helping him to be a star in his own right.

Bacharach acknowledged in the autobio that the split with David “was all my fault, and I can’t imagine how many great songs I could have written with Hal in the years we were apart.”

The Times article has several hyperlinks, which you should be able to play. Still, I’ll put a few here.

Award winner

From THR: ” Bacharach also won two Academy Awards for his work on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969): best song for “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” [BJ Thomas] and best musical score. He also won the song Oscar for “Arthur’s Theme” (Best That You Can Do) [Christopher Cross]” from Arthur (1981), which he shared with his third wife, lyricist Carole Bayer Sager; Peter Allen; and singer Christopher Cross.

“Bacharach’s compositions received three other Oscar noms, all of which he shared with David: “What’s New Pussycat” [Tom Jones] from the 1965 Woody Allen comedy; “Alfie” [Cher], the title tune from the 1966 Michael Caine classic; and “The Look Of Love” [Dusty Springfield],” from Casino Royale (1967).

“Bacharach later wrote and produced songs with Bayer Sager, including Warwick’s “That’s What Friends Are For” [with Elton John · Gladys Knight · Stevie Wonder], which won the 1986 Grammy for song of the year; “They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To”recorded by Kenny Rogers for Tough Guys (1986); and the theme from Baby Boom (Ever Changing Times by Siedah Garrett, 1987).

Okay, a few more:

Naked Eyes – Always Something There To Remind Me

A variety of songs from Variety, including, naturally, some by Dionne Warwick

Making the case against creating term limits

lobbyist domination

As a political science major and political junkie, I’ve long been interested in the issue of creating term limits for politicians. I read a piece recently in the Boston Globe restating that.

Jeff Jacoby’s January 12 opinion piece, “The case for term limits is as strong as ever,” says, “The case for term limits is straightforward: Men and women cannot be trusted for too long with too much power.

“That is why presidents may be elected to a maximum of two terms, why the governors of 36 states are term-limited, why 15 states impose term limits on legislators, and why nine of the ten largest cities, including New York and Los Angeles, apply term limits to their mayors and (in most cases) city councilors. Power not only tends to corrupt; it tends to do so fairly quickly. Term limits are a check on that corruption.”

I cannot disagree with this, although it’s been my observation that most politicians who are term-limited end up either running for a different office or are appointed to another post. Indeed, 47 current US Senators had previous House service.

On the other hand…

Still, I was interested in the pushback to the column, most of which I also agree with. One writes, “readers of the recent Neal Gabler book ‘Against the Wind: Edward Kennedy and the Rise of Conservatism, 1976-2009’ would probably disagree.

“If Jacoby had his way, term limits would have deprived the people of the Commonwealth of the decades of excellent public service that we enjoyed thanks to the labors of long-term officeholders such as Senator Kennedy, Senator John Kerry, and House Speaker Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill.” And, might I add, Nancy Pelosi, whose experience allowed her to be an effective Speaker of the House.

“Experience matters in mastering the intricacies of most fields, including government. Cookie-cutter solutions such as term limits may seem superficially appealing, but they fail to address the problem of persuading good people to go to and stay in Congress.” Yes, it usually takes a while to figure out what the job is. Institutional memory has value.

Another says, “Jacoby looks to term limits to resolve his concerns over the advantages of incumbency rather than to campaign financing laws and to the end of gerrymandering.” Those, the reader suggests, are the real villains, not incumbency per se.

I came across this report by the Congressional Research Service. “The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 117th Congress was 8.9 years (4.5 House terms); for Senators, 11.0 years (1.8 Senate terms). ” Yes, there are indeed people who have stayed too long – Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), for one.

Beware the lobbyists

This comment most resonated with me: “Imposing term limits is also a recipe for lobbyist domination. Since lobbyists don’t have term limits, and they gain expertise at their jobs, they’d be even better at outmaneuvering legislators than they are now.” Also, the lobbyist pool sometimes comes from previously elected officials.

“It’s been said that we already have term limits; they’re called elections. What we need is better, fairer elections: ranked-choice voting, public campaign financing, a repeal of the Citizens United decision so that we can limit money in elections, and so on.

“There are plenty of ways to improve our democracy. Kicking out the folks who know how to make it work isn’t one of them.”

However, I’m willing to be convinced that creating term limits will be the panacea that will create a more robust democracy. And, if there were something less than lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court, I could get behind that.

Review: The Banshees of Inisherin

Nine Oscar noms

After mulling it over for a few weeks, I’ve decided that The Banshees of Inisherin is a COVID movie. I don’t mean this literally; it’s set in 1923 Ireland.

But there’s a specific isolation that the film, set on a small island, imbues. Pádraic (Colin Farrell) is confounded when the musician Colm (Brendon Gleeson), without provocation, ends their friendship. Pádraic keeps wanting an explanation. Ultimately, there’s no profound reason for the fissure.

And Pádraic is a nice guy, as he reminds everyone in earshot, including his bright but underemployed sister Siobhán (Kerry Conlon), the troubled young Dominic (Barry Keoghan), an increasingly frustrated Colm, even Pádraic’s pet donkey (Jenny). All of the above actors, except Jenny, were nominated for Oscars, and understandably so.

WTOP film critic Jason Fraley wrote: “A beautifully bizarre tale of wistfulness that actually caused me to laugh out loud from its tragicomic tone. It certainly won’t be for everyone (I can’t quite put my finger on why…), but if you don’t absolutely hate it, you just might love it.”

My wife and I got into a conversation with the people sitting behind us at Albany’s Spectrum Theatre about the greater message in the film. Sometimes you do outgrow another person. And it got me thinking about who, between the former friends, is the wronged one.

I certainly didn’t hate the movie, which is listed as a comedy (comedy?) or a comedy-drama. The priest (David Pearse) in this remote locale WAS funny in his less-than-professional demeanor.

But the “solution” to the main conflict in the film is counterintuitive, let’s say. It’s certainly strange.

Academy Award noms

The Banshees of Inisherin was also nominated for Oscars in the categories of best picture, original score (Carter Burwell), film editing (Mikkel E. G. Nielsen), original screenplay, director, and best picture (all Martin McDonagh, the latter with two others). It looks charming, and the score is enjoyable. It won some earlier awards.

The movie may be, at 114 minutes – not that lengthy by current movie standards – too long for the story that’s being told. Still, it does show its craft. You may enjoy it more than I and possibly far more than my wife did.