Showing posts with label Pop Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pop Life. Show all posts

Pop Life: Wonder Woman 1984; Aubrey-Maturin novels; Cut Worms

What I've been reading, watching hearing, etc.

After witnessing all the hubbub about the new Wonder Woman movie going straight to TV, along with screening in theaters, due to COVID-19, and then watching that actual film, I came away thinking this thing belongs on TV.

"Wonder Woman 1984" is a small picture: Lacking in vision and execution, and failing to meet its potential. The first WW film, I thought, was great. The direction was ambitious and the story was inspiring. Gal Gadot is a charismatic star born to play this role. 

The movie presented us with a true super heroine—unlike her male counterparts who are motivated by revenge and/or a compulsion to fight for truth and justice, Diana wants to help people because she likes... people. Her approach to superhero-ing is based on compassion. The scenes of her in the first film, coming to the aid of families displaced and victimized by war were genuinely moving in a way that's extremely rare for films of this genre.

The follow-up film, sadly, pales in comparison. The plot, about a magic rock that grants wishes (for real, that's it) could've come from an episode of the actual 1970s/80s Wonder Woman TV series. Or from the 1960s Batman series. Or "Gilligan's Island." It's a dumb TV episode plot extended to two and a half hours.

And rather than pit Diana against a female villain worthy of her, the main baddie is a stereotypical businessman, Maxwell Lord (played by the should've-been-given-something-better-to-do Pedro Pascal) who simply wants to be rich and famous. Kristin Wiig is on hand as the Cheetah, but on the sidelines. In the style of the 1990s Batman films, she's the prep-villain who's given an origin story here and likely to reappear later, maybe, as the major villain of a follow-up film. In my view, it's a misstep. The Cheetah should've, could've been built up as the major foe of the film, creating a more interesting story that featured two female characters in the lead roles.

Chris Pine, who's back from the dead (magic rock—that's not spoiler, it's utterly predictable) and provides a few chuckles as a displaced dude from the Forties who gets into wearing 1980s fashions. This joke is the only reason I could figure for why this film was even sent in the 80s.

What a bummer. But at least I got to see it on HBO Max, which I already pay for, rather than spending a bunch of money on it at the theater (and maybe catching the virus).

I hope you all had some time off over the holidays to relax and read. I took an extended staycation and thoroughly enjoyed it, although I did miss time with family and friends. I'm glad, at least, that I have my wife and daughter here to keep me company!

For me, the break was a great time to dive into the utterly transportive world of Patrick O'Brian and "Treason's Harbour," the ninth entry in his series about British Naval Captain Jack Aubrey and his friend, surgeon-spy Stephen Maturin, and their adventures during the Napoleonic Wars.

I've been making my way, very slowly, through these books for many years now. I'm pacing myself, because O'Brian only (only!) complete 20, and when I'm done, there ain't no more. Although, I'm hanging onto them in anticipation of simply starting over once I reach the end. In fact, I'm really looking forward to re-reading books I haven't even read, yet! That's how good they are.

If you haven't (do!), the books, of course, are full of exciting Naval battles and shipboard life and missions that mix fiction with history. But what I love most about them are the characters, who are so richly developed and real. Aubrey-Maturin are good men, but with flaws and minor foibles that amuse, disappoint and sadden us as we read about them, because they are true to life. Their friendship also is utterly real. I've never read a truer depiction of two, very different, people and the mutual respect, and necessary tolerance, that binds them together.

O'Brian's story are full of action, emotion, humor and wisdom. Reading them makes me a better, fuller, person, I think. 

And this one was a real cliffhanger! I don't know that I'll be able to retain my slow pace of reading, now.

I was fortunate to get a lot of new music for Christmas. I'm sure I'll be writing about more of it. But one album I wanted to flag is Cut Worms' "Nobody Lives Here Anymore." I discovered this music via Spotify and immediately fell in love with its blending of Brill Building pop and touches of country. I didn't know anything about the creators and figured the Cut Worms were a band. Turns out there's no "the" and Cut Worms is a guy named Max Clarke, a very talented singer and songwriter from Ohio. This is a very strong LP that holds together well, and I've enjoyed earlier Cut Worms tunes that have popped up on my Spotify playlist, too. Check him/them out. It's good stuff.

Pop Life: The Derry Girls visit Bakeoff; Matt Wilson's charming "Hug"; "The Queen's Gambit" genius chess moves; Allen and Masekela's "Rejoice"

Like most all of you, I suppose, I've been taking refuge from the pandemic by watching lots of TV, listening to lots of music and reading lots of books. 

So what else is new? If ever there was a disaster made for introverted homebodies, it was Our Year of COVID 2020. Still, I do like to get out to a restaurant and concert occasionally... 

But that will come.

Meanwhile, in the past week or two, some of things I've enjoyed most are watching members of the Derry Girls cast on a holiday edition of "The Great British Baking Show." Two of Netflix's greatest hits combined? How could it not be great? But it was even greater than I'd anticipated. 

Either Saoirse-Monica Jackson (Erin), Nicola Coughlan (Claire), Jamie-Lee O’Donnell (Michelle), Dylan Llewellyn (James) and Siobhán McSweeney (Sister Michael) showed up to bake in character, or their "Derry Girls" roles are written on their real-life selves. All were hilarious trying to keep pace with the challenges thrown down by Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith while failing miserably. It's the most I've laughed in a long time.

Realizing I'm late to the party on this one: But I loved the acclaimed "The Queen's Gambit" on Netflix. I've never understood chess—how it works, why people play it, why there are clubs for it—and still don't. But it didn't matter a bit. I was hooked from the get-go. Ana Taylor-Joy's performance is remarkable and the writing is top-notch. If it were a movie, with all the plot points compressed, I think the result likely would've been predicable feel-good fare: An underdog makes good. But by spreading it out and letting us know Beth Harmon bit by bit, learning to gauge her character and next moves as in a long game of chess, the story is addictive, heartwarming and supremely moving.

Music-wise, things have been upbeat, too. There's lots of Christmas music playing in the house now, of course. But I've also been spinning the Matt Wilson Quartet's charming Hug!—an LP that lives up to its name. The performances are charming, heartfelt and playful, ranging from soulful bop accessibly free, and funny. The title track is super-catchy in a Herb Alpert-ish sorta way, the type of thing that might've been a hit back in the more diverse days of 1960s Top 40 radio. The cover of "King of the Road" is great, too. And I love the lighthearted social commentary of "Space Force March," which interpolates Sun Ra's "Interplanetary Music." Some listeners will wish it came with a trigger warning due to the surprise vocal cameo, though.

Also blessed with an upbeat title is Rejoice, the final album—and first collaboration—by the hugely influential African musicians trumpeter Hugh Masekela and drummer Tony Allen, both of whom passed away this year. The LP is a gem, driven by Allen's insistent, always funky beat and Masekela's Miles-influenced playing over the top. Some of the tunes are augmented by chants and vocals that add, never detract, as on the tribute to Allen's former boss, afro-pop pioneer Fela Kuti, "Never (Lagos Never Gonna Be the Same)." 

Pop Life: Prince; Khruangbin; Comedians in Cars

What I've been reading, watching, hearing, etc.

The Book of Prince. Fascinating article in The New Yorker this week from the co-author of Prince's upcoming, incomplete, memoir. We get a portrait of an enigmatic and brilliant artist, thinking deep thoughts on art and race and how he might use his planned book to change the world and upset the social order. His sudden death surprised his co-author just as much as anyone.


Khruangbin - Con Todo El Mundo. Surfy/psych/exotica that sounds indeterminantly ethnic but is made in America. On repeat on the kitchen stereo. They have newer stuff. Need to get that, too.


Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Cruising through the new season on Netflix. The Eddie Murphy episode is brilliant. He recently announced he's getting back into standup. Judging from this he's ready.

Pop Life: Game of Thrones; Ramsey Lewis; Community

What I've been reading, watching, hearing, etc.


SPOILERS: After two, super-intense, episode-long battles, I found the final episode of "Game of Thrones" a bit slow and underwhelming. I appreciate the symmetry of naming Bran heir of the (now melted) Iron Throne elegant, but also a bit dissatisfying.

There were so many spectacular female characters on this show, it would've been nice to see one of them ascend. Why not Sansa or Arya? It's sort of like a presidential primary where there are lots of impressively qualified women in the race, but then somebody's creepy old uncle comes along and becomes the automatic front runner. Not that that would happen in our word. But, low-energy Bran (seriously, he looks like he's about to doze off half the time) has mystical powers and stuff, so there you go.

All-in-all, though, GOT was a captivating series. Lot of great characters and twists and turns. Not that it wasn't flawed. The torture, violence and, particularly, the sexual violence, was often more extreme than warranted. But I grew attached to many of the characters, some of which even made it to the end!

Now, will George R.R. Martin ever finish those books...?


Ramsey Lewis - "Mother Nature's Son." I picked this one up at a record sale a while back and found it unexpectedly groovy. I was expecting Beatles covers in Lewis' soulful trio format, ala his hit cover of "The 'In' Crowd." Instead, we get a batch of hot-of-the-presses "White Album" tunes with full orchestra and lots of wild, psychedelic production touches. Very much worth a listen.


"Community." My wife and I are re-watching this series on Hulu with our teen daughter and I'd totally forgotten how brilliant it is. The ensemble - including Chevy Chase, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale and a yet-to-break-big Donald Glover - is fantastic, as are the "meta" concepts. On-the-spectrum character Abed (Danny Pudi) treats life as a TV show or movie, a perspective that's reinforced by numerous concept episodes, which include parodies of "Doctor Who," a clay-animated Christmas special and, of all things "My Dinner with Andre." My appreciation is renewed - the smartest/silliest thing I've ever seen. If you haven't watched it, you're in for a treat.

Pop Life: Aretha Franklin; Corto Maltese

Stuff I'm watching, reading, hearing.


"Amazing Grace." What a perfect way to spend Easter weekend - watching the Queen of Soul belt out gospel tunes before a small, live audience in a Los Angeles church. The experience is rapturous, even if you're not terribly, or traditionally, religious. Filmed in 1972 by director Sydney Pollack and a small crew, this wasn't released at the time due to technical issues (they didn't manage to syn the image and sound!), but is now beautifully restored. Filmed over two nights, the first is the best. The second seems more self-conscious and aware - as Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones are spotted by the camera seated in the back pew - and Aretha's too-slick and creepy dad taks the mic. But when she sings, man. Even the folks in the choir, no slouches themselves in the vocal department, can't help but gasp. In good theaters now.


"Corto Maltese: The Secret Rose." I'm only now getting into this series of remarkable graphic novels ("albums," they've called 'em for decades in Europe) by the amazing cartoonist Hugo Pratt. Corto Maltese is a rogueish, sea-faring adventurer. And, from what I've seen he does have real adventures. But in this one, the adventure takes place within his mind, as he contemplates alchemy, good and evil and the Holy Grail while under the mental/spiritual influence of author Hermann Hesse, who he meets up with while in Switzerland. Pratt's art - simple and in black and white - is a great example of what's so wonderful, and achievable in the comics medium as Corto travels through the surreal landscapes of his own consciousness. I need to take a deep dive into Pratt's work - this one moved and inspired me as only the best literature, graphic or otherwise, can. Order it here.

Pop Life: "Catastrophe," "Killing Eve," "Apollo 11"

What I'm reading, watching, hearing, etc.


"Catastrophe." That was way too quick. My wife and I buzzed through all six new season 3 episodes of this brilliant Amazon Prime series in just as many days. The show is a cringe comedy, but not one that generates uneasy laughter via unlikely situations. This show's situations and dialogue are all too real. Anyone who's been married for a while will recognize how real life will never let the ideal of marital bliss realize it's just a crock. The frustrations of child-rearing, the stress of career, the anguish of loss, annoying family and friends - it's the ability to get through all this crap together, and to recognize it's absurdity, is what successful marriage is truly all about. The comic chemistry, and writing, of co-stars Sharon Hogan and Rob Delaney is brilliant. As a couple, they never seem less than real - just a lot funnier and, frankly, meaner than most married folk. There are a few moments in this short season that fall to the level of "just plain comedy" and predictability, I'd say, but "Catastrophe" set it's bar very high and, overall, this is still one of the best shows running/streaming anywhere. The last episode of this run, which serves as a tribute of sorts to the late Carrie Fisher, who played Delaney's mother, is a heart breaker for all sorts of reasons - hard to watch, yet I wanted to see more and more.


"Killing Eve." Before we buzzed all the way through "Catastrophe," we buzzed all the way through season 1 of this suspense-comedy starring the endearingly awesome Sandra Oh as an intelligence officer pursuing, and being pursued by, the terrifyingly awesome Jodie Comer as a French assassin. The two leads here are incredible. The show's suspense comes not from the situation they're placed in, but in trying to guess - usually unsuccessfully - how each character will respond. Both Eve (Oh) and Villanelle (Comer) are loose canons. Their motivations are unclear and unpredictable - not just to the view, but to the characters' themselves. They aren't quite sure, moment to moment, what they will do, or why. The dialogue is sharp - some of the funniest of seen/heard anywhere on screen in recent years. Season 2 starts April 7 on AMC/BBC America, but we're cord cutters, so hopefully it'll turn up on Hulu before too terribly long.


"Apollo 11." Anyone fascinated by the Golden Age of space exploration and in love with the 1960s will eat this documentary up with the spoon. The footage, both terrestrial and lunar, is vividly restored and in bright color. Maybe you're old enough to remember the first moon landing (I'm not, I was 3) but you never saw it like this. There are no talking heads looking back 50 years. The narration comes from news coverage (including lots of the late, great Walter Cronkite) and NASA personnel. The action unfolds in real time and it's scary and exciting even though you know exactly what's going to happen. The bravery of Apollo's crew and the brilliance of NASA's engineers are inspiring, yet there's also an undercurrent of sadness knowing that America is no longer as united, as imaginative and as daring as it was when the space program was firing on all cylinders. Side note: Seeing guys land on the moon was awesome, but so is seeing a young Johnny Carson in shades sauntering through the crowd watching the Apollo lift-off at Kennedy Space Center.