Random Thoughts Just Hours before Oscar Night

I feel a good rant brewing.  No..I feel like an absolute curmudgeon!

Never fear.  I'll not spoil the evening with a tantrum.  This is one of the more interesting Oscar years in recent memory, even if it's almost certain that the year's most interesting films will not be justly recognized.

It has been a year since my Mother entered a Nursing home.  I'm feeling a little melancholy today.  I miss her enthusiasm about the Oscars, mostly done (I know this now) for my sake.  I miss going to the movies with her. 

Mark's Mother died almost a month ago. She went quietly after a long illness.  Mark's sons will join us tonight for the Oscar show.  We will be festive, although Helen's recent absence still hangs heavy over us.  I miss her, too.

I think we will drink a silent toast to both Moms tonight.

Now, on to Oscars and my burning, snarky questions:

--Can someone tell me just what Daniel Day-Lewis DID to earn such programmed, lockstep acclaim for "Lincoln"?  To me, he handled Tony Kushner's labyrinthine speeches admirably, often beautifully.  But come on...What do people mean when they say he made an uncanny transformation into Lincoln?  Do they mean that they themselves met Abe Lincoln personally, and Day-Lewis is a spitting image?  Rather, I think people are in awe of the surface resemblances, thanks to make-up, that render the actor like a bronze bust of the 16th President.  Lewis so resembles our own images of Lincoln, gleaned from pennies and $5 bills, from amusement park dioramas and somber sculptures, that it is easy to assume that these transformations were due to Lewis' acting.   But, compared to Lewis' own best work ("My Left Foot", for instance) and his Best Actor competitors, I see neither the level of difficulty, nor the memorable high points, I saw in either of the perfomances of Hugh Jackman or Bradley Cooper.  Even non-nominated John Hawkes of "The Sessions" will stay in memory longer than the Lincoln Lullaby.

--Argo is suddenly the favorite to win Best Picture, based on precursor awards.  (Of course, these have gone for naught before.."Brokeback Mountain", anyone?)  Ironically, had Ben Affleck received a reasonably deserved Best Director nomination, I wonder if the movie would now be an also-ran?  It occurred to me that Best Picture, should "Argo" triumph here, might be its only win!! I don't think it is heavily favored in ANY of its other nominations (Arkin had too little screen time, and its nominees for Screenplay, Editing, Score, and 2 Sound categories are up against fierce competition).  Should "Argo" win Film Editing, however, then it is all over but for Affleck's Producer acceptance speech.

--I liked "Argo" a lot, and it would be a respectable best Picture winner.  It is entertaining, informative (even if not wholly historically accurate), and extremely well-made.  Still, there are other nominees that stirred my passions more, and inspired my creative juices, and old love for filmmaking.  See below for Loudest Cheers.

--Speaking of Director: with DGA going to Affleck,  but no chance for an Oscar, this has to be the most breathtaking award of the night.  If "Argo" is going to win for Best picture, then will the Academy do something impetuous, wonderful--like give it to the new guy, Benh Zeitlin, for creating a once-in-a-lifetime work like "Beasts of the Southern Wild"? Talented though he may be, he will never have this moment again, where he crafted an artistic and emotional powerhouse out for sheer will and dedication of a group of amateurs who happen to LOVE FILM MAKING?  Or will they recognize Michael Haneke, for a difficult, hushed, controlled, steamroller called "Amour"?  It would be like a long-overdue recognition of Ingmar Bergman.  Of course, was there a more difficult assignment than "Life of Pi"?  Will Oscar once again recognize the visionary Ang Lee? 

--There are three actresses for whom I will cheer loudly if wither of them win. Of course, if either of the 3 do win, then I must lament the downfall of the other two.  With all due respect to Jessica Chastain and Naomi Watts, I am SOOO pulling for either Jennifer Lawrence ("Silver Linings Playbook"), Quvenzhane` Wallis ("Beasts..."), or Emmanuelle Riva ("Amour").  All three engaged me, riveted me, astounded me.  Wallis gave line readings that seasoned actresses would weep to achieve, and had a final scene with her on-screen father that is great "acting" in the purest sense..  Lawrence had the sexy humor, ferocity and confidence of Jane Fonda's Oscar-winning portrayal of Bree Daniels in "Klute".  And Riva captured so perfectly the nuances of aging, that her tragedy became my own.  Oh why can't there be a 3-way tie??

--Listen for my loud cheers if these others are called: Robert DeNiro and Bradley Cooper ("Silver Linings..."), Helen Hunt for "The Sessions", "Les Misearables" for Makeup/Hair and Art Direction, and "Life of Pi" for ANYTHING (especially for it's lush, moving Score and for its Visual Effects, giving us Richard Parker).  Or "Silver Linings", "Beasts", "Les Mis", or "Amour" for Best Picture!

--I will remain politely mute, a passive-aggressive "WTF" in my expression, if "Django,,,", "Zero..." or "Lincoln.." get called, for anything.

Oscar's Choices, And Capsule Reviews, for 2012

Yeah.. I'm still here.  Deal with it!

It's time to chime in with my thoughts on this year's Oscar nominees for Best Picture.  In the bargain, I offer  you capsule impressions of those films I have seen, want to see, or refuse to see....

The cinematic sleeping pill that is "Lincoln" earned the most Oscar nominations--12. Incredibly, the one category to which the film undoubtedly owes most of its success, Hair and Makeup, was not one of its nominated categories!   I believe "Lincoln"'s acclaim is a case of voters feeling self-righteous about the subject matter, and not the film that was on the screen. Its cinematography was one of its weakest elements--the film is a visual bore, and a slog-- but, hey, gotta get Kaminski in there.   Ditto Michael Kahn:  there was nothing inspiring or exceptional about the editing. Tony Kushner has all but won in this category.    It is a subtle screenplay, but not a cinematic one--I fear it is best suited as a radio play.    Spielberg, never known for his subtlety, seemed flummoxed by Kushner's grand speeches and plodding exposition.    Of course we do get some of Spielberg's "touches" : for example, there's one shot of Day-Lewis at the end, walking to his doom, with a halo---I am afraid--over his head.    (Interesting that Spielberg got snubbed by BAFTA.)    Tommy Lee Jones should memorize his acceptance speech soon.

 

Although it is not among the favorites of on-line Oscar-Geeks (it is barely discussed by neophyte Oscar pundits), I think "Life of Pi" could be a tough competitor.   Its only drawback to winning the top prize may be that it garnered no acting nominations. But it took an impressive second place in the total nods with 11 nominations!    And all of them richly deserved, I might add.    This is what cinematic imagination, and emerging technology, is all about: to visualize a work that many said would be impossible to translate to the screen.  It's a film that plucks at our thoughts and feelings about death, truth, and nature,  ones that we often want to avoid, and does so in the guise of a magnificent animal.  Should be a lock for Visual Effects, and Original Score, too... I think it has a great shot in many technical categories, and I will cheer for all of its wins.

 

Those same Oscar-geeks that are left floundering in the spiritual tsunami that is "Life of Pi" are drooling over "Django Unchained"...and I was dismayed at its inclusion in the Best Pic list.. Ok Ok, I have not seen it, it's true; but I get nauseous just reading the synopses, so I don't care how "pretty" Richardsons' camerawork might be.    Some viewers will be thoroughly entertained--even get some laughs!--from watching helpless slaves get tortured, or fight to the death, or get attacked by savage dogs.  They may snicker at QT's precocious-schoolboy cleverness.  Not me...Nothing I have read yet suggests that the violence or "satire" is in service to anything above the level of adolescent revenge fantasy.  When blaxploitation films and spaghetti westerns were in vogue, they were (accurately) regarded as third-rate entertainment.   And I'm not flattered by the many filmic allusions QT purports to use,  stuck inside the film like rancid raisins in a stale pastry.  Thank goodness Leonardo DiCaprio was "snubbed" again.. Why, oh why, can't he pick roles that suit his easygoing, romantic-comedy-lead persona?? He must love playing dress-up in his grandfather's old clothes. As for Tarantino's inclusion yet again into the Best Picture and Screenplay slots, he must have a built-in Academy bloc of young hipsters who don't know that their idol-emperor HAS no clothes...

 

"Amour" intrigues me...It starts in Chicago this weekend. I liked Haneke's "The White Ribbon", and have liked all of the performers' other films.   (Especially Jean-Louis Trintingnant, so doggedly handsome as the relentless investigator in 1969's "Z").  Since the film is about the ravages of old age, it will be terribly relevant to me, and to all of my friends and peers who, over the past year, have had to deal with the nightmarish caregiving needs of horribly declining parents.   I remember Emmanuelle Riva from "Hiroshima Mon Amour" decades ago. At 86 she is the oldest Best Actress nominee (hmmm...older than Jessica Tandy, I guess...). Her birthday is Feb 24, the day of the upcoming Oscar ceremony. As the oldest, she is competing with Oscar's youngest Best Actress nominee ever..."Q"  (Quvenzhane) Wallace!

 

Which brings me to my favorite moments of the nomination announcement ceremony: The mention of "Beasts of the Southern Wild", which is my vote for the most interesting and affecting piece of cinema of the year (along with "Pi").  I cheered when it was cited in the Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Actress categories.  Director Benh Zeitlin used his limited resources to craft an imaginative, child's-eye-view of life in an impoverished, pre-Katrina New Orleans swamp community.  Its seamless blend of grit and magic held me spellbound throughout its running time.  It's presence among the other highly-financed nominees is something like Hushpuppy herself, the film's scrappy young heroine.  You can't help but root for both the movie and her character.  Hushpuppy's travel to a mythical island in search of her long-lost mother was the most emotional scene in any movie I saw this year.  I don't know if it has a shot to win, but it could grow in favor among voters who were not 100% enthusiastic about "Lincoln" or "Silver Linings Playbook".   For me, "Beasts" took this year's "Tree of Life" slot..... 

 

"Silver Linings Playbook" becomes the first film since "Reds" (1981) to receive a nomination in all 4 acting categories...All of them strong contenders.  I think Cooper can unseat Lewis (if Jackman doesn't do it instead).   Wow...this is DeNiro's first nomination in 21 years????   (Must have been "Cape Fear"?)  It's good to see DeNiro use his still formidable talent for menace and humor in a role of real depth.  To the movie's credit, it is one of the few good films this year that takes place in a recognizable, middle-class American here-and-now, with identifiable human characters coping with modern foibles and culture.  It's a nice film, sensitive in the way '70's movies routinely were, warm-hearted, even a little preposterous in the second half (where it mashes-up football and Dancing With the Stars to appeal to the broadest possible denominator)... But the strength of the performers carries it through. I can't think of a more attractive couple in a movie this year than Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.  I especially loved their playfully steamy scene in a diner, which erupts with intense anger and pain.  This could have had a real shot for Best Picture, but precedent is not kind to films that do not get both a Director's Guild nomination AND an Oscar Nomination for Best Director.

 

(In that respect, precedent suggests that the only contenders would be "Lincoln" and "Life of Pi".)

 

The movie version of the beloved musical "Les Miserables" has been the most confusingly maligned film of the year.  (I never saw the stage version). Is it because purist-lovers of the stage production object to the intimacy of the film?  Or is it an old "King's Speech" grudge?  Tom Hooper was unfairly eliminated, I think, from the directing competition. There's a tiresome bandwagon of those who opposed the coverage of the musical numbers in closeup.  I, on the contrary, felt it was smashingly effective in drawing the viewer into levels of emotional meaning that might be lost from the fixed perspective of live theater.  Who could have managed better with the material at hand?  For those who just hate the show and feel the source material is manipulative, there's no arguing the point.  (I didn't feel that way.)   Although I didn't buy in to the religiosity of it, that should not be held against it; there's a humanist streak that I embraced.  I loved the film of "Les Miserables"; it had the grand sweep of classic movie musicals, and while I watched it, I felt those same satisfactions unique to those classics.   And the performers, especially the extremely watchable Hugh Jackman, were uniformly excellent.  Even the much-criticized Russell Crowe, although not an operatic singer, to me appropriately embodied a character whose spirit is, shall we say, less melodic.  The scope and sweep reminded me especially of "Oliver" (a peculiarly French version!).   I enjoyed this better...unlike "Oliver",  I had a catharsis without feeling brutalized.  The Academy seems to be split on the merits of this big, emotional musical, and without Hooper in the running, it stands slim chance of winning Best Picture. But Anne Hathaway should memorize her acceptance speech soon.

 

"Argo" is a crowd-pleaser, a surprising history lesson, and a terrific film. It deserved every nomination it earned, and I lament Ben Affleck's shutout in the Director's category.   To me it was one of the most exciting yarns at the movies this year.  Movie-lovers and aspiring filmmakers should find this especially appealing, as we are immersed in the unlikely (but true) story of a fake film crew endeavoring to save a small group of frightened but resourceful detainees.  For those who recalled the dark period of history when Iran held Americans hostage, the revelation of long-classified facts was enlightening, and expertly woven into a satisfying piece of film entertainment.  To those who were not alive then, and have no knowledge of the hostage crisis, the film supplies the requisite exposition, in a brisk manner, to bring viewers up to speed.  Some of the darker aspects of this story were glossed over or ignored, or punched up with humor and altered for the sake of drama, but there's truth at its core and is appropriately inspiring. 

 

I would have selected "Argo" as a dark-horse winner. But it is sure to be overshadowed by "Zero Dark Thirty", whose prospects for the top prize have dimmed with the elimination of Katherine Bigelow from the Director's slate.  (I wonder if she and Affleck cancelled each other out among voters who split their allegiances between two similarly political stories?) I am on the fence about seeing this film.. It seems like a re-hash of "Hurt Locker", with torture and a female lead (although I love Chastain in everything...).  It would have to be a terrific film indeed to earn the right to depict the horrific details I've read about...although I STILL wonder if a film depicting the torture of AMERICAN prisoners to expose AMERICAN secrets would be as well-received.  In the end, I guess I will be more inclined to go to see this than "Django".

 

Oh--and Adele should clear a space on her Award Shelf, for "Skyfall", to add along side her Grammys....

 

A few other thoughts:

 

"Skyfall" was not only one of the greatest Bond films ever...it was one of the best movies of the year.  Oscar may NEVER recognize Bond as "weighty" enough for its highest accolade...Which is why the British Academy Awards are seeming more relevant by the hour.

 

"The Master" was the biggest disappointment of the year.  The only proper critical response should be to paraphrase a line used in the film: Paul Thomas Anderson "made it up as he went along".  While proponents of this film are praising it for its "exciting ambiguity", to this viewer it gave a feeling of being stranded in bad Improv.  Anderson had no idea what to do with his intriguing seed of an idea.  The result was uncomfortable in the least aesthetic way possible.  What a waste of actual celluloid film.  Point the camera, get your actors to scream and cry and be "quirky"...  and defy the "cinephiles" to declare you a great artist.  Best to pay heed to Anderson's initials, P.T (as in Barnum): "There's a sucker born every minute."

 

Good riddance (no nominations to): "The Dark Knight Rises"; "Cloud Atlas";  "The Paperboy"

 

Mourning: No nominations to "The Best Exotic Margold Hotel".

Oscar's Real Winner

Here's to filmmakers, technicians, and Artists alike...

Most of those who nabbed the Statuettes were expected to win, and deserved to... 

(The night's one head-scratcher:  A Big HUH? in the Film Editing category...)

First, a nod to the major winners...

Horray! for  Christopher Plummer...Meryl Streep...Octavia Spencer...Jean DuJardin....

Kudos to "Hugo", "Midnight in Paris", "The Descendants", "A Separation"...

Bravo! to Mssrs. Hazanavicius... Thomas Langmann... Ludovic Bource....Mark Bridges...

After all of that, the spirit of this year's Oscars was summed up for me in two great photographs found on the web....

Here's to the most deserving victor of the night...in his little bow tie, taking a bow, and offering generous congratulations to his co-star.....

Oscar Night--Thoughts on What Should Be A Fun Evening

I don't want a lot of surprises this year as the Oscars are announced in a few hours.



In fact, so many of the front-runners happen to be personal favorites, that I WANT to see them win. I don't WANT to see Christopher Plummer fall to a Jonah Hill upset (I'm fairly certain Max Von Sydow will not experience a sentimental vote this year)

....I will scream in delight for Meryl Streep, but will also cheer appreciatively for Viola Davis.  Brad and George gave career performances...how could I feel badly for a win for either of them? Then again, a victory for Jean Dujardin is like a victory for Uggie the Dog. How can I resist?



There isn't one Supporting Actress nominee who isn't deserving....while I expect the charming Octavia Spencer to give a moving speech, any other winner would bring me a yelp of pleasant approval.  (Especially Berenice Bejo...or best of all, Jessica Chastain).



Woody Allen's name called out in triumph will feel like a personal vindication, because I loved his movie since I saw it last summer.


And while I have in my heart a deep yearning for two movies in particular as Best Film, I have to say that any one of them would please me in one way or another.



It's nice to watch the Oscars when your favorites are likely to win.  But then again, I had my balloon burst---badly---six years ago (CRASH!!) and I have never fully recovered.  That's why I don't want too many surprises this year.


If there ARE shockers...these would please me most:
Best Picture: Midnight in Paris or Tree of Life
Best Director--Terrence Malick
Best Actress--A Michelle Williams Surprise upset



I will cheer loudly tonight for: Emmanuel Lubzecki (Cinematography, Tree of Life); Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris); Ludovic Bource (The Artist); Meryl Streep (Iron Lady); Christopher Plummer (Beginners); Dante Ferretti (Hugo); and Alexander Payne (Screenplay, The Descendants).  Add Michel Havazanicius to the chorus.



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On recent stories that the Academy is composed overwhelmingly of old white men:

Where were all of these articles in 2005-06, when generational homophobia motivated a voting bloc to rally around a second-rate film, thus ensuring that the deserving critical and popular front-runner would not make history?


Add to that: It has ALWAYS been so; membership has always skewed older.  The Academy reflects the makeup of the industry.  And the Oscars weren't intended to appeal to the preferences of various cults within the moviegoing public.  (The "snub" of "Harry Potter" should not be seen as an injustice.)

 These Old White Men are the ones who create those cults to begin with.  They fashion the blockbusters that bring in the big bucks from the mass of less-discriminating viewers.  The Oscars are an occasion for appreciating moviemaking's better intentions, when films that speak to the better part of our  natures, which can entertain us and give our minds and emotions a workout, are held up for recognition.  Sure, the choices are often less that applause-worthy, but it is, after all, an industry award. 

Who are we to demand anything else?

And for all of our complaining, we come back every year...  We sometimes forget how to regard a movie without the context of the Oscars.


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Another Nominee I would love to see Oscared: 


It's clear that the name Sergio Mendes is a complete mystery to many in the Oscar-blogosphere.  But this composer, nominated for the song from the animated film Rio, has been an influence in world music for decades.


And has been one of my favorite musicians my whole life.


I have read with dismay those who feel a win for Mendes would be seen as a ham-handed effort by the Academy to be "global" and "relevant".  So..what is the Brazilian ---er, Portugese-- word for "bull--it"?


Not only has Mendes entertained millions for almost 50 years..but the song he wrote for Rio is out-of-the-ordinary Oscar fare, and FUN!!


Here are a couple samples of Mendes' previous works that I love so much...

Oscars 2011: Revving Up My Engine With A Rant--Oscar Films Need A Chance

Evidence that modern motion picture distribution has finally descended into madness:

Say what you will about the current Best Picture nominees floundering at the box office. 

I say, don't blame the films.

First of all, has anyone noticed that most Theater chains in the U.S. are no longer advertising in the major daily newspapers?  There are still many people who rely on their local Entertainment Sections for information about which theaters are playing the movies they most want to see, especially in their neighborhood.

Nowadays, all of this information can be found on-line, or on smart-phone movie apps.  But unless you know which theaters are nearby; or you're already familiar with the films in current release; or which are OSCAR-NOMINATED--  

Unless you know all that at the start, how do you connect with an "Artist"? with a "Descendants"?  even (I shudder) "Extremely Loud..."? or any film that does not have the fan-boy build up of a "Twilight " or "Hunger Games" (which just broke a record for on-line advanced ticket sales..)

OK, OK, so I had to admit that times are a-changing, and thus I got with the program.

There is a 12-screen multiplex one mile from my house.  My new preferred method of info-gathering is on-line, using my trusty laptop computer (that alone sort of renders me as timely as Mr. Malick's dinosaurs...)

I logged on.

I found the AMC site for the local 12-plex.

And I found something maddening:

ON THE WEEKEND LEADING UP TO THE ACADEMY AWARDS, NOT ONE OF THE 12 SCREENS WAS SHOWING ANY FILM THAT CURRENTLY HAS AN OSCAR NOMINATION, IN ANY CATEGORY. NOT ONE.  

That means if I want to see "The Descendants" once more to refresh my memory and check out my original impression, or if I wanted to take a friend to see "The Artist", I might have to travel 30 minutes or more.

And yet, the movies themselves are blamed for not reaching an audience, when it is the studios/exhibitors who have not given the films and their potential target audiences a chance to connect.  The people who would likely make the films a hit are those who would  use the traditional print media that have been taken away from them.

To top it off, the films are pulled out of theaters at the EXACT TIME fans may want to check them out.

Am I wrong to believe that ALL of the Best Picture films deserve a chance to be seen on a big screen, at least for the weekend of and week following the Oscars?

More Oscar stuff this weekend!!

Cars Helping Pets...My Late Father's Auto May Save a Small Life

A death.... Endless, emotional reminders and minutiae....And one proud outcome.

One cannot imagine the all-consuming tasks involved in handling the affairs of one deceased parent, while  desperately coping with the adjustment of the other, mentally challenged parent to a new environment.

Above all that--the unending phone calls, and meetings with banks, lawyers, real estate agents, credit card companies, doctors, nurses, social workers, former employers, and  US government assistance programs-- how do you accept the fact that you have in effect lost both parents? 

How do you slow yourself down enough to reflect, to remember...to mourn?

How do you sort through of 50 years worth of "things', some of it sentimental junk, most of it too big to move, and then explain to your mother why she can't go home?  That she will never go home again?  And, finally, to realize that she doesn't remember it all so well?

At least one completed task will turn out well.

My father had a car.  I could have sold the car, but I sought to dispose of it quickly. 

We found a web site called Cars Helping Pets.



I sent an e-mail. Scheduled the car for towing. Removed the pathetic items that remained from their last ill-fated road trip.  Took off the license plates and readied the deed for transfer. And watched the old Impala disappear down the street where I grew up.

The process was easy.  And, hopefully, the reward will be close to my heart. 

The Cars Helping Pets web site explains:

Your donated vehicle will be sold at the highest possible value and the proceeds from your car donation will be used to bring an end to animal cruelty,  provide medical treatment and caring for countless animals in our local communities, and throughout the nation. Your unwanted vehicle has incredible value, and we can use it to help those who cannot help themselves. Please be a voice by donating your car to Cars Helping Pets today.

Donating my father's car in hopes that it will someday aid unwanted animals has provided one small corner of comfort in what has been a cold and unforgiving process. 

I am now beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The blog-world will soon, once again, be privy to the cinematic insights of this older and wiser movie-lover, and well-meaning son.

Let Oscar Season Begin

It is now 30 minutes before the announcement of this year's Oscar nominations.

Time to get back to living.... back to blogging...back to moviegoing.....  and back to adding my small bit to this art form (and hobby) we call film criticism....

First, though,I want to thank all of you for your understanding, and for your kind words and support, during my sabbatical and period of reflection as I worked through of a mountain of difficult tasks during the last month.  It is not over...but the light is starting to emerge....

Just a brief note before Oscar season kicks off in earnest:

Despite my disappointment with the state of filmmaking over the long Spring and Summer, the movie year has shaped up to be overall one of the most interesting in years.  All of the high-profile Oscar hopefuls, based on the precedents of Critic's Awards, Golden Globes, and word-of-mouth, are movies that I have enjoyed and appreciated on many levels.

This year's potential Oscar nominees are also a decidedly lighthearted bunch, filled with nostalgia for the great literature and art and filmmaking of days gone by; and proving, by their audacious appearance on big screens in 2012, that we can still be entertained, stimulated, and aesthetically pleased by classic movie subjects and techniques that are in danger of being obliterated by studios in their search for big audiences.

Look for more---much more--about this idea in subsequent posts.....

Meanwhile, I will be cheering for the following favorites, should they be announced in the next 20 minutes:
"The Artist"..  Meryl Streeep..."Midnight in Paris"... Michael Fassbender... Viola Davis...  "Hugo"....  Ludovic Bource..... "The Descendants".......Michelle Williams.... Martin Scorsese...  Joseph Gordon-Levitt... Christopher Plummer...  "Moneyball".... Jessica Chastain.... Emmanuel Luzbecki... Octavia Spencer.... Jean Dujardin.... Michael Hazavanicius... "The Help"....George Clooney....Corey Stoll...  WOODY... TERRENCE...."TREE OF LIFE!"  (and a little groan if I hear the words Edgar, Bridesmaids, or Tattoo)...

And a special shout-out to the Best Supporting Actors of the Year who will not be nominated...Uggie and Cosmo.

Here's to a fun, artistic, and enlightening Oscar contest....

Thomas M.--1928-2012

An important chapter has now drawn to a close.  It was written in anguish and caring, and in a strange way was predicted by the movies......

My father died on a quiet Saturday morning yesterday, January 14, 2012, one day after being released from the hospital to hospice care.

Not that it matters now, but he expired from the effects an as-yet-unknown cancer.  Brain tumors appeared to be the cause of his continued falls, and disorientation.  Until then there were no apparent symptoms.

He declined rapidly, in spite of a team of medical professionals, who sometimes seemed intent on thwarting my efforts to advocate for his recovery.  He passed peacefully.

My mother, who has struggled against her own afflictions of the mind and emotion, was released from the same hospital on the same Friday, and moved into the same nursing care facility on the same day as my father.  On the same floor.  We tried very hard to ensure that they would have some time together during his final weeks.

They had one day.

When the call came in, I felt anxiety drain out of my body through the floor.  There was so much we had to do for them since Thanksgiving, and now there is so much more to be done.  One just snaps to.

Emotions came in intermittent bursts throughout the day.

Mark and I, and my sister and  her husband, rallied to my mother's side to catch the fallout of....what, we could not easily predict.  Confusion? Hysteria? Resignation? Relapse?  She had come through her treatments so well....

Fortunately, amid some uncertainty, and the normal show of grief, my mom did fine.  She was a little confused, and mistook my father's death for that of her own father 10 years ago.  No matter.  She had her way of dealing with it, and it kept her strong, and pleasant.

The staff of her nursing facility was compassionate and low-key.

Mark could not have been a better support... He did what I needed, and stayed next to me all the time.

Our friends showed themselves to be loyal and worthy of our best esteem. Phone calls, emails, and visits with food, and never intrusive, but always caring.  Thanks to them all.

I have not blogged here for a while.  The overwhelming emotion of the last few weeks, and the drain on normal energy levels, kept me from committing to this effort.  Many nights, while feeling like I had to be in at least five different places at the same time (the hospital, the nursing home, my parent's house for cleanup, the attorney's office, my own job, etc.),  I hated myself for neglecting my writing. 

A strange calm has possessed me and Mark and our little household. 

I feel like writing again.

I want to read, and follow the zany antics of the Hollywood Foreign Press.  Tomorrow will be busy and anxiety-producing.  For tonight, little would please me more than to see Woody and "Paris" receive an accolade.

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In a strange way, the movies of 2011 pay subtle tribute to our family's loss.  "The Artist" spans a few years beginning in 1928, the year my father was born.  In "Hugo", the young central character adjusts to the loss of his father.  In "Beginners", another character, closer to my age and experience, looks back on the weeks leading up to his father's death.  "The Descendants" observes a family whose mother, while not deceased, is no longer present for them.  "My Week With Marilyn" recreates the atmosphere of the mid 1950's, when my parents were married.  And "Tree of Life" looks at an average suburban family, and attempts to depict not only the origins of that life, but a speculation on their afterlife.

I am eager to return to the blogosphere, once the dust settles.....

A 2012 Deadline I Won't Miss!

I know, I know.. I am behind on my reviews. But they ARE on the way...  So look for "The Artist", "My Week With Marilyn", and possibly "War Horse", in the coming week.  Also, I'll have a review of the year in movies, and a general 2011 retrospective.


In the meantime, this post is time-sensitive....and my deadline is midnight....

I and some of my friends below wish you all a Happy New Year!  (Special greetings to my blog-buddies and supporters: Mark, Ben, Walter, Andrew, Luke, Jose, Stephen, Mike, and everyone who stopped by this past year!)

All the best in 2012!

Coming Soon: The Movie Year 2011

I just watched "Beginners" again at home, on DVD.  It is a wonderful little film.  My review, written this past June, did not do it complete justice.  Christopher Plummer was even more impressive this time; and the treatment of a son's attempt to comfort a dying father held a special resonance and relevance to me.

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Tomorrow I will post a review of "The Artist".  Along with "Beginners", both films charmed me with their canine supporting players, both of them Jack Russell Terriers with the sweetest faces. 
"The Artist" was one of my most highly anticipated films of the year.  I am anxious to share my thoughts about this movie.

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In addition to "Beginners", the holiday added a slew of great new films to my personal collection (some of which will be re-viewed on these "pages") including "The Deer Hunter", "Gods and Monsters", "Never Let Me Go", "Inside Job", "Midnight in Paris", "The King's Speech", "Black Swan", "The Exorcist", and "The Thin Red Line". 

**********

When time permits, I'll be checking out "My Week With Marilyn", "War Horse", and "Shame".  I am not yet convinced that I will derive much from "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo".  "The Iron Lady" and "Albert Nobbs" have yet to be released in Chicago. 

**********

2011 was a memorable, heartbreaking and infuriating year.  Great travel, memorable music, an end-of-year movie bonanza, and wonderful Chicago weekends alternated with heartbreaking world news, infuriating politics, and a series of family traumas that have left me numb.  I cherish my closest friends, my readers, my animals, and Mark for helping me keep my feet on the ground as it continued to shift under me.

Looking ahead, Oscars 2011 should provide a well-needed escape, as well as an exciting showcase of some truly great movies (I hope).  I will weigh in at regular intervals.  I'll also take my annual look back to Oscars 40 years ago, when in 1971 the big names were Friedkin and Hackman and Fonda, when New York was the backdrop to the year's most honored films, and when the Russian Revolution played side-by-side with futuristic British  gang wars at local cinemas.

A Caroler at Your Door! A Christmas Journal #2

Remembering old friends this season...especially the humorous, four-legged ones who put up with our fashion experiments. 

If Maggie were still here, she would gladly have sung (er, howled) your favorite carols, right at your door.

Wishing you music and good cheer today.......

A Personal Holiday Anecdote: Christmas Journal #1

It turned out to be a better day than I had expected. It was a long, long way from the normal, comfortable holiday we have shared at my parents' house since time began.  Even so,  we are adjusting to a new reality, and are breathing a small sigh of relief, at least for today.

During the past week, after a series of incapacitating falls at home, my father was taken to the Emergency Room, and admitted to the hospital for observation and a battery of tests.  He is in the same hospital where my mother is now, and has been for a good part of the year, for treatment of dementia and other psychological maladies.

My mother has been frantic at the sudden end to my father's daily visits to her ward, where geriatric patients are secured behind a locked door for treatment of various emotional and cognitive impairments. 

Since it was impossible for them to visit each other due to my father's serious condition, he is stable enough now, and she has become strong enough, for her to be informed of his whereabouts, and to arrange for a visit between them.

That is how I, my sister, and Mark, spent our Christmas afternoon.  We signed my mother out and then wheeled her to the tower clear across the hospital, to my father's room.  It was a brief visit, with small gifts, fresh-baked banana bread, a little confusion, some slurred speech, and a smile out of each of them. And, of course, a tearful departure as we brought mom back to her floor.

It has been a time for being a little numb.  Our immediate thought today was to make sure their special visit could be arranged, and to finally allow my mother to know the truth of my father's health.  Her obsessive fear of him being ill or dying has contributed to her anxiety. Now, she can begin to deal with this fear in an honest way. 

All of the other things: their eventual discharge and placement in nursing homes, and the maintenance and/or sale of their current home, will wait another day.

To all of you, especially those who are hurting this Christmas, there are those of us who understand, and wish you peace and support in 2012.

A "Buddy" Christmas

A Brick for Buddy:

What do you give as a Christmas gift to an 86-year-old woman who has everything she needs?

If she likes animals, like Mark's mother does, then a sponsorship to an animal-care organization is a nice idea.

At The Buddy Foundation, a wonderful shelter for homeless dogs and cats in suburban Arlington Heights, a donor can sponsor them by buying a personalized paving brick to be placed in the area surrounding the front walk.

This is what we did for Mark's mom.  The 8"x4" red brick will be engraved simply, with her name and the words "and family", and a paw-print graphic.  It will be placed when Spring arrives.  Meanwhile, we gave her a commemorative certificate to acknowledge her donation, which will forever show her caring for the creatures within.

Christmas Tree Stars:

If any of you would like to remember a special pet, living or not, send me the name and kind of animal.  I will donate to the Buddy Foundation on your behalf, and write your

pet(s) name(s) on a yellow star that is hung on the big Christmas tree in the foyer.

Your pet can join Maggie, our dear departed Bassett Hound, and B.C., a black cat that recently left the care of Mark's sister and brother-in-law.

The dogs and cats of the Buddy Foundation can't tell you how much they appreciate your care during this holiday season.  So I will tell you myself!  Thanks.

I Am A "Modern Family" Junkie

Today, I'm moving on to a more lighthearted look at "family", after the somber, personal musings of my previous entry...

As some readers have guessed, I don't watch a lot of television. It's more of a timing thing, as I have so many other likes, hobbies, and responsibilities. I tune in for movies, news, special live broadcasts, ad retro stuff.

I had never watched a full episode of the ABC family comedy "Modern Family", in spite of media raves and the urging of friends, until earlier this week.  Mark received the Season 1 DVD at a holiday office-party gift-exchange.

Since then we watched the first six episodes, and now I am hooked.

"Modern Family" breathes contemporary life into the traditionally crowd-pleasing but recently tired and pandering sitcom genre. Using recent techniques like roving camera, into-the-lens interviews, and characters stealing sly glances right at us, this show remembers the conventions that made the family comedy so comfortable and so funny. 

It is filled with hilarious situations, mining today's culture for honest and satiric observations that make us laugh in recognition.  It offers recognizable locations, and actual establishing shots.  The characters are funny and foibled, but have a warm center of humanity, and we love spending time with them. It is filmed and directed with impeccable care, and the tone is consistently sunny yet does not blink from the embarrassments of real life.

I have not laughed so hard at a TV series in years..   Nor have I loved the characters in quite the same way.  I have developed a real affection for the foibles of these characters, so sharply written and so precisely and joyously performed by a talented cast. 

I especially love Ty Burr's lovable but fumbling "cool dad", Sofia Vergara's fiery and fun-loving Colombiana with Rico Rodriguez as her precocious son, and the amazingly rare and warm portrayal of a male couple in Suburbia (Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet) as the newly adoptive parents of a South Asian baby girl.  In fact, the entire cast, rounded out by Ed O'Neill, Julie Bowen, Nolan Gould, Sarah Hyland and Ariel Winter, are all fabulous.

Best of all: All of the characters are related, either by blood or marriage, with surprising and funny connections. 

The show pokes fun at everyone and everything that forms part of our middle-class culture: multi-cultural households, middle-age and beyond,  parents as buddies, kids and their gadgets, gay drama queens, Costco, female competition, and male bonding.  And that's just the first six episodes.

I can't wait to finish Season 1, and devour Season 2 as well, and report on it later!

The Child Is Father to the Man (and Woman)--A Personal Journal

My muse has been wrestling with reality lately. So far, reality has an edge in this week's match.


I have never had children.  But I am unique among my friends, in that both of my parents are still alive.  At 77 and 83 respectively, my mother and father have shown alarming symptoms of age-related decline over the past year.


I have had to reinvent myself as a caretaker of two often difficult people with difficult challenges and ailments.  There are no road-maps for people like me, known as The Sandwich Generation. *

(Although, without children, I am more of an open-faced sandwich.) 

I try my best to provide basic needs, safety and comfort to a mother whose world has finally diminished to a small space of fear and forgetfulness, of self-neglect and mindless distraction to others; and to a father who has used silence and rage in equal measure to maintain his view of life and our place in it, who has stubbornly refused offers of help or requests to discuss future plans.


In brief, there was the car accident last Spring; the trauma; my fragile mother's breakdown; my father's annoyance and denial; an initial hospitalization; treatment by electricity; frantic uncertainty; more denial, and a relapse. 


There is my father's lack of mobility due to recent falls, his rapid weight loss, and his refusal to have his injuries examined.  Cognitive decline is evident, possibly due to lack of sleep.  That is due in large part to his insistence on caring for my mom at home....


My mother is in the early stages of dementia, and chronic (maybe lifelong) depression.  After returning home last June, she had not slept a whole night, and continued to keep my father awake.  She was filled with anxiety and confusion, asked the same questions over and over, and responded with belligerence to attempts to care for her.  It had been violently chaotic. It was recommended that a hospital stay would be best.  I agreed.


In this, her second hospitalization of the year, her medical professionals have deemed her unfit to ever return home, and so tomorrow, we must look at the situation and begin to make some hard decisions.


American medicine, and our culture at large, seem unsympathetic to the helplessness and pain of old age. 


In this journal I have chosen not to dwell on these things.  I never felt that this journal's purpose was as a confessional, or as a way to elicit sympathy. I feel that unless one knows the characters involved, it is difficult to make this relevant and to foster understanding with only one or two brief entries.  There are privacy concerns as well. 


Writing this now, as a way to refocus my efforts and clear my mind for appreciation of higher culture and  the kind of writing I want to do, I realize that there is so much more to all of this. The story of my parents, as viewed through the eyes of a son who always felt responsible for making them happy, and who followed his own path with a mixture of regret and pride, is so complex, and so deep, that this could make for a novel. 


You might think you have read this story before.  But if I ever decide to pursue this and shape it artistically, and do it justice, it could be a stunner, the novel I was meant to write.  But it might be so painful, I might not recover.


At such an intense time in the life of this narrator, I felt it was helpful to share some of the events that have consumed my time and mental energy, to put them in perspective.  I intend to return to film and art and animals and politics as the rightful topics of this journal.


Perhaps, instead of avoiding this topic altogether, I might visit it with more frequency.  It would be a release for me, a therapy.  If I can write compellingly, so that others will read with keen interest, then I will grow as a writer. If I share what I am learning from the experience, it might do someone else some good.


I conclude with a brief anecdote:


My parents have never been demonstrative with their affections.  More often, as a child, I witnessed hair-raising conflict, and always felt at fault.  It was rare to see them embrace, or to hear them speak endearingly.  Last night, as I started to wheel my father from the hospital at the close of visiting hours with my mother, I saw them reach toward each other tentatively, as if to shake hands. My mother mouthed the words, "I love you".  My father replied "I love you too". 


Had they been able to do that at home, instead of maintain the horror show that was their dysfunction, I would bet that things would have turned out so much differently. 


Thank you for listening..  I will return from time to time to relate any progress that we have made.

(* If you are a parental caretaker, check out this web site designed to provide help and information, researched and written by Carol Abaya, M.A.)

Holiday Images In Chicago--A Saturday Photo-Journal

Tonight I am taking a small holiday from writing, in order to share some photographs I shot a few weeks ago, on the day after Thanksgiving as we joined the crowds in downtown Chicago.

It feels right for me to think back on that wonderful day, to get into a Holiday spirit.

It's great fun to be in the city, especially with friends and loved ones.  That day, Mark and Jillian and I formed an invincible trio. 

We blended into the Black Friday crowds, walked to the Art Institute, had dinner together, and explored the Chicago Cultural Center (which I'll highlight in an upcoming journal entry).  We finished the evening at the Goodman Theater, with "Memphis".

I hope my visitors will enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Macy's, formerly Marshall Fields on State Street

A Sidewalk Puppet Theater regularly seen on the North Side

"GO DO GOOD"

Mark, Jillian and 'A Christmas Story'

The "L" and shopping crowds

Jillian, Mark, and the Wreathing of the Art Institute Lions

Promoting the Friday Night Holiday Concerts at Cloud Gate ("The Bean")--Windy City Performing Arts had a show on December 9th

The enormous human-face light mosaic in Millenium park

Ice Skating in the Park

The Goodman Theater, where "Memphis" played, taken a few hours before showtime