Friday, June 26, 2009
Michael, We hardly knew you.
Pop Culture has a way of throwing its followers curve balls and spit balls, but last night's announcement of the death of "the King of Pop" was a real slicer. Putting aside all the strangeness that attended Michael Jackson's life after "Thriller," one cannot deny his incredible impact on popular music. When we listen to the fragmented, often unintelligible music of today, we can appreciate how Jackson united blacks, whites, Hispanics, everybody with songs like "Billie Jean." His music and performances had a seething energy that expressed both sex and innocence. The infectious arrangements made almost all of us want to get up and dance. What music today does that? Is it rap or the wailings of semi-talents on Amercian Idol? I don't think so. The 1980's was the last era of music bringing us together, just as the Beatles, Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra did in past generations. So farewell, Michael, and farewell to an audience that responds spontaneously as one group, despite its backgrounds.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Two delights in a baleful summer.
My friend and I managed to take in the new Pixar film Up and Sam Raimi's comic horror show Drag Me to Hell within two days. My wife Betsy accompanied us for the first but skipped Raimi.
What do these two have in common? A concerted effort by all concerned to entertain. Granted, Up is the far more memorable and effective film. The directors have have had the nerve to create an adventure led by a grumpy old man and an overweight, annoying child. No, there are no amusing fairy tale creatures, robots, monsters, toys, or Eddie Murphy. Instead, we have a tender story in which we see a man and a woman meet, grow, and grow old with each other and their dreams, all in a terrific 15 minute montage. Then the action begins, as the man and the boy are carried aloft by balloons to South America and Angel Falls. There they meet the famous explorer who inspired the man as a boy and a strange and beautiful bird that the explorer wants to trap. Naturally, humorous and exciting adventures insue, and the old man and boy come to depend on each other and love each other. Up is careful never to sink into cheap sentimentality or drum the messages into our heads. Instead, through superb animation and editing and the wonderful voices (Ed Asner as the old man), it sticks with us.
Drag Me to Hell, which is Raimi's return to his Evil Dead trilogy, pulls out a scary, campy bag of tricks that are mostly hoary but hugely entertaining. After a chilling prequel, we meet Alison Lohman as a bank employee longing for a promotion. When she turns town an ailing old woman with nasty nails and teeth, she receives a curse that she naturally ignores, but in the next three days she is visited by ghastly visions from demons that only she can see. Most of the fun comes from the sharp editing which often fools us just when we think we know what to expect. And the happy ending...oops, did I say happy ending? The surprise ending is a corker. Enjoy!
What do these two have in common? A concerted effort by all concerned to entertain. Granted, Up is the far more memorable and effective film. The directors have have had the nerve to create an adventure led by a grumpy old man and an overweight, annoying child. No, there are no amusing fairy tale creatures, robots, monsters, toys, or Eddie Murphy. Instead, we have a tender story in which we see a man and a woman meet, grow, and grow old with each other and their dreams, all in a terrific 15 minute montage. Then the action begins, as the man and the boy are carried aloft by balloons to South America and Angel Falls. There they meet the famous explorer who inspired the man as a boy and a strange and beautiful bird that the explorer wants to trap. Naturally, humorous and exciting adventures insue, and the old man and boy come to depend on each other and love each other. Up is careful never to sink into cheap sentimentality or drum the messages into our heads. Instead, through superb animation and editing and the wonderful voices (Ed Asner as the old man), it sticks with us.
Drag Me to Hell, which is Raimi's return to his Evil Dead trilogy, pulls out a scary, campy bag of tricks that are mostly hoary but hugely entertaining. After a chilling prequel, we meet Alison Lohman as a bank employee longing for a promotion. When she turns town an ailing old woman with nasty nails and teeth, she receives a curse that she naturally ignores, but in the next three days she is visited by ghastly visions from demons that only she can see. Most of the fun comes from the sharp editing which often fools us just when we think we know what to expect. And the happy ending...oops, did I say happy ending? The surprise ending is a corker. Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
