tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-131047422024-03-13T09:08:02.152-06:00dB's BlogPost-production Sound & Music Editing and Mixing for Film & Television, plus Movie Reviews and Classical Music Reviews.Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.comBlogger1129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-89247384240220760602024-02-19T09:25:00.005-07:002024-02-19T14:58:02.402-07:00Thoughts on Music Education<p>Two posts on Facebook have gone somewhat viral regarding music education. </p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGeoffreyKeezer/posts/pfbid034RCJQRMFvJxnkhLNhqiUvboGNJmS4ABZSsEtuQpwasgWUn3wazunKQe3J67twM7xl" target="_blank">Here is the original post by Geoffrey Keezer.</a> </p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/james.falzone.9/posts/pfbid0ijx7ZmGZthQ67xUJJdqpcmKxQKnB3YQW6mRqDPehKjYQvrnDgTiKzXm7Vv3JBVH6l" target="_blank">Here is the response by James Falzone.</a> (It's the text accompanying the photo.)<br /><br />I think between the two, we have an understanding of some of the things that are wrong with higher ed at the moment. They both are right and they both are wrong. <br /><br />I just retired from full-time teaching after 30 years (15 at USC, 15 at CU Denver). Here are my thoughts on what each of them got right and wrong, along with my observations of things they did not mention. Let’s start with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/james.falzone.9/posts/pfbid0ijx7ZmGZthQ67xUJJdqpcmKxQKnB3YQW6mRqDPehKjYQvrnDgTiKzXm7Vv3JBVH6l">James Falzone’s rebuttal first</a>, with his three categories of “windows into what might be transpiring as both diagnosis and solution.”</p><p><b>1.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>HIGHER EDUCATION IS IN SHAMBLES</b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“[Policy decisions]… that have made the project of college teaching and learning absurdly expensive, highly regulated, overly assessed, and tragically unimaginative.”</i></p></blockquote><p>Absolutely true. This creates several subcategories. </p><p><b>1a) The Expense of School </b></p><p>When I went to college, the middle class could get a quality education without going into lifelong debt, and in some cases, any debt at all. This is no longer the truth. For many, the cost makes them reconsider the value of education. </p><p><b>1b) The Value of Education</b></p><p>The increased cost and the changes in higher ed have made it harder to justify a college education, especially a master’s degree. I know plenty of people who didn’t graduate high school and are successful in music and film. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“From my experience, shame is never a good teacher and the ‘tough love’ Professor Keezer and many others seem to want to return to can resemble shame.” </i></p></blockquote><p>There are students for whom the only way to make the light bulb go on is to let them know how unprofessional they are. Often it is an otherwise “A” student who thinks they know everything, but still do not understand professionalism. I do believe that <b>preparing students for employment is the primary job of secondary education</b>. I tell students this in the syllabus and that I expect their work to approach a professional level. Many are not prepared for this. <br /><br />However, students (and parents) who think of higher ed as a job placement service are sadly mistaken. Our job is to prepare them for success when they get a foot in the door, not to find a job for them.</p><p><b>1c) Students as Paying Customers</b></p><p>This is a terrible attitude for administrators to have and it encourages the students to sue the school or to request that a faculty member be punished. I don’t know any faculty who think of students as paying customers. It allows the student to reject any part of their education even though most undergrads have no idea where they will end up in life or what they really need out of an education. </p><p>One way in which this is problematic is that students are asked to review faculty, while taking the class, and without knowing what their final grade will be. These reviews hold a terrible amount of power over faculty. I know faculty who have been fired over poor reviews (which are anonymous to faculty and administration, so there is no accountability). If students knew what they needed, they wouldn't be in school. The original intent of these types of reviews was a guide for students so that they could decide which classes they want to take, and which teachers they want to study with. They should not be used to judge faculty. Followup with recent alumni is a far more important metric. They are now in a position to know what they learned in the class and how it has affected their careers. </p><p><b>1d) The Pandemic Changed Everything</b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“The work is harder than ever.”</i></p></blockquote><p>It was a very difficult two years for everyone, watching students who were miserable with their attention being split and with long-lasting mental issues created by staring at a computer screen for two years. Teaching undergrads, I have seen that students learned very little during those two years. I had freshmen the year following the pandemic, and they had no idea what college was supposed to be like. We are still dealing with students who lost two years of education, including social experiences. It was a terrible time for all of us. The pandemic also left faculty with mental damage and long-term physical damage as well. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“'If I’m even a little bit right about this, that 9:30 AM class, no matter how great the teacher or subject matter, is diminished in a student’s worldview and is now just as important, or less so, as a host of other concerns vying for attention, including, indeed, long commutes, broken heaters and staying out to 3 am the night before.'</i> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>"In my experience with students today, it can also include childcare needs, working several jobs, caring for ill parents, and housing instability.”<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></i></p></blockquote><p><b>1e) “Kids Today”</b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“…it struck me as a caring but frustrated teacher who needed to vent after a tough day in the classroom. I’ve been there. But something about the tone of the lament, and, even more concerning, the disrespectful comments that have ensued from others about ‘kids today,’ has me flummoxed.”</i></p></blockquote><p>The “kids today” attitude in academia has been around at least since ancient Greece. However, I have seen changes over the last 30 years. </p><p>I am not just from a different time; I am from a different mentality than today’s students. Both my parents were in education. My father taught history and became a college administrator, eventually getting a Doctorate in Education. He had been in the services in WWII and was most well-known as a very successful football coach. Many of his best personality traits have come through me (along with some of the worst). My mother taught elementary school reading until she died, and when my father remarried, it was to a college English professor. </p><p>Growing up, I was hardly ever late and hardly ever deliberately missed a class. Punctuality was driven into me. We had a great education in an upper-middle-class town. Of course, some students cut classes regularly. Many of them changed later in life and became more responsible. </p><p>I went to two undergraduate schools with different attitudes towards education. At MIT, students were rarely late, but there were a lot of students who skipped classes entirely, and who went on to get A’s. This is why I do not grade using attendance as a metric. If you are smart enough to do well in the class and NOT attend class, that to me is a greater achievement than showing up and doing the minimum amount of work. If you do not attend class, you will find it very difficult to do well on the assignments, so there is no need for a separate attendance grade.<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </p><p>Interestingly, at Berklee, some students got A’s without attending class, but many learned very little while there because they never went to class. At USC, the students were very different. Most of them were independently wealthy because it has always been an expensive school with few opportunities for scholarships. Most students were punctual and attended class, but if they skipped class, it was because they were working on their films. Because of their comparative wealth, there was little outside business to distract them. </p><p>Moving to teach at CU Denver, I immediately had a different type of student. Almost all my students work at least part-time. Some of them work full-time. I had one student who worked an overnight shift at Coors Brewery and went on to get not only his bachelor’s degree but his master’s degree while doing so. I have students who have children and students who are caregivers for members of their families. I have students who cannot afford a computer or even a fast internet connection. I have students who share rooms with too many people for Zoom classes to function. </p><p>Students HAVE changed, and their expectations have changed as well. This cannot be changed any time soon, which means teachers must adapt. In addition, every student is unique, and you have to try to teach them all regardless of your perceived notions about them. You have no idea what they are going through outside of class. </p><p><b>1f) Neurodivergence </b></p><p>As someone who checks off two boxes in neurodivergence, I understand and sympathize with students who truly need special assistance in learning. </p><p>This is not going to be a popular statement, but I have found it to be true that some students exaggerate their issues solely so that they can put off work or have excuses for mediocre work. I regularly get requests to give students double the length of time for quizzes and exams. In only a handful of cases students needed more than the regularly allotted time and most finished in far less than that. </p><p>Of course, some students do need assistance. It’s usually easy to see who does. But anyone who wants extra time gets it.</p><p><b>1g) Metrics in Education</b></p><p>In addition to not using attendance to grade, I make sure that quizzes and exams are a very small part of their overall grade. Also, the quizzes are extremely easy for students who attend class and take notes. In my current grad class, it is only 16% (about one-sixth) of their grade. I do not see that the value of being a good test-taker has anything to do with success in the music or film industry. I grade primarily on their semester-long projects. </p><p><b>1h) Playing Nice</b></p><p>One of the ways I encourage professionalism is to have them do group projects. Nowhere in music or film will you find people who work completely alone. That’s not how life works. If I get reliable information from students that one group member is not carrying their weight, their final grade will be affected. The ability to work well with others is one of the most important goals of education for me. </p><p><b>(2) PROVIDING CONTENT VS TEACHING</b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“I see far too many faculty members merely providing content as opposed to truly teaching.”<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></i></p></blockquote><p><b>2a) Critical Thought </b><span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></p><p>Teaching requires that students participate in critical thought. I have far too many students who have the attitude of “just tell me what to do” rather than thinking, how was this accomplished by other artists that we discussed in class, and how can I do it differently to seek my own voice as an artist?”</p><p>Critical thought is almost completely missing from today’s college students. It is very frustrating to have to teach upperclassmen like they are freshmen and freshmen like they are still in high school. </p><p>The Socratic Method fosters student engagement through discussion. I find it harder and harder to get students to participate in class discussions. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“One particularly disheartening comment on the original post suggested we need only teach to the really good students ‘because they are the ones that will amount to something.’”</i></p></blockquote><p>Yikes, I do not know any faculty who have this attitude. However, it is almost always the best students who come to me for help outside of class time. It’s difficult to give everyone personalized instruction, so we tend to lean towards the students who are already doing well. </p><p><b>2b) Learning from Criticism</b></p><p>Maybe I was just lucky, but at all points in my education, my best teachers were always the ones who were most critical of me. This is how you learn. If you were doing everything right, what are you doing in school? Go get an entry-level position (mostly unpaid internships) and get some real-life experience. This is how, historically, people have gotten jobs in music and film. </p><p>I have had many “A” students who complained that I was too hard on students. The vast majority of my students who turn in their work on time get an A or A-. Most of the rest get a B+ or B. I can probably count on both hands the number of times I have given a “C.” Yet the students think I am too hard on them in my criticism. </p><p><b>(3) LESS FOCUS ON THE INDIVIDUAL, MORE ATTENTION TO THE WHOLE</b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“… even a great player and teacher like Professor Keezer will not be able to sustain the concentration of a modern-day college student if they are not studying within an ecosystem that is healthy and created to nourish their interests over time.”</i></p></blockquote><p>I rewrite my syllabi every semester, and every semester, I get off schedule and need to revise it during the semester. I know this is frustrating for students, but every individual and every group of individuals is unique. For instance, my grad class this semester is excellent, and I have already had some of them in similar classes. This has allowed me to rewrite the syllabus to include several guest lectures from working professionals. I know the students will appreciate this. </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“If we take a student’s seeming lack of interest as “blatant disrespect,” we are putting ourselves and our egos before their education.”</i></p></blockquote><p>I’ll admit I felt this way when I started teaching. I was an adjunct who had come back to school to share my professional experiences with students. Having gone through the program at USC myself, I knew how much they were missing. It was insulting that there were students who didn’t even want to be in my class. In my old age, I have changed and am much more patient with students. (Every current and recent student is currently saying “How is that even possible? You mean you were worse at one point?”)</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“Acknowledging the difficulty of the moment, honing our craft as teachers, and working together to build a healthy ecosystem in which students can flourish, is where my mind and heart are these days.”</i></p></blockquote><p>Amen!</p><p>Now let’s look at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialGeoffreyKeezer/posts/pfbid034RCJQRMFvJxnkhLNhqiUvboGNJmS4ABZSsEtuQpwasgWUn3wazunKQe3J67twM7xl" target="_blank">the original post by Geoffrey Keezer.</a> You can see immediately that it is not as well-written or even as well-thought-out a post. I’m sure he did not expect this to go viral. However, he does make some valid points. </p><p><b>Attendance and Punctuality</b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“They can't be bothered to show up on time for a 9:30 AM class. Nothing but lame excuses. The trains were messed up. Was up hanging at Small's till 3 AM. My heater is broken. Ad nauseum. And when they do show up a half hour late (if at all), they haven't practiced and are unprepared.”</i></p></blockquote><p>I agree that punctuality is important, but we are living in a post-pandemic world, and we can’t always expect students to be there on time. Again, this seems to be the instructor taking this personally instead of professionally as an educator. </p><p><b>Grade Inflation</b></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“This culture of ‘everybody gets an A", and "everybody gets a medal" regardless of students’ blatant disrespect for their lesson plans and their teachers.”’</i></p></blockquote><p>I agree that there is a problem with grade inflation. This is what happens when you treat students like customers. But students have been living in that environment for decades. Using low grades purely as punishment does not encourage the student to change. <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><i>“Back to tough love because it was still love. My mentors and bosses gave it to me straight if I was out of line. It might have hurt my feelings for a day or two, but then I got my shit together. Students - if you're serious about wanting a career in music when you graduate, then GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER. Practice your assignments, do the work, and SHOW UP. Thanks.”</i></p></blockquote><p>If I am being honest, I can’t disagree with any part of his last statement. He puts it bluntly, but it is sometimes necessary to put a student in their place to let them know how far they are from being employable. Just don’t do it all the time. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-28687220095475100552021-08-06T17:15:00.008-06:002021-08-25T18:59:37.660-06:00The Future is in Jeopardy<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwg2Kn-MbKQk1-N7egLX6odNoji8l6YITFAmvh1PmG6C5oeFD0aD7s6OIUzLD_G-7vsb8farK_UPX88qu5FXPWa5cYVjiRfjfq6P3y7DmqW8m83FN-XDRitBIzU8K9HlCvjk75/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="675" data-original-width="1200" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwg2Kn-MbKQk1-N7egLX6odNoji8l6YITFAmvh1PmG6C5oeFD0aD7s6OIUzLD_G-7vsb8farK_UPX88qu5FXPWa5cYVjiRfjfq6P3y7DmqW8m83FN-XDRitBIzU8K9HlCvjk75/w640-h360/image.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Some of the proposed hosts</i></b></td></tr></tbody></table> <br />I've been watching <b><i>Jeopardy</i></b> since Art Fleming was the host. One of my fondest memories of my mother (who died when I was twelve) is of watching <b><i>Jeopardy</i></b> with her. The Art Fleming version went off the air the same month she died. <p></p><p>I was in college when it was brought back with Alex Trebek as host. I was a bit of a game show nerd growing up and knew him from two previous game shows: <b><i>High Rollers</i></b>, which introduced the concept of gambling through craps to a generation of kids who pretended to be sick so that they could stay home and watch TV, and <b><i>The $128,000 Pyramid </i></b>(scheme). Even in these two goofy shows, it was clear that Alex was much smarter than the average game show host. </p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitEIVUM9icnOq8pkqs95YbFavz2mz3BiVAO4A4WBUctiVb78E34ESQcYipZE8mU-HNuPtc1B_2B45kYWUGG0gZpPeIVKytC4isKurY8iRSrIiqc4xOqh5jqgMwa8leCWEu89CT/s540/Alex_Checks_on_Ruta.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="403" data-original-width="540" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitEIVUM9icnOq8pkqs95YbFavz2mz3BiVAO4A4WBUctiVb78E34ESQcYipZE8mU-HNuPtc1B_2B45kYWUGG0gZpPeIVKytC4isKurY8iRSrIiqc4xOqh5jqgMwa8leCWEu89CT/s16000/Alex_Checks_on_Ruta.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Alex and co-host Ruta show off their Hair</i></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p></p><p>When <b><i>Jeopardy</i></b> returned, I was thrilled and recorded it every day, "binging" on the stacked-up episodes when I got home from college for a weekend or a vacation. This continued when I moved to California for grad school, and continues to this day. My wife and I generally watch it when we are eating lunch. I'm usually a week or two behind air dates, but catch up in the summer reruns. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YgclvXW_PXoY4bJ_ywzZ_3PSCLoDMFuD55DE7eGV-3vRBtbP5UjoxU8JHl6Qs3J3LnneHSPyj3rp46bxKrXuIQ29GPTbdlx-VTqwid1hb2SVmBuX0bNgoR8UuKC1MM1dqZWk/s872/220755139_10109114222446985_1875702474081618042_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="872" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6YgclvXW_PXoY4bJ_ywzZ_3PSCLoDMFuD55DE7eGV-3vRBtbP5UjoxU8JHl6Qs3J3LnneHSPyj3rp46bxKrXuIQ29GPTbdlx-VTqwid1hb2SVmBuX0bNgoR8UuKC1MM1dqZWk/s16000/220755139_10109114222446985_1875702474081618042_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><b>Well played, Google. Well played</b></i>. </td></tr></tbody></table><p>It was a sad day when Alex died as he left big shoes to fill. It seemed as though it was likely that Ken Jennings would be his hand-picked successor. In addition to his records as a contestant on <b><i>Jeopardy</i></b>, Ken has hosted a few game shows and made appearances on many others. </p><p>I was surprised when <b><i>Jeopardy</i></b> announced a series of guest hosts. It began to make sense when I realized that Jeopardy's taping schedule interfered with Ken's tapings as host for another game show, <b><i>The Chase</i></b>. I still figured that it was Ken's job to lose, and somehow, it looks like that happened. </p><p>News leaked that Executive Producer Mike Richards was the top-runner for the spot. It was indicated that there were a few others still on the shortlist while they negotiated his contract. Did they reject Ken because of some tweets that were in poor taste? Well, if they did, they had better look into the past of Mike Richards. When he was EP on <b><i>The Price is Right</i></b>, he fired model Brandi Cochran for getting pregnant. From the Hollywood Reporter:</p><p><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">'Cochran said she originally kept her pregnancy secret because she didn’t want to be fired. Later, she did tell others that she was pregnant with twins. When Cochran did so, she testified, Richards “put his head in his hands.” The next day, <b>Richards allegedly stormed up to her and said, “Twins? Are you kidding? Are you serious?</b></span></i></p><p><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Richards defended not rehiring Cochran (who had a miscarriage with one of the twins and pointed to the stress she endured) because of the show’s evolving format. At trial, he testified the show was relying upon fewer models and while Cochran was a “good model,” she “would not take us to great.”' </span></i></p><p>Jeopardy has had 16 guest hosts. I guess the appeal of Mike Richards is based on ratings. He had the second-best ratings after Jennings. However, this is not really a fair metric. Ken's ratings were lower than Alex's last few weeks, and Mike's ratings were lower than Ken's. The downward trend has continued overall since then, but for obvious reasons. </p><p>First, the novelty of guest hosts ran out quickly. Just make a decision already! Second, Ken and Mike were on in the early spring, when TV viewing is at a high. Ratings typically drop all summer long. They even run reruns in August because they know the audience is small. Finally, the last two weeks have had the Olympics. A third of the syndicated markets that run <b><i>Jeopardy</i></b> are NBC affiliates, which carry the Olympics. For a third of the stations, the show is pre-empted and runs either late-night/early-morning, or even worse, they are lumped together over the weekend in a late-night/early-morning schedule. Both of these make it difficult for the viewer to find the show, and if you are recording it at its regular time, the pre-emptions may not record at all. This is a very raw deal for Levar Burton. </p><p>When I heard that Levar Burton was guest hosting, my hopes shot up that he might get the job. <b><i>Jeopardy</i></b> leans heavily towards a white audience (as well as male-dominated, and an older audience that continues to get older), and the new host could be used to bring in an untapped audience. Burton has several things going for him. He came to the public eye winning an Emmy for <b><i>Roots</i></b>, which was landmark television. Not only was it the first African-American series, but it was also about slavery, something that has always been a hot topic in the US. Growing up in a lily-white suburb of Boston, I have to admit that seeing <b><i>Roots</i></b> opened my eyes to US history. It should really be required viewing. (Interestingly, ABC had so little faith in the project that they decided to burn it off in a mini-series run over a week instead of running it as a series, which was the original intention.) </p><p>For more than 20 years, Burton hosted <b><i>Reading Rainbow</i></b>, essentially making himself the "Mr. Rogers" of a generation. I was too old to watch it, and never had kids, but the show has won a Peabody and 26 Emmys. His presence on <b><i>Jeopardy</i></b> could open up a whole new audience to the show. He was also Geordi LaForge on <b><i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i></b>, which made a black engineer a model for many younger viewers. </p><p>I have not yet seen his appearance, but the general consensus is that he did not do well. Even he admitted he was rocky at first. </p><p>Looking at the 16 hosts, there were only 4 that were minorities. Bill Whitaker, who put me to sleep, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who was quite good but probably not looking for a new job, and Robin Roberts. I was pleasantly surprised by Roberts, who is a Peabody-winning journalist for covering her own complex health issues. She has a very amiable demeanor and a very pleasant voice. She is also the only minority woman who has hosted. I think she would be an excellent choice, she would likely get more women viewers and more minority viewers, which the show needs badly. </p><p>Three other women have hosted the show. Katie Couric had very good ratings, but is not looking to be a permanent host, and was not particularly good in my opinion. Mayim Bialik was mediocre, although her presence on a long-running sitcom might bring in a younger audience, which the show also needs badly. Savannah Guthrie was very weak in my opinion. </p><p>None of the other men have impressed me. In particular, Dr. Oz, who is essentially a snake-oil salesman (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6167233/">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6167233/</a>), is the oddest choice of all. I can't imagine why he was invited. Same with Joe Buck, whose most famous quote was his World Series coverage of "Pujols squeezes out number two" (although his shows have not aired yet).</p><p>I'll be very happy if Robin Roberts or Levar Burton gets it, and I'll be satisfied if now dark-horse Ken Jennings gets it. Anyone else, it's likely to be a letdown. <br /><br /><b><u><span style="font-size: medium;">ADDENDUM: </span></u></b></p><p>I like David Faber too, but I'd rather see Levar or Robin get it. </p><p>Mike Richards has already been fired as host, but he continues to be the showrunner. If these comments were bad enough to keep him from hosting, why should he be the one telling the host what to do? <br /><br />He has been replaced with Mayim Bialik, who also brings baggage:</p><p><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">'In her 2012 book, Beyond The Sling, the Big Bang Theory actress wrote that she and her husband “made an informed decision not to vaccinate our children, but this is a very personal decision that should be made only after sufficient research, which today is within reach of every parent who seeks to learn about their child’s health regardless of their medical knowledge or educational status.” Bialik’s comments have circulated in the years since, positioning her as an anti-vaxxer, a label she rejects, as she has since vaccinated her children and has publicly announced that she has also received the Covid vaccine. Bialik, who is a proponent of attachment parenting and holistic birthing, is also a critic of the birth control pill.'</span></i></p><p><a href="https://decider.com/2021/08/25/will-mayim-bialiks-controversial-opinions-get-her-fired-from-jeopardy/ " target="_blank">https://decider.com/2021/08/25/will-mayim-bialiks-controversial-opinions-get-her-fired-from-jeopardy/ </a></p><p>In addition, like Oz, she is a huckster: </p><p><b>Jeopardy Co-Host Mayim Bialik Promoted Fake Brain Supplement Neuriva </b></p><p><a href="https://ctwatchdog.com/health/supplements/jeopardy-co-host-mayim-bialik-promoted-fake-brain-supplement-neuriva">https://ctwatchdog.com/health/supplements/jeopardy-co-host-mayim-bialik-promoted-fake-brain-supplement-neuriva</a></p><p>The actress has a PhD in neuroscience. She should know better. I don't think she is an appropriate host either. </p>Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-509334492180837142018-10-01T18:41:00.003-06:002020-11-11T09:16:30.311-07:00Recommended Viewing<span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;">Recommended viewing for sound design and/or music.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">2001</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">32 SHORT FILMS ABOUT GLENN GOULD</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">THE ABYSS</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1939)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ALIEN</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ALIENS</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ALTERED STATES</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">AMELIE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">AMERICAN GRAFFITI</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">AND GOD SPOKE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">APOCALYPSE NOW</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BACK TO THE FUTURE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BACKDRAFT</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BARTON FINK</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">THE BEAR</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BEAUTY and THE BEAST </span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic;">(</span><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic;">animated) </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BIRDMAN</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">THE BLACK STALLION</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BLOW OUT</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">BROADCAST NEWS</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">DAS BOOT</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">CAST AWAY</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">CHILDREN OF MEN</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">CITIZEN KANE</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">THE CONVERSATION</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">DELICATESSEN</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">DISTRICT 9</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">DIVA </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ERASERHEAD</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">THE EXORCIST</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FARGO</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FISTFUL OF DOLLARS, FEW DOLLARS MORE, and THE GOOD, BAD and the UGLY</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">FRANKENSTEIN (1931); BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">GODFATHER I; II</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /><span face="Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">THE GRADUATE</span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">
<b><i>GRAVITY</i></b><br /><b><i>HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS</i></b><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">HUGO</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">INCEPTION</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">INCREDIBLES</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">INTERSTELLAR</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">INGLORIOUS BASTERDS</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1972)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">IRON GIANT</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">JURASSIC PARK</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">KING KONG (1933)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">LIFE OF PI</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">LIVING IN OBLIVION</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">M</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY, MON ONCLE, PLAYTIME et JOUR de FETE (Tati)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">^^^*** MUST SEES***^^^</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">MALCOLM X</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">THE MATRIX</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">MONSTER'S INC.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">THE NAKED GUN</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">NEVER CRY WOLF</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">NORTH BY NORTHWEST</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PI</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PRIMARY COLORS</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PSYCHO</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">PULP FICTION</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">QUIET PLACE</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">RAGING BULL</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">RATATOUILLE</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">RAY</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">REVENANT</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">REQUIEM FOR A DREAM </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">RIGHT STUFF</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">SAVING PRIVATE RYAN</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">SEVEN SAMURAI</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">SINGIN' IN THE RAIN</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">SNEAKERS</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">STAR TREK II: WRATH OF KHAN and IV: VOYAGE HOME</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">STAR WARS; EMPIRE STRIKES BACK</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">TAXI DRIVER</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">T2</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><b>THE TESTAMENT OF DR. MABUSE</b><br />(original German version, NOT the dubbed version which is edited & remixed)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">TOUCH OF EVIL</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">TOY STORY I, II, III and IV</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">TROIS COULEURS: BLEU, ROUGE et BLANC (Kieslowski), THE DEKALOG and DOUBLE LIFE OF VERONIQUE</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">TWIN PEAKS </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">UNFORGIVEN</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">USUAL SUSPECTS</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">VERTIGO</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">VIVRE SA VIE</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">WALL•E</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE WRONG TROUSERS</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">WHEN HARRY MET SALLY<br />WHIPLASH</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">WIZARD OF OZ</span></div>
Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-27486169418999357992017-02-26T17:44:00.002-07:002017-02-26T17:44:59.635-07:002017 Best Picture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYeTxGtzwpU5TGZueSjrLQlFA0xJ6M6208jRPszA2IPpg7gMtSTDiJd1M4uE9rWitbJYxJAPjx58bDaApZo7bgtR991GBKHuWJWy471tJi2rChygJWVS6CZdHYhy0Vy-HdfSn/s1600/moonlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAYeTxGtzwpU5TGZueSjrLQlFA0xJ6M6208jRPszA2IPpg7gMtSTDiJd1M4uE9rWitbJYxJAPjx58bDaApZo7bgtR991GBKHuWJWy471tJi2rChygJWVS6CZdHYhy0Vy-HdfSn/s640/moonlight.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I have not yet seen <i><b>Fences</b></i>. It just became available for purchase on iTunes and I expect to view it this week and update this post.<br />
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Of the other eight nominees, here are my short reviews, ranked from eighth to first. I liked all of them a lot. However, since they are up for Oscars, I still have to be critical.<br />
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<b>8) <i>Hacksaw Ridge</i></b><br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Hacksaw Ridge </i>is an almost instantly forgettable war film. It's based on an interesting true story, and I like Andrew Garfield, but the film is far too Hollywood and the script is extremely predictable. The film also overstays its welcome by taking far too long to get where it is going. It's worth seeing, but it is not Oscar material in my opinion.<br />
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<b>7) <i>Arrival </i></b><br />
I know a lot of people really loved <b><i>Arrival</i></b>. I did too. But it has a lot of problems. From a science fiction standpoint, little in the film makes any sense. And what makes it worse for me is that the film looks like a low budget film. Here we have an event that is about to change the world, and we have what feels like four or five speaking roles in the entire film. Except for a few news shots, I don't think any scene has more than half a dozen people in it. The filmmakers created a very closed universe for a film which is about opening up the universe to the audience. The visual effects were effective, but they were deliberately murky much of the time, and I kept thinking of the old <b><i>Outer Limits</i></b> series, where that was a budgetary choice and not a creative choice. It's a very good film, but I don't think it should have been nominated for Best Picture. What I did like was the fact that they made the film about communication, and that humanity had to learn to work together to overcome challenges. Even without an alien visit, we need to learn to do that now.<br />
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<b>6) <i>La La Land</i></b><br />
I really liked <b><i>La La Land</i></b> a lot, but it is a severely flawed film. I'm not sure why they made the main character a jazz musician, because nothing he plays is anything like what he claims to like. He claims to worship Thelonious Monk but I don't think there is a minor second anywhere in the film. I agree with the criticism of whitewashing in the film, which Kareem Abdul Jabbar wrote about much more eloquently than I could in <b><i>The Hollywood Reporter</i></b> here: <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kareem-abdul-jabbar-how-la-la-land-misleads-race-romance-jazz-975786">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kareem-abdul-jabbar-how-la-la-land-misleads-race-romance-jazz-975786</a>. Although the two leads did sing their vocals live, neither of them is good enough to maintain musical interest, and the dancing is kind of lame. The songs are forgettable. However, when the film does work, it works extremely well. The dance scene shot overlooking the valley at sunset is gorgeous. I know many people think this film is favored to sweep the awards, but it is not worthy in my opinion. In 2011 the Academy gave Best Picture to <b><i>The Artist</i></b>. Although I loved that film a lot, I think the worst thing the academy could do right now is give the award to another nostalgia film. It's the equivalent of Hollywood giving the Oscar to itself. There are several other films that are far more worthy, and that will stand the test of time better than <b><i>The Artist</i></b> or <b><i>La La Land</i></b>.<br />
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<b>5) <i>Manchester By the Sea</i></b><br />
I know a lot of people really loved this movie, and I liked it a lot as well, but I think since I grew up only a few miles from where the movie is set, it was not as involving, as I know too many people like the characters in the movie. In fact, one of the first shots in the film is of the gas station my family went to in my hometown. Maybe it was too close to home for me, literally. I did like the acting and the script. What I did not like was the ending, where the film just stops. I had this complaint about a number of films this year. You don't need to tie up every thread in the film, but I need to know what I am supposed to take away from the film, and I really took nothing with me after the film was over.<br />
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<b>4) <i>Hell or High Water</i></b><br />
In any other year, <i style="font-weight: bold;">Hell or High Water </i>might have been best picture. The move fires on all cylinders. The script and acting are excellent. This film certainly has me looking forward to more by the same filmmakers. But for me, there were several other films that mattered more than this one.<br />
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<b>3) <i>Lion</i></b><br />
We are now getting into territory where it is harder and harder to delineate excellence. <i style="font-weight: bold;">Lion </i>is an outstanding piece of filmmaking with several amazing performances. I hope a lot of Americans see this film so that they are reminded how much worse their lives might have been if they had been born into the abject poverty that the main character was. My only real criticism of the film is that the last third of it is fairly predictable, by-the-numbers Hollywood screenwriting, when the fist two thirds felt completely fresh. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this film to everyone.<br />
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<b>2) <i>Hidden Figures</i></b><br />
<i style="font-weight: bold;">Hidden Figures </i>is far from perfect, but I found it one of the most emotionally involving films of the year. The first act of the film is written a little sloppily, but once it gets underway, the film really grabs the viewer. This film is also guilty of whitewashing, as the Kevin Costner character did not really exist in real life, but the studio insisted that there be a bankable (meaning white) star for the film. The acting was really outstanding. In addition, this film fills in some important Afrincan-American history that has not been widely known. And the film is about science, which is something that is being overlooked nationally right now.<br />
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<b>1) <i>Moonlight</i></b><br />
<b><i>Moonlight</i></b> is in a class by itself. I sincerely hope it wins. Like many of the other films I enjoyed this year, the film is important socially. The main character is a closeted gay boy that we see in three periods of his life. I think most people have no understanding of how difficult it is to be black or to be gay in America now, and this movie tackles both very well. Also in terms of filmmaking, they pulled off the impossible. If you write a script with different actors playing the same character, you are likely to be told the script is unmakeable. It is very, very hard to pull off performance continuity, especially when one of the actors is fairly young. But this film does it very well. I cannot recommend the film highly enough.<br />
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<br />Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-64453272275524869322017-02-26T16:53:00.000-07:002017-02-26T16:53:53.454-07:002017 Animation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Times; font-variant-ligatures: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; widows: 2;">
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Animation is one of my favorite forms of filmmaking because you can do anything imaginable with it. This year the animated films were excellent.</div>
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A company called <b>Shorts HD</b> has packaged four of the five animated Shorts nominated for the Oscar for $8. They can be viewed here: <a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/2017_Oscar_Nominated_Shorts_Films_Animation?id=U1xlQnR4Auc&hl=en#details-reviews">https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/2017_Oscar_Nominated_Shorts_Films_Animation?id=U1xlQnR4Auc&hl=en#details-reviews</a>. </div>
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The fifth film is Pixar's nominee <b><i>Piper</i></b>, which is available on iTunes. As always, Pixar's nominee has it all. The character animation and lighting are amazing, and the story, although very short, is engrossing. I'm not sure this is the best short of the year though. </div>
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Of the four on Shorts HD, I prefered <b><i>Blind Vaysha,</i></b> which has dark animation to accompany a thoughtful Russian folk tale. The style of animation matched the tone of the story perfectly, and it's a film I will remember and think about for a while. </div>
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<b><i>Pear Cider and Cigarettes</i></b> is by far the longest of the shorts, at 35 minutes, but it sustains its time well. I liked the animation, and the music matches the main character of Techno, who is apparently based on a real person, but I think this was a missed opportunity for sound design. The music gets old fast, and the film is wall-to-wall voiceover, but the character is engrossing enough to justify watching it. </div>
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<b><i>Borrowed Time </i></b>is a nice short, but it has a student feel to it. The characters and animation are good, but the story has no emotional resolution, which makes it feel long even though it is only three minutes. It almost feels like a demo reel for a feature. </div>
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<b><i>Pearl</i></b> is the weakest film of the lot. An extended music video, with music that is not very good, the film has its heart in the right place, but it does not payoff. The style of animation looks like it was shot on video and digitally animated, but the animation is quite rough. I'm not sure how this got nominated. </div>
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This year's features were all excellent. My personal favorite is <b><i>The Red Turtle</i></b>, which is still in a few theaters. It's a feature-length film with no dialogue, and most of it with only one human character. And a turtle. It's really beautiful, and like <b><i>Blind Vaysha</i></b>, I will be thinking about the film for a long time. </div>
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I also loved <b><i>Zootopia</i></b>. This is a very important film right now as it has a moral - that anyone can be anything regardless of what they look like. I wish everyone saw this film. </div>
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I really loved <b><i>Kubo and the Two Strings</i></b> as well. A beautiful story with characters you will really care about. </div>
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<b><i>Moana</i></b> was also entertaining but I honestly felt like it was a little too long, and the mood shifts were somewhat jarring. I know a lot of people thought it was the best animated film of the year though. </div>
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I have not seen <b><i>My Life as a Zucchini</i></b>. I believe it is still in a few theaters. </div>
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There was one more animated film I loved this year that was not nominated. <b><i>The Little Prince</i></b> is a film that will last through the ages. Unlike other films which have tried to adapt short books into feature length and failed, this film adds a nice layer of depth to the book with the new material that they added to flesh it out to feature length. It is also great family entertainment. </div>
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I also very much enjoyed <b><i>The Jungle Book</i></b>, which has a live action main character, but almost everything else in the film is animated digitally. This one was of the best films of the year in my opinion. It's nominated for Visual Effects and I think it will win as most of it passes as live action even though it is not. </div>
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Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-3282526269850147922017-02-24T17:56:00.000-07:002017-02-26T16:16:50.622-07:002017 Documentaries<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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NOTE: Updated with Shorts reviews below.<br />
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Here is my take on the Documentary Features nominated for the major awards this year, starting with the five films nominated for the Oscar. It was another truly outstanding year for documentaries!<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://www.espn.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2840463/" target="_blank">OJ: Made in America</a> </i></b>is probably the best documentary series on TV in ages. We watched the entire series in a few nights. The runtime without commercials is a little under 8 hours. At the end of 8 hours, I actually felt like I could watch more. The later part of his life is not covered as fully as I had hoped. This film won the IDA Documentary Feature award, beating several other excellent contenders.<br />
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Four of the five Oscar nominees deal with racial issues in some way. Three of the five nominees for the Documentary Feature Oscar deal with African-American relations in the US. <b><i>OJ</i></b> deals with it quite well, I believe all of Part II (if I remember correctly) was about setting the racial tone in Los Angeles when the first trial happened. If you only saw part one, you should really watch the entire series. It's online at ESPN:<br />
<a href="http://www.espn.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2840463/" target="_blank">http://www.espn.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2840463/ </a><br />
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However, I find it odd that this is nominated for the Oscar when it was a TV series. I know it is legal by their rules, but voters are supposed to vote ONLY on the part that was theatrically released, which was Part I. In some ways this gives it an unfair advantage as no other nominees had the scope of a miniseries. On the other hand, I think the association with television might turn off AMPAS voters.<br />
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Side note, I cannot bring myself to watch the miniseries based on the trial. I tried but I could not watch it as entertainment. I lived through a lot of it in Los Angeles, and even stopped working to watch the Bronco chase. Some things just don't work as entertainment.<br />
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<b><i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741" target="_blank">13th</a></i></b> was nominated for the IDA Doc award and is nominated for the Film Independent Spirit Award in addition to the Oscar. It's available on Netflix. It's a doc produced by Ava DuVernay about the American prison system and the racism inherent in the system. It's a brilliant documentary, and may very well win the Oscar and/or Spirit award. I'm not sure it is my favorite doc of the year; I felt the filmmaking was a little too choppy on some of the issues, but I certainly recommend viewing it. It's on Netflix at:<br />
<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741">https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741</a><br />
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<b><i>I am not Your Negro </i></b>was also nominated for the IDA Doc award and is nominated for the Film Independent Spirit Award in addition to the Oscar. I found this film very interesting and it holds up better than I expected, based on the fact that is adapted from an unpublished manuscript (which I believe was very short) by James Baldwin. It makes very effective use of stock footage to bring the story to life. If there is any criticism, it is that the movie feels smaller in scope than some of the other nominees. I do not believe it is easily available for viewing.<br />
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<a href="http://a.co/8SiSLdC" target="_blank"><i style="font-weight: bold;">Life, Animated</i></a> is about a young man with autism who discovers that he can communicate using dialog from Disney films. It;s a fantastic film and completely worthy to be in this group.<br />
<a href="http://a.co/8SiSLdC">http://a.co/8SiSLdC</a><span id="goog_311298158"></span><span id="goog_311298159"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><br />
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The fifth Oscar nominee was <b><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbTcre_Sbno" target="_blank">Fire at Sea</a></i></b>, which was also nominated for the IDA Doc award. I found this film to be one of the most powerful of the year. It's a very well made documentary that, for the most part, lets the story tell itself. To me, this is a more interesting way to structure a documentary than through voiceover. The film is about a small island which acts as a welcome port for refugees fleeing from all over Africa and the Middle East. This should really be required viewing for people who think we should be closing borders to immigrants. It can be rented on YouTube or iTunes:<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbTcre_Sbno">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbTcre_Sbno</a><br />
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Here are a few other documentaries that were not nominated for the Oscar, but for other awards.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://a.co/iAwWboY" target="_blank">Cameraperson</a></i></b> was nominated for both the Spirit Award and the IDA Doc Award. Describing it makes it sound a lot worse than it is. It's basically a doc cinematographer's reel. But the work is indeed outstanding, and very well edited. In fact, it contains footage from some of the other nominees this year. It's on Amazon Prime: <a href="http://a.co/iAwWboY" target="_blank">http://a.co/iAwWboY </a><br />
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<b><i>Sonita</i></b> was nominated for the Spirit Award. It is an excellent doc about a 14 year-old girl who is an Iranian refugee in Afghanistan who is about to be sold into marriage, but she takes a huge chance and decides to write and perform a rap about her dilemma. It's amazing that she managed to pull it off. Although some sections appear to be staged for the camera, it is still an outstanding film. I don't think there is currently any way to see the film in the US.<br />
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<b><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDl207dCyRE" target="_blank">Under the Sun</a></i></b> is a very strange movie. I really liked it a lot because it is original. While making propaganda for the North Korean government, the filmmakers manage to also make their own film by leaving the camera running between takes. As a filmmaker, this feels odd, as they were lying to the subjects, yet at the same time, it is a rare look into North Korea that most Americans would never otherwise know. This was also one of my favorite films of the year. It can be rented on Youtube:<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDl207dCyRE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDl207dCyRE</a><br />
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<b><i>Weiner</i></b> was nominated for the IDA Doc award. It's what you would expect, a documentary about Anthony Weiner. I am amazed at how much footage they got and how open he and especially his wife were on camera. This is probably the least moving of e the docs I have listed here, but it is still worth a watch. It's available on ShowTime and for purchase on a few sites.<br />
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I've seen 4 of the 5 shorts nominated for the Oscar this year. <br />
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Probably the most notable is <a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/80101827?trackId=13752289&tctx=0%2C0%2Cd64aeeab4bdb0b1e4199ae6b191c199fb7820c65%3A5f96e4357cf0dfad465b02c78e3769bb4cffbed7" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">The White Helmets</a><b style="font-style: italic;">, </b>which won the IDA Doc award for short. It has recently received publicity because the Syrian cinematographer was denied a visa to attend the awards. This is an extremely important film about a group of volunteer doctors who willingly go into the most dangerous war zones in Syria to aid the injured. This is incredibly brave, as were the people who risked their lives to make the film documenting this important work. This is a must-see film, available on Netflix: <a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/80101827">https://www.netflix.com/watch/80101827</a>.<br />
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<b><i><a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/80106307" target="_blank">Extremis</a></i></b> is a short doc about doctors dealing with end of life decisions. It was also nominated for the IDA Doc award. It's also a very moving and very relevant film. It can be viewed on Netflix: <a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/80106307">https://www.netflix.com/watch/80106307</a>.<br />
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<b><i><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004674545/41-miles.html" target="_blank">4.1 Miles</a></i></b> is a nice companion piece to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbTcre_Sbno" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" target="_blank">Fire at Sea</a> (mentioned above)<b style="font-style: italic;">. T</b>he 4.1 miles refers to the distance between the Greek island of Lesbos and the mainland. It sounds short, but the waters are treacherous, and the island deals with thousands of refugees passing through. Resident on the island risk their lives on an hourly basis to help them reach shore. I believe this short was made by students. It is available to view for free on the NY Times web site: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004674545/41-miles.html" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004674545/41-miles.html </a><br />
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<b><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D5h_Y8N4tg" target="_blank">Joe's Violin</a></i></b> will make you cry. It's the story of an elderly Holocaust survivor who donates his century-old violin (through the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation) to a 14 year-old African-American girl in the Bronx. It's available for free viewing at the New Yorker's Youtube channel: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D5h_Y8N4tg" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D5h_Y8N4tg </a>.<br />
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The last of the five Oscar nominees is <b><i>Watani: My Homeland</i></b>. I believe the only way to see this is to go to a theatrical screening of the nominees released by Shorts HD. Shorts also has the films available on Google Play<br />
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The other IDA doc nominees were <b><i><a href="https://fieldofvision.org/the-above" target="_blank">The Above</a></i></b>, which is a very lyrical doc about a balloon permanently stationed above Kabul by the US government, with little explanation as to its purpose. It can be viewed online for free here: <a href="https://fieldofvision.org/the-above">https://fieldofvision.org/the-above</a>.<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004769329/pickle.html" target="_blank">Pickle</a></i> is the only uplifting film in the bunch. It's about a quirky, wealthy couple and their devotion to their pets. It is available for free viewing on the NY Times web site: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004769329/pickle.html">https://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000004769329/pickle.html</a><br />
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<b><i>Red Lake </i></b>is a very interesting documentary about the survivors of a school shooting on an Indian reservation in Minnesota. It is very interesting, but I do not believe it is available for online viewing. <br />
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<b><i>Clinica De Migrantes: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness</i></b> is about a clinic that is addresses the medical needs of undocumented immigrants. Unfortunately this is not available for viewing either.<br />
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Watching documentaries is one of the reasons I look forward to awards season. There is not a bad film in the bunch.<br />
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<br />Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-47018242018438245852017-01-28T11:32:00.001-07:002017-01-28T12:28:18.636-07:00The American DreamI am second-generation American.<br />
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I'm the youngest in my generation, and both my parents were the youngest in their generations. My grandparents were born in the 1880s and emigrated to America in the early years of the 20th century.<br />
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My father's parents were illiterate immigrants from Poland. They never learned to speak English or to read or write any language. They came over dirt poor. My father was born in a tenement in Boston. His father worked his ass off in a factory and, after a few years, saved enough money to buy a small farm in Acton, Mass., where my father grew up. My father was the first person in his family to go to college. He eventually got a doctorate in education.<br />
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My mother's parents were from Ireland. They were in better shape when they came to America. They were better educated, there were many teachers in the family, and my mother's father was a skilled carpenter. However, it was still difficult for immigrants to find work, regardless of schooling, skill or experience. It has never been easy for immigrants in America. It has always meant hard work.<br />
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This country was built by and on the backs of immigrants. I don't understand how we went from a melting pot to an immigration ban in one century. It certainly does not make America look good. People do not come to America for a free ride. They come here because they are out of options and they believe in The American Dream. The REAL American Dream, not the dream to win the lottery; they believe The Dream that if they work hard enough, one day, they may help create a better world for their children, and their children's children. I have many students who are immigrants or children of immigrants. In them, I see the same hope that my Polish and Irish grandparents had when they moved to America. And, like my father, many of them are the first in their families to attend college. They love their adopted homeland of America, and just like my grandparents, they love the things that make this country great, especially the freedoms afforded us by the Constitution.<br />
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I haven't posted on my blog in a long time, but I felt this is important.<br />
<br />Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-68938857132275933902015-03-08T12:21:00.000-06:002015-03-08T12:21:16.753-06:00The Accidental Bernstein Festival<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over the course of the last three weekends, my wife and I had a sort of accidental festival of Leonard Bernstein's music, culminating with the Colorado Symphony's live orchestral performance of <b><i>West Side Story</i></b>, accompanying the projected film version.<br />
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Two weekends ago, the Colorado Ballet performed several short works, including Bernstein's ballet sketches <b><i>Fancy Free</i></b>. I had wanted to see this for a long time. I'm a huge fan of Bernstein as a composer. (I can only imagine what American music would be like if Bernstein had committed himself fulltime as a composer, instead of spending the majority of his later life as a conductor.) Bernstein, more than anyone, was successful at merging jazz and classical music, as well as merging art music with popular music. <b><i>Fancy Free</i></b>, like many of his works, is just too short, so much so that it is unsatisfying. It seems like a great set of ideas that he never had time to fully develop. I can see why he was talked into taking this short ballet about three sailors on shore leave, and adapting it into the musical <b><i>On the Town</i></b>. That movie is fun, but it is not the development of these ideas that I wanted to see.<br />
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Also on that program were two other short works, one a brief scene accompanied by a Bach <b><i>Violin Concerto</i></b>. It was almost as though the group were still warming up during this opening piece. The second piece on the program was outstanding, a piece title <b><i>In Pieces</i></b>, with music by Poul Ruders. But both the Ruders and the Bernstein were worth seeing.<br />
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Last week, the Colorado Symphony started a series called <b><i>The American Festival</i></b>, featuring modern works by American composers. (We will be at the second concert in the series next week.) The major reason I was interested in this concert was that they were playing Bernstein's <b><i>Second Symphony</i></b> (which is really a concerto for piano). Like <b><i>Fancy Free</i></b>, it is short. It is, however, a major work aesthetically, and very complex. I had never heard it before and immediately I went to the library to check out the score. The orchestra played extremely well, and soloist William Wolfram fluidly played very difficult passages in many different genres (including some jazz sections). This piece must have required a tremendous amount of rehearsal.<br />
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I like the direction that conductor Andrew Litton is taking the orchestra, including concerts like this that are pure art music. The other two pieces on the program were by contemporary composer Kevin Puts, <b><i>Two Mountain Scenes</i></b>, and his <b><i>Clarinet Concerto</i></b>, featuring Bill Jackson. Both were lovely pieces, and the Clarinet concerto was played very well.<br />
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Last night our accidental festival ended with <b><i>West Side Story</i></b>. The screening had an excellent turnout. I had never seen the film with an audience before, and it was pretty amazing seeing the audience react to the movie. There are some things about the film that have dated, most obviously the casting of non-Latinos as Puerto Rican (in brown makeup). Also, the very highly stylized production is more reminiscent of Broadway staging than it is realistic, and I think most contemporary moviegoers would be put off by that. However, the power of the story and the music is still overwhelming. I could hear numerous people in the audience crying during "Somewhere." (Ironic, as the stage version has the song sung by an offstage voice (the Greek Chorus effect), whereas in the movie is was moved onstage to be sung as a duet.) One of the biggest changes in the movie adaptation turned out to be the most moving moment emotionally.<br />
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The CSO played it with a full orchestra. Due to the fact that Bernstein was overbooked, he did not do the orchestrations for any version of the musical. The Broadway version used a small pit orchestra with some nice additions (bass sax, 5 percussionists, etc.), and Bernstein probably had the most involvement with that version. Reputedly, Bernstein HATED the movie orchestrations, which more than tripled the size of the orchestra, and took some weird chances like using FIVE baritone saxes in some sections. The version played last night was somewhere in between. It was indeed a huge orchestra, but it seemed much more in line with what Bernstein had wanted.<br />
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The CSO played the music extremely well, and it is very demanding. The brass and percussion sections are especially challenged by the writing.<br />
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I should mention the oddity that Bernstein himself was incapable of creating a defining version of his own work. His late recording of the entire piece replaced the musical theater voices with opera singers (something he had apparently wanted from the start) but it really a travesty, as the main voices are both completely miscast. In addition, if you watch the video about the recording of the piece, it's pretty difficult to view. People who think that the movie <b><i>Whiplash</i></b> was not realistic have obviously never performed under a diva like Bernstein.<br />
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I have to mention the problems with last night's screening. Remember, I have worked as a music editor for decades, working with the best musicians in Hollywood, recording complex scores for film and television. The CSO seriously needs to rethink the method that they are using to project films in Boettcher. These tickets are not cheap, and the audience deserves a much better movie-going experience.<br />
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The screens are very small, and are very, very far from the audience. So far, that even with our excellent seats, the entire movie was clearly five or six frames out of sync for the viewing audience. This completely destroys the illusion that the people onscreen are singing when they are out of sync for the entire movie. This would be fixed by using a large single screen above the orchestra. The image is just too far away and too small to show the movie the proper respect that it deserves. (I know, Boettcher is a theater in the round, so going to a single screen would eliminate 75% of the available seats, but the audience deserves better.)<br />
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In addition to the sync problem with the vocals, there were also sync problems with the orchestra. This is some of the most complex orchestral music ever written, and trying to play it AT ALL would be a challenge for most orchestras. But trying to play it with a click track (especially with an orchestra that is not used to using a metronome in performance) made it tough in parts. For the most part, the orchestra was in sync with itself, but rarely were they in sync with the vocals. Other than more rehearsals, I'm not sure how that could be fixed.<br />
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Finally, the live mix was terrible. Every time I have seen a movie in Boettcher done with live orchestra, it has been impossible to hear the dialog from the film. In this case, that means the vocals were completely drowned out, and the lyrics in this film deserve to be heard. "Officer Krupke" should have gotten plenty of laughs from the audience, but it did not, apparently because the audience could not hear the lyrics.<br />
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I do love the CSO, but I really wish they would give the movies the respect that they deserve.<br />
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If you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably noticed that I have not been writing much lately. I have been ignoring most of the concerts we go to, and I don't think I wrote a single movie review during awards season. This was a deliberate choice to see if anyone noticed. No one noticed. This does not suprise me, this blog averages about 1-2 hits per day, and most of those are hit and run (they stay for less than half a second before going somewhere else). So this is the last of my experiments to see if I should close up this blog. I'm leaning towards hanging it up, as clearly this is not making a difference, other than chewing up valuable time in my life. I do not enjoy writing, and I think of my blog as yet another chore that I have to do. It would be a relief to know that I don't have to do this any more.<br />
<br />Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-76426383857503176932014-10-10T00:47:00.000-06:002014-10-10T00:47:11.430-06:00THE CASE AGAINST 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've followed the Prop 8 case closely, having lived in California for 22 years. Even with a pretty complete knowledge of the sequence of events, I have to say that <b><i>THE CASE AGAINST 8</i></b> is one of the best documentaries I have seen, period. Not only is it a very well-made film (expertly edited by Kate Amend), it is also very entertaining, with humor and pathos. Bring your handkerchiefs. The film has a lot of nice details that I did not know about the case, including some real shockers. It also does a great job of showing to gay couples throughout their journey to help make sure that gay marriage becomes (and stays) legal in California. It's an incredible story, and one that everyone should see.<br />
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I have been remiss on my blog for the past few months, but with screening season upon us, I do expect to get a lot more reviews up here soon.Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-17506683730510979362014-07-25T16:51:00.000-06:002014-07-25T16:54:07.873-06:00Bartok and Reich<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Donovan Pavilion, Vail</i></b></td></tr>
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Today is the first anniversary of the death of my stepmother, Pat. I was informed of her death last year while we were in Vail for the music festival, and that day I walked across the street to listen to a performance of the Barber <b><i>Adagio for Strings</i></b>. The first concert we went to this year with NY Phil also played the piece, in honor of Lorin Maazel. My wife also lost her grandmother this year, and the same day the NY Phil played the <b><i>Adagio</i></b> would have been her 101st Birthday. Sunday is also the anniversary of our move to Denver, so it has been an emotional week for us.<br />
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This concert was Monday night. It featured two pieces for keyboards and percussion by 20th century composers, Béla Bartók and Steven Reich. The venue is beautiful, but they need to turn off the air conditioning during a quiet performance; most of the Bartok was overwhelmed by the fan noise. I had not heard the Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion before, But I have always liked Bartók's approach to composition, and this piece was quite nice. Both pianists, Anne-Marie McDermott (who is also music director for the Bravo Vail series), Gilles Vonsattel had their hands full and played quite well. Third Coast Percussion was featured on both pieces.<br />
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The Reich piece was very well received, his <b><i>Sextet</i></b> for two keyboards and percussion. The piece made use of four percussionists, playing vibraphones, marimbas, crotales and various other percussion. Perhaps the most interesting orchestration in the piece was the use of bowed vibraphone, which gave a very eerie sound to the piece. (The player could have used more rosin, though, it lost volume as the piece progressed.)<br />
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I've always felt that Reich is everything that most people wish Philip Glass could be. His music is much more coherent and has a better overall arch to it, and his orchestration is at least interesting, which is more than I can say for Glass. The only thing I did not care for in this piece was the use of synthesizers, which seemed to wish that they were a horn and a tuba. (Why not just get the real thing?) Other than that, it was a very interesting piece from start to finish, and the crowd enjoyed it.<br />
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The whole concert was under an hour long (excluding an insanely long break between the two pieces). It might have been nice to open with some short fanfare so that people feel like they got a full concert out of the program. Otherwise, this was a nice way for us to finish our stay in Vail, and I look forward to next year.<br />
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<br />Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-83182428130545466232014-07-21T13:58:00.002-06:002014-07-21T13:58:26.948-06:00NY Phil in Vail<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xpa1/t51.2885-15/10499299_1389783604596834_1921198119_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" src="http://scontent-a.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xpa1/t51.2885-15/10499299_1389783604596834_1921198119_n.jpg" /></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Photo from earlier this year with the Dallas Symphony</i></td></tr>
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Rachel and I made our annual trip to Vail to see the NY Phil at the Bravo Vail music festival. This year is a little more difficult for me as it brings up some memories. Last year while we were at the festival, I awoke one morning to find a message that my stepmother Pat had died. (We are now only a few days shy or the anniversary.) I decided to go to the chamber concert that was playing across the street from where we were staying, and they happened to be playing the Barber <b><i>Adagio for Strings</i></b>. <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/07/barber-in-chapel-yesterday-when-i-woke.html" target="_blank">(Review here.)</a><br />
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This year our first concert was the first that the NY Phil had played since the death of their previous conductor Lorin Maazel. Conductor Alan Gilbert opened the concert (after the "Star-Spangled Banner") with an unscheduled memorial reading of the Barber <b><i>Adagio</i></b>, which brought back a lot of memories.<br />
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That concert was on the 18th. In addition to being my sister's birthday, the 18th was usually a day we would plan on being in Michigan for my wife's grandmother's birthday. Last year she celebrated her 100th birthday, but she then passed away in January. So the date, and the <b><i>Adagio</i></b>, brought back memories of two loved ones that we have lost over the last year.<br />
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We had planned on being in Vail on the 18th because we really wanted to see the NY Phil, and in years past it has been difficult to get here with the travel to Michigan. This year we wanted to be sure to be here to see the concert with Midori which had been scheduled for the 18th. Unfortunately, she is pregnant and her doctors advised against late-term travel for her. This required a program change. Instead of the Tchaikovsky <b><i>Violin Concerto</i></b>, we got Beethoven's Third <b><i>Piano Concerto</i></b> played by Yefim Bronfman. A bit of a letdown, but a good concert nonetheless. Bronfman played well, but a little more sloppily than one might expect from him. He had already agreed to play the <b style="font-style: italic;">First </b>and<b style="font-style: italic;"> Fifth Concerti</b> the next night, so I'm sure he had his hands full rehearsing.<br />
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The highlight of the Friday concert was an excellent read of Grieg's <b><i>Peer Gynt</i></b> Suite. I've never seen Gilbert conduct in person before, but I really liked him. He is not as flamboyant as some conductors at his level, but he gets a great performance out of the orchestra.<br />
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Saturday's concert was all Beethoven. The <b><i>Overture to Fidelio</i></b> opened the concert. As a trumpet player, I'm more fond of the other <b><i>Leonore Overtures</i></b>. This was followed by the two piano concerti. The <b><i>First Concerto</i></b> is not the most interesting work by Beethoven, with the exception of the lengthy cadenza. Finishing the concert with the <b><i>Emperor Concerto</i></b> was a smart move, yet at the same time, the orchestra looked a bit bored playing so much Beethoven over two nights. They looked a lot more alive on Sunday night. Bronfman really brought it for the Fifth, though, and it was a nice finish to the evening.<br />
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Sunday the orchestra played one of the most difficult concerts I have ever seen and it reminded me why the NY Phil is the NY Phil. Very few conductors would have opened a concert with not one but TWO of the most difficult orchestral showpieces in the repertoire, Strauss's <b><i>Don Juan</i></b> followed immediately by <b><i>Till Eulenspiegel</i></b>. The horn section must hate Gilbert for putting these two back to back. The orchestra played extremely well, especially on <b><i>Till Eulenspiegel</i></b>.<br />
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This was followed by the <b><i>Oboe Concerto</i></b> of Christopher Rouse. I was extremely impressed with this work. It is very modern, but it is also much more listenable than a lot of contemporary works. There seemed to be jazz influence not only in the orchestration (harmon mutes featured in the trumpets) but also in the harmonic structure of the opening chord, which is a recurring harmonic structure in the piece. I liked it a lot. The soloist, Liang Wang, had a beautiful tone quality, and certainly knew how to make it look like a difficult piece. Phrases were all very long, and I had wondered if he were using circular breathing to complete some of them, but it was difficult to tell. He did look close to passing out a couple of times.<br />
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Sunday's program ended with a fantastic reading of Tchaikovsky's <b><i>Romeo and Juliet Overture</i></b>. This performance reminded me of why we come to their concerts. They were fantastic, and it was obvious that the orchestra was having a great time playing the piece. As an encore, they performed Glinka's <b><i>Russlan and Ludmilla Overture</i></b>, another orchestral showpiece, resulting in one hell of a program for the night!<br />
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We will be seeing one more concert at the Bravo Vail festival, but not the NY Phil, it will be a chamber concert featuring works by Bartok and S. Reich, both of which I am excited to see.<br />
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<br />Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-21947076946009449952014-05-18T10:57:00.003-06:002014-05-18T10:58:13.047-06:00Beethoven and GershwinLast night we attended our last Colorado Symphony concert of the regular season. It was an interesting lineup, starting with the Beethoven<b style="font-style: italic;"> Triple Concerto</b> and ending with conductor Andrew Litton's arrangement of songs from Gershwin's <b><i>Porgy and Bess</i></b>.<br />
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The triple concerto is a bit of an oddity and is rarely performed. Even though it is part of Beethoven's middle period, having been composed after the third symphony and the third piano concerto, it is more representative of an earlier style and is not one of his best works. Of course, with Beethoven, the bar is very high, yet I can't help feeling this work seems more appropriate for Michael Haydn or another Classical composer. Even the orchestration is more reminiscent of a concerto grosso than a concerto, using three soloists (not unlike the Brandenburg Concerti). The winds are grouped in twos, with no clarinets or trombones. The piano part is simple compared to his piano concerti and sonatas.<br />
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The performance featured three regulars of the orchestra, conductor Andrew Litton at the piano, concertmistress Yumi Hwang-Williams on violin, and principal cellist Silver Ainomae. I do not like the sound of the piano with the sounding board removed, and I do not like looking at the back of the pianist while performing, which is how Litton set up to conduct and perform. I also have to say the group was a little sloppy on tempi and could have used a conductor for the piece. Especially in the first movement, the violin and cello had some intonation issues as well. However, the final two movements were played very well. All told though, the piece is not particularly memorable.<br />
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The second half of the evening was quite a change, featuring Litton's adaptation of <b><i>Porgy and Bess</i></b>. I have to admit I was skeptical about hearing this version featuring chorus. The original opera is bloated and pretentious. Gershwin himself cut 45 minutes from it before it opened. The story it is based on is melodramatic and full of clichés and stereotypes. Gershwin's only foray into opera, it was widely considered a flop in its original version. Perhaps the only reason that it has survived is that it is full of incredible songs. Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's version will always be the best to me, but there are many other fine interpretations, including the one by Miles Davis and Gil Evans. <br />
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Over the years many, changes have been made to the show, replacing the recitative with dialogue, abbreviating it even further, giving the title character crutches instead of a "goat cart" (what were the writers thinking when they put the lead actor on wheels?), even changing it to a happy ending. None of these have worked. Two orchestral suites have been popular, including Gershwin's own <b><i>Catfish Row</i></b>. It seemed to me that all possible permutations had been tried, including lifting the songs and playing them in an orchestral "pops" version, which I have heard several times and always been let down by. When I heard that Litton had arranged it for chorus, I thought it would be a similar schmaltzy style.<br />
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I was wrong. This is without a doubt, the best way to see this opera. Litton's version is an hour long and retains all the songs, with soloists singing in front of the orchestra. All of the great musical moments are still there, in close to their original form, with the horrible plot removed almost entirely. I suspect most of the audience had no idea how dark and depressing the storyline really is, instead focussing on all the great songs. It always struck me that the only well-developed character in the story is Sportin' life, who is supposed to be a supporting character. Porgy is barely in the opera compared to other characters, and in this version, you really can see that Sportin' Life and Bess would have been a much better story.<br />
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The four soloists were all excellent. Howard Haskin gave the best performance as Sportin' Life, although his breathing choices were odd at times. Janice Chandler-Eteme was outstanding as Bess. Karen Slack Blackwell was excellent as Serena, although underutilized. Gordon Hawkins was very good as Porgy, but also underutilized.<br />
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However, I strongly recommend checking out this version. It was a great way to end the season!<br />
<br />Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-11953914901014408552014-03-15T23:12:00.002-06:002014-03-15T23:13:16.125-06:00Elgar and Prokofiev<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://imgartists.com/uploads/artist_images/Copy_of_Paul_Watkins_-_credit_Paul_Marc_Mitchell_094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://imgartists.com/uploads/artist_images/Copy_of_Paul_Watkins_-_credit_Paul_Marc_Mitchell_094.JPG" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #414042; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; text-align: start;"><b><i>Paul Watkins plays Elgar with the CSO</i></b></span></td></tr>
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Tonight's Colorado Symphony concert included three firsts. The evening opened with a new arrangement of selections from Tchaikovsky's <b><i>Sleeping Beauty</i></b>. This is an expanded version of what is usually played as an orchestral suite, arranged by conductor Andrew Litton. It was a nice set, played very well. The <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2012/10/sleeping-beauty-plus-cso.html" target="_blank">Colorado Ballet had performed the piece in 2012 (click to see my review),</a> but it is nice to see it performed as concert music.<br />
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The second first of the night was Paul Watkins performing the <b><i>Elgar Cello Concerto</i></b> for the first time in the US. It's nice to hear something else played on the cello other than the Dvorak. Unfortunately the Elgar is not quite as melodic a piece. Watkins played well, although he seemed to have a little trouble on his high string. Not only did it sound a little flat but the tone quality did not project well.<br />
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The highlight of the evening was the Colorado premiere of a piece that originally dates back to the 20s; Prokofiev's Symphony #4. Parts of it were extracted from a ballet that he wrote in 1929 and were expanded into a symphony for the Boston Symphony. Years later, the composer revisited it and write an expanded version, which is what was performed tonight. I have to say I liked it quite a bit, even though it did remind me of several other works by the composer, including <b><i>Peter and the Wolf</i></b>. Also, earlier this year we saw an excellent production of his <b><i>Cinderella</i></b> with the Colorado Ballet, and parts of it reminded me of that.<br />
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Conductor Andrew Litton made a point of asking the audience not to leave at intermission, which I thought was odd, they must have had an exodus last night, but it appeared that most people stayed. However, a handful of people walked out between the third and fourth movements, an odd choice to make it so close to the end and then leave early. Also the piece is mostly Romantic, it's not that weird or dissonant that I would have expected it to drive people out of the hall.<br />
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Classical music is in a strange place. I'm sick of hearing the same pieces performed over and over again, yet there is a lot of new music that is crap (in my opinion). They really need to figure out how to get audiences involved in orchestral music again.Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-26535614829583670352014-03-02T12:42:00.000-07:002014-03-02T12:42:19.511-07:00Sound and Music Awards - MPSE, CAS and OSCARS<b><i><a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2014/02/best-actress.html" target="_blank">GRAVITY</a></i></b> (click film titles for my reviews) won the CAS Award for Sound Mixing, and the MPSE Golden Reel Award for Sound Effects and Foley editing, and it's tough to think any other film will win the Oscar in either the Sound Editing or Mixing category. The use of Dolby Atmos in the film (mixed by Skip Lievsay, CAS, Niv Adiri and Christopher Benstead and sound editing supervised by Benstead), was groundbreaking and extremely well done.<br />
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Also nominated in Sound Editing were <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2014/01/all-is-lost.html" target="_blank">ALL IS LOST</a>, <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2014/03/best-picture.html" target="_blank">CAPTAIN PHILLIPS</a>, THE HOBBIT </b>and<b style="font-style: italic;"> LONE SURVIVOR. </b>They all sounded excellent. (<b><i>CAPTAIN PHILLIPS</i></b> won the MPSE Award for Dialog/ADR Editing).<br />
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Somehow I skipped reviews on two of them, so here are thumbnails.<br />
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I liked both <b><i>HOBBIT</i></b> movies more than I expected. This one definitely gets off to a very slow start, but at about the half-hour mark the action picks up, and Peter Jackson may be our best action director at this point in time. The sound design was very good although I suspect several of the other films were much more challenging, since they take place in the real world. I did not see this in Atmos, so I don't know how well that aspect was used.<br />
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I liked <b><i>LONE SURVIVOR</i></b> as well, although I have mixed feelings about the glorification of the violent subject matter. This movie was one of the most violent films I have ever seen, and although that is probably an accurate depiction of war, the manner in which it is presented does at times seem to glorify it as a visceral event for the viewers rather than making it just seem repulsive. I also do not like the fact that they monkeyed around quite a bit with the actual events, it seemed unnecessary. One thing that was exceptional was the sound mix. It really did make me feel like I was on the battlefield, which is difficult to do without just making the movie seem painfully loud all the time.<br />
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<b><i>IRON MAN 3</i></b> was also nominated for the CAS award. I liked this film a lot more than the <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2011/01/iron-man-2.html" target="_blank">second in the series</a>, and the sound design was excellent for a very busy film. <b><i><a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/12/o-coen-brothers-where-art-thou.html" target="_blank">INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS</a></i></b> was also nominated.<br />
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<b><i><a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/12/frozen.html" target="_blank">FROZEN</a></i></b> won the CAS Award for Sound Mixing in an animated film. It beat <b><i>THE CROODS, MONSTERS UNIVERSITY </i></b>and <b><i>DESPICABLE ME 2.</i></b> <b><i>CROODS</i></b> was a bit crude of a film for my taste and MONSTER U did not live up to the Pixar standards IMHO, but I enjoyed <b><i>DESPICABLE 2 </i></b>as much as I did <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2010/11/despicable-me.html" target="_blank">the first film</a>. They all sounded great. I did not see <b><i>WALKING WITH DINOSAURS</i></b>.<br />
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<b><i>FROZEN</i></b> also won the MPSE Award for Music Editing in a Musical Feature. Also nominated were two excellent concert documentaries, <b><i>JUSTIN BIEBER'S BELIEVE</i></b> and <b><i>METALLICA THROUGH THE NEVER</i></b>. The doc footage in the Justin Beiber film was actually quite good and made the movie watchable.<br />
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<b><i>THE GREAT GATSBY</i></b> won the MPSE Award for Music Editing in a Feature Film. I was surprised to enjoy this film quite a bit. I had expected that the anachronistic music would kill the film for me. Baz Luhrmann's over-the-top style seemed to match the life of excess that Gatsby lived, and the cast was excellent. Leonardo DiCaprio was great in the lead and Tobey Maguire was good casting as the everyman Nick Carraway.<br />
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Also nominated in that category were a couple of other films that had good use of music. <b><i>MANDELA</i></b> is nominated for the Oscar for Best Song (I think <b><i>FROZEN</i></b> will win, although I also liked the song from <b style="font-style: italic;">DESPICABLE ME 2. </b>The song from <b style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2014/01/her.html" target="_blank">HER</a> </b>was forgettable, and the song from<b style="font-style: italic;"> MANDELA </b>was not a large contributor to the success of the film or its music IMHO<b style="font-style: italic;">.</b>). As much as I love Idris Elba, he was not well cast as Nelson Mandela. We know he was a quiet man of small stature, and to me, Elba was never shot to look small and never resembled Mandela. <b><i>WORLD WAR Z </i></b>was a surprisingly good film. I generally don't like straight-forward zombie films, but this was well-paced, until the ending. I did feel that there were too many leaps in logic in the last third of the film for me to buy everything. But I did like the score.<br />
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I cannot make a judgement about the Oscar for Music because I did not see enough of the films.<br />
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<b><i>THE GRANDMASTER </i></b>won the MPSE Award for Sound Editing in a Foreign-Language film. The film was beautifully shot and sounded great, but not nearly as good as some of Wong Kar-wai's other films. This film tried to bite off too much by trying to tell an entire life story against a backdrop of change in history, politics and war. I would have been happier with a much smaller film. I cannot make an Oscar judgement in this category. There are two nominees that I have screeners for but have not seen yet. Shame on me for falling so far behind this year.Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-19736701118425499472014-03-02T11:55:00.002-07:002014-03-02T11:55:40.892-07:00Best Picture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We finally watched <b><i>DALLAS BUYERS CLUB</i></b> on Amazon streaming. It is indeed one of the best films of the year, with fantastic performances all around. Yesterday Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto won Spirit Awards for their performances in this film, both richly deserved. It is a very well made film (brilliantly edited). Jennifer Garner is also very good in a smaller role. There are some rough edges in the production design (anachronisms) that were probably due to the very low budget of the film, but otherwise this is a worthy contender for best picture.<br />
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I have seen all of the other films nominated except <b><i>WOLF OF WALL STREET</i></b>. They did not send screeners to the sound guilds. I had hoped to catch a screening while I was in LA, but at three hours in length, I just could not fit it into any of my trips.<br />
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Click for my reviews of <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2014/02/best-actress.html" target="_blank"><b style="font-style: italic;">GRAVITY and PHILOMENA </b>here<b style="font-style: italic;">,</b></a> <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2014/01/her.html" target="_blank"><b><i>HER</i></b> here</a>, <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2014/02/nebraska.html" target="_blank"><b><i>NEBRASKA</i></b> here</a>, and <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/12/american-hustler-vs-12-years-slave.html" target="_blank"><b><i>AMERICAN HUSTLE </i></b>and <b><i>12 YEARS A SLAVE</i></b> here</a>.<br />
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I was surprised at how much I enjoyed <b><i>CAPTAIN PHILLIPS,</i></b> due mostly to the documentary-style direction of Paul Greengrass. It also had outstanding editing and sound work, as well as excellent performances by many first-time film actors. However I do not believe it is in serious contention.<br />
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At this point it seems like a two-horse race between <b><i>GRAVITY</i></b> and <b><i>12 YEARS A SLAVE.</i></b> <i style="font-weight: bold;"> </i>I think <b><i>GRAVITY</i></b> is likely to get director for Alfonso Cuarón, as the film pushes limits in a way no other film ever has (including its use of Dolby Atmos for the sound mix). I suspect that means a lot of voters choose <b><i>12 YEARS</i></b> as best picture. It's hard to argue with that choice. It is definitely one of the, if not the, best film of the year.<br />
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<br />Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-69039682664263146332014-03-02T11:30:00.001-07:002014-03-02T11:30:47.139-07:00More DocsI finally watched the two remaining nominees for the Documentary Feature Oscar. Previously I reviewed <b><i><a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2014/01/20-feet-from-stardom.html" target="_blank">20 FEET FROM STARDOM</a></i></b> (click to see the reviews), which won the Film Independent Spirit award yesterday, as well as <b><i><a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/11/documentary-roundup-i-square-and-act-of.html" target="_blank">THE SQUARE</a></i></b> (which won the IDA Documentary Award) and <b><i><a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/11/documentary-roundup-i-square-and-act-of.html" target="_blank">THE ACT OF KILLING.</a></i></b><br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">CUTIE AND THE BOXER </i>is a fantastic documentary about a married couple who are elderly Japanese artists living in New York City. It's a wonderful character study, and it is extremely well directed. There are several sequences in the film that could be removed in their entirety and play as a short documentary or as a short art film. It is beautifully photographed and brilliantly edited. I'm surprised this was not nominated for more of the other major documentary awards (although it did won a directing award at Sundance and was nominated for DGA award). I highly recommend the film, which is available on Netflix streaming. In fact, four of the five nominees are on Netflix. The fifth, <b><i>20 Feet from Stardom</i></b>, is on Amazon streaming. <br />
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The final film is <b><i>DIRTY WARS</i></b>. I'm not really going to discuss the political content of the film, which is completely worthwhile of the intensive scrutiny that a feature-length documentary could offer. Instead, I'm going to say that this is one of the worst-made films I have seen all year and I have no idea how this piece of crap got nominated for an Oscar. I am always wary when someone puts himself in front of the camera to be the star of the movie, especially when the movie is not about them. This film comes off like poorly made propaganda, and not a documentary, even if its heart is in the right place.<br />
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The film is based on a book, which to me says that much of the footage is probably comprise of staged recreations of what he had written about earlier. (I'd love to know if that is not the case.) The writer not only put himself in front of the camera, he also reads the voiceover, which is a huge mistake. The text of the film is hurt by his flat, somnambulistic reading. I kept imagining how much better the film would have been with another voiceover artist, even the guy from <b><i>FRONTLINE</i></b> would have injected more interest into the subject matter. Also, the film could easily have at least a half hour cut out of it and would have been far more effective.<br />
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So clearly it's not my choice or prediction for the Oscar. Of the other films, I have to say (as mentioned in my other reviews) that this was a fantastic year for documentaries and I find it hard to pick a favorite. I will be rooting for my friends who worked on <b><i>20 FEET</i></b>, but I would not be upset if three of the other films won. Congratulations to them all!Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-53618891751670962692014-02-15T11:20:00.003-07:002014-02-15T12:08:44.980-07:00NEBRASKA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've fallen embarrassingly behind on writing film reviews this year. I'll try to catch up.<br />
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<b><i>NEBRASKA</i></b> is a tough film. It's gotten a lot of awards attention, so much that there has been a bit of a backlash from people claiming it is too slow or too depressing. It is definitely a slowly paced film, but that's actually one of the things I like about it. It is a tough watch though as most of the characters do not have a lot of redeeming qualities.<br />
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Perhaps the oddest thing about the film is all the attention Bruce Dern is getting as Best Actor. He is not the lead character in the film. The lead is the through character played by Will Forte, who is quite good in the film. (He's known for comedy, so this film is a real departure for him. You might know him as Jenna's transvestite boyfriend on <b><i>30 ROCK</i></b> or from numerous appearances on <b><i>CONAN</i></b> as their crazy version of Ted Turner.)<br />
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Bruce Dern is quite good but his role does not show a lot of range. There's a lot more required from the other characters in the film. I have to admit that I liked the film but I don't think it's the year's best, or even Alexander Payne's best work. A lot of the acting is very flat, as though he cast non-actors in the parts. I expected more of the film.<br /><br />SPOILER!<br /><br />
My biggest problem was that I didn't understand why Will Forte's character cared about patching things up with his father. They never showed the father to have any positive characteristics. That, and it seemed quite a stretch that they would go on this road trip at all. But I suspended my disbelief for that.<br />
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<br />Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-84225168435158742532014-02-02T11:42:00.004-07:002014-02-02T11:42:46.952-07:00Britten and the Colorado Symphony<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Chee-Yun on Violin</i></b></td></tr>
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The Colorado Symphony had an excellent program last night under conductor Peter Oundjian, opening with one of my favorite pieces, <b><i>The Young Person's Guide</i></b> to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten. Britten wrote this music for a short educational film for children that has long since been forgotten. Many composers would have written throwaway music for such an assignment, but Britten writes some brilliant music here. </div>
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It was very entertaining seeing it performed live; I had always wanted to, but it hardly ever gets played. I think there is a perception that it is "children's music," but it is far from it. With the film's voiceover removed, it is a great example for students of all ages, I recommend the piece in my classes for people who want to learn to recognize all the instruments of the orchestra. </div>
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This was immediately followed by the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, performed by Chee-Yun, whom I had never heard before. Her performance was so stellar that the audience did something I have never seen at the Colorado Symphony; a standing ovation after the first movement. This is a piece we have heard live numerous times, but she played it like it was new. </div>
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The concert closed with the <b><i>Dvorak Symphony #7,</i></b> a crowd favorite, especially for the third movement. It was a really nice concert with a great program. Unfortunately we will not be back for a while due to other commitments. </div>
Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-64859345118202429622014-02-02T11:11:00.003-07:002014-02-02T11:22:25.150-07:00Best ActressThis is not normally a category I write about, but I happened to see several of the films that are nominated in rapid succession, so I'll write a group review here.<br />
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<b><i>GRAVITY</i></b> is one of the best films I have seen this year. There's so much good about it from a technical level it's overwhelming. The visual effects are outstanding. And they are used in a unique way to allow for what appear to be extremely long camera takes. The sound design is unique. It uses Dolby's new multichannel system Atmos in a way that is unlike any other film.<br />
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And there are many things about it that make it an anti-Hollywood film. Not many films will have only two characters, with one of them alone for most of the film. I know, <b><i><a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2014/01/all-is-lost.html" target="_blank">ALL IS LOST</a></i></b> (click for my review) did it this year, but in a much less interesting fashion. The writing in this film is superb and gives us enough back-story to care about the main character. In other ways, the film is a very Hollywood film, it is a nail-biter almost continuously. And the cast is A-list.<br />
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But what struck me most about the film is Sandra Bullock's performance. It really holds the film together. And, as an actress, it is a real challenge to work alone much of the time, with little to no dialog. There's one scene with George Clooney where he gives a monologue to her. Don't watch him. Watch her. Her reaction is priceless. When I saw the film, I thought, there's no way she will not will Best Actress. I liked the film so much I took my wife to see it only a few days later. It's very rare that I will sit through a film twice. And it was just as effective the second time.<br />
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My one big criticism of the film was George Clooney's part. He's just too perfect. He needed more back-story and some flaws to make him more believable. Also, there's a major plot point that does not make a lot of scientific sense, but I understand why the filmmakers did it. (Neil Degrasse Tyson points out a number of inaccuracies in the film, but most of them I can gloss over because they are minor to the movie. This one is a major plot point.)<br />
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<b><i>PHILOMENA</i></b> is a great film about a real woman who searched for her son after giving him up for adoption. The real centerpiece of the story is Judi Dench's performance in the title role. She does a stretch here, playing someone of less than average intelligence. That's more of a challenge than you would think; it's easy to dumb down a character to the point where it looks like you are making fun of her. She's not, she respects this character and makes her sympathetic in the way that only a great actress could. Emotionally, the film is very satisfying. Worth watching.<br />
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<i style="font-weight: bold;">BLUE JASMINE </i>is Woody Allen's entry this year. For a man with so many problems in his personal life, he seems to write consistently interesting characters for women. Cate Blanchett does give a truly amazing performance in the film, but it's one of those films where I never forgot she was acting, which is of course a distraction from the actual movie. I occasionally have this problem with Meryl Streep, who is nominated for that wacky comedy <b><i>August:Osage County</i></b>, which I have not seen yet.<br />
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The rest of this film is not terribly well written (both Alec Baldwin and Bobby Cannavale play completely one-dimensional characters).<br />
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But it is worth watching for Cate's unique performance, which must have been very difficult. She is essentially playing two characters, one before and one after a nervous breakdown. The film is edited non-linearly, inter-cutting both timelines, but in reality they probably shot the "pre" material first (in NY) and the "post" material second (in SF) so it may not have been as challenging as it appears in the film. Nonetheless, she does play crazy very convincingly.<br />
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One weird thing, the audience I saw this with laughed at her throughout the film. I did not find the film to be a comedy. At all. I found her character pathetic and felt sorry for her.<br />
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I thought I had reviewed <b><i>AMERICAN HUSTLE</i></b> but I guess I didn't. Although I found the film entertaining, I did not think anything about the film was Oscar-caliber, except maybe Production Design, Costume Design, and Hair/Makeup. I found Christian Bale's performance so over the top that it was not just distracting, it was annoying. He seemed to be doing De Niro for much of the film, and then the real De Niro shows up and blows his performance away without doing much at all. A nice lesson in simplicity. Both women in the film are good, including Amy Adams, who is nominated for Best Actress, but I don't think either should (or will) win.<br />
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I also found it annoying that they clearly fictionalized so much of the story. Why even bother saying it was based on a true story?<br />
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I think Cate Blanchett is not going to be beaten, but I have to say it was a very strong year for women. And I'm glad to see so many strong roles being written for women. <b><i>GRAVITY</i></b> in particular could easily have been written for a male lead, and I'm sure some Hollywood folk recommended that to make the film more "believable" or make it so more people could "identify" with the main character. The fact that it's a woman character only makes the film stronger for me.<br />
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<br />Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-19994582520635952672014-01-31T11:26:00.004-07:002014-01-31T11:27:18.968-07:0020 FEET FROM STARDOM<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I am WAY behind on reviewing movies I have been watching for awards season, so I will try to catch up by reviewing some of them this weekend.<br />
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<b><i>20 FEET FROM STARDOM</i></b> is one of the five nominees for the Oscar for best doc. It was also nominated for the Spirit Award.<br />
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Also nominated for the Oscar are <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/11/documentary-roundup-i-square-and-act-of.html" target="_blank">The Act of Killing</a>, Cutie and the Boxer, Dirty Wars, and <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/11/documentary-roundup-i-square-and-act-of.html" target="_blank">The Square</a>. (Click for my reviews on the one I have seen.) Also nominated for the Spirit Award are <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/11/documentary-roundup-i-square-and-act-of.html" target="_blank">The Act of Killing</a>, After Tiller, <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/10/gideons-army.html" target="_blank">Gideon's Army</a>, and <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/11/documentary-roundup-i-square-and-act-of.html" target="_blank">The Square</a>.<br />
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It's a crowded field. A couple of other great docs were overlooked but nominated for the IDA Documentary award, <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/11/blackfish.html" target="_blank">Blackfish</a> and <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2013/12/stories-we-tell.html" target="_blank">Stories We Tell</a>. Some of these films are now on Netflix and other rental services. If you like docs, this a great set this year.<br />
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Full disclosure, I know three people who worked on <b><i>20 FEET</i></b>. One is Supervising Editor Doug Blush, who went to film school with me, and the other two are former students, Kevin Klauber and Josh Wilkinson.<br />
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I liked this film a lot. It's about backup singers, the unheralded heroes of contemporary pop music. Their voices often outshine the lead singers that they are behind, but they do not get the glory. And in some cases they even cover lead singing for others who cannot do it themselves but they don't get credit at all. As a musician, the film is a fantastic look at some of these individuals.<br />
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It is extremely well edited and sounds great, and the song choices are really appropriate. Perhaps my only concern was that archival footage did not seem to be identified as such. (What year was that David Byrne footage from? And the Bowie footage?) This might make a it a little confusing if you don't recognize some of the bigger names immediately. Otherwise it is an outstanding piece of filmmaking.<br />
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I'm not going to try to guess who will win the awards, especially since there are several I haven't seen.Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-44098952182797565882014-01-03T11:18:00.004-07:002014-01-03T11:18:49.777-07:00HER<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I like <b><i>HER</i></b>. It's a strange and unique film, part science fiction, but mostly an interesting character study. The film takes place in an apparently near future, in which a computer program similar to Siri has gained sentience and has a relationship with her owner, played by Joaquin Phoenix. The computer voice is played by Scarlett Johannson (who never appears in the film). The brilliant script was written by Spike Jonze, who also directed. The entire cast is fabulous, including Amy Adams and Chris Pratt.<br />
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But it's really the screenplay that is the strength. It's a very thoughtful film that discusses man's relationship with technology in a very intelligent way. To say much more would induce too many spoilers, so I will leave it at that. Watch the film if you get the chance.Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-78009571782749961302014-01-02T11:53:00.000-07:002014-01-02T11:53:03.712-07:00ALL IS LOST<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>ALL IS LOST</i></b> is the type of film I root for. Visual storytelling at its finest, with almost no dialogue, and only one actor on camera in the entire film. Robert Redford took a huge chance by agreeing to appear in this film. The film is beautiful visually and it is really refreshing to see a film that tells the audience what is going on visually, rather than having people sit around and talk about it.<br />
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However, the film has problems. The biggest problem is the choice to exclude any personal information about the lead character. The movie begins <i>in medias res</i>, with him alone and on a boat that is already damaged. Because we have NO backstory at all, it's very hard to have sympathy for this character. Who is he? Why is he alone? Why is he on a boat off Sumatra if he is American? Not having answers to these questions results in speculation. Is he extremely wealthy? (Probably, from the fact that he has his own yacht, and that really doesn't make him too sympathetic.) Is he unmarried, with no kids? Does he not care if he is going to die? Why isn't he a better seaman? There are multiple points at which is seems like he makes strange choices.<br />
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I have to go into <b><i><u>SPOILER</u></i></b> mode for the rest of this review.<br />
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It's impossible to see this movie and not compare it to <b><i>CAST AWAY</i></b>. It may be a flawed film, but there were a lot of nice things about that. One was that we get backstory on the character, and (at the end) we get some resolution when he is saved. In <b><i>ALL IS LOST</i></b>, we get nothing before and nothing after.<br />
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Then we get to Redford's performance. Although it is getting rave reviews, there are a lot of choices for him where he chooses to have no emotional reaction AT ALL to anything that is going on. We just watch him do stuff for much of the film. It's a great moment when, an hour into the film, he finally shows some desperation and aggravation. I wish we had more of that.<br />
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There's also the issue of dialog. Not everyone talks to themselves, but I do, a lot, and especially when I am alone. I'm not saying he needs to have soccer ball to talk to, but it seems odd that he never gets discouraged and says "OH CRAP" or anything at all. In fact, even when boats pass him by, he does not yell. This doesn't make any sense at all. To compare it to yet another castaway movie, <b><i>LIFE OF PI</i></b> is full of believable dialog when the character is talking to himself, and it makes the character more human and accessible.<br />
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Another problem I had was the music. It sounds like something Vangelis would have written for a film 20 years ago. It did not move me at all. And worst of all, it ends WITH A SONG. I would be hard pressed to think of a more inappropriate film for a song.<br />
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<b><i>ALL IS LOST </i></b>is not completely lost at sea; it's worth watching just for the incredible sound design, but it is a deeply flawed film.Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-12617700864317446132014-01-01T11:22:00.000-07:002014-01-01T11:22:30.077-07:00NYE with the CSOAs usual, we celebrated New Year's Eve with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra under the baton of resident conductor Scott O'Neill, conducting their annual <b><i>NIGHT IN VIENNA</i></b> concert. Overall, we had a great time, but there were a few glitches in the evening. The temperature in the hall was crazy hot when we walked in, which made it a bit uncomfortable even into the second half of the program. If you want your audience to fall asleep, turn up the heat. The hall did have a very good audience, which is always good to see.<br />
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There were several favorites in the first half of the program, and a few surprises. It was nice to think outside the box this year and include some non-Viennese music, but some of the choices were questionable in the second half.<br />
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The first half featured three of those out-of-the-box choices with a guest soprano, Christie Hageman, singing waltzes from Puccini, Gounod, and Rodgers & Hammerstein. These were a nice change of pace.<br />
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The first half of the concert was extremely short, under half an hour, which was a little disappointing. The intermission was longer than the first half of the concert.<br />
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The second half of the concert had more material, but some of the choices were not ideal. It was a poor choice to have two extremely short excerpts played out of context. The Boccherini minuet flew by so quickly it hardly existed, and even worse, playing only a short section of Mahler's first symphony (not even the entire 2nd movement) made little sense at all.<br />
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Things got worse when Ms. Hageman rejoined for two more contemporary pieces. <i>Moon River</i> is indeed a beautiful waltz, but this arrangement was terrible. Henry Mancini understood perfectly how this song had to work in the movie, and deliberately wrote a very simple melody for an actress who is not a singer. He orchestrated it in the simplest of terms, with Audrey Hepburn's untrained voice accompanied by guitar strums and some quiet strings that sneak in after the first few lines. The song is written for a voice that is to be almost sotto voce, with no vibrato. To move this into an operatic soprano, and have it explode in a huge orchestral climax at the end completely kills what the song is all about.<br />
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<i>I'll Be Seeing You </i>is also a beautiful song, most remembered for performances by Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, so again the operatic voice was not an appropriate choice, and the arrangement couldn't really decide what it wanted to be. I thought I heard a muted jazz trumpet playing on one chorus but it was completely obliterated by over-orchestration.<br />
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What I did not list yet were the Viennese classics interspersed throughout the program, which were the highlights of the evening. The symphony's performance of the <i>Pizzicato Polka</i> was probably the best playing of the evening, and it is an underplayed piece. The evening ended as always with a performance of the <i>Blue Danube</i> and <i>Radetzky March</i>. Except for a few hiccups in programming, it was an exceptionally good way to ring in the New Year!<br />
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Here's hoping to a great 2014 for the symphony!Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-79022337820511480692013-12-31T13:18:00.000-07:002013-12-31T13:18:36.007-07:00FROZEN<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>FROZEN</i></b> is a great Disney film for kids that fools you into thinking it is going to be your typical Princess movie but pays off in a big way. The film has two strong female character, along with some great animation and songs.<br />
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I had heard so many good things about this film that I have to admit I was a little let down by the fact that the film is not really for adult audiences as much as it is for young children. I think they could have made it more in the Pixar style with more for adults. (For instance, the film's mix features the music far more than the sound effects, which harks back to Disney movies pre-Pixar.)<br />
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But that's a small criticism. This is one of the smarter films out there.<br />
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<b>MAJOR SPOILER!!!</b><br />
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The end of the film completely turns the typical Disney princess film upside down, which made me quite happy. The stereotype is broken. Long live the new princess!Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13104742.post-20490763635736569122013-12-28T21:19:00.005-07:002013-12-29T09:19:52.947-07:00O Coen Brothers, Where Art Thou?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Do yourself a favor, and watch <b><i>A MIGHTY WIND</i></b> again, rather than watching <b><i>INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS</i></b>, an epic fail of a movie. Everything about the film is terrible, starting with the title. (OK, quick, write the title down without misspelling it.) Followed by a completely forgettable cast, except for John Goodman, who is the most sympathetic human in the film). Add to that the fact that the characters are all despicable, and the music is (I think) deliberately terrible to show how insipid folk music is, and it's the longest two hours of my life I've ever spent. That includes being in a coma.<br />
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What happened to the geniuses who gave us <a href="http://bondelev.blogspot.com/2009/12/serious-mensch.html" target="_blank"><b><i>A SERIOUS MAN</i></b>?</a> This is a sad excuse for a movie. And if you are an animal lover, you will be very upset about the treatment of two cats in the film. It's really sad when I care more about a cat than I do about the main character, or anyone else in the film.Bondelevhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903592870589154181noreply@blogger.com0