I chuckled at finding an article on 80s superstar (it wasn't all fun and games back then, kids) Rick Astley in Entertainment Weekly recently. I don't know if he really is a humble. decent guy, but he sounds like one in the article. Here are 5 things I learned:
1) Astley turned 50 in February, and that's the name of his new album. 50, that is, not February. Hey, wouldn't it be great if someone released an album called February in the fall?
OK, this item isn't all that interesting, but it IS news to me. It'll get better.
2) Astley turned to music to escape a somewhat dark childhood, including a broken home.
3) The producers who discovered Astley in England put him to work as a "tea boy," which is apparently NOT some kind of euphemism.
4) He developed a fear of flying at the height of his fame, and he now believes it was a subconscious desire to get out of the business. So he became a stay-at-home dad.
5) He slowly got back into performing when he accepted an offer to play dates in Japan, mainly so his family could tour the country. Now he tours, playing his hits alongside covers like "Highway to Hell." WHAT?
Am I a Rick Astley fan? No. Am I going to seek out this new album? No. Am I--wait, what was my point again?
Ah, yes. My point was that I actually enjoyed this article by Clark Collis, and to Rick Astley, I say, fair play, mate. Good luck to you.
Plus I was listening to 1980s light hits lately, and I heard Astley's "It Would Take a Strong Strong Man" TWICE. I can't get it out of my head! I hope this post purges it somehow.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Monday, November 7, 2016
Brooks on Books: Into the Dark: The Hidden World of Film Noir 1941-1950
This is a stunning, hefty collection of beautiful pictures of perhaps the COOLEST film genre of all: film noir. It's branded with the TCM logo, and it does justice to The Greatest Cable Channel Known to Mankind. I was going to say something mildly derogatory at the beginning of this post, but I love the book so much, I want to express how great it is first before I offer a faint criticism.
Into the Dark is great for what it is. The one thing I take some exception to is the intro by author Mark Vieira. He says this is the first book to tell the story of noir in its own voice, and he makes what appear to be some pretty big pronouncements about what the text accomplishes. The thing is, the format of the book makes it impossible to be quite as comprehensive as he makes it sound. My advice is to sit back and enjoy the book for what it actually is.
What it is: A collection of entries about 80-some films. The main attraction is the array of gorgeous publicity photos, given to us in glorious black and white (an occasional color pic, like a great one for Out in the Past, shows up) with suitable credit to the set photographers. One could leaf through the book, only viewing these shots, and enjoy the experience. I can't say a whole lot about the illustrated portion of Into the Dark. It's fantastic, and you need to see it to appreciate it.
However, Vieira combed through archival materials to offer outstanding tidbits for each movie. Some entries are bigger than others, but most are about 2-3 pages with the actual text making up about a third or a half of the total entry. For each film, after citing the studio and release date, Vieira lists basic credits, including cinematographer and source material in addition to producer, director, screenwriter, and cast. There is a one-sentence plot summary. Then the fun begins.
In each section, Vieira includes samplings from these categories: Production Quote (archival comment taken from trade paper or The Los Angeles Times or internal studio correspondence); Reviews (quotes from contemporary reviews, usually from The LAT or The New York Times); Letter from Regional Theater Owner (self-explanatory, usually from a trade pub like Motion Picture Herald and usually from some small southern or Midwestern town); and Artist Comment (quote from someone connected to the production, usually with the benefit of some historical perspective).
Each category is fascinating. The Production Quotes offer some alternate histories in their reportage of concepts that changed during filmmaking and roles that were recast. The review excerpts are a riot, but after reading so many negative reviews, you start to wonder why Vieira uses NYT critic Bosley Crowther so much. He's so down on so many (now) classics, I wonder if a wider selection of voices would have given a richer picture of the development of noir.
Similarly, the Letter from Regional Theater Owner bit is almost always compelling, and overall it gives a strong impression that these unsettling crime-based movies we love so much were not at all beloved in "flyover country." But with just one comment for each movie, it doesn't seem like a representative sample.
At the end of each film's text section, when it's available, is the budget and gross of each picture. This is a fabulous addition to each entry, but it's frustrating when it's nor available. For example, Key Largo, the 1948 Bogey/Bacall/Robinson flick, is an iconic Warner Brothers classic. It would be nice to see the numbers for it, especially after seeing that a Missouri theater owner called it an "average show that should have done much better business."
Another brief feature that offers valuable context is Vieira's opening to each year. He arranges the noirs in chronological order and opens each calendar year with a Report on the Crime Story Cycle, something excerpted from a piece that appeared at that time (usually from the LAT), followed by Looking Back at Film Noir, an excerpt taken from a later source (Example: Film Noir Reader 3) and also touching on broader themes.
Frankly, the only thing really "wrong" with Into the Dark is that it isn't twice as long. I would love to see more movies (though Vieira really covers the big ones and also some relative rarities), more text, more everything. The book is brilliantly designed, beautiful on every page, and a blast to read. I'd love to see a sequel or even a similar book devoted to, say, screwball comedies.
(Note: Full disclosure: I was lucky enough to find the book at my library, but the $40.00 MSRP does not seem too far out of line considering the book's heft and production quality, though I do wonder if the $22 Kindle price is out of whack considering how the photo quality seems appropriate for print.)
Into the Dark is great for what it is. The one thing I take some exception to is the intro by author Mark Vieira. He says this is the first book to tell the story of noir in its own voice, and he makes what appear to be some pretty big pronouncements about what the text accomplishes. The thing is, the format of the book makes it impossible to be quite as comprehensive as he makes it sound. My advice is to sit back and enjoy the book for what it actually is.
What it is: A collection of entries about 80-some films. The main attraction is the array of gorgeous publicity photos, given to us in glorious black and white (an occasional color pic, like a great one for Out in the Past, shows up) with suitable credit to the set photographers. One could leaf through the book, only viewing these shots, and enjoy the experience. I can't say a whole lot about the illustrated portion of Into the Dark. It's fantastic, and you need to see it to appreciate it.
However, Vieira combed through archival materials to offer outstanding tidbits for each movie. Some entries are bigger than others, but most are about 2-3 pages with the actual text making up about a third or a half of the total entry. For each film, after citing the studio and release date, Vieira lists basic credits, including cinematographer and source material in addition to producer, director, screenwriter, and cast. There is a one-sentence plot summary. Then the fun begins.
In each section, Vieira includes samplings from these categories: Production Quote (archival comment taken from trade paper or The Los Angeles Times or internal studio correspondence); Reviews (quotes from contemporary reviews, usually from The LAT or The New York Times); Letter from Regional Theater Owner (self-explanatory, usually from a trade pub like Motion Picture Herald and usually from some small southern or Midwestern town); and Artist Comment (quote from someone connected to the production, usually with the benefit of some historical perspective).
Each category is fascinating. The Production Quotes offer some alternate histories in their reportage of concepts that changed during filmmaking and roles that were recast. The review excerpts are a riot, but after reading so many negative reviews, you start to wonder why Vieira uses NYT critic Bosley Crowther so much. He's so down on so many (now) classics, I wonder if a wider selection of voices would have given a richer picture of the development of noir.
Similarly, the Letter from Regional Theater Owner bit is almost always compelling, and overall it gives a strong impression that these unsettling crime-based movies we love so much were not at all beloved in "flyover country." But with just one comment for each movie, it doesn't seem like a representative sample.
At the end of each film's text section, when it's available, is the budget and gross of each picture. This is a fabulous addition to each entry, but it's frustrating when it's nor available. For example, Key Largo, the 1948 Bogey/Bacall/Robinson flick, is an iconic Warner Brothers classic. It would be nice to see the numbers for it, especially after seeing that a Missouri theater owner called it an "average show that should have done much better business."
Another brief feature that offers valuable context is Vieira's opening to each year. He arranges the noirs in chronological order and opens each calendar year with a Report on the Crime Story Cycle, something excerpted from a piece that appeared at that time (usually from the LAT), followed by Looking Back at Film Noir, an excerpt taken from a later source (Example: Film Noir Reader 3) and also touching on broader themes.
Frankly, the only thing really "wrong" with Into the Dark is that it isn't twice as long. I would love to see more movies (though Vieira really covers the big ones and also some relative rarities), more text, more everything. The book is brilliantly designed, beautiful on every page, and a blast to read. I'd love to see a sequel or even a similar book devoted to, say, screwball comedies.
(Note: Full disclosure: I was lucky enough to find the book at my library, but the $40.00 MSRP does not seem too far out of line considering the book's heft and production quality, though I do wonder if the $22 Kindle price is out of whack considering how the photo quality seems appropriate for print.)
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Streaming Video Power Rankings: Week 32
The only thing scarier than some of what I saw on Halloween would be another Netflix price increase. Fortunately that didn't happen this week. We DID see a host of new titles arrive with the first of the month.
1) Netflix: This week's first-of-the month update was lame, but that is standard procedure these days. The thing is, even with a weak catalog drop, there is so much else going on that Netflix still gets the top spot.
For one thing, the mega-expensive original series The Crown dropped this weekend. Is it any good? I have no idea (though the reviews I saw were positive), but did I mention it's mega-expensive? Anything with that kind of production cost MUST be good, right? Gee, 140 million. That could have bought another few years of Quincy and Leave It to Beaver, I'd bet.
Other new premieres include a Dana Carvey special, some documentary action--Really this week seemed like something for everyone. Today a smattering of Disney movies "premiered," but this isn't a big deal because they were on Netflix before and never should have been removed in the first place.
2) Hulu: The only good thing about this interminable election season is the fact that new Triumph the Insult Comic Dog specials keep popping up and surprising me. Also, a lot of kid/tween movies showed up lately from both Nickelodeon AND Disney (insert my usual remark about the odd nature of that Disney/Netflix deal). All this plus ongoing fall TV, some MTV Networks series added, and a decent selection of catalog titles arriving at the beginning of the month.
3) Shout! Factory TV: The monthly update is in a real rut: Dick Cavett episodes, two MST3K movies, a new addition to the Backlot series of extras culled from Shout! DVD releases, maybe a random special (this month, another one from the makers of last month's Witch's Night Out), and maybe an update to a variety series (this month, an addition to the Jerry Lewis telethon compilation category). Where are the movies and the old sitcoms?
That said, I had a blast watching a few things on Shout!, one of which I may write about more soon. Stay tuned. And unlike Shout!, I won't make you sit through 3 minutes of ads!
4) Pub-D-Hub: A nice final Halloween weekend, with radio shows, TV episodes, movies, and more tied into the season, elevated Pub-D-Hub this week even though I didn't get to watch anything on it.
5) YouTube: I had a great viewing week on here, catching several rarities, but then I noticed YT yanked several channels I subscribed to, including one on which I was in the middle of something. Boo! I have to admit, I figured the uploader was toast when he put up a whole batch of...eh, I'd rather not say. The moral is: If you see something you want to watch, watch it.
6) The CW: I am trying to catch up on several series at once, and I really appreciate the CW channel, but unlike when I first tried this, it's not resuming videos where I left off, and that I do NOT appreciate.
7) Tubi TV: Respectable assortment of titles added to this free service this month, but I am mostly happy I got to see the two 1980s animated Blondie specials. Seriously, folks, dig around here a while and you find all kinds of goofy stuff.
8) Amazon Prime: I forgot to mention new original series Good Girls Revolt last week, mainly because I knew nothing about it.
I still don't. but it's there!
So is The Night Manager, which kind of irritates me because I wanted to see it, and I hoped it would go to Netflix or Hulu.
9) Warner Archive Instant: In my free trial of the beta (It IS still beta, right? Even though they are taking paid customers?) relaunch, I find there is great content, but not enough of it, website functionality isn't there yet (Where is a newly added section?), and the buffering is often maddening. I still rank it because where else are you gonna stream Dr. Kildare and The George Raft Story? I really, really hope they start putting more new-to-streaming movies in the mix soon, or no one's gonna be paying for more than a month at a time of this.
10) Filmstruck: Hey, it debuted! I have to say, it looks great for what it is. Perhaps after my free trial of WAI ends, I will look at this one. For now, the 6.99 version looks pretty good, and I imagine the 10.99 one will make a lot of people happy. Let's just hope its makers don't abandon it the way they did WAI.
1) Netflix: This week's first-of-the month update was lame, but that is standard procedure these days. The thing is, even with a weak catalog drop, there is so much else going on that Netflix still gets the top spot.
For one thing, the mega-expensive original series The Crown dropped this weekend. Is it any good? I have no idea (though the reviews I saw were positive), but did I mention it's mega-expensive? Anything with that kind of production cost MUST be good, right? Gee, 140 million. That could have bought another few years of Quincy and Leave It to Beaver, I'd bet.
Other new premieres include a Dana Carvey special, some documentary action--Really this week seemed like something for everyone. Today a smattering of Disney movies "premiered," but this isn't a big deal because they were on Netflix before and never should have been removed in the first place.
2) Hulu: The only good thing about this interminable election season is the fact that new Triumph the Insult Comic Dog specials keep popping up and surprising me. Also, a lot of kid/tween movies showed up lately from both Nickelodeon AND Disney (insert my usual remark about the odd nature of that Disney/Netflix deal). All this plus ongoing fall TV, some MTV Networks series added, and a decent selection of catalog titles arriving at the beginning of the month.
3) Shout! Factory TV: The monthly update is in a real rut: Dick Cavett episodes, two MST3K movies, a new addition to the Backlot series of extras culled from Shout! DVD releases, maybe a random special (this month, another one from the makers of last month's Witch's Night Out), and maybe an update to a variety series (this month, an addition to the Jerry Lewis telethon compilation category). Where are the movies and the old sitcoms?
That said, I had a blast watching a few things on Shout!, one of which I may write about more soon. Stay tuned. And unlike Shout!, I won't make you sit through 3 minutes of ads!
4) Pub-D-Hub: A nice final Halloween weekend, with radio shows, TV episodes, movies, and more tied into the season, elevated Pub-D-Hub this week even though I didn't get to watch anything on it.
5) YouTube: I had a great viewing week on here, catching several rarities, but then I noticed YT yanked several channels I subscribed to, including one on which I was in the middle of something. Boo! I have to admit, I figured the uploader was toast when he put up a whole batch of...eh, I'd rather not say. The moral is: If you see something you want to watch, watch it.
6) The CW: I am trying to catch up on several series at once, and I really appreciate the CW channel, but unlike when I first tried this, it's not resuming videos where I left off, and that I do NOT appreciate.
7) Tubi TV: Respectable assortment of titles added to this free service this month, but I am mostly happy I got to see the two 1980s animated Blondie specials. Seriously, folks, dig around here a while and you find all kinds of goofy stuff.
8) Amazon Prime: I forgot to mention new original series Good Girls Revolt last week, mainly because I knew nothing about it.
I still don't. but it's there!
So is The Night Manager, which kind of irritates me because I wanted to see it, and I hoped it would go to Netflix or Hulu.
9) Warner Archive Instant: In my free trial of the beta (It IS still beta, right? Even though they are taking paid customers?) relaunch, I find there is great content, but not enough of it, website functionality isn't there yet (Where is a newly added section?), and the buffering is often maddening. I still rank it because where else are you gonna stream Dr. Kildare and The George Raft Story? I really, really hope they start putting more new-to-streaming movies in the mix soon, or no one's gonna be paying for more than a month at a time of this.
10) Filmstruck: Hey, it debuted! I have to say, it looks great for what it is. Perhaps after my free trial of WAI ends, I will look at this one. For now, the 6.99 version looks pretty good, and I imagine the 10.99 one will make a lot of people happy. Let's just hope its makers don't abandon it the way they did WAI.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
This Week on Battle of the Network Shows: DEATH PROBE!
This week we discuss a two-part episode for the first time!
Action! Intrigue! International tensions! All here on Battle of the Network Shows! DON'T YA DARE MISS IT!
Action! Intrigue! International tensions! All here on Battle of the Network Shows! DON'T YA DARE MISS IT!
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Brooks on Books: Ahead of the Curve by Brian Kenny
Longtime ESPN/MLB Network personality Brian Kenny is often confrontational in his new book, Ahead of the Curve, but he does not attack individuals. He attempts to expose lazy analysis, using specific examples to lay out entertaining arguments against outdated conventional wisdom. Kenny's book is lively and entertaining throughout, and it never seems shrill nor unfair. Instead, it is a fun volume that ultimately stands for something more than it does against something--and what it supports is critical thinking.
It was particularly interesting to read Ahead of the Curve during this 2016 Major League Baseball postseason, when one of Kenny's big points--the benefits of revisiting bullpen usage--was being played out before a national audience as managers like Terry Francona summoned top relievers early in the game rather than waiting for traditional spots like the beginnings of late innings. This issue is a great example of what the book accomplishes--Kenny doesn't just try to persuade you that managing for the save stat (and holding your closer in reserve unless it's a save situation) is wrong. He demonstrates why using your best pitchers in high-leverage situations, even in the fifth inning, is optimal. If that isn't enough, Kenny also examines why so many managers DO refuse to use their best relief pitchers if it's not the ninth inning, showing the history of bullpen usage throughout baseball and how it changed.
Kenny does not just throw numbers at you, though he does use cogent advanced stats where they fit and explains them with clarity. He reaches back into the early days of the sport to show, for example, why pitching staffs were handled so differently then and why that traditional approach is no longer the best way. The result blends history and modern baseball with intelligent analysis, all with vivid real-life examples. Although Kenny is sensitive to critiques of "statheads" ruining the game, he is not defensive; he anticipates common counterarguments and exposes them, often revealing that advanced sabermetrics helps the game rather than ruins it. Without modern analysis, many deserving players would be overlooked or perhaps not even get a chance because of our inherent human biases to certain physical types or things that our minds can see more easily.
Some of Kenny's big suggestions are: Throw away the win as a pitching statistic, ignore errors, deemphasize batting average. These ideas become more and more mainstream each season. Kenny also forecasts a day when baseball teams are managed by committee, with the charismatic square-jawed traditional leader supplemented by specialists who focus on offense, defense, and other areas of the game.
My favorite chapters deconstruct MVP and Hall of Fame votes and make a case for reevaluating the way they are approached. Again, his ideas sound a lot less unconventional than they would have even 5 years ago, but Kenny's style is so lucid and--let me use this word again--entertaining that it will leave you thinking, "Yeah! Isn't this obvious?"
Kenny does not want you to think just like HE does, though. Quite the opposite--he wants baseball fans and especially sportswriters and analysts who are PAID to look at the sport to avoid groupthink. Ahead of the Curve makes an excellent case for rejecting old ways of looking at things, or at least for not continuing the same ways just because they have always been used.
It was particularly interesting to read Ahead of the Curve during this 2016 Major League Baseball postseason, when one of Kenny's big points--the benefits of revisiting bullpen usage--was being played out before a national audience as managers like Terry Francona summoned top relievers early in the game rather than waiting for traditional spots like the beginnings of late innings. This issue is a great example of what the book accomplishes--Kenny doesn't just try to persuade you that managing for the save stat (and holding your closer in reserve unless it's a save situation) is wrong. He demonstrates why using your best pitchers in high-leverage situations, even in the fifth inning, is optimal. If that isn't enough, Kenny also examines why so many managers DO refuse to use their best relief pitchers if it's not the ninth inning, showing the history of bullpen usage throughout baseball and how it changed.
Kenny does not just throw numbers at you, though he does use cogent advanced stats where they fit and explains them with clarity. He reaches back into the early days of the sport to show, for example, why pitching staffs were handled so differently then and why that traditional approach is no longer the best way. The result blends history and modern baseball with intelligent analysis, all with vivid real-life examples. Although Kenny is sensitive to critiques of "statheads" ruining the game, he is not defensive; he anticipates common counterarguments and exposes them, often revealing that advanced sabermetrics helps the game rather than ruins it. Without modern analysis, many deserving players would be overlooked or perhaps not even get a chance because of our inherent human biases to certain physical types or things that our minds can see more easily.
Some of Kenny's big suggestions are: Throw away the win as a pitching statistic, ignore errors, deemphasize batting average. These ideas become more and more mainstream each season. Kenny also forecasts a day when baseball teams are managed by committee, with the charismatic square-jawed traditional leader supplemented by specialists who focus on offense, defense, and other areas of the game.
My favorite chapters deconstruct MVP and Hall of Fame votes and make a case for reevaluating the way they are approached. Again, his ideas sound a lot less unconventional than they would have even 5 years ago, but Kenny's style is so lucid and--let me use this word again--entertaining that it will leave you thinking, "Yeah! Isn't this obvious?"
Kenny does not want you to think just like HE does, though. Quite the opposite--he wants baseball fans and especially sportswriters and analysts who are PAID to look at the sport to avoid groupthink. Ahead of the Curve makes an excellent case for rejecting old ways of looking at things, or at least for not continuing the same ways just because they have always been used.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Instant Gratfication Theater: Was on PBS, then on Netflix...uh, and then not on Netflix anymore
One of the best ways to watch PBS programming, if you can wait a little bit (more like if you miss it the first time because there is no video on demand component for public broadcasting on your provider, but let's move on from that), is via Netflix. No commercials, no pledge breaks, no muss...Only thing is, it ain't gonna last.
This post is a roundup of stuff I watched on Netflix because it was about to expire. One of these (I'll give you a subtle hint when we get there) actually STILL is on Netflix because I watched IT on the PBS Roku channel. OK, now I'm confusing myself.
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise: An excellent edition of American Masters with the usual blend of archival footage and insightful contemporary interviews. I gotta say, folks, I had some mild Mel Brooks Fatigue--not Mel Brooks material, per se, but specials about Mel Brooks--which is probably why I put this one off so long. I'm glad I finally got around to it. It's a solid overview of his entire career and covers some things I hadn't seen in other recent specials, like talk about Get Smart.
Richard Pryor: Icon: This one doesn't quite transcend my Richard Pryor Fatigue. Again, it's not that I'm tired of seeing Richard Pryor perform. It's just that it feels like there is a new tribute/documentary about him each year. No real depth or new insight, but if you're a fan, it's an easy watch if you get a chance.
The Black Kung Fu Experience: Doomed from the start. Why? I thought it was about African-American kung fu movies of the 1970s, the documentary started with some cool footage of African-American kung fu movies of the 1970s, but then it was "only" about actual dudes doing kung fu in real life. It may well be a great piece of work, but I just wasn't feeling it after experiencing the letdown.
An Honest Liar: NOTE: THIS ONE IS STILL ON NETFLIX! I highly recommend this profile of noted debunker of paranormal frauds James "The Amazing" Randi. It chugs along as a compelling and informative biography of its subject, and then, wham, suddenly becomes about broader issues. It will catch you off guard in a good way if you go into it with as much ignorance as I did (to be fair, that is how I approach most subjects, not entirely by choice).
This post is a roundup of stuff I watched on Netflix because it was about to expire. One of these (I'll give you a subtle hint when we get there) actually STILL is on Netflix because I watched IT on the PBS Roku channel. OK, now I'm confusing myself.
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise: An excellent edition of American Masters with the usual blend of archival footage and insightful contemporary interviews. I gotta say, folks, I had some mild Mel Brooks Fatigue--not Mel Brooks material, per se, but specials about Mel Brooks--which is probably why I put this one off so long. I'm glad I finally got around to it. It's a solid overview of his entire career and covers some things I hadn't seen in other recent specials, like talk about Get Smart.
Richard Pryor: Icon: This one doesn't quite transcend my Richard Pryor Fatigue. Again, it's not that I'm tired of seeing Richard Pryor perform. It's just that it feels like there is a new tribute/documentary about him each year. No real depth or new insight, but if you're a fan, it's an easy watch if you get a chance.
The Black Kung Fu Experience: Doomed from the start. Why? I thought it was about African-American kung fu movies of the 1970s, the documentary started with some cool footage of African-American kung fu movies of the 1970s, but then it was "only" about actual dudes doing kung fu in real life. It may well be a great piece of work, but I just wasn't feeling it after experiencing the letdown.
An Honest Liar: NOTE: THIS ONE IS STILL ON NETFLIX! I highly recommend this profile of noted debunker of paranormal frauds James "The Amazing" Randi. It chugs along as a compelling and informative biography of its subject, and then, wham, suddenly becomes about broader issues. It will catch you off guard in a good way if you go into it with as much ignorance as I did (to be fair, that is how I approach most subjects, not entirely by choice).
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