Magic Mike

Another Saturday morning matinee on the promenade. Fun film, especially the first half. Loses some steam in the second half with the script nearly bordering on t.v movie of the week. But Soderbergh's flare, and casting, overcomes the soft script. Liked much more than Haywire and The Girlfriend Experiment which both seemed like exercises.

And Matthew McConaughey is on fire and having a ball.

Here's a pretty on-point review courtesy of The New Yorker.

This Is Hot

'Miss Holocaust Survivor' Crowned in Israel.

Wine

BevMo is having their 5 cent sale so I decided to splurge and grab three different varieties (being that it is summer all white -- a sauvignon blanc, a pinot grigio, a chardonnay) to try them out.
Note: I brought a recent list of the 2012 Gold Medal Winners (Los Angeles Int'l Wine & Spirits Competition) with me, and none of them were included in the 5 cent sale.

Vineyard View Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley, 2010)
"This crisp and fragrant wine showcases the vibrancy of Sauvignon Blanc. Grapefruit and green lime aromas precede flavors that linger long into a clean finish. Enjoy this wine as the perfect choice for any occasion."

Kind of disappointing Maybe it's because I've had some uniquely explosive glasses of Sauvignon Blanc recently (i.e.  Toronto at an Asian fusion restaurant which had sort of spicy kick to it) but this just seems average. Mild, inoffensive. Wouldn't go out of my way to track it down.

Solstice

Sitting out in my local park on 4th street this past Saturday afternoon. Sun still out way past 7:30 pm. What a trip it must be to live in Alaska and experience the summer solstice. Sun out way past midnight, past two a.m. Kids out in the street, kicking the ball around and it's 2:30 am on the clock. What a mind trip.
Summer Solstice! Haullucinatory.

Louie!

Returns this week. Thursday, June 28th. Season 3. In a year that has Springsteen release a new album, Wrecking Ball. And in cinema Tarantino's Django Unchained, and P.T. Anderson's The Master, the return of Louie on t.v. might trump them all for hope and expectations.

More than the others, Louis C.K. has a brief window now in which he's connected into the zeitgeist.

UPDATE: This is a really nice review from NPR's John Powers.

Malick & Co.

Back at it. Filming on the beach. Friday post-work summer jog. This time Christian Bale and, instead of Wes Bentley, some unfamiliar Asian-looking actress drifting in and out of the water in a shawl. As the sun sets. Come dusk a life guard disallowed them from stepping into the water.
Mallick, "First the fire marshall, now the life guard." (Kurt Vile/War on Drugs play out as purple dusk turns blue on the beach up to Hill.)

The Blues Brothers

Turned it on after the Heat's coronation tonight and couldn't turn it off. Smokey & The Bandit is to the south, as The Blues Brothers is to Chicago.
Man, people would have a blast watching it at Hollywood Forever. So carefree. So joyful. So musical.

The Grey

Finally. A fucking strong film. From beginning to end. Dark and intense. Joe Carnahan is on point -- from the look, to the performances -- all elements working together to elevate the material.

In a movie with numerous exceptional scenes, and moments, one in particular to point out is Dermot Mulroney (suffering from a fear of heights) having to cross the divide from the bluff to the treeline, it made me squirm with tension.

Wish I experienced the film in the theater

On Sam Peckinpah (by Monte Hellman)

From editing The Killer Elite (1975):
"Peckinpah was amazing to edit for. We'd wait until 10pm for him to arrive in the cutting room, view the day's work, and give us notes. The first thing he'd do, after staggering into the room, was piss out the window. After watching the newly edited scenes, he'd start his comments, speaking so softly we had to lean in, putting our ears close to his mouth. Given his drunken state, we didn't have great expectations. Amazingly, he was coherent, precise, concise, insightful, creative, and brillant. One night he had the idea to intercut two completely different, but equally difficult scenes, resulting in perhaps the best scene in the movie...

Directing him was another story."

On Warren Oates (by Monte Hellman)

"Warren was a poet trapped in the body of a clown. He called me the day before he died, telling me he'd just had a heart attack. I screamed at him to get a doctor immediately. Then he went into denial mode, saying it was just indigestion. A few days later, the minister failed to show for the memorial, claiming he put the wrong date on his calendar. All us mourners conducted the service ourselves, then retreated to one of Warren's favorite watering holes, celebrating his life in a way he'd appreciate."

eci

Q: COCKFIGHTER was probably Warren Oates's best ever performance, and a rare opportunity for him to play the lead.  You used him in four films (THE SHOOTING, TWO-LANE BLACKTOP, COCKFIGHTER and CHINA 9, LIBERTY 37), and the little-seen IGUANA (1988) was dedicated to him.  Do you have any anecdotes that sum up the man to you?
A: Warren was a poet trapped in the body of a clown.  He called me the day before he died, telling me he'd just had a heart attack.  I screamed at him to get a doctor immediately.  Then he went into denial mode, saying it was just indigestion.  A few days later, the minister failed to show for the memorial, claiming he'd put the wrong date on his calendar.  All us mourners conducted the service ourselves, then retreated to one of Warren's favorite watering holes, celebrating his life in a way he'd appreciate.

Monte Hellman

"All the movies I like are ones that move me."

Toronto

My cousin London's whirlwind wedding weekend...

Flew in on Thursday (6/14), met up with parents, and attended a dinner party at Aunt Susie's friend's residence. Met Juan, and drank white wine on the back patio

Friday, June 15th:
The Spoke Club
600 King Street West, 3rd Floor
Toronto

Saturday, June 16th:
St Mary's Church
130 Bathurst Street
Toronto, Canada

Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen's Park
Toronto
Please join us following the wedding ceremony to celebrate!
Cocktails, Dinner, & Dancing
Six Thirty In The Evening
Black Tie

Sunday, June 17th -- Father's Day:
1 Highland Avenue
Toronto
Hosted by
Lynda Reeves & Michel Zelnik

Please join us for brunch and a farewell toast
Drink starting at 11:30am
Buffet brunch and BBQ from
12:30pm to 3:30pm

OKC Thunder

If I had any disposable income there'd have been a $500 wager placed on OKC (-165) to win the series. Now it's up to -280 after game 1.

They are a fully talented team, and make better adjustments.

Double Feature: Moonrise Kingdom/Promethus

Saturday morning at the cinema.

Moonrise Kingdom:
Beautiful formalism, precise detail in the cinematography and production design, choreography of shot-to-shot. But didn't feel anything for the characters who are essentially props giving line readings. Didn't buy into the love story, just young actors reading Wes Anderson dialogue. Very little emotional connection or investment.. Sat outside of the movie, studying the mise-en-scene, rather than in it.
And boy, what a mess of a third act. The story was done when the runaways are found, there's no where to go from there...

And then...

Prometheus:
Vomitus mess. What story do you want to tell Ridley?  You can't tell three stories in one movie -- choose one and focus on it. Storytelling run completely amuck.

Both films concerned with the look, so much more than the content.

I might be done watching movies for a while.

Chicago

Brunch in Wicker Park. Walk down a street festival on the Sunday afternoon. Girls in their summer clothes play corn hole. Tossing a bean bag with one hand, drinking a cold one in the other. Not inhibited to have a bit of a beer belly. I love this town.

Enter into a neighborhood dive, saddle up at the bar for one Old Style while I'm in town. A haggard Polish woman is the lone barkeep. She's not amused by our company or our patronage. An eerie, disco-era-esque song comes on the jukebox, female singer. It's right for the place. But completely at a loss for who it is...

"Who is this?"
Barkeep: Huh?
"Who is playing this record?"
Barkeep: Machine.

Sums up the weekend.

Bill Murray

On Bill Murray (living in Charleston, S.C.)

33 1/3

Music From Big Pink. a novella. by John Niven.

Sad. With little offer of redemption, or second chances. Lives cut short. Not to get back on one's feet. From youth, to a life wasted. Except for one magical summer of '67, and some of '68.

Side A.
Tears of Rage
To Kingdom Come
In a Station
Caledonia Mission
The Weight

Side B.
We Can Talk
Long Black Veil
Chest Fever
Lonesome Suzie
This Wheel's On Fire
I Shall Be Released

The Best Western

Chicago, IL. Saturday night, 6/2/12.