I saw a couple more Satyajit Ray movies. Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha) is very different in tone from the neo-realistic ones of the Apu and Calcutta Trilogies. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had the music and dancing that we associate with Indian movies now. But it’s very charming in its pre-Bollywood way. It is the opposite of neo-realism as it is a fairytale with rampant magic via special effects and characters spontaneously breaking into song and dance throughout the movie. I loved the delightful way Satyajit Ray wove in the trippiness of the ghosts. All of the magic was very sweet. The movie came out in 1968. It is black and white. The print looked good. It seemed to be a mix of two different prints. You can read more about the movie at this Satyajit Ray site.

Teen Kanya

At the beginning of Teen Kanya (Three Daughters), I heard very familiar strains of music which made me think, didn’t Satyajit Ray just use this same theme in the previous movie I saw? Then I realized (with the help of a fellow Pop Culture Addict) that I recognized the music from Wes Anderson’s Darjeeling Limited which I listen to often enough to have not made this mistake. The international print arrived by mistake so we only saw “two daughters” rather than “Three Daughters” indicated by the movie’s title. The New York Film Society graciously gave us free drinks and popcorn as an apology. There was a time when you might get a free drink for sound issues at the local cineplex. Now you’re lucky if it’s the right movie playing. Anyway, kudos to Walter Reade Theater for treating us film-goers so well.

The first segment of Three Daughters was luminous and heart-wrenching. Satyajit Ray found such natural children to act in his movies. He is also a women’s rights proponent. He is well-known for showing the caste system and effects of poverty without being heavy-handed. I don’t think he intentionally made “issue” movies. He made movies from his heart. But his enormous talent resulted in movies with universal themes about the human condition and interpersonal intricacies. The girl in the first segment was pitch-perfect. The second segment was missing. The last segment was about an older girl who ends up getting married before she knows it’s what she wants. The cinematography was astounding. Another sign of how amazing Walter Reade is: they are showing the full length version of Three Daughters in a couple of weeks so I will get to see that second daughter segment then. I’m really excited about seeing that first daughter story again. By the way, the three girls in this movie are not related. They are characters in three short stories about girls that became the movie Teen Kanya, Three Daughters.

The Soloist

I was a bit wary of seeing this until I watched the 60 Minutes segment about the real Nathaniel Ayers and Steve Lopez. You can watch this video and read the column here. The story is interesting and sad. I love Robert Downey, Jr. and know that Jamie Foxx would do the role right. Both were fascinating to watch. Jamie Foxx did a good job of conveying a troubled and gifted individual. The movie actually made me think about RDJ’s difficult period. He found the strength and support to accept help and make his life more livable. I wondered if Los Angeles’ Skid Row was portrayed in an exaggerated manner until some Angelenos told me it really was like Blade Runner in the worst way. The movie kept my interest but I think the real footage and columns provide the most compelling stories.

Duplicity

I went in to Duplicity with low expectations so I was duly entertained. It’s fun to watch Clive Owen and Julia Roberts have fun in fabulous locales, be cool spies and try to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes. It’s a good rental or lightweight movie outing.

The United States of Tara

I finished watching the first season of this show. I think it’s really captivating. The characters are connected to each other and care about each other. I look forward to season 2!

The rest

Still obsessed with Lost. Loving Dollhouse. LOVING 30 Rock. Haven’t dl’d the new Gomez album yet. Saw them perform their single on some late night show and liked it.

The Daily Show

Going to the Daily Show taping the other week was loads of fun. It entailed hours of waiting in line, being given misinformation, shuffling off to another line, then complaining about being told to stand in the wrong line, being let back into the original line by fellow fans. Then we got in and waited another hour, maybe less while they edited the show (we learned this from Jon Stewart when he came out to say hi right before the taping). The studio is tiny and efficiently built. The staff had a hipster vibe. But they were still friendly and not self-satisfied. I hope to see The Colbert Report at some point.

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Sugar is a fictional movie based in fact about an aspiring pro-baseball player nicknamed “Sugar” as he tries to move from a training camp in the Dominican Republic through the levels in the U.S. to the majors. I thought Half-Nelson had a nice look and Ryan Gosling is always interesting to watch. But for my taste, I thought it was an idea that fit the original short format perfectly. Sugar was a much fuller story with more details and development. Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden did their research and created a fascinating movie. The naturalistic casting really carries the movie. The lead, Sugar, played by Algenis Perez Soto, is captivating. Casting real baseball players was key in this movie. This makes all the ball-playing watchable and also gives an integrity to the characters. I haven’t said anything about dissertation-writing in a while. I would say that this movie makes you realize there are many contenders out there in any field, baseball and other. It’s not necessarily dog-eat-dog like it is in baseball or other sports, but this movie made me think about being drawn to something and choices a person might have to make to integrate this passion into everyday life. Anyway, I really liked this movie. The middle section dragged a tiny bit but the movie kept my interest from start to finish.

17 Again

Sometimes these stories are entertaining. Sometimes they aren’t. 17 Again is pretty cute as long as you don’t have anything against Zac Efron as he is in almost every scene. His best friend is funny, played by Thomas Lennon. The other adults are funny as well – Leslie Mann as the wife and Melora Hardin as the principal. I enjoyed the dad buddying up with his son storyline. The daddy-daughter thing got a bit ooky but Zac Efron played it fine. This movie did not surprise me in any way. But I found it perfectly watchable. It reminded me of a tv show I had forgotten about called “Do Over” starring Penn Badgley now known as Dan Humphrey on Gossip Girl. I think only one or two episodes aired before it was cancelled. It was about a 34-year old man who pulls a Peggy Sue Got Married and goes back in time to 1981 when he was 14 except he has his 34-year old self’s memories. It was a good show from what I remember. I have a feeling watching the entire season of Do Over would be far more satisfying that watching 17 Again. But as it is not a possibility, 17 Again is a cute little foray into fantasy-land where money is no object and a little styling goes a long way. Now I’m on the hunt for more info about where to catch Do Over. I’ll post it if I find it.

EDIT: You can always count on other fans!
Do Over, Episode 1 on YouTube:

I think this completes the first ep. At any rate, it will give you taste of the show.

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Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road)

So I found out I’ve been pronouncing Satyajit Ray’s name wrong. I knew the spelling yet I pronounced it “Sajit Ray.” It’s “Satajit Rye.” Rye, not Ray. Anyway, there’s a Satyajit Ray film festival at NY Film Society. In a word, stunning. Absolutely stunning. I saw Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) a while back but I didn’t remember a blessed thing from it. It was all new to me except the boy’s face. This is an incredible movie let alone being Ray’s first movie. It is so clear that Satyajit Ray was a visual artist. He trained as a graphic artist and worked for a number of years as such. The program listed that the film was introduced by Professor Dilip K. Basu, friend of the family and person put in charge of restoring Ray’s movies by Audrey Hepburn. His introduction was very interesting. Let me list the points that stand out:

- Contrary to rumor, Satyajit Ray was NOT Jean Renoir’s assistant on The River. They were just colleagues and friends.

- New Yorkers viewed the completed Pather Panchali before Satyajit Ray did because he and his editor were under a deadline to show it at MOMA.

- Pather Panchali was produced by the government but they didn’t know which department the money should be allocated from. Since Pather Panchali means Song of the Little Road, the money was listed as going towards road construction.

-Pather Panchali was invited to Cannes in 1956 but the Indian government did not support it because it disapproved of the portrayal of poverty. It showed at midnight when only one Jury member attended, André Bazin, co-founder of Cahiers du cinéma. He realized this movie needed another screening at a more reasonable hour. The rest of the jury agreed it was spectacular but they said they had already voted for the Palme d’Or. However, they were impressed enough to create a special jury prize to award the movie called “the Best Human Document.”

- Satyajit Ray loved De Sica’s Bicycle Thief as well as many of Hollywood fare shown in Calcutta. He and his friend decided to make Pather Panchali without having any training in movie-making. It took 2.5 years because they were low on funds until the government stepped in.

The acting was so unobtrusive, neo-realism for sure as the family was portrayed by a real-life family. This movie is really the daughter’s movie. Her relationship to her favorite aunt, her dear mother, to a lesser degree her father and her special sibling relationship to her brother Apu were so delicately played. Really amazing.

Apur Sansar (The World of Apu)

The Apu Trilogy is celebrated by cinephiles. They didn’t show the second one after (Aparajito/The Unvanquished). Instead, they showed the third movie, Apur Sansar (The World of Apu). I have a vague feeling I saw the first two but I definitely never saw The World of Apu before. It’s beautiful. Sadly beautiful. It was also intriguing to watch it back to back with Pather Panchali which chronicles Apu’s birth and beginning of his schooling. Apur Sansar begins with Apu’s graduation from Intermediate which seems to be the equivalent of an Associate’s Degree. So Apu is all grown up. The middle movie tackles childhood and teenagedom. I loved the relationship between Apu and his wife. It was heartwarming. Anyway, I’m so glad I sat through all four hours of both movies. I wasn’t sure I could do it because it takes stamina! I will try to catch more Ray movies over the course of the retrospective.

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Here’s to a great season of Friday Night Lights! Season 1 was sublime. Season 2 was bumpy but still had all the elements that make this show stand out. Season 3 was fantastic from start to finish. I couldn’t bring myself to watch the season finale until today because I didn’t want it to end. I’m glad there are two more seasons to look forward to. It was a rough Friday night with the end of Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles and the season finale of Friday Night Lights.  I had to spread it out a bit. My favorite character is Matt Saracen. My favorite moment in the finale was when he stopped outside his grandmother’s door at the nursing home with tears in his eyes as she sat on her bed equally sad. I must say I was surprised when he decided to bring her home and presumably go to art school nearby. I do feel like Zach Gilford sold it though. He made me feel like it was the right thing to do. Matt Saracen says, you’re the only one who never left me; I’m not going to leave you now. I guess the idea is now that Cassidy, er, Shelby (Kim Dickens) is back in the picture, she’ll help out. Tyra made it in to college. Yay! She and Landry are forever. Lyla is going to Vanderbilt. Tim Riggins is going to college, too, despite his best efforts. Billy Riggins and Mindy Collette’s wedding went off smoothly AND they will have a baby when they come back next season. Julie and Matt are also forever. Everyone on this show is forever. I said it before, they make me believe that true love can be found in high school even though in the real world this is far less likely. Coach Taylor got ousted and he is now the coach of the East Dillon Lions. He will make them winners. He’s like Phil Jackson. He’s a great coach who brings out the best in his players to make the best team possible. Does this mean Tammy will be principal of his rival school, Dillon High? Also, Julie will be a senior at Dillon High. Interesting. They could move so she could attend East Dillon. Anyway, it was great season ender. I’m awed by the talent of the writers, actors and everyone involved in this show.

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The documentary Anvil! The Story of Anvil has a great title that encapsulates the aspirations of the band that influenced the soundscape of heavy metal but never found the commercial success it desperately wanted. The movie doesn’t really explain why. It seems like Anvil didn’t have good management or a recording studio behind them. The band members probably had difficulties with each other that the movie does not delve into but suggests.  Only lead singer and guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner stayed with the band throughout the years. Their bass player and guitar player seem loyal, having joined them in the mid-1990s. All of them must be thrilled with the success of the documentary. I was impressed by their musical muscles. Despite their lack of success, they have continued to churn out albums, practice and perform for 30+ years. It shows. They sounded really good. They seemed more youthful when they were performing. The movie will definitely remind you of This is Spinal Tap because they are very earnest in their feeling that they should persist because the world is not complete without their music. But it also reminded me of American Movie which is also a documentary about a strong personality with an artistic dream and a dedicated best friend. Lips and Robb Reiner are brothers. They fight like cats and dogs but they love each other to pieces. The movie shows their friendship and creative bond as keeping them going for this long. Sacha Gervasi makes a beautiful movie that heavy metal fans will enjoy and movie lovers will find enormously entertaining. Sacha Gervasi was an Anvil fan as a teen and showed them around London way back when they were still up and coming.  He later became their roadie for a time. Then he grew up and became a successful screenwriter. This movie is well-worth the 80 minutes! I am glad there is an upbeat ending!

Adventureland

I greatly enjoyed Superbad. I found it funny and sweet. I loved the chemistry between Michael Cera and Jonah Hill as well as their comedic timing in general. I am also a fan of Undeclared. So I was looking forward to Greg Mottola’s Adventureland. He wrote and directed this movie. It was less over-the-top than Superbad, more sincere. I found it funny and sweet in a mellow way not that hyperkinetic way Superbad plays. The soundtrack must have cost a fortune to license. As a Replacements fan, I was thrilled to hear not one but two Mats songs and neither was Within Your Reach, a cool song but more common to hear than Bastards of the Young and Unsatisfied.

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