Quarantine Movie Reviews: Comes a Horseman, Saving Mr. Banks, 52-Pick Up

 We all have long lists of movies we've been meaning to watch, I've been catching up on films during this pandemic while staying inside. Here are three more of the films I've seen I hope you enjoy. -Ryan

Comes a Horseman (released 1978) ✯✯✯ out of four

A majestic film about the "modern" American West set in the 1940s during the waning days of WWII. Jane Fonda plays a widowed rancher struggling to keep her land and round up enough cattle to pay the bills. One day a neighboring rancher (James Caan) is found wounded and is nursed back to health by the widow. They reluctantly decide to become partners as they are the last two independent farm owners in the area, to round up a herd of cattle for sale to fend off the big land baron (Jason Robards) who wants to own the entire valley and drill for oil. The team of director Alan J. Pakula and cinematographer Gordon Willis (who previously worked on Klute and All the President's Men among others) create truly beautiful images here that are unlike anything they previously have done as a team before. They usually work in urban city environments so it makes this film all the more impressive as they capture the majesty of the mountains. plains, forests, and ominous clouds, these are truly paintings on film. The story is simple in the extreme and the film is slow paced and quiet, sometimes to the point of nothing happening except pretty images, which may lose many viewers. I was not bothered by the leisurely pace I was bothered by the heavy handed villainy of the Robards character, his performance is commanding as usual, but the script gives him very little to work with. As well the big climax seems to come from a completely different movie and almost feels tacked on, it feels out of place in the film. Overall I have been wanting to see this film for a long time and I am glad I saw if just for the beauty of the filmmaking and acting.

Saving Mr. Banks (released 2013) ✯✯1/2

This Disney historical fiction, depicts the pre-production of the studio's classic 1964 film Mary Poppins and specifically the process of convincing and securing permission from author P. L. Travers (wonderfully played by Emma Thompson) to use her characters for the film. That is the basic story but as the title implies it really is about Travers coming to terms with the long ago death of her dreamer/banker/alcoholic father (Colin Ferrell) who is the loose basis for the Poppins character Mr. Banks. There's also Tom Hanks playing Walt Disney (the person not the company) and despite his high billing he has more of a supporting role, but when he is on screen the movie really shines it's a shame he is not in more of the film. This film actually harkens back to the live action Walt Disney Pictures films of the 1980s and early 1990s, such as Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken and Never Cry Wolf, which were more adult oriented but still family entertainment though young children will probably be bored by any of these. Overall, though the whole first hour is mostly set up which makes it a little slow going since we all know where the story is headed, the period detail excellent, the actors are perfectly cast, and it is an entertaining story.

52 Pick-Up (released 1986) ✯✯

A wealthy Los Angeles inventor (Roy Scheider), whose wife (Ann-Margaret) is a candidate for public office, has an affair with a young model (Kelly Preston) and as the film begins he is blackmailed with videos of his liaisons with the young woman by three men hooded men with guns. The inventor decides to turn the tables on the blackmailers and fight back. Based on a book of the same name by Elmore Leonard (who also co-wrote the screenplay) we have the usual snappy dialogue, and the plot is good, though like some (most) of Leonard's work we spend over half the film with the sleazy villains and after a while there is no enjoyment there it just makes the viewer feel lousy, on top of that the big climax is a big let down. The blackmailers (led by John Glover at his slimy best) work in the world of low budget pornography and prostitution clubs of Sunset Strip, which features a continual abuse or degradation of women that makes the movie hard to watch (Preston's character is tortured, Ann-Margaret's character is kidnapped and then pumped full of heroin, etc). The only reason I gave it two stars is because of the strong cast and it is directed by John Frankenheimer whose excellent eye and use of LA locations bump it up a little, other than that it is a hard ride.

 

Story of the Judas Goat

In Honolulu there is an annual event called the Friends of the Library Booksale where for one week every summer this organization uses the McKinley high school cafeteria as a giant bookstore. They fill tables with all types of books: Mystery, Hawaiiana, Fiction, Politics, Biography, Cookbooks, Childrens, VHS tapes, etc.  The items are less than $5 each and on the last two days everything is half price or fifty cents.  There are older editions, out of print titles, diamonds in the rough, as well as a lot of inexpensive books (hundreds of James Patterson titles).  One reason this event is so popular is that there are not very many bookstores on Oahu and almost no used bookstores.  The stores that sell used books are often small or the used section is a tiny area in a regular bookstore.  There are no Half Price Books or Moe's like they have in Berkeley with endless aisles of used titles.  So this annual library books sale is quite an event every summer, and you are almost guaranteed to run into someone you know at the book sale.

I have always been more of a library guy.  I borrow books read them and return for another person to enjoy.  Up until my late twenties I only owned a handful of books most of them reference or required for school.  Truth be told I am still more of a library guy but as I've gotten older I find myself more willing to buy books.  (Side note I do collect items kitschy things, comics, koa items, memorabilia, so why not books).  I had been to this books sale once or twice when I was very little and my mom bought me some random Batman and Superman comics.  Then I did not return until 2005 and I bought a coffee table book "A Day in the Life of Hawaii" and a snorkeling book for a girl I was dating at the time.

It was not until the 2009 book sale when I started my annual attendance and my search for The Judas Goat.  As some of you readers may remember 2009 was a bit of a bad year (click here to read about 2009), by the summer I was at a new job working at Barnes and Noble and trying to find my way in the world.  As I was feeling lost and in a routine I was not super happy with I found myself turning to books more than ever.

Got Books?

I have been a fan of mystery books since I was little (Encyclopedia Brown Anyone?) one of my favorite authors (mystery or otherwise) is Robert B. Parker (he sadly passed away in January 2010, but he died at his desk writing!).  His books were immensely popular (70s-00s) and spawned the TV Series "Spenser for Hire" and the "Jesse Stone" TV Movie series, as well as the big screen western Appaloosa. Parker is the author that made me want to read mysteries as an adult and eventually write mystery books for my in progress Master of Fine Arts degree.  The first book I read of his was The Godwulf Manuscript a true heir to Chandler and Phillip Marlowe.  It is one of the few books I've read more than once.  The novel features Parker's Private Investigator Spenser searching for the medieval book of the title and running into corruption, cults, and murder at a Boston University Campus.

By 2009 I was on the fifth book in the Spenser mystery series: The Judas Goat.  This book is less of a mystery and more of an adventure and character study. Spenser is hired to track down and kill a terrorist group who killed (collateral damage style) a millionaire's family and left the millionaire in a wheelchair.  While most of the books take place in Boston, this entry finds Spenser traveling to London and Canada.  Along for the ride is Spenser's badass friend Hawk who carries a shotgun under his leather coat.

The Hardcover Edition I passed on

So back to me. I attend the 2009 book sale and I went back several times during the week.  One day I find an old hardcover edition of The Judas Goat.  It is a copy that has been withdrawn from the library circulation so it is a little beat up.  There is a 1970s style blue and yellow cover, as well as a cool synopsis and bio that are not on the paperback editions.  I flip through the book and wonder if I should buy it.  Then I think to myself that I'm already reading a paperback copy from the library and was about half way done.  I put the hardcover edition back on the table and move on.  The next day I read the novel in one of those reading frenzies where you can't put the book down and you're up till late at night flipping the pages until the end.  I finish the book, and I loved it.  As I turn out the light on my nightstand I decide to return to the book sale and buy the hardcover edition.

As you probably guessed I went back and searched for hours and could not find that hardcover edition I had put back on the shelf.  Someone bought it during my time of wishy-washiness.  From that day forward I vowed to find myself a used older edition of The Judas Goat.  For the next four years I returned to the book sale searching for this one specific book.  It became something of a game I played with myself in every used book store I went into I checked the mystery section for a copy of this book.  I never found it.  Although I always looked for the book I began to tell myself it would never be, I would never find it.

August 2014. I was in a bit of a funk (actually I guess like all people the funk comes and goes).  On this day the funk was there.  I went down to Berkeley looking to purchase something to make me feel better (I know not the best tactic but it was what I was doing at the time).  I purchased some comic books on Shattuck Ave. Ghostbusters ongoing series (that sadly ended in September 2014) is something wonderful to behold but I still felt a little sad because I had not been reading Ghostbusters just purchasing the issues and saving them to read when I had time.

On my way back to the car I was passing Moe's Books. I had been there several times before and always looked for the book but never found it. I decided to play my game and headed for the basement where the used mystery books are kept.  I scanned the Parker area and I thought I saw the title. I passed it and then my eyes darted back.  There it was on the shelf.  A different edition than I had ever seen.

Finally Found!

I grabbed it, used my Moe's store credit and it was mine.  On the drive home I kept reaching into my bag to see if the book was still there.  I was afraid it might have vanished or all been a dream.  But no I had achieved my goal and my five year search had come to an end.  It is a strange feeling, now when I enter a used bookstore I have no set goal I find myself wandering aimlessly.  Sometimes I still look for The Judas Goat just to see if it is there.  I am not sure why I have decided to tell you all this story.  I guess I could say when you really are searching for something you may eventually find it.  I am truly grateful that I have the opportunity (due to my life and surrounding) to play a book game like this and not worried about starvation and military uprisings.  I guess that shall be my end this is something I want to share because it took up a large part of my life and also to say thank you for that life.  Sorry if that is abrupt, I'm going to go read The Judas Goat now :)

Bruce Springsteen - "The Rising" September 11 2001

To honor the tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001 I am breaking my usual alphabetical postings to write a post about that harrowing day in America's history.

I remember waking up ten years ago to the sound of my radio alarm. Yet the normal classic rock that played to stir me from my sleep was a news report that morning. I groggily looked up at my alarm clock and wondered why a rock station was playing a news program and also why were they talking about New York City? I eventually got the facts that the World Trade Center had been destroyed by two airplanes. I rose from under the sheets and turned on the TV to find every station with the same images of the smoking towers. Living in Hawaii the attacks had happened many hours before it was morning where I lived. I was a Junior in High School and the day before was the birthday of this girl I had a crush on; I had spent much of the weekend looking for a gift for her. All that seemed very trivial a day later. I had never been to New York City, or the east coast for that matter, all I knew of the Big Apple or the World Trade Center was what I read in books or saw in Movies and TV. I was not sure how to feel as I did not know anyone who live in that part of the country and I felt so far removed. All I felt was sadness for all the people and the black cloud that covered that city of dreams known as New York.

In the following weeks the newspapers and TV screens were filled with information, specials, and fundraisers in support of the victims of 9/11. I along with the rest of the country was filled with a new found patriotism. Being a teenager and coming from the most isolated state in the union I never really felt the pull to say I am American. Never really thought about being American, I just thought of it as the country I lived in. Yet I suddenly found myself with a true identity of being an American. I watched the nearly eight hour "Concert for New York City" on television and wished I could be there.

As always in history music became the only place many people could find comfort and explanation whether it be the "Concert for New York City" or the music telethons "America, A Tribute to Heroes" and the like. While the concerts were definitely life affirming and tear jerking, in this confusing and troubling time none of the Music really captured the America of Post 9/11; neither did the music written especially for the tragic events such as Paul McCartney's "Freedom" or Neil Young's album "Let's Roll." Then ten months after 9/11 Bruce Springsteen released "The Rising."

More than any other modern musician Bruce Springsteen is identified with the American Landscape and so it is only fitting that the only true American musical poet be the only one to accurately and excellently capture Post 9/11 America.

In his first studio album with his excellent E Street Band since 1984's "Born in the USA." They reunited in 1999 after Springsteen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. So it is only fitting that this is a return to form for The Boss after his poor albums of the 1990s. He is backed by a full band and he is writing American anthems again as only he can. The album is focused and direct yet it expertly captures the cloudy and uncertain feeling of America after 9/11. Even the artwork is cloudy and dark with only blurry images of the band members as if we are looking though all that dust at Ground Zero.

Bruce brings all his considerable Rock and Roll knowledge and his personal history with songs that could have fit on such landmark 70s albums as "Born to Run," "Darkness on the Edge of Town" and "Nebraska." The songs are obviously dark and inspired by a very dark day in history, yet in the end there is hope and the overall message that there is a greatness in everyday life. Some of the songs are truly great and excellent additions to Springsteen's vast catalogue including, "Lonesome Day," "Waitin' on a Sunny Day," "Mary's Place," "My City of Ruins" and particularly the title track. When the songs are not great they certainly are pretty good. He takes all different views, from a fireman who feels he's just doing his job on "Into the Fire" and"Nothing Man," to seeing things with non American eyes "World's Apart," "Paradise" and "The Fuse." To everyday people who have lost friends/family "You're Missing" and "Empty Sky." In the end the album closes with "My City of Ruins" where the people can only pray to whatever they believe in for the strength and the faith to rise up. The final words we hear on the album are Springsteen and a choir chanting "Come on and Rise Up." A call to all of America that we heeded. Thank you Bruce for helping us find the Rising. Thank you Bruce from the confused teenager that found some focus in your songs.

So on this tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001 may we remember those who fell. May we remember the patriotism for this truly great country called the USA. May we remember that it does mean something to be American. May we not loose sight of the wonderful life we live. May we "Come on up for the Rising, Come on up Lay your Hands in Mine, Come on up for the Rising Tonight."