Baby Driver
directed by Edgar Wright
Classic action film with familar storyline and twist ending
I wasn't planning to watch this movie because I thought the story had to be similar to Drive or a million other movies where the hoodlum with a heart of gold has to do one more job for the Big Bad before he and his innocent but oh so sexy gun moll make a run for the border, pursued both by Johnny Law and the minions of the Big Bad. Been there, done that. But my brother all but insisted that I watch this film. As he's normally not that interested in what other people do for entertainment I thought that the film might be worthwhile. Well, I was right on both counts. This is a story which you have seen or read many millions of times before on screen or in print. Generally speaking you will be able to call out the plot twists and turns as they occur. The ending was something different but that aside there weren't too many surprises in this film. But the relative lack of originality didn't matter as much because the acting of the two leads felt very natural and organic. And anytime you might have started to think that this film felt unoriginal the director bopped you over the head with an adrenaline charge of a car chase or foot chase.
Baby Driver, much like The Princess Bride, had something positive to say about True Love. Almost by definition that message never feels completely hackneyed. So there was that.
Politics is a contact sport. People can get hurt. The spouses of political figures know this. That's the life they chose. That said, it is a a fool's errand to pretend that you know exactly what is going on between a husband and a wife unless one of them tells you. And even then you usually won't get the full truth. So it's usually a good idea not to speak authoritatively about someone's spousal relationship other than your own. Jane Sanders, Bernie Sanders' wife, recently reminded MSNBC host and frustrated would be White House Press Secretary, of this fact. Reid, as she is wont to do, was taking another shot at Bernie Sanders. There was no real rhyme or reason to this other than the fact that Reid does not like Bernie Sanders and blames him in part for Clinton's loss in the 2016 Presidential Election. Fair enough, though perhaps someone should remind Reid that Sanders lost the nomination to Clinton. Anyway Reid decided to attack Bernie's feminist credentials by alleging that he mistreated his wife. Mrs. Sanders wasn't having that. She responded. This isn't really worthy of notice other than to point out that (1) attacking alleged mistreatment of a wife based on nothing more than your strong dislike of the husband is exactly what then candidate and now President Trump did to Khizr and Ghazala Khan and (2) if you are going to charge mistreatment you should talk to the alleged victim. That would seem to be Journalism 101. But Reid is not really a journalist.
In breaking news that shouldn't really surprise most people, let alone people lucky enough to own a dog, we have more evidence that dogs are probably a little smarter than cats. Because cats can be so standoffish while dogs are often the opposite, cats have an undeserved reputation for being smarter than dogs. Well that's really not the case. It turns out that there's more going on inside a dog's brain than a cat's. After all, the dog understands the concept of going outside to use the bathroom. Cats still haven't worked that one out yet. It may be that what we think of as supercilious feline disdain is simply the blank stare of a dumb cat. Or perhaps this is all just canine propaganda...
Half of you will love this, and half of you will hate it: An international team of scientists says its research strongly suggests that dogs are smarter than cats.
A paper accepted this week for publication in the journal Frontiers in Neuroanatomy reports that dogs' brains have more than twice as many cortical neurons — the cells linked to thinking, planning and complex behavior — than cats' brains do. The team, working at universities and zoos around the world, counted the number of cortical neurons in eight carnivorans, a large class of mammals that have teeth and claws that allow them to eat other animals. (That's different from carnivores, the much larger class of all meat-eating animals, including bears, raccoons and seals.)
As has been discussed previously many times you do not necessarily have First Amendment protections if you say or write something widely considered to be offensive and your employer lets you go. This may get a tad more complicated if your employer is a public (governmental) entity and not a private one. But even with public employers, if you run afoul of laws or employer policies regarding speech that is harassing or hateful you can often find yourself unemployed. The First Amendment is about disallowing the government from preventing you from saying something disagreeable. It's about preventing the government from putting you in prison or fining you for your speech. You are free to say whatever you like. But your employer is also free to decide that your speech is not something with which it wants to be associated. Just as social media has made people more comfortable with sharing a lot of private and personal information, many people seem to forget that social media is NOT you talking to your spouse, relatives, close friends, boyfriend, girlfriend, or even long term business associates. Many of these people probably share some of your world views. And even those who don't usually won't take something you told or wrote to them in confidence and tell everyone without your permission. But when you post something on social media you're sharing it with the world.
Taiyesha Baker, a former nurse at Indiana University Health, apparently forgot that when you're not independently wealthy you occasionally have to consider whether the entire world needs to hear your unedited opinion on sensitive issues.
Sweet Virginia
directed by Jamie Dagg
Every now and again I watch some of the true crime re-creation shows on the Investigation Discovery cable channel. Trashy I know, but I blame one of my cousins for introducing me to this stuff. As she jokes if I ever come up missing, thanks to her experience with this channel she'll know where to start searching for the killer. One of the homicide detectives whose case work is recreated on the show is a very deadpan fellow. He points out, and I doubt that he originated this bromide, that people are quite predictable. The detective says that when people kill someone it's usually for one of just three reasons, sex, money or revenge. Find the motive and you'll usually find the killer pretty quickly. Sweet Virginia is a noir drama that shows the truth behind that saying. Sweet Virginia is a very dark film. I don't mean in terms of subject matter. I mean that the director has chosen both a color palette and sound levels that can make it challenging to both see and hear what's taking place. This makes sense if only because everyone in this movie has secrets and hidden agendas. They aren't necessarily truthful with themselves let alone other people.
The other thing which was notable about this movie was that it was something of a throwback to classic films of the sixties and seventies. There were a lot of long unhurried takes showing people engaged in mundane everyday activities. From time to time there would be something referenced that later proved to be critical, but this was rarely done in such a way that the viewer would pick up on it immediately. Or perhaps I should write that this was rarely done in such a way that I would pick up on it immediately. You may well be ever so much smarter and perceptive.
The Signal
directed by William Eubank
This low budget older film is a science-fiction thriller that in the same way as the original The Matrix film asks what it means to be human. It's relatively light on action/violence so it might be worthwhile for those people who prefer films without a lot of explicit carnage. There is some violence here of course, but most of it is either implied or cut away from at the last minute. One problem with the film is that because most of it takes place in only a few rooms it really would have worked better as a "Twilight Zone" or "Tales From The Crypt" episode. The Signal occasionally felt like the story was being stretched to meet a certain running time. I can't say that I saw the ending of the film coming from a mile away but probably more attentive people will. I thought the creators of The Matrix probably should have called it a day after the first movie. The Signal has room for a sequel. I would like to know what happens next, but only if the next chapter installment moves more quickly.
If you are the sort of person who demands that a film be self-explanatory and complete in itself this may not be your cup of tea. There's a lot that isn't clear. And multiple viewings won't necessarily help. Some people will find this deep, challenging and impressive. Others will find it irritating and pretentious. I can't call it, but if you decide to watch this film know that all your questions won't be answered. Or maybe you are super intelligent and will find this film's answers obvious and silly. The film is good looking with pristine cinematography and colors. Of course it probably helps that as much of the film takes place in a medical facility of some sort, everything is shiny white. There's a detached, clinical feel to the film which is often used as counterpoint to the emotional volatility of the main characters.
Blade of the Immortal
directed by Takashi Miike
When I watch these stylized samurai action films either in their original Japanese form like this one or in the American homages like Kill Bill, I always wonder why doesn't anyone wear armor. It's probably because as an arrogant and somewhat loony character in a Joe Abercrombie novel disdainfully stated "Wearing armor is admitting the possibility of being hit." And all of these warriors, assassins and magicians are convinced that their awe-inspiring skills preclude anyone wounding or killing them. Most of them are wrong of course. The real reason that armor is often non-existent or non-functional in these movies is so we can watch the blood sprays when arteries are severed and internal organs are pierced by cold unyielding steel. And this movie is all about the violence. It is a true vision of bloody mindedness. Obviously if violence is not something you care to watch then this movie isn't for you. It is based on a manga.
The storyline suffers a little bit from the brute force overemphasis. Blade of the Immortal only occasionally displays the dramatic tension and release which is essential to really good revenge themes, whether played straight like Man on Fire, Kill Bill, True Grit, The Hound demanding chickens in Game of Thrones, or deconstructed in films such as Gran Torino or Unforgiven. This movie lacks the emotional center that normally animates such films. It's very rare in this movie that there's a sense of impending bloodshed and the apprehension that accompanies it.
