Well, dear readers, it’s the final day of November. I ask you, where else on all the Internet can you get such information? Nowhere, that’s where. You’ll all be happy to know that the BK Strike is over. A settlement was made just prior to writing these notes. Both sides gave up things and gained things. For example, BK gave up donuts for two weeks, whilst BK gained See’s Candy for two weeks. It was a knock down drag out fight to the finish, but it’s over and we can go about our daily business, whatever the HELL that means. So, here we are, the final day of November, which leads us, of course, into December, the final month of the year. Let me say that again – the final month of the year. And what a month it will be. We’ve got many haineshisway.com birthdays to celebrate, including a big one for my very own self. We’ve got Hanukkah and Christmas and New Year’s Eve to celebrate. We’ve got a book signing and presents to buy, and work to be done. I, for one, say bring it on, baby. Speaking of bringing it on, yesterday was a day filled with comings and goings and also goings and comings. I got up, did an early errand, came home, worked at the piano and on the computer, made some telephonic calls and wrapped up some things that needed wrapping up. I listened to a lot of CDs whilst working around the home environment. Finally, I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night I watched one motion picture I TIVOd and one motion picture on DVD. The motion picture I TIVOd was entitled Age Of Consent, and was the final film of director Michael Powell (final in the sense that he never made another feature film – he lived quite a long time after the film was made, however – over twenty years). I’d only seen it once before, on a not very good VHS tape. The presentation on TCM was a restored print that was beautiful, with the correct music by Peter Sculthorpe (the score was replaced with songs when the film was first released in the US, and it was also shorn of its nudity, which has all been put back). It’s an amiable film, very well directed, but with a couple of really annoying supporting performances. The leads, Mr. James Mason and a very young Miss Helen Mirren, are wonderful, as is the pretty photography. The final five minutes of the film went missing since TCM mis-timed the film and the TIVO unit simply stopped recording. I then watched a motion picture on DVD entitled Linda, Linda, Linda, a Japanese film from 2005. And what a delightfully delightful film it is. Funny, charming, with fun music and excellent performances. I’m rather shocked that no US studio has picked this up for a remake, but I’m glad, too, because watching the film you know exactly what they’d do to it, and it would ruin what works about this. And what works about it is that it doesn’t play by any of the US school of filmmaking rules. There’s no three-act structure, the plot is minimal, there’s no villain, there’s no forced conflict – the film just ambles from scene to scene and it’s fresh and fun, with several laugh-out-loud scenes. Basically, the film is about three high school girls who have a band that’s going to be in the rock festival at the school. They lose their lead singer (who’s had a disagreement with one of the band members – you just hear about it in passing), and they replace her with the first person they see – a Korean foreign-exchange student, who doesn’t have a great command of the Japanese language. They decide to do some songs by an 80s Japanese punk group called The Blue Hearts (think The Clash), including their hit, Linda, Linda, Linda. It’s all very human, and the director doesn’t tart it up with anything current, style-wise. In fact, it moves very slowly (but is never boring) and stylistically is almost like Ozu – very few camera moves, lots of scenes played out in one master shot with no cutting, shots of buildings and sky and objects, and it really works well and is such a blessed relief from the noisy US films that assault us every second. If you showed this script to an executive at a major studio, he/she would insist on doing the Robert McKee/Syd Field treatment – they’d give the girls an adversary, they’d have their equipment stolen, they’d make the concert at the end huge and Rocky-like, and on and on. Nothing earth shattering happens, the final concert is just a moment, like everything else in the film. I give this a very high recommendation, but you must be willing to surrender yourself to the film’s style and charm. If you do, I can pretty much guarantee you will enjoy it. The transfer isn’t exceptional, but it gets the job done, and the sound is 2.0 and sounds like movies used to.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because it’s almost time for December and I say bring it on.
This morning I shall be meeting with Miss Linda Purl for some breakfast. She has a story to tell me of a recent cruise on which she performed, and I’m anxious to hear it.
After that, I have a bunch of errands and whatnot to attend to and attend to them I shall.
I have a new baseball cap. Yes, Virginia, I, BK, have a new baseball cap. And would you like to know what it says on it? Curmudgeon. I also got one that says Director.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, meet with Miss Linda Purl, I must do errands and whatnot, I must drive about in my motor car, and I must prepare for the excitingly exciting month of December. Bring it on, baby, bring it on. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/video player? I’ll start: DVD, not sure what will be next. CD, a whole slew of Arthur Fiedler CDs, plus some Weather Report CDs. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as we bid a fond farewell to November.