Exchanging Notes: A Literary Cabaret 2013

The Toronto Writers' Co-operative, which is a grand organization, has, for the last five years, hosted an event called Exchanging Notes: A Literary Cabaret. In the event, members of the co-op are paired with musicians to perform a piece with music. This year, the event took place on January 15th. I have just received my copy of the video of the event and present it for your enjoyment. 

I didn't have anything written for the event when I first heard about it, but thought it sounded like too much fun to pass up. I'm a bit disappointed in my performance. I think it's too strident. I should have been more nuanced in my presentation. Oh well, there's always next year.

Giant Hobbit a Bad Idea

Dwarves and a hobitt.© 2012 Warner Brothers Entertainment

Peter Jackson's latest film, "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" takes us back to Middle Earth for an epic tale of adventure. At least that's what it's supposed to do. Unfortunately, this is too big a movie for too small a story. Like a hobbit in a size 48-long suit, there is just too much extraneous material and the interesting stuff is trapped inside all that excess.

The tale starts off as flashback to The Lord of the Rings, with the old Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) deciding to write his memoir of his adventures. Unfortunately, like The Lord of the Rings, there will be three films before we're finished The Hobbit. Given that there is only one not-very-long book as source material, everything plods. Jackson has even taken to making up entire sub-plots to fill the space.

The story starts with Gandalf (Ian McKellen), a wizard, recruiting Bilbo to help a band of dwarves, led by Thorin (Richard Armitage), in their quest to reclaim their home, the vast underground city in the Lonely Mountain. This was lost when a dragon, Smaug, attracted by the riches of the mountain. invaded it, driving the dwarves out, turning them into a tribe of refugees.

It's a pretty straightforward story. Hobbit and band of companions must traipse across New Zealand (standing in for Middle Earth again) to reach a mountain to battle a powerful foe and reclaim the throne for the rightful heir. In this version, there is also a lot of foreshadowing of the events of The Lord of the Rings, a revenge sub-plot involving an albino orc wanting to kill Thorin (who had previously bested him in battle), a battle with a horde of goblins, and Bilbo's meeting with the nasty Gollum, from whom he steals the ring that everyone is wanting to be lord of in that other trilogy.

They don't get very close to The Lonely Mountain. Given that there are about another six hours of celluloid to go, they probably won't in the next instalment either.

Martin Freeman (the UK "The Office" and BBC's recent "Sherlock" series) gives a good performance as Bilbo. He really does come across as nicely reserved, unassuming, but up to a challenge when-push-comes-to-shove. Ian McKellen is a nicely puckish Gandalf, as he was in The Lord of the Rings. There are cameos from other LOTR cast, such as Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, and Elijiah Wood. Armitage plays dwarf prince Thorin as something of a poor-man's Aragorn. He's brooding and tortured but he's no Viggo Mortensen.

The visual effects of the film are good, for the most part. The notable exception is the dwarf makeup. It generally looks silly. Armitage and a couple of pretty-boy dwarves aren't burdened by any facial prosthetics but the rest of the band aren't so lucky. There are big battles and chases, reminiscent of what we saw in The Lord of the Rings, all striving to be epic in what is essentially a small story. Therein lies the central problem.

There are two ways to make a story epic: You can make a huge saga, with the fate of the nation/world/ civilization in the balance, a story where the characters take part in epic events. Or, you can have a small story where the characters have their own epic moments. Where they rise above what they thought themselves capable of, achieving in the face of adversity. Jackson has chosen the former and therefore everything is bigger, longer, and louder than it should be. Having spent so much time around hobbits, you'd think he'd know that good things can come in small packages.

Rating: 3/5

"No One Lives" Will Make You Wish for Death

Luke Evans is coming to ruin your night at the movies. Run!  © Pathé International 2012

"No One Lives" is a horror film that goes too far. One syllable too far, crossing from "horror" to "horrible."

The premise of Ryuhei Kitamura's ("Versus", "The Midnight Meat Train") latest is promising. A handsome young couple (Luke Evans and Laura Ramsey) are moving, relocating, trailer in tow behind their BMW.  They catch the attention of a gang of local criminals. We know these are bad criminals because we saw one gang member murder a whole family that stumbled upon them burgling the family's home. The rest of the gang is upset because this cost them money when they had to cut their burglary short. The kicker here is that, when they hijack the couple, hoping for some easy money, the everyday monsters unleash the wrath of a true monster.

It turns out the couple are holding Emma, a missing heiress (Adelaide Clemens), captive and have been for months, since she went missing from the scene of a brutal mass murder. Unfortunately, the film can never make this idea of evil versus EVIL deliver. Kitamura's direction is, for the most part, pedestrian. Anyone hoping for style that elevates this film above standard gore-filled horror will be disappointed. There are a few moments, a few scenes, that, however ridiculous they might be, do stand out, making one wish for more. It would have at least made it visually engaging. The acting the pacing, and the dialogue all come up short. They're never so bad that it's good. Just bad.

The one thing that is intriguing, is Emma. Held captive and brutalized by the unnamed psychopath, she finds herself again a captive. The gang hope to strike it rich by returning her for a reward, but seem unclear on how to go about it, given their involvement in a car-jacking, kidnapping, and the steadily mounting pile of dead bodies and body parts. Now she's stuck in the middle, observing that her best chance of escape is while her former captor is killing the gang. While fearful of him, it's clear she has no doubt he can best the crew. One can't help wonder if she can really escape him or if she has developed Stockholm Syndrome and will find it impossible to break free. That idea never really coalesces into anything, thanks to bad writing and Clemens' limitations as an actress.

When "No One Lives" finally ends, in a most unsatisfying way, one is glad to have survived. That you just wasted 86 minutes of your life on a film with no scares, no brains, and no style is the only horror on offer.

Rating: 1/5

In the Court of the Moonrise King

Suzy and Sam get their bearings in Moonrise Kingdom   ©2012 Focus Features

Sometimes things just work out right. "Moonrise Kingdom," the latest from director Wes Anderson is a good case in point. Those who are already acolytes of Mr. Anderson will need no convincing that this is a brilliant work; those who are not may actually find themselves understanding what all the fuss is about. "Moonrise Kingdom" is the perfect blend of components.

The story, on its simplest level is about a pair of 12-year-olds, Sam and Suzy (played by newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward respectively), who, smitten, run away together. Sam uses his scout troop's trip to New Penzance Island, Suzy's home, to enact the plan they have been brewing since first meeting during his trip to the island a year earlier. Their ensuing adventure, including being pursued by the  authorities (Suzy's parents, Sam's scoutmaster, and the island cop) drives what is, at heart, a chase movie. Of course, nothing about "Moonrise Kingdom" is quite that straight-forward.

Set in 1965, "Moonrise Kingdom"  exists in a time and place that feels just familiar enough that it makes us fall fully for the illusion. The world Anderson shows us doesn't exist and never did. Instead, it is an utterly fictional place, with every element stylized to evoke a memory, feeling, or longing. Should such things not reside in your subconscious, Anderson will implant them. The film's score is outstanding in this respect, setting the perfect tone.

Great credit must go to Gilman and Hayward. Their young lovers are entirely believable in an emotional sense. Awkward, childish, and whole-hearted, their feelings struggle to break through to a mature, adult love. Meanwhile, the adults struggle to find a way to soothe their own aching hearts. Suzy's parents, Walt and Laura Bishop (Bill Murray and Frances McDormand) are lawyers, their pillowtalk consisting of details of cases they're working. They are more partners than lovers. Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis) of Island Police, a bachelor, is paralyzed by lost love, and Scout Master Ward (Edward Norton), puts all of his energy into leading his scouts. All our characters are looking for fulfillment. They are all variations on a theme, a universal constant. Only Sam and Suzy are brave enough, naive enough, or wise enough to actually pursue it.

Suzy is a devotee of children's fiction, the kind of books children used to read, which told tales of children going on amazing adventures, triumphing over adversity, and growing toward adulthood on the way. This is a rather obvious sign that we are not to let our perceptions of reality constrain "Moonrise Kingdom." It is a fantasy, a tale of a journey, by turns touching, terrifying, and tempestuous, through a landscape of our own making, the wilderness of New Penzance representing the uncharted paths before us, rife with obstacles to be overcome and battles to be fought. That Anderson can make the tumult of burgeoning adolescence and the perpetual uncertainty of adulthood funny and sweet is remarkable. As is often the case with the best fiction, it is marvellously true precisely because it is unconcerned with the facts.

There are bound to be those who criticise "Moonrise Kingdom" for being too twee, or too stylized or simply unrealistic. They are the same kind of people who ask how all the strangers on the street in a musical know the dance steps and where the music is coming from. They will never understand. This is a film for those who can hear the music and haven't forgotten how to dance.

Rating: 5/5

Avengers Assemble Winning Combination

Hulk prepares to smash. Hulk strongest one there is. ©2012 Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Studios

When Aristotle said “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (but he said it in Greek), who would have guessed he was talking about “The Avengers”? Have no doubt about it, this superhero feature may be the best of its kind.

The Avengers are a Marvel Comics superhero team that has been around since 1963. The team has had a changeable lineup over the years; the film’s lineup comprises Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). The Avengers are brought together by Samuel L. Jackson* (expertly played by Samuel L. Jackson) to deal with the threat of global destruction caused by Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor’s brother, stealing a device called The Tesseract. With this do-dad, Loki intends to open a portal to another dimension, allowing a force of alien Chitauri to help him enslave the Earth. What follows is 143 minutes of super-heroics.

The remarkable thing about “The Avengers” is that it manages to accomplish so much. There’s quite a bit to set up, from the shadowy machinations of S.H.I.E.L.D. , the agency that Jackson works for, to explaining the mumbo-jumbo of how The Tesseract will work its magic. Sandwiched in there are capsule introductions of our half-dozen heroes and the story of how they are brought together. Unlike, for example, 2002’s Spider-Man, which staggered under a tedious telling of the origin of a single hero before getting to the good stuff, “The Avengers” never feels long or laboured. There is sufficient levity to keep the film from bogging down in ponderous nerdity, but not enough to make it a joke, a fine line nicely managed.

Director Joss Whedon, who also has credit for the screenplay, captures the characters well, showing how disparate they are. They may have to work together, but they are not all friends, or even friendly. None of the friction in the team feels forced, but rather a natural product of the characters. Comic-book fans should appreciate that the characters seem true in spirit to themselves. Granted, Thor has an Australian accent, Black Widow doesn’t have a Russian accent, and Hawkeye’s flamboyant purple costume stays in the closet, but these are minor things that don’t get in the way of enjoyment. The purist may complain about Nick Fury, who is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the comics, being replaced by Mr. Jackson, but Fury never really was much of a character. Mr. Jackson brings a lot more excitement to the role of S.H.I.E.L.D. head. One suspects the comic book writers would have used Samuel L. Jackson as the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. all along if they could have figured out how to use a real person in their comics.

The action scenes, as one would hope are bold and exciting. Keep in mind that I saw this in glorious 2D, so I cannot speak for how it looks in 3D (blurry with a chance of headaches, one suspects). There is a real sense of danger and the heroes rising to the occasion when all seems lost, which is the definition of cinematic heroism.

Performances are good throughout, though Scarlett Johansson stands out. Unlike many other superhero films, we find a capable, believable female character who is not simply eye-candy or a damsel in distress. Whedon can take some credit for having written it and Johansson for bringing it to life. Samuel L. Jackson is a joy to watch as himself, though, sadly, “Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking aliens on thismotherfucking planet” is a line that seems to have been left on the cutting room floor.

Given the awful “Iron Man 2.” the dubious “Thor,” and the so-so “Captain America,” it seemed a possibility that “The Avengers” could have come up short, but it delivers on all fronts: action, character, performances, and even intelligence. Most importantly, it takes us on a genuine journey, as these individual heroes come together and come to appreciate each other. It’s a pleasure from start to finish and the new measure of what a superhero movie should be.

Rating 5/5

*This character is sometimes mistakenly referred to as “Nick Fury,” but it is quite certainly Mr. Jackson.

Another Earth No Place Special

copyright 2011 Fox Searchlight Pictures

“Another Earth”, a film putatively about second chances, misses its chance to make a point. In this meandering character piece, a mirror version of Earth has been discovered, a world where we each have a duplicate self. What this means, philosophically or practically, to our world is never addressed, as director Mike Cahill chooses to focus his feature-film debut on Rhoda Williams (Brit Marling).

We meet Rhoda at the beginning of the film, when she is a bright 17 year-old student celebrating her acceptance to M.I.T. She leaves the party and is driving home when she hears a report on the radio about the discovery of the planet, which is soon dubbed Earth Two. While drunkenly scanning the sky for a glimpse of the planet, she collides with a car, killing a mother and child and leaving the father in a coma. Four years later, Rhoda is graduating from prison rather than university. She hides herself away from society, taking a job as a custodian at the local high school. The cleaning that she pursues as a heavy-handed metaphor to cleanse herself doesn’t work, leaving her restless. She enters a contest, hoping to win a place on a privately-funded space mission to Earth Two, wanting to escape her actions.

After an unsuccessful suicide attempt, she approaches John Burroughs (William Mapother), the man who survived the wreck. She goes intending to apologize for what she has done. She loses her nerve and, through a twist of shaky logic, winds up as his cleaning woman. John is a wreck, living in squalour, having let both the house and himself go. Mapother plays him reluctant and taciturn at the beginning, as if he has almost forgotten how to speak, so deep is his sense of isolation. With him not realizing who she is, the two grow close, Rhoda drawing him out of his despair and he, unknowingly, alleviating her guilt.

The film is ultimately unsatisfying because it fails to address the nature of the pair’s relationship. Rhoda is being unspeakably cruel, seeking to escape her guilt and responsibility rather than accepting it and coming to terms with it. She shows no consideration for the effect of her deceit on John, only wishing to feel better. The character is young, which may explain her self-centeredness, but the question of her narcissism and cruelty is never addressed. We are meant to feel sorry for Rhoda. A tale of redemption must first have the redeemed search for some kind of self-awareness. Jason Reitman deals with narcissistic protagonists in both “Up in the Air” and “Young Adult” more successfully, making their narcissism the focus of those films. In “Another Earth”, Cahill seems unaware of Rhoda’s character. One can’t believe Rhoda is ready or deserving of a second chance, either on this Earth or the other—where, she hopes, she didn’t kill anyone—because she hasn’t owned up to her actions. Even the struggle to do so would make her more sympathetic.

Another Earth is a low-budget, indie production and the sets and photography show it. There is nothing in particular to be faulted, but it is not visually distinguished. The focus is on the characters and the performances. Mapother’s performance has the required hint of neediness. Marling does, at times, come across as lost and hanging on the edge of adulthood. The real failing of the film is in the script (which Cahill and Marling co-wrote), not the performances themselves.

Despite a premise that sounds like science fiction, the broader implications of how such a discovery would affect our world, either physically or culturally, is never explored in any depth. The “what if?” element that characterizes good science fiction never comes into play. Putting the story into a broader context of a world facing an existential crisis would have made the mirror Earth central, rather than a contrivance.

“Another Earth” fails to make full use of its premise, fails as a redemption story, and fails to explore the narcissistic cruelty of its protagonist. Maybe the Earth Two version of this film does all of those things, but until it is available, “Another Earth” can be skipped without regret.

Rating: 2/5

My Real Mother


Another Mother's Day come and nearly gone. Fields of flowers picked, packed, and presented. Servers at every kind of dining establishment run off their feet. Mountains of chocolates hurriedly purchased at drug store and gas station. I like to think there is an incredible amount of love in the actions undertaken today. I fear, though, that there are far too many who found today a chore, a tiresome burden, or an obligation that consumes a perfectly good Sunday. To anyone who was resentful of having to spend time or thought on your mother today, I'd say I envy you.

My mother, Ruth, died about seven-and-a-half years ago and I only wish there were more days, Mother's Days and others, that I could spend with her. Of course I remember arguments and unhappy days, but as an adult I came to realize just how fortunate I was to have her for a mother. I wonder what kind of person I'd be without her. Had things gone differently, I might have found out, for I was adopted by my parents.

I was an unwanted child and my mother took me in and raised me as her own for the rest of her life. I harbour no resentment for the woman who gave birth to me. I think it was an act of great kindness to allow my mother the chance to raise a child with love and care. If ever I were to meet her, I'd thank her for allowing me the life I had by giving me up.

Speaking to my father today, he told me how, when my parents first got me, my mother was afraid to hold me, afraid she'd drop me or hurt me. How incredible to take in a child from a stranger, when you have no idea what you're about to do, and raise it as your own flesh and blood.

She soon learned to hold me and never stopped holding me in her heart. No matter how far I wandered, I knew she was always thinking of me. Sometimes her thoughtfulness would be expressed in the most inexplicable ways: buying me shirts in colours I detested; shipping parcels of canned goods across the country to make sure I was eating (never mind it would have been cheaper to just send a cheque); sending blankets to me in a tropical country. I realize now that it was simply her taking care of me. It makes me smile.

Sometimes, when I discuss my adoption with people, they will ask me if I know who my "real parents" are. My answer is always the same: "My real parents raised me." They changed my diapers, cleaned up vomit, took me to the doctor, taught me how to ride a bike, worked to make a home and a life for me that, while not extravagant, never left me feeling wanting or unwanted.

Certainly there are mothers who qualify for the title merely because they carried a child to term. Mothers who are cold, uncaring, or abusive to their children. Such parents are terrible and their children are under no obligation to feel affection for them. I consider myself very lucky to have had a mother who truly wanted me and always loved me fully. Whatever good there is in the man I've become, it is because of her. Anyone who can say that about his or her mother should spend more than one Sunday a year to let her know how much she means.