freakboy on film: UNHINGED (2020)

                             (written by Carl Ellsworth / directed by Derrick Borte)

Rachel is having a bad day.  She is getting a divorce.  She lost her salon.  Her brother and his girlfriend have moved in with Rachel and her son.  Thanks to horrible traffic, her son will get detention for being tardy three days in a row and a client fired her.  

No wonder she vigorously honks her horn and angrily drives around a man refusing to go at a green light.  Unknown to her, Rachel has just incurred the wrath of a severely unhinged man who has nothing to lose.  He makes it his mission to show Rachel the real meaning of a bad day in a rage that goes beyond the road.

Just when I thought FANTASY ISLAND was going to be the last new film I would see in the theater, along comes UNHINGED.  A local librarian recommended this 2020 film because it was new and because she was surprised by how much she enjoyed it.  So, I attended a Thursday night screening.  Before you call me brave or crazy for risking my life during a pandemic, I was the only one in the auditorium.  Social distancing has rarely been so easy. 

Sitting all the way to the left in the back row, the perfect vantage point with my Mad Scientist Glasses, I experienced a disturbingly suspenseful ride.  Have you recently honked, yelled or flipped off a driver?  It's 2020 and the world is on edge, which makes UNHINGED a perfect film for these chaotic times.  Honestly, it almost makes me glad I can't drive anymore. 

Caren Pistorius is believable as Rachel.  Even my half-blind eyes could see the love she has for her son while dealing with the stress of life and extreme road rage.  Russell Crowe is convincingly unsettling as the man gone over the edge.  If I hadn't known it was him, I would not have recognized him.  The other actors are good, but this film belongs to Pistorius and Crowe.

One question remains.  Did I enjoy UNHINGED because it's an entertaining popcorn thriller or because it was something new?  I believe I legitimately enjoyed UNHINGED because I would watch it again.  FOOTLOOSE, for example,  was "new" to me this year and once was more than enough. 

In conclusion, if you are hungry for something with a kick that's actually new, then take what precautions you need and drive calmly to a theater near you and see UNHINGED!  

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words. 

Freak Out,

JLH 

P.S.  In case you missed my visit to FANTASY ISLAND...

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2020/03/freakboy-on-film-fantasy-island-2020.html 

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My books & blogs...

http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html  

channel freakboy: UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS (1971-1975)

I signed up for a free week trial of BRITBOX.  Yeah, a week seems skimpy, but I wasn't even sure I would fully subscribe.  First, BRITBOX does not offer the option of downloading programs to watch offline.  Second, only a few series caught my half-blind eyes.

UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS is one of those series.  My sister watched this series on MASTERPIECE THEATER back in the day.  (PBS was the only channel in my area of the US to air British television in the 1970's & 1980's). She loved it and has often expressed a desire  to rewatch this classic program.  Obviously I kept BRITBOX longer than expected.  

Having no internet at home, nor a TV made in the last 15 years, my sister and I parked outside the library in the early mornings and late evenings. With my tablet situated on the dashboard, my wireless speaker between us and my Mad Scientist Glasses on, we traveled across the Atlantic and stepped back in time.

There are two families living at 165 Eaton Place in the early 20th Century.  First, there is an upstairs family, The Bellamys,  which include Lady Marjorie (Rachel Gurney), her husband Richard (David Langton) and their almost grown children James (Simon Williams) and Elizabeth (Nicola Pagett).  Then there is the downstairs family, the servants, which include the butler Mr. Hudson (Gordon Jackson), the cook Mrs. Bridges (Angela Baddeley) and parlor maids Rose (Jean Marsh) and Sarah (Pauline Collins).

Drama, joy, tragedy, scandal and humor fill the lives of these two families over 27 years.  Members of both upstairs and downstairs come and go, sometimes permanently, as the world changes around them.  The Titanic sinks.  A World War erupts.  A pandemic hits.  Protests and riots blaze through the streets.  The stock market crashes.  Despite it all, the residents of 165 Eaton Place carry on, and probably wouldn't find the 21st Century all that different.  

Even though my sister raved about UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS over the years, I was anticipating a stuffy, English drawing room drama.  What I got was a lively series that often jumped a year between episodes, effectively cutting out filler storylines that often bog down modern series.  The acting was natural and the characters were complex, never falling victim to caricatures.  The believability of the characters and storylines make this series an intimate and relatable experience.  I was instantly addicted, which is probably why we flew through the 68 episodes in just a few weeks. 

I originally thought about filling this post with spoilers, but I just can't do it.  UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS is such an emotional roller coaster that I don't want to ruin this exhilarating ride for you with specific details.  Just prepare to laugh, cry and pick your jaw up off the floor when you enter the world of 165 Eaton Place. 

Before I let you go to watch UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS, I must address DOWNTON ABBEY (2010-2015).  Similarities abound between these two exceptionally entertaining series.  How could there not be?  They are both set in roughly the same era and country, with the same class structure.  I've spent the last few weeks trying to figure out the one major difference between the two series and I think I hit upon it.  DOWNTON ABBEY romanticizes this time period more than UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS.  Perhaps a bigger budget on DOWNTON meant more of a focus on fashion and set design or maybe the constant wit of a certain character created a very television atmosphere in the ABBEY.  Either way, UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS has a more realistic feel to its characters and storylines, in my opinion.  Besides, UPSTAIRS  came first, so there! 

So subscribe to BRITBOX (at least for a month) and binge UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS!  Oh, you can also watch the 2010-2012 sequel series, which is decent, but doesn't shine as bright as the original. 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. A different post about a different series my sister and I binged. 

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2020/01/channel-freakboy-dark-shadows-door-to.html 

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My books & blogs...

http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html   

May Day Daze (May 2020 in Hindsight)

It's been a strange month. 

I haven't felt very creative but I managed to blog a few times and uploaded a couple of videos.  I wrote a short supernatural tale connected to what I had hoped to be a series of stories in 2014.  Then I was inspired to continue my Laundry Day series, which I thought I was done with.  Guess laundry is never-ending.

While filming the above video in my dad's backyard, I heard a cat meow.  I went in and told my sister and she went out to investigate.  My sister came back in with a little kitten. 

No mother or siblings could be found, so we decided to find it a home.  We couldn't leave him at our dad's because his cat Snoopy was ready to pounce on the little guy.  So, we took him home. (We think he's a boy, but we've been wrong before)

Miss Kitty and Orange Baby were not amused, but we felt they could deal with what we assumed would be a  temporary situation.  I called a local radio station show made for such events and posted some adorable pics on Facebook.  No takers.  

I guess we'll keep searching but it's beginning to look like the little guy is already home.  Orange Baby is tolerating him, mostly.  Miss Kitty hates the new intruder, but she at least has stopped growling at me every time I touch her.  That's a start.

On a personal note, one of the two newspapers my sister and I deliver has switched to mail delivery in our area.  I don't think this has anything to do with COVID-19, but it has got me thinking about my post-pandemic career.  The truck stop is on the outskirts of town, but I could walk there, which may lead to pop-up business opportunities.  I'm joking, I think.

Anyhoo...my hopes for June include continuing blogging and maybe visit the library, if it opens to inside foot traffic.  I also hope the violent tragedies in May 2020 will go down in history as the catalyst for a future where people see each other...first, foremost and forever...as human.

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S.  My short supernatural tale...

https://freakboyzone.blogspot.com/2020/05/last-moments.html 

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My books & blogs... http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html