Sorry, not sorry…but I am seriously amused that my small town theater is showing both Jesus Revolution & Cocaine Bear! 😂
The other was Cocaine Bear. 🫢🐻 👍👍
JLH
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My books & blogs…
http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html
We are here because of a blogging challenge posed to me by Gill of Realweegiemidget Reviews. She challenged me to blog about a typically non-singing actor who sings in a musical. My mind immediately zeroed in on one jaw-dropping performance, but more about this later.
“My name is Tommy and I became aware this year.”
I first became aware of TOMMY back in the late 1990’s. I don’t recall what exactly drew me to this psychedelic musical, but I remember wondering what the hell I just watched as the ending credits rolled. Even now, decades later, I’m still not quite sure of the answer.
“If you want to follow me, you’ve got to play pinball.”
Tommy is born on the first day of peace after WWII. His father has been presumed dead during wartime, so his mother remarries. Then, in a soap opera twist, Tommy’s father returns and is subsequently murdered in front of his son. The guilty party, his mother and stepfather, convince Tommy that he didn’t hear it, he didn’t see it and won’t say nothing to anyone ever in his life.
“And put in your ear plugs, put on your eye shades, you know where to put the cork!”
Screenwriter/director Ken Russell takes The Who’s masterful rock opera and transforms it into a visual fever dream mess. Oh, but what a strangely compelling mess it is, especially with such a cast! Ann-Margret and Oliver Reed, as Tommy’s mother and stepfather, act just enough over the top to fit perfectly inside the surreal story. Roger Daltrey, as adult Tommy, seems mainly able to act without his shirt. Eric Clapton is mellow magnified as The Preacher of a Marilyn Monroe healing cult that Tommy’s mother drags him to. Tina Turner is singing, shaking and sizzling through her memorable role as The Acid Queen, the woman Tommy’s stepfather hires to put the boy right. Elton John is in full-tilt 1970’s mode, and really big shoes, as The Champ, Tommy’s pinball rival. Then there is the reason we are here…
Jack Nicholson as The Specialist. Yes, THAT Jack Nicholson! His appearance in this film still floors me, even more so when he actually sings a song about his examination of Tommy’s inability to hear and speak and see. How is Jack’s singing? Well, he’s not going to win a Grammy, even with the pretense of a British accent. However, despite any tuneful deficiency, he is memorable as the doctor who can’t reach Tommy but would enjoy reaching Tommy’s mother instead.
In conclusion,
TOMMY is bizarre and bizarrely entertaining. I prefer The Who’s original album, but this filmic spectacle lures the viewer in with eclectic actors and catchy songs. Sally Simpson, a song about a young girl who disobeys her religious father to see Tommy, is one of my personal favorites. So, if you want to take a trippy ‘70’s musical trip and experience the vocal stylings of Jack Nicholson, then grab a can of beans and experience TOMMY!
Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.
Freak Out, JLH
P.S. I would like to pass on a blogging challenge to…
Barry, of Cinematic Catharsis- I challenge you to do a full scale review (no picks & pans or short takes) of an Andy Milligan film of your choice!
Dave, of My Gay Opinion - I challenge you to review either the soundtrack to DEEP THROAT or the Madonna-infused soundtrack to EVITA!
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My books & blogs…
http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html
TRUST is essentially a story about two lost souls finding one another at the right time and place. Will this make a perfect Valentine’s Day gift?
Well…
Maria is a pregnant teen who just quit school and may have slapped her father to death. Matthew is a young man who just quit a computer manufacturing job and pissed off his father again. These two complicated people form a complicated bond that leads to, well, complications involving abusive parents, a stolen baby and a hand grenade.
Writer/director Hal Hartley creates memorable characters with severely direct dialogue. Seriously, has anyone ever talked like anyone in this film? Adrienne Shelly shines in a sullenly inquisitive way as Maria. Martin Donovan emits edgy rebelliousness as Matthew. Both Maria and Matthew are often abrasive, and possibly unlikable, but I find them sympathetic and relatable. This is probably because I’m drawn to emotionally damaged characters. Plus, there is a piece of dialogue exchange that has become one of my favorite scenes from any film.
MARIA: “Did you mean it, would you marry me?”
MATTHEW: “Yes.”
MARIA: “Why?”
MATTHEW: “Because I want to.”
MARIA: “Not because you love me or anything like that, huh?”
MATTHEW: “I respect and admire you.”
MARIA: “Isn’t that love?”
MATTHEW: “No, that’s respect and admiration. I think that’s better than love.”
MARIA: “How?”
MATTHEW: “When people are in love, they do all sorts of crazy things. They get jealous. They lie. They cheat. They kill themselves. Kill each other.”
MARIA: “It doesn’t have to be that way.”
MATTHEW: “Maybe.”
I first experienced TRUST on IFC back in the 1990’s and even recorded it on VHS. Oh, there was a constant search later for a DVD, but somehow I missed its Region 1 release, which is out of print and pricey. Thankfully, I found a Region 4 copy for $8 on Amazon and it was worth it. (Kneels in gratitude for my region-free player.)
In conclusion…
I respect and admire this film and now it takes me back to the ‘90’s indie film movement, which makes me feel both happy and sad. I’m reminded how great these films are, but then I begin feeling wistfully nostalgic for that time period. Ugh, enough of my sloppy sentimentality! If someone special in your life enjoys character driven drama with sly humor and a romance that doesn’t make you wanna wretch, then TRUST may be the perfect Valentine’s Day gift! 🖤
Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.
Freak Out,
JLH
P.S. Click the pic ⤵️ for more emotionally damaged characters…
My dad passed away in March of 2022 and today would’ve been his birthday. So, here is one of my old “tales from the freakboy zone” emails from 2008 all about a nice moment with my dad…
_______________
THE GAME
Truth be told, I continue to be an early/mid-1980’s boy living in an Atari 2600 world. As a matter of fact, Margaret and I occasionally dig out and dust off that antique gaming system and test our more “mature” hand-eye coordination and stamina.
I still leave her in the dust on Megamania. She will almost always beat me at Video Pinball. We level the playing field with our equal and eloquent suckiness in maneuvering Pac-Man!
But back then, back in those toe-tally awesome years, if someone had told me that I would one day play a video game with my father, I would have laughed the delusional fool out of the decade!
Flash-forward to Wednesday, January 30th, 2008, the impossible became reality.
After an out-of-town doctor appointment, my father and I had the opportunity to fiddle with that new-fangled contraption called Nintendo Wii. There we were, me in my thirties, him in his seventies, playing a game of bowling, a controller replacing the ball and no shoe rentals!
We soon grew accustomed to swinging the controller as if we were really swinging a ball, and releasing a button at the moment we would have normally sent a physical bowling ball down the lane. It was fun, plain and simple!
Together, as father and son, we were initiated into the 21st Century and its virtual playground. For a change, technology closed the age gap instead of expanding it.
FYI: My dad won, 127 to 93. Hhhmmm…maybe this gaming system reversed the age gap.
1/30/2008
John L. Harmon
freak under control
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Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.
Freak Out,
JLH
P.S. click the pic ⤵️ for another tale about my dad…
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Bubba’s Truck is a very short story that may make you tear up a bit and is available as a very short ebook from an Amazon near you.
Because
I need it
The challenges
The creativity
Even though
I’m hard
on myself
Believing
I’m unworthy
Believing
the voices
From the past
From inside
That I’m nothing
That I’m shit
That I don’t exist
Just an echo
From a
long ago
dream
Faintly reverberating
Through space
Through time
Until
there is
nothing
left
of
me
____________
2023, John L. Harmon
This poem was written while listening to “the lonely ghost on the sun” by Blue Sun Chasing, an incredible sonic creation which can be experienced through Bandcamp.
Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.
Freak Out,
JLH
P.S. click the pic for a thematically related video from 2016… ⤵️
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My books & blogs…
http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html
I guess you could call me a Sweeney Todd fan. I have experienced the stage musical twice and I enjoy the Tim Burton film, even though it doesn’t compare to the energy and thrill of a live performance. So, I was intrigued and excited when I discovered Andy Milligan wrote and directed a non-musical version of the gruesomely amusing Todd tale. Though, I would love to see Milligan on Broadway! Can you imagine the corrosively crazy vibe his material would bring to The Great White Way?
Anyhoo, my initial viewing of BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS was on a cheap DVD and it left me more than a little baffled. I found the story to be more disjointed and confusing than usual for a Milligan film and I kept wondering if there was going to actually be blood in BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS. I didn’t hate it, but I was disappointed.
Then I experienced the posthumous “director’s cut” on The Dungeon of Andy Milligan box set and a scarlet veil was gradually lifted from my half-blind eyes! There was more gore and I came to understand and even revel in the character-driven plot. Milligan chose to focus less on the people being baked into pies and more on the relationships and romantic entanglements. Seriously, it is best to have a working knowledge of the story before watching or you might get confused very quickly.
Sweeney preparing dinner
In BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS, nearly everyone is unhappy in their relationship. Sweeney Todd, besides giving customers a severely close shave to steal their expensive trinkets, has to deal with an alcoholic wife and a difficult showgirl mistress. Never mind his relationship to Mrs. Lovett. Maggie Lovett, besides baking Sweeney’s customers into scrumptious pies, has to deal with her invalid husband and a couple of debatably good employees. Tobias Ragg, besides butchering Sweeney’s customers for Mrs. Lovett’s pies, has to deal with his demanding girlfriend and then make time to harass his coworker Johanna. Johanna Jeffrey, besides being a shopgirl for Mrs. Lovett, has to help with taking care of Mr. Lovett while pining for her love Jarvis to return.
Jarvis & Johanna crave an after-sex pie
Jarvis eventually returns and life seems happy for Johanna. Well, until he flashes a piece of jewelry for his beloved in front of Sweeney. Now Jarvis is missing and the community is becoming increasingly suspicious of two local business owners. Seems like a lot of missing folk were last seen getting a trim from Mr. Todd. It doesn’t matter that it has mainly been beggars, thieves and prostitutes disappearing. They are still people. Then there is talk about the declining quality of Mrs. Lovett’s pies. Apparently most people are disgusted to find a chunk of human hair in their pie or even a woman’s breast popping out from under the crust. Tobias has grown careless in his work, which leads to a power struggle between the three bloodthirsty butchers! Who will live? Who will die? Who will be baked into a pie? My hungry lips are sealed!
There is nothing at all creepy about Tobias
BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS is one of Andy Milligan’s British films and, despite my initial reaction, he is in top form. Unconventional pacing and editing, including the “swirl camera” to represent out of control violence. ✅ Personal rants disguised as overly theatrical dialogue. ✅ Corrosively cynical characters who are generally horrible to everyone. ✅ Occasional doses of acidic humor, especially when Mrs. Lovett helps a customer who wants a specific “part” in his pie. ✅ All of this adds up to a delirious, delectable low-budget grindhouse feast that only Andy Milligan could serve us.
Only Mrs. Lovett knows what “part” he wants in his pie
He also served up some fascinating performances. Jane Hilary gives the strongest performance in the film as the sly Mrs. Lovett. Berwick Kaler sheds the sympathetically pathetic persona of his NIGHTBIRDS character to become believably creepy and repulsive as Tobias. John Miranda is effectively domineering as Sweeney Todd. Annabella Wood and Michael Cox as young lovers Johanna and Jarvis give the weakest performances, which makes sense in a Milligan film since love is often shown as frivolous, if not pointless. Though I must give a special shout-out to George Barry as a drag performer who works with Sweeney’s showgirl mistress. Corky will never win RuPaul’s Drag Race, but the character lights up the room and may be the kindest soul to ever grace a Milligan film.
Corky gives sage advice and make-up tips
In conclusion…
Despite my less than thrilling first experience, BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS has steadily grown on me with repeat viewings. That is one thing I’ve learned over the last couple of years. The more times you watch a Milligan film, the more you come to appreciate and embrace his uniquely off-kilter vision. Well, except for maybe SURGIKILL, but that’s another post for another time. Anyhoo, if you are in the mood for some bloody British horror through the lens of a 42nd Street American grindhouse director, then pop in a beef pot pie and savor the flagrant flavor of Andy Milligan’s BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS!
Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.
Freak Out,
JLH
P.S. Click the pic ⤵️ for more Milligan!
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My books & blogs…
http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html
Rip out my
semi-good eye
Dare to go
deep inside
Behind the damage
from another time
Pull out my
corroded brain
Hack it into
jigsaw bits
Piece it together
as you see fit
Creating a
variation of me
You can
deal with
____________
2023, John L. Harmon
Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words.
Freak Out,
JLH
P.S. Click the pic for a video poem from a different time… ⤵️
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My books & blogs…
http://thejlhcollective.blogspot.com/2018/03/the-collective.html
