Twilight stars Paul Newman, who plays a detective hired by a ill friend (Gene Hackman). His task takes him around in circles and into hot water as well. Fairly well done, although I got a bit lost in the plot at times. It has a good cast and writing and has some interesting shots of LA that gives it a somewhat modern take on Raymond Chandler or something along that vibe.
The wife and I saw “Us” today in the theater. This is one of those films that by the end I walked away not really sure what I had just seen. I liked it, but not sure what it all meant. Curious if anyone else has seen it and what they thought?
Saw the new Mission Impossible , Fallout. My take away , Ving Rames has gotten really fat. On the film making side of things , some well done stunt set pieces stretched over a skeleton of a threadbare plot. A noisy 2 hour diversion that is instantly forgettable.
Watched The Highwaymen last night..I'll give it an A+. A being Awful, got through about half it, that was the plus.
Dave Sr.
I prefer Nature to Human Nature
Watched Tejano (2018) on amazon video last night.
Very good suspenseful indie thriller.
When his Grandfather suddenly becomes ill, Javi, a South Texas farmhand resorts to the extreme: he turns to a Mexican cartel to make some quick cash. But when the cartel breaks his arm and forces him to smuggle a cast made of cocaine across the Mexican border, Javi learns how far he will go for family.
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
Scanners: Another classic David Cronenberg picture. Some classic efx in this one, and Frank Zappa and Robert Fripp are among the records that are seen on display in the record store scene.
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
(Andy Warhol mode) well, yeah (Warhol mode off)
What makes the scene even better is the actor is Louis Del Grande, who is famous in Canada for starring on a mystery/comedy series called Seeing Things, which was about a psychic newspaper reporter. I remember watching it when we used to get the London, Ontario CBC affiliate on our cable TV system back in the 80's.
The thing about Willie is, it's not so much the timbre of his voice, but more the fact that his phrasing goes all over the place, especially when he's playing guitar. It's difficult to explain, but it's like he knows the notes that he's supposed to be singing, but not the rhythm of the melody, if you understand my meaning. He'll rush through a phrase, and he seems to put the accents in strange places. I don't know, maybe he's doing it on purpose, but to me, it sounds very erratic. And I notice it only on live recordings, like when he played with Asleep At The Wheel on Austin City Limits. On studio recordings, he doesn't seem to sing like that, at least on the ones I've heard.
The other thing about Willie is he sometimes seems to sing the last syllable of a phrase in a suddenly lower register than the rest of the phrase. Like in "Funny how times slips away", "way" will be like way lower than the rest of the phrase, he's suddenly gone from a tenor to a baritone for that one syllable. Well, that's maybe an exaggeration, but it just seems like a weird quirk to me. But since he seems to do it relatively consistently, including on studio recordings, I assume he's doing it on purpose.
BTW< he's a very good guitarist too. A lot of people dont' realize that, but typically when I've seen him on Austin City Limits or wherever, he plays some very fine solos on Trigger (yes, that's the name of that beat up Martin nylon guitar that he always plays). And of course, he's a great songwriter. I like quite a few songs, but somewhat like Dylan, I prefer other people's interpretations, usually.
I heard that Willie's voice is like that naturally, that he isn't singing nasally. His voice would have given out after all these years, if he wasn't singing properly. His phrasing/timing is weird, making it difficult for people to sing duets with him. Difficult for them, more than for him. And he has stated that his main guitar inspiration is Django Reinhardt. He's quite a good guitarist.
Kris has always been a better songwriter than a singer. Many prefer to hear Johnny Cash sing Kris's great song, "Sunday Morning Coming Down." I think he gave "Me And Bobby McGee" to Janis, before recording it himself. He's not bad for a Rhodes Scholar turned singer/songwriter/actor/activist.
Last edited by spellbound; 03-31-2019 at 03:36 PM.
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
I have a Willy Nelson album called "Red Headed Stranger," It's sort of a concept album. I like it.
“From thirty feet away she looked like a lot of class. From ten feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from thirty feet away.” – Philip Marlowe
I am not a big Willie fan. I do think his songwriting resume is very impressive (ask Patsy Cline among others-if you could).
But...if you have listened to his guitar playing and don't think he's a great acoustic guitarist, get your ears checked!
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
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