Movie Reviews - Next, Man On A Ledge, Road to Perdition

Next (2007) - Consider the case of Nicholas Cage.  In the early to mid '80s he looked like he could be the "next big thing".  That special actor that takes us to that special place that only they can go.  "Rumble Fish", "Peggy Sue Got Married", "Raising Arizona", "Moonstruck".  With "Leaving Las Vegas" (an an Oscar win for Best Actor) it looked like he might be prepared to move into the next phase of a brilliant career.   The problem is that what followed was less rather than more.  A lot of strange choices, poor choices and action films that are easy box office wins.  "National Treasure" is fun but it's not what we thought we saw for Cage's future.

Sadly what we get mostly are turkeys like this one.  Chris Johnson (Cage) is a small time Vegas magician (is Cage on the payroll of the Vegas Tourism Board?) with the ability to see two minutes into his own future.  Normally this just helps him win at the blackjack table.  Somehow a FBI agent (Julianne Moore) has discovered this ability (Johnson hides it) and wants to use it to fight against terrorists who have smuggled a nuclear weapon into the U.S.  Somehow the terrorists have also figured his talent out and are trying to eliminate him.  Meanwhile it turns out there's only one event that he's ever seen beyond the two minute limit, a woman named Liz Cooper (Jessica Biel, lucky fella).  The rest of the movie plays out pretty much as expected.  There's a little bit of a twist ending but it's hardly earth shattering.

Beyond the lame plot (and when someone points out that this movie is "Based on a Philip K. Dick story" you have my permission to slap them.  The Dick estate should sue because they use the author's name but virtually none of the story "The Golden Man") the movie is filled with dumb mistakes.  Cage's character enters a Fremont Street casino but exits onto the Strip.  He manages to totally screw up a simple joke.  Worst of all is the scene of  the future that the character sees that lasts, wait for it, THREE minutes.  Um, oops.

Got a Saturday afternoon with nothing better to do?  That's pretty much what Cage's career is good for these days.  I'll be nice.

Rating - *** Worth A Look

Man On A Ledge (2012) - I really wanted to like this movie.  And in the end I guess I kind of do.  It's the story of Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) who was convicted of stealing one of the world's largest diamonds.  He escapes from prison, makes his way to downtown Manhattan hotel and climbs out on the ledge.  Meanwhile a team consisting of his brother and the brother's girlfriend are trying to prove that the evil corporate owner actually faked the the theft.  Pretty much everything  that happens after that is what you'd expect.

The cast is pretty good, and the concept is quite good.  The problem is that there's just not enough there.  The suspense is supposed rise from moving from the tension between the ledge and the team inside looking for evidence.  But since we know that Cassidy isn't going to jump that never quite works.  The bad guys are standard issue cardboard cutouts (Ed Harris plays corporate creeps as well as anyone).

On a side note I love reading reviews of action flicks where people complain about plot holes.  Here's a challenge watch the original "Die Hard".  It's as good as any in the genre and a heckuva lot better than most.  Drink a shot every time you hit a plot hole (a plot hole is anything that goes against the logic of the story line, is blatantly impossible or is just missing information).  You will be unconscious before the first 45 minutes are gone.  This kind of action movie can't survive with a few juicy plot holes.  So if plot holes bother you stop watching action movies.  You have to be willing to give the story a little room for fantasy (because action movies are fantasy flicks.  First, last, always) and have some fun.

In the end there are too many holes, not enough plot to really make this a good one.  Call it another rainy Saturday afternoon movie and be happy.

Rating - *** Worth A Look

Road to Perdition (2002) - As a general rule I am less than thrilled with movies made from graphic novels.  Before fans of the art form jump down my throat I don't have anything against graphic novels.  But translating that distinctive style, a style that has its roots in the classic comic book, to the screen is hard.  It tends to come off awkward and contrived.  I think "Sin City" (2005) probably did it as well as any I've seen.  On the other hand this movie is based on a graphic novel but translates the story to a much more classic movie style of telling the story.  At the same time it retains the the feel of the original.

1930s mob hit man Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks)  is betrayed by his boss (Paul Newman) when they murder Sullivan's wife (Jennifer Jason Leigh) and youngest son.  With his surviving son Sullivan goes on the road in search of vengeance.  Along the way he discovers a relationship with that son he never knew he could have. The cast is stellar including Stanley Tucci (who is just amazing.  But then he's Stanley Tucci so why am I amazed?), Daniel Craig (who does a fabulous job playing against his usual tough guy role by playing the unstable,weakling son of the mob boss) and Jude Law in a small but wonderful turn as the killer sent after Sullivan. Then add a string of talented character actors in smaller roles and you get a cast of depth and talent.  Director Sam Mendes does an excellent job weaving all the pieces together.  In the end you get a stylish, visually gorgeous movie with compelling characters and story.

What more could you want?

Rating - **** Recommended

The Duck Disease, The March of Time, Next On Tonight

 "The View From the Phlipside" is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY.  It can be heard Tuesday through Friday just after 8 AM and 5 PM.  The following are scripts which may not exactly match the aired version of the program.  Mostly because the host may suddenly choose to add or subtract words at a moments notice.  WRFA-LP is not responsible for any such silliness or the opinions expressed.  You can listen to a live stream of WRFA or find a podcast of this program at wrfalp.com.  Copyright 2013 by Jay Phillippi.  All Rights Reserved.  You like what you see?  Drop me a line and we can talk.

Program scripts from week of March 11, 2013



My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside. 

The Duck Disease                                                                                                         

I have confessed here before my guilty pleasure in a lot of “reality” television.  Some of it is compelling because of the nature of the activity like “Ice Road Truckers” or “Deadliest Catch”.  Never really thought about either of those jobs and I come away with a deeper respect for the people who make their living doing those kinds of dangerous and difficult work.

At the other end I have also enjoyed things like “Storage Wars” and “Swamp People” because of the personalities involved.  Nothing like some really over the top people to make sure that a show hooks me.

But my latest favorite in this category has gone somewhere that no other show of its kind has ever done.  Last year I stumbled on “Duck Dynasty” and fell in love hook, line and sinker.  If you haven’t seen the A&E network hit it’s pretty simple.  The show follows the Robertson family and their company Duck Commander.  They make duck calls, which right up front doesn’t sound like a very exciting TV show.  But the family and their employees are right up there on the personality charts.  Father and company founder Phil who was a good enough college quarterback to keep Terry Bradshaw as his backup.  His brother Si who is, well beyond description.  Miss Kay is the matriarch of the family and a classic southern lady.

Put them all together with a bunch of sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren and assorted others and you get some classic TV gumbo.

I’m not the only one to have caught the duck disease.  When the third season debuted just a couple weeks ago the audience was huge.  Big enough to tie for first place in that time slot with shows on ABC and Fox.  Remember this is on A&E, what we rather archaically call a “cable station” competing with the big boys.  The two half hour episodes grabbed over 8.6 million viewers that night.

What makes this show about a family of crazy redneck duck call manufacturers so compelling?  I think because it feels real.  These could be your crazy relatives.  But it’s also about family.  Each episode ends with the Robertsons et al gathered around the dinner table saying a prayer of thanks and love for one another.

It’s the kind of reality most of us would love to have a little more of in our lives.

The March of Time                                                                                                       

I’ve mentioned before that in real life I work with teenagers.  It’s mostly in the context of church youth ministry plus some work with groups like the Eastside YMCA.  It means that I’ve spent a lot of time with young people over the last decade.  It’s out of that experience that today’s commentary grows.  You see I think that the folks at Apple may be in need of someone with my background.

Apple has seen some of it’s sales numbers dip a little recently.  The rise of Android based phones have put a dent in the iPhone’s dominance.  Other tablets are beginning to crimp the iPad as well.  So, not surprisingly, Apple is looking for the next big thing.  They have a great brand and a retail arm that needs hot new products.  The near term idea is in the arena of a smart television.  It’s the long range plan that I have doubts about.

You see the next idea down the line is apparently a smart watch.  Now the first problem I have is that you say smart watch and the first thing I think of is from the days of the old Dick Tracy cartoon.  The real problem that I see comes from my experience with teens.  You see the one thing that most of those teens don’t have any more is a watch.  When they need to check the time they look at their phone.  So Apple is going to have to fight up a hill that they helped to create.

Now I’m aware that the watch industry is still perking along.  Last year it was a 60 billion dollar industry with a 60% profit margin.  And there are plenty of people who wear them, young and old.  I own two myself.  Add into that Apple’s track record for creating products that we didn’t even know we wanted and there’s always a chance for success.

At the same time I just can’t help thinking about a generation that hasn’t been raised relying on their wrist for time.  So what can you offer that makes them want to strap one on?  Watching TV on it would be awkward, don’t know that it would be a huge improvement to listening to music over the smaller ipods.  I know I’m working from a small sample size versus Apple but I just don’t get a real good feeling from this one.

At the same time it’s not the worst tech idea I’ve heard this week.  That would be Google’s talking shoe technology.

I’ll take Dick Tracy over Maxwell Smart any day.

Next On Tonight

So here we go again.  We can only hope that the principal players have learned their lesson and do a better job this time.

The story that is going into reruns this time is the Jay Leno retiring story.  You may remember the first viewing of this particular classic.  Leno was the king of late night TV.  Conan O’Brien wanted to be the heir apparent when the time came.  So his new contract in 2004 guaranteed the spot to him.  Five long years later Jay Leno decides to move from late night to prime time and Conan moves into the most historic and coveted seat in late night television.  The host of “The Tonight Show”.  The problem was that Leno (as predicted here) was a complete bomb in prime time.  Suddenly we have a problem.  One seat.  Two hosts.  There was a suggestion of inserting Leno into a new program and moving the “Tonight Show” back.  Which was just dumb and Conan knew it.  A deal was made and he eventually landed on TBS.  To be honest while Leno has re-taken the number one slot it’s a lot closer than it was before he left.

So now the rumor begins that Jay is thinking about actually retiring.  The situation is a little different in a variety of ways.  First there’s more competition than before.  Conan is now out there.  The real wild card is that ABC has moved into the network late night wars with Jimmy Kimmel Live.  And no I haven’t forgotten Letterman.  The competition breaks down into two groups, the old and the young.  Letterman is actually older than Leno while Conan and Kimmel draw a decidedly younger audience.

The early word is that NBC will follow the pattern that they’ve kind of created recently with Jimmy Fallon moving up from
“Late Night”.  The Peacock network is in an interesting position.  The last couple years have been awful.  The current season has shown signs of a real renewal for them but it’s still a delicate balance.  Add in that suddenly the long time king of MORNING TV “The Today Show” has slipped from its perch as “Good Morning America” on ABC has moved by them.

Fallon would seem to be the obvious next choice for that historic host slot. To avoid the kind of train wreck that happened in 2010  NBC needs to make the commitment to Fallon and Leno needs to walk away and keep on walking.
There’s no guarantee that any of those moves will be winners but anything else is sure to be a catastrophe.

Call that the View From the Phlipside

Book Review - Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser by Fritz Leiber

Swords and Deviltry and Swords Against Death - Fritz Leiber (1970) - This is probably the series that first introduced me to sword and sorcery fantasy.  My parents did not have a huge personal library but looking back I realize that you could find some amazing things in it.  My memory says that one of this series (there are seven titles of the collected stories of the two gallants from the world of Nehwon.  Fafrhd is a seven foot tall northern barbarian and the Gray Mouser is a small deft southerner.  Together they will fight, drink, steal and wench their way through life.

These stories are probably the best known work of one of the many fascinating writers from the Golden Age of Science Fiction.  Writer, poet, chess player, fencer, actor.  Lieber is one of the writers who establish the outlines of all the sword and sorcery that have followed.  These stories hold up incredibly well.  The earliest story ("The Howling Tower" which is found in "Swords Against Death") dates back to 1941 but strikes me as being fresh and fascinating.  If you're a fan of Terry Pratchett (and why wouldn't you be?) you'll feel the roots of his work in Ankh-Morpork and his direct parody with his characters of Bravd and the Weasel.

Beyond all of that these are classic stories of the genre and show Fritz Lieber at the top of his considerable game.  If you love sword and sorcery stories this is a must have collection.

Rating - **** Recommended

Movies - Chinatown, Becket, Amazing Grace

Chinatown (1974) - For many of us Los Angeles and all of Southern California are simply lands of sun and palm trees and easy living.  The reality is that the history especially of LA have quite a few skeletons in the closet.  Like where the water comes from to support all those people.  Once upon a time it was an enormous political deal that brought water from sometimes hundreds of miles away to the city.

This movie is one that draws awe from movie fans.  Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunnaway, directed by Roman Polanski and with perhaps the perfect movie script written by Robert Towne (who would win the only Oscar for the film, 10 other nominations came up empty).  The story of a private detective (Nicholson) drawn into the middle of intrigues of the California Water Wars through an adultery case that leads to a murder.  There is so much about this movie to love.  The acting, the script, the directing, the overall look of film noir, the stunning ending.  This was the movie that made Nicholson an established star.  It was Polanski's last American film (in which he makes a small but incredibly creepy cameo appearance).

Quite simply this is what movie making can be.

Rating - ***** Put It In Your Collection 

Becket (1964) - Based on the tony award winning play by Jean Anouilh it tells the story of King Henry II(Peter O'Toole) of England and his friend Thomas Becket(Richard Burton).  Henry thinks that he has made a brilliant counter to the growing power of the church by placing Becket on the throne of the Archbishop of Canterbury.  Instead he discovers that Becket takes his role as the head of the church every bit as seriously as he took his role as Chancellor.  The resulting conflict would lead to Becket's death and a pivotal moment in English history.

As history the movie leaves a lot to desire.  Anouilh acknowledged that he had done virtually no research prior to writing the original play.  But what makes this movie so wonderful isn't the historicity.  Fans of Eleanor of Aquitaine won't like the way she is portrayed here.nnThis is one of the most story rich periods of English history.  This same Henry, at the other end of his life, is the subject of the equally wonderful "The Lion in Winter" (O'Toole plays the king in both movies and received Oscar nominations both times).

As a character study this is a beautiful creation.  The movie received 12 Oscar nominations but stands at the very head of the list Oscar flame outs with 10 misses.  Burton plays the role of the master politician and tactician to an infinite sharpness.  O'Toole's Henry is charismatic and flawed and devious in his own right.  John Gielgud does a wonderful turn as King Louis VII (he's actually only in two scenes and does well enough to garner an Oscar nomination).  The screenplay was one of the Academy winners and it's the other true jewel here.  It takes us on a journey to understanding of faith and honor, exactly the journey that Becket faced.

Rating **** Recommended

Amazing Grace (2006) The story of the man who spearheaded the end of the slave trade in England probably doesn't sound like the most exciting movie viewing of the year.  Yet this movie about William Wilberforce brings great energy and emotion to the subject.  It is the very human struggle over a political and theological argument.  A talented cast and director bring the story to life.  While Wilberforce is the at the center of the movement he is surrounded by a slate of unusual partners.  The woman who would become his wife and her belief in him, the author of the hymn from which the movie draws its name who is tormented by the memory of  the thousands of slaves he brought to the New World in the hold of his ships, cynical politicians willing to fight for the cause and more just as happy to fight for the status quo.   An important moment of history is examined here and made into an engaging movie.

Rating - **** Recommended

Why Swimsuits?, Social Death and Variety Fades

 "The View From the Phlipside" is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY.  It can be heard Tuesday through Friday just after 8 AM and 5 PM.  The following are scripts which may not exactly match the aired version of the program.  Mostly because the host may suddenly choose to add or subtract words at a moments notice.  WRFA-LP is not responsible for any such silliness or the opinions expressed.  You can listen to a live stream of WRFA or find a podcast of this program at wrfalp.com.  Copyright 2013 by Jay Phillippi.  All Rights Reserved.  You like what you see?  Drop me a line and we can talk.

Program scripts from week of March 4, 2013



My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside. 

Variety Fades                                                                                                         

This is one of those oddball stories that just feels like it needs to be shared.  Another iconic print publication has found itself on the ropes and is downsizing and moving more emphasis to the online publishing.  In this case it’s a publication that you have probably never held in your hand but you may have seen several times.  What is it?  It’s Variety magazine.

Variety may not always have been the top dog in reporting on Hollywood but it’s hard to imagine that any of its competitors are better known outside the movie capital.  Over the years it has been a favorite device in the movies for quickly moving the plot forward in movies about the stage or screen.  You may remember them in the movie “White Christmas” for example.  The other reason to use Variety headlines is that Variety was known for its snappy headline style often involving what was called “slanguage”.  Thus you got “Sticks Nix Hick Pix” in 1935 over a story about how rural audiences did not like pictures about rural themes and “Good Book Books Boffo Biz” in 2004 over a story about the box office success of “The Passion of the Christ”.

Variety began as a vaudeville magazine back in 1905 published in New York City.  In 1933 they added “Daily Variety” which was headquartered in Los Angeles.  It probably published the very first movie review in 1907.  That “slanguage” of Variety’s helped to popularize words like “sitcom”, “sex appeal” and “striptease”.  Pretty good for a magazine aimed at a pretty focused market.

In the end all the usual problems arose.  The magazines and associated web sites were sold late last year to the Penske Media Corporation for about 25 million dollars.  To try and keep the icon ticking Penske announced they are ending the Daily Variety, going back to just being a weekly (that’s how the magazine started) and putting more emphasis on the online reporting.  In an interesting twist they also announced that they will eliminate the paywall at Variety.com.  The big question now is how will they replace the income after losing both the daily subscription and sales PLUS the paywall income too.  Penske also owns one of Variety’s biggest online competitors “Deadline.com”.

One way or the other it’s the end of the line for an American icon.  We can only hope that they came up with an appropriately pithy headline for their last daily edition.

Social Death                                                                                                       

Have you ever opened up your favorite social media site and found that one of your friends there was threatening to quit?  Just walk away from the whole deal and never post again and close their account and they’re serious this time?  Happens to me a couple times each year.  They almost never go through with it but something has just made the experience less than warm and fuzzy for them and they think about quitting.  Most of the time you just shrug it off or maybe even laugh it off.  I’m sure that’s what the staff and owners of the social network do.

Turns out it’s actually something they need to pay a little more attention to if they know what’s good for them.

A second question (and yes it’s related to the first I promise) do you remember the web site Friendster?  Friendster is probably the granddad of the modern social media.  It was founded the year before MySpace and two years before Facebook.  At its height it boasted 100 million users and snubbed a thirty million dollar buyout offer from Google.  And in 2009 it basically curled up and died.  Friendster still exists but as a gaming platform.

So what happened?  According to a group from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich what basically happened was it simply become too much of a hassle for its users and they left.  The group did what is being called a digital autopsy.  The results showed that following some technical problems and an unpopular re-design users simply decided it was more trouble than it was worth and left.

Now here’s where your friends come in.  YOU may think that the network is just fine.  But if enough of your friends leave the study shows that you will leave too.  That’s exactly what happened to Friendster.  A critical mass of users left, their friends left with them and suddenly you have social media death spiral.  These are SOCIAL networks.  If your social group doesn’t hang out there any more why would you?

It’s a lesson that current social networks need to heed.  The problem as I see it is that the folks designing a lot of this are technophiles who really want to jazz the site up with some nifty new whiz bang.  Most of the users simply want the darn thing to work they way they expect it to work.  Most of us don’t care if our social network is the latest word in programming.  If it makes the experience even slightly more difficult it may be a tiny step in the direction of digital death.  Something Facebook should probably keep in mind.

Why Swimsuits?

I have no doubt that this topic is going to get me a fair amount of disbelief and abuse from my fellow men.  In fact I expect at least a few of them to hold that I am in fact betraying my gender by taking the position that I am.  I will in fact even admit to a small amount of conflict within my own person about this issue.  With all that said I’m still not sure I can honestly answer this question:

Why is there an annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue?

Let’s start by acknowledging the purely business argument in favor.  It sells a ton of issues and makes lots of money.  It is popular enough that there are SI Swimsuit calendars and videos and TV programs.  It’s a money maker.  I am willing to stipulate all of that.
   
But I still keep coming around to the original question.  Sports Illustrated is a SPORTS magazine.  So why an annual issue that has become quite simply about parading beautiful young women (and they are beautiful and yes I like looking at beautiful women, in photos or in person) in as little clothing as you can?  The new thing for this issue is to in fact have the women in no clothing and to substitute body paint for the clothes.

And this is sport related how?

Back in 1964 when the first swimsuit issue came out they at least tried.   The headline on the cover of that issue read “A Skin Diver’s Guide to the Caribbean”.  In very short order this predominantly male read magazine (out of the 23 million readers each week over 18 million are men) staked out its claim to women’s fashion?  Am I reading that right?  Today there isn’t even an attempt to pretend that this is anything other than what it is.  An appeal to the prurient interests of the male readers.  It has nothing to do with sports and has very little to do with women’s fashion.  It also has little to do with a mature view of women in general.  The Swimsuit issue has its roots firmly in the sweaty palmed, furtive sniggering of adolescent boys  trying to sneak a peek down a girl’s blouse.

Jumping back to the financial arguments it should probably be noted that SI turning a profit for the first time and that first swimsuit issue occur within a year of each other.  Take that for what it’s worth.

Call me a traitor to my gender but there’s just not much of defensible rationale for this issue from this magazine.

Call that the View From the Phlipside

Movie Reviews - Taken, The Searchers, High Noon

Taken (2008) This is an action thriller about a retired CIA operative whose daughter is kidnapped in Paris by a gang of human slavers.  The girls are sold into prostitution and he's going to get his daughter back.  You now know pretty much everything you need to about this movie.  Given that information you should know that lots of people are going to be shot, stabbed and beaten in this movie.  The tempo is fast, the villains are evil and goodness wins out in the end.  The script is so cheesy that Liam Neeson, who plays the dad, thought it was a straight to DVD movie.  In fact it re-launched his career as an action hero and made well over 200 million dollars worldwide.  The best thing about this movie is Neeson, pretty much everyone and everything else isn't worth remembering.  The good news is that he makes the movie fun to watch just as long as you don't spend too much time with your brain engaged.

Rating - *** Worth A Look

The Searchers (1956) - This movie presents a bit of a challenge to me.  The American Film Institute (AFI) named this film the Greatest Western of All Time in 2008 and the #12 Greatest Movie of All Time in 2007.  There's critical reviews that would stack 3 feet high that agree.

I'm just not sure I get it.

Here's what argues in the movie's favor.  John Ford's direction.  Do I need to say any more?  Visually this film is stunning as per usual with John Ford working Monument Valley.  It's big and it's epic and it's just gorgeous.  Put a more than competent cast into that backdrop (John Wayne in what he always claimed as his favorite role, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond plus the young Natalie Wood and even younger Lana Wood playing the same character at different ages) and you would think that you're home free.  And yet somehow you never get there.

The story follows the family of brothers Ethan and Aaron Edwards.  Ethan (Wayne) went off to fight for the Confederacy while Aaron stayed behind and got the girl.  There's an obvious subtext here that is never spoken that once upon a time there had been a big something between Ethan and his now sister-in-law.  There's an Indian raid that draws the local men off.  While they're gone the Indians raid the Edwards homestead and kill everyone except young Debbie (Woods) who is carried off.  The rest of the movie is the story of Ethan and Martin Pawley (Hunter), the young half breed adopted by the Edwards family as a boy and raised as one of the family, to find Debbie.

The movie is, as many movies of the day were, overtly racist.  But it goes beyond the usual "savage redskin" stuff and moves on to justifying genocide.  This is well into "the only good injun is a dead injun" territory.  Beyond that is a strong streak of misogyny with the repeated "wisdom" that Debbie is better off dead after having "been with a Comanche buck".

Even allowing for the context of the time period of the production this story is just nauseating.  That's what really gets me about the "Greatest Western of All Time" label.  Is this really what we want representing the entire genre as the very best?

Rating - *** Worth A Look

High Noon (1952) - Now here's a western that appeals to me much more as the greatest of all time.  (It's interesting to note that John Wayne did not like this movie at all especially the ending.  He and director Howard Hawks would make "Rio Bravo" as a response to High Noon).  It's the story of Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) who has just married Amy a Quaker (Grace Kelly) and promised her that he will hang up his guns for good.  Unfortunately an outlaw that Kane had sent to prison is coming back on the noon train with revenge on his mind.  Kane feels it's his duty to protect the town one last time.  The problem for him is that no one agrees.  His new wife prepares to leave him for picking up his guns and the towns people refuse to back in against the outlaws.  In the end he will face all of his troubles alone.

This movie is a great western and the inspiration for the spaghetti westerns of Clint Eastwood that would follow some two decades later.  It's amazing in that it's told almost in real time.  Each ticking clock shown carries through the actual elapsed as we watch.  The visuals are tilted away from the traditional mythology and towards a much more realistic.  Cooper's spare acting style is perfect. It is a modern western long before the modern western took center stage.  The story did not involve chases, action and other western standards.  Nominated for 7 Academy Awards it took 4 home including Cooper for Best Actor.

AFI listed this as the #2 Greatest Western of All Time.  I'd easily bump it to the top of the list.

Rating - **** Recommended (and if you're into Westerns this is a definite ***** Own It)

Oscars? Who Cares?, Future of Journalism, and Lines Not to Cross

 "The View From the Phlipside" is a media commentary program airing on WRFA-LP, Jamestown NY.  It can be heard Tuesday through Friday just after 8 AM and 5 PM.  The following are scripts which may not exactly match the aired version of the program.  Mostly because the host may suddenly choose to add or subtract words at a moments notice.  WRFA-LP is not responsible for any such silliness or the opinions expressed.  You can listen to a live stream of WRFA or find a podcast of this program at wrfalp.com.  Copyright 2013 by Jay Phillippi.  All Rights Reserved.  You like what you see?  Drop me a line and we can talk.

Program scripts from week of February 24, 2013



My name is Jay Phillippi and I've spent my life in and around the media.  TV, radio, the movies and more.  I love them, and I hate them and I always have an opinion.  Call this the View from the Phlipside. 

Lines Not to Cross                                                                                                         

I had not planned on doing anything with the Oscars this week other than note that I think they’re overrated for picking “the best” each year.  Then when I woke up on Monday I heard about the fiasco with the satirical web site The Onion and Best Actress nominee Quvenzhane Wallis.  And it just wouldn’t let me alone.

If you have somehow managed to not hear about it the folks at the parody website were doing some live tweeting during the broadcast.  For reasons that remain obscure to me they chose at one point to use a derogatory word for a woman which I can’t even hint at here for the 9 year old actress.  The Internet yelled and screamed and the tweet was taken down in an hour.  The following day the CEO of the online satire site published an apology.

Now I’m generally a fan of The Onion.  While I’m sorry that they made such a bonehead mistake they handled it the way it should have been handled.  Take down the tweet and apologize.  What really puzzles me has been some of the reaction to those decisions.  Because some people are outraged that the CEO didn’t stand behind the original post.

Let me get this straight.  A nasty, derogatory, misogynist term is used (which is bad enough on its own) against a NINE year old and some of these mouth breathing morons don’t have a problem with that.  They bring up all kinds of adult examples and say “Why aren’t you outraged by these?”.  Well the reality is that I don’t much like those examples either but that misses the point.  This is a NINE YEAR OLD CHILD.

Seems some folks thought she came off a little full of herself.  Let’s see - she’s nine, in an original Armani outfit and she’s been nominated for a Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar at age nine.  If there was ever a moment in someone’s life to be a little full of yourself that is probably it.  But even with that there is no justification for the word that was used.  Not for an adult and especially not for a child.

The greatest failing of the Internet is that it makes narcissists of us all.  We fall into the trap of believing that anything we say is profound or clever or witty.  Far more often they are snarky, shallow, ill informed and cruel.

Even satire should have lines over which you dare not pass.

Future of Journalism                                                                                                       

Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away I got started in the media world in the world of journalism.  Back in the day when you got started in radio at Edinboro you started by doing the news.  I did news when I got my first job in commercial radio as well.  There was no way I was going to spend my life as a journalist (I’m just not designed for that life) but my roots are firmly grounded in journalism.  Because of that I have always been a little more focused on that side of the media.  Which is why I’m growing ever more disturbed by what I see in that arena.

There’s a couple things.  First of all in sports journalism many of the professional sports leagues are trying to control their media exposure to a greater and greater degree.  If you’ve ever read your ticket you’ll notice that by purchasing the ticket you give up ownership of the photos, videos and audio recordings you may make at the event.  Well journalists are finding that the sports organizations like the NBA, NFL, NCAA and NASCAR are trying to do the same thing.  Journalists are now finding those leagues want them to sign over the copyrights to all their work as well.  Additionally they are asking journalists not to post more than 3 pictures, not to tweet or broadcast during the event.  Somewhere along the line the distinction between publicity and journalism seems to have gotten a little vague.

That’s not the only place.  Indiana University last summer announced it was thinking about merging its independent Journalism school with the Communications and Media department.  Now there are lots of places that do it that.  What stood out for me in this discussion was the comment by the University President Michael McRobbie who said, and I quote,
“There’s no point in saving a school that trains people to manage fleets of horses if the motorcar has taken over horse-drawn transportation.”  That’s one of the more profound instances of missing the point.

Journalism is more than the medium that conveys it.  It has survived the shift from print only to radio then to television.  Journalism will also survive the shift to new media as well.  Just as long as those entrusted to teach it continue to understand it and those they teach continue to fight for it.

Oscars?  Who Cares?

I write and record these programs usually the weekend before they air.  This sometimes leaves me short when it comes to comment on events like Sunday night’s Oscar awards. I will occasionally cheat and record a program on Monday morning to include the event.  I probably would have done that for this year’s Oscars except for two things.

First I’ve only seen one of the movies nominated.  So it’s hard to have an intelligent opinion.

Second, and most importantly, I heard an interesting question last week.  Why should we care about the Oscars?  That was a question that stopped me dead.

Why should we care?

The process of winning an Oscar amounts to winning enough of the votes of the 6,000 eligible members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  That doesn’t always lead to objective, scientific results.  Like 1976 when “Rocky” beat out “Taxi Driver”, “All The President’s Men” and “Network”.  I love “Rocky” but seriously?

And we can’t say that commercial success helps you.  Looking at the Box Office Domestic numbers “Lincoln” was the most successful movie of the nominees finishing 19th, “Argo” was 25th, “Life of Pi” at 32 and “Django Unchained” was 39th.  The other 6 nominees finished outside the TOP 50!  Now some folks will point out that a lot of these movies debuted late in the year so gross box office isn’t a fair standard.  OK fine.  But these are supposedly the best movies of 2012 shouldn’t we be judging them by their performance in that year?  Apparently not.
So what we’re left with is a popularity vote only by insiders who are deluged (as much as the rules allow) by campaigns from the studios.  And their track record is just odd enough to make you wonder.

If you want to watch the Oscars as a celebration of the movie industry go for it.  It’s great for doing just that.  But just remember that Richard Burton, Peter O’Toole, Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock never won one in their primary category.

Draw what conclusions you may

Call that the View From the Phlipside