PULP CATHOLICISM #129

Magic Town (1947)

Last February (the 18th when this post was originally published) I watched a movie written by Robert Riskin, best known for his "visions of an idealized America as represented in his collaborations with director Frank Capra." This one wasn’t directed by Capra, but it certainly had that Capra ‘feel good’ quality. It’s called Magic Town and was made in 1947. Directed by William A. Wellman, it brings Capra’s favorite leading man, Jimmy Stewart, together with Jane Wyman, a perfect match, or as the tagline goes, "the guy with the dynamite heart meets the girl with the firecracker eyes!" (IMDb) She’s an acting newspaper editor for her late father’s paper and he is an undercover pollster. He discovers that Grandview, the town where Mary (Wyman) lives mirror exactly the nation’s views on everything, down to the decimal point – a mathematical miracle. Rip (Stewart) is quickly accepted as part of the community - even coaching the school's basketball team - under the guise of being an insurance salesman. However, Mary discovers his secret and uses her position in the paper to unmask him. This causes a spiraling of events as Grandview is hailed as the nation’s perfect town. Hundreds of families move in every day and business is booming – but not for long. Now that the people are conscious that they are being polled, the results no longer match the nation. Its short-lived glory turns to embarrassment and the town quickly becomes bankrupt and becomes a laughing-stock. Rip must now figure out how to undue the damage he caused and win Mary back.

Looking at Mary's model of the new Grandview

 

Coaching the boys

 

Romancing the editor

Reciting "Charge of the Light Brigade"

 

The scenes of the town at the beginning reminded me of the town in Theodora Goes Wild (1936). The way the town works together reminded me of several films. The school scenes were reminiscent of The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945). The part where it sweeps the country and pulls apart and then reunites the town is very reminiscent of Meet John Doe (1941). It even has Bert and his wife in it (renamed Ed)! All in all it was an extremely enjoyable movie and one that I hope to add to my collection one day. I highly recommend it to anyone who is a Frank Capra fan.

Stewart and Wyman with Director William A. Wellman

 

Lawrence “Rip” Smith (to the Town Council when he first arrives in Grandview): I've been searching for a town like this for years. You know, when I got off that train this morning, I said to myself "This is it." I've just walked through your town, folks, with its shade trees and its lovely parks. I stood before your impressive buildings mellowed with age, and I said to myself "Here is a sturdy challenge to the evils of the modern era." I watched your people on the street, and I felt their vitality and their sense of security. Your children are happy. They're happy. You can see it in their dear little faces, and hear it in their wholesome talk. There's beauty here. It's almost indescribable. You're used to it, you're all a part of it, you take it for granted. But to me, it's a hope and a dream of a lifetime. I too want to become a part of it. Please don't change it.

All images (excluding title screen) found via Pinterest

 

This post is part of the 1947 Blogathon hosted by Shadows & Satin and Speakeasy. Be sure and check out all of the other great films from 1947!

 

Day 1    Day 2    Day 3    Wrap-Up

 

True Detective Season 2 Episode 4 Recap

This episode I was expecting to see Vince Vaughn's character go even further into the violence that got him to the top, another masked individual further the conspiracy, and character development for Rachel McAdams character Ani Bezzerides. Did my predictions occur?

Check out my previous recaps or keep reading to dive into this episode. Spoilers beware.

And then there were three.

 In the present Vince Vaughn's Frank Semyon is reacquainting himself with his old lifestyle. He wants Colin Farrell's Ray Velcoro to quit the police and join him in the venture.

Join me Ray as I try to take over the world.

Taylor Kitsch's Paul Woodrugh and Rachel McAdams's Ani Bezzerides past comes back to bite them. He after spending the night with a former flame,  her for burning bridges in the department, and the fire bombed Cadillac provides no leads.


 Also, Paul Woodrugh's girlfriend is pregnant and he instantly falls in love with her and women.

I love women now that I see you as my way out.

We saw no masked individuals, but the psychiatrist seen earlier in the season and the Vinci Mayor Chessani have a connection through Ani Bezzerides father. The deceased Casper also visited Bezzerides's father's commune.
We get a glimpse of the past for Vince Vaughn's wife who had an operation in the past linked to her difficulty in conception. Of course no specifics are provided. Are Frank Semyon's perfect teeth involved?

Frank Semyon: "I've never had a cavity."

 

Woodrugh opens up to Ray Velcoro who wishes he was anywhere but in that car.

Ray Velcoro: Noooooo!

Bezzerides is suspended, most likely due to retribution from Vinci Mayor Chessani, though she has managed to irritate many people in her department.

Ani Bezzerides: "This would not be happening to a man:

An interesting twist, but Taylor Kitsch may be the most valuable person on the special investigation unit, gaining a lead to a pimp who pawned Casper's watch.

Of course this led to Punchy Farrell's deadweight partner, along with many other cops, innocents and three individuals potentially linked, but most likely not related, to Casper's death meeting their end in a massive shootout.

Shoot it and it will explode.

Of course the three heroes not only lived, but weren't even harmed. Nearly everyone in a twenty foot vicinity of the stars died with pinpoint accurate gun shots to the head.

AND THEN THERE WAS A FIREFIGHT!

No review is complete without an image of the highway system. This season is about a murder mystery as much as it is a salute to the California department of transportation.

The next episode needs to provide more information on Casper's death and the land deals he was into. Between Paulie 'The Kid' Woodrugh, Colin 'Punchy' Farrell, and 'Perfect Smile' Frank Semyon I think they can crack this case, unmask the real criminal, and determine just how deep is the rabbit hole.

THE B-LIST: QUESTIONABLE MUSICAL MOMENTS #20 – WHEN NATURE CALLS

Even before Pope Francis released his encyclical, Laudato Si', there were many who were expressing concerns over its possible contents. They feared it would be a throwback to the early 70s in which movies like the Wilderness Family trilogy and The Sea Gypsies beckoned us all to abandon the cities and return to the land, that all Catholics everywhere would be required to alter their lifestyle and become like the Outdoorsters from When Nature Calls…

I hope you managed to make it all the way through to the last minute where it got really, really terrible.

Anyway, it would be nice to say that once Laudato Si' was published, everyone calmed down some. But the truth is that after word began to spread how the document included stuff like a critique on the use of air conditioning, the wails of protest just grew larger. To be honest, I haven’t read the whole encyclical yet (that’s what other, smarter people are for), but my curiosity was tweaked enough to look up the paragraph about air conditioning, and truthfully, I just didn’t see the big deal. The Pope wrote…

“People may well have a growing ecological sensitivity but it has not succeeded in changing their harmful habits of consumption which, rather than decreasing, appear to be growing all the more. A simple example is the increasing use and power of air-conditioning. The markets, which immediately benefit from sales, stimulate ever greater demand. An outsider looking at our world would be amazed at such behaviour, which at times appears self-destructive.”

If I had to guess (which I do), I would surmise the Pope’s concerns are likely based on such sources as the article over at Yale’s website which documents the possible ecological dangers inherent in more and more of the world becoming air conditioned. Maybe I’m over-simplifying, but It seems kind of common sense that as millions of more people cut on air conditioners, a lot more chlorine-filled fluorocarbons will be pumped into the atmosphere. Nobody wants that. The trick is, though, that countries with lots of air conditioning prosper more than countries without, so nobody is in any hurry to turn them off.

Besides, it’s hot out there. I live in North Georgia and recently spent three days with a broken HVAC. Trust me when I say, going without AC is an experience I don’t intend to go through again anytime soon, especially not voluntarily. But I’m not convinced that’s what the Pope is asking anyway. I believe his point is along the lines of what the Catechism is getting at when it instructs us…

“The development of economic activity and growth in production are meant to provide for the needs of human beings. Economic life is not meant solely to multiply goods produced and increase profit or power; it is ordered first of all to the service of persons, of the whole man, and of the entire human community. Economic activity, conducted according to its own proper methods, is to be exercised within the limits of the moral order, in keeping with social justice so as to correspond to God's plan for man.”

From what little of Laudato Si' that I’ve read, it appears the Pontiff is only reiterating the fact that everything we do, even the simple act of cutting on the AC, has a moral dimension. As Catholics we should know that, but sometimes we forget. So, is it really too much for the Pope to suggest (not require) that we consider raising our thermostats a few degrees to compensate for the growing use of air conditioning in third world countries? I mean, it’s not like he’s telling us to become The Outdoorsters. He’s simply providing an example of a relatively small act which could help keep fluorocarbons down while allowing poor countries to get a little richer. I don’t know, maybe there’s other, more damning stuff buried inside the encyclical, but that part sounds reasonable to me.

The Weekly Movie Watch Volume 51

This week I watched Legion, (500) Days of Summer, 7 Days in Hell.

I watch movies every week and then write down my thoughts. Read my previous reviews!
My rating is simple, Watch It, It Depends, Skip it.

Legion - With an image like this you've got to watch it!

Legion (2010)
Watch Legion 
Written by: Peter Schink, Scott Stewart
Directed by: Scott Stewart
Starring: Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Charles S. Dutton
Rated: R

Plot: 
Paul Bettany as the angel Michael and a few humans protect an important baby that will stop the end of the world.

Review:
The theology is nearly non-existent but the movie is entertaining. The movie attempts to include many cliches while setting a decent mood. The granny scene was perfect. You knew it was coming, but it was so well done. This scene alone makes the movie worth a watch. It feels like a b-movie. For a movie like that I can forgive cliche characters, guns that don't need to be reloaded, nonsensical plot points, mis-characterization of childbirth and childcare, ridiculous high speed crashes, and a lot of poorly shot action. It's not great cinema and it's not meant to be. The movie is entertaining in spite of itself.
It depends.

(500) Days of Summer - A refreshing take on relationships

(500) Days of Summer (2009)
Watch (500) Days of Summer
Written by: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber
Directed by: Marc Webb
Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Geoffrey Arend 
Rated: PG-13

Plot: 
Summer played by Zooey Deschanel breaks up with Tom played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Tom tries to figure out where things went wrong as we see scenes of their relationship juxtaposing the end and the beginning.

Review:
I like the format of juxtaposing good and bad days in the relationship. The expectations vs reality sequence was superbly edited. There were a few really well edited moments. It detailed poignant moments in the evolution of a relationship. It provided a viewpoint of the the romantic and non-romantic and just how closely those paths touch. It's a movie that comments on relationships instead of just trying like so many others. I could have done without the narrator. It was heavy handed, even the voice was heavy.  It felt a bit long in the last quarter, but I really liked the ending. It's an ending that felt earned.
Watch it.

7 Days in Hell - Not only the title but how you feel while watching.

7 Days in Hell (2015)
Written by: Murray Miller
Directed by: Jake Szymanski
Starring: Adam Samberg, Kit Harington, Fred Armisen
Rated: TV-MA

Plot: 
A fictional documentary about a seven day long tennis match between two greats played by Andy Samberg and Kit Harrington.

Review:
Disappointing. So very disappointing. Movies seem to operate on the principle that when you run out of clever jokes, you resort to raunchiness. This 'movie' ran out of clever jokes ten minutes in. Being crass in an attempt to parade as a joke or for shock value is never funny to me. Samberg's character fit the tone of the movie, but Harrington's character was so one dimensional it felt like a placeholder for a real character they hoped to develop. The ending wasn't bad but the payoff for this movie didn't live up to anticipations.
Skip it.

MUST WATCH: New BATMAN v SUPERMAN Trailer

**Update: Apparently that wasn't the Suicide Squad trailer - DC is holding it back for some reason - fine see if I post it when it comes out - whenever. I could care less about it. Big day though for DC and Warner Bros' other tent pole at Comic-Con as they release their BATMAN v SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE trailer. Now THAT looks like a movie!

BvS looks amazing. The trailer knocked it out of the park and while I have issues with Batman's "attire" the whole thing resonates with raw emotion and energy. I won't spoil it for you but have a look.


BATMAN v SUPERMAN opens on March 25, 2016 while SUICIDE SQUAD is slated for August 5, 2016 - that is if they decide to show to the public instead of just comic-con attendees squeezed into a box.

So Funny It Hurt: Buster Keaton and MGM

 

I watched this fascinating documentary of silent star, Buster Keaton, on TCM a few days ago and found it on YouTube to share with you. It has a lot of cool facts in it. For example, did you know that when Keaton started making talkies he had to make each movie not once, but three to four times? That's because he had to make it in English, Spanish, French, and German!! And most of the time, it was a movie he didn't even like!!

 

Intro by Robert Osborne

So Funny It Hurt

 

Seven Chances (1925) is the only silent film I've seen so far (besides Mel Brook's Silent Movie, which is also very good). I highly recommend it. I have been wanting to watch more Keaton films. Several are on YouTube.