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Spotlight Review
Nov. 27th, 2015 08:27 pm1. Back home from my travels...to see where I spent Thanksgiving, a photo is provided below:
( where I spent Thanksgiving this past week )
2. Been a bit remiss in my reviewing. While I was in South Carolina visiting family, we saw the film Spotlight - at my father's urging. (My parents are Catholic by the way. I think that's important to point out. My father even, briefly, attended the seminary. And one of his brother's is a Priest. Most of the family, however, is lapsed Catholic or practices another religion much like myself. ) My parents loved the film and stated that it reminded them a great deal of the 1970s award-winning flick "All the President's Men". Although, in some respects, I think it was slightly better, as do they.
Spotlight is a film based on the Boston Globe's investigative journalist unit - Spotlight's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into the Catholic Church's cover-up of various priests who molested children from the 1940s to present day. During the course of their investigation, Spotlight's four-man team of investigative journalists uncovered over 249 priests and 1000 victims in the Boston area alone. They wrote over 600 articles regarding the crisis. And their reporting almost bankrupted the Catholic Church in Boston and resulted in the resignation of a Pope. The film chronicles the Globes investigation and how they uncover the scandal and more alarmingly discover how various members including their own comrades, and the Globe, acted to cover it up in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
It may well be the most important piece of investigative journalism since the Washington Post's reveal of Watergate. And the film is perhaps amongst the best depictions of a newspaper procedural since All The President's Men.
The film, in many ways, feels like a 1970s film. Gritty realism. Understated acting. Low-key cinematography. It doesn't tell or preach. It just shows what happened. The acting by Michael Keaton, John Slattery, Liev Schrieber (who you won't recognize), Billy Crudup (also unrecognizable), Stanely Tucci, Matthew Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Jaime Sheridan, and Brian D'Arcy is top notch.
Blew me away. Although, I thought the pacing could be a bit better -- again reminded me a lot of the 1970s films, such as Five Easy Pieces, All the Presidents Men, etc.
Best film I've seen this year, outside of maybe The Martian. (Granted the only others was the overly busy The Avengers..)
I cried at the end of the film. It's harrowing. To have one's spirituality and trust ripped away from you in such a manner.
3. I'm half-way through Cloud Atlas - which, style-wise, reminds me a great deal of the books that I read in my 20s. Content wise - it's closer to the books that I've read in more recent years.
Interesting book - will post a more in depth review when completed. Assuming of course, I complete.
I expect I will. Should be all downhill from here.
4. When I returned home from my travels - I discovered that my refrigerator and stove were not working. All the food in the fridge was spoiled. Luckily, a couple of electricians were in the hallway fixing lights. Nice fellas. They promised to fix it for me. Which they did - by pushing a button on the socket. I'd pushed the button, but it didn't work for me. (Reminds me of my computer going wonky at work. I reboot it nothing happens, IT reboots it, and voila. I apparently don't have a deft touch when it comes to gadgetry. Good thing I'm not an electrician or in IT.) Anyhow, I walked to the grocery stores (stores - plural) and picked up provisions. Not a bad thing - I needed the exercise anyhow (didn't get much in South Carolina with the aging parental units), and it was a lovely not to mention warm day.
5. Watched various tv shows that I'm behind on:
* The season finale of Grey's Anatomy which, of course, ended on a cliff-hanger, and won't pop up again until February. (I find this annoying. By the time February rolls around, I'm going to forget what the cliff-hanger was. It wasn't all that interesting. Outside of that - I've been enjoying Grey's this year - less emphasis on romance, more on friendships and familial relationships - which I think television dramas are better at. Television writers don't know how to write realistic romantic relationships.)
* Crazy Ex-Girlfriend -- which is oddly charming, but not that funny. Very few situation comedies make me laugh. I'm weird -- I don't find humiliation or embarrassment humor aka slapstick funny. I do however like absurdist humor. Fargo is funny at times. Often, I'm more amused by the dramedy or dramas, than sitcoms.
* Fargo -- best of the bunch. Great dialogue and writing. Also filmed like a 1970s movie, gritty, low-key, understated acting, with split-screen. Shows doesn't tell or preach. With a dead-pan sense of humor. It's sort of a parody of the 1970s true crime movies.
I don't find it quite as compelling as the first season of the series. Not sure why.
Off to binge watch Jessica Jones like everyone else on my flist...assuming I can stomach the violence, although considering I was able to stomach Daredevil (which I've read was worse, I see no issues.) Will let you know what I think - assuming of course you care. ;-)
( where I spent Thanksgiving this past week )
2. Been a bit remiss in my reviewing. While I was in South Carolina visiting family, we saw the film Spotlight - at my father's urging. (My parents are Catholic by the way. I think that's important to point out. My father even, briefly, attended the seminary. And one of his brother's is a Priest. Most of the family, however, is lapsed Catholic or practices another religion much like myself. ) My parents loved the film and stated that it reminded them a great deal of the 1970s award-winning flick "All the President's Men". Although, in some respects, I think it was slightly better, as do they.
Spotlight is a film based on the Boston Globe's investigative journalist unit - Spotlight's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into the Catholic Church's cover-up of various priests who molested children from the 1940s to present day. During the course of their investigation, Spotlight's four-man team of investigative journalists uncovered over 249 priests and 1000 victims in the Boston area alone. They wrote over 600 articles regarding the crisis. And their reporting almost bankrupted the Catholic Church in Boston and resulted in the resignation of a Pope. The film chronicles the Globes investigation and how they uncover the scandal and more alarmingly discover how various members including their own comrades, and the Globe, acted to cover it up in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
It may well be the most important piece of investigative journalism since the Washington Post's reveal of Watergate. And the film is perhaps amongst the best depictions of a newspaper procedural since All The President's Men.
The film, in many ways, feels like a 1970s film. Gritty realism. Understated acting. Low-key cinematography. It doesn't tell or preach. It just shows what happened. The acting by Michael Keaton, John Slattery, Liev Schrieber (who you won't recognize), Billy Crudup (also unrecognizable), Stanely Tucci, Matthew Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Jaime Sheridan, and Brian D'Arcy is top notch.
Blew me away. Although, I thought the pacing could be a bit better -- again reminded me a lot of the 1970s films, such as Five Easy Pieces, All the Presidents Men, etc.
Best film I've seen this year, outside of maybe The Martian. (Granted the only others was the overly busy The Avengers..)
I cried at the end of the film. It's harrowing. To have one's spirituality and trust ripped away from you in such a manner.
3. I'm half-way through Cloud Atlas - which, style-wise, reminds me a great deal of the books that I read in my 20s. Content wise - it's closer to the books that I've read in more recent years.
Interesting book - will post a more in depth review when completed. Assuming of course, I complete.
I expect I will. Should be all downhill from here.
4. When I returned home from my travels - I discovered that my refrigerator and stove were not working. All the food in the fridge was spoiled. Luckily, a couple of electricians were in the hallway fixing lights. Nice fellas. They promised to fix it for me. Which they did - by pushing a button on the socket. I'd pushed the button, but it didn't work for me. (Reminds me of my computer going wonky at work. I reboot it nothing happens, IT reboots it, and voila. I apparently don't have a deft touch when it comes to gadgetry. Good thing I'm not an electrician or in IT.) Anyhow, I walked to the grocery stores (stores - plural) and picked up provisions. Not a bad thing - I needed the exercise anyhow (didn't get much in South Carolina with the aging parental units), and it was a lovely not to mention warm day.
5. Watched various tv shows that I'm behind on:
* The season finale of Grey's Anatomy which, of course, ended on a cliff-hanger, and won't pop up again until February. (I find this annoying. By the time February rolls around, I'm going to forget what the cliff-hanger was. It wasn't all that interesting. Outside of that - I've been enjoying Grey's this year - less emphasis on romance, more on friendships and familial relationships - which I think television dramas are better at. Television writers don't know how to write realistic romantic relationships.)
* Crazy Ex-Girlfriend -- which is oddly charming, but not that funny. Very few situation comedies make me laugh. I'm weird -- I don't find humiliation or embarrassment humor aka slapstick funny. I do however like absurdist humor. Fargo is funny at times. Often, I'm more amused by the dramedy or dramas, than sitcoms.
* Fargo -- best of the bunch. Great dialogue and writing. Also filmed like a 1970s movie, gritty, low-key, understated acting, with split-screen. Shows doesn't tell or preach. With a dead-pan sense of humor. It's sort of a parody of the 1970s true crime movies.
I don't find it quite as compelling as the first season of the series. Not sure why.
Off to binge watch Jessica Jones like everyone else on my flist...assuming I can stomach the violence, although considering I was able to stomach Daredevil (which I've read was worse, I see no issues.) Will let you know what I think - assuming of course you care. ;-)