Queue Tips: The Comedian (2016)

Apparently, "The Comedian" is not the sequel to "The King of Comedy".  Both films do star Robert De Niro though.  It was not directed by Martin Scorsese, but by Taylor Hackford, who I don't think is really known for comedy.  Actually, neither of them are, I think.  In any case, he didn't write it, and there are plenty of funny materials from the screenplays.  There are many comedians appearing in the film, and I would guess they brought their own material, as well as improvised.

I thought this was a fun watch.  I found myself smiling a lot and just enjoying the film.  There are, of course, plenty of laughs here and there.  Nonetheless, you can argue that it is not necessarily a comedy movie, much like you can say "The Wrestler" is not a wrestling movie or "Black Swan" is not a ballet movie.  Without knowing anything about this movie, I actually thought this might have been directed by Darren Aronofsky, actually.

There are a couple of cringe things here though for me.  In the beginning, there is a character who is making viral videos.  They were just a bit too obvious or overplaying it a bit.  We see that one of them is holding their phone in one of those phone holder thingies.  Supposedly they have a popular channel and they have been doing this for a while.  How many times do you have to day, "Are you recording this?  Are you getting this?"  It's like, hey audience, look, do you get it that we are doing all this just for the content?  Too on the nose, I guess.

Later on, there is another video of the comedian going viral.  His act is manipulated and edited into a music video.  I thought the raw content itself was interesting enough to spread widely on its own.  I don't know.  Maybe they were trying to make a point that the lamer it is, the more popular it gets or that it gets more lamer as it gets more popular.  Maybe.

I wrote yesterday about the age difference in "Licorice Pizza" and "Parasite".  Those relationships were between minors and young adults.  Well, there is an age gap in this film, as well.  This time it's between a middle aged woman and a senior man.  It's still cringey to me though.  I wonder if the original script was for a younger protagonist and if maybe they changed it when they cast the lead actor.  Nonetheless, it made for an interesting dynamic, especially when they ended up having to deal with an adult problem later on.  

I liked seeing all the different comedians.  I didn't know all of them, especially the younger ones.  It was nice seeing the sort of behind the scenes glimpses and how they interact with each other, how they give and take.  It made me want to go to comedy clubs and experience the fun atmosphere.  The only thing though, is I know it's not always like that.  I wouldn't want to spend my time and money to watch someone bomb or to hear lame jokes.  And what I see a lot right now on social media is crowd work.  That's also cringey to me.  I mean, just come up with some good material and deliver.

I also didn't see a lot of bad jokes.  I can't remember which film or show or maybe documentary I saw, but from what I gathered, you hear a lot of lame jokes around comedians.  You kind of how to get through all that to get to the good stuff.  But the protagonist in this movie is supposed to be quick witted and fast, so maybe he just had a natural talent for being funny.

Well, I just googalized and wikified it, and I'm surprised this movie was poorly reviewed.  I actually thought it was pretty good, almost great.  I also saw that they actually wanted Scorsese to direct it.  Not sure about that.  I think Aronofsky would have been great, but I thought Hackford did a fairly good job.  I think someday people will reevaluate this and find it's not that bad. 

Queue Tips: Rock it, man.

What was the point of making the movie "Rocketman"?  I mean, it's just a bunch of Elton John songs set to some random images.  Like, why not just listen to his songs and close your eyes.  It would be a better experience.  Instead, you're watching someone pretending to be him while hearing bits and pieces of his music.

And it's not like he wrote all the songs by himself.  He had a songwriting partner for most, if not all, of it.  So for me, it doesn't really feel like those songs were that personal for him.  And when you listen to songs, they have certain meanings to the audience.  You may not totally understand what they are about, but they do evoke certain emotions or memories.  When you watch music videos, the visualizations they present take over and it means less of what it used to mean for you before.

I think there's a problem when celebrities are involved in creating their own biopics.  Obviously, they are going to want to approve how they are portrayed.  I thought this film was fairly bland.  Just like "Bohemian Rhapsody", it didn't really add much to discovering the subject of the story.  You're better off just reading a Wikipedia article, and you end up learning more.

What were the inspiration for the songs?  I don't know.  They were not even in chronological order.  (As far as I know.  I'm not a huge fan though.).  What did this movie offer to anyone who didn't already know Elton John?  If I was directing a biopic, I would approach it in that way, as though the audience never heard of him and then explain who he is and who he became.

I get that his parents seemed neglectful.  I mean, I've seen that in a lot of movies.  And it seemed pretty one-sided.  I didn't really get why the father was so unsupportive.  I didn't see his point of view, or his mother's.  What was the real reason why they were how they were?  I guess they were just bad guys.  Or maybe I just wasn't paying enough attention?  I really couldn't get into this movie, to be honest.

One thing that they don't ever show in these movies is how they got to be good at what they do in the first place.  Who encouraged him to take piano lessons and why?  Did he have any teachers who inspired him?  Did he have to practice a lot or did it just come naturally?  When he worked with Bernie Taupin, did he just instantly understand what the songs were about?  Did the songs ever evolve?

For a while in the '90s, Elton toured with Billy Joel, the piano man.  The real piano.  Now is there a movie about him?  That one I would like to see.  And Billy actually wrote the songs himself, music and lyrics.  They were deeply personal and reflected a lot of what he was going through.  Actually, you don't even have to watch a biopic to get the Billy Joel experience.  Just listen to his albums from start to finish, and you feel like you've lived a whole life.  You don't have to know all the details behind the songs and the albums.  You are just grateful that this person existed and is able to convey his emotions through his art.

Pizza Dream

I had this dream last night.  I can't remember most of it.  I was in some building or hotel or some kind of room in a high rise apartment.  I was by my computer doing some kind of work by myself.

I was expecting my son Rusty and his mom and some other friends.  I don't think they knew them.  I ordered some pizzas for everyone.  I group texted my son and wife about it.  I didn't get a reply.  

I was kinda of getting a bit anxious because I was trying to get the timing right so I could finish work and leave and get the pizzas and everything.  After a while, Rusty and his mom and the friends show up.  They somehow have the pizzas with them.  They come in and place the pizzas in front of me, offering me to eat.  I open the boxes and found that they had already ate about half of them.

I was upset and walked out.  I didn't know what I was going to do.  I was a bit confused because I didn't know how both groups came to join together and I don't think they even knew each other.  Also, I don't know how they ended up with the pizza when I was the one who was supposed to give it to them, which is why I was getting anxious to find out when they were getting there so I could get the food.  

I thought about texting Rusty about why he didn't text me or acknowledge that they were coming.  I was trying to stay calm but I thought about potentially exploding in anger.  I just walked out and I think I took the elevator.  I didn't text him and didn't end up getting that mad.  But then I woke up.  I can't remember what happened before that, but there were other things leading to it, and I'm not sure if anything else happened after.

Anyways, I think the pizza thing comes from picking up Rusty and his teammates for high school hockey games.  They usually have a couple of hours before game start and whoever drives the carpool usually gets them a couple of pies to share to make sure they have something to eat.  The last time I drove, one of the other parents actually placed the order and we just had to pick it up.  They had already eaten lunch but still ended up eating at least a couple of slices each.  I told them to take the rest to give it to the team, but we arrived to the rink extra early, and by the time the others came, the slices had already gotten cold.  Rusty and his friend ended up eating the cold pizza after they got back from the game.

The frustration of waiting also stems from high school hockey, I think.  There were a couple of times when I had shown up to pick up Rusty from practice, and he didn't come out right away.  I guess the practice ran long, and of course, he doesn't have his phone on the ice so he can't exactly text me to let me know how much longer to wait.  Sometimes I'm sitting in the car fuming about having my time wasted.  I'm going over all the things I'm going to say to him and getting ready to yell and lose it.  Somehow though, when he eventually comes out, I have managed to keep my composure.  He strolls out of the rink casually and then sits on the passenger side next to me.  Then he states he obvious that practice ran long.  And I say, "Okay."  And then we just drive on and we talk about other things.

Queue Tips: Licorice Pizza (2021)

It's probably my fault for not paying close attention, but I have seen "Licorice Pizza" twice now and I still don't know what it refers to.  I don't think I've ever seen a Paul Thomas Anderson movie in a theatre but maybe if I saw this one there, I would have gotten it more.  I guess there's just too many distractions watching at home that you can't always really get into it.  Either that or this movie is just too boring to really get emerged into it.

Actually, I have seen a P. T. Anderson film in the theatre.  It was "There Will Be Blood".  I watched it way after it first came out, and so many people have been raving about how great it was.  I finally had to go and see it before somebody inevitably spoiled it for me.  Well, when I finally went, I was underwhelmed.  I guess I expected too much after all the hype.  I did watch it again after it came out on DVD and that second time, I actually enjoyed it.  That was kind of what I was hoping for when I rewatched "Licorice Pizza" the other day, but no, I still didn't like it.

I guess I just didn't like the characters.  And there wasn't really a clear story for me.  They were sort of just meandering from one thing to another.  But I guess maybe that was the point.  The protagonist is in her early twenties, and I did feel lost as well at that age.

I can't even remember her name, but she meets this fifteen year old at a high school.  They talk, and he confidently invites her to some bar, and she actually goes to meet him.  He looks way too old to be fifteen, but I guess it's possible to be that big for that age.  He turns out to be kind of a resourceful and industrious kid, and they end up doing some business together.  

They end up getting romantically involved, and I kind of felt cringey about the age difference.  I would feel the same way if the genders were reversed.  I recently rewatched "Parasite", and I was kind of incredulous because it seemed like culturally acceptable for a younger high school girl to have a relationship with an older college guy.  It's like when I watched "An Education".  I couldn't believe it.  I can't remember the reviews now, but everyone seemed to be okay with it.  As for this movie, I don't understand what the two like about each other, apart from that they don't really have a lot of options.  I guess I can see their point of view, but I just don't understand why this story needed to be told and why people should watch this.  And it's not that I find it offensive, but it's just that it was a waste of my time.

The film is set in the seventies.  I wonder why.  It didn't really add much to me.  If it was set to nowadays, the relationship would probably look even odder.

I really did not find anything likable about the characters.  One thing I learned after googalizing it now, is that the boy was played by Philip Seymour Hoffman's son.  I wonder if that clouded the reviewers' views of the film.  That is why I like seeing movies fresh, without trailers or reading about upcoming projects in the news.

Queue Tips: Yule of Dogs

I read somewhere before that Wes Anderson thought of the idea for "Isle of Dogs" because it sounds like someone saying "I love dogs" or vice versa.  When it first came out on DVD, I watched it a lot with my kids.  They kept wanting to see it over and over.  

The drumming in the beginning and the whistling in the middle got stuck in our heads around that time.  My older one would grab the sticks and do the beat.  My younger one was only around three years old at the time so he couldn't really do it.  Neither of them could whistle even now so they would just kind of hum or make fake whistling sounds.  I would tease them by whistling for them, and they would tease me back by snapping their fingers.  I can't really snap my fingers very well or loudly.

We would also repeat the lines in the movie, of course.  When the younger one wouldn't listen, we would say to him, "You're disobedient.  Sit!"  And I actually can't remember the other lines now.  It's funny because we quoted it all the time.  "Fetch-i" I guess was one of them.  And "I don't fetch."  Even after rewatching the film recently, the other lines still don't stick.  The difference maybe is that I watched it by myself this time and not with the boys.  Maybe if we watched it together, I would remember more.  Mostly because they would probably want to see it over and over.  It was the same with "Fantastic Mr. Fox", which was also directed by Anderson.

This was his second animated movie, and it was pretty good on its own.  I'm glad he doesn't do sequels.  But I was thinking about what I would call it if there was another installment of this.  I would probably call it "Yule of Dogs".  Because it sounds like "You love dogs", of course.  And then you would have to make it a Christmas movie because of the title.

Would I still set it in Japan?  What would the story be?  Something about saving Christmas as usual?  Or maybe just dogs enjoying the holidays?  How popular is kurisumasu in that country, anyway?  I read something somewhere before that Kentucky Fried Chicken is popular there because the Japanese were led to believe that that is how Americans celebrate the holiday.  Maybe Oracle the dog learns about the Yuletide season and try to introduce it to his dog friends and they try to spread holiday cheer all over Tokyo.  And hilarity ensues or something.

Anyways, I always assumed Wes Anderson was an Akira Kurosawa fan, and this film kind of validated that for me.  He obviously takes great care to frame his shots and uses movements well.  Characters move within the frame and the pans, dollies and tilts usually have a purpose.  For Anderson, it seems more just for fun sometimes, but that's fine.  But what really sticks out for me is how multiple characters move together as a group.  Their placement within the set and the shot kind of give me the same sentiment. 

And then the music in this film is obviously an homage or a reference to those samurai films.  It was a very enjoyable experience.  My kids enjoyed the film, but I wonder what adults would think of it, especially if they had not been exposed to Kurosawa films.

A Disgusting Dream

I had a dream the other night where I was on some sort of island, maybe on vacation or something.  I was with some other people, about five of us.  They felt like family.  There was an older gentleman with us, who was kind of like our tour guide, or father figure.  Or uncle figure?  But he had that kind of vibe, that he knew what was going on and was kind of taking the lead.

We were by the water.  There was stuff happening before, of course, and as with most of my dreams, I can't remember the earlier stuff.  I think we were walking or driving around this vacation type place.  This was probably in the Philippines.  I have had dreams about being there off and on this past year.  We were looking towards a bridge and the scenery around it.  And then just then, the lights went off.  Not that it was too bright to begin with.  It seemed to be around dusk, and I think the lights on the bridge would be on regardless of time of day.  I couldn't really see if the lights on the houses or other buildings had been on or not, and I could barely make out the structures anyway.  They were few and far between.  There seemed to have been a brown out, and I feel like the tour guide type guy urged us to stop and look around because we don't always see the place in its natural light.  Or darkness.  Not that it was that dark as there was still some daylight around.  It wasn't shadowy.  It was kind of just tinted like.

And then it was suddenly actually dark.  It switched to nighttime just like that.  There was some kind of a floating thing or device with a light, and it came from the deeper part of the water towards me.  I was on some kind of wooden dock maybe near the shore.  As the device got closer, it would light up the area right in front of it.  As it got towards me, it showed that there was some kind of poop somewhere.  I can't remember if it was on the water or the ground, but I remember it being revealed that there was poop there.  It seemed to be the cartoonish, almost emoji like, at this point.  Or like the way they would show poop on the show "Rick and Steve", very plastic like.

So then I walked away from it.  I was kind of by myself as this lighted floating device thing was coming.  I joined the rest of the group, and we continued on.  Then it wasn't that dark again.  It was back to the original tinted light.  We were on some grassy, dirt area, and we were headed back towards a concrete or paved path.  There may have been a vehicle awaiting us.   As I looked down on the ground, I saw that there was poop everywhere.  Like massive amounts.  Like you could hardly see the dirt on the ground because it was all surrounded by poop.

I either woke up around that time, or the dream continued to parts that I don't remember.  I have an idea of how this kind of imagery manifested.  I have been running a bit again recently, and I noticed piles of poop all over our neighborhood.  Especially after when it snows, people don't seem to care about picking up after their dogs when they go.  It has been pretty bad recently, and the other on this path I ran by, there was poop every few feet on either side of me.  And I usually look down when I run so I know where I'm stepping.  (When it rains, I try to avoid stomping the numerous worms that come out.). So I can't avoid seeing the mounds left behind by messy hounds. 

Queue Tips: I Queue

Apparently, "I.Q." is not the prequel to "A.I."  They kind of have nothing to do with each other.  Also, the latter came later, and the former came earlier.

When I first turned this movie on, I was expecting to see "Quiz Show".  I'm not sure why I mixed them up.  Is it the letter Q?  And I believe they both came out around the same time.  I don't think they have any of the same actors or filmmakers.  I was surprised to see Tim Robbins' and Meg Ryan's names on the opening credits.  I had seen this movie before but I had pretty much forgot all about it for all those years since around 1994 or 95.  That would be what?  30 years?  Crazy.

I do remember enjoying this when I first watched it.  But now, I don't know.  It's not exactly cringey, but it just doesn't seem right.  The plot is about a young man pretending to be smart so that a young lady would fall for him.  And a group of four old men help him.  Also, this young lady is already seeing someone.  They may actually be engaged, I think.  So most of the movie is about these guys manipulating and lying to the lady to trick her into liking him.  One of the old men is Albert Einstein, and the young lady is his niece.  

I was able to suspend my disbelief when I first watched it.  But now, I couldn't really get past the fact that what they are doing is wrong.  The movie is trying to make it cute or whimsical, and the antics are supposed to be mischievous and playful.  But it's just not right.  The main character falls in love with this lady at first sight, and he says that he sees the future and that they will end up together.  If he is so certain of this, then why go through all the trouble and pretense.  Just tell her you like her.

How long did he possibly think he could fake being a genius?  I think if he truly liked her, he would have asked her about her interests and her thoughts and theories and what kind of projects she was working on.  They could have made an actual genuine connection by her getting to share her passion with him.  Instead, he spends his time on fooling her.  If he had humbled himself, he could have actually learned something for real.

The girl, on her part, eventually realizes that the men are plotting to have the two of them get together.  She is already seeing someone somewhat seriously, but still she entertains him.  She doesn't stop him right away or reprimand the old men.  She just kind of goes along with it.  So what did she expect?  

As for the man she was already seeing, the movie is trying to make the audience not like him, obviously.  But what did he actually do wrong?  He was actually working on accomplishing something in his field.  He may not have been that great about it, but he was dedicated and he put forth effort into it.  Yet, we are supposed to hate him, or at least dislike him.  The protagonist even sabotages one of his experiments for no reason.

It's kind of amazing that I was able to look past all these things thirty years ago.  Of course, I haven't had any romantic relationships at the time yet.  And I probably had crushes on girls who already had boyfriends at the time.  So yeah, I probably identified with the Robbins character back then.  Not that I identify with the boyfriend character now.  I just kind of see how wrong the whole plot against hm was.

The boyfriend is played by Stephen Fry.  I had been watching "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" and "Jeeves and Wooster" recently, so it was a pleasant surprise to see him right at the first scene.