4.5 stars out of 5
In my review of the excellent 2022 movie The Quiet Girl, I wrote that the “script is adapted from the novella Foster by Claire Keegan; will have to check out her work.” Since then I’ve indeed read the bulk of Keegan’s work, including her masterwork to date, Small Things Like These. My 5-star Goodreads review of that book:
A short story disguised as a novel, its power sneaks up on you. I had read a story by Keegan in the New Yorker and was so impressed I rushed out to buy this and a collection of her short fiction. I don’t want to say too much about this one except to say, it’s a Christmas story and a morality play and an exploration of family, specifically: what makes a family. We’re in working-class Ireland in 1985 but there’s a timeless quality here. Keegan is expert at capturing the titular small things of life.
So, for me at least, screenwriter Enda Walsh and Belgian (!) director Tim Mielants certainly had their work cut out for themselves adapting this story. The casting of Cillian Murphy as the lead, Bill Furlong, helps tremendously. The character is a family man with a gaggle of girls and is also the local coal man. Through his deliveries to the church and convent, he learns it is a “Magdalene laundry,” the real-life nun-run facilities where “bad” young women were sent to work, and their babies were taken away. (The very good Showtime series The Woman in the Wall also deals with this shame of Ireland’s too-recent history.)
The central question becomes: Confronted with such cruelty, can Furlong stand to look the other way, and if he doesn’t, what will that mean for his work and his family? Murphy is excellent in the role, creating a quiet, pensive person who seems to be absorbing all the sorrow around him, to the point where he can barely contain it. Emily Watson has a small but key role as Mother Superior, who wields much power and influence in town. Watson downplays it very well; she is everyone’s friend but it’s crystal-clear that you should not cross her.
The film stretches out the novella with extended flashbacks to Furlong’s own youth. Unresolved family issues definitely aren’t helping adult Furlong’s anxiety quotient.
DIrector Mielants creates a very strong sense of place, resisting the temptation to rely too heavily on the small-town Irish holiday season. And by sticking pretty closely to Keegan’s book, he gives us a low-key gem of a movie.
Movie Review: Small Things Like These
Aquarium Playlist, 11/19/24
EPISODE #616: REESE McHENRY and SHEL TALMY TRIBUTE
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
Reese McHenry — “I Do What I Want”
Dirty Little Heaters — “Champions of Imperfection”
Reese McHenry — “If He Don’t”
Reese McHenry — “Someday I’ll See”
Reese McHenry w/ Spider Bags — “Rose of Monmouth County”
The Kinks — “You Really Got Me”
The Who — “My Generation”
The Easybeats — “Friday on my Mind”
Davy Jones [David Bowie] — “You’ve Got a Habit of Leaving”
Pentangle — “Light Flight”
Goldie & the Gingerbreads — “That’s Why I Love You”
The Creation — “Making Time”
The Interpreters — “Dogskin Report”
Lee Hazlewood — “Bye Babe”
Big Brother & the Holding Company — “Bye, Bye Baby”
Reese McHenry — “Bye Bye Baby”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: Anora
4 stars out of 5
Brooklyn exotic dancer falls for son of a Russian oligarch, but daddy doesn’t approve. In different hands, this random draw from Hollywood’s Big Hat o’ Plots could’ve been: a raunchy comedy with Adam Sandler [large budget] or Rob Schneider [small budget] as the dad; a Pretty Woman-esque rom-com [full disclosure: Have never seen Pretty Woman]; or an international spy thriller starring Tom Holland and Sydney Sweeney. But with writer/director Sean Baker — whose The Florida Project I really liked (except for the screaming kids) and Red Rocket I mostly liked — it’s an… indie dramedy, I think?
We meet Ani (Mikey Madison), who doesn’t like to be called Anora, a dancer at a Manhattan strip club called HQ. I’m just now learning that Madison was one of the daughters on the show Better Things which I liked a lot. Here she gives a dynamic, multi-layered performance. She is completely believable as Ani from the Brighton Beach block, who knows exactly how to charm/manipulate her clientele. But do not cross her; she is one tough broad who will absolutely not be f’d with. Ani brightens when her dreams of a better life look like they might become reality.
The aforementioned oligarch’s son is Vanya, played by Mark Eydelsheyn with a goofy sweetness that leans toward entitled immaturity; I was physically reminded of Jean-Ralphio from Parks & Rec. The oligarch sends his man in New York, Toros (Karren Karagulian), to investigate the rumor that his son has gotten married. Toros then sends his henchmen Garnick (Paul Weissman) and Igor (Yura Borisov) to Vanya’s house to do the hands-on work.
Sean Baker isn’t afraid to switch gears in this movie. We spend arguably too long establishing both the sleazy strip-club world (I was getting an Uncut Gems vibe) and then Vanya’s spoiled decadent party life. When the henchmen arrive, it nearly becomes a slapstick comedy, with Weissman humorlessly absorbing much of the abuse. As the film shifts again — no spoilers — the characters start to become more human. Karagulian as Toros displays the exhaustion and frustration of a middle-aged middle manager. Borisov, who is slightly too handsome as Igor, is quiet and pensive as his character begins to wonder if he’s doing the right thing. And when we finally see some cracks in Ani’s hard shell, it’s quite affecting.
Baker does an excellent job capturing the Russian and Russian-American existence in Brighton Beach, and when all is said and done, he delivers a very realistic, satisfying moviegoing experience.
What I’ve Been Watching: Edition XXVII
So many of us will be completely staying at home for the next four years. This rundown of the shows I’ve checked out in the past handful of months may prove helpful.
LOVED
History of White People in America (YouTube) It’s a shame Martin Mull passed away, as we could use a MAGA-era installment of this wickedly funny 1985–86 mockumentary series. In six episodes, narrator Mull uses a typical suburban family, headed by Fred Willard and Mary Kay Place, to explore different aspects of white culture. Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Edie McClurg, Eileen Brennan, Bob Eubanks, Steve Martin, and Teri Garr also add to the laughs.
2024 Summer Olympics (NBC) Simone Biles’ comeback! Katie Ledecky’s consistency! Noah Lyles showing the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat! Steph Curry stepping up and leading the USA to hoops gold again! The Olympics never disappoint.
LIKED A LOT
Bad Monkey (Apple) Classic Vince Vaughn in a classic Carl Hiassen setting and plot. Suspended police detective Vaughn — pulling out all his smug, charming, wisecracking stops — is trying to find the owner of a severed arm somewhere between Key West and the islands. The series didn’t quite stick the landing, but there was an awful lot of fun, funny, detective stuff before that. And a monkey.
Everybody Still Hates Chris (Comedy Central) What a pleasant surprise to find this animated revival, picking up where the 2005–09 live-action series left off. The adult voice actors return — notably Terry Crews, Tichina Arnold, and most importantly narrator Chris Rock — while the kids are understandably voiced by new, young actors. Very much in the funny, urban realistic spirit of the original show.
We Are Lady Parts (Peacock) A few different people had recommended this series, so before my Olympics-month Peacock subscription ended, I decided to check out the first season. Very nice mix of humor, drama, and heart in a unique premise: an all-female Muslim punk band in London. I noticed there’s a second season but the first season had such a satisfying arc, I didn’t want to ruin things for myself.
LIKED
Baby Reindeer (Netflix) Full disclosure: This should’ve been in my previous installment of what I’ve been watching, but I forgot. Maybe I was trying to block it from my memory. This was definitely compelling and disturbing. But I like to have a character to root for, and this series did not provide that.
Devs (Hulu) After seeing the terrific movie Civil War, I was reviewing the work of writer/director Alex Garland (one of my current faves) on IMDb. I was quite surprised to see a TV series from 2020 listed that I’d completely missed. And it shared several of the stars from Civil War: Nick Offerman, Cailee “Romulus” Spaeny, and dependable wise old guy Stephen McKinley Henderson. Offerman is an Elon Musk/Steve Jobs/Bill Gates figure; Sonoya Mizuno (also in Civil War!) is an employee, and her boyfriend — recently transferred to the mysterious Devs division — has vanished. It’s pretty cool but Garland went way too deep into sci-fi mumbo-jumbo this time, so it starts to feel kind of stupid.
Sugar (Apple) Hey, it’s Colin Farrell! I like him! So, he’s, what? A private eye in a modern L.A. Confidential (a movie I liked a lot less than most, finding it overly slick). But I was into the show, he’s tracking down James Cromwell’s missing granddaughter, the plot is really piling up but I’m managing, hanging in there, but then there’s a “reveal” where I just burst out laughing.
ONE AND DONE
Mr. Throwback (Peacock) Steph Curry, you can’t win ’em all. I saw many, many commercials for this during the Olympics, and, you know, still had Peacock for a couple of weeks, so I gave it a (3-point) shot. Lead character Adam Pally didn’t appeal, and I didn’t return.
YES, I STILL WATCH THE SIMPSONS
Was unclear why they aired the annual “Treehouse of Horror” episode the Sunday after Halloween instead of the Sunday before.
LOOKING FORWARD TO
Will finally sample The Penguin.
SHOWS I USED TO WATCH AND IN MANY CASES STILL DO
Links to Edition I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, and XXVI.
Aquarium Playlist, 11/5/24
EPISODE #614: ELECTION DAY 2024
Jon Langford — “Election Day” [ALTERNATE THEME]
The 5th Dimension — “Save the Country”
Joy Division — “Candidate”
Alice Cooper — “Sedated”
Carl Smith and Marshall Jones — “Put It to a Vote”
Kiwi Jr. — “Undecided Voters”
Faye — “Swing State”
Jack Silbert — “Hello Walz” [spoken word]
John Fogerty — “Vanz Kant Danz”
Fleetwood Mac — “Never Going Back Again”
Brinsley Schwarz — “(What’s So Funny ’Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding”
Lucinda Williams — “Joy”
Tammy Faye Starlite — “Won’t Get Fooled Again”
Lana Del Rey — “God Bless America — And All the Beautiful Women in It”
Laura Cantrell — “AWM — Bless”
Quincy Jones — “Sanford and Son theme (The Streetbeater)” r.i.p.
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Aquarium Playlist, 10/29/24
EPISODE #613: HALLOWEEN 2024
The Frogs — “I’m Evil, Jack” [ALTERNATE THEME]
Rob Zombie feat. The Ghastly Ones — “Halloween (She’s So Mean)”
St. Divine — “DIY Frankenstein”
Superchunk — “Horror Business”
Wednesday — “Quarry”
Bamberdöst — “End of my Driveway”
Jacuzzi Boys — “House of Tricks”
Big Lake — “Scary Things at Night”
Life in a Blender — “Dead Get Down”
Speedy Ortiz — “Casper (1995)”
Felice Brothers — “Candy Gallows”
Eyelids — “Lyin’ in Your Tomb”
Nick Jorgensen — “Spooky”
Jackie Puppet — “Those Little Dracula Bites”
Peach Kelli Pop — “Halloween Mask”
Lou Reed — “Halloween Parade”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: Smile 2
4 stars out of 5
I was slightly skeptical about this sequel, knowing Sosie Bacon could not reprise her lead role. But noticing that writer/director Parker Finn was back, and having enjoyed the first installment so much, I didn’t stay away long from Smile 2. Plus it’s spooky movie season!
Plot, you want to hear the plot? How about a GRAVE PLOT huh?!?! OK, OK, this movie picks up 6 days after part one ended, Sosie’s ex still has the smile curse and, long story short, it soon gets passed on to pop star Skye Riley. The timing is especially bad because Skye is back for her big comeback tour after some well-publicized substance abuse problems. Showbiz mom Rosemarie DeWitt has little patience for her daughter’s increasingly erratic behavior.
Naomi Scott is terrific as Skye. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Scott has some real-life experience being a pop star, and she does her own singing here. The character is a mixture of Gaga plus any number of troubled chart-toppers. And the plot serves a neat dual purpose: It’s a wicked satire of pop culture, but also allows Parker Finn to repeat the conceit of the original film while telling the story in an entirely new way.
Though I enjoyed this all the way through, early on I was thinking, “This is not quite as good as part one.” Finn’s occasional upside-down camera, which seemed original in the original, seemed same-old in this sequel. Try some different cinematography tricks, pal! But Finn seems especially good at endings, and skewering old horror tropes, so as the madness ramped up I happily revised my opinion to “This is absolutely as good as part one!”
Without any spoilers, I’ll say that Finn leaves things here in such a way that it’ll be a completely different part three and potentially extremely fun. After that, I hope he’ll leave the Smile series behind and tell us all-new tales, which Finn seems eminently capable of.
Aquarium Playlist, 10/22/24
EPISODE #612: WISHES
The Who — “Happy Jack” [THEME]
A Flock of Seagulls — “Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)”
Faith NYC — “Love Is a Wish Away”
The Original Sins — “Wish I Was Here”
Laura Cantrell — “Wishful Thinking”
Ben Vaughn — “You’re Gonna Wish Love Was Never Invented”
Amy Rigby — “Wish That I Could Be in Your Shoes”
For Against — “I Wish”
Heavenly — “Wish Me Gone”
Jack Skuller — “I Wish You Lived Nearby”
Rogue’s March — “I Wish My Wife Was a Country Singer”
2nd Grade — “Wish You Were Here Tour”
Nap Eyes — “Though I Wish I Could”
Little Anthony & the Imperials — “When You Wish Upon a Star”
Jack Silbert proudly records the Aquarium podcast in Hoboken, NJ.
Movie Review: Tom Petty — Heartbreakers Beach Party
4 stars out of 5
If you’re really feeling Petty, take a deep dive into Peter Bogdanovich’s 4-hour, 19-min documentary from 2007, Runnin’ Down a Dream. But for a looser experience capturing Tom and band at the height of their powers, Cameron Crowe’s restored film Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party is the one for you. Produced to promote the album Long After Dark, the doc aired only once on MTV in 1983. Crowe has shined it up for a quick theatrical release and we’ll see what happens next.
Though it reached the top 10, Long After Dark was considered a bit of a letdown (go ahead and give it to me) after the monster platinum albums Damn the Torpedoes and Hard Promises. But you wouldn’t know it from watching this movie — the Heartbreakers seem only concerned with being a great rock and roll band, not topping the charts. The word “brothers” comes up more than once; these are dear friends dedicated to their pursuit, and loving it.
The then 25-year-old rock journalist Cameron Crowe was granted exclusive access, and it’s impossible to watch this without thinking of it as a continuation for Crowe’s stand-in character from Almost Famous. We’re on the bus, in the studio, onstage, backstage (I’m pretty sure the Spinal Tap guys saw this footage), in a limo (which Petty rented as a goof just so he could be filmed inside a limo), etc. Crowe’s innocence shines through — he wouldn’t write and direct Say Anything for another six years — but also his extreme love for the music and thrill to be hanging out with Tom and the guys.
The most memorable images from the Long After Dark album cycle are from the Mad Max-like “You Got Lucky” video, and the doc spends a decent amount of time in the desert with the band. Interestingly, this would be a turning point for Petty, focusing more energy on visuals as MTV reached greater and greater importance (such as with his classic “Don’t Come Around Here No More” video from the next album), while still being devoted to classic rock and roll. (We see the band do a completely sincere cover of “Wild Thing” in the studio.)
What a treat to open this time capsule, with the band still young and hungry but definitely not kids anymore — Tom was on the other side of his legal troubles with the record company over the pricing of Hard Promises. And it’s a pleasure to see Cameron Crowe at the start of his filmmaking career, having some real fun with the rock-doc format. Plus, in the more-things-change department, this time the documentary is promoting a remastered, bonus-tracks edition of Long After Dark. Maybe it will go platinum this time!
Jack Silbert, curator