Hondo at Bat

Baseball slugger Frank Howard has passed at 87. This giant of a man, nicknamed Hondo, played for several teams and started with the Dodgers through their 1963 World Series title but made a name for his seasons with The Washington Senators hitting record homeruns in the late sixties. He hit the last homerun for them before the team moved to Texas as the Rangers and hit their first homerun. I was fortunate as a kid to watch him play a few games in DC.

Insidious Evil in KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON

 

Director/Cowriter Martin Scorsese adapts the best seller, Killers of the Flower Moon, the fascinating and epic chronicle of a dark chapter in American history where greed and murder went rampant in the Midwest.

In Oklahoma after World War I, Osage Indians became the wealthiest people in the world from oil on their land attracting greedy con men, swindlers, and murderers.  Meanwhile, town benefactor, William Hale (Robert De Niro), orchestrates a deliberate plan to consolidate the wealth of Osage families. His nephew Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) falls in love with Mollie (Lily Gladstone), who is part of an Osage family that is killed one by one in an elaborate conspiracy to transfer estates to white spouses. When Mollie falls mysteriously ill, all hope seems lost until U.S. government (pre-FBI) agents appear and begin to investigate the crimes.

This story, (partly dramatized in The FBI Story from 1959), confronts issues of racism, corruption, and systematic genocide that also references the Tulsa Massacre.  It fits into the gangland themes that Scorsese has explored his entire career (Goodfellas, The Departed) and features outstanding performances by DiCaprio, whose inner conflict and relationship with his wife form the crux of the story, De Niro with his best role in years as the most sinister incarnate of evil, and Gladstone who shines as the film’s centerpiece.

Epic in scope but intimate in detail, it’s a tragic, little known period with implications that ripple today.  What also stands out is the cinematography and attention to period costumes and set designs, while the film remains faithfully authentic to Osage customs and traditions.  It may test audiences with its 206 minute runtime, but it holds attention with its riveting, true story and awards caliber acting.

****1/2 of ***** stars (for DiCaprio and De Niro fans)

Actress Bridged Golden Age and New Age

 

Actress Piper Laurie has passed at 91. This talented star began her career in the late 1940s and ranged through 2018 with numerous stage, film, and TV work including Oscar nominated roles in The Hustler, Carrie, and Children of a Lesser God. She was nominated nine times for Emmy Awards and won once for Promises. Her credits included ER, The Thorn Birds, Will and Grace, Frasier, and memorable turns in the great Twin Peaks. I was fortunate to meet her at the 2014 MidAtlantic Nostalgia Convention. She was a classy woman. 

CoStar in Lost in Space

Actor Mark Goddard has passed at 87. He was a costar of the TV scifi classic Lost in Space as Major West. I met him at the 2010 MidAtlantic Nostalgia Convention. Nice guy.

The Humanity in THE CREATOR

 

The Creator is director/cowriter Gareth Edwards’ (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) science fiction epic that is an ambitious, visual feast with a compelling story that should be seen on the biggest screen.

In the near future, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) community has developed into highly sophisticated, lifelike bots. When Los Angeles is attacked and devastated, AI is blamed. Over the years, U.S. and western forces hunt the AI while targeting their ‘creator’.  Joshua (John David Washington) is an agent with a painful past who leads the forces to eliminate the creator until he discovers a young girl with a special gift who could be the key to everything and may hold answer to his trauma. Meanwhile, western forces are on the brink of exterminating AI with an ultimate weapon, NOMAD.  

This sweeping tale is partly a love story that bridges the importance of family ties.  For most of the story, it is essentially one long, extended chase that follows Joshua and his companion to New Asia where the future of AI is at stake.  Divided into four chapters, the film sets up an intriguing premise that eventually pulls together plot threads into an emotional ending.  Major themes explore love and sacrifice, making amends with the past, and whether AI is capable of experiencing emotions.  Much of the film’s concepts involving biotech versus humanity will seem familiar from other genre classics like Blade Runner, Westworld, The Matrix, and even District 9.

It is notable that Edwards shot much of the production in actual locations and employed practical, non-CGI effects, and the results are impressive and realistic. With able support from Gemma Chan, Ken Watanabe, and Allison Janney, it’s an intelligent, relatively simple tale, beautifully realized, nothing more, nothing less.

**** of ***** stars (for sci-fi fans)