July 2019

I am filing this post late, and since I didn’t take very good notes on what I did this month, I’m a little hazy on the events of July. But I do recall some of the highlights. On Saturday, July 6, I attended the 78th birthday party of Barry “Dr. Demento” Hansen (with Joan, of course—why would I be there otherwise?). It was also attended by comedy-music genius Henry Phillips, who I actually got to talk to, although I doubt he was really listening, and why would he be? It was a fun affair, although no ice cream was served (despite the event being heavily advertised as a party at which ice cream would be served). I also got to meet my online friend Tonya Poirier after a great many years of only seeing her preternaturally beautiful self depicted on Facebook. We had a marvelous dinner with her husband, Mike I think his name is, at the Wood Ranch BBQ restaurant. They found a good parking spot at the Farmer’s Market. OK, this might be too much information. TV: I know I watched some stuff, but I don’t remember what I saw. BOOKS: I finished Alex Lake’s After Anna and started another one of his/her books (Lake being an intentionally gender-neutral pseudonym): The Last Lie. MUSIC: I started going through Elton John’s early albums in search of “hidden gems.” Here are the movies I saw in July:

SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME (2019)—This final entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s “Phase Three” is a follow-up to Avengers: Endgame, released in April. Peter Parker/Spider-Man is not my favorite comic-book character, and Tom Holland is far from my favorite Marvel performer, but the movie provides adequate escapism. The main highlights are Jake Gyllenhaal as a superhero with suspicious intentions, and Zendaya as a love interest for Holland. More than most of the Marvel movies, this one transcends comic-book antics into straightforward juvenilia—a fancy way of saying this movie is mostly for kids. But I didn’t hate it. (8)

YESTERDAY (2019)—I had no plans to see this, but then an opportunity arose to see a movie with Cindy, so we went together (she had already seen it). The bad news is that my fear that I would be left with a million plausibility questions was not exactly allayed. But more concerning is the fact that Himesh Patel is the most bizarrely and outrageously miscast actor of any movie I’ve ever seen. Fortunately, the movie has Lily James (of Downton Abbey fame) to look at, and a pleasant soundtrack of Beatles songs—mostly Paul’s. On the bright side, I didn’t dislike the film nearly as much as I feared I would. (7)

THE FAREWELL (2019)—Playing against type, comedic actress/rapper Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians, Oceans 8) is cast as a young NYC woman whose Chinese grandmother (living in Changchun, China) is diagnosed with cancer; the news causes Awkwafina to spend the entire movie sad, depressed and totally dour—her considerable comedic gifts totally wasted. But the elderly woman’s extended family opt to do the Chinese thing, and not tell her. This leaves Western-cultivated Awkwafina at a crossroads; she travels to China to see grandma for the last time, but has a hard time keeping the family’s big health secret. Instead, the grandmother is told that a wedding is the reason for the family reunion. It’s a reasonably engrossing movie, not a classic, but an interesting story based on actual events experienced by director Lulu Wang. (8)

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019)—Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie is a fictional story playing out against the events of the Charles Manson “Helter Skelter” killings. Made-up characters played by Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio appear with real-life Hollywood people like Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) and "Squeaky" Fromme (Dakota Fanning). The movie takes its time reaching its climax, but it’s a fun and mesmerizing ride. The two male leads are absolutely perfect, especially Brad Pitt as a larger-than-life stunt man. (9)