Category: Entertainment

One Voice, One Mic: The Rise of Podcasting Ben Gummery on the Importance of Me

One Voice, One Mic: The Rise of Podcasting Ben Gummery on the Importance of Me

One Voice, One Mic, a 2019 documentary by Ben Gummery is all about the rise of the podcast. Narrated by the man himself, the short film could be said to be all about the importance of me. In today’s society it is all about the big “I am.” Podcasts, as pointed out in this short feature, are all the rage. Some are more popular than others, for example, Kevin Smith’s work is beyond well known, but according to Gummery and his subjects, there is room for everyone.

This documentary will be hitting Amazon on 30 September and it is one to check out. Using clips from Smith at the start, Gummery turns the camera on a number of known and unknown Podcasters. Many of these are English and, for the most part, unheard of by this reviewer.  This is not to say that they are not significant, nor important in their own way.

Podcasting has indeed been on the rise, as aptly pointed out in this documentary, and, as also pointed out, becoming a popular way for folks with clean diction and a unique take on things to build an audience. Some of the participants in this film downplay the requirements and the time consuming edits needed to sound professional, or at the very least not sound gormless to the nth degree, but this is an interesting look at a booming industry niche.

Podcasting has been around for a while now, as pointed out by Gummery and his Podcasters. This reviewer has even guested, several times, on ChasingCinema.com, that started out on Apple iTunes and can now be found on YouTube. It is a comfortable medium that does indeed feel up close and personal. Intimate without being intrusive, the format is one that becomes almost addictive to its listeners.

It is also a means of getting one’s own opinion and voice out to the masses. In this time period of “the importance of me” it trumps YouTube, with its excessive need to regulate. Podcasting also neatly sidesteps Google with its anally retentive attention to marketing, copy-write infringement and annoying algorithms. As one caster states, “you just upload to Apple” and bang you’re a Podcaster.

This is an interesting look at the rise of Podcasting and Gummery does a good job of showcasing a varied group of folks who take this world serious enough to put their mouth where their money is (pun intended).

Gummery, whose next project will be on Kevin Smith “fan-art” is a capable craftsman. He is able to provide the viewer with a diverse arena of spokesmen for the art form of speaking into a mic. His passion for the medium shines through clearly as does the passion of the various folks who love it. (It is interesting to note that there are no female Podcasters involved with this project.)

Keep an eye out for this One Voice, One Mic September 30, 2019 on Amazon. It may just inspire you to pick up a microphone and have a go yourself. A 5 out of 5 for presentation and the inclusion of “we are not worthy” Kevin Smith.

 

Some Girls Wander: Geoff Woodbridge’s Ode to the Lost and Broken

Some Girls Wander: Geoff Woodbridge's Ode to the Lost and Broken

Made in 2017 and released in 2018 via the festival circuit, Some Girls Wander is an ode to all those “lost and broken” occupants of planet Earth by Geoff Woodbridge. Starring Jade Mark (Dandilicious, Last Day of Summer and Greener Pastures) and Keith Parr as Ken, the film chronicles the meeting and bonding of two disparate souls who find themselves on the streets of Liverpool.

In the beginning these two strangers have nothing in common apart from their social predicament. They start a dialogue that moves along in fits and starts until, at last, No (Mark) learns about Ken’s past. Filmed in black and white Some Girls Wander offers a bleak look at Liverpool and it manages to pull off a pretty clever parlour trick.

The film is a long and varied word-fest. Dialogue heavy with minimal action it offers a languid pace that feels like a good fit to the story. Despite feeling that this would have made one hell of a stage play, the film works well in this “format.” No’s compulsive nail biting, Ken’s rambling, yet spot on, recitation of 1970’s films, (although he does come screaming into the “present” with a nod to Tarentino’s Kill Bill films) and the odd reference to early British telly, The Sweeney, and a “Bum Fight” all work to give this tale depth and a touch, at times, of humorous pathos.

There is much to love about this film. Even if one is not from England, or lived there for far too many years, the setting and the dialogue evokes a sense of nostalgic yearning that goes beyond the odd glimpse of “Marks and Sparks” and the omnipresent seagulls and pigeons. The language is Liverpudlian, “bevvies” not withstanding, and the Jimmy Nail reference is brilliant.

What the film does best, albeit somewhat obliquely, is to show us a slice of life in a park in Liverpool. While we learn of the two very different backstories of these characters we are treated to the odd intrusion of real people in the park. St John’s Gardens, where the vast majority of the film takes place, has a number of bystanders who, in typical English fashion, merely ignore the action and carry on reading, feed the pigeons or wander by as these two interact.

Geoff does relate, however, that there were those who did interrupt proceedings. The police and real-life homeless population both came in contact with the film crew but these are not part of the story, just an interesting antidote.

Some Girls Wander (Some Men Leave) makes an effort to show us that the homeless are people at the end of the day. Their stories are varied and a combination of the tragic and the misunderstood. It is commendable that the filmmaker has taken time to show us the normalcy of the flotsam and jetsam of the world and how easy it is to relate. Even if that relation is in the terms of the films that Ken so loves.

Mark gives a splendid performance and manages to convince as the youngster finding her feet on the street. This is an actor to keep an eye on as she almost effortlessly filled the shoes of her character. The late Keith Parr (sadly the gentleman passed on before the film’s first screening) does an excellent job portraying the multifaceted Ken. Both actors  did a brilliant job interacting with one another and pulled off a believable double act that never feels forced.

The music fits like a glove and moves things along nicely. Like the cinematography and the writing it allows things to move into view with a minimum of muss and fuss. It accents the story rather well, despite the odd times it overpowers the proceedings.

This offering earns an easy four out of five stars. It is a tad too long, rambling on a bit in the middle, but, in terms of characterization and storyline, the film makes up for its meandering style of presentation. There are small irritating things about the film, such as continuity errors and a few places where the sound drowns out the actors but these things do not spoil the story.

Some Girls Wander feels like a real labour of love and we have fallen in love with the story itself and the filmmakers who put the whole thing together. Definitely worth a look this one.

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood: Opinion

once upon a time in Hollywood: Opinion

As mentioned in my review of this latest Tarantino offering, I was 11 years old at the time of the Manson murders. Sharon Tate was not discovered by me until I found the Roman Polanski film The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) on the Tulsa late night “Creature Feature” hosted by Gailard Sartain. The show, where Sartain appeared as Dr. Mazeppa Pompazoidi, (with a very young Gary Busey) began one year after the Tate murders and at the end of the 1960s, in 1970.

Sartain, aka Mazeppa, presented a lot of Hammer horror and the odd “non-Hammer” horror on his show. I caught the Polanski film around the end of his reign as creature feature presenter in 1973. (These are all rough guesses as this was an entire lifetime ago.) The show quickly became a favorite. Not just because of Tate, but because that dance scene, where Polanski’s character, along with Jack McGowran‘s vampire hunter face a vacant mirror…

You may well wonder how this relates to Quentin Tarantino’s latest “masterpiece.”

Let me explain. In the 1970’s, after discovering the reality of Sharon Tate (I’d also seen her in the Matt Helm feature, one that I was too young to watch in the cinema when it was initially released, The Wrecking Crew) I was hooked. In short, I had one heck of a crush and tried to find out everything I could about the late actor.

Sharon Tate and Dean Martin

In 1974 (aged 16) I read “Helter Skelter” written by Vincent Bugliosi (with Curt Gentry) and learned of the horrifying murders committed by Manson’s followers in 1969. The idea of this heavily pregnant very talented newcomer (with an excellent touch of the comedic) being slaughtered by a crew of drugged up and tuned out hippies hurt. This act of cruel and senseless violence left a mark on me that has never been eradicated.

Tate’s murder, along with that of her fellow houseguests, changed Hollywood forever. It had far reaching effects on the famous denizens of the film capital of the world. It also, to a huge degree, marked the end of the “Swinging Sixties.” More than the march of Father Time, which ushered in the ’70s, it killed off that dreamlike movement of free love and peace.

This terrifying act, which showed the underbelly of commune living that pre-dated The Moonies and Waco, Texas, stuck in the back of my mind while watching Tarantino’s film. A fantasy, to be sure,  that also served as a snapshot of “old Hollywood” was hard to get into. While the rest of the cinema audience laughed at the “comedy,” I sat silent and disassociated from the events on screen.

It was only after viewing the film that I suspected (Realized?) that the director/producer was showing us not only the “death” of Old Hollywood, but was, simultaneously,  giving us his “happy ending.” An ending where the monster(s) is/are vanquished by a trio of film misfits who are on their way out of the limelight.

This “ever after” ending made me re-evaluate the entire film. I will go back and see Tarantino’s offering again. Perhaps, with the new revelation of his sly and devious presentation, I will be able to laugh more than once. It will be hard though as underneath the “message” presented by Hollywood’s “auteur” I will still “see” those slain by a group of idiotic followers who listened to a tiny evil misfit who preached hate and whose life was one long mistake.

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood is an interesting film. One that the audience seemed to appreciate. It does, however, disturb in many ways. The fixation of Julia Butters’ character – all grown up looking with those long lingering close ups of the lipstick and makeup. To what purpose? I can only wonder at the rationale for these shots as later, when she whispers to Dalton about his performance, child-like, one is moved to tears at DiCaprio’s character’s reaction.

Screen Shot 2019-07-29 at 9.04.34 PM

Brad Pitt’s character also disturbs. The man who “murdered” his wife and got away with it also manages to care enough about the blind owner of Spahn Ranch to check on his welfare. DiCaprio’s fading star is a mixture of stammering insecurity and alcoholism. Both men are misogynistic and, for lack of a better term, dumb. Pitt’s stuntman is a neanderthal that has managed to make the most of his physical skills and DiCaprio’s western TV star is an anachronism before his time.

There is a lot to recommend about the film. However… Those who remember the event, which is smoothed over by the director, may have a hard time getting into the thing as presented. Brash, bright and benign, Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood lacks the brilliance of Pulp Fiction and the grittiness of The Hateful Eight. It does, somewhat sadly, bring us back to a time of violence that may well best be forgotten by those not directly involved.

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood is in cinemas now.

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood: Tarantino’s Ironic Nostalgic Twist

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood is Quintin Tarantino’s latest offering…

once upon a time in Hollywood: Opinion

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood is Quentin Tarantino’s latest offering. It is a slant on a nostalgic tinseltown that no longer exists, if it ever really did in the way that Tarantino depicts it, and the film’s ironic ending leaves one wondering just what his motives truly were.  Critics have complained that the movie spends too little time on the Manson family and its tragic victims but this is the purpose of the entire film, to give a “Hollywood finish” to reality.

The film, starring Tarantino semi-regulars Leonardo DiCaprio (Django, and Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds) Kurt Russell (The Hateful Eight, Death Proof) and Bruce Dern (in a blink and you will miss him cameo as a last minute replacement for the late Burt Reynolds) is a long, somewhat meandering affair. **It should be pointed out that along with Russell, Dern has the most credits listed under Tarantino.**

Margot Robbie is the tragic Sharon Tate and there are a number of familiar faces, some more special that others, who fill out the cast list of this odd offering. Please do not misunderstand, this is a visual treat for the viewer, it offers much in terms of interest and threatens to become a brilliant character study. Although it never really delivers in term of character but it teases in other ways and provides a few laughs along then way.

I was 11 years old when the 1960’s ended, along with the lives of Tate, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger and Voytek Frykowski, and Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood brought the sixties screaming back into glorious discordant life. The sounds of the radio advertisements, the television clips, the colours, the clothes and the cars all threw me right back into a pre-pubescent memory lane. This was both enthralling and somewhat, rather oddly, disturbing.

Tarantino gives us his version of ’60’s Hollywood. He also, by design, gives us the “Hollywood” ending to the entire “Helter Skelter” true story that the film is based around. (Not upon, as his tale is, to paraphrase a line from 1969’s The Wild Bunch of the event, not from it. In other words, it is the frame he hangs his work on.)

Once Upon a Time… focuses on Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth. Tate is in the periphery as a reminder of the impending tragedy. She flashes on the screen in small glimpses that are designed to show her as a sympathetic character, all the more to make the ending hit that little bit harder. This is, however, a ruse. A MacGuffin if you will. A tactic that sets us up instead for the “Hollywood ending.”

Tarantino lets fantasy intrude at the tail end of the movie and here the discussion will stop in order to keep spoilers from appearing in this review. In many ways, the ending is a disappointment until one realizes that the fantasy is what Hollywood studios would have ordered were the real life murders a movie.

Hollywood has long had a fixation with endings that allow the hero to ride off into the sunset with the girl on one arm and a fistful of money clenched in his fist. The bad guy gets his just reward, a bullet or a grave, or both, and everyone lives happily ever after.

There are enough nods are “real” Hollywood to allow this to work. Booth’s besting of Bruce Lee on the backlot is based around Lee’s time on The Green Hornet. He was also training many celebs and newcomers on martial arts for both onscreen and off. Lee trained Tate for her role in the Dean Martin “Matt Helm” movie The Wrecking Crew. (Coincidentally, this was the last Matt Helm picture made, despite another being touted at the end credits.)

Dalton’s foray into Spaghetti Western territory mirrors, to an extent, Clint Eastwood’s own journey into the Leonesque world of Western Opera. While the connection is tenuous as best, unlike the Bruce Lee vignette, it is there for the film fan to notice and appreciate.

Once Upon a Time looks luscious and real, except for the odd continuity issue, as the hippies all have filthy feet, legs and hair. Dakota Fanning plays stunningly against type as the “momma bear” Squeaky Fromme and Margaret Qualley as Pussycat is all scabby legs, black feet and sexual promiscuity wrapped in a teen drugged up dream. Qualley does such a convincing job as a Manson minion that one can almost smell the scent of eu de rubbish skip that must permeate her entire essence.

The violence in the film is convincing yet, strangely, funny in the way it is presented. All except the scene at the Spahn Ranch, the blood looked as real as the Korean cinema’s blood work, which is head and shoulders above the rest of the industry.

DiCaprio’s performance as Dalton is convincing and his suffering artist makes us feel for him. I will admit to being moved to tears when the child actor – Trudi (played exquisitely by Julia Butters ) leans over and tells a teary eyed Dalton that this is “the best acting I’ve ever seen.” Truth be told, Butters comes damn close to stealing the film from the entire cast. This is one young lady to keep an eye on.

Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood is one to watch. Perhaps not at the cinema, streaming or DVD may just suffice as despite looking brilliant and providing a magnificent nostalgic treat, it left me, at the end of the film, feeling a tad disappointed.  However, it is an excellent example of Tarantino’s skill at hiding a genius move in plain sight. Like Inglourious Basterds he gives us a fictional version of an awful reality, one that equals, to a degree, a happy Hollywood ending. This then, is the ironic twist to Tarantino’s nostalgic Hollywood tale…

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