Liz Moore's Novel LONG BRIGHT RIVER - Beth Macy's NonF DOPESICK

Hunter College in NYC is offering online talks during this pandemic.  A recent video concerned our country's opioid overuse & overdose problems. The informative talk and Q&A was between Liz Moore, a Hunter alum & novelist & award winning journalist & Non-F writer Beth Macy.  Moore's recent novel LONG BRIGHT RIVER is a crime, mystery with a female protagonist, police officer, Mickey. Mickey is searching for her younger sister Kasey whose life took a downward path to self-destruction through heroin & prostitution to feed her habit.  Macy's DOPESICK examines the origins of the pain killer Oxycontin & traces its havoc of destruction & pain.  Moore draws us into the drama of a "good cop" Mickey, v. "bad cop" drug addicted sister.  Their estrangement turns to frenzy for Mickey to find Kasey amidst a flurry of homicides of prostitutes that "worked" the same beat as Kasey.  Moore develops a mystery of fitting together puzzle pieces to fit in solving Kasey's disappearance.  It's also a story of familial love between sisters & Mickey's love for her young son.  The story does take an unsurprising twist of corrupt cops promulgating drugs & prostitution for profit.  Still, it's a stirring & prescient novel that both entertains & proselytizes the deadly & overpowering opioid addiction.  Macy's DOPESICK cogently explains Oxycontin's billion dollar industry growth while knowingly pushing Drs. to overprescribe.  Both writers reiterate the self-loathing & omnipotent hold wielded by opioid use.  Those who become addicted are most likely to be ruled by the addiction for the rest of their lives and more than likely to die from an overdose.  Side affects include depression, memory loss & the need to fulfill the cravings through illegal, self-destructive behaviors putting themselves & others in harms' way.  Moore & Macy make clear the morphine override in an addicted person's brain is to avoid the psychological pain of withdrawal avoiding dopesickness at any cost.  Macy's tells a David v. Goliath story; taking down the Purdue Drug Co.  The hero is Dr. Van Zee, a local small VA town Dr. who became distressed burying young people whom he cared for & helped to bring into the world. His motivation not being financial gain but punitive measures aimed at Purdue to terminate their criminal behavior that resulted in so many deaths and take away their financial incentives to continue. Interestingly, Giuliani acted as legal counsel for Purdue brokering behind the scenes deals to mitigate fines & rebuff jail sentencing.  Giuliani propagandized he wouldn't take an assignment with a Co. he felt acted improperly {hah!}.  America remains a nation where becoming addicted is far easier than receiving treatment for addiction.  "People with promise, people dependent & depended upon, people loving and beloved, one after another, in a line, in a river...a long bright river of departed souls." (Moore)  Opiod Addiction becomes a lifelong & typically relapse laden disease & the only avenue to achieve remission is through medication-assisted treatment.

Ricky Gervais' "AFTER LIFE" Life Goes On Oh Blah Deep Connective Humanity

Ricky Gervais is a genius.  He gets humor, he gets grief, he understands compassion, kindness, craziness and insanity.  He's also a damn fine actor, writer & humanitarian.  Why call him a humanitarian?  Simple, his humor connects us all & can help keep from the sanitarium.  Seriously, "After Life" has insane humor that is off-putting and repugnant at times; so too is the human condition.  And the most important thing to remember is we all comprise the human condition and we can all try a little tenderness towards one another.  Why can't we all get along?  OK, I digress & appropriate from the best, but Gervais' talent is in another galaxy, altogether.  "After Life" borrows (legitimately) from Gervais' show "The Office."  "The Office" and "After Life" break comic barriers  blurring comedy & tragedy.  His characters are all credible with foibles that make you ask {are these people for real?}. The premise for "After Life" orbits around the life of Tony (an astounding Ricky Gervais) whose is struggling with severe depression after the death of his beloved wife.  Much of Tony's time is spent in front of his computer, drinking & watching his previously idyllic life with his wife.  We watch his life unfold while Tony watches teary eyed alongside his beloved dog.  We even see the dog as a pup given as a surprise to his wife.  When Tony's not at the office working with a motley mix of misfits with his kind brother-in-law for a boss, or at his psychotic shrink's office, he's often found sitting with his senile dad, walking his dog or at the cemetery.  It's on a cemetery bench  where Tony finds solace speaking with Anne, (Penelope Wilton 'Downton Abbey') an elderly widow who frequents her husband's grave.  Gervais makes the poignant point how crucial it is for humans to have someone who will listen and empathize with them.  Seeking medical help for depression is parodied by a ridiculous psychiatrist both Tony & his brother-in-law see.  This promotes the importance of earnest listening, compassion and unqualified love as essential ingredients to a life well  lived.  Laughter is also a vital factor in the mix of zaniness that comes our way.  Just, don't miss out on life, or the chance to offer kindness.  Nor take for granted the bliss in the mundane things we find in one another we may one day miss.  "After Life" is an emotional roller coaster that accelerates the  guffaws & tears.  Gervais' show can be summed up in his own words: "You have options.  You can continue to be miserable or you can just stop being angry at everyone and accept the way things are.  Allow yourself to live."  His other advice, "Be happy.  It really annoys negative people." My advice - don't miss out on "After Life."

Alice Wu's "The Half of It" - Totally Winning Y/A Film WATCH IT

Dir/screenwriter Alice Wu's coming of age, coming out of the closet road to self discovery film is an entertaining rom/comp that is completely disarming & totally unique.  This high school (h.s.), love triangle doesn't take itself too seriously but is a sensitive & intelligent film about teens discovering who they are and where they fit in.  The h.s. is in a boon town where Friday night lights is a big deal as are the jocks and cute, clique of cheerleaders.  The town has few (only 2) Asians faced to fend with prejudice.  Ellie (a brilliant Leah Lewis) is the only one of Asian heritage at her h.s.   Ellie's content being an outsider.  She services students writing their papers keeps to stay in good graces & needed greens.  Mrs. Geselchap (a terrific Becky Ann Baker), Ellie's teacher is on to her money making scheme but prefers reading Ellie's papers rather than the crappy stuff she would otherwise receive.  Wu does her own take on "Cyrano de Bergerac" when Paul (Daniel Diemer) seeks Ellie's services to woo the girl of his dreams, Aster (a lovely performance by Alexiss Lemire).   Love letters are not in Ellie's business paradigm but the income convinces her to help the seemingly hapless but sweet, varsity football player, Paul.  It was supposed to be a one & done service.  This one of kind, love triangle takes on a rhombus twists of genuine emotional turmoils.  The cheesy, stereotypical characters (except for the dumb jocks) in most h.s. movies are portrayed here as multilayered, caring individuals.  (Still, why have 20 somethings playing h.s. kids?).  Ellie doesn't want to leave Paul hanging when "his" letter wins him a date at the malt shop.  With today's technology, Ellie helps him from himself by texting him what to say to Aster.  Aster, is stunning & knows it, but knows its limited significance & what's expected of her.  Aster & Ellie are more on par intellectually and their attachment grows from getting to know each other's souls through text & tagging.  Paul knows he's "not good with words" but he's smart when it comes to  matters of the heart & cooking sausages in his family's business.  The film pays clever homage to classic movies with a mischievous wink.  Mrs. Geselchap is the spirited teacher who provides Ellie plentiful encouragement.  Ellie & Paul's ping pong, back & forth familiarity adds spicy simpatico to the ingredients that makes for a surprising delight.  Aster sizzles as the blazing beauty at the apex.  All 3, Aster,  Paul & Ellie are artists in their own right in the process of revelatory, self-discovery.   Plenty of accolades are due "The Half of It" for its entertaining & sage coming of age rom/com which is totally winning.

Doc. THE STORY of PLASTIC-Existential Crisis

Deia Schlosberg's doc. film "The Story of Plastics" is crucial viewing intended to cause a seismic shake-up, wake-up to the existential crisis of plastic pollution harming our health, resources and our earth.  Schlosberg is an Amer. doc. filmmaking.  She was arrested while filming a protest v. the N. Dakota Pipeline (2016) on charges of conspiracy to steal & conspiracy to tamper with public services.  These trumped up charges posed a 45 yr. sentence and prompted her to write an open letter to Pres. Obama that was co-signed by dozens of celebrities.  Schlosberg warns that journalists are under attack for their integrity in exposing major business corp. & political leaders who pose major threats to our environment for want of profits.  "The Story of Plastics" is a disturbing expose' on the overfill of landfill & bodies of water from plastic waste.  Major oil companies are major contributors to toxic pollution but the onus also falls on individuals & the laissez-faire disregard for disposing of trash.  The shocking mounds of garbage & plastic items is gob smacking as well as disgusting & repellent.  The question is whether this ambitious and repetitious doc. will motivate the public to actively diminish the debris thoughtlessly consumed & discarded.  The answer should be a resounding yes! We are all responsible for cleaning up this mess.  The film seems resigned, understandably, to the fact major oil companies & fracking industries are not about to change their ways with money coming their way.  In fact, there are political buffoons such as George W Bush and Sec. of State Mike Pompeo who believe accolades are due them.  They even say so, for wrecking havoc on our planet by permitting corporate oil cronies to carry-on with business as usual.  The film travels globally  from the Philippines, to India, to Pakistan, and the not so good ole USA to view the havoc & pile up of plastic waste.  I was struck learning the recycling of plastic considered a major solution was promulgated propaganda from corporations when in fact, only 2% of plastic items placed for recycling is being re-utilized.  The system for selling off our nation's waste to Asia has gone bust.  The sorting of garbage by indigent workers in 3rd world countries is shocking & depressing. However, the major onus is on us to become plastic free.  Consider what products are non-essential in plastic containers & what single use items we can eliminate.  My pet peeve is people using plastic bags at stores instead of just placing items in one's cart.  And, the immense waste of plastic at dry cleaners.  Please ask your dry cleaners not to bag your clothing (easier asked than done) or tell them you'll give them none.

Tired of Too Up Beat Videos, Too Bad Check These 2

Yeah, yeah, I know we're all in this together so let's not torture each other with saccharine, feel good videos you feel compelled to share with your friends (or frenemies).  I urge you to tune in to Trevor Noah's podcast shot from his coach to wherever we are in the world.  Ricky Gervais was just a guest on Trevor's show and said how comedy unites us.  "Comedy makes us all realize we're idiots!" "Humor is to get us over terrible things."  So I say, let's get over ourselves and get on with each other.  And, as much as I detest getting cute kitten or kid videos from others - Here are the 2 best videos you should watch.  They make me laugh, they make my heart soar and they never get old.

All on U-Tube

Little Girl Wants Assurance Daddy Loves Her

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMFueWBl-z4

Alvin Ailey Call to Unite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMh2EgiIO4E


Okay, I got give one more shout out to my favorite city, the city that never sleeps; thanks Spike Lee.
Tribute to NYC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRRvhO0Chg4


And, if you still feel crappy "Be Happy.  It really annoys people".  (R Gervais)

James Sweeney's STRAIGHT UP - Thumbs Down

"Straight Up" is a love story between a heterosexual female & a male who has yet to determine his sexual orientation.  On a 1- 10 scale, best guess (10 being 100% gay) my bet is a 10.  On an overall ranking of the film (10 being Acad. Award worthy) I rate this a 4.  The soul reason for giving this loquacious, rapid-fire, knowing where it's going & it's going there slowly film are the earnest performances by its 2 lead actors.  Todd, yet to bet on his sexual attraction proclivities, is played James Sweeney.  Sweeney is also the writer & director of this romp comp, chick flick pick.   Sweeney's gift for gabby dialogue driven by a mostly stoic Buster Keaton face earns some lip curdling smiles.  Rory (homage to "Gilmore Girls") is a formidable match if not destined soul mate.  Both are equitable in their quirkiness, cleverness, kindness and loneliness.  The film begs the question for the younger generation can "Will & Grace" be fulfilled in their togetherness without the messiness of sexual interconnections.  Todd, a "software developer" earns his living, it not his living situation by house sitting.  The various homes the 2 house sit together, inhabit the film with a colorful spice of variety; technicolor cinematography like "La La Land" for sure.  Sweeney does appropriate from the above mentioned "Gilmore Girls," "Will & Grace" & "La La Land" but he does so with his own cloying sweetness that sticks.  The contemporary twist on the old myth men & women can't "just be friends" takes on a trickier trajectory worthy of examination.  Rory is an unemployed actor (& out of work waiter) who can be her own worst enemy.  Todd can boast of 2 friends besides Rory who boost the overplayed humor trying to solve Todd's sexual identity.  The scenes between Todd & his therapist are priceless.  On a 1-10 with 10 being highly likely you'll be seeing more of Sweeney, I bet a 10.  "Straight Up" didn't muster thumbs up (channeling Siskel & Ebert) but it may find its nice with a younger {groovy} demographic.  It did however, give me reasons to smile.

Australian Series RAKE Stars Richard Roxburgh

The diabolically delicious Australian series aptly named "Rake" is about a roguish attorney from down under whose ingratiatingly the best, bad boy wonder.  Starring Richard Roxburgh as Cleaver Green, Esq., Roxburgh steals every scene with his conniving charm, wry humor.  He is the penultimate salacious, social misfit.  Green's his own worst enemy.  Racking up betting debts that can't be met get him repeated brutal beatings.  He's an alcoholic & coke addict whose had it with rehab yet somehow is a high functioning criminal attorney who manages to absolve his notorious clients from outrageous charges.  The legal cases in RAKE take the cake for being incredibly disturbing and absurd that watching them unfold is an unmitigated guilty pleasure.  Dir. Peter Salmon and writer Andrew Knight and an all star cast makes watching RAKE such wicked fun to watch it seem illegal.  Thankfully, it's legit and its rapid fire wit is laugh out loud funny.  Roxburgh will have you eating out of the palm of his hand and rooting for the guy with the mischievous grin & twinkling blue eyes regardless of his loathsome habits & insatiable womanizing.  Perhaps, it's his gusto for life & unflappability that string us & all his exes along.  Green can be counted on to screw up & screw his best friend's wife but he's a complicated mix of dependability, tenacity and undying loyalty.  Green is in good stead with his ex-wife Wendy (Caroline Brazier) & mother to their teenage son.  Wendy is a shrink always there to lend him her ear and he's never far from heart.  Melissa (Adrienne Brazier) is the gorgeous ex-prostitute resolute on turning her life around.  Melissa & Green have a gravitational pull that keeps their paths in each other's orbit.  And, Barney (Russell Dykstra) as Cleaver's business partner and best mate is 1st rate.  Note: this doesn't preclude Cleaver from having sex with his wife.  The ongoing dilemma's of Cleaver's floating office space, irreverent asst. and court ordered appearances regarding his unpaid taxes continue to pay dividends.  The elite list of A+ actors from Australia & New Zealand clamor for parts in this unconventional series despite causing chagrin.  Refrain from judging the entire series based on its first episode in which Cleaver defends a cannibal.  RAKE may be an acquired taste but anyone who doesn't find in favor shows culpability for lacking the whereabouts of a honed sense of humor.

French Film GIRLHOOD Dir by Celine Sciamma

The French coming of age film about 14 year old Adiatou (a tour de force performance by Kindsay Karamoh) captures that apex between adolescence & adulthood blending the exuberance of youth with the harshness of life.  The film opens with a hard fought football game between 2 teams revealed as all female who revel together post game.  Who won?  It doesn't matter; they all win.  The film begins in a celebration of young female empowerment.   The girls walk home arm & arm with a warm afterglow which fades as the night falls and an ominous foreboding sets in.  The girls break off to their apartment units.  They pass a group of young males that shifts their lighthearted faces downward.  Adiatou is the last girl left alone.  We're relieved when she arrives safely to her apartment where she lives with 2 younger sisters she loves deeply.  Their mother does janitorial work most nights and Adiatou is responsible for caring for her siblings.  There's an intimate & tender taunting between Adiatou & her sister regarding the sister's developing breasts.  This sisterly exchange ends with Adiatou playfully peeking under her sister's T-shirt but then warning her not to let Djibril (Cyril Mendy) know, "wear baggy tops" she advises.  Djibril is their older brother.  He's physically abusive at home & part of a dangerous neighborhood gang.  At school, the principal informs Adiatou she will not be promoted to high school.  Her only option is vocational training. Adiatou's desperate pleas to continue her education is denied as we watch the dejection & feistiness in her eyes.  Adiatou is met outside the school by 3 girls who beckon her to join them.  At first Adiatou resists their overtures but soon joins them uncovering the great joys & infallibilities felt amongst female friendships as well as youthful promiscuous behaviors. Dir. screen/writer Celine Sciamma is a highly regarded & rewarded filmmaker ("Portrait of a Lady on Fire").  This artfully shot picture paints a realistic picture of how brutal life can be for teens living in these impoverished areas outside Paris.  The midnight blue tonal hues casts a sense of overwhelming melancholy.  Yet, this accomplished film is an affirmation of tenacity, resiliency and most poignantly, a testament to relations formed in our youth and their bearings on humanity.

Doc Film PAHOKEE-Sr. Year of H.S. is a Must See

Pahokee is an agricultural town with a pop. of 6,000 in FL, not far north of Palm Beach on the coast.  Needless, the disparities from the affluent surrounding areas are worlds apart.  This remarkable doc.  has an intimate, invisible lens & stunning cinematography.   Most importantly it brings us into the lives of its inhabitants.  The voyeuristic vantage focuses on h.s. school seniors in the graduating class of 2017.  The 2 hour doc. spans the school year honing in on 4 seniors.  The film starts with fall's homecoming football game and its celebrations with its joys & tribulations.  We're introduced to the vivacious, bodacious Na'Kerria running for homecoming court.  Na'Kerria endears us as she wears her emotions on her sleeve, and form fitting outfits.  Na’Kerria wants so desperately to be voted queen that she sheds tears after losing to a slimmer classmate.  We feel her anguish and wish to step in to offer solace.  Filmmakers Ivete Lucas & Patrick Bresnan are experts at capturing moments of youthful exuberance, poignant passages, and difficult pathways.  The doc. is captivating for what it captures & for what it leaves out.  Na’Kerria pulls our heartstrings. She's not unflappable but she's irrepressible.  This senior audaciously pursues her goals which include matriculating into a 4 yr. Univ.  Na'Kerria personifies tenacity, teen angst and the wisdom to have a plan B.  She talks directly & candidly into her cell about herself.  The film films the ubiquitous cell phone & taking selfies.  Na'Kerria's bovine eyes are earnest & eager.  I''d like to know what the future holds for her.  Junior is father to an adorable 1 yr. old.  He cares for her with tenderness & dedication but we wince as he skateboards with her onboard.  We're left wondering where's the girl's mother knowing Jr.'s  immediate future is finding an hourly wage.  Jr. has moments to shine as drum majorette as do the football players.  The team won the state championship only to have their title stripped for playing an intelligible student. Na'Kerria, Junior and Jacobed all work while attending school.  Jacobed works alongside her parents who immigrated from Mexico.  The parents work endless hours in their taco truck trying to provide opportunities for their daughters.  Jacobed's admirable story tends to be treacly.  The town's main industry is its sugar cane crops.  There's a pervasive tactile background of trajectory into arduous field labor.  The students attend a college expo which includes an ROTC recruiter and Harvard admissions booth.  The harsh gaze from the white woman in the booth speaks volumes about racial disparity if not flagrant dismissal.  The fashions for prom are bedazzling.  One student wears a gown depicting Trayvon Martin's face along with along images of unarmed blacks killed.  PAHOKEE is completely absorbing taking us close & personal into these young people's lives  the majority of us would never see - or think to for that matter.  Do see this powerful & enduring doc.