Pocorn in Bed - Little Miss Sunshine

 Delightful as always.

Colton Dunn of Dudez A-Plenti

 An interview with Colton Dunn, better known as Dan/Lorraine/Samantha, of Dudez A-Plenti. 

One of the sneaky good qualities of the Dudez-A-Plenti pieces was how realistic it was. It seemed to me that the "band" might not even be in on the joke. But after repeated viewings, where I've concluded they must have, I then wonder how much of it was improvised.

Thoughts on Saving Private Ryan

Went to see "Saving Private Ryan" in the theater tonight and here are some thoughts.

One thing I've usually done in these posts is identify visual elements on the sides of the screen or usually out of focus that are clearer in a large screen presentation. I only have one thing for that - "Saving Private Ryan" is pretty plain in its visuals, pretty much "what you see is what you get." But when Mrs. Ryan is about to be informed of the death of her sons, she opens the door and to the right of the door is a photograph of all 4 boys together. It's plain enough that I'm not sure this even counts but it stuck out, watching tonight.

But I also want to note an element of the audio. As the final battle approaches, we hear the low rumble of the German tanks grow louder and louder. A special theater experience is that eventually the roar becomes so loud that it shakes everything inside you. It's a great touch.

One moment that stuck out especially, to me, is the scene early on when the movie becomes quiet for the first time and Giovanni Ribisi (Medic Wade) has a quiet monologue. He tells the story from his childhood, how he would try to stay up late at night to speak to his mom when she came home. He loved talking to his mother except sometimes she wouldn't get to talk to him because he would pretend to be asleep. He wonders why he would do that.

Film 101 tells you that this memory must have some higher meaning, some greater significance to the plot but I have never found it. My best guess is that it's a subversion - the memory is just a typical memory that all of us have. If you have any theories, let me know. But notice this: this meaningful memory is all about his mother which connects later to him bleeding out and dyeing - his last words are a call to his mother. These were men but these were kids.

As he's telling the story, the company who had been joking around up until now, becomes completely silent and still. There is a sense in which his memories from home are hallowed and holy, no one dares encroach on them. This is a motif that reappears throughout the film - talk of the life before, talk of home stops everyone, freezes everyone. In one of these moments Captain Miller opines, "I just know that every man I kill the farther away from home I feel." If each kill is a further descent into Hell, then could it be that everything about their life before the war becomes sacred? And it is perhaps significant that when Ribisi delivers his monologue, the setting is a church.

In the penultimate scene, there is another repetition of the motif. A memory too sacred to even be uttered.

Private Ryan: Tell me about your wife and those rosebushes?

Captain Miller: No, no that one I save just for me.

MovieJoob - Rocky

I'm not telling you to watch this video...

But this once again proves my theory: WOMEN LOVE ROCKY.

Ethics in America - Episode 1

 A panel group from the 1980s debates the question of what each person owes, if anything, to a fellow person. The episode is "Do Unto Others."

I got hooked on late night PBS television in the late 90s and early 00s. Around that time, my local station decided to fill the dead hours - the really dead hours - with college courses. I forget if there was a name for it but you'd watch episodes on TV in the same way that you would normally attend a lecture and then presumably get assigned homework and then take a test. It was a way of geting college credit from home.

"Ethics in America" was one of my favorites, it's so deliciously watchable. It's so watchable that it seemed to be a "no brainer" that something like this could be a hit on television. "Ethics in America" or something like it, didn't deserve a 3 AM timeslot, put it on in primetime! It never happened but there are a few bizarre ways in which this premise bubbled up, leaked out and became a big hit anyway.

In some ways I think the trashy daytime talkshows filled that gap - almost every episode was examining the question of "what is right?" The conflicts between the people on stage were due to disagreements of ethics, philosophy, morality and then that wasn't enough so all the people in the audience got to argue likewise. Even Fred W. Friendly's monologue at the end of this program, summing everything up and putting it all into perspective, reminds one of Jerry Springer's "Final Thought" at the end of each show.

And there was no bigger TV show in the 90s than "Seinfeld." Eschewing "lessons" and "issues" it only concerned itself with comedy and comedy alone. And yet it was a "smart" show precisely because much of the conflict arose from different ethics and much of the episodes revolved around arguing (justifying) different sides. It's a spin on Seinfeld's (and Larry David's) Abbott and Costello influence: "[T]hey had a remarkable knack for presenting both sides of a silly argument and making both points of view seem perfectly logical."

JERRY: So what happened to you yesterday? We were supposed to go to the auto show, I waited for you, you never came.

ELAINE: I'm sorry, I got really busy. How long did you wait?

JERRY: Five minutes.

ELAINE: Five minutes? That's it?

JERRY: What's the difference? You never showed up.

ELAINE: I could've! I mean, last week we waited for that friend of Kramer's for like, forty minutes.

JERRY: Well, we barely knew the guy.

ELAINE: So, the longer you know someone, the shorter you wait for 'em.

JERRY: That's the way it works.

And it occurs to me now that much of the gap in ethical discussion on TV is filled, for most people, by cable news shows. That's not my thing but I suppose that's another outlet through which this desire is pacified just enough that we never get anything really substantive.

The spiritual successor to "Ethics in America" and the closest thing to the show I proposed was "Justice: What is the Right Thing to do?" and that provided clear evidence that I was way off because no one watched it.

You can watch the entire "Ethics in America" series online here. The best episodes are episodes 6 and 7 ("Under Orders, Under Fire" parts 1 and 2), by the way, but I embedded episode 1 simply because that's the only on on youtube.

More Special Effects From Old Movies

Earlier this year I posted a great youtube video that examined how special effects were done with primitive technology.

Well, it was successful enough to become a series. As with most things film related, the sequels are not as good as the original but still really interesting and worth watching, I think.

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Late Show - Ryan Williams Favorite Moments

 

Talent Coordinator Ryan Williams recalls his favorite moments working at the Late Show.

Let's face it, it's all about the beagle playing dead.

Trying the Best Instant Ramens

 First, there was this "10 Minute Power Hour:"

And from this, I thought the idea of the "best" instant ramen was intriguing and decided to seek out the top ones. Unfortunately, in their slapdash, "random" aesthetic, they make it impossible to follow along and therefore are guaranteed to provide no actual benefit to the viewer - that's a guarantee.

But thanks to this post, from u/FluidModeNetwork on Reddit, who took the time to painstakingly break  down the film frame-by-frame and determine the results, I have a source of truth and so I bought and tried the top handful. Now that the expensive multiple deliveries from Japan are complete - who said instant ramen was cheap? - and now that I've more or less recovered from my salt coma, I've put together the results.

#8 - Nongshim Shin Black

I skipped over Shin Black because it's the only one I've had before. In fact, I've had it many times. Shin Black has a good umami flavor and a crazy amount of spice, to the point that I recommend it to people who eat hot stuff as if life is a dare. 

In the video they say of one Shin Black as "this is burning me alive from the inside out" and then say of another Shin Black "not spicy." I don't know how to differentiate the two for your reference, I just know I have had the first one.

The key takeaway I want to communicate is this: the spicy spice is included in a packet which allows you to fully customize the amount you want. With this knowledge, you can experiment to hit the level just right for you. Once you do that, this is fantastic. Coming into this list, this was my #1.

#7 - Nissin Chili Tomato

As you can see, Nissin is just the official name of "Cup Noodle" here in the U.S. Starting from the Cup Noodle perspective, you know what you're getting in terms of size, quality and noodles. This is unlike the other ones in that it's a red/orange broth. The gold standard of red broth soup, in my opinion, is Campbell's Vegetarian Vegetable and this is no Vegetarian Vegetable. The tomato takes a back seat to the other flavors, but what are the other flavors? I'm no chili expert so I have to assume from the name that the dominant flavor is chili. 

Also notable: there are little squares of chicken. I'm not sure I want to know what grade of meat Cup Noodle is using in their instant ramen but it's not great - and how could it be?

It has the noodles you already know, and it's salty, a little tomatoey and a little spicy. Ultimately, I like this soup, I think it's pretty good, but wouldn't recommend it because... it's Cup Noodle... and it just is what it is.

#6 - Nissin Curry Ramen

I'm not a cultured man, I don't have a lot of experience with curry. The main thing I know about curry is that it's Indian in origin and British people love it. There is an interesting parallel where British are obsessed with Indian food and we don't understand their obsession, but in the same way, Americans are obsessed with Mexican food and the British don't understand that. Can't explain it, it just is.

So I can't speak much to the authenticity here, but it's Cup Noodle again so I assume it's not too authentic. It has the normal noodles, it's a brown broth and, just like the last one, also contains meat! This time it's little bits of sausage. My worries about the quality of the meat apply double here.

Cup Noodle with sausage is unusual but it's also unusual in the vegetables it has. It has chunks that I think are potato, as well as carrots and onions. I've never seen a potato in Cup Noodle before. And it's spicy.

Conclusion: all my previous comments about Cup Noodle apply here. But it tastes good, it has a complex spicy flavor and I like the inclusion of potato in the soup.

#5 - Nissin Cheese Curry Ramen

On receiving this, the first thing I noticed is that there's a little cheese packet glued to the lid. This is for you to add your delicious cheese flavor to your delicious curry. Why include the packet, why not just include the cheese in the product? Do you suppose this product is the exact same Curry flavor as before but with one additional add-on? I think so.

The additional cheese mutes the spice of the curry and adds a little richness. I suppose I will agree with the official rankings that this is preferable to the regular curry flavor... ever so slightly.

#4 - Pokemon Noodle Onion Consume

I decided it was beneath me to try any food associated with Pokemon. Fight me.

#3 - Menzukuri Chicken Shoyu Ramen

As you can see, we're not in Cup Noodle Land anymore.

This ramen is large and comes with 3 packets - a brown gravy, a packet of greens and a packet of seaweed. Within the packet of greens is a spiral piece that I've shown above. What is it? I don't know - it tastes like fish.

I don't like the fish flavor, I don't like the seaweed even a little but this is the first instant ramen to justify this post's existence. You are getting something at home which tastes of authenticity - it is literally instant... ramen. This is the one in the video where they say, "This is the best so far."

In subsequent tries, I didn't add the seaweed and skipped the spiral. It still isn't perfect, but it is large, it's complex and I can't stress enough how authentic it tastes.

#2 - 7-11 Premium Sumire Tokuno Rich Miso

It should be noted that the "7-11" is the convenience store chain but the Japanese 7-11s are doing a whole different thing there. Apparently the food at Japanese 7-11s is excellent.

It should also be noted that I wasn't able to find this one, as such. What I found was "Sumire Sapporo Rich Miso Ramen." Not the exact wording but I couldn't find the exact wording. The labels looked the same and I consulted someone who knows Japanese and my best guess is that it's the same.

This comes with 3 packets - 1 powder, 1 gravy, 1 herbs. The herbs are Japanese herbs/vegetables that I can't identify (similar to #3.)

This has a rich miso, umami taste. I think the richest of the lot. It's also very authentic tasting without the seafood downsides of #3 and it's a large size. It's very hard to make confident judgements because I'm only getting a few (or sometimes 1) shots with each but I think this is my #1. The richness is the thing, for me.

#1 - Ichiran Tonkotsu Ramen Instant Noodles

The first thing that stands out is the size. Check this out:

How about them apples?

This is the one where they state in the video, "You know what that has that the other ones don’t - umami." And, while others do have umami, they are correct that this has it also.

I had trouble coming up with anything to describe this with. It has thin noodles, a good salty flavor, a nice umami flavor, some hot spice but nothing predominates. Why is this #1? My best guess is that this is the SweeTango Effect where the thing that achieves #1 is the thing that no one can complain about, where everything seems right and in proportion. Highly recommend, for sure, but I think/I guess I like #2 better.

End

Feel free to try for yourself. All of these are inconvenient to try to obtain but not impossible. I found a few on Amazon, a few on various Japanese mart sites (be careful with scams) and a few on Ebay. But the prices are crazy, especially when you factor in shipping and the fact that it's noodle soup that takes a few cents to make.

Jen Murray - Rocky

 Watch this or don't.

The point is, it once again proves my theory: WOMEN LOVE ROCKY.

Follow ALF on Instagram?

Remember ALF? He's back... in Instagram form. If you want to follow ALF for the latest reviews in popular culture and lifestyle, check out the account:

https://www.instagram.com/alf_reviews/

 [My first ever and last ever post concerning Instagram]

Overlong Thoughts from The Last Waltz

 

Today I went to the 45th anniversary re-release of "The Last Waltz." Here are some unorganized thoughts.

With all of these "see it on the big screen" releases, I try to find visual details that weren't apparent before. Here are some things I noticed for the first time. 

• During the "Old Time Religion" piece, Rick Danko is wearing a black hat but I never noticed that it appears to be plastic. Shiny plastic, like it's a party favor. Is it a joke, is it a 70s style that I don't understand?
• Scorsese made it a special point to not show the audience much. But various shots throughout the movie, I noticed, out in the audience, there's someone displaying numbers that keep incrementing. My guess is that's the cue for the brass section that they're on "song 38", "song 39," etc. Or maybe it's for everyone, not sure.
• When "Bet Your Balls" Neil Diamond comes on to do "one song but do it good" there's also a second drummer. Who is that? Why?
• 70mm vs. 35mm film were previously meaningless terms to me. This is the first concert film to be recorded in 35mm film and you can see there is a fuzziness to it with a pronounced grain.
• Laszlo Kovacs worked on this film as "additional director of photography."

So those are some visual things, let's talk about what I didn't notice visually. "The Last Waltz" is famously a concert film with a special effects budget. During his performance, Neil Young had a visible piece of cocaine in his nose which had to be optically removed (which wasn't easy in 1978 - I believe it was a frame-by-frame job). While watching the movie on the big screen, I forgot to look up his nose to see if anything looks photoshoppy about it. Oh well.

I always skip Lawrence Ferlinghetti on the DVD but had no choice here. Garbage. And what is The Canterbury Tales doing in this movie? Neil Diamond's presence in this concert/movie is (rightfully) controversial but at least it's music. Cut out the poetry.

In "This Wheel's on Fire," Levon Helm recalls that somewhere in the middle of the concert (after Joni Mitchell), the energy of the audience seemed to flag but once Van Morrison was done high kicking he had breathed new life into everyone. There is some (weak) evidence in the film to support this. Toward the end of "Further on up the Road" the camera zooms out to reveal the audience in the lower left cheering, fist pumping and hopping. Then during Van Morrison's performance (pre-kickoff) we get a head-on shot of the audience, not very animated, fairly subdued. Thin evidence but it's there. I think with a 5 hour concert and a full-course turkey dinner, it would be impossible to not have some lulls in the action.

The most interesting thing that struck me on this viewing is the way Scorsese makes a point of making obvious the artificiality of documentary-making. This is established by the very first sounds of the movie - technicians rolling sound and Rick Danko saying "cut-throat." This is followed by Scorsese asking (off camera) "Ok, Rick, what's the game?" to which Rick replies "cut-throat." Usually, you cut the first part and leave just the "real" part. But starting a few seconds earlier reveals that the question and answer are not casual conversation happening in real life, they are part of a movie. After explaining the rules of the game, Danko gives a look that suggests his hyper awareness of being filmed. This is all staged.

Then look at the first few seconds of Robbie Robertson's first interview of the film. Robbie answers the question, asks if Scorsese wants him to rephrase and then answers again. All of it is left in.

Later on in the film, Martin starts his awkward, pointless interview with Rick Danko at "Shangri La." The shot starts a few seconds before "action" as if it's an amateur film.

It would be apparent to everyone that these flaws should be edited out. Scorsese is a perfectly competent filmmaker so the only conclusion that can be drawn is that this is a choice. The film is an artificial construct and he's deliberately pointing out the artifice. He's purposefully taking you out of the "reality" of the scene to remind you that it's not real. But why? What is he saying?  The only thing I can guess at this point, is that it's merely for "style."

And if you're looking for an idea for a research paper, you could try exploring this "revealing the artifice" as a continuation of the ideas of Antonin Artaud and his "Theatre of Cruelty", through to Jack Hirschman's UCLA career in the 60s who then influenced Jim Morrison. And if you can make it work, this thread would continue later, reaching a climax in the 1990s on MTV. You may recall that MTV would, for instance, film a person talking into the camera but suddenly cut to a second shot that shows the person, the camera filming them, and the overhead microphone (preferably in black and white.) Why did they do that? As far as I know, it was merely "style." It's a thought. But there is a Criterion release of "The Last Waltz" with a director's commentary and so the real explanation is probably there.

In a few songs, most powerfully in "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," the crowd applauds at the climax of the song rather than wait for the song to be over or nearly over. I think that was a 70s trend but I'm not sure. It's definitely not just this concert, the example that comes to mind for this is Elton John's "Bennie and the Jets" (though that one is simulated, still the same idea). Like I said, I think this was a thing in the 70s but I don't know for sure. Was it? Did it happen in other eras? For what it's worth, I like it, it makes the crowd another element in the song and seems to take the emotion over the top.

Last thing: watching it again I was struck, as I'm always struck - to the soul - by the perfection of "It Makes No Difference" so I'll end with that.

Late Show - Psychic Sandwich

 A peak into the magic of the Late Show. You can't write a segment like this. A breakdown of what makes this funny would be impossible, it just seems like magic. It's 3 people who don't belong on television, none of them are charismatic, only 1 is a comedian and yet it totally works.

"It's called 'DJ's Sex Club'"

"What?! What is that all about?!"

"Corned beef... Provolone..."

Psychic Sandwich was always one of my favorite minor bits. I don't recall her ever getting a correct answer.

Late Night - Broken New Year's Resolutions (1999)

 

Apropos of nothing, Conan and Andy (and Max) regret their broken New Year's resolutions from 1999.

A Better Now and Then Video

 

Much, MUCH better.

That AI program is very impressive. The "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" tracks had the exact same problem with Lennon's voice quality, I wonder if they'll revisit those. Doesn't sound like it but seems like they should.