Lake County News,California

Arts & Life

: Tim Riley; Posted On Sunday, 07 August 2022 01:04; 07 August 2022

‘The Gray Man’ delivers runaway thrills for action junkies

‘THE GRAY MAN’ RATED PG-13

Jason Statham’s action career may be on a brief hiatus because he would seem to be an ideal choice for a role in Netflix’s movie “The Gray Man” as a globe-trotting skilled operative taking out assorted bad guys.

This reminds me that Statham starred as a special agent on a secret mission to thwart weapons dealers in Guy Ritchie’s “Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre” which was slated for release earlier this year and I still haven’t found it on a major streaming service.

We’ll have to settle for Ryan Gosling as a CIA operative known only as Sierra Six, once an Agency-sanctioned merchant of death, but now the target of psychopath mercenary Lloyd Hansen (Chris Evans).

For fans of action films there is no need to wait for Jason Statham or Liam Neeson to pummel villains into the ground. “The Gray Man,” at the tune of an ostensible budget that could finance a war in a small country, delivers the thrills craved by action junkies.

Serving time in a federal penitentiary for killing his abusive father, Six is offered a get-out-jail-free card when recruited by CIA handler Donald Fitzroy (Billy Bob Thornton) to join the Agency as an assassin.

Much like operatives such as James Bond and Jason Bourne, Six works mostly on his own in dishing out mayhem and killing enemies, proving that he picked up some nice moves during internment, or so it would seem.

Under the tutelage of Fitzroy, things are working out nicely for Six, but then a change in management results in having to report to Denny Carmichael (Rege-Jean Page), a shadowy, unethical string-puller with a dubious agenda.

Six’s world is upended when he’s assigned to kill another agent who happens to be in possession of a flash drive that would reveal dark Agency secrets implicating Carmichael in treachery.

As a result of this assignment, Six now has a target on his back and becomes hunted by Lloyd Hansen, who is not only criminally insane but sports a mustache that makes him look like a Seventies porn star.

Since Fitzroy is retired, Six has few allies to watch his back, other than fellow Agent Dani Miranda (Ana de Armas), as well as retired CIA station chief Margaret Cahill (Alfre Woodard).

Meanwhile, though Fitzroy would want to assist his protégé, his young niece Claire (Julia Butters), beset by health problems with a pacemaker, has been kidnapped by the deranged Hansen who will kill anyone looking at him the wrong way.

The contrast between the principled Six, who would not hurt a kid, and the nutjob Hansen, who tortures Fitzroy in a cringeworthy, hard-to-watch manner, is brutally stark. Hansen is so evil that it’s a wonder his mustache is not bushy enough to twirl.

Unreservedly nasty and fearsome, Hansen can deliver funny insults like referring to Six as Ken Doll, but mostly he’s just a bloodthirsty killing machine without any remorse for random acts of brutality.

Interestingly enough, Six has a tattoo of Sisyphus, which is emblematic of his inability to escape his role as an assassin, given the alternative would be a return to prison.

Underused in his part is the appearance of Indian actor Dhanush as Lone Wolf, touted as the most competent and fearless killer to be unleashed in the hunt to kill Six.

The plot of “The Gray Man” is arguably standard to the action genre, and the inevitable showdown between Six and Hansen is as predictable as a sunny day in Phoenix during the month of August, and yet the movie is a lot of fun even if it is ultimately disposable.

Occasional breaks occur in the nonstop action, with the most notable one being the time that Six ends up babysitting Claire while Fitzroy is away, and even then it’s not long before another assassin invades the Fitzroy home.

Flashbacks to Six’s childhood and his tortured relationship with a sadistic father don’t make for an interesting back story to explain how he wound up in the joint.

The question that hangs over Netflix is whether the streaming service will turn “The Gray Man” into a spy caper franchise. News reports, if accurate, and Netflix willing to pony up the megabucks indicate the affirmative.

The James Bond franchise may eventually run its course, considering that 007 perished in “No Time to Die.” How will the British secret agent be revived? Will there be a female Bond? Meanwhile, the Gray Man, aka Six, could be the future.

What more can an action fan ask for other than a surfeit of explosions, wild chases, shootouts, fireworks, a runaway train demolishing everything in its path, and even a plane falling from the sky? “The Gray Man” has it all, and then some with thrills to entertain.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

: Kwame Dawes; Posted On Monday, 01 August 2022 01:35; 01 August 2022

American Life in Poetry: I Am Bound for de Kingdom

Florence Price and Marian Anderson were two great American artists whose collaborations — Price as pianist, arranger and composer, and Anderson as exemplary singer — represented the triumph of art over adversity.

Marlanda Dekine’s moving poem “I Am Bound for de Kingdom” is named after a negro spiritual for which these two black women are famous.

Dekine reminds us of the difficult world of racism experienced by their “ascendants” and shows how, with their art, they would take the risk and “leave the driveway.”

I Am Bound for de Kingdom
By Marlanda Dekine
—after Florence Price and Marian Anderson

My granddaddy Silas was born on the Nightingale plantation
in Plantersville, South Carolina, on riverbanks that loved
three generations of my kin, captured
in a green-tinted photograph, hanging in my daddy’s den.

Tonight, my eyes will take each old-world bird from the cropped space,
send them home with their songs and favorite foods.

Look out for me I’m a-coming too

with rice, okra, hard-boiled eggs, and Lord Calvert.

My daddy says if I get out of my car on Nightingale land,
the folks who own it might shoot. My daddy says,
“Never leave the driveway.”

Glory into my soul

I watch all of my ascendants. Their faces reflecting me
in that photograph. Their eyes are dead
black-eyed Susans.

American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2021 by Marlanda Dekine, “I Am Bound for de Kingdom” from Oxford American, Issue 115, Winter 2021. Poem reprinted by permission of the author and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2022 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Kwame Dawes, is George W. Holmes Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska.

: Kwame Dawes; Posted On Monday, 25 July 2022 02:48; 25 July 2022

American Life in Poetry: Elegy with Steam

William Fargason’s “Elegy with Steam” never refers to his father’s death, but to the manner in which death represents a movement through veils of existence.

Fargason’s memory of fatherly care becomes a portal that allows him to hear his father’s voice “on the other side,” through the veil of a warm washcloth.

Elegy with Steam
By William Fargason

When I was sick with a head cold, my head
full of pressure, my father would soak a washcloth
in hot water, then ball it up, wring it out. He would
open it above my head, then place it against

my face like a second skin, the light around me
disappearing entirely except through the spaces
between the stitching. I would inhale the steam
in that darkness, hearing his voice on the other side,

otherwise almost devoid of any other bodily sense
but the warmth and depth of his voice, as if
I had already died and was on the other side
of life waiting for the sickness to lift, but I wasn’t.

I was still on this earth, the washcloth going cold
on my face, my body still sick, and my father still
there when I opened my eyes, as he always was,
there to give me warmth before going cold again.

American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2022 by William Fargason, “Elegy with Steam” from The Maine Review, January 20, 2022 Poem reprinted by permission of the author and the publisher. Introduction copyright ©2022 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Kwame Dawes, is George W. Holmes Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska.

: Elizabeth Larson; Posted On Tuesday, 02 August 2022 04:19; 02 August 2022

Movies in the Park features ‘Sing 2’ Aug. 13

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. — The Middletown Area Merchants Association will host the last of the summer’s free movies in Middletown Square Park on Saturday, Aug. 13.

The movie will be shown beginning at dusk.

Come early to enjoy an evening in Middletown.

Bring chairs, blankets and a picnic to the park at the library and senior center at 21266 Calistoga Road.

All those attending must abide by California COVID-19 guidelines.

: Tim Riley; Posted On Sunday, 31 July 2022 01:28; 31 July 2022

FOX schedule builds on dramas, animation and unscripted

Long before anyone gives much thought to a new season of television programming, the major networks always pitch their slate for a coming season to the national advertising community.

In showcasing the new series, Charlie Collier, CEO of FOX Entertainment, claimed his network entered the unveiling of programs as “the only company, no matter the platform, with advertising at its core.”

With Collier telling advertisers that “building barriers between our best content and our brand-partners isn’t our business model,” it’s the bottom-line that FOX holds back nothing from being available for free to viewers.

In another sense, FOX is holding back most of its new series for the midseason, including dramas and animated comedies, and fans of “9-1-1: Lone Star” will also have to wait for later in the season.

Animation remains a cornerstone of programming as FOX arguably got a big boost in its early days to become a viable fourth network when it launched “The Simpsons,” which is now the longest-running American scripted primetime series.

All-new animated comedy “Grimsburg” will star the voice of Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”) as Marvin Flute, the greatest detective ever to catch a cannibal clown or correctly identify a mid-century modern armoire. But there’s one mystery he still can’t crack – his family.

Back in the town of Grimsburg where everyone has a secret or three, Flute will follow every lead he’s got to redeem himself with the ex-wife he never stopped loving, even if it means hanging out with the son he never bothered to get to know.

Set in mythical Ancient Greece, “Krapopolis” is an animated series that centers on a family of flawed humans, gods and monsters that tries to run one of the world’s first cities without killing each other.

Richard Ayoade voices Tyrannis, the benevolent King of Krapopolis, who tries to make do in a city that lives up to its name. Tyrannis’ mother, Deliria (Hannah Waddingham), is the goddess of self-destruction and questionable choices. Other members of the family are a hot mess.

Gordon Ramsay, the volatile British chef and restaurateur, finds his “Hell’s Kitchen” cooking competition still running on FOX, and coming at some point will be brand-new competition series “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars.”

Hunting for the most exciting and innovative new food and drink entrepreneurs, Ramsay is now prepared to put his money where his mouth is, by backing the winner in an investment to take their idea to the next level.

To win Ramsay’s support, it will take more than just a great idea. As he pushes contestants to their limits through a series of relentless challenges, they’ll have to prove they possess drive, dedication, creativity, passion and talent to succeed.

Being the last entrepreneur standing will earn the winner a life-changing reward. That person will just need to survive Gordon Ramsay, the only angel investor. All we can say is good luck.

An American musical soap opera television series is nothing new. Only in the last decade, ABC’s “Nashville” chronicled the lives of various fictitious country music singers, with Connie Britton as a legendary superstar whose stardom began to fade.

FOX’s first new series to start in September will be “Monarch,” a Texas-sized, multi-generational musical drama about America’s first family of country music, in which Susan Sarandon plays tough as nails Queen of Country Music Dottie Cantrell Roman.

Dottie and her beloved husband Albie Roman (country music star Trace Adkins) have created a country music dynasty, and even though the Roman name is synonymous with authenticity, the very foundation of their success is a lie.

And when their reign as country royalty is put in jeopardy, heir to the crown Nicky Roman (Anna Friel) will stop at nothing to protect her family’s legacy, while ensuring her own quest for stardom.

“Alert” is a character-driven police procedural about the Los Angeles Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit. When officer Nikki Parker’s son goes missing, she joins the Unit to help other people find their loved ones, even as she searches for her own.

Six years later, her world is turned upside-down when her ex-husband, Devon Zoellner, shows up with a proof-of-life photo of their missing boy. Or is it? A heart-pounding, life-or-death search for a missing person takes place in each episode.

It’s a case-of-the-week show with a case-of-a-lifetime story running through it – a story that alternately brings the two main characters gut-wrenching heartache and heart-pounding joy.

Based on a British crime anthology comes the provocative series of “Accused” that takes one on the journey of the defendant. Each episode opens in a courtroom of the accused, with viewers knowing nothing about their crime or how they ended up on trial.

Told from the defendant’s point of view through flashbacks, “Accused” holds a mirror up to the current times with evocative and emotional stories.

Michael Chiklis (“The Shield”) guest-stars in the premiere episode as Dr. Scott Corbett, a successful brain surgeon, who faces the limits of unconditional love upon discovering his teenage son may be planning a violent attack at school.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

: Tim Riley; Posted On Sunday, 24 July 2022 01:18; 24 July 2022

‘Where the Crawdads Sing’ a poignant tale of resilience

‘WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING’ RATED PG-13

A literary phenomenon that skyrocketed to the top of bestseller lists with over 12 million copies sold, Delia Owens’ “Where the Crawdads Sing” began its journey to the big screen when Reese Witherspoon picked it for her book club.

Mind you, my tastes run to nonfiction, mostly to history and biographies, and thus the fiction novel “Where the Crawdads Sing” as the origin for the movie of the same title never came across my radar.

Moreover, Delia Owens, with college degrees in zoology and animal behavior, had a successful career as a wildlife scientist who spent years in the African wilderness chronicling observations of wildlife for nonfiction books that she authored.

As a wildlife biologist studying nature in remote areas, Owens was inspired even from her childhood experience living in the woods to create a captivating mystery about an abandoned child who raised herself to adulthood in the dangerous marshlands of North Carolina.

There is an obvious built-in audience for the cinematic adaptation of “Where the Crawdads Sing,” and I will leave it to others to determine how faithful the screenplay by Lucy Alibar is to the source material.

Some may feel the result is overheated Southern melodrama with the contrivances of an underdog story, a murder mystery, a criminal trial and romantic conflicts mixed into the story of an isolated and resilient outsider stuck in a backwater area.

The setting is 1969 and two kids riding bikes in the marshlands outside of Barkley Cove, North Carolina come across the body of a young man who may have fallen to his death from a forsaken fire tower.

Chase Andrews (Harris Dickinson), once the town’s star quarterback and now heir apparent to a successful business, turns out to be the victim of ostensible foul play. The townsfolk are quick to target Kya Clark (Daisy Edgar-Jones) as the culprit.

The young adult Kya is the mythic “Marsh Girl,” an outsider who has lived her entire life in a shack so deep in the marshlands it can only be accessed on foot or by a small motorboat.

As a suspect in the murder of Chase, Kya is fortunate to be taken on as a pro bono case by retired local defense attorney Tom Milton (David Strathairn), who recognizes his swamp-dwelling client has never been treated fairly by the tightknit community.

Little is known and much is assumed about the “Marsh Girl” by almost everybody in Barkley Cove, and for our benefit there are flashbacks as far back as 1953, when young Kya (Jojo Regina) finds her life thrown into dysfunctional turmoil.

Her father (Garret Dillahunt) is a cruel, abusive drunk whose physical violence drives Kya’s mom (Ahna O’Reilly) to leave with one suitcase and never return, and she’s soon followed by all four of Kya’s older siblings.

Life with father is hardly ideal. Kya tries to stay clear of his furious eruptions so as to avoid physical aggression. But fairly soon the father also disappears, abandoning Kya to the fate of raising herself in the marsh.

Amazingly, Kya proves to be precocious for someone so young and uneducated, demonstrating an ability to be self-reliant by gathering mussels to barter with the kindly owners of a bait-and-tackle shop.

The shop owners are Jumpin’ (Sterling Macer Jr.) and Mabel (Michael Hyatt), apparently the only Black people in this rural area, and they turn out to be as close to surrogate parents for Kya as practically no one else pays attention to her.

But then in her teenage years, Kya is befriended by Tate Walker (Taylor John Smith), who we don’t know much about other than he spent a lot of time in the swamps. Over time, Tate teaches Kya how to read and write, and eventually they fall in love.

Much is expected of Tate, and he goes off to college with the promise to return for the 4th of July fireworks. Time passes without any sight of Tate, and then Kya meets Chase, an arrogant rich boy who seems to be an unlikely suitor.

For his part, Chase is the opposite of Tate, and his interest in Kya never really seems sincere, which becomes readily apparent on the occasion that Kya runs into him with his family during a rare trip into town.

The courtroom drama of Kya’s murder trial may be the least compelling aspect of this film insofar as the theatrics are subdued and the evidence presented by the prosecution appears to lack the substance that a smart defense lawyer could not refute in a closing argument.

“Where the Crawdads Sing” tugs at the heartstrings with its rooting interest in the hope that Kya will be acquitted of the murder charge and find a lifetime of happiness with true love.

A very satisfying and mesmerizing performance by Daisy Edgar-Jones, who must overcome so many slights and disrespect from the townspeople, keeps the audience thoroughly engaged, and hopefully fans of the novel will feel the same.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.