🚨BREAKING JAM BAND NEWS🚨

Forget the foreshadowing!  I bring you tidings of great joy!  The rumors are true!  Phish is coming to Northwest Arkansas (NWA)!

This is the band's first show in Arkansas!  I saw them last summer in St. Louis!  It was great!  I wrote an article about it!

What better time to share (more) of my favorite Phish shows!  In descending chronological order(!):

• 2019-07-14 at the Alpine Valley Music Theatre
• 2018-12-30 at Madison Square Garden
• 2014-10-24 at the Forum
• 1998-11-28 at the Worcester Civic Center
• 1997-12-13 at Pepsi Arena
• 1995-06-26 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center
• 1994-06-17 at Eagles Ballroom

But anyway . . .

Three Faces of Lewis

After my macro-blog post of concern, I return now to macro-blog about a different wrestler.  Well, a wrestler, but also a non-wrestling figure.  And movies.  It'll make sense by the end, I promise!

I've been watching a lot of Jerry Lewis-directed films.  (Macro-blog inspiration Jack Pendarvis inspired these viewings.)  As mentioned, watching The Big Mouth with my girlfriend MK did not go well.  But I have enjoyed (alone) The Errand Boy and, of course, The Nutty Professor.  Watching a lot of Lewis, you'll find that, amongst many characters, Lewis has three main "modes."

Jerry is at his goofiest when he's playing Professor Kelp.  Kelp is your classic, Professor Frink-type geek.  With buck teeth and Coke bottle glasses, you can see echos in almost every on-screen nerd.  Lewis also plays Kelp-like characters for parts of The Big Mouth and The Family Jewels.

At the opposite end of the spectrum is Buddy Love.  Like Dean Martin, Love is the coolest drunk guy in the room.  He (b)oozes confidence, making him at ease at the piano and the bar.  While not playing Love in a literal sense, see also Lewis at the end of The Errand Boy.

Somewhere in the middle likes "Pure Jerry."  You'll find Jerry in this mode in his more slapstick parts.  The Errand Boy, The Bellboy and Hardly Working.  Often playing common workers, this Jerry is more akin to Keaton or Lloyd.  While he may dip into the goof or goon in these parts, there's a core sincerity to Pure Jerry.  Like The Blind Prophet for Bowie, Pure Jerry is the closest we get (in fiction) to the actual Jerry Lewis.

These three characters are like the Three Faces of Foley (see above).  For the uninitiated, Mick Foley is a living legend.  Along with being a prolific writer, Foley helped bring hardcore wrestling to the WWE.  And Foley, with Stone Cold, ushered in the 90s wrestling boom.

In WCW and abroad, Foley wrestled as Cactus Jack, a heightened version of his personality.  But, after coming to the WWE, owner Vince McMahon made Foley into Mankind to cover Foley's face.  Mankind is a deranged, masked maniac.  It was as Mankind that Foley had his (in)famous cage match with the Undertaker.  Foley also became an unlikely champion under this persona (see above).

Deeper into the Attitude Era, Foley debuted Dude Love.  Dude Love, according to Foley, was his childhood idea of a "cool guy."  Compared to Mankind and Jack, Dude Love is much more laid back, vibey kinda guy.  He wouldn't be out of place at a Widespread show.

Dude Love and Buddy Love.  "Pure Jerry" and Cactus Jack.  Kelp and Mankind.  Again, this is another "it's like" comparison, but this is what this macro-blog is!  Think of this when you watch a Foley match or a Lewis movie!  But speaking of comedians . . . .

P.S. If you're looking for a good Mick Foley match, check out Cactus Jack vs. Randy Orton in a No Holds Barred match at WWE Backlash 2004-04-18.

Somebody Stop Ric Flair

After a macro-blog post of levity, I come now with a macro-blog post of concern.  Like favorite "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, "Nature Boy" Ric Flair has permeated pop culture.  And like "Macho" Randy Savage before him, even your average, non-wrestling fan knows who Ric Flair is.  The same goes for John Cena, the Rock and, of course, the Undertaker.

I express concern for Ric Flair because, in 2017, Flair almost died.  Flair did make a full recovery, and he's healthy enough now to make appearances on WWE programming.  Before his coma, Flair also appeared in a 30 for 30 documentary.  In it, Flair talked about his addictions and intent to get sober for his family.  Good on him!

But, from two pieces of evidence, I worry Flair is back off the wagon.  The first evidence is a Tik Tok from pop sensation Post Malone (link here).  In the Tok, Flair is holding a blue Solo cup, cutting a promo backstage.  Flair is saying something about how he told his family he wouldn't drink, but he's gonna party with Postie now.  Yikes!

The second piece of evidence comes from ANOTHER concert.  On New Year's Eve, Flair introduced the (great) jam band Widespread Panic.  And, in his introduction, Flair gives THE SAME PROMO.  Double yikes!!

Somebody in Camp Flair keep this man away from concerts!  I hope my fears are not reality, and the Nature Boy returns to the straight-edge lifestyle.  But speaking of wrestlers . . .

P.S. If you're looking for a good Ric Flair match, check out Flair vs. Sting at NWA Starrcade 1989-12-13.

And This Picture

Like the GIFs?  How about a single, poor quality JPEG?  I've raved about one photo before, as well as made a short post to point out a YouTube clip.  Now here's George Lucas holding The Child (source).

Why am I macro-blogging about this?  Because I can't post this on Twitter.  I can't write this down in my observation journal.  And I've already shared this with friends and in group messages.

It's my macro-blog and I'll post what I want to!  Speaking of white-haired old men . . .

@tokugifs

Last time on Dalton's Macro-Blog, I foreshadowed creatures on bikes.  It was an imperfect foreshadow, but it'll do.  I was alluding to Kamen Rider, a tokusatsu series.  What is tokusatsu? Let me explain . . . 

I'm not on Twitter, but I do stalk a few accounts.  @dril.  @tde_wrestling.  @NextOnTCM.

One account that came back from a brief hiatus is @tokugifs.  I found out about the account from this io9 article.  And this other io9 article better explains tokusatsu and Super Sentai than I ever could.  I grew up on Power Rangers, and Tokusatsu GIFs expanded my appreciation of the (unedited) genre.

As is a macro-blog tradition, this post will be majority photos.  But I figured out how to post GIFs!!!  So I've picked out four shows I've discovered through the account.  I hope this serves as your gateway to tokusatsu like Tokusatsu GIFs was my gateway:

Like anime, you can generalize tokusatsu into a "Big Three."  Ultraman, Kamen Rider and Super Sentai are all imposing franchises.  I've yet to crack Ultraman, but Kamen Rider W introduced me to its respective franchise.  The theme here is noir, which is a good starting place if you like detective novels as much as me.

Once you get into the genre, you'll find that most tokusatsu shows get made for kids.  For a dark, adult-oriented outlier, check out Golden Knight Garo.  Warning: some of the first seasons' CGI hasn't aged well.  But if you dig this, there's a whole franchise to get into!

Look at this GIF.  Need I say more about Kyodai Ken Bycrosser?  The motorcycle is a laser gun!

Ressha Sentai ToQger may be my favorite discovery from Tokusatsu GIFs.  Instead of a dinosaur or pirate theme, this Super Sentai series tackled TRAINS.  If you grew up a Thomas the Tank Engine mark like me, you'll love this goofy extravaganza (see above).  One interesting note is that Saban passed over this series for a Power Rangers adaption.  Even more reason to check it out!

Speaking of pictures . . . 

Mad Hell: Fury Frogtown

Enough of that sincere stuff, back to movies!  Now that I have WiFi, I finally watched Hell Comes to Frogtown.  Favorite Rory Calhoun wasn't prominent, but I did gain something from the view.  That is: I discovered that Frogtown and instant classic Mad Max: Fury Road have the same plot.

Now, I'm not accusing George Miller of gimmick infringement.  All I'm saying is, there's only so many post-apocalyptic plots.  And the comparisons aren't one-to-one (none of mine are).  Let me do the cliche film critic thing and lay them out:

In Frogtown, wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper is Sam Hell, the most fertile man in the wasteland.  After donating his body to the feds, he's sent off with a scientist and a gunner (see above).  Unknown to Hell, he's also contracted to liberate the city of Frogtown.  There, the town's mutant leader has a harem in need of rescue.

In Fury Road, "Venom" Tom Hardy of Star Trek: Nemesis is Mad Max, the quietest ally in the Bush.  After donating his blood to a desert despot, he's sent off with an albino and Megyn Kelly.  Unknown to Max, he's also gotta help Furiosa liberate Joe's Citadel.  There, the town's namesake has a harem in need of rescue.

See what I mean?  It only took a little editorializing to make my case.  Mad Hell: Fury Frogtown would make another great double feature.  But speaking of creatures on bikes . . .

Lost in the Supermarket

The spring semester has started, yet the macro-blog posting goes on!  I thought I'd take another break from film and do something like a macro-blog Yelp review.  But it also might be a macro-blog game review?  Form still alludes the macro-blog.

One of my other favorite places in Fayetteville is the Arkadia Retrocade in Evelyn Hills.  I spent most of my first year in town haunting Evelyn Hills establishments.  There's a great tabletop gaming store around the corner.  The original Doomsday Coffee location (RIP) was down a ways.  And my girlfriend MK and I have had dates at the Tacos 4 Life and the Dollar General (don't ask).

On my first visit to Arkadia, I stuck to the classics.  Two-player Tetris is right by the door, the Pac-Man family a few steps away.  There's two Star Wars games, plus a WWF fight game.  On my next few visits, I started to expand my gaming horizons.

First Q*bert, which I recognized from Wreck-It Ralph.  Second, I tried the multi-player Marvel fighting games.  Capcom Bowling, third, was competitive, with an interesting trackball control.  Which brought me, fourth, to Missile Command, my new favorite arcade game.

Missile Command appears simple.  You command three missile launchers, denoted by a left, center and right button.  A trackball control is your crosshair, controlling the target for all three launchers.  Seems simple enough.

Between the three missile launchers lie cities.  Someone, and I presume the Russians, intends to obliterate these cities.  On the first level missiles already fill the screen, careening like downhill racers.  At least your missiles have a blast radius, able to take out many enemy missiles at a time.

All these ingredients combine into that great Tetris intensity.  But the game never gets too nail-biting, nor is it prejudiced towards the player.  Any loss isn't the game's fault.  The game is holding the player accountable for their own pileup of blunders.  Within the coding is a sort of innate morality.

I intend to get on the leader board for Missile Command.  Beyond selection, another perk of Arkadia is you only pay for admission.  For five dollars, you can sit and play a game as long as you'd like (until closing).  I think I'll choose my initials: DOH.

Playing Missile Command bought me back to another arcade.  In my hometown in south Arkansas, a pizza restaurant, long closed, had a small arcade in the back.  Its main attraction was a terrifying Nightmare on Elm Street pinball machine.  (Another great establishment in Fayetteville, the pinball bar Pinpoint, has its own.)

Beyond arcades, another place in town that brings up childhood is the Harps on Garland.  Most of my friends don't get why I like it so much.  There's the utility: its the closest grocery to me (and I don't shop at Wal-Mart).  But it also reminds me of my hometown Brookshires.

If you've seen the great slasher Intruder you'll get the vibe both stores have.  Harsh white linoleum and fluorescents.  An actual butcher on staff.  A selection of paperbacks by the pharmacy window.  Olivia Newton-John is always playing.

In a space that should be hectic, there's something unhurried about a demode grocer.  As mentioned, I'm getting old.  I was sour on nostalgia growing up, hostile to what felt like force-fed 80s nostalgia.  I still haven't come all the way around on it yet.  But I've come to appreciate something like oblique nostalgia.

I don't have a direct connection to Missile Command or Harps from my childhood.  This isn't that feeling of rediscovery, e.g. "oh, I forgot about that book series."  It's more akin to finding something you wish you had growing up.  Or something that recombines and recounts those overwhelming concerns only kids have.  

For me, its either longing for adult free will or feeling wholly out of your depth.  I think the semester starting, too, brings on that American Football feel.  But I associate that particular feeling more with the fall semester.  Spring semester was always my least favorite, what with the cold and no college football.

But anyway, if you're ever in town check all these places out.  And play Missile Command if you can get a chance.  Its a Cold War gem that's back in season.  But speaking of the Apocalypse . . . .

Theatre of Excess

Another hookless macro-blog post, yet another follow-up macro-blog post.  I'm back to films again, after a brief interlude.  But one of the three films I'm discussing features Bob Dylan.  He's also on the soundtrack!

Can you guess what it is?  It's Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, pleb!  I was able to catch it on TCM over winter break.  I added the movie to my observation journal after enjoying Ride the High Country.

I've been on-and-off of a Western kick since the fall, including Euro-Westerns.  The Mercenary.  Sabata.  The Hellbenders.  A Pistol for Ringo.

I can tell I'm getting older because I'm starting to appreciate Westerns.  (I can also tell because I read a lot of noirs over the break.)  But with my recent Westerns bias, I've also come to admit my general "Seventies" bias.  The decade hosted a few of my recent favorite genre discoveries.

Burnt Offerings.  Grizzly.  Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires.  The Devil's Rain.

Also, about all of the film commentators I respect are boomers (okay).  So there's also their own bias towards that decade.  Are my tastes just the result of trickle-down nostalgia?  Yes.  I confess I'm the product of auteur theory brainwashing (and Criterion and TCM).

So Pat Garrett falls in the middle of that great four-way intersection.  The four roads are the Seventies, recommendation, availability and "Great (Male) Director" status.  Yet, as of today, I can only appreciate Pat Garrett.  Why?

Because I think Pat Garrett, and two other films, may delineate "the edge" for my Seventies viewing.  The other pair are Winter Kills and Boom! (pictured above).  All three are bloated cult items, the product of a troubled production.

And they all sound great on paper!  Winter Kills is a paranoid conspiracy thriller like Under the Silver Lake.  Boom! is John Water's favorite film, based off of a Tennessee William's play.  And Pat Garrett is a violent, meandering chase film, scored my an adrift Seventies Dylan.

Yet the viewing experience doesn't live up to the promise of the page.  I fell asleep during Winter Kills.  I was on my phone for most of Boom!  I debated turning off Pat Garrett after an hour and thirty minutes.

At a certain point, self-made adversity doesn't equal an entertaining byproduct.  You always hear the cliche (but true) story about Jaws and how the shark they built didn't work.  Spielberg had to improvise, so they ended up not showing as much of the shark.

This byproduct of adversity improved the film because it leaned into suspense.  And Spielberg himself didn't destroy the shark, it was an act of God.  You can't say the same of Peckinpah's consumption.  Or Richard Burton's pre-shoot Bloody Mary.

This personal bias exists for other media.  Sorry, but I don't get the appeal of Exile on Main Street.  I can only listen to a British junkie try to sound like Muddy Waters for so long.  How's that for a cold take?

Full disclosure: I'm straight-edge.  Intoxication isn't a personal experience.  Maybe, then, I can't see the appeal of intoxicated direction and performance.  But I also only have so much free time for movies.  Maybe my vitriol is for misspent hours.

There may be other factors.  The reappraisal-industrial-complex exists because of hot takes and decontextualization.  And those darn boomers may have infected us all with their misguided nostalgia.  For imminent hipsters, personal branding was championing only the most obscure cultural items.

So reader, beware.  I've started watching the trailer before deciding to add a film to my journal.  I've also started listening more to friend's recommendations.  Shout out to my girlfriend MK for making me watch People Just Do Nothing.

And I'll always be here to steer you to the right things!  But remember, we'll all be wrong someday, even me.  But speaking of nostalgia . . .

Bob Dylan was on Pawn Stars

Hey, remember when I said I'd macro-blog about Pawn Stars?  Well, here it is.  Did you know that Bob Dylan was on Pawn Stars?  Click the link to see for yourself.

That's all I wanted to say . . .

My Favorite Toker

I didn't end on a hook the last macro-blog, but I found one! Are y'all tired of all this film talk?  I'm not!  But I'm a man (?) with varied interests.  One such interest is the social media platform Tik Tok.

I know, I know.  I've said before I'm not on social media.  But Tik Tok doesn't count!  I don't post there, I just lurk.  It's not like macro-blogging, I swear!

And don't tell me it's run by the Chinese government!  Take your liberal, xenophobic privacy pearl-clutching to some other macro-blog!  If you're so worried about online security, what about domestic wrongdoers like Zuck?  Go read The Intercept, pleb!

Anyway!  As you can see, it's hard to evangelize the charm of Tik Tok without yelling.  I tried to show the app to my friend Maggie and it didn't go well.  I felt the same sting of defeat when I tried to show my (girl)friend MK a Jerry Lewis movie.  Both have their charms, I swear!

Tik Tok isn't paying me to say this.  The loss of Vine left a hole in my heart.  Laughing about Vine is inseparable from my college experience.  My friend Dalton (different Dalton) and I would laugh about Logey Dogey for hours.  Tik Tok has filled that hole (sorry).

If you won't take my word for it, I'll give you a gateway (sorry).  My favorite Toker (?) is a guy named Moonshine Brian.  I say he's my favorite, but I haven't gone deep into his oeuvre yet.  You could say I'm a "fake fan."

Anyway, you need context to understand Moonshine Brian.  This is high art!  Tik Tok has perfected Vine's simple formula.  Instead of offering only looping, Tik Tok also offers more advanced video features.

These include face-tracking and a "reaction" option.  But the important feature for our purposes is the green screen feature.  Like DePalma mastered the split-screen, Moonshine Brian has mastered the green screen.

Tokers don't need to own their own green screen.  Instead, if you have an image to project, Tik Tok does the rest.  Moonshine Brian offers up stills from the reality show Moonshiners.  Why you ask?

Because Moonshine Brian cosplays as a moonshiner.  From what I gather, Moonshine Brian, in reality, is not a moonshiner, but he aims to be.  And he's a big fan of TV's Moonshiners, especially that lovable goof-off Tickle.  And Moonshine Brian, like Tickle, often finds himself pretending to be on the wrong side of the law.

If you haven't seen Moonshiners, then you might not appreciate Moonshine Brian.  Moonshiners is one of those programs you only watch at home with your father for the holidays.  Or while you're waiting for your oil change.  The Discovery Channel may be the last source of inadvertent media consumption.

Moonshiners isn't all that different from Pawn Stars, Naked and Afraid, or The Curse of Oak Island.  Like wrestling, the choreography of reality is more enjoyable than the reality itself.  Do I have to explain this to you?  Go watch F for Fake, pleb!

So I guess that makes Moonshine Brian a sorta simulacra, but that discussion is beyond my pay grade.  Go read Baudrillard!  What I am paid to do is make easy, John Oliver-style "it's like" comparisons.  And Moonshine Brian is like Scott McClanahan meets self-insert fanfiction.

Go watch yourself!  I'm done giving play-by-play!  I'm paid to give foreshadowing for my next macro-blog post.  It'll be about Pawn Stars . . .

This Picture

Speaking of questionable fashion . . . I've been laughing about this picture for a few months.  I thought I'd macro-blog about it now because it's still funny to me.  But its utility outside of my enjoyment is low.  I've already shared it with friends and many group messages.  What's a boy left to do?

Should I feel bad for Lena Dunham?  I often make jokes at her expense with my friend Annie Kate.  Here's a recurring one: remember when Lena Dunham dated Jack Antonoff?  This was during the Obama administration when Dunham had Girls and her book coming out.

So Dunham was dating Antonoff.  And they said they wouldn't get married until gay marriage was a reality.  And hey, respect for that.  Then the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.  See Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015).  But THEN, in 2017, they broke up!

I shouldn't laugh about this, but I do.  I also laugh about Dunham's performance in Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood (my favorite film of last year).  Dunham is in like two scenes as Gypsy, and all her line reads are bad.  I'm no actor, but even I, a layman, could tell.

Again, I shouldn't laugh, but should I feel bad?  I think Dunham's career is indicative of a new "boom and bust" popularity cycle.  I'm not talking about "cancel culture," mind you.  I mean a sped-up version of Warhol's "fifteen minutes" cliche.  Social media has prolonged the relevancy of certain celebrities. But I argue it has abbreviated the relevancy of others.  Let me explain . . .

I associate Dunham with Grimes, Iggy Azalea, Noah Centineo and Jennifer Lawrence.  These are celebrities that have filed a particular niche for a shorter fifteen minutes.  Grimes was an indie artist with a dark aesthetic before Billie Eilish's ascendancy.  Iggy Azalea was a white rapper when the now-hegemony of rap still stomached some white rap.

Outside of music, Centineo was streaming's go-to teen heartthrob.  And Lawrence was the leading lady before every movie had to star either Margot Robbie or Adam Driver.  Lena Dunham?  She was the funny, East Coast feminist on TV before Broad City was on Comedy Central.

All these stars were hot until they quickly were not.  Grimes started dating Elon Musk.  People noticed Azalea's blaccent.  Tik Tok made fun of Centineo's neck.  Lawrence's "I like pizza" gimmick got old.

For Dunham, it was a double-whammy.  First, there was the Vogue controversy.  Then, there was a dialogue about a particular chapter in her book.  All this made Dunham a lightning rod for the online discourse on white feminism.  This is a position she likely put herself in.

Could you attribute this fatigue for all five to a constant online presence?  Who knows.  Is my coined "boom and bust" cycle a bad thing?  I don't even know.

I'm not even on Twitter anymore and I tend to get sick of the same celebrities for the same reason.  But should I feel bad for them?  I think Once Upon a Time, featuring Dunham, is instructive in this discussion.  Because in a way, all these celebrities are like DiCaprio's Rick Dalton.

I'm not going to do the movie reviewer thing and recap the whole plot.  All you need to know is, in the movie, Rick Dalton is a self-described, washing-up actor.  He was hot when he starred on Bounty Law, but now he's doing "featuring" gigs as the black hat in TV pilots.  On top of that, his next-door neighbors are the biggest actress and director in 1969 Hollywood.

In a way, Rick's early arc isn't all that different from Dunham's.  But Rick is more sympathetic because we also see him behind the scenes.  He cries about his career to Cliff, he flubs his lines.  But we also see him knock a scene out of the park and go on to success in Italian productions (spoiler).  So, of course, I feel bad for Rick!

I can't say the same for Dunham.  Would she be more sympathetic if we saw her struggle with her lines off-screen as well as on-screen?  Maybe.  Like Gypsy, all we see of Dunham comes from a few brief interactions.

So maybe the casting of Dunham is sorta genius.  I'm 100% sure none of the casting agents had this same reasoning, but a boy can project.  Once Upon a Time is great because it's about timeless predicaments like relevance.  It also satisfies my main film criteria.

And relevance isn't just a concern for celebrities.  We'll all be wrong someday.  Just look at me, posting on a medium that hasn't been relevant since the Bush administration.  What will I even macro-blog about next post . . .

Jeffrey Wright's New Glasses

WHOM let this happen?  Well, first, let me call back to my previous macro-blog post.  I alluded to casting a commissioner.  Jeffrey Wright is playing Commissioner Gordon in the upcoming The Batman.  Now that that is out of the way . . .

WHOM let Jeffrey Wright get new glasses?  The screenshot above comes from this Dell ad.  I don't have cable, but I discovered this while watching RHOC reruns at home for the holidays.  What a way to receive bad news.

Up til now, Wright had master the art of accessorizing the eyes.  Like Michael Kane, glasses always improved Wright's performances.  Glasses aren't the key ingredient to a successful Kane performance, but it sure helps.  I'll just say Kane isn't wearing the Wayfarer pair in The Swarm.

Same goes for Wright.  Wright was always fiddling with his in Westworld, throwing them on and off.  He performed with his eyewear the way Rodney Dangerfield performed with his collar.  Or how Clint Eastwood wields a .44 Magnum.

According to his Twitter, Wright has worn bifocals from "eyebobs."  If "eyebobs" gave Wright these spectacles (pictured above), he should move on to Warby Parker.  These look like accessories from a "hot secretary" Halloween costume.

They look too small to fiddle with.  How is Wright suppose to throw those off in frustration?  Or place back onto his face in slow-mo, after a big reveal?  And they narrow the eyes, accentuating the chrome dome.

These are the glasses Wright would wear if he were playing Lex Luthor.  But I don't want to be too negative.  As is precedent, I want to macro-blog some eyewear highlights from Wright's career.  Consider this an in memorium:

From Westworld, this is the pinnacle.  The off-black, resting on the bridge of the nose.  The stern look of consternation, glaring over the frame's top.  I would attach a gif of the aforementioned gesticulating if I knew how to.

Hunger Games foreshadowed the look in Westworld.  The obvious differences are the rounder frames, the goatee instead of beard.  Wright is playing a tech-wiz, a rationalist in the late-Rome days of Panem.  Over the gaudy green, the classic style symbolizes his belief in the pre-Panem old ways.

Source Code is a deeper Wright cut, and he doesn't have glasses on the whole movie.  I don't remember the film well, but I think Wright was playing older.  If so, the half-frame is a solid choice, lending itself to reading dim screens.  All it needs is a chain if Wright were to play a librarian.

Here's a bonus from Only Lovers Left Alive, which I haven't seen.  I need to put it on the list because it combines two faves: vampires and Jim Jarmusch.

Let's all hope Wright makes better choices in costuming his Commissioner Gordon.  But I'm still excited for The Batman.  I was also excited for Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, but he ended up being in like two scenes.  But speaking of questionable fashion choices . . .

All Cops Are Woody Harrelson

So what even is a character actor?  I should've discussed that in my last macro-blog post.  But what I did remember to do was foreshadow THIS macro-blog post.  And this one is about maybe-character actor Woody Harrelson.

Did you forget that Woody Harrelson was in a Star Wars story?  How could you?  I think about this a lot.  Woody is in the Star Wars Universe with Carl Weathers, Nick Nolte, Richard Ayoade, Amy Sedaris, Bill Burr, Taika Waititi, Richard E. Grant and Werner Herzog.

In his Star Wars story, Woody is a scoundrel.  I thought this was unusual.  Woody is often cast as a cop.  Have you noticed this?

He was a cop in Three Billboards.  He was a cop in True Detective.  He was a cop in Rampart.  He was a cop in The Highwaymen.  He was a cop in Triple 9.  He was a cop in Battle in Seattle.

But Woody doesn't just play cops.  Woody has played his fair share of other scoundrels.  Natural Born Killers.  Zombieland.

Venom (cameo).  No Country for Old Men.  The Hunger Games.  The Glass Castle.

Seven Psychopaths.  Now You See Me.  War for the Planet of the Apes.  Game Change.

I think that's about it.  So that's about six cop roles versus eleven scoundrel roles.  Let's get Woody to play five more cops.  We must balance the books.

Another note: have you noticed that Jon Hamm has played a lot of government employees?  Bad Times at the El Royale.  The Report.  Richard Jewell.

Top Gun: Maverick.  Beirut.  The Town.  I think that's about it.

If I was writing a cop movie, I'd have Woody and Jon bickering over jurisdiction.  "This is my case,"  Woody would say.  "No, this case is the Government's now," Jon would retort.  I haven't cast the commissioner that's "had it up to HERE" yet.  Maybe next macro-blog . . .

Two Character Actors

I guess each new macro-blog has to tie into the last.  I don't have the format down yet, folks.  Like America, this is a blog in search of itself.  One feature you, the reader, can count on is me talking about what I set up in the most round-about way possible.  Here's an example:

Last night I watched Angel, expecting something like Vice Squad or The Mad Bomber.  I ended up liking Angel more than those films.  But not because of the lead actress.  Like Florence Pugh in Little Women (my second favorite film of last year), she wasn't convincing playing a younger person.

But, as mentioned, my main criteria for a good movie is whether it's a gateway to other good things.  And Angel had two (!) great character actors.  The first is Rory Calhoun.  Calhoun played an aged Western hero like Randolph Scott in Ride the High Country.  I first noticed Calhoun in Motel Hell, which, if you haven't seen, is a real gem of 80s horror.

Backwoods horror is hit-or-miss.  My Mount Rushmore is Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Race with the Devil, Death Stalk and Motel Hell.  Eaten Alive might be my favorite Tobe Hooper film.  But Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 has even more unbridled Texan insanity.  Race with the Devil combines murderous, LaVey-like cults with swanky RVs and motocross.  (A great double feature would be Race with the Devil and The Devil's Rain).

And Death Stalk is a post-Deliverance TV movie that outdoes Deliverance (in my opinion).  (Death Stalk also has Vince Edwards from The Mad Bomber).  But Motel Hell is not about Texas, Satanism, or canoeing convicts.  It's about small business owners.

Calhoun is so good in Motel Hell because he's playing two characters in one.  As a front-facing, boutique butcher, Calhoun is beyond charming.  But off of the clock (see above), his character is a Great Muta-level maniac.  Unlike Psycho or The Intruder (a film that made my honorable mention list from last year), Calhoun doesn't hint at his tendencies in public.

You know as soon as you meet Norman Bates that that guy is a freak.  Same goes for Dennis Quaid's character (and in real life).  You don't realize Calhoun is a freak until he pulls a 180 next scene, no transition or hints needed.  I need to watch Hell Comes to Frogtown (which stars a wrestler) to see more of his later work.  And also River of No Return, which Eve Babitz hated.

The other great character actor from Angel is Susan Tyrrell.  I recognized her in Angel from Forbidden Zone.  But I forgot until later she's also in Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker.  I don't recommend Forbidden Zone because of its unacceptable use of blackface.  From interviews, it sounds like Danny Elfman spent the Seventies entrenched in 1938 (and all the evil that entails).

But I would recommend Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker for Tyrrell's performance alone.  Calhoun is deft in when he lifts the character's mask.  In comparison, Tyrell is mask-off, going full-on Mommie Dearest.  If you remove Tyrell, the whole movie would collapse.  Another warning: a detective in the film is a virulent homophobe, but the film does not take his view.

Hey, at least Angel has a likable, well-presented-for-the-time trans character!  But speaking of another, contemporary character (?) actor . . .

Of Recent Vintage

After my second macro-blog of the day, I'm going for a record third!  You can't stop me!  I'm high off of the fumes of being back on the Internet!  Just when I thought I didn't have a hook while writing my last post, I found one!  Because last night, I went to the movies.

My favorite theater in Fayetteville, Arkansas is the AMC off College.  But you'll often find me at the Malco on Tuesdays for six ($6) dollar movies all day.  What can I say, I can't resist a deal.  I reserve the AMC for opening night movies (e.g. a Star Wars story).  And I reserve the Malco for movies I wouldn't otherwise see in the theater (e.g. The Dead Don't Die), but it's only six ($6) dollars.

I wouldn't have otherwise seen The Grudge in the theater, but it was only six ($6) dollars.  Also, I've been excited for the movie after I heard an interview with the director.  Also, Brian Collins wrote a review defending the film.  And the negative press only made me more intrigued.

It was okay.

But!  What's more interesting than a straight review is what the film reminded me of.  Two other films come to mind.  The first is Crawl, which is my tenth (10th) favorite film of last year (2019).  Crawl was also produced by Sam Raimi, like The Grudge.  Does that matter?  Who knows.

What I do know is that where Crawl is weak, The Grudge is strong.  And where The Grudge is weak, Crawl is strong.  Let me explain.  Crawl's scares are strong, but the drama is weak.  Whereas The Grudge's drama is strong, but the scares are weak.  Mirror.  Images.

The other film The Grudge reminded me of is Under the Silver Lake.  Both The Grudge and Under the Silver Lake take place in the recent past.  The Grudge is set in 2004-06, while Under the Silver Lake is set in 2011.  And I like that!

I'd argue that knowing Under the Silver Lake is set in 2011 improved the film for me.  Because, until the year came up, I kept thinking, "Man, everything looks so out of date in this movie."  There's a band in the movie, Jesus & the Brides of Dracula (see above).  This band reminded me of an evil version of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes (or The Polyphonic Spree).

And I was like, "I don't think this band would exist in L.A. in 2019."  But it wasn't 2019!  It was a good way to make the viewer think about the recent past.  I'm surprised this movie hasn't gained a cult following yet!

The film examines how conspiracies enthrall alienated young men before Epstein's death.  It also didn't flinch in depicting the male gaze in a pre-#MeToo L.A.  Think Max Landis or Matt Mondanile.  Yet I've seen some viewers conflating the protagonist's slacker chauvinism with the filmmaker's.  That's 2018-2020 for you!

Well, I ended up talking more about Under the Silver Lake than I did about The Grudge.  My main criteria for a good movie is whether it is a gateway to other great films and filmmakers.  Maybe I'll macro-blog about my other favorites from 2019 next post . . .