Currently Watching?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

on Netflix


Rodney Alcala was a real life serial killer who was found guilty of the murders of seven women in the 1970s and suspected of many more.
he was known as the "dating show killer" as he appeared an a contestant looking for love (or another victim) on The Dating Game 

movie wiki:  Woman of the Hour - Wikipedia

his wiki:  Rodney Alcala - Wikipedia  

The Dating Game clip from 1978:   Rodney James Alcala on the Dating Game

movie rating:   3.5/5

[Ruby]

Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

I always enjoy these biopics. Nice to see how everyone fits into the band - past and present, and to get a sense of their characters. Our Brucie is very much the chief of this tribe! He definitely runs the show and he wrote and produced this film which says a lot. It gives you an excellent idea of the life of touring musician, which is what he is. I read somewhere recently that he has a net worth of something like 1,2 billion dollars - Forbes, I think. No wonder he takes his massive concerts so seriously. Quid pro quo for the fans. They love him. Not sure how much longer the voice will hang in there - neither is he. Worth a watch if it shows up on your screens. 





and then something completely out of character for me, which turned out to be so interesting ... 

The Beach Boys 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beach_Boys_(film)

An in depth look at how the band formed, the focused genius of Brian Wilson, the contributions by the other members, the ups and downs within the group, rivalry with The Beatles, and so on. At a pivotal moment in music history. Shewy - those that remain are getting on a bit now! I never really understood the hype TBH, but as they say in the movie, what Brian Wilson was doing with sound had not been done before, and all I have really ever heard are the popular tracks that everyone knows. I haven't purposely listened to them ever, to my recollection, other than to Dennis Wilson. I might dig out some of their lesser known stuff and check it out. Carl had a really great voice too. And Brian basically did what he did out of not knowing that he couldn't - if that makes any sense! It was worth 113 minutes my life. 

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
both sound good Ruby, i will check them out at some point

[Ruby]

The Beatles: Get Back



A VERY long documentary film - something like eight and half hours. I watched it over some days. Extraordinary - I do not know how they put up with being filmed liked that. Really in your face. And the surprise to me is that none of them totally lost the plot, although there were moments, and obviously not every single thing is on tape. This covers the 21 days leading up to the infamous rooftop concert and is a somewhat voyeuristic (admittedly) and fascinating look into a different world. These guys were between 25 and 28 when this was made - already super famous and wealthy, but in an odd kind of way, it's also just like watching any group of people that age, and aside from the clothes and hairdos, nothing much has changed in the world! Super interesting to watch Paul McCartney coming up with "Get Back", from out of nowhere. And it was all a bit muddly and disorganised in studio - the way they rehearsed and wrote, so the culmination of it all - the performance on the rooftop was an absolute metamorphosis. They seemed to shed all the mucky stuff and assume star personas, instantly! Crazy. The concert lasted 40 odd minutes until they were shut down by the coppers because of noise complaints. Some of those recordings appear on their final album Let it Be. 

I've never been a Beatles afficionado and am unlikely to become one now, but I have to say that this really sheds a different light on preconceptions. Not for the faint of heart - not a lot happens a lot of the time - one is a fly on the wall. But it is really cool to see George Martin and the management team, producer Glynn Johns and an incredibly youthful Alan Parsons. Peter Sellers even makes an awkward and brief appearance. 

I guess anyone who is a serious Beatles fan would not want to miss this. Perhaps it has been sanitised - who can say? There certainly didn't appear to be as much acrimony as has been suggested there was at the time, although it was apparent that the band was in the process of breaking up - it was inevitable, they all had different ideas and there were power struggles. They bickered, for sure, and all smoked themselves into a stupor but they never descended into brawling or anything like that. To be put under such pressure and then to be filmed into the bargain might conceivably be way too much to bear by anyone - all things considered, I think they coped admirably well, albeit with the aid of substances (some of them). And although George walked out, temporarily, none of them outright lost it with Yoko, for example, (at least not on the final film) who was, of course, ever present. They didn't like it but they had inherent good manners. An irresistible time capsule, for sure. 

[CRAZY-HORSE]

^^
i remember reading in a book years ago that it was Paul's idea to get the cameras rolling in the studio, his thoughts were, apparently at the time, that if they were being filmed then they would be on their best behavior.
i noticed watching it that Linda was there just as much as Yoko and they seemed to get on fairly well from their mannerisms.

the original cinematic release some 45 years ago titled "let it be" showed Paul being a bit of a control freak and painted him in a bad light, i guess that was the other three playing 'politics' against him with all the legal issues going on.
and i guess now that two members gone that Paul can 're-write beatles history' in his favour, something he has tried to do numerous times over the last forty odd years (and moreso since George's death)

one part of the doco really pulled at the heartstings for me and that was the part where George walked out and john wasnt there and Paul said "and then there were two" as the tears welled up in his eyes. i saw that as a genuine moment because back then no one would have foreseen their legacy in the decades to come.
that bit really made me think that despite all the so called frictions within the band that he genuinely wanted them to unite and stay together.

the other interesting part is that how boring, tedious and not very 'rock and roll' that being in the studio can be.

still. a good snapshot into the inner workings of possibly every rock band behind the scenes.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

"iron" Mike Tyson v Jake Paul

on Netflix

well that was bad but did i really expect it to be anything but that???

so sad to see Tyson try to box, a mere shadow of the man he once was in 'the ring'

[CRAZY-HORSE]

"HERETIC"

Lynne and I saw this at the cinema today (yes, we still have cinemas LOL) 

poses a hell of a lot of questions about 'faith', 'belief' and religion in general

Plot:
Two LDS Church missionaries, confident Sister Barnes and timid Sister Paxton, arrive at the home of a reclusive man, Mr. Reed. He invites them in, assuring them that his wife is preparing a blueberry pie in the back of the house. They begin to discuss religion, with Reed making several uncomfortable comments about their Mormon faith and the nature of belief. When Reed steps out of the room, Barnes realizes that the smell of blueberry pie is from a candle, the front door is locked, and they have no phone signal.

They follow Reed to his study, where he gives them a threatening lecture arguing that all religions are adaptations of one another, and claims to have found the one true religion. He gives the girls a choice of two doors to go through to exit the house: one if they still believe in God, and one if they do not.

not revealing any more because it might spoil this psychologial thriller for those who may be interested

Rating:  3.5/5

[CRAZY-HORSE]

on Netflix

always enjoyed Liam Neeson's movies and this one came up on my feed today

typical of his style:
son gets killed by drug cartel (in wrong place, wrong time)
Liam goes after the cartel one by one and exactas his revenge upon them
the difference with this one is that it seems to have a 'black humour' about it in places (almost a parody at times)
but still a thriller too

not a great movie by any means and regardless of the humour it is still pretty weak and overly predictable 

Wiki:  Cold Pursuit - Wikipedia

Rating:   2/5

[CRAZY-HORSE]

a random documentary (on youtube) turned up on my feed for some reason about the Eastland Disaster, the worst maritime disaster in US history.
this was really interesting because i was totally unaware of it

link to the actual tragic event: https://www.britannica.com/event/Eastland-disaster

[CRAZY-HORSE]

on Amazon Prime

a very good adaptation of the Stephen King horror novel

stars Max Von Sydow and Ed Harris


plot:
The Devil moves into sleepy little Castle Rock and opens an antique/bric-a-brac store
he sells 'needful things' to his customers cheap but there is a price to pay...

the Wiki:  Needful Things (film) - Wikipedia

Rating:  4/5