Bikers and Murder for Hire: Two New Films Suggest Another Good Year in Movies

Adria Arjona and Glen Powell in Hit Man

Is this going to be another stellar year in films? I saw two new pictures over the weekend and enjoyed them both which means that I've seen five excellent movies this year and we''re not even in July. (The other three are Evil Does Not Exist, La Chimera and Totem.)

What particularly impressed me about The Bikeriders was the performances of Tom Hardy and Jodie Comer. (Austin Butler was solid but I'd like to see him in something very different next.) Hardy and Comer are both British and in Bikeriders played American Midwesterners with the thickest of accents. However mostly I noticed the truth of what Norma Desmond said in Sunset Blvd: “We didn't need dialogue. We had faces!” The best actors say so much more with their eyes and expressions than do mediocre ones. Think of Al Pacino in the first two Godfather films. Yes, he had monologues, yes, he had outbursts but so much of what he told us was unsaid. Note in particular the scene in which he’s about to assassinate Sollozzo and Captain McCluskey. He’s not saying a word but his eyes are telling us all about the emotions roiling within him. The eyes have it. This is the art of acting. A twinkle of the eyes, a crinkle of the mouth, the raising of an eyebrow. Acting is more than knowing your lines and hitting your marks, it's what you say without speaking. 

Other actors are expressive with their body language. The languid movements of Henry Fonda, the muscularity of Marlon Brando, the nimbleness of James Cagney, the gestures of Cate Blanchett. The sensuousness of Sophia Loren. The intensity of Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington. And yet they are all natural, unaffected, real, while telling their characters’ stories with so much more than words. 

I’ve not had a lot of exposure to Hardy but he’s been brilliant anytime I’ve seen him. In Bikeriders he absolutely stole scenes as the head of the biker gang. I don’t recall seeing Comer before. But I look forward to more of her work.

The Bikeriders was written and directed by Jeff Nichols who is not exactly a household name. But I've seen three previous efforts of his, Mud, Loving and Take Shelter. Take Shelter was a superb film which started Michael Shannon. Shannon had a supporting role in Bikeriders, he’s a wonderful actor who clearly had a great time as an over the top character called Zipco who equates everyone he doesn’t like with Pinkos. Shannon is always a delight bringing a rawness and power to his performances. Never subtle but always memorable.

Bikeriders is wonderfully evocative of a time and place (1965-1973, Chicago) creating a world that our imaginations couldn't have done justice. Not surprisingly it centers around a biker gang (that's still a going concern), particularly one member (Butler) and his wife (Comer). The wife provides much of the narration.

Hit Man is a surprising film and surprisingly good. Though one expects quality from director Richard Linklater. No, this is not a movie about a Mafia hit man. It is the story of someone who works for the police pretending to be a Hitman to entrap people planning murders. It is also a romantic comedy (really? Yes!). Gary Johnson (Glen Powell), is a philosophy professor who drives a Honda Civic, is divorced has two cats and frankly seems a bit of a milquetoast. But like so many other interesting characters in interesting films he goes through changes. In meeting people looking for hitman he takes on different personas, costumes, accents and mannerisms. When he plays a cool, tough guy in meeting a beautiful woman looking to have her abusive husband offed, he gradually morphs into that character. After all, said beautiful woman (the absolutely gorgeous Adria Arjona) is smitten with him. Why go back to being a regular schmendrick when you can woo beauties while being someone cool? Thus begins the romance of this most beguiling tale. Adding to Hit Man's wonders is that it's all based on a true story.

The best adjective for Hit Man is clever. Although unexpected, surprising, fun and delightful would also do. I was unfamiliar with the co-stars but was suitably impressed by both. Admittedly the voluptuous Arjona particularly impressed me (don’t tell my wife).

Without planning it Saturday was Linklater day for me. Earlier I’d watched Dazed and Confused which he directed 31 years ago. D and C is set on the last day of high school in 1976. We follow a dozen or so different characters. There is no plot to speak of. It has been compared to a similar and much better known film, American Graffiti. I think D and C makes Graffiti (which I watched two weeks ago for the first time in ages) look like a student film. Linklater’s film is rawer, more real, more intense, more interesting and funnier.

Linklater is a consistently good director having also helmed such films as Bernie, Boyhood, Slacker, Me and Orson Welles and the Before trilogy.

D and C remains my favorite of his pictures but I just might slot Hit Man into the second slot. 

I can't wait for what else 2024 has in store in the world of movies. 

You Can't Choose Your Family But You Can Choose a Great Film That Centers Around One -- Eight Examples

The Royal Tenenbaums

Families are often complex units that can be highly functional and supportive, nurturing happy and successful individuals. They can also be highly destructive to the mental health of its members and do irreparable damage. They can also be anywhere in the vast land between those two extremes. Families are the home base from which we start life. Later we can form our own. Many of us model our own parenting style and philosophy based on how we were raised. Many of us try to do the opposite.

Families come in various sizes. They can be as small as mom, dad and one child. There can be multiple children, there can be grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins included. There can be children who are adopted. Some families are close and loving. Some families spend a modicum of time together. Many close, loving families are also restrictive and repressive. Some families that are not tightly-knit nonetheless adequately fulfill the needs of its members. 

Some families fight constantly. Some with real rancor and others harmlessly with no ill will. Some families hold in their feelings towards one another. Much goes unsaid. Resentments brew.

Movies that focus on a family too often deal in stereotypes. Maybe the mom is a typical nag or perhaps she is totally self-sacrificing, tolerant and a buffer to a temperamental father. The Dad can be a tyrant or he can be a milquetoast whose every other utterance to his wife is, “yes dear.” Rarely do motion pictures give every family member their own unique identity and rarer still do they seem more than cardboard cut-outs.

But I found eight films that created interesting families that are either totally believable and relatable or thoroughly entertaining. All those selected are excellent movies most by one of filmdom's great directors. They are offered in no particular order.

Amarcord (1973) Fellini. The Biondi family is one of the great delights of cinema in one of the greatest of all films. To say they are eccentric is a massive understatement. The Father (Armando Brancia) is a construction foreman, and an anti-fascist who's demanding of his children. He also quarrels constantly with his wife (Pupella Maggio) a strong-willed woman, protective of her brood. When father's frustration grows too much he tries to "kill himself" by pulling his mouth apart with his hands pulling simultaneously up and down as if he can tear his head apart this way. There’s also a horny grandfather, an Uncle in a mental hospital who forgets to unzip before relieving himself, a lazy brother-in-law who wears a hair net, and of course the children, one of whom is the movie’s central character in a wild menagerie of them. Taken together they are a seemingly a hot mess but under the deft touch of director Federico Fellini they're grand fun.

Fanny and Alexander (1982) Bergman. The Ekdahl family. The story centers on the titular characters, especially the boy Alexander. It is partially through his young eyes that we meet this wonderful family led by the grandmother and matriarch Helena (Gunn Wallgren). She’s what one would call a “cool grandma.” She’s a vital, wise, handsome woman and likes to kick up her heels. Fanny and Alexander’s loving father dies early in our story and their lovely mother (Ewa Froling) makes the mistake of marrying a stern, cold-hearted bishop. The children go from a loving extended family of uncles, aunts and cousins in their virtual playground of a house to a austere, cold home with the bishop’s dour, dull-as-dust spinster sisters. It would be a shock to anyone. Unsurprisingly it all works out and they ultimately return to the Ekdahl wonderland. 

The Godfather (1972) F. Coppola. The Corleones. Mom, Dad and five kids, four boys (one adopted) and a girl. They’re a prosperous. The parents are immigrants from Sicily who realized the American dream  starting with nothing before building a business empire. Capitalism at its finest. True, their business is organized crime and ultimately two of the boys will be murdered and Dad will be badly wounded in a shooting. Oh, and and the daughter’s husband will be killed -- by order of one of her brothers. Family stuff. The children are all unique. The oldest son, Sonny (James Caan) will blend easily into the family business though his temper will prove a fatal flaw. The middle son, Fredo (John Cazale) will also go into the biz, but the poor sap is bumbling idiot, ill-suited for such serious work. Youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) initially wants nothing to do with the business side of his family. He’s a college boy who joins the marines when the U.S. enters World War II. Ahh but here is where our tale gets interesting. Fascinating  Celluloid history. Michael changes. Boy does he ever. Circumstances force this transformation, but there’s something within the boy too. Ultimately he takes over the family business when Pop dies of natural causes. The Godfather is indeed a movie about the Mafia, but it is also about family. At that it excels. The sequel, Godfather Part 2, continues the story.

Radio Days (1987) Allen. There is mother (Julie Kavner), father (Michael Tucker), their son Joe (Seth Green) whose latter day narration guides us through this story set in the early 1940s. They live with an aunt, uncle and cousin. Radio Days is the story of how the radio was often the center of the household but in seeing the media’s effect we learn about this not always charming but always interesting family and its disparate members. They bicker, they support each other. They are quirky and eccentric and eminently relatable. Each are unique and fully realized in one of Woody Allen’s very best films. Radio Days, like the family it depicts, is touching, funny and relatable. Each family member is unique and memorable on their own merits, but would suffer mightily without the support of the family as a whole.

The Grapes of Wrath (1940) Ford. The Joad family. The displaced family. Torn from their home and sent across the country by the combined horrors of The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, in search of the Nirvana that California supposedly was. The Joads are one of literature’s  most famous families. Through the brilliant direction of John Ford they became one of cinema’s most indelible families too. Henry Fonda stars as Tom Joad, whose story is the focal point of the family. He has an everyman quality which lends his family the same feeling. They are any of us who are unfortunate, who’ve become victims despite our hard work and best efforts. They were what happens when luck is all bad. They prove that when one door closes another one does not necessarily open. Jane Darwell as Ma Joad is perhaps film’s greatest representation of the power of motherhood. The family center holds despite misfortunate, even as some members leave or die.

The Ice Storm (1997) A. Lee. The four-member Hood Family. All families are of a particular time and place. This one is suburbia in 1973. Watergate is dominating the news. Hairstyles have uniformly changed. Many of the freedoms fought for in the Sixties are in place. Key parties are a thing. Bell bottoms and plaid are worn. Tobey Maguire as the son Paul is the center of the story. He’s in prep school developing a love of literature but a far greater love of the fairer sex which he pursues assiduously in the form of the delicious young Katie Holmes. His younger sister Wendy (Christina Ricci) is disaffected, moody, sexually curious and perhaps quite angry at her parents. She’s certainly got, as they say, “issues” — many of them. Then again everyone in this story does and that's rather the point. Ben and Elena (Kevin Kline and Joan Allen) are the parents. Ben is having an affair with a neighbor and isn’t fooling the missus. Emotions are stifled, appearances are kept. Life is awkward, something to be soldiered through. This is a dysfunctional, if fascinating and revealing family in one of the most honest portrayals of suburbia ever filmed.

Shadow of a Doubt (1943) Hitchcock. The Newton family and its Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton). They’re a pretty ordinary group and that’s the trouble for the eldest, who like her uncle is also a Charlie. There’s no excitement in their lives. Mom and Dad (Patricia Collinge and Henry Travers) are agreeable, amiable folks who love their brood. (They’re a bit old to have an eight-year-old. This was an oddity of casting in the first forty or so years of films, parents in their fifties or sixties with young children.) Charlie (Teresa Wright) who appears to be nearing twenty, is clearly the driving force of the family and when her namesake Uncle (mom’s brother) comes for a visit she feels that the sun has come out after too many dreary days. Idyllic! The beloved uncle comes bearing gifts. But Uncle Charlie brings menace too. He’s not the hail-fellow-well-met he seems. Indeed he's a serial killer of rich widows, hence his wealth. Only young Charlie can see this. Families are often all about facades. The false front that fools everyone. The Newton family doesn’t even know — except for young Charlie — that their happy face is an illusion. It’s a fascinating story and one of Hitchcock's best.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) W. Anderson. I defy you to find a more interesting film family that the Tenenbaums. I further challenge you to identify a weirder patriarch than Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman). He’s a rascal, a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat and a loving father. Here are a few quotes of his: “Anybody interested in grabbing a couple of burgers and hittin' the cemetery?” 

“I'm very sorry for your loss. Your mother was a terribly attractive woman.” 

“I've always been considered an asshole for about as long as I can remember.”

“Hell of a damn grave. Wish it were mine.”

The three children (Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson and Gwyneth Paltrow) are all madly eccentric in one way or the other — indeed in many ways. Only mom (Angelica Huston) has a touch of normalcy to her. It’s a mad crew that scrap and yell but ultimately get along…um, just fine? At the start of the movie they’ve all gone their separate ways but circumstances bring them all together and Royal makes himself the center of the ensuing insanity (he is the nexus wherever he goes). It makes for great hilarity but if you watch closely enough it’s also an insightful film. About families.

Groovy Commuting, Words No Longer Used, The Godfather and College Football All in One Far Out Post

Pacino and Brando in The Godfather

I’m commuting into San Francisco again. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have an early morning class so have to leave the house at seven AM to catch the commuter bus. It’s a mellow ride that beats regular commute hours by half an hour (or so). I get into the City and have a twenty-minute (or so) walk to school. I’m done before noon and home around 12:45 (in the afternoon — of course). Tuesdays and Thursdays I have an afternoon class so don’t leave the house until 11:30 AM (or so). After work comes the tricky part of my commute week as I leave just as the evening commute is heating up: 4:30 (or so). This is only day three so I can’t say too much about the overall commute. There’ll be bad days and a horrific experience or two but for the most part it’ll be fairly groovy.

I like that, “fairly groovy.” The word groovy is of a time more so than most slang. It’s very Sixties. It was pretty much gone by the mid if not the early seventies. “Right on” is very Sixties too but has had a longer shelf life and still pops up now and again. “Far out” was also totally a Sixties saying that was already being mocked by the seventies. Ya know what else was around in the sixties? Referring to your boy/girl friend (usually one you lived with) as your “old man” or “old lady.” Never hear it anymore. I wasn’t crazy about it but think it preferable to today’s “partner” which sounds so antiseptic. Also in the Sixties there were “hassles” or someone was “hassling” you. So it was a verb and a noun. Often it was the police — or pigs — who were doing the hassling. People had roommate “hassles” back then. This could “put you through changes.” No one gets “put through changes” anymore. More’s the pity. It seems like “bummer” has stuck around. People still get “bummed out” but I don’t believe they have “bum trips” anymore. Also people don’t watch either the “boob tube” or “idiot box” anymore. I blame the advent of the computer age.

Here’s a question: how much Sixties slang did I use “back in the day”? Not much. I was, especially growing up in Berkeley, very much attuned to the times. I protested against the war in Vietnam, I listened to rock, I smoked “grass” aka “weed” or “bush” and grew my hair long but I generally eschewed slang. I suppose I’ve always been fairly erudite. 

Speaking of words….People never have quarrels anymore. The British have rows but Americans just have arguments. No one gets cross anymore either. They do get angry or pissed. Some folks get mad though the British generally use mad for crazy. Speaking of piss, in England they take the piss but we don’t do that here in the states. Also in England you can tell someone to piss off but in the states you are pissed off. I don’t remember the last time I heard someone described as bashful, everyone is shy. Is it my imagination or are we cutting down on our vocabulary?

Without segue I’ll mention that last weekend I watched The Godfather (1972) Coppola and The Godfather Part II (1974) Coppola. I’ve no idea how many times I’ve watched these two films but I’d say it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of a lot. With each viewing I become increasingly impressed with Al Pacino’s turn as Michael Corleone. The transformation in the first movie from the boyish soldier back from the war bringing his girlfriend home to a wedding to the cold-blooded Mafia Don is one of the great performances in cinema. In the sequel he remains true to the character with only barely controlled rage to indicate that warm blood courses through his veins. The Godfather films are as close to perfectly made as you can get. Tick off the boxes, directing, editing, costumes, set design, acting, the score. I recently saw a discussion in which most participants said they preferred the sequel. Not me. (Although it is really splitting hairs to say you prefer one to the other.) I like the first more because of the aforementioned Michael transition and also for the presence of Vito (Marlon Brando) and Sonny (James Caan). That said the scenes ins Part II with Robert DeNiro as the young Vito in Little Italy are some of the best ever committed to celluloid. 

College football died after Michigan defeated Washington for the national championship on Monday (Go Blue!). Next season will be a travesty of what the sport once was. My own beloved University of California Golden Bears along with their arch rivals, Stanfurd will be in the Atlantic Coast Conference. From Cal’s Memorial Stadium you can look over the west rim of the stadium and see the Pacific Coast. Nonetheless…..Meanwhile the Pacific Coast Conference will be no more. Traditional rivalries have been going by the way side for years now and more will be ended. In lieu of many geographically logical conferences there will be huge mega conferences. All this at the behest of TV networks and in the name of the almighty dollar. Lastly there will now be a 12 team post season tournament to determine the national champions as greed gives way to common sense. Like professional sports, college football will now offer the opportunity to second place finishers to claim titles. To quote a song: don't it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone.

What Film Had the Best Cast? I Try to Answer this Subjective Question -- Off the Top of my Head

Notorious with L-R, Rains, Grant, Bergman

I just saw a tweet that posed the question: "what do you think was the best movie cast of all time?" I saw one answer, The Philadelphia Story (1940) Cukor, before leaving Twitter and coming here to give my answer -- of sorts -- without thinking about it. Thus what I'm doing here is a form of live blogging, or stream of consciousness blogging in which I'm writing as I think. Should be fun -- for me a least. Let's see what I come up with.

As I said the only response I saw was The  Philadelphia Story and that was indeed a good cast with Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart and Katharine Hepburn. It gets mighty thin after those three with two strong supporting cast members, Roland Young and Henry Daniell. If you're going by best three leads for a film than The Philadelphia Story is in the running.

Cary Grant reminds me of Notorious (1946) Hitchcock where it's him, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains. Another excellent top three. The supporting players, especially Louis Calhern are good if not spectacular.

Claude Rains and Ingrid Bergman come to mind again as they were part of a terrific cast along with Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Paul Henreid and some excellent supporting players in Casablanca (1942) Curtiz. The supporters include Sydney Greenstreet, John Qualen, S.Z. Sakall, Marcel Dalio, and Conrad Veidt. This one's definitely a contender.

I think of Rains yet again who was with Jimmy Stewart, Jean Arthur, Thomas Mitchell and Edward Arnold in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) Capra. Supporting players include Eugene Pallette, H.B. Warner, Grant Mitchell, Beulah Bondi, Guy Kibbee, Harry Carey and Jack Carson. A who's who of Hollywood beloved supporting players of the late thirties. That's a helluva cast.

Two Elia Kazan films come to mind. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) was headed by Marlon Brando, Vivian Leigh, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden. Not too shabby. But I think that's topped, if barely, by On the Waterfront (1954) with Brando, Malden, Lee J Cobb, Rod Steiger and Eva Marie Saint.

Let's see what the Seventies -- my favorite decade of film -- have to offer. Shampoo (1975) Ashby, immediately comes to mind. Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, Lee Grant, Carrie Fisher and Jack Warden is pretty formidable. 

The Deer Hunter (1975) Cimino had a stellar cast with Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep and John Cazale. That's an impressive foursome.

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) Allen is certainly among the best. Check this out: Woody Allen, Mia Farrow, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow, Dianne Weist, Barbara Hershey, Maureen O'Sullivan, Carrie Fisher, Lloyd Nolan, Daniel Stern and cameos by future stars Julia-Louis Dreyfus and John Turtorro.

A more recent film with a great cast was Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) Tarantino. Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, Samantha Robbie, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern and Emile Hersch.

I can't believe I hadn't yet thought of The Godfather (1972) Coppola. Pacino, Brando, Cazale, Diane Keaton, James Caan, Robert Duvall and Sterling Hayden.

Godfather Part 2 (1974) Coppola wasn't bad either with Pacino, Cazale, Keaton and Duvall returning joined by DeNiro, Bruno Kirby and Lee Strasberg.

The Ice Storm (1997) A. Lee has a great cast. Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Joan Allen, Tobey Maguire, Cristina Ricci, Katie Holmes and Elijah Wood. The last four were just starting out in Hollywood when the film was made.

Can't forget The Great Escape (1963) J. Sturges. Steve McQueen, James Garner, James Coburn, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, David McCallum and Donald Pleasance. 

A recent Best Picture winner with a great cast was Birdman (2014) Iñárritu. Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts and Andrea Riseborough.

The Wild Bunch (1969) Peckinpah might have the best cast of any Western. William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Edmund O'Brien, Robert Ryan, Warren Oates, Ben Johnson and Strother Martin.

Speaking of Ben Johnson, he was part of a great cast in The Last Picture Show (1971) Bogdanovich with Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepard, Ellen Burstyn, Cloris Leachman, Timothy Bottoms, Eileen Brennan, Randy Quiad, Clu Gulager, and Sam Bottoms. Wow.

Spartacus (1960) Kubrick is another strong contender with Kirk Douglas, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, Laurence Olivier, Peter Ustinov and Woody Strode.

Another all star cast from the seventies can be found in All the President's Men (1976) Pakula. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as your leads then Jack Warden, Martin Balsam, Jason Robards and Jane Alexander.

L-R, Lemmon, Cagney, Fonda, Powell

How about Mister Roberts (1955) Ford/Leroy with James Cagney, Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon, William Powell and Ward Bond. That's five huge stars (albeit Bond was always a supporting player but one who found himself in some of the great films of Hollywood's Golden Age) in one cast. Between them they represent such classics as White Heat, Public Enemy, Some Like it Hot, The Apartment, The Thin Man, My Man Godfrey, The Lady Eve, The Grapes of Wrath, The Searchers and The Maltese Falcon, to name but two films for each.

Then there's The Departed (2006) Scorsese. How about this: DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, Alec Baldwin and Martin Sheen.

Another Scorsese picture, The Aviator (2004), boasts this cast: DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Baldwin, Alan Alda, Ian Holm, Jude Law and Kate Beckinsale.

One mustn't forget A Bridge Too Far (1977) Attenborough with James Caan, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford, Elliot Gould, Ryan O'Neal and Maximilian Schell.

I'm going to stop with this one, JFK (1991) Stone. Kevin Costner, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Donald Sutherland, Ed Asner. Sissy Spacek, Joe Pesci, Gary Oldman, John Candy, Tommy Lee Jones and Kevin Bacon. That's what I'd call an all-star cast.

I could go on and indeed perhaps will in a second installment. Again, this was just off the top of my head and perhaps I could find more and better casts (more for sure, better? doubt it) with more thought and a little research.

Of course this was purely an objective list. I did not include any films that had greats casts but are not, in my opinion, particularly good films. Also I was the arbiter of who was or is an important actor and that was reflected in the films I chose.

The original question was what is the best film cast of all time. So do I have a winner? Gimme a second here....In looking over what I've written I believe I made my case for one of them in writing about it, Mister Roberts with Fonda, Cagney, Powell, Lemmon and Bond. I may give that a re-think when I consider a sequel to this post. However it is possible that I won't find much to add to this and may not find anything to top the cast of Mister Roberts. It'll be interesting for me to dig into this further. At any rate it was a fun exercise.

The Death of Michael Corleone -- My Weekend With The Godfather Films

“Hey, whaddya gonna do, nice college boy, eh? Didn't want to get mixed up in the Family business, huh? Now you wanna gun down a police captain. Why? Because he slapped ya in the face a little bit? Hah? What do you think this is the Army, where you shoot 'em a mile away? You've gotta get up close like this and - bada-BING! - you blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit.” — Sonny Coreleone to his baby brother Michael, who goes ahead and shoots the captain and a mob moss.

I watched Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972) and the Godfather Part II (1974) over the weekend and what impressed with these latest viewings is that Michael Corleone dies in the first film.  Michael is the college boy, war hero who was not meant to be in the family business — organized crime — but gets sucked in after an unsuccessful attempt on his father’s life and then takes over after the death of Sonny.

No, Michael does not physically die in either movie and in facts lives until the very end of the ill-fated third installment of the Godfather series, the Godfather Part III (1999). (If you've never seen Godfather 111, don't bother.) But he is completely bereft of life by the end of the first film. He is cold, calculating and lacking all emotion save a red hot temper which occasionally flares but that he ultimately controls. That temper may seem a sign of life, but  it is more a special effect meant to frighten a rival, a subordinate or a spouse.

When we first meet Michael he is a young man just out of the army. With his girlfriend, Kay, in tow, he is at his sister’s wedding. He tells Kay about his father helping a singer get out of a contract with a bandleader by saying that either the bandleader's signature or his brains are about to be on the contract. Michael assures Kay, “that's my family Kay, that's not me.” Michael is in earnest, he’s chosen a different path in life, content to let his older brothers, Sonny and Fredo follow Pop into the family business. Michale appears to be a charming, affable sort.

Later we see a smiling Michael and Kay Christmas shopping and then coming out of a movie theater. It’s the last time we’ll see Michael smile. Because after that last smile  Michael sees a newspaper account of the shooting of his father (remarkably in the movie’s timeline it happened only an hour or so ago; one supposes a great film is entitled to one mistake — never mind how glaring).

The most viewed and commented of all my blog posts was one in which I posed the question: when does Michael Corleone change from being Joe College to being Joe Mafia? In it I suggested six possible moments The first was a visit to the hospital where his father’s bodyguards have been sent away and he has to take immediate command of his father's security. Other options were when he is punched by the police captain; when he offers to commit the above-mentioned assassinations; when he does said deed; when he learns of Sonny’s murder and when he sees his Sicilian wife killed. I now add a second question: when does Michael die inside? It could well be that it was at the same instant when he embraced the life of a mobster, certainly by the time he became Don.

There is no more laughter nor signs of joy from Michael. There are perfunctory displays of affection with Kay and their children but there is no warmth. On a few occasions his temper explodes but he quickly has it under control. There is no physicality to Michael, no spontaneity, seemingly no pumping heart.

There are two remarkable scenes in which an inner turmoil is betrayed by his eyes thus perhaps suggesting some signs of life. The first is in the seconds leading up to his shooting the captain and mob rival, Sollozzo. A subway train is rattling loudly overhead as Sollozzo is talking to him. But Michael is looking down, his eyes moving up and down as he prepares to shoot two men in cold blood. There is a lot going on in his face, but ultimately Michael cooly dispatches his victims. The second is late in Part II when Kay is telling him she did not have a miscarriage but an abortion. Again his eyes reflect the inner turmoil, the disbelief and rage. A burst of anger follows during which he slaps Kay. But that's it.

Mostly what we get from Michael is nothing. Every word he utters, every movement he makes is as if rehearsed.

One of the most striking scenes to me is after he gets out of Cuba following the revolution. Michael is taken to a hotel room in Nevada where he asks for a wet towel and glass of water. Taking off his jacket he leaves his vest and tie on. With the towel he lightly and precisely dabs around his eyes and carefully sips the water while asking questions as he is updated on recent activities. Michael is -- as always -- unruffled, neatly dressed, no hair out of place, no whiskers on his face. Apparently he couldn’t sneeze or cough, or hiccup or burp if he wanted to. He is the same testifying before a senate sub-committee as he is talking to his young son or participating in a baptism or doling out orders or facing down a corrupt politician or admiring a cake. Even in courting his first wife, a beautiful Sicilian villager, he is measured, calm and does nothing to betray the passion that one associates with being in love.

Living beings aren’t like that. Michael is dead inside and one of the saddest — albeit most dangerous — characters in filmdom. It is a staggering performance by Pacino, some of the greatest acting in movie history.

He embodied an especially pernicious evil that wears a suit, says the right things and calls itself a businessman. The story of Michael Corleone is a classic tragedy. How and why did he die inside? Was it the only way he could carry the often nasty family business? Did he kill something inside himself when he shot two men to death? Did he die inside when he saw his wife die?

OTHER THOUGHTS ON THE GODFATHER

The scenes in early 20th century New York featuring Robert DeNiro as the young Vito are some of the best in cinema history. Having visited Ellis Island recently and read its history, I’m amazed at how accurately they depict not only the place but the time. The street scenes seem like they must be colorized re-mastered contemporary footage. The clothes, the signage, the buildings, the carts, everything looks precisely as it would in New York circa 1915....

I love this bit of dialogue between Michael and Kay: Michael: "My father is no different than any powerful man, any man with power, like a president or senator." Kay: "Do you know how naive you sound, Michael? Presidents and senators don't have men killed." Michael: "Oh. Who's being naive, Kay?" Clearly Kay is being naive. One of the major themes of the Godfather and something found after a lot of recent research into organized crime, is the extent to which the mob, “legitimate businesses” and the government have joined forces over the years. Gus Russo’s book The Outfit details the manner in which criminal organization and major corporations are barely distinguishable any more. When you note the manner in which both evade paying taxes, it is evident that they are ever expanding monsters consuming all the riches and resources in their path with no intent to re-invest or contribute it. The mob and big business don't so much have a symbiotic relationship as they are now one and the same....

Much is made about how the Godfather is about family and certainly the films shine a light on family dynamics, particularly father-son relationships which are so often fraught with contradictory notions of rebellion and conformity. Trying to please dad while trying to assert you are your own person is a difficult balancing act many sons face. Sons are also desperate to win their father’s approval and it feel like a validation of a life well-lived to have a father's love and respect. Here Michael is a total success. Initially going his own way and ultimately winning the complete trust of his father to take over the family business. Fredo is a sad figure, he's older than Michael yet passed over and given menial jobs. And under pressure he folds. When his father is shot,  Fredo fumbles with his gun and the breaks down and cries.....

But family is sacrosanct and outsiders beware. Senator Pat Geary: "I despise your masquerade, the dishonest way you pose yourself. You and your whole fucking family." Michael Corleone: "We're both part of the same hypocrisy, senator, but never think it applies to my family." Michael might end up killing his brother, but no one outside the clan dare speak ill of anyone within it.  As Sonny says in a flashback scene: "Your country ain't your blood. Remember that." Family first....

We get insight into Fredo when Michael comes to visit Las Vegas -- where Fredo is already ensconced -- to talk business with Moe Greene. Fredo has arranged to have a band and group of girls in Michael's room when he arrives (girls who are undoubtedly there to do the biding of the male guests). When Michael enters the room Fredo starts the festivities expecting a grateful Michael to participate in the revelry. But the new Don is having none of it, he’s there on a short business trip with no time for fun let alone bacchanalia. (“I'm here on business I leave tomorrow now get rid of them. Come on, I'm tired. Get rid of the band, too.”) Fredo quickly assumes a serious tones and rushes the band and the girls out of the room as if it’s their fault. Clearly his ego has taken another beating. Nothing he ever does is right or good enough....

Fredo's story is a sad and ends with Michael assigning him a cruel and unnecessary fate. Michael’s act of fratricide serves no purpose other than to sate his insatiable desire for revenge. Also horribly cruel is what he says to Fredo earlier in the film: "Fredo, you're nothing to me now. You're not a brother, you're not a friend. I don't want to know you or what you do. I don't want to see you at the hotels, I don't want you near my house. When you see our mother, I want to know a day in advance, so I won't be there. You understand?" Talking like that to a sibling requires a special level of coldness....

Underling Pauli is shot in the head in “leave the gun, take the cannoli” scene, while later brother-in-law, Carlo is garroted. Both in a car. Why? Who decides which way a disloyal family member is going to be killed? Garroting seems a lot of work. Carlo kicks out a car window while in his death throes. Of course shooting him means blood all over the place. We don’t know how Tessio is murdered, all we see him driven off with a carful of men. Evidently the large crew is along to facilitate the accompanying burial....

The Godfather films demonstrate one important way in which the Mafia was able to maintain power, especially within smaller communities. You need justice done? Vengeance? Why waste time with “the authorities” who might not come through for you anyway? If you’re in tight with the local mob boss (and you better be) he’ll take care of it for you. The mob takes care of its people. You might owe them a favor but it would be a small price to pay for the safety they provide. And it to be connected, to be part, to be able to participate in -- perhaps by doing a favor -- this powerful organization brings a security and sense of belonging that not everyone enjoys....

The first two Godfather films represent the best of American cinema. A perfect marriage of  screenplay, direction, acting, editing, set design and soundtrack. It is rich with themes and ideas and colorful characters and compelling story lines and is well worth revisiting many, many times.

The Best Four Films In a Row By Any Director is....

I saw a tweet today that suggested that the best four-film-run of movies by any director was by Francis Ford Coppola with The Godfather (1972), The Godfather Part 2 (1974), The Conversation (1974) and Apocalypse Now (1979). I immediately took this as a challenge and looked for any director that has put out four consecutive films that could match or surpass Coppola’s output. The short answer is: I couldn’t. Several directors had four great films out of five or six, or had three great ones in a row. (Disclaimer: My criteria for a film being great is that I love it, therefore, of course, this is totally subjective.) For example Andrei Tarkovsky would have been a very close second to Coppola with Ivan’s Childhood (1962), Andrei Rublev (1966), The Mirror (1975) and Stalker (1979), but he had Solaris (1979) mixed in there and it is to me his weakest film.

Below I have compiled some runners up to Coppola’s fab four which I have put in order. At the top are four by Michelangelo Antonioni’ which came within a whisker of equaling Coppola’s quartet, followed by four from Stanley Kubrick which was also very close. You will note that there are two foursomes from both Alfred Hitchcock and Woody Allen. It is interesting to note that I couldn't find four in a row that rated from such luminaries as Martin Scorsese, Howard Hawks, Akira Kurosawa, Billy Wilder, Francois Truffaut, Louis Malle, Jean-Pierre Melville, Rainier Werner Fassbinder or my favorite director, Ingmar Bergman.

From Michelangelo Antonioni 1961-1964:
L’Avventura (1961)
La Notte (1961)
L’Eclisse (1962)
Red Desert (1964)

From Stanley Kubrick from 1968-1980:
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
The Shining (1980)

From Hal Ashby from 1970-1975:
The Landlord (1970)
Harold and Maude (1971)
The Last Detail (1973)
Shampoo (1975)

From Charlie Chaplin from 1925-1936:
The Gold Rush (1925)
The Circus (1928)
City Lights (1931)
Modern Times (1936)

From Preston Sturges from 1941-1943:
The Lady Eve (1941)
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1943)

From Alfred Hitchcock from 1958-1963:
Vertigo (1958)
North by Northwest (1959)
Psycho (1960)
The Birds (1963)

From Woody Allen from 1975-1979:
Love and Death (1975)
Annie Hall (1977)
Interiors (1978)
Manhattan (1979)

From Aki Kaurismaki from 2002-2017:
The Man Without a Past (2002)
Lights in the Dusk (2006)
Le Havre (2011)
The Other Side of Hope (2017)

Also from Woody Allen from 1984-1987:
Broadway Danny Rose (1984)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Radio Days (1987)

From Federico Fellini from 1955-1963:
Il Bidone (1955)
Nights of Cabiria (1957)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
8 1/2 (1963)

Also from Alfred Hitchcock from 1940-1942:
Rebecca (1940)
Foreign Correspondent (1940)
Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941)
Suspicion (1941)

From the Coen Brothers from 1996-2001:
Fargo (1996)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)

From Lynne Ramsey from 1999-2017:
Ratcather (1999)
Morvern Caller (2002)
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
You Were Never Really Here (2017)

If You Don't Like At Least Five of These Films, I Don't Think We Can Be Friends

I’ve been nettled by a question for over ten years now. It started when a friend emailed me after seeing a movie that I had raved about. The friend said that she didn’t like the film and wondered if, as a consequence, I’d lose respect for her as a film goer. My answer was: of course not. But I began to think about the notion of there being such a film, one that I would expect any self respecting cinephile to like. I finally came to a conclusion on this topic: no such film exists. But I still wanted some sort of litmus test. Lo these many years later I’ve come up with is the idea of selecting 20 films and from this creating a “test”: can a person find five — a mere 20% — that she or he likes. If not I doubt that such an individual and I have very much in common, at least as it relates to cinema. Of course the more of these films an individual likes, the more likely we are to get along. Now you could have a circumstance in which a person likes only three of these films but has only seen ten of them. In that case I'd say said that person needs to up their game. There's nothing obscure here and all are available on DVD and probably all can be streamed. These films represent different genres and different eras and are from as early as 1927 and as recently as 2013. I’ve mixed in silents, black and whites and foreign films, a veritable potpourri of cinema. All are movies I hold dear though they do not represent my 20 favorite movies of all time. Most are among my top 100. I’ve taken into account the fact that some people don’t like silent films or foreign films or films with a lot of violence. I knew a cinephile who only watched movies with a strong female character and I knew of a person who wouldn’t watch anything made before 1970 (I know, crazy). But there’s plenty here for all tastes (although I didn’t include any documentaries or animation) with a variety of directors and stars too. Finding five you like shouldn't be a problem and just think, we'll be pals ever after.

City Lights (1931) Charlie Chaplin has been universally loved for over 100 years. Even people who otherwise eschew silent films or anything made before Star Wars, enjoy the Little Tramp character. I could have picked any Chaplin film but went with City Lights because it’s my favorite of his. Modern Times and The Great Dictator are equally esteemed but both include political themes while City Lights has a more social appeal. As to other Chaplin films, well there are two versions of Gold Rush (the original far superior) which may confuse people. The Circus has arguably the funniest 20 minutes or so of any Chaplin film but it begins to fade after that. Chaplin’s other silents are too short to be considered for this exercise. City Lights is, to me, that one movie that epitomizes the Little Tramp. It has a huge heart and it is hilarious.

Duck Soup (1933) I have a had life long love for the Marx Brothers, particularly Groucho (born Julius Henry Marx). This is by far the funniest of their films and includes a not too subtle anti-war message. There are none of the maudlin songs that deadened some of their later films. Instead there are more great one liners and sight gags than in any film ever made. Some people may prefer A Night at the Opera or even another Marx Brothers film, but I’ve never known a fellow Marxist (of the Groucho sort) who didn’t like this one.

His Girl Friday (1940) I don’t know if its the best pure screwball comedy but it's surely one of the best films of any kind ever made. It has all the elements of the great screwball comedy greatly aided by masterful performances by co-stars Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell. It’s fast-paced, it’s funny and it also has something to say. In fact a lot. Notably about journalists, governments and the death penalty. You can ignore the messages and just enjoy the rapid fire dialogue and zany one liners and antics. In any case it's irresistible.

The Big Sleep (1944) It’s Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, for chrissakes, what’s not to like? This is the best of their films together and it is classic detective story, albeit an endlessly confusing one. The story has twists and turns aplenty, witty patter, beautiful dames and that Bogie-Bacall magic. The dialogue, the directing, the gorgeous black and white cinematography are all perfect. Unless you really have a bias against “older” films The Big Sleep is something you should like. Or love.

Some Like it Hot (1959) Marilyn Monroe’s best picture. Need I say more? How about the writing and directing of Billy Wilder who at the time was still in top form. You’ve also got Tony Curtis and one of the world’s greatest actor, Jack Lemmon. The story is funny as hell, sexy as hell and like I said, it has Marilyn Monroe. Some don't consider it Wilder's best (I prefer Sunset Blvd.) but it is surely his most popular. It is one of the older black and white films that people who don't like older black and white films watch.

Amarcord (1973) One of Fellini’s many masterpieces and the one that has the broadest appeal. It’s so rich with characters and vignettes that its hard not to love. The film centers around a small coastal city in those dark days when Mussolini ruled Italy. While Fascism features so too does romance, families, celebrations and the vagaries of having a relative in the nut house. Although it would never be billed as such, I consider Amarcord to be a “feel good” movie because it is in essence a celebration of life and all its mad riches. It makes a body feel good.

The Seventh Seal (1957) My favorite director is Ingmar Bergman and like a lot of Bergman fans this is my favorite of his films. Many of the great Swede's films are too dark and somber for main stream tastes but The Seventh Seal is hardly a downer despite it dealing so heavily in the subject of death. It has all of the classic elements of the Bergman’s oeuvre such as symbolism, religion, mortality and philandering. Cinematographer Sven Nykvist is as much a star of the film as Max von Sydow. It's thoughtful and beautiful without ever being overbearing.

Annie Hall (1977) Woody Allen’s name has been dragged through the mud recently as old previously-refuted charges of molestation have been dredged up. (Mr. Allen was accused of sexually abusing his daughter, Dylan. Separate investigations not only found no evidence with which to charge Mr. Allen, but suggested the strong possibility that Dylan's mother — Mia Farrow — coached Dylan. It is therefore likely that the real abuser is Ms. Farrow.) It has also been said that Allen’s current wife (with whom he’s enjoyed a long and happy marriage) was his daughter or his adopted daughter or that they lived together when she was a child. None of this true nor is the particularly scurrilous charge that he “groomed” her as a youth. In any event the great director has been unfairly treated by people with an aversion to full stories. His films — so many of them and so many greats — live on. Annie Hall is not my favorite (it’s second for me to Manhattan) but it’s probably still his most popular over 40 years since it won the Best Picture Oscar. It was ground breaking at the time and it is still funny, touching and chock full of memorable dialogue.

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) The Coen Brothers are among the grand masters of cinema and are notable for the variety of types of films they make. This is my favorite of their work. Unlike some of their films there is virtually no violence and no broad comedic touches. It is subtle, witty and deals with the universal topic of someone who is not quite good enough to realize his dream. The title character is a struggling folk singer who is good in a world where great is required. He is dead panned, world weary, at times irascible and rude but easy to root for as life continues to deal him dirty blows. Oscar Isaac in the lead is wonderful and the supporting cast led by Carey Mulligan, Adam Driver and Justin Timberlake is as good. The movie also beautifully captures early 1960s America, particularly New York.

The Godfather (1972) It’s a perfect movie in every respect. From set design to the performances to the memorable lines. It is part of American culture. Everyone should at least see it and after having done so I can’t imagine not loving or at the very least admiring it. There may be a tad too much violence for the squeamish but other than that I have trouble imaging a film fan not enjoying this masterpiece.  On the surface it is a gangster film but there is so much more to it. It's as much about family as anything else and it is also a look at how a man changes as a consequence of circumstances over which he has no control. The Godfather is never grim, never cynical and always a revelation.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) Many people are turned off today by a lot of older Westerns because of their depictions of Native Americans. Fair point. But Liberty Valance has no stereotypical Injun characters or indeed any at all. It does have John Wayne who is also a turn off to a lot of people but perhaps that can be over looked given how damn good the movie is with another in a long line of stellar performances by one Jimmy Stewart. It also features Lee Marvin as one of the nastiest, meanest, cussedest villains you ever did see. Liberty Valance is a classic Western that tells many truths about the USA, notably the business about printing legends rather than truths.

Cabaret (1972) I’m not a fan of musicals but of course Cabaret is different in that the many songs are part and parcel to the story and do not interrupt it, after all, much of the film takes place in a Cabaret. Liza Minelli and Joel Grey in  Oscar winning performances are transcendent and Michael York is no slouch either. Cabaret has a little bit of everything: music, sex, Nazis, romance, humor, pathos and history. Loosely based on Christopher Isherwood’s memoirs of his time in Berlin between the World Wars, Cabaret is a rollicking lot of fun -- but then again there are Nazis and not like in the cartoons. Wonderful on so many levels and it hasn't aged a day since its initial release.

Silver Linings Playbook (2012) A modern film in its sensibilities featuring boffo performances from a great cast led by Jennifer Lawrence (who richly deserved the Oscar she won). There are elements of the typical hokey rom com in this film that has mass appeal but its also effecting for its honest look at mental illness as it effects the two main characters played by Lawrence and Bradley Cooper. It also subtly reveals how the seemingly “normal” have afflictions of their own (see sports fans). Silver Linings goes into dark places without itself ever being dark. It’s not the type of movie I generally like but I love it. Maybe in part because of a scene in which the two main characters are recounting the various meds they’ve taken and their effects; I feel like I’m in the conversation because I’ve taken most of them myself.

Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) A great French film from Louis Malle. It is in a sense another World War II movie in that its set in occupied French but it is not an easy film to pigeon hole. It is about preadolescents and teens and their normal struggles growing up and how this is complicated when one of them is a Jew being hidden from the Nazis. It is a beautiful film that I have trouble writing about because I love it so much and it's so powerful. While the notion of Nazis and the Holocaust is central to the film, it never feels too heavy. Based on Malle's own experiences.

Pulp Fiction (1994) I know of people who hate Pulp Fiction but a helluva lot more who — like me — love it. Although I think director Quentin Tarantino outdid this with the brilliant Inglorious Basterds, Pulp Fiction remains his most enduring film and has been accumulating new fans consistently throughout the 24 years since its release. Like many of the films on this list it has seeped into our culture and its characters and dialogue haven’t aged a bit. There is violence but its pretty tame compared to a lot of what one sees today. The more I watch it the more I appreciate Samuel L. Jackson’s masterful performance as Jules, he is one of the best of Tarantino’s many memorable creations.

The Man Without a Past (2002) I here include a film by my fellow countryman the great Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki and I’ve selected perhaps his most accessible work. As in most of his films we have a main character who is done a dirty deed put perseveres getting by with a little help from new found friends. Everyone is dead pan, no one is glamorous or beautiful. There is subtle humor there is sadness, pathos but it is far from a tragedy. A man comes to the big city and is badly beaten and in the process loses his memory. He's taken in by poor but honest folks and through a Salvation Army sister finds solace and love. And that is just the beginning.

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) The last great silent film. Anyone who doesn’t like silent movies (shame on you) should at least try this one from the great German director FW Murnau.  My god it’s a beautiful film. A young couple living happily in the country is threatened by a vixen from the big city who tries to lure away the husband, and convince him to drown his wife. I’ll not give away the ending but will add there are a series of scenes in which the married couple go into the city and have a grand time. These scenes are master classes in film making. Certainly any true cinephile will appreciate them and the film as a whole. For that matter so too should the more casual film goer.

Little Big Man (1970) Here’s a film of the Old West in which the Indians are heroes and the white men — for the most part — vicious scoundrels. Dustin Hoffman stars. As the movie opens he is a centenarian recounting his adventures from boyhood through adulthood and what adventures they are. As a boy his wagon train is attacked by hostile natives and he is taken to live with the Cheyenne. He grows up as an Indian but this is just one of many twists and turns his life takes in an epic story. Later he lives with a preacher and his seductive wife (Faye Dunaway) hooks up with snake oil salesman (Martin Balsam) at various times rejoins the tribe, rides along with George Armstrong Custer (he survives the Battle of Little Big Horn), he becomes a gunfighter, a drunk a married man, a vagabond. Man it's a fun movie and it’s hard to imagine anyone being offended by it or not loving it.

Stalker (1979) I had to include a film by the great Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky and to me this is his finest work. This will not appeal to those low brows who do not like foreign films or intellectual mysteries or especially when the twain meet. It is a deliciously ambiguous film that is utterly captivating to some people such as yours truly and requires repeat viewings. The film depicts an expedition led by a man known as the "Stalker" to take his two clients to a mysterious restricted site known simply as the "Zone," where there is a room which supposedly has the ability to fulfill a person's innermost desires. It has too many themes to recount here but suffice to say that the viewer will get out of the experience what she or he brings to watching and thinking about it.

Mean Girls (2004) This is a film with a surprisingly broad appeal Anyone who has ever attended an American high school should appreciate it. It has captured the American zeitgeist of Generation Y but is relatable to us baby boomers and other generations as well. It is damn funny, has memorable characters and speaks to certain truths about high school, social groups and growing up. It is still very much in our culture as evidenced by the musical of the same name that recently opened on Broadway. I show it to my students (people from all over the world) and they love it. You'd have to be an awful stick in the mud not to.