Upstream Color: Art-House Science Fiction

Upstream Color is a 2013 science fiction film directed by Shane Carruth, who also plays a major part in the film. The film is one part con artist/thief and two parts science fiction. Here is the description from Amazon: A woman is abducted and hypnotized with an organic material harvested from a specific flower. When she falls for a man the two come to realized he may also have been subjected to the same process.

What was left out of the description (and this is minor spoiler territory) is the parasite introduced via the "organic material" and the "same process" doesn't explain much, but the two were abducted so a thief could rob them blind. The two fall for each other and try to put their lives back together, but the concoction they ingested has them recalling experiences they both shared and bonds them. I won't write anything more on the plot, but this film is beautiful and touching, but also ugly and disturbing.

If you prefer your science fiction (or film watching experience in general) spoon-fed to you, this film isn't for you. It's not even that surreal, certainly not in the same way as a Luis Buñuel or David Lynch film is surreal, but it is challenging, and I'm sure the long stretches without dialogue will turn some people off. I do not believe this slows the pace of the film, as the visuals are fascinating and thought-provoking. Upstream Color is both visceral and blunted at the same time, sharp, yet unfocused depending on what Carruth is attempting to get across.

Carruth not only directed the film, but wrote the soundtrack (which suits the film perfectly and would be a great soundtrack to have on in the background as I'm writing).

If you want something a little different from your science fiction, give this film a try. If you're a Hulu Plus subscriber, it's available for streaming there, or you can rent on Amazon.

5 Kickass Kung Fu Flicks from the 1970s

A couple of things right off: these are just five of the many kickass martial arts films from the 1970s and I left off the Bruce Lee films on purpose since they're well-known and they all kick ass (Game of Death being the weakest, but was released five years after Lee's death). Also, these films aren't all necessarily kung fu films, but kung fu worked with the title I wanted for this post so cut me some slack!

The '70s gave us horrible fashion and some horrible music and weird films. I grew up in the '70s and when you're in the middle of it, especially as a kid, you can't really understand how weird a decade it was. But I think the '70s produced the coolest martial arts films--especially the Shaw Brothers films. I remember watching kung fu films on Saturday afternoons in the late '70s and early '80s. The fight scenes were nuts and seemed to last forever, like when they went to commercial break they kept fighting or something. And because I was a kid when I first saw these, I still watch these with the English dubbing.

So, these are some of my favorites from the 1970s.

Master of the Flying Guillotine - 1976

This film is bizarre. The flying guillotine looks like a red hat with teeth which is attached to a chain--the wielder wings the contraption at an enemy, it lands on his head, the teeth sink in and the thrower yanks. You can imagine what happens next. But, the craziest thing in this film is the dude with the long arms--this guy can extend his arms to an insane distance, like twenty feet.

The final fight scene is pretty interesting and chaotic, but also nearly ten minutes long. Not my all-time favorite, but it makes this list simply because of the weapon and the dude with long arms.

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin - 1978

This one stars Gordon Liu (star of many, many martial arts films over the years, and played a couple of roles in the Kill Bill films). Many of these films have revenge/vengeance as their theme, and this one is no different. What I enjoy most about this film are the training scenes and Liu figuring out each of the 35 chambers of shaolin and he eventually establishes the 36th chamber.

Crippled Avengers (Return of 5 Deadly Venoms) - 1978

The final three films on this list star the Venom Mob (the name will make sense when I discuss the final film of this list), a group of actors Shaw Brothers films used together in many films. This one was originally known as Crippled Avengers--the main characters are all crippled by the villains in different ways: one becomes deaf and mute, another blind, while another has his legs cut off, and the final person has his head crushed and becomes "simple". So, of course, they seek revenge, but first have to learn how to fight, using their limitations to full advantage.

The Kid with the Golden Arm - 1979

Another Venom Mob Shaw Brothers film. This one is about a gang attempting to steal a shipment of gold. The heroes band together to stop Golden Arm and his gang. Great choreography (but then, all of these have great fight sequences).

Five Deadly Venoms - 1978

Okay, this one is my favorite. This is the film that tagged the group of actors as the Venom Mob. A dying master dispatches his last pupil to find his former students and discover what they're up to, he doesn't trust that they're using their skills for good. Each of his five prior students trained at different times and learned a different technique--oh, and they all wore masks during training. The five styles: scorpion, centipede, snake, lizard, and toad. The last pupil, the one dispatched to find the 5 venoms, knows a little of each style so he has to align with one of the other venoms to defeat the evil ones. But first he has to figure out who are the bad venoms and who are the good venoms. This film is a lot of fun and the storyline is as interesting as the fight scenes are spectacular. So, if you're going to watch just one of these, I say make it 5 Deadly Venoms.

Gateway or: A Science Fiction Classic Invaded My Dreams

I first read Frederik Pohl's Gateway (novel published in 1977 from a 1976 serial) in the early 1990s when I was in the Navy. I did a lot of reading during my off duty hours and while on liberty, mostly the classics of science fiction and fantasy, with a smattering of mystery and horror. I was writing a lot back then, too, and looking back on that time in my life, I must have been trying to escape from the daily hazards my military duty posed as well as my personal life which was a mess at that time.

Gateway transported me from my life to a future earth, which I must admit, seemed bleak, but fascinated me. Other classic science fiction novels had socked me with sense of wonder, but Gateway invaded my dreams. The idea of a space station built within a hollowed out asteroid housing alien ships that took crews to unknown destinations captured my imagination. The risk of death mixed with the possibility of reward (perhaps not unlike when I was out on search and rescue missions in old Vietnam era helicopters) resonated with me. At that time in my life I would have jumped in one of those Heechee spaceships in a heartbeat.

I've read this book a half dozen times and the thrill never diminishes for me. To me, Gateway is up there with Foundation, Rendezvous With Rama, Ender's Game, Starship Troopers, Ringworld, and so on and so on. But I love Gateway, and it will always hold a special place in my heart not only because of the sense of wonder, but because it also transports me back to a time in my life I shouldn't forget.

I thought of this book again when I came across a thread on Facebook about the new generation of writers not reading the classics of science fiction. I'm of the opinion that the classics should be visited by today's writers--even if the ideas and the sensibilities seemed outdated. I'm sure many years from now when the readers of the future read our work they'll balk at our primitive mindsets and barbaric sensibilities. This doesn't only apply to books--I feel this way about music and film and television, and art as well.

Learn from the past, but enjoy the past--the passage of time doesn't and shouldn't diminish the quality or the enjoyment of the classics.

Bonus: Syfy may be making Gateway into a mini-series. Also, back around 1992 video games were made based on Gateway, which I played and enjoyed despite the clunky interface.

Casual Friday Should Be Suit Up Friday!

As if every other day of the week isn't casual enough. I can almost understand casual Friday when  the other days of the work week required people to dress in a business-like manner, but now? Even where I work there are some people who take it too far. Ripped jeans and tennis shoes? Flip flops?

I love The Big Lebowski as much as anyone else, but if you look like that on casual Friday I will tell you to go home. Are they comfortable? Sure, but they're at a bowling alley. Now I don't think people should look like slobs in public either, but that ship has sailed. Gone are the days people dressed up to go out, dressed up to get on an airplane (see this post about air travel) or attend a sporting event. Even the workplace has gone to hell when it comes to people's decisions on what to wear, never mind the total sartorial ignorance in general these days in this so-called modern and civilized world.

I'm not even saying the workplace should look like this, though I'd prefer it:

Every Friday someone will ask me why I'm so dressed up, as if I don't dress up every day at work. It's so common now for people to look common, or worse--that they question why I'm dressed up. I don't understand it, personally. I like to call it Suit Up Friday (I always loved Neil Patrick Harris in How I Met Your Mother when he'd say, "Suit Up!").

I take pride in my appearance, but it goes beyond that, I find dressing the way I do to be the most comfortable (for me). It goes to tailoring and knowing what one's sizes are. Dress slacks give in the legs and are made of a nice soft material (unlike jeans which are stiff and may chafe--because they're often too tight) which breathes. A button-down shirt is the same, fitted properly won't look like a tent, but also won't be so tight as to prevent easy movement. Dress shoes, well, they're as comfortable as tennis shoes to me. A properly fitted and quality dress shoe will last a long time--I only took 2 pairs of dress shoes (Allen Edmonds) to Paris and I walked everywhere in them--and they had rubber (dainite) soles which look like leather soles from the side and I can run in them if I had to (a bonus for my job).

I do understand there are professions and jobs where it doesn't make sense to wear nice clothes. This is just my opinion, of course, and in some ways I'm happy to be different and stand out from others. Quite honestly, from the 20s through the 50s I would have been just another guy who knew how to dress properly for any occasion.

Below is a typical casual Friday for me--the suit, not the location. I will mention, when that photo was taken I was quite ill, but somehow managed to suit up.

Frank Sinatra - Five of My Favorites

It's difficult to pick only five, since Frank is one of my all-time favorites (no matter the genre of music--and I like a wide range of music). Of course, you could pick one of the many boxsets or compilations available, but you'll be cheating yourself. These albums were meant to be listened to side one and side two and in order (I know, heresy in this age of digital music and the option to buy single tracks--oh, by the way, we had that too when I was a kid (yeah, yeah, back in the 1970s), they were called 45s (tiny pieces of vinyl, in case you don't know)). Moving on...

I'm not sure these are the albums one would start with if they didn't know much about Frank, or tunes he sang beyond the obvious ones, but here goes:

1) Sinatra At The Sands: This live album is a great place to begin. Why? The Quincy Jones arrangements coupled with the big band sound of the Count Basie Orchestra work perfectly with not only Sinatra's voice, but his showmanship and personality. I'd go to this album first because you also get a lot of banter and some monologues. The character of Frank's voice as he got older, say in his forties and fifties, is to me what sets him apart from other crooners, swooners, and so forth. The recording isn't perfect, his voice isn't perfect, but he's charming and funny and puts on a great show. "Luck Be A Lady" and "Angel Eyes" couldn't be more different, but both are outstanding.

2) Only The Lonely: For some reason, I tend to enjoy Frank's collections of torch songs the most. Only The Lonely is one of those, as if you couldn't tell by the title. The album cover painting won a Grammy Award. I'm not a fan of clowns--it seems most people aren't, even if this one is Pagliacci-like--but don't let the cover deter you from one of Frank's best albums. The first three tracks ("Only The Lonely", "Angel Eyes", and "What's New?" are wonderful but there's a longing in them, and the loneliness seeps from Frank's voice.

3) Where Are You?: This is the first album Sinatra recorded in stereo. All of the tracks are great listens, but the standouts are "Where Are You?", "The Night We Called It A Day", and "I'm A Fool To Want You"--which you can hear the heartache, as if he's singing to Ava Gardner and how he can't help but love her. Another melancholy album full of torch songs, but I love it.

4) Come Dance With Me: This is an upbeat album (you probably guessed as much), and Sinatra could have slipped a torch song in, but didn't (I think the closest he gets is "Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night of the Week). These are all upbeat tracks, and was Sinatra's most commercially successful album, staying on the charts for two and half years. This album also won 3 Grammys--Album of the Year, Best Vocal Performance-Male, and Best Arrangement. This is happy music and all the tunes are catchy.

5) In The Wee Small Hours: Another uplifting Sinatra album, with loneliness, depression, failure in relationships, and so forth. Recurring motifs on many of Sinatra's covers are him looking depressed or lovelorn with a cigarette in hand, and a lamp post. This is the first in a string of Sinatra releases Capitol Records began calling concept albums. This is also one of the best albums of all-time. With this album we begin to hear the maturing of his voice and the character behind it (okay, so maybe cigarettes and alcohol had something to do with the change in his voice).

BONUS!

Okay, I'll toss out one more, and if you had to pick up a compilation or box set, I'd say go with this:

My Way: This 2 CD, 46 track, set is perfect for someone wanting a wide range of Frank's hits from his Capitol and Reprise years. These are the songs you've heard at some point in your life (I hope), but there are others on here you may not be familiar with. I have to admit, I'm not a fan of the more modern songs on here (or the ones where he's covering a pop song of the day, like "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" or "You Are The Sunshine of My Life" or "Yesterday". But, one of the gems on here is a cool live version of "The Lady Is a Tramp" from a 1974 performance at Madison Square Garden. The mid-70s is probably the last time Frank sounded like the Frank I love of the 50s and 60s.

Now, I do love the Sinatra from the late 30's when he sang with Harry James and then into the 40's with Tommy Dorsey, that's great stuff. But do yourself a favor and give Sinatra a try, maybe on a day when you're blue, or maybe on a day where you feel like dancing or having a smile on your face. Sinatra is great to listen to while in traffic (the live albums in particular, or perhaps Come Dance With Me!.