Tag: Leonardo DiCaprio

THE BOOMER FILMS: “Yesterday” & “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” & “Echo in the Canyon”

Film Review by Marlene Ardoin

I’ve recently seen three films this summer, that I would classify as baby boomer films, “Yesterday”, “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood”, and “Echo In the Canyon”.

If you were not alive in the 1960’s, you may not get what these films are trying to say. Going a step further, if you did not live in California, or have never been to Los Angeles, San Francisco, or the United Kingdom, but were alive then, you also may not get what these films are trying to say.

Being a baby boomer is a frame of mind that is uniquely Los Angeles, California, where the Beatles cross-pollinated with a culture and a creative idea.

“Yesterday”             

Himesh Patel plays Jack Malik, who resurrects all the Beatles songs in “Yesterday.”

 The film “Yesterday” is the first film that set off the alarm for me, that I needed to have lived through the 1960’s to appreciate this film, which I did. In fact, I grew up in San Francisco, California.

If you were not alive during that time, you might not even recognize the aged John Lennon look alike, when he appears is in this film.

Robert Carlyle appears as the aging, uncanny look-alike of John Lennon.

There are many sides to being a baby boomer, the good, the bad and the ugly.

“Yesterday” shows us the good. In this film, the flower child era was a tender, loving one.

“Yesterday” expresses a heartfelt appreciation of the time and of what the Beatles contributed to the dialogue of that era.

The message was simple, “All You Need Is Love.”

Also, no one can really take the place of a John Lennon, even if they can sing just as well.

“Yesterday” poses the question, what if the Beatles and their music never existed? That would have changed the era a lot.

Just like if cigarettes never existed, or if Harry Potter never happened.

The point being made with “Yesterday” is that individual contributions to an era matter in good ways and in bad ways.

I loved the fact that the character of the roadie is even appreciated. Everyone in that time and place mattered.  Everyone had a gift to give and they were the perfect individuals to give it.

 

“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

“Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” features DiCaprio, 44, as Rick Dalton, an ageing, out-of-work actor, with Pitt, 55, playing his longtime stunt double named Cliff Booth, and director Quentin Tarantino riding shotgun.

 Then, I saw “Once upon A Time in Hollywood”, which depicts the ugly side of the era. I have to say that this is the only Tarantino film that I actually like. 

Tarantino has a unique memory of the Manson family murder of the very pregnant Sharon Tate, who was Roman Polanski’s wife.

He is pretty tough on the hippies, who had taken over a Hollywood property used for shooting westerns.

Tarantino destroys the image of the flower child, summer of love hippies, who in “Once”, come off as being opportunistic, crass and malevolent.

Both Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are in perfect sync with each other as loyal buddies, who have been up and now down together.

But, baby boomers age well, just look at the Rolling Stones, who keep on rolling.

I want to claim the Stones as American, but no, like the Beatles, they came from the UK. Their band was formed in 1962 to present.

In “Once”, we get to know Sharon Tate extremely well. Shall I say, there is definite bias towards her self-preservation?

Having lived through the horrific events of her death, I found Tarantino’s version a psychedelic, flaming, cathartic comfort. Thank you for that.

In “Once”, Sharon Tate is not just some slab of meat that gets stabbed 15 times.

 

“Echo in the Canyon”

Fiona Apple and Jakob Dylan in “Echo in the Canyon” (Photo by Chad Elder)

 

Then, finally, I go see “Echo in the Canyon,” which is both the good and the bad of the baby boomer era.

The son of folk singer, Bob Dylan, Jakob Dylan, is the star and executive producer of this film.

 What is missing is footage of his father, Bob Dylan, whose career was from 1959 to present, and who was definitely a big part of the boomer era.

Had Bob Dylan been included, it would have filled out the protest side of the boomers.

In fact, the biggest boomer contribution was creating protest music.

Boomers had a lot on their plate to protest, they were anti-war for one.

But, they also protested for civil rights, women’s rights, and against constricted sexual roles.

“Echo” paints a romantic view of Los Angeles as the creative hub of the boomer music of the 60’s.

Los Angeles was a place where folk music and rock music got joined at the hip.

Musicians came together in that one place to flourish and create music together.

Musicians admired each other’s work and fed off of each other’s energy and creativity.

The Beatles’ confess that they were inspired by the Byrds, an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964.

From 1965 onwards, the Beatles rose to prominence until their band broke up in 1970.

“Echo” makes the point that the music of this era played a big part in changing the world at that time.

 

Singer Jakob Dylan (Son of folk singer, Bob Dylan)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jakob_Dylan

Baby Boomers: Born 1946 – 1964 wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomers

 

 

“Yesterday”

Joel Fry as roadie, Rocky, with Himesh Patel as Jack Malik.

Cast:

Directed by Danny Boyle
Produced by ·         Tim Bevan·         Eric Fellner

·         Bernie Bellew

·         Matthew James Wilkinson

·         Richard Curtis

·         Danny Boyle
Screenplay by Richard Curtis
Story by ·         Jack Barth·         Richard Curtis
Starring ·         Himesh Patel·         Lily James

·         Ed Sheeran

·         Kate McKinnon
Music by Daniel Pemberton
Cinematography Christopher Ross
Edited by Jon Harris
Production
company 		·         Working Title Films·         Decibel Films
Distributed by Universal Pictures

 Wiki “Yesterday”:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yesterday_(2019_film)

 

“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate.

Cast

Director/writer Quentin Tarantino:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quentin_Tarantino

Biography of Sharon Tate:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharon_Tate

Biography of Charles Manson:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Manson

 

“Echo in the Canyon”

Jakob Dylan (second from left) serves as host of “Echo in the Canyon,” a documentary about the 1960s Laurel Canyon music scene in LA.

Also pictured: Regina Spektor, Beck and Cat Power. (Greenwich Entertainment)

“Echo in the Canyon” is a new documentary about the Laurel Canyon scene in the 1960s, framed around the rise of the Byrds, the Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, the Mamas And The Papas, and more. The film features rare archival footage and contemporary interviews with artists and musicians that were around at that time or were inspired by the music that came out of it.

Participating artists include the late Tom Petty (in his last filmed interview), Brian Wilson, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Roger McGuinn, Jackson Browne, Beck, Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Regina Spektor, Norah Jones, and more.

The film was directed by Andrew Slater and had its premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year. It’ll be in theaters in Los Angeles on 5/24/19 and in New York on 5/31/19.

Watch the trailer below.

https://youtu.be/QRVFBQHBUls

8/5/2019 # the Boomer Films – “Yesterday” & “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” & “Echo in the Canyon”

THE REVENANT

The Revenant - Bear scene

DiCaprio fights off mother bear.

The Revenant - Indian horse scene

DiCaprio is saved by Hikuc and his horse.

THE REVENANT

By Marlene Ardoin

The Revenant does satisfy the diversity question. The American Indian issues could easily be replaced by the African American issues.  The most important question raised is whether self-survival is a good enough reason to take away the rights of others.  The American Indians did nothing wrong.  The white man just wanted their land and their animals. The settlers lost their own humanity in the process.

In today’s era of the selfie, it is not hard to imagine oneself as the center of the universe, rather than a shared universe.

At some point, Americans need to admit that what settlers did to the American Indians and the African Americans was not worthy of our American ideals.  All we need to do is to see things from the perspective of the American Indians/African Americans.  What would we have done in their situation?  I guess we will keep seeing films like this until we see change in our current society.  I am really tired of hearing about unarmed Black men being shot by police and of minorities being the larger part of the prison population.

I am glad that Leonardo DiCaprio is getting the accolades.   Apparently, the filming of this movie was really punishing. On his experience filming, DiCaprio stated: “I can name 30 or 40 sequences that were some of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do. Whether it’s going in and out of frozen rivers, or sleeping in animal carcasses, or what I ate on set. [I was] enduring freezing cold and possible hypothermia constantly.”  DiCaprio deserves the Oscar just for his endurance.

What stands out in this film is the kindness and humanity of the Indians, and the inhumanity of the settlers. Mexican film director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu could be a bit biased. There are good and bad in all groups of people.  However, no one can deny his genius and command of the genre.  His 2006 “Babel” and 2010 “Birdman” show that “Revenant” is not just a one trick pony act, as a director.  He deserves our respect for the great work that he has produced.

Tom Hardy, who plays John Fitzgerald, a trapper who kills Glass’s (DiCaprio) son Hawk, also suffered a close call to death. He apparently nearly lost his life to scalping, by the Indians.  If my memory is correct, it was the settlers who were scalping Indians for cash. (Connecticut and Massachusetts colonial officials had offered bounties initially for the heads of murdered indigenous people and later for only their scalps.) Anyway, if he nearly lost half his scalp, he must have had someone nurse him back to life. Hello!!

This film is inspired by the experiences of frontiersman and fur trapper Hugh Glass in 1823 Montana and South Dakota.

A revenant is a visible ghost or animated corpse that was believed to return from the grave to terrorize the living. That about sums up this film.

3/11/2016 # The Revenant

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