Jan van den Berg

j11g.com

Category: Movies

  • Get Back part 2

    I finished watching Get Back. Read my article about the first 30 minutes here.

    It’s safe to say this is hands down one of the best documentaries ever. I could not look away. Truly amazing.

    In between watching this over the last week I accumulated quite a few articles (from blogs, newspapers, and my RSS feed) that I did not want to read before I finished watching.

    But now I have read them all. I’ll share them here, because most of these say what else I would want to say about the tremendous experience that is Get Back.

    Links

    In no particular order: here are interesting links for further reading paired with key quotes.

    Review – The Beatles: Get Back

    Key quote: “Without the guiding influence of Brian Epstein to tell them what to do and when to do it, they’re adrift. It becomes the Paul McCartney show – simply because he’s the only one who seems to want to produce anything. That, of course, builds up the resentment of the others from being bossed around – but in the absence of a unifying figure, what else could be done?”

    • https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2021/12/06/beatles-get-back-documentary-songwriters/

      Key quote: “Every idea starts somewhere and somehow. There’s going to be a genesis moment for every piece of media we’ve ever seen. The gift we have is that they were filming it. They were rolling.”

      Key quote 2: “One of the most instructive moments is how many bad ideas there are that get abandoned. The ability to self-edit and criticize themselves and keep working on something until it’s the thing we all know.”

    I re-subscribed to the NY Times for the following three stories (the images are clickable links, NYT articles seem to embed rather nicely in WordPress).

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/arts/music/beatles-get-back-peter-jackson.html

    Key quote: “Our movie doesn’t show the breaking up of the Beatles,” Jackson said, “but it shows the one singular moment in history that you could possibly say was the beginning of the end. (…)There’s no goodies in it, there’s no baddies,” Jackson said. “There’s no villains, there’s no heroes. It’s just a human story.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/opinion/beatles-get-back-creativity-lessons.html

    Key quote: “There are many ways to watch Mr. Jackson’s opus — as an intimate glimpse at the dissolution of the greatest rock band of all time; as an epic psychodrama of friendships collapsing; as the settling of the perennial “breakup” debate among hard-core Beatles fans; or as The Guardian put it, as “eight hours of TV so aimless it threatens your sanity.”

    Key quote 2: “Even as wine, beer and more flows, the Beatles stay disciplined, working and reworking lyrics and arrangements until they get them right. “To wander aimlessly is very un-swinging,” Mr. McCartney says. “Unhip.” “

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/08/arts/music/yoko-ono-beatles-get-back.html

    This is the strangest take on the doc, and one I don’t think I agree with, but interesting nonetheless.

    Key quote: “It’s as if she is staging a marathon performance piece, and in a way, she is.”

    Final thoughts

    I’m bound to come across more links, and I might update accordingly for posterity reasons.

    The only new thought I want to add here is the following.

    Songs are what made the Beatles. A long string of unique, genre defining and defying songs. Songs in general are containers of words and sounds that can mean different things to listeners. And often such meanings may be unintended or unplanned by the creator.
    The Beatles created their songs, by making music and finding words (how else?). Sometimes inspired by events, but more so it seems because it just sounded right*. They grabbed the muse as it appeared to them through endless repetition and trial and error until they had something that sounded right. That this something had the power to ultimately become something very meaningful to whomever, that is not up to them or even their goal. They just know that something right is a song that might mean something to other people as well, not just them. That is the definition of a great song.

    The Beatles tried to make great songs — by endlessly chasing them — but without intent to change the world or someone’s view of the world.
    So when someone lays in awe on the bedroom floor from a Beatles song, that has never been a direct aim (how could it). Not even the Beatles could directly chase after this goal to try and reach someone, because it doesn’t work that way. You can only try and make something that sounds right to you and hope it does for other people as well. And what it means to other people might be something different than what it means to you. Everybody applies their own meaning to art.

    And this of course goes for most things that people make. Whether it be art or other things people make. There are many things to take away from Get Back, but this is a main one: make something you would want (to listen to) yourself, the rest follows and is mostly not under your control.

    *There are plenty of examples where this is not the case, Bon Iver‘s first album comes to mind as well as Arcade Fire’s first album Funeral. Those are examples of inspired music from specific events that translate experienced emotions into words and sounds that vividly try to encapsulate and mimic those emotions. But still, even here the following is true: it might still mean something else to a listener.

  • The Beatles: Get Back

    I am only 30 minutes in to the 8 hour long — highly anticipated — Peter Jackson documentary and I already have many thoughts.

    I need to get these out before further viewing, because I have a feeling I will change my mind many times over during viewing.

    Now on Disney+

    Let’s go Beatle by Beatle.

    Paul

    It’s very apparent that Paul is the undisputed leader of the band. There are no two ways about it. More than any other Beatle, Paul is the one who’s always pushing forward, making suggestions, making cuts, judging, keeping things moving. All in his soft spoken characteristic manner.
    Also it’s uncanny how little Paul has changed from then to the grey haired Beatle I grew up to know. His mannerisms, speaking style, the confidence it is all exactly the same as he is now.

    Of course the Beatles are always about Lennon and McCartney and it’s clear from watching the two, how they feed off one another. And what each brings to the table.

    John

    Lennon always seemed to me to be the person that wanted to be in the foreground and was very outspoken. But in this documentary so far he says very little, but you can see he first and foremost clearly enjoys being around the other guys, enjoys making music. He very much listens and responds to Paul. And he is all about making music.

    They are not so much rehearsing songs as they are trying out bits and pieces: hooks, bridges, choruses, small parts of songs, again, again, and again. Throwing away what doesn’t work, keeping what does.

    It’s like a relentless but gentle machine and John and Paul are constantly looking at and critiquing each other’s contributions. In a good way.

    George

    George struggles to get heard. A gifted musician, but walled in between two of the greatest singer-songwriters to ever live. It feels he is still — after a decade — trying to get Paul, and John to notice him, to get them to listen to what he has to say, to get heard.

    It’s obvious Paul and John highly appreciate George, but his songs have to be better for Paul and John to notice.

    Ringo

    Ringo listens intently, makes very few suggestions and only jokes around a little bit. He clearly knows what is expected of him, makes no fuss. He is very aware of what is going on and what his role is.

    (Yoko)

    Maybe it’s because of the editing, but Yoko is present but has not said a word. Which makes it a bit weird. Why is she there, why is she the only wife/girlfriend? The others seem to ignore her.

    Get Back

    It is absolutely amazing that this footage exists, the viewer gets to witness something extra-ordinary.The greatest band in the world, and that ever was (there will never be another Beatles) and who by that point have already achieved anything and everything and changed the face of music and the music industry in general, are filmed in full color during the creative process. A process which, by the way, is insane: creating a complete set of new songs in two weeks. But if any band could do it, it’s the Beatles of course.

    I love the way they talk to each other and make suggestions, it is ever so polite and all focussed on making great songs and having fun while doing so.

    But I am most floored by how down to earth and down to business the four are, while they beat sounds into submission and into songs. There are lots of other people walking around and they drop in and out of frame, but the four Beatles with their chairs in a circle, facing each other, that’s where it happens.

    Very much looking forward to the rest of this documentary. I saw this clip surface on Twitter, it is just bonkers. You get to witness how an era defining tune is constructed out of seemingly thin air:

  • Unorthodox – Netflix miniseries

    I was impressed by the Netflix miniseries Unorthodox. Specifically with the talented actors, the believable authentic world-building and the spot-on casting (so good). With regards to all of these aspects this is a very good show.

    Huge parts of the show are in Yiddish which is a unique experience (especially when you speak a little bit of German). It felt genuine and intimate.

    Moishe and Esty – Two main characters with similar but ultimately opposite experiences

    I like that the story works with flashbacks and you are thrown right in the middle. And a lot is left unexplained, specifically Hasidic customs. Some, you intuitively understand (e.g. consistently touching/kissing doorposts) while others left me puzzled (an entire kitchen wrapped in tin-foil?). The show does not over-explain and it keeps the story going, but it does provide enough pointers to dig deeper.

    The final audition scene tied a lot of things together — families, friends and worlds — while at the same time it made it clear that some bridges were definitely burned. Wonderfully done.

    Loose ends?

    However, there were some things that could have been better, or that made little sense. Spoilers ahead.

    • How long was Esty in Berlin, are we watching days, weeks or even months? Sometimes I thought this was a couple of days. But that didn’t always make sense.
    • Why did the grandmother die? Esty was never made aware of this, so what was the purpose of this tragic subplot?
    • What was the meaning of Moishe’s successful gambling scene? The fact that he won in a pokergame didn’t add anything new to his character (we already knew he had an ambivalent personality) or the story, but they made it seem significant — including his full monty dive into a Berlin river.
    • I understand that a miniseries that is almost shorter than the latest Scorsese does not have time for everything. However, the relationship Esty quickly gets with the coffee-guy felt a bit forced and far-fetched for her character arc. You don’t go from removing your sheitel to sleeping with a guy in two (?) days.

    This being said, maybe some of these are setups; loose ends for another season? It could very well be, because there are still some story lines left to explore (specifically Moishe). I would watch it.

  • First Man

    For a movie where you can’t expect surprises about the main story line — because it’s in every history book — this movie certainly did not disappoint! In fact, First Man is a phenomenal movie.

    The opening scene immediately sets the tone. In a shaky, chaotic, sweaty and nervous test-flight, a few years before the moon landing, we are introduced to Neil Armstrong. But also to the fact that mankind is already pushing the limits of technology: this notion will be a recurring theme in the movie. There are no expensive special effects in the scene but you do feel you are there, with Neil, in the cockpit. So trough this film, we might get a chance to experience what that must have felt like (and even more so, of course, later on in the movie).

    Even though this was just an early test flight we also immediately get a sense why Neil Armstrong was picked to be the first man on the moon years later. He is able to keep it together in the most stressful situations. This makes Ryan Gosling the right actor to play him. Gosling has the most perfect cool and collected demeanor of any actor out there right now. Or, if you’re on the other side of the Gosling appreciation spectrum, you would call him stoic and stiff. Either way, both work for this part.

    There are many things to like about the movie, so here’s a list:

    • The movie does an incredible job to underline the fact that mankind was just BARELY able to pull off the moon landing. Technology was JUST about ready. And this is how true innovation always works. They didn’t iterate until it was a sure and safe thing. They went, when they could. This is how mankind has always pushed forward, setting many small steps before barely being able to make a leap. And then we leap.
    •  We are used to blockbuster space and sci-fi movies, but First Man is a terrifically refreshing movie about how insanely incredible going to the moon (our nearest planet!) actually is. And it isn’t even sci-fi.
    • The movie does not shy away from the critique that mounted around the Apollo space program as it progressed. Billions of taxpayer dollars were poured in and lives were lost. So of course some people were opposed to it. Especially at a time where so much was going on already (civil rights movement, Vietnam war, Cold war etc.). I really like that the movie also shows this (Whitey on the Moon) and puts the space program into context. At one point actual footage of Kurt Vonnegut is shown, criticizing the space program (can’t find it on YouTube). This is where the movie sort of breaks a wall between a documentary and a movie. And it works.
    • The blind ambition, fueled by the Cold War, to go to the moon and show the world who’s boss also has a place in the movie. It’s not just the inspiring speech of Kennedy (“We choose to go to the moon.“). There were and are always also more (banal?) reasons.
    • The use of sound in the movie is amazing. Or, rather the lack of sound (anti-sound?), especially around the landing scene. I just love, love that part. It absolutely quiet. And I never heard a movie theater more quiet during this scene.
    • The movie is largely based on the biography of Neil Armstrong and most focus is on him and his wife, so you could call it a biopic, but that clearly wouldn’t do the movie justice . It’s a much broader movie about, of course, the Apollo space program but even more so about ordinary people in general, achieving extraordinary things.
    • It is a movie, so parts are fictionalized,  and we will never really know what Neil Armstrong really was like and what he must have experienced. But I  liked how the movie linked the technological progress and subsequent sacrifices with the sacrifices it took on family life. The people and their lives are portrayed in a unassuming, very true to life manner, which adds to the notion that it were really just people that went to the moon. Everyday people with everyday problems.
    • What do you say when you’re the first man on the moon. We all know the famous line. But here’s another one, what do you say to your wife when you get back from the moon? The way the movie plays out, this part becomes almost just as important. And the director cleverly uses the same soundscape (quiet) from the moon landing for this scene.
    • I left the theater thinking the moon landing was really peak mankind. I have a hard time imagining something more daring, bold, inspiring and successful. Every since I visited Kennedy Space Center in 2009 on my honeymoon I’ve been thinking about this. And even if you don’t have the chance to visit KSC, this movie will imprint that same sense.

    I calculated Neil Armstrong was about exactly my age when he walked on the moon (minus 12 days), maybe that’s why I so strongly felt I could relate. Or maybe it’s all of the above reasons why I like this movie. Either way: this movie is now on my favorites list. This is a phenomenal movie about the greatest endeavor mankind ever accomplished. Go see it.

  • Last Chance U season 2

    Last Chance U season 2

    My favorite Netflix show, by far, is Last Chance U. A documentary where the EMCC football team is followed for an entire football season (so around 10 games). As the name implies and what makes this show different is that this team usually consists of a few (very talented) outcasts, that have a last chance at a decent college career (and maybe even the NFL). Guys that, for whatever reason, were cut from other top programs, and need to rehabilitate themselves before moving on by being picked up by another team. This premise immediately sets the tone.

    I like this show because it works on different levels. Yes, it is also about sports but mostly it is about people finding their way in life and trying to utilize a very small window of opportunity. Because of the brutal character of football it a good fit with the shows’ theme. But it could just as much be about the choir or volleyball team (it’s about people!).

    Football?

    But, another reason football works well, is because this sport in particular seems to have an abundance of very talented kids from unprivileged situations that seem to be getting in trouble quite a bit when exposed to a bit more luxury.

    This luxury is having a NCAA Division 1 (D1) scholarship and preferably at a popular school. Having played on a D1 level myself I know a little bit about this and being a football player at D1 school is nothing short of being a (local) celebrity. There are many privileges involved. Of course there is the faint notion of being a student-athlete. A term that implies that there is 50/50 balance between the two aspects. And sure, you can get a pretty decent education when you apply yourself (and of course lots of guys do). But the school itself is mainly interested in your athletic abilities. Because for most schools and the league as a whole, this involves A LOT of money. Coaches get paid millions, games make the school millions. So it is their interest to have successful sports programs and attract the best players. Players that get paid 0 (zero) money, but they get everything else.

    Coach Buddy

    Juco loophole

    So back to EMCC. This is what is known as a Junior College (sometimes called Community College). These are mostly 2 year colleges you can attend between high-school and ‘real’ college. As a step up, because you need some extra classes or because you can’t afford to go to a college. Being a sport-crazed country, ‘jucos’ also have sports programs (of course) which is organised in their own league (NJCAA). Which is mostly inferior to the real colleges. Most real colleges are organised by the NCAA and have three Divisions. Where the top Division (D1) consist of 345 schools!  And this is where it gets interesting. The NCAA has very strict rules. Rules about eligibility. Who can play,  how long can you play (max 4 years spread out over 5 years), what grades do you need, what they can pay you (nothing!). This is all very strict!

    So here’s what happens, a very talented kid gets recruited to a D1 school, gets in trouble there, they cut him from the program. So he wants to get back on the horse. That’s where EMCC or others Jucos come in. They pick up these players, and give them exposure at a very decent level so other D1 coaches can track their rehabilitation and scoop up talent. EMCC particularly seems to have a knack for picking up those kids and getting them back on the horse. And top JuCo schools tend to play a couple of notches above their level, because of all this raw talent.

    Kids

    Because most players featured in the show have a backstory as a starting point, it makes for very interesting TV. From the players’ point of view, but also from the coaches and administrative staff. And this last aspect is particularly well high-lighted. The effort involved in getting these guys the right grades and getting them to attend class. You wouldn’t believe. They are of course full-time athletes (even though some lack a professional attitude) and school is just a burden for them. A nuisance they have to deal with. And EMCC does everything it can to help them. Wake them up, schedule their meetings and classes, counsel with them, do assignments. Everything. Even when all these kids seem so to care about is playing with their phone.

    I keep talking about “kids” but most of these guys are absolute beasts, height and weight size.  You wouldn’t think you’re watching 19, 20 year old kids. And you try getting a 250 pound 6’6″ guy to attend class that doesn’t want to!

     

    Brittany aka Miss Wagner: the real hero of Last Chance U

    Second season

    The second season was just added to Netflix and I binge watched it. I love it. This second season was just as great as the first. Full of characters, painful backstories, satisfying redemption stories, great football, coach quarrels and people fighting to get to the next level. What I also like about this season that they sometimes break the fourth wall. Everyone involved knows the impact of the first season of the show and they don’t shy away from it. I like this. It adds to the authenticity.

    However for a show that thrives on authenticity my only point of criticism has to do with the sound editing. Yes, they play some decent football but it is still NJCAA so they don’t play for 70.000 people. Some games there are just a few 100 people spread out around the entirety of a football field. But the sound edit in the game scenes make it sound like they’re playing in a huge stadium. I know what a couple of 100 people at a football game sound, I have been to a few. They sound nothing like Last Chance U directors want you to think 😉

    But apart from that it is just a tremendous show. With great characters all around. Will the coaches and staff be able to turn some kids’ attitude and therefore future around? This season we’ve seen someone charged with burglary baptized and another who constantly kept fighting his coach and didn’t seem to improve as a human being be picked up by a top 5 school (?!) because he did improve as a player…. you can make up your own mind about this. This story all plays out against the backdrop of a small, rural town in deeply religious heartland of Mississippi. Highly recommended!

     

  • Rogue One: one is enough for me (spoilers)

    Sure, I am not the biggest Star Wars fan. Not by a long shot. But I do have a mild admiration for the first original trilogy, which made quite an impression on my younger self  (he is Lukes’ father! Go figure). And like most people I can look past the quality of the later trilogy. So last years’ Star Wars movie (I guess that’s a thing now) was a bit of a revelation. Familiar faces and a familiar feeling. It was fun!

    So expectations were set for Rogue One. Yes, I know it’s not part of the new trilogy and all that. But when fanatic Star Wars fans told me this was their favourite one, I got pretty excited.

    So I went to see it and…… I did not enjoy it. Let me explain!

    Serious

    The movie was way too serious. A big part of the Star Wars charm (that feeling), for me, is the kind of light-hearted humor, embodied perfectly in a character like Han Solo. Kind of a screw up, but talented. Getting in situations way over his head, but also getting out. But also the wookie that will kill you when you’re not careful. The brother and sister that don’t know they are yet. And other little things like Yoda, riding Luke Skywalkers’ back. Or Jabba the Hutt, as scary as he is supposed to be, there is also something funny about him. But this movie has no humor, the main characters never even smile or surprise each other.

    Yes, it is a Sci-Fi movie about space and war all that, but what set out Star Wars was always a human charm. And the original characters each embody part of that. The group balance between their independent qualities was pretty perfect.

    This looks pretty cool though.

    Characters

    I found it hard to care for the two main characters in Rogue One. They seem to lack ‘character’, and I thought they were very one-dimensional. Partly because of the acting (not very good, and the Spanish and British accents throw me off). And partly because of the story. There is little to no backdrop to get to know most of them and there is a lack of interesting dialogue between the main characters. Sure there is an intro from when Jyn Erso was a small girl. But that was way too long, I would  have rather seen what happened to her when Saw left her (as is only mentioned briefly). Because that would probably explain who she is better.

    K2 was alright and responsible for the only laugh (‘congratulations, you are being rescued‘). But that was about it. No wookies (just one split-second shot), no ewoks, no Yoda etc. To give it that Star Wars feel.

    The fact that I didn’t care for the characters was affirmed when I didn’t really mind them dying. The beach scene, after the Death Star hits that planet, it was kind of meh. It was not a tearjerker. I was not ‘invested’ in those characters and it was already expected that they would die. Because most main characters die in this movie: the mom, the dad, the daughter, the rebel guy, Saw Gerrara, the bad guy, they all die. (did I mention this movie was way too serious?).

    Action

    I think they try to make up the lack of dialogue, human interaction, character building with a lot of action. Too much for my taste. Sure, it was nicely done. Top level CGI. But not something I hadn’t seen before (seeing the Walkers in battle was nice though). But my attention span can only take so many lasers and air fights. It felt off balance.

    So, yeah this is not a movie I will re-watch any time soon. And this probably says more about me than the movie. Real fans seem to enjoy it, good for them. I didn’t. I didn’t like it as a Star Wars movie (that bar is high) but I think I also didn’t like it as regular movie.

    I didn’t watch trailers, and knew as little as possible going in, because I like to be surprised by the movie. So maybe I’m missing something? Feel free to let me know!

  • My January timeline

    I’ve always loved timelines. Visually seeing where things are in time resonates pretty strongly with me. This love goes back to my earliest memories of the dentists’ office where a huge year-round calendar hung on the wall. It had 12 distinct vertical columns and every day had its own little box. Maybe it’s because of the physical pain that went with those visits, but this calendar is cemented in my mind. It’s what I literally see when I think of ‘a year’.

    For things that span multiple years I also tend to make timelines in my head. I plot everything from music history to computer science history and I make cross-references. So for me, the Beatles broke up around the time Unix and C were being developed. And MIT AI’s lab was getting a PDP-1 when Elvis was serving in the military. So yeah….there’s that.

    And I like to document everything. What I read, play, watch or listen to. Pretty much for the same reasons I think. So why not plot all that data in a nice timeline? So here you go, my timeline for January with 4 categories of things that I read, watched, played or listened to. I.e. books, movies, games and podcasts. Here’s the full screen version.