A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Based on a Tennessee Williams play, this searing drama is a multiple Oscar winner. It is most memorable fro the Oscar-winning turn by Vivien Leigh, as the fragile Blanche Dubois. Who could forget Marlon Brando, in one of his greatest roles. Kim Hunter as his wife and Karl Malden as Blanche's naive suitor complete the picture. Intense and tremendously moving.

Chef (2014)

Chef is a new independent comedy-drama starring, written and directed by Jon Favreau, taking a break from directing blockbuster superhero movies with Robert Downey Jr (Downey Jr. has a cameo in this film, incidentally).

In a nutshell: a divorced LA chef quits his job in a restaurant and starts a food truck, all the while teaching his young son some lessons along the way. The kid also teaches his dad a thing or two.

Now, if you're think you'll like a movie with LOTS of cooking and eating, go see this movie. I was very glad I ate before the movie!

Favreau as the lead took me some getting used to. He's played an obnoxious guy  in everything I've seen him in (Swingers, Four Christmases) and he plays a similar character in this, hot tempered and all. But when he made that grilled cheese sandwich for his son, I was charmed.

I was surprised to see some big name stars in the cast. Dustin Hoffman plays the restaurant boss. Scar-Jo (Scarlett Johansson) is in it, too as the restaurant host.  The ex-wife is played by Sofia Veranga, who is good in her part. And I haven't seen John Leguizamo so good in a film since the mid '90s.

The father-son relationship is a big part of the movie. They have some some quality bonding time in a cross-country trek, as the truck makes stops in Miami, New Orleans, and Austin. The soundtrack is great, and moves the film along nicely.

Reflecting our modern day culture, there are many uses of social media in this movie, more than any film I've seen before. Many of the characters "Tweet", "text", "Facebook", and "YouTube", and even "Vine".  At one point Favreau says to his tech-savvy young son "You're the head of our Marketing team!"

All the Tweeting done in the film is integral to the story, and the way it is presented on screen is unique and clever, and will likely be imitated by others in the future.

This movie is getting good word of mouth, and is now among the "Top 10" hits in the United States this weekend.

New Orleans Part 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 

It may be quiet here on the blog for the next few weeks. I just have travel pics to share with y'all for the time being. Let's continue with New Orleans. These pics are from Sunday May 30, the day before Memorial Day.

In my opinion, the best place to start a sightseeing tour of The French Quarter is at the very north end of the French Market. I started on a Sunday morning bright and early, and it wasn't so crowded with people. Plus the vendors are still all busy setting up so they have less time to harass you as you browse. lol. Here's the French Market at the north end:



Here is the world-famous Cafe Du Monde - where you can get 3 beignets for 2 dollars.


If you go, expect a long wait. Look at the line at 10:00 Am on Sunday:


Around the corner, there's a window that allows you to peek in to see how they are made.   First, they are cut from the dough, then deep fried - look at them floating in the grease. Disgusting, really.

video clip:


Once they come out of the grease, they are covered with powdered sugar. Basically, they are just fried dough "pillows".

video clip:


Obligatory photo opp, right outside the bistro.


Close by is a monument dedicated to Joan of Arc. The inscription reads "Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans (1412-1431) A gift from the people of France to the citizens of New Orleans"


And I have to include this pic of Ingrid Bergman as Joan, since it's her birthday today--




Here is a plaque nearby; notice any names? "Huey P. Long (deceased) Former Governor" and "Earl K. Long Lieutenant Governor" (played by Paul Newman in Blaze)



Here's a jazz musician, Sunday morning:


Video clip:



A favorite New Orleans dessert is "bananas foster", a concoction of steaming hot bananas and rum sauce served over ice-cold vanilla ice cream. The restaurant that created them is called Brennan's. Closed for a long time after Katrina, it is now open. My friend and I wanted to try some, but we were told that they only do it as a flambe and we'd have to order a meal, but we didn't stay for that.


Here is a cool looking museum we ran into, a pharmacy museum with vintage artifacts from an earlier era. The museum was closed that day, but I got a pic through the window.


I bet it would have been cool to see some of those old-timey gadgets and bottles.


Here's a nice view of Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral. I went to a mass that Sunday morning and it was pretty much filled with tourists.



Back in the 1970s, Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby filmed a scene from Let's Do It Again in front of the monument of Andrew Jackson.




It started to rain about noontime, and I attempted to capture the moment.




Not far away is The Gumbo Shop (not to be confused with Gumby's Pizza). As mentioned previously in Part 2, I highly recommend this restaurant for lunch.


More photos of cool looking architecture of the French Quarter:












Here, I was surprised to learn that the Louisiana Supreme Court building is right there in the French Quarter.


Brad Pitt and Angelina have an apartment right next to that pink building, according to our tour guide:


Around noontime, a huge crowd of activists gathered on the steps across from Jackson Square (I didn't see Brangelina, though)




"No Oil on Our Soil"


The film, Louisiana Story (which I reviewed a few weeks ago) might make for a a good discussion at one of their meetings.


I wonder if they hung that flag out on display on Memorial Day.


Here's a video I took, showing more signs, Jackson Square, and the Cafe du Monde.




I saw two closed-down movie theaters on Canal Street, just outside the French Quarter on the south end.

                                                                    Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 

V-J Day: August 14, 1945 - 65 Years Ago Today (plus photos of WW 2 museum)

Today marks the 65th anniversary of V-J Day, a day to always remember.

To listen to some audio clips from original radio broadcasts,the website "Spirit of 45" has some great clips on their audio page. You'll hear exciting clips, such as the experience on Times Square as reported to NBC and the original Command Performance Armed Forces radio broadcast with President Truman, Bing Crosby, Bill Mauldin, Frank Sinatra (singing "The House I Live In"), Dinah Shore (singing "America"), Frances Langford ("We Gather Together"), Bob Hope and more. Orson Welles offers a moving prayer. Listen to the programs here.

---

Earlier this summer I visited the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. It is an awesome three story museum with exhibits dedicated to every major battle of the war. Here are some pictures:

If you ever get the chance to get to New Orleans I highly recommend allowing at least one full day at the museum. There is so much to see. There are lots of video and audio exhibits as well, including oral recollections from surviving veterans and those on the homefront, who recorded their memories for this museum.

Photo below: It's a little blurry, but the black bars across the flags are shelves with a figure of a soldier representing several thousand fighters - demonstrating how the American military forces compared with those of Japan and the Nazis.

Next door to the museum is a great restaurant called The American Sector.

Louisiana Story (1948)

Louisiana Story is a time capsule of a past era. The story centers around a 12-year old Cajun boy and his fascination with nature (canoeing, fishing, hunting) as well as modern machinery in the form of a steam-driven oil drill. There aren't any famous actors in it, just charming southern folk (not professional actors) who speak real Cajun (I wish the film had subtitles during some of the dialogue scenes). The man who portrays the boy's father sort of resembles an older Hal Holbrook. In the film, the man gives the company permission to drill in his swamp after he discovers bubbling water (the boy thinks it's mermaids).

Meanwhile, the boy (played by Louisiana native Joseph Boudreaux, who, at age 73, still lives in the state) chases critters and paddles through the swamp with his pet raccoon. If you love National Geographic/Wild Kingdom specials where animals attack each other, then this movie is for you. If you can't stand seeing a ant stepped on, then you might not fancy the scene where the gator chomps on a bird, nor the scene where the boy ties up and skins an enormous alligator (who allegedly kills his raccoon).



Also, if you are a fan of the 1943 animated film Bambi, keep an eye out early on - there's an apparent homage to the Disney classic in quick montage where we see a few brief seconds of a rabbit, a skunk, and a deer in that very order. There are quite a few interesting parallels between this movie and that one, but if I went into it all, this would be a much longer post.

As the derrick is set up the boy becomes fascinated by it all, and explores the worker's area with equal curiosity.


I won't give away too much, but in one sequence, there's an explosion during the drilling that makes headlines in the Times-Picayune, eerily bringing to mind recent unfortunate events in the region.

In the end, the father is compensated, and as a present to his son, gives him a special hunting rile as his entry into manhood.

So what will become of the boy when he grows up? A hunter? A petroleum engineer? That's for us to ponder.

Pioneer documentarian Robert Flaherty wrote and directed the film, and was nominated for an Oscar for the film's story. It almost plays like a children's adventure film. If I saw this on TV as a kid I would probably really be entertained by it, especially all the scenes of the swamp, unknown territory for us "city kids."

The cinematography by Richard Leacock and the Virgil Thomson's folksy and melodic music score are highlights of the film. Believe it or not, this is the first and only motion picture score to ever win a Pulitzer Prize for music. I don't know the history behind the Pulizers, but I'll bet the committee changed the rules sometime after this film won. Otherwise I'm sure some other film composers (Maurice Jarre, John Williams) would have been recognized over the years.

Available on DVD/NetFlix.


----- RECOMMENDED REVIEWS -----
There is a nice review and some screenshots from the film here:

Not Coming To A Theater Near You : review
Shooting Down Pictures: Review, Part 1 | Review, Part 2
DVD Journal: review

Surrender the Void review from Jan 2020 here. 
Just a Cineaste (March 2020) here

New Orleans: Part 2 - where Tennessee Williams wrote "Streetcar Named Desire"

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 

On my way to 632 St. Peter St. in the French Quarter neighborhood, where Tennessee had his apartment


Some photos of the neighborhood.



Saw alot of street performers.



Ate lunch here at The Gumbo Shop; had a delicious bowl of chicken andouille gumbo with okra. Highly recommend this restaurant.



Very cozy inside.




Right next door was Tennessee William's apartment. The plaque on the wall of the building at 632 St. Peter reads:

DURING 1946 AND 1947 TENNESSEE WILLIAMS LIVED HERE AND WROTE "A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE"

Here's a 5-minute video I took - and also stumbled upon some awesome street performers.



Here's another video with me enjoying the narrow streets and architecture of the French Quarter:






Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3