Play This One, Rewind it Even and Watch it Again

The ease with which one is now able to showcase one’s creativity on the internet now allows many people to show off their talents, something which would have been fairly impossible 20 years ago. The ease with which anyone browsing the internet may happen upon subpar musicians, filmmakers, and writers plying their craft with nobody telling them that their stuff sucks is in full view with just one click to You Tube. At the same time, it is easy to see that there are many talented and creative people out there sharing their talents with the public on the webbernet. The fact that it no longer takes a great deal of effort to get your stuff out there, as they say, is one of the subjects focused upon in the 2011 documentary, “PressPause Play.”

There is no doubt that the ways in which aspiring musicians, filmmakers, and writers may thrust their goods upon society are much less arduous than in the past. Amazon, for example, will allow you to self-publish a book. Of course, it’s up to you to write something good—----well, to write something people will want to buy and download to their mobile device. Amazon allows the forum for one to profit from said creative endeavors. Musicians can create as much as they want and upload their work online in hopes of being discovered, or sometimes, just simply so they can share their music with the public. “PressPausePlay,” directed by David Dworsky and Victor Kohler, does not present one side or the another in presenting the current state of artistry and the means in which artists showcase their talents. The film does present, through interviews, a sense of frustration from artists who did not have the benefit of the internet and mass distribution of their work. The musician, Moby, though not completely bitter, does voice a bit of frustration about how he had a more difficult time getting his music heard than musicians do now. The point that because of the ease with which people can distribute their music, films, or writing allows for much, much more inferior content to be seen resonated with me. Though I am happy to be able to have my own forum on this blog you are hopefully reading on a regular basis---you are reading it on a regular basis, right…and telling your friends about it…and liking it on Facebook……and clicking right up there above where you are reading where it says “More” and you see the little drop-down arrow. Yeah…that’s right. You can share this wonderful, time-killing blog with Facebook or Twitter. Go ahead and do that, if you do not mind. I will wait. ..........................I'm still here, thanks again........................... Ok, cool. Thanks. As a means of presenting how someone can gain a certain amount of fame from distributing their work online, “PressPausePlay” follows an aspiring Icelandic musician named Olafur Arnalds from his home in Iceland where he creates his music, to being invited to play at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. His story, which is chronicled in scenes throughout the film, was semi-interesting, however, his music did not move me one way or the other. His story, though a necessary part of the documentary, was not entirely interesting. Perhaps, this is the best the filmmakers could do as far as finding somebody who is an example of someone who found a bit of success from using the internet to market oneself. I am glad that the story of Arnalds was used in the film, despite my lack of interest in his music, as presenting an example of semi-success is crucial to the thesis of the film. What “PressPausePlay” does best is present several interesting points of discussion regarding the future of distribution of artistic content and what the future of said content will be, meaning, without boundaries to showing off one’s creativity, more and more mediocre stuff will be available for viewing, listening, and reading. As mentioned previously, this digital age in which we live also allows for those who are truly talented and, in the past, would not have had a place to show off their talent, access to a very large audience. In the end, “PressPausePlay” does not take anyone’s side, which is good. It documents what is going on in the digital world of creativity, presents some who have valid arguments, not so much against this openness, but who state that such openness breeds mediocrity at an exponential rate. I agree with this notion of a massive amount of mediocre crap is now available online. Have you heard of that goofy blog that guy has---Epistemology Tonight? What a weirdo. What the heck is epistemology anyway and why does it have such a dumb title? You can stream “PressPausePlay” on Netflix and spend a pleasant 80 minutes watching this well-made documentary which, if you have any bent towards a desire to express yourself artistically, will most likely interest you. The subject of the film is interesting so go to Netflix and click on play and pause whenever you want to for a refreshing Dr.Pepper or orange soda.

Bouncing on "Hope Springs"

“Hope Springs” may be a difficult film to watch for those who are either in a bad marriage or are headed towards the end of a marriage. Though it is a well-acted, and well-written film, the subject matter is not easy to digest for those I have described.

The film stars Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as Omaha, Nebraska married couple, Kay and Arnold. They have been married for a very long time. I do not remember if an exact number of years is given, however, it is safe to guess that they have been married for, at least, 30 years. Through time, as will happen to some married couples, the flame of intimacy has burned out. Kay plans a trip to Maine for her and her husband to see renowned marriage counselor, Dr. Feld (Steve Carrell). Arnold is very reluctant to go all the way to Maine just to see a marriage counselor. Arnold thinks his marriage is just fine, however, Kay knows that it is failing badly. Throughout the film, it is clear that the emphasis, as far as who is feeling more distraught about the marriage failing, is focused on Kay. The script, in showing the angst from mostly Kay’s point of view misses a fantastic opportunity to show that sometimes the man in a marriage may also be suffering from depression or anxiety about his marriage failing or a lack of passion existing anymore. This is the major fault of the film. Although the script, as written, is good and the performances are wonderful, I felt the film missed a great opportunity to show the pain of the disintegration of the marriage from both sides. Arnold is written as a curmudgeon who is unaware of his wife’s emotional pain. In emoting this pain, Streep is, not surprisingly, very good. While watching the film, I felt satisfied by the it. I felt that the subject matter was handled very well and with a commendable amount of tact. I still feel this way, however, I wish that screenwriter, Vanessa Taylor, would have fleshed out Jones’ character, rather than simply making him a stereotypical old man who thinks all is well and there is no need for change. Jones does play the character well as far as giving the audience reason to see him as the one to blame for their marriage failing. Arnold is not a likable person and his curmudgeonly personality is quite grating. He constantly complains about irrelevant things and it is easy to see why any woman would fall out of love with him. This fact about the script and how Arnold is written instantly puts his character at a disadvantage as far as with whom the audience will sympathize. Preferable would have been to make both characters equally to blame for the marriage failing. To do this, more unlikable qualities could have been given to Kay, or conversely, make both characters likable and without any glaring issues. I understand that Arnold’s curmudgeonliness exists to provide comedic moments in the film, and, admittedly, because of Jones’ screen presence, some of these moments do work, however the character of Arnold, as written, does begin to grate on one’s nerves quickly. Steve Carrell as Dr. Feld, the marriage counselor, gives my favorite performance in the film. He plays the character with the perfect amount of concern for both Kay and Arnold. His performance is more of a dramatic one. His performance, I suppose, could be described as “down the middle.” He does not play Dr. Feld for laughs or for high drama. He is quite good and Dr. Feld, as written, is a great character. His advice for Kay and Arnold makes sense and seem to be good steps to give to a struggling couple. Up until the final ten minutes of the film, I thought I would be very satisfied with how the film ends. Not this time. This is a Hollywood studio film, so only one kind of ending to a film with such heavy subject matter will do, even if that ending does not fit. That is all I will say about the end of the film. Ok, one more thing: The end of the film defies everything that has been established about Kay and Arnold throughout the rest of the film. The resolution of the film is not entirely unbelievable, however, as presented and as set up for the first 90 minutes, the end of the film rings false. Did I say I liked this movie? Despite it’s flaws, “Hope Springs” is an entertaining film, due entirely to it’s cast. Streep, Jones, and Carrell are all very good even with the flaws in the script. This happens sometimes in films. A great cast can sometimes make an average film better than it should be. “Hope Springs” handles extremely weighty subject matter with care and deftness for most of the running time, however, it fails to challenge the audience with a satisfying conclusion. My hope springs that Hollywood can, at some point, find a way to not placate it’s audience and challenge it. My hope will be springing eternally, I fear.

Discover the Salton Sea

A good documentary introduces the viewer to a subject he or she knew little about or expands upon a commonly-known subject and adds more valuable information. The former is true about the 2004 documentary, “Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea,” directed by Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer.

Around 1901, a series of man-made accidents created what is known as the Salton Sea, a large body of water in the desert in California. It is about 120 miles northeast of San Diego and just a little bit south of Palm Springs. I wish I had known about this place when I was taking trips to San Diego a few years ago. I know it sounds simplistic to say that a series of accidents created a giant body of water in the middle of the desert. The opening of the film does a fantastic job of explaining how the Salton Sea was created. Film director, John Waters (“Pink Flamingos,” “Cry Baby,” “Serial Mom”), provides the narration for the film.

There is not a great deal of narration in the film because a bulk of the information about the topic of the film is provided through interviews with residents of the towns around the sea. The Salton Sea was quite a popular tourist destination in the 1950’s and 1960’s, however, natural disasters crippled the area and laid waste to any and all remaining future tourism. The residents of the area consider the Salton Sea area to be a pleasant, peaceful place to live, even though summer temperatures there reach 100-110. I know another place that gets like that in the summer. It would be cliché to refer to the people who still live there as eccentric, however, these people do have their own reasons for continuing to live there. These reasons are given in the documentary. “Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea” is a salient look at how the sea was formed, the prosperity that the area enjoyed for two decades, and the result of a series of natural disasters that eliminated said prosperity. In the mid-90’s Congressman, Sonny Bono, did lead efforts to improve the conditions in that area, however, his early death and the lack of anyone to further lead these efforts stalled and, in time, ended these plans of reclamation.

Netflix has this film available to rent in the old-fashioned dvd format. I recommended, especially to documentary lovers, this film. The film covers an interesting subject and is structured very well.