Date: 02/07 >>
Everybody knows that when Willie Sutton was asked "Why do you rob banks?" he replied, "Because that's where the money is." Sutton was less interested in money than in the high he received while robbing. He was a gentleman, never using a loaded gun, never carrying out a robbery if a baby or a woman customer screamed. Whether John Dillinger, like Sutton a Depression-era gangster, was a gentleman, would depend on whether you're talking to his girlfriend or some bank presidents. As played by Johnny Depp in Michael Mann's often riveting picture, Dillinger notes that he is "too busy having fun to think of tomorrow," a good part of the fun consisting on winning the affection of a woman he truly loves, Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard). Considering that we never really see Dillinger using the money he extracted from several banks, we must conclude that his career of robbing banks plus the thrill of escaping from secure jails gave him the high he needed month after month.
Universal Pictures
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: B+
Directed by: Michael Mann
Written By: Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann, Ann Biderman, from Bryan Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34."
Cast: Johnny Depp, Stephen Graham, Giovanni Ribisi, Billy Crudup
Screened at: AMC 84th St., NYC, 6/25/09
Everybody knows that when Willie Sutton was asked "Why do you rob banks?" he replied, "Because that's where the money is." Sutton was less interested in money than in the high he received while robbing. He was a gentleman, never using a loaded gun, never carrying out a robbery if a baby or a woman customer screamed. Whether John Dillinger, like Sutton a Depression-era gangster, was a gentleman, would depend on whether you're talking to his girlfriend or some bank presidents. As played by Johnny Depp in Michael Mann's often riveting picture, Dillinger notes that he is "too busy having fun to think of tomorrow," a good part of the fun consisting on winning the affection of a woman he truly loves, Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard). Considering that we never really see Dillinger using the money he extracted from several banks, we must conclude that his career of robbing banks plus the thrill of escaping from secure jails gave him the high he needed month after month.
Universal Pictures
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: B+
Directed by: Michael Mann
Written By: Ronan Bennett, Michael Mann, Ann Biderman, from Bryan Burrough's book "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34."
Cast: Johnny Depp, Stephen Graham, Giovanni Ribisi, Billy Crudup
Screened at: AMC 84th St., NYC, 6/25/09
Date: 02/07 >>
A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer aircraft flies alongside a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft from the "Jolly Rogers" of Strike Fighter Squadron 103, attached to the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), after a close air support mission over the Arabian Sea June 25, 2009, in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations as part of a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. (DoD photo by Lt. Marques Jackson, U.S. Navy/Released)
A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer aircraft flies alongside a Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft from the "Jolly Rogers" of Strike Fighter Squadron 103, attached to the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), after a close air support mission over the Arabian Sea June 25, 2009, in support of coalition forces in Afghanistan. The Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations as part of a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. (DoD photo by Lt. Marques Jackson, U.S. Navy/Released)
Date: 02/07 >>
Tucson, Ariz - Four papers in the journal Science this week offer new details about the history of water on Mars, gleaned from the 2008 NASA Phoenix Mars Mission that was operated from The University of Arizona.
Peter H. Smith, a scientist with the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the mission's principal investigator, is the first author of "H2O at the Phoenix Landing Site" in Science. There are 35 co-authors from six countries on the paper. Smith and his group of scientists and students used the lander to investigate the role of water and ice on Mars, as well as the changing weather patterns.
The popular mission launched in early August 2007. In May, 2008, early 10 months later, its landing trajectory was spectacularly captured by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
For the next five months, the UA Science Operations Center clattered with researchers gearing themselves to follow the Martian diurnal phases, which are about 40 minutes longer than day and night on Earth and enough to throw off human sleep schedules in short order.
Tucson, Ariz - Four papers in the journal Science this week offer new details about the history of water on Mars, gleaned from the 2008 NASA Phoenix Mars Mission that was operated from The University of Arizona.
Peter H. Smith, a scientist with the UA Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the mission's principal investigator, is the first author of "H2O at the Phoenix Landing Site" in Science. There are 35 co-authors from six countries on the paper. Smith and his group of scientists and students used the lander to investigate the role of water and ice on Mars, as well as the changing weather patterns.
The popular mission launched in early August 2007. In May, 2008, early 10 months later, its landing trajectory was spectacularly captured by the HiRISE camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
For the next five months, the UA Science Operations Center clattered with researchers gearing themselves to follow the Martian diurnal phases, which are about 40 minutes longer than day and night on Earth and enough to throw off human sleep schedules in short order.
Date: 02/07 >>
By Susan Granger - While 21st century older women who enjoy decadent relationships with younger men are dubbed "cougars," that cross-generational attraction has been around for many, many years. Indeed, the legendary French writer Colette (1873-1954), who reportedly had a clandestine affair with her stepson, scandalized society with the two novels on which this new Stephen Frears film is based.
Set in turn-of-the-century Paris, radiant Lea de Lonval (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a wealthy, retired, middle-aged courtesan who embarks on what she thinks will be a casual tryst with a callow, foppish 19 year-old playboy, "a graceful demon" called Cheri (Rupert Friend). His bitchy mother, Charlotte Peloux (scene-stealing Kathy Bates), a former courtesan and Lea's colleague and rival, doesn't object; in fact, she considers it an educational experience for him to become her sexual protégé. Surprisingly, six years later, the affair is still on. Lea fears growing old while Cheri fears growing up. But then scheming Charlotte announces that handsome Cheri is affianced to the lovely, virginal Edmee (Felicity Jones), an 18 year-old with a significant dowry and the daughter of Marie-Laure (Iben Hjejle), another ex-courtesan. Her lust unabated, beautifully fragile Lea retreats to the French Riviera, staunch in her refusal to give up her "naughty child."
By Susan Granger - While 21st century older women who enjoy decadent relationships with younger men are dubbed "cougars," that cross-generational attraction has been around for many, many years. Indeed, the legendary French writer Colette (1873-1954), who reportedly had a clandestine affair with her stepson, scandalized society with the two novels on which this new Stephen Frears film is based.
Set in turn-of-the-century Paris, radiant Lea de Lonval (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a wealthy, retired, middle-aged courtesan who embarks on what she thinks will be a casual tryst with a callow, foppish 19 year-old playboy, "a graceful demon" called Cheri (Rupert Friend). His bitchy mother, Charlotte Peloux (scene-stealing Kathy Bates), a former courtesan and Lea's colleague and rival, doesn't object; in fact, she considers it an educational experience for him to become her sexual protégé. Surprisingly, six years later, the affair is still on. Lea fears growing old while Cheri fears growing up. But then scheming Charlotte announces that handsome Cheri is affianced to the lovely, virginal Edmee (Felicity Jones), an 18 year-old with a significant dowry and the daughter of Marie-Laure (Iben Hjejle), another ex-courtesan. Her lust unabated, beautifully fragile Lea retreats to the French Riviera, staunch in her refusal to give up her "naughty child."
Date: 02/07 >>
The neighborhood that formed my coming-of-age experiences, the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, was about 90% Jewish. In my building only one Italian Catholic held court, but she was married to a guy named Schwartz. It stands to reason that "The Goldbergs" would be among the most popular shows, along with "Gangbusters," not only because of its Jewish theme but because it was introduced to America during the very earliest days of television. These were the times that TV’s were black-and-white with stations closing down to the tune of our national anthem at 11 and news programs were more likely printed pages spinning around than delivered by blow-dried anchor people. Gertrude Berg, aka Molly Goldberg, then, was a chalutz, a pioneer, playing a Bronx woman who spends her days leaning from the window into her courtyard, speaking to neighbors not with smart phones or even dumb phones but with resonant voices au naturel. Women of a certain age greeted each other not with "hey yo," or "hi" or "wassup," but with "yoo-hoo." One can guess that even today in ethnic neighborhoods, the older folks think that a Blackberry is what you make jam with. I’d imagine that they still lean out the window, elbows resting on pillows, while they watch the passing scene and gossip.
International Film Circuit
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: B
Directed and Written by: Aviva Kempner
Cast: Gertrude Berg, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sara Chase, Norman Lear, Margaret Nagle, Roberta Wallach
Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 6/24/09
Opens: July 10, 2009
The neighborhood that formed my coming-of-age experiences, the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, was about 90% Jewish. In my building only one Italian Catholic held court, but she was married to a guy named Schwartz. It stands to reason that "The Goldbergs" would be among the most popular shows, along with "Gangbusters," not only because of its Jewish theme but because it was introduced to America during the very earliest days of television. These were the times that TV’s were black-and-white with stations closing down to the tune of our national anthem at 11 and news programs were more likely printed pages spinning around than delivered by blow-dried anchor people. Gertrude Berg, aka Molly Goldberg, then, was a chalutz, a pioneer, playing a Bronx woman who spends her days leaning from the window into her courtyard, speaking to neighbors not with smart phones or even dumb phones but with resonant voices au naturel. Women of a certain age greeted each other not with "hey yo," or "hi" or "wassup," but with "yoo-hoo." One can guess that even today in ethnic neighborhoods, the older folks think that a Blackberry is what you make jam with. I’d imagine that they still lean out the window, elbows resting on pillows, while they watch the passing scene and gossip.
International Film Circuit
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: B
Directed and Written by: Aviva Kempner
Cast: Gertrude Berg, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sara Chase, Norman Lear, Margaret Nagle, Roberta Wallach
Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 6/24/09
Opens: July 10, 2009
Date: 19/06 >>
Washington, DC - The National Wildlife Federation today praised Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and the members of the Environment and Public Works Committee who voted today to restore Clean Water Act protections for all of the nation’s lakes, streams and wetlands. The Committee voted 12 to 7 to advance an amended S. 787, the Clean Water Restoration Act to the full Senate.
"America's waters are closer to again having the comprehensive Clean Water Act protections that Congress intended," said Jan Goldman-Carter, Wetlands and Water Resources Counsel, National Wildlife Federation. "This bill restores critical protections for our nation’s increasingly-precious fresh water resources while respecting private property rights and continuing longstanding Clean Water Act exemptions for agriculture and forestry."
Washington, DC - The National Wildlife Federation today praised Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and the members of the Environment and Public Works Committee who voted today to restore Clean Water Act protections for all of the nation’s lakes, streams and wetlands. The Committee voted 12 to 7 to advance an amended S. 787, the Clean Water Restoration Act to the full Senate.
"America's waters are closer to again having the comprehensive Clean Water Act protections that Congress intended," said Jan Goldman-Carter, Wetlands and Water Resources Counsel, National Wildlife Federation. "This bill restores critical protections for our nation’s increasingly-precious fresh water resources while respecting private property rights and continuing longstanding Clean Water Act exemptions for agriculture and forestry."
Date: 18/06 >>
Here's a film with enough grainy stock and shaky, 16mm handheld camerawork to convince a sophisticated audience that "Tony Manero" is clearly arthouse fare. This Cannes-Festival entry punctuates writer-director Pablo Larrain's political and cultural cri de Coeur, his second feature (after "Fuga," which deals with a musician who goes insane and another who tries to stea his music), once again highlighting the remarkable Chilean performer, Alfredo Castro. Castro is this time in the role of Raul, a fifty-two year old who is amoral, sleazy, probably illiterate and, even worse, afflicted with erectile dysfunction. His need for Viagra at a time (1978) that this was not available does not prevent a trio of skuzzy women from attempting to get off with the guy, but what really turns Raul on is his need to cut through his "nobody" self by becoming a celeb. And the way he chooses to get his groove has nothing to do with Chile's natural culture but with that South American country's shucking off what is indigenous to the nation in favor of trying to emulate everything that's slick about the U.S.
Lorber Films
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: B
Directed by: Pablo Larrain
Written By: Pablo Larrain, Alfredo Castro, Mateo Iribarren
Cast: Alfredo Castro, Amparo Noguera, Hector Morales, Paola Lattus, Elsa Poblete
Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 6/16/09
Opens: July 3, 2009
Here's a film with enough grainy stock and shaky, 16mm handheld camerawork to convince a sophisticated audience that "Tony Manero" is clearly arthouse fare. This Cannes-Festival entry punctuates writer-director Pablo Larrain's political and cultural cri de Coeur, his second feature (after "Fuga," which deals with a musician who goes insane and another who tries to stea his music), once again highlighting the remarkable Chilean performer, Alfredo Castro. Castro is this time in the role of Raul, a fifty-two year old who is amoral, sleazy, probably illiterate and, even worse, afflicted with erectile dysfunction. His need for Viagra at a time (1978) that this was not available does not prevent a trio of skuzzy women from attempting to get off with the guy, but what really turns Raul on is his need to cut through his "nobody" self by becoming a celeb. And the way he chooses to get his groove has nothing to do with Chile's natural culture but with that South American country's shucking off what is indigenous to the nation in favor of trying to emulate everything that's slick about the U.S.
Lorber Films
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: B
Directed by: Pablo Larrain
Written By: Pablo Larrain, Alfredo Castro, Mateo Iribarren
Cast: Alfredo Castro, Amparo Noguera, Hector Morales, Paola Lattus, Elsa Poblete
Screened at: Review 2, NYC, 6/16/09
Opens: July 3, 2009
Date: 18/06 >>
Tucson, AZ - NORML and the Marijuana Policy Project partner to kick off the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project 2010 ballot initiative with public informational event. MPP Campaign Manager Andrew Myers to the public to speak.
The event is free to the public and will be held at the Columbus Branch Library's meeting room at 4350 E. 22nd St. in Tucson, Thursday. June 25, 2009, from 1-2pm.
Tucson, AZ - NORML and the Marijuana Policy Project partner to kick off the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project 2010 ballot initiative with public informational event. MPP Campaign Manager Andrew Myers to the public to speak.
The event is free to the public and will be held at the Columbus Branch Library's meeting room at 4350 E. 22nd St. in Tucson, Thursday. June 25, 2009, from 1-2pm.
Date: 12/06 >>
Rory's Tip
Here are my tips for where to take Dad for Father's Day (hope my wife and boys read this).
Don't forget that you can also get Dad out a week early on Saturday, June 13, which is our second free fishing day, so it won't cost you anything but a smile and some pocket change for bait.
Dad will grin from ear to ear after catching a toothy northern pike at Upper Lake Mary near Flagstaff. It's the only high country lake in the pines where you can fire up the big boat motor and "be Some-buddy" as Andy Griffith would say -- you aren't required to use those woosie single-numeral put-puts. You can troll some Rapalas, spinners or Rat-L-Traps but if you really want bug-eyed monsters, try stocker-trout resembling swim baits. You can even get out the water skiis (different type of trolling).
Old coal-burning locomotives and dads are a natural weekend mix, so head over to Kaibab, Whitehorse or Dogtown near Williams, catch some trout in the morning, then take dad to the late-morning shoot-em-up at the Grand Canyon Railroad Station (every morning).
Or better yet, conduct dad to the vintage train for a clickety-clack excursion across the Colorado Plateau. Be sure to bribe the pistol-packin galoots to take his wallet at gunpoint when they hold up the 3:10 to Williams. Then take ol dad fishing in the evening when the train comes back from Pecos Bill's giant irrigation ditch that people like to photograph so much.
Can't get out of urbania? No sweat. Rattle dad out of the sheets at O-Dark-Thirty with a steaming cup of Joe to help pry his eyelids open, then scoot over to the Lower Salt River before all the beer-guzzling tubers get there so dad can catch feisty desert river trout in the cool current. If you have a canoe, so much the better. Of course, once the sun climbs high in the sky, a tube and suds might become irresistible. Make dad feel young again (don't forget a big floppy hat and sunscreen).
Rory's Tip
Don't forget that you can also get Dad out a week early on Saturday, June 13, which is our second free fishing day, so it won't cost you anything but a smile and some pocket change for bait.
Dad will grin from ear to ear after catching a toothy northern pike at Upper Lake Mary near Flagstaff. It's the only high country lake in the pines where you can fire up the big boat motor and "be Some-buddy" as Andy Griffith would say -- you aren't required to use those woosie single-numeral put-puts. You can troll some Rapalas, spinners or Rat-L-Traps but if you really want bug-eyed monsters, try stocker-trout resembling swim baits. You can even get out the water skiis (different type of trolling).
Old coal-burning locomotives and dads are a natural weekend mix, so head over to Kaibab, Whitehorse or Dogtown near Williams, catch some trout in the morning, then take dad to the late-morning shoot-em-up at the Grand Canyon Railroad Station (every morning).
Or better yet, conduct dad to the vintage train for a clickety-clack excursion across the Colorado Plateau. Be sure to bribe the pistol-packin galoots to take his wallet at gunpoint when they hold up the 3:10 to Williams. Then take ol dad fishing in the evening when the train comes back from Pecos Bill's giant irrigation ditch that people like to photograph so much.
Can't get out of urbania? No sweat. Rattle dad out of the sheets at O-Dark-Thirty with a steaming cup of Joe to help pry his eyelids open, then scoot over to the Lower Salt River before all the beer-guzzling tubers get there so dad can catch feisty desert river trout in the cool current. If you have a canoe, so much the better. Of course, once the sun climbs high in the sky, a tube and suds might become irresistible. Make dad feel young again (don't forget a big floppy hat and sunscreen).
Date: 11/06 >>
The subtitle of this film will clue viewers that "My Fuhrer" is not the truest truth about the Nazi leader, but then again, writer-director Dani Levy, who states in the production notes that comedy can make dents in an evil person's character better than drama or tragedy, does not avoid the truth either. Using elements from Hitler's background to subvert not only Hitler's adoration by his right-hand men and the huge crowds that gathered for his vacuous speeches, Levy does succeed to prove the hypothesis that the best way to deal with authoritarian jerks is not to project laundry lists of evil doings but rather to laugh at the preposterousness of their personalities.
First Run Features
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: B
Directed and Written by: Dani Levy
Cast: Helge Schneider, Ulrich Muhe, Sylvester Groth, Adriana Altaras, Stefan Kurt, Ulrich Noethen, Lambert Hamel, Udo Kroschwald
Opens: August 14, 2009
First Run Features
Reviewed for Arizona Reporter by Harvey Karten
Grade: B
Directed and Written by: Dani Levy
Cast: Helge Schneider, Ulrich Muhe, Sylvester Groth, Adriana Altaras, Stefan Kurt, Ulrich Noethen, Lambert Hamel, Udo Kroschwald
Opens: August 14, 2009
