Tuesday, 19 March 2024

Arts & Life



‘SILENT NIGHT’ RATED R

“Silent Night” is a well-known Christmas hymn dating back to the early 19th century. The movie of the same title might be considered a Christmas film in the same vein as “Die Hard,” only it is even more violent.

Legendary director John Woo, known for his operatic style of action sequences and rarefied imagery, made his mark on schematized action thrillers with his Hong Kong hits “A Better Tomorrow,” “Hard Boiled,” and “The Killer.”

Imagining John Woo directing a “John Wick” film is not a giant leap, considering his style would seem to have influenced that franchise, and with this film one of the production companies, Thunder Road, is best known for producing the franchise that Keanu Reeves made so thoroughly entertaining.

The holiday season informs the film mainly because on the night before Christmas, a traditional suburban American family is preparing to spend a pleasant day together, unaware of a brewing tension between two rival gangs that will change their lives in a horrifying and desolate manner.

As Brian (Joel Kinnaman) and Saya (Catalina Sandino Moreno) Godlock enjoy playing in the front yard with their young son, local gangs are racing down the street firing automatic weapons at each other, never mindful that a stray bullet would harm someone uninvolved with a turf war.

Struck by a stray bullet, the young boy is collateral damage in a city seemingly rife with out-of-control crime sprees. The child does not survive and the mourning takes an irreversibly harmful toll on the parents.

With the notable exception of empathetic Detective Dennis Vassel (Scott Mescudi), Brian finds the flawed policing system seemingly indifferent to bringing deserved justice for the premature death of a boy. Not surprisingly, Brian vows to take revenge.

The main villain is gang leader Playa (Harold Torres), whose tattooed face and bald head make him look as vicious as any MS-13 gang member that terrorizes rivals and innocent civilians alike.

While Brian immediately hunts down and locates a handful of the culprits, his confrontation with Playa leaves him severely wounded and on the brink of death. Yet, his will for revenge becomes unstoppable.

Spurred to violent action, Brian’s desire to avenge the death of his son recalls what the fathers in “Death Wish” and “Taken” endured to overcome their pain to punish the criminals.

A good deal of the film is focused on Brian’s training regimen, given that he’s just a regular guy until he hones lethal skills. While there is brevity in the dialogue, violent retribution does all the talking and that is enough for action fans of a brutal revenge story.




‘BYE BYE BARRY’ ON AMAZON PRIME

One thing certain in this year’s season of pro football is that the Carolina Panthers have been eliminated for a spot in the National Football League playoffs.

Usually, the Detroit Lions are also-rans, as they have not won a 1991 season playoff game since they won the division game by beating the Dallas Cowboys in a lopsided victory.

One of the star Lions players at the time was running back Barry Sanders who played for ten seasons with the team and is now the subject of Amazon Prime’s documentary “Bye Bye Barry.”

This feature-length documentary reveals in intimate detail the unprecedented journey of the running back who led the league in rushing yards during four seasons. One of the giants of the sport, Sanders displayed a style and flair that has arguably never been replicated.

His record-breaking career at both Oklahoma State, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1988, and with the Detroit Lions created a standard that will be celebrated forever, and maybe not emulated by others with much success.

Ten years into his Hall of Fame career, it was only a matter of time before he broke Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton’s record for most rushing yards. Sanders gained 15,269 rushing yards, the most ever by any NFL player in a 10-year span.

But in his prime, at the peak of his game, Sanders did the unthinkable. At age 31, in the summer of 1999, he walked away from the game, never to return. Few retirements have ever been so shocking. And none with more intrigue.

Twenty-four years after the surprising decision to depart from the sport, NFL Film joined the 55-year-old Sanders and his four sons on a trip to England to explore his career, revisit his upbringing, and tackle one of the greatest mysteries in sports history. Why did he retire when he did?

The documentary reveals the controversy over Sanders’ retirement, which came abruptly with a faxed statement and a departure for London right before the start of training camp. It would not have been his style to hold a press conference.

Football fans should enjoy “Bye Bye Barry” for the great footage of his amazing speed and agility on the field, and the interviews with teammates, his family and cameos of celebrity fans like Tim Allen and Jeff Daniels, among others.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

Anthony Neves. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Anthony Neves, one of the vocalists performing at the Lake County Symphony Associaton’s Dec. 17 holiday concert, has been a singer with the Funky Dozen for about five years.

He calls his singing style as one that is “more soulful.” Some have compared it to a Joe Cocker sound.

“But I will sing any style,” he said. “Depending on the event, it might be more like Frank Sinatra.”

Neves moved to Lake County about 16 years ago and has been singing a variety of music at many different venues since his arrival.

His first singing gig here was at the Saw Shop Restaurant in Kelseyville and he is still there on the first Thursday of every month, singing along with his recorded tracks.

Originally from Portland, Oregon, Neves found a home in Lake County. “I needed a change, and I adopted Lake County.”

It helped that he had family members who lived here, and he was familiar with the area. Neves says his 30-year singing career has worked out well for him. “I have been able to support myself mostly through my music and work occasional side jobs when I need to.”

A degree he earned in Culinary Arts from Woodland College is used solely for personal enrichment.

“It’s a good skill to have and I’m glad I learned how to make a good meal for myself. Baking has become a hobby of mine,” he said.

He shares mouth-watering photographs of his cooking and baking expertise on his Facebook page, along with videos of musical performances that demonstrate his wide range of styles.

Neves keeps busy. In addition to performing with The Funky Dozen, he sings at local wineries and community events like the August car show in Library Park for Operation Tango Mike.

Last year he sang the “Star Spangled Banner” at the Veterans Day dinner at Konocti Vista Casino when the roomful of vets started singing along.

“It was an intense moment. I started to choke up and almost lost it!” But Neves didn’t let his emotions get in the way. He did it all over again last month at the Veterans Day dinner.

Cynthia Rose sings with the Funky Dozen at Coyote Sonoma in Healdsburg. She is shown with Sunny Cordell on saxophone and Gary Miller, who plays trumpet. She will be featured at the Lake County Symphony annual Christmas Concert on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Symphony.

LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Lake County Symphony’s popular annual Christmas Concert coming up on Sunday, Dec. 17, at the Soper Reese Theatre, will include a “very merry” program of holiday favorites to delight the audience.

John Parkinson, symphony conductor and musical director, plans a selection of festive traditional holiday orchestral music, along with entertainment by several outstanding local vocalists.

He fully expects all audience members to be a part of the carol sing-along and to lend their voices to the “Hallelujah Chorus,” as in past concerts.

“Hallelujah” is the memorable finale to Handel’s “Messiah,” and has been a special and treasured part of the Christmas Concert for years.

The Lake County Community and Youth Orchestra conducted by Camm Linden, will begin the concert, with a selection from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Ballet Suite called “Mother Ginger” along with some other audience-pleasing holiday motifs.

There will be two vocalists for this concert, and both are singers with the popular local band, the Funky Dozen. Cynthia Rose will be singing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” Christmas Time is Here,” and “The Christmas Song.” Anthony Neves, will sing “White Christmas,” and “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow.”

Tickets for the concert are available online in advance from the Soper Reese Theatre website or by phone at 707-263-0577.

General admission is $25; premium seating is $30 for the 2 p.m. performance, with LCSA members receiving a $5 discount.

Everyone is urged to order their tickets early; the Christmas Concert is usually a packed house.

The full-dress open rehearsal performance begins at 11 a.m. with discounted tickets for $5 and free admission for everyone under the age of 18.


Cynthia Rose. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Vocalist Cynthia Rose, one of the performers at the Lake County Symphony Association’s Christmas Concert this weekend, grew up in a musical family and community.

She enjoys playing piano, saxophone and singing. She was guided by excellent musical mentors: her father, local pianist Tom Ganoung, and renowned public educator Nick Biondo, who taught at her school.

From elementary school through college, Rose was involved in concert bands, concert choirs, jazz bands and jazz choirs, and has traveled as far as Rio de Janeiro to perform.

When she’s not instructing her students at Healdsburg High School (she’s taught Spanish and English in public schools for nearly 15 years for all grade levels) or busy at home in Sonoma County with her two children (Evette, 6 and Damon, 2), she likes to sing with a few local bands.

She has performed with “California party band” the Funky Dozen for six years. “I am one of the three female vocalists with the Dozen,” said Rose. “My first performance with them was at the Kelseyville Pear Festival. All the traffic was cut off, so it was like this huge block party. It was awesome!”

The Funky Dozen plays frequently at private and public local events in Lake, Sonoma, and other nearby counties. You can find information about them on Facebook or at www.funkydozen.com.

Rose has also been a part of the more intimate “Blue Hour” group for the last three years, which plays at Andre’s in Lakeport once a month.

For information about their schedule, go to “Blue Hour Bay Area” on Facebook.























UPPER LAKE, Calif. — All are invited to the Upper Lake Senior Center Art Show this week.

The event takes place at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 13.

There will be a presentation by the art instructor Linda Farris followed by a luncheon.

Come and view as they share the artworks of seniors.

All are welcome.

The Upper Lake Senior Center is located at 9470 Mendenhall Road, telephone 707-275-3513.



‘SALTBURN’ RATED R

Shades of “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Brideshead Revisited” inform the dynamic at play in the psychological thriller “Saltburn,” written and directed by Emerald Fennell, who garnered much attention with the same duties for “Promising Young Woman.”

As with the films of a similar bent, “Saltburn” leans into the class divide where a character on a lower rung, fueled most likely by sociopathic tendencies, seeks to ingratiate himself with the upper class.

Set in 2006, scholarship student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) arrives as a freshman at Oxford University. His humble origins set him apart from aristocratic students entitled by a sense of noblesse oblige.

Oliver’s initial friendship with a nerdy math major is quickly discarded when he sets his sights on tall, handsome Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi), the big man on campus who looks like a male model at a fashion show.

Finagling his way into Felix’s inner circle, the needy Oliver, who is actually rather creepy, proves to be manipulative by fabricating a story of lower-class upbringing by parents that are portrayed as addicts.

For reasons that are elusive and unfathomable, Felix takes a shine to Oliver, letting him into the sanctum of entitled Oxford students that you must wonder how they have time to study given nightly forays to the local pub.

When summer rolls around, Felix invites Oliver to be his guest at their palatial home Saltburn, a massive estate that is so gorgeous that it must have once been the residence of royalty.

The Catton family proves to be eccentric. The patriarch is the oblivious Sir James Catton (Richard E. Grant), while the mother Elspeth (Rosamund Pike) is hilariously clueless and good for some choice one-liners.

Felix’s unstable sister Venetia (Alison Oliver) is a train-wreck and Carey Mulligan’s Pamela is a houseguest who has overstayed her welcome. American cousin Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) is suspicious of Oliver’s intentions, and with good reason.

Creepy weird stuff starts happening at the Saltburn estate, gradually becoming more bizarre with strange things involving bodily fluids and graphic shocking events. “Saltburn” is unsettling and disturbing. Take it in at your own risk.



‘MR. MONK’S LAST CASE: A MONK MOVIE’

Fans of Tony Shalhoub’s Adrian Monk, a detective formerly with the San Francisco Police Department, should rejoice in his return in a feature-length movie fourteen years later after the eight-season run of “Monk” on the USA Network.

Peacock brings Monk back in a post-pandemic world in “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie.” To understand his character, it is important to note that the “Monk” series was about a former police detective coping with the aftermath of his wife’s death in a mysterious car bombing.

During the run of the series, Monk suffered an extreme obsessive-compulsive disorder that caused him to lose his job and being unable to leave his house for years. With some help, he returned to living, of sorts, working as a private eye and consultant to the police department.

In the later years of the series, Traylor Howard’s Natalie Teeger was Monk’s assistant, helping him to fitfully overcome some of his eccentricities. In the movie, she’s in the same role, observing that Monk has a fear of “germs, needles, birds, then heights.”

Actually, there’s a whole lot more that induces Monk’s obsessive concerns. At an opening crime scene, Monk worries about whether he turned off the stove and then speaks of the stove as “one of the longest relationships of my life and certainly one of the happiest.”

Peter Falk as a detective in “Columbo” was an eccentric character with a shambling manner, but he never came close to the obsessions that plagued Monk. And yet, Monk’s anxieties are part of the fun of his character who seems oblivious to his grating idiosyncrasies.

Being a germaphobe can be debilitating in his line of work, but his compulsive behavior is well-suited to grasping the finer details of a crime scene and engaging in painstaking problem-solving.

Monk’s last case turns out to be the tragic death of Griffin (Austin Scott), the fiancé of his stepdaughter Molly (Caitlin McGee), in a bungee jumping accident that may be something more sinister.

In fact, Griffin’s an investigate journalist who’s digging around the shady dealings of Rick Eden (James Purefoy), a well-connected billionaire entrepreneur who has unscrupulous thugs on payroll acting like contract killers.

Of course, Monk has to overcome his wide range of phobias to solve a very personal case involving Molly, a journalist getting ready for a lifetime of happiness in her upcoming nuptials.

Several regulars from the series return, including Melora Hardin as the ghost of Trudy Monk; Ted Levine as former Homicide Captain Leland Stottlemeyer, who worked with Monk; and Hector Elizondo as Dr. Neven Bell, Monk’s psychiatrist.

A mere passing acquaintance with Shalhoub’s Adrian Monk is all one needs to enjoy a lovable character with a range of obsessions that are endearingly amusing. “Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie” proves that a nearly a decade-and-a-half absence of Monk’s story has not diminished its appeal.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

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