New Fall Poetry--Comments and Suggestions Welcome!

What Nature Brings
I’d rather listen to the rain
and its tales of
erosion and change

Than the rants of
screed-filed airwaves
and the partisans

I’d rather listen to the wind
and its howling currents
sending birds on the wing

Than the pontiffs
that promise safety
and deliver child’s danger

I’d rather feel the sun
and its warmth
permeating my skin

Than the streams of
falsehood trying to
permeate my mind

I look to the stars
and illumined by
a silver moon

I wait for the wisdom
that quiet brings and
the quiet mind receives

Gordon Stamper, Jr.
October 13, 2018

The Deep, Dark Woods
What lurks in the twilight,
the lengthening shadows
of the woods?

What evil presence
clutches the forest
in its tightening darkness?

What howls and calls
emit from its verdant,
yet stygian, heart?

We could observe
its mysteries—
it teems with life.

We could listen
to the language
of its citizens.

The woods could instruct,
create empathy,
soothe our ignorant fright.

No, let’s explain
in tales of fear
instead of understanding.

Gordon Stamper, Jr.
October 6, 2018

Tanka Reflection on Fall
People embrace fall
Its bowl of fruity colors
Succulent season
Sights and spice and all things nice
Signifying time of death

Gordon Stamper, Jr.
September 22, 2018

Reasons to Be Silent

Why didn’t you tell us
years ago?

Where is your proof?

Who are your witnesses?

How do you
expect us to wait?

When will you
tell us your story?

Why are you
hesitant to talk?

What do you mean
that it’s him?

How do you
expect us to believe that?

Why do you impugn
this good man?

Who are you
to accuse him?

What do you mean
we have an agenda?

Why can’t you see
we should get what we want?

Who doesn’t enjoy
a little bit of fun?

Why don’t you
shut your mouth
and enjoy it?

Gordon Stamper, Jr.
September 22, 2018

The Mad Artist View: BlacKkKlansman

BlacKkKlansman movie review by Gordon Stamper, Jr.

Some films are essential viewing for adult audiences that appreciate great cinema and essential moments in history and culture. Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman is such a film.

The movie's main plot is set in the 1970's, and generally based on the true life experiences of Ron Stallworth (played by John David Washington), a Colorado Springs police detective and the first African American on the force. He begins a phone dialogue with the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Needing a white face to meet with the members, Stallworth recruits fellow detective Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver), a non-practicing Jew, for the job. This dual undercover project reaps big rewards, including phone conversations and live meetings with the National Grand Wizard himself, David Duke (Topher Grace). Tension builds as a militaristic plot to bomb a Black Student Union rally begins to unfold. 

It's rare when a film is so on target for its time that it's almost too on-the-nose. Lee's work here flirts with that problem, but generally skirts it with effective historical parallels, since we are still dealing with David Duke and his kind in our America, and current Presidential policy often is too accommodating to a white supremacist agenda.

BlacKkKlansman uses a framing device of history, including a white supremacist propagandist (Alec Baldwin) filming his toxic views for an old news reel, and an African American discussing his eyewitness accounts of lynching and torture in the South (Harry Belafonte). Each are fictionalized characters, but speak truth in terms of the events and attitudes. A real life figure also provides a key moment in the film, Kwame Ture aka Stokely Carmichael (eloquently portrayed by Corey Hawkins), an early undercover assignment for Stallworth that resulted in a brief real-life meeting with the civil rights activist. A very disturbing present-day coda ends the film, with some never-before-seen footage of the Charlottesville tragedy.

Overall, the level of acting is excellent, including Washington, Driver, and Laura Harrier, as a fictitious Black Student Union president and love interest that consolidates key portions of the story. Lee's artistry as director is present with his stylistic flourishes, from the glowing faces of listeners at Ture's rally to the montage of hate-enraged faces cheering on klansmen in Birth of a Nation after an initiation ceremony. Lee regular Terence Blanchard adds a moving musical score that adds emotion without becoming maudlin.

The latest Spike Lee Joint has artistic heft and the weight of consequence, somehow balanced with entertainment value. It may be the most important film to see since the Oscar-winning Spotlight, and people of conscience should not miss it.

My rating: **** out of ****.

Focus Pictures presents BlacKkKlansman. Rated "R" for profanity, racist language, and violence. Directed by Spike Lee. Written by Lee and Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz & Kevin Willmott, based on the book by Ron Stallworth. Music by Terence Blanchard. Starring John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Michael Buscemi, Ryan Eggold, Corey Hawkins, and Topher Grace. Playing in Porter County (IN) at Portage IMAX 16.

Early August Poetry

The following poems were inspired by the creative people at Tinker's Alley and Paul Henry's Gallery, and by our recently departed furry Stamper family members pictured above, Maddie and her daughter Shadow. May their journey over the Rainbow Bridge be a fun-filled adventure.

Cat Hair
The old comfy couch
needed a good cleaning

I got my roller on
and dug in
working the fabric
with vigorous strokes
and thick hairs appeared
grey, sticky clumps

Reminding me of
soulful eyes
black pupils
squeaky mews

The same fur
used to rub on my leg
marking the territory
as hers

She—
now a box
labeled Shadow—
ashes, ashes
but my mind
embraces love

Gordon Stamper, Jr.
August 3, 2018

******

Action Hero
Grab complacency
by the waddle
and toss it aside

But the bodyguards
would never let you

Extract the intractable
with a rusty shovel
and uproot it in shreds

But the town
won’t let you dig there

Take out
the choking vine
with a loud chainsaw

But the neighbors
like the way it looks

Action heroes
don’t have to deal
with rules and regulations
they tell the captain
to shove the badge
or drive their 4X4’s
out of quicksand

But I’m no Rambo
or John McClane
or Lone Wolf McQuade

I’ll have to grumble
like a low-energy Lou Reed
and rent the curtain
to the principalities’
Holy of Holies
on the page

Gordon Stamper, Jr.
August 3, 2018

******

Good Afternoon (or an ode to critical thinking)
Now that you’ve mentioned it
we give mouth service to
critical thinking

State universities
de-emphasizing liberal arts
emphasizing the sciences
becoming the training grounds
because employers don’t want to
train anyone

While our captains of industry
our job creators
send their offspring
to the finest Ivy League colleges

Do you think those schools
tossed out literature and philosophy?
Hell no!
The wealthy wouldn’t accept that
leave the button pushing to the masses

But sorry for the rant
I need to know
if you’d like
mashed
fries or
sweet potato tots
with that

Gordon Stamper, Jr.
August 1, 2018

New July Poetry--let me have it!

I’ll Take Manhattan

Roaming among the mendicants
I snap my pictures
of the New York skyline

Ignoring the homeless
I hit all the districts
with trendy hot spots

Deflecting mental illness
I hobnob with the glitterati
on Fifth Avenue

Ambling hand in hand with my love
Bypassing the shirtless man
Sleeping by the gutter

Gentrifying my world
while the rest of it
withers with no shelter

Gordon Stamper, Jr.
July 21, 2018

*****
America the Middle Rate
Here’s to the boorish
the victors of our age


Whatever trite thing
you were taught about
hard work
education
or the meek


Has now faded into
the privileged
the connected
self-centered over selfless
blessed are the bullies


Wealth kick starts
the anti-bullying campaigns
while their young
tell yours togo back where they came from

And I wish they could
back to a land of opportunity
where the dreamer could be rewarded
but that would take a time machine
back to 2016


Or earlier
depending on
what state you live in


We can vote
we can fight for
freedoms
wages
dignity lost


But for now
behold the land of the also ran
the has-beens and
the home of the selfish


Gordon Stamper, Jr.
July 26, 2018

The Mad Artist View: SORRY TO BOTHER YOU

Sorry to Bother You: film review by Gordon Stamper, Jr.

The year 2018 has been a strong year for independent films, and Sorry to Bother You continues the trend. It resembles Office Space or a more profane extended episode of The Office in its first hour, satirically examining the drudgery of having a telemarketing job. Yet its unpredictable fantasy-type resolution and surreal touches throughout the film set it apart from anything recently on screen.

Cassius Green (Lakeith Stanfield) needs a job, and gets it at a run-down (at least on its lower levels) telemarketing company with the help of his friend Salvador (Jermaine Fowler). He's living in his uncle's (Terry Crews) garage, and has a starving-artist type girlfriend Detroit (Tessa Thompson) who twirls promotional signs for a living when she's not doing art shows or performance art. Cassius would like to quit his job, but owes back rent for his dive apartment and his uncle may lose his house. He endures ill-conceived pep talks from his supervisors and calls for unionizing from his instigator friend Squeeze (Steven Yeun).

But something catches Cassius' imagination: the opportunity to be a Power Caller. There is the promise of better things to sell, much more money to earn, and a golden elevator to take you to their higher-floor habitat. A sharply dressed, eye-patched man (Omari Hardwick) taking that elevator everyday adds to the intrigue. And a veteran caller (Danny Glover) gives Cassius a tip to reach the top floors--find his "I don't care white voice" to improve sales. He does, and the rest is a surreal trip mixed with angry satire of worker exploitation.

What makes Sorry to Bother You so unique is writer/director Boots Riley's cinematic framing of the big ideas and fearless satire. Telemarketing calls are depicted like Cassius is talking in the customer's space, whether they are eating, sitting on the toilet, or having sex. The manic CEO of their biggest client (Armie Hammer) is a drug-taking, propoganda-producing fiend demonstrated by his crazy visual proposition to make billions on the backs of slave labor. His Swiftian proposal makes Dr. Moreau look rational, and Hammer's manic performance adds comedy to the darkness.

The blend of comedy, satire, a talented cast, and a sci-fi ending that few could guess accumulates into a must-see for the adventurous moviegoer. It's not perfection, but the originality and dark humor of Riley's film is a worthy addition to this year's growing number of solid independent films by young filmmakers.

My rating: ***1/2 out of ****.

Annapurna Pictures presents Sorry to Bother You. Rated "R" for language, suggestive humor, sexual situations, and violence. Written and directed by Boots Riley. Starring Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson, Jermaine Fowler, Terry Crews, Armie Hammer, Danny Glover, and the voices of David Cross, Patton Oswalt, and Rosario Dawson. Playing locally in AMC Theaters, Hobart and Schererville.

The Mad Artist View: Tales of Two Sequels

Chewbacca, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, and Aiden Ehrenreich try to dodge Imperial ships in the prequel Solo: A Star Wars Movie.

by Gordon Stamper, Jr.

This has generally been the summer of the sequel, with even "R" rated franchises such as Deadpool and Sicario receiving second entries. Two early and prominent examples were the star-studded Avengers: Infinity War and Ron Howard directed Solo: A Star Wars Story. While the former was universally acclaimed and enormously profitable, the other was generally damned with faint praise and early underwhelming box office.

The Avengers excursion's central strength is its villain, Thanos (Josh Brolin). The plot hinges on his quest for the Infinity Stones scattered around the universe, and his quest for the ultimate conservation and population control plan would be completed with their acquisition. That it requires the death of one-half of all sentient life forms doesn't seem to bother him much, except for one necessary sacrifice. Costumed heroes from throughout the Marvel/Disney rights universe challenge Thanos in the high-stakes war.

In the latest Star Wars prequel, we learn the origin of a young and brash Han Solo's career choices (played with irreverence and energy by Aiden Ehrenreich) and a tale of lost love (the mother of dragons, Emilia Clarke) and friendship (the first meeting with a a certain Wookie).  Woody Harrelson portrays the leader of a band of mercenaries-for-hire within the Imperial Forces that pillages resources when convenient.

Each sequel has its distinctive weaknesses. Although some of the ensuing deaths in Avengers are gasp-worthy, their building frequency add up to a "who will buy it next" checklist plot near the conclusion. Even the final hidden scene continues to bash this theme into a viewer's cranium. Only a child or supreme comics nerd would believe these characters are permanently dead--it is a comic book-based franchise, people!

Likewise, Solo's weakest points come when going out of the way to appeal to the fan boys. Yeah, we know how many parsecs that trip in hyperspace took now, and the first time Landau (Donald Glover) and Solo cheated one another. Some of these asides are amusing and effective, but often they drag down original plot elements that have been working well.

My verdict: both generally work and are worthwhile viewing, with Solo being the more underappreciated film. The original story line of a smuggling adventure gone wrong and Ehrenreich/Clarke chemistry are strengths, and the good humor and energy generally is sustained through much of the film. Avengers is another superstar cast outing with the best elements centering in its spread-too-thin characters, and demonstrating that the best Marvel films outside the first Avengers are its single hero-centered movies. It's a good thing Disney stopped its belly aching about Solo's box office receipts, since it continues to be a steady earner. Not all films can be a Thanos juggernaut.

My rating for both Solo and Avengers: Infinity War: *** out of ****.

SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO--the Mad Artist View

Sicario: Day of the Soldado Review by Gordon Stamper, Jr.

Viewers who experienced Denis Villenuve's Sicario saw a timely morality play about the bloody war on our southern border's doorstep that also worked as a gripping action thriller. The latest related film continues to follow the characters Alejandro (Benicio Del Toro) and Matt Graver (Josh Brolin) on another amoral mission, which doesn't have as much pessimistic dread as the original, but generally makes up for it in suspenseful action sequences with high stakes.

Two terrorist acts have been committed on American soil, and it appears that the terrorists have been smuggled across the Mexican border. Graver is called in to interrogate suspects and organize a tactical team to disrupt the drug cartels' trafficking of illegal immigrants (and more importantly to the U.S. government, the influx of terrorists). Alejandro, government sicario/hitman for hire, is recruited by Graver in a plot to kidnap a drug lord's teen daughter Isabel Reyes (Isabela Moner) and trigger a chaotic war among cartels.

What follows involves several memorable action set pieces from director Stephano Sollima (Gomorrah) and cinematographer Dariusz Wolski (The Martian, Prometheus) in which the main characters are pummeled with constant threats from often unexpected sources. Some are set in real-life controversy sites such as McAllen, Texas. It builds to a climax that has one shock wave of violence after another.

The difference makers preventing this from being stock action sequel material are the acting and the generally intelligent scripting from returning screenwriter Taylor Sheridan. Del Toro, the omniscient in 2018 Brolin, and newcomer Moner wear the necessary fear and weariness well, and Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine, and Elijah Rodriguez as a young, wannabe sicario, fill out an able supporting troupe.  Enough intertwining plot threads and effective twists demand audience attention.

Although not in the modern day classic league of Sicario, the follow up has its own merits.  Adult filmgoers who seek a provocative and timely thriller have a solid movie option with Day of the Soldado.

My rating: ***1/2 out of ****.

Columbia Pictures presents Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Rated "R" for extreme violence and language. Starring Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Isabela Moner, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine, and Elijah Rodriguez. Written by Taylor Sheridan. Directed by Stephano Sollima. Playing in wide release as of June 29, 2018.

DEADPOOL 2: The Mad Artist View

Deadpool 2: A Review by Gordon Stamper, Jr.

Unless you've tuned out to pop culture the past three years, you're probably at least aware of the R-rated phenomena of Deadpool. He's a wise-cracking, murderous anti-hero whose antics should never be seen by young children, but many boys have seen anyway as a badge of honor. You know it's something different from the usual Marvel fare when Stan Lee's cameo appearance is a strip club announcer in film one.

In the latest installment, Deadpool aka Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) has hit rock bottom, feeling friendless and desolate after a tragedy the character foreshadows as one of Disney proportions. He finds a cause through the persecution of a orphaned boy (Julian Dennison), who is also a mutant with explosive super powers.

What Deadpool doesn't expect is Cable (Josh Brolin), a time-travelling hit man armed with dozens of future weapons that could crater city blocks and wants to kill the boy. Deadpool then enlists the help of a team with some great and not-so-great superpowers he proclaims as "X-Force." The ensuing conflict is both riotous in gore and humor, with many superhero tropes and pop cultural icons being satirized and skewered along the way, including other Marvel franchises, of course.

Like the first film, many scenes are elaborate excuses for some snappy throwaway lines and punch lines. But it also doesn't have the expository baggage of origin story to hold back the action or jokes. Most of the central troupe returns as well, including Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Leslie Uggams, and Karan Soni as Deadpool's taxi cab wheel man, who helped make the first movie a foul-mouthed and amusing adult action comedy.

Once again, the emphasis is on set piece gross-outs and taboo-stretching humor, and I won't be the spoiler reel that many ads already have been. If you love action comedy and the term "sensitive viewer" hasn't applied to you since your childhood, Deadpool 2 should be a great time at the movies, and please leave the kids at home!

My rating: ***1/2 out of ****.

20th Century Fox and Marvel Entertainment present Deadpool 2. Rated R for everything. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Josh Brolin, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, Eddie Marsan, and Stefan Kapicic. Written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Ryan Reynolds. Directed by David Leitch. Still in theatrical wide release as of June 19, 2018.

 

HEREDITARY: the Mad Artist view

Hereditary: A Review by Gordon Stamper, Jr.

Hereditary may not be the 92% horror classic that Rotten Tomatoes proclaims it to be. But in a summer of mostly franchise films, even from Pixar/Disney, it's a relief to see a solidly constructed and original movie made for adults.

The film starts with a death in the family and funeral for a grandmother who doesn't seem to be missed too much by the immediate family. Her daughter Annie (Toni Collette) notes in her service eulogy that she's surprised by the big turnout for her eccentric and surly mother, which hints at a possible double life mother has led. One attendee seems to take particular interest in daughter Charlie (Millie Shapiro), in which the young girl's response is a puzzled stare and a healthy bite off a comforting candy bar.

After the funeral dinner, the family comes back to their scenic and secluded home, complete with adjacent tree house fortress. Teenage son Peter (Alex Wolff) goes off to his room to space out and eventually get high, and dad Steve (Gabriel Byrne) seems more relieved than anything, having gone through a period of care-taking for the difficult grandmother before her time in hospice.

Annie takes comfort in her art, making dioramas of her life before her mother's death (the original CSI demonstrated this isn't the healthiest pastime). Charlie goes to sleep in the tree house, red space heater glare illuminating the nighttime yard. In fact, all go off in their own forms of being alone and isolated, ill-prepared for the existential and occultic challenges that lie ahead for them.

Three things set Hereditary apart from the average genre picture. First is the Oscar-caliber acting of Toni Collette as a frightened mother who tries various desperate measures to keep her family together, but whose mental instability may be driving them apart, and Alex Wolff as the son who responds with alternating hysteria and numbness to the central tragedy of the film.

Second is Pawel Pogozelski's cinematography. Not only does he frame the perfect angles for non-CGI suspense, but uses the Utah Rocky Mountain landscape as a setting of beautiful but foreboding character.

Finally, except for a few logic leaps in the final dream-like act, debut writer/director Ari Aster has effectively taken elements of family drama realism and supernatural thrillers of the 1960's and 70's. The result is a frightening film on multiple levels, showing us the ravages of evil attacking an already vulnerable family.

Hereditary does require attention and some acceptance of plot developments in its last half hour, but for fans of demonic and spiritual terror or just good work from a young filmmaker, they will be rewarded with some unforgettable images and acting performances.

My rating: ***1/2 out of ****.  

Hereditary starring Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Gabriel Byrne, Millie Shapiro, and Anne Dowd. Cinematography by Pawel Pogorzelski. Music by Colin Stetson. Written and directed by Ari Aster. Distributed by A-24. 127 minutes. Rated "R" for violence, language, nudity, and psychological horror. As of June 13, 2018, playing in wide release.