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 ****.