Author: chimesfreedom

Editor-in-chief, New York.

Low Budget Sci-Fi & Much More in “Robot & Frank” (Short Review)

robot & frank There seems to be a small trend of some independent films using science fiction elements, usually with little special effects, to explore universal themes. Films like Another Earth (2011), Melancholia (2011), and The Man from Earth (2007), dwell in a setting that looks normal but with a small twist. Each shows that science fiction may be used to explore the human condition without a big blockbuster budget. The latest to join this trend is Robot & Frank (2012), directed by Jake Schreier and starring Frank Langella.

Robot & Frank is set in the “near future,” so that easily explains why everything looks like today, except for fancier cell phones and some occasional robots, including the “Robot” in the title who is voiced by Peter Sarsgaard. Langella plays Frank, a former burglar who is gradually losing his memory. His son worries about him, so one day he brings him a robot to look after him. Frank is resistant to the robot but he gradually warms to the new house guest, who not only cooks and cleans but who also may be useful in some local thievery.

The film is largely a character study with some meditations on aging, changing technology, and memory. Langella is excellent as always, as is Susan Sarandon. The movie may not bowl you over, and it did not go as deep into the themes as I might have liked. But it has a little suspense and subdued humor throughout. If you are looking for a sci-fi action film, you may want to look elsewhere. But if you are just trying to find a decent entertaining movie before the big Fall movies arrive, check out Robot & Frank.

Other Reviews Because Why Should You Believe Me? Rotten Tomatoes has a respectable 89% critics rating and 87% audience rating for Robot & Frank. Jeff Meyers at MetroTimes enjoyed the film while noting, “The final act, in particular, feels rushed and formulaic, and a subplot with Frank’s daughter (Liv Tyler) goes nowhere — but it does benefit immensely from his underlying character study, which is rich, tender and artful.” Witney Seibold at CraveOnline writes “Robot & Frank is, all at once, an astute look at the near future, a chuckle-worthy heist movie, a pure exercise in science fiction, and a sweet little drama.

What did you think of Robot & Frank? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Glen Hansard’s Tiny Desk Concert

    Earlier this summer, NPR featured Glen Hansard in its Tiny Desk Concert series, where you get Hansard alone with his guitar up close. Hansard, who recently released his first solo CD after recording with The Frames and with Markéta Irglová, has a great voice that comes through in this acoustic set. Of course, you may know him from his role in the charming film Once (2006) with Irglová.

    So check out this set of Hansard and his guitar, where he plays the songs: “Love Don’t Leave Me Waiting,” “Bird Of Sorrow,” “Come Away To The Water,” “Lucia,” and “The Song Of Good Hope.”

    Hansard’s new CD — Rhythm and Repose (2012) — features four of the songs he plays above.

    What do you think of Hansard’s tiny desk concert? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    • What a French Film Would Look Like If It Starred a Cat

    henri le chat noir

    For our funny video of the week, check out this send up of foreign films about an existential crisis. If you like foreign films, ennui, or cats — or even if you hate those things — you will enjoy Will Braden’s short film, Henri 2 Paw de Deux:

    If you like that one, there is the original Henri film, as well as Henri 3, Le Vet. Henri, Le Chat Noir has his own Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as his own store. Next thing you know, he will be coming out with a book. Oh, he already has his own book.

    What is your favorite line in the film? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    The Body of Gram Parsons and The Streets of Baltimore

    gram parsons
    On September 19, 1973, singer-songwriter Gram Parsons died from too much morphine and tequila in Room 8 of a motel room in California. It was not the end for Parsons, or at least his body, which then went on an odd journey.

    Parsons’ Body

    Before Parsons’s death, Parsons and his road manager Phil Kaufman made a pact.  They agreed that for whichever one of them died first, the other would take the friend’s body to Joshua Tree National Park, where they would cremate the body.

    So, after Parsons’s death, Kaufman and Michael Martin, a roadie, then stole the body and coffin.  They took the coffin while it had been en route to a burial in Louisiana.

    Kaufman and Martin then drove the body to Joshua Tree National Park.  There, they poured gasoline on the coffin and set it on fire with a match.

    But Gasoline is not enough to cremate a body, so some of Parsons’s body survived the burning.  After Kaufman and Martin were arrested, the charred remains of Parsons were buried in New Orleans.

    Because at the time stealing a body was not a crime in California, Kaufman and Martin were fined for stealing property: the coffin. Today, though, one may still pay respect to Parsons at Joshua Tree.

    Grand Theft Parsons

    The story of the body theft was told in the movie Grand Theft Parsons (2003), starring Johnny Knoxville. It has been awhile since I saw the film, but I remember being a bit disappointed by it.

    The story’s focus on the few days seemed stretched out for a movie. And maybe I was disappointed that the movie did not tell us more about the most interesting person related to the story: Gram Parsons.

    Rotten Tomatoes has a 44% critics rating and 53% audience rating for Grand Theft Parsons. But I suspect other fans, like me, will still want to see the film.

    “Streets of Baltimore”

    I do not know whether or not Parsons would be unhappy that his remains are in New Orleans. But one of his classic songs, “Streets of Baltimore,” is about a another journey and going some place you do not want to be.

    In “Streets of Baltimore,” the singer recounts leaving Tennessee on the train for Baltimore because his love wants to live in the city.  He gets a factory job and walks the streets with her.  But he soon realizes she loves the city lights more than she loves him.

    So in the end, the singer takes the train back to Tennessee alone: “Now I’m a going back on that same train that brought me here before / While my baby walks the streets of Baltimore.”

    There is little video footage of Parsons, but check out this rare grainy recording of him singing with Emmylou Harris.

    It is sad that there is so little video footage of Gram Parsons. Not only did he predate the music video era, but much of his fame came after his short life ended. So, he was never a regular on television.

    Even in this grainy black and white video of “Streets of Baltimore,” you can still tell he is a superstar, though.  And wherever his ashes and remains are, his music resides in our souls.

    What is your favorite Gram Parsons song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    • George Harrison Talks (and Sings) Like a Pirate

    George Harrison Eric Idle Arrr, matey, September 19 is “International Talk Like a Pirate Day.” Now I am not one to jump on a trend, but the holiday gives one a good excuse to watch George Harrison talk like a pirate. And to get a free doughnut at Krispy Kreme stores, which are giving a free doughnut to anyone talking like a pirate on September 19, 2012.

    I wish George Harrison were still around to get himself one of those doughnuts.  As the former Beatle shows in this 1975 Rutland Weekend Television sketch with Eric Idle, the man knows how to talk pirate.

    My favorite part is how Harrison works the famous Monty Python “The Pirate Song” into “My Sweet Lord,” starting at around the 30-second mark. Check it out.

    May all you landlubbers and sea dogs have a safe and happy Talk Like a Pirate day.

    What are you doing for Talk Like a Pirate Day? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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