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~ The adventures of Richard and Julie Lary

Rajalary

Category Archives: Movies

Movie Mud Startling for Unexpected Reason

27 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by rajalary in Health and wellness, Movies, News and politics

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Briggsville Arkansas, De Witt Arkansas, Julie Lary, Movie Mud, poverty in America, Poverty USA, rajalary

A few days ago, Rich and I watched the movie Mud, featuring Matthew McConaughey and two young actors in a drama set in De Witt, Arkansas. Wanting to learn more about the town, and the actors, I want online.

Mud-Movie-Poster-Matthew-McConnaugheyOne actor, Jacob Lofland, grew up Briggsville, Arkansas, 180 miles northwest of DeWitt. Unincorporated, Briggsville, is located in Yell County, which had a population of 22,185 in 2010, and per capita income of $15,383, making nearly 12% of the family and 16% of the population below the poverty line.

Briggsville, and Yell Country, however, is flush compared to De Witt. The county seat for Arkansas County, De Witt had a population of 3,292 in 2010 with a per capita income of $3,408. That’s not a typo. The median income for a household was $2,545.

A quarter of De Witt residents live in poverty, including a third of kids, and nearly 22% of seniors (age 65 or older). Arkansas County is slightly better off than Yell with the per capital income being $16,401 and only 18% of the population, living below the poverty line.

This is America.

It’s not a fictional, award-winning movie or some imaginary place. It’s the despair, and generation-upon-generation of poverty that exists across America in towns and cities of all sizes.

According to the website Poverty USA, one in six Americans live in poverty. To put this statistic into perspective, the number of people living in poverty is around 46.2 million, equal to the combined population of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, and Nebraska.

The organization’s interactive poverty map, shows Arkansas has an overall poverty rate of 19.8%. Mississippi, on the other hand, has the highest rate with 24.2% people living below the poverty line.

Think about it. One in four residents of Mississippi probably run out of money by the end of the month, even if they’re working full-time. Earning $7 per hour equates to $14,560 per year or just $1,213 per month, which needs to be stretched to cover housing, utilities, transportation, healthcare, childcare, clothing, household supplies, and food. Earning a dollar more per hour, equates to a paltry extra $173 per month.

Now imagine living on $3,408 per year like people do in De Witt.

Poverty in America isn’t something you can switch off when the movie ends. It’s the stark reality of what 50 years of self-interest economic and social policies have wrought.

Weekend of Fabulous Foreign Flicks

10 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by rajalary in Entertainment, Movies

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Budur, Coco Before Chanel, Ju Dou, Julie Lary, rajalary, Rich Lary, scribbles, War during Wintertime

Normally, we go to our Mount Vernon house on Friday evenings, watch a couple of flicks, do gardening, housework or errands the next morning, and then return to Kirkland in the afternoon. This past weekend was no exception; although, I’d originally intended to spend Friday and Saturday in Yom Kippur services.

Because I felt like I’d been atoning for weeks and spent most of Friday in a funk… and with Rich anxious to get away after a hectic week of catching up, I was happy to toss Lila and Zephyra in the car, and escape to Mount Vernon.

Our first movie-of-the-evening was Ju Dou, a 1990 Chinese film which was the first Mainland Chinese film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. I should have known the film was going to be an emotional rollercoaster with magnificent cinematography, turning the mundane into art. It’s a splendid movie with just four characters, oppressed by customs and honor, and galvanized by anger and passion.

After taking a breather, we popped in Budrus, a documentary about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar. Against great odds, he unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destructions by Israel’s Separation Barrier. It makes no sense where the Israelis placed the barrier, which resulted in the loss of 300 acres and 3,000 olive trees, essential to the village’s livelihood. The Palestine/Israel conflict is very complex and there are no easy answers after generations (more accurately centuries) of animosity and violence.

With no rain on Saturday, we spent most of the day doing thankless chores from ripping out junipers and ivy to weeding, winterizing the riding lawn mower, turning off the drip irrigation, and pulling non-producing plants out of the vegetable garden (left bushes of green tomatoes, arugula, purple string beans, gasping squash, Brussels spouts, and happy herbs). The “main event” on the list of chores was scrapping silicon off from around the windows in the motor home, cleaning them with mineral spirits, and then re-caulking with fresh silicon.

Our motor home had a rough four years in Texas heat. The tires exploded (no exaggeration), the Formica peeled off the counters, the trim cracked, mice chewed on our linens (and we didn’t discover the holey linens until we woke the next morning), the windows sealant dried up and started to leak, etc. Nearly everything has been fixed and replaced, thanks in part to last Saturday’s efforts.

Tired after working outside for most of the day, we settled in for another night of flicks, starting with Winter in Wartime, a Dutch film, which begins with ominous overtone and then escalates to an agonizing crescendo that is soothed by a single shot, proving good eventually prevails over evil.

The film was wildly popular in the Netherlands. No doubt, for the reasons why I felt it were extraordinary — beautiful scenario, rich characters, historical significance, and edge-of-your-seat storyline.

Our final film of the weekend was much lighter, Coco before Chanel. Nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Costume Design, this French film tells the early life of fashion designer, Coco Chanel. It was enjoyable to watch, focusing on Coco’s affairs with Baron Etienne Balsan and his extravagant and superfluous lifestyle and friends, and later affair with English polo player Arthur “Boy” Capel.

A “Must-See” Movie

28 Sunday Feb 2010

Posted by rajalary in Movies

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Last night, Rich and I enjoyed watching to flicks from Netflix. The main attraction was “The Wrestler” with Mickey Roake. I can see why he was nominated for an Academy Award. His acting is superb, especially in the scenes where he’s trying to fit into society and not the artificiality of the ring.

My favorite few minutes was his working the deli counter at a super market. He realizes that he has the aptitude to become more than a gladiator, paid to entertain the masses with blood, theatrics, and physical pain. I had to turn away when he participated in a horrific match where props – barb wire, staples, broken glass, bug spray, and furniture – become the third, and most barbaric and unpredictable combatant.

The ending left me ambivalent. I recognized that the character was a gentle and caring soul, but too far gone to do anything other than accept the adulation of the audience, even if it meant his ultimate demise.

Following a quick break for coffee and See’s chocolates, Rich popped in another movie – Taking Chance – and commented that he didn’t think it would be very good. Then premise of the story is simple. Chance Phelps, a 20-year old Private First Class Marine, is killed in combat in Iraq. His body is flown to Dover Air Force base. Lieutenant Colonel (LTCol) Michael Strobl volunteers to escort the body back to the Chance’s family in Dubois, Wyoming. During the trip, LtCol Strobl writes a diary about the trip.

With the permission of the family, he turns his diary entries into an article, which in turn became the movie “Taking Chance.”

The movie is straightforward, taking no political side. It is a fact-based, brutal, heart-breaking, and the type of movie that can stick with you for the rest of your life. I cried through the entire movie. Even as I write this article, my eyes are watering.

EVERYONE, especially hawkish Republicans, should see “Taking Chance.” No other movie, in my opinion, comes to chiseling away extraneous happenings and forcing you to experience the agony of war, the despair and grief of losing a child, spouse, relative, friend, or acquaintance.

Hot Fuzz

29 Sunday Apr 2007

Posted by rajalary in Movies

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Every quarter, my group has an off-site. On Friday, we went to an Alamo Drafthouse, which are combination theater/restaurants, primarily located in strip malls. In other words, third rate McMenamins. Although, Alamo Drafthouses have larger selections of imported and domestic draft and bottled beers and wines than McMenamins; the latter focuses on serving their own and local microbrews and wines.

It was the first time I’d been to an Alamo Drafthouse and since I’m extremely partial to McMenamins, I didn’t go with an open mind. Nevertheless, it was an afternoon off from work and the chance to a see a movie – Hot Fuzz.

Released this year and featuring British comedian Simon Pegg, Hot Fuzz was so good that I rushed home and convinced Rich to see the 10:15 showing that evening!

The first two-third of the movie is humorous with the actors taking their parts very seriously. The big-city police officer goes by the “book,” interpreting the law and seeking out suspects in a picture-perfect English village with a cast of colorful and congenial shopkeepers and professionals. But everything isn’t storybook perfect and when the truth is revealed, the flick turns into a shoot ’em up, super-cop spoof.

It was hysterically funny, fast paced with twist-and-turns and subtle British humor that turns ordinary words like “hag,” “grasshopper,” and “swan” into memorable punch lines. Curious? Check out where it’s playing in your area!

Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

20 Tuesday Mar 2007

Posted by rajalary in Movies

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My favorite movies are ones that take me on a journey not just show a quick snapshot of ones life. “Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School” is an enjoyable journey that gently curves through the anguish of loss, elation of hope and reality of fate.

A unique aspect of the movie, made in 2005, is the intertwining of a short film that was shot in 1990. One of the actors from the film also appears in the movie, but in a very different role. Sensational performances by John Goodman, Mary Steenburgen, Marisa Tomei, Donny Wahlberg, Adam Arkin, and cameo roles by Danny DeVito, Camryn Manheim, and Kate Mulligan add to the enjoyment.

Another rewarding movie that we recently saw was “Ladies in Lavender.” It features the grand dames of British acting, Judy Dench and Maggie Smith and is set in an adorable Cornish village in the 1930’s. Watching the movie, it was hard not to long for a simpler life of afternoon tea, tending flower gardens, wandering along the seashore, knitting or reading in the evenings while listening to the “wireless.”

The Departed

06 Tuesday Mar 2007

Posted by rajalary in Movies

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Saturday night, we saw The Departed, which I believe is one of the greatest movies ever made for one simple reason − it made me forget that I was in pain. For the first 15 minutes or so, I squirmed in bed, trying to find a comfortable spot. After a half an hour, I forgot that I was in bed. For the rest of the movie, I neglected to breath.

One critic on Rotten Tomatoes wrote that The Departed “reaches the heights of a Shakespearean tragedy.” What occurs in the movie is not only tragic, but unexpected. There’s an unwritten rule that heroes aren’t suppose to die and if they do, viewers are suppose to be given time to prepare for their demise.

Not in The Departed. Academy Award winning director Martin Scorsese pulls you into the story, grabs you by the shirt, slaps your around, then dumps you by the side of the road. There’s no escape. By the time it was over, Rich and I were examining ourselves for bruises.

Leonardo DiCaprio is brilliant as is Mark Wahlberg, whose acting has never impressed me. Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson are evil, evil, evil.

The Constant Gardener

04 Sunday Feb 2007

Posted by rajalary in Movies

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Last night, we saw The Constant Gardener. I didn’t want to see it, but since it arrived from Netflix and it was Saturday night – our big movie-watching night – I obliged. Rich is in charge of ordering movies from Netflix. He goes through various phases. For a couple of weeks, he ordered instructional videos on sailing and nautical flicks. He’s now swinging back to Indies and edgy drama.

I knew The Constant Gardener was an exceptional film that dealt with disturbing materials… something about Africa and corruption. I was hoping, however, to see something cheerful after suffering through an episode of Horatio Hornblower along with Master and Commander the night before. With a bad attitude, I curled up on the sofa to see The Constant Gardener.

It was unexpectedly absorbing, deeply disturbing and magnificently acted and directed. In a sentence, it’s about an English diplomat (who’s constantly gardening) and his activist wife who discovers that a prominent drug company is testing a new, often fatal drug on unsuspecting natives in Kenya. Throughout the movie, you wonder whether it’s really fictional. Conceivably, in countries where regulatory bodies like the FDA don’t exist, drug companies could be doing experimental testing, causing detrimental side-effects or high death rates.

It happened in the United States for 40 years. Between 1932 and 1972 (just 35 years ago!), the U.S. Public Health Service conducted an experiment in Tuskegee, Alabama, on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis. Instead of treating them, they allowed them to degenerate and eventually die. Their bodies were then autopsied to determine how syphilis affected blacks as opposed to whites. According to a news report by news anchor Harry Reasoner, the experiment “used human beings as laboratory animals in a long and inefficient study of how long it takes syphilis to kill someone.”

Even more heinous was that 40 of their wives were infected with syphilis and 19 of their children had been born with congenital syphilis. Even when penicillin became widely available to treat syphilis, the men were discouraged from seeking treatment. During World War II, 250 of the men registered for the draft and were consequently ordered to get treatment for syphilis. The Public Health Service, however, exempted them from treatment, allowing their disease to further progress.

Watching The Constant Gardener, I can’t stop myself from thinking that corporate profits and corrupt governmental policies are always going to supersede people’s rights.

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