Consummate actor Robert Duvall passes away

Per The Guardian, “Robert Duvall, the veteran actor who had a string of roles in classic American films including Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, M*A*S*H and To Kill a Mockingbird, has died aged 95.

‘Bob passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by love and comfort,’ wrote his wife, Luciana Duvall, in a message on Facebook.

‘To the world, he was an Academy Award-winning actor, a director, a storyteller. To me, he was simply everything. His passion for his craft was matched only by his deep love for characters, a great meal, and holding court. For each of his many roles, Bob gave everything to his characters and to the truth of the human spirit they represented. In doing so, he leaves something lasting and unforgettable to us all.’

Duvall was perhaps best known for his role as the cavalry-hatted Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, released in 1979, which yielded two of the most frequently quoted lines of dialogue in cinema history – ‘Charlie don’t surf!’ and ‘I love the smell of napalm in the morning’. But he also made an immense impact as the consigliere Tom Hagen in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, the reclusive Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird at the start of his career, and many supporting and character roles throughout the ensuing decades. He was nominated seven times for an Oscar, winning once, for best actor in 1984 for Tender Mercies as a country-music singer trying to overcome alcoholism.”

I remember all of these movies and more. “A Civil Action” with John Travolta was an excellent movie on a company who knowingly poisoned the water supply, but bankrupted the attorney pursuing them. “Secondhand Lions” with Michael Caine was about tall-telling retirees who make you smile with their pearls of wisdom. I had forgotten he was in the movie “Mash” playing Frank Burns opposite Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould. And, I had forgotten he was the bad guy Ned Pepper in “True Grit,” opposite John Wayne, Kim Darby and Glen Campbell.

But, as Boo Radley in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” he saved the lives of Scout and Jem from the man who wanted to punish their father for trying to save a Black man from conviction for a crime the assailant committed. Duvall played the learning disabled Boo to perfection.

Let me close with a favorite scene as the family attorney in “The Godfather,” as he quickly eats his dinner before the film director (who is black balling Vito Corleone’s God son) erupts in anger at his request. My thinking is he knows he won’t get to eat before his flight back as well as anticipating the director’s eruption. Fans of the movie know what happens after he leaves.

Song Sung Blue – a movie worth a watch

My wife and I saw the new movie “Song Sung Blue” starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. The movie focuses on a true story about a couple that has a Neil Diamond tribute band in Wisconsin. We both love Neil Diamond, but the movie is more about their story, with the music serving as the key background context. Both actors sang their parts quite well. It made us realize how even better Diamond’s songs are when sung as in harmonized duet and with a woman’s voice.

Here is a quick overview of the movie from an AI search summary: “Song Sung Blue is based on the true story of a real-life Milwaukee couple, Mike and Claire Sardina, who performed as the Neil Diamond tribute band “Lightning & Thunder,” chronicling their love, struggles, and musical journey, including a tragic accident and Mike’s eventual passing, with some dramatic license taken for the film. The film draws inspiration from a 2008 documentary about the couple and incorporates real events, like their opening for Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedder.”

Ella Anderson plays Claire’s daughter Rachel, Hudson Hensley plays her son Dayna and King Princess plays his daughter Angelina, who all have important roles in the film. Key parts are played by Jim Belushi, Fisher Stevens, Michael Imperioli and Mustafa Shakir. The building relationship between Mike and his children (and them among themselves) is a key part that of the movie, especially with some of the hurdles they faced.

Hudson, though, steals the show. She does such a magnificent job as Claire that it would not surprise me for her to get some award nominations. The onscreen chemistry between the two leads is very believable and makes the movie rise above a few cheesy parts. Anderson does a terrific job as Rachel who has to grow up fast. The Rotten Tomatoes rating is 75, which seems about right. Do bring some tissue as you will need it. The music is beautiful especially when they sing “Play me” while rehearsing alone. “Holly Holy” is lovely as is Hudson singing a few Patsy Cline songs.

Give it a watch. By the way, the whole movie theater was packed on the day after Christmas with all the new movies out. Our particular theater only had a couple of open seats. It was nice to see that for a change.

A man called Otto – a movie worth seeing

Having read Frederik Backman’s novel “A man called Ove” and seen the excellent Swedish movie, my wife and I were intrigued by the American version using the name Otto. In their favor is Tom Hanks starring in the title role.

The movie Americanizes the story, but it remains true to the story of a curmudgeon whose layers need to be chipped away. So, it is definitely worth the watch although it is not as good as the Swedish version. Rather than having a persistent and friendly Iranian family who moved in across the street, the neighbors are Mexican American.

As I noted in my review of Ove, you won’t like him at first. But, let his neighbor Marisol continue to chip away with her friendliness, favor requests and food thank yous, and you will begin to appreciate him. At a minimum, you will understand him better.

Marisol is well-played by Mariana Trevino. She brings a relentless charm to the role. Otto’s deceased wife Sonya is beautifully played by Rachel Keller and the younger Otto is played by Hanks’ son Truman. Truman is believable as the younger, reserved but not yet curmudgeon like Otto. Rachel plays Sonya as a very charming, lovely and vibrant counterpart to the young Otto. It clearly shows why the older Otto is missing the key component of his life.

Tom’s wife Rita Wilson is also an executive producer and co-wrote a a lovely song played during and at the end of the movie called “Til you’re home.” She co-wrote the song with David Hodges and performed it as a duet with Mexican artist Senastian Yatra. 

I highly recommend either version of the movie. Otto gets good ratings (75% Rotten Tomatoes vs. 91% for the Swedish), but it did receive some criticism from a few viewers who found it trite. My criticism of Otto is the movie left off or changed a few important storylines in the book. One being Ove is a strong man as well as smart, so Hanks did not match my physical image of Ove as the Swedish movie did.

The book is also quite excellent and digs further into Ove’s story. I recommend it as well. Let me know what you think if you have seen the movies or read the book.

“Springsteen: Deliver me from Nowhere” movie

Yesterday, my wife and I saw the new movie about Bruce Springsteen. It was very good, but not what we expected. It focuses on his battling depression while he writes and self-records demos of several songs which would make up his Nebraska and Born in the USA albums.

Per an AI search summary, “Jeremy Allen White plays Bruce Springsteen, with a supporting cast including Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, Stephen Graham, and Odessa Young.” The movie is based on the book of the same name by Warren Zanes.

White does a terrific job of capturing Springsteen’s angst. Yet, what we enjoyed the most are the conversations between White and Strong who plays Springsteen’s agent, producer and friend. What also added value is Strong’s conversations with his wife played by Grace Gummer about his friend’s challenges.

Other key moments are about Bruce’s girlfriend Faye played by Odessa Young. She is a composite character representing various girlfriends that Springsteen felt guilty about not loving in the way he needed to love her. She and her daughter charm Bruce, but she eventually agrees that he needs to go away if he cannot risk loving her. My wife was metaphorically high-fiving the character.

The other key scenes involve look back and current scenes with his father played by Graham who was a depressed, drunken bully to Bruce and his mother. He loved his father, but was scared of him.

The music focuses on Springsteen searching for thematic meaningful songs like the title song “Nebraska.” He actually uses his self-recording from his bedroom on the master. Interestingly, he delayed his hugely successful album “Born in the USA” to release the more sober album “Nebraska.” The band plays a much lesser role in the movie, which is interesting as he and his band are iconic. Yet, there are glimpses of good music scenes.

It is worth seeing. But, I hope I managed your expectations .

A trusted mother on any planet has passed away

“Danger Will Robinson!” If you know this line, you will be saddened to learn June Lockhart has passed away. She played Will Robinson’s mother in the 1960s TV show “Lost in Space.” She also played Timmy’s adoptive mother for six years in the 1950s and 1960s show “Lassie.”

Per an article in The Guardian, “June Lockhart, the popular actor known for her work in film and television, has passed away at the age of 100.

She died on Thursday night of natural causes, with daughter June Elizabeth and granddaughter Christianna by her side, according to People.

Family spokesperson Lyle Gregory, a friend of 40 years, told the Associated Press: ‘She was very happy up until the very end, reading the New York Times and LA Times every day. It was very important to her to stay focused on the news of the day.’

…She achieved particular fame for her leading role on Lassie beginning in 1958. Then, from 1965 to 1968, she portrayed the matriarch of a family of space explorers in Lost in Space. Decades later, in 2021, she made a voice cameo in Netflix’s reboot of the same series.

Speaking with NPR in 2004, Lockhart reflected on how the Lost in Space series had inspired viewers: ‘People would tell her that watching Lost in Space inspired them to become scientists. I did Lassie for six years, and I never had anybody come up to me and say: ‘It made me want to be a farmer.’’”

She had a career on stage before and in movies and TV before and after these shows. She won a Tony as Best Newcomer for her role in “For Love or Money.” And, she was nominated for two Emmy’s for the above two roles.

To me, she brought a lovely, caring and determined mien to these two motherly roles. I was reminded she had a recurring role on the TV dram-edy “Petticoat Junction.” Plus, she played countless guest starring roles. Her movie career included films “Meet me in St. Louis” and “A Christmas Carol” as well as several others.

Let’s remember her well.