Welcome to Monday’s News on the March – The week that was in my digital world.
Some Thoughts on A Complete Unknown
Movie Review by Scott Bunn at Recliner Notes
I eventually saw A Complete Unknown just after it premiered here in Colombia on the 20th of February. I don’t remember anticipating a movie as much for over as long a period as I have with this one, which I believe in some regard was to my detriment. I had also seen every vignette from the movie beforehand so often when a scene came up in the movie I already had seen it ten’s of times.
The attention to detail, the music production (which brilliantly replicated the era’s sound), and the acting were exemplary. That said, I felt the film ran about 15 minutes too long, as certain moments dragged. Alternatively, they could have further developed the relationship between Bob and Sylvia (Suze Rotolo) to deepen that narrative. One of the most impactful scenes for me was when Sylvia leaves Bob for the ferry during the festival – it’s the moment his heart finally cries out in pain. He’s no longer that guy spinning plates on sticks. Don’t tell me that Dylan’s management who had their hands all over this baby didn’t let that scene encapsulate in particular Dylan’s loss of Sylvia (ie Suze Rotolo) accurately, even as he feels now.
As impressive as Chalamet’s singing was, I still missed the distinct timbre, intonations, and inflections of Dylan’s real voice. I had a similar feeling watching the biopic of Elton John’s Rocketman – no matter how well-executed, it’s hard not to long for the original. Although his singing to Woodie at the beginning in the hospital and holding that pause was all-so Dylan. I couldn’t be more in awe of what Chalamet achieved; he captured Dylan’s mannerisms remarkably well. The vocal performance that truly floored me, though, was Monica Barbaro’s portrayal of Joan Baez.
I’ll definitely watch A Complete Unknown again – this time without the distractions of my children. Not that they ran amok or anything, but relying on subtitles for a 140-minute film can be a daunting task for young kids.
I have read ten’s of movie reviews of A Complete Unknown, but the one which I felt more in tune with and reflected my own opinions were Scott Bunn’s at Recliner Notes. I recently wrote about Scott’s marvellous blog in the Dylan article of Tell Me Momma. Here are some extracts of what he wrote about A Complete Unknown:
In short, it’s pretty good! It certainly lives up to the promise of providing a compelling, and even sometimes thrilling depiction and introduction of the myth of the young Bob Dylan, the wonder boy who wrote “A Hard Rain’s A‐Gonna Fall” at the age of 21…..
(Chalamet) was able to credibly portray a public figure that is so widely well known that Bob Dylan impressions are now considered hacky. Every now and then, his voice falls into the easy-to-mimic Dylan voice, but, for the most part, Chalamet convincingly made the main character in A Complete Unknown seem like a guy rather than a cartoon character.
All of the scenes between Dylan and Woody Guthrie (played compellingly by Scoot McNairy) were beautifully staged and presented. The opening meeting when Bobby plays “Song to Woody Guthrie” to Pete Seeger and Woody in the hospital was lovely to the point that brought me to tears as did their final meet-up at the conclusion of the movie.
The performance of Seeger by Edward Norton was extraordinary. He perfectly captured the essence of the man — another legend in his own right — from the way he sang, held his banjo, comported his face, and physically moved through film...
The 1965 Newport Folk Festival sequence mostly worked as a whole from the intensity of the moment down to the woman boogying in her seat in the front row….
So much has been documented about Dylan’s life that this movie serves as a reminder that it’s impossible to know everything that this guy went through day-to-day, hour-to-hour in those four years. A Complete Unknown imagines a few quiet moments that only a fictionalized version of a Bob Dylan life can do: a motorcycle ride through a city or a visit to Woody Guthrie that no one but the two of them ever knew about.
There weren’t any drugs in A Complete Unknown and only a little drinking, which was a curious decision considering Chalamet’s Bob is smoking in nearly every scene. The tobacco use is certainly period accurate, but a 1965 Dylan needs to have that up-all-night, wired intensity that is almost certainly narcotically enhanced.
I felt that conflating the 1965 Newport performance of “Like A Rolling Stone” with the ”Judas” moment in Manchester a year later is unconscionable. Dylan going electric is significant and dramatic enough. Melding the two inciting incidents together was unnecessary and even laughable. It was music biopic-ness at its worst. They might as well have shown someone throwing a cross on stage too.
Read the entire article at Recliner Notes.
The Most Epic Documentary About Quentin Tarantino Ever Made (No Clickbait… It’s a Fact)
Documentary at Kolo Kino
The last time I wrote about Quentin here was in September last year concerning the magnificent soundtrack from his Kill Bill movies, in particular – Battle Without Honor or Humanity (2000) by Tomoyasu Hotei.
I saw the ‘Most Epic’ Tarantino documentary last night when I found my self with nothing to do. I was wary of the cavalier ‘title’, but after I watched a while I felt it was the quintessential documentary about Quentin Tarantino’s movie making career. My only negativism was the large quantity of advertisements interspersed breaking up my enjoyment of it.
Video description:
If you’re tired of lazy, watered-down recaps that barely scratch the surface of greatness, this is the only Quentin Tarantino documentary you need to watch. We’re talking about a full-scale, no-holds-barred breakdown of his legendary career – from Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill to Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. But that’s not all.
This isn’t just about the movies – it’s about the man behind the camera. His wild inspirations, his relentless battles to change Hollywood, and the victories that made him a cinematic icon. (watch the documentary here).
21 Years Of Running Have Led To THIS
Video blog at Phily Bowden
One of my guilty pleasures is devouring high-end adventure videos mostly about running. I enjoy running on occasion (especially at the gym), but it’s mostly a hobby. Recently as last November on News on the March, I presented a fantastic video about the unique sporting event – Backyard Ultra Marathon which I couldn’t recommend more highly even if one has a skerrick of interest in the topic.
One recent blog series that came into my feed (and I subscribed to) is by professional marathon runner – Phily Boden. She is charismatic, transparent and inspiring – a ‘cool’ chick basically and possesses the ‘smarts’ too. Currently her series is focused on her specific preparation for the upcoming London Marathon which will be transmitted here on ESPN. Phily is currently ranked 3rd in the UK and I am looking forward to tracking her development leading up to (as the title suggests) the biggest sporting occasion of her life.
‘I keep it 100% real on here, what you see is what you get, and I’m here to take you on the ride wherever it takes me: highs, lows and parts not mentionable at the dinner table all included‘.
London Marathon preparations are hotting up so I thought I would bring you along for the ride from the moment I wake up till the moment I fall asleep. At the moment we are training up in Flagstaff Arizona for the wins that training at altitude gives you come April 27th at the London Marathon. (Watch the video here)
That is all. Thank you for reading.
