The Post (Movie 2017)

The Post takes you into 1971 just when the Pentagon Papers are about to be printed by the press. For several years there had been many nation wide protests against our involvement in the Vietnam War. The Pentagon Papers had been a study created in 1967 by Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense. It was to notate the history of the war but was not meant for the public. With good reason, it showed for several Presidential administrations the American people were being lied to as to the real intentions of our military being there and the fact that the war was not winnable. The New York Times first gets access to these explosive documents but are held up when President Nixon has a court injunction slapped on them. The Washington Post which had been playing runner up to The Times had to make the decision to print when the Pentagon Papers then falls in their laps. Highly unusual for the times was the fact The Post was owned and run by a woman. Katharine Graham (Meryl Streep) was heir to the newspaper and it is fascinating to watch her in this business of communication struggle to find her voice and take charge. She is surrounded by men who have their own agendas. Some are afraid for the future of the newspaper if they print the documents. Others, such as her editor-in chief, Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) believe it's about freedom of the press. Katharine believed in the American people's right to know and freedom of the press. Of course, when they did print the White House went after them and it went to the Supreme Court. I say thank goodness the First Amendment was upheld. As the movie reminds us what Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black said "The press was to serve the governed, not the governors." The film also stars Bradley Whitford and was directed by Steven Spielberg.

Labyrinth (Movie 1986)

Over the weekend I decided to revisit what has become a cult classic, the movie Labyrinth. It was released in 1986 and had 2 creative geniuses involved in its making- Jim Henson and David Bowie. At this point Jim Henson had already begun to tap into the darker side of his creativity with The Dark Crystal which came out in 1982. He was bringing forth stories that were ominous compared to the lighthearted Muppets but still were accessible to young people. The movie Labyrinth presents us with the story of a hero’s journey like from mythological tales of old. Our hero is a teenage girl, Sarah, played by a very young Jennifer Connelly. Sarah likes to pretend and live in her own little fantasy world and is not happy when the responsibility of looking after her baby brother intrudes. She creates her own trouble when she wishes out loud that the Goblin King from the book she recreates scenes from would take him away forever. He is real and he is listening. And like that the baby is gone from his crib and before Sarah is Jareth, The Goblin King in the form of David Bowie. He lets her know now she can go play and do what she wants. But now all she wants is her baby brother. The only way she can get him back is to go through the expanse of the Labyrinth to The Goblin King’s castle. However, she only has 13 hours to do it before little Toby becomes a goblin. Her quest as we see will not just lead her to her brother but finally into adulthood and the lessons that come with it. In one scene she yells at Jareth “That’s not fair!” He replies back “You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is.” Another scene has a creature burdened down with material things and she begins to pile Sarah’s possessions onto Sarah until she realizes what is happening. She throws them off and continues on to find what really matters which is her brother, Toby. When Hoggle, a goblin she has befriended along the way, hinders her progress because of his fear of Jareth, she learns sometimes we have to forgive. David Bowie as The Goblin King can be menacing and seductive. When I saw this movie all those years ago I have to admit was the first time I found David Bowie powerfully sexy. I melt every time I see the ballroom scene. Forget the baby brother, he could kidnap me. Jim Henson gave Bowie a lot of freedom with writing his own dialogue for the picture. And of course he wrote and performed the fantastic songs for the soundtrack. It is sad that both Henson and Bowie are gone but we have this wonderful masterpiece to still watch where both of their incredible talents came together.

Gladys Knight, Chevalier Theatre Medford, MA 05/13/2018

The Grammy Award winning Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight came to Medford tonight and did not disappoint. Without hesitation I would go to see her again. She came out in a light grey top and leggings with a silver sequined jacket and boots. My heart soared with hearing You're The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me. It seems I'm not the only one who loves If I Were Your Woman because the place went as bananas as I did when she sang it. And it sounded as good as the original recording. We all were on board the Midnight Train To Georgia. She performed I Heard It Through The Grapevine and the place was jammin' to I've Got To Use My Imagination. She did great covers like Sam Smith's Stay With Me, Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were and Bonnie Raitt's I Can't Make You Love Me. She had a 6 piece band and 3 back up singers. She was nice to let each of her back up singers have a moment in the spotlight to sing. Gladys filled the theater with a real positive and spiritual energy. I think when she sang the cover I Hope You Dance it spoke to who she is. Gladys was born on May 28th which is my Mom's birthday, so it was strange to be at her concert on Mother's Day. I was trying to really not think of the day to be truthful but Gladys did a sweet tribute by singing M-O-T-H-E-R. She said she missed her Mom. Me too Gladys. She finished out the night with the 1987 Top 20 hit Love Overboard.