Long time readers know that I have no love for Michigan State University and their football fans, but I am not blasting the school this time, although the administration has to be questioned. While I was away, I heard the allegations against Head Football Coach Mel Tucker and knew I’d be posting about it here before long.
Tucker was suspended on Sept. 10 after rape survivor and activist Brenda Tracy claimed that Tucker made unsolicited sexual comments in a recent phone conversation. Tracy, 47, is a rape survivor who has made informing athletes about sexual misconduct her life’s work. She was hired by the university to council athletes on things like consent.
Ms. Tracy recently claimed Tucker made unsolicited sexual comments and masturbated during an April 2022 phone call, which led to a formal Title IX complaint and investigation. Ms. Tracy claimed that Tucker made sexual comments towards her and masturbated while on the phone with her, reopening her wounds as a sexual assault survivor. Tucker, estranged from his wife with whom he shares two children, acknowledged the phone call and said he did masturbate, but claimed it was consensual phone sex. Around this time, Tucker said he became romantically interested and said they talked openly about it. Tucker said they made flirtatious comments about each other’s looks and bodies. Meanwhile, Tracy said Tucker’s romantic interest was one-sided.
As of this writing, MSU has informed Tucker that it is working on his termination. MSU Athletic Director Alan Haller noted in the statement that Tucker now has seven days to plead his case and try to keep his job. “This action does not conclude the ongoing Office for Civil Rights case; that rigorous process will continue,” Haller said.
I have long questioned MSU’s signing of Tucker. After Tucker did a very poor job as defensive coordinator with the Bears, and having one year of head coaching experience, a 5-7 result at Colorado, Tucker was a bit of a surprise hire at MSU in 2020. That Spartan team went 2-5 in the strange, COVID shortened 2020 season. Tucker led the team to a remarkable comeback in 2021, posting an 11-2 record, a Peach Bowl win, and finished ranked 9th in the country.
Here is where MSU erred in my opinion. They signed Tucker to a 10-year, $95 million deal in 2021, but the team was only 5-7 last year, and are 2-1 so far this season after getting trounced by Washington last Saturday. Harlon Barnett has taken over as Head Coach for the Spartans. They had a wonderful season in 2021, but I would have wanted to commit to Tucker for a short time to see if the performance would be replicated. Coaches who think they are invulnerable make mistakes, abuse their offices. Hubris is the ultimate failure, just as Pat Fitzgerald learned.

For the 21st time, I went up to Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival. This was a very different festival: strikes by the writers and actors have caused major studios to postpone many releases, and with very few actors given the permission to attend (unless they have directed a film), the star power is low. The streets near the theaters, often blocked by people trying to get a glimpse of stars, are crowded but not impassible. The theaters are mostly full, but there aren’t many “big” American films playing. There were two events that I would have loved to attend but the tickets disappeared long before I could buy them: the 40th Anniversary of Talking Heads’ classic concert film “Stop Making Sense” with the four members of the band, who had not been together in over 20 years on stage with Spike Lee. The other is the new film by Hayao Miyazaki “The Boy and the Heron.” I’m sure that that Stop Making Sense will find its way to video, and Miyazaki’s film will be released to American theaters in November.

Silver Dollar Road

TIFF tends to highlight certain social trends in movies, especially documentaries. This year, my films seem to be split into two distinct groups: dramas and documentaries, and really strange action films. The first film I chose caught my attention because it was directed by Raoul Peck who directed “I Am Not Your Negro,” the Oscar winning documentary about James Baldwin which I saw at TIFF in 2016. This film is a little bit of a departure for Peck – the relatively straight-forward story of a Black Family, the Reels family who reside on waterfront land in North Carolina. When the patriarch passed away in the 1970s, another relative declared “adverse passion” meaning ownership and sold the land to a developer Adams Creek Associates.
One would think that this is a tedious film about a legal fight, except it mushroomed. Two of the uncles were issued a judge’s order to sign over the land and move. They refused and were arrested for trespassing. Arrested for trespassing, and the men stayed in jail for 8 years. I know of many friends who have had a similar situation with family members, real and fake and having to fight through the legal system to claim their birthright. Mr. Peck and two of the family members were in attendance. Unfortunately, the conflict continues; I hope the family wins and of course, there will need to be a sequel to let us know when the story is complete.
My only complaint with the film is that the start looks like so many other films about African-American heritage with the dusty brown patina and old blues music. It has become cliché to me and turned me off. Not to say that bringing hip hop within this time frame would have been better, but it did not distance itself from so many other movies. The story was too important to be belittled by the start of the film.
(Note: available to stream in October on Amazon Prime.)

One thing I forgot to post. On Friday night, I came out of the TIFF Bell Lightbox and there were a lot of people on John Street and loud music. I had forgotten that one of the TIFF movies was “Hate to Love: Nickelback.” For whatever reason, Nickelback is widely regarded as the worst rock band around. Personally, I have heard much worse, and they did sound good as I passed by. The band is Canadian, so this was like an upraised middle finger to their haters. I will have to see it soon.

Stamped From The Beginning

My second African-American documentary was just as good and with a much greater scope. Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, best known for the book “How To Be An Anti-Racist,” brought Roger Ross Williams (“The 1619 Project” and “Love To Love You, Donna Summer”) helms this study of the ways in which African-Americans have been shackled by the country’s views of Black people has contributed to the perceptions that non-Blacks have about Black people and that we have about ourselves.
This film uses animation, dramatic live action recreations, and numerous interviews wihth Dr. Kendi, Dr. Angela Davis and other top academics. It encompasses 400 years of history into a fast moving 90-minute film. It should be widely watched and distributed to all schools.
(Note: This film will be available to stream on Netflix before the end of 2023.)

One Life

It seems that I always have one Nazi movie per year at TIFF. This year, there were a couple to choose from but only one I could access. Lots of people have seen the TicToc video of a British TV show where this old man assisted children escape Czechoslovakia just before the Nazis invaded Poland and started World War II. That man was Nicholas Winton and in the clip, he was unknowingly surrounded by people who he had saved in the war. Even I, who don’t spend much time on Tik Toc, has seen the viral, very touching video.
It doesn’t take a medium to foresee a film about this story and this is it, the back story about what Mr. Winton did and the story leading up to the television reveal. This is a typically restrained BBC telling of the story with Sir Anthony Hopkins playing the elder Winton and Johnny Flynn playing a young Winton. The star-studded cast included Helena Bonham Carter playing Winton’ mother and a barely recognizable Lena Olin as Winton’s wife. For decades after the war, Winton kept the story to himself, especially downplaying his role in the rescue of 669 children. However, he was always scarred by the capture of the last train with 250 kids sent back to their parents, where all but two of them reportedly died. I do find it funny that the action was spurred by Mrs. Winton nagging her husband to get rid of the boxes of papers that had accumulated in his office to make room for a grandchild.
Hopkins, as always was excellent, as was the entire rest of the cast. When the scene of the recreation of the television came, I don’t believe there was a dry eye in the house. That continued after the film ended. Before the film, director James Hawes (who’s name was familiar and then I recognized that he had directed some episodes of Doctor Who in the Ecceleston and Tennant eras) suggested that people stay for the Q & A afterward. No, Sir Anthony didn’t break the picket line; Mr. Hawes introduced an elderly woman who lives in Canada and was one of “Nikki’s Children.” Then several other people came to their feet as children of other survivors.
I’m not crying; you’re crying.

Bargain

So far, I have seen documentaries and a drama, so it was time to start with the bizarre action films. This was actually not a “film,” it was the first two episodes of a six-part South Korean series, and this film starts strange and gets weirder. This series starts with a woman who has lured a man to a hotel in the middle of nowhere, promising that if he pays her $1,000, he will be having sex with a virgin. The man is a bit of a nerd, but as we find out later he is a police officer.
Then the story gets weirder under the direction of Woo-Sung Jeon. The man is captured and strapped to a gurney. Someone has drawn on him approximating where his organs are; he is going to have his organs auctioned off to a group of strange bidders. In the middle of the auction, but before the man can have his organs removed, there is a tremendous earthquake destroying most of the hotel but leaving a huge hole through the hotel that leads to an area of water. Characters find themselves falling into the subbasement; new, even stranger characters are down there and the cop and the original “virgin” girl find themselves helping each other to sort through this whole mess. It is strange.
I would like to see the other four episodes, but I guess it’s going to be on Paramount + which I don’t have.

Great Absence

While there are a number of Asian action films, there is also a tradition of quiet family dramas. Best known of this type are the films of Yasujiro Ozu, films about family and marriage, and the differences between generations. The film is described as the reunion and reconciliation of a father and his son who have not gotten together in decades. Director Kei Chika-ura uses a lot of silence, static figures to convey his story, but what it turned into is the story of the son dealing with his father with Alzheimer’s. Supported by his wife, they are trying to deal with a change in their lives.
I have to admit that I had trouble staying awake during this film, but it is not the film’s fault. Having seen a number of films, getting back to my friends’ house late and getting up to do it again, I was drained. I did like the film, a very detailed character study of these three people, it just wasn’t the type of film I needed to see on a Sunday morning.
One other strange thing – the actor playing the father was Tatsuya Fuji, a legend in Japan. I didn’t know his work until it was mentioned that he had starred in the famed sexual obsession film “In The Realm of the Senses,” back when there were art movies with very graphic sex in 1976 (not unlike “Last Tango In Paris” which came out in 1972.

Boy Kills World

Now, back to the weird. Long time readers know that I do enjoy kung-fu movies, and this one starred Bill Skarsgard (“IT”) as a deaf and dumb man raised by a strange hermit and trained in martial arts to have the man get his revenge on the local family that runs the area. Skarsgard was ripped and did a good job as an action star, haunted by the ghost of his sister who was murdered along with their mother (maybe).
Of course, this isn’t just a straight forward Bruce Lee type film. Eventually the man gets into the fortress of the family and mayhem ensues. Amidst the carnage, the story tries to sort who the man is, who is his actual family, what is the role of the old hermit who raised the man. The hermit spends most of the time raising the man by smoking and blowing smoke into the man’s face. It was at times like a Kung-fu “Reefer Madness.” A supporting role by Famke Jannsen was interesting. A very strange movie. I think the audience for this is young men. It was fun though.

Sorry/Not Sorry

Finally, back to the documentaries. This film was high on my list of wanted films; the story of Louis CK, his rise, fall and attempted rise. I have never been a fan of the comedian for some reason. I didn’t find him funny, so I ignored much of his story, just thinking that he’s just a perv who is getting what’s coming to him. The true story is even more disgusting.
First of all, this is the first film I remember that was produced by a newspaper – The New York Times. It was Times reporters that brought the story to light. For those of you who don’t know, Louis CK’s thing is to ask women if they minded him masturbating in front of them. Like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, Louis wasn’t just a hugely popular comedian, he had built a production empire which produced many popular sitcoms of the time. As a result, the comedian’s kink was an open secret to the standup comic world, but no one, not even the biggest comedy stars wanted to take him on. It was only when a few women spoke up that the New York Times printed an article. It was weird that Louis CK admitted it when he was interviewed by the newspaper.
Then he gets cancelled, but for only 9 months and he tries to come back, with lots of people complaining, and others remaining loyal fans. This is yet another examination of what to do as a fan/consumer with an artist who is either accused or proved of doing despicable acts. The list is long: Weinstein, Polanski, Allen, Cosby, Michael Jackson, James Franco. As someone who inherited the 1960s Cosby albums, I try to think that is was before he was drugging women, although we don’t know that. Woody Allen’s masterpiece, Annie Hall, was made before he was accused on sexual misconduct (as far as we know).
The directors’ and the New York Times asked Louis CK to comment, but as of yet, he has not. Unlike Polanski, or Jackson, or early Woody, I don’t have a dog in this fight. As I wrote above, I was never a fan, so it has been easy for me to ignore Louis CK. All I can say is that I hope is comeback fails.

The Pigeon Tunnel

Two of the firms I wanted to see the most were today and I was excited. The first film is the great documentarian Errol Morris’ latest film which is the final interview with David Cornwell, better known as John LeCarre. It was an interesting look into his background and his thoughts about writing and spys and Kim Philby, the famous British double agent. (The title is what LeCarre always named his latest book in progress before a final title was given. Ill let you see the film for what it means.) He did not talk about his love life or anything other than his love for his children.
This was a personal favorite of mine for reasons other than the film. During the Q&A, several people mentioned Mr. Morris’ most famous documentary, “The Fog of War,” the interview with former Secretary of Defense under JFK and LBJ Robert McNamara. Looking that up, I realized that I was at the premiere 20 years before at TIFF watching the film. I got to meet Mr. Morris, and two of the producers are LeCarre’s sons: Simon and Stephen Cornwell, who are now movie producers bringing their father’s work to the screen. I met Simon and had to give him my favorite movie acting tirade. I have said to anyone that would listed that Gary Oldman’s performance as George Smiley in “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” not only surpasses his Oscar winning portrayal of Winston Churchill in “The Darkest Hour,” but that with very few lines and a story that jumps time frames, Oldman used the character’s glasses and hair to bring the character to life. I feel vindicated the Simon Cornwell, one of the author’s sons agreed with me.

Knox Goes Away
I realized that there would be few if any stars at TIFF this year, except those with special permission from SAG-AFTRA like Sean Penn (who I was unable to see – they took a secret way into the building), and actors who had directed films like Patricia Arquette and Viggo Mortensen (who I did see in a hallway in a theater). Even though I knew it was unlikely, I hoped that Michael Keaton who directed his first film “Knox Goes Away,” would show up. He didn’t, but his first directorial effort showed a man who had been taking notes when he was on other’s films.
Keaton stars as an aging hitman who is having headaches and memory lapses. He goes to a hospital and the doctors determine that he doesn’t have Alzheimer’s but another brain ailment that will erase his mind/memories in weeks instead of months. Into this, he reconnects with his son, who has killed a man who impregnated his 16-year-old daughter. So Knox, with the help of a friend played in rare low key mode by Al Pacino, goes through an elaborate plan to cash out, and distribute his money to his ex-wife, the son, and a prostitute who comes to Knox’s home once a week.
The story becomes an intricate crime film mixed with Christopher Nolan’s iconic “Memento.” It’s a very good movie – worth seeing.

Together 99

It was time for some comedy. “Together 99” is the sequel to “together,” a mid 1970s film about a group of hippie types in a commune that breaks up at the end of the earlier film. Two characters are still living in the house, and they decide to have a reunion with the rest of the group. I had never seen the earlier film, but I found that this was not necessary – it wsa easy to pick up on what was going on. Hilariously funny, it was a Swedish “Big Chill.”

The Beast

I was interested in this because it had a sci-fi feel to it, despite the fact that the last film I saw that had a love story across time was “The Fountain” which sucked. In addition, it starred Lea Seydoux, who I thought was the weakest part of Daniel Craig’s final two films as James Bond “Spectre” and “No Time To Die;” she never made me believe that she was someone Bond would leave the SIS for, much less die. In this film, a young woman in the near future, Gabrielle, decides to purify her DNA by immersing herself in a machine that will recall her previous lives and remove any strong feelings. She meets Louis, with whom she has a strong connection in 3 periods: 1910, 2014, and 2044. Louis is played by George MacKay, whom I had seen before in 1917.
Director Bertrand Bonello created characters to care about through all of the periods where the two are obviously in love with each other, but a husband, death, and murder keep the pair from connecting. SPOILER ALERT: in one of the later periods, Louis becomes an Incel, vowing to destroy women, beginning with Gabrielle. I didn’t like this part because it seemed like an easy out, a predictable, tedious melodrama. It didn’t finish there however, which was good, I think. Interesting ideas, a bit too cold to really be excellent.

The Burial

Every now and then, after having eaten nothing by fancy, foreign food, you get in the mood for a good old fashioned greasy cheeseburger. The Burial was the film version, a David vs. Goliath legal drama based on a true story. Tommy Lee Jones, given not much of a characterization besides being a grumpy old white man (which he has mastered), is patriarch of a string of funeral homes in southern Mississippi. A poor, nearly illegal investment, placed the company and the large family in severe financial trouble. A funeral corporation offers to buy three of the eight homes and not sell Burial insurance in that part of the state. The corporation agrees, but suddenly stall on closing the deal. Turns out the company wants to drive the company out of business and pick up the whole company for peanuts.
A friend of one of Tommy Lee Jones’ grandkids is a Black lawyer named Hal Dockins (played well by Mamoudou Athie), and he talks Jones’ character and his lawyer (Alan Ruck) to file suit in a predominantly Black county. Dockins sees Willie Gary (Jamie Foxx) who is a rich personal injury lawyer with a huge mansion and a private jet. He thinks that having a flamboyant Black lawyer would do well in this case, despite it being a contract law case.
The corporation hires top Black lawyers including Jurnee Smollett (“Lovecraft County,” “Birds of Prey”), an attractive young lawyer with a reputation for toughness. The defense takes advantage of Foxx not being as fully prepared as he should have been and Foxx, despite turning into all but a Baptist Minister, gets replaced as lead attorney. Eventually, the truth comes out about how the corporation is swindling Black people trying to bury their loved ones.
Director Maggie Betts plays this fairly straight forward, but I found it good that certain stereotypes did not make it into the film. Willie Gary is played as a happily married man with support from his wife. It would have been very easy to put in some sexual tension, or romantic angle, but instead, the two very smart actors were playing two very smart people who respected one another but were trying to win the case. Again, this breaks no new ground thematically, but like a good cheeseburger, you’re full and sated when it’s over.

100 Yards

Time for one final strange movie – 100 yards is the distance from a kung-fu dojo that is under the protection of that dojo, creating turf as it were. When the master of the local school dies, it is expected that his son will take over, but instead, the Master’s best student is given the school. Of course, this makes the son angry, and the rest of the film consists of the machinations that the two rivals play on the other.
This was slightly different from other martial arts films I’ve seen. First, women have places in the hierarchy of the school and the two protagonists have romantic relationships (although no public displays of affection). Second, as I used to say about really good martial arts films, “lots of ass gets kicked,” and there are plenty of weapons used, there wasn’t a lot of carnage. People got knocked out, not killed. Overall, the film was kind of silly, but there was a lot of good action.

So, that ends my six-day sojourn to Toronto to watch films. Once again, I don’t think I saw any movies that were really bad, just some that were kooky. As in years past, I will give you a list of the films I liked the best:
13. Bargain (would probably place higher if I ever see the rest)
12. 100 Yards
11. Boy Kills World
10. Great Absence
9. The Beast
8. The Burial
7. Together 99
6. One Life
5. Sorry/Not Sorry
4. Silver Dollar Road
3. The Pigeon Tunnel
2. Knox Goes Away
1. Stamped From The Beginning

That’s it for 2023. Let’s hope that the Writers’ and Actors’ strikes finish very soon, and that there is plenty of material ready for next year, and we’ll see more stars.

Nepotism is a bad word generally, that is unless you are benefitting. Getting a job, especially a high-level position based on one’s parentage or who one knows, is something that happens every day, and people either shrug when it happens, or silently root against the company/hire.
Here in Chicago, we have a lot of children of owners running our sports teams: Danny Wirtz runs the Blackhawks after the sudden death of his father Rocky; Michael Reinsdorf is CEO of the Bulls for his father, but Jerry remains in charge of the White Sox; the brothers and sister under right-wing fascist paterfamilias Joe Ricketts own the Cubs; and George McCaskey is the Chairman of the Bears for his 100 year old mother Virginia.
Honestly, we can complain, but there’s nothing you can do about rich people installing their kids in the family business. Somehow worse are the sychophants that the owners keep around like spoiled puppies surrounding the owner’s throne. They are often incompetent; their one role is to tell the owner what he/she wants to hear, and some stay, making the best martinis in town. The Ricketts’ have Crane Kenney who has made the family billions but has all of the people skills of an angry wolverine. The Bears’ version, recently retired President Ted Phillips was ineffectual for most of his decades long tenure with the team. Bill Wirtz had “Bullet” Bob Pulford who executed his boss’ orders which nearly killed the team and hockey in an Original Six city. Jerry Reinsdorf permitted Jerry Krause to dismantle the greatest dynasty in Chicago sports history with the Bulls. There were two untouchables with the White Sox, Ken Williams and Greg Hahn.
That is, until last week when Jerry Reinsdorf fired Williams and Hahn. The 2023 season has been one of the most disappointing seasons in recent history. After playoffs in 2020 and 2021, the team has shown little fire or spark in 2022 and 2023 despite having a very talented lineup. White Sox fans hoped that there would be an open job search, looking outside of the organization for a new view, a new voice, someone who could stop the incestuous incompetence. We should have known better.
Reinsdorf immediately promoted Chris Getz, from his role as assistant GM and minor league player development head for the past 5 seasons. Overall, Getz has over 10-years of employment with the team ad was even drafted by them in 2002. Getz is young, 40-years of age, but one has to ask the question – does he have the intelligence and independence from the people he’s worked for to make the tough decisions that this team needs. Tim Anderson has been a great player, but he hasn’t been a great teammate. Youn Moncada has been injured most of this time in Chicago and has posted far inferior results than expected. Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert are tremendous talents but only Robert has been able to remain healthy enough to be the star he was expected to be.
Once again, the out-of-touch Reinsdorf has promoted someone he knows and is comfortable with, not someone who would look at the situation with a honest vision and tell Reinsdorf the truth. Sox fans are upset, doubly so when Reinsdorf said that he wasn’t going to sell the team.