Rest in Peace: Gene Hackman

 

A few weeks ago, the great Gene Hackman passed away.  

While there is still an investigation going on about the circumstances of his death, along with his wife and one of his dogs, I thought it was appropriate to take a few moments to reflect on his life.

Hackman seemed to live an ordinary mid-western life until his parents divorced.  Since his death, there is a viral video that has been going around of Hackman recalling when his father left him.  The young Hackman was playing ball in the street and his father drove by and "kind of waved."  Decades later, this moment of abandonment with its cruel casualness still devastated him.  He said,  "I hadn't realized how much one small gesture can mean... Maybe that's why I became an actor."

He dropped out of high school and lied about his age so he could join the military.  With the GI Bill, he went to college, but dropped out there as well to go to California to study acting.  He went to the Pasadena Playhouse where he was actively discouraged from acting.  He got the lowest scores on acting that anyone at the Playhouse had ever received.  In fact, he and his friend Dustin Hoffman were voted: "Least Likely To Succeed."

Hackman went to New York where he struggled to find jobs.  Whenever he would bump into people from the Playhouse or the military, they told him he would never amount to anything.

This is one of the things that I admire about Hackman: he used people's negativity to fuel the fire of success.  Rather than turn inward and be overcome with self-doubt, he was supremely confident in his abilities and a rage to prove his detractors wrong.  I can see that in the immense amount of work he put into every performance.

GREAT PERFORMANCES

The Royal Tenenbaums
Unforgiven
Hoosiers
Superman
Superman II
Crimson Tide
The Poseidon Adventure
Now Way Out
Young Frankenstein
The Quick and the Dead

Gene Hackman is best known for playing tough guys.  As a result, much of his career is littered with over-the-top machismo.  But the reason why he was chosen for those roles is because he had a chance to shine as a man of hulking authority, not in frame, but in screen presence.

Hackman won an Oscar for The French Connection and Unforgiven.  In both those movies, Hackman looms large, even as things begin to fall apart.  In the latter film, Little Bill is a sadist who wraps himself in the law to justify his violent tendencies.  He goes from smiling to scowling in a way that fills you with terror.  His scene where he is monologuing in front of the writer and English Bob is a master class of acting.  Every transition feels genuine and earned.

His characters always project strength as he did in Crimson Tide, where is tough-as-nails captain is in a battle of authority with his first officer.  But he doesn't play these characters as 1-dimmensional.  His performance as Herod in The Quick and the Dead has some truly wonderfully understated moments where he realizes he has to fight his son or when he begins to experience real fear for the first time in years.  You can also see that fear in his trapped performance in No Way Out as he feels the walls closing in on the cover up for the accident death of his mistress.  You get a knot in your stomach just hearing the stress in his voice.

That does not mean that he doesn't have a wide range of emotions.  His coach in Hoosiers is very stoic and understated.  But when he very simply and unguardedly says, "I love you guys," it echoes deeply because of the depth that Hackman brings.  And no performance of is more heartbreaking for me than his Rev. Scott in The Poseidon Adventure.  The movie captures in a concrete, physical way the frustration that evangelizers feel every day.  Scott is trying to save everyone, but they won't listen.  And when they don't listen, they willingly embrace destruction.  He can only bring a few on the narrow path and many of those won't make it.  I will never forget his embracing the comic-tragic Mrs. Rosen and crying.  And it all culminates with his love/hate relationship with God over all of the pain they have endured.

But he also had a strong comedic side.  Many criticize the goofy tone of Lex Luthor in the Superman movies, and rightly so.  But given that it was his job to play Luthor the way Richard Donner prescribed, Hackman did an excellent job of being a callow con-artist.  It is particularly funny how he uses all the powers of his sycophantic scurrying to not only incur favor with Zod, but avoid his wrath.  And his turn as the blind man in Young Frankenstein is hysterical.

Gene Hackman quietly retired from acting.  But he has left us a great body of work to admire.

He had two marriages.  His first ended in divorce after three decades.  As mentioned earlier, his current wife Betsy was also found dead with him.  He leaves behind three children from his first marriage.

As far as my research has gone, Hackman never spoke about his religious beliefs.  My prayer is that this extraordinary actor, who brought so much entertainment to the world, has gone to God.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and perpetual light shine upon him.  May his soul and his wife's soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.  Amen.

Rest in Peace, Gene Hackman

Sunday Best: Oscar Night 2025 - Predictions and Last Chance for Oscar Game

   

Tonight are the Oscars.  

This used to be my yearly Super Bowl.  And while the bloom is off the rose, I still watch every year.

Once again, there are not many movies to root for.  Wicked got some nominations, but most of the popular films as well as the movies I thought were good did not get a lot of love from the Academy.  So this year we do not have Christopher Nolan and Oppenheimer to cheer on.

What is interesting is that the race is in a constant state of flux.  Emilia Perez was nominated for the most awards.  But all of the controversy surrounding it could make its chances diminish.  Looking to the other awards shows as predictors (the Golden Globes, BAFTAS, Screen Actors Guild, etc), there have been so many inconsistencies that I honestly do not know what is going to happen for most awards.  This should add some novelty to the evening.

But, as has been the case for the past few years, most people haven't seen most of the movies nominated.  I usually try to see most of the nominees for best picture, but not this year.  In fact, I've only seen the five movies mentioned above.  Some of the other nominees sound interesting, but I could not bring myself to commit the time.   And I only watched Conclave because my dad saw it an wanted to talk to me about it.  I did see Emila Perez because I wanted to be able to write about it cogently and I wanted to see if it was as bad as everyone was saying (It's not.  It's much, much worse).

Here are some of my main predictions:

Best Picture: Conclave

With Emilia Perez receding, I think Conclave comes out on top.  It has a top-notch cast and it views the Catholic Church through a modern left-leaning political lens.  It is one of those movies that people who don't know anything about Catholicism can watch and feel smart.  If the Academy is feeling very much of an independent movie vibe, then I think Anora will win.  But, from what I understand, The Brutalist was the most pretentious, so that may win.

Best Actor: Timothee Chalamet, A Complete Unknown

All the smart money is saying Adrian Brody will win for The Brutalist.  I am going with my gut, though.  Not only did I think Chalamet gave the best performance this year, but it is very hard to win two Oscars for Best Actor.  If Brody did this, he would enter the ranks of only 9 actors to do this, including Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, and Dustin Hoffman

Best Actress: Demi Moore

Hollywood loves a comeback story, and this is a good one.  She would have a better shot if this was a supporting actor category, where that award is often given as a result of a body of work.  But I think Moore has a great shot at this tonight.

Best Supporting Actor/Actress:  Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldana

These are categories where I think there will be no surprises.  These actors have cleaned up all throughout the awards season.  I got around to seeing A Real Pain and Culkin does a great job of playing a character of such contradictions.  Saldana was terrible in Emilia Perez, but that really wasn't her fault as the movie was a disaster.  But she will probably win.

This is also the last chance to enter the Oscar Game.  Just fill out the chart below.  The winner will get bragging rights and a mention on this blog.  And just to keep everything above board, I am publishing my votes for tonight as well.

Good luck and enjoy the Oscars tonight!

Click the link below to play the game.
Link

Here are my choices so far:

Name
BEST PICTURE - MY CHOICE	"Wicked"
BEST PICTURE - MY PREDICTION	"Conclave (Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, Producers)"
BEST DIRECTOR - MY CHOICE	James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
BEST DIRECTOR - MY PREDICTION	Sean Baker, Anora
BEST ACTOR - MY CHOICE	Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
BEST ACTOR - MY PREDICTION	Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
BEST ACTRESS - MY CHOICE	Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
BEST ACTRESS - MY PREDICTION	Demi Moore, The Substance
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MY CHOICE	Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MY PREDICTION	Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MY CHOICE	Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MY PREDICTION	Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - MY CHOICE	A Complete Unknown (Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - MY PREDICTION	Conclave (Screenplay by Peter Straughan)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - MY CHOICE	A Real Pain (Written by Jesse Eisenberg)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - MY PREDICTION	A Real Pain (Written by Jesse Eisenberg)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MY CHOICE	Wicked (John Powell and Stephen Schwartz)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MY PREDICTION	The Brutalist (Daniel Blumberg)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MY CHOICE	“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez (Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard) *THE LEAST WORST CHOICE
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MY PREDICTION	“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight (Music and Lyric by Diane Warren)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - MY CHOICE	Inside Out 2 (Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - MY PREDICTION	The Wild Robot (Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - MY CHOICE	Dune: Part Two (Greig Fraser)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - MY PREDICTION	The Brutalist (Lol Crawley)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN - MY CHOICE	Wicked (Paul Tazewell)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN - MY PREDICTION	Wicked (Paul Tazewell)
BEST FILM EDITING - MY CHOICE	Conclave (Nick Emerson)
BEST FILM EDITING - MY PREDICTION	Conclave (Nick Emerson)
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING - MY CHOICE	Wicked (Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth)
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING - MY PREDICTION	Wicked (Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - MY CHOICE	Wicked (Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - MY PREDICTION	Wicked (Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales)
BEST SOUND - MY CHOICE	Dune: Part Two (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer)
BEST SOUND - MY PREDICTION	Dune: Part Two (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - MY CHOICE	Dune: Part Two (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - MY PREDICTION	Dune: Part Two (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer)
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM - MY PREDICTION	I’m Still Here (Brazil)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - MY PREDICTION	No Other Land (Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - MY PREDICTION	Incident (Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM- MY PREDICTION	Magic Candies (Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM- MY PREDICTION	A Lien (Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz)

New Evangelizers Post: Converting The Modern Roman Empire

             

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  

Many Christians look at the modern world with despair.

The old Christian culture has faded into the background and a new secular one is on the ascendancy. People embrace the wonders of technology along with the horrors of hedonism. And with each passing day, it seems to many of us that the world is drifting further away from Christ.

I am not here to deny that this is truly happening. Nor am I here to say this is not a major concern.

But what I am here to say is that this modern world has created the conditions for new wave of conversion.

To see this, we have to look back at the first days of Christianity in the Roman Empire.

In those first days of Christianity first spreading throughout the Empire, Rome had connected much of the ancient world. In addition, there was relative peace and prosperity. To be sure, the ancient Rome was always a place of harshness and brutality. But in Apostolic Age, there was enough peace so that there could be free travel throughout the empire. Because of this prosperity, the people were able to spend time with several entertainments and diversions. Once bare survival was taken care of, people could use their disposable income to go to the see the dramas or even the gladiator fights.

But just as material prosperity and plentiful entertainments began to fill up the lives of the people in the Roman Empire, a spiritual hunger began to emerge. The people began to turn to more and more to spiritual practices and philosophical disciplines. We can see a rise in the stoic philosophers in this era, as people look for something more to ground their existence and give it meaning. They hungered less in their bodies, but they hungered more in their souls.

Apostles like Paul understood that spiritual hunger and learned how to feed it. As Paul traveled from region to region, he gave people something that filled their spirits. This is true of all of the Apostles as they went from place-to-place in the Roman Empires spreading the Good News so that the faith spread like wildfire.

And the conditions for another spiritual wildfire are present today.

In our modern day, we find much the same about America. While there are military conflicts around the world, our homeland enjoys relative peace and prosperity. Because of this relative peace, we are presented with several entertainments and diversions. Television, movies, video games, music, and social media fill up the empty hours of the day. I think about my life in America and how I am not constantly worried about invasion or starving to death. And like the Romans, I often throw myself into entertainment and diversions, especially with the internet. But when I do this, I still feel a great spiritual hunger. There are times when I spend a lazy Saturday on the couch eating junk food and playing video games, where I have all of my physical indulgences met, but I feel a sense of waste and emptiness.

The internet has also made the world a much more interconnected place. We may not all be traveling around the world, but we can be connected to almost any part of it. I was once in a discussion with someone about why popular culture in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s felt so distinctive, but that in the 2000’s it all feels like it blends together. My friend said that the internet changed it. For example, popular trends would start as regional until they became distinctive. Think about the Seattle Grunge culture that developed in the early 1990’s. Only after it had taken on its distinctive form was it introduced the rest of the popular culture through television and radio as something very distinctive. However, those distinctive cultures don’t get a chance to grow regionally. The internet makes us too connected. As soon as anything becomes popular in one area, it goes viral all over the world.

My point is that just like the Roman Empire we have these specific conditions in modern America:
1. Relative peace and prosperity
2. An abundance of entertainments
3. An interconnected society
4. A deep spiritual hunger because of the above three.

You can read the whole article here.

Sunday Best: Casting Call - The New James Bond

 

It was recently announced that Amazon would now be the ones who would have the controlling hand in the James Bond franchise going forward.  This means to me that they are looking to capitalize on the brand as soon as possible.

I know that many people have their misgivings about this after seeing what they have done with Tolkien's world in The Rings of Power or seen what another multi-billion corporation like Disney has done to Star Wars.

Regardless, things appear to be moving ahead.  Jeff Bezos even went to social media to see who the people think should be the next Bond.  

I thought it might be fun to through a few ideas out there.

1. Henry Cavill

This is one place where I think vox populi, vox dei.  It seems so horribly obvious that Cavill is perfect for the part.  He is strong, masculine, formidible, intelligent, and classy.  And even people who hated the DCEU and The Witcher tend to agree that he was the best part of those franchises.  Cavill has built up an incredible amount of good will with the fan base.  He would be needed change from the serious-to-dour Daniel Craig Bond.

2.  Dan Stevens

photo by Gage Skidmore

To play the aristocrat, Stevens has this down after his years on Downton Abbey.  But he has an intesity that reminds me very much of Pierce Brosnan.  I don't think his Bond would be as physically intimidating as Cavill, but he could pull off 007 as someone who is charismatic and cunning: someone who would get by on their wits.

3.  Taron Egerton

photo by Gage Skidmore

We know that he can play the action scenes, as he did in the Kingsman movies.  But as I've seen recently in his work in Blackbird, he has become a very good actor in his own right.  He would play the part a bit young, but it would be a newer take on the character.

4.  Henry Golding

Photo from World Travel and Tourism Council

Okay, this one may be a little out of the box, but hear me out.  If we take the idea that Bond's primary role is that of a spy and that we have a new cold in parts of Asia, wouldn't it make sense to have a spy who was Asian?  There would actually be a lot of opportunities for some exciting and new stories.  Golding is a charismatic actor who demonstrated his charm in Crazy Rich Asians and also his physicality with Snake Eyes.  This could be an intersting choice.

5.  Tom Hiddleston

photo by Sean Reynolds

He has been typcast into the role of Loki, which he did amazingly well.  But Hiddleston can play the heroic part.  He was great as the Henry V in The Hollow Crown and he could pull of the action leading man as we saw in Kong: Skull Island.  He could also bring a bit of the Roger Moore-era mischief and humor, which would be a refreshing change for the current franchise.

Thoughts?

Film Flash: Captain America - Brave New World

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

One of the better post-Endgame MCU movies.  Intrigue and action, but a weak third act.

Sunday Best: Superbowl Ads 2025

 While I've come to enjoy football more over the last few years, the main draw of the Super Bowl for me has always been the commercials.

This year I wasn't horribly impressed.  I don't think any of them will make a lasting cultural impression.  But these are my thoughts:

Best Trailer:  MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FINAL RECKONING

Only a few new shots in this trailer, but I have to say that all of the high-flying action has me incredibly excited.

Weirdest - MOUNTAIN DEW

This commercial was so weird that I found myself laughing out loud at how ridiculous it was.  

Most Nostalgic - Instacart

I loved seeing all the old mascots throughout the years.  It was fun to find the very obscure ones from my childhood.

Funniest - Pringles

Like the Mountain Dew Commercial, this was so over-the-top ridiculous, but I couldn't help but find it incredibly funny.  What can I say?  I have a weird sense of humor.

Most Emotional - Google Gemini

This ad really got to me.  At first it was just the usually schmaltzy.  But the last shots where the father is crying in the car and then his daughter hugs him and turns back into a little girl... that got me right in the feels.

Favorite Commercial - Dunkin

Readers of this blog know what a big Affleck fan I am.  I think this was also a really good ad that took a pot shot at the more expensive coffee houses: "How much to wait a half-hour to get my name spelled wrong on the cup?"  I don't know why, but I loved that line.

All of these are my own subjective feelings.  What are your thoughts?

Trailer Time: The Accountant 2

I really enjoyed The Accountant when it originally came out.  Despite its weak third act, I enjoyed the characters and their arcs.  The main character was fascinating to me with a solid performance by Ben Affleck.

When they announced a sequel, I wasn't very sure.  But I really liked this trailer.

One of the things that this movie does is that it brings three very dissimilar characters from the first movie and it forces them all to work together.  Our three leads shared very little screen time in the first film.  But now, it feels like a real progression of their stories and not another rehash of the first.  I like how each of them brings something very different to the dynamic and I can see some fun interplay between a fed, a hitman, and the Accountant.

This  movie has the same writing/directing team as the original, so it seems like the put a lot care into these characters.

Thoughts?