dEFROG ON 45 #56: THERE’S NO STOPPING A DUCK AND HIS BEAT

If you grew up in the 70s, liked disco and were under 13 years of age, odds are you had a copy of this song. 

I know I did.

This one came with a bit of local history (well, at state level), since Rick Dees was actually a radio DJ in Memphis at the time, which meant that no radio station in Memphis would play the song, including Dees’ own station. Dees wasn’t even allowed to mention the song on-air, and finally got sacked after he did anyway.

I grew up in Nashville, not Memphis, but a lot of Nashville DJs made references to all this, and I was both surprised and knocked out by the idea that a DJ could make a hit record.

Well, I was 11 when it came out.

Anyway, it’s considered to be one of the worst hit songs of the 1970s. So naturally I’m proud that I still have my copy.

Flapping my arms,

This is dF

SEVEN SIDE EFFECTS OF OBLIVION

Meanwhile, I has been to the cinemas. These are reviews of them. 

Side Effects

For all the respect he gets from film aficionados and art-house fans, I’m kind of indifferent to Stephen Soderbergh as a director. So, I tend to rate him on a case-by-case basis, usually depending on the topic. Let’s put it this way: of all the films of his that I’ve seen, the ones I’ve been the most impressed by are the Ocean’s 11 films. Still, I thought I’d give this a try, and I’m glad I did.

The premise: Emily is suffering from depression attempts suicide, and a psychiatrist, Dr Banks, prescribes a number of drugs, including a new experimental drug. It seems to do the trick – until she murders her husband whilst sleepwalking. That’s when the film shifts from a movie about depression and drugs into a psychological murder mystery as Banks tries to absolve himself of guilt by finding out what happened.

It’s the kind of thing Hitchcock used to do so well, but Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z Burns really make it work, keeping you guessing even when clues are revealed, and aided by good performances from Rooney Mara and Jude Law. Credit also for touching on the prevalence of prescription drugs and Big Pharma without resorting to obvious conspiracy theories. The ending is maybe a little too tidy, but otherwise it’s one of the better films so far this year.

Oblivion

Post-apocalyptic sci-fi film that takes place 60 years after Earth is decimated by an alien invasion. With the “scavs” defeated but the Earth uninhabitable, humanity is preparing to evacuate to Titan, and two humans – Jack and Victoria –are tasked with guarding the fusion reactors gathering the fuel humans will need for the trip. Needless to say, things start to go wrong, and soon it becomes one of those Everything You Know Is A Lie films as Jack starts finding things out he’s not supposed to know.

Storywise, it’s okay – hardly groundbreaking, but writer/director Joseph Kosinski does a pretty good job of keeping you guessing just where all this is going. And credit for coming up with an explanation that covers a lot of bases in terms of tropes that might otherwise make no sense (a big one for me being: if Earth was decimated by the war, how did they develop and maintain all that strikingly advanced technology?).

That said, it starts off pretty flat, although it does kick into gear once Morgan Freeman shows up (as many films often do). Still, it says a lot that the unfolding situation is more interesting than any single character in the film (or anything they say), and even Tom Cruise seems to be phoning it in at times. All up, better than I expected, but not as good as it could have been.

Seven Psychopaths

Black comedy from British writer/director Martin McDonagh about an alcoholic screenwriter looking for inspiration for a screenplay called Seven Psychopaths, and gets some unwanted help from his loose-cannon friend Billy, who works for a dog kidnapping racket – and unwittingly kidnaps the dog of a psycho mob boss. Hilarity and ultraviolence ensue.

Really, when yr doing a comedy about psychopaths and the ensemble cast includes Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits and Harry Dean Stanton, it’s hard to go wrong. And McDonagh makes the most of it, even if it falls a little short as a send-up of Hollywood psycho genre clichés.

Inevitably, some people have compared it to Pulp Fiction, though in terms of ultra-violence and comedy it’s closer to Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead. And really, it’s neither of those films, but it is very well written and quite funny, with great performances from everyone. [SPOILER: For those worried about the fate of the dogs in a violent film involving dognapping, you may rest easy.]

Weer all krazee now,

This is dF

THERE IS A GIANT RUBBER DUCK IN VICTORIA HARBOUR

No, really.

You can see more of that here, if you like. 

And if yr wondering what it’s doing there, here you go.

Rubber duckie yr the one,

This is dF