The Journey (and Music) of Elvis Costello

Rock stars that write their autobiographies face a difficult prospect. Countless authors, politicians, scientists, athletes, and actors have done it with varying degrees of success. While a person's life and accomplishments are often worthy of note, crafting an enthralling and relatable narrative that a reader can empathize with is often difficult. But it's not an impossible task. Bruce Springsteen's powerful Born To Run, Patti Smith's transcendent Just Kids, and Keith Richards' enjoyable, supremely Keith-esque Life have all garnered acclaim from both readers and reviewers. I recently caught up with Elvis Costello's Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink, which was originally published in 2015, and it's a captivating, engrossing read.

I'm a long-time fan of Costello's, and the book (like his music) is literate, witty, dark, joyous and yet it's often laced with a bit of melancholy, as well as the weight of lessons learned. He shares his life story in a non-linear fashion, jumping around in time to detail pivotal moments, while simultaneously telling the story of his father, who was also a musician. Costello also recounts the creation of those memorable early records with the Attractions, such as This Year's Model, Armed Forces and Get Happy!! as well as sharing his fascinating recollections of his meetings (and musical collaborations with) George Jones, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, and Jerry Lee Lewis. You may want to have a notebook (or iPad) handy while you read, as throughout the book he talks about the songs, music and artists that he loves, and which still inspire him.

Costello openly discusses his failings, and doesn't shy away from the fact that in his earlier years he was drinking too much, and often looking for trouble. He touches on the infamous incident where he allegedly made racist comments about Ray Charles and James Brown in a bar in Ohio, for which he later apologized. As he says in the book: “I’ll have to take the word of witnesses that I really used such despicable racial slurs in the same sentence as the names of two of the greatest musicians who ever lived, but whatever I did, I did it to provoke a bar fight and finally put the lights out.” He briefly touches on his marriages and his personal life, and acknowledges that his reckless side and "angry young man" persona had finally quieted down by the time he married his third wife, singer Diana Krall, in 2003. While he shies away from writing too much about his current family life, what he does share is filled with emotion, as are the moving passages about his early life.

There are other compelling stories in the book, including Costello's recollections of his work on non-rock and roll projects with Allen Toussaint, The Brodsky Quartet, The Roots and his marvelous collaboration with Burt Bacharach, Painted from Memory. He also talks about Spectacle, the short-lived but insightful music-themed television show that he hosted, which featured artists like Levon Helm, Bruce Springsteen and his long-time pal Nick Lowe. The book's six hundred plus page length may seem daunting at first, but Costello is as talented a wordsmith on the page as he is on record. Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink is a comprehensive, fascinating and engrossing look at the journey (and the music) of Elvis Costello. If you're a fan, I highly recommend it.

Before I Wake: An Emotional Ghost Story

Writer-director Mike Flanagan has been making a name for himself as a purveyor of well-crafted horror tales in the last few years, with strong projects like the recent big-screen version of Stephen King's novel Doctor Sleep, as well as the successful Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House. Other projects helmed by this talented filmmaker include Oculus, Ouija: Origin of Evil and another King adaptation, Gerald's Game. One of his best films is 2016's Before I Wake. This compelling drama, laced with elements of horror and fantasy, tells the story of Mark and Jessie Hobson, a couple who are dealing with the loss of their son Sean in a drowning accident. They decide to become foster parents to Cody, a young boy whose been through a succession of foster homes. Soon after the boy moves in with Mark and Jessie, it becomes apparent that Cody has a supernatural gift that makes his dreams become reality. Strange and wonderful things happen when Cody falls asleep.

Kate Bosworth & Thomas Jane

Cody's power is initially seen as something positive, as he manifests lovely images of butterflies, and a ghostly version of Sean, which disappear when Cody wakes up. Jessie, in particular, is fascinated by these dream images. She becomes obsessed with using Cody's power to reunite with Sean, and assuage her grief. But there's also a nightmarish figure that Cody calls "The Canker Man" who haunts his dreams. This causes Cody to use energy drinks and other means to keep himself awake. Mark tries to convince Jessie that using Cody's power to see their late son is wrong, and that they should focus on helping Cody. Meanwhile, it appears The Canker Man is getting stronger, as the terrifying figure makes a child who's been bullying Cody at school disappear.

When Mark disappears while trying to help Cody during one of his nightmares, Jessie starts looking into Cody's past, and finds that mysterious events have occurred at his previous foster homes. Can Jessie help Cody overcome his fears and conquer his demons? Who is the terrifying Canker Man, and what is his connection to Cody? The answers to those questions are powerful and moving, and the story reaches a satisfying conclusion, grounded in a new beginning for Cody. The acting is strong, featuring excellent performances by Kate Bosworth as Jessie, Thomas Jane as Mark, and Jacob Tremblay, who's terrific as Cody. Annabeth Gish is quite good as a social worker who's assigned to Cody's case. Dash Mihok and Jay Karnes are also solid in supporting roles. The film features some beautiful images, as well as some scary and unsettling ones, courtesy of the vivid work of cinematographer Michael Fimognari.

Before I Wake is a well-written (by director Flanagan & Mike Howard) film about dealing with the ghosts of your past. The movie has a deeply emotional core, and anyone who has suffered a loss can empathize with the feelings that Mark, Jessie and Cody are dealing with in the story. While this is a supernatural horror film, it's also a thoughtful examination of grief, loss, love and redemption. I think it's one of Mike Flanagan's best films. He's truly establishing himself as one of our best contemporary horror filmmakers, and it's easy to see why Stephen King sings his praises. Both men share a talent for telling stories featuring strong, relatable characters whose inner strength is tested when they're faced with otherworldly occurrences. Before I Wake is available for streaming on Netflix. Here's a link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho2Z0LtXsbY.

Five Films from the "Godzilla-verse"

Godzilla first stomped his way into theaters in 1954, and recently returned to the big-screen in Godzilla, King of The Monsters, the latest entry in Legendary Pictures’ Monsterverse series. The giant monster with the radioactive breath began life as an allegory for the dangers of the nuclear age, but he’s gone through a lot of changes over the years, going from city stomping villain to world-protecting hero. If you grew up watching the 1960s and 1970s (or even some of the 1980s and 1990s) films produced in Japan by Toho Studios, either in theaters or on television, you probably realize that long before Marvel and DC had shared cinematic universes, Godzilla and his friends (and sometime enemies) shared the screen together a number of times. Here’s a brief look back at a few of the best kaiju (aka giant monster) team-ups.

5. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack (2001) –

Shusuke Kaneko, who also helmed a trilogy of films that re-imagined Godzilla’s rival monster Gamera, directed this 2001 entry, which pits Godzilla against Mothra, Barugon and Ghidorah, who’s a hero this time. In an offbeat touch, which probably helped inspire this past summers American kaiju entry, Godzilla, King of the Monsters, Mothra, Ghidorah and Barugon are portrayed as ancient protective spirits of the earth. This film ignores all of the sequels up to that time, acting as a follow-up to Gojira, the 1954 original, and returning Godzilla to his villainous roots. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack is one of the more creative and interesting Godzilla films of this later period, and is definitely worth a look.

4. Destroy All Monsters (1968) – This movie is often cited as a favorite by kaiju fans, mostly for the sheer number of monsters depicted onscreen. An evil group of aliens called the Kilaaks take control of all of Earth’s monsters and order them to wreak havoc on humanity and help them take over the planet. When a group of scientists are able to break the aliens’ hold over the monsters, the Kilaaks bring in Ghidorah, the dragon-like monster, to duke it out with all of the others. This leads to an all-out battle in the latter part of the film. Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan and a bunch of other kaiju team up to save the world from Ghidorah and the Kilaaks. Directed by Ishiro Honda, who helmed many genre films for Toho, Destroy All Monsters was remade (sort of) in 2004 as Godzilla: Final Wars, in order to celebrate the Big G’s 50th anniversary.

3. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) – Ghidorah first showed up in this entry, in which Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan join forces to defeat the powerful space monster. The colorful story has elements of gangster films, sci-fi movies and monster flicks all rolled into one. Ghidorah has a pretty cool entrance here, a sequence which was re-used in later films. The dragon-like monster would go on to become Godzilla’s archenemy, appearing in a number of sequels right up through the 1990s. This is also the film where the pair of tiny fairies from Mothra act as interpreters for the monsters when the human heroes of the film ask them to plead with the kaiju to help us defeat Ghidorah.

2. Invasion of Astro-Monster, aka Monster Zero (1965) – This one features Godzilla and Rodan squaring off against “Monster Zero” at the behest of aliens from Planet X. These seemingly benign aliens offer Earth a cure for all diseases if we’ll let them “borrow” Godzilla and Rodan to defeat Monster Zero. But Monster Zero turns out to be Ghidorah and the aliens want to use all three monsters to conquer Earth. It’s up to a pair of heroic astronauts (played by Toho veteran Akira Takarada and American star Nick Adams) to stop the aliens. Invasion of Astro-Monster features giant monsters, spaceships, aliens, and Godzilla doing a victory dance after beating Ghidorah! The film wasn’t released in the United States until 1970, but like many of the other Godzilla movies of this era, became a television staple in the 1970s.

1. Mothra vs. Godzilla, aka Godzilla vs. The Thing (1964) – In the 1960s series, this film was the last time Godzilla appeared as a villain. After battling King Kong in the previous entry, King Kong vs. Godzilla, here the Big G battles Mothra, who had made a successful debut in a solo film in 1961. The American version of this movie features a scene in which Godzilla battles the military, which was not included in the Japanese release. Mothra vs. Godzilla is well-directed by Ishiro Honda, and also features the iconic music of Akira Ifukube and the special effects mastery of Eiji Tsuburaya. These three men were probably most responsible for the success of the series in the 1960s. One of the best among the first group of sequels, with the script by Shinichi Sekizawa weaving some deft satire on commercialism into the story.

All of these films are available on DVD and Blu-ray in various editions, and for online streaming. If you’re a life-long kaiju fan or just getting into these movies for the first time, these are some of the most enjoyable entries in this long-running series. Here’s a trailer for the recent Criterion Collection box set, Godzilla, The Showa Era Films, 1954-1975, which includes the films numbered 1-4 from this list: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xg-jDhwLH10. Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All Out Attack is available separately on DVD and Blu-ray. Here’s the trailer for that movie; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl9Xh7DtiTo. Fire up the popcorn and settle in, and have yourself a Godzilla-verse fest with these fantastic monster flicks!

The Second Coming of "Suspiria"

If you’re a serious horror fan, you’ve likely seen (or at least heard of) Dario Argento’s classic Suspiria. The terrifying story of a witches coven operating out of a ballet school in Germany is one of the director’s most revered films. The movie evokes a deep sense of terror and dread. Suspiria has atmosphere to spare, and plays like a nightmare captured on celluloid, set to a pulsating score by the rock band Goblin. The film also features a rich palette that bathes scenes in a spectacular array of phantasmagoric colors. The movie was followed by two (sort of) sequels, Inferno and Mother of Tears, both of which further explored the mythology of the Three Mothers, immortal witches whose power allows them to manipulate mankind behind the scenes. Suspiria has been an inspiration for an entire generation of horror filmmakers. Director Luca Guadagnino, best known for his Oscar-nominated film Call Me By Your Name, helmed a remake of Argento’s groundbreaking thriller in 2018. It’s an alluring, frightening, fascinating and intense re-imagining of the original story.

Tilda Swinton in Suspiria

The film is set in 1977, the year of the original version’s release. It follows the story of Susie Bannion, a young dancer, who arrives in Germany to study at the prestigious Markos Tanzgruppe. The school has a sterling reputation, but there is something odd about the place. One of the students, a dancer named Patricia, has disappeared under very mysterious circumstances. She tried unsuccessfully to convince her therapist, Dr. Klemperer, that there was an evil presence at the school. Susie becomes an integral part of the dance troupe, and forms a bond with Madame Blanc, the artistic director of the academy. It turns out the school really is hiding a secret; the teachers are all witches, under the control of Helena Markos, an ancient being who needs a new host body in order to survive. Susie’s name is at the top of the list for this role, despite Blanc’s misgivings about sacrificing her. As mysterious events and horrible deaths occur, it becomes clear that there is a struggle between Blanc and Markos for control of the coven. Meanwhile, Dr. Klemperer is attempting to uncover the secrets of the academy, but his discoveries may come at a terrible cost.

This new take on Suspiria offers some startling and truly unsettling moments. The dance sequences are unusual and uniquely choreographed. A scene early on where Susie’s movements in her audition mirror the wounds inflicted on Olga, a dancer in another area of the school, is strikingly photographed, as is a group dance sequence later in the film. In contrast to Argento’s use of wild colors, Guadagnino offers a muted palette, though he does use splashes of color for strong effect in several scenes. His direction is excellent, as is the stylish work of his production team. The largely female cast is superb, with Dakota Johnson coming into her own with a strong performance as Susie. The one and only Tilda Swinton is fantastic as Madame Blanc. There's also fine supporting work from Chloe Grace Moretz, Angela Winkler, Mia Goth, and...Swinton, who not only plays Blanc, but also portrays the male Dr. Klemperer and the aged Helena Markos! Jessica Harper, the star of the 1977 version, makes a cameo appearance late in the film.

The story is more linear than the original, which was a triumph of dazzling style over narrative. Screenwriter David Kajganich focuses the core of the story on the strength and power of the female spirit, and its capacity for both good and evil. There are some elements (like a political terrorism subplot which draws attention away from the main story) that feel unnecessary, but overall the slow build to the terrifying, blood-drenched finale is well done. There are a couple of clever twists that help this version stand apart from the original. The effective and understated score is by Thom Yorke of Radiohead. Swinton has called the movie a “cool cover version” rather than a remake, and that’s an apt description. If you’re in the mood for a different kind of horror experience, check out Suspiria. Guadagino’s film has sharply divided critics, as well as fans, and definitely evokes some strong reactions from viewers, but I feel it's worth checking out. The film is available to stream on Amazon Prime, as well as for purchase on DVD and Blu-ray. T. Here’s a link to the trailer for the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY6QKRl56Ok.