Everything You Are by Kerry Anne King

Everything You Are by Kerry Anne King

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Basically, a family drama with a dose of supernatural dropped into it in the form of a cello.

Not a fan of people who trash Alcoholics Anonymous, especially when taking its very concepts and distorting them for their own gain. This flies directly in the face of the principles of anonymity, on which Alcoholics Anonymous is based.

The book was somewhat interesting, despite the ill-informed AA references. But there wasn't enough supernatural to warrant the supernatural.

And there was too many unanswered questions: what happened to Evan? Why did the oaths and magic work? Does the father ever play again? Do what happened to the relationship between the father and the music store owner?

Not a fan.



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Please won't you be my neighbor? "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" (2019) - Tom Hanks, Matthew Rhys, Chris Cooper

"A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" is about a revolution to change the world, one person at a time. In fact, Mr. Rogers, with an education in ministry, knew that to effectuate change, he had to reach the children. And so he chose public media.

I was a little too old to have grown up with Mr. Rogers. So I was familiar with the skepticism that the protagonist displayed when told that the topic of his next  investigation piece was to be the children's TV show host, Mr. Rogers.

I remember watching bits of Mr. Rogers when I was eight or nine and thinking, "is this guy for real?" By then, I was an already jaded kid that was growing up in a dysfunctional family. So when Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys) scoffs at Rogers' (Tom Hanks) sing-song voice and hand puppets, I was right there with him.

The next thing that I noticed in the film was the extension of the townscape to depict the transition from Vogel's world to Roger's world. What I mean is that on Mr. Roger's TV show, it traditionally opens with an overview of a model village in which Mr. Roger's neighborhood is located. In the film, though, this townscaped village extends beyond Mr. Roger's neighborhood and transitions to New York. So we see model planes flying into a model NYC and over the Manhattan skyline.

It became clear to me then that what I was watching was the conflict between Vogel's world view and Roger's world view and wondering which world view would survive.

Typically, when a story introduces these kinds of collisions between world views, there is obvious cause for dramatic conflict. But what is unusual in this film is that the conflict between Vogel and Rogers never gives rise to any violence or vitriol. Instead, Rogers is like the steady stroke that sluices through his daily swims. He is steadfast; earnest; serene. There is never any anger; never any judgment. Just a warm wall of ever-present love.

It is apparent that the role of Mr. Rogers was hard for Hanks. He is not a naturally introverted, quiet person: he is exuberant, dynamic. So for him to slow down enough to play the mild-mannered, reserved Rogers was difficult-- it is especially noticeable in the opening scene. He is just a little too eager; too on the nose. But he settles in and I soon forgot it was him.

Rhys was terrific at the surly, hardboiled journalist. And one of my favorites, Chris Cooper, plays Rhys's estranged father so beautifully; with anguish, regret and love.

This movie astonished me. I was prepared to admire it, as I have come to appreciate the genius of Fred Rogers as I have gotten older. But I was not prepared to be fall in love with Fred Rogers.

If ever an American deserves to be canonized as a saint, Fred Rogers, along with Dorothy Day, would get my vote.

Parasite (2019) - Kang-ho Song, Joon-ho Bong

Joon-ho Bong is fast becoming one of my favorite directors. His latest, Parasite, won the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or, proving that I'm not alone in my thinking.

Clever, beautiful and genre-bending, this film stars Kang-ho Song, who plays the patriarch of a poverty-stricken family that includes actors So-dam Park, Woo-sik Choi and Hye-jin Jang. Song is a favorite of Bong's and has appeared in five out of Bong's eight films.

This is a film about a poverty-stricken but clever family that entrenches themselves into a wealthy home. One by one, each gets the next hired into the "castle in the sky" through trickery and cunning. The wealthy family, with an air of naïveté, glides through life, tossing decisions, groceries and orders with abandon into their shopping cart of a life, with little thought towards consequences.

There are real moments of humor--possibly my favorite was Jang's imitation of the North Korean dictator.

One of the most perilous scenes was wrought with a tunnel of a stairway that radiates the unknown and the unacknowledged. Turning metaphors on their heads, a tunneled staircase with its looming light is a portent of doom and water becomes a carrier of stench and disease. Trigger warning: if you were a victim of Harvey or similar events, beware.

With Escher-like stairs taking us up and down between subterraneans and the high place this mythopoeic warning cautions us of the space between the haves and the have nots and what exactly supports who.

Hearts Beat Loud (2018) - Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Toni Collette

If you don't have a library card, get one. Why? Because you need to access Kanopy. Now. If for no other reason than to stream Hearts Beat Loud.

In their own words, Kanopy "stream[s] thoughtful entertainment to your preferred device with no fees and no commercials by partnering with public libraries and universities."

With Kanopy, I never would have seen this little gem, Hearts Beat Loud.

Father Frank (Nick Offerman) is a failed musician who owns a dying record store. Daughter Sam (Kiersey Clemons) is sensibly pursuing a career as a doctor despite ludicrously real musical talent.

The story examines the space between a parent and a child after high school graduation and before college. Father Frank and daughter Sam are learning to let go: adulthood, dreams, ambitions, relationships.

Although I'm not a big Parks and Recreation fan, I have come to adore Nick Offerman, particularly after watching him as the pontificatingly drunken barrister, Karl Weathers, in the second season of Fargo (Rhinoceros was my favorite episode). His leathered face and pugnacious eyes never quite prepare me for his irony-filled drawl.

Couple him with his onscreen daughter, Kiersey Clemons, and his maybe/maybe not lover, Toni Collette, and you have quite a trifecta. Then for a real throwback, Ted Danson resurrects his Cheers chops as a loopy bartender. Round out this unexpected ensemble with Blythe Danner as the klepto grandma.

The music is unexpectedly good and Kiersey Clemons voice, in and of itself, is worth the watch.

Director: Brett Haley

Writers: Brett Haley, Marc Basch

Stars: Nick Offerman, Kiersey Clemons, Blythe Danner

Country: USA

Language: English

Release Date: 8 June 2018 (USA)

Filming Locations: Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

I took my mother to see Mother!

Disturbing. Shocking. Disgusting. Leaving a seismic wake in its aftermath.

In this day and age, it is very difficult to cause these sort of deep responses to a film.

Sometimes you get fascinated by the underside of a rock: Nightcrawler (Jake Gyllenhaal, Renee Russo)

This past weekend I watched Nightcrawler with Jake Gyllenhaal.

Watching Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is like watching a maggot move onto a side of meat and go into a feeding frenzy. The more it eats, the more it wants, and it is never satiated.

He turns his too-wide eyes onto any possible feast. He starts as a bottom feeder, knocking out a security guard when confronted for stealing copper wiring. At every turn, he's trying to  get to bigger and better game. Showing no fear, he asks the scrap metal owner to hire him, giving the guy an impressive sales pitch.

I could imagine Tony Robbins being this way before he ever got big.

Turned away by the scrap metaller, Louis crawls back into the night, making his way home only to come across a wreck on the highway. That's when he sees a videographer hovering over the cops, taping the wreckage. Louis starts asking questions; that's when he finds out that the video is going to get sold. Then Louis starts calculating.

 Slowly, Louis begins to feed off the wreckage. And we get to watch the progression of his insatiable appetite.

Watch it on Amazon Prime Instant Video.

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February Favorites!

I saw some great movies, binge watched some good TV and read some fun books. Learn more below!

Movies

The Way - Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez

This movie made me want to sell everything and walk the Pyrenes Mountains.

An unsentimental view of how man copes when his adult son decides to pursue his dreams only to lose his life.

Starring real-life father and son duo, Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez, the movie examines ambitions, dreams, grief and love.

If you love travelogues, don't mind a dose of spirituality and buddy movies, this is the movie for you. And, even though this does take place on a Catholic pilgrimage, it has a mild spiritual overtones.

Not Another Happy Ending - Karen Gillian, Henry Cusick

This British rom-com has Dr. Who darling Karen Gillian and French actor and Scandal star, Henry Ian Cusick.

If you love movies about writers, this one's for you. Jane has been trying to get her novel published. After a stream of rejections, finally the foul-mouthed editor, Willie takes her novel on. Together, they work to make it the "novel of the year". And that's when it all starts to go down hill.

Peruvian Henry Ian Cusick does a brilliant job of playing a bossy French man. And Kareen Gillian is delightful as the lovely first-time novelist, quirky menswear aside. Definitely one to watch.

Horns - Daniel Radcliffe and Juno Temple - instant view

A quirky morality tale starring Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe examines honesty, revenge and free will.

Ig falls in love Merrin when they are just children. Their love seems destined for marriage until she is found dead.

Traumatized and distraught, he is victimized by the town and his family who believes he is her murderer. After a night of debauchery, he wakes up to find he has grown horns.

Surreal and sad, this movie examines the nature of good and evil.

TV Shows

Justified - Timothy Olyphant - instant view

This 6-season series covers a volatile, recalcitrant US Deputy Marshall's return to his hom-state of Kentucky.

Fielding feuding hillbilly families entrenched in drug wars that would put the mob to shame, Raylan Givens picks up where he left off, running into old enemies, an ex-wife and an estranged father.

Bullets fly, bombs explode and alliances flip.

All in a single episode. Based on Elmore Leonard's short story, Fire in the Hole.

Bosch - Titus Welliver - instant view

Only available on Amazon Prime, Bosch is a video series based upon Michael Connelly's detective Harry Bosch.

Much like Justified's Raylan Givens, Harry Bosch runs along the edge of the law in LA. Described as new noir, the cinematography is shadowed and gritty.

Harry Bosch is maligned, shredded and accused from all sides.

Nevertheless, he solves crimes, closes down delinquents and generally cleans up the mayhem.

Books

Pilgrim Road - Albert Holtz, OSB - Kindle

Benedictine monk takes the reader through a Lenten journey through 40 days worth of pilgrim sites.

Illustrated by the author with small sketches of the pilgrim sites drawn during his journeys, his words will transport you to these saintly sites.

Traveling from Spain to Bogota, then France then England, this book is delightful, thought-provoking and will guide you towards a deeper Lenten experience.

To Catch a Bad Guy - Marie Astor - Kindle

Marie Astor's white-collar crime mystery follows former AG Janet Maple and financial investigator Dennis Walker as they stumble upon one another during their tenure at a financial investment firm.

Dennis is working under cover to investigate the firm's investments when Janet is hired by her friend to join as counsel after getting laid off from the AG's office. 

Sparks start to fly as both Janet and Dennis begin to realize their instincts are right.

A fun romp, there is no gratuitous sex and a smart read.



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The Help (2011) - Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spenser

The story of a young girl who returns to her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi in 1963, she aspires to become a writer.

While her friends titter around the bridge table, she begins to ask the town's maids to tell their stories.

Civil riots are breaking out in Mississippi, one of the worst states in the country. The maids, afraid for their jobs, their families and their lives, decide to risk all to tell the town's secrets.

The movie stars Easy A's Emma Stone as Skeeter, the wide-eyed journalist. The two central maids are played by Doubt's Viola Davis and Spiderman's Octavia Spenser and give scene-stealing performances. Octavia, in fact, really steals the show.

A superb cast, the catty queen bee, Hilly Holbrook, is played by Ron Howard's baby girl, Bryce Dallas Howard. Jessica Chastain, from Tree of Life, is charming as the ditzy, white trash bombshell. And Allison Janney is wonderful as Skeeter's mother.

All in all, it was well done and not too smarmy.

My only concern is that some may think that this is based in fact. Although the notion is real and these types of incidents did occur, no book, entitled "The Help", was ever published in 1963.

And the most interesting factoid? One of the executive producers was Mohamed Khalaf Al-Mazrouei, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Media Company, and Nate Berkus, a designer and Oprah protege.

Eat, Pray, Love - Julia Roberts (2010)

What is it with male critics?

They have a built-in bias against chick flicks. It really is annoying. I wish they would attempt to be a little bit more open-minded.

Because, I have to confess, I was pleasantly surprised.

Note that you will be paying to watch a woman go on a spiritual quest in what may be perceived to be in a most self-indulgent manner.

And because I have thought that very thing, I never read the book because I have told everyone "I already lived that book; I don't need to read it."

I was gratefully surprised as to how moving the movie was. Of course men don't like it; it wreaks emotional havoc on them. It stirs up empathetic feelings of sadness, loss, grief.

Women, we love to watch these movies. They help us heal.

Maybe if more men watched these kinds of movies they wouldn't be so constipated.

Although, I will say, none of the actors appeared to be crying when there were acting like they were crying. One time, it looked like someone put two eye drops of water, each one directly below each of Julia's pupils, in an attempt to make it look like she had shed real tears. Crocodile tears, I say!

And some of the lines were kind of hokey.

But I enjoyed the movie more than I thought I would.

The Piano Teacher - Isabell Hupppert (2002))

A deeply disturbing film about a professor of music. In a bizarrely symbiotic relationships with her mother, she is dogmatic, obsessive and unbending. The Piano Teacher is based on the novel Die Klavierspielerin by Elfriede Jelinek who received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2004.

Unthinkably, a gorgeous young man who is a genius pianist falls in love with her and pursues her with abandon. She spurns all of his advances until he corners her. Then the tables are turned and she beseeches him to dominate her.

A study in control and submission, Isabell Huppert gives a Cannes awards-winning performance of an insanely controlled and then just clearly insane character. To watch her face, so taut with control, give just a glimmer, just a hint of emotion away. That was the joy of this movie, for me.

Blind Side - Sandra Bullock (2009)

Blind Side tells the true story of how one woman and her family pick up a homeless young black man off the streets of Memphis and turn his life around.

Sandra Bulluck plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, the affluent wife of former MBA basketball player Sean Tuohy, played by Tim McGraw.

The Tuohys spot "Big Mike" walking down the road after they've all left the Christian private school that the Tuohy's children and Mike attend. Leigh Anne decides to take this 300-pound 17-year old black kid into their home for the night.

Mike was brought into the school as a charity case. A nearly grown foster kid that has bounced from house to house, his mother is a crack addict and his father is unknown. He thinks he has somewhere between 10-12 brothers and sisters but he is unsure where they all are.

So by the time Leigh Anne meets him, he can barely read and he is so shut down that he won't hardly talk.

Bit by bit, Leigh Anne works with Michael to show him that there is hope, there is love and there is family.

Beth: You're changing that boy's life.
Leigh Anne Touhy: No, he's changing mine.

Precious (2009)

Precious was probably one of the most surprising and most disturbing movies that I have seen this year.

Starring Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe as Precious, this movie descends into a world that few of us have ever seen.

Precious lives in the Ghetto of New York, the illegitimate first daughter of a mother who has enslaved her and her offspring in return for welfare checks.

Precious is beaten and abused by her mother Mary--portrayed by Mo'Nique--who then allows her boyfriend to repeatedly rape Precious. By the age of 16, Precious is pregnant again with her second child.

The movie is horrific. The scenes between Precious and Mary are so full of tension, I was literally bracing myself for the next blow. I understood why people kill one another. The rage hung in the air like huge sides of beef waiting to be slaughtered.

But intermixed with these terrible, sad scenes were scenes full of joy and laughter: girls giggling over boys, a baby's new eyes, a young girl's dreams of love and fame.

There were some stand-out performances in this movie, especially among the Precious' classmates. Mo'Nique, as Mary, was hands down brilliant: I hated her, was repulsed by her and lost all sense of compassion for her. Gabby Sidiby, in her very first film ever, was astonishing in playing the role with such mulish, hulking determination. Mariah Carey, as Precious' social worker, gave a steady performance but sometimes looked a bit bemused to be on film.

The direction was extremely well done; the tone was never so unbearable that I could not take watching it. The movie covers a terrible subject but Lee Daniels did a good job of maintaining an even stream of emotions, handling the movie's emotions like a sailboat across a stormy sea.

I walked away from this movie thankful that I had seen a part of America I would never have witnessed before but should have known a long time ago.

For all those young, hopeless women out there: May you find love.

Julie & Julia - Amy Adams, Meryl Streep (2009)

I thought I was going to have to sit through GI Joe since my friend had brought her husband along with us to the movies.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had bought tickets for Julie & Julia.

Oh, what a wonderful movie. And Meryl Streep--what an astounding actress. She surprises me over and over again.

The story of a 29 year old's quest to "make something of herself" before she hits 30, Julie test her limits by cooking all of the famed American cook Julia Child's 536 recipes in 365 days.

Telling the tale of two stories--Julia's and Julie's--the film flips between the young New York Julie chronicling her year-long adventure on her now famous blog, The Julie/Julia Project, and Julia Child's 10-year development of her now classic cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

A movie as much about writing as it is about cooking, the parallelism was undeniable; the manner in which each accomplished their missions were indicative of the times.

Both women were blessed with a gifts of cooking, writing and loving husbands.

Amy Adams held her own against the strength of Meryl Streep's performance. I have heard some critics call her performance as "whiny" but, too me, she acted as most 29 year old women act.

And, I must add, Stanley Tucci, as Julia's husband, gave an excellent performance.

But the movie is not only for foodies or females. It is an amazing character study of a 2 women determined to mark their place in this world; be they 50 or 30. Both women, Julie and Julia, a little lost and brimming with intelligence, take a natural gift and human desire and turn it into a career. Julie's melodramatic melancholy is a smart counterpoint to Julia's bubbling good humour and earthiness, and embodies the their respective decades--the 50s and the 00s.

So go. Go hungry. Imbibe and enjoy.

Bon Appetite!

Greenfingers - Clive Owen, Helen Mirren (2005)

Heart Rate: YYYY

Clive Owen stars in this charming story about British prisoners who landscape their way to redemption.

Incarcerated in a high-security prison, after 15 years, Colin Briggs, played by Owen, is transferred to a low-security prison to learn a trade. Hardened by guilt, he refuses to participate until his elderly roommate gives him a packet of violets as a Christmas present.

Colin carelessly plants this seeds in the middle of winter and forgets about them until some other prisoners nearly trample the violets during a soccer game.

He fights to defend his flowers and, in the midst of this battle, he suddenly realizes he wants to garden. One day, out of the blue, his little prison garden is championed by renowned gardener Georgina Woodhouse, played by Helen Mirren.

A charming tale based upon the true story of Her Majesty's Prison Leyhill in the Cotswolds, the real prison actually has won two which won several prizes for their garden prions.

The Namesake - an Eastern Indian Movie with Kal Penn (2006)

Heart Rate: YYY

Kal Penn, of Harold & Kumar fame, stars in The Namesake, a movie about a young man's struggle to live with his Eastern Indian heritage in an American world.

Named after his father's favorite author, Gogol, he is taunted for his odd name. Gogol is never understands why his Indian parents named him for a Russian author until it is almost too late.

The film relies heavily on Nickolai Gogol's short story, "The Over Coat;" in fact, Gogol's father quotes Dostoevsky's line, "We all come out from Gogol's 'Overcoat'."

A study of names and their meaning, the film examines the influence heritage and environmental forces have on our character.

The Indian actress Tabu plays Gogol's mother and is absolutely gorgeous at all stages of the film; her acting is quiet, understated but deeply moving. Irrfan Kahn as Gogol's father is wonderful, too, as the academic, yet quietly funny, father. Zuleikha Robinson gave a noteable performance as Gogol's wife--she reminded me a bit of Minnie Driver, in appearance.

Kal Penn's performance is a little uneven and relies a bit heavily on his pouty good looks. But I will be a little lenient as he was still developing his acting chops at this stage in his career.

The cinematography is a tad irregular but there are some very beautiful shots of India and New England. The segment on the Taj Mahal is exceptional.

Somersault - starring Abbie Cornish, written, directed by Cate Shortland (2004)

Heart Rate: YYYY

An emerging young actor, Abbie Cornish, stars in the small Australian film, Somersault. It is about a young girl who runs away from home after her mother catches her kissing her mother's boyfriend.

No more than 16 or 17, Heidi (Abbie) makes her way to an Australian ski town where she finds herself work and a place to live.

This is the story about a girl trapped in the land between childhood and adulthood. She is an interloper in a tourist town: not a tourist, not a local, she does not fall easily into any category.

The scenery is lovely: flat, snowy and blue with rounded mountains littered with splices of trees. Abbie is gorgeous, with a face bordering between angelic and virginal.

There is explicit sexuality and coarse language.

Entourage - Season 1

Heart Rate: YYY

The HBO series, Entourage, is like a dream come true for high school kids that don't want to grow up.

Three kids from Queens make to LA on one of their buddy's back. Blessed with "face, talent, and a big head", Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier) is one of the new stars on the Hollywood scene.

The series opens as Vince previews his third movie. His buddies, Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and his brother Johnnie Drama Chase (Kevin Dillon) live with him, travel with him and do everything him: choose his films, run his errands, cook his meals, keep him company. They are--as indicated by the series title--his entourage.

Jeremy Piven plays his sex-crazed agent who is always looking to score new talent. Constantly scamming, he is sleaze in a suit.

I don't know.

I laughed a couple of times but, really, its a little too masturbatory for me. Girls mean nothing. They live for nothing. They do nothing.

It just seems kind of empty and immature.

I'm sure the Hollywood folks love it because its about the biz and behind the scenes and they get to watch for little cameos of one another.

Its all seems pretty narcissistic. Maybe that's the joke--they all know its narcissistic and the show's making fun of it. But I just think of all the people that are watching and how they get so hung up on the "truth" of it all.

I'm sure people do act this way.

But do you really want them to?

Milk - Sean Penn (2008)

RATING: YYY

I think Mickey Rourke should have won Best Actor.

There. I said it.

I just got back from seeing Milk and I have to say that Sean Penn is a great actor but I didn't think that this character was one of his best performances.

And Mickey Rourke was incredible in The Wrestler.

Yes, Milk is an important film about a pivotal time in our country's history. Yes, I am glad that I saw it. Yes, I am glad that it was made. And, yes, Harvey Milk was a very courageous and charismatic man.

But I just didn't think it was that good of a movie. There was no fire, no passion. I didn't empathize with these characters. I wanted to. I wanted to care about what was happening to them because any denial of human rights is atrocious.

But this film stirred no empathy in my heart. I felt no outrage for their plight. I think that the film did little to set the stage for their anger; I think the director assumed I would walk into the movie understanding the violations that the gay community has suffered. But I didn't--I grew up pretty well insulated during these times.

The movie didn't show their suffering; how much it hurt to not to be able to "be" even in their own homes. Milk talked about suicides, about being in the closet about young boys suffering, but the movie didn't really show that, they just talked about it. The film assumed that I would understand the plight of a gay man or woman in the 60s and 70s.

The little bit of discrimination that I have heard or known about was learned by talking to gay friends. I wanted the film to expose more of that. That explanation, through characterization, would have made this film an even more important film.

Instead, I think that the director would just assume we would understand that mistreatment.

SPOILER: Some may say that Milk's second lover's suicide showed this element. I would argue that it did not--it just further demonstrated how truly neurotic his second lover was.

Now the interplay between Sean Penn and James Franco was quite moving but, honestly, it was James Franco's performance that stirred me more. James' sad, troubled eyes, watching the love of his life giving himself away over and over again, was so touching. There, then, did I see and feel real emotions.

But the rest? It felt as the movie was just skimming the surface over some very real and raw incidents. Maybe these were left on the editing floor.

The movie just left me wanting.

This was a highly stylized film with an interesting cinematography that captured the look of the old, grainy and yellowish photos of the time.

One of the more beautifully filmed scenes was the last interaction between Harvey Milk and his lover, Scott, as they spoke on the phone and watched the sun rise together.

Along with Sean Penn, the film included Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, Diego Luna and James Franco.

City Hall - Al Pacino, John Cusack (1996)

HEART RATE: YYYY

Perusing the list of John Cusack's films today, I spotted one that I had not seen: City Hall.

Made 12 years ago, Cusack looks so young. But, hey, didn't we all?

He plays a deputy mayor to Mayor of New York, played with resounding aplomb by none other than Al Pacino.

Geemenee Christmas, that Al Pacino can ACT! But I'll get to that in a minute . . .

A man walks his 6-year old son to school. As they cross the street a snitch hooks up a detective with a low-life drug pusher. Guns start firing, the pusher and the detective go down and in the midst of the exchange, the little boy is killed.

City Hall is notified and Kevin Calhoun (Cusack), who manages Mayor John Pappas, steps in to clean things up for the mayor and begins to uncover a complicated series of graft.

But back to Al. He decides, against advisement, to speak at the young boy's funeral. Facing an angry crowd of constituents who want to know why he's not cleaning up the city, Pacino literally turns the crowd around with a mesmerizing performance of a speech.

A good movie, I have to confess that Cusack's attempts at a Louisiana accent fails dismally. But he's still adorable and still convincing in the role.

The movie also stars Bridget Fonda, Danny Aiello, Martin Landau.