Music Review: Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Columbia Records, 1967.

Movie Review: ***^ Music from Another Room (1998)

 As a boy, Danny (Jude Law) helps hs father deliver a baby.  At that time he declares he is going to marry the baby some day.  Jump forward 25 years and Danny is a down on his luck man who begins working making deliveries, and he runs into the same family.  The baby, Anna (Gretchen Mol) is now engaged.  Danny expresses his love, but it falls flat.  Anna has a sister, Nina (Jennifer Tilly) who is blind and over protected.  Danny begins to help her expand her life.  They go to a dance and she meets Jesus (Vincent Laresca) who gets her to dance.  From thee they form a relationship, and eventually marry.  As she grows, the family becomes more open and free, and Danny finds his place with them.  

Musical Review: The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise

 The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise was very enjoyable.  It presented the Neil Diamond story by framing it in a therapy session, with the therapist using the Neil Diamond songs as a place to focus her therapy; In a real sense Diamond put his life into his songs.  The ensemble went from them being backup singers to there being characters in his life.  The musical is presented with two Neil Diamonds, his current self watching his his then self and the rise of his career.

Diamond has had three wives, which means he has gone through two breakups.  Most of them ended amicably, but his second wife took his houses in the divorce.  His first wife was his high school sweetheart, Marcia.  She had a baby before Diamond started his career.  His second wife could be credited as the person who discovered him, Jaye.  She was with Diamond for 25 years, but eventually his being on the road took its toll.  His third wife, Katie, encouraged him to seek therapy, and to gor through with the musical.  His wives share in singing some of his songs, including, "Hello Again," "Song Sung Blue," "You Don't Bring Me Flowers," "Love on the Rocks" and "Play Me." "Play Me" is a very romantic duet.  The first act ends with Diamond being faced with writing a song to gt out of a repressive contract.  The song was "Sweet Caroline" which he sang with the audience.  

Diamond was a performer until his Parkinson's disease making so he couldn't continue.  In the musical all the songs were written by Neil Diamond, some with collaboration but mostly by himself.  When he started his career he said he had already written 50 songs.  His first song to become a hit, for the Monkees was "I'm a Believer."  He eventually started performing his own songs.  His manager, Jaye, who later became his wife, encouraged this.  

The climax of the musical the two Diamonds performed as a duet, "I Am I Said."  The doctor used this as an empty chair exercise, witting in one chair as the king, and another as the frog.  "Have you ever heard the story about a frog who dreamed of being a king, and then became one."  Sort of the Neil Diamond story rolled up into one line.  

This musical is really good, and I loved the music.  The thing that makes it special is the dancing.  There was some crazy dance moves going on.  For our night the part of Neil Diamond then was played by Joe Caskey.  

I also liked that there is a noe from Neil Diamond in the program explaining how the musical came to be.  It was a nice touch.

John Wayne Movie Review: ****The Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)

 Sergeant Stryker (John Wayne) is a tormented person.  He has an alcohol problem, and is tough on his men.  But he hopes he has taught them enough that it might save their lives.  Of course nothing ever works 100 percent.  After a hard fight up Mount Suribachi, Stryker is killed by a sniper's bullet, just before the raising of the flag by the Marines on the mount.  Stryker's death was not expected.  I though Wayne always lived.  After his death the discover he has a son he is not able to see, a reason for some of his torment.  Ira Hayes played himself in this movie as one of the men who raises the flag, and as a member of the unit Stryker trained and commanded.  

Tough fighting but an enjoyable movie.  Wayne was nominated for an Oscar for this movie.  

Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits

 In this CD we have 20 Carly Simon songs, 19 of her greatest hits and a 20th song recorded with her daughter, Sally Taylor, as a bonus.  The song for me that makes this CD worth listening to is "You're So Vain."  This song is surrounded by mystery as no one knows to whom she is referring.  It seems to be actually a compendium of men, including Warren Beatty.  "I haven't got Time for the Pain" is a song whose lrics go through my head.  This and the song "Anticipation."  I also like "That's the Way I've Always Heard it Should Be" from her first album and "The Right Thing to Do" from her third album.  She sings "Mockingbird" with James Taylor.  She was married to James Taylor for ten years.  Simon has a distinctive and enjoyable voice.  She also plays piano.  She represents music from the 70s when I grew up.

At the Movies: ****^ Mercy (2026)

 This movie takes on AI.  It is placed in 2029 Los Angeles.  Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) is confined to a chair when the movie begins, and he is charged with murdering his wife (Annabelle Wallace).  Raven is a police officer with L.A.  He was instrumental in gaining the first conviction through a system called Mercy.  He is given 90 minutes to prove his innocence or be executed.  Apparently the contraption he is connected to can do that immediately.  Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson) is the face of the AI system which has accused Raven of murder, with 98 percent certainty he is guilty of murder.  Everything points to him being the only person in the house, and they have access to cell phone and camera information.  He also has his police partner (Kali Reis).  Together they begin to unravel a plot.  That plot gets more and more complicated, and results in the kidnapping of his daughter (Kylie Rogers).  The plot involves the brother (Chris Sullivan) of that first person executed by Mercy.

This movie is very entertaining.  It is different than any movie I have ever seen in that Raven is in a chair, but able to interact with people far away in the field.  This includes asking many questions of different people.  Even the judge begins to glitch as the guilty percentage slowly goes down.

At the Movies: **** Solo Mio (2026)

 This is an enjoyable romantic comedy based in Italy, complete with some language issues.  There is a big surprise in this movie, to the characters and the audience.  The story is Matt (Kevin James) takes his fiancée Heather (Julie Ann Emery) to Italy for the wedding; but she leaves him at the altar.  He finds another woman, Gia (Nicole Grimaudo) and they eventually become friends, and then more.  Things seem to hit off, but he does not tell her that he is on the rebound, and when he does she takes it hard.  Lots of funny stuff about relationships, and the two couples he meets in the honeymoon tour package, while he is single, really add to the movie, Meghan and Neal (Alyson Hannigan and Kim Coates) and Donna and Julian (Julee Cerda and Jonathan Roumie).  The really add some humor, one a couple divorcing each other twice and remarrying thrice.  The other present as therapists, and this gives me a laugh being a therapist and the language they use.  This made for a fun feel good movie.  Andrea Bocelli and family with an appearance.