Blue Jasmine

Woody Allen, 2013

Can I Stream It?

3/5

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) is a struggling woman, trying to put the pieces together after her husband is imprisoned for insider trading. She moves to San francisco to stay with her adopted sister. When she arrives she is hit with a bit of culture shock and struggles to adapt to a less affluent life. 

Woody Allen's nod to Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire is also Woody channeling that very familiar, welcomed neurotic stream of consciousness. Much of the neuroses is placed upon Jasmine's character in the film, who almost makes you think that Blanchett must of been institutionalized after completion. Blanchett does what she does, and just perfectly hits the mark as the unfiltered and unstable Jasmine. Jasmine's turbulent saga is craft-fully displayed through flashbacks of her old life when her husband was still reaping the benefits of his white collar crimes while she went along for the ride, and jumps back to present day when she is forced to come back to earth. And Earth is a scary place for Jasmine. Hardly anybody lives up to her incredibly high standards, her old friends have left her, and she is out of money but rich with embarrassment and humiliation. And she is ready to spiral out of control at a moment's notice, really hanging on by a thread. Self medicates by throwing back a Xanax, chasing it down with some Stoli. All-while somehow maintaining that nasal, condescending tone with that stubbornly pompous persona. She figures if can just land quickly into a West Coast version of her old life, she will stabilize without doing any of the real work on herself. And that work is long overdue. While Blanchett's performance clearly stands out, there is certainly a lot of help. Andrew Dice Clay, Louis C.K. step out of the stand-up comedy realm and impress. Sally Hawkins, who looks like she could be a sister of Marisa Tomei, is impressive as Jasmine's less fortunate sister Ginger who lives a much more modest life but doesn't hesitate to provide shelter for Jasmine. It's a story of riches to rags. Fish out of water. Humbling new beginnings. The haves and have nots but the haves dont have for long. The deterioration of one's facade. The film is littered with a cast that borders on caricatures, which works here. And while the story itself may feel forced at times, Allen constructs it well with a skillful delivery.

Louis C.K.: Oh My God

Louis C.K., 2013

4/5

Louis C.K. is funny. It's been long overdue that the world comes to realize this, and maybe they finally have. He has a popular television series on FX that garners favorable ratings. He is getting cast in mainstream full feature films (Blue Jasmine, American Hustle). He's at the peak of his career, and we are all lucky to get the opportunity to see it. Our grandchildren will be envious of the fact that we were around to see him at his best. The closest comparison to Louie could be drawn to the late George Carlin. And understandably, because C.K. adored him, even had the honor of eulogizing him on stage (tearfully). Carlin examined the simple things in life, and dissected them to the point where there was nothing more to draw on.

What's different about this special than some of his others is there is a surprising sense of evolved confidence and comfort coming from Louie. Not that he's ever timid on stage, but there's something different going on. He crosses subjects that he may have crossed before, but at different angles. The horrible things we say while driving, and the odd sense of confidence we have yelling at our fellow man. Filming kids at school plays with our phones, while they are literally 10 feet in front of us. Examining slavery, and how it created some of the wonders of the world. And of course, boobs.

Louis always has his themes. Animals, sex, the human body, the horrible things that we do as humans, the horrible things that he may do AS a human. It's always going to be dark. It's going to have its irony. It may at times just come off as pure existential truth. It's amazing that he's still able to keep it fresh. And savor what you hear, because its not going to be there a year from now. He's going to discard the bits that absolutely killed on stage and start with nothing. And that must be the most rewarding part of his life at this point. Building it up, taking it down, starting over, and repeating over and over again while the crowds continue to come.

Louis C.K. - Live at the Beacon Theater

Louis C.K., 2011


5/5

You are doing yourself a great disservice if you have not seen Louis C.K. perform. You're missing out on someone who is in their prime, performing at the top of their game. He is writing a new hour, EVERY YEAR. He throws away the old hour completely, even though that material was KILLING in front of crowds of 2500 people or more. This is unbelievable considering there are many stand-up comedians who are still using the same material they were using a decade ago. He's raising the bar, and inspiring the stand-up community. I don't believe any stand-up would argue with you if you said hes the best stand-up out there right now. He's put in his time, he deserves every minute of this success.