My Amazon DVD Reviews: The Master

Worthy of The Cause
3 Out Of 5 Stars

A troubled young soul in need of redemption comes to a charismatic philosopher who claims to have the answers. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Lancaster Dodd, who is obviously loosely based on L Ron Hubbard and his cult of Scientology. When Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix), a World War II veteran who can't adjust to civilian life stumbles aboard Dodd's yacht party, the two find a sort of common bond with each other. Freddie has a need to find answers, The Master claims he has them. For the next two hours, the 2 men circle each other in a sort of tragic dance.

"The Master" explores the bond between Hoffman and Phoenix and it is a difficult bond to watch. Freddie has issues the run so deep that even Hoffman's "processing" can't draw them out. The two men metaphorically explore what it is like to be a cult follower in a cult leader. Hoffman in particular exudes charisma even when other characters point out that "The Cause" seems like it is being made up as they go along. At the same time Freddie is so desirous of a father figure/guiding light not only is he willing to follow "The Cause," he is willing to fight off anyone who dares question the Master's divinity.

The movie does a great job in showing what willing followers will do in search of the ultimate answer. Phoenix, as the troubled young Freddie, runs through the movie like a powder keg just waiting to explode. Even in the end, as the two men try to mend their differences, Phoenix can't hide that he is wound up tighter than a watch spring even as Hoffman attempts to console him one last time. "The Master" is not an easy movie to watch. Phoenix burns so darkly and with such intensity that it is hard to wonder if he is redeemable. He earned his Oscar nomination, as does Hoffman, who for the bulk of the movie remains unflappable in the faith of his beliefs. Dodd desperately wants his protege to follow his leadership while Freddie struggles between his love of Dodd and the leash that The Master keeps his followers on.

"The Master" doesn't explode. It is a slow burn of a film that reveals its greatnesses the hard way.

   

My Amazon Reviews: Don Henley "The Very Best Of"

We've Been Up and Down This Highway....
4 Out Of 5 Stars

After the Eagles' first break-up, Don Henley and Glenn Frey went right into solo-ville, and it was apparent who the Lennon and McCartney personalities in the band were. Frey exited straight to sappy love songs and high-energy/low-calorie rock, while Henley's first singles were the socially targeted "Johnny Can't Read" and "Dirty Laundry." While Frey had the first hits, it is Henley's solo albums that have stood the test of time.

When his second solo album, "Building the Perfect Beast," was issued, there was an instant classic with "The Boys Of Summer." Written about those for whom life in the fast lane had become a driveway full of SUV's, it contained a bitter melancholy and the striking lyric "I saw a deadhead sticker on a Cadillac." This was the kind of thoughtful rock that The Eagles occasionally slipped onto their albums, but in a more wizened and weathered point of view. "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" continued that social malaise, but the self-depreciating "Not Enough Love In The World" backtracked when it came to relationships.

"I'm not easy to live with,
I know that it's true.
You're no picnic either, baby.
That's one of the things
I love about you."

Axl Rose, who was at his GnR finest even snarled along on "I Will Not Go Quietly." No saccharine here, folks. The followup album, "The End of the Innocence" is a masterpiece and much darker than "Beast." "New York Minute" follows urban violence while "Sunset Grill" chronicles urban decay from the first person. But the kicker was the title song, with the stately Bruce Hornsby piano line supporting a grown man's look back with longing. Not the usual longing, because the collapse comes from such issues as the lawyers who "dwell on small details since Daddy had to fly." It paints one of the most succinct picture of The Reagan Years in a small cluster of artists who tried. (Another favorite of that period: David + David's "Boomtown.") "Innocence" was such an amazing album that Henley took almost 15 years before he issued "Inside Job."

Which means between "Actual Miles" and this Very Best Of, Henley did exactly one more solo album. Three songs from "Inside Job" make the cut for this collection, including "Taking You Home," which barely missed the top 40. Leonard Cohen's "Everybody Knows" is carried from "Actual Miles," and once again the album "I Can't Stand Still" gets shortchanged. (Why never "Johnny Can't Read"?) But for a starter set, this "Very Best Of Don Henley" does the job.