RBF Podcast 2- The Drop, True Detective, NHL Hockey

The RBF duo of JJ Truxall Esq and N Albert Roche get together to discuss HBO's True Detective and the upcoming NHL season. Plus, Chris Kuryak joins to talk about The Drop, and Jeremy and Nick each recommend a movie to stream.

First Podcast!!!

JJ Truxall and I get together to discuss Richard Linklater's new flick Boyhood in the first of hopefully many RBF podcasts. Take a listen below.

Movie Review: The Spectacular Now

The vast majority of critics give coming of age movies something of a free pass when they are at least somewhat well done. This is especially true if the film focusses on the trials and tribulations of a socially awkward male character and their growing up rather than a group of popular nubile youngsters parading around a beach (ie ‘American Pie’). Add in a relationship with a waif but unconventionally attractive female character and some conflict resulting from negligent parents or an early life tragedy, and the film is a shoe-in for critical acclaim and adulation. The last several years have seen a number of such movies released on the festival scene, and while most are enjoyable enough to watch, few are truly memorable; moreover, there exists a significant quality gap amongst them that separates them that most critics seem unwilling to point out. In particular, I’m talking about ‘Adventureland’, ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’, ‘The Way Way Back’ and the focus of this piece, ‘The Spectacular Now’.

It's A question of ethics: Miller's Crossing Review (1990)

After their first viewing, some films will leave the viewer in immediate awe or anger, either of a performance, a stunt, a scene, or the film itself. Others, like the Coen Brother’s third film, 1990’s Miller’s Crossing have much more of a slow burn effect: although you know it was good, it takes time for you to realize just how good it really was.

A Death in the Family

Although this post is long overdue, I hope to hell someone reads it, because it is reasonably important to me. One of my favorite blogs is stopping - Free Darko - and as it provided at least some inspiration for me to start this new, incredibly prolific blog, its passing deserves more than just a passing note. Free Darko provided intelligent commentary on modern day basketball events and goings on that not only made the sport respectable on an intellectual level, it opened the door for other communities of legitimate highbrow thinking about sports, athletes, and culture. Who can honestly find an accurate analogue to Sisyphus in ice hockey or Walter Berglund in football? And this goes without mentioning the fantastic books and art work put out by the blog/collective. Spend 15 bucks at your local Barn to pick up 'The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac' or 'FreeDarko Presents: The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History' - either is easily worth three times the price, even if you don't like basketball. I'll let Shoefly, a contributor at 'The Rumble' summarize my thoughts a bit more tersely:

"That’s why I’m proud of FreeDarko. Sports should be about people, I think. We follow it because we care about them. It’s not just the stately march of commerce across the heartland if you’re doing it right. Which Shoals always did – and does. Not just well, but often, to my abiding admiration and awe, a fierce advocate and soldier for meaning in sports. I expect he, and all of us, will find a victory in the end."

True, the blog wasn't without its faults. At times, it was far too 'inside the beltway' with its contributors for my tastes (somewhat like academic texts that critique others' critiques of famous works), and it was often too confused, indecisive, or existential to exist as anything but a place for people to post these thoughts. Without doubt though, the benefits far outweighed the cons, and to say I'm sad to see it go is an understatement (although perhaps my boss isn't). While we at A Rare Blue Flower aim for slightly different goals through slightly different means, we certainly would not exist were it not for FreeDarko, and truly, who would we be if we didn't acknowledge our forebearers? Rest in peace, Grandmama.

Do 'The Oscars' mean anything?

Author's Note: This post is about movies, as will be many others on this site. That said, posts on any topic are welcome and will be featured in the future.

Tonight, the 83rd Academy Awards air in what is likely the most watched and anticipated awards show in any industry. Being a fan of movies and having watched the show many times, I've felt the need to resolve my feelings surrounding it and provide some perspective or provoke some discussion on the significance of the show. In general, I think the importance of the awards is understated by many; in particular, I think the Academy needs to be more clear about the rational for certain winners.

The general purpose of the Academy Awards is to recognize the excellence of professionals in the film industry. However, rarely is the 'most excellent' film or performance chosen. Far too often, the Academy seems too easily swayed by momentum, word of mouth sentiment, humanistic storytelling, and in particular relevance to the time of the award than they do by the quality of the films and performances in question. This year is no different in this regard, especially in the category of 'Best Picture'. The two favorites from the field of ten are 'The King's Speech' and 'The Social Network', and although both are great films, they have their flaws; as of writing, it seems as though 'The King's Speech' will win. While I feel as though it is the better film, it strikes me as appealing too obviously to people's sympathy for the disabled (to put it bluntly, it attempts to go 'half-retard for awards', as per Robert Downey Jr.'s recommendation in 'Tropic Thunder'); that being said, in this case I don't feel the director should be punished for choosing such an excellent story.

To say that 'The Social Network', on the other hand, is culturally relevant would be a gross understatement - but it also does not account for the fact that this film did little to explain how social network's change people's interactions or affect their lives, not to mention the fact that few if any of the Academy members would be users of the technology. Nevertheless, people seem intent on having a modern day 'Citizen Kane' (which is a poor comparison in every regard), and it may very well win. The fact that a number of better movies were released this year seems, frustratingly, irrelevant to many.

The Academy also seems to consistently enjoy picking moderately successful films released at the right time. Smaller art house movies rarely stand a chance, while the Academy seems too elitist to deign to present awards to more commercial fare. Christopher Nolan seems to have been unlucky in the last couple of years in the latter sense; while his movie's often leave me wanting a bit more, I always find his work entertaining and thought provoking, as do millions of others. 'Inception' managed to garner a Best Picture nod, but 'The Dark Knight' somehow did not several years ago, and I would be astounded if he wins; perhaps the Academy feels that an original screenplay based on the nature of dreams, loss, and reality is less interesting than a feel good adapted story about a stuttering monarch. I won't even mention the poor treatment given to foreign and animated films

These same criticisms are present in the awards given to individuals. Traditionally, films that feature themes such as overcoming oppression or inequality appeal to the left leaning academy, with movies involving gay rights and racial equality receiving a boost in recent years. Two years ago, Mickey Rourke was robbed of a Best Actor Oscar for his work in 'The Wrestler' by Sean Penn in 'Milk'; this year, history may repeat itself as somehow Annette Benning's work in 'The Kid's Are Alright' seems more deserving to many than Natalie Portman's performance in 'Black Swan'. The Academy would do well to choose the most deserving performance, and not one that forwards a given political agenda.

Nearly every year, arguments are made for certain directors or actors not on the basis of an individual performance but on the body of work. People who side in the latter camp fail to acknowledge the importance of lifetime achievement awards; the Academy Award's are for the best work in that year. Now that Martin Scorsese has won his Best Picture Oscar for his somewhat underwhelming 'The Departed', this issue is discussed with less regularity, but I'm sure it will be brought up again in the future, especially in the case of potential repeat winners.

Finally, the many people question the importance of the Oscars. Many movies have benefitted greatly financially from the bump in profile that comes with an Oscar nomination or win. This also often translates to greater artistic control for directors and performers in later work, which generally leads to higher quality work. By inaccurately presenting awards and nominations, the Academy misses the opportunity to give a struggling actress or director a deserved boost in their career and ensure that the best roles and projects are given to the most talented and deserving actors and directors (not to mention costume and set designers, audio technicians, composers, etc). For many, this is the only chance at an award they will have, and whether they admit it or not the awards always matter on a personal level; few performers are secure enough in their abilities to not seek some form of external validation of the quality of their work - it is what their career consists of. If you don't believe me, look at Mickey Rourke face right after he lost to Penn, as mentioned above. By not giving awards to the most deserving recipient, the Academy robs performers not just of future earnings but also often damages them emotionally.

With that said, I'm looking forward to this year's show, and mostly just hope it doesn't run too long

And so it begins.....

This is the first post on our new blog, A Rare Blue Flower. Here, we present you with our mission statement, the reason for this blogs existence and some of the motives for its creation.

The blog 'A Rare Blue Flower' was created by a group of young men as a response to what they see as the collective decay of the world around them from an intellectual and aesthetic point of view. The creators feel that this trend is particularly prevalent amongst their many 'young professional' or 'ute' peers, who are too absorbed by 'how busy their lives are' to instead take time to appreciate them as they go flying past. In an effort to combat this societal atrophy, the blog, a modern medium, was chosen to disseminate our message to as many as possible, before it is too late. Here, scholarship of any type, on any topic, is championed, and the contributions of readers in the form of comments, questions, and guest posts, are encouraged. At worst, this blog shall serve as an appropriate locale for our pointless intellectual musings; at best, it will develop a readership and foster greater discuss of art and culture, and most of all, encourage independent and original thought. We take our name from a favored symbol amongst us, representative of desire, love, and most of all, the striving for the infinite and unreachable.

We hope that this blog does not just become some flash in the pan, but rather continues ad infinitum, pursuing the goals outlined in the above statement. The first full post will be up in the next week or two.