Jeff Lubeck

The Cream Always Rises to the Top: The Highwaymen

The tug of war between between owners of distribution and those involved in creation of a product is never more evident with film The Highwaymen (2019) Starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson,

Viewers would a expect a film with quality performances by the Leads mentioned above. Viewers could also expect The Highwaymen would be good given it is directed by Lee Hancock (The Blind Side, The Alamo) with a screenplay by John Fusco (Young Guns, Hildago), Cinematography by John Schwartzman (Pearl Harbor, Armageddon), and a music score by Thomas Newman (14 AAN to his credit).

With the above mentioned people involved surely viewers would expect The Highwaymen would appear in movie theaters across America. Do not call me Shirley, and these viewers would be wrong.

Well, in today’s America this film does not make it to general distribution in the corporate controlled theaters whom are likely showing the 847th variation of films promoting a Marvel Licensed Character.

Luckily for some of us, Netflix bought the distribution rights to The Highwaymen. Subscribers of Netflix get to see a film in their home that is worthy of a screening in a facility larger than their home can present.

The Highwaymen is the story of stopping villain\populist heroes Bonnie & Clyde from the vantage point of people representing the law and general population.

America in 1932-34 23.4% of the population is unemployed – let alone under-employed. The Rich are talking about the troubles of America at cocktail-parties. The good deal of the rest of the people are living in makeshift camps after losing their homes.

During this period, Bonnie and Clyde grab Headlines. Some of the media presents them as Robinhood’s taking from the Rich and giving to the Poor. The reality is nothing close. Bonnie and Clyde kill everyday people – mostly small store owners – and police for any denomination of U.S. Currency.

Texas Rangers Frank Hammer and Maney Gault are retained to track Bonnie and Clyde down and bring them to justice; whatever that may be. Their hypothesis turns out to be correct, when others think otherwise.

The Highwaymen is an enjoyable film worthy of a viewing.

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A Dog With The Really Good Same Tricks?: The Mule

Can an old dog learn new tricks? I am not sure.

What if a dog can perform its’ same trick(s) really well regardless of age? Clint Eastwood and his film The Mule are material evidence to suggest the affirmative.

The 89 year-old Eastwood (b. May 31, 1930) checks off all the boxes and hits all the marks with this wonderful presentation based on a real-life person and story. How can he keep doing this? Your guess is as good as mine.

While the Actor Eastwood could appear in films presenting extreme or exaggerated personalities, the Actor\Director Eastwood in his most successful works is almost always focused on careful development of the story and characters. The Mule continues the tradition.

From a viewing perspective The Mule starts out good and gets better with each minute.

The Mule depicts a sweeping set of aspects in everyday life; selfishness, success, instant gratification, failure, regret, unwillingness to forgive, forgiveness, lack of self awareness, self awareness, and man’s inhumanity towards man.

The supporting cast of The Mule is littered with some of the best actors in film. The roles are supposedly to be of real people and each is quite good. If you are expecting any to be over the top characters or performances – you are missing the point.

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Jeff’s Thoughts and Worthless Trivia

Alison Eastwood co-stars as the daughter Iris. She is Clint’s daughter in real life. Be wary of “the look” as it happens in The Mule – often. You know what I mean. Eastwood did not turn to stone at any point during filming.

Taissa Farmiga co-stars as the grand-daugther. She could easily be Vera Farmiga’s (Up in the Air) daughter. While 21 years younger, Taissa is Vera’s sister.

Dianne Wiest (The Bird Cage) co-stars as the ex-wife. In my opinion, Wiest is one of the most underrated actors in firm of all time.

Isolation After Snowmaggedon 2019 – Hey At Least It Is Pretty

Idaho is often confused with Iowa. I could say something, but will not go there. For those not confused, most know that Idaho is a rugged, fairly isolated place with a relatively small population. It is in the top ten states in terms of size and the bottom ten in terms of population. As most of you know we live in Hailey and Stanley and work in Ketchum.

Sun Valley and the small towns of the Wood River Valley (Bellevue, Hailey, and Ketchum) combine for a total population of around 15,000. Blaine County has just above 20,000 residents in 2,661 square miles or 8 people per square mile. Stanley is in Custer County. Stanley has a population of 63 and the county has 4,300 residents in 4,668 square miles of .8 people per square mile. For comparison Los Angeles has 6,999 people per square mile, while San Francisco comes in at 6,299, Chicago, Portland (OR) and Salt Lake sit at around 3,600. Seattle has 3,024 resident per square mile. So know we have a picture of Not Crowded and Crowded.

February of 2019 brought record levels of precipitation (i.e., snow) to the region. Sun Valley recorded 131 inches of snowfall. During the last week of February the Weather Service predicted a snow storm lasting three days with bring 20-40 inches of snow. The storm lasted six days and brought 48-72 inches of snow. I measured 53 inches of snow were dropped in the storm at the cabin in Stanley. What was intended to be a 7-8 day stay has resulted a stay that will last three weeks.

Shae Dog, Sage of the Wood River Valley Dog, Willow of the Wood River Valley Dog, Linda and yours truly headed to the cabin for the weekend. Linda headed back to the Wood River for work with the intention of returning the next weekend. The dogs and I have yet to see Linda since she left. Why? Snowmaggedon 2019 ensued. The dogs and I have been trapped in Stanley as the route to Ketchum (ID75) is closed and blocked at Galena Summit. The route to Boise (ID21) is closed and blocked at Banner Summit. The backdoor (and three times as long) route to Ketchum via Challis (ID75\US93\US20\ID75) is closed and blocked at Craters of the Moon National Monument on the Oregon Trail.

In 2017 another Snowmaggedon occurred and I was trapped at the cabin. I [sic. rightly] claimed [by rule] to be the first victim of the U.S. Government’s Travel Ban order.

Luckily, I have dog food, dog chews and dog toys. I also have internet, phone service and satellite. Stanley Construction keeps our private road and the US Forest Service Road we need to use to get to the outside world clear. We have a permit with the U.S. Forest Service to plow\snow-blow 1.25 miles of Iron Creek Trailhead Road during the winter. It should be noted this crew is awesome. The roads a cleared with a giant snowblower that leave them in better condition than most major-league baseball infields (except covered in snow). Linda took the car, so I do not have one. so the dogs and I use it for walking and cross-country skiing.

My Neighbor Doug and I headed out of the trees this AM, and I caught this image at sunrise.

The Cream Always Rises to the Top: The Highwaymen

A Dog With The Really Good Same Tricks?: The Mule

Isolation After Snowmaggedon 2019 – Hey At Least It Is Pretty

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