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Arts & Life
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- Written by: Tim Riley
Let’s waste no time getting to the point. Better than its 1986 source material, “Top Gun: Maverick” fires on all cylinders to deliver an adrenaline-charged, suspenseful entertainment that demands to be seen on the large screen.
Several names are attached to this film in the producer capacity, but the only name that really matters is Jerry Bruckheimer, the creative force behind the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise, “Pirates of the Caribbean,” and “Bad Boys.”
With a track record of incredible success and having produced “Top Gun,” Bruckheimer, reunited with Tom Cruise after being the actor’s mentor more than three decades ago, is an essential factor putting the pieces in place for electrifying action.
Once a hotshot Navy pilot, Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell has only ascended to the rank of Captain and is content to remain one of the Navy’s top aviators because any advancement in rank would ground him.
Like all of his fellow pilots, Captain Mitchell goes by his own aviator call sign of “Maverick,” which is a most fitting nickname given his propensity for skirting the rules if not outright being insubordinate.
Based in the Navy’s equivalent of Siberia in the Mojave Desert, Maverick runs afoul of Rear Admiral Chester “Hammer” Cain (a grizzly Ed Harris) with an unauthorized test of the speed limit of an advanced fighter jet.
Rear Admiral Cain tells Maverick that “the future is coming, and you’re not in it.” Even though he’s ruffled more than a few feathers during his time in the Navy, Maverick still has friends in high places to save his bacon.
After all, it’s only the beginning of the story, so we know Maverick is not headed to the unemployment line. And it may not be the last time he’ll disobey a command or bend the regulations.
His former nemesis from the old days, Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer) is now a 4-star Admiral who knows that Maverick is the only pilot with the expertise and daring needed to train a special detachment to complete a crucial mission.
The operation is so dangerous that only the most elite pilots could be recruited for the job, and yet this new generation of aviators doesn’t have the proficiency required to have a chance at returning home safely.
As a result, Maverick is shipped off to the Miramar Naval Base in San Diego, the place where it all began for him 36 years ago, with the assignment to teach a dozen aviators the logistics and tactics for a daring excursion into a foreign country.
Teaching is not exactly what Maverick had in mind, and his new commanding officer, Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson (Jon Hamm) is another by-the-book stiff who on at least one occasion threatens to have Maverick court-martialed and dishonorably discharged.
Given his old-school manner, Maverick finds it challenging to connect with the young pilots in the Top Gun program, one of them being the supremely arrogant and brash Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin (Glen Powell).
But the more troubling relationship for Maverick is the fact that Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller) is the son of his former wingman Lt. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, who was killed in a training accident.
At the heart of this new story is the conflict between Maverick and Rooster, as their history runs deep to the time that Maverick and Goose had to eject from their F-14 Tomcat and the fact that Goose did not survive is a cross that Maverick has had to bear.
Another part of Maverick’s past is a reunion with Penny Benjamin, a character only mentioned in the original movie, now brought to life by Jennifer Connelly, who’s the owner of The Hard Deck bar, the hangout for the Navy aviators.
Penny and Maverick had a brief romance and rekindled the relationship over the years, and while their breakups were amicable, now the sparks start to fly again so that the aging hotshot pilot might actually settle down for a change.
In any case, whether the pilots are bonding over touch football on the beach or enjoying a raucous time at their seaside hideaway, the quest for a sneak attack on a nuclear installation deep in enemy territory is what matters most.
The stakes are extremely high as the pilots must navigate narrow canyons flying at low altitude to evade radar detection. It’s impossible to watch the daring flights and not feel the tension deep in your heart and soul.
There is a majesty and beauty to the sophistication of the aerial sequences of F-18 fighter jets engaged in dogfights or rousing evasive maneuvers. The visceral delight of muscular aerial heroics on display is simply mind-blowing.
“Top Gun: Maverick,” steeped in old-fashioned nostalgia celebrating America’s military might, does not disappoint.
The F-18 jets soaring in the sky and dodging enemy fire are truly breathtaking and unnerving, and the excitement of the airborne thrills cannot be overstated.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Middletown Art Center
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Middletown Art Center presents “Indigenous Poetics,” a poetry reading event hosted by Lake County Poet Laureate Georgina Marie Guardado on Saturday, June 4, from 4 to 6 p.m.
The public is invited to join Guardado and guests at the MAC or on Zoom.
This event will celebrate Indigenous voices in conjunction with MAC’s current project “Weaving: Weaving Baskets, Weaving Bridges,” a year-long project designed collaboratively by Pomo culture bearers and MAC team members.
Guardado has curated this reading, inviting a monumental group of readers who collectively are from Lakota, Dakota, Cherokee, Passamaquoddy, Amazonian, Koyungkowi, Mojave, Peruvian and Mexican Indigenous backgrounds.
Lake County poet Mia Ruiz and Ukiah poet, also Ukiah Poet Laureate Emerita, Linda Noel will read from their body of work, along with Bay Area poets Alison Hart and Nanette Deetz, both compelling and influential poets who are pillars in their communities.
Seating at MAC is limited so reserve your spot in advance at www.middletownartcenter.org/weaving.
Zoom participants are also asked to register in advance so that the MAC staff can adjust technology accordingly. A suggested donation of $10 is requested however no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Weaving is supported in part by the California Arts Council, or CAC, and the generosity of local Indigenous and non-indigenous community members. To learn more about how the CAC supports arts engagement throughout California visit www.arts.ca.gov.
Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29.
To find out more about MAC events, programs, opportunities, and ways to support the MAC’s work weaving the arts into the fabric of life in Lake County visit www.middletownartcenter.org or Like/Follow Middletown Art Center (@mtownartcenter) on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date with what’s happening at MAC.
- Details
- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
No theater experience is necessary to try out.
The show is a fundraiser sponsored by the Lake Family Resource Center and will feature dinner and dessert.
If you are interested in any aspect of the production, you are invited to the senior center on Friday, June 3, or Saturday, June 4, at 6 p.m.
The Lakeport Senior Center is located at 527 Konocti Ave.
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- Written by: Kwame Dawes
There is a stretch of childhood that can be filled with such vivid images, yet it is often hard to determine whether what is being recalled is memory of our experience, or a memory of what we have been told.
Jessica Abughattas’ poem, “Watching My Mother,” ends with such optimism and confidence, even though the details of what she remembers are a stylized and beautiful version of disquiet.
In this elegant poem, she enacts the strange magic of how we often organize memory in a manner that allows us to survive.
Watching My Mother
By Jessica Abughattas
Beside the Ford Thunderbird,
a suitcase splayed open.
She collects her clothes
from the driveway.
The yellow jumper collapses
into a million threads of saffron.
She keeps dropping them.
They wither and dissolve,
petal by petal
into pavement.
Her hands are rivers.
Her eyes, mascara bats.
Her hair is crying.
I am five and perfect.
American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2020 by Jessica Abughattas, “Watching My Mother” from Strip (University of Arkansas Press, 2020.) First Published in Nelle, Issue Two, 2019. Introduction copyright ©2022 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Kwame Dawes, is George W. Holmes Professor of English and Glenna Luschei Editor of Prairie Schooner at the University of Nebraska.