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- Written by: Tim Riley
‘THE CALL OF THE WILD’ (Rated PG)
There have not been many family-friendly films released since the beginning of the year. Let’s agree that kids don’t want to sit through the Oscar winner “Parasite” to read the subtitles for a mature subject matter.
In any event, “Sonic the Hedgehog” helped fill the void and now along come “The Call of the Wild,” based on a veritable and enduring example of classic American literature that was a short novel written by Jack London more than a century ago.
Hewing to the basic Jack London storyline, the film belongs to the big-hearted dog, Buck, who is kidnapped from his spoiled easygoing life at his California home and transported to the exotic wilds of the Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s.
On a jarring note after being snatched from a comfy life, Buck is terrorized and brutally beaten into submission by what is called the “law of the club” before being sold off as a sled dog.
At least Buck ends up with cheerful French-Canadian mail courier Perrault (Omar Sy) and his wife Francoise (Cara Gee) and becomes a valuable member of the sled team delivering mail far and wide to prospectors in the Klondike.
Unfortunately, circumstances lead to Buck being acquired by siblings Hal (Dan Stevens) and Mercedes (Karen Gillan) who are driven by greed in search of fortune and end up having our canine hero lead a sled team on a foolish journey across a frozen river that is beginning to thaw.
This is where the wandering adventurer John Thornton (Harrison Ford) steps in to rescue Buck, setting in motion the vow by the villainous Hal to track both of them down in his vicious desire for vengeance.
For all his good intentions, Thornton has his faults, namely having too much affinity for drowning his sorrows in booze, which results from his grief over the loss of his son and the sadness of breaking up with his wife.
Becoming more than a companion with Thornton in a trek to the great remote wilderness of unchartered territory, Buck’s gentle soul shows itself not just trying to nudge his kindly master away from alcohol, he also bonds with a pack of wild wolves by saving one of them.
“The Call of the Wild” has plenty of adventure, from Buck rescuing animals from raging rivers and other dangers to saving Francoise from beneath a frozen lake and later dodging an avalanche that threatens to obliterate the entire team.
Don’t spoil it for kids by letting them know the animals are realized by the magic of motion-capture and that Cirque de Soleil performer Terry Notary created all the movements and mannerisms of Buck. This film was made for family to enjoy the adventure.
CABLE TV WINTER-SPRING PREVIEW – PART 5
HBO wasted little time jumping into its winter programming with two series that premiered within less than two weeks after the start of the New Year.
Hugh Laurie makes a welcome return to TV as Captain Ryan Clark of a luxury space cruise ship in “Avenue 5,” a comedy series set 40 years in the future with the space tourism excursion tossed into turbulence.
Captain Clark and his crew, which includes eccentric owner Herman Judd (Josh Gad) and head of customer relations Zach Woods (Matt Spencer), have to deal with disgruntled passengers who find out a malfunction will delay a return to Earth by three years.
“The Outsider,” based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, begins its ten-episode season by following a straightforward investigation into the gruesome murder of a young boy until an insidious supernatural force edges its way into the case.
Police detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) sets outs to investigate what seems to be an ironclad case. However, contradictory evidence places his suspect, Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman), in a different city at the time of the murder.
The circumstances surrounding the horrifying crime leads Ralph to join forces with unorthodox private investigator Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo), and soon they question everything they believe in.
Upending the arc of history is nothing new. The Amazon series “The Man in the High Castle” created an alternate American history with a parallel universe where the Axis powers emerged victorious in World War II.
The same principle is at work in the upcoming series “The Plot Against America,” which creates another version of historical events where now the danger lies from within.
Based on the novel by Philip Roth, “The Plot Against America” turns aviator hero Charles Lindbergh, an avowed isolationist, into a xenophobic populist denying President Franklin D. Roosevelt a third term in office.
In real life, Lindbergh displayed a fascination with Nazi Germany and publicly criticized Roosevelt in speeches to the point that his isolationism caused him to be denounced as an anti-Semite and traitor.
This six-episode series is viewed by the eyes of a working-class Jewish family seeking upward mobility while being horrified that a President Lindbergh has charted a course towards fascism.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
UPPER LAKE, Calif. – The annual winter concert series at the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake continues on Sunday, March 15, at 3 p.m. in Riffe’s Meeting House next to the hotel.
The performers will be Kenny Washington, one of the country’s leading male jazz vocalists, backed by the superb guitarist Jeff Massanari.
“Two years ago, this duo created one of the most memorable afternoons we’ve had in this series,” said Tallman owner Bernie Butcher. “They went on to do a sold-out show at the Soper-Reese in Lakeport the next year. It’s great to have them back in our intimate venue at the Tallman.”
Recently dubbed “the Superman of the Bay Area jazz scene” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Kenny Washington is a jazz virtuoso who thrills audiences with his soulful interpretations, seemingly limitless range, and rapid-fire scatting.
A native of New Orleans who grew up singing gospel in church, Kenny studied various styles of music at Xavier University and then performed worldwide with the U. S. Navy band for nine years.
He then settled in the Bay Area where he has recorded, collaborated with others, and was the featured artist at the “Top of the Mark” for many years.
As Massanari said, “If you haven’t heard Kenny Washington in concert before, get ready for a jaw-dropping experience. I just love playing with him.”
Massanari studied jazz composition and performance at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. He then moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and quickly became one of the region’s most in-demand guitarists.
He is often asked to accompany artists such as Kenny Washington, Seth MacFarlane and Mark Inouye. He has also performed with the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Hall and Stern Grove as well as on tour in China.
“The intimate venue at the Tallman is a perfect showcase for Kenny,” said Massanari. “We’re both really looking forward to a relaxing and fun afternoon in Lake County.”
More information on Kenny Washington can be obtained at his website http://www.kennywashingtonvocalist.com/ and on Jeff Massanari at http://jeff-massanari.com/.
Tickets at $25 plus tax are available online at Eventbrite.com or by calling the Tallman Hotel at 707-275-2244, Extension 0. Coffee and cookies are served to guests.
The hotel is also offering a 10-percent discount on hotel bookings for people purchasing tickets to the concert.
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
The audition will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lakeport Dance Studio, 93 Soda Bay Road.
This year's theme is "Dance is in the Air!"
Please come with a prepared piece you are interested in sharing with the community.
The dance piece must be family-friendly. All styles are welcome!
This year’s Spring Dance Festival performances will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 4, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 5.
If you are interested, please contact Blair Brookes at 209-269-6766 or email
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- Written by: Ted Kooser
This week’s poem is one of my favorites and I can’t explain why in the 15 years I’ve been writing this column I’ve neglected until now to share it with you. Wendell Berry is one of our country’s finest writers, a poet, a fiction writer, an activist and a Kentucky farmer.
This poem is from “New Collected Poems” from Counterpoint Press, 2012. Berry’s most recent book of poetry is “A Small Porch.”
Before Dark
From the porch at dusk I watched
a kingfisher wild in flight
he could only have made for joy.
He came down the river, splashing
against the water’s dimming face
like a skipped rock, passing
on down out of sight. And still
I could hear the splashes
farther and farther away
as it grew darker. He came back
the same way, dusky as his shadow,
sudden beyond the willows.
The splashes went on out of hearing.
It was dark then. Somewhere
the night had accommodated him
– at the place he was headed for
or where, led by his delight,
he came.
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 ©1985 by Wendell Berry, "Before Dark," from New Collected Poems, (Counterpoint Press, 2012). Poem reprinted by permission of Wendell Berry and the publisher. Introduction copyright @2020 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.