Henry & Melinda
Friday night’s movie fix, courtesy of Netflix by mail, was a big winner, Old Henry (2021). Set in rural Oklahoma 1906, it’s the story of a farmer who finds a wounded man near death in a field, and a satchel filled with cash nearby. Trouble brews when a three-man posse arrives. Are they imposters seeking the money? Is the wounded man an outlaw or sheriff? The farmer, a widow, and his teenage son, are caught in the middle. The resolution is brutal. The scenario is realistic until the final shootout, when it resembles modern movie heroics ala John Wick. Still, it is rousing. The dialogue is authentic except for a couple of statements that don’t seem to fit Henry. The twist in the storyline is aces, although it takes historical license. Tim Blake Nelson is terrific in the lead, as is Gavin Lewis as his son and Stephen Dorff as the head of the trio. Country music superstar Trace Adkins does a fine turn as the protagonist’s brother in law. The rest of the cast also rocks. Scott Haze, who plays the wounded man, has had roles in two adaptations of William Faulkner: As I Lay Dying (2013) and The Sound and the Fury (2014), as well as in Bukowski (2013). Among Richard Speight Jr.’s 89 credits is seven episodes of Band of Brothers (2001). Max Arciniega made multiple appearances on both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. Brad Carter has done guest shots on many popular shows. Kent Shelton has been primarily a stuntman. The film was written and directed by Potsy Ponciroli. Born in Virginia, he moved to Nashville after college. He did production, a music video, a doc about country artist Colt Ford, and a TV series, Still the King, starring Billy Ray Cyrus as an Elvis impersonator. Old Henry is his second full length feature. His next is in post production. I look forward to it. 28,000+ users at IMDb have rated Old Henry, forging to a consensus of 7.2 on a scale of ten. Anyone squeamish about violence should pass. Here’s the star in character, photo from Google Images:
RIP Melinda Dillon, 83, whose legacy will last. Born in Arkansas, her career spanned 1959–2007. She studied with Lee Strasberg and the Goodman Theater School. She performed with Chicago’s Second City improv group. In 1963 she was nominated for a Tony for Best Supporting or Featured Actress for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She appeared in three films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), for which she received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress, The Muppet Movie (1979) and A Christmas Story (1983). She also receiving a supporting actress nomination for Absence of Malice (1981). Other significant films in which she appeared: Bound for Glory (1976), The Prince of Tides (1991) and Magnolia (1999). She also did a slew of guest shots on popular TV shows. She was a mom of one. Well done, madam. Thank you.
Headline from foxweather.com: “Unfathomable cold from polar vortex: New Hampshire sets coldest US wind chill record at -108 degrees.” Atop Mount Washington, the highest peak in the northern U.S..
Also from FN: “Five sets of twins born within 2.5 weeks at New York hospital: ‘Raining twin babies’.” Catholic Health’s Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre, Long Island. Holy zygote, Batman!
Unlike the last time a frigid snap hit, I used foresight. On Thursday I put gasoline treatment in the tank, and yesterday I parked in a spot that gets the sun early in the day. Since the old Hyundai is black, I’d hoped it would attract a bit of heat despite the crazy cold. Whatever it was, it worked. The car started immediately. Unlike yesterday, I wasn’t tempted in the least to run the floating book shop. After two days on the shelf, I’m really looking forward to it tomorrow, even though business has been bad lately… I’m experiencing an odd occurrence regarding Amazon. A couple of weeks ago I ordered ten copies of Coincidence and five of Class of ’67. Rather than put all in 15 in one package, 13 arrived in one, one in another, and one is due Tuesday. Strange.
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