(Kyle Mills, shown here, wrote Total Power as his sixth book in the Mitch Rapp series created by Vince Flynn).
The first movements of the story within Total Power introduce the political intrigue associated with the cost of infrastructure updates to the power grid in the United States, along with the vulnerability of the network if a knowledgeable actor with evil intent along with the proper knowledge planned to exploit what weaknesses exist in the system. The underlying issue of coordinated attacks of strategic execution could plunge the United States in darkness for well beyond days, weeks or months before an effective government or free market response could be forthcoming.
(Alternative covers for Total Power as written by Kyle Mills. Total Power is the 19th book in the Mitch Rapp series as created by Vince Flynn).
The second movements of the story bring Mitch Rapp, the force of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and a US president nearing the end of his presidential leadership to bear on an imminent attack staged at the moment the issue is under attack. The attack, though led by ISIS, actually has a bite beyond the jihadist skill to deploy the attack. Despite an explicit effort led by Rapp and a capable team of counter-terrorists, the attempt to thwart the attack is detected ahead of the CIA trap that had been laid. The attack that both infiltrated ISIS and the United States power grid, plunged the mainland into darkness that would last for weeks or months. Effectively, the United States had been crippled with no effective ability to recover.
(Vince Flynn, shown here, created the Mitch Rapp series of books. Flynn wrote the first thirteen books in the series).
With the skills of Mitch Rapp and his team now tactically eliminated, the investigate, infiltrate and get to the knowledgeable few became the third movement of Total Power. The world of malfunctioning infrastructure, computers and communication systems down, and starvation, death and inevitable rioting with little capacity for countering the chaos became the name of the response. The means for getting to a legitimate solution that addressed the infrastructure, and those who damaged it were the odds that needed to be addressed. Would those odds be overcome? You know it would be.
That the narrative telling of Mitch Rapp moved almost strictly into ways to address a power grid attack where powerlessness to respond was at stake was unique and appreciated. This change worked for me more at a high level, though the bigger issue that I found was that there really was only one plausible way that the solution to the problem of that powerlessness was going to be resolved. That I was in tune with how things worked out earlier in the book than I wanted to know proved disappointing. As for Total Power written by Kyle Mills, I give the book 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Following a successful career as part of the band Eagles, Don Henley of Gilmer, Texas achieved success with work under his own name. The second album released in this way was Building the Perfect Beast, which was released in the third week of November, 1984.
(Shown is the album cover for Don Henley‘s second solo album Building the Perfect Beast).
The Boys of Summer opens Building the Perfect Beast with lyrics by Don Henley and music composed by Mike Campbell of Panama City, Florida and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. The song is a look back at what was had with a past relationship and wanting those feelings and experiences back again. Evoking a feeling of summer at a beach offers a pleasant sense of nostalgia for me.
(The Boys of Summer was the first single released from the Don Henley album Building the Perfect Beast on October 26th, 1984).
You Can’t Make Love offers a rather grim look into the physical and emotional limitations that keep the singer from a full expression of love. I sense Henley saying that engaging many of the heartfelt parts of love will offer simply the illusion of love without granting the intimacy that offers true emotional connection. Henley wrote this song with Danny Kortchmar of Larchmont, New York.
Man With a Mission offers a country dance floor sensibility to suggesting that is singular focus is on emotionally connecting with someone he wishes to know romantically. J.D. Souther of Detroit, Michigan joined Kortchmar and Henley writing this song.
You’re Not Drinking Enough went full country lament for the sadness of a love lost. The song focuses on the hurt of loving another, with advice to drink more as a coping mechanism against the pain. With writing credits for Danny Kortchmar here, this song was most popularly covered by Earl Thomas Conley of Portsmouth, Ohio, with another cover by Alan Jackson of Newnan, Georgiahere.
(Supporting the Building the Perfect Beast album, Don Henley‘s Not Enough Love in the World was released as a single in 1985 and hit #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart).
Not Enough Love in the World lands with a soft rock sound with writing credits for Benmont Tench of Gainesville, Florida, Henley and Kortchmar. The song deals with another rocky relationship wherein the singer indicates he remains in love. As indicated here, the relationship sung about might be one between Henley and Stevie Nicks of Phoenix, Arizona.
Don Henley’s second studio album gains its title from the song Building the Perfect Beast. In what feels like a reference to the beast that couldn’t be killed in the song Hotel California by Eagles, this song offers a sarcastic look at the psychological torment that losing in love does in turning a man all around. That the distance traveled to building that beast is our own doing is a cruel feeling indeed.
(All She Wants to Do Is Dance was released as the 2nd single from Don Henley‘s Building the Perfect Beast album. The song peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart).
Written by Don Henley alone, A Month of Sundays offers a sentimental ballad of a lifestyle lost and looked upon in retrospect. Looking back as a grandfather who built things with pride, the song is sadness, lament and acknowledgment that the current world is no longer the one he knew.
Sunset Grill offers the writing collaboration of Henley, Kortchmar and Tench once again. As captured here, the “Sunset Grill is a real place and a favorite spot for Henley. Located on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, it’s a place where Henley could see how everyday people interact, which isn’t always easy to do when you’re a celebrity in LA.” Further, the Sunset Grill was used as “a metaphor for what he liked, what he thought was great about society. And then he also used it to describe what he didn’t like, which is plenty.”
(Sunset Grill was released as the fourth single from Don Henley‘s Building the Perfect Beast album).
Drivin’ With Your Eyes Closed brings a perspective of the elevation of women in the eyes of men in romantic relationships. Stan Lynch of Gainesville, Florida and Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers joins Henley and Kortchmar with writing credits, wherein Henley‘s lyrics point out that improperly appreciating women in romance is bound to end badly.
Land of the Living is the concluding song to Building the Perfect Beast, granting Henley and Kortchmar their final collaboration for this album. The messaging gets into an uplifting feel as an album sendoff. Lyrically the song is a call to slow down and metaphorically smell the roses with the one you’re with. The song does provide the light touch in bringing me home with satisfaction and lightness of spirit.
2022 was a summer of revisiting a 20th century adrenaline-infused collaboration of director Tony Scott and actor Tom Cruise. With this film review, we look into the other adrenaline-infused need for speed with the movie Days of Thunder (1990).
(From left, Nicole Kidman as Dr. Claire Lewicki and Tom Cruise as Cole Trickle in the Tony Scott movie Days of Thunder).
The movie Days of Thunder introduces us to young racer Cole Trickle of the Eagle Rock community of Los Angeles County, California. Trickle, as portrayed by Tom Cruise, had success on the World of Outlaws circuit of racing. Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to rise to the level of financial backing to compete at the Indianapolis 500, Cole Trickle’s fortunes took a turn for the better when Chevrolet dealership tycoon Tim Daland, as portrayed by Randy Quaid, recruited him to race on what in 1990 was called the NASCARWinston Cup Series.
(From left, Robert Duvall as Harry Hogge and John C. Reilly as Buck Bretherton in the Tony Scott movie Days of Thunder).
Daland had recruited crew chief and car builder Harry Hogge, as portrayed by Robert Duvall, out of retirement to lead Cole’s pit crew. Hogge had retired so as to avoid a NASCAR investigation of Hogge’s role in the death of driver Buddy Bretherton. The introduction of personalities and histories weren’t completely smooth, as Buck Bretherton became Cole Trickle’s car chief with this deal. John C. Reilly portrayed Buck Bretherton.
(From left, Randy Quaid as Tim Daland and Michael Rooker as Rowdy Burns in the Tony Scott movie Days of Thunder).
(From left, Cary Elwes as Russ Wheeler and Fred Thompson as Big John in the Tony Scott movie Days of Thunder).
Things would begin to turn the corner at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Things between Burns and Trickle as competitors take a dangerous turn at the Firecracker 400 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Cole Trickle develops a romantic relationship with neurosurgeon Dr. Claire Lewicki, as portrayed by Nicole Kidman, in the aftermath. NASCAR President Big John, as portrayed by Fred Thompson, intervenes between Trickle and Burns after their incident, though as interesting exchange involving rental cars occurs before the heat of this latter relationship diminishes. Meanwhile, Russ Wheeler, as portrayed by Cary Elwes, races in Burns’ place as the two recover.
(From left, actor Tom Cruise and director Tony Scott during the filming of the Tony Scott movie Days of Thunder).
The drama that climbs to the surface at the Daytona 500 to start the next racing season, with many strings of story coming to a head with how the race resolves itself, were satisfying if a bit predictable. The racing scenes themselves were more realistic than I’ve seen in other racing films. The extreme sense of wills clashing seems legitimate to the sport of auto racing, however. It is in this space that my regard for the film improves. Overall, I give Days of Thunder as directed by Tony Scott and co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Martin Scorsese is a capable director of more than movies about the mob, corruption or the reality of criminal life. The perspective of the primary characters need not be men or, strictly speaking, adults. The movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), which inspired the television series Alice (1976-1985), serves as a respectable early example of this notion.
(From left, Billy Green Bush as Donald Hyatt and Ellen Burstyn as Alice Hyatt (née Graham) in the Martin Scorsese movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore).
The central character for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore is Alice Hyatt (née Graham), who is portrayed in adulthood by Ellen Burstyn and as an eight-year-old child by Mia Bendixsen. Alice is shown to be in an unhappy marriage to Donald Hyatt, a demanding and abusive husband and distant father to the couple’s son, Tommy Hyatt. Billy Green Bush and Alfred Lutter III portrayed Donald and Tommy, respectively.
(From left, Lelia Goldoni as Bea and Harvey Keitel as Ben in the Martin Scorsese movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore).
The worlds of Alice and Tommy were thrown a curve when Alice’s husband dies in an automobile accident, presumably while driving his truck. Hyatt neighbor Bea, as portrayed by Lelia Goldoni, is there to support Alice and Tommy in the immediate aftermath of the death to grieve, have a rummage sale, and then see the Hyatt’s off as the new family of two intends to start a new life.
(From left, Alfred Lutter III as Tommy Hyatt and Jodie Foster as Audrey in the Martin Scorsese movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore).
Alice and Tommy begin a trip from their home in Socorro, New Mexico, intending to pursue a singing career where Alice had grown up, namely Monterey, California. Alice and Tommy needed to make stops along the way to work, find lodging and to raise money to continue their trip.
(From left, Diane Ladd as Florence Jean (Flo) Castleberry, Valerie Curtin as Vera Gorman, Vic Tayback as Mel Sharples and Ellen Burstyn as Alice Hyatt (née Graham) in the Martin Scorsese movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore).
The first stop along the way is Phoenix, Arizona. Alice finds work as a lounge singer in a disreputable bar, where she is drawn into an intimate relationship with Ben, as portrayed by Harvey Keitel. Tommy is befriended by Audrey, the daughter of a prostitute, as portrayed by Jodie Foster. Both Ben and Audrey, unrelated to one another, bring delinquent tendencies to their respective relationships. When Ben responds in a distinctly mean manner when his wife brings it to Alice’s attention that Ben is married to her, Alice and Tommy quickly move on to Tucson, Arizona. Lane Bradbury portrayed Rita, Ben’s wife.
(From left, Alfred Lutter III as Tommy Hyatt and Kris Kristofferson as David in the Martin Scorsese movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore).
When in Tucson, Alice finds work as a waitress in a diner operated by short-order cook Mel Sharples and waitresses Florence Jean Castlebury, aka Flo, and Vera Gorman. Vic Tayback, Diane Ladd and Valerie Curtin portrayed Sharples, Castlebury and Gorman, respectively. The introduction of David as a regular customer at diner brings much to the beauty that is the larger story of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. Kris Kristofferson portrayed Dave.
(From left, actor Kris Kristofferson, director Martin Scorsese, actress Ellen Burstyn and actor Alfred Lutter III in the Martin Scorsese movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore).
The inner motivations that informed the journey that Alice and Tommy were on took explicit and demonstrable concreteness at the diner in Tucson. That some see an episodic quality to the demonstration of these motivations feels in large part like the quality of an early director. I grant Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore as directed by Martin Scorsese 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
The month of October, with the transition in the northern hemisphere to autumn and the darkening of the skies with reduced daylight and general cloudiness the further north you go, a turn to the psychologically mature Alfred Hitchcock film Psycho (1960) is on tap this fine fall day.
(From left, Patricia Hitchcock as Caroline and Janet Leigh as Marion Crane in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Psycho).
Psycho opens with with Marion Crane and Sam Loomis provocatively dressed in scant fashion after a lunch hour dalliance in a Phoenix, Arizona hotel room. The two, portrayed by Janet Leigh and John Gavin, respectively, discuss a general desire to get married, yet note that doing so proves difficult owing to debts owned by Loomis. Having come back to work at a bank, Crane is given responsibility to address a $40,000 cash deposit over a weekend. That money provides an opportunity to deal with the hopes of Loomis and Crane, a fact unknown to Crane’s work friend Caroline, as portrayed by Patricia Hitchcock.
(From left, Vera Miles as Lila Crane, John Gavin as Sam Loomis and Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Psycho).
Marion Crane fanes a headache as an excuse to leave work early, and quickly leaves town. In setting a clear stage setting for establishing what looks to be a story in the film noir style, Crane encounters a California Highway Patrol officer and a car salesperson in the process of selling her car and buying another, with the cash on hand, while heading to a destination unexplained. It is when arriving at the Bates Motel for a planned evening’s stay that this storyline dramatically changes.
(Martin Balsam as Private Investigator Arbogast in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Psycho).
Motel proprietor Norman Bates, as portrayed by Anthony Perkins, checks Crane into a room. In finding Marion attractive, Norman aims to share dinner with her in a process that triggers a mystery of jealousy between Norman and his mother, Norma Bates. Virginia Gregg, Paul Jasmin and Jeanette Nolan voice the character of Norma. The family and friends lose track of where Marion Crane is following the weekend. Lila Crane, as portrayed by Vera Miles, demands of Sam Loomis to account for Marion. The man whose money has disappeared contracts theoretically with Private Investigator Arbogast to retrace Marion steps. Arbogast, as portrayed by Martin Balsam, also disappears.
(From left, Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates and Janet Leigh as Marion Crane in the Alfred Hitchcock movie Psycho).
Sam and Lila ultimately follow Private Investigator Arbogast to the Bates Motel, seeking the $40,000, and Marion, the sister of Lila and the love interest of Sam. The relationship, once there and after having attempted to include the local police, leads to the shocking revelations that emotionally directs the audience to multiple levels of shock that feels much more modern in storytelling than many a movie story told at the time Psycho was delivered. What that shock is, well, is worth the watching of the movie if you do not yet know.
(From left, director Alfred Hitchcock and actress Janet Leigh on set of the Alfred Hitchcock movie Psycho).
Psycho was an immensely modern movie. In many ways, the movie was ahead of its time. The modern feel included text on the screen to demonstrate location, clear indications of coitus through dress and suggestive dialogue, scenes including bathrooms and more all get to this notion. The red herring concept blurred into a MacGuffin as means of storytelling was further genius in the movie Psycho, and I loved the execution. I give Psycho as presented by Alfred Hitchcock 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.
Matt Lynn Digital 