Netflix Docu-Fun: TCBP

If you've never played Scattergories with me than you're not going to get the TCBP reference...and that's just too bad for you because it's pretty insensitive and I'm not going to explain it here. If you have, then I hope you enjoyed my highly inappropriate sense of humour ;).

Deliver us from Evil

This is the incredibly disturbing story of Father Oliver O'Grady, a Catholic priest who used his position as a respected pillar of the community to molest dozens of children (girls and boys) for nearly two decades from the late 1970's to the early 1990's. Several of these incidents were reported to the Church when they occured, but prominent officials merely advised O'Grady to stop and shuffled him around from parish to parish to shield him (and themselves) from backlash. O'Grady was eventually convicted on several counts of child molestation and served time in prison before being released and deported to his native Ireland.

The film was shot in 2005 and intercuts interviews with O'Grady himself, with details of his abuse by his victims. It also includes video-taped depositions of Catholic clergy members who never admitted they had previous knowledge of O'Grady's predilections.

The film is at times a chilling window into the mind of a pedophile, who talks openly about his attraction to children and his desire to be 'close' to them. He is frank and honest about his crimes and seems to understand that they were technically wrong, but he comes to terms with his actions far too easily. He has no conception of the horrific nature of his behaviour and the irrevocable damage he has caused.

At other times it's a condemnation of the clergy as an institution and their disregard for the safety of their most vulnerable parishioners. They allegedly struck a deal with Father O'Grady before he was due to testify, offering him money in exchange for his silence regarding their role in his offenses. Many prominent figures are portrayed as calculating and cold, concerned only for the reputation of the church.

Finally it is a heartbreakingly realistic portrayal of the devastation of sexual abuse; the continued torment of those who have suffered through it and the anguish of their loved ones. Particularly horrific is the story of the Jyono family, who befriended O'Grady in the late 70's and welcomed him into their home for nearly 20 years. It wasn't until the story finally broke in the media, and O'Grady faced prosecution, that their daughter Anne admitted she had been repeatedly molested. Her father Bob's visible heartbreak, anger and sense of betrayal is powerful enough to bring anyone to the verge of tears.

Capturing the Freidmans

This film is about the bizarre case of Arnold and Jessee Friedman a father and son who were convicted of sexually assaulting dozens of children in Rhode Island in the 1980's.

Arnold first came under suspicion when a piece of child pornography he had shipped to himself was intercepted by Federal agents. They searched his house, discovered a stash of similar material and began to suspect him of more serious crimes. They found a class list for piano lessons that he taught in his house and started to round up the students and interrogate them. Arnold and his 18 year old son Jesse were arrested and charged with molesting numerous children in a brutal manner. After maintaining their innocence, they eventually plead guilty.

The movie is directed by Andrew Jarecki who was initially intending to make a film about children's entertainers in New York. While interviewing famous birthday clown Silly Billy (aka David Friedman), he uncovered his tragic family past and managed to secure home video that David had taken as his family was unravelling under the strain of the charges.

What is intriguing about this film is the bizarre nature of the Friedman case. There are so many inconsistencies and strange facts that it's difficult to believe in their guilt. No instances of abuse were ever reported until the police started digging after the pornography discovery. Nearly all of the children had no memory of being abused and only recalled incidents after being hypnotized in the presence of a shrink. There is one anonymous victim who describes what he remembered during hypnosis, sounding calm and oddly level-headed...nothing like the tortured victims in Deliver Us From Evil. The nature of the abuse is so heinous and brutal (they were accused of playing games like 'bare-bottom leapfrogging' and I'll leave that to your imagination!) and yet there was never any physical evidence. Not to mention that the majority of these children, having supposedly suffered this abuse, continued to sign up for new sessions of computer classes.

Arnold Friedman died in prison, but Jesse is still incarcerated and firmly maintains that they only plead guilty to avoid harsher sentencing. Apparently Jarecki was convinced of their innocence and even helped Jesse fund his appeal. But after watching audience reaction to the film at Sundance he realized the film was more ambiguous. While promoting the film he used that to his advantage, maintaining that their guilt or innocence was a mystery.

There is some speculation that the case, which occurred during the 1980's, was the result of rising social hysteria surrounding child abuse. One member of the computer class, who insisted he wasn't molested, found the accusations bizarre. Parents who felt their child was victimized would go around the neighborhood convincing other parents to probe their children further b/c something MUST have happened to them.

So could the entire case be a crazy invention of a hysterical society. There is little doubt that Arnold Palmer had pedophile tendencies and collected pornography, but did that cause people to panic and railroad him?

It's an incredibly compelling film that engages and infuriates because we don't get the answers we crave. But, as evidenced by my rambling here, it leaves a strong impression that will keep you talking!

Mr. Sunshine: Mostly Cloudly with a Chance of Rain

My beloved Cougartown cul-du-sac crew has been off the air for two weeks now and the new Matthew Perry vehicle, Mr. Sunshine has replaced it for be the forseeable future. Luckily Cougartown has already been renewed for a 3rd season so there's no immediate danger, but I miss it already :(

Mr. Sunshine is supposedly a comedy about San Diego arena manager, Ben Donovan, who begins to re-evaulate his life on his 40th birthday.

...The first issue I have with this show is that I've seen 2 episodes and I had still had to look the description up on IMDB because I wasn't sure what it was about. And after reading the above synopsis, I wasn't convinced.

In the first episode Ben turns 40 and there are a few moments of "who am I?" "what am I doing with my life?", etc. But in general, he just wanders around the areas fixing problems and reacting to everyone's kooky behaviour. There isn't much revealed about his identity other than his commitment issues (groundbreaking stuff for middle-aged men!).

The supporting characters are far more defined, but not always in a good way. Allison Janey is deliriously excellent as per usual, but her character is too bizarre. I'm all for nutty, but Crystal is off the wall for no apparently reason. She seems intelligent and she's clearly a successful powerful woman who owns her own arena. Yet she's batty, clueless, incompetent and weirdly racist.

Andrea Anders, who plays marketing manager Alice, is hoping the 4th time's the charm after striking out on Joey, The Class and Better off Ted (although I consider Ted a failure only b/c it never caught on. It was a remarkably funny show). I think it's bad luck rather than any failing on her part. I've always found her likeable and engaging. She plays a decent straight woman and continues to do so here.

How to make the show better? For starters...make Jorge Garcia a regular. He appeared in the pilot as a laid back maintenance 'dude' and has serious scene-stealing potential.

Random Observation: This show kind of irks me b/c I had a similar comedy in my head that I never got around to writing. I worked concert security during the summers at University and you see some pretty weird stuff backstage. One of the main characters in my imaginary comedy was also an eccentric arena owner who drove a golf cart indoors! They were always doing it at outdoor venues and I thought it would be amusing in an indoor setting. ERR!

Personal irritation aside...I'm not changing the channel...YET...but my mind may start drifting. But I read a great review the other day said "Mr. Sunshine isn't Cougartown, but Cougartown wasn't always Cougartown either". So True. I was THIS CLOSE to giving up on Cougartown after it's shaky start.

Netflix Docu-Fun: Part 1

Netflix could never replace my cable as some people have suggested. The selection in Canada is pretty paltry and I'm just too accustomed to the schedule and of my PVR. But I subscribed to the service because I wanted the opportunity to watch really fascinating documentaries that don't air on TV (I stopped renting movies awhile ago). Here are some I have watched so far:

Maxed Out - 2006

A 2006 documentary that examines the credit crisis in the United states and the predatory lending practices of the major financial institutions. As a personal finance junkie, I didn't find a lot of new information, but the individual stories were horrifying and compelling. From the pair of moms whose sons both committed suicide to escape credit card debt they racked up in college; to the middle-aged women buried under so many bills that she'll never recover in her lifetime. It proves that banks are immoral and irresponsible for giving people more credit than they can handle. But also that the average American (North American really) is blind and stupid when it comes to major money issues.

We Live in Public - 2009

The story of "the greatest internet pioneer you've never head of" , early 90's internet tycoon Josh Harris whose strange social experiments proved eerily prophetic. Josh made millions in the dot.com industry and started Pseudo.com, the world's first internet television station. He saw the internet as a voyeuristic vehicle that would allow people to broadcast their lives to the rest of the world. He constructed a bizarre social experiment at the turn of the millennium; an underground society where people slept in pods and were filmed 24/7 - the bathroom, the shower, having sex, etc. In the early 2000's he moved into an apartment with his girlfriend and equipped it with cameras covering every inch of the living space. Every meal, cuddle session and fight they was shared with the spectators on the world wide web. They chatted with viewers about the most intimate details of their relationship.

Before the age of reality TV, youtube, facebook, and an international obsession with sharing our lives online, Josh Harris understand where we were headed. Of course he had serious emotional problems and ended up broke and living on a apple farm by the mid 2000's. But it's a fascinating cautionary tale that reveals how far down the rabbit hole we've gone.

Born Into Brothels - 2004

This Academy award winning documentary follows filmmaker Zana Briski as she works with children whose parents are prostitutes in Calcutta's red light district. She offers them free photography classes while attempting to help them change their lives by getting them into boarding schools.

My favourite thing about this film is that it features so many of the children's photographs and they are windows into their vision. It's interesting to see how they conceptuatlize the world around them and often surprising which images catch their eye or strike their fancy. It's certainly a depressing subject matter because children whose parents are prositutes generally suffer the same fate. But the film manages to be uplifting wihout preachy by focusing on these children and their talents.

Stew-pendous!

There's something intoxicating about that any dish that simmers all day to reach perfection; warm aromas wafting through the house for hours. A stew feels decadent and indulgent because it's nurtured for so long and yet requires minmal attention; only infrequent trips to the stove to stir and sample. You get the satisfaction of having worked all day...minus the unpleasant exhaustion!

My first experience with a stew was a borderline disaster because I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was following a recipe which called for 1hr 1/2 cooking time (possible, but not recommended) and I tried to follow it to the letter. Used to chicken dishes, I was petrified of overcooking the meat. When it came out rubbery and tough as nails, I assumed that's what I'd done. Some googling convinced me I should just keep stewing and see what happened. It seemed like strange magic that the the longer I simmered the softer and sweeter the meat became. I was HOOKED! Stews have now become a favourite weekend treat and a great option for casual dinner parties.

I recenly made a great Curried Beef Stew from a cookbook I got a few years ago called 660 Curries. Hopefully I will one day have mastered them all!

Ingedients:

1lb stewing beef, cut into 1-inch cubes

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp turmeric

8oz yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (rest them in cold water)

2 tbsp canola/vegetable oil

4 green or white cardamom pods

2 fresh or dried bay leaves

2 cinnamon sticks (3 inches long)

4 oz shallots, thinly slices (can just use onions if you don't have any shallots and I always add way more than the recipe calls for)

2 tsp cumin seeds, ground

2 tsp coriander seeds, ground

1 can (13 oz) unsweetened coconut milk

1 28 can of diced tomatoes

1/4 cup malt vinegar

2 tsp sea salt

2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems for garnish)

1. Toss the beef in a bowl with cayenne and turmeric. Let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to overnight (as long as you can)

2. Heat oil in a saucepan (medium high heat). Add cardamom pods, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks. Cook for 5-10 seconds just until they sizzle and get nice and aromatic. Add beef, shallots, and potatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes, until beef is seared and shallots and potatoes are lightly browned.

3. Sprinkle in cumin and coriander and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Tip: I used a coffee grinder to grind fresh spices, but pre-ground spices would be suitable as well

4. Pour in coconut milk, tomatoes with juices, vinegar, and salt. Stir once or twice to deglaze the pan. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally and gently. Until beef cubes are very tender but still firm and sauce is thick. It will probably be ready in 3 hours or so, but I say if you have all day - the longer the better!

5. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

The proper name for this dish is Goan Gosht Curry and I was pleasantly surprised that my boyfriend (whose family comes from Pakistan) recognized it without reading the recipe. He said it tasted like his mother's and I was giddy at having produced something authentic! Apparently she serves it over rice, but I prefer it in stew form with some good quality french bread for dipping. The original recipe calls for half the amount of canned tomatoes, which probably makes for a thicker curry.