I’m writing the below because I constantly interact with boomers online, especially doing podcasts, who are technologically impaired, even though they’re musicians and use Pro Tools. Boomers are all about the external, they’ve got an iPhone 15 and the latest MacBook Air, they tell you how much they know, but oftentimes they are clueless. If this is not you, ignore all of the below, you already know it. Kudos. You don’t have to e-mail me telling you’re up to speed. You help make the world go ’round, thanks for being on the team. And everybody under thirty seems to know much of the below. But the people who are anti-tech, who lament the changes, who tell you to get off your smartphone…too many of these people have no idea how powerful these devices are, and they don’t know how to eke out any of this power, they’ve got the device but they’re constantly flummoxed. Ergo, the below.

INTERNET PROVIDER

Go with cable, it’s the fastest and most reliable. Forget how much you hate the cable company, deservedly so, but cable is better than all other options other than Fios.

Fios… The build-out has stopped. So you probably can’t get it anyway. It can be as good as cable, but the support is usually not as good.

Other providers/resellers, like Frontier… Service is so terrible don’t even start.

DSL. Antiquated and slow. Forget about it.

T-Mobile and other 5G home providers. DO NOT BUY! They’re inherently unreliable. The ads will tell you otherwise, but I know a tech writer who has this in their house and it’s a joke. Not ready for prime time.  Good in theory, bad in practice.

INTERNET SPEED

Forget all those articles in media telling you you don’t need much bandwidth. You need a ton of bandwidth. Call it headroom, just like you used to think of watts when you were buying a stereo amplifier/receiver. Yes, the more devices you use the more bandwidth you need. But, once again, these providers rarely deliver what they say they do. Internet is now a requirement, a necessity of life. The internet must work smoothly, like a utility, you never want to have to think about it. Which is why you need at least triple digit speed down. Most cable providers now deliver this in their base package. I’d advise at least 200 Mbps down. And if you’re having trouble with your internet, especially TV, you’ll be stunned how much additional bandwidth will help.

As for the fact that the more households that use cable simultaneously the less the speed for individual users…we’re living in 2024. The cable providers have beefed up infrastructure and your speed might slow, but it’s negligible. And if you’ve got a high speed it’s essentially irrelevant.

As for up… You want 20 Mbps. You need more than 10.

WI-FI CALLING

It doesn’t matter if your cell phone doesn’t work at home, because your internet/Wi-Fi will do the trick. This is a built-in feature from Verizon, et al. All you need to do is click a setting within your iPhone. I could tell you how to do it, but a quick Google will explain it. Or you can call. Now anywhere you have internet, you have cellphone reception. In your basement and places where there is no cell service.

COMPUTER

Buy a Mac. Unless you’re so computer savvy everything in this screed is known by you. Why do you buy a Mac? Because it’s easier to use. Which is why super-PC users decry it. It’s nearly bulletproof.

Don’t buy the base model. Today the key is chip speed and RAM. Storage is no longer an issue because so much is stored in the cloud. But still, don’t buy the base amount, you may not even have enough storage to upgrade the operating system.

The base price is a come-on. Don’t fall for it.

And don’t buy antiquated equipment, you think you’re saving money, but you’re not, this just means the computer will work for less time in the future. It’s all about software, you need the security updates, and at a certain point the manufacturer stops providing them, and you’re SOL. This is another reason to buy a Mac, there is an occasional security breach, but I haven’t had one in nearly forty years of Mac usage. As for PC owners, the less knowledgeable get viruses and lack of usability constantly.

MAIL APP

Use it. It works with all providers. Don’t go to the web to check your mail. Also, set the default to check as quickly as possible, like a minute.

BROWSER

If it doesn’t work in Safari, try Firefox, and then Chrome. Chrome is the standard but it’s the least safe.

SETTINGS

It’s the gray box in the Dock with the gears inside. Click on it and you can change… Almost anything.

OPEN APP

If it’s got a black dot at the bottom of the icon in the Dock, it’s open. Just click on it and it will come to the foreground.

PC

I’ve got one, I’ve had some. They work, but they’re a lot less intuitive.

SAVE

You can change the default. Usually an app saves to the Documents folder. But you can have it save to the Desktop, to anywhere.

SPOTLIGHT

The little magnifying glass in the upper righthand corner… Click on it and you can search and find anything instantly. Spotlight will do math and other tasks, but let’s not get carried away and overwhelm you.

REBOOT

When something doesn’t work.

FORCE QUIT

When an app doesn’t work. Go to the Apple in the upper lefthand corner. It’s the fifth choice down.

MICROSOFT OFFICE

The standard, but don’t use Outlook unless you have to for work. Use the Mail, Contacts and Calendar apps. Trust me. As for Word and Excel, the former is much more powerful than you need and the latter is the standard, but unless you’re working in it regularly, Apple’s Numbers is sufficient.

SAVE BEFORE QUITTING

Once you quit the app, it’s gone forever, FOREVER!

SAVE

If you’re writing, hit save regularly, it should be a reflex.

DISAPPEARANCE

Happens all the time, what you typed is gone. Go up to the Edit menu and hit Undo, it almost always replaces what has disappeared. You hit something by accident to make it go, but the computer remembers what was there. Unless you start typing again or take other action. When in a crisis, stop and think before you touch anything.

PASSWORD MANAGER

Ignore all the hype. A Mac suggests a password and then stores it and the user name in the Keychain. And when a site requires it, will provide it.

iCLOUD

Turn it on on all your devices. So that your addresses will be available elsewhere, as well as your passwords. Do not be afraid of hacks/security. If you use a strong password it’s essentially totally safe. But if you use a guessable password, you’re vulnerable. Also, you can store all those photos in the Cloud, decluttering your phone… And they are still there, available to download instantly when you want them.

PASSWORDS

Are stored in your iPhone’s settings. Just look for them.

iPHONE

Buy one. Android is cheaper, but every one is a bit different, they’re loaded with crapware, but the bottom line is most people have an iPhone, so if you have a problem they’ll be able to help you with it.

FACIAL RECOGNITION

Turn it on, it’s not perfect but it’s very good, and saves you a lot of time entering passwords in apps, turn it on for that.

BANKING

Do not ever write a check, never ever. If you are writing a check you are opening yourself up to fraud, even if it’s just for one dollar. I could point you to the exhaustive stories about this, but just take my word for it. They get your check, they wash it and then reuse it, or create new checks with your account. Pay every bill online, every single one, from your credit card to your utilities to your tax bill… It’s much safer than checks, don’t get caught up in old school thinking.

UPGRADE YOUR SOFTWARE

A lot of this is now automatic, but if you don’t upgrade the software you’re opening yourself up to security breaches. Most upgrades are security patches. The days of upgrades screwing up your machine are gone. Of course there are lapses, but ignore the haters.

SEARCH

Now it’s built in to the home screen of the iPhone. Or you can pull down from the top of the screen and you get a box, as well as icons of the apps the iPhone thinks you’re going to use. That’s what AI does for you.

SMARTPHONE

Is the most important device you own. More important than your car. Do not cheap out, buy a new one and keep it updated. It might literally save you. The latest iPhones will speak to the satellite in an emergency. Therefore you won’t have to cut off your arm to free yourself from a boulder in order to walk to safety.

FOR OLDSTERS

Do this, right away. Go to the Settings in your iPhone, click on Accessibility, then click on Display and Text and the top choice will be Bold Text. Turn it on. Your keyboard letters will now be thicker and easier to see.

TYPING SOUND

You want to turn this off immediately. If people can hear clicks when you type you’ll be seen as an ignorant newbie. Who wants to hear you type? Especially in a quiet environment. Go to Sounds & Haptics in the Settings of your iPhone. Click and on the next screen scroll down to System Sounds & Haptics. Underneath that you’ll see Keyboard Feedback. Click it to say None.

GOOGLE

It is your friend. It will answer almost all questions. Go to Google first.

SHARING

Have your own e-mail address and your own iCloud account. Period. I could explain why, but let’s just say that if you lose your phone it can be replicated perfectly from the cloud, very quickly. But if you’re sharing someone’s account…it’s complicated.

KNOW HOW YOUR MACHINE WORKS

It’s not like the eighties, even the nineties, these machines work so well, especially the iPad, its software almost never fails. But you’re going to hit walls, all of us do. Sure, you can call someone, but usually with a little Googling you can figure it out, and you’ll feel so good and become empowered for when the next thing goes wrong.

If I mention anything about Trump, I’m accused of “Trump Derangement Syndrome” from his acolytes. If I write anything about Taylor Swift, absolutely anything, I hear from her fans that I’m a hater.

This is the America we now live in. Black and white. Or should I say red and blue.

Everybody’s got a tribe, everybody’s got their beliefs, and you can’t say anything negative about them or the pushback becomes unreal. And the problem with this is the chilling effect, the people shutting up because they’re fearful of the blowback, and I understand this, completely.

I’m not talking about the trolls. Participate at all and your inbox or message thread will be inundated with comments from people who hate you in principle, who are mad that you have an audience and they don’t. Their goal is to make you shut up. And if you do, they win.

Never engage, this is what these people want, attention, in a world where it’s nearly impossible to get any.

But this means we live in a world where nothing can be gray, nothing can be analyzed, nothing can be poked over and evaluated.

Joe Biden? He’s old. And he presents that way. My inbox is going to go berserk right now, from boomers, telling me I need to shut up and get behind the man. They tell me all the great things Joe has done. And the funny thing is I know, I voted for him before and I’ll vote for him again. But he’s far from perfect, even his administration is far from perfect. And I don’t think he should be the candidate. If he is, will I vote for him? Yes. But in the eyes of the Biden tribe I must be quiet and get in line. And these are Democrats, the supposed Big Tent party.

As for getting in line… Look what that has done for the Republicans in Congress. Now nothing can get done. Do you call that governing? I certainly don’t.

If Taylor Swift were a local without a deal who never got any press would I be writing about her? No. But Taylor Swift is the most famous woman in America today, and she operates in the music world, and therefore she and her career are worthy of analysis.

But not to the Swifties. Get in line, she’s the greatest, the best there ever was, and if you say otherwise you’re a pariah.

And the press has fallen in line with this, because it’s a perfect old media story. Big star dominates. But that paradigm has evaporated. Where is the movie star who can open a movie? But we keep on reading the endless interviews, the endless hype about these stars and their flicks, which are oftentimes dead on arrival.

So how big is Taylor Swift? Isn’t that a question for analysis?

My point is no one is as big as those of the past, because there are so many options, opportunities.

In the sixties we lived in a monoculture. AM radio was pushed to you and everybody knew the same songs. At the end of the decade and into the seventies there was an alternative, FM. And then in the eighties the monoculture reappeared, with MTV. So everybody knew Culture Club. Genesis became a mainstream act.

But those are not the days we live in now.

So what days do we live in?

Oh, you’d better not mention Taylor Swift, because you’re a misogynist with an agenda.

Well, what about Morgan Wallen? He’s a racist. Appealing to nitwits. Next!

Well, can Morgan Wallen ever be forgiven? Not according to my inbox. Even though these same people have never heard a note. He said the n-word and we live in a zero tolerance society. Well, he was drunk and he was using it as a term of affection. Does that make a difference? No, it’s the third rail.

That’s the world we live in. Either you stand on the platform and stay quiet or you risk touching the third rail and being electrocuted.

And beware of saying something about Teslas. Their owners and the right wing fans of Elon Musk will excoriate you. Yes, their software is the best, but their build quality is not. And Elon made some poor choices with self-driving. But we cannot say anything negative about heroes otherwise we’re seen as having an agenda, trying to bring people down.

I subscribe to the Amplifier newsletter from the “New York Times.” Today the author wrote about “8 upcoming albums to get excited about.”

Here are the eight acts, do you know more than one? Have you even heard of one?

1. Waxahatchee

She’s got two songs with double digit million streams on Spotify, one twenty and another fifteen. If you think that’s a major star, you don’t know numbers.

2. Sheer Mag

Well, there is one track with three million streams and two tracks with two million streams and one track with one million streams.

3. Brittany Howard

Well, we all know her. Right?

4. The Smile

One cut with sixteen million. Another with ten. A bunch more in single digit millions.

5. Mary Timony

One track has over fifty thousand streams, none other comes close.

6. Julia Holter

A handful of cuts with single digit million streams.

7. Helado Negro

One cut with ten million streams, a few with single digit millions.

8. Faye Webster

She actually has triple digit millions of two tracks, but I doubt you know her anyway.

Number 50 on Spotify’s Global chart, “Rompe La Dompe,” had thirteen million streams LAST WEEK! Number one, “La Diabla,” had thirty four million.

Okay smartypants. Ask your kids if they’ve heard of these acts.

These are all cult items. Very small cults. And there are more cults than ever before. But we don’t see an article about this in the “New York Times,” just endless listing of acts that no one has heard of with no context. And sans context, we don’t pay attention, we move on. To the detriment of music in general.

But it’s not only the “Times,” many publications do this. Hype acts with tiny audiences. And, unfortunately, when you listen to these records you don’t find the new Joni Mitchell, at best you hear professional productions. Better to listen to the oldies.

And Taylor Swift is an oldie. She has an established name. Which is why she gets so much ink. Which is self-reinforcing.

So what is going on?

You’d better not ask any questions. Nobody asks any questions in the music business. There are endless awards shows, as if the public cares a whit. The majors promote their acts. There’s a whole industry of hype but does it reach the public? Most of it does not.

And the public is not getting turned on by music on terrestrial radio, kids are not listening. Hell, if people were listening Audacy wouldn’t have declared bankruptcy.

But let’s keep shoveling the sh*t and never ask any questions.

Are Taylor Swift’s songs in the ballpark of the Beatles? Of New Kids on the Block? Will they be remembered, will they have staying power?

For years we had to hear about all the chart records Mariah Carey broke. Other than her Xmas song, none of them are standards today.

Want a standard? Sublime’s “What I Got.”

So music today is heard by fewer people and it has less overall cultural impact. But you can’t say that in the music industry, then you’re seen as pissing on it. It’s all up all the time, as the labels skim TikTok artists that are here today and gone tomorrow.

Can we ask any questions?

Like climate change. Half the country won’t hear it, no way. And they always come up with some expert to the contrary. But the younger generation, which will inherit the planet, they’re very concerned. But they’ve got very little power. So let’s ignore them.

There are so many issues that can’t be debated. That if you have an opinion on you must not verbalize it. You don’t want to be ostracized, do you?

And this permeates all walks of life, every sector. There is an orthodoxy and it better not be questioned.

Then again, I went to a college with no objective tests, where we didn’t discuss the reading in class. Analysis was everything. And that makes me part of a minority. Especially in today’s world where college is seen as a glorified trade school. College is about getting a job, right? No one said that when I went to college.

And there’s teaching to the test in elementary and secondary school.

And the average citizen can’t discern a lie from the truth, never mind ask the questions that will tease out veracity.

I’m not telling you you can’t listen to Taylor Swift, or go to her show. She’s had more success on the road this year than any other act. Morgan Wallen had a bigger year with new music, but, once again, he’s a pariah.

Therefore I start my analysis with acts you’ve heard of. So there’s context. But you dismiss what I say out of hand. I’m not saying you must agree with me, but one thing is for sure, no act today, NO ACT, is as big as one from yesterday, in the pre-internet era. There are too many choices, too many niches, you pull your music, it is not thrust upon you, you don’t have to listen to anything you don’t want to.

And this is worth looking at. What is going on. Is this the way it’s always going to be, or could a single act change the paradigm? And can’t we at least accept the truth? That the acts you love might not be loved or even known by the vast majority of people, who don’t give a sh*t.

This is the world we live in.

But all we’re told is to get off our smartphones, that they’re the devil.

Well, good luck getting an Uber, looking up facts, connecting with friends.

We need to accept the present. But that does not mean we can’t question it, investigate it.

With knowledge comes power. Gain it. And you do this by looking beneath the surface, doing your best to find out what is really going on.

But today that’s a lonely pursuit.

Now I’m going to STFU!

I have to disagree on a point you made, “….great movies that take you on a ride, have you leaving your world behind to inhabit a new one, such that when you’re placed back in reality you’re stunned…”Killers of the Flower Moon” is not that.”

Maybe that’s because you’re a man, and not a woman. Yet another story where women have been used, abused, lied to and discarded, but this was truly horrific.  It hurt me inside to watch . Deniro was so good so slimy – he even talked Osage with the Indians. Gee, what a genuine guy (not) I fully empathized with these women. I’m still thinking about about it two days later and have had to go back and watch a few times, because yes, it is too long and so here and there I started to get tired…  I’m dying to know if this is a true story , especially the Indian lands and oil… and I thought that Lily Gladstone was beautifully cast.

The music was awesome did you know that it was the eleventh and final collaboration between Scorsese and Robbie Robertson, who died two months prior to the film’s release. The film is dedicated to him.

Holly Knight

___________________________________

I waited months to watch this as the trailers looked great, and  I love DiCaprio, DeNiro and Marty….but what a bore.  Robbie Robertson’s score was great and may he RIP….but Gladstone was like a Zombie….sleepwalking through her part….there was zero emotion from anyone except DeNiro….I felt it was unbearable, totally dull and and a huge disappointment and the worst offense a movie can be and that is a total waste of time!

I think you’d get DiCaprio if you watch Catch Me If You Can, and Gangs Of New York ( Maybe His Best).  He’s really great in those.

But Killers is a dud. It murdered itself with pomposity and a dull heaviness, that puts most everyone asleep who watched it.

Glad you seem to be feeling better.

Leigh Goldstein.

___________________________________

I just finished watching it too. I am also glad I did. However, besides the thing most everyone will say– it didn’t need to be that long– I will add that two things bugged me while I watched.

First, the way Ernest and Hale and most of the other local whites spoke with one another. By this I mean how they just repeated themselves over and over in a short conversation. The sisters didn’t do that, and Bill Smith (go Jason!) didn’t either. But after a couple of hours, watching Ernest and King have a conversation was killing me.

Second, I simply could not believe that Mollie would have gone on being so nice to Ernest after it became much more apparent what Hale and his minions were up to with the killings. She knew from the get-go Ernest was (at least partially) marrying her for her money. I wanted her to spit on him, to call him out, to punch him in the face. I wonder if any of that happened in real life.

I also had a small beef about the editing– the story seemed disjointed– but I concede that maybe there are things about Scorsese’s style that I just don’t dig. But overall it’s a great piece of work.

Beth Hardy McLennan

___________________________________

Long time reader, first time writer, but I felt compelled to respond to your Killers of the Flower Moon post, since I felt like you got it pretty wrong (when most of the time you get it very right). First of all, you should definitely read the book, which I read before watching the movie. I would challenge you to read the book, and then try re-writing or updating your blog post with that newfound understanding. The book goes into how the author visits the grandchildren of Ernie and Mollie, and learns that he reconnected with his children after getting out of jail. But they always had to live with the fact that Ernie had tried to kill Mollie and his kids that night Mollie’s sister’s house blew up.

The movie is 95%+ true to the book (it was awhile for me between reading the book and watching the movie, so I can’t say for certain it’s all true), and the book is 100% true. As for the motives of the characters, the author of the book doesn’t go very deep into the motivations of each person, and the movie does a good job or conveying that ambiguity and letting the viewer decide what was going on in each person’s head. And Mollie is intended to be played in a way where you can’t easily read her thoughts.

As for the movie’s length — yes, it was long, drawn-out, and slow, but so was the systemic killing of the Osage people. Scorcese did a great job of portraying how it was a conscientious choice for Ernie to poison his wife day in and day out, while keeping up the pretenses of a loving marriage for years, even having multiple kids with his wife. It is meant to be uncomfortable and drawn out.

Jessica Wang Kane

___________________________________

Glad you wrote about this.  One thing you didn’t mention that I think supports your thesis is the roles of modern Americana royalty, Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson.  I’m a big fan of their music but found their screentime in this pic painful and wanting.  It seemed like it was all for the cameo cache and their delivery was flat and uninspired.  This was particularly true of the scene between Isbell and DiCaprio when they are waiting together in the living room alone.  DiCaprio’s expressions are every contortion his face can possibly make, while Isbell lets the words fall out of his mouth with the excitement of a $0.99 slice of cheese.

David Gill

___________________________________

Thank you Bob for writing this.

Finally, someone who shares my exact sentiments on this film, Scorsese, Leo–he will never have what someone/an actor like a Cillian Murphy has, and DeNiro being the star.

I told a friend recently that believing that all of Marty’s films are masterpieces is just a placebo effect, because we’ve been told they are repeatedly.

I did enjoy Lily Gladstone and the unexpected guest appearances by Jason Isbell, Sturgill Simpson, Pete Yorn, and Jack White–but even those didn’t make this an amazing work.

Thanks for always being honest with your reviews and observances.

Cheers,

Siria Contreras

___________________________________

Great movie. Did you notice Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson? Very pleasantly surprised at how competent they both were with a cast like that. I guess if you can craft a great story in a song, it might be easier to act in someone else’s great story?

I have Apple+ along with all the other apps, but I watched “KOTFM” in IMAX the first weekend it went wide ‘cos I value that sort of immersive communal experience — saw IMAX versions of “Stop Making Sense” and “Godzilla Minus One” for that reason — but I wish I would have waited to see it at home.

Coming off watching the third and final season of “Reservation Dogs” (FX on Hulu), I wanted “KOTFM” to foreground the horror story of Osage genocide by bureaucracy, of extermination by rubber stamp and cheap booze. Instead, I got a tonal mishmash of three different films that lacked any hybrid vigor and felt longer than it was.

The sound design and photography were beyond reproach, and the coda — both metatextual and moving — sits among the best things Scorsese has ever done. But I’ve never felt more disconnected from the critical acclaim and my first impression, so much so that I’m almost moved to give it another try, from the comfort of my couch. But I won’t.

Erick Haight

___________________________________

I’ve begun questioning people who praise Gladstone and DiCaprio’s performances. I would hardly call what they did good and the movie was far and away the most overrated of the year… and that’s saying something for a movie that came out the same year as Oppenheimer.

Michael Vorhees

___________________________________

Oppenheimer was 10 times better than Killers of the Flower Moon and it will win best picture.

Robert Pisaneschi

___________________________________

lol.  Wrong.  So so wrong.
“This is an epic movie, which will probably win the Oscar for Best Picture…”

Oppenheimer will win that award And BEST DIRECTOR, among many, like it did a day or so ago at The Critics Choice Awards.

Steve Sequeira
Middletown, Rhode Island

___________________________________

Did you watch Maestro? I couldn’t watch more than about thirty minutes. I thought it was a steaming pile of crap.

Harold Love

___________________________________

I really appreciate you reviewing and shining a light on “Killers of the Flower Moon”, Bob.  I did venture out to a brand new theater to view it. The cushy reclining seats were a bonus. I was ready for the long screening, but in all honesty, the three hours and 26 minutes felt like 90 minutes to me. I was glued and wired in. Although a New Englander, I had done my student teaching on the Navajo Indian Reservation in the mid 70’s. That direct experience sensitized me to Native American culture. I have been an active supporter of Indigenous Peoples’ causes ever since. I happen to love Scorcese’s brilliant film. And the only problem I have with your review, is your take on the female lead, Lily Gladstone. You have to realize, Bob, that most in most Native Tribes, it is common for folks to be soft spoken. My students were quiet to a fault, very respectful of their elders, even to a young teacher in my case. I believe Lily’s performance was spot on, understated, quiet, mysterious. And like all great actors, the magic was in her eyes and her facial expressions. Kudos to Marty, who as a film elder, delivered an important masterpiece.

Cob Carlson

___________________________________

I saw it in the theater and I’m glad I did as it looked amazing on the big screen (as all Scorsese films do…props to Thelma Schoonmaker!). And I really enjoyed the film overall like you did.  But to me, it wasn’t as good as my two favorites of the year (Poor Things and Oppenheimer) because it had elements of what I had seen before from Marty.

For instance, at one point I was expecting DeNiro to tell Lily Gladstone to go look at some new dresses he just got that were down a dark alley because it felt like him once again doing clean up duty like he did after the Lufthansa heist from Goodfellas.  It was a very good film, just not his best.  However, I could say that Christopher Nolan just released his best film to date as well as Yorgos Lanthimos.

That’s my two cents.

Jaime Feldman

___________________________________

Molly is such a strong character and no dummy. De Caprio’s character was vapid and a complete lazy-ass with no backbone of any kind. The romance to me was not convincing. What was the attraction? He wasn’t even charming in a dumb sorta way. And why did she let him keep injecting her as she was clearly getting worse and worse? — and it wasn’t like he was out there taking care of business while she was wasting away.  So their story did not hold up for me and that was a giant hole in the plot. De Niro is always De Niro no matter what character he is playing. They just change the costumes and the scenery. Don’t shoot me, De Niro fans.

Karma Martell

___________________________________

I hear you regarding Killers of the Flower Moon, amazing to look at, I did read the book and it gives a different look into the Osage Tribe, more nuanced, more details fleshed out.Marty had to pick one of the many characters in the book and make it his primary story arc.The  book also gives us more on the birth of the FBI.  I , too, watched at home in two separate sections  , worked well .  It is a great movie , see De Niro shine , it’s a story we need to know.

Gerry Lauderdale

___________________________________

I agree with your assessment Bob. I watched it in the theater and did squirm at about the 2.5- 3.0 hours mark.

I went to see it because I am an admirer of Robbie Robertson’s work. It would be his last soundtrack.

I think this work would have been close to his heart because of his indigenous roots.

Good to see the soundtrack has been nominated for an Oscar.

The soundtrack was more blues influenced than I thought it would be, given the historical context/location of the film.

I would have like to have heard the Charlie Crockett song in the movie, even over the end credits, but didn’t.

Good also to hear a mention in the film by Leonardo’s character re: insulin being from T.O.

That’s where Banting and Best discovered it- at the University of Toronto.

Even though there are many films shot in T.O, it’s unusual to hear Toronto mentioned in a film.

Perhaps that was to be completist re: factual details of the film and likely it’s just a coincidence that Robbie Robertson was also from Toronto.

Ultimately it is a sad movie because of the very sad tale that it tells.

Paul Sanderson

___________________________________

Just read your comments on “Killers Of The Flower Moon” — and you’re right — it should have been a mini-series.

While the film is terrific, especially the first hour which dazzles, it also left me thinking that it could have been more. That Scorsese had the original script completely rewritten after he got to know the Osage is well-known now. But you have to think that some elements weren’t quite massaged well enough.

The Osage struck oil. Then they’re rich. But you don’t see the effects of this enough. Beyond that, one of the biggest issues is that it’s unclear what motivates DiCaprio’s character. If it was greed, then you didn’t see that. Was it to impress? Because he could?

Lily Gladstone’s character IS memorable. But it also seemed as if all of the sisters spent the duration of the film being sick. You wish there was enough time spent building their personalities up so that viewers could feel for them more.

DeNiro is superb and is the anchor of the film. But the film didn’t build to a stunning conclusion — unless you want to include that fairly unique concluding scene. All of the cards were laid out on the table well beforehand.

So again, as visually stunning as it was and as good as some of the performances were, you just get the feeling that it could have been even better — a true classic even — if some storylines were given more play and allowed to breathe.

I wrote more about it here for those who are interested.

Thanks…Scott Murphy

___________________________________

I watched on Apple over three nights.  I liked it, but didn’t think it was amazing. I was particularly disappointed by the ending – the radio drama seemed like a cheap narrative device.  Like Martin ran out of gas or was suddenly in a hurry to finish.

James Welby

___________________________________

Rarely touches your heart?
You must be a cold SOB, sorry to say.

Joanne Schenendorf

___________________________________

I loved the book and it really informs the film which leaves a lot out related to the hows and whys surrounding guardianships  and the formation of the FBI. Grann is granular (pun intended) but he ultimately pays it off in the end.

Barry Blumberg

___________________________________

Because of the interior nature of the film, after I watched it I wish I watched at home. Excellent movie .

Peter

___________________________________

Saw Killers Of The Flower Moon the Friday it was released in the evening after a full day of work. I knew not to get a drink before the film or during, so after the credits rolled I hightailed it to the men’s room to pish. I really liked the movie and especially the end as the radio drama, but my favorite movie of 2023 was The Holdovers.

If you haven’t seen it yet, I hope you do and I’d like to read your thoughts on that one.

Russ Turk

___________________________________

Agree with everything you say about this movie, especially Gladstone’s performance.

Steven Powell

___________________________________

Agree on the film, the book is a great Joe Friday true crime book. Easier to read than The Wager for mine.

Phil Bonanno

___________________________________

You know how I know you saw this at home?  OK because you started with that, but also because you didn’t even mention an incredibly crucial aspect of the film and to seeing the film as it was intended to be seen in theaters: Robbie Robertson’s brilliant score.

You want arc? How about considering the arc of Robertson and Scorcese’s musical collaborations over the years?  Among the many brilliant stories told in ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ and in the making of the film, one of them is how this final project between these two ends up being some of Robertson’s most emotional, personal, and gripping film work, something seeing the film in theaters drives home.

I did a podcast about the film and about how brilliant DeNiro, DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Scorcese, Robertson and so many aspects of this film are.

It’s really Scorcese’s defining masterpiece:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/full-cast-and-crew/id1438276325?i=1000632654537

To quote yourself to yourself: you won’t listen to this but you should.  And the good news is you can pee whenever you want when listening to it.

Jason Cilo

___________________________________

Saw it in the theatre a month or two ago. I agree with every single point you made. We want so badly to experience excellence with recent art. Yet, it just doesn’t seem to get there. Same with Leo. I really, really like him, but it feels like I’m watching a guy who in the aggregate is a bit this and a bit that. Yet, he falls short of being transcendent, like this film. My dad has a saying when I send him new music, that he just knows too much. And when what you know and where you come from is exceptional, difficult for the new kid in town to make a mark.

Marty Winsch

PS – The piss I took after the movie ended was better than sex.

PSS – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape…I dig that Leo.

___________________________________

Agree with many of your points, I certainly wouldn’t recommend it to anyone and my initial thoughts were to rename it “Killers of the lost time” as there’s plenty of other things I could’ve been doing. I continued watching partly out of respect for Scorcese but also with the faint hope that something interesting would happen. That’s not to diminish the importance of the story as it needed telling, it’s just a shame it couldn’t have been told with engrossing acting performances and a little more intrigue. I pretty much knew what was going to happen next all the way through as any tension was pre-framed sloppily. DiCaprio”s deviousness could have easily been confused stupidity as I wasn’t ever clear what was really going on in his brain and therefore the development of a main character leaves big questions. DeNiro was the highlight but only stood out with generally flat performances across the board.

Nikky French

___________________________________

This is a first, my first ever answer to a Lefsetz letter.

 

For a reason: I can absolutely relate to every single word you’ve written. That’s exactly how I felt in the theater. A powerful movie with an incredible story that needed to be told, no doubt. With possibly the best De Niro in ages. And yet something was missing that would have made the movie a masterpiece. It’s also down to Di Caprio’s role, which is just a little too one-dimensional and dull. It’s hard to believe that he doesn’t undergo any kind of transformation in the course of the movie, that he’s so incapable of really liberating things.

 

Thanks for that, all the best

Torsten Gross

___________________________________

Spot on film criticism of Killers Of The Flower Moon.  I watched it with my wife. It’s her type of movie. She loves historical fiction, and is particularly drawn to books and films that tell the stories of women and minorities in America’s past.

 

I tapped out after an hour.  She made it through two hours, but said she just couldn’t finish it.

 

I know it’s blasphemy, but I’ve said for years that Scorsese needs an editor. His ideas for movies are great, but generally the execution is too meandering.  Maybe your analysis that the films are “flat” is the right one.  I feel they’re generally disjointed. And this film was definitely both.  Looked great, interesting topic, but the story wasn’t cohesive or that compelling.  The last thing I loved of his was The Departed, but even the films before that like Gangs of New York did not live up to their potential give the subject matter and casts.

 

I do disagree that this is the best of the Best Picture nominees.  I thought both Oppenheimer and Barbie were better films. Barbie won’t win, but I’d vote for Oppenheimer over Flower Moon.

 

Side note, Oldman is fantastic in Slow Horses. Without him, that’s a mediocre series, but his performance kept me coming back for every episode.

 

Seth Keller

___________________________________

I watched it in the theater. I, like you, was worried about the dash to the facilities. And I also made it all the way through without any trouble. I enjoyed it, thought it was great. I saw it in Helsinki and my date was shocked that it was based on a true story.

When I got home and remembered it was coming on Apple I was kinda sorry.

Oh well. At least I’m waking on Napoleon.

Tracy Lipp

___________________________________

I felt the same way about Oppenheimer: An amazing story rendered flat and forgettable.  I’m wondering if you’ve seen the absolutely wonderful but hard to find Sam Watterson version of Oppenheimer, created by PBS in the 1980.  Comparatively it’s low budget but far more informative and engaging than Christopher Nolan’s overwrought epic.  While watching the recent monstrosity, almost scene by scene, and character by character, I kept thinking back on the 1980 version, where I learned far more of what actually happened from pre Manhattan Project to the conflicts over the development of the “super” bomb and Robert’s ultimate disgrace. And as good as Matt Damon is, his General Grove lacked any real depth.  To this day, everytime I see Sam Watterson on any of a million cop shows, I still see him as the real Oppenheimer.

If you haven’t seen it, this is highly recommended if you can find it.  https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078037/

wolfereeno

___________________________________

I have not seen Killers Of The Flower Moon yet, but now that it’s on Apple TV and because I am a huge Scorsese fan it is a must see. I’m always interested to read your commentary on how the younger generation(s) experience music and movies. I’ll be 50 in March and have a son who will turn 12 in February. So, when I read your comments I naturally compare it to what I am experiencing at home, raising my son. You’re not far off on a lot of things. Music doesn’t matter as much to my son and his friends as it did us. His favorite band is AC/DC and that’s because they play their songs at NFL games which he then hears on the Madden video games for his X-Box. Thanks to his mother and me, he’s been exposed to a wide variety of music, so I take comfort in that.

Movies, however, are different. Years ago I introduced my son to IMDB. My son loves lists and loves ranking things. So, the fact that IMDB has user ratings for every movie ever made and has a Top 250 list has instilled in my son a desire to watch the classics and understand why they are so highly regarded. Over the summer my son and I watched the entire Breaking Bad series (judge me for exposing him to violence at such a young age), which then led to us watching Better Call Saul. If you’ve seen these shows you then know Better Call Saul is much more character driven, which to a younger person may be boring. There was an episode where Jimmy McGill was sharing a dinner with his brother Chuck and his wife (a flashback scene). On the table Chuck and his wife were enjoying glasses of wine while Jimmy was drinking a bottle of beer. I asked my son if he understood what they were trying to accomplish with that and in his own way perfectly described that they were somehow trying to illustrate that Chuck existed in a higher class than Jimmy. He understood exactly the idea of character exposition and development. There have been many moments like this and his undying desire to see classics like The Godfather, Casablanca and others along with modern day movies gives me hope that there are others out there like him, which hopefully will give way to a wider variety and, yes, something deeper than superhero franchises in the near future.

Neil Johnson

___________________________________

I agree with you on this film. Good, but not greatness.

The feeling you describe of staring at a black screen when it’s over and done with, I experienced that this past weekend when I finished the series 1883.

It was phenomenal with amazing writing in my opinion. I just sat there afterwards, thinking. Reflecting. And then praising it to all of my group chats, saying it’s one of the best shows I’ve seen in recent memory.

I highly recommend you check out 1883 if you haven’t already. It’s a single season show on Paramount+ – 10 episodes. I’d be very interested in your take on that show – whether it impacts you the way it impacted me.

Omar Zulfi

___________________________________

We saw it on the big screen and were immensely relieved when it was finally over. “The English” was better. Scorcese’s film, like others we have seen in the past year, is too long. Why? They have lengthy sections that just coast on a theme that has already made its point. There is no development, narrative, character or otherwise for a significant chunk of the film. Just unnecessary repetition of a plot point. We just saw Poor Things…same thing. Asteroid City…same (alright, it was quirky, but still…). I binged season one of “Vigil” on the BBC iPlayer on my Macbook Pro and it was way better than “…Flower Moon”. It was produced by the same company that did the “Line of Duty” series.

Robert Bond

___________________________________

I saw Killers of the Flower Moon twice in theaters.  After I saw it the first time, I knew I wanted to see it again.  Like a lot of the best films, it is a much richer experience on a second viewing; knowing the story the second time around allowed me to focus more on the artistic flourishes and thematic elements that are so important to Scorsese.  I love how it subverts the standard narrative of the Western and really becomes an interrogation of American history.  It may not have the kind of dramatic peaks that you write about, but the flatness that you note in Scorsese’s work is what makes his films so potent for me.  He’s not really going for the typical narrative that we’re used to; he’s trying to get us to think.  I know that might not be the reason why a lot of people go to the movies, but at this stage in Scorsese’s career I forgive him that indulgence.  He’s an old man, and he’s trying to apply the wisdom of a long life to his art.

 

I love the performances in this film.  Leo DiCaprio is terrific in an incredibly understated way.  How many actors would willingly play a role that requires them to diminish themselves in front of the camera?  That’s what Leo does here in taking all the shine off of his persona and playing a dunce.  It’s the kind of work that most Hollywood stars don’t do because they’re more concerned about their image.  He’s really shown himself as the proper heir to Jack Nicholson or Gene Hackman, both of whom played such roles to perfection (see The Conversation for Hackman, and The Last Detail and Ironweed for Nicholson).

 

I think time will show this film to be one of the great American films of its era, and that it will become more appreciated as the years pass.  If you are able to watch it again, I’d encourage you to.  I know it’s a big ask in terms of time investment, but this movie rewards it.

 

Take care,

Wes R. Benash

___________________________________

One of your best writings/insights IMHO.

“  in a world where technology has delivered so much physical perfection we’re looking for something a bit flawed, a bit human, that makes us feel alive… We seem to have lost the art of chiaroscuro analysis. Something is either good or bad, period. Shades of gray are not allowed. But it’s in the shadows that things are unclear, where life and the mind truly live…”

Great stuff, Thanks!

Shepherd Stevenson

Los Angeles

___________________________________

“in a world where technology has delivered so much physical perfection we’re looking for something a bit flawed, a bit human, that makes us feel alive”

I think the last time a new movie did this for me was “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri.” Or maybe “Jackass Forever.”

C’est la vie.

Brian Howell

___________________________________

“Something is either good or bad, period. Shades of gray are not allowed.”

Especially in politics and the news media, where nuance is non-existent.

It’s almost like society itself transitioned from analog technology to digital technology, where everything is either 1 or 0.

Craig Anderton

I’m stunned how much feedback I got about “Killers of the Flower Moon.” If I’d written about a record I would have gotten a fraction of the responses. It seems more people are familiar with Scorsese’s movie than the music of Taylor Swift.

Yes, Taylor Swift, our national icon, America’s girlfriend/sweetheart. I’m sure you’re sick of seeing her, but never has an act so big been so small. I keep asking people to sing two Taylor Swift songs. Even name two Taylor Swift songs. And they can’t. But they all seem to know and have seen and have an opinion on “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

Of course there are fewer movies than records. What do they say at Spotify, 100,000 tracks are uploaded a day? It’s impossible to make sense of it. And did you see that Universal is going to lay people off? Growth has slowed, they can’t figure out how to grow the business. But the answer is simple, extremely simple, it’s the music.

We can all rally around a superstar. The right superstar. One who crosses age groups. But we haven’t had that spirit here for a very long time. Someone who writes and plays songs we all can sing along to who impacts the culture. Someone not combing the surface, but excavating deep.

In addition, music is a mature business. Even social media is not mature, although it seems to be getting there, the game of musical chairs has slowed down, there are few players left, and they’re all powerful, willing to imitate or purchase any upstarts.

The modern music business is based on two things: the Beatles and MTV. The Beatles were a cultural revolution. MTV showed that you could reach people around the world, and make more money than ever doing it.

But we’ve seen the trick. Now it’s about the music itself.

If there is a breakthrough, something phenomenal, it will spread. But that is not the Weeknd or Drake or the rest of the acts touting their streaming numbers. They are not cultural revolutions.

So we’re watching this show “Loudermilk,” it’s now on Netflix. It’s a sitcom, and at some points it’s a bit formula and cheesy, but at others it rings bells, loudly. Especially with the references.

The main character, Loudermilk himself, is in a record store spouting off and he mentions Saul Zaentz. SAUL ZAENTZ? Fantasy Records? John Fogerty’s nemesis?

We all know the story, how Fogerty lost control of his songs and refused to play them live. Well, at least us boomers and Gen-X’ers, who remember hearing “Proud Mary” on AM radio.

And then later in the series, a deadbeat dad goes to see his seventeen year old daughter in her volunteer job at a homeless shelter and Loudermilk talks about phoning home, like E.T., and the girl looks at him blankly. She has no idea what he’s talking about.

That’s what I love most about “Loudermilk,” the references, they bind us. But even SNL has to play broad these days, otherwise no one knows what they’re talking about.

I can’t say we all saw the same movies, listened to the same records, watched the same TV programs, but there was enough cross-pollination that a great percentage of the populace was aware of a great number of things. Not only could you make references, have inside jokes, but you could have a deep discussion about these topics too.

No longer. We’re all into different things, commonality is out the window. Look at politics, where we can’t even agree on the facts!

Something has been lost. And I don’t want to be like the wankers lamenting the past, we’re never going back, but where are we going in the future?

We’re looking for commonality, shared experiences.

Used to be there was an entire business based on reacting to the mainstream, by hip, alienated outsiders. Now there is no mainstream, and there’s nothing to rebel against. You might brag that you know so much about one vertical, but then someone comes along and proves how little you know about something else.

It’s a full time job keeping up on new music. And if you think the young ‘uns are better at it, comprehensive, you are totally wrong. They are just influenced by their friend groups. Sure, there are all these acts selling out stadiums, but they’re reaching a fraction of the number of people who did this in the past.

Meanwhile, the usual suspects continue to drift somnambulantly into the future. Instead of signing TikTok stars, record labels could sign and develop artists from scratch, but that’s too heavy a lift.

And then there’s Taylor Tomlinson, who has come off the road for a late night talk show. Looks good on paper, it’s a joke in truth. There is no appointment television amongst her peers, her audience. They want a visceral live experience, they don’t want to tune in late at night for some talkfest. If anything good happens they can catch it later on YouTube. Assuming they’ve got the time, that they care, and they don’t.

Yes, TV no longer reaches the numbers it used to. If your goal is to host a TV talk show the twentieth century is calling, that’s the last time it mattered.

But Taylor and her agents are too entranced by the money to make the correct career decision. James Corden punted. Sure, he was on TV, but it was hurting his overall career, he wanted to do so much more.

So artist development, career development? That is not mature. It’s a wide open field wherein you make it up yourself. And too many lament it’s not the way it used to be, but once again, we’re never going back.

So, instead of playing to the last row, play to the front row. With your own culture, your own inside jokes, your own references. And if you’re willing to play for the long haul, and you’re innovative, different, you might impact the culture, you might engender some mass references.

The audience is hungry for this, the audience wants to be involved, wants to know others are on the same page. Everybody does not want to go on their own hejira into the internet wilderness.

It comes first and foremost from the talent. You’ve got to go back to the garden. And the garden in art is always the same, inspiration and innovation. We’re looking for breakthroughs, that speak to us and unite us.

Sure, K-pop is a thing. Only for those paying attention. The rest of us don’t care and never will.

There’s money in the niches, but we’re looking for more. Something we all want to pay attention to, something we can all believe in.

But that challenges societal norms. Makes fun of the mainstream. Points out truth. And too many are sold out to the machine to do this anymore.

I want to feel connected, and so do you. That’s what we’re looking for, and that’s what too few provide.