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‘ANGEL HAS FALLEN’ (Rated R)

Gerard Butler, seemingly typecast now as an action figure when not doing voiceover work in animated films, owns the role of Secret Service agent Mike Banning in the same way that Bruce Willis was police officer John McClane in the “Die Hard” franchise.

As part of the Secret Service presidential detail in “Angel Has Fallen,” Banning, though he must often improvise and violate agency protocols, doesn’t have the same wisecracking, free-wheeling swagger of Willis’ McClane. He’d be better served with more humor.

In the third installment of the “Fallen” franchise, Butler’s blunt, no-nonsense Agent Banning is once again in the thick of dealing with an assassination plot against the president of the United States.

In the previous films, “Olympus Has Fallen” and “London Has Fallen,” Banning served Aaron Eckhart’s President Asher, and Morgan Freeman was Speaker of the House and then Vice President Allan Trumbull.

What seems fitting to his authoritative voice and serene manner, Freeman’s Trumbull is now president (still a step-down from once being God in “Evan Almighty”) and targeted for assassination.

A mysterious cabal of mercenaries that thrives financially on ginning up military conflicts just might be part of a conspiracy hatched by renegade forces within the highest levels of the government eager to push Trumbull out of the picture.

Too many missions have taken a toll on Banning. As the father of an infant with his wife Leah (Piper Perabo), the agent might be better off taking Trumbull’s offer of the position of director of the Secret Service.

Even though Banning is dealing with physical injuries and an addiction to painkillers, the thought of a desk-bound job is not appealing to an action hero who relishes the fight no matter the odds.

Despite his condition, Banning ponders his future and realizes he likes the action during a training exercise with an old buddy from his military past, Wade Jennings (Danny Huston), who now runs a Blackwater-style contracting outfit.

Banning’s taste for combat surfaces during a relaxing fishing trip that turns out to be anything but that when the president and his protection detail are assaulted by missile-laden drones that hone in on targets identified by facial recognition.

The dedicated agent manages to rescue Trumbull from the attack but all of his fellow Secret Service agents are killed. Trumbull and Banning end up in the hospital, with the president hanging by a thread in a coma.

Surprised to himself handcuffed to his hospital bed, Banning is interrogated by haughty FBI agent Thompson (Jada Pinkett Smith), who believes that he’s behind the plot, notwithstanding his devotion to a president unable to disavow the accusation.

Not helping the situation is that the feds have found $10 million in an offshore account in Banning’s name. Obvious to everyone except the government is that our hero is being framed and a perceptive audience will soon figure out the culprits.

Meanwhile, the wily Banning manages to escape federal custody, and now he’s got every law enforcement officer in the nation, as well as the bad guys behind the attack, coming after him.

Caught in the position of being the “wrong man” just like Dr. Richard Kimble in “The Fugitive” or in a Hitchcock movie, Banning is on the lam so that he can prove his innocence of suspected treason.

The tricky part is to evade his Secret Service colleagues, FBI agents and local and state police without causing harm but having no qualms about gun fights and explosions that would decimate the real villains.

On the run with no safe space to hide, Banning seeks out his estranged father Clay Banning (Nick Nolte), a veteran of the Vietnam War living off the grid in a cabin in a remote area of West Virginia.

The reunion is a bit awkward at first but fortunately for his son the reclusive old man, who bears a passing resemblance to the Unabomber, was paranoid enough to create underground tunnels and to mine the perimeter of his property with plenty of explosives.

Meanwhile, paranoia is rampant in Washington, D.C., where Vice President Kirby (Tim Blake Nelson) has stepped in as the nation’s leader during Trumbull’s incapacity and is fully engaged in saber-rattling that puts the country on the brink of war with Russia.

Things are going to get very ugly when the bad guys learn that Trumbull is coming out of his coma and Banning is the only person who has a real clue about how to stop an insidious plot from causing irreparable harm.

Trapped in a chaotic world of ceaseless jeopardy, Banning, the expert hunter who had become the hunted, is put to the test of his high-level combat skills and ability to out-think the twisted minds behind the conspiracy.

Geared to an audience that enjoys adrenaline-fueled action, “Angel Has Fallen” does not disappoint on that score, even if the storyline is predictable.

The franchise could punch things up a bit with more humor to ameliorate the tone, but all in all, watching Gerard Butler as the proud warrior is fun.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
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“Up Spring Hope and Beauty (Diogenes’ Lantern at Guenoc)” by Davis Palmer.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – This Friday, Sept. 13, the Middletown Art Center will commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Valley fire, as well as the Rocky and Jerusalem fires of 2015, and all of the wildfires we have experienced in Lake County since.

The evening will feature an opening reception for the exhibit “All That Is Now” from 6 to 9 p.m. as well as spoken word and musical performances from 7 to 9 p.m.

The exhibit will run through mid-November.

Performing and literary artists wishing to contribute a song, dance, prose or poem are invited to email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before Friday to reserve a spot in the lineup. There will be open mic signup onsite if time allows. Work should be relevant to the fire experience.

Each year since the devastating Valley fire, the MAC has hosted a commemorative exhibit and concert to honor our collective experience, memorialize loss, and celebrate our healing.

The exhibit this year includes work inspired by all phases of the experience from disaster, to recovery, to living with fire.

“The trauma of fire still smolders in the fabric of everyday life in Lake County, even as we live and breathe resilience,” said MAC Director and artist Lisa Kaplan. “The broad gamut of psycho-emotional, physical and economic experiences are retriggered each year by local and regional fires. Making, seeing, hearing and feeling art, especially in community, can be very healing, and pleasurable, and remind us that we are not alone in our experience, though for each of us it is a little different. Please join us!”

The event is free to the public. The Middletown Community Farmers’ Market will also be open from 5 to 8 p.m., featuring local goodies. A no host bar will be open in the MAC Gallery.

Be sure to catch the “All That Is Now” opening this Friday and consider visiting the Sculpture Walk at Trailside Park while in Middletown.

The MAC Gallery’s regular hours are Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.;, Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Trailside Park is open dawn to dusk daily and the 14th annual Sculpture Walk will be on view through Oct. 15.

The MAC is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29 in the heart of Middletown.

To stay up to date on classes, exhibits and events, and support this valuable Lake County arts and culture resource visit www.middletownartcenter.org.
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“Hard Rain” by Alana Clearlake.

MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – This Saturday, Sept. 7, Middletown Art Center hosts a double header of art and culture.

First, from 5:30 to 7 p.m., you can enjoy the closing reception for the “Nature” exhibit in the main gallery, as well as a collection of Alana Clearlake’s work in the small gallery. Artists will be on hand to discuss their work.

Then at 7:30 p.m. the MAC Film Club will screen “Rocketman.” Visitors are encouraged to dress in glam rock attire,

The “Nature” exhibit features work by local artists and includes Alana Clearlake’s newest painting, “Hard Rain.” The piece is a 13-panel dramatic progression of climate conditions and intensity that spans just over 16 feet. A collection of Clearlake’s sculptures and paintings in enamel, felt and mixed media “Sneak Peek” is on view in the small gallery.

Both exhibits will close Sunday, Sept. 8, at 5 p.m., and are well worth the visit to downtown Middletown.

The exhibits can also be seen this Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. as part of First Friday in Middletown (from 6 to 9 p.m.), this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The next exhibit, “All That Is Now,” the fourth Fire Anniversary commemoration, opens Friday, Sept. 13, from 6 to 9 p.m., with an exhibition reception, spoken word, dance and music. Those wishing to perform a fire/recovery related piece may contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Middletown Art Center is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29 in the heart of Middletown.

Stay up to date on all classes, exhibits and events, and consider a membership to support this valuable Lake County arts and culture resource at www.middletownartcenter.org.

“Free Fall” by Alana Clearlake.
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The new Walt Whitman stamp. Image courtesy of the US Postal Service.

HUNTINGTON STATION, NY — The U.S. Postal Service on Friday honored the 200th anniversary of the birth of Walt Whitman with a new stamp in its Literary Arts series, commemorating the life, work and words of the poet some revere as the “Father of Modern American Poetry,” at his Long Island birthplace.

Whitman’s poetry was modern in “the topics and themes explored — freedom, human dignity, and democracy,” said Cara Greene, USPS vice president, controller. Greene dedicated the 85-cent stamp, which is intended for domestic First-Class Mail weighing up to 3 ounces.

“Whitman was more than a giant in American literature,” said Greene. “He was a remarkable human being who helped nurse thousands of the Civil War’s sick and dying soldiers.”

Greene was joined to unveil the stamp by Cynthia Shor, Walt Whitman Birthplace State Historic Site executive director; Jeffrey Gould, Walt Whitman Birthplace Association trustee; Erik Kulleseid, New York State Parks Commissioner; Darrel Blaine Ford, Whitman personator; and David Reynolds, Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

Art director Greg Breeding designed the stamp, featuring a portrait of Whitman by Sam Weber, based on a photograph taken by Frank Pearsall in 1869. A lilac bush and hermit thrush in the stamp’s background recall the poem, “When Lilacs Last in the Door-yard Bloom’d,” written after President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.

Whitman’s name lines the bottom of the stamp. “USA” is printed horizontally in the top left corner. The stamp's denomination, “THREE OUNCE,” is indicated at far right, down the side.

Writing powerfully about nearly every aspect of 19th-century American life, Whitman aimed to embody the nation’s democratic ethos itself. Scholars interpret his use of poetry as breaking down artificial boundaries that separate man and woman, city and countryside, free and enslaved, poet and laborer — and ultimately the self and the universe.

His groundbreaking works include “Song of Myself,” in which Whitman argues that only through democracy, and the broad liberty that it promises, can the country approach the divine. Other poems include “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” the best known of his urban pieces; and “I Sing the Body Electric,” in which Whitman boldly treats the physical body as equal to the soul.

The 1855 publication of “Leaves of Grass” marked the beginning of what would become Whitman’s lifelong masterwork. Over the next 40 years, he would revise and expand the collection, which grew from 12 untitled pieces to nearly 400 poems. His work influenced not only the writers of the Harlem Renaissance and the Beat Generation but also numerous 20th-century artists and musicians.

Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through The Postal Store at www.usps.com/shop, by calling 800-STAMP24 (800-782-6724), by mail through USA Philatelic, or at Post Office locations nationwide. A video of the ceremony will be available on www.facebook.com/usps.

Information on ordering first-day-of-issue postmarks and covers is at www.usps.com/shop under “Collectors.”

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.
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Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography.

We reprint poems by living Americans, about American life, but sometimes we need to remind ourselves of the many beautiful and moving poems written by American poets no longer with us.

Robert Francis has been gone for thirty years but I turn to his poems again and again.

Here's a favorite of mine from his “Collected Poems: 1936-1976” from University of Massachusetts Press.

The Sound I Listened For

What I remember is the ebb and flow of sound
That summer morning as the mower came and went
And came again, crescendo and diminuendo,
And always when the sound was loudest how it ceased
A moment while he backed the horses for the turn,
The rapid clatter giving place to the slow click
And the mower's voice. That was the sound I listened for,
The voice did what the horses did. It shared the action
As sympathetic magic does or incantation.
The voice hauled and the horses hauled. The strength of one
Was in the other and in the strength was impatience.
Over and over as the mower made his rounds
I heard his voice and only once or twice he backed
And turned and went ahead and spoke no word at all.


American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright ©1985 by Robert Francis, "The Sound I Listened For," from Collected Poems: 1936-1976, (University of Massachusetts Press, 1985). Poem reprinted by permission of the publisher. Introduction copyright @2019 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.
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Ted Kooser. Photo credit: UNL Publications and Photography.

I once wrote of Marge Saiser's poetry that she writes better poems about love than anyone I know. In this poem the love is standing off to the side, looking on, but it's there.

Marge Saiser lives in Nebraska, and her most recent book of poetry is The Woman in the Moon (The Backwaters Press, 2018).

He Taught Me to Drive

The road wasn't a proper road; it was
two ruts across a pasture and down
into a dry creek bed and up

the other side, a cow path really,
soft sand up to the hub caps.
You didn't gun it at the right time,

he said. I knew that before he
said it, but I didn't know how to get
the old Chevrolet out of the crevice

I had wedged it into. You'll figure it out,
he said, and then he took a walk,
left me to my own devices, which until

that moment had included tears.
My face remained nearly dry,
as was the gas tank when he finally

returned, took a shovel out of the trunk,
and moved enough sand from around
the rear tires so he could rock

back and forth and get a little traction.
That country had very little traction;
it had mourning doves, which lay their eggs

on the ground, a few twigs for a nest,
no fluff. Mourning dove. Even the name
sounds soft. Even the notes they coo,

perched on a fence wire. But they are
hatched on the dirt. When they leave the shell,
the wind is already blowing their feathers dry.

American Life in Poetry does not accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is made possible by The Poetry Foundation, publisher of Poetry magazine. It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Poem copyright (c) 2018 by Marjorie Saiser, "He Taught Me to Drive," from Bosque, (Issue 8, 2018). Poem reprinted by permission of Majorie Saiser and the publisher. Introduction copyright @2019 by The Poetry Foundation. The introduction’s author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006.

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