The Top Ten Classics I Saw in 2014

And now in no particular order, here is a list of my favorite older films that I saw for the first time in 2014. 

The Pawnbroker (1964) - A great example of the work of Sidney Lumet, a gritty, socially conscious, and deeply personal portrait of an elderly Holocaust survivor who now runs a pawn shop in Harlem, and spends his days loathing everyone he interacts with.  Rod Steiger plays the title character with heartbreaking intensity.  Though it no longer comes across as raw and groundbreaking, the film still manages to deliver some significant punches.

Autumn Sonata (1978) - I adore the pairing of Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullman in Ingmar Bergman's exploration of a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship.  I've grown more appreciative of Bergman's smaller, intimate domestic dramas over time, and this one is spectacular in its use of music and the interplay of its troubled characters.  Though not Bergman's final screen credit, the role she plays here serves as the perfect capper to her legendary career.

Black Cat, White Cat (1998) - There's something so wonderfully life-affirming and delightful about the films of Emir Kusturica.  Initially I was a little put-off by the nutty characters and topsy-turvy magical-realist worldbuilding in this one, but as the film chugged along and all the pieces of the story started to come together, it completely won me over.  I can't think of anything else I watched this year that was so funny and sweet and that I'm so happy exists. 

The Quince Tree Sun (1991) - Also known as "Dream of Light."  I don't know what it is about the creation of art that I find so fascinating.  The bulk of this film is devoted to watching Antonio López García paint his quince tree and talk about his life and work.  It's very slow going, but also very engrossing, and ultimately rewarding to see the whole process from start to finish.  Even if García doesn't achieve what he wants, there's no better example of the journey being worth the trip.

Demon Lover Diary (1980) - The chronicle of amateur filmmaker Donald G. Jackson's attempts to make a horror movie, "The Demon Lover," and all the drama and chaos that resulted from its troubled production.  The documentary was pieced together from footage shot by one of the cameramen, who was eventually forced to flee the scene with other members of the crew.  It's a wonderful, bizarre cautionary tale that is as timely as ever in the DIY filmmaking age.

Miracle in Milan (1951) - It took me ages to track down a copy of Vittorio DeSica's whimsical fantasy tale about the poor inhabitants of a shantytown on the edge of Milan.  The film seems to have fallen out of favor since it contains some seriously non-PC and culture-specific elements.  However, I found that the low-budget effects sequences have some real charm to them, and the neo-realist social satire is still sharp and very funny.  It was certainly worth the effort to find. 

Boogie Nights (1997) - I first saw parts of this one as a teenager, but was too intimidated by the subject matter to appreciate the comedy or the humanity of Paul Thomas Anderson's characters.  Upon finally viewing the whole film, I could at last appreciate the magnificent ensemble lead by a resurgent Burt Reynolds, and the daring of a filmmaker who found so much to sympathize with and celebrate among those making their living on the seamier side of the tracks.   

Stroszek (1977) - The American immigrant experience has been the subject of many movies, but nobody's done it quite like Werner Herzog, who happily punctures the myth of the American Dream with a little help from Bruno S. as the title character.  With no shortage of absurd humor, Herzog and Bruno S. explore the heartland and all its promises of comfort and joy, before coming inexorably to the hard truth and the end of their adventures.

Le Beau Serge (1958) - Though it has an important place in the history of cinema as one of the first titles of the French New Wave, Claude Chabrol's "Le Beau Serge" still holds up beautifully on the strength of its narrative and performances.  I got completely caught up in the story of a pair of young men, one successful and one a deadbeat, who reconnect after a long separation, and discover that they have grown too far apart for their friendship to survive.

Feherlofia (1981) - The title translates to "Son of the White Mare," referring to the central character in Marcell Jankovics' beautiful animated fable based on Eastern European legends.  The art design of this feature is unlike anything I've ever seen, a fantastic mix of traditional forms with painstaking hand-drawn animation techniques.  It serves as a good reminder that great films come from everywhere, and that masterpieces like this fall into obscurity every day. 

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Bye Stephen, Bye Craig

 

I felt a little guilty watching the final episodes of "The Colbert Report" and "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson."  Both were programs that I used to watch regularly back in college and grad school.  I distinctly remember the first seasons of each, and watching the hosts experiment with their formats and voices before settling on the familiar forms we know today.  Little by little I gave them up, went to bed earlier, and would occasionally circle back to catch clips of the highlights on Youtube when those went viral. 

 

I admired Colbert's verve, even if I found his fake pundit routine wearing too thin after a few years to keep me watching regularly.  When he would pull stunts like creating his own SuperPAC, I cheered him on.  I liked Ferguson better, who pretended to have no agenda and no regard for his own position in late night, but then systematically carved out a unique, kitschy little place for himself full of toys and puppets and silly costumes, and then invited Desmond Tutu for a chat.  Ferguson was simply on too late.  After staying up to catch his monologue for years, I finally had to give him up when I got a real job that required getting up before 7AM.  And now suddenly it's a decade later and both gentlemen are moving on. 

 

Far more loyal and knowledgeable fans than I have eulogized the show and written at length about why these two were so important.  However, I think their final episodes spoke for themselves.  Colbert was flashier and more fun, lining up interviews with President Obama, Smaug the Dragon, and finally the Grim Reaper.  He organized a sing-along that included Big Bird, George Lucas, and Henry Kissinger crooning "We'll Meet Again," from the ending of the greatest satirical American film ever made, "Dr. Strangelove."  Befitting his alter-ego's massive ego, the show ended with Colbert becoming immortal and joining the pantheon of pop culture icons, including Santa, Abe Lincoln, and Alex Trebek.  And at the very end, most poignantly, he threw the baton back to Jon Stewart at "The Daily Show," framing the entire nine-years as just an extended segment on the show where Colbert's blowhard character first originated. 

 

Craig Ferguson had far less of a budget and far less polish, which has been par for the course for his show the entire time it's been on.  He opened with the big, star-studded musical number, but it was almost entirely pre-taped, cutting in the end to Craig rocking out on his sparsely populated studio set.  He finally got his band, though.  The opening number also replaced his usual lengthy monologue, so after trading a few barbs with Geoff Peterson (far more articulate both physically and verbally since I saw him last), we got to the meat of the hour, which was a fairly serious conversation on life after talk show hosting with a shaggy Jay Leno.  There were a few fun in-jokes - Secretariat was revealed to be Bob Newhart all along - and then Craig closed with a clumsily executed bit with Drew Carey that parodied the famous endings of "Newhart" and "St. Elsewhere."  And it felt exactly right, except for being over far too quickly.

 

Both of the hosts will still be around, of course.  Stephen Colbert will be taking a break and then heading over to CBS Late Night to take over for David Letterman after Dave has his own sendoff in a few short weeks.  it won't be the Colbert persona we've known and loved, though, but a kinder, gentler, mainstream-friendly Colbert who will stay largely apolitical.  Craig Ferguson has yet to commit to any particular project, but he's bound to pop up again somewhere, doing something interesting.  Maybe he'll write another book or go back to scripting movies.  Remember "Saving Grace"?  Or I'd love to see him pull a Jon Stewart and direct something.   

 

It'll never be the same, and of course, it shouldn't be.  Ten years is quite long enough for anybody to do anything.  Still, I'm sad to see these gentlemen go.  2014 has been a year of hard goodbyes, from Robin Williams to the "Mythbusters" build team, and the laughs have felt fewer and farther between.  Colbert and Ferguson are some of the most dependable late night comics we have, and I'll miss their contributions terribly. 

 

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My Fifth Annual Holiday Wishlist

Dear Hollywood,

I know this is cutting it close, but this year for Christmas, I want:

For a speedy end to Sony's troubles. Enough is enough already, and the studio needs to get back to business. There are movies and shows in production that I want to see, and talented creatives that should get back to work. The longer the hackers keep toying with them and dragging this whole mess out, the longer it'll take the company to rebuild, regroup, and rehabilitate. I have no particular interest in seeing "The Interview," so let's just write it off, shift gears, and worry about the next James Bond film, huh?

For the Warner Bros. DC films and Dreamworks animation's new features to find some success. As much as I enjoy Disney's Marvel films and PIXAR films, I worry that they're becoming too dominant lately. There's no doubt in my mind that 2015 is going to be great for the Mouse House, but a healthy industry is a competitive one, and I'd be happier if their rivals were real challengers rather than the afterthoughts they are now. Dreamworks in particular has gotten themselves into a bad spot, after a run of lackluster originals and sequels that fewer and fewer kids want to see. And honestly, they don't deserve half the bad press they've gotten.

For "Mad Men" to stick its landing. Of all the television that's coming up in 2015, the end of "Mad Men" is the biggest event that I'm anticipating. Though its popularity has cooled over the past few seasons, I think it's stayed remarkably consistent. Sure, AMC splitting the final season was a dumb and desperate thing to do, but it didn't hurt the quality of the episodes that were produced. Robert Morse's goodbye musical number was one of my favorite moments from last year. In the television realm, I'm also looking forward to HBO's "Westworld," BBC's "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell," and more "Game of Thrones."

For the continued improvement of the indie, foreign, and documentary selections on VOD and streaming services. The iTunes and Amazon selections have gotten so much better over these last few years, but there could still be some considerable improvements. Now that I'm relying on these services more and more, I've realized how much better they could be. It's such a big opportunity to meet the needs of niche audiences. Sure, there's not much demand out there for Frederick Wiseman's highly acclaimed four-hour documentary on the University of California, Berkeley, but you'd think it would be available to stream somewhere by now, right?

For a better year for science-fiction at the movies. While 2014 did offer some nice surprises like "Under the Skin," "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" and "Edge of Tomorrow," most of the sci-fi titles I had been looking forward to either got shuffled over to 2015, like "Ex Machina" and "Tomorrowland," or turned out to be disappointments like Wally Pfister's "Transcendence" and Terry Gilliam's "The Zero Theorem." Now I haven't seen "Interstellar" yet, but it won't be enough to make up for the rest of the year, and it won't be enough to kickstart more original sci-fi projects the way I had been hoping these movies would. Oh well. There's always next year.

For the continued rise of women directors in film. With the end of the year awards conversations going on, it's been nice seeing Angelina Jolie, Ava Duvernay, Jennifer Kent, Laura Poitras, and Gina Prince-Bythewood coming up again and again in connection with "Unbroken," "Selma," "The Babdook," "Citizenfour," and "Beyond the Lights." And it's such an eclectic bunch too. And with Michelle MacLaren recently attached to direct "Wonder Woman," they're finally moving into the realm of big budget superhero movies too. Slowly but surely those walls are coming down.

For all the shows that disappointed me this year to do better, and for the good ones to keep up the good work. And for the passel of sequels in the movie theaters to offer some surprises. "Jurassic World" can't be as bad as it looks, right?

For a fun "Doctor Who" Christmas special. And a good, creepy "Black Mirror" one too.

And J.J. Abrams, please, please, please don't screw up. I can't take another "Phantom Menace."

Happy holidays!
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The December 2014 Follow-Up Post

It's been a while since we've had one of these, hasn't it? If you're new to the blog, these are posts where I write up brief additional comments updating pieces that have been previously posted, specifically where I don't feel I have enough to say about the matter to justify writing an entire new post about them. And here we go:

The MoviePass Math - MoviePass has turned out to be a viable business, so AMC has decided to get in on the action, announcing that they're testing out monthly subscription plans that will allow theatergoers to watch a movie a day for a flat fee. With theater attendance dropping and similar subscription plans gaining popularity in other countries, I expect that we'll see other chains follow suit, hopefully with more competitive pricing.

They're Calling the Movie What? - Well, it's finally happened. We have a major studio that has changed the title of a movie after its theatrical release. In this case, the Tom Cruise action movie released as "Edge of Tomorrow" is being marketed for home media under "Live. Die. Repeat.: Edge of Tomorrow." "Live. Die. Repeat." was initially the tagline. Apparently the crummy marketing campaign confused potential viewers who mixed up the two. It's a shame because the movie was a lot stronger than most of Tom Cruise's recent efforts. And I still prefer the source material's title, "All You Need is Kill," proper grammar be damned.

My Last Blockbuster Trip - It turns out you don't need a physical Blockbuster store to rifle through their inventory. The discs that couldn't be sold during the liquidations have been dumped in bargain stores. I found more pre-viewed Criterions of Jean Renoir's "The River, " Yasujiro Ozu's "Floating Weeds," and Oliver Parker's "The Importance of Being Ernest" in a display at a local Grocery Outlet, for $3 a pop. This could turn into a terrible habit.

Say It Ain't So, Spill.Com - Spill is no more, but its members have created two new sites to carry on its mission. Korey Coleman and Martin Thomas rounded up the Spill fanbase, went to Kickstarter, and created DoubleToasted.com, releasing podcasts pretty close to the same format as what they had on Spill, though I miss A Couple of Cold Ones. Chris Cox and Brian Salisbury started OneofUs.net, which celebrates geek culture. Alas, the Co-Host 3000 has been MIA, but I'm still holding out hope he'll be back someday.

What to Do About Wonder Woman? - The best news to have come out of the Warners camp about their slate of DC films is that Michelle McLaren, veteran of "Breaking Bad" and "Game of Thrones," has been attached to direct "Wonder Woman." That means the Zack Snyder nightmare scenario I had been dreading won't come to pass. McLaren has been a geek favorite for a while now, and I'm happy to see her making her film debut. However, the Wonder Woman property is such a minefield, I'm a little worried that this could all fall apart and impact her filmmaking career badly before she even gets started.

Dubious Days for Dreamworks - The bad news just refuses to let up for Dreamworks. "The Penguins of Madagascar" didn't exactly bomb at the box office, but it's falling well short of expectations. Its domestic numbers are actually worse than "The Rise of the Guardians" at the same point in its theatrical run. Foreign numbers are helping, but not very much. At the time of writing, the total gross is $175 million, and the film cost $132 million. If a dependable franchise like "Madagascar" can't attract audiences anymore, Dreamworks looks to be in deep trouble. It's no wonder they moved "Kung Fu Panda 3" to 2016, to avoid the competition from "Star Wars."

Greta Gerwig is Starring in What?! - Though its creators are holding out hope for a resurrection in the future, "How I Met Your Dad" didn't make CBS's fall schedule and Greta Gerwig has yet to make her television debut. Thank goodness. Meanwhile, none of the "Wizard of Oz" themed television shows I wrote about in TV's "Oz" Overload have gotten anywhere. The closest was NBC's "Emerald City," which was ordered straight to series, but never got past the script stage.
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"Lucy" and "Under the Skin"

I never would have guessed at the beginning of the year that one of the biggest names in science-fiction films would be Scarlett Johanssen. She's starred in no less than four genre films that made a big impact in 2014: "Her," "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Under the Skin," and "Lucy." I thought I'd take a little time here and talk about the last two.

"Lucy" was a particularly noteworthy title because it topped the box office based on little more than her star power coupled with a nutty, high-concept science-fiction premise. Director Luc Besson's had a rocky track record lately, mostly telling and retelling stories of aging hit-men trying to hold dysfunctional families together. There are certainly antecedents in Besson's work for "Lucy," including his celebrated "La Femme Nikita" and the more recent "Columbiana," but it's been a long time since Besson has worked with this kind of protagonist and such an out-and-out fantastic premise. Scarlett Johanssen plays the titular Lucy, an American party-girl who is roped into becoming a drug mule, and gains superpowers when the drugs in question allows her brain to operate at higher and higher percentages of its capacity.

There's a nice simplicity to "Lucy." Though it's billed as an action film, the fisticuffs are really only a stepping stone to get us invested into the transformation of the main character from an ordinary woman to, essentially, a god. Besson is having a lot of fun here, framing the story like a nature documentary, with explanatory narration provided by Morgan Freeman's professor character, and occasional intercutting with wildlife footage so we can draw parallels. The appeals to science are utterly ludicrous, of course, but as a storytelling device it's very effective. Though "Lucy" became more and more outlandish the longer it went on, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Johanssen doesn't have much to work with, but she manages to avoid the Barbie-doll badass cliches and give Lucy a few poignant moments as her humanity gradually slips away. The visuals are trippy and a lot of fun. And Choi Min-Sik plays the bad guy, because, well, why not? Though we root for Lucy to use all of her brain, the movie requires the audience to leave theirs at the door. And that's okay.

If you're looking for headier, more thoughtful science-fiction fare, look no further than "Under the Skin," a chilling, atmospheric tale of two alien visitors who disguise themselves as human beings with stolen bodies. Their objectives are unknown, but it involves luring and capture of human beings by one of the aliens, using the body of a beautiful woman played by Scarlett Johanssen. Little exposition is used, and the aliens are largely non-verbal when they're not interacting directly with humans, so we can only glean their intentions through their actions and behavior. We follow the nameless alien in Johanssen's skin as it looks for victims. We see how its interactions with various men play out, and how its behavior starts to change. Initially cold, emotionless, and predatory, the continued exposure to Earth and its inhabitants creates attachment, and eventually new feelings and wants in the mysterious creature. No cinematic alien being has been so compelling in ages.

Director and co-writer Jonathan Glazer allows "Under the Skin" to unfold slowly, to reveal its horrors and its wonders incrementally. His goal is to establish a mood as much as it is to tell a story, and so there are lengthy, sinister shots of unidentified objects of possibly alien origin, and a long sequence shot with a dashcam where the Johanssen alien is posing as a lost tourist, driving through the darkened streets of Glasgow. The natural world plays a big part here, the rocky seashore heightening the cruelty of a tragedy that occurs in the waves, and a tranquil forest of snow-landen trees emphasizing the loneliness and isolation of our main character. Then there's Mica Levi's score, an extraordinary electronic thing full of lulling rhythms and pregnant pauses.

And Johanssen? She gives one of my favorite performances of the year, one that is largely physical in contrast to her work in "Her," which was limited to her voice. Where Lucy lost her humanity, the alien visitor gains a semblance of it, and "Under the Skin" allows that transformation to be a far more harrowing and soulful one. Johanssen's ascension to the A-list has been gradual, but very rewarding to see. And I hope she keeps picking more great genre roles in the future.
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Potty-Mouths of the "Galaxy"

I just can't get over the amount of swearing in "Guardians of the Galaxy." I was looking forward to the movie for months, was ecstatic when the good reviews started rolling in, and hyped by the high box office totals and "I am Groot" becoming a catchphrase. And there's so much in the movie I did enjoy, from Chris Pratt's star-making performance as Star Lord to the grungy lived-in cosmic setting to the nostalgic '70s soundtrack. I thought director James Gunn did a fantastic job setting up stakes and juggling a cast of very strange characters in a very, very difficult genre. If this had been an original property with an R-rating, I would have adored the movie wholeheartedly.

Unfortunately "Guardians of the Galaxy" is a Marvel film and part of the massive Marvel cinematic universe. And the rule up until this point has been that Marvel movies are kid-friendly even though they're not aimed at them directly. I know four-year olds who dressed up as Captain America and Iron Man for Halloween this year. "Guardians of the Galaxy" will be inevitably watched by lots of kids, because it's associated with the Marvel universe. Disney is counting on it, and in the process of readying a "Guardians of the Galaxy" cartoon for their Disney XD channel, and lots of action figures for Christmas shoppers as I type this. And I can't help feeling queasy about it because Star Lord casually curses like he's in a Judd Apatow flick, and at one point Drax calls Gamora a whore - and it's played for laughs.

Part of me knows that this is a generational thing, that language has slowly been getting stronger in movies over the years, and it's now perfectly acceptable to have PG-13 action films throw out a couple of s-words and occasionally an f-bomb. A lot of kids have grown up with Michael Bay's cheesecake shots in the "Transformers" films and violence several orders of magnitude greater than the stuff that used to prompt rants from Siskel and Ebert in the '80s. Bad language has lost a lot of the sting it once did to the younger segments of the U.S. population. However, I still associate it with being rude, lewd, crude, and a surefire way to get written up or sent to the principal's office, dude. And because there is still a good chunk of the older population that will react badly to a casually dropped expletive, warning for this kind of thing is still a very legitimate concern.

Parents of young kids who want to avoid media with strong language already have their work cut out for them, and "Galaxy" must have felt like being ambushed. None of the previous Marvel films had this amount of harsh language in them, and from the marketing, "Galaxy" looks perfectly safe for an eight-year-old. It's got a talking raccoon! Goofy, colorful aliens! Crossover characters who showed up in the last "Thor" and "Avengers" movies! With G and PG movies becoming scarce, "Guardians of the Galaxy" and other big PG-13 action films are inevitably some of the most popular summer viewing with the anklebiters, but the amount of potentially awkward conversations you'd have to have with a kid in order to get through this one is daunting. The movie starts with a parental death scene, for pete's sake.

And that's why I can't embrace "Guardians of the Galaxy" the way I really wish that I could. It's nice to see the Marvel films branching out, into space opera and broader comedy. This almost felt like a spoof on other recent blockbusters, before the predictable third act "save the world with explosions" business. if the villains had been a little better, this would have been the year's best genre comedy (a title currently still held by the glorious "Lego Movie.") It's a fantastically fun film - for adults. And I'm afraid that makes it a poor Marvel movie.

And now the success of "Galaxy" worries me. What does this mean for the next Phase of Marvel movies? The "Galaxy" gang are inevitably going to cross over with "Avengers" gang at some point - does that mean they're no longer going to be safe viewing either? Summer movies are turning into a mindful parent's minefield.
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The Sony Hack Scrum

The situation has been changing so fast, I've had to rewrite this post multiple times. If there are any inconsistencies I've missed, apologies in advance.

When Sony Pictures Entertainment's computer systems were hacked, resulting in the leak of massive amounts of sensitive data, initially it seemed like a minor matter. So a few screeners got leaked, Hollywood accounting tactics were thwarted, and sensitive employee information got out. Though a lot of people were affected, it seemed like something that would blow over in a few days or weeks. Sony would have to cough up money for better security, to settle a few lawsuits, and maybe chip in for some credit monitoring for its employees. Big corporations have been hacked often enough that these situations are becoming fairly common. Much of the stolen data seemed fairly benign - a marketing presentation for "After Earth" and E-mails from various employees griping about Adam Sandler. It was embarrassing, but hardly seemed damaging.

And then the "Jobs" E-mails came out. And the insensitive Obama exchange. And the MPAA's anti-piracy strategy. And then the Spider-man reboot plans. And a screenplay for the next James Bond film is floating around now, along with some meeting notes that suggest the production may be massively over-budget. Then last week, the hackers started threatening Sony employees and their families. When the first rumors about the attack being connected to North Korea and the Seth Rogen comedy "The Interview" started circulation, I ran across several snarkers dismissing the whole thing as a publicity stunt. With the latest threats against movie theaters and the release of "The Interview" cancelled, everyone's taking it seriously now. I agree with Sony's decision here - averting a potential tragedy is worth taking the financial hit, but I'm also disturbed by the precedent it's setting. What happens when a movie or television show depicting something really controversial is targeted by future hackers?

There's also the question of how we process the information from the leaked E-mails. Aaron Sorkin penned a strong reproach to the gossipmongers for the New York Times a few days ago, pointing out that people's lives and careers are being ruined. Of course he's absolutely right. And I confess I've been ignoring him completely. I haven't watched any of those leaked screeners and wouldn't touch any of the stolen employee data with a forty-foot pole. I know Sony chief Amy Pascal said something about Obama she shouldn't have, but I don't know exactly what, and I do not care to. However, the inside baseball stuff has been fascinating. Being able to glimpse some of the candid negotiations and the politicking that goes on behind the scenes to get movies made, and seeing how the studio big shots conduct business is too much for me to resist. The E-mails detailing Sony's attempts to get a Steve Jobs biopic off the ground have been the juiciest since they involve so many big names, but some of the lower-profile exchanges have been just as dramatic. There's the way CBS and the NFL screwed over "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" this year, for instance. Or the whole business with the gender pay disparity for the stars of "American Hustle."

I know. It's wrong to be reading these stories. But I've only ever read about exchanges like these second-hand, years and years after the movies in question have come and gone, and somebody wants to write their memoirs. Getting to follow the conversations first-hand, some dated only a few weeks ago, is a rare thrill. And learning that the power players are human beings with often horrendous spelling and grammar is a thrill too. It's one thing to hear about Scott Rudin's attitude, and another entirely to read the insults he casually lobs at A-listers. There is no film obsessive who hasn't secretly dreamed of having this kind of access, to be able to confirm that the people who were responsible for "Grown Ups 2" disliked it just as much as its critics.

The price of that access, though, is a movie studio that has lost the ability to operate. This is a severe blow to Sony. These leaks are going to have serious repercussions for years, and may change how the entire film industry operates. Major projects are in jeopardy. Several of the Sony top brass will probably be going down in flames. It will take the company a long time to recover, and they will lose more than money before it's all over.

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