Category Archives: movie madness

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Movie Madness # 77… BANDITS

What do escaped bank robbers, the son of Fonda, and a gorgeous
red head have in common?
Great writing and complete belly laughs humor.

Billy Bob Thornton and Bruce Willis break out of prison, begin
robbing banks, pick up Kate Blanchett wearing searing red hair,
and find Troy Garity for their get away driver (a special effects guy
and total babe), and they’re off!

Smart and funny, with completely unexpected humor, and a
soundtrack with the likes of Dylan, Knopfler and others of the
same ilk,  all personal, edgey and raw.

Kate is brilliant, sparkling with madness and some hilarious dancing.
Billy Bob plays a suggestible hypochondriac, Bruce a suave ladies’
man, and Troy…. oh that boy is so adorable, a combination of a young Dustin Hoffman and some hot lanky rodeo cowboy with California tendencies.
When he’s on camera, I just cant take my eyes and ears off of him.
His timing, his instincts… it’s genetic, man.

One of the best moments is when Billy Bob thinks he has a brain tumor,
and can’t find his legs… who knew?

When Kate sings “Walk on By” on the beach, auditioning for their
future  Mexican Hot Spot, to be opened with their new found money,
it is one of the more sensational spoofs ever.
Do you know how hard it is to sing badly???

Don’t miss this!!  You will laugh out loud, all by yourself.

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… movie madness – kirk douglas …

Last night I watched 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea…
Not knowing what to expect, I just sat back and let
it all flow in, and I was pleasantly surprised.

One thing I noticed right away… the film is not dated.
It really isn’t. It still works, and without all that
god awful too-loud-crashing music that insists on
accompanying so many of those late 50s/early 60s films.
I tried a few, and I was so distracted by their attempts
at evoking emotions, I had to shut it off.
Not so this film!

The next thing I noticed was that when Kirk Douglas is
on screen, you can’t take your eyes off him! He has
that Thing they talk about, like Dean, like Taylor, like
Brando, and your eye just can’t leave.
Yes, he’s a camera ham, and yes he finds more excuses to
take off his shirt, but still…he has IT.
Like James Mason’s Voice. When he Speaks, any one else
sounds like a whimper.

Oh, I want that 4-string parlor guitar he plays in the
famous “Whale of a Tale” song. It’s pure Art…gorgeous.
The song is cute when he sings it, throwing the guitar
around and flashing his famous grin, but then Disney takes
that song and bends it a thousand ways throughout the
entire film… a minor trend here, an atonal theme there,
so That perhaps is my only itch.

It was great to see Peter Lorre, although they could have
worked him a lot more, but in all, the Four men…
The Sailor, The Captain, The Scientist and The Sidekick,
were just Perfect foils to eachother.
And the Best of all? That Ship! that fantastic ship of
Steam Punk Dreams and Yellow Submarine Futures, completely
captures us, especially when entangled with the Giant
Squid, that animated silhouette staying with me from the
first time I saw it as a child, until tonight, when I
truly believed Seals are Indeed just Water Dogs!

As well, it is clear to me now that Kirk is the singular
reason for my life long infatuation with Sailor Boys.

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… movie madness #? …

Do you like Surprises?

“What to do in Denver When You’re Dead”

This film Blew it out of water and up the hill…
Gritty, dark and smart, with a certain iconic
comic book feel, but Hold the cheese!

Gangster films are not usually my fare, but
this character driven script is so much more.
They are calling it a neo-noir crime film…

Amazing characters, creative dialogue, Brilliant
cast…. true makings of a work of Art.

Andy Garcia Rules, as Jimmy the Saint, and
the all star cast never misses.  Steve Buscemi,
Christopher Walken, Christoper Lloyd….
there are No weak links!

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… movie madness … again

oh, there are so many great films, and I am not easily pleased!

Watched two films last nite, both excellent.
Both with one of our more Promising Female Actors,
and both with excellent writing and editing.
SLIDING DOORS…  Gwyneth Paltrow, young and so promising.
Have you ever wondered how different your life would be, if you
just didn’t miss that train or that cab…. or if you took the train?
Alternate realities, side by side, at first disconcerting, and later
a smooth weave that intertwines and converges into sensibility.
A lovely film, with compelling dialogue, well written and witty in
that way that Brits have with wordplay.  The fellow played by
John Hannah is truly beyond witty, and with a Scottish accent that
adds so much charm to his sincerity, one can’t help but hope for
him to somehow reach the finish line.  Gwyneth is as always…
intelligent, winsome, sincere, candid and playfully herself.
BEST LAID PLANS…. completely and unexpectedly, this Most
original story line,  with twists and turns, holds you to the end.
Reese Witherspoon is her amazing self, and so early in her
career.
 Well written and well played,
you will be drawn in and unable to leave until you
know what is the truth.
So tonite I am watching the last BB, getting ready for the release
of the last season, late November…
Weeds is coming, and there are other delights on the horizon.
be well, warm and happy………………..C
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… movie madness 2013

Well, so much for good intentions, my friends, for still and again
my life seems too busy to rise early and write, which is my way…
It’s my birthday week, so there has been a certain abandonment
going on regards to food and drink and hours kept.
Oh well…. it’s all a phase, right?
I have seen a few excellent films of late…
***Code 46…. with Tim Robbins (love) and Samantha Morton (love),
in a futuristic love story. Soft blurred lighting, closeup characters,
a few twists, but all in all quite remarkable.
***Ondine…. with Colin Ferrell… (yum) , romantic but not sappy,
beautifully filmed in Ireland.
And it’s not a spoiler to tell you it has a happy ending,
which is refreshing in a thoughtful film.
***Kiss Kiss Bang Bang… with Robert Downey Jr…( I love him,
but he bugs some people…incredible talent is like that…)
and Val Kilmer… It’s a smart, Snappy Dialogue sort of ride.
They quite obviously had a great time making this.
Stay for the credits, cause there is a really lovely song over the
Titles, and I was sitting there wondering…… and Yes!….
he Wrote it and is Singing it.
He is one amazing guy…. did you see Chaplin?
Oh, and i’m watching Mad Men’s latest season… I like the
characters, and the costumes and sets from that era.
Enjoy your week.  and yes, I’ll be back, if only to say Hello!
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… movie madness #211212 … “Bandits”…

Talk about surprises, this film took me by storm…
It was the early hours of the winter solstice, part
of the world was thinking maybe it was over, and
the larger part knew we had at least 4 billion years
left to figure it out, and I was waiting for the dawn
to allow the light to strike my retina and encode
myself to the new dawn of the new cycle.

“Bandits” is the tale of two escaped convicts turned
bank robbers, who wear amazing disguises like Return
of Neil Young Sideburns, and very creative wigs,
and pick up Cate Blanchett along the way.

She is a seductively amazing creature, with glowing
red hair and smokey luminous eyes, who creates
delightful chaos between Billy Bob Thornton and
Bruce Willis.
Action, physical comedy and priceless lines…
“She’s an iceberg waiting for the Titanic…” and
“I suffer from Fear of growing Smaller” and
“I read about how they use electric shock to prove
that cockroaches have feelings” roll on through the
film, yet all is smooth as a lavendar smoothie.

Billy Bob has the best lines and impeccable timing,
with a pace that is never hurried or contrived.
He’s at his best, with a Perfect part for him..

Filmed along Hwy 1 in California and Oregon, I felt
quite at home, with romantic gettaways and coastal
vistas, and the music was a collection that actually
tempted me to buy the soundtrack.
Dylan, Bono, and Mark Knopfler add to the smoothie feel,
while warming every corner of this artfully lighted film.

This is a Must See, with a huge surprise played by
Troy Garity, who steals nearly every scene he’s in…
It was like watching early Jack Nicholson, your eye
unable to turn away from his slow and kinky play
with the character… he’s part of the Fonda dynasty,
and I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Don’t Miss it!!!  I can’t believe it’s fully 11 years old.

 

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… movie madness – gone baby gone …

Deeply touching and acted out with subtlety, this film
staring Casey Affleck comes in unexpectedly, slowly,
deliberately, and builds to one of the better movies
I’ve seen in a long time.

I first saw Casey in the Jesse James film with Brad Pitt,
and was impressed with his intelligence and again…subtlety.
The understated portrayal of the man who shot Jesse was
impressive, brilliantly conveying a certain smallness using
tone of voice and physical hints of childish pettiness,
filling in the character with a very human understanding.

This film dealt with the touchy subject of child abduction,
yet it took us to a place where something my mother would
have called Situation Ethics took over the mind, and we
end up with that terrible quandary of right and wrong,
black and white, and those eternal grays.
Astoundingly powerful stuff.

With screenplay by Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockhard,
and from a novel by Dennis Lehan, (who also wrote Mystic River,
a devastating film with Sean Penn)  it is  Directed by Ben as well,
and once again brilliantly, perfectly.

Impressive stuff, this, and aside from the deep and thoughtful
subject matter and the way it untangles , the Pace of the film
is a slow and steady walk, not run, no rushing here, yet no drag.
Perfect pacing.

Ed Harris plays a complex character, showing facets that surprise
and build. Morgan Freeman is a secondary figure, yet in a role
around which much of the story unexpectedly revolves.

Excellent casting everywhere, with  Michelle Monaghan
playing the essential soft and feminine foil, as Casey’s partner in
work and in life.
She provides a certain mature reflection, a more intuitive and
right brain wisdom to his left brain, black and white idealism.

Don’t miss this film.
Impressive, with a certain stick to the ribs quality
not long forgotten.
You will end up with deep appreciation for the writer, yes, but
most especially those intelligent and talented Brothers Affleck.

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…the hero…

Ayn Rand is not someone I was familiar with.
I had heard of her of course.  And I was aware that
her writing was important.
But I never read anything of hers.

“The Passion of Ayn Rand”, brilliantly played by Helen Mirren,
convinced me that I need to start reading, especially since
a core in her writings refers directly to the heroic character
that plays the lead in my book.

“Are you happy?” she asked in the film.
“You’re a heroic being.
It is the moral purpose of your life.
And the man must have the woman who reflects
his deepest vision of himself,
and in her surrender is his deepest happiness…”
“and the woman?” asked her friend.
“…the woman must worship the hero.”

I remember so many years ago, when I’d first known him…
I asked him that very question…
“What do you want?”
“To be happy.”
“What makes you happy?”
“I don’t know”…but still, his soul knew that was his purpose.
And I knew my purpose for him when, without a thought,
I asked   …”How’s your spiritual life?”

Love for me has always only felt right with surrender.
And the ultimate high is complete surrender.
How her words struck home.

“I’m looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient,
consuming, can’t-live-without-each-other love.” said Carrie …

I was dealing with a genius with such high ideals, vast education,
and with the physical prowess and unique gifts to accomplish
whatever it was he came here for.  And he knew it.

He knew he had a bigger purpose, and deeply desired to fulfill it.
The feeling that I was there to be the One who really Saw him,
perhaps the first one… and that by my presence I might encourage
and affect the course of this truly heroic being …
Intoxicating.

A purpose beyond me, bigger than me.
Failure never entered my mind, really.
I knew it was bigger than the two.
It was something beyond, that had to be acted out,
in order for some larger picture to coalesce.

There was no doubt.  The compelling conviction lingered
much too long to be anything less than something beyond us.

I still don’t know what the effect or purpose was and is,
but I think for now it just can’t be known.
Something shifted, something altered.
But we are not perfect, and our actions were not always perfect…
or perhaps…
Perhaps they were, and it’s just that we can’t see it yet.

Some heroic dance being enacted, imparting a feeling of
eternity for both, a role being played out greater than either,
something beyond the day, the moment,
beyond the persons themselves.

This was and is the conviction of some sort of
ultimate truth between us.

My fulfillment was the part I was playing in bringing out and
seeing clearly his heroic dreams, his path of righteousness,
the pieces in him that were the truth,
the best elements of his very core.

Holding him to the course the true north, embodying that,
as in the Poem he sent to me; this challenged me to a new
height of My truth.

My search for something larger than myself was just that… holding
to that north that was his vision, what he’d been trained for, born for.

And I found two quotes from Ayn that speak to me…

“What is the nature of Love?
Love is a command to rise to one’s highest potential.
The best and noblest vision of ourselves.
Love is a reward.  The greatest we can earn.
Granted to us for the moral quality we have achieved in our lives. ”

“My philosophy in essence is the concept of man as a heroic being,
with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life,
with productive achievement as his noblest activity,
and reason as his only absolute.”

……….Ayn Rand

I’m still working on all of it.

 

 

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…ryan gosling…movie madness

If you’ve kept up with me at all, then you know that I am a
movie buff.   I Love Good movies, and I love companions who
have great taste in film, and great actors…

With most people, when I mention Ryan, get this sort of puzzled
look on their face, doing their best to recall just What they’ve
seen him in.
And nicely enough, as the Universe dished up a lovely reunion
with a long time ‘friend’, I was also amazed to discover that Ryan is
His favorite actor as well….  a lovely cosmic meshing of minds.

The last few months, I have made sure to check out nearly every
film with Ryan Gosling in it, for I am now convinced that he is one
of the greatest actors ever.

Strangely enough, he started out as a Mouseketeer, and thrown
into the company with the likes of Brittney, Justin, Christina,
and others.
And it’s been my observation that most of these kids turned
actor/entertainer has been pretty messed up by the strange nuance
that Disney seems to hold over them.  But Ryan is different…

If you aren’t hip to him yet, might I suggest Two Films that show his
breadth…  my two favorites so far:
**DRIVE**  and  **LARS and the REAL GIRL**

It’s my bet you’ll be amazed, for he is the penultimate Actors’ Actor,
stretching from
…..steamy, convoluted loner, facing deep conflict with
his life choices, in an ever increasingly dangerous situation, to…
…a strange, sweet and introverted boy-man, living  in a fantasy world
that is conveyed so endearingly as to be tender and comedic.

After that, may I recommend:
The Believer (w Summer Phoenix) ….
Crazy Stupid Love (w Steve Carell)…
Blue Valentine (w Cindy Williams)…
and Fracture (w Anthony Hopkins).

In each, he bends himself to complete commitment to character,
and never fails to hold his own next to the Pros in the industry.

If by then you’re not convinced… well…you’re hopeless.

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…the story of the weeping camel…

I just watched ‘The Story of the Weeping Camel’ last night,
and I have to say it was so beautiful, touching, deep and real…
I just Love the lifestyle, so in touch with earth and animals,
the generations of family together, the Yurts, the fire, the rituals.
Loved ooogling the decor as well…. surroundings were all so
artful, clean, yet wide open, sparse yet homey.

And the camels!  That baby was just delightful, and when…
oh, but I can’t say too much, I’ll give away the story!
It’s a Must See, Mood Altering, Spiritual Adventure in a world
so far from ours, yet like it.
Isn’t it wonderful how humans are all alike, in their own ways!

And don’t shy away because it’s foreign….Mongolian… there just
isn’t that much dialogue, and the visuals and heart feels predominate.