You know, i still find myself in the wake of the film “The Tree of Life” .                  I watched it yet again, amidst late hours and food orgies and wine drifts, and still now today i am left in this strange and nebulous thought-system that seems to be, in part, mimicking the imagery of yesterday’s watch.

Before i go any further, let me once again remind you that i LOVE it when you Go To My Site.  ONE….. you get a much better visual of the beauty of words and colors and design.  TWO…. because I LIKE It when i know you have visited my site!!  I Love Feedback my Friends!

This film was Other.  And I like it.  A lot.  Brad Pitt has succeeded in embedding himself into my cosmic brain, and his moment to moment emotings have just left me Breathing and Breathless at the same time.

(He has also invaded my dream sequences, which always tells me there is something there that is timeless, iconic ((i know, i love that word)), and trust me,  it is more than wishful thinking or sexual fantasy)

No… i am no spin minded adoration member…. no… this film really allowed him to share with us what he’s learned.  Fatherhood has been not only beneficial to him…  it has been assimilated, cross referenced, and now has emerged this new being, sprung from the chrysalis of emotional dimensions… his Face in many scenes thoroughly Makes the film.

Some Critiques i have read speak about confusion, as tho linear thought is all that matters.  It doesn’t.  We all need to think on both sides of the brain.

I am once again a fan of the Two of them, Him and Her, for they are some sort of Archetypal reflection of correctness in Priorities.  The most beautiful and talented duo to come along since Liz and Richard  (am i dating myself?  or is film outside of decade dimensions?) I do believe this man has come into his Own, due in some Part to his partnering up with this Woman, this mysterious and somewhat neurotic woman, who also desires to Be the Best She Can, and is a sort of beacon to what is coming, what is Our desire, to what we want to be when all is said and done.

Goddess bless them, and their little family, and their beautiful visions of what Can be… they are well matched, and Are a Shakespearean drama that is being enacted quite Admirably by our Lovely and Iconic players.

So…. that is tonight’s thoughts.  I love this life.  We are privileged, not only to Live it, but to Share it….. how wonderful a Time to be Alive!

I watched a film last night that is truly one of the more original pieces of work that I have ever seen.   I rented it because it’s the newest Brad Pitt film, and also stars Sean Penn.  Uh… sorta figured it might be good, ya think?

“The Tree of Life”  is nothing short of an Art Film of magnitudinous worth.  Is that a word?  Well it is now.  The screen fills your eyes with ongoing images that are like dreams, memory flashes, thoughts made light in another dimension.   It piles on images, moments of life, collaging feelings and moving snapshots to layer a story.

And it tells a story, but in a way that is unlike anything I’ve ever seen, for it is not chronological, nor is it based on words.  Just Light in Patterns that speak to your mind, imparting emotions, fitting into pieces that eventually create understanding.

Bradd Pitt is one of those actors who just keeps on growing in his choice of parts, and his immersion in them.  In this film, he is touching, graceful, tender, and a complete jerk, rolled into one man who you begin to understand and even forgive.  He is wrenching with the depths he reaches.

Apparently Terrance Malick only made a few movies since the sixties, but this has to be his Masterpiece.  The scope and sweep of it, the unique methods that convey his vision, to my mind are unmatched.

Have I peaked your senses yet? Read about it.  Go see it.  Rent it.  Watch it twice.  Watch it in parts and pieces.  You will not be disappointed.

Ok, so no one even tried to guess who the person was who wrote this wonderful tune.  Oh well.  It was just Michael Jackson’s favorite song Ever, and has been recorded by just about everyone and forever… oh well.

Before I go further, let me remind you to go directly to my site, as I’ve noticed that the emails wordpress sends out are really ugly.  Badly laid out.  And they ruin my spacing and artful layouts.  Please.  Go.  to.  My.  Site.  An even bigger reason?   Then I get encouragement from seeing the visit numbers go up.  And folks, writing is such a lonely art…. we need encouragement.

So…..Who wrote ‘SMILE’…?  It was Charlie Chaplin!  That was such a surprise to me, and I had no idea he did any musical type stuff, but it’s not really a giant anomaly.   People with tons of talent seem to let it leak out in all directions.    It almost doesn’t matter what they do, if they aim their energies there, it works.

I seem to have three different themes going on in my head right now, so soon as I focus on one, you’ll know it.  And it will be soon.  They’re stacking up like train cars, and getting impatient to be on their way.

Peace……………..

Who amongst you knows who wrote this old well known song?

SMILE

Smile though your heart is aching…….. Smile even though it’s breaking.             When there are clouds in the sky you’ll get by.
If you Smile through your pain and sorrow ……..Smile and maybe tomorrow      You’ll see the sun come shining through………. For you.
Light up your face with gladness…………………..Hide every trace of sadness.         Although a tear may be ever so near…….                                                        That’s the time you must keep on trying…Smile, what’s the use of crying..               You’ll find that life is still worthwhile ……… If you just Smile

If you know who wrote this little treasure, please Comment me….                        If you don’t, I’ll be back tomorrow to surprise you!

Have you seen the film Chaplin, made in 1992?… Robert Downey Jr plays the original screen clown, and if you haven’t seen it, forget the fact that you may have no idea who Charlie Chaplin is.  I know a lot of you are too young to know or appreciate the history of film, and just what he was in that early world.   And that’s fine, just See The Film.

Likely old flashes come to mind of what he looked like, and it’s also likely that those images are from a long series of adverts from back in the eighties.  A friend of mine auditioned those decades ago, as he is an incredible mime        (a Real mime, not the ones trying to get out of a box), and he said he walked into a room full of Charlie Chaplins, like 300 of them.  It must have been pretty surreal.   Oddly enough, he ended up with the contract, and it was a big one…. Billy had Five Years as Charlie, for the IBM series.  So there you go, and there’s your reference, I bet.

Chaplin was in on the earliest films, before they were Talkies.  And his antics, along with Max Sennett’s vision, really set a lot of the old black and white style.   He was incredibly talented, nimble as they come, and funny as shit.        I think we can easily say Intelligence shined through his work, although right now you’re likely thinking:  Slapstick? Intelligent? well…Yes.  And the inheritor of a classic form, Commedia, that goes back to Greek and Roman times.

RDJ does the most amazing work in this film, his physicality startling, his miming ability (the ability to physically imitate a person, or act out a situation without words)  Beyond.  Believe me, you will be delighted and amazed if you’ve never seen this film.

It was early in his career, before his big bumps with sex, drugs, rockandroll, but it shows him in his full youth and beauty.  A lot of the film fills in his history and the details of the times, and it is definitely worth watching, but I admit to double and triple playing those scenes where he just does his act as Charlie.   One more thing:  Just Look at those Eyes!  Oh ya… one more thing… he got an Oscar and Golden Globe Nomination for best actor.   And I need to note that Kevin Kline played the most adorable version of Douglas Fairbanks ever.  And there is a tasteful reference to his being gay, which I had never heard.  In those days, it was never spoken, and he was married to Mary Pickford, a major star at the time.   I guess things haven’t really changed that much, especially in Hollywood.

Another film that he did, one that didn’t get a lot of press, is FUR, with Nicole Kidman.  It’s a fantasy film about the photographer Diane Arbus, he plays a furry neighbor covered head to toe like a circus character, and since she is fascinated with freaks, she becomes obsessed with him.    The film is somewhat dark, and holds you captivated.  This time,  it’s his eyes that do the capturing, and since that’s about all you can see clearly, he works them beautifully.   Again…..Gorgeous eyes, and a fun film.  If it’s not an Indy,               it sure feels like one.

I am so happy that he has gotten himself together, and with IRON MAN allowing him to break out and show some star power  (and as he said, be a super hero to his little boy),  perhaps we’ll see more  acting ability from this extraordinary guy.  I hope he chooses some challenging parts, and stretches himself to new heights of pleasure for us, and for him, because he’s                  one of the Big ones.

The film Hanna, released in the spring and now on DVD,  seems to have become a bit controversial for those who write reviews, for as I researched the information on line, it was up, down, up, down.  Still I am left with having had a great experience, and isn’t that what films are all about?

A cross of thriller and action, with a tad of sci-fi thrown in on the side, this film is a visual feast start to finish.  The editing is clean and crisp, with a gritty, avante plethora of eye candy.

The girl as Hanna (Saoirse Ronan..who?) is astounding and carries the film.  She is mesmerizing to watch, perfect like a pale alien-fairy thrown into a myriad of environments, while she runs from her assassins and devours life in passing.

She has been raised in the forests of Finland with her father, who has taught her everything he knows as an ex CIA agent, in order to ready her for her fate.

Very slowly the pieces come together, while you are carried through the most varied of scenes,  while kinky quirky characters pass through her world, each clearly holding their own with the pace of the film.

Fiercely centered, acutely aware, her soft fragility is only intensified by the contrast of bleak landscapes and quick action packed encounters.  And she is always up to the meet.

She bonds with a girl her age who steals a few scenes from her, and becomes the contrast for her sheltered yet highly trained life, this girl being hilariously precocious, verbally unfettered, and equally fascinating.  Kate Blanchett is strong and as smooth as a $200 bottle of well aged Merlot, while her father, played by Eric Bana, is a steady and caring background for her to hold on to.

When she asks “what is music ?”, and you realize just how sheltered from the world she has been, his answer is music itself…”music:  a combination of sounds, with a view to beauty and form, and expression of emotion.”

And the Musical Soundtrack was appropriately ‘other’… no evocative violins, or orchestrated and predictable train leading you…. It was provided by The Chemical Brothers, who at times felt like the Beach Boys crossed with the Cocteau Twins, other times with a flash of Dead Can Dance, and then space it all with global-weird sounds.

OK, so I’m definitely looking Them up.

The often surreal scenes begin in the isolated cabin in snow covered forests, hunting with bow and arrow, cooking on a fire, then move to such startling and also surreal places like an abandoned amusement park with giant broken animal pieces; running alleys among street people and graffiti; lost with a band of  dancing singing gypsies; trekking through bleak desert expanses alone; tossed amid  tribal marketplaces, and hooking up with a nuclear family site seeing in a mini bus……. like palette cleansers, each sharpens the next.   And all along, the sounds carry you.

In all, it transports, amuses, and challenges, without being cloying or gimmicky.  The sensual and delicious visuals, and the actress herself, make it all worthwhile.  The quirky characters along the journey provide the spice, and the precise, economical editing and directing sets each scene apart from the next, while remaining both obtuse and cohesive.

And just what of the message?  I don’t know, and frankly Scarlett, I don’t give a damn.

With intricate and challenging plots and sub plots, as well as a Stellar cast,  State of Play is one of the Best films in this genre of a smart and sophisticated thriller.

No, not a slasher, please give me some credit for taste…. This involves newspaper journalists working on breaking a possible homicide case, and ending up implicating political high ups, and gigantic and powerful players.

Russell Crowe is his usual intense and earthy self, Rachel McAdams is charming and so smart in her counterpoint part with him, as the young cub reporter.  Helen Mirren delivers magnificently, as usual, and certainly one of the most beautiful of these older actresses that are hanging in there, despite Hollywood’s proclivity for youth.

But I must say the one that really blew me away was Ben Affleck.  I know…. Surprise huh!!    Finally he’s come back in stride, and this film shows him strong, smart, powerful, angry, with great intelligent delivery, and the subtlety he shows in close up emotional moments is really astounding.   Hurray, because my goodness he is a good looking bloke.

Supporting actors are hardly shabby… Robin Wright Penn, one of my favorites, is her usual wonderful and complex character (another breathtakingly gorgeous person), and Jason Bateman of the Ron Howard series “Arrested Development”, is such an original character in this film, with his crafty, sharp, nasty, and extremely human part.

In all, I highly recommend checking this one out.