1) Best headline I have seen in years:
"Octomom Nadya Suleman: 'I screwed myself.'"
I guess that is how you get 8 babies all at once.... but still can't quite picture it in my mind...
2) Saw the fine film "Julie and Julia" last weekend. I recommend it to all. Funny, intelligent, interesting, well paced and insightful. Meryl Streep as Julia Child is amazing, she totally captures the unique voice and manners of Child without being a silly parody. The rest of the cast was excellent as well, standing up to, but of course yielding to Streep's incredible presence.
Also starring was a fabulous and rare 1950 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon. Rare even when new; only 420 ever made.
3) Today's adventure in no wheels: Going to the grocery store. Should be interesting.
Showing posts with label Cinema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cinema. Show all posts
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
The Mayor Of Castro Street: Harvey Milk
Seeing the new film "Milk", based on the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office, allowed me to reflect exactly how much and at the same time how little has changed for gay rights in 30 years. Thus "Milk" has become an inspiration for GLBTs angered by California voters’ rejection in November of gay marriage.
Sean Penn gives us his greatest performance as Milk,indeed Penn deserves the hype one sees in Hollywood movie commercials from time to time that state So and So is Whoever. In this case it is not hype, Penn is Harvey Milk, a New Yorker who in the early ’70s moves to San Francisco to be more open and himself. He and his then boyfriend Scott (James Franco) open a camera shop on Castro Street, rally the growing gay community and through his charisma and energy and becomes the leader of the city’s gay community and "The Mayor of Castro Street". Milk unsuccessfully ran for office three times before being elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors.
Milk takes his position on the Board at the same time as former police officer Dan White (Josh Brolin). While Milk is effective, organized and a whiz at getting publicity, White fails in every respect as a Supervisor. Director Gus Van Sant and Brolin do not make White out to be a homophobic monster but more of a confused, in-articulate neophyte, angry at himself for being a failure, a victim of his upbringing and fearful of something he does not understand. But as so many do, he could not publicly blame himself, he had to have a scapegoat... and that was the flamboyant and public Milk.
Much of the film recreates Milk's campaigns, his strained relationship with Scott and then with insecure, suicidal Jack Lira an finally the battle to defeat California Proposition 6 which aims to ban gays and their supporters from teaching in California. Archival footage (including the despicable, pathetic Anita Bryant)is woven into the action, making this as much a historic document as it is a fascinating story.
The supporting cast is all excellent, the cinematography is suitably grainy to match the 70's vintage setting, the film well paced with doses of humor to lighten the path to the inevitable conclusion. As he does with White, Van Sant makes Milk as flawed, charismatic and energetic as he really was.
"Milk" is about the perseverance of the human spirit and the power that one person with commitment and involvement can unleash. White's victims, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were murdered in cold blood due to ignorance and fear of this power. I urge you to see "Milk"--it's an amazing and timely story.
Sean Penn gives us his greatest performance as Milk,indeed Penn deserves the hype one sees in Hollywood movie commercials from time to time that state So and So is Whoever. In this case it is not hype, Penn is Harvey Milk, a New Yorker who in the early ’70s moves to San Francisco to be more open and himself. He and his then boyfriend Scott (James Franco) open a camera shop on Castro Street, rally the growing gay community and through his charisma and energy and becomes the leader of the city’s gay community and "The Mayor of Castro Street". Milk unsuccessfully ran for office three times before being elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors.
Milk takes his position on the Board at the same time as former police officer Dan White (Josh Brolin). While Milk is effective, organized and a whiz at getting publicity, White fails in every respect as a Supervisor. Director Gus Van Sant and Brolin do not make White out to be a homophobic monster but more of a confused, in-articulate neophyte, angry at himself for being a failure, a victim of his upbringing and fearful of something he does not understand. But as so many do, he could not publicly blame himself, he had to have a scapegoat... and that was the flamboyant and public Milk.
Much of the film recreates Milk's campaigns, his strained relationship with Scott and then with insecure, suicidal Jack Lira an finally the battle to defeat California Proposition 6 which aims to ban gays and their supporters from teaching in California. Archival footage (including the despicable, pathetic Anita Bryant)is woven into the action, making this as much a historic document as it is a fascinating story.
The supporting cast is all excellent, the cinematography is suitably grainy to match the 70's vintage setting, the film well paced with doses of humor to lighten the path to the inevitable conclusion. As he does with White, Van Sant makes Milk as flawed, charismatic and energetic as he really was.
"Milk" is about the perseverance of the human spirit and the power that one person with commitment and involvement can unleash. White's victims, Milk and Mayor George Moscone were murdered in cold blood due to ignorance and fear of this power. I urge you to see "Milk"--it's an amazing and timely story.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Benjamin Button
I was going to re-title "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" "Forrest Gump Revisited" after my friend Bruce's comment that the new release starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett reminded him of that classic. Well, turns out "Button" is the son of Forrest; the screen plays written by the same person. Both films feature a child-like hero making their way through a scary, changing world with real historical events as a stage. In this film, Benjamin, born on WWI Armistice Day, lives through the depression in an old folks boarding house, gets involved WWII, post war Paris, the cruising 50's the hippy 60s, finds his nirvana in India and even, through the narrator, Hurricane Katrina.
Button is born backwards; at birth he is the size of an infant but with all the physical frailty of an old man, fated to grow younger not older. He meets a young girl, Daisy (Blanchett), falls in love and soon realizes their lives will intersect only for a brief moment in the future. The story unfolds on the screen as it is read by Daisy's daughter as Daisy lays dying in a hospital as Hurricane Katrina approaches New Orleans.
Fascinating premise played out in an overly long, detached film. Like the clock that inspires the whole convoluted tale, this is a love story based on inevitability and precise timing, not passion. I lost interest about 1/2 way through, basically when the real Brad Pitt (the strange man-child was basically some sophisticated computer work using real actors) emerges to portray a 20 something Button. If it had been a DVD, I would have switched to the weather channel, which is much less predictable and maybe caught a real Katrina.
Lot of Oscar talk is swirling around "Benjamin Button". If it wins, it is because the Academy still does not have the balls to give best film to a gay flick ("Milk", I saw that one too and will review it soon)and thus will settle on a safe epic.
Some fine moments, but not Oscar worthy.
Button is born backwards; at birth he is the size of an infant but with all the physical frailty of an old man, fated to grow younger not older. He meets a young girl, Daisy (Blanchett), falls in love and soon realizes their lives will intersect only for a brief moment in the future. The story unfolds on the screen as it is read by Daisy's daughter as Daisy lays dying in a hospital as Hurricane Katrina approaches New Orleans.
Fascinating premise played out in an overly long, detached film. Like the clock that inspires the whole convoluted tale, this is a love story based on inevitability and precise timing, not passion. I lost interest about 1/2 way through, basically when the real Brad Pitt (the strange man-child was basically some sophisticated computer work using real actors) emerges to portray a 20 something Button. If it had been a DVD, I would have switched to the weather channel, which is much less predictable and maybe caught a real Katrina.
Lot of Oscar talk is swirling around "Benjamin Button". If it wins, it is because the Academy still does not have the balls to give best film to a gay flick ("Milk", I saw that one too and will review it soon)and thus will settle on a safe epic.
Some fine moments, but not Oscar worthy.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
God Save the Queen from Herself
One of this year's most talked about films, and sure Oscar nominee (and winner if the Academy decides it didn't "peak early", the excuse given for Brokeback Mountain's failure to garner an Oscar)is Stephen Frears' "The Queen," a subtle, often funny, yet ultimately tragic study of royal manners and duty above self.
The film takes place in the Summer of 1997, beginning the day Tony Blair and the Labour Party wins the national elections in Great Britain and culminating in the days surrounding the death of Princess Diana. Combining vintage photos and films (Diana is not portrayed but is always seen in media photos, aptly illustrating her role as a media darling) and blending fact and fiction, "The Queen" gives a wonderful, wickedly voyeuristic view into the private world of the Windsors.
The purely fictional parts are so natural and well crafted you just want them to be true. We want to believe that Prince Philip (James Cromwell) looked at news footage Diana at her wedding to Prince Charles and grumbled, "She was a nice girl. Then..." Or that Cherie Blair (Helen Mc Crory) called the Windsors "emotionally retarded nutters" and finally Blair himself stating "Will someone please save these people from themselves?" Blair will soon realize that the someone will have to be him.
The crown jewel in this film is the incredible performance by Helen Mirren as HRM Queen Elizabeth II. She looks remarkably like The Queen, and has captured her manners and presence perfectly. Cold, precise, and regal; yet beneath we see the young princess who, like her father, really did not want the job she inherited.
Ultimately, it is a sympathetic portrait. If you look and listen closely, the Queen is as much a trapped victim of the Royal tradition, protocol and duty as Diana was.
To Queen Elizabeth, Diana was a shameless, annoying ex-daughter-in-law and thus no longer a member of the royal family. Diana is not entitled to a state funeral, any royal tributes and thus should have a quiet, private funeral with dignity and a stiff upper lip. What gives the film its dramatic impact is how Elizabeth II comes to understand this massive error in judgment in the face of mounting indignation of the people and how it shakes her to her very core. "I've never been hated like that before," she says after reading the news and hearing the people speak of the shame they have in their monarch. It shocks her into making some precedent breaking decisions, pushed on by Blair. I, for one, remember watching the funeral when the casket came by the gate at Buckingham Palace and The Queen bowed to Diana. I am sure I was not the only one who gasped at that tradition breaking moment.
Tied in a nice neat package and running for a reasonable 1 1/2 hours, the film rarely misses. The background characters such as Alex Jennings as sly but well-meaning Prince Charles, and the half dead Queen Mum (Sylvia Syms)add a depth and never get in the way.
I do predict an Oscar for this film, at least for Mirren. Definitely worth checking out.
The film takes place in the Summer of 1997, beginning the day Tony Blair and the Labour Party wins the national elections in Great Britain and culminating in the days surrounding the death of Princess Diana. Combining vintage photos and films (Diana is not portrayed but is always seen in media photos, aptly illustrating her role as a media darling) and blending fact and fiction, "The Queen" gives a wonderful, wickedly voyeuristic view into the private world of the Windsors.
The purely fictional parts are so natural and well crafted you just want them to be true. We want to believe that Prince Philip (James Cromwell) looked at news footage Diana at her wedding to Prince Charles and grumbled, "She was a nice girl. Then..." Or that Cherie Blair (Helen Mc Crory) called the Windsors "emotionally retarded nutters" and finally Blair himself stating "Will someone please save these people from themselves?" Blair will soon realize that the someone will have to be him.
The crown jewel in this film is the incredible performance by Helen Mirren as HRM Queen Elizabeth II. She looks remarkably like The Queen, and has captured her manners and presence perfectly. Cold, precise, and regal; yet beneath we see the young princess who, like her father, really did not want the job she inherited.
Ultimately, it is a sympathetic portrait. If you look and listen closely, the Queen is as much a trapped victim of the Royal tradition, protocol and duty as Diana was.
To Queen Elizabeth, Diana was a shameless, annoying ex-daughter-in-law and thus no longer a member of the royal family. Diana is not entitled to a state funeral, any royal tributes and thus should have a quiet, private funeral with dignity and a stiff upper lip. What gives the film its dramatic impact is how Elizabeth II comes to understand this massive error in judgment in the face of mounting indignation of the people and how it shakes her to her very core. "I've never been hated like that before," she says after reading the news and hearing the people speak of the shame they have in their monarch. It shocks her into making some precedent breaking decisions, pushed on by Blair. I, for one, remember watching the funeral when the casket came by the gate at Buckingham Palace and The Queen bowed to Diana. I am sure I was not the only one who gasped at that tradition breaking moment.
Tied in a nice neat package and running for a reasonable 1 1/2 hours, the film rarely misses. The background characters such as Alex Jennings as sly but well-meaning Prince Charles, and the half dead Queen Mum (Sylvia Syms)add a depth and never get in the way.
I do predict an Oscar for this film, at least for Mirren. Definitely worth checking out.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Emperor of the North
While spending the evening with my friend Michael, we came across an old movie 'Emperor of the North" (also released as "Emperor of the North Pole")from 1973. Starring Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, and Keith Carradine, the movie is an action tale set among the rail riding hobo communities of the Depression Pacific Northwest. The title refers to a hobo joke that the world's best hobo was "Emperor of the North Pole," a way of poking fun at their own desperate situation since an Emperor of the North Pole would rule over nothing.
Ernest Borgnine plays the sadistic conductor Shack who brags that no hobo ever rides his train. As the movie opens, he has just thrown a hobo off his train to his death. Lee Marvin plays A#1 the wise and wiley hobo who manages to hop Shack's train along with the pain in the butt and cocky young hobo Cigaret played by Carradine. At the next stop, A#1 evades Shack and escapes but Cigaret is caught. Shack threatens to kill Cigaret but he manages to escape and finds that A#1 has announced that he will be the first hobo to ride Shack's train all the way to Portland. Cigaret of course tags along behind.
Thus the fun begins as Cigaret and A#1 manage to out maneuver Shack. Shack manages to eject them once but they hop a different train and beat him to Salem where they sneak on for the final encounter. The film ends with a climactic battle between Shack and A#1. When A#1 has the defeated Shack at his mercy, instead of killing him, he just throws him off the train. Cigaret brags how great "they" are, how "they beat' shack and how "they" are the greatest of all hobos. A#1, finally having his fill of Cigaret, throws the testosterone laden boy off the train into a lake, lecturing him all while he rides the train on to Portland and to glory.
Good fun, compelling story, minor blood and guts compared to the movies of today, the good guys win and show that they can win without totally massacring their enemy. Certainly worth watching if you come across it.
Ernest Borgnine plays the sadistic conductor Shack who brags that no hobo ever rides his train. As the movie opens, he has just thrown a hobo off his train to his death. Lee Marvin plays A#1 the wise and wiley hobo who manages to hop Shack's train along with the pain in the butt and cocky young hobo Cigaret played by Carradine. At the next stop, A#1 evades Shack and escapes but Cigaret is caught. Shack threatens to kill Cigaret but he manages to escape and finds that A#1 has announced that he will be the first hobo to ride Shack's train all the way to Portland. Cigaret of course tags along behind.
Thus the fun begins as Cigaret and A#1 manage to out maneuver Shack. Shack manages to eject them once but they hop a different train and beat him to Salem where they sneak on for the final encounter. The film ends with a climactic battle between Shack and A#1. When A#1 has the defeated Shack at his mercy, instead of killing him, he just throws him off the train. Cigaret brags how great "they" are, how "they beat' shack and how "they" are the greatest of all hobos. A#1, finally having his fill of Cigaret, throws the testosterone laden boy off the train into a lake, lecturing him all while he rides the train on to Portland and to glory.
Good fun, compelling story, minor blood and guts compared to the movies of today, the good guys win and show that they can win without totally massacring their enemy. Certainly worth watching if you come across it.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Brokeback Mountain Grocery List
Weekly Grocery Lists for Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist
Brokeback Mountain, Summer 1963
Week 1:
* Beans
* Bacon
* Coffee
* Whiskey
Week 2:
* Beans
* Ham
* Coffee
* Whiskey
Week 3:
* Organic Pinto Beans
* Thin-sliced Pepper Bacon
* Hazelnut Coffee
* Sky vodka and Tanqueray gin
Week 4:
* Cuban Black Beans
* Pancetta
* Shade Grown Coffee (espresso grind)
* 5-6 bottles best Chardonnay
Week 5:
* Fresh fava beans
* Jasmine rice
* Prosciutto, approx. 8 ounces, thinly sliced
* Medallions of veal
* Porcini mushrooms
* 1/2 pint fresh cream
* 1 Cub Scout uniform, size 42 long
* 5-6 bottles French Bordeaux (estate reserve)
Week 6
* Yukon Gold potatoes
* Heavy whipping cream
* White Asparagus (very thin)
* Free Range eggs
* Spanish lemons
* Double Boiler for Hollandaise Sauce
* Gruyere cheese (well-aged)
* Chopped English walnuts
* Arugula
* Clarified Butter
* Extra virgin olive oil
* Pure balsamic vinegar
* 1 Kenneth Cole Tuxedo, 42 long
* 6 yards white silk organdy
* 6 yards pale ivory taffeta
* 3 cases Dom Perignon Masters Reserve
Brokeback Mountain, Summer 1963
Week 1:
* Beans
* Bacon
* Coffee
* Whiskey
Week 2:
* Beans
* Ham
* Coffee
* Whiskey
Week 3:
* Organic Pinto Beans
* Thin-sliced Pepper Bacon
* Hazelnut Coffee
* Sky vodka and Tanqueray gin
Week 4:
* Cuban Black Beans
* Pancetta
* Shade Grown Coffee (espresso grind)
* 5-6 bottles best Chardonnay
Week 5:
* Fresh fava beans
* Jasmine rice
* Prosciutto, approx. 8 ounces, thinly sliced
* Medallions of veal
* Porcini mushrooms
* 1/2 pint fresh cream
* 1 Cub Scout uniform, size 42 long
* 5-6 bottles French Bordeaux (estate reserve)
Week 6
* Yukon Gold potatoes
* Heavy whipping cream
* White Asparagus (very thin)
* Free Range eggs
* Spanish lemons
* Double Boiler for Hollandaise Sauce
* Gruyere cheese (well-aged)
* Chopped English walnuts
* Arugula
* Clarified Butter
* Extra virgin olive oil
* Pure balsamic vinegar
* 1 Kenneth Cole Tuxedo, 42 long
* 6 yards white silk organdy
* 6 yards pale ivory taffeta
* 3 cases Dom Perignon Masters Reserve
Monday, April 03, 2006
Oscar Robbery
After finally having the chance to see "Capote" on DVD this weekend, I find myself disagreeing with many Oscar watchers and arm chair critics. It was not "Brokeback Mountain" that was robbed of "Best Picture" by "Crash", it was "Capote".
"Brokeback" was good, it was ground breaking and had some great moments. As I have digested the movie, I realize I came away disappointed. Maybe director Ang Lee's Asian sensibility got in the way, but I missed the grit and fire, the sense of inevitable doom the "love is a force of nature" that Annie Proulx short story accomplished so economically. Yes, "Brokeback" went on a bit too long. Yes, I just didn't see the fire and passion between the men. We certainly did not need Norma Desmond histrionics but maybe a bit more emotion would have went a long way. The boys were a bit too pretty, too cold. Ennis' deadpan emotions wore on you during the movie. His emotional outbursts were confusing rather than demonstrative of the slow fire consuming him.
"Capote" was better than both "Crash" and "Brokeback" in my opinion. The movie never flagged, never lost focus. Phillip Seymour Hoffman deserved his "Best Actor" award, he was brilliant. The mostly unknown supporting cast was great. The cinematography was excellent, capturing the bleakness of the western Kansas town of Holcomb. The slow unfolding of the relationship between Capote and Perry Smith, one of the killers, was spellbinding. The moral dilemma of his relationship to a man he understood ("it almost seems like we came from the same family, I went out the front door and he went out the back") and the ambition to see his book finished is vividly and sympathetically portrayed.
Some one said "Brokeback" will be subject of discussion long after "Crash" is forgotten. I feel even more strongly about "Capote". It is a timeless story and an outstanding movie.
"Brokeback" was good, it was ground breaking and had some great moments. As I have digested the movie, I realize I came away disappointed. Maybe director Ang Lee's Asian sensibility got in the way, but I missed the grit and fire, the sense of inevitable doom the "love is a force of nature" that Annie Proulx short story accomplished so economically. Yes, "Brokeback" went on a bit too long. Yes, I just didn't see the fire and passion between the men. We certainly did not need Norma Desmond histrionics but maybe a bit more emotion would have went a long way. The boys were a bit too pretty, too cold. Ennis' deadpan emotions wore on you during the movie. His emotional outbursts were confusing rather than demonstrative of the slow fire consuming him.
"Capote" was better than both "Crash" and "Brokeback" in my opinion. The movie never flagged, never lost focus. Phillip Seymour Hoffman deserved his "Best Actor" award, he was brilliant. The mostly unknown supporting cast was great. The cinematography was excellent, capturing the bleakness of the western Kansas town of Holcomb. The slow unfolding of the relationship between Capote and Perry Smith, one of the killers, was spellbinding. The moral dilemma of his relationship to a man he understood ("it almost seems like we came from the same family, I went out the front door and he went out the back") and the ambition to see his book finished is vividly and sympathetically portrayed.
Some one said "Brokeback" will be subject of discussion long after "Crash" is forgotten. I feel even more strongly about "Capote". It is a timeless story and an outstanding movie.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
The Impact of "Brokeback"
Robert W. Butler, movie critic at the KC Star, has a great essay in today's paper titled "Brokeback blazes trails to small towns".
I saw the movie and while I enjoyed it, I think it was a bit long and a little too sanitized. Annie Proulx's short story actually moved me more so than the movie. I rooted for it and like many (including those with whom I was watching the Oscars in Managua dubbed in Spanish) were shocked at its loss and the obvious homophobia of Hollywood. It was easier to give a film with a racial context the Oscar than a gay one. This crap that "Brokeback peaked too early" is nonsense. I guess that means Oscar voters see only what is in front of their faces. Maybe they are that stupid.
I know that "Brokeback" and Proulx's story will be around longer than "Crash" ever will. It has changed the way the world sees gay relationships forever. Thank you Ang Lee and all involved. That is more important than any silly gold statuette. We all know Oscar has overlooked some of the most important films and actors. You are in good company.
I saw the movie and while I enjoyed it, I think it was a bit long and a little too sanitized. Annie Proulx's short story actually moved me more so than the movie. I rooted for it and like many (including those with whom I was watching the Oscars in Managua dubbed in Spanish) were shocked at its loss and the obvious homophobia of Hollywood. It was easier to give a film with a racial context the Oscar than a gay one. This crap that "Brokeback peaked too early" is nonsense. I guess that means Oscar voters see only what is in front of their faces. Maybe they are that stupid.
I know that "Brokeback" and Proulx's story will be around longer than "Crash" ever will. It has changed the way the world sees gay relationships forever. Thank you Ang Lee and all involved. That is more important than any silly gold statuette. We all know Oscar has overlooked some of the most important films and actors. You are in good company.
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