I didn't imagine what the BBC could do at the end of the first season of Broadchurch to lure me back. Boy, was I wrong. The series came back full of dark innuendos, angst, mystery, and madness.
Like the first season, this one was slow paced and somnambulistic, as if the audience slept walked through a nightmare landscape in which everyone and every story dreamed their own reality. There was an ever present undercurrent of tension and anticipation of worse things to come. The audience was not let down in their expectation.
Like the first season, this one kept me guessing and eagerly awaiting the next episode. We learned many things about the primary characters in the second season, some of which we did not like.
A cold case from the lead detective's past is introduced. Instead of one child being murdered, two sisters were involved. The body of the young one had been found, but the older one disappeared and has never been found. It is the one case Detective Alec Hardy never solved, the one case that haunts him and made the case in Broadchurch of Danny's murder imperative to clear.
With the trial of Danny's killer going on, the town lives in a state of siege due to the community's interest and presence of the Press, Alex is side-tracked by the cold case of the two sisters. His past haunts him and robs him of whatever he has left. He enlists Detective Elly Miller's help in solving the cold case for her help and to spare her some of her husband's trial for Danny's murder. It helps as she becomes immersed in the other case with Alec.
Is it solved in the season's ending episode? Yes, though there are loose ends. But nothing is ever what it seems in the sleepy seaside village of Broadchurch.
I am delighted to announce the third season will film soon. An engaging plot with a talented cast and well-written scripts sometimes adding to the mystery is what you'll find in any season of Broadchurch.
David Tennant and Olivia Colman as Alec and his grudging partner Elly will break your heart in the intensity of their situations. Matched with a fine cast, particularly the addition of longtime British actor Charlotte Rampling in Season 2 (anybody ever see a film called "Georgy Girl"? She played the sex-crazed roommate), Broadchurch boasts a fine ensemble of actors.
Check it out. I will await the third season.
Until then beware of storms and falling trees...
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Monday, April 13, 2015
Imagine
Look, I admit I've had a bizarre day...But I was sitting here writing my check to the US Treasury for my 2014 Income Taxes when the song "Imagine" by John Lennon came on the radio. It catapulted me away from my day-to-day woes (sometimes it feels like always-and-forever-woes).
For some reason I thought about the rush to announce the intention to run for the US Presidency already starting. Seems ridiculously early to me. But then, the House and Senate aren't really getting much done these days. So why not grab the personal distraction of running for President? I mean, what can it hurt? An elected official of the United States has to have something to do, after all. Otherwise, he or she might get bored. We can't have that.
After all, as most of them have forgotten, we pay their salaries, we care what they do.
They are working for us, be they federal officials, or the governors of states.
Sobering, thought, huh?
I'm sure dodging the reps of special interest groups is taxing, not to mention tiring. Maybe running for higher office changes the dynamics of dealing with those of special interests. Who knows? I don't and never will. I have never had the desire to run for public office. I'd be more likely to run FROM public office...
And then there are all those barnstorming trips one gets to take to small cities and smaller towns in the heartland. Course if I were to run for national office, I'd want to court the voters of the Hawaiian Islands, a sadly neglected population....uh huh. Then I'd probably swing by New Mexico and back home to Austin, just to get a feel for the electorate and some GOOD Mexican food.
Anyway, I don't like hearing about the rift between the parties, the stubborn refusal to cooperate with each other, or the blatant gamesmanship that takes place between the executive and the legislative branches. It makes me sad to see our country's ideals tarnish and drop away on all sides. I'm not saying anyone who disagrees with me has no right to their opinion. Freedom of speech is one of the founding principles of our nation. It's fine to disagree, but you can't dig your heels in and refuse to work out a compromise. Such behavior stalls the work of our government on many levels.
To paraphrase the late Strother Martin in his role in the movie "Cool Hand Luke" - "What we got here is failure to cooperate."
Boy do we ever. I don't see any light at the end of this horrendously long tunnel.
So I'll stick to watching entertainment and only watching the news or current affairs when I feel up to it.
The "second" season of television is in full swing, so there are distractions aplenty. Outlander (sigh) is back. As of last night so is Game of Thrones...I knew Dani would have trouble with her dragons!
Hmmmm, I wonder if she'd like to run for president?
Take care until next time...
P.S. Shout out to Jordan Spieth, the 2015 Masters Champ. He is a Longhorn from the University of Texas. HOOK 'EM HORNS!!!
For some reason I thought about the rush to announce the intention to run for the US Presidency already starting. Seems ridiculously early to me. But then, the House and Senate aren't really getting much done these days. So why not grab the personal distraction of running for President? I mean, what can it hurt? An elected official of the United States has to have something to do, after all. Otherwise, he or she might get bored. We can't have that.
After all, as most of them have forgotten, we pay their salaries, we care what they do.
They are working for us, be they federal officials, or the governors of states.
Sobering, thought, huh?
I'm sure dodging the reps of special interest groups is taxing, not to mention tiring. Maybe running for higher office changes the dynamics of dealing with those of special interests. Who knows? I don't and never will. I have never had the desire to run for public office. I'd be more likely to run FROM public office...
And then there are all those barnstorming trips one gets to take to small cities and smaller towns in the heartland. Course if I were to run for national office, I'd want to court the voters of the Hawaiian Islands, a sadly neglected population....uh huh. Then I'd probably swing by New Mexico and back home to Austin, just to get a feel for the electorate and some GOOD Mexican food.
Anyway, I don't like hearing about the rift between the parties, the stubborn refusal to cooperate with each other, or the blatant gamesmanship that takes place between the executive and the legislative branches. It makes me sad to see our country's ideals tarnish and drop away on all sides. I'm not saying anyone who disagrees with me has no right to their opinion. Freedom of speech is one of the founding principles of our nation. It's fine to disagree, but you can't dig your heels in and refuse to work out a compromise. Such behavior stalls the work of our government on many levels.
To paraphrase the late Strother Martin in his role in the movie "Cool Hand Luke" - "What we got here is failure to cooperate."
Boy do we ever. I don't see any light at the end of this horrendously long tunnel.
So I'll stick to watching entertainment and only watching the news or current affairs when I feel up to it.
The "second" season of television is in full swing, so there are distractions aplenty. Outlander (sigh) is back. As of last night so is Game of Thrones...I knew Dani would have trouble with her dragons!
Hmmmm, I wonder if she'd like to run for president?
Take care until next time...
P.S. Shout out to Jordan Spieth, the 2015 Masters Champ. He is a Longhorn from the University of Texas. HOOK 'EM HORNS!!!
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Jersey Boys
I saw the film, Jersey Boys, directed by Clint Eastwood, recently on cable. I was very interested in seeing this as it's a fairly accurate biopic about the sixties group, The Four Seasons. You have to understand I was a young teen-ager in those days - an opera student who liked all kinds of music and was just discovering pop and rock n' roll. (Much to my father's chagrin, but that's another story...)
The first national hit for The Four Seasons was a little ditty called "Sherry." Since that was my childhood name, spelled Sherrie, I felt they were singing just for me and fell instantly in love. They were eclipsed subsequently by the British Invasion. I discovered the Beatles and knew everything about them. Not so much with The Four Seasons. I just knew I liked most of their songs.
As the teen-age judges on the popular tv show of the day, American Bandstand, would say, "I'd give their music a 90 because they had a good beat and their music was easy to dance to..."
So Jersey Boys was a revelation for me. Sure, I recognized the songs, found myself singing along on most of them, and remembered how much I liked them. But I knew nothing of the groups' story or of their individual stories.
Mostly Italian Americans from the "mean streets" of New Jersey, they came from working class families. In their neighborhoods it was easy for the boys to become connected as in organized crime. The guys in the band had their brushes with that life, but they were saved by their music and Frankie Valli's incredible voice. He had an impressive vocal range as did the young man who played him in the film
Life didn't go smoothly for all of them, despite their number 1 records. One of the members stole most of the money they made and blew it, leaving the others to deal with his mess.
They split up and did not come back together until the group's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the 1990s.
Mr. Eastwood has given us a wonderful, entertaining picture with comic moments and pathos. I was stunned by the story that I never knew, the problems they faced. Remember we didn't have anything like the internet. There was no such thing as instant communication. Even a phone call took longer to complete in that era. The fan magazines did not print gossip about the downfall of the popular entertainers.
It was an entertaining film, with lively music indicative of another era. One of my favorite bits was the "curtain call" at the end of the film, reminiscent of the movie Hairspray, with the entire cast singing and dancing as they took their bows. I suspect this is from the Broadway musical, but it works on film and gives a lift at the end.
This film is worth a viewing. It's got a great cast and catchy music. Get your popcorn, surround yourself with your loved ones and be prepared to be entertained.
I'd give the movie a 95...it's got a good beat and is good to dance to...
Until next time...
The first national hit for The Four Seasons was a little ditty called "Sherry." Since that was my childhood name, spelled Sherrie, I felt they were singing just for me and fell instantly in love. They were eclipsed subsequently by the British Invasion. I discovered the Beatles and knew everything about them. Not so much with The Four Seasons. I just knew I liked most of their songs.
As the teen-age judges on the popular tv show of the day, American Bandstand, would say, "I'd give their music a 90 because they had a good beat and their music was easy to dance to..."
So Jersey Boys was a revelation for me. Sure, I recognized the songs, found myself singing along on most of them, and remembered how much I liked them. But I knew nothing of the groups' story or of their individual stories.
Mostly Italian Americans from the "mean streets" of New Jersey, they came from working class families. In their neighborhoods it was easy for the boys to become connected as in organized crime. The guys in the band had their brushes with that life, but they were saved by their music and Frankie Valli's incredible voice. He had an impressive vocal range as did the young man who played him in the film
Life didn't go smoothly for all of them, despite their number 1 records. One of the members stole most of the money they made and blew it, leaving the others to deal with his mess.
They split up and did not come back together until the group's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the 1990s.
Mr. Eastwood has given us a wonderful, entertaining picture with comic moments and pathos. I was stunned by the story that I never knew, the problems they faced. Remember we didn't have anything like the internet. There was no such thing as instant communication. Even a phone call took longer to complete in that era. The fan magazines did not print gossip about the downfall of the popular entertainers.
It was an entertaining film, with lively music indicative of another era. One of my favorite bits was the "curtain call" at the end of the film, reminiscent of the movie Hairspray, with the entire cast singing and dancing as they took their bows. I suspect this is from the Broadway musical, but it works on film and gives a lift at the end.
This film is worth a viewing. It's got a great cast and catchy music. Get your popcorn, surround yourself with your loved ones and be prepared to be entertained.
I'd give the movie a 95...it's got a good beat and is good to dance to...
Until next time...
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
My Day Off
Today was the day I always dread each year...the day my two remaining Shih Tzus get their annual check-up. As it is, their groomer now works at their vet's office, so we got it all in one day.
I have to tell you, I'm a real coward when it comes to watching them being examined much less get injections. So now they get groomed and get their shots afterward. Then the office staff call me to tell me the dogs are ready to go home.
I sat home and fretted this morning waiting to hear. At last the call came in the early afternoon. I was informed they are both just fine. Whew. Big load off my shoulders...they will celebrate their fourteenth birthdays next month. Plus, we already lost their brother Sparky two years ago to cancer. He and I took lots of trips to the vet together in the course of his illness. That is the reason I'm so skittish about the vet these days.
Other than allergies, understandable due to the amount of pine pollen in our backyard, they got a perfect report. They'll be taking their prescribed pills to deal with the coughing. Ming gets 1/2 a pill twice a day. Miss Myrna gets 1/4 a pill twice a day. Glad I had the foresight a few years ago to invest in a pill cutter.
Today my brother and my niece took Dad out to lunch and drove him around so I could have the day off. I really appreciated it.
I haven't done too much but putter around the place waiting for the vet's call. But it was a nice respite for me.
I didn't even work on my third novel or work-in-progress. My second book, Swept Away (Mimi's Story) is at the publisher being read for editing. So I started the third one, His Wicked Lady (William's Story.) That one has a component about life upon the "wicked stage..." I've already passed 13,500 words on the way to at least 90,000. Given my sometimes hectic days, I'm amazed I've gotten as far as I have. Oh well, I enjoy the down time when I can zone out and into my story.
Recently I've been very homesick and nostalgic about Texas. So during such times, I think about where I will move when it's time to return. I was thinking about going back to Dallas, where I grew up, or Austin where I spent twenty years of my adult life, or some smaller town in between...
I saw an episode of American Canvas on the Ovation Network last week. It took place in Austin. That settled it. I'm going back home to Austin when I leave Florida. I'll be back hooking horns for UT, dining at Threadgills, watching the bats fly out from under the Congress Street Bridge, and enjoying the prosperous live theater community...sigh. I've got friends in the area and hope to get reacquainted.
I've missed one couple especially. Bill and Pat Farnsworth, a couple of lovely folks with whom I worked there. As I sit here listening to my new acquisition, a cd of the Best of Peter, Paul, and Mary, I think of the Farnsworths. PP&M gave a live concert at UT one of the first years I lived in the area. Bill got us tickets for my birthday. As a surprise, they were dead center on the second row from the stage. We all had the best time enjoying their wonderful music and singing along...When it was over everybody rushed the stage to speak to them. We women were hemmed in on both sides and couldn't make it out. But lanky Bill, with his long legs just stepped over the front row seats and had a great animated conversation with them. I can see him now.
Bill, if by some chance you find this, I just listened to Stewball and sang along as I typed...Ahhh memories.
Guess it's no surprise that an old hippie would want to go back to one of the friendliest cities in America for us.
I grew up in Texas and it is forever imprinted on my heart and brain. I will stick to my guns that my blog will not criticize or be negative or be a forum for politics.
However I do want to say one thing...Ted Cruz is NOT a native Texan, nor is he indicative of most people there. You can make your own conclusion to that one...
Take care, especially you caregivers out there. Take a bit of time for YOU, take a walk in the spring sunshine (if your snow has melted), have a good meal with friends, listen to your favorite music, or watch your favorite movie or TV show...In April, both Game of Thrones and Outlander return for new seasons.
I can't wait for them...Right now I'm enjoying the second season of the British version of Broadchurch.
There's a wealth of pop culture out there for us to enjoy, no matter where we live.
Until next time...Ming and Miss Myrna Loy say hello...this is the first picture I had of them. They were about six weeks old. Ming is the one on the right looking like the Alpha he is. Miss Myrna Loy is in the center looking like the scamp she is. My late beloved sweetheart Mighty Manfred the Wonder dog (aka Sparky) is on the left.
I have to tell you, I'm a real coward when it comes to watching them being examined much less get injections. So now they get groomed and get their shots afterward. Then the office staff call me to tell me the dogs are ready to go home.
I sat home and fretted this morning waiting to hear. At last the call came in the early afternoon. I was informed they are both just fine. Whew. Big load off my shoulders...they will celebrate their fourteenth birthdays next month. Plus, we already lost their brother Sparky two years ago to cancer. He and I took lots of trips to the vet together in the course of his illness. That is the reason I'm so skittish about the vet these days.
Other than allergies, understandable due to the amount of pine pollen in our backyard, they got a perfect report. They'll be taking their prescribed pills to deal with the coughing. Ming gets 1/2 a pill twice a day. Miss Myrna gets 1/4 a pill twice a day. Glad I had the foresight a few years ago to invest in a pill cutter.
Today my brother and my niece took Dad out to lunch and drove him around so I could have the day off. I really appreciated it.
I haven't done too much but putter around the place waiting for the vet's call. But it was a nice respite for me.
I didn't even work on my third novel or work-in-progress. My second book, Swept Away (Mimi's Story) is at the publisher being read for editing. So I started the third one, His Wicked Lady (William's Story.) That one has a component about life upon the "wicked stage..." I've already passed 13,500 words on the way to at least 90,000. Given my sometimes hectic days, I'm amazed I've gotten as far as I have. Oh well, I enjoy the down time when I can zone out and into my story.
Recently I've been very homesick and nostalgic about Texas. So during such times, I think about where I will move when it's time to return. I was thinking about going back to Dallas, where I grew up, or Austin where I spent twenty years of my adult life, or some smaller town in between...
I saw an episode of American Canvas on the Ovation Network last week. It took place in Austin. That settled it. I'm going back home to Austin when I leave Florida. I'll be back hooking horns for UT, dining at Threadgills, watching the bats fly out from under the Congress Street Bridge, and enjoying the prosperous live theater community...sigh. I've got friends in the area and hope to get reacquainted.
I've missed one couple especially. Bill and Pat Farnsworth, a couple of lovely folks with whom I worked there. As I sit here listening to my new acquisition, a cd of the Best of Peter, Paul, and Mary, I think of the Farnsworths. PP&M gave a live concert at UT one of the first years I lived in the area. Bill got us tickets for my birthday. As a surprise, they were dead center on the second row from the stage. We all had the best time enjoying their wonderful music and singing along...When it was over everybody rushed the stage to speak to them. We women were hemmed in on both sides and couldn't make it out. But lanky Bill, with his long legs just stepped over the front row seats and had a great animated conversation with them. I can see him now.
Bill, if by some chance you find this, I just listened to Stewball and sang along as I typed...Ahhh memories.
Guess it's no surprise that an old hippie would want to go back to one of the friendliest cities in America for us.
I grew up in Texas and it is forever imprinted on my heart and brain. I will stick to my guns that my blog will not criticize or be negative or be a forum for politics.
However I do want to say one thing...Ted Cruz is NOT a native Texan, nor is he indicative of most people there. You can make your own conclusion to that one...
Take care, especially you caregivers out there. Take a bit of time for YOU, take a walk in the spring sunshine (if your snow has melted), have a good meal with friends, listen to your favorite music, or watch your favorite movie or TV show...In April, both Game of Thrones and Outlander return for new seasons.
I can't wait for them...Right now I'm enjoying the second season of the British version of Broadchurch.
There's a wealth of pop culture out there for us to enjoy, no matter where we live.
Until next time...Ming and Miss Myrna Loy say hello...this is the first picture I had of them. They were about six weeks old. Ming is the one on the right looking like the Alpha he is. Miss Myrna Loy is in the center looking like the scamp she is. My late beloved sweetheart Mighty Manfred the Wonder dog (aka Sparky) is on the left.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Here's to the Caregivers
It's been a hell of a few months, lots of emotional downturns and updrafts over which I have no control. It's like being in a super cell storm in Texas in April. You get slammed up and you get slammed down. And nobody gives you any ruby slippers...
Stress eats at your sleep, robs you of your appetite, makes you wish you could take a drink now and then. (And I don't mean chocolate milk.)
Is it any wonder I bury my head in movies at night? Or write fiction to escape into a different world? Listen to hard rock from an earlier age, singing along at times, as I beat my fists into the air to the throbbing drums?
I don't mean to ask for pity, don't want it. I came into this "job" with my eyes open, knowing full well what to expect. After all, the first half of my professional career prepared me for what I do now.
I have to tell you, some days, prepared or not, are absolute hell. You cry and fret, worry how you will deal with all the problems. And you have to face it, some problems you cannot solve. You can't bring your loved one back to the person he/she used to be. That person is gone with infrequent glimpses of the past self shown to you.
Bottom line? You wake up every morning wondering what new pain you will have today, what new problem will pop up which you know you won't be able to fix. You take a deep breath and do the routine things that make your world seem normal before the emotional hit comes. You hold on to the mundane like a lifeboat hastily leaving the sinking Lusitania...the only thing protecting you from the frigid water. (Sorry I'm currently reading a new book about that disaster.)
So what I would like to suggest to you out there who know folks who are caregivers - Make them laugh. Give them bits of normalcy, remind them they're decent people.
Believe me, they need it. Your small act of kindness will give them something to hold in their hand when the night is long, something to help them through the endless darkness in which there is little evidence of light.
You'd be surprised how little it takes some days to be the one light in the darkness which surrounds them.
I've taken a strong liking to the Marvel movies, personally...I watch Captain America and Thor, my favorite Marvel heroes, almost any time I can...beefcake does help a girl, even an old one like me...
Til next time.
Stress eats at your sleep, robs you of your appetite, makes you wish you could take a drink now and then. (And I don't mean chocolate milk.)
Is it any wonder I bury my head in movies at night? Or write fiction to escape into a different world? Listen to hard rock from an earlier age, singing along at times, as I beat my fists into the air to the throbbing drums?
I don't mean to ask for pity, don't want it. I came into this "job" with my eyes open, knowing full well what to expect. After all, the first half of my professional career prepared me for what I do now.
I have to tell you, some days, prepared or not, are absolute hell. You cry and fret, worry how you will deal with all the problems. And you have to face it, some problems you cannot solve. You can't bring your loved one back to the person he/she used to be. That person is gone with infrequent glimpses of the past self shown to you.
Bottom line? You wake up every morning wondering what new pain you will have today, what new problem will pop up which you know you won't be able to fix. You take a deep breath and do the routine things that make your world seem normal before the emotional hit comes. You hold on to the mundane like a lifeboat hastily leaving the sinking Lusitania...the only thing protecting you from the frigid water. (Sorry I'm currently reading a new book about that disaster.)
So what I would like to suggest to you out there who know folks who are caregivers - Make them laugh. Give them bits of normalcy, remind them they're decent people.
Believe me, they need it. Your small act of kindness will give them something to hold in their hand when the night is long, something to help them through the endless darkness in which there is little evidence of light.
You'd be surprised how little it takes some days to be the one light in the darkness which surrounds them.
I've taken a strong liking to the Marvel movies, personally...I watch Captain America and Thor, my favorite Marvel heroes, almost any time I can...beefcake does help a girl, even an old one like me...
Til next time.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Review of the Academy Awards Presentation
You know, yesterday I read an article about the Oscar winners from the night before. The writer stated that she did not understand how the winners were selected, except that actors voted for actors, directors for directors, etc. That's correct and then every member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences votes for Best Picture, no matter what their movie career entails.
I also read that the viewing audience was considerably less this year than the last few years. I have to say, I watched the entire telecast Sunday night, using the commercial breaks to hustle my shih tzus outside and back again.
And you know what? I thought except for a few highlights, it was a lackluster, boring show. Don't get me wrong, Neil Patrick Harris was fine. He's a talented guy, a good singer, and good with a joke. There were plenty of beautiful people dressed in couture. But the glamour seemed somehow shabby when compared to the glory days of Hollywood.
I am a stage actor and director. I was taught in college the differences between film acting and stage acting. For one thing on the stage, an actor has to sustain a character and there are no retakes. It's either get it right the first time or blow it off and go on. Film actors are required to emote bits of scenes, sometimes out of sequence, and only have to learn the lines a bit at a time. Stage actors have to learn their whole part. The best stage actors learn the entire play.
The best actors are able to seamlessly go from film to stage and back again. People like Meryl Streep, Bradley Cooper, Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Eddie Redmayne to name a few, are noted for doing just that.
I'm not complaining about any of the winners this year. To me any of the acting nominees could win, as well as any of the Best Picture nominees.
In fact, I found I was strangely unmoved by the Oscars, except for a few moments.
The moments that moved me most were the songs - "Everything is Awesome" from the Lego Movie - loved the movie and loved the production number. Lady Gaga's tribute to the Sound of Music and Julie Andrew's reaction to it when it was over, made me sniffle but not weep copious tears. Mostly the reaction was due to the knowledge it had been fifty years since the movie came out - years that I was a sapient life form who is now growing older. Besides, my mom and dad loved that movie.
Then came the presentation of the song "Glory" from the movie Selma. Now, that did make me cry. No, I haven't seen the film yet because I know that's one I need to see at home. You see, my parents and I were driving from Dallas to Jacksonville, Fl on the day the marchers tried to cross that bridge. We were stopped by the National Guard members before we got to the bridge and told there was a problem and we would have to take an alternate route. We glimpsed a bit of what happened...a fact which cemented my liberal political leanings for the rest of my life. I never forgot that or the subsequent news films on TV. I cannot watch that in a public place. I know for sure it will upset me.
The memorial segment, which usually has me in tears, didn't move me that way this year. Instead, I was angry that Joan Rivers, long known for her Red Carpet work at the Oscars, as well as her work in films, writing, doing voices, and appearing in a film about her life and career, was completely omitted. They included "studio marketing executives" a couple of them, but they couldn't include Joan Rivers? Get real.
All of this got me to thinking...it doesn't really matter who does or doesn't win an Oscar. A few years from now, no one may remember or care who won at all. A win matters to the actors who can demand bigger salaries from holding that statuette. A winning director will be offered other projects.
Some classic films never won an Oscar and some fly-by-night films took Best Picture and disappeared into oblivion...
After all, as Neil Patrick Harris announced Sunday night, in 2014, movies made a total of $600 million dollars. American Sniper took in $300 million, half of the total amount for the entire industry and the entire year. American Sniper took one Oscar - for sound editing.
In the end, I guess the Academy Awards are really more of a popularity contest, like a student council election in high school...the really popular kids will be elected while the smarter kids who might really be good officers will be overlooked.
Did you even remember who ran ten years later? I doubt it.
I'll keep going to movies and watching what I like, though I may not watch the Oscars again. Instead I'll look at the highlights on line. That will tell me the salient points of the presentation.
I know what good acting is and appreciate it - onstage or in films. So, I'll just post my reviews and let people watch what they want.
After all, Everything is Awesome! I have to admit I LOVED the Lego Oscars they passed out to the famous in the audience...nice touch.
Until next time...take care.
I also read that the viewing audience was considerably less this year than the last few years. I have to say, I watched the entire telecast Sunday night, using the commercial breaks to hustle my shih tzus outside and back again.
And you know what? I thought except for a few highlights, it was a lackluster, boring show. Don't get me wrong, Neil Patrick Harris was fine. He's a talented guy, a good singer, and good with a joke. There were plenty of beautiful people dressed in couture. But the glamour seemed somehow shabby when compared to the glory days of Hollywood.
I am a stage actor and director. I was taught in college the differences between film acting and stage acting. For one thing on the stage, an actor has to sustain a character and there are no retakes. It's either get it right the first time or blow it off and go on. Film actors are required to emote bits of scenes, sometimes out of sequence, and only have to learn the lines a bit at a time. Stage actors have to learn their whole part. The best stage actors learn the entire play.
The best actors are able to seamlessly go from film to stage and back again. People like Meryl Streep, Bradley Cooper, Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Eddie Redmayne to name a few, are noted for doing just that.
I'm not complaining about any of the winners this year. To me any of the acting nominees could win, as well as any of the Best Picture nominees.
In fact, I found I was strangely unmoved by the Oscars, except for a few moments.
The moments that moved me most were the songs - "Everything is Awesome" from the Lego Movie - loved the movie and loved the production number. Lady Gaga's tribute to the Sound of Music and Julie Andrew's reaction to it when it was over, made me sniffle but not weep copious tears. Mostly the reaction was due to the knowledge it had been fifty years since the movie came out - years that I was a sapient life form who is now growing older. Besides, my mom and dad loved that movie.
Then came the presentation of the song "Glory" from the movie Selma. Now, that did make me cry. No, I haven't seen the film yet because I know that's one I need to see at home. You see, my parents and I were driving from Dallas to Jacksonville, Fl on the day the marchers tried to cross that bridge. We were stopped by the National Guard members before we got to the bridge and told there was a problem and we would have to take an alternate route. We glimpsed a bit of what happened...a fact which cemented my liberal political leanings for the rest of my life. I never forgot that or the subsequent news films on TV. I cannot watch that in a public place. I know for sure it will upset me.
The memorial segment, which usually has me in tears, didn't move me that way this year. Instead, I was angry that Joan Rivers, long known for her Red Carpet work at the Oscars, as well as her work in films, writing, doing voices, and appearing in a film about her life and career, was completely omitted. They included "studio marketing executives" a couple of them, but they couldn't include Joan Rivers? Get real.
All of this got me to thinking...it doesn't really matter who does or doesn't win an Oscar. A few years from now, no one may remember or care who won at all. A win matters to the actors who can demand bigger salaries from holding that statuette. A winning director will be offered other projects.
Some classic films never won an Oscar and some fly-by-night films took Best Picture and disappeared into oblivion...
After all, as Neil Patrick Harris announced Sunday night, in 2014, movies made a total of $600 million dollars. American Sniper took in $300 million, half of the total amount for the entire industry and the entire year. American Sniper took one Oscar - for sound editing.
In the end, I guess the Academy Awards are really more of a popularity contest, like a student council election in high school...the really popular kids will be elected while the smarter kids who might really be good officers will be overlooked.
Did you even remember who ran ten years later? I doubt it.
I'll keep going to movies and watching what I like, though I may not watch the Oscars again. Instead I'll look at the highlights on line. That will tell me the salient points of the presentation.
I know what good acting is and appreciate it - onstage or in films. So, I'll just post my reviews and let people watch what they want.
After all, Everything is Awesome! I have to admit I LOVED the Lego Oscars they passed out to the famous in the audience...nice touch.
Until next time...take care.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Stephen Hawking & Alan Turing
Okay, I recently saw The Theory of Everything, the story of Stephen Hawking, his wife, and the advent & progression of his disease but I waited to post about it. As someone who takes care of an aged parent who is losing his identity by leaps and bounds, it was hard for me to watch this, much less discuss.
Today I went to see The Imitation Game, the story of Alan Turing and his work in creating a machine to crack the Enigma code the Nazis used during WWII.
Both of these films depict real men in intellectual pursuits, each with a condition either physical or psychological/emotional which makes them different even from their colleagues.
These films both deserve their own recognition, so let's start with The Best of Everything.
It is the often harrowing true story of brilliant English physicist, Dr. Stephen Hawking, diagnosed as a young man with ALS, also called "Lou Gehrig's Disease." His body begins to betray him as he loses control of his muscles and limbs. We watch him go from an awkward man, thought to be clumsy, through the emotional pain and frustration of losing control by degrees. In the beginning, he is given a prognosis of only two years to live.
He marries his sweetheart, who vows she will stay by his side. They have children together. He becomes more and more limited in what he can physically do on his own. Finally he is confined to a wheelchair and cannot provide any of his own care. Friction comes in the marriage when his wife continues to do it all by herself. By this time, they have three children. The story goes on from there.
The great tragedy in this film is Dr. Hawking loses the ability to speak, but retains his amazing intelligence. He is one of the most gifted physicists of our time. Imagine not being able to share such knowledge, how frustrating that must be.
Most of you have probably seen Dr. Hawking interviewed or teaching. If you have, you know his voice is computer generated - technology helped him speak again, even if the accent is American rather than his native British English.
Eddie Redmayne does a phenomenal job of portraying Dr. Hawking, twisting his body into all but impossible positions to emulate the struggles this man lives with.
Felicity Jones also does a wonderful job in the role of his wife, portraying the emotional journey Mrs. Hawking went through with sadness, fear, and exhaustion sapping her daily energy.
This film is a realistic portrayal of what caregivers of people with disabilities face. It is a daunting prospect at best, even or perhaps especially so when it is someone the caregiver loves.
Redmayne and Jones are both nominated for Academy Awards for acting and rightly so. The Best of Everything is also nominated for Best Picture, as it should be. It brings to the audience the realization that the genius in the wheelchair with the mechanical voice is at heart a fully rounded human being, capable of love, laughter, and emotional pain. Something often overlooked by the people who turn their back when confronted by the sight of a person with a disability.
The Imitation Game
This film is another British production about a brilliant Englishman, Alan Turing, arguably one of the greatest heroes of World War II.
Like Hawking, Turing is a different sort of chap, brilliant mathematician, but focused to the point of mania. He is an introverted genius with few social skills. He doesn't realize when he offends people. He doesn't understand when those people become angry. He simply lives too much in his mind.
During WWII, Germany known for brilliant physicists and mathematicians, develops the Enigma Machine, a clever code machine that is impossible for the enemy to decipher. (So they think...) True story, the English get hold of one of the Enigma Machines, in the film, a polish soldier stole the machine and got it to the English. I don't know if that's historically accurate or not, but they did have one of the machines, which the Nazis did not know.
At an estate in southern England, known as Bletchley Park, the military and secret military intelligence hired people to break the Enigma code. Trouble was, the code was only good for 24 hours, so each day at midnight the code was thrown out and a new one used. The Brits couldn't break the code fast enough to be of use before the code changed.
Enter Alan Turing added to the mathematicians, linguists, and statisticians already working on the Enigma. His idea was to build a "thinking machine", he called Christopher (for reasons explained in the film). During the struggle to build the machine, Turing had to learn to work well with others, instill trust in them, learn to like them and socialize with them. He is helped by Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), a lovely female cryptographer who helps him solve the Enigma along with his crew.
This is a powerful story based on historic events. They do succeed in breaking the Enigma codes as fast as the Germans change them. Then comes the moral dilemma. They cannot stop every attack they know is coming. If they do, the Germans will know they have broken the Enigma code and change to something else, throwing out all the work done at Bletchley Park, along with the Allies' advantage.
When the war ends, the unit is told to break up the machine (Christopher) and burn it. They are forced to burn all records and told never to see each other again. Their work is to be kept secret in case they need another such unit to fight the Soviets in the future.
Turing goes back to his professorship at Cambridge, withdrawing once again. His personality, or lack of one, gets him into trouble in the 1950s. He is ultimately arrested for "indecent behavior" because he is a homosexual, which at that time, was illegal in Great Britain. It is the beginning of his downfall.
Bravo Benedict Cumberbatch. He does a magnificent job of portraying Alan Turing. It is always so difficult to play a truly repressed personality with poor social skills, brilliant or otherwise and make the audience feel his pain.
Keira Knightley as Joan also does a wonderful job in the film, a young woman who in her own way is as intelligent as Turing as a female which was an anathema in those days.
Both Cumberbatch and Knightley are up for acting awards at the Oscar presentation - Him for Best Actor and her for Best Supporting Actress.
I have to tell you, this one made me cry - not as much as American Sniper, but enough that I put on my sunglasses upon leaving the theater because I hadn't stopped weeping.
Just before the ending credits on the screen, is a paragraph explaining that historians think the breaking of the Enigma code ended the war two years earlier than it would have ended. They also estimate that 14 million lives were saved by the war ending when it did rather than continuing.
Alan Turing is considered to be the father of modern computers. His "Christopher" did remind me of Univac, the first commercial behemoth computer which matured into our hand held devices in contemporary times.
In the early 1990s, Queen Elizabeth pardoned Turing posthumously from the charges and allowed the tale of the Bletchley Park Code Breakers to be released to the public. Overturning fifty years of silence on the amazing success of their work.
Whew. I did well this year. I've seen four of the five Best Actor nominees for the Oscars - missing only Steve Carell in Foxcatcher.
Of the eight best picture nominees, I've seen five and may see the sixth, Boyhood, before the Oscars tomorrow.
My favorite for Best Picture? That's a tough call. They're all so different and not a bad one in the bunch.
The same with the Best Actor nominees. Each of these men did memorable work in their respective films. I am hard pressed to name a favorite. Bradley Cooper surprised me in American Sniper with his performance. (As a Texan, I may be a tad bit prejudiced). Redmayne and Cumberbatch were both phenomenal in their roles. Michael Keaton surprised me the most in Birdman. I wasn't expecting the depth of his performance.
Hollywood Buzz says it will likely be Keaton. That's fine, but I'll be happy with any of them.
Check out these and other nominees. The films are well worth your time.
Enjoy!
Today I went to see The Imitation Game, the story of Alan Turing and his work in creating a machine to crack the Enigma code the Nazis used during WWII.
Both of these films depict real men in intellectual pursuits, each with a condition either physical or psychological/emotional which makes them different even from their colleagues.
These films both deserve their own recognition, so let's start with The Best of Everything.
It is the often harrowing true story of brilliant English physicist, Dr. Stephen Hawking, diagnosed as a young man with ALS, also called "Lou Gehrig's Disease." His body begins to betray him as he loses control of his muscles and limbs. We watch him go from an awkward man, thought to be clumsy, through the emotional pain and frustration of losing control by degrees. In the beginning, he is given a prognosis of only two years to live.
He marries his sweetheart, who vows she will stay by his side. They have children together. He becomes more and more limited in what he can physically do on his own. Finally he is confined to a wheelchair and cannot provide any of his own care. Friction comes in the marriage when his wife continues to do it all by herself. By this time, they have three children. The story goes on from there.
The great tragedy in this film is Dr. Hawking loses the ability to speak, but retains his amazing intelligence. He is one of the most gifted physicists of our time. Imagine not being able to share such knowledge, how frustrating that must be.
Most of you have probably seen Dr. Hawking interviewed or teaching. If you have, you know his voice is computer generated - technology helped him speak again, even if the accent is American rather than his native British English.
Eddie Redmayne does a phenomenal job of portraying Dr. Hawking, twisting his body into all but impossible positions to emulate the struggles this man lives with.
Felicity Jones also does a wonderful job in the role of his wife, portraying the emotional journey Mrs. Hawking went through with sadness, fear, and exhaustion sapping her daily energy.
This film is a realistic portrayal of what caregivers of people with disabilities face. It is a daunting prospect at best, even or perhaps especially so when it is someone the caregiver loves.
Redmayne and Jones are both nominated for Academy Awards for acting and rightly so. The Best of Everything is also nominated for Best Picture, as it should be. It brings to the audience the realization that the genius in the wheelchair with the mechanical voice is at heart a fully rounded human being, capable of love, laughter, and emotional pain. Something often overlooked by the people who turn their back when confronted by the sight of a person with a disability.
The Imitation Game
This film is another British production about a brilliant Englishman, Alan Turing, arguably one of the greatest heroes of World War II.
Like Hawking, Turing is a different sort of chap, brilliant mathematician, but focused to the point of mania. He is an introverted genius with few social skills. He doesn't realize when he offends people. He doesn't understand when those people become angry. He simply lives too much in his mind.
During WWII, Germany known for brilliant physicists and mathematicians, develops the Enigma Machine, a clever code machine that is impossible for the enemy to decipher. (So they think...) True story, the English get hold of one of the Enigma Machines, in the film, a polish soldier stole the machine and got it to the English. I don't know if that's historically accurate or not, but they did have one of the machines, which the Nazis did not know.
At an estate in southern England, known as Bletchley Park, the military and secret military intelligence hired people to break the Enigma code. Trouble was, the code was only good for 24 hours, so each day at midnight the code was thrown out and a new one used. The Brits couldn't break the code fast enough to be of use before the code changed.
Enter Alan Turing added to the mathematicians, linguists, and statisticians already working on the Enigma. His idea was to build a "thinking machine", he called Christopher (for reasons explained in the film). During the struggle to build the machine, Turing had to learn to work well with others, instill trust in them, learn to like them and socialize with them. He is helped by Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley), a lovely female cryptographer who helps him solve the Enigma along with his crew.
This is a powerful story based on historic events. They do succeed in breaking the Enigma codes as fast as the Germans change them. Then comes the moral dilemma. They cannot stop every attack they know is coming. If they do, the Germans will know they have broken the Enigma code and change to something else, throwing out all the work done at Bletchley Park, along with the Allies' advantage.
When the war ends, the unit is told to break up the machine (Christopher) and burn it. They are forced to burn all records and told never to see each other again. Their work is to be kept secret in case they need another such unit to fight the Soviets in the future.
Turing goes back to his professorship at Cambridge, withdrawing once again. His personality, or lack of one, gets him into trouble in the 1950s. He is ultimately arrested for "indecent behavior" because he is a homosexual, which at that time, was illegal in Great Britain. It is the beginning of his downfall.
Bravo Benedict Cumberbatch. He does a magnificent job of portraying Alan Turing. It is always so difficult to play a truly repressed personality with poor social skills, brilliant or otherwise and make the audience feel his pain.
Keira Knightley as Joan also does a wonderful job in the film, a young woman who in her own way is as intelligent as Turing as a female which was an anathema in those days.
Both Cumberbatch and Knightley are up for acting awards at the Oscar presentation - Him for Best Actor and her for Best Supporting Actress.
I have to tell you, this one made me cry - not as much as American Sniper, but enough that I put on my sunglasses upon leaving the theater because I hadn't stopped weeping.
Just before the ending credits on the screen, is a paragraph explaining that historians think the breaking of the Enigma code ended the war two years earlier than it would have ended. They also estimate that 14 million lives were saved by the war ending when it did rather than continuing.
Alan Turing is considered to be the father of modern computers. His "Christopher" did remind me of Univac, the first commercial behemoth computer which matured into our hand held devices in contemporary times.
In the early 1990s, Queen Elizabeth pardoned Turing posthumously from the charges and allowed the tale of the Bletchley Park Code Breakers to be released to the public. Overturning fifty years of silence on the amazing success of their work.
Whew. I did well this year. I've seen four of the five Best Actor nominees for the Oscars - missing only Steve Carell in Foxcatcher.
Of the eight best picture nominees, I've seen five and may see the sixth, Boyhood, before the Oscars tomorrow.
My favorite for Best Picture? That's a tough call. They're all so different and not a bad one in the bunch.
The same with the Best Actor nominees. Each of these men did memorable work in their respective films. I am hard pressed to name a favorite. Bradley Cooper surprised me in American Sniper with his performance. (As a Texan, I may be a tad bit prejudiced). Redmayne and Cumberbatch were both phenomenal in their roles. Michael Keaton surprised me the most in Birdman. I wasn't expecting the depth of his performance.
Hollywood Buzz says it will likely be Keaton. That's fine, but I'll be happy with any of them.
Check out these and other nominees. The films are well worth your time.
Enjoy!
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