Two more Movies

Pinky - (DDD) In one of my film or books or in doing research, I had seen this film listed, but I never saw it. I had seen The Imitation of Life which has two versions about the same subject. Thanks to MoviesTVNetwork I was able to finally see Pinky. The film stars Jean Crane as Pinky Johnson, a fair skinned black woman who passes for white. Ethel Waters plays her dark skinned grand mother. This film deals with a lot of issues that are still relevant today. If you forget race, everyone should be able to understand this film. We are all trying to fit in somewhere. We all have to play the game of life at some point. The rules are different for us all. It depends on what you are trying to achieve. There is some truth in the phrase, “ All the world is a stage and everyone has a role to play.”

The Place Beyone The Pines - (DDDD) This was one of those films that I had never heard of. One of my friends had sent me a bunch of DVDs and they were just in those little white paper sleeves. This saves on shipping expenses. Sometimes the title may be familiar and other times I’ve never heard of the film. I like the idea of popping a film into the DVD player and experiencing a film without knowing the premise. It’s funny that I would watch this particular film, as two of the stars were at ZACH promoting other films. The film starts off going in one direction and then without notice it takes off in a different direction. I really enjoyed this film because it has several twists and turns. A man suddenly finds out he is a father and he wants to take responsibility, but is clueless as to how it all works. A few misfortunes lead him down the wrong path. He doesn’t like the idea of another man raising his kid and he finds himself turning to a life of crime to get money. At that point everything beings to unravel for everyone involved. We are then introduced to a new character and things take another unexpected turn and continue to go in that direction. I will not give away the second part of the film, but I was not expecting the out come. This is definitely a film to see.
The film stars Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendez.







Coming soon: The Monuments Men, Lincoln, Savages, Silver Lining Playbook, Django Unchained, ARGO, The Book Thief, August: Osage County, The Kid with the Bike,

The rating system - (d) it’s okay, if you like the stars (D) worth a look, especially if you are a fan of the stars (DD) Great cinematography and costumes (DDD) good script, cinematography, (DDDD) Not to be missed (DDDDD) I highly recommend this film



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http://ArtbyDlonzo.blogspot.com
http://dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com





Thanks for stopping by, and do come back again or become a follower. Remember to keep an open mind.

Dlonzo and his movies

The Counselor - (D) There are many films I’ve never heard of and The Counselor happens to be one of those films. When the film began I had no idea what to expect. I recognized Penelope Cruz so I decided I’d keep watching. I thought perhaps the title was in reference to Michael Fassbender’s character being a sex counselor.
The film opens with a couple in bed, the above stars, and then a sexual conversation ensues. The subject of sex throws you off as to which direction this film will take.
Sex and death do seem to go hand in hand. Through out the film there’s a lot of talk about sex. The film is about suspicion, betrayal and killing in the most bizarre fashions.
I made a post on Facebook, (If you want to see Brad Pitt bleed out on a sidewalk and then get beheaded, watch The Counselor.

The Hunger Games - (DDDD) The film stars, Jennifer Lawrence, Stanley Tucci and Woody Harrelson, just to name a few. I had never seen the film or read any of the books, so I decided I would watch. I didn’t know what to expect. The film seemed to move slow, but then it picked up and I really got into it. I found it quite entertaining. I don’t know how the film compares to the book, but if people keep going back, I guess there are pleased with the story.

The Dog - (DDD) A friend send me a bunch of DVDs and included in the stack were several documentaries. Of course I didn’t know that at the time. I figured it might have been a foreign film as they do tend to have interesting titles. The Dog is a documentary about the man in which the character played by Al Pacino is Dog Day Afternoon is based.
It’s interesting to see how art imitates life and how a man’s life can be affected by the art.
The Dog always wanted to be famous. Probably not the way things transpired, but he got some notoriety. The documentary was quite entertaining and the characters were quite colorful. Although some of the story is disturbing, it’s definitely worth a look if you enjoyed Dog Day Afternoon.







Coming soon: The Monuments Men, Lincoln, Savages, Silver Lining Playbook, Django Unchained, ARGO, The Book Thief, August: Osage County, The Kid with the Bike,

The rating system - (d) it’s okay, if you like the stars (D) worth a look, you are a fan of the stars (DD) Great cinematography and costumes (DDD) good script, cinematography, (DDDD) Not to be missed (DDDDD) I highly recommend this film



Check out my other blogs:
http://ArtbyDlonzo.blogspot.com
http://dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com





Thanks for stopping by, and do come back again or become a follower. Remember to keep an open mind.

Two more movies

Mud, is one of those films I wanted to see. I believe it had played SXSW, but it didn’t make its way to ZACH, or if it did I had to work. I am a big Matthew McConaughey fan. I liked his films before, but after meeting him, it means something more when I see him on the screen. If I had met Matthew McConaughey under different circumstances I might have had pictures. I met him right after Katrina at the Austin Convention Center.
It was really by accident and he thought I might have been a plant. I was picking up some magazines and one of them happened to have Matthew McConaughey on the cover. A few minutes later I see Matthew McConaughey giving an interview and when he is finished, I go over to shake his hand and to get his autograph. I pull from my backpack an issue of Details magazine in which he happens to be on the cover. He was freaked out about it and asked if someone had put me up to it. Of course that wasn’t the case. We spoke briefly and after signing the magazine with his signature phrase, “Keep On Living”, he was on his way.

Mud is one of those stories that unravels. We think it is one story and it turns out to be another story entirely. It could have easily been called something else as we meet two boys who become infatuated with Mud. The film stars Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon. It’s a film about first love, love in general, betrayal, friendship and family. Matthew McConaughey is a great actor. He has taken on some great roles. Even minor parts which he makes very memorable.
This is also one of those films that makes sense at the end. This is one of the reasons I like to give a film my full attention whether I think it good or bad when I first start watching.

Many years ago I used to be on a screening committee for a film festival. They would only watch 15 minutes of a film to determine if it were going to get in or not. I never thought this was a good way to judge a film. Sometimes it takes 15 minutes for a film to get its characters together. Whether it is a short film 30 minutes or less, or a feature 30 minutes or more. A person has put a lot of time and energy in most cases to tell a story and I applaud anyone who can do that. Which means whether I am paying to see a film or if I get to see it for free, I should give them their props to watch it all the way through. Even if I don’t particularly like it doesn’t mean someone else won’t.
So Mud’s opening characters are very appealing, the real story doesn’t come together until the end, but each character is very memorable. I particularly like the story of the two young boys who befriend Mud. There could definitely be another story about the two boys as they grow up.
(DDDD)

I am not a big fan of Woody Allen. I think one of the reasons is that he always plays an annoying character. The other could be that I am not very fond of directors that want to act, but aren’t really that good at it. Woody Allen writes good material. He has a way with dialogue like that of Quentin Tarantino who’s work I really like a lot. I find his use of dialogue to be realistic. Real conversations or funny even when they aren’t supposed to be. The first film I believe I saw by Woody Allen was Everything you always wanted to know about sex, but were afraid to ask. I actually enjoyed it. Perhaps I was too young to understand some of his other work. When I got older I was talking to a friend about Annie Hall and I decided to watch it. I knew this film had won an Academy Award for best picture and I had seen scenes from the film. I just didn’t find Woody Allen or Diane Keaton appealing enough to watch the film.

This is probably why I have issues with being the face of my own videos. I don’t think people will find me appealing.

In recent years, I’ve seen films by Woody Allen in which he doesn’t appear and I’ve really enjoyed them. A couple of years ago I saw Carnage. I believe that is the correct name. It stars Jodi Foster and Kate Winslet. It’s a four character piece that I really enjoyed as they talk about the other two characters, but we never see them on screen. The film also takes place in one apartment. It reminded me of Rope by Alfred Hitchcock.
The most recent film that I’ve seen is called Midnight in Paris. I believe this is going to be my favorite of all of Woody Allen’s films. Perhaps its because I’ve been wanting to go to Paris and in recent years I’ve been thinking of spending a year in Paris to do some writing. Midnight in Paris is a film about that. A man, played by Owen Wilson is about to be married and he falls in love with Paris. He is an established screen writer, but now he wants to write his first novel.

Every night at midnight he experiences something in Paris that I think most writers would love to experience. To be among the greats and enjoy in their experiences. Their creative process. The heartache and the pain that made them who they became. The writers and artist that created such beauty in words and brush strokes. Imagine Paris in the 1920’s. There is a message in this film that most artists feel they were born in the wrong era. They believe they would have been better at what they do had they been born during a different time.
Midnight in Paris also stars Rachel McAdams, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody and Marion Cotillard.
I will definitely be watching this movie over and over again. Especially when I need some inspiration or until I can make it to Paris.
(DDDD)






Coming soon: The Monuments Men, Lincoln, Savages, The Counselor, Silver Lining Playbook, Django Unchained, ARGO, The Hunger Games, The Book Thief, August: Osage County



Check out my other blogs:
http://ArtbyDlonzo.blogspot.com
http://dlonzo-OpenYourMind.blogspot.com

Back to the Movies

I’ve been catching up on some movies thanks to a friend. A couple of friends who like movies as much as I do, send me films from their collection when they are ready to retire them. In the last few weeks I’ve seen quite a few interesting movies, including The Book Thief, August: Osage County, Klown, Midnight in Paris, The Deep Blue Sea, Mud, Incendies, and Dragon Heart.

I’m going to begin with The Deep Blue Sea which stars Rachel Weisz, Simon Russell Beale and To Hiddleston. I was not impressed with this film at all. I thought it was slow moving and hard to follow. Perhaps I will watch it again to see if I feel differently. Sometimes that happens. I’ll watch a movie and feel one way about it the first time and then when I watch it again it all changes. It depends on my mood, that’s why I like to watch certain films at a certain time. (D)

Dragon Heart was one of those surprises. I didn’t know what this film was about. I figured it would be a Medieval story, but I was not expecting the comedic side or the cast. The film stars Dennis Quaid, David Thewlis, John Postelwait, Julie Christie and Sean Connery voices the dragon. Dragon Heart is the name given by Dennis Quaid’s character to the Dragon who is the last of his race. The two team up together to save each other and save each other from extinction. The special effects are really great. This was truly a delightful film. One for the entire family. (DDD)

Incendies is a foreign film I had never heard of. It’s the story of fraternal twins, Jean and Simon who are asked to search for their father and brother as instructed in their mother’s will. The unwanted search leaves them to discover things they never knew about their parents and their past. This is a gripping and torturous film. I really like foreign films because they can be so real. They don’t hold back, and life isn’t always about happy endings.
The film stars Lubna Azabel, Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin, Maxim Gaudette, Remy Girard and Abdel Ghafour Elaaziz (DDD)

Klown is one of those film I had never heard of. It was a foreign film, but very funny. Just what I needed after watching several powerful films. The film stars Frank Havm and Casper Christensen who also wrote the film.

It’s the story of a man who finds out his girlfriend is pregnant and he wants to prove to her he can be a father before she has an abortion. He takes one of the kids in the family on a canoe trip with a friend that has other plans. It’s non stop mayhem from the opening sequence all the way to the end. Some of the humor is not for everyone, but if you need a good laugh, I recommend this one. (DDD)

Coming soon: Mud, August: Osage County, Midnight in Paris, The Book Theif