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