Little Reviews

Where the Truth Lies (DDDD), starring Kevin Bacon, Colin Firth and Alison Lohman, talk about a movie with surprises and twists. While I was watching this film I kept thinking about Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Perhaps it was the focus on the telethon, and there were many similarities. Kevin Bacon has given some great performances over the years as has Colin Firth, but I think a lot of Bacon’s work goes unnoticed. I had never heard of this film. I saw it on the shelf for a dollar; I liked the premise and since it starred two great actors decided to give it a look see.  I like when I get my hands on a directors cut or an unrated version of a film. It means that there were issues with the film. Either it ran too long or there were scenes too hot for the theaters. Since the 90’s films just get cut since they know they can released the unrated version on DVD. No more NC-17, or the risk of a film not getting shown at a theater. Sometimes its only a few seconds that makes all the difference between an R and NC-17 rating.

W., (DDDD)The first time I saw the film I was able to see President differently. Living in the shadows of someone the majority of your life is not easy. Not everyone gets the back story on politicians. All we know is that all of a sudden there they are.
Some of us are still learning about Obama. When it comes to politics there’s the person we see on the campaign trail and then the person that gets into office, but the real person we don’t get to see unless we know them on a personal level.
Oliver Stone has a way with political films. Sarah Halley Finn did a great job with casting  with Jeffery Wright as Colin Powell and Thandie Newton as Condalesa Rice. I couldn’t help but wonder if Janet Jackson was ever up for the role. She did an excellent potrayal of Miss Rice in an SNL sketch many years ago.
Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Elizabeth Banks and Richard Dreyfuss were all great.
I things it’s a good film and regardless of what you think of the former president you might learn something you weren’t expecting.



Here is my new rating system. DDDDD highly recommend. DDDD It should be watched. DDD Entertaining DD So if you like the stars. D Just out of curiosity watch it.
(I like all movies. Even those that most people don’t like, it makes for great conversation.)


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Friday the 13th

I haven’t started watching movies that played at SIFF yet. I will soon begin watching horror films, it’s what I do in the month of October.  I’ve already begun making my list of my classic films I like to watch. I will do a Friday the 13th marathon, but I only have four films in my collection and one of the remakes. After the 4th film I just got bored with it. I went to see Jason takes Manhattan because someone had reported that Vanity was in the film, but that wasn’t the case at all. Shame on them for making me waste my money. I recently bought Friday the 13th II only because I had three and four. The reason 3 was in my collection was because I was working for Paramount’s insurance company and one of my jobs was to count movie tickets. Movie theaters were selling tickets for one movie, but passing them off for another. See, movie theaters make an agreement to carry a movie for a certain amount of time, but if that film isn’t making any money and people aren’t buying food from the concession stand then the theater doesn’t make money. If they can show a film isn’t doing well then they can get rid of it.

I must have seen Friday the 13th about a dozen or more times. It was during that revitalization phase of 3-D back in the early 80’s. I liked the theme song so much that I would request that my favorite radio station play it. I don’t recall ever seeing a soundtrack for the film because I certainly would have gotten it.

The first Friday the 13th featured Kevin Bacon and the fourth Friday the 13th featured Corey Feldman, and Crispin Glover. This is my favorite of the movies only because of the last 15 minutes of the film. I was thinking about getting the 5th installment, A new beginning because Jason finally arrives while the kids are at the camp and there’s that one scene where he is chasing the children.

My marathon will start around noon, Once I add up the time it may start earlier. Once I get back from church I will decide. Movies tvnetwork was having their own marathon of horror films. Some I had never seen or even heard of. Phase IV, Bugs, and Day of the Animals.

Here is my new rating system. DDDDD highly recommend. DDDD It should be watched. DDD Entertaining DD So so if you like the stars. D Just out of curiosity watch it.

(I like all movies. Even those that most people don’t like, it makes for great conversation.)

Thanks for stopping by and keep an open mind. Become a follower while you are here.

Melencholia

Melencholia - Art comes in many forms, and film presents it in many ways. Just to put together a film is art, but to tell an artistic story, now that’s the beauty of the art. I had never heard of the film Melencholia. While watching the film it made me think about the film festivals I used to be a part of. It allowed me to see films that most people never get a chance to see. Sometimes a film doesn’t get distribution or it goes straight to DVD. There are many reasons a film doesn’t get the appreciation it should get despite what some audiences may think.

Thanks to my friends who love movies as much as I do, they supply me with films I can’t get around to seeing. We trade off movies or they just send me the films they are getting rid of. One such film is Melencholia. The film opens with visuals. I wasn’t sure what to expect. It looked like an experimental film. There were images that were very artsy. They appeared to be stills, but then it looked as if the images were moving in slow motion. I was really getting into it and then there was the fade to black. A title appeared on the screen Part one Justine. The people in the film looked familiar, but I wasn’t sure. The film opens with a bride and groom in a stretch limo trying to maneuver a short curb in a country hillside. There isn’t a lot of dialogue. The story is being told by the facial expressions of the characters. There is joy, sadness, uncertainty and happiness in various moments as everyone in the car takes a turn trying to drive the car around the sharp turn. Who exactly achieves the feat we never know, but the bride and groom are in the back of the limo when it arrives at the top of the hill.

The host is very upset as the bride and groom are two hours late for their own reception. Again, dialogue is not the main aspect of this film. What  little the actors say is brought out by their actions as we get a quick understanding of the relationship between the newlywed couple, Michael and Justine. We meet the family through toasts and little introductions as one would normally have at such an event. We become a part of the wedding reception.
Justine is going through a transition and it not sure if she has made the correct decision.
Michael is the loving husband doing his best to show support.

The audience then gets to understand the opening of the film and what Justine does. She works in advertising and her boss is at the wedding seeking a tag line for a recent ad which he flashes the photograph on the screen at the reception. The pressure is on as Justine’s decision affects several people at the wedding. A newly hired employee, her boss, her husband and herself. We see the dysfunctional family appear right before our very eyes.

A mother who hates weddings because her own marriage didn’t work out. A sister that loves her sister very much, but she doesn’t seem to comprehend the love. A father that seems to be on the verge of dementia and refers to everyone as Betty, even his own daughter.
Parts of the film are shot in an amateur manner and then some parts are so artistic. Its like an artsy reality film. There are many long shots where we can take in the beautiful scenery. The aerial shots are breath taking as we see the characters on several occasions riding the horses. Sometimes through the fog or clouds and other times on a clear day.

Part two Claire centers on the sister and we find out what Melencholia is all about. Melencholia is a planet. Claire’s husband is obsessed with the phenomenon, but we can sense the fear that Claire has. She is afraid to die.

Melencholia is great to watch and there’s something unexpected in almost every scene. The ending certainly was unexpected. The cast is just incredible to watch. There are a few actors I'd not seen in anything for quite some time. The film is directed by Lars Von Trier

The film stars Kirsten Dundst,  Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgard, John Hurt, Charlotte Rampling, Stellan Skarsgard, Brady Corbet, and Udo Kier.

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon

Sean Penn having a humorous moment. I used to joke that when I asked to Photograph Sean Penn that he didn't try to knock me out. (There was this incident he had with a photographer back in the 90's, he is really a nice guy) Actors are human and they too have bad days.

Six degrees of separation - Studies are now showing we are getting closer and closer in degrees of separation. With the social media people have a bigger chance of becoming friends with those of other people. In some cases it could be a good thing as we discover we have more in common than we originally thought.

A few months ago, Kevin Bacon was on Pierce Morgan and he was talking about how many degrees he was away from Kevin Bacon up until the point that he was on the show. I began thinking about how many degrees I was from Kevin Bacon. Orginally I thought I was two degrees from Kevin Bacon, but I’m actually one degree from Kevin Bacon.

Back in the late 90’s when I was doing the Seattle Film Festival, I met and photographed Sean Penn and his wife Robin Wright Penn. Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon starred in Mystic River. My other connection with Kevin Bacon was when I met Ron Eldard and Julianna Margulies. They met while working on ER and were secretly dating. Ron Eldard starred with Kevin Bacon in Sleepers.

That’s my little Hollywood tidbit for the day. LOL.

I’m thinking about doing some entries on the celebrities I’ve met, befriended, photographed and hung out with, and the Hollywood/Movie experience from 1978 to 2005 which was the last time I was a part of any production.

Disturbing Images

I’ve seen my share of films that have some disturbing images, but recently I saw some films that triggered those memories.

One of the first films that I thought was gross was the film Xtro. I’ve never seen this film again and I’ve never even seen it advertised on DVD. It is possible it could have been renamed. It was an alien type picture. I’m sure you guessed that from the title. I have no clue what it was about, but the scene that stays in my head is where a woman is on her kitchen floor and she gives birth to a full size alien creature.

The next film that would keep me awake at night was Friday the 13th, the original with Kevin Bacon before Footloose and the game six degrees of Kevin Bacon. The ending scene when Jason comes out of the water was just horrifying. I remember one of the movie magazines decided to make that image their cover so I had to see it whenever I was in a store for an entire month. And you know when you try not to look at something it seems to be in your face even more.

Another film that had a disturbing image was I spit on your Grave. There is a scene when the victim begins to get revenge and she castrates one of her attackers in the bathtub.

I also must not forget Blacula. Black people make some ugly and scary looking vampires. Especially to a kid of 11 or 12 years old.

The Anti Christ is a bizarre film that stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Rampling The visuals in this film are stunning at times. There’s not a lot of dialogue and a good bit of sex. There is this one scene where the wife cuts off her husbands penis after bringing him to orgasm. Talking about being cruel.

The Killer Inside Me stars Casey Affleck, younger brother of Ben. I’m not sure why he hasn’t done more mainstream films, but perhaps he’s happy with the obscure stuff. There is a scene in which his character attacks Jessica Alba’s character and it is brutal. I had to turn my head. He just keeps hitting her in the face until she is unrecognizable.

It reminded me of Jared Leto’s scene in Fight Club, in that instance it was a fight so you were expecting blood. This was totally unexpected. I guess also it was the fact that he was hitting the woman the way you would hit a man. It made me cringe.


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