Still watching movies

Thanks to a very good friend I received about four dozen movies over the weekend. Now I can catch up on all of the movies that I missed. I started with The Wolf of Wall Street. The film is based on a true story, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Seth Rogen. I like Leonardo DiCaprio and although he has come great scenes toward the end, I feel Seth Rogen stole the movie. I don’t recall if Seth was nominated for best supporting actor or not, but both of their performances were oscar worthy. Matthew McConaughey has a small role in the film as well. He is just all over the place these days, but that’s what a good actor does. He keeps working. It’s not the size of the part, it’s what the part offers that’s important.
The Wolf of Wall Street is a rags to riches story in an unorthodoxed fashion. Some people will do anything to live the life they never had at any price. I am not sure if the version of the film I have was unrated, but there is a lot of sex, perversion, fowl language and drugs, lots of drugs.

The Wolf of Wall Street - DDDD

Savages - DDDd - this is a film by Oliver Stone. I wanted to see the film because it starred Salma Hayek. You may remember, many many years ago I had met the actress a couple of times at the Seattle International Film festival. A few days ago I caught some of the film on one of the Spanish channels and it seemed interesting. It also stars Blake Lively who I think is pretty, but she’s been playing all of these gritty roles. I guess she’s trying to get away from the image she had on Gossip Girl. It’s an okay film about friends who decide to go into the drug business and when their product infringes on that of another source, conflict begins.
The story is somewhat deceiving as we believe something may or may not be true, but still the ending is not what we are expecting. There are many surprises in the film. Also in the film are Benecio Del Toro, John Travolta, Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson and Emile Hirsch.

Cloud Atlas - DDDd - I am definitely going to have to watch this film again. There is a lot to take in. I found myself trying to figure out which star was playing which role as opposed to paying complete detail to the story. I liked the idea of people being connected from past lives and the interaction of the present and future. That’s why we have what is known as Dejavu. We experience things we feel as if we’ve done them before and we spend out time trying to figure out what will happen next, but we can never do it.
The makeup and cinematography in this film is incredible, as well as the special effects. There are many surprises besides trying to figure out who the actors are, but seeing all the great talent that is a part of this film. Tom Hanks, Halley Berry, Keith David, Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Donna Bae, Ben Wishaw, Xun Zhou, Hugh Grant, James D’Arcy, and David Gyasi. The film is based on the book by David Mitchell which I am now interested in reading. We go from the future to the past and present in various intervals in the film. Now that I write this, it makes me think of Inception, but this time it’s stories, within stories as opposed to being inside of someone’s mind. And there are more stories to take in than Inception. I really enjoyed it.

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes - DDD- I had mixed feelings about seeing this film in the theater because of the CGI. The original film franchise was more interesting. The film has its moments. It is original which is what I keep wishing Hollywood would do. Don’t just remake a movie, tell a different story.
The effects are interesting and other than Caesar, the other chimps, gorillas, orangutans look so realistic. Andy Serkis plays Caesar and it looks creepy at times.
The film stars, James Franco, John Lithgow, Frieda Pinto, Brian Cox, David Oyelowo and Tom Felton.





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.)


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Mad Beat Hip and Gone

Mad Beat Hip and Gone

[This is a view of the theater from S. Lamar and Riverside Dr.]

Mad Beat Hip and Gone - Last night I attended this performance at the Zachery Scott Theater. The play was written and Directed by Steven Dietz. It’s the story of two guys who stumble across Jack Kerouac and follow him because he was talking to a girl that one of the guys liked. It’s a story about searching. Not just for parts of a past, but for the future. Looking for adventure, anything that will make life more exciting. The writer creates characters that may or may not have been in the bar from the book On The Road.

Mad Beat Hip and Gone stars Jacob Trussell, Jon Cook, Erin Barlow, Babs George, Rick Roemer and Topaz McGarrigle. The set design really takes over as a character. The team at Zachery Scott has done some incredible work on the last three performances I’ve seen and this one is no exception. The cast is really good, but Jon Cook really stands out as Rich, Danny’s partner in crime.

The play centers on the idea “Nothing is true, but everything is real.” It’s a line from a letter Jack Kerouac wrote to a friend in 1949. The writer was trying to solve Nietzsche’s metaphysics, according to the Playwright’s notes.

Topaz McGarrigle plays the sax which ads to the dark side within the characters. I’m sure we can all relate to something someone has written. We all have our own personal adventures, even if they are only in our dreams.

Relive the beginning of the beatnik era or get introduced to a time when young guys and girls wanted to be hip. It was drugs, sex, poetry and jazz.

Mad Beat Hip and Gone runs at the Zachery Scott Theater until April 28, 2013.

[The Topfer at night]

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Brad Davis

There are quite a few movies I’ve watched in the last few weeks. I watched Querelle and Midnight Express with Brad Davis. I’m about to re-read the book about his life written by his wife, Susan Bluestein Davis. The book is entitled, After Midnight. There are often those actors that get that one role that defines them and then it is hard to find a role that will be better.

Everyone in the entertainment industry strives to make whatever they do better that what they had done before. You’re constantly trying to prove that you are better or just as good as your last job providing it gets positive attention.

Brad Davis had appeared off-Broadway and appeared in  such films as Chariots of Fire, Sybil, Roots, Mrs. Reinhart, Robert Kennedy and His Times, The Rainbow Warrior, Rosalie Goes Shopping and A Circle of Friends, his first film after Midnight Express. It was during the filming of A Circle of Friends his addiction began.

It not only takes a lot to live up to the expectations of the people depending on you. The expectations one puts on themselves. In the entertainment industry more than any other occupation, people are constantly asking, am I good enough? They are always looking for some sort of validation and it has to come from the right people.

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