Primal Fear

This film has a list of stars including Richard Gere, Edward Norton, Frances McDormond, Laura Linney, Maura Tierney, Andre Braugha and Jon Seda and others.

I've a;ways enjoyed this film and I usually watch some films once a year depending on the length and time that I have. Sometimes I'll watch a few movies over the weekend since I have become addcted to a few television shows. I don't do cable so I don't record anything to watch later.
From time to time I might make an acception and watch a show the nect day on the Internet if it is available.

Primal Fear is one of those investigative dramas that centers on a trial of a teenager who appears to have multiple personalities. There are lots of twists along the way.
The performances by all of the actors is great, but Edward Norton sets the bar high for himself. He's done a few films where he has given great performances, but sometimes its hard to top certain performances.
My favorite Edward Norton films are American History X, Fight Club and I like The Score.
Recently he made a film called Stone in which he acts opposite Robert DeNiro again. It'a another film with several twists and it has a surprise ending.

Thanks for stopping by, keep an open mind.

Gilda

The year was 1946 and I wasn’t even thought about. My parents hadn’t even met.
I’m sure I had read something on the film, but it was not something I was interested in seeing. Rita Hayworth wasn’t really someone I was attracted to. There was something about the actress with blonde hair. Perhaps since films were in black and white that blonde hair was much more enticing. Of course it didn’t hurt that the actresses with blonde hair seemed to have had large breasts. Jean Harlowe, and Marilyn Monroe were at the top of my list, but I remember the striking beauty of Sophia Loren in Two Women. Perhaps I hadn’t seen any of Rita Hayworth’s films.

Recently a friend had copied some movies for me to see and Gilda was on the DVD. What I didn’t know was that he didn’t have the entire movie, but what he did have peaked my interest. I new I wanted to see it. In my research the film was a bit controversial and I am intrigued by those types of films.

The film stars Glenn Ford , George MacCready and Rita Hayworth as Gilda.
The sexual overtones are there on all levels. Even more so than in Casablanca. It seems a little corny at times, but it made me think about a film in which I didn’t like a particular scene and I thought perhaps they got the idea from this film.

In the film, The Crying Game, there is a scene in the bar where the bartender acts as the liaison between the two customers. Some of the dialogue in Gilda comes across in that same manner.
As I’ve written many times before, artists get inspired from others and sometimes they think alike. I’ve done photographs, written poems and even done sketches and then I see something similar and I’ve never even heard of the artist or seen their work.

The cinematography is quite good and the costumes are great as well as set design which of course only takes place in a few places which makes it easy.
Not only does Rita Hayworth have great sex appeal, the film was also considered racy with the song put the blame on Mame where Gilda performs a sort of strip tease without taking off her clothes. Rita Hayworth never sang her own songs, but was very good at lip syncing because you really can’t tell she is not really singing the song.
Gilda is a very interesting film and I’m glad I finally got a chance to see it all the way through.

In Michael Jackson’s This Is It, he uses a sequence from Gilda as well as other black and white gangster films that is truly amazing. It made me think of the film Steve Martin did, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. It was visually enticing for me. Then Forest Gump took that effect to another level years later.

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Top 50 Films

In honor of turning 50 I am listing my top 50 films. These films are on the list for various reasons. Either I saw them with someone I cared about or the film was something I could really relate to or had a profound impact on my life. See if any of the films are on your list. I am a true film lover. These films are in no particular order.

1. Lawrence of Arabia
2. Spartacus
3. All About Eve
4. Making Love
5. Fame (The original)
6. The Ten Commandments
7. Class of 1984
8. Halloween
9. Island in the Sun
10. Less Than Zero
11. Beautiful Thing
12. Cruising
13. Introducing Dorothy Dandridge
14. Set It Off
15. Brown Sugar
16. The Misfits
17. Gone With The Wind
18. Blade Runner
19. Love and Human Remains
20. Coffy
21. The Long Hot Summer
22. The Poseidon Adventure
23. The Towering Inferno
24. The Color Purple
25. Crash (The film dealing with racial tension)
26. The Doom Generation
27. Day After Tomorrow
28. Inception
29. Salt
30. Wall Street
31. Far From Heaven
32. Boogie Nights
33. Headless Body in A Topless Bar
34. The Velocity of Gary
35. All About Eve
36. The Pianist
37. Summer of Sam
38. School Daze
39. The Lion King
40. The Prince of Eqypt
41. The Talented Mr. Ripley
42. Priest
43. Primal Fear
44. The Best Man
45. Kalifornia
46. The Breakfast Club
47. Giant
48. The Pillow Book
49. Menace II Society
50. Taps

Thanks for stopping by and come back in the new year. Have a safe new years eve.

The Kids Are Alright

Every now and then something pops up that seems to be original. The film The Kids Are Alright is about a lesbian couple and their two children. The youngest child is curious as to who his father is and the older sibling does the research.
The man comes into their lives and everything gets put on the table.

The film seems realistic on many levels which is what I like in my movies.
The film stars Annette Benning and Julianne Moore who give great performances as the lesbian couple who have their own issues, but don't realize it until the sperm donor comes into their lives.

The film is quite entertaining and the performances by everyone is very entertaining.
Mark Ruffalo plays the sperm donor.

I recommend this film if you want something that is different. And even more so if you are a fan of Julianne Moore or Annette Benning.

Hard Candy

Hard Candy - Most people know how I feel about remakes. I just feel writers should be original and directors should be first in line if they want to direct a certain film. There have been instances where the original director has redirected a film because he felt he could do better. I just feel certain films shouldn’t be touched, but if your going to remake something make it better. If you’re telling the same story what’s the point. Yes, I understand some people don’t like subtitles or speak a foreign language, but that’s the beauty of art. Not everyone gets it.

There’s been talk of remaking The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on the Stieg Larsson book of the same name. When Ellen Page’s name came up I just didn’t see her as playing the part of Lisbeth Salander.

Last night I watched the film, Hard Candy and Ellen Page was incredible as a young girl out to seek revenge on a man that molested and possibly killed her friend. The film starts of subtly and slowly takes a sadistic turn with a little cat and mouse added in to keep the audience on the edge of its seat. The performances are great by Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson, but there were some fades that could have been handled differently. I got the red fades that signified the blood, but there were an over abundance of fades to black.
The film captures the essence of what some people go through when they are molested at a young age. I don’t recall this film having a big theatrical release, but I’m sure it had a lot to do with the subject matter.

I think this film would make a great stage play as well. It’s basically just the two main characters so it could be pulled off quite well. Although its mostly psychological, it’s not for the faint at heart, but I won’t spoil certain scenes. It’s full of surprises.

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Wall Street Money Never Sleeps

Sometimes when I see a film I can immediately make a valid assessment of what I’ve seen. I can usually make a good argument as to why one should or shouldn’t see this film. Normally I don’t believe in trashing any type of art because I am an artist myself and it is great that people are doing the things that they love whether we the public like it or not. I once wrote a poem called “Who Gets It” which dealt with the fact that poetry and all forms of art aren’t necessarily understood by everyone who reads or views it.
When I create art I don’t like to explain it and yet I do give the viewer the chance to make their interpretation whether they get what I created or not. Of course there are times when they miss the boat entirely which justifies that fact that not everyone gets art.

I watched the film Wall Street Money Never Sleeps last Friday. My mind was in other places as I revisited New York inside of my head. I remembered being at the New York Stock Exchange and walking from Wall Street down Fifth Avenue to Central Park. I thought about the Twin Towers and other areas of the city that I frequented.
I had wondered whether or not Charlie Sheen would pop up as Bud Fox and did have a cameo as the character that was partially responsible for putting Gordon Gecko being bars.
I also realized because I had followed the story of Lemann Brothers and the other banks in trouble that it wasn’t anything new to me. Sometimes we just expect more when such hype is given to a film.

Shia LeBeouf is the up and coming star of the next generation. If he continues to take on such roles he’ll be in the same caliber of Edward Norton and James McEvoy. I could see the three of them in a film together perhaps playing brothers. Shia brings an innocence and intensity of deviance to his character in this film.
When you see a sequel you have a tendency of thinking and comparing it to the original when it doesn’t drift away from the original story.
We watch as the characters continue to try to rise up the ladder and how some do it better than others.

Now that I’ve had time to let the film marinate inside my head I see it from a different view now. The film does stand alone even though it ties in to the original. Sylvia Miles shows up as the real estate agent, but Susan Surandon is great as the mother of the Shia LeBeouf character. Care Mulligan who gave such a great performance in the film An Education is just as lovely in this film.
The film has given me some inspiration as did the original. Certain films have an impact on me and help me see things in a different light.

There’s lots of vital information that can be taken from this film.
Thanks for stopping by, Do come again and why not become a follower of this blog while you’re here. Open Your Mind. Relax, enjoy and believe.

Up in the Air

Up In The Air - I didn’t go to see this film when it played at the movie theater, but I was curious to see the film. Last night I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the film. There are many films that I relate too and this film is no exception.
As a person who traveled a lot I know what its like to try and rack up frequent flier miles. You sort of become your own competition. You set up goals with yourself as to what you want to achieve. There are certain places you’d like to visit, people you’d like to meet and experiences that you’d like to experience.

On top of all of that, the George Clooney character has the job of having to fire people. There are many people who get lost in their work so they don’t have time for relationships. Of course deep down that is just an excuse because on has some issues about the entire subject. Many people see relationships in their lives that didn’t work out and may have experienced it first hand and have decided its just not worth it.
Imagine giving 8 years to a relationship only to have it not work. Who wants to go through that trauma again? You put your heart out there and it get crushed.

The majority of people get to experience many things in their lives. Love, marriage, family, career changes, and job loss. Each situation is unique to the person that it involves. If you know its coming you can prepare as best one can. If you get blindsided then it’s a blow that not everyone can recover from. Working at a job for years is like a relationship. You’ve created a family and you feel as if you are a part of something. You feel as if you’ve given your best and you’ve invested in something that you had no idea would come to an end.

Up In the Air brings all of this to the forefront at a time when unemployment is on the rise. Despite what we hear in the media, people are continually losing their jobs in parts of the U.S. where it was never an issue before. Incidents are happening where people have no control.

The film is quite interesting as a man finds something he thought he was happy with and then realizes he would like to have more. Just when he allows himself to open up he gets hit with a bombshell.

If you are a fan of George Clooney then I’m sure you will enjoy this film. If you like Vera Farmiga you will see her in a way I don’t think she’s been seen before.
Up In The Air may just shed some light on the way the world is today and how it is constantly changing.

Thanks for stopping by, Do come again and why not become a follower of this blog while you’re here. Open Your Mind. Relax, enjoy and believe.