Pondering: The Way, Way Back

Finally, the angels are singing!!
A real movie. A new, fresh, thought provoking movie.
THE WAY, WAY BACK is a sweet, sweet movie about a young kid, Duncan, (Liam James, the young Shawn in PSYCH) who is the only one sane in a world of insanity, on a summer vacation to the beach with his desperate mother, played by Toni Collette (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, EMMA), and his mother's cruel boyfriend (Steve Carell THE OFFICE, SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD).....

Duncan's sanity for the summer comes in the form of "the girl next door"...

Played by Anna Sophia Robb, (BRIDFES TO TERABITHIA, SOUL SURFER) and a bunch of misfits characters at the local, run down water park, led by Sam Rockwell, (SEVEN PHYCOPATHS and COWBOYS AND ALIENS)

Two of the misfits, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash...

Just happened to write and directed the whole thing too- the idea coming from Rash's stepfather telling him what Duncan hears from his mom's boyfriend in the opening sequence of the film.

This is the duos first directing stint, but they did co-write DESCENDANTS...

which won  an academy award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was previewed up at the Telluride Film Festival in 2011.

We saw THE WAY, WAY BACK at a Saturday matinee and there were a respectable amount of people there- lots of couples and the majority older then us, our kiddo was the only teenager in the theater. Is anyone doing demographic studies of who is going to what movies? Cause old people, and thirty somethings and up actually have more money to spend then the younger folks- go figure Hollywood! And we tend to enjoy movies that are less expensive to make, but enough with my rant.

Being a child of divorce- what struck me watching this movie was how well it depicted the insanity that adults try to ram down kid's throats, when they decided to go off and do such a selfish thing as break up a family. Most kids are not stupid and in their gut, like all of us, know truth, but struggle with it, because they love their parents. I know I did.

Even today, as a teacher, youth group leader and an observer to my kiddo's friends I have witnessed the subtle brain washing that has to go on to convince children that the reality of their whole world being ripped apart is actually a good thing.

Bribery greatly helps. What child would not love a summer of freedom at the beach or in real life perhaps gifts and special weekends with daddy after months of tension and fighting. Forty years later, I still vividly remember the weekend of a nice hotel, pools and fancy dolls when I found out I had a step mother.

The reality of divorce, the reality of childhood really, is we have no say, no voice to what horizon our parents are sailing us to, or if  they change course mid way.

What to do about, I do not know, though, several years ago I read a fascinating book, or listened to it,  called THE MALE BRIAN by Louann Brizendine, a neuropsychiatrist on male's  brain development through every stage of life....

Gosh that make me sound so "heady" which I am not and it really is a good book and an easy read, she has one on the female brain as well...

Two interesting facts I remember- in kissing- male spit is full of hormones and helps females be more responsive and...

Men bond with their babies through skin to skin contact, which is why I brought up the book in the first place, though the spit thing is interesting.

How to get really good dads, make sure they are hands on from the beginning. Reality in parenting as in everything- out of sight, out of mind really does apply. Sadly the US is one of only a handful of countries who do not have paternity leave for new dads. Interesting side note- mothers- who take more maturity leave then the usual six weeks have a much harder time leaving their babies.

Then there is the whole factor of women who always have to have a man and often sacrifice their children to keep him, as in Duncan's case throughout most of the movie.

Although not my experience growing up, I have seen  mothers, in their desperation to not be alone have not been the protector they should have been and left their child to be the mature one. The needed for a man is a powerful one, a curse really, the Bible says given in punishment for Eve's picking of the forbidden fruit...

 Your desire shall be for your husband,
 And he shall rule over you

Genesis 3:16

THE WAY WAY BACK shows all of this in a wonderful open and raw way, Duncan the holder of truth but powerless and unprotected against the insanity around him, his only oasis a run down water park of misfits.



Pondering: Sellebrity

 

Watched  a really thought provoking documentary this afternoon, SELLEBRITY, directed and produced by Kevin Mazur  and available  on Amazon Prime.
Mazur takes a hard look at our need to peer intrusively into our celebrities' lives and persuaded the likes of Jennifer Aniston...

Kid Rock...

and Sarah Jessica Parker...

to open up about one of the downsides of being famous in an age where not only do we have an insatiable, voyeuristic appetite to know all about our stars, but everyone in the world has a camera via their cell phone and can instantly "upload" it to the rest of the world!
I actually experienced this phenomena a few years ago, when at the Telluride Film Festival I saw this...

Yes that is George Clooney, I think, though I never really got a good look at him for the quantity of non-photographers (pros are not "invited" to Telluride), but it actually was a pack of older women who should have known better.
I had been attending the TFF for three years and only James Franco ever came close to the mobs that followed Clooney around.

and there were no craved older women following him, if I remember correctly!

 

One of the most disheartening things mentioned on SELLEBRITY was the invasion of privacy celebrity's families have to endure, especially the children, footage of kids pleading with the paparazzi to stop taking pictures.

 

Of course there is "nothing new under the sun" and RIVIERA COCKTAIL: EDWARD QUINN

 proves it, another documentary available on Amazon's Prime right now. Edward Quinn spent much of the 50s  photographing and invading stars private lives on the Cote d' Azur.

He started about the same time as Audrey Hepburn...

and Sophia Loren...

who humored him with more poses in her hotel room, after he hid in the bathroom while she dismissed the other photographers.
In RIVIERA COCKTAIL, he witnesses the change from the time the stars welcomed the photographers to being more guarded and there being more completion for the money shot.

And money is still being made from Quinn's wonderful black and whites, which can be viewed at http://www.edwardquinn.com/ which includes not only celebrities but the likes of Pablo Picasso and
gypsies and cars of that era.

I know the invasion of privacy the World Wide Web has created has just started to be pondered, but looking into another's private life has always been around, even before the invention of the "point and shoot camera"...

The great impressionistic artist, Edgar Degas declaring he wanted to depict his female bathers as if he was peeking through a door's "keyhole". Sorry folks, voyeurism as always been and will always will be a part of the human nature.
 

 

 

 

Hollywood's new job: Outsourcing

 

I feel like a broken record or I should just cut and paste from previous blogs my complaints of offerings coming out of Hollywood, such as my most recent optimistic trips to the movie theater to see Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg's 2 GUNS...

 

And Bruce Willis and the gang...

 

 

Both totally predictable, uninspiring and really unsatisfying, since I am not a "Millennium  Male" or someone in China, which is where the studios are making most of their money, according to news sites  like The Warp.

Money is money, I guess and Hollywood as always gone towards the money. But in basically "outsourcing"- movies are getting more and more "American" clichéd and well downright "crappy". Yes there are clichés- I'm a walking cliché of living in the West, heat my cabin with a stove from wood stacked outback. My deck either had mountain bikes or snow skis covering it and my husband's favorite beer is Fat Tire, but we just also spent a week in California maneuvering our dusty 4X4 SUV around Mercedes and Porches at the beach.

Both people and movies fall flat if all they offer is what you expect to see, without any irony-contrary to all the "what is trending now" buttons on Hulu, Netflixs and Twitter.

Heard a disparaging report on NPR's MARKETPLACE recently that Hollywood is actually running scripts through an algorithm, soooooo....

If only well, "millennium males", i.e. those who like ComicCon or foreigners wanting to see American actions movies with a lot of "bang" for their buck- then that is all that Hollywood is going to make!

Solution?

No idea- other than a  new age of really good, story, character filled movies, cheap enough made so they can see a profit, until the theater starts to fill up with well, everybody else in the US of A who has just stopped going to the movies and have  stopped being a factor in the algorithm machine Hollywood is using to decide what movie to make! 

I think we are ready for a Renaissance, which means I guess right now this would be the "Dark Ages". When the last Dark Age happened, did they know they were in one?

 

 

 



Pondering: World War Z

I was soooo out voted on this one- usual scenario- kids home from college, day over the mountains in Durango to hit a good place to eat  and see a movie. This time it was 4th of July and the movie, that everyone else wanted to see was WORLD WAR Z. Me, the mom, usually does not "do" horror movies- but alas, we got our tickets early, stood in a long line and actually got pretty decent seats- better coordinated then at Christmas seeing SKYLARK.
Everybody knows what I usually think of this kind of movies, so when the light went up, the four people beside me- all leaned in to see my look of disgust and got a lot of "Well I'm sure mom didn't like..." or "What does mom think about that..." all the way to the car and at the restaurant.
Having a reputation to uphold and not want to open the flood gates to most of the bad movies in this genre, I kept my look stern and my mouth shut. But since no one in my family reads my blog ( test, test)...
I got to say, WORLD WAR Z was a pretty good movie!
First because , well...Brad Pitt is in it...

 

There are some actors for me, that could just sit in the cockpit of a jet, or a submarine or the belly of a bomber and wave for two hours and I would be happy, Brad Pitt is one of them.
In Radio Science- yes there is such a thing- certain songs are called "sticky", that people might claim they do not like but never change the channel when one is playing, believe it or not Celine Dion songs- in movies, Brad Pitt for me is "sticky"- if he is in something, I will go watch it, apparently even when it has zombies.
What was really surprising about this "walking dead" movie is that it really had a lot of heart. How could it not with "dewy eyed" Pitt as a loving dad, just trying to raise his kids and forget his previous life as a "bad ass save the world kind of guy," but alas to save his family- or in story writing jargon- he is invested- he also has to save the rest of the world too! Apparently real motivation counts- Hollywood!

 

Amazingly, WORLD WAR Z was actually not as disturbing to me as some other recent offerings like..

my FAST AND FURIOUS review

 

Where I got sick to my stomach watching car after car being smashed on the interstate with no remorse for the people inside. Apparently callousness is part of being cool, these days.
In WORLD WAR Z, much is put towards the human condition. FAST AND FURIOUS was more like pantheistic gods battle against themselves with little regard for the underlings beneath them.
In WORLD WAR Z, there is actually realistic consequences to actions, Pitt declaring in such a crisis, "you don't move, you die." And many people, as in real life, chose poorly. Nicely,  there are many reactions, all of them human, to dealing with such a world wide pandemic, highlighted in the film.
Actually read once that there are zombie classes in college to study how a pandemic would take over the world.
Nicely as well, many realistic hurdles are thrown up making it difficult for Pitt to-  not save the world, that will come in the next offering of his now franchise, but to survive and keep his family safe, their time as the family of "essential personal" on a military ship not secured and dependent on Pitt's own survival- many hurtles like wounds not instantly healing and logistics getting in the way, keep the action at a high point.
Another thing that made WORLD WAR Z bearable to watch- where I was dreading whole movie of scenes like this...

 

was how it was filmed- the zombie hordes felt more like one  whole mass instead of singular zombies constantly startling you. Only a few zombies are signaled out and these have been people first and there is an emotional attachment. There is not a lot of gore, or blood, or disgusting body parts being hurdled in WORLD WAR Z, there is just a lot at stake and one can not help but imagine "what if I was there?"
Seeing WORLD WAR Z and FAST AND FURIOUS so close together, it made me realize how a movie can certainly be written towards either compassion or callousness no matter what it's story content. Never really thought about how a zombie movie could really show humanity under such a microscope, but why wouldn't it- because it is in times of crisis, we show our best humanity.

For another zombie movie that has some heart check out...

Great PBS series: Secrets of the Manor House

 

You might like PBS's new offering SECRETS OF THE MANOR HOUSE, which explores the titillating  histories of some of England's most grand houses, like Highclere Castle above,  while the cameras snoop through the great halls, opulent bedrooms and sitting rooms and checks out their downstairs realities, made so real in shows like...

DOWNTOWN ABBEY

 

 

Or THE TUDORS...

 

set around Henry the VIII castle - what saved half the Tudor style Hampton Court from being updated- lack of money, lucky us!

 

 

Care to guess what offering centers around SECRETS OF THE MANOR HOUSE's next featured family home?

 

Chatsworth

 

That's right, Pride and Prejudice...

 

 

Do you remember the checkerboard black and white tiled entry hall or the white sculpture gallery?

Well Chatsworth might have been Mr. Darby's ancestral home in one Keira Knightley film, but in real life it was the home of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire...

 

 

and there was no Mr. Darcy there, watch the dark truth about Devonshire's on SECRETS OF THE MANOR HOUSE, airing July 14th... 

Watch Secrets of Chatsworth - Preview on PBS. See more from PBS.

And watch other full episodes at pbs.org including Princess Diana's family home, Althrop- hosted by the Earl himself- who I think had some "final approval" of content, but still interesting.

Review: The Lone Ranger

"This movie is really funny!"
"Best we have seen in a long time!"
Was the consensus walking out of the theater. I know, very counter to all the reviews the film has been receiving.
Maybe it was because we watched THE LONE RANGER in Durango, Colorado, the epicenter of the location shoots for the film, a friend who worked at the Strator Hotel had tales of Johnny Depp being in character when he returned to the hotel in the evening, with or without the bird, I do not know.
Or, maybe the fact that a year ago I had been working at the Steaming Bean Coffee shop over there and watched with amusement "pretty people" get their bios in order before joining the lines up at the college for The Lone Ranger extra cast call for "plump" one legged prostitutes,  a few sets of midget twins and skinny old Indians.
Like everyone else, over the last couple of months, the Lone Ranger trailers have built my anticipation for the declared summer blockbuster...

But like other's in the Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona come together at right angles and one can step from state to state at the monument, it was awfully fun to spot all the scenery in our backyard  that Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films filmed. All, I might add- far, far from the state  the legend was suppose to be based in. But that's okay- up here we are use to making up for things Texas lacks, like surreal scenery...

I drive by these red rock formations near Shiprock, New Mexico out in the Navajo Reservation on my way down to Albuquerque, here in the snow...

or where the Lone Ranger wakes up to a vertigo inducing scenery...

its out at Dead Horse Point, near Moab, Utah and there is an observation deck looking down at the Colorado river, about here...

 

There are many trains in THE LONE RANGER...

 

Our two local trains-  the Durango & Silverton...

 

here after the annual "Polar Express" trip complete with Santa and singing chefs,

and the Cumbres & Toltec, which we happened to see on our way home from Taos this weekend, going over Cumbres Pass...

are all dressed up in 1800's style.

We even were here, not that long ago....

in Creede, Colorado, for a friend's wedding, and took a drive right past where they filmed next to the head waters of the Rio Grande River and stayed in the motel where the crew stayed while filming, the management saying everyone was real nice and respectful...

I know the movie has gotten a lot of criticism - that Depp's portrayal of Tonto was just Captain Jack Sparrow in face paint. Yes, on occasion there was flashbacks of "Pirates"- but it was still a fun ride.

Armie Hammer, most know as Prince Charming in MIRROR, MIRROR with Julia Roberts...

the perfect straight man for Depp's comedics...

 

And a rare treat was being in a theater with Natives from both Utes and Navajos in the audience, probably some related to or friends of the extras that portrayed the Comanches...

 

 

There was much laughter, applauding and whispering, when nearby locals were recognized, but the biggest cheer in the theater was the last scene, when Silver, the Lone Rancher's horse rear ups into the iconic pose....

 

Well in the long shot, you can see the Sleeping Ute Mountain in the distance, which I could see out my window, if not for the pinon trees and the haze from the wildfires we have right now in SW Colorado, here is view of the mountain range in the winter, that the legend says will one day wake up from his nap and stomp out all the Whites in the valley...

Review: Fast and Furious 6

"Nobody is that smart or that lucky"....

is what went through my head many a time while I watched the 6th offering for the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise, Van Diesel and Paul Walker...

 

trading gravity and physic defying stunts with the bad guys and Dewayne Johnson...

 

 

I mean "there is no way in earth that is even possible "stunts, while the mere mortals around them were getting smashed, crushed and blown up, a proverbial CLASH OF THE TITANS...

 

 which by the way this offerings bad guy, Luke Evans, actually was Apollo in, he must like playing "god" or god like characters...

 

This is a innate problems with "Franchises", when the audience is expecting  the "next one"  to be more exciting, more action and more "bad ass", what are studios suppose to do?

Well like with all "trends" there is a time when the "neck line" can't go any lower, the "hemline" can't go any higher and well, you  just got to "reset" and start over. Which seemed to be the case at all the awards shows this season, actress on the red carpets went for something new and refreshing, actually covering their bodies with fabric, may the Action Movies come to the same conclusions and "get real"!

Here are a few suggestions, to get them started...

 

1. Just have Dewayne Johnson miss and smash into a wall, please-  "Coyote style, chasing the Roadrunner"...

 

 

 

2. Never take you own bullet out of your buff bicep like it is a splinter, cause it isn't and I think since hitting you thumb with the speed of a hammer makes most men cry, a small piece of lead shot from a gun is well gonna hurt.....bleeding, bleeping hurt!
 

3.No matter how buff you are, save the "super hero" moves of hurtling people through the air one handed for the "real super heros", like we don't have enough of those movies sequels coming up this summer....

 

 

4. Give us a reason to pay a healthy sum to sit in the dark for two hours other then "those stunts were awesome!!, yes-enough for "some boys" I know, but something the stars, directors and studios have been forgetting lately- most obvious in the last Bond Franchise of SKYFALL....

 

 

What do they say in acting school- "What is your motivation?"

 

 5. Or frankly just have the crew run out of gas, that would be something new! ...