American Beauty

Based on conversations at work, I added American Beauty to my NetFlix DVD queue. I'd watched it when it came out in theaters back in the day. I loved the darkness about it but I wanted to see what my thoughts would be today. I remember reading a small paragraph announcing a new HBO show Six Feet Under which it first came out. I was intrigued by the description, but when I saw Alan Ball's name attached, it was a done deal.

I got tired of the use of red roses and I'm guessing that is part of the point. Something that's so beautiful can be ugly when it's over done or just too beautiful. Maybe that's part of the message; finding beauty where it's not obvious is much more real and lasting.

There has been a lot written about this movie. I find that fascinating when a film lives on while being dissected by the masses who are so clever at such things. Here's a link to a blog posting that focuses on the theory that in reality there wasn't just a lot of red, but there was a lot of red, white, and blue throughout the movie.

There are some opinions I don't agree with. I don't agree that Carolyn was materialistic. Wanting to live in a nice neighborhood, have lovely furniture, and wanting to succeed are not necessarily bad traits to have. Lester was just way too self-centered. I think Buddy broke off the affair because he was embarrassed that the cuckhold hubby was working at a burger joint. "If I work out, a sixteen year old girl will want me." Uh…..yeah…

I have to admit, though, if I'd met someone like Ricky when I was Jane's age, I would have just flipped!   He was mysterious, artistic, and he didn't worship someone Angela. HHm….that's another point I've just realized: things that seem beautiful maybe aren't so much in another light.

I've worked places where there was some hot chick (listen to me bashing beauty - seriously I would like to be beautiful for just 1 week and try it out) who  guys would just go ape over. They usually had the personalities of plastic bags (well, not really, I'm just having a mean streak today). I remember one chick who had really long straight blonde hair the guys were gaga over. There was a married guy in another department who made no bones about how hot he thought she was. One day, someone let out loudest scream that everyone in the tiny building heard. It turns out the guy who was flipping over her got brave and decided to touch her hair. Turns out she had a thing about having her hair touched. Somebody got in trouble.

I worked with another guy who talked about how he met his hot wife at a dirt bike race and got her to leave with him. We all told him to bring her in, we'll be the judge of how hot she is. Dennis was a nice enough guy, but he was no GQ model. His wife was a knock out! She was easily a foot taller than him. Her legs were longer than I am tall. She had what I would describe as mermaid hair.  After she left I had to tell him how frackin' smokin' she was. I will never forgot that he turned to me and said, "Two words; high maintenance."

Love Hurts, Actually / The Monkey Poet

I caught a performance of Matt Panesh, aka Monkey Poet's Love Hurts, Actually @ Indy Fringe last night! Matt is one ball of absolute creative energy. If you get a chance see this guy - GO!  Matt does a sort of shrink to the tiniest bits then blow up large version of the movie "Love Actually". His Alan Rickman is just sublime. He finishes up his performance with his own stand up poetry show. Clever lad, that.

The evening performance opened up with two local slam poetesses - Januarie York and Gabrielle Patterson. The ladies rock it. I had seen Gabrielle perform before and was just blown away. I'd always wanted to see Januarie; now I know why.



This is not your mother's moon in june kind of poetry. This stuff is raw, emotional, and in your face.

Alibi

I watched Alibi last night via a library DVD. I just love this stuff! Chick Williams gets out of the big house, hooks up with a dame, and hooks up with a gang. Joan's (the dame) father (a copper) tries to frame Chick for a recent fur heist/murder. Her father has help from a fellow copper who had/has a soft spot for Joan.

The speakeasy scenes had art deco a-go-go walls and doors. The speakeasy dancers and singers are a hoot! There is one number where the girls all have a hand mirror.

The under cover cop had a death scene that went on so long I thought it was going to be finished on an additional DVD. 

I highly recommend watching these classic films; they stand the test of time and you can clearly see that practically every film noir to follow has a bit of DNA in it from these predecessors. 

True Romance

I saw this movie when I it came out in 1993 and loved it. Quentin Tarantino script directed by Tony Scott. True Romance stars just about everybody - Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Brad Pitt, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, Dennis Hopper, Chris Penn, Samuel L Jackson, James Gandolfini. I love the premise; A novice (4th date in 3 days) call girl is hired by a comic books store worker's boss to give him a good time on this birthday. They hook at a Sonny Chiba film fest and things are not quite the same after that. 

Very eclectic characters and great acting, but something just doesn't quite click this time around. I really didn't like the movie as much I thought I did at one point. Maybe it's seeing so many films directed by Tarantino and realizing Tony Scott just does not quite hit the mark. It almost seems to be made by a Tarantino wanna be. Tony Scott has directed some amazing films; he gets close here, but manages to miss the mark. 

Clifford Worley, played by Hopper, was a weak character up to the point where he stands up to Coccotti. Maybe that's how were supposed to see him; he seems completely worthless, but will not snitch on Clarence. Some other characters just didn't seem to quite it the mark; close but no cigar. No, I am not a movie director. I think that maybe I've been ruined by watching so many Tarantino movies that I expect his directorial handling of his scripts. 

The Parting Glass

Not sure what clicks led me to this video for Tullamore Dew Whiskey, but what a lovely find. It has so many things that appeal to me; rain, moss, thin guys in hats, and a very beautiful tune. I want to buy a bottle whiskey and watch moss grow in a church cemetery.



I get cold chills watching this performance.



Yet another great whisky advert video featuring Robert Carlyle of "Trainspotting" and "The Full Monty" fame.

Mungo Jerry - In the Summertime

Ok, so technically it's not "the summertime", but…man, we could do with some outdoor green-ness!

Any time I hear this song, I just smile and think about green grass, a summer sun just a blazin', windows down….cruising. I had no idea it was a British band; thank you internets.

The band seems to be having such a good time. I must admit it's a pretty nice video considering it was shot in 1970. It captures the moment perfectly.  I dig the clothing - the banjo player has on a killer pair of boots.

The Crash Reel

I've been stoked to watch The Crash Reel since I read about it in Outdoor magazine last year which had a great article about how common TBIs are and how these athletes aren't covered by insurance. Some folks move in with their families for recovery and some folks never leave. Everyone should see this documentary.

While preparing for the 2010 Olympics and poised to beat rival Shaun White, Kevin Pearce suffers a massive head injury. With the help of his fantastic family, Kevin attempts to retrain his fragile brain and   rebuild his dramatically altered post-TBI life. His family is just amazing. The movie isn't just about Kevin. One of the highlights of the film is when his brother David shares his frustration of having to live with Down syndrome. David is very frank with Kevin at the family meeting concerning Kevin returning to snowboarding. 

One of the most disturbing scenes to watch is when Kevin and his mom visit Trevor Rhoda, who is currently into TBI #2. I did a little surfing to find out his history. It turns out some of his relatives clearly had no clue how fragile the TBI brain becomes. It's mind blowing. He was literally back out doing what he did pre-TBI in less than a year post-TBI. His initial recovery was so quick, his family/friends must've thought it was green light for all actively. We learn with Kevin that the post-TBI brain cannot sustain any sort of jarring let alone another injury. The doctor also shows Kevin the scars in his brain tissue.

It is heart wrenching watching Rory Bushfield talk about Sarah Burke. Sarah died in January, 2012 due to an accident in the same half pipe in Park City. I've looked at a few videos of the two of them together in interviews; they are so happy and clearly they are the each other's soul mate. 

This is the best film - not just best documentary - I've seen since Medora. Warning: You won't care much for Shaun White after watching this. His exclusive for-me-only Red Bull half-pipe was always a problem for me, but when you see what he does when Kevin starts winning competitions, it will really turn you off of the Flying Tomato.

Addendum: I could not get this film out of my head, so I watched it again. Honestly, I could pop it again and watch it a third time; it's that good. Something else that's been bugging me - Shaun White's performance in the Sochi Olympics. You know he must've planned on pulling out some kick ass tricks. I would like to think that the popularity and reality of this film is gnawing at him. He admits to about 9 concussions in the film. I think he's attached himself to "what if" and can't shake it off.