'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' ***stars

'salmon fishing in the yemen' opened earlier this year without much fanfare. it's a shame. despite having one of the worst titles of the year it's a good film. it's a nice accessible film with wonderful performances by emily blunt and ewan mcgregor and a rare comedic turn from the great kristen scott thomas. so don't let the title fool you. sure there is salmon fishing but that's only the starting point for this heartwarming film and romance. rent this charmer, sit back and enjoy a film aimed at grownup audiences.

available at amazon. see sidebar.

Josh's Jukebox: Aiden James Covers "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"

i just heard this and thought it more than worth sharing. and the legs on the cover ain't bad either!

the soundtrack of my life

'i wanna dance with somebody'

'Last Night': A Lost Gem From 2011 ***stars

 'last night' is a universal slice of life story. i can only imagine we have all had a 'last night'. i certainly have. a couple is separated for 24 hours, in this case because of a business trip, and events just unfold. the events being people. one a business associate: the other a former lover. temptation and old feelings surface. different decisions are made. the overriding consequences not immediately known. 

keira knightley shines. sam worthington and guillaume canet are more than effective in their respective roles. the only weak link is eva mendes. really, would anyone cheat on keira with eva? it's like beauty vs a second hand rose. a better looking actress, or at the very least a better actress, would have made a temptation more plausible. but as we all know most men do not think with their heads but rather think from below our waists. that's a fact! 

this one bit of miscasting does not diminish the whole however. this is definitely worth a viewing or two. you may relate. i sure did.

'The Bourne Legacy' Opens Wide Today

Josh's Juke Box: 'White Rabbit'

Beauty and the Beast

First Look at Daniel Day Lewis as 'Lincoln'

coming this winter from steven spielberg

A Look Back At: 'Shame' ***stars

 so i just wrote about what seemed to be michael fassbender's valium induced role in 'a dangerous method'. but i want to give him his due and kudos for his amazing performance in 2011's psycho sexual drama 'shame'. he gives a truly daring performance in a daring film. mr fassbender plays brandon a successful new yorker in a moving intense film. he could be any new yorker you pass on the street. see on the subway. work with. you just don't know the secrets they have. the lonliness they live in. the sexual drama they deal with alone or with others. i saw a lot of myself in the character of brandon. he played me and all the other brandon's well. he gives a grand performance in a tricky art house film. he plays it unashamedly. i believed him. it's not for everyone but i can't rave enough about the film or michael's performance. and he does not mind being totally, yes totally, nude on screen which is just fine by me!

R.I.P.: Marvin Hamlish

from his musical ' a chorus line'

  

his probably best known work 'the way we were'

Good vs Evil

'Sebastiane' Gets BluRay Release Today

'sebastiane' is the homo erotic tale of the catholic saint sebastaine. as a prisoner of the roman guard his death by arrows is documented well. the depiction in this film is slightly less than here say. but what the hell the vatican hates it so i recommend it haha. but really it is a genre film worthy of a look at. i recommend it for the audience it was aimed at...gay men. also to cinephiles of any persuasion.

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A Dangerous Method' **1/2stars

 'a dangerous method' was a dangerous choice for the talented keira knightley'. she is forced to give us in closeups some of the most bizarre facial expressions i have ever seen on screen in her role as a psychiatric patient in this also bizarre film. but alas ms knightley rises to the occasion. she is quite brilliant actually. courageous too. i wish i could say the same for the film itself. it's a tough watch to say the least. i can only recommend it to fans of ms. knightley. and i must add i do not get michael fassbender in his role. he walks though this role as though he overdosed on valium. so the **1/2 stars i give it are for keira and her performance only. she deserved a better script.

it is now available on dvd and bluray

50 Tears Ago Today

marilyn monroe passed at the age of 36 fifty years ago today. she certainly defines 'legend'.

'Carnage' *1/2stars

it has never taken me this long to see a kate winslet film. it was just the matter of lousy distribution last fall. i now understand why this limited release never quite expanded. it is awful. kate and one of my favorite directors, roman polanski, promised something great. well they did not deliver. this is a boring mess. and did i really need to see kate puke into a vase of tulips? no i did not and neither do you. but i can take heart as ms winslet did not give the worst performance in the film. that dishonor is taken by jodie foster. she is just dreadful. what the hell happened to her talent? christoph waltz is mostly awful. the only 'good' performance is given by john c. reilly who has the thankless job of being married to foster's character. he deserves a quickie divorce. although i admire his performance it can't redeem this piece of garbage. nothing can. mr polanski what the frack were you thinking? but more to the point what the hell were you thinking kate? you always made often great, generally good and somewhat daring choices. but since your oscar win you are going the way of many best actress winners. to performance hell in a hand basket. first you choose the embalmed 'mildred pierce'. now this. you get a brief stay of execution with 'contagion' sandwiched between these two disasters. anyone who reads my blog knows i've championed you for years. they also know i think you are a brilliant talent. i beg of you to get back to the kate of 'the reader', 'little children', 'eternal sunshine of the spotless mind', 'finding neverland', 'hideous kinky' and so many more.  this film is like the carnage of your excellent career. enough already. i forgave you for 'all the king's men'. i can't stand watching you flush a brilliant career with dreck like this.

and mr polanski have you lost your mind?

Just Because I Want To...

i've bored myself with this 'chick-fil-a' controversey although i think it is important as a gay man to boycott them and urge you to do so also. 

but i need a respite from it and decided marion cotillard fulfills that need. i really believe she is the most beautiful of present day actresses and her talent is nothing to sneeze at either.

i remember when kate winslet fulfilled that need. but since 'carnage' and 'mildred pierce' she has knocked herself down a peg or two. but more on that tomorrow.

KISS-FIL-A

Josh's Jukebox: 'Where You Go'

from the soundtrack of my life

the young romans

Kiss In Today at Chick-Fil-A

Josh's Juke Box: 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'

the soundtrack of my life

josh groban and brian mcknight

aretha franklin

art garfunkel

A Message to Republicans

Feeding the Fatted Calves: Main Ingredient Bigotry

so all the bigots went to eat 'chick-fil-a' yesterday including mama bigot herself.

boycott this anti gay food chain...unless of course you are a bigot.
judge yourself!

Blake Lively Signs As Face of Gucci Premiere

' The Dark Knight Rises' ***stars

'the dark night rises' is a good film. it's a fitting finale to this particular series. it satisfies in it's finale.  it is not a great film however as the first in this particular series was. the original 'batman begins' was a triumph. this is a good action film. it's villian bane is no match for heath ledger's the joker in installment two. and somehow christian bale as batman himself is surprisingly a supporting player. the best moments come from the surprises in the characters played by joseph gordon-levitt and marion cotillard. 

if you think i am going to bash anne hathaway you're are only partially correct. ms hathaway plays the catwoman well. catwoman is cold and calculating which pretty much describes the acting technique of ms hathaway. both catwoman and her portrayer have all the charm of a meat clever. therefore, ms hathaway did a fairly good job. this is the most complimentary i can be re her career so far.

if you have seen the first two episodes of this trilogy you owe it to yourself to see this third installment. it's good but a bit too long. it's just not great damnit.

marion lights up most any film she appears in. this is no exception.

Well Said

Dear MittWitt

you can go to israel and pander pander to the jews there. and oh yes you can knock the palestinians all you want. but it isn't working for this south floridian jew. and remember nittwittmitt i am in this highly all important swing state. you are not getting this jew's vote. i ask you ''do you think i'd have voted for adolph in the 30's''? i think even you know the answer to that. oh yeah mittwitt i'm also gay. duh! not you kinda guy i think. it's fair though because you are not my kind of guy. i don't know a jew voting for you except that anti jew jew eric cantor. he's merely an embarrassment to all jews. oh yeah and that adelstein guy. oy. but i digress. pander pander pander. that's all you do. do you have a thought in your head that is yours and not that of the conservative right and the neo-cons? nah you don't. admit it. c'mon you know it's true. try as hard as you might but this jew remains with barack. 

Josh's Juke Box: 'Morning Has Broken'

the soundtrack of my life

cat stevens