Friday, August 10, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
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!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
R.I.P.: Marvin Hamlish
from his musical ' a chorus line'
his probably best known work 'the way we were'
'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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Monday, August 6, 2012
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
Sunday, August 5, 2012
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?
Saturday, August 4, 2012
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.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Josh's Juke Box: 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'
the soundtrack of my life
josh groban and brian mcknight
aretha franklin
art garfunkel
Thursday, August 2, 2012
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!
judge yourself!
' 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.
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