I Cant Believe I Forgot To Write About It!!!

One of my favorite films of the year! I went into "A Single Man" not knowing a single thing about it. Other than the actors and director. It is shot unlike most films you will ever see... and its story was so different... and thought provoking...

If I was to use a word to describle the movie... it would be 'sensual'. (Not sexual mind you) because I almost felt I was feeling the same things the character was. It was so wonderful, and on top of everything... was Tom Fords first film!

Go see it.

J.D Salinger 1919-2010

We all read 'The Catcher in the Rye' in school. If you didnt, pick it up. Its a great novel.

Now I write about Salinger for a few reasons. Even as writing the story below about 'This is It' and questioning whether it was only popular because of MJ's death... I look to my right and see that I pulled two books from my book case and set them on my desk to read... only when the news broke about the death of the author of those two books. They are "Catcher in the Rye' and ' Nine Stories'. So, its true... the death of a talent we have not paid much interest in recently will redirect our attention to them. So... if you read this story and the one below... I am a hypocrite. ;)

Anyways, Salinger has very little to do with film. But in a way he does. For years, Hollywood has been after the rights to "Catcher' and no one, not Billy Wilder, Harvey Weinstein, or Stephen Spielberg could convince the reclusive author to sign those rights over. How amazing is that?!

But who out there wants to bet that with the passing of Salinger, we will hear of this movie being made within the next few years? Or that all of his unpublished manuscripts will quickly find their way to bookshelves around the world?

Cheers Mr. Salinger! We all stopped to reflect on one of the greatest novels of all time.

Was that it?

Michael Jackson had a hard life. There is no question there. There were questions raised about him every time he was in the media. Every single time. But one thing never challenged in regards to Michael Jackson over the years, was that he was and unrivaled talent.

Often when I write, I find myself ripping on some movie or what not. But in the long run, its ok to be picky I guess.

That said, I didnt LOVE the wildly popular 'This Is It'. I just didnt. Everyone else went crazy for it, and my thoughts are that it was so because of the media and merchandise tornados set loose because of MJ's sudden death. What I was looking forward to seeing was a more in depth, documentary style story telling about the 'King of Pop'.

What I got, were concert rehearsals. Was it interesting? Yes, very much so. But was it deserving of employees at blockbuster, two months ago, walking up to everyone in the store asking if they would like to pre-order the movie? Or the building sized promotion lacing major cities? The phenomenal amount of tee shirts and sequined gloves set loose into crap stores like Hot Topic with 'This Is It' written across the fronts? NO!

I cant believe what a godly power the media has over the people! Long story short, it was a nice movie that showed Michael Jackson pulling out all the stops to make his grand return (and the concert looked as though it would have been unbelievably grand to see). It showed what a talent he possessed, his love for his songs, and his love of those who loved both him and his music.

But it all boils down now to one question (whether a simple or complex question, i'll leave that up to you). Would this movie have been so triumphant if Michael Jackson had not died?

My thoughts are no. We were swept up by the idea that these were some of the last moments of his life and that his return to fame only came after his untimely death. But this movie certainly shows a touching side to the star and displays every song we have loved over the years. I just wanted more than a concert I guess. Everyone who I trust as movie reviewers seemed to think different than me. High Def Digest gave it 4/5 stars Me, however would rate it at a 3-3.5 stars/5. A very average (maybe slightly higher than average) film. Rope of Silicon, a site a dont tend to agree with quite as often but appreciate their reviews, gave it an A-. Really? An A-?! We arnt talking about 'Shawshank Redemption' here! Anyways, anyone reading this who has seen 'This is It', let me know what you thought of the film and why you agree or disagree.

But one side note, I rented it on blu ray, and I would recommend it. Not all films need to be watched in high def, but I recommend this mainly for the high def audio.

Malificent. The backstory?

Tim Burton. He is a revolutionist, deep and thought provoking, with an unmistakably spellbinding image formula. But there in lies the problem. He, in one film lover's opinion, has become exactly that... a formula. While I dont dislike a single Burton film I can think of, and considering he holds two places in my top favorites ('Batman' & 'Big Fish') he is not one I look forward to seeing the films of any longer. Its not that I dont enjoy them, its that they all feel the same... to a certain degree. You cannot look past the overuse (regardless of how much you may like them) of Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter (who is ironically one of my favorite actresses), Chris Lee, and of course, brilliant composer Danny Elfman.
But every film he does has a similar look/sound and cast/crew... and it's run its course for me. This, is why I am skeptical about his talks of his back story to one of the greatest villains (and most certainly best Disney villain) of all time.

According to 'Aint it cool news', Burton is going to create a "her side of the story" for 'Sleeping Beauty's' Malificent. It isnt that im worried about Burton giving the fairy turned evil enough credit... but Im just concerned that his wife will be donning the green skin and black horns, that Elfman will be playing tunes similar to each he has done for Burton before, that Depp will portray some character - probably a love interest that will add to the fairies scorn, and that... there will be no action to speak of (I loved the build of the climax for the film)


Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney film. Not because of the story... but because of how wonderfully the villian is portrayed and how stunning the art is. (Check it out on Blu Ray... ridiculous) I just hope that he doesnt go along with this formula, that he nabs a great actress (nothing against his wife... but i would love to see someone else - Tilda Swenson perhaps... even though she already did the witch from Narnia... but you get the idea). And I would love to see him do a live action movie with scenery that is an homage to the animated movie.

Long story short... I want to see a great film about such a loved character. Not a cookie cutter Tim Burton film.

Bond 3

Of course... its not Bond 3... Its more like Bond 53! (23 actually)
Anyways, to my great happiness, the 3rd bond movie (since revamping the series) will be directed by Sam Mendes! How could that not excite someone??? Anyways... Mendes has directed plenty of thought provoking films (American Beauty, The Reader, Ect.) and has no problem with the complex characters... So I cant wait.

Spiderman 4 - no more?

So, heres some concerning news...
Sam Raimi, director know for his scary movies and, perhaps most notably, Spiderman franchise, has decided to not return for the 4th. He felt that his schedule didnt allow him enough time to grant the creatitivy Spidey deserved. (dont know what his excuse was for the 3rd one...I mean... did he come onto the project the day before shooting?) Anyways, that means that he (and the cast) are out. Done. Bye Toby.

What does this mean for the superhero? A reboot of the franchise of course! Yuck... I mean.. it was not that long ago the first movie came out... we need a reboot already? I can do without personally...