Dance on Camera...a film.

Gene Kelly in "Cover Girl" (1944)

Gene Kelly dancing in Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr.

Watch the phenomenal performance by Naomi Watts below.

"Betty's Audition scene."

More Jimmy Fallon Show clips!

Tim Curry Interview for Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

"Room to Breathe" - Mindfulness Documentary

An interesting concept that I'd love to see the results of...

Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave, speaks about feeling beautiful.

Here is a speech that hits home about the very real struggle of accepting ourselves.



Here is Alek Wek, whom she refers to in the speech:

"What Difference Does It Make" - A Film About Making Music

I'm looking forward to seeing this. Out 2/18/14, for free, digitally.

The Dish & The Spoon

The Dish & The Spoon is written by a woman...need I say more?

The characters are odd and unique. Their experiences are odd and unique. This movie is odd and unique. And this actor:

Watch it.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012, US)

In all honesty this film was just okay. What made The Perks of Being a Wallflower somewhat bearable was the attractive casting. Have a looksie yourself:

I thought maybe it was just me. That I have become too much an adult, grown too far away from what it is like to be young and full of life and hurt, to remember what it is like to be in high school.

But then I remembered the film Dazed and Confused, and the T.V. show Freaks and Geeks, and I realized no, it isn't me. I'm still connected to that. And how could I forget? Those years shaped and shifted me into the person I am today. My conclusion is that director Stephen Chbosky (and also author of the book) wasn't able to portray the feeling he maybe wanted to. If I read the book then I will know. Overall the film felt a bit contrived and the character development rushed. Maybe my expectations were too high. I mean, I once heard that Bob Dylan's son Jakob named his band The Wallflowers because of the book! But I just did a little research and the band formed in '89 while the book came out in '99. Either Jakob Dylan can peer into the future or what I heard is a myth. I vote for the latter.

But I did like the characters and most would be people I'd like to know in real life.

To being young!

Eat, Pray, Love, the book and the movie.

The first I ever heard of Eat, Pray, Love was when my friend called me up and said, "Hey, let's go see a movie." 

"Sure," I said. "Why not?"

He ended up taking me to see Eat, Pray, Love, and within the first 5 minutes I knew it was a book. How did I know? Because the story felt so rushed. And after watching the full 2 hours of the movie, I had the sense that everything that could possibly be squeezed into 2 hours, was.

I didn't like, either, that 5 minutes into the film, after portraying a woman living in a big house in New York, who was obviously making very decent money and appeared to have loving, caring friends, found the biggest challenge in her life to be wanting a divorce. She kneeled down on her bathroom floor in the middle of the night praying and crying, saying "I'm in big trouble." If needing a divorce is the biggest obstacle she's had, then I can hardly relate to that. Seemed like a very 1st world problem to me. Although being unhappy is a big dilemma, it's not the most horrific of suffering out there.

Then, at the end of the film, just after taking a year to get to know and build herself up, she meets a man. And at the end of the film, when she is unsure about entering into yet another relationship (she expressed earlier in the film how she's never taken a break from men since she was 15 years old), her companion tells her something along the lines of, "If you don't come into this relationship, you forfeit the opportunity to be happy." I laughed at this. Oh, I see. So she needs a man to be happy.

But who knows? Maybe she does.

Part 1: Eat, or Italy.

Part 2: Pray, or India.

Part 3: Love, or Bali.

After seeing the movie and being somewhat entertained as much as I was disappointed, I was, of course, interested in the book. Less than a year later, I borrowed a friend's copy and read it quickly. It was good, to say the least. There were still the 1st world problems, but the adventure and the writing made me forget about that in no time. Here is this woman, a writer, traveling, being independent. Sounds a lot like me (minus the money). I would recommend the book to anyone, period. Plus, I love me some memoirs.

So yesterday I saw the movie at the library and decided to give it another go. I have been ITCHING to travel. I mean ITCHING. It's an itch I haven't scratched. I've tried to put calamine lotion on it, but it does NOTHING to tame the intensity. So all that I can do it scratch it. Scratch it scratch it scratch it. And the time to scratch it is coming near, I feel it.

In the meantime I can read my Jack Kerouac novels and watch movies of other people traveling. And what I got out of Eat, Pray, Love this time was travel and adventure and just DOING IT. Just GO. Come one, GO.

I ignored the rest and drank up the scenery and feeling of what it would be like to be me experiencing all that.

Soon. It would be too soon.

Paul Rudd and Wanderlust, among others.

There is something about Paul Rudd that makes him so damn enjoyable to watch. Of course, he's easy on the eyes, but there's something else. Maybe an inherent goodness? Whatever it is, Rudd's good vibes leak out of every film I've seen him in. Wanderlust and Our Idiot Brother are stupid comedies that work, at least for me. Probably because they're wonderfully cast (Jennifer Anniston, Malin Akerman, and Lauren Ambrose (and more!) in Wanderlust and Zooey Deschannel, Elizabeth Banks, Rashida Jones and Emily Mortimer in Our Idiot Brother).

I am going to put Wanderlust in for a third go round. Wanna know why? Well, first, I'm sick and tired of heaviness. Life has so much heaviness already that it's nice to check in to some happy go-lucky floaty fun. Second, I really like making fun of the whole spiritual hippie scene. Why? Because I once lived in a commune and because I still live in the spiritual capital of the U.S. Well, at least of San Diego. I always say, yoga studios are to Encinitas what coffee shops are to Seattle.

So just relax, watch this movie, and have fun. Like I am. For the third time.

Film Review: The Painted Veil (2006, USA)

I love art. Well, not all art. Moving picture is moving art, and I at least like moving art. But not all moving picture should be considered moving art, and not all moving picture is even worth watching (quite the mouthful, right?). Therefore, it is such an honor (and relief) to watch a film that understands how intertwining breathtaking cinematography and set design with talented actors and a strong story line makes good art. Good moving art. And what movie is that, exactly? The Painted Veil, starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts.

 
 

 

Yay film! Or should I say, "Yay moving picture art film!"?

Film Review: Black Swan (2010, USA)

The first time I watched Black Swan, which was about a year ago, I was left unmoved and dissatisfied. But over the course of a year, I've had time to reflect on what it is I witnessed on the screen. And then a few days ago I noticed it was on my mind. So I took the liberty of watching it again. And what happened, you ask? Well...I absolutely LOVED it.

I suppose it's safe to say that it took me one year to process the depth of this film. In my eyes, that means it's one hell of a moving art. When something sneaks up on me, or upsets me, or makes me think, even if I don't like it or initially like it, I feel it's done its job as a good film.

Not only do we have an amazing cast: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, and Winona Ryder (and more!), we also have the wonderful director Darren Aronofsky, who is responsible for those strangely dark and beautiful films Pi (1998) and Requeim for a Dream (2000) (which, if you haven't seen, are definitely worth your time).



So yes, Black Swan is about ballet, and yes, Black Swan shows a lot of Portman perfecting the art of it. But what I failed to see the first time around is that it's more than Portman's character struggling with her newfound role as lead dancer. It's more than the beauty of the art of ballet. It's deeper than that, and real, too, as so many of Aronofsky's films are. Black Swan digs deep, revealing our own personal struggle of allowing both the dark and light, the yin and yang, the good and bad of ourselves to be there, to unite. It's about our own internal struggles and the tendency to regulate our lives and experiences with unnecessary control...how it's often harder to just let go.

All of this in a movie about a revamped ballet. It's worth it to watch, even if it takes you a year to get.

A Devendra Banhart Documentary: The Eternal Children

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5:


Part 6:

Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme

Film #3: High Art (1998, US)

I have been watching a lot of gay and lesbian movies, but that's what happens when I start clicking on suggested titles in Netflix's instant queue. Whether the reason is the excuse I just gave or a blossoming subconscious desire to be with the same sex, it doesn't change the fact that I can't stop thinking about High Art (also directed by a woman!).

I've had it in my queue for a while now, but every time I glanced its way the cover made me think of Gina Gershon in Bound. I was hesititant to watch it, not because I think Bound is a bad movie, but because I didn't care to see another version of the same thing, which happens so often in the US of A.



When I finally sat down to watch it, I was surprised to find Ally Sheedy in it, although it's fairly obvious now looking at the cover.



Not only do we get an amazing Ally Sheedy (who was so very amazing in this) playing Lucy Berliner, the talented photographer of the film who is addicted to heroin and is...that's right, you guessed it...a lesbian, but we also get the always-captivating Patricia Clarkson who plays Greta, Lucy's lesbian lover. Radha Mitchell, who I had never seen until this film, plays Syd, who, upon entering Lucy's world, is forever changed. From the acting to the lighting to the script and the cinematography, this film is a solid piece of art.

Said by Syd right before making love to Lucy, "This is really intense." I had to agree. Intense in its honesty. Intense in its allure. Intense in its simplicity. And although it's been a few weeks since I saw this, I'm still mesmerized by the quality of the film, the essence of the story, and the feelings I got from the breathtaking visual aesthetics.

Film #2: Plan B (2009, Argentina)

I used to think homosexuality was gross. To narrow it down to specifics, I used to think man-on-man sex was repulsive, unnatural, and ugly. But that's because my introduction to gay sex was from a complimentary DVD that came with my roommate's online order of "personal" supplies. With a bag of popcorn, she and I watched as two muscular men slammed each other in the assholes until a pool of blood formed on the ground. I'm so not kidding here.

Luckily, ten years later with many gay friends and experiences myself, I realize I had only witnessed a low-grade, bad acted porno, and that it was not like all man-on-man sexual encounters to be classless and dirty.

Point? If you ever want to feel what it's like to go through the confusion of falling for the same sex when you didn't intend to, Plan B might be worth a view. This movie made me feel awkward with the characters, as well as made me laugh out loud on a few occasions. Even more so, I found that being a witness to two young, Spanish-speaking men, who danced around the prospect of being intimate with one another, was a mild turn-on. It even had me questioning my outdated beliefs of who I can and cannot love, which to me, is a good thing.

Film #1: Fish Tank (2009, UK)

About a year ago I started to take notice of a very interesting correlation: every movie that I really liked was directed by a woman. Fish Tank, directed by Andrea Arnold, is one of them.

After browsing Netflix as I so often do, I was intrigued more by the movie's cover than I was the title, but nevertheless the short synopsis seemed interesting and I added it to my instant queue. Last night I finally clicked on play and came to enjoy all two hours of it. That's right, two hours.



I've never been one for foreign films, but that's changing fast. Filmed in London, England, Fish Tank is unforgiving in its realism. I suppose this could be why:

"Mainly it's just real life around me that inspires me. I see someone on the bus, and I want to write about them." -Arnold

The acting is stellar, not only from first-timer to the big screen Katie Jarvis, but from the entire supporting cast as well. Jarvis plays Mia, a troubled 15 year-old with a lovable face and vulgar mouth. I still can't put my finger on what it was about her, but I was compelled to follow her every move.

Maybe it's because Arnold found the same captivating quality in her as she witnessed real-life Jarvis arguing with her boyfriend at a train station in London. Maybe it's because Arnold, pertaining to her aforementioned quote, was inspiried by Jarvis for the script. Whatever it is, it works.

Fish Tank is dark and realistic but never melodramatic or far-reaching. I was empathetic toward Mia, who a lot of the time faced the results of unfortunate circumstance. Many people will be able to relate to this film, as it's not only realistic, but also real life for those who have grown up in a broken home, in an unhealthy family environment, and have had to learn about life on their own. This film received 16 award wins and 22 nominations, and now I know why...it's 120 minutes that I don't regret giving up.