sheet music star ornament stock photoHAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope we all have a great and wonderful New Year!
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy 2011
sheet music star ornament stock photoHAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope we all have a great and wonderful New Year!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Turkey Pad
The holidays will be upon us before we know it; Get Ready for the Holidays: check out my turkey mousepad at my Zazzle store:
Monday, July 5, 2010
Happy Independence Day!
Fireworks and more fireworks! Taken with my older Canon digital camera and Sigma lensphotos ©M.A.Wolfson
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Weldon Lee Wildlife Photography and Workshops
Weldon Lee is an amazing wildlife photographer and has many amazing images and upcoming workshops. Many of his images appear in national and worldwide magazines such as: Mature Outlook, National Wildlife, Backpacker, National Parks Magazine, Bird Watcher’s Digest, Outdoor Photographer, Petersen’s Photographic, and Nature Photographer.
This is a link to his website:
www.weldonlee.com
Weldon Lee's Rocky Mountain Photo Adventures, his workshops all over the world and the US:
www.rockymountainphotoadventures.com
workshop and event information:
Weldon Lee Workshops
Weldon Lee is also on Facebook, and has a Facebook fan page called Weldon Lee Wildlife Photography. Please check it out!
This is a link to his website:
www.weldonlee.com
Weldon Lee's Rocky Mountain Photo Adventures, his workshops all over the world and the US:
www.rockymountainphotoadventures.com
workshop and event information:
Weldon Lee Workshops
Weldon Lee is also on Facebook, and has a Facebook fan page called Weldon Lee Wildlife Photography. Please check it out!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
VIDEO FOOTAGE OF ICELAND VOLCANO
thusund — March 30, 2010
The eruptionVideo taken by:
Björgvin S. Stefánsson.03.30.2010.
His channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/user/thusund
The eruptionVideo taken by:
Björgvin S. Stefánsson.03.30.2010.
His channel is:
http://www.youtube.com/user/thusund
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Video Made of Filming Song during Crazy Heart
What an ingenious view! You actually see Collin Ferrill and Jeff Bridges singing and the camera men shooting them singing here!
Through the Looking Glass: Just released March 2010: Crazy Heart
This was a moving portrayal of an aging, fifty-seven year old fading country singer, Otis Blake, stage name Bad Blake, who never quite made the big time, that was an alcoholic. He played bowling alleys, and dives, some pubs. He was a talented song writer, but not recognized for quite some time. Skillfully played by Jeff Bridges, you felt sorry for this character as he wallowed through his country music sets, with three quarters of a voice and operating at half mode. Maggie Glynnenhall beautifully portrayed the much younger journalist reporter, Jean Craddock, that was interviewing him at the beginning of the story, that had a four year old son. She was reluctant to involve herself with him, as she already recognized his drinking problem, but went ahead anyway. Collin Ferrill played the country star, Tommy, that actually is a friend of Bad Blake's.
Bad Blake wants to avoid Tommy but runs across him anyway, as he opens for Tommy's act. Bad Blake also refuses to give Maggie Glynnenhall's character his real name throughout most of the movie, as he wants to remain anonymous, yet reaching out for more in his loneliness. Bad Blake also has not seen his own son since he was four years old, and attempts to call his grown 28 year old son while passing through Santa Fe. This movie had some very good character development, and even though it was not action packed, it kept you riveted to the screen. Jeff Bridges actually sings a couple of songs, as well as Collin Ferrill, and they both do a good job; Collin has a brighter voice, and Jeff Bridges has a husky, smokey voice that lends itself well to one of the slow songs towards the end of the movie. I would rate this movie at a B plus or A minus.
Bad Blake wants to avoid Tommy but runs across him anyway, as he opens for Tommy's act. Bad Blake also refuses to give Maggie Glynnenhall's character his real name throughout most of the movie, as he wants to remain anonymous, yet reaching out for more in his loneliness. Bad Blake also has not seen his own son since he was four years old, and attempts to call his grown 28 year old son while passing through Santa Fe. This movie had some very good character development, and even though it was not action packed, it kept you riveted to the screen. Jeff Bridges actually sings a couple of songs, as well as Collin Ferrill, and they both do a good job; Collin has a brighter voice, and Jeff Bridges has a husky, smokey voice that lends itself well to one of the slow songs towards the end of the movie. I would rate this movie at a B plus or A minus.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Through the Looking Glass: Just released March 2010: My Review of Alice in Wonderland
Ok. Another review. Alice in Wonderland is based upon the classic novel by Lewis Carroll. The first Alice in Wonderland movie was made in 1951. Alice in Wonderland (animated) was also made in 1999.
This new 2010 Alice in Wonderland is also shown in 3D as well as 2D. I only saw the 2D version. In the story, Alice, an innocent 20 or something year old is set up at her engagement party for a proposal by her current beau, who she is not enamored with, but is an arranged match by her family. She escapes, running, into a wildly orchestrated dream as she falls deep into a rabbit whole into an entirely new dimension and world governed by the Red Queen and her guard. Alice drinks a potion and lo and behold she becomes smaller; another potion or morsel of cake makes her larger. The story is replete with various creatures, such as the disappearing Cheshire cat, the caterpillar smoking a Hookah, the fumbling rabbit, the corpulent twins, Twiddledee and Twiddledum, the tiny mouse, and the Mad Hatter. Also, the White Queen is the Red Queen's sister, but does not have the power over the kingdom at the time. Alice runs through mazes, gets larger and smaller, and goes through a dreamlike sequence with fantasy characters and animals who actually can speak the English language.
Johnny Depp plays the Mad Hatter, and Helena Bonham Carter is the Red Queen. Helena Bonham Carter was excellent, and even though she was in costume and her head was rendered digitally to an enormous size for the rest of her body, she was convincing as someone that was comfortable with that physical property. She carried the movie. Johnny Depp, although I really love some of his movies, including Edward Scissorhands, and of course the famous or infamous adorable and despicable at the same time pirate, Jack Sparrow, from Pirates of the Carribean series of movies, he didn't seem quite convincing here as a MAD hatter, more as a SANE hatter. As if his Mad Hatter antics were really a guise for a street smart, sharp and uncanny weaver of hats and intrigue, just tricking us into thinking he is mad. He just seems to fall a little short in this movie, and doesn't fully blossom in his role. There just seems to be something held back.
Ann Hathaway always looks magnificent in her movies and reminds me of Barbara Feldman from Get Smart. (Ann Hathaway plays Agent 99 in the recent version of Get Smart, and has many similar qualities to Barbara Feldman, including her sweetness and charming way of speaking). She also is very engaging and charming in the Princess Diaries, and plays someone who blossoms in The Devil Wears Prada. In this movie, Ann Hathaway plays the beautiful White Queen and sister of the Red Queen, who is loved rather than feared as her sister is. She looks like the Ice Queen from the recent movie, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, with a frosty dress and cold, white wig and makeup. However, her charm falls short in this movie and gets buried under a pile of ice and snow. She comes off as being cold, even though she is supposed to be loved and adored. I think this is more the fault of the writers than of her performance. I just don't think she had much to go on.
Mia Wasikowska as playing the leading role of Alice, I think, literally fell short. I actually perceived the Red Queen as being much more spunky and lively, even though the Red Queen was supposed to be horrid and cruel beyond measure. I was never sure where Alice was coming from, and she continually spoke in a muted, ingenue voice, and was completely unconvincing at the point in the movie where she becomes a warrior girl that was supposed to combat the Jabberwocky. She seemed to be lost in the maze and in the hole she fell into at the beginning of the movie.
In fact, the entire movie is a maze of ups and downs, inconsistencies, and whether large or small, it just fell short. However, the special effects were magnificent and I loved the Cheshire cat and its continual disappearing act.
This new 2010 Alice in Wonderland is also shown in 3D as well as 2D. I only saw the 2D version. In the story, Alice, an innocent 20 or something year old is set up at her engagement party for a proposal by her current beau, who she is not enamored with, but is an arranged match by her family. She escapes, running, into a wildly orchestrated dream as she falls deep into a rabbit whole into an entirely new dimension and world governed by the Red Queen and her guard. Alice drinks a potion and lo and behold she becomes smaller; another potion or morsel of cake makes her larger. The story is replete with various creatures, such as the disappearing Cheshire cat, the caterpillar smoking a Hookah, the fumbling rabbit, the corpulent twins, Twiddledee and Twiddledum, the tiny mouse, and the Mad Hatter. Also, the White Queen is the Red Queen's sister, but does not have the power over the kingdom at the time. Alice runs through mazes, gets larger and smaller, and goes through a dreamlike sequence with fantasy characters and animals who actually can speak the English language.
Johnny Depp plays the Mad Hatter, and Helena Bonham Carter is the Red Queen. Helena Bonham Carter was excellent, and even though she was in costume and her head was rendered digitally to an enormous size for the rest of her body, she was convincing as someone that was comfortable with that physical property. She carried the movie. Johnny Depp, although I really love some of his movies, including Edward Scissorhands, and of course the famous or infamous adorable and despicable at the same time pirate, Jack Sparrow, from Pirates of the Carribean series of movies, he didn't seem quite convincing here as a MAD hatter, more as a SANE hatter. As if his Mad Hatter antics were really a guise for a street smart, sharp and uncanny weaver of hats and intrigue, just tricking us into thinking he is mad. He just seems to fall a little short in this movie, and doesn't fully blossom in his role. There just seems to be something held back.
Ann Hathaway always looks magnificent in her movies and reminds me of Barbara Feldman from Get Smart. (Ann Hathaway plays Agent 99 in the recent version of Get Smart, and has many similar qualities to Barbara Feldman, including her sweetness and charming way of speaking). She also is very engaging and charming in the Princess Diaries, and plays someone who blossoms in The Devil Wears Prada. In this movie, Ann Hathaway plays the beautiful White Queen and sister of the Red Queen, who is loved rather than feared as her sister is. She looks like the Ice Queen from the recent movie, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, with a frosty dress and cold, white wig and makeup. However, her charm falls short in this movie and gets buried under a pile of ice and snow. She comes off as being cold, even though she is supposed to be loved and adored. I think this is more the fault of the writers than of her performance. I just don't think she had much to go on.
Mia Wasikowska as playing the leading role of Alice, I think, literally fell short. I actually perceived the Red Queen as being much more spunky and lively, even though the Red Queen was supposed to be horrid and cruel beyond measure. I was never sure where Alice was coming from, and she continually spoke in a muted, ingenue voice, and was completely unconvincing at the point in the movie where she becomes a warrior girl that was supposed to combat the Jabberwocky. She seemed to be lost in the maze and in the hole she fell into at the beginning of the movie.
In fact, the entire movie is a maze of ups and downs, inconsistencies, and whether large or small, it just fell short. However, the special effects were magnificent and I loved the Cheshire cat and its continual disappearing act.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Unbelievable Bonding
I came across this film of Kevin Richardson, called the Lion Whisperer, Kevin Richardson is an animal behaviorist. He has raised 38 lions on a private reserve near Johannesburg, South Africa. This footage shows two lionesses with him. One of them plays with him in the water. The bonding between himself and the lionesses are incredible! Lions and lionesses are known to not like water, but one of these lionesses actually jumps in the water to play with him!! Goes to show you, trust goes a long way if treated with respect and affection!
Through the Looking Glass: The Treatment of Age in Movies
Ok. Now I can think of a whole host of movies that treated age issues. The Cocoon, The Evening Sun, and Away from Her are a few small examples. Away from Her was a tragic movie that treated the issue of Alzheimer's disease and how difficult it is to deal with it when your spouse doesn't remember you anymore. Cocoon portrayed old people as having a second chance in life given to them by aliens. The Evening Sun, just released, gives the portrayal of an old man that escapes a nursing home.
Commercials sometimes show aging people in a negative light. See the Snickers commercial that came out recently that plays in the theaters before the shorts. I was absolutely mortified to see someone jump and topple over an old man in the commercial. Also shocked when Betty White that plays the elderly lady in the beginning turns into a young man while eating the snickers. This was another dig at age. This is how we have been conditioned; to look at older people in a comical way or incompetent way. Or gee, we eat something and can be young again. Where is the respect?
Doesn't the media realize that old people have seen so many things and have gone through so much of life that they deserve respect? Age needs to be valued and treasured, something to be learned from. After all, all of us age all the time. For every day that we are alive, the clock ticks away another day, and we age another day older, day after day after day. What's wrong with that? Isn't it a treasure and a gift to be alive anyway? Don't they realize there is beauty in age???
No one will dispute that sheer physical beauty probably blooms in the teens, twenties and thirties. The skin may be beautiful, teeth strong and perfect, body at its best. Movies about teens abide with popularity, tons of movie about the boy wanting to win over the popular girl. There is a new movie coming out called Out of My League, in which a geeky guy tries to win over a beautiful girl, described by his friend in the movie as a "hard ten". I think of the movie, "Ten", from 1979, in which Dudley Moore's character, George, falls for Bo Derek's character, Jenny, as being an example of someone falling for superficial beauty, only to see that beauty can sometimes run "skin deep". George (Dudley Moore) realizes that beauty isn't everything, and he leaves Jenny (Bo Derek) to go to his true love, Samantha, (Julie Andrews).
Many movies address the subject of the exploitation of young, beautiful women. One example that shows exploitation of young women, and their short lifetime as being on top and most glamorous, is the movie, Show Girls, starring Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon. Elizabeth Berkley plays Nomi Malone, a drifter that ran away from her old life to come to Las Vegas, and become a top billing showgirl and eventually the star of the show, gained through more unscrupulous ways. Kyle MacLachlan plays the exploitative and manipulative entertainment director with connections that takes advantage of her. The degree of exploitation towards young women in the movie just made me want to cry. They also were most valued when at their youngest, and Gina Gershon's character even said at one point that she also gained stardom through less than desirable ways. So the message in the movies is that sometimes youth, particularly when addressing the subject of young, beautiful women, is not even respected, just exploited. This will be the subject for another Looking Glass article. Look for a posting soon.
But the beauty of maturity is often ignored or overlooked. There is beauty in maturity, and knowledge. The skin may not be perfect; the teeth may not be perfect, but the knowledge gained from living each day for a longer time is priceless. And there is beauty in a maturing face. Why does one need a face lift? What is wrong with leaving oneself alone? There is another movie that comes to mind, a movie from 1950, All About Eve, starring Betty Davis and Ann Baxter, of the young understudy, Eve, played by Ann Baxter, that studies the moves of a famous actress, Margo, played by Betty Davis, only to betray her and take over her role, leaving the actress discarded, again showing how overvalued youth and beauty are, as opposed to age, grace and experience.
In the movies, actresses are known to say that they aren't considered for many roles anymore, even past the age of 40. Yes, there are some working ladies in acting; the best, such as Glen Close, Sogourney Weaver, Meryl Streep, Barbara Hershey, Cathy Bates, and Helen Mirren, but for these few actresses that made it to the top of their field, for those actresses that weren't so famous, it is very difficult to find work, unless they are in character roles for short periods of time. The concept of aging is particularly difficult on women, who are enticed by advertising and the media to try to look 19 when they are 40 or 50. I also can think of an old movie from 1950 with Gloria Swanson called Sunset Boulevard, in which she plays an aging actress that is not appreciated by the studios anymore primarily because her young looks were fading. In my opinion, Gloria Swanson was glorious in the role, and glorious to look at too. Actually, I liked the subject matter, because it showed the cruelty of the acting field.
There is a whole TV series devoted to the art of plastic surgery, called Nip and Tuck. By the way, it is a good series, and the two starring plastic surgeons, Dylan Walsh playing Dr Sean McNamara, and Julian McMahon playing Dr. Christian Troy, are great. What's wrong with looking one's age? Look at fashion magazines. The reason I mentioned them, is they are part of the media, and another vehicle that sends off messages to the public. Do you ever even see someone listed over 60; magazines such as Vogue, have articles on "How to look fabulous at 20, 30, 40, 50, but then they have 50 plus. What's 50 plus? what happened to fabulous at 60, 70, 80? Look at the not so subtle message in that. The magazines don't even have a category for an age group past 50. Don't people in their 60's, 70's, 80's etc. like to dress fashionably and look good?? I guess one is supposed to improvise. The underlying message is that there are no further clothes for people that old; don't even try to pick out an outfit because they won't look good anyway. Unfortunately and very sadly, that's the message here.
It always gets me they have a famous model whose face and body has been tightly pulled by plastic surgery, and underneath, "Look fabulous at any age", or "look fabulous over 50". And the models representing over 50? They've been nipped and tucked to perfection, so they don't even accurately represent what someone really looks like at that age. I guess if the price is right....get a facelift, and then look fabulous over 50. That is the message conveyed in some of these magazines, and in the media, everywhere. So botox has made its discover in this age. Botox, mini lifts, mini forehead lifts, eye tucks, face lifts, tummy tucks, leg lifting and what not, arm tucking. And this list is a mile long. Plastic surgery is a huge industry. If you mutilate yourself, and cut and pull, gee, you might look beautiful, like a 20, 30 year old. So, again, let's look at this message. What is wrong with this message? The message really is, that if you lift your body and try to mimic 20 or 30 you'll look great. What about the people that don't have the money to do this? I guess they are chopped liver, baby, in the fashion, media and movie world. Also, in the real world, everyone wants to look like the model in the magazine, or actress or actor in the movie. So what happens when they don't? What happens to the way people are perceived? Why are looks so overemphasized????
So, the question I ask is "is there ever going to be a time when age is respected, looks are not emphasized and people aren't obsessed with plastic surgery?". Look to writers, media, news, movies, the entertainment industry, modeling industry, and magazines and newspapers. There are movies that depict aging in a better light. But just like with violence in movies, for the few movies that show aging in a flattering way, there are scores of movies that look at aging as something undesirable. I don't see things changing any time soon. But education helps. We need change. We absolutely do need to respect age and appreciate the beauty of aging.
Commercials sometimes show aging people in a negative light. See the Snickers commercial that came out recently that plays in the theaters before the shorts. I was absolutely mortified to see someone jump and topple over an old man in the commercial. Also shocked when Betty White that plays the elderly lady in the beginning turns into a young man while eating the snickers. This was another dig at age. This is how we have been conditioned; to look at older people in a comical way or incompetent way. Or gee, we eat something and can be young again. Where is the respect?
Doesn't the media realize that old people have seen so many things and have gone through so much of life that they deserve respect? Age needs to be valued and treasured, something to be learned from. After all, all of us age all the time. For every day that we are alive, the clock ticks away another day, and we age another day older, day after day after day. What's wrong with that? Isn't it a treasure and a gift to be alive anyway? Don't they realize there is beauty in age???
No one will dispute that sheer physical beauty probably blooms in the teens, twenties and thirties. The skin may be beautiful, teeth strong and perfect, body at its best. Movies about teens abide with popularity, tons of movie about the boy wanting to win over the popular girl. There is a new movie coming out called Out of My League, in which a geeky guy tries to win over a beautiful girl, described by his friend in the movie as a "hard ten". I think of the movie, "Ten", from 1979, in which Dudley Moore's character, George, falls for Bo Derek's character, Jenny, as being an example of someone falling for superficial beauty, only to see that beauty can sometimes run "skin deep". George (Dudley Moore) realizes that beauty isn't everything, and he leaves Jenny (Bo Derek) to go to his true love, Samantha, (Julie Andrews).
Many movies address the subject of the exploitation of young, beautiful women. One example that shows exploitation of young women, and their short lifetime as being on top and most glamorous, is the movie, Show Girls, starring Elizabeth Berkley and Gina Gershon. Elizabeth Berkley plays Nomi Malone, a drifter that ran away from her old life to come to Las Vegas, and become a top billing showgirl and eventually the star of the show, gained through more unscrupulous ways. Kyle MacLachlan plays the exploitative and manipulative entertainment director with connections that takes advantage of her. The degree of exploitation towards young women in the movie just made me want to cry. They also were most valued when at their youngest, and Gina Gershon's character even said at one point that she also gained stardom through less than desirable ways. So the message in the movies is that sometimes youth, particularly when addressing the subject of young, beautiful women, is not even respected, just exploited. This will be the subject for another Looking Glass article. Look for a posting soon.
But the beauty of maturity is often ignored or overlooked. There is beauty in maturity, and knowledge. The skin may not be perfect; the teeth may not be perfect, but the knowledge gained from living each day for a longer time is priceless. And there is beauty in a maturing face. Why does one need a face lift? What is wrong with leaving oneself alone? There is another movie that comes to mind, a movie from 1950, All About Eve, starring Betty Davis and Ann Baxter, of the young understudy, Eve, played by Ann Baxter, that studies the moves of a famous actress, Margo, played by Betty Davis, only to betray her and take over her role, leaving the actress discarded, again showing how overvalued youth and beauty are, as opposed to age, grace and experience.
In the movies, actresses are known to say that they aren't considered for many roles anymore, even past the age of 40. Yes, there are some working ladies in acting; the best, such as Glen Close, Sogourney Weaver, Meryl Streep, Barbara Hershey, Cathy Bates, and Helen Mirren, but for these few actresses that made it to the top of their field, for those actresses that weren't so famous, it is very difficult to find work, unless they are in character roles for short periods of time. The concept of aging is particularly difficult on women, who are enticed by advertising and the media to try to look 19 when they are 40 or 50. I also can think of an old movie from 1950 with Gloria Swanson called Sunset Boulevard, in which she plays an aging actress that is not appreciated by the studios anymore primarily because her young looks were fading. In my opinion, Gloria Swanson was glorious in the role, and glorious to look at too. Actually, I liked the subject matter, because it showed the cruelty of the acting field.
There is a whole TV series devoted to the art of plastic surgery, called Nip and Tuck. By the way, it is a good series, and the two starring plastic surgeons, Dylan Walsh playing Dr Sean McNamara, and Julian McMahon playing Dr. Christian Troy, are great. What's wrong with looking one's age? Look at fashion magazines. The reason I mentioned them, is they are part of the media, and another vehicle that sends off messages to the public. Do you ever even see someone listed over 60; magazines such as Vogue, have articles on "How to look fabulous at 20, 30, 40, 50, but then they have 50 plus. What's 50 plus? what happened to fabulous at 60, 70, 80? Look at the not so subtle message in that. The magazines don't even have a category for an age group past 50. Don't people in their 60's, 70's, 80's etc. like to dress fashionably and look good?? I guess one is supposed to improvise. The underlying message is that there are no further clothes for people that old; don't even try to pick out an outfit because they won't look good anyway. Unfortunately and very sadly, that's the message here.
It always gets me they have a famous model whose face and body has been tightly pulled by plastic surgery, and underneath, "Look fabulous at any age", or "look fabulous over 50". And the models representing over 50? They've been nipped and tucked to perfection, so they don't even accurately represent what someone really looks like at that age. I guess if the price is right....get a facelift, and then look fabulous over 50. That is the message conveyed in some of these magazines, and in the media, everywhere. So botox has made its discover in this age. Botox, mini lifts, mini forehead lifts, eye tucks, face lifts, tummy tucks, leg lifting and what not, arm tucking. And this list is a mile long. Plastic surgery is a huge industry. If you mutilate yourself, and cut and pull, gee, you might look beautiful, like a 20, 30 year old. So, again, let's look at this message. What is wrong with this message? The message really is, that if you lift your body and try to mimic 20 or 30 you'll look great. What about the people that don't have the money to do this? I guess they are chopped liver, baby, in the fashion, media and movie world. Also, in the real world, everyone wants to look like the model in the magazine, or actress or actor in the movie. So what happens when they don't? What happens to the way people are perceived? Why are looks so overemphasized????
So, the question I ask is "is there ever going to be a time when age is respected, looks are not emphasized and people aren't obsessed with plastic surgery?". Look to writers, media, news, movies, the entertainment industry, modeling industry, and magazines and newspapers. There are movies that depict aging in a better light. But just like with violence in movies, for the few movies that show aging in a flattering way, there are scores of movies that look at aging as something undesirable. I don't see things changing any time soon. But education helps. We need change. We absolutely do need to respect age and appreciate the beauty of aging.
Through the Looking Glass: My Review of The Evening Sun, Newly Released February 2010
Ok. This is my second movie review in a row. This is a review of The Evening Sun. The story takes place with a man 80 years of age, a Tennessee farmer called Abner Meecham, daftly played by Hal Holbrook,. Meechem was in a nursing home placed there by his lawyer son, Paul. played by Walton Goggins. The lawyer son is removed and emotionally estranged from his father, and basically looks at Abner as being an old man and all used up. You don't see more compassion from the son until later on in the story, where he redeems himself.
Meecham is in good health, but when his wife died, agreed to his son's idea to go into a nursing home, but found out while he was there that he was bored and restless. Here, the interpretation is that Meechem was very depressed after his wife died, and basically gave up on life, so he agreed to be placed in the nursing home. After a short while, he realizes that he still has more life in himself, and runs away from the nursing home. He goes back to his home, only to find a family living there that was an arrangement through his son. The head of the family household that took over Meecham's residence is an unappetizing and creepy lout called Lonzo Choat. Lonzo is convincingly played by Raymond McKinnon.
What I like about this movie is that this man is portrayed as someone who still has spunk, even though some of his decisions are questionable. I won't give that away, you need to see the movie to see what I mean about questionable. Actually, the movie would have been better had he not had some questionable behavior, since, again that negatively stereotypes an older person to be less competent. Perhaps the writers thought that the movie would not sell as well had he been portrayed as a completely rational person.
Meecham is in good health, but when his wife died, agreed to his son's idea to go into a nursing home, but found out while he was there that he was bored and restless. Here, the interpretation is that Meechem was very depressed after his wife died, and basically gave up on life, so he agreed to be placed in the nursing home. After a short while, he realizes that he still has more life in himself, and runs away from the nursing home. He goes back to his home, only to find a family living there that was an arrangement through his son. The head of the family household that took over Meecham's residence is an unappetizing and creepy lout called Lonzo Choat. Lonzo is convincingly played by Raymond McKinnon.
What I like about this movie is that this man is portrayed as someone who still has spunk, even though some of his decisions are questionable. I won't give that away, you need to see the movie to see what I mean about questionable. Actually, the movie would have been better had he not had some questionable behavior, since, again that negatively stereotypes an older person to be less competent. Perhaps the writers thought that the movie would not sell as well had he been portrayed as a completely rational person.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Through the Looking Glass: My Review of Shutter Island, Newly Released February 2010
Ok; here is my review of the movie I just saw, Shutter Island. Overall, I liked it and thought it was an original twist on mystery and thriller genres. It takes place in 1954, and is based on the book by Dennis Lehane. Martin Scorsese's take on Shutter Island, the movie, plays a strong suit to his large collection of other works. The mood is mysterious and dark, with a gothic like quality to the cinematography. The plot unfolds slowly; perhaps too much so at first, but with a central focus, that of Teddy Daniels played by Leonardo Di Caprio as a feisty US Marshall with a short fuse that investigates a missing mental patient that was committed for murdering her own three children. Mark Garofalo is his sidekick, and plays a convincing but neutral and non-threatening second US Marshall that assists in the investigation. Ben Kingsley does a good job of playing the good doctor, while Max Van Sydow does a great portrayal of the sinister doctor, with an interesting pull and tug between good and evil. The movie is set in New England, off a remote island called guess what, Shutter Island. The scenes are spectacular, with close-ups of the violent waves crashing against large rocks, characteristic of that landscape, adding to the starkness and dark mood of the story. The photography was so good it could have been the story itself, as the desolate scene told its own tale. The coloring of the ocean, rocks, and sky remind me of looking at old pictures developed in sepia or black and white, but with muted color overtones. Leonardo Di Caprio gives a strong performance, as he is equally dark with a predominant scowl on his face throughout most of the movie. Shadowy and sinister images throughout the story increases the nightmarish and dreamlike quality of the movie. The plot winds like a serpent through a maze, and comes to a conclusion that gives one a feeling of wanting more. Groundhog Day, the 1993 movie with Bill Murray, comes to mind with its recurrent theme of Deja Vu and "I have been here before", that also is characteristic of this movie. It is a movie worthwhile seeing, but not for the faint at heart.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Dear John movie trailer
This is a sweet love story in which a majority of the movie takes place with the boyfriend and girlfriend exchanging letters while the boyfriend is on duty; they meet for two weeks initially in a whirlwind romance.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Through the Looking Glass: The World of Movies
This discussion is a continuation of my post "Movies through the Looking Glass" from 8/9/09. Violence in movies is addressed here, with its implications.
I will be discussing movies, in this series, Through the Looking Glass, and other areas that pertain to how we perceive socially acceptable versus socially unacceptable, and how important success, fame and money is in this society. I also will be looking at the phenomenon of the average person, and how the average person is continually overlooked or underestimated in society, in another post to come.
If you look at Movies Through the Looking Glass, you will find that I talk about the phenomenon of how we view success, and actually ignore or downplay average, normal life. I talk a lot about movies, because that is a main vehicle, whether one likes to think of it that way or not, for imparting values, and viewpoints to people. Movies make impacts on people, and they may talk about a movie they saw years ago, or have seen over and over and over again. Cults have grown out of certain campy movies that were produced, for instance zombie movies from the 70's. Like "Night of the Living Dead" and "Rocky Horror Picture Show".
I talk about heroes in movies that are exalted if they are Rambo types, or very successful. Even the deadbeats in movies end up successful at the end, if they are viewed as heroes.
In this segment, I am discussing violence and evil in movies. Violence has gotten worse, as we depict futuristic movies in which people have diabolical natures, and may try to wipe out alien societies, as in Avatar, or each other, or even aliens that come to earth that will test the nature of man, like in the movie The Box. And in some of these societies, the diabolical types rise to power. Evil societies plant brain chips in people's minds to manipulate them, such as in the new movie with Cuba Gooding called Hardwired, which is a very good sci fi movie. One only has to ask why, since in real life, do we even want to talk to people like that, let alone give them power?
Also, there is a lot of violence, and shoot em up scenes in which people are shot at through a line of fire that sounds like popping popcorn, with rock music to boot, and people fall like flies, with no consideration for their lives whatsoever. I think that when a movie is made, the writers or producers feel that ok, since we didn't get to know the character in the movie, it won't be that traumatic. That in itself is horrifying, since it devalues human life just from the sheer quickness and lack of attachment with which this happens. Just look at the spy movies, like the James Bond series, or futuristic movies, such as Mad Max from the 80's, or the very depressing and stark current movie, The Road, or war movies, gangster movies, or any movies which show gunfire. Even the comic book movies, such as The Dark Knight, in which the late Heath Ledger delivered a brilliant performance of a deranged, psychotic character called The Joker. He was so dark and realistic, that it was hard to watch. Not to mention, many young people, including teenagers, attended this movie.
Slasher movies, such as the multitude of Halloween series with Michael in the mask, Pumpkin Head, and other types of serial killer movies are very popular, as they are so horrific. Hannibal Lechter from the Silence of the Lambs is a morbidly intelligent and horrifying character that made everyone know Anthony Hopkins as having branded that role. The evil is so exaggerated and so overt, one has to wonder why this type of character is even in the minds of the people putting together the movies, the writers, the producers? Evil sells, and so evil is depicted in movies, while people will munch on popcorn in the dark.
There is a morbid fascination for people to see vampire movies, such as the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles, from the 90's, with a sullen main character that perpetually tries to flee his original "maker", or more recently, Twilight, in which vampires are likeable and are "vegetarian". I'm not exempt to finding some vampire stories fascinating, since I also like the movie Twilight. Perhaps I like the movie because it shows some good vampires that don't really have a choice in their fate to walk among the living, and that try to eradicate bad vampires that prey upon humans.
There are some inspiring movies that came out recently, such as Blind Side, with Sandra Bullock, that plays a spunky Southern mom that takes in a very mature teen into her home that was homeless, showing compassion and humanitarianism. There are other movies too, such as Extraordinary Measures, in which a father will go through giving up his job and recruiting a biochemist in his quest to find an answer for a horrible neurological illness that two of his three children have. Precious is another movie worth seeing, that shows an underprivileged and abused girl that had very low self esteem that was able to break away from the abuse cycle that she had been experiencing since her very early childhood.
There are a few redeeming movies. But for the few redeeming movies that show the compassionate, and kind side of human nature, there are more than tenfold of the violent and dark movies that show evil and lack of compassion.
I'm going to see Shutter Island so I will let you know my impressions of that. It's supposed to be a dark thriller.
In future articles from Through the Looking Glass, I may only review one movie, address issues, or talk about some of the other topics that I mentioned at the beginning of this article.
Have a wonderful week!
I will be discussing movies, in this series, Through the Looking Glass, and other areas that pertain to how we perceive socially acceptable versus socially unacceptable, and how important success, fame and money is in this society. I also will be looking at the phenomenon of the average person, and how the average person is continually overlooked or underestimated in society, in another post to come.
If you look at Movies Through the Looking Glass, you will find that I talk about the phenomenon of how we view success, and actually ignore or downplay average, normal life. I talk a lot about movies, because that is a main vehicle, whether one likes to think of it that way or not, for imparting values, and viewpoints to people. Movies make impacts on people, and they may talk about a movie they saw years ago, or have seen over and over and over again. Cults have grown out of certain campy movies that were produced, for instance zombie movies from the 70's. Like "Night of the Living Dead" and "Rocky Horror Picture Show".
I talk about heroes in movies that are exalted if they are Rambo types, or very successful. Even the deadbeats in movies end up successful at the end, if they are viewed as heroes.
In this segment, I am discussing violence and evil in movies. Violence has gotten worse, as we depict futuristic movies in which people have diabolical natures, and may try to wipe out alien societies, as in Avatar, or each other, or even aliens that come to earth that will test the nature of man, like in the movie The Box. And in some of these societies, the diabolical types rise to power. Evil societies plant brain chips in people's minds to manipulate them, such as in the new movie with Cuba Gooding called Hardwired, which is a very good sci fi movie. One only has to ask why, since in real life, do we even want to talk to people like that, let alone give them power?
Also, there is a lot of violence, and shoot em up scenes in which people are shot at through a line of fire that sounds like popping popcorn, with rock music to boot, and people fall like flies, with no consideration for their lives whatsoever. I think that when a movie is made, the writers or producers feel that ok, since we didn't get to know the character in the movie, it won't be that traumatic. That in itself is horrifying, since it devalues human life just from the sheer quickness and lack of attachment with which this happens. Just look at the spy movies, like the James Bond series, or futuristic movies, such as Mad Max from the 80's, or the very depressing and stark current movie, The Road, or war movies, gangster movies, or any movies which show gunfire. Even the comic book movies, such as The Dark Knight, in which the late Heath Ledger delivered a brilliant performance of a deranged, psychotic character called The Joker. He was so dark and realistic, that it was hard to watch. Not to mention, many young people, including teenagers, attended this movie.
Slasher movies, such as the multitude of Halloween series with Michael in the mask, Pumpkin Head, and other types of serial killer movies are very popular, as they are so horrific. Hannibal Lechter from the Silence of the Lambs is a morbidly intelligent and horrifying character that made everyone know Anthony Hopkins as having branded that role. The evil is so exaggerated and so overt, one has to wonder why this type of character is even in the minds of the people putting together the movies, the writers, the producers? Evil sells, and so evil is depicted in movies, while people will munch on popcorn in the dark.
There is a morbid fascination for people to see vampire movies, such as the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles, from the 90's, with a sullen main character that perpetually tries to flee his original "maker", or more recently, Twilight, in which vampires are likeable and are "vegetarian". I'm not exempt to finding some vampire stories fascinating, since I also like the movie Twilight. Perhaps I like the movie because it shows some good vampires that don't really have a choice in their fate to walk among the living, and that try to eradicate bad vampires that prey upon humans.
There are some inspiring movies that came out recently, such as Blind Side, with Sandra Bullock, that plays a spunky Southern mom that takes in a very mature teen into her home that was homeless, showing compassion and humanitarianism. There are other movies too, such as Extraordinary Measures, in which a father will go through giving up his job and recruiting a biochemist in his quest to find an answer for a horrible neurological illness that two of his three children have. Precious is another movie worth seeing, that shows an underprivileged and abused girl that had very low self esteem that was able to break away from the abuse cycle that she had been experiencing since her very early childhood.
There are a few redeeming movies. But for the few redeeming movies that show the compassionate, and kind side of human nature, there are more than tenfold of the violent and dark movies that show evil and lack of compassion.
I'm going to see Shutter Island so I will let you know my impressions of that. It's supposed to be a dark thriller.
In future articles from Through the Looking Glass, I may only review one movie, address issues, or talk about some of the other topics that I mentioned at the beginning of this article.
Have a wonderful week!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Vintage Lane Works
See my new cat magnet; have you ever felt like you were up in a tree? Have you ever seen a cat in a tree? This original illustration makes a great gift any time of year!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers from Zazzle.com
Go to Haiti Relief Valentine Stickers from Zazzle.com This is a group of talented Zazzle artists that are called Hearts4Haiti, and proceeds are donated to help Haiti earthquake victims.
Friday, January 8, 2010
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Lowering cloud
photo ©2009 M.A.Wolfson
Jackie Chan
photo ©2009 M.A. Wolfson
Hollywood platforms
photo ©2009 M.A. Wolfson
Hollywood building wall
photo ©2009 M.A. Wolfson
Alaska glacier
photo © 2009 M. A. Wolfson