Some times when you’re catching up on your list of films to view you discover the most unexpected things.
In the case of Cake the surprise is that Jennifer Aniston can truly act. As with Adam Sandler I find Aniston far more interesting in a drama than in simple minded comedy. Actually she’s more than interesting, she’s downright captivatingly great as a woman suffering physically, emotionally and mentally. If you’re in the mood to get a respite from the reality show otherwise known as election year politics and drama laced with biting comic overtones is a penchant then grab Cake wherever your film meals are served.
Oh, and Adriana Barraza is equally wonderful as Silvana, the only person capable of dealing with Aniston’s antics for the long haul.
After a little kibitzing with The Bear about who wants to do what and when, I’ve selected The Journey as the Music Theme for next Thursday, October 16, 2014. Yeah, we’re slip-sliding the order of things from one line-up to another simply because we can. So without further explanation or ado:
We experience many kinds of journeys in our lifetimes. Some are outward ones that anyone paying attention can observe and others are inward and invisible to others.
For some inspiration I’ve turned to the film Sin Nombre for a music selection because there are both outward and inward journeys undertaken by its characters.
The last time I posted about a television show was in regard to the American remake of the Swedish crime drama The Bridge. Today it’s to do a little promotional hype for Major Crimes starring the incredible Mary McDonnell. Season 3 of Major Crimes starts Monday, June 9 on TNT and I am so looking forward to it. This spin-off from The Closer featuring Kyra Sedgwick would be well worth watching simply because of Mary McDonnell’s great portrayal of Captain Sharon Raydor as a very strong, independent, and very, very smart woman who has the rules down pat–and a lot more. McDonnell’s interview with Travis Smiley explains a great deal for anyone who has not yet discovered Major Crimes. Even if you don’t enjoy crime drama I think it’s worth listening to McDonnell discuss the Raydor character, power, acting and the needs of human beings–and selling brushes.
Another plus for Major Crimes in its first two seasons was the story line involving Captain Sharon Raydor and material witness Rusty Beck. Watching their relationship with each other and the rest of the characters grow and evolve brought unexpected considerable depth and substance to this drama. The concept of family is redefined by example in a much-needed manner for the discussions it has the potential to provoke. Unlike The Closer which had a certain formulaic feeling to the episodes featuring Brenda Johnson’s considerable talent for lying and manipulating people into confessions even when raising all sorts of issues including ethical issues about the ends justifying the means, Major Crimes is making its own way into the future. If you want predictable resolutions of plot-lines there’s always Law and Order to fall back into the comfort zone of neat little black and white packages. This isn’t to say that the criminal cases aren’t closed and resolved in Major Crimes–they are–but there’s a lot more going on than stereotypical criminal behavior.
There’s a great deal more attention paid to serious issues like sexually abused children. “These boys aren’t runaways. They’re throw-aways.” So says a man running a shelter for teenage boys living on the streets of LA. Now for a society in which the mainstream jabbers constantly about family values and loving children so much this is a brutally honest statement of factual reality. Its consequences for boys like the Rusty Beck–and other characters–holds up a mirror that reflects our society as all truly great dramas of the stage and screen do. Clearly there are not enough Sharon Raydors willing to step up and care in our real world. In most drama storylines children are summarily deposited with the Department of Family Services and conveniently disappear from the script. In the first two seasons of Major Crimes, Rusty Beck didn’t disappear–and the writers used his character to full advantage. I can’t tell from the promos or website if the very talented Graham Patrick Martin will continue in this role–but for the sake of abandoned children trying to survive in a hostile world I hope so. Being saved is not the end of anyone’s story.
Oh and by the way, Rusty Beck loves playing chess.
&
Personally I think the fans on YouTube have made better promos for Major Crimes than TNT has dreamed up so far. Here’s a fun meet and greet video to get acquainted.
A short and to the point promo. ) I get it, this is probably for short promo time slots.
&
Mary McDonnell interview on The Travis Smiley Show. Yeah you want to watch. I think Smiley was very smitten. Oh yeah, he likes her shoes. Ah ha.
&
This particular choice of song and images conveys a great deal about the relationship between Rusty and Sharon. Clearly this matters to viewers as there are many music videos on the tubes regarding this relationship.
I think I’m going to post more fan videos for Major Crimes on the sidebar. Yeah, I think I will. It’ll be fun–for me anyway. I’ll make sure to find one with the scene where Sharon Raydor shoots a guy between the eyes with a red bean bag. Hey, he asks for it–literally.
UPDATE–the Beanbag scene is the headliner on the sidebar. Several of my favorite scenes follow along with some fan made videos featuring music. Charlie’s Angels is a hoot.
~~~
As for The Bridge–it’s all dark and dreadful in America and Mexico. In Sweden there’s darkness and light–plus resolution. I recommend watching both versions.
These are trailers of the first five films on a list I’m compiling of “foreign” films–as in films not produced in America. This is a search for substance and meaning in the movie industry outside of Hollywood. I’m looking beyond borders for connections with the rest of the world regarding the human condition as portrayed via film media. All genres are welcome. Also,visual artistry, performance, and music are all of interest. If you have suggestions for this list, please share the titles and/or trailers via a comment.
Note: The information text for each film is from the uploader sources cited for each trailer.
15-year-old Adèle knows two things: she’s a girl, and a girl goes out with boys. The day she glimpses the blue streaks in Emma’s hair on the main square, she feels that her life is going to change. Alone with her teenage questions, she transforms the way she looks at herself and the way that others look at her. In her intensely close relationship with Emma, she is fulfilled as a woman and as an adult. But Adèle doesn’t know how to make peace, neither with her parents, nor with this world full of absurd morals, nor with herself.
Elise is 28 and owns her own tattoo parlour. 36-year-old Didier is a Flemish cowboy who plays the banjo in a band. Although in many respects they are as alike as day and night, somehow their characters match perfectly and the arrival of their baby, Maybelle, makes their happiness complete. Life is good until one day, fate intervenes, and they lose their daughter.
Acclaimed director Danis Tanovic won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival for this unflinching exposé of the prejudices faced by Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Roma minority, starring the real-life couple whose harrowing ordeal became a national scandal.
Highlighted as one of the most important films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where the jury headed by Thomas Vinterberg gave it the fully deserved award. Just like ‘The Act of Killing’, the Cambodian Rithy Panh deals with the impossible question of how a film can relate historically to a genocide. Over two million people died under Pol Pot’s dictatorship from 1975 to 1979. A period, during which all existing photos and film footage were created by the terror regime’s propaganda machine. Panh himself was 13 years old, and the film is based on his own and his family’s memories of the four dark years that followed. But how does one portray a past of which there exists no pictures? Panh’s answer is to recreate it in the form of miniature figurines, hand-painted and shaped in clay, which stand for the regime’s victims, while a single voice quietly shares its testimony: ‘People say, that their souls will wander all over the earth.’ The paradoxical poetry in Panh’s choice of words (and in the skilfully detailed clay figures) is not just a historical documentation of a past out of reach. It is a protest against inhumanity everywhere and throughout the times.
A teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son’s custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.
We all dream. Even if we don’t recall what we’ve been doing or where we’ve been, we’re all busy during all those sleeping hours–and the waking ones as well. How often do you stop and consider just what your dream-life is trying to communicate? Do you take time out to day dream at will? Are you haunted by dark nightmare dreams? Do dreams fuel your creative engines? Or do they allow you to vicariously experience strange and wonderful things beyond the scope of your comfort zone? Where do you dream of wandering? What’s in any dream? Have your dreams ever taken you into unknown territory in your waking life? Dreaming can be a very dangerous thing depending on where the dreams lead. Or not. I guess that depends on what’s in your dream packages.
“Have you any dreams you’d like to sell?”
Dreamer ~ Low Roar ~ Ryan Karazija ~ His live version is equally compelling, but the audio has a slightly more intense quality on this track. Or perhaps this is because simply offering the song encourages you to close your eyes and focus on the sound and lyrics without the visual component.
Audio production is made with Guitar Pro 6. The picture is from a free wallpaper site.
*
Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams ~ Song: Erik Satie – Nocturne no. III. Don’t let the dark opening deter you from the rest of trailer for this ongoing dreaming which manifests in many diverse forms.
The legendary director of “Seven Samurai” wants to invite you into his world of “Dreams.” One of Akira Kurosawa’s latter works, “Dreams” is a journey into some of his personal experiences of life and imagination.
*
A Shadow of Blue ~A Dreamlife production by Carlos Lascano. A waking dream about daydreaming. What do you dream about during your days?
Dreams~ The Kills’ cover of Fleetwood Mac ~ A bit dire with shades of an impending storm, definitely darker, and certainly deeper voiced than Nicks’ vocals. An entirely new sound dream in a voice. Frankly, I think The Kills kill this song like none other.
Requiem for a Dream ~ The London Symphony Orchestra ~ Serenity ~ Fan made video featuringRiver Tam, the ultimate “dreaming death dance girl”. Some dreams entail confrontation, conflict and sacrifice. Firefly and Serenity fans know this score inside and out.
Trespassers William was an indie rock/dream pop band known for its ethereal music. Originally from Southern California, they moved to the Sodo/Capitol Hill area of Seattle, Washington.
Formed in Orange County, California in 1997, Trespassers William released four albums and two E.P.’s. Anchor (1999) appeared on Sonikwire Records and is now out of print. Different Stars was self-released in 2002 and was re-released twice — most recently on Nettwerk Records on October 19, 2004. In early 2004, the band moved to Seattle. Their third album, Having, (mixed by the Flaming Lips producer, Dave Fridmann) was released on February 28, 2006. The band toured the United States and Europe several times, including a U.K. tour with Damien Rice and a festival appearance in Spain with Morrissey. The band’s music attracted modest press coverage and exposure, most notably in British magazines such as NME and Uncut and was featured on such television shows as One Tree Hill, The O.C., Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Felicity, and movies such as A Love Song for Bobby Long and Annapolis.
The band disbanded at the beginning of 2012. A b-sides and rarities collection titled Cast, which also contains an expanded edition of their 2009 EP The Natural Order of Things, is scheduled to be released by Saint Marie Records on September 4, 2012. Anna-Lynne Williams continues to write and record as Lotte Kestner and one half of the duo Ormonde. Matt Brown is working on more Disinterested material and is playing with and producing several other groups.
Matt Brown — guitar and keyboards Anna-Lynne Williams — vocals and guitar Josh Gordon — bass guitar, drums, percussion, guitar Ross Simonini — bass guitar and keyboards Nathan Skolrud — drums, bass guitar, and keyboards Jamie Williams — drums
*I’ve included the notes above provided by the music uploader, Nela Cotrim, because of my own interests in tracking these indie musical artists. In case anyone else is interested, I’ve shared them.
I viewed a very compelling trailer for this film some time back. Today I came across the full film on YouTube and decided it was worth sharing here for other interested parties to also discover. Keep in mind that nothing is perfect and enjoy. Your thoughts are kindly requested.
The art of living in harmony with nature.
For over 20 years, Nicolas Vanier, an untiring voyager in the coldest of climes, a veritable Jack London of modern times, has criss-crossed the wildest regions of the far northern lands. His travels include major expeditions in Siberia, Lapland, Alaska and of course Canada, where he recently undertook an incredible White Odyssey: 8600 kilometres covered with a team of sledge dogs, from Alaska all the way to Quebec. It was during that crossing, on the floor of a sumptuous and inaccessible valley in the Rocky Mountains, that Nicolas met the man who inspired him to make this film, a film that has lived within the man…
He’s a 50-year-old trapper named Norman Winter, and he lives with a Nahanni woman, Nebaska. Norman has always been a trapper, with no need of the things that civilisation has to offer. He and his dogs live simply on what they produce from hunting and fishing. Norman made his sledge, snowshoes, cabin and canoe with wood and leather that he took from the forest and that Nebaska tanned, in the traditional style, just like the Sekani did in early times, using the tannin in animal brains, then by smoking the skin. To move around, Norman uses his dogs. They’re quiet, and with them he’s ready for action at the slightest sign of life, but all the while attentive to the majestic grandeur of the territories he passes through. That’s why Norman Winter is a trapper. The Great North is inside him and Nebaska carries it within her, in her blood, for the taiga is the mother of its people…
Norman and Nebaska know that a land only lives through its intimate links with the animals, plants, rivers, winds and even colours. Their wisdom comes from the deep and special relationship they enjoy with nature. When Norman Winter follows an animal’s trail, he studies it for a long time, to understand the animal’s exact perception of its environment. He knows how to free himself from the immobile image that a land evokes, then to “enter” it by comprehending what it is. To understand that is to sense the unmistakable breathing of the earth, it’s to understand why Norman Winter is the last trapper and why he turned his back on modern life, that he compares to a slope we slip down blindly. Norman is a sort of philosopher convinced that the notion of sharing and exchange with nature is essential to the equilibrium of that odd animal at the top of the food chain: Man.
That’s what this film, made over 12 months, will present, overlaying treks on horseback during the Indian summer and by sledge in the depths of winter, a canoe ride down a raging river at the bottom of a majestic canyon and attacks by grizzly bears and wolves…
Note: The closed captions option works when viewing on YouTube.
I can film veg with the best of them when so inclined to be disinclined to venture forth into winter nights and days. With complete honesty I rationalize and justify what others call wasting time with the verified claim that film vegging is a tried and true form of relaxation, stress relief and internal down time for more than a few people. Marathon movie viewing can be a very effective detox tool after excessive interaction with the insanity of this wonky world. Some people go out and hang themselves out to dry with hard-drinking and drugs after a long hard work haul. Not everyone finds that appealing. Some of us prefer not to kill our brain cells in order to shed the world’s toxic waste. Why waste time dying when there is the artistry of films for getting through the messiness of living? With the right mix of movies and music you can clear out a great deal of negative energy. With the wrong mix the negative flow can create a drowning river of doom and gloom. Anyone who has engaged in movie marathon viewing knows exactly what I’m talking about. Oh and by marathon we don’t mean three or four films. I’m talking about that close as your body will allow full press twenty-four film flowing for one, two , three days with not much more done than engagement with the small or large screen. Well, this has not been a marathon, just a warming up. Yeah, I think a marathon is marching onto my horizon. Contemplating kicking it off with all of Fireflyleading to Serenity and then . . . well, this menu has not been fully planned just yet. I’m open to suggestions. Bring your BEST film recommendations. What are your “Go To” films?
The seeds for this marathon were sown by chance over the weekend by brand new and old films. The positive and negative elements have made for a disconcerting mix.
*
Awakenis available for free viewing on Hulu. It’s a very interesting treatment of getting beyond time, space, and place in order to connect with what’s truly important. Alex and Rachel may be some of the most intuitive and spiritual personages in a film set in the main stream culture against the background of a coffee-shop. This is one of those rare films during which it can be hard not to smile, smile, smile even through the story’s sad shadows. It’s a love story that defies the usual boundaries and presents a certain hopeful version of what’s possible when we awaken to a world of possibilities. Oh, and it’s full of hope and love.
This 1961 film crossed my path by pure accident while I was channel surfing at night. Burt Lancaster popped up on the small screen in a scene I’d never seen before, so I stopped long enough to try to identify the film and got hooked. It didn’t hurt that there were fewer and shorter commercial breaks than Hulu inserts into films online. The black and white film is a treat for those of us who are visual addicts. The acting is quite good. The topic and script are unsettling, disturbing and very relevant to contemporary issues. I’m not yet aware of where you can find this film in full online. The treatment of the gang mentality and racism provides a great deal of raw meat for discussion. What perhaps most disturbed me was the treatment of the Puerto Rican women, especially the slain boy’s sister. Though this film raises the topic of women turning to prostitution in order to support their family, the manner in which it is employed in the film’s courtroom context raises a host of other issues. As no trailer was on the tubes I selected this video, in part for its textual commentary.
The Young Savages
Joe Barry [Note: JB has provided some intriguing notes on YouTube regarding this film. the comments for this video may also be of some interest.]
Tomorrow is Forever came on directly after The Young Savages. The 1946 treat of another black and white film reeled me in as much as Orson Welles and Claudette Colbert. That’s a lot of good stuff right? This is story of love lost and other love found. But it’s also a film about dishonesty, lies and deception–all done with the best of intentions. Yeah, let’s skip and trip our way to hell directly. I could argue that the closing scene reflects that with notion with the partly burned letter resting on the hearth in front of the fireplace. I’m sure plenty of people would agree with John’s choices, but I refuse to buy that all for your own good bullshit. Usually that comes back to bite someone in the ass when they least expect it–and gangrene often sets in. Oh yeah, let’s all go to war and send our sons there too. Even after we pay some damn high prices. That gleefully willing idealistic cannon fodder theme does NOT work for me, but it might for others. Still, it’s worth viewing if you can find it.
I found Sweet Land, 2005, thanks to Bear sharing clips of music and a delightful pie eating scene. It’s a lovely love story about a German mail order bride, Elizabeth Reaser, coming to Norwegian community in America in 1920. It deals with the ethnic bigotry that has nothing to do with the color of a person’s skin but with politics, language, religion and culture. Oh my, if you don’t speak English–but German, Irish, Polish or Italian you can get in big trouble in the wrong places–even if you’re a beautiful young woman willing to work hard. This is a quiet powder keg of a film which subtly takes on serious issues about human nature, greed, intolerance, values and how “business and farming don’t mix.” Olaf, Tim Guinee, is a man with a certain depth, integrity, and strength seldom found in modern fellows. He doesn’t say much, buy when he does, it counts big time. The tenacity and determination of the couple, Olaf and Inge, as they bring in a harvest by hand and by themselves when they defy the dictates of the local priest and continue living and working the sweet land together offers lessons in transcendence and living in a state of grace. You can find the film in full on YouTube.
Okay, I saw this via a small group outing. Plenty of great scenery, lots of action and lots of leading up to the third part of the trilogy. Smaug is a great dragon. It’s not a great film, but it delivers enough to satisfy fans awaiting the final part.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
~
Ed Sheeran’s I See Fireaccompanies the closing credits of The Hobbitand crediting Sheeran is presented up front. I don’t see how this could hurt Sheeran’s musical ambitions. His own songs are solid. His covers of others’ songs, such as Dylan’s Masters of War reveal the strength of his ability to breath new life into the creative work of others and make it distinctly his own. So hats off to Peter Jackson for giving this young fellow a global spotlight. I hope to hear more and more of Sheeran over the long haul. It’s easy to find Sheeran’s music live and via album’s on YouTube.
So, what would your movie marathon menu line consist of if you were settling in for long weekend, or week, of round the clock films? Yeah, I really want to know because I’m gearing up and I’m hunting fresh film food for simmering in my brain-pan. Indie and foreign films are very welcome to this film feasting. Quirky is generally good. Fun is good. Thoughtful and insightful is very good. Action is not snubbed as long as it’s not mindless.
Why do we not live in harmony with the Earth and each other?
When will this destruction of people and Earth cease? When all Homo sapiens are dead? Is that the answer? Our own self-destruction of one another in order to stop death and destruction? Perhaps that’s what it will take for all of us to realize we and the Earth are one. There’s more truth in “ashes to ashes” than we like to acknowledge as we play in cyberspace.
~~
Yes, I discovered this news item and dropped it here with some dark questions leaving visitors to create context themselves by following the links and watching the videos.
What we have here is a murder of another Indigenous person fighting for the right to life for his people and the planet. That’s why this death/murder is of public interest. There are people grieving for this man. His family. His friends. We talk a great deal about behaving like civilized creatures when there are many among us who are anything but civil to each other. Not everyone does want a world of peaceful coexistence. Lots of people benefit from the murder and mayhem inflicted on Indigenous and Native people–and those Non-natives who support them. (Oh, everyone has DNA that was once “native” to a particular place on the planet. Yeah, even if you’ve forgotten this point, your genes haven’t.) Profit is the name of their game. Unfortunately many of us contribute to the Profit by creating a demand for all sorts of nice things we take for granted–like clean drinking water, access to a lot of food, heat on demand, electricity, gas and all the toys that come with this package deal. Our wants often are supplied by others who cannot and do not enjoy the same. What would you do if all the “easy” things disappeared? No grocery stores with shelves full of yum yums. No gas at the pumps. No electricity 24/7. No water for every load of laundry and shower on demand. What would your life be like if someone stole your home? Hm? Oops, is that the nightmare button I’ve pushed?
Have we got context now? Hmm. I’m not sure. But this is what’s here now.
Click KKFI logo to catch all it offers streaming online.
Nahko Bear
Amazon Watch
Peace Shanti Om
Click on the photo above to visit Amazon Watch.
Alice in Wonderland
pantry
Pavane
Breakfast Special(s)
For the very first post enter "Breakfast Special, #1" and/or scroll through older entries; second helping = Railroad Crossing; third helping, Close Shave; fourth helping, People? Really Now; fifth helping, Pussy No More; sixth helping, 'book ends'; seventh helping, Odds? What Odds?; eighth helping, Do You Dig Pink Flamingoes Dancing in the Snow and Blue Lights?; ninth helping, Old Reliable Jack; tenth helping, Snowing Deep Sleep; eleventh helping, Connecting; twelth helping, Equations; #13, The Most Important Meal of the Day; from then on enter into search box Breakfast Special and a number such as: #14, #15, #16 and so on.
For Kili 90.1 fm, Pine Ridge, SD, click the image below for The Voice of the Lakota Nation.
Native America Calling ~ Native Voice
Native America Calling on Native Voice
Copyright notice ~
Violating copyright births bad karma---imagine a mad hacker you'll never see coming--nor catch going. Respect = my work is my work and your work is your work.
Everything posted here is my work, copyrighted, unless otherwise noted. Comments aside. Om
Climate Denial Crock of the Week
Tree hugging on a practical level and more. All sorts of great tidbits from Mushroom homes to…well solar panels. Do not delay. Visit today.
Connie Dover
folk ballad singer of “Last Night by the River”
Coto 2
News Site–eg arrests of Mountaintop Removal Protestors
om mani padme hum jewel in the lotus wahupa qi prana universal life energy
47whitebuffalo's Blog 