I Miss U all my Blog

My friend Linda from San Diego and Chris from London are visiting Paris this weekend.  Yesterday, I hooked up with them and we saw Paris by night!  It was lovely!  We had such a nice time.... I really hope they come back and visit again!! 

The Lost Weekend is a tale of the power and destruction of alcoholism, as told through the powerful talents of director Billy Wilder. This film won Oscars for best picture, actor, director and screenplay in 1945, it won the grand prize at Cannes, and the Golden Globe – this is a film that was lauded and applauded by all when it came out and I have to say it was well deserved.

While The Lost Weekend is definitely alcoholism through the lens of 1945 it is nonetheless a biting and harrowing look at what people didn’t consider a disease, but something to hide, a family scandal. This was an era that still remembered prohibition so the last thing anyone wanted to admit was that they or a loved one was addicted to alcohol, and the best part is that Wilder and his actors refuse to shy away from this taboo. For 1945 this film is dark, deep, realistic and I am sure highly controversial – but it still holds power today.

I am highly in debt to the films of Billy Wilder as he serves as one of my chief sources of inspiration, and The Lost Weekend was new to me. Wilder is truly a genius in terms of finding the controversial subjects and making them into meaningful movies that transcend time; he excels at getting to the core of his characters situations and this makes his movies work in any decade not just the decade in which they were released.

Director: Billy Wilder
Writer: Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder
Don Birnam: Ray Milland
Helen St. James: Jane Wyman
Wick Birnam: Phillip Terry
Nat: Howard Da Silva
Bim: Frank Faylen

Don Birnam: Don't wipe it away, Nat. Let me have my little vicious circle. You know, the circle is the perfect geometric figure. No end, no beginning.

The whim came over me yesterday to watch Star Wars, not just any Star Wars but the version of A New Hope from my childhood – you know the one where the blur at the bottom of Luke’s landspeeder was created by putting vaseline on the camera lens. As much as I appreciate Lucas’s desire to “complete” the things he did in the original trilogy, I must say that I don’t think they needed it. The original Star Wars movies have always been perfect in my opinion and to this day the special effect completely hold up with things being produced by effects studios that have almost 30 years on Lucas and his garage effects.

The first and foremost thing that is right with the original edition – Han shoots first! I’m sorry, Greedo doesn’t shoot at Han who then fires back, or they both shoot at the same time – Han is the badass that knows he has to shoot first or die first, and that is the PERFECT set up for his character versus the rest of the more sheltered main characters in the film. Luke is naive, Leia is powerless and Han gets the job done.

I must also say that the prequels must be ignored to truly enjoy the original trilogy. If you actually think about metichlorines, whiny little Anakin, the old republic, or the way Revenge of the Sith ended, you will sit puzzling at how nothing actually fits together. And I’m sorry, the force is so much cooler when you don’t know it’s little organisms in your blood and body that control it. I could have lived without that knowledge – all I needed to know was that it “surrounds us” and I was cool.

Star Wars is the corner stone of the entire franchise, and I have to say that in the filmography of George Lucas it is his best directorial effort. One major element of this is the cast he chose; Lucas put a great deal of emphasis on casting, and wanting to make sure that his main characters had chemistry – he actually did group auditions for the three leads and I have to say that paid off.

Director & Writer: George Lucas
Luke Skywaler: Mark Hamill
Han Solo: Harrison Ford
Princess Leia: Carrie Fisher
Obi-Wan: Alec Guinness
Darth Vader: James Earl Jones

Obi-Wan: Your father's light saber. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not as clumsy or random as a blaster; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic. Before the dark times...before the Empire.

On a whim I ordered Only You from Netflix, I was pleasantly surprised. Faith is a little girl when she plays the Ouija board with her brother and asks it who her soul mate is, Faith gets the name “Damon Bradley”; as a teen she goes to a fortune teller and gets the same name which further enforces to Faith that a man named Damon Bradley is a powerful force in her future.

Now in her 20’s Faith is an English teacher who is engaged to be married, not to a man named Damon but to a podiatrist and the only ones that still know about Damon are her best friends including her sister in law Kate. 10 days before the wedding a friend of the groom calls Faith to cancel his RSVP because he has to go to Italy and it turns out his name is Damon Bradley. Faith decides to impulsively fly to Italy and track down Damon so she can at least get a look at him before she marries the podiatrist and Kate tags along. What follows is an impulsive journey that leads Kate to her real soul mate, but what she doesn’t know is that this man may not be Damon Bradley.

What is so enjoyable about Only You is that it feels like a classic Hollywood film from the 1950’s; the lovers are a perfect match, the conflict is complete and real, and the film is steeped in classic movie references. Just from my first viewing I recognized homages to Cinderella, Casablanca, Roman Holiday and a few others.

I must also say that as much as I really love Robert Downey Jr., I really rented this movie so I could see Bonnie Hunt. Ever since Jerry Maguire I have been in love with her sarcastic, no nonsense style of comedy and she is probably one of my favorite actresses. In Only You Bonnie does not disappoint and if I could choose a sister in law I would want one like her.

While this movie probably plays more to women than men I do have to say that this movie is a very fun watch, and an all around good, light-hearted film. Eventually, I see Only You being added to my DVD collection.

Director: Norman Jewison
Writer: Diane Drake
Faith: Marisa Tomei
Peter: Robert Downey Jr.
Kate: Bonnie Hunt
Giovanni: Joaquim de Almeida
Larry: Fisher Stevens
Damon Bradley/Harry: Billy Zane

Faith Corvatch: Why couldn't we just have arranged marriages in America?
Kate Corvatch: Yeah, at least you could spend the rest of your life blaming your parents instead of yourself.

Iron Man 2 is about to begin principal photography…and so I watched Iron Man again. When I watch Iron Man I kind of get the same feeling about Iron Man 2 that I got when I would think about what the sequal to Batman Begins would be – that I don’t think there is any way the second part of the franchise can be bad.

Jon Favreau put together an incredibly tight, thought out movie in Iron Man and if he commits as much to Iron Man 2 as he did to the first part then I’ll probably have another favorite movie on my hands in 2010.

Agent Phil Coulson: I'm Agent Phil Coulson with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
Virginia 'Pepper' Potts: That's quite a mouthful.
Agent Phil Coulson: I know. We're working on it.

TODAY'S THE DAY!
Today is my blog's anniversary #2!! Happy Blogaversary to you, NEWS FROM FRANCE... See here for the first post. Please feel free to check out my archives as I have MANY, MANY wonderful shots of France.... Enjoy!!!ctures taken off theinternet- not my

Blake Lively took small part in Simon Says (film), and played as Jenny... Simon Says is a Horror film made in 2006. The film was directed by William Dear (Angels in the Outfield, Harry and the Hendersons). The film stars Crispin Glover and Margo Harshman. It was premiered at Fantastic Fest on 24 September 2006.

Blake Lively, Robyn, Ernie and Lori Lively are in this film. Along with Bart Johnson (Robyn Lively's husband) and also Kelly Blatz (Blake Lively's boyfriend).

"Simon Says" tell... 5 teenagers set-off on spring break only to have their vacation plans interrupted by the mysterious disappearance of one of their friends. B/f long, the kids realize they'd made a grave mistake trusting an odd set of twins called Simon and Stanley who recommended the cursed lakeside campsite.

A series of fiendish woodland man-traps soon pick off Riff, Vicky and Ashley, and Kate looks on in horror as Simon chains dope-smoker Zack to a tree with barbed wire and makes him inhale on a monster-sized reefer, the ash of which ignites and burns him alive.

Kate escapes but ultimately becomes a captive of the deranged Simon, who has dispatched his brother Stanley in similar gruesome fashion. The film ends with another set of teenagers presenting themselves as further victims for Simon, whose penalty if they forget to say "Simon says..." is death.

Out of the Past is one of the best film noir’s I have ever seen, one of the noir’s that definitely defined the genre.

Jeff Bailey is an owner of a gas station, or at least that’s what he would have you think. In classic noir style he is actually a former PI who is hiding out from an old boss, and a past that he doesn’t want to catch up with him which always means that it will catch up with him and when he really doesn’t want it to. Soon Jeff is dragged back into his past, when he was hired to find Whit Sterling’s missing girlfriend, but of course nothing is ever that simple and before too long Jeff is in too far over his head and he can’t see his way out of the trap.

What I love about Out of the Past is that it is noir all the way to its toes. The protagonist is deeply flawed, even fatally flawed. We have both representations of the noir woman – the angelic woman in the girl Jeff is in love with now, and the femme fatale in the woman Jeff was initially in love with, the one that he can’t stay away from but brings him nothing but misery. The big bad is all evil with no redemptive quality, and the world itself seems out to get Jeff. This is a world that is all gray. What I love about the core of film noir is in Out of the Past. This is a movie where all the characters must atone for their sins and they have no say in the matter

I have to say that I have seen far too few movies with Kirk Douglas or Robert Mitchum. Not only are these men a phenomenal pair in this film, but on their own each actor is incredibly powerful and very fun to watch.

The camera work and photography are absolutely classic and beautiful in this film. I was actually in awe of several of the shots and the camera work and lighting. This is a beautiful film and I think the entire film is a testament to the kinds of images that could be created in film noir.

Director: Jacques Tourneur
Writer: Daniel Mainwaring
Jeff Bailey: Robert Mitchum
Kathie Moffat: Jane Greer
Whit Sterling: Kirk Douglas
Meta Carson: Rhonda Fleming

Kathie Moffat: Oh, Jeff, I don't want to die!
Jeff Bailey: Neither do I, baby, but if I have to I'm gonna die last.

Today is Andrea's B-day so I wanted to wish her a FABULOUS day fun of FUN and LAUGHTER and JOY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ANDREA!!

Charlie Chaplin was one of the most influential individuals in film history and even today comedians look to him for inspiration. Chaplin is the bio-pic that tells the tale of Chaplin from his early childhood through his acceptance of his lifetime achievement Oscar near the end of his life.

I must first give props to Richard Attenborough because through his wonderful handling of the wild and twisty life of Charles Chaplin the performers life becomes more than just a history lesson, or a example of filmmaking at the start of the industry; the story is one of a man who wanted people to laugh, and wanted to make sure his films had something to say – the story is one that is far reaching and epic, yet rather than feeling long and strenuous the film feels as light and airy as Chaplin’s films were. Attenborough has to capture a main character at many ages, and in many historical eras and it is never labored or satirical. From the choice of costumes to every single actor that passes in front of the lens this film smacks of a director that knew exactly what he was achieving and how he came about it.

No matter who you are you cannot come out of watching Chaplin without being in awe of what Robert Downey Jr. does in that role. It is no wonder that this role garnered Downey his first Academy Award nomination. Like so few actors are truly capable of when you watch Downey portray Chaplin you quickly forget that he is Robert Downey Jr, and all you see if Charlie Chaplin. I can only marvel at exactly how Downey is able to inhabit the shoes of Chaplin so well, from the way the Tramp walked to creating the real life personality there are no missteps in this role. I commend Richard Attenborough for casting Downey, the film could have been something entirely different if another actor were in role.

Director: Richard Attenborough
Writers: William Boyd, Bryan Forbes & William Goldman
Charles Chaplin: Robert Downey Jr.
Hannah Chaplin: Geraldine Chaplin
Sydney Chaplin: Paul Rhys
Oona O’Neill: Moira Kelly
George Hayden: Anthony Hopkins
Mack Sennett: Dan Aykroyd
Mabel Normand: Marisa Tomei
Douglas Fairbanks: Kevin Kline
Mary Pickford: Maria Pitillo
Mildred Harris: Milla Jovovich
J. Edgar Hoover: Kevin Dunn
Paulette Goddard: Diane Lane
Rollie: David Duchovny

Charlie Chaplin: If you want to understand me, watch my movies.

Steve Martine and John Candy are comedy geniuses; each has a very different style yet somehow in Planes, Trains & Automobiles they work together flawlessly.

Neal Page and Del Griffith have one thing in common, they are both trying to get to Chicago and their plane gets stranded states away because of a snowstorm. Neal reluctantly agrees to team up with Del to find another way home and together the men not only irritate each other to no end, but run into every trial you can imagine from being forced to ride in the back of a hillbillies pick up truck to being stolen from in a motel room. This movie is a traveler’s nightmare and that alone makes it one of the funniest films you’ll enjoy about something that might actually happen to you.

Planes, Trains & Automobiles is a John Hughes film and I have to say it is the first Hughes film I’ve seen that is an adult story. While the teen angst I’ve come to associate so much with Hughes was gone, the anal, goofy, uptight characters were still a perfect fit for Hughes mentality. Between his knack for comedy and the extreme talents of Martin and Candy no joke is misplaced and even the most surreal situations retain their comic power.

I was a child when John Candy died and I have to say that I don’t really remember many of his performances with clarity. Watching Planes, Trains & Automobiles reminded me that Candy was a powerful comic in his heyday and his films should still be watched.

What I liked so much about Planes, Trains & Automobiles is again that it is film whose comedy doesn’t rely on the trends of its contemporary pop culture to be funny like Shrek or Murphy Brown, it finds its humor in the humanity of its characters and situations and that is what will make the film last and remain fresh for many years to come.

Director & Writer: John Hughes
Neal Page: Steve Martin
Del Griffith: John Candy
State Trooper: Michael McKean
Taxi Racer: Kevin Bacon
Car Rental Agent: Edie McClurg

Del: You know I had a feeling that when we parted ways. We would somehow wind up back together again. I've never seen a guy get picked up by his testicles before. Lucky thing for you that cop passed by when he did. Otherwise, you'd be lifting up your schnutz to tie you shoes. I'm sorry. That's terrible. Do you have any idea how glad I am I didn't kill you?
Neal: Do you have any idea how glad I'd be if you had?

Angelina Paris2, original art, 9" x 11"

It's pretty much a given in Paris that you will wait on a lot of lines, though you don't read about this in the guide books...ahem