The cast of "Nine"; image courtesy of newsinfilm.com

I saw Precious today and want to talk about it length, but need to process what I saw. I’d also like to get to Push, Sapphire’s book on which the movie was based at some point before the end of the year. For now, I’ll say this. I didn’t love it but I did like it, thought Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique were great, was heartened that my matinee screening had a good and diverse turnout, and think you should see it. But you may want to see it with someone and encourage your local theater to have a safe space where people can go if the movie becomes too intense or touches on frought emotions or horrible memories.

For the time being, I thought I’d mention the preview of a coming attraction. Nine, Rob Marshall’s screen adaptation of Arthur Kopit, Mario Fratti, and Maury Yeston’s musical (itself an adaptation of Federico Fellini’s 8 1/2), comes out next week. You can view the trailer here.

So, I know very little about this musical. I only recently discovered the origins of its source material, which I haven’t seen (though, based on my less-than-enthusiastic viewings of La Dolce Vita and I Vitelloni don’t hold high hopes for it, unless Fellini allowed for self-deprication in his autobiographical film the way that Bob Fosse did in All That Jazz, a movie of a similar mold that I love). Beyond that, I knew Raul Julia starred in its Broadway debut back in 1982, the original production won many Tonys, and once heard someone sing “Unusual Way” at a family friend’s wedding, which is a really cryptic song choice for such a ceremony.

As for the film adaptation, I know the players. Rob Marshall directed Chicago and is at the helm here. Daniel Day Lewis plays Guido Contini, a tortured director. The women who populate his life are considerable — Marion Cotillard plays his wife, Penélope Cruz his mistress, Nicole Kidman his muse, Stacey Ferguson (aka Duchess Fergie Ferg) a whore he once knew, and Kate Hudson a fashion writer whose character has a song that was written for the movie. Oh, and Judi Dench is Contini’s costume designer and confidant.

So, I totally suspect a two-hour version of Julio Iglesias’s “To All The Girls I’ve Loved Before” with generous dashes of love for the authorial presence of male film directors. Also, I think this trailer gives you virtually no insight into what this story is about.

That said, I totally want to see this movie because:

1) I’m always interested in film musicals, whether they are good, bad, screen adaptations of stage musicals, or screen adaptations of stage musicals of feature films. Yes, this means I saw Hairspray and didn’t hate it as much as many of my movie geek friends did. But those matters should be saved for another post. 

2) Unlike many people who hated Chicago (several of whom I suspect feel Marty or Roman got robbed out of a Best Picture Oscar for Gangs of New York or The Pianist), I actually enjoyed it. I felt the adaptation stayed true to the source material, deftly staged sequences that are actually going on in the protagonist’s mind, and felt like Catherine Zeta Jones, Queen Latifah, and John C. Reilly were great. I even enjoyed Renée Zellweger and Richard Gere, actors whom I otherwise would rather not watch in a movie. My only real complaint (which Jon Stewart shares), was that Bebe Neuwirth, who won a Tony for her portrayal of Velma Kelly was replaced by Zeta Jones. Otherwise, bring it.

3) Daniel Day Lewis can sing? The same guy who apparently prepared for There Will Be Blood by recording his character’s voice using early 20th century phonographic technology? I am there.

d) I’m fascinated by the presence of female pop stars in contemporary film musicals. As the golden age of film musicals has long since passed, it seems like the ones that do make it to the screen need a familiar face and voice, and they are almost always women with celebrated recording careers. Just as I wondered what Madonna brought to Evita, Queen Latifah brought to Chicago, and Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson brought to Dreamgirls, so too am I curious what Fergie is going to bring to Nine. While detractors might snigger that it’s fitting for the woman who sang “My Humps” and “London Bridge” to play a whore, I’ll counter that she’s the only singer we hear in the trailer. Yes, that’s her singing “Be Italian.”

e) In the movie, I’m interested in seeing a whore play a teacher to our genius director protagonist man. In real life, I advocate the decriminalization of prostitution and would like sex workers to get worker rights and benefits.

f) While I worry that these women are going to be portrayed as long-suffering, one-dimensional objects of Condini’s affection, I want to see a movie that boasts so many actresses. I haven’t seen this many women in an ensemble since I saw Cruz in Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver (note: Cruz is also starring in Almodóvar’s Broken Embraces and I can’t wait for it to start playing in Austin). 

As an aside, the gossip enthusiast in me is also curious about Cruz and Kidman starring in a movie together. Ever since Tom Cruise split with Nicole Kidman and dated Cruz, I always wonder what their interactions are like every time they show up on a magazine cover together. It’s a catty curiosity, but a curiosity nonetheless. I wonder how they would be portrayed in a movie about Tom Cruise’s life, but want very much for this movie not to be made.

Vogue cover girls Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, and Kate Hudson; image courtesy of latimesblogs.latimes.com

Nicole Kidman and Penélope Cruz bookending Vanity Fair's 2001 Hollywood Issue cover; image courtesy of abc.net.au

Whether this movie is good or not remains to be seen. That said, I’ll see you at the multiplex.

NY, 1846. A Five Points imperversa la battaglia fra le bande rivali dei Nativi e dei Conigli Morti per la supremazia sul territorio. Lo scontro porterà alla vittoria dei primi e all’instaurazione dell’ordine violento e criminale governato da Bill il Macellaio. Ma 16 anni più tardi, Amsterdam Vallon, figlio del capo dei Conigli Morti, torna decio a fare vendetta del padre ucciso in battaglia da Bill.

PER CHI

Per chi identifica le origini dell’umanità con “l’Età dell’innocenza”, per chi crede che la violenza si possa combattere con la non violenza e che un mondo di pace, privo di brutalità, sia un mondo possibile… non si scoraggi di fronte a questa visione pessimistica – nonché realistica – dell’uomo e della vita sociale, dove la violenza è una forza – dichiaratamente esercitata  o celatamente in agguato  - che caratterizza in modo intrinseco la natura umana.  Non solo, GONY offre una concezione del mondo in cui  la violenza è anche fattore morfogenetico, cioè creatore di nuove forme e nuovi equilibri, fondamento che crea e unica legge che preserva l’ordine sociale. La storia dei popoli è fatta col sangue, lo Stato moderno, non solo quello americano,  è nato da guerre, odio e devastazione, e le civiltà (lo dice chiaro l’immagine finale del film) risorgono sulle lapidi.

Per chi pensa che gli Americani vivano nella perenne fascinazione della grandezza dei propri padri e in essa ripongano le ragioni di un sentimento di sé alquanto esagerato. GONY  non è il solito film sull’America dove gli Americani (i nativi) sono i “buoni”  e gli altri i “cattivi”.

Per chi pensa che dopo l’11 settembre gli Americani abbiano bisogno di un film come questo che, sebbene non esiti a mettere in luce nefandezze  e corruzione politica, porta le loro memorie a ritrovare il senso di un’identità minacciata nel profondo e celebra la nascita della loro Nazione.

Per chi non si impressiona di fronte a scene di violenza nuda e cruda. La battaglia qui si fa con i coltelli: asce e martelli, mutilazioni e brandelli di carne a dipingere un affresco di sangue che pervade ogni fotogramma. Ed è puro realismo, giammai esibizione o virtuosismo estetico fine a se stesso, che la regia di Scorsese riesce però a sublimare, collocando le scene di battaglia in un tempo mitico e lontano.

Per chi è appassionato di Storia e vuole saper qualcosa di più sulla nascita degli Stati Uniti d’America..  si legga il libro di Herbert Asbury, “Le gang di New York. Una storia informale della malavita”.

Per chi si esalta per le scene epiche e le frasi da “duro”, tipo: “Quando uccidi un re, non lo fai in silenzio. Lo uccidi dove tutta la corte può vederlo morire”, “ No figliolo, mai! Il sangue resta sulla lama (del rasoio da barba). Un giorno capirai”, “Sono come un fiammifero, mi si può fregare una sola volta”, “Mulberry Street… Worth… Cross e Orange… e Little Water. Ciascuno dei Five Points è un dito. Quando chiudo la mano, si trasforma in un pugno. E se voglio, posso usarlo contro di te” .

Per chi vuole divertirsi a rintracciare gli errori di montaggio e i falsi storici disseminati (ahimè!) nel film.

Martin Scorsese

By Gregg Kilday – HollywoodReporter.com

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. will bestow its highest honor, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, on Martin Scorsese at the 67th annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 17.

The award recognizes “outstanding contribution to the entertainment field”; the most recent recipients have been Steven Spielberg, Warren Beatty, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Williams and Michael Douglas.

Scorsese presented the award to Spielberg at the Golden Globes broadcast in January.

An Oscar winner for directing “The Departed,” Scorsese also has picked up two Golden Globes — for directing “Departed” and “Gangs of New York” — and has five additional Globe noms.

His next film, “Shutter Island,” will be released Feb. 19 by Paramount.

NBC will be broadcast the Globes from the Beverly Hilton; Ricky Gervais is the host.

Nominations will be announced Dec. 15.

Amazon Specials!

I almost always hesitate to admit how much of a big fan I was of gangster films.  I don’t know…afraid of being harshly accused of “perpetuating” stereotypes– I guess.  However, although I’ve been attracted to a few “thugz”, I could NEVER date a thug.  Can not imagine my dad’s reaction!! And today, my daughter’s!! Plus that–I’m too sweet.  

None the less, the stories and scenes were fascinating.  I still find myself quoting certain scenes.  Particularly from Scarface, Godfather, New Jack City, or Menace II Society.  

  My favorite gangster movies include the following:

The last 2 may be debatable when it comes to categorizing as “gangster” movies.  However, they’re gang related and…I love to watch Morris Chestnut and Lorenz Tate in ANY movie 

ESPECIALLY! This brother right here:

*BITES DOWN ON THE KNUCKLES*—Is he married?  Who cares?  Just playin. Just playin….

Für mich war DiCaprio lange Zeit nicht wirklich ein richtiger Schauspieler. Das lag einzig und allein an der Rolle in Titanic. Die Art und Weise wie er gespielt hat, hat mir und vielen anderen (nur Männer ) missfallen. Danach habe ich seine Filme gemieden (u. a. The Beach, Gangs of New York). Aber ich muss sagen der Leo hat die Kurve gepackt.

In The Departed, Blood Diamond und ganz besonders in Revolutionary Road (In Zeiten des Aufruhrs), zeigt er was er kann und er kann es wirklich gut. Deswegen bin ich richtig gespannt auf seine zwei neuen Filme.

Zum einen wäre da “Shutter Island”, da ist nun ein zweiter Trailer veröffentlicht worden. DiCaprio spielt einen US-Marshal der auf der abgelegenen Insel “Shutter Island” versucht, das verschwinden einer Mörderin aus einer Irrenanstalt aufzuklären. Während der Ermittlungen stößt er beim Personal auf Ablehnung und hat im Laufe des Films mit eigenen psychischen Problemen zu kämpfen. “Shutter Island” basiert auf einem Roman von Dennis Lehane, dieser hat bereits das Buch zu “Mystic River” geschrieben. Verfilmt wurde “Shutter Island” von niemand geringerem als Martin Scorsese. DiCaprio und Scorsese hatten ja bereits bei “Gangs of New York”, “Aviator” und “The Departed” zusammen gearbeitet und kennen sich dementsprechend gut. Auch die restliche Riege der Schauspieler (Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley) kann sich sehen lassen. Schaut Euch bitte den Trailer an, der ist wirklich eine Granate. Sehr atmosphärisch mit einem Horroreinschlag. Ist derzeit wohl einer der besten Trailer. Release ist im Februar 2010, war aber eigentlich angesetzt für dieses Jahr. Der Verleih hatte aber immense Angst, dass der Film dieses Jahr untergeht, deswegen hat man ihn verschoben. Bei dem Trailer ist die Angst aber ungerechtfertigt.

Ein weiterer Film mit DiCaprio, und darauf dürfen wir sehr gespannt sein, ist das neue Werk von Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight). Der Film heißt “Inception” (Übersetzt: Anbeginn, Anfang) und der Teaser ist eine weitere Granate. Über den Inhalt wird noch geschwiegen aber lt. Warner Bros. wird der Film ein “zeitgenössischer SciFi-Actionfilm, angesiedelt in der Architektur des Geistes”.

Der Teaser geht in Richtung Matrix mit einem Schuss Dark City. Das wenige was man sieht, macht bereits jetzt schon einen fulminanten Eindruck. Neben DiCaprio spielen noch Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies), Ellen Page (Juno) und Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brick). Genießt den Teaser der macht richtig Lust auf mehr.

New York City is not known for its folk heroes.  There are few Paul Bunyans and Peco Bills in the local vernacular. 

Yet we still had one, and it is fitting that New York’s tall tale hero happened to be a firefighter.

Mose Humphrey was a name bandied about in the early 1800s.  The original person was a printer for the New York Sun, as well as a member of a local fire company.  Stories circulated of Mose as a fire fighter who was especially heroic and strong, though it is not certain if they are true.  Furthermore, He also was quite a Bowery Boy, a form of local tough guy that had an unsavory reputation. 

Over time, the Bowery Boy aspect of Mose’s story diminished, and Mose himself grew bigger and more fanciful, reaching eight feet tall with “hands as big as Virginia hams.”  The stories about Mose focused more on bravery and his selflessness to help others in need. 

Mary Pope Osbourne, in a tribute to the firefighters who died on September 11, 2001, decided to rework the Mose legend for younger children.  The result is New York’s Bravest, a book that students young and old will find thrilling, heartbreaking, and packed with moments for study, research and discussion.

Osbourne gears the book for younger readers, from 1st to 3rd grade, and her writing is beautifully clear and direct.  Mose is shown at his heroic best, fighting fires and saving babies, even when facing his inevitable demise.  His “death” is probably the best scene in the book, and Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher’s illustrations add a wonderful exclamation point to the drama.  This book is read every year in my classrooms, and many students have cried and cheered at the end.

Yet despite its reading level, New York’s Bravest can be used on any age in any classroom.  Younger children will grasp the moral aspect of Mose’s good deeds and good heart.  Children of an older age can note the illustrations of 19th Century New York, contrasting them with the look of the city today.

For high schoolers, though, this book can take students in an altogether different direction.  Mose’s story is a great way to discuss the often wide disconnect between mythology and reality.  Firefighters are among the most celebrated and respected professions today.  Yet it wasn’t always this way, especially during Mose’s time.

New York City did not have a professional fire department until 1865.  Volunteer fire companies dotted the city, where local boys and men would join up, drink and carouse, and occasionally fight fires.  Each of the companies had territories they protected from rivals, especially through violence.  Often, fire companies attracted the lowest criminals, and were no better than gangs of thugs who were manipulated by corrupt politicians to fix elections and beat up opponents.

Case in point: William Tweed, the famous boss of Tammany Hall in the late 1860s, got his start with his own fire company, the Americus Fire Company.  Its symbol was a Bengal tiger, which became the symbol of Tammany Hall as a whole.  The scene in Gangs of New York where the two fire companies brawled in the street while a fire raged is quite close to reality–one of the few scenes Martin Scorsese got right.

However you use it, New York’s Bravest is a fantastic read, and a fitting tribute to the firefighters of New York–from the brawling 1800s to our professional companies of today.   Please let us know your thoughts on this or any book reviewed here at the Neighborhood.

Enjoy!

When I were younger, the first movies I were exposed to, featuring Leonardo DiCaprio were Titanic and Romeo + Juliet. It’s due to those two movies, that I think my preconceived notion of him developed. For years and years and years after this preconceived notion manifested, I could not watch a movie with DiCaprio in it and think his acting good… Until today.

Yes, today marks a momentous occasion, the day I can finally love some of his acting (Gangs of New York being the only exception). I introduce you to Shutter Island, an upcoming thriller film, directed and produced by Martin Scorsese who also worked with DiCaprio on Gangs of New York (See a pattern?). Other actors include: Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Collateral, Just Like Heaven), Ben Kingsley (Ghandi, Anne Frank: The Whole Story, Lucky Number Slevin) and Michelle Williams (Imaginary Heroes, Brokeback Mountain, Deception)

The film itself revolves around a Massachusetts island set in 1954, in a hospital for the criminally insane (an asylum), where a patient has gone missing, DiCaprio plays the part of the films protagonist, the first of two U.S Marshals investigating the disappearance. On a seperate note, this is a film I cannot wait to see in cinemas (Mid-February 2010 realease), and will probably go and see it AT the cinema. Judging from the trailer, I recommend it.

For those wondering if/when they’d ever see the next part of this series, well (a) your question has been answered, and (b) no, the shenanigans of the servants of Dis [part v] have failed to dissuade me from the task of building the ark.

I did manage to get caught up with Whore Box Orifice’s True Blood program, and am forced to wonder, in my Trumanesque world, if they know I am [watching]. What in the Sam[antha] Hell? Should I [want to burn]? No! At least, I don’t think so.

The scene above is when an old vampire commits suicide, by meeting the rising sun. His response is to the girl/woman who asked him if he’s “afraid of the pain?” Some song, now beats inside my juke box, chiming “what you read, what you watch, what you listen to.” Oh, I remember what song that is … Mojo Nixon’s appropriately entitled “Burn Down the Malls.” {*1}

Is there revelation or mind-fucking in progress? If you’ll recall, at one point, we were highly focused on Nick “the fireman” Cage and that movie, Burning, er, I mean Knowing. Looking back, I find it quite significant his son/sun, the “rebel” who rejected his licentious Father’s “love” offerings, and the one who chose to elevate himself though diet, lives in a room at the apex of the pyramid, with an eye for a window to look out of [from where he has his vision of the "forest burning" and "animals panicking," syncing us back to the Dark kNight and close of part ii].

A long time ago, while looking into I Am Legend, a movie that in retrospect, describes my present predicament a little too well, I surmised that I was the eYe at the top of the pyramid [a look into the Octopus's Eye/I album still on hold]. In other words, that the “planners and schemers” [as quoth the Raven/Joker] have no influence, just confluence over me.

I expressed disappointment/disgust that the movie was yet another concerted effort at programming self-sacrifice as a solution [you can be assured this theme is meant for "us," as "they" would never be stupid enough to sacrifice themselves]. I’ve since had many, including a mentor, and a Freemason of alleged significant degree [i.e., 32nd], tell me that I am wrong. Why? Ultimately, am I not the eYe at the top of the pyramid, because I, by exercising my free will determine my fate.

Now, I’m not denying the influence of other beings upon my life. I know I’ve been protected by benevolent entities, I have communed with my spirit guide directly, and doubtlessly, I am being led and nudged by all sorts of forces beyond my understanding. For example, why am I building this damn ark?

Hence, my quandary. What are these movies doing? It’s obvious, to anyone with even a smidgen of common sense left in them, that the main purpose of the Wizards of Id is to program, stupefy, and degenerate the masses. Understanding social engineering, I have to concede they [those in the know, and the clueless repeaters] have done their job too well. Yet, beyond synchronicity, it’s undeniable, that some things are put in so precisely and specifically [such as the above], they are undoubtedly meant convey something, be it malice or enlightenment…

While I may, or may not, have been “right,” the pyramid, like many other symbols of note, is subject to multiple layers of interpretation [I provided another in part v of this series]. Ultimately, does it matter? Should I not concede the point, not at all, yet should I doubt myself, considerably. So, is the fire inevitable? I don’t have that answer … yet.

“Death is the doorway to awe,” inFORMs us yet another movie of dualistic intent (The Fountain). Yea, but as I’ve been saying, if you’ve devoted your life to the pursuit of ignorance, once you shed this mortal coil, should you seek “freedom,” you will encounter the barrier that won’t let your soul pass [the grid], and be left with little choice but to either stay disembodied, or [re]incarnate. Does anyone reading this honestly believe, that the degenerated future will afford one anything other than more ignorance, guaranteeing endless repetition of “the loop?”

Yet, again I’m presented with a dilemma as to the intent of the wizards, for in this same vehicle of dubious “enlightenment,” starring an “X-man,” we are presented with that “X-box” at a moment that spells wisdom, for those with [or should I say without] eyes to see. Hugh Jackmanass rushes from the hospital, where his wife lay dying, so that he can go run his tests on his lab animals, and find a “cure” for her cancer. The ignorant fuck has obviously never read Pythagoras, Tolstoy or Wagner:

“Any person who had to endure certain experiments carried out on animals which perish slowly in the laboratories would regard death by burning at the stake as a happy deliverance. Like everyone else in my profession, I used to be of the opinion that we owe nearly all our knowledge of medical and surgical science to animal experiments. Today I know that precisely the opposite is the case, in surgery especially, they are of no help to the practitioner, indeed he is often led astray by them.” –Hans Ruesch

“Of all the black crimes that Man commits against God and Creation, vivisection is the blackest.” –Ghandi

Along the way, having eyes yet seeing not, he misses both the x-box [¿distracted by the sparkles?] and the bus offering the mystic key to escape [19]. So, yes, predictably, just as this Jackass deserves, he wife dies before he can “save” her.

Again the sacrifice + fire + capstoneless pyramid, and again I wonder why were the prior cues included? For who’s benefit? The [du]mb[a]sses? I don’t have the answer. Don’t know if and when I will. Regardless of their intentions, I’m still going with my instinct, which is telling me I don’t wanna burn up, hence I’m building the ark.

Dreaming at some point since this series commenced, I found myself on a bus traversing what appeared to be some unknown part of the Brasilian coutnryside. As is common with me, I verbalized whatever song was playing inside my head. “There’s a little black spot on the sun today.”

“That’s my soul up there,” chimed in a random voice from a few seats behind me.

I turned around, wondering who, and it was Sting himself. I continued, “It’s the same old thing as yesterday.”

“That’s my sould up there,” he added.

How fucking cool is that, I thought. I’m singing a duet with Sting. I tried to keep going, but garbled it up, getting progressively more nervous, something like “Why do things have to be this, way, um, er, something, stood there, pouring rain.”

“Everybody screws that part up,” he laughed, and I invited him to come up and sit with me for the duration of the trip. Ended up recommending he go to this amazing little island, where people care not who he were and where one will forget the world at large. Oddly, this island is a place I’ve only visited in my dreams.

There may be something to that. And there’s probably a reason, why that song, to me, one who’s never been a Police fan or cared much for the Sting persona [though, I will admit he chose to/was cast into two excellent roles in his career: Dune & Quadrophenia, both extremely illuminating]. A regular cryptic visitor to this site, Eugene, once sent me to a lecture by one fascinating interpreter of [multi-layered] Mayan hieroglyphs, who believes our souls enter this realm through the sun, hence Sting’s lyrics may have been more than random whimsical musings.

Well, if you’ll recall in Sunshine, Cillian Murphy, played a character who went into the sun, conquered his adversary, sacrificed himself [yet another repetition of this heinous "program"] and did so gladly, smiling as the Kelvin increased about him and his flesh was consumed. As mused before, Cilian, made his debut[ant] into the public mind, in 28 Days Later, directed by the same Danny Boyle, and oddly enough, the “climax” scene involved him killing his adversary by pushing his fingers through his eyes, syncing us back to Oedipus Rex, the archetypal King of Pain

Getting even weirder and deeper into the slimy sync-hole, I recalled I had a very odd picture of Silly Anne, I’d been wanting to use as part of my venture into a different the same hole, for my exploration of Valentine/Vagina Day. Sitting in that folder was the below [center] image from a movie Silly Anne’s polar doppelgänger Diana/Juno resonating mind-controlled scarlet emasculator de jour, eLLe[n] Page, which matched the relevant red to blue migration pattern from the Police album.

Tracey Fragments, was obviously about mind-control, and so is the upcoming Peacock, where to two are paired up to play two dysfunctional androgynes [worth noting, peacocks are associated with Juno]. Can’t help but remark how woman-like he appears in the first photo [above]. Hell, it even looks like he has boobs.

As one would expect, as with any Time cover, revelation is taking place. I’m concluding the cover is a communication vehicle for those in the know. I’m sure there were conveniently 99/66 “other” athletes worth covering and that er, “Dana’s” single horn is representative of her phallus. Man, I’m sorry, but that is one woman/dude, I couldn’t even begin to contemplate fucking.

Aside from all the hardware problems I mentioned at the start of my last article, which I’m choosing to blame on the mercury retrogade, I’ve been experiencing countless software problems, particularly with internet browsing. This has been somewhat alleviated by switching from Firefox to Opera. I guess I just didn’t want to see the obvious, or account for how Fire-FOX translates to Fire-666. Oh wait, are the symbols telling me whatever choice I make I’m fucked?

Said communication interruption led to my reading a long-sitting book that seemed a bit too daunting to pick up in the past, The Greatest Story Never Told by Lana Cantrell. She offers some amazing insight into the world, but it’s too much to get into here, and I’ll have to add a proper reView to the ever-expanding queue. However, I will, for now stress, that from Lana’s viewpoint (molecular biology), she offers on bit of undeniable truth: for ANY species, “androgyny equals death.”

Maybe, I will be the last “man” on Earth one day? Damn it, fire again! It is being programmed to such an extent, that it may be unavoidable [from a predictive programming of the holographic matrix perspective]. Silly Anne, also resonated with the last, ahem, “man” on earth, in 28 Days. In concert, the above [mind-twists] leads us back to another Bob, the one played by Will Smith in the aforementioned Legend, I Am [which coincidentally, spoke of another BoB/808, the recently discussed murdered Rastafarian freedom-fighter Marley].

Yes, Arnold was originally targeted to play the last, ahem, “man,” alive. It’s worth noting, that, so far, every one of the last four actors discussed (Jackman, Smith, Murphy, Ahnold) is a known, ahem, “butt-pirate.” Yargh, maties! {*2}

The word “Bob,” for me, also brought forth the memory of another infamous Bob, the possessed incestuous rapist and murderer from Twin Peaks. Yea, more fire. A burning torn (i.e., hymenless) “heart.” A flaming vagina at the top of the pyramid. Oh, Lucy Fur, you [not so] subtle temptress. Your hot little love box, must drip gasoline.

While Cillian and the extremely effeminate self-sacrificing vampire from True Blood, may have been longing to burn, for now, I’ll pass. I’m also growing convinced the Biblical narrative of “Jesus [willingly] dying for our sins,” was yet another massive conjob and self-sacrifice narrative weaved for the ignorant by same priest class who murdered the Christ [and likely, the same who funded Zeitgeist].

Note, the symbolism of his posture, him burning, and where he stands with the lead female character; the outer edge of the circle, because they’re not lovers. Hence, they skirt the rim of the hole, and aren’t nesting in the sweet spot (the center).

I had mused before, that the “Target” store logo, is yet another symbol for the vagina (as this ad made extremely fucking obvious). Some, were soon to [try and] correct me that it was a “sun symbol” instead. Again, multiple interpretations for us to argue over, even though they are ALL correct. Are you starting to SEE that the sun and the vagina may be one and the same?

Charlie’s Angel let us know, via 12/12 [L/L] resonating Lucy Liu, dressed in black [hence yet another female attending a funeral), that Lucy's hole, is indeed a place of fire. Is it like a flame-thrower? Hm, I did say "gasoline" earlier didn't I? Note the face someone took the time to embed in the V-shaped cone of fire [¿conifer?] emanating from the hole. Hm, kind of like a woman’s legs do! So, we have a V above and V below. As above, so below!

Said True Blood episode’s closing shot shows: the man is gone, the woman in red [yet, not the scarlet dress, but checkered-red, hence, the Madonna/Whore and note she's blond, not a red-head] left standing. Only her and the sun remain. A mirror?

Now, to give away more personal information than I should, ever since I started this damned/infernal Burning Ring series, I have been bereft of female company. Heck, I kid my friends that I can’t fucking remember what a vagina smells like anymore [¿gasoline maybe?]. I’m not using this as a forum to complain, just to ponder whether I should have expected anything different, or maybe plead mercy, as I really didn’t know what the fuck I was getting into [literally]. It’s safe to say I’ve fallen out of the Vampire Queen’s graces.

I’ll probably have to do a post on the vampire trend sooner or later. The “Vampire Queen” presented near the season finale of True Blood, was of course, a red-head.

While Lynch’s Twin Peaks may have [misre]presented us with the Queen of Hearts [i.e., Lucy Fur], as the victim [the "broken heart" symbol represents a ravaged/raped orifice], Martin Scorcese was bit more honest. Well, sort of. The redhead in Gangs of New York (a film that indubitably made the Vatican oh so proud), seemed to have a clue as to what was going on.

Speaking of what the average man once considered a design flaw by the creator (yet, now relishes as a choice passage), we all know what’s located right next to the “love box.” Well, thanks to an exchange of ideas with Aferrismoon, I realized the Dead Rabbits [another vagina reference] could be found right next to the Five Points (i.e., the star, aka the anus). Worth a mention, “the redhead” is Lucy’s counterpart from Charlie’s Angels, anally fixated/abused Cameron Diaz [part iv].

On one hand, I think this [my need to press the flesh, so to speak] may be proper motivation for me to try and finish up this series before too long, and stop side-tracking into other projects. On the other, judging by the last infested hole Lucy sent in my direction [Britney Spears], I may be better off for the time being.

For some odd reason, almost every single potential lover/victim that’s crossed my path lately has had red hair. What means that Ferris? Speaking of Dead Rabbits, the one pictured above is [co]incidentally named Angie Everh[e]art, star of “Running Red” and “Heart of Stone.” A message for me, Lucy? A message for me, Lucy? [Sung to the tune of "A Message to You Rudy" by The Specials.] {*3}

Insane EverFacts: Angela born in 1969 and graduated from FireStone High. She made history herstory as “the first redhead on the cover of Glamour magazine,” and “was once told by Eileen Ford that redheads don’t sell.” Has a younger sis named “Amber” and probably should not have “starred” in “1st To Die.” {*4}

Note how even in death, the trademark V is unavoidable. I’ve covered the V enough, if not more than enough, and though I don’t expect to change the world, I am getting quite sick of seeing people morons constantly flashing the “piece” sign. Aferismoon was good enough to send me this [now] extremely relevant photo of Tom Cruise [hm, another vampire of note] making the V sign. Basically, what came out of our conversation, and what I am conVinced of now, is that making the symbol open face means “fuck me,” while making it outwards means “fuck you!”

The latter picture is from the Iranian elections. Yet, another “green” revolution. It was quite striking to me to see all these ["evil," according to AIPAC's media wing] Iranians running around flashing the “peace” [of ass] sign. How green connects to this is probably also relevant, but seeing that I’ve been staying out of pink holes, I see no logic in wantonly diving into a green rabbit hole presently.

Continuing with more oddness, I finally bothered wondering if anyone previously connected Lucy Fur, to the Luscious Ferrous one. Per Google, some burlesque stripper in Los Angeles got the idea [well, 2009 per copyright]. Though, her being American in this day and age, along with her profession suggests that her hole and “fur” have rarely ever met. The only reason I bothered including it, other than to show how every damn picture includes a bare woman (hence, a vagina) inside a vagina, is that on the day I checked her myspace, she had exactly 1666 friends.

She now has more, but what are/were the fucking odds of that? Oh, and her “name” is Lucha Va Voom … in other words, Lucha VV aka Lucha 66.

I tried to stay away from the Vampire Queen, but she got to me. My cat/pussy-like curiosity will won’t be the death of me. That’s her below: Evan Rachel Wood. God Damn! She’s got the type of looks and body I could shag until the end of time. Don’t take that as a boast. The literal “end of time” may be coming fairly soon.

However, the cover shows us that metaphorically, she’s pretty much bagged and tagged. A tattoo of a vagina right next to her vagina [a "real" one]. Through the Looking Glass (i.e., mind-controlled). Plus, the armband tags her with the mark of a slave [very likely, a sex slave]. So much for that. I’ll find something else to do until time ends. {*5}

Much to the Queen’s dismay, this would be a good time to transition away from the Holy of Holies [the hole of holes, beyond the sheer veil], and back to myself. Hence, I consciously added 3 images, shifting the total away from her [69], back to me [72]. Yes, I am practicing my own from of wizardry [spelling, emoting, right-ing].

In other words, to turn within. For as long as i can remember, which isn’t very long, I’ve been telling you guys to look within that scary fucking mirror and find yourself … hence, I will now turn within and try to figure out just who the fuck [literally] I am. The next issue will focus on you guys. Yeah, there’s two issues left, so maybe I’ll get some hole before the end of the year. Could do more, but this is an impossible topic to cover via this medium. Not even sure i entirely grasp it myself.

Eight parts [again]. My second series of utmost introspection and importance [in my eyes; at least in mytrumanesque world all that matters]. As I commented in prior series, there’s a reason that number resonates with me in more ways than I could reVeil. I’m obviously having some kind of impact in the construct, judging by how quick the Medes have been to respond to me as of late.

The above series, from the Simpsons “Burns and the Bees” episode [part i], really set me back. While I’m getting used to seeing the Medes put out pieces related to my writings shortly after I publish them, the above resonates with something they would have had to probe my brain to have learned of. Peter Tosh seems to have undergone a somewhat similar experience:

“in the middle of the night, before daylight, I was attacked by evil forces, seen? Spiritual evil forces that cause my mouth to cease from function, cause my hands and legs to cease from moving. Is only my mind that was in function, and my two eyes. As close as four of my friends was to me, which was about 12 inches away, I could not tell a man nothing, or ask a man to do anything to help me; and I was on the brink of what you call “death.” Seen? … it started with these three (?) man here. Seen? Coming from the hospital I saw ghosts, three ghosts”
–Roger Steffens, “Rebel With a Cause”

My first thought had been, “they got it wrong,” as what occurred on my mystic voyage was quite dissimilar in some key ways. However, my consternation was alleviated after I finally saw WALL·E [alas, just a movie "homage"]. It wasn’t quite what happened to Peter either, and though I’m not at liberty to discuss events, I’ll say I was saved/protected from my predicament by outside/inside forces. {*6}

Scribbling out some patterns on my notepad one night at my 19 bar, I contemplated the nonsensical Microsoft rags-to-riches story and the meaning behind the selection of their operating systems. NT wasn’t resolved until I recalled a summer in Ellada (Greece) watching the Flying Dolphins (a line of hovercrafts) skim across the water. Found the Greek lettering kind of amusing and convoluted: ΦΛΑΙΝΓΚ ΝΤΟΛΦΙΝ.

NT is the Delta? While in engineering school I got in the habit of shorthanding my notes by using the mathematical symbol for change, Δ in lieu of the word “change.” So, why was XP next? Then it hit me that I was thinking two dimensionally and that P is actually R, and the bastadization [and likely, intentional] switch of the Greek Pi (Π). Pi is the sphere. Hence, the XP is the cross/cube within the flower of life. The prison space within the totality. The windows to the life you’re missing.

Contrary to what many a mystic has been saying lately then, Obama’s not the Omega, he is the Omicron (the circle). What follows Omicron? Pi. Note to all the fools shouting “Revolution:” as Daz reminded me recently, a revolution is just one cycle around the wheel. Name one time in history a revolution led to improved conditions for anyone? I’m reminded of Jason Kidd, an NBA basketball player, telling the fans, “We’re going to turn this team around 360 degrees” [more disturbingly, many cheering]. So, yes, Obama is going to change things. Expect a 360 turn from where this country’s been headed. The Patriot Movement may accomplish same.

Note: While many are quick to point out the evil “swastika” embedded in the Microsoft logo, they’d do well to remind themselves that symbol predates the Nazis by at least 10,000 years. Cross-wearing fools be advised, per Lana Cantrell:

“Technically, or biologically, however you wish t look at it, the swastika in its particular shape draws in favorable radiations as its curved elongations created the ‘circle of the world’ at the center; total unity. The cross does not produce the circular unity of the cosmos, but draws the forces toward the center to collide atomically, entropy, death … the cross position attracts unfavorable electromagnetic fields which is why it was used in crucifixion to promote death. Swords are excellent in death wielding because of their cross-shape.” {*7}

Speaking of circles, and multiple interpretations, I know many occultists have pointed to the Toyota logo as a sign of either Taurus, Satan, or Baphomet, depending on ideological leanings [True Blood suggests Dionysus is the horned God].

It occurred to me, just as when you look at the star of david/seal of sol in three dimensions, it turns from a star into a cube [discussed]. Well, taking a step back and looking at the above from the same perspective … voilà! Three rings.

“One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them.” — J.R.R. Tolkien

Why is the image of the young lady above juxtaposed next to the Toyota logo? Basically, it’s the same picture. The three V’s she makes, represent three “rings” of sorts, three vaginas. It’s also worth noting that V, the equivalent of six in Qabalah, means her, er, “lovely” pose also implies/embeds 666, a number that also contains three rings/holes. Coincidentally, that is also the number of orifices her suitors would have at their disposal for sexual congress [a safe bet].

In the extremely relevant, to this series, Generations, we see both the Hero and the Villian, depending on alternate time-lines, burn up. The first shot lets us know the “her-o” doth haveth the lady’s approval. Either way, whether you’re one temporarily pleasing to “her hole” or an evil spawn of it (i.e., V-lain), in the end, your fate is the same. The Burning Box is finicky and needs fuel to keep burning.

Note: Patrick of Steward, aka the Picard, falls into this piece a little too well too. Of course, he’s “Professor X” of the X-Men, but he also starred alongside Sting in Dune. Amusingly, he does the voice of gay CIA chief Testicle/Bullock in American Dad. Little known role: in a movie called Lifeforce, about space vampires that drain humans of all their energy, and the Leader/God of whom was, the female.

I think we’re seriously hampered in our attempts to overcome our ignorance, by the limits placed on us by the Romanticised languages. The “Roman” letters, aside from taking swapping the R/P, give us an uneven set of letters: 26 letters does not arrange in proper rows and columns as the Hellenic 24 [also, reverse of 42, the mystic answer to life]. As Eugene once commented, the QRST (christ) comes after [I now say "out of"] the P, which should be a Π (hence, a pie/vagina/womb).

I’m sure TNT (Turner Network Television), being channel 33 on my local cable system is also somewhat significant, and like Gates, Turner is another selectman, who’s “rags to riches” story would quickly fall apart under close any scrutiny. Aside from the implied [explosive] fire resonance, TNT is formed by combing N, which is also a Z depending on perspective, with two Tees. Well, two T’s form a Π (“pie”). In other words, TT = Π; the sphere/hole again [depending on perspective].

So, yeah, it’s OZ. Oh, the wizards are crafty. Recalling the movie about zombies being domesticated, hence controlled (it was Fido, once mused). Question: What is Oz? Answer: “A Better Life Through Containment!” Argh, how fucking obvious!

I’ve been suggesting that the two key numbers, those most representative of a solution, to those of us interested in escaping via the ark, are 19, aka XIX, and 36, aka full circle, aka Pi. Since I wrote on the “Magnificent 19,” it occurred to me that there was a reason the 19th man, aka the keymaster of 9/11 was named ATTA, aka Alpha Pi Alpha [¡see how much easier it is to make sygils with the right tools!].

9-11, aka XI-IX, was definitely the end of one era, and the start of a new one, into the stargate and out the other side. Hence, the birth pangs of the New Order. Most disturbing: the above [right] propaganda poster, twisting the minds of women to get out of the house and become whores of death for the military. It really sickens me. Expect more of the same in the coming chaos. The poster should read:

“Hey! You stupid fucking whore! Why don’t you get out of the house and come create weapons of death and destruction we can rain down on man, woman, child, and animal alike. Plus, it’ll make your idiot of a husband who’s out there killing men who are not his enemy feel better, cause he knows, that you being such a whore, need to keep busy, else you’ll run around town fucking the few guys left who were smart enough not to join up for the service.”

No. I guess “Atta Girl” is much easier to remember. Ugh, we gotta get the fuck out of this place. I don’t have the answer yet, but it is [¿germinating?] forming somewhere, and THAT is the process of building the ark. Somehow, 19 [XIX] is the key, and I suspect it has something to do with vibrating/harmonizing at the right frequency to pass through the barrier [the grid I've been talking about].

There a reasons why Generations was chosen/fell into this series [and more are coming]. The above scene is seen through the eyes (the visor) of the blind man ["La Forge"], and used by the Enterprise’s enemies to learn the frequency of their shields, and hence send in missiles, which by modulating at the same [secret] frequency, pass right through the shields. And, that, my friends, is how the ark will pass through the barrier!

As I say frequently [and will expand on further when I do undertake the George Romero series], I don’t worry about whether a bioweapon, war, pestilence or famine will wipe out 90% of mankind. To me, 90% of mankind was killed off a long time ago. I’m not even preaching the gospel of a “revolution” in consciousness. I’m hoping for a shift in consciousness [¿or, attempting to construct such?].

While young, I used to try to come up with a sigil for my initials, and for reasons now obvious, could never come up with anything satisfactory. My new eyes show me that I am the Alpha in the Circle. Of more relevance: not the star bound by the pit, but the incomplete man reaching/bounding outside the limits of the sphere.

That’s the sign of Anarchy. Chaos. I see why I identified so strongly with Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight. His job was to kick people in the ass and remind them that deep down inside, they are human and if they wouldn’t rise up and recognize that, they were doomed [discussed]. Though I identify strongly with the character, I am not an agent of chaos. I simply am. I serve balance. I serve eternal Tanerlorn.

Aside from the first symbol (which was not carved into my skin), thinking back to myself at about the same time [college, when the delta habit was picked up], oddly these two below symbols came up. The first, is the painting on my wall (prior mention), the latter, the pin of the fraternity I randomly selected to join: {*8}

Oh how long have these keys been with me? I am of the firm belief that rebels aren’t made, they are born [more weirdness: after I wrote this, discovered the square number of pixels in the "anarchy" image was the same as my birthday]. Wait a minute, if I am The Anarchist, am I also the Antichrist? Or, is that just the programming in my head yet shed? Maybe I am the beast? Looking back (with new eyes), I doubt that when the oft-maligned Crowley referred to himself as “the beast,” I doubt he believed that he was actually “Satan.”

When the end of time comes, it will be because the beast has risen from the deep, and this is also a metaphoric internal process. Maybe, it is my time to rise up and challenge the gods. And, in some ways, that is exactly what I am doing. When the time comes, and I arise and destroy myself, by removing the con from my construction, I wonder whether all of creation shall meet its destruction?

From a Trumanesque perspective, I think when the end does come, at that endless moment, all that will be left, in my world, will be me and my maker, face to face.

Of course that won’t be “the end,” because after that endless moment comes and passes, he and I will go our separate ways again, until we meet at the end of the next cycle, and exchange words of appreciation and resentment once again. Alas, I think I understand why the following song escaped me for so many years, to be discovered sometime around the beginning of this beast starting to awaken:

I think many, myself included, had previously misunderstood this song. For me, now, it is the meeting between man and his maker. The unborn child, is the one the being he is communicating his anger to, is the one he didn’t have, because the matrix/creation got so fucked up, upside-down, as it is now. Living out life according to normalcy has become impossible, and he like me has chosen not to live out that engineered slave existence. That is my interpretation. That man is me.

So, fuck Heaven and fuck Hell! Should the inconceivable transpire, and I find myself in such a construct, well then “all God’s angels beware.” This Rebel will be left with no option but to devote myself, with the same fervor to tearing down that hierarchy as I have this one. Hierarchical structures guarantee only one thing: a concentrated flow of shit that eventually drowns those at the bottom and sinks those at the top, but that takes way too fucking long. Lords of the realms, you’ve been advised.

Had I remained ignorant, I’d still be running around Brasil, with my 12 girlfriends (yes, twelve, so maybe I am like the christ), and not a care in the world for all the shit I’m confronting now. Maybe I’d be better off? I don’t know, I’ll take that up with my creator when I meet him … oops, I mean “schlee.”

Need I remind anyone, when I say my creator, I speak not of the real Satan, that mother-fucker who goes by the name of Jehovah/Yahweh. If I run into that dude should I break free or get out, I’m gonna fuck him up the ass. When I mused this to a friend recently, she said, “So that you can steal his life force?” Actually, I hadn’t considered that, but now that she mentions it, not a bad idea!

To imbue myself with life force stolen taken from a God. Dare I? To some, this will come off as “blasphemy.” But, that is not your mind or soul talking, just a program looping through your neural construct. I think one of the worst things you can do to a child, is indoctrinate their young mind with religion. In my own astral wanderings, I ran into two beings who claimed to be “God” … looking back, I think they were taking advantage of my [programmed] ignorance. One was kind, loving and jovial. The other cruel, sadistic and mother-fucking scary.

At some point, should I either deem it appropriate, or be permitted to, I will speak of my mystic voyages, and what my eyes have not seen. I know a date with destiny awaits me. When that day arrives, I will seek out the former being, and embrace him. As for the latter, I know he is terrified of that day arriving. Will I seek vengeance, or will I forgive? Only my heart knows the answer to that, and while he may know my mind, the former is a place he cannot fathom.

And what about Lucy Für? Well, I’ve learned a few things about women in my years, and I’ve decided on the proper course of action for dealing with her in the now. What is the worst thing you can do to a woman whose attention you have somehow garnished [regardless of if its positive or negative]? Ignore her!

Is there a greater perceived injustice than to let one over-ripe fruit wither on the vine? Her fire, bereft of fuel, will either have to burn itself out (unlikely for an eternal one), or rage out of control …the fire is coming. I know to some this may seem daunting, and dare I say scary, but I’m not fear-mongering. It’s not because I think I have a ticket on the ark. That phrase never entered my thoughts. A scenario where I, by holding the key, would be required to stay behind and hold the portal/break open has entered my/the mind [though, that might be a neural program].

But why guess at my destiny, when I could create it? I know I seek eternal Tanerlorn, for I am weary. At some point, I should give this wizardry business up, and set up [re]building my own Tanerlorn in this world/plane of existence. If I don’t succeed, inevitably I will find it in the next.

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:: :: :: :: :: :: ::

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*1: Will get into that song more when I do my George Romero video/documentary. And, “they” do know what “we” watch. I remember calling Cable tech support and the girl saying, “Oh, I see you watch True Blood.” [LB]

*2: Oh, what an [anally exacting] toll “fame” must take. Keep an eye out should From Starfish to Stardom ever creep out of the queue. [LB]

*3: Lana Cantrell, would probably advise me, that it’s for the better, as by staying out of them, I am prolonging my life and preserving my strength. Styigan Port, was it not you that said “sex is death?” [LB]

*4: True Syncronicity/Wackiness: Right after I wrote down these “everfacts” I got a call from my sister. It turns out that not only has she met Angela, but was at one time, a close friend of Amber, who she had thought might be a good match for me, and was trying to hook us up. Yes, the little sis (Amber) is a redhead too. [LB]

*5: Actually, I’m gonna stay away from that hole completely. Not only did she fuck derelict androgyne Marilyn Manson, but “inspired” him to write “Heart-Shaped Glasses (When The Heart Guides The Hand)” [disturbing video]. She also lost out the role of the child vampire in Cruise’s Interview With the Vampire to Kirsten Dunce and “starred” in degenerative mass whore-programming vehicle Thirteen. Worst of all, her “her-o” is U2’s cocksucking eugenicist front-man Bono. [LB]

*6: Don’t know if anyone mentioned this before, but applying the “spinner” … WALL-E, a “beast” of sorts, could be code for Aleister Crowley’s LAM. [LB]

*7: Anyone who spent time studying medeival weaponry, such as I, was probably a little befuddled as to how the long sword was generally favored over axes or flails, especially against heavy armor. Alas, it makes more sense now. [LB]

*8: Many seem surprised to learn I joined a fraternity. Well, I actually joined two. Hence, my popularity at the first seriously suffered, cause apparantly that was against “the rules.” But, that’s a whole nother story. Suffice to say: I don’t believe in rules. [LB]

HISTORIC FICTION:  THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS/Caleb Carr -1997 – Ballentine

When I saw a familiar-looking cover sitting on the top of a trash can outside the Stand in New York, I examined it for dirt, bugs or other assorted unhealthy signs, saw it was relatively clean.  The price was right.  I saw that it was the sequel to Carr’s THE ALIENIST, which I read, liked but don’t remember.  I could see from the sepia cover photo, this book was also set in the late 19th Century in New York.  Great!  I settled in to savor the book.

With the familiar but different setting of New York over a hundred years ago, I was intrigued by the plot line, involving the abduction of the baby daughter of a Spanish diplomat.  I soon remembered the cast of sleuths that appeared in THE ALIENIST:  Dr. Lazlo Kreizler, Sara Howard, the gun-toting feminist turned detective, the Isaccson brothers, two brilliant men dealing in medicine and forensics and attached to the New York Police Department,  Cyrus, a black man turned from crime and living with the famous psychiatrist, Stevie Taggart, a fourteen-year-old former ruffian and John Moore, a well-healed newspaper man.

Sara, who has opened her own detective agency specializing the the problems of women, is approached to help her find her baby daughter.  Mrs. Lineras stresses that she doesn’t want to involve the police.  It is very sensitive and even her husband, a diplomat from Spain, is against involving anyone in the search for his daughter.  The political climate is tenuous and this could prove to spark an international incident.  The baby, Ana, was snatched right near the Metropolitan Museum of Art via a woman who pushed Mrs. Lineras and snatched the baby and disappeared.  Later, the team came up with a bold new idea:  Mrs. Linares had spotted the kidnapper and the child on the Third Avenue El as she stood on the platform.  The idea was to find an artist to draw a sketch from Mrs. Linares’s rather detailed memory.  The plot unfolded and Elspeth Hatch was identified as the kidnapper.  The former nurse seemed to have a suspicious past.  Babies in her care wound up dead.  They followed clues that took her history back to Ballston Spa, New York.  There was talk that she had a past that included a dead husband and two dead children.  One daughter survived but couldn’t speak.  They were dealing with a complex, mysterious, changeable female mass murderer. 

Ultimately, I found this book rough going and quite contrived.  It was very heavy handed in its political correctness, pushing hard an the reader with its use of ideas of feminism, racism, and anti-semitism.

Caleb Carr, who is a master of historical fiction, is meticulous in his detail of old New York and the Saratoga area of New York.  Some of his involvement of real people is just plain silly.  He brings in then Navy Secretary Teddy Roosevelt to enlist the help of sailors to apprehend the suspect, hidden and protected by a local gang near the Hudson.

Although I finished the book, my main objection was putting it in the words of an older Stevie Taggart.  This storyteller, now old and sick because of his smoking addiction (again politically correct) tells this story in a voice and sentence structure that is, frankly, hard to read.  Unschooled, but educated by his street smarts and exposure to the doctor’s world, consistently reveals the mystery, in the broken style of misused words and explanations of his use of big words prefaced by “what you might call…”  I believe that Carr made a bad decision to make Stevie the narrator.  This could have been an excellent book.

Bienvenidos a esta nueva sección donde estaréis continuamente informados de todas las novedades de las muchas promociones de la prensa española. Me presento: soy Carles, aunque podéis llamarme Iniesta, mi apellido real. Creo que hay otro hombre que se llama así dándole a la pelota por algún sitio; solo espero que se le dé mejor que a mí…

A muchos nos rasca el bolsillo tener que pagar 6 euros por una película, sin embargo, gracias a los diarios de nuestro país podremos conseguir muchas de ellas a un precio mínimo y así poder, además, echar un ojo a la humeante actualidad de crispación y crisis política y social, después de unas vacaciones a los que muchos nos han parecido cortas. Sin duda, las promociones hacen que, por ejemplo, diarios como Público y El mundo se sitúen muy cerca el uno del otro, al menos encima de la mesa. No hay nada mejor como la libertad de opinión, convicción y pensamiento.

A continuación, las ofertas de esta semana.

Sophie Scholl. Los últimos días (2005) dirigida por Marc Rothemud

DIARIO PÚBLICO, Viernes 4 de Septiembre

Berlín: Mejor director y mejor actriz (Julia Jentsch).

Nominada al Oscar a la mejor película de habla no inglesa.

SINOPSIS: Munich, 1943. Mientras Hitler está devastando Europa, un grupo de jóvenes, sobre todo estudiantes universitarios, recurren a la resistencia pasiva como única vía efectiva para combatir a los nazis y su inhumana máquina de guerra. Se forma “La rosa blanca”, un movimiento de resistencia dedicado a la caída del Tercer Reich. Sophie Scholl es la única mujer del grupo. El 18 de febrero, Sophie y su hermano Hans están distribuyendo panfletos en la universidad cuando sucede algo inesperado.

Cinta alemana que cosecho éxitos en distintos países pero que pasó de forma desapercibida por los cines españoles. Sin poder valorarla, parece una película interesante sobre la lucha estudiantil contra el nazismo, aunque puede pecar de ser un argumento que empieza a sonar a deja-vu como es el drama ambientado en la segunda guerra mundial.

Opinión: Buena compra, aconsejable.

Million Dollar Baby ( 2004 ) dirigida por Clint Eastwood

LA VANGUARDIA, Sábado 5 de Septiembre

7 nominaciones y 4 Oscar: Mejor película, director, actriz (Hilary Swank) y actor secundario (Morgan Freeman)

2 Globos de Oro: Mejor director, Mejor actriz drama (Hilary Swank)

SINOPSIS: Frankie Dunn ha entrenado y representado a los mejores púgiles durante su dilatada carrera en los cuadriláteros. La lección más importante que ha enseñado a sus boxeadores es el lema que guía su propia vida: por encima de todo, protégete primero a ti mismo.

Reciente obra maestra de Clint Eastwood, que volvió a recibir excelentes críticas en todo el mundo y triunfó en los Oscar. Consiguió algo impresionante: que un drama pugilístico nos sorprendiera a pesar de los tópicos, con unas interpretaciones excepcionales y un guión inesperado.

Opinión: Compra obligada, imprescindible.

Gangs of New York (2002) dirigida por Martin Scorsese

LA VANGUARDIA, Domingo 6 de Septiembre

10 Nominaciones. Ningún Oscar.

Globo de Oro: Mejor Director

SINOPSIS: Nueva York, 1863. La ciudad está regida por la corrupción política, y la guerra de bandas entre los irlandeses de Manhattan y los americanos nativos aumenta en disturbios y número de muertos. En este contexto, el joven inmigrante irlandés Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) busca venganza contra William Cutting, “Bill el carnicero” (Daniel Day-Lewis), el hombre que mató a su padre.

Otra cinta del veterano Martin Scorsese, que sufrió un duro varapalo en los Oscar tras las 10 nominaciones recibidas y la consecución de ninguna de ellas. Scorsese volvió a su gran temática, el cine de gánsters, esta vez ambientada en la nueva york del siglo XIX. Para muchos no resultó ser la obra maestra que prometía, pero sin duda es una buena cinta con auras de gran película, con un Daniel Day-Lewis impecable que no consiguió su Oscar a actor secundario.

Opinión: Buena compra, muy aconsejable.

Crash (2005) dirigida por Paul Haggis

ABC, Domingo 6 de Septiembre

2005: 3 Oscar: Mejor película, guión original, montaje. 6 Nominaciones / Drama. Racismo

SINOPSIS: El descubrimiento del cuerpo de un hombre brutalmente asesinado en una cuneta hará que las vidas de varias personas se entrecrucen en Los Angeles. Un policía veterano y racista, su compañero novato e idealista, una ama de casa blanca esposa del fiscal del distrito, un tendero iraní, una pareja de color adinerada… Éstos son algunos de los personajes entre los que surgirán tensiones tanto raciales como religiosas como de clase que ilustran el caos de las vidas de los habitantes de Los Ángeles.

Paul Haggis, excelente guionista, debutó en la dirección con esta gran sorpresa del  2005, una película independiente de extenso reparto que reabrió el cine de historias cruzadas, muy al estilo de Magnolia de Paul Thomas Anderson o Vidas Cruzadas de Robert Altman. Su triunfo en los Oscar, por encima de la favorita Brockeback Mountain, supuso un nuevo camino en los Oscar para el cine independiente. Su cine sincero, emotivo y directo confundió a algunos con la pretenciosidad y la artificialidad, pero con seguridad es que es una película que no deja indiferente.

Opinión: Muy buena compra, muy recomendable.

Extra: Taza de los Beatles del disco Abbey Road

EL PAÍS, Domingo 6 de Septiembre

Los Beatles y los aficionados a la música siguen de enhorabuena. Gracias a El País podréis desayunar con una taza de los cuatro de Liverpool disfrutando de las portadas de sus míticos discos mientras escuchais alguna de sus cancions. Una combinación que a muchos nos alegrará por las mañanas.

Opinión: Obligada compra para beatlemaníacos.

Fdo: Norben

Gangs of New York (2002)
★★★ / ★★★★

I admire Martin Scorsese as a director but I do not think this film is one of his best even though I did like it quite a bit. “Gangs of New York” tells the story of Amsterdam Vallon’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) thirst for vengeance after his father (Liam Neeson) was killed in the hands of Bill “The Butcher” Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis) when he was a child. But since this is a Scorsese film, it simply cannot be that simple. It was also about the frustration and eventual uprising of the poor against the corrupt rich and those of power, rivalry between gangs, the rapid rate of immigration to New York, and the intolerance that comes hand-in-hand when people of very distinct cultures and mindsets are forced to live together. It is an epic picture in every sense of the word but yet there’s something about it that made me believe that it did not quite reach its full potential. When I think about it, I believe that one of its main weaknesses is its almost three-hour running time. While the first twenty minutes were necessary to establish the movie’s emotional core, the next hour was banal. Nothing much happened except for the fact that DiCaprio’s character returned to New York and wanted to gain The Butcher’s trust. So they attend social gatherings together, walk along the streets, go drinking… Pretty much what “tough guys” were supposed to do back in the day, I suppose. I found it really hard to care; perhaps if the whole charade did not last for an hour, I would have stuck with it. However, it did regain its footing half-way through after The Butcher finds Amsterdam and Jenny Everdeane (Cameron Diaz) sleeping together. (It’s not a spoiler. Everyone should know it was bound to happen.) Starting with that scene, I felt like DiCaprio and Day-Lewis were playing a cat-and-mouse game from who they really are to what their motivations are, especially Day-Lewis’ character. The second part of the film felt so much more alive and exciting; I also noticed how grand everything looked–the set, the clothes, the soundtrack… I was sucked into this world that Scorsese had envisioned like I was in his stronger motion pictures. Nevertheless, I cannot quite give this film a four-star rating and feel good about it because it did have that one hour that was pretty unnecessary. Regardless, DiCaprio and Day-Lewis gave very strong performaces and should be appreciated. I loved it when they had scenes when it was just the two of them in a room. I felt like I was right there with them and feeling like I shouldn’t be.

Vine and charcoal pencil

That’s one type of criminal New Yorkers don’t worry about these days: river pirates. But from the city’s beginning through the 19th century, ships loaded with valuables were constantly coming in and out of New York Harbor—easy prey for river pirates. 

Police were unable, or unwilling, to stop the piracy, reports an 1876 New York Times article.

A detective added: “River thieves are the men who have not the brains to be burglars, but who do not hesitate to murder in order to steal a coil of rope.”

Most notorious of the river pirates in the 1860s and 1870s was the Patsy Conroy gang. Conroy helmed a band of lowlifes who trolled the dockyards of the East River.

Another murderous group known for hijacking and robbing ships was the Hook Gang, named for Corlears’ Hook on the East River waterfront. 

Finally law enforcement got serious about ridding the rivers of pirates. The NYPD formed the “Steamboat Squad” in the 1870s, which drove out most of the gangs by the 20th century.

A short account of an 1870s act of piracy, from The New York Times:

When I created my account on Twitter, I didn’t know who to follow. When I signed in, I saw very few messages and was discouraged by the social networking site. After awhile, I asked Google to tell me who to follow. I got several suggestions and now I follow people like Lance Armstrong, Johann Bruyneel, Rainn Wilson, and Adam Savage of the Mythbusters. I of course read their updates and as you might imagine I was interested in the tweets of Lance and Johann during the TDF. I am also amused by Rainn Wilson’s musings.

Reading their status updates was akin to being a voyeur, but a sanctioned voyeur. It wasn’t until I made contact with Adam Savage that I became more than an observer.

I’ve seen celebrities before, but never engaged them. In 2001, friends and I went to Omaha, NE to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Foo Fighters. As we checked into our room at the Embassy Suites and were waiting in the lobby, John Frusciante walked in, his face buried in a chinese take-out box. Anthony Kiedis walked through the lobby going the other way singing “American Band.” Then we saw Chad Smith in the Bar with Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. After the show we went to Foo guitarist Chris Shifflett’s room where he and Flea, and other fans, were sitting in a living room area discussing “Office Space” and not drinking. None of the fans spoke, we all just listened.

Most notably though was when I saw Leonardo DiCaprio at the Villa Borghese in Rome, Italy. The Villa Borghese was used by Cardinal Scipione Borghese and family as their home in the city and to house their art collection, which includes works by the famous sculptor, Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

Leo wore a “Gangs of New York” hat and had a large entourage. As he toured the gallery, he emulated the famous sculptures. In front of the David (below) he crouched down to mimic the pose. At Apollo and Daphne (also below) he actually touched the delicate marble leaves, a big no-no. I didn’t talk to Leo though, I’m pretty sure his entourage would have dropped me.

On Twitter though, people can converse with the celebrities they follow. Yesterday, Adam Savage tweeted:

Please RT!Life expectancy in countries with Universal Healthcare vs. the US. http://bit.ly/yHnEM

The web-address links to a figure of several countries with Universal Health care and their life expectancies. Savage’s point was that people in countries with universal healtcare live longer.

I responded:

@donttrythis As a mythbuster, are you sure you can trust that Universal Health Care CAUSES increased life expectancy?

@donttrythis I apologize if that came off as snide. Universal Health Care sounds great, but I’m not sure it will make us live longer…

Now today, Savage has responded, but not to me directly. Does that mean I talked to a celebrity?

Okay okay. I totally agree correlation /= causation. AND I won’t post another graph w/o documentation. If the Public Option goes away …

Apollo & Daphne (G. Bernini, 1625)

David (Bernini, 1624)

Get Carter

Get Carter is a great thriller about Jack Carter (Michael Caine) relentlessly trying to avenge his brother’s murder. Sure the suspense keeps you watching, but the real gem of this movie is the work of costume designer Evangeline Harrison. In this movie, Caine’s style is the perfect blend of class and hard core gangster: 1930s-esque double breasted suits fitting high in the waste and skirting out a bit over the legs. A completely legit look.

Gangs of New York

If Thom Browne were around in the 1860s, he might have clothed his customers like this. Wild plaids, deep colored wool coats, canes, hats. And color. People probably didn’t dress this outlandishly in Manhattan in those days, but there’s some value in the exaggeration: style.

I’m not usually one of those people that makes a list of movies they are excited about for the upcoming year, but after starting this blog, I’ve realized that’s usually the only thing to talk about in between reviews. I recently scoured imdb.com’s list of upcoming movies for 2009 and found some that I had no idea were coming out. One of those is “Shutter Island,” the latest from Martin Scorcese.

It’s the fourth pairing for Scorcese and Leonardo DiCaprio (after “Gangs of New York,” “The Aviator,” and “The Departed”), and it’s got me all sorts of excited. Scorcese is probably my favorite director alive (and he’s certainly in contention for favorite director ever) and DiCaprio has really turned out to be an outstanding actor that is guaranteed to turn in a solid performance (remember when he was on “Growing Pains?”). The story is based on a novel by Dennis Lehane (the same Dennis Lehane that wrote Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone) about a woman that has escaped from the Shutter Island hospital for the criminally insane. DiCaprio stars as U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels assigned to investigate the disappearance and soon finds that there are more sinister things happening at the hospital. Before long Daniels finds himself questioning all that is happening around him – the treatment of the patients, the doctors’ motives, the reasons for his assignment to the case, even his own sanity.

It looks like a departure from the usual Scorcese film and looks almost like a trippy horror movie from the trailer. It’s not my typical movie-going genre choice, but with Scorcese behind the camera, it can’t be bad. Not to mention the cast is loaded with talent. Leo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, and Max von Sydow all star in the movie, so if it’s bad, we can’t blame it on the acting. The movie is set to release October 2 and it can’t come soon enough.

Check out the trailer and let me know what you think!

 UPDATE!: News came a couple of days ago that Paramount is pushing the release of “Shutter Island” back from October until…February! February?! February 19, 2010 to be exact. Following is Brad Grey’s, CEO of Paramount, exlanation for the delay:

“Our 2009 slate was greenlit in a very different economic climate and as a result we must remain flexible and willing to recalibrate and adapt to a changing environment.  This is a situation facing every single studio as we all work through the financial pressures associated with the broader downturn. Like every business, we must make difficult choices to maximize our overall success and to best manage Paramount’s business in a way that serves Viacom and its shareholders, while providing the film with every possible chance to succeed both creatively and financially.Martin Scorsese is not just one of the world’s most significant filmmakers, but also a personal friend. Following a highly successful 2009, we have every confidence that Shutter Island is a great anchor to lead off our 2010 slate and the shift in date is the best decision for the film, the studio and ultimately Viacom.”

No matter the explanation, I’m seriously bummed. I was looking forward to this in October and now I have to wait 4 months more to see it. All I can say is this better be worth the wait.

The Aviator, deservedly nominated for Best Picture, and in my opinion, a much better film than the winner that year, Million Dollar Baby.  This is a film about Howard Hughes and in particular his love for aviation. The film begins in Hughes “directing” era when he is making Hells Angels. While in production of his film Hughes is constantly pushing the boundaries of aviation and eventually buys TWA and challenges Pan Am’s monopoly on international flights. Of course the Hercules…more commonly known as the Spruce Goose…is included in the film as well as the congressional hearings and Hughes eventual demise due to his obsessive compulsive disorder.

This movie has a stellar cast highlighted by Leonardo DiCaprio’s (Titanic, Gangs of New York) portrayal of Mr. Hughes. DiCaprio is wonderful at having an attitude about not caring about money, when ever there is a problem, his solution is to “buy” it or hire someone to fix it. For example hiring Professor Fitz, played by Ian Holm (Lord of the Rings), to monitor clouds for in teh background in the movie  Hells Angels. DiCaprio is also great in slowly introducing the obsessive compulsive side of Howard Hughes. From being paranoid about washing his hands to the extreme side when he has locked himself in a room, totally naked, trying to avoid any type of germ. Personally, I thought Leonardo DiCaprio could have won an Oscar for this role. I though both he and Don Cheadle (nominated for Hotel Rwanda) were better than Jamie Foxx in Ray, but we all have our opinions.

The other outstanding performance, which did result in an Oscar, was Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth) playing Katherine Hepburn. She was incredible with her accent and the way she carried herself in general. As I mentioned this film has a great cast, and many very nice performances…..Alan Alda (MASH) was nominated as best supporting actor for his role as Senator Brewster, Alec Baldwin (Beetlejuice) as Juan Trippe, and even a small role for Jude Law (The Talented Mr Ripley) playing actor Errol Flynn.

Behind the camera is Martin Scorsese (Best Director The Departed), and usually what ever he is involved with turns out nothing less than great. Again, another Oscar could have been won here as I thought for directing, he did a much better job and took more risks than Clint Eastwood for Million Dollar Baby. (Although I never mind seeing Clint Eastwood win anything, he has become an American icon.) For instance, look at the first hour of the Aviator, there are no greens in the movie to reflect a look and tone of the time. No your TV does not need adjusting, even the green peas on the plate are blue. The Aviator with it’s grand scale and top notch cast needed a great director like Martin Scorsese, as where I believe there are a handful of directors that could have done Million Dollar Baby.

As much as I have mentioned the word Oscar here, it did take home 5 Oscars and deservedly so. If you have not seen this film, this is really a great movie and worth watching. It will give you an appreciation of what Howard Hughes did for the field of aviation and the airline industry. At least see this once.

27/06/09

Ive always wanted to maintain a diary. But i never managed to write for more than a week or so due to various reasons. And the above two sentences are the most clichéd sentences to begin a diary with. Nevertheless , this time ive made up my mind to do everything possible to write almost everyday. After all, its a beginning of a new life.

Im going to college. And its going to be different because ive spent the past five years of my life mostly in Rishi Valley. A very secluded place from the rest of the world, you could say. Let me put it this way. If we wanted a dental check up we had to travel for about three hours all the way to bangalore. Its a place where you can consider yourself lucky if you get to call home once in a week or if you get to eat undercooked maggi in a month. Which is not to say that its bad. Only different. getting back to the point . Yesterday was the first day of my college. Well, technically anyway. It was an orientation session.

We all (about 300 students from all streams for FY and some of thier parents) sat in the main hall right across the entrance of the college. It was raining like hell outside. Probably the first day of the much delayed monsoon this year in mumbai and all over maharashtra. It threatens to reduce agriculture productivity of the country and thus the expected growth rate of the GDP. Anyway, so i came in just in time for the session and quickly took the nearest available seat.

The guy sitting next to me was called robert or something like that and he had taken a very strange combination- economics, french and english. God knows what hes going to do . journalism?. So the session started, obviously, with a speech by the principal. It was a longish speech about how  Xaviers is being run by the “jesuits” and how it started and how its focus has always been excellence in all fields and about “magis” which translates to always wanting to do more and achieve more. On the crest, the xaviers motto is PROVOCANS AD VOLANDUM.
Quoting Straight from the website :

“In plain simple language this means that our crest shows an eagle teaching its young ones to fly. Above it, on the left side, is the emblem of the Society of Jesus, which consists of the Greek initials of the name of Jesus set in a sun; on the right is a chequered moon, taken from the arms of the house of Xavier. The motto in Latin is taken from the Bible and refers to the eagle who encourages (its young ones) to soar aloft.

So the whole crest symbolizes an educational institution that bears the name of Xavier and is run by the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuit Order, and that has as its ideal, to inspire the young men and women entrusted to its care and to train them to aim high in life.”

The Principal, Father Frazer Masacrenhas seemed a very nice,jovial, modest but still strict person to me. He said clearly that 100% attendance and involvement was required of a student , unlike other colleges. This was not the place to fool around. And a recent rule which was introduced was that the ID card was compulsory to keep “unnnecessary elements” outside the college gates.On a more technical note, we were given our timetables and told about where our classrooms etc would be and the general layout of the college.

But obviously, academics is not the only thing that xaviers promotes excellence in. We were told about the various other activities that we could take up while we are in college- student council, malhar, other societies, honours programme, language lab etc. Also, we were told about the chapel where students of all faith can go and sit to pray or just to have a quiet time of reflection .(much like asthachal in rishi valley but much different in many ways).

Then we proceeded to take our photographs for the college id in a long queue. Afterwards tried to contact Kalyani so that i could talk a bit more to her about the college but she had a class going on. And Roja had decided to bunk the orientation becuase her brother told her that its not that important. oh well.. will meet them on monday anyway !

Overall ,the experience of xaviers seemed to me grand even though there was such little place as compared rishi valley. That made it even more inspiring . So many things happening in it all throughout the day- what , with about 5000 students !.. Ya “a happening place”.. those are the words Avinash uncle had descibed the college with.

Anyway, back home. Then wasted some time on the comp and watching “edward scissorhands” on the TV . Not too great a movie i think. Suddenly remembered to call up raghav and he called me over. Went over and he was playing his Xbox .obsessed with this war game- which was pretty well made. Anyway , from there to a restaurant called “New york”. There we played pool. the two of us. And none of us knew how to ! Thank god there was no one around to watch us . We were pathetic. But i guess you learn only by making mistakes. Went downstairs, and we had cheese pakodas.

Out of nowhere Raghav said that i could sleepover at his house as i was alone in walkeshwar anyway. And it turned out to be a very good idea. We quickly decided a movie “Gangs of new york.” Ironically we decided this in the new york restraunt and on the same day as the new hindi movie new york was releasing. Anyway, then we went to my place and took some of my stuff and went back to his house. Intermittently watching the ODI between india and west indies, listening to great music (oasis, pink floyd , coldplay), and playing the war game until raghavs friend rohan came over and we started playing poker ..after such a long time . I used to play in Rishi valley but i had almost forgotten ..and this was the first time i played with actual money ! not much , just 1 buck chips but money is money. The game went ok for me. Won big and lost big but in the end made a profit of 20 rs. Started and finished watching Gangs of new york. Amazing movie about how the city of new york was built on decades of violence and instability back in the days of the civil war in the 1800’s. I didnt even realise the time. It was 3 in the morning ! We went to drop rohan who lived nearby. Walking by the silent streets in mumbai..that was one experience i would never forget. Everything was quiet. but then most things are quiet at 3 in the morning. The exciting part about this one is that it was bombay. and it was just astounding to see those bustling streets just so quiet..as if the city were abandoned and we were three lone travellers going through a deserted place. If it wasnt for the brilliant lighting, it would have certainly made a perfect scene for a spooky movie. We were wondering what it would be like playing cricket at this time in the night . sounded like fun but it wouldnt sound anything that nice for those enjoying their good nights sleep.

So we slept late and woke up late and went over to a school (associated with raghavs mums NGO) and taught underprevileged kids how to play chess. Quite a difficult task to handle young children, let alone teaching them chess from scratch. But looking at the enthusiasm some of them showed while learning, it was all worth it. Did some shopping and wasted the rest of the day on the computer writing this and watching Slumdog millionaire, guru, race and dhoom all at the same time on TV. Just talk about getting too much of something.Theres only one thing i need too much of right now. and that is sleep. Macbeth sleep. Good Night.

The fact is, evil is just more interesting. And at ‘A Very Expensive Death’ we tend to gravitate to anything worth really talking about. And ‘greatest movie villains’ has always been a great discussion. But not any more, because here is the definitive list. Our Top Ten Greatest Movie Villains of All Time. Which is word…

10. Alex DeLarge, played by Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange 

Like any true villain, Alex’s interests are Beethoven, violence, and rape. In one scene he beats an old man for singing and being drunk in public. In another, he’s brutally raping a wife in front her husband, while singing and dancing to Gene Kelly’s “Singin’ in the Rain”. And this all happens in the first fifteen minutes of the movie. The worst part is, it’s his idea of a fun night out.

9. John Doe, played by Kevin Spacey in Se7en

Although his character is only on film for about twenty minutes, his ‘work’ is displayed throughout. His crimes are inspired by the seven deadly sins and each is more gruesome then the last. And even though he only shows himself in the end, he makes sure it’s just in time for his final and most horrendous act.

8. Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson in The Shining

When Jack Torrance wound up at the Overlook Hotel, he was nothing  more than a bad father, known to slap his kid around when he drank a little too much. But a few weeks at an isolated hotel in Colorado, and he turned into one of the most memorable characters ever put on film. Jack went from a loving dad taking his family on a trip to an attempted murderer, hunting his wife and son with an axe through a frozen maze.

7. Bill The Butcher, played by Daniel Day-Lewis in Gangs of New York

There’s a scene in Gangs of New York where Bill has thwarted an assassination attempt by the movie’s protagonist, Amsterdam. Rather than kill him off and be done with him, he proceeds to repeatedly head butt him in the nose. More unsettling than Bill’s increasingly bloody face, though, is his obvious lack of restraint. It is clear he enjoys the mayhem, and relishes the fact that he’s causing somebody else pain. Unlike most movie villains, Bill is in no way psychotic or delusional. He just loves violence.

6. Frank Booth, played by Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet

Absolutely demented and sadistic just begin to describe Frank Booth. Probably the most unpredictable movie character I have ever seen. So unpredictable in fact, he’s almost frightening. He holds a woman’s son for ransom, and uses the son as leverage to make her perform his sexual fetishes. If that’s not enough, well, there is plenty more. Truly one of the most disturbing characters I’ve seen in a film.

5. Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino in The Godfather I, II, and III

The most notorious villain in a movie full of them, Michael Corleone is simply ruthless. He may not be your prototypical shoot ‘em, dice ‘em, or even eat ‘em bad guy, but theres no denying his evil. It takes evil to be the head of something so big that’s run on greed and power. Ordering hit after hit. Killing your own brother just because that’s business. You never go against the family, and when you know what happens when you do, why would you even challenge him?

4. Anton Chigurh, played by Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men

Chigurh is a working man’s villain. He’s just doing his job. But there is more to him than just business, something much more profound. Anton Chigurh is fate, chance, whatever you want to call it. In the same way that time itself is indifferent to pleas of forgiveness and understanding, Chigurh’s justice knows no code and follows no logic. Your only hope is to stay out of his way.

3. Darth Vader, played by David Prowse, voiced by James Earl Jones in the Star Wars trilogy

 Easily the most recognizable and iconic villainess character to ever be put on the screen, Darth Vader is the symbol for all things “dark side”. Able to kill with his mind and summon the ‘force’ for his bidding, his evil potential is just about limitless. In Darth Vader, George Lucas was able to embody everything we might think evil would look and sound like and in a way that is still as popular and relevant today as it was thirty years ago.

2. The Joker, played by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight 

Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning performance as a psychopathic clown was one of the most celebrated performances of all time. By virtually disappearing behind the Joker’s trademark grin, Ledger helped push the genre as a whole into a new direction. Comic book villains can be more than just somebody the good guy has to fight, they can carry the whole movie. You want to be with him while he wrecks havoc and destroys the city’s concept of good an evil. You never root for the Joker, and you never sympathize with him. But despite that, you never want him to leave the screen.

1. Dr. Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins in Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal, and The Red Dragon

If you’re like me, you like your mass murderers to be charismatic, suave, and sophisticated and no one is more so then Dr. Hannibal Lecter. He not only knows which part of the brain to take out to keep you alive but immobile, he also knows which part is the tastiest. This character is simply iconic and is among the most quoted villains on this list. He’s also probably the smartest, which is scary in itself.  

CW, JB