Grande elenco e roteiro agitado são os pontos fortes do filme de Scorsese

Por Paulo do Valle

“Um bom filme começa pelo seu elenco”. Se Levarmos em conta essa frase, Os Infiltrados pode ser considerado um excelente filme só pelo seu time de atores: Jack Nicholson, Leo DiCaprio, Matt Damon e a frieza de Mark Wahlberg fazem desse filme uma sangrenta obra de arte do Século XXI. Tudo isso somado à genialidade do diretor Martin Scorsese, o ex- injustiçado do Oscar, que graças a essa obra teve sua redenção e levou a estatueta de melhor filme para sua estante.

Frank Costello (Nicholson), é um típico mafioso dos tempos atuais. Irlandês vivendo em Boston (USA), Costello praticamente comanda o crime organizado da cidade. Com isso se torna inimigo número um da policia estadual. É ai que começa o jogo de gato e rato.

Querendo estar sempre um passo à frente da lei, o mafioso infiltra seu pupilo Colin Sullivan (Damon) dentro da policia. Por ter um ótimo desempenho e ser acima de qualquer suspeita, o rapaz sobe rápido de cargo e logo se encontra dentro da unidade de investigações especiais, que é justamente onde se encontra o caso de Frank Costello. Mas o que eles não contavam é que existe o outro lado da moeda (aí sim, fomos surpreendidos novamente), é quando entra o desacreditado Billy Costigan (DiCaprio), sem muito destaque na polícia e uma família com o nome sujo na praça, o rapaz é submetido a ser o infiltrado do lado policial no mundo do crime. Para que isso ocorra de uma forma perfeita, Costigan é dado como expulso da polícia e preso. O segredo é mantido a sete chaves  pelos policiais Digman (Wahlberg) e seu superior Capitão Queenan (Martin Sheen), que são os líderes da operação para prender Costello. Não demora muito para que o rapaz consiga entrar no mundo do crime. Graças ao seu primo, um traficante pequeno, Costigan é introduzido ao submundo e rapidamente chega a Costello (em uma sequência  que dói até em quem está assistindo, o mafioso, tenta pela dor física, descobrir se  Costigan é um infiltrado da polícia). Assim, ambos os lados percebem a existência de informantes agindo por ali. Com isso, o filme torna-se eletrizante, chegando muitas vezes beirar o imprevisível.

A vida dos dois rapazes é cheia de coincidências  e cruzamentos. Uma delas (inútil aos olhos do filme) , Sullivan e Costigan são apaixonados pela mesma mulher, a psicóloga da policia Madolyn (Vera Farmiga). O chifre no caso fica por conta do personagem de Damon. Em uma sequência  de tirar o fôlego, Billy consegue descobrir onde Costello vai encontrar-se com o seu informante. Chegando ao local (pasmem, um cinema pornô), Costigan  consegue encontrar os dois, mas não consegue ver a cara do outro infiltrado que, ao perceber que está sendo seguido, foge dando sequência a uma ótima cena do filme. Até o seu final o filme reserva boas emoções e surpresas para quem o assiste.

Com um desfecho surpreendente, é um ótimo exemplo do ditado ‘’ Jogar merda no ventilador’’. Scorsese apostou principalmente na força de seus protagonistas. Em mais uma atuação típica de Nicholson, beirando o sinistro e o cômico (assim como em Batman e O Iluminado) . E principalmente em DiCaprio, seu queridinho. Vale ressaltar também a excelente atuação de Mark Wahlberg, que mesmo não sendo um dos protagonistas, da vida à um corrosivo policial de mal com a vida.

Inspirado em Conflitos Internos, um filme policial de Hong Kong. Os Infiltrados pode ser considerado um clássico gangster do Séc XXI que deu a Scorsese (mesmo em meio a protestos a favor de A Pequena Niss Sunshine), um lugar ao sol entre os diretores que já levaram o tão cobiçado Oscar. Além de melhor diretor, levou para casa também como melhor filme, melhor montagem e melhor roteiro adaptado.

Com uma trilha sonora tão violenta quanto o filme ( De Stones passando por Beach boys até chegar na pesada gaita de foles do Dropkick Murphys) Os Infiltrados marca seu nome no cinema gângster mundial.

Os Infiltrados ( The Departed): 2006, USA. Direção: Martin Scorsese. Elenco: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga. Roteiro: Siu Fai Mak e Felix Chong. Duração: 149 min.

Notas:

Paulo do Valle [7.5]

Média parcial: [7.5]

My favorite performance from The Last Waltz, filmed on Thanksgiving Day, 1976:

Other highlights:

The Band’s performance of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” from the same night…

…and the Staple Singers perform “The Weight” on a sound stage with the Band.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ya hace algunos años que me había alejado en mis lecturas, de la novela negra, pero tuvo su momento, y los clásicos, Hammett, Chandler, M. Cain, Jim Thompson, Sciascia, Simenon, o Patricia Highsmith, me hicieron disfrutar con las historias que sus creativas mentes habían concebido.

He observado con escepticismo el giro que las editoriales han dado para alejar a los devoradores de bestsellers, de la literatura que se ha estado consumiendo estos últimos años (que marcó “El código Da Vinci”), conduciéndolos hacia la novela negra (con la trilogía de Stieg Larsson a la cabeza). Y seguía sin intención inmediata de volver a introducirme en el género (no me gusta que me dirijan en la elección de lo que leo), pero, visto el retraso con el que se iba a estrenar una película que ha despertado en mí gran interés, si que me planteé comprar un libro que pertenece a la novela negra. Me refiero a “Shutter Island”, de Dennis Lehane, que Martin Scorsese ha llevado al cine, y que se estrenará en Estados Unidos el 19 de febrero próximo.

Con “Shutter Island” me ha ocurrido exactamente lo mismo que con “The road”, llevada al cine por John Hillcoat, sobre la novela de Cormac McCarthy, y pendiente todavía de estreno. En ambos casos, tener que esperar su llegada a la pantalla, me ha “obligado” a leer antes la novela.

Pero en realidad, no es de “Shutter Island”, ni de “The road” de las que voy a hablar en este post, como ya habréis podido imaginar por su encabezamiento, pero como una cosa lleva a la otra…

Como llevar en mente comprar “Shutter Island”, me llevó a comprar antes “Mystic River”.

Y fue casual.

Aunque conocía la noticia de que una editorial había lanzado una nueva colección de libros de bolsillo dedicados a la novela policíaca para la venta en kioscos, no me había despertado ni el interés de conocer los títulos que la componían. Pero hace unas semanas, recargando la tarjeta del bus en uno de esos kioscos, reparé en la entrega que se había puesto a la venta aquellos días. Era “Mystic River”, la novela de Lehane en la que se basó Clint Eastwood en 2003, para realizar una de sus mejores películas.

El recuerdo de la magistral película de Eastwood, mi decisión de leer “Shutter Island”, y, todo hay que decirlo, su asequible precio (4,95€), me decidió a comprarla.

Estaba acabando por entonces “Nocturna”, la novela de Guillermo del Toro y Chuck Hogan (si esto fuera un foro literario, le dedicaría un capítulo aparte, y no muy favorable -pero podéis pinchar en el título y leer una reseña que coincide plenamente con lo que yo diría de ella), y a los pocos días, pasando por alto otros libros que esperaban su turno de ser leídos, comencé su lectura. Aunque, confieso, con ciertas reservas, porque en ningún momento pensé que la novela pudiera ser tan plena como la película. Y me equivoqué.

Sin quitarle ningún mérito a Eastwood, que supo aprovechar al máximo el magnífico material que contiene la novela, el libro sirve en bandeja para su adaptación al cine, una coherente e interesante historia, bien redactada, con unos personajes que derrochan autenticidad y un dominio de los diálogos que la convierte en notable.

Son precisamente los diálogos (y en la novela hay muchos), uno de valores que más he apreciado en esa pequeña joya que es “Mistyc River”, y los que al igual que yo, seáis aficionados a la lectura, sabéis a lo que me refiero, pues cuantas veces, un libro que te ha contado una buena historia, te ha dejado un mal sabor de boca porque en la de los personajes han aparecido frases que piensas nadie hubiera dicho de esa forma en la vida real.

Cuando hablamos, sobre todo la gente corriente (que somos los más), no preparamos las frases para que suenen bien, ni introducimos palabras de adorno en ellas. Todo es espontáneo, y salen de nuestra mente comentarios, preguntas o contestaciones que no suelen tener una segunda oportunidad de ser rectificadas como cuando escribimos. Y ese es el fallo de muchos escritores. Por mejorar la forma, abandonan el realismo, lo natural de los diálogos. Y Lehane lo domina. Jimmy Markum, Dave Boyle, Sean Devine (los protagonistas), y todos los personajes que aparecen en la novela e interactúan con ellos, se expresan como lo haríamos cualquiera de nosotros en sus circunstancias.

“Mistyc River”, la novela, no es tan sólo una buena historia del género negro o policiaco. Su profundidad en el tratamiento de sus personajes, de sus sentimientos y reacciones, la convierten en algo más.

Si habéis leído este post desde su principio, sabéis que este libro ha sido mi primer contacto con Dennis Lehane, pero… ahora estoy por la mitad de “Shutter Island”.

No voy a hablar de ella hasta que no vea la película de Scorsese, aunque sí quiero comentar una opinión compartida con una amiga tan aficionada y veterana en la lectura como yo. Es nuestra opinión, y discutible, pero nos hemos confirmado con el tiempo, en la idea de que en la producción literaria de un autor (hablamos de los buenos), siempre hay una novela que sobresale sobre las otras. Un libro “redondo”, al que prácticamente no puedes encontrar ningún defecto. En el resto de sus escritos, anteriores o posteriores, volverás a encontrar muchos de los valores de esa gran obra, pero nunca la igualan, y menos, la superan. Creo que “Mistyc River” es la obra “redonda” de Lehane.

LA PELÍCULA DE CLINT EASTWOOD

No es mucho lo que puede añadir mi opinión personal a un film aclamado en su momento como uno de los mejores realizados por Eastwood, nominado a seis Oscar en la edición de 2003, y ganador de dos (Mejor Actor, Sean Penn y Mejor Actor de Reparto, Tim Robbins), pero quiero alabar su trabajo.

La película arranca, como en la novela, una tarde de verano, en la que Jimmy Markum, Dave Boyle y Sean Devine, tres niños de once años, juegan en las calles del barrio obrero East Buckingham, situado a las orillas del río Mistyc. Una pelea por un desacuerdo entre ellos, ocasiona que un hombre que se identifica como policía, salga de un coche, y obligue a Dave a acompañarle, ante la mirada impotente de sus amigos. Dave aparece unos días más tarde. Ha conseguido escapar del hombre y de su compañero, pero todo el mundo sabe que ha sido víctima de abusos sexuales. La mala conciencia de Jimmy y Sean, que no hicieron nada para evitar que Dave subiera al coche, hace también que su amistad acabe diluyéndose. Veinticinco años más tarde, la vida de cada uno de ellos, ha seguido un rumbo diferente: Jimmy (Sean Penn), que se inició en la delincuencia y pasó un tiempo en la cárcel, se casó muy joven, tuvo una hija a los 17 años y está casado en segundas nupcias, porque su primera mujer murió tempranamente de cáncer, regenta ahora un pequeño supermercado en el mismo barrio que le vio nacer. Sean (Kevin Bacon), en cambio, es policía y abandonó el barrio al casarse, pero su mujer le ha dejado. Dave (Tim Robbins) no ha dejado el barrio, se ha casado y tiene un hijo, pero aunque aparentemente es un hombre normal, lo ocurrido en el pasado continúa atormentándole. Un día, la hija Jimmy de 19 años, desaparece, y su cuerpo sin vida es encontrado a las pocas horas en un parque. Esto motiva que las vidas de los tres vuelvan a cruzarse, pues Sean, junto a su compañero Whitey (Laurence Fishburne) es el encargado de investigar el asesinato, en el cual llega a relacionarse a Dave por una serie de circunstancias que lo convierten en sospechoso. Jimmy, por su parte, inicia una investigación paralela a la de la policía, porque quiere vengar la muerte de su hija…

Muy poco altera Eastwood, el desarrollo de la novela, y a los principales personajes en su película (Whitey, que es un hombre blanco en el libro, y su personaje está más elaborado, sería una de esas mínimas alteraciones), y pone con magistral acierto, escenario y rostros, para contar la trama, en la que los diálogos, tanto exteriores como interiores, al igual que en la novela de Lehane, son los protagonistas.

Y se ve su mano al dirigir a los tres actores principales, sacando lo mejor de cada uno de ellos. El comedimiento de Sean Penn (excelente actor, pero que si no es bien dirigido tiene tendencia a los tic y al histrionismo), aún en la escena más desgarradora de la película, sus expresiones, con las que nos cuenta su tortura interior… La aparente apatía del personaje de Tim Robbins, pero que con su mirada y movimientos, nos dice que algo está ocurriendo dentro de su cabeza… Y la corrección de Bacon, en la que yo diría, la mejor de sus interpretaciones…

Si los tres actores principales nos ofrecen magníficas actuaciones, no quedan atrás las de Marcia Gay Harden (que da vida a Celeste Boyle, la esposa de Dave), y Laura Linney (la esposa de Jimmy Markum), personajes secundarios, pero importantes en el desarrollo de la historia.

Magistral es también el tratamiento que ha dado Eastwood a la violencia contenida que subyace a lo largo de todo el film, y que en algunas secuencias llega a sobrecogernos. Arropado todo, por una adecuada banda sonora compuesta por él mismo.

Y mucho más podría extenderme comentando la película, pero no quiero repetir lo que otros ya dijeron cuando se estrenó.

Lo que sí quiero, es recomendar la novela a los que no la hayáis leído, pues sea o no, vuestro género favorito, sé que os satisfará su lectura. Igualmente recomiendo el film. He vuelto a verlo después de leer el libro, y me he confirmado en la idea de que es una gran película.

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Para ver la ficha de la película, pincha aquí

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Swanson 

For reasons unexplained, late into the night, I decided to check out Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, a film strangely left out of most serious conversations about the director. Well, maybe it’s not that strange. The film is a comedy, after all, a genre which the director has, still, not completely tackled. But here, he tries, and comes close to succeeding.

There is a certain craziness to the film — a comic lunacy in the camerawork and general flipping the bird at plausibility that’s hard not to respect. You can sense Scorsese having fun with a certain level of freedom he has here, not being weighed down by all the icky drama.

Oh yeah — the scene at The Berlin Club, with Bad Brains on the soundtrack. Awesome choice Marty.

VERDICT:
7/10 Cahs Pahked in Hahvahd Yahd

I’m well aware of the heat I might be catching for this one, but this was not the best movie of ‘06. Letters From Iwo Jima got robbed.

The Departed is about two moles: one’s a Boston cop who finds himself deep undercover as the right-hand man to a kingpin in the Irish mob, the other’s a member of the said Irish mob who finds himself deep undercover in the upper-ranks of the Boston police force. One is trying to take down the mob from the inside out, the other is trying to protect the mob from the outside in, and both are trying to get each other killed so they can do their damn job.

Pretty crazy stuff.

It’s all based pretty closely off a Chinese movie called Infernal Affairs that came out in ‘02, only this time there’s cell phones and text messaging instead of lame-ass morse code – Neat! But if you haven’t seen it, give it a whirl. The plot is better in a lot of ways even if the script isn’t as strong in others.

Anyway, let’s start with the good then move our way down.

If there’s one Oscar this movie did deserve – and one painfully patient individual who deserved it even more – it was for directing. It might not be his best movie (I smell a weekly poll…) but if there’s anyone out there who knows how to make crime thrillers look good to both movie geeks and Joe the plumber, it’s Martin Scorsese. There’s a lot going on in this movie and Scorsese does one hell of a job of keeping his audience’s attention from start to finish all the while infusing it with his signature style that you can’t take your eyes off of. This is one of those movies that’s good to go back and watch a second time around just to pick up on the directorial flair and subtleties that helped win this guy the Oscar. It had been a while since he’d done something I liked, but come on, it’s Martin Scorsese. Dude’s a legend.

And does anyone remember those scenes where there’d be this long shot of Matt Damon or Leo and the whole screen would zoom in black until it just looked like you were seeing them through a peephole? Still trying to figure out the meaning behind that, but hey, still dug it.

Unfortunately, everything else kinda has a double-edged sword it.

The acting here is pretty damn good for the most part, but there were still some performances that I’m not too big on. You know what, Jack Nicholson was one mean bastard as Irish mob boss Frank Costello. It’s too bad he had to make that damn rat face and start ad-libbing all over the place (you know what scene I’m talking about), because if it weren’t for that, he would have gotten a lot more praise. All the same, it’s no skin off his back. Jack Nicholson’s the man, what else is there to say?

Matt Damon’s actually pretty solid as Costello’s mole; well, he’s been pretty solid ever since he took on Jason Bourne. So way to go, Matt. But I’m sorry, folks, Leo still isn’t doing it for me. Yeah, he’s all serious and shit now, but he could afford to tone it down a bit. I already went off on about this in my Revolutionary Road review, so I’m gonna try not to dwell on this. It’s not that he’s a bad actor by any means, I just think he’s getting a lot more credit than he’s due right now. Yes, he’s come a long way since Jack, but the guy is still overacting like a mofo and he can’t pull off a Boston accent for his life. I couldn’t believe it when I heard him talking like that again in the Shutter Island trailer (which actually looks pretty good). I don’t know, maybe it’s me.

And am I just crazy or is there anyone else out there who thinks that the two best performances here were from Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin? Not only did these guys have the best lines but they were arguably the coolest characters in the movie, too. These were the two actors I found myself talking about every time this movie came up in conversation, and while Marky Mark didn’t deserve the Oscar either, I’m glad he got a nod at least.

Martin Sheen’s also good, but Martin Sheen’s always good.

The other pro and con here is the script. For the most part, the script kicks ass. It’s a really impressive adaptation with lots of great, sharp dialogue, it keeps the suspense up for the entire duration, and it’s jam-packed with very well-written characters. There’s really not much you can knock it for…except for one thing: the last 15 minutes of the movie.

Honestly, what the fuck was that about?

Up until the point where the shit hits the fan at 100 mph, I was really digging this movie. Man, I about laughed out loud in the theater by the time the final scene was over. Without giving it away (at least I hope I’m not), I just couldn’t believe that all the time this movie spent building up these characters and their circumstances was essentially just tossed to the wind in one fell swoop. Just a bad way to end a movie, dare I say it was a cop-out.

But flaws aside, The Departed is still a good movie. It does a lot of things right, it’s a wild story, it’s a great return to form for Scorsese, and since the guy’s got one swell taste in music, there’s a fantastic soundtrack here to boot (even if everyone is sick and tired of that “…AND I LOST MY LEG!” song by the Dropkick Murphys). Might not have been my #1 pick for ‘06, might not have even been in my top five, but I can see why I might be in the minority here.

And the discussion board is now open…

Alternando su reciente faceta de documentalista con la de productor de cine y realizador de TV, el maestro del costumbrismo contémporaneo, el futuro ganador del Cecil B. DeMille en los próximos Golden Globes, el gran Martin Scorsese, se prepara para una grata sorpresa. Y la sorpresa es su regreso al género del terror y el suspenso.

Para los que no recuerden Cape Fear y su magnífico DeNiro, Martin Scorsese en 1991 adaptó la novela de John D. MacDonald y junto a él, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange y la jovencita Juliette Lewis armaron lo que para mi es un claro ejemplo de suspenso donde el cruento enfrentamiento entre DeNiro y su abogado defensor, Nolte, nos dejó petrificados en nuestras sillas. Para ese entonces Juliette Lewis caracterizaba a una jovencita casi de la misma edad mía; en ese entonces no concebía muy bien la diferencia de edades y pues me parecía un acto de seducción medianamente normal. Vista uno o dos veces después, el acto pedófilo se hizo más evidente y alimentó mi morbo en esta peli en particular. No hay cabida para ser tan macabro como lo fue DeNiro y tan genialmente malvado como Scorsese para lograr esta factura. La maldición de Scorsese, y de paso la de DeNiro, era la de arrasar en nominaciones y no ganar absolutamente nada (una gran injusticia con este par de monstruos), esta no fue la excepción. Qué buen guión, qué buena factura, qué actuaciones, etc… Y nada. Al final la revelación de Lewis y su virginal papel, le conllevaron dos premios y una nominación a nivel independiente.

Scorsese se prepara para un nuevo atardecer, de la mano de un reparto sencillamente impresionante, de Robert Richardson veterano de mil batallas en cinematografía al lado de Oliver Stone, el mismo Scorsese y recientemente visto en los basterdos de Tarantino, y de Thelma Shoonmaker editora que no sólo es una ganadora impresionante de óscares sino casi la mano derecha de Scorsese en todo su portafolio de largometrajes.

Apunta a ser escalofriante, impresionante, tenebrosa, ojalá muy gore y de una factura impecable. Que se lleve sus buenos premios y que Scorsese como es caballero repita Oscar como es debido.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Teddy Daniels)
Mark Ruffalo (Chuck Aule)
Ben Kingsley (Dr. John Cawley)
Michelle Williams (Dolores Chanal)
Max von Sydow (Dr. Jeremiah Naehring)
Jackie Earle Haley (George Noyce)
Elias Koteas (Andrew Laeddis)
John Carroll Lynch (Deputado Warden McPherson)

*No encontré el papel de Patricia Clarkson en IMDb y no lo he podido encontrar en ningún otro lado :-S

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.

Like all the best families, we have our share of eccentricities, of impetuous and wayward youngsters and of family disagreements. –Queen Elizabeth II–

The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation into a mere money relation. –Friedrich Engels–

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family:
Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one. –Jane Howard–

I just got to have a family. –Pepe Alas–

*******

Facebook: What’s on my mind?

Pepe Alas Going through very difficult times again: still no nannies for our kids; no choice, can’t go to work; writer’s block; depression; frequent low blood pressure attacks; and worse, our rent-to-own house might be cancelled, and it’s not even our fault. Good grief… why us??? =( Thu at 6:52pm
Pepe Alas I’d really appreciate it if anyone of you would take care two of our four kids for just a few days. Don’t worry: they’re polite and nice and loveable… exactly like their dad! And they’re fun to be with! They might even teach you some Spanish. Por favor, help us… Thu at 7:31pm
Jaime Martinez del Rio Pepe, animo! Ojala pudiera ayudar y estoy seguro de que muchos amigos tuyos lo haran. Si de algo sirven mi apoyo moral y amistad eso lo tienes! Aun cuando nos cubren los nubarrones mas negros aun ahi hay esperanza, y siempre vienen los tiempos mejores. Dios nos ama, ya veras que todo estara mejor! Thu at 7:37pm
Anmie Samson Martinez Relax lang. This too shall pass. Why will your “rent-to-own” contract be cancelled? What happened? Thu at 8:13pm
Leslie Nobleza hay mdmi tlg may gnyang problema.. ngka2ubusan n ata ng yaya ah.. ako pwde, mga 100k/month.hihihi Thu at 8:30pm
Arnaldo Arnáiz hang on there hombre, help is chopperin’ down… Thu at 11:34pm
Ragna Ivez pWdE b kO magAppLy, bUkoD s FrEe TuTpAsTe, sHampU at sAbOn..kLangAn mAy fRee mEaL, 2LuGan, dAILy gMik aLloWaNce (xMpRe pSyaL kMi ng mGa kIdoz) at ang rAte kO eh 3K a day wIth TutOriAL uN ah.. ahahha… kYa nYo yAn… sMiLe p rIn.. aJaaaaaaa!!! Thu at 11:46pm
Joaquin Montenegro Pertierra galing ren ako diyan more than a week ago, hirap talaga! Yesterday at 1:52am
Ann Cecil Evora kaya mo yan cuz! Yesterday at 1:56am
Levi Landrito Soledad You’ll get past through this Panyero, steady lang. Yesterday at 6:52am
Lian Gabrielle Santos Tado!! Este Pepe pala!!! Yakang yaka mo yan Peps!! Kaw pa! You’re no spanish speaking rep for nothing!!! Yesterday at 12:11pm
Pepe Alas Thanks everyone, for the moral support. Being a depressive, I really need it. My wife couldn’t take the pressure. Partly, it’s my fault; I’ve been grouch, myself. Now she already left our home together with two of our youngest boys. Pacasalán co na lang daw yung mga pinagsúsusulat co. I shouldn’t be writing about this here in Facebook. Caso grabe ang samá ng loób co ngayón. Waláng macá-usap, eh. =( Yesterday at 4:58pm
Ragna Ivez wKa n sAd JoMz… sUNdUin mO n cLa, ngHhNtay cLa s u.. b sTrOng.. bOth of U ni JenNy.. oKi?! kEeP oN rOckIn.. aJa… Yesterday at 5:09pm
Ria Gee D hey cheer up its just one of those days..mahal ka non..alam na alam ko yun Yesterday at 6:16pm
Leslie Nobleza sad.. espero q todo salga bien amigo. el Señor va a ayudarte. Today at 1:31pm
Anthony Castillo nid lng ni yeyette ng time space warp, be patient.

Pepe Alas had an ugly fight with Yeyette. Might separate… =( Yesterday at 3:29pm
Din Velilla =( kapatid… sad… i hope you can still fix it! Yesterday at 3:30pm
Ann Michelle Tulod ;( Yesterday at 3:31pm
Lilet Alas Fernandez AY SUS… LILIPAS DIN YAN!!LOVE NYO ISA’T ISA EH DI BA?? Yesterday at 4:25pm
Nante Cole pare maayos din yan. dami nyo na pinag daanan eh. wala yan! kayo pa Yesterday at 4:26pm
Lilet Alas Fernandez Pressured lang kyo kc wala kayong househelp… Yesterday at 4:27pm
Buenafe DelMundo De Padua ssshh… pepe and yet, talk it over guys Yesterday at 4:37pm
Pepe Alas Too late. She already left the house with Jefe and Juanito. I was able to persuade her to leave Krystal and Momay. Krystal is still crying. What did I do to deserve this?… =( Yesterday at 4:55pm
Buenafe DelMundo De Padua … it will be sorted out. however.. Yesterday at 4:59pm
April Ordiales-Katigbak follow her and talk to her… =( Yesterday at 5:23pm
Ai Ivy Chua aaww, if you really love each other and still want to work it out, go to her and talk it out when both of you cools down….things will work out fine buddy, just have faith *hugs* Yesterday at 6:09pm
Maureen Tiamsic-Dulay Anooo? panu na yung forever? Ikaw na lang magpakababa. I know you guys will be able to work it out. Yesterday at 7:06pm ·
Pogi Nazaret jom, I hope you’re not pulling another jomar… You’ve been through so much already… Yesterday at 7:17pm ·
Imee Rabang relax lang chong… baka nag-hahanap lang din si Yeyette ng space…am sure she loves you and your children that much, to give up your family will never be an option. Yesterday at 7:30pm
Jose Alberto Afanador Herrera PEPITO.. TEN CONFIANZA EN DIOS DE QUE TODO TE SALDRÁ BIEN… NO EXISTE NINGÚN MATRIMONIO QUE NO DISCUTA, ASÍ QUE, PON TU FÉ EN JESÚS HIJO DE DIOS TODOPODEROSO Y VERÁS QUE LAS COSAS VOLVERÁN A SU CAUCE. TEN MUCHA PACIENCIA HERMANO, y SOBRETODO DIALOGA CON TU SEÑORA ESPOSA.. SÉ QUE NO DEBE SER FÁCIL PERO SÍ SE PUEDE. TE SALUDA TU HERMANO VENEZOLANO. UN ABRAZO PEPITO. Yesterday at 9:19pm
George Madriaga chillax amigo !!!! Yesterday at 10:22pm
Anthony Castillo hayz… Yesterday at 11:08pm
Maria Rubia Alas are you serious this tym, Jomar? o biro2 lang? Today at 12:11am
Cake Mendoza This IS a heartbreaking post. I hope you two work things out… :’( Today at 12:55am
Jennifer Sanguir May gusto lang sabihin si Yeyette na hindi mo magets joms…importante pa din ang pag uusap. Today at 3:26am
Myla Irene Penson i hope everything will be fine soon… Today at 3:45am
Paolo Raphael Balicao kuya ayusin nio yan..wag pdalos dalos sa desisyon..goodluck Today at 8:59am
Ryan B. Palisocdude kmusta nsa marcelo nko nktira ano cell mo kita kits tyo minsan yngats and regards kay misis heres my no.09062700407 gb Today at 12:03pm
Ryan B. Palisoc dude there are times na mahairap dmi nyo na pinagdaanan wg nio isuko ang laban ………….usap lng yan Today at 12:05pm
Aileen Candido usap lang at magintindihan …mahirap ang iniisip mo Today at 1:02pm
Jesse Soriano mzta na po 11 hours ago

*******

Facebook: messages

Janis Santiago November 20 at 5:40pm

Hola de nuevo! I read your shout out.. what’s wrong??

Pepe, hayaan mo muna si Yeyette, para lang bumaba un tension between the 2 of you… at Para makapagisip kayong dalawa. You know, Yan ang scenario everyday, pagnaghiwalay kayo.. watak-watak un family nyo and your kids will be confused..
Un mga days na di kayo magkasama, both of you will realize that. May be hindi pa today kc asar pa kayo sa isa’t-isa.. Pero, eventually, pagnawala na un inis, then reality will begin to sink in.. both of you will miss each other.. Sometimes, hiwalayan isn’t permanent. May be kaya sya umalis so she could breathe.

Maybe nag freak out lang kayo sa mga pressures ng pagkakataon lately like walang maid, bills to pay, di makapasok sa work etc. and napasukan ng inis. Pero nalampasan nyo naman un dati, so, i’m sure malalampasan nyo ulit to. Ito un time na dapat you pray hard. Ask help from God and healing from angel Raphael. Effective sya, promise. Sabihin mo sa kanya lahat ng problems mo, talk to him like as if he’s just your bestfriend.. Hindi beer ang solution, magdasal ka.
Later, i’ll ask un maid ng neighbor ko na may kamag anak sa Laguna if meron silang alam na gustong mamasukan dyan. God Bless ü

4 na un mga anak ninyo, tsaka pa ba kayo maghihiwalay?? I mean, isipin nyo un mga anak ninyo kc kawawa naman sila if masisira un family nyo..

Hi Janis.

You are right. Ngayón pa nga lang nagpapalitan na camí ng txt messages.

Sobra, talagáng nag-freak out na camí parejo. Ang hirap ng apat ang anác, tapos walá namáng mag-aalagà. May pambayad namán camí, walá namáng mahanap. Tapos yung problema pa namin sa PAG-IBIG Fund at CHMI. Bacá bawiin yung bahay na binilí namin noóng isáng taón. Ang problema hindí sa aquin, eh — dun sa compañíang pinagtátrabahuhan co ngayón. Tapos yung credit card debts namin palaquí na ng palaquí. May pambayad din caso palaguí cong nacacalimutan — ewan co ba. Tapos yung mga dapat cong isulat, hindí co masimulán — dahil nahíhirapan na acóng magsulát. Ang paquiramdám co tulóy, ang bobo-bobo co ná. Casí hindí na talagá acó catulad ng dati: isáng upó lang, may verso na caagád acóng naiisip. Ngayón, tuyót na. Tapos nahihirapan camí sa mga gawáing bahay. Ayoco talagáng gumawà. Ang gusto co lang magsulát, magbasá, magsulát, magbasá…

We’ve been on our own since we eloped 10 years ago. Talagáng waláng camág-anac na puede naming mahiñgán ng tulong. We’ve been away from them ever since. At isá pá, nacácahiya namáng mang-istorbo. Iláng taóng waláng balita sa amin, tapos magpáparamdam lang camí capág may cailañgang tulong.

You know, I’ve caused my wife so much hurt because of my odd behavior. They say it’s a “writer’s thing”, a chronicler’s eccentricity. I do not want to be disturbed whenever I ponder on some things that I need to scribble down. Whenever I do that, I tend to neglect so many things. Including my responsibilities to my family.

I don’t even know how to go further with this explanation (excuse? defense?). It’s so private, yet I tend to go public with it (by posting it here on FILIPINO eSCRIBBLES. It’s stupid, just plain stupid. We should’ve just talked about my dilemma using our language, then post the conversation in ALAS FILIPINAS. But then again, nobody here in the silly Philies would understand us — fu©k the 1987 Constitution for that! Nobody’d understand me. I won’t be able to understand myself. And I want the whole world to understand me…

Yes, I’m begging for poignancy, and that’s just to keep my fu©k!ng unsharpened pen sharp, matulis, con punta, and with much life, enough to wake up sleeping trees bending gently with the breeze, and for sobbing statesmen with the same family problems –hidden from public scrutiny and entertainment– to sit up and orate extemporaneously about my being an out and out individualist, in love with humanities, in love with my psyche, frustrated with society, angry at so many things that I want to control but couldn’t, angry at my childhood, angry at the slipshod masa, angry at the lifestyles of the rich and boring, angry at the present, worried about the future, longing for what was then, all-mixed up, going crackers again…

Sorry Janis, my mind’s a vortex of an uncompounded rage as I write this……. I couldn’t even ask for Archangel Raphael’s intercession right now. I still remember what my friend JB Lazarte told me the last time we met in 2004. He said that when he heard the news that Yeyette and I had a child (Krystal, in 2000), he somehow felt compunctious over what would happen to me as a writer now that I’ll have other responsibilities. But I understood him perfectly well because Señor Guillermo Gómez Rivera shared to me the same reaction months before.

“The main reason why my wife and I separated,” said he, “was because of all these.” And he pointed out to me the countless tomes of books scattered on his floor, stacked on his shelves, books and magazines under the bed, inside the washroom, within the kitchen walls. Yeah, it was then why I understood why Paciano Rizal and the other Freemasons kept José Rizal from being married to Leonor Rivera…

He that hath wife and children hath given hostages to fortune; for they are impediments to great enterprises, either of virtue or mischief. –Sir Francis Bacon (with ham, eggs, fried rice, and Tang orange juice)–

Old man Gómez’s marriage was a failure. But he achieved so much it makes me want to puke with envy…

Pero normal namán talagá ang mga hindí pagcacá-unawaán sa familia. Minsan, mahirap talagáng maiwasan yun. Pero minsan, may mga away na mabigát. Catulad na lang ng nangyaring itó sa amin ni Yeyette cahapon. Sa tuwíng may mabigát na away, magháhamon ng hiwalayan (at gagatuñgan pa ng mga in-laws). Sometimes, I’d like to think that I’m single again, so that I could do the things that I really want without any hassle.

I’ve never had a bachelor’s life because I got married at a very young age (nineteen). But I’m not exactly after a swinging bachelor’s life. I’m just looking for a sense of freedom… For ‘man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains’ (fu©k you for that, Rousseau). I yearn for liberty, but not exactly from matrimony. I’m refering to something else. And that something else is lurking behind the perpetually rainy mountains of Monte de Maquíling, in the forbidden forests of Mindanáo, in the ancient rivers of the Visayas… I want to embrace what no man has dared embrace before…

But I just couldn’t anymore.

It’s difficult to pretend what I am not. I just couldn’t think of myself without my Krystal, my Momay, my Jefe, my Juanito.

Life will seem to be difficult without Yeyette by my side. Life won’t even be life at all without her and our children.

Just observe what’s happening right now inside my mind while she’s away: deathly neurons exploding like heartache bits inside a microwave-like cerebral cortex — poppin’ and poppin’ and poppin’ and Mary poppin’… I’d go crazy without my family. If I’ll ever lose them, expect to see me makin’ love to a sexless táong grasa soon.

What about my, uh, responsibilities as a scribbler and “self-styled” defender of the national identity silently rumbling within the fabric of the Filipino cosmos? This is the price I have to pay. If I’m destined to have a life like this, then so be it. At the very least, I am not economically downtrodden. And I should be thankful for that.

The road to the truth has never been easy. Damn, I ain’t even a saint. Just who the fu©k am I? I’m just a piece of turd from an eternally swiveling galactic dust going nowhere for aeons.

Thus, I feel like the fictitious messiah of Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. I tend to runaway from being crucified.

But that’s just the way it has to be.

Nevertheless, Janis, you made my day, my dear friend. We’re sending text messages now. Yeyette’s a very strong person; I am not. She’s only made weak whenever I scream at her out of my frustration about so many things in life. She’s been very patient with me, especially during my godless days.

Quisiera darte mi agradecimiento, por todo tu apoyo y consejo en estos tiempos malditos de cólera. Te quiero mucho como mi amiga, Janis. Que Dios te bendiga. I’ll go see Yeyette in ATC right now. With our children. For lunch. We’ll talk. About a lot of things. Let’s see what’ll happen. Cacayanin namin itó, lalong lalo na’t alám namin na ‘di camí nag-íisa.

A todos nuestros amigos, gracias por la inquietud que teneis sobre nuestra situación.

¡Y gracias por vuestro amor!

Facebook alert: today is the feast day of Christ The King…

So, uh, whatdufug are you talking about my hair looks bad, that’s all I’m saying, your hair looks bad.  You muddafugga, I oughtta break your fuggin face talking to me like that.  –lame Joe Pesci impression, sorry.

“Raging Bull.”  Perhaps Pesci’s first big movie, I really liked this portrait of a fighter in the mid 20th century.  It was almost as tragic and close to life as Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” last year.  One thing about it was that there were plenty scenes.  So with that, some scenes were better than others.  Martin Scorsese sort of hit a home run directing this one in 1980.

De Niro won an Oscar for leading role for a male.  Thelma Schoonmaker won an Oscar for best film editing.  Altogether the film was nominated for 8 Oscars, including best picture and best director.  Check it out if you get a shot, it’s old, but timeless, and some of the shots are great.  For real, you’ll see exactly where some of that (recycled) Italian mobster stuff was brought to life first.

Guiño al tiempo de Keith Richards- Fotografía sin autor conocido

Las arrugas en los rostros de Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts y Ron Wood son la celebración de una vida imposible. ¿Qué puede ser más contradictorio que ver a estos cuatro ejemplares de la raza humana en perfecto estado de descomposición? Surcar sus rostros es aconsejar mal a nuestros hijos. Sus Satánicas Majestades han cumplido casi cinco décadas desafiando a las generaciones que piensan que la sangre nueva es la que debe fluir. No es así. Leyendas aparte, hay una banda que se sube a un escenario y transmite ganas de envejecer. De la mejor forma posible, la de hacer lo mejor que se sabe y disfrutar con ello. Ahí los ven flacos, pasados y con presencia desafiante. Mick Jagger, la diva, con su ritmo frenético, ombligo desvergonzado y sus contoneos de estrella a la que no le invitarán jamás a desaparecer. Cuenta en el documental “Shine a light” de Scorsese, recién lanzado a la fama, que su objetivo no pasaba por perdurar en el tiempo. Siempre vigilado por la moral del siglo veinte, por otro lado más arriesgada que la del actual, y llevando sus morros icónicos a la extenuación de una voz que no se apagará más que muerta. Baila con Christina Aguilera y la penetra toda la senectud por las nalgas firmes. ¿Se puede ser más soberbio? Y atrás Charlie Watts, el batería mudo, el que arranca con fatiga y después encuentra su ritmo constante. Detrás de su mirada quizá no hay más. Nunca dijo nada y tal vez no tuvo qué decir o se lo calló o ninguna de las cosas. El único que dejó sus canas libres al ritmo de una batería discreta, como si fuera una figura del museo de cera. Sonrisa enganchada y saludo con el aplauso final. Ron Wood, niño abuelo, juega con Keith. Lo mira con admiración. Sigue su compás y lo reta en un duelo de gigantes. Richards se ha ido acartonando como un pirata invencible. Sus gestos muestran a alguien que vive de milagro y que se mueve por el escenario creando complicidades. Con el público, al que mima y guiña el ojo o regala una púa. Tiene ese gesto que atrapa por la bondad del más malvado, el canalla que todos deseamos ser y que matamos por timidez o frustración. Ese tipo debería ser el más antiguo del cementerio para contar todos los excesos que llevan a la tumba y es al revés, la fosa se muere de hastío echando al cielo la más aburrida flor. Un cigarro prohibido vuela escupido por su boca y fabrica un solo de simpatía por el diablo. Y viéndole ¿Quién va a sentir lo contrario? Sólo cuando acaba el último bis con el Satisfaction pide desesperado su bata, muerto de frío, como un cadáver que se mira a un espejo. Después los cuatro van a sus camerinos, acaban su trabajo y se separan rumbo a sus casas, restaurantes de moda, antros o prostíbulos de lujo. Han cumplido su contrato y seguirán haciéndolo hasta que el rock and roll sea un sueño que un día ocurrió. Antes de que se les despegue la piel de la cara la música les cartografiará por siempre jamás.

José Ramón Huidobro

Página web Rolling Stones

Alguém disposto a dizer que Scosese não é um gênio?

Les Voyeurs #88 – Des Voyeurs dans l’avion

Diffusion le : jeudi 19 novembre 2009 à 18h sur Radio Grille Ouverte
vendredi 20 novembre 2009 à 18h sur Radio 16.
Rediffusion le samedi 21 novembre 2009 à 10h sur RGO.
En téléchargement pendant une semaine ici.
Et en écoute permanente là.

Actualité

Capitlism – A Love Story : Sortie au cinéma le 25 novembre 2009 du nouveau film de Michael Moore.
Spiderman 4 : Confirmation de la présence au casting de l’acteur Dylan Baker, interprétant le personnage du Dr Connors, devenant dans la BD le super-vilain Le Lézard.
Buffy, la tueuse de vampires : une web-série animée adaptant la 8ème saison des aventures en comics de la tueuse de vampires, va bientôt voir le jour, faisant donc suite à la 7ème saison de la série TV.
Delta Blues : la série créée en 2008 par Joshua Harto et produite par Georges Clooney à enfin trouvé son acteur principal en la personne de Jason Lee (le héros de “Earl”).
Prince of Persia – Les Sables du Temps :  Le prince de Perse doit combattre un Vizir rebelle désireux de s’emparer des Sables du Temps, un artefact conférant à son possesseur le contrôle du Temps. Adaptation cinéma de la célèbre licence de jeux vidéos. Réalisé par Mike Newell. Avec Jake Gyllenhaal. Sortie France 26 mai 2010. BA visible en VF pourrie ou VO HD.
L’actualité des Arcades : A l’origine ; L’Imaginarium du Dr Parnassus, Le Ruban Blanc (en VO), Away We Go, Micmacs à tire larigot, 2012, Twilight chapitre 2 : Tentation, Saw VI.
Les Beaux Gosses : Le beau coffret collector du film est disponible depuis le 12 novembre. Contient le film en édition collector 2DVD mais également le CD de la BO du film et surtout le “manuel pratique du puceau” !! Dépêchez-vous c’est pas cher !
L’actu du Sémaphore de Nîmes : L’Imaginarium du Dr Parnassus (en VO), mais aussi le film qui n’est plus à Alès et c’est dommage Panique au village !. Le Sémaphore organise également jusqu’au 26 janvier 2010 des projections des grands classiques du cinéma italien dont Affreux, sales et méchants, Les Monstres, Le Fanfaron, Hier aujourd’hui demain, L’Étranger. Plus de détails sur la programmation sur le site du cinéma ici => Sémaphore.

Dossier de la semaine : Des Voyeurs dans l’avion

La saga des “Airport”

Airport (1970) de Georges Seaton
Airport 75 (747 en péril – 1975) de Jack Smight
Airport 77 (Les Naufragés du 747 – 1977) de Jerry Jameson
Concorde : Airport 79 (Airport 80 Concorde – 1980) de David Lowell Rich

Les vols de l’extrême

L’Étoffe des Héros (The Right Stuff – 1983) de Phillip Kaufman
Des serpents dans l’avion (Snakes on a plane – 2006) de David R. Ellis
Des Zombies dans l’avion (Flight of the Living Dead : Outbreak on a plane – 2007) de Scott Thomas
Les Ailes de L’Enfer (Con-Air – 1997) de Simon West
Flight Plan (2004) de Robert Schwentke
Air Force One (1997) de Wolfgang Pertersen
Independence Day (1996) de Roland Emmerich
Die Hard 4 – retour en enfer (Die Hard 4.0 – 2007) de Len Wiseman

Les avions “cartoons” : les Z.A.Z. aux commandes

Les avions du futur

Furtif (Stealth – 2005) de Rob Cohen
D.A.R.Y.L. (1985) de Simon Wincer
Firefox, l’arme absolue (1982) de et avec Clint Eastwood

Coups de Cœur

Les Chevaliers du Ciel (2005) de Gérard Pirès
Aviator (2004) de Martin Scorsese

La bande originale de la semaine :

Papa Loves Manbo par Perry Como
Extrait de la bande originale du film Ocean’s Eleven (2001) de Steven Soderbergh

Chronique : La Carte Postale Sétoise

L’Enfer d’Henry-Georges Clouzot de Serge Bromberg et Ruxendra Medrea

Musique :
Who’s Driving Your Plane ? par The Rolling Stones

Extraits :
Airport 75 (747 en péril)
Des Serpents dans l’Avion
Firefox, l’arme absolue

Présentation : Cédric Cance, Erik Antolin, Jérôme Bauzon
Chronique : l’irremplaçable Jan Jouvert !
Technique : Jérémie Adrian

Mr. Miller,

Well, we did it. 2 Days after shooting ended, Danny and I revealed our true identities to the star-studded Hollywood cast and crew of our movie trucKING Royalty. Danny took off his long blond wig and Orlando-Bloom-as-Legolas attire, and I simply stated that despite my mustache, I am not Burt Reynolds.

They stared for a minute in awe, then Martin Scorsese said “Well, I appreciate the amount of moxie and acting expertise needed to pretend to be a talented actor for the entire length of a shoot.” Robert Redford then came over to us and shook our hands, saying “I know the feeling.” He then winked and slipped me a piece of paper that he started scribbling on as we exposed our true identities.

They said for us all to take 15. Danny and I walked out of the room and opened up the folded piece of paper Mr. Redford gave us. I’ve attached it so you can see for yourself

Danny and I spent most of the 15 trying to decipher the handwriting. And we’re pretty sure it says that THEY are also impersonating celebrities and that trucKING Royalty was going to be edited into a porno!

I actually thought this was pretty hot, and was only upset that they didn’t just ask if we wanted to make it a porno in the first place. That would’ve been one wild ride that I’d've taken part in!

But Danny…holy shit that kid was pissed off. He stormed right back into the room and punched the fake Martin Scorsese in the face! That guy was down for the count. Then he stood menacingly over him and said “You don’t RUIN buddy flicks by making them more about sex and less about the growth of a platonic bond between two characters. You’ve besmirched the good name of Hollywood with your sleaze!” Then he spit on the the guy, stared down the rest of the room, and walked out.

I followed him out. And while I would’ve been game for having sex with smokin’ hot ladies in the porno, I had to hand it to the kid, he stood up for what he believed in. And there’s nothing more admirable than that.

“Robert Redford” walked out and told us that his real name was Mark Allensburg. He said that he exposed the situation to us because he truly believed in trucKING Roylaty. He said that the people we were working with had connections with someone actually employed at the movie studio we broke into. They got a hold of our script and sent it over to these scammers who just wanted to do a porno based on people impersonating Hollywood celebs (apparently they “knew” the whole time? I don’t know if I believe that). He presented a card for their organization called “WildChilds: we put the WOOD in Hollywood.”

Witty, I must say. But Danny still wasn’t about to play any games. He demanded to know who the head boss was of the WildChilds. He rattled off a list of what he planned on doing to the guy; and after some threats of physical violence were delivered Mark’s way, he fessed up that it was an Alan Miller from Miami, Florida.

Alan. We’ve known each other for a damn long time. So many years you’ve helped me out, so I am going to say one thing: if you are the same Alan Miller that heads up the WildChilds and screwed with Danny and his dream movie…be prepared to feel his wrath. He went completely batshit when he heard the name, and now we’re about to board a plane back to Miami.

I suggest getting the hell out of there before it’s too late.

- Eddie

Good morning.  Epix is about to take the stage at this the last day of Streaming Media West.  Watch the keynote live at:  www.livestream.com/streamingmedialive/beta. Presentations this weekend at streamingmedia.com/west.  We’ll be posting the remarks here along with a summary of what was said this week by other content distributors and producers:

Emil Rensing, Epix
Epix is a joint venture of Paramount/Lionsgate/MGM that launched three week ago as a FiOS Pay TV cable channel that for $10/month makes its content available to subscribers on any platform :  on TV, on demand, and online.  Epix owns the multiplatform rights for all their titles in the PayTV window of 9-10 months after theatrical release for at least 2y and doesn’t have restrictions on their content like legacy cable providers who signed deals 10 years ago and now have to renegotiate rights for TV Everywhere.   Currently offering 180 first run blockbuster movies and classics, Epix seeks to grow it’s library to 3,000 titles as well as offer outstanding original and event-based programming similar to the HBO, Starz, Showtime model.  Programming like Madonna and Kings of Leon concerts, Sam Shepard’s  Tough Trade and Charlize Theron’s Atlas Shrugged.  Seeking to become home to original storytellers….original programming builds brand for the network.  In terms of the size of the Epix acquisition budget, having just launched they are small now 62 staff, a third focused on digital, wondering whether sponsored star-studded sitcoms like Easy to Assemble and Justine Bateman’s FM78.tv then become an attractive option. Emil Rensing, founder of Next New Networks, shares space with Boxee in New York, is a digital guy agnostic about formats, hoping to see Epix on that toaster we’ve been talking about.  A media business, Epix is proud of its technology partners who provide a seamless playback experience: Akamai, Adobe, ClipSync. Amazing friending feature allows you to invite up to four friends to sit in a virtual screening room, watch the movie together, and chat via pop up speech bubbles.  The friends do not need to be an Epix subscriber. You can check out Epix this weekend.  Three day passes are available at www.epixhd.com/invite.   Watch Iron Man, Cloverfield, Curious Case of Benjamin Button, all four Indie Jones movies, even Scorsese’s Mick Jagger doc, Shine a Light.  Epix will be the first to run the Star Trek movie in the new year, so stay tuned.
(per SMW remarks)

Anthony Soohoo, CBS
CBS distribution strategy online, on mobile, in the connected home has been open, non-exclusive hyperdistribution to AOL, Yahoo!, Google, MSN. CBS.com watch full shows. TV.com nexgen navigation with integrated TiVo functionality and online personalized guide watchlists for the 20mm users of TV.com (2mm iPhone app downloads).  TV shows now, movies in the pipeline.  CBS Web Originals believes there are different ways to tell stories in terms of byte size text format, take about 3-4 different shows on a quarterly basis, on a project finance basis, find a sponsor working with the creators, then distribute across CBS properties and CBS Audience Network, bring expertise on sales side, largest video sales force out there, CBS Interactive is the 4th largest video player in the world, reach on a monthly basis 120mm.  Offer content creators sales and distribution piece mixed up with the TheInsider.com, TV.com, Chow.com, CBS.com.  300 syndicated partners.  A combination of having limited resources and it being early stage for the connected devices, focusing more on mobile right now.  TV Everywhere great for consumer, but only 52% of broadcast nets making content available, 10% cable nets, no economic model/measurement.
(per Commonwealth Club SmarterTV remarks)

Tom Gorke, MTV
Tasked with monetizing content off owned and operated 300 websites worldwide, goal is multiplatform, to stay close to consumer, drive awareness and traffic.  MTV is the largest provider of content to Xbox and iTunes.  The biggest driver of paid download to own is the need for portability, take it with you on the flight.  The need to aggregate a library of content has matured.  Done well on Hulu, Fancast, Atom, GameTrailers, DailyMotion, Veoh.  MTV is all about automation, too much content, it wouldn’t scale if had to customize, even putting a flag in a feed is tough.  Have close relationship with syndication partners, provide exclusive one off promotional content, lots of assets, art work, graphics.  Syndication partners care most about reliability and regularity of delivery, and standards of quality of content.  FB pulls a lot of content from MTV.  Really saw the power of Twitter during the VMAs with Kanye West.  MTV integrates Twitter into sites, audience of engaged folks.  Leading provider of mobile content, sold over 1mm of the 16 iPhone apps, VCast.  Live streaming tentpoles like Kids Choice Awards, VMAs. Live streaming is completely different technology (Ustream, Justin.TV, Kyte, Livestream).  When Ashton Kutcher did his Fantasy Football Show on Ustream viewership went from 100,000 to 1mm viewers, it had a watercoolers effect and was played everywhere all at once.  For the experiment, bought ad unit and inserted Ustream player – was expensive.
(per SMW remarks)

Vanessa Pappas, Next New Networks
500mm streams online in 3 years, 30mm views/month, believe in super-syndication concept, be where the audience is.  Yahoo! has been great for family entertainment, long form does well on iTunes.  TubeMogul is integrated in content management system but do a manual refresh to optimize sites that perform for you.  Recently hired category manager from YouTube.  Know your syndicated partner’s audience.  On Twitter you can’t just post and pray, need to have dialogue with engaged community.  Share office with Boxee, getting on Boxee, Roku..
(per SMW remarks)

Brett Wislon, TubeMogul
Free supersyndication service to Blip.tv, Break, Brightcove, DailyMotion, eBaum’s World, Facebook, Graspr, Grind TV, Howcast, i2TV, Imeem, Metacafe, MSN Video, Myspace, Revver, Sclipo, Sevenload, Streetfire, Twitter, StupidVideos, Veoh, VideoJug, Y! Video, YouTube, Viddler, Vimeo, 5min, Zoopy.  Best campaigns are hybrid like the recent intentionally lame Windows 7 videos.  Got 5.5mm views in September, impressive for a brand.  http://www.engadget.com/2009/09/24/video-windows-7-launch-party-parody-is-bleeping-genius/3.  Most have given up on trying to make money in online video.  Although YouTube is 50% of the game, study found that those that also syndicated to niche sites saw a 100x increase in viewership than those just on YouTube.  Greater success with vertical focus.  Analytics allow you to see where video is most embedded, can see if a specific mommy blog is an important outlet and starting feeding them exclusive content which they love because content drives traffic.  Moving from super-syndication (content everywhere blast) to hyper-syndication (content to engaged fans fast).  FB has no video strategy but is a top ten video site.  Study found most engaged viewers came from Twitter.
(per SMW remarks)

Brandon White, FUNimation
License anime content, aim to meet the needs of the licensors in Japan.  Syndicated via ad-supported video, iTunes, Xbox/Zune, PS3.  Use YouTube for fingerprinting.  Plan to syndicated across all CE devices – mobile, Blu-ray, web-enabled tvs.
(per SMW remarks)

Jim Louderback, Revision 3
Syndicates 20 shows including Diggnation broadly anywhere, anytime, any device, want to be where our audience millennial men live.  Auto-syndicates with Tubemogul but still need to manually refresh metadata at each site.
(per SMW remarks)

Dominik Rausch, Eleven Minutes Production, Easy To Assemble
EasytoAssembleSeries.com is a sponsored star-studded sitcom that has garnered 4.2mm+ views between its Season I & II on MyDamnChannel, YouTube, Ikeafans.com, KoldKastTV, Hulu.  Also distributed on iTunes.  In talks with DVD sales, releasing on hotel networks, subtitles for 10-15 additional countries in Europe & Asia.  Innovative series where in addition to celebrities like Illeana Douglas, Justine Bateman, Tom Arnold…IKEA is a co-star.  Web series same premium quality as film, all 10 episodes of second season strings together as a movie.  Production company is thinking of new ways to make content adapting to fragmented time-shifting society.  As traditional TV distribution disappears, new media will take over distribution for all platforms.
(per Commonwealth Club SmarterTV remarks)

Brent Friedman, Electric Farm
Production budget for Crackle’s Woke Up Dead is over $1mm, high for a web production but has talent attached which attracted integrated sponsors like Kodak.   (Premise of show is friend trying to monetize fact that friend is a living zombie, sub-plot pitching to brands for sponsorship).  Sometimes you have to take a risk to get a bigger payoff just like more marketing dollars equals more views.  Kodak also cross-promoted on their own site which over a million monthly uniques.  Valemont is a success with an engaged community of 25,000.
(per SMW remarks)

Thom Woodley, Dinosuar Diorama
All-For-Nots co-produced with Eisner’s Vuguru.  Doesn’t like sponsor integration, hurts show creatively, prefer ad-insertion, and smaller more engaged audiences of 50-100,000, hasn’t quit his day job as ad agency exec yet. Show All’s Faire about the Renaissance Faire reaches 20,000 Renaissance Faire fans plus sci fi, comics and comedy buffs.
(per SMW remarks)

(Taxi Driver) 

Videoteca do Beto #16

Dirigido por Martin Scorsese.

Elenco: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Sheperd, Harvey Keitel, Albert Brooks, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, Norman Matlock, Diahnne Abbott e Martin Scorsese. 

Roteiro: Paul Schrader.

Produção: Julia Phillips e Michael Phillips.

[Antes de qualquer coisa, gostaria de pedir que só leia esta crítica se já tiver assistido o filme. Para fazer uma análise mais detalhada é necessário citar cenas importantes da trama].

O homem solitário de Deus. A solidão nas grandes metrópoles, por mais paradoxal que possa parecer, é mesmo um mal comum. Mesmo com tantas pessoas em volta, por muitas vezes podemos nos sentir deslocados e sozinhos nestas enormes selvas de pedra, como é o caso de Nova York, São Paulo e tantas outras cidades. Em 1975, ano de produção deste maravilhoso “Taxi Driver”, esta sensação já existia, ainda mais em uma Nova York suja e repleta de viciados, criminosos e prostitutas. Logo no primeiro plano – um close no olhar do solitário taxista, seguido por imagens das ruas de Nova York – a obra-prima dirigida por Martin Scorsese mostra de forma sutil que o efeito daquele ambiente na mente desta pessoa será o fio condutor da narrativa.

O veterano de guerra do Vietnã Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) decide se tornar taxista para ocupar seu tempo, já que não consegue dormir. Após se apaixonar pela bela Betsy (Cybill Sheperd), que trabalha na campanha política de um senador candidato à presidência, conhece a jovem Iris (Jodie Foster) a quem aconselha largar a prostituição e o cafetão Sport (Harvey Keitel) e retornar para a casa de seus pais. O problema é que durante este processo, Travis lentamente se revolta com o que vê à sua volta.

Scorsese gravou seu nome na história do cinema com esta direção impecável. O diretor abusa de planos criativos (a frente, o capô e o retrovisor do taxi, as ruas molhadas) sem medo de arriscar, conseguindo sucesso absoluto na firme condução da narrativa e utilizando os movimentos de câmera para traduzir sentimentos dos personagens. Repare, por exemplo, como o interessante plano do copo borbulhando pode ser considerado uma metáfora para o momento em que começam a borbulhar também idéias na cabeça de Travis. Outro exemplo é a seqüência de foras que Betsy dá no taxista por telefone, nos deixando em uma situação desconfortável. O movimento da câmera, que faz um travelling para a direita e mostra o corredor vazio enquanto ouvimos Travis, demonstra visualmente nosso embaraço com a situação. O diretor simboliza o que o espectador pensa no momento, como se dissemos: “Não quero mais ver isso…”.

O bom roteiro de Paul Schrader trabalha nos detalhes para demonstrar o sentimento crescente de revolta em Travis (“Só se é saudável quando se sente saudável”), além de fornecer a base para as ótimas atuações do elenco. A montagem de Thelma Schoonmaker abusa do estilo, como na caminhada de Travis após conseguir o emprego ou quando repete três vezes seguidas um semáforo verde, demonstrando a rotina que o sufoca e atenua sua solidão (os mesmos lugares, os mesmos problemas). Finalmente, temos transições que significam muito, como o salto do plano de Iris e Sport dançando para Travis treinando tiro ao alvo, demonstrando visualmente o embate que ocorreria depois entre os dois homens. A trilha sonora clássica de Bernard Herrmann tem muito da cara de Nova York e funciona bem como tema do solitário taxista. Na cena da chacina, por exemplo, o tema de Travis é corretamente alterado para um tom mais sombrio. O apartamento bagunçado, com a parede suja e decorado com panfletos de Palantine, diz muito sobre a personalidade atormentada de Travis, mostrando o bom trabalho de Direção de Arte de Charles Rosen. Finalmente, a fotografia granulada (Direção de Michael Chapman) reflete a mente conturbada dele, destacando o festival de cores e luzes da noite de Nova York. Chapman é sábio também ao destacar, por exemplo, a cor vermelha na dança entre Iris e Sport, refletindo a vida infernal da garota ali dentro.

Além da competente direção, Taxi Driver conta também com uma atuação antológica de Robert De Niro. Encarnando com perfeição o taxista solitário, ele é competente ao transmitir o aumento lento e gradual da revolta no personagem. Em seu primeiro diálogo, quando consegue o emprego de taxista, responde as perguntas com um sorriso debochado no rosto, pois a alegria ainda estava presente em sua vida. Travis, porém, é alguém com enorme dificuldade para conviver em sociedade, como podemos perceber no diálogo com a atendente do cinema pornográfico. Ele não sabe seguir as “regras” criadas para se comportar em público, chegando a ser ingênuo. Mas uma pequena esperança floresce quando conhece a bela Betsy. Seu modo direto de falar encanta a garota, que topa sair com ele (De Niro faz um gesto com o braço quando diz que vai protegê-la). Quando Betsy, por razões óbvias, o abandona na porta do cinema pornô, a desilusão se torna o estopim de sua eminente revolta (“Ei, imundos, aqui tem alguém que não agüenta mais. Sou um revoltado!”), já sinalizada anteriormente. Observe, por exemplo, como ele encara um viciado na rua sem piscar os olhos, mostrando seu desprezo por aquele mundo sujo e sua enorme vontade de tomar uma atitude (quando pôde, não hesitou em matar um assaltante). Também demonstra, em um diálogo com seu amigo taxista, que está se sentindo deprimido, tentando contar seus planos (“Estou tendo algumas idéias ruins”), mas o amigo não entende o que ele quer dizer, até mesmo pela sua enorme dificuldade em se expressar. Quando finalmente decide agir (a queima das flores simboliza sua decisão de eliminar de sua vida tudo que lhe incomoda), seu primeiro alvo é o senador, com quem teve uma conversa em seu taxi, causando espanto pela sua franqueza. É então que Travis compra quatro armas, entre elas a Magnum 44 citada por um passageiro (Scorsese, fazendo uma ponta na cena em que ameaça matar a mulher, em frente ao apartamento do amante), decide fazer musculação e não comer mais comidas “ruins”. Essa virada radical na vida simboliza também que ele está determinado a agir (“O germe de uma idéia está crescendo em mim”). O momento sublime da atuação de De Niro acontece aqui, na sensacional cena em que fala sozinho a famosa frase “Está falando comigo?”. Repare como ele olha pra trás quando fala “estou sozinho aqui”, mudando a feição e dando a sensação de que realmente está falando com alguém. Em seguida, Travis diz que descobriu “o único objetivo de sua vida”, e Scorsese, de forma inteligente, corta para o discurso de Palantine, dando a dica de sua intenção de matar o candidato. Na conversa com o agente do Serviço Secreto, De Niro para de falar enquanto dois rapazes passam, e seu sorriso sarcástico faz o homem se preocupar. A bela cena em que olha fixo para a televisão, com uma música triste ao fundo, simboliza muito bem sua solidão. Ao destruí-la, o taxista sinaliza que está enlouquecendo com aquelas idéias na cabeça. Finalmente, quando fala pela primeira vez com Sport, seu olhar fixo para o cafetão nos faz pressentir qual é sua vontade naquele momento (“É a pior escória do mundo”, diz para Iris). O problema com Betsy, a convivência com Iris e sua vivência nos guetos de Nova York criam um sentimento paranóico, dando um nó na cabeça de Travis.

Completando o elenco, podemos destacar Cybill Sheperd, como a bela Betsy. Repare como ela olha pra baixo quando Travis diz que “é a mulher mais linda que ele conheceu na vida”. Seu sorriso incontido e seu brilho no olhar demonstram sua satisfação ao ouvir aquilo. Betsy, porém, não consegue compreender Travis e, com razão, fica indignada ao sair do cinema, enquanto Travis não entende a ofensa que aquilo significa pra ela. Jodie Foster está muito bem como a garota revoltada que vende o corpo, solta, sorrindo e fazendo brincadeiras, em seu diálogo com Travis no café. Em sua primeira aparição, somos ambientados ao mundo sujo em que vive (repare que Travis guarda os 20 dólares amassados, mostrando a importância que a garota teve pra ele desde aquele momento). Harvey Keitel interpreta o cafetão que explora todas aquelas garotas e que curiosamente demonstra algum carinho por Iris quando dança com ela no quarto. Mesmo assim, não hesita em vender o corpo dela, como podemos observar em sua conversa com Travis.

Quando hesita em aceitar o convite de Iris para tomar café, podemos pensar que é efeito do trauma do último encontro com Betsy, mas na verdade Travis já tinha outro plano para o dia seguinte (matar o presidente). Ele não tinha intenções amorosas com Iris, como fica claro quando vai com a garota para o quarto apenas para conversar. O que Travis queria era tirá-la daquele lugar que ele tanto odiava. De Niro expõe a raiva de Travis ao pagar o homem na porta do quarto, dizendo que “voltará com certeza”. Mas apesar de sua atitude final, a conversa com Iris no café demonstra que Travis era uma boa pessoa.

O grande clímax do filme vai sendo construído lentamente. Observe como Scorsese gasta alguns segundos antes de finalmente mostrar o taxista com cabelo moicano, simbolizando sua mudança de atitude. A tensa seqüência em que tenta assassinar Palantine, sem sucesso, mostra que a diferença entre um herói e um monstro muitas vezes pode ser bem pequena. Se tivesse conseguido seu objetivo, Travis seria retratado perante a sociedade como um assassino cruel e lunático, e não como o herói que se transformou após “salvar” Iris. Quando o vemos em casa agitado e, posteriormente, saindo com o taxi sem parar pra ninguém, sabemos que está decidido a resolver seus “problemas”. Após a impressionante e realista seqüência em que mata Sport e entra atirando no prédio, Scorsese faz um excelente travelling, com a cena congelada, desde o quarto onde Travis termina sua chacina, passando pelos mortos e armas, até chegar à barulhenta rua cheia de pessoas curiosas. Este refinado visual do filme é fantástico e colabora para o impacto causado em nossas mentes.

Scorsese acertou em cheio neste maravilhoso estudo da solidão e do isolamento, nos oferecendo uma direção impecável, recheado com atuações maravilhosas e imagens de grande impacto. Taxi Driver se aprofunda na complicada questão do deslocamento social com sucesso absoluto. Diversas pessoas já se sentiram desta forma na vida (eu inclusive) e ao ver a emocionante história do taxista solitário na tela é inevitável a nossa identificação. O mecanismo da solidão é simples, porém perigoso. Gostamos do que não podemos ter, e não gostamos de nada que temos. Desta forma, a pessoa jamais está satisfeita, e a solidão funciona como um escudo, uma proteção contra tudo aquilo que julga estar errado. Todos nós temos momentos em que chegamos perto do nosso limite. A grande questão é como lidar com este sentimento. Travis escolheu a forma mais perigosa e por sorte saiu-se bem.

Texto publicado em 18 de Novembro de 2009 por Roberto Siqueira

1. Taxi Driver
2. Goodfellas
3. Raging Bull
4. Casino
5. After Hours
6. The Departed
7. Gangs Of New York
8. Mean Streets
9. The King Of Comedy
10. Cape Fear

NP: Ornette Coleman – Change Of The Century

Mr. Miller,

Good news! We’ve officially wrapped shooting for our cinema masterpiece,  trucKING Royalty! Earlier today, we completed the heart-warming ending when the audience thinks that I get shot in the heart by the crazy bad guy (played by Seth Green). Just after Eddie kills Seth, he runs over to me and cries out, “Curse you, bad guy, and curse this wild and reckless trucking lifestyle! Trucking killed my Danny… MY FRIEND!” It’s extremely touching and probably Oscar worthy. Then, as Eddie begins to pick me up to take me into the truck, I START COUGHING AND COMING BACK TO LIFE!

Eddie looks at me with astonishment – he saw me get shot in the chest! How could I have possibly survived that? Well, it turns out the bullet hit THE KEYS TO THE TRUCK IN MY FRONT SHIRT POCKET! How is that for a creative and totally-never-used-before plot twist? Trucking didn’t kill his Danny, trucking saved his Danny! I tell Eddie, “Come on, let’s go get some bacon and Natty Ice… on me,” which is a pun because earlier in the movie Eddie punches me and pours beer all over me (a moment of amazing improvisation by Eddie). We then hop into Barbara (obviously played by another truck with way more flame decals) and drive off into the sun set.

I’m pretty positive that we’re guaranteed AT LEAST Best Film if Mr. Scorsese holds his end of the bargain and adds more explosions and gun fights.

Tomorrow’s wrap party should be pretty exciting. I know Eddie is worried that we’ll be black-listed from Hollywood once we reveal our true identities, but I couldn’t imagine anyone being mad. If anything, they would probably appreciate the amount of moxie and acting expertise needed to pretend to be a talented actor for the entire length of a shoot (it worked for the entirety of Ben Affleck’s career – HO! ZING!).

We’ll let you know how the party works out. Tell Dad that Mr. Redford said that his role is “the most challenging yet ultimately most satisfying role he’s ever had the pleasure of portraying.”

-Danny

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.

It has been a very long time since I’ve finished a book with a twist as shocking as the one Dennis Lehane throws at his readers in Shutter Island.  I’d like to say that I picked up clues on the twist here and there in the novel, but I assure you that there is no time to do so.  You will be so wrapped up in this psychological thriller and so sympathetic to the main character, Teddy Daniels, that any possible clues will go right over your head.  I’m not even positive that a twist is the correct word for this.  Truthfully, I think readers begin to fool themselves right along with Teddy and the shock back to reality is so suprising that you will want to call it a twist so you don’t feel too lead astray by your own mind. 

Shutter Island is set in the mid 1950’s where we find two U.S. Marshals, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, who have taken an assignment at Ashcliffe Hospital located on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts.  Now I don’t know about you, but any time there is a hospital located on an island it’s pretty easy to guess that it’s not a hospital for happy children and their pet unicorns.  In this case it’s a hospital for the criminally insane and Teddy and Chuck have been given the lucky assignment to investigate the disappearance of one of the patients.  The plot moves along very quickly and soon enough readers are wondering, along with Chuck and Teddy, how exactly a criminally insane patient disappears from their locked cell past a myriad of guards and obstacles.  When we start to get hints of the hospital’s administration using the patients for radical experimental surgery, readers will know that there is an inside job to uncover.  And that uncovering is not going to go smoothly. 

Lehane wrote this book back in 2003 but the past few years have created additional publicity due to Martin Scorsese showing interest in making a movie with Leonardo DiCaprio.  After a few setbacks, the movie is currently slated to debut in February of 2010.  Here is the latest trailer for your viewing pleasure:

WORD

jive [jahyv] n. 1. swing music or early jazz 2. the jargon associated with swing music and early jazz 3. Slang. deceptive, exaggerated, or meaningless talk: Don’t give me any of that jive! ∞ v. 4. to play jive 5. to dance to jive; jitterbug 6. Slang. to engage in kidding, teasing, or exaggeration 7. Slang. to tease; fool; kid: Stop jiving me! ∞ adj. 8. Slang. insincere, pretentious, or deceptive

BIRTHDAY

Frank Calder (1877), Soichiro Honda (1906), Gordon Lightfoot (1938), Martin Scorsese (1942), Lauren Hutton (1943), Danny DeVito (1944), Lorne Michaels (1944), Gene Clark (1944), Stephen Root (1951), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (1958), Jeff Buckley (1966), Sophie Marceau (1966), Daisy Fuentes (1966), Kimya Dawson (1972)

STANDPOINT

Short and sweet today. I’m really quite annoyed with the all the goddamn Christmas ads, sales, etc. that are all ready all over the place.

Despite my misanthropic tendencies, I’m really kind of a softie in some ways. I like the holidays. I do.

But this time of year has been kind of tainted, for me, by all the commercialism. Even those of you out there who possess the unending optimism I enjoy frowning upon know this to be true.

For lack of a better, more definitive sentiment: BAH! HUMBUG!

QUOTATION

There are about five things to write songs about: I’m leaving you. You’re leaving me. I want you. You don’t want me. I believe in something. Five subjects, and twelve notes. For all that, we musicians do pretty well. → Elvis Costello

TUNE

I know. I’m beating this HTC commercial thing into the ground. I just like it. Really like it. More than I like most people. For those of you wondering what song is actually playing, it’s a remix of “Sinnerman” by Nina Simone. One of the comments on YouTube simply reads, “Futureproof.” Sums it up.

GALLIMAUFRY

→ Oprah Winfrey and Sarah Palin were on the same stage and no one thought to do the proper thing and plant explosives. Christ, people, do I have to think of everything?

→ In what’s becoming sadly commonplace, another celebrity has died young. Ken Ober, the host of the late-80s MTV game show “Remote Control,” passed away yesterday at the age of 52. As of yet, no one’s sure how.

→ All right, on a personal note, here’s a picture of my favorite piece of art – “Woman with a Water Jug” by Johannes Vermeer. It’s only 18 in. by 16 in. The detail is amazing. Best part is that the painting currently resides in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

USA 113m, Color
Director: Martin Scorsese; Cast: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle

Taxi Driver is a surprisingly entertaining film despite its subject matter, an exploration of loneliness and depression through its main character, Travis Bickle – a Vietnam veteran who becomes increasingly alienated within, and hostile toward, a society which he feels has betrayed him. Di Niro’s performance as the psychotic Bickle is outstanding as is Scorsese’s direction which provides us with a most realistic and disturbing understanding of Bickle’s fractured worldview. Especially effective is the surreal portrayal of Bickle’s hyper-violent rampage which supplants the viewer into the scene in such a most disturbing and memorable way. If there is a flaw in this movie, it is the somewhat lengthy continuation and over-explanation of of Bickle’s hero status as a result of his “rescue” of the under-aged prostitute. While this is an integral part of the screenplay, it is somewhat clumsily handled in what is otherwise a terrific film (Klaus Ming November 2009).

Bueno, esta no es ninguna crítica o comentario de alguna película que tuve que ver, pero es mi opinión acerca de un anuncio que dio el Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Se podría decir que por fin se han dado cuenta que Martin Scorsese necesitaba que le dieran el Cecil B. DeMille Award. Bueno pero mi comentario es un poco para el Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

Me parece que Los Globos de Oro si la supieron hacer, ya que este premio es honorifico, no como en los Oscares de hace un par de años, que le dieron por The Departed. Si bien es cierto, ya era hora que le dieran un Oscar, pero en lo personal creo que el debió ganarse uno con sus producciones anteriores, como Taxi Driver!

Ahora los Globos de Oro decidieron darle un honor por larga trayectoria que tiene este Maestro. El Oscar que le dieron aquella vez se vio que se lo dieron como quien dice “Ya es hora, dénselo”. Aunque con esto no quiero decir que la película estuvo mala, pero me gusto mucho la dirección de Babel. Los Oscares se volvieron muy marketeros últimamente, es por eso que no me gusto la decisión de los Oscares, pero ahora si me levanto y aplaudo a el Hollywood Foreign Press Association por haberle otorgado un premio honorifico a Martin Scorsese. Se lo merece y ya era hora que dejen saber que Martin Scorsese es un Maestro.

Espero que los Oscares otorguen los premios a las personas que de verdad se lo merecen, no solo por ganar rating.

Long Live Scorsese!

Brilliant. Time to talk about our Ten lists once more, so settle in for the long haul and try and keep up. Much discussion ensues as Sam tries to extol the virtues of Ingmar Bergman, praise the magical realism of Billy Liar and attempt to make sense of All About Lily Chou-Chou. John continues the theme, causing slight, though understandable, consternation with his uncensored views on Raging Bull and confessions of multiple tears during Schindler’s List. Tom rounds the night off in business-like fashion with praise for The 400 Blows, controversial dislike for the second half of Stalker and man-crushed love for Le Samourai.

Download The Movie Overdose Episode 40.5

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