didn't we meet on a summer cruise....*

A moment from one of my favorite Woody Allen movies- Love and Death

All of the, 70's Allen (and Mel Brooks ) movies Are the foundation of my families sense of humor, when we get together we can have entire conversations in "code"

"Is it nessa,,,,?" "Of course it's nessa!" (high anxiety, mel brooks)

* (the producers, brooks)

don't look behind that curtain........

A month or so back, I'm sitting in a Barnes and Noble store, drinking a large green ice tea (sweetened, thank you very much) paging thru one of the most recent James Patterson books- not really a fan , but I am in awe of the fact that he basically puts out a book monthly. Perhaps I am most in awe of the fact that he gets away with co- writing these books. What the...? As far as I can tell he sketches out characters and story and the co writer does the nuts and bolts. Amazing.

But that's not why you called, So , over the PA they play the featured Cd's of the month, hoping to entice you and then crush your will and force you to buy what they're hawking. Usually I can resist. On this particular night they were playing a new compilation of Frank Sinatra's greatest hits. Now , if you were born after 1940, these songs are woven into your DNA, you've grown up with these playing somewhere in the background. There is no need to purchase. For God's sake, you probably have all of these songs at home already! Included in this collection are My Way and New York, New York- no right thinking person needs to ever hear these overblown, overproduced, over played monstrosities ever again.

Of course, as I was leaving, I stopped by the music section and bought a copy. ........It was on sale!.... I'm a member, I get an extra 10% off- on top of the sale price!!! Witchcraft is on there! Under My Skin!! Summer Wind!!!! That's one of my favorite recordings of all time!

Okay, I fell right into the trap they set, but no regrets, it's a wonderful collection and I listen to it a ton. He was remarkable- listen to the ease of this performance of Under My Skin. I love the way he swings when he gets to the bridge " I would sacrifice anything....." A true Artist- one of a kind. Lot's of imitators, but no one comes close.

Of course , he was also a world class shit. One of a kind nasty bastard. I'm sure members of his family would disagree, but there is plenty of evidence on hand that points to the fact that he could be a spiteful, ruthless, cold, cruel, monster. But.....the songs, the work.

I read the recent memoir by Dyan Cannon about her relationship with Cary Grant. He was much older , near the end of his career , she was at the start of hers- they met, fell in love, got married, had a child.

He was also controlling, jealous, domineering, prone to wild swings in mood and totally enamored with LSD. He made her life a living hell, But the movies, that voice, that face, that smile. One of a kind- NO ONE like him.

Woody Allen...........

Picasso.........

John Kennedy........

Walter Brennan.........

etc..........

The artist owes us their art and ....what else? Anything? Should we care how they lead their lives outside of their work? The more we know about...(fill in a name) does it change the way we watch the movie, listen to the song, see the painting, cast our vote?

just asking.

ps If anyone is looking for the most beautiful woman in the world, you can call off the search. I found her. She works in the Cafe at Barnes and Noble in Newburgh NY, right off the thruway.

what am i wearing.........

I love movies.

Always have. I love the whole event- going to the theater- picking the seat- coming attractions- watching the credits. Yes, I'm one of those , I stay to the bitter end, usually as the crew of ushers clean up around me.

I used to save every ticket stub from every movie (and concert and show, etc) . During college years I remember seeing, on average, 7 movies a week. That was a bit of heaven as well as excess. Lots of film .clubs and societies as well as three separate theaters in town.

A few of my pals and I discovered that the local library lent out 16 mm films, so on weekends we would "borrow" a projector from the school and show films in our apartment- mostly oddities. The first one we showed was the documentary "Hospital" by Fredrick Wiseman- a good film, but it starts with a rather graphic bit of surgery , up close, pass the pop corn!

Today is Academy Awards Day- I watch, but I'm not a fan. I don't like competition in the arts, yeah I know, everybody loves competition. Just seems silly to me. Especially when people attempt to connect some meaning to the awards beyond, marketing.  (Ordinary People was a better movie then Raging Bull? back in 1980 it was)

This past year I got back in the movie going habit- saw a bunch. Mostly pretty good. Back in the old days I saw EVERYTHING. Now I'm a bit more selective

Here are 3 movies that I enjoyed and then thought about as I left the theater and then talked to people about and in 2 cases went back to see a second time.  The Tree of life, The Artist, and Hugo.

The Artist- the presumed best picture winner. An absolute joy from start to finish.Now in the press we see the backlash in full bloom.  "Cute, harmless , precious, a stunt......."
I loved it, i cried like a baby once or twice (tears of joy), laughed out loud, and actually gasped a time or two. If you haven't seen it (and according to Box office reports most haven't) you should.

Here are two moments that are worth the price of admission- The young starlet in the stars dressing room, alone with his costume, that's all I say- don't want to spoil it. Perfection.

And very early in the Movie, we see an audience watching a Movie, -the hero is thrown in a cell and locked in. There is a dog in the cell, but obviously no way out. We cut to a view of the audience and their reaction, two gasps and a burst of applause. Back to the screen, the hero has escaped! How? there was no way out Well however he did it, it made the movie audience burst into applause. Again, Perfection.


Hugo- again a few tears were shed. I saw it in 3D, I saw a bunch of 3d movies this year and I can safely say I'm done. Well, maybe not. Most of the 3D things I saw were mostly full of silly effects, stuff jumping at the screen.I will say that the snow in Thor was fun, it really had a "prescense" It was all over the place.
(back in high school I remember we went to see a 3D soft core porn movie , something with Stewardesses. the possibilities of 3D porn are.....alarming.... but this was mostly throwing things at the camera and then hopping into bed)

With Hugo you really feel that you step inside an enviorment, you are completely a part of that train station. It's also a thrill to see bits of the Original George Melies Silent films on the big screen.

I also have to believe that the young actress  Chloe Moretz is going to have a long career - what a face! (i could be wrong, I'm not the best predictor of longevity- I thought Leelee sobieski was going to be a big star)

The Tree of Life- where to begin. I saw this one twice and it was like seeing two different movies- I will say that like 2001, this is a movie I will keep coming back to. Amazing.

When I first saw it , I started to squirm a bit during the first section of "the Universe" sequence. "wow, this is long"  But, them I stopped and thought "well , this is How Terrence Malick wants to tell the story so, sit back and take it in"

The second time I saw it was at Stony Brook University on a HUGE screen and a packed house of nearly 1,000 people. 950 of which were not having a good time. Lot's of grumbles and moans and talking throughout. My Favorite reaction was at the end, the movie finishes and the audience lets out a collective wail. they were stunned that it was over and that there was no tidy ending. I loved this reaction, after nearly three hours of quiet, non linear, meditation, which includes dinosaurs and swimming pools, they were shocked that there were no easy answers to be found at the end.


So there's three I really liked- there is one thing the all share, all of them could have been silent. There are long stretches in Hugo that are silent and there is very little in the Tree of Life that is spoken that is of  great importance, no big plot points, lot's of whispers and murmurs and overheard conversation.

Alright, I'm going to go get ready to watch the Oscars, or maybe I'll go to the movies instead........ but I will Tivo the show, I'm interested to see what Billy Crystal has in store...... talk about back lash! He is the great modern host, but he's getting no love. Meh