Now that we have gotten the lesser known but equally important Oscar categories out of the way, I think it is time to look at the other categories. These categories are the ones everyone will be talking about by Monday morning.
Best Costume Design:
Not going to win: The Danish Girl
Might contend: Mad Max: Fury Road and The Revenant
Nominees to look for :
Sandy Powell, Carol
Sandy Powell, Cinderella
I believe Sandy Powell will win Best Costume Design, and it will be for Ms. Powell's impressive designs for Carol. I honestly cannot see this award going to another costume designer for this year, as Ms. Powell was excellent last year.
Best Sound Mixing:
Not going to win: The Martian
Might contend: Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Nominee certain to win:
Gary Rydstrom, et al., Bridge Of Spies
At this point in the film industry, Gary Rydstrom may just be the most important and innovative sound engineer today. And clearly Mr. Rydstrom was innovative yet again for his designs used in Bridge Of Spies, particularly in the 5.1 mix I heard in the theater and on Blu-Ray.
Best Original Song:
Not going to win: Simple Song #3, from Youth
Nominees to look for:
The Weeknd, et al., Earned It, from Fifty Shades Of Grey
Anohni Hegarty, et al., Manta Ray, from Racing Extinction
Lady Gaga and Diane Warren, Til It Happens To You, from The Hunting Ground
Sam Smith, et al., The Writing's On The Wall, from Spectre
I happened to like Earned It and Manta Ray, even though their respective movies left much to be desired. Then again, The Weeknd is quite the good singer, and Anohni is someone that will likely get more notice stateside. I happened to like Spectre, and of course Sam Smith is one of the best singers out there today.
None the less, Till It Happens To You happens to be one of Lady Gaga's most impressive songs; to say nothing of it being one of Diane Warren's best too. I expect Gaga's performance to be one of the highlights of the show, as it was last year and most recently at the Grammys. Indeed, Vice President Joe Biden will be introducing her performance in advocacy of the rights of victims of sexual assault. And having seen The Hunting Ground, I am convinced this is the right way to honor the movie with a great song.
Best Documentary Feature:
Not going to win: Amy, Cartel Land, What Happened, Miss Simone?, and Winter On Fire: Ukraine's Fight For Freedom
Nominee certain to win:
Joshua Oppeneimer, et al., The Look Of Silence
Joshua Oppenheimer has brought forth a most amazing documentary that is a perfect companion piece to his 2012 film The Act Of Killing. I was most particularly impressed with the involvement and reporting taken place to expose the darker secrets of the 1965 purge of communists in Indonesia. This documentary will certainly win.
Best Foreign language Film
Not going to win: Embrace Of The Serpent, Theeb, and A War
Nominees to watch:
Danize Gamze Erguven, Mustang
Laszlo Nemes, Son Of Saul
Son Of Saul will win best Foreign Language film this year. It is not even close. A rather innovative debut for Laszlo Nemes which I think will be looked at as one of the defining movies of 2015, and perhaps a defining anti-war movie.
Best Animated Film:
Not going to win: Boy & The World and Shaun The Sheep Movie
Nominees to watch:
Charlie Kaufman, et al., Anomolisa
Pete Docter, et al., Inside Out
Hiromasa Yonebayashi, et al., When Marnie Was There
I still have yet to see Anomolisa, and hope t see it fairly soon. None the less, I thought Inside Out was one of the best films of 2015, and the best Disney and Pixar created in quite some time. Inside Out will in all likelihood be the recipient of a much deserved Oscar. By the way, if you have children; have them see Inside Out with you. It will be beneficial for the young and old.
Best Original Screenplay:
Not going to win: Bridge Of Spies
Might pull off an upset: Straight Outta Compton
Nominees to watch:
Alex Garland, Ex Machina
Pete Docter, et al., Inside Out
Tom McCarthy, et al., Spotlight
I was completely blown away by Tom McCarthy's writing in Spotlight. However, what Pete Docter accomplished with his team in creating Inside Out is astonishing. It resonates to anyone that has seen this movie, and I hope that Inside Out can be a positive influence on anybody that is in a depressive state. Again, I was completely impressed with the very intelligent writing.
Best original Score:
Not going to win: Thomas Newman, Bridge Of Spies
Contenders for the Oscar:
Carter Burwell, Carol
Ennio Morricone, The Hateful Eight
Johann Johannson, Sicario
John Williams, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I have not yet seen The Hateful Eight, yet i did get to hear excerpts from Ennio Morricone's score. It is quite good, and might win the Oscar. I think that my sentimental pick would be John Williams, perhaps the most important composer of his field; apart from Mr. Morricone and Carter Burwell. None the less, the score to any Star Wars movie is of such importance, that without it the movies fall apart. So I am hoping John Williams will win the Oscar; yet I will not be upset if it goes to an equally deserving composer.
Best Cinematography:
Roger Deakins, Sicario
Edward Lachman, Carol
Emmanuel Lubezki, The Revenant
Robert Richardson, The Hateful Eight
John Seale, Mad Max: Fury Road
John Seale quite honestly should win Best Cinematography, in recognition of a most impressive and groundbreaking action-adventure film. None the less, at some point Roger Deakins needs to get his much deserved Oscar. I do wonder if Sicario will be the movie to end the streak. It was shot very well too.
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Not going to win: Drew Goddard, The Martian: from the Andy Weir novel.
Contenders for the Oscar:
Adam McKay et al., The Big Short: from the Michael Lewis book.
Nick Hornby, Brooklyn: from the Colm Toibin novel
Carol: adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novel,, initially named The Price Of Salt
Emma Donoghue, Room: adapted from her novel.
All four contenders are worthy of an Oscar. I would like to see Emma Donoghue win this important award, particularly in adapting her own novel to an excellent movie. Truthfuly though, I would hope that Adam McKay and his team win the award for their highly intelligent and multi-layered script of The Big Short.
Best Supporting Actor:
Not going to win: Mark Rylance, Bridge Of Spies
Contenders for the Oscar:
Christian Bale, The Big Short
Tom Hardy, The Revenant
Mark Ruffalo, Spotlight
Sylvester Stallone, Creed
I personally would like to see Tom Hardy win Best Supporting Actor. Mr. Hardy's presence in The Revenant was just completely astounding, and he held his own. I also really liked Mark Ruffalo, whom I consider one of the better actors that can be involved with socially conscious films.
Yet, I think Sylvester Stallone will take home the Oscar this year. Creed was one of the more pleasant surprises in 2015: a worthy follow up and an important addendum to the Rocky movies. And Sylvester Stallone did a tremendous role which was surprisingly poignant once more. Indeed in light of Tony Burton (Duke in the Rocky movies) having passed away just recently, I am convinced that Mr. Stallone is going to receive his long deserved Oscar.
Best Supporting Actress:
Not going to win: Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl; and Kate Winslet, Steve Jobs
Contenders for the Oscar:
Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Hateful Eight
Rooney Mara, Carol
Rachel McAdams, Spotlight
Again, I have not seen The Hateful Eight yet; but I do like Jennifer Jason Leigh and would be pleased with her winning. Having mentioned that, I was particularly impressed with Rooney Mara in her role in Carol. In my opinion, this is a stunning role that I would hope gets Ms. Mara an Oscar.
Best Actor:
Not going to win: Bryan Cranston, Trumbo; Matt Damon, The Martian; Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs; and Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl.
Going to win:
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant
This is the one virtual lock for the Oscar season this year. Mr. DiCaprio is long deserving of an Oscar, and honestly the competition this year is not as impressive. Yet, Leonardo DiCaprio should prepare for his well deserved gold statue.
Best Actress:
Not going to win: Jennifer Lawrence, Joy
Contenders for the Oscar:
Cate Blanchett, Carol
Brie Larson, Room
Charlotte Rampling, 45 Years
Soairse Ronan, Brooklyn
I have yet to see 45 years, though I do like Charlotte Rampling. Having mentioned that, in a rather tight and impressive category, I think Brie Larson should win Best Actress this year. It was quite revealing and impressive.
Best Director:
Lenny Abrahamson, Room
Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, The Revenant
Tom McCarthy, Spotlight
Adam McKay, The Big Short
George Miller, Mad Max: Fury Road
It would be a ballsy and brave move for George Miller to win the Oscar. I would hope Tom McCarthy gets this Oscar and some much deserved acclaim. Yet, I will not be surprised to see Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu win a second consecutive Best Director Oscar. A.G.I. is one of the most impressive and unique filmmakers of his or any era. The Revenant certainly proves this ideal.
Best Picture:
Not going to win: Steven Spielberg, et al., Bridge Of Spies, and Simon Kinberg and Sir Ridley Scott, et al., The Martian
Could pull off an upset:
Brooklyn
Room
Spotlight
Contending to win it all:
Brad Pitt, et al., The Big Short
George Miller, et al., Mad Max: Fury Road
Arnon Milchan and Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, et al., The Revenant
Once again, the ballsiest and most brave choice would be Mad Max: Fury Road. My personal choice would be Spotlight. None the less, the likely and more interesting Best Picture may be The Revenant. Perhaps AMPAS is awarding Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu The Revenant and from last year Birdman due to the oversight of not honoring 21 Grams and Babel years ago; both of those movies having become modern classics. Having mentioned that, Birdman and The Revenant are likely going to be modern new classics for many years to come.
I note this is last minute. None the less, this is before the show begins. So, now on with the show! My responses to come in a timely manner.
Happy viewing,
Robert
Showing posts with label Theater. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theater. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Sunday, January 24, 2016
And the Oscar goes to...
It has been nearly a week since the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for 2015 films in the next Oscars telecast on February 28. This will be the 89th annual Academy Awards ceremony, the most prestigious and important night for the motion picture industry centered in Hollywood. It also happens to be one of the few awards shows I tend to watch as much as I can: they easily run overtime. So, what do I think of the nominations this year?
For the past three years, after Roger Ebert passed away, I have been attempting to see movies that I know will be excellent. That fortunately results in getting to look at movies year round that are quite good and are easily Oscar caliber. That is not to say there were some clunkers I saw this past year, but they were few and far between. In this regard, I was able to see many of the nominated movies this past year; the most recent of which is the Lenny Abrahamson movie Room, which I highly recommend though it is not for the faint of heart. A great deal of these movies that I saw have one thing in common: the filmmakers and people involved with these movies are lily white mostly. Half of the films I saw this year only had white people. This was not a choice of mine; the fact is the bulk of what is considered best in 2015 were what we may consider white movies. There are exceptions: the newest Spike Lee masterwork Chi-Raq, Straight Outta Compton, Creed, possibly Sicario, and I would surmise Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Those movies dealt with issues and people that are minorities. Let it be known, I have not yet seen Quentin Tarantino's new film The Hateful Eight.
I want to take notice of Chi-Raq for a moment. Any one that has seen Spike Lee's latest joint would immediately consider this not only among the best of 2015, yet perhaps Mr. Lee's most coherent and innovative movie in recent years. I tend to think all of Spike Lee's movies, including recent films like Oldboy, are interesting and innovative. By the way, I hope the three hour plus director's cut of Oldboy is released soon enough. Back to Chi-Raq, it was a marvelous film; Teyonah Parris is a star in the making, Nick Cannon can actually act, and anytime Angela Basset, Jennifer Hudson and Samuel L. Jackson appear in a movie of this sort you know to expect some of the best method acting around.
And I watched it on Amazon Prime.
Yes, Amazon Prime. Indeed, Jeff Bezos of Amazon teamed with Spike Lee's 40 Acres And A Mule Filmworks along with Roadside Attractions in financing this film. Rather than what would be perceived as a one time deal; online streaming and financing is going to be the future of how we view movies. We are seeing this in the realm of American television, wherein Netflix, Amazon, Vimeo, YouTube, Apple and other providers are not only distributing shows; these businesses are financing newer talent and taking the risks to produce quality series that networks are not prone to carry. As a result of the web's omnipresence, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmys) have allowed web shows to qualify for their respective awards.
Up to now, there has not been a need for the Oscars to look at this web presence. However, that is going to change; what with Chi-Raq being shown on Amazon and Netflix co-financing Beasts Of No Nations, a movie I have not yet seen. Rest assured, as the trend continues for most multiplexes to show only the movies guaranteed to fill the box office, more important and thoughtful films will be exhibited online first. And I am sad to say, this will affect African-American cinema; notably non-action based films by African-Americans. It is already a rare sight when a black culture film like Dear White People is able to be released to theaters nationwide, much less been seen willingly by white people. I mentioned that when I saw that movie, which by the way also starred Teyonah Parris, there were about a dozen or so in the theater seeing it; maybe two people in there were white, including me.
This brings me to something that has been brought to my attention, along with others recently. The membership of the Academy happens to be some 80% white, and 76% of that 80% being men. The average minimal age for most Academy members is 60. As well, as much as we do not like to admit this, nearly all Academy members have not gotten over the end of the New Hollywood era; that period of time when the studios and their parent companies allowed free reign in what movies were made. Thus, the voting members tend to look at awarding people from that time (1963-1993) or those that remind the voters of that time period. A noble and understandable gesture; yet it has been 23 years since what I consider the end of New Hollywood, when Steven Spielberg changed course in his movies starting with Schindler's List. I hope to explain why I think it marked an end of an era later on.
It is rather obvious that, in this post Roger Ebert, post movie house era of films, AMPAS will need to alter their membership and outlook. There have been small steps recently, including Spike Lee receiving an honorary Oscar and Cheryl Boone Isaacs becoming the first female African American President of the Academy. Yet those are just small measures; far more important will be issues pertaining to qualifications for movies shown online or on demand first. This will go along with a greater emphasis on independent films and more avant garde choices. Perhaps there will be a newer New Hollywood that can emerge.
That being said, what are my Oscar predictions? Well in short, I thought the best movie of 2015 was the Tom McCarthy directed Spotlight. Quite obviously, Spotlight is a movie that fits the paradigm of what New Hollywood represented, and has the ability to show risk taking in a blockbuster or nothing environment. It is my hope that Spotlight wins Best Picture, Tom McCarthy wins Best Director, and Mr. McCarthy along with Josh Singer win Best Original Screenplay at least. I would like to see Leonardo Dicaprio win Best Actor in The Revenant, and I do hope Brie Larson or Soairse Ronan win Best Actress in either Room or Brooklyn, respectively. I have not yet seen the Charlotte Rampling movie 45 years, yet I do consider Ms. Rampling to be one of the more iconic screen presences in her lifetime. I think Rooney Mara should win Best Supporting Actress in Carol, though I have yet to see the Quentin Tarantino film The Hateful Eight which nabbed Jennifer Jason Leigh her first nomination. Mind you, I did like Rachel McAdams in Spotlight. And this might be a bit controversial; yet I think Tom Hardy is most deserving of a Best Supporting Actor win in The Revenant. Though of course, Mark Ruffalo is a great actor himself, particularly in Spotlight.
Best Adapted Screenplay is a bit of a push: I liked what Emma Donoghue accomplished in writing her own screenplay to Room based on her novel. I was also amazed at Adam McKay and Charles Randolph adapting Michael Lewis' book The Big Short into an impressive film. Either one would be fine by me. Best Cinematography should go to Roger Deakins who shot Sicario, though I would also think John Seale for his involvement with Mad Max: Fury Road would be a wise choice. Best Editing should go to Margaret Sixel who edited Mad Max: Fury Road, though I was impressed with Tom McArdle and his approach to cutting Spotlight. And I would like to see Carter Burwell finally win an Oscar for his musical score used in Carol.
There are of course other nominees and other categories to consider. And I will be doing that in the week or so running up to the February 28 awards ceremony. Right now, these are my inferences and hopes for who will take home the prize. Just to let it be known: I will be watching and I do hope to either live blog the event or perhaps even record my reactions on video while it is still ongoing. I commit to not delaying the live blogging like what happened last year; albeit that was also due to getting laid off from my previous job the day after last year's Oscars. This time should be quite different.
One other thing I want to mention. I am a subscriber to YouTube's Red paid membership site. I am pleased that I can see content that otherwise would be restricted or ad driven on the free site. None the less, I am hoping YouTube Red will be allowed to start streaming movies through the subscription service. As of now, some movies of importance are allowed without paying extra. Most of these films though are of this quality.
These are the sorts of films I watch when snow weekends are here.
One more week until the first primaries: stay tuned for my thoughts,
Robert
For the past three years, after Roger Ebert passed away, I have been attempting to see movies that I know will be excellent. That fortunately results in getting to look at movies year round that are quite good and are easily Oscar caliber. That is not to say there were some clunkers I saw this past year, but they were few and far between. In this regard, I was able to see many of the nominated movies this past year; the most recent of which is the Lenny Abrahamson movie Room, which I highly recommend though it is not for the faint of heart. A great deal of these movies that I saw have one thing in common: the filmmakers and people involved with these movies are lily white mostly. Half of the films I saw this year only had white people. This was not a choice of mine; the fact is the bulk of what is considered best in 2015 were what we may consider white movies. There are exceptions: the newest Spike Lee masterwork Chi-Raq, Straight Outta Compton, Creed, possibly Sicario, and I would surmise Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Those movies dealt with issues and people that are minorities. Let it be known, I have not yet seen Quentin Tarantino's new film The Hateful Eight.
I want to take notice of Chi-Raq for a moment. Any one that has seen Spike Lee's latest joint would immediately consider this not only among the best of 2015, yet perhaps Mr. Lee's most coherent and innovative movie in recent years. I tend to think all of Spike Lee's movies, including recent films like Oldboy, are interesting and innovative. By the way, I hope the three hour plus director's cut of Oldboy is released soon enough. Back to Chi-Raq, it was a marvelous film; Teyonah Parris is a star in the making, Nick Cannon can actually act, and anytime Angela Basset, Jennifer Hudson and Samuel L. Jackson appear in a movie of this sort you know to expect some of the best method acting around.
And I watched it on Amazon Prime.
Yes, Amazon Prime. Indeed, Jeff Bezos of Amazon teamed with Spike Lee's 40 Acres And A Mule Filmworks along with Roadside Attractions in financing this film. Rather than what would be perceived as a one time deal; online streaming and financing is going to be the future of how we view movies. We are seeing this in the realm of American television, wherein Netflix, Amazon, Vimeo, YouTube, Apple and other providers are not only distributing shows; these businesses are financing newer talent and taking the risks to produce quality series that networks are not prone to carry. As a result of the web's omnipresence, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Emmys) have allowed web shows to qualify for their respective awards.
Up to now, there has not been a need for the Oscars to look at this web presence. However, that is going to change; what with Chi-Raq being shown on Amazon and Netflix co-financing Beasts Of No Nations, a movie I have not yet seen. Rest assured, as the trend continues for most multiplexes to show only the movies guaranteed to fill the box office, more important and thoughtful films will be exhibited online first. And I am sad to say, this will affect African-American cinema; notably non-action based films by African-Americans. It is already a rare sight when a black culture film like Dear White People is able to be released to theaters nationwide, much less been seen willingly by white people. I mentioned that when I saw that movie, which by the way also starred Teyonah Parris, there were about a dozen or so in the theater seeing it; maybe two people in there were white, including me.
This brings me to something that has been brought to my attention, along with others recently. The membership of the Academy happens to be some 80% white, and 76% of that 80% being men. The average minimal age for most Academy members is 60. As well, as much as we do not like to admit this, nearly all Academy members have not gotten over the end of the New Hollywood era; that period of time when the studios and their parent companies allowed free reign in what movies were made. Thus, the voting members tend to look at awarding people from that time (1963-1993) or those that remind the voters of that time period. A noble and understandable gesture; yet it has been 23 years since what I consider the end of New Hollywood, when Steven Spielberg changed course in his movies starting with Schindler's List. I hope to explain why I think it marked an end of an era later on.
It is rather obvious that, in this post Roger Ebert, post movie house era of films, AMPAS will need to alter their membership and outlook. There have been small steps recently, including Spike Lee receiving an honorary Oscar and Cheryl Boone Isaacs becoming the first female African American President of the Academy. Yet those are just small measures; far more important will be issues pertaining to qualifications for movies shown online or on demand first. This will go along with a greater emphasis on independent films and more avant garde choices. Perhaps there will be a newer New Hollywood that can emerge.
That being said, what are my Oscar predictions? Well in short, I thought the best movie of 2015 was the Tom McCarthy directed Spotlight. Quite obviously, Spotlight is a movie that fits the paradigm of what New Hollywood represented, and has the ability to show risk taking in a blockbuster or nothing environment. It is my hope that Spotlight wins Best Picture, Tom McCarthy wins Best Director, and Mr. McCarthy along with Josh Singer win Best Original Screenplay at least. I would like to see Leonardo Dicaprio win Best Actor in The Revenant, and I do hope Brie Larson or Soairse Ronan win Best Actress in either Room or Brooklyn, respectively. I have not yet seen the Charlotte Rampling movie 45 years, yet I do consider Ms. Rampling to be one of the more iconic screen presences in her lifetime. I think Rooney Mara should win Best Supporting Actress in Carol, though I have yet to see the Quentin Tarantino film The Hateful Eight which nabbed Jennifer Jason Leigh her first nomination. Mind you, I did like Rachel McAdams in Spotlight. And this might be a bit controversial; yet I think Tom Hardy is most deserving of a Best Supporting Actor win in The Revenant. Though of course, Mark Ruffalo is a great actor himself, particularly in Spotlight.
Best Adapted Screenplay is a bit of a push: I liked what Emma Donoghue accomplished in writing her own screenplay to Room based on her novel. I was also amazed at Adam McKay and Charles Randolph adapting Michael Lewis' book The Big Short into an impressive film. Either one would be fine by me. Best Cinematography should go to Roger Deakins who shot Sicario, though I would also think John Seale for his involvement with Mad Max: Fury Road would be a wise choice. Best Editing should go to Margaret Sixel who edited Mad Max: Fury Road, though I was impressed with Tom McArdle and his approach to cutting Spotlight. And I would like to see Carter Burwell finally win an Oscar for his musical score used in Carol.
There are of course other nominees and other categories to consider. And I will be doing that in the week or so running up to the February 28 awards ceremony. Right now, these are my inferences and hopes for who will take home the prize. Just to let it be known: I will be watching and I do hope to either live blog the event or perhaps even record my reactions on video while it is still ongoing. I commit to not delaying the live blogging like what happened last year; albeit that was also due to getting laid off from my previous job the day after last year's Oscars. This time should be quite different.
One other thing I want to mention. I am a subscriber to YouTube's Red paid membership site. I am pleased that I can see content that otherwise would be restricted or ad driven on the free site. None the less, I am hoping YouTube Red will be allowed to start streaming movies through the subscription service. As of now, some movies of importance are allowed without paying extra. Most of these films though are of this quality.
These are the sorts of films I watch when snow weekends are here.
One more week until the first primaries: stay tuned for my thoughts,
Robert
Monday, November 23, 2015
An Award that means little and a Station that means a lot
This Sunday, I and others watched the American Music Awards. Some of the performances were quite excellent; I really liked seeing Coldplay, Alanis Morrisette, Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Meghan Trainor and Celine Dion. Yet, the others either had a bit of an off night; or they are not that great singers and performers as one may think. I do not outright hate them; yet I am not one to buy their CDs or hear their new songs on Apple Music and iTunes. Of the leading artists that either performed or were there, I can think of only one band or artist that is among the all time greats:
Coldplay.
The only other artists that come close to being legendary and influential singers that night were:
Alanis Morrisette
Gwen Stefani
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Carrie Underwood
The rest, even though I may like them; I do not think they will ever sniff the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or even receive a Lifetime Grammy, AMA, or MTV award. It is quite clear that the mainstream music scene is running out of ideas.
And yet, there is some good music to still be found. One place that I do find it, apart from the Apple Music service, is the radio station of Fordham University. It is 90.7 WFUV, and it frankly is a godsend. If you want to get a sampling of the best music of 2015, WFUV is the station to go to. In fact, here are some songs I have heard on WFUV released this year that might eventually make my personal best of music list next month. Do have a look and see if you like these.
Adele - Hello
Kurt Vile - Pretty Pimpin
Tame Impala - The Less I Know The Better
Dawes - Things Happen
Josh Tillman aka Father John Misty - True Affection
John Grant and Tracey Thorn - Disappointing
Nathaniel Rateliff - SOB
Dave Gahan - All Of This And Nothing
New Order - Restless
And again this is just a Small sampling of some of the best music one can find: albeit, I doubt I Heart Media will play these songs on their stations, and you can forget MTV showing any of these videos.
One more song. This ties with the Christmas and holiday seasons upon us.
Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You
More observations of the year to come as we draw it to a close.
Have a good night,
Robert
Coldplay.
The only other artists that come close to being legendary and influential singers that night were:
Alanis Morrisette
Gwen Stefani
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Carrie Underwood
The rest, even though I may like them; I do not think they will ever sniff the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, or even receive a Lifetime Grammy, AMA, or MTV award. It is quite clear that the mainstream music scene is running out of ideas.
And yet, there is some good music to still be found. One place that I do find it, apart from the Apple Music service, is the radio station of Fordham University. It is 90.7 WFUV, and it frankly is a godsend. If you want to get a sampling of the best music of 2015, WFUV is the station to go to. In fact, here are some songs I have heard on WFUV released this year that might eventually make my personal best of music list next month. Do have a look and see if you like these.
Adele - Hello
Kurt Vile - Pretty Pimpin
Dawes - Things Happen
Josh Tillman aka Father John Misty - True Affection
John Grant and Tracey Thorn - Disappointing
Nathaniel Rateliff - SOB
Dave Gahan - All Of This And Nothing
New Order - Restless
And again this is just a Small sampling of some of the best music one can find: albeit, I doubt I Heart Media will play these songs on their stations, and you can forget MTV showing any of these videos.
One more song. This ties with the Christmas and holiday seasons upon us.
Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You
More observations of the year to come as we draw it to a close.
Have a good night,
Robert
Friday, October 23, 2015
This will not take 11 hours
Thursday was a day that was wasted. Not by me; I worked that day. No, it was wasted by many in the alternative media and the conservative/military apparatus in thinking perhaps faintly that some form of political victory would occur on their end. I of course speak of Sen. and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton being questioned by 7 or 8 House Republicans and about 6 Democrats on the issue of the 9/11/2012 inside job that was the proposed beginning of a hostage rescue mission that was completely altered by the rape and assassination of four people involved with diplomatic and military matters in Libya. This included United States Ambassador Chris Stevens.
In short, Sec. of State Clinton had no role in what had taken place in Libya, starting the year before with the complete overthrow of Libyan life signified by the assassination of Col. Muamar Gaddhafi. Matters of these foreign policy miscalculations should be placed on a number of other hands, not that of Sen. Clinton nor the Department of State. Indeed, the State Department was what was keeping the US in good standing with the world until 3 years ago. Yet, not one congress member on the Benghazi Libya committee managed to discuss the fault that lied with these groups or people:
Pres. Barack Obama
The Department of Defense
Certain figures in the Senate and House at the time, including then Sen. John Kerry I am sad to say.
CIA
Ambassador Stevens; a hard pill to swallow, yet it would have been best to consider asking for greater security before going into a war zone. Irrelevant at the time, yet now a problem.
The US House of Representatives in their votes to cut funding for security measures.
Mitt Romney: I think this was initially a Neocon inside job and still believe certain factions carried out these provocations as was made obvious with their politicization of the assault.
The makers and financiers of a badly made trailer for a badly made movie done by a presumed Coptic Christian.
The individuals in Libya whom later were recruited to organize their terror-for-hire activities under the banner Islamic State.
Libyan leadership in the post-Gaddhafi era; this extends to a number of post Arab Spring governments.
I could name others, yet do not have the time. In what came forth yesterday, only One congress member, Washington Democrat Adam Smith, mentioned any of the above as needing to be blamed; specifically mentioning Gen. David Patreaus. As well, Sec. of State Clinton did imply the lack of in initial planning for security measures by Ambassador Stevens. The rest of time, as it has been for a long while now, the blame has been shifted to Hilary Clinton. Well, blaming her for the faults of others is a waste of time, paper, money and lives. This will only help Sen. Clinton in her run for the Presidency: a good deal of Republican leaders and insiders have even mentioned the absurdity of this committee and its inane focus on Sec. of State Clinton, and if not her then Sidney Blumenthal.
What did 11 hours of a hearing and statements accomplish? Not One Motherfucking Thing! Excuse my language, yet nothing new was told, and no minds were changed. I can tell you, at least one or two of the Republicans on that committee are looking at either facing a primary challenge or an outright re-election defeat. Rep. Peter Roskam, Rep. Trey Gowdy and Rep. Martha Roby come to mind. As well, I think now would be a fair time for Rep. Elijah Cummings to join Rep. Tammy Duckworth in leaving the House to run for the Senate. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, mind you, did not go this far and this wastefully with their hearings with Sec.of State Clinton two years ago. In any matter, I think Rep. Cummings would be a darn good Senator, as would Rep. Duckworth should either of them get elected or much less run,
And yet, you know what was not even talked about once? Just why we have been in Libya, Syria and the surrounding countries in the first place. And just why our foreign policy these past 14 years has been mainly problematic; a continuation of American hegemony that finds no place in a changing and educated world where the US is, correctly, not the leader of all matters.
Interestingly, the last couple of days and nights I have been watching a series of interviews with the recently passed Ali Treki from 25 years ago regarding many of the same issues facing the world and the at the time failed Reagan and H.W. Bush policies. I present these here for your consideration and ask you to find the time to watch and listen.
By the way, the interviewer, former SUNY professor Harold Channer, is still involved with interviewing important people on New York public access television. Do have a look at Mr. Channer's YouTube page for some rather interesting interviews over the years. A lot more informative than what you may have seen yesterday. And if you managed to watch all 11 hours: you just wasted a day in your life you will never get back. Same with those who were there.
HRC for 2016: Because at the least, our dream will become WRH's nightmare (I will say why soon),
Robert
PS. This is too funny to not include as a postscript. Too funny, and yet too sad.
PPS. My thoughts on the Steven Spielberg film Bridge of Spies, the Guillermo Del Toro film Crimson Peak and the Danny Boyle film Steve Jobs are forthcoming.
In short, Sec. of State Clinton had no role in what had taken place in Libya, starting the year before with the complete overthrow of Libyan life signified by the assassination of Col. Muamar Gaddhafi. Matters of these foreign policy miscalculations should be placed on a number of other hands, not that of Sen. Clinton nor the Department of State. Indeed, the State Department was what was keeping the US in good standing with the world until 3 years ago. Yet, not one congress member on the Benghazi Libya committee managed to discuss the fault that lied with these groups or people:
Pres. Barack Obama
The Department of Defense
Certain figures in the Senate and House at the time, including then Sen. John Kerry I am sad to say.
CIA
Ambassador Stevens; a hard pill to swallow, yet it would have been best to consider asking for greater security before going into a war zone. Irrelevant at the time, yet now a problem.
The US House of Representatives in their votes to cut funding for security measures.
Mitt Romney: I think this was initially a Neocon inside job and still believe certain factions carried out these provocations as was made obvious with their politicization of the assault.
The makers and financiers of a badly made trailer for a badly made movie done by a presumed Coptic Christian.
The individuals in Libya whom later were recruited to organize their terror-for-hire activities under the banner Islamic State.
Libyan leadership in the post-Gaddhafi era; this extends to a number of post Arab Spring governments.
I could name others, yet do not have the time. In what came forth yesterday, only One congress member, Washington Democrat Adam Smith, mentioned any of the above as needing to be blamed; specifically mentioning Gen. David Patreaus. As well, Sec. of State Clinton did imply the lack of in initial planning for security measures by Ambassador Stevens. The rest of time, as it has been for a long while now, the blame has been shifted to Hilary Clinton. Well, blaming her for the faults of others is a waste of time, paper, money and lives. This will only help Sen. Clinton in her run for the Presidency: a good deal of Republican leaders and insiders have even mentioned the absurdity of this committee and its inane focus on Sec. of State Clinton, and if not her then Sidney Blumenthal.
What did 11 hours of a hearing and statements accomplish? Not One Motherfucking Thing! Excuse my language, yet nothing new was told, and no minds were changed. I can tell you, at least one or two of the Republicans on that committee are looking at either facing a primary challenge or an outright re-election defeat. Rep. Peter Roskam, Rep. Trey Gowdy and Rep. Martha Roby come to mind. As well, I think now would be a fair time for Rep. Elijah Cummings to join Rep. Tammy Duckworth in leaving the House to run for the Senate. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, mind you, did not go this far and this wastefully with their hearings with Sec.of State Clinton two years ago. In any matter, I think Rep. Cummings would be a darn good Senator, as would Rep. Duckworth should either of them get elected or much less run,
And yet, you know what was not even talked about once? Just why we have been in Libya, Syria and the surrounding countries in the first place. And just why our foreign policy these past 14 years has been mainly problematic; a continuation of American hegemony that finds no place in a changing and educated world where the US is, correctly, not the leader of all matters.
Interestingly, the last couple of days and nights I have been watching a series of interviews with the recently passed Ali Treki from 25 years ago regarding many of the same issues facing the world and the at the time failed Reagan and H.W. Bush policies. I present these here for your consideration and ask you to find the time to watch and listen.
By the way, the interviewer, former SUNY professor Harold Channer, is still involved with interviewing important people on New York public access television. Do have a look at Mr. Channer's YouTube page for some rather interesting interviews over the years. A lot more informative than what you may have seen yesterday. And if you managed to watch all 11 hours: you just wasted a day in your life you will never get back. Same with those who were there.
HRC for 2016: Because at the least, our dream will become WRH's nightmare (I will say why soon),
Robert
PS. This is too funny to not include as a postscript. Too funny, and yet too sad.
PPS. My thoughts on the Steven Spielberg film Bridge of Spies, the Guillermo Del Toro film Crimson Peak and the Danny Boyle film Steve Jobs are forthcoming.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
An (alleged) actor prepares for his next (alleged) role
I have been interested in the performing arts such as movies and theater for quite some time now. Despite this interest and knowledge, I have yet to be considered an actor; much less any important person involved in film making and stagecraft. However, in the past two years, I have been involved with an acting troupe that at least once every year puts on a show in front of an audience consisting of our families and others from the Town of Oyster Bay, New York. It relates to the Town's Group Activities Program for the Disabled, for which I am considered due to having Asperger's Syndrome.
Each Spring since 2013, I have been involved in acting in a play or musical of some sort. In 2013, I was both Bill the candy store owner and a composite of the TV reporters in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. The next year, we did something different in a number of us portrayed important singers over the past 60 years. It was our take on a Legends in Concert performance you might see on a cruise ship. For my part, I was John Belushi in his Blues Brothers alter ego. This past May, I was the Chris Penn character Willard in an interesting hybrid staging of Footloose. We took elements from both the film and the later Broadway musical. So, I got to sing (gasp!) a couple different times, notably the Randy Newman sound alike Mama Says. Now, try picturing me singing this.
Sadly, I did not get to do the full song. Oh well, had to make it just under an hour and 10 minutes.
So, next month the GAP drama program gets back in business after having the summer off. I am hoping we may be able to do something for the Christmas season, even though it might be at best a holiday themed Legends in Concert sort of occasion. None the less, we are definitely going to put on a show sometime next year in either April or May. I would like to believe that before the year is out, we will find out what play/musical act we are doing.
This is where you come in. I have some ideas that I would hope receive the necessary traction and approval of the GAP leadership; though I am far from the only person jotting down ideas. Here are quite a few that I have considered for what we could do.
Disney related.
Inside Out
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
Toy Story (any of the movies)
Wall-E
The Lion King
Jim Henson related.
The Muppet Movie
The Great Muppet Caper
The Muppet Show (a sort of best of sketches)
Sesame Street (perhaps some of the better sketches over the years)
Labyrinth
The Dark Crystal
The Cube
The Storyteller ( any of a number of episodes)
A number of different TV specials involving Jim Henson and/or the Muppets
Note: There would be no need to use puppetry. I would prefer those involved being ourselves, yet imitating our characters by wearing related costumes. In the case of a character like Kermit The Frog, a sweater or onesie (jumpsuit pajama) will suffice.
All ages acceptable, musical or film based
The Last Unicorn
Fun Home
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
Finding Neverland (possibly the movie version)
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
Yellow Submarine
Bye Bye Birdie
Star Wars (any of the movies; though I have not yet seen Episode VII yet)
The Sandlot
Wallace and Gromit
Shaun the Sheep
The Pirates
Fantastic Mr. Fox
E.T.
I like these, although opinions may vary
Company
West Side Story (no alterations to the ending)
Into The Woods
Starlight Express
Cats
My Dinner With Andre
Toys
The Wall
Me and Earl and The Dying Girl
The Land Before Time
The Odd Couple (preferably the Lemmon-Matthau film)
The Producers
Blazing Saddles
Monty Python's Flying Circus (any number of sketches)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Spamalot
And a special section. Should we be doing another Legends in Concert type show, I think we could do some of these artists.
Pink Floyd
Sir Paul McCartney
The Who
ABBA
Janet Jackson
Peter Gabriel
Joni Mitchell
The Temptations
Prince
George Harrison
Stevie Wonder
Billy Joel
The Pretenders
U2
Paul Simon
Kiss
Arcade Fire
Husker Du
The B-52's
Where you come in is as follows: I would like to know what you think of these suggestions. I would also like to know if you have any ideas of what we could do for next year. If you can, please either comment or post or like this essay either here or on Facebook. I would like to hear from you.
Here is an added incentive: you can give me a suggestion, and if anyone asks, I could post a video of me acting out a role from that particular character and/or play/musical/movie. Think of it like a screen test, or rather one of those lip sync dubbing videos only it is me actually saying the lines.
If you want, I can post an idea for what sort of musical I might like, though others are not sure. I really think we could do a play such as this; provided some material is altered.
Once again, let me know what all of you think about these ideas. I would like to hear your ideas as well.
Surprisingly have not been to a Broadway show in quite a while,
Robert Kelly
Each Spring since 2013, I have been involved in acting in a play or musical of some sort. In 2013, I was both Bill the candy store owner and a composite of the TV reporters in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. The next year, we did something different in a number of us portrayed important singers over the past 60 years. It was our take on a Legends in Concert performance you might see on a cruise ship. For my part, I was John Belushi in his Blues Brothers alter ego. This past May, I was the Chris Penn character Willard in an interesting hybrid staging of Footloose. We took elements from both the film and the later Broadway musical. So, I got to sing (gasp!) a couple different times, notably the Randy Newman sound alike Mama Says. Now, try picturing me singing this.
Sadly, I did not get to do the full song. Oh well, had to make it just under an hour and 10 minutes.
So, next month the GAP drama program gets back in business after having the summer off. I am hoping we may be able to do something for the Christmas season, even though it might be at best a holiday themed Legends in Concert sort of occasion. None the less, we are definitely going to put on a show sometime next year in either April or May. I would like to believe that before the year is out, we will find out what play/musical act we are doing.
This is where you come in. I have some ideas that I would hope receive the necessary traction and approval of the GAP leadership; though I am far from the only person jotting down ideas. Here are quite a few that I have considered for what we could do.
Disney related.
Inside Out
Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs
Toy Story (any of the movies)
Wall-E
The Lion King
Jim Henson related.
The Muppet Movie
The Great Muppet Caper
The Muppet Show (a sort of best of sketches)
Sesame Street (perhaps some of the better sketches over the years)
Labyrinth
The Dark Crystal
The Cube
The Storyteller ( any of a number of episodes)
A number of different TV specials involving Jim Henson and/or the Muppets
Note: There would be no need to use puppetry. I would prefer those involved being ourselves, yet imitating our characters by wearing related costumes. In the case of a character like Kermit The Frog, a sweater or onesie (jumpsuit pajama) will suffice.
All ages acceptable, musical or film based
The Last Unicorn
Fun Home
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time
Finding Neverland (possibly the movie version)
A Hard Day's Night
Help!
Yellow Submarine
Bye Bye Birdie
Star Wars (any of the movies; though I have not yet seen Episode VII yet)
The Sandlot
Wallace and Gromit
Shaun the Sheep
The Pirates
Fantastic Mr. Fox
E.T.
I like these, although opinions may vary
Company
West Side Story (no alterations to the ending)
Into The Woods
Starlight Express
Cats
My Dinner With Andre
Toys
The Wall
Me and Earl and The Dying Girl
The Land Before Time
The Odd Couple (preferably the Lemmon-Matthau film)
The Producers
Blazing Saddles
Monty Python's Flying Circus (any number of sketches)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Spamalot
And a special section. Should we be doing another Legends in Concert type show, I think we could do some of these artists.
Pink Floyd
Sir Paul McCartney
The Who
ABBA
Janet Jackson
Peter Gabriel
Joni Mitchell
The Temptations
Prince
George Harrison
Stevie Wonder
Billy Joel
The Pretenders
U2
Paul Simon
Kiss
Arcade Fire
Husker Du
The B-52's
Where you come in is as follows: I would like to know what you think of these suggestions. I would also like to know if you have any ideas of what we could do for next year. If you can, please either comment or post or like this essay either here or on Facebook. I would like to hear from you.
Here is an added incentive: you can give me a suggestion, and if anyone asks, I could post a video of me acting out a role from that particular character and/or play/musical/movie. Think of it like a screen test, or rather one of those lip sync dubbing videos only it is me actually saying the lines.
If you want, I can post an idea for what sort of musical I might like, though others are not sure. I really think we could do a play such as this; provided some material is altered.
Once again, let me know what all of you think about these ideas. I would like to hear your ideas as well.
Surprisingly have not been to a Broadway show in quite a while,
Robert Kelly
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