Sequential Art, Seventh Art & Other Arts

Life Needs Cinemax...?

2012-01-14T07:08:00.000-08:00

Yeah, sure, I'll take
fries with that...

The best way to sell something
is to make darn sure that people will buy into
the lie that they NEED it -
and not only do they need it,
they need it bad - REAL BAD.

Well, the truth is
each and every one of us
needs Cinemax so darn bad
in their dull lives
about as BAD as we all need
our sphincters checked
and our urethral pressure profiling
regularly done in order to
spice up our daily routines!

With movies like the ones served up
on the menu above, that's exactly
what it is like -
as you sit down on uncomfortable cinechairs
to watch that cinecrap
for hours and hours,
while indulging in cinegrub
that barely deserves the denomination of "food"
ruining our health in more than
one single notable way...!

Yeah folks -
WE NEED CINEMAX.
Indubitably.

2011-09-11T20:28:00.000-07:00

Just something quickly whipped up
tongue-firmly-in-cheek
in my brand-new RockYou slideshow factory toy...!
Eat your heart out, YouTube...!
;)

This site is about ART -
all forms of it, really
But the best thing to inspire art
in all of its forms
remains the proper soundtrack;
and, therefore, music is the supreme artform!
It is not for nothing
that angels play the harp
in the heavens above
instead of painting, poetizing
or, heaven forbid, sculpting!

Aye, music is THE SIHT -
NO TYPO INTENDED
(just a twist on that Star Wars creature
and on that other common concept...!)
And for more of my eclectic tastes in this field
check out elsewhere on this network
and, most particularly, here
;)

'X-Men: First Class'

2011-08-31T05:53:00.000-07:00

Tis time for another of them posts/essays/reviews here that truly brings it all together: sequential art being the source material, transmuted into seventh art frolics and then paving the way, as a bonus, for some added entertainment in the arts of music, *real* literature and let's not forget all the associated tie-in merchandising that ensues!

Marvel is on some sort of a roll right now: they are delivering movie version after movie version of their properties at perhaps *far too fast* of a pace, really - but let us not dwell too much on that aspect right away here, not right off the bat anyways! (Oh - did I say "bat" just now? What an unfortunate choice so early on - as The Batty one is the lone dark cloud in the Marvel cinematic firmament, indeed! If there wasn't such a pesky creature that, quite inexplicably too, continues to dominate the world of super-hero movie adaptations (at midnight showings, perhaps?) - Marvel would have it all to itself these days! Maybe further along, in some days of future past, eh Marbles? But let's carry forth now...)

Hence, along comes "X-Men: First Class" - mimicking the trend of issuing a trilogy of prequels that lead into the first movie hit (first movie period) ever released on the subject and property - a trend initiated in full throttle by George Lucas, of course! This one here promised to show the characters as they were "before they became..." whatever! Before he was Professor X... Before he was Magneto... Sadly though (spoilers! spoilers!) by the end of the first movie both are already firmly entrenched into what they are known as already - the first as a wheelchair-bound bore and the other as a megalomaniacal dud. For three quarters of this movie, at least, they are refreshingly something else - and that is what we'll focus on here. That 'something else' could not possibly be something entirely original though, as we will soon see; even if you haven't seen the movie...! But that does not impede anyone of thoroughly enjoying this latest X-offering, truth be told!

There was a Marvel editor who, once upon a time gloated that "Marvel got it right the first time" - and that was why they had no revamps, rewrites, "everything you thought you knew is wrong" type of stories... Now, however, this editor must be eating his words (or rolling in his grave, actually) since that is all that Marvel does: revamp, changes to its history, spurning that precious continuity that it carefully weaved and set up so that each interaction "fit" perfectly with the others... Marvel was so proud of that, for it used to be the only thing that set them apart from their competition, really...! Nowadays, the continuity is a burden and in order to free themselves and become more creative, parallel realities have been created in order to be fresh again! It's either that or brand-new, incoherent with the rest of the tapestry "untold chapters" that are released (like, the Avengers of 1959! Wow - pre-dating even the original duo of Steed & Peel - faut le faire!) Marvel's Ultimates are harsher versions of their precious characters: as if Wolverine needed to toughen up... The movie versions are another if not harsher, vastly modified variant indeed... It would appear that Marvel didn't get anything right at all - and changes are necessary all the time now! It comes as no surprise to this blogger pundit bandit right here! And, I must add that the changes applied to the mutant mythos in X-Men: First Class have been all for the better! A new dynamic was created between the three top mutant factions, one that makes sense and binds the together all the more believably. A new origin for the X-Men team is put together here - one without embarrassing fake angels, guys naming themselves after Greek monsters when they're not even Greek or walking, talking icemaking snowmen! All for the better, I say...!

An impressive effort overall, this film was poorly received by quite a lot of pseudo purists who lamented the lack of continuity displayed by the script; one that underlined an apparent lack of respect for the X-Men history overall! Scandalous, if not uncanny at all! But what was so disrespected here, in truth, so as to infuriate the fanboys like this? Some lament the fact that of all the X-Men that should have been there, only the Least one was present (The Beast) along with Professor X himself. No Angel, Iceman, Cyclops therefore and precious Marvel Girl were present - and how could they be present since, in the movies history, they are all joining the team much later on? Forget about your beloved four-color comic-booky continuity, fanboys: one has to respect and be coherent as well as in sync with the other movies that were already made! It turned out just fine, in the end: instead of Cyclops, you got Havok (who will go from being the younger brother to being the older brother - only in comic-books universes can you achieve that marvelous feat right there! Revenge of the bullied younger brother - enjoy!) And instead of Iceman, you got Banshee - an Irishman! The antithesis of ice, the Irish; what's not to love there? Plus the young actor chosen to portray him evokes the Potter's buddy and schoolmate - something Marvel surely hopes will attract all the Potters out there, perhaps...?

Ah - and instead of Angel or Marvel Girl Jean Grey, the movie's cast features another Angel, one far more curvaceous -and an all-around sexier telepath too- in Emma Frost! All win-win equation if you ask me: but then I am no "Marvelite" here - just a light!

Truth be told, there are some incoherences still within the timeframe and chronology set between all these X-movies: the character of Emma Frost was seen in one of those other flicks that actually takes place after this one - much later, in fact! Yet she looks older in this one than in the other film! Blame it on the casting... And don't forget that, as the White Queen of the Hellfire's Club, Emma has some privileges not accessible to the common wench - namely Oil of Olay, Botox and a plethora of other unholy concoctions meant to stave off the ageing process! (Or obliterate it altogether. Or reverse it, while you're at it...?)

All of these concerns are (or should be viewed as) secondary though: for the primary directive is to make sense of the mutant phenomenon, render it believable within a historical context, make it even relevant within those parameters. And by situating the action at the center of the Cuban Missile Crisis, it is mission accomplished indeed. Secret histories (or, more precisely, secret historical facts) have always been a source of fascination for countless observers - and with this saga we have some truly fascinating twists to insert into recorded history here, to say the least! (Scoop: if not spoilers all-together! And it's not-much-of-a-scoop, really: expect to have a very original explanation for the magic bullet that nailed JFK in 1963! That will be in the second movie of this trilogy, surely - the opening minutes of it, most likely! And here is a clue: a mutant was behind it - guess who!) All that, of course, if the all-important suspension of disbelief operates well and in full force...!

This tale takes us back to a flashback scene presented before, in the earliest X-Men film made - we are talking about the one set in World War II - and further develops the whole thing. Verily, this entire movie here rests upon this starting point, as a young Magneto discovers he possesses the powers that he does. The Nazis take note of this, too, and try to tap into that potential as well (one supposes that they gave up on the angry kid soon afterwards and went right back into occultism and the quest for the "Spear of Destiny" as far more, ah, surefire means to win the war - right.)

The most memorable scene has got to be the one when ``Erik meets the Nazis - abroad.`` Actor Michael Fassbender has, by then, taken over the part from the boy actor who tried to convey the grief of seeing his mother shot dead before his very eyes, by (soon-to-be revealed as a - spoilers! spoilers!) fellow mutant Sebastian Shaw, as it turns out - one of the many rewrites added to this thing in order to enhance the overall quality. Ever since being introduced as a major villain into the X-Men mythos by the team of Chris Claremont (writer) and John Byrne (artist - but co-writer too) this character has taken on proportions that boggle the mind; he is, for all intents and purposes, the Benjamin Franklin of the mutant folk! Of all the possible actors that could have been chosen to portray Shaw, it was the ubiquitous (if annoying) Kevin Bacon that got the nod - and he isn`t half-bad here, to tell the truth. Fassbender is on another level though; and this scene in which he catches up with two Nazis (on the trail of his true target: Shaw) and deals with them (and a meddlesome bartender) quite mercilessly is simply masterfully rendered, both in directorial terms as in acting. A tense dramatic crescendo superbly enhanced by the film score (more on that in just a sec!) Too bad that, from all the scenes excerpted from the movie and found floating around YouTube or on IMDB, this one is not to be found...

The soundtrack has an immense role to play here - as per usual with all the movies in this genre - and this one does not fail to deliver one bit. In fact, this has got to be one of the greatest musical scores ever put together to enhance movie action and it would surely get this level of recognition too; if it hadn't been done a thousand times over already. Actually, these days, even mere videogames feature music this good; it is vastly relied upon when the content leaves something to be desired... Having said all this, Henry Jackman proves to be one of the best film score authors in the business right now with this brilliant musical score: the Magneto theme that follows is especially effective in conveying the magnitude of the character, by far the most interesting in this entire movie - and saga. Hans Zimmer has someone breathing down his neck in Hollywood - and make no mistake about it, it is Henry Jackman, no one else! Just listen to this:

A word, at this time, about the all-important role of DIRECTOR. This film demanded a certain type of director; one who could handle a large cast and make it all come together in as fluid and orderly a manner as possible. Matthew Vaughn was the chosen one - a British director with a flair for this sort of thing, as his resume shows, and it was the ideal choice indeed. Doubling as director and producer on several films, the man is evidently at ease with team efforts - and the scope of X-Men First Class made it the mother of all team efforts indeed! Vaughn has that British quality that combines an unmistakable flair for action sequences mingling with wit and brainy dialogue. It makes for quite a good mix, overall! Past successes -critically or otherwise- for Vaughn included of course Kick-Ass - which truly qualified him for this. Another production of his -Stardust- displayed ample evidence that he also possessed the sensibility required to handle such a "MutantFest" as this... He has a knack to handle weird, eccentric characters - and the actors who portray them! Strangely enough, even though this is the first (duh) of a planned trilogy and it has been generally-speaking very well-received, the sequel has not been announced, nor has it been confirmed that he would direct it too. Instead, he has announced a sequel to his beloved Kick-Ass, subtitled Balls To The Wall... So much for that British flair, I guess...?

Months ahead of the release, the casting had been set and some press release was issued. Along with it, drop by drop, some vital information was leaked up until the very release date - but most of the truly important elements were withhold, or there was an attempt to that effect made, at the very least... (No pun intended!)

Had there been word that Kevin Bacon was to be the main villain of this piece, everyone would have either laughed or blasted the movie before its very release! As it turned out, it was wise indeed to withhold news of his participation in this latest MutantFest - and to hide also that the main villains were the Hellfire's Club indeed. Likewise, there had been little talk about the director at all - heck, it was more widely-discussed that Vaughn had frowned upon Thor in order to do his Kick-Ass (such a wise decision - Kick-Ass, complete with its thinly-veiled duplicate Batty Guy who dies in the end or near it -spoilers-spoilers?- chosen over a sissy Norseman wanna-be who can't even the right color scheme in order to impersonate the pagan fake god that it wants so badly to be! But we're getting side-tracked here...)

Six months before this film's release, the casting was revealed in this order - with the most impressive coup revealed first and foremost:
Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto
The task of playing 'X-Men' villain Magneto, memorably played by Sir Ian McKellen in the first three films, has fallen to Michael Fassbender. The actor had impressed in the harrowing biopic of Irish Republican Army prisoner Bobby Sands in 'Hunger', before showcasing his action chops in flop western 'Jonah Hex'. He will be playing a younger version of the Master of Magnetism, born Erik Lehnsherr. Since this tour de force (making compelling a two-dimensional, four-color wonder is a tour de force, okay? And Fassbender does it even better than McKellen ever could; being free of the costume for three quarters of the movie helped immensely) Michael Fassbender has moved on to portray even more complicated and twisted characters in Prometheus and
A Dangerous Method - the latter giving him the opportunity to defend the tout role of Carl Jung himself! After Magneto, it must have been a crescendo into madness, what else? The thespian admitted so himself...
He wasn't half-bad in Inglorious Basterds either - but not half as visible there as here. It is not an overstatement to say that this First Class flick is so damn good due to two things in particular and one of them is unquestionably the performance by Fassbender.

The true hero of the piece though is, of course, the good guy (people tend to forget this, since about the mid-naughty nineties I'd say...)

And the good guy of this piece is the young Charles Xavier - before wheelchair, baldness and Patrick Stewart.

Charles Xavier aka Professor Xavier
'Atonement' actor James McAvoy will play the pre-wheelchair-bound telepathic mutant as he aims to recruit fellow mutants for his X-Men school. Vaughn said about Professor X: “Out of all the characters, he’s the dullest if you really think about it. He’ll be in a wheelchair eventually, and he’s sort of a sanctimonious preacher half of the time. Patrick Stewart brought so much to that role, and I needed to get an actor who could do the same — who could give him a fourth dimension that’d make him sparkle. James was literally at the top of the list, and he said yes, so I got my first actor very quickly.” Another fine coup since this actor brings refinement and class (no pun intended at all) to a role that requires it. McAvoy seems born to play this part, the way scholar stance seems to emanate from him - must be the British factor... Plus he has that panache, just like Fassbender, that makes us convinced that he might actually truly be a child of the 60s (hey - I'm a displaced in time child of the Age of Aquarius myself, I remain convinced... But let's not go there now!)

The scenes in which Charles and Erik work together, and are truly the best of associates, are quite evocative of another duo from the actual sixties: William Gaunt's and Stuart Wilson's characters in the classic ITC British series "The Champions"! Gaunt's character was a true forerunner for young Charles Xavier - also a telepath, short, not all that athletic... Wilson was a far less talented actor than Fassbender is - but the physique is quite the same. The powers, though, are miles apart, of course...! These Champions, it is important to remark, were not mutants.
Ironically enough, Marvel borrowed the name for a mid-1970s rag-tag team of misfits that did include two mutants on it. The mutants in question were two of the original X-Men too, no less: the first Angel and Iceman, teamed up with Black Widow - who will be in the Avengers movie; the Marvel Avengers, must we precise? These three then joined up with Ghost Rider of all people and... Hercules! The Hercules! Who in their right mind would think of such a collection of disparate individuals coming together to form a team, you ask? Can't you guess? Yes - John Byrne was involved with these guys, too... But we are digressing here...

Alexandra Bastedo was the most memorable member of the ITC television Champions - the closest match to her character in these X-Men here would have to be none other than the villainess Emma Frost though! The scene in which all three (Charles, Erik and Emma) trade lines and barbs is, to be honest, like nothing the 1960s Champions ever shared, even in their most original and dysfunctional episodes... This scene is also missing from YouTube's lists - alas... I expect all my favorite moments from the film to be missing now! (Fake *sigh*)

One almost wishes that the Charles & Erik team would have continued into the second and maybe even third movie - they did make a good team; better than Gaunt and Wilson! But as we shall soon see (and as you may suspect) by the end of this one, things are already set up so that each guy is firmly encased into his now archetypical role. "Brothers" though they are, they are set to be forever on opposing fronts. No reunion for these champs - unlike the ITC Champions did!

Onwards to the rest of the (far too long - but it comes with the territory) cast now...

Mystique
The blue-skinned shape shifter Mystique, famously played by Rebecca Romijn in the three 'X-Men' movies, will now be portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence. She recently received a best actress Oscar nomination for her much-lauded role in 'Winter's Bone'. To be able to cast such a talented new talent (wow - Oscar nominee!) in a key supporting role was another masterful move and it paid off immensely too: if only since it elevated this cast miles above that of similar fare (in some people's eyes - it is) as those Edward the Vampire movies... Lawrence is also a far better actress than the Femme Fatale that preceded her to the role - she brought added nuances and humanity (yes, humanity to the mutie) to the role. Said Femme Fatale seems to have appreciated that and gave it her blessing as you'll see when you do see the movie!
Next!

Moira McTaggert
A Scottish geneticist, Moira appeared briefly in 'X-Men: The Last Stand' and was played by Olivia Williams. 'X-Men: First Class' will see Australian actress Rose Byrne star as the mutant expert. Byrne has appeared in a number of screen roles recently, most notably in 'Get Him to the Greek', but is best known for her small screen work in 'Damages'. No relation to John, Rose Byrne is another one of those refined non-American thespians that just "look like they belong in the Sixties" - she's classy, witty, elegant... A fine casting choice, too - and, truly, we haven't gotten yet to the few bad casting choices made here (as few as they are - they had a huge impact in the overall schema!) The character of Moira is more spy than geneticist here though, as she works for the CIA and goes undercover briefly early on...! (You guessed it: another favorite scene not to be found excerpted anywhere! Damn!) She is instrumental in the finale - you'll see why and may see it coming, too. Hopefully there is something for her to do in subsequent chapters... If not, Rose Byrne will be scooped up by DC to give Wonder Woman another try or something...! She'd be the finest Lois Lane since Margot Kidder, too! A plethora of lesser-known characters could be fleshed out by Rose indeed: Black Orchid, Donna Troy, Mary Marvel, Aquagirl...! But let's not give DC any ideas for free anymore... Next!

Hank McCoy aka Beast
Played by Kelsey Grammer in the much-maligned 'X-Men: The Last Stand', Nicholas Hoult will take over the role of Beast, the super furry and incredibly smart scientist. British actor Hoult has come a long way since starring in 'About a Boy', making a name for himself in 'Skins', and earning critical praise for his role in 'A Single Man'. He also was a very convincing Eusebios in an otherwise lamentable Clash of the Titans remake... The kid has plenty of potential and he also humanized Beast far more than Grammer ever could or was given a chance to. Next!

Havok
Absent from the 'X-Men' trilogy, the character of Havok (aka Alex Summers) is Cyclops' livelier brother Scott. While Scott Summers was both underused and nothing more than a boy scout in the first films, Havok should have much more of a lasting impact in the prequel. He will be played by Lucas Till, who is best known for his role in 'Hannah Montana: The Movie'. He will also be seen in this year's alien invasion epic 'Battle: Los Angeles'. It is no coincidence that Lucas Till is one of the few true blue all-American actors in this one - and he is clearly the worst actor of the entire enterprise! With a track record such as his, it becomes even clearer why... And they thought (now alleged) big brother Cyclops was poorly served when he got James Marsden to portray him...! That was genial casting and Oscar-worthy, in comparison... Expressionless and motionless, even when he is using his fantastic concussive power: I guess the kid has got talent indeed? But we're getting side-tracked here... Next!

Emma Frost
Alice Eve was originally signed up to play Emma Frost aka The White Queen, before leaving the project because of reported script concerns. Her loss was January Jones' gain, and the 'Mad Men' actress won't have to leave the 1960s as the film is set in the same decade as her TV show. Unlike the stylish elegance of Betty Draper in 'Mad Men, Jones' Emma Frost will be wearing the same sort of clothes seen in the comic books. Meaning very little! “It's a lot of very body-conscious stuff. If you look at the comic book, she’s barely dressed. She's got quite the bod, which is very intimidating,” Jones explained recently. One wonders if this was truly Alice Eve's loss and January Jones' gain. The latter does not exactly inherit a meaty role here - she has some lines but, aside from that, she is just a piece of flesh in the other sense often given to "meat"... There is this scene in which she lures an unwitting high-ranked pawn into the Club's Las Vegas lair - and there are plenty of them scantily-clad girlies all around, see? The fact that she is the only one of them with any kind of special gifts, mutant powers or whatever, is most definitely not the reason why she stands out! And, as far as her powers go, they aren't much at all in terms of protection either: I mean, wouldn't it be cool to have a telepath on your side specifically for the purpose of having her scan the premises and notify us if there's anyone spying on us? She fails miserably at that simple task in this one! Or, maybe (just maybe) it is a voluntary oversight of the script? Still... (More on that sort of thing in a minute, by the way... But, for now it is... Next!)

Azazel
Father of X2's Nightcrawler, Azazel is also a teleporter. He will be played by Matthew Vaughn-regular Jason Flemyng. As well as starring in Vaughn's producing work, he has featured in all of his directorial efforts – 'Layer Cake', 'Stardust' and 'Kick Ass'. Away from Vaughn, Flemyng's other screen credits include 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' and 'Clash of the Titans'. And 'League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' in which he was none other than Dr. Jekyll and actually had lines to deliver! How funny that they completely forgot to mention LXG, which is the kind of movie that bears a hell (pun intended this time) of a lot of a resemblance to all X-Men movies: we have an ensemble cast, outrageous situations leading to conflict, a plot that goes in all directions and a finale that, usually, leaves a thousand plot threads dangling around... In the vain hopes of getting some sequels in there, I guess! It was vain in the case of LXG, somehow - even with the participation of Sir Sean Connery! And Jason Flemyng... Not mentioning LXG is doubly more suspicious as they mentioned Jonah Hex in Fassbender's case: making sure to mention that it had been a "flop western" - one based upon the competition's cowboy. Wait until Marbles actually green-lights a gay Rawhide Kid movie and watch them redefine "flop western" the same way they redefined comic-bookies: why, the Marvel way, of course! What else did you expect me to say here, hmm?

One more word on Flemyng's Azazel before sending him back to hell: this was a major revision that needed to be done desperately. If Nightcrawler's daddy-o is a contemporary and available, he has to be there, in that Club! No one mutie ever deserved membership in there more than him! Claremont's and Byrne's pastiche of the Hellfire's Club that they had seen on TV's Avengers of the Sixties was filled up with odd members that vaguely evoked three very disparate sources of inspiration - ones that didn't really gel together at all. First there was an undeniable attempt to recreate the eccentricity that was ever so present in all of the British Avengers' foes throughout that show's existence - and even through its latter incarnations. (Ironically, Sir Sean Connery was the villain in the movie adaptation!) Second, Claremont and Byrne wanted to somehow invoke what seemed to be most people's idea of what an "evil Brit" should be - that was the Orson Welles type, the Robert Shaw type and the Donald Sutherland type (even though Donald is Canadian!) Third and most important of all, Claremont and Byrne wanted so desperately to make history that they unconsciously transported in time the whole blamed Club so that it battled their band of misfit muties from the eighties! The Hellfire's Club that they opposed the X-Men was more befitting on a battleground with James West and Artemus Gordon than with misbegotten super-heroes that originated as nothing else but an umpteenth allegory of teenage angst (all cooked up by the same author to boot - Stan Lee! But that's another story - the Marvel origins story!) Watching punks in tights rumble with aristocrats is something you can expect in wrestling sometimes - but anywhere else, well, it is just not serious!

But enough about all that...
Back to the roll call now, shall we?

And next we have... Angel
No - not that Angel...
Angel Salvadore, rather, the mutant with fly-like powers (!) will be played by Zoe Kravitz, daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet. Both an actress and musician, Kravitz has appeared in a number of low budget films, as well as impressing in a recurring role in hit show 'Californication'. 'X-Men: First Class' is her biggest role to date. Perhaps the worst of the worst actors featured here or in any super-hero movie, Zoe puts her mother's performance in that film she did in the late eighties to shame actually - meaning that no one from that family should ever act again - ever. Ironic to note that, in that movie from the late eighties, the mother co-starred with a fine actor portraying what could have been the devil himself. And now, the daughter co-stars with this other fine actor portraying an alleged mutant with a very Biblical name and who could really be a devil himself too! History repeating - in a sickening way!

What is more sickening though is the fact that here stopped the preview of the cast: nothing on the actor playing the main villain of the piece (said main villain not being even announced at the time either, as previously mentioned) and nothing on any other vital supporting cast member such as... Oliver Platt, my old favorite! More on him in a second... But first, the outrage! You either do a full preview or you don't at all! If you break down the cast, break it down completely dammit! The movie strongly implies that there are a zillion mutants out there waiting to be "discovered" by any one of the presented factions, really (there should be three, at least: Xavier's school, the lone "good" one of the bunch, since the Brotherhood Magneto soon founds is evil - and so is that infernal Hellfire's Club, evidently! Redundancy fully intended, aye!) Thus, Xavier chancing upon Hank, finding Erik on his path, discovering the talents that Mystique, Banshee and Havok have along the way - well, it is just the tip of the iceberg!

Therefore, on top of all that and in order to fill up the ranks and give a feeling of "worldwide scope" to it all, Xavier pinpoints a whole lot of mutants all over - and attempts to regroup them right away, with Erik Lensherr helping in the recruitment drive! Now, they could not hire all of Hollywood in order to portray all the potential muties here - the film's budget had to be limited! So they restrained themselves to just how many fit in their little private jet there... And so, the other mutants effectively signed up include one mutant named "Darwin" of all codenames... He is an "adaptive mutant" (he just adapts, as he says himself just before he finds it really hard to...) and he is, in fact, one of the most promising talent finds for Xavier - until he just promptly dies (spoilers! spoilers!) perhaps due to the poor quality of the acting from the dude portraying him (but, then, Havok should have died as well - immediately, keeled over dead, on the spot. Maybe Banshee too. And that so-called Angel - definitely a fallen one who does in fact briefly side with Sebastian Shaw's Hellfire's Club. What a terrible character - worse than that Darwin dude, by a mile! What an atrocious actress, too! But we are digressing now...)

To tell the truth, the young actor portraying Darwin here isn't half-bad, especially according to his credentials heading into this project - it is not his fault that he reminds me of a reject from the eighties TV drama "Fame"... (Hmm - the eighties are a recurring theme all of a sudden here? More on that, too - later on!)

Then there's the Hellfire Club's new recruit, "Riptide" - who impresses, I must say; but wasn't that another TV drama from the eighties, "Riptide"? The guy looks like that show's lead actor's long lost bastard offspring too...! (Maybe I am stuck in eighties time loop or something - did a mutant do this to me? Huh?) Not sure what a riptide has to do with hellfire either - or how he got his club membership! Both Darwin and Riptide appear to have been new creations purposefully planted there to make things both more modern and more culturally-diversified: and that is a terrible thing. I have been out of the loop a while and missed out on so-called hot new characters, but it seems to be what happened here since I do not recall either character from the old or recent comic-bookies - at all!

Mercifully, more mutants could not be reached for assistance of any kind during this one. The plot would have really been chaotic then!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention some surprise cameo during the recruitment drive; a very recognizable one - and one that unceremoniously tells both Charles and Erik to **** off (in even worse terms than that, if you can believe! X-Men: First Class is definitely not a movie for the kids, people - and not just because of gruesome deaths and nazi content either! Language, folks, language! Mutants seem to have a foul one, aye... Not that you have to be a mutant to speak like that; New Yorkers prove it on a daily basis. But that is another story: let's stick to the film here. Some of the lines are simply atrocious (tis a blessing for Flemyng that he has nearly none to deliver, almost!) The result is neither worthy of ranking first in whatever category that might be found; nor is it classy one iota! And they say this is the next step in human evolution? Please... A better allegory, anyone? But let's just move away from this aspect now...) Truly this movie would not have been complete without this special cameo - but then it poses another question about the logic of it all (more precisely: how could that guy have been around already, in the freaking sixties? How bloody old is he now, then?!? The obvious logical answer beckons thee all, fanboys and true believers: don't expect any logic in Marbles' heads!)

And speaking of logic, what of the Nazis' helmets?! It is impossible not to note that a blatant error originally made in the first X-Men movie in 2000 was actually REPEATED in this one - for sheer continuity's sake? (Remember - Marvel always gets things right the first time! NOT. Granted, according to IMDB anyway, these types of errors are quite possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers in order to spruce up the action - but then the question arises whether it should be labeled as misinformation pure and simple!) In the first scenes where the Jews arrive at the concentration camp, the SS guards are wearing steel helmets. However, it was standard practice in the German army (or the SS) to wear such helmets only in combat situations. Taking in and sorting the Jews is not a combat situation. The SS guards at the concentration camps usually wore so-called "garrison caps," not steel helmets. And so the steel helmets are on again as young Erik meets the bogus Nazi scientist (Sebastian Shaw in disguise - shhhh!) and, conveniently, young Erik can vent his anger and frustration upon these two Nazi guards who just witnessed his mother's murder (spoilers, spoilers!) but had nothing to do with it - for it was Shaw who shot his mother! If the Nazis had been wearing anything else, they would have been relatively safe from young Erik power display and the scene would have suffered for it, lost some of its impact - that would be the director's excuse. But, excuse me, wasn't that scene kind of lame to begin with as it ends with a suddenly pacified Erik, when his mother's murderer is standing right there, at his mercy? Shouldn't he have tried to kill him right there and then? Just asking...

One final note about the cast and we're through with this: my old fave, Oliver Platt! Cast as "the Man In Black" in this one, nothing less (but not a cool one like Will Smith or even Tommy Lee Jones, no) Platt's character is a necessary one that bridges the huge gap between Xavier's mutants and the government (did I say gap? I meant chasm!) and what is his reward for this groundbreaking work? He meets an ignominious (not to mention hasty, disappointing and unceremonious) end courtesy of Azazel's not-so-ingenious (very primitive and crude, in fact) use of his teleportation powers... All I have to say is that the best Porthos of all-time (sorry Frank Finlay!) deserves better treatment than this, no matter what film he's in! He wasn't so poorly manhandled in anything else that I remember seeing him featured in - not even in that WCW movie years ago...! But that is, again, another (not-so-marvelous) story...

With all that in mind - let's watch the trailer (again) now:

'X-Men: First Class' was released on June 3rd (although they had said 2nd, at first?) and has, so far (yeah - it is still in some theaters - and on airplanes' entertainment menus too) done very well - better than rival DC's Green Lantern Corps!

The official synopsis, as presented months ahead of the release, read as such: 'X-Men First Class' charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.
Zero mention of the Club on the premises or on set. Odd. In fact this is further evidence that Marvel didn't get it right that famous and proverbial "first time" - because Magneto's ridiculous "Brotherhood" (made up of such illustrious members as "Mastermind" and "Toad") was not only extremely inept but really called "the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants". Sheesh! Paste-Pot Pete should have joined... Thanks to the major revision of this movie's script, the Brotherhood is, de facto, the New Hellfire's Club - nothing less. Magneto's equally ridiculous helmet being ultimately repainted crimson and sporting two (also ridiculous) little horns, it befits, in a very odd kind of way, the whole Hellfire's Club mystique (no pun intended - at all) that Marvel has so desperately tried to siphon into the MutantFest ever since the introduction of Sebastian Shaw's character in the 1980s...! The fact is that all of these so-called "super-villains" are, of course, faint avatars echoing the recognized greatest source of evil of all - the devil himself. Who better to lead an Hellfire's Club than someone who (quite suddenly though) takes a fancy to wearing crimson capes, to garbing himself all red, and to explore his darkest desires in a myriad ways...? Magneto (no matter how silly the name - it is still better than Electro, "Doctor Doom" and other Kangs...!) has it in his character to be one of the greatest of his genre. Too bad he is, at times, such a sad parody of the devil itself, fallen from grace and wishing nothing more than to see others share his saddest of fates...

Nevertheless, Magneto, or rather Erik Lehnsherr, carries this entire movie upon his shoulders - and he carries it all the way to the bank.

This movie also has the distinction of serving as the means to consecrate the reunion of another team of Brits - the boyband Take That - whose latest hit song is used in the end credits only. The prodigal son (prodigal brother?) has returned to the fold (that is Robbie Williams, of course) and the whole is definitely greater than the sum of the parts. Verily, it could be said that Take That's members evoke quite a lot the male characters from ITC's Champions too - shorty's Gaunt and Robbie's Stuart Wilson - sorry, Robbie! But let us focus, in closing, on the song that links the two groups of entities here: mutants and boyband members, that is! Said hit song does tons of things here: some of the lyrics seem to invoke the movie's plotline indeed. The melody is of a typically tongue-in-cheek Brit flavour that would have made Steed, Peel and the real Hellfire's Club smile, for sure. Most of all, the song is overall so damn good (despite certain minor flaws - just like the movie, in fact) that it is not too much to say that it effectively expiates the many sins of a thousand boybands throughout the world (most specifically Take That, of course) as it shows what EVOLUTION can indeed do, even for boybands... Listen to it while you read the lyrics too (here - not here. The latter morons -not mutants- cannot seem to make the difference between "your" and "you" - not when they hear it with a thick British accent they don't! It exasperates - almost as much as the reference to the Son of Man without capitalization - while other things are capitalized. Even more laughable was the fact that they misheard "we're not too far we're too near" as "we're not too far we're down here"...! Down where - in hell? Azazel and the Club sure look like it, sure, but... However, the numerous other references to the movie's plot in the song suffice, really, and there was no need to insert one about Gehenna on top of that. Blame it all on ignorance, fear of the unknown or most probably what humanity really should dread these days: de-evolution. But that's another story - and for another blog, you've guessed it, again!)

Here are two versions of the video for the song - one standard (X-free!) and one intercut with scenes from the movie. And, as a luminous bonus here, the lyrics of it, right in-between - as corrected by me! Enjoy...

"Love Love" by Take That
(C) 2011 Polydor Ltd. (UK)

You bring me right back down to the Earth from the Promised Land
We’re getting close to the center of the Earth with an honest plan
You’ll never be your mother or your father do you understand
UNTIL you understand

We don’t have too much time here
And time it travels far too fast
We’re not too far we’re too near
Before they take it from our hands

Why don’t you teach your heart to feel
And give your love love
Give your love love
Give it all away
Why don’t you teach your heart to talk
And give your love love
Give your love love
Give me give me what I need

We’ll take you right back down to the earth from the Motherland
This is a first class journey from the Gods to the Son of Man
You’re at the gates of human evolution don’t you understand
Why don’t you understand (understand)

We don’t have too much time here
And time it travels far too fast
We’re not too far we’re too near
Before they take it from our hands

Why don’t you teach your heart to feel
And give your love love
Give your love love
Give it all away
Why don’t you teach your heart to talk
And give your love love
Give your love love
Give it all away
Why don’t you teach your heart to feel
And give your love love
Give your love love
Give it all away
Why don’t you teach your heart to talk
And give your love love
Give your love love
Give me give me what I need

We don’t have too much time here
And time it travels far too fast
We’re not too far we’re too near
Before they take it from our hands

Why don’t you teach your heart to feel
And give your love love
Give your love love
Give it all away
Why don’t you teach your heart to talk
And give your love love
Give your love love
Give it all away
Why don’t you teach your heart to feel
And give your love love
Give your love love
Give it all away
Why don’t you teach your heart to talk
And give your love love
Give your love love
Give me give me what I need
(C) 2011 Polydor Ltd. (UK)

With all that, we can safely say that it is another freaking British Invasion going on - forget the muties and the freaks! Then again, such things are reoccurring with less and less frightening regularity - so no panic must be launched, really.

In fact, watching the videos above (both the X-Men free version, for all regular users out there, as well as that containing scenes form the film) makes one thing painfully clear: there are mutants out there. Yes, there sure are! And Take That inadvertently (I'm quite sure) hit upon it during the making of their videoclip for "Love Love" - the truth of it all is that the mutants are to be found nowhere else than in the fashion industry! Jean-Paul Gaultier is the real-life Professor X! (The mutant seen on the preceding link is truly a virtual clone of those seen in the Take That video - only the color of the outrageous costume has changed... All of Gaultier's entourage is eeriely close to Xavier's students! The evidence is clear, I say!)

If these are not mutants - I'm not a blogger!
Photo Credits: TallulahDoll.Com

Aye - support the mutant folk: feed a fashionista!

X-Men: First Class should be followed by a Dropouts chapter and finally a Graduation Party Massacre to conclude the trilogy in typical Marvel style.

The numbers (on top of the critics) are very encouraging for everyone involved - and there is little doubt that the trilogy will continue. All we have to do is have a peek at the "official" tallies at the box-office for all of those X-Flicks and you will see that history is indeed repeating itself here:

Box office performance
Film Release date Box office revenue Box office ranking Budget Reference
Worldwide United States United States International Worldwide All time United States All time worldwide
X-Men August 2000 July 14, 2000 $157,299,717 $139,039,810 $296,339,527 #191 #257 $75,000,000 [110]
X2: X-Men United May 1, 2003 May 2, 2003 $214,949,694 $192,761,855 $407,711,549 #97
#190(A) #136 $110,000,000 [111]
X-Men: The Last Stand May 25, 2006 May 26, 2006 $234,362,462 $224,997,093 $459,359,555 #74
#188(A) #97 $210,000,000 [112]
X-Men Origins: Wolverine May 1, 2009 May 1, 2009 $179,883,157 $193,179,707 $373,062,864 #143 #157 $150,000,000 [113]
X-Men: First Class June 3, 2011 June 3, 2011 $146,317,920 $206,208,385 $352,526,305 #225 #187 $160,000,000 [114]
Total $932,812,950 $956,186,850 $1,888,999,800 $705,000,000
List indicator(s)

(A) indicates the adjusted totals based on current ticket prices (calculated by Box Office Mojo). Courtesy of Wikipedia.

Independently from those numbers, I'd grade X-Men: First Class higher than all previously released X-movies. It was better directed, more interesting (the Nazi and secret history element is invaluable) and, for the most part, better acted too. McAvoy and Fassbender are far better thespians than Hugh Jackman will ever be! Vaughn is a better director than Singer too.

On a scale from 1 to 10, this film should indeed rate a 6 - just like IMDB gives it (more or less!)

Me, I like the movie so much just because it was the only thing of value that I got from an airplane ride on Air France in 2011 - the service was miserable, the food barely adequate (that Camembert - yeccchh! They sure can stick it...!) and the delays far too excessive... But the entertainment was OK - with this film topping the list. And thus, for me, the song at the end of it (LoveLove - duh) will always be identified with an Air France flight (never mind the number) - one that sorely tested my patience. For time travels far too fast - but such is not the case for Air France. Trying to teach my heart to feel... and to talk while refraining from letting, shall we say, other organs take over the conversation was quite the test of willpower, let me tell you that. But wait a second - willpower, that's the other super-hero's schtick; Green Lantern... Been there, done that - and, anyway, all of this is another story... for another blog.

The X-Men will return, though... Just like James Bond.

The Art Of Talking The Talk

2011-07-14T08:25:00.001-07:00

Sorry to break it to you so abruptly: but back to wrestling we go again here. Sorry! But it cannot be helped: the moribund catacombs of old-time wrestling are chock-full of examples that illustrate extremely (!) well what we are talking about here...

First of all, it stands to reason to make the following statement: that, clearly, wrestling (or rather the modern day form of entertainment that incorporates, repackages and commercializes, as best as it can possibly be, the ancient form of competitive athleticism called wrestling) is indeed a good allegory for many aspects of life - as well as many artforms too!

Now, it is a given that talking a good talk is KEY to achieving a great many things in life - it can make or break a deal, any kind and any imaginable type of deal there is! Talking a good talk is an expression born in America - where deals are made every second, or so it seems. The expression reeks and defines an artform all of its own; and there's no denying that it applies to a million aspects of one's existence.

It is also well-known and well-chronicled that Nature Boy Ric Flair was (may still be) one of the greatest to ever had TALKED THE TALK - as is evidenced in this short 40 second-long snippet of excerpts taken from the glory days of the NWA (circa mid-1980s):

That boastful tone, those over-the-top claims, that arrogance - it is all part of talking a very good talk! Of course, it is exaggerated; of course it is too much - it is all part of a show, after all. A milder version of that, with the just the right dosage of self-assurance and pride, will get anyone at the very least NOTICED, in the cutthroat asphalt jungle out there. And that is all you want, in the beginning - then the next step follows and that is called *backing it all up* - or walking the walk! But that is another story...

When you compare all that to another guy - namely Shane Douglas - a guy among a myriad of other guys who have emulated the preceding one but this particular emulacre has a certain, dare we say, flair that sets him apart from the rest of them... For all the Jarretts, Jerichos, Landells, Martels, Rudes, Roodes, Hennigs, Levesques and more that have attempted to become the next Nature Boy, Douglas has shown a composure all his own. A style all his own. An attitude all his own. And all this while challenging, time and again, throughout his career, the inspirational model upon which he molded himself. Watch and listen to what he has to say now:

Actually, this was way back in the early-to-mid 1990s, really - and the imitative *franchise* has now completely changed his career - but that is another story.

The speech delivered quite masterfully in the above video did not suffice to salvage the wrestling career that Douglas had going back then. And yet it baffles all logic - for this is the epitome of the consummate entertainer in that field. He showed great entertainment value in just under ten minutes, with nothing other than his words and imagination. His eloquence reached the zenith as he challenged not one but two opponents at once. He evoked history and likened himself to the greatest of athletes with an impromptu reference to the Ancient Phoenician temples and the Holy of Holies (well, not so impromptu of course: such a speech was researched, written in several drafts, rehearsed beforehand too... But we digress.) And his delivery of such a speech was extremely (no pun intended) convincing as well - needless to emphasize. For some, it is just too much - since, for the average wrestling fan, these are pearls gone unappreciated. The substance is lost on three quarters of the audience, easily. However, all will recognize that this individual is different from the pack - his words far more evocative than any other competitor's (save, perhaps, the likes of Arn Anderson -on the day he evoked the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse- and Larry Zbyszko -on the day he likened a certain tall guy to the Antichrist on Nitro- and both were, coincidentally, hailed as the *thinking man's wrestlers* when they were a tag-team known as The Enforcers, circa 1992. But we're digressing once more...) And there is no denying that this man has scope - something seriously lacking from the other guys, usually so focused on themselves in an extremely (once again, no pun intended) unhealthy narcissistic way...

Alas, the narcissism aspect is all Flair - although the first video here is an extremely (...) short montage, not much longer than thirty seconds, it does summarize the majority of Ric Flair's speeches. His promos were all egocentric in format and content - even those where he would spend considerable time dissecting and cutting through all of his opponents' many flaws...

In life as in any professional circle there is, if you do not mean to entertain and mean to be taken seriously, you do not "flaunt what you've got" ceaselessly like this. Even politicians who will continue on a barrage of all the reasons why they should get your vote and not the other candidate, will rather focus on the other guy's negatives than overdo it on their alleged positives...

It is a detriment to oneself to stick to the same note, ad nauseam - just as it is doing yourself an injustice by limiting your arsenal or palette of moves/weapons/acts/strokes and overusing the same ones, over and over again... To only go with what you are most comfortable with, all the time, eventually makes you go stale and, well, extremely (!) predictable. And that is just too bad when it can be so easily avoided - if you simply take time to extrapolate a little bit, draw upon an unlikely analogy from Ancient Times, drawing a parallel with today with that - whether it drives the point across or not. Then again, the guy who did this soon had to reorient his career in a totally different field; but that, again, is another story... It shouldn't influence you on your willingness to talk the talk - or, eventually, walk the walk, also...!

Just keep in mind that self-centeredness, redundancy and plain arrogance is just too much. Keep it simple - that is the best way to go! Keeping it short and direct to the point, also - cut to the chase, always! In that light, neither Douglas nor Flair are good role-models, really...

Ah yes - for those inquiring (if not outright inquisitive) minds out there who are curious enough to wonder if there was any resolution to the running feud between Ric Flair and Shane Douglas, here is how it nearly got resolved - with a lot of outside interference.

With all that has been said and written, though - you must still remember this: never disrespect Ric Flair (even when he needlessly repeats himself, makes a clown of himself or tarnishes his very own alleged legacy...)

You must remember this as well: a kiss is just a kiss. The kiss-stealing, limousine-riding, jet-flying, wheeling-dealing son-of-a-gun that Ric Flair still is could agree on that, too! But that is also another story...

Sempre Por O Melhor
;-)

GL In 3D - wowee

2011-06-17T18:28:00.000-07:00

Who knew that, once this venerable old school super duper hero of old would finally get his own movie, something that was unthinkable in the Christopher Reeve days and even more so in the Adam West days (yikes), he would be benefiting from the latest Hollywood craze in terms of enhanced entertainment value?

For, truly folks, years ago thinking that there would be, one day, a Green Lantern movie released in theaters using the 3D technology, was pure folly indeed. You might as well dream of seeing a Silver Surfer flick all made out of CGI (which was extremely hard to predict since CGI, computer-generated imagery, is such a relatively NEW TOY as it is for filmmakers today) or wish for a Justice League ensemble cast featuring, basically, the cast of Ocean's Eleven as the World's Greatest Super-Heroes? You might even dream of seeing obscure comic-book characters like Kilowog, Sinestro and Tomar-Re brought to life on the big screen, while you're at it - or an entire feature featuring a CGI Hulk - ha! Oh, wait a minute...

Anyways... GREEN LANTERN has arrived, for better and for worse (knowing DC, it is always both) so if you want to see old-fashioned super-heroics, just slightly retooled for the tastes of the day, sparkled with just a zest of campiness for good old times' sake (that's the way DC accustomed us to it, you know it) - go for it! Guy Rayner... no, Kyle Gardner... that's not it, dammit... Hal Jordan; that's the guy! Although he was D-E-A-D dead, just a short time ago? But he obviously got all recovered from that and now he has his own MOVIE! Yay. Casual fans though (and they all are, nowadays) cannot even remember the hero's true name anymore - so forget about anyone remembering his arch-nemeses, fellow Corps members or that unnecessarily-long oath that he seems to have to speak each time he dons the ring, let alone the costume...! (We are a long way from simple formulas à la "Wonder Twins Powers - Activate!", "Power Rangers - er, Attack?" or "Flame On"...! No, it is nothing like that - for it originates from the Silver Age, folks...!

Having said all that - I am not like the typical forgetful fanboy here.
I remember!

I only had to hear it/read it ONCE - and it stayed with me forevermore!
Just like the classic Aquaman intro: "Aquaman - King of the Seven Seas! Able to summon and command every creature of the deep!" (...). Or the nearly-iconic Six Million Dollar Man intro: "Steve Austin, astronaut. (...) Gentlemen, we have the means to rebuild this man. Make him stronger, faster." (Cue in the music!) I may paraphrase, but it is not out of disdain as I confess to have for the Power Rangers there...! It is out of sheer creative retrospective embellishment, 20/20 hindsight...! Yes!

And so, that annoying oath, I REMEMBER IT AND I CAN RECITE IT - without copying and pasting either! (And do not even think to infer that watching the clip above refreshed my memory about it!)

In Brightest Day
In Blackest Night
No Evil Shall Escape My Sight
Let Those Who Worship Evil's Might
Beware My Power - Green Lantern's Light!

A bit self-serving as far as oaths go, but hey - who else will praise this guy's virtues these days? The Didiot of DC? Geoff Johns? The ghosts of Gil Kane and Jim Aparo? That's about it, right?

GL isn't even all that powerful in the Light department - he just isn't the brightest bulb in the JLA pack; everyone knows that! But he is the closest thing that DC has got that amalgamates (here is that accursed word again! Come back to haunt all the geekboys - again! Boo-hoo.) withering super-heroics and Star Wars/Star Trek style space operatics! And so he got the nod over The Flash, The Ray, Doctor Fate, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Captain "Shazam" Marvel, Captain Atom, Captain Carrot and many more!

SO there it is - GL - try and enjoy the show (because there will be no sequels!)

;)

Super 8 / Super Bowl - Supers Cancel Each Other Out...

2011-02-08T07:42:00.001-08:00

Amazing to see all the hoopla over not much at all indeed - such as the trailers for a pile of wasted celluloid ripe of tired old ideas, pathetic twists on them and CGI.

Take for example what we saw on this past week-end's dear Super Bowl event - the best one of all might have been this one right here:

And it doesn't even show much of anything at all!

For mum was the word, you see, for this year's salvo of trailers: no one wanted to give away all that much, certainly not more than they absolutely had to give away for free. Thus, people just got to see tidbits and flashes of sequences from all the would-be blockbusters such as 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon', 'Captain America: The First Avenger', 'Thor', 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' and 'Super 8' – the hugely secretive Steven Spielberg/JJ Abrams film seen above that might be so very secretive because it might just... well... suck.

Other likely future bombs that were also showcased in less than 30 seconds flat during the Super Bowl ad breaks included Adam Sandler's 'Just Go With It', 'Kung Fu Panda 2' and the latest 'Fast and Furious' movie (what - another one! Five of them now - count'em, five!)

Lest we forget the most ridiculous of all - 'Cowboys & Aliens', in which James Bond and Indiana Jones team up to battle extra-terrestrials in the Far West... My, who dreamed up this silliest of concepts and, worst of all, who thought it had to be made into a movie?!? Then again, gay cowboys was a terribly kitsch idea too and it actually won Oscars way back then, when the Prince of Persia was smooching with the Joker... Sheesh.

All this huge buzz surrounding most if not all of these flicks - and nothing may come out of it at all indeed (especially in the particular cases of Sore, I mean Thor - and Cap as well.) While you look at The Green Hornet which benefited from next-to-nothing as publicity and actually had word-of-mouth going for it (he can thank Kick-Ass for that!) and look at the results there: many weeks sitting on top of the box-office!

But of course, in any of these cases, you know what I am inferring and strongly suggesting right here and now, hmm: that all of this, ALL of it, is much ado about NOTHING AT ALL.

Nothing but an ever ongoing pernicious waste of celluloid, that is...

I've said my piece - or rather, I've written it!
;)

The Artform Of Remembrance

2010-12-31T15:40:00.000-08:00

One of the cultural highlights of the year, unquestionably
(as far as we here on the TLB Prime Network, and on S.A.S.A.O.A. more particularly, are concerned!) has got to be this one right here:

If you missed this concert - you missed something tremendous indeed! As reviewed here and on other blogs throughout this network of ours...

The Russian diva sang divinely well on that evening.

She even wrapped up this Basilique Notre Dame marquee concert with her rendition of "O Canada"! Remembering in what country she was - sublime!

What touched this particular audience member here was when she talked in-between two songs - likening the souls of the dead soldiers from World War I and onwards to birds flying through the skies above us - ever present, ever out of reach, all at once. Beautiful. And so true.

Remembrance was never so well-served as on that night, truly.

Bravissimo!

೧೨ ಡೇಸ್ ಆಫ್ ಸ್ಪೇಸ್-ಮೆಸ್ಸ್...?!?

2010-12-25T22:31:00.000-08:00

A special post guest-written by our good old friend Ackbar, surely...

'Tis that time of the year again...

''12 Days of Space-Mess'' that is...
Space-Mas, Space-Mess; what's the difference, eh?
(I think I just spoke in one of the 1001 alien dialects used in Lucas Productions over the years - but I am digressing right now...)

Space TV, better known as Space: The Imagination Station, is in the midst of its annual event called such; you can see its many promos for it by clicking here and you may see my personal favorite of them all by clicking on the picture below, which happens to be the picture of my favorite Star Wars character of all-time (he has looked and fared better than that too - but, yes, he has also looked much worse than that as well - like the time when he let Darth Vader slice him into oblivion...! But I am digressing once again here... Just click on the pic already!)

Thus, you've understood it and have heard it coming loud and clear; the unquestionable highlight of these messy proceedings in broadcasting is the umpteenth broadcast of STAR WARS: THE COMPLETE SAGA... Nothing else comes remotely close: not that insufferable Doctor Who and his Christmas Carol special (!), not that annoyingly self-sanctimonious Sanctuary; not that intolerable umpteenth Star Trek viewing penitence; certainly not the Zombie flicks all-in-a-row either! STAR WARS is where it's at - THIS IS THE SITH, BABY!

And that is exactly where it gets messy, unfortunately...

Why? Because Star Wars is precisely that: sith. Or siht. Or...

Let me explain myself: they make up a monumental, politically-complex (on the surface anyhow) SAGA revolving around a rip-off of a Knight Order, tack on robotics galore and self-derisive humor, add an extremely unhealthy dosage of dramatics and melodramatics even, mix in all manners and sorts of diluted references to every imaginable mythological epic as well as religious mythos there ever was *AND* they even have the guts to overindulge in the latest technology available today -CGI- in order to enhance it all beyond belief... *Whew!*

AND THEN... They simply blow it.

They basically made up a new style of devil in Darth Maul, to totally outperform their clone of Jesus Himself, Qui-Gon Jinn. Further more, they had called that clone *Jinn* - something never to be equated with the King of Kings - ever... Just ask some Klingons around - they are not hard to find either... Then George and his gang reveal that Qui-Gon Jinn had been a pupil to Christopher Lee's ''Count Dooku'' - who, despite the ridiculous name, remains, even in his old age, a tremendous dark screen presence just as he was back in the 1970s when he starred in Hammer horror classic films as Count Dracula. Thus, Dracula had instructed the clone of Jesus on how to be all that he could be - great going, George. Great Scott, Lucas - you couldn't begin to be more blasphemous if you had TRIED...!!! But I may be digressing yet again here...! So let's just move on here...

I did omit the all-important incriminating bit about George choosing to name his Jedi-that-turns-to-the-dark-side-of-the-Force... Anakin. A direct reference to the fallen angels of Judeo-Christianity; more precisely, a direct reference to the offspring of these fallen angels, as they came down to Earth and began "knowing women"... The results, The Holy Bible says, were the race (or mixed breed) of sufferers of gigantism called the Anakim! But that is another story... So Anakin should be perceived as some offspring of the heavenly attendant kind, which would immediately explain why he had such a concentrated portion of The Force within him when Qui-Gon discovers him... But all that is merely (not-so subtly) implied, of course - never directly referred to as a plausible, easy explanation of the facts (as it should be, in fact) because George is A) such a coward and B) George is such an anti-Christian!

Add to that hints at incest between brother and sister, needless (not to say aimless) mayhem and massacres all throughout the "SAGA" and a sense of each episode being nothing more than a long sequence of mishaps and mistakes that carry on through the entire movie and, somehow, move the so-called "SAGA" forward, without much progress really, each and every single time...

Put all these factors (and plenty more) together and you shall see exactly what I mean here: STAR WARS IS A MONUMENTAL MESS!

And, thanks to this special event over at Space, you can clearly see how messy it gets as the six flicks are all shown in a row and (at least) twice too; starting on December 24th and going all the way through the early hours of December 26th...!

Watch then and you will note that all of these gross exaggerations and aberrations will start standing out all by themselves: and that is definitely NOT a good sign...

For it means that the mess is now out of control - and no one, absolutely no one (and that includes George) can remedy to it anymore! Not even if they spend the rest of their lives releasing new CGI-improved versions every five years or so...!

This sith is out of whack - and they will never admit to that sad conjuncture now for that might imply that they might have had something to do with it getting to be that way in the first place...!!!

Imagine how bad the other crap is, though: Doctor Who, Sanctuary and the Zombies are considerably more pathetic themselves, each in their own way..... And there is nothing to add to the saddest case of all, Star Trek - just ask the Trekkies out there!

The home-made commercials remain little gems of publicity though: they are inventive and incorporate just the right amount of humor to help us all stomaching that atrocious stuff! (And atrocious it is - only the Toxic Avenger could surpass it in sheer atrocity-level, I tell you!)

The home-made commercials are ART, in fact - unpretentious pure ART! And you can admire them as such and admire them all here Just let yourself be delighted to see such creeps as Darth Vader, Boba Fett, the Stormtrooper and (especially) the loathsome Darth Maul make total douche bags of themselves - "douche bag" being an expression George would use and even affectionate, I am sure... But that is me digressing once again!

Whatever happened to the traditional 12 Days of Christmas, I wonder in all that... Commercialism and such did not stop at putting The Christ out of Christmas - they had to put in SPACE instead of Him...!!!

Space-Mas, Space-Mess...! JUST CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF, I SAY!

There are 1001 better ways to spend these 12 Days, I tell ya...!
Admiring TRUE ART is but one of them...
Start here.

;)

Concert Night: Or The Art Of Conquering Souls

2010-11-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

Natalia Orlova was in Montreal this November the 11th for a magnificent récital that reeked of nostalgia, sentiment and reverence appropriate for the month of Remembrance and the tradition of "Je Me Souviens"...
Dubbed as "the voice that will conquer your soul" she delivered on all fronts in the most veneered of all surroundings: the Notre-Dame de Montreal Basilica, that we simply dub as "La Basilique" of course, in an altruistic compassionate élan for this was not only her first concert for a Canadian audience but it was also a benefit concert for the Children's Center Mechta (mechta meaning dream.) This just as the concert was dedicated to World War II veterans as well.
We were there and, despite the distance of our seats and the lighting being not quite favorable to that, we could take some snap shots with the old cell phone if only to illustrate this humble review; now, resolution is never close to perfection with such photography but it will give you an idea of the spectacular mise en scène that surrounded the soul-conquering voice on that magical concert evening...!

As can be read on her own website, Natalia Orlova "is a classical singer and composer from St.Petersburg, Russia" - one who is equally at ease with classical material as with more contemporary sounds, as easily demonstrated by her own compositions (which can be sampled, again, on her website.)

She graduated from the Musical College of Rimskiy-Korsakov as a classical singer and then continued her higher professional education in the Theater Arts Academy on the department of the Musical Theater.
She started to give her first solo performances when she still studied at the second grade of the Musical College. Later she got the first price at the Francophone competition as the song writer for the songs that she composed and performed in French languages. So her first international concerts started in France.
There is no doubt, her vocal range impresses more than one professional of the same field and certainly captivates all music-lover's heart with her unique way to perform that touches the cords of the soul.
Winner of numerous competitions and festivals both in her native St. Petersburg and abroad, Natalia Orlova has collaborated with several important orchestras such as the State Academic Symphonic Orchestra, The Admiralty orchestra, The Orchestra of the Radio and Television, the orchestra "Peter the Great", etc...besides that, she also loves to often get involved and participate in charity projects...
Natalia Orlova can employ almost every vocal genres like classical operatic arias, the beautiful Russian folk songs, jazz, chanson, classic romances or romantic ballads of her personal composition.
She sang one of her personal compositions on November 11th, right here:

Наталья Орлова - as her name is truly spelled in her mother tongue - has got an angelic voice indeed. Her demeanor is that of a natural diva too; the way she made her entrance was veritably flamboyant as she walked down the main aisle at the perfect pace, carefully placing each step forward, advancing towards the improvised stage, so as to set the atmosphere for the entire evening which she handled masterfully indeed.

She alternated between classical and lyrical with ease and, after each piece, rousing applause and a few floral bouquets were only fitting as well as entirely required - for the souls of the audience had indeed been conquered by that time!

The lights illuminating the Basilique were alternating between colors most befitting of each piece and it all added to the magical atmosphere already permeating the august walls. With the aid of five local musicians (including the Basilica's own organ player) Natalia Orlova truly enchanted her audience. The piano, guitar, balalaica and violin only accentuated that enchantment - all instruments perfectly mastered by their respective musician, each so honored to be a part of the event.

So many memorable renditions and pieces: from Novikov's Nightingales to Zubov's "Don't Go Away" - from McCrae's "In Flanders' Field" to Schubert's classical aria "Ave Maria"...! And her own creation too: Natalia Orlova's own "Birch Tree" - do sample that one in particular on her website, you will be enchanted!

Her singing, heartfelt commentary between the songs and the all-around aura about her tell of a diva different from other divas: one who believes in God sincerely, knows it is a great Gift from Him that she received to be so musically gifted and that she has the role, in effect, to bridge the gap between Heaven and Earth with this talent for music.

Her special care and attention to focus upon the souls of the departed soldiers, right from the onset of the concert, was especially touching as much as it was à propos for us here on the TLB Prime Network - even more so, we could say, than her nice gesture to include her magnificent rendition of "ô Canada" as her finale for the evening! Verily, it was another admirable gesture on her part.

Oui, Je me souviendrai toujours... du concert "Je Me Souviens... From Russia With Love" de la DIVA de St-Pétersburg, Natalia Orlova!

Make sure that you click on each and every picture for a few extras both about the concert as from the diva herself.

And there is one from the Basilica itself right now:

Courtesy of Natalia Orlova herself

Spaciba!

The Art Of Selling Your Story...

2010-11-07T02:51:00.001-08:00

To be entertaining, engaging and, most of all, convincing - such is the art, the true art of selling your story to an audience!

Be it through film, music, on stage or in written form - you have to know how to get it through in the most effective manner, one that ensures that it has both made an impact upon the audience's collective psyche *and* registered on the "MUST-BUY-THIS" part of their brains!

The classic example of this remains professional wrestling, always:

In this type of product, they call it "cutting a promo" - and here is a true cut right now:

Note the interesting t-shirt that one Kevin Nash is wearing: WRITE*
"Sing. Imagine. Tell... Your Story!"

Entertainment is all about story-telling.

Now, with the examples showcased here, we have sports entertainment - a special brand of story-telling and tale weaving.

For, here, we have got penmanship always attempting to blur the lines between "kayfabe" and "shoot" - storyline and reality.

In a business that is so confused itself, since it is make-believe but involves very real dangers for thy physical well-being, its performers oftentimes unvoluntarily blur those lines without even trying to; case in point, the following:

And so, the story was sold - and we all believe that which has been said because our perception of it has been led to buy into it.

We bought into this "honor" of being inducted into a bogus hall of fame (any hall of fame can be deemed bogus for it all is but vanity, mind you - but that is another story) and we believe every word to be sincere for it is an inductee such as Ric Flair.

They have many words for that, really; fine performance, convincing portrayal, effective delivery of lines...

Suspension of disbelief is another.

And it sells.
Apparently...

Une Soirée Au Théãtre...!

2010-10-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

1910 - back when women kicked major @$$...!

Aye - twas a fine evening of refinement at the theater; the famed théãtre du Rideau Vert, to be more specific. An evening of fine art.
Or rather an afternoon - not an evening at all, because the dernière (opposite of premiere) of the play was at 4pm - Eastern Standard Time!

And the play was... bitter Gorki (boy - that is redundant! But purposefully so - so it goes!) revisited by Russian metteur en scène extraordinaire Alexandre Marine's version of VASSA! Of course - who better than a Russian to adapt and modernize another Russian's masterpiece? And, I must say, the old Mariner of the stage did a masterful modernized adaptation of this classic - and just in time for its 100th anniversary too! (100th anniversary - and third collaboration between him and the stage diva of the stage that stars in it!) An adaptation so innovative too, different from previous takes on it in so many ways...

Of course the entire enterprise is well-served by a cast that is as colorful Éas it is well-trained; starting with the matriarch herself, perfectly embodied by the local diva of the Canadian stage (on the Quebec side, anyhow) Sylvie Drapeau! From there, Marine found all the suitable thespians to surround her solidly and effectively: Catherine De Léan, Jean-François Casabonne, Marc Paquet, Hubert Proulx and Evelyne Brochu, to name but them.

It was not difficult to see the reason why, mid-way through this run, Sylvie Drapeau had to take a few days rest, on doctor's orders. For it is indeed a very physical play in which virtually everyone on stage has to get physical at some point or another: dance numbers, so many elaborate choreographies worthy of a music video that have to be repeated day after day, not to mention the fight scenes and other types of physicality as well... (On two occasions, at least, the matriarch Vassa is found slamming her hands hard on the wooden table visibly made of massive oak. On another occasion, earlier in the play, she smashes a tea cup with a hammer that appears in her hands out of nowhere! She slaps her daughter-in-law, her maiden servant and her son on three different altercations. She wrestles with her lover, trying to wrangle free of his strong arms as he lifts her effortlessly - aye, I was impressed by the strength of the stocky goateed man! But that is another story... In the near finale, with all characters on stage, it looks like a battle royale as a brawl erupts and the deformed nephew is found kicking his promiscuous uncle into oblivion! 'Tis a very violent play, I tell you; or rather Marine's adaptation focuses on the violence more than others ever did before! But I am digressing now... Yet again...) All this to say that, most certainly, all of this extra exercise added to the already exhausting mental gesticulation of having to memorize and articulately deliver each and every line, every single time, it had to be more than enough to drain Mrs. Drapeau of all of her creative energy - for a time! At least long enough to justify "le repos forcé" and the cancellation of a handful of représentations... (More than two - as many as five, or so I heard through the grapevine...?)

I sincerely doubt that the play was delivered every bit as well as it was on October the 16th - especially on premiere night, the actors must have been still at phase one of fine tuning their roles. The characterization was only planned out at that stage - not put in use in any other context than one of a repetition. After weeks of this fine tuning process, they can only improve with each performance. On the final evening (or afternoon, yes) the best had to come out; due to both factors.

Thus I sincerely hope that they videotaped the performance that I saw live, on October 16th, with my beloved spouse. It was, verily, a fine evening of the arts - in the afternoon, granted, but everyone could have an early dinner for that fact! And an earlier Saturday night brewski for that matter - but that is another story... again!

Comic Booky Flicks Are IN!

2010-10-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

Who said that comic-books had to be about super heroes in ridiculously colorful tights - and that the movies that would try to adapt them had to be just as unrealistic and flat as the source material oftentimes is doomed to be? Nowadays, it simply does not have to be so! Not when the funny books have ways to circumvent the sad realities of the past -recent past too, of course- and, to do so, churn out rather side-effect side-projects onto the silver screen rather than faithfully adapt thinly-crafted silver age metaphors...! But let us not get into that right now - hmm?

Look at DC - not Warner Bros, but truly DC Comics, yes! Just a few short years ago they served up such monumental dreck as Catwoman and an animated feature starring Wonder Woman (not to mention a bunch of them starring... Batman. Again. Ugh.)
All in a barely sustained effort to show their corporative muscle and keep up with the allegedly smaller Marvel Entreprises which is, without support from a mighty juggernaut such as Warner Brothers, pumping out adaptations of their entire roster, one at a time! From the atrocious Ghost Rider to the inept Iron Man and onwards to Captain America and the Avengers; they are not stopping trying to flesh out their entire prime roster. While DC countered timidly with a stinky Superman reboot, a smelly Dark Knight, a rotten-to-the-core Watchmen and some odd choices in-between (including Jonah Hex, of all oddities...!)
However, DC has something the competitor does not readily have - a sub imprint! With Vertigo and other even odder lines of short-lived wastes of paper (mercifully - for the potential readers, not just for the forests) the big corporative entity known as DC can, at least in theory, find something that might hit the jackpot. Eventually. Maybe. And with the creation of DC Entertainent, thye can actively dip into the bank of characters that they own in order to try and create something viable at least in terms of straight to DVD. I mean, they tried with LXG. They tried again with V For Vendetta. And then they gave us The Losers.

The latest attempt is simply titled RED - and it features like a reunion party for Hollywood,s old guard - alas, for DC. (Keep trying, what can I tell ya...)
Have a look...

So, you can go for that Dirty Half-Dozen of Reservoir Tinseltown Has-Beens.
Or go for something visibly inspired, at some point, by ARCHIE, BETTY AND VERONICA...

At least there are some true gems, once in a blue moon, that are undeniably inspired by comic-books but present it in such a way that you can only appreciate it with genuine glee and applaud the effort - KICK-ASS comes to mind.

Alas, for all the Kick-Asses, there will always be a bunch of Mystery Men that are so painfully lame that all they do is insure the death of the four-color world rather than bring it more fans thanks to its inception into the Seventh Art...
(Ohh - did I say INCEPTION? Bah... never mind that now; it was a flash-in-the-pan... Wait - did I say the FLASH? HA - forget it!!!)

;)

Of course, quite ironically so, the best renditions are oftentimes delivered by the totally fake fan-made editing jobs...!

And if all else fails - there is always the amalgamated movie/videogame combo:

Top Ten Artsy Things You DO NOT Want To See/Hear/Read... When Going On Your Vacation!

2010-08-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

As you may be reading this, folks, Luminous Luciano will be Live In The Air - Lord Knows exactly how many miles above the ground (or the sea) and well on his way for his much-awaited, highly-anticipated European Tour! Hence, how else to celebrate this crossing of the ocean (the Atlantic, yes) then by whimsically laughing at the expense of the grim reaper itself and boldly challenge fate itself in the process! Way to go kicking off a vacation for the ages - eh? I think so myself - thanks! Muito obrigado! ;)

Thus, in that light and in that spirit, the first artsy creation you do not want to behold when in a plane, on your way to your much-needed vacation is...

... the movie FINAL DESTINATION. Or any of its sequels - it goes without saying! Ever seen the original movie -and by far the most effective one- huh? This is surprisingly powerful cinematography, in this blase day and age, let me tell you so much! The fact that I have seen this flick and still boarded my plane should be meritorious enough in and by itself...!

The second thing one does want to HEAR, this time... is a Paul Janz song that goes like this:

AND YET... I woke up, a mere few HOURS before the flight with just this tired old favorite of a song in my head... and the sound of airplanes in the background too! (Hey - I slept in the airport, awaiting ever-so anxiously my departure from this wretched continent that I was born on - okay? Sue me - willya?!?)

Let us move ON...!

The third thing that you certainly do not want to be caught READING, this time, would be...Candide! Or The Unsinkable Molly Brown! Or the autobiography of one Martin Grey - or any other book in which the main protagonist embarks a long journey of trials and tribulations... that sometimes ends without any reward whatsoever at the end. That should eliminate only about 60% of modern fiction, though - for, up until very recently indeed, the majority of written fiction was plagued with the HAPPY ENDING SYNDROME... And who wants that, really, huh? Nowadays, NO ONE wants to be trialed or under pressure of any kind whatsoever - au contraire, everyone wants their cake pronto, and they will eat it too! No time to waste merely *getting there* - no way! But that is another story, indeed...

So then... to get back to our chief concern right now... what to do, see, listen to, read or simply tune in to, during all of those long hours of this cross-Atlantic flight...?

Hmm... Well, it is simple, really... I shall simply tune in to *she* that accompanies me...! ;)
And that shall be all that I will need to see/hear/*readout* during the whole time we are suspended in that fearful altitude... Nos vies en suspens...! Meu Deus Do Ceu - que tenha piedade de nos dois!

Amen!
:)

+++

Alice...!

2010-08-14T10:27:00.000-07:00

How many *Alice Epics* has there been already...

Everyone who ever thought that Milla Jovovich had found the role that suited her best (far better than that of Joan of Ark; that is for sure!) was definitely RIGHT...

Only question is, now... after extinction and, now, afterlife, is there any more Resident Evil left...?

Maybe the only sage who could answer that would be... Alice Cooper!!!

And it's not even the only Alice we could ask,

these days, in Tinseltown...

Great Scott!

2010-08-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

At least if it was a typical John Hughes flick about teenagers in revolt...
THEN it would make sense! But all it is, here, is a kid battling a legion of former boyfriends of his new hottie of a girlfriend who's evidently... been around!? Now that IS NOT "the whole blamed world" to fight... hopefully... lest she's REALLY been around... the globe... several times... in about eighty MONTHS, perhaps? But I am digressing now...

Bottom line, this Scott isn't so great - and besides, John Hughes is dead so he's not around to show comic-book nerds what a revolting teenager is really supposed to be like!

The Art Of Winning Is Everything... Right? Wrong-Oh!

2010-06-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

As one final came to an end and another saw itself hit another minor snag that will inevitably prolong it (but they called it "an emotional win" for Derek Fisher, that most notable of "winners" too, who "led" his team even though they are supposed to have two "dominating superstars" to do that on that team's roster - that being the Lakers team. And they called it that on the worthier team's website too; the Boston Celtics' website! Ah - the wonders of journalism, sometimes; but that is another story!) we, here, at SASAOA pause to marvel about the definitive concept of "winning" and whether it is truly close to being "everything" at all...!

Take the case of a Chris Pronger - that big bully of a guy! He threads on thin ice all year long, making enemies in every town he plays in, except those towns he happens to being playing for at any given time; he doesn't do much else, but he was labeled a "winner" too, due to the fact that he was well-surrounded on that Anaheim team that won it all and then happened to figure prominently (being the tallest goofball\douchebag on a team of ruffians that emulated rather well their BroadStreet Bulliying forefathers of yesteryear...)

And yet, Pronger was the focus of the camera as THE most notable LOSER, when the Chicago Blackhawks stunned "a sea of orange" Philly fans, Pronger's team of the moment -the Philadelphia Flyers- and their motivational speaker-coach, Peter Laviolette, with a great goal in overtime that ended their cinderella run that was far more than merely "improbable"... The silly Philly rag-tag bunch (that oftentimes reminded me of a modern-day Slap Shot remake) revived their orange-clad fans' interest (only to have it crushed in the most bitter way of all - with a Finals loss on their home ice - ugh!) with a very improbable domination of the New Jersey Devils in the first round, an even more improbable comeback-from-the-edge-of-abyss snatching of victory-from-the-jaws-of-defeat versus the Boston Bruins and then an easy march all over the measly Montreal Canadiens who had (VERY improbably too) helped the Flyers look so good in the semi-finals by ousting the two teams that should have made it there; either the Washington Capitals or the Pittsburgh Penguins! The latter team being the previous year's defending champ, a state neighbour and equally full of itself made it so much more enjoyable for the sea of orange to BELIEVE - beieve that it was their turn, this year, to rejoice in the WINNING! And then they meet a team that truly BELONGED in the Finals - and it was over in six games (and could have been over in four, believe you me...!)

Chapeau to the Chicago upstarts; for, though Byfuglien, Kane and Toews are still wet behind the ears and all, their gutsy victory in game six overtime, and subsequent parading around the ice rink, reminded much of the Stanley Cup clinching victory of the mighty Boston Bruins of 1972 over a hapless bunch of New York Rangers and their fans! The fans, specifically, were so much the same mass of unhappy, shocked and humiliated faces; my, you could have sworn they were the same people...! They got to celebrate the victory on enemy soil and then they will get to bring the trophy back to "sweet home Chicago" - for the first time in 49 years...! Bobby Hull's fossilized remains will be proud...

But for the life of us here at SASAOA, it is all about the anguished look on the face of Chris Pronger - one who reeks of the fact that the man there has yet to learn that winning cannot be everything because winning is so elusive, so fleeting; and then it's gone. And besides, no so-called "winner" with good sense will ever claim to have done "everything" - just ask the Boston Celtics' fans who, despite all the banners, still hunger for more: banner 18... 19... 20...

Winning cannot be everything but nothing lasts forever; after the celebrations subside, they will realize that too, in Chicago. A whole new season starts with training camp in September and the accomplishments of the previous playoff run are but a dim memory in the fickle mind of the average fan; for you are only as good as your most recent performance! Pronger should at least know THAT by now...

(AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

Enjoy your summer golf, Chris!

:)

Hee-Hah Hex

2010-06-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

I simply had to double-post the following - here and on my oft-neglected Flixster thang *lol*

My, oh my - after the LXG, the Losers and Catwoman, DC goes with old man Jonah Hex...! They must have a bad case of corporate peer pressure, wanting to match the diversification of film projects Marvel has set up with *their* properties... I suppose that, seeing DC's penchant for minimal CGI costs, their next few projects will include Viking Prince, Viking Commando, Valdemar, assorted ol' Vertigo oddities and, of course, B'Wana Beast! Good luck with all that, DC!

;)

+++

Watch Out... The End Is Nigh Alright...

2010-02-26T06:11:00.000-08:00

It is just not quite like Rorschach and his Watchmen buddies have envisioned it, that is all...!

;)

They Sure Don't Make'Em Like They Used To!

2009-05-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

@ Yahoo! Video

"Mega Shark Vs Giant Octopus"
Starring Deborah Gibson.
And Lorenzo Lamas.

Mercifully, it is a straight-to-DVD release; but still...

They sure are not making big aquatic epics like they used to, back in the day... The day -or days rather- when story and character-development mattered, somewhat - priming over special effects and the mere "spectacle" (or sideshow aspects) of the exercise!

The Sea Chase, with Lana Turner and John Wayne, is a prime example of those days; there was some MEAT to those bony scripts, AT LEAST...

The Cruel Sea, being an adaptation of a masterful novel (written by someone who truly applied the rule "write what you know" very well...!) is an even finer example, of course.

As you'll understand rather quickly, at the viewing of my playlist here, per the selection of trailers and videos, I am bound to turn towards documentaries and the like nowadays (even if it is to be narrated by the likes of one half of Dumb And Dumber! You know who I'm talking about: Ace Ventura... The Cable Guy... The Yes Man! Liar, Liar he is, too, though... But that is another story - or script, from another bad movie!)

You can select your own fare, of course -
here are the trailers/samples, to shed some light on your options...!

+++

I Can't Wait To See Who Gets The W In... "W"...!!!

2008-09-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

Summertime Blues: Movie Releases SUCK EGGS!

2008-04-27T18:38:00.000-07:00

Advance reviews have me leaning toward the following prognostications: Iron Man will trounce Batman while Hellboy will deal with The Incredible Hulk as he does with all the other, ah, abominations he meets...
Or, actually, Kung Fu Panda will pummel and clobber the Dark Knight the moment he comes out, while that WALL-E will obliterate Iron Man at the first sign of rust - and tow his sorry carcass off to the junkyard! I'll stick to Hellboy and Hulk killing each other in a most graphic manner - unless Hancock slaughters both!

But really - what is so interesting anymore about the lousy special effects-laden comic-booky adaptations that they keep wanting to release for the summer season at the movies, eh? The only ones worth checking out are either on cheap cable (Mystery Men, The Specials) or on DVD/VHS/BluRay or whatever "the next thing" is, already...! In the latter-case, I guess it is "Super Hero Movie" that I am talking about; because all the other "picks" are guilty of the exact same things: overrated fluff, no story and nothing but hollowness in the end! It is like watching an extremely-long COMMERCIAL and getting nothing out of it, except maybe knowledge that there are 1001 derivative products available "out there" (merchandizing is key to cover production costs in CGI alone) AND after a whopping 2 hours of our lives wasted forevermore and that we know we will NEVER get back in any way, shape or form, we got confirmation, also, that Hollywood most definitely *is* creatively-bankrupt! But we knew so much already...

They've run out of ideas in Tinseltown! They pressed all of their lemons DRY! So, now, they look towards other "properties" - novels and short stories will get to be adapted to the big screen in greater numbers, old TV shows will be remade as feature films (usually disastrously, especially if Ben Stiller is involved) and, last but not least, the comic-books will be given a shot (no kidding they will: even ANT-MAN is in talks, these days! ANT-MAN! Why not make an ATOM ANT live action disaster movie while you're at it! Oh no - now they probably WILL TOO!!! Shades of "Antz vs A Bug's Life" or whatever those two films were titled again...!)

Anyhow, some find it fascinating that a "whole new (nearly underground) culture" is getting a shot at mass-mediatization, such as a movie can bring... See it duly analyzed (sort of) in the document below:

Dossier : les héros de la BD au cinéma

Me, I wonder how they all can be oblivious to the fact that this long-thought "impossible" mesh of mediums is going to promptly RUIN everything, every which way you look at it! Comic-books, already on a steep decline, will look lame and boring in comparison with the movie version and the obligatory video game that will come with it...! Those who attach too much of an importance to the original medium (mainly due to the fact that each panel of a comic-book can convey a certain effect of "timelessness" - which is unique to that medium indeed.) will be disappointed by any movie that is ever made with a "four-color hero". And then there is the movie industry itself; doesn't it know that, once they start making silly things such as a man in a bat suit or a gigantic green guy, "the norm" in films today, you can only find greater difficulty going back to "traditional filmmaking" afterwards? From where are low-key, philosophical, character-driven, dialogue-based, socially relevant, NORMAL films going to come from now? Exclusively from the INDIES - most likely! And those NEVER make much of an impact - at the box-office anyways...

One quick glance at the summer of 2008's line-up of films scheduled to hit theaters (not to mention clobber moviegoers; I mean, these are going to be BAD, folks! And the price of admission is at an all-time high...!) including a bunch of flicks slated to chime in at the box-office in the months and YEAR that follow, and one can see the rather HEAVY influence "super-heroics" and the like has these days on Tinseltown productions:
I.O.U.S.A.
Babylon A.D.
Iron Man
Bottle Shock
Stone Angel
Quantum of Solace (Bond. James Bond.)
Valkyrie
Kabluey
What Happens in Vegas...
Tale of Despereaux
Burn After Reading (good idea...)
American Teen
Speed Racer
Step Brothers (just another Will Ferrell flick...)
Brothers Bloom
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (not sure I even heard of "1"...)
Made of Honor
Traitor
Righteous Kill
Get Smart
Baby Mama
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Mirrors
Duchess
Blindness
Eagle Eye
Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay
Hancock
Harold
Madagascar Escape 2 Africa
Kung Fu Panda
Brutal Massacre: A Comedy
Disaster Movie (most probably from the same people who brought you Scary Movie, Superhero Movie and Sex: The Movie.)
Harry Potter blahblahblah...
Gonzo: yaddayaddayadda...
Journey To The Center Of The Earth
The Forbidden Kingdom
Nim's Island
Nobel Son
Australia
Miracle At St. Anna
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Reprise
Religulous
Savage Grace
Sangre De Mi Sangre
How The Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
War, Inc.
Postal
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Sex and the City: The Movie
Swing Vote
The Strangers
Foot Fist Way
Kicking It
Kung Fu Panda (kids will rather see it again...!)
You Don't Mess With The Zohan
Mongol
Igor
The Incredible Hulk
Kung Fu Panda (might as well watch it a 3rd time instead of Inedible Bulk there - after all, a well-trained panda can take out the Hulk; we all know that!)
Diminished Capacity
The Dark Knight (holy moley, no audience left for this one, Batman!)
Batman: Gotham Knight (much less this one)
Prom Night (or this one)
Twilight (it is - indeed)
Nights In Rodanthe
Mad Detective
The Spirit
Elegy
Flash Of Genius
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (animation clones are in vogue)
Star Trek
Space Chimps
Children Of Huang Shi
Foot Fist Way
Redbelt
Rocker
Visitor
Go-Getter
Bigger, Stronger, Faster
Longshots
Garden Party
Happening
Tell No One
Love Guru
He's Just Not That Into You
Hamlet 2
Mamma Mia!
Fall
Take
Meet Dave
X-Files: I Want To Believe
The Edge Of Heaven
Wanted
Taken
Encounters At The End Of The World
In Search Of A Midnight Kiss
Gunning For That #1 Spot (better than having a G-Spot film - after SATC, one never knows...)
Transsiberian
Pineapple Express
Quarantine
Promotion
The Last Mistress
Tinker Bell
Choke
Miss Conception
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Finding Amanda (a long-awaited sequel to Desperately Seeking Susan?)
Rachel Getting Married
My Best Friend's Girl
Wonder Woman
The Women
The Wackness
Perfect Game
Punisher: War Zone
Marley & Me
Boy A
Bolt
Sixty Six
Frozen River
Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor
Death Race (what - no year attached to this one?)
Futurama: The Beast With A Billion Backs
WALL-E
Watchmen
Yes Man
How To Lose Friends And Alienate People
Beer For My Horses
Everybody Wants To Be Italian
Ashes of Time Redux
Saw V
W.

If it's not silly super antics, it's over-the-top surrealistic, would-be-comedic fare. That Zohan film, by the way, is surefire proof (to me anyhow - it is) that Adam Sandler is so envious of all of these super-hero types that he wanted to be ALL OF THEM AT ONCE (not to mention Chuck Norris-like) in this umpteenth farce on his personal long list of farcical wastes of celluloid. Notch it up as one more ego-driven crappy film for the SNL alumnus, aye, to also prove that he remains a Tinseltown minus, not a Hollywood heavyweight as he wishes to be so desperately (so obviously).

Not many "down to earth/normal" films in there, are there? They're all highly... hmm, what's the word... implausible? Aye, they sure are! And they'll keep churning them out that way because, with the levels of competition they get nowadays from all over the place, they have to be mighty-promising "spectacles" in order to get people to fork over the cash and go to a multiplex theater in the first place!

Notice though the PROPER ORDER given to three of them "new releases" that are coming out soon, below...
First the ITALIAN SPIDERMAN; then the mock confessions; and THEN the "dark knight" (who was never knighted either! Fake all the way...!)
NOW THAT is more like it, EH?
Featured

Strangest Spidey ever?
Get ready for an incredibly weird
and funny retro vision
of a familiar superhero. » Trailer
Confessions of a Superhero trailer
Watch the latest Dark Knight trailer
;)

As long as SOME sort of logic is respected, we can deal with these sort of blues - can't we?

Us, the thinking filmgoers, I mean!

The Art Of "Beautifying" The Creepiest Things - Or Render It More Alluring, Even When Undead!

2008-04-20T19:51:00.000-07:00

Future cult movie classic?

Looks so bad it could be great: Zombie Strippers.» Trailer

We can observe here though a SECOND artform:
that of the NEWSMEDIA when they can juxtapose
the most dysfunctional topics - in total
NEAR-COMICAL (no matter how distasteful)
and POLITICALLY-INCORRECT fashion!

Zombie Strippers... Right next to THIS:

'Don't know why she lived'

Oldest human alive rings in another year,

while researchers remain stumped.» How old is she?

Whoever is the news editor on Yahoo -
shame on you, dude!

The Art Of Rejecting - While Being Inarticulate...!

2008-04-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

For, you see, the following "cheapa$$production" comes with the very lame tagline that follows:
"Description: Rejection Hotline
A phone number to give to well someone you don't want to have yours ("

With a pitch like that, this very fledgling movie crew has NO hope at all of making it big in the business - making their title here a self-fulfilling omen, if not prophecy, of sorts...!

Still, let's take a look at the thing, shall we?

The Rejection Hotline

The Art Of Dropping Them Dead

2008-04-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

Fashion Zombies

So much for that!

The Art Of Making An "Inquel" - With An Inexistent Plotline Too!

2008-04-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

A FINE Art it is too...

AtomFilms.com: Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | Comedy Central

The Art Of Making A Graceful Exit (Or... "Wooooooooooo!")

2008-04-08T19:27:00.000-07:00

Imagine you have it all scripted for you in advance - and you have but to act it out, as humiliating and painful as it may be, and you will be home free to "retirement paradise" (not quite Liberty 55 - but close enough! Give or take 4 years... Again, the number *4* - it will pop up again a few times here, rest assured! At least as many as... four times, yes! Wooooooooooo!)

Thus, it has been scripted for you and you simply play out - as rehearsed.
Rehearsals do not make it any less emotional, you know.
For you know that, once this gets "carved in stone" (or impressed against pay-per-view collective memory, really) it will be IT. The end of a storied career, an end that cannot be reversed this time. Because you've lost bogus retirement matches before and come back after a prolonged vacation; but now, nearing 60 years of age, this retirement match is FOR REAL! Wooooooooooooo!

And likely to be 4 EVER also, baby!
And so, after having outlasted ALL of his contemporaries (really: ALL and EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE OF THEM - including you, "Hogan!" - you DON'T know best! Ask Linda - your ex-wifey, not the one mentioned further down here...!)
After having collected more world titles than Vince McMahon can count apparently (the final count is 22 - not 16)
And after having wrestled them all and defeated them all, styling and profiling... This is it! Wooooooooooooooo!

This is the end, my friend, the end, my friend, the end.
I hope to see you again, my friend, again, my friend, again.
(Alex Llyod song - feel free to sing along now!)

I cannot believe though that anyone would agree to go along with this kind of scenario - especially when your role had it that YOU are the Dirtiest Player In The Game, the kiss-stealing, limousine-riding, jet-flying, wheelin and dealin sonofagun... YOU are the Living Legend, the Nature Boy, the one with MANY devious friends in the business, the leader of many heel factions, most notably the dreaded Four Horsemen (as well as a one-time "alliance to end hulkamania" and the last bastion of glory for the late WCW, the Magnificent Seven, no less!)
YOU are even called the Rembrandt of the Ring by some sort of authority in the field... And YOU have stated, just a few months earlier, that you would NEVER RETIRE... YOU are THE MAN - and have been so for most ALL of the thirty-six years that you have been in this business! Woooooooooooooooo!

But, on this night, you're supposed to lay down so your retirement can be made official. You will therefore NOT step away as you'd intend to at first, by simply coming in sharply-dressed and announcing it to the masses made up of adoring fans who rew up supporting you and enjoying each and every one of your performances. No, instead, you will have the "chance" to make that announcement after taking it on the chin one last time (someone's BOOT on your old chin, to boot...) and YOU will be the one taking a dive. All to simply legitimize what is apparent already anyway: you've become too old to keep this going anymore. You're past your prime and the only reason why you've hung on for so very long is because they took a fancy to you: millions upon millions of fans, for all of these 30+ years, HAVE LIKED YOUR STYLE! And profile! Woooooooooooooo!

But now, it is over finally. Your body cannot take this sort of punishment anymore; and it is time to call it quits. However, your employer wants to make the most out of everything and so he engineers a silly storyline, the "ultimatum storyline," so that he can milk your retirement for ALL that it's worth. He will allow you to retire with one final match on the purported "grandest stage of them all" (we all know the true grandest stage is the legendary STARRCADE held for so many years in December - not something barely 20 years-old held amidst March Madness and Easter!!! But I digress...)
But you are going to make that exit in ignominious DEFEAT - with a SUPER-KICK (nothing really super abut it though) TO YOUR JAW! And you've rehearsed this thing, and you've been on its receiving end before - but now, after going through the entire routine of the match, you know it is coming and you know it is coming for the FINAL TIME. But remember - YOU are the Dirtiest Player In The Game!!! There are, at least, a dozen different things that you could do to avoid being on the receiving end of this thing, keep the match going... Not just to roll up your unsuspecting adversary up for a quick 1-2-3 and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat - but to keep the ol' career going too! Wooooooooooooooooo!

Doing so would be pointless though - and, even though you're recognized as the thinking man's wrestler, the smartest cagey veteran there ever was, someone who cannot be taken by surprise so easily and who certainly wouldn't stay in the line of fire if you knew what was coming... AND EVERYONE KNOWS WHAT IS COMING AT THIS POINT... Even though you would have to be dazed, confused and wobbly in a very MAJOR way in order to be nailed with one of those pathetic (not patented) "HBK super-kicks" (hey, he's not the first to deliver them; and they were pathetic when the late Gentleman Chris Adams delivered them; they were pathetic when WCW's Glacier dude delivered them; they're still pathetic as HBK Shawn Michaels delivers them! A CHILD could avoid them OR BLOCK THEM - sheesh!)
YOU, the greatest of them all, still DO GET NAILED BY THAT silliest of finishing moves - and you lay down to gracefully make your exit from active competition...
Woooooooooooooooooooooooooo...?!?
Owtch!

A legend should not be asked to retire after falling to the dumbest of wrestling finishers, delivered not by a peer but by your number one fanboy, groupie and wanna-bee all wrapped into ONE!

This is just shameful and DISGUSTING - the most pathetic and POOREST bits of writing that I've ever seen in "sports-entertainment".

Ric Flair went along with it because of various reasons, some his own, most obvious to guess:
1) he needed the money, having gone through a nasty divorce... Sales from his "farewell show" in the form of t-shirts alone should be TREMENDOUS... Woooooooooooooooooooo!

2) he genuinely likes HBK - so he passed the torch. He was always a very generous performer; he'd put over midgets if he was asked to.

3) he lacked too much in the leverage department to push for a more "logical finish to a career-ending match" for his character, who was/is, after all, the DIRTIEST PLAYER IN THE GAME... He had been cheating openly SO MUCH AND SO OFTEN in his heyday, when the Four Horsemen were riding high - and now, he would play fair and square? Even Classie Freddie Blassie wasn't this illogical at his most SENILE - and he got there only some 20 years AFTER having actually chosen to manage the worst tag-team of all-time; the comical farce duo made-up of Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik!

4) he was so very tired of going "Wooooooooooooooo!"

A real good finish would have been former Horsemen, old allies of all sorts, even former valets and MORE Flair friends INTERFERING in the match... And if HBK is such a "great, great, GREAT wrestler" he could have withstood it all... And then, it would actually be a MISTAKE BY A FLAIR FRIEND that would cost Flair the victory!
THEN YOU TRULY CAN SAY: THE CAREER OF THE DIRTIEST PLAYER IN THE GAME IS TRULY OVER! And it ended the way it THRIVED - for 36 years in the AWA, NWA, WCW, WWE and in many other places too... Wooooooooooooooooo!

They were going to reunite all the old-timers anyway, on the very next night; just to walk the aisle, get into the ring and give Ric Flair a HUG?!? That is ALMOST as bad as bringing back Volkoff and the Sheik - just so the former could sing the atrocious version of his national anthem that he delivered countless times before... One more time, eh... Now THAT is NOT what the fans want, for sure...

The fans wanted to see a dignified end to the legendary Ric Flair's illustrious career - and they didn't get to see that AT ALL.
Instead, they got to see the equivalent of the rudest sacking ever - not a send-off but KICKING OUT of the business rather...!
The greatest of all-time, above mere "legends" and "icons", a "national treasure" as Dusty Rhodes said - and he retires in DEFEAT... And not even doing it as he did it when he was at his very BEST... No wonder fans, friends, family and Flair alike were ALL in tears even as the sad scene was playing out is final act.

No more Woooooooooooooos for YOU!

In closing - a loooooong mere "comment" that I left for one Linda Robin, rasslin expert, over at her (own?) wrestling-edge blog/site. Such a long comment that I had to slice it into four parts to get in there - and then the last part was delayed even further by the "flood control activated" (sheesh - as if I was a spammer! You will pay dearly for this insult - in the ring! Have your people arrange that with my people - ok?)
SO here it is - in it s ENTIRETY:

"RAW Is BAD" - I like the sound of that! Shall we have "Smackdown Is Stupid" to go with that...?
But come on now, Linda - Flair being so forgiving of HBK was NOT storyline stuff; it was Ric being himself and saying goodbye to all the guys. He was not being in-character anymore. had he been in-character at WM-XXIV, he would have had help from the outside then (like, say, Edge does now or... ah yes, FLAIR used to do it, in his PRIME! He needed the Horsemen to win his matches in his PRIME, but not when he was pushing 60?!? If you want to talk about BAD WRITING, blast that too, please!)

The fact is, Flair hasn't been Flair since he came back to the WWE. So forgive for not giving a damn if Batista is poorly written - or HBK, or anybody else! Granted, Batista's new attitude is a throwback to classic Horsemen heel attitude - and it would be legitimized if Flair had not embraced HBK and called him a "great, great, GREAT wrestler - and a better man" to boot! HBK is himself near the end of his career - and Flair wouldn't lose to anyone but him. Flair was on the OUTS - why in blue blazes would he ruin his own farewell party just to leave Batista with a legitimate heel turn storyline bit? Come on!!! Flair finally shed his mask in the ring - sort of - and it was GOOD to see the real Richard Fliehr in there.

Sure, the fan in me wanted to see the Horsemen reunite one last time, trash BOTH HBK AND MCMAHON, pass the torch to Batista and maybe 3 other guys as well (as HORSEMEN, not Evolution!) but it would have been tasteless and even worse than bad really...!
Thus, it was truly better this way; a tribute to the "greatest career in pro-wrestling" and "wooooooooo" (once again, Flair's own words from that fateful farewell night; the only time he truly flashed any signs of his former grandiloquent and vainglorious self - when he was a Horseman and in-character, of course!)

I will still hope to see Flair make appearances in the future - maybe do a little bit of what Classie Freddie Blassie did, up to a point. The fact is, Flair is WCW incarnate. So are the Horsemen. So are Sting and the Cruiserweights and Booker T... etc... As that is, Flair and the rest of them cannot stay in the employ of McMahon for too long. They shouldn't, anyhow... And if they come back periodically, it is a concession that Vinnie Mac allows, due to Triple H too, because it is "good for business" and what the FANS want to see.

And this fan would love to see Flair show up one more time, IN-CHARACTER, and entice a revolt against McMahon... ONE MORE TIME... Something not as BAD as the WCW INVASION either... Unlikely they will allow SO MUCH though: the lousy WWE has already retired Flair, the Cruiserweight championship title, the Horsemen legacy and WCW itself... They released Booker T, never brought in Sting, humiliated the likes of Goldberg and Scott Steiner *and* trashed beyond repair the nWo... In short, everything WCW accomplished was properly dismantled! All the way down to Ric Flair's tired old body itself - almost!

Let's try one "Owwwwwwwwwwwwww" this time...!

But as it is, the authors of this "Batista vs HBK post-Flair feud - with a bit of collaboration of Y2J in it" are not doing anything wrong; this sort of prolongs the Nature Boy's presence and influence in the ring, and that can be only GOOD - not bad!
Wooooooooooooooooooo!

Even if all of the participants -especially "Y2J" Chris Jericho- only want to have some of the legendary Nature Boy Ric Flair's greatness rub off on them - by proxy!
Nothing bad with that either - even the likes of Ravishing Rick Rude and Brock Lesnar have wanted that in the past!
Heck - Vinnie Mac himself has wanted it!
He got to lose twice to Flair - me, I will never even get that chance!
And I am simply not interested in jobbing to "Nature Boy Reid Flair" - whenever sonny's ready to taske on his Dad's legacy...!
Good luck with that, son!
Wooooooooooooooo!

So, ok, I squeezed in one or two more Woooooooooooos in there...
But it is over now; no more.
I'm serious.

The Antidote To Both St-Valentine's Day AND That Dragobete Thing Too...!

2008-02-14T04:38:00.000-08:00

Break-Up Songs - play them often and play them loud, between now and February 24th!
Ok- doesn't have to be loud; these are personal songs so play them only for yourself, on thy walkman, discman, iPod or MP3 player! Whatever you've got! (I AM against noise pollution, yes!)
But now read what the site of origin penned (because you didn't think this was MY idea - did you? I just improved upon it, below - read on!) and choke up as you see the shameless sales pitch right here:
Whether you've had your heart broken or been the one to do the stomping, there is nothing like a good break-up song. Want to wallow in your pain or scream along in anger? We’ve got the song for you

Gee... Some salesmen have no shame. No shame at all.
There's NOTHING like a good BREAK-UP SONG they say?!?
A song not to sing along to but rather to WALLOW IN YOUR PAIN AND SCREAM ALONG TO - really? Do they also sell punching bags with picture framing embedded, for easy personalizing of the thing...? Just wondering - they do sweat to the oldies, why not punch to the rhythm too, eh? But I am digressing...

An important factor, always, is the PRICING. What will this "therapy" cost you?
Ah - here's the price now:
$34.09 (for the set of 30!)

Not quite a buck a song - but close enough!
And THIS sort of therapy sure is cheaper than the couch session with the friendly (if slightly cold and distant) neighborhood overrated shrink!

Here are THEIR picks:

song * title * artist * length * price
01. Always - Bon Jovi 04:18 $1.09
02. Always Be My Baby - Mariah Carey 04:18 $1.19
03. Always On Your Side - Sheryl Crow 04:13 $1.09
04. Before He Cheats - Carrie Underwood 03:20 $1.19
05. Caught Out There - Kelis 04:51 $1.09
06. Crying - Roy Orbison 02:46 $1.19
07. Don't Speak - No Doubt 04:23 $1.09
08. Everything About You - Ugly Kid Joe 04:20 $1.09
09. Fall To Pieces - Velvet Revolver 04:30 $1.19
10. Grace Is Gone - Dave Matthews Band 04:38 $1.19
11. Goodbye My Lover - James Blunt 04:18 $1.09
12. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye - Leonard Cohen 02:54 $1.19
13. I Will Survive - Cake 05:10 $1.19
14. Jealous Guy (Remix) - John Lennon 04:13 $1.09
15. Keep On Loving You - REO Speedwagon 03:22 $1.19
16. Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley 04:58 $1.19
17. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me - The Smiths 03:11 $1.09
18. Love Hurts - Nazareth 03:51 $1.09
19. Love Stinks - The J. Geils Band 03:45 $1.09
20. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division 03:12 $1.09
21. Lost Cause - Beck 03:47 $1.09
22. Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor 05:10 $1.09
23. One - U2 04:36 $1.09
24. Piece Of My Heart - JANIS JOPLIN 04:13 $1.19
25. Pictures Of You - The Cure 07:29 $2.18
26. Since U Been Gone - Kelly Clarkson 03:08 $1.19
27. Smile - Lily Allen 03:17 $1.09
28. Somebody's Crying - Chris Isaak 02:48 $1.09
29. Used To Love Her - Guns N' Roses 03:13 $1.09
30. You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette 04:09 $1.09

And now I'll add twenty of my own, to round out the TOP 50! I'll add songs that I affectionated in the past either due to their poignant lyrics or gripping melody - or both! These are songs that express regret, convey a sense of loss better than just your average sad song and remain romantic all the while achieving all that! Songs that have a strong nostalgic value for me too; songs that are just plain GOOD and SHOULD have been in that sorry excuse for a "top 30" (which is nothing more than a catalogue and they are only trying to sell what they have in their catalogue; they're really not pretending that those 30 songs listed above are "the best of the best" to break up to the tune of...! Not by any stretch of the imagination, I'm sure of it... But I am digressing here - yet again.)

Without further ado - my luminous TOP 20 picks, hence...

31. (The Hardest Part Of Love Is) Letting Go - Straight Lines
32. Sad Eyes - Robert John
33. Separate Lives - Phil Collins & Marilyn Martin
34. Je Cherche L'Ombre - Céline Dion
35. In Too Deep - Genesis
36. One More Night - Phil Collins
37. Don't Let Go - Bryan Adams & Sarah McLachlan
38. I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight - Cutting Crew
39. Man On The Line - Chris de Burgh
40. Never Be The Same - Christopher Cross
41. If You're Not The One - Daniel Bedingfield
42. I'm Not Supposed To Care - Gordon Lightfoot
43. Feel - Robbie Williams
44. Stupid - Sarah McLachlan
45. L'Amour Est Bleu - Vicky Léandros
46. Back Where You Started - Tina Turner
47. Wish You Were Here - Blackmore's Night
48. Remember - Bryan Adams
49. L'Amour Est Mort - Gilbert Bécaud & Martine St-Clair
50. Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used To Do
- by the incomparable Hank Williams Sr. (sorry, junior!)

You know me; I just had to wrap it up with a classic like that!
Sad admission - but tongue firmly in cheek! :!

So sorry, too, that I couldn't list the running time for each tune - nor make you a price there...!

;)

Once A Bimbo, Always A Bimbo... C'est Losique!

2008-01-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

Épisode 2 : Profession productrice

Épisode 3 : À star, star et demi

Épisode 5 : Silence, on tourne!

Épisode 6 : Bimbo un jour… bimbo toujours!

Anne-Marie Losique puts to shame the likes of Véronique Cloutier, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan (all of whom can thank their pops for their notoriety and opportunity to "shine" or simply bask in the spotlight - just like Anne-Marie...)

A-M.L also eclipses -in sheer bimbodom- the likes of Jessica Simpson, Missy Hyatt and most WWE so-called "Divas" that you can actually NAME...

It is always so touching to see Boston exact a good measure of revenge upon Montreal via its resident premier bimbo (but far from being the only one around though - very far from it) whenever Ben Affleck openly mocks and ridicules Anne-Marie Losique, at every "interview" she conducts with him and every other chance he gets. And she, poor oblivious obtuse thing that she is, goes along with it! In fact, the tart probably believes it when he uses the only French he bothered to know and calls her "mon amour" while she sits in his lap! She is that vain, you know; she can definitely believe that a big-time Hollywood star would fall for *her*... (Never mind the fact that he is married to another big-time Hollywood star who is thrice the woman Losique is - A-M.L loves to see herself as a home wrecker... wannabee, really.)

That is nothing though - it has to be seen to be believed, the times A-M.L shows up to interviews where SHE is supposed to be the guest - and she is either stoned or dead drunk! (Well, it looks like it is either one or the other - lest she was simply born that way, eh?) There was a time where she was merely trying to put together some sort of copycat show, amalgamating proven formulas borrowed from the likes of Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood and Inside Edition. That time has long gone by though; ever since A-M.L began indulging (and overindulging) what some may call her "sensual side" - and what others simply label as her "slutty side"! Click on the thumbnail images above to see some evidence of all that, right now...

You would never IMAGINE a Mary Hart, Meredith Vieira or any 'speakerine' that ever sat at the E.T. desk suddenly embark on a parallel career of cheap erotica sexploitation as the poor man's sexpot of service...! This is what THIS speakerine, TV hostess without the mostest, daughter of a respectable network TV director, effectively "achieved"... And we should dispense kudos for that? Hmm...

Her native Québec may be the place where, for lack of greater numbers (of everything - audience, talent, possible extra markets) the so-called "talent" there gets the opportunity to STEAL ALL THE JOBS AND DO A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING... That is how we've seen TV hosts of game shows aimed at KIDS oftentimes ALSO be working, on the side, as thespians portraying very mature-themed roles, do voice-over work, silly commercials, host radio shows, act in music videos, even -on rare occasions- act on the big screen too, as well as on stage. They do a little bit of everything over there - and so, A-M.L took that as her cue to "branch out" like none ever did before her. She dared go OVERBOARD, is what she did...

And she lost all credibility in the process.

Pathétique, Losique...

2007-12-31T12:36:00.000-08:00

Aye - Sally Field did learn from the BEST - which explains how she went from The Flying Nun to Stay Hungry and Smokey & The Bandit with such ease...!
She had one of the very best womentors ever in cinematic history...!
Or she simply emulated her!

REMINDER NOW:
© 2004-2007 Luminous Luciano Pimentel

TLB Prime, The Truth, Luminous Writings, Aqua Musings, The Saudades Blog, 365 Days/Reasons and every other affiliated TLB Prime Network site, whether on Blogger or on another provider, are the intellectual properties of Luminous Luciano aka Luciano Pimentel.

No sections of this website may be reproduced or used in any way, partially or completely, in any fashion whatsoever without written authorization - the only exceptions to this rule occurring in the advent of an objective review.

God Bless!

LUMINOUS DISCLAIMER:
This luminous site, and all of its TLB PRIME NETWORK "affiliates", contain summaries of copyrighted material for which reprint permission has not always been authorized by the copyright owner. We make these informations available in an effort to educate our "L.O.V.s" (luminous online visitors) on the broad range of issues impacting their lives, souls and society in general. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit for the purposes of criticism, comment, witticisms, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, research and/or strictly for rants, ramblings and other "rrrrrr-words"... (I.O.W. - Free Speech!)
The preceding shall apply also, of course, to any visual material such as drawings, art, photography, composite imagery and the like.
For more information go here>

Got all that, George?

2007-12-30T12:42:00.000-08:00

One can indeed note the striking resemblance between the two actresses (the teach, played by Diane Gaidry -lower right- is truly a dead ringer for the late Miriam... Coincidence? Hmm...)

2007-12-25T17:46:00.000-08:00

Top Ten
Christmas Classics
Luminous-Style!

1) It's A Wonderful Life
2) The Bells of St-Mary's
3) A Christmas Story (1983)
4) A Christmas Story (1913)
5) Benji's Very Own Christmas Story
6) Miracle on 34th Street (1947) (1)
7) The First Christmas (1998)
8) The First Christmas (2005)
9) Noel (1992)
10) Noel (2004)

(1) - I only include a bonafide "Santa flick" here because of the presence of the magnificent Maureen O'Hara and little Natalie Wood in said flick...!

The Art Of Making Edgy Music

2007-10-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Nothing is taboo for the musical ensemble collectively known as Die Form

The surefire, can't miss recipe for success here, hence:
1/3 - daring subjects
1/3 - peppered with morbid stuff
1/3 - a ghastly gothic sound - ET VOILÀ!

The Art Of Confusing Things: Which Kingdom Is "The Kingdom" - hmm?

2007-09-28T10:53:00.000-07:00

2005's K.O.H. (below)

Or 2007's opus about the
ill-fated, ill-conceived
and all-around ill-planned
"war on terror"...?

Hmm, maybe it's just my impression
but virtually every film that ever had
the ostentatious and ominous word
"kingdom" in its title
well - it all sucked pretty bad!

A touching tribute to Emlyn Williams - 20 Years Gone

2007-09-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

George Emlyn Williams

Date of Birth
26 November 1905, Mostyn, Flintshire, Wales, UK
Date of Death
25 September 1987, London, England, UK. (cancer)

A finer character actor there never was in all the land.
He truly became his character, each and every time.
So good was he at this, that few ever saw the true George.

Watch now the mini-tribute done to the thespian time forgot;
courtesy of a true fan called "mooncove":

This special commemorative post made in conjunction with
The Lugubrious Blog.

+++

The Art Of Overdoing It... (Well, It Gives Us A Lot To Look At!)

2007-09-14T20:05:00.000-07:00

WCW4Life, baby!

Join here!

Man - if that video still works for you, you will see the BEST WRESTLING ACTION EVER, OF ALL-TIME, THAT THE INDUSTRY COULD EVER HOPE TO PUT TOGETHER IN A BILLION YEARS TIME...!!!

"Multi-level" action coming at you from everywhere all at once - action like you've never seen before and never will see again!!!

Vince McMahon must have been CRYING and/or cringing at the sight of this!

His erstwhile top scribe, Vince Russo, was at the helm of the rival WCW which had very nearly put McMahon's circus out of business for good just a few MONTHS earlier (and the only one who saved the then still known as "WWF" WWE from complete and utter disaster had been... Vince Russo, with his Stone Cold Steve Austin versus his boss scenario that truly "caught on" with the feeble-minded masses!)

And WCW was still VERY MUCH apt and willing to go for McMahon's jugular!

What's more, with a line-up like this, WCW should have, logically, succeeded!

In this short few minutes of footage alone (taken from WCW's Thursday night "Thunder" show, on Superstation TBS, the one cable network where wrestling truly honed its craft!) you will see one of the culminating points of a GREAT storyline that pitted the ELITE wrestlers (the big names, the superstars, all together because all were envied by the newcomers and up-and-comers - and together they were called "the Millionaires Club" no less!) up against all the envious jackals, "the New Blood" of course! (Note that this storyline was copied -of course, like everything else the NWA/WCW did since the 1980s- by McMahon's circus which is NEVER the originator but always the imitator who imposes its alleged monopolizing stamp on things! In that, McMahon and the WWE are much like Bill Gates and Microsoft! But I am digressing...!)

In this "Thunder-ous" event (truly worthy of the flagship show, WCW Monday Nitro, or actually truly worthier of having been presented as a Pay-Per-View event!) you will see such a stable of talent as EVEN Vinnie Mac has NEVER HAD (and never will have!)

Nature Boy Ric Flair
DDP - Diamond Dallas Page
Jeff Jarrett
the late Chris Candido
Billy Kidman
Hollywood Hulk Hogan
Shane Douglas
the late wrestler then known as "The Wall"
Buff Bagwell
Shawn Stasiak
the late Mike Awesome
Macho Man Randy Savage
and, all along, we get the expert commentary of one Tony Schiavone and Bobby The Brain Heenan (that annoying guy from Pittsburgh wasn't there yet to do his very good Heenan-Weasel impersonation - and Mike Tenay wasn't there to bore us to tears either, not on this night anyhow! Not sure what Larry Zbysko was doing either...)

Bret "the Hitman" Hart makes a cameo also (but on the wrong side of things, as always with him - crazy dumb Canuck that he is!)

Only ones shining conspicuously by their absence here are GOLDBERG.

And the Stinger himself.

But BOTH were with the company 'til the end - history recorded...

And there were tons more of noteworthy talent in that company not seen in this exciting BATTLE ROYALE match, within the ranks of WCW's New Blood:
the Natural Born Thrillers that included Mike Sanders, Sean O'Haire, Mark Jindrak, Chuck Palumbo and Reno.
Juventud Guerrera, Rey Mysterio JR (why drop the JR, Rey?) and the Filthy Animals.
Vampiro and the KISS/Gene Simmons-influenced "Demon" (both under the tutelage of The Great Muta from Japan in a carnivalesque faction...!)
Lash Leroux, Hugh Morrus and the M.I.A.
Crowbar, David Flair, the Jung Dragons...
Lance Storm, Elix Skipper and... whatever else made up "Team Canada" (there wasn't much!!! But what they had, had tremendous potential!)

On the "millionaires" side - the established names were there aplenty too:
not seen here are the Steiners... Lex Luger... BOOKER T... Stevie Ray... Kevin Nash... Scott Hall (who could have always been brought back too) and any and all the leftovers of the nWo!!!

The always promising to be born anew legend of the Four Horsemen!

And who had the hottest valets in the industry - Stacy Keibler, Tammy Fytch/Sunny, Asya, Daffney, Leia Meow, Madusa Miceli, the late Elizabeth Houlette, Mona/Miss Madness/Molly Holly, Gorgeous George (!) and Torrie Wilson - to tittilate all the male fans (and some female fans too!) into succumbing and buying the product...?
WCW did, that's who!

Handled right, the WCW had all the tools to consistently surpass the competition's product - and eventually outlast it and outlive it as well!

It is unfortunate that the "AOL/Time-Warner" conglomerate that swallowed Turner Broadcasting whole simply did not have the guts to go through with "the plan" and pulled the rug from underneath WCW's feet shortly after this - a mere few months into 2001.

Jeff Jarrett and a handful of these talented performers refused to go (back) to McMahon's control when his WWE bought out what was left of WCW...
They formed the NWA/TNA (now simply known as TNA) and it has since attracted many WWE performers to jump ship and join THEM...
Defections have NOT gone both ways, as of yet...

"The New Blood vs Millionaires Club" storyline was eventually royally ripped off and "adapted" to the subpar product offered by McMahon's circus company - the ECW (a pathetic pastiche of the REAL ECW which was also acquired by McMahon.)

Not surprisingly, the WWE's ECW adaptation of the above was as atrocious as their version of the nWo.

McMahon, as the true vampire that he is, signed up every bit of talent he could find in the wreckage of the fallen WCW and pressed the lemon dry on each one - O'Haire, Stasiak, Jindrak, Awesome, Morrus, Kidman, Booker T himself - all were subsequently and unceremoniously released. The surplus of talent made them ditch most of their dead wood (which they had kept in a vain effort to match the diversity that the WCW talent pool offered each and every week) and those guys (A-Train aka Albert, the Dudley Boys, the Oddities, Luc Poirier aka Rambo aka 1001 other names - to name a few!) were ditched even more abruptly and unceremoniously!

Even Ric Flair eventually joined the WWE in late 2001/early 2002.

And AOL/Time-Warner is now doing with Netscape Navigator and Netscape Communicator as it did with WCW - pulling the plug on what they deem to be a mere "financial liability"...

No matter how much potential and tradition it has.

Have Some Awesome Ann'so'M Now...! Or... The (Fine) Art Of Minimalist Music!

2007-07-30T16:24:00.000-07:00

Ann'so M (of) Espana sings in French
and her style, free of any superfluous fluff,
truly is a breath of fresh air, I say...!

En complément de programme:
assorted artists...!

Courtesy of: MoobTV
(I hope it plays fine for you!)

The Art Of Scoring A Film

2007-07-29T15:25:00.000-07:00

Finding the essence of the main protagonist -
tell his or her story through music, through the film's very soundtrack -
and not skip a beat, meanwhile, on the storyline's progress!

Now, did these guys really succeed at that...?

Frankly, I think this would have done fine for Batty:

Let's compare now
with Batman's colleague and comrade-in-arms, oftentimes...
Aquaman!

The Art of Adding 2 + 2...

2007-07-22T09:27:00.000-07:00

...
Beyond my mere realizations that
Saskatchewan and the Sasquatch
go so well together...
that wrestling is like unto
a live action cartoon
(and so the two belong together
as well - as shown here!) -
and that
basically
every story worth being told
has been told
(but can always be retold
-the luminous way -
by me! *lol*)

There is also
those times we connect two works of "art"
that have, supposedly, nothing in common

As with the above video screen
Where Charlton meets Corey...!

The creator of this mix, zoomar1, recalls:

"I first saw The Omega Man in 1971 when I was 8 years old.
I was creeped out by "the family's" deformed eyes

I first time I heard Corey Hart's song
"Sunglasses at Night" in the 80's,
I immediately thought of The Omega Man.

The video you see here is the third version I've made.
I made the first one in 1990.
I did a widescreen version around 1996.
And this one I finished October 8, 2006."

Charlton Heston -
there will never be another action hero like him!

Enjoy the remix version...!

Oh - and keep adding 2+2...!
;)

The Art Of Making The Unbelievable... A Little More Believable!

2007-07-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

...

Gough and Millar
have basically mastered that uncanny ability
to make this happen -
lest this is just
suspension of disbelief
***working***
due to the absence of various
notorious nefarious elements
such as:
1) campyness
2) ridiculous spandex costumes
3) batmania

;)

TRUE ART... at last!

2007-07-18T14:52:00.000-07:00

Five Hundred Years Of Art...
And Almost As Many Visions Of Feminine Grace Too!

Thanks to lady Giuliana for sending me the link!

This video is also available on my Luminous Hi5!

UPDATE!

This next video goes so well with the preceding one:
it is the same thing, basically - but for the wondrous world of Cinema!
All 100+ years of it - very nearly!

Now this second video can be found on my Luminous Low5!

Don't ask me how and why that happened - I'm not sure how or why anymore! Blame it on V-Day or something...!!!

The Fine Lost Art Of... Doodling!

2007-06-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

Gump!

2007-06-10T20:16:00.000-07:00

A fine little quirky tale sent to me by my good friend
Gizella Julia Szollosi Hidvégi
Thanks GJ!

Forrest Gump Goes to Heaven

by author unknown!

THIS IS A GOOD ONE

The day finally arrived.

Forrest Gump dies and goes to Heaven.

He is at the Pearly Gates, met by St. Peter himself. However, the gates are closed, and Forrest approaches the gatekeeper.

St. Peter said,

'Well, Forrest, it is certainly good to see you.

We have heard a lot about you.

I must tell you, though, that the place is filling up fast, and we have been administering an entrance examination

For everyone.

The test is short, but you have to pass it

Before you can get into Heaven.'

Forrest responds,

'It sure is good to be here, St. Peter, sir.

But, nobody ever told me about any entrance exam.

I sure hope that the test ain't too hard.

Life was a big enough test as it was.'

St. Peter continued,

'Yes, I know, Forrest, but the test is only three questions.

First:

What two days of the week begin with the letter T?

Second:

How many seconds are there in a year?

Third:

What is God's first name?'

Forrest leaves to think the questions over.

He returns the next day and sees St. Peter,

Who waves him up, and says,

'Now that you have had a chance to think

The questions over, tell me your answers'

Forrest replied,

'Well, the first one --

Which two days in the week begins with the letter 'T'?

Shucks, that one is easy.

That would be Today and Tomorrow.'

The Saint's eyes opened wide and

He exclaimed,

'Forrest, that is not what I was thinking, but

You do have a point, and

I guess I did not specify, so

I will give you credit for that answer.'

'How about the next one?' asked St. Peter.

'How many seconds in a year?

Now that one is harder,' replied Forrest, 'but

I thunk and thunk about that, and

I guess the only answer can be twelve.'

Astounded, St. Peter said,

'Twelve? Twelve?

Forrest, how in Heaven's name could you come up with twelve seconds in a year?'

Forrest replied,

'Shucks, there's got to be twelve:

January 2nd, February 2nd, March 2nd ... '

'Hold it,' interrupts St. Peter.

'I see where you are going with this, and

I see your point,

Though that was not quite what I had in mind ... But

I will have to give you credit for that one, too.

Let us go on with the third and final question.

Can you tell me God's first name'?

'Sure,' Forrest replied,

'it's Andy...'

'Andy?'

Exclaimed an exasperated and frustrated St Peter.

'Ok, I can understand how you came up with your answers to my first two questions, but just how in the world did you come up with the name Andy as the first name of God?'

'Shucks, that was the easiest one of all,'

Forrest replied.

'I learnt it from the song,

'ANDY WALKS WITH ME,

ANDY TALKS WITH ME,

ANDY TELLS ME I AM HIS OWN.' '

St. Peter opened the Pearly Gates, and said:

'Run Forrest, run!'

--

Not The End
But The Beginning!
+++

Last(.fm) shall be first...

2007-05-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

Why is it that the songs I like the most are virtually UNKNOWN to most, worldwide?

Get Back (Annette Ducharme)
No Such Thing (Annette Ducharme)
Nicotine (Annette Ducharme)
The Voice (Ultravox)
Ocean Floor (Audio Adrenaline)
On The Jericho Road (Gold City)
Tea For One (Joe Bonamassa)
Il Ne Me Reste Rien (Ann'so M)
ANYTHING BY... (Rebecca St-James)
Whisper My Name (Gordon Lightfoot)
Endless Wire (Gordon Lightfoot)
I'm Not Supposed To Care (Gordon Lightfoot)
Mistral - Original Mix (by GTR)
The Hardest Part Of Love Is Letting Go (Straight Lines)
Send Me An Angel (Real Life - not the Scorpions' version!)
March Of Loss (Arcana)
Shut Your Eyes (Snow Patrol)
Run (Snow Patrol)
Lonewolf (The Thought - 1985 MCA Records/Icon Records)
Miss Moon (Jean-Michel Jarre)
Paths of Water (Yanni)
The Persuaders Theme (John Barry)
Anything by (John Barry) (!!!)
Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin)
With You (Linkin Park)
Photograph (Def Leppard)
Wishing - If I Had A Photograph Of You (A Flock Of Seagulls)
I Don't Wanna Grow Up (The Ramones)
I Want To Be Sedated (The Ramones)
Pet Sematary (The Ramones)
I Believe In Miracles (Eddie Vedder & Zeke)
I Believe In Miracles (The Ramones)
Everytime I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think Of You
(The Ramones)
The Crusher (The Ramones)
Glorious (Captain)
Do You Compute (Donnie Iris)
Broke (Captain)
Ah Leah (Donnie Iris)
Frontline (Captain - *threepeat*...!)
Time (Alan Parsons Project)
Time (Chantal Kreviazuk)
Time Waits For No One (The Graces)
Time Enough For Tears (The Corrs)
Out Of Time (Levitation)
Wish You Were Here (Blackmore's Night)
Spirit of the Sea (Blackmore's Night)
Disappear (Hoobastank)
Running Away (Hoobastank)
Hole Hearted (Extreme)
Boring Dreams (Burton Cummings)
Crooked Teeth (Death Cab For Cutie)
Transatlantism (D.C.F.C. again)
Take One Away (B.C. again)
Hello The End (Alex Llyod)
Get Back (Annette Ducharme)
The Reason (Hoobastank)
Ready Fuels (Anberlin)
Everybody Hurts (The Corrs' cover version - MTV Unplugged)
Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes (The Korgis)
This Corrosion (Sisters of Mercy)
Yesterday Girl (The Smithereens)
Blood & Roses (The Smithereens)
Only A Memory (The Smithereens)
Top of the Pops (The Smithereens)
Blues Before And After (The Smithereens)
A Girl Like You (The Smithereens)
What Do You Want From Me? (Monaco)
Don't Walk Away (Rick Springfield - the original Forever Knight!)
Walk On The Ocean (Toad The Wet Sprocket)
If You Could Read My Mind (Gordon Lightfoot)
Fade Into You (Mazzy Star)
Espérance (Pierre Bertrand)
Merengue (São)
Magazine (Jesus Jones)
Congo (Genesis)
Taka Takata (Joe Dassin)
J'attendrai (Dalida)
Délivre-Moi (Céline Dion)
San Jacinto (Peter Gabriel)
Secret World (Ronan Hardiman)
San Quentin (Johnny Cash)
Ramblin Boy (Tom Paxton)
Valparaiso (Paula Moore)
Valparaiso (Anggun)
Saviour (Anggun)
Cesse La Pluie (Anggun)
Par Avion (Mike & The Mechanics)
That Was Yesterday (Foreigner)
O Meu Fado (São)
Feeding The Fire (Genesis)
Best Way To Die (Jet Set Satellite)
Bonnie & Clyde (the cover by Les Tubes)
Un Homme À La Mer (Stefie Shock)
One of the Living (Tina Turner)
Everything's Different Now (Aimée Mann)
Empty Room (Marjorie Fair)
Where Have All The Good People Gone? (Sam Roberts)
Where Has Everybody Gone? (The Pretenders)
Only Human On The Inside (Chrissie Hynde)
In The House of Stone and Light (Martin Page)
Try It Out (Gino Soccio)
All Is Forgiven (Red Siren)
All Is Forgiven (Default)
God So Loved The World (Jaci Velasquez)
Tower of Strength (The Mission)
Hildegarde de Bingen (Claire Pelletier)
Scarborough Fair (Amy Nuttall)
Wish You Were Here (Blackmore's Night)
My Jesus (Todd Agnew)
My Lips Will Praise You (Twila Paris)
Blessed Be Your Name (Matt Redman)
Forever Young (Alphaville)
Hope (Anathema)
Epro (Beck)
Shine (Salvador)
My Redeemer (Australia Hillsongs)
This Is God (Phil Vassar)
Jesus Cristo (Roberto Carlos)
Expressions Of Your Love (Rebecca St.James)
Let It Rain (Michael W. Smith)
Tidal Wave (Longwave)
What You Are (Dave Matthews Band)
Hello Time Bomb (Matthew Good Band)
Heck No (I'll Never Listen To Techno) (Maldroid)
Lost In Space (Lighthouse Family)
You're A Star (Lighthouse Family)
Memory Gospel (Moby)
Space Alien (Dan Dyer)
Human Behavior (Bjork)
All You Zombies (The Hooters)
Give Blood (Pete Townshend)
Face The Face (P.T. redux)
Marinheiro (Linda De Suza)
Belle-Île En Mer (Laurent Voulzy)
Les Regrets (Alain Souchon)
Trouble (Lindsay Buckingham)
Ask The Lonely (Journey)
Only The Lonely (The Motels)
Povo Do Mar (Nuno Da Silva)
Walk On Water (Streetheart)
Coração Pirata (Roupa Nova)
Silver Rainbow (Genesis)
Cavaleiro Monge (Mariza)
Glosoli (Sigur Ros)
Glorafin (Lisa Gerrard)
The Host of Seraphim (Dead Can Dance)
It's My Life (Talk Talk)
Marathon (Rush)
Tower of Strength (The Mission)
The Leaving/So Long (Midge Ure)
Just For You (M.U. again)
Answers To Nothing (M.U. trifecta)
Do I Have To Say The Words? (Bryan Adams)
A Spaceman Came Travelling (Chris De Burgh)
A Prayer For The Dying (Seal)
You Don't Know What You've Got - Until It's Gone (Jennifer Rush)
Put Your Hand In The Hand (Ocean)
Honey (Bobby Goldsboro)
The Road (Jon & Vangelis)
I'll Find My Way Home (Jon & Vangelis too!)
Adieu Vieille Lisbonne (São)
Un Jour On Se Rencontrera (Linda De Suza)
Rei Dos Reis (Roberta Miranda)
Sol Da Minha Vida (Roberta Miranda)
Celebrate (An Emotional Fish)
Believed You Were Lucky (Til Tuesday)
Need You Need Me (Rubber Rodeo)
Walking After Midnight (Rubber Rodeo's cover!)
The Hardest Thing (Rubber Rodeo)
City Of God (Rubber Rodeo once again!!!)
A Love In Vain (Foreigner)
If I Don't Have You (Lou Gramm)
Angel of the City (Robert Tepper)
Soul Survivor (Robert Tepper)
Dâ-Me Um Beijo À Beira Mar (Luis Mentos)
Pensa Em Mim (João Eduardo)
Morena Ai, Ai, Morena (João Pimentel)
Chapéu de Melo (João Pimentel)
A Minha Sogra É Linda (João Pimentel)
Take A Look At Me Now (Phil Collins)
Maria's Wedding (Black 47)
Love Grenade (The Cavedogs)
Sunshine Smile (Adorable)
Smile (Levitation)
No Time To Play (Guru featuring Ronnie Jordan)
World Without Love (World Party)
Ship of Fools (World Party)
Voyager (Je N'Aime Pas Ça) (Mario Pelchat)
Moon Dream Meadow Allegory (Sky Cries Mary)
Tonight We're On The Loose (Saga)
Shortcut To Somewhere (Fish - with Tony Banks)
Nothing At All (Peter Frampton)
Saints (The Breeders)
Someday I Suppose (Mighty Mighty Bosstones)
East Easy Rider (Julian Cope)
Into The Night (Benny Mardonez)
Hearts (Marty Balin)
Hold On (Ian Thomas)
Harmony (Ian Thomas)
Chocolate (Snow Patrol)
Oh Home (Paco Fernandez/Levitation)
I've Been Waitin (Foreigner)
Evening Falls (Enya)
Everything By (Enya) (!!!)
Cry (Godley & Creme)
Him (Rupert Holmes)
About Her (Malcolm McLaren - and a lot of The Zombies in there...!)
Madam Butterfly (Malcolm McLaren - with a lot of Puccini in it too!)
Désenchantée (Mylène Farmer)
Ensorcelée (Daniel Bélanger)
Putain Ça Penche (Alain Souchon - Caldera Remix!)
Vertige De L'Amour (Alain Bashung)
Ça C'est Super (S'Envoyer En L'Air) (some French tart...?!?)
Vacances J'Oublie Tout (Élégance) (ou "manque d'...") ©1982-Disque Barclay
L'Aziza (Daniel Balavoine) - inoubliable - RIP, D.B.
Apologize (One Republic/Timbaland)
Subdivisions (Rush)
Mystic Rhythms (Rush)
Red Sector A (Rush)
Verde E Vermelho (Marc Dennis)
Bawitdaba (Kid Rock)
You Don't Know What It's Like (Econoline Crush)
Summertime In The Void (I Mother Earth)
Raison (Luciano Pimentel) ;)
Modern Crusaders (Enigma)
Amère America (Luc de Larochellière)
End Of Me (Marion Raven)
Toi Et Moi (Clownage)
Do It Over (Amélie)
De L'Amour (Boulbar)
Vous (Pierre Lapointe)
Pain Of Life (Drunk Souls)
Be Brave (Antony Raijekov & Norine Braun)
Aloha Tango (Kaapad)
Deux Par Deux Rassemblés (Pierre Lapointe)
Someone Turning (Arctic)
Pyramid Song (Radiohead)
Karma Police (Radiohead)
Lucky (Radiohead)
Creep (Radiohead)
No Surprises (Radiohead)
Ghost World (16Pac)
City Lights (Husky Rescue)
New Light Of Tomorrow (Husky Rescue)
The Good Man (Husky Rescue)
La Magicien D'Oz (Eva Garcia)
Cache-Cache (1984)
16 Candles (Danielle Dax)
Flock Of Soul (Cocteau Twins)
La Voix (Alden Tyrell & Nancy Fortune)
Friday (Daniel Bedingfield)
The Way (Daniel Bedingfield)
Holiness (Daniel Bedingfield)
All The Time In The World (Gordon Haskell)
Time Out From The World (Goldfrapp)
Sour Times (Portishead)
Cherry Blossom Girl (Air)
Living Dead Girl (Rob Zombie)
Adagio (Tomaso Albinoni)
Adagio For Strings (Samuel Barber)
Light Writing (September Collective)
Song 6 (Daniel Powter)
7 Deadly Sins (Traveling Wilburys)
Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash)
Je Cherche L'Ombre (Céline Dion)
Avant Que L'Ombre... (Mylène Farmer)
Dégénération (Mes Aïeux)
Hands Off (Maria Vidal)
Once Bitten (3 Speed)
Douce Jalousie (Paul Sarrazin)
Ça Va Bien (Kathleen)
3 AM Eternal (The KLF)
What Time Is Love (The KLF)
Sarangi (Hooverphonic)
Flicking Your Switch (Ladytron)
Friendship Station (Le Tigre)
Tribulations (LCD Soundsystem)
All I Want Is You (The Mission)
Far Away (Nickelback)
The Ice Storm (The Go! Team)
Such a Shame (Talk Talk)
Hairy Trees (Goldfrapp)
Don't Tell Your Mother (The Sundays)
Mamãe Saudade (Graciano Saga)
Alone (Offer Nissim feat. Maya)
Silence (Delerium feat. Sarah M.)
and many, many more...

Or this song right here:

Or this one aqui mesmo ;)

(Okay - that was more an instrumental composition than a "song" per say...!)

How about this one now:

One word: WOW. Right? RIGHT?
I can only hazard a guess here - and that guess is that I most probably have better taste than the masses out there...? I know it well too; the unpleasant troglodyte masses that populate the earth (and sites such as stripcreator) polluting the atmosphere in the process - well, they have NO TASTE AT ALL...

But I digress...

I'll get back on their case some other time...
I guess! ;)

For now - enjoy the fine musical picks!

S-M 3, eh? That sounds... painful! Better watch these films instead...

2007-05-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

A little live action...

some "stop animation"...

a videogame (gotta merchandize!)

And the action figures - duh! (Merchandizing to the Nth degree!)

The Art Of Brainwashing With Love...

2007-04-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Sequential Art History Lesson - From The Beginning To The End...?

2007-04-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

To some, Superman is still the blandest superhero ever created.
And Batman is the most overrated "so-called 'super' hero"...
To those I say - guys, thy name is BROTHER!

Enjoy the following exposés
(subject to availability...!)

E-comics are the future... eh?
I hope MSC and SLASH STUDIOS are listening to THAT...
They - with my epic crossover tale that links them together - can be at the forefront of this brave new world - and the next stage in the evolution of this medium, artform and business!

Here's hoping that all play buttons will produce results when you hit them -
The History Channel and YouTube are not exactly known as "partners" -
But Luciano, MSC and Slash sure can be! ;) Hint-hint-hint!

The Art of Shooting A Memorable Commercial

2007-03-19T02:33:00.000-07:00

The Surefire Recipe Is:
a) Pick a mundane subject matter - that everybody connects with
b) Throw in as many wild-unexpected elements as possible
(in the allotted time, that is...!)
c) Cap off with a surprise ending that quickly reasserts the imperative "everything is cool/everything is fine, folks - it is safe to consume" atmosphere...

And you have got it made!

Odds and Ends...

2007-03-17T23:53:00.000-07:00

Harsh Reality is out on DVD now - the producers of that one will find that it is indeed a very harsh MARKET reality, out there too...
Eragon is also out on DVD - I guess it was more Dragonheart-like than LOTR-like after all, eh? The dragon's size is also more akin to that of a guppy "out there"...

====================================

Other DVD releases (that could have easily been "straight-to-DVD" releases while they were at it - but that is another story...) include The Marine.
Man - these WWE movies (See No Evil, No Holds Barred, The Condemned, The Unrepentent too (?), No Profit Allowed, See No Quality... Ok, I made up that last one and the WWE itself made up the second-to-last one there, in one of their many fits against Terry Bollea - aka Hulk Hogan!) I tell you; if there weren't TVA Films out there ("Fido" reeks and glows of a straight-to-DVD aura itself; but it is getting a theatrical try-out nonetheless, soon... Makes no sense to release a ZOMBIE FILM (named after a DOG to boot) NOW, while Spring is in the process of springing... But that is their strategy! Such a film should be released in October, of course - and straight to DVD too! But I digress...) and if there weren't other cheapie filmmakers out there, in such overwhelming abundance, WWE Entertainment would be THE FRONT RUNNER... IN THE RECKLESS, ARTLESS, OUT-OF-CONTROL SICKENING WASTE OF CELLULOID PRINTS!

====================================

I hope "The Marine" has an alternate ending too - like ROCKY BALBOA, another DVD release (after a mostly mild success itself, in theaters...) will have - and no, it does not involve Rocky being busted for illegal substances in the less-than-hallowed Philadelphia Spectrum...!
(The old -now non-existent- Montreal Forum was reputed to have fantômes... Does the Spectrum have spectres? Their AHL club is called the Phantoms... Just wondering...)
Let's see what it could be now, as far as an alternate ending for "The Marine" is concerned: John Cena gets permanently incapacitated from doing any more action movies!? Hey, it worked with The Rock, Bruce Willis and "Ah-nold" - unfortunately, we got as a direct result of that three plights of momentous proportions indeed: "serious thespian" The Rock; "serious thespian" Bruce Willis; and the power-mad Governator with that!!!
:(

He shamelessly gropes women, spouts out racial slurs, sentences to death reformed criminals, admits to be an Adolf fanboy on the side - AND he wants to be the first foreigner to be elected President of the United States nonetheless! What untold evils we get as bonuses when we do get what we wished for, sometimes - was all this worth the "bliss" of not having to go through a "Cobra 2", "Terminator 4", "Eraser Deux" and "True Lies Redux" (reflux?) - HUH?!? I don't think so...!
But I digress again...

====================================

Hulk will be shot in Toronto, they've announced...
The city of Montreal was, apparently, deeply heart-broken to not have the true Hulkster wreak havoc in their sleazy town this summer... Boo-hoo...
Toronto, meanwhile, is pleased as punch another sci-fi "epic" will be made on their turf - shades of Millennium, I guess?!?
Lest they fondly remember all those sad Scanners films...!
And so, the *true* Hulkster will be shot in T.O.
Well, I have to say - "so what?!?"
Seems like everybody and their cousin are shot in Toronto, nowadays...!!!
Yes - THAT is another story...

However, Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt will head for Montreal instead of T.O. in the coming months; I wonder... Knowing the fickle nature of the Pittster, his keen sense to wreck his own peace of mind and his love of women, is this when he will try to embark on a torrid love affair with Miss Blanchett (the LUMINOUS CATE BLANCHETT, some have taken to call her - should I sue? Not her - them! Whoever they are...!!!) and ditch Mrs. Gia-Lara Croft Smith in the sulfurous process...?

Actually, what will happen is that Cate will slap Brad silly, he will take a tumble off Mont-Royal (much worse than that other lady recently took...) and that will be the end of that!

====================================

IMDB is taking a poll on the merits of casting Matt Damon as James T. Kirk in an umpteenth Star Trek failed-in-advance film...
Me, I wonder what is Matt's "entourage" doing letting him do that?!?
Matt clearly expressed his desire to NEVER portray a "super-hero" type on the big screen - ever! Unlike his buddy J-Lo-X Bennifer did, as Daredevil...
Sure, Nicholas Cage wanted to be Superman years ago and finally considerably (make that tremendously - beyond the point of tolerance and belief!) lowered his expectations and took the part of Ghost Rider instead...
And the ever-huggable Tobey Maguire is Spider-Man - for now.
And Christian Bale was desperate enough to be Batman...
Only a newcomer would be Superman though - an ambiguous metrosexual one at that...
But an Oscar-winner was convinced to put in double duty as "Catwoman-Storm"...!
And the once venerable actor who portrayed so convincingly seaman Horatio Hornblower was among the Fantastic Four - alongside a hot-headed newbie, a starlet that is used to this and a reliable rock-solid TV actor who was willing to wear tons of make-up in order to become a... Thing.
There is, hence, some "honor" in portraying a superheroic type these days...
However, Matt turned down flat the "unchance" to portray one of the worst of all; Sub-Mariner, when rumors were that he'd get offered the part...
Matt had, back then, enough common sense in him to know that if he played the part of such a weird, obnoxious, would-be-prince anti-hero, his "good guy" image would be WASTED - for good! That is a definite no-go for Good Will Hunting!
Still he has been anti-heroic before - what he REALLY worries about is his reputation as a SERIOUS ACTOR, of course!
What has happened to him for him to fail to sense the very same danger here, with this lousy part of an all-around too-cocky-for-his-own-good Starfleet Academy hotshot punk, still wet-behind-the-ears to boot, at this point in his "unsaga"...?
You've guessed it - I'm no Kirk fan! Heck, I'm no Trekkie either!
The only true space-faring heroes I can think of, from the "golden age of TV sci-fi" are: Prof. Robinson from Lost In Space... Apollo & Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica... Buck Rogers Gil Gerard. And Koenig (with crew) from Space: 1999...!
Not Kirk - NEVER Kirk!
How can Good Will Matt here not see the appalling effect that getting into the second skin of one Bad William Shatner (ughhhhh) might have on him and the way he is perceived by the public henceforth...?!?

Matt Damon should, instead, seriously consider TRUE super-heroic parts: I'd see him as Captain America or as Green Lantern.
Neither one of those two roles are as cartoony as Kirk is...
(Although any role can get to be cartoony with Tinseltown casting cooks, nowadays...)

====================================

Mentioned DAMON - gotta mention WAHLBERG.
The execrable one - not Donnie! ;)
(And feel relieved I will not mention DiCAPRIO too!)

Marky Mark has his (straight?) SHOOTER coming out these days - I saw the commercial for it the other day and it made me laugh...
In it, some bimbo of service tells him something like: "you are ready for everything, eh?" (she must be a CANADIAN THESPIAN bimbo du jour, oui...)

I doubt Marky Mark is truly prepared to see how huge a flop this one will be...

To think that this guy, like Matt who flat out refused Sub-Mariner, laughed off the notion that he would ever portray AQUAMAN...
And he prefers to become the "Shooter" instead.
He thinks this to be "his Bourne Identity" - rrrright.
Dream on Marky Mark!
(James Cameron was equally laughably proposed as a director for that one - based upon his past "Abyss-mal" accomplishments, I am sure... He then got truly abysmal when he agreed to produce and promote with added gusto that inane documentary on the alleged tombs of a certain Holy Family... But I'm digressing once more...)

Well then, the shooter -for his part- will be shot down by those 300 maniacs, the number 23, that Zodiac maniac, Spider-Man 3, those Hills that have eyes too...
- and even those Disney Wild Hogs, I tell you!

Luminous (\ô/) Luciano ™ has spoken! (Or written, anyhow!)
;)

Great Cinematography

2007-03-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

There are still, today, examples of true mastery of the seventh art - even though Alfred and the likes of him are no longer around...

I think fondly of the classic Hitchcock thrillers - how each little frameshot was meticulously mounted side by side to create a crescendo of emotion.
I look back with fondness at the likes of Spartacus - a grand film like none other.
The truth is, there have been others, and recently too; Braveheart is one.
Gladiator is another.

Look at this masterful montage at the very end of Gladiator - showing to us the value of the soul over that of the body (note: the language of this version is Turkish - in case the video is still available, that is! I had seen the French version - but never the Turkish one! Thanks, YouTube - I guess!)

Here it is again - in its original version:

More of the wonderful music - always an epic scene enhancer - now: Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance is simply mesmerizing as an artist in all she does...

There are many techniques to enhance the dramatic effect of any sequence - its effect and impact on the audience, both being different and vital all at once. A memorable scene, one that can become forever etched in its viewership's collective memory, has to come close to perfection in all of these departments: it has to be significant, usually a death scene will be the most significant one can get... There has to be artsy evidence there - lyricism is the best way to be artistic here. A fluid pace, where all shots come together in such a way that there are no doubts as to their order - they have gelled so well together that it all appears more natural than natural is. It looks as real as real can get - it looks like a dream as well.
And it has to have universal resonance too.
Once all that is present, cinematographic history can be made.
It is all a question of the technical delivery at that point - as with many artforms, it is all in the delivery, yes...

Note in the example shown above (again, depending on the availability of the videos...!) the rapid succession of close-up shots, followed by pan outs, the elysian fields scene, the masterful use of the haunting music all throughout and a zoom out at the very end - into the sunset, starting from a now empty colosseum - there is no better way to show the proper measure of our earthly existence as compared to the afterlife. True lyricism is achieved here. And the cinematographic skill as well as the judicious use of the masterful music achieved it.

The words of the black gladiator played by Djimon Hounsou
are most remembered there: they end the film, as he says "now we are free. And we shall see you again. But not yet. Not yet."
So very true - they are a beacon of hope that echo the more somber words delivered by the late great Oliver Reed who stated, twice in the film, that we are but shadows and dust - before he was himself killed in a scene. The fact is, Mr. Reed was not to die in this film; the script called for him to deliver the lines at the end that ultimately went to Djimon Hounsou! This was changed -the script was rewritten- as this was to be also Mr. Reed's final film, as we all know; lyrical irony perhaps right there that he was attributed a role with those lines to deliver as his cinematographic swan song. Of course, our earthly shells are shadows and they go from dust to dust - but out souls are another matter entirely - and we shall see you again, Oliver Reed... You and a plethora of others.

I mentioned the great Alfred Hitchcock at the top.
His films were studied and scrutinized under all aspects by all would-be filmmakers - and many use his techniques to tremendous effect. It is only lamentable that the subject matters today are not as worthy as in the days of Alfred the Great!
Here is an example of that: great succession of images and the appropriate tension mounting - Alfred would like it, on technical merit alone - but nothing else, I am afraid...

Everyone will want to leave their mark, of course - by being as effective as their predecessors were, but by distinguishing themselves through doing so with material the others would probably not have touched with a ten-foot pole...

I am willing to give kudos to Ridley Scott - but not to Ron Howard.

My choice - my prerogative.

Both are equally sound in their technique and use of every tool at their disposal to make a memorable contribution to the seventh art - both want an Oscar before they go, evidently...

One chooses better material to make a film out of, that's all.

Let's end on a delightful note - with a lesson in true great cinematography - flawless in so many ways - by the man himself; Alfred Hitchcock!

2007-02-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

Finally found some Annette Ducharme - ON THE WEB!
Though it is neither of the two wonderful songs that I remember from her ("Get Back" and the hit "It's Just One Thing") the song - "Nicotine" as it is - is very much worthy of a good thorough analytical luminous listen! ;)

Dame Ducharme has the undeniable knack to weave a perfect song every time out - whether they are for herself of for other artists and notwithstanding if they "catch on" with the fans' fancy (fickle as they are) - the songs are always well-structured, intelligently so, which leaves the listener always satiated after each listen!
It is rare, indeed.
It is a gift that Dame Ducharme possesses and that few truly do have.
Many believed to have it, upon scoring big with one hit song, are soon exposed for what they truly are when they are found unable to come up with anything else even remotely close to what made them famous in the first place.
No so here, with Dame Ducharme - everything she has ever churned up has been of that same trademark quality that is hers now.
Far from being sycophantic here, I am merely stating the truth and the obvious; just ask her many collaborators! (Besides, Dame Ducharme is not in my field! What can she do for me that São didn't do for me... Hmm, that is right, yes - alas! But it is also another story - and I am digressing too -once more- so... Let's move on!)

Annette Ducharme will go down in history as the unsung siren supreme.
No one measures up to her - she knows it, many in the industry know it - but few outside of it will ever know it!

I used to say this about Phil Collins; "you want a surefire hit - get Phil to pen it!"
He did wonders for a flurry of neophyte solo artists who wanted to try it all on their own - duets with him, having songs either written, composed or produced by him did the trick for each one of them! (Frida being my favorite of the lot!)
Well...
Annette Ducharme is the female equivalent of Phil!
Just not as rich - otherwise, she'd have produced too! ;)
(Oh - and she's not as selfish as Phil either!
He kept all the really good songs for himself - she shared them!)

Godspeed, Miss Ducharme

more songs

2007-02-10T19:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome, Luminous Online Visitors!

Here are a few selections from the ever-popular socializing site, "Hi5"
(Not "His site" - and not "Her site" either; HI... FIVE! Yes!)
A bunch of songs that I used to have on a playlist, ready to be played
(in fact, they played automatically - upon access to the page too!)
BUT... "Hi5" took it away... :(
Anyhow - again a bunch of songs that show my very VERY eclectic tastes... and that I strongly recommend (for the most part!)

Asobi Seksu :
I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me

Tiago Fernandes : She

indigo : sarah mclachlan - fallen

Aventura :
Un Beso

Cat Power :
Werewolf

Shelley Phillips And Friends :
Newcastle

Aventura :
Obsesion

Aventura :
Ensenhame a Olvidar

Catherine MacLellan :
Jubilee

Alice Gomez; Madalyn Blanchett; Marilyn Rife :
Mystic Temple

Sierra Dawn :
You Knew Better

Melanie :
Autumn Lady

Baltinget :
Reventlow Jigs

Estopa :
Tu Calorro

sandi thom :
I wish I was a punk rocker (with flowers in my hair)

FRAN :
california (The OC)

Thermo :
Estoy Harto de Ti

dido :
de repente

Cold : confessions of a broken heart-
lindsay lohan

babasonicos :
yellow- coldplay

Thievery Corporation :
The Heart's A Lonely Hunter

chantal kreviazuk :
These Days

Green Day :
Wake me up when september ends

Nickelback :
Savin' Me

evanescence :
bring me to my life

evanescence :
my immortal

Nickelback :
How You Remind Me

Linkin Park :
In the End

Metallica_Fan :
Nothing Else Matters

red hot chilli peppers :
dani california

Muse :
Time is Running Out

Good Charlotte :
We believe

The Verve :
Bitter Sweet Symphony

Linkin Park :
From The Inside

linkin~park :
breakin the habit / with you

Yellowcard :
Ocean Avenue

varios : nirvana -
smells like teen spirit

xPaNdAx :
Cita en el Quirofano

Placebo :
Every you Every me

varios :
radiohead - creep

evanescence :
my last breathe

The Calling :
Wherever you will go

MeJor Rock! :
Decir Adios

Linkin Park :
Crawling

6 Voltios : Wirito

Linkin Park :
Faint

Linkin Park :
Don't Stay

Annu : Green Day -
Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Black Sabbath :
Paranoid

Kelly Clarkson :
walk away

a77aque :
arranca corazones

Jack Johnson : Gone

Jamiroquai : jamiroquai
(mystery track?!?)

The Ramones :
Blitzkrieg Bop

Jack Johnson :
Good People

Radiohead :
Paranoid Android

Linkin Park : Numb

Amy Lee : Hello

sons de africa : linda

radiohead :
karma police

Dogs Of Winter :
Wicked Game

P.O.D. :
Good bye for now

Further Seems Forever :
Vengeance Factor

Nightwish :
Ghost Love Score

vodka :
Dishawalla - Angels or Devils

MDC :
La maquina del tiempo

The Rasmus :
Sail Away

From First To Last Is The Best : World War Me

Guns N' Roses :
November Rain

System Of A Down :
Lonely Day

MyChemicalRomance :
I'm Not Okay (I Promise)

xPaNdAx :
Muneca

Nirvana ( cd by jenniel ) :
in bloom

The Misfits :
Helena

Night Temptation :
Mother Earth

Judith :
Pasame la Botella

Jack Johnson :
Times Like These

madonna :
Hung UP ABBA Remix

Madonna : Hung Up

redevilsSs : Hung Up

Dj Stp46 : Madonna -
Hung Up (The Drill Remix)

miscelaneous :
HUNG UP

lusiada :
Hung Up

guerreros de carton :
Mariadicta

Why? :
Sanddollars

Brianna :
All We Need Is You

Placebo :
English Summer Rain

The Cranberries :
ode to my family

Ashlee Simpson :
La La

The Cranberries :
Dream

Aerosmith :
Dream On

Von Iva :
Not Hot to Trot

Slowride :
Daydreams Of A Future

guerreros de carton :
Mariadicta
Amelie soundtrack :
Amelie accordian theme

Last... mp3 shall be the first! ;)
Continous play makes it that way, y'know? ;)

Videoclip directing is an artform too...

2007-02-01T08:54:00.000-08:00

Many of these little productions are veritably tiny films all on their own

Such as this one - L.A. Woman

Eat your heart out, Black Dahlia tardy filmmakers...

"This Never Happened To The Other Feller" - best sly line of all-time!

2007-01-31T00:07:00.000-08:00

I admit it:
It took me a long, long time to discover that ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE was the greatest James Bond film ever made (in great part due to the absence of either Sean Connery or Roger Moore - but also because of the simply stupendous title sequence by master Maurice Binder (the best such sequence ever made), the awesome action sequences, their realism, the stunning soundtrack by John Barry, the masterful directorial debut of one Peter Hunt, the better use of the locales chosen to shoot in, the flair and panache that dastardingly captures the true essence of the Ian Fleming beast throughout this film and, of course, the casting of Diana Rigg as the first and only Mrs. Bond!)
It took me quite long to give the film a chance, alas; prior to 1980, I had considered this to be a film "that didn't count" - it wasn't "the real Bond", just an impostor! The real Bond was, to me, The Saint! Roger Moore - in other words, Lord Brett Sinclair, Simon Templar and James Bond were all one and the same to me! Sean Connery was himself a mere replacement in my mind - so what did George Lazenby hope to be rated as, when young filmgoers such as me had this kind of "backwards logical thinking" going - eh?

The pleasant surprise that "OHMSS" is born in the luminous year of 1969 was a factor, I cannot deny it (plus, one of the locations it was shot in was Portugal - wow!) - but the film itself, in my more mature eyes, proved to be far superior on all technical levels that matter - once I finally gave it a chance, sat down and saw it, in 1980!
I was stunned - this was waaaaaaaaay better than any Connery conk out on celluloid or any Moore merriment caught on film...! (And please spare me any Dalton or Brosnan talk - and that other guy now...! The preceding was a little *clin d'oeil* to the pre-credits in-joke Lazenby so cleverly delivers in this one...! ;)
THIS, my friends, is the true James Bond!

And DIANA RIGG is the ultimate Bond Girl - no question about it!
Most fully-capable critics will agree with me on that too!

Many kudos and thanks to the Propellerheads for ressuscitating that unforgettable and unmistakenably unique theme music concocted for Bond exclusively for this film
(the finer music, the meticulous approach to every detail, both in scriptwriting, cinematography and plain plausibility - it was all attributable to the casting of a neophyte 007 in this one! It was the nicest side-effect of all, in the end: in over-compensating for their apparent weakness -their leading man- the 007 team made this the best Bond film of all! More stills from it can be seen here.)

No B.S. from K.S.

2007-01-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

KEVIN SMITH - (a friend of mine on MySpace!) - says it like it really is, usually...
Here, he exposes weirdoes such as Tim Burton, Warner Bros. executives, Jon Peters (a hairdresser turned film producer - he "failed upwards", as they all do in Tinseltown) and Marky Mark too (the underwear dude)

I always applaud the process of exposing blowhards (especially those such as Warner Bros. execs, their DC Comics equivalents, vainglorious eccentrics such as Peters and Burton and other assorted oddities...)

The only two things I have to avoid condoning in Smith's discourse here are his stand on DOGMA... Oh, and his Jersey language!

"This Never Happened To The Other Feller" - best sly line delivery of all time!

2006-12-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

A Review penned under my nom de plume...!

2006-12-01T06:37:00.000-08:00

The Corvini Inheritance (1986)
by luc poirier
January 24, 2007 03:07 AM EST (Updated: March 09, 2007 07:12 AM EST)
to group: Movies & Film Corps
tags: reviews, movies - digg it del.icio.us
Directed by G. Beaumont
And starring David McCallum, Jan Francis and Terence Alexander.

This one may be a trifle hard to find, as it dates back 21 years and was made for British television to boot. It is part of a series of films that paired up numerous fine talents (other films had starred David Carradine and Stephanie Beacham; Mary Crosby and Nicholas Clay; Jenny Seagrove and Dirk Benedict; Hannah Gordon and Peter Graves) in well-crafted mini-thrillers each 90 minutes in length. The series was "Hammer House" - a sort of Masterpiece Theater for the Hammer Films tradition! Yes, you read right - Hammer Films! Ironically enough though, none of these films would feature vampire horror, as Hammer had pretty much run the genre to its grave, no pun intended... (It was a temporary demise anyways - for we all know that everything old is eventually new again and trends return, one day...)

Still, no one can deny that the Hammer style was perfection in itself. It still stands on its own as a masterful way to package the supernatural mystery suspense thriller and many of the currently successful projects in this genre owe a lot to it. The Christopher Lee Draculas and Ingrid Pitt Carmillas may have been past their time of glory, but the distinguished Hammer style will always be in fashion and au goût du jour - whatever the current trends may be!

Recognizing this, Hammer attempted a comeback in the mid-1980s on the small screen this time, with these 90-minute films rich in style and suspense, if not hemoglobin or special effects. Hammer Horror was never about gore anyways - it was always stylish, intelligent and refined fare that was, truly, well-suited for television and its censors. And so this series of films met with a certain success indeed. The Corvini Inheritance is a personal favorite of mine for it starred two under-appreciated stars; the true (invisible) man from U.N.C.L.E. and the mesmerizing Jan Francis, who got a chance here to be the center of a piece and not merely supporting characters once more.

Without giving away the mystery, this is a twist on the curse of the Hope diamond as well as a haunting story in all the possible senses of the expression! The ending is a shocker and one feels for the main hero and heroine - for, aye, it is not a happy ending that we get! When one deals with curses and ghosts, it isn't so simple as the vampire getting the stake through the heart and crumbling to dust! Maybe it is the problem here as well - despite being a "refreshing" change of pace, the lack of happy endings here must have hurt the popularity of these films, hence, the demand for them. Whether vampire films or other things, Hammer films had always ended in a satisfactory fashion for the moviegoer. Maybe expecting the film viewer to be less demanding in that regard -or more of a realist- only because he is watching this for free at home, was not so logical after all. Still, just for the well-structured suspense, Jan Francis' acting and gorgeous eyes and that perennial good guy who never gets the breaks that David McCallum always embodied so well, I highly recommend this one. The directing is nearly flawless and that can only come from veteran directors, true artists and masters of their medium - all of which were always to be found in "Hammer House" - the house that Peter Cushing built!

"Child's Play" and "Mark of the Devil" are two other finely-honed suspenses in the series - the latter also featuring Burt Kwouk, famous for his Pink Panther role, in a decisively very different role...

If these are ever on some specialty channel (such as Sci-Fi) I suggest recording them - these are for keeps!

2006-11-30T07:33:00.000-08:00

"And so Tinseltown carries about its daily bristled business without a care in the world... They are, indeed, a world of privilege; a self-sufficient world; a world apart.

How can they not see that they have a responsibility in the overall order of things? Beyond merely "educating", accurately reflecting the times we live in by portraying them in a non-idealized way on the small and big screens and even beyond giving the moviegoer or film buff/ DVD purchaser his or her money's worth... BEYOND all that - Hollywood owes it to the world to GIVE BACK to it - give back to the 'Have-Nots' in kind, for they are 10 times as numerous as you are, Tinseltown tools - and they matter, too."

The above excerpt of a luminous essay by MOI is brought to you by:
THE TLB PRIME NETWORK
THE LUMINOUS BLOG
LUMINOUS COUNTRY
LUMINOUS LAND
LUMINOUS WRITINGS
(do you see a theme developing here yet...?)
and me... Luminous (\ô/) Luciano ™
;)

2006-11-28T10:02:00.000-08:00

The Art of Saying Much Without Saying A Thing...

2006-11-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

songs I affectionate - without rhyme or reason to it!

2006-11-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

"Trouble" - Coldplay
"Think I'm In Trouble" - Lindsay Buckingham
"Storms In Africa" - Enya
"Carribean Blue" - Enya
"Amarantine" - Enya (all three should be playing shortly - right here! Just keep scrolling down...!)
"Talk" - Coldplay (the video for this one is PURE ART...! One with, all at once, artistic value, sardonic wit AND a great public message and morale! See it here.)
"Sister Golden Hair" - America
"The Sun Still Shines In The Eastern Sky" - Dolores O'Riordan with Jah Wobble and the Invaders of the Heart
"Karma Police" - Radiohead
"Pyramid Song" - Radiohead
"Go To Sleep" - Radiohead
"Empty Room" - Marjorie Fair
"In My Place" - Coldplay (listen to it - here)
"Live and Learn" - The Cardigans
"How To Save A Life" - The Fray
"Transatlanticism" - Death Cab For Cutie
"Keep Hope Alive" - Crystal Method
"End of All Hope" - Nightwish ~~~
"Hope" - Apocalyptica ~~~
"City Lights" - Husky Rescue
"Visions of You" - Jah Wobble and the Invaders of the Heart with Sinead O'Connor
"New Light of Tomorrow" - Husky Rescue
"Cry For The Desert" - Twila Paris ~~~~~
"My Lips Will Praise You" - Twila Paris
"Diamonds In The Sky" - Husky Rescue
"Quem Jà Perdeu Um Sonho Aqui" - Hateen ~~~~~
"The Hardest Part" - Coldplay ~~~~~
"The Hardest Thing" - Rubber Rodeo
"I Love You Always Forever" - Donna Lewis ~~~~~
"Water Song / Janie's Got A Gun" - Aerosmith ~~~~~
"City of God" - Rubber Rodeo
"Breathe" - Anna Nalick ~~~
"Breathe" - Michelle Branch ~~~
"Breathe" - Midge Ure ~~~
"Breathe" - Erasure ~~~
"Breathe" - Prodigy
"Breathe" - Telepopmusic ~~~
"Breathe" - Greenwheel ~~~
"Breathe" - Paula DeAnda ~~~
"Breathe" - Fabolous ~~~
"Breathe Me" - Sia
"Draggin' The Line" - Tommy James & The Shondells
"It's Like Me" - Kutless ~~~~~~~~~
"The Logical Song" - Supertramp
"I Don't Want To Live Without You" - Foreigner ~~~~~
"Reconnecting" - Tait ~~~~~
"Wait" - Earshot ~~~~~
"Always" - Bon Jovi
"Sailing" - Christopher Cross
"Hello Sunshine" by Syd Matters is not it...
Maybe "Sunshine Smile" by Adorable
~~~ but most probably "Smile" by Levitation
"Good Morning Starshine" - Serena Ryder ~~~
"Good Morning" - Debbie Reynolds
"Sweet Sacrifice" - Evanescence
"God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" - Coldplay
"Wish You Were Here" - Blackmore's Night
"Wish You Were Here" - Rednex (YOU tell me which version is best!)
EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU (Rock'N'Roll version) - by SANCTUS REAL is better still!
SHINE by SALVADOR - is even better!
"Broken Heart" by Falling Up
1999's "Point #1" - Chevelle
"Breakthrough" - Bleach (The Band!) ~~~~~
"Mainstreet" - Bob Seger (1976 - before he sucked) ~~~~~
"Monday In Vegas" - Lucerin Blue
"Hold On To Jesus" - Erin O'Donnell ~~~~~
"Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" - Bad Company ~~~~~
"Reminiscing" - Little River Band
"Do You Believe In Love" - Huey & The News ~~~~~
"Tweezer" (The Instrumental Part Only) - Phish ~~~~~
"Old Man Took" - America
"Heard The World" - O.A.R. ~~~~~
"(Why Do) All Good Things Come To An End - Nelly Furtado
'Castles In The Sand" - Seals & Crofts ~~~~~~~~
"'The Light'" - Soulidium ~~~~~~~~
"Mountain of Love" - Johnny Rivers
"Broken" - Lindsay Haun ~~~~~~~~
"Broken" - Seether with Amy Lee ~~~~~~~
"Things Change" - Dwight Yoakam
"A Star Fell" - Hollywood Flames ~~~~~~~~~~~
"Goblin City" - Panthers ~~~~~~~~~~
"We've Got Nothing" - Faith Hill
"Last Dollar" (Fly Away) - Tim McGraw ~~~~~
"Stand" - Rascal Flatts ~~~~~~
"Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" - Miranda Lambert
"Stupid Boy' (I'm The Same Old) - Keith Urban ~~~~~~~
"I Keep Coming Back" - Josh Gracin ~~~~~~~
"Tennessee" - The Wreckers
"The Long Way Around" - Dixie Chicks ~~~~~
"These Are My People" - Rodney Atkins ~~~~~
"It's Too Late To Worry" - Jo Dee Messina
"Red High Heels" - Kellie Pickler ~~~~~
"Red" - Chevelle
"Skeptic" - Chevelle ~~~~~
Sirius (Instrumental) - Alan Parsons Project (as good as EVER)
"Within Temptation" - Somewhere (titles and names are deceiving! This is a GREAT song - wow - truly stupendous, I tell ya! Whooooo!)
"The Edge of the Ocean" - Ivy (another WOW) ~~~~~~~~
"Dream Within A Dream" - Alan Parsons Project ~~~~~
"Lucky" - Laura Nyro
"Surrender" - Laura Pausini ~~~~~~~~
"Mariposa" ... "Rosas" - La Orega de Van Gogh (or is it La Oreja...? Oraga? Oranja? Orgasma? Origano? Anyhow - BOTH songs are stupendous!)
"Jungle" - Lee Perry & Dub S ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jà Não Sou Quem Era" - Açoreana? (somebody help me out - I don't know the name of this great songstress! Sort of a Portuguese Bonnie Raitt!)
"A Cruz Que Carrego" - Nelson Ceisaro?
"Run" ... "Sea of Faces" ...
"Grace and Love" - Kutlass (they're all that "Snow Patrol" sound like they could be - but really aren't! Yup!)
Speaking of Snow Patrol - "Run" is a joy to listen to.
So is "Chocolate" - (still by Snow Patrol, yes!)
"Celtic Cry" - Ronan Hardiman is another terrific piece of music; listen to it here (depending upon availability...!)
"Tempus Vernum" by Enya is superior, but still...
"Lord of the Dance" is also by Ronan Hardiman
"Angel" by Era is far more enchanting - it goes without saying!
"Warriors" is a joint composition by Ronan & Enya...!
"Cosmos" the theme music composed by Vangelis is a true marvel
And "Boadicea" is a classic that is all Enya's!
I must wrap up this short list with some VINTAGE classics too:
"Aquarela do Brasil" - Sara Montiel (1965)
"Barco Negro" - Amalia Rodrigues
and, if you crave much better music, go for this: Hymns!

site en construction...

2006-11-11T09:42:00.000-08:00