Tag: movies

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Wrestling with the Present, Living in the Past

The WrestlerTonight we went out to check The Wrestler at Sunshine, directed by Darren Aronofsky. I had heard the hype, “Resurrection of Mickey Rourke” and his Golden globe for best actor, and I’ve liked Aronofsky’s other flicks: Pi, Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain; so we went.

I wasn’t a fan of wrestling. Never really got into it as I was more of a field sports kid, however, E was. Apparently she played with figurines of Rowdy Roddy Piper, Andre the Giant, Randy “Macho Man” Savage and of course the Hulk.

The film starts up 20 years after the stud years of the 80s for pro-wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson (think Ric Flair) who’s dealing with the his final days of his career and struggling to reconnect with his daughter and a seasoned stripper (Marisa Tomei) searching to graduate from the poll. Both are aging professionals, with fake names who use their body to craft art, fantasy and entertainment for others. Well past their prime, they both struggle to make ends meet at their profession – The Ram making a few hundred bucks at old school day in the ring, and Cassidy struggles to get the frat boys to pay up for a dance.

CassidyMickey added 50 lbs, pocked his face and grew out the locks for the roll, and still gave a compelling performance. On the other side, now 44 year old Tomei, got in the gym, took some poll lessons, pierced the nips and can work her shit better now, I think, than she did in her Oscar-winning “My Cousin Vinny” days. It’s well worth the trip to watch both actors, but this story about losers coming to reality in their age has a desperately moving appeal.

It’s fun back stage look at wrestling as enemies on stage are hugely encouraging friends working through their on stage acts. It’s shock of the ring with glass plate shattering, staple guns and bloody victories. And it’s a sad tragedy of life, with broken promises, self-destructive impulsive habits, and the loneliness of fame long gone. Randy stands tearful up on the ropes, with the lights centered, crowds cheering for that last Ram Jam!

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Top 10 Christmas Movies to remember the holidays

Ah happy day. The day that all those Christmas movies will stop playing (that and some dog movie starts up tonight), and of course some families gather and celebrate the “holiday’s”. I just caught a show on the history of Christmas and learned a few interesting things in passing. Christmas Trees derive from pre-Christian Germanic paganism where the tradition of decorating fir trees and evergreens in the winter was to signify the solstice. I also understand that Christmas started as a pagan festival spanning most of the month of December even before anyone had heard of Jesus Christ. Last, most historians believe Jesus was not born on the 25th. I’ll be relaying this to my Jehovah family that’s actually joining us this year for dinner.

Back to movies, here’s my top 10 Christmas movies – in no particular order:

  • The Christmas Story – Ah Ralphie, we all felt your pain in reaching for that Red Ryder BB Gun, finally getting it and then… shooting your eye out. “Only one thing in the world could’ve dragged me away from the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window. “
  • National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation – “Where do you think you’re going? Nobody’s leaving. Nobody’s walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We’re all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We’re gonna press on, and we’re gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he’s gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse. ” That pretty much sums it up.
  • Elf – I seriously saw parts of this movie at least every other day this whole month. “It’s just like Santa’s workshop! Except it smells like mushrooms… and everyone looks like they wanna hurt me… “
  • Gremlins’ – ah the simple movie of how ignorance and human error brings considerable chaos and evil to all…. and partying with your friends for the holidays! What a great film. – “The worst thing that ever happened to me was on Christmas. Oh, God. It was so horrible. It was Christmas Eve. I was 9 years old. Me and Mom were decorating the tree, waiting for Dad to come home from work. A couple hours went by. Dad wasn’t home. So Mom called the office. No answer. Christmas Day came and went, and still nothing. So the police began a search. Four or five days went by. Neither one of us could eat or sleep. Everything was falling apart. It was snowing outside. The house was freezing, so I went to try to light up the fire. That’s when I noticed the smell. The firemen came and broke through the chimney top. And me and Mom were expecting them to pull out a dead cat or a bird. And instead they pulled out my father. He was dressed in a Santa Claus suit. He’d been climbing down the chimney… his arms loaded with presents. He was gonna surprise us. He slipped and broke his neck. He died instantly. And that’s how I found out there was no Santa Claus. “
  • Die Hard – Die Hard can arguably be one of the best action films of the 80’s and it helped catapult Bruce Willis to star material as he portrayed the most real and vulnerable action start to date. – “Hey babe, I negotiate million dollar deals for breakfast. I think I can handle this Eurotrash. “
  • Love Actually – I didn’t like the movie at first but it grew on me after a few viewings. I’ve even karaoke’d Mariah Carey’s hit song on the bus. – “Daniel: Well, because I thought it would be something worse.
    Sam: [incredulous] Worse than the total agony of being in love?
  • Scrooged – Bill Murry is one of my early favorite comics and how can you not enjoy is Frank Cross character: “The bitch hit me with a toaster.” or “I never liked a girl well enough to give her 12 sharp knives. “
  • The Simpsons Christmas Special – now when they merge the Halloween special with the Christmas one, that will take this show to the top of my list. – “Homer: Aah! Thirteen bucks? Hey, wait a minute!
    Clerk: That’s right. One hundred and twenty dollars gross, less social security, less unemployment insurance, less Santa training, less costume purchase, less beard rental, less Christmas club. See you next year.
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas – this one was a toss up from the animated Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and the animated version of this soul warmer where the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes that day- “And his fib fooled the child. So he patted her head, he gave her a drink and he sent her to bed. And when Cindy Lou Who was in bed with her cup, he crupt to the chimney and stuffed the tree up. Then he went up the chimney himself, the old liar, and the last thing he took was the log for their fire. On the walls he left only hooks and some wire. And the one speck of food that he left in the house was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse”.
  • The Nightmare Before Christmas – What the Simpson’s didn’t do, Tim Burton succeeded – “Jack Skellington: [singing] There’s children throwing snowballs / instead of throwing heads / they’re busy building toys / and absolutely no one’s dead!”
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Get Smart with Mozart

Just after the match, I checked out Get Smart with Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway and The Rock … uh I mean Dwayne Johnson. I never watched Mel Brooks’s spy comedy spoof Get Smart, I was even born then but besides, the only 60’s agent/spy show I was a fan of as a kid was The Man from U.N.K.L.E.. Not knowing the movie, I was entertained by Steve’s comedy delivery, although underused (I was told that the original Maxwell Smart character was more inept than capable as Steve portray’s his character). Unfortunately like most all of Hollywood’s bullshit blockbuster movies, Peter Segal’s version added the “guy gets the girl” cliché at the end and I was equally annoyed by Anne Hathaway’s presence, character and acting on the screen (over used – judging by the promo poster, you can tell whom the studios are pushing as the headliner). The miscast of the movie is James Caan as a president modeled on the frat boy styled George W. Bush.

While in the theater, I got a text from the Law that she had acquired free tickets to Carnegie Hall (thank you Riza!). Not knowing the show, I still wanted at least an opportunity to check this historic place out. Built entirely of masonry (without a steel frame) in 1891 and named after Andrew Carnegie, it is one of the most famous venues in the US for classical and popular music. Sunday’s showing was a Distinguished Concerts International New York performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Vesperae Solennes de Confessore” (K. 339) and guest conductor, Hank Dahlman.

Not that any of this rings a bell to the uninformed, me included, however, I still enjoy a good live show (yes even that Brooks n Dunn one in high school) in a respected forum and this particular one didn’t disappoint. Unfortunately because I was already at the movies, I had to run home, get out of the summer flip-flops and boardshorts to get a little more “respectable” for the Carnegie crowd (unfortunately the fat-assed midwesterners we sat behind had no concept of respect while chatting throughout the concert – and tourists wonder why NYers hate them). We didn’t get back until Intermission but the last half that we did catch was auditory entertainment. Notably the Soprano, Kristen Plumley had an excellent voice for her unexpectedly small frame. The acoustics for Carnegie are excellent and the Italian renaissance decor with vivid red velvet seating create a fantastic venue for such events. I look forward to the next opportunity to catch Foo Fighters, um I mean another classical music event here again.