Jonah Hex

This viewer is crazy about film originality. Every so often, a flick is so bizarre in plot and imagery that it sears our imaginations and makes us stand up and say, "Wow!" Such is Jonah Hex.

Consider for a moment a protagonist with a face so disfigured you cannot stand to look at him. Consider too a man who can temporarily resurrect, and talk to, the dead. Now add beautiful Megan Fox to the mix, throw in the acting genius of John Malcovich, and take a basic revenge plot that becomes iconic in power, and you've got Jonah Hex.

Josh Brolin plays the outcast, the creepy hero, with brilliance. He impressed us as Harvey White in Milk. He was fantastic as the greedy, money-seeking victim of a killer in No Country for Old Men. But in Jonah Hex, Brolin, with grizzled flesh and the mouth of a monster, outdoes himself. He is every bit the living Frankenstein who rides the old west, consulting the dead, as he pursues the man who destroyed his family.

Where did the writers get such a strange plot? Who came up with such an offbeat, eerie story? Tough to answer....but suffice it to say that once you've seen this film, you'll have a very different view of the avenging angel!

Want to have fun? Return to the days of the Civil War and watch Jonah take on evil in the world. It's an experience you won't soon forget.

Letters to Juliette

Amanda Seyfried, the rebellious daughter in Big Love, has become the go-to star for "Chick Flicks." Once again, she does a great job of playing the forlorn searcher of true love who wins our hearts on her journey.

My esteemed colleague once wrote in lauding a violent movie, "I'm a girl...." Great preface, which I shamefully mimic: "I'm a guy...." BUT: I love this soppy movie!

Here's why: It takes place in Italy, a favorite alternate world where my spouse and I live the Renaissance vicariously, eat pasta, and stare at beautiful people. It stars the cute, pixie-ish, adorable Amanda. It also stars the very talented and mature Vanessa Redgrave. It involves two generations of lovers, old and young. It centers around a generosity of spirit that is absolutely touching.

Then there's the Verona and Romeo/Juliette motif. What fun to place a romance in the very place where spurned lovers write notes and hope to get answers!

No specifics, but can you imagine two former teen lovers who meet again after 50 years? Will the spark still be there? Will they even recognize each other? Can they make a life after so much time? To mirror those tensions, will the young female protagonist realize that her Italian fiance is a self-centered jerk and find the man of her dreams?

If you're a gal or guy with a heart who still thinks about the wonder of love, run out and rent this film.

A for captivating, entertaining, and delightfully soapish!

Glee'sRockyHorror

READERS: We invite you to go first this time! Tell us what you thought of this week's Glee episode: A tribute to Rocky Horror Picture Show's 35th anniversary.

Mad Men 10-17 Finale!

Hey! Anyone out there remember Dallas or The Bob Newhart Show? My friend Keiko nailed it when she suggested this season's finale (What? Finale already? Can't be!) must be a long dream sequence, cause otherwise I'm sittin' here scratching my head and saying, Huh?" Don...is...in...love? With Miss "Bad Teeth?" Sorry, but even SHE mentioned her teeth! Now, we've been watching Don go through changes all season, but I must confess I don't know if I can handle a gushy, grinning, goober-faced Don Draper. I will even suggest, for your consideration, that Jon Hamm is one of the rare gorgeous men who actually looks less attractive while smiling broadly. He does NOT know this woman. I think he is drawn to a mommy for the kids. And why such a hurry? Truly weird. [I did adore watching him in daddy-mode, though.] Poor Dr. Miller. I still think she is right for him. Ironically, he's now a turd because he's doing the honorable thing of marrying.

I winced at Peggy's subtle (except to us) heart stab at hearing of Don's impending marriage. Then Don pours salt on the wound by insulting her saying, "She reminds me of you." ARGH!!!!! Peggy and Don are so unlikely, and yet...

Again we are reminded of the uneveness in the corporate world as Peggy feels her huge landing of new account was trumped by Don's announcement. I'm sure if roles were reversed with a "girl" in the office announcing her engagement, all the hoopla from the fellow execs would be on business. It was such a weird gender-bender.

Well, every finale needs more than one bombshell. Joan is still with child. OMG. We all know whose it is, don't we! My sister was right. She questioned if Joan had actually gone through with the abortion. Well-played, Marsh.

A couple of fun retro details: "The Name Game" playing in the background. And Topaz stockings. Now, when they first mentioned Topaz, nothing stuck with me. Later when I realized it was stockings I had a major instant mental elevator ride from deep in the basement of my brain to the top floor of consciousness. (Whew - I am in an extended metaphor mood!) I remember Topaz stockings - they came in a sweet little white box and encased in tissue paper. In my house these were reserved for very special occasions - family wedding, prom... I haven't thought about this in ________ years.

Last scene with Don and Betty closing up shop felt real, painfully real, with each walking in a different direction. Divorce is always so sad.

WHAT am I going to watch next Sunday??

Mad Men 10-10-10

Betty Draper is a wicked, wicked mother. There, I've said what you're all thinking. When each night's episode begins with, "Previously on Mad Men," and I see domestic Draper scenes, I sigh; tonight's show will feature the FAMILY. Now that Don isn't in that family, I wish it would all center on MAD[ison Avenue]MEN. Because nothing really develops here. We get the dynamics. That said, tonight we watched little Sally as she teeters between the sweet girl she was and probably misses being, and the Betty-morph she keeps slipping into, thanks to said mother! Betty shows cold, but polite distance toward her two sons, but downright animosity toward her daughter. I think it's an alpha-female syndrome. As her girl matures (which we are literally watching as the child actress thins out into adolescence), the mother sees her replacement in the world, a world that Betty bitterly misses - modeling, socializing, playing, youth. One hint of this was in the bizarre scene where Betty desperately clings to continuing her own visits with S's child psychologist. This is one fragile, brittle woman in arrested development who is ready to crack. And yes, part of me feels very sorry for her, and I suspect we will learn why down the road. Actually, I take back what I said earlier; it is pretty interesting.

Quick note: opening scene of her feeding hot dogs to her children before step-dad comes home and the adults will have "different food" jolted my memory box. My parents were friends with a couple who would frequently serve their boys hot dogs while the parents ate steak, justifying it that the kids didn't "like" steak. Could be. But my mom was always so indignant that there would be such a food hierarchy. {Years later, one of the sons "accidentally" shot and killed his dad. oops.}

The sub-plot of artist-junkie was a weird one, but with this show, I hold great trust that the wisdom will be revealed. Sure enough, in a later scene, Don sits staring at her tormented canvas. I wonder if it held fascination for one who has his own addictions and lapses of control, hmmm?

The Lucky Strike meltdown intrigues me. As they mentioned a new cigarette aimed at women, all I could think of was, "it has to be Virginia Slims," right? We'll see. The rapid flashes to each person's private reaction with totally 60s film music in background was quite authentic.

Don Draper's manifesto, Why I Am Quitting Tobacco, was stunningly brilliant and courageous. But I know the feeling: on those rare mornings I would wake up having no clue what I would be doing in 3rd period class, I'd pull out all creativity, throw caution to the wind, and usually had one of my best lesson plans. Brilliance under pressure - haha. He was an ass for stating a new "policy" the firm had not discussed, but the ol' "best defense is good offense" is the act of a leader. Wow. It's "I'm breaking up with you." "Oh yea? Well, I don't want you anyway." WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT WEEK?

A fun reference: Barefoot in the Park. Great play. One of my favorite nostalgic movies. I saw it on the first morning after 8th grade graduation.

Lastly, I am continuously amazed by all the alcohol in the offices. Whew.

The Social Network

While my film blog buddy enjoys the crisp air of the Swiss Alps, I shall scoot in and offer comments on The Social Network, which examines two intellectual property lawsuits brought against founder/CEO of Facebook, world's youngest billionaire, Mark Zukerberg (currently worth $5 BILLION!) While the film did not enjoy cooperation from Z., its makers drew heavily on court records for authenticity, trying to show various perspectives.

I enjoyed the film. Really, I did. Dialogue was in the incredibly crisp, tight, fast-paced, witty, pay-attention style of screenwriter Arron Sorkin (West Wing and others). Direction by David Fincher followed suit.

Casting and performances were dead on: Jesse Eisenberg playing King of Passive-Agression, Zuckerberg, and of most note, Justin Timberlake, who proves he can not only be dynamite on stage, but deliver a performance that made this unapologetically HUGE Timberlake fan actually forget who he was. Wow.

One of the most dramatic indicators of an invention's success is when it changes the lexicon (e.g. "I xeroxed it.") Facebook changed the word "friend" into a verb. ("Hey, friend me, o.k.?") By the end of the film. we are shown that Z., who has brought together over a million "FRIENDS," has not one real one to call his own. Therein lies the poetic irony.

Best line of the film came at very end when an attorney says to M.Z., "You're not an asshole, Mark. You're just trying so hard to be." I think that nailed his persona.

As I said, I enjoyed watching this, and yet, the morning after I question what I got out of it. Was I enlightened? Moved? I realize the focus of the film was the legal cases themselves, but I wanted to know more about Zukerberg. What lay beneath that stoic facade? Also, they should have shown more of Facebook's impact - numbers do not tell a story. A million members. O.k. But even a 30 second clever montage of our everyday use of this social phenomenon would have had an impact.

By the way, I just discovered the Winklevoss twins were played by one gentleman. Completely amazing - I had no idea.

I find the passive-aggressive personality to be immensely undesireable, downright maddening, even viscous. Let's not worry about Mr. Zukerberg; now that he's sold Facebook he's not got one "friend," he has 5 billion.

Mad Men 10-3-10

After this week's episode, my sister asked me, "Do you think what's-his-name (Pete Campbell) will leave the firm?" Therein lies part of this series' success for me: I HAVE NO IDEA! I can never tell what turns this show will take. Not a clue.

This week's show centered on Roger Sterling. An interesting sign of how he stands out from the rest can be found in his office. If you notice, the rest of the greater office is still grounded in the furnishings and interiors of the 50s. Not Roger's. He has embraced (notwithstanding his residual resentment of the Japanese) the new go-go look of the burgeoning pop culture 60s. And it appears uncomfortable, lacking color, cheap, and short-lived in plastic. All image. Hmmm. Roger's going through a tough time. On this night, he lost Joan. Again. Really this time. Well, maybe. The scene was so poignant to this viewer. Again, I felt it. Authenticity oozes from these two; makes one believe in "chemistry" for actors, as in real relationships. I was sure Roger left her building and found a little corner in which to weep. Yet we next see him keeping up appearances with loyal wifey.

He is completely blowing it at work. What is going on? I am fascinated by "work" drama; it is such a nice change from "domestic" issues and I learn a lot, so watching the ripple effect of losing accounts offers revelations in the corporate world. But Roger is just losing control of everything.

Don was a bad boy again, and I am disappointed in him! Brother. And this new secretary is no jackpot - has bad teeth! I don't really believe in sex addiction, but in today's pop psychology, maybe that's what he has.

Just a few funny moments that I relished:

WINCED AND CHUCKLED when the short little squirt/nephew/employee's raised hand was overlooked. Yea, I feel your pain.

WINCED AND CHUCKLED during the big Lucky Strike crisis pow-wow, did my eyes deceive me or was Bert Cooper in his jammies??

WINCED AND CHUCKLED as Pete Campbell pacing in maternity waiting room while Trudy is in false labor, (god, how primitive) and his father-in-law suggests he "go about your business." !! That old paradigm just seems so bizarre now-a-days.

WINCED AND CHUCKLED again as Peggy managed to successfully sell her Playtex gloves pitch while sporting lipstick on her teeth. OMG! Those male asses wouldn't alert her ('cept for the Playtex guy himself).

[By the way, my very dear, dear friend, a gay male, was the one who taught me a fool-proof way to avoid the lipstick-on-the-teeth faux pas. Rest in peace, Stevie, and thanks!]