Picking Spring Storm as the image for my review of Spring Awakening was a pretty obvious choice. Yes, the colors are a bit bright for a show as dark as this one (but more on that later) but the general "sturm and drang" feelings comes through pretty well I think. So--on with the review!-To me, the most interesting aspect of Spring Awakening is the backstory: written in 1893 the play was so shocking that it was only allowed one performance--and not performed again until 1917. After a very short run the play mostly faded into obscurity into a musical version was brought to Broadway and won several Tony Awards in 2007. I think Spring Awakening is still running in NYC and I finally saw the first National Tour on Saturday November 28.-I won't really get into the plot of the show (because there really isn't that much to it) but I will tell you Spring Awakening explores themes of sexual awakening, child abuse, "throwaway children", CYA schools and "shift the blame" parents. All the characters are, in one way or another, flawed--whether through fault of their own or as products of their upbringing. The whole story is soaked in teen angst and melodrama that I've seen a million times before. Still, judging by the reaction of most of the audience maybe I'm the one out-of-step: I DEFINITELY am not the target audience for this show.- Maybe I was grumpy at the PAC who brought new highs (lows) to Customer DISservice or maybe I couldn't get past the technical problems of the show. (A couple of the leads were badly miked so I found it difficult to understand a lot of what they were saying.) Add that most of the male cast was wearing identical uniforms and I found I couldn't tell the Players without a Score Card (but that's my vision issue and I can't fault the show for that.) The music, partially penned by "one hit wonder" Duncan Sheik (himself the son of "one hit wonder Jonathan Edwards) was serviceable rock anthems that failed to stir my soul. -In the end I can honestly say I'm glad I saw the show but can't really say I enjoyed it. I'm simply going to have to accept that shows like Spring Awakening are the future of Broadway. Lush, "happily-ever-after" musicals a la Rogers and Hammerstein don't fly with the younger generation and big-budget spectacles like the epics created by Andrew Lloyd Webber simply can't get staged for economic reasons. For the theater to flourish it needs to adapt and change with the times: that means more "cross branding" (the endless Disney musicals and "juke box" spectaculars) or shows that cost less to produce.-FINAL GRADE: B-
I couldn't think of a better image for a post about "giving thanks" than an image called Giving Thanks. That being said--on with the thankfest!-Last Sunday morning our Minister Rev. Jim Hickman gave a sermon called "Just Say Thank You." I found it to be particularly interesting since I'm a big believer in saying "thank you" when someone does something nice for me (at least usually). Still, I think it's a good thing to publicly thank those people who have particularly impacted my life this year--or who just need thanking!-First and foremost I need to thank Robyn: thank you my dearest love for all that you do--for all that you are--for putting up with me when I'm at my worst. Because of you I am a better and happier person. You make my world a better, happier place to me. I love you more today than the day I met you.-The rest of these "thank yous" are in no particular order (so please don't feel slighted if your thank you comes later rather than sooner...)-Thanks to my Sisters, Wanda, Jane, Andrea and Tanya for putting up with me and supporting me. My wish for the future is that we would be closer as a family. Thanks also to Alison Young and Andrea Pitzenbarger. You are my "sisters from another Mister and I an truly blessed to have you in my life.-Thanks to Eris Young for giving me hope in the next generation.-Thanks to Angela Rosser and the Corona UMC Choir for putting up with my s--- at rehearsals. Thanks to her daughter Victoria for NOT beaning me every time I call her "Whatsit" (because I always keep spacing on her name!) Thanks to Doug Crouse for singing with the group so I have someone to follow. Thanks to Margaret Crouse for being a friend and mentor to Robyn. Thanks to Guy Parks for being as big a distraction as I am and thanks to Janet Parks and Mary Lou Andrews for all their kind words when I force my singing on an unsuspecting audience. -Thanks to Sarah Palin for penning the best fantasy of the year.-Thanks to everyone involved with the Star Trek reboot: I loved the old stuff but your reinvention has brought something wonderful to an old favorite and made me remember why I loved the series so much.-Thanks to the makers of "V" for making an endless crapfest concept into something actually watchable (and making me suspend my disbelief in the face of all the obvious questions that rise from the concept.)-Thanks to Straight No Chaser for reminding me that good thing come from the strangest circumstances.-Thanks to everyone at Cardinale Way VW/Hyundai for making our first purchase of a brand new car such an easy thing. (And thanks also to "Madame Gres" for being such a good car.)-Thanks to Wendy for the apology: it meant more than you'll ever know. Thanks also to "Little" John Pyle, his son Jason and their family for taking the albatross from around Robyn's neck. Thanks to Aunt Sharon Pyle for making us welcome into their home so often.-Thanks to Facebook for allowing me to reconnect with old friends in a new way. Love you Terra!-Thanks to my friends in Elysium, the "Legion" games and I-T for putting up with me this past year. My "writer's block" and emotional upheavals probably caused you all no end of annoyance. I truly appreciate your understanding and support. Thanks especially to my e-Sisters "Jana", "Tigger" and "Dragon" for all the support they've given me in the past year.-Thanks to all the nameless individuals out there who showed us kindness and went the extra mile for a stranger. I only hope that one day the same comes to you.-Thanks to all of you who took a few minutes to drop in and take a look at my blog. I hope I've made you smile a bit or maybe think.-Last, but certainly not least, Thanks to God for the many blessings in my life, continued good health and all the good things that have come my way. I am blessed and humbled by the bounty that has been given me.-I wish the same for you.
I needed an image for my review of The Twilight Saga: New Moon and, frankly, I didn't feel the movie was GOOD enough to merit the creation of something new. So I had to dig through my catalog of existing images to find one that fits in some way, shape or form. In the end I chose Exotic Cross because the green background hearkens to the Pacific Northwest where much of the movie is set: also there is a cross/vampire connection that should be pretty obvious to anyone who reads this blog. (Weirdly enough though, crosses don't come into play at all in this movie.) So, on with the review!-I guess Twilight came out about this time last year. Several friends (all female) had raved about the series and said the series was a "must" read. So I tried reading the book--and couldn't force myself through the endless teen angst and longing looks that never seemed to resolve itself into much of anything. Robyn (who generally reads EVERYTHING cover-to-cover didn't make it through the book either. So I wasn't expecting much from the movie--and I didn't get much either. A dull script, lackluster acting and sub-par FX. Still, there were plenty of people in the audience who loved, Loved, LOVED it! They got what they wanted out of the movie--even as it left a critical old coot like me cold. (I ended up giving it the first "split grade" in my reviewing career--one for fans and the other for the rest of us.)-New Moon as the same song, second verse. "True" Fans (which I am not one) will love the movie but I found it worse than the original--if only because everyone involved aimed so low and failed to raise their game the slightest. Yes, there's a bit more action so the movie isn't a total snoozefest but the FX are still way below par for a movie of this nature. (HBO has effects at least as good on True Blood.) Worse, there's a lot of stuff left out of the script that made me go "huh" several times as confusing things happened. Jake, the shirtless werewolf, was pretty enough I suppose but I couldn't work up a lot of sympathy for him (or anybody else in the movie except the hapless Dad lost in a world he couldn't comprehend.)-For me the movie seemed like some kind of weird, and vaguely unpleasant allegory for an abusive relationship. The hapless woman has to chose between two unhealthy relationships--neither of which are good for her--but ends up going for the greater of two evils. Yes, I know love will triumph in the end (this is fiction after all) but I just can't suspend my disbelief long enough see it happening. Still, the die-hard fans will keep eating it up. There's something in this drek that touches them deep inside (in an unhealthy way) that I simply don't get. For both Robyn and I, we're done with the Twilight franchise: we'll leave it to those who appreciate it.-FINAL GRADE: D-
Fractals are the ultimate in order since they are endless pattern repetitions spinning out into infinity. Calling a fractal Chaos Emergent seems like an oxymoron--but this image with it's lightning-like lines and pieces falling apart seems fitting for a review of a movie about the end of the review. Yes, I'm finally getting around to writing my review of 2012.-Disaster flicks have evolved their own formula: doesn't matter what causes the destruction you pretty much know what's going to happen from the moment you buy your ticket. 2012 may well be the ultimate disaster flick considering the multiple threads that all crash into one gigantic orgy of mass destruction. Director Roland Emmerich is the uncrowned "King" of Duster Movies (having made a bunch) so there was nobody better suited to make this movie. -The plot jumps off from the end of the Mayan Calendar which takes place December 21, 2012: I could write a whole BOOK about that and the hysteria it caused but I REFUSE to devote space to downright stupid hysteria. Suffice it to say some fuzzy science is used to explain the destruction of Earth. World governments have secretly begun a program to save at least part of humanity while an ordinary family struggles to survive on their own. At least the script avoids SOME of the cliches so common to disaster flicks (a nice surprise) but the script is so big and bloated it makes it hard to root for anybody (and at two and a half hours the movie runs way too long!). -Still, you don't watch movies like this for PLOT--you turn your brain off at the door and enjoy the special effects. And the FX are nothing short of spectacular. There's a certain sense of "scheidenfreude" watching the destruction of Los Angeles (again!), Washington DC and Saint Peter's Square (even while you simply ignore the cinematic "deaths" of literally MILLIONS of people on the sidelines.) The destruction scenes whether they be volcanoes or earthquakes are utterly spectacular and are almost enough to make you forget the utter lameness of the rest of the movie. The actors (most of whom I didn't recognize) did a good job with what little they were given so I guess I can forgive them.
-FINAL GRADESPECIAL EFFECTS: A++THE REST OF THE MOVIE: F-
Try as I might I couldn't find an image to go with today's commentary. In the end I chose Indian Summer--mainly because the parade happened on one of those perfect "Indian summer" days (and because you can't really have cowboys without Indians). So--on with the rant.-You really have to be careful when you are revisiting childhood memories: the reality simply can't match up to the burnished glow of the past. (If the bad stuff isn't magnified out of proportion it tends to fade into the background thanks to the glow of nostalgia.) I had this lesson brought back to me when Robyn and I attended the 53rd Annual Cattle Call Parade in Brawley California this past weekend (November 14).-The parade is barely-younger than I am and before I left Imperial County to make my adult life I went every year. When I was very young my Dad was involved with the Westmorland Chamber of Commerce and he often headed their float building projects. (Most of the time he would drive the float as well and I'd ride in the pickup cab with him. I remember one float he built that was half-contemporary patio (complete with working fountain!) and half Old West Covered Wagon: I think it won the Sweepstakes Trophy that year. I remember the costumed riders and the horses dripping with silver tack. I remember the Al-Bahr (sp?) Shriner's unit that seemed to go on and on with the parade of clowns, motorcycle riders and the centipede filled with old dudes in fezzes. I remember bands who came from all over Southern California and Western Arizona to march and play. As an older child I often rode in the Parade with one club or another through high school. Of course then I graduated and looked to broader horizons--and put the Cattle Call behind me with the other things of childhood.-Still, as I grew older I found that I missed the things of my childhood and wanted to go back and experience the simple pleasures of a small-town festival: when my sister Wanda invited us down to attend Cattle Call (and we had something else we needed to do in the Valley) we decided to go. The morning of the parade dawned clear and breezy: there was a bit of an autumn chill in the air but the promise of a warm day was in the air and the sky was the color of denim lapis from horizon to horizon--something you'll only see in the desert Southwest. I was pretty sure the best viewing spots would fill up early so we arrived tow hours before the start of the festivities--only to find most everything had already been staked out. (We heard people had started setting up chairs and even pavilions as early as Thursday to assure their spots.) Still, we found a place on the sunny side of the street and settled in to wait for the show to begin.-Boy was I disappointed.-The band from my alma mater Brawley Union High School was frankly BAD (and I didn't even like their new uniforms). There was no drill team (although maybe they had been dragooned into carrying banners announcing the various Divisions and prize-winning entries. There was only one rider in silver tack (although he was pretty spectacular). Kudos to the Winchester Widows and the Hold-In-The-Wall Gang for keeping the tradition of costumed riders alive. Still, I missed the Desert Dolls, the Barbara Worth Brigadettes and the Galloping Gossips--all Imperial Valley instutitions) who didn't put in an appearance. I know the Brigadettes are still in existence (my niece is a member): why the shocking lack of community spirit? Has it gotten so expensive you can't scrape together enough cash to honor the place that birthed you? How sad you all chose not to participate for whatever reason.-The rest of the units were bands from local schools (with the exception of a band from Chula Vista) and floats that looked like they'd been slapped together. (I said of the Sweepstakes Trophy winner "that one isn't sad--just kind of unhappy.") Most of the kids riding floats didn't even look like they wanted to be there--the way I felt as the endless parade of sub-par clopped on and on for nearly two hours. I was actually had to see the finally entry come down main street so I could finally leave.-And so I put one more childhood memory to bed once and for all: unless I'm asked back to ride in the Parade as an honored guest (not likely!) I won't be attending the parade again. The parade had a good run but it's time to let it go the way of the Dinosaurs if the community can't muster up any more support for this venerable institution.-'nuff said.
A review of Disney's A Christmas Carol requires something Christmas-y. Since I pretty much used up every Chirstmas-themed fractal I created in older posts I decided to make a new image: therefor I give you Christmas Wreath '09 (since there was already another image with that title). Enjoy it as you read the review.-A Christmas Carol was written by Charles Dickens way back in 1841 but it has stood the test of time and been re-made time and time again since the author first did readings in Victorian England and America. It has been remade for the big and small screen at least a dozen times (and that doesn't count movies "based" on the story like Scrooged). As a matter of fact Disney has gone to this particular well at least once previously (with Mickey's Christmas Carol in 1983). That version was "hand drawn" animation but their latest entry has gone The Polar Express route with computer animation.-The good news is that this Christmas Carol looks MUCH BETTER than The Polar Express: the bad news--the process still isn't perfect (especially with secondary characters). Still, the film has a look that is nothing short of fantastic that should be seen on the big screen (the bigger the better in fact!) A lot of the shots are literally breathtaking (and could never be done live). When the animators take time, the Characters don't look like animated wax dolls, Sadly, only the leads get this treatment--secondary characters still look like video-game avatars (albeit good ones). -I won't bother to review the plot for you here: unless you've been living under a rock you know the story... This Christmas Carol has all the scene (including a bit that has never made it into any other filmed or televised version of the story) and much of the dialog is transferred word-for-word from the original. (In my book that's definitely a good thing--and speaks well to the power and relevance of the original work>) -Frankly I was less than impressed when I heard that Jim Carry would be providing several voices for the film (Scrooge at all ages and all three Ghosts) because he is notorious for taking things way, Way, WAY over the top. Here he keeps his performance low-key (for the most part) delivering Scrooge's lines completely straight and without a hint of smirk. OF course there is some physical comedy: it wouldn't be a Jim Carry movie without that (and it works in the context of the story and medium). Gary Oldman (Bob Cratchitt), Bob Hoskins (Fezzywig), Colin Firth (Fred) and Robin Wright-Penn (Fran) also lend their voices in small roles as does Cary Elwes.-
If I had any complaint regarding this Christmas Carol it would be the needless insertion of "action" sequences (no doubt stuck in the "pump up the volume" even as it dumbs down the story). Yes, it was cute to see the flyovers of London (at least the first time) but by the third it got a bit "ho-hum". Yet their was an extended sequence where a shrunken Scrooge flees (what I called) the Coach Devour that so completely DID NOT belong in the story that it completely pulled my head out of the movie. (Robyn liked that part better than me.)-So in conclusion: is this a worth effort? Yes! Is it a Christmas Carol for the ages? No. This is hardly a perfect effort but the movie has a lot going for it--and it could well become part of family Christmas traditions for years to come. Everyone, but the smallest children (at least those who are easily frightened) would enjoy seeing it.-FINAL GRADE: B+
A comment on a series about space aliens requires something with a star theme I think. "V" is about aliens coming to Earth so Starshower seemed like an appropriate image for this commentary.-Anyone who reads this blog knows I'm an unabashed Science Fiction fan (not quite to capital-letter Fandom but close). I want Science Fiction to succeed on the big screen: more than that I want good S.F. to succeed. That's why I was so uncertain when I found out that somebody had the idea to resurrect the "classic" series "V" and bring it back to television.-"V" began life nearly a generation ago as a pair of big-budget miniseries and later became a TV series. After a year the franchise came to an ignominious end--crushed under the weight of production expense and the sheer cheese on screen. Still, the show was loaded with eighties hotties so tasty you could eat them with a spoon (and whatever happened to Jane Badler and Marc Singer anyway?) and pretty darn good FX (at least for TV at that time). With the success of Battlestar Galactica on the Sci Fi Channel (now SyFy) decided to bring back another classic.-The basic premise hasn't changed: "friendly" aliens from a distant planet show up on Earth and make nice. The visitors are welcomed with open arms but the alien visitors have sinister intentions. (In the original series the Visitors were using Earth as a gigantic cattle ranch.) Most (if not all) of the old characters have been jettisoned or re-imagined to the point that I didn't recognize them. The FX are top notch and the show is both well written and acted, I found the many intertwining story arcs and characters to be interesting.-I wanted to like the show--and I was captured while I was watching it--but then the show ended and it came completely unraveled (for me at least: the TV viewing public game "V" super high ratings). A program like this requires verisimilitude (which is to say it has a sense of truth. The viewer has to have a sense of "yeah, that could happen": they must willing suspend their disbelief. As for me--I could never quite manage that no matter how hard I tried.-My big complaint is this: why could a group of aliens who have the ability to safely travel interstellar distances (which would require impressive technology even for "generation" ships) NEED to use subterfuge to conquer humanity? And--while I'm on the subject of wondering things--why do the aliens use Earth-type guns with bullets? (Surely they'd have something more advanced...) Why was it that an entire FLEET of truly gigantic spaceships escape ANY kind of detection as they approached Earth? Was there some sort of reaction by government bodies? (Honestly, I can't see Military types all over the globe simply letting these things drop in without some sort of challenge...) I can swallow (or at least ignore) a lot of things (remember verisimilitude?) but these things simply bug me beyond all reason! -Will these questions be addressed in the context of the series? I don't know: I hope so. Still, I'll keep watching the show--for a while at least. And I'll keep hoping for the best even as I fear the worst...-'nuff said.
Picking Spring Storm as the image for my review of Spring Awakening was a pretty obvious choice. Yes, the colors are a bit bright for a show as dark as this one (but more on that later) but the general "sturm and drang" feelings comes through pretty well I think. So--on with the review!
