Movie Review: The Wrestler

(Note to readers: My nephew, Ayden, was not harmed during this photoshoot and yes, my brother IS that dark)

This movie starring Mickey Rourke as Randy "The Ram" Robinson was released in 2008 and nominated for 2 Oscars, 1 for Mr. Rourke in the best actor category, and the other for Marisa Tomei in the best supporting actress category. I missed the theatrical run of this film so I had to wait until the DVD was released. Thank you Netflix.

The films opening credits start by showcasing "The Ram's" glory days. (Side note--The song that plays over the credits is Quiet Riot's "Metal Health" which is an awesome hair metal song. The soundtrack is hair metal band heavy so you may want to check it out if that's your thing.) After running down his career highs, we cut to 20 years later and we see "The Ram" looking like life has taken a folding chair to his face and body one too many times. He has a bad back and knees, and is sporting a hearing aid. He is getting ready for a match at what looks like a high school gym. Needless to say, the heyday of his career has come and gone. "The Ram" lives alone in a rundown mobile home park. He frequents a strip club where we are introduced to "Cassidy" (her stripper name), Marisa Tomei's character. She is ASA (advanced stripper age) and Randy is one her regular customers. They seem to have struck up a friendship, or as much of a friendship as you can have with a woman who is gyrating her mostly naked stuff in front of your face while you spill your guts. (I am going to break here for a ghetto rant about the movie-this man cannot afford to pay his rent but he can go get a lap dance, buy some roids, get his hair did, and go tanning. That ain't right.) After an almost fatal incident, Randy starts to re-evaluate his life. He has a grown daughter, played by Evan Rachel Wood, who he has neglected for most of her life. She wants nothing to do with him at first, but reluctantly gives him a second chance. Randy also decides that "Cassidy" is the one for him and puts the moves on big time. "The Ram" is due for a comeback, in his life as a whole.

The director of this film, Darren Aronofsky, is known for dark films. If you have seen "Requiem for a Dream"(only those of you with strong stomachs or parents wanting to keep their kids off drugs should watch that movie) you know what I mean; but this film is not dark, it is a redemption movie of sorts and is directed splendidly. I think he was robbed of a best director nomination. It has to be a difficult to task to add depth and heart to a movie about a washed up wrestler. Which brings me to the wrestling. I know that wrestling is "violent stunt acting" (I don't want to offend the wrestling fans out there by calling it fake) but it was so interesting to watch the performances given by the wrestlers in the movie. The film shows the pre-match planning these men do along with their match rivals, going back and forth as to where the chair or elbow will land and who will be thrown from the ring. It's all very intricate and I have a new found respect for what wrestlers do.

As for the acting--I have never been a fan of Mickey Rourke's films, but this was the perfect role for him. For those of you who did not know, he started off with a promising career in both boxing & acting only to be sidelined by the regular E! True Hollywood Story pitfalls of celebrity life. This character plays parallel to the path his own life took. I am now looking forward to his next performance in the "Iron Man" sequel. Marisa Tomei was nominated for an Oscar in this role; I have to say that I think it was a mistake on the Academy's part. I found her character lacked the substance to warrant a nomination. Don't get me wrong, her acting was fine, as it always is, but I was left feeling underwhelmed. I will give her props for being 44 years old and having a slamming body though.

I recommend this film, it's not a happy go lucky movie but worth seeing for Mickey Rourke's performance alone; and to convince men that tanning booths and hair dye should be left to the ladies.

TV Show Review: So You Think You Can Dance

When my brother Jason and I were younger, we thought we could dance. Even to this day we think we can hold our own on the dance floor. But when I watch this show, "So You Think You Can Dance" (SYTYCD for the hardcore fans, like myself), I am reminded of how I can't dance.

This show is for people who appreciate the art of dance. Unlike "Dancing with the Stars"(which I am not a fan of) SYTYCD showcases ALL kinds of dance. Each week the show asks the contestants/dancers to perform dances like the Cha Cha, waltz, hip hop (please imagine me saying this like Oprah-"My FAVORITE!"), jazz, salsa, etc.

Let me break down how this show works for those of you who don't have this on your season pass manager like I do. The show starts off with the auditions, the judges narrow the dancers to 10 girls and 10 guys, then the dancers are paired up girl/guy, they perform on Wednesday, America votes, Thursday the bottom 3 guys and girls dance for their lives (perform a dance solo) and the judges choose the girl and guy that go home that is until we get to the bottom 10 dancers, at that point their future is in the hands of America, who vote weekly until we reach America's favorite dancer. The judges panel is made up of executive producer Nigel Lythgoe (this shows Simon Cowell), ballroom dancing expert Mary Murphy (she is hilarious and loud, and reminds me of one of my aunts when she is tipsy), and they feature a different guest judge each week. The host is the stunning Cat Deeley. Cat has to be the most gracious host on television today. She is never sarcastic and mean spirited, like I find Ryan Seacrest to be. She is genuinely concerned for the dancers. Case in point, when judges give an excruciating evaluation of a performance, Cat still manages to pry some positivity out of the judges as not to leave the dancers hopes crushed, at least until Thursday's elimination show.

I was not aware of this show until season 3; we are now in season 5. Now I'm hooked. I look forward to this show every year, and this year I am extremely excited that it is coming back in the fall. I have always appreciated different dance styles, but just watching this show helps me to admire dancers even more. These dancers have 5 1/2 hours with a choreographer and less than a week, if that, to master a dance style that is usually 5 million miles away from their own genre. Amazing!!!! Some performances give me the goose bumps while others have me ready to get up off my sofa and shake my humps.

If you are wasting your time watching "Dancing with the Stars" and have not seen SYTYCD, I beg of you to tune in next Wednesday to the Fox network and I guarantee you will be hooked. Or if you just like dance, give the show a shot. You may come out with some new moves to add to your old tired dance schtick.

Book Review: Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon and the Journey of a Generation

This book, by Sheila Weller, was published in 2008. I had read an excerpt from it in Vanity Fair and found it interesting, but I never gave it another thought. Then a couple of weeks ago I came across the book at Best Buy but I decided against purchasing it because I never re-read books and it would just be more clutter for me to organize. Someone must have wanted me to read this book because the next day at the library there it was, staring me in the face. I am extremely superstitious so I checked the book out. Little did I know that this book about 3 female singer/songwriters would captivate me as it did. I devoured 527 pages of these women's lives in a little over a week. (Thank you to my wonderful husband Andrew and son Quentin for letting mommy have some super intense "alone" reading time.)

The books run the same biography course as the next celebrity bio--childhood, discovery, success, the personal price of success, making peace with success; but it also intersects all their lives and contrasts all pivotal moments in their lives. What I found while reading was that all these women were pioneers in the folk/pop musical spectrum. Without them we may not have had Sheryl Crow, Sarah McLachlan, and a slew of other female singer/songwriters that filled my 90's musical repertoire. They were not writing, for the most part, political music as their 60's counterparts had done before them. They were writing about their lives and loves, freedom (in a personal sense), and sexuality-which had never been sung about so openly and frankly by women. Their fame arose at the same time women's lib was streaming into America's consciousness. Women were identifying with something on the radio that seemed to be male dominated for quite some time. Fame brought them notoriety and financial success but it did not protect them from the heartache, which we all experience. The book delves into their marriages-Carole 4, Joni 2, Carly 2-and relationships (casual included) which for the most part were filled with misery, jealousy, and a woman's need to make her husband/significant other feel like a man, even if that meant diminishing one's success to keep him happy. One thing that took me by surprise is that the 70's/early 80's rock scene was quite incestuous. These girls overlapped lovers once or twice.

I was exposed to a lot of different music growing up but I can honestly say that Carole, Joni, and Carly were not a part of my musical education until my late 20's. I had heard some Carole King songs but I didn't really KNOW who she was until I started watching "Gilmore Girls" in 2000. The show uses Carole's "Where You Lead" as its theme song, and beginning November 2005 it was the song I sang to my son to put him to sleep so it has become extremely special to me.

Joni Mitchell was introduced to me by way of the movie "Practical Magic" starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. "A Case of You" is featured in the movie as Nicole drives to see her sister. But it was not until I saw "Love Actually" that I realized the power of her songs. If you have not seen the movie, please do not read the following that is in italics--the part where Emma Thompson's character discovers that her husband is involved with someone else, Joni's song "Both Sides Now" is played. Ms. Thompson's performance and the weight of the song affected me so, that I felt the character's betrayal as if it had been done to me personally. Her songs are not considered mainstream but are usually hailed by the hardcore music elite.

Carly Simon is the one singer that I think is the most recognized of all these ladies. I am pretty sure that everyone knows the words to "You're So Vain". I purchased a greatest hits CD of hers and it retained a permanent residence in my car CD player for a couple of months. Her songs are catchy. Excellent music to have on a road trip or to play while you cook.

If any of you are into reading biographies or are into the evolution of music, I definitely recommend this read. As for me, I will be downloading the Carole King and Joni Mitchell greatest hits to my iPod so I may continue my musical education.

Review: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"

I have been anxiously awaiting this sequel to the 2007 blockbuster "Transformers" since my brother and I finished watching the first film on opening day. I was not disappointed. From the second the Dreamworks and Paramount Pictures logos appeared on the screen, set to the transforming sound effects (you Transformers fans know the sound), all the hairs on my arm stood up. The action arrives almost immediately and does not let up until the very end. To make the film that more exciting I was watching it with my son, Quentin, who at 3 years old has more Transformers knowledge than most teenagers. Quentin applauded the minute Optimus Prime

appeared on screen, and I have to say that the moment made me proud.

I don't want to give you a long drawn out synopsis of the film because I really want all you moviegoers out there to get out of your homes and plop down you hard earned money for a ticket. It is worth it. Unless you are one of those people that looks for story and substance in a film--STAY HOME. Not to discredit the movie, this film actually has a very good storyline for a Michael Bay movie but in regular Michael Bay form, this movie is about effects and destroying s**t. There are far more battle scenes between the Autobots and Decepticons in this film, which I relished. The effects team behind this movie, five companies, including ILM, were responsible for this visual gem. The transformation scenes, from vehicle/object to robot are insanely flawless. On the drive home I was looking at every vehicle on the street expecting it to transform, that is how believable the scenes were. The movie also introduces a new batch of Transformers, more Decepticons than Autobots in my opinion, including the 2 new controversial bots that some of the public have found offense to. I for one was not offended and thought them to be great comic relief. (On a side note--I never say a movie is offensive or racist. I have not encountered a film that has been. Can you imagine if I got offended everytime a hispanic actor is cast as a dishwasher with a heavy spanish accent?? If its a part of the story so be it. I don't expect social commentary in every movie I watch, and I definitely don't want it in a Michael Bay film.)

Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson are back as Maj. Lennox & Sgt. Epps. For those of you ladies looking for a lot of Duhamel and Tyrese in this movie, I am sorry to tell you that their screen time is less than that in the first film, but they make the most with the time they do get and look good doing it.

Of course Shia LaBeouf's character, Sam Witwicky, is back and in this movie we find him preparing to leave his parent's home for college but in the course of starting his college life the Autobots pull him back in. In my home Shia is known as "my little Shia". I love this kid. He can pull off the witty, sarcastic characters without coming off as snarky. I enjoy him in all of his films and this one is no exception. If you haven't seen him in "Disturbia" or "Eagle Eye", rent/Netflix them, the kid has got the goods.

Which brings me to goods of a different type-- Megan Fox returns as Sam's girlfriend Mikaela, the requisite "hot chick" in most action movies. I am going to be frank, this girl is all kinds of sexy, and I am a straight woman that can appreciate that. She still lacks something in the acting department, but in several interviews she has stated that she has not given great performances and this movie is not about the acting. I give it up to her for being so honest and I do hope that she grows as an actress and is not always relegated to the "hot tough chick" parts.

I had mentioned the 2 comic bots earlier but they are not the only comic relief in this movie. Kevin Dunn and Julie White, Sam's parents in the movie, are given a bigger role in this sequel and they are HIGH-larious. The film also brings back John Turturro as Agent Simmons who is comically partnered with Sam's college roommate Leo, played by Ramon Rodriguez (haven't seen this guy in anything before but he held his own against the great Turturro).

Not all of you may agree with my review and thats ok, but I do beg of you to watch this movie and accept if for what it is--a summer blockbuster that will visually amaze you. For 2 1/2 hours it took me out of my recession depression, and who can knock that??

Hi and Welcome!

Hello and thank you for visiting my blog. I started this blog on a suggestion from my cousin Jamie, she felt that I had a lot of funny and/or interesting musings on pop culture and entertainment and thought I should share them with the world; or at least more people than just our immediate family. As it turns out I do have a lot to say about entertainment today so for that--Thank you Jamie!!!

Things you will read in my blog:

I will review movies that I have currently watched, either in the theater or at home from Netflix (those of you movie lovers that do not currently subscribe to Netflix, I suggest you do so. It is much cheaper than renting movies or using Pay-per-view). My reviews will not contain any spoilers (spoilers are kind of a pet peeve).

I will review some TV shows that I am currently watching and will take suggestions from you on what you think I should be watching.

Although I love books I have a young son and a full-time job that take up all of my time. I will review anything I get a chance to read.

As for music, I have found that since moving from California to Colorado three years ago my musical edge and exposure to new music has dulled. The "cool" stations are, in my opinion, sparse. When I first moved here they were playing Tone Loc's "Wild Thing" like it had just been released if that gives you any indication of what I am dealing with here. If not for my IPOD and XM radio from Directv I would be in a musical no man's land. I will be reviewing new stuff I am listening to and concerts that I attend. Concerts are, to me, the best way to appreciate musicians. Note to my readers: I will not attend any concerts where there is lip-synching. That, to me, is not acceptable.

I will also do my best to give you "essential" lists. Movies, shows, music that you HAVE to experience before you leave this world.

Things I will NOT cover:

Anything involving Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, "Jon & Kate Plus Eight", and "The Hills" or any spin-off of "The Hills", and most reality shows on E! (except "Keeping Up With The Kardashians"--love that crazy family). These people and shows represent a decline in western civilization. My disdain for these shows is palpable.


This is new to me so I may change things up as I go along. I do hope you enjoy this blog and I thank you for giving me an outlet for my obsession.