Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
JOE GOES TO THE MOVIES - STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS MOVIE REVIEW
In moving forward after a successful reboot of the Star Trek Franchise, Director JJ Abrams
continues his campaign of reconstructing old characters and situations that gives this latest edition more bang for your buck at the box office.
The film begins with the USS Starship Enterprise on a mission to explore a uncharted planet when suddenly
much like the opening of Raiders of The Lost Ark Captain Kirk is being chased by a group of savage natives.
Meanwhile, Spock is trapped on a slab of ash and is about to become yesterday's news when Kirk rushes to save him. He knows he is violating Federation rule by allowing himself and his crew to be exposed but is willing to rescue his crew no matter what the costs.
Kirk's then fly by the seat of his pants approach and putting passion before principle are questioned before a Federation meeting. They strip him of his rank and demote him
At this moment this is the genius behind screenwriters Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtman, and Damon Lindelof
In order for this young, hot shot, maverick James Kirk to mature into a man a loss must occur. The loss of his Supervisor and Mentor Pike. The one who believed in him, the one who saw in Kirk a natural born leader.
A natural born leader we begin to see Captian Kirk rise to be when he faces off against his old hated rival Kahn risking himself and his crew in a vast military operation for something bigger than all of them....the survivial of all mankind.
YES..........................KAHN!
YES........THEY"RE OLD FRIENDS READY TO TANGO
IF ONLY LIKE THIS........BUT NOT QUITE!
TOO RICARDO MONTALBAN-LIKE HUH?.........AWWW.......YEAH! LOOKS MORE LIKE A WALTZ THAN A BEATDOWN.
HEY....If you're worried about THIS KAHN resembling the dried out, Shakespearean Thespian actor turned Criminal in Ricardo Montalban's Kahn then don't be
Put it together and you have a volatile combination of brains and braun.
In order for Captain Kirk to mature as a leader and in order for the crew to complete their mission he must come to terms with his Science Officer Spock.
Spock, the hot headed braniac believes that following your gut instinct in times of crisis to save your friends is highly illogical.
Later on when the going gets tough Spock soon realizes Kirk's earlier speech that in times of great danger, chaos, or In Darkness as the title applies you're no longer certain of what the right thing is to do.
All you must do in times of great distress is............
YOU MUST>>>>>>
That's when Spock learns what it means to be human and have feelings when he performs a Kirk-like procedure in his last action scene to catch Kahn as well as rescue Kirk.
Yes, I know that in Wrath of Kahn Spock dies and is later re-risen from the ash from Kahn's Super Cells .
Keep in mind in this latest re-boot of the Star Trek Franchise it's more about Kirk's rise as a young rebel, spaceship Cowboy to become a natural born leader. In the end Kirk and Spock still share a more appreciation of each other's talent's and abilities and become close as friends very much so In The Wrath of Kahn.
In the end I left feeling very pleased with the direction these Star Trek sequels are turning out. JJ Abrams is doing a fantastic job of using storytelling and use of CGI properly to strengthen and propel old Star Trek storylines of old to give them a whole new meaning of space ship excitement the whole family will enjoy.
I'm all on aboard this one giving it a 5/5 and if this is any indication of what's to come for the next Star Wars sequel JJ Abrams maybe the next big thing since James Cameron.
THE ACTOR'S STUDIO - GENE HACKMAN - ACTOR'S FACTS / ADVICE
We've covered Dustin Hoffman know on to his roommate and close friend.......
Mr. Gene Hackman
Winner of 5 Academy Award Nominations
Winner of 2 Oscars for the French Connection and Unforgiven ,
For Mississippi Burning
he won the Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear and the National Review Board award for Best Actor In The Conversation
He has received Six British Academy Award Nominations and won two British Actor Awards for the French Connection and The Poseidon Adventure.
He has received 7 Golden Globe Nominations and won that award twice and has appeared in 80 motion pictures.
Native Californian born in San Bernadino
He was 7 when he moved to Danville, Illinois
Gene's father passed away when he was only 13 and it was tough on him but growing up he was quite close to his mother.
THOUGHTS ON LOSS AND HOW IT MAKES YOU A BETTER ACTOR
"You get in touch with your feelings and that's what we are here for. The more you can draw from that
you can get something out of it".
During his time Gene attended 4 High Schools.
Delta Sigma Mu was a Fraternity in High School that he was a part of and didn't know why he was a part of it because he was part of a poor end of town.
He left at age 16 and said goodbye to Danville because he had this attraction to girls and thought the Marine Corps was a perfect place to attract women.
Gene was able to enlist in the Marine Crop by telling his parents he was either going to go or leave town one way or the other. His parents signed the papers and was in December in 1946 where he served for four years. While in the marine corp he enlisted in the field service telephone school and went to China after that.
When he left the service he went to New York because he always wanted to be an actor. James Cagney was one of his main influences
growing up as well as Marlon Brando.
When he first came to New York everyone was imitating Marlon Brando.
There he went to the Art Students League
for about a year and had talent there as a painter and thought he could feed himself as a artist. Since that experience up until now he's always been a painter and he paints constantly.
He moved to California because he's heard of the Pasadena Playhouse and was accepted .
In the early beginnings Gene was terrified of being an actor. He was not as confident in his abilities to succeed as an actor in his youth. Gene didn't think he looked right nor present himself well on stage.
While at the Pasadena Playhouse he encountered Dustin Hoffman
and the two shared the distinction of being two of the most unlikely actors to succeed.
They earned that honor by hanging out together and being rebellious . Gene was not asked to come back but Dustin was.
George Morrison was Gene's teacher in NY and had the most influence on him.
George was a graduate of Northwestern and studied at the Actor's Studio with Lee Strasburg and Gene studied with him for 8 yrs. George had a way of finding something in Gene that he was unable to use. He gave Gene great confidence and saw something in him that other people hadn't.
George Morrision taught Gene is relaxation techniques in his first week of class. Finding a place in a chair where you could go to sleep and then examining yourself from the toes up and being aware of what you're holding on to.
GENE'S VIEW ON ACTOR'S PERSONALITIES
"People tend to think of Actors as extroverts and maybe some of them are but the ones that I've met and most of the good ones are" .
Gene's first film was Mad Dog Cole.
Gene however played a small part in the movie The Graduate.
He rehearsed for the film and didn't do very well in the auditions.
It later freed him up for a role in Bonnie and Clyde
because he had done a small part in the movie Lilith that when Warren Beauty came to cast for the picture he had the Director Arthur Penn
go and see a play Gene was in, in Stockbridge.
TO GET A GREAT FILM PERFORMANCE
"The Director has to create a atmosphere that you can work in that it isn't all about the Director or isn't all about the actor or isn't all about the script. It's a combination of all those elements that makes you feel like a part of this.
Four years after Bonnie and Clyde he made one of the most riveting crime classics The French Connection.
The two guys who were the inspiration for The French Connection were Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso
who worked with Gene on the film. Prior to the film Roy Scheider and Gene
went with Eddie and Sonny in the police car and they watched them break into crack houses and go into bars .
For Gene's Popeye Doyle he earned the 1972 Academy Award as Best Actor
GENE'S THOUGHTS ON THE OSCAR EXPERIENCE
"It's a startling experience and you can say all you want about the Academy Awards that they're commerical or they're self-serving or whatever else but when they call your name it's like a lifetime dream meaning that this happened to you " .
Gene's favorite character in the 1970s was Max in Scarecrow .
Scarecrow was like a coming of time movie very much similar to Bonnie and Clyde of the really dirty gritty relationships. His work with Al Pacino was a blessing for he saw him as a great actor.
In the movie The Conversation
he appears to be doing a great deal but in actuality he is doing nothing.
WHAT MAKES GENE A ACTOR'S ACTOR?
"There is a emotional availability that's clearly evident and there is a stinginess for fear of going into sentimentality which is of no part of this man's personality."
WHAT DOES GENE NOT WANT FROM A DIRECTOR?
"Direction. The kind of thing that Arthur Penn does and a lot of good directors do is , is that it doesn't feel like direction. It feels like your Uncle is there to support you that there is someone there to encourage you.
People have an idea that Actors need a lot of direction and maybe some people do but I tend to go the other way. If it's too much direction then I'm thinking only that "
GENE'S OPINION ON SCENE TAKES
"Few. I like to rehearse until I feel comfortable and then bam do 3 or 4 takes. "
HOW MUCH FREEDOM DOES GENE GIVE HIMSELF FROM TAKE TO TAKE?
"It's funny but after take 3 it starts getting pretty much set. If you were asking me could I change it? I probably could but I'm usually very stubborn and if I'm involved in a scene I feel good about what is going on
its very tough to change then".
HOW MUCH OF GENE HACKMAN IS IN EVERY CHARACTER HE PLAYS?
"Well I hope a lot. I work out of the best qualities I see in myself and also the worst and I ask myself always the same questions "How am I like this character and how am I unlike this character"?
DOES HE WATCH DALLIES?
"No"
CAN HE WATCH HIMSELF SUBJECTIVELY AFTER THE FILM IS FINISHED?
"No. I think that with the exception of a couple of moments I have done in films that I have never really enjoyed watching myself or really said to myself "aww ok".
THE IMPORTANCE OF FINDING YOUR FEMININE SIDE IN MALE ACTORS
"You have to be in touch with your feminine side of your instrument. You can be senstitive and still be a man. You can use that senstivity if you're given the role
Gene became a member of the Actor's Studio and auditioned for the studio number of times and was turned down a lot. He got to the final audition twice with Lee Strasburg . He finally got into the Actor's Studio by Ellen Bernstein.
WHAT IS GENE'S FAVORITE WORD?
Action
WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE WORD?
Cut
WHAT TURNS YOU ON?
Energy
WHAT TURNS YOU OFF?
Lack of energy
WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE?
Sound of his wife's voice
WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU HATE?
Cellphones
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CURSE WORD?
Motherfucker
WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOURS WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?
Painter
WHAT PROFESSION WOULD YOU DEFINITELY NOT LIKE TO DO?
Corporate jobs
IF HEAVEN EXISTS WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE GOD SAY ?
"I'd like him to say Good job "
WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT FOR HIM TO GET INTO THE ACTOR'S STUDIO?
"It was important to get into the studio because all the people that I've considered to be the wonderful actors
were in the studio. "
AFTER THE TIME YOU ARE CASTED AND GET A NEW SCRIPT WHEN DO YOU BEGIN CREATING A NEW ROLE?
"I genearlly try to break the script down into several acts where if the character has an ark it's written as an ark. I ask myself the simple things like "Where are you going, what do you want, where you been?". The most important thing for me is "How am I like this guy, How am I not like this guy?".
HOW DO YOU APPROACH EFFECTIVE MEMORY?
"I do the obvious things like I ask myself "What was I wearing that day, what did I see, what did I hear, what did I smell, taste, touch, all those things that seem so obvious but if you do that work or if you are capable of doing that work and relating it to the character and the situation something will happen. You may not get the emotional part you want you may break out into laughter but something is going to happen".
Mr. Gene Hackman
Winner of 5 Academy Award Nominations
Winner of 2 Oscars for the French Connection and Unforgiven ,
For Mississippi Burning
he won the Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear and the National Review Board award for Best Actor In The Conversation
He has received Six British Academy Award Nominations and won two British Actor Awards for the French Connection and The Poseidon Adventure.
He has received 7 Golden Globe Nominations and won that award twice and has appeared in 80 motion pictures.
Native Californian born in San Bernadino
He was 7 when he moved to Danville, Illinois
Gene's father passed away when he was only 13 and it was tough on him but growing up he was quite close to his mother.
THOUGHTS ON LOSS AND HOW IT MAKES YOU A BETTER ACTOR
"You get in touch with your feelings and that's what we are here for. The more you can draw from that
you can get something out of it".
During his time Gene attended 4 High Schools.
Delta Sigma Mu was a Fraternity in High School that he was a part of and didn't know why he was a part of it because he was part of a poor end of town.
He left at age 16 and said goodbye to Danville because he had this attraction to girls and thought the Marine Corps was a perfect place to attract women.
Gene was able to enlist in the Marine Crop by telling his parents he was either going to go or leave town one way or the other. His parents signed the papers and was in December in 1946 where he served for four years. While in the marine corp he enlisted in the field service telephone school and went to China after that.
When he left the service he went to New York because he always wanted to be an actor. James Cagney was one of his main influences
growing up as well as Marlon Brando.
When he first came to New York everyone was imitating Marlon Brando.
There he went to the Art Students League
for about a year and had talent there as a painter and thought he could feed himself as a artist. Since that experience up until now he's always been a painter and he paints constantly.
He moved to California because he's heard of the Pasadena Playhouse and was accepted .
In the early beginnings Gene was terrified of being an actor. He was not as confident in his abilities to succeed as an actor in his youth. Gene didn't think he looked right nor present himself well on stage.
While at the Pasadena Playhouse he encountered Dustin Hoffman
and the two shared the distinction of being two of the most unlikely actors to succeed.
They earned that honor by hanging out together and being rebellious . Gene was not asked to come back but Dustin was.
George Morrison was Gene's teacher in NY and had the most influence on him.
George was a graduate of Northwestern and studied at the Actor's Studio with Lee Strasburg and Gene studied with him for 8 yrs. George had a way of finding something in Gene that he was unable to use. He gave Gene great confidence and saw something in him that other people hadn't.
George Morrision taught Gene is relaxation techniques in his first week of class. Finding a place in a chair where you could go to sleep and then examining yourself from the toes up and being aware of what you're holding on to.
GENE'S VIEW ON ACTOR'S PERSONALITIES
"People tend to think of Actors as extroverts and maybe some of them are but the ones that I've met and most of the good ones are" .
Gene's first film was Mad Dog Cole.
Gene however played a small part in the movie The Graduate.
He rehearsed for the film and didn't do very well in the auditions.
It later freed him up for a role in Bonnie and Clyde
because he had done a small part in the movie Lilith that when Warren Beauty came to cast for the picture he had the Director Arthur Penn
go and see a play Gene was in, in Stockbridge.
TO GET A GREAT FILM PERFORMANCE
"The Director has to create a atmosphere that you can work in that it isn't all about the Director or isn't all about the actor or isn't all about the script. It's a combination of all those elements that makes you feel like a part of this.
Four years after Bonnie and Clyde he made one of the most riveting crime classics The French Connection.
The two guys who were the inspiration for The French Connection were Eddie Egan and Sonny Grosso
who worked with Gene on the film. Prior to the film Roy Scheider and Gene
went with Eddie and Sonny in the police car and they watched them break into crack houses and go into bars .
For Gene's Popeye Doyle he earned the 1972 Academy Award as Best Actor
GENE'S THOUGHTS ON THE OSCAR EXPERIENCE
"It's a startling experience and you can say all you want about the Academy Awards that they're commerical or they're self-serving or whatever else but when they call your name it's like a lifetime dream meaning that this happened to you " .
Gene's favorite character in the 1970s was Max in Scarecrow .
Scarecrow was like a coming of time movie very much similar to Bonnie and Clyde of the really dirty gritty relationships. His work with Al Pacino was a blessing for he saw him as a great actor.
In the movie The Conversation
he appears to be doing a great deal but in actuality he is doing nothing.
WHAT MAKES GENE A ACTOR'S ACTOR?
"There is a emotional availability that's clearly evident and there is a stinginess for fear of going into sentimentality which is of no part of this man's personality."
WHAT DOES GENE NOT WANT FROM A DIRECTOR?
"Direction. The kind of thing that Arthur Penn does and a lot of good directors do is , is that it doesn't feel like direction. It feels like your Uncle is there to support you that there is someone there to encourage you.
People have an idea that Actors need a lot of direction and maybe some people do but I tend to go the other way. If it's too much direction then I'm thinking only that "
GENE'S OPINION ON SCENE TAKES
"Few. I like to rehearse until I feel comfortable and then bam do 3 or 4 takes. "
HOW MUCH FREEDOM DOES GENE GIVE HIMSELF FROM TAKE TO TAKE?
"It's funny but after take 3 it starts getting pretty much set. If you were asking me could I change it? I probably could but I'm usually very stubborn and if I'm involved in a scene I feel good about what is going on
its very tough to change then".
HOW MUCH OF GENE HACKMAN IS IN EVERY CHARACTER HE PLAYS?
"Well I hope a lot. I work out of the best qualities I see in myself and also the worst and I ask myself always the same questions "How am I like this character and how am I unlike this character"?
DOES HE WATCH DALLIES?
"No"
CAN HE WATCH HIMSELF SUBJECTIVELY AFTER THE FILM IS FINISHED?
"No. I think that with the exception of a couple of moments I have done in films that I have never really enjoyed watching myself or really said to myself "aww ok".
THE IMPORTANCE OF FINDING YOUR FEMININE SIDE IN MALE ACTORS
"You have to be in touch with your feminine side of your instrument. You can be senstitive and still be a man. You can use that senstivity if you're given the role
Gene became a member of the Actor's Studio and auditioned for the studio number of times and was turned down a lot. He got to the final audition twice with Lee Strasburg . He finally got into the Actor's Studio by Ellen Bernstein.
WHAT IS GENE'S FAVORITE WORD?
Action
WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE WORD?
Cut
WHAT TURNS YOU ON?
Energy
WHAT TURNS YOU OFF?
Lack of energy
WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU LOVE?
Sound of his wife's voice
WHAT SOUND OR NOISE DO YOU HATE?
Cellphones
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CURSE WORD?
Motherfucker
WHAT PROFESSION OTHER THAN YOURS WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?
Painter
WHAT PROFESSION WOULD YOU DEFINITELY NOT LIKE TO DO?
Corporate jobs
IF HEAVEN EXISTS WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE GOD SAY ?
"I'd like him to say Good job "
WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT FOR HIM TO GET INTO THE ACTOR'S STUDIO?
"It was important to get into the studio because all the people that I've considered to be the wonderful actors
were in the studio. "
AFTER THE TIME YOU ARE CASTED AND GET A NEW SCRIPT WHEN DO YOU BEGIN CREATING A NEW ROLE?
"I genearlly try to break the script down into several acts where if the character has an ark it's written as an ark. I ask myself the simple things like "Where are you going, what do you want, where you been?". The most important thing for me is "How am I like this guy, How am I not like this guy?".
HOW DO YOU APPROACH EFFECTIVE MEMORY?
"I do the obvious things like I ask myself "What was I wearing that day, what did I see, what did I hear, what did I smell, taste, touch, all those things that seem so obvious but if you do that work or if you are capable of doing that work and relating it to the character and the situation something will happen. You may not get the emotional part you want you may break out into laughter but something is going to happen".
Monday, May 27, 2013
Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do GOODNIGHT MORGAN FREEMAN WELL ITS TIME FOR BED!
WELL maybe if he wasn't acting in every single movie this man would get some rest. He's usually quite chipper but apparently he through it was beddy bye time.
Who to provide him with the bed time story was his fellow Batman co-star Michael Caine
Unfortunately..........it was about his movie.
He's seen in this clip rather dozing on and off as as Michael Caine describes all the latest effects the magicians pulled off in his latest movie coming soon Now You See Me
Hmmm........as Darth Vader would say
"I find your lack of confidence in this movie disturbing"
During the remaining interview Freeman is seen bouncing his head back and forth but manages to slip his head staring at Michael Caine in a Gary Coleman in a "What you talking about Willis" fashion in reacting
to Caine talking about his involvement in doing magic tricks on set.
Well I'm glad THE OLD GEEZERS are fired up about this one. Maybe I'll perform my latest movie magic trick.
NOW stop if you heard this one because this is FRESH
Here me out now because I'm just getting warmed up here
I WILL ATTEMPT to perform my greatest movie magic DISAPPEARING TRICK ever
I will watch this movie taking a couple of AMBIEN
and when I CLOSE my eyes
and open them up
..........THE MOVIE WILL BE OVER!
Who to provide him with the bed time story was his fellow Batman co-star Michael Caine
Unfortunately..........it was about his movie.
He's seen in this clip rather dozing on and off as as Michael Caine describes all the latest effects the magicians pulled off in his latest movie coming soon Now You See Me
Hmmm........as Darth Vader would say
During the remaining interview Freeman is seen bouncing his head back and forth but manages to slip his head staring at Michael Caine in a Gary Coleman in a "What you talking about Willis" fashion in reacting
to Caine talking about his involvement in doing magic tricks on set.
Well I'm glad THE OLD GEEZERS are fired up about this one. Maybe I'll perform my latest movie magic trick.
NOW stop if you heard this one because this is FRESH
Here me out now because I'm just getting warmed up here
I WILL ATTEMPT to perform my greatest movie magic DISAPPEARING TRICK ever
I will watch this movie taking a couple of AMBIEN
and when I CLOSE my eyes
and open them up
..........THE MOVIE WILL BE OVER!
DAMN STRAIGHT!
Don't believe me?..........ask Morgan!
He's showed us the right way to watch this movie.
NOW YOU SEE ME OPENS THIS MAY 30TH
GUARANTEED TO KNOCK YOU OFF YOUR ASS FREEMAN STYLE!
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