I have not written a movie review in weeks, it seems like they would just get lost in all the verbiage that has been flying lately. Nonetheless, I have been watching a few that merit a quick recommendation.
First, as we all know my love of Shakespeare: the restored 1935 version of Warner Brothers presents a Max Reinhardt Production, a Midsummer’s Night Dream, delighted me as a child. Now I recognized the butcher job done to the words, but still the imagery delights and the music transcends. The DVD has some interesting special features, a window into our past.
Rendition~ I see why this one did not do so well, yet for the type of person who views film and is a “thinker“, it is worth a look. Layered on top of the classic tale of a Romeo and Juliet love story, this case of mistaken identity, coupled with the questions of how far is too far, at what point is safety simply too costly, offers the viewer no simple choices or answers. These characters, and there are many of them, are very real~ conflicted agents of power. No real “bad guys”, no real hero’s, you must find your own answers. The DVD has a short documentary about the victims of rendition that inspired the film.
Regret to Inform~ A short documentary about the American/ Vietnam conflict, this time from the widow’s viewpoint. We follow a woman who years later goes back to Vietnam to see where her husband died, meeting several other widows from both sides. Excellent archival footage of the war, beautiful photography of a beautiful country, this begs the viewer to consider war from a grieving woman’s perspective.
Waitress~ a sweet quirky film written, directed, acted by Adrienne Shelly. Great performances by Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Cheryl Hines, Jeremy Sisto and as always, the wonderful Andy Griffith, the cast makes these characters real people. “If only life were as easy as pie”~ this is a fun movie with a great message, be proud of who you are. Tragically Shelly died before she could see this film’s success, but left a love letter to her child with this  little gem. Justice was served, her murder was sentenced to 25 years this March.

WASILLA, Alaska - Though Sarah Palin depicts herself as a pit bull fighting good-old-boy politics, in her years as mayor she and her friends received special benefits more typical of small-town politics as usual, an Associated Press investigation shows.

When Palin needed to sell her house during her last year as Wasilla mayor, she got the city to sign off on a special zoning exception — and did so without keeping a promise to remove a potential fire hazard.

She gladly accepted gifts from merchants: A free "awesome facial" she raved about in a thank-you note to a spa. The "absolutely gorgeous flowers" she received from a welding supply store. Even fresh salmon to take home.

She also stepped in to help friends or neighbors with City Hall dealings. She asked the City Council to add a friend to the list of speakers at a 2002 meeting — and then the friend got up and asked them to give his radio station advertising business.

That year, records show, she tried to help a neighbor and political contributor fighting City Hall over his small lakeside development. Palin wanted the city to refund some of the man's fees, but the city attorney told the mayor she didn't have the authority."

Read the rest of the article here

Estimate your taxes under both candidates plans here .Caveat: I saw this in a Yahoo news article and know absolutely nothing about this site. It is a ,com~ so I kept any info I gave very general.The only personal question was the day,year I was born.

Though I am not usually a fan of Kung Fu movies, much to the dismay of Mr. Sage, there are times in life that call for inspiration on regards to a fight, a bit of stylized violence and a hearty laugh.

Scene: Canton China,sometime in 1940
An old man, clad only in boxers, a “wife beater .and plastic sandals, surrounded by well-dressed gang members, watches warily as a gun holding hood approaches. The hood towers over the old man for a moment, and then the old man, now in possession of the gun asks inquisitively “Do they make this for men?” Mayhem erupts.

Martial arts films are thought by many to be violent, some are but this one, to quote Roger Ebert “…the best ones have the same relationship to violence that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers do to romance: no one takes it seriously but it gives them an excuse for some wonderful choreography.”

R-rated for stlized violence, a too short 1 hr. 39 min. flies by as the bumbling wanna’ be bad guy is transformed into the hero. .Amazing wire work (the genius behind the Matrix), comical Kung Fu moves, with concise witty dialog it unfolds with a wink and a nod to both old school King Fu, Hollywood classics, and American film scores. You could spend hours spotting these homage’s and really test your knowledge of film. I spotted nods to Ghostbusters, The Exorcist, The Shining, and LOTR: Return of the King and many classic American movie lines. Naturally, there are also nods to the Shaw brothers, Bruce Lee, and Jackie Chan.

The deluxe DVD has all the features I like in foreign films, the options for the dialog to be Cantonese with English subtitles (think Lost in Translation), English dialog with English subtitles (more Lost in Translation). There is a director, actor commentary feature, a special behind the scenes feature that was shown on Chinese television and much more.

A final quote by Roger Ebert describing this film:  “Jackie Chan and Buster Keaton meets Quentin Tarantino and Bugs Bunny.”

Go ahead rent this film~ I double dog dare you!
 

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Just read this article on about CAL/OSHA checking on working conditions for farm workers here  at TBC site~ good. I hope they help them more than they help the folks in this story,that a friend of a friend of my cousins housekeeper told me. *Ahem*

It seems that towards the *westside* (edit),in one of those cement block constructed strip malls, workers have been toiling away for over five,count 'em five weeks,without any air conditioning. Two people have already suffered heat strokes,but apparently upper corporate managemnet just drags their feet.And shovels the blame downhill of course.

CAL/OSHA came out after mysteriously finding out about the situation. They took notes,with reported temps at 120 degrees, near the south facing unfilmed windows at the front of the store. Nonetheless, there is no relief in site yet.Customers also complained ,so the Company rented big expensive machines, placed in a insanely small  cramped store, that "are not meant to cool the store" and  also trip the  eletricity breakers .The employees are drinking liquids like crazy but it sure seems like this company is risking much for little gain. What they expect to gain is anyone's guess. But  hey it is a "beauty~ filled "day.

Yes I am "post happy" today.

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If you have not checked out the Ted Talks~ you should, they are endlessly varied. This particular talk is a short one, some 4 minutes but seems somehow appropriate today and tomorrow.

We have all faced varied losses, as has our country. This is the proverbial got lemons make lemonade talk, with interesting images and an interesting viewpoint.

Nine days before the 2008 Ted Talks were to begin filmmaker David Hoffman lost nearly all he had. Thirty year of collecting, his home, his films, office, photos all in twenty minutes. Here he looks back on a “life wiped clean” and looks to his lemonade.

His films include documentaries on everything from Amelia Earhardt to B.B. King, from F-15 fighter pilots and double dutch jump rope. From the ashes, the phoenix arises.

Here is the link

 

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It is election time for those of you just tuning in. Most of us here are months into the back and forth of political backbiting, and our ideologies are firmly in place. This post is for those who may find themselves here, trying to get an idea of who the heck to vote for.

While there are some fine minds here on all sides and in between, and many great discussions (okay food fights might better term describe it) the posts can be confusing for the first timer and for the unsure whom to trust.

My advice is do not trust any of us~, we all have an agenda. I am an Obama Biden voter but my true agenda is to get you involved in the process. Your country needs you. It needs you to stop trusting those emails your “friends” send you, to stop simply accepting what the party you always voted for says, what your neighbor thinks and what you heard the lady say while picking over the onions in your grocer.

I will assume you have or can get access to a computer, use it. Several great organizations out there actually check the dogma and rhetoric that candidates spout. My favorite non-partisan ( that means really fair and balanced) site is the one brought to us by the Annenberg  project: http://www.factcheck.org/de... Today on this site the nomination speech of Obama is analyzed and found to be mostly true except were he stretched the facts. There is another fact check on McCain’s cherry picking Obama’s remarks about Iran. The truth about Obama and Infanticide, and an interesting bit of “truthiness” called Rezko and Reality, and another scorcher about Obama improperly linking Reed and McCain. This is just a sample.
If you run across a name you’re unfamiliar with, Google is your friend.

I know this might take time ~but it will be more productive than listening to us bicker here. Not nearly as entertaining, I must admit. However, I beg of you to spend the few minutes to better use the amazing process that got America here~ voting.