Hi everybody!
I'm mostly on FACEBOOK, now, but I can't ramble as much there as I can, here, so I'm back! Am hoping to have several sample pages to show professionals at LBCC next month, as I was ill-prepared for San Diego Comic Con this year. Am re-energized on the WONDER WOMAN movie and am focusing on visualizing as much as possible before the Con. Have some strong visuals on the POCAHONTAS book, but refinement can wait until after LBCC passes. Love to my peeps and to God be the glory!
Sincerely,
Brad!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Dr. House as Sherlock Holmes!
Hi everybody!
Sherlock Holmes was always portrayed as a disagreeable, anti-social sort with a brilliant mind. Calling Dr. House, anyone? By making Sherlock Holmes a schlub, the movie SHERLOCK HOLMES manages to allow Holmes to remain hyper-intelligent and socially repellent except to his boon comrade Dr. Watson. Unkempt and uncouth, Robert Downey Jr. brings great showmanship to the role. Jude Law is agreeably snippy as Dr. Watson, and Rachel McAdams is endearing as the love interest. Throwing in a bit of Houdini, a dash of Freemasonry, a touch of Fight Club and mostly keeping true to 19th century England, the movie's liberties with proper Holmesian protocol are less fatal than one would suspect they would be. As Holmes is a fictional character, after all, with tremendous appeal, no harm in having a bit of fun with Sherlock. Robert Downey Jr. has developed into the sort of actor that I suspected that Matthew Broderick would have become after FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF: high-spirited, sly and hugely confident in broad comedy. Jude Law turns in a performance that reminded me of how good he was opposite Matt Damon in THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY all those years ago. Rachel McAdams does not have the animal energy of Angelina Jolie; but few women do; still, she's lovely in repose and game for a bit of dust-up when appropriate, so she proves a fine addition to the proceedings. As the villain, Mark Strong suggests more than he delivers, but sets the stage nicely for the very welcome sequel when Professor Moriarty steps out of the shadows. Jolly good fun, all in all!
That's all for now, be good!
Brad
Sherlock Holmes was always portrayed as a disagreeable, anti-social sort with a brilliant mind. Calling Dr. House, anyone? By making Sherlock Holmes a schlub, the movie SHERLOCK HOLMES manages to allow Holmes to remain hyper-intelligent and socially repellent except to his boon comrade Dr. Watson. Unkempt and uncouth, Robert Downey Jr. brings great showmanship to the role. Jude Law is agreeably snippy as Dr. Watson, and Rachel McAdams is endearing as the love interest. Throwing in a bit of Houdini, a dash of Freemasonry, a touch of Fight Club and mostly keeping true to 19th century England, the movie's liberties with proper Holmesian protocol are less fatal than one would suspect they would be. As Holmes is a fictional character, after all, with tremendous appeal, no harm in having a bit of fun with Sherlock. Robert Downey Jr. has developed into the sort of actor that I suspected that Matthew Broderick would have become after FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF: high-spirited, sly and hugely confident in broad comedy. Jude Law turns in a performance that reminded me of how good he was opposite Matt Damon in THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY all those years ago. Rachel McAdams does not have the animal energy of Angelina Jolie; but few women do; still, she's lovely in repose and game for a bit of dust-up when appropriate, so she proves a fine addition to the proceedings. As the villain, Mark Strong suggests more than he delivers, but sets the stage nicely for the very welcome sequel when Professor Moriarty steps out of the shadows. Jolly good fun, all in all!
That's all for now, be good!
Brad
Crazy Heart = Crazy Good!
Hi everybody!
While watching Jeff Bridges in CRAZY HEART, I was first reminded of Michelle Pfeiffer's Oscar nominated performance in their THE FABULOUS BAKER BROTHERS. Pfeiffer managed to suggest someone who could be a successful singer, which was quite surprising in that low-key musical pretending to be a slice of life. Bridges and Pfeiffer had one of those movie romances which dared to have an unhappy ending, both of them too attractive to ever have walked away from each other on the silver screen, which gave the movie some ragged integrity. However, looking back, that movie was more a wonderful showcase for Pfeiffer than a story honestly told. (The same with Steve Kloves' FLESH AND BONE starring Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan and James Caan, but whose only performance of any resonance was by the then-unknown Gwyneth Paltrow.) Then I was reminded of Mickey Rourke in THE WRESTLER, and the best scene in the movie where he was working the Deli counter in-between wrestling gigs. Had Rourke managed to sell me on his estrangement from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) as well, then I would have bought the whole package and even forgiven the SOPRANOS-esque ending, but I didn't buy it. THE WRESTLER was grittier movie-making, but also softer in matters of the heart.
Next I was thinking about his father Lloyd Bridges, who gave the best turn in the soapy-but-enjoyable COUSINS, who could navigate between drama and tomfoolery effortlessly, but who was never a truly convincing dramatic actor.
Finally, I was reminded of THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR, a criminally-neglected movie co-starring Kim Basinger, who phoned-in her performance while Jeff Bridges delivered one of the worst fathers ever seen on the screen with devastating precision.
Jeff Bridges has arrived at a role that any actor would have done well with in CRAZY HEART, but few could have done better with it. Bridges makes himself a mess but not at the expense of giving an immaculate performance. Playing an alcoholic, a skirt chaser and a user, he never pushes his character into an unforgiveable act: Bridges is not confessing anything to us as a man, but is exploring everything there is to confess about his character.
The difference between what Rourke did in THE WRESTLER and what Bridges does here is that Rourke was confessing as an actor as well as performing as his character; Bridges is simply more artful and less guilt-ridden than Rourke.
This is nowhere more evident than in his scenes with Maggie Gyllenhaal, who has never looked lovelier on the big screen. Compare this with Marisa Tomei's downward turn in THE WRESTLER, unglamorous and emotionally unavailable for Rourke. Here, the give-and-take between Bridges and Gyllenhaal is priceless: she uses her face like Ruby Keeler in 42nd STREET, all doe eyed and worshipful.
Even though her son is used like the one in KRAMER VS. KRAMER; to show us Bridges' worth, then to make us question his value; Bridges is every bit as good with this boy as Hoffman was with his boy in that movie. The biscuit scene between the two of them is a small gem.
When Robert Duvall parachutes in halfway through, we are less reminded of his fine work in TENDER MERCIES than we are of how masterfully Bridges has navigated the rough waters of his character so far in CRAZY HEART. When Colin Farrell strolls in a bit later, again we see how Farrell is struggling to appear to be a rising country star while Bridges is completely believable as a fading country giant.
The rehabilitation scenes are sparsely written and underplayed. Compare this with the clinical humiliations of THE WRESTLER, showing Rourke trolling for drugs, blacking out, letting himself get mutilated in the ring, then being given a ROCKY-esque shot at a second chance. THE WRESTLER was a character study trying to be a movie, whereas CRAZY HEART manages to be both at the same time.
As Bad Blake, Bridges knows that he's to blame for his desperate situation, but he remembers everybody's name, he sings the songs that he's asked to sing in concert, he whips the bands he's playing with into shape. Even when Bridges leaves to vomit in the middle of a dedication song he does so without malice and escapes blame because; shucks; a man's gotta hurl when a man's gotta hurl, y'all.
Is the music equal to Bridge's performance? No, but it ain't bad. The title song does not capture the story that's been told, but that captures just how good a performance Bridges' Bad Blake is. And Bridges' stature as an actor is never greater than in the epilogue, when he ties it all together with generosity and that marvelously light touch of his. Bridges gets the girl without getting the girl, if you get my drift.
As impressed as I was with Meryl Streep in JULIE & JULIA, the performance of 2009 is Jeff Bridges in CRAZY HEART. Hell, yes!
I might have a shot of getting in print with Exterminating Angel Press, so please wish me luck!
Talk to you, soon! Be good!
Brad
While watching Jeff Bridges in CRAZY HEART, I was first reminded of Michelle Pfeiffer's Oscar nominated performance in their THE FABULOUS BAKER BROTHERS. Pfeiffer managed to suggest someone who could be a successful singer, which was quite surprising in that low-key musical pretending to be a slice of life. Bridges and Pfeiffer had one of those movie romances which dared to have an unhappy ending, both of them too attractive to ever have walked away from each other on the silver screen, which gave the movie some ragged integrity. However, looking back, that movie was more a wonderful showcase for Pfeiffer than a story honestly told. (The same with Steve Kloves' FLESH AND BONE starring Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan and James Caan, but whose only performance of any resonance was by the then-unknown Gwyneth Paltrow.) Then I was reminded of Mickey Rourke in THE WRESTLER, and the best scene in the movie where he was working the Deli counter in-between wrestling gigs. Had Rourke managed to sell me on his estrangement from his daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) as well, then I would have bought the whole package and even forgiven the SOPRANOS-esque ending, but I didn't buy it. THE WRESTLER was grittier movie-making, but also softer in matters of the heart.
Next I was thinking about his father Lloyd Bridges, who gave the best turn in the soapy-but-enjoyable COUSINS, who could navigate between drama and tomfoolery effortlessly, but who was never a truly convincing dramatic actor.
Finally, I was reminded of THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR, a criminally-neglected movie co-starring Kim Basinger, who phoned-in her performance while Jeff Bridges delivered one of the worst fathers ever seen on the screen with devastating precision.
Jeff Bridges has arrived at a role that any actor would have done well with in CRAZY HEART, but few could have done better with it. Bridges makes himself a mess but not at the expense of giving an immaculate performance. Playing an alcoholic, a skirt chaser and a user, he never pushes his character into an unforgiveable act: Bridges is not confessing anything to us as a man, but is exploring everything there is to confess about his character.
The difference between what Rourke did in THE WRESTLER and what Bridges does here is that Rourke was confessing as an actor as well as performing as his character; Bridges is simply more artful and less guilt-ridden than Rourke.
This is nowhere more evident than in his scenes with Maggie Gyllenhaal, who has never looked lovelier on the big screen. Compare this with Marisa Tomei's downward turn in THE WRESTLER, unglamorous and emotionally unavailable for Rourke. Here, the give-and-take between Bridges and Gyllenhaal is priceless: she uses her face like Ruby Keeler in 42nd STREET, all doe eyed and worshipful.
Even though her son is used like the one in KRAMER VS. KRAMER; to show us Bridges' worth, then to make us question his value; Bridges is every bit as good with this boy as Hoffman was with his boy in that movie. The biscuit scene between the two of them is a small gem.
When Robert Duvall parachutes in halfway through, we are less reminded of his fine work in TENDER MERCIES than we are of how masterfully Bridges has navigated the rough waters of his character so far in CRAZY HEART. When Colin Farrell strolls in a bit later, again we see how Farrell is struggling to appear to be a rising country star while Bridges is completely believable as a fading country giant.
The rehabilitation scenes are sparsely written and underplayed. Compare this with the clinical humiliations of THE WRESTLER, showing Rourke trolling for drugs, blacking out, letting himself get mutilated in the ring, then being given a ROCKY-esque shot at a second chance. THE WRESTLER was a character study trying to be a movie, whereas CRAZY HEART manages to be both at the same time.
As Bad Blake, Bridges knows that he's to blame for his desperate situation, but he remembers everybody's name, he sings the songs that he's asked to sing in concert, he whips the bands he's playing with into shape. Even when Bridges leaves to vomit in the middle of a dedication song he does so without malice and escapes blame because; shucks; a man's gotta hurl when a man's gotta hurl, y'all.
Is the music equal to Bridge's performance? No, but it ain't bad. The title song does not capture the story that's been told, but that captures just how good a performance Bridges' Bad Blake is. And Bridges' stature as an actor is never greater than in the epilogue, when he ties it all together with generosity and that marvelously light touch of his. Bridges gets the girl without getting the girl, if you get my drift.
As impressed as I was with Meryl Streep in JULIE & JULIA, the performance of 2009 is Jeff Bridges in CRAZY HEART. Hell, yes!
I might have a shot of getting in print with Exterminating Angel Press, so please wish me luck!
Talk to you, soon! Be good!
Brad
Friday, December 25, 2009
Invictus Joyeux Noel!
Hi Everybody!
I may not be the master of my soul or the captain of my fate, but I love sports movies like INVICTUS. Clint Eastwood is the most colorblind of our major directors, and his long partnership with Morgan Freeman is enduring proof of his taste level in actors. While Eastwood has often cast amateurs in his movies, clearly Freeman has been his go-to guy for over a decade, and for obvious reasons.
With the end of Aparteid in his rearview mirror, Eastwood uses South Africa to deliver a rousing ode to brotherhood without the usual sermon which has plagued other such efforts. It is in the small touches where Eastwood shines: how the rugby captain's maid is invited to the World Cup, how a street begger listens to the game on a police unit's radio, how Mandela's estranged daughter ends up rooting for the despised Bokke team despite herself.
The last 20 minutes of the movie is essentially an escalating montage and, again, it is Eastwood's storytelling that makes it effective and not incoherant. Eastwood may direct with a stopwatch but, particularly in a movie with so many crowd scenes, he prevents his extras from mugging and sometimes catches something close to authenticity.
Freeman's professionalism along with his genuine warmth keeps the movie entertaining, while Matt Damon throwing himself physically into the Rugby field allows us to have a real actor delivering his ground-level lines with authority.
Eastwood makes it look easy, but most major directors flub the small moments that become the heart of this film. Another big winner from Clint, and you can stick that in your GRAN TORINO!
Merry Christmas to you all and be good, for goodness' sake! Talk to you, soon!
Brad
I may not be the master of my soul or the captain of my fate, but I love sports movies like INVICTUS. Clint Eastwood is the most colorblind of our major directors, and his long partnership with Morgan Freeman is enduring proof of his taste level in actors. While Eastwood has often cast amateurs in his movies, clearly Freeman has been his go-to guy for over a decade, and for obvious reasons.
With the end of Aparteid in his rearview mirror, Eastwood uses South Africa to deliver a rousing ode to brotherhood without the usual sermon which has plagued other such efforts. It is in the small touches where Eastwood shines: how the rugby captain's maid is invited to the World Cup, how a street begger listens to the game on a police unit's radio, how Mandela's estranged daughter ends up rooting for the despised Bokke team despite herself.
The last 20 minutes of the movie is essentially an escalating montage and, again, it is Eastwood's storytelling that makes it effective and not incoherant. Eastwood may direct with a stopwatch but, particularly in a movie with so many crowd scenes, he prevents his extras from mugging and sometimes catches something close to authenticity.
Freeman's professionalism along with his genuine warmth keeps the movie entertaining, while Matt Damon throwing himself physically into the Rugby field allows us to have a real actor delivering his ground-level lines with authority.
Eastwood makes it look easy, but most major directors flub the small moments that become the heart of this film. Another big winner from Clint, and you can stick that in your GRAN TORINO!
Merry Christmas to you all and be good, for goodness' sake! Talk to you, soon!
Brad
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Up, Up In The Air!
Hi Everybody!
First, a quick update:
Since I have gotten no reply from the publisher concerning by JSA: THE MODERN idea, I've set that project aside and have fortified my SANTA: WOO WOO book to include three smaller stories featuring WOODY, POCAHONTAS and WONDER WOMAN. These will be short, regular-sized books for young readers featuring double-paged spreads and simple verse to tell the stories. Even though they each have a Christmas theme, I hope they can be enjoyed at any time of the year!
Now, I just saw UP IN THE AIR, and it's one of "those" movies. It could have been a character study of a downsizing expert (George Clooney) who himself gets downsized, but no. It could have been a mentor/mentee movie about how Clooney trains his replacement (Anna Kendrick) and how they combine forces to defeat a common foe, but no. It could have been how an isolated Clooney makes a deep connection with a fellow air travel addict (Vera Farmiga) and reprioritizes his life, but no. Like its' protagonist Clooney, the movie ultimately refuses to commit to anything more than a day-in-the-life, when it could have gone after bigger game. Like a seatbelt that is not quite long enough to fasten shut, this movie simply floats off the screen, squandoring a charming Clooney, a disarming Farmiga, and a crisp Kendrick.
Happy shopping, be good!
Brad
First, a quick update:
Since I have gotten no reply from the publisher concerning by JSA: THE MODERN idea, I've set that project aside and have fortified my SANTA: WOO WOO book to include three smaller stories featuring WOODY, POCAHONTAS and WONDER WOMAN. These will be short, regular-sized books for young readers featuring double-paged spreads and simple verse to tell the stories. Even though they each have a Christmas theme, I hope they can be enjoyed at any time of the year!
Now, I just saw UP IN THE AIR, and it's one of "those" movies. It could have been a character study of a downsizing expert (George Clooney) who himself gets downsized, but no. It could have been a mentor/mentee movie about how Clooney trains his replacement (Anna Kendrick) and how they combine forces to defeat a common foe, but no. It could have been how an isolated Clooney makes a deep connection with a fellow air travel addict (Vera Farmiga) and reprioritizes his life, but no. Like its' protagonist Clooney, the movie ultimately refuses to commit to anything more than a day-in-the-life, when it could have gone after bigger game. Like a seatbelt that is not quite long enough to fasten shut, this movie simply floats off the screen, squandoring a charming Clooney, a disarming Farmiga, and a crisp Kendrick.
Happy shopping, be good!
Brad
Monday, November 30, 2009
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang!
Hi everybody!
Just came up with an idea for a children's Santa Claus book; more on that, later!
I finally came across a copy of KISS KISS BANG BANG by Pauline Kael, and am reminded of what a complete film critic she was.
The New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael was actually bron in California. She was preceeded in film criticism by novelist Graham Greene, and her contemporary competition was Andrew Sarris, but in short order Kael became the nation's pre-imminent film critic. Kael brought vigorous, exhaustive and compulsive discipline to an ill-defined art.
In KISS KISS BANG BANG, Kael actually observed the whole process of putting the film THE GROUP (1966) together. In Kael's capable hands, it's like watching the scene in WITNESS when the Amish are putting up a barn from scratch. But Kael adds in slave labor, termite-ridden wood, rusty nails, splinters; in short, she de-glamorizes arguably the most glamorous industry ever.
Kael was not a perfect critic: she completely conflates the successes of BONNIE AND CLYDE, for example. However, few critics could articulate the glories of 1930s B movies while extolling the virtues of 1960s renegade filmmakers with more evident flourish than our lady Kael.
She tries to explain what happened to the careers of Marlon Brando and Orson Welles, but self-destructiveness has its' own tragic logic.
I cherish all of Kael's books and cannot recommend them enough!
Too tired to keep on rambling: gotta go! Be good!
Brad
Just came up with an idea for a children's Santa Claus book; more on that, later!
I finally came across a copy of KISS KISS BANG BANG by Pauline Kael, and am reminded of what a complete film critic she was.
The New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael was actually bron in California. She was preceeded in film criticism by novelist Graham Greene, and her contemporary competition was Andrew Sarris, but in short order Kael became the nation's pre-imminent film critic. Kael brought vigorous, exhaustive and compulsive discipline to an ill-defined art.
In KISS KISS BANG BANG, Kael actually observed the whole process of putting the film THE GROUP (1966) together. In Kael's capable hands, it's like watching the scene in WITNESS when the Amish are putting up a barn from scratch. But Kael adds in slave labor, termite-ridden wood, rusty nails, splinters; in short, she de-glamorizes arguably the most glamorous industry ever.
Kael was not a perfect critic: she completely conflates the successes of BONNIE AND CLYDE, for example. However, few critics could articulate the glories of 1930s B movies while extolling the virtues of 1960s renegade filmmakers with more evident flourish than our lady Kael.
She tries to explain what happened to the careers of Marlon Brando and Orson Welles, but self-destructiveness has its' own tragic logic.
I cherish all of Kael's books and cannot recommend them enough!
Too tired to keep on rambling: gotta go! Be good!
Brad
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Brad At The Movies!
Hi everybody!
Sorry to have been away, I've been beefing up my MySpace page and talking about my POCAHONTAS: SECRET LIFE book over there, while neglecting Wonder Woman Project updates with you.
First, let's go over some movies that I've seen. BRIGHT STAR with Abbie Cornish is a terrific 3 hanky movie, and Cornish is excellent in it. I understand that she is training for an action picture, if so, she'd be a terrific addition the the Wonder Woman trilogy cast! (If she can navigate Keats, she'll have no problem with Barnes!)
BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS with Nick Cage is a diverting study in behavior from fellow Long Beach native Cage, but particular props to American Idol alum Katie Chonacas for giving the right jolt of hedonism and craft that this picture desperately needed, as a lot of acting newbies were given parts too big for them to handle.
Much love to THE BLIND SPOT with Sandra Bullock, an unabashedly uplifting biopic in which blond Bullock kicks every quip and quarry through the goalpost without missing a beat. If you want to see a big star in a part that fits them like a second skin, see THE BLIND SPOT! (I'm actually seeing Bullock as Athena in the Wonder Woman Project, right now!)
THE MESSENGER, with Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton, starts off strong and fritters away. However, Morton remains one of the great actresses in the English speaking world: more Morton, please! (She'd be a great Etta Candy, actually!)
I'm pulling together photo references and such in preparation for completing my WOODY: THE HERO OF ZIRCON CITY! graphic novel. I've also come across a lot of Wonder Woman poses that I can use in the 3 Year Calendar that I'm planning.
I've made some new friends, reconnected with some old ones, and all the lights seem to be "green" for the foreseeable future, so I've got to take advantage of these opportunities. I've created 4 new adventures for WOODY and was reminded that I've completed the first 45 pages for POCAHONTAS, so I need to finish packaging those and getting them in the mail to be published by someone who will pay me.
That's all for now! Be good!
Brad
Sorry to have been away, I've been beefing up my MySpace page and talking about my POCAHONTAS: SECRET LIFE book over there, while neglecting Wonder Woman Project updates with you.
First, let's go over some movies that I've seen. BRIGHT STAR with Abbie Cornish is a terrific 3 hanky movie, and Cornish is excellent in it. I understand that she is training for an action picture, if so, she'd be a terrific addition the the Wonder Woman trilogy cast! (If she can navigate Keats, she'll have no problem with Barnes!)
BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF NEW ORLEANS with Nick Cage is a diverting study in behavior from fellow Long Beach native Cage, but particular props to American Idol alum Katie Chonacas for giving the right jolt of hedonism and craft that this picture desperately needed, as a lot of acting newbies were given parts too big for them to handle.
Much love to THE BLIND SPOT with Sandra Bullock, an unabashedly uplifting biopic in which blond Bullock kicks every quip and quarry through the goalpost without missing a beat. If you want to see a big star in a part that fits them like a second skin, see THE BLIND SPOT! (I'm actually seeing Bullock as Athena in the Wonder Woman Project, right now!)
THE MESSENGER, with Ben Foster, Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton, starts off strong and fritters away. However, Morton remains one of the great actresses in the English speaking world: more Morton, please! (She'd be a great Etta Candy, actually!)
I'm pulling together photo references and such in preparation for completing my WOODY: THE HERO OF ZIRCON CITY! graphic novel. I've also come across a lot of Wonder Woman poses that I can use in the 3 Year Calendar that I'm planning.
I've made some new friends, reconnected with some old ones, and all the lights seem to be "green" for the foreseeable future, so I've got to take advantage of these opportunities. I've created 4 new adventures for WOODY and was reminded that I've completed the first 45 pages for POCAHONTAS, so I need to finish packaging those and getting them in the mail to be published by someone who will pay me.
That's all for now! Be good!
Brad
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