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lostsummerdayz · 4 years

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Lost Summer Deep Dive - Christie Monteiro Part 1

An In-Depth Look At A Capoeirista Forgotten By Lore

by Nay Holland

When one thinks of capoeira, it is impossible to mention the impact video games had in bringing the art into the public eye. Sure, there have been movies, books, and capoeira schools for as long as the art existed, but video games were arguably the form of media which made the art popular. The same could be said for its representation in video games.

While you had capoeiristas like Richard Meyer and Bob Wilson in the Fatal Fury series, it wouldn’t be until years later that a rich Brazilian capoeirista known as Eddy Gordo would set the bar. No, he wouldn’t just set the bar, he would be the bar himself.

In arcades during the year of 1997 and home consoles the following year, many a player felt rage from a single man. A man whose flips, spins, handstands, and kicks, would bring awe to those who played him, and frustration to those who fought against it. He was both famous for moves never seen before in a 3D fighter, and infamous for being the definition of “cheap.”

Regardless how you felt about him, there was no denying that Eddy was different from the rest of the cast. In a game where homages to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Tiger Mask were evident, there was nothing who was comparable to Eddy at the time. His unique, yet slightly exaggerated, homage to capoeira brought new fans into the art. Capoeira became a popular buzz word for fighting enthusiasts almost overnight.

But was Eddy always considered to be the face of capoeira?

After Tekken Tag Tournament, Eddy was noticeably absent from the main roster. In place of him was a young Brazilian woman by the name of Christie Monteiro. A fresh face for a game that represented a new era in Tekken, her moves were very similar to Eddy’s.

In fact, apart from her normal throws, her movelist were identical to Eddy’s in every way. Eddy being a palette swap for her in Tekken 4 and Tekken 5 brought the “Christie is Eddy” angle to its head. At the time, although Eddy was included in these two games, Bandai Namco was trying to push Christie as the new face.

At the very least, they were trying to push a woman as the capoeira representative from the very beginning.

In a 1998 CVG interview, following the release of Tekken 3, the development team discussed how the concept of Eddy came about. When asked how the team went about designing its roster of characters, the team replied with the following.

“A good example is Eddy, since he wasn't planned to be the character you see at first. The development team wanted to include a character who used Capoeira, so the idea was passed on to the artist team. Mr Kimoto requested the artist to make a female character for Capoeira. However the artist said it was too difficult to design a female character who used Capoeria, so there came Eddy.”

It wouldn’t be until Dark Resurrection that Eddy had his own slot on the roster for the first time since Tekken Tag Tournament.

With the separation of the two characters at last, Christie’s push would be put on the backburner in lieu of Eddy’s importance to the story. Christie’s relevance came to a screeching halt in Tekken 7 as Eddy was one of the final main roster characters revealed without a Brazilian woman in sight.

NO!!!

Anyways, Christie wouldn’t make another official appearance until the mobile Tekken game, but considering the mobile Tekken game is literally a dump of old characters that didn’t make the cut in Tekken 7, that’s hardly a victory.

I started writing this back in early 2018, and since then, we’ve gotten Marduk back from the graveyard!

However, I’ve long since stopped holding out for hope. If she shows up, she shows up. If she doesn’t, well. It still won’t dilute the amount of love I have for this girl. Hopefully by the end of this I can shed some light on what makes Christie amazing to me.

So, what happened? How did the one who was pushed to be the babyface of capoeira after Eddy’s origin ended up becoming the queen of the indies known as mobile Tekken? What is it about Christie that makes me admire her as a character? Well, let’s start with her design.

Appearance

So, imagine the year 2001. You’re in the arcades and you see Tekken 4 for the first time. The attract video plays and you’re in wow at the graphics. Especially considering this is the first Tekken on a new engine in the arcade at least. Then suddenly you see this mami twirling and making sensual poses, flashing the biggest grin.

It was at this point you dumped quarters in the machine. Don’t lie. This totally didn’t happen to me at an arcade while I was in the Poconos. Nope.

I remember the rumors at the time. Everyone thought the designers took inspiration from Tyra Banks and Harada himself de-confirmed this.

Wearing a low-cut green floral blouse that cuts above her midriff, black leather hotpants with frills at the end, black fingerless gloves, and Spartan-style sandals, Christie’s primary outfit was made to turn heads and accentuate her features. As with most outfits and hair designs in this game, Christie’s design was also made to show off the new graphics engine for Tekken. Christie’s long brunette hair, coupled with her loose-fitting clothing, flows with the wind with every kick and acrobatic motion. Her design was made for comfort in mind as well as ease of movement.

Christie’s competitor’s outfit is a brassiere-style top with silk training pants and green fingerless gloves. Wrapped around her waist is a capoeira belt, much like Eddy’s competitor’s outfit. Whether this is an actual representation of her rank, or just a design choice, is up in the air. I’d like to say it’s the latter, though I believe a purple belt is a high ranking in capoeira.

Comparing Christie and Eddy’s competitor’s outfit, they aren’t too different from each other. In fact, side by side they appear like partners rather than a radical difference.

Following her debut, her primary outfit changes from a green to a light purple top and black to white colored hotpants. The top of her competitive gear is more confined and stylish while retaining the same effect as it did before. As the series progressed, her butterfly motif became more prevalent in her clothing.

With such a dynamic taste in style, one would think that her personality is just as bubbly, and you’d be correct to think so.

Personality

Pointing at her opponent with finger guns and firing off in their direction, Christie enters her ginga stance with a declaration…

“Here we go!”

Oozing with confidence no matter who she is fighting against, Christie never backs down from an opportunity to show off her studies in Capoeira arts.

Christie makes it clear to her competitors that if they take her lightly, they will pay for it in a loss.

Perhaps one of my favorite exchanges with another character is when she fights Bruce in Tekken 5. Bruce exclaims that the “competition has gotten easier on the eyes,” in which Christie taunts him in return. When Bruce questions if her capoeira can stand up to [his Muay Thai], she replies with a sultry tone of confidence.

Ultimately, Christie would win the bout and she toys with him, saying that his lack of rhythm will be the reason why he will never defeat her.

It’s exchanges like this, as well as her other intro pose where she blows her opponent a kiss and declares them to “go easy on her,” that she uses her looks to her advantage. It’s almost as a form of intimidation, being caught off guard by swift kicks coming at you at every direction while she emerges the victor, leaving the battle almost unscathed.

There is a depth to this. When things get serious, Christie has a sense of justice within the confines of her own capability. This is commonly brought up whenever Eddy runs off headfirst into danger.

In the same game, when she runs into Eddy, she doesn’t back down from fighting Eddy to save her grandfather’s life. Win or lose, she will fight her hardest for those who she loves, even if it means fighting the one person, she loves the most.

She’s also highly emotional as an individual as evident when she shows her disappointment at the end of her winning the 4th Iron Fist Tournament. This changes to a complete 180 as she sees the one person who she has been looking for all tournament, immediately returning to her bubbly cheerful self. A dark version of this trait shows when she is overburdened with emotion to the point of tears upon discovering that her grandfather passed away.

This combination of a flirtatious happy-go-lucky capoeirista who revels in her fights and a woman who is bound to protect those who she holds dear comes into full force in Tekken 6. Although in the overall canon she takes a backseat, controlling her in Scenario mode reveals hidden layers about her character.

One of the hypothetical scenarios that is brought up is when Christie and Eddy do cross paths in Scenario mode. If the former approaches Eddy, he will exclaim that she shouldn’t be here in high concern. If the latter approaches Christie, she will appear angry that he has, once again, decided to be inconsiderate in being brash for considering working with “Public Enemy #1.”

Both Eddy and Christie wish to protect each other, yet they do so by ironically placing themselves into harms way. While on a larger scale, they are two small fish in the giant ocean that is the Mishima bloodline story. If one zooms in on the microscope, you see two troubled young adults who wish to live in peace. One is bound by vengeance while the other is bound by duty.

Story

While Tekken 4 is the first time we see and hear of Christie, that game is not the first time we hear of her story. In Tekken 3’s prologue, Eddy was incarcerated after being framed for the murder of his father. During his sentence, he learns the art of capoeira from an elderly master. Up until his release, Eddy perfected the art of capoeira and entered the third King of Iron Fist tournament to exact

That elderly man was none other than…

Well…

The old man never had an official name. The Tekken wiki has his name as

DENSETSU NO KAPOEIRA MASUTAA

or the “Legendary Capoeira Master.”

For a while, the urban legend regarding his name was “Ho Chi Myong,” but unlike the Tara Banks inspiration, this wasn’t ever confirmed by Bandai Namco. I don’t think it ever will.

The one thing that was confirmed, however, was that the

DENSETSU NO KAPOEI---I’m sorry.

The elderly capoeira master was Christie’s grandfather. How did Christie herself know capoeira? Through Eddy, as a form of mutual respect for her grandfather teaching him the art. Suddenly Christie and Eddy having identical moves isn’t farfetched.

However, I always wondered why Christie’s grandfather never taught her capoeira himself? The obvious answer would be because he, too, was imprisoned. Still, you’d consider that maybe he would have taught her when she was a child or began to teach her. Who knows?

At the end of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3, Eddy finds out that it was Kazuya Mishima who orchestrated the events which led to his father’s murder and his own imprisonment. Since then, he has sought out to find Kazuya and settle the score on his own terms.

Enter Tekken 4, where a concerned Christie realizes Eddy has gone missing. In her response, she spends the 4th Iron Fist Tournament looking for Eddy, sensing trouble brewing on the horizon.

Honestly this was Eddy’s fault to begin with. Had Eddy not told Christie that he was going to avenge his father’s death, she wouldn’t have bothered to put herself in harm’s way. However, Christie’s story had to start somewhere yeah?

In the end, Eddy doesn’t find Kazuya, but, if we take Christie’s ending in Tekken 4 as canon, we can deduce some details.

Christie wins the iron fist tournament, incredibly bemused, as she failed at her original goal in locating Eddy. However, seeing a familiar face in the crowd, she runs over to Eddy in a full embrace. Eddy appears in this ending with a cast on his arm, so it is assumed that his progress in finding his father’s murderer ended prematurely. Even so, despite his lack of success, he still shows up to his girl’s victory match in support. What a romantic.

Several months later, tragedy strikes. Christie’s grandfather is inflicted with an illness and the race to find enough money to pay for the operation begins. In the end, no matter who wins the tournament, they use their prize money to pay for the operation which turns out to be a success. Christie, Eddy, and her grandfather are all seen at a park practicing capoeira and everyone lives happily ever after, right!?

Unfortunately, not.

Several years later and the climate is different. Jin Kazama wages war against the world and it turns out that neither Christie nor Eddy was able to win the tournament after all.

Running out of time and resources, Jin makes a deal with Eddy. If Eddy works for him and helps exact Jin’s vengeance against Kazuya, then Jin will help pay for the operation. Considering this as an opportunity to become in direct contact with Kazuya, the murderer of his father, it’s a win win for Eddy.

He didn’t want to be a part of this war, but for the safety of the one person who was a father figure for him and the chance to kill the one who has caused him years of torment, he will take up a gun for Jin.

So, where does this leave Christie? Back to where we once were in Tekken 4, on the lookout for Eddy and her grandfather.

Do you see where I’m getting at now? “As the series progressed, Christie’s role became diluted?”

The sad part is that Christie is not the only character to suffer through this “character dilution.” The4thSnake’s video on Asuka Kazama goes over the same points that I could ever make, so please give that video a watch when you can. In Tekken 6, if it wasn’t Mishima related, it was on the backburner.

youtube

Once again, both parties are unsuccessful. Christie never finds a cure for her grandfather’s illness and he succumbs. Eddy is deceived by Jin, refusing to hold his end of the bargain, and is unable to save his master’s life. While visiting his grandfather’s grave, Christie discovers Eddy.

Instead of a warming reunion, Christie, in a fit of rage and sadness, slaps him while demanding where he was. In response, Eddy stands there, motionless, as he throws his Mishima Zaibatsu pin to the ground.

This is where Christie’s story ends. Officially.

What began as a bright young capoeira student ended a grieving shell of a person, thanks to the dishonesty of Mishimas and Eddy for pulling a Knuckles and believing Eggman---Jin Kazama.

If we look at the Tag 2 endings and assume, they take place after 6, Eddy takes a page out of King’s book and opens up a capoeira school for orphaned children. After some time passes, he embarks on a trip to become the world greatest stuntman the Mishima Zaibatsu has ever seen!

No of course not he’s going to confront his father and master’s murderers of course! What else would Eddy POSSIBLY do at this point!?

In Christie’s ending, as a continuation, she catches wind of this and chases Eddy, but, as history tends to repeat itself, she’s too late. Eddy is already on the train.

Some. Things. Never. Change.

At least she was spared a grim fate, unlike our friend here.

Conclusion

So. Where do we go from here? From the beginning, we know that Eddy is an integral part of Christie’s story. However, there are signs in her design that shows she can hold her own, both in a fight and in her sense of justice.

I recommend anyone to play through Scenario mode with all of the available roster and not just Lars, but in Scenario mode, Christie has a sense of justice that almost felt refreshing. It wasn’t just simply “where’s Eddy,” but it was also “I have to stop the messed up things from going on in the world”

Earlier I posted a photo where she confronts Eddy for working with the Mishimas and she has no qualms in defeating him to knock sense into him. I also mentioned the confrontation between Bruce and Christie, which is just about non-canon as far as Tekken 6 is confirmed. They treat their encounter as if it was the first time they’ve ever met. Bummer.

But there are signs of life for this character and when it shows, it’s refreshing to see. Christie is not the only character who suffers from this, but she is the one who is marred by the reputation of “always being in Eddy’s shadow.”

When discussion is brought up on why she shouldn’t be in the game? “Eddy is already in there.”

When the game throws her into a repeat storyline for the third straight game in the series? “Eddy is already there.”

Why is Christie out and about? “Her grandfather, but Eddy is there as well.”

Part of the reason why I considered myself a Christie main is because Christie is an underdog in the Tekken universe as well as within the competitive scene.

The irony here is that Christie was meant to replace Eddy, but the inverse happened.

One day, Christie can exist without having to worry about being in Eddy’s shadow. A fan can dream. Until then, I’ll always consider her my favorite fighting game character so there’s no replacing that at least.

There will be a Part 2 to this as there’s one key game that she’s a part of where she does regain some of that luster I wish she had in the main series. A game that is largely underrated but a game where Christie has had her moment in the sun.

Stay tuned for Part 2 soon! If you weren’t sick of me talking about Christie and made it this far, congrats! Stick around for the follow-up!

#tekken #tekken 7 #eddy #christie monteiro #video game

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musicallysublime-blog · 6 years

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To Be Alone With You

So I've been wanting to pick up this album on vinyl since the first time I heard it. It's so good as far as new music goes. So I finally brought it home with me. Andrew Hozier-Byrne's (better known as Hozier) self-titled album is that special one that has made it into my collection.

Hozier was released in September of 2014; so I suppose it's not really "new" music so to speak but to me it is. I think the first time I listened to his album was about a year or so ago. Like I mentioned though the album is gold. His songwriting skills are beyond amazing and, his lyrics are simply poetry to my ears.

Side one begins with a song that has been heard on the radio a few times for sure. 'Take Me To Church' is such a chilling song to listen to. His voice is so angelic and masculine at the same time. This song has some sexual references and his voice delivers them with such perfection that it creates this sensual vibe. Aside from the lyrics being amazing, the music is equally as great and makes for a good song.

'Jackie And Wilson' is much more upbeat while still keeping some blues and rock and roll tunes. The rhythm of this song has a different tempo than 'Take Me Chruch' and he is really able to showcase that wonderfully. It's also a perfect way for side one to end.

Side two has one of my favorite songs on the whole album. 'To Be Alone' begins with guitars that simply melt into you, they are so good. Then Hozier's voice joins in only to give the song it's proper life. The guitars remind me of the infamous BB King.

But you don't know what hell you put me through To have someone kiss the skin that crawls from you To feel your weight in arms I'd never use It's the god that heroin prays to

Side three starts with a beautiful song that features the gentle sweet voice of Karen Cowley. 'In A Week' is so soft featuring gentle guitars that create for a beautifully sung story. Their voices together work wonders on the ears.

'Work Song' finishes side three and it is one of the most beautiful songs I've heard in a long time. This song gives me chills it's that good. If you venture on to take a listen to this album do yourself a favor, and listen to this song. The lyrics especially speak to some personal experiences in my life and I think that's why this song moves me in the way it does.

Boys when my baby found me I was three days on a drunken sin I woke with her walls around me Nothin' in her room but an empty crib And I was burnin' up a fever I didn't care much how long I lived But I swear I thought I dreamed her She never asked me once about the wrong I did When my time comes around Lay me gently in the cold dark earth No grave can hold my body down I'll crawl home to her

We get to side four which holds four songs. 'It Will Come Back' is the second song on this side and this one is definitely much grittier than the rest. The guitars on this are infused with heavy bluesy vibes. This song reminds me of going into a bar a having a few drinks while this song plays.

The album ends with 'Cherry Wine' which is a live recording. Once again magic is done with the guitar that starts the song. I believe it's just him and his guitar on this song and it's a wonderful way to end the album.

#hozier #take me to church #vinyl blog #vinyl music #music through vinyl #music blog #my vinyl #vinyl community #my vinyl collection #vinyl collector #good vibes only #music for the soul #musicallysublime

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imnoexpertblog · 5 years

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Here's some stuff to do and listen to.

7/20/18

Are you ready to receive some suggestions to entertain your fine selves? ‘Cause I’m ready to give it.

For those who are local: My dad and brother run NYFO together for Green Bay. What’s NYFO? WELL. “NYFO 7on7 Football is the next generation of player development, no matter your skill set. NYFO is the NATIONAL GOVERNING BODY for 7on7 & Non-contact Football. Our leagues, camps, and training exist to ultimately transition better, safer, and more fundamentally sound knowledgeable players. NYFO is committed to helping every player in our program improve no matter their skill level. By doing so we will ultimately enhance the sport of football, from youth organizations through the NFL. NYFO is ‘Non-Contact’ For parents, ‘non-contact’ can be translated into ‘one-hand touch.’ Without the distraction of full-contact, players can focus on fundamentals. With so much negative media attention given to concussions and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), 7on7 offers parents a safer alternative for kids wanting to play football.” Quick additional info: They offer programs for age groups 8U, 10U, 13U, 15U, and 18U. Go to their website if you’re interested in signing your kids up! Okay but anyway, if you need something to do this Friday you should go to a Bullfrogs baseball game! Bullfrogs “Stars Of Tomorrow” fundraiser family & friend tickets are $18 and include your ticket (duh), a Bullfrogs hat, a hot dog, AND a soda! A damn steal if you ask me. It helps out NYFO and you’ll have something fun to do! All registered players from NYFO get in free with and a portion of the proceeds from family/friends tickets sales going to the NYFO by simply using code “NYFO7on7” at the point of purchase. Go to greenbaybullfrogs.com, click Buy Tickets Now in the top right corner, and enter the promo code (NYFO7on7). Gates open at 6:05pm and the game is at 7:05pm! See you at the diamond on July 20th! Give them a follow on Instagram! @greenbay.nyfo

I never really blog about music for how passionate I am about it. I have mentioned before that I sing, too. I’d love music even if I couldn’t sing though. Anyway, everyone loves finding new music, right? I’m gonna tell you my most listened to artists and songs on my Spotify. First, I’ll tell you how I found this data. I found this question forum on this link: https://www.quora.com/Is-there-a-way-to-see-my-most-played-artists-songs-in-Spotify. You’ll see in the answer that there’s Spotify.Me or there’s ManageMyMusic to see your most listened to stuff. Spotify.Me is intricate and gives you information like your favorites, streaming habits, and listening insights. Apparently, what I listen to the most is considered to be a bunch of different types of “pop.” I don’t know if I agree with that. They also tell me that “I know what I want” because 84% of my favorite artists are within my most-listened to genre. That I can agree with. It says I’m high energy lately in my streaming choices, but I don’t see it. I have been choosing really chill music, in my opinion. The other link in that question/answer forum is called ManageMyMusic and it gives you a ton of lists; Top artists and tracks for the “Short Term (4 weeks),” the “Medium Term (6 months),” and for the “Long Term (Years).” I’ll give you my top ten for each category, though I know there will be overlapping. I obviously love everything I am about to include so please give this stuff a listen. You’re about to get an intimate peek at my soul.

Top artists -- Short Term (4 weeks)

Jon Bellion

Drake

Milky Chance

Hozier

Andrew Belle

Bazzi

Aaron Carter

Roy Woods

dvsn

Troy Sivan

I didn’t realize that I listened to that much Jon Bellion lately. I mean, he is fantastic. I just didn’t realize I listened to so much of him in the last month.

Top artists -- Medium Term (6 months)

Drake

Blackbear

Tory Lanez

Marc E. Bassy

Jon Bellion

Bazzi

Post Malone

Hozier

Aaron Carter

Sam Smith

I can say for DAMN SURE that Baby has heavily influenced who I listened to these past 6 months. Drake has always been my man but I never listened to Blackbear, Tory Lanez, or Marc E. Bassy before I met him.

Top artists -- Long Term (years)

Drake

Sam Smith

Troye Sivan

Andrew Belle

Justin Bieber

Jon Bellion

The Weeknd

Jessie Ware

Hozier

Tove Lo

None of that even remotely surprises me.

Top tracks -- Short Term (4 weeks)

Jessie Ware, You & I (Forever)

Hozier, Jackie and Wilson

Sabrina Claudio, Orion's Belt

Jon Bellion, Overwhelming

Jon Bellion, 2 Rocking Chairs

Vance Joy, Mess Is Mine

The 1975, Somebody Else

Jon Bellion, The Good In Me

JAHKOY, Still In Love

Young the Giant, Cough Syrup

This is all very "me" lately.

Top tracks -- Medium Term (6 months)

Alina Baraz, Show Me

6LACK, Learn Ya

Tory Lanez, I Sip

Blackbear, moodz (feat. 24hrs)

Marc E. Bassy, 4am

Tory Lanez, Skrt Skrt

Ansel Elgort, Supernova

Bazzi, Mine

Post Malone, Psycho (feat. Ty Dolla $ign)

R I T U A L, Better By Now

This list is definitely Baby-approved.

Top tracks -- Long Term (years)

Justin Bieber, The Feeling

Troye Sivan, WILD

ZAYN, PILLOWTALK

Snakehips, All My Friends

Tatiana Manaois, Helplessly

Bryson Tiller, Don't

Chris Stapleton, Tennessee Whiskey

Sam Smith, Not In That Way

Hozier, Work Song

A R I Z O N A, Let Me Touch Your Fire

Honestly, the first 5 tracks do surprise me a little, but that was back when I had my music on constantly when I was single and home alone quite often. I remember keeping those on repeat for hours at times, so I’m not sure how accurate that actually is only because of that fact. This was all super cool to see, though. Some of it was expected, some unexpected. Either way, I hope I gave you some new stuff to listen to! And you should check out for own profiles. Nice opportunity to learn a little about yourself.

This past weekend, it was pretty warm out. Baby and I wanted to get Nugget a sprinkler so I took the little one with me to the store aaaaand they were sold out. Due to all the warmth. So I bought Nugget some water guns instead. We got 2 smaller ones and 2 larger ones for THIRTEEN DOLLARS, TOTAL. YEAH. This s’mom was shocked by that price, that’s for sure. We played and sprayed when we got home. Baby and Nugget had some fun together. The first thing Nugget did when we filled his gun though was spray me right in the (get ready) vagina. Yes. Then he yells, “I’M SPRAYING YOU IN THE PARTS.” I was like, “Uhhhhh, let’s not spray anyone’s parts and also let’s talk about anyone’s parts. It’s not polite and those are private” LOL. He’s never said anything to me about private parts or anything so that was new to me. He walks into my room when I’m changing a fair amount of the time and I know for a fact he’s seen more than I meant him to, but he has never asked questions, pointed anything out, etc. I think it’s important to set an example for your children in the sense to be comfortable with their bodies and such. This might be a whole new chapter with Nugget! We will see. Enough about my “parts” and back to the water guns. Baby said that on one of the weeks that we don’t have Nugget, that he wants to do a water gun race with me. I got 2 free beach balls from Sprint when I got a new phone last week (among a ton of other free shit, which I'll tell y'all about soon) and Baby said we should see whoever can get the beach ball across our backyard the fastest by spraying them with the water guns. I honestly think that sounds more fun than any idea I've ever had LOL. It reminds me of when I almost bought us both Nerf guns. So, if things are little mundane (or even if they’re not) maybe you and your love should find your inner children together! Get water-balloons and have a water-balloon fight, chalk up your driveway, set up obstacle courses, have a scavenger hunt! You can make it interesting by making fun deals. Whoever loses has to make dinner, for example. I think we will try all of these ideas eventually.

Speaking of shopping with Nugget, I am in the process of teaching him about not asking for toys every time we go. Baby went through a break up after a 3 year relationship before we was with me. He told me that he felt awful that Nugget no longer had two people raising him and Baby made up for that by buying Nugget toys every time they went to the store. I could tell there was a reason why Nugget would ask like clockwork what toy he would get every time we went shopping. I have been working on breaking Nugget of that expectation, as well as working on having him appreciate the things he has at home. I explain to him Daddy and I only have a certain amount of dollars and that its usually only enough to buy what we needed from the store in the first place. He actually understands this concept very well. He always asks why we are going to the store, so I always have the opportunity to tell him what we need to buy. When we went to buy the sprinkler he asked me, "Can we get a toy from here?" and I replied with, "Buddy, remember what we came here for?" He answered correctly about buying a sprinkler. I said in a very positive tone, "Yep and I'm pretty sure we only have enough dollars for a sprinkler. And you also have a bunch of toys at home that you love to play with." We walked by a few things that piqued his interest. As we walked by some bubble-guns, he goes, "Oooh, those look fun. But we only have dollars to get the sprinkler." I was so proud of him for making this connection and also proud of myself for explaining it to him so that he really does understand this. I was raised by people who didn't explain things. It was always a "because I said so" type of world and I learned to accept it. I won't put Nugget in that world, though. I want him to recognize reasoning and be able to grasp why things are the way they are. He is incredibly intelligent and capable of knowing this information. I also want him to trust me and be honest with me as we grow together, so the first step is me trusting him and being honest with him first. Just wanted to share my super proud s'mom moment of the week. I'll be back tomorrow with new recipes for you!

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allmusicology-blog · 5 years

Link

Self-Titled by Hozier

(For clarification, I will not be discussing the two bonus tracks on the album.)

I am obsessed with Irish singer-songwriter Hozier. He is one of my current favorite artists. He’s just so good. His music consists of rock and folk influences. His voice is powerful and unique. it’s a strong claim, but he is the best lyricist of today’s generation. His lyrics are absolute poetry and continue to still give me chills after many listens.

1. Take Me to Church

This was the first single from Hozier’s first album. It blew up to say the least. It gained massive popularity and played on radio stations across the country. It is a beautiful and powerful song. However if this is the only song of his you have listened to, that needs to change. Hozier is way too good to be considered a one-hit wonder.

2. Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene

This song does such a great job at storytelling and drawing the listener in. I would describe this song as very rock influenced and sultry. It has a heavy beat and a catchy chant-like chorus.

3. Jackie and Wilson

This is a laid-back rock-influenced song. The lyrics aren’t as deep as a lot of the songs on this album, but they are still very detailed and tell a story. This song just makes me really happy. The chorus is so sweet and explains what it’s like to be in love. “We’ll name our children Jackie and Wilson, raise ‘em on rhythm and blues”.

4. Someone New

This song starts out differently from the previous ones. It’s more acoustic and calm. The intro consists of a soft plucked strings instrumentation. I can tell that this song is more blues influenced. The chorus is repetitive, but it’s catchy.

5. To Be Alone

This song is one of my favorites on the album. It is powerful and very rock-influenced. It has a heavy driving beat in the verses that drives you in. The chorus is addicting. This song almost sounds hypnotic. It also consists of incredible lyrics: “To feel your weight in arms I’d never use, it’s the god the heroin prays to”

6. From Eden

This is a more calm acoustic sounding song. Hozier’s voice sounds incredible in this song. The chorus is so wonderful and happy sounding. This song is a great example of why Hozier’s songs are so incredible. It’s the combination of amazing instrumentation and breathtaking lyrics that makes him such a great musician. “Innocence died screaming, honey ask me I should know, I slithered here from Eden just to sit outside your door”.

7. In A Week (feat. Karen Cowley)

This song is an acoustic ballad sung as a duet between Hozier and Irish musician Karen Cowley from the band Wyvern Lingo, which I am unfamiliar with. Her voice suits this song so well though. It’s soft, powerful, and chilling. This song is not a typical love song. Its lyrics are actually very morbid and dark. However, mixed with the acoustic sound, it is beautiful in a strange way. From my interpretation the lyrics are about dying with someone you love. “And they’d find us in a week, when the weather gets hot, after the insects have made their claim, I’d be home with you”.

8. Sedated

I think this is my favorite song of the entire album. It’s so catchy and the lyrics are so good. This is a more rock-influenced song. The melody is addicting and the chorus is strong and anthemic. It also has strong lyrics from Hozier yet again. “Just a little hush, babe, our veins are busy, but my heart’s in atrophy.” When have you ever heard the word “atrophy” in a song? Hozier’s lyricism is just incredible.

9. Work Song

I’m not sure what to categorize this song as. I don’t know if it’s a ballad, or just a slower tempo song. However, it’s definitely one of my favorites of the album both melodically and lyrically. It includes one of my favorite lines ever written by Hozier: “When I was kissing on my baby, and she put her love down soft and sweet, in the lowland plot I was free, Heaven and hell were words to me.” It gives me chills every time.

10. Like Real People Do

This is a gorgeous acoustic ballad-style love song. It is so beautiful. I want it to be played at my wedding one day. It’s not cheesy or cliche. It’s simple, but so good. “Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips, we should just kiss like real people do”.

11. It Will Come Back

This is a bluesy, rock influenced song. This isn’t one of my favorites of the album, but it’s still an interesting and fun song to listen to. This song leans more on the instrumentation than the lyrics. However, it still consists of pretty good lyrics, just not as good as the rest of the album. “Don’t let me in with no intention to keep me, Jesus Christ, don’t be kind to me, Honey don’t feed me, I will come back”.

12. Foreigner’s God

Hozier’s voice sounds so good in this song. The lyrics tell an interesting and detailed story. The melody and instrumentation aren’t as interesting, but Hozier’s voice and lyrics make up for it. The chorus is strong and powerful: “Screaming the name of a foreigner’s god, the purest expression of grief”. My favorite lyric in this song and the one that always stands out to me is “I’ve no language left to say it, all I do is crave her, breaking if I try to convey it, the broken love I make to her”.

13. Cherry Wine - Live

Hence the title, Cherry Wine is actually a track that was recorded live. However, without the title, you would never know. Hozier sounds exactly the same live as he does in his recordings, which is incredible for a musician. It shows true talent. The acoustics in this song are so gorgeous. The lyrics are explained as a story about domestic abuse. It’s such a beautiful and haunting song to end the album on. “The way she shows me I’m hers and she is mine, open hand or closed fist would be fine, blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine.”

In conclusion, this album is incredible and truly has no bad songs on it. If you have not listened to much of Hozier, go listen to him. His voice and lyricism is phenomenal. He also has a newer album out called “Wasteland, Baby!” which is not as good as this album in my opinion, but it is still a great album with some amazing tracks.

#hozier #album review

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weekendwarriorblog · 5 years

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND May 10, 2019 - POKEMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU, THE HUSTLE, TOLKIEN and More

It’s Mother’s Day weekend and while Avengers: Endgame seems to holding strong, we get four new movies in wide release, two of which I’ve seen, both of which are pretty decent. Unfortunately, due to illness, I’m running a bit late on this column, but I’ll try not to cut too many corners.

The big movie this weekend is POKÉMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU (Warner Bros.), starring Ryan Reynolds as the voice of Pikachu and Justice Smith from Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, plus the likes of Bill Nighy and Ken Watanabe, the latter who seems to be Legendary Pictures’ go-to Japanese actor. (He’ll be appearing in Godzilla: King of the Monsters later this month.) I’m hoping to still get around to reviewing the movie, but I will say that I generally enjoyed it, even if my connection to the material was the old TV cartoon rather than any of the games. (Look for that review before Friday, if I’m able to get my ass gear. In the meantime, here’s my interview with director Rob Letterman.)

I’ve been interested in the Anne Hathaway-Rebel Wilson comedy THE HUSTLE (U.A. Releasing) since it was called “Nasty Women” and was a straight-up remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but I just haven’t had time to catch the one press screening, so it looks like I’ll have to catch this sometime down the road.

And then there’s POMS (STXfilms), a new Diane Keaton comedy featuring an ensemble of actresses in their prime, including Pam Grier and Jacki Weaver. While this doesn’t look like my kind of movie, I totally would have gone to see it if I could, but I’m less apt to see it than The Hustle.

The other movie opening Friday which I’ve seen and enjoyed is TOLKIEN (Fox Searchlight), directed by Dome Karukoski (Tom of Finland) and starring Nicholas Hoult as J.R.R. Tolkien and Lily Collins as his wife Edith Bratt. I’m hoping this finds an audience, even though it’s obviously competing with much stronger and more high-profile films.

Mini-Review: I began to watch this movie with some trepidation, because at least at first, it seemed to be a typical biopic, much like director Dome Karukoski’s previous film. At least as the film began, it cut between Nicholas Hoult’s Tolkien while on the frontlines during WWII and his early schooldays at King Edwards and then Oxford, where he formed a bond with three other students.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I necessary needed to see a Dead Poet’s Society type way of getting the viewer to know more about the fantasy author, but that’s just a very small part of the film. Where the film really picks up is when Hoult and Collins take over their respective roles, because this is when the romance between Tolkien and Edith becomes a larger part of the story. It’s a bittersweet tale where Tolkien is forced to pick going to Oxford over continuing this romance by Colm Meany’s pries, who has become Tolkien’s guardian after his mother dies suddenly. The majority of the film bounces between Tolkien in the trenches and dealing with school issues, being a poverty-stricken orphan, but he finds an ally in Derek Jacobi’s headmaster.

I’m constantly impressed by what Hoult has been doing as an actor as he gets older, but Collins really brings more to their scenes together than any of the classmates or acting veterans.

Tolkien is a flawed film for sure, but the last half hour is so abundantly full of feels it’s easy to forgive the earlier problems, as Tolkien seeks out one of his school chums on the battlefield, a part of the movie where Karukoski is allowed to shine as a director. (Honestly, I think Steven Spielberg would be quite proud if he made this movie, and that’s saying something.)

I’m not sure this movie will be for everyone, even those who love Tolkien’s work as much as I do, but as a testament to what an amazing life he had before he started writing The Hobbit, it’s quite an amazing story with a worthy film to tell it.

Rating: 8.5/10

You can find out my thoughts on the weekend box office over at The Beat.

LIMITED RELEASES

There’s actually some decent movies opening this weekend, but the one that I want to give special attention to is John Chester’s doc THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM (NEON), which is all about how he and his wife Molly left their California apartment living behind to try to develop a 200-acre sustainable farm outside L.A. For months, my favorite doc of the year was NEON’s Apollo 11 about the 1969 moon launch, but this quickly took it over after I saw it, because it’s amazingly educational in terms of what it takes to make a farm work. It also looks absolutely fantastic, and seeing the trailer in IMAX in front of Apollo 11 made me really want to see it. If you want to see a great doc that hopefully will be in theaters over the summer, then definitely look for this one. I’m sure it will open in a few cities Friday but hopefully NEON will do another great job getting out there as they did with Apollo 11 and Three Identical Strangers last year. This movie is a MUST SEE.

Kenneth Branagh directs and plays William Shakespeare in his new historical movie ALL IS TRUE (Sony Pictures Classics) which also costars Dame Judi Dench and Ian McKellen. It follows Shakespeare on his return home to Stratford after the Globe Theater has burned down, as he tries to reconnect with his older wife (Dench) and his two estranged daughters. This is a fine film if you’re a fan of Shakespeare’s works and were interested in knowing more about his last days, because it features a great script by Ben Elton, and fine performances by Branagh and Kathryn Wilder as his younger daughter Judith, who gets caught up in controversy while trying to find a husband. It will open in New York and L.A. this weekend, and you should look out for my interview with Sir Kenneth over at The Beat in the next couple days.

Opening at the Metrograph this week is Abel Ferrara’s PASOLINI (Kino Lorber), an amazing look at the Italian filmmaker as played by Willem Dafoe. I’m not particularly familiar with Pier Paolo Pasolini’s work, although the Metrograph did a pretty extensive retrospective last year. Like with All is True above, the movie covers the last days in the filmmaker’s life, and it proved to me that Dafoe is doing some of the best work of his career these days and like a few others (Woody Harrelson and Ethan Hawke, for instance), you can put Dafoe in your movie, and it will immediately make it better. I haven’t seen much of Ferrara’s recent work but I feel it’s been a while he’s been at the height of his greatness with Bad Lieutenant and King of New York, so it’s nice to see him creating a new movie in that general vein. Apparently, Ferrara’s movie premiered at Cannes many, many moons ago, but I think it was a smart move by Kino Lorber to save the movie and give it a release. By pure coincidence… or not… MOMA has been having a Ferrara retrospective (see below), so if you haven’t been able to get up there and see the movie, then you now have a chance with Ferrara and Dafoe doing QnAs after a few showings this weekend.

Matt Smith plays cult leader Charles Manson in CHARLIE SAYS (IFC Films), the new movie from American Psycho and The Notorious Bettie Page director Mary Harron along with her frequent collaborator, writer Guinevere Turner. As a huge fan of their previous moviesand with interest in the subject matter, I’m not sure why I never got around to watching the screener I’ve had for months, but much of it has to do with how generally busy I’ve been. Anyway, it will open in around 35 theaters and be on VOD this weekend if you have similar interest.

Opening at the Film Forum Wednesday is Almedea Carracedo and Robert Bahar ‘s doc THE SILENCE OF OTHERS (Argot PIctures). Executive Produced and presented by Pedro Almodovar, this is an amazing film about the horrendous crimes committed under the Franco regime in Spain by people who were able to get away scott-free when it was decided to create an Amnesty Pact of “Forgiving” after Franco’s death. The thing is that there are people who had been tortured or had loved ones killed who are hoping to get justice or just get their bodies back from mass graves, and this doc covers those amazing efforts. Frankly, I found this film to be far more interesting than Joshua Oppenheimer’s similar films about the crimes by the Indonesian government in The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence.

The Quad Cinema will have two new exclusive releases starting Friday, beginning with Christian Carion’s French thriller MY SON (Cohen Media), starring Guillaume Canet as a man whose son has been kidnapped, so he travels across France to where his ex-wife (Melanie Laurent) lives to try to solve the crime.

Also, the Quad will be showing Nicolas Brown’s doc The Serengeti Rules (Abramorama), which looks at five ecologists who broke new ground with scientific concepts we take for granted, and it looks at how the Serengeti might be the place to look for civilizaton’s sustainable future.

Amy Poehler makes her feature directorial debut with the comedy Wine Country (Netflix), which is getting the usual nominal theatrical release in a handful of theaters but mostly will be on the streaming network. It co-stars long-tie Poehler pals Maya Rudoloph, Tina Fey, Ana Gasteyer and Paula Pell, but I’m excited to see it for Maya Erskine from the Hulu show Pen15 and the upcoming rom-com Plus One, which was one of my favorite movies at Tribeca. (Don’t worry.. I’ve started writing something about that festival, too, so stay tuned!)

Opening in New York at the Cinema Village and in L.A. at Arena Cinelounge is Akash Sherman’s Clara (Screen Media), starring Patrick J. Adams as Isaac Bruno, an astronomer looking for life beyond Earth. This becomes more of a reality when he meets Troian Bellisario’s artist Clara, who shares his interest in space.

After years of problems and lawsuits, Farhad Safinia’s The Professor and the Madman (Vertical) is finally seeing the light of day, no thanks to a lawsuit put on it by star and producer Mel Gibson, who plays Professor James Murray, who begins compiling the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, receiving 10,000 entries from Dr. William Minor (Sean Penn), who is a patient at a asylum for the criminally insane. I have no idea how bad this movie must be to be buried as long as it has, but it has a great cast including Eddie Marsan, Natalie Dormer, Stephen Dillane, Jennifer Ehle and Ioan Gruffudd, so how bad can it really be? Good luck finding it in theaters but it will prbobably be on VOD as well.

This week’s major Bollywood release is Student of the Year 2 (FIP), directed by Punit Malhotra. As you might guess, it’s a sequel to the 2012 romantic comedy, this one involving a love triangle between a guy and two girls, and it will be released in about 175 theaters on Friday.

STREAMING AND CABLE

Amy Poehler’s directorial debut WINE COUNTRY will begin streaming Friday, though I haven’t seen it yet, so instead, I’ll recommend Dava Whisenant’s fantastic doc Bathtubs over Broadway, which will premiere on Netflix Thursday. I missed this movie last year but I got to catch-up when it screened at the Oxford Film Festival in February, and it’s fantastic. It follows Letterman writer Steve Young as he follows his passion to find rare records featuring industrial musical numbers presented at corporate events throughout the ‘50s and later to energize employees.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

I’ve already mentioned how Playtime: Family Matineeshas become this cinematic comfort food that’s helped me relive my childhood, but this weekend, the shit gets real as they screen the 1977 action-adventure Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, featuring the stop-motion animation of the late Ray Harryhausen. I still remember first seeing The Golden Voyage of Sinbad at a drive-through in Framingham, Mass. when it first came out and I loved it so much I picked up the novelization. I wonder if I still have that somewhere. (I’m pretty sure I saw this sequel as well.) Late Nites at Metrographwill screen Lukas Moodysson’s 2002 film Lilya 4-Ever, as well as the not old enough to be repertory film Climaxby Gaspar Noe. (Lots of cool movies coming up in this series, as well.) Another series starting Friday is the first-ever New York retrospective of Japanese filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, whose new movie Asako I & II will have its theatrical premiere at the Metrograph starting next week. I’m not too familiar with Hamaguchi’s work – though I’ve seen Asakoand generally liked it -- but I don’t think I’ll have the time to see his 5-hour long 2015 family drama Happy Hourany time soon. The series features seven of his movies, almost all of them shorter than Happy Hour. (2012’s Intimacies, showing a week from Thursday, is four hours long.)

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

After showing the Judy Garland version of A Star is Born (1954) today at 2pm, the New Bev has double features of Claudia Weill’s Girlfriends (1978) and It’s My Turn (1980), the latter starring Jill Clayburgh and Michael Douglas, on Weds and Thurs. Kathryn Bigelow’s Strange Days (1995) and Lizzie Borden’s 1983 Born in Flames will screen on Friday and Saturday and then the 1933 film Christopher Strong (starring Katharine Hepburn) and Anybody’s Woman (1930) will screen Sunday and Monday. The weekend’s KIDDEE MATINEE is the animated The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) while the 1995 anthology Four Rooms (featuring one room by Tarantino) is the Friday midnight and Anna Biller’s 2016 film The Love Witch will screen midnight on Saturday. On top of that, there’s a special Cartoon Club on Saturday morning at 10AM and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Love & Basketball (2000) will screen Monday afternoon.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

It’s the last full weekend of Film Forum’s“Trilogies” series and on Thursday, they’re screening Whit Stillman’s (Is this a real title for the trilogy?) “Doomed. Bourgeois. In Love” trilogy Metropolitan (1990), Barcelona (1994) and The Last Days of Disco (1998) with Stillman doing select intros and QnAs that day. Friday is Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “BRD” Trilogy, including The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978), Lola (1981)and Veronika Voss, and this weekend is a Carol Reed Post-War Noir Trilogy, including The Third Man (1949). Saturday also sees a Michelangelo Antonioni trilogy including L’Avventura (1960) and two other films from the Italian master. Sunday and Monday sees a very rare screening of Wim Wenders’ “Road Trilogy” including Kings of the Roadfrom 1976 and Alice in the Cities. Also, on Wednesday and Saturday is a repeat of a John Ford trilogy, including Rio Grande and Fort Apache, plus don’t forget the weekend’s family-friendly Film Forum Jr, which this weekend shows a bunch of cartoons from Bugs, Daffy and Friends. Obviously, there’s a lot going on at this venerable NYC arthouse and I hope to get to some of these now that Tribeca is over.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA):

If you live in L.A., you can spend a good part of your weekend at Maltin Fest 2019, taking place at the Egyptian Theater, which includes a really incredible series of screenings and events with special guests. Friday is Nicole Holefcener’s Please Give with Holefcener and frequent collaborator Catherine Keener on hand, plus a screening of Sing Street! Alexander Payne and Laura Dern will be there Saturday afternoon to screen the filmmaker’s early work Citizen Ruth, plus lots more! I also want to pay special attention to them showing the late Jon Schnepp’s doc The Death of “Superman Lives” on Saturday night.

AERO (LA):

Thursday is a Christopher Munch double feature of The Hours and Times (1991) and The Sleepy Time Gal (2001) with Munch and the great Jacqueline Biset in person! Then it goes right into Starring Europe: New Films from the EU 2019 i.e. new films, not repertory but still interesting.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

Waverly Midnights: Parental Guidance shows James Cameron’s Aliens (okay, am I crazy or do they show this every other month?), Weekend Classics: Love Mom and Dad shows Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) and Late Night Favorites: Spring is the Coen Brothers’ Fargo (1996).

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

In the midst of Black 90s: A Turning Point in American Cinema, which will include Ice Cube’s Friday (on Friday, of course), as well as Set It Off, New Jack City, Belly, Straight Out of Brooklyn and Menace II Society over the weekend. Also, the late John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood will screen twice on Sunday as well as on Monday as part of the series.

MOMA (NYC):

Abel Ferrara: Unrated continues this week with repeats of 1998’s New Rose Hotel, 1993’s Body Snatchers and more recent films like 2017’s Piazza Vittorio and 2007’sGo Go Tales, and this series will continue next week. The current Modern Matiness will conclude with Pixar’s Up on Wednesday and Vincente Minnelli’s Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) on Weds and Thurs, respectively.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

Panorama Europe continues through the weekend but that’s all new stuff, not repertory.

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART (LA):

Friday’s midnight screening is Wes Craven’s Shocker (1989) with a QnA… but not with Craven.. unless they plan the creepiest movie tie-in possible!

That’s it for this week but next week, we get John Wick Chapter 3 and more!

#Pokemon DetectivePIkachu Tolkien TheHustle POMS Movies Reviews TheBiggestLittleFarm

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andytgerm · 8 years

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Oscar Picks! Get Your Fresh Unique Oscar Picks Here!

TI did good this year! In terms of preparation, I mean. These picks are probably godawful, a losing combination of switching between going with my gut or my heart or my head. But, I have seen all but THREE of the nominated films (2 animated, 1 foreign language), which is, I think, very good for someone with no connections for screener access. Also, I thought it was, on the whole, a good group of nominees, in that I only wanted to die while watching, like, 3 of the movies.

So, without further ado, my mostly informed picks for tonight!

Best picture: “Arrival” “Fences” “Hacksaw Ridge” “Hell or High Water” “Hidden Figures” “La La Land” “Lion” “Manchester by the Sea” “Moonlight”

La La Land has been “controversial” since more than festival-goers saw it because it’s been the front runner for so long. But it will surprise few to learn that I think it’s great! Deeply considered and moving, and with thematic depth, plus the kind of razzmatazz I’m a complete sucker for. Frankly, I don’t see a ton of differences between it and, say, Mad Max: Fury Road in terms of craft and skill displayed, but it’s been dinged because the perception is that it is light and unserious and a rip-off or what-have-you. Or too jazzy, or maybe the wrong kind of jazzy? Anyway, it’s definitely winning, and in a line-up with only 2.5 movies I didn’t as least think were “mostly good” (Hacksaw is pretty bad, Lion is meh-nipulative, and Hidden Figures is a little obvious, but otherwise I like ‘em all!), I’m not really mad about it and probably would vote for it because it appeals to my taste so specifically.

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: La La Land Dark Horse: Moonlight

Lead actor: Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea” Andrew Garfield, “Hacksaw Ridge” Ryan Gosling, “La La Land,” Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic” Denzel Washington, “Fences”

The most high profile competitive race, despite it being one of the weaker categories this year. The battle of the narratives is strong here, and I wonder if it’s been overblown a little bit. BUT, the competitor is who I would pick, so I’m going to lean into hope and go in that direction. Garfield is nominated for the wrong movie (you didn’t see Silence, but he was great), and he’s kind of a cartoon in Hacksaw with his VERY broad accent. Gosling’s charming, but the center of the so-called “backlash” against LLL with his jazz love. Captain Fantastic is a bad movie that buys into Viggo’s characters world-view too much to be anything but self-indulgent claptrap and also has no support anywhere else. Affleck’s got the momentum and a great performance, but Washington’s got the monologues. Both playing frustrating characters, one for talking so much without doing enough listening, the other for not communicating at all. My vote goes to the excellent August Wilson interpretation, again, due to personal taste leanings.

Will Win: Denzel Washington Should Win: Denzel Washington Dark Horse Smart Pick: Casey Affleck

Lead actress: Isabelle Huppert, “Elle” Ruth Negga, “Loving” Natalie Portman, “Jackie” Emma Stone, “La La Land” Meryl Streep, “Florence Foster Jenkins”

GREAT category. God, so many great female lead performances this year. My personal pick is probably the sadly un-nominated Annette Benning in 20th Century Woman, who is so subtle and great and does some of the best “watching and listening” acting you’ll ever see. But Ruth Negga probably takes the subtle and unshowy slot, and she’s terrific too, so I can’t complain too much. Given this choice selection, I’d go for the probable winner, because, seriously, Emma Stone is charming and funny and deep and complicated in La La Land, plus she gets to do a big 11 o’clock number. Huppert’s probably the potential upset, she’s got momentum and gets to do a LOT of different unusual things in Elle. Portman never seemed to reach full potential, but she’s a strong center in Jackie once you get used to the big choices and latch on to the movie’s wavelength. Streep Streeps it up and does all the things you love.

Will Win: Emma Stone Should Win: Annette Benning Emma Stone Dark Horse: Isabelle Huppert

Supporting actor: Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight” Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water” Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea” Dev Patel, “Lion” Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals”

Another strong category, though the Shannon nomination for that nothingburger of a movie is regrettable (he’s at least the CORRECT supporting actor to go with). Bridges is great, turning on a dime when The Big Dramatic Thing happens at the end of that terrific movie, having kept you laughing the whole way to that moment. Patel’s fine, but his section of the movie does not fulfill the potential suggested by in the first part. Mahershala Ali is another great watching and listening performance, and his raw and simple connection with Little, especially in the scene where he explains what “faggot” means to him, is so delicately beautiful. Hedges, though, is unexpected and confounding in the best way. His character is trying his best to make the best of a bad situation, giving his all, even though he’s not grown up enough to have that be enough all the time. It’s a terrific honest and unexpected portrait of grief in a movie full of contrasting pictures, and I’m really excited to see what he does next.

Will Win: Mahershala Ali Should Win: Lucas Hedges Dark Horse: Jeff Bridges

Supporting actress: Viola Davis, “Fences” Naomie Harris, “Moonlight” Nicole Kidman, “Lion” Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures” Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

Octavia would not be my Hidden Figures pick (how about that Janelle Monae, huh?) but she does have that killer line in that great scene with Kirsten Dunst. Kidman I sadly found forgettable (but check out Big Little Lies on HBO, you guys). Naomie Harris gets the most recognizable/predictable arc in Moonlight, but she sells the hell out of it. And doing it in three days!? That’s incredible. Michelle has the big scene that’s the closest we get to catharsis in Manchester, and is maybe doing the best job of “Supporting” in a way that many of these other performances aren’t. But holy hell does Viola deliver everything you would want her to in that part. I have no beef with her placement here, and she gives great watching/listening, great monologuing, and has the best scene of the movie (that night time phone call) centered on her. Gosh it’ll be great to see her win.

Will Win: Viola Davis Should Win: Viola Davis Dark Horse: Michelle Williams, I guess, but c’mon.

Best director: “La La Land,” Damien Chazelle “Hacksaw Ridge,” Mel Gibson “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins “Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan “Arrival,” Denis Villeneuve

Oh, hey, I haven’t had the chance to say anything about it yet, but Arrival is really great and full of ideas and feelings, and to see it nominated here is great! But this is a Jenkins/Chazelle race, and La La Land fever is definitely strong within the Academy.

Will Win: Damien Chazelle Should Win: Really, I’d be glad do see anyone but Gibson, but I guess I’d go with Denis Villeneuve in the interest of spreading the wealth? Dark Horse: Barry Jenkins

Animated feature: “Kubo and the Two Strings,” Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner “Moana,” John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras and Max Karli “The Red Turtle,” Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki “Zootopia,” Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer

This is one of my “I haven’t seen them all categories” which is too bad because I like seeing animated films a bunch, but Zucchini and Red Turtle have not made it to my neck of the woods yet. I liked Zootopia a lot, though I found its second half less engaging on second viewing, and I think the villain is telegraphed a bit too heavily. But that beginning, and getting to know the world, plus its thematic depth will make it a worthy winner. Kubo is GREAT and fun and moving, perhaps a bit let down by its vocal cast, but otherwise gives you everything you could want in an animated film. But Moana is a Disney musical, and if you haven’t figured it out already, I’m a sucker for those (they make me cry just by, like, structure? Like, opening establishing musical numbers emotionally move me to tears just because they exist?). And it’s one that doesn’t forget it’s a musical halfway through.

Will Win: Zootopia Should Win: Moana Dark Horse: Kubo and the Two Strings

Animated short: “Blind Vaysha,” Theodore Ushev “Borrowed Time,” Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj “Pear Cider and Cigarettes,” Robert Valley and Cara Speller “Pearl,” Patrick Osborne “Piper,” Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer

This crop was just ok this year, I thought, though seeking out the shorts is always one of my favorite parts of Oscar season. Borrowed Time was my surprise favorite, and is heftier than you think it’s going to be. Pear Cider is... a lot, and not always in a good way, but the style is good. Blind Vaysha’s a bit much, but has got a great Caroline Dhavernas voice-over. Piper’s level of detail is jaw-dropping. And Pearl’s got tech innovations and well-calibrated sentimentality, so that gives it the edge for me.

Will Win: Pearl Should Win: Borrowed Time Dark Horse: Piper

Adapted screenplay: “Arrival,” Eric Heisserer “Fences,” August Wilson “Hidden Figures,” Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi “Lion,” Luke Davies “Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney

I mean, am I gonna not give a theoretical award to August Wilson? Well, predictions-wise, yes, but god that script is so deep and fascinating. This is an easy area for them to recognize the great achievement of Moonlight, and it is certainly a win I can get behind, three well-told connected stories is no easy feat.

Will Win: Moonlight Should Win: Fences Dark Horse: Arrival

Original screenplay: “20th Century Women,” Mike Mills “Hell or High Water,” Taylor Sheridan “La La Land,” Damien Chazelle “The Lobster,” Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou “Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan

20th Century Women! That’s a hell of a script, and it moves so beautifully and delicately. What a wonder of a miracle that movie is! The Lobster is prickly and the dialogue is very mannered, but the conceptual originality is undeniable. Hell or High Water has a lot more on its mind than you go in expecting, and was a huge surprise favorite for me, with some terrific duet scenes (Pine and his kid! Pine and Bridges!) and wonderful cameo sized characters (Texans with guns! Waitresses!). In hopes of a “spread the wealth” mentality, I’m predicting Manchester, though, as it’s not favored much elsewhere, and it certainly is written with depth and insight.

Will Win: Manchester by the Sea Should Win: 20th Century Women Dark Horse Smart Pick: La La Land

Cinematography: “Arrival,” Bradford Young “La La Land,” Linus Sandgren “Lion,” Greig Fraser “Moonlight,” James Laxton “Silence,” Rodrigo Prieto

These are all great!

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Moonlight Dark Horse: Moonlight

Best documentary feature: “13th,” Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish “Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo “I Am Not Your Negro,” Raoul Peck, Remi Grellety and Hebert Peck “Life, Animated,” Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman “O.J.: Made in America,” Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow

Many of these are also great! And the three that are centered on the African American experience are a nice trilogy together. But, c’mon, OJ is a TV miniseries.

Will Win: O.J.: Made in America Should Win: I Am Not Your Negro Dark Horse: 13th

Best documentary short subject: “4.1 Miles,” Daphne Matziaraki “Extremis,” Dan Krauss “Joe’s Violin,” Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen “Watani: My Homeland,” Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis “The White Helmets,” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Boy, this is an emotional killer of a category. After seeing all 5 in one night on the big screen, I tweeted “Saw all the Oscar doc shorts tonight, and they were crushing, but if seeing all of any 1 category would make one a better person, that's it.“ and I stand by that. Illuminating and tough, a great group of shorts.

Will Win: The White Helmets Should Win: Watani: My Homeland Dark Horse: Extremis

Best live action short film: “Ennemis Interieurs,” Selim Azzazi “La Femme et le TGV,” Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff “Silent Nights,” Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson “Sing,” Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy “Timecode,” Juanjo Gimenez

This was definitely the weakest shorts category. I enthusiastically liked one of them (Sing) and thought another one was fun (Timecode), but the rest I found inaccessible (Ennemis Interieurs) or verging on sappy (La Femme/Silent Nights). My cynical self thought Silent Nights (sentimental, but deals with Important Social Issues) would win the moment I saw it, though I have heard of no one who is a fan. Still gonna guess it, so I can be pleasantly surprised when it loses.

Will Win: Silent Nights Should Win: Sing Dark Horse: Ennemis Interiurs

Best foreign language film: “A Man Called Ove,” Sweden “Land of Mine,” Denmark “Tanna,” Australia “The Salesman,” Iran “Toni Erdmann,” Germany

I was blown away and cannot stop thinking about The Salesman. That movies got staying power, plus it received extra attention with the awful Travel Ban, so that makes it an easy prediction. I haven’t seen Land of Mine. Tanna was pretty and simple and unique, but didn’t really hold together upon reflection. Ove is pitched right to the older sentimental voter, and I guess it’s a pretty ok version of that story. Toni Erdmann’s got the cool film fan vote, and it had like 3 of my deepest, most gut-busting laughs of the crop, but it took a long time for me to get on board with it.

Will Win: The Salesman Should Win: The Salesman Dark Horse: Toni Erdmann

Film editing: “Arrival,” Joe Walker “Hacksaw Ridge,” John Gilbert “Hell or High Water,” Jake Roberts “La La Land,” Tom Cross “Moonlight,” Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon

Another easy area for La La Land to rack up a sweep, and it’s certainly got rhythm and pizzazz going for it. Moonlight’s got some terrific wordless sequences though, and can hold a long shot with the best of them.

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Moonlight Dark Horse: Moonlight

Sound editing: “Arrival,” Sylvain Bellemare “Deep Water Horizon,” Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli “Hacksaw Ridge,” Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright “La La Land,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan “Sully,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Arrival made up all those alien noises, which were really essential to you buying into the movie. Deepwater Horizon was a better watch than I expected, and it certainly explores all the different ways an oil rig can blow up with sound. Sully’s got those birds. Don’t forget the birds. But this is a big war movie category, and the most high profile one of the night will *sigh* probably win here.

Will Win: Hacksaw Ridge Should Win: Arrival Dark Horse: La La Land (sweeps can be powerful, you guys)

Sound mixing: “Arrival,” Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye “Hacksaw Ridge,” Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace “La La Land,” Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth

I watched Michael Bay’s Benghazi movie and all I got was vague credibility when predicting this lousy Oscars category (it was bad). Musicals do well here, though I think La La Land is weaker than many think here because a lot of folks complain that they couldn’t understand the lyrics (I thought the mixing was fine, but they maybe should have chosen singers with more powerful voices?).

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Arrival Dark Horse: Hacksaw Ridge

Production design: “Arrival,” Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock “Hail, Caesar!,” Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh “La La Land,” David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco “Passengers,” Guy Hendrix Dyas, Gene Serdena

Sweepin’ gonna sweep. How bout Hail, Caesar!, tho?

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: Hail, Caesar! Dark Horse: Arrival

Original score: “Jackie,” Mica Levi “La La Land,” Justin Hurwitz “Lion,” Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka “Moonlight,” Nicholas Britell “Passengers,” Thomas Newman

Original musical! I’ve been humming and feeling the great instrumental themes form La La Land since I saw it.

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: La La Land Dark Horse: Jackie

Original song: “Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” “Trolls” — Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster “City of Stars,” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul “The Empty Chair,” “Jim: The James Foley Story” — Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting “How Far I’ll Go,” “Moana” — Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

This is a heartbreaker category, where is Popstar? Where is Swiss Army Man? Where is Sing Street? Why those La La Land songs? I’ve gotta go with my sort-of Twitter buddy Lin Manuel Miranda (he followed me for a little while, OK? Get off my back!), even if he’s many not who most are predicting. Plus, if Pasek and Paul lap him and EGOT in a year, I’ll be pissed at how rude that is.

Will Win: “How Far I’ll Go” Should Win: “How Far I’ll Go” (really for the second reprise, but it’s good at first too!) Dark Horse: “City of Stars” (though Audition is better, and Someone in the Crowd’s the best song in the movie)

Makeup and hair: “A Man Called Ove,” Eva von Bahr and Love Larson “Star Trek Beyond,” Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo “Suicide Squad,” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson

Realistic old person makeup is hard to bet against, and I really don’t want to live in the Oscar Winner Suicide Squad world. Star Trek’s got really good work in this category, too, though.

Will Win: A Man Called Ove Should Win: Star Trek Beyond Dark Horse: Star Trek Beyond

Costume design: “Allied,” Joanna Johnston “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” Colleen Atwood “Florence Foster Jenkins,” Consolata Boyle “Jackie,” Madeline Fontaine “La La Land,” Mary Zophres

This is far from my best/most knowledgable category, but I’ll be happy if contemporary memorable designs from La La Land get it as expected.

Will Win: La La Land Should Win: La La Land Dark Horse: Jackie

Visual effects: “Deepwater Horizon,” Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton “Doctor Strange,” Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould “The Jungle Book,” Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon “Kubo and the Two Strings,” Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould

Did you see all those animals in the Jungle Book? And the note at the end about how it was filmed in California? That was really cool. Doctor Strange was great fun in this area too. But Kubo had a special features real showcasing this work during the credits, so it moves up in the running for me.

Will Win: The Jungle Book Should Win: The Jungle Book Dark Horse: Kubo and the Two Strings

#Oscars #Predictions #Oscar Nominations #Academy Awards

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uterusclub · 5 years

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What better way to kick off the month of May then with fresh, awesome tattoos! I mean, we made it just about 2 months since our last ones so we were clearly, well overdue! And as always, we booked our appointments with the most talented and awesome, Jackie at Stained in Pain! Designs? Sharon opted for a Sailor Moon wand (nerd!) and I acquired yet another animal (bunny) on my ‘spirit animal’ forearm. While we waited in much restless anticipation, we played a ‘which one would you get’ game with the tattoo panels on display. “You have to pick one” Sharon said as she turned panel after panel and we met with much horror and often, disgust! Once Sharon was up, I hung out in the threshold lobby and quickly became friends with some older, Latina ladies. The one woman was getting her noise pierced and had been considering getting a tattoo for quite some time so she pelted me with just about every possible question involving tattoos which I hardly minded – especially since she was most complimentary about mine. After Sharon finished up, we got started on mine at which point, I was lulled into a complete state of calm. Probably could have taken a nap had I not been starving. Tattoos complete, we thanked Jackie and made our way a few blocks around the corner to BATL Chicago for some free axe-throwing.

Yes, you read that correct. And actually, we had been meaning to try this out for quite some time but the scheduling just never panned out. This time, all was perfect – even if we anticipated staying for just a few moments to get some good videos and pictures. The place wasn’t crazy crowded when we arrived but there were definitely clusters of people hanging out at picnic tables situated behind the axe-throwing stalls. We proceeded to the front counter and ‘registered’ ourselves before acquiring wrist bans and being directed into a stall. So there we stood, bandaged like potential drug addicts with no idea as to how any of this worked. Some very nice people chilling in our line explained that everyone rotated turns. They even pointed us out to the instructor for our section who told us to ‘listen in’ as he explained procedures and rules to another couple throwing before us. Seemed fairly easy. Throw the thing and like, hit the thing. Once we stepped up for our turn though, self-pressure was ON! I managed to hit either way too high or far too low. Sharon was merely trying to stick something ON the actual board. At some point, Sharon got a hit and I ended up on a bullseye that was conveniently not captured but I promise you it was legit. And on both of those notes, we were satisfied to end our night of merriment and unbandage ourselves at the home front.

Our adventures this month have not only brought us physical endeavors but musical ones as well. For the past few months and out of disdain for my ‘usual’ programmed stations, I’ve been listening to a college radio station, 88.7. As a result, I’ve come across many awesome bands and singer/song-writers one of which, Sharon also became invested. After completely falling in love with the soft, buttery sound of Bruno Major, there was no hesitation in purchasing tickets to see him perform at Lincoln Hall. We pregamed the evening with dinner at Red Lion Pub because, well, it’s allegedly haunted and literally down the street from the music venue. We were seated in a quiet, fireplaced room with a tall ceiling and vintage decor which was all ours for a few minutes. Food was absolutely stellar. To kill time, we made our way to Sprinkles Cupcakes down the street which I wasn’t impressed with (not enough sugar in the frosting) but Sharon was a huge fan of. Having killed as much time as possible, we finally headed to Lincoln Hall where we grabbed a couple drinks and made our way to the upstairs balcony to perfect viewing. Ah, balconies and sitting – two of our most beloved and logistical preferences for concerts. The opener for Bruno Major was a young girl by the name of ‘Eloise‘ we would later see performing with our headliner. She was, magical! Her voice was mesmerizing and we were both blown away. Unfortunately, the asshats sitting next to Sharon weren’t of the same persuasion as they began talking and messing around with their phones for the duration of the entire time we were there. Fucking RUDE! But moving along. Once Bruno Major took stage, I couldn’t help but feel a little under- whelmed. His voice was well, from what I could tell, just as stellar as the radio but it was drowned out by the instruments surrounding him. He also wasn’t as charismatic on stage as his predecessor. But he did perform two of my ‘favorites’ of which I couldn’t have been more please.

May could not be complete without a celebration of Cinco de Mayo or rather, Cinco de Meow Meow as we call it. And this, was like no other you will EVER hear of. It is a tale of danger, violence, courage and above all things, ridiculousness. We had previously discussed the idea of making a Uterus pinata to commemorate Cinco De Meow Meow for quite some time. Why? Well, why not? That’s the short answer. The long one, we’ll leave to your imagination. In any case, with my hectic schedule and Sharon’s abundant, craft activities, it didn’t appear likely we would have time to make said pinata. Instead, I rallied to purchase one online which DO exist, mind you, but they’re fairly expensive – at least the shipping was. So I did what any resourceful individual would do and turned to the sideshow that is Facebook Marketplace. If you’re unaware, you can basically buy anything online from anyone. People sell home-made food and hair-braiding so it wasn’t unheard of to attempt to purchase a Uterus pinata there. Added entertainment? The lady I contacted only spoke/wrote in Español. And although I’ve had an embarrassing amount of escuela throughout high school and college, I turned to trusty Google Translate to help pave the way! So we went back and forth. She wasn’t charging me much but she was located in an area I’d consider the ‘ghetto.’ So who was to be sure we wouldn’t be murdered upon arrival? But obviously, this was going to still happen. The morning of, Sharon was surprisingly calm about driving us into the ‘hood’ of the southside. Apparently she was semi-familiar with the area. I was having literal heart palpitations. We arrived at our destination and a man came outside to meet me with a ginormous Uterus pinata! I joked that I hadn’t expected it to be so big and felt almost bad we weren’t being charged more. Throwing it in the backseat, we made a quick stop-off to my parent’s house to borrow some old bats and rope and grabbed some red, dollar-store candy to store inside our masterpiece. Once home, we changed into our ‘get-ups’ ie. Mariachi t-shirts, hats, and mustaches and carried the pinata with our bats across the street to Wilson Park. I wanted to hang the pinata up in a nearby tree with kids in the background for irony sake but Sharon’s embarrassment forced us to walk farther into the park towards a more deserted area. Once we settled on a spot, I rigged a pulley system (which surprisingly worked – mostly) and we set up our camera for much anticipated violence. Passer-byers gawked but I could care less. Sharon felt the need to attempt explanation which, well, was futile. Destroying that Uterus didn’t take much. It was hilarious and very therapeutic and in all truth, I’d love to begin and end each and everyday that way. After cleaning up the remnants of victory, we made our way back home and made food and drinks while taking in some most appropriate, Three Amigos.

Remember 2006? Yes, I agree, very vaguely but I DO recall the birth of a band called Hellogoodbye. Yes, I bought that album with all the smash hits and never thought of them again . . . until the here and now when I realized they were touring at The Chop Shop. Being most intrigued and expecting nothing short of throw-back central, I Spotified the crap out of what I discovered to be newer albums of theirs? Obviously I had lost track of them but was pleasantly surprised and awed in the sound transformation. They definitely didn’t sound like 2006 anymore but it felt as though they had ‘matured’ in the same sense that I had. It was more mellow and a bit, more complex, dare I say? In any case, I sent my new ‘favorites’ of theirs to Sharon for a once-over who was equally awed and impressed. This was going to ROCK! If you’re unfamiliar, Chop Shop is a fairly intimate venue situated inside a butcher store/restaurant in Wicker Park. We took this opportunity to blue line it for the purposes of hitting up the Robin Williams Mural located randomly in Logan Square. Were it not for the obstructive vehicles in the parking lot, the sight, I’m sure would have been even more magnanimous. The blue pop of genie carries a sad, yet empowering truth and conviction to it – if you ask me. I donned my L.E.D. shoes for the occasion which I switched to color-coordinate for the evening. For pre-game, we hiked it over to Sharon’s most beloved, Big & Littles which always makes me think of Role Models. The joint was deliciously empty and the food, most appetizing. Stomachs full, we back-tracked to the Chop House where we, you guessed it, headed straight upstairs to the balcony area but were met with no seats. Doh! Instead, we teeter-tottered back and forth from both ends of the room to finagle an ideal viewing area. We finally settled on an off-center position where we grew more and more haggered in stature and morale as the night wore on. Not only was the opening bad terrible, but the in between set-up took an ungodly amount of time. By the time Hellogoodbye appeared, we had neither time, patience, or will to stay much longer. Sharon was ultimately pissed that no ‘older’ songs were played while I basked in listening to two, newer ones I had become most familiar with. And I’ve gotta give credit to the band for the ostentatious set-up with lights and balloons and colorful curtains but all in all, 2006 called far too late.

Now I’m no marathon runner by any means, but sometimes, I can pull off a 19 hour activity extravaganza! It’s a rare occasion but a truly worth-while one. The morning began with a little update to our patio decor. If you’re unaware at this point, we create ‘scenes’ outside our apartment windows in which our ‘old lady skeletons’ are showcased. With the upcoming summer and our trip to Hawaii on the horizon, we felt it appropriate to hula the crap outta everything. And so we coconut-braed and lei-ed our ladies with an attempt at including a life-size, pink, inflatable coffin in the picture but this became far too burdensome for space and picture purposes – although our neighbor across the way heartily agreed with our overambitious endeavors. After running over to my dance studio for a quick rehearsal, I drove back home and picked up Sharon to make our way over to Skokie for some Bunny Yoga. And let’s be honest here, yoga is one of my least favorite things in the world. I respect those who do it, I just don’t understand it. So having said that, we were most obviously there for the bunnies and nothing else. We arrived early (as always) and set up our mats in a smallish room where other people had already began to gather. As the time wore closer to the start of class, the room became almost claustrophobic with bodies. There was no pre-registration which made this free-for-all, just plain dumb! Three bunnies arrived and upon being released, kept mostly to the front part of the room. Eventually, the ladies running the operator, placed them in other areas of the room for a more interactive experience. I was in absolute heaven! The yoga – I vaguely recall – as my only focus was relocating bunnies and their proximity to me. Best yoga class ever! But never again.

The day proceeded with more, fun-filled activities. Our most beloved friend, Tina drove to our apartment at which point, we all made our way to a restaurant by the name of Short Fuse. The joint was super spacious and the wall art was quite the sight! And while the drinks were mostly beer, the food was dece and the service impeccable. Sharon and I salvaged our thirst for the next stop on the agenda – a bar in Schiller Park that had piqued my interested – Sway Bar. I had enjoyed their promotional images and had read many good reviews so it made sense to take a trip out to see it. I can’t say I was impressed – nor was I let-down by actually going there. The place was artsy and chill – major points for Banksey paintings on the walls. They also had a pool table which we took advantage of. Our bartander was outstanding and I felt quite at home hanging out there – people watching many strange individuals inbetween pool shots. At some point, an old school-mate of Tina’s and future acquaintenance of mine appeared. Small world indeed.

But wait, there’s more! After adequate booze consumption, we now headed over to Triton College’s Cernan Earth and Space Center for a Motown Laser Show! That’s right. If you didn’t know about this, you’re welcome. I’ve actually known about this for quite some time but hadn’t been in the longest. Tina was also aware of it’s existence. So we showed up, early again, and ventured into the gift shop to purchase tickets which Sharon got for a crazy, discounted price (pretend to be a student or senior). We then sat and chilled for an hour (felt longer somehow) of explosive shapes coordinated to groovy Motown tunes. People clapped in between (we’re too cool for that) and I may have yelled out ‘Stevie!’ when Superstition kicked on. All in all, it was a decent time. As Sharon put it, I’m sure it would have been more enjoyable on drugs. If that wasn’t enough, our night still wasn’t over.

Fortunately, a second wind kicked in as we made our way over to Native Bar in Logan Square for their 90’s themed Silent Disco. If you’ve never done this, you simply must. The concept is this. You get headphones to switch between three different DJ’s all playing different styled music. Our options? Alternative, pop and hip-hop. The different stations are designated by ‘color’ on your headphones – which is how you decipher who is listening to what. We arrived right at the kick-off hour of 10 p.m. The set-up was actually outside in the backyard area of the bar. We began immediately jamming out right in front of the DJ tables accompanied by lights and fog. For the next three hours, we dance-partied our asses off and I’ve never had more fun! Let me, at this time, remind you that Sharon and I generally go to sleep at 9 p.m. By the time 1 a.m. rolled around and we were met with an alien-voiced announcement over headphones that the event was over, we were very disappointed and could have gone on for hours. Sharon and Tina complained about knee discomfort (there was lots of jumping) but I was in tip-top shape (thanks, dance) and had zero complaints. It wasn’t until the next morning that my head may have had an alcohol-induced complaint or two. But all in all, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Going a bit out of order but I’ll clump them together, we hit the movies twice this month. The first show we saw was The Hustle which if you’re unfamiliar, is basically a girl-rendition remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I’d grown up on this movie and can repeat several scenes by memory so I was super excited when I first saw the trailer. Sharon was unfamiliar with the original movie so we made a point to watch it the night before. When we arrived at the AMC in Norridge to watch it, we noticed slight chaos inside the theater. A younger, hoodlumy fellow was outside and informed us that there had been a fire and everything was shut down. “They aint even got any popcorn!” he also proclaimed which I responded with much incredulous-ness. Still, we had 30 minutes til our show so we figured it was still salvageable. Once inside, we headed to the ticket line which was ever-growing with a frustrated, angry mob for refunds. Behind us in line, we listened to the altercation of two gang-sounding members who threatened to what I can only assume, murder each other, in so many words. Talk about your wholesome activity. The only highlight was seeing our friend, Sue towards the end of line whom we lost track of and didn’t get to actually say ‘hi’ to. In any case, tickets purchased, we watched what I would review as a very fun, accurate portrayal of the original which I would most likely watch/purchase in the near future.

The second, more recent movie we saw this month was Aladdin. And let’s preface this by saying our expectations were low. Very low. Solely based on the previews and the fact that Robin Williams can never been trumped. We even pre-gamed at Park Tavern in Rosemont for some $8 mimosa carafes before the show to guarantee less annoyance/viewing pain but alas, the movie was still fairly dreadful. Granted, this IS a children’s film and all, but as the ‘children’ who grew up on this movie, it paled in comparison in terms of magic and authenticity. Let me also take a moment to discuss the forced ‘girl power’ message attempt that the world of today keeps shoving down our throats. It’s too much, it’s too obvious and it’s too annoying. Due to alcohol intoxication, my bladder needed several breaks during the movie which I was not reluctant to take as I knew I would be missing absolutely nothing.

In closing and only because it’s coming to an end soon, I mentioned attending a dance rehearsal earlier. The whole point of this was, indeed, for rehearsal but more specifically because of our ‘bring a friend to dance‘ week which occurred just last week. This is both fun and nerve-wrecking as we get to finally ‘show’ but we’ve been working on since November and what is to be expected for our recital in a few weeks. The nerves are a results of people sitting fairly close to you – not to mention Sharon sitting in the exact area I dance the most around. I forewarned that I would most likely, almost die after our lyrical piece, ‘Survivor’ which ended up being the favorite of the crowd. Everything else was a blur really.

All in all, the spring or rather, pre-summer has proven to be of much consequence. Music and dance were most substantial. Exciting and disappointing endeavors were had and much was shown for it all. And as we kick-off the summer of 2019 with even higher expectations of future trips, I’ve no doubt, we’ll find some charming nitches in between the cracks and cranies of this life.

Charmed, I’m Sure What better way to kick off the month of May then with fresh, awesome tattoos! I mean, we made it just about 2 months since our last ones so we were clearly, well overdue!

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joementa · 7 years

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I’m From Philly. That Means I Love Soul Music. And I Sing Along.

I just finished listening to the official Bruce bootleg from October 20, 2009 in Philly. I’ve listened to it at least four or five times already, and it’s the kind of show that I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of listening to. It’s definitely something that you need to buy if you haven’t already. You can buy it right here: http://live.brucespringsteen.net/live-music/0,17344/Bruce-Springsteen---The-E-Street-Band-mp3-flac-download-10-20-2009-Wachovia-Spectrum-Philadelphia-PA.html

There are a lot of things we love in Philly, and music is definitely top on the list. The musicians know it, too. Ask any serious touring musician, and I guarantee you they’ll tell you that Philly is one of the best crowds that they play. The evidence is in the shows themselves. I go to a lot of shows, and travel throughout the county to see them. I’ve seen most of my favorite musicians in multiple states and cities, so I know what I’m talking about. Philly routinely gets the better shows. Year-in and year-out, when my favorite musicians finish their tours, the Philly-area show is always in the top 5.

Unfortunately I was not at the October 20, 2009 Bruce show, but when I listen to the bootleg, I feel like I’m right there. I bet you’ll have the same feeling too. The Philly crowd came to rock, and boy did they ever. One of the things that stands out most in this show is how loud the crowd sings along with Bruce. The tape captures it perfectly, and the singing is very audible and clear. It’s noticeable on virtually every song, and I’m not exaggerating about that. At some points the crowd actually out-sings Bruce.

One of my favorite moments is during “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”, the classic Jackie Wilson song, and definitely one of the best songs ever. After going through the song once, Bruce leads the band back into it a second time (this is something that Bruce does a lot when he covers old soul songs. Have you ever seen him do “Twist and Shout”? Sometimes he plays the song 3 or 4 times in a row. It’s awesome). Bruce starts singing the verse, and the crowd takes over and very clearly, and loudly, sings the entire verse. Not the chorus. Not a bunch of “woah”s. But the full verse.

When you’re listening, you can tell that Bruce knows that this crowd knows this entire song by heart. As they should. Us Philly people are fans of soul music, so a song like “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” is a standard. It’s the kind of song that requires the response “of course” when someone asks you if you know it. Of course us Philly people know that song. We’ve heard it a million times, and it never gets old. We know the words to it. And we like to sing along to it. Because that’s what you do when you hear great soul and rock ‘n roll music. You sing until your voice is gone and fist pump until your elbow is sore. I do this at every rock show that I go to. I just can’t help but do it.

I did plenty of singing and fist pumping this weekend. On Thursday night, I saw Dave Hause at the House of Independents in Asbury Park. Dave Hause makes great punk and rock ‘n roll music. I’ve seen him many times, and he always puts on a great show. He’s an incredible front man, and he knows how to work the crowd and interact with the crowd. His new album, Bury Me In Philly, is fantastic. His other solo albums, Resolutions and Devour, are really great, and you should check them out. He also was in a band called The Loved Ones, and they are worth checking out as well. At the show, he played the great Loved Ones song called “Jane”. I had never seen a Loved Ones song live before, and never really thought I ever would. The crowd went absolutely nuts during “Jane”, and I did too.

The next night, I saw another show in Asbury, this time at the Stone Pony Summerstage, where the Bouncing Souls were headlining their annual Stoked For the Summer series. What a band. The Bouncing Souls are just a classic band, and I feel like any serious music lover has to appreciate a band like them. They’ve been together for nearly 30 years, and are always making great music. Their music is fun to sing along to, and a lot of the songs have a special meaning with the crowd. Their fanbase is really dedicated to them, and the band is really dedicated to them. It’s great to see, especially when you go to the show.

One of the opening bands for the Souls was The Menzingers, one of the best bands out their right now. Their new album, After The Party, is an album that you NEED to hear right now if you haven’t done so yet (and even if you’ve heard it, it’s so good that I don’t think you’d complain if you put it on right now). It’s one of my favorite albums of the year, and I don’t really see how it won’t end up on my Top 10 list of 2017. I’ve seen them a few times over the years, and they never disappoint. Friday’s show was the best I’ve seen from them so far. The setlist was incredible, and the crowd LOVED them. Even though they started nearly two hours before the Souls did, they got a great reaction from the crowd. These are three bands/musicians (Dave Hause, The Bouncing Souls, The Menzingers) that I never get tired of seeing. And whenever I do see them, there tends to be an inverse relationship between how sore my throat and elbow are, and how much fun I’ve had. And let’s just say that after the last show this weekend, my elbow was really hurting from all of the fist pumping.

After the Souls show on Friday night, we went out in Asbury for some food and some drinks. Later on in the night we wandered into the Wonder Bar, a great local establishment. When we got in, we noticed a soul band playing onstage, and they had announced they were about to play their last song of the night. And they immediately went into that great song, “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher”. One of the best songs ever.

#music #live music #concert #soul music #summer #bruce springsteen #motown #jackie wilson #dave hause #the menzingers #bouncing souls

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oscarsobssessionstuff-blog · 8 years

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2017 OSCAR NOMINATED FILMS RANKED

I am a sucker for awards season, but especially, I am a sucker for the Academy Awards. Every year, I follow the season leading up to the Oscars with hope and intrigue of seeing new movies and discovering new talents and seeing what each of my favorite movie stars are up to each year. I think the Oscars is the culmination of a year’s worth of movies, and even though it sometimes leaves out some of my favorite movies and performances, it is still worth the watch and sometimes, when they get it right, it’s magical. That is why I decided to start this blog dedicated to the academy awards, because I’d like to feel like I belong in some way to all the hype of the glamour and also because I’d love to give my opinion each year about what, I think, are the best movies and performances that are worthy of this incredible recognition.

Best Picture:

1. MOONLIGHT

Moonlight is my favorite movie this year because I love movies that are sensible and make you connect with the characters portrayed on film. I think this movie has everything I love in movies: a sensible, yet striking cinematography, performances that touch your heart, and a story that is important. Director Barry Jenkins managed to portray the reality of a boy turning into a man and it deals with issues such as race, masculinity, sexuality, and privilege. It talks about the true reality that some people have to endure in this country and it does it in such a way that it is not patronizing but yet it only shows you the hard cold reality without any bullshit.

2. HELL OR HIGH WATER

I put Hell or High Water so high in the list because I think as a film it comes together pretty well. But what really stood up for me was the excellent screenplay. It was a combination of interesting, well-rounded characters and simple yet efficient dialogue. Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, and Ben Foster shine delivering complex and real performances. In my opinion, both Pine and Foster were worthy of awards consideration, and Jeff Bridges deserves his nomination for best supporting actor. All in all, this movie surprised me because I never thought I would care about a story about cowboys robbing banks in Texas.

3. LA LA LAND

The highly praised movie about an aspiring actress and a frustrated jazz musician was the feel-good movie of the year. I didn’t think it was the best movie, nor do I think it deserves the best picture win, but I certainly agree that this movie is great, and it returned the glory that old musicals had which was its intention. Chazelle did a fine job telling the story of these two characters trying to achieve their dreams in Los Angeles. I think the storytelling of this movie is ok, so I have to give all the credit to the beautiful score and the compelling performances. Stone was so vulnerable and real, and had some great scenes. I thought Gosling was just being himself so I didn’t think much of him, but it definitely left me singing and dancing as I left the movie theatre.

4. LION

Lion tells the riveting story of an Indian boy trying to find his way back home, and how years later, he finds home using Google Earth. This is just a very likeable movie. I though the cinematography was strong, but my favorite part about the movie was the performances and how deep Dev Patel went into his character. I don’t see this as a best picture but I definitely think it deserves the love it has gotten.

5. MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

I’m a really huge fan of Kenneth Lonergan’s work, so I definitely enjoyed the film, but to be honest, I had bigger expectations. Casey Affleck is superb and nuanced with his performance but I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the other characters. I absolutely hated Michelle Williams, and I think her character was very blurry in the way she portrayed it. I think the screenplay is absolutely amazing, but I don’t know if it fulfilled its full potential. Sometimes it was just gloomy and slow, but then it had really great moments. I would really like to read Lonergan’s screenplay because I really like his style, and I would like to see things that maybe weren’t translated into the film.

6. FENCES

I think this movie is Viola Davis’ movie. She is just a fearless actress that translated this character form the marvelous play into film immortalizing it. As she has said in her speeches, August Wilson gave a voice to the typical black man that never had a voice. I think the play is amazing, but I’m afraid the film never brought anything new. It is completely unjustified as to why they made this film. Maybe the answer is simple. Now, we’ll always have Viola Davis’ compelling and riveting performance in film forever because that is why film does. I think Washington was uninspired as a director, but gave a solid performance. However, I would’ve loved to see more aspects to this family to understand these characters better, hence exploring Wilson’s work even further that the play could ever do.

7. ARRIVAL

Arrival was an ok movie about a very complex subject, and it just turned out to be very confusing. Although, I think that Amy Adams was worthy of receiving a best actress nod for this film. I appreciate this film’s ability to turn a sci-fi movie into an awards contender, but I think it just doesn’t live up to the other nominees and it definitely doesn’t live up to Villeneuve’s previous films.

8. HACKSAW RIDGE

I don’t really care about war movies or patriotic movies, so this film was very dreadful to watch for me. I thought Garfield’s performance was the best part of the movie, but I think this movie is outdated and unimportant for our cultural landscape nowadays. However, it is an interesting movie about faith but I have to give all the credit to Garfield’s performance.

9. HIDDEN FIGURES

Hidden Figures is a typical studio movie, so I didn’t care that much about it. I do have to agree that it is an important story to have right now, but I think the storytelling could’ve been more elevated because it felt very conventional even though it was a story we had never heard before. Spencer was charismatic and I think she is does in everything she does, but I really didn’t care that much about Taraji P. Henson and I thought Janelle Monae was better in Moonlight. The reason the movie was the last in the ranking was because I thought other films were more deserving this year like: Nocturnal Animals, Jackie, or 20th Century Women.

#oscar #academy awards #2017 #moonlight #la la land #hell or high water #lion #manchester by the sea #fences #arrival #hacksaw ridge #hidden figures #movies #awards

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