Quill & Claw/Pen & Paw

Feel free to continue to detest Tom Cruise and yet see this movie. Ohmygod! I've admitted to hating one of the biggest stars this meager universe has set eyes on! He is, like TOM CRUISE! He's a marquee name! Yeah, so's the word, 'Exit.' I really did try to like Tom a long time ago. I saw an inkling of his abilities back in Born on the Fourth of the July and again in Magnolia . I even noticed a tad of ability in the over compensated Minority Report. I have to admit he is a good performer. And he has my respect in that department. I don't have to like him because of that. But then reality takes over. Yes, he did follow Born with Days of Thunder (which was actually released prior) and Mission: Impossible . I mean, Mission: Impossible was a freegin ensamble television show, with like, twenty characters. Then Tom moves in as producer. Ooops. Twenty gets reduced down to one. See what I mean? He may play the press like a fiddle, but his ego is rig...

I want to thank Moulin Rouge, the post modern musical from four years ago. Or maybe I should blame it. For without it, wouldn't have seen the recent upsurge of Hollywood musicals. The problem? No one is taking the time to see what happened before--like watching a few New York stagefests to see exactly what a musical is made of. Which brings us to this latest ditty. It was an interesting time to release this picture, amoung the hullaballoo of Spidermen and Aliens vs Predators. I'm thinking that they did it as counterprogramming, figuring not everyone goes to the big budget special effects fests the summer churns out. So in that manner, it was a nice respite from getting my ears blown off from a loud sound system or being treated like an idiot with a plot that a nine-year-old can grasp. De-Lovely is borderline art house in that respect. Now I have two reviews for this movie. Mine and the critical one. For myself, I liked this movie. I knew the words for a majority of the...

What can I say that's new and hasn't already been said about this movie? Not much. What I'm hoping to do is remind people that there are many good movies that are still out there, all one has to do is open their eyes. I rented this title after I heard Marlon Brando died. I figured it was time to visit it again. I was glad I did. My partner and I had a discussion during the movie that defined the concept of classic. As we watched Marlon Brandon, delts flaring on the steps outside of his apartment, screaming, "Stellllaaaa!" we wondered, if there was a remake, who could do it? Now think about this, folks. A Streetcar Named Desire has been remade numerous times. Not on the big screen, but on stage. It was a play and it becomes very apparent. You can look away and the dialogue is so crisp and descriptive, it sounds like a radio show. There was a time when dialogue and acting was all that was needed to propel drama. But I digress from my point. My point is, ev...

Living here in the shadow of the once mighty "Silcon Mountain," it's easy to remember the birth of the techno age. Fourteen year olds purchasing Audis; old people learning a keyboard and a typewriter are the same thing. Clinton was still doing unmentionables in the White House (actually, there are still unmentionables going on, it's just less exotic these days). But as with all things--when we see the good, we have to see the bad. It was only a matter of time before we saw technology as villian. It only made sense as it took such a large role in our daily extravagances. The Terminator had already been born and died in the late 80s, early 90s and besides, he had moved onto the governor's mansion. We saw a rash of really crappy titles hit the market trying to ride the wave. Hackers and the Net come to mind. But then the Matrix took evil technology where we wanted to go. We were hooked. We wanted to know the logical outcome to this success. Robots. The Matr...

It's always the question if art reflects life or if life reflects are. I'm not going to venture a guess, especially these days, where the conservative right loves to point out that all of life's screw up can be found somewhere in the media. I like to think it's more complex then that, that's for sure. Such is the path that leads me to the Bourne Supremacy. With 9/11 hearings completed, we've seen that the screw-ups are really all over the map. But it's not just one screw up, but several working in tandem for a really big f--- up. I couldn't stop noticing the similarities here. Here, we have an experimental spy that screwed up due to a faulty wiring and amensia (the Bourne Identity) and the various government agencies trying to act like it's not their fault. Of course, the theme is carried on, to a grander scale, in this very complete sequel, The Bourne Supremacy. Where again, the government is up to no good and not doing what they are supposed ...