Now That's Re-Imagining!

Finally saw the new Star Trek film.  Wow!  Simple word.  This is such a new world, yet comfortable enough to reach out to the original series.  From the start you are "warped" into the action.  This new film has it all...the action, the monsters, the humor, the technology- the things that made the original series something to talk about.  I got teary eyed seeing Leonard Nimoy in his Vulcan make-up as the aged Mr. Spock.  The same Mr. Spock I watched as a youngster.  And what can I say about the new cast?  Simply awesome and a refreshing interpretation on beloved icons of science fiction television history.  Chris Pine as Kirk is one helluva portrayal of a starship captain that was a womanizer, risk taker...arrogant.  Zoë Saldana as Uhura is sexy and a wonderful homage to the original.  And how she is paired up with Mr. Spock completely blew me away.  Oh, and whoever did the casting...it was most logical to cast Zachary Quinto.  He is Mr. Spock and did not stray away or take away from the original incarnation.  It was wonderful to learn how the crew got together and the little bits of their history- something we never really learned from the original.  The SFX were amazing.  Michael Giacchino's score was pulsating and exciting as any other Star Trek score.  He is a promising composer, at least to me.

And it was nice to see San Francisco's famous landmarks: The Golden Gate Bridge and the dome of the Palace of Fine Arts.  My students who have seen this film are now ready to join Star Fleet, and the young girls are "hubba-hubba" over the new Kirk.  It's funny to have my students give me the "live long and prosper" salutation.  The film is definitely a new Star Trek for a new generation.  People and critics say that the original series came out during a time of social unrest.  Ironic that the new film has found a home in a time of social unrest, of economic problems, and race relations have not changed a lot.  Nichelle Nicholls once said that she was ready to quit the show because all she did was say, "all hailing frequencies are open."  It was Martin Luther King, Jr. who convinced her to stay on the show because it showed a woman and a woman of color in a position of command, Communications Officer.  And who could ever forget the first inter-racial kiss between Captain Kirk and Lt. Uhura in The Gamesters of Triskelion.  And now, it is an inter-species kiss that Uhura is involved in.  We've come such a long way.  If sequels are being planned, please let them be wonderfully original.  It would be nice to see J.J. Abrams and how he'd envision Klingons and the other amazing beings of this universe.  In short, an amazing film and it ranks up there with the best of the original Star Trek.

The truth is she's never left us!

In the summer of 1976 the follow up "rock opera" of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice was based on the life of Eva Peron.

Who? Yeah, that's what I thought back then. So, I gave it a chance because it was by the authors of Jesus Christ Superstar. I went to Record Factory ('member?) and purchased the double-LP of Evita: An Opera Based on the Life of Eva Peron 1919-1952. Wow! After the initial listening, I started to play it over and over and its anthem, Don't Cry for Me, Argentina became permanently etched in my mind. Of course, everyone asked what the heck was I singing or humming. Even during the rehearsals of Candide the director told me and a friend, Betty, that we sang nicely, but it was the wrong score! Well, needless to say that I was introducing this new theatre-rock score to my friends and they all accepted. You might say it was surprisingly good for them. (ahem!) So what was next? Of course, a theatrical version. By 1978 the great news arrived that Evita would open at the Prince Edward theatre in London. Oh, great! I'd have to save lots of money to go to an opening night. I had to make due with the reviews in Time and Newsweek, and of abbreviated cast album. David Essex played "Che" and Joss Ackland portrayed "Juan Perón. An unknown, Elaine Paige, got the lead and became the talk of the town in her dynamic portrayal of the First Lady of Argentina. Evita got really rave reviews and it was just a questions of time when it would come to Broadway. And who would earn the coveted role? Ann-Margret? Charo? Cher?

Summer of 1979...Evita has its American premiere in Los Angeles and in late July comes to San Francisco to the Orpheum Theatre. My friend Betty got 10 tickets for a preview, which was to benefit the San Francisco Opera, if I recall. And what a night. To see the young actress who was portraying Eva Duarte de Peron- Patti LuPone! She was dynamite and I got a lump in my throat to her incredible interpretation of Rainbow High- the song that she uses to dress up ready for her trip to Europe. But, apparently Patti was having vocal problems; the role of Evita was vocally demanding. I was able to see Evita five more times, but not with Patti, but with her alternate, Terri Klausner. BTW, she was just as electrifying as Patti. The local newspapers gave this show good reviews. The Chronicle referred to the show as "Eva Peron, Superstar." So, Evita closed in San Francisco and would open on Broadway in September of '79. A group of us went to the last Saturday matinee where we got the autographs of Mandy Patinkin (Che) and Terri Klausner. We got our fix for this incredible show.

The show opened on Broadway with Patti LuPone in command of the role. Check YouTube and you'll see her rendition of Rainbow High. Now, speak of irony or coincidence. At the Tony Awards in 1980, Faye Dunaway would present the Best Actress in a Musical. When she announced Patti LuPone for Evita the crowd was ecstatic. So was I. Oh, Faye Dunaway would later portray Eva Peron in a made for TV mini-series, Evita Perón. Hence, the coincidence.

This musical was the high tech of its day, with projections and girders and bridges that came down. Hal Prince, the director, was a genius. This musical is yet another chapter in the textbook on staging epic musicals.

"Eyes, hair, face, image

All must be preserved

Still life displayed forever

No less than she deserved"

("Lament" from Evita)

Visitors Return!

Back in May, 1983, NBC had an incredible mini-series, V, about alien visitors who supposedly came in peace and offer humanity cures to their woes.  After a sequel, teleseries and numerous book incarnations, a "re-imagined" (don't ya just love that word!) version is set to air in the new fall schedule for ABC.  The previews look incredible; the Motherships highly stylized...all new characters, apparently.  So, is a new generation ready to deal with these Visitors?  If you have no idea, you must check out the original Ken Johnson miniseries and get an inkling as to what the motives really are that have brought this race of "humanoids" to Earth.  I hope Jane Badler makes a cameo at least!  Diana is still one of the best...oh, check it out.   Why spoil the fun?

Betty La Fea

Last night's episode of Lost was wonderful.  As Alice said, "curiouser and curiouser."  I can understand why some people stopped watching the series due to all the flashbacks and introduction of new characters, but in a sci-fi/fantasy/adventure realm, isn't that part of the drama?  Speaking of drama, tonight is Ugly Betty.  Have not watched it since December, and being a "Betty Buddy" one has to watch.  The American incarnation of the popular Columbian soap is hilarious and has a great message to a lot of us...you may be "ugly" on the outside, but if people really look, beauty from the inside can transform into anything.  And dreams can come true.  The ensemble cast is fantastic and funny.  Watch it, if you have not done so, and you can escape and laugh about poor Betty's problems with familia, trabajo, and Amor!

"La la, la la!

You'll be popular, 

Just not quite as popular as ME!"

Perdidos

So, it is back to reality.  And tonight, it's back to that wonderful world of escapism.  The beginning of the new/mid season of LOST.   It's back, and after Battlestar Galactica this is one series that tackles the imagination.  Nothing major to write about it...just that it's one of my faves on the airwaves.  Sure hope that the mid-season is as riveting as the first half.  Few of my friends were fans, but lost interest due to the many plot entanglements.  But it is definitely a thought provoker.  Enjoy!

Planet X?

What can you say about this prophetic (?) film about two celestial bodies that will collide with our planet?  Of course, it is based on a novel written in the 30s.  But in light of the entire 2012 Mayan calendar/end of the world/new age of enlightenment/return to the home planet controversy, this film hits home.  How can humanity survive, but build spaceships that will accommodate 40 or so humans and some animals in a modern Noah's Ark.  And, microfilming the best of humanity's literature and science.   For a disastrous situation set in the 50s, humanity sure could construct a rocket that would survive the collision of the worlds.

For a 50s film, the SFX were pretty good for its day.  George Pal was a genius for his day.  But, I digress.  Two bodies are going to come into our solar system.  One body,  the star Bellus, will pass by the earth and cause cataclysms "beyond our mind's dimensions."  Earthquake, tsunamis, volcanos, etc.  Few surivors, probably.  Of course, the military around the world planet conducts a very orderly evacuation.  What's scary is that there are rescue missions or errands of mercy to help the survivors.  Why?  Earth is going to be eventually destroyed!  A few weeks later, Zyra, the new planet comes and collides with Earth and Ka Plowie!!!  Our heroes have left Earth on a rocket ship to land on Zyra.  What do they find there?  Well, there was no movie sequel, but there was a written one.  (alien civilization)

So, with the plot of this film in mind, consider the following...why are the Norwegians building vaults to save all the species of plants?  Supposedly the remake The Day the Earth Stood Still is a modern day warning that was OKed by our government...perchance Hollywood is performing a service to humanity by getting us ready for the big close encounter.  

It's fun to speculate and imagine what could happen.  Of course, Earth will sail on.  There might be changes on the surface, but humanity has a strong will to survive.  And we will.

"If our calculations prove to be correct, this will be the most frightening discovery ever made."

An Amazing Journey Indeed

Have been watching this film a lot lately.  Is it the music with its driving rock and synthesizer rhythms?  Is it the outrageous and spectacular visuals that only Ken Russell could come up with?  Is it the stunning Ann-Margret in her Academy Award nominated performance as Nora Walker?

Is it Tina Turner's mesmerizing turn as the Acid Queen?  Whatever it is, it's a film that is no doubt in the "cult status" category.  Having heard the original concept album, I wondered how it could ever translate into film.  Well, when you're in high school, you think it can be done, but it is not a major concern until you are in college and want to be cool because you know all about the making of this film.

Visually it is a delight for the sense of sight.  The colors, the movement of the camera, the visual effects...definitely a product of Ken Russell's imagination.  I believe Ken Russell is a highly-charged reincarnation of Busby Berkley!  For the ears, the music when seen at the Northpoint Theatre, was loud due to the then high tech "Quintaphonic" sound.  4 speakers in the theatre and one more behind the screen...surround sound in the making.  

Perhaps the best sequence, IMHO, is the "Acid Queen" with Tina Turner.  Urban legend has it that Roger Daltry was scared during the filming of the scene.  It lasts 14 minutes and depicts a red, red acid trip.  Tina Turner is the Acid Queen.  She needed no prepping, as I am sure her concerts displayed the same rabid, intense energy she showed in the film.  

"Champagne" was written for the movie and is a very bizarre scene indeed.  Tommy's mother realizes that all the money Tommy has earned for his family is not worth anything.  (What's it all worth when my son is blind, He can't hear the music nor enjoy what I'm buying...)  The climax of the scene was worth the price of admission...the hurling of the champagne bottle into a big screen TV, and the frothing forth of detergent suds, chocolate and baked beans into a messy puddle of guilt.   And Ann-Margret writhing, swimming, cavorting in this tempestuous mess...what a visual treat!!!

But wait!  There's more.  Elton John in ginormous logger's boots; Eric Clapton as a Priest of the Order of Marilyn Monroe; Jack Nicholson as a doctor, and The Who themselves, Roger Daltry, Keith Moon, John Entwistle and Pete Townsend.  You have to see TOMMY.  It was a great midnight movie.  

"Today it rained champagne

A son was born again

A genius unchained

A life of wealth and fame

Wealth and fame!"

Inspirational At Best!

What a truly inspirational film! How can failure come from within? The educational system seems to be the failure. There are teachers who really do make a difference, and Erin Gruwell did make a difference to the teens she motivated to succeed. Sometimes it is necessary to go beyond the simple text books...to get the kids to think and reason and come up with their own solutions to life's problems. But sometimes new ways of teaching are frowned upon; stick to the traditional methods from the 20th Century. Kids need role models, aside from sports and entertainment figures. A teacher may not be the glamorous, bling-bling adorned person society treats respectfully. But dare to disagree with a student of any teacher and you will find the most daring adversaries to cross paths with. Whatever a teacher says is law and Lord knows how many dinner conversations are enthralling thanks to the new things a child has learned in a classroom.

I had great teachers...Sister Theresa Carmel in 1st grade who assured my mother that I would speak fluent English by mid-year. No need for ESL. Miss Hansen, my first "crush"- tall blonde from the perspective of a 3rd grader. Miss Weaver, who made history so exciting and even more exciting when she shared her photos of her trip to Europe in the summer of 1967. Sister Andrew Marie, who was my inspiration to enter the education field.

Br. Schmitz, who made English classes interesting, especially when he did his Paul Lynde impressions. Br. Loughran, who would treat Spanish classes with stories of bullfights in Madrid and Mexico; Mr. Barbieri, drama teacher extraordinaire. My love of theatre is due to the talents and genius of this man. Oh, the plays he directed while I was in high school: The Italian Straw Hat; Mame; The Madwoman of Chaillot; Oliver!; The Doctor In Spite of Himself; West Side Story.

In college: Dr. Bede and his charming tales of India during Western Civ; Dr. Tracy Kuhn, art history teacher who forever engraved the "Venus of Willendorf" into my mind; and lovely, dear Dr. Vogric and her teaching of Italian. She was the best Italian teacher ever...patient and humorous.

I could go on with this litany of educators, but think of the educators in your life? Who really impressed you? Who made you think? Who brought out the creativity in you and did not consider you weird or different?

Check out Freedom Writers and the story it tells about people who do make a difference to our young. Check out Conrack, Stand and Deliver, and other films about teachers. Be inspired...again.

"Open a new window, open a new door; Travel a new highway, that's never been tried before..."

PS: I'm still in Cathedral City thanks to my friends convincing me to stay one day more; going home tomorrow, the 3rd of January.

A Pleasant Surprise

Not on my "movies to see" list, but at my friend's urging, we went to see Eagle Eye today. I thought it was a science fiction film, but it turned out to be an action-packed thriller. Shia LaBeouf is on his way, in my opinion, to becoming an "A-lister" Hollywood actor. From his humble start in Holes to the big SFX laden films he has graced in the past few years.

The plot involves a super computer who can control lots of things we take for granted. Each time the computer was mentioned, I thought of another great celluloid computer, the wonderful HAL 9000 from 2001: a space oddyssey. Of course, the situations in both films are different, but super computers are a force to be reckoned with, even in films. (Remember Colossus- The Forbin Project? That computer was evil)

So surprise yourself with this film. You will be entertained and enjoy some wonderful performances, other than the leads, by Rosario Dawson, Billy Bob Thornton and Michael Chiklis. It's already out on DVD, but as mentioned in yesterday's entry, some movies are worth seeing on the big screen. This one happens to be on that list!

She who must be obeyed!

Massacre? Frenzy? Human Rights?

This was an incredible film. Yes, that is trite, but truly a moving and thought provoking filme. What can be said about a film that depicts a massacre of over 100 inmates in a Brazilian prison. Police riot squads in foreign countries are given a "carte blanche" attitude in the submission of a prison rebellion. "Take no prisoners" is rather ironic...the police brutally killed prisoners as if to get even with justice; the same justice that sent these men into the filthy Carandiru prison.

Through the prison doctor, we meet various inmates and their stories as how they ended up there. All interesting stories that make you realize that life is tough all over, especially in Latin America. I guess the "machismo" is alive and well in the police forces of those countries.

One thing about foreign films- the violence is somewhat graphic and bone-chilling, especially for one who is starting to enjoy the "action" genre of film. Makes one realize about human rights in the world, as well. Yes, criminals get punished and sent to jail, but what really goes on in those places where the law can get a little too, too "rough." Interesting to note is that the prison was much like a small village. Its own laws and on Visitor's Day, entire families were in the courtyard sharing meals, entertaining...much different from what I suspect the American prison system is like on Visitor Days.

It is a film worth checking out.

A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its criminals.
~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

Superstar's Birthday

As I sit at my workplace, I'm listening to the 2007 recording of Jesucristo Superstar. Each time it's heard, the realization that this controversial-for-its-time recording was made in 1970. Yours truly was a freshman in high school, and each incarnation was followed as a true devotee to its authors, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. And as seen on many websites, Jesus Christ Superstar has been an international sensation. The Madrid versions are quite interesting, especially the original 1976 recording. The lyrics definitely are very reverent and reflect a Roman Catholic Spain. The 2007 recording is a more contemporary translation, reflecting the newer English incarnations of the rock opera.

JCS may be the Easter story, but for a few years in the early 70s, Christmas Eve would be the time radio stations would play it, either at 10 PM or midnight. I recall this being played on KFRC-610 AM and since then it's been a traditional Christmas alternative when doing cards or attempting to decorate a tree.

Not as groundbreaking as The Who's Tommy but definitely a musical theatre innovator, JCS is a must listen, whether the original concept recording, or the 1973 movie soundtrack. And if you have the patience for foreign languages, attempt the Spanish recordings. You will enjoy the orchestrations.

Today's posting is nothing more than a nostalgic musical trek down memory lane, and hopefully introducing you to some "new" music. Enjoy!

"Could we start again, please?"

First Entry...be nice!

Wow!  A blog.  I suppose it had to happen that this 50+ year old would start a blog.  Of course, being a novice, blogging is going to be something to look forward to, I hope.  What to write about?  Apparently, blogs are about everything under the sun.  And what do I hope to write on this blog?  Oh, anything, but primarily movies and other types of entertainment.  But movies, primarily...the classics, the not so classics, the B-list movies and the culty ones.  And what about those foreign films.  And of course those screen legends...including the infamous Ramona and Trixie...glamour from a bygone era.  The films to be blogged about are what's on DVD as well as what's playing at the multiplex.  I don't know how often one writes in a blog, but learning is half the fun.  So, entry number one will be short.  Until the next entry and the first movie to be blogged.  Ciao!

"As to humans, I've disecc- I've examined hundreds.  But until now I've only discovered two who could talk, in my life. 

"Where we come from, apes talk- humans are dumb."