Simple Beginnings

I have enrolled in an online course via TCM and Ball State University (Indiana).  It's about the history of slapstick in cinema.  I am hoping to blog about the films and what I am learning.  

The first cinematic slapstick is so simple that in its day must have made audiences ooh and awe and laugh.  I must admit it made me smile and chuckle a bit realizing it's from the 1890s.  Who knew that from a simple physical gag that this would be improved into the funniest routines that entertainment ever created.  The poor gardner's point of view is "what is happening?" while the kid is "I'm going to have some fun."  It's the kids idea of fun that leads to the comic/slapstick situation.  We've all been there, victims of innocent pranks or even tripping over furniture...laughing at others' comic misfortune makes us forget ours.  It will be an eye-opener to see how Lumiere's simple gag evolves into slapstick.

Restitution

The Holocaust and its effects on humanity have been the topic of many books and films.  Each survivor has a unique and wonderful, albeit terrifying, account of life before, during and after the Holocaust.  To think that millions lost their homes and were forced to live in ghettos that probably rats would not even want to live in.  To think that millions lost a "normal" life and forced to become sub-human...a goal their tormentors wanted but many resisted and found the strength to live.  And then there were those who foresaw what was going to happen in Germany and Austria and left for Switzerland or America.

Such is the story of this wonderful film, Woman in Gold with Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds.  It is the story of Maria Altmann who was born in Austria.  Her father was a man who made his wealth by working hard and enjoying the good things in life.  With his wife he had two daughters, one of them Maria.  Her father's brother and his wife, Aunt Adele, also lived in the same Vienna apartment.  Her aunt could not have any children, so her husband bought beautiful paintings.  His most prized painting was the one commissioned by modern artist Gustav Klimt.  It is this now famous painting the story revolves.

When Austria was annexed by Germany, the plundering, torments and horrid conditions towards the Jews began.  Shortly before this, Maria married.  Her wedding was the best.   As she states in the film, "half of Vienna was there."  Once the Nazis were in Vienna her husband sought ways to leave.  And the Nazis ransacked their home taking all the silverware, jewelry and the paintings.  Maria and her husband escape and eventually come to America.

In Los Angeles 1998, Maria lives and has a clothing boutique.  Her sister dies and Maria gets all her belongings.  She finds letters about her aunt and the famous painting, now entitled "Woman in Gold."
She would like the painting back, but it is a prize of the Vienna Belvedere Museum.  It is considered the Mona Lisa of Austria.  Maria seeks the advice of a young lawyer, Randy Schoenberg (Ryan Reynolds).  He knows nothing of laws regarding restitution of wartime victims and their property.

Both Maria and Randy develop a relationship of sorts and he fights for her cause, even when she gives up.

The film's topic, at least for me, taught me about the rights the survivors have in trying to get their property back.  What happened to Maria and many families is beyond barbaric.  "The fight for justice never ends" the poster proclaims- and it is probably going on today and not just for survivors of the European Holocaust, but for many who were unjustly "punished" for being what they were.

It's a film worth watching and Helen Mirren is a joy to watch.  Her chemistry with Ryan Reynolds is wonderful.  The film is beautifully done, even the flashbacks of the Nazi era are tastefully done.  Consider watching this film.

"If Today You Hear His Voice"

The Next Voice You Hear was a film made in 1950 by the MGM Studio.  I first saw this film on a late night movie program and it was a curiously interesting find.  Surprisingly produced by a major Hollywood studio it would today probably have been an indie.

The story follows the life of a family after the War.  Life is starting to become normal and suburbia is in full swing.  James Whitmore is "Joe Smith"- a working class man who is married, has debts, needs a new car.  His wife is portrayed by Nancy Davis, who would one day be Mrs. Nancy Reagan.  She is expecting a child, their second as their son is about ten years old.

Now, the title refers to an introductory method used by radio in the pre-TV era.  One evening Joe is listening to the radio ready for his favorite program.  It starts at 8:30 P.M.  Apparently there is no radio program for the next day at work he mentions the fact if his coworkers heard the strange, yet peaceful voice that said it was God and He'd be talking on the radio for a few days.  Naturally everyone thinks it's an Orson Welles prank or a new contest wherein you have to guess whose voice it is.  The conspiracy theorists think it might be the Russians; after all the Cold War has started.

God continues to "chat" on the radio; we never hear His voice.  We get the gist of His messages from the radio announcers or family members who write down what the voice states.  The voice is heard in all the languages of the Earth, but the world is full of people with little faith; asking for miracles.  So, one evening after He talks the suburb where Joe's family lives gets a tremendous deluge.  The next day the voice talks about the miracles that already have happened- the air, the sun, the moon, the plains and hills.  And more importantly the miracles we can create with each other.

On the 7th evening the churches are filled to capacity and at Joe's church he and his family await the voice at 8:30.

Surprise!  The voice does not happen.  The minister goes to the pulpit, turns off the radio and says that it's the 7th day and God is has probably chosen to rest.

Personally, this film would make a nice re-make, especially in these days of world turmoils.  Of course, radio and even television would be pre-historic.  So, would God choose social media?  Imagine if at 8:30 in the evening everyone gets a Tweet, FaceBook message, or whatever from someone claiming to be God?  What would the international reaction be?  Could a heavenly voice convince the world of love, peace, and justice?

But perhaps such a film today would be laughed at and criticized badly as religious fodder.  It's still a film worth watching, no matter what one's faith is.  Every day is a miracle; every breath we take; every thing we take for granted.  The best miracle we could perform is to just be kind to each other, starting with our loved one and pay that love forward to the rest of the world.

In Recovery...AGAIN

Well, I am back in a therapy/rehab facility because I got my other leg amputated below the right knee.  That surgery was on June 9, 2015, under the wonderful supervision of Dr. Kreuger.  I won't go into details, but just know you must take care of your self, especially if you are diabetic, and watch for any signs that may signal illness.  As a stubborn Hispanic male, I waited until the last moment.  My surgeon liked the fact that I was not in denial and my spirits are positive; he reassured me that I'd be walking again, albeit with another prosthesis.

I am currently in a Kindred Healthcare facility in San Francisco- not Tunnell but Lawton on 7th Avenue.  This place is more cheerful and bright.  The staff is wonderful- nurses, CNAs and therapists.  The therapists work me to the point of sweating and I have already "walked" 15+ steps.  In my mind I can see me walking but in reality it is going to take many days of therapy and practice.  My goal is to return home by mid July.

The food is bland; occasionally they will have great offerings such as hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza or lasagna.

I have met interesting patients as well.  Lots of elderly but have met a few people my age or younger who have had surgery or survived a coma or leg/his breakage.

Sleep is a luxury and lately I have been able to sleep from 11 P.M. til 6 A.M. for my blood sugar test.

I admire the men and women in the medical field- the patience they have in dealing with belligerent patients and demanding families.  I try to make them laugh; ask them how their day is going because they are human as I am.  If they smile or laugh at one of my bad jokes, my day has been worth it!

I miss writing in my blog and I have so much to tell.  Please keep me in prayers and send me positive vibes; I cannot deal with the negative folk out there at this point.

My friend Lori comes everyday and we laugh and chat.  My friend Len in Atlanta makes me feel wonderful when we talk...these two (besides my family) are my angels and I love 'em both.  God does send us wonderful people to cope with life.

Well....that's it for now...I will try to write more later in July.

And the Oscar went to...

Here are the Oscar winners!  My nominations/Winner

 Picture- The Grand Budapest Hotel/Birdman
 Director- Richard Linklater, Boyhood/Birdman
Actress- Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl/Julianne Moore- Still Alice
 Actor- Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game/Eddie Redmayne- The Theory of Everything
 Supporting Actress- Meryl Streep, Into the Woods/Patricia Arquette-Boyhood
 Supporting Actor- J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Original Screenplay- The Grand Budapest Hotel/Birdman
Adapted Screenplay- The Imitation Game
Film Editing- The Grand Budapest Hotel/Whiplash
Cinematography- The Grand Budapest Hotel/Birdman
Production Design- The Grand Budapest Hotel
Animated Feature- How to Train Your Dragon 2/Big Hero 6
Foreign Language Film- Ida (Poland)
Costume Design- Into the Woods/The Grand Budapest Hotel
Makeup and Hairstyling- Guardians of the Galaxy/The Grand Budapest Hotel
Visual Effects- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes/Interstellar
Sound Mixing- Interstellar/Whiplash
Sound Editing- Interstellar/American Sniper
Original Score- The Grand Budapest Hotel
Song- "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" /"Glory" - Selma

See you next year!!

Oscar Predictions

Here are my predictions for the Academy Awards....

 Picture- The Grand Budapest Hotel

 Director- Richard Linklater, Boyhood

Actress- Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl

 Actor- Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game

 Supporting Actress- Meryl Streep, Into the Woods

 Supporting Actor- J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Original Screenplay- The Grand Budapest Hotel

Adapted Screenplay- The Imitation Game

Film Editing- The Grand Budapest Hotel

Cinematography- The Grand Budapest Hotel

Production Design- The Grand Budapest Hotel

Animated Feature- How to Train Your Dragon 2

Foreign Language Film- Ida (Poland)

Costume Design- Into the Woods

Makeup and Hairstyling- Guardians of the Galaxy

Visual Effects- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Sound Mixing- Interstellar

Sound Editing- Interstellar

Original Score- The Grand Budapest Hotel

Song- "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" 

We shall see tomorrow evening.

Starlight Express Meets the Ice Age

 I love science fiction- from aliens from space to apocalyptic adventures.  One sub-genre is the social science fiction- no aliens, spacecraft, UFOs.  All the drama is based on humankind's humanity or inhumanity towards humankind...uh, did that make sense?  Some films that I'd classify as social sci-fi would be Z.P.G. and the classic Soylent Green.  Snowpiercer falls into this category.  I had read about this film in Entertainment Weekly and a friend told me about it.  The story reminded me of the classic Metropolis.  

Apparently the cure for global warming went awry and global freezing was the result.  The powers that be created a trans-global railroad that would traverse the planet in one year.  As the film begins, we are in the 17th year of the Train.  The name of the train is the Snowpiercer and on board are the remnants of humanity- from the privileged rich to the poorest of the poor.  The tail section of the train is the home of the ones who are poor; the front of the train has the rich.  Between tail section and front are middle class, an aquarium, hydroponic garden, schools, businesses...in essence the entire world has been compacted into this humongously long train.

What happens when the slum section decides they have had enough?  The front section comes daily to take a head count (population control) and for some reason children are taken from their parents to help out (servants?) in the front section.  To get to the front the revolutionaries need the help of a man in the prison section who designed the train's door system.  Chris Evans is the leader, Curtis, totally unrecognizable from his Captain America films.   Accompanying him are John Hurt, the patriarch of the end section; Octavia Spencer as a mother looking for her son who was taken to the front.  The trials and tribulations the group encounters are engrossing and you have to remember it all takes place in the confines of a train!  Oh, and when Curtis discovers the source of their protein blocks (food for the tail section) it's not a pretty picture

Tilda Swinton portrays a wickedly marvelous villainess that oversees crime and is judge and jury when a crime is committed.  Karma does meet her eventually.  

The film is a South Korean produced and directed film.  Song Kang-Ho portrays the prisoner who helps the group enter the doors of each coach.  It is a gripping film and will hold your interest to the very surprising end.  The score by Marco Beltrami is wonderful- Jerry Goldsmith would be proud!

It is one of the best science fiction films of the year.  Check it out and enjoy!

So Long

It is hard to believe that one of the funniest men in the entertainment world has died at the age of 63.  Robin Williams made us laugh and even cry.  His films ranged from hysterical to thought provoking to mysterious.  I will remember him as the alien Mork on the sit-com Mork and Mindy.  His Holocaust dramatic film Jakob the Liar showed how this funny man could handle serious subject matters.  And his wonderful Patch Adams showed a nobleness and humor in the medical profession.

He leaves us a wonderful entertainment legacy.  Thank you Robin Williams for the laughter; our world will miss you!

Eres Mi Tesoro

Soap operas have become an endangered species.  I recall that every day each of the major networks had soaps that had a loyal following.  In the 60s, my two back-to-back favorites were One Life to Live and the cult classic Dark Shadows.  Today there are just a few remaining…but, I digress.  Unless you watch the telenovelas.  Those notorious Spanish language soap operas that are made in Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and Mexico.  The titles of the soaps range from character names, such as Esmeralda, Rosalinda or exotic titles such as La Pasion de Gavilanes (The Passion of Hawks) or La Mujer del Vendaval (The Woman of the Vendaval).  I normally do not watch the hardcore nighttime soaps because they conflict with the other networks.  Since January I have been hooked in a particular soap Que Pobres Tan Ricos which has become a wonderful guilty pleasure.  

Pictured above are the Menchaka family and their friends: La Guendi, Tizoc, Don Chuy, Perla Ivette, Carmelita and little Emiliano.  They live in a "colonia" or neighborhood in Mexico City that is not quite for the wealthy, rather a blue collar neighborhood where the Spanish sounds very uneducated yet colorful.  La Guendi, hysterically portrayed by Gloria Zamora, owns a beauty salon.  Don Chuy was a professional wrestler, "El Hijo de Sumatra."  He now runs a restaurant that his daughter Guadalupe and their friend Carmelita cook for.  Guadalupe is portrayed by Zuria Vega- a tough single mom who will do anything to protect her family.

In the above pic you can see the wealthy ones, the Ruizpalacios…Miguelangel, Ana Sofia, daVinci, Frida and Leonardo.  Apparently, Miguelangel has been accused falsely of laundering money from the family's publishing company.  Their home is taken away and they accompany Miguelangel as he flees from the law.  The family claims to move to Italy, but end up in hiding in the Menchaka home.  The stories revolve around the mishaps of the rich vs. the working class.  Miguelangel is trying to find out how to clear his name and the family must adapt to their new social class.  Miguelangel is comically portrayed by Jaime Camil and he seems to have mastered slapstick comedy that works well in this soap.

Mark Tacher portrays Alejo, the villain of the story, who is the one who robbed the money and has accused Miguelangel of the wrongdoing.  His attorney, Vilma Teran, is hopelessly in love with Alejo and will do anything to grab his attention.

The villainesses of the piece are wonderfully portrayed by Ingrid Martz, as Minerva Fontanet, and her deliciously wicked mother Isela, portrayed by Raquel Pankowski.  These two get into hair brained schemes and malaprops worthy of Lucy and Ethel.  Minerva loves Miguelangel, but when he flees, she eventually marries Alejo.  Oh, both mother and daughter are nouveau riche and gold diggers extraordinaire.

The soap is midway through its course.  Spanish soaps usually have 150-200 episodes and come to a big happy ending.  The villains also face their just desserts.  This soap also reflects social problems that the world faces:  dealing with the elderly with dementia; battle of the social classes; homosexuality; alcoholism. These problems are treated with tact and humor as not to offend.  

As stated, watching the Spanish soaps is a guilty pleasure.  Entertaining and fabulous even though join-Spanish speakers label them as vehicles for over-acting.  But that shows the passion of the Latin!  Some Spanish networks have closed captioning in English; worth a viewing even if you do nor speak Spanish.

Zuria Vega (Lupita) and Jaime Camil (Miguelangel)

Thoughts Whilst in Recovery

So much has happened since Thanksgiving 2013.  I got deathly due to diabetic complications and needless to say I had a below the knee amputation.  I am living with this consequence as I did not take care of my health.  It's that damned Latin image that "I'm alright and I will survive."  Wrong!  It's a lesson learned that I will have to live with the rest of my life.  Currently I am in a rehab center working with great therapists.  Essentially I am learning to walk again.  My upper body strength is the pits and I am slowly working on that.  The prognosis is that I will be getting a prosthetic as soon as the leg heals.  This is where time is a factor…and I am learning patience.

This experience has also shown me  the love and warmth my family, school family, and friends had shown me.  I still need to give a  good hearty cathartic tear fest.  It isn't until you are in such a situation that you realize love has surrounded me but I failed to recognize it.  My nieces and nephews: Julie, Christina, Lorenzo, Andy; my brother Sergio and sister-in-law Miriam; my other sister-in-law Gloria.  The Gonzalezes: Aunt Amanda, Rudy, Beta, Rick, Raquel, Lexy and Tori.  Manuel and Pat Mondoy.  Dorita y Enrique; Enriquito and Veronica (the other Perezes) and my wonderful school family: Pat Keeley, Grace Rigor, Danny Ballesteros, Dorothy Vigna, Sheila Guzman.  Their visits have added energy to my healing process.  Not to forget Sister Chris, Sister Lisa, Sister Marianne and Sister Elizabeth.  And all the phone calls from distant friends and family.

Rene Bonilla is taking care of my beloved Papi and the best neighbors, Wolf and Gloria have offered to help.  And Lori Hartwick has been an angel visiting with her roommate Leigh Ann.  I am truly blessed.

Now, this is not a feel sorry for me episode.  I encourage positive thoughts and lots of laughter my way.

I plan to be back at work and life resuming to its full potential.  Please keep me in your prayers and good thoughts.  Until soon.