James Dean wasn’t moody, he was homesick

I, like many people, have a fascination with James Dean. If someone was to ask me why, I would find it hard to articulate. There is just something about him that intrigues me, so I had to see the film LIFE staring Rob Pattinson and Dane DeHaan.

I was a little hesitant, because the movie was getting mediocre reviews, but I’m glad I did. Anton Corbijn portrayed a different side of James Dean. He alter my image of him from Americana icon to human being.

The only thing lacking in this film is Rob Pattinson’s weak character development. He came across as desperate and annoying. It’s too bad, because DeHaan performance was great and could’ve been escalated to brilliant with the right partner to execute scenes.

My favourite scene is when they're on the train to Indiana and Dean tells Dennis Stock about his mother. DeHaan did it with such a genuine innocence that if you only watch one scene from the film watch this one.

It is a great segway for the final scene where DeHaan recites James Whitcomb Riley’s poem We Must Get Home, the same one Dean is reading in the famous Life Magazine photo spread Moody New Star: http://time.com/3490132/beautiful-enigma-life-with-james-dean/.

This section summarizes the entire film concept for me:  

We must get home again--we must--we must!--
(Our rainy faces pelted in the dust)
Creep back from the vain quest through endless strife
To find not anywhere in all of life
A happier happiness than blest us then ...
We must get home--we must get home again!

Link to full poem: http://genius.com/James-whitcomb-riley-we-must-get-home-annotated

Sometimes when we’re lost the instinctual reaction is to go home and that is exactly what Dean did. He was on the cusp of stardom and struggling with the transition. Stock had the rare opportunity to capture that transition which makes the LIFE Magazine photo spread so special.  

For such a short career, Dean has a stellar portfolio which makes me wonder what his career would’ve looked like if he hadn’t died so young. I’ve heard people say that he was misunderstood, but I don’t agree. I think he was just like a lot of artists who struggle to balance the need to express themselves without sacrificing their ethos.

My senses came alive in ROOM

It is very rare for me to be completely consumed in watching a movie. I’m usually over analyzing each scene trying to figure out the climax before it happens. I’m almost always successful and it drives my husband nuts when we watch movies together, because I blurt out my plot predictions and spoil it for him. But not this time, for two hours you could hear a pin drop in the theatre as the audience, including me, were transfixed on the screen.

The first half of the movie felt like five minutes. I was on the edge of my seat hanging on each scene transition. The other half of the movie felt longer like a slow and steady incline of emotion followed by a steep dive into inspiration. It was one of the best movies I’ve seen in years. It was all thanks to Jacob Tremblay the actor who played Jack, a five year old boy who has never left “Room”.

The audiences knows before going in that Jack and his mom Joy, played by Brie Larson, are being held captive in a small shed in the backyard of some creepy guy that they call Old Nick. I honestly thought to myself that this is going to be your typical plot of mom and son triumphing by escaping and go on to live a normal lives, but I was wrong.

Yes they escape, but the story isn’t about that triumph. It’s about Jack’s amazing interpretations of the world as he sees it for the first time. His simply and eloquent perspective leave your psyche forever altered and wondering how Jack makes it so easy to see the beauty in it all.

In the end I felt that Joy and Jack’s experience in "Room" left them awakened to a unique bond they share be being each other’s strength to survive. That’s the beauty of great storytelling, when the audience’s expectations are altered to inflict and completely different experience. One that leaves you deep in thought as a result of its impact.

There is nothing more for me to say than for you to go and see it for yourself. I promise you won’t regret it, but my advice is to bring tissues. 

Watch the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C6fZ-fwDws

We will remember them

I saw Hyena Road over the weekend and couldn’t find the words to explain the experience until now.

They came to me as I watched a memorial ceremony on Oct 22, 2015. It was to mark the one year anniversary of the Ottawa Shooting that claimed the life of a young Canadian soldier, Cpl Nathan Cirillo.

Like many Canadians last year, I watched the horror unfold in real time on social media which left a nation in shock and family in mourning both military and personal. What still haunts me is that it all took place at Canada’s War Memorial for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It's a scared place that is meant for people to reflect and remember our fellow Canadian soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice. At the ceremony this week a plaque was unveiled to honour Cpl Cirillo that read He will forever be on guard.  That phase helped me write this post, because I believe the film Hyena Road is a great current explanation for Canadians to understand its meaning.

Mr. Paul Gross, the director, writer and star, did an amazing job at mirroring the realities of war. As I sat in the theatre beside my husband, I could feel the tension in us both as the intense and realistic battle scenes unfolded. But they were they easiest parts to watch, it was the intimate scenes between the action that resonated with me the most.

In media interviews Mr. Gross said he got the idea to make the movie after participating in a Celebrity Visit to Boost Troops Morale trip to Afghanistan. After that experience, he felt it was important for people, in particular Canadians, to know what our soldiers did over there and the critical role they played in fighting terrorism. He admitted that he didn’t even know the extent to which the Canadian Armed Forces were involved in Afghanistan and felt a duty to tell their story.

You get a sense of his mission to tell the Canadian soldier's story when you watch those intimate scenes between characters. Speaking as someone who is immersed in the Canadian military culture I can say that it was a very realistic portrayal. It was great to watch even the bad parts, because there seems to be a real disconnect between our soldiers and Canadian citizens. I think it is because no one have ever humanized Canadian soldiers the way the Mr. Gross did in this film.

The last scene is the most difficult part to watch, but the most important moment in the movie (SPOILER ALERT). It’s the ramp scene where the fallen soldiers are carried on the shoulders of their comrades up the ramp of the plane that will bring them home. It’s tradition for all soldiers serving on base to stand at attention on the tarmac as the soldiers' coffins are carried up the ramp in a final send off. My military friends, who have participated in them, said it is a life altering experience.  As I watched the scene in the movie, I finally understood what they meant as tears streamed down my face.

I hope people go and see this film, so they may realize that every day people just like them are the ones that go off to fight wars. They have families and dreams just like the rest of us. What separates soldiers from everyday people is the sacrifices they make believing in something that is bigger than themselves.

I understand that it's hard to related to the soldiers who go off to fight wars on the other side of the world. But the Ottawa shooting happened on home soil and Cpl Cirillo's death was just as tragic as the soldiers who have died in all wars or conflict. What bonds them are their sacrifices to protect our freedoms and nation.  My finally hope is that as Canadians, we will remember them.

Bruce MacKinnon's editorial cartoon that ran the day after Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was shot last October.

I’m in mourning…for Mad Men that is

After watching Jon Hamm FINALLY win a Emmy last night for his portrayal of Don Draper in AMC's Mad Men, I was inspired to write this post.

The first time I saw the show was in class my 2^nd year of university. I had a wicked prof who made us study the show as part of understanding the history of the public relations industry. The show’s ability to portray a time where office minibars, sexy secretaries and dapper male executives were the norm was a perfect case study for the class titled Gender Equality in PR.

Beside the accurate sexual inequities we studied in class, I loved the authenticity of the sets, costumes and the writers’ clever tactics of intertwining historic events into the story-line. But, what made me continue to watch the show after class had ended was the self-destructive behavior of Don Draper. I tuned in week after week to watch his downward spiral of emotional turmoil.

He was a successful Ad man with a charming ability to sell happiness to his clients, but the irony was that he failed miserably at achieving it in his own life. What made his character appealing, despite his faults, was my desire to root for him. From two failed marriages to his melt down to Hershey, I genuinely wanted him to be happy and was sad for him every time he destroyed his chance.  

I think the evolution of my desire came from his relationship with Peggy. He was her mentor who rescued her from her own self-destruction and fraught for her talents to be recognized. It seemed their relationship was the only one Don got right. It was like they both knew each other’s true self-worth and never let either forget it. This relationship was always an underlining story that would pop up just when you forgot their profound history. Here is a clip that I think conveys that:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RTS8wODHf

Mad Men's ability to take brilliant writing, talented actors and skillful cinematography to make a show that viewers will never forget, is what I think the art of storytelling is all about. 

I not upset that the show ended, it had to. The beauty of this day and age is that I have Netflix’s where it has become the cultural norm to binge watch your favourite shows over and over again any time you find yourself mourning for its characters. I see a week full of Mad Men season one in my future.  

Straight Outta Compton is the soundtrack to my youth

I know what you’re thinking, how can a kid from the Canadian prairies have anything in common with N.W.A? Simply a love for hip-hop.

I saw the movie on the weekend and loved it. The cast did a great job portraying N.W.A in particular O'Shea Jackson, Jr. He played his dad, Ice Cube, so perfectly it made me wonder if the reason they waited so long to make the bio pic was for Junior to grow up.

A review in the Los Angeles Times said that the movie follows the evolution of hip-hop culture that gives the fan base that made hip-hop what is today a chance to see the story on the big screen. As I danced along in my seat to the music while watching the movie in the theatre, I found myself travelling down memory lane.

I grew up right smack in the middle of the hip-hop revolution. My room was covered in 2PAC posters and my soundtrack of choice was Dr. Dre’s The Chronic. I listened to that CD so much I wore it out and had to buy a new one.  "Nuthin But A “G” Thang" is still my all-time favourite hip-hop song.

As teenagers, my friends and I were always looking for ways to express our frustrations with the world around us. We did typical rebellious things like changed our hair colour, talked back to teachers and even got in a little trouble with the local law enforcement. In the eighties and early nineties we found a lot to be angry about and this movie reminded me of those times. I remember the 1992 LA riots and the Rodney King police trial. It was such a confusing time and hip-hop music gave us clarity and we felt it forced the rest of the world to pay attention to what was going on in Southern California.

Once you strip away the parts of the movie that make it a flashy blockbuster you’re left with a great story about a group of friends from the same neighborhood who just wanted to make music to help express frustrations about their world.

I’m not saying that N.W.A was perfect, far from it, but they deserve credit for creating a paradigm shift in music which open up doors for artists to express themselves in new ways.

I think Ice Cube said it best, “Our art is a reflection of our reality.” For me this movie is a reflection of my adolescent journey to adulthood. One that was full of its challenges and frustrations - and of course hip-hop. 

But this movie, as amazing as it is, only scratches the surface on the many stories left to tell about the creation of the hip-hop culture. My hope is its success will inspire Tinseltown to make more bio pics.

Article referenced: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-straight-outta-compton-box-office-record-20150830-story.html

Wild starring Reese Witherspoon is better than the book

There is nothing more embarrassing then watching a good “tear-jerker” movie while on a plane and having complete strangers stare at you in disgust while you ugly cry into your tiny square beverage napkin. Unfortunately this seems to happen to me a lot since I travel frequently for work.

My last experience all started with the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I was very interested in reading this book, because I love true stories where the main character overcomes huge obstacles to achieve self-actualization. Wild had all these qualities and I couldn’t wait to dive into the book.

The book started off slow with the first few pages focused on her back story that was merited given the context, but when I was 100 pages in I started to get bored. I found I couldn’t relate to Cheryl’s personality. Even though I too had loss a parent in my twenties,  I had a hard time understanding the choices she made and how she dealt with the consequences. So I ended up skimming the last few chapters in order to find out how it ended.

Flash forward to last week where I’m on a 6 hour flight from eastern Canada to LAX in the middle seat crammed between two large people who are hogging the arm rests. To distract myself from my discomfort I scrolled through the inflight movie selections and saw Wild starring Reese Witherspoon. I decided to press play hoping maybe the movie would give me some insight into the meaning of the book. Two hours later the movie ended and I found myself ugly crying and trying to hide it from my neighbors and failing miserably.

The movie was fantastic which is crazy for me to believe because I usually find books that are made into movies are a complete disaster, but not in this case. I think the key successes were Reese Witherspoon’s awesome performance, the director's uses of little dialog to create the perfect tone for the film and the equal blend between flash back scenes and present time to tell the whole story.

These successes helped me gain a better understanding of Cheryl’s relationship with her mother and the hardships that she faced trying to control her grief which is the exact relation I was hoping for when reading the book.

My favourite scene is when Cheryl played by Witherspoon has to rip off her toenail and in the process ends up losing her hiking boot down a cliff. As she stands up and screams f--- you and throws her other boot down the cliff after it, I finally understood the meaning of the book.

I’ll elaborate on what I mean by sharing something a good friend once told me. He said that when you lose someone close to you time will help to heal all wounds. What he meant by that statement was you will always grieve for the person you lost and the process starts with your grief controlling you and as time goes on you learn to control your grief. The main thing to remember is to let the journey happen.

The embarrassment of my flight experience was overshadowed when I came to realize what Cheryl’s story meant to me. Cheryl said that she hiked the PCT trail in order to become the woman her mother raised her to be. I think the hike took her on a journey that helped her learn how to control her grief and move on to become the woman she always wanted to be.

Forget fun in the sun this summer, I have no “Power” over my urge to stay inside and binge watch this show.

So I just recently discovered Starz's drama series Power. I know, I know it’s going into its third season, but better late than never because it’s fantastic.

The series is describe as: 

James St. Patrick, nicknamed "Ghost", leads two lives: the owner of a popular New York nightclub and an elite drug kingpin. He struggles to balance these two lives, and the balance topples when he realizes he wants to leave the drug ring in order to support his legitimate business, and commit to his mistress.

It has everything I love in a good TV show: plot twists, complex characters, a love story and beautiful cinematography.  Ghost is your typical protagonist who is at a crossroads. One road leads down the path of least resistance. The other path is a new life, a life he always wanted. He is torn between pleasing his best friend and family, and running away with his “alma gemela”, all while trying to maintain his power.

My favorite character from season one is definitely Tommy played by Joe Sikora. He adds a sort of comic relief that is borderline inappropriate, but his resilient loyalty to his family and friends and his desire for unconditional acceptance makes up for it.

If that isn’t enough to keep you entertained Ghost has a few antagonists to worry about including Curtis “50 cent” Jackson who is also the executive producer for the show. Be prepared to hear his music as the soundtrack for the series and see lots of promo shots of his merchandise. Plus they’ve added one of my favorite Entourage boys to the cast for season two Jerry Ferrara who plays Joe Proctor, a successful attorney with a dark secret. Seriously what’s not to like about this show.

There are only ten episodes in a season, so I think you will have time this summer between beach days and vacation to watch. I know I will be.

Watch the promo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7fuOkF74Zw