Entertainment To Me!

I just got done listening to my St. Valentine’s Day gift from hubby–the deluxe motion picture soundtrack for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street! I love soundtracks, and really did love the movie.

For several reasons, of course–Johnny Depp was spectacular, Helena Bonham Carter did the role of Mrs. Lovett great justice, and even Alan Rickman was totally evil and great. When you’ve got a barber who’s slitting throats and helping his friend make the bodies into meat pies–it’s hard to find someone worse than him. But Rickman’s Judge Turpin is most definitely worse.

The soundtrack is clear and I really enjoyed how the music didn’t get in the way of the story, which can be semi-told through the words, just by listening to the soundtrack, though you have no idea really of the awesomeness of the movie unless you watch it!

I alwaze love hearing actors/actresses who can suddenly sing, and I love when movie musicals don’t dub them over. Johnny Depp, Carter, and Rickman (as well as the other supporting cast) all sing well, and fill their parts well vocally.

Though Sweeney Todd: T.D.B.of F.S. is a horror/musical movie, the soundtrack isn’t scary, but lets one hear the hearts of the characters, and story.

My favorite part keeps being at the end of the song “My Friends” (sung by Todd and Lovett), where Depp calls out :

“At last, my arm is complete again!”

The soundtrack came in a nice box set with a photo book filled with lyrics and a note by Tim Burton, as well as a short biography of Stephen Sondheim.

So, the other day I was watching the 2004 disaster movie, The Day After Tomorrow, and I realized a couple of things.

While I do like Dennis Quaid–that movie was pretty bad. I don’t like Jake Gyllenhaal at all, but he was just as good in the film, I guess, as the others. The movie is one I enjoy because it’s got a cool theme, and entertains me.  The Entertainment factor comes from the fact that while the graphics are not that great–you’re dealing with end of the age as we know it themes here!!–I loved the concept of global warming making the ice caps melt suddenly, so rapidly, that everything would freeze over in the top half of the world, and create a new Ice Age.

Mainly I think I watch it thinking–man, it’d be cool to be the kids in that library! I love the cold, and think trying to survive would be awesome! But of course, if truth be told–it’s not THAT entertaining, because in real life, if something ever happened that fast–no one would’ve survived. Which brings me to another aspect of why the movie is bad…

Goofing That Badly…

If you look at this link, HERE, you’ll be able to see a great list of mistakes in the movie that are not really all that hidden. In fact, I love looking at messups, and finding glitches in movies. But these are doozys. I think when you’re dealing with a disaster movie, if you make such blatant errors of any sort of judgement–the film is bound to fail.

The Internet Movie Database is where the list comes from, and I had a ball reading the messups–most of which I was able to find myself. I mean–when you hear that it’s so freezing, the oil in a helicopter pipeline froze instantly, then someone opens the door of the helicopter, and does NOT freeze (or, rather, is not already frozen!!)–you wonder!

There were a slew of disaster movies that all came out around the same time–this one just failed to check its facts, methinks. I enjoy the movie every once in a while, cause I still think it’d be cool to base-camp in the NYC Library…but sadly, I think I’d end up dead–just cause of real life.

Up at 5am posting in my other blog (link HERE), I also watched this amazing video on the latest CNN updates page.

I can’t seem to show it here, but this LINK will take you to the video. It’s an amazing video only showing a group of firefighters rescuing a dog from a ridiculously dangerous looking ice flow in Hingham, MA. The video doesn’t really show much else, but it doesn’t need to.

I was watching it, and thinking how far people in the line of duty will go to help save a life. They probably didn’t know the dog, and maybe even thought it was just an animal. But it was probably someone’s pet, and someone’s friend, and by saving it, the firefighters would later warm a heart or two. This is humanity at its best, y’know?

If only we could all be so kind and compassionate in our lives…

Stars are known for their ranting and raving, as can be found throughout the news stories in today’s society. But this latest, a blowup by superstar Christian Bale on the set of Terminator: Salvation, tops what I’ve seen in the usual star crazy-talk. I saw it last night on a Fox News show, and of course it was the edited version.

Christian Bale seems to get extremely pissed off at a lighting guy who gets in the way of his shot, or crosses his line of vision, or makes some sort of other minor mistake. The poor guy just has to take it whilst Christian just reams him out, cursing in almost every other word.

Not just cursing, though, but F-bombing the guy’s ears off! You can watch the YouTube video version HERE ! WARNING, though–it’s NOT edited, so there is a lot of language, hence why I am not posting the video here in its whole form.

It took me about 5 seconds for me to lose all respect for Bale, like, really. I understand he’s a working man, and I understand he’s a top star, and in high demand. And I understand his shirts probably cost more than everything I own…But just because you’re rich does NOT mean you can treat the people below you–who, oddly enough, make your movie set and do all the labor that makes you look good–like crap! It was so very demeaning and uncalled for. And it doesn’t stop!!!

Christian Bale just won’t let the guy go. He even says “You’re a good guy, but…”, then continues to F-word him to dust. Where’s his dignity??! And what threw me off the most? No one else does ANYTHING. What, is Christian Bale a god?! Where is the respect of others?

Do stars think they’re above us commoners? Most of us don’t know their lives off-screen/set/YouTube. Till something like this surfaces, and we wonder what’s going through their heads.

Yahoo Buzz Log for today quotes the assistant Director on “Salvation” as saying that Christian’s rant was “just a moment” and that the actor isn’t like that normally….So what–it was just a thing he was trying out?! Does he need meds?!!

Famous people–if it wasn’t for us common folk, your movie/TV/music sales would plummet, and you would fade into obscurity. Just remember that.

Last night I just watched the 2008 movie adaptation of the novel The Secret Life of Bees . I must read the novel of this story, now, and see how well the movie matched up with the book.

The Secret Life of Bees stars Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, and Sophie Okonedo. It takes place in S.C. in 1964, and centers around a young girl, Lily–wonderfully played by Dakota–who is struggling with crushed and cofused memories of her mother, and who is living with her good-for-nothing dad, who treats her less than lovingly. Her father always told her her Mother was a loser who left her, and takes very little  notice of the girl, except to berate and punish her. So one day, after witnessing her friend Rosaleen–played by Hudson–getting beaten by some white trash, she decides to go seek info on her Mom in a town in S.Carolina. She carries a picture of a black Virgin Mary, which her Mother left her, and which carries the name of the town on the back in S.C. that she heads to.

So Lily and Rosaleen take to the road, eventually ending up at a pink house in S.C., which is the home of May, June, and August Boatwright–played respectively by Sophie, Alicia, and Queen Latifah, who is awesome, heh. Queen L. is a master honey gatherer, and owns hives (hence the bee theme). She makes the best honey in town, and on each bottle is a picture of the black Virgin Mother, the same as Lily’s Mom carried with her.

Lily and Rosaleen stay with August and her sisters, bonding with them, learning from them, suffering with them, as tragedy strikes. Lily is convinced she is unlovable, and it’s all her fault. But things aren’t always what they seem.

The end of the movie is touching and great, and the story is wound together well, with all of the lead actresses shining, while not out-shining each other. I thought Alicia Keys did a great job, and I think Dakota Fanning is one of the most amazing actresses out there today, even running against the older gals. She has a great skill for one her age, and can play just about any part, I’m sure!

The Secret Life of Bees is a great movie to watch with gal pals, without being a “chick flick” type. It’s drama, but not gushy, or overdramatic. The underlaying theme of the times (blacks were just getting to vote, and still were segregated in the South like crazy-glue) is tastefully, yet powerfully done.

The movie also has a great theme about friendship and family, and even about the Blessed Mother (which, as a Catholic, I appreciated!).

I thought The Secret Life of Bees was one of the best movies I’ve seen in a LONG time, and certainly of 2008.