Turbine - 2011 - available @ Amazon & Netflix

As I sat down this morning to review "Mud"(Matthew McConaughey/Reese Witherspoon/Tye Sheridan), my mind kept wandering. It took me a few minutes, but I finally realized why. My affection for this movie stems from my passion for another little movie about life near another little river....and that movie is TURBINE.



There are many reasons I love Turbine. The main reason is this one:

I have known Mike Burg forever. We went to High School together - he now lives in New York City, I am still in Missouri. I live vicariously through him and his acting life; he comes to me for 'news from home'. It's a great relationship. Mike plays Darius Clemens Jr. in Turbine...

 

Turbine was shot in the countryside of Rock Port, Missouri where Mike and I grew up. The film tells the story of a New York couple - played by the gorgeous actors Isaak James and Anne Marie Nestor - and their move to the Midwest. Nick heads to rural America for a career in the wind turbine industry, Anne Marie goes along hoping to make a fresh start and start a family outside the confines of a big city. It doesn't take long for a wealthy local farmer (played with perfection by Burg) to become intriqued with the young couple.... it's a story of lust & deception & trying to outrun the demons in one's soul.

Here are the other reasons I love Turbine.

~ I am personally invested. You saw me in the trailer, handing Nick a ball cap. Mike blessed me beyond measure when he asked me to help scout locations for the movie. The cherry on top was a small role in the movie. It is one of the highlights of my life.

~ Nick and Sarah's cabin is actually a little shack along the banks of the Missouri River that Jay and I took care of and spent many, many weekends. It is (was) one of my favorite places in the world. The filming took place in the Spring of 2011. That summer, the Missouri River flooded and destroyed the cabin (not completely - but damn close). It will never be the same. I will forever be indebted to Turbine for capturing on film this magical little place.

~ I met some wonderful people, such as this beauty, Miss Eva James, who co-produced this movie. I really, really like her. I really do.

~Lastly, Rick DeBuhr, who plays the trucker in the movie, was killed in a motorcycle accident a few months after the movie premiered. While I have also known Rick my whole life, I didn't know him on a very personal level. But my heart tells me that being in this movie was also a highlight for him.

You can rent Turbine on Netflix or purchase it from Amazon.  You will especially enjoy the movie if you are from the midwest - the scenery and backdrop are brutally honest.

I promise to get around and review MUD in the next couple of days....but I wanted to share this little gem, since somehow I hadn't thought to until today.

Cheers!

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An Epiphany

This is not a movie review.  This is real life, in real time.

I just experienced something so profound I simply can not keep it to myself.  Let me start with a beautiful image, taken with my own phone, sitting in my living room just moments ago.

 

Is this not the most gorgeous sunrise you have ever seen?  Do you know how long it has been since I have watched the sunrise?  My Father, O.L. Chastain, always talks about how beautiful the morning is.  He has watched the sunrise from a deer stand too many times to count.  He has sipped coffee with his crossword puzzle and watched a sunrise a million more.  He is a brilliant man.  A man I need to spend more time with.  I need to get my priorities straight.  But that's not why I am writing this morning.

 

I woke up about 4:30am, an hour later than usual.  But instead of checking twitter and falling back to sleep, I got up for a bottle of water, settled into my rocking chair and flipped on the DVR.  Dish recorded something without my permission; turns out it was  a great HBO show called "The Newsroom" which I hadn't seen before.  I watched it - and loved it.  Working for a small midwestern television station isn't the same as working at CNN - I get that.  But the adrenaline, the personalities, the devotion are all the same.  News is a drug.  So I feel like God set the stage for my day by allowing me to watch this show and think about my job.

 

I snuggled back into bed;  on tv was talk about Boston.  I decided to turn it off and closed my eyes.  I said to myself "be still".  Meditate.  Relax.  

 

 

We ALWAYS sleep with the curtains drawn.  Sometimes they are closed for days.  But yesterday, while cleaning, I pulled them open.  We got home late from a wonderful evening with friends, and neither of us thought to close them.  So as I am laying in bed, I see this beautiful sunrise.  And I hear the birds chirping.  Something I never hear because of the background noise of our tv.  God again - setting the stage.  Beautiful sunrise and an even more beautiful chorus.

 

And then He did this.  This is what came to me as I "was still".

 

I saw my high school bedroom.  I wallpapered my bedroom with magazine advertisements.  I loved them.  It was my dream to be a "copy writer", I am not sure I even knew exactly what that meant.  But I wanted to write advertising - and I wanted to move to New York City.  That was about 30 years ago.  I can't believe that much time has gone by.  When I was dreaming of being in advertising and moving to New York City, there was no internet, there were no cell phones.  There was just a skinny girl in Missouri buying Cosmopolitan and Glamour at the local drugstore.  But man I dreamed of the day....

 

I didn't go to college after high school.  Instead I made a series of horrible choices, stupid mistakes and barely made it out alive.  Somehow by the grace of God I also came out of the fog with three beautiful daughters who make me proud, who make me crazy, but most importantly they teach me the meaning of unconditional love and family.  They are counted as three of my best friends.  We rarely go a day or two without talking or texting or chatting - I do not take that for granted for one minute.

 

 

I did go to college in 2000.  I majored in Public Relations where I learned a little bit about writing and met some really cool people like Peggy Robinson. (Now that I think about her, that's another blog I need to write)

 

 

I made a living working as an administrative assistant to many great people over the years, and I have done many interesting things.  I have gone places and met people and seen things alot of people only dream about.  But I never became a copywriter.  I never moved to New York City. 

 

For the past four years, I have worked as an Account Executive for KQTV in St. Joseph, MO.  I love my job.  I really like most of the people I work with.  My daily job is to go out and sell advertising.  And I do - I go out and meet people and talk to them about my station and my website.  If I do it well enough, I then allow myself to go play "on the other side of the building" - the Newsroom.  Which I love.  It is so exciting to sit over there and here the police scanners and watch Bridget multi task like nobodies business.  And now I get to go on air every Thursday and talk about movies and share this blog. 

 

 

When I was "being still" this morning, listening to the birds, I wasn't sure what was going to happen.  I wasn't sure what God wanted me to know.  So when the movie started playing in my head, I was so overwhelmed with emotion I started to cry.  I looked at the clock - it read 5:55am.  I thought to myself - never forget this moment.  Your life has just been changed.

 

I haven't thought about my advertising wallpaper in years.  It never occurred to me that God had lead me to a place where I could fulfill my dream.  Last week, Diane Wampler gave me some advice about selling - she told me to stop selling my station and start selling ideas.  So I tried that and it worked.   I may not be a copywriter in New York City, but I am working in advertising for a television station that has been the source of news to northwest Missouri for 60 years.  I am given the freedom to make my business whatever I want it to be.  I have the opportunity to work with businesses and pitch them any advertising idea I can come up with.  For some reason, I had never put it all together until this morning at 5:55am. 

 

God answers prayers.  Sometimes it just takes 30 years.  And sometimes we need to shut off the tv, open the windows and be still so we can hear him.

 

As I wrap this up, I am watching a bunny play in the green grass and a robin is sitting on my windowsill.  I couldn't get that in New York City.  This is going to be a great day.

 



My Review of 42

Long before we ever knew of Hank Aaron or  Ken Griffey, Jr.  there was Jackie Robinson.

Any baseball fan knows who Jackie was - the first African-American to play Major League Baseball, but very few can understand exactly WHAT he was. Until now.   Chadwick Boseman - whose resemblence to Jackie Robinson is uncanny - delivers an award winning performance.  His ability to show all facets of this incredible man was spot on.  Minority, Athlete, Lover, Father, Teacher, Forgiver.  It's raw emotion - which is my cup of tea when it comes to great movies.

You don't have to be a baseball fan to fall in love with this movie.  It's mostly a movie about how much the human spirit can endure - at times, I felt sick to my stomach with the epitaphs he had to endure.  This prideful man - always impeccably dressed and absolutely gorgeous (you know me - it's all about the eye candy) - was constantly tested.  He faced more ridicule and injustice than any person should have too - always turning the other check.  It's hard to say if he would have stayed so focused, if not for the promise he made to his manager, Branch Rickey:

"Jackie Robinson: You want a player who doesn't have the guts to fight back?

Branch Rickey: No. I want a player who's got the guts *not* to fight back.

Jackie Robinson: You give me a uniform, you give me a number on my back, I'll give you the guts. "

Branch Rickey was a man of great morals who believed the game of baseball - as well as the America it represented- should offer opportunities to people with talent - no matter the color of their skin.  He was 65 years old when he met Jackie Robinson and put it all on the line.  I fell in love with this man.  But I wasn't in love with Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey.  There was just something that was off for me - I can't put my finger on it.  (Side note - my husband; a HUGE baseball fan, thought Ford was SPOT ON.  He knows the story of Branch Rickey - so if Jay says he did a great job, than who am I to argue?)

Lastly, this movie was a love story.    Nicole Beharie plays the love of Jackie's life, Rachel.  Nicole mentioned in an interview how thrilled she was to be able to consult with Rachel Robinson during the making of this film.  She is convinced, as is everyone who actually knew the couple - that this was a story of "WE" not "I".  They truly faced this journey together - she was his biggest fan, his counselor, his lover and his best friend.  She was a very beautiful, very strong woman who continues to work towards the greater good.  She is quoted as saying "I want young people to know you can go through terrible times, but if you form strong relationships...you can make a difference."   Great stuff.

This strong cast also included one of my favorite actors, Lucas Black (of Slingblade fame); TR Knight (Grey's Anatomy) and Andre Holland who plays the African American baseball writer hired by Rickey to guide Jackie through his newfound fame.   One of my favorite lines is delivered by Holland, I can't remember it exactly but it goes something like this:  "You aren't the only one with something at stake here.  Haven't you ever wondered why I sit in stands with my typewriter in my lap instead of sitting in the press box?"

Jackie Robinson is the heart and soul of Baseball, of America, of tolerance and change.  We should all take a page from his book, a book that "42" does a fine job of sharing with us all.

Date Night With My Momma - The Sapphires

The who?  That's what I said when I got the screening invite to watch The Sapphires...  

This movie wasn't on my radar, but it looked like a better option than sitting at home on a Monday night. 

Once I watched the trailer and realized the event was about a mile from my Mom's house, it was a no-brainer to invite her along.  She is a push-over for feel good movies especially if they are from the 60's and include good music. 

Me and my momma: we had a blast! 

Check out the trailer: 

It doesn't take you long to understand why this movie received a ten minute standing ovation at last year's Cannes Film Festival. 

Dave Lovelace is an alcoholic emcee (played convincingly by Chris O'Dowd) who meets four Aboroginal girls from Australia singing country music.  Even though the girls come from extremely humble surroundings; even though they face racism and hatred every day of their lives, they have this determination and absolute belief they are destined to be stars. When they see a newspaper ad seeking "musical acts to entertain the troops in Vietnam", they enlist Dave to help them get there.



One of my favorite scenes; Dave teaching the girls how to put a little soul in their serenade: (about 1:30 into this clip)

There are quite a few laughs and a handful of scary moments.  The scenes shot in Vietnam were beautiful; the vulnerability of the girls very believable.

I think you will be quite surprised by the ending - I know I was.  I think you will find yourself dancing in your seat - I know for sure Mom was.

No,  its not a blockbuster, but it is a fun, uplifting little film.

Olympus Has Fallen..and so have I...for Gerard Butler

Whether you want an action movie (think Die Hard) or you simply like eye candy (Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Dylan McDermott are totally delicious), this movie won’t disappoint.

Director Fuqua (Training Day et al) doesn’t waste any time bringing the viewer to the edge of their seat – within 10 minutes we are rooting for Special Agent Mike Banning (Butler).  Forced to make a life or death decision for the President of the United States, he knows his own life will never be the same.

Fast forward a year, Banning watches something so horrific unfold outside his “desk job” window he can hardly believe his eyes. He suddenly becomes “the best hope we’ve got” at taking back the White House and freeing the President who has been kidnapped by terrorists – hundred sof them, who were hiding in plain sight. Walking and working among the landscape of Washington DC, completely unnoticed.  His chance for atonement was our darkest hour.

I stared in shock as I watched tourists become terrorists and trash trucks explode.  I couldn’t help but think “could this really happen?”  Because Olympus was shot over a year ago, it seemed surreal to watch the White House crumble at the hands of North Korean terrorists.  That hit a little too close to home in our current political environment.

Lots of carnage & fantastic special effects abound.  

Gerard Butler carries the movie with all the self sacrifice you would expect from  a true Secret Service Agent.

Olympus makes you proud to be an American.   No one shouts patriotism louder than Oscar winner Melissa Leo as our Secretary of Defense, who says “The Pledge of Allegiance” as she is being dragged through the dead bodies of her colleagues.

The only criticism I have is the casting of Morgan Freeman as Speaker of the House.  He seemed too old and too tired.  I wish Fuqua would have brought Denzel Washington along for the ride.  

I felt a little skittish walking to the car when it ended.  I nervously avoided strangers, actually wondering if someone was about to pull out an assault rifle.  In other words, I found the movie pretty believable.

Intense

Brutal

Worth It

I give this a 7 out of a 10 (I don't like silly jokes in the middle of a terrorist takeover, and I really REALLY dislike seeing people stabbed in the eyeball)