I almost missed this one - don't ask me why. I am glad I changed my mind. Let me introduce you to MUD:
Matthew McConaughey may have just turned in the performance of his career. Even a chain-smokin, chipped tooth, filthy Matthew McConaughey is beautiful to look at, but it's his acting chops you will love with this one.
MUD takes place along the banks of a river in Arkansas. As you know from previous blogs, I am a river kid. So this movie hit pretty close to home. It's a cross between Stand By Me and Winter's Bone.
I kept thinking being a kid and the choices they have. Kids can't choose where they live, HOW they live, kid's can't choose their parents; things like like. But kids do make choices about who they believe in. Sometimes those choices end up costing them their lives.
McConaughey plays his character with perfection. Witherspoon is so believable as the victim in this story that even I got pissed during the bar scene.
The person I hope doesn't get overlooked is Tye Sheridan who plays Ellis. Just a fantastic actor.
I read online this week - "MUD could be this years ARGO". Let's hope so.
Trust me on this one - go see the movie - you won't be disapppointed.
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.
Just like every literature geek, I read The Great Gatsby in High School. The only thing I really remember about the book is how easily someone had created a life of untruths - and yet how exciting that prospect was. That was 1922 - long before the internet. Now pretending to be something other than your truth is as easy as a click and photo-shop.
In anticipation of the movie, I listened to The Great Gatsby Audiobook. All the characters, all the wonderful lines from Fitzgeralds book were fresh in my mind. I was not disappointed.
I loved The Great Gatsby - it was BEAUTIFULLY done. (Although, I didn't think 3D was necessary). The people; the makeup; the clothing and the GORGEOUS Tiffany jewels which hung from every perfect neck and adorned every slender finger - would make any girl jealous.
The sets - the locations - Baz Luhrman did a wonderful tribute to the novel. I want to fly to Australia and take a Great Gatsby tour - anyone care to join me?
This film adaptation started a little slow for me - I was already
writing my disappointing review, when Gatsby turned his face towards me (I mean the camera)
that first time. I felt as though I was standing on the dock with him and my life was forever changed. The screen got brighter - everything came to life.
Leonardo De Caprio nailed it. And he never once wavered. Carey Mulligan as the adored Daisy was spot-on.
When I heard who was producing the soundtrack, I was hesitant. I am not a Jay-Z fan - and who is Lana Del Ray? I was being a fool - the soundtrack is one of the best I have heard in a long time. I LOVED IT. One of the things my daughter (thatiswhatsheread.blogspot.com) loved was how completely still and shadowed everything seemed to be when the focus was on Gatsby & Daisy and their love for each other. The music would fade, the colors seemed to mute - it was just a wonderful effect - you truly got lost in the moment.
The most romantic lines from the book - brought brilliantly to life on the screen were these:
"He could climb to it if he climbed alone....his heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, his mind would never romp again...so he waited...then he kissed her...at his lips touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete."
"He talked a lot about the past and I gathered that he wanted to recover something - some idea of himself that had gone into loving Daisy - his life had been confused and disordered since then but if he could once return to a certain starting place and go over it all slowly he could find out what that thing was."
This movie was beautiful, is was authentic, and it will not disappoint. And I recommend buying the soundtrack too.
Studying this definition, a thought occurred to me; To disconnect implies we are already connected to something or someone in the first place. I understand this definition is literal - we really are connected to the telephone, to the computer, to the headset. The problem with the"cyber world" we all live in is that we are NOT connected to those we encounter on the other "side". We may hope we are - we may truly believe with all our hearts that we are. But the sad truth is, there are many, many lonely people - adults and children alike, who are making life and death choices with every click; without really knowing who is on the receiving end. The families who love and care about them may never know this loneliness until it is too late.
Disconnect
is a movie I couldn't wait to see. The trailer had just enough Creep
Factor to intrigue me; just enough of a Soundtrack to send me running
for the first tickets I found on Groupon. The summary is this:
A hotshot attorney, played by the gorgeous Jason Bateman, is a Dad we have all come to love and hate at the same time - so busy trying to support his family that he tends to forget he even has one. He and his wife are raising a daughter who dines at the cool kids table, and a son who is seemingly invisible to everyone else.
A young couple working their way through a tragedy who find themselves turning to people they meet online instead of turning to each other.
A widowed ex-cop trying to raise a mischievous son, while trying to be his friend.
And a sexy young journalist chasing a story that will make or break her career - finds herself way too entangled with the young runaway she befriends.
The film is written in the style of 2004's Crash; all the characters are strangers until their stories collide in a "hold your breath" ending.
My heart broke for Ben Boyd (played skillfully by Jonah Bobo). I had watched the trailer over and over again - and based on this characters appearance in the trailer - thought I had him all figured out. Sounds about right in today's world, doesn't it? We are so quick to judge children by the protective garb they wear on the outside without getting to know their heart. Their souls.
At the end of the movie, I thought more about connecting, than disconnecting. A thought provoking movie for sure - one I recommend to every parent - every brother, every sister, every friend.
