Final Post...

I HAVE MOVED:

I have moved to With Cruel Intent. See you there!

In A Class Of Its Own...

"Juno and the Paycock" by Sean O'Casey

"One that says all is God an’ no man; an’ th’ other that says all is man an’ no God!"

Snow Black and de Sebben Dwarves

Passing Thought...

"We were two simplistic children"
Too
Wood rotted
Phantoms and dragoons
Snow in summer-fall in May
Splitting
-hostas
"Well," said George, "you better not think about it."

Awaiting Your Viewing Pleasure...

As one half of the new Student Voice editors-in-chief, I have decided to bring the Worcester State College Newspaper to the internet superhighway! The site will offer all articles for each issue (organization pending). For now, preview the site here: The Student Voice Online

Revolution...

Everyone knows that the United States has prided itself on the idea of revolution in the attempt to right what is wrong with our government. Politicians once worked for the people. Often times it will take a select group of voices to bring others together when the need for change is nigh. 1776, 1960, 1970. And in Boston, 2009, a "rally" was called to protest impending taxes. A re-enactment of the Boston Tea Party was to end the impending new taxes from being passed. The following video is inherently the best interpretation of how there is no longer (and sadly may never again be) true protest movements, even in Boston, Massachusetts.

"There are not enough hours in the day anymore

Children on a playground
in a rainstorm
Happily

Calling the absurd
the critical voice
and the absurdist
the generation-.

I am perpetually
let down by what I see
on the television each day
and what I wait to read
The Next.

Where did They take them?"

-And I said "It can't happen here."

Sunday Morning, 10:29 a.m.....

I'll write you a letter tomorrow
Tonight I can't hold a pen
Someone's got a stamp that I can borrow
I promise not to blow the address again

Lights that flash in the evening,
Through a crack in the drapes

Jesus rides beside me
He never buys any smokes
Hurry up, hurry up, ain't you had enough of this stuff
Ashtray floors, dirty clothes, and filthy jokes

See you're high and lonesome
Try and try and try

Lights that flash in the evening,
Through a hole in the drapes
I'll be home when I'm sleeping
I can't hardly wait

I can't wait. Hardly wait.

The Replacements - Can't Hardly Wait

Today

To the lynch mob
-laughing before their parade
"I do not know what time it is
-but it cannot be too late"

Faster than
a scurried mind
dropt in water to
later flush out

Whipper-Wilm and Whipper-Woo
Cast the sun
down sunshadow shown
Past the creeks and muddled floom

Musing...

I don't care how far Gone I am. As long as it's Real Gone.

24th Chorus...

24th Chorus
by Jack Kerouac

San Francisco is too sad
Time, I cant understand
Fog, shrouds the hills in
makes unshod feet so cold
Pity the poor Pomo, St. Francis & the birds,
Fills black rooms with day
Dayblack in the white windows
And gloom in the pain of pianos;
Shadows in the jazz age
Filing by; ladders of flappers
Painter’s white bucket
Funny 3 Stooge Comedies
And fuzzy headed Hero
Moofle Lip suck’t it all up
And wondered why
The milk & cream of heaven
Was writ in gold leaf
On a book - big eyes
For the world
The better to see-

Obligations...

In the face
of the homeless man
I see purity
in drive.
Is not the taste
from which he pulls
off the bottled water
not the purest
That any man has ever
tasted?

Stalking down the corner
Highland & Park
completely satisfied.

For a Lady I Know...

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
by Dylan Thomas

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

I Love You, Man Review

Bromance 101: I Love You, Man Review
by M. R. Brown

There is no real inventive nature to I Love You, Man, nor does anything unpredictable really happen . The premise of the film is quite simple; a guy is getting married to a beautiful woman. The only snag is this guy has no guy friends and needs to find one so he can have a best man. Plot problem? This guy has a very capable younger brother to be his best man. Overlook it, the movie is brilliant without it.

Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) is a painstakingly awkward yet loveable character. He has a charming and supporting wife, Zooey (Rashida Jones), who pushes him to finding that special guy. Klaven’s search has him dining old men and making out with young men. Finally he happens upon the laid back Sydney Fife (Jason Segel) giving way to fart jokes, Lou Ferrigno, Pistol Pete references, Jamaican bass playing, and “The Holy Trinity.” Complications inevitably surface.

Rudd and Segel are outrageous, perfect and a comedic goldmine. The film has all the feel of a Judd Apatow flick without the Judd Apatow fat that drags movies on. You can’t help but cringe along with Klaven as he tries to play it cool around Fife, blundering countless banters with expressions like “totes maggotes.” Rudd has the uncanny ability to bring the human element into a movie where you would never expect such depth in a character.

John Favreau and Jaime Pressley play hilarious supporting roles as the time bomb best friend couple of Zooey’s. Klaven’s younger brother, Robbie (the Saturday Night Live stand-out Andy Samberg), round out this wonderful cast.

Segel, fresh off proving his chops in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, splits lead with the long-underrated Rudd, riding his comedic wave since Role Models. After countless cameos that often make the movies their in, Rudd finally has become a full-fledged leading man. His timing and wit could not be more spot on.

I Love You, Man is the best comedy of the year and deserves every bit of praise you will see it post in the critic-certified T.V. trailers. You owe it to yourself to see this movie.

Watchmen Review

Who Watches The Watchmen: Watchmen Review
by M.R. Brown

Long heralded as the only unfilmable graphic novel, Watchmen is a complex narrative of superheroes that are above average people (save for the science-experiment gone wrong Dr. Manhattan) living in a world that no longer wants superheroes. Alan Moore, notorious for his protests towards any adaptation of his comics, penned what Time Magazine calls one of the “Top 100 Greatest Novels of All Time.” Quite the hype for 300 director Zack Snyder to live up to.

When certifiably insane superhero The Comedian (Jeffrey Morgan) is murdered and full-blown investigation is mounted in which former superheroes Rorschach (Jackie Haley), Silk Spectre II (Malin Akerman), Night Owl II (Patrick Wilson), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode) and Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup) are thrown into a mystery and search for a “mask killer.” Stressing humanity and political utopia, the search is one of the most enriched storylines ever contrived.

With striking visuals and the typical Snyder-slow-motion shots, Watchmen is often times true to frame of artist Dave Gibbon’s work in the comic. From the blue sparks firing within Dr. Manhattan to the ever-changing test-patterns of Rorschach’s face, the CGI is unparalleled. The artistic eye of Snyder sadly does not translate to an enriching script.

Watchmen falters in many aspects, particularly in its attempt to grasp the depth to which the comic was able to explore. Even at the 2 hour 40 minute length, the film still leaves plot gaps and viewers itching to leave their seats. Missing plots and the visual-first attitude plague the hopeful movie.

Although the Cold War may be an important and interesting piece of history, the feud between the United States and USSR in the nuclear arms race comes off as a dated and contrived device. The comic, written in 1986, is a time capsule of the political fervor and nervous nature of the American people in a twist-of-history in which the United States wins the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon is a continuous president. To the targeted audience of pre-pill dropping teenagers who are dropped off by mom’s mini van, Watchmen’s political satire and message will go unnoticed.

Sadly, the most engrossing part of the film is the opening credit sequence where Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin’” interludes a retrospective account of post-WWII to the Cold War and sets the visual standard for the entirety of the film.

The greatest comic of all time is in no way the greatest movie of all time, nor is it the greatest comic book movie of all time. Although worth its price in admission, Watchmen is a disappointment to the cult fan and an above average entertainment to the casual moviegoer. With less restrictive standards, the DVD of the film should be a much more true to form experience.

What I've Been Watching...

I was living in a Devil Town
Didn't know it was a Devil Town
Oh, Lord, it really brings me down
About the Devil Town

And all my friends were vampires
Didn't know they were vampires
Turns out I was a vampire myself
In the Devil Town

I was living in a Devil Town
Didn't know it was a Devil Town
Oh, Lord, it really brings me down
About the Devil Town

Friday Night Lights: Season 3



Watchmen
Director: Zack Snyder



Fast & Furious
Director: Justin Lin

Sonnet 2...

When forty winters shall beseige thy brow,

And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field,

Thy youth's proud livery, so gazed on now,

Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held:

Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies,

Where all the treasure of thy lusty days,

To say, within thine own deep-sunken eyes,

Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.

How much more praise deserved thy beauty's use,

If thou couldst answer 'This fair child of mine

Shall sum my count and make my old excuse,'

Proving his beauty by succession thine!

This were to be new made when thou art old,

And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

Bold and Ambitious...

North Korea launches

rocket Sunday, April 5th.:

North Korea, facing much world pressure to abandon such acts, has successfully launched a rocket over the Pacific. President Obama calls this a deliberate infraction against U.N. policy and a major threat to security around the world.

The rocket was launched into space, a claim that Pres. Obama disputes.

Wondering what the fuss is all about, Kim Jong-Il has decided to broadcast the "Song of Gen. Kim Jong-Il" from the satellite, on loop. This is complete truth. One song, about himself, over and over...

Saving Trees...

"The New York Times Co. has threatened to shut The Boston Globe unless the newspaper's unions swiftly agree to $20 million in concessions, union leaders said yesterday" (Boston Globe).

Besides the mass layoffs that would need to occur, as well as the ending of pensions and drastic cutting of pay, the end of The Boston Globe ends a literary history in the city. The paper was an identity for Bostonians. It was an outlet for our sports as well as our news. No longer can you grab the Globe to take on the T to pass time. The newspaper industry used to be one of the most lucrative industries in the country and it gives prospective to see it finally become obsolete.

Does a writer for an online newspaper carry as much credential as a writer for a published paper? One can now argue that an online reporter's words are not as worthy to pay to publish as a paper reporter's.

Act 1. Scene 1...

Scene 1: (A single light bulb is turned on revealing a staircase leading to a middle-class basement. The scene is dry, dingy. There are cobwebs that litter the once well maintained room. An old man of 87 years has pulled the light string and grabs the railing with a calloused hand and weary sigh. A staircase never used to trip the shaking in his hand. The sun spots from vacations with his family in Florida mark his now bald head. Down the stairs hang photographs of his wife and himself. One is their wedding, one is the first night with their baby son. The final picture is of the old man and his son greeting guests at a funeral reception. How long ago was it now that his wife passed? He still wears the ring. Years ago he tried to remove it but it would not come loose. He never tried again after that day.

The old man takes each step with trepidation. His life has been reduced to the slow pace and focus on each step. He advances towards the corner of the room where light no longer shone.

A blanket rests atop a vintage radio broadcast board. The microphone a cast silver relic of the 50's. An individual desk lamp is turned on to reveal the priceless and obsolete part of history. Pulling the chair from under the board, the old man removes the framed picture of himself all those years ago behind the same board. His eyes are just as sharp, though the lines in his face have grown long and rarely does he smile anymore.

He sits in a heavy movement that pulls his shoulders down with him. Gently he runs the tips of his fingers across the levels he knows better than anything else in his life. Anything save for the face of wife. He sees her face in the mirror each morning when he dresses and beside him in bed before he falls asleep. He never can dream of her.

Gracefully he leans into the microphone)

Atlanta, Georgia...

Sometimes the rooftop of a building reveals more than a city or its skyline. Soemtimes it reveals the faded black Big Apple shirt, sometimes it reveals a photographic enthusiasm, and sometimes you get lucky enough for it to reveal the future.
Atlanta is a diverse and strikingly urban city steeped in a rich tradition of civil rights. From the street art hidden under the Krog St. Bridge to the local artists descending upon Little 5 Points, there is an artistic ferver welling up ready to leave its mark on a city that is oddly transparent. The people of Atlanta seem to live in a city that is little more than a chalk-board in boarding school. I felt little life from the city itself and rather found it in the slow paced banter of Acapella Books' owner and in the appreciative smile of a local troubador in Vortex. As much as the city streets may have been swarmed, I often felt alone. the city is waiting for proper exposure, one not found as an obligatory name-dropping in a rap song.
Outside the Carol St. Cafe sits the house in which I will one day live. There is a park bench bench that sits underneath a palm tree, forever facing the sun. I'll bring jasmine tea and a Kurt Vonnegut book outside with me every morning.
What have I noticed about the future? There was a girl who dressed in black and drowned the colors everywhere she walked. There was nothing in a city i knew little about that drew my attention more than this woman I see every day of my life.

You will forever be standing on that rooftop with a city skyline at your back, and only the passing light of day will change around us.

In Days Following...

“Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick to each other as long as we live?”

The following days will be filled with grandeur,
When we are as tall as the skyscrapers around us.

Endeavor...

I saw the best minds of my generation
In rooms of white walls
Behind wheels of lettered trucks
In windows of shattered glass
Standing behind one another.
Falling soft with arms crossed,
Each of them lay still
destroyed by madness.

Knocking Off Rust...

Candy came from out on the island
In the backroom she was everybody's darling

The man in the white Oxford pressed shirt
held a crippled skull inside his hands
And his feet rested atop
the shoulders of giants.
The candle burned beside his notes
with wick casting gold.
Remember?

There were mounds of dried dirt
that waited for his return home.
And wheels of bicycles
waiting to be rode through wooden paths.
The skyline was a reserve
of little resentment.
Remember now?

Fortified are the final actions
when the man drove past the sign.
There were yellows, blues, and reds
that cascaded down a clouded end.
The mist fell softly on his eyes
and took seconds to brush off.
How can you forget?


Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo

The Reality Of A Teaching Degree

A culture of negativism in modern society is a drawback to alluring productive and effective teachers into the profession. In a time when permissive child bearing and skeptic parents prove only to be a distraction, why might I want to be a teacher? There are the summer vacations, the weeknights and weekends off and the more than gracious compensation, but there is also a reason that may not seem as genuine as a teacher should be. The field of education is, although as susceptible to lay-offs as any other job, a consistent and reliable job opportunity. I do not plan on becoming a teacher after I leave college. I do not plan on becoming a teacher for a number of years after I leave college. I plan on writing. The teaching profession, once certified, holds an opportunity unlike most professions in that no matter what the city, no matter what the town, there will always be a school. Teaching holds the rare opportunity of movement and flexibility that may be needed according to other people’s needs rather than my own. Writing is a selfless field and depending on a marital status or a nomadic status, teaching will exist wherever I am taken to. The hours that are associated with teaching present a unique opportunity to allow myself to write as well as have a full-time job. Writing may be a personal endeavor but to be a teacher, to me, must be nothing short of communal.

Hostile children, and even more hostile parents, may be a deterrent for most but the challenge of rendering both harmless is one I feel I could more than handle. Children do not scare me. Aggressive parents are more comical than threatening. I believe, as Bill Gates once said, “schools are obsolete.” I believe this to be true in techniques of teachers, classroom technology and school system structures. Teachers have been deprived of methodology that may be unsatisfactory to parents. Bluntly put, the parental systems of America are in a decline and have directly effected the teacher and student system. I feel like I will bring a different, yet effective, style of teaching that may challenge certain standards. I don’t feel like the education systems in America can maintain a philosophy shrouded in 1960s regiments. Just as schools must be adapted to modern times so too must teachers and I feel like I will help to usher in this new teacher mentality.

Amongst the most pleasurable things in my life is literature. To teach literature and share my enthusiasm for the written word with others could only prove beneficial. Whether it is Kurt Vonnegut or William Shakespeare, Ernest Hemmingway or Charles Dickens, there is an electricity that can be felt from a sentence. The value I feel teaching has long been proposed to offer would most notably be felt in this capacity. There has been, as with every other student, a teacher that resonates in my mind who inspired me as I could only hope to inspire others. The passion that a teacher must have is palpable and the only thing I feel as passionate about is literature. Being financially compensated, without regard for numbers, is more than enough reason to enter into the field. Classrooms are too static and too drab with students sitting in a chair while teachers speak to them. I would bring a communal sense of learning that would focus on the student’s interaction and social systems with guiding help from myself. Instituting new ideas of teaching and testing these different techniques are what draw me to teaching.

Rebellion is a catalyst for any man and I am no different. I find a chance to express myself in a way in which no other job would allow. Teaching will eventual find its way into my life as I find it to be a point in which the much clichéd “settling down” will occur. Until then, I feel it is necessary to gather life experiences and chase down any other dreams. A man can only live on little wage and boxes of pasta while chasing his dreams for so long and should only have to attempt it while he is young. After that? That is when I will hope to inspire a child to maybe achieve what I never could. And that is fine with me.

The Tide Is High...

Many times the thought of being a ship captain (hell, even a deckhand) has crossed my mind. Today I cruised across the internet super-highway to find that there may be an answer for me yet, and I could bring a friend, or sixty, with me. A ship that I could use for both a business and home would be the most ideal move of my life, not to mention the vessel being historic, located in Martha's Vineyard, and only $15,000? Where do I sign? Read more:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/02/the_islander_mu.html

eBay Find of the Day...

Here is a gem that might just be too hard to pass up. Who knows, maybe even little ol' you could one day be THE Mrs. Jean Claude Van Damme...

http://cgi.ebay.com/MRS-JEAN-CLAUDE-VAN-DAMME-DOUBLE-SIDED-KEYRING_W0QQitemZ220363939913QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_DVD_Film_TV_Film_Memorabilia_LE?hash=item220363939913#ebayphotohosting

'Coraline' Review

A Bit of Bottled Fantasy: Coraline Review

by M. R. Brown

You are Henry Selick, a master of stop-motion animation, a critically acclaimed director and a visionary in your artistic field. What could possibly leave you frustrated after nearly 15 years? It just may be that the majority of moviegoers not only think that Tim Burton is the sole creator of The Nightmare Before Christmas but that he directed it as well. Bringing us yet another entry into his full-length stop motion animation film repertoire, Selick unveils the eye orgasm known simply as Coraline.

The young blue haired Coraline (Dakota Fanning) finds herself moving from her home and friends in Michigan and into a new apartment in the Pink Palace house with her eco-enthusiast mother and father (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman)in Oregon. Wandering through the woods she encounters the loveable yet posture-challenged neighbor Wybie (Robert Bailey Jr.) whom she shuns as little more than a stalker. Upstairs lives the eccentric vaudevillian character Mr. Bobinski (Ian McShane). Neglected by both parents hard at work on their computers, Coraline is left to her own devices and discovers a small door covered by wallpaper. Behind that door? Coraline is thrust into a doppelganger world where fairytale meets film noir, paternal love meets jealous lust and where beauty meets misery. A mirror world in which everyone has buttons sewn on for eyes seems like the perfect paradise at first for Coraline but she soon begins to find an underlying and twisted objective.

Writer Neil Gaiman finds his artistic match with director Henry Selick in their fantasy bastard child Coraline. Gaiman, the noteworthy graphic novel penman, crafts a story ripped from children’s nightmares while Selick deftly brings some of the lushest imagery ever captured on film to fruition. Selick’s eye far outshines Gaiman’s word with, apart from their other selves, static and flat characters. Not since Kung Fu Panda has there been a more wasted talent in cast.

Gaiman’s script, although haunting to an unsuspecting 5 year old, pulls little punches and is often times one of the worst things a fantasy movie can be: predictable. Although the 2002 graphic novel the film is based off won acclaim with both Hugo and Nebula awards, the transition from page to screen leaves a disconnected storyline and sluggish pace. The exciting moments will dig your fingers into the armrests but the rest of the film rests heavily on its visuals.

The film is essentially an arthouse blockbuster that dazzles in presentation but fizzles in dramatics. Without much competition in the post-Oscar movie theatre recession known as February, Coraline safely asserts itself as the must see movie, 3D or not.

Coraline is rated PG and is currently showing at the Regal Cinemas Westborough 12 and Regal Cinemas Solomon Pond Mall 15 in Marlborough.

Between Classes...

Excerpted from Waiting for Lefty (1935) by Clifford Odets:


Agate: "-fight with us for right! It's war! Working class, unite and fight! Tear down the slaughter house of our old lives! Let freedom really ring"



Agate: "HELLO AMERICA! HELLO. WE'RE STORMBIRDS OF THE WORKING-CLASS. WORKERS OF THE WORLD...OUR BONES AND BLOOD! And when we die they'll know what we did to make a new world! Christ, cut us up to little pieces. We'll die for what's right! put fruit trees where our ashes are! Well, what's the answer?
All: STRIKE!
Agate: LOUDER!
All: STRIKE!
Agate and Others on Stage: AGAIN!
All: STRIKE, STRIKE, STRIKE!!!

CURTAIN

Excerpt:

Man 2: There never was a place more filled with fear than here. I see violence, I see hate. I hear where anger rises from and I feel it too. I shake and I tremble at the thoughts founded on means of survival. I see it in a child's eye. Dilated, as though lost in a dark room. Are youth's not conditioned to fear? We are raised on beliefs that there is a lush green tropic out here. Look around you! White may be pure but is it not as empty as black? Our eyes are told to find a sanctity in such vibrancy, but do you not feel as though you are forever falling? All that we eventually arrive to is a broken box of rotten fruit and smokestacks lit to blinding ash.

Man 1: But the flies, how they dance. (Slips away)

Future Tense...

In the future I hope to have two things; happiness and a large bookcase.

You're Welcome...

Because A Teacher's Voice is Muted To Me...

...And down dingy streets I walk and trod. Bannered flags and stringless marionettes. The trains, they pass, till off I'm brought, and left behind is the one red pencil. Together we have seen and awed at the destruction of Babylon to Windsor, fired light to Sodom and Gomorrah, stenciled life to static sillouettes, and left that lonely wife at the corner of 53rd and 3rd. With the back of her hand pressed against her forehead, she is left wondering if it is the heat or the abandonment that controls her actions.

(Her sweat tastes bitter)

25 Things Aboot M.R. & Ana

Here are 25 magical things that might interest you about M.R. & Ana:

1. Ana is Vin Diesel and I am Paul Walker.

2. Our cars are named Montana and Toya. Montana is fatter than Toya.

3. We technically could have the same last name. I kind of wish we did...

4. We share a mutual adoration for Ethan Embry.

5. Ana gets drunk much faster than I do.

6. If we could take one drug: V

7. Bourdain, Lost and True Blood are OUR shows, goddammit.

8. I sweat in my sleep...because Ana runs HOT when she sleeps next to me.

9. We both secretly love seeing Morrissey rip his shirt. Only Ana has witnesses such miracles.

10. We have matching Milan Lucic t-shirts. Mines a M and hers is a S...hers is large on her.

11. Naked children's photos of one another are as good as ones now.

12. We thoroughly enjoy cooking together.

13. Our first joint purchase was Anthony Bourdain's Les-Halles Cookbook.

14. Together we have an extensive record and book collection.

15. The only room I get to design in our apartment would be the bathroom...

16. We both "work" on the newspaper. Ana has yet to write an article in one year's time.

17. We both enjoy the sweet melodies of music but have never frequented a concert together yet...but we've seen countless movies.

18. We stay in and watch movies more than we go out. Ana hates sunlight.

19. Ana is "goober" and I is "bear".

20. The only person to take a photo of us together in the same place is Ana, herself.

21. We have been on one double date. It was to the Olive Garden...and we shared the salad.

22. We are both poor. See above.

23. We both love the ocean.

24. We both have 3/4 sleeve tattoos and anchor tattoos. Mine is prettier.

25. Our asses are something to write home about.

Another Year...

Last night marked yet another chapter in my life as I turned the dreaded 22. There's not too much to look forward to after you hit 21. When you're turning 21 you have massive amounts of, now legal, alcohol and bars. Turning 22 is more a reminder that you have started your year checklist of "Amount of years older than 21". And hell, I'm only 1 in that case, right?All I do know, is that I have everyday to spend with you and that's more to look forward to than any year previous. Thank you for the best birthday in 22 years.

(Birthday #3 was one hell of a time and was tough to beat, but you did it!)

Gran Torino Review

A Long Road To Walk: Gran Torino Review
by M. R. Brown

Clint Eastwood is among the hardest working men in Hollywood. His second directorial effort of the year has him casting himself in a role Dirty Harry Callahan would play, if he were a retired racist. Just as Ernest Hemingway is a man’s writer, Eastwood is a man’s actor. Whether scathing off every racist term imaginable or wielding an M-1 rifle at anything foreign that walks, Eastwood can do no wrong with audiences in Gran Torino.
Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) is a Korean War veteran who has worked in the Detroit auto factories his whole life. After the death of his wife, Kowalski is left alone in a deteriorating neighborhood that has fallen to crime. Shortly following the arrival of new Hmong immigrants in the house next door, Kowalski is awoken by sounds in his garage where new neighbor Thao (Bee Vang) is attempting to steal his prized Gran Torino. Kowalski opts for a less vengeful path after he nearly shoots the boy, recognizing the gang culture that Thao has become mixed up in. Providing solace and a role model to Thao, as well as his sister Sue (Ahney Her), Kowalski is faced with answering to his own prejudices in order to save those around him.
The film centers on social issues of gangs and violence in American immigrant social systems as well as providing a look at the underlying racial attitudes towards these new waves of American immigrants.
Gran Torino is named after the 1972 car that sits in pristine shape locked away in Walt’s garage. Not only is the vehicle a product of the fading American car industry but it is also the last thing that Walt holds dear in his life, along with his dog Daisy and his Pabst Blue Ribbon beers. It is Thao who breaks through the walls of prejudice built up by Walt and begins the transformation of a truly in-depth character study by first time screenwriter Nick Schenk.
The film is surprisingly funny and quick witted. Eastwood’s character even admits that he has “been called a lot of things in his lifetime but funny is not one of them.” The style of mentoring Walt chooses to employ on Thao to help him with the ladies and the banter between he and his barber shows that even at age 78 Eastwood still has range left untapped.
Eastwood has adamantly insisted that this may be his final acting role. As cemented in memory as the Man With No Name, Walt Kowalski is a character befitting the aging icon. Nearly every utterance in the film is as raspy and gritty as though he had a cigar in mouth and twin revolvers in hand.

Gran Torino is rated R and is now showing at Showcase Cinemas Worcester North in Worcester and Blackstone Valley 14: Cinema de Lux in Millbury.

The Wrestler' Review

A Worthy Resurrection: The Wrestler Review

by M. R. Brown

As with most films worth Oscar acclaim, The Wrestler will not be as easily accessible to find in your local theater as other insufferable films such as Bride Wars. The problem? Not only will it be harder for The Wrestler to make money and reach an audience, but the movie must also be more enticing, dare more profound, than these exhibitions in abhorrent cinema in order to draw moviegoers out of their houses and towns to watch it.

Darren Aronofsky crafts a film with true heart and grit, a film that can be noted as nothing short of superb and touching. Randy “The Ram” Robinson (Mickey Rourke) is a battered and tired professional wrestler past his prime who is coming to grips with retirement, self-purpose, loneliness and his own health. He is a failed father of his only daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), who is left to her own devices of raising herself for most of her life. Besides the warmth and adoration shared backstage with young wrestlers, Randy leads a lonely life in which he frequents a strip club to visit love interest Cassidy (Marisa Tomei). After a heart attack following a fight, he must choose to either wallow in a life of working a petty supermarket deli or risk it all for a rematch for the ages.

Transitioning between the two characters of Randy and Cassidy lends insight into the juxtaposition of each one’s lifestyle. Both are entertainers in their own trade, Randy a wrestler and Cassidy a dancer. The difference between the two is Randy is forever unable to leave the only thing in life he can do while Cassidy escapes her job with plans on moving to a better place to raise her child.

Rourke’s performance deserves every bit of recognition it receives. A former hobbyist boxer who fell from grace in his acting career years ago, Rourke gives real-life experience and ache from such events to his character of Randy. He renders any other actor unfit for this role, much like Daniel Day Lewis’ performance as Daniel Plainview the previous year. The endearing film is a must see before it escapes the small theaters and is far more understandable than Aronofsky’s previous movie The Fountain, which to this day still leaves this writer baffled.

The Wrestler is rated R and is currently showing at Showcase Cinemas Worcester North on 135 Brooks St. (Article currently unedited).