Lectures on Acting: Arthur A Seidelman and Jim Jarret

I created this blog to help promote an appreciation of acting and actors. I am an actor myself and study acting at a school called Playhouse West in North Hollywood, California USA. Every now and then there are some lectures for students and actors given by guest speakers. Here some lectures given by two speakers that I found to be very inspirational. If you are an actor looking for inspiration, or an everyday person who wants to learn more about what acting really is, I would highly recommend giving these lectures a listen.

Arthur A Seidelman is an Award winning director of films, television, and plays and has an extensive list of credits. He is a passionate man when it comes to the art of directing and acting. He is originally from New York and studied acting under the teacher Sanford Meisner.


This lecture is titled "What an Actor Needs to Know." This lecture talks about what acting is from an artist's point of view.



This is another followup lecture given by Seidelman titled "Why be an Actor." This lecture touches upon some of the stuff in the first lecture but specifically asks actors to examine why they pursue their craft and challenges them to put their egos aside.. A very inspiring lecture filled with wisdom.

Jim Jarrett is an actor/teacher of an acting school in San Francisco and produces and acts in one man shows including "Vincent" and "Meisner". He also studied acting under Sanford Meisner.

In this lecture Jarrett talks about his own unorthodox path to building a successful acting career after rejecting the Hollywood System. The theme of his lecture is that you don't have to follow the beaten path to success if you know what you want out of your acting career. This lecture is part of a series of lectures he gives on career building. For more information visit his website!

Please Enjoy the wisdom contained in these wonderful lectures!

District 9 (2009)

Saw this movie last weekend in the theatres. Produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Neill Blomkamp, 'District 9' proved to be surprisingly evocative and emotionally moving.

The basic plot is... an Alien mothership becomes disabled over Johannesberg, South Africa. Unable to return home, the insect like aliens live as refugees alongside humans in a makeshift shantytown known as "District 9". 20 years later, human authorities decide to relocate the Aliens to a new area in order to please disgruntled human citizens. The man in charge is an awkwardly enthusiastic and neurotic public servant named Wikus van der Merwe(played by Sharlto Copley). As Wikus and his militarized force of civil servants descend upon the shanty town chaos ensues. After being sprayed by a mysterious black alien fluid that alters his genetics into that of an alien, Wikus finds himself questioning the 'humanity' of himself, his species, and that of the alien 'prawns' he is charged to relocate.

'District 9' is a social commentary on Apartheid in South Africa but can be applied to any form of caste/race based social inequality. The film is shot in a quasi-documentary style that is somewhat unorthodox and may have some film goers wondering what exactly is going on in terms of storytelling. The overall effect is interesting in that while witnessing the brutal injustices inflicted against the aliens, one is not sure whether to laugh or feel disgusted and sympathetic. Over the course of the film it becomes clear who the humane and inhumane are. In this sense Blomkamp is very clever in humanizing the aliens and taking the audience on the psychological and emotional journey from dehumanizing prejudice to empathy.

The main character of Wikus van der Merwe is endearingly played by Sharlto Copley. An awkward, yet enthusiastic and ambitious servant of the state, Wikus resembles a younger version of the bosses in the British and American TV series "The Office." Except rather than being in charge of paper salesmen, he is in charge of an army of social workers backed by paramilitary comandoes riding in APC carriers and scout helicopters. Because of the awkward comedy of his role, it is easy to overlook the emotional intensity and depth of the situations actor Sharlto Copley must act throughout the movie. There are several painful and traumatic experiences the character Wikus goes through in the movie and Sharlto Copley acts this very convincingly and with much emotional depth and sensitivity. His acting lends a sense of humanity and endearingness to the character that would otherwise be rather annoying.

Another thing that I liked in the movie was the writing. The characters are all very well developed. The use of reverse stereotypes is quite clever, such as the cowardly hero, the civilized alien, and the disabled Nigerian warlord, and the Evil Captain of the soldiers. In a normal Hollywood movie, The captain of soldiers would be played by Bruce Willis and be the hero of the story, The Aliens would be savage monsters, the Nigerian Warlord would be athletic but somewhat idiotic, and Wikus would be a traitorous, and cowardly human who gets eaten by an alien.

The one thing 'District 9' does tackle head on is graphic violence and action. It is quite graphic and grisly as one would expect an alien movie to be and fans of this genre will not be disappointed. Originally intended to be a movie version of Halo, before the project went under, the movie has lots of cool effects and technologies reminiscent of the game. There is a cool action sequence towards the end involving a huge mechanized robotic suit seen in the trailers that is very cool. All said and done this was a very cool film and one of the better one's I've seen in quite a while. Did I mention it was cool?

Just in case you are still on the fence on seeing this one, you might like this movie if you liked:
Aliens, Shawn of the Dead, Spinal Tap, E.T., The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Avatar

Logan and Noah Miller's "Touching Home" featuring Ed Harris

Here is a clip from another film at the Playhouse West Film Festival. the Miller Bros. "Touching Home" starring Noah and Logan Miller and also Ed Harris. This movie featured stellar acting and the story of and behind the film was very powerful inspiring. This film is a great example of grass roots independent film making and the power passion, love, and dedication have in realizing a dream. Here's an interview that explains their story...



here is their official website http://www.touchinghomemovie.com/

Trailer for Scott Cann's 'Mercy'

We just screened this film at the Playhouse West Film Festival. It was awesome and won a bunch of awards. Superbly acted, written, directed. everything. As a committee member I was so glad this film was submitted. This is a quality film!

The Piano Teacher(2001) aka. La Pianiste

Director: Michael Haneke
Writer: Michael Haneke (writer). Elfriede Jelinek (novel)
Starring:Isabelle Huppert, Annie Girardot, Benoît Magimel

What do you get when you combine an aging, eccentric, piano teacher prone to masochism and a handsome, young rake who likes to play ice hockey and Schumann…? You get director Michael Haneke’s film The Piano Teacher.


This film stars Isabelle Huppert as the eccentric Erika Kohut, a professor of classical piano at a respected musical conservatory in Vienna who lives with her overbearing, co-dependant mother. Except for the fact that living with her mother drives Erika to pursue hobbies such as voyeurism, pornography, and self-mutilation, everything is going hunky dory in Erika’s life. That is until she meets a dashing, young, but talented, electrical engineer/pianist named Walter Klemmer (Benoît Magimel). The two meet at a piano recital where they both are performing. Walter begins his romantic pursuit of the icy Erika with a seductive performance of Schumann. Little does Monsieur Klemmer know that he may be in for more than he bargained for…

The Piano Teacher garnered several film awards including the Cannes Grand Prize of the Jury award and also the Best Actor and Best Actress awards. Isabelle Huppert’s performance as Erika Kohut is so amazing. She is pure genius in this role.

Benoît Magimel is also superb as the dashing young suitor Walter Klemmer. His acting is very human and unapologetic in its portrayal of a young man who totally loses his grip on reality while pursuing the woman he desires.

Another performance worth mentioning is that of the Annie Girardot who plays Erika’s mother. The scenes between Girardot and Huppert are so layered and well acted.

If you watch the DVD, it features a very fascinating interview with Huppert herself. Huppert talks about the making of the film as well as her own views on acting. It is very interesting to see how her real life behavior compares to her behavior in the movie. A very educational interview for any actor.

The Piano Teacher is a film about love and seduction. The main character of Erika Kohut struggles with her desire for love and her fears of being seduced. The actions she takes to avoid the pain of seduction ultimately contribute to her greater downfall. Due to the graphic nature of it's depiction of rape and themes of sexual perversity, viewers be warned, while a french film, this movie is not really a first date movie... unless of course your date happens to be an only child piano teacher with an overbearing mother and a proclivity towards pornographic films, voyeurism, and masochistic self-mutilation. That said, this movie is an example of acting and story telling at it’s finest.

If you watched this movie and liked it you may also like the following movies:

Dangerous Liaisons, The Libertine, 2046, In The Mood For Love, I Heart Huckabees, Last Tango in Paris, Ma Mére

Infernal Affairs(2003)

Everyone has seen or at least knows about the awesome film The Departed starring Leonardo Dicaprio, Mat Dammon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Martin Sheen. But did you know that The last two thirds of The Departed is actually based on a hong kong film called Infernal Affairs? This movie was made in 2004 and features several big name Hong Kong actors including, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Andy Lau, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Kelly Chen and Sammi Cheng. The movie was such a hit in Hong Kong that it inspired a prequel Infernal Affairs 2 and a sequel Infernal Affairs 3, and obviously Martin Scorsese’s The Departed.

The basic story is mostly the same as The Departed. An undercover cop named Chen Wing-Yan(Tony Leung) infiltrates deep into a Triad gang. Meanwhile a Triad gang member Lau Kin-Ming(Andy Lau) infiltrates the Hong Kong police force. While each man gathers intelligence for his organization, the stresses of leading a dual life begin to take their toll.

I liked the fact that, while very similar to its American counterpart, Infernal Affairs is different not just in terms of plot but also in the overall “feel” of the movie. The best way I can describe it is that it focuses more on group dynamics rather than on individual character arcs. Don’t get me wrong, the characters are strong in both movies, but where The Departed emphasizes the perspective of each individual, Infernal Affairs highlights the “game theory” and strategizing aspects of the story. In Infernal Affairs, the characters seem to be almost pawns in a game through which they must constantly navigate in order to survive. A good example is the first “battle” scene of the movie. In Infernal Affairs, the teamwork that goes on between the two groups of the mobsters and the police is emphasized . There is a dramatic scene between the two rival factions when the head mobster and his gang are hauled into the police department for questioning. The showdown between the superintendent(Anthony Wong Chau-Sang) and the head boss Hon Sam(Eric Tsang Chi-wai) further serves to highlight the rivalry between the two groups. Another gem of a scene that is different from the American version was a scene where Tony Leung’s character, Yan, and his Mafia friend Keung(Chapman To Man-Chat) escape in the gun battle of the second act. In this scene the two share an intimate moment of brotherhood among thieves before the unknowing Keung dies from a gunshot wound. This scene not only is very poignant, but serves to emphasize the deep emotional entanglement between Yan and his fellow mobsters. An aspect only alluded to in The Departed with regards to Billy Costigan’s character.

There is one similarity that really stuck out to me. In The Departed, Mark Wahlberg’s portrayal of Staff Sergeant Sean Dignam really kicked ass. His obnoxious attitude and the “hand on his hip” acting was quite a knockout. It is interesting to note that in Infernal Affairs the actor who plays the corresponding character of Inspector Cheung, Chapman To Man-Chat, also acts many of his scenes with “hand on his hip” acting technique. Clearly Mark Wahlberg is an awesome actor in that he knew what was right for the character and the scene and wasn’t afraid to borrow from genius.

All in all, Infernal Affairs is an awesome movie. While similar to The Departed, it also has it’s own unique story aspects and stylistic approach to telling the story with an emphasis on the overall character dynamics rather than individual character arcs.






If you liked this movie you might also like:

The Departed, Hard Boiled, In The Mood For Love, 2046, Bullet in the Head.

DOUBT(2009)

A popular and friendly priest is suspected by the head nun of sexually molesting a black alter boy. Sister Beauvier accuses the Father Flynn of the crime she suspects he has committed, while he vehemently denies his guilt. What ensues is a game of cat and mouse in which the lines of truth are grayed and blurred. Things become even more complicated when Sister Beauvier learns from the boy’s mother that the boy, who is very bonded to Father Flynn, is gay. The characters as well as the audience begin to question their ability to ascertain the truth in a world shrouded by secrecy and the protocols of formality.

Written and Directed by John Patrick Shanley and based on a play by the same name, the story line is very artfully contrived. The interesting thing about both the play and the movie is that it is up to the audience to decide whether or not the purported acts that took place are fact or fiction. This makes Doubt one of those movies that is not meant to merely be watched but to be experienced. It is a heavy movie. It’s the kind of movie you will think about and ponder over for many days or weeks after having watched it. If you like movies that make you a different person after watching them, then you will appreciate this film.

There are several great performances in this film. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep are both exceptional in their roles as hunter and hunted.

Hoffman is expert at playing a progressive-minded man who is obviously wracked a torturous secret. Whether he is a very principled man, or a very sneaky manipulative liar is left to the audience’s interpretation.

Meryl Streep is eccentric yet very human in her role as the mean, terrorizing nun who is willing to do anything to keep her flock in line. For her the ends justify the means. Streep adds a sense of pathos and humanity to a character that would otherwise appear simply cruel, backwards, and unsympathetic.

Other great performances are that of Amy Adams who plays the seemingly innocent and naïve character of the boy’s teacher, Sister James. She gives a very layered performance as well as a woman who struggles with her true belief in the supremacy of goodness and love in the face of all that is going on around her.

Another actress of high merit is Viola Davis who plays the boy’s mother. She has a very powerful scene with Meryll Streep in which she pleads with the Sister to stop investigating her son and the priest's involvement. She is great at playing the role of a woman who has endured the reality of life's injustice and indignities and is desperately fighting for her child’s well-being and future the best way she knows how.

This movie has great performances and is freaking phenomenal in terms of writing and direction. There is a saying that all great art leaves the viewer a different person after watching it and this movie does just that.






If you liked this movie you may also enjoy the following:

Capote, The Devil Wears Prada, Catch Me If You Can, I Confess, Mystic River, Moonstruck.

REVOLUTIONARY ROAD(2008)

This movie is the bomb. Ever wonder what would happen if Jack from “Titanic” survived the freezing waters of the Atlantic and got married to Rose, settled down and had kids? What would their lives have been like? Would they have the perfect family and fairytale romance? Or would they become disillusioned with each other once the monotony of reality set in constantly argue with each other and make themselves miserable? Watch “Revolutionary Road” and you can find out what might have happened to them…

If you want to watch a movie with hard hitting acting, a good story, and a hefty dose of Stepfordian socio-domestic drama look no further. Both DiCaprio and Winslet deliver amazing performances of great emotional depth and insight. They deftly portray a young couple’s desperate struggle to break free from the drab confines of a 1950’s Connecticut suburbia known as Revolutionary Estates.

What I liked about “Revolutionary Road” was that it really humanizes the domestic struggles faced by middle-class suburban American couples of the 1950’s.
We see a young couple, Frank and April Wheeler, starting off with dreams, aspirations, and the belief in their own unique superiority as a happily married couple with a great future ahead of them. Over the course of the movie, we see the couple gradually compromise their ideals, dreams, and beliefs, eventually succumbing to the suburban reality that traps and confines them.

There are so many amazing moments of acting in “Revolutionary Road”. Leonardo DiCaprio brings it like a champ as Frank Wheeler, a salesman for Knox Business Machines who desperately wants to become a man worthy of his family all the while denying his own underlying need to discover his own personal passions and desires.

Meanwhile, Kate Winslet is both poignant and human in her role as a failed actress turned housewife whose deep seated need to be special causes her to devote her life to her husband and family at the expense of her self integrity and self-will.

There are also other amazing actors in this film. The most notable is Michael Shannon who steals scenes like a bandit in his role as John Givens, the formerly institutionalized son of the couple’s real estate agent. Shannon gives a strikingly brilliant performance as the one person who is able to see through the falseness of the couple’s lives and calls it how it is.

I would strongly recommend this movie to people who want to watch really good acting combined with good writing. Revolutionary Road takes the story of a seemingly idyllic, and in some sense typical, family unit from the 1950’s and shows what goes on underneath on the human level when people sacrifice their true dreams and ideals for the sake of appearances. The Wheelers are “that family”. The couple that started off with so much promise only to wind up in the end just another casualty of the 1950’s middle class suburban American dream.






If you liked this movie some other movies I'd recommend are:

The Departed, Titanic, American Beauty

A Streetcar Named Desire

director: Elia Kazan
Starring: Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter and Karl Malden
Writer: Tenessee Williams


“STELLLAAAAA!!!!!!”

Originally a play by the playwrite Tennessee Williams, A Streetcar Named Desire has been parodied in popular culture on countless TV sitcoms, radio shows, improv skits and movies. Many a macho American male, seeking to demonstrate his masculine sensitivity and theatrical prowess, has belted this cry at one time or another. Usually to the mild perturbation of the opposite sex. But why? The answer is simple…

Marlon Brando.

Prior to seeing this film, the American public had no inkling of Modern Acting. While Brando had stared in another film The Men a year earlier, A Streetcar Named Desire is the film that put the young actor on the map. It was also a film that forever changed the landscape of American film acting grounded in dramatic realism.

Summary:

Blanche Dubois – a fragile, manipulative southern belle with a healthy streak of alcoholism, and a propensity for grandiose self-delusion– pops into the lives of her sister Stella and her sister’s husband Stanley Kowalski. She arrives on the pretense of taking a vacation from her job as a school teacher. It turns out that the real reason she is there is cause she was fired from her job after seducing a 17-year-old student. Underlying all her troubles is the emotional scar of the suicide of her girlhood fiancé. In short Blanche is a crazy crazy-maker who seeks to live in a world of fairytale southern hospitality.

When she arrives at her sister’s house, Blanche is immediately dismayed to see her sister in a co-dependant marriage with the brutal, earthy, emotionally and physically abusive Stanley Kowalski. She openly disapproves of Stanley’s treatment of her sister Stella. Stanley, who cannot stand the pretentiousness of Blanche’s manipulative ways, sees her as a threat to the couple’s marriage. He seeks to divest her of her delusions and this culminates in his raping Blanche who in turn suffers a total mental breakdown.

Why this movie is flipping awesome:

Ok. I still remember seeing this movie at 19 years old in my college film library and being thoroughly impressed. After seeing Brando’s performance I had a solid understanding of what good acting truly was. This was the movie that set the bar for modern American film acting and his name was Marlon Brando. It is important when watching this movie to keep in mind the fact that prior to this film, acting grounded in dramatic realism was not really seen much on films in the United States.

That said, Marlon Brando’s acting is simply genius. Brando’s acting is charged with raw emotional energy and firmly grounded in the reality of the moment. If there is a textbook performance for good acting, this is it.

Vivian Leigh is also annoyingly good as Blanche Dubois. Watching her act against Brando is like watching a caterpillar get mauled by a gang of army ants. She is nowhere as phenomenal as Brando, but does justice to her part and fits the role to a tee.

Kim Hunter is good as Stella. It’s a shame she was blacklisted during the McCarthy Era, as it seems to have tempered her career during that time. She is very nurturing as Stella and it is no wonder that she also played the benevolent ape, Zira, in the original planet of the Apes.

Karl Malden is pretty good as Stanley's friend who tries to get romantic with the Crazy Southern Belle Ms. Dubois.

Summation:

This movie is a must see for all actors and anyone who is interested in learning about acting. Great performances. Brando is a textbook for good acting.

Other movies I would recommend if you liked this one are:

Young Lions, On the Waterfront, The Wild One, Sweet Bird of Youth, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

The Harp of Burma(1956)

director: Kon Ichikawa
Starring: Rentaro Mikuni, Shoji Yasui,


The Harp of Burma aka The Burmese Harp is a Japanese anti-war film originally produced in 1956. It is about a Japanese soldier who travels across Burma disguised as a monk during the aftermath of the Japanese surrender. Based on a children’s novel by the author Takeyama Michio, it won many awards and accolades at the time of it’s release including an honorable mention in the Venice Film Festival and the first ever San Giorgio Prize after tying with the winner. The movie itself is kinda a tearjerker so if you like sad movies about departures you will like this one.


Summary:

The setting is Burma 1945. A platoon of Japanese soldiers is patrolling the jungles of Burma. Led by a Captain Inouye that used to be a music teacher, they are a rather strange bunch who enjoy singing English ballads in four part harmonies during their breaks. One of them, a corporal named Mizushima, accompanies them on the Burmese harp.

While camping out in a Burmese village, the soldiers learn that the war is over when their camp is peacefully overtaken by Allied forces. Most of the group is shipped back to a prison camp to be processed and sent home.
Before leaving Captain Inouye sends Mizushima on a volunteer mission to help negotiate the surrender of Japanese forces further north.

Mizushima goes on the mission, but when he arrives the soldiers refuse to surrender and, except for the private, they are all killed in the ensuing battle. The private flees the battlefield, traveling across Burma disguised as a monk. One day he spots his old platoon on the road returning to the prison camp from a work detail but he does not acknowledge them.

Back at camp, Captain Inouye is convinced that the monk they saw is Mizushima. He and his men organize an elaborate way to communicate with Mizushima asking him to return home with them using a parrot and song.


What I liked about this movie:

Acting-wise, there are some real gems. Shôji Yasui gives a very sensitive performance as private Mizushima, a man who is torn between his desire to return home and the fact that he is forever changed by the experience of war. Rentaro Mikuni is very likeable as Captain Inouye. He gives a moving speech at the end of the film while reading a letter from his fellow soldier and friend. There are many other performances that are quite interesting including the other soldiers in Mizushima's platoon and an old Burmese lady who helps the soldiers in the prison camp.


Summation:

The movie is really poetic in it’s storytelling in a way that is quite endearing and almost surreal at times.. The idea of a group of soldiers who sing in chorus while on break from patrol might seem pretty preposterous considering that they would be ambushed and killed in a second. However, if one is open to the fact that the movie is more of an allegorical piece than a realistic one a whole experience opens up. Early on in the movie there is a spectacular scene where the soldiers are serenading

Ichikawa is a very good storyteller and his visuals are very beautiful and ghostly. The movie is in black and white and I would love to see the color version that was produced in 1985.


Other movies I would recommend if you liked this one are:

In the Mood For Love, The Burmese Harp(1985), The Thin Red Line, The Deer Hunter.

The Dark Knight(Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Ekhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Garry Oldman, Morgan Freeman)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Ekhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Garry Oldman, Morgan Freeman

This movie is a dark action movie. It is also the best Batman film I have seen so far. It is a non-stop rollercoaster complimented with a heavy dose of good acting. While The Dark Knight is a long movie, the action scenes keep you on the edge of your seat throughout and the characters are all well acted. And on top of everything the story is quite good encompassing various themes-- mainly people's capacity for evil and heroism and the fine line that distinguishes the two. I myself am not much a fan for the superhero genre of movies that are popular these days, but I have to say this movie kicks ass

Summary:

So "The Batman" is a vigilante who is kicking all the criminals' asses in Gotham City. He is secretly the millionaire playboy business mogul Bruce Wayne. In their desperation, the criminals of Gotham hire a freakazoid mastermind named The Joker to assasinate "The Batman" so that they can roam the streets of Gotham once again. As the Joker's plot to eliminate "The Batman unfolds", so does the action!

What makes this movie so Bat-Great?!

One word...

HEATH LEDGER.

I say "one" word because this performance of the late Mr. Ledger is one that will no doubt secure his place in hollywood as a screen legend and icon. His characterization of The Joker is absolutely amazing. Dangerous, cunning, and definitely crazy, Heath Ledger's Joker is a very scary but at the same time likeable in a tragic and charismatic outcast freak sort of way. Ledger's performance hijacks the film like a viral infection and I after his first appearance in the film I found myself waiting and wondering what the Joker was going to do next. What impressed me most about this performance was the emotional intensity of his role. Ledger looks like he is really going crazy!

Not that the other acting is bad either. All the other actors are very good in their own right. Christian Bale is a good batman. His dark stoicism is a perfect foil for the Joker.

Michael Caine is a scene stealer as usual in the role of Alfred, Batman's butler. Gary Oldman is good and father figurey as the Police Commisioner Gordon. And Morgan Freeman is, well, Morgan Freemanish, in his role of Lucius Fox, the chief inventor and #2 of Wayne Enterprises.

Aaron Eckhart is very Geraldo Riveraesque in his role of Harvey Dent/Two Face and Maggie Gyllenhall is very expert at playing Batman's ex-girlfriend Rachel Dawes aka "that self-righteous arrogant hipster chick who thinks she's hot shit and broke your heart."

In Summation:

The Dark Knight is an awesome movie. The action and suspense is very gripping and entertaining and garaunteed to keep your heart pumping throughout the whole 2
hour and 32 minute length of it. This movie is filled with good acting and a great premise, but the main attraction is Heath Ledger as The Joker. Damn fine acting in a brilliant, action-packed
movie!!!

Other Movies You Might Like If you Liked This One:

Batman(1989), Batman Begins, Candy

Last Tango In Paris(Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider)

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Starring: Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider

Ever wonder what goes on in the mind of a middleaged american expat as he goes through a midlife crisis? Then watch Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango In Paris and prepare to be blown away with awe and disgust. Not for the faint of heart, this movie delves into some of the darkest places of the post 50's American male psyche. Marlon Brando is simply so amazing in this movie in terms of his viscerality and unabashed emotional frankness.

Summary:

Paul(Marlon Brando), an aging american expat who lives in France is trying to figure out what to do with his life after his French wife has commited suicide. He is left stuck with the burden of living in their apartment building surrounded by everything that reminds him of his life with her. So monsieur Paul decides to rent out a flat across the street where he can get away. The only problem is that the flat is also rented out by a young french student actress named Jeanne(Maria Schneider) who is looking for a flat to share with her young filmmaker/fiance. Both Paul and Jeanne recognize the desire in eachother for human connection and an escape from life's realities and become lovers. The only condition is that, at Paul's insistance, they never reveal eachother's names.

In their cloistered world, the two are able to explore and reveal themselves to each other in a way that is simply impossible to do in the outside world. They let it all hang out... the good, the bad, and the ugly. The question of this movie is whether or not this relationship will survive in the outside world. What will happen?

Why is this movie Flippin' awesome?:

OK. This movie is not for everyone. It is pretty slow, and rather dark. The overall tone of the story is sad, brooding and somewhat lethargic. Then there is that infamous "butter scene". The story is about people bearing their deepest, darkest souls to each other and these people are not exactly happy well-adjusted people.

BUT...

This movie has some of the most visceral, relaxed acting ever to be seen on film since the invention of the film camera. There is a monologue that Marlon Brando delivers to his dead wife where he just goes to pieces. It is quite rare to see such raw footage on film. I would have to say that it is the most emotionally raw speech I have ever seen delivered on film.

Maria Schneider is good too playing across Marlon Brando. She captures the spirit of a disillusioned precocious young girl who gets in over her head. Years later, she would say in interviews that she regretted doing the film, especially the "butter scene"(which was a last minute improvisation added to the film). She also said that, to her frustration, her professional acting career would never outlive her performance in that role.

In fact Marlon Brando, too, would look on the filming of that movie with ambivalence saying that it was the most painful experience he had to endure in his acting career and from which he learned to guard against investing too personally in a role. He too felt rather hoodwinked by the director, Bertolucci, saying that he felt raped and manipulated on set.

As awful as it sounds for the actors, this translates into really amazing performances for audiences to watch. Both Brando and Schneider give gritty performances that are more exposed and raw than you have ever seen in your life!

In Summation:

Last Tango in Paris is an ugly film. But it is a sorta ugliness mixed with beauty. The kind that you can see when you watch someone picking their nose unawares. The film is a milestone for cinema in the intimacy that is captured on screen. A must see for fans of film and acting alike!

Other films you might like if you liked this film:

Apocalypse Now, Streetcar Named Desire, The Libertine, 2046

Tom Hanks is an awesome actor..

Here is an amazing scene with Tom Hanks from Philadelphia. The man is a genius. He lets the music do the acting for him! Denzel's cool too...

like what you see? Never seen this one before? Then, go watch the movie!

The Man Who Cried(Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, John Turtturo, Johnny Depp)

Director: Sally Potter

Starring: Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchette, John Turturro, Johnny Depp

This movie is about outcasts and drifters. People on the fringes of society who are trying to find the place where they belong. If you like movies with Vagabond Gypsies, Jewish Refugees, Russian Ex-pat dancers and Italian Opera singers who are all trying to deal with the Nazi invasion, you will like this movie.

Summary:

Susie(Christina Ricci) is a Jewish refugee from Russia who wants to go to America to search for her missing father. She finds herself working as a chorus girl in France just in time for the Nazi invasion of Europe. Her only friends are a dancer named Lola(Cate Blanchette) and a Gypsy horseman named Cesar(Johnny Depp).

Why This Movie is Flipping Awesome:

There are some awesome performances with this movie. All the actors are superb in their roles.

Christina Ricci and Cate Blanchett both give great performances in this movie. Both are equally awesome but in different ways. Ricci is plays a very quiet Russian Jewish girl who is forced to assimilate into English culture but yearns to reunite with her long lost father. She is very beautiful in a mysterious way and her performance is quite subtle. Blanchett is a seductive dancing diva who befriends Ricci while also adopting the role of a sexual madonna to enrapture the Italian tenor Dante Dominio(John Turturro).

Turturro himself is quite the arrogant bastard as usual in most of his films. Ultimately he is a man who seeks station in life through his musical talents. So much so that he would do anything for it. Even at the expense of his moral integrity.

Johnny Depp has the least lines in the movie, but his performance is incredible. He alone is a reason to watch this movie from an actor's standpoint. What he conveys with a mere gesture or look speaks volumes.

Summation:

This movie is rather subtle, but it is quite good. Acting wise the cast is excellent. The story is good if you like romantic stories about people searching for lost loved ones. Another really strong feature of the movie is the soundtrack. The use of music in the film is masterfully done and heightens the sense of emotion and lyrical beauty in each scene.

Movies you might like if you liked this one:

Edward Scissorhands, The Libertine, Black Snake Moan, The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou, Chocolat

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?(Sidney Poitier, Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy)

Director: Stanley Kramer

Starring: Sidney Poitier, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn

Released in 1967, when Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? was being filmed, marriage between African Americans and Caucasians was still illegal in 14 U.S. states. This was probably the first film to discuss the topic of interracial marriages openly and the possibility that they would eventually become accepted as mainstream. There are also lots of moments of good acting in it.

Summary:

A wealthy, white, liberal couple- Matt(Spencer Tracy) and Christina(Katherine Hepburn) Dreyton- is suddenly faced with the fact that their only daughter is determined to marry a

black doctor whom she has brought home to dinner. On top of it all Joey(Katherine Houghton) and Dr. Wade Prentic

e(Sidney Poitier) are determined to be married within the week. The Dreytons suddenly find that they are forced to live up to the liberal values they claim to espouse. Things get even more contraversial when Dr. Prentice's parents are added to the mix.

Why This Movie is Flippin Awesome:

Not only was this movie was revolutionary for it's time, it also has some good acting performances as well. Sidney Poitier gives a very masterful and dignified performance. He delivers a great speech towards the end of the movie to his father that sums up the frustration of post civil rights blacks regarding the racialist mentality of pre civil rights blacks. Poitier's speech is both filed with anger and love for his father and shows both passion and sensitivity. The clarity and specificity with which Poitier conveys his thoughts and actions are something any actor ought to pay close attention to.

Katherine Hepburn won the oscar for this particular performance and it is clear to see why. She is very sensitive and emotionally primed throughout every scene. There is an interesting story about this actually. She and Spencer Tracy were secret lovers for many many years. Although madly

in love, Tracy would not divorce his wife was because he did not want to break his Catholic vows of marriage. On top of all this, while filming this movie Spencer Tracy was a hardcore alchoholic and dying of cancer. He was to succumb six months after the filming of this movie. There is a speech that Tracy gives towards the end of the film that basically sums up their relationship. And Katherine Hepburn answers his speech with a display of feeling and passion that can only be brought forth on those rare occasions when art is mirrors life.

Another good performance was that of Beah Richards, Sidney Poitier's mom. She is very dignified and soulful in the role of a mother who wants the best for her son and who is actually much more forward thinking than her husband.

Summation:

This film played a groundbreaking role in bringing mainstream acceptance of interracial dating to american culture. While the drama of this film is a little hokey at times, the ideas discussed are what is important and are what make this film a landmark film. On top of that the acting between Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy is quite touching and adds a very intriguing element of drama to the whole story.

Other movies you might like if you liked this movie:

To Sir With Love, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Bringing up Baby

The Flyboys(Tom Sizemore, Stephen Baldwin, Reiley McClendon, Jesse James)

director: Rocco DeVilliers
Starring: Jesse James, Reiley McClendon, Stephen Baldwin, Tom Sizemore
Writers: Jason DeVilliers. Rocco Devilliers, Richard Dutcher

Remember back in the day when you were a kid and rode bikes around the neighborhood with your best friend? Remember all the crazy adventures you dreamed up of being kidnapped by mafia goons and sneaking onto planes and being chased by thugs who want to kick your ass? Imagine if all of that stuff happened in real life in a believable yet amazing way. Combine it with good story writing and incredible acting performances and you have the independent feature film The Flyboys.

Summary:
The plot of this movie starts off pretty simple. Kyle(Reiley McClendon), the new kid at school, befriends a kid named Jason(Jesse James) after defending him from getting beat up by the school bully. The two boys develop an instant friendship and Jason shows Kyle his favorite hangout spot.. The local airfield. The two sneak on a private plane and a series of amazing adventures ensue featuring the mob, explosions, tons of action and adventure. This was a good movie.

Why this movie is flipping awesome:

I saw this independent movie at a special screening this past weekend at The Playhouse West Film Festival in North Hollywood. It was freaking awesome. In fact it was so awesome that I am writing a special review for it. This film is a film for all ages and has child stars, but it isn’t just a kid’s film. I would say this is a coming of age film about friendship, brotherhood and courage that can also be appreciated by kids. A film with a true heart and soul.

Reiley McClendon(right) gives a kick ass performance as the new kid in town who moves around a lot. He really captures the sense of bravery and independence that kind of childhood can cultivate in a kid. He tries to do the right thing even if it means pissing off assholes bigger than him. A scrappy kid, he doesn’t take shit from anyone.

Jesse James(left) is the perfect compliment to McClendon as the kid who gets picked on and wants to be brave but just doesn’t know how. The two boys make a good pair and they both are awesome actors.

Tom Sizemore and Stephen Baldwin play brother mobsters who mirror the main characters’ situations as adults. They bring the adult element to the whole story with sensitivity and soul. Both actors give some damn good performances and by the end of the movie I was moved to tears by the emotions and feelings their relationship evoked.

On top of the movie’s soulfulness is a healthy dose of action and adventure. The action scenes in the movie involve planes and cars and guns, etc… I was pretty impressed. The film makers involved in this project were able to put just enough action to skirt the outer edges of reality without making the movie totally unbelievable. Given the film’s indie budget, I was impressed cause the action scene’s are worthy of any multimillion Hollywood Action/Adventure movie.

Another surprise was the talkback with the Film’s creators. As awesome as this movie was, they were not able to get distribution by any major film studio’s. The impression was that the studio execs were stuck on the idea that this movie was a kids movie and the adult themes were a little too complex to market to kids. That was pretty amazing cause this movie is a good ass movie that could easily become a classic American adventure movie in ten years time.

Summation:

Because this movie is not yet widely distributed, you are going to have to check it out at special screenings until some lucky studio picks it up. To learn more about the movie go to their official website.

Other movies I would recommend if you liked this one are:
E.T., Forrest Gump, The Goonies, Saving Private Ryan.