Well, it has been a good run, but I think it's time to now wrap this up. I'm still on the web, and I've even started a new blog: The Superfluity.
I suppose that I could have just continued to write here, but I think it was time for a change. I was the Big Bad Wolf before I started writing this blog, and I will continue to be so, but I think One Big Bad Wolf just needs to be something that I wrote and no longer something that I write. Maybe that makes sense, maybe it doesn't, but this is how it is. So long, farewell, and, most importantly, I'll see you over here.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Sunset
In the category of, "Well, DUH," I am bringing the One Big Bad Wolf blog to an official end within the next two posts. (That will make it an even 700 entries. I like round numbers.)
Obviously I haven't written much in the last couple of months, but that isn't because I haven't had anything to write. I just didn't feel that this blog was the place to write it. However, I didn't write it anywhere else because this blog still exists. I think that One Big Bad Wolf had its run, and I really need to move on to something else. The best way for me to do that is to wrap things up here. I'll leave this up as an archive of sorts, but. within the next day or so, I am not going to write here anymore.
I'm actually starting a new blog, and I will tell you more about that in the next entry. I started One Big Bad Wolf for a specific purpose, and, when I was no longer interested in that purpose, I struggled to keep finding things to write about that seemed to fit within the parameters I had set. I even expanded the parameters, but it never really rang true - not for me, anyway. I've done a few "re-boots" on this blog, but, ultimately, I think what I need is a completely fresh start. I'm planning a fresh start in my off-line life as well, so the timing just seems right.
It's been fun, and I hope that One Big Bad Wolf added something to your lives as readers - even if only a little bit. I'm not exactly going away, either, I'm just starting a new chapter in my blogging.
More on that in the next entry.
Obviously I haven't written much in the last couple of months, but that isn't because I haven't had anything to write. I just didn't feel that this blog was the place to write it. However, I didn't write it anywhere else because this blog still exists. I think that One Big Bad Wolf had its run, and I really need to move on to something else. The best way for me to do that is to wrap things up here. I'll leave this up as an archive of sorts, but. within the next day or so, I am not going to write here anymore.
I'm actually starting a new blog, and I will tell you more about that in the next entry. I started One Big Bad Wolf for a specific purpose, and, when I was no longer interested in that purpose, I struggled to keep finding things to write about that seemed to fit within the parameters I had set. I even expanded the parameters, but it never really rang true - not for me, anyway. I've done a few "re-boots" on this blog, but, ultimately, I think what I need is a completely fresh start. I'm planning a fresh start in my off-line life as well, so the timing just seems right.
It's been fun, and I hope that One Big Bad Wolf added something to your lives as readers - even if only a little bit. I'm not exactly going away, either, I'm just starting a new chapter in my blogging.
More on that in the next entry.
Monday, August 15, 2011
Coriolanus Run-down
So, I may have mentioned before that I am directing a staged reading of The Tragedy of Coriolanus.
Tomorrow. (I know. I suck at self-promotion.)
It's been an interesting process, I've only known I was doing it since the first part of July, so we have been working on a very abbreviated schedule - even for a staged reading. Plus, this is one of Shakespeare's plays with which not a lot of people are familiar. I'm not sure why that is. It's a really good play. I'm drawn to it because I personally identify very strongly with the title character. (Come to the reading and see if you can figure out why.)
Before I forget, here are the details:
August 16, 7pm at the Grant-Humphreys Mansion at 770 Pennsylvania. Tickets are $10 cash at the door. (It's a fund-raiser for the Byers-Evans Theatre Company and they aren't set up to take credit cards just yet.)
The cast:
Caius Marcius Coriolanus - Randy Diamon
Menenius - Eric Field
Aufidius - Doug Tisdale
Volumnia - Karen Krause
Sicinius - Matt Channing
Brutus - Russ Nielsen
Cominius - Dave Cuomo
Virgilia - Melissa Huff
Lartius - Paul Stuko
Valeria - Anita Harkess
What a talented and devoted cast! Again, this has been a really different experience. The thing about being fortunate enough to have talented performers for your reading is that, because they're talented, they're in pretty high demand. We have had to rehearse much of the play out of order depending upon who was available to rehearse and when. I have to say, I am absolutely astounded at how well this play is coming together. That speaks to the talent and commitment of this cast, and I really hope that you can come see and hear them tell this story.
Now, last night, I asked the cast members present if there was anything I could do to help make Tuesday's performance go as smooth as possible. Now, the first request of a $2500 stipend I could not accommodate, but the second request of a scene-by-scene synopsis was a really good idea. As I said, we have been rehearsing out of order quite a bit, so a chronological synopsis would definitely help to put things in the proper context. So, I sat down this morning and wrote one, which I e-mailed to the actors. They seemed to like it quite a bit, and even asked if we could make it the program for the reading.
Well, I don't know about that, but I guess I could at least share it here on my blog. (I have no idea if this will read the same for you as it did for them because of the context):
Volscian camp before Rome
Menenius: “Hey, yo, Coriolanus, buddy-”
Coriolanus: “Nope.”
Menenius: “Uh oh.”
ACT V, Scene 3
Volscian Camp before Rome
Mom lays out a guilt trip. Coriolanus folds.
ACT V, Scene 4
Rome
Menenius: “We are so screwed.”
Messenger: “Telegram for Menenius: Rome is saved. Stop. Volumnia succeeded where you failed. Stop.”
Menenius: “Smartass.”
ACT V, Scene 5
Rome
GIRL POWER! GIRL POWER!
ACT V, Scene 6
Aufidius: “This guy just can’t stop screwing me over. I want to kill him.”
Coriolanus: “I can’t believe I caved like that. I wish someone would just stab me in the belly.”
END
There is actually a bit more to this show. Come see.
Tomorrow. (I know. I suck at self-promotion.)
It's been an interesting process, I've only known I was doing it since the first part of July, so we have been working on a very abbreviated schedule - even for a staged reading. Plus, this is one of Shakespeare's plays with which not a lot of people are familiar. I'm not sure why that is. It's a really good play. I'm drawn to it because I personally identify very strongly with the title character. (Come to the reading and see if you can figure out why.)
Before I forget, here are the details:
August 16, 7pm at the Grant-Humphreys Mansion at 770 Pennsylvania. Tickets are $10 cash at the door. (It's a fund-raiser for the Byers-Evans Theatre Company and they aren't set up to take credit cards just yet.)
The cast:
Caius Marcius Coriolanus - Randy Diamon
Menenius - Eric Field
Aufidius - Doug Tisdale
Volumnia - Karen Krause
Sicinius - Matt Channing
Brutus - Russ Nielsen
Cominius - Dave Cuomo
Virgilia - Melissa Huff
Lartius - Paul Stuko
Valeria - Anita Harkess
What a talented and devoted cast! Again, this has been a really different experience. The thing about being fortunate enough to have talented performers for your reading is that, because they're talented, they're in pretty high demand. We have had to rehearse much of the play out of order depending upon who was available to rehearse and when. I have to say, I am absolutely astounded at how well this play is coming together. That speaks to the talent and commitment of this cast, and I really hope that you can come see and hear them tell this story.
Now, last night, I asked the cast members present if there was anything I could do to help make Tuesday's performance go as smooth as possible. Now, the first request of a $2500 stipend I could not accommodate, but the second request of a scene-by-scene synopsis was a really good idea. As I said, we have been rehearsing out of order quite a bit, so a chronological synopsis would definitely help to put things in the proper context. So, I sat down this morning and wrote one, which I e-mailed to the actors. They seemed to like it quite a bit, and even asked if we could make it the program for the reading.
Well, I don't know about that, but I guess I could at least share it here on my blog. (I have no idea if this will read the same for you as it did for them because of the context):
The Tragedy of Coriolanus
Scene synopsis
Act I, Scene 1
Rome
Plebians riot over food. Menenius calms them down. Caius Marcius comes in, blows it. Loudly. D’oh!
Messenger arrives with news of war. Goody, goody! Caius Marcius like war!
Act I, Scene 1
Rome
Plebians riot over food. Menenius calms them down. Caius Marcius comes in, blows it. Loudly. D’oh!
Messenger arrives with news of war. Goody, goody! Caius Marcius like war!
Act I, Scene 2
Corioli
Aufidius like war, too! Goody, goody!
Corioli
Aufidius like war, too! Goody, goody!
Act I, Scene 3
Caius Marcius’s house
Virgilia and Volumnia sew. Volumnia like war. Virgilia no like war.
Enter Valeria. “Woohoo! War! Dead butterflies! Let’s go get ice cream.”
Volumnia: “Rocky Road!”
Virgilia: “Lactose intolerant.”
Act I, Scene 4
Before Corioli
Caius Marcius: “We will defeat the Volsces!”
Roman Soldiers: “What you mean ‘we,’ kemosabe?”
Caius runs into Corioli: “Leeeeeeroy Jeeeenkins!”
Lartius: “Hey, where’s Caius?”
Act I, Scene 5
Corioli. A street.
Roman soldiers looty, loot, loot.
Caius and Lartius are not amused.
Act I, Scene 6
Near Cominius’s camp
Cominius: “Caius did what? That’s awesome!”
Enter Caius
Cominius: “Where ya been?”
Caius: “Kickin’ butt.”
Cominius: “Take a break?”
Caius: “Nope. Gonna go kick Aufidius’s butt.”
Cominius: “Rock on!”
Caius: “Who wants to go with me to go kick some butt?”
Soldiers: “Butt!”
Act I, Scene 7:
The gates of Corioli
Lartius: “We’re kickin’ butt. Still, watch your butt.”
Lieutenant: “Butt watched, sir!”
Lartius: “Go away.”
Act I, Scene 8:
A field of battle
Caius vs. Aufidius
Caius: “I’m gonna kick your butt.”
Aufidius: “No, I’m gonna kick your butt.”
Volsces: “Aufidius is getting his butt kicked. Let’s get in there.”
Aufidius: “Noooooooo!”
Act I, Scene 9:
The Roman camp
Cominius: “Wow, Caius! You walked into Corioli and kicked their anus! Hey, I just thought of a nickname . . .”
Caius: “Please don’t.”
Act I, Scene 10:
The camp of the Volsces
Aufidius: “That guy really kicked my butt. I hate that guy.”
Act II, Scene 1
Rome
We kicked their butts! We kicked their butts!
Volumnia and Menenius: “27 scars! 27 scars!”
Virgilia: “You people are so weird.”
Cominius enters with Coriolanus.
Caius Marcius’s house
Virgilia and Volumnia sew. Volumnia like war. Virgilia no like war.
Enter Valeria. “Woohoo! War! Dead butterflies! Let’s go get ice cream.”
Volumnia: “Rocky Road!”
Virgilia: “Lactose intolerant.”
Act I, Scene 4
Before Corioli
Caius Marcius: “We will defeat the Volsces!”
Roman Soldiers: “What you mean ‘we,’ kemosabe?”
Caius runs into Corioli: “Leeeeeeroy Jeeeenkins!”
Lartius: “Hey, where’s Caius?”
Act I, Scene 5
Corioli. A street.
Roman soldiers looty, loot, loot.
Caius and Lartius are not amused.
Act I, Scene 6
Near Cominius’s camp
Cominius: “Caius did what? That’s awesome!”
Enter Caius
Cominius: “Where ya been?”
Caius: “Kickin’ butt.”
Cominius: “Take a break?”
Caius: “Nope. Gonna go kick Aufidius’s butt.”
Cominius: “Rock on!”
Caius: “Who wants to go with me to go kick some butt?”
Soldiers: “Butt!”
Act I, Scene 7:
The gates of Corioli
Lartius: “We’re kickin’ butt. Still, watch your butt.”
Lieutenant: “Butt watched, sir!”
Lartius: “Go away.”
Act I, Scene 8:
A field of battle
Caius vs. Aufidius
Caius: “I’m gonna kick your butt.”
Aufidius: “No, I’m gonna kick your butt.”
Volsces: “Aufidius is getting his butt kicked. Let’s get in there.”
Aufidius: “Noooooooo!”
Act I, Scene 9:
The Roman camp
Cominius: “Wow, Caius! You walked into Corioli and kicked their anus! Hey, I just thought of a nickname . . .”
Caius: “Please don’t.”
Act I, Scene 10:
The camp of the Volsces
Aufidius: “That guy really kicked my butt. I hate that guy.”
Act II, Scene 1
Rome
We kicked their butts! We kicked their butts!
Volumnia and Menenius: “27 scars! 27 scars!”
Virgilia: “You people are so weird.”
Cominius enters with Coriolanus.
Cominius: “Check this guy out!”
Virgilia and Coriolanus: “Islands in the stream, that is what we are.”
Brutus and Sicinius: “Oooooh, I hate that rabbit!”
Act II, Scene 2
Rome, The capitol
Cominius: “Let’s talk about how awesome Coriolanus is!”
Coriolanus: “I’ll be outside.”
Cominius: “ When the Boogeyman goes to sleep at night, he checks under his bed for Coriolanus.”
Senators: “Ooooooo.”
Cominius: “Coriolanus doesn’t read books, he stares them down until he gets the information he wants out of them.”
Senators: “Ooooooooo.”
Cominius: “Coriolanus counted to infinity – twice.”
Senators: “Oooooooooooooooo.”
Coriolanus: “Are you done?”
Senators: “Coriolanus for consul! Coriolanus for consul!”
Coriolanus: “Yeah, okay, whatever.”
Menenius: “Now you just have to show the plebes your scars.”
Coriolanus: “Awww, man.”
Sicinius and Brutus: “He is so going down.”
Act II, Scene 3
Rome, The forum
Coriolanus: “Hey, plebes, like, make me consul, okay?”
Citizens: “Yeah, okay.”
Coriolanus: “Cool. Laters.”
Citizens: “Nice guy.”
Sicinius: “Really?”
Brutus: “We think he’s a butthead.”
Citizens: “Hey, you’re right. He is a butthead. Kill the butthead! Rabble, rabble. . . ”
Sicinius and Brutus: “Awesome.”
Act III, Scene 1
Rome the street
Coriolanus: “So, does the consul get a hat?”
Virgilia and Coriolanus: “Islands in the stream, that is what we are.”
Brutus and Sicinius: “Oooooh, I hate that rabbit!”
Act II, Scene 2
Rome, The capitol
Cominius: “Let’s talk about how awesome Coriolanus is!”
Coriolanus: “I’ll be outside.”
Cominius: “ When the Boogeyman goes to sleep at night, he checks under his bed for Coriolanus.”
Senators: “Ooooooo.”
Cominius: “Coriolanus doesn’t read books, he stares them down until he gets the information he wants out of them.”
Senators: “Ooooooooo.”
Cominius: “Coriolanus counted to infinity – twice.”
Senators: “Oooooooooooooooo.”
Coriolanus: “Are you done?”
Senators: “Coriolanus for consul! Coriolanus for consul!”
Coriolanus: “Yeah, okay, whatever.”
Menenius: “Now you just have to show the plebes your scars.”
Coriolanus: “Awww, man.”
Sicinius and Brutus: “He is so going down.”
Act II, Scene 3
Rome, The forum
Coriolanus: “Hey, plebes, like, make me consul, okay?”
Citizens: “Yeah, okay.”
Coriolanus: “Cool. Laters.”
Citizens: “Nice guy.”
Sicinius: “Really?”
Brutus: “We think he’s a butthead.”
Citizens: “Hey, you’re right. He is a butthead. Kill the butthead! Rabble, rabble. . . ”
Sicinius and Brutus: “Awesome.”
Act III, Scene 1
Rome the street
Coriolanus: “So, does the consul get a hat?”
Rabble, rabble . . .
Menenius: “Uh, oh.”
Citizens: “Coriolanus is a butthead!”
Coriolanus: “I’m not a butthead. YOU’RE the buttheads. Stinky, mouth-breathing, assistant principal buttheads!”
Menenius: “Bro! Harsh.”
Citizens: “Kill the butthead!”
Coriolanus: “You cockaroaches wanna play rough? Okay, say ‘ello to my little frien’ . . .”
Menenius: “Whoah! Everybody, chill! We should all take a break.”
Lartius: “This sucks. I think I will leave and never come back.”
INTERMISSION
Act III, Scene 2
Coriolanus’s House
Volumnia: “I love you, but sometimes you’re a butthead.”
Coriolanus: “But they’re STINKY buttheads.”
Menenius: “Be the bigger butthead.”
Coriolanus: (sigh) “Fine.”
Act III, Scene 3
Coriolanus: “I’m here to apologize to you buttheads.”
Citizens: “Rabble, rabble, inconsolable rabble!”
Brutus and Sicinius: “You suck!”
Coriolanus: “You suck MORE!”
Brutus and Sicinius and citizens: “Banish him!”
Coriolanus: “I banish YOU!”
Citizens: “Whatever. Don’t let the door hit you in the Coriolanus on the way out.”
ACT IV, Scene 1:
Volumnia: “This sucks.”
Virgilia: “This sucks.”
Menenius: “This sucks.”
Cominius: “This sucks. Shotgun!”
Coriolanus: “I’ll be back.”
ACT IV, Scene 2:
Rome
Sicinius: “That worked out well.”
Brutus: “Yeah, I just hope we don’t run into his mom.”
Oops.
Menenius: “Uh, oh.”
Citizens: “Coriolanus is a butthead!”
Coriolanus: “I’m not a butthead. YOU’RE the buttheads. Stinky, mouth-breathing, assistant principal buttheads!”
Menenius: “Bro! Harsh.”
Citizens: “Kill the butthead!”
Coriolanus: “You cockaroaches wanna play rough? Okay, say ‘ello to my little frien’ . . .”
Menenius: “Whoah! Everybody, chill! We should all take a break.”
Lartius: “This sucks. I think I will leave and never come back.”
INTERMISSION
Act III, Scene 2
Coriolanus’s House
Volumnia: “I love you, but sometimes you’re a butthead.”
Coriolanus: “But they’re STINKY buttheads.”
Menenius: “Be the bigger butthead.”
Coriolanus: (sigh) “Fine.”
Act III, Scene 3
Coriolanus: “I’m here to apologize to you buttheads.”
Citizens: “Rabble, rabble, inconsolable rabble!”
Brutus and Sicinius: “You suck!”
Coriolanus: “You suck MORE!”
Brutus and Sicinius and citizens: “Banish him!”
Coriolanus: “I banish YOU!”
Citizens: “Whatever. Don’t let the door hit you in the Coriolanus on the way out.”
ACT IV, Scene 1:
Volumnia: “This sucks.”
Virgilia: “This sucks.”
Menenius: “This sucks.”
Cominius: “This sucks. Shotgun!”
Coriolanus: “I’ll be back.”
ACT IV, Scene 2:
Rome
Sicinius: “That worked out well.”
Brutus: “Yeah, I just hope we don’t run into his mom.”
Oops.
ACT IV, Scene 3:
This scene is cut. Don’t anybody say any lines from this scene.
Act IV, Scene 4:
Antium. Before Aufidius’s house.
Coriolanus: “Well, this is an interesting turn of events.”
Act IV, Scene 5:
Aufidius’s House
Aufidius: “Dude?”
Coriolanus: “Dude.”
Aufidius: “Dude?”
Coriolanus: “Duuuude.”
Aufidius: “Dude!”
Coriolanus: “Dude!”
This scene is cut. Don’t anybody say any lines from this scene.
Act IV, Scene 4:
Antium. Before Aufidius’s house.
Coriolanus: “Well, this is an interesting turn of events.”
Act IV, Scene 5:
Aufidius’s House
Aufidius: “Dude?”
Coriolanus: “Dude.”
Aufidius: “Dude?”
Coriolanus: “Duuuude.”
Aufidius: “Dude!”
Coriolanus: “Dude!”
Act IV, Scene 6
Rome
Brutus and Sicinius: “Coriolanus is gone! Yay!”
Messenger: “The Volsces are going to attack us now.”
Brutus and Sicinius: “Shoot.”
2nd Messenger: “Coriolanus is going to team up with the Volsces and attack us.”
Brutus and Sicinius: “Double shoot.”
Menenius and Cominius: “Idiots.”
Act IV, Scene 7
Volscian camp before Rome
Lieutenant: “Wow. The Volsces really love Coriolanus.”
Aufidius: “I know.”
Lieutenant: “Even more than they love you.”
Aufidius: “I KNOW.”
Lieutenant: “That must make you feel inferior.”
Aufidius: “You do know I outrank you, right?”
Rome
Brutus and Sicinius: “Coriolanus is gone! Yay!”
Messenger: “The Volsces are going to attack us now.”
Brutus and Sicinius: “Shoot.”
2nd Messenger: “Coriolanus is going to team up with the Volsces and attack us.”
Brutus and Sicinius: “Double shoot.”
Menenius and Cominius: “Idiots.”
Act IV, Scene 7
Volscian camp before Rome
Lieutenant: “Wow. The Volsces really love Coriolanus.”
Aufidius: “I know.”
Lieutenant: “Even more than they love you.”
Aufidius: “I KNOW.”
Lieutenant: “That must make you feel inferior.”
Aufidius: “You do know I outrank you, right?”
ACT V, Scene 1
Rome
Brutus and Sicinius: “You can talk to him, right?”
Menenius: “Oh, I don’t know . . .”
Brutus and Sicinius: “Auuuuuuugh!”
Menenius: “You guys are too easy. Of course, I’ll talk to him. Relax I got this.”
ACT V, Scene 2Rome
Brutus and Sicinius: “You can talk to him, right?”
Menenius: “Oh, I don’t know . . .”
Brutus and Sicinius: “Auuuuuuugh!”
Menenius: “You guys are too easy. Of course, I’ll talk to him. Relax I got this.”
Volscian camp before Rome
Menenius: “Hey, yo, Coriolanus, buddy-”
Coriolanus: “Nope.”
Menenius: “Uh oh.”
ACT V, Scene 3
Volscian Camp before Rome
Mom lays out a guilt trip. Coriolanus folds.
ACT V, Scene 4
Rome
Menenius: “We are so screwed.”
Messenger: “Telegram for Menenius: Rome is saved. Stop. Volumnia succeeded where you failed. Stop.”
Menenius: “Smartass.”
ACT V, Scene 5
Rome
GIRL POWER! GIRL POWER!
ACT V, Scene 6
Aufidius: “This guy just can’t stop screwing me over. I want to kill him.”
Coriolanus: “I can’t believe I caved like that. I wish someone would just stab me in the belly.”
END
There is actually a bit more to this show. Come see.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
A Bit Punchy
So, I finally got around to watching Zack Snyder's film/vanity project Sucker Punch.
I'm not entirely sure how I would describe it, apart from taking us all on a little trip in the Way Way Back Machine to a junior high school sleepover in which you and your twelve-year-old friends are sharing your twelve-year-old versions of sexual fantasies trying to out-do one another and then one of your friends shares something that's just a little too weird. You know that awkward silence right after that revelation? That's kind of how I felt through all of Sucker Punch: like I had inadvertently wandered into one of Zack Snyder's wet dreams. There are machine-gun wielding, pig-tailed, waifish, inmate-hooker-schoolgirls, who swing samurai swords at steampunk zombie Nazis, dragon hordes, and shiny metallic robots. Oh, and they dance. Supposedly. They do a lot of stretching.
Awkward.
Still, I can't fault the skill with which Snyder executes his fantasy. The steampunk zombie Nazis are pretty cool. The dragon battle is exciting. The machine-gun wielding, pig-tailed, waifish, inmate-hooker-schoolgirls are. well, you know. (Kind of awesome!)
I don't really want to give any spoilers, but the title itself is kind of a spoiler:
sucker punch (s
k
r-pnch
) n. Slang An unexpected punch or blow.
Warning: Here there be spoilers. Kind of. Not really.
About fifteen minutes into the film (maybe ten) you realize the meaning of the title and that you're probably going to get a Terry Gilliam Brazil ending, so then it's just about how exactly we're going to get there. If you haven't seen Brazil, then I haven't spoiled anything for you. Unless, of course, you've seen Sucker Punch already, in which case I just spoiled Brazil for you. (Not really. Maybe sort of.)
Predictable ending or no, Sucker Punch is really mostly about the eye candy, and I don't mean just the lovely young actresses (though they are quite lovely). Cool visual effects, great battle sequences, and lots of explosions make Sucker Punch a bit of a teaser for what Snyder will likely do with the beloved Man of Steel in 2013.
Sucker Punch is escapism. If you look for more than that, you'll likely be disappointed. I enjoyed it for what it was, and everybody involved sure looked like they were having fun - especially Scott Glenn.
I'm not entirely sure how I would describe it, apart from taking us all on a little trip in the Way Way Back Machine to a junior high school sleepover in which you and your twelve-year-old friends are sharing your twelve-year-old versions of sexual fantasies trying to out-do one another and then one of your friends shares something that's just a little too weird. You know that awkward silence right after that revelation? That's kind of how I felt through all of Sucker Punch: like I had inadvertently wandered into one of Zack Snyder's wet dreams. There are machine-gun wielding, pig-tailed, waifish, inmate-hooker-schoolgirls, who swing samurai swords at steampunk zombie Nazis, dragon hordes, and shiny metallic robots. Oh, and they dance. Supposedly. They do a lot of stretching.
Awkward.
Still, I can't fault the skill with which Snyder executes his fantasy. The steampunk zombie Nazis are pretty cool. The dragon battle is exciting. The machine-gun wielding, pig-tailed, waifish, inmate-hooker-schoolgirls are. well, you know. (Kind of awesome!)
I don't really want to give any spoilers, but the title itself is kind of a spoiler:
sucker punch (s
kr-pnch) n. Slang An unexpected punch or blow.Warning: Here there be spoilers. Kind of. Not really.
Predictable ending or no, Sucker Punch is really mostly about the eye candy, and I don't mean just the lovely young actresses (though they are quite lovely). Cool visual effects, great battle sequences, and lots of explosions make Sucker Punch a bit of a teaser for what Snyder will likely do with the beloved Man of Steel in 2013.
Sucker Punch is escapism. If you look for more than that, you'll likely be disappointed. I enjoyed it for what it was, and everybody involved sure looked like they were having fun - especially Scott Glenn.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
A Charmed Life
I found a treasure the other day.
I had heard many years ago about a CBC television production of MacBeth starring the world's most famous Scotsman, Sean Connery, in 1961. This would have been just before he became a huge international star as James Bond in Dr. No (1962). however, since it was a television production and I hadn't even seen so much as a production still with Connery in the role. In fact, for all I knew, he didn't even play the title role. After all, his most notable role up to this point had been as Michael McBride in Disney's fantasy-musical Darby O'Gill and The Little People. Also, there existed the possibility that he wasn't very good. Why else would it be so difficult to come by, right?
I dismissed it as one of those things that I would never get the chance to see unless someone who was a much bigger movie nerd than I had a recorded copy on VHS or something.
Well, recently I stumbled across a collection of old movies on DVD while I was at a Ross department store. (And when I say "stumbled," I mean it. Why does that store always look like it's been hit by a tornado?) These films are usually ones that have fallen into public domain, but are not necessarily bad films at all. In fact, this collection contained Of Human Bondage (1932), which, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend. Anyway, this collection also contained the elusive 1961 MacBeth starring a bearded Sean Connery as - if the packaging was to be trusted - Mackers himself. So, for a couple of dollars I had solved my dilemma of some years ago. There, in my hand, was the film I had resigned to obscurity.
However, my earlier concerns about the quality of Mr. Connery's performance arose again, and I did not watch it right away. Why had this been kept from public eyes for so long? Connery had a huge resurgence in popularity in the 90s. People were voraciously consuming his performances from other eras like Zardoz and Outland. How had the iconic notion of the famously Scottish Connery in the Scottish play not been immediately offered up to the new generation of Connery fans? Had a younger, less-experienced Connery struggled with the Bard's verse? Surely the CBC would not have cast him in the lead if that were so. It wasn't like he was a big name at that point.
Well, I am happy to report that Connery was more than up to the task. His approach is unexpected at times and even a bit jarring at points, but ultimately satisfying. During the dagger speech, I was baffled at first, but soon realized that he was approaching it very naturalistically, and I think it added another dimension to the scene. I found myself thinking that many of the elements that make Connery such a great action hero added to his performance as Mackers. Connery is a man of great passion and charisma and his heroes are led more by their hearts than their intellect. Let's face it, Bond wasn't exactly a planner. He usually got caught by the bad guy at some point, he seldom used the high-tech gadgetry as it was intended, and women in bikinis are his Achilles, um, heel. Also, James Bond is incredibly lucky. That's what makes Bond so much fun. The bad guys are smarter and more organized, but 007 still always manages to somehow get the better of them. So, portraying a man whose ambitions exceed his machinations winds up being near-perfect casting for Connery. Also, it's fun to hear those lines spoken in a true Scottish brogue.
The production itself is a bit of a curiosity. I would describe the set and costume design as art-deco-meets-middle-ages. It suffers from some of the limitations of television in the 1960s (including the occasional visible boom mic), and yet it presses against the conventions of television as well. Murders occur out of frame, but the moments leading up to them are quite harrowing - particularly the murder of MacDuff's family. (Oh. Spoilers? If you've read this far, surely not.) Banquo's ghost is a bit gorier than one might expect from 1960s televison, too. With a running time of only 85 minutes, it is also curious that not the knocking scene nor either of the scenes with the the three murderers were excised for time.
I think the real treat here, however, is not even Connery's performance. It is the rare filmed performance of the legendary stage actress Zoe Caldwell as Lady MacBeth. The four-time Tony-award-winning actress has a long and varied career, but has made very few appearances on the silver screen, and she does not disappoint as the conniving Queen-to-be.
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| Miss Moneypenny? |
I dismissed it as one of those things that I would never get the chance to see unless someone who was a much bigger movie nerd than I had a recorded copy on VHS or something.
Well, recently I stumbled across a collection of old movies on DVD while I was at a Ross department store. (And when I say "stumbled," I mean it. Why does that store always look like it's been hit by a tornado?) These films are usually ones that have fallen into public domain, but are not necessarily bad films at all. In fact, this collection contained Of Human Bondage (1932), which, if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend. Anyway, this collection also contained the elusive 1961 MacBeth starring a bearded Sean Connery as - if the packaging was to be trusted - Mackers himself. So, for a couple of dollars I had solved my dilemma of some years ago. There, in my hand, was the film I had resigned to obscurity.
 |
| I really have no idea what I'm doing. |
Well, I am happy to report that Connery was more than up to the task. His approach is unexpected at times and even a bit jarring at points, but ultimately satisfying. During the dagger speech, I was baffled at first, but soon realized that he was approaching it very naturalistically, and I think it added another dimension to the scene. I found myself thinking that many of the elements that make Connery such a great action hero added to his performance as Mackers. Connery is a man of great passion and charisma and his heroes are led more by their hearts than their intellect. Let's face it, Bond wasn't exactly a planner. He usually got caught by the bad guy at some point, he seldom used the high-tech gadgetry as it was intended, and women in bikinis are his Achilles, um, heel. Also, James Bond is incredibly lucky. That's what makes Bond so much fun. The bad guys are smarter and more organized, but 007 still always manages to somehow get the better of them. So, portraying a man whose ambitions exceed his machinations winds up being near-perfect casting for Connery. Also, it's fun to hear those lines spoken in a true Scottish brogue.
 |
| Shaken. But not stirred. |
I think the real treat here, however, is not even Connery's performance. It is the rare filmed performance of the legendary stage actress Zoe Caldwell as Lady MacBeth. The four-time Tony-award-winning actress has a long and varied career, but has made very few appearances on the silver screen, and she does not disappoint as the conniving Queen-to-be.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Back To It
I know. I know. I have been neglecting my blog lately. Well, that is not without some design. You see, updating my blog was beginning to feel like something of a chore, and I decided that I shouldn’t write anything else until it stopped feeling like a chore. I also needed to examine why it wasn’t much fun anymore.
Well, call it a confidence issue if you want, but I just wasn’t feeling like I was doing much with the blog. Posting videos of my favorite movies or of songs by music artists on their birthdays was starting to feel a little trite. As far as wildlife conservation and charities go, it’s as effective to just link to the cause in question with a few words of introduction – say, 140 characters or less. And on Twitter it’s a lot more likely to be seen and shared. I don’t know how many people read my blog – I mean honestly read my blog. I can see how many people visit it, but I don’t know if they were led there by a particular keyword or one of the many photos of Kristin Chenoweth and then went surfing on their merry way without pausing for my prose.
Well, call it a confidence issue if you want, but I just wasn’t feeling like I was doing much with the blog. Posting videos of my favorite movies or of songs by music artists on their birthdays was starting to feel a little trite. As far as wildlife conservation and charities go, it’s as effective to just link to the cause in question with a few words of introduction – say, 140 characters or less. And on Twitter it’s a lot more likely to be seen and shared. I don’t know how many people read my blog – I mean honestly read my blog. I can see how many people visit it, but I don’t know if they were led there by a particular keyword or one of the many photos of Kristin Chenoweth and then went surfing on their merry way without pausing for my prose.
Without having any real sense of who’s reading, writing on my blog was beginning to make me feel like I was one of those guys who tweets about what he’s having for dinner (picture attachment and all) or one of those women who posts twenty new pictures of herself to Facebook every week (all in the same pose).
Well, I don’t want that, so I decided to take a break. Now I’m back, and here’s how things are going to go forward. For now, the daily format is gone. Instead of hunting for topics to fill each day, I’ll write about whatever interests me that day – with the hope that it will be interesting to you, too. I’m still interested in theatre and movies and music and wildlife conservation and saving the world, so you’ll still see all of those topics, but just when I feel like it. I originally thought that the daily format would get me film buffs dropping in on Fridays, wildlife proponents dropping in on Wednesdays, etc., but I don’t have any evidence to suggest this happened, so I really see no need restrict myself to that format anymore.
Which brings us to Thursdays. Ah, yes, theatre – the whole reason this blog began in the first place. Well, that’s a bit of a sticky wicket. I’m still a big proponent of theatre, I still know an awful lot about it, and I still like to talk about it, but I have become a bit disenchanted with the Denver theatre scene. And, in all fairness, it with me as well.
Oh, I’m still involved in theatre here, in fact, I’ve got a staged reading of Coriolanus coming up in August, but I just don’t really feel as though I belong here anymore – if I ever did – and I haven’t felt that way in quite a while, which makes it a little difficult to write about theatre in this town.
Sometimes a project comes along that I get very excited about, like BREACH, and it was actually a lot of fun putting that podcast together for you. If something else like that comes along while I’m still in Denver, then I’ll see if I can’t do something like that again.
Oh, right. Yes, I have decided that I will be leaving Denver. I moved here in November of 2001, and, by coincidence, my apartment lease ends in November of this year. So that’ll be ten years, and I think it’s been a pretty good run. In a decade I’ve held two Artistic Directorships, directed and performed in dozens of shows, and, most importantly, a large number of very attractive actresses are inclined to hug me on sight.
I can’t complain.
To stretch an analogy, there are lots of round pegs to fit the many round holes here, and I’m really content with being a square peg. The few square holes that exist here are already adequately filled. So, it’s time I went looking for someplace with more square holes. This is not intended as a slam against the “round pegs,” it’s just not my thing.
Do I disagree with what some companies are doing here? Yes, and I’ve gone into that before, so I don’t see the need to do so again . . . at the moment. However, that’s more of a philosophical issue, and has more to do with the way some companies are using their nonprofit status. I don’t begrudge anyone wanting to get his or her art on, so to speak. (Though I still insist that we could do it a bit more cooperatively without disenfranchising the limited audience. But I’ll stop there.)
Sometimes a project comes along that I get very excited about, like BREACH, and it was actually a lot of fun putting that podcast together for you. If something else like that comes along while I’m still in Denver, then I’ll see if I can’t do something like that again.
Oh, right. Yes, I have decided that I will be leaving Denver. I moved here in November of 2001, and, by coincidence, my apartment lease ends in November of this year. So that’ll be ten years, and I think it’s been a pretty good run. In a decade I’ve held two Artistic Directorships, directed and performed in dozens of shows, and, most importantly, a large number of very attractive actresses are inclined to hug me on sight.
I can’t complain.
To stretch an analogy, there are lots of round pegs to fit the many round holes here, and I’m really content with being a square peg. The few square holes that exist here are already adequately filled. So, it’s time I went looking for someplace with more square holes. This is not intended as a slam against the “round pegs,” it’s just not my thing.
Do I disagree with what some companies are doing here? Yes, and I’ve gone into that before, so I don’t see the need to do so again . . . at the moment. However, that’s more of a philosophical issue, and has more to do with the way some companies are using their nonprofit status. I don’t begrudge anyone wanting to get his or her art on, so to speak. (Though I still insist that we could do it a bit more cooperatively without disenfranchising the limited audience. But I’ll stop there.)
So, anyway, the blog is back again, with changes again. I do not expect that any future entries will be as long as this one, though. I did feel that I had some ‘splainin’ to do.
If you’ve made it this far, let me reward you with this video to celebrate the birthday of guitarist, songwriter, and astrophysicist Brian May of Queen.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Monday Money-Saver: Shop Smart
I'll give you a two-fer today since I skipped last week. Both of these tips involve your trips to the grocery store or even a superstore like Target or Wal-Mart.
Tip #1: Shop with a list.
Take a few minutes and make a list of the things you need before you head to the store. This will not only get you in and out of the store faster, but it will also focus your shopping. Unfocused shopping can lead to impulse buying. So make a list and stick to it.
Tip #2: What's in a name?
TV commercials may try to convince us that one brand is better than another. The question is: how important is it to you that it's better? For some items it matters significantly, and this will vary from person to person. maybe you only like one brand of catsup or you use a lot of paper towels and require the most absorbent brand. Fine. Buy that brand. However, when it comes to items that are less important, go ahead and get the generic, or store brand, or even just whatever happens to be on sale at the moment.
Brand loyalty is for times when you have more money than you can spend. I'm guessing that's not right now for most of you. It certainly isn't for me. With few exceptions, these brands aren't dropping their prices out of loyalty to you, so what exactly do you owe to them?
Tip #1: Shop with a list.
Tip #2: What's in a name?
TV commercials may try to convince us that one brand is better than another. The question is: how important is it to you that it's better? For some items it matters significantly, and this will vary from person to person. maybe you only like one brand of catsup or you use a lot of paper towels and require the most absorbent brand. Fine. Buy that brand. However, when it comes to items that are less important, go ahead and get the generic, or store brand, or even just whatever happens to be on sale at the moment.
Brand loyalty is for times when you have more money than you can spend. I'm guessing that's not right now for most of you. It certainly isn't for me. With few exceptions, these brands aren't dropping their prices out of loyalty to you, so what exactly do you owe to them?
Monday Motivator: A Nation's Strength
A Nation's Strength
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
What makes a nation’s pillars high
And its foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?
It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.
Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.
And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.
Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation’s pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.
And its foundations strong?
What makes it mighty to defy
The foes that round it throng?
It is not gold. Its kingdoms grand
Go down in battle shock;
Its shafts are laid on sinking sand,
Not on abiding rock.
Is it the sword? Ask the red dust
Of empires passed away;
The blood has turned their stones to rust,
Their glory to decay.
And is it pride? Ah, that bright crown
Has seemed to nations sweet;
But God has struck its luster down
In ashes at his feet.
Not gold but only men can make
A people great and strong;
Men who for truth and honor’s sake
Stand fast and suffer long.
Brave men who work while others sleep,
Who dare while others fly...
They build a nation’s pillars deep
And lift them to the sky.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Friday Film Buff: A Frayed Knot
Rope is based on a stage play itself inspired by the real-life case of Leopold and Loeb, two brilliant but disturbed young men who committed murder in an attempt to pull off "the perfect crime" and who held the belief that the notion of the Nietzche "Superman" made them above the law.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Theatre Thursday: Frankly . . .
Musical versions of the show have not fared as well. A Broadway version starring Pernell Roberts and Lesley Ann Warren never opened. A West End version in 1972 was not well-received, and the recent Trevor Nunn production, also in the West End, was pretty widely panned. It closed after 79 performances, but still managed to have a happy ending for some talented kids in L.A.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Wildlife Wednesday: Cool Down
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| Photo Credit: Sheri Horiszny |
This is a nice video for us to watch in Denver where the temperature is supposed to be 99 degrees today.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Monday Motivator: Good Morning, Captain!
Today is the birthday of the late Bob Keeshan - better-known as the soft-spoken, grandfatherly Captain Kangaroo of the children's program of the same name that started off mornings for kids from the 1950s into the 1980s (with re-runs into the 90s).
Good Morning, everyone. Happy Monday!
Good Morning, everyone. Happy Monday!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Friday Film Buff: Sound and Fury
You do not have to be a Shakespeare nut to appreciate that Toshiro Mifune's portrayal of a lord driven to madness by ambition and paranoia is, in fact, the story of MacBeth.
However, if - like me - you are both, you are really going to love this film.
The three witches become one evil spirit, and Birnam Wood becomes the eerie Spider's Web Forest. Though not using the actual dialogue of the script, and moved to feudal Japan, Throne of Blood is celebrated as one of the best film adaptations of the Bard.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Theatre Thursday: Snap!
The Tony-winning, Oscar-winning director and choreographer of stage and film - both musical and non-musical - did also, on occasion grace us with some of his own footwork.
In addition to re-staging his own choreography for the film version of Damn Yankees, Fosse also danced to the memorable (if puzzling) number "Who's Got the Pain" with the fiery femme fatale of the film, Gwen Verdon. A couple of years later, Ms. Verdon would become the third Mrs. Fosse.
Fosse also appeared in the intriguing and odd Stanley Donen-helmed musical adaptation of the French children's book, The Little Prince. Fosse, naturally, played a very ssssmooth ssssnake.
Now, this movie came out in 1974 - almost a decade before Michael Jackson's ground-breaking "Billie Jean" video.
My favorite movie featuring Bob Fosse dancing is the little-known musical version of the popular play and movie, My Sister Eileen. Fosse choreographed, and he dances throughout, but never so memorably as in the "dance-off" scene with Tommy Rall. I wasn't able to embed the scene here, but you can see it over here.
Instead, here's a very cute scene between Fosse and the lovely Janet Leigh.
I love that movie.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Wildlife Wednesday: Splash Dance
You may have already seen this video as it has gone viral, but, in case you haven't, this is Zola, a 9-year-old Lowland Gorilla at the Calgary Zoo having a bit of fun playing in some water.
In other Lowland Gorilla news, a new baby was born at Zoo Miami on Father's Day, and you can read more about that (and see pictures) over at Zooborns.com.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Tuesday Tunes: Down in Old Soho
Formed in 1963 (and originally calling themselves the Ravens), the band (now as the Kinks) broke through big time in August of 1964 with their third single, "You Really Got Me."
The group's rowdy on-stage behavior may or may not have contributed to the Kinks being banned from touring in America during the latter part of the sixties. (No official reason has been given publicly.) This is probably why they did not enjoy the same level of notoriety stateside as many of the other bands that were part of "the British Invasion." Nevertheless, Davies and company were much admired by and highly influential upon their much more popular peers, especially for songs like "Waterloo Sunset."
And, of course, "Lola" put the Kinks right back on the pop music map both in the UK and the U.S.
The Kinks continued to record and tour together until 1996. While not always in the mainstream of popularity, the Kinks have always been on the cutting edge musically and are now considered one of the most important bands of the 1960s.
Happy Birthday to Ray Davies, CBE.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Monday Money-Saver: Wait for it . . .
Today's money tip is to combat that impulse-buying, um, impulse.
We all have things we have to buy: gas, toilet paper, bread, peanut butter, whatever. Then there are those things we maybe don't really need. When it comes to those purchases, try instituting the 30-day rule.
Make yourself wait 30 days before you even consider the purchase again. If 30 days goes by and you still really want it (if you even remember it) well, then go ahead. Odds are you won't.
It's certainly a better alternative than buying it now and looking at it in thirty days trying to figure out why you thought it was so important at the time.
We all have things we have to buy: gas, toilet paper, bread, peanut butter, whatever. Then there are those things we maybe don't really need. When it comes to those purchases, try instituting the 30-day rule.
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| A motorized beer cooler on wheels. What could possibly go wrong? |
Make yourself wait 30 days before you even consider the purchase again. If 30 days goes by and you still really want it (if you even remember it) well, then go ahead. Odds are you won't.It's certainly a better alternative than buying it now and looking at it in thirty days trying to figure out why you thought it was so important at the time.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Friday Film Buff: City of Gold
Hollywood loves disaster films, and, mostly, audiences love them, too. The drama that happens between characters when nature (or something else) raises the stakes is compelling, and it's a great opportunity for some CGI wizardry. If there's one thing that modern films have over classic films, it's the ability to make a great disaster movie. Right?
Guess again.
The 1936 film San Francisco directed by W.S. "Woody" Van Dyke (with help from D.W. Griffith) and starring Clark Gable, Jeanette MacDonald, and Spencer Tracy has all the elements of a great disaster film: colorful characters, a complicated love triangle, and lively music, all leading up to the early morning hours of April 18, 1906, when the city was rocked by the most devastating earthquake in the city's history.
D.W. Griffith directed many of the earthquake sequences, which, of course, utilize no CGI whatsoever - just a lot of camera tricks and a whole lot of great stunt work and effects.
Many people refer to this as a musical, since it is filled with lavish musical numbers in the Barbary Coast club owned by Clark Gable's character Blackie Norton, as well as some great opera scenes featuring Jeanette MacDonald. Jeanette also gives us a memorable rendition of the title song.
(Sorry about the colorization in this clip. It's all I could find. I recommend seeing this in the original black and white. Ted Turner is nuts.)
By the way, Van Dyke was known as "One Take Woody," for his quick film-making style, completing most scenes in just, well, one take. Spencer Tracy has a little bit of fun with this in one scene by throwing in an ad lib in a scene where he and MacDonald are in his rectory. (Tracy plays a priest and childhood friend of Blackie Norton. He's not part of the love triangle. That would be weird.) Tracy makes reference to "that Rooney kid" - referencing young Mickey Rooney (who isn't in this movie, but with whom Tracy had worked before) - and Jeanette MacDonald was not expecting it. The look on her face is priceless. And, of course, since the scene only had one take, it's in the film.
Fun movie. Check it out.
In black and white, preferably. (Ted, Ted, Ted . . .)
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