CUTTING EDGE OF CRASSNESS

by The Stranger

In 5/26/08 LA TIMES there’s an article in Calendar on actress Denise Richards. She’s quoted saying that she’s “attracted to men who are generously endowed.” Why would a person want others to know this kind of information about oneself? And the answer is, over and above whether its true or not - its designed to get people to talk about her. And, in a nutshell its all that has become ‘the only game in town’ these days regarding stardom, celebrity, entertainment. Which has little, or let’s be honest about it, nothing whatsoever to do with merit, substance or quality.

Do people care if Denise Richards is into balloon dicks? If they do, more power to her, I guess. But, for me its what you do, I suppose, when you are an actress whom has been around for a while who is perhaps not on too many of the wish lists of vital filmmakers wanting to work with her. You say things in articles about you that are designed to get people to talk about you. What about wanting people to respect you? And by the way Ms. Richards - aren’t you the mother of two very small children?????

Last night on PBS there was a documentary on Harry Truman.
I found it so refreshing. Here was a man who wanted nothing at all to do with becoming President of the United States. Circumstances….Life forced him into that position. Unlike the Clintons whose lives and relationship with one another and the world around them has only one purpose…Ambition in the name of the presidency/power/position.

Truman became someone special because on some level his character and substance as a person had earned it, and deserved it.
What’s happened to us as a culture?
It seems today people will do and say anything just to get attention. The most savy and crass individual at this game was/is Madonna. Who, it seems to me, changed the playing field from merit to vulgarity, from talent to self-centered cunning and self-love. She begat Britney, begat Paris, begat Lindsay etc.; begat the biggest out of control ego the planet has ever seen - OPRAH!!!!

























Yah, Denise… “You go, girl!!!!”

Hollywood Loses a Class Act

by The Stranger




With the passing of Sydney Pollack, Hollywood has truly lost one of its finest lights. He stood for CLASS in every sense of the word, as an artist, as a person.

He began as an actor, then moved into directing, and this imbued his work with actors with an empathy, and a generosity and depth of spirit and sensitivity that allowed many of them not only to establish themselves as actors, but also to soar to creative heights they may not have experienced otherwise; in some cases via his guidance - attaining Stardom , such as Robert Redford.

I had the good fortune to have met him once. Socially. On the beach at Malibu. A heightened sense of aliveness, humility, a gentleman. He’ll be missed.

PRESUMPTIOUS

by The Stranger


It recently occurred to me with the promos for the film WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS that there was/is a glaring sense of entitlement, unwarranted and unearned, regarding the use of the two stars of the film’s FIRST NAMES only (Cameron/Ashton). This smacks of an over the top sense of presumption on the part of the makers and promoters of the film. As though, all that’s really required to put seats into theatres is simply the two first names of these two stars. SAYS WHO??? I mean, give me a break!!

Tracy & Hepburn …. Martin & Lewis …. Redford & Newman ….Laurel & Hardy …. Crosby & Hope …. Bogart & Bacall -

these were legitimate stars who had earned their stardom with quality and consistency over years rather than minutes and months. And none of them, either the stars themselves or the filmmakers and promoters of their films EVER went so far as to presume that, on a marquee all that was ever required was their first names to attract audiences.

What the forces behind WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS seem to me to be saying to the public is that Cameron ‘s(Diaz) and Ashton’s (Kutcher ) first names on a marquee are all that is really necessary for people to want to see the film. And that is really more important than anything else. REALLY??? Let’s hope these same filmmakers and promoters don’t team up on a film about the just recently ended season of American Idol: “coming to a theatre near you”…. DAVID & DAVID blah blah blah….

Presumption …. A false sense of entitlement are just a couple of responses that come to me.

Iron Man

by Michael Widman

Iron Man" is the story of billionaire weapons developer Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) who finds himself kidnapped by a fanatical militia whilst on a business trip to the Middle East and must fashion an impenetrable, iron super-suit in order to escape. Once back in America, he grows a conscience, puts the final touches on that super-suit, and proceeds to lay waste to the murderous weapons he helped create as well as any villains that would stand in the way.
This the official story, but the real story is far more interesting: Universal and Marvel’s attempt not only to create a lucrative new franchise, which is perfectly understandable, but also to rebirth Robert Downey Jr. as the family-friendly driver of this ultra expensive racecar – ala Johnny Depp in Disney’s Pirates of the Carribean. I don’t think it is going to work as well for Universal and Marvel as it did for Disney. No disrespect to Downey, who is a fine actor, but Tony Stark is no Captain Jack: he’s just not as fun or funny or interesting. Plus, there is a slight difference in the real-life baggage of the two actors involved: one trashed a hotel room once and was found in criminal possession of lame-ass sunglasses and a ski cap; the other was injecting smack and introducing himself to his Malibu neighbors while in bed – their bed, not his.

By the way, the idea that these guys like Depp or Downey (or even Travolta with Pulp Fiction, for that matter) have finally “arrived” after years of struggling is a bit much. After all, I wouldn’t call making millions per movie (albeit often bad ones) over the years struggling – it’s not as if they had to support themselves by working as “mobile pet groomers” like most actors in L.A have to. But I digress… Supporting cast is impressive enough – Gwyneth Paltrow as Tony Stark’s loyal assistant “Pepper Potts”, Terence Howard as military man “Jim Rhodes” and Jeff Bridges as… well, I don’t really remember the character’s name, but boy he looked terrible! If I may paraphrase the late, great John Vernon, who played Dean Wormer in “Animal House”: fat, bald and Grizzly Adams-bearded is no way to go through life, son! But then, that’s why he’s the villain! Did you just..? You didn’t just… OH, SON OF A BITCH!!!!!

Speaking of Gwyneth Paltrow, she’s looking as fetching as ever. I don’t care what Kathy Griffin says – I’d nail her! And I’m guessing by the razor-thin depth that her character Pepper was imbued with by the writer, that was the intention all along, so I’m safe! Don’t hate me!
Besides, Gwyneth Paltrow still owes me and the rest of the world a debt which she will probably be paying off for the rest of her natural life. This is for a crime she committed about 10 years ago and not only was not prosecuted for at the time, but was actually rewarded for: yes, I’m speaking of “Shakespeare In Love.” How many suicides could have been prevented by never releasing that damn movie? Sadly, we’ll never know for sure. Terence Howard plays “Jim Rhodes” – military liaison to Tony Stark. Terence Howard…Terence Howard…wasn’t he one of the guys in the movie “Crash?” Hey, that movie won Best Picture, didn’t it? Yeah, it beat… “Brokeback Mountain!”… Give me a break.

Anyway, Iron Man is directed by John Favreau. It is rated PG13. It has a running time of about 126 minutes, and it will probably make a billion dollars at the box office. What the hell do I know any way. Go check it out, buy lots of popcorn, and try not to blow your brains out.

"Valley of the Fools: Turkey"

by Yervand Kochar

The recent Turkish movie "Valley of the Wolves: Iraq" is, yet, another worthy picture in the collection of the Deranged Mind Gallery.

The Washington Time reports that,"Valley of the Wolves" is not the work of independents or amateurs. With a budget of $10 million, it's the biggest-spending Turkish film in history. The international cast includes Hollywood actor Billy Zane of "Titanic."
Within three days of its release, the movie had been seen by 1.2 million people, a 40 percent increase on the previous viewing record. At a gala performance earlier this month, the actors rubbed shoulders with Turkey's elite.
"I feel so proud of them all," said Emine Erdogan, wife of the prime minister, comfortably ensconced in a seat next to the actor playing Alemdar."

The movie opens with a real-life incident: the arrest in July 2003 of Turkish special forces in Sulaymaniyah, northern Iraq. The soldiers were led out of their headquarters at gunpoint, with hoods over their heads. America later apologized, but it appears the offence ran deep. At the time Turkey took the incident as national humiliation. In this film the fictional hero sets out for revenge.

It depicts Americans as bloodthirsty villains who massacre civilians at the wedding (wasn't that Muslims in Jordan who did that?), kill innocent Iraqis for the sport of it and occasionally blow up a friendly neighborhood mosque during evening prayer. There are multiple summary executions. And for the first time, the real-life abuses by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison are played out on the big screen, (most likely, a product placement for ACLU.)
Then there is naturally a Jewish doctor, (you knew that was coming) who sells organs of killed Iraqis to clients in New York, Tel-Aviv and London (the Western axis of evil).

The movie is a box office success all over Europe, especially in Germany, which has a huge Turkish-immigrant population. The Muslims all over Europe are inspired by the message of the movie. Not “Wizard of Oz kind of” inspired but quote "If I see an American when I get out of here I feel like taking a hood and putting it over their head" inspired.
The outraged Turks and Muslims come out of the theatres with tears in their eyes looking for an American tourist to behead. This should be some movie, ha? It is really in touch with people’s feelings and their everyday life. Certainly George Clooney can learn a lot from his Turkish colleagues.

At the end of the movie an outraged and righteous Turkish hero (note: righteous Turkish hero cannot be translated into Greek) eventually sticks a dagger into a heart of an American GI. As rightly calculated, in Berlin, this scene resonated with disenfranchised Turkish-immigrant audience, which at that moment cheerfully exploded in applauds while shouting, “Allah is Great!”(or as the Greek say, "Give me a break".)

The Turkish producers are pushing this “new cinematic triumph” off to America to the theatre near you. So, if you tired of movies written by gay writers about gay cowboys getting into accidents with transsexual terrorists in Munich, there finally comes a breath of fresh air- a movie about how bad American GI's are and that Iraq is the new Vietnam.
I am sure everyone in America is eager to see this movie, except, perhaps, for Michael Moore and Oliver Stone. This piece of work is going to put them out of business. This is sad, indeed, because then the Jewish doctor must replace Michael Moore's shrinking stomach with an Iraqi one, and that, unfortunately, will require half-the city of Karbalah executed.

I should say though that this Turkish film should not be stopped, after all everyone is entitled to his or her mental syphilis. We here in America, especially, have no right to stop this film from destroying more Muslims minds. Remember, that it was our brave and outspoken American political filmmakers who inspired them to challenge the authority. The Turks simply followed. They are challenging the authority...the American authority (not thier own, of course.)

Even in its agony, Hollywood continues to inspire half intellectual filmmakers all over the world. It sets the tone. It is the endless America-bashing and vilification that creates these ugly film entities in other parts of the world. These weapons, which are used against us, are animated in the labs of Hollywood drawn with pencils of hate on boards of lies. The Turkish franchise is simply a secure investment in the devaluating market of confused images, a market that used to be a beautiful temple.

My fellow Americans, citizens of the most guilty country in the world, we should be ashamed for the examples we are setting for countries like Turkey which massacred one million and a half Armenians within two weeks in 1915.
By trying to protect ourselves from people who beat up a flag with a stick over a cartoon, we make the Turks angry, and we should not, because the last time they got angry they systematically wiped off their entire non-Muslim population. (If there are no Armenians around, ask a Christian Greek for facts, he's got a lot, keep your children’s ears closed, though.)


After a screening of the movie in Germany, an inspired 18-year-old Turk told a reporter that,
"America is evil (the Muslim standard). Look what they did to Native Americans and people in Vietnam, and now in Iraq."
I wish there was someone to remind the young Turkish boy about the whole generation of Armenian orphans who grew up in the slums of Marseilles with images of their mothers raped and sisters thrown off the cliff by drunken Turkish soldiers shouting, "Fly, infidels, fly".

I wish the young Turk would be reminded of Turkish soldiers slitting the wombs of pregnant Armenian women open to stab a baby in front of a dying mother and, finally, I hope that one day the Turkish boy will grow up to become a filmmaker and make a movie that criticizes his own government, which still denies the Armenian Genocide and dumps billions of dollars and enormous political pressure on the US Congress not to accept it either. I hope the 18 year old Turkish boy who so sincerely cares about the extinction of the Hopi Indians in the US, will care about his history as well and make a movie about the genocides of many Christian Balkan nations by the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
I hope so, but I am afraid that by the time the boy enters his prime and chooses a subject for his first movie, there will be a whole herd of USC and UCLA film school graduates creating enough generic marxist garbage to clog the poor young Turks pipe to the truth of his own history.

On the Dangers of Praying on the Screen

by Yervand Kochar

Did you notice that each time anyone prayers in the movies or TV something of a terrible nature, usually involving a lots of blood, happens to him or her?

Just observe: Whenever someone decides to communicate with God in the movies, he or she or it is being shot, beaten, blown, stabbed, slashed, cracked, squashed by anything from a vampire to a terrorist, an organized crime, a car, a truck, a psychopath, a UFO, a meteor, the IRA member, serial killer, samurai sword, baseball bat or anything animated or inanimate that can hit, destroy, demolish, decompose, explode, mutilate in short make sure that you get a very subliminal message that prayer is a phony exercise that ultimately cannot protect you from the reality of life (such as, for example, a meteor hitting a praying man in his basement followed with an attack by a serial killer who drives a truck and has a baseball bat).

It seems that prayer is the most dangerous human activity on the screen. See it for yourself- see how many movies you can count from 1971 till present where a hero was able to complete any prayer, even a short one, without being interrupted by some kind of a life threatening attack. It becomes habitual, as soon as someone kneels to pray you know something bloody is on the way to happen.
So after seeing a good man after a good woman being attacked by some horrifying creature as they pray, one simply concludes that prayer is a dangerous activity, to be avoided, at least in public.
Our image addicted mind being systematically exposed to the variation of the same image, subconsciously creates a simple defense mechanism such as "prayer=danger" or "prayer is no safe." The more natural is the image of someone's skull cracked during the prayer becomes to us, the more the defense mechanism solidifies itself regardless of our will.
We are being indoctrinated image by image, here and there. Even the knowledge of it being a dirty manipulation cannot resist to the logic of an imaginative mind, which believes what is sees not what it’s told.

Well, one can argue that it is not done on purpose but simply to add a dramatic effect. It makes sense within the pathetic frames of our contemporary culture in which the only way to achieve anything close to dramatic is by mocking the sacred and meaningful and the only way to be courageous is by ridiculing a sacred ritual or a tradition, (with no repercussions, by the way).
Although this makes sense, as most of the things that make sense, it is not true.
Prayer used to be considered a powerful weapon against everything evil, in fact, the only secure weapon in the uncertain universe of ours. Prayer used to be the impregnable castle of our higher being, a castle where we could safely retreat from the injustice and vanity of the world. It used to be until 1960's when the movie industry in the United States of America became fatally infected by the virus of Christ-hating Communist scum imported from the Soviet Union. The virus was injected in 30's and it took only three decades to fully destroy the immature and naive imaginative immunity of American cinema.

Lenin said, "Cinema is the most important among the arts" and this, in turn, became a mantra of Communist infiltrators who systematically invaded Hollywood in 1930's.The atheist-demons demolished thousands of churches and hanged clergymen all over Russia. Within twenty years after the revolution, the Bolsheviks successfully removed everything sacred from the landscape of the religious Russian soul. Now it was time for America.
They knew that America communicated to the world and within itself through cinema. Being a young culture not equipped by an extensive mythology, America, more than any other land, was deeply rooted and dependant on the movies as a source of a national imagination. Movies for America were as important as the Iliad for the Greeks, and planting commies in Hollywood was nothing short of sending a wooden horse to the Trojans.
The scope of the communist infiltration is immense and frightening. It was one of the most effective, cheaply done and brilliant political moves ever executed. In fact, it's impact was so powerful and enduring, that till this very day, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, we still see its destructive tendencies rolling in our movies by the inertia of ignorance.

Unbeknownst to many well-intentioned filmmakers, it is still the same Trojan horse of nihilist-demonic religion of ugly antichrists that is peacefully parked in the castle of our imagination. And because some of us still reject our staggering defeat and stupidity and naivety that let us accept the gift of our enemies, they still make movies trying to glorify those who came to destroy us as they destroyed the God-fearing and God-Loving Russian peasant who was not allowed to go to church anymore and witnessing the horrors of Christian persecutions was now afraid to pray at all.
They tortured and murdered Christians in Russia and unable to do so in America, they tortured and murdered them in the movies, in the imagination of sick and hateful writers and directors.Mutilating praying people in the movies was just a preview of this gruesome historic series. But it was powerful enough to inspire many sequels, till today.And as well-calculated, in time, these sequels, were not produced by Communist spies but by our “own Homers” who were not only blind as their Greek forefather but also stupid and desperately ignorant of the fact that they were telling the story of their enemy.