Obvious Child – Movie Trailer
Jun 29th
For aspiring comedian Donna Stern, everyday life as a female twenty-something provides ample material for her incredibly relatable brand of humor. On stage, Donna is unapologetically herself, joking about topics as intimate as her sex life and as crude as her day-old underwear. But when Donna gets dumped, loses her job, and finds herself pregnant just in time for Valentine’s Day, she has to navigate the murky waters of independent adulthood for the first time. As she grapples with an uncertain financial future, an unwanted pregnancy, and a surprising new suitor, Donna begins to discover that the most terrifying thing about adulthood isn’t facing it all on her own. It’s allowing herself to accept the support and love of others. And be truly vulnerable. Never failing to find the comedy and humanity in each awkward situation she encounters, Donna finds out along the way what it means to be as brave in life as she is on stage. Anchored by a breakout performance from Jenny Slate, OBVIOUS CHILD is a winning discovery, packed tight with raw, energetic comedy and moments of poignant human honesty. Writer/Director Gillian Robespierre handles the topic of Donna’s unwanted pregnancy with a refreshing matter-of-factness rarely seen onscreen. And with Donna, Slate and Robespierre have crafted a character for the ages – a female audiences will recognize, cheer for, and love.
Jersey Boys “With a Bullet”
Jun 29th
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
JERSEY BOYS is an adaptation of the 2005 award-winning musical on Broadway, it is directed by Clint Eastwood, it stars some of the same actors as were in the play, and it tells the story of the rise and fall and rise of the singing legends, Franki Valli and the Four Seasons.
I think the movie is great, and yet it has been getting mostly negative reviews.
The criticism sometimes that I have read has to do with historical accuracy, such as a song in the movie came out after the year we hear that song in the movie, and it isn’t even a Four Seasons song.
Remember, this is not a documentary. It is the story about four kids who were poor in New Jersey, formed a band, and became wildly successful, selling an estimated 175 million records and in 1990 being inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Their success was due largely to the unmistakable falsetto voice of its lead singer, Franki Valli, and here is just a partial list of their hit songs: “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Candy Girl,” “Dawn (Go Away),” “Ronnie,” “Rag Doll,” “Save It for Me,” “Bye Bye Baby (Baby, Goodbye),” “Let’s Hang On (To What We’ve Got),” “Working My Way Back to You,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,’ and “My Eyes Adored You.”
Granted, many in the audience might not have even been born yet when the group was inducted in the Hall of Fame, but if you were around when they were popular, you are probably humming at least one of those songs right now.
The movie uses a technique also used in the stage production with some of the characters looking into the camera and talking to the audience, and at one point Frankie says, “When everything dropped away and all there was was the music, that was the best.”
Yes, at least two of the members served time in jail for criminal activities before they became famous, and, yes, they knew and were helped in their career by people connected with the Mob.
Christopher Walken has a very memorable role as one of those people, Gyp DeCarlo, and actor Joe Pesci helped them before they all became famous.
JERSEY BOYS Boys enters my list of top movies with a bullet.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Who is Sky Guy
Jun 24th
A graduate of the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Tom Vilot is an artist and self-taught software engineer. He has been part of numerous group shows and participated in Boulder’s jurried “Open Studios” two years.
After working in the software industry for almost twenty years, Mr. Vilot decided it was time to merge his two passions: astronomy and kids.
Being the quintessential “kid magnet,” Mr. Vilot has been volunteering at the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, CO., in their K-12 outreach program.
Mr. Vilot studied acting for two years.
He launched SkyGuy.com, a series of short videos answering the many questions he has received from kids while volunteering at Fiske. The project is an abrupt change from his past, throwing himself into a completely new industry and learning all new tools. Once again, he is rapidly teaching himself. This time it is video, lighting, sound, editing and animation.
After working in the software industry for almost twenty years, Mr. Vilot decided it was time to merge his two passions: astronomy and kids.
Being the quintessential “kid magnet,” Mr. Vilot has been volunteering at the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder, CO., in their K-12 outreach program.
Mr. Vilot studied acting for two years.
He launched SkyGuy.com, a series of short videos answering the many questions he has received from kids while volunteering at Fiske. The project is an abrupt change from his past, throwing himself into a completely new industry and learning all new tools. Once again, he is rapidly teaching himself. This time it is video, lighting, sound, editing and animation.
