Charlie and Me

Some of my earliest and happiest childhood memories were of me and my grandfather going to the movies. Sometimes I'd drag my grandfather to see a movie of my choice, other times he'd find something and take me to it. Most famously i dragged my Grandpa and my Great Grandma, who was 90 at the time, to see THE DARK CRYSTAL. It was the last movie my great grandma ever saw, and I've always felt that was a victory for me.

Regardless my grandpa was a smart enough man to know that some things are timeless. He took me to see Bond Movies, and all sorts of war movies (Is BREAKER MORANT really appropriate for a 6 year old?) . However, the most lasting impressions for me were made by Charlie Chaplin, and Laurel & Hardy movies. To this day, my mother insists i walk like a duck because of my continuous impersonations of Charlie Chaplin. Now, as an adult with his own bowler and cane, and with all the Chaplin DVDs I could get a hold of, I'm happy to say that I've found the full length versions of some of Chaplin's most brilliant films, and some hilarious shorts online.

Explore for yourself if you like, but allow me some recommendations:

THE CURE

Before the famous character of the little tramp ever came to be, Charlie was making audiences roar with his hilarious stage act as a drunk. It was here where he was discovered, and in THE CURE we see precisely why Charlie was, according to Mack Sennet "The funniest stage drunk I'd ever seen"

Part 1

Part 2


The Gold Rush
This is the rerelease from 1942 where unfortunately Chaplin's own narration takes away from the original. Even then, it is a brilliant piece to watch. Look for the forks in the potatoes scene, made famous again by Johnnt Depp in BENNY AND JOON



The Kid
Beautiful, Hilarious, sentimental, and so very very of its time. It's nearly a textbook for depression era politics and issues.

The craft

I work with actors daily. Some are a bit pompous and full of themselves, others are as sweet and genuine as you'd hope they'd be. However, i've been trying to really put my finger on what seperates a legend from your workaday actor.

I believe I found it in an old timey film called WAY OUT WEST. If an actor can pull something like this off, he or she is has a skill AND talent. That my friends, is worth its weight in gold around these parts.

APOCALYPTO HYPOCRITO

To begin with, let me give you my review of Apocalypto. Yes, I saw it this weekend, and I thought it was a fine strong film. It reminded me of King Kong. Solid, fun, not deep or Academy Award worthy, but an excellent Sunday afternoon moviegoing experience. So what is up everyone's bum about going to see it? My brother, and some of my friends were all huffy and lame about seeing it. They cited Mel's recent fracas in Malibu, as being their reason and they took a very high moral stand in admonishing me for going at all.

"You couldn't pay me to go", said my morally concrete and absolutist brother. Interesting. When he called afterwads to ask how it was, I asked him if he had seen THE NINTH GATE, or maybe THE PIANIST. He replied "Oh, it's like THAT? Sort of Euro-trashy."

Bam! I slammed him or supporting Paedophiles. How dare he? Disgusting, appaling! How dare he give money directly to someone who would do things to CHILDREN! likewise, I admonished him for seeing DIE ANOTHER DAY, AND THE EDGE. How dare he support Transvestite Hookers?! He might as well, be a John! Appaling! His pathetic reply "If it didn't say MEL GIBSON'S on the title." What a crock! What other recognizable name is even remotley attached to this movie? Who in Kansas would say "Oooh! I want to see that new movie with Morris Birdyellowhead!" I can understand ifn you keep such a high moral code, that you won't bide certain performers because of their behavior (I avoid everything that has the Stank of Paris Hilton), but you can't pick and choose. Paris Hilton is a Unique sort of ho, with no talent or worth. Are you really going to stop watching Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm? Are you so blinded by your zealotry that you can't see the worth of an artistic attempt? Give me a break.

If you condemn one of Hollywood's eccentrics, then you have to condemn them all equally, you can't go around picking and choosing the incidents that appal you and offend your sense of decency. Consider Britney's "Candid Shots". This is a mother of 2 hanging out with known drug-users, and flashing THE WORLD. Where's the backlash? Where are the outraged talking heads? I am reminded of my father's PETA fueled rant against Sigfried and Roy for keeping tigers. He delivered a weepy soliloquy in his Leather interior Lexus, on our way to a steakhouse, while my mom wore an endagered species coat.


And in case, people think I let things slide.