Away

Hello everyone. I will be out of town for the next few days and won't be able to post. I will try my best to have new articles by the beginning of next week. In the meantime please look over the latest posts from this past week. Thanks!

Celebrity Birthdays

February 26th

Erykah Badu turns 37 years old today. Two of my favorite Badu movies include House of D and Brown Sugar.

Happy Birthday Ms. Badu!

Congratulations Oscar Winner Javier Bardem

I want to extend a big Congrats out to Javier Bardem! He took home the award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for No Country For Old Men.

I recently reviewed one of his break-out roles in Before Night Falls. Great job, you deserve it.

Celebrity Birthdays

February 25th

Tea Leoni turns 42 years old today. My favorite Tea films include House of D, Spanglish, and Fun With Dick and Jane. She has a knack for playing eccentric women.

Sean Astin turns 37 years old today. My favorite Sean films include Rudy and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He can always play a nice guy.

Happy Birthday Lady and Gentleman!

My Top Five Oscar Winners from the 30's-50's

My Top Five Oscar Winners from the 30's-50's, in no particular order.

1. Sunset Boulevard starring William Holden and Gloria Swanson won 3 Awards.
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White
Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
Best Writing, Story and Screenplay

It should have won for Best Actor, Actress and Picture.

2. Mildred Pierce starring Joan Crawford won 1 Award.
Best Actress in a Leading Role

3. Laura starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews won 1 Award.
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White

It should have won for Best Screenplay.

4. Gone with the Wind starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable won 8 Awards.
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Best Art Direction
Best Cinematography, Color
Best Director
Best Picture
Best Film Editing
Best Writing, Screenplay

5. The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, and Jack Haley won 2 Awards.
Best Music, Original Score
Best Music, Original Song

Celebrity Birthdays

February 24th

Actor Billy Zane turns 42 today. Some of my fav Billy flicks are Titantic (love the lugie on the face), Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight (it's such a great B movie), and Only You (check out my review on this film). We still love you Billy!

Actor Edward James Olmos turns 61 today. My fav EJO roles include Mr. Escalante in Stand and Deliver (love my 80's movies) and Mr. Quintanilla in Selena.

Happy Birthday Boys!

Thanks to IMDB for the links.

Growing Up Is Hard To Do In The Adventures Of Sebastian Cole

Thinking back to 1996, I was confronted with the reality that it’s been 12 years since I was a high school freshman. No, I don’t wish to return. Instead, I’d rather look back and move forward. I learned many lessons that year, because the differences between my elementary school and high school, were vast. During that era, I was introduced to sex, drugs, discrimination, and a novel which has been attributed to making people go mad!

The novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, is one of my favorite books of all time. It’s not the short length of the book that draws me in, but the honesty of the story.

We all know the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, who is retelling his adventurous Christmastime story while convalescing at a rest home.

He begins the narration with limited details into his family history because it bores him. Throughout the course of the novel, he describes with a bitter tone the characters within his circle.

Poor hygiene, acne layered skin, a dirty bathroom, selling out, and hiding your true personality are some of the unforgiving qualities Holden encounters.

By the end, we learn that Holden’s the biggest “phony bastard.” Even though he shows remorse to his dead, younger-brother, Allie; Holden is so messed up that he can’t see his true self. His constant cycle of running, hiding and criticizing others, ultimately speeds up his mental breakdown.

The reader is left with the feeling that perhaps we’re all phony bastards trying to please society, but lacking the inner strength to please ourselves.

Now fast-forward to the year 1998. I’d nearly survived my 4 years of high school. By this time my life had picked up tremendously. I’d made many new friends and found my niche with the track team, school newspaper, and yearbook committee. However, the themes of Catcher in the Rye still resonated in my life.

I discovered one day while watching the previews of upcoming films, a trailer from the Indie film, the Adventures of Sebastian Cole, which starred the then-unknown actor Adrian Grenier.

It took me about a year or two to actually watch it, but the trailer had left its mark. I instantly related it to Catcher in the Rye.

In this twisted tale we find young Sebastian at a crossroads after his step-father, Hank, played naturally, by Clark Gregg, announces he wants a sex-change. As the story progresses, we experience the distance that Sebastian feels between the life he once knew and the uncertainty of his future.

Shortly after Hank’s announcement, Jessica, Sebastian’s sister, runs off to California with the annoyingly, likable, Troy. Sebastian and his mother run off to England, but he returns to his quiet town to live with Hank, now known as Henrietta.

The two form an interesting bond as Henrietta strives to get a sex change and Sebastian struggles to find emotional stability in an awkward situation.

Throughout the Adventures of Sebastian Cole, Adrian Grenier, performs so well that you begin to wonder how much was Sebastian or himself. His vulnerability never feels forced and allows the audience to sympathize with his occasional asshole tendencies, like dumping his girlfriend, Mary, after she says “I love you.” However, he redeems himself later when he risks his life to rescue two female strangers from a crazy man named Chinatown.

But the link between the Adventures of Sebastian Cole and Catcher in the Rye hides in the fact that Sebastian and Holden both think they are better than everyone else. They hide behind their clothing, cynical words, and confusing actions. But they both crave spiritual tranquility. Neither of them has found what they are searching for by the end of their stories. However, the journey’s they lead are the first steps to their transformation.

Although my years in high school didn’t include a cross-dressing step-dad, I’m thankful to have had the exposure to the faults of myself and my peers. Without the stress and struggle of adolescence, a person could miss out on adventures reserved for youth.