Reel Life: My Week With Marilyn

“I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.”
― Marilyn Monroe

This quote by the most famous woman in the world sums up the film “My Week With Marilyn” ….

Who knew the everlasting, amazing star would end up with a movie about herself that she herself defined in a quote (but after seeing this movie you will not be surprised that she actually did).

OK, yes, I am a longtime Marilyn fan, so much so that when I worked in bookkeeping at a talent agency near the Westwood Memorial Cemetery, where Marilyn was laid to rest, on days when I used to bring my lunch and wanted tranquility and peace I would go there and sit on the bench in front of her marker and eat whatever food I had brought for the day.

“My Week With Marilyn” is not a bio pic per se’ - but a love letter to the woman as an artist & human being, that covers the time when she was filming “The Prince and the Showgirl” with Sir Laurence Olivier, who also directed.

Marilyn was selfish, impatient and, and as she said a “little insecure” I would say a lot. But she was also charming, sweet, sexy, loving and a true artist.

Ultimately this is what you get from “My Week With Marilyn” - a portrait of an extremely complex woman who delivered for the studios a magic no one else could, therefore the difficulties were worth it for them to put up with.

Michelle Williams is one of my favorite actresses working, I love, love, love her! She captures the magic of Marilyn - my favorite stuff in the film is when she portrays the icon flubbing scenes during production of "The Prince and the Showgirl" she is truly awful (on purpose of course), but when she nails the scenes, she captures the magic that was Marilyn.

Love this movie, if you are fan a must see, and to everyone else who is on the fence, this is a enchanting piece of entertainment, and you will be completely captivated by Williams.

Hey, Michelle - FYI you are now officially my favorite for the 2011 Best Actress Oscar.
　
http://myweekwithmarilynmovie.com/

TV Watch: Pretty Little Liars

2012 is off to a fantastic start, amongst other things, my favorite guilty pleasure has started it’s latest run.

The girls of Rosewood are back and here to deceive you in a whole new season of “Pretty Little Liars“.

Of course they are not the only fibbers in town, which of course has as much deceit and betrayal as the late great Aaron Spelling’s “Melrose Place”.

For the uninitiated let’s give the briefest of re-caps….

Once upon a time there was a girl name Allison, Ally for short, she was the baddest b!tch in the whole damned town! She ruled over her kingdom of friends, Spencer, Aria, Emily & Hanna (the PLL’s)

Until one day, Ally disappeared and was found dead (?) (that’s the official statement, but we “Liars” fans know A) her death is up for debate and B) you really can’t keep a good b!tch down)….and boy was Ally, the cat a major one!

The quintet of Emily, Aria, Spencer and Hanna are now relentlessly pursued by the mysterious “A” who knows all of their secrets and is controlling their every move, much like uber b!tch Allison did when she was alive….Hmmmmmmmmmmmm….

With the wheels now set in motion, the games have begun. There are way too many twists and turns to get down with in a full piece, but suffice it to say this is some of the most fun I have watching TV each week, thanks ABC Family Network!

And thanks to the “Pretty” & talented four leads Troian Bellisario (Spencer), Ashley Benson (Hanna), Lucy Hale (Aria) and Shay Mitchell (Emily). You root for these “Liars” and want them to not be kept down by the insidious forces that are trying to destroy their lives….You Go Girls!

This season finds the “Liars” doing community service in un-flattering orange jumpsuits for a crime they did not commit (thanks a lot “A”). When Spencer and Emily get into a WWW smackdown, drag out fight.



For us older fans doesn’t this sounds like another wink and nod to the Spelling tradition? If not check out the original “Charlie’s Angels” TV show and find an episode titled “Angels In Chains”.

It’s starting off to be an amazing year and I am loving the return of my beloved “Liars”!
　
http://prettylittleliars.alloyentertainment.com/

Happy New Year: James Durbin Gets Married ...!

Let's kiss off 2011 with love...between 2 people. "American Idol" finalist/success James Durbin and his bride Heidi Lowe ..they got married in Santa Cruz, CA., yesterday 12/31/2011, A shout out to their son Hunter too, hey Hunter!

Congrats! Love to the both of you and continued success to Mr. Durbin.

James is a favorite here at "Entertain Me" check out the following posts:

http://mshinafelt.blogspot.com/2011/11/james-durbins-rock-n-roll-fantasy.html

http://mshinafelt.blogspot.com/2011/12/for-immediate-release-james-durbin.html

Happy New Year Everyone! 2012 is going to rock!

Reel Life: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Rooney Mara, Rooney Mara, Rooney Mara….

Where do I start? Having not seen the Swedish version of “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” and not having read the book, I went into David Fincher’s version with no real expectations whatsoever….Rooney Mara.

This is what I came away from it with, TGWTDT is and adult movie with a capital “A” … and I do not mean for it’s violent & sexual content (we will get to that later).

It is a film for grown ups who like character exposition and plots you have to pay attention to. The first half of the film is dedicated to establishing who Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) & Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) are as people before their two paths cross. At first I thought this part of the movie to be a tad long, but the more it sat with me, the more I loved it!

When I see a movie and I think about it after the fact, well that is a good sign to me, it is better than it being disposable. 

Thus TGWTDT is a fascinating character study. My only quibble is, I wished Mikael Blomkvist was as interesting as Lisbeth Salander. Rooney Mara, OK, time to move past it, David Fincher has directed some of my most favorite in your face movies “Se7en” “Fight Club” & “The Social Network” …which, is one of the things I find quite interesting about TGWTDT -

The sex and violence are quite subdued…. Seriously lets site a couple of Jodie Foster films that illustrate intense quite well, Oscar winner “Silence of the Lambs” way more freaky violence wise, and “The Accused” a rape scene that had me so upset I wanted to lay it down on the next guy I saw on Hollywood Blvd. who even gave a woman that look.

Yeah, TGWTDT is quite tame by the abovementioned standards. So one of my fave directors, Fincher, has remained true to himself, yet oddly grown up. Did I like TGWTDT? Heck yeah! It was a really great film for adults…and in case I did not mention it Rooney Mara is amazing!

Note: Hey Mr. Fincher - you never disappoint, however, next time you want to be a big boy, a little up in people’s grill would be a nice addition.
　
http://www.dragontattoo.com/site/

Mel Carter "The Other Standards"

Mel Carter, the man responsible for giving the song "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me," a place in pop history, began his career in Cincinnati at the age of four when his grandmother held him up to the microphone in a penny arcade recording booth.

It was 25 cents well-spent; the unpolished performance had an unmistakable element of raw talent in those grooves.

Well he kept grooving and it’s time to celebrate the Holidays even more because the hit maker is back!

What’s Mel’s latest release you may be asking yourself? His latest release bears the title “The Other Standards” and as you Mel fans out there know, this is what Mel does best. To the new comers in the house it’s time to introduce yourself to the man with the hit making touch and golden voice.

Stand outs include “Cry Me A River” which is one of this writers favorite songs evuh!

Another stand out is…well they all stand out, it’s Mel Carter people.

2012 is near, don’t “Cry Me A River” I have my copy of “The Other Standards”….
So? What are you waiting for, get yours, and get it now..!

Find out more about Mel and get “The Other Standards” at: http://www.mel-carter.com/

What Does Emii Want For Christmas? Stilettos...!

"Oh damn this drunk chick just spilled the drink on my Manolos
And that's a no, no, baby"....

Forget Cha Cha Heels, that is so John Waters "Desperate Living" what does the well heeled gold digger want this Christmas?

The small woman with the big voice & sense of humor, Emii is back after her hit with Snoop Dogg "Mr. Romeo" ...And she wants stilettos, now damn it! Please make sure they are 5 or 6 inches, or you will not please her one bit..(of course 7 would be the preferable fit )....

What does she have to say about all this? "I have a sense of humor about a lot of things. It might be terribly inappropriate, but I have no qualms about joking around. It's all good".

Check out my full length chat with Ms. Thang about "Mr.Romeo" for Chorus and Verse at:
http://www.chorusandverse.com/content.php?id=20110404A

Pay her a Holiday visit at: http://www.emii.net/  and you'd better be bearing stilettos, b!tches...!

Disclaimer: None of the abovementioned is to imply Emii is a gold digger, and if you choose to say so, please preface it with Diva...Thank You  for your cooperation.

25 Years Of Christmas: Darlene Love

This year marks the 25th year that Ms. Darlene Love will be singing her rendition of "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" on the "David Letterman Show."

The venerable legend who made the Rock-N-Roll hall of fame last year, which I predicted in our interview for Chorus and Verse when we chatted about the CD of her beloved classics "Concert of Love."

http://www.chorusandverse.com/content.php?id=20101110A

Has been been bringing down the house, year after year, with this tradition on Letterman that puts a smile on everyone's face.

Ms. Love has this to say about her annual performance: "This will be the 25th year I have done David Letterman. It's so wonderful to have people come up to me and tell me they do not feel it's the holidays until they have heard me sing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". I told David we have to do something spectacular"!

Knowing this pro you are in for something really special.

Raise a Holiday toast to Darlene and tune into David Letterman Friday December 23rd and catch her 25th beloved performance.

Find out more about the CD of her classics "Concert Of Love" at: http://www.whoisdarlenelove.com/