StrangeCulture 5th Blogaversary!!!

I don't know who Johan is, but his birthday cake was pretty sweet, so I'm using it as my blogaversary cake for my 5th blogaversary (thanks Kats Cakes).

I've enjoy the past 5 years of blogging, pondering, linking and sharing.

Previously blogaversary post & cakes: 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th.

Nicole Kidman & Keith Urban's 2nd Daughter

My wife, 39 weeks pregnancy, will surely be jealous when she hears this story.

It was just recently announced that Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban have welcomed their second daughter Faith Margaret Kidman Urban into the world. And this news of the baby is a shock, particularly since it was actually born a couple of weeks ago (December 28, 2010).

Unlike Kidman's first child (Sunday Rose, born July 2008), this time pictures of Kidman's pregnant baby bump were no where to be captured by camera film. In fact Kidman's been busy promoting her film Rabbit Hole with a limited release beginning just shortly before Faith Margaret was born.

And the explanation is that there was a carrier. mother involved who carried this child that biologically is both Kidman and husband Keith Urban.

I'm not really know what I think about this scientifically assisted situation, and I'm certain that there will be plenty in the media and blogospophere who weigh in on this decision. Of course, people will be weighing in with perhaps less-that-complete information.

So, unpregnant, Kidman's second daughter entered the world, and I can only imagine the experience of the surrogate mother who carried this child and surely had to keep a very big secret.

So...I can only imagine what my wife will think of this story who is not only eagerly waiting meeting our son, but is also eager to experience the after-effects of labor...that is...no longer being pregnant.

(via)

When Globes Collide - Un-Thoughts on the 68th Golden Globe Awards

The Golden Globes for the year are over. I unregretably had to miss a portion of the ceremony, but all the same, feel the compulsory need to write a post on tonight 68th Golden Globes ceremony.

I previously wrote about some discontent with this year's award lineup in conjunction with the nominations, so I won't repeat my self.

But the awards are over, and I don't really feel like any of the wins said anything remarkably new about this year's award season or who to be watching...if anything, it would seem that the TV show winners (particularly a show like Boardwalk Empire that won best TV series drama, and acting award for Steve Buscemi) might get a bump in viewers and prestige.

Otherwise, it is what it is.

With that in mind, I've still interested in what Oscar nomination morning might hold as I think there is still perhaps some room for surprises in the nomination fields...but if you're one who reveals in award coverage and looks forward to that coverage here...this compulsory post is here to tell you, the general enthusiasm for this past years film is lacking. I enjoyed these "top" films like The Social Network & The King's Speech but the dynamics of the awards line-up isn't there for me.

If the enthusiasm is there for you this year, I'd love to hear what's grabbed you in this year's award season or in tonight's Golden Globe telecast.

Shepherd

When my wife and I had our first daughter a couple years ago, we went with a non-standard name choice in naming our daughter Linden.

We were pretty excited, and there was one unexpected consequence...that when child number two came along we felt pressure in the name-game, because while we wanted something that suited our upcoming child, we also felt it appropriate that it "coordinate" with our daughter's name.

Now, we did not "build" our child's name around our first, but we did consider how the child's name would sound like it context of our family and our last name.

As we found out we were having a son, it was important to us that when we introduced our two children that it would be clear which child was the male and which was the female, and since Linden as a unique name, but also with a male counterpart (Lyndon) the masculine strength of the child's name was a key consideration.

Through hours of discussion, research, and practicing using the name in the context of children's sporting events, professional work, and routine scolding we excitedly determined his name would be Shepherd.

In addition to being an occupation (like other names like Butler, Mason, Miller, or Sawyer), and although Shepherd's are not a "common occupation" of modern era, the spiritual significance of this occupation in the time of Christ brings added meaning to my wife and I. We love the way in which God is compared to a Shepherd who cares for his flock, feeds them, and protects them from harm. This Shepherd-image is found in the parable of the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-21) and is also used in the common psalm, Psalm 23 that says "The Lord is my Shepherd..."

In this imagry, are characteristics of our hope for our son that he is caring of others, a protector, and one who will help others in their personal and spiritual development.

As a given name, Shepherd is not common, with few "famous" Shepherds. Examples include Shepherd Leffler, one of the origianal US representatives from Iowa when it was admitted into the Union in 1846.

As a surname Shepherd is quite common, and also has various derivitve forms including Shephard, Sheppard, Shephard, Shepard, and Shepperd.

Hardly common, after the occupational spelling of Shepherd, the alternate spelling we considered was Shepard, which still not quite as common (based on the research we could find) was the spelling of some individuals like Shepard Smith (Fox News Anchor) and Shepard Fairey (Modern Artist most famous for the Barack Obama's Hope artwork from his 2008 Presidential campaign).

Yet, for us, this spelling wasn't the one for us.

Another child name Shepherd we ran into during our search was that this is the name of Jerry Seinfeld and Jessica's third son (their daughter is Sascha, and their sons are Julian Kal and Shepherd Kellen).

So, while we wait for the arrival of Shepherd (potentially any day now) we look forward to finally meeting him in person, learning all about his personality, and welcoming him to our family.

Pictured above: The Good Shepherd mosaic by at the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy, created in the 4th century.

Disappointment in Please Give

In a way, I would expect to have liked a film like Please Give, the original story written and directed by Nicole Holofcener.

I typically am a big fan of these types of small films with small moments and intersections of characters in community. Yet this film left me very dissatisfied.

I felt like whatever Nicole Holofcener was attempting was hurt my disjointed story lines and characters. And read my sentiments correctly, the problem was the disjointed-nature of the characters. The creation of her characters was intriguing, but since every character was so unique in their own way the film failed in it's own originality.

Amanda Peet as a vein and awful person, Rebecca Hall as a sentimental homebody, Catherine Keener as a introspective woman searching for a chance to redeem herself of personal guilt, Oliver Platt as a man with no shame, Sarah Steele as a self-conscious teen, and Ann Guilbert as a cankerous woman on the edge of death.

I think what makes matters worse is the films title (Please Give) and it's central character (Catherine Keener) seeking out opportunities to give back. There are a couple of scenes that are tossed in, particularly at a nursing home and a non-profit for disabled students that simply seem out of place and while I can imagine a few ideas behind what Holofcener was attempting to do in this film, I believe she has failed because those ideas you see developed seemed lost in a shuffle.

I watch this film and ask...why did Rebecca Hall's character have the boy friend story line? Why was the affair with the Amanda Peet character neccesary?

The other thing about this film is that there were a few choices that were made that quickly pushed this film into R-rated territory, when I would have loved to have seen this film re-written and created as a strong PG-13 film, but instead these decisions that were made (Hall's job as a mamographer technician and unneccesary F-bombs) that I feel weakened what could have been a sentimental or moving quality to this film.

These are the types of films that make me want to write my own screenplays because I watch it, and see the ideas there, but see the failure for some peer review that could have really taken this film to another level.

Supporting Actress Blog-A-Thon: Dale Dickey as Mereb in Winter's Bone

In reflecting on the supporting female performances of 2010 a under-praised performance that has stuck with me is the harsh performance by Dale Dickey in the critically acclaimed indie-film Winter's Bone.

Dickey, who at 49 has relatively limited feature length credentials, does a bang up job as Merab in Debra Granik's adaption of the Daniel Woodrell's book with the same name.

Merab is a harsh gatekeeper of her home and family, who's husband (Trump Milton, played by Ronnie Hall) is in essence a small time crime lord in the Ozarks. While Dickey not only protects her husband in minor ways by screening people who might come to her house, as the action intensifies Dickey's performance is utterly chilling whenever she steps on screen.

Jennifer Lawrence as Ree Dolly and John Hawks as Teardrop Dolly have received a respectable amount of praise, including Screen Actor Guild nominations, and while I don't expect similar praise for Dickey's smaller role, I have to think that this performance will no go unnoticed.

Dale Dickey certainly as a supporting actress can fulfill a unique niche as an actress, and I would hope to see her in more roles, because if she can knock out other roles like she did here in Winter's Bone, I think she could really become a Hollywood actress, because in my assessment her role in this film is flawless.

It's not just that Dickey nails the role, but without her consistent performance, I don't think Jennifer Lawrence's star-turning performance would be nearly as powerful.

Thanks Dickey for being the creepiest female performance of 2010, it was great!

This post is my contribution to the 2010 5th annual Stinky Lulu Supporting Actress Blog-A-Thon.



Previous StrangeCulture entries include: Adriana Barazza (2006), Allison Janney (2007), Frances McDormand (2008), Rosamund Pike (2009).

Precious Life

I recently had the privilege of watching Precious Life, one of the fifteen documentaries short listed for an Oscar nomination this year.

Deservedly so, the recent documentary Precious Life, will largely be praised for it's moving story of human decency and dependence in the hardest of times. The set up for the documentary is that a Palestinian woman from Gaza who's child is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant in order to survive. With the help of an Isreaeli doctor, funds from an anonymous donor, and media publicity the story unfolds.

Shlomi Eldar, the Israeli journalist who constructed this film, and places himself as a central character in the story telling has done a remarkable job capturing this story and revealing unique things about the long struggles between people in the middle east.

The magic and intrigue though in the film really doesn't come into play until half way though the documentary in a dialogue between the Palestinian mother and Eldar, who suddenly transitions from journalist to person in his question asking, as he struggles with the way the mother, from a clearly different faith tradition, answers his questions.

Now there is definitely plenty of room to suggests that the mother's answers to his questions are doctored from reality due to her own fear of retribution for answers that might be unacceptable in her community, a community that is already critical and skeptical of her for obtaining medical intervention from "the enemy."

Yet, it is these questions about this telling interaction where a Palestinian mother of a sick infant tries to convince a journalist that her child's life is not precious that the rest of the film really blossoms.

From here, the film warrants discussions. Whether that discussion is the blatant discussion of whether life is precious, or the role of "the camera" in story telling, that depends on how you watch this film. But there are moving and troubling dialogue that really makes this film an important film.

Photo: "Precious Life." Credit: Shlomi Eldar

Say That 10 Time's Fast: Our New Tongue Twister from The King's Speech

“I have a sieve full of sifted thistles and a sieve full of unsifted thistles, because I am a thistle sifter.”

Midlife Blog Crisis or What Will 2011 Look Like

I must admit, I'm having a little bit of a "midlife blog crisis" or something and it's been peculating over the past year, and the new year seems like an appropriate point to voice the "stress" or perhaps even turn a corner.

StrangeCultureBlog has long covered a series of topics, with the freedom for me to write what I want to write without a super boxed in subject. That being said, it wouldn't take long to see that StrangeCultureBlog covers news and discussions based around films, and even more specifically current or upcoming films.

Yet, for various reasons, the films in 2010 seemed less than entertaining, the discussion seemed less than engaging, and while I certainly found plenty I wanted to discuss, I've often considered turning a corner in my blog coverage.

Perhaps part of my thoughts on the "crisis" is that while hits have remained steady and blog subscriptions seem to have grown, the minimal comments and feedback sometimes seem to make me feel like I'm talking into space.

So when I consider convergent topics (whether of a personal nature regarding my alma mater's football team, thoughts on parents, contemporary religious subjects, etc.) I question whether that's in line with my readers interests...not that I'm writing for other's satisfaction, but if I'm talking into the wind.

So what will 2011 bring? I'm not sure. I usually try to talk about things that come naturally that I want to talk about, yet keep a rhythm of conversation with posts that reach back to other posts and trying to contact culture and contemporary arts.

Will this be reflective of 2011? I suppose we'll see.

Favorite Films from Years that End in '1'

Happy 2011!
I thought I would kick off the year with my favorite films from the years that end in the number One (as I did last year with films that end in zero)

We'll start at 1941.

And then, we'll see what movie tops my personal list for 2011 come year end.

1941: Sullivan's Travels (Preston Sturges)

1951: The African Queen (John Huston)
1961: Judgment at Nuremberg (Stanley Kramer)
1971: Fiddler on the Roof (Norman Jewison)
1981: On Golden Pond (Mark Rydell)
1991: Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise)
2001: Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings (Peter Jackson)

Gulliver's Travels, Will Always Be A Story without Plot

I don't understand why people continue to adapt Gulliver's Travels into film, as we see in this year's holiday bust staring Jack Black.

I remember in college reading Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift and being deathly bored.

I do not deny it's "classic" status and find some of Swift's uses of narrative to present ideas quite interesting on a rhetorical level, but on an entertainment level beyond the fact that there's giants and little people this story is quiet bland and is far more about political ideology than anything else.

And yet, we continue to see this book adapted into film versions again and again. I remember watching the 1996 miniseries with some modest enjoyment (Ted Danson as Gulliver), but even still this story has no plot.

I don't blame Swift for writing with out a plot, because in the 1700's plot was not a prized literary devise as it is today, and again, plot was not Swift's objective.

Yet in the twenty-first century film seems to hinge on special effects and plot. Gulliver's Travels does offer some opportunity to for effects and trickery, but when it comes to plot it has none and so does not make for a modern film. Period.

So, why Rob Letterman would be put to task to direct this film, I have no idea. Nor do I have an idea why it would be positioned as a "holiday blockbuster." Gulliver's Travels can never be told in an intriguing enough way to satisfy modern audiences.

What Lost character could get an Oscar nomination this year?

It's a minor character from season 6 of Lost, and it's the character Lennon played by John Hawkes. You'll remember him as one of the "others" who took refuge in the temple and was killed by Sayid.

With only 3 episode's Hawkes as Lennon still made for a dynamic character in Lost, and after many different character roles John Hawkes is getting some surprise Oscar buzz for his role of Teardrop in the film Winter's Bones.

Hawkes does a fabulous job in Winter's Bone, and his buzz was cemented earlier this month when he was nominated for a Screen Actor's Guild award for best supporting actors alongside Christian Bale (The Fighter), Jeremy Renner (The Town), Mark Ruffulo (The Kid's Are All Right), and Geoffery Rush (The King's Speech).

Although, depending on the love for The Social Network, someone like Andrew Garfield could pop in and take his place for the Oscar nominations (or Even Matt Damon, True Grit or Sam Rockwell, Conviction). Although, I like seeing John Hawkes name here, the role is certainly Oscar worthy in a film that it is hard to tell where exactly Oscar will award it or ignore it.

Pictured top to bottom: John Hawkes as Lennon on Lost; John Hawkes as Teardrop Dolly in Winter's Bone.

An Okay Blockbuster Experience

I've written a number of post over the past couple years either generally down on the relevance of Blockbuster Video or about their potential demise as a company.

But today I wanted to share a positive Blockbuster Video experience I had the other evening.

Having missed the movie The Town when it was in the theater, I was paying attention to it's DVD release date, especially since the film has been met with a little award season afterglow (top 10 list, Jeremy Renner nominations, etc.)

So, I braved my fears and went to Blockbuster to pay the irrelevant 4.99 rental cost. But the fact of the matter was this was were I could get the film. Not at a Redbox or the library, but at Blockbuster.

Additionally, I was surprised that they no longer had the "no late fee campaign" and instead had a much more logical 3 day rental window. They also had a new tiered rental plan that ranged from 99 cents to 4.99 for "just in" movies. This tiered strategy is not new, but I can appreciate the tiers, especially if it means blockbuster will have older movies available in stock for a low price for times you need to catch up on some older films or quickly get your hands on a favorite.

Although, it's my experience that where applicable, the local library is still the best place to get a film that's been out for a bit.

Finally, I was surprised at how many people were in line renting movies. Sure it's the holidays, but it was also a week night, and there was a line and people were getting movies.

Perhaps, somehow Blockbuster will find it's new niche in an age of Netflix, Red Box, Internet and on demand TV options.


Previous Blockbuster Video Related Posts:

• Will Blockbuster Survive in 2009? Should it? (February 12, 2009)
• Blockbuster Newest Survival Strategy & My 8 Recommendations (May 29, 2009)
• Goodnight Blockbuster (September 15, 2009)
• Will Blockbuster Survive 2010? Should it? (May 15, 2010)
• The Impact of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy for Blockbuster Video (September 22, 2010)

Restrepo

With the Afghanistan war covered more in the news in regards to the perceptions of the war on the home front than the action overseas I found the documentary Restrepo, the 2010 release that won the grand jury prize for best documentary at this year's Sundance Field Festival held this past January.

Restrepo is directed by American journalist Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington. Sebastian Junger made a name for himself when he wrote The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, a book about a fishing boat and it's crew members off the coast of Nova Scotia. This book was later adapted to film.

In Restrepo, Sabastian Junger is a hidden narrator telling his story strictly through the words of soldiers and images of a year spent in one of the most dangerous areas of Afghanistan during 2007, the Korangal Valley.

As he follows a single platoon, this film puts legs on the high degree of fighting that one portion of the military is engaging in. It's shocking to watch this as these soldiers are literally being fired on every day and engaging in combat.

The film presents itself with little commentary, and it seems pretty clear that Junger is not trying to push an agenda, but instead present a journalistic perspective on one of the fiercest fire fights out there.

The film's title comes from the name of a member of the combat team who is lost early in the film, and as a result becomes the namesake of an outpost that is built that will go on to bear his name.

When Outpost Restrepo is shown being built in this film, it is a powerful and amazing thing. I have not seen modern images of the conflict in Iraq or Afghanistan like this and for that reason alone I highly value having seen this documentary.

The documentary isn't a popcorn flick, instead it mirrors much of the intensity that was present in the film The Hurt Locker, except the difference is this footage is real. The images and reality are sometimes hard to stomach but it's hard to criticize reality or the bravery of these soldiers.

This film is also one of the fifteen films shortlisted for an Oscar nomination for best documentary, but beyond the awards race, this film is an important journalistic piece and I think while perhaps difficult to watch, has immense value. Thank you Junger and Hetherinton for making this film.