Black And Whitey

So I'm going to see "Black Mass" tonight. I can hardly wait.

I read the book. 

I read the papers when it was happening. 

I live in the city that was terrorized.

I remember the pain it caused the families of the victims; mine included. 

Whitey Bulger is urban legend around here.

I'm fascinated by this moment in history that was captured on film and looking forward to seeing-and almost being there-while the story unfolds. Evil like that has a way of mesmerizing the psyche, which is how Whitey intimidated his victims. Make no mistake, I'm not endorsing a Hollywood glorified Whitey Bulger character, but what I am doing is immersing myself in the story of this crime lord who was enabled by a corrupt FBI agent. I am extremely mindful of the damage that this story has caused, yet I am unable to look the other way. 

Johnny Depp's performance as the cold blooded killer is being hailed as "scary good" which lends itself to the legend of this evil man. Boston Herald scribe Peter Gelzinis explained the truth of Whitey's core evil quite eloquently this morning. He was relaying a story about the murder of a bookmaker 30 years ago who had pissed Whitey off. Gelzinis and his colleague Paul Corsetti were working the story.

"In the course of asking questions, Corsetti got a call to meet a tipster in a bar near Quincy Market. Paul waited until almost one in the morning and was about to leave when a rather ordinary-looking guy approached and asked, "You're Paul Corsetti, aren't you?"

When Corsetti nodded, the stranger asked, "Do you know who I am?"

Paul shook his head, and the stranger told him: "I'm Whitey Bulger, mother (expletive)." Though Whitey announced that he killed people, what he told Corsetti was far more terrifying. He described the make, model, color and license plate of the car Paul's wife used and the name of the daycare center where she dropped their daughter off." 

That's Whitey and who he is. History can be rewritten, but evil is evil, regardless of who is telling the story. 

Hollywood's Golden Girl

I like this lady. There is something about her that draws me in.

Maybe its because she strikes me as the kind of person who just doesn't give a sh*t.
Maybe it's because she's interesting and beautiful and has always been on the outer cusp of Hollywood-like she's been there all along-but not quite.
Maybe it's because she looks and acts like she knows exactly who she is.
And maybe because she just kicked everyone's ass this awards season.

Patricia Arquette is boss lady. The thing is, she always has been. Most recently as TV's The Medium, which had a 6 year run, and up next CSI:Cyber, it's safe to say she has been quietly succeeding in the complicated maze of the acting world. One of a family of Hollywood types-her famous siblings, Rosanna, Richmond, Alexis and David, are well known themselves for various reasons-acting being the common denominator. But there's something about Patricia, and Patricia right now.

I'm not talking about her Oscar acceptance speech either, although that just adds another dimension to her appeal. I'm talking about how she carries herself. She's every woman. She's feminine and relatable because she possesses an elegant beauty that can't be found in a hair and makeup room. She is a beautiful woman, of that there is no doubt, but she is a beautiful woman on what appears to be her own terms. She doesn't conform to Hollywood standards and she doesn't have to. She set the bar for herself and it works for her.

If she's selling, I'm buying. I read that she was strongly considered for the Dorothy Boyd character in "Jerry Maguire" so to Patricia I will say this, you had me at hello.....

We Salute You....Lieutenant Dan.

Lieutenant Dan.

Twenty years ago, character actor Gary Sinise played the supporting role of Lieutenant Dan in the movie classic, "Forrest Gump". For me, that film holds a very special place in my heart. Not only is it one of my all time favorite movies, but while at the theater watching the movie, deep in the summer of '94, two days after my due date with Frick, my water broke. After the movie I went directly to the hospital to give birth to my first child. My bay girl.

But this morning I saw a piece on GMA about actor Gary Sinise and about how the role of Lt Dan changed his life. WOW, wow, WOW! is just about all I could say...

The role of Lt. Dan earned Sinise an Oscar nomination but his dedication to the role didn't stop there. Gary Sinise, since playing the role in the early 90's, has dedicated his time honoring and serving disabled US veterans and their families. Sinise told GMA's Josh Elliot, "I've walked into so many hospital rooms and they (the veterans) look at me and they think I know what they're going through." 

He founded the Gary Sinise Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to raising money for veterans and their families and he hasn't stopped there. Sinise says, "I just couldn't not do anything. I've seen a lot of need and I've become very committed to [being] somebody who can try to make a difference."

Earlier this month Sinise had the rare opportunity to take 50 disabled veterans and their families on an all expense paid, 3 day trip to Hollywood, where the real Lt Dan was created. Sinise was able to fly them on American Airlines to Los Angeles where they were greeted by a police escort to their Los Angeles Destination. They went to Disneyland and enjoyed a carte blanche day of enjoyment on the rides and were inspired by other veterans to try some things they normally would not. Of course, Lt. Dan was there every step of the way.

The next day the vets went to Paramount studios where they were treated to a special screening of "Forrest Gump".
"The film's producer Wendy Finerman helped remake the studio's backlot into an A-list-heavy celebration, complete with a flyover from a pair of P-51 Mustangs, and helped set up a screening of the movie." 

And in after the screening, a special surprise visit from Forrest Gump himself! Oscar winning actor Tom Hanks came out to greet the vets and express his thanks for their sacrifices. Even the most hardened heart would be hard pressed to keep a dry eye when watching this. 

Lt Dan, we salute you! And Gary Sinise salutes our vets,
"The whole purpose is to send them home smiling," Sinise said. "They should know that they're appreciated and that's what we're trying to do here."

Game Day

 Play Video and read on.

So I watched "Silver Linings Playbook" a few days ago.

I thought it was good. Adorable, actually but Oscar worthy? I guess the Academy answered that question. But here's the thing, this movie has actually stayed with me. I find myself thinking about things that happened in the movie. Like today, I heard this groovy song from Train and I actually envisioned Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence dancing at that contest thingie to this song. Weird right?

I though about psychosis.
Bradley Cooper's performance made his character's mental issues palpable. I nearly felt his pain and I'd call that Oscar worthy but I guess it was a bad year to submit this work to the Academy against Daniel Day Lewis and a presidential performance. Either way, I found his character Pat Solitano as sympathetic and teetering on the edge of sanity completely believable. The Chris Tucker cameos were brilliantly amusingly heart-felt.

I thought about family.
When I think about family I also have think about dysfunction and there was plenty of that going on in this movie. Robert DeNiro played Pat's estranged father as a Philadelphia Eagle obsessed gambling addict, who insulated his own psychosis using his doting wife and his sacred ritualistic "game day".

I thought about adultery.
Cooper's Pat was a man wronged by his wife and discovered her in his shower with another man.  This event triggered his downward spiral.

I thought about fear.
The fear of thinking outside the box and that Tiffany, Jennifer Lawrence, represented all of those things to Pat, yet he somehow felt safe and continued to pursue the dance routine he agreed to perform in exchange for a favor. A dance routine performed by jock, ex teacher,  ex-mental health patient at a regional competition?

I though about love.
And the power of love. And how love makes us do things we would never even dream that we were capable of. And that if we believe in love, it just may work out for us, like it did for Pat and Tiffany.

And if a movie can make me think of all these things in the days since I watched it, then I wouldn't call that too weird. I would call that a silver lining.

The Master Of Macabre Disguise

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that the gorgeous creature above, Johnny Depp, can effortlessly morph himself into the most interesting of characters so masterfully that he makes you forget how gorgeous he is. His character creations are legendary, beginning with Edward Sissorhands right through to The Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.

Jack Sparrow, Willy Wonka, Sweeny Todd, no one can quite do just what Johnny does which is make the mundane become intriguing and macabre.

But it's his latest creation that's got me all a flutter, and here's the thing, I didn't even know I liked the guy! With this newest collaboration with Tim Butrton, "Dark Shadows" Johnny Depp has me intrigued and asking myself, "Who is this guy?"

Maybe it's because I remember the Dark Shadows TV shows from some where in my youth, and to see Johnny as Barnabus Collins not only took me back to my childhood, it intrigued the HELL out of me. Again, "who is this guy?"

I think I love him.

Not only is Johnny Depp the man a fine chunk of man candy, but his characters tend to incite a feeling from deep inside that is both exciting and exhilarating. If Johnny is in character, it's going to be worth the price of the ticket. And if it's been done right, "Dark Shadows" out May 11th will be a great ride.

Love him or hate him, you can't deny his talent. He is truly a Master of his art.

Re-entry Into The Earth's Atmosphere

I'm back and just adjusting to re-entry of the atmosphere of my life. These are just a few of my observations:

• When did Charlie Sheen decide he needed a press tour? As weird and unconventional as this latest media barrage is, I can't help but think this whole thing has been carefully orchestrated. Bizarre, yes. Stupid? I don't think so. I'm beginning to think that the guy is a real genius.

• Somehow, the fact that it snowed 4 or 5 inches the night I arrived home didn't seem to bother me one bit.

• Jet Blue totally has it figured out. I mean, everyone is created equal (no coach or first class), and they give you your own TV. I had all this work I brought with me with every intention of doing it quietly on the plane. That was until A&E had a Hoarders marathon on. So much for getting any work done. 3 and a half hours of Hoarders sure beats the hell out of work in my book.

• The Oscars were boring, but the fashions were not. The shot of Gwenneth above was my favorite dress of the night. I loved Juliana Rancic's dress also, which was designed by Christian Siriano, the Season four winner of Project Runway. So fierce.. I thought Scarlett Johanssen looked like a whore. Sorry.

• So I was watching the E Channel a few hours before the Oscar telecast and they had this whole fashion theme going on. They had all these people on I didn't know talking about fashion, and here's the thing: When did the Kardashians become experts on fashion? Kris Jenner was on hand as a fashion "expert"and, they had the two youngest ones filming in big sister Klohe's closet. Klohe later tweeted, which was scrolled across the screen, "Kendall and Kylie in my closet. How about asking me first? lol" Something tells me Klohe Kardashian knows when the E crews are filming in her closet. Puh-lease.

• Ryan Seacrest is a bigger star than some of the people he interviewed on the red carpet last night. Awkward.

• I'd really like Colin Firth to read me a bedtime story. Does the fact that he won an Oscar mean that I'd have to pay him the big bucks to do it now?

• Now that the Oscars are over, does this mean that the powers that be will stop shoving Natalie Portman down my throat. And I'm a fan, believe it or not.

Wikid Pissah

I interrupt my self imposed moratorium on pics of myself because I promised to show you in all my Brunette-ness. I even have the balls to leave it up all weekend.

So I'm reading my paper this morning and I spy an article about a local casting company that offers a class that helps Boston raised actors get rid of their Boston accent.

So I think, "That's wikid pissah!"


Not really, but you get the idea. Then I think that this is pissah for all Bostonians, not just Boston bred actors because the Boston accent makes you sound like a wikid big moron. Seriously, My Tommy could be presented before me, tied up with a gold ribbon (tied up? meowww) and if he opened his mouth and spoke with a Boston accent, I would be out the door, pronto. I mean it.


Nothing makes me cringe more than hearing one of my beautiful children speak in the vernacular of the locals. I will admit to occasionally revealing my region of origin in my speech, but being a journalism major with a concentration in TV, it gave me the discipline to articulate the words the way they were meant to be spoken. I do slip up. After all, I was born and raised here, but mostly I only slip when I'm with my family or friends who speak with the accent. It's very easy to slide into it when it's all you hear. Or heah.


I jacked this from the Boston Herald article because it's so true:

Unless you are going to be cast in a Ben Afflek or Matt Damon, both serious hunks of men, movie, or a movie about the Kennedy's, I see absolutely no reason to EVER sound like one of us. EVER. It's just downright appalling and it deduces the speaker to trailer trash upon first impression.

And that would just be a wikid shame.

How Badass Is Mickey Rourke?

It's hard to believe that this man was once considered to be one of the sexiest men alive. Back at the height of his cinematic career, in his "9 1/2 Weeks" days in 1986, Mickey Rourke was seen as Hollywood royalty. His breakout film, "Body Heat" (1981), spotlighted his sexy edge in what some dubbed as his, "scene stealing" performance as an arsonist in the film. Experts pondered the possibility of the dawn of the next James Dean or Robert Di Niro and for a brief time Rourke had Hollywood "by the balls". But his bad behavior behind the scenes; he soon became demanding and confrontational, coupled with his self-destructive tendencies (read here: drugs), sent his once rising Hollywood star into a declining tail-spin.

Rourke spent the better part of the last two decades in a handful of menial roles, never quite able to recapture his Hollywood glory. He returned to his roots as a boxer in the early 90's because, he says, "I had to go back to boxing because I was self-destructing. I had no respect for myself being an actor. So I went back to a profession which really humbled me."
Rourke suffered numerous serious facial injuries while in the ring, and a neurologist convinced him, or rather, forced him to retire. His once chiseled, handsome, actor face became horribly changed and his chance at a comeback in film dangled perilously in question.

In 2005 he had a minor career resuscitation in the 2005 movie "Sin City", and today possesses a Golden Globe Award winning performance as a washed-up, retired pro wrestler in "The Wrestler". Hollywood is buzzing about Mickey and Oscar.

I love a great comeback story and after last night, I made "The Wrestler" one of my top, must-see, movie choices. I must admit, I am more than intrigued by the humbling of this dude who has proven to be quite the enigma.

So I ask you today-Is Mickey badass or what?? Take my poll and let me know-and if you have seen "The Wrestler", I give you permission to write a full review (a la thumbs up or down) in the comments section of this post.

Could this at one time washed up, has-been actor bring home the Oscar?? I, for one, can't wait to find out.