Disney Movie Marathon!

Glee season 1

This is a much-talked about show for a lot of reasons. First of all, it features a bunch of high school students who don't always fit the mold...a lot of them are outcasts, an they';re a motley crew drawn together by the fact that they all have talent. they can sing and dance (to varying degrees of success, but that's a minor quibble that I'm tired of hearing). Honestly, I heard nothing but positive things about this show for months, and I finally watched it and fell in love with it, and it was only then that I learned that a lot of people hate this show. It's been called racist, sexist, abelist (for its depiction of disabled people, for those who aren't familiar with the jargon) and homophobic. It's been slammed for trading in stereotypes, and people complain that it maligns the very students it's trying to showcase as talented and worthy individuals. I don't agree with this portrayal, but I don't really have time to address each and every slam this show has received, and it wouldn't help anyway. those who are determined to hate it won't be swayed by anything I have to say since they've heard it all before. what I will say is that while this show might not be perfect, it at least TRIES to show outcast minority students (who don't fit in for many reasons) coming together and growing and changing as their love of music unites them. They express their feelings through song, and a lot of the songs are familiar tunes you'd hear on the radio, which helps people relate to the show even if they don't normally enjoy "musicals." I love music and I often find listening to music is the only thing that keeps me from snapping and killing lots of people, so I relate to this show. I laughed, I cried, I sang along, and I loved it. I didn't like every episode ("Funk" was particularly flat for me) but I found SOMETHING to love in every episode, and that's something I can't say about every show...ok, about just about any show. So I dig it, and I think it will find a home among those who will always dig it too, even if it isn't always perfect.

Crazy Heart

I finally watched this movie yesterday. It was really a great movie. Very touching. the song "The Weary Kind," the main theme for this movie, is perfectly fitting and it's a beautiful song.

Cats Don't Dance (April 26, 2010)

I remember seeing ads for this movie back in the 90s when it came out. My mom used to make me watch old musicals when I was a kid, so I recognized the plot (starry eyed kid from a small town comes to Hollywood trying to make it big in the movies). Of course, this is an animated movie where a cat is the "starry eyed kid" and when he arrives in Hollywood, he learns that filmmakers don't think animals have talent for anything besides being, well, animals, so it's hard for him to get anyone to take his singing and dancing seriously. He tries to get himself and his friends noticed by movie producers, but it's tough. The animation is in the "Warner Brothers" style that was popular at the time (think "Tiny Toons" and "Animaniacs") but the story is old Hollywood through and through. I had a lot of fun with it. I'm well-rounded that way.

January 8, 2010: Fame (1980)

When the new redux of the movie "Fame" was announced, I decided to revisit the original, only I just got around to watching it. It's choppier than I remember (I was probably so caught up in the story and the singing and dancing when I was a kid that I didn't notice any of the flaws) but I still love it. I hear that the remake wasn't anything special, so we'll see when the DVD comes out, I guess.

One thing that the original does very well is have characters deliver monologues that are integrated into the story so well that you almost don't notice that you're listening to a monologue until the scene is over. Typically, I'd be thinking "Jesus, shut up already" but these were well done and they let me get to know the characters better. One in particular has this blonde girl sitting in some kind of doctor's office talking about her future, and you don't realize what's going on in the scene until the end. That impressed me (I won't give it away though, because it's one of the best moments in the movie). I'm glad I finally watched this movie.