here is this week's blog post - Bill
Wild Bill Ketelhut provides the "blog" to this anti-blog
He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
Starting off, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I went to a friend’s house for dinner and watched some football (Go Cowboys!). I basically spent 4 days doing nothing around the house which was nice. I did take time to see the Detroit premiere of the Flaming Lips movie “Christmas On Mars”. Now, a live Lips show is incredible. When I saw them last year at Clutch Cargos they had streamers, giant balloons and tons of laser pointers and just put on a wonderful experience. Based on this, one would think that if they did a movie, it would be crazy with catchy tunes and pure psychedelic freak-out moments (something like the movie “Head” by the Monkees. What we got however was a long, drawn out, boring movie which is like a less interesting version of “Eraserhead”.
I liked some of the sets but that is about it. And why does every character feel the need to say the f-word in every dialogue scene. I can’t believe it took 7 years to film this movie. The plot deals with the experiences of Major Syrtis during the first Christmas on a newly-colonized Mars. A type of madness affects the crew causing them to despair and commit suicide when an alien shows up and is mistaken for one of the crew. The alien takes over the role of Santa Claus and helps the crew and then leaves. If it sounds confused, that is because it is. Despite my love of cheesy b-movies, I couldn’t wait for this to be over. If it wasn’t for some nice zombie short films by Iron Core TV (The Cemetery Precincts was my favorite which tells the story of what happens when a couple of political dirty tricksters try a bit of old-school election fraud and scare up more than they bargained for), this would’ve been a really bad day.
Speaking of movies, I still haven’t seen “The Dark Knight” and it is almost time for its DVD release on Dec 9th. Most Blockbusters (and I am sure some other stores might be too) will be open late so people can buy or rent the DVD. Additionally, a special “Bat Prize Drawing” will be held at midnight on Dec. 9 at the Royal Oak store to award a year of free movie rentals to two lucky winners though you need to be dressed as your favorite Batman movie character.
Other movies to see include “Synecdoche, New York” which is written and directed by Charlie “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” Kaufman. I have been hearing that some people actually like this film but I am not part of that group. I love Kaufman’s movies but I believe he needs someone else to direct them because this film, despite an interesting premise, drags on way too long at points which make this a painful movie to watch at times. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays small time theater director Caden Cotard who is producing a version of ‘Death of a Salesman’ in which he casts young actors in the roles of Willy and Linda.
After it is done, he receives a MacArthur genius grant that he wants to use to “create a piece of brutal realism and honesty”. He uses the reality of his life, including his failing marriage with his painter wife Adele, his affair with Hazel who is the theatre ticket taker, his not being able to see his daughter Olive and a mysterious illness that is shutting down his body one piece at a time, to put together the biggest play in history. Rehearsals take place in a rented warehouse and take decades to put together and he builds elaborate sets of real working buildings for the actors to move around in. He populates the cast and crew with doppelgangers (both of himself and his relations) which steadily blur the line between the world of the play and that of his own deteriorating reality. There is a lot to like here but the movies needs the hand of an editing craftsman to keep it from becoming too cumbersome. I give the film a “D” for attempting to be great but it never truly turns the corner.
On a better note, there is the wonderful movie, “Milk” by Gus (Good Will Hunting) Van Sant about the life of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person to hold public office as city supervisor in San Francisco. Sean Penn puts forth a truly great performance as Harvey and just captures the life of an openly gay man trying to make the world a better place. The movie starts with Harvey meeting his lover Scott Smith and moving to San Francisco to open a camera store which the local residents don’t take to kindly to. Harvey sets up a coalition of gay business to challenge the bigoted straight store owners association and eventually is seen as the spokesperson for gay rights in the area. His running for office breaks up his first relationship and he gets involved in a few others as he succeeds eventually in achieving office. His career has him helping out the unions, getting some legislation passed and esp championing a city ordinance protecting people from being fired because of their sexual orientation and defeating a proposed state referendum that would allow gay teachers to lose their jobs (Archive footage of anti-gay activist Anita Bryant is shown in news clips supporting such causes). When fellow supervisor Dan (Josh Brolin) White resigns after getting frustrated with Milk’s ways of working, he is talked into changing his mind but it is too late. He meets with Mayor George Moscone but is rebuffed again and kills both the mayor and Harvey (this is the famous Twinkie defense case). A very fascinating movie experience which I can highly recommend and might get some awards (I think a best actor nod might come of this for Penn). I give it an “A-“.
If you would rather take in some theatre, I can recommend ‘A Bronx Tale’ which is a one-man show written and performed by Chazz (Unusual Suspects) Palminteri. The story is about Calogero Anello, a young boy from a working class family (his father is a well respected bus driver who believes in family values and wants to protect his son) who gets involved in the world of organized crime after helping protect a mafia boss (Sonny) from getting identified as a shooter in a crime. Calogero finds himself entranced by the life of Sonny who ends up becoming a father figure to him and lets him earn money in his restaurant. As Calogero comes of age, he must struggle with the choice of following his beloved father's values or submitting to the temptations of the life of organized crime. The play is a nice look at life on the streets during the fifties and shows the importance of treating people right. Crime does pay, even if it does take awhile, and family is show to be the strongest glue of all. Chazz puts on a wonderful performance which shouldn’t be missed. Go to www.nederlanderdetroit.com for more information.
I would also like to congratulate my good friend Amy P on turning 16X2 this past Sat. She threw a good party at the RIC with some cool people, good music and lots of alcohol and sugar. I had the pleasure of trying absinthe for the first time though I am not sure what all the fuss is about. Absinthe achieved popularity in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers such as Paul Verlaine, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde. It has been portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug due to the presence of the chemical thujone though its alleged harmful effects are in much debate. As it is, the drink is expensive, legal in the US since 2007 and the brand I tried (and can’t remember the brand name) tasted like a crème de menthe more than anything else. I’ll stick to my rum, vodka, ice wine and tequila. Once again, you rock Amy (almost as much as Cyndi LauperJ).
Lastly, here are some upcoming shows you should check out. Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls will be at the Magic Bag on Dec 2nd for a solo show. I am currently in talks to interview her for my show which might air on Tuesday morning on www.wxou.org or Thursday morning between 8-10AM (check my website www.myspace.com/wildatheart_13 for more updates on that). On Dec 3rd, you can get into the winter mood with a wonderful singer, Sarah Brightman, at the Palace Of Auburn Hills. Country music singer Gretchen Wilson will be at the Palace on Dec 4th. There is a trio of good shows on Dec 6th including The Black Crowes @ the Fillmore, Reverend Horton Heat @ the Majestic and Dragaonforce @ Royal Oak Music Theatre. On Dec 7th, you can go to Ann Arbor to see Glenn Philips @ the Ark or go to the Palace and see Neil Young with Wilco.
Have a good week everyone and drive safely now that the snow has arrived.