Happy New Year…better late than never for these wishes

Hope everyone had a great new year and that 2012 is off to a wonderful start for all my friends, family and anyone who cares to visit this rambling writing of mostly rubbish!  HA HA!  We are nearly through January before I got going on putting a new post on here.  Not that I really have anything to say, or write, or draw about at the moment other than putting something on to have a post registering for the month.  Anyone else have questions on where the time has gone?  Slightly nightmarish…

Anywho…here he is!  The fine Jason Statham’s latest photo and I have it for you (mainly for me) … whatever reason … make one up.

Jason and Rosie were at the Golden Globes after party in Cali last night.  I was sitting on the couch falling asleep watching Terminator Salvation until I went to bed to read a couple of chapters of the book I’ve been trying to finish for the whole of 2011!!!  I refuse to start reading anything else so that is my motivation to finish before the desired move to another story.  As anyone who has read my blog will know…painfully…the book is the last of the Harry Potter series.  It’s kind of enjoyable to read…I guess I’m just not into the subject matter and that’s why I want to move on.  I’ve seen the final movie, but not the first part of the final.  Backwards, I know.  Not sure what book I’ll move onto, but I had to promise myself that I would read what I have in the queue before I buy anymore…and there are a few.

For a little while now Rose Huntington-Whiteley has been consistently wearing a solitaire diamond ring on her engagement finger.  Has there been a proposal?  Sweet.  Keep me in mind for your wedding photography…

I love to photograph people that the camera loves and who love the camera.  There is a lot of love in this post it seems, which is not a bad thing is it?  Not according to most people.  Seems this post started out ho-hum, and ended with a smile.  I love that.

 

Hat Trick on a Tuesday

Hello there friends and fiends…sort yerselves out.  Not much going on these days, and I wonder sometimes where has it all gone wrong…or right???  I wonder too…when was the exact moment when I missed the boat, or rather am I already on the boat but just wandering around contemplating nautical terms, navigating oceans of the past and present, plotting course of direction to destination unknown…

Here is Paul Weller’s new offering and it is very exciting to me.  The new album comes out in March!  Looking very much forward to it.  There is something interesting about Paul Weller’s last few cd’s…it is confusing to me a little, and I think that’s why I like it so much too – it is very much different than the old mainstream…sad state of affairs to turn on the radio – same crap different day.

Score number 2 is Paul McCartney’s new offering and it brought a tear to my eye.  Really!  Just how simple, and meaningful are these words, yet I would have trouble getting this together.  Gotta love Macca.  New cd in February…yay!

So I guess that everyone who knows me would expect me to throw in something to do with JS at this point as the hat trick comes to it’s climactic, dramatic, fantastique…so just close your eyes and listen to the next one and dream 22 dreams of a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

 

 

Person of Interest

Here is an interesting pic I located while looking up photographers.  This one was on a site highlighting London Wedding Photographers…ok then…

Clearly this is a person of interest.  Dramatic lighting proves useful here, and the composition is great as well.  Cut this photo into 4 quadrants and you have an interesting work.

Don`t know who the photographer is, nor for what magazine or product either…but I like it.

This photo is really quite cool, and one that Jason Statham probably wishes hadn`t made it onto the internet…but there you have it.  Sorry Jason…I`m sure there are loads more out there just waiting to be discovered by me.

Just thinking…I wonder how many people can find an old pic of themselves like this and say that they are still in as good or better shape than they were 10-15 years later.  I know I can`t.

He`s got a good face…intriguing expression, fantastic jaw line.  Ripped torso makes us all envious, but even more than that, artistically, definition is interesting.

Lucky number 13, Noel Gallagher, and more…

Here we are people.  Congratulations – we’ve made it half way through November of 2011!  And what is notable this month?  Things remain the same – frustrating to some degree, but on the other hand I always try to look on the bright side and be thankful for the things I have got and still I struggle to find some way to feel success is on my side.

ANYWAY…….Got the movie 13 recently, and guess what?  It has Jason Statham in it!  Ok, so that is the only reason I got the movie, but I still might have been interested in watching it even without the Stath.  Here is the nutshell:  Desperate for money a young man with a Father in hospital collecting escalating bills, overhears while working on the electrics for a home owner, that this home owner has received a letter with the key to untold riches if he “makes it through to the end”.  Ok, so we know from watching the trailer that it involves a game of Russian Roulette, but what is freaky is that the young man has no idea what he is getting himself into, and the whole time, I’m thinking, holy crap!  Could you imagine if this kind of thing actually goes on…and it probably does somewhere in the world.  Jason’s character Jasper is the brother of one of the players.  It is an interesting character for Jason to play…so let’s look at the movie from this character’s perspective…He bails his brother played by Ray Winstone out of a home for obviously mentally challenged people so he can play the deadly game that they have been involved in 3 times already and were lucky enough to survive, and in Jasper’s case – lucky enough to prosper financially.  Jasper bets on his brother and solicits other bets from the attendees, and it all comes down to a duel between the young man (lucky number 13) and Jasper’s brother.  13 is the winner after 2 rounds of the duel.  Jasper is overcome with ?grief?remorse?guilt? upon seeing his brother killed in this brutal way…did he lose all the money?  Does he take off because he’s responsible for his brother’s death (presumably the only family he has left) and realizes just what a complete sh!t he is? or is it because he now owes the loan sharks he borrowed from to place his wagers on his brother’s luck?  Hummmm……With Jason, there always seems to be a bit of empathy played in the characters…so you’re actually thinking that he’s upset over his brother’s death…but not really.  It all ends horribly for the main characters, and Jasper ends up with a loving gesture made for someone else…with a double meaning.  The lamb bought for his sister’s innocent dreams and wishes of childhood becomes the symbol of the sacrifice and slaughter of the innocent.   One can argue a whole lot over the whole “innocent” perception…but in the end they had no choice but to participate while being manipulated by people they trusted.  Extremely interesting though…and goes to prove how greed can win over people with flawed “human” perspectives.

Noel Gallagher is brilliant.  Case in point his debut solo cd High Flying Birds which I haven’t stopped playing since I got it in my hot little hands.  Love Everybody’s on the Run and If I had a Gun…

Here’s the more part…sadly lacking!  Nothing much interesting to report…much the same as I’m still trying to get through reading the final Harry Potter book, haven’t completed anything artsy on paper or canvas or in the camera for that matter in a long time.  Haven’t been writing.  Have been working quite a bit and for a change I am enjoying it a lot…even thinking of completing more training.  I have also been watching a lot of tv…a lot I say because I am actually sitting down and watching instead of forgetting when things are on, or trying to find something to do while Dave watches tv.  Drake is enjoying my effort in walking him more often…hey! there’s a plus!

Interesting, damn talented people!

So I’ve got a few books lined up to finish and a few inklings to get busy and get my artsy fartsy on…but nothing to report as an accomplishment so far this month.  I do have a benefit concert to shoot this Friday night, and that is really exciting.  Less exciting than the dentist fixing the chip in my front tooth which is also on Friday.  I like to cram as much stuff as I can into a day.

Here is a you tube video of The Red Light Saints who will be at the show Friday.

Also found this little interesting bit on the good ole you tube of Lee Statham getting busy with his guitar.  I was mesmerized by the guitar…and I do admit – pleasantly distracted by the guns.  ha!  (unfortunate about the deodorant malfunction – but he prob just threw on something clean, crisp and black as a backdrop to the guitar and didn’t really notice.  If Jay ever gets cast as a guitar player Lee can be the stand in.  Sorted!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtiZP0lmKbY

EDIT: ok, so the second vid has been removed by the user from the you tube.  Too bad.  I liked it very much.  Why Lee Statham?  Why?

Killer Elite review…or at least impressions and reflections on said movie.

While I’m in the mood…No! Not that kind of mood!  Ha, Ha…that is exactly what I would have been thinking too – mind always works that way first for some reason…and speaking of that…let’s talk Jason Statham and Killer Elite!  I warned you that a review of the movie was coming your way, and while I feel “in the mood”, here it is:

I had read a lot of reviews mostly coming from the Toronto Film Festival where the movie Killer Elite was featured for a world premiere, and to sum up the critics, they basically felt the movie was an okay action movie, that was poorly written and considering the cast, lacked the promise of a great “edge of your seat” performance.

Now, knowing that it is the kind of movie that doesn’t normally show in a film festival, it received ok reviews, but as usual I went to the film opening night and was pleasantly surprised.  The surprise came in the way the story unfolded and it didn’t leave me in the dark, nor bore me at all.  I know the trailer promised a cat and mouse game between Clive Owen (ex SAS character named Spike) and Jason Statham (Danny – whom I believed to be ex SAS…but now I’m not so sure) and in that story we had a few glimpses of the whole cat and mouse – but the story didn’t revolve around these two characters at all – another surprise.  I enjoyed the scenes where Jason and Clive were beating the crap out of each other and appreciated the “real fighting” aspect – the desperate eye gouging, and biting, and throwing everything but the kitchen sink fighting between the two characters, and throw in a car chase, and the awesome chair flip scene we saw in the trailer the movie was packed with great scenes you appreciate how real the actors made it all feel.

Okay, so the story was pretty complex…eventually introducing a third party involvement which was a bit of a shocker, and then connecting that to the original contact…but it seemed to the critics not to matter by then because they had become bored and pointed out the team is not so great and the love story is unnecessary.

I enjoyed the performance of Dominic Purcell who was the comic relief and Danny’s punching bag.  Meier was creepy, and I suppose was meant to be, so I wasn’t really to unnerved at his demise, although it felt like it could have been a turning point but wasn’t really.  Neither was the death of Dominic’s character.  I loved the intermingling of the love interest in the story with Anne and Danny.  I thought it was well done, quite real, and of course I wanted more of the story to unfold…and didn’t quite want that Anne just accepted the secret live of Danny and didn’t want to know…because I would have wanted the whole grim story of what he did and why.

I thought the movie was well done in terms of direction, and keeping the suspense and the story flowing along, and I would like to see an extended directors cut version some day as I know there was quite a lot cut out according to Jason Statham.  One fight sequence with Clive Owen was scrapped and another when Anne (Yvonne Strahovski) pieces together what Danny does.  One of the critics mentioned that Spike is a hugely laughable character to the point of becoming a parody…I didn’t think that he was over the top at all, and enjoyed how he decided to take matters into his own hands by the end.  I thought Robert DeNiro was good…nothing earth shattering, but he was believable as the mentor and I liked the character very much.  I liked the banter back and forth between a few of the characters, specifically at the start of the film with DeNiro saying, “I buy you a fancy Mexican meal and you’re feeding it to a dog”, and Jason explaining that it’s made up of “tree chicken.”  Dominic Purcell’s, “You show me a beautiful woman and I’ll show you a guy who is sick of her shit”…and Jason’s retort, “shut-up.”  I know – little things amuse me, but little things like that add flavour and character that i enjoy attaching to and getting a sense of the person.

While Killer Elite wasn’t a movie that I would say was fantastic, but it was a solid action thriller.  I enjoyed the retro set back in the 80′s more hands on and less technology – gritty and real, and nothing too over the top in the action…I felt as though this could happen.  As the theatre I saw it in was atrocious to say the least, I can’t wait to see this one again on DVD.  I’m sad that it didn’t do too well at the box office, but I guess no one wants to see movies set back in the 80′s where there aren’t CG tricks and technology overload.

Killer Elite

Stuff…and Jason Statham the good bad boy.

So…have I mentioned that I want to be a set photographer on a Jason Statham movie before?  Let me say it again…

The Killer Elite opens on Friday the 23rd, and I am excited to see this film.  Jason is in the best movies…and things are looking up for our man of action as his co-stars include Robert DeNiro, Clive Owen and Yvonne Strahovski (in the pic with Jase).  While reading some interviews Jason did while in Toronto for the World Premiere, I love how he tells of being selfish in the characters and scripts that he plays.  He wants to do the films that he would pay money to see.   Perfect.  He’s stuck to his guns too…in more ways than one.

I might be the only woman in the world who’s list of favourite movies don’t include the following:  Ghost, Pretty Woman, or Dirty Dancing.  I really can’t abide those movies.  I could watch Guy Ritchie’s movie Snatch over and over and over again.  About the closest I get to loving a movie with a slightly romantic and girlie feel to it is Luc Besson’s The Big Blue.  I get attached to characters who have a real struggle.  Someone who is doing cool things, but is human.  Someone like Jason’s character Jensen Ames of Death Race…he’s got a story to tell.  But we really don’t see too much about him in the movie…we get to romanticize about him throughout the movie by thinking back to his scene with his wife and baby, and then get to fantasize about him when he gets into the car and goes nuts with thoughts of revenge and escape, and how he obtains it all.  The good bad boy.

Jason Statham at TIFF

Well, here is my review of the coverage of Jason at 2011 Toronto International Film Festival for the weekend September 10 and 11.  I had planned to go to the event, and as usual my plans were laid to rest yet again.  I’m sure I’ll look back on this missed opportunity to get maybe a pic or an autograph of my favourite actor and kick my own ass for not being there.

There was a press conference scheduled for 9am on Saturday which was cancelled.  I was sat at my computer ready to watch and it never came on.  Booo!  “Unforeseen scheduling complications” or something like that was the official statement for an excuse.  I’m sure Jason and Clive Owen didn’t mind too much…however they are there for a reason – to promote their movie.

The screening for the World Premiere was at 1:30pm and there was red carpet coverage live starting at 1pm so I watched that from beginning to end.  The two hosts of the event were female and wasted no time in gushing over Jason and how handsome he was, how charming he was with the fans was also a point that made me feel even worse about not being there.  He signed autographs, took photos with fans, but he refused to kiss one girl because he said he “didn’t want to get into any trouble”.  He has a knack for saying the right thing.

Jason keeps on proving to be the good guy.  I’m sorry but I do realize that it’s dangerous to put people on a pedestal, especially when you don’t really know them, but I can’t help it – Jason is (by many accounts) a nice guy.  Basically the coverage of the red carpet walk was showing the stars arriving and hanging out getting their photos taken and posing for group shots, and then led on to “interview row”.

The woman interviewing Jason welcomed him to Toronto and then it was a nice little chit-chat for a couple of minutes.  Jason seemed pleased with the event and was extremely gracious.  At the end of the interview, the woman thanked Jason for a moment they shared at LAX while waiting for their luggage.  She said Jason was waiting for his luggage and was in a big hurry, but he helped her with her bag before he got his.  He laughed it off saying, “my reputation precedes me…not only can I carry one bag of luggage, but I can carry two!”  

These two women were asked for their comments; the lady with glasses said she was there to see Jason, and he signed a pic for her, and the young lady in blue got her pic taken with Jason.  Lucky, lucky, lucky people.  At the end of interview row, after people had left and the photographers had packed up, Jason came back out and signed more autographs for the fans.

These are a few characteristics that give Jason a great appeal to fans.  Also interviewed was a young man from England who asked Jason about the rugby matches, but Jason had said that he was too busy with the festival to have watched any yet.

I would have been happy just to have seen Jason in person and it would have been great to have a pic or an autograph from him, and then I could give him a nice compliment in person, like “I think you are a terrific actor, and I love your movies and your action scenes – don’t change a thing!”  I’m always worried that people I admire wouldn’t give me the time of day and would leave me with a sour impression afterwords.  It seems that Jason, more often than not, and especially in this type of environment is really amicable and a star who takes the time to meet his fans.  Nicely done Jason.  With pics like these to look at though…I am slowly getting over “blowing” my chance at seeing you in person.  I will be seeing the Killer Elite when it comes out on September 23rd.  Will you?

 

Killer Elite music…

http://8tracks.com/mixes/379137/player_v3

FINALLY!  Some music that doesn’t suck for Killer Elite…courtesy of Yvonne, Jason and Gary McKendry.  I cringe every time I see a trailer with 80′s tight jeans and long hair sh!t bands for the music.  I’ve always loved the soundtracks of the Guy Ritchie movies…cool music works for me.