If You Ask Me

April 29, 2017 - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
Every April, I actually set a reminder in my phone and my calendars on the computers so I don't miss the broadcast on HBO. This year, three of my favorites were inducted. Jeff Lynne's Electric Light Orchestra, inducted by Dhanni Harrison, George's son. Pearl Jam, inducted by David Letterman, and Tupac inducted by Snoop. I was overwhelmed a couple of times with the touching stories, pride, and joy from the presenters, and the performances were over the top. My wiener babies even sat and watched it with me, it was truly that good.

Other inductees were Journey - I was upset that Steve Perry wasn't allowed to sing during their performance. Yes! inducted by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson, Joan Baez inducted by Jackson Browne, and Nile Rodgers inducted by Pharrell Williams.

I'm so glad that it's available on HBO on demand. I'll probably have to watch it three or four more times.

April 27, 2017 - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

This is an amazing movie. The story is terribly sad, horrible, actually. But, it is tempered by the science/technology and advances in medicine due to research from Mrs. Lacks cells.

I give it 4/5 star rating because it was so sad during a couple of parts, I almost had to turn it off.

Saturday afternoon was dark, wet, and cold, so I stayed in. This movie was playing on HBO and I caught it just as it began.

Gil, played by Owen Wilson, has left his position as a very successful screenwriter to write The Great American Novel. He's engaged to Inez, who thinks he's wasting his time, thinks he's cheap, and makes the audience wonder why she agreed to marry him if he's such a loser. Throw in her mean, petty parents, and her boorish, snobby friends, and it's no wonder Gil walks the streets of Paris alone.

Then... at midnight, he finds the portal... and is transported to another time. He meets Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali, Gertrude Stein, Paul Gauguin, T.S. Elliott, Henri Matisse, Edgar Degas, Pablo Picasso, the list goes on and on.

The movie was originally released in 2011, but hasn't lost a bit of its charm. I fell head first and experienced the same enchantment and delight as I did with the first viewing.

February 13, 2017 - Inception

It's me rambling again. This movie never fails to suck me in hook, line, and sinker.

Dreams have fascinated me for as long as I've had conscious thought. I have dozens of books on dream interpretation, lucid dreaming, dreams as divination, you name it.

Many aboriginal cultures around the world have / had Dreamwalkers, shamans who are able to enter the dreams of others to give advice or spiritual guidance. I suppose this is where Christopher Nolan came up with the basis for his story.

Inception has it all - "extractors" who use experimental technology to infiltrate the subconscious of their target and extract information through a shared dream world. The dreams are layered, one on top of another. There are architects who construct each level, a chemist who created a sedative to induce the levels, a con man who can manipulate the target into seeing someone they know and trust. It's mind bending.

What makes my heart ache, every single time, is the ending. Once the mission is completed, our protagonist has been cleared of any wrong-doing in his wife's death and is finally reunited with this children. We see his totem, the top, is still spinning, letting us know he's only dreaming.

Okay, on to lighter fare - something involving cute animals or Melissa McCarthy as Sean Spicer!

This movie is so amazing, I have no words to do it justice. It is set (and filmed) in the Ozarks, less than an hour's drive from where I grew up and still live. The story, the actors, clothing, dialect, everything, are so spot on, I found myself thinking I actually know these people. Hell, I'm probably related to them!

To date, it won The Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, was nominated for every major film festival and critics' award, and is nominated for four Academy Awards.

Do yourself a favor, put it in your Netflix queue, get it from Redbox or Blockbuster, whatever, just watch it!