May 2011

Alot happening in Hilton Head this month.....visitor season is beginning. I have been managing a family home for several years and last spring moved in. So I;m living a dream of operating a Southern B&B.
Starting this week till the end of July we are at full occupancy. And I look forward to it. The only thing missing is my very own handyman...everything is outsourced.
Diane comes over and tends to the grounds, Gabe Sr just powerwashed the pool deck and I basically tend to everything else.
Luke,Alison and baby Stella, Rick & Carol, Christian and Kerin, Sophia, Gabby & Paul, Melissa, Apolonia & Konstantine, Clemente ( From Italy) and Kathy & Korky are the headliners.
So here's to summertime in HiltonHead

Let's Talk Films

After years of lobbying local theaters Park Plaza theater in Hilton Head live streamed the Academy Award show last month to my delight. It didn’t draw much of a crowd but I was on my glory.

Now the same theater has reconstructed the lobby of their theater and added a lounge. Its primary purpose is for movie goers to relax and discuss the movie they just saw.

On Thursday evenings I lead a movie discussion group…by Thursday of each week I have seen all the featured movies so I’m ready to go.

Tonight we’ll discuss “Rango” and “The Adjustment Bureau”…my comments

What made this computer-animated western so appealing to this adult was its clever and not so subtle shout-outs to legendary characters. The shifty mayor tortoise has an uncanny resemblance to John Houston's character in Chinatown. The rattle snake’s similarity to Lee Van Cleff from the Good the Bad and the Ugly and The Spirit of the West with voice, mannerisms and golf cart full of Oscars to Clint Eastwood is a hoot. There is also a Hunter Thompson reference or two. (Ode to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).

After a while I started to look for other character placements, forgetting to follow the story....which by the way was also very similar in content to the "where is the water going?" dilemma in the classic Chinatown.

Neither Rango nor any of the other characters are very loveable, I felt they may be a little scary to children under 8. And the color tones of the film are faded and dusty like old western towns.  But even though “Rango" is not a cuddly type of hero you wanted him to be a winner in the end.

The other film is The Adjustment Bureau.

Do you ever wonder about your life plan? Do you believe in free will? Do you think encounters and meetings happen by chance or planned by a higher power? The Adjustment Bureau tests these theories. Based on a 1954 short story called the Adjustment Team it is a parable of metaphysical science fiction mind control. David Norris (Damon) meets Elise (Blunt) in a hotel men's room just as he is preparing his concession speech. He lost a state senate seat because of last minute revaluation of a not so appropriate photo of him at a fraternity party.  Their meeting was magical, but was it by chance? The effect Elise had on him effected his concession speech to the point that three years later he was up for a senate seat again with more support and higher rating than ever,

Then one morning he stepped into an office and saw something he shouldn’t have. He sees everyone in the office has been literally frozen. His colleague is being worked on by men in Fedoras and dark suits...without giving too much away let's just say these men control things, a lot of things. It's a thriller without being creepy and sinister. The heart of the movie is just that, the heart, or the romance which grounds the film. Damon and Blunt have the chemistry and solid acting to make this film a good start to the 2011 movie entries.

And I’ll be equipped to challenge even my toughest movie trivia opponents with this movie trivia Question; who was the Italian actress who popped out of the cake in “How to Murder Your Wife?”