Fortes fortuna adiuvat

Messenger Boy: The Thesselonian you’re fighting… he’s the biggest man I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t want to fight him.

Achilles: That’s why no one will remember your name.

--Troy

What Wall Street 2 Should Have Been

Excited.

After the disaster that was Wall Street 2, I'm looking forward to a good finance movie.  And with Margin Call, I'm hoping I've found one.

Looks they actually tried to make it realistic, got a fantastic cast, and it doesn't have Shia LeBouf riding a motorcycle on back roads in upstate NY.  Kudos, Hollywood.

Bronson

Stylish, hilarious, insanity at its finest...this is Bronson.  A biopic on the notorious British criminal whose boxing name came from the American film badass, Charles Bronson, this film is amazing.

Warden:  69 days, was it?  69 days all to yourself; another of your prison records broken.  So tell me, Charles Bronson, what exactly did you do with yourself for these 69 days.
Bronson:  I was building an empire.  Mmhmm.
Warden:  You're ridiculous.

Tom Hardy was simply brilliant as Charles Bronson.  Borderline psychotic yet outrageously hilarious, he is larger than life and makes this one of the most fun films I've seen in a long time.

If you don't mind challengingly deviant films dealing with fighting, mental instability, fighting, prison, and fighting, then check this out.  It is definitely an enjoyable trip.

The Kid Stays in the Picture

I had heard of Robert Evans before, being an avid movie buff, but never realized the extent to which he has had such an impact on my love for film.  An actor, producer, and former head of Paramount, Robert Evans was behind some of the most influential and important movies ever to come out of Hollywood.

But that is not why I write this post.  Robert Evans, and this well-done and gripping documentary based on his memoirs, also stands (in my mind, at least) as a metaphor for the Hollywood dream.  From the chance meeting that launched his career to the battles with Francis Ford Coppola that created a movie that defined the medium in the Godfather, his story embodies the highs and the lows, the glamor and the drama, and larger than life personas that drive the dream.  For those of us that have the same dream, his story documents that it can be done; that passion can drive success; that hard work and a commitment to your vision can breed success; but that also it must be nurtured and cared for or just as easily lost.

I am not captivated by movie stars - particularly today's breed where talent is often overshadowed by a beautiful face or the ability to entertain the paparazzi - but instead am enthralled by the personas that drive the industry and help create the films that affect lives and inspire creative revolution.  Robert Evans was one of those personas.  To anyone who shares my interest, I recommend you give this film a deserved viewing.

Movie Trailer Music

Thus is solved one of the great mysteries surrounding music in entertainment...good thing that car commercials don't do the same thing or else we'd all be screwed.

CNN Article on Movie Trailer Music

They forget to mention, though, the greatest use of Carmina Burana in the history of filmmaking...the intro scene to Jackass.