JOE DIRT (2001)
I didn't think I'd like it but I love JOE DIRT. David Spade isn't one of my favorite actors but he's so good in this. He co-wrote the script and he makes Joe Dirt a real guy. I get choked up at the end of the movie when Joe Dirt is about to jump off a bridge and Brandy shows up to stop him.
Christopher Walken and Rosanna Arquette have supporting roles- they're together again for the first time since PULP FICTION. They've got something else in common: they both worked alongside Madonna- Arquette was in DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN and Walken played her guardian angel in the video for "Bad Girl".
By the way, Kid Rock, as Robbie, is awesome in this movie. I can't get enough of him.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Samuel Bayer, director
I try not to write about things I don't like, but last time we talked about Kirk Cameron so I guess I can do it again.
Nearly 20 years ago I first saw the video for Melissa Ethridge's "Come to My Window" and even though I was just a kid in high school I recognized that it was incredibly pretentious. Juliette Lewis acts like an over-emotional spaz through the whole thing and it makes me cringe and feel embarrassed to even look at it.
Tonight, I watched Samuel Mayer's video for The Cranberries's "Ridiculous Thoughts" and it's almost the same thing, except, instead of Juliette Lewis- who should've known better- it's poor, unlucky, 14 year-old Elijah Wood. Bayer's got him in the exact same outfit (light-colored pants and white tank top) and crying & wailing like a freak.
Bayer's best known video is for "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The only movie he ever did was the remake of Nightmare On Elm Street.
I'm sad to report that he directed the videos for my two favorite Sheryl Crow songs: "My Favorite Mistake" and "Home". I've always hated the video for "Home" but I didn't know until tonight that it was Bayer who made it. If you've ever seen it then you remember it and hate it too. In it, Crow is performing at some kind of demolition derby somewhere in the South and there's all these black and white shots of audience members and you can tell they were all chosen for having some unfortunate physical feature: fat, wrinkly, bad teeth. It's like he's trying to present the people as inbred freaks but, really, it justs shows the kind of person that Bayer is. I don't like Samuel Bayer and I hate his work.
Nearly 20 years ago I first saw the video for Melissa Ethridge's "Come to My Window" and even though I was just a kid in high school I recognized that it was incredibly pretentious. Juliette Lewis acts like an over-emotional spaz through the whole thing and it makes me cringe and feel embarrassed to even look at it.
Tonight, I watched Samuel Mayer's video for The Cranberries's "Ridiculous Thoughts" and it's almost the same thing, except, instead of Juliette Lewis- who should've known better- it's poor, unlucky, 14 year-old Elijah Wood. Bayer's got him in the exact same outfit (light-colored pants and white tank top) and crying & wailing like a freak.
Bayer's best known video is for "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The only movie he ever did was the remake of Nightmare On Elm Street.
I'm sad to report that he directed the videos for my two favorite Sheryl Crow songs: "My Favorite Mistake" and "Home". I've always hated the video for "Home" but I didn't know until tonight that it was Bayer who made it. If you've ever seen it then you remember it and hate it too. In it, Crow is performing at some kind of demolition derby somewhere in the South and there's all these black and white shots of audience members and you can tell they were all chosen for having some unfortunate physical feature: fat, wrinkly, bad teeth. It's like he's trying to present the people as inbred freaks but, really, it justs shows the kind of person that Bayer is. I don't like Samuel Bayer and I hate his work.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Kirk Cameron
One thing I don't like to talk about here at RJ Battles is politics. There are a lot of reasons for that, but the main one is the same reason that I don't talk about politics in real-life: even if it were possible to change other peoples' opinions, it wouldn't be worth all the arguing.
The online version of my local newspaper allows readers to post comments about news articles. I try not to read them (without success) because the comments usually make me dislike my fellow humans. Even if I agree with what a certain reader has posted, most of the time they've made their case in such an obnoxious way that it cancels out any positive feelings I might have.
Sometimes someone will post something so wrong- so clearly wrong- that I'll be tempted to respond. Arguments will form in my head until I have the perfect reponse but I don't post because I know that it's nearly impossible to change peoples' minds and even more unlikely that someone is going post afterwards and admit that they were wrong.
Everyone knows that it's frustrating to hold a certain view and then hear someone argue against that view with misinformation or plain lies. And I don't know why I care so much what other people think or say but I do and I guess I'm not alone.
If Cyndi Lauper started going on TV and saying that abortion was wrong and should be outlawed I'd be really upset. I like Cyndi and I care what she thinks and it would bother me if she went around saying things that were just wrong.
I don't care about Kirk Cameron and I never did. When I was a kid I watched Growing Pains ,along with everything else that was on at the time. Even then Kirk Cameron seemed bland; I didn't understand how he had any appeal to anyone. No great acting talent, not funny, and handsome only in the most basic, forgettable way.
I don't think I knew until after 1990, after I'd already lost interest in Growing Pains, that Cameron had become a born-again Christian. Since the show went off the air in 1992 he fell off my radar, and most everyone else's, completely. Once in a while, though, he'd pop up on TV. VH1 would do a show about the 80s and Cameron would be there talking about how important his family was to him, blah, blah, blah.
He's spent the last twenty years making Christian entertainment, and since since I haven't seen any of it, it wouldn't be fair for me put entertainment in quotes like I'd like to.
Anyway, a lot of people are upset with Kirk Cameron because he went on Piers Morgan and when he was asked if homosexuality is a sin he said it was "unnatural, detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization".
That doesn't really bother me. It doesn't bother me that he believes that and it doesn't bother me that he's willing to go on TV and admit that to the world. Maybe because I'm not surprised. I don't know.
I saw that a lot of people responded on Twitter. My favorite post was from Billy Eichner (@billyeichner)-
"So great to hear what Kirk Cameron thinks about gay people. Anybody know where Tina Yothers stands on the death penalty?"
I do feel bad about something else he said though- Morgan asked Cameron how he'd react if one of his children (he has six) told him they were gay. Cameron said he wouldn't have the same response as Morgan (basically, "Good for you"). Instead, they'd sit down and have a "heart to heart" (that phrase makes me cringe and it falls under the other definition of "gay": very lame) and Cameron would explain that you can't always act on your feelings.
This bothers me because, like I said, there are six Cameron kids. It's very likly that at least one of them could be gay. We'll never know how many young people have killed themselves because they had a secret that they felt they could never tell.
It's been my experience that Christian men who speak out against homosexuality sound exactly like alcholic Christians who speak out against drinking. In other words, homosexuality is something that they've experienced, if only in fantasies.
It's also been my experience that men who are completely straight are usually not hostile towards gays at all; they might see gay male celebrities as ridiculous, and they might find gay men in real life annoying, but basically they don't care. The real hatred usually comes from the "straight" guys who are fighting their own temptations. Just think of the anti-gay politicians who get caught trying to hook up with Congressional pages or in airport bathrooms.
But back to Kirk Cameron and what really bothers me about him. I read (on Wikipedia, so who knows but I tend to think it's all true- it hasn't been removed) that after Cameron became a born-again Christian he insisted that Growing Pains be squeaky-clean. Writers had to remove anything that was too sexual. Can you imagine what a drag it must've been to work with him back then? He was seventeen years old and telling grown adults what they could and couldn't put into their scripts.
But that's not even the worst of it. Julie McCullough was hired to play the Seavers' nanny in 1989 and after eight episodes she was fired because she had posed for Playboy and Cameron said to the producers that letting McCullough star on the show would be "promoting pornography" (this is what Wiki said Cameron said).
I feel so bad for this poor girl. She's a young actress and finally lands a role on a popular TV show only to be fired for such a stupid reason. I'm imagining her calling and telling her mother the bad news. McCullough says that one of the cast member's was offended that she'd posed naked and right away her mother would assume it must be Joanna Kerns, the mother, Maggie Seaver. McCullough's mother is shocked- Kerns seems so nice, you wouldn't think that she'd be such an uptight prude. "No, Mom, it wasn't Joanna Kerns." At this point she'd be confused. Maybe she'd think it was the daughter on the show, Carol Seaver. Maybe Tracy Gold blames the media and models for promoting an unhealthy body image to young woman. "No, Mom, it was the guy. The 17 year-old guy, Kirk Cameron. He thinks it's wrong that I posed naked in Playboy and he doesn't want me on the show."
I guess that in his autobiography Kirk Cameron denies having McCullough fired but I think he's not telling the full truth. Maybe he never said "Fire her", but I'm sure he made it very clear without actually coming out and saying it that he did not want her working on the show and as a result they let her go.
By the way, I read that Kirk Cameron did not invite any of his Growing Pains co-stars to his wedding. I'm guessing none of his Growing Pains co-stars cared much.
The online version of my local newspaper allows readers to post comments about news articles. I try not to read them (without success) because the comments usually make me dislike my fellow humans. Even if I agree with what a certain reader has posted, most of the time they've made their case in such an obnoxious way that it cancels out any positive feelings I might have.
Sometimes someone will post something so wrong- so clearly wrong- that I'll be tempted to respond. Arguments will form in my head until I have the perfect reponse but I don't post because I know that it's nearly impossible to change peoples' minds and even more unlikely that someone is going post afterwards and admit that they were wrong.
Everyone knows that it's frustrating to hold a certain view and then hear someone argue against that view with misinformation or plain lies. And I don't know why I care so much what other people think or say but I do and I guess I'm not alone.
If Cyndi Lauper started going on TV and saying that abortion was wrong and should be outlawed I'd be really upset. I like Cyndi and I care what she thinks and it would bother me if she went around saying things that were just wrong.
I don't care about Kirk Cameron and I never did. When I was a kid I watched Growing Pains ,along with everything else that was on at the time. Even then Kirk Cameron seemed bland; I didn't understand how he had any appeal to anyone. No great acting talent, not funny, and handsome only in the most basic, forgettable way.
I don't think I knew until after 1990, after I'd already lost interest in Growing Pains, that Cameron had become a born-again Christian. Since the show went off the air in 1992 he fell off my radar, and most everyone else's, completely. Once in a while, though, he'd pop up on TV. VH1 would do a show about the 80s and Cameron would be there talking about how important his family was to him, blah, blah, blah.
He's spent the last twenty years making Christian entertainment, and since since I haven't seen any of it, it wouldn't be fair for me put entertainment in quotes like I'd like to.
Anyway, a lot of people are upset with Kirk Cameron because he went on Piers Morgan and when he was asked if homosexuality is a sin he said it was "unnatural, detrimental, and ultimately destructive to so many of the foundations of civilization".
That doesn't really bother me. It doesn't bother me that he believes that and it doesn't bother me that he's willing to go on TV and admit that to the world. Maybe because I'm not surprised. I don't know.
I saw that a lot of people responded on Twitter. My favorite post was from Billy Eichner (@billyeichner)-
"So great to hear what Kirk Cameron thinks about gay people. Anybody know where Tina Yothers stands on the death penalty?"
I do feel bad about something else he said though- Morgan asked Cameron how he'd react if one of his children (he has six) told him they were gay. Cameron said he wouldn't have the same response as Morgan (basically, "Good for you"). Instead, they'd sit down and have a "heart to heart" (that phrase makes me cringe and it falls under the other definition of "gay": very lame) and Cameron would explain that you can't always act on your feelings.
This bothers me because, like I said, there are six Cameron kids. It's very likly that at least one of them could be gay. We'll never know how many young people have killed themselves because they had a secret that they felt they could never tell.
It's been my experience that Christian men who speak out against homosexuality sound exactly like alcholic Christians who speak out against drinking. In other words, homosexuality is something that they've experienced, if only in fantasies.
It's also been my experience that men who are completely straight are usually not hostile towards gays at all; they might see gay male celebrities as ridiculous, and they might find gay men in real life annoying, but basically they don't care. The real hatred usually comes from the "straight" guys who are fighting their own temptations. Just think of the anti-gay politicians who get caught trying to hook up with Congressional pages or in airport bathrooms.
But back to Kirk Cameron and what really bothers me about him. I read (on Wikipedia, so who knows but I tend to think it's all true- it hasn't been removed) that after Cameron became a born-again Christian he insisted that Growing Pains be squeaky-clean. Writers had to remove anything that was too sexual. Can you imagine what a drag it must've been to work with him back then? He was seventeen years old and telling grown adults what they could and couldn't put into their scripts.
But that's not even the worst of it. Julie McCullough was hired to play the Seavers' nanny in 1989 and after eight episodes she was fired because she had posed for Playboy and Cameron said to the producers that letting McCullough star on the show would be "promoting pornography" (this is what Wiki said Cameron said).
I feel so bad for this poor girl. She's a young actress and finally lands a role on a popular TV show only to be fired for such a stupid reason. I'm imagining her calling and telling her mother the bad news. McCullough says that one of the cast member's was offended that she'd posed naked and right away her mother would assume it must be Joanna Kerns, the mother, Maggie Seaver. McCullough's mother is shocked- Kerns seems so nice, you wouldn't think that she'd be such an uptight prude. "No, Mom, it wasn't Joanna Kerns." At this point she'd be confused. Maybe she'd think it was the daughter on the show, Carol Seaver. Maybe Tracy Gold blames the media and models for promoting an unhealthy body image to young woman. "No, Mom, it was the guy. The 17 year-old guy, Kirk Cameron. He thinks it's wrong that I posed naked in Playboy and he doesn't want me on the show."
I guess that in his autobiography Kirk Cameron denies having McCullough fired but I think he's not telling the full truth. Maybe he never said "Fire her", but I'm sure he made it very clear without actually coming out and saying it that he did not want her working on the show and as a result they let her go.
By the way, I read that Kirk Cameron did not invite any of his Growing Pains co-stars to his wedding. I'm guessing none of his Growing Pains co-stars cared much.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Winter
Here in Western Mass it's been the best, warmest winter anyone could've hoped for. Really, the only real snow we got was on Saturday, October 29 when we got a big snowstorm before the leaves had fallen from the trees and all kinds of branches broke off and left everybody without power- me for two days, some towns for over a week.
This morning I was out having a smoke and waiting for my dad to pick me up and these hard round snowballs started falling. They made a sound when they hit the ground. We drove 20 miles south to my parents' house and they had about an inch of snow. When I got back home around 1pm it was just raining here and it's raining still.
This is great. We made it through January- the worst month. I always think that if you can survive January then you're all set for the rest of the year; everything else will be easy. Now there's less than a month of winter left.
My only regret for this winter is that I didn't read more. I don't know what I did with the last two months; I just know that I have nothing to show for it.
Anyway, I hope that whereever you are you're having a good winter and if you aren't, hold on, spring will be here soon.
This morning I was out having a smoke and waiting for my dad to pick me up and these hard round snowballs started falling. They made a sound when they hit the ground. We drove 20 miles south to my parents' house and they had about an inch of snow. When I got back home around 1pm it was just raining here and it's raining still.
This is great. We made it through January- the worst month. I always think that if you can survive January then you're all set for the rest of the year; everything else will be easy. Now there's less than a month of winter left.
My only regret for this winter is that I didn't read more. I don't know what I did with the last two months; I just know that I have nothing to show for it.
Anyway, I hope that whereever you are you're having a good winter and if you aren't, hold on, spring will be here soon.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
How was your Valentine's Day?
Yeah, mine too.
I'm glad that I posted all those pictures the other night, because I got busy and I haven't been able to come here since that night.
I just showered, shaved, and popped a couple TylPMs and I figured I had a couple minutes before they started to kick in so I'm writing this while YouTube is playing "Saving All My Love For You". I didn't really like that song at the time- I was a kid and it was too slow for me- but now it's one of my favorites.
"I Wanna Dance With Somebody" (and the B-side "Moment Of Truth)
"I'm You Baby Tonight"
"We Didn't Know" (duet with Stevie Wonder)
I Will Always Love You"
and probably my favorite:
"My Love Is Your Love"
I got The Bodyguard soundtrack for Christmas that year and I liked the movie a lot. It always reminds we of Christmastime during my high school years. Thinking back, it's not that great of an album. Aside from "I'm Every Woman", Whitney doesn't have any really good songs on it; Side Two is various artists and the only song I like there is a cover of "It's Gonna Be A Lovely Day".
Alright, I'm going to bed now. Good night.
I'm glad that I posted all those pictures the other night, because I got busy and I haven't been able to come here since that night.
I just showered, shaved, and popped a couple TylPMs and I figured I had a couple minutes before they started to kick in so I'm writing this while YouTube is playing "Saving All My Love For You". I didn't really like that song at the time- I was a kid and it was too slow for me- but now it's one of my favorites.
"I Wanna Dance With Somebody" (and the B-side "Moment Of Truth)
"I'm You Baby Tonight"
"We Didn't Know" (duet with Stevie Wonder)
I Will Always Love You"
and probably my favorite:
"My Love Is Your Love"
I got The Bodyguard soundtrack for Christmas that year and I liked the movie a lot. It always reminds we of Christmastime during my high school years. Thinking back, it's not that great of an album. Aside from "I'm Every Woman", Whitney doesn't have any really good songs on it; Side Two is various artists and the only song I like there is a cover of "It's Gonna Be A Lovely Day".
Alright, I'm going to bed now. Good night.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Belly "King"
Belly's second album King came out on February 14, 1995. They released a special edition in a hard cover book form and I've never seen it in a store but I've always wanted it. If anyone has it and feels like giving me an early birthday present send me a message. Here are some images.
Madonna "Keep It Together"
"Keep It Together" was the fifth single from Like A Prayer. If my memory is right, "Like A Prayer" came out right before the albim was released, "Express Yourself" came out around April or May of 1989, "Cherish" in August, and "Oh Father" was out just before Christmas. The time of the releases seemed to fit their seasons well. "Cherish" was a great summertime song, and "Oh Father" had a wintery sound plus a snowy video.
"Keep It Together" came out sometime at the middle of winter 1990. I don't remember if it was out at Valentine's Day, but the sleeve definitely has a Valentine's day look to it: color, black and white, red and pink. One maxi-single just had remixes of the song, another opened with an extended remix of "Cherish".
I read that originally Madonna wanted the B-side to a song that she had made after the release of Prayer, a dance song called "Vogue", but once Sire Records heard it they convinced her to wait and release it as a single. It went on to be a big hit, and one of the only good songs on her next record, I'm Breathless- Music From and Inspired by Dick Tracy.
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