Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings

Tax the Rich

 

Movie Monday

 

I just don't get the undecided voter in this US presidential election. Now, I get if the polled person is asked: Are you going to vote for a President this year or not? and answer: I'm undecided.  

 

Conservatives, who would always vote Republican but think that Romney is not of the "true faith" might say: I'm undecided. Progressives, thinking that Obama has really let them down, might have the same response. But I can't imagine that either conservatives or progressives would be undecided as to whether they will push the button for Romney or Obama. It makes no sense.

 

Even I, liberal progressive which I am, and disappointed in Obama's progressive record, never mused: Say, maybe I'll vote for Romney instead of Obama. I'm undecided.  Romney was never a choice.

 

Is it just an ego-booster for the survey taker to say to the pollster: Undecided, thus announcing to the political world: You'd better woo me? Or are Americans just so wrapped in their cocoon of consumerism and/or jaded beyond redemption because the rich and the uber-rich have raped the country without remorse or punishment for so long that they really don't care who wins this election? Either way, it's scary and sad. 

 

Vampyr, the 1933 German classic, was going to be my review pick today. But I couldn't do it! Now, I've ditched movies because of excessive violence or horrible acting but this is a first: I lasted about 5 minutes before the wallpaper did me in!

 

I can take slow, expressionistic German movies. I can take their slow directorial pace which includes the unnatural slowness in the actor's movements [in the 1930s, many actors still came from the stage (where timing is different) to the movies.] I can even excuse the poor sound and film quality in such old films.

 

Commenter, Stephen, says it best in IMDb:  Shot with little camera movement in a house of small rooms and short ceilings(not the typical horror mansion) where the scariest thing is the fleur-de-lis print wallpaper. 

 

Yes, the wallpaper did me in. How was I going to accept a vampire horror film with that prosaic wallpaper which probably adorned the walls of many, many newly married grand-parents or great-grand parents of today? Because unless you're Red Riding Hood, going to grandma's house is never scary.

 

So I ditched Vampyr for this week, though maybe weakness will get me and one day soon I'll watch this public domain movie on my computer. If only I can get past those walls!

 

But, once again, Sunday night pulled my fat out of the fire and I got to see a reviewable movie: That Guy... Who Was in That Thing (2012)

 

Now while I watch far too many movies, I have never understood how actors can bare their souls. I'm creative in that I knit stuff and I guess you could shatter me by saying of my work: That's a piece of crap. But you're insulting my work, a separate object from me. With actors, when they get rejected they have no such buffer. Unless they build up a thick skin and very strong ego, rejection at an audition tells them: You're a piece of crap. I would never be brave enough to hear such rejection over and over again.

 

That Guy... Who Was in That Thing  is a documentary where 12 pretty recognizable character actors talk about their profession. This is not a rags to riches documentary: "And they all worked very hard and look where they are now." This documentary pulls you into the hand-to-mouth existence of approximately 96% of actors. They talk about not having an audition for 1/2 a year and not working for two years. Even the ones you will recognize from hit movies are left rudderless when the movie ends and have to scramble for more work. These are not your stars who walk the red carpet. These are your yeoman actors who so often steal the scene in their minor roles but whose name you can never quite remember. They talk about supporting families in tough economic times where acting jobs are drying up as is the actor's pay. They talk about the audition process (hate it), the luck factor in acting and the presence of very supportive wives. The anecdotal stories they tell don't always have a happy ending.

 

You listen to riveting ramblings about so many aspects of the acting profession. Behind everything they say, is the creative drive which keeps them plodding along. What sounds like hardship and heartache to the listener must give them moments of bliss which makes practicing this insane profession worthwhile.

 

I can't say I came from this movie thinking: Now, I understand why people act but this is a "must see" acting documentary. Although this is definitely an all-talking film, I was still ready for more when the credits started rolling. You won't be disappointed.