Friday, July 13, 2012

MOVIE MOVIE WEEKEND

Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Maybe I would have enjoyed New Year's Eve more if it weren't July and hotter than Satan's rear end when he sits on his throne in hell, pretending he's king.

New Year's is a cute enough movie. It stars darn near everyone. Sadly, Ashton Kutcher is in it, but so is Jon Bonjovi. Bonjovi trumps Kutcher.
The movie consists of vignettes, each a type of love story. Various characters' lives are intertwined in ways we don't expect. I think I might like this movie if I watch it again as 2013 approaches.

George Harrison: Living In A Material World is far more interesting and well made. We have Martin Scorsese to thank for that. The documentary covers Harrison's life from the time he became a Beatle through his untimely death from cancer, with a special focus on Harrison's spirituality.

Many of his colleagues are interviewed, including Paul and Ringo, and Eric Clapton. His ex-wife, Pattie Boyd, speaks well of Harrison, and his widow, Olivia, tells the story of how they were attacked in their own home and George was stabbed -- something I had forgotten. George and Olivia's son Dhani is included in the documentary, too. He seems quite a handsome and intelligent lad who loved his father.

I had also forgotten how many beautiful songs George Harrison wrote. One thinks of John and Paul as The Beatles' songwriters, but Harrison had a very special musical touch all his own. I always associate "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" with Harrison, but I think of "Something" as a Beatles song and not really Harrison's. I shouldn't. "Something" is a George Harrison-penned song.

I also love "My Sweet Lord," "Taxman," and "Here Comes the Sun."

What a talented man he was. Paul speaks of how quickly Harrison could learn to play a song that someone else wrote, and could add his own little touches that improved the composition. It was Harrison who put together The Traveling Wilburys (consisting of Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Bob Dylan). He held The Concert for Bangladesh -- the first fundraising effort of its kind, according to the documentary.

Apparently he also had quite the quirky sense of humor, but I don't want to start telling stories about how funny he was. You should watch this documentary for yourself to learn more about George Harrison. I give Living In A Material World the Junebug Seal of Approval.  

Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

12 comments:

  1. I just figured "New Year's" is an attempt at copying "Love Actually", just like "Valentine's Day" so I have stayed loyal to "Love Actually" and not seen either. The George Harrison documentary sounds great and I know Branden would be really interested in seeing it. Thanks for the review; I'll have to check it out :)

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    1. It didn't occur to me that it was an attempt to make another "Love, Actually," but it makes sense. I love "Love, Actually."

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  2. Thank you for the video on George. I enjoyed it.

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  3. I just watched the George Harrison documentary a couple weeks ago and really enjoyed it! I forgot about him being attacked and stabbed in his own home, too. And didn't know he wrote some of those wonderful songs, either.

    I figured I'd pass on the New Year's Eve movie and it sounds like that was a good decision--LOL! ;)

    Happy Friday the 13th!

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    1. It was a good decision, Rita. I learned so much from the documentary. God bless Scorsese.

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  4. Great video. Thanks! I won't bore you by telling you again how infrequently (like NEVER) we go to the movies. Oops. Guess I just did, huh? Sorry. Hope you have a super weekend.

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    1. It's been almost a year since I saw a movie in a theater, Susan. It's too expensive. I rely on Netflix and some of the cheaper movie channels.

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  5. Thanks for the review. Just added it to my Netflix queue. I loved George and I think he liked being the "quiet" one. He really was talented and funny as hell. I've seen footage and interviews from other sources and he had that dry humor that I love. He died way too young. Fabulous post. Hugs.

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    1. Thanks, Barb. I think you'll really enjoy it.

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  6. Oh I want to watch the one with Bon Jovi just to stare at him. Yep I just love him although now he looks old. I flew from Sri Lanka to DC just to watch his concert :)
    www.thoughtsofpaps.com

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    1. I saw him in Chicago. I don't care if he's getting older. He's beautiful.

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