'Every Little Step' ****stars

it's really not fair to judge a documentary on the same playing field as a movie. so 4 stars for 'every little step is appropriate. it stands high above other 'theatre' documentaries released.

let's go back to 1975 when choreographer/director michael bennett had an idea after recording hours and hours of broadway dancers or 'gypsies' experiences on why they became dancers and their experiences getting work. he wanted to make a musical of it all. enter marvin hamlisch and joe papp and more an idea would come to life.

in 1976 this 'little' show opened off-broadway at the joe papp theater where many 'little' shows had their start. this show was 'little' as it han no setpieces except for a mirror, minimal props and they were mostly hats and dancers bags and it had no stars. no names. no above the title name recognition. well this 'little' show became the must see show of the 1975 season and made it's move to broadway where it became the longest running show until those idiot 'cats' came along. it took home a basket full of tony awards that year 9 out of the 12 it was nominated floor including bennett as director, the amazing kelly bishop as for best featured actress and of course best musical. unfortunately kelley's win meant a loss for the equally amazing priscilla lopez...it was a coin toss. then there was the featured actor win by sammy williams who tells his story on how and why he became a dancer. his was an amazing performance that goes down in history as a monologue to remember.

slow forward to 1985 when hollwood decided it was time to film this brilliant piece of musical theater. enter acclaimed director richard attenborough. we know mr. attenborough never directed a musical before this. upon seeing the movie it is conceivable that mr. attenborough never ever never saw a musical prior to this time. wgat a frackin' mess. here we have a show about dancers and this director forget the actors have feet. enough of this piece of toxic celluloid.

now a real slow forward to 2006 when a broadway revival is mounted. it was real good. it was not the original but stood on it's own merit. it did win two tony's including best revival of a musical.

so now we go back to the beginning of this little bit of history. the documentary 'every little step'. it traces the audition process for the revival...it becomes the real 'chorus line' story. intermingled with this audition process of high hopes, shattered dreams and a dream come true is archival footage of the original tapes, the original show and it's original conception and creation.

it is brilliant. it is truth. it is sad and joyous at the same time. please please please rent or buy this dvd. if you love or even like musical theater you owe yourself this pleasure. if you don't like or love musical theater i'm not sure why the hell you are reading my blog in the first place.

if you have netflix and a compatible blu ray or play station it is also available on streaming video.

i can't recommend this enough...so now i will stop...no i won't...SEE THIS FILM!

July Video Recommendations

i have already reviewed all of them either upon their theatrical or dvd/blu ray releases. i'll revisit 'a single man' on july 6 when the blu ray/dvd disc's become available.

from the vault: 'mamma mia' the film was released two years ago july 18th and remains one of the happiest film musicals of all time. revisit it or see it for the first time.

Passed June 2010

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

rue mclanahan - actress
jimmy dean - singer and sausage man
ronald neame - director
robert byrd - controversial senator

Still an Idiot: Sharron Angle BELIEVES Constitution Does NOT Guarantee Separation of Church and State

Remembering Susie on Her Birthday

damn...is susie the last of the fiery redheads. certainly looks that way.

'Twilight: Eclipse' Opens Today

'Promises, Promises' CD

the revival of course....i was kind of worried about this revival...the original seemed musically dated before it even closed. but i must admit the updated orchestrations surprised me. the time is the same the sound looks forward. they could have gotten rid of the 'turkey lurkey time' thing but but then again they never needed it in the first place.

kristin and sean are wonderful vocally. their harmony on 'what do get when you fall in love' is flawless. the rest of their vocals are on perfect pitch.katie finneran shines in her tony award role with sean in 'a fact can be a beautiful thing'.

the supporting cast sounds great.

i guess i must make the trip to ny to see this before the leads take leave.

Divorce Final

congrats sandra for breaking ties with that scumbag.

Remembering Gilda on Her Birthday

Happy Birthday Mary Stuart Masterson

a wonderful actress. so underrated and under used.

wonderful on film and was so wonderful in the revival of 'nine' on broadway. hell she can sing too...and damn well at that.



'my husband makes movies' and 'be on your own' from ''nine"

Julianna Margulies: I Never Thought 'Good Wife' Would Be a Hit

No one was more surprised that the CBS freshman drama "The Good Wife" became a hit than its star Julianna Margulies. With one season in the can, she's been rewarded with both a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series and a Screen Actors Guild award for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. And not only is she expected to be nominated for an Emmy on July 9, but many critics already are promoting her as the favorite.
She talked to TheWrap about why she came back to television and her views on awards and the Emmy in particular.

Now that you have a successful TV show, is it still possible for you to do movies -- you recently did "City Island"? And how do you feel about trying to do both?
For me it would be next to impossible to do during the season because I am the central character on the show. But offers did start to come in and I could have done a movie while on hiatus but I chose not too. I have a 2-year old son, and felt I should be home with him.

What was the movie?
I told my agent not to tell me.

You won an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress for your role on "ER" in 1995 and were nominated several times after that. Do you ever regret leaving the show while you were still at the top of your TV game?
No, never. Not once. It was the right decision at the time. I've had a great life and career since then and leaving the show afforded me other opportunities. I went right from "ER" to a TV mini-series. I've done other mini-series. I did "Scrubs," "The Sopranos," "Canterbury's Law." I've also done some movies. Maybe I wasn't on the highest radar, but I continued to do a lot of television.

How did the role on "The Good Wife" come about?
When I decided to dive back into television, my manager thought from the script that it would be the best new show of the season. When I first saw the script, I couldn't believe CBS wanted to do this type of show. CBS is known for procedural dramas and this show wasn't a pure procedural. My first impression was that it will never be picked up. The pilot storyline was too ambiguous. And it was about a woman. CBS rarely invested in female lead characters. I was surprised they picked it up.

How was it initially described to you?
CBS said it was going to be 60 percent procedural and 40 percent personalized. But it's turned into 60 percent personalized and 40 percent procedural. Going back and forth is what makes the show work.

Did you think it would be a popular as it was, almost right from the start?
Never in a million years.


Why?
I thought it was too intelligent. I thought CBS would dumb it down. But they didn't.

What were your concerns before you took the role?
I wanted to make sure the writing held up. I talked to Ridley Scott (executive producer), who had worked before with CBS', doing "Numb3rs," and he assured me that it would and the network would support it.

You've already won both a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award this year. What's your view on awards?
It's always nice to be recognized for what you do. I was particularly pleased with the SAG award because that one was from my peers. But the Golden Globe really helped the show. It premiered in London right after, and it gave some recognition there.

How do you feel as the favorite to win an Emmy in your category?
If that's what they're saying, it's lovely. It beats the alternative. But I don't read much of that stuff. I think ignorance is bliss.

How would winning another Emmy make you feel?
You want to win because you can publicly thank people who have meant so much to your career. But in the big scheme of things, we can't lose sight of what's really important. I didn't come up with a solution to ending world hunger. It's a lot of fun to walk away with the gold, but unlike the Olympics, it's a different type of competition.

What do you mean?
Well, you really can't compare performances by actors unless each one plays the same role. How can you compare Kyra Segwick's performance on "The Closer" with mine? If I win does it mean I'm better than her as an actor? No. The only way you can compare is if each actor gets up and plays the same character and does the same scene and then have people vote.

So you won't be disappointed if you don't win?
Richard Burton never won an Academy Award. Does that mean he wasn't a good actor?

By John Consoli
Published: June 25, 2010

Daytime Emmy Awards

the daytime emmy awards are presented this evening on cbs. their nomination process is so ludicrous, blue ribbon panels and yada yada, that who could really care.

these are the faces of daytime. their is soooo much talent pictured below it boggles the mind. and the ladies pictured are on daytime while the untalented anne hathaway keeps getting film roles. your guess is as good as mine.

houston and new orleans. why?



these guys:



partial lunar eclipse tonight. i know what i'm doing.



i read dick cheney is hospitalized. so what? still an idiot.

IDIOT OF THE WEEK!!!: Sarah Palin

this frackin' idiot says paying bp will lead to nazism. she a moron. that last kid to not fall very far from that proverbial tree. this bitch is mentally challenged. and bitch just for the record when are these nazi references by republicans going to stop. granted there aren't many jewish republicans but that is no excuse. IDIOTS!

Runner Up Is a Moron: Stanley McCrystal

this idiot gave an interview to 'rolling stone' bashing the administration he works for...moron.

Happy Birthday Sean

'Invictus' ***1/2stars

in lesser hands this might have been titled 'guess who's coming to the world cup'. however, damn good direction (clint eastwood) and two amazing performances by morgan freeman and matt damon raise this film above the sentimental or just another sports film based on historical events. trust me i know nothing, zero, nada about sports nor do i want to but the final minutes of this film had me on the edge of my seat and holding my breathe. eastwood did something my parents never could: get me interested in sports. trust me it's surely a once in a lifetime moment. god i pray it is.

rent this or buy this...just see it.

p.s. yet this is another 2009 film that lost the oscar to 'the hurt locker'.actually it wasn't even nominated for best picture. i still don't get it!

Sandra Bullock Plays Surprise Musical Performance at Nashville Rising Benefit for Flood Victims

Happy Birthday Michelle Lee

i have to admit i miss 'knots landing'

What Is Going on in My Mind Today?

rumors abound that the oscars will move to a january presentation. this is a great idea. i have championed it for years now.

every year the oscars come after a now gaziilion critics awards, the golden globes, the baftas and the sag awards. so by the time the oscars role around award season fatique has set in. 90% of the time the question is not who will win but will there be any surprises. coming in last at the gate has made the oscars old, tired and mostly irrelevant. the academy has let itself be run over and surpassed by too many usurpers.

i mean when the big question every year is 'will meryl finally win a third? ' the time has come to up the ante.

so to the academy board: realizing it can't happen in 2022 make it happen in 2012. and please go back to 5 nominees not the 10 of 2010. it was an experiment. it was a flop. own up and reverse this idiotic move.

Revisiting: 'Hair' *1/2

i love to revisit film yesterday. i pulled out my dvd of 'hair' and much to my surprise i hated it. i can only say i must have been stoned or tripping when i first saw this. though the locations shots were mostly authentic the wardrobe came right out of costume. show me one real hippie and/or flower child that had 'designer hippie' clothes. the orchestrations though serviceable killed a few of the numbers and a few bars in almost every number.

the acting was appalling thus i apologize but treat williams you sucked. and beverly d'angelo got the career she deserved following her portrayal of shelia...no career...gone...forgotten...take a hint anne hathaway.

john savage as claude was almost redeemable but just almost.

i have no idea what i was on the night i went with my friends to see this in 1979 but i'd love to get my hands on some of it, well a lot of it, today.

p.s. 'hair: a tribal musical' opened in 1967 off broadway. in 1968 it transferred to broadway and caused a sensation and quite a stir. waiting until 1979 to film it was so untimely as those days were well gone. at best some musicals should never be filmed. this stands atop a semi long list. this milos forman directed movie was so far from tribal and as close to hollywood mediocrity as one could get. what was i thinking or yet again what was i on?

Happy Birthday Meryl

my favorite meryl films







'i'm checking out' from ''postcards from the edge''... i love this!



and from 'mamma mia'

'the winner takes it all'



'waterloo'



'mamma mia' with film clips

Happy Birthday Amy

What Is Going on in My Mind Today?

have you noticed lately that many film critics in local papers and some magazines have been replaced by just the associated press reviews?

it really is a sad state of affairs but par for the course. as the arts are the first to go in underfunded schools so the 'arts' are the first to go in the struggling print media.

that's why we need more blogs dedicated to the arts, yes like mine, so independent thought on film and theater can get out there.

for film lovers i tell you this: the death of the local reviewer will most especially mean sure death to the already struggling independent film.

this whole turn of events really pisses me off.
hell get rid of the cartoons..or the sport pages...yeah get rid of the sport pages i mean they are on the news tv all the time...