Movies

Film Review: How To Train Your Dragon 2

How To Train Your Dragon 2 isn’t just another animated movie. From the jump, it sets out to be bigger and bolder than its predecessor and achieves on every level. From the director and writer of the original film and “Lilo & Stitch,” Dean Deblois has crafted once again a film that knows no ages and requires only an imagination. HTTYD2 is an exhilarating ride that spans new territories physically and emotionally.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 takes place five years after the Viking village of Berk has made peace with the dragons, dragons now live amongst the villagers as working animals and companions, and even take part in racing sport. Hiccup goes on adventures with his dragon, Toothless, as they discover and map unexplored lands and territories. Having come of age, he is being pressed by his father, Stoick the Vast, to succeed him as chieftain, although Hiccup remains unsure if he is ready for this responsibility.

The Good
If ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ was a raging inferno of emotion, the sequel is more like a warm, cozy campfire and it totally works to its advantage. While the initial film introduces us to its world, this puts a magnifying glass on an already beautiful creation and lets us explore its inner workings and in it’s subplots, this story flourishes to an appealing experience: one of hardship, yet truth. Struggle, then light.

As much as it is billed for children, HTTYD2 is at its core also majorly geared towards adults. Suited for all and tailored to tug emotions this movie isn’t afraid to explore the darker areas of life. Death, betrayal and suspense are all present here and while at times it may feel you walked into the wrong movie, HTTYD2 makes good on where it’s bringing you. And thats the most impressive element to this film, it has a place it wants to bring you. It not once lingers in the space of uncertainty, but every element is carefully crafted to guide you in a masterful way.

From the wonderfully arranged music to the spectacular cinematography, HTTYD2 oozes genuine emotions and authentic motives. Not only does this film teach great life lessons of overcoming fears, but in light of some events that take place in the film, HTTYD2 also teaches a much larger lesson: growing in to who your are. Like most of us, Hiccup truly perceives he knows himself, he knows who is and why he isn’t like the others. What this movie pries out of us so well is that life is about growing, not thinking we’ve arrived. If Hiccup had a closed mind to what his future held he would have missed the true fulfillment of learning who he is. Watching HTTYD2 is no different. Keep your mind open to possibilities. It may just surprise you the depth that comes from this animated film.

The Bad
………..

The Verdict
How to Train Your Dragon 2 reiterates that honesty and sincerity still work, and even more-so, time and time again they defeat the odds. It also reminds us to be true to ourselves, and although there are fears and repercussions to achieve such great heights, this movie teaches that they are worth it every time.

Go see How to Train Your Dragon 2 not only to experience a great movie, but to feel a breeze of righteous storytelling with flavors of a personal journey of growth.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 – 9.5/10

MPAA RATING: PG for adventure action and some mild rude humor

Movies

Film Review: Edge of Tomorrow

When Tom Cruise shows up in a Sci-Fi atmosphere, you’d be wise to bet summer blockbuster movie season is upon us. Although Edge of Tomorrow stays faithful to the usual big budget Hollywood film checklist, it surprisingly brings along some welcomed twists and turns that make this film an entertaining, easily watched two hours. Loosely based on the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka titled “All you need is kill”, Director Doug Liman from”The Bourne Identity” fame delivers a summer blockbuster movie yes, but an intelligent one that keeps the audience at bay and is worth your time and attention.

Tom Cruise plays “Williams Cage” an officer that finds himself caught in a time loop in a war with an alien race. His skills increase as he faces the same brutal combat scenarios, and his union with a Special Forces warrior (Emily Blunt) gets him closer and closer to defeating the enemy.

The Good
Edge of Tomorrow opens with a Tom Cruise you haven’t seen too often. He’s a nervous, weak and an uncourageous soldier by his own admission. Cruise is better than he’s been in a while here, never overreaching and damping down his usual all-intensity, all-the-time skit. This angle really plays well for the film initially and dances in unison with Emily Blunt’s strong, near invincible super soldier portrayal of Rita. Strong supporting roles by Bill Paxton and Brendan Gleeson also come in handy doing some light lifting but well delivered scenes that really round out a strong acted movie.

It must be said that Edge of Tomorrow has a significant “Groundhog Dog” esqe feel. There’s something immensely fun about seeing a character replaying the same day over and over again. And just like Groundhog day, the main character not only relives the same day and actions, he learns and grows from them. This is one of Edge of Tomorrow’s biggest strength and surprises. Cruise has some touching moments that you may not expect, but there only made possible by his growth through repetitive experiences. It gives the film substance you don’t really see too often in a blockbuster tent pole.

The Bad
“World Building” is such a huge role for sic fi films, the who, what, where when and why’s are essential to completing a unique experience. Unfortunately Edge of Tomorrow really comes up short here. Although conceptually the film still holds up, it certainly left many questions unanswered. Maybe thats looking too deep for a summer blockbuster, but those classic sci-fi films of past work in length to make you feel engulfed in thier world. Edge of Tomorrow didn’t quite reach that level for me. Does it keep the film from being enjoyable? No, but still, I wanted a little more detail and backstory and unfortunately Edge of Tomorrow gave me a dear in the headlights look in that department.

The Verdict
All in all, its hard to fault Edge of Tomorrow, especially fit smack dab in the middle of the loaded summer of big films. The script is intelligently written and that alone is a commendable achievement. A story where spoon-feeding the audience isn’t a priority sat really well with me. This could’ve gotten monotonous really quick, but Edge of Tomorrow possesses enough variation and offers enough thrills to keep the audiences hooked and entertained. One of the more clever sci-fi actioners I’ve seen in awhile.

Groundhog Day reimagined with sci-fi twist? Count me in. Again and again.

Edge of Tomorrow – 7.5/10

MPAA rating: PG-13 (for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and brief suggestive material)

Deep Thoughts, Life, Technology

The Haunting & Inevitable Future of Facebook

It’s no secret that technology is in constant change. If you’re not privy to this, do yourself justice and look around. 10 years ago nobody was face-planted into a 4 inch device, yet here we are. Technology is an extremely powerful outlet. It effects every aspect of our life, and whether you agree with it’s existence or not one thing is certain,  technology is here to stay.

As a tech follower for sometime now, I have learned a few things that remain true. The most important aspect and guarantee you can take from the tech industry is: it won’t stay still. It’s here to progress. It has to. Because it’s customers do. New customers (age groups and demographics) bring new needs. Different trends spawn fresh redesigns and feature sets. Nothing in tech is by accident. This is an important fact to remember simply because we are the customer and we should be aware of what is trying to target us, our time and our priorities. We should enjoy the product to an extent but also be knowledgable of why it is doing what it is doing. For example: When google starts asking you why you are searching for something instead of just searching for you, that should raise a bright red flag.

The future of the tech world is of immense interest to me. I find it fascinating how culture shifts with plastic tech products. I am always thinking of what could come next. These answers aren’t hard to gather if you look closely and due diligence in research. Like I mentioned, Tech’s target is us. What do we want? Do we even know? Some companies think we do. Some think we don’t. But no other company as of recent has fascinated me more than Facebook. In my opinion, the most influential company in the world.

I guess it’s only fair if I tell you my personal relationship with Facebook. Consider the source right? I joined Facebook in 2006. Right as myspace was slowing down. It was actually quite fun at first. There wasn’t many people on, you basically friended your friends, which was nice. And the end result was a nice compartmentalization of your life, nice and neat. It wasn’t long before everyone came in and flooded the servers of Facebook. And personally, it just got to be too much for me. It was too much to control, too much content to take in intelligently and too overbearing. When a tech product starts to control me, I leave. And I did. Sure countless people asked me why and how it was dumb to leave. But as for me? I knew it was the right move personally.

Facebook did something really clever before I left though. They prompted a screen in the exit process. First off, they wouldn’t let me delete my account. Only to add that they knew best and they would intelligently “deactivate” my account. (RED FLAG #1). This didn’t seat well with me . Maybe to an uninformed regular human this doesn’t matter. But to me it meant I was still living on Facebook’s servers. Since there is no option, I had to agree and so I did. I would rather be “deactivated” on their servers than participating in the confused nonsense. What also bothered me and is the point of this post is what came next: The “don’t leave, your friends will miss you page.” (RED FLAG #2). Facebook intelligently took my closest (most interacted with) friends and placed them in JPEG holders and proudly stated “they” would miss me. As if they didn’t exist beyond my computer screen. As if they weren’t real people living in the real world.

As of present day, It almost feels like everyone is attending a party that I chose and continually choose not to attend. As an introvert, this kind of makes me feel good, but as a human being , I still peak in from time to time. Facebook is attractive. It gives you up to the second news feeds of people you seemingly care about and continually refreshes to birth a new stream of content at an exhausting rate. Although in print, that description probably seems crazy, in real life usage it actually works quite well and is extravagantly addictive.

Facebook as a company fascinates me. More so, Facebook’s future as a company is the most interesting future any tech company has to offer in my opinion. Not Apple, not Google, not Samsung, not Tesla, not Twitter but Facebook.

DISCLAIMER: I would like to run at a disclaimer at this point: I am not a shareholder of any Facebook stock. Besides Apple Inc, I don’t have any internal knowledge of future product roadmaps (hardware, software or services) of any tech company. Everything I am about to put on the table about Facebook’s future is completely speculative. But it should be stated that these are informed guesses from obtainable information that any individual can dig and find on the interwebs.

PAST

To look at Facebook’s possible future we first have to look at what Facebook is capable of. The best way to do this is to simply look at their past. This is a company that started at a small university level, a limited social network that grew like no company in the history of any industry in the terms of users and marketing profit margins. So to make a long story short, Facebook has set the gold standard for a rising startup. They quickly spread and grew across the world, flicking the switch in an obscene amount of time in a ridiculous amount of places.

They also are a company who is ran by a very smart man. Enter Marc Zuckerburg. Since Steve Jobs, the smartest man in technology in my opinion. We all know Zuck’s story. Its what every young college computer science major wants to do. Start a company, be a billionaire, change the world. But personally, I don’t think Zuckerburg wanted the first two nearly as bad as he wants to change the world. And he did it and he’s doing it now. But this article will focus on how he will continue to do it.

PRESENT

By the end of 2013, Facebook boasted 1.23bn monthly active users worldwide, adding 170m in just one year. According to Facebook, 757m users log on to Facebook daily, as of 31 December 2013. Maybe you didn’t get that because those numbers seem fairytale-ish. But 757 million user log in daily. Thats an extreme amount of people giving you information, Personal information as well as public.

As good as those numbers sound though Facebook is actually on the decline in the present day. Internally they are struggling to reach core demographics of teenagers believe it or not. Twitter is actually getting more and more teens by the day, Many analysts think this is because teens do not desire to be on the same social media outlet as their parents. So the problem for Facebook now is they have too many users and they are “sherlocking” their own product. Actually that is quite fascinating and funny all at the same time.

All of this success has not made Mark Zuckerburg ignorant though. He understands as well as anyone that revolutions come from below. A small start up could one day dethrone a big giant who is basking in their own success. The innovators dilemma – where you get so caught up in your own innovation you miss the next wave of real innovation. Zuckerburg knows this all to well and he is consistently on the look out for the next big thing. Take into account his three big recent purchases:

1. Instagram – A social networking photo service that works flawless and simple. PURCHASE PRICE: 1 BILLION
2. whatsapp – A multi-platform, worldwide messaging service that was highly successful for teenagers mostly in Europe. PURCHASE PRICE: 19 BILLION!
3. Oculus Rift – A virtual reality start up that was leading the charge in real time virtual reality creation. PURCHASE PRICE: 2 BILLION

Do you notice anything about those companies? They’re all about connecting. Here it is: Facebook is about connecting you with data, in a simple sentence we have just discovered Facebook’s mission statement. Data is their business. They collect everyone’s data and literally sell it to companies and then you will see smart ads pop up on the sidebar of your pages. Coincidentally with content of your interest. This is no coincidence .

FUTURE

You see the truth and future of Facebook is right in front of you and users hardly realize it. Your information, your tendencies, your likes and dislikes your time spent on and off. Your friends, your new friends your old friends, the friend you just unfriended, the boy or girlfriend you just broke things off with, your husband, your wife, your kids, your kid’s kids, your grandchildren, their friends and your pets. Are you getting the picture yet? They keep EVERYTHING logged and they use it to their advantage, literally. It’s their business to know you. Remember YOU are the reason they exist. And they take complete advantage of such information.

Lets fast forward now and take a look down the road:

APPS
Down the road Facebook will no doubt continue it’s mobile presence. They already are turning out new iOS apps almost weekly by some of the best designers in the industry. Mike Madas and Loren Brichter just to name a few. They have released (in addition to a new revamped official app):

1. Facebook Messenger
2. Instagram
3. Facebook Page Manager
4. whatsapp
5. Facebook Paper

These are all available on iOS platform, and you may think to yourself so what? But if you look even 2 years ago, none of these existed under Facebook’s authority except their official app. Its clear Facebook is making a huge push into mobile. But why?

They are working extremely hard to be mobile-only and they will certainly continue down that road because mobile is the future and Facebook needs to be there. And they will be. Thats where the users are. Thats where the data is.

HARDWARE
This is quite tricky actually. Facebook has attempted hardware in the past, most notably the HTC Facebook phone. As far as numbers show, the phone was introduced with subpar selling number and since HTC has halted production.

Facebook’s purchase of Oculus Rift is very interesting though. Oculus Rift is an actual headset you wear to turn your world into a virtual world. So is Facebook trying to make a Facebook headset you wear to create dystopia for you to live in? Im skeptical of that, but it can’t quite be put to bed either. The jury is still out on a hardware future for Facebook.

SERVICES
Ah, here is where I want to land. This is the backbone of Facebook. Internet Services, data consumption and “connecting” users. Surly, Facebook’s future depends on this. But how? How will they and Mark Zuckerburg ensure no small start up does something fresh and unique to make Facebook look like a dinosaur. Simple answer in my opinion; They use what they already have: “data.” Your data, my data, everyone’s data; living and dead. Yes, dead.

If you’ve made it this far then I applaud you bearing my ramblings. But at last, here is my prediction:

VIRTUAL IMMORTALITY

Facebook, one day will allow you to “connect” with dead people. I know this is a dark subject but please bear with me (for a little longer). Think about that as a feature and don’t be so naive to tell me its impossible. Consider these points:

A. No one can delete anything from Facebook’s servers. Ever.
B. We’ve already established they are data hoarders.
C. Their main source of income is information.
D. Their company goal is to “connect” people.

So don’t tell me they can’t. They most certainly can and most probably will. Facebook is a publicly traded company which means numbers matter. Profit and growth matter. What better way to make growth happen to keep users “active” after they die.

The idea of replicating a personality is quite interesting. Isn’t that what actors do? They get into a different mind set for each role they play. Well, why is Facebook any less capable? If anything (in theory) they’re much more capable. An actor has to go out and do many hours and days of research on his or her role. Facebook’s research is already done. You have already given them the data. They know your personality, they just have to mirror it.

Facebook can and will intelligently replicate you after your death. Keep your profile active and operating. Think of it. If a dear love one of your’s passes away but their Facebook profile stays and more than that, you can interact. Facebook has grown so intelligent in their data consumption and Ai intelligence that they can easily reproduce your likes, dislikes, tendencies, views, opinions, past experiences, memories, photos, videos etc. You see it is all at their disposal. And don’t be so naive to think the human mind can’t be replicated. Because in reality, their not attempting to replicate your brain. Their attempting and will succeed at replicating your personality.

Who wouldn’t want to do use that service. Who wouldn’t want to ask a dead loved one a question and get a real, intelligently generated response. Of course you would. The kicker would be the accuracy level. It would be immensely sharp. All the data they have stored can easily replicate a person because they already know everything about you. They already know your family, your vacations , your pictures, your videos, your ex girlfriends and boyfriends and your already passed relatives. Your political views, your religious views your opinions on everything from newborn babies to a funeral of close friend. They know you in many ways, in a better more organized manner than you know yourself.

It’s not that this doesn’t scare me. It truly does and I’m not sure why. It could be because were so far along in a tech familiar world that this would just be another feature set of Facebook. Another software update that people just tap “update.” We are extremely numb to things that make our life convenient, me included. Facebook knows this, any tech company knows this.

Which is more horrifically scary? That you can’t delete your account from Facebook, you can only deactivate? Or that in Facebook’s agreement that we all have accepted, they have the right to do whatever they want whenever they want with your information, your photos, etc. Basically paving the way for such a service. It’s almost too simple for them. Its scary world we live in. Not only outside your computer screen, but inside internet servers. Indeed, one day my son will be able to talk to me after I’m dead through the features of Facebook. I just hope I get around to making an updated Facebook account before I die. If not for me, to transcend my content from living to afterlife, from reality to digital. But then again what is reality and what isn’t? Ask Facebook and their answer may surprise you.

Deep Thoughts, Movies

Grand Budapest Hotel Analysis

Rather than trying to show the naysayers that he’s capable of more than they think, Wes Anderson has instead devoted himself to proving the value of what they think he is – rather than broadening his film universe, Anderson has narrowed, deepened and dimensionalized it, the difference between The Royal Tenenbaums and Moonrise Kingdom being similar to that between a 2d painting and a 3d experience.

The framing device of The Grand Budapest Hotel would be enough in and of itself to continue Anderson’s inward trajectory, the story unfolding via a simple nesting doll structure that allows the filmmaker to practically incept himself. But The Grand Budapest Hotel isn’t the most Wes Anderson film because of how densely it delivers all of the familiar tropes and fetishes (Miniatures! Orphans! Characters dangling from high places!), no, his eighth feature is a great leap further down the rabbit hole of his own imagination because it’s the first Wes Anderson movie that’s about Wes Anderson movies, in my opinion.

A four-tiered confection that moves with the wild energy of Fantastic Mr. Fox but lingers with a more brutal, weaponized version of the wistfulness that haunted Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a caper comedy about how the rise of fascism in the 1930s robbed an entire continent of its civility. It’s Wes Anderson’s third consecutive home run, but more importantly it’s the only one of his films to make all of them better.

Here’s my theory: Like Inception, there are four different levels, the ones here representing four pointedly different periods. Unlike Inception, The Grand Budapest Hotel never depicts parallel action across the threads – one is the bunk bed, the other is the ladder. We start at the top, descend to the bottom, and climb back up to leave. Lest anyone be confused, Anderson and his longtime cinematographer Robert Yeoman cleverly assign separate aspect ratios to each of the time periods, the various picture sizes reflecting the look of movies endemic to their era.

Timeline 1: Present Day. A young girl with a good book in her hands visits the memorial of a late writer (the inscription on the bust simply reads: “Author”).

Timeline 2: The 1980s. The nameless Author – now a fleshy Tom Wilkinson – reads an excerpt from his treasured book, The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Timeline 3: The 1960s. A fictionalized version of the Author (Jude Law) visits the institution, which rots atop a snowy peak in the fictional Republic of Zubrowka. The lodging is obviously a pale ghost of its former self, the hollowed out home for a skeleton crew of employees who make Jack Torrance look busy. It’s there that the Author encounters Mr. Moustafa (the great F. Murray Abraham), the warm but palpably sad man who owns the worthless estate. Moustafa invites the Author to join him for dinner in a barren ballroom, and there the old man tells his guest with the story of how he first came to The Grand Budapest Hotel in the early 1930s, when he was a bright but penniless kid named Zero.

Timeline 4: The 1930s. The vast majority of the film transpires in the hotel’s majestic pre-war period (shot in boxy 1.37:1 to capture the lobby’s awesome vertical span), where a young immigrant without a family or a home is reluctantly hired as the new lobby boy by legendary concierge Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes, delivering his best work since Schindler’s List, not to mention the single most dynamic lead performance a Wes Anderson movie has ever known or required). I have no issues making that statement.

Fractured further into five separate chapters, each of which seems possessed by a different genre, The Grand Budapest Hotel welcomes you in fits and starts. It lacks the cohesive forward momentum of Anderson’s last two films, the story little more than a flimsy means of making you fall in love with its setting. The Republic of Zubrowka is like a snow globe with the hotel loosely glued to the bottom.

Gustave isn’t only the heart of this film, he’s also its soul. Both the character and the film around him are hilarious and uncommonly vulgar, but neither is ever coarse – this is by far Anderson’s most violent and unforgiving movie, his coldest in every which way, but it treasures the sweetness that survives. Likewise, Gustave may accept acts from the rich old ladies who frequent the hotel, but he does so gallantly and with pride (despite being as outwardly queer as would be allowed of a character in an early ‘30s farce). When one of those rich old ladies (Swinton) is murdered and Gustave learns that he’s the sole benefactor of a massive fortune, the dedicated concierge is far more shocked than he is satisfied, the restless plot kicking into gear as the thuggish son of the deceased (Adrien Brody) and his henchman (Willem Dafoe) seek to forcibly reclaim their inheritance.

Gustave runs the place as though he were both the king and caretaker of a self-contained fiefdom in which every detail is ruthlessly selected so as to protect the hotel from the steady march of time. The Grand Budapest Hotel is Gustave’s Moonrise Kingdom, but he gets to live there. Why give up a fantasy world if reality is a nightmare?

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a Wes Anderson movie, but The Grand Budapest Hotel is also a Wes Anderson movie. While each and every one of his movies has mirthfully celebrated the bond instilled by a shared vocation (just think of Team Zissou and its interns), The Grand Budapest Hotel sanctifies that solidarity with The Society of the Crossed Keys, a brotherhood of concierges that serves to explicitly underline the significance of what some people may have previously dismissed as an easy affectation.

Sure, its concierge is so desperately clinging to the illusion of permanence that Zero has to descend a mountain in order to fetch a newspaper, but he only shields himself from the growing fascist threat because he understands the full extent of what’s at risk. Gustave recognizes that an unyielding commitment to such individuality is itself a profound rebuke to oppression, and if you mourn how the hotel is callously gutted by the outside world – and you will – it becomes impossible to deny the value of Wes Anderson’s work, or his decision to double down on what makes it unique. Sight unseen, it might sound like cinema as defensive posturing, but The Grand Budapest Hotel locates the human element at the heart of Anderson’s style, in the process becoming his most stylish film to date.

What lazy viewers might see as more of the same, others will recognize as Anderson testing the limits of his control, the precision of his filmmaking increasing in tandem with the frenzied pace of his plot. In fact, things move and resolve so fast that the movie’s reservoir of pain almost feels iced over, like you’ve lost something but can’t quite remember what. Yet the film’s final cut is so abrupt that it’s tempting to think it instructive. After all, like the book that a girl brings to its Author’s grave, the movie will always be waiting for you to return, its story surviving what its setting could not.

Of course, at the end of the day it’s really pretty simple: either you want to see a movie in which a bearded Jeff Goldblum plays a character named Deputy Vilmos Kovacs, or you don’t. But trust me, you do. You really do.

Deep Thoughts, Family, Life, Memories of Nonni

Mickey & Mike

Mickey and Mike are my two cousins. Both are very special to me and both are without question great people. How I came to be close with them are two very different stories. But when we were close, (the span of 4 years) it was a bond that was very special and unique on all levels. You may recognize their names. I’ve mentioned them before. They are indeed my cousins who went and spent time at Nonni’s on sundays. But thats not where this story began. The story began with a book cover. It ends with content.

It was at my cousin Victoria’s (Mickey’s sister) birthday party which me and Mike first got close. Mickey and I always had a closeness because of our age. But Mike and I never really connected because of the 10 year gap. The party was a great time. It occurred at a more innocent time in my families timeline. Currently that side of my family tragically avoids each other and celebrates family milestones in an isolated fashion, but at this time everyone was just playing their usual role in the family. Everyone got along enough to be in the same room. It was great. I overheard Mike talking about film. I never knew Mike was into movies and such. We talked a little at that party and we had sort of an unsaid, natural closeness. I also overheard Mike talking about how he needed a haircut. I told him without question I would do his hair as one night after work. He came and again the conversation flourished, from the barber chair to the parking lot something was happening. Something new, yet something genuine.

It was a click moment in my life. Here was someone who I knew my entire life, who was always around but suddenly was turned into everything I admired in a blink of an eye. I couldn’t believe that A.) he talked and thought about films the way I did and B.) he actually cared about what I had to say. Mike has a calm, comfort to him. He listens to you talk and very, very rarely talks about himself. A trait I wish I had. After that talk in the parking lot things were different for me. I had a new friend. More astonishingly, it seemed he had one too.

After a little while of phone convos, Mike proposed the idea of heading to Nonni’s to fix a light for her, that was actually the first Nonni’s visit, but we started to make it a weekly thing. After a little bit Mickey caught wind and starting showing up and we sort of just formed a unit, a strong one. Mickey and Mike had got along cordially, kind of like Mike and I. But they shared similarities. They were both very interested and involved with music and the creation of it. They had a strong connection with arts and past experiences. The unit was forming with energy leading us. I don’t think any of us forced anything. It all happened so naturally.

Mickey is different from Mike in many ways though. Whereas Mike has “strong” image in my opinion, Mickey had a gentleness about him that came off as a very innocent energy. You got the feeling being around him that he was never going to be controversial and always would support your feelings on matters. Mickey had/has a big heart and in my opinion displays it in a soothing yet comfortable way. Mickey and I grew up together, we basically stayed at Nonni’s all our early summer days until we were in High School. We played Mortal Kombat (physically, not video games) We imagined our own companies, we went to the park with Nonni and played baseball. We did all sorts of fun stuff but most importantly, we connected on a deep level at young age. It solidified us a friends, not just cousins. Connections happened with Mickey and Mike in my life, just at different times. It was hard to see all of our little connections until the 3 of us combined to make a friendship. It seemed like fragments of rivers winding aimlessly until spilling into a vast ocean.

In the beginning of our hanging out, much weighed on Nonni’s. We met there every Sunday and things were cool. I found myself looking forward to seeing them and catching up on the week. Sunday after sunday we would meet and every time we would learn and feel out a little bit more about each other. We would start to have little running jokes and familiarities in conversations that were never there. It was so interesting to me. These people were around my entire life yet now, just now I am letting them into mine and learning so much more than the cover of a book. Soon, just meeting at Nonni’s wouldn’t be enough. We started to go to the movies every Sunday night after Nonni’s house. Sure the movies were great, but the magic happened after. Long conversations in the parking lot ensued while we learned more and more about one another. Like newly realized strangers, we were shocked at what we thought about each other and we were enthralled to learn new elements of each other’s life for the first time. Every sunday for me, was a new chapter to the most excited book I ever read. It was a page turner.

The 3 of us also conversed about so much more than we could ever imagine. Relationship issues. Past experiences, what we’d learned. What we wouldn’t be doing again. What we wanted to do again. It was truly a cathartic experience for myself. I could honestly say I learned how to “comfortably” just be myself around them. I didn’t need to put up a front. They enjoyed my company for who I was and I appreciated that. It made me feel “OK” to be me. I hope they would say I gave off that same energy to them. It was such pleasurable experience to be in their presence.

Sometimes writing characteristics of people just doesn’t quite get the job done, so i’ve thought very hard of memories I have of us to really portray these amazing people and hopefully add some vibrancy and life to their portrayal displayed here. There are three memories that I believe are very telling and an accurate picture about us and our relationships. 1 of Mike, 1 Mickey and 1 of all of us:

MEMORY 1 – Unselfishness of Mickey
I filmed my movie in mid 2008. Mickey’s home was the main set piece for the filming and even I didn’t realize how obtrusive filming would be. It was encompassing on us, never mind Mickey’s family who basically traded their house for a film set for 40 early mornings and 40 very late nights. Mickey wasn’t hired to do anything besides be patient (which he was). Early in the filming, it was clear I didn’t have the right man power for the crew. Mickey somewhat picked up on this and quietly, in a humbling manner just began to help. He wasn’t looking for rewards, he wasn’t doing anything to get noticed. He plainly witnessed someone he loved in need, and he delivered. I figured it was a one day thing and I was thankful. But day after day, he made my movie a priority in his life. In other words, he made something I cared about mean a great deal to him. He didn’t have too, and that was the point. That was Mickey in a nutshell. Quietly helping behind the scenes when no one asks. He’s got huge heart and the remarkable aspect of it is; he’s unaware of just how unselfish he is.

MEMORY 2 – Kindness & Thoughtfulness of Mike
Mickey unfortunately had the inevitable happen to him. His girlfriend of multiple years broke things off after she entered college. It took a month longer than Mike and I predicted (october). Well, Mickey has a kind heart and really had super strong feeling for this girl. It wasn’t hard to see what was going to happen. It was unfortunate but a ticking clock, nonetheless. Sure enough Mike called me on a Saturday and said simply “Mickey’s a mess.” “Say no more” I responded. It was like our trio bat light in the sky was shining. Mike came to the salon and Mickey followed. I will be hard pressed to forget such a night. Mike sat for hours and hours at the salon literally until early morning giving Mickey advice on how to handle things. It was an act of amazing trust on one side and unparalleled kindness on the other. I sat back and watched in complete awe. 2 people completely in the moment. Mickey called, Mike responded. I had the extreme pleasure to observe such thoughtfulness from Mike. He cared immensely for Mickey and you could clearly see, it hurt Mike to see Mickey hurt.

MEMORY 3 – Something Real
When our Nonni ultimately ended up in the hospital for the final time, it was unfortunately in the midst of our families internal warfare. People who avoided each other (and Nonni) purposely were sort of forced to come and be around one another. They felt a need of some sort I guess. I’ll never forget that feeling that everyone was there to make up for lost time with Nonni. It felt so fake to me. So manufactured. I bad situation I admit. But in the middle of all that I beheld a sight I will never forget. My big, loud Italian family conversing with one another barely being able to look each other in the eye and across the room I see Mike and Mickey just talking, even laughing. Doing what we did. Enjoying each other’s company. We left nothing on the table. Especially with Nonni, but even more so with ourselves. We were all genuine in our feelings for one another. What more can someone ask for? In a time were everyone was playing the role of life, we weren’t “playing” anything. We had something real. We had a bond that didn’t require a death in the family to mend.

Mickey and Mike weren’t obligated to be anything but cousins to me. There was no script for us to follow. Events didn’t have to happen. But they did. Not a day goes by I’m not genuinely thankful for friends like them and the experiences we shared together. I realize many people go their entire lives without such relationships. I take nothing for granted. Every Sunday at Nonni’s, I knew something special was happening. Every time Mickey, Mike and I were planning something, I knew it would be for the ages. I knew these memories were what mattered and I had a feeling they did too.

The reason the Mickey and Mike time in my life was so profound, so special and most of all, so inspiring is something I have pondered for a very long time. I recently came up with an answer. A simple answer. I guess the only way to put this may be in an example: Picture someone in your life that you see everyday but don’t talk to. Now, think of what your thoughts are on that person. No doubt, you have an opinion. Sure you do, we’re pro’s at that. Then finally, one day go talk to them. Let them filled your skewed, perceived book covers with pages of freshness and breath life into it. The simple truth is actually really simple with Mickey and Mike. If Nonni’s never happened I fear to say they would still be book covers to me. Sure we would see each other at family parties and such. And sure, maybe their content grew clearer as time ticks along, after all they are family. But that directly strikes my point. I was “supposed” to be close to these two special people. But I wasn’t and I never knew I wasn’t till I got close enough to see who they really were and are. Two special people who hold a permanent spot in my life and heart. Our time we grew close was magical to me. No other word comes close. I love them very much.

 

Life, Movies

“my movie”

Recently, many people have inquired about the movie I wrote and filmed titled “The Fiction.” I have skated around the film and how the journey personally has changed me and fulfilled a dream in many blog posts. But I definitely wanted to dedicate a certain type of structure and concise content to it. I just feel it deserves that sort of intention.

A month or so ago, I started writing a blog post about my story with the film and how it came to be and my feelings on it etc. I was planning to package all this information nice and neatly into a post. The problem with that is by midway through the first section “a visit with my agent” I was at 3500 words. It’s pretty clear that even if this is going to be a blog post, it will be broken up into many sections. I tried seeing what I could trim to make things a little more “acceptable” but honestly, this isn’t something I want to trim. I want to put into words what happened and how I honestly felt throughout the process. If for no one else, for myself.

Since the length is currently much longer than I was expecting, I also toyed around with the idea of making it a book and publishing it on kindle. I’m not sure if anyone would really be interested in how I made a film and my thought process throughout the journey. So I really have to take some time and see if this would appeal to many or just me.

Either way, the beginnings of writing about it has been an awesome experience, and I hope others enjoy reading it when it is ready in whatever form it comes in.

Life

thank you

I didn’t know if starting a blog was conducive to my life a year ago, I knew I had some thoughts I wanted to get on record for my own purposes but sharing them with unknown people seemed odd to me. Nevertheless, I figured if no one reads my writing at least my thoughts would find a home.

I wanted to finally (a year later) thank all and each of you for all your super kind words and encouragement. Your responses via email to my blog posts have been nothing short of amazing.  I’m sorry I don’t post more often, it’s something I would really like to do. But my life simply won’t allow it for the time being. With that said though, I am very thankful that each of the posts ultimately result in some fantastic email discussions that sharpen and focus the topic much, much more than I can ever do on my own.

Again, thank you so much for your feedback and continued kind words :). I hope we can continue this writer/reader relationship. Your comments have been if nothing else, a confirmation to continue.

Thank you again

-danny

Deep Thoughts, Life

Talking in the Rain

Talking in the rain makes no sense. No sense at all. Logically, if you or I were in the middle of conversing with someone and it began raining, we would simply seek shelter. Its like life, we want things our way, as comfy as we can achieve. But I earnestly and honestly ask you, what advances in your life have come from being comfortable? I can speak for myself. None. If you look closer you’ll see, the state of contentment is a violently dangerous thing. I’m afraid all too often, being comfortable hinders us from living life and living a fulfilled one at that.

The idea of this post was created by my best friend Jeremy. We were having one of our “solving the world’s problems” conversations when, yep you guessed it, it starting raining. But the conversation was so accurate, so true, so completely hitting the target of what we were trying to work out that a little rain couldn’t and for that matter wouldn’t hinder something so much more important. Connecting.

We live in world that caters to us. Were spoiled to the core. We all have cell phones that do everything for us. Our cars basically drive themselves. We have a digital screen that follows us everywhere and displays peoples lives in a continuous, exhausting flow. We have the news media chomping at the bit for our attention. We have unqualified role models setting unobtainable expectations which is a disgusting product of marketing in America. But my point is: whatever you need, It’s here and available. Its comfortable and at an arm’s length to obtain.  And in a crazy twist of our now scary reality, we are all content, dare I say numb to our surroundings. We are absent when questioning why. We just do and assume the best. We all need something to wake us up, out of this heavy, heavy haze.

That’s why we need to feel the rain. Or more importantly, *we* need to *feel* something. Anything. Anything to knock us out of that exhausting line of blindly walking to nowhere. There’s that popular Hilary Cooper quote: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.” Think about that for a second. Now the scary part, apply it to your life. Where I ask, where have our breathless moments gone? The option of having them hasn’t left. It’s sitting idle twiddling it’s thumbs while we use ours to flick the screens of our phones. A sad affair, unfortunately. Yet a reality.

What to do? Maybe your content with living life in this fashion. I’m not, and pray I never will be. So heres some thoughts I have on my brain to maybe change some things. Change your work flow so to speak. Maybe they’ll be beneficial to you, maybe not. But it doesn’t hurt trying.

First and foremost, Get out of your comfort zone. I mean we exist in a world of comfort.  Comfort, in my opinion is not a measure of what you should be doing. So in that logic, just because your comfortable doesn’t mean what you’re doing is right. Probably, it means the opposite. Do something fresh, something new. Something you’re not an “expert” on. Learn something worth learning. Get out of routine. Don’t let your schedule run you. Theres something so simple and beautiful about a spontaneous moment.  I fear when I look back at my life too many things will have been done because they were expected or part of an itinerary. That makes me sad. Sad for me sure,  but more importantly sad for those I love.

The second thing is something I mentioned in a previous post “tech>you?” But I’ll hit it again here because it ties in nicely here. Trying connecting with people instead of screens. I know, I know, we love our phones and tablets and everything else. But what if connecting with people is the only thing that really matters in life? What if you find out too late that you should have spent more time with someone or gave someone more attention. Could it be that screens hinder us in ways we can’t control? I would bid to say yes. More so, I would submit that the recipient who deserves your attention feels unappreciated. I would hate to think someone (especially someone who I care for infinitely) felt second to a device or an inanimate object. It feels demoralizing and lonely. How do I know? Because to my shame I was on both ends. And if those are the vibes you want to throw to people. Well, I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.

I’m not sure if those will help. But if you don’t believe these are serious affairs. Consider your kids (if you have them). Here’s a frightening question I submit to you. Would you be happy if your kids turned out exactly like you are at this moment? Scary stuff huh? Maybe it’s just me, but I would rather my son get a little wet in the rain having the best conversation or playtime of his life then be squeaky clean and dry staring at screen just because everyone else was. Its time to take back our lives from whatever hinders us from being us. The devices and schedules have won for far too long. Put them down and look around. Its worth it I promise. If not for you, for those who want to do that long lost thing: Connect with those they love.

I still completely agree with the first line of this post. Talking in the rain still makes no sense. No sense at all. I mean think about it. There you are standings with someone, both soaked with water dripping down your face. And sure maybe your uncomfortable, maybe you look silly. But maybe, just maybe your comfort doesn’t measure whats really important. Your outward appearance doesn’t judge who you are truly on the inside. But what if talking in the rain is all that really matters? An moment of pure connection.

Heres the thing,  talking in the rain doesn’t need to make sense. Not everything we do needs to be logically correct or fit a certain order. It’s ok to do things that don’t make sense. It’s ok to not follow the mold. Its you being you and not a fabricated version of you with hints of genuine traits.  It’s OK to feel the rain time and time again. It’s productive to get wet. To feel the result of a non comfortable life. You see, the rain is a test. A test of how you choose to live your life, and getting wet is the reward. The rain you can always dry off, remove if you will. Connecting with someone you love, you can’t.

We all need to get wet once in our lives, and live such a life that all that really matters is talking in the rain.

Pro Tip:  Leave your umbrella at home.