MOVIE REVIEW: "This Is It"

MOVIE REVIEW:

"Michael Jackson's This Is It" (2009)

Rated PG. 111 mins. Colour. USA. Limited time engagement, but at time of review posted it is still in most theaters. Will end its run the following Wednesday. (Nov. 10)

WARNING: May contain spoilers..........aw hell, I'm not gonna lie to you. It DOES contain spoilers.

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CREDITS:

Director: Kenny Ortega

Starring: Michael Jackson (R.I.P.), Kenny Ortega, Orianthi Panagaris, and many others.

Producers: Paul Gongaware and Randy Phillips

Cinematography: Kevin Mazur

Studio: AEG Live and The Michael Jackson Company, LLC.

Distribution: Columbia Pictures

(Info from Wikipedia.org)

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Well, this review is going to be different than my other ones. For one thing, this film doesn't suck. Second, the film is more of a documentary. It can also be viewed as a concert as well, with all of the rehearsal footage. And finally, despite being a fan of MJ, I'll try to not make the review seem biased. No promises, though.

The film is staged mostly at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, where MJ was rehearsing for his "This Is It" tour, a set of 50 consecutive concerts at London's O2 arena. Sadly, MJ died before he could perform, just 18 days shy of the first performance date. Given this information, this film chronicles MJ's final days alive.

The content of the film is mostly rehearsal footage, and while it sounds unimpressive in words, what I have seen was pretty amazing. Jackson, who was 50 years old at the time of filming and had an emaciated appearance, actually still had the magic. During sets, he would dance along with the backup dancers, who were all 20-somethings, and he STILL busts harder moves. To be honest, I thought his age and health would hinder his abilities, but I was proven wrong. He truly was, is, and forever will be the King of Pop.

Fun fact: Jackson's personal trainer at the time was Lou Ferrigno. Yes, the Incredible Hulk whipped MJ into epic-dancing shape. And I applauded Ferrigno for that. Go Lou.

But yeah, aside from the sessions (MJ was a strict yet compassionate perfectionist), the audiovisual stuff was awe-inspiring. MJ's vocals and moves, the backup musicians and dancers, the CGI in the background...all impressive. Everyone worked really hard. And these scenes are all REHEARSALS. Imagine if MJ was still alive to perform the concerts...it would've been amazing. I now understand why people paid through the nose for concert tickets when he announced his "This Is It" tour.

I did enjoy the song in the end, entitled "This Is It". Although, I've heard that it was possibly a mix from an older, unreleased song, and that it didn't contain the "touch". Still, it was a fitting end to the film.

I know this review isn't traditional, but keep in mind that neither is the film. It's more of an experience for a Michael Jackson fan, if anything. I just hope it comes out on DVD in the near future. To hell with the compilation album, though. I don't feel like paying Sony more money just for another compilation with ONE new song in it ("This Is It"). I can just score the MP3 online instead. The companion book looked neat, however, since there's stills from the film in it. But, if anything, this film is the best bet, as well as the most affordable, compared to a $15 book and a $17 compilation CD (or $70 for the "collector's edition"!).

Also, Orianthi Panagaris is an extremely talented guitarist. Just sayin'.

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FINAL SCORE: A- (It was pretty impressive, overall. Although I can't help but feel bothered that this film was released a bit too soon, without MJ's final approval. Since he's deceased, though, the whole point is moot. Nevertheless, it's still something that MJ fans will love.)

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Well...that's all for my review. Thank you, good night, and take care of your eyesight.

Bless,

Burning the Midnight Oil

The Ray N. Experience wishes you a Happy Halloween. Remember to bring along some hand sanitizer on your travels, whether it's a party or trick-or-treating; candy is handed out quite liberally and germs can be spread just as easily, what with the H1N1 scare and all. As for myself, I'm not sure what to do tomorrow. I do have a mask, but I have no concrete plans other than work on some homework and other routine things. Have I gotten too old for Halloween?

Although I don't have any plans for Halloween, I do have plans today. You may notice that this week's post is up earlier than I normally post as of late, and there's good reason. I plan on watching the Michael Jackson documentary "This Is It" at the theatre and watch MJ's final days of rehearsal. Should be cool, I hope. Will post a review next week.

Speaking of hand sanitizer and H1N1, the week after next, "The Madman Diaries III" will be posted and the content will be about those very subjects. After that, I'll be free out of advance ideas, and I'm too busy/lazy to come up with new content for the next post. Hopefully Thanksgiving Break will hit and I can take a week off from posting without feeling overly guilty about it.

Also, before I'm done for tonight, the illustration above is lovingly colored by the amazing Van Krause. I just drew it. But yeah, please give Van Krause some thanks. He's helped me out when I'm busy with other things and he's made of all kinds of awesome. Again, thank you, Van Krause! Remind me to get you something nice! ♥

I hope you all have a fun and safe Halloween! Seriously, if something bad happens to anyone, I'll have less readers. And that's never a good thing.

Bless,



PS: I want a caramel apple. Hold the razor blades. Thank you.

Life's a Total Drag, Man

Hello dear reader.

Life is full of experiences. Some of them are pretty out there. Last night was one of such trippy experiences.

I attended a drag show. And I don't mean drag racing.

I mean "drag" as in drag queens and drag kings. I.e. cross-dressers. (Or "okama" for you weeaboos out there.)

Last night, I attended my college's first annual drag show. It was organized by the school GSA and other groups and the event was named "Kings & Queens: It's a Drag Affair". I've heard of drag shows among the LGBT community, and aside from watching transvestites on "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "One Piece", I've never been to one. For those of you who frown upon the very idea, I'll just tell you two things: We have the freedom to express ourselves, and that Bugs Bunny was often in drag and nobody made a fuss over it. Moving on...

There wasn't a program with a list of all of the performers, and my short-term memory is horrible, so I couldn't type up anything detailed, but I can offer a brief synopsis of what went on last night:

I entered the show, and it started at around 6:30 PM (there was a delay). Numerous technical difficulties aside, the show was quite interesting. Not only were there men out there in drag, there were also "kings" performing (women in "drag" as men), and they all performed quite well. Two of my classmates performed and did quite well. There were both "Amateur" and "Professional" divisions, yet they were all pretty great. One of the amateur "kings" performing was very convincing, and "he" ended up winning the title of King. The performer's name? "Logan Trap". Heh.

The Queen award was given to "Trinity", a trio of dancers who performed Beyonce's "Sasha Fierce" routines, including "Single Ladies". There were also a "Prince" and "Princess" awards handed out, and door prizes to the audience who had winning tickets. I didn't win any door prizes. But, I DID win a free drink token to a local bar in Atlanta named "Mary's" (had to be carded prior to winning the token). Problem is, I rarely drink. Who wants a free drink token?

In the end, I had fun. It was a bit alien and trippy for me, but I enjoyed what I saw. It's not exactly like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show", but it's equally as strange and musical. Two noted guests were the MC, "Miss Terra Cotta Sugarbaker", and the guest judge, V-103's "Miss Sophia". I had my picture taken with the latter, and she was quite nice. I took an insane amount of pictures and they can all be viewed above. Will there be another show next year? I'm not sure, but I'm looking forward to it. The show was quite fabulous for only five dollars.

Enjoy the pictures and have a safe weekend.

Choose Love.

Inspired by a poster I found online about a year ago (which I couldn't locate now), this is an illustration for "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered History Month". Since 1994 (in the US), LGBT History Month observes the history of gay rights movements and individuals who were pivotal to the movement. Also, on the 11th of October is National Coming Out Day. If you're a student at a high school or a university, please support your school's Gay-Straight Alliance, and for the rest of us, we should love our homosexual brethren, not discriminate against them. We should judge someone by their character, and not by their ethnicity, religion, color, political affiliation, or sexual orientation.
For more information about LGBT History Month, visit http://www.glbthistorymonth.com/glbthistorymonth/2009/.

Bless,



PS: On a completely unrelated note, "Captain" Lou Albano (1933-2009) died earlier this week. He was known for being a pro wrestler, manager, promoter, collaborator with Cyndi Lauper, and the voice and live-action actor of Super Mario from the "Super Mario Bros. Super Show". He died of natural causes. He was 76. Goodnight sweet prince.

The Madman Diaries II

I've found this on a forum the other day, and it made me think...

WHAT THE FUCK.

SERIOUSLY?!

Conservapedia, a neo-con wiki, undertakes a project to REWRITE the Holy Bible, believing that it was mistranslated as too "liberal".

Abraham Lincoln, founder of the Republican Party, and Jesus Christ, Son of God, must be facepalming up in heaven right fucking now. Meanwhile, Ronald Reagan's ghost gets a boner. The Bible, the holy book of Scripture and God's Word...LIBERAL?! That's like the equivalent of the CEO of McDonald's becoming the head of the FDA and ruling that Big Macs are vegan health food! I mean, I don't personally believe that the Bible is the word of God, but is written by men to suit the agendas of men and the King James Version was probably translated to suit the king's needs at the time, but seriously...how can JESUS CHRIST be considered too liberal?! I mean, sure, in the book of Acts, he and his followers had their own settlement and it worked like a commune, and Christ also taught others to love your neighbor and even your enemy. I mean, love to your fellow man...aren't these GOOD things?! This is pretty fucking sad. I'm not a religious person, but I do realize that the Bible is a significant book with some good stories that do help people. It also contains inaccuracies, of course, and things that are seen as archaic and offensive in these modern times, but it's pretty fucking sad to see a group of people wishing to change the Good Book to suit their neo-con agenda in the name of "American values". I hope the fine folks at Conservapedia will be happy defiling the Bible to their greedy, xenophobic, Objectivist needs. Five bucks says that Leviticus will contain 2000% more anti-homosexual rhetoric and that Ayn Rand and Ronald Reagan will be considered prophets.

C'est la vie,

For more information about the Conservative Bible Project, click here.