Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Movies. Show all posts

Friday, February 22, 2019

100 MEN (THE DOCUMENTARY)


Hmmm. This is a quite curious question. I wrote a book back in 2009 about this very subject, and it was more than a bit difficult to track down all of my former lovers. Many had died of AIDS - most did not want to participate in the project, and the rest were nowhere to be found.

In addition, I had not actually slept with 100 men: I only used the 100 Men I have Slept With title because I was told it would attract a wide audience. This proved to be very bad advise. The book sold very few copies, and I received more ridicule and scorn than kindness and praise. I stopped blogging for a long while, and produced no new books.

Back to reality: I can say with complete confidence that I have slept with exactly 65 men in my life. All of this sexual frenzy took place in the Windy City during my wild youth. I have lived in the City of Roses for 22 years, and I have slept with only one person. Want to talk about hot and cold? I'm the expert on the subject.

Getting back to 100 Men: I am very grateful to have inspired Paul Oremland to take my humble book to the next level, and go places I never dared to venture. I suggest you take a long peek at this most insightful documentary. It is both witty and sad, wise and clueless, but remains entertaining to the very end.

My only criticism is that I did my best to focus on both the personal and the political in my book: Watching my 39 year old lover die from complications due to AIDS in the early 1990s. Clenching my teeth whenever heartless bigots like Ronnie Reagan and Anita Bryant appeared on the TV talking about family values and how AIDS only affected homosexuals, drug addicts, and people without Christian values (big goof there).



Matthew Shepard


In addition, I wrote about Matthew Shepard (1976-1998) and his horrific ordeal at the hands of  two sadistic homophobes. And even though I would have liked to, I never got to meet Matt. I only know that a beautiful soul was robbed of his young life by two very angry and violent straight men. End of story.

But music is life, and so it reflects the lifestyles we adjust ourselves to one decade to the next. Janis said it best:



I'd like to end this essay here. See the documentary - you won't be disappointed. But never forget the book: It's always a good thing to go back to the original source :-)

Dylan Mitchell

P.S. Scroll down to the bottom of my blog if you want to take a quick peek at 100 MEN I HAVE SLEPT WITH, 2009. Amazon still carries a dusty copy or two...

Brokeback Mountain: Iconic image


Monday, December 24, 2018

I'LL BE WATCHING THIS TOMORROW BIG TIME!



Happy holidays to all my friends (Jon, Helga, Mr. Roy, Geo, Don, Charles, Susan, etc.) Plus anybody I forgot to mention. May all your dreams come true in 2019 :-)

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

LAST MOVIE I WATCHED: LIZZIE




I liked it. A lot. Not really sure what's up with the harsh critics? It seems like most of them saw a different movie.....

Thursday, October 4, 2018

PSYCHO



I can see Hitchcock's bloated face on my aching knee:
I know it's just a bunch of wrinkles in the
frayed fabric of my jeans.

But what am I to make of the black
shoe I see when I shift my gaze an inch or
two toward the east? I don't wear black

shoes. Is Norman Bates' mother paying me a friendly
call? Will this be a Happy Halloween?
Is this meant to be my final scene?

And whatever happened to Janet Leigh?

Poem Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

Saturday, September 29, 2018

WHEN TRUTH IS OFTEN A LIE (8 FACTS ABOUT FRANCES FARMER)

Frances Farmer: 1913 -1970


Frances Farmer never received a lobotomy. Also, (despite Hollywood) she was a quite successful stage actress and TV hostess until she lost her battle with cancer at the age of 56. Odd how these "minor" details were not mentioned in Frances (the so-called biopic about her life).

The two most well known books based on her life (WILL THERE REALLY BE A MORNING and SHADOWLAND) are more fiction than fact.

1. Frances was never raped by dozens of soldiers while she was in ANY mental hospital.

2. She was never a Communist.

3. She might have been an atheist during her youth, but eventually found faith in God.

4. Hollywood DID say she was as talented as Garbo, but started singing a different tune once Frances had her quite minor encounter with the police (a petty traffic violation).

5. She was not a "basket case" when she appeared on THIS IS YOUR LIFE in 1958. In fact, she was more than polite given how obnoxious the host of the program was to her (I would have slugged him).

6. Farmer's best movies: COME AND GET IT, RHYTHM ON THE RANGE, TOAST OF NEW YORK, SON OF FURY, and FLOWING GOLD.

7. Farmer's worst enemy was not Hollywood but her deranged mother.

8. Kurt Cobain helped to raise awareness about Frances Farmer's plight with his song: FRANCES FARMER WILL HAVE HER REVENGE ON SEATTLE.









Thursday, August 30, 2018

FINALLY WATCHED LOVING VINCENT DVD...



This film is a miracle: It's like the best of Vincent's paintings come to life! If you love fine art, then I suggest you take a very long peek.

Oh, and the music is far from shabby: You cannot do much better than Don McLean's ode to Vincent:

Watch. Listen. Learn. Vincent's art and life will forever remain an enigma. His mystery continues until this day.



Paintings Copyright by Vincent Van Gogh

Music Copyright by Don McLean

Friday, August 24, 2018

THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY! (MY TRIBUTE TO DONNA SUMMER)






1978? Damn - I really am getting old big time! I first experienced THANK GOD IT'S FRIDAY waaaaay back in the day with my younger brother at a movie house in Chicago. A ticket was only a dollar on Tuesdays, so we decided to give it a shot. I was not disappointed.

However, my brother hated both the movie and the music big time (he wanted to be Superman when he grew up - I wanted to be a poet). I agree that disco was an appalling mistake (thank God most of us have figured this out in the end). But what about Donna Summer? Listen to THAT voice! Even disco could not diminish her great gift. And that's really saying something...

I just wish more people would focus on her exceptional voice, and stop calling her the quintessential Disco Queen: She was so much more than that, but the music industry marketed her as such. And it's a pity. A lot of money was made as a result, and Donna Summer got less than she deserved (in more ways than one).

You can tell she's not comfortable on the stage belting out this Academy Award winning tune. It all really was beneath her big time. But she made a very lonely boy want to smile and dance a wickedly wild dance in the dangerous streets of Chicago fortysomething years ago: I'll always love her for that alone. May her great voice live on. May the beautiful singer rest in peace.






1948 - 2012





Essay Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell




Sunday, August 12, 2018

"GRETA GARBO WAS A MAN!!"

1905 - 1990


Jesus, I just watched a documentary about the forever great Garbo - and was totally shocked by the illiterate and reactionary (what else is new?) comments left on YouTube. Do such idiotic people really exist? What does this say about this world we all must somehow figure out how to best exist in?

Social media is fast becoming a kind of cancer of the soul. Ignorant people think they can hide behind their computer screens (this is no longer possible) and say the most vile things about people without any true research to back it up. No wonder Garbo wanted to be left alone.

The bottom line is this: Garbo had a luminous quality that has rarely been seen on the big screen. Marilyn Monroe also was gifted with this quality (I guess she also was a man?). I think not.

What I don't get is this totally weird fixation on male/female labels? And that's really all they are - labels: An easy way for the majority of people to feel comfortable in their very own safe little bubbles.

It comes as no surprise that I see more and more of this ignorance since Caitlyn and Trump began making the headlines. They both belong to the same political party, yet Trump is hailed as the second coming of Christ, while Caitlyn Jenner is often viewed as a freak (read the angry and insane YouTube comments).

I don't think for a moment that Garbo was anything but a major talent and star. And she (yes, I used the correct pronoun) will be valued and remembered long after Herr Trump and Caitlyn Jenner have ceased to dominate social media. In fact, rumor has it that both Facebook and Twitter are getting old big time. What will become of Donald and Caitlyn?

Garbo survived on her own.

Essay copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

Monday, June 18, 2018

MOVIE MADNESS MONDAY: ROPE



Guess what I'm watching tonight? This is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies...

Sunday, April 22, 2018

DUMP TRUMP: BILLY JACK THEME SONG (VOTE!)


I remember hearing this song as a young child during the early 1970s.  I liked it a lot, even though I had no idea what the lyrics meant. Plus I never saw the movie, so I was at a huge disadvantage.

Today, most people consider the movie and song utter trash. I don't agree. Yes, it's a bit simplistic and sentimental at best - but compared to the insane hatred Herr Trump posts on Twitter every single day - this song is a masterpiece big time.

P.S. As to why I no longer allow comments on my blog? Because suffering fools gladly is not my idea of having a serious debate. Plus I started this blog as a personal diary, and so that is what it shall now remain.

Peace to those that mean
most to me: There are one or
two or three - or thee?

Dylan

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

THE ROSE (DEDICATED TO THE ONES THAT KNOW)






Mr. Roy, Jon, Helga, Geo, Charles, Don, James, Karen, The Bald Vegan, Bruce, Virginia, Rob  - This is a special shout out to you. You really do keep me going...

Dylan

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

HAROLD AND MAUDE


Harold has no friends
The grave is a friendly place
Maude won't let him go

Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell

ELIZABETH HARTMAN



Alone in a room
Dreaming of love in the park
Wide open window

Copyright 2018 by Dylan Mitchell