Hop's Thoughts

Much was made about the recent cover story by  Rolling Stone magazine on Jahar, the Boston Bomber.  There was public outrage from just about everyone, because of the 'rock star' cover photo.  Social and mainstream media was abuzz over the controversy and like that it was over.  The real reason the outrage ended so abruptly was because when viewing the cover in reality (not via cell or computer), the photo was nothing more than a grainy reissued photo  seen in many magazine and newspapers previously.  I didn't find fault for the petty reasons others did, feeling the victims should have been on the cover, because i thought that would have been true exploitation.  I was bothered because it gives a voice, maybe even a motive to others, who might want to don the cover and receive their 15 minutes.  The real issue(s) should have been with the article. The article is basically two parts.  The beginning, which makes Jahar out to be the greatest guy...

Thursday July 4, 2013 I awaken to scampering down a familiar hallway. A door slams; a reminder of the abysmal conditions. The discolored cracked ceiling like wrinkles, as if my life is mirrored in some shabby paint job.  I lay to the side, pain shooting down my leg, I wince. I find myself listening for the sounds of yesterday's Jazz. Like an old house cat, i stretch, bones cracking, my mouth agape. An exaggerated yawn, releasing that final breath of serenity. Emotions, negative. The realization this is home.

When I first heard about this film, I was giddy with anticipation. Park Chan-Wook's Oldboy is one of my favorite movies and I was interested to see what the director would do with an American film.  I went into viewing this film with an interest I rarely have about a film.  So the expectations were much higher than usual.  The film starts off very slowly, a family, a death, a unknown stranger and a family dynamic that is far from normal.  The entire time you realize something very strange is happening, but you have no idea where it is going and to be honest, I almost started to lose patience.  Just at that very moment, there was a scene, simple in it's premise, portraying the two main characters playing piano together.  To give any details would be to cheat you of the experience, but let's just say it was sheer brilliance and the moment the film took off.  Everything from that moment on took on new meaning.  Wook's ability to control a completely ...

Probably the strangest Oscar nominee of the last few years, this movie takes a look at the love, anger and fight for survival between a dirt poor little girl named Hushpuppy and her father Wink.  They live in what looks to be some sort of island off the gulf coast known as  The Bathtub. The people here, all seem to have a story that binds them, yet we never hear it.  We don't know how they got there, but they are there and they are surviving off the land, much like our ancestors. They aren't wanted by 'civilized" and they don't want them in return.  When the two do finally meet, there is no understanding of each others world. The movie is really a metaphor for us growing together, living and loving together and how if one of us breaks the Earth, it breaks it for everyone.  On the surface it's a beautiful, if not painful tale about a little girl who will never have, but is fine with what she  does have, as long as she has her father.  She longs for a ...

Michael Haneke's gift is to take seemingly normal people and throw on huge monkey wrench into their lives and show how they react, not as monsters, superheroes or any other comic book cliche, but as regular people dealing with fate.  Cache is a very simple movie.  A family is tormented based on the actions of the father when he was only six.  The movie explores the feelings of a man who knows his childish selfishness caused another human being to live a somewhat unfulfilled life, while he went on to celebrity status, despite a life filled with mundane tasks and a relationship with his wife which can be described, at best as, tolerable. Where Cache fails miserably was in it's placing celebrity status upon the main character.  His public is not at all what it is at home, and while that is the point, it takes away from the division between he and his stalker.  In the end, we are left with this empty feeling that this shell of a man, will life his life out as he a...

When Looper came out, the buzz was all about it's complex plot twists and crazy concept, but I had a feeling it had all been done before and it has.  Looper is not nearly as complex as its star's previous movie, Inception and actually, isn't that complex at all if you pay attention during the first hour.  Now, that is where it becomes difficult. The first hour of the movie is dreadful and boring.  Enter Emily Blunt.  Aside from being very easy on the eyes, she brings something the movie was lacking and that is a heart and by the end of the film, you realize just how much she means to the movie as a whole. The third quarter is by no means great, but it at least kept me interested, which is a good thing, because the finale 20-30 minutes is great and Blunt has almost everything to do with that.   The movie fails in its attempt to be deeper than it is, but shines as a pure action film towards the end.  While terribly flawed, the final few scenes does make it wo...

When I viewed The  Lost, the star, Marc Senter stuck out for all the wrong reasons. Rarely do you see a main character, even in B-movie, who is completely inept at not showing he's acting. Senter always seems to know where the camera is and because of this, we do to. Had I known he had a role in this, I probably would have passed. Do not be mislead by the title.  There is nothing patriotic about this film.  It's about a promiscuous girl, an infatuated older man, a punk who in a band and his friends.  The first twenty minutes is nothing more than the girl, played by Amanda Fuller, having random sex and fleeing attachments. One can't help but believe, directing a movie is the only way these people could ever get to see a pretty attractive girl naked. I won't bore you with details, but we soon learn that the girl has a secret, something she eventually "shares" with the band member. Then the old guy turns this yawner of a sexplotiation film into a horror film. Th...

This film, based on a true story, is about a home for wayward boys on a desolate island of Norway.  The movie begins with an older teen, remembering his harpooning of a whale, while working a fishing boat. The boys vary in ages and it's known that the main character, referred to as C-19 is in for murder.  One boy, has been there for six years, for stealing from a church. The idea is that through hard work and discipline, the boys can turn their lives around, becoming positive members of society.  But, who is disciplining the adults, who dole out their chores and punishments. The movie is similar to Sleepers, in that it's all a huge set up for the revenge for one boy's pain, but takes on a Lord of the Flies remake, during most of the earlier scenes.  Some may dislike the convoluted ending, but I think it's important to realize that the movie i all a metaphor about how, no matter what we do in life, we all bend rules to benefit our own need, but in the end, it's car...

I had already viewed Martyrs and the Tall Man before seeing Pascal Laugier's first film, House of Voices. The first thing I realized was that it had all the trademarks of his two latter films.  The main characters are women and they are both incredibly strong, fearless and conflicted. While this film doesn't contain the brutality of Martyrs or the incredible plot twists of The Tall Man, it does show a glimpse into the man's mind and how adept he is at making a seemingly simple horror house flick into a psychological mind bend, while attacking political and social issues as well.  The films co-stars match beautifully with the incredible Virginie Ledonnen and the film is shot with an incredible eye for a first time director.

This is kind of silly, but it's inspired by my "abuse" at the hands of John Cooney, who claims to have seen a picture of me at 15, maybe 16, in a Philadelphia Phillies shirt, despite my claim that I've liked Boston since 1984.  First let me break down my love affair with baseball teams by years. 1976-1979 Yankees &Phillies (Boston was my #3) - my parent's and grandparent's favorite teams 1980-1983 Phillies (Boston #2) - You'll see why from my all-time team 1984- present Boston (Phillies are my NL team). - Started with Clemens and I stuck with them All-Time Team (only players I've watched play) C - Jason Varitek - The Sox captain. Epitome of team player, even when his skills had diminished. 1B - Cecil Cooper - I played a lot of first base as a kid and absolutely adored Coop. 2B - Dustin Pedroia - Gritiest player in MLB today. SS - Nomar Garciaparra - Had he not been hurt and A-Rod stayed at short, Jeter would be #3 in MLB 3B - Mike Sch...

The past few weeks has been a crazy time for the news, tabloids and the country in general.  Laws have been passed, thrown out, debated and basically run through the gamut of things that can happen.  We've seen news stories that broke, continued, gotten juicy and fizzled.   Through it all, it seems the Conservatives in this country have stayed very consistent.  They've favored with the side that doesn't represent the wishes of most of the country.  So that leads me to this very simple question, which I welcome to have explained to me. Could a true conservative please explain something to me, without bringing up the words Obama or Liberals, making assumptions based on opinion and not referencing the Bible or "God's Will" in your answer?  He re's my rational for my stipulations.  Laws, decisions and policy shouldn't be an act of revenge to get back at something else you didn't get. They shouldn't be made based on fact less opinions and they sho...

While on my preferred social media website, Twitter, I quickly conversed with someone about the hilarity of the happiness shared by everyone on Facebook.  This is not to say my friend and I don't love seeing out friends in moments of joy, but we both viewed certain people's perpetual happiness (or unhappiness) with some trepidation. How is it possible for anyone to be in a constant state of bliss or misery.  Simple odds tell us this isn't so.   We shared quick stories and it soon became evident that this isn't resigned to those we know, but is the manifestation of jealousy caused by social media.  When someone views their best friend sitting on a beach, sipping boat drinks, they immediately feel the need to one up them.   They share a tale, true or not, about their heightened levels of happiness and are sure to thank everyone who likes or comments, taking those little moments of recognition and turning it into some make believe emotion. I've known people ...