Ramana's Movie Picks

RAMANA’S MOVIE PICKS

Preamble: Now that you know my blog is somewhat like an ‘everything bagel’ from my last post, I feel free to go in an even different direction and write about movies, revealing my picks for great flicks. So, here goes ……..

I grew up with the movies. As a kid, a usual Saturday event was to take the bus downtown, usually with a friend(s), plop down 25 cents at one of the local movie house box offices, buy candy or popcorn, and prepare to spend the afternoon watching: 2 feature films, a cartoon or two, newsreel and sometimes a March of Time extra. Quite a bargain, yes? This was followed up later with the purchase of movie magazines, coloring books and other paraphernalia, where I chose my favorite movie stars and wondered about their lives. Not at all like today, where every movie star of note is assiduously followed by the press with intimate details of their lives revealed ad nauseum!

The love of movies has been with me since then. From 1997 to 2008, I lived in Mexico and had a somewhat limited exposure to films. The village we lived in did build a lovely movie theater but did not always show current features. Guadalajara, the next largest city, had better selections but was almost an hour’s drive so not a frequent choice for movie outings. There were local video stores but, there again, selection was limited, videos were literally dusty and, of course, we got used to seeing either Spanish subtitles or dubbing.

So, when we moved back to the states in early 2008, we were eager to sign up for Netflix, a heaven for movie goers. With an on-line account and inexpensive rates we can peruse multiple DVD titles, select  those of interest, receive them  in the mail, watch in the privacy and ease of our living room, keep for as long as needed (without penalty), rate them on our account and return via pre paid mail when ready. Additionally, Netflix then makes suggestions for future flicks based on your ratings. Movie Heaven and most user friendly!

After three years of playing ‘catch up’ with movies, I’d like to share ten of my favorites, with brief descriptions and in no particular order. I rated these all 4 or 5 stars out of 5:

1. Let It Rain  French comedy: subtle, understated, and witty.
Small but humorous happenings in the lives of the characters:
a feminist politician, two hapless documentary film makers,
sister, family and lover of the politician.It is a charming romp
where we witness the characters stumble and bumble their
way through the events in their lives.
Acting, cinematography and direction all high quality.

3. The Kids Are All Right  Modern, hip, comedy/drama
(takes place in California) and involves a lesbian couple
with two teenagers, experiencing the usual, everyday
issues of family life. the (boy and girl) teens decide they
want to meet their sperm donor (male parent), locate and
meet him, after which he meets their mothers. All actors
are excellent: the bread winning, type A mom (Annette
Benning), the laid back, free spirit mom (Julianne Moore),
the sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo) the daughter (Mia
Wasikowska) and the son (Josh Hutcherson). As the plot
unfolds, Ruffalo becomes more involved with the family
leading to some interesting and, in some ways, predictable
circumstances. The resolution leads to some dramatic
moments.

4. Everybody’s Fine  Another family film; one that deals
with an aging father of grown children who is now alone
after his wife’s death. When all three adult children cancel
visiting the father (Robert De Niro), he embarks on a
journey to surprise each of them. Even though the movie
can be emotional and sentimental at times, one feels the
deep truths of these emotions as experienced by the
characters, especially De Niro. Adult children are acted by
Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell and Drew Barrymore.
De Niro must not only come to terms with his own health
issues but with his style of child rearing (viewed in
flashbacks) and the ultimate realization that the most
important gifts a parent can give to a child (small or grown)
is love and acceptance.

5. Death At A Funeral (English version) Here’s another
family movie but one so funny I nearly fell out of my chair
laughing! Netflix describes it as goofy (it is), dark humor
comedy (which it also is but I’d put more emphasis on the
comedy than the dark). The British have such a bizarre
and quirky sense of humor that, rather than needing to do
a deep analysis, it’s better to just go with the flow, enjoy it
and feel good afterwards. Plot revolves around the funeral
of the patriarch of a wealthy but eccentric British clan which
is turned upside down when a stranger appears, claiming to
be the dead man’s gay lover. The film gets even wackier
when the deceased’s sons attempt to keep this stranger
from letting the other guests know of this revelation. I would
definitely watch this again.

6. Charlie St. Cloud This film has many elements that I
like: heartfelt emotions, beautiful scenery, sailing scenes,
spiritual and other-worldly elements and lack of violence.
Might be called sentimental by some but I liked its clean,
honest feel. I try to seek movies that help to combat the
negative, network news and this qualifies. Story of two
brothers, the younger one dies and the effect it has on the
surviving older brother. I think that many who have lost a
loved one can relate. And, even though the subject matter
deals with death, it does so in an uplifting and positive way.

7. The Ghost Writer I don’t usually watch or enjoy political
thrillers but this film is an exception. Directed by Roman
Polanski, it is tightly crafted, suspenseful and engaging.
Ewan McGregor as the writer, Pierce Brosnan as the former
British Prime Minister and Olivia Williams as the politician’s
wife all turn in convincing performances. The setting of a
Boston coastal area and mood are all conducive to a subtle,
finely woven plot, acting and direction without the usual
bombastic, explosive elements so often seen in this genre.
The plot involves the writer who stumbles upon a long hidden
secret when he agrees to help the former British PM complete
his memoirs on a remote island after the politicians’ assistant
drowns in a mysterious accident. The writer realizes his
discovery threatens some very powerful people who want
none of this revealed. The movie will keep you in suspense
without causing cardiac arrest.

8. The Blind Side This 2009 movie with Sandra Bullock
and Quinton Aaron (playing NFL Baltimore Ravens’ rookie,
Michael Oher) is a winner on all levels. Appeals to every age
and features‘feel good’ themes such as compassion, humor,
courage, true grit and love within seemingly unlikely relation-
ships. Bullock plays a southern, Christian mother and wife
who gives depth and meaning to the term, ‘steel magnolia’
when she takes in an oversize, African American teenage
boy from a broken home, befriends him (as do her family
members), sends him to a private, Christian Academy and
eventually helps to engineer his entrance to the NFL.
Excellent acting by all, fine directing and pacing and an all
around, inspirational movie. Don’t miss it if you haven’t seen
it.

9. The Pursuit of Happyness  Another feel good and
inspiring movie starring Will Smith as a single parent to his
(real-life) son, Jaden. The film follows his struggles as a
salesman whose job barely pays the bills through his entry
into the investment field as a stock broker trainee, with an
initial, unpaid internship. As he slowly works his way up the
ladder, the audience shares his trials and challenges.
I found myself cheering Smith and his son on in this
interesting film, based on the real life tale of investment broker
success story, Chris Gardner.

10. Julie and Julia Another truth-inspired movie about Julie
Powell, a young woman, who decides to spend one whole
year cooking all 524 recipes from Julia Child’s,
Mastering The Art of French Cooking and writing a blog
about her culinaryadventures. Director, Nora Ephron,
manages to weave the lives of these two women (living in
different decades for the most part) seamlessly and in a way
 that keeps the viewer engaged (especially if you enjoy cook-
ing and good eating). Meryl Streep, as Julia Child, once again
displays her talent and versatility playing an uncanny likeness
of the famous chef, while Amy Adams hits just the right note
as the younger, aspiring chef/writer, embarking on this
ambitious project. This film is witty, well done
(no pun intended), heartfelt and fun to watch.

So there you have my picks. If you have seen any movies
not mentioned here, please write about them in the
comments space below so that others can benefit from
your suggestions,
………..until next time………….

About This Blog

About This Blog:

I understand that most blogs contain a theme so I decided to write about the theme of my blog ……. THERE IS NO CENTRAL THEME!

Why is that, you ask. Here’s my answer. I have come to realize that I am a ‘mixed media’ type of person. As I review my life and work I see that: (1) When I paint, I use mixed media. No one medium has all of the possible colors, textures and qualities I require, hence the need to use more than one. (2) When I do therapy (I was a psychotherapist for many years and called myself a mind, body, spirit therapist) I pulled from many different disciplines in order to have enough options to help my clients. (3) When I recently took a nutritional typing test (from Dr. Mercola) guess what? I was typed as a ‘mixed nutritional’ type (as opposed to a protein or carb type for instance). No surprise there! So it makes perfect sense that my blog would also be a mixed bag.

I read about and have interest in many different topics, so as one area of interest rises above the others to capture my attention, I will write about it. Perhaps that comes from being a Libra (the Scales.) Always trying to balance and counterbalance things in my life. So that I don’t tip over, perhaps? All that being said, the topic of my blog today is:

IMAGINE

Okay, this is going to ‘date me’ but here goes. When I was a child, we used to listen to a radio program called, Let’s Pretend. In the old days, before television (yes, dear ones, there was such a time) we also used to play a game by the same name. The ‘sun room’ of our home became a theater where the ‘audience’ sat on the couch while the ‘actors’ entered through doors on either side of the room to perform. We would have a box of colorful clothes, jewelry, etc. in the adjoining dining room from which to create our costumes so that our wardrobes could enhance our acts of make believe. We spent endless hours engaged in creating and viewing our acts.

Between games like this and other radio shows (The Shadow, The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet) we learned to use our imaginations to see a new reality in our mind’s eye before bringing it to our outer reality. For many of us reading books also became equally important as a way to use our imaginations to temporarily transport us out of our present reality while taking us to new and different places and meeting a whole new cast of characters.

In my years as a practicing psychotherapist, I used a version of this imagination theme to help clients out of their present situations. With a process called guided imagery I would lead the client into a different scenario to create a more wholesome and healthy world for them to inhabit. If the client trusted me in this process, the results were often positive and, in some cases, remarkable.

I recently taught a Wellness and Longevity class to seniors. We used Deepak Chopra’s book, Grow Younger, Live Longer to guide us. Chopra believes that, through a process related to quantum physics, we can change our cells and our bodies through affirmations. He says that our mind is not located only in our brain but in every part of our body, each of which carries a similar intelligence. Therefore we can talk to our cells telling them to be healthy and stating what age we want them to be. Strong and fascinating stuff.  And a quantum leap from my earlier reminiscences of using our mind and imagination to create a new reality in child’s play.

So where is all this leading? My first post on this blog site is titled, The United States of Wall Street. You can access it below. One of the comments posted by a reader was a suggestion that we all read Matt Taibi’s new book, Griftopia, on the economic meltdown and how our cash strapped country is now auctioning off its highways, ports and even parking meters, finding eager buyers in the Middle East. Reading the details of what is in this book had me aghast, experiencing feelings of disbelief and horror. It was all so overwhelming that my feelings did a tilt and then turned to giddiness. I saw the selling of America as a ‘play in which I no longer wished to participate or view.’ I no longer wanted to give credence to this reality by continuing to focus on it. I began to muse instead ……. If Dr. Chopra believes we can change our cellular structure through thought and affirmations, why could it not work for our physical surroundings and reality as well? It was time to try this out on the world at large for myself. If nothing else, I knew that I would feel so much better just thinking about how to create a new, more positive reality instead of focusing on the existing one. By feeding the new one with my thoughts and visualizations perhaps I could help to bring it about. My new affirmations are thus: The world and my life are only filled with love, light, joy, laughter, peace and prosperity. I recalled the words from John Lennon’s song, Imagine:

Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world

You may say that I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

Won’t you join John and me on our imagination boat and perhaps we can all, working together, actually create the world of our dreams. Just imagine that!

The Numbers Game

The Numbers Game

Have you ever thought about how often numbers figure in your everyday life?  

1. Start with your identity: After your first, middle and last names, you’re identified

 by your address which includes street number 112, 9 digit zip code 75026-2321,

 phone number 214-992-0241 and social security number 120-56-8910.

2. You awaken in the morning and check the time: 5:30 (still dark, back to sleep) until 7:00.

3. If you’re an insomniac, you’ve been following numbers all night, wondering which  one will  release you to sleep: a.m: 1:30, 2:15, 3:30, 5:00 ….zzzzz…..

4. After morning ablutions, you check the outside temperature to see what to wear: 75 (nice), 62 (a little cool), 50 (so-so), 30 ( long under wear time.)

5. If you do a.m. exercises, you count the number of reps 2 sets of 12 and/or the minutes spent - 20  minutes – that’s enough of that!

6. If you count calories, your breakfast might look something like this: Special K fruit and yogurt cereal 120 calories, cantaloupe 60 calories, coffee with skim milk 25 calories; total 205 calories. Not bad if you can stay away from the Danish 106 calories – that blows breakfast - later this morning for those 11 a.m. munchies.

7. Time to make phone calls. Punch the numbers 883-097-2368 to reach your target. If you’ve pre-programmed numbers into your phone then your automatic system does this for you, Hooray for technology!

8. You have a doctor’s appointment this morning at 11:00. Ready for more numbers?

9. First thing they do is weigh, measure and take your blood pressure. Chances are (as you age anyway) that 3 numbers have gone up and 1 has gone down: that’s right, weight, B/P and cholesterol have gone up and height has gone down. Why is that, anyway? Weight 140 pounds, height 60 inches, blood pressure 150/92 –uh oh, doesn’t look good! Weight and height thing must be due to wearing a heavy sweater and flat shoes (yeah, right!) B/P elevation must be due to the ‘white coat syndrome’ (just being in a doctor’s or dentist’s office elevates it.) Total cholesterol levels are creeping up towards  275.  Uh oh, doesn’t look good!

10. Finally, the doctor (or nurse or p.a.) says, well, for a person your age (fill in blank) you’re really not in such bad shape…..gee, thanks for the compliment?

11. You finally leave the doctor’s office, having spent 2 ½ hours there. It’s now 1:30, time to meet your friend for lunch.

12. You’re not too late, enjoy lunch and conversation, pay the bill which you split 50/50.

13. After lunch you plan to stop at Nordstrom’s; they’re having a 25-50% off sale. Even at these discounts, their prices are still high.

14. On the way there, you’re tempted to stop at a shoe store as they, too, are having a special sale: Buy one pair and get 2^nd pair 50% off. How can you resist those numbers?

15. 45 minutes later you leave the store, 2 pairs of shoes heavier and delighted with your bargain. For only $59.95 you now have 2 new pairs of shoes which you  don’t need and probably won’t wear. But, how could you resist those numbers? 4:00. Time to head home.

17. Driving there, the radio gives the weather, cloudy at 62, time 4:10 p.m. and the stock market daily report, Dow down 35 points after which you hear the song, If I Could Put Time In A Bottle.

18. Lots of traffic, trip takes 35 minutes. When home, check the time to cook the chicken,   45 minutes at 350 degrees. Dinner will be ready in 60 minutes.

19. Time to relax with your feet up for 45 minutes with a drink (calories? – oh the hell with it.) Just enjoy the drink and forget the numbers!

20. After dinner, the dreaded task of bill paying. This is where the numbers don’t compute. More going out than coming in. How can you pay $4,200.00 in monthly bills on $3,959.00 income? Still trying to figure that one out.

21.    Finally, 11 p.m. The numbers plus your body tell you it’s time for bed.

22.    Lord, what would we do without numbers? Well, we might feel a lot less

regimented and more free. And just think, you got through an entire day with only 22 numbered items!

Final thoughts: If you’re an accountant, numerologist, stock broker or gambler who likes betting on the numbers or playing 21, that’s a whole other ball game…… and speaking of ball games, did you hear that the Red Sox won their latest game against the Orioles by a score of 22 to 11!?  

As a follow-up to this post here’s an amazing short Youtube video on numbers;

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=h60r2HPsiuM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

  

The United States of Wall Street

The United States of Wall Street

For a long time I have believed that the U.S. is guided by a system of capitalism that has ‘run amuck’. I did not understand why or how this had happened, what causes and systems were behind it, but I did believe it to be undeniably true.  Despite the fact that I was an art and psychology major in college and graduate school, with little knowledge of or interest in economics or finance, I did see the truth of this belief wherever I looked.

It has been hard to find others who agree with me as our worship of capitalism runs deep and is as fixed an icon in America as the flag, supporting our troops, mom and apple pie. How does one question an icon? Then lightening struck! I had my ‘Ah-Ha’ moment of understanding while viewing Michael Moore’s documentary, Capitalism – A Love Story. My thoughts on the film: excellent, incisive and a much needed step in revealing the truth, as he does so well.

Moore, in his inimitable style, using truth laced with humor, clearly depicts the origins and reveals the development of my ‘run amuck’ theory. He and others have said that it doesn’t matter which political party runs the government as the results will be the same. I never understood this idea before; I completely bought into the (false) left vs. right argument which was perpetrated, I believe, to obscure the truth…… which is that Wall Street and large corporations run our government no matter who’s in charge. Our Constitution, which purports to be of, by and for the people has long been buried by the piles of money which obscure its original intentions. The altruistic, inspired and hard working men who framed our Constitution would be shocked if they could see where their efforts have led today.

According to Moore, this movement away from the original intentions of our founding fathers began, in our time, with the Reagan presidency. I was surprised to see the former head of Merrill Lynch, Donald Regan, on a stage with the president, appearing to give him directions. Well, not so much a surprise as Regan was both treasury secretary and White House Chief of Staff under Reagan. His distinctly money making expertise helped to create the failed ‘trickle-down’ economic policies begun in that era which succeeded only in creating a great budget deficit instead of the purported ‘prosperity for all’ solution it was intended to be.

That snapshot of Ronald Reagan, as well trained actor (and excellent communicator, I might add) as being in bed with Wall Street and the moneyed interests of the nation, is now permanently embedded in my mind. Other presidents have followed in his footsteps. Easy to understand. Since it now requires untold millions of dollars to run a campaign for the highest political office, who can better afford to back a candidate than millionaires and billionaires? The final ‘nail in the coffin’ enabling this practice was placed by the Supreme Court recently with its passage of a law allowing unlimited corporate contributions to candidates running for office. Fairness? Equality? Sorry but I just don’t see it.

The movement away from government of, by and for the people continues to this day, begun by Reagan’s quote that “Government is not the solution to our problems, government is the problem.” That, followed by financial deregulation, successfully moved the country even further away for our original “self-governance” mandate, although that may not have been its intention. Reagan allowed the Savings and Loan industry a license to gamble with taxpayers’ money at best or to loot at worst. By the time the government closed the books on this nasty S&L affair, the taxpayers had lost $130 billion. Additionally, a longer term effect, Reagan era legislative changes essentially ended New Deal restrictions on mortgage lending that, in particular, limited the ability of families to buy homes without putting a significant amount of money down. It allowed corporations to pursue their ever greater love of profits undeterred by government regulations, checks and balances.*

Perhaps a healthy balance between government regulations and free market enterprise is the best answer. Because, ultimately it is people who are the problem, whether they work in government or outside of it. Until people can behave in a more altruistic, unselfish manner through the development of their higher inclinations, there will continue to be abuses in both the government and free enterprise sectors alike.

I don’t want to get into another tired debate about the Republican’s purported cry for smaller government vs. the Democrat’s supposed tendency towards big government, tax and spend approach. Both are no doubt wrong and exaggerated for the sake of politics with no real truth in actual fact. What is true is that our government (no matter which party is in control) is run by the moneyed interests, which control most policies, buy many of our lawmakers and run rough shod over the environment, the general population and the ‘good of all living things’ in its ever more frantic and fevered pursuit of profits. This is ‘capitalism run amuck’ in my opinion and can only lead us over the cliff to our demise. Moore starts the documentary with a clever juxtaposition of ancient Rome’s demise with the current situation in America. The obvious connection being, once a country puts its love of and pursuit of money over the interests of humanity, the end is surely near – unless a serious course correction occurs.

This afore-mentioned love of profits, to the exclusion of all else, including common sense, was the background for our recent downward slide; the out-of-control and illegal  gambling style practices of Wall Street which caused the financial and housing bubbles to burst, drowning many in their wake with attendant heartache, misery, loss, illness and death.

Moore asks: “Why do the American people stand for this state of affairs? Why don’t we revolt en masse?” And the answer is that, up until now, the hope has always been dangled in front of us that we, too, someday could be very rich, owning expensive cars, homes, boats and other symbols of financial success. This carrot and stick has been held in front of our noses for too long! The truth is that this rarely, if ever, happens, yet the hope is still kept dangling in front of us, obscuring the truth. Yes, there are those who have achieved the American dream, but for the great majority, that dream is an ever receding hope.

Visions of the French Revolution keep dancing in my head, without the guillotine, of course. Perhaps Americans need to start a bloodless revolution; one which will level the playing field and truly make the United States become ‘of America’ instead ‘of Wall Street’ and stand for government of, by and for all of the people and not just the 1-2% who now control everything. Moore shows examples of this type of revolution: employees of a closed factory refusing to leave the building until they got their back pay, vacation time, etc. They won! And a family in Florida whose home was foreclosed yet, with the help of neighbors found a way to stay in their house, refusing to move. Now there’re some concepts to wrap our heads and hearts around and to encourage others to do as well.

• Information on Reaganonics from an article in the NYT by Paul Krugman, 5/31/2009

Note: As a follow-up to this blog, you might want to watch a youtube video which greatly expands upon these ideas. It is 2 hours long but brilliant and worth every minute of your time…..I promise!  It is divided into segments so the viewing can be easily broken up. There will no doubt be areas with which you disagree but the overall premise is worthy of our consideration as a possible new direction.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gKX9TWRyfs

Ramana Karkus

karkus.ramana@gmail.com