My Week With Marilyn: 7/10

Beautiful women are the most dangerous creatures on earth. With a few words and a few movements they can bring you down to your knees and remove you of any common sense whatsoever. And this is the theme of My Week with Marilyn---a beautiful woman unknowingly in pure control of a movie set despite all of her delays, nuisances, and ridiculous moments.

And that's pretty much my reaction to this film—that despite some of its slower moments and flaws I can't help but be embellished in the performance and beauty of Michelle Williams as the dazzling yet emotionally flawed Marilyn Monroe. While this movie doesn't teach us anything that we avid Monroe fans (and to an extent, pop culture) already know, it's still lighthearted and breezy enough to keep you entertained for the hour and a half.

Basically My Week with Marilyn follows the third assistant director that got extremely fortunate in spending some intimate time with Marilyn Monroe (mostly during her emotional unraveling) during production of one of her films in England. Throughout the movie you get to see all the difficulties surrounding her tardiness, method of acting, and sometimes utterly lost persona that she became notorious for in the latter part of her career. But in spite of this, everyone was still infatuated with her because of the deadly blend of personality, sexuality, and divine beauty that made her a sex symbol and eventual film legend.

But, most of us already know this, so why watch this film in general?

Because there is an excellent cast here and some great cinematography that will offset the streamlined script and simple direction. Although nobody can truly match and imitate the original symbol of Hollywood beauty, Michelle Williams was darn close, close enough to deserve that Oscar nomination. And then there's the supporting staff from the always-delightful Judi Dench to Kenneth Branagh to our lead star Eddie Redmayne. They play each other well and allow the film to have some charming personality and flair.

But it's all about Williams being Monroe. And as Monroe, she will make you fall in love with her----and then break your heart.






Because that's exactly what beautiful women do.

Community Digital Estate Planning: 10/10

I never review episodes, I honestly never do. But I am making an exception here. I am going a little bit different here. This is because the quirky comedy is back in my life. After they all disappeared in the late 2000s, we have a television show that is carrying in the tradition of the creative cult hit shows that sprinkled network television and eventually embellished itself in reruns. Community’s Digital Estate Planning episode is hands-down one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a very long time. After watching this, I have finally found the show that will fill the void that was left by the disappearance of Scrubs, Everybody Hates Chris, My Name is Earl, and Arrested Development.

The shows I mentioned above were each comedies that were a cut above the rest because they were extremely creative, always found different ways to entertain, and sometimes were downright clever. Scrubs had their random flashbacks and cutaways while also combining crisp random humor and plenty of heart. My Name is Earl was very smart writing surrounding a very unique premise that builds in hilarity as the seasons progressed. Everybody Hates Chris was a satirical and insane look at life in Brooklyn in the 1980s—which was a combination of family sitcom with social/political/racial commentary combined with that Chris Rock twang. And Arrested Development was……Arrested Development.

Back to the episode. While this is a bit farther along the series timeline, it is easily for you to pick up and figure out the characterizations—even though it’s the plot that will keep you hooked. Without spoiling too much, one of the recently-deceased fathers of one of our main characters created a video game that he must complete in order to gain the inheritance.

And what follows is half an hour of 8-bit hilarity that mimics, spoofs, and pays tribute to video games of all sorts from Mario to Sonic to Zelda to your classic SNES and even the recent Minecraft. The jokes, references, and fun quips come flying from all directions and then to spice it some more there’s even a few surprises in the latter half. The more games you have played over the years, the more you’ll enjoy this episode. And to top it all off, after all the fun and mayhem---there is a nice poignant moment to seal the deal.

Community had escaped my grasp all these years but after a random trip to On Demand, I have finally seen the subtle cult hype, and now I am totally drawn in. One of the best written and directed episodes of any show I’ve seen in the past ten years, Community’s Digital Estate Planning is gold.

My Temporary Last Lap as a Magic Fan

Orlando Magic, you stupid, stupid organization.




You fired the best coach in the history of the franchise, the most successful coach in the history of the franchise, and one of the smartest men in basketball---in favor of a player who odds are is going to leave you by the end of next season. You fired the one coach that made Jamier Nelson, Hedo Turkoglu, Courtney Lee, and even Rashard Lewis look good, and the only coach that can boast that he beat the Celtics IN Boston on a Game 7.



You fired a coach that managed to keep a team deep in drama afloat all season to wind up in a respectable 6 seed without the team’s best player in the latter part of the season. You fired your best shot at a successful upcoming season. Who on earth is going to pick up the pieces now? Brian Shaw? Paul Silas? Who on earth could possibly spin this in a positive direction? How about keeping the man with a .641 winning percentage, and at one point four consecutive 50-win seasons?


You want to blame someone for the recent failures of the Magic? How about Mr. Otis Smith? He managed to trade off or let go of nearly every single player from that Magic squad that made the Finals and was just a couple mishaps away from truly having a shot of winning it all. At that point we were better than the more hyped squads like the Celtics and Cavaliers. And what happens? There goes Lee, Alston, Pietrus, Turkoglu, Lewis, Gortat, Bass and more. What do we get in return? Gilbert Arenas (ugh), Vince Carter (Double ugh), Glen Davis (Triple ugh), and I shall repeat this again………Gilbert Arenas.

(All this while still keeping Nelson)

You not only fired a good coach, but you also timed it very incorrectly. Why didn’t you wait and see if Howard was going to sign for more years in Orlando? Why didn’t you wait and see if Howard and Van Gundy were going to be able to bury the hatchet (Do recall the rumors about Jordan not liking Phil Jackson much—6 rings later they still probably don’t exchange Christmas cards)? The big question is, why now? Why do the firing now as opposed to waiting and seeing what pieces we can possibly pick up? Plenty of free agents are available to pick up. Why not wait and see whom we could possibly grab?


You fired without direction. You have handed the keys to the franchise to a driver that may not be riding for much longer---with Los Angeles and Brooklyn calling his name. And this is where I draw the line. I put up with the likes of Shaq, Penny, T-Mac, Steve Francis playing and then quiti—er, ditching us, I can survive Howard leaving. But to totally throw the coach that has made your organization one of the best in the NBA under the bus is inexplicable, inexplicably wrong, and just outright ridiculous in every possible way. In a case of history repeating itself, as what we saw with Brian Hill (twice), Doc Rivers, and now Van Gundy--the players sadly run the Orlando Magic--despite what might be best for the organization. Good luck finding a coach that can turn the Magic into a success when their current 2nd best player is Ryan Anderson............



You are setting us back several years by getting rid of Van Gundy, no matter which way you look at it. And once Howard leaves, we are just going the wrong direction even longer. As of now, the only time you will see me go to the Amway Center is to see them play the team that hires Van Gundy.





Because for as long as Howard remains part of the Magic, I won’t be.