By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

Perhaps it was out of domestic protest from the antics of the NFL, but the motion picture box office had its best weekend since the peak of the summer blockbuster season, with The Kingsman: The Golden Circle, IT and The LEGO Ninjago earning nearly $100 million in revenue. With the much hyped Battle of the Sexes opening this weekend, expect to see more people at a theater near you.

For those considering walking to a theater near you, the documentary Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards opens this weekend. Granted people who wear Manolo shoes are not likely to walk long distances, but are likely to ride limousines to some gala events with red carpets.

Despite the trappings of fame, Manolo Blahnik is a man who sees himself as a simple cobbler. Born in Spain, Manolo was an odd kid who was enraptured by the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson and was fascinated by the human foot.

Learning the foundations of ergonomic design, Manolo began making shoes that were more colorful and artistic. Before finding a new home in Bath, England, Manolo became an international superstar on the red carpets in Manhattan and Milano, Italy. Despite luxury of living the upper class life, Manolo is most content working in a shoe factory designing his next product. Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards is very entertaining.

Rebel in the Rye presents the dark side of success. It is the story of J.D. Salinger (Nicholas Hoult — in a fine, understated performance) and the creation of his much revered novel, Catcher in the Rye. Much of the film presents Salinger alone by his typewriter, talking to himself and acting out conversations with his protagonist, Holden Caulfield.

Despite the starkness of these scenes, Rebel in the Rye is a lively motion picture when Salinger interacts with other people. Oona O’Neill (Zoey Deutch) is a charming vision of Salinger’s unrealized dreams. As his creative writing teacher, Whit Burnett, Kevin Spacey provides memorable instruction to his atypical prodigy. The few scenes between Salinger and Burnett are electric.

In less than a month the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival opens and the much anticipated Blade Runner 2049 will be released soon. Don’t let Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards and Rebel in the Rye get lost in the crowd.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

So this is what it’s like to be a writer: sometimes you get stuck. Here’s the deadline and you’re staring at a blank piece of paper, and the current political scene — to which you are addicted and pulsing to writing about – is off limits. So instead, you open the latest e-mail from a friend, with a link to a recommended book and you don’t even peek into the content. You fall in love with the title — well, actually, the subtitle: “My life as a Pretender.” The whole title is Reckless: My Life As A Pretender by Chrissie Hynde, founding member of the rock band The Pretenders.

I do a little Googling and You Tube-ing and now I know Chrissie Hynde. But I only have less than 24 hours – and no time to find and read her book. And it wouldn’t matter because “pretending” is something I think about often and about which I find myself in frequent conflict.

I have sadly concluded that one cannot get though life without having to tarnish one’s sense of authenticity.

Unless you are Henry David Thoreau and willing to live the life of a hermit, then the very act of comingling with others demands a degree of self restraint — zipping up your lip, and engaging in occasional activities that don’t comport with your desires or your sense of self. You see yourself as this “good” person: a friend in need, someone who talks the talk of walking in the shoes of others, empathetic and kind. But in order to be totally true to that image, you are often called upon to ignore your base thoughts and/or feelings in order to fulfill the larger “calling” of your self image. Therein lies the seeds of ambivalence.

So, you don’t say some of the things that are on your mind, that you truly believe, because those “things” can be construed as “negative,” and transmuted to “hostile.” And sensitive people don’t “cotton” to their perception of “criticism.” So you retreat to your “turtle” persona crawling into your shell, exhibiting your most charming “yes” smile – saying one thing while thinking another.

Do we call this “lying,” “self protection,” “kindness” – or inauthenticity? I’m still trying to figure it out and still trying to find an acceptable balance which will help me to be the “good” person I aspire to being, and also the real person I absolutely need to be. The fact that therein lies a conflict keeps me mindfully aware that – after all these many years — I am still trying to figure out who I am.

And I often conclude that I – like many others – am not one monolithic person, but rather a tangle of many me-s.

But, aha! Soon will come the day when our thoughts will be read by the progeny of “Siri” and her counterparts – and nothing that comes into our heads will be off-limit for reading by anyone so inclined. Add that to the list of scaries in the year 2016 – as if we didn’t have enough to worry about.

But you know what? Life is good!