let's talk about good movies! (seriously, this is becoming a showbiz blog! =p)

one movie i was lucky to catch monday on wowow was "Shattered Glass". how i wanted to see this. the story's about a twenty-something writer/editor of US conservative magazine The New Republic, while a gifted one, is exposed as having fabricated (fictionalized) more than half of his events write-ups in the mag, and possibly other publications, so that he could be famous. it's a pretty low-profile but acclaimed film, based on actual events, starring hayden christensen (of "star wars" anakin/vader hottie fame) as bespectacled stephen glass, and (omg! cute) peter sarsgaard as chuck the senior editor. surprising to know tom cruise produced the movie... he knows some good stuff after all.

this whole "fabrication" thing happens in real life, as i read a widely-sensational story almost a couple of years ago about Jayson Blair, reporter of the esteemed New York Times, having made up several stories in his news beats. i feel the ambition of young writers, as a fellow scribbler myself (*cough, cough*). as the saying goes, "you're only as good as your last work." in the cutthroat world of (print) media, there's always the respected 'seniors' who could do no wrong, the 'it' person who's the toast of the town, and the good writers mostly in obscurity unless they've clinched the Pulitzer or an equally prestigious literary merit. immediate hit wonders in journalism rarely happen lest you are moneyed or you've got the people. (tell me if i'm wrong on this, but talent isn't much of a factor sometimes.) so, in an act of desperation of some because of the years they worked as the 'bottom feeders', they resort to unethical procedures just to get the attention, the backing, and the promotion they want (or believe they deserve). they can lie, bribe, copy, blackmail -- whatever -- in their work so they can be famous. as stephen glass succinctly put (i paraphrase): "... it doesn't matter, as long as you get to see your name on paper." one of my biggest dreams is to get my essay/s published in a newspaper. i have always wanted to become a broadcast journalist, or a magazine contributor / writer / editor despite my lack of communication skills or the degree to match (still is, somehow... natch)

deception. we could be the victims, yet we could also be the suspects if we aren't aware at all. not just in the written sense, but in everything else goes around our lives. it's only when someone knows the truth and shoves it in our face do we realize we've done a grave mistake that can torment our conscience forever.

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..and the luck doesn't run short as i also watched the 2004 Academy Award-nominated biopic "Ray" yesterday. i was quite happy i was able to see this film, starring jamie foxx on his Oscar-winning role as the great blind blues (and other genres) artist Ray Charles. the movie (in '04) was given much attention because it was shown just months after the untimely demise of the real Charles (who was consulted in the making of the film)... so i guess "Ray" was an apt tribute.

it was a deserving one. i didn't know who ray charles really is, only by name and that he was a blind singer, till i saw the movie. i almost cried in the first scenes i chanced upon, when a young ray stumbled over the house and he was helplessly groping over the place, while his mother watched him as he learned how the world works. his mother was a big influence in his life, telling him that he's got to be strong and not think of himself as a cripple. it was a lesson that guided his life in a successful career, despite his many foibles -- women, problems that come with fame, and most especially drugs. it's admirable that he got over all these.

what i loved most about "Ray" was of course, the music. i appreciated the fact they used songs to tell his story. it showed that he was very gifted and talented, weaving his thoughts & life into wondrous melody. most notable are the hip "what'd i say", "i believe to my soul" (elliot!!! *hee*), "hit the road jack", "you don't know me", and "unchain my soul". though i tell you, his most famous song, "georgia on my mind", is serenely beautiful. (the first notes already made my eyes moist.) how come i've never heard this guy before? ray charles is so brilliant.

**notice that both movies are based on actual events? i seem to like a lot of biopics... it's an interesting way to peek into the lives of real people. :) **

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