The Secret Life of Movie Characters #monday #meme #womeninfilm #amnesty

Last Monday was a big ol' fraud, as Dale at Smurfin the Web had us all trekking through fake, phony and fraudulent territory. If you think living your life is hard to keep up with this week though, imagine having to manage two lives! That’s what this week’s Monday Movie Meme is all about -- one person being different people in different places. Not necessarily like Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in “Face Off” nor like some kind of Bipolar disorder, but, more-so like Robin Williams in “Mrs. Doubtfire” -- maybe. So, this week's topic is: Double Trouble.

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies featuring people who lead secret lives. Also, make sure to visit the blogs of fellow Monday Movie Meme participants. Here is my selection for this week’s Double Trouble theme.

Marzieh, played by Marzieh Vafamehr in “My Tehran for Sale,” is an actress banned from performing in theater, so she rehearses secret performances with an underground acting troupe. As the story progresses in this film, Marzieh seeks to find creative freedom by moving to Australia with her boyfriend, Saman. Political, financial and personal challenges, however, cause this woman to wonder why the cost of spiritual or professional fulfillment is so high, as she fights in a quest to pursue her artistic goals.

I chose this one movie for my list because although the film is set in Iran, it was made by an Australian based filmmaker named Granaz Moussavi, who was, however born in Tehran. She and actress Marzieh Vafamehr have more in common than being from Iran -- both of them are women directors who made short films before embarking on a feature length film -- one that brought them a lot of trouble back home. “My Tehran for Sale” was banned from being shown in Iran but locals still managed to watch it, by way of illegal distribution. I guess you could call that justified movie piracy for a cause if you want to look at it that way.

In October 2011, Marzieh Vafamehr was sentenced to one year in prison and 90 lashes for appearing in “My Tehran for Sale” with a shaved head and without a hijab. These charges from Iranian officials are due to Vafamehr being in an Australian film that is critical of the Islamic regime, with her head uncovered. Vafamehr’s sentence has since been reduced to three months and the lashes were overturned by an appeals court.

However controversial some people may view “My Tehran for Sale” to be, the film has still managed to gain support at film festivals and from arts and non-profit organizations including the South Australian Film Corporation and Amnesty International. I watched this movie at a one-time screening in Philadelphia and while wasn’t too keen on the atmosphere where it was presented, for a few different reasons, I am glad that I convinced myself to go check it out on one cold and rainy evening.

For those who still prefer a list of films for this week’s Monday Movie Meme, however, here is an honorable mention for the Double Trouble theme:
Disclaimer: I still have yet to watch this movie, but it is sitting in my rental queue, so it should be coming around the mountain one of these days.

The Driver, played by Ryan Gosling in “Drive,” works as a mechanic and movie stuntman while also moonlighting as a getaway driver for people pulling heists. This man is a jack-of-all-trades but interestingly enough, all of his jobs kinda compliment each other. I mean, he can using the skills from his day job to transport criminals and if a car breaks down, he can fix it no matter if this is on the set of a film studio or on the street following a robbery. The Driver seems to be able to compartmentalize his separate lives very well, until he gets tangled up with a married woman who lives in his apartment building.

Which double-life-managing movie characters come to YOUR mind?

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Discussing the Most Fraudulent Films #monday #meme

Art imitates life during this week’s Monday Movie Meme, as the controversy surrounding Russia’s “president-elect” really got Dale’s attention at Smurfin the Web. So, the topic for this week’s meme is “It’s A Fix.” Dale asks, what are some movies you’ve seen where fraud or some form of deceptive shenanigans are central to the plot? Here are my selections for movies that feature an element of fraud in the storyline.

First and foremost, “Contraband” fits the bill for this week’s meme, no pun intended. I saw it in a movie theater when it came out earlier this year and must give Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale and the rest of the cart their due for some good performances. Wahlberg plays a reformed smuggler who is now working in the security alarm business -- until his younger, senseless brother-in-law gets into trouble with a notorious mob boss, for throwing away drugs.

The mob guy wants the brother-in-law to pay him back based on the street value of the drugs but the kid doesn’t have the money. So, Wahlberg’s character boards a cargo ship to smuggle counterfeit money for the purpose of paying off this debt and saving his entire family from harm.

Leonardo DiCaprio did a nice job with his portrayal of Frank Abagnale Jr. in “Catch Me If You Can.” A guy has to be pretty swift and clever to not only steal tons of money via check forgery but also land a job to help him pull off such a con.

It’s hard enough for people to legitimately obtain employment these days, and this dude is flying around the like the world is his oyster. If it’s that easy, then maybe this is the key to gaining employment -- just pose as the person you want to be and eventually, you’ll become him. Hmm, maybe I should have tried this several years ago, when I was trying to get a job at Blockbuster stores.

If “Face Off” starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage doesn’t represent deception, I don’t know what does. When a secret FBI mission goes wrong, one cop fights to restore his life and revamp his investigation to bring down a career criminal. There’s only one problem -- the cop underwent surgery to look exactly like the guy that he is trying to prosecute -- and the guy who he wants to prosecute got the same surgery done (albeit, by force, but that doesn’t really matter when shit hits the fan, now does it?), to look like him.

Talk about identity theft! -- and YOU think it sucks that somebody stole your wallet or credit card or whatever -- not a big deal now, compared to the characters in this movie, huh? I mean, yeah, you can always get a new wallet or credit card in like a few days or something.

What movies come to YOUR mind concerning fraud?

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Oscar-Worthy Speeches in Films #monday #meme #moviequotes

Let’s hope you all kept your thinking caps on after Dale at Smurfin’ the Web took us to school during last week’s Monday Movie Meme. Although I was unable to watch the Oscars last night, I’m using my turn as Meme host to offer a topic based on the biggest movie event of the year.

The entire broadcast of the Academy Awards can be quite boring to watch but we may still take home fond memories of over-the-top or inspiring speeches given by the Oscar winners, before taking their golden statues home -- Who can forget the curly fro-sporting Luke Matheny, who started his Academy Award speech with “I should have gotten a haircut” before plugging iTunes sales of his short film “God of Love” and those of fellow Best Live Action Short Film nominees, and then wrapping up by thanking his mother, who provided craft services for the film. It was a light mix of humor and shameless self-promotion that made the Oscar broadcast more memorable and more entertaining.

So, this week’s theme is: Talk that talk!

Share on your blog or in the comments section, movies that feature your most favorite speeches or your most memorable speeches to date. Also, visit the blogs of other meme participants to read and comment on their list. Here are my selections for this week’s Talk that talk! movie meme.

Any Given Sunday
Tony D’Amato, played by Al Pacino, delivers several notable takeaways as a football coach in this movie. Since I’ll be featuring one of them in a later post on this blog, during the 2012 A to Z Challenge and have already highlighted parts of it in my guest post at Far Away in the Sunshine back in May 2011, I won’t get into it much here.

Instead, I’ll just mention that D’Amato’s pregame lesson where he explains -- “Either we heal as a team, or we crumble, inch by inch, play by play, until we’re finished. We’re in hell right now and we can stay here, get the shit kicked out of us or we can fight our way back, into the light. We can climb out of hell -- one inch at a time. Now, I can’t do it for you.” -- can be about so much more than winning a football game, depending on how it is perceived.

Pacino’s performance as D’Amato gives audiences a timeless piece that brings almost anyone out of the darkest of places, if you let it.

Boiler Room
Jim Young, played by Ben Affleck, is fearless as he leads a group of young investment brokers in understanding the importance of tenacity and getting results. He starts his speech off strong with what appears to be the immediate firing of two people, in front of everyone, as his meeting begins. “That’s it! Pack your shit, skippy, and let’s go!” -- but that is not what makes the scene memorable. Affleck’s firm and brutal delivery in motivating his brokers-in-training gets him, at the very least, an Oscar nomination for “Best Speech,” in my book.

I’ve only watched “Boiler Room” once or twice, maybe, but cannot forget this meeting scene, where he says “Whoever tells you money is the root of all evil doesn’t have any. They say money doesn’t buy happiness, look at the fucking smile on my face -- ear to ear, baby!” before going on to let the broker wannabes know what is expected of them at his firm, with “You are required to work your fucking ass off at this firm! We want winners here, not pikers. A piker walks at the bell. A piker asks how much vacation time you get in a year -- we’re not here to make friends -- you want vacation time? Go teach third grade, public school!”

Remember the Titans
It seems as though football movies have the best speeches of all time with “Remember the Titans” being among the sports flicks with lessons that can be applied in everyday situations.

Coach Herman Boone, played by Denzel Washington, took his team to the field where the Battle of Gettysburg took place, which served as the foundation for one of his most memorable speeches from this movie -- “This green field right here is painted red, bubbling with the blood of young boys, smoke and hot lead pouring right through their bodies. Listen to their souls -- ‘I killed my brother with malice in my heart. Hatred destroyed my family.’

Listen and take a lesson from the dead. If we don’t come together right here on this hollow ground, we too will be destroyed, just like they were. I don’t care if you like each other or not, but you WILL respect each other and I don’t know, maybe, we’ll learn to play this game like men.”

What are some of Your most favorite or most memorable movie speeches?

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