This is a test to see how this thing works.

(insert beat pause)

Oh!  it works.  COOL!  My job is done.  Peace ! 

[READ MORE]

Hooray for some of the great people that have posted comments to my blogs on Hollywood verses Boston!

That was what I was after.... Open, Honest, Sincere, Informative Opinions & Dialogue Expressed by others.

For some reason or another there seems to be a slight sense of CENSORSHIP going on here. The powers that be... REFUSE to acknowledge any of my blogs by putting them on the right side of the main page that says: New Blogs.

Why is that?

What does that say about them?

Have they no tolerance of other humans dissenting opinions?

This all goes right to the very Heart of my Blogs about Hollywood being better than Boston.

If ya gonna be kicked in the head & spit on.... It might as well be by a pretty, young, rich, girl....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Than some mangy old gang of broken down cops.

When stuff like this occurs It always baffles me. Sure the owners of this site have every human right in the world to ban me from posting & can yank all of my past blogs. But we all know that would be utterly childish.

The powers that be have made a conscious decision to not ban me....... BUT: They are DELIBERATELY not allowing others to see that my New blogs have been posted.... 

 

 

 

 

 

Is this some Weird form of Censoring?

Am I just a Retard, with a confused sense of humor & a love of freedom of expression?

All I have been attempting to do is be Entertaining & Informative.

My honest goal here was to get a True & Real Discussion going about PEOPLE'S Personal opinions & experiences of Boston verses Hollywood. To make the site a better place for ALL who come to it.

I like to make people laugh. I like to be Silly & Stupid. But I also know I need to Inform people of certain realities. I am a Pro &...... A complete & utter failure at the same time.

I lived thru Riots... Floods... Fires... Earthquakes & under Martial law in America. I have something to say. Some wisdom to impart. If I sound like I am bragging at times, I am. Wouldn't you?

After 12 years, Hollywood finally Kicked my ass though. I never made it. I was sent home packing. My dreams shattered. My hope destroyed. Buried in Debt, despair & bad health, I ran back home like a lil kid. But my humor remains Intact!

I have a virtual treasure Trove of very Valuable Information & experiences from the big City of Lost Angels. Information that I am willing to impart to others to hopefully save them, or inform them of some of the pitfalls that can overcome you in L.A.

I am a Rebel. I have never run with the pack. I do not do it deliberately. It is just how my brain is wired. Do not fault me for being true to my heart, soul & mind.

Hollywood may have beaten me for now... But I still have the Skills, Craft & knowledge that I learned there...  But more importantly.... I still have a great sense of the Absurd..... If anything, thats what Hollywood taught me.

 

 

 

 

Hold on to your humor, DON"T take everything so Damn serious! Know when to stand back & laugh at the Ludicrousness of reality.

When one spends practically everyday, As a Professional,  living in a make believe dream world creating stuff to sell to the masses, it makes you realize: We are all just little kids.

 

 

 

Confused Children struggling to get thru another day. Its just that some kids are Meaner than others.

We all have fears, phobias, hopes & heart ache. But I will Fight forever for the Right & ability, to laugh & Mock silly Humans attempting Stupid Human Tricks!

We desperately need a better understanding of each other: as humans, & as potential creative beings.

If one can make another human LAUGH & THINK in this sometimes most horrible of worlds, a world seemingly full of endless Hate, tragedy, death & despair.... than Laughter & Knowledge is a good thing.

My humor may be bizarre & edgy & completely tactless.... But there is a method to my madness.

America has so much Un-Explored opportunities... So many Un-Opened doors, because those in control, chose to slam them shut & lock out the rest.

Let us not forget we have the POTENTIAL to truly make this country the Greatest civilization Known to Human kind. Are we gonna blow it with PETTY Morality?

With Childish & Dangerous Censorship?

When someone disagrees, Are we to take our toys away & go play in another Sandbox?

Are we to blow it & end up like Rome? Buried in Blood & Madness?

I hope not...... That's why I MUST Create my Own Demented version of art.

Thats why I will NEVER GIVE UP. And I can only hope that all those others out there that feel the same as I do, carry on also.

I thank all those that understand. I appreciate your comments, thoughts & feelings, & I hope others do also.

For I am Craig Amabello....... A demented Reporter of Life!

I do not Create others Reality.... I just comment on it.

Be Cool... Create Cool Art & know that Keith Richard's & Johnny Depp are two Pirates that live under No-mans flag. Hooray for them. They are people to be admired & Respected for the art that they have created here on planet earth.

Which are you?....... A Pirate or a Pawn?

[READ MORE]

It's strange that Michelangelo Antonioni and Ingmar Bergman died on the same day. (Last Monday.) Strange how the universe swirls around and takes two of filmmaking's best.

Me, I'm not informed enough to offer an appraisal (even a pithy one) of their life's work. Leave that to the biographies yet to be written, Roger Ebert (here and here), and the film snobs at The New York Times.

I can, however, make an informed video recommendation: Antonioni's The Passenger. It stars Jack Nicholson as a journalist posing as a gun-runner in North Africa, and Maria Schneider (Last Tango in Paris) as his traveling companion - a passenger in his car or in his life? That's all I'm going to say. And really, it's all you need to hear because it's best experienced for the first time with the most minimal info regarding plot.

So trust me, okay? I promise not to steer you wrong. Rent The Passenger and get hooked on Antonioni's brand of cool.

[READ MORE]

In Along Came Poly, Jennifer Aniston's Polly advises: "Don't make plans, make options." Got that?

So here's an option for tomorrow evening if your initial plan falls through: Apocalypse Now: Redux. It's playing at The Brattle at 7:30. And there's a 3:30 show for those of you who can leave work early.

I don't have a Top 10 List of Best Movies to See at a Revival Theater. If I did, though, Apocalypse Now would be on it. Coppola's masterpiece screams: Watch me! Analyze me! Tell your therapist about me! Sure, I'm not perfect; but what movie really is!

And now's your chance to catch all 220 minutes of it. If your other plans fall through.

[READ MORE]

. . . complete with your own Voight-Kampff Test briefcase.

Ridley Scott did it again. He re-edited Blade Runner, for the fifth time. (I guess he didn't get it right the fourth time around.)

Blade Runner: The Final Cut will have a limited theatrical release this fall in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It will also screen at the Venice Film Fest. (And let's hope: The Boston Fantastic Film Fest in October.)

Then, on December 18th, it will arrive on DVD in three different editions: standard, a 2-disc set, and a mega special 5-disc set, including all 5 Blade Runner edits.

For a movie that has only adequately been represented on DVD, this is a godsend. All the details are here.

Damn Warner Brothers for making me buy Blade Runner again! Damn them to Off-world!

[READ MORE]

Expectations. Movie trailers create them. Posters do, too.

So when Ricky Gervais appears in the trailer and poster for Stardust, a moviegoer can rightly conclude he plays a supporting role in the movie. But . . . you know where I'm going here.

First, about expectations: sometimes a little beforehand information about a movie can better one's appreciation of it. So, with the best of intentions I tell you: Gervais has a mere 5 minutes of screen-time in Stardust And don't hold your breath waiting for it: he comes in at the 70 minute mark. (At the Brattle Theater, on the left-hand side the screen, is a large illuminated clock - convenient for timing such trivialities. But little things do matter.)

Stardust, which opens August 10th, is a farce similar to The Princess Bride, and equally as entertaining. It has princes and princesses, of course. And witches and magic and yadda, yadda, yadda. (Not the Seinfeld sort.) And it's a fantasy with a scathing sense of humor about itself. (Michelle Pfeiffer- who is terrific as the evil witch Lamia - could easily turn to the camera and say, "It's cliche and we know it.")

I do recommend you see Stardust, and here's a good reason: Robert DeNiro is a kick in the pants as the pirate Captain Shakesphere. If he didn't have fun filming this, he is then, without question, the world's greatest actor.

Some of you might think it a bit strange that DeNiro appears in Stardust. You might say, It's not his kind of movie. But let me remind you of his turn in Brazil. Or to further justify his presence, look at it this way: Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull is the kind of role actors dream of. It's the kind of role they say they want. On the other hand, Captain Shakespeare is the kind of role actors secretly dream of. It won't land nominations. (At face value, it's more likely to be headed for the Razzies.) But damn if it isn't fun. I can hear DeNiro on the phone to his agent: "I don't care. I want this."

Nice choice, Bob.

[READ MORE]