The Weekly Poll
Results
The 'Mad Mel' Edition...
Mel Gibson has been called a religiously insane, anti-Semitic, misogynistic, racist by a great many people. His actions and words certainly point to that as being the case. However, he has made movies that have been very popular and, in some instances, awarded and/or critically acclaimed...
So...
What is your view of Gibson as an actor and are there any of his movies that you have enjoyed?
Hey there, Poll-fans... Firstly, thanks fer yer forbearance with the delay. As has been said, I have not been feeling well and am currently awaiting a surgical date with the 'Pros from Dover' to correct a non-life threatening (I hope!) condition. The symptoms and medications to treat them rather discombobulated me for a bit, but I've rallied enough to get this out to ya...
So, let's get on with it...
Note: I've made no comments to the responses because, as in all things artistic, there's no accountin' fer taste and what you like or dislike in that regard is simply a matter of personal taste and nobody's damn'd business but yer own... For example: I like to polka... you may not... we're both right! So there!
Read on, MacDuff!
Richard McD...
I think he's weird. Although I did love his Mad Max movies.
Adam in NoHo...
I don't think I've seen more than 4-5 of his movies. Mad Max, Beyond
Thunderdome, Gallipoli, and a Lethal Weapon come to mind. Gibson was incidental to the reasons why to see those pictures.
Although he showed some promise as a young actor and movie star, I never
felt compelled to follow is career or his movies. He never felt that
interesting to me.
Now that we find out he's a raving, violent lunatic, I find him infinitely fascinating. By the time we learned he didn't think his wife would go to heaven
because she wasn't the 'right kind' of Catholic, the jig was up.
'The Jesus Chainsaw Massacre' was a warning sign we were all too willing
to ignore. Of course the apple doesn't fall far from the tree- he gets most of this from his father. But children have to opportunity to accept or reject what their parents give them, and Mel clearly is willing accept his father's crap and build on it.
'Sugar Tits' and '...but first you will blow me' will live long in infamy
litebug
I never cared much for him as an actor and think I only saw a couple of his movies. I deliberately missed most of them as they were too violent for me. I certainly wasn't interested in any of his bloody "religious porn", which I consider as sick and obnoxious as he is.
Paul of Seattle
I really liked Gallipoli and The Road Warrior
Sjmcros
In spite of being exposed as a bigoted, drunken, sexist, racist lout, Mel Gibson is a fine actor and supremely gifted director. It is difficult to believe that the man who starred in the films "Mad Max" and "The Road Warrior" is the same man from whom we have heard so much vile venom. "Apocalypto" is, IMHO, so far, his masterpiece as a director. His performance in "Ransom" was his best, by far, as an actor. "Braveheart" deserved every accolade it received. I also enjoyed Gibson's work in "Lethal Weapon," "Lethal Weapon II," "The Year of Living Dangerously," "The Bounty," "Tequila Sunrise" and "Conspiracy Theory."
DanD
As confirmed above, Mel Gibson is an ACTOR. By function, actors are professional frauds. The most talented frauds are considered the greatest actors.
I liked Thunderdome. Though simplistic and historically two-dimensional, I also found "We Were Soldiers" mildly entertaining. In any event, Mel Gibson is very good at his trade ... that being, making you believe that he is the character being portrayed.
Aside from his professional life, Mel Gibson also has many private opinions. Consequent to his trade, he has traveled many places and studied many subjects. As with many other people who entertain strong religious beliefs, he is circumstantially insane. As a human dealing with the insanity of Catholicism, he has issues with the corporate masters as well as the blind-faithful followers of Zio-Judaic insanity.
Note to the world ... just because a "Jew" claims it, don't necessarily mean that it's so.
Another note: Ernst Zundel was not convicted of lying about the "Holocaust," instead, he was only convicted of "denying (or disagreeing with the historical accuracy of)" it. Essentially, he was convicted of "Holocaust Heresy."
During Catholicism's Inquisition, hundreds of thousands (and some say millions) of people in Europe (and America, AND the Orient) were also convicted and even torturously executed for denying the infallibility of Catholicism's religious fable of Jesus. As suggested by the Zundel site (which has now successfully been "Memory-holed" by America's, allegedly Jewish-controlled, media), aside from the allegations of many Zionist investors (and their faithful employees ...) not a single Nazi document attributable to WWII Germany ever suggested waging a mass extermination program against Europe's Jews.
On the flip side, if you read your "Old Testament (or Torah)" Bible, you may notice that the "Israelites (e.g. HEBREW tribes, of which Judah was a large one)" expansively committed wholesale genocide against EVERY city-state that they ever militarily assaulted during their extended conquest of the "Promised Land," except one (which they merely enslaved). Maybe Hitler was a closet Hebraic Zionist.
But the Holocaust Industry's (mostly Zionist) financial profiteers casually profess that a national Chistianite (Hitler was an avid Catholic) socialist movement's ever-so-blatant attempt at genocide (against "God's Chosen) was cleverly perpetrated -- on an international scale involving millions of "fellow-traveling" collaborators -- as a wholly undocumented conspiracy. yeah, right.
Anyway, who does not believe that Hollywood is a propaganda tool? In this land of the free, has anyone ever seen a "Holocaust" video that didn't portray Europe's "Holocaust" Jews as wholly blameless victims? From all of America's more contemporary victims to America itself, the same cannot be said. While only being 5% of America's population, why has "Jewish" America's reputation been so unconditionally protected by our nation's corporate media?
Another interesting historical fact, the most powerful, La Cosa Nostra, organized crime family ever to exist in 20th Century America was actually Jewish ... it called itself "Murder Inc."
Investigate the web sites below ... what to believe ~
wintersonnenwende.com/scriptorium/english/archives/articles/jdecwar.html
www.rebelnews.org/opinion/history/322905#ja-content
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust_Industry
www.amazon.com/Holocaust-Industry-Reflections-Exploitation-Suffering/dp/1859843239
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-American_organized_crime
www.ilperetz.org/graduates/michael_sugarman.htm
WDRussell
I did enjoy Mel in Conspiracy Theory, but that is it.
joe b
In my opinion Mel's movies always have a negative spin and the older he gets the more of his nasty side comes out. He is an Opus Dei Catholic, who said his wife will not go to heaven because she is not a catholic. He is a control freak who lost control like Tiger Woods did.
mj
He's a yeoman actor. He has a limited range in which he's quite good. (He's not bad at light comedy. He's laughable as a tough guy - tries way too hard.) I enjoyed Mad Max II and III, but mostly for the supporting cast.
As a director, he has an eye for scope and epic, but his touch with dialogue is leaden. I fell asleep during Braveheart (made it to the throat slitting scene.) While I kinda liked parts of Man Without A Face, it, too, was slow beyond belief, and not very imaginative.
In summary, he's an okay actor of limited scope who was propelled into the spotlight by his break out parts in two popular franchises (Mad Max and Lethal Weapon). He otherwise would never have the power that he has now.
I don't seek out his movies, but will watch them on TV. Sometimes.
Kevin...
I have never been much of a Mel Gibson fan, I've never seen any Lethal Weapon movie, nor have I seen Braveheart (even though people tell me the later is good). So, I found your question challenging.
Turns out I have enjoyed a few of Gibson's movies, but never because he was in them. A couple of them I liked, and didn't even remember he was in them.
Ones I enjoyed:
Gallipoli (1981). I went to this because I respected the director (Peter Weir; "Picnic At Hanging Rock"), and the reviews which said it was a moving film about WWI. No memory of Mel's being in it until I looked up his list of films on IMDB.
Mad Max 2, The Road Warrior (1981). His US breakout film. Great action. This is the only "Mel Gibson Movie" to this day that I like. Does Mel speak a line?
Mrs. Soffel (1984). Saw this because of Diane Keaton, still remember her performance, not his.
Bird On A Wire (1990). Saw this because of Goldie Hawn. I remember it was funny, though it didn't get good reviews. I remembered that he was in it, but Goldie is still the only good thing about it.
Hamlet (1990). Saw this because of the writer ;-) , and director Franco Zefferelli, out of curiosity, and to see Glenn Close as Gertrude. Remember Glenn's performance and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia. Can't remember Mel at all.
Maverick (1994) Saw this because of Jodie Foster and James Garner. It was a very unusual role for Foster, playing a saucy and sexual character (which she barely pulled off). Garner was great; relaxed, funny. Can't even remember Mel.
So, in summary: there is one actual "Mel Gibson Movie" I enjoyed, "Mad Max 2". There is one other fluffy thing that I recall him being in that I liked, "Bird On A Wire". Four others, I didn't remember existing ("Hamlet"), or didn't remember he was in because I saw it for the other stars ("Soffel", "Maverick") or the director ("Gallipoli" and "Hamlet"). Looking at them, the only really quality movie he was in that I liked was "Gallipoli" , where he made no impact.
I did like "Apocalypto" even after his lips hit the fan, but he directed and did not appear in it, so it doesn't fit the question.
Joe S..
I strongly dislike him and I strongly dislike his movies. Hate is such a harsh word.
Boston Jane...
I thought he was excellent in Gallipoli, a great film, and also very good in Braveheart and the Mad Max movies. Apocalypto, which he directed, was an amazing film.
There's always the "Do we hold his personal life against him?" question or the "Does bad home behavior mean he's a bad actor?" question--William Hurt beating up his wife, Robert Blake on trial for murder, etc. Maybe a tough call, but I think their work can excel regardless of private life.
And, Ted said:
Not a bad actor but a less than admirable human being.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Well then, my turn... I can not think of any of the films he acted in that I did not like. But, then again, I haven't seen them all. Those that come to mind I particularly enjoyed are : Gallipoli, Bounty, Thunderdome and The Road Warrior, Braveheart, Conspiracy Theory and Payback. In some of those movies his supporting actors have been rather memorable and enhanced the film's appeal to me. Particularly Tina Turner (Aunty Entity) in Thunderdome, Patrick McGoohan (Edward 'Longshanks' I) in Braveheart and Anthony Hopkins (Capt. Bligh) in Bounty... Many of the minor 'characters' in The Road Warrior and Thunderdome were a hoot and really made those films for me... So, there's my two cents worth...
~~~~~~~~~~~
I'll be back August 17th with a two week long Emmy Contest with a prize! Yes! A nice one, too! Details will be posted beforehand to whet yer interest, so stay tuned! Until then, thanks to all... Yer the Best!
BadToTheBoneBob
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Liza Donnelly: Cartoon
Paul Krugman: Defining Prosperity Down (nytimes.com)
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Julian Assange, monk of the online age who thrives on intellectual battle (guardian.co.uk)
Cadwalladr profiles Julian Assange, a founder of WikiLeaks thrust into the public eye over one of the biggest intelligence leaks of all time.
Connie Schultz: Give the Kids a Healthy Start (creators.com)
Last year, Congress attempted to strike a blow for America's children by ordering a slew of agencies and departments to recommend standards for food advertising that targets kids.
Tom Petruno: Bond-buying binge isn't exactly like the dot-com stock boom, but … (latimes.com)
Greed motivated tech-stock buyers in the late '90s. Fear is behind the current rush into bonds. Now, as then, raw emotion is driving investors. It's a dangerous thing to have in common.
Geoff Boucher: Frank Miller's 'Holy Terror' leaves Gotham: 'I've taken Batman as far as he can go' (latimes.com)
"For years, Frank Miller spoke of a Gotham City graphic novel that would be like no other -- for the 120 bone-crunching pages of "Holy Terror, Batman!" Miller -- arguably the most important comic book artist of the last 30 years -- envisioned a story in which the Caped Crusader went on a blood quest against Al Qaeda."
Sue Townsend: 'I hate it when people call me a national treasure' (guardian.co.uk)
The Adrian Mole author talks to Kate Kellaway about seeing her best-known character grow up, blindness, and receiving a kidney from her son.
Aeroplane: 'I don't mind being by myself' (guardian.co.uk)
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George Varga: On Stage at the Source of Her Inspiration -- What it Meant to Ashley Matte to Play at Lilith Fair (creators.com)
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Irene Lacher: "The Sunday Conversation: Mel Brooks on his 'Young Frankenstein' musical" (Los Angeles Times)
The multitalented octogenarian reflects on his monster career, including 'The Producers,' 'Blazing Saddles' and 'The Elephant Man.'
Ross Ruediger: A Chat with Lenora Crichlow. Co-star of "Being Human" (bullz-eye.com)
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David Bruce: "The Funniest People in Relationships: 250 Anecdotes"
A Kindle Book: $1.
wrote:
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and breezy.
Readies Comeback
Seiji Ozawa
Acclaimed Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa plans a comeback concert next month, declaring he has started his "second life" after surgery for esophagus cancer and seven months of treatment.
The 74-year-old Vienna State Opera musical director, who was diagnosed with the illness in January, held a practice session with young musicians in the central Japanese city of Matsumoto on Sunday, his office said.
"I feel like I'm dreaming because I can conduct again now," he told a news conference in the town, where he is scheduled to perform at the Saito Kinen Festival on September 5, his first concert in over half a year.
"My real physical strength has yet to come back," he said. "I'm skinny, and I can't eat much. But my second life has started, and today is the first day."
Seiji Ozawa
Helps Abandoned Pets
Pam Anderson
About 50 dogs, some of them abandoned by their owners after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, are on their way to new homes in Virginia courtesy of an animal welfare group and actress Pamela Anderson.
Anderson, the honorary chairman of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, was among those walking the dogs at a news conference Monday at New Orleans' City Park.
Since the April 20 drilling rig explosion that sent millions of gallons of oil spilling into the Gulf, some southeastern Louisiana animal shelters have reported large increases in the number of pets brought in.
Many are brought in by people who have lost jobs or income because of the spill.
Pam Anderson
The Last Roll
Kodachrome
What should a photographer shoot when he's entrusted with the very last roll of Kodachrome?
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The world's first commercially successful color film, extolled since the Great Depression for its sharpness, archival durability and vibrant yet realistic hues, "makes you think," as Simon sings, "all the world's a sunny day."
Kodachrome
Piano For Sale
The Beatles
A British auction house is offering for sale a piano from London's Abbey Road Studios that featured on tracks by The Beatles and Pink Floyd.
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The piano resided at Abbey Road's Studio Three between 1964 and the 1980s, and was used on tracks including The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" and "Paperback Writer."
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The Beatles
Fox Rupert "News"Fox Rupert "News" has won a front-row seat in the White House press room after the shakeup following the retirement of the longest-serving journalist in the presidential residence, the correspondents association said Monday.
The White House Correspondents Association agreed to move the Associated Press to the front row, center seat, which had been held by Helen Thomas, who retired in June at age 89 after coming under fire for controversial remarks about Israel.
The new arrangement allowed the conservative Fox News to snag the front row seat previously occupied by AP. National Public Radio got the second row seat previously held by Fox, next to Bloomberg News.
"The board received requests from Bloomberg and NPR in addition to Fox for relocation to the front row and felt all three made compelling cases. But the board ultimately was persuaded by Fox's length of service and commitment to the White House television pool."
Fox Rupert "News"
Wins Suit Over Spawn Characters
Neil Gaiman
"Coraline" and "Stardust" author Neil Gaiman is owed royalties for three more characters that appeared in artist Todd McFarlane's classic Spawn comic book series, a federal court judge has ruled.
U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb ruled last week that the demon Dark Ages Spawn and two scantily clad female angels, Domina and Tiffany, were derived from characters Gaiman created. Spawn tells the story of a murdered CIA agent who becomes a demon and is hunted by angels.
A jury found eight years ago that Gaiman was due money for being a co-copyright holder for three other characters that appeared in the comic series - Medieval Spawn and Angela as well as a character named Cogliostro, a one-time Spawn ally. Neither side has agreed to how much is owed.
Gaiman testified in June that he believed Dark Ages Spawn was essentially a copy of Medieval Spawn, a character he created in the ninth issue of the Spawn series in 1993. He had been invited by McFarlane to do an issue. Gaiman also said the angels known as Domina and Tiffany were copies of the red-haired Angela, a character who also debuted in Spawn No. 9.
Crabb agreed, saying all three characters were substantially similar to the ones Gaiman created.
Neil Gaiman
Lucky Bastard
Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen pleaded guilty Monday to assault in a Christmas Day argument with his wife in exchange for the withdrawal of more serious charges.
Sheen, star of "Two and a Half Men" on CBS, was sentenced to 30 days in a rehabilitation center, 30 days of probation and 36 hours of anger management. He has 30 days to report to the Promises Treatment Center in Malibu, California.
Colorado prosecutors dropped a felony menacing charge and a criminal mischief charge in exchange for Sheen's plea on a count of misdemeanor assault. The charges stem from a Christmas Day 2009 dispute with his wife, Brooke Mueller Sheen.
Sheen had been scheduled to plead guilty at a hearing in June, but that hit a snag over terms of a proposed work release program. His attorney, Yale Galanter, had said that a plea agreement called for Sheen to serve 30 days in jail.
Charlie Sheen
Owes Brazilian Producers?
Sylvester Stallone
A movie production company in Brazil says Sylvester Stallone owes nearly $2.2 million for its work on "The Expendables" last year.
In a statement, O2 does not specify what work it did but says it was not a co-producer on the project.
Stallone publicist Michelle Bega in Los Angeles told The Associated Press on Monday that she would not comment.
Sylvester Stallone
Launching American Country Awards
Fox is set to announce Monday that it will launch a country music awards telecast. The two-hour American Country Awards will premiere December 6 live (on the East Coast) from Las Vegas.
Fox Rupert
With ACAs coming to Fox, American TV is about to get a lot more than a little bit country. Two of Fox's broadcast rivals already have country music awards shows of their own: CBS' Academy of Country Music Awards and ABC's Country Music Awards.
That's on top of CMT's Country Music Television Awards, which is the highest-rated program on the cable channel, and "CMA Music Festival," an annual three-hour ABC special that essentially is a country music awards show minus awards.
By adding another twangfest, Fox is betting that country music is burning hot enough to sustain the new entry. ACA will attempt to differentiate itself from the other shows by having the fans vote for the winners. The executive producer of the program is Bob Bain, who runs the Teen Choice Awards, another viewer-driven awards show for Fox.
Fox Rupert
Criminal Charges Dropped
Michael AvMen
Criminal charges have been dismissed against the actor detained outside the Academy Awards in March for trying to attend without a ticket.
Michael AvMen filed a civil suit against the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences in April for $50 million. He claimed false imprisonment after he and his wife were detained for hours outside the Kodak Theater in Hollywood where the Oscar ceremony is held.
The actor found himself the subject of a criminal trespass complaint earlier this month by authorities in Los Angeles.
Now that the criminal charges against the AvMens have been dropped the two sides can focus on battling in civil court.
Michael AvMen
Touts Abstinence
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga is known for her skimpy outfits and sexually-charged performances, but she says she fears having sex with a partner could deplete her artistic energy.
"I have this weird thing that if I sleep with someone they're going to take my creativity through my vagina," the performer said in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine that was released on Monday.
Lady Gaga is not the only pop star to laud the value of abstinence, but she may be among the first to tout it as a boost to creativity. Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and American Idol-winner Jordin Sparks have all worn "promise rings" to symbolize a pledge of chastity until marriage.
Lady Gaga is on the cover of the September issue of Vanity Fair. A photo spread of the "Poker Face" singer clad in little other than a rhinestone choker, accompanies the interview. Gaga also speaks about drug use and family.
Lady Gaga
In Memory
Mitch Miller
Mitch Miller, the goateed orchestra leader who asked Americans to "Sing Along With Mitch" on television and records, has died at age 99.
Miller was a key record executive at Columbia Records in the pre-rock 'n' roll era, making hits with singers Rosemary Clooney, Patti Page, Johnny Mathis and Tony Bennett.
"Sing Along With Mitch" started as a series of records, then became a popular NBC show starting in early 1961. Miller's stiff-armed conducting style and signature goatee became famous.
The TV show ranked in the top 20 for the 1961-62 season, and soon children everywhere were parodying Miller's stiff-armed conducting. An all-male chorus sang old standards, joined by a few female singers, most prominently Leslie Uggams. Viewers were invited to join in with lyrics superimposed on the screen and followed with a bouncing ball.
An accomplished oboist, Miller played in a number of orchestras early in his career, including one put together in 1934 by George Gershwin. "Gershwin was an unassuming guy," Miller told The New York Times in 1989. "I never heard him raise his voice."
Miller began in the recording business with Mercury Records in the late '40s, first on the classical side, later with popular music. He then went over to Columbia Records as head of its popular records division.
Miller and a chorus had a No. 1 hit in 1955 with "The Yellow Rose of Texas," and that led to his sing-along records a few years later.
The years of Miller's biggest successes were also the early years of rock 'n' roll, and many fans saw his old-fashioned arrangements of standards and folk favorites as an antidote to the noisy stuff the teens adored. As an executive at Columbia, Miller would be widely ridiculed for trying to turn a young Aretha Franklin into a showbiz diva in the tradition of Sophie Tucker.
In 2000, he won a special Grammy Award for lifetime achievement.
His daughter, Margaret Miller Reuther, said her father died of "just old age."
Miller was born in 1911, in Rochester, N.Y., son of a Russian Jewish immigrant wrought-iron worker and a seamstress. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music of the University of Rochester.
Mitch Miller
In Memory
Dan Resin
Stage and screen actor Dan Resin, who portrayed the dapper Ty-D-Bol man in television commercials for the toilet bowl cleaner, has died. He was 79.
Resin also played Dr. Beeper, the snobbish physician and country club member in the classic comedy film "Caddyshack."
Resin died Saturday of complications from Parkinson's disease, said his daughter, Elizabeth Olynick.
As the Ty-D-Bol man, Resin wore a captain's uniform and sailed off in a motorboat across the sparkling blue waters of a toilet tank after his product pitch: "Helps clean and deodorize your bowl automatically every time you flush."
Resin was born Daniel Wrzesien in South Bend, Ind., and studied music and theater at Indiana University. After a stint in the Army at Fort Monmouth, he headed to New York to pursue an acting career.
He had Broadway roles in such hits as "My Fair Lady," "Once Upon a Mattress" and "Don't Drink the Water."
Resin appeared in hundreds of television commercials for products ranging from the New York Lottery to Bird's Eye Frozen Vegetables.
In his later years, he was active in raising money for Parkinson's disease research through the annual Parkinson's Unity Walk in New York City.
Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Margaret; three daughters, a brother and two sisters.
Dan Resin
In Memory
Tom Mankiewicz
Tom Mankiewicz, the screenwriter of such James Bond films as "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Live and Let Die" and the first two "Superman" movies, has died in Los Angeles at 68.
He was a member of Hollywood's legendary Mankiewicz family: His father was Joseph L. Mankiewicz, director of classics including "All About Eve," "A Letter to Three Wives" and "The Barefoot Contessa." He was also the nephew of "Citizen Kane" co-writer Herman J. Mankiewicz.
Tom Mankiewicz directed the 1987 movie "Dragnet," starring Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks, and several episodes of the TV series "Hart to Hart."
Mankiewicz began his career as an assistant director on Michael Curtiz's last film, "The Comancheros" in 1961.
In 1970, he was hired to rewrite "Diamonds Are Forever," which was the beginning of a longtime association with the Broccoli family and the Bond franchise. He also wrote "The Man With the Golden Gun" and made uncredited contributions to "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Moonraker."
Director Richard Donner asked Mankiewicz to rewrite and condense the scripts for 1978's "Superman" and the 1980 sequel "Superman II," for which he received credit as a creative consultant but not as a writer.
Mankiewicz again went by the "creative consultant" credit on "Hart to Hart," which aired from 1979-84, even though he was a writer and director on the series.
Tom Mankiewicz is survived by his brother Christopher, a film producer; his sister, Alexandra; his nephew, Jason; and many cousins working in film, television or journalism.
Tom Mankiewicz
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