Posted by Rich/Mohican Press on February 03, 2002 at 07:58:36:
My, oh my! Where does the time go? There were quite a few moments, over the past year, that I thought, very seriously, that I'd never, ever, see today come. Yet, here it is! We stumbled & bumbled, hesitated & cautiously peered into Mohicanland's collective psyche ... and with some prodding - at times with a hot branding iron! - I, and we, have finally arrived at this day! Who was it, besides me, that once said, "What a long, strange trip it's been!"? Oh, yeah ... The Grateful Dead. Well, it gets stranger, I'm sure, and another chapter is on the board to be written ... yes, The FIFTH (and Final!) Great Mohican Gathering IS happening. And today, the day after Groundhog day, we are opening the doors to the reservation period ... for nearly 4 months - till May 20 - you can elect to join us. I am quite pleased at the results, so far, and as always, we'll be twisting arms & begging & pleading to try to add just the right piece to make the Gathering all the more memorable. As it is, we've had a couple of very attractive & new additions to the festivities ... those being an American Indian-themed opening Evening, consisting of authentic, Native fare & music provided by Bill Miller, of the Stockbridge-Munsee band of the Mohican tribe, PLUS, an all day whitewater river trip through the area where Chingachook was pulled from the river after the Mohicans leaped through the falls ... guided by the folks who accompanied the film crew during shooting! We have included a lot of tried & true Gathering staples, not the least of which would be Soldier #2, so we look forward to sharing a fun-infested long weekend in the Mountains in June, hopefully with many of YOU! See the Gathering Page, and the sign-up forms, by following the link way below!
But first ... a review passed on to me about the long delayed & awaited "Gangs of New York" [ABOVE - nice pants, by the way!], starring, of course, Daniel Day-Lewis. Release date now is in July of this year. The review:
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~~~ Earlier this evening I had the pleasure of being a part of the very first audience to see "Gangs of New York" or so they told me. Well I'm just going to get right into it. This film is unbelievable in its bluntness. The level of violence is astounding. It is a very straight forward film and it holds nothing back. But with all the violence aside this is truly a remarkable film. Another great triumph for Scoresesse. It succeeds in all areas. This review will have spoilers so back away now if you don't want to be spoiled.
The acting is top notch. Leonardo Dicaprio, who I think is pretty damn
good actor but gets looked over, because of the pretty boy image, does an excellent job. He plays the role of Amsterdam Vallon with great passion and rage but with a sense of calmness.
Cameron Diaz also does a great job with her role. The chemistry between her and Leo is fantastic.
The person who really steals the show is Daniel Day-Lewis. He is
absolutely phenomenal. Bill "The Butcher" Poole is such a man of
honor. At times I didn't know whether to hate him or root for him. While I was in favor of Robert De Niro getting the role, Daniel makes up for it with damn near perfection. He brought such intensity and passion to the role that you savor every second he's on screen. He gives a very Oscar worthy performance.
And a notable mention goes to John C "People tell me I look like Han
Solo" Reilly. Who does a wonderful job. He's a God Harry just like
Don Cheadle and Luis Guzman. You gotta give it to him. He's f-----g
awesome.
The story is pretty good. It's the same old bad guy killed my father so I am vowing revenge type of story. But it works so well here. Priest Vallon, played by Liam Neeson, is Amsterdam's father. He gets killed in front of Amsterdam and sixteen years later he comes back to stake his revenge. And how does he do it? Well he joins up with The Butcher. Roams with his gang, becomes his right hand man. And just when you think he played it right old Bill finds out who he really is. As we see young Amsterdam take his revenge into action we can't help but feel sorry for him knowing that the one man who shouldn't know who he really is... knows. And well the poor boy gets his ass handed to him pretty bad. Now Bill spares him so he can live in shame because he can't be the same man as his father. Bill feels
that it was an honor to kill the Priest. That "He was the only man I
killed that is worth remembering." As Bill says in a great scene
between him, Leo and an almost half naked Cameron Diaz as she lies
underneath a blanket. That scene was wonderful as it gives great insight into The Butcher's mind which is evil and twisted but honorable. Leo recovers from his wounds as the film reaches a feverish climax during the 1863 draft riots. That's as much as I will spoil for ya.
The opening sequence sets the tone of the film. Which is if your stomach couldn't take that then get the fuck out cause that's the way it's gonna be. The violence makes you cringe but makes you want more. People being gutted legs being broken all the blood its something that some people might not want to see. Another thing for its bluntness is that gangs fighting here. There's a lot of racial violence going on and women being abused. Even pretty boy Leo gives Cameron a few slaps. A few older women were complaining about the violence and the nudity. But I hope the studio puts them on a "pay no mind" list. Some old hag was even complaining about the title. I mean the film is about GANGS that are in NEW YORK what the hell should the title be? It's not like its Attack of the Clones!! Which by the way I love that damn title so f--- all you whining fanboys.
On a final note this was a rough cut. Some of the sound was off and some of the music might have only been temp. While I didn't recognize any of the music I thought it worked fine with the film. I was also very surprised to see that the shot of the World Trade Center was still in the film. It's the last shot of the film. It's because they morph New York City through its years until modern times. It didn't bother me and I hope they keep it in the film as a remembrance. Because this is one of the very last films to feature them. ~~~
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Well, pardon the crudeness, but it does make me anxious to see ole DDL again!
OK, What's New???
The Gathering stuff, of course, along with the usual little additions & revisions, but there are two other things new on the Site this week.
1 - Our new A&E/History Channel store! See: http://www.mohicanpress.com/history_channel_store.html
This place has a bunch of comemmorative-type things, like a Betsy Ross replia flag & a Revolutionary War chess set, plus a selection of Mohicans-related video sets, among them, "Boone & Crockett: The Hunter Heroes," - starring Mark Baker - "The Magnificent Ambersons" - starring Madeleine Stowe - and a whole lot more. It's a good way to help support this Site. Speaking of, all this month of February, we get double commissions on any sales out of our Book Store, so, if you're in the market for books, videos, cds, dvds, and the like, also visit our Mohican Press Book Shoppe, at: http://www.mohicanpress.com/mo10001.html
2 - We've got a new guest columnist ... don't ask me why ... or how ... but this columnist is here. Though you may wonder why ... and how ... [and we're not telling] it does make for some interesting reading. So, why not mosey over to our latest opinion page - "Opine, O'Mine" - and see what true weirdos the Site really does attract! Who ever thought of this "Six Degrees" thing, anyway!?! See: http://www.mohicanpress.com/opine_omine.html
Enjoy! And have a very Super [Bowl] Sunday!
See you in June????