Milk: You Gotta Give Em Hope

It's been surprisingly difficult for me to write about this film, I feel like this amazing movie deserves an equally amazing piece of writing, something I take to heart. Ironically its always harder for me to write about something I'm passionate about, trying to make it as real and honest as it feels to me. Not to mention my unhealthy obsession with Milk's director, Gus Van Sant, and trying to pay homage to him as an astounding film maker. However, this incredible story, is the true story of one mans pursuit of equality, his campaign for rights, and his ability to bring together a nation in the midst of war, hate, and free love.
Harvey Milk was the first openly gay man to be elected to public office, during a time when psychologists still considered homosexuality a mental disorder.
Sean Penn captures the essence that is Harvey Milk, real life friends of Harvey couldn't deny the unbelievable similarities. Van Sant always has a way of bringing life to his characters. We see a different side of James Franco in this movie as Milk's boyfriend Scott Smith, Josh Brolin gives a performance of a lifetime as Dan White, not to mention the moving characters by Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, and Alison Pill just to name a few. Van Sant's choice of actors in this movie is undeniably perfect, this film without question deserves every critical acclaim, every award nomination it receives, for me, winning no less than Best Director, Best Actor, Best everything. Penn, takes over the movie, with his role as Harvey Milk, the flamboyant but kind-hearted man, you feel the power when he tells Dan White "Its more than an issue, this is our lives were fighting for." This movie carries with it, some of the most compelling speeches and words, in cinema history, not to mention the infamous "Hope Speech" at the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Festival:

"All men are created equal... and no matter how hard you try... you can never erase those words! that is what America is!"

While these words still ring in my ears, and the chills still roll over my body. I realize the magnitude of Harvey Milk's words, how mesmerizing and honest they were, those words gave people the right to have their hope, to keep it with them and to fight to the death to for it. Unfortunately for us, on November 27, 1978, Harvey Milk, did just that, he was shot and killed along with Mayor George Moscone, Milk was 48 years old.
However heartbreaking the ending to this story is, people like Anita Bryant and John Briggs did not win that day, however determined Dan White was, to kill every hope and close every door, he silenced no one but himself. Even in death Harvey Milk brought people together, through his legacy he will never be forgotten, he has been brought back through Van Sant's incredible movie, he is forever kept in the hearts of those involved, or someone, like me, who is lucky enough to hear about his inspiring life... because no matter how hard they tried, we will never forget his words...

Harvey Milk not only gave hope to the people on Castro Street, not only the people of San Fransisco, his words reached beyond that, and further then he, himself, could have ever imagined, through his hardships he gained recognition, through discrimination he persevered, and through fear he gained power. Harvey Milk was nothing less than a hero.

"If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door."

Seven Pounds

Walking into the theater I was still confused on what I was about to see, based off the trailers for Seven Pounds the only thing I really got from it was that Will Smith was in it, nothing else.
But as this movie unfolded and the idea behind it started to become more clear I realized the heart behind this film and how real it felt to me. Without giving anything away, and while keeping you just as confused as I was, go see this film, its inspiring.

Meet, Your New Favorite Dog

Marley:)

I'm Spewing Deranged Emotion

So, there we have it, in a matter of 24 hours all hell has officially broken loose.

Recently I've been trying to find the easiest way for me to write about this, tip-toeing around the idea that weighs so heavy on my heart, ignoring it never helped me at all, even if it gave me the slightest comfort, its never fully let me forget. But I've come to realize that to explain this, is like describing the color blue to a blind person. So it will just go a little something like this: Recent chaos breaking loose in an already unbalanced, dysfunctional family only makes my days full of more confusion and more anxiety and yet it brings me to realize how unreliable life is, how precious family is, can you even imagine waking up one morning and losing someone who has been there from the beginning, like losing a part of yourself, do you really ever come back from something like that? Its such a hollow feeling, so empty and sad, you begin to mourn for the days when you were a little less conscious, where these problems were only far away ideals that could never pierce the innocent veil over your eyes. Whether this is relatable or not, whether this makes sense or not, whether it matters or not, it terrifies the hell out of me, and whether I want it to be or not, its real... the realest thing Ive ever felt.