Changeling – A Mother’s Fight For Justice

cocobytes Review
"Changeling" is a heavy, sombre story with a lot of shade and not so much light within its narrative.

Continuing his series of darkly themed movies, Clint Eastwood, 78, aptly directs this “true story” of single mother, Christine Collins, played by Angelina Jolie who in 1928 Los Angeles, returns home from work to find her young son, Walter, is missing and attempts to report this to the police.

After an initial feeble attempt in getting involved, the LAPD find themselves, months later, under pressure to solve the case. They return a boy to Christine and arrange for the media to capture the reunion.

However, Christine quickly realises he is not her son and fights to find justice and truth within the police force, whilst relentlessly continuing the search for her son. She is supported on her pursuit by Presbyterian minister, Reverend Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), who himself is on a campaign to expose corrupt cops.

Christine’s dogged battle with the police ultimately sees her thrown into a mental hospital, where she finds other woman in similar situations for speaking out. She struggles to clear her name and resume the gritty search for her son.

Angelina Jolie, has a lot on her plate playing Christine Collins and is required to produce a gamut of emotions from loss, grief, fear, anger, frustration as well as moments of hope. It’s a lot to ask and at times Jolie is robotic and appears to lack the substance to make us empathise with her character.

We know we are supposed to feel emotion for her but it’s hard when her extraordinary face and red, luscious lips are continually displayed on the screen at every given opportunity, distracting us from the storyline and somehow giving the feeling that despite her grief, Christine was always able to apply Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick.

The story at times is difficult to watch due to the subject matter and not necessarily aided by overacting on the part of some of the main actors however, scene stealer, Amy Ryan as the prostitute imprisoned in the mental hospital, gives another convincing performance.

"Changeling" as a whole has its flaws but the compelling story leaves the viewer with the feeling that the pursuit and determination to discover the truth is the only way we can truly live our lives with integrity.

Earth to Joaquin Phoenix, Anybody Home?

Hey Joaquin. What have you been smoking? Whatever it is, it’s some good shit.

Joaquin Phoenix has caused some concern as to whether he is insane in the membrane after a bizarro appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman left people wondering about the actor.

The interview got off to a less than promising start and proceeded to get more cuckoo as it progressed. Phoenix was on the show to promote his latest and possibly last movie, “Two Lovers,” but didn’t seem to be endorsing the film at all.

Joaquin either didn’t answer Letterman’s questions or sat staring at his hands or mumbled incoherently or looked perplexed at the audience’s laughter all the while, chomping away on some gum.

Letterman wasn’t going to make it easy for Joaquin either, and took any opportunity he could to get a few digs in, at one point asking “What can you tell us about your days with the Unabomber,” to which Joaquin stared blankly in response.

The only time that Joaquin managed to utter more than a one word answer was when Dave asked him whether he was serious about quitting acting to which he replied, “I have been working on my music; I am doing hip hop music.”

When people in the audience laughed at that, Phoenix asked “What do you have them on? What do you gas them up with?”

But the best line of the night, which almost seemed cruel, was when Letterman joked at the end of the interview “Joaquin I’m sorry you couldn’t be here tonight.”

If the dude is hoaxing us, it’s brilliant, but if Joaquin is genuinely going down some hippy love train nutcase path, it’s just plain space cadet behaviour.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that, we don’t all have to play the tough guy as Letterman does, but it’s certainly puzzling to see Joaquin’s metamorphosis from Oscar nominee to hip hop hobo.

I tend to feel we are being punked by the performance, it’s just too good, especially when Joaquin stuck his gum under David Letterman’s table – that’s genius right there.

Guy Ritchie - Grossed Out By Madonna & Jesus

Well can you blame him?

It seems that Madonna’s salacious photo shoot in the March issue of W magazine with alleged new toy boy, Jesus Luz, has totally repulsed her ex husband, Guy Ritchie.

He apparently told Madonna that the images were embarrassing and were grossing out their children. A sentiment equally echoed by the rest of us who had the distinct displeasure of eyeballing the photos.

The images shot by Stephen Meisel in Rio de Janeiro, though beautifully photographed, show the 50 year old singer in provocative poses with 20 year old Jesus Luz which leave nothing to the imagination and reveal a desperate need to show the world that her granny bones are still appealing to a young, hot guy.

It would be interesting to see what Lourdes who at 12 years old is closer in age to Jesus Luz, thinks about the photos, let alone Rocco, 8 and David Banda, 3.

But then apparently Madonna doesn’t let her children read any newspapers, listen to the radio or watch television so they are under the impression she is as apple pie mummy as Carol Brady. And I’m sure that nobody has ever slipped them an incriminating photo of their mother, so naturally they are in the dark about her slutty ways, right? The media block out is probably lifted when they are thirty years old.

Madonna was pissed off when Guy Ritchie had the sense to criticise her. Not because she is on the whole, always pissed off about something and not because she is concerned if the kids actually see a picture of her bony ass, but because she hates anyone, especially her ex husband commenting on what she does “artistically” with her career.

Nobody questions her Madgesty’s artistic integrity, nobody.

You got that Guy.

Gwyneth Paltrow Is So Not Cheesy

No way. She is class personified. You got that.

That is why at last Sunday’s Grammy Awards, she deemed it “cheesy” to walk down the red carpet with her husband and Coldplay front man, Chris Martin, opting to go solo. She told Fox News, “It’s cheesy. I mean, who wants to live like that?”

Oh the haughtiness, the fact she is totally above it. Brangelina; lovers of red carpet must be distressed by her comments.

But do we really believe her cheese?

Could it have anything to do with the fact that Martin doesn’t ever want to be seen with his wife in public and frankly this is something she cannot stand.

Here she is, a beautiful woman with a yoga toned body to boot and her husband doesn’t want to be seen with her. That’s gotta hurt.

Gwyneth strikes me as a pampered princess who always got her way before she met Martin. Then she got married and things changed.

So what’s a girl to do?

Well, Gwynnie had a good chat with herself and got into some serious self loving. She said “You be strong girl, you get yourself off that spoiled ass and you sashay down that red carpet like you own it and you dress yourself in the most sexiest, outrageous clothes and everyone is going to love you and worship at your feet.”

So far all Gwynnie has managed to extract from her public is a few raised eyebrows at her choice of outfits, but it takes time to gather worshippers and she is dedicated to assemble a group of sycophants so she can run back to her hubby and scream, you fool, look how much the world adores me.

Sean Penn - Pissed At Gold Digger Actors

Don’t get in Sean Penn’s way. He’s pissed and rightly so.

Not at us hard workers, mind you, just his fellow gluttonous actors who feel the need to prop up their already sizeable film salaries by doing endorsements with high paying clients who want their beautifully transfixed faces to sell their products.

Yes it is nauseating. Don’t these people have enough already? No they are insatiable money grabbing whores who don’t feel that a $40 million income per year is enough to maintain the lifestyle that they desire.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Sean indirectly calls out one actress by her endorsement deal, stopping short of naming the person in question but clearly wanting to.

He said, “People are spending too much time modelling for some f**king clothing company instead of acting, and I resent it. It’s like, ‘Are you going to do the Chanel ad today? I thought you were in the middle of shooting a f**king movie.”

“Just let me know if you mean it. I want to know you’re trying to write the great American novel every time. Fail all you want, but f**king try.”

Is Sean making an oblique reference to Nicole Kidman? Come on, we all know Sean Penn worked with Kidman in “The Interpreter” and around that time she became the face of Chanel.

The guy is absolutely furious and rightly so. Are we to surmise that Ms Kidman was cutting days of filming during “The Interpreter” so that she could shoot her $3.7 million salaried, 30 second commercial she was producing with Baz Luhrmann, for Chanel? A shoot that, let’s face it, she is more capable of being good at. Beautiful dresses, flawless makeup, expensive scent and a photoshopped face, what more could a girl ask for?

But ofcourse we can only speculate.

It appears there are two types of actors in Hollywood. One are actors like Penn, who are utterly dedicated to create something that they have given their heart and soul to, and another are movie stars who happily pimp out their asses to the highest paying bidder by endorsing whatever product they have going, if it happens to be high end, all the better.

It’s a good thing Penn is trying to shame actors into taking their day job seriously. But is it a lost cause? We are talking about Hollywood here, a place which breeds of its own hype, where the very wealthiest stars are not only accepted but also respected and admired.

Good luck trying Sean.

Mickey Rourke Is A Homeboy In Electric Blue

What a fashion plate Mickey Rourke is, don’t you think? A little bit pimp, a little bit ole school homeboy.

He’s been going all out this award season with flashy sunglasses, groovy striped shirts and hippy beads knotted at his throat, and he usually likes to strut his signature pose for the paparazzi, one hand inserted into the top of his shiny tight fitting pants – hmmm?

But this latest ensemble is tres magnifique and tops the lot. Wanting to really stand out from the pack, Mickey was a vision in dazzling blue which blinded nearby onlookers.

He’s in Paris promoting his film “The Wrestler,” and no doubt fashion conscious Parisians will take note of his eclectic electric blue style. Of particular note is the hip hop chain hanging off his jeans – way cool dude.

We look forward to seeing Mickey in nothing less than a show stopping outfit at the Oscars.

Note to Jennifer Aniston – You’re Not Married To Brad

Hey Jen, not sure if you are aware of this small fact but you’re not married to Brad Pitt anymore.

In fact, you haven’t been married to the guy for yonks, so it’s interesting you seem to be in denial and still call him your “husband.”

Which Jennifer did in a new interview and photo shoot in the March edition of Marie Claire with some of the stars of her latest movie “He’s Just Not That Into You,” including Drew Barrymore and Ginnifer Goodwin. They all discussed their dating woes and the usual problems us girls experience with men.

However, Aniston who loves to chastise the press for discussing her personal life, was the first to fire the flames by rehashing the topic once again.

Aniston said she was suspicious about the whole online dating thing and was frightened of the internet. Jeez. She prefers more prehistoric methods of communication like audio cassettes which she uses to creepily tape phone messages from all of her exes including her husband. Bizzaro stalker behaviour indeed.

Some highlights of the interview are:-

Marie Claire: You all have, um, colorful dating pasts. If you weren’t celebrities, how would you choose to meet men?
Drew Barrymore: Drunk in a bar. No, wait - kidding!
Jennifer Aniston: I’d have to be dragged out to places. Well, like I am now.
Marie Claire: No Match.com? No Facebook?
Jennifer Aniston: No, No, No. The Internet freaks me out.
Ginnifer Goodwin: I think it’s the Devil. We’re pack animals! We’re supposed to be connecting face-to-face.
Jennifer Aniston: The Internet warps reality. If you’re an Internet person, real life will fall short of what you have been privy to online - sexually, emotionally. It’s so unreal and gives you this sense of order where there isn’t any. You can’t drag and paste life!
Marie Claire: You don’t feel you can get to know someone online?
Drew Barrymore: You think people tell the truth about themselves? Every guy is 6′4″ with a huge schlong. That’s why people love it so much. Internet doesnot equal sodium pentothal.

And ..

Drew Barrymore: I remember when I first started dating, the big thing was Radioshack answering machines. It was such a huge deal to run home and check your messages. And when you could actually check from another phone? That was, like, the craziest thing ever!
Jennifer Aniston: I still have the cassette tapes of messages from my first boyfriend, my second boyfriend, my husband… it’s like saving love letters.

Note the use of “husband” and not “ex husband” Psychologists will have a field day on her inadvertent slip.

Jennifer, for your own sake, move on from Brad. You’ve got John Mayer now. Go and tape some of the “gems” that he spouts out of his gob – he will love you forever for that one.

Lourdes Leon Is Rockin Her Fashion Style

Twelve year old Lourdes Leon seems to have overtaken her mother, Madonna on the hip style stakes.

Actually come to think of it, it was pretty easy to overtake Madonna, let’s face it; the woman’s style has been quite dubious since the eighties.

Either Lourdes has got a stylist of her own or she is really good at throwing things together but the kid has been looking oh so hip & rock star leaving the Kabbalah Centre in New York, with her mother, in a funky mixture of Converse trainers, brightly coloured tights, cool t-shirts and a bevy of assorted hats, whilst still looking age appropriate.

That said, she manages to perfect the same bitchy expression on her face as Madonna.

We will have our chance to see if Ms Leon turns out just as doggy as her mother, as it looks like she wants to be, surprise, surprise, an actress and will be following her famous mum’s footsteps into the entertainment world.

Lourdes has been enrolled to attend New York’s famous Professional Children’s School, of which celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, and Sarah Jessica Parker have also graced with their presence.

So she’s got the fashion down pat, let’s hope for Lourdes sake, that her acting debut turns out a lot better than her mother’s.

Madonna Still Worships Jesus

She might be a Kabbalist these days, but Madonna still loves Jesus.

Jesus Luz that is, and by all accounts, it looks as if their “ficando” relationship (Portuguese for friends with benefits) is still going strong.

Madonna, 50, met the 22 year old Brazilian model during a shoot for W magazine in Rio De Janeiro and was so impressed by his total hotness that she invited him to join her on her Sticky & Sweet tour through Sao Paulo, not as a backup dancer but to provide some friendship backstage.

However, it looks like he might be more than just a tour whore.

The couple were seen last Sunday leaving Italian restaurant, Nero D’avola in NY together with Madge’s children, 12 year old Lourdes Leon and three year old David Banda before taking in a spot of shopping.

Rocco Ritchie was nowhere to be seen, he was possibly with Guy Ritchie who is currently also in New York visiting his children.

Madonna’s love life doesn’t seem to be slowing down now that she has reached the ripe old age of fifty. Far from it, seeming more like the Madonna Maneater of the eighties, her old form is back again, after her marriage to Guy Ritchie ended last November.

Only two weeks ago she was spotted with A-Rod at a get together at Jerry Seinfeld’s Hampton home.

More power to you Madge!

Catherine Zeta Jones Provides Beauty Tips To Combat Recession

Finally, finally – a celebrity who really cares about the world, is aware of the impending economic crisis and is willing to do their part in coming up with really useful ways to help out the woman and man on the street struggling to cope during these cash strapped times.

Catherine has been working on some inexpensive beauty tips that she would like to share with you. They can all be made at home with just some old food you have hanging around the house.

Mrs Douglas explained in a recent interview, “I rub a mixture of honey and salt all over my body to moisturise and exfoliate. You wash it off and your skin is gorgeous,” she said.

“Also, I love to eat an apple after a meal, just to cleanse my teeth - they always look polished afterwards. If there aren't any apples in the fruit bowl, a strawberry will suffice.”

“The juice or pulp of strawberries contains malic acid which serves as an astringent and can lighten surface stains,” she explains. “Pineapples work the same way.”

However, while her rather unusual beauty regime appears to have its benefits, Catherine admitted it has its drawbacks too. “I do condition my hair with honey and beer.” “I smell like the bottom of a beer barrel for days afterwards but it’s very good for the hair.”

Oh, she’s a smart girl, though she was once a poor girl from Wales.

Catherine’s not going to waste her or Michael’s hard earned cash on expensive creams and lotions. Being the thrifty girl that she is, she just grabs the jar of honey after the kids finish their morning breakfast and then smears it all over her body. Once finished, Catherine returns it to the kitchen for the next morning’s breakfast.

Sometimes the honey has a few toast crumbs in it but it doesn’t matter, it just aids exfoliation. And who cares if she smells like a rancid old hobo for days after washing her hair in beer. If it helps to save a few pennies, then that’s all that matters.

You can never be too careful during harsh economic times, and it’s good to see at least somebody in Hollywood being frugal. I mean, let’s not assume that only our broke asses are on the line.

So thank you for caring Catherine.

Note: After the interview, Catherine took her cheap skin and flew back in a private plane to her home in Barbados.

There are some things a girl just won’t scrimp on.