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always on my radar :: Max Martini
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One of my greatest pop culture joys in life is introducing friends to favorite movies, TV series, books, and actors, and having them validate my love for those things. It happened unexpectedly last night while watching Castle. As the first scene began I noticed that longtime beloved Max Martini was appearing in the episode and posted a quick shout of joy onto my Facebook profile. Within seconds a FB buddy replied with “????” which gave me the opportunity to share a little love for the man. A couple minutes later my pal said she’d looked up Martini on her own, and that began an hour-long online commentary while we patiently awaited his arrival onscreen. [Of course, we were both pretty engaged in the episode, as well, since it was one of the very best of the entire series so far.] By the conclusion of the program, she and I were in agreement that my affection for Martini is justified, and the smile on my face was in place the rest of the night.
In describing Max at the onset of the conversation I stated that he was redheaded, scruffy, gravelly-voiced, and gorgeous. I also said he was my idea of the perfect man, which is why I’m still single. 😀    Though I was joking at the time, I couldn’t stop considering that last statement. It occurred to me that, yes, in my laundry list of qualities I would include if I could design my own mate, a great many of them appear in Max Martini. Such a realization just couldn’t go unexplored, so here is my list to judge for yourself. |
Qualities I Would Include If I Was In Charge of Creating My Own Mate
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Now, obviously these qualities are not in order of importance, nor are they meant to imply that I’m only interested in men who possess these qualities. It’s simply a list of what I find attractive. And honestly, I find these things to be attractive in anyone. I want friends who have these personality traits, and I’m drawn to people who have the skills and interests listed here. But, just for the fun of it, I kinda enjoy writing out all the things I would include if I could genetically engineer a companion. And I find it pretty cool that one of my celebriloves has so many of these qualities himself.
Though I look at Max Martini’s filmography and see that he’s been acting since he was a child, I only came to the point of remembering him in 1999 when he co-starred in Harsh Realm. It was his name that I caught first: Maximillian Martini. Whether that’s truly his birth name or not, it’s a seriously cool name. I remembered him, though, because of his stature. He is a bold figure. Many of his characters are gruff, plain-speaking, in-your-face and take no prisoners. He often plays a soldier or a hard-edged criminal, but he also has this amazing soft-spokenness about him. Many times his speech is just slightly above a whisper, which can be equally seductive and terrifying but is always, always mesmerizing. He just commands attention. Likewise, he can be one of the most explosive personalities onscreen, which is why he comes across as truly dangerous in many of his performances. What took my affection for him to a completely different level was the many photos I see from Hollywood events with his wife by his side and true joy in his eyes. I love that he’s been married for 13 years, that he has a fine arts degree in sculpture and painting, and that he founded a theatre company in New York City. So, yeah… my little dream list is somewhat embodied by Max Martini. And it’s just so fun to realize that after all these years!
THE EXPENDABLES
December 31, 2010 (Pay-Per-View)
The Expendables is the perfect kind of summer popcorn flick so I’m not quite sure why I waited so long to finally watch it. I had planned to see it right away… the appeal of all those 80s stars in one giant, explosive movie! But then I heard that Bruce and Arnold had minor roles (more like cameos, even), and Mickey was terrific but had just a few scenes. Which left me with a group of men I’d never heard of (Terry Crews? Randy Couture?) or just plain didn’t care for (hello, Eric Roberts! hello, Stone Cold what’s-your-name!). I opted to wait, but even as I let the time slip by until the DVD release my mind kept returning to the movie. It just has such great appeal for me! Dolph Lundgren alone — and back in a movie that would actually be shown in a cinema! — was enough. Stallone, though, is better and better as he mellows with age but never quite loses his magnitude. I could go on and on with reasons I wanted to see this movie, but very few people in my life really understand. It’s those invisible strings at work again.
Finally watching the movie tonight was all the fun I expected and a rousing kick in the head, as well. I can’t recall a movie with so much gunplay, so many explosions, so much hand-to-hand combat that also featured undercurrents of great wit and humanity. Until I began to watch I also didn’t know that Stallone directed the film, but I could see his touch in every scene. I admit that the major players were all much more interesting than I expected some of them to be, and I now have a genuine interest in Jason Statham (who always surprises me, though I immediately forget about him when the films end) and a new respect for Steve Austin. And Mickey Rourke… he’s a revelation, once again. I hope his career stays on the upswing so he can play these kinds of characters that reveal layers you just don’t expect. Of course, I want my Lundgren back, too. The Expendables proved to be an interesting character study of men with something to say, and though it was carried through the film beneath bullets and breaking bones and more than a few exploding heads, it was undeniable and given the appropriate amount of attention. I felt I got to know the men who comprised this elite team of specialists, and in the end I really wanted to know them all even better.
image via Internet Movie Database, linked to source
FROZEN
My choosing this movie is another case of watching something I normally wouldn’t simply and only for an actor. In this case that’s Shawn Ashmore, a beloved of mine since his Disney days, before X-Men came along and made him a familiar face to the general public. I’ve seen a few films just for him that I would never have made time for otherwise, including The Ruins, which still creeps me out but has become one of those movies I can’t resist when I see it on TV. With Frozen, my hesitation would normally have been the horrific nature of the story. I don’t do any kind of horror, of course, and I typically avoid stories that include gruesome scenes that will linger in my mind, and Frozen was guaranteed to be one of those films. It’s the story of three college students on a ski weekend who find themselves forgotten and trapped on a ski lift after all of the employees go home for the week. The terror comes in the inevitable: knowing that no one is coming to rescue them and trying to survive the high altitude, the freezing temperatures, and the wildlife that surrounds them on the ground. It’s a harrowing thought, and the film is beautifully shot to provide every terrifying emotion that you would go through in such a situation. I cringed and squirmed and squealed and covered my eyes repeatedly throughout the film, and I was simultaneously horrified and saddened at the trials the three kids went through. Frozen is the best kind of horror movie in that it’s not meant for shock value but for real-life terror. Watching it gave me the same experience as Open Water and as Jaws before that; you can be certain I won’t be jumping on any ski lifts without long and serious thought.
PHRENETICAL.com 