Across the Universe (2007)

After taking a break from the blog last night, I decided that I needed to watch something extremely different tonight, as I have been overly submerged in darkness for some time not. After some debate, and a quick search of Netflix, I decided on something extremely different, and one of my favorite musicals, Across the Universe from 2007.

Plot/ The music of the Beatles and the Vietnam War form the backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor artist from Liverpool.

As some already may realize, I do have some diverse tastes in my movie selections, and this is one of my favorites that sit outside of the horror or sci-fi genres. While this is not a textbook movie and it has many flaws with some pacing issues, weak character development, and some of it may feel a touch forced, but that does nothing to truly bring down the experience. Yes, it is not perfect, but it is both beautiful and captivating, and features some of the best interpretations of classic Beatles songs that you will find. Couple that with some intense and vivid visuals, an interesting storyline that captured the turmoil of the era, and an emotional tone that will definitely strike a chord with many viewers (but also turn some viewers off). In the end, this may not be the best musical out there, and it may be somewhat polarizing, but if you kick back and embrace the creativity, you will experiences something amazing. Check it out.

Paul McCartney Really is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison (2010)

As some may know, I love conspiracies! I am a conspiracy theory nut, who is always searching for answers to some of the strange things that surround us, or am looking over my shoulder for the men in black to arrive. Last night I stumbled onto a flick that I had not watched before, the Beatles related Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament of George Harrison.

Plot/ Until now, the "Paul is Dead" mystery was considered a hoax. However, in this film, a voice that sounds eerily like George Harrison reveals a secret Beatles history, chronicling McCartney's fatal accident, and dozens of unknown clues, exposing "Paul McCartney" as an imposter!

While there is a plethora of material on the Paul is Dead Hoax online, it was nice to find quite a bit of that in one visual place that I could watch on my television. Yes, none of the material was really new.  However, while the story definitely seemed far fetched and implausible, some of it truly tied things together in a strange way. Of course, the reality that some truths and facts were changed to skew the story in this way really takes away from the flick. Honestly, I had to laugh about the Heather Mills piece that is a classic! As a fan that has always found this conspiracy theory fascinating, I definitely enjoyed it. Sure it is a flawed mockumentary that probably should not be taken seriously, but somewhere inside the clues may be some sort of reality. Really, why didn’t Faul (I mean Paul) attend the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction? The idea in this could be true couldn’t it? I would not rent this one, but if you have Netflix give it a chance, you may get a good laugh!