RUTZ Poem: "The Act of Being Good"

                       God, Family, Love for one another....Do not forget what's important

The Act of Being Good

Thoughts of kindness that lead us to a desert storm

With the view of a calm ocean in mind

We walk forth to a bottomless pit

In our time the lesson was to turn the other cheek

How do you open your heart and foolishly not expect to be invaded

Sometimes conquered

Where does our good nature go

When we experience betrayal, misfortune

What stops you from the point of no return 

Of an always present alternate reality 

Eyes, Emphathy

The idea that this version of you is the correct one

Limited thoughts in a hurricane of madness and mistrust

Biting your tongue, repressing anger, casually building stress

To keep your title of a decent human being 

An attitude only available because we built a modern world 

Where being a savage in the physical sense lands you in jail 

Being good is now a commercial 

A theory, a handout peddler who doesn't care where the money derives from 

Some can juggle the ACT

Many falter and break, yell, fight, kill, destroy

Never returning to good

It is a wonder to witness millions of people commit to such a lengthy performance

Fake smiles, fake laughter

Looking the other way, forgetting, letting sleeping dogs LIE

All for the sake of a stained self respect

In an age where right and wrong have been discarded 

For an elusive happy medium 

I can honestly say 

That WE should be proud, WE know how to act. 

 

RUTZ Poem: "The Sunset Mirror"

 

The Sunset Mirror

The Sunset Mirror and it's final glory

Yells of yellow, pink and orange 

Stained forever in memories

It recognizes us in passing

We embrace it in our dreams

It wants our eyes to zoom to the center

When the hope of enlightenment begins to glow

Never an answer, always more questions

What a strange friend

I put my head down for a second 

And it's gone

RUTZ Song: "We Run"

I have not been this run down as I am today in a very long time. Working like crazy on some very cool projects ranging from the Winter Music Conference to beautiful photo shoots on Star Island in South Beach. Still, nothing beats hearing from you guys on Twitter and Facebook. Keeps me going in the RIGHT direction. Here's a new song "We Run" ....again thank you for all your support guys, love ya'll :)

We Run

We Run by RUTZ

(Hahahaha - Running out of breath) 

Run as fast I can

From the law

Things I planned 

Went Wrong

Now I'm on the track 

Singing the song 

My mind was up to it 

All along

Grabbing my hand

As they take my drink

Sink in the seat

With my arms bitten by

The Metal Teeth 

Waving Good Good Bye

To the Streets

I think about a

Lovely dream

Where I was filthy rich 

And everybody loved me 

Treated like a king 

Everyday living 

No problems I can see

I rode through all the streets 

Nobody could touch me

Watch me through a telescope

I bring hope 

Looks so nice from over there

You wouldn't dare

But I'm over here

Still living in despair 

And We Run

And We Run 

Run

 

RUTZ Song: "The Crazy One Now"

"The Crazy One Now"

The Crazy One Now by RUTZ
Lyrics

Verse 1

Grab your hand

And I promise to hold on

That last smile

Is the memory

That stays strong

Stared into your eyes

As much

As I could

Walked by your side

And I NEVER

Feel this good

I'M THE CRAZY ONE NOW

Verse 2 

"There was a time that you felt like this"

RUTZ Song: "I can make it rain"

The last couple of weeks have been intense. Got swamped with some really cool gigs, a commercial, editing a TV show, and doing a TED convention. Unfortunately, that has not left me a lot of time to do my essay on Steven Soderbergh's "The Limey" but it is still coming. For now please enjoy my song "I can make it rain" .... Thank you to everybody who continues to support my work on Twitter and Facebook, you guys are amazing! More coming soon :)

 

I can make it rain by RUTZ

I can make it rain

Lyrics

Verse 1

I want 

To see that place 

I don't care

If its far away

Some say  

It's not that great

But I want to 

See that place 

Where the ground

 Is made of GOLD

And you 

Will never get old

And I 

Can fly away 

And I 

Can make it rain

And I 

Can make it rain

 Verse 2

The sky

Even shines at night

And you're never out of time

You can be whatever you like

There's always a way inside

Where the ground is made of GOLD

And you will never grow old

And I 

Can fly away

And I 

Can make it rain 

Verse 3

The City

Floats from the rest

To make it

You have to be the best

 

You will never 

Ever get sick

You will be able 

To have your pick

Where the ground 

Is made of GOLD

And you 

Will never get old

And I 

Can fly away 

And I 

Can make it rain

RUTZ Poem: The Challenge

The Challenge

Pressure induced pleasure

Digging through the core to land on the other side 

The view is astounding 

Overwhelming

Take deep breaths before going underwater

Learn to appreciate fresh air

The unforeseen disasters have left a foul stench

Train your vision to see past the smog

Money and the decisions that keep you

From making that a secondary problem

THINK

Where is your passion?

Where did your love go?

Forget who did what to your heart

Renewal is the only solution

I will keep looking in the places that will hurt me the most

But affect my life the best

With no easy way out 

I have fallen in love with the challenge 

RUTZ Song: "Like Before"

I remember I wrote "Like Before" in my first little apartment. Going through love pains, money pains, "Who I'm I?" pains, young and dumb but yearning for true love for some reason beyond me. Now this song is the only thing that remains from that time. It's very interesting to me on how we can get lost because of love and lost in love, almost at the same time. I want thank you for giving my work a chance and a big thank you to the many people who continue to support my work. I can't thank you enough! I hope you enjoy "Like Before"....

Like Before by RUTZ

Like Before 

Lyrics

I can tell by the look on your face

That you don't think things have changed

What would you like?

What would you like....

I'm no longer acting strange

So why won't you come here babe

What would you like?

What would you like....

When I said I'm here to stay

I wasn't playing games

What would you like?

What would you like....

And I know things haven't changed

But I'm through

Giving you pain

I'm not the right one anymore

I want to be the right one

Like before

Like Before..

Like Before...

RUTZ Classic Movies: "Sleepy Hollow"

Directed by Tim Burton    

Line that stays with me: “Taken. Taken by the Headless Horseman. Taken back to hell. ”

 
“Sleepy Hollow” is Tim Burton’s comeback movie. It might be hard to understand that unless you were following his career closely in the 90’s like I was. He was definitely more productive in the 2000’s, even though sometimes with the wrong projects like “Plant of the Apes”. Before “Sleepy Hollow” he made “Mars Attack”,  a good and fun film that bombed at the box office. Before that film he made “Ed Wood”, a great special film, that bombed at the box office and he also producer slapped his name on tepid films like “Cabin Boy” and “James and the Giant Peach”. Plus he almost made the disaster to be “Superman Lives” with Nicholas Cage as Superman. By 1999 I was dying for a real Tim Burton movie. Love him or hate him he has defined an amazing style with great collaborators like Danny Elfman. He has a style that thrives on classic horror themes, ghosts, shadows, fog, and digging for the unknown. So much of his style derives from the horror genre, and yet “Sleepy Hollow” is the only horror film Tim Burton has made. I truly feel that after all those misfires Tim Burton wanted to do something that he knew he could kill. “Sleepy Hollow” is the Tim Burton upgrade movie and it was rated R, which meant no mercy. Tim Burton’s “Sleepy Hollow” has the intensity of an artist saying “No one could do this better than me”. (and more than a decade later, when it comes to dark, spooky, fantastical mainstream entertainment, no one has.)


One of the only drawbacks of watching “Sleepy Hollow” is that you end up asking yourself why aren’t more blockbusters this good? Why don’t more blockbuster films have this much character and innovative cinematic fun? I don’t call anything perfect but “Sleepy Hollow” if rated on it’s intentions is damn near close. This is a film product that cost 100 million dollars to make. That means a lot of hands in the pot but somehow Tim Burton has managed to deliver the goods anyway, not an easy feat to pull off. I remember when I went to watch “Sleepy Hollow” for the first time I was expecting the film to be visually perfect and it was but what surprised me upon first viewing was how funny the movie is. I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised since Tim Burton did direct “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” (one of my favorite comedies) and “Beetlejuice”. “Sleepy Hollow” has great dark comedy moments and Johnny Depp’s hilarious performance (which was inspired by Angela Lansbury’s performance from “Death of the Nile” of all things) anchors the film. The original Tim Burton -  Johnny Depp Trilogy: “Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, and Sleepy Hollow” is an astounding collection of two artists who needed each other. “Sleepy Hollow” was the winner’s circle, the celebration of the two prior projects and Johnny Depp just looks so focused in this film. Whether he’s making us laugh by cowardly using Young Masbath as a human shield or acting all loony after his first encounter with the headless horsemen, it is so much fun to watch a great actor lost in the moment. It helps the audience get lost too.

 
As a filmmaker after I watch a great film I usually end up in a frenzy trying to figure out its formula. I find out who wrote it, who produced it, how did this great film come to be? A search done with pure admiration with hopes of learning something that can help me in my journey. “Sleepy Hollow” was written by Andrew Kevin Walker who also wrote “Seven”. There were some rewrites by another writer and Tim Burton but the credit goes to Andrew Kevin Walker. At the end of the day I believe a screenplay is either the beginning of greatness or instructions on how to make something that wasn’t that good to begin with. It is classic film math, a mediocre director with a great script can make a good movie. (think Ben Affleck, Paul Haggis, and Kathryn Bigelow) A great director with a bad script is going to make a mediocre film if we’re lucky. (unfortunate samples: Prometheus, Jack, Jurassic Park: The Lost World) “Sleepy Hollow” is the best case scenario. Right from the beginning the film hooks us with mystery and intrigue, as we watch Martin Landau get his head chopped off. As a writer I love when a movie begins with a strong catalyst that allows interesting questions. Thus “Sleepy Hollow” begins with this question: “What did Martin Landau do to get his head chopped off?” A great question that leads the audience to the introduction of Ichabod Crane, who will by the end of the film answer that question for us. That is thought out writing and a true skill. The writer also created various interesting characters, and townspeople with their own history who were played by classic Tim Burton character actors like Jeffrey Jones and Michael Gough. Michael Gambon as Baltus Van Tassel is such a sweet pleasure to watch due to the great dialog. On my last viewing that’s what truly impressed like never before the rich dialog that is pitch perfect and still makes me laugh. Michael Gambon saying “Where brave men will not venture” or Richard Griffiths grabbing his talisman in fear saying “It’s the devil’s fire” cracks me up but the words themselves are creating the perfect tone for the film. Great writing in movies is a complex thing, it comes in layers and usually we don’t even notice it. Plus, Christopher Walken as the Headless Horseman with a crazy set of teeth goes a long way..           


Tim Burton’s vision is so strong that when you hear a Danny Elfman score in another film, you instantly think of a Tim Burton film or think he directed it. “Sleepy Hollow” is one of the best looking films in the last 20 years. The cinematography by Emmanuel Lubezki is proudly majestic with all it’s creepiness, like some beautiful painting of the Grim Reaper. The framing is exceptional and never erratic, camera movements smooth as can be, and lighting techniques that I will always study. When the action gets intense you can always see everything clearly. Emmanuel Lubezki’s work married with Rick Heinrichs and Peter Young’s art direction is truly something worth reviewing to open your mind to the possibilities of what the movies offer artists. They had to create an atmosphere, a village from scratch and design it in a way that will accentuate Tim Burton’s vision. There are so many great sets on this film, the Tree of the Dead set instantly comes to mind, it’s such a beauty that I wish I could peek behind the curtain. Watching the results of all that teamwork inspires and excites me because I know the pleasure of working with a team to create something from nothing. It is a true testament of what makes human beings special, if we put our minds together we can achieve some extraordinary things. Watching “Sleepy Hollow” you can’t help but enjoy the fruits of their labors in every frame because together they achieved excellence. Sometimes I feel I am over praising these fine people but when I watch a movie that was made by lazy people I stand corrected. You know what kind of movies I’m talking about , movies that the sets don’t impress and you get disconnected from the movie because you’re too busy questioning why the film’s look doesn’t match its story. “Sleepy Hollow” taught me that a film’s look must speak to us before the story. “Sleepy Hollow” even begins with a terrific montage with no real dialog uttered. 

 

A film can make you admire so many things and transport you to another world with it’s story. “Sleepy Hollow” is that kind of movie. It is surely a horror film but one done with prestige and intricate care. The horror sequences are not slow in tempo but fierce and intense. You feel every death in this film. The music roars, lightning strikes and sheep run for cover as they hear the deafening gallop of the Headless Horseman's black steed. It feels like Tim Burton said “Alright, no more Mr. Nice Guy”. Casper Van Dien is ripped half “Mortal Kombat” fatality style. A mother is killed in a terrible manner and we get to watch her baby boy look into her dead eyes. I am sure like me upon first viewing you thought the kid was going to get away but he got the axe too, which is fantastic. Whenever a kid gets killed in a horror movie I instantly think “Anybody can die in this movie now” which increases the suspense for we fear the hero could get axed too. In one of most exhilarating scenes in the film a witch decapitates a bird, not even animals are spared in this film. We see the Tree of the Dead filled with decapitated human heads swimming in blood. Tim Burton must have read this script and licked his chops thirsty to present all that carnage in stunning fashion that he knew he was capable of but never had the chance. I hope he makes another R rated horror film soon. His over-standing of the material and gift to create the sort of atmosphere that comes natural to him makes me watch “Sleepy Hollow” like a wide-eyed wonder right down to the bloody end.

ABOUT RCM: RUTZ Classic Movies is dedicated on writing film essays for films that in Rutz's opinion, have not gotten the credit they deserve. Next Essay:" Steven Soderbergh's The Limey"