Today I feel the need to talk about some movies and movie stars. I just had an email conversation with my sister about some past and upcoming movies and, as with humanity in general, we tend to disagree on genre and actors.

I have a very eclectic love of movies but a fairly organized choice in actors. I truly did thoroughly enjoy R.Downey, Jr's version of Sherlock Holmes and I have always appreciated Jerome Bretts version also. Sister, Barbara, usually turns her head on anything that is not loosely labelled a 'chick flick'. And, that is okay, of course. Now...sis is anxiously awaiting some new movie that Geo. Clooney is soon to be shown. Hmmm...why would an intelligent educator spend time and money on a mediocre actor? See...this amazes me and should be studied by one of the money-wasting federal grants.

Celebrity handlers and managers play a huge role in how these people are viewed by the public. A superior actor, even a very fine actor, can be all but passed over for someone who has hired a 'bedazzler'. The profoundly sad thing about this is that we, the little people, buy into the whole scam. There are actually some of these performers that can barely act, yet are part of the "in" crowd so are, therefore, accepted as better actors than they are. We have to wonder what goes on in the minds of these less-than-average actors. Do they think about doing something else that they just might be good at doing? Do they ever wish they had gone down a different path? Has it ever occurred to them to walk away from the spotlight and be something better? Maybe the answers to these questions are also the answers to just why these same people are drunks, addicts, lecherous, cheats, etc.

There are celebrities that I like but others just can't stand. What human element allows us to make these distinctions? Ponderings...