Movies of Myself

At The Movies

Today I was sitting alone in my car in a parking lot crying.

Crying, because I saw that Roger Ebert had died after a protracted and painful few years dealing with a couple of different cancers and their treatments. I felt a relief for him because it must have been difficult and frsutrating for him these last years, but I also felt a deep and overwhelming sadness because the world does not have many minds like Roger Ebert and so the world will not be the same without him. 

I didn't see a lot of movies when I was young, but every week I watched Siskel and Ebert like it was my job. I loved to hear them analyzing and arguing about the films. It was as fun as watching a movie. I remember watching the tribute episode that Ebert put together after Gene's Siskels death from complications after brain surgery. I was as bereaved that afternoon as I am today. 

I watched At the Movies on and off in the ensuing years, but of course it was never quite the same. I didn't start to appreciate Roger Ebert's intelligence and humor again until I read his 2010 blog post about how much he missed eating and connecting with people over meals. After that I read his journal avidly. It was always heartfelt and thought-provoking and often it was incredibly moving. Even after watching him on TV for more than two decades, Roger Ebert's greatest legacy in my mind will probably be the incredibly beautiful tribute to his wife that he penned last year.

Roger Ebert shaped and changed the way I looked at film. You could dissect the different layers and pieces of a movie like you do in film class, and that was good. You could react to a movie emotionally and spontaneously, and that was good too. But you could also think about what a movie says about life, whether it be your own small existence or the big world waiting for us out there. Doing that might change your opinion of the film (or the book, album, dance, etc. - it applies to all arts) and doing that might alter how you see everything. That's what I learned at the movies.

The Secret of Kells

I've had The Secret of Kells on my Netflix queue for a year and I'm so happy and grateful I finally decided to watch it today. This independent animated film is an absolute treasure and I look forward to watching it many times over. 

As the Netflix description explains, the film tells a fictional account of the creation of the Book of Gospels:

When Vikings attack an Irish abbey, the monks must stop work on the legendary Book of Kells and protect their home. So Brendan, the 12-year-old nephew of Abbott Cellach, is tasked with completing the magnificent work. Now, he must confront his most intense fears as he uses his illumination skills and braves the enchanted forest outside the abbey walls in this exhilarating, Oscar-nominated animated tale.

It truly was unlike any animated feature I've ever seen. Even though it had one or two musical numbers, there was a depth of feeling, especially of fear and and mortality, that set it distinctly apart from most animated films. And yet, it was brimful of magic and wonder. It was literally illuminated with it. The filmmakers blended perfectly the serious reality of defending the Abbey of Kells against the Vikings with the painstaking creation of the incredible art of the Latin gospel texts. And over all of this they brushed a patina of ancient Celtic art and homage to Celtic Pagan deities and myths. The result is absolutely ravishing.

The illustration style was careful and powerful, and drew its greatest strength from small movements and from an extraordinary sense of space and proportions. Just look at this series of stills from when the main character, Brendan, sets out for the forest, coming out from behind the abbey walls for the very first time in his life:

Skyfall

You guys, I am so crazy excited for the new Bond movie I can barely talk about it. Every time I see the teaser with the super beloved love of my life Daniel Craig it makes me want to run around shouting with belligerent joy. I am mAdele's new Skyfall theme song just stokes that fire.

And don't forget to watch Daniel Craig on SNL this Saturday. He looks like he could be surprisingly hilarious:

Pottermore Update

During a TV viewing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix:

Beckie: Dang, Harry was burned by Cho Chang. What does he see in her anyways? She's pathetic.

Patrick: Worse than Ginny?

b: No, you can't get much worse than Ginny. Why does Harry have such terrible taste in women?

p: Haha. Who do you think Harry Potter should date?

b: Probably Beyoncé. 

-----.....-----.....-----.....-----

So as some of you may know, I actually received my Pottermore preview member email a few weeks ago and got to take a look at the site. I'm sad to say that, as is, Pottermore is rather dull. I explored it for a couple of days and haven't really looked at it again since.

The main body of the site allows you to navigate through very brief summaries of each chapter of the book (only the first novel, for now, though they do plan to add all the others). Once every few chapters they allow you to read a longer excerpt of additional material about a character or plot point. When I say longer, I only mean a few paragraphs of material.

Other than that, the summaries are supposed to have interactive multimedia areas for you to explore, but they are so small and rudimentary that I can't imagine anyone other than a small child or a person who has had ZERO experience with a computer would be impressed. Also there is no sound, which definitely detracts from the experience. 

There were two activities on Pottermore that were exciting: getting your wand from Ollivander's and getting sorted into your Hogwarts house. 

I was put into Ravenclaw (as I'd expected), Patrick into Gryffindor (cheater) and my sister Audrey into Slytherin (oh really?). 

I very much like the look of the site and I'm glad that Ravenclaw holds on to their slim but steady margin to lead in house points:

But to be honest, there's just not much to do. The controls for a section on brewing potions are very poor. and dueling can only be done against your friends on the site. I know you can't expect much from something that's free, but I was expecting a bit more than this. Since there are links for beta viewers to give feedback on each page, I was dutifully telling them that Pottermore was barely satisfactory. I hope they do change things up a bit. 

My Sister on the Movies

beckie: Hey did you hear that there's a movie version of Mr. Popper's Penguins?

audrey: Yeah, that was one of my favorite books when I was little!

b: I remember. Too bad the movie stars Jim Carrey.

a: I know. He's just gonna be all herp derp Jim Carrey stupid and then everything will be ruined!

....-----....-----....-----....-----....

a: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Special Extended Edition is playing in theaters next Tuesday!

b: Cool! Are you gonna go? With our cousins?

a: No, some of my friends want to go. They're dork, too, okay?

....-----....-----....-----....-----....

Also, at my relentless insistence, she finally watched Toy Story 3:

Submarine

There is a movie I am dying to see. It's a British movie called Submarine and it's a coming of age film centered around an "exceedingly clever and largely delusional" boy and it is getting marvelous reviews. As this basically describes my all-time favorite movie (Rushmore) you can see why I'm interested.

The film will be released in the U.S. on June 3rd and in the meantime I am busy becoming completely obsessed with the soundtrack. Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys has crafted five songs for the movie that are basically perfect. While I'm listening to them I feel like I'm in Paris in the '60's and also on a little private island in the South Pacific. At times it sounds like M. Ward is singing or Badly Drawn Boy or João Gilberto. It is melodic and melancholy, intimate and boundless. There is something terribly romantic and lonely about it all. Wes Anderson would love this music. I think you will, too.

Stuck On The Puzzle - Alex Turner

Glass In The Park - Alex Turner

365 - 24

The Healer
January 24th, 2011

Come on, bone growth stimulator that my insurance company bought for me (hell yeah). Do your thing so I can attend concerts and work out again. So I can dance around and kick and stretch and kick. And so I can stop taking Aleves all the damn time. Please make it so I can walk for more than an hour without wondering if my foot will ever feel normal again. 

Movies - March '10

 

After a very long hiatus I've started watching movies with some frequency again in the past couple of months. It's mostly been through Netflix, but I've managed to get myself to the theater once or twice, too. I can appreciate watching movies again and I am so fond of them right now. The films seem especially dazzling and entertaining because of my renewed appreciation for the medium.

I especially loved the Tom Ford-directed A Single Man. Now, this was not a perfect movie by any means. It was a little heavy-handed at times and even while I was watching it I felt like there were improvements that could be made here and there.

But the movie is cinematically gorgeous and Colin Firth is absolutely astonishing. His performance was flawless, inspiring in me a wider range of emotions than I can recall any other character ever having done before. There are just SO many exquisite moments in this film, moments so beautiful and intensely poignant that I could literally hardly breathe. There is one scene were Colin Firth smells a dog's head and a small part of my soul died and was reborn a dozen times while I watched it. This movie is about a single day in one single man's life, but oh, it says so very much.

 

image via more like music than fiction

A few times in my life I’ve had moments of absolute clarity, when for a few brief seconds the silence drowns out the noise and I can feel rather than think, and things seem so sharp and the world seems so fresh. I can never make these moments last. I cling to them, but like everything, they fade. I have lived my life on these moments. They pull me back to the present, and I realize that everything is exactly the way it was meant to be.

Everything was soulful, and all souls were one.

Last week I watched a movie I'd wanted to see for about 15 years: Wings of Desire. A film released by German director Wim Wenders in 1987, Wings of Desire tells the story of angels who walk unseen and unknowable among men and follows what occurs when one of them decides that he wants to experience the human condition for himself. The film is a philosophical treatise on sense, cognition and, of course, the meaning of life. 

It was one of those movies where every second is significant and rich with symbolism. Although it was slow-moving, my brain could hardly contain the reveries and reflections that Wings of Desire brought to mind. The film's imagery is so simple, yet so starkly powerful; I gasped at several scenes. They also made me remember that subtitles can be infinitely wonderful.

 

Our Life Is Not A Movie Or Maybe

My best friends go to the movies every week, sometimes twice a week. I have no idea how they can stand this. I enjoy the movies, but find them so overwhelming that I can usually only get myself to attend a few times a year.

I think this all stems from the first movie I ever saw in the theater, Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. I was six years old, and the combination of the poison apple, the omniscient mirror, the constant looming fear that she would be discovered and shot through the heart and the big room full of fussing kids in the actual theater made the experience as traumatic as it was exciting. I get so absorbed when I go to the cinema; I can only take the occasional dose.

I've been wanting to take the refugee from my work to the movies. She's only been in the country a few months, has a limited grasp of English and American culture and is just about the sweetest person I've ever met. She loves watching dvds at home but has never been inside a theater. I was trying to explain the movies to her and she couldn't imagine it. Not the size of the screen, not the surround sound, not the concept of people paying six dollars for a cardboard box of Sour Patch Kids.

Before Jen and I caught the midnight showing of The Dark Night, I though it might be the perfect inaugural theater experience film for my refugee. But now I'm glad it didn't pan out that way. The movie is spectacular. I enjoyed it even more than I expected to, and I was expecting a lot. It was exquisitely intense from the first second to the last and certainly the tension would've made my refugee scream out loud and perhaps crap her pants. It was so damn good that, if it was the first movie you ever watched on the big screen, it would ruin your theater-going experience for life. And I won't to do that to her. But the rest of you all, get your asses watching this movie. I am off to reread Batman Year 100.

Love Outside Movies - Heartbreak Scene

The Movies - September '07

The Movies - July '07

Once

When I first heard the song All the Way Down from the soundtrack for the film Once, I thought "I have to see this movie." Whatever happens that causes Glen Hansard to sing "You have broken me all the way down, down upon my knees", I wanted to know what it was.

Turns out the movie wasn't all that sad, and not at all cheesy like I a typical musical. The songs fit in very naturally; great, listenable folksy tunes that never felt staged or forced. And besides their expected musical talent I was very impressed by the performances of Marketa Irglova and Hansard, lead singer for the Frames. The editing and sequencing of the scenes made it just delightful. This quirky little story about the atypical relationship between two aspiring musicians completely captured my heart, and I recommend it quite highly.

It also helps that I've long been a fan of the few softer songs the Frames mix into their albums. The two stars of the film released an album last year under the name The Swell Season, and they went out on the road together, opening for Damien Rice. The Swell Season will be touring again this summer. 

Blue Poppy

I walked out of the theater after seeing Pan's Labyrinth with mixed emotions. The movie hadn't been quite as good as I'd hoped (though I will admit my expectations were rather high) and yet it had also moved me beyond my expectations; had moved me to tears.

I actually couldn't even leave the darkened room for a few minutes. I was just bawling. One second I was fine, just trying to absorb the culmination of the film and gather my initial impressions. The next second I simply could not stop crying. I think Chris thought I'd gone bonkers. For the rest of the day afterwards I felt entirely worn out, this movie took such a surprising emotional toll on me.

My initial complaint about Pan's Labyrinth was that the characters, with the exception of the faun himself, were too unequivocal. The bad guys were so very bad and the good folks unwaveringly commendable. After some contemplation, I realized that this is absolutely fitting for a fairy tale. You don't see (for the most part) the wicked witch hesitant to present the poisoned apple and you don't often think that the princess deserved what was coming to her. The plot was compelling and the visuals lush, lovely, creepy and intense. Guillermo del Toro's work is visceral, with all the pluses and minuses that entails. This movie was a fairy tale, and with my love for fairy tales I wanted it to be spectacular, and it just kinda wasn't.

But something about this story, and its main character, struck a deep and personal chord with me. I became very aware of memories of myself when I was little, reading from the Blue Fairy Book, angry and afraid, telling myself stories. I'm definitely not saying my experiences could begin to compare to the Fascist brutality depicted in the film. But to struggle against helplessness against things that you ultimately have so little influence with, and to find refuge in fictions and imaginings; those are things I am very familiar with.

Patterns, cycles, archetypes and answers--those are the treasures that myths and fairy tales hold. They are both the knife and the mirror. When I was little I always thought these patterns would reveal themselves to me when I was older. I thought that someday I would view, for example, the choices my parents made with sympathy. Now I see that there are choices people make that we will never nod our heads at. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Now I realize that sympathy and understanding don't have to be shadows on myself.

When I was little I would open the pages of a book and it would become my story; I'd place myself in it. And it never really stops does it? We have stories within our story. Once in a while we have moments of awareness where we can take a deeper, though fleeting, glance at it all. Maybe in the too sweet taste of grapes that are blackboard purple. Maybe in knowing it is good to think about stories. Maybe on the screen, maybe in the mirror.

Movie Reviews 11/20/06

I love watching movies, but I miss a lot of films I want to see because I find the experience so overwhelming. But I've been on quite the movie kick lately. I am very eager to stop thinking, and going to the cinema seems to accomplish this quite nicely. I find myself ravenous for stories and distraction. A few notes on what I've seen lately:

The Prestige - Much more bizarre than I expected, I think this film got a little out of hand. Scarlett Johansson's performance was totally throwaway = minus three points. Tesla twins are fun to discuss = plus two points.

Borat - I was actually pretty entertained by this, especially the Pam Anderson scene or the one where he goes to the "gypsy" yard sale. Somehow Borat became hyped as insanely good, and it's funny, though not life-altering. But I do like that Americans can enjoy this scathing movie about America with some irony. And I also like bears.

Marie Antoinette - Dullsville. A solid hour could've been cut from the movie with nothing being lost. She felt really alone. I get it. I picked that up after the first thirty minutes. Now, can someone please be assigned some dialogue? Jason Schwartzmann rules though, doesn't he? I like him. And the girl who played Kirsten Dunst's best friend--she was sweet, too. Beautiful scenes, but disappointing overall.

Casino Royale - I had my doubts about Daniel  Craig as Bond, but those doubts are entirely erased. He kicked ass, and his interpretation of Bond is definitely why I liked this movie so much. There was a touch of, dare I say it, Clive Owen in his performance. The main drawback for me was the girl. Maybe because Fizzers and I got caught up in the parking Hellmouth that is AMC Mercado and had to sit in the second row, she was all distorted raccoon eyes and anti-hottness. I would not hit that.

The Departed - This movie was intense; not a spare moment or line. The fantastic acting and the continuously mercurial and intricate story threads really drew me in. Jack Nicholson was good as always, and I'm a big fan of Matt Damon's, but Leonardo Dicaprio really impressed me. As Stu said in the middle of the film, Dicaprio was able to subtley reflect the millions of things that must've constantly been going through his character's mind at all times. Of all the movies I've seen lately, this has been the first one which actually made me forget I was at the theater, and that's what you really want from a moviegoing experience.

Crucial point one day becomes a crime.

Patterns and coincidences. I was telling someone that my perfectly coiffed ringlets at Sue's wedding made me feel all Marie Antoinette-ish. The next day Kerry asks if I've seen the teaser for Sofia Coppola's upcoming movie about the French queen. "You'll love it. It's set entirely to a song on the cd you just made," she said. "The New Order one."

Age of Consent. The best New Order songs hide diffidence and censure underneath layers of perfect synth-pop, and this song does that perhaps best of all. I've always loved "Age of Consent". But about a month ago it just popped into my head, out of nowhere, and I've been a bit preoccupied with it ever since. It's one of those songs that has changed so much in my mind over the time I've known it, and it just keeps getting better. For over a decade I thought the last lines in the song were "I've got you." It was only this time around that I realized they're singing "I've lost you". Fifteen times over, "I've lost you."

p.s. Kerry was right. I did love the teaser. It didn't say much about the film, but I can't wait to see what Jason Schwartzman will do as Louis XVI. Check it out if only to see mostly naked Kirsten Dunst.

Whenever we watch this movie Audrey pretends she is galloping on horseback.

I had a super long ass day today which started to wind down with a horrible headache that set in about 4 p.m. I decided I was just going to settle in for a lazy t.v. night and go to bed early since I've been averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night. I was flipping channels and, woo, The Two Towers was on. Hell yes, that is my favorite of the Lord of the Rings movies. So it started and I was absolutely appalled to see how many of the lines I knew by heart. God, I'm such a nerd. 

The Ghost in You

Yesterday afternoon I got caught up in one of those situations where you're flipping channels while you eat lunch and you get totally absorbed in something crazy on t.v.

In my case it was this movie from the '40's called The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. It's about a widow named Lucy Muir who, with her young daughter and a devoted housekeeper, moves into a place called Gull Cottage on the New England Coast and then proceeds to fall in love with the ghost of the sea captain that had built it.

It was full of that charming, heartfelt overacting that was the mark of a great movie in the '40s. Mrs. Muir is delightful although pretty quick to accept the existent of a ghost. And what a ghost--Rex Harrison as the rough, gruff Captain Gregg, matey. I don't know why he even bothers to speak any real lines. He should just go "aaaaaaargh" the whole time, he's that stereotypically salty. Oh wait, I know why he has real lines. It's so he can say the word "seamen" 50 million times. And so I can giggle like Beavis-as-Cornholio each time he says it and say, "Heh, heh. He said 'seamen'".

But seriously, the movie was a bit disturbing. It was really sad, because even though Mrs. Muir had found love again, it's pretty damn hard to build a life with a ghost. I was desperately curious to find out what happened. I mean--he's a ghost!! That means no touching. And no touching ever makes a rather challenging relationship. Unfortunately I had to leave before the movie was over but I am quite enjoying this painted montage of the movie's greatest moments complete with sound effects! Awesome.

Movie Review 10.21.05

watching
Originally uploaded by sevenworlds16.

Clive Owen + Me = Sin City

So yesterday I finally watched Sin City. And I fucking loved it.

It was exactly what I was in the mood for: cold and rough and unabashedly violent. Oh, and incidentally, it also made me fall balls-to-the-wall in love with Clive Owen again.

The stories I liked, of course, because I like the graphic novel, the world that Frank Miller has created. But I was very impressed at how faithfully it has been brought to the screen, image-wise. The movie was like one big glorious scan, the best flip-book ever. It really clicked for me during the scene where Dwight gets pulled out of the tar pit by Miho. The stark silhouettes were perfectly done.

Some of the acting was pretty stale and quite two-dimensional, but that almost added to the effect, in a perverse way. And oh, the endless, gory violence. I don't know about you guys, but every once in a while I absolutely need something violent and this movie provided such a delicious fix. I was amazed though--every kill seemed to capture the best effects of a graphic novel. The pacing, the humor, even the active feel of the panelling; it was all there.

And still the movie didn't overwhelm. It made me do what Frank Miller's written work always did: constantly question the definitions of good and evil. This movie isn't my new favorite, by any means, but it was fun, it was stimulating  (Clive Owen, Clive Owen, Clive Owen, not to mention an undeniably hot Jessica Alba) and it was interesting. I'm definitely looking forward to the second installment.

It would be interesting to watch Episodes I-VI together now.

I finally saw Revenge of the Sith last weekend, about fourscore years after it came out.

Fun? Check Entertaining? Check. Hideous dialogue, wooden acting and plot pitfalls? Check, check and check! Overall, I give it a B+. The last two sucked major balls and Episode 3 had a lot to accomplish. My final verdict falls more along the lines of what Maddox thinks than with the more positive reviews, except that I would still recommend it. His post on the movie, by the way, is one of the most scathingly hilarious things I've read in a long time and quite skilfully points out a lot of what did not make sense with the film.

Instead of giving a more detailed review I'll just leave you with a couple of my favorite thoughts that others have had in reaction (oh, and some more pictures of my amazingly radical Darth Vader Transformation Lego set, too):

Update. You may stop e-mailing me now with advice to tell my son, "Talk to girls, learn you must", "Begun, your lameness has", and "In your mother's basement, live you will."

Even worse are the idiots who scarf down these sub-childish morsels of comedic relief, playing into Lucas' shallow theatrics so easily that you could sell these people hookers in a vagina storm.

 

Should I also mention that I think Clive Owen is totally sexy in a kind of heinous way?

Even if it sucks ass I am determined to like the movie Sin City just because it looks so damn cool. It's that crystal clear, futuristic noir look--it's just mesmerizing. And Robert Rodriguez action is always amazing.

I just wish I had read more of the Frank Miller graphic novels on which they're based, but it doesn't matter now. It's probably better that way (i.e. Hellboy.) I must see this movie, though, because I like Rosario Dawson and because Jessica Alba looks, as Chris says, "extremely fuckalicious" and I've always had a soft spot for her because of Dark Angel. Also, Beckie alert: the little Gilmore Girl plays someone named Becky. That's always a plus.

Popcorn actually smells gross if you're not the one eating it.

I have been on such a movie binge the last couple of days. I've seen three movies in the theatre and watched a bunch of snippets from some of my favorite dvds.

I saw Ray, a movie I've been wanting to see for so long. Nobody was wrong about Jamie Foxx's performance; he was grrrrrreat, but overall I thought the script of Ray was a bit lackluster. However it does score some extra points because it made me cry and it inspired me to dig out a Ray Charles cd that I have.

Next up, House of Flying Daggers, which was cool as fuck. I'm obsessed with these stylized art-house martial arts movies and this film was SO much better than Hero, which I also enjoyed. Every time I watch one of these films I'm just gaping the entire time. I simply cannot believe what is on the screen; it seems truly impossible. There was a fairly good story here, though things snowballed at the end. But the movie was inordinately beatiful. It was beautiful multiplied by beatiful, cubed. So magnificent, in fact, that when I left the theatre the real world looked stunningly drab; like a grayscale line drawing.

And then I saw Sideways. I have to say, this is one of my favorite movies of the year. It was very funny and smart and each of the characters drew me in. The writing and directing were both spot on; the pacing was impeccable. The only bad thing about it was that I sat next to a fussy, ultra-conservative older couple who did not, I repeat, NOT enjoy the movie. The man was hard of hearing and his wife had to repeat some of the lines to him. They both kept commenting on how the characters were "scumbags", a rolling commentary of disapproval. One scene with full-frontal male nudity almost sent them packing. I could tell they were perplexed each time I laughed. It's funny because there are a few movies like this each year: they get rave reviews and people flock to see them even though there is a snowball's chance in hell that they'll like them because they are just too close-minded. I wanted to tell them that it's okay. It's just a movie.

Maybe they should've just went home and had a glass of wine, like I did after being inspired by the movie. They should've drank their Pinot, put their feet up and watched the scene in About a Boy where the kid walks down the hallway to "Shake Ya' Ass" by Mystikal. They should've smiled at the little rhino wine stopper that Susan bought me in Botswana and started to plan their own tour of the Napa wineries. I'm telling you, it worked for me.

She showed him her cookie, he used it for revenge!

Yesterday Sue and I saw Closer with Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen and her Honorable Atrociousness, Julia Roberts. At first I didn't get it. The entire film was made up of pivotal argument scenes from the characters' lives. In particular, moments where one person accuses the other of cheating, the other person confesses and reveals intimate details of where, when and how said cheating took place, the first person gets upset and then angry and then tells them to piss off. Thinking about the film today, I think I hated it.

I felt nothing for the characters but ridicule and discomfort. Yes, the roles were "daring" but overall I wasn't that impressed. The characters were pathetic and hateful and I was very disappointed with Mike Nichols. The Graduate, Regarding Henry, Postcards from the Edge, Biloxi Blues? Closer couldn't hold the tiniest little candle to these movies.

However, what entirely made up for this wasted two hours of my life and much, much more was time spent with Sue. It's funny how much you forget about hanging out with a person when they are far away from you like Sue was for a few years and it was so cool to spend a bit of one-on-one time with her again. We had funny, interesting and insightful conversation and the kind of fun time that everyone should be able to count on with their friends (but often can't). I'm so glad to have her back!

Saw-dah-tay

Amusing Exchanges of the Week: Special Triple Threat Edition--that's right! A bonus 66% more amusement this week for the same low price!

1) While waiting for the AMC staff to clean up from the 1:50 showing of The Motorcycle Diaries so we could go in and watch the next viewing:

Kerry: What is taking so long?

Beckie: Yeah, it's been a good 20 minutes or so.

Kerry: I hope they're not just goofing off. Who was in the 1:50 audience? A pack of wild animals??

2) While waiting for The Motorcycle Diaries to begin:

Kerry: So I was doing a bit of research on Che Guevara in anticipation of this film.

Beckie: Oh, yeah? Tell me, because I don't know anything about him.

Kerry: Well, this movie is based on a real trip that he took when he was young that planted the seeds of his revolutionary ideals. I guess he believed that revolution by force was necessary and he eventually worked with Castro. He died while leading an insurgence. The movie supposedly says that the CIA was partly responsible for his death. But the World Book Encyclopedia entry that I read didn't mention that.

3) Leaving Blockbuster Video:

Audrey: Why did you rent so many things?

Beckie: We have to take advantage of our Blockbuster Rewards membership. Rent one get one free! We only paid $10 for all four of these things: your Star Wars game, Ella Enchanted, Old School and, and--darn, what was the last thing I rented?

Audrey: Pootie Tang!

Hotter than the hood of an F250 on a cross country road trip...

Dear Gael Garcia Bernal,

The Oscars 2003: Halle Berry, whatever. Adrian Brody, yada yada. You.

Yes, when you appeared on-screen I sat up and took notice. I was utterly in awe.

Of your incredible hotness.

Now I know you had garnered attention for your performance in Y tu Mama, tambien, and I knew you were set to star in several more challenging and interesting roles. I recently saw you in The Motorcycle Diaries , the Walter Salles biopic about a young Che Guevara, and you sure did yourself proud.

It was just a great performance and the movie itself was incredibly moving, thoughtful and enjoyable. Yet none of this could ever compare to how incredibly hot you are.

Hotter than the sidewalk on a Southern California summer day. Hotter than lava that was supposed to pour out of Mt. St. Helens. Hotter than that glowing ball of melted glass that the glassblower rolls around on a stick. Hotter than the half of Mercury that is colored red in pictures. Hotter even than Jude Law.

Yes, I said it. You are even more beautiful, I think, than Jude Law, who is himself more lovely than a woman. I totally want to bite you in the face. Cause I'm a biter. And you are incredibly,
incredibly hot.

Love,

Beckie

Pass, Shoot, Score

I was going to go see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow tonight, but decided to stay in and rent a movie instead because I wanted to watch this deplorable Medical Investigation show on NBC. This show is terribly written, illogical and poorly structured and I cannot for the life of me figure out why I wanted to watch it again. I saw it last week and it was awful. Kerry and I decided it was some of the worst "legitimate" t.v. we'd ever seen, and yet I wanted to see it again. And next week? Yeah, I'd probably tune in again! They've probably masterminded visual crack over at NBC.

But I digress. The movie I ended up renting was Miracle, the Disney film about the 1980 Herb Brooks-led U.S. Olympic hockey team, which came out earlier this year. It was nearly as cheesy as expected and the acting was kind of choppy; after all, they were looking for guys who were players first, acting skill came second. I have to say, though, that I really enjoyed this film. I'm probably biased because I like most sports films, but this was especially enjoyable because the action wasn't that bad and it was just a fascinating look into the mind of a sports coach. And because it was based on a true event that most everyone knows about it was pretty neat to see the story behind the story.

It makes me sad though, because it would've been a great film to see to get pepped up about the upcoming hockey season. I'm not entirely sure how negotiations are going, though I believe the story is that they are not going at all. This is of course, frustrating and disappointing, not just because I like hockey but also because I love the feeling of having hockey, football and basketball going all at once. I just hope that something can snap and that a semblance of a season can be put together soon. It's pretty obvious that this is going to hurt the NHL, and they really don't need it.

Excitement courses through my veins...

because the trailer for the new Wes Anderson movie with Bill Murray, The Life Aquatic, is up and ready to be watched. Over and over and over. God, it looks good.

Let's hope that it's much more Rushmore than it is The Royal Tennenbaums.

What are you waiting for?

A few days ago I saw the new movie Garden State and it was thoroughly enjoyable. I thought it was superb, and I was expecting a lot.

I'm very impressed by Zach Braff's directorial skills; there were a million tiny intangible elements of mood that he balanced well. And I'm not sure I've ever had a better time watching a Natalie Portman performance.

Of course, the soundtrack really helped, too. There were a couple of my favorites Shins songs, the Iron and Wine version of "Such Great Heights" and "In the Waiting Line" by Zero 7 was also in there. They even had "Lebanese Blonde", my favorite Thievery Corporation song. It's as if the soundtrack streamed out of my very brain or something.

Sometimes there are projects that come along that perfectly encapsulate what it's like to be your age. Much like my beloved Box Office Poison, this movie seemed so genuine and accurate to me, that it definitely qualifies as what I call a "fold" piece; meaning that the details get absorbed into your own memory and somewhere down the line you're not sure if this really happened to you or whether it was something you saw. (Strangely enough, this also happens to me with Neil Gaiman's Stardust, but that's another story.)

Movie Magic

So I took the Pod to see the latest Harry Potter movie yesterday and we quite enjoyed ourselves. I'm quite the fan of the books and I will say that this hands down the best of the movies so far.

It had all the plusses of the first two (fun, good FX, humor, sweetness) but was also cool and dark and much more real. Pod and I could not get over what a superb job they did with the film. The director has a dreamy yet detailed way of looking at the world which is quite impressive and brings a hundred new dimensions to the Rowling world.

Two small points in the movie which are fun: 1) Hermione gets pissed at one point and just busts someone in the mouth; a good shot and 2) the whole boggart idea is handled quite well and I just love the simple plan of battling something feaky with something funny.

So, topic sentences:

1) What was your greatest moment of violence, and why did it happen?

and

2) If you were to turn a corner and come upon one of your greatest fears what would it be? And what silly/funny/comical thought would you use to defeat it?