So, it's my first day of Christmas vacation, and the dogs woke me up at 5:50. Which is fine, I guess. It was at least 20 minutes after I would have usually gotten up. For once, I did not go out and get obliterated on my first night off, so today I'm reasonably prepared to do the 8,000 things still on my to do list. This will be one of the least restful breaks I've ever had--there are at least 2 major things to take care of on every single day of the 12 days I have off, but I'm still happy to be in my pajamas right now.
Last night I watched the movie Once. It was as wistful and lovely as everyone said it would be. Then I read the rest of Olive Kitteridge and felt wrapped in the comforting arms of art. A good book came in the mail yesterday. And I scored another Early Reviewer book for December, so I'm feeling that at least my intake of other worlds is high right now. I'm having trouble writing, but I think that has, for once, to do with my breakneck schedule, and not my terrible procrastination. I've been dabbling in several projects, but I have one that seems to be about to supercede the rest. I'm going to try to wait until January to begin it, though. The holidays are going to be hard enough.
Today's list includes:
Shopping for Christmas dinner
Wrapping all the presents
Taking a good friend to the airport
and...hopefully? A beer or 4.
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Friday, December 21, 2007
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Lions for Lambs
Today Thomas woke up yearning to go to the movies. Because I never watch TV, I rarely have any idea what's playing so I went to Yahoo Movies and read out all the titles and Thomas gave me brief descriptions. He wanted to see two movies and eat lunch, yet there was really nothing playing that I was peeing in my pants about.
Finally, we agreed on Lions for Lambs at 1:05 with a mad dash for American Gangster at 2:50.
I did not want to see American Gangster at all (Denzel and his overly eager smile! It's just so wrong! I know I'm in the vast minority about this.) But I agreed to Lions for Lambs based on the interesting cast and plus, I figured I'd learn something.
Well, I did learn something. I learned what it feels like to be stripped naked and beaten to a pulp. Rarely have I been so disarmed and destroyed by a movie. A one hour and 28 minute movie, at that.
I almost hesistate to talk about it, as I haven't completely processed it, and of course, it's such a hot button subject. But Lions for Lambs is an incredibly well-written, well-acted film. Meryl Streep was flat out formidable. And I was very impressed with how Tom Cruise allowed the movie to use his rather perverse celebrity.
It's propaganda, for sure, though I haven't figured out what exactly it's propaganda for. There were times I knew I was having my strings pulled in one direction, and then moments later, a strong tug from the other. Thomas said as we drove home that it was very different from a Michael Moore film and it seems to me that it's almost the opposite of a Michael Moore film. When I watch Michael Moore movies, I inherently resist them. His level of unabashed propaganda and hate-mongering (again, I know I'm in the minority) makes me feel as if his agenda, even if it's my agenda, is inherently questionable and wrong. With Lions for Lambs, I felt as if I finally just had to give over and let it happen to me. I felt manipulated, but because I couldn't locate the source or what it wanted me to do/believe, I felt ok with it.
Never since ET (and I don't mean that to sound flippant), have I cried so hard at a movie. I'm a movie-crier; I admit it. Those of you who know me know my emotions run close to the surface. But I was sobbing: crumple-faced, breath-hitching, sobbing. What a cock up this war is, what a catch 22. There are no answers in Lions for Lambs, just the horrible explication of the myriad ways we've fucked up.
We didn't make American Gangster. I was in no kind of shape after Lions for Lambs. I don't know if I wish I'd never seen it, or if everyone should be required by law to see it.
Finally, we agreed on Lions for Lambs at 1:05 with a mad dash for American Gangster at 2:50.
I did not want to see American Gangster at all (Denzel and his overly eager smile! It's just so wrong! I know I'm in the vast minority about this.) But I agreed to Lions for Lambs based on the interesting cast and plus, I figured I'd learn something.
Well, I did learn something. I learned what it feels like to be stripped naked and beaten to a pulp. Rarely have I been so disarmed and destroyed by a movie. A one hour and 28 minute movie, at that.
I almost hesistate to talk about it, as I haven't completely processed it, and of course, it's such a hot button subject. But Lions for Lambs is an incredibly well-written, well-acted film. Meryl Streep was flat out formidable. And I was very impressed with how Tom Cruise allowed the movie to use his rather perverse celebrity.
It's propaganda, for sure, though I haven't figured out what exactly it's propaganda for. There were times I knew I was having my strings pulled in one direction, and then moments later, a strong tug from the other. Thomas said as we drove home that it was very different from a Michael Moore film and it seems to me that it's almost the opposite of a Michael Moore film. When I watch Michael Moore movies, I inherently resist them. His level of unabashed propaganda and hate-mongering (again, I know I'm in the minority) makes me feel as if his agenda, even if it's my agenda, is inherently questionable and wrong. With Lions for Lambs, I felt as if I finally just had to give over and let it happen to me. I felt manipulated, but because I couldn't locate the source or what it wanted me to do/believe, I felt ok with it.
Never since ET (and I don't mean that to sound flippant), have I cried so hard at a movie. I'm a movie-crier; I admit it. Those of you who know me know my emotions run close to the surface. But I was sobbing: crumple-faced, breath-hitching, sobbing. What a cock up this war is, what a catch 22. There are no answers in Lions for Lambs, just the horrible explication of the myriad ways we've fucked up.
We didn't make American Gangster. I was in no kind of shape after Lions for Lambs. I don't know if I wish I'd never seen it, or if everyone should be required by law to see it.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Forgive Me, Folks. It's Gonna Be A Long One.
I've had an eventful 24 hours.
Thomas and my friend Michelle have been dying to see 30 Days of Night, so after much finagling we managed to secure tickets to opening night. I was not excited to see it at all. I don't do horror movies well--usually I spend the two hours either trying to wrench Thomas's hand from his body or with my face buried in his shoulder, whimpering. I was also very freaked by the previews--that whole "No God" sequence had me peeing me my pants and my school kids, having figured this out, spent the week raising their hands and saying "No God" when I approached them.
Thomas suggested, wisely, that I might do better if I read the graphic novel first, so that at least I'd be familiar with what was going to happen, and wouldn't suffer terribly from repeated shock. You can startle me repeatedly. Like, twice in 30 seconds, seriously.
So I read it, and I absolutely hated it. I thought the artwork was odd and distracting and the plot almost non-existent. There was no dialogue in this book--it was all description. The characters were indistinct, and what plot there was often took seemingly meaningless turns. I was unimpressed, and even less excited about seeing it.
All that said, I really liked the movie. The plot was still horrible, though they took out some of the dangling ends of the book, which was nice. The characters were much better rendered, but still essentially stock characters. But it was so visually arresting and beautiful. I loved the way the vampires looked and moved and spoke--and it was shot very starkly against all the snow--the people really looked Alaskan--just kind of rugged and weather beaten. I never, ever, say this: in fact, it may be a first--I didn't mind the story because it was so interesting to look at.
In general, I hate movies like that. I'm story or nothing. I don't care if it was shot in a basement on someone's video camera if the story is good. I'm the opposite of a film buff--when we watch movies, Thomas is all, Oh the cinematography and I'm kind of like, what's cinematography? My feeling is that the way a movie is made is important only in how it helps to tell the story--much like writing. But this was awesome. I've spent the day making vampire noises and have decided to try to be a vampire for Halloween, though I've been planning to be The Log Lady from Twin Peaks all year.
So we went to Goodwill to shop for Halloween costumes, and I got 5 black dresses and went into the dressing room. If there were a camera in those dressing rooms, someone would be very amused to watch a 30 year old woman trying on dresses while baring her teeth and hissing at herself in the mirror.
Part Two of this post contains Harry Potter discussion and Deathly Hallows SPOILERS. You've been warned.
So, I woke up this morning at 7 and was immediately greeted with the news that Dumbledore is gay.
Which is startling, only insomuch as I always thought of Dumbledore as asexual. I never bought into the fanfic idea that he was secretly with McGonagall--in fact, I find all fanfic concerning Dumbledore to be a bit squicky. This is just not a sexual dude. The man was 116 when he died, for God's sake.
I am completely untroubled by the idea of Dumbledore being gay--and I'd like to add because of all the online backlash, that being gay does not make a person a pedophile--what bothers me is how the notion that he was in love with Grindelwald changes the story so significantly.
I was in a small camp of people who was unfazed by the complication of Dumbledore's character in Deathly Hallows. The things we learned there didn't detract, for me, from who Dumbledore became. I like him as a more complicated character than just the stereotypical wise old man.
But we learn in DH that Dumbledore struggled with the idea of going to fight Grindelwald, that he put it off as long as he possibly could because he was tormented over the death of his sister Ariana--that he was terrified to confront Grindelwald because he was afraid that he would learn that it was he himself who had fired the curse that killed her. The idea that he was in love with Grindelwald changes that significantly to me--it makes the struggle less about the Ariana and the complications of Dumbledore's family that we learned about--and more about his relationship with this man.
So, ok. That aside, it seems strange to me that someone whose great love turned out to be essentially the Hitler of the book, whom he had to conquer and subsequently, we assume, decides that love, much like power, is not for him is the same man who believes so steadfastly in the power of love. Not just the power of love, but the ability of love to destroy evil. It confuses the message for me.
Just to reiterate: Dumbledore being gay does not confuse the message for me. What's confusing is that JKR says he was in love with Grindelwald.
Then we went to Octoberfest to see my friend Kimberley playing a coronet and wearing a dirndl, because who wouldn't want to see that?
Oh, dear. It seems pictures are still broken. Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.
Thomas and my friend Michelle have been dying to see 30 Days of Night, so after much finagling we managed to secure tickets to opening night. I was not excited to see it at all. I don't do horror movies well--usually I spend the two hours either trying to wrench Thomas's hand from his body or with my face buried in his shoulder, whimpering. I was also very freaked by the previews--that whole "No God" sequence had me peeing me my pants and my school kids, having figured this out, spent the week raising their hands and saying "No God" when I approached them.
Thomas suggested, wisely, that I might do better if I read the graphic novel first, so that at least I'd be familiar with what was going to happen, and wouldn't suffer terribly from repeated shock. You can startle me repeatedly. Like, twice in 30 seconds, seriously.
So I read it, and I absolutely hated it. I thought the artwork was odd and distracting and the plot almost non-existent. There was no dialogue in this book--it was all description. The characters were indistinct, and what plot there was often took seemingly meaningless turns. I was unimpressed, and even less excited about seeing it.
All that said, I really liked the movie. The plot was still horrible, though they took out some of the dangling ends of the book, which was nice. The characters were much better rendered, but still essentially stock characters. But it was so visually arresting and beautiful. I loved the way the vampires looked and moved and spoke--and it was shot very starkly against all the snow--the people really looked Alaskan--just kind of rugged and weather beaten. I never, ever, say this: in fact, it may be a first--I didn't mind the story because it was so interesting to look at.
In general, I hate movies like that. I'm story or nothing. I don't care if it was shot in a basement on someone's video camera if the story is good. I'm the opposite of a film buff--when we watch movies, Thomas is all, Oh the cinematography and I'm kind of like, what's cinematography? My feeling is that the way a movie is made is important only in how it helps to tell the story--much like writing. But this was awesome. I've spent the day making vampire noises and have decided to try to be a vampire for Halloween, though I've been planning to be The Log Lady from Twin Peaks all year.
So we went to Goodwill to shop for Halloween costumes, and I got 5 black dresses and went into the dressing room. If there were a camera in those dressing rooms, someone would be very amused to watch a 30 year old woman trying on dresses while baring her teeth and hissing at herself in the mirror.
Part Two of this post contains Harry Potter discussion and Deathly Hallows SPOILERS. You've been warned.
So, I woke up this morning at 7 and was immediately greeted with the news that Dumbledore is gay.
Which is startling, only insomuch as I always thought of Dumbledore as asexual. I never bought into the fanfic idea that he was secretly with McGonagall--in fact, I find all fanfic concerning Dumbledore to be a bit squicky. This is just not a sexual dude. The man was 116 when he died, for God's sake.
I am completely untroubled by the idea of Dumbledore being gay--and I'd like to add because of all the online backlash, that being gay does not make a person a pedophile--what bothers me is how the notion that he was in love with Grindelwald changes the story so significantly.
I was in a small camp of people who was unfazed by the complication of Dumbledore's character in Deathly Hallows. The things we learned there didn't detract, for me, from who Dumbledore became. I like him as a more complicated character than just the stereotypical wise old man.
But we learn in DH that Dumbledore struggled with the idea of going to fight Grindelwald, that he put it off as long as he possibly could because he was tormented over the death of his sister Ariana--that he was terrified to confront Grindelwald because he was afraid that he would learn that it was he himself who had fired the curse that killed her. The idea that he was in love with Grindelwald changes that significantly to me--it makes the struggle less about the Ariana and the complications of Dumbledore's family that we learned about--and more about his relationship with this man.
So, ok. That aside, it seems strange to me that someone whose great love turned out to be essentially the Hitler of the book, whom he had to conquer and subsequently, we assume, decides that love, much like power, is not for him is the same man who believes so steadfastly in the power of love. Not just the power of love, but the ability of love to destroy evil. It confuses the message for me.
Just to reiterate: Dumbledore being gay does not confuse the message for me. What's confusing is that JKR says he was in love with Grindelwald.
Then we went to Octoberfest to see my friend Kimberley playing a coronet and wearing a dirndl, because who wouldn't want to see that?
Oh, dear. It seems pictures are still broken. Oh well. I'll try again tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Items of Interest
Yesterday at the grocery store, I knocked over a 2 liter of Mountain Dew. It exploded all over my shoes. I squish-squished Mountain Dew all the way home and now I don't know how to clean my shoes. Do you think I should just put them in the washing machine? I had to wear new shoes to work today and now I am blistery.
I am preparing questions for those requesting interviews, but you guys need to make sure I have an email address to mail them to. Please use my "contact me" address to send your current email. Even if you think I have it. Cause I don't. I'm trouble like that.
Thomas and I went with Kathy to see this awesome Korean monster movie called The Host. They got me to agree to come along by describing it as a cross between The Royal Tennenbaums and Godzilla. Somehow I misunderstood that to mean that it was The Royal Tennenbaums, with super-special crazy re-dubbing, and was kind of dissapointed to learn that it was not, but I should not have worried. It was great fun: funny and with really remarkably good CGI. Highly recommended.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
5 Things You Should Check Out
I've spent so much time in the last couple of months blogging about what makes me miserable. So here is a list of things that have made me very happy this week:
Mental_Floss I cannot get over this magazine. I'm on my 3rd issue and I keep wandering around the house saying to Thomas, "Did you know that quarantine literally means 40 days?" "Did you know that Patton was in the Olympics?" "Did you know that Japanese tourists get so depressed when Paris isn't all they'd hoped that their embassy provides counselling services?"
Fortean Times If you like Mental_Floss, you must check out its weird UK brother, the Fortean Times. I've been reading this for 4 years now--Thomas carries it in his store and brings it home for me every month. Filled with strange facts and phenomena, Fortean celebrates the strange and occult in the news, zoology and UFOlogy.
This Film is Not Yet Rated I saw this last night. Fascinating! I love documentaries and just watched the Academy Award winning Jesus Camp last weekend. Jesus Camp was really good--but this was flat out awesome.
James Kochalka Another awesome find from Thomas's store. James Kochalka is an indie comic artist turned musician who sings hilarious, hilarious songs that are catchy and fun and sometimes bear only a vague familiarity with the right key, but who cares. My favorite album is Danger Force Five, which is actually not on this website (nor is the awesome Don't Trust Whitey--this seems to be a website of his latest projects). We got his new albums on Wednesday and had a James Kochalka listening party on Friday.
Lisey's Story I've been reading Stephen King since I was 11 years old and while there have been a few missteps in the last 20 years, he is my favorite author. (I had to really consider that statement for a few minutes. There are a lot of authors I could claim as my favorite and a lot of authors that would make me look more literary. But I have loved King and wanted to be like him almost all my life. I read all his books before they go to paperback because I can't wait. Yes, he's my favorite). And in Lisey's Story, he's still got it. I was thrown off by the language initially, but by page 100, it was under my skin.
And that wraps up this week's edition of Things I Love.
Mental_Floss I cannot get over this magazine. I'm on my 3rd issue and I keep wandering around the house saying to Thomas, "Did you know that quarantine literally means 40 days?" "Did you know that Patton was in the Olympics?" "Did you know that Japanese tourists get so depressed when Paris isn't all they'd hoped that their embassy provides counselling services?"
Fortean Times If you like Mental_Floss, you must check out its weird UK brother, the Fortean Times. I've been reading this for 4 years now--Thomas carries it in his store and brings it home for me every month. Filled with strange facts and phenomena, Fortean celebrates the strange and occult in the news, zoology and UFOlogy.
This Film is Not Yet Rated I saw this last night. Fascinating! I love documentaries and just watched the Academy Award winning Jesus Camp last weekend. Jesus Camp was really good--but this was flat out awesome.
James Kochalka Another awesome find from Thomas's store. James Kochalka is an indie comic artist turned musician who sings hilarious, hilarious songs that are catchy and fun and sometimes bear only a vague familiarity with the right key, but who cares. My favorite album is Danger Force Five, which is actually not on this website (nor is the awesome Don't Trust Whitey--this seems to be a website of his latest projects). We got his new albums on Wednesday and had a James Kochalka listening party on Friday.
Lisey's Story I've been reading Stephen King since I was 11 years old and while there have been a few missteps in the last 20 years, he is my favorite author. (I had to really consider that statement for a few minutes. There are a lot of authors I could claim as my favorite and a lot of authors that would make me look more literary. But I have loved King and wanted to be like him almost all my life. I read all his books before they go to paperback because I can't wait. Yes, he's my favorite). And in Lisey's Story, he's still got it. I was thrown off by the language initially, but by page 100, it was under my skin.
And that wraps up this week's edition of Things I Love.
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