Shhhh.....

I might go see that Star Trek movie. Please don't tell.

LOL

I've watched a few movies lately that, while clearly not for everyone, I actually found pretty funny.

The Promotion - is about a recently married grocery store assistant manager who is looking to make it to the big time: to be promoted to manager. Just when it looks like he's got the job, a French-Canadian rival shows up, and crazy hijinks ensue.

The Love Guru - I'm not usually much of a Mike Myers guy, but this one also featured a Quebecois in the antagonist role, made me laugh a few times and, mostly, made me remember how much I really, really, really miss real hockey. Plus it has a fantastic Bollywood-ish ending. Slightly less toilet-humor than his other outings, which is a nice change.

You Don't Mess With The Zohan - not quite what I had anticipated in terms of plot (okay, "plot"...) but actually did make me laugh several times. Predictably offensive (Adam Sandler), it started with me wondering how Palestinians felt about it. It left me pretty sure that no one who takes themselves seriously would feel that good about it, Palestinian or otherwise. Still, some funny moments.

I think it might be time for something blowing up, right after I get through the second disk of my camera one. By the way, one point I would like to clarify there: when I said they had women to explain how to attach the strap and so on, I didn't mean like Italian game show women. Best guess is that she came with the guy with the safarri hat, but didn't have the good fortune to have brought her own. Maybe in disk two - I'll keep you posted.

Run, Fat Boy, Run

Okay, I don't think it was in the running for an Oscar. If it has "cinematic masterpiece" on the back cover, I'd check the small print.

But it's beautiful.

I would tell you what it's about, but the only ways that I could describe it would make it sound predictable and one-dimensional, and it really wasn't. I'll tell you this:

it made me laugh out loud

it made me want to hug the little chick

it made me wish I had an Irish accent

it had the best fight scene I've seen in a while

it made me happy to be alive


And if that's not reason enough to watch a movie, I don't know what is. Okay, maybe that and having Angelina Jolie (which it didn't), but still. Pretty good.

Just For You

I'm a bit of an analytical kind of guy. And I have a kind of fascination with honesty.

I try, as much as I can, to be honest with myself, about myself. And I've done some pretty serious self-exploration over the last couple of years. I've figured some stuff out.

But it's always interesting to know how other people view me, too. I think sometimes people can see things in me that I can't see (or don't recognize) in myself. And sometimes, I think that they miss the reality of who I am because something about me - or about them - gets in the way of seeing the truth.

In any case, I've come to grips with two things:

1. Not everyone has the same penchant that I do for "I want to know!" (relative to just about everything that doesn't involve numbers or heavy machinery)
   
2. Asking "hey, what do you really think about me?" can put people in kind of an uncomfortable spot. Especially if they're not nearly as fond of me as I think and also value honesty

So, as a rule, I don't go around asking. But I am always intrigued when I get a clue or two.

Now, we all recommend stuff to people because we like it. But I'll probably tell everybody that they should listen to whatever my album du jour is, whether it's their style or not. Granted, I may be a special case in that regard ("it's not the music that's a problem; it's your taste"), but I think most of us would do that. So if someone tells me, "hey, I loved this book, you should read it", I may read it, but I'll often interpret it as a comment about that person, or where they're at at the moment.

It's different though, when they say it like this: "I saw a movie that you need to see - I think it's just the kind of movie you would like".

All of a sudden, I have a pretty fascinating window into what they think about me. It happened to me twice in the last week or so, both times from colleagues who wouldn't really have any way to know much about my taste in movies.

But they know me.

Thankfully, neither one of the shows contains the words "bimbos", "outer-space", or "chainsaw". So far, so good.

The first, which I've just started to watch is "Into The Wild". The second is "There Will Be Blood" (which, as far as I could tell when he described it, is slightly more sophisticated than its "chainsaw" cousins).

Since I haven't watched them, I can't really comment yet on what it is my colleagues are trying to say about my personality when they suggested them. But I'm kind of curious to see.

Do you do this? I can't be the only one... come on, it's safe to open up here. We're all friends, and your mother will never need to know. Mine will, but she won't tell...

Blades Of Glory

Some say it sucks. I say it has Will Farrell.



Hector: "Hey, Jimmy"

Jimmy: "Hector? What are you doing here? You know I have a restraining order against you..."

Hector [laughing nervously]: "Oh that thing? [pauses]... You look great, Jimmy. You look amazing, and your hair rocks..."

Jimmy: "Thanks"

Hector: "You look so good... oh my gosh. Do you look at yourself? I totally want to cut off your skin and wear it to my birthday... it's coming up"

Jimmy: "Yeah, listen, it's good to see you Hector, but I'm really busy right now"

Hector: "I'm sorry, I'll cut to the chase. You've got to start skating again, Jimmy."

Jimmy: "What?"

Hector: "It's embarrassing stalking a has-been, you know what I mean? Look, I almost gave up on you. I started stalking that Ukrainian skater, you know, the one that looks like Elvis? I moved to the Ukraine. It was cold, and everyone had guns and smelled like soup."

Jimmy: "I sympathize with you Hector, I really do, but there's nothing I can do. I'm banned for life...."


You should see it. Preferably with me.

Jesus Camp

I watched a bit of this show last night, and it was interesting. I think I want to get all the way through before commenting in detail, but I did find it fascinating. As more or less an insider to the sub-culture they're showing, it was really intriguing for me to see what bits they kept and what they left out, what people said that, I know, means one thing when, in the context it's shown sounds, very much like it means something else. And it's remarkable how things that would seem innocuous at worst become so much more ominous when there's a soundtrack of brooding, eerie, minor music flowing underneath it.

Anyone else seen it? What were your impressions?

Sniff

Man, I have a cold. On Friday, I wasn't sure - thankfully, I was able to get what I needed to done by the end of the week. Today it's certainly here. And I'm scared of what's coming tomorrow.

In lieu of my own inspiration, here's a quote I rather like from Zoolander, which I watched tonight with some good friends:

Mugatu: "I am one hot little potato right now"

I can just see it having so many applications.

Milano - The Movie

Chris made a fun video of our trip to Milan - check it out:



Also, you can check out his blog here. Enjoy!

Quote Of The Day

Nathan (after watching The Usual Suspects but declining my invitation to watch with the commentary): "You know, the problem is that, even after it ends, you don't know how much is true."
Me: "But maybe you would after hearing the commentary."
Nathan: "Don't tempt me like that. Have you actually seen it? Or are you just saying that?"
Me: "I'm just saying it. But that doesn't make it not true."
Nathan [nodding, but clearly not convinced]: "That doesn't make it not true."

Be Very, Very Quiet

I saw Le Grand Silence last night with some friends - a fascinating movie shot in the Chartreuse monestary in France. It was about 2:45, with very little speaking... no narration, certainly no story, just observing the monks following their routine.

Overall impression? Very cool... felt a lot shorter than I had expected, and didn't at all feel like watching somebody's bad vacation footage (3-minute pan of a waterfall with no commentary, before moving on to the parliament buildings), which I had expected. I think I did miss a few minutes, disappearing into my own little world now and again, but not much. And, as far as I know, I didn't fall asleep. It made me think, which I like.

Aesthetically, it was a bit of a mixed bag... the filmmaker was absolutely golden with textures, particularly some close-ups of skin, fabric, and water. And I mean, I almost let out a gasp when the shot is cut kind of golden. He did some nice things with color, too, the most remarkable for me being the contrast of a young monk's shaven skull against the red of a door as he sat to eat his lunch. I know, it doesn't sound like much, which is why it's a movie, not a book. It was a stunning shot.

He did, however, have some issues on the "special effects" front. WAY too much of the film was shot either in a very, very grainy film or a simulation of that, and not just dark, indoor shots where you may expect it, but outdoor, daylight shots that were completely indistinct from the overwhelming presence of the grain. It was a mess, and it happened way too often.

I think that he also had trouble getting across the "journey" feeling in a suitable way... there were some clear indications at the start of the film (extremely disorienting shots of clouds, done à la grain, of course) that he wanted to start from a place of confusion and draw order from it. Fair enough, but I think that the rituals and way of life in the monestary is disorienting enough to do that without any other influences.

He also chose to include some fast time lapse and very slow motion shots in the first third, I would guess to highligh that time was both moving faster (because he compresses a year into under three hours) and slower (because... well, that's just the way it works in a monestary where a vow of silence is part of the deal) than we are used to in our own lives. He's right, and the time aspect of it was fascinating, but I would guess that most people coming to see this kind of movie - I mean, let's face it... it's not exactly Batman - don't need this not-so-subtle push to think along those lines. The sublte and surprising drama of the seasons changing as he included shots of the outside was compelling enough, and should have been left to do the job on it's own.

So, as a piece of art, it was okay... worth seeing, but I wouldn't tell all my friends they have to go.

Where it did more for me, though, was in making me think about the spiritual life these men lead, especially relative to the life I lead:
1. When the Bible says to medidate on God's word day and night, is that what it meant? I don't think so... it also says to do a lot of other things that aren't really part of the life of a monk
2. Should I be spending more time in meditation and silence before God? Yeah, I should. And that's a lot of the impact this film had on me... I longed to be there, in that chapel, on my knees with those men, with their dedication to this discipline serving as an inspiration to me.
3. Could I do what they are doing? Could I do it for a day? A weekend? A week or two? A couple of months? Could I take a vow to do it for the rest of my life?

For those of you who also saw it, I'd be pretty interested to hear what you though, too....