|
| oh, how drowsy i've become. save me from this lethargy, from this languidness that has overstayed its welcome. for i shall become accustomed to it all and notice it no longer.
| | |
| EL CALLEJON DE LOS MILAGROS
i remember having watched a part of this movie on HBO latino a long time ago. but i had started watching it well through the film and i don't like watching movies when they've already started. i just change the channel and if it's a good movie i make it a mental thought to watch it later in its entirety. this movie is really good. it's in the same vein as MAGNOLIA, BOOGIE NIGHTS, AMORES PERROS, BABEL, etc. where there are four interlocking stories told as vignettes as they all overlap each other. this all takes place in this disillusioned poor mexican neighborhood where everyone wants to get away and leave their troubles away. but as always, that doesn't come without a price... very sad and heartbreaking depiction of mexican lifestyle at borderline poverty level. salma hayek is good in this movie as well as the entire ensemble cast. this movie won several mexican academy awards including best picture. i highly recommend everyone watch this. it's very gritty and it's just awesome, impactful storytelling.
WHAT THE BLEEP DO WE KNOW?
we watched this during class (creativity and american culture). however, we didn't get to finish it. i should rent it or something and finish watching it but it's mostly an exploration of quantum physics and our human nature delving into high brow philosophical theories about what it means to think, to see, and ultimately to be. some interesting and intriguing points are posed and makes you wonder and think about the world and our own biology... and makes you ask about this: do we really know anything at all? the only thing that i didn't think worked so well was the storyline they included. it just didn't seem to gel and made it more tasteless and tacky since its acting and production value wasn't something that could've made it hold up. still, it makes you think and movies that do that are gems.
Fred Alan Wolf:
Ponder that for a while!
THE DEPARTED
carla and yvonne raved about this movie that they even watched it twice. the second time with me. this movie was really cool... but it was no GOODFELLAS. i noticed that martin scorsese seemed to be showing off with his camera movements. they totally took me out of movie especially in a scene where he pushes in on alec baldwin and then on mark whalberg. while i thought it was kinda cool, i also thought, "was that really necessary? what does that do? nothing. it's purely gratuitous." but anyway, i find that this review is, in a way, biased because it won best picture and i just think that BABEL is a much superior film. after you get over the shock from the twist ending (which was pretty awesome), does this movie really have any meaning? it was fun, sure, but what else did it offer other than a great performance by leonardo dicaprio. i must say that jack nicholson was underused and totally disregarded towards the end (though he did win best villain at the mtv movie awards). alec baldwin gave a great performance, better than mark whalberg who got nominated for best supporting actor (jack nicholson wasn't nominated - surprising; but where was leonardo dicaprio on the list???). i agree with the editing win and i'll let adapted screenplay win pass but i cannot agree with the director and picture win... not for that year anyway. i can't say that i hate the film. it was immensely enjoyable and gave a new take on this kind of film, but... i don't know. anyway, it's a little too long and had a little too much going on.
Frank Costello:
When you decide to be something, you can be it. That's what they don't
tell you in the church. When I was your age they would say we can
become cops, or criminals. Today, what I'm saying to you is this: when
you're facing a loaded gun, what's the difference?
ALMOST FAMOUS
i had never watched this movie before 'cause i thought about buying it one day. but i never came around to it and i just decided to watch it with carla and yvonne. it was a pretty cool movie... well-written screenplay filled with nice and tragic characters like penny lane (wonderfully played by kate hudson who was nominated for best supporting actress). it had a nostalgic feeling to it and rightly so. cameron crowe's personal story comes off as genuine and honest which got him an oscar nomination. i wasn't much of a fan of the kid actor, though. he tried, but in the heavy drama, i think he failed. who can take a whiny kid going thorough puberty seriously? i couldn't. then again, maybe i was just jealous that this fucking kid got a lucky break and made it big by exploiting the band? (shrugs) i guess you do what you gotta do. but it wasn't like that band was gonna go anywhere, not how they were going... jason lee was a nice touch as the band's vocalist. cameron crowe, i hate you for being so cool... :P frances mcdormand was also nominated for best supporting actress, the film for editing.
Penny Lane:
Never take it seriously, you never get hurt. Never get hurt, you can
always have fun. And if you ever get lonely, you just go to the record
store and visit all your friends.
MARIE ANTOINETTE
sofia coppola always comes out with slow-paced character-driven films and this one is no exception. i wasn't sure if i was going to like it just 'cause i knew what kind of movie this was... but it turned out to be an awesome character study wonderfully portrayed by kirsten dunst. who would've thought 18th century french history could be so cool? talk about vintage! i'm embarrassed to admit it, but i didn't know anything about marie antoinette until a day or so before i saw the movie. oh, well... anyway. sofia did a great job in portraying the queen's isolation in the new environment that she was forced into. the scene where she's stripped of everything that she has (including her dog) as her past is tragically erased is just morose. the slow pacing was effective as well as the cinematography because it showed how lonely this woman was... the cinematography also showed off the awesome sets and not to mention the colorful costume design which won an academy award. sofia coppola's choice in 70s punk music, etc. is just great. it pumps the movie up and gives it a new spin. she glamorizes the time and space so that you get the feeling of what kind of life this woman led... before it all went to shit, of course. "your feet are like icicles" i liked the shot where kirsten dunst is having the time of her life and then she takes a moment to look directly at the camera as if saying "what are YOU looking at?" that was just awesome!
Marie-Antoinette:
Letting everyone down would be my greatest unhappiness.
THE PRESTIGE
overhyped christopher nolan film. i was just as disappointed as i was when i saw BATMAN BEGINS. i've yet to watch THE ILLUSIONIST but i have a feeling that i'll like that more than this. the mystery wasn't so involving to me. it didn't make me want to follow this wherever it went. i hated everyone in the film - there was absolutely no one to root for. everyone was just screwing everyone over and the end was just awful. what a crappy explanation that just went over the top and just totally made whatever was cool about it terribly ludicrous. it was a bunch of nonsensical bullshit that made me dislike it even more. i'm not blowing my own horn here, but it was kind of obvious what the fuck was going on... that all made sense until, of course, the end. david bowie couldn't even save this. academy award nominee for cinematography and art-direction.
Cutter:
Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it because
you're not really looking. You don't really want to know the secret...
You want to be fooled.
SAW III
well, it wasn't great, but i believe that this outing was better than the last. i think maybe because the story had more relevance this time. i like sequels when they make sense and expand from the original and has to more offer such as a backstory that we didn't previously know or something. but when there's nothing that connects it... it's like "then why are you a sequel? and why are you here?" lol. all ass. anyway... of course this movie had a different feel... we have jigsaw dying, and of course it's rushed... they have to finish it all in a year. there's not really much to praise except that tobin bell is just a great villain. the ending was complicated and left you kinda dissatisfied since you know full well that there will be another sequel and that it may not be the biggest hit or that people will enjoy it as much. of course to get their audience back they might just resort to producing a prequel... (sigh) ah, selling out at its finest...
Jigsaw:
Live or die, Jeff. Make our choice.
BORAT
hilarious! i remember watching this very funny character on HBO's "da ali g show." ali g, bruno, borat... they're all awesome characters and i wonder why they cancelled it. it was such a good show. i had recently seen JACKASS: NUMBER TWO so it seemed that the absurdity and all of the fucked up situations wouldn't be able to be topped. and, well, i was right... to a point. i mean, i had more laughs with JACKASS but BORAT had a smart and quirky narrative that sorta worked... a little contrived and convenient, but it worked. the only letdown was the ending with pamela anderson. that, to me, totally took me out of the story because BORAT is meant to be a fumbling journalist in the real world. when you put a a-list celebrity like pamela anderson who everyone knows and the way it was staged... it just doesn't make sense and you immediately realize that this is just not possible and totally unrealistic. everything else looked genuine; they might have been staged as well, but at least it didn't look like it. anyway, enough of the negative criticism 'cause i really liked this film a lot. sacha baron cohen was just awesome as borat. he should've been nominated for best actor (hey, if johnny depp can do it for PIRATES...). still, it was all good when he got nominated for best adapted screenplay and when he won an mtv movie award for best comedic performance. i hear that they might make a film from the bruno character. i wonder if it'll have the same impact, probably not... but i'm sure it'll be full of laugh-out-loud moments.
Borat:
Her vazhïn hang like sleeve of wizard's robe.
BABEL
the most nominated film of the year and what did it walk away with? an oscar for best score! ugh! what a shame because this could've easily collected all of those statuettes (it did win the golden globe for best picture - drama). no worries, it's still the best film of the year in my book. this dealt with a lot of controversial and complicated issues that only inarritu knew how to go about in making it the movie that it came out to be. like AMORES PERROS and 21 GRAMS, BABEL focuses on four interconnected stories in three different countries - mexico, japan, morroco. exceptional writing by arriaga. this wasn't what i thought was gonna be about, but i still loved it and i found it just awesome in every way. the sound design in this movie is spectacular, if only because of the deaf japanese girl which just creates a terrific atmosphere (the club scene is really cool). brilliant editing as well - the cut from cate blanchett's screaming as it lingers on to a deafening silence from rinko chichunki's POV is totally great. adriana barraza's performance was outstanding as the immigrant mexican nanny. the desert scene is freaking intense - i felt like i was there, totally parched and losing hope within the second. the cinematography in that scene, in particular, is dazzling. what a stunning image of a woman in the yellow desert and a blue sky wearing a red hot dress. this movie, in my opinion, was ten times better than CRASH... and CRASH is pretty high up there.
Tom:
My mom said Mexico is dangerous.
Santiago:
[in Spanish] Yes, it's full of Mexicans.
CLICK
i remember when this movie came out. i heard it was really good but didn't care to watch it at the movies even though i had the chance to go for free. why don't i take advantage of stuff? anyway, i just thought "adam sandler movie? i dunno about that..." anyway, the hoopla came and went and i finally got to see it when they lent the dvd to my sister and i decided to watch it. it was a good movie, but a lot of people made it seem like... i dunno, something else, something bigger and i don't seem to agree. they said that it was real tearjerker. but i really didn't find it that sad. it was a nice movie with a nice message, to value the things you have now and learn to appreciate it because one day it'll be gone. i really liked that. the scenes with his dad were a stand out. but i didn't really buy the last scene, i wasn't so emotionally invested and i don't think he sold it right. the remote control aspect was fun, though, i have to say. academy award nominee for best makeup - really? (shrug)
Michael Newman:
Ben... family... family comes first
HARD CANDY
this movie was hardcore. talk about controversy. smart screenplay with really good performances by patrick wilson and ellen page especially. the director and cinematographer really played with the color palette on this one. it was just awesome to see the colors in the background fade in and out of something else, although it seemed like they were handfeeding us the appropriate reactions and invoking of emotions. when the girl's secret agenda is revealed it proves to be really intriguing. i think the ending was a bit too much, though, because it seemed a little arbitrary and out of place. i just didn't like the decision they both made. and in a way, the bratty girl was hard to sympathize with. it left me wanting more, it just seemed totally unresolved. still, great premise.
Hayley Stark:
You use the same phrases about Goldfrapp that they use on Amazon.com. Busted!
EL MISTERIO DEL TRINIDAD
another mexican film of low-caliber. pity, 'cause that movie could have worked wonders. deep beneath the superficial, there was a really touching story to be told. it tries hard with its production value, but nothing stands out except maybe eduardo palomo's performance. and like many films from mexico nowadays, it borders on mediocrity. the last act focuses on an incestuous affair that just makes it uncomfortable to watch. still, this unappealing movie, that doesn't try at all to get to our emotions, won best picture at the mexican academy awards, best director, and best actor in a minor role. wtf? write better movies and get better directors. it was also nominated for best actor, best actress in a minor role, best score, best original screenplay, best special effects, best supporting actor, best supporting actress... ???????
RAGING BULL
i bought this movie 'cause i heard great things about it. and why not? it's robert de niro and martin scorsese. i wasn't disappointed. it was a great depiction of a real tragic character. i liked the fact that it really wasn't about the boxing but about jake la motta's deterioration and the boxing was used as some sort of metaphor. boxing just doesn't really interest me - that's why it took me so long to finally watch this movie and that's why i haven't really given ROCKY a chance. that movie seems a lot about boxing as opposed to this. but whatever... i'll give it a chance one of these days. anyway, nice black and white cinematography - it adds to some kind of nostalgia, a lost feeling that is slowly fading away and the composition and movement of the images and camera is nice to look at. the editing, directing, and performances are a knockout as well. robert de niro's portrayal of la motta is superb, no holds-barred - i'm glad he won the oscar for this - well-earned. cathy moriarty who plays his wife was an unknown then and what a performance coming from a beginner. gritty, realistic scenes and conversations made me want to observe every character in the film. there was not a single degree of phoniness - i bought it all. one of the highlights for me was the scene where robert's paranoia kicks in and accuses his brother played by joe pesci of having an affair with his wife. outstanding!
Jake La Motta:
Did you fuck my wife?
Joey LaMotta:
What?
Jake La Motta:
Did you fuck my wife?
Joey LaMotta:
[pauses] How do you ask me that? I'm your brother and you ask me that? Where do you get you're balls big enough to ask me that?
Jake La Motta:
I'm gonna ask you again, did you or didn't you? Just answer the question.
Joey LaMotta:
I'm not gonna answer that. It's stupid. It's a sick question and you're
a sick fuck and I'm not that sick that I'm gonna answer it. I'm
leaving, If Nora calls tell her I went home. You know what you should
do? Do a little more fucking and a little less eating, so you don't
have to blame it all on me and everybody else, you understand me?
You're cracking up! Ya' fucking screw ball ya'!
HAPPY FEET
i had been looking forward to this film since it looked great and was filled with an all-star cast. i went to watch this with leo at the imax. the opening was nice on the giant screen. i liked all the song choices - it was a nice collection. the animation was pretty cool, great sweeping camera movements that made me waft right alongside all those peppy penguins. i think there's no failing with a coming of age film since it's a very universal theme and and it had a great message of acceptance and finding yourself despite being different from the rest. but the ending totally went astray. i don't know what the hell went on - it seemed like a totally different story when the last act hit. though i found the meshing of live action and animation interesting, it seemed out of place. i was totally expecting the worst at the end... that mechanism in mumble's back was fucked up. i didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing and then the finale just didn't gel. it was awkward and i didn't buy it all. it made us take part in its ridicule and i had had enough. the movie was good, it was just the ending that ruined it for me since it shoved a totally different message in one fell swoop down our throats. winner for best animated feature.
Memphis:
It... it just ain't penguin, okay?
THE QUEEN
cool beginning reminded me of the shot of MARIE ANTOINETTE when kirsten dunst looks at the camera. this time, the regal helen mirren poses for her portrait and then looks at the camera, an intimidating look that makes the audience a bit uncomfortable for prying into this private woman's life. i liked how this film took us into the world and house of british royalty. i had never seen or known about the regulations and whatnot and i liked finding out what the protocols are. helen mirren gave a really good performance. it's harsh how people can't fucking find the courtesy to let some things be private. it put the queen in a very tough situation and in the end she had to give in to what the people wanted and that totally makes you feel like shit when people feel so much contempt for you that you have to please them. it makes you feel powerless. the scene when she finally faces the public was one of the best performances i've seen. i remember my english professor talked about how british women are proud and never show their emotions - "they pride themselves in keeping a stiff upper lip." and i found that quality very present in the queen's character - a hard woman whose feelings never showed and never wavered even under pressure and ultimately in her submitting to her people. michael sheen as tony blair was also great. he should've been nominated for best supporting actor.
Title card:
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" - Henry IV, Part II
LOST SEASON 3 MID
LOST finally started but only gave us six episodes... boo! but i gotta say that the season premiere was another great outing. it was just awesome to finally see "the others" in their own environment. it was really awesome to see that they have a fucking neighborhood out there! that was a total shock! i really wasn't expecting that. and we were introduced to a new character that proved to be intriguing but in some ways off-putting and likeable at the same time throughout the season... i don't know, okay? lol. her name was juliet and we were never sure what the fuck was up with her - her loyalties seemed to be all over the place. but i'm getting ahead of myself. that shortened "fall season" provided a superb kate-centric episode called "I Do" which featured a great performance from none other than evangeline lilly. she should be nominated for an emmy and she better win this coming august. this episode also had some nice cinematography - i hope that gets nominated and wins as well. it was just brilliant. they also killed off mr. eko which i found annoying because his death seemed totally unnecessary - a lame excuse for him to leave the show. i agreed with what people said about "what was the point of introducing so many characters in season 2 (the tailies) if they killed almost all of them off?" i don't know. this season also showed that people were just not tuning in any more and didn't like the new set up that made us wait about 3 months for the next batch of episodes. it really sent LOST down in the ratings chart. that sucked, but, oh, well. it left off with a not-so-great cliffhanger - i just expected more... still, i couldn't wait for january.
MY NAME IS EARL SEASON 2 MID
it had a good start, but the very first episode could be seen as the beginning of the end for this show. joy stole a truck and it all got complicated after that. the mid-season sent earl and randy to mexico to help catalina get back to US after deportation. everything got entangled and catalina fell for earl instead of randy (he's the one that likes her a lot) and well, i suppose. the mid-season was good, but i can't believe that because of what happened here, it's now suffering in its third season... oh, well. stupid joy... 
still, i really like this show because it seems to be like a mini-movie every week with great production value, great acting, and awesome storylines. it has really fleshed out characters.
THE OFFICE SEASON 3 MID
ah, the much anticipated season premiere of THE OFFICE. it didn't pick up right after the last episode of last season. instead it showed the aftermath and gave us a quick recap of what had happened through an effective flashback. i wasn't sure about the change of locations and jim not being a part of the scranton branch. and the addition of new characters was nice - it was good to see new faces. in the course of the new season, we saw that pam seemed to miss jim and jim seemed to miss the old place but found some kind of solace in karen. but when the stamford branch went belly-up they had to get rid of the workers and well... it all worked out in the end. jim got transferred back as michael's number two - nice - along with the new characters. so you can imagine the tension between jim, pam, and karen... pretty good job at keeping the "jam" storyline interesting and michael and dwight's retarded antics remain priceless. the best episode yet has to be "the coup" which amounted for a great performance by rainn wilson and by steve carell as well. nice cinematography and writing. i hope this episode wins at the emmys.
30 ROCK
started watching this show when it moved to the thursday night line up. i missed the first few episodes. i wanted to watch it when it premiered but i just never found time to watch it and didn't bother to seek it out. the first episode i saw i thought was really funny. but then i started to lose interest 'cause the comedy wasn't that funny and a little off-beat... i felt like i was walking into a dark house and didn't know where to step in order to get through. so it just didn't seem to work for me. still, i watched it out of the corner of my eye while i did other things. alec baldwin is good... but not all the time. and tina fey is just there. this show doesn't seem to have some sort of depth. it's missing something... i dunno. hopefully, it gets better... i can't believe alec beat out steve carell for best actor at the golden globes (squints). this better not happen again at the emmys :P (shrugs) whatevah...
ah, i was glad i was going home again for winter break. thanksgiving just wasn't enough. but anyway, didn't really do much - just rented some movies, went to the theater to see awful movies, and finally bought an ipod. what a lagger, but "whatevah, whatevah, i do what i want." i bought the stupid thing, though, and realized that i had to have internet so that i could, like, register it or something. so that sucked 'cause i didn't have internet at home. so i'm not sure how i did it but i went back to austin for some reason and did it there. and i was happy to have a new gadget. so that was my christmas present even though i paid for half of it - nice.
anyway, classes went all right for the fall semester. i took US history, intro to screenwriting, intro to editing, and creativity and american culture (an advertising class). i thought i was gonna hate history and find myself really struggling through the course and though as always i stress over minute things, it wasn't a huge deal and i came out okay. our professor was cool, she was sarcastic and had a great attitude. i took the class with june, i felt like things would flow better if there was someone there i knew and would help with a subject that i wasn't too keen in. it was mostly essays on our thoughts on certain events and the consequences it brought. the tests were a little hardcore - essays - which i thought would make or break me - since i'm not a good bullshitter. but enough about that...
creativity and american culture was a fun class. i really had fun there 'cause we did a lot of different activities and it was just cool. i was a little overwhelmed at first because he was asking for a lot of crap and i was like "this dude." we had to keep some sort of journal, we had to do weekly assignments, we had to write a paper, we had to do a video. the video part was fun but it didn't come out the way i was planning on it to. i got a fucking B in the class and i got fucking mad 'cause i was two points away and if i hadn't missed one of those fucking stupid weekly assignments, i would've gotten an A. what a stupid fuckface. oh, well... i suppose, there's no worth in crying over spilled milk.
i really enjoyed intro to editing. it was fun to play around with footage and creating something. seeing the final result is really gratifying, it feels good to see your work all put together. it feels nice. i had trouble with the first assignment which was a scene from the sci-fi show "invisible man" because i didn't know how to go about in starting. our professor, kocher, helped us but i still didn't really know where to start and i didn't know what the fuck i was doing. the way i edit is i put everything i need all stacked up together so that i can just cut whatever i want to go out. instead of searching for the clip i want and then inserting it. it works better for me. still, i think the whole time in that class, i was doing something wrong. i may have been doing stuff the wrong way or a way that was harder... but it got the job done. it's just hard to know all the shortcuts and stuff like that. i mainly had trouble with the audio and synching it and making it all gel. that proved a hassle with the second project which was a scene from "highlander." still, that one was more fun. we had to add music and sound effects. the sound effects were a bitch, especially the fight sequence where we had to add all the fucking clings and clangs. but i think i did a decent job. the major project sucked balls. it was so fucking hard to get started. we were given footage of a watermelon seed-spitting contest and we had to develop a coherent narrative. there was no script or anything, so basically it was up to us to come up with something. we were given suggestions, but there was so much fucking footage, it was like "WTF, man?" when kocher saw the first cut, she didn't really like it, i could tell. she said "just work on it" and my face was all solemn and she could tell i was burned out. she said, "i know you only have one day, but if you can pull it off, it'll be worth it and you'll feel good about it." and it fucking stressed me out 'cause i had little time to work on it. i was on starbucks, snickers, and butterfingers, the whole day at the fucking lab. i took a time out and went for a slice of pizza and i came back and started working on it again and i was really hoping that something would come up, like a flashbulb lighting up. and i didn't feel like it ever did but i felt that it was going better. and i was fucking glad i was finally done with it. and i did feel good about it. i liked the end result and it seemed like she did so as well. i got an A. i was really happy that i pulled through.
intro to screenwriting was cool. i finally got the chance to write some stuff. i wrote a story about a drag queen which was interesting. i would've like to do some research and go to a drag queen show or something, but i never got around to it and it wasn't that crucial. if i ever decide to expand on it, then maybe. i really like writing to music and having music in my scripts and i hate the fact that maybe "you're not supposed to." music is always around us and i feel like i need to incorporate it in my characters' lives as well. it's more real. i got to adapt two short stories as well. i think i really like adapting. it's fun for me, for some reason. i also wrote a thanksgiving episode for THE OFFICE which i was proud of. and we also had to do some coverage on scripts... that wasn't as fun because we had to read a full script, about 120 pages, and we had to summarize, see what worked and what didn't and so forth. it sucked... but i guess, that's what i'll be doing if i want to be a screenwriter  .
work was the same, i really like my co workers - they're the best. i hope we remain friends for a long time. the only thing i don't like about the job is that we don't get priority registration. i had to wait until everyone else registered and when it came time for me, all the classes i wanted were already filled up - fucking nice! stupid bullshit. i was stuck with classes that i didn't really want. i went to complain about that, 'cause it doesn't seem fair. my dumbass advisor said that this would be my "filler" semester. i was like "WTF?" then i went to briana and i told her what she said and she said "we don't want that..." and well, i felt a little reassured. but still, it was like "UT is bullshit!" stupid institution. (shrug) whatever, man. i wasn't happy about that shit at all... i got on several waitlists, but i had to try hardcore to get into fucking "advanced screenwriting" which was the one i really wanted to get into. 
| | |
| THE PINK PANTHER (2006)
i still need to watch the original... but this was a ridiculous film. i barely paid attention, didn't understand what exactly was going on. beyonce was super stiff and under used. the ending was crap. weird and out of place cameo by clive owen seems unnecessary. mildly amusing at best.
PARADISE NOW
okay foreign film from palestine focuses on the stories of two suicide bombers and what they have to face when getting involved in those situations. maybe i'm too naive to get into this, but i didn't find myself as involved as i would have wanted to. i didn't care as much as i would have wanted to. and i didn't like this film as much as i would have wanted to. maybe i should give it another chance but as first viewings go this didn't trigger any kind of empathy or emotions.
YESTERDAY
another foreign film, this one's from south africa. truly heartbreaking. the story is about a mother and daughter. the daughter (named yesterday) is given the privilege to go to school. but her mother becomes ill and realizes that she has AIDS. it's really something to see the mom strive hard and continue to live and care for her daughter when she sees the potential for her child to succeed. when her absent husband comes back when he finds out he also has AIDS (and was the one who infected her) she takes it upon herself to care for him as well. such a sad movie and worthy of its academy award nomination.
WILL AND GRACE
bought the second season to this. i never really got into this show until later on in the series. probably starting with season 4 or 5. i usually just saw it whenever i felt like it since it was either followed or preceded by FRIENDS which i had started watching around the time WILL AND GRACE first started. i hadn't realized that it began back in 98-99. but then i started to watch it every week and found it to be a really funny show.
jack and karen are the best and everything that comes out of their mouths or whatever physical comedy that they do just keeps me laughing and laughing. grace is also funny in an awkward and retarded way. will seemed to be the only normal and sane one. apparently this is the best season winning emmys for sean hayes and megan mullaly and the prestigious outstanding comedy series award. nice. it only took FRIENDS eight seasons for it to get one of those. but never did this show win a golden globe. i found that a little odd.
anyway, for this season, good character arcs that had probably been established since the beginning of the show which had grace moving out of the apartment... only for her to be just a few doors away from will. good depictions about dysfunctional/unhealthy relationships/friendships and each one's need to grow without dependency on others. episode highlights are "das boob" where grace wears a water bra; "to serve and disinfect" where we find out karen has a pornographic past; "homo for the holidays" where jack comes out to his mom; "oh dad, poor dad, he's kept me in the closet and i'm feeling so sad" where will's dad gains comfort in telling his co workers that his son's gay; and "acting out" where the first male-male kiss occurs. touching and funny all around.
BACK TO SCHOOL
here we go again. well, i had to pack all my shit again and head over to austin where back to school it was once more. third year. no dorms anymore... instead an apartment. nice to have my own room. i was going to be living with carla and yvonne. but instead of getting another roommate we simply opted for our "extra" room to become a study room. we just had to pay a little more.
i made two trips... once with my mom and sister where we took half of my stuff. it was kind of embarrassing 'cause we got lost when we got there. i didn't quite remember where the place was. we went the opposite way and then i had to stop and ask for directions. yahoo! maps sometimes just make it so complicated to find places. but anyway, i finally remembered the places and saw the apartments in the distance and we were cool.
we got there and got my keys as i signed some shit. we unloaded the car and put everything away in the closet. i had chosen one of the rooms but then decided to switch later on. carla and her parents were just leaving and she told us that the apartment was a mess... it was dirty and nasty and wasn't taken care of. she seemed a little pissed and said that she was going to or had told them something about it. i hadn't explored the place yet. but anyway, we did and it was really bad. we went down to the office and i asked if they were going to clean the place up or something. they said they hadn't 'cause leo (carla and yvonne's ex-roommate from the previous year) was still there and it was as if the place was just continued to be occupied. i dunno... hard to explain... but i was new and barely moving in so i told them that it wasn't fair since he was moving out and i was moving in to a nasty dirty apartment. so they said that they would clean it. so, we left... and i'd come back later with the rest of my stuff when it was closer for school to start.
we ate at whataburger and again we got lost on our way back. i guess i took the wrong turn 'cause we were heading somewhere else, so we stopped at a weird creepy old gas station and me and my sister got down and asked for directions. the guy said to just stick to I-10 and it'll become I-35 which would take us back to laredo. so we kept our eyes peeled and we got back on track.
the next time, i went with my dad and we bought groceries when we got there. carla and yvonne got there too and i asked yvonne how to get to the bus station but i was scared i'd get lost since i had never driven in austin before. when everyone was leaving yvonne's parents offered to take my dad back to laredo. so thanks for that. and i'm not really sure what next. but i'm sure i unpacked all my shit and made my room a little more homely.
during the middle of the school year, i decided to change up my room... i think i was frustrated and stressed, so i needed to do something and change things up a little bit, so i moved my bed and my desk. the drawer was too heavy so i just decided to leave it as is. but it was nice to see a different room.
but anyway, it was cool having a car around. i could go anywhere i wanted. not that i went out much. but it came handy whenever i needed to go to wal-mart or HEB or buy food or go to the movies, etc. i still need to get out more... i'll work on it next year. i got to learn my way around all of austin and just enjoy it.
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
i guess i went into this movie with the wrong mindset. i was expecting this movie to be laugh-out-loud funny, but it really wasn't. it seemed to be more dramatic than funny and that kind of disappointed me. it had some funny moments, but it was overwhelmed by more melodramatic undertones about family, togetherness, death, perseverance, and self-acceptance that, for some reason, i just did not appreciate fully. there seemed to be an unbalance that just didn't go well with me. i wasn't sure how i was supposed to feel - really offbeat, bleak at times, but i guess it pays off in the end. it was good, with a nice message, but i thought it was overhyped a bit. (shrugs) i think this movie tried to do what SIDEWAYS did, but i don't think it succeeded. academy award winner for best original screenplay and best supporting actor. and nominated for best supporting actress abigail breslin (dakota fanning can't get nominated yet?) and best picture. abigail and the movie were also nominated for mtv movie awards.
PULSE
horrible film written by wes craven. the only reason i desperately wanted to see it was because it was written by the master of horror. but it turned out to be a pretty shitty film. it didn't help that it was rated pg-13... that's usually a sign that there's nothing to offer as far as scares go. it's all been done before and i just couldn't get into this at all. wes craven needs to shell out another NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET-type movie or another film like NEW NIGHTMARE... that was such an awesome film. so smart. stop remaking films and make a new one that works.
IN HER SHOES
nice film about two sisters who always manage to get on each other's nerves. curtis hanson always comes out with surprising material and he seems to manage all genres well (LA CONFIDENTIAL, 8 MILE, IN HER SHOES). i really liked the subject matter for some reason. i like seeing sisters on the screen and how they interact with one another... it's just so fascinating to me because i guess that's what i grew up with. there's so much hate and yet so much love and i'm intrigued in how you can hate your sibling so much but deep down really love them. i dunno, it's hard to explain. but those sibling rifts are very powerful because in the end you're still blood and that's all that matters in the end - you can put your differences aside and share those fond memories that you shared when you were younger. anyway, pretty cool movie with touching moments. it made me get teary eyed.
THE BLACK DAHLIA
disappointing film from brian de palma. it just went on and on, not knowing where to stop. the cinematography was really nice, calling back to film noir of the '50s (it was nominated for an oscar). but other than that and scarlett johansson, this movie had nothing to offer except wooden performances by josh hartnett and a convoluted plotline that was all over the place. the ending was absurd and ultimately unsatisfying. what did the black dahlia have anything to do with this movie?
JACKASS: NUMBER TWO
awesome film. we can't seem to get enough of those jackasses. the theater was packed when i went to go see it and this was just a fun and gross experience all together. collective laughter and groans ebbed and flowed as they did their stunts. really great comedy. those guys have some balls and maybe no rationale but it's pretty entertaining to see. from the penis branding to the sucker punching wall to bam's fear of snakes to the pube beard to the the drinking of horse cum - they were all hilarious! watch this film for a great laugh. here's hoping for a JACKASS THREE!
NORBIT
another disappointment. i remember i was so stressed and in need of a good laugh. so me and yuta decided to go watch this film and jillianne would join us (even though she wasn't enthusiastic over the film). i was enthusiastic because i thought it was eddie murphy and this seemed like another NUTTY PROFESSOR, but i was wrong and left the theater disappointed. and although it made me laugh here and there it wasn't enough to take my mind off school worries. anyway, the story wasn't all that great and the character of (r...) was more unlikable than funny so that kind took the point of it away. you just wished she got hers instead of wanting to laugh. the makeup was kinda cool... i wonder how they did it, but there was probably more CGI use than makeup especially when they're at the water park. anyway, that's that.
STEVE FABER - WEDDING CRASHERS
steve faber, writer of WEDDING CRASHERS was invited to our intro to screenwriting class and talked about how he made it into the business, what he does and stuff like that. it was nice to hear how he got into it... don't really remember much, but i do recall him talking about his writing partner and how they're involved in some legal battle that has ended their partnership. he also said that he was writing another comedy about a well-to-do guy who gets drunk one night and everything goes horribly bad... only he can't remember and he's got to figure out what the hell happened! seems cool and promising and he expressed a liking in the casting of steve carell for the lead role... but i dunno if that was real or not or whether or not it'll happen. anyway, he talked about doing coverage for films and to begin writing with a theme and to write it down. write about something you're passionate about and then just expand from that written theme and then start writing an outline according to a three act structure. then, start writing a screenplay. so yeah, it all starts with an idea and a theme that you want to delve into and explore and then you can go from there... he also showed a clip from WEDDING CRASHERS - the montage at the beginning of vince and owen crashing all those weddings. he said that that scene was written as is... the montage was written in, etc. he also said that the third act was longer than most other third acts... and i have to agree... this movie should've ended about 20 minutes before it actually did. it overstayed its welcome. anyway, he seemed like an okay guy. after class, richard lewis, the professor, said that he was running late and couldn't give steve a ride and asked if anyone could give him a ride back to his hotel. i was like "all badass." i don't know who ended up giving him a ride or if he was just joking, but that's kinda cool. lucky asshole whoever got to get a one-on-one with him.
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| HIGH TENSION
nice horror movie from france about a girl who brings her best friend to meet her family. they get terrorized by a serial killer. the movie really lives up to its name. i found myself getting all wired. cecil de france's performance was really good. the ending was cool in a way, but there were various loopholes that i didn't understand. it still came out to be a pretty good horror movie. about time.
THE PRODUCERS
i haven't seen the original yet. i'm pretty sure it's funny since it's coming from mel brooks... but i didn't really find this one that funny. matthew broderick looked like a fumbling idiot who was trying too hard. (shrugs) i don't really know what to make of it. uma thurman seemed underused. the part i liked was with the gay actor. i was laughing my ass off.
UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION
well, i saw this movie without seeing the first one. i guess it was a big mistake 'cause i couldn't understand any of it. it even provided a sort of a backstory with a flashback at the beginning but even that didn't make sense to me. i didn't really care for the story or the characters. i think this is just a vehicle to see kate beckinsale in a skin tight leather suit fighting werewolves. the fight at the end was kind of cool, though. but other than that, i'm not so sure about what it was that i actually saw.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
what a sequel! this movie seemed a little more sophisticated the first but it still provided the same fun as the first one. i have to say that this was totally better than its predecessor. i think the first went on a little too long and lagged in some parts. but this was just fun. the visual effects were great. davy jones is the coolest villain i've seen in a while. very fun design. i'm sure the animators had fun designing all those creatures. the last part was cool and unexpected and the ending gave a nice twist that made me want more.
THE LONGEST YARD
i've not been a fan of adam sandler movies, but i'm glad to see that he's been doing movies that have some sort of appeal to me - that is not playing a fucking retarded dumbass. this wasn't so far from it and i can't say too many great things about it. i don't remember much of it anyway. but yeah, there it is...
DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN
seemed a little staged and i don't blame it. kind of melodramatic but i don't blame it. not the comedy i was expecting it but i don't blame it either. i thought it was a worthwhile movie. i was expecting it to be more of a comedy because of the madea character, but it wasn't. she was just there for out-of-place comedy relief in this hardcore drama-heavy film. i liked the story, though... i thought it was touching and the performances were good. i just thought the ending was a little too much and i didn't really buy kimberly elise's character's motivations for doing what she did towards the end. i understand it, but it seemed not suitable.
CLERKS II
i remember watching this very late when i worked at the movies. one of the managers was gonna screen it on thursday night and he let us watch it with him. i remember when kevin smith had gone to UT and showed us a clip from it and was very protective of it not wanting anything about it to leak out. what was his problem? anyway, i don't like that guy very much, he seems like an ass. i don't know if he's serious or not, but i think he is and for him to be an ass to jennifer lopez for ruining JERSEY GIRL is a cheap shot and totally unnecessary. he's the director, he's the dumbass who casted her. take some responsibility. but anyway, i can't be too harsh on the guy he's made some nice movies. this was an OK outing... again, it seems that movies just overdo it towards the end when (the blond) pours his heart out... i liked the random musical number and the various conversations about lord of the rings and star wars and the ass-to-mouth joke. it was okay, but it can't top the original.
MADEA'S FAMILY REUNION
i thought this movie was going to be better than the first, but it wasn't. i think it was a little more about madea than it should have been. it was another outing revolving around another one of madea's extended family members... but i don't think it really worked this time around, just because it had too many people involved and it was hard to connect/relate with any one of them. this time, though, the ending worked for me. i liked the great grandma's speech which brought all the family together and made them realize why they are here about... but if this is what it was about, then why the whole plot that preceded it?
MIAMI VICE
ugh... damn was this a boring, unintelligible, incoherent, piece of garbage. i could not follow this movie worth a shit. i remember when i was an usher, this man came up to me and told me that the movie had started in the middle. and i was like wtf? he said that it started all abruptly and i was like "no, that's how it starts, when they're at the club..." and i could tell he didn't really buy or was still skeptical. well, as much as michael mann wants to be different and non comformist, it didn't work this time around. this movie was loud for the sake of being loud - a real disappointment. i seriously saw no reason on why this trash of a movie was made and why i watched it... i'm glad i didn't pay.
MALLRATS
follow-up to CLERKS was okay, i suppose. this time there was more of jay and silent bob. jason lee and ben affleck were good but that's about it. the story didn't really amount to anything. i recall a fortune teller having a third nipple. that was funny.
HAROLD AND KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE
what a fucking funny ass movie! memorable moments were christopher meloni's nasty ass character, kal penn's dream sequence with the bag of weed, john cho's animated sequence, and neil patrick harris' character. this movie had me laughing all the way. good for a laugh whenever you need it.
THE RUNDOWN
not really a wortwhile movie. something i'd probably never watch again. i wonder if this even made its money back with any profits. seann william scott plays a dumbass as always and the rock offers nothing except his body for some inane fights.
FOUR BROTHERS
nice film with a good message about brotherhood and family (even when you're not blood related). mark whalberg's performance was good as were the other three actors.
ELF
it seems to me that holiday movies are hard to watch during any other time of the year. and they're not movies that you can watch over and over again. watching the snow and people in coats all the time makes me a little queasy. as if i'm being constricted of air... weird. but anyway, besides all that, this movie was fine. will ferrell doesn't seem to miss even the shittiest movies. he's a likeable guy. it's fun to see his character try to adapt to the city. i like fish out of water stories - they're fun.
MR. DEEDS
adam sandler on his way to making better movies... but this one again falls short. he plays another fumbling idiot - naive and innocent (he even writes cards) - who inherits money from his relative. he falls for a reporter and so does she. what else can an adam sandler movie offer?
ZOOLANDER
ben stiller's a funny guy and this film doesn't let up as it pokes fun at the modelling industry. nice cameos of various stars playing themselves with deadpan humor at the beginning. and nice intros of the characters through use of nomination clips. funny all the way.
SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS
this movie looked really good, but i watched it on VHS and it was panned and scanned so i couldn't appreciate the cinematography the way it was intended to be seen. anyway, the movie seemed a little arty... very lyrical and serene with its flashbacks, etc. guy falls in love with a japanese girl and when they realize that they should not be together, ethan hawke feels rejected. but he just comes off as whiney, unappealing, unempathetic, and stubborn.
THE FOG
omG, awful remake. and what's with the idiotic new ending? nothing to see here... let's move on.
DOMINION: PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST
so this is the alternate version of the fourth EXORCIST film... the renny harlin version seems a bit more credible equipped with obligatory gore... and the one by TAXI DRIVER scribe just seems like a lame attempt to top the original... and unfortunately failing miserably. in years to come, i wonder if anyone will know which one's which... or even care...
NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE
i really can't say that i appreciate the humor that much, i just thought it was somewhat funny with a few laughs here and there. but i'm glad that it opened the door for movies like HAROLD AND KUMAR and AMERICAN PIE...
WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT
entertaining and funny claymation. engaging story, lovable characters, and outstanding animation make this a well deserving oscar winner. really, really good moments, such as gromit's chase scene. various references to other films are subtle but if you get them, they're priceless.
THE STAND
i haven't read the book, but i'll give my take on it anyway. uneven story with multiple characters that never seems to gel. but i soldiered on and watched all parts. gary sinise was the only one that stood out for me until it all went to shit towards the end. the whole mother ruth thing was really contrived, cheap, and trite. everything seemed to be building to this great climactic showdown and i highly anticipated it but it turned into a lousy disappointment of an ending that made everything i had previously watched totally pointless. ah, what a letdown.
BASIC INSTINCT 2
all this movie offered were a thumb and an index finger's worth of steamy sex scenes. stand alone film, sequel only by name has catherine tramell involved in more murder-mystery (now in London). i was interested in the british law depicted but that was it. the rest were never ending sexual innuendos that didn't really pay off, but nice to imagine the subtext. over the top ending severely strayed from practicality - somewhat disappointing, but sharon stone is worth watching.
A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG
nice film about a daughter going back to her mother's house after finding out about her death only to find two deadbeats living there. she manages to get along with her mother's former friends throughout the film, but reality comes crashing down and they're forced to deal with it. good performances by all, though travolta seems a bit too much this time around. the confrontation towards the end wasn't gelling, but the last scene was a tear-jerker. i wanna go to new orleans/louisiana.
FLIGHT 93
heart-wrenching story about the doomed airliner. rich performances really tug at emotions as parallel stories between those in the air and those in the ground (their families) are in dispair as they are stuck in an unprecendented situation that they don't know how to get out of. really intense as the passengers rally to fight back. really sad...
PROOF
gwenyth paltrow plays a genius just like her father. but just like her father, faces demons of her own as she realizes that she may share her father's insanity. jake gyllenhaal tries to get the mathematical "proof" she's solved published, but her own reality keeps her from going public. interesting story with a heartbreaking performance by paltrow. her sister provides much-needed comic relief.
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| the space was grand and beautiful. the awesome architecture that nature itself wrought was the most breathtaking view anyone could see and would be grateful to witness. But that wasn't the case for the slowly moving figure in the distance. It had been a days since she was abducted from a formal party she was invite d to. the man put her in the trunk as she struggled to free herself from his grip, but his brawny hands were too powerful.
now, she walked along the desert aimlessly, put there by the contracted killer. her face was now pale, tears of mascara caked on her cheeks, her lips chapped. she was exhausted and didn't know what to do anymore. she was hungry, dehydrated, and faced the inevitable. maybe she should have stayed where there was shade. it was cool there. at the very nadir of hopelessness, there was something inside her that gave her the will to continue. maybe God didn't want her to die now. that was something she went over. but what did ten measly steps achieve in the vast wasteland? nothing. and again she forfeited and gave herself to the earth once more. she scraped her knees and winced, but the pain wasn't the most excruciating feeling right now.
what had she done to deserve this? she though of all things possible, but she couldn't come up with anything remotely reasonable. and why should this have to be reasonable? it wasn't in the least. who would want her to suffer this cruel fate? the answer was simple, though she did not know it. her fat was sealed months ago when her husband hired a hit man. he simply didn't want her anymore, wanted someone else, and in his sadistic mind, he only thought of getting rid of her.
she lay there with her battered black cocktail dress. she started to cry an unabashed bawling. a blood-curdling scream escaped her, hoping that somehow someone might hear. but in her desolation, she knew that no one would come. how long before it happened? how long until it happened? she pondered that for a moment. and through her labored breathing, she was reminded of the sweet memories that she could still hold on to. her family. her sweet mother. her demanding father. her irritating jealous sister who she would always look after despite it all. and her wonderful husband whom she immensely loved. she remembered something funny - a cheerful anecdote involving her parents - and she laughed. sanity wavered. but that thought faded and her laughed turned into tears.
it was so bright her retinas stung even with her eyes closed. her blonde hair was damp and her skin red. she weakly tore part of her top off and exposed her breast. she pleaded to an invisible someone. she did not want to die. she did not. want. to die. not when things were just beginning. "please... please." how hoarse she sounded. she couldn't believe that it was over. she was swept into a slumber, full of visions that made no sense. as she moved her head side to side, she uttered a barely audible "please." it was time to let go of it all. and with that last "please..." she went limp.
the figure lay motionless in the distance now and the distortion of the heat continued to ripple.
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