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2004-08-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

I gotta say for me, the most exhilirating moment of music in 2004 so far is from Rilo Kiley's "Portions For Foxes."

Toward the end Jenny Lewis sings "You're bad news/ my friends tell me to leave you", and you can tell it's one of those things where your friends just don't get it, and when Jenny Lewis, sings "You're bad news, but I don't care cuz I like you...I like you!" it's all too much. Now, if only someone in town could sell it, I could truly enjoy it. *sigh*

2004-08-20T13:18:00.000-07:00

"Pet what?....Her fuckin' kneecaps, Farrell."
-Fubar

I'd really intended to post on here more often, but between lounging in the sun, watching Fubar every single time it's on TV, and eating burritos, my time seems limited, maybe when Autum comes I'll be back more often, but today, at least I do have some content. Per a discussion on a message board, I've compiled a list of my favourite movies of the decade, so far.

B/c of my tendencies to overrate films I have just seen, I disqualified anything that came out this year (Kill Bill Vol. 2 and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), or have North American release dates of this year (Hero, Zatoichi, Shaolin Soccer). Now, in the words of movie number 11, "So, here we go..."

20. Dolls (Dir. by Takeshi Kitano): Quite simply, visually, this is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. I don't quite have a handle on the plot, but am sure I can wrap my head around it with another viewing or two once it comes out of the new release section.
19. Y Tu Mama Tambien (Dir. by Alfonso Cuaron): The highest teen sex comedy on the list! Seriously, though, this is a fun, honest, surprisingly touching film, with some breathtaking cinematography. The Mexican scenery might be the most important character in the entire film.
18. Requiem For A Dream (Dir. By Darren Aronofsky): Although I've cooled on it somewhat in recent times, this is as jarring, shocking and visually intense film as you're going to see. Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans (!) and, especially, Ellen Burstyn deliver some very memorable performances.
17. Unbreakable (Dir. By M.Night Shyalaman (sp?): Basically number 17 was designated as the M. Night spot, some days I am more excited about Signs and it's message of religious faith disguised as an alien film, but today, it's Unbreakable and it's philosophical meditation on heroes in society.
16. Donnie Darko (Dir. By Richard Kelly): I'm always in awe of this film, if not completely sure of the story. There are enough amazing visuals, creepy atmospherics, and hilarious bits that make it a wonderful film, even if the plot is a little convoluted for its own good.
15. Snatch (Dir. By Guy Ritchie): Sure, there are funnier action comedies, better action sequences, and more inventive camera work elsewhere, but I am hard-pressed to find a film as energetic and alive as this one is. I love the Mickey character (Brad Pitt) that is the perfect reply to critics of Guy Ritchie's first film, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
14. Amores Perros (Dir. By Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu): So gritty you have to clean your fingernails afterwards, Inarritu's film is mesmerizing. It's a three-part tale that turns in on itself, much like the aforementioned Snatch. Hard to watch, but worth the effort.
13. Metropolis (Dir. By Taro Rin): This is one of the most emotional animated films I've ever seen, an epic anime that takes the issue of artificial intelligence and responsibility to a level that Steven Spielberg intended with A.I. (which contrary to popular opinions, I love). Like Y Tu Mama Tambien, it's hard to keep your eyes on the onscreen action with the amazing backgrounds.
12. Happy Times (Dir. By Zhang Yimou): I’m puzzled at the criticisms and general opinion on this one. I thought it was a brilliantly funny tale of a compulsive liar who creates the ultimate subterfuge in order to fool a blind girl in feeling wanted. The ending is so touching, sad and out of left field that it gets me every time. Benshan Zhao in the lead role is hilarious, but human.
11. Punch Drunk Love (Dir. By Paul Thomas Anderson): An oddball romantic comedy if there ever was one. Everyone plays their parts perfectly: Adam Sandler as a socially-challenged man hen-pecked by his many sisters, Emily Watson as the slightly off object of Sandler’s affections, and Philip Seymour Hoffman breaking away from his usually brittle characters to play a sleazeball with conviction. This is an amazing looking film, as well. The soundtrack is perfect, the humor is great, the romance is believable, I really can’t say enough good things about it.
10. George Washington (Dir. By David Gordon Green): I love this slow-moving story about kids growing up in a sleepy little Southern town. Green is happy to train the camera on his mostly new cast and just let them talk, eschewing the desire by new-school directors to play with camera tricks, Green is happy to make a spectacular film that echoes his hero Terrance Malick in its slow, meticulous style. This not a movie for those who love plots, but for someone craving characters, style, and, above all, mood and beauty, it’s absolutely perfect.
09. Lost in Translation (Dir. By Sofia Coppola): A beautiful, lyrical film about unexpected love in Tokyo. I am baffled at the complaints of racism leveled at this one, as no one is painted negatively, it’s the story of two people coming to Tokyo and being unable, or unwilling, to fit in and instead finding each other. I would say that it is the kind of movie you could put on and turn off the sound to enjoy the visuals, but then you would miss the amazing score, one of the best I’ve heard in years. Murray and Johansson are amazing, but Anna Faris is not to be ignored either in a role that would be easy to play unsympathetically, but she adds a touch of humanity to it.
08. Adaptation (Dir. By Spike Jonze): All of the praise for this one is always focused on writer Charlie Kaufman, and I can’t deny the skill he does in adapting Susan Orleans’ The Orchid Thief, but I think Jonze deserves more credit than he gets for keeping it all together. Of course, without Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep, and Chris Cooper, the movie would be nowhere near as great. This is a fun story about orchid thieves, writing, and selling out or giving in.
07. The Royal Tenenbaums (Dir. By Wes Anderson): I used to be somewhat cold on this one, liking it, but rating it a distant third to Rushmore and Bottlerocket. I re-watched it this year and was amazed at how great it was. So many characters, and so much trademark Anderson whimsy, but everyone plays their roles honestly, sacrificing easy laughs for being real. The scene where Hackman’s estranged patriarch and Stiller’s neurotic son finally reconcile nearly brought a tear to my eye. Perhaps this is a film that needs a touch of maturity to fully reveal itself to you.
06. All the Real Girls (Dir. By David Gordon Green): Yes, the only man to put not only two films in the top 20 (Kitano was close, though, I should mention), but Green puts two films in the top 10. This would be your standard tale of blossoming love giving way to love gone wrong, if it weren’t some amazingly beautiful. Green is still content to watch his characters with an unblinking eye, but this time he combines it with some of the most amazing camerawork, to make the film into something transcendent. Paul Schneider is my breakout actor of 2003 with his honest performance and Zooey Deschanel, well, I already knew she was great. Oh, and Danny McBride as Bust-Ass could be the next Jack Black with the right combination of roles and characters.
05. Happiness of the Katakuris (Dir. By Takashi Miike): Amazing. Insane. Hilarious. Miike’s horror/horror sendup/musical/comedy is truly one of a kind. The songs are catchy, the horror pretty gory, the humor hilarious. I can watch and re-watch this, the first film I feel where Miike truly puts it all together and forms something of a coherent film that underneath all the silliness has something positive to say about the importance of family.
04. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Dir. By Ang Lee): This film, for me, is as important for its heart-breaking love story as it is for its action. The story of the hero Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun Fat) and his true-love Yu Shu Lien (Michelle Yeoh) who both love each other, but cannot act on it b/c of Shu Lien’s vow to her deceased intended, one of Mu Bai’s brothers in arms. Both actors hit levels not hinted at in either of their careers. This is not to discount the action, which is just as heart-stopping and beautiful.
03. In the Mood For Love (Dir. By Wong Kar Wai): The first time I saw this, I didn’t see the big deal. But, with each subsequent viewing, it’s like a love slowly revealing itself and all of its beauty. Every frame of the film is alive with visual beauty, which is not to discount its story of two people, unable to give themselves to love, b/c they are married to two people who are cheating on them with each other. They do not want to be like their significant others, but do they ultimately give in? Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung are such great actors, but they also bring a smoldering, sexy intensity to their relationship, yet there is no sex.
02. Le Fabuleux Destin D’Amelie Poulain (Dir. By Jean-Pierre Jeunet): I love how alive this movie is with hope, love, and just a general mood of feeling good. Audrey Tautou arrives as one of the best actresses of the millennium in a role that would be easy to over-do, but Tautou plays just right so that she is always sweet and a little bit silly, but never overly so. The tale of a girl who wants to do good for everyone’s life but is too shy to do anything for herself is just staggering with moments of such visual elegance as Amelie skipping stones directly at the camera. Every time I see it, I smile a little more.
01. Spirited Away (Dir. By Hayao Miyazaki): Visually and emotionally spectacular. This is a film that can be seen by most everyone, with not an act of physical violence, bad language, or sexual innuendo to be found. It’s the story of a young girl stumbling across a bathhouse for spirits, who is forced to work to save her parents. It’s also, at its heart, about re-discovering kindness, honesty, and respect. The world of the bathhouse is bizarre, breath-taking and full of wonder. One of the few films to make me feel like I was eight years old all over again.

2004-07-31T16:27:00.000-07:00

The Best Movies of 2003.
(Part 1)

The problem I find with Best of lists, is that they are always restricted to December/January. They're good informing you what's out there, but pretty impossible to compare with. Especially when you live in a town like Kelowna. I believe that something like 4 out of Ebert and Roeper's Top Ten of 2003, actually made it to theatres here before their list was announced. So, instead of restricting my list to the movies that just happened to make it to Kelowna before the end of 2003, I thought it best to hold off on my list until I had a chance to cover most of the films of 2003 that I'd wanted to see. Now, some movies I had to shoehorn into 2003. Whenever possible I went by release dates or else the date of Roger Ebert's reviews. Ultimately, though, I didn't want to slight any movies I felt were deserving of praise, just because they weren't available the previous years, so don't go all crazy and yell at me for picking movies that were "technically" released in 2002. I tried my best. Anyways, here are numbers 25 thru to 21.

25. 28 Days Later (Dir. By Danny Boyle). So, the apocalypse is brought on by hippies? I can dig it. Seriously, though, this one of the best horror/zombie movies I have ever seen. I’m not a big fan of the genre, but this was really good, with some really neat touches. The story goes that some environmentalists try to free some lab animals and unwittingly destroy all of the world in the process by unleashing a killer virus. Jim (played by Cillian Murphy), wakes up in a hospital, and finds no one left. He eventually gets attacked by some virus-sufferers (but for the purpose of the rest of this write-up they will be referred to as zombies from now on), and is saved by Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley). Eventually, after hooking up with some other survivors, they follow a radio signal and hopefully toward more survivors, but more likely toward more trouble! Seriously, though, this is a very good film. In particular one scene toward the start where Jim walks though a deserted London as a song by Godspeed You Black Emperor swells to a mesmerizing crescendo. A very good soundtrack, some funny elements, but ultimately a disturbing, creepy horror film, that’s more than worth the viewing.

24. City of Ghosts (Dir. By Matt Dillon). Not so much a film as a travelogue of sunny Cambodia. Maybe, not a great one, as I can’t see what would motivate one to visit Cambodia after seeing this, what with the thugs, prostitutes, crooked French eatery owners, thieving monkeys, and bad hotels. But, I enjoyed this one. It has a great soundtrack, highlighted by a Cambodian rendition of Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides. This is the story of Jimmy (played by Dillon), a con man involved in an insurance scam with Marvin (the always fascinating James Caan), who has to flee to Cambodia in order to evade the authorities and get his share of the profits. Of course, everything goes wrong. The scenes of the captured prisoners begging for their life and being tortured has grown in creepy resonance in the wake of the videos we’ve seen as of late out of Iraq. But, the plot is really second rate compared with watching some very talented actors (the aforementioned Dillon and Caan, joined by Gerard Depardieu, Stellan Skarsgard, Natasha McElhone and newcomer Kem Sereyvuth) create some very intriguing characters, in particular Depardieu’s Emile who runs an eatery and tosses out bad seeds while carrying his children, and seeing a part of the world not often seen outside of war movies.

23. How to Deal (Dir. By Clare Kilner). I figured that the reason I enjoyed this was solely because Mandy Moore is pretty, and fun to watch as an actress. But, I now have to give some credit to Director Kilner, as well as the film, itself, after seeing the awful Chasing Liberty, which also starred Moore and had me praying for some of the neat touches or fun of this film. How To Deal tells the story of Halley (Moore) a high-schooler with divorced parents who has a rather, not entirely undeserving cynical view of love. Gradually, she’s worn down by free spirit Macon (Trent Ford), and finds herself falling for him...for a while. This is not a “G reat” film, but it is fun. Moore is her usual loveable self, but is supported by a fine cast that includes Allison Janney, Alexandra Holden, and Dylan Baker. The is also an amazing shot outside of funeral in the rain. The film is not without its flaws, especially the irritating Grandmother abusing her medicinal marijuana who embodies every terrible stoner stereotype perpetrated by Cheech and Chong, but is ultimately fun, surprisingly touching, and not a bad way to spend your time.

22. Elephant (Dir. By Gus Van Sant). Van Sant’s Elephant is a hard film to pin down. It’s a recreation of a day in a high school that ultimately erupts into a shooting, just like the Columbine murders. The best word to describe Elephant would be ‘sparse’, there is not an abundance of dialogue or music, the performances are solid but unspectacular, not surprising considering the parts are all played by non-actors that Van Sant cast, and the film is very careful not to offer up explanations, reasons, or answers. It does show the eventual killers playing violent video games, but does not make it clear whether the games motivate their violence, or their inclination toward violence motivates their interest in the games. It’s an abosluttely beautifully shot film with long tracking shots that make the school look like an absolute cavern, which is how it often feels for a number of these students. It is all at once, beautiful, amusing, but finally disturbing. Yet, I still remain on the fence about it. In an interview, Van Sant said that he didn’t know what motivated the killers in Columbine to do what they did, so how could he attribute motives to the killers in his movie. While I applaud his courage, I remain unsure of whether or not that was the right way to make a film about Columbine. When you don’t lay some blame or responsibility in a film of this nature, you run the risk of glorifying what happened. While I found Elephant to be disturbing, there remains the possibility that future school shooting perpetrators might find the film inspiring or the glorification that they themselves seek.

21. Bubba Ho-tep (Dir. By Don Coscarelli). Utterly ridiculous and weird, while at the same time quite funny, and, surprisingly touching. Bubba Ho-tep rests on the principle that Elvis (played here by the incomparable Bruce Campbell) never died, rather, he switched places with an Elvis impersonator because the fame became too much for him. With an agreement in place to switch back whenever he wanted, what the real Elvis didn’t know is that the impersonator had a bad heart. Now, Elvis spends his days in an old folks’ home, pining for his libido. That would be a hard enough plot pill for some to swallow, but when you add in that Elvis’ best friend is an aging black man (Ossie Davis) who claims to be John F. Kennedy, but they dyed him black, and that they do battle with a mummy who is terrorizing their rest home, it’s a challenge for anyone to take seriously. But, the movie isn’t simply about being absurd. Davis and Campbell play their characters as humans rather than caricatures. However, the biggest shock to me is that the mummy actually looks good! With a silly storyline, such as this, it would be easy to aim for cheesy, and put a guy in a campy, old-fashioned suit, but, instead, the movie provides a pretty scary-looking villain (even when his dialogue is not). So, yeah, this movie is not going to appeal to everyone, but if you chuckled once in reading this outline, than there is a pretty darn good chance you will enjoy the movie.

2004-07-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

Dude, where's my czar?
-Actualy category this week on Jeopardy

Inspired by Sean, here are some of my best-ofs, thus far, for this year.

Top 6 Albums
6. Piebald, All Ears, All Eyes, All the Time {Not as good as 'We Are The Only Friends That We Have", but what is, really? This album is still quite good, and will likely still squeak into my top ten at the end of the year, catchy, fun poppy punky}
5. The Streets, A Grand Don't Come For Free {This album flip flops for me. Sometimes, I find it to be a pretty damned fun concept album, at other times I find it to be 60-70% unlistenable}
4. Various, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Soundtrack {Normally, I don't include soundtracks in these things, and I probably won't by the end of the year, but I thought it deserved some recognition. The very last song (called something like Elephant Parade or something) is probably the prettiest 26 seconds I will hear all year.}
3. Wilco, A Ghost Is Born {This makes it here largely on the heels of the opening song "At Least That's What You Said" which is just amazingly good. Now, I haven't listened to this album since the week I bought it, but I'm sure I will revisit it soon. It really is good, I think}
2. Kanye West, The College Dropout {The first I heard of Kanye was "All Falls Down" which frankly, I found to be pretty dull. Then, I heard "Jesus Walks" and became all turned around on the subject of Kanye. This is probably my favourite hip hop album since Jay-Z's Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse, something which probably means nothing to you, but lots to me. Don't be surprised to see this have risen to my favourite album of the year, by the end of this year.}
1. Modest Mouse, Good News For People Who Like Bad News {Modest Mouse always underwhelmed me in the past. The Moon and Antarctica was a good album with a great song (The Stars Are Projectors), but I hardly ever revisit it, and it would be doubtful that it would sneak into my top 50 of all time. Again, though, Modest Mouse have ridden the wave of a great song (Float On), but this time they surround it with a stellar album. There are a couple tracks on here that I would probably, given the option, chuck by the wayside. But so far, this year, no other album screams "Album of the Year" like this one.

There are a number of albums I'm looking forward to hearing, and could definitely take over this list. Some are out already and I just can't find them here, others are supposedly to come. Some of these include: Phoenix, Last Days of April, Interpol, Sigur Ros, The Album Leaf, Jimmy Eat World.

I should be back sooner rather than later, maybe even tonight if I get the chance. With a list of my top 5 movies of this year, and amended Top 10s from last year, and maybe even, fingers crossed, a top 50 album and top 50 movies of all time list. Lists are fun. Maybe this time I can offer a little better commentary on all of them. Anyways, my dad wants me to go help him buy some cement, so I'm gonna make like a tree and get the hell out of here.
xoxo

2004-06-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

"I smoke, I snort, I've killed and robbed, I'm a man."
-City of God

I'm sorry, I wish I could offer self-important reasons why I have been absent, but, alas, I cannot. I've just been outside enjoying the summer sunshine (37 today, that's 99 farenheit to the rest of you). And, this isn't going to be a terribly detailed post, today, either. But, anyways, here goes

First, you should go here and download the new For Stars, as it is really, really good.
Secondly, go to Largehearted Boy and find the live Jenny Lewis set from a couple days ago and download it. She even has a song called "You Are What You Love" with a chorus lifted from the brilliant [strong]Adaptation[/strong].
Thirdly, go rent (and if you have the money, buy) City Of God, as it is really good. Very intense, depressing, disturbing, but ultimately rewarding.
Fourthly, 50 First Datesis not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I love Adam Sandler movies (although the last two didn't really interest me), and I HATE Drew Barrymore, and the commercial didn't look at all interesting or funny to me, but it surprised me. My sister swears by this movie (I think she's seen it 4 times already), I'm not the rabid fan she is, but I can't say I don't recommend it.
Fifthly, another of my sister's recommmendations, which I cannot deny is Waking The Dead. I've only watched half of it, but it's really quite good.
Sixthly, Together. Rent it. Watch it with people you love. It's really emotional and touching. Yet, most surprisingly, it's funny, too.
And I am out of here, to go drink Ice Tea, read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and bask in the summer sun. Aloha.
xoxo

2004-06-15T00:23:00.000-07:00

"You sad little man"
-The Office

I promise I'm not dead. And I haven't been busy, either. I will write sometime in the near future. Just not today.
xoxo

2004-05-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

"I’ve learned I was part of someone else’s happiness. What a wonderful discovery."
-After Life

After Life (dir. by Hirokazu Koreeda): I was reading reporst from the Cannes film festival, and came across the name Hirokazu Koreeda who is showing a film there, and remembered the movie After Life which is one of the few movies I have rented despite no build-up prior to watching it. I asked my brother if he would like to see it, as an excuse to rent it again at a time when I should be out looking for a job. It's such a beautiful movie. It's definitely not for everyone, though, as it moves very, very slowly. But, the shots of Shiori walking through the bamboo forest, the city streets at night, and kicking around snow on a rooftop or more than worth the price of a rental alone. The story of After Life is that, after you die, on a Monday, you are taken to this building, which looks a lot like a run-down hotel. There, you are instructed that on Wednesday, you will have to choose your favourite memory of all your life, and the people in charge will do their best to recreate it on film. Once you watch you memory, you will be take elsewhere, remembering nothing from your entire life save for the memory you just watched. One of the things I find most fascinating about After Life, is that for a movie about what happens after death, the movie does not dwell on death, but, instead, focusses on life. The characters don't lament their deaths, or even carry on about how it happened (the most information you ever learn about someone's death is that he died during the war). If the characters complain, it is about wasting their life, not the unfairness (and in some cases these are fairly young people) of their death. Another amazing aspect of the movie, is the prescence of Susumu Terajima. You should be able to recognize him from countless Takeshi Kitano movies, he's always there, and more often than not he's a tough as nails yakuza underling. In After Life he's a kind, caring, counsellor, and a despondent deceased father. It's really strange to see.

SPOILER: The unfulfilled love between Shiori and Mochizuki is among the most heart-breaking ever. Mochizuki decides that after some 40-50 years of working there, he has finally made up his mind about which memory he will choose. He chooses the memory, after finding out he is in someone else's memory: "I’ve learned I was part of someone else’s happiness. What a wonderful discovery." He assures Shiori that one day she will find that same happiness. But, she says she cannot. She says she can never choose a memory, b/c that will erase everyone and everything she has come to known in the after life. When they sit down to watch his final memory, and after the lights come up, and Mochizuki is no longer there, it just says more about life and death than words ever can. END OF SPOILER SECTION.

But, what this movie does best, is make you analyze your own life. There is no way you can watch it without thinking "What memory would I choose?" After doing much thinking on it, I think I would choose a day from September 2002. I went with a friend to visit a friend who'd moved to Washington state,and, on our last day there, we decided to see the ocean. And we went to Seaside, Oregon. We ended up at the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. I read somewhere that the beach is 15 miles, and I would believe it. Not only is it immense, but it is absolutely, positively rock-free. I don't remember a single rock on that beach. I almost fell asleep instantly once I layed down upon the sand. That night, we came back and watched the sun set over the ocean. Some people had set up bonfires on the beach. Everyone was so nice. A man in the background played a ukelele while another sang in some Island dialect. That beach, as of right now, would be the one memory I would have to take with me. If only there were some way to take memories of people who weren't there along.

ps: Everyone should go to this site right now and download Clive Holden's amazing CD. I first discovered it via Sean and every single song is amazing, just Holden reciting his poetry over some slight music by people whose names I can't remember save the two guys from the Weakerthans (Jason Tait and John K. Sampson).
xoxo

2004-05-25T15:47:00.000-07:00

"Everybody loves this movie. Why be mad? It's only a comedy movie. It's not real. It's a comedy movie. Be mad at "The Passion of the Christ" or something — something that made $700 million off of killing Jesus the whole movie. We having fun. We smiling. Enjoy."
-Snoop

Man, Snoop is the king. There's an interview over at mtv.com (linked below) where he talks about things. The above quote came from that interview. This one, too.

“ MTV: So the word is that you've been telling people the "izzle" is over.
Snoop Dogg: The message is LIG: Let it go. OK, America? Let it go. You can't say "izzle" no more. Tizzle, fizzle, dizzle — none of that. It's over with. LIG. Let it go.
MTV: What happened?
Snoop: I overdosed on it. I'm seeing it everywhere, you know what I'm saying? It's like, it becomes bad after it becomes too much, you know what I'm saying? I overdosed off of it. So let's find something new. Maybe pig Latin, anything. Come on."

Here it is, in its entirety

2004-05-22T00:48:00.000-07:00

"For I must be travelling on, now,
'Cause there's too many places I've got to see."
-Lynyrd Skynyrd, Freebird {I blame Freaks and Geeks for making me like this song}

]Signs(dir. by M. Night Shyamalan): I was typing out a story today and the topic of corn stalks came up (don't ask!) and it reminded me of Signs, so I decided to pop it in. I love this movie. People who complain about the abscence of aliens, method of harming the aliens, etc. etc. are missing the point of the movie. It's not an alien movie, it's a movie about religious faith that involves aliens. You know, from reading some of these posts, you would get the impression that I was the staunchest of christians. Yet, I don't even go to church, or even proudly proclaim myself to be a christian (I was born a snake handler, I'll die a snake handler). But, for some reason, songs (Jesus Walks by Kanye West), movies (such as this), and books (A Prayer For Owen Meaney by John Irving) that reaffirm their characters' religious faith, absolutely enthrall me. This movie is no exception. The movie is not about aliens attacking Earth, it is about Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and his grappling with his own loss of faith. The death of his wife has erased all remenants of faith from the former minister, which leads to some powerful moments such as when he declares at dinner "I will not waste another minute on prayer", or when his son is experiencing an asthmatic attack and Hess says "Don't do this to me again...I hate you." The other aspect of this movie that I like is that nothing is wasted. Everything in the movie, is in it for a reason. Everything adds up to come to the conclusion. Just like the aforementioned Irving novel, Signs pulls it all together into a neat little package in the end and leaves you making endless revelations: "Oh that's why [he/she] [said/did/does] that." And as far as complaints about the aliens largely being absent from a movie about alien invasion, I think it's better this way. The more you see a clear view of an alien in a movie, the more the flaws inherent in its design become obvious. Signsis smart in that there are very few clear shots of the alien, which makes it easier for its audience to suspend their disbelief. Joaquin Phoenix is sooo good in this, too, good enough for me to forget that Mark Ruffalo was supposed to play his part.
xoxo
{EDIT}Fixed the html, man, am I stupid or what?

2004-05-18T23:26:00.000-07:00

On a lonely message board, somewhere, someone started a thread asking what their favourite driving music was b/c he was thinking of making a CD. So, I thought that would be a fun blog activity that no one else could possibly be interested in, except for me, so here it is, the official Caley Middleton Drivin' Music List.

-Moby, Feeling So Real: This song could go under the sub-heading 'Cruise Control', this is one of those songs that makes me drive really fast.
-Cowboy Junkies, Blue Moon Revisited: This goes under the 'Cruise Control' heading, as it makes me slow down to an almost crawl as I bob my head and do 40 down the highway.
-Death Cab For Cutie, A Movie Script Ending: This is a driving song, b/c Ben Gibbard says "highway" a lot.
-Built To Spill or Lynyrd Skynyrd, Freebird: And if the Cat Power version were longer than 40 seconds, it would be on the list, as well.
-Built To Spill, Else: also doubles as a Summer song
-SIANspheric, I Like The Ride: ditto
-Jets To Brazil, I Typed For Miles: Nothing better than blaring the last lines: "You keep fucking up my life" out the window.
-Last Days of April, Piano: Another summer/driving song. This makes me long for Hawaii (though I've never been).
-Last Days of April, Down The Aisle: I really really like Last Days of April. Really.
-Godspeed You Black Emperor, {the first song off Disc 2 of Lift Your Skinny Wrists Like Antennas to Heaven, I don't know what it's really called): But this has to be of driving trips that are at least half an hour in length, particularly from Washington to Oregon in the fall.
-Death Cab For Cutie, Photo Booth: For a while, I'd actually convinced myself that I didn't sound half-bad singing this song. But, alas, it's just those wonderful in-vehicle acoustics.
-The Postal Service, Natural Anthem: It's good.
-The Postal Service, Such Great Heights: When the lines "That frankly will not fly/you will hear the shrillest highs and lowest lows with the windows down/when this is guiding you home" hit I always drive faster in a sudden rush, if only I had someplace to be...
-Justin Timberlake, Like I Love You: b/c it friggin' rules!
-Kylie Minogue, Love At First Sight: Goodbye indie cred, hello singalongs and strange looks at stoplights.
-The Dismemberment Plan, The City: particularly good when driving through the city
-Death In Vegas, Girls: I pretend I'm Bill Murray arriving in Tokyo with this playing.
-Air, Alone In Kyoto: I damned near had a religious experience driving toward a sunset on lonely Old Vernon Rd. one day.
-Massive Attack, Unfinished Sympathy: I love to listen to this while I drive, can't seem to tolerate it at any other time.
-Nick Drake, Pink Moon: I'll come clean, I hadn't heard of Drake until that Cabriolet commercial. I still like to listen to this song at night and pretend I'm avoiding driving to parties, too, even though it's not really pretending.
xoxo

2004-05-16T23:50:00.000-07:00

"Octopus on standby!"
-Kikujiro

There have been few and far in between music posts, and I must admit to a general disinterest in most upcoming music. Lately I've been listening to a lot of music that comes from movies like Faye Wong (Chungking Express ), The 6ths (from Pieces of April , and anything I can track down by Joe Hisaishi (almost every Takeshi Kitano or Hayao Miyazaki movie). So, here are some more films I've seen recently.

Troy (Dir. by Wolfgang Petersen): This rates a big ol' "meh". I was helped by my lack of knowledge of The Illiad. I know the basic premise (actually, I probably don't...), but I don't know any of the details, such as the involvement of the gods, which was helpful, b/c the gods weren't involved anymore in this movie than they are in a philosophical WWII movie ("God look over us", "God will punish them" etc. just substitute "Appollo" for God). I will say that this is likely as good of a movie as you are going to see that feature two pro wrestlers in prominent roles (Nathan Jones and Tyler Mane). Anyways, this movie reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings without the fantastical elements. So kind of a historical, action war movie. Brad Pitt is fine as Achilles, I suppose. He pouts, he fights, he pouts and pouts and fights, pout pout...you get the idea. Orlando Bloom assumes the role usually reserved for Asia Argento, Shannon Elizabeth or another actress of their ilk, and that is as the eye candy. He really didn't do much, except get beaten up, look intense, look sad, and shoot arrows (type-casting?). Eric Bana is awesome as Hector, and could really turn this into a big break for him, seeing as Hulk was such a colossal failure (though I loved it so...). Brian Cox is SWARTHY as Agememnon. It's hard to say that anyone other than Bana was good in the movie, b/c so few of them are given anything of note to say. I will say at 2.5 hours + of movie, this felt much longer than any of the LOTR movies, and I didn't love any of them, either. Anyways, go see this if LOTR is your bag, re-read The Illiad if you're into the gods. Don't say I told you so, b/c I didn't really.

Kikujiro (Dir. by Takeshi Kitano): This is like the polar opposite of the above. Well, sort of... It is actually fairly long, as well. I've really come to love Kitano's ultra-violent yakuza stories, b/c there is always something deeper involved. These aren't flashy shoot 'em ups for the sake of style, but instead he uses his bloody films to explore issues of mortality, the ends justifying the means, family, brotherhood, fate, living up to potential etc. etc. So, I was curious what this film would be like, as instead of another yakuza parable, it's the story of a particularly cantankerous man, accompanying a young boy on his trip to find his real mother, whom he's never met. And it is really great. Kitano is hilarious as the abusive Kikujiro, who treats everyone shabbily, even those that help him, save for the kid (well, not at first). It probably isn't a film for everyone, as they say, b/c it's slow-paced and there is a lot of general weirdness (the winking frog whose eyes suddenly grow. But, my brother and I enjoyed the hell out of it. And I always neglect to mention how good Kitano's soundtracks are. And that can be chalked up to Joe Hisaishi whose score is so soaring and sad that even scenes that may not initially resonate with you, will find you almost tearing up when the music kicks in. I would say, save your money and skip Troy and see this, but chances are, if the previews to Troy have appealed to you, than you will enjoy it (translation: there ain't a lot of surprises). But then, afterwards, rent Kikujiro, you'll either be pleasantly surprised, or genuinely annoyed with me.
xoxo

2004-05-13T00:08:00.000-07:00

"Don't "little girl" me. I've been carrying this family on my back for over a year, ever since Frankie died. He's my brother too. It's not my fault he's dead. It's not my fault I'm still alive."
- In America

Like the new look? Me neither. But, for some reason, this shocking pink blog is the only one for which I have been able to get my comments working for, so I think I shall stick with it. Anyways, some guy is calling me "way gay" in one of the comments, so this should just cement his accusations. Anyhooooo...Covered some movies from 2003 that I've been meaning to see for a while now, and well...here we go,

Elephant (Dir. by Gus Van Sant): You know this is the first Van Sant film I've ever seen. I rented Good Will Hunting once, but forgot to watch it. I do like Ben Affleck, though, and will defend him to the death for Chasing Amy. I liked this, well, that's not fair. It's not exactly a movie you can say you liked, b/c it is just so unnerving/disturbing. In case you don't know, this is the big winner from last year's Cannes film festival about the Columbine shootings. It just kind of slowly meanders from student to student. We see them interacting, we see the very surface of the characters, but we never really get to know them. The two kids in question who perpetrate the shootings aren't exactly given motives. Van Sant himself said somewhere (I forgot where, Ebert maybe?) that he doesn't know what caused the shootings, so it would be wrong of him to assign blame anywhere. He hints at the roots (bullying, video games) but never says "they killed them becase of..." It is really a heartbreaking movie, b/c like its real-life counterpart, it's just so senseless and surreal. You know the shooting is coming, in fact, the more you watch, the more you can pinpoint exactly when it is coming, but that doesn't soften the blow any. I had the hugest knot in my heart while watching it, and that knot didn't subside for hours. That said, I can't tell if I loved it, liked it, or disliked it. In some ways, I can look at this movie as an almost sensationalism of the killings. Some people praise Van Sant for not blaming anything. But in a film such as this, is there a responsibility on the filmmaker's part to place blame? I'm leaning towards saying this is a very good movie, but something holds me back and keeps it at the level of good movie.

Pieces of April (Dir. by Peter Hedges): Now this, on the other hand, I can wholeheartedly recommend. Highly, highly recommend. It's a simple short movie. I believe Ebert said it was shot in something like 3-4 weeks on very little money (I want to say $200,000, but that seems awfully low for a movie with Katie Holmes, Derek Luke, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt and Sean Hayes). It's about April, the black sheep of the family who invites her family over as she tries to cook Thanksgiving dinner. The family is reluctant to go, and we see why as they are en route when they can't come up with any good memories of April. Well, not true, the father (Platt) comes up with one, but it's of April asleep. The movie is sad, but a happy kind of sad. You know that the future doesn't hold good fortune, but you can smile b/c in the here and the now, things are good, things are working out. Patricia Clarkson got an Oscar nomination for this (I should probably put one of those circle 'c' copyright simples beside 'Oscar', but, alas, I do not know how, please don't sue me, Oscar, I'm rapidly running out of money as it is), but I'm inclined to think Oliver Platt was even more deserving as he is great in this. I only know Platt from that truly awful Ready To Rumble movie, but he shows a real dramatic depth here, especially the scene where is trying to coax Clarkson's character back into the car, and the one where he breaks down in the car. It's great, it's not too long, and it's fun and heartfelt. See it.

In America (Dir. by Jim Sheridan): Wow. I meant to see this when it finally came to local theatres three or four weeks ago, but b/c of finals, no money, laziness, I never quite made it. And I'm kicking myself now. This is great. A wonderful movie. I haven't cried in many years (unless you count bad light, hot gum, or All Dressed Potato Chips in the eye), but boy did I come close in this one. It tells the story of an Irish family moving to America in the late eightes/early nineties. The time/place is never really set, and it really doesn't matter, it gives it a kind of timeless feeling. The family is poor, the dad an unsuccessful actor, the mom a waitress, and they move into the shabbiest of shabby apartments, sharing a building with "drug dealers and transvesites" as the mother (Samantha Morton) says. The family is wounded, there is the mother, the father (Paddy Considine), and their two daughters (Sarah and Emma Bolger), Frankie the brother is dead. "It says three," the officer at the border says, "We lost one" says the father. The movie is simply about how the family copes, and while it is a sad, sad movie, there are still enough laughs here to keep it from being a wrist-slitter. I don't want to ramble too much, as I have just finished watching it, and I tend overrate things I've just seen, but this is as good a movie as I saw from 2003. This is a definite top 5 of the year for me, and just might make the top 2-3. Really, I thought 2003 was a fabulous year for movies. Shows what I know, eh?

Other news and notes: Tofu Hut is back, go and wish him a hardy "Welcome Back", and while you're at it, head on over to Said The Gramaphone and thank him for keeping Tofu Hut running while its owner was away. These are the best musicblogs on the net for my money's worth. I've gotten so much good music from the two, that it's not even funny. Although, I must admit, Listen Closer is on his way up as well. Okay, I think I've wasted enough of your time, aloha.
xoxo

2004-05-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

"Masseur, quit making those eyes at me!"
-Zatoichi

Zatoichi (dir. by Takeshi Kitano): I've been looking forward to this ever since I first saw Brother last summer and then saw the preview for this, Kitano's resurrection of the Zatoichi series about a blind samurai. I've read that this movie offended a lot of people who thought that the Zatoichi series was sacred and shouldn't be messed with. But, I'm so glad Kitano heeded no warnings, as this is spectacular. If it is actually released in North America this year, it's a shoo-in for top 10, with a good shot at number one. What surprised me about this was not the fight scenes (which are great, as I expected them to be!), but how funny it was! There is one scene where a completely unskilled man tries to teach three others how to fight that had me laughing harder than anything since Subpop posted an mp3 off the new David Cross album. So, yeah, find your favourite local Asian DVD dealer (or ebay or whatever) and get this, b/c chances are it won't see the light of day in North America this year ( Shaolin Soccer anyone?). Just a great movie.

Oh yeah, and head over to the Sigur Ros website and look up Frakkur, the lead singer's solo kind of project. There is an amazing 11 minute mp3 of the performance, as well as pictures, such as this. You know you want it. Sigur Ros is one of the greatest bands in the world, made even better by the copious amounts of free mp3s on their site, as well.
xoxo

2004-05-08T00:55:00.000-07:00

"One bases a decision on what one wants, not based on what one doesn't want"
-Beautiful Girls

Beautiful Girls (dir. by Ted Demme): I love this movie. It has its faults. Some of the dialogue is very over-written with characters spouting lines or speeches that are far more sophisticated than they are capable of. There are too many characters with some of them so underdeveloped that they become almost caricatures. The whole plot revolves around them meeting up for a high school reunion, but said reunion, for some reason, takes place in February. But I forgive Beautiful Girls these faults because the movie is good, and the romance between Willie (Timothy Hutton) and Marty (Natalie Portman) is maybe the saddest romantic relationship I have ever seen/heard about/ read about/lived. Willie is a twenty-something barely employed piano player who comes back home to drink, hang out with his friends, drink, and ponder what to do with his life. Does he give up the piano for the security of an office job? Does he settle down with his girlfriend? Does he just get drunk? Meanwhile, next door to his old house, a new family has moved in: Marty's. He starts talking to Marty and finds himself falling for her. He talks to his friend about it, saying that if he can wait 10 years, than he will be 39 and she will be 23, not nearly as bad as now where he is 28/29 and she is 13. The conversation they have at the skating rink is positively heart-breaking where she tells him to wait for her and he says that he can't, comparing their relationship to that of Winnie The Pooh and Christopher Robin. "I can't be your pooh," he tells her. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard," is her reply. Every time I see this movie sitting on my shelf I look at the cover, and the cast (Lauren Holly? Martha Plimpton? Rosie O'Donnell?!?!?) and wonder why I own it. And everytime I pop it in, I'm reminded of just how great the relationship between Willie and Marty is. Am I nuts? Has anyone else seen this?
xoxo

2004-05-06T00:13:00.000-07:00

"I guess the well is running dry,
I'm not surprised,
It's been thirteen years of lies,
Running at the mouth about,
these lovers I can't live without out,
well, I'm not exactly hunting 'em down"
-The Good Life, For The Love of The Song

I'm too lazy to write about some of the stuff I've seen lately, and maybe in the future, I will write up longer synopses for each, but here are some very quick reviews.

Ichi The Killer (dir. by Takashi Miike): Not as good as I was hoping, or really what I was expecting at all. I had been led to believe that the guy on the cover with the weird pierced cheek thing was Ichi, not some scrawny guy in a rubber suit. I was expecting a kind of masochist who's been done wrong wreaking revenge, not some S&M bad guy vs a weird, unstable guy in a rubber suit. If it's mayhem you're after, by all means be my guest. But this is nowhere near as great as Happiness of the Katakuris, and nowhere as good as City of Lost Souls, Dead or Alive, or Audition. By the way, the man Ichi tangles with is named Kakihara, and I really think Miike missed the boat by not giving this movie a theme song that went, "They hate, and fight...The Ichi and Kaki show!" No? Well, I tried.

A Bout De Souffle (dir. Jean-Luc Godard): Also known as Breathless but I prefer the french title b/c if you were to translate it literally it comes out more as "at the end of your breath" as in you've reached the limit, not the more cliched image of being 'breathless'. So far so good as far as Godard goes. I can't quite explain why, but I really do like Godard. His characters are strangely aloof, yet I become fascinated by them. The plot is secondary, but I'm intrigued by it. The most amazing thing about this movie is the female lead's accent. At first I hated it. Her pronounciation was so bad, especially her 'r's that it was making me cringe. Yet, oddly, it became endearing over time. I really need to see My Life To Live now.

Provided the DVD holds up (it was not working on my player but my work on another), the next movie I should see is Zatoichi which having watched about 40 minutes of so far, is pretty durned amazing. Others to shortly follow Visitor Q , The Last Samurai , Beautiful Girls and whatever else I stumble across in the next couple days.
xoxo

2004-04-29T00:15:00.000-07:00

"I'm starting to wish I hadn't come to school today."
-Freaks and Geeks

Wow, my sister bought the Freaks and Geeks complete series on DVD yesterday and it is about six million two hundred and thirty three thousand two hundred and thirty three times better than I remember. The characters are all just soooooooo great. Bill is always everyone's favourite, but I have to admit to a real soft spot for Kent. That's really all I have to add tonight, here, download some Billy Joel, whom for some bizarre reason, I just got back into this week, after some 18 or years since I listened to it from the backseat on family vacations.
xoxo

2004-04-27T00:00:00.000-07:00

I saw one of the weirdest of varieties of movies over this past weekend. But, the interesting thing I find is that in each of the films, as disparate as they are, they all seemed to grow out of a genuine love of movies.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 (dir. Quentin Tarantino): When I first saw Kill Bill Vol. 1, I didn't really like it. No, that's not accurate. I liked it, but it didn't blow me away like it should have. And I chalked it up to the violence. My feeling was that, the violence was just too excessive and served no purpose beyond enhancing the style of the movie. Then, I saw the second volume, and while there is still copious blood and violence, I loved it. So, I went back and saw Vol. 1 again, wondering just why it was the first one bothered me so, yet the second one was really, really great. Is it just the violence? The sparse dialogue and characterization? Or just Lucy Liu, whom I really, truly hate? So, I saw it again, and the violence still bothered me, but not as much as before. This time, I watched it and whether or not you endorse the violence, you can't argue that Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 grow out of Tarantino's genuine love of movies. I watched it and thought, "Oh yeah, I see what this is referring to...and that's really neat, that looks great" and so on. And, I can pinpoint the exact moment where the violence gets to be a bit much for me, it's when The Bride slices off Sofie Fatale's arm. I don't know if it's a testament to Julie Dreyfus' acting, but the scene genuinely bothers me. Her screaming and rolling on the floor with the blood spurting out just bothers me on such a visceral level that it hampers my enjoyment of the film. Anyways, I liked Kill Bill Vol. 1 and I loved Kill Bill Vol. 2.

Day For Night (Dir. Francois Truffaut): I'll be honest, I'm not quite finished this yet, but I will finish it tonight. So far, I have seen 1 Godard and 2 Truffaut films and, thus far, Truffaut is by far my fave French New Waver so far. I loved The 4OO Blows and I really liked Jules et Jim, so I finally got around to seeing the only Truffaut I own and had seen some of before. This is good, it's fun, it's a little sad, and it's intersting to see what goes on behind the scenes of a movie as it is a movie about the joy and pain of making a movie. Truffaut has that famous quote that Roger Ebert likes to trot out every now and then, something along the lines of "I demand that a film either demonstrate the joys of filmmaking or the agony of filmmaking" or something to that extent (I can't find the book with the quote, sue me), and you can see it in this film. Truffaut even casts himself in the role of the director to add to the verisimilitude (if I spelled that wrong, then all the snobby college cred I attempted to ensnare just went out the window) of the film. I really enjoy it, and you can bet if Truffaut wasn't enjoying himself than he wouldn't be there.

13 Going On 30 (Dir. Gary Winick): This movie is taking a lot of flack for being a ripoff of Big. Roger Ebert also took it to task for many things, but he seems to be way off base as he is dealing with it as if the girl is now 13 rather than 30, he views it through a rather cynical/jaded scope and comes up with moral issues and concerns, but the movie itself isn't so much concerned with the moral issues as it is with a girl who has been given everything she ever wanted only to realize that eveything she wanted can only be achieved by sacrificing her identity. I know that's maybe going a little further into this type of movie than this type of movie intended, but it just seems silly to me to dislike this movie b/c it is an homage to movies like Big while lionizing a film like Kill Bill which is an homage to almost everything that Quentin Tarantino has seen (watch the "Making of..." where he discusses his "De Palma shot" and everything and it's clear he's making the film as a sort of condensation of everything he loves). 13 Going On 30 isn't a serious film, and it's not meant to be discussed as such. But, Gary Winick has directed a movie that doesn't have a mean bone in its body. The grown up girl who betrays Garner's character doesn't receive her comeuppance, nobody does. The film has the guts to put out the message, "be nice, be yourself and good things will happen." For too many movies nowadays, this message alone would not be enough, you would have to get the revenge scenes where it shows the mean girls are poor and cleaning bathrooms or something to that extent. I'm gonna put this movie up there with Elf , which I actually threw into my top ten for the year for its sheer good nature. This is a movie that celebrates being nice, and what's wrong with that. Oh yeah, and Jennifer Garner is adorable in this, so much so that, not once, did I think about how hot or sexy she was, but instead, I always just kind of thought how nice she was. And my non-sexual man-crush on Mark Ruffalo continues to flourish.

I can't believe I just wrote that much on the movie 13 Going On 30, yet only managed a few meagre sentences on Day For Night. Odd.
xoxo

2004-04-22T00:57:00.000-07:00

"I can't see me loving nobody but you for all my life"
-The Turtles, Happy Together

Odd, that the lyric of the day comes from the original version of the song which doesn't interest me at all. The version I have been playing endlessly tonight after a 6-7 month seach is the phenomenal version by Danny Chung from the end of Wong Kar Wai's exuberant Happy Together. Very few directors use as much interesting music as WKW.

Gates of Heaven (dir. Errol Morris): This is one of the greatest documentaries I have ever seen (I am the first to admit, I have not seen many). It's the tale of two pet cemetaries, one being dug up and one going strong. It's one of the most bizarre, hilarious, yet often touching movies I have ever seen. Go find it, it's worth the search.

Pierrot Le Fou (dir. Jean-Luc Godard): I really wanted my first foray into the work of Godard to be My Life To Live b/c I saw a bit of it in class once and it looked amazing, and the idea of, as Leonard Maltin put it, "a cinematic valentine from Godard to (the starring actress)" (that quote might be off by a bit, I do remember the valentine part, though). But, anyways, NO ONE in Kelowna has the movie, so Pierrot Le Fou being the only Godard I could find, I figured it was as good a place as any to start. To begin with, it looks amazing. The plot is weird, and hard to follow, and pretentious, and slow and pontificating. But, I enjoyed it. The main reason to watch this film is to look at it. Yet, I find myself humming the two biazarre spontaneous musical numbers in my head. And there really was some good dialogue in it. I really have no idea what I'm talking about, do I? So, I will have to slot this in on the "recommended" side, not as recommended as Gates of Heaven.

Smoke (dir. Wayne Wang): I'm not gonna do this justice at all in trying to explain the plot and why I liked it, so I will just say it the most recommended of the three recommended films today, and then just jot down some point form notes...
-I like Harvey Keitel. I really wish I hadn't seen him naked more times than any other man I can think of in my life, but still...where was I?
-I like Forrest Whittaker (spelling?!?). Yeah.
-The movie is written by Paul Auster, and I like the little bit I've read by Paul Auster.
-There are a few Tom Waits songs in the movie, so if you like Tom Waits. You're in luck.
-Rent it.

That's it.
xoxo

2004-04-17T00:51:00.000-07:00

What I have watched recently.

It's been a slow week as I've either been studying or lazy, so I have not seen much. In fact, I've only finished one movie, but what a movie!

Les 400 Coups (Dir. Francois Truffaut): I really prefer to refer to this by it's french name, since the English translation works out to "The 400 Blows" and sounds like the Hugh Grant story. I really wanted to start with Truffaut with Day For Night which I saw and enjoyed a bit of in class one day. But since the library does not have it for some reason (yet seems to have every other Truffaut?!?), I started with his first. This is such a beautiful, heartbreaking little movie. It's the story of a young boy, growing up being ignored by his parents etc. etc. So he becomes a little troublemaker. It starts with innocent little things like passing centerfolds in class, being a general smartass, skipping class, and leads to the eventual theft of a typewriter which sends him off to military school. With my description, this sounds like the dreariest of movies, but it is made with such honesty and simple beauty that it's not at all. There is one scene in particular where the boy runs toward the camera and birds scatter in all directions, and it's like a big black curtain parting that is so astonishing that I actually rewound and watched it a couple of times. After finishing it, I found Day For Night the next day on DVD and bought it. I just might watch it tonight. Anyone seen Kill Bill Volume 2 yet? I was disappointed by the first one, mainly due to its violence which bothered me for some reason (yet I saw and enjoyed Audition). I suppose I should see Number 2, since I saw the first one, but I can't decide whether to, or to save my money for DVDs coming up that I want to see (Love Actually {Chiwetel Ejiofor is in it!} and In America). Little help?

2004-04-13T00:10:00.000-07:00

"This is Lardbutt putting his rear next to your ear,"
-The Critic

What I have watched recently.

I really meant to do a better job of this, meaning to keep up a running tally of all the movies I've seen recently, but circumstances (AKA nice weather) have prevented that, so here is the rundown.

Seven Samurai (Dir. Akira Kurosawa): I've been meaning to watch this for a couple of years now and finally did. After a disheartening run-in with Kurosawa in grade 12 (A friend and I rented Ran and HATED it, I will have to go back to it eventually as my tastes have changed), I started slowly getting back into Kurosawa: Dreams, Rhapsody In August and Ikiru. I finally watched Yojimbo as my first foray into Kurosawa samurai movies and loved it. So, we decided it was finally time for Seven Samurai.

Seven Samurai was a truly great movie, one of the few I've seen that really lives up to its hype (it's currently number 7 on imdb.com). The acting was great, Toshiro Mifune was sooo much fun as the wannabe samurai who actually accomplishes more than half the samurai. And I still can't believe Takashi Shimura, the charismatic leader of the samurai, is the same Takashi Shimura who played the old, feeble man dying of cancer two years earlier in Ikiru. Whomever was responsible of doing the makeup in Kurosawa's movies was a genius! What really surprised me about Seven Samurai is how funny it was! There were a few laugh out loud moments and really, it was just perfect. One of those movies where you think you've been watching for 15 minutes and suddenly 57 minutes have flown by. I could watch movies like this all day.

Sonatine, Boiling Point, Fireworks. (Dir. Takeshi Kitano): My brother and I decided this would be Takeshi Kitano fest, so we got through three of them. Kids Return we will surely finish in the next day or two. Combine those with having watched Violent Cop and Brother a couple weeks ago, and then the future rentals of Taboo and Kikujiro in the next little while, and I will have pretty much covered all the Kitano available in Kelowna. Thus far, I would have to rate his movies like so:
5. Boiling Point
4. Violent Cop
3. Brother
2. Fireworks
1. Sonatine

I'm really excited to get a job (well not thejob) and have some money, at which point I think I just might order Battle Royal I and II and Zatoichi.

Men In Black II (dir. Barry Sonenfeld): Hey, this wasn't nearly as bad as I'd been led to believe. I mean, come on, David Cross and the lovely Rosario Dawson. And the weird guy! from Mr. Show. I swear, just seeing that guy's face makes me crack a smile. But, yeah, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I think my favourite thing is the locker full of the little miniature civilization that worships Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. I also like the little globe that is an entire world that Tommy Lee Jones sticks his finger into and the alien guy yells "All is lost! All is lost!" Maybe I just have a thing for miniature civilizations. I always loved that one Simpsons Hallowe'en episode where Lisa grows the tiny civilization with her tooth. Now, why on Earth would that concept (the mini civilization) fascinate me so?

The Critic DVD Set (various directors): Okay, this is just amazing. I remembered this show with fondness, but I thought that was just 'cuz I hadn't seen it in ages, like Phenom . But, it is six zillion times better than even my memories. So many of these quotes end up in my everyday vernacular (is that the right word? or even a word at all?), that it's not even funny. Although, I could do without being compared to Jay Sherman on a regular basis. Today, when I was told I had to move forty cinderblocks and 12 25kg cement bags, I said that my life was "one unending disappointment after another". My brother looked at me and said "Hatchie Matchie!" I hate that kid.

2004-04-07T23:29:00.000-07:00

The verdict is in...
-the new Modest Mouse album is good
-Donald Trump is the most unwelcome comeback on the new millenium
-the new Sigur Ros EP is good
-Sunshine is good
-newscasters trying to encourage befuddled comedians to make light of Kelowna's homeless problem is good
-dirt under your fingernails is bad
-This is amazing...

from www.post-gazette.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Easter Bunny whipped at church show; some families upset

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

Associated Press

A church trying to teach about the crucifixion of Jesus performed an Easter show with actors whipping the Easter bunny and breaking eggs, upsetting several parents and young children.

People who attended Saturday’s performance at Glassport’s memorial stadium quoted performers as saying, “There is no Easter bunny,” and described the show as being a demonstration of how Jesus was crucified.

Melissa Salzmann, who took her 4-year-old son J.T., said the program was inappropriate for young children. “He was crying and asking me why the bunny was being whipped,” Salzmann said.

Patty Bickerton, the youth minister at Glassport Assembly of God, said the performance wasn’t meant to be offensive. Bickerton portrayed the Easter rabbit and said she tried to act with a tone of irreverence.

“The program was for all ages, not just the kids. We wanted to convey that Easter is not just about the Easter Bunny, it is about Jesus Christ,” Bickerton said.

Performers broke eggs meant for an Easter egg hunt and also portrayed a drunken man and a self-mutilating woman, said Jennifer Norelli-Burke, another parent who saw the show in Glassport, southeast of Pittsburgh.

“It was very disturbing,” Norelli-Burke said. “I could not believe what I saw. It wasn’t anything I was expecting.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I think more children's icons need to be tortured in order to teach children about Jesus. Let's shove bamboo shoots under Barney's toenails, threaten Bonhomme Carnival with a lighter, and Santa Claus, let's just say that jolly old elf has been hogging the spotlight for too long.

2004-04-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

"No, my dog won't bite you,
though it had the right to,
y'all didn't give her credit,
cuz she know I would've let it"
-Modest Mouse, Blame It On the Tetons

You know, today I spent two-three hours in the garden, doing work for my parents so they don't walk all hunched over this week. And it was great. Sun shining down, dirty knees and nails, mix CD playing in the background. About the only thing that was off was that it started skipping when it got to the awesome "Blame It On The Tetons" by Modest Mouse. There's nothing like manual labour that makes you
a)feel like a man (well, I suppose appliance or car repair might inspire similar feelings, maybe getting in a fight, but I am unexperienced to say the least in those areas)
b)get a lot of thinking done

And while thinking, I came to the following conclusions.
-I really really want to see that Garden State movie
-The only real CD in the next while that I must buy is the new Modest Mouse one
-The other CDs I want, are all soundtracks
-I want to travel
-I don't ever want to have a job again
-Man. am I out of shape
-Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was maybe just as good the second time around
-I can't wait for full-blown Summer: iced tea, swimming pools, slurpees, sticky hot nights where you'll try anything if you could only sleep (sleeping on the floor, wetting your hair, quilts, sheets, nothing!), blue skies, driving around late at night with the windows down and realizing it's the first time all day that you've been able to breathe, those miragey things that appear in the road looking like giant puddles, the first mid-summer rainstorm and the rainbows that will surely follow, hopefully no massive nearly town destroying forest fires, and finally, my favourite summer memory of last year: sitting on the steps at three in the morning eating watermelon with my brother.
-Snails are really neat, but how come they were never around when I was little, I swear they moved into my neigbourhood in the last year or two, maybe they came with the bike thieves?
-I can't believe I'm still single, now do I feel sad about this? or elated?
xoxo

2004-04-01T23:24:00.000-08:00

"Work was hard so we quit"
-Bart and Lisa Simpson

I'm so sick of essays. I have a 1500-2000 word one due tomorrow, which is better than the 3000 words I thought it was, but still not great. Just thought I would let you all know that I'm still around. Well, let myself know, as I'm not sure anyone has bothered to stick around this long (not that I blame them the entries have been few and far in between). Anyways, today I'm a gonna give a big up to The Big Ticket, a blog I just happened to stumble across recently. How do I love thee Big Ticket? Let me count the ways...
1. For introducing me to the wonderful trailers of the movie Garden State, which looks all kinds of awesome.
2. Through these trailers I came across the awesome "Let Go" by Frou Frou which appears in the trailers, and is available on Big Ticket!
3. The links for music videos for Modest Mouse's Float On and The Thermals "No Culture Icons"

And how do I hate thee Big Ticket?
1. Because there is so much good time-wasting stuff on Big Ticket that I am procrasinating this essay even further.

But, yeah that's it. Back to essays. How does anyone other evidence to support my thesis that Ralph Waldo Emerson was not an Idealist, but rather a Pragmatist? Yeah, I don't believe the argument either, but it's easier to write about what I disagree with, than what I believe in. Figure that one out!
xoxo

2004-03-29T23:09:00.000-08:00

It's birthday time! It's birthday time!

Wow, I'm turning a whopping twenty-four years young today! (March 30th). All I want for my birthday is World Peace, and a pony. And to stay retired. I don't really want a pony. Sunshine would be nice, as well. Take care of yourselves, I'm a gonn'a go and guilt people into gettin' me stuff. xoxo.

2004-03-29T01:36:00.000-08:00

"I was afraid to be alone,
Now I'm scared that's how I like to be,"
-Azure Ray, November

I can't believe it's been a week since I posted anything. Sorry. As a friend of mine once said, my apollywoggies. It's been a surprisingly busy week, and with my birthday and a number of essays due this week, I anticipate another. And for whomever bet that the movie of the day thing would last one day, you are correct, sir! Anyways, the best I can offer you is to go download all these songs. Because I am a lazy/poor man, you will have to track down the mp3s yourself. I'm sorry.

-Azure Ray, November {one of the saddest greatest songs I've ever heard} (available either thru saddlecreek or Azure Ray's own site)
-Azure Ray, New Resolution (Postal Service remix) {I would be pretty happy if Azure Ray did a whole album with the Postal Service, cuz this is amazing}
-MC Solaar, Caroline {the greatest french hip hop song ever, "je suis l'as du trelfe qui pique ton coeur" brilliant, just brilliant.}
-Beck, Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes {it's a good song, but having seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, makes it better!}
-TV On the Radio, Dreams {this sounds like the greatest mix of indie rock and Prince, and that's good! (honest)}
-N.E.R.D., She Wants To Move (DFA Remix) {In Search Of... was my favourite album of 2002, but I wasn't really digging the new single, but now thanks to the DFA, I'm diggin' it}
-Eric Clapton, Classical Gas {b/c it reminds me of my favourite Simpsons episode ever!}

2004-03-21T01:18:00.000-08:00

"Why does butterscotch taste so good?"
-Coco Rosie, Buttersctoch

Wowza! Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was good! I still don't like the title, though. Going into it, I wasn't sure what to expect. I mean, I am the first to admit my healthy non-sexual man crush on Mark Ruffalo, and Kirsten Dunst is cute and in her underwear and I liked her in The Virgin Suicides, and Tom Wilkinson (that is his name, right?) is very good too, but I really couldn't tell you the last movies with Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, and Elijah Wood were that I truly loved. Well, the movie starts and, lo and behold, Jane Adams, whom I really liked in Happiness is in it, and...David Cross! I heart me some David Cross. But, the movie is very good, maybe even great. The visuals are really amazing, from Carrey and Winslet laying on an iced over lake watching stars, to the bed on the snowy beach scene, to Carrey and Winslet in a sink together. After Jim Carrey's embarassingly bad introduction of Blake Edwards at the Academy Awards, I was expecting the worst. But he was fine, good, completely believable. And the music was sooooo good. Can't say enough good things about this, go see it, and if you see Mark Ruffalo, give him my best.

2004-03-17T23:33:00.000-08:00

"You've got to hope that there's someone for you,
as strange as you are,"
-Jon Brion, Here We Go
Do I actually have the gumption to keep this together? Lately, I've been having problems staying focused in my English class, largely because I haven't read the Lit in question. Anyways, sitting at the back of the class has allowed me the freedom to do pretty much whatever while the lecture is in session, so I have taken to making a list of my favourite 100 movies. Well, tonight I parried down said list to arrive at an even 100, and I thought it might be kind of fun (well for me) and maybe give me a bit of direction to post 1 of the 100 favourites every day, and talk a little about said movie. I'm taking bets on how long this lasts, but I have no money, so...yeah. Odds are, you won't win anything except my begrudging respect. Anyways, onward and upward...

#68 (they are listed alphabetically) Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch Drunk Love. Punch Drunk Love is Anderson's very odd version of a romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler as Barry. a socially-handicapped guy with a whole bunch of sisters (was it 8?). Barry falls in love with his sister's co-worker played by Emily Watson. Oh yeah, and Barry gets involved in some shady dealin's after phoning a phone sex line operated by Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the Mattress Man. PDL seems to be one of those movies that really polarizes its audience. Coming out of this movie, I loved it. A year and a bit later, and I still love it. But, I've also had people come up to me and say "I saw the WORST movie yesterday, Punch Drunk Love". The movie is weird. And really, a lot of it is up to your own interpretation. My mom thought Adam Sandler's character was mentally-challenged. I remember reading someone else's interpretation of it being that Barry imagined everything that happened after the first five minutes. Well, that could be true, I also find it odd that someone would daydream about a group of thugs following him around because he phoned a phone sex line. Then again, Barry is a weird guy. Anyways, the movie looks great. The acting's great. It's really funny, often in somewhat disturbing ways. I love it, it was my favourite movie of 2002 for quite a while (although I suspect it would be fair to say Spirited Away now holds that title).

The greatest Phillip Seymour Hoffman photo evah!

2004-03-16T23:43:00.000-08:00

"I said maybe if I leave,
you'll want me to come back home,
Maybe all you need,
it to leave me alone,
At least that's what you said,"
-Wilco, At Least That's What You Said

I have seen the light, and it is the new Wilco song "At Least That's What You Said" which I just picked up from Said The Gramaphone (go down about two posts and you will find a link to the site). It starts off slow, and sad, vocals almost whispered over piano. And it breaks into the clearest, most startling electric guitar, maybe ever. I haven't felt this way about a song in ages, I turn it up, way up, and can't help but bob my head. I grab the headphones and hold them to my head to make sure there is nothing between me and the music. Do I sound like a dork? Only truly great music makes one sound this dorkish (sure, that's a word). Go get it. Play it over and over. Don't ever stop. I'll be listening, too.
xoxo

2004-03-16T15:11:00.000-08:00

Test, test, this is a test. Didn't seem to be working earlier, so I thought I'd try it out.

2004-03-15T16:47:00.000-08:00

"Summer will come with Al Green and sweetened Ice Tea
Summer will come and be all green with the sweetness of thee"
-Clem Snide, All Green

I don't have much to vent about, or rant about. I could complain about Jessica Simpson and how my sister watching her show makes me angry. But, I won't. So, instead I will take you along my morning internet routine...step by step.

First off, I hit deathvalleydriver message boards. I used to go there for hot wrestling chat, now, I find myself more drawn into the other forums. This is one of the first places I found out about Wong Kar Wai whom has become my favourite director in the world. Most of the people, in particular the ones who run it, are nice and, there is always someone to answer you questions.

Than, I hit the music blogs, and other music sites, my daily music routine.

There is The Tofu Hut which always has some terrific fairly rare music. A little more off the beaten path than other blogs out there, just today I downloaded a whole schwack of Tadaharu Nakano and the Nakano Rhythym Boys which is just great old style Asian pop.

Next up is good ol' Santesh which always has great stuff, and has maybe the best set-up of any site around. I really love the opening page. And I'm not even especially partial to John Kerry or anything. I've found the really great Kanye West "Jesus Walks" song there, and some other great songs by Ratatat. Highly recommended.

Said the Gramaphone is especially good, too. Sean puts up sooo many good mp3s. Just this year I've picked up two songs from the new Modest Mouse, and a really truly great Cardigans song that I would have otherwise ignored.

TalkieWalkie is also good fun as it's a place to just upload stuff you want other people to hear. This is where I found the song "Scared Straight" by The Long Winters that just might be the best song I've heard so far this year.

And, Pitchfork can screw themselves, the only place out there that is truly hip, is Matthew's Fluxblog. I don't know how he does it, but Matthew gets stuff before it's available anywhere else, and before anyone else is talking about. I will always be indebted to the Fluxblog site as it's where I first found the amazing version of Beyonce's "Crazy In Love" with Jay-Z's rap replaced by chinese rapper Vaness Wu.

And, finally the best music site on the planet, the incomparable large hearted boy There is no site anywhere online where I have found out about more great music than this one. Going on memory, some songs I first found there are: the awe-inspiring Ben Gibbard cover of Avril Lavigne's "Complicated", a whole live Gibbard set, the Postal Service covering Phil Collins "Against All Odds", and too many others to list. Go there, plus David's a really nice guy!

That's all I'm gonna say today, could I possibly post the Caley Award Results this week? I don't know...

2004-03-13T16:18:00.000-08:00

"You could be sitting taking lunch,
The news will hit you like a punch,"
-D.J. Shadow, 6 Days

Sometimes the spam I get in my hotmail account is truly worth reading...The one below is great, not as great as the one that offered me this great opportunity: "Now YOU can strengthen your vaginal walls!" and I was like "FINALLY, a service I can use!" Anyway, here it is... c+p'ed for your enjoyement:

"Hey Larry,

I hope your month has been going better than mine. I did a stupid thing, and
well, it's been killing me. Snapped my knees when
rollerblading down the steep hill by your apartment, I am surprised why you have
not heard. Anyways, I had to start taking these pills that are an
leg and a arm in the wallet. My cousin in New Jersey sent me this place.

http://66.218.71.223/*-http://www.texas.net.zednet.net/a1/index.html

{DO NOT USE THE LINK I ASSUME IT'S NOT HEALTHY FOR YOU}

stuff:anything else, I can get it from here, since they have anything I could
want. Can you do me a favor and fedex me back my copy of Beaches? I'm just
sitting at home taking what the Guy in the White Coat ordered
and just watching movies. Take care, talk to you really soon.

Love,

Lisa"

2004-03-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

An excerpt from Raymond Carver's Elephant

"It was a fine morning. The sun lay over the mountains behind the town, and a flock of birds was moving from one part of the valley to another. I didn't bother to lock the door. I remembered what had happened to my daughter, but decided I didn’t have anything worth stealing anyway. There was nothing in the house I couldn’t live without. I had the TV, but I was sick of watching TV. They’d be doing me a favor if they broke in and took if off my hands.
I felt pretty good, all things considered, and I decided to walk to work. It wasn’t all that far, and I had time to spare. I’d save a little gas, sure, but that wasn’t the main consideration. It was summer, after all, and before long summer would be over. Summer, I couldn’t help thinking, had been the time everybody’s luck had been going to change.
I started walking alongside the road, and it was then, for some reason, I began to think about my son. I wished him well, wherever he was. If he’d made it back to Germany by now-and he should have-I hoped he was happy. He hadn’t written yet to give me his addres, but I was sure I’d hear something before long. And my daughter, God love her and keep her. I hoped she was doing okay. I decided to write her a letter that evening and tell her I was rooting for her. My mother was alive and more or less in good health, and I felt lucky there, too. If all went well, I’d have her for several more years.
Birds were calling, and some cars passed me on the highway. Good luck to you, too, brother, I thought. I hope your ship comes in. Pay me back when you get it. And my former wife, the woman I used to love so much. She was alive, and she was well, too-so far as I knew, anyway. I wishe her happiness. When all was said and done, I decided things could be a lot worse. Just now, of course, things were hard for everyone. People’s luck had gone south on them was all. But things were bound to change soon. Things would pick up in the fall maybe. There was lots to hope for.
I kept on walking. Then I began to whistle. I felt I had the right to whistle if I wanted to. I let my arms swing as I walked. But the lunch pail kept throwing me off balance. I had sandwiches, an apple, and some cookies in there, not to mention the thermos. I stopped in front of Smitty’s, an old café that had gravel in the parking area and boards over the windows. The place had been boarded up for as long as I could remember. I decided to put the lunch pail down for a minute. I did that, and then I raised my arms-raised them up level with my shoulders. I was standing there like that, like a goof, when somebody tooted a car horn and pulled off the highway into the parking area. I picked up my lunch pail and went over to the car. It was a guy I knew from work whose name was George. He reached over and opened the door on the passenger’s side. “Hey, get in, buddy” he said.
“Hello, George,” I said. I got in and shut the door, and the car sped off, throwing gravel from under the tires.
“I saw you,” George said. “Yeah, I did, I saw you. You’re in training for something, but I don’t know what.” He looked at me and then looked at the road again. He was going fast. “You always walk down the road with your arms out like that?” He laughed-ha, ha, ha-and stepped on the gas.
“Sometimes,” I said. “It depends, I guess. Actually, I was standing,” I said. I lit a cigarette and leaned back in the seat.
“So what’s new?” George said. He put a cigar in his mouth, but he didn’t light it.
“Nothing’s new,” I said. “What’s new with yout?”
George shrugged. Then he grinned. He was going very fast now. Wind buffeted the car and whistled by outside the windows. He was driving as if we were late for work. But we weren’t late. We had lots of time, and I told him so.
Nevertheless, he cranked it up. We passed the turnoff and kept going. We were moving by then, heading straight toward the mountains. He took the cigar out of his mouth and put it in his shirt pocket. “I borrowed some money and had this baby overhauled,” he said. Then he said he wanted me to see something. He punched it and gave it everything he could. I fastened my seat belt and held on.
“Go,” I said. “What are you waiting for, George?” And that’s when we really flew. Wind howled outside the windows. He had it floored, and we were going flat out. We streaked down that road in his big unpaid-for car."

I've been reading a lot of Carver, lately. This is probably one of his most upbeat stories, aside from maybe Cathedral. It's just one of those things that, reading it, makes me feel good. I know that feeling the man has. Where it's beautiful out, and you walk, and you just love everything in the world. Everything is right. In honour of a beautiful March morning, I thought I would share it with you.
xoxo

2004-03-11T00:40:00.000-08:00

"Baby before you,
I was bad news,"
-Chantal Kreviazuk, Before You

I don't have any random popular culture references or rants to post tonight, so I thought I would give you a glimpse into the life of the Calester, by posting the tracklist for the burned CD I just made myself and fully intend to enjoy. And since it looks like the sun is coming back and might be just finally here to stay (oh please oh please), I'm thinking of making a Summer Burned CD. These are necessarily songs about summer, just songs that sometimes remind me of how summer feels. So far, I have:
-SIANspheric, I Like the Ride
-Built To Spill, Else
-Built To Spill, Temporarily Blind
-Kylie, Love At First Sight
Anyone have any suggestions, by all means leave them in comments. I'm open to anything...

Anyways, here's the CD, I made tonight.
01. !!!, Intensify
02. Bassment Jaxx featuring Dizzee Rascal, Lucky Star
03. N.E.R.D., She Wants To Move
04. The Descendents, Nothing With You
05. Elvis Presley, Are You Lonesome Tonight? (Live)
06. Modest Mouse, Bukowski Radio
07. Last Days of April, Nothing’s Found
08. Xiu Xiu, I Broke Up
09. Blonde Redhead, Misery Is A Butterfly
10. Ratatat, Ferraro 11-18
11. Ratatat, Spanish Armada
12. Manitoba, Crayon
13. Manitoba, Hendrix With Ko
14. Jeff and Mychael Danna, The Blood of Cu Chulainn
15. Chantal Kreviazuk, Before You
16. Avril Lavigne, Don’t Tell Me
17. Stars, On Peak Hill
18. The Cardigans, Communication
19. Coldplay, Careful Where You Stand
20. Radiohead, How I Made My Millions

And now, what I am sure the world is waiting for...my thoughts on Todd Bertuzzi's attack on Steve Moore Monday night in the NHL. This is front page news here in BC, although my dad said that he saw it was front page news on the Toronto paper, as well. So, if the Todd Bertuzzi story is front page news anywhere else, let me know. I'll post it.

Anyways, my thoughts on it are, as follows. Oh yeah, keep in mind, I'm an Oilers fan, and being an Oilers fan in BC is like being a Saddam fan at the USO show, only nothing like that. In my opinion, Bertuzzi's attack on Moore was vicious (Moore's injury list sounds like a car accident victim: fractured neck, facial lacerations, and a concussion), premeditated (Bertuzzi knew very well who he was clubbing), cowardly (he struck him from behind), and, as such, I think he should be gone for the rest of the NHL Season, playoffs included. I also think he should have to undergo some form of anger management training before he is allowed to even be considered for the Canadian National Team, as this is not the first time Bertuzzi has snapped. All that said, Bertuzzi and the Canucks have carried themselves admirably since the incident, and he really does seem remorseful, which is why I'm not calling for a one year ban. Just my 1 cent.
xoxo

PS: I went back and edited my posts to give appropriate credit to all the lyrics/quotations I've been using to open my entries.

2004-03-09T01:57:00.000-08:00

"Don't think that you charm,
and the fact that your arm
is now around my neck,
will get you in my pants,
I'll have to kick your ass,
and make you never forget"
-Avril Lavigne, Don't Tell Me

Hmmm, it's most distressing to me, but the new Avril Lavigne is pretty damned good. If anyone can direct me to a good quality mp3, I would be most impressed. Yeah, I really like Ms Lavigne's anti-sex song. In times when Christina is gettin' "Dirrty" and Britney is...what the hell is Britney doing? Have you seen the "Toxic" video? What the hell is that? The song is one of the better Britney songs since "Boys", but it's such a poor video. Where was I? Oh yeah, it's kind of neat to hear a pop singer singing about how she doesn't want to give it up. I dig that.

2004-03-08T00:02:00.000-08:00

"You ask me what’s my greatest fear.
Honey, it’s living here earning $6.50/hr.
And often when I’m sitting in my room,
I stare at my poster of Prince,
and sometimes I think of you. And I spit when I do.
I...hate...that...piece...of....me...it...looks...too...much...like...you"
-The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up, Breakdown

Not much to add at the moment, I think I'll just jot down a few bands, I am digging, and maybe some reasons why:

Blonde Redhead, Misery Is A Butterfly: I always kind of liked Blonde Redhead, I own one CD of theirs, "Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons", and it's all right, I never listen to it, but it's perfectly fine, still in the high rotation CD rack, even after a couple of years. So, I never expected to love their new song so much. But, it's really really good. I first found it on the wonderful Largehearted Boy blog and, if you're lucky, you might still be able to find it.

The Cardigans, Communication: The Cardigans are a band that never really interested me. That "love me love me" song that was (and sadly here, still is) on all the time never really did it for me, and I never really dug that "Favourite Game" song ever. But, this song is so unbelivably great. Nina Persson's voice is sooo perfect and terrific for the sort of alt country thing they seem to be going for now. If you're lucky, the incomparable Sean might still have it up there.

The Descendents, Nothing With You: They were one of the bands I leaned heavily on to get through high school. I listened to them for the first time in a couple years and was amazed at how much I still liked some of it. There's a new mp3 up over at Fat Wreck Chords right now, and it sounds all right, it's no "Good Good Things", "Bikeage", or "Silly Girl", but, then, what is?

The Jim Yoshii Pile-Up: Anything by them. It's such gloriously sad music. Today's title/lyric of the day is from one of their songs, "Breakdown". Hit their website and epitonic up for some mp3s and than go buy all their albums and send them to me, because I have no money for them. But, I assure you, as soon as I have some, Jim Yoshii Pile-Up is at the top of the list.

Hopefully, I will decide the winners of the 2004 Caley Awards this week. But how do I choose between Ben Kingsley, Sean Penn, Bill Murray, Paul Schneider, and Victor Rasuk. I don't know if I can.

2004-03-03T23:39:00.000-08:00

"Nude as the news"
-Cat Power, Nude As the News

Here they are, your 2004 Caley Award Nominations:

Costumes:
Colleen Atwood (Big Fish)
Ngila Dickson (The Last Samurai)
Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor (Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)
Danny Glicker (Northfork)
Kumiko Ogawa and Katherine Marie Thomas (Kill Bill Volume 1)

Cinematography
Lance Acord (Lost in Translation)
M. David Mullen (Northfork)
Tim Orr (All the Real Girls)
Phillipe Rousselot (Big Fish)
John Toll (The Last Samurai)

Song
Baby, It's Cold Outside, Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone (Elf)
Bring Me To Life, Evanescence (Daredevil)
A Kiss At the End of the Rainbow, Eugene Levey and Catherine O'Hara (A Mighty Wind)
Man of the Hour, Pearl Jam (Big Fish)
City Girl, Kevin Shields (Lost in Translation)

Score
Danny Boyle and John Murphy (28 Days Later)
Lily Chou Chou, RZA & D.A. Young (Kill Bill Volume 1)
Michael Linnen and David Wingo (All the Real Girls)
Kevin Shield et al. (Lost in Translation)
Hans Zimmer et al. (The Last Samurai)

Adapted Screenplay
Andre Dubus III, Ron Perelman & Shawn Otto (House of Sand and Fog)
Catherine Hardwicke and Nikki Reed (Thirteen)
Dennis Lehane and Brian Helgeland (Mystic River)
John Logan, Edward Zwick & Marshall Herskovitz (The Last Samurai)
Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini (American Splendor)

Original Screenplay
Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation)
Michael Clooney (Identity)
Ernesto Foronda, Justin Lin & Fabian Marquez (Better Luck Tomorrow)
David Gordon Green and Paul Schneider (All the Real Girls)
Mark Polish and Michael Polish (Northfork)

Supporting Actress
Shoreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog)
Helena Bonham Carter (Big Fish)
Patricia Clarkson (All the Real Girls)
Marcia Gay-Harden (Mystic River)
Altagracia Guzman (Raising Victor Vargas)

Supporting Actor
Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings: Return of the King)
Benicio Del Toro (21 Grams)
Tim Robbins (Mystic River)
Jason J. Tobin (Better Luck Tomorrow)
Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai)

Actress
Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider)
Jennifer Connelly (House of Sand and Fog)
Scarlett Johnassen (Lost in Translation)
Charlize Theron (Monster)
Naomi Watts (21 Grams)

Actor
Ben Kingsley (House of Sand and Fog)
Bill Murray (Lost In Translation)
Sean Penn (Mystic River)
Victor Rasuk (Raising Victor Vargas)
Paul Schneider (All the Real Girls)

Director
Tim Burton (Big Fish)
Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation)
Alejandro Gonzales Inaritu (21 Grams)
David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls)
Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow)

Best Picture
All The Real Girls
Better Luck Tomorrow
Big Fish
The Last Samurai
Lost In Translation

Voting window closes soon, votes may be ignored. Does anyone even read this? Does it matter?

Probably not.

2004-03-02T22:38:00.000-08:00

"What's it like to...What's it like to kill someone Pete?"
"It's kind of like...it's kind of like playin' a basketball game. I am there and the other player is there and it's just the two of us and I put the other player's body in the van and I am the winner."
-Achewood, www.achewood.com

If you're not reading the brililant online comic strip Achewood than go do so now...Now!

Watched "Lost in Translation" today. Still a great movie. It angered me even more about the Oscars, so much so that...sometime this week, possibly as early as tomorrow morning, I will post the nominees for the first annual Caley Awards. Feel free to vote, but I probably will ignore your votes anyways. Hahahaha.

Ha.

2004-03-01T23:20:00.000-08:00

"Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair?"
Elvis Presely, Are You Lonesome Tonight (Live)

Okay, everyone needs to head over to Said the Gramaphone right this very instant and download the mp3 of Elvis Presley singing "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" He just screws around, making up lyrics and laughing and generally making an ass of himself for a while. Good times. Actually, you should be visiting Said the Gramaphone anyways, as it is supremely great.

Right here!

2004-03-01T23:18:00.000-08:00

"Do you gaze at your bald head and wish you had hair?"

Okay, everyone needs to head over to Said the Gramaphone right this very instant and download the mp3 of Elvis Presley singing "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" He just screws around, making up lyrics and laughing and generally making an ass of himself for a while. Good times. Actually, you should be visiting Said the Gramaphone anyways, as it is supremely great.

Right here!

2004-02-29T23:28:00.000-08:00

ACADEMY AWARDS TIME!

"I'm sorry, sir, we won't be letting vagrants sleep in the auditorium tonight."
Jude Law's weird, weird hair
Wait THAT'S the woman from House of Sand and Fog?
Ah, I see Seabiscuit has arrived
Once again, THAT is the woman from House of Sand and Fog?

Well, that was a boring night of Academy Awards. I figured there would be one surprise...at least one. But, the Academy went the safe route with the safe choices. I thought for a moment that A Mighty Wind was going to win best song based on the cheer that went up when they stareted performing. When the audience started laughing halfway through the song, I knew they didn't get it and it wouldn't win. Sure enough... Sigh. Roger Ebert said he applauded the nominations this year as they went for some really gutsy choices. But, once again, they go the safe route and show that the gutsy nominations were more for show than anything else. Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that The Passion and Miracle will be up for Best Picture next year? Anyways, I will post who I would have picked in a couple of days. Right now, I have to get to some impending projects.

2004-02-29T23:19:00.000-08:00

Sonatine (Directed by Takeshi Kitano): Wow! This was SO good. I liked the two previous Kitano movies I'd seen (Brother and Hana-bi) but this was even better than those two! Kitano plays a yakuza being pushed out of the way by his boss. There is the usual Kitano mayhem with him beating the holy hell out of a guy in the bathroom, acidentally drowning a guy, stabbings and countles shootings. But what was most staggering about this movie was how funny it was! Between Kitano's henchmen playing frisbee, sumo wrestling, and trying to shoot beercans off each other's heads. And Kitano digging holes in the beach for people to fall into. It was so funny in a totally unexpected way. I recommend everyone into gangster/violent/yakuza movies see this. It made my day in spite of an extremely tedious Academy Awards.

2004-02-28T20:13:00.000-08:00

"Stop you dog!"

This is funny at first, than slightly trying on the ol' patience...ahhh who am I kidding, it's still funny.

So, Cal got the new Kanye West today, if I could give you mp3s, I would, my friend. Instead, all you get is recommendations. You should already have downloaded "Through the Wire" and "Slow Jamz", the two singles, so far. In addition to those, you really need the last track (although I don't seem to have any ideas what it's called). It's a 12+ minute long song in which Kanye speaks over top of the beat, talking about everything he's done to bring him to where he is now. The other one you most definitely need is "Jesus Walks". People always talk about Eminem and Fitty Cent and how they say whatever they want, and speak their mind. But, to me, there is nothing ballsier than Kanye West coming forth with a song about his faith in Jesus.
"Well, if this takes away from my spins,
which'll probably take away from my ends.
than I hope it takes away from my sins,"

Ah,who am I kidding? You want ALL of this...

Kanye!

2004-02-28T00:57:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I think this is the greatest pic I've seen all week...

2004-02-28T00:50:00.000-08:00

"Thanks Little Dink"

The Last 10 Movies I have seen, in the future, I may actually add some commentary to the movies, but I make no promises.

-Spy Kids 3D
-Grave of the Fireflies
-Ju Dou
-Mulholland Drive
-Dancer in the Dark
-Mitchell
-Brother
-Better Luck Tomorrow
-Star Wars: A New Hope
-All The Real Girls

2004-02-28T00:45:00.000-08:00

And here we go...

Welcome to The Throbbing Skunk Ape Official Homepage. I chose this name because, unbelievably, Skunk Ape was actually already taken.