(M) Incredibles. (2004, Brad Bird) Grade: A+
Thoughts: Love, love, love this movie. I watched it a second time on my flight to London and realized again how "super" it was. The film is clever, smart, funny and entertaining. Syndrome voiced by Jason Lee is great because I think Jason Lee's voice really added to the character. As soon as I got home I rush to the store and picked up the dvd. I can't wait to watch the extra scenes of Jack Jack.

(M) Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. (2004, Beeban Kidron) Grade: C-
Thoughts: I would have given this a D but I watched it on my flight back home from London so at least I didn't have to pay for it. This film really never should have been made and yet it was ... mind bending. The story picks up a few weeks later with Bridget and Darcy happily in love. Bridget gets insecure, breaks up with Darcy, then gets back with him. Oh and they throw in Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) for good measure, however according to Pigern he never appears in the novel ... go figure. I did laugh a few times but what else was I suppose to do on a plane for 10 hours heading home. I might as well entertain/numb my brain.

(M) Shall We Dance?. (2004, Peter Chelsom) Grade: D+
Thoughts: Why oh why do they insist on doing remakes??? Just watch Shall We Dansu? and you never have to see this film. Granted the only part I did enjoy, hence the +, was how much more emotion John Clark (Richard Gere) showed for his wife Beverly Clark (Susan Sarandon) compared to the icy affection in the Japanese version. I think they did a good job casting Jennifer Lopez as the dance teacher because ... well the girl can dance BUT she can not pull off the cold wooden emotion of the character.

(M) The Village. (2004, M. Night Shyamalan) Grade: C
Thoughts: What happened to M. Night Shyamalan. He does Sixth Sense which was great and then follows that up with the stinker Unbreakable and makes a bit of come back with Signs and now this. The film is not bad but the "twist" at the end is so unreal. Bryce Dallas Howard who played Ivy Walker did a great great job in the film. Joaquin Phoenix was hot as always but I could never understand Adrien Brody's role in the whole film. His character seemed out of place and unnecessary.

yes i know the films i saw on the plane were pretty bad but the other ones were too serious for me to concentrate on (vera drake, closer, birth) or i had already seen them (finding neverland, ray) so there you go. i'll blog more about my trip to london/manchester and the shows. right now i have to try to get some sleep. i have crappy crappy hateful work and a wonderful great doves show tomorrow.

Star Wars Trailer (M) A++
Not that i'm biast....okay maybe a tad, but this movie looks really good. Dark, scary, no happy ending..basically everything i look for in a movie. To hear "You were the chosen one" wow..thats all i can say.

okay moving on from my dorkdom...

i concur with cup-o-noodles, i have been awaiting a new NIN album for years and the new song sounds great.

Hopefully new wave and pigern remembered their toothbrushes cause you know you aren't finding out over there...haha. i kid i kid. hopefully they are having fun, but not too much fun, cause thats just not fair.

Life must be rough for New Wave and Pigern right now. England is a horrible country. Oh wait, no it's not. Hope you guys are having a great time. And Pigern, when you say 'loo' and 'flat' and 'bloke' at least you won't confuse people. Hehe.

Cheers! ("Cheers to the salt shaker, cheers to the menu, cheers to these chips!" Sorry, inside joke.)

I just heard the new Nine Inch Nails song that they premiered back 2 back with itself on KROQ and I am more than ready to have my eardrums pounded by a new NIN album.

(A) Some Cities (The Doves, 2005) Grade: A++
Details reviewed 8 albums and gave The Doves the highest rating, and it's deserved. They said "If Coldplay took better drugs, they might reach the dizzying heights of Doves."
I have to say, I will be blown away by the album that tops this one.

Now, to give my review as if I were writing a review for an Indie Rock magazine that thumbed my nose to the world:

Was it possible for The Doves to top their critically acclaimed debut and much loved sophmore album? You bet it was! The Doves span the spectrum of sound in their third album Some Cities. Their upbeat track of 'Black and White Town' could be mistaken for the musical anthem that would be played by a southern gospel choir during the coming of the lord ("Lord give me a reaction. Lord give me a chance."). The Polyphonic Spree could only dream of making people want to shake their asses and throw their hands in the air with a song this poppy.
Then it's a nice ocean adventure through the track 'Almost Forgot Myself'. With moments of feeling like you're hoisting the sails to then laying on the deck sipping a pina colada while the seagulls soar and squawk above you.
Then it's a frolick through a field of daises after a heavy rain and the sun has just risen and shines upon you during 'Snowden'. It has moments as if a rainbow were shining in the sky and then crashed upon you.
Ever wonder what it's like to be stranded on the remains of a ship that crashed at sea and you've either been in the ocean so long you start to hallucinate, or else you decided to take mescaline for three days straight, then give 'The Storm' a listen.
If this album doesn't cause you to drool, don't worry, Hilary Duff will release another album soon enough.

(A) Una Palabra(2002 ???, Carlos Varela) Grade: A+

Ok this is just a song, but it's awesome. I think it is from the Man on Fire soundtrack. It's in spanish-(i'm including the spanish and english translation on here). The translation is kind of retarded cuz i googled it and also asked some help from my latino friends. But you kind of get the gist. It's a very haunting and poetic tune. If you get a chance, check it out.

Una palabra no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo esconde todo
igual que el viento que esconde el agua
como las flores que esconde el lodo.

Una mirada no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo dice todo
como la lluvia sobre tu cara
o el viejo mapa de algún tesoro.

Una verdad no dice nada
y al mismo tiempo lo esconde todo
como una hoguera que no se apaga
como una piedra que nace polvo.

Si un día me faltas no seré nada
y al mismo tiempo lo seré todo
porque en tus ojos están mis alas
y está la orilla donde me ahogo,

English Translation
A word does not say anything
and at the same time it hides everything
just as the wind that hides the water
like the flowers that hides the dirt.

A glance does not say anything
and at the same time it says everything
like rain on your face
or the old map that leads to treasure.

A truth does not say anything
and at the same time it hides everything
like a fire that is not extinguished
like a stone made out of dust.

If a day I need I will not be nothing(If I miss a day, it will be nothing?)
and at the same time I will be it everything
because in your eyes they are my wings
and is the border where I drown to me, (and is where I am on the brink of drowning?)

(A) Ross Millard. (The Futureheads) Grade: A
Heh. Okay, this ain't really a review but an interview with Futureheads guitarist Ross Millard. He is an ace bloke. Bless 'em Sunderland lads: Futureheads interview

(M) How To Kill Your Neighbor's Dog. (2000, Michael Kalesniko) Grade: B
Thoughts: This movie is about a playwriter who was really popular ten years ago. After writting 3 plays that bombed, he is on his fourth one. He lives with his wife (played by Robin Wright Penn) in suburbia (which looks a lot like LA). They befriend a neighbor's child who is slightly disabled and the writer starts incorporating what he learns from the child into his plays. I really enjoyed this movie because it was just a simple, down to earth movie. The dialogue was really well written and it's funny without being too forced. Also, there's this random homeless guy that roams around the neighborhood and because of him, a dog gets killed.

(M) In America. (2002, Jim Sheridan) Grade: B-
Thoughts: An Irish family moves to New York illegally and makes a life for themselves. I think this was loosely based on the director's real life, though I'm not sure. The movie was alright ... nothing special. Samantha Morton who played Sarah was great and deserved her nomination for best actress even though she didn't win that year. I really enjoyed Djimon Hounsou's performance as Mateo.

(M) Dai Si Gein (Breaking News). (2004, Johnnie To) Grade: C+
Thoughts: I liked the idea of the film but not sure about the execution. The police is made into a mockery when the media shows them losing a gun battle against some bad guys. To save their image the police need to capture the bad guys in an over the top dramatic way. I would have liked to see them develop more on the lead police and lead bad guy roles but hey this is a typical Hong Kong action movie.

(B) Our Town (Thornton Wilder, 1938. 117pgs.) Grade: A+
As you can see I had n uneventful weekend. So, yes I read another book. This time a play! As a child I remember many sitcoms having the episode where the child actor plays a role in the school production of 'Our Town'. I came across the play at a used bookstore saturday and decided to give it a read, knowing it's a classic.
I was very drawn into the story, and as probably for most people, it's the third and final act that hits home and brings up the emotion within'. The play is divided into three acts. The first is sort of an intro to whom everyone is and just a basic setting of life at the beginning of the 20th century. The second act deals with marriage and falling in love and the thrid act deals with death. It's the dead talking about the living and watching them that is somewhat painful to read. Now adays in times of such triviality and superficiality it can really make you think a bit. For somebody like myself who is just sorta sitting around waiting for the end to come it brings up two questions I guess. One being should I live differently now, or am I right in seeing the triviality of this life that really (for me) has no big meaning, and what to do with that thought.
Anyway, it's an excellent story and I recommend it. Again, an easy read.

(B) The Lover (Marguerite Duras, 1985. 117pgs.) Grade: C
So it's Saturday and what do I do with it? I sit on my butt and read another book.
This book is filled with praise and they even made a movie about it. I don't get it. The book is completely scattered. The people whom I would imagine would get quite a bit of pen-time don't and in fact it seems like everyone is under-developed. The story is of a 15 year old French girl in Indochina who is pursued by a 30+ year old Chinese man and she becomes his lover. She's in it for the money, he's in it for his love for her. She really doesn't seem to spend much time on the two of them. She jumps around in time and also repeats things. There is disconnect in her immidiate family which could have been brought out more. I think if the story was told in a more linear fashion, had more focus, and more character and story development then it could be deserving of the praise it's received. As for me... it was an okay book.

(B) Anthem (Ayn Rand, 1938-Europe, 1946-U.S.) Grade: C
Anyone familiar with Ayn Rand's other works such as The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged will probably find the beginning stages of the great works to come in this book. It's a really short book, something like 90 pages, so it's a quick read. It's a story set in the future (at first it reminded me of 1984). In the future it is communal living and men live in one area and women in another with no interaction except once a year where they are brought together to mate to keep the human race alive. The story is of a man who has no name but is assigned a name, Equality 7-2521. In the past there was a big war and when all was said and done a new society was born. It was the society of 'We'. As in we are a group whom do everything together and all is accomplished through us. There is no such word a 'I' in this future for individualism is removed from society. You are educated until you are 15 years old and then assigned a job (you don't choose your work). Anyway... it's an attack in an extremist view on the danger of group think and the death of self. It's rather basic and if you want a quick intro to Ayn Rand you can read this cause it takes no time at all to breeze through. But if you want great literature than you can buckle down the 700+ page Fountainhead or 1000+ page Atlas Shrugged.

Quick note: It takes time to adjust to how this book is written because since there is no "self" in the book, words like I and me are not in it. So, when somebody might say 'I went to the store', in the book it would read 'We went to the store' even though it's only referring to a single person.

(M) Trois Couleurs: Rouge (Red). (1994, Krzysztof Kieslowski) Grade: B+
Thoughts: The last film in the Kieslowski's trilogy. Valentine Dussaut (Irene Jacob) is a model in France whose boyfriend/lover is miles away in England. They try to keep the relationship going through games of phone tag but the distance starts to wear them down. One night Valentine hits a dog which belongs to Le juge (Jean-Louis Trintignant), a retired lonely judge. The two strike up a friendship ... even a strange non physical relationship. I had heard so much praise for this movie that I think I expected too much. Aside from how well the film was made ... the story did not grab me.

(M) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. (2004, Michel Gondry) Grade: A
Thoughts: I almost want to give this an A+. This was my second viewing of the film, the first during its theatrial release. I remember coming out of the theater thinking it was good ... but not great. Boy was I wrong. The plot is pretty simple - boy Joel Barish (Jim Carrey) falls for girl Clementien Kruczynski (Kate Winslet), they date, break up and girl erases her memory of boy. The dialogue is what makes this film top notch. It is how people would talk to each ... not some stupid over the top verbiage (i.e. the Dawson Creek kids) that people would never say. This is real conversations between two people dealing with the ups and many downs of a relationship. I think of this film as the what happens after the "happily ever after". When the conversations grow dull, the dinners at the special places become route and when every little thing about the other person starts bugging the living daylights out of you. Oh and I am offical in love with Kate Winslet. Why oh why is she so great. :)

(M) Im Juli (In July). (2000, Faith Akin) Grade: B-

Thoughts: I actually really enjoyed this film but I gave it a semi low grade because it was very very typical. Nothing special going on here. I wanted to watch the movie because the director Faith Akin also did Head On which I greatly enjoyed. The only great part of this movie was Christiane Paul who played Juli.

(O)breaking up with your boyfriend you still love(2005, Tolentino) Grade: F

even though it might be the right decision....this blows.

Blogthings - You Are 29 Years Old: "

You Are 29 Years Old

29 Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe. 13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world. 20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences. 30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more! 40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

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