(M) Meng Ying Tong Nian (Electric Shadows). (Jiang Xiao, 2004) Grade: B

Thoughts: Set during the Cultural Revolution in China, the main characters turn to their love for film as an escape. The plotline was a bit random but the characters were well developed and engaging. The film started out promising but ended on a melodramatic and cheesy note. On a side note, the lead actress Jiang Yihong is beautiful; she exhibits the classic beauties of China.

(M) Science Des Reves, La (The Science of Sleep). (Michel Gondry, 2006) Grade: C

Thoughts: Please note visually the film is stunning, an A+. I knew it would be because Gondry is known for making awesome music videos from the likes of Beck, Bjork, Massive Attack and White Stripes. The reason for the C is mainly due to the thin storyline. None of the characters felt developed enough for me and I didn’t care too much about Stephane (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg). The movie is only 105 mins but I think I was done by the 75 min mark. Although Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is ranked as one of my ALL TIME favorite movies, a majority of that is due to the witty and clever dialogue. The Science of Sleep lacked some of that.

(M) Jackass Number Two. (Jeff Tremaine, 2006) Grade: B

Thoughts: Guys are really stupid. I mean the male group amazes me with how dumb they are. The amount of dick, fart, ass, ball kicking and hitting jokes that go on never seems to stop being funny for guys. With that said Jackass Number Two was good but no where near as great as Jackass Number One. There were a few gems in Number Two but overall I think Number One was just plain funnier and lamer. Much of Number Two had too much set up and too little pay off. On the plus side, they did pick on Bam Margera a lot which was great because that guy is a massive tool. Oh and on another note - FTC they used a Peaches song during some segments. Oh yeah.

Count: 97 movies

(M) Little Children (Todd Field, 2006) Grade: C+
I honestly think I expected too much from this film based on the strength of Field’s debut In the Bedroom. Plus, it’s Field adapting Tom Perrotta’s book, and I did enjoy Election. But I found this story of infidelity and suburbia gone paranoid a bit underwhelming. My favorite bit was the parallel between the characters and Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. It’s self versus society, but perhaps I’ve become too cynical, because when society wins out in the end, I just shrugged and thought, “predictable.”

(1) THIS is for New Wave.

(2) this is on behalf of Melissa (our dorm-mate from UCR):
her cousin and 7 friends (i think theyre teens or tweens) need a group costume idea for Halloween. Any suggestions? (Snow White and the 7 dwarfs is out). give your ideas as comments. thanks

(A) The Crane’s Wife (The Decemberists, Oct. 3) Grade: A
The band’s first official release on major label Capitol is absolutely wonderful. The title track balances their winsome sound with touches of melancholy (“And I will hang my head, hang my head low”). And as the album’s lyrics center around a Japanese folk tale, the accompanying music ranges from quiet folkyness to louder percussions and hints of progs/synths. The Bookeaters ask that eternal question, “Words or music—Which is better?” But the Decemberists negate the necessity to choose between the two, emphasizing the importance of both and interlaying them in splendid fashion.

(A) Sam’s Town (The Killers, Oct. 3) Grade: D
When Hot Fuss was first released, no one took the Killers too seriously. The debut’s obvious references and the band’s lackluster live performances didn’t offer anything too promising. Flash forward to today, and it seems the Killers are taken too seriously. BFlo (as singer Brandon Flowers is affectionally or cruelly called) and company have adopted a somewhat different sound for Sam’s Town, preferring Bruce Springsteen’s Americana (i.e. title track, “When You Were Young”) to the New Wave ’80s. Probably the most disturbing (for me) is BFlo’s new singing style: a warble with a tendency to hit the wrong note. Rather than recognize his vocal limitations, BFlo tries to hit those high notes and it’s painful to hear and watch.

(M) The Science of Sleep (Michel Gondry, 2006) Grade: B+
I felt kind of guilty because although I enjoyed this film—finding it visually interesting as well as offering the right levels of dream sequences, realism and an effective blend of the two—my friends all walked out of the theater making jokes about sleep (i.e. That sure put me to sleep). Apologies to them all and someone else can choose the movie next time. At least Gael Garcia Bernal provided eye candy!

(TV) Battlestar Galactica Season 2. (Sci Fi Network, 2005) Grade: A+

Thoughts: I finally finished Season 2 and watched all the webisodes last night so I am ready to sit on my couch come Oct 6 at 9 pm and watch the start of Season 3. I can not wait! I don't love this show as much as X-Files because nothing EVER can compare to Mulder and Scully BUT this show is pretty darn close.

(TV) Prison Break Season 1. (FOX, 2005) Grade: B+

Thoughts: I rushed to finished off this season so I can watch Season 2 and ... now I am like 4 or 5 eps behind in Season 2. I'm debating if I should give up on this show completely but we'll see. Season 1 was really good but they did drag a bit in the middle. However, the ending was great.

(TV) The 4400 Season 2. (USA Network, 2005) Grade: B

Thoughts: Season 1 was strong but I found Season 2 not as great. It had its moments but still. Season 3 just ended this summer so I'll have to wait awhile until it comes out on DVD. One plus of the show is the endless storylines because you have 4400 people with special powers to work with. One of the flaws with the show is it is not as clever or witty as say X-Files or Battlestar.

I've been watching some random TV shows so I'll review them quickly.
- Ugly Betty (C+): Charming and cheesy, will get cancelled which is sad because I like America Ferrera.
- Standoff (B-): Entertaining and has Ron Livington, will get cancelled.
- The Office (B): I don't like that Jim is in another office. We'll see how things go.
- Survivor Cook Island (C): I was interested because they divided the tribes by race and I wanted to see how the social experience would play out but last night they combined all tribes and mixed them up into two teams. Lame!! Oh well I'm not watching anymore.

(TV) Charmed: Season 1 Grade: C+
So I started watching this because I started watching the show during season 3 or 4, but then i stopped and I wonder what happened before.

Pros:
1. I really like the concept of the show. Three sisters discover they are witches after their grandmother dies, releasing their powers. This is why I watch the show.
2. Ted King is freakin HOT. He only appears in this season but he was good eye candy.
3. You get to see how the power of three started. It's always fun to see people learn how to use their new powers.

Cons: 1. The sound dubbing was horrible the first half of the season.
2. The acting from guest characters is really really bad.
3. Some of the storylines are kinda eh. I know they started to dwindle at the end of the series as well, but in the beginning some were quite cheesy.


(M) My Date With Drew Grade: B
This will be short becuase I'm lazy. So guy wins $1100 on Taboo game show, takes that to invest in a documentary all about getting a date with Drew Barrymore, his all-time crush. At the beginning of the film I just kept repeating to myself, "Wow this guy is a HUGE dork." But by the end of it was inspired and felt all warm and fuzzy inside. He was still a dork at the end of the film, but I guess that was ok haha.

(M) Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006) Grade: C
Listening to Sofia explain it, I can understand how difficult it would be to compress the life of this French queen into two hours. Instead of a biopic, the director chose to focus on the youth of Marie, her excesses and her partying ways. Hey, listen to the Strokes as Marie thinks about her lover. Or how about some of New Order’s “Ceremony” during a party sequence? Oh how the indie kids can relate. I suppose Sofia tries to humanizes Marie in an attempt to make the queen’s struggles and emotions universal, but my lastng impression was that I was watching a two-hour music video. Mind you, the music was good, but I like a little bit of substance as well.

(O) First H&M store in southern California Grade: B-
The Swedes sure have marketing and consumerism down right. I mean, almost everyone has at least one piece of IKEA furniture in their house. And now H&M (finally) opened its first store in Pasadena last Thursday to a crowd of consumers who camped out in eager anticipation. I had a free day earlier this week so I went to visit, figuring it would be less insane because it was a weekday. But the “H&M craze” was still in full swing and if you’re not willing to jostle others for a sweater or wait in line simply to go upstairs, then forget visiting for at least another month. And to those grabbing things off the racks in a mad frenzy, these are just clothes!

Junior Boys at the Troubadour, Grade: B

I was debating on whether to go to this show or not and was glad I went. The new album is great but the mixture of upbeat and mellow songs had me questioning if the mellow songs would be too mellow to get through. The result is that the band mixed it up enough to keep you interested. I started to get tired at the end but I made it through. The opening band was nothing to write home about and the best part of the show was some old man dancing like nobody was watching.

don't know why i'm doing this
but here's a link to a page with every episode of the simpsons from seasons 1-18, streaming online.
from digg.com

(M) Volver (Return). (Pedro Almodovar, 2006) Grade: A

Thoughts: It is that time of year again where Pigern's job allows me the chance to see great movies for free :) YES!! The first film was Volver which was followed by a Q and A with Pedro Almodovar and Penelope Cruz. Volver translate as return which was a continued theme throughout the movie; the return of rape, incest, love, anger and death. The film is much tamer than Pedro's other work. The Q and A afterwards was amazing with Pedro going into more depth discussion about his work as a director and the ideas for his films. Penelope was lovely but didn't say too much. She is so stunning and much better in Spanish films than American.

(M) Confetti. (Debbie Isitt, 2006) Grade: B-

Thoughts: A British mockumentary trying to capture Christopher Guest's humor. It was not bad but not great, it would have made for a good rental. Three couples are trying to plan the "Most Original Wedding of the Year" for Confetti, a wedding magazine. There is the tennis couple, the nudist couple and the musical couple with Martin Freeman. One of the more entertaining parts of the film was the wedding planners.

(M) Duk Haan Yum Cha (I'll Call You). (Chi Chung Lam, 2006) Grade: B

Thoughts: An interesting look at how men and women deal with relationships and break up. The film was silly during certain points but hey it is a Chinese movie. I think they should make more movies about couples breaking up and the aftermath and less about two people finding each other and true love. And The Break-Up with Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn does not count.

(M) Changhen Ge (Everlasting Regret). (Stantley Kwan, 2005) Grade: C

Thoughts: Qiyao Wang (Sammi Cheng) is a woman unlucky in love in Shanghai, China. The movie spans some 40 years during much of China's unrest and dealings with Chairman Mao. The film seems like it would do well with Stanley Kwan as the director and the Wong Kar Wai look and feel but no it is pretty weak.

Count: 94 movies

The UP Series

This series consists of 6 parts in this box-set collection (7 Up, 14 Up, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up, and 42 Up). The documentary film follows the lives of 14 children beginning at the age of 7 and then gives an update on each of their lives every 7 years. The premise of the film seems to have three parts. One part revolves around the idea that the person you are at 7 years of age represents the person you will be in life. The second part is to watch the development of those who will be the future of Britain by the year 2000 and get an insight into those people. The films third investigation is that of the "class" system of England. They want to see how much your social class affects your progress in life.

The series is very interesting, my favorite of the films is 7 Up because the children are so adorable and incredibly smart for their age. All of the children participate in the first three films (7 Up, 14 Up, and 21 Up). From 28 Up and on you have some who leave and some who return. The majority of the participants remain in every film. By 28 when people were either married or planned to be married shortly I didn't know what else to expect from the series, but every stage of the series interested me. Some people always remained favorites from the beginning while others became less interesting to me as the series went on and others became more interesting as the series went on.

By the time 42 Up ends they give you the impression that it is to be the last film, but apparently 49 Up is out in England and soon to be out here in the States. I am not sure what made them decide to do the next installment since goal of reaching the year 2000 was met. Perhaps something interesting has happened or perhaps the filmmakers want to investigate the opinions of the adults now in a post 9-11 world and compare and contrast that with the world they grew up in. I will find out because I will be watching.

(Sorry for the long review New Wave but I haven't posted in quite some time and it is 6 films here).

(M) Volver (Pedro Almodovar, 2006) Grade: A
I’m not a seasoned fan of Almodovar’s work. In fact, my first film of his was Bad Education. But I do remember walking out of that film with my mouth hanging open. It was so twisted and shocking yet amazingly intricate and well-done. This film is the same although perhaps a tad less disturbing. Almodovar maintains in Volver admirable realism and an astute understanding of human nature, specifically women. Great film.


(A) And I Feel Fine ... The Best of the I.R.S. Years ’82-87 (R.E.M.) Grade: A
The I.R.S. years were probably the best times of R.E.M.’s catalog. Warner had some gems (i.e. Automatic for the People), but when listening to the “best of” tracks on this album, you have to sit back and think, “Wow. This same band did Around the Sun?” R.E.M. in the ’80s is absolutely the definitive band of what is considered “college rock.”

(M) Confetti (Debbie Isitt, 2006) Grade: B
I wanted to see this film mainly because it 1) is British; 2) stars Martin Freeman; and 3) looked funny. And though Confetti didn’t disappoint, I didn’t exactly love it. I thought it pretty mediocre with some humourous bits. But it definitely confirmed my belief that weddings nowadays are more productions for everyone except the bride and groom. Oh, and New Wave should have a musical wedding.

Who wants to play this with me. Sounds fun and you don't actually have to watch the shows.

http://www.brilliantbutcancelled.com/deathwatch/