Monday, October 23
(M) Huo Yuanjia (Fearless). (Ronny Yu, 2006) Grade: B+
Thoughts: Fearless is Jet Li’s last martial arts film and what a way to go. Huo Yuanjia (Jet Li) was a well known Chinese martial artist, who fought for China in the early 19th century when the West was coming in and taking over. He co-founded the Chin Woo Athletic and was considered a hero in China which created many myths and legends regarding him. The movie, loosely based on him, had a good mix of fight scenes and storyline. However, determining what was fact and/or fiction was difficult. Apparently, the family of Huo Yuanjia disagreed with the film and sued Jet Li and the film company.
(M) Idiocracy. (Mike Judge, 2006) Grade: D
Thoughts: A great message but executed poorly. Pvt. Joe Bowers (Luke Wilson) and Rita (Maya Rudolph) are test subjects for the government. They are both average Americans who will be frozen for one year however due to circumstances the year turns into 500 years. In 2506, society has become stupider than ever due to the theory that only the dumb and stupid reproduce while the educated and smart find reasons not to start families. I found that to be the most interesting part of the movie, too bad that only lasted 5 minutes. The rest of the time it was watching Luke and Maya try to get back to 2006. Ugh pretty painful to watch. Oh and Dax Shepard is a terrible actor. Blech!
(M) Clean. (Olivier Assayas, 2004) Grade: B-
Thoughts: I wanted to watch this movie ages ago mainly because Maggie Cheung won Best Actress for her role at Cannes. She did do an amazing job but the story was a bit thin. Emily Wang (Maggie Cheung) is a junkie dating Lee Hauser (James Johnston), a has-been rock singer. One night, Lee overdoses on heroin and dies leaving Emily all alone; well not completely. She still has her son who is being watched by Lee’s parents Albrecht Hauser (Nick Nolte) and Rosemary Hauser (Martha Henry). Nick Nolte does an excellent job as a father grieving for his son and trying to make things better for his grandson and daughter in law. The movie moves along slowly and you don’t really care for some of the things going on in Emily’s life because her character is so selfish. An interesting note is the band Metric makes an appearance and the lead singer Emily Haines even has a few lines.
Count: 105 movies
Thoughts: Fearless is Jet Li’s last martial arts film and what a way to go. Huo Yuanjia (Jet Li) was a well known Chinese martial artist, who fought for China in the early 19th century when the West was coming in and taking over. He co-founded the Chin Woo Athletic and was considered a hero in China which created many myths and legends regarding him. The movie, loosely based on him, had a good mix of fight scenes and storyline. However, determining what was fact and/or fiction was difficult. Apparently, the family of Huo Yuanjia disagreed with the film and sued Jet Li and the film company.
(M) Idiocracy. (Mike Judge, 2006) Grade: D
Thoughts: A great message but executed poorly. Pvt. Joe Bowers (Luke Wilson) and Rita (Maya Rudolph) are test subjects for the government. They are both average Americans who will be frozen for one year however due to circumstances the year turns into 500 years. In 2506, society has become stupider than ever due to the theory that only the dumb and stupid reproduce while the educated and smart find reasons not to start families. I found that to be the most interesting part of the movie, too bad that only lasted 5 minutes. The rest of the time it was watching Luke and Maya try to get back to 2006. Ugh pretty painful to watch. Oh and Dax Shepard is a terrible actor. Blech!
(M) Clean. (Olivier Assayas, 2004) Grade: B-
Thoughts: I wanted to watch this movie ages ago mainly because Maggie Cheung won Best Actress for her role at Cannes. She did do an amazing job but the story was a bit thin. Emily Wang (Maggie Cheung) is a junkie dating Lee Hauser (James Johnston), a has-been rock singer. One night, Lee overdoses on heroin and dies leaving Emily all alone; well not completely. She still has her son who is being watched by Lee’s parents Albrecht Hauser (Nick Nolte) and Rosemary Hauser (Martha Henry). Nick Nolte does an excellent job as a father grieving for his son and trying to make things better for his grandson and daughter in law. The movie moves along slowly and you don’t really care for some of the things going on in Emily’s life because her character is so selfish. An interesting note is the band Metric makes an appearance and the lead singer Emily Haines even has a few lines.
Count: 105 movies
Thursday, October 19
(M) Running With Scissors (Ryan Murphy, 2006) Grade: BI admit that when I read Augusten Burroughs’ memoir back in 2003, I disliked it. But I think I had a specific idea of what the book was going to be, and when it wasn’t, I was disappointed. Nevertheless, the film adaptation is surprisingly entertaining, and Annette Bening is fantastic. I might even reread Running to see if I change my mind.
(B) The Immoralist (André Gide, 1902)Grade: B+
This short novel is deceptively simple but there are in fact vast amounts of depth to Gide’s prose. The “immoralist,” Michel, seeks to redefine who he is after nearly dying from tuberculosis, and this search leads him to engage in questionable behavior, most of which is only implied and never explicitly stated. The Immoralist explores our search for identity and our freedom from societal expectations. Knowing how to free oneself is nothing; the difficult thing is knowing how to live with that freedom.
Wednesday, October 18
(G) Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Architecture in Helsinki @ Henry Fonda Theater, Oct. 15 Grade: C+This was a gig I really didn’t have to attend. I was so tired. The show started at 9p with *two* openers. Sigh. But my friend bought tickets and insisted I go. AIH once again had really cute shirts, but I’m not really a fan, especially with their more rock sound. As a person I know once said, “The best thing about this band is their merchandise.” CYHSY was alright, except that they went on at 1130p (and I bet the parents who drove their kids to the gig were pretty mad). I think their debut is decent but I admit, I haven’t listened to it since it was released last year. I left before their encore.
(B) Lady Chatterley’s Lover (D.H. Lawrence, 1928) Grade: A+This book was so controversial in 1928 that it was banned in both England and the U.S. But it’s fantastic. Lawrence comments on such topics as the Industrial Revolution, sexual mores and human nature with such insight that his ideas are still applicable today. Great book.
Addendum: I found this story on CNN. Here are some parts I liked.
"Coupled with the unexpected success of "Ugly Betty," which has just received a full year's order of episodes, it has suddenly made ABC a player on Thursday, the night advertisers pay most dearly to exhibit their wares.
One disappointment so far has been the performance of "Lost," whose average audience in its third season is 21 percent less than it was in its second, Nielsen said.
In cable, VH1 recorded the biggest audience in the history of the network Sunday when 7.5 million people tuned in to the second-season finale of "Flavor of Love."
I feel like I watch quite a bit of TV but after breaking out my TV schedule I can see I do not. Since Gilmore Girls has started this season I have not watched one episode so I figure I should drop the show; we’ll see. Standoff is pretty good but conflicts with my Veronica Mars (yay!). Sadly Flavor of Love is ending which is a shame because that show is ridiculously good. Oh and the surprise hit for the season for me has been Ugly Betty. It is such a funny and fun show with a big heart. I would suggest watching this and hey it is before Grey’s Anatomy for you fans out there.
Sunday: Simpsons, Flavor of Love (ending)
Monday: Prison Break, How I Met Your Mother
Tuesday: Gilmore Girls (might drop), Veronica Mars, Standoff (off and on)
Wednesday: nothing
Thursday: Ugly Betty, The Office (sometimes)
Friday: BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
Saturday: nothing
I want to watch the new version of Doctor Who because it is before Battlestar Galactica.
Thursday, October 12
I was on a Criterion kick and watched a few. I’m on a mission to watch as many on the list as I can.
(M) Rashomon. (Akira Kurosawa, 1950) Grade: B-
Thoughts: My first Kurosawa movie and I have to say not bad. The biggest issue I had was it did not move along quickly enough or it could be I was too impatient. After all, the film is only 88 minutes so how quickly can it really go. A heinous crime has taken place and 4 different people recount their version – a thief, a dead husband, his wife and a by passer. The interesting part is you are never told which one is the true account. The film is a look into people’s perspectives and what we as the audience choose to believe.
(M) The Virgin Spring. (Ingmar Bergman, 1960) Grade: A-
Thoughts: Ingmar Bergman is one of my favorite directors. His body of work is amazing and he deals with religion in such a profound way, which makes it more interesting considering how anti religious he is. In Virgin Spring, a young girl is raped and killed by two herdsmen while their little brother watches. Later on, those same herdsmen take shelter at the young girl’s home and the family learns who they are and of their evil deed. I loved how as righteous as some people are they fall prey to human nature – sin, vengeance, rage, anger, grief and forgiveness. One of Bergman’s best and there was a nice commentary by Ang Lee at the start of the film.
(M) RoboCop. (Paul Verhoeven, 1987) Grade: C+
Thoughts: Yes, Robocop is considered Criterion material which makes it awesome in my book. A dead officer Alex J. Murphy is resurrected into RoboCop as a security company’s project. RoboCop soon learns about the people who killed him and decides to avenge his own death. Overall, the movie was pretty 80’s cheesy but it was all in good fun. It was funny to see Kurtwood Smith, who plays Red on That 70’s Show, be this Clarence Boddicker villain who runs dope deals.
(M) Pygmalion. (Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard, 1938) Grade: C+
Thoughts: I would like this film more but it is pretty sexist. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s famed play by the same name, Eliza Doolittle (Wendy Hiller) is transformed from a poor flower girl to an elegant lady by Professor Henry Higgins (Leslie Howard). It was hard to believe that Eliza could love Henry considering how cruel he is to her during the transformation. His treatment of her, like a slave animal, was difficult to accept. Granted the movie was done in 1938 so I’m sure it was common for women and society to behave that way but I’m glad woman have rights now and a voice. On a side note, Wendy Hiller was gorgeous.
Count: 102 movies
(M) Rashomon. (Akira Kurosawa, 1950) Grade: B-
Thoughts: My first Kurosawa movie and I have to say not bad. The biggest issue I had was it did not move along quickly enough or it could be I was too impatient. After all, the film is only 88 minutes so how quickly can it really go. A heinous crime has taken place and 4 different people recount their version – a thief, a dead husband, his wife and a by passer. The interesting part is you are never told which one is the true account. The film is a look into people’s perspectives and what we as the audience choose to believe.
(M) The Virgin Spring. (Ingmar Bergman, 1960) Grade: A-
Thoughts: Ingmar Bergman is one of my favorite directors. His body of work is amazing and he deals with religion in such a profound way, which makes it more interesting considering how anti religious he is. In Virgin Spring, a young girl is raped and killed by two herdsmen while their little brother watches. Later on, those same herdsmen take shelter at the young girl’s home and the family learns who they are and of their evil deed. I loved how as righteous as some people are they fall prey to human nature – sin, vengeance, rage, anger, grief and forgiveness. One of Bergman’s best and there was a nice commentary by Ang Lee at the start of the film.
(M) RoboCop. (Paul Verhoeven, 1987) Grade: C+
Thoughts: Yes, Robocop is considered Criterion material which makes it awesome in my book. A dead officer Alex J. Murphy is resurrected into RoboCop as a security company’s project. RoboCop soon learns about the people who killed him and decides to avenge his own death. Overall, the movie was pretty 80’s cheesy but it was all in good fun. It was funny to see Kurtwood Smith, who plays Red on That 70’s Show, be this Clarence Boddicker villain who runs dope deals.
(M) Pygmalion. (Anthony Asquith and Leslie Howard, 1938) Grade: C+
Thoughts: I would like this film more but it is pretty sexist. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s famed play by the same name, Eliza Doolittle (Wendy Hiller) is transformed from a poor flower girl to an elegant lady by Professor Henry Higgins (Leslie Howard). It was hard to believe that Eliza could love Henry considering how cruel he is to her during the transformation. His treatment of her, like a slave animal, was difficult to accept. Granted the movie was done in 1938 so I’m sure it was common for women and society to behave that way but I’m glad woman have rights now and a voice. On a side note, Wendy Hiller was gorgeous.
Count: 102 movies
Wednesday, October 11
Thought I'd share this info on Grind House.
Synopsis: A 'shared' movie with Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Sin City) where both Robert and Quentin are creating independent 60 minute films that will be shown together under the Grind House name.
Rodriguez portion is a zombie-based movie called Planet Terror. Tarantino's segment is called Death Proof and according to QT is "sort of a slasher film, but instead of a knife, it's a car".
The film will also include fake movie trailers between the two features including a blaxploitation trailer, a kung-fu trailer, a spaghetti-western trailer, and a sexploitation trailer for a fake film called Cowgirls in Sweden.
Preview:
Grind House Details
Theatrical Release Date: December 1, 2006 (planned)Synopsis: A 'shared' movie with Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids, Sin City) where both Robert and Quentin are creating independent 60 minute films that will be shown together under the Grind House name.
Rodriguez portion is a zombie-based movie called Planet Terror. Tarantino's segment is called Death Proof and according to QT is "sort of a slasher film, but instead of a knife, it's a car".
The film will also include fake movie trailers between the two features including a blaxploitation trailer, a kung-fu trailer, a spaghetti-western trailer, and a sexploitation trailer for a fake film called Cowgirls in Sweden.
Preview:
(O) Philadelphia 2006
Grades:
Trip: A
Company: A
ipod: A
Step 2 Boards: C
The reason for my trip to Philadelphia was the clincial portion of my Step 2 Boards. I arrived in the city around 7am after a red-eye flight during which I had trouble sleeping. My old roommate Amy was going to meet me later on in the day. We stayed at the Travelodge in Center City.
Unfortunately the hotel room wasn't ready when I got there so I had hours to kill. Double unfortunately my phone was not working. It was on permanent roaming which would have been fine but it wasn't connecting at all. So I decided to wander around the city visiting the old familiar places, which I came to find out were not so familiar anymore, while also looking for a Sprint store.
First stop was my favorite streets/alleys in the city. It sits right across the street from.....a car wash
After that I headed towards my old apartment when I passed the corner market that is now....a Quiznos?
Then I see my old apartment which used to sit above a Cash Today store which I also used to work at. Turns out Cash Today bought the whole building, taking out St. Georges bar downstairs and knocking the building down next to it.
That's my old room on the third floor in the middle picture. It's good to know that some things don't change tho:
I then passed by the LOVE sign and the fountain which was PINK! for breast cancer awareness.
At around 9am I finally got to Liberty Place Shops which has a Sprint Store in it, but it was closed til 930. So I decided to study in the rotunda and hang out with my ipod.
The Sprint Store finally opened, but it didn't matter because my phone started working. Yay! My spirits brightened I bopped my way to Rittenhouse Square in search of a Cosi and a perfectly heated mint mocha.
I found a Cosi, however, they ran out of mint and I burned my tongue. Ha!
Luckily my ipod was there to keep me company. After I finished my coffee, I shopped at the H&M I found across the street and another store I can't remember. I ventured into the park and people watched. I REALLY just wanted to sleep. I called the hotel and the lady told me yet again that the room was not ready. Sad. But, again, my ipod was there to comfort me...in addition to the random bird.
When Amy arrived at around noon, our room still wasn't available. We ate lunch at Reading Terminal where I ate the meatball sub I had bought earlier. Afterwards we got green tea boba from the chinese bakery. Our friend Wylie met up with us there. Dinner was held at Penang's where I ate MANGO TOFU! yum.
The next day Amy and I had Pho and bbq pork at the Vietnam Restaurant and headed to this little thing called CPE Step 2 of the boards. That went well I think. Nothing really much to say since they prohibit me from discussing the exam with others haha. Afterwards we met Wylie at Westy's for Karaoke and Wings!
And even tho I only got a slight buzz, the best part was that our bill only came out to $50.50! Four beers, 3 black russians, 2 shots of buttery nipples, 2 jagger shots, 2 captain and cokes, one vodka tonic and an order of wings! Awesome.
The next morning I headed out at 6:30am to fly to Detroit for my cousins wedding. It was raining and I was tired....but luckily I had my trusty ipod. :)
Tuesday, October 10
(G) Sufjan Stevens w/ My Brightest Diamond
Opening Act: My Brightest Diamond
Grade: A
Considering that I rarely see an opening act that I enjoy I have to say I LOVED My Brightest Diamond, though I probably would not buy a full-length album. I missed her solo show a couple months back but was pleased to finally see her. Sadly the best song of her set was a cover of a Nina Simone song but it was fabulous.
Headliner: Sufjan Stevens
Grade: B
Sufjan performed for about an hour and 40 minutes which is quite impressive. He was full of stories, and wonderful arrangements. I was able to bring home a souvenier (a blow-up Santa). During the show he threw out Santa's and Supermen. He performed a new song which had something about a 'Snowbird' in the title and that song was THE BEST song of the night, absolutely amazing. Everyone in the band was dressed in what looked like boyscout uniforms with wings attached. He had eagle wings while everyone else had butterfly wings. It was a wonderful show.
Monday, October 9
(M) The Queen (Stephen Frears, 2006) Grade: B+Helen Mirren has portrayed Elizabeth I and II in two separate films, and though I have yet to see Elizabeth I, I can say that Mirren pulls off II quite well. Centering mainly around Princess Diana’s untimely death, the film was surprisingly funny in parts. The highlight of the film was a scene in which Elizabeth tells Tony Blair (played by Michael Sheen) that the public’s favor always changes. And the audience had to laugh at its relevance when considering Blair’s immense popularity then to his recent leave of office.
(G) Asobi Seksu @ The Echo, Oct. 6 Grade: BI’ve never seen so many Asians at the Echo as this night for this Japanese fronted New York band. Overall, it was a solid performance and singer Yuki is charming. The only quibble I had was with the vocals, which I couldn’t hear very well (and I was right up front). But I suppose Yuki’s singing style is somewhat soft and that’s always hard to hear above drums and loud guitars.
Sunday, October 8
(M) The Departed. (Martin Scorsese, 2006) Grade: A
Thoughts: I've wanted to see a good movie for a while now so I was really pleased about The Departed. The film had solid acting all around, good action and a great storyline, which was taken from the Asian film Infernal Affairs. Apparently there have been TONS of comparisons between the two films, however, I do not think it is fair to compare them. After all, it is the same story, just different styles of presentation and execution. I hope Scorsese gets some recognition for this movie but I doubt it. He is such a talented director; it is ridiculous he has not won an Oscar. Leonardo was amazing and HOT, as always. Matt Damon was not bad but I enjoyed Mark Wahlberg's performance a lot. One thing to note is they changed the ending of the film basically to fulfill Hollywood’s vision of a happy ending. If I was asked which movie I like more I would say Infernal Affairs but not by much.
Count: 98 movies
Thoughts: I've wanted to see a good movie for a while now so I was really pleased about The Departed. The film had solid acting all around, good action and a great storyline, which was taken from the Asian film Infernal Affairs. Apparently there have been TONS of comparisons between the two films, however, I do not think it is fair to compare them. After all, it is the same story, just different styles of presentation and execution. I hope Scorsese gets some recognition for this movie but I doubt it. He is such a talented director; it is ridiculous he has not won an Oscar. Leonardo was amazing and HOT, as always. Matt Damon was not bad but I enjoyed Mark Wahlberg's performance a lot. One thing to note is they changed the ending of the film basically to fulfill Hollywood’s vision of a happy ending. If I was asked which movie I like more I would say Infernal Affairs but not by much.
Count: 98 movies
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