Gloryfades.org

I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately. The weather has been so nasty and unforgiving this month that I’ve retreated into doing as much “warm” things as possible, namely curling up into a ball and watching stuff on the tube. Occasionally, I actually venture out into the world as well, but only if absolutely necessary. Otherwise, I’m wearing PJs and my extra warm socks and picking away at my cross-stitch.

It started off with No Country for Old Men, which I reluctantly agreed to see with my sister. I’m not a huge fan of gory films and I had heard rumours that this one was not for the faint of heart. Well, they were right. It certainly was a blood-fest. However, despite that it was a good film. The last Coen Bros. film I saw was Fargo and I didn’t see it all the way through. In fact, every time it’s on TV - and it’s on often - I can’t seem to watch it the whole way through. Anyway, since I paid to see No Country for Old Men in the theatres I had to sit there and take it all in. Bloody, silent, and intense. Those are the three best adjectives I can ascribe to the film. There’s no doubt that it’s horrifically violent and not in a “cinematic” style either - everything looked like it hurt. A lot.

Having seen one Oscar contender, I decided after that to watch as many of the Best Picture nominees as possible. This weekend I managed to finish off two more - Atonement and Juno. Atonement was sad. I didn’t really feel any emotion for any of the characters until right around the end when the “twist” (was it a twist?) came. I’m not sure if it’s the character or the actress but Kiera Knightley seemed selfish and arrogant. I felt terrible for the younger sister, though, which I believe I was supposed to. All in all, it was a pretty standard weepy sort of film. The score, on the other hand, was fabulous. If I can get my hands on that I will. I love classical music with a twist.

Juno was fun. It’s a cute little story about a cute little girl and I loved Jason Bateman. If I were Ellen Page I’d have a total crush on him. I wish Michael Cera could have had a bigger part in it but all in all it was a sweet little story. I doubt that it will win Best Picture but that’s just because the Academy is comprised of old men. 90% of the humour will be completely and utterly lost on them. Plus, they tend to pick dramas over comedies.

I also watched Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (and I TOTALLY keep typing the Demon Barbar of Fleet Street. Could you imagine a giant talking elephant with a razer in his hand, killing people in Victorian England?) this afternoon. Don’t get me wrong, I love me a good musical but this one wasn’t my favourite. I guess I’m just spoiled because I grew up on Phantom of the Opera. My visions of London were always snowy and encased in an opulent but decaying theatre, not grimy and soot-faced. Violent and remorseless, it didn’t really solve any problems. “Mr. T” remains unhappy until the bitter end even when everyone is dead! Not even the faddish lure of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter made me care for any of the characters (except Sasha Baron Cohen who was awesome as Todd’s Italian rival). Overall, kind of a disappointment. I bet it would be more interested on the stage.

So all that’s left in Best Picture is Michael Clayton, which I have, and There Will Be Blood, which I think I might have to go to the theatre to see. Great, another gory film. I’ve always enjoyed watching Daniel Day-Lewis act but I’m not sure if I can stomach more blood. Unfortunately, Michael Clayton looks really boring. I read the imdb description and wasn’t too impressed. I’m definitely not a courtroom drama fan, they just seem so silly and have the potential of getting really convoluted. We’ll see, though. There are plenty of other films to watch as well!

My sister and I went to see a film tonight. I’m glad I did … I needed to get out of my house. I came home to find a fridge in our dining room. Of all the things we need a fridge — especially a fridge in the dining room — is not something that this house needs. New carpeting? Maybe. Fridge? Notsomuch.

Anyway, so we went to the cheapo theater in Burlington to see We Own the Night.

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Last night Gord and I went to see Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) in Ancaster. We chose to see the 10:30 showing (which was the only one we could go to, actually) and after buying the tickets we realized just how late it would be. I was dead tired from working and Gord’s just old so it was sort of daunting to go see a movie at 10:30.

In any event, the film was really good. I haven’t seen anything in the theatres in awhile and I’m glad we chose this over Smokin’ Aces. Not only was the film not as packed as the latter would have been but it was probably worth the money, too. However, the film was rather violent, much moreso than I had expected it to be and that sort of put a damper on things. Once upon a time I would have been fine with watching people get shot and stabbed, etc. but nowadays I’m really squeamish with that sort of thing. I don’t really know why, either, but something obviously changed. I can’t even watch the surgery scenes in Nip/Tuck without involuntarily turning away. So, suffice it to say, I spent some parts of the film with my head tucked into Gord’s arm like a small child. That sucked because some of the more violent parts had dialogue in them too, which I wasn’t able to catch because the film is in Spanish and I couldn’t read the subtitles!

I guess that’s what I get for being a big pussy.

This is a movie I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever in my life see. Not ever. I don’t care how long it’s been it’s still not long enough. I’m talking about Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center, the film based on the attacks on 9/11. I just watched the trailer despite my better judgement. My first reaction upon learning that there was a movie coming out was total anger. To borrow a quaint euphamism from my favourite film critic these Hollywood grassfuckers have commodified an event so monumentally devastating that some no-name dumbass Canadian (ie, me!) can be brought to tears by the very thought of said event.

I have never been to war, I have never witnessed rascism in its most violent state (at least I think I haven’t) but I have had a Where-Were-You moment and that’s 9/11. And I am never going to watch any of these dumbass films that are being churned out by Hollywood to make money off of this tragedy. I simply won’t because I can’t. It breaks my heart to think of it and makes me see red at the same time. Don’t they understand that it’s not good enough that it’s done with the “utmost respect” for the families of victims or that people don’t actually need to see Nicolas Cage try desperately to act in a movie that is not supposed to be made? Obviously they don’t or else they wouldn’t have picked that fucker Oliver Stone to make this shitty movie in the first place.

I can’t even stand the man’s name anymore. He’s so desperate for that fucking Oscar that he’ll step on every throat he can to get to it. It’s a shame that he has to masturbate all over such a huge tragedy in the process because if it is to ever be done it should be done well. I have very little faith in the man to actually pull off such a task because he has let me down so often in the past. The only film that I will willingly watch of his more than once is Schindler’s List. Ever since that film he’s just sucked so damn hard.

Ugh, this has made me really mad. I hate that they make movies about 9/11. I don’t even care if they might actually be well done because some things should not be touched. And what angers me even more is that I, seemingly, should not care, but I do. I really do. I can’t help but to care because it changed my whole perspective of the world.

Edit: No wonder why I like Schindler’s List. It wasn’t directed by him!

Oh man, what a week. I’ve decided to give up my second job and continue searching for another one. It’s no use, telemarketing is awful :doh: I know I’ve been bitching and complaining about not making a lot of money, but I really can’t do something that I know is very stupid and bothersome. I’m not going to try to sell you something when I’ve obviously irritated you.

So, I have some things I plan on doing. Kathy’s going to teach me how to review medical files and pay me handsomely to help with her backlog (hopefully) and after that, well I’m going to keep looking. No sense in not looking further; there’s more summer ahead anyway.

Other than that, life is peachy-keen. I’ve been watching a lot of movies lately, actually. Most recently I’ve been watching Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, a film that I have only seen partially once on stage. It was humerous in that Samuel Beckett sort of sense with dialogue being very rapid-fire at times and quite clever. The story - if you have never heard of it - is about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two minor characters in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The premise of the play (because it indeed was a play first :)) is centered on the death of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, mainly because in Hamlet, their death is merely an afterthought. We learn of their death at the end of the play and quickly forget because other more tragic events come to play. In R&G are Dead, their deaths are central to the plot and emphasize the gratuitousness of their deaths. Shakespeare really didn’t need to kill the two men off, but it seems for convenience’s sake, he does, which the play tries to answer. Humerously. There is definitely humour in it I haven’t finished watching it because I stopped to take a nap :blush: but I’m going to finish later on today. I’m really beginning to like Gary Oldman as an actor. I’ve seen him thus far as Sid Vicious, Sirius Black, Dracula, Commissioner Gordon and now Rosencrantz (or is it Guildenstern? :S) and I really do like him.

Anyone have any movie suggestions? I’m in a dvd kick right now

Well, I exercised my first privilege of my summer today by sleeping in until two in the afternoon. I lazily rolled my fat ass out of bed, strolled downstairs, ate a bagel for lunch and then played on the computer until 5 o’clock. I called Tatjana, made plans to see Kill Bill Vol. 2 and then, only then, did I go to the washroom to take a shower.

It was glorious.

As for Vol. 2 I was neither horribly disappointed nor was I thrilled by it. The first half was definitely better than the second, but that’s because all of the really cool stuff was in the first half. The second half was definitely funnier and you finally get to find out the Bride’s name which bothered me. I hate how they bleeped out her name like it was a fucking cuss word. :angry:

Anyway, I won’t say anymore in case you haven’t seen it.

One thing that’s been on my mind lately has been old lady hair .. When I was on the bus going downtown today there were quite a few old ladies on board. All of them had the same sort of hair: short, curly and frizzy. Now I understand the frizzy part but what about the curly and short? Is there some sort of code that old ladies have to follow? “In order to be seen in public, after the age of 65 you must shear your hair and curl it every day. The colour may vary to your taste, but no long hair allowed!” That’s just weird.

I’m sick. With an awful cold that I most likely caught from sleeping on the cement at the Skydome. See, taking chances has its reprecussions, it makes you sick as a dog! The reason I’m blogging at midnight, though, is cause I slept for about five hours in the afternoon and now I’m pretty much wide awake, although I could probably fall right back to sleep if I tried; which I will, in a bit.

The worst thing about being sick and being in class is that the seconds seem to drag on forever. I think everyone knows what I’m talking about. You want to hurt the prof and everyone within a mile radius of you if you think you can get home quicker to bed. I had to wait in the cold for my mom to pick me up from the bus stop as well and that wasn’t fun either. Hamilton got hit with a snowstorm today and it would have been fine if the snow just fell nicely only it was coupled with a super strong wind that felt like it was biting my ass as I huddled in a phone booth waiting for her. Oi. Today was crap.

On the plus side, I watched Nurse Betty tonight. Reese Witherspoon plays a woman who witnesses the murder of her sleazy husband by a couple of hitmen (Chris Rock & Morgan Freeman); the shock of the ordeal puts her into this sort of trance and she begins to believe that she was once engaged to her favourite character on a soap opera she watches religiously. She travels to LA to find this guy (Greg Kinnear) and he thinks she’s just a really great method actress so he puts her on the set of show thinking she’ll boost ratings; that’s when she finally snaps back to life. Rock and Freeman are after her this entire time and while in the process of finding her, Freeman begins to fall in love with the description he’s given of her and a handful of photographs of her.

It’s a bit of a weird story, but I enjoyed it cause in the end she realizes she doesn’t need to have a man in her life (the doctor from the soap or her dead husband) to live happily. She ends up appearing on the soap opera, as an actor, and she uses the money she gets from the job to go to nursing college and visit Europe (that’s my favourite part, cause she goes to Italy :D).

Anyway, my head hurts. I’m going to bed. Goodnight all!