Popularity: 9% [?]
“No good movie is depressing; all bad movies are depressing.” -R.E
This movie has been on my list of to see(s) for years; I think it was Mark Sweeney that originally recommended it to me back in the 90s. Like so other movies of its time, its a non-linear film. Unlike so many other movies of its time, it wasn’t non-linear for shock, twist, or confusion.
One of my favorite things about winter is that time, late at night, when its been snowing all day, and all the built up snow absorbs much of the ‘noise’ of the world, and things become muffled and silent.
The Sweet Hereafter is about that silence. There’s a horrible accident involving a school bus, and many children die. The movie follows the townspeople and a lawyer hired to represent them as they deal with the aftermath. The emotional distance and silence of the survivors is mimiced by setting/location of the film. A small and remote canadian town, with short days and long nights, surrounded by mountains that nearly devour everything in site. (mountains=accident).
There isn’t much emotion expressed in this film, a few outbursts of tears here and there. Probably the strongest moment in the film is during a flashback, a heartwrenching memory about rushing a baby to the hospital. Definitely my favorite part of the film.
Anyways, check it out, good stuff.
Popularity: 14% [?]
I don’t even remember how this one got on my queue. A Finnish movie released in 2002, The Man Without a Past was one of the quieter movies I’ve seen in a while. There’s no plot really, characters have names, but it doesn’t even matter. This is a movie about small moments and subtle jokes, both of which can easily be missed. There’s no huge moral here, no messages that bang you over the head with teachings of kindness or forgiveness. There are no heroes, and not even really villains (just hoodlums). Having no past forces one to inevitably live in the present, as the main character of this film so genuinely does. Similary, watching the move works the same way, in that as its essentially plotless, one doesn’t have to worry about anything more than the current scene, which is what allows for such subltely to exist in the movie.
Didn’t change my life, but certainly didn’t harm it.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Not only do I love the Daily Show/Colbert Report for the insightful political humor, but I also love each because of the way they play with media. The Daily Show for its powerful editing techniques, and now the Colbert Report for successfully combining Broadcast media with User generated media into an amazing loop:
Checkout the Stephen Colbert Lightsaber challenge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t27FxaHgvM8 (original footage)
And some of the many responses! (the best ones get shown on the show!)
Popularity: 14% [?]
So Vegas, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco (despite all the fog) were fantastic. It was a long, at one point stressful trip, but tons of fun in the end. It was great reconnecting with the old gang, getting to know some others a bit more, and watching tons of Scrubs!
Special thanks yet again to Dan & Melinda for helping making this trip a possibility by giving me a bed to sleep in and for hauling my ass around town.
to katie/brian, kevin, daniel, ryan, kerrie, jen, claire, crotchathan, margaret, mike, and julia……good times!
Some Photos (for some reason I didn’t take a single vegas photo….LOOOOOSER)
I shot a ton of photos of Santa Cruz for a website I’m working on. If anyone has any particularly good or memorable pictures of SC, (the beach, pacific avenue, campus, hiking, wine tasting, etc) please send them my way.
Popularity: 13% [?]
I don’t dig many horror movies, I’m usually just bored watching most of them. However, I saw The Descent last week and actually really liked it. It’s a smart, well crafted horror-thriller that’s a little sci-fi cheesey at parts, but has enough ambiguity to make for a really interesting movie. Plus, the most horrifying moments in the film have nothing to do with the evil monsters, but with claustrophobia, exhaustion, panic, betrayal, loss, paranoia, and so on.
I’d highly suggest checking it out. Plus any movie that has a poster referencing a dali picture is just plain coooooool
Popularity: 15% [?]
It’s so so so foggy.
Trip has turned out pretty well so far. Vegas, Santa Cruz, and now SF.
Hung out at Crowley House the other day, a photo of my hero supreme is on the right.
Also, Dan’s ass is hot in scrubs.
Popularity: 14% [?]
