An Introspective Retrospective of a Prospective Genius

Killing Zoe

There are two kinds of "heist" movies: the kind in which a brilliant group of criminals stylishly executes a stunning plan, flawlessly obsconding with vast wealth and the other kind in which a pretty good plan goes horribly and violently wrong. Killing Zoe, however, is a third sort of heist film in which the plan isn't that good, is probably set up to fail from the start and goes sickeningly awry in a spectacularly brutal fashion. Eric Stoltz plays Zed, an American safecracker in Paris at the request of his friend, Eric, played by Jean-Hugues Anglade. While Zed's waiting for Eric to show up the next morning, he decides to take on the services a working-girl, Zoe, played by Julie Delpy. Eric is quite unpleased by this when he arrives in the morning and proceeds to pull Zoe out of the shower and tosses her out into the hall. Eric despises "whores" and warns Zed he'll get AIDS from one of the aformentioned prostitutes.

Aside from being an excellent actress, particularly in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, Julie Delpy is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in my entire 24 years. It's her eyes, there's something warm and lovely about her eyes. They're delightfully inviting. Her eyes are reason enough to die in a war. She's the sort of alluring beauty that makes one glad to exist. This has nothing to do with Killing Zoe, but if anybody knows Julie, just go ahead and pass this along.

Anyway, Eric wants Zed to help him and his cronies break a certain safe at a federal reserve bank. Pretty standard stuff, until they all shoot up and down bottles of cheap wine for the next 6-7 hours prior to their big job. Why the self-destructive behavior? Eric has AIDS, so deep down, he probably couldn't care less about himself or anything else. So much is evident when Eric starts blowing away bank employees for no good reason. To further worsen the situation, Zoe turns up as an employee at said bank. One silent alarm later and things really start to go bad. Though the first part of the film is a bit slow, the pace really quickens inside the bank. It's definitely a movie worth seeing, as the plot takes some unique twists and several elements are very stylish.

Rawr!

Well, today started off kind of sluggishly. Whenever my brother's home he takes over the tv and he makes us watch the most ridiculous trash. He's 22, but for some reason he and his pal made us watch 2 hours of Nick Gas. Sure, it's sort of nostalgic to watch childrens' game shows from the early 90s, but such nostalgia should only last about 30 seconds, not 2 freaking hours. Then, once ESPN came on and I ran out of productive things to do, I decided to toss in a movie. Evidently, my taste in movies is as weak as my taste in music. Brian and his buddy ran down my list of DVDs labeling everything from Underworld to 28 Days Later to Before Sunrise and Before Sunset to Misery to Citizen Kane with the moniker of "suck". That's right, Citizen Kane is a "so-called classic" that "sucks". Anyway, I watched Training Day, another movie off the Suck List. However, I thought it was great, Denzel Washington definitely gave an Oscar worthy performance. Then again, what do I know? I loved Gone with the Wind, yet another film off the Suck List.

In the evening, I hit the Apple Store for the big Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) release event. I have contacts at the store, so when I arrived at 5:58 PM, 2 minutes before the doors opened, I got to go in first, thus ditching the entire mile-long line that had been building for several hours previous. I also got to skip the ever so long register line. I almost pity the line people, almost. I'm absolutely LOVING Tiger, it's got to be the greatest OS update ever. We Mac people are crazy, but it's a fun, stylish kind of crazy.

Driving Around a Ghost World

So, I spent much of today driving around and doing errands with the fam. My brother's in from UF, so we had to drive him around and buy him stuff. We went for golf shoes and to buy his girlfriend a graduation gift and so on. Since we were in the new van, I burned an Aimee Mann CD to try out the stereo and to make my brother listen to something I picked for a change. I also wanted to see how he'd like her. Well, evidently, Aimee Mann sucks worse than Alanis Morissette. Which's pretty harsh, because my brother really dislikes Alanis. Aimee Mann is so amazing, her lyrics are so true and well put. I can't believe so few people that I know have ever heard of her. My brother wouldn't even listen, he just kept saying how bad she sucks. It's cliche, but sometimes I feel like kind of an outsider in my family. I'm the only one who likes anime and Alanis and Aimee Mann and zombies and gothy vampires and classic books and discussing movies and so on.

Speaking of outsiders, I watched an awesome movie tonight, Ghost World. It's one of the best dark comedies I've ever seen and it also totally describes how I've felt for the last few years. I know what it's like to feel alone in a world of people who don't "get" it. I could really identify with the characters and their search for something better or just different. Enid, played by Thora Birch also completely reminded me of someone I knew back in high school. It's funny, Annie's the only person I ended up wanting to keep in touch with, but instead she's gone and I run into other idiots all the time. That annoyes me, but that's how it goes.

Quit what?

No, I haven't quit the blog. I quit something, but not the blog. The blog presses on, ever-forward!

There's not much worth writing though.

I finally saw Blade Trinity last night and I thought it was pretty freakin' cool. It's one of those movies that's flat out fun to watch. The story's not brilliant or anything, that's not its purpose. It's simply cool to watch Blade turn opulently gothic vampires to ash, period. Jessica Biel was also way cooler than I thought she would be. I hate when they toss a hot girl into a story for the sole purpose of having a hot girl, but such was not the case with Blade Trinity. Not only was she a stylish vampire killer like Blade, but her character was also rather interesting and I wish they had expanded on it further. Overall, I dug the movie, but no Blade nemesis rivals Deacon Frost, he's the epitome of decadent goth vampires.

Out

I quit.

Fvgg!

The only thing truly reliable about people is that they're unreliable.

Closer

Lately I've been buying DVDs like a madman. In the last two weeks I've picked up 12 movies, 3 were rebuys because my brother takes them to school and they vanish. Poof! I planned to watch a few today, but we ended up spending a good 5 hours van shopping, so I ended up just watching Closer.

Honestly, I'm not certain how I felt about it. It was very well-acted, even Natalie Portman was good. I usually find her acting to be paper thin and spectacularly dull. However, her performance in Closer actually makes me take back all the not-so-nice things I said about her during the Oscars. The film itself is very harsh and provocative, but beautifully shot and extremely stylish. At one time or another, most people do or say some pretty base and vile things that they'd rather nobody ever see. Loneliness, betrayal, hate and even love, or the illusion of love can bring out the absolute worst in people. That's what Closer shows us; four people often at their worst, doing and saying things to one another based solely on their basest emotions. The dialogue is incredibly brutal and sexually explicit, sometimes making even Reservoir Dogs seem almost G-Rated. I really liked that the end was as harsh as the rest of the film, tossing aside the typical Hollywood romance formula.

Life is harsh. Relationships are often painful rather than pretty. In those respects, Closer is spot on accurate. Perhaps that's why I'm not sure I loved this film, it's not always fun seeing the worst in people. I've seen it for real, thus I may not be reacting to the film fairly. I'll watch it again after I see a few others.

Sin City

Alright, today I saw Sin City in its entirety. If I absolutely had to sum up the film in brief and succinct terms, I would simply say, OMFG SWEET! However, I think I'll elaborate a bit further. I've never read Frank Miller's Sin City graphic novels, but I assume that since he co-directed the film alongside Robert Rodriguez it lives up to its source material. Sin City is by far the most unique and flat out stylish "comic book" movie I've ever seen. For those unaware, the film is primarily film noir style black and white, but with very cool splashes of color. For instance, a character might only have bright blue eyes, or golden hair against the black and white world. Blood is often red, but sometimes it might be silhouetted in white.

Story-wise, it's actually broken into separate, yet loosely connected vignettes. Each vignette focuses on one main character and their struggle to survive in the gritty world of Sin City, complete with film noir style narration. Gritty is definitely a good word to describe this movie, it's the epitome of stylized violence. My first viewing, we went with someone who just didn't "get" it. They said stuff like, "Ok, how'd he get hit by a car 4 times and still get up?" It's not real, that's the point! It's supposed to be extreme, it's an entire world of extremes. Extreme violence, extreme corruption, extreme courage. That's the essence of Sin City.

Sin City... Sort Of

Well, tonight at long last, I saw Sin City, sort of. Stupid Yahoo! Movies posted the wrong showtime, so I missed the first 20+ minutes. I'll write more tomorrow.

House of Flying Daggers

Tonight I finally saw House of Flying Daggers and I was definitely not disappointed. Though it was written and directed by the same men behind Hero, House of Flying Daggers is a very different film. Hero is a surreal action film with romantic elements, whereas House of Flying Daggers is more of an Eastern love story with surreal action elements. Both films have a great deal of visual beauty, but House of Flying Daggers is less over the top. One has to remember that Hero's story unfolds through the recollection of memories by each character, allowing for a vast degree of hyperbole and exaggeration, while House of Flying Daggers is told in a more traditional and literal fashion. House of Flying Daggers is certainly beautiful with many artistic visual elements, but don't expect to see people locking swords while walking on water.

I really enjoyed both films, but I don't particularly like comparing them. House of Flying Daggers is not meant to be a true action film, so I don't like comparing it to one. It's really a tale of love, deception, loyalty and the constant interplay of such forces. People who like swordplay mixed with their romance will definitely dig House of Flying Daggers. However, pure action fans won't be pleased. I found the story to be lovely and the action sequences to be excellent, so I have no complaints.

Nothin'

I got nothin'! I went for a vitamin i.v. today, had an odd reaction to it, felt sick until just a bit ago. That was my day.

An Excellent Day For an Exorcism

I'm 24, love movies, particularly creepy dark ones, yet until tonight I had never seen The Exorcist. Now, I know it's a classic and it's brilliant and all that, but it just didn't floor me like I thought it would. I wasn't that scared or that disturbed (save once) and parts were flat out slow. Granted, the film definitely had some totally eerie, morbid scenes, it's not that I didn't dig some of it. Maybe I just fell victim to the pop culture hype monster, or maybe I just wasn't in the proper mood to truly appreciate it. Maybe it's an amazing horror film and I'm the problem.

Baby there's something wrong with me that I can't see.

The Devil's Advocate

Ok, my last few posts have been particularly weak. I can't be witty all the time, or even most of the time. Hell, I'm quite boring. That's really the issue, I'm often very boring. I'm not dull all the time, but lately I feel spectacularly dull.

The most interesting thing I've done in 3 days is watched The Devil's Advocate on DVD. I hadn't seen it before and I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. Unlike many, I'm not anti-Keanu Reeves. He's not a great actor, but I think he plays his roles well. He gets the job done. I also think he has a certain quiet coolness about him. Al Pacino, on the other hand, is an excellent actor and was perfect in The Devil's Advocate. He gives a great rant at the end about Satan's role amongst humanity and how God's actually the sadist. The entire movie was worth that rant, it was very enjoyable. It was also funny that Satan went by the name of John Milton and ran a law firm. I know, it's an old-ish movie, but I dug it all the same.

Below

See below. Vgg newb!

Sloooow

Today was slow, we've all had the same sinus infection, so nobody's doing anything. It's hard to write when nothing good is happening. Hopefully, things will pick up soon...

Great Song

I bought this tonight from the iTunes Music Store, Aimee Mann's Just like Anyone. She's absolutely awesome.

So maybe I wasn't
that good a friend
but you were one of us
and I will wonder
just like anyone
if there was something
else I could've done

So maybe it's true that
your cry for help
was oh, so very faint
but still I heard
and knew something was wrong
just nothing you could put your finger on
and I will wonder
just like anyone
just like anyone

It's Laurell, You Donkey!

A few weeks ago, I posted that I was reading "Laura K. Hamilton's" vampire books, unfortunately the woman's actual name is Laurell K. Hamilton. Perhaps I should learn to read, maybe?

Revelations

I'd really been looking forward to watching Revelations, as it looked to be right up my alley. However, I also thought that The Ring 2 would be the greatest thing since hot cocoa, so I was prepared for a massive let down. Luckily, Revelations' series premiere delivered in creepy style. It's reminiscent of the X-Files, but rather than aliens freaking people out, Revelations draws from the Bible, particularly the book of Revelations. One of the Bible's less cheery volumes. Obviously, the show isn't meant to be a study in theology, but certain religious groups are already in an uproar over it. However, I was entertained, that's what counts. Hopefully, the show won't crumble under it's own weirdness, Twin Peaks style.

WoWed Out!

I've finally done it, I quit World of Warcraft. It was just too much of a massive time vacuum. I was playing for all the wrong reasons, but no more. I'm out. UT2K4 is just as compelling, but doesn't take 10 hours out of one's day. I'll never get anything done if all I'm doing is WoWing.

In other news, my head feels less like it might explode, so tomorrow I'll be writing both a review and some fiction. While I was hanging out in the e.r., I had a very writable idea for another zombie story. Coming up with a writable idea is the real trick.

Handcuffed in the Emergency Room

As always, the e.r. was an exciting endeavor. Within the first few minutes, a woman began to wildly shout obscenities at her nurse, after which she was promptly restrained. So, she was shouting obscenities, but in a less mobile fashion. Normally, one only gets to see one lunatic per visit in the e.r., but last night was pretty special. The woman behind the curtain next to me was in for alcohol poisoning. The Dr. asked, "Ma'am, what'd you drink tonight?", to which she replied, "A lot." It was like a Tarantino film. It's further proof that movies tend to imitate life, not the other way around. So, after about six hours, the Dr. pulled back my little curtain and got down to business. This part's pretty amusing. He asked, "What's your underlying medical condition?", to which I replied, "Werdnig Hoffman." The next words out of his mouth, "Oh boy." As a Dr. it's quite rare to hear such a thing, particularly among adult physicians, so I guess I'd be surprised too. Now, I'm on a heavy duty antibiotic. Yay!

I feel better today though. I mostly just relaxed and played a little UT2K4. Honestly, whenever I just need to take my mind off things, there's nothing better than busting out a flak cannon and turning some bot inside out.

It's Baaaaaack!

So, the fever's back, thus I'm going to the e.r. for some new and exciting meds. I just hope Dr. Carter's there, he's dreamy.

That oughta hold the little SOBs.

Gabo

Gabo, Gabo, Gabo!

The End of all Things

One day, our world will end. It's going to happen. No one knows how, but it is coming. The world probably won't end tomorrow, or next month, or even in the next thousand years, but it's so going to end. It may happen when our sun explodes, or there may be a devistating virus ala 28 Days Later. Personally, I'd like to see something biblical, something like Revelations. Honestly, if the world were to go away tomorrow, on some level I wouldn't mind, because at least I'd get to see it. Particularly if demons and angels were involved. Granted, I'd have regrets too, things left undone. What I need to do is wipe the list of things undone, so if the zombies do show up at dawn, I can sit back and take in the show. So, I'm going to write out my basic list if only for organization and possible conversation...

1. Have the company of a smart and intriguing woman.
2. Join a literary discussion group, for real, not online.
3. Author published fiction.
4. Become a published film critic.
5. Join an anime club.
6. Go to an Alanis Morissette or Aimee Mann concert and not be nervous over the loudness.

Yawn

Ok, I'm obviously putting off writing these too much, because by the time I start, I'm too tired or not in the mood to write. Tomorrow, this will change.

For now...

I wish I was like you
Easily amused
Find my nest of salt
Everything is my fault
I'll take all the blame
Aqua seafoam shame
Sunburn, freezerburn
Choking on the ashes of her enemy

Man...

Ok, I'm tired and I'm bored. Yet, the blog presses on! I'm on a streak that cannot end. I really don't have have much to discuss, but want to keep writing. Though, I don't want to post more lyrics, that's cheating. My mind's just full of a bunch of things I'm not up for posting. So, gg newb!

Monkey and Kitty

Ok, as I was saying last night, I once had the odd experience of enjoying the simple pleasures of watching a monkey bathe a cat. Evidently, cats enjoy a bubble bath and monkeys are quite adept at giving them. Really, that's what life is all about, a monkey bathing a cat. It's a beautiful metaphor for um, love and uh, friendship. Maybe? Something like that anyway. There really is a video clip somewhere in the world of media that shows a monkey bathing a cat, Letterman used to show it quite frequently, but for the most part I've been making this post up as I go along. Call it sort of a stream of consciousness writing exercise. One could also say I'm writing nonsense. I think both are true, depending on one's point of view. Remember what Ben Kenobi said? Ok, now I'm making Star Wars allusions, it's time to to change subjects.

I found out I have to go to a stupid family wedding in Pennsylvania at the end of May. So, since I'm being dragged North, I've decided to try and have some fun. My current plan is to go further North to New York for a visit to the Late Show and an Aimee Mann concert. I've never actually been to a concert, the loudness sort of makes me really nervous. However, Aimee's not death metal and it's an intimate venue, so I really want to go. I also might be able to get some backstage access, which would rule. Though, really, I just want to hit the concert. I can't believe I don't know anybody else who's into her music, her lyrics are amazing. So, we'll see how it goes, eh?

History, man

So, today I watched the Pope's procession to St. Peter's, it was quite interesting. I'm really into watching things if only for their historical significance. I think it's amazing to see something that's never been seen by anyone outside of the Vatican. I love things like that. The rest of day was kind of slow. My cold is gone, but I think I'm coming down with a sinus infection, as my head is absolutely killing me. In fact, the bulk of this post is from an e-mail I wrote earlier. I had something else planned, but I'm way too tired to write it. I'll just say it involved a monkey, a cat and a wash tub.

Real Bad News

Yes, Aimee Mann totally knows what's up.

You don't know, so don't say you do --
You don't.
You might think that things will change,
But take my word --
They won't
You paint a lovely picture,
But reality intrudes
With a message for you
And it's real bad news

I was undecided like you
At first
But I could not stem the tide of overwhelm
And thirst
You try to keep it going, but a lot of avenues
Just aren't open to you
when you're real bad news

I've got love and anger
They come as a pair
You can take your chances
But buyer beware
And I won't
Make you feel bad
When I show you
This big ball of sad isn't
Worth even filling with air

And baby, let me tell you
You can get some things confused
Like whose secrets are whose
And that's real bad news
Real bad news
Real bad news

Lazy post? Sort of. Great song? Totally. How was my weekend? T3h suck. Yay! Oh, hey farmers, I want my hour back!

Suck Party 05

So, tonight my family had a little cocktail party and it was absolutely brutal. If I have to hear, "So, he's doing the computer all by himself?", or "Wow, it's really amazing that you can type e-mail and stuff", my head may explode. It's not amazing, it's e-mail for crying out loud. I'm in a bad mood, so I'm more annoyed than I should be, but still... Then, the highlight of the evening, some drunk lady sat on my bed, practically on my arm and said to me as if I were 12, "Hey, do you like jokes?" To which I replied, "Sure." Drunky then began to tell me some joke involving rectal surgery. Oh, and there was an Irish folk band in the backyard and some idiot who kept leaving the door open. I ALMOST had a decent conversation with a really cool person, but drunky came back and wrecked that. Rock on!

Tedium

Well, today was really boring and tedious. It wasn't unproductive per se, but it was definitely mind numbingly dull. I hate being so bored. I've been in a semi-bored melancholy general mood for a long time. There are ups and downs, my blogging shows as much. Yet, the underlying ennui is almost always there. That is something I must fix. How? I have no clue. Sometimes I think I do, but I really don't. That's what's so annoying. There is more to life than games, reviews and assistive technology demoing and advocacy. I'm bored of it more often than not. People tell me I do great things, but none of it seems great.

What would be great? Well, maybe coffee and a movie with a nice girl not affilliated with any of the above. That'd be great. I've done that a few times, it's good stuff. That was quite a long ago. If I could do that again, I'd appreciate it more. The whole I wish that I knew what I know now thing. I'm probably only making sense to myself, but at least I'm making sense to somebody. There's a lot of backstory that goes with the whole coffee with girls thing. I'm not sure how to explain it concisely. Basically, I stupidly invested a lot time in one girl, not so much for her, but for the idea of her. A fact I failed to see back then. I failed to see a lot back then. At least I learned some things, yay! Anyway, enough rambling.