Movies, Mostly
Feb. 23rd, 2004 12:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI attended another meeting of my writer's circle this weekend. Four new people appeared, so we had nine in all. We spent so much time talking about our homework that we barely got around to any writing exercises, but it was good. Our homework had been to write a synopsis or outline of a book we might write, if we were to write a book. I talked about my cookbook idea. We all ended up talking about various projects we had and what our problems were with our projects. It was fun. I also learned that, at least according to the two people who mentioned having this happen to them, having your characters come to life is a pain in the neck. They start doing things you don't expect, which I think is cool, but which makes it harder for you to get things to happen that you want to happen.
Afterwards, I checked out "The Fast Runner" from our library. It is a tale about love, jealousy, running for your life, and dealing with crime, set in another culture. During the first half of the movie, my main thoughts were, "What is going on?" and then "I guess when the life expectancy is low, you have a culture full of teenagers." The characters were always making fun of each other, crying, and getting into fights. But then I was wanting to look away every time they ate, because they mainly ate meat, and I was grossed out, which is also pathetic, so who am I to judge? The second half of the movie I was drawn into figuring out what plans the characters were concocting for each other while they went around acting as though they were no longer angry with each other. There was plenty of scary drama, but I didn't enjoy the movie enough to want to watch it again.
Last night I saw "50 First Dates," which I enjoyed. All the reviews say that most of the acting sucks, the plot holes are huge, and the jokes are crude: not my kind of movie. So, I have to conclude that it was the psychology major in me taking over that made me like the movie. What if there really was a condition like that, where you forget everything overnight? How could someone be that person's friend? As in "Memento," her friends find lying to be a tempting coping strategy. One good thing is that the movie doesn't cheat and have her miraculously heal at the end; the characters work to find a good way to be with her. They show us three different strategies, which I quite enjoyed. And the best solution still involved daily trauma, so it helps keep things in perspective for those of us who don't have to deal with daily trauma. So although this is supposed to be some kind of fluffy-headed romance movie, I was crying my eyes out. But also laughing. There were lots of funny bits. And about half the funny bits were from the character played by Rob Schneider, who virtually every other reviewer agrees is playing an unfunny, vulgar character in a racist, one-dimensional way, so you can never trust a review from me again.
I watched "High Fidelity" again last night. If you like reading on-line journals, you'll probably like listening to the main character express himself to the camera. I enjoy watching a character learn some life lesson. One of his was that he was fearing commitments in order to keep himself flexible, but of course you want the flexibility so that when something good comes up, you can make a commitment to it. Of course other people err in the other direction. Jack Black steals the show with lines like, "There's no way your daughter could like that record. [Unless,] oh, is she in a coma?" It's too bad that the characters would mostly be unlikeable in real life. But then again, they have these extreme traits that I can't help sympathizing with. Like the guy who's rearranging his album collection, no, not by date, and definitely not alphabetically, but autobiographically. A crazy you-should-get-a-life activity, but then also awesomely ambitious in a way.
Journal entry of the day: My Deep Dark Soul, by Desert Agave - When self-doubt is funny. "My friend Kat gave me a cactus the day before my birthday, and said it reminded her of me because it is 'prickly on the outside, but really very beautiful and intricate when you take a moment to examine it closer.' Was that a compliment, or did it mean 'You have a good heart even though you are a judgmental bitch?'"
Afterwards, I checked out "The Fast Runner" from our library. It is a tale about love, jealousy, running for your life, and dealing with crime, set in another culture. During the first half of the movie, my main thoughts were, "What is going on?" and then "I guess when the life expectancy is low, you have a culture full of teenagers." The characters were always making fun of each other, crying, and getting into fights. But then I was wanting to look away every time they ate, because they mainly ate meat, and I was grossed out, which is also pathetic, so who am I to judge? The second half of the movie I was drawn into figuring out what plans the characters were concocting for each other while they went around acting as though they were no longer angry with each other. There was plenty of scary drama, but I didn't enjoy the movie enough to want to watch it again. Last night I saw "50 First Dates," which I enjoyed. All the reviews say that most of the acting sucks, the plot holes are huge, and the jokes are crude: not my kind of movie. So, I have to conclude that it was the psychology major in me taking over that made me like the movie. What if there really was a condition like that, where you forget everything overnight? How could someone be that person's friend? As in "Memento," her friends find lying to be a tempting coping strategy. One good thing is that the movie doesn't cheat and have her miraculously heal at the end; the characters work to find a good way to be with her. They show us three different strategies, which I quite enjoyed. And the best solution still involved daily trauma, so it helps keep things in perspective for those of us who don't have to deal with daily trauma. So although this is supposed to be some kind of fluffy-headed romance movie, I was crying my eyes out. But also laughing. There were lots of funny bits. And about half the funny bits were from the character played by Rob Schneider, who virtually every other reviewer agrees is playing an unfunny, vulgar character in a racist, one-dimensional way, so you can never trust a review from me again.I watched "High Fidelity" again last night. If you like reading on-line journals, you'll probably like listening to the main character express himself to the camera. I enjoy watching a character learn some life lesson. One of his was that he was fearing commitments in order to keep himself flexible, but of course you want the flexibility so that when something good comes up, you can make a commitment to it. Of course other people err in the other direction. Jack Black steals the show with lines like, "There's no way your daughter could like that record. [Unless,] oh, is she in a coma?" It's too bad that the characters would mostly be unlikeable in real life. But then again, they have these extreme traits that I can't help sympathizing with. Like the guy who's rearranging his album collection, no, not by date, and definitely not alphabetically, but autobiographically. A crazy you-should-get-a-life activity, but then also awesomely ambitious in a way.Journal entry of the day: My Deep Dark Soul, by Desert Agave - When self-doubt is funny. "My friend Kat gave me a cactus the day before my birthday, and said it reminded her of me because it is 'prickly on the outside, but really very beautiful and intricate when you take a moment to examine it closer.' Was that a compliment, or did it mean 'You have a good heart even though you are a judgmental bitch?'"