Week Two

This concludes my second week as an Austinite. Apparently we're too laid back to have any sort of special initiation rites or rules for membership.

After two weeks of riding the bus I have to say I enjoy it, if only for the opportunity to read. I also like the minimal fuel consumption.

Speaking of reading, I finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy. An amazing book, one of the most somber examinations of a post-apocalyptic civilization I've ever read. That may not tickle your fancy, but the book did win the Pulitzer Prize, and is being made into a movie starring Guy Pearce and Viggo Mortensen. It's the best book I've read this year, although it is a little early yet.

My classes are all either interesting or not too difficult to worry me. I really enjoy my government class, where I'm learning a lot about how our system has always been dysfunctional and ineffective.

I visited one of the churches small groups (called city groups here). It looks like I've found a place for us there, everybody has been pretty welcoming.

Speaking of church, I played in the first church football tournament, representing the "Yodas". As our name implied, we were either unathletic (myself) or too old to be playing football with a bunch of college guys (everybody else). We suffered two fairly decisive defeats, but are confident that when Oscar time rolls around, we'll win the church-wide movie trivia tournament, or IQ test.

I've got more homework to do, some Economics and Math (production possibility frontiers and factoring...yay).

I finished the application process for our apartment, here are some sample pictures:

Back In The Day...

I foresee me telling this story to my grandchildren, "Back in the day we didn't play all our videogames, watch all our movies, and read all of our books on our cellphone, why, back in my day, the only game we had on phones was snake" They would of course be confused, having never played something as simple and simply amazing as snake.

In case anybody doesn't know what I mean, here's snake, like I remember it. Just use your arrow keys to maneuver the slippery little guy. And remember, don't run into your butt!

Andrew: Week One

It's been a crazy busy week. I've started a new job, gone to a new school, and a new church in a new city in a week that has been filled with new experiences.

I rode public transit (great time to read).
I didn't get lost once (first time I've gone a week in Austin without that happening).
I saw a great movie (at the Drafthouse, probably the best cinema experience I've ever had).
I went to a teeny church (that meets in a theater inside a coffee bar downtown).
I wore a tie four out of five days of the work week (and didn't feel that weird about it).
I bought a lot of books, but no movies (a first for me).
I got up before 8 am everyday except today (if God rested today, I figure I can at least sleep in).

It was a great week, it had it's downs (getting up at 6 am for the bus, extreme sore feet, being separated from my family) but mostly it's been a lot of fun.

I haven't been this tired in a long time (especially at 7 pm) but it's a satisfying feeling.

I'll probably write something more interesting later this week.

Oscar Predictions

Slumdog Millionaire. For all of em.

Oscar...

Wilde? Unfortunately no.

Oscar nomination announcements are usually accompanied with cries of dismay by film fans across the globe. So before I make a list of nominations and attach predictions, here's the 5 most outrageous snubs/selections of the year:

5. Bruce Springsteen's song in The Wrestler - SNUBBED

I don't get this at all. Mostly because the system for selecting a song is voted on by the Academy by assigning a song a score of 6-10. You have to score 8.25 to be considered. Of the 49 songs submitted, only 3 scored highly enough. This may be the most damning testament to the Academy's "taste" since their selection of the Titanic for best picture.

4. Robert Downey Jr's blaxploitated performance in Tropic Thunder - SELECTED

I take that back, this is much more damning. And that is coming from someone who thought Downey's performance was the best thing about the film. An absurd choice, mostly because of using a nomination slot for what is essentially a throw away selection. Let's keep hoping for Heath's posthumous win in this category.

3. Christopher Nolan's direction of the Dark Knight - SNUBBED

What the heck? I don't know if anyone else saw the Dark Knight. Apparently the fact that it grossed almost (if not more, that remains to be seen) as much as the Titanic didn't help matters. Which is baffling, as that is the only possible reason for the Titanic's ridiculous success. Stephen Daldry's nomination is absurd enough to warrant being on this list, almost, the absurdness of Ron Howard's nomination cancels out Daldry though.

2. The Wrestler - SNUBBED

I don't know how you choose The Reader for best picture over this, that's all I have to say.

1. The Dark Knight - SNUBBED

Once again, I am confused, does anybody else realize this isn't just a Batman movie? That it is the best crime film since Goodfellas?

Anyway, I'll be posting more on the nominees and my predictions later.

Keepin' Andrew Wierd...

I'm posting for the first time as an Austinite. Although I don't know if I qualify now, or when I actually possess a for real physical address, or when I start slapping ecologically concerned bumper stickers on my car. I'll have to ask some genuine natives how that works.

I've gotten settled in to my room at my aunt and uncle's (and by settled in, I mean I alphabetized my row of dvd's in the closet, some things will never change). I've also completed a short list of things I forgot, for your entertainment...

1. All forms of notebook/paper/things-to-write-on-in-school-because-that-is-what-you-do-in-school...idiot.

2. Half of my ties (I don't know how this happened, they are all kept in one spot, which really means two places: the spot, and a space on the floor two feet from the spot, I guess I forgot to check the floor).

3. The video cable to my gamecube (granted, this is probably a blessing in disguise, no matter how much I may need to unwind over the next week or two, time will probably be better spent not shotgunning zombies).

4. Speaking of Zombies, my copy of World War Z, the best book ever made, about zombies and hard journalism anyway.

In spite of my seven or eight trips between the house and my car I still managed to forget some stuff. I did however get to say goodbye to my wife a couple dozen times, which was good.

By good, I mean I like goodbye, and not in the literal sense, as in "I enjoy being away from my family" more like, I enjoy being reunited with my family after being separated for a time. So, I'm praying the apartment/moving situation will be quickly and smoothly resolved.

My uncle warned me, as we were watching the tail end of the AFC championship game, as I was complaining about the illogical class scheduling of UT, that I should be prepared to not be the smartest kid in the class.

Now I haven't really thought about that honestly, but I realized, that I really am most likely going to get pimp-slapped over the next few weeks. By school (you don't become one of the top schools in the nation by offering classes that are easy to pass), by a new job, by being away from my family, etc. I've got a lot to learn it would seem.

Oh well, the more I learn, the less I won't know.

Gran Torino

I like Clint Eastwood movies, I'm not one of those people who has an issue with the heavy handedness or melodrama. I like how he paints with broad, bold strokes.

Gran Torino is an almost great movie. I'll leave out how everything that is so good gets undone in the final minutes for now though, and discuss what I thought did work.

Clint plays Walt, a grumpy, racist, old man (grumpy enough to make Walter Mathau look cheerful, racist enough to make that weird uncle of yours seem culturally diverse and old enough to make you think he's going to drop dead any moment).

He's the last whitey in the neighborhood, every home around is occupied by a variety of asian, black, and Latino immigrants. Gangs roam the streets and everything is in some state of disrepair. Walt doesn't start the movie off turning that signature scowl towards the melting pot of impoverished cultures around him though. The film opens with him standing by his wife's casket frowning with disapproval as his two yuppie sons and their disrespectful families make too much noise from snickering or texting. This opening scene really does give you a clue as to how over-the-top and unsubtle this film will be. One kid wears a top that exposes her midriff, another a football jersey (already you're having trouble suspending belief, who has ever seen a sports jersey or a belly button at a funeral?).

So, obviously this balances things a little. Walt doesn't just have a problem with non-whites. He's got a problem with his family, his barber (who may be a Italian, but looks just as white as Walt), his neighbors, his doctor in another not so subtle move, it becomes clear that Walt has enough problems to suggest that he's got a bigger one, maybe?

Of course the formula for this movie is ancient, an old dog learns some new tricks, while teaching the young pup what he learned on the path to becoming such a freakin' old dog.

The comedic aspects of the film are one of it's strong points, if you can laugh at a 70+ year old man telling a young asian girl "let's go get some of that nice gook food you've been jabbering about" or using every racial epithet in the book (except the n-word, oddly enough, they leave that one out, though he does make up for it by using six equally offensive alternatives in one conversation).

The movie has numerous weak points throughout (almost all of the supporting cast is borderline awful to passable), but right up until the final moments the good outweighed the bad. Until, after an unexpected twist, in the closing scene Clint Eastwood's voice starts singing this ridiculous song, which runs into the credits.

The song completely takes you out of the movie. As soon as it started, I was laughing, because of how absurd it was. The lyrics were terrible, and come on, Eastwood can barely utter his lines much less sing.

Really, if you fix the soundtrack, supporting cast, and the final twist you've got a potentially great movie. Or at least one that would have gotten a response similar to that of Million Dollar Baby.

I'm still waiting to see if there is anything out there capable of topping The Dark Knight. I've still got to see The Wrestler, Doubt, and Let the Right One In.

I'm kinda hoping Let The Right One In lives up to it's hype. It'll probably kick Quarantine off the top ten list as the best horror movie I saw from last year. Even if I didn't get around to seeing it until this year.

13 Reasons to love 2009

As great a year as 2008 was for movies, there is a lot to be looking forward to. And since the first worthwhile movie will be released in March, looking forward is all we will be doing for a while. However, next summer is going to be one of the biggest blockbuster years in a long time (granted this is due to several of this fall's blockbusters being pushed back, like Star Trek and Harry Potter).

This is my complete (mostly, I don't know how much hope there is of a release of The Good, The Bad, and the Wierd the Korean Kung-fu Western homage whose trailer made my mouth drop) list of movies I'm looking forward to this year.

Watchmen
Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson and Carla Gugino star in this adaptation of the famed graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. Which is now locked in a legal battle between the soulless stain of a corporation (Fox) and the one hope for superhero movies (Warner Bros.). This may never be seen, and for those of us who dearly love the comic, maybe we should just breathe a sigh of relief, now that we don't have to fear our hopes being crushed.

Star Trek
"Lost" creator J. J. Abrams reboots the beloved sci-fi franchise in this prequel exploring the early days of Kirk and Spock. Hey everybody! This movie features Randy Pauche, in what will be the final (and only) acting performance of his lifetime. Seriously though, this looks like Star Wars-esque popcorn fun, who knows, maybe Lucas will grow a brain and hire Abrams to direct the final trilogy. Although I'm not really sure I'd want to see that happen.

Terminator Salvation
Christian Bale stars in this film which is both a sequel and a prequel to the wildly popular time-travel/killer robot action franchise. Finally, the only terminator sequel that ever needed to be made. Too bad it's being made by a guy with one name.

Up
Pixar follows up on their movies about gourmet rats and lonely robots with this flick about a grumpy old man and his balloon-powered floating house. Which, like most Pixar premises, makes you say huh? But hey, with their track record, if they made a promotional video for vacuum cleaners I'd see it in theaters.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Granted, the first one was ho-hum (how do you make a movie with robots this pretty and then have all their action sequences pale in comparison to...wait for it...the military? Seriously, the epitome of the entirety of this "robot action" movie was Optimus Prime's brief bit of swordplay). Still, Michael Bay has yet to do a sequel, he has also yet to make a movie with enough maturity to warrant a second viewing, but we can only hope.

Public Enemies
Johnny Depp stars as legendary bank robber John Dillinger and Christian Bale is the G-man on his tail in this true crime drama directed by Michael Mann. Michael Mann doing a period crime movie? From the director that brought you Heat, Collateral, and Miami Vice...enough said.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry, Hermione, Ron and friends return to Hogwarts and face Lord Voldemort again in this sixth installment of the series. The last one was the best film realization yet. Perfectly captured the agonizing finality of Sirius' death, will this manage to elevate the puzzling finality of Dumbledore's?

Inglorious Basterds
After a string of films with female leads (Jackie Brown, Kill Bill, Deathproof) QT has managed to ignore his foot fetish long enough to shoot a WWII all male mercenary team movie (Alternate title: The Really Dirty Dozen). What can I say? I'm under the age of 30, and therefore I must love Quentin.

Shutter Island
Martin Scorsese directs Leonardo DiCaprio for the fourth time in a thriller about U.S. Marshall's pursuing of a female escaped convict. That brief synopsis leaves out the fact that he's adapting another of Dennis Lehane's books, which usually make great movies (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone).

Where the Wild Things Are
Director Spike Jones brings to life Maurice Sendak's classic children's book about a boy transported to a world of monsters. I'm no Spike Lee fan, but Where the Wild Things Are needs to be seen.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox
An animated telling of Roald Dahl's beloved novel from director Wes Anderson ("Rushmore" and "The Royal Tennenbaums"). One of my favorite directors, whether this will be CG or not remains to be seen (or rather, researched on the internet). My second most anticipated kids movie.

Sherlock Holmes
Robert Downey Jr. brings the legendary London sleuth to life, with Jude Law as the faithful Dr. Watson and directed by Guy Ritchie. Okay, if you had asked me a few years ago which part of that equation would worry me most, Guy Ritchie wouldn't have been it. But after a slew of absolute crap, I am praying he doesn't screw what looks like my most anticipated movie of 2009 (Watchmen is a close second, however, the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were one of my first loves).

The Road
The second Cormac McCarthy movie in as many years is a post-apocalyptic tale of father and son crossing a burned out United States. I really liked No Country for Old Men and this movie deals with subject matter much closer to my own interests, plus it's directed by the guy who made The Proposition (almost like an Australian Unforgiven).

Non Oscar Bait Top Ten

Since it's December, and the deluge of "critically acclaimed" arty movies is upon us. I'd like to compose a list that focuses on movies that had the guts to be released before December, and still probably have a shot at a few Oscar nods. I mean, come on, would anybody remember Doubt or Revolutionary Road come awards season if they hadn't been released a couple months beforehand?

A number of film critics like to compare the quality of one year to another, usually with the intent of reminiscing some glorious period (for some the gritty mid-late 70's, others the "rise of the indie" 90's). It has been my experience, and I think this is why film appeals to me so much, that every year is pretty consistent, you will see something new, unexpected and exciting every year.

My favorite film critic, James Berardinelli of Reelviews.net, has released his top ten list, and it is a little more populist than most, but not quite as down to earth as the list you'll find here.

First some honorable mentions: In Bruges, The Bank Job, Wanted, Death Race, Quantum of Solace, Cloverfield, Pineapple Express, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall

10. Kung Fu Panda

I rarely expect anything but mediocrity from Dreamworks when it comes to animation. They have the inferior robot, ant, fish, and rat movie. However, Pixar would be foolish to attempt to top the perfection they have achieved here, with the martial arts animal flick. Kung Fu Panda was probably the most fun I've had watching a "kids" movie in a long time.

9. Quarantine

A largely reviled film, considered an unoriginal mish-mash of Cloverfield style and a zombie film. I was impressed because while Cloverfield was constantly bordering on incoherent, Quarantine's use of a live amatuer documentary style only hightened the experience. The critical hate for this film somewhat baffles me, as it really only has one flaw, which is the excessive shrieking from the female lead in the films final 20 minutes.

8. Tropic Thunder

I had heard about Tropic Thunder fairly early on in it's advertising campaign, and was intrigued by Robert Downey Jr's character. That the movie managed to be as entertaining as that one joke is probably why it ended up on my list.

7. Redbelt

Spartan is one of my favorite movies of all time, I don't know why, it just is. David Mamet's follow up Redbelt is anchored by a great performance from Chiwetel Ejiofor. Like Spartan it deals with a man of action and principle having to learn to live in a world that is far less idealized than he would like. That Redbelt also features some great realistic martial arts doesn't hurt either.

6. The Incredible Hulk

If you were to ask me if redoing Ang Lee's Hulk with a film helmed by Luis Leterier (whose previous directing experience features Transporter 2 as the highlight) would be a good idea I would probably laugh and say absolutely not. But if you told me you had Edward Norton to play Bruce Banner I might consider it. This is the Hulk, not that odd send up to cheesy b-movies that once was the Hulk. Finally, with the creation of Marvel's own film studio we have the opportunity to see what happens when people who care about the source material make the creative decisions and with this year's release of The Incredible Hulk, Ironman, and The Dark Knight (which all made my top ten) I'm excited about the future of the comic book film.

5. Rambo

Simultaneously one of the most ridiculous and ridiculously entertaining movies of the year. More blood and gore than all previous Rambo's combined. That Rambo is saving missionaries makes this all the more hilarious/awesome.

4. Wall-E

While most people praise this movie unequivocally, I have several reservations, mostly about the way the final two-thirds don't hold up as strongly as the beginning and first encounters between Wall-E and Eve. However, the magic in those first 35 minutes is fantastic.

3. Ironman

Maybe I'm a little biased, seeing as how Ironman has always been one of my favorite superheroes. However, Robert Downey Jr's note perfect portrayal of Tony Stark elevates Ironman above the typical comic book action movie (Daredevil comes to mind when thinking of comic book movies that almost made it, but were held back by weak lead performances).

2. Slumdog Millionaire

Probably one of the few films actually deserving of the orgasmic critical response it has received. Danny Boyle continues to prove himself as a visionary director, you'd never know (unless of course you read it somewhere on the internet, as I did) that Boyle struggled to find a distributor for his film, which has been since called "a vibrant hymn to life" and sits triumphantly atop numerous top ten lists.

1. The Dark Knight

Like Beradinelli, I had a tough time choosing between Slumdog and Dark Knight. But the fact is that while Slumdog is an excellent movie, The Dark Knight transcends the category of movie or film into that of experience. It is the type of film making that just doesn't happen that often. The Nolan brothers (director and screenwriter, not unlike Joel and Ethan Coen) have crafted one of the most dense, breathtakingly relentless movies in ages.

Once I get around to seeing movies like The Wrestler, Gran Torino, Doubt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road, The Reader, and Valkyrie I'll compile an Oscar bait top-ten.