Existential Crisis
You’re going to die. Don’t worry, I will too. Everyone is going to die. Would it change how you live if you knew when, where and why? Sometimes I go through a philosophical crisis of being and ask questions like that; questions that have no real answer. Sure you could answer it, but how do you know that’s how you’d react? We don’t know ourselves nearly as much as we think or wish to. Sometimes I find myself wondering who the hell that guy in the mirror is, because I sure don’t recognize him from ten years ago. Ten years used to seem like a long ass time too, and now, it’s nothing. I guess time really is relative. He’s one nasty relative at that; the kind that you don’t see forever and then shows up at your Grandmother’s funeral and calls you fat. This philosophy is tiring, I know. You’re probably bored and wish I’d write some rant about babies first birthday or the latest thing that has pissed me off. But kids, life isn’t all rainbows and unicorn farts. Sometimes life sucks and no matter how much you poke fun at it, it still scares the hell out of you.
Have a Nice Day...
And the appropriate response to that would be? A blank stair as if confused by the sentence? A nasty frown? No response at all because you where too busy flapping your lips into the cell phone to hear me or give a rats ass that I just did all your work for you because your too stupid/lazy to fill out some simple forms all on your own? I understand only one of us is being paid to be nice. I’m pretty sure if I weren’t paid I probably wouldn’t be either, but come on people! What is going on in this world? Why can’t people be nice? What happened to thank you and you’re welcome? We have invented a million new insults that mostly make no sense but it’s too hard to force “Thanks” out of your fat, greasy, fast food smelling mouth!
Mail
I got a letter in the mail the other day from Dish Network. The letter stated it was from Dish’s CEO and was addressed to: Our Neighbor. My neighbor is the redneck hill jack who has ten barking dogs and three trucks that sound like Vesuvius when he fires them up; proving to all of us his wiener is indeed as big as the sound implies. He uses stray cats as target practice. His home décor can be described as a cross between outdoorsman and Apocalypse Now. On occasion Budweiser Corp comes by for some blood tests to see what an all beer diet will actually do to a person. You’re telling me that guy is the CEO of Dish Network and expect me to want to join up? A thousand channels all playing Bonanza and Dallas all day? No thanks, I’ll stick with my cable. Not like I need another item attached to my house to catch all the bird shit. I already have three cars for that.
Cell Phones
Cell phones, oh lord, cell phones! Cell phones at lunch, cell phones at dinner; cell phones at work, cell phones at play. Cell phones before, during and after sex. Cell phones at the movies! I’m so sick of cell phones. People just love their damned cell phones. Maybe someday they will be able to install them directly into our bodies. You know, the receiver will be up in the ear and they can place the key pad somewhere in your arm. I think if they let you pick where the key pad goes I’ll have them put it on my penis. That way whenever I have to call someone I’ll have to whip it out and people will be like:
“Hey, Daniel, um, you should probably put that thing away.” And I’ll be like.
“No, it’s cool. I’m just calling my wife.” I’ll probably keep the ringer on vibrate most of the time, although occasionally it’d be funny to turn it to loud so when people call my crotch starts singing Baby Got Back. Or maybe I’ll make my ring tone some Michael Jackson song so when I answer I can grab myself and yell. It sure would change the meaning of playing Angry Birds.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Best Picture Project 3, Driving Miss Daisy
Well look at that, we are already on post three of our Best Picture Project! This is going to take a while. Anyways, next week we will be talking about No Country for Old Men, in case you are trying to keep up. This link will take you to a special page with all our BPP posts all in one place. How wonderful technology is.
Driving Miss Daisy,1989
This is certainly a movie I would have never seen if not for our Best Picture Project. I knew very little about this film, but while looking it up on Netflix (it was on Instant Play… HECK YES!), I saw that Morgan Freeman was in it. I have always agreed to the notion that “you can’t go wrong with Morgan Freeman,” and this movie was certainly no exception.
(SPOILERS AHEAD… if you like to be completely surprised, stop reading, go to your Netflix account and add Driving Miss Daisy to your cue now! Seriously do it!)
The film revolves around an elderly, Jewish woman, Daisy, played by Jessica Tandy, and her hired (against her will) African American driver, Hoke (Freeman). At the beginning of the movie, Daisy could be described as a high maintenance, grouchy, old woman, but we see that she is a truly caring individual as the film progresses. Throughout the movie, Daisy slowly begins to open up to Hoke, and the two form an incredible friendship that transcends the line of class and race. Perhaps the most impacting scene of their relationship is where Daisy realizes that Hoke cannot read, and she ends up teaching him.
The movie does a fantastic job of showing the time-line progression. It never really says the year, but shows that time has passed through calendar shots, upgraded cars, clothing styles and current events (like the civil rights movement) going on. Several years pass through and with each year, you really see the strong bond that Hoke and Daisy have. As someone who has dealt with a grandparent suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia, the end of the movie was particularly hard for me to watch. After a spell of confusion more than likely effected by her dementia, you really see how much Hoke cares for Daisy. Once she is calmed, Daisy turns to Hoke and tells him that he is her “best friend.” It is just such a MOVING moment in the film. (I already cried during the aforementioned reading scene), but this totally brought on the water works (first BPP movie so far to make me cry!). Later as the years pass, we see that Daisy has been put into a care facility. When Hoke, who is shown to be quite aged himself (so much so that his granddaughter is now driving him), visits Daisy at the facility, it seems at first that she is not lucid. But, in a quick moment Daisy tells her son that Hoke came to visit her and the two go on to have one of their typical conversations and the movie ends. This was a perfect ending to me as it truly showed the depth of their friendship. I also was relieved they didn’t take the cliché route and end with either Hoke or Daisy dying.
Overall acting in this movie was top notch. Freeman and Tandy were amazing and even Dan Aykroyd pulled off a phenomenal performance. I love Aykroyd, but I never thought of him as a “serious” actor until now seeing how the movies I know him from include Ghostbusters and My Girl.
So to conclude, Driving Miss Daisy was well deserving of its Best Picture win. I am so pleased that the husband and I began this project, otherwise I would never have seen such a remarkable, touching film.
The Wife-
I’m having some trouble writing about this one. Don’t get me wrong it’s a fine film worthy of all praise and awards. It’s just not to kind of movie I usually watch and try to break down. But I guess that’s the point of this whole project, right? Sometimes we might miss stuff that truly moves us just because the film isn’t our normal thing. The Wife touched on most of the main story points, so I’m not going to bore you with repetition. But I do need to start somewhere, instead of this asinine stalling.
I seem to remember one of my college professors remarking while teaching a popular culture film class that "I liked this movie. It was good!" was the worst thing you could ever say about a movie. "How descriptive!" I have vowed to never use it. Well guess what? Driving Miss Daisy was good and I liked it. Why? Well the acting was top notch. If I had money I'd pay Morgan Freeman to come to my house and read me bed time stories every night. His voice is just awesome. Before this film, I don't think I had seen Jessica Tandy play in anything else. She is very good as well. Although, how hard is it to play a grumpy old person; I do it every day! Where is my Oscar? The story was heart warming, original and I think based in some truth. The older the movies get the more I notice the huge difference in pace in older movies compared to today's almost strobe light films. "Wait, you mean they aren't going to cut from close up, back to far shot, then to super close up on eyes and back in under five seconds?" Some people may have problems with this, I love it. I can't wait to get even older movies that hold scene without a cut for minutes!
I'm off topic. So does this movie deserve the Best Picture honor? Yes, I suppose it does. I went back and looked at what else was nominated, and I only recognized two other films from that year and I haven't seen either. I guess that counts for something that even before seeing Driving Miss Daisy I'd at least heard of it before.
Hobo Dan-
Driving Miss Daisy,1989
This is certainly a movie I would have never seen if not for our Best Picture Project. I knew very little about this film, but while looking it up on Netflix (it was on Instant Play… HECK YES!), I saw that Morgan Freeman was in it. I have always agreed to the notion that “you can’t go wrong with Morgan Freeman,” and this movie was certainly no exception.
(SPOILERS AHEAD… if you like to be completely surprised, stop reading, go to your Netflix account and add Driving Miss Daisy to your cue now! Seriously do it!)
The film revolves around an elderly, Jewish woman, Daisy, played by Jessica Tandy, and her hired (against her will) African American driver, Hoke (Freeman). At the beginning of the movie, Daisy could be described as a high maintenance, grouchy, old woman, but we see that she is a truly caring individual as the film progresses. Throughout the movie, Daisy slowly begins to open up to Hoke, and the two form an incredible friendship that transcends the line of class and race. Perhaps the most impacting scene of their relationship is where Daisy realizes that Hoke cannot read, and she ends up teaching him.
The movie does a fantastic job of showing the time-line progression. It never really says the year, but shows that time has passed through calendar shots, upgraded cars, clothing styles and current events (like the civil rights movement) going on. Several years pass through and with each year, you really see the strong bond that Hoke and Daisy have. As someone who has dealt with a grandparent suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia, the end of the movie was particularly hard for me to watch. After a spell of confusion more than likely effected by her dementia, you really see how much Hoke cares for Daisy. Once she is calmed, Daisy turns to Hoke and tells him that he is her “best friend.” It is just such a MOVING moment in the film. (I already cried during the aforementioned reading scene), but this totally brought on the water works (first BPP movie so far to make me cry!). Later as the years pass, we see that Daisy has been put into a care facility. When Hoke, who is shown to be quite aged himself (so much so that his granddaughter is now driving him), visits Daisy at the facility, it seems at first that she is not lucid. But, in a quick moment Daisy tells her son that Hoke came to visit her and the two go on to have one of their typical conversations and the movie ends. This was a perfect ending to me as it truly showed the depth of their friendship. I also was relieved they didn’t take the cliché route and end with either Hoke or Daisy dying.
Overall acting in this movie was top notch. Freeman and Tandy were amazing and even Dan Aykroyd pulled off a phenomenal performance. I love Aykroyd, but I never thought of him as a “serious” actor until now seeing how the movies I know him from include Ghostbusters and My Girl.
So to conclude, Driving Miss Daisy was well deserving of its Best Picture win. I am so pleased that the husband and I began this project, otherwise I would never have seen such a remarkable, touching film.
The Wife-
I’m having some trouble writing about this one. Don’t get me wrong it’s a fine film worthy of all praise and awards. It’s just not to kind of movie I usually watch and try to break down. But I guess that’s the point of this whole project, right? Sometimes we might miss stuff that truly moves us just because the film isn’t our normal thing. The Wife touched on most of the main story points, so I’m not going to bore you with repetition. But I do need to start somewhere, instead of this asinine stalling.
I seem to remember one of my college professors remarking while teaching a popular culture film class that "I liked this movie. It was good!" was the worst thing you could ever say about a movie. "How descriptive!" I have vowed to never use it. Well guess what? Driving Miss Daisy was good and I liked it. Why? Well the acting was top notch. If I had money I'd pay Morgan Freeman to come to my house and read me bed time stories every night. His voice is just awesome. Before this film, I don't think I had seen Jessica Tandy play in anything else. She is very good as well. Although, how hard is it to play a grumpy old person; I do it every day! Where is my Oscar? The story was heart warming, original and I think based in some truth. The older the movies get the more I notice the huge difference in pace in older movies compared to today's almost strobe light films. "Wait, you mean they aren't going to cut from close up, back to far shot, then to super close up on eyes and back in under five seconds?" Some people may have problems with this, I love it. I can't wait to get even older movies that hold scene without a cut for minutes!
I'm off topic. So does this movie deserve the Best Picture honor? Yes, I suppose it does. I went back and looked at what else was nominated, and I only recognized two other films from that year and I haven't seen either. I guess that counts for something that even before seeing Driving Miss Daisy I'd at least heard of it before.
Hobo Dan-
Thursday, March 31, 2011
All Sorts of Crazy
It’s not enough that people are rude and inconsiderate and smelly and stupid and dull and mean and self centered, but now they are all going crazy. I don’t mean slightly neurotic; I mean dressing up like their dead mother to murder people psycho. In the past I have used the word crazy very lightly, as with other words. But recently I have decided to reserve the word for true acts of insanity. For example I would refer to someone who drives poorly as a crazy driver; even though all they are doing is going to fast or passing in risky spots. Now I consider a crazy driver someone who IS GOING THE WRONG WAY through a tight construction zone and gives you that “Get out of my way, I’m unstable!” look as they zoom by, barely missing your front bumper. The detour is clearly marked and there is plenty of traffic to follow. That’s crazy.
I previously thought everyone posting useless crap on YouTube was crazy. Now I realize they are mostly attention whores with low self esteem desperately yelling at the top of their lungs for someone to listen. (If you’re about to make a connection to those people on YouTube and this blog, please understand; I’m not yelling, you can’t yell in print.) Anyways, despite their absurd antics, most of the YouTube people are perfectly sane. The nutty people on YouTube didn’t put themselves there. Most of them were caught on film doing mentally questionable things like calling out rapists on the news or crying at a WWF convention or robbing a convenience store with a six foot long tree branch. They didn’t ask to be on the YouTube, they went berserker and someone captured it and uploaded it for all of us to see.
I have used the word crazy for just about anyone on a game or reality TV show. This was wrong of me. You see, these people go on those shows to try and get money. There is nothing crazy about trying to get money. Everyone is trying to get more money. People will do just about anything for money, that doesn’t make them crazy, just greedy. Actually most of the people on those shows are much more stupid than mad; see The Jersey Shore. Now, a show with crazy people is something like Toddlers and Tiaras. The mothers that dress up their children and put all that make-up on them and make them lose weight and yell at them are crazy. That is child abuse and they should be jailed or shot, which ever is cheaper. They are teaching their children that physical appearances are the only important thing when looking for a partner in life. That’s just nonsense because we all know money and status are equally important when selecting a mate.
I could probably devote a whole blog to how much we use words out of context or scale up and down their values. For instance I am a great offender of the word awesome. Granted most of the time I use it sarcastically, but on some occasions I’ll use it to describe a recent meal or other common event of my boring life. If the dinner I just ate at some restaurant was “awesome” what word could I possibly use if I’m walking down the street one day and Jesus appears and we have a good long talk about life and then he beats me down in a pickup basketball game? I can’t say it was awesome because I’d be comparing a simple meal to getting schooled on the court by Jesus Christ.
I previously thought everyone posting useless crap on YouTube was crazy. Now I realize they are mostly attention whores with low self esteem desperately yelling at the top of their lungs for someone to listen. (If you’re about to make a connection to those people on YouTube and this blog, please understand; I’m not yelling, you can’t yell in print.) Anyways, despite their absurd antics, most of the YouTube people are perfectly sane. The nutty people on YouTube didn’t put themselves there. Most of them were caught on film doing mentally questionable things like calling out rapists on the news or crying at a WWF convention or robbing a convenience store with a six foot long tree branch. They didn’t ask to be on the YouTube, they went berserker and someone captured it and uploaded it for all of us to see.
I have used the word crazy for just about anyone on a game or reality TV show. This was wrong of me. You see, these people go on those shows to try and get money. There is nothing crazy about trying to get money. Everyone is trying to get more money. People will do just about anything for money, that doesn’t make them crazy, just greedy. Actually most of the people on those shows are much more stupid than mad; see The Jersey Shore. Now, a show with crazy people is something like Toddlers and Tiaras. The mothers that dress up their children and put all that make-up on them and make them lose weight and yell at them are crazy. That is child abuse and they should be jailed or shot, which ever is cheaper. They are teaching their children that physical appearances are the only important thing when looking for a partner in life. That’s just nonsense because we all know money and status are equally important when selecting a mate.
I could probably devote a whole blog to how much we use words out of context or scale up and down their values. For instance I am a great offender of the word awesome. Granted most of the time I use it sarcastically, but on some occasions I’ll use it to describe a recent meal or other common event of my boring life. If the dinner I just ate at some restaurant was “awesome” what word could I possibly use if I’m walking down the street one day and Jesus appears and we have a good long talk about life and then he beats me down in a pickup basketball game? I can’t say it was awesome because I’d be comparing a simple meal to getting schooled on the court by Jesus Christ.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Best Picture Project 2, American Beauty
Happy Monday, if that's even possible. Monday is the home to our new Best Picture Project, we hope you enjoy. In case any of you want to watch along with us, the next few movies we plan on watching are Driving Miss Daisy, No Country For Old Men and Platoon. Lets just jump right in...
American Beauty, 1999
I didn’t know much about this film going in. I remember seeing previews back in that day, something about floating roses and naked high school girls, but that’s about all I knew before hand. I would like to state for the record that I absolutely love seeing movies I know zero about. There is nothing more thrilling than a movie blowing you away when you least expect it. That is however, becoming more and more difficult in this day and age of spoilers and the evil internetz. So please do yourself a favor, if you haven’t seen this movie and know nothing about it, go watch it before you read this. Please? I’m serious.
Anyways, I loved Sunset Boulevard because right from the gate you knew the main protagonist was dead/going to die. American Beauty pulled a very similar stunt and it worked to keep you guessing. My wife probably will brag she figured it out from the beginning but it was still a great maneuver to keep viewers on their toes. Besides, my wife figures out all the movies ahead of everyone else. An even better move was to have the movie narrated from the beyond by the posthumous lead. Kevin Spacey fills the roll of a forty something experiencing a mid life crisis, lusting after a seemingly unattainable teenage girl perfectly. The rest of the cast is also perfect and really pieces together a portrait of American insanity. Things are not always as they seem in this film and I think that really mirrors life. We all put up fake walls to keep people from knowing who we really are. We must protect our dirty little secrets.
But I want to talk about the real beauty of the film. When Kevin Spacey’s character realizes the life he’d been looking for was right in front of him the whole time; then he is shot. Afterlife narrator Spacey ends the movie by reminding us that there is beauty everywhere in the world if we are willing to look. We spent some much of our time nit picking and complaining about the small things that we often forget to stop and enjoy their beauty as well. In the end life is the most beautiful thing we have and we should be grateful because that life is all we have. This was definitely worthy of its Oscar win.
Hobo Dan-
American Beauty is a film that I had wanted to see since it was released in the late 90s (which really doesn't seem that long ago to me even though it's now 2011...hmmm now I feel old...). However, I never got around to seeing it, even though I would always comment if someone brought it up "Yeah, I really want to see that." In fact, I put it in our Netflix Que over a year ago, LONG before the husband and I started our Best Picture Project. (Wow! Don't you just love Netflix...it might just be like my favorite thing ever). So we finally got around to watching it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was predictable, but that doesn't mean it was bad or anything. Kevin Spacey rocked it and TOTALLY DESERVED his Oscar for Best Actor that year! Now if you haven't seen American Beauty, I ask you to PLEASE stop reading here as the next part of this post contains spoilers (or keep reading if you are the type that likes to be spoiled).
I loved the music, cinematogrophy, acting and theme of the movie. I did find Spacey's character to be a bit whiney and "whoa is me" but then again, that behavior is essential to the film's meaning and ending. Thora Birch, who I always remember as Teeny from Now and Then, my favorite childhood movie, was great as well. Mena Suvari, who I remember best from American Pie, was good too. Really, I couldn't complain about any of the acting. Also, I got to see what Sandy Cohen would look like with grey hair thanks to the movie. If you don't know who Sandy Cohen is and have never seen The OC, shame on you! Even the husband liked the first two seasons!
Anyway back to the movie, yes I did find it predictable as I mentioned before. I love movies that start out with the dead person narrating... very Sunset Boulevard-esque! I knew that by the end of the movie Spacey's character would realize what a good life he had led, but it would be right as he was about to die. I knew as soon as I laid eyes on him, who Spacey's "killer" would be. Yes, the creepy neighbor who was stuck in the 1950s and a war veteran, who seemed to never have gotten over his time in the war...PTSD perhaps? I also knew that as soon as this character had a brief meeting with the other neighbors, who are gay, at the beginning of the film, that he totally had some homosexual tendencies and was over compensating. When I made this remark early in the film, the husband rolled his eyes at me. This character was fascinating and the way they portrayed his "stuck in the past" personality with the shots of his home (all old decor), his rigid family rules, and a wife, who was the epitome of a traditional 50s wife, was incredible. As the character had an encounter with Spacey's character over a mis-understanding, I shouted "Oh my God he is gonna kiss him." And then BOOM! He did! When Spacey didn't reciprocate, I knew the neighbor wouldn't be able to live with his secret out and that Spacey would soon bite the dust.
However, before Spacey bites it, he finally gets his chance with his daughter's high school friend (Suvari) that he had been disgustingly, yet hilariously lusting over the entire movie. I knew though before they almost "got it on" that something "shocking" would happen...which wasn't at all surprising to me. Early in the movie when they were making her appear to be some big ole hoochie, I said, "I bet she really is just a virgin." CABOOM! Right again! As they are about to do it, Suvari tells Spacey it was "her first time." This revelation ultimately snaps Spacey back to reality and he sees her as just a young girl and no longer a fantasy. After a bout of awkwardness, Spacey finally asks Suvari how his daughter (Birch) is doing (who of course was pretty much ignored by him the entire movie). It is around this time that Spacey's character finally begins to realize his whole life just hasn't been a big pile of dog crap. In his final scene on screen, he looks at a photo of his family and sees that he did have a good, "beautiful" life. Right as he realizes this, he is shot (of course), in what is perhaps one of the most breathtaking scenes of the film. While we never see the creepy neighbor shoot Spacey, we understand that it is he who did as he returns to his home covered in blood.
The end comments about how there is beauty everywhere really pull this film together. So often we complain, whine and don't realize just how good we have it. And like Spacey's character, we never realize what we have until it's too late.
So now that my rambling review is over (and hey I didn't even touch on Spacey's wife in the film...I could probably write an essay), was American Beauty worthy of its Oscar Best Picture win? Absolutely.
- The Wife
American Beauty, 1999
I didn’t know much about this film going in. I remember seeing previews back in that day, something about floating roses and naked high school girls, but that’s about all I knew before hand. I would like to state for the record that I absolutely love seeing movies I know zero about. There is nothing more thrilling than a movie blowing you away when you least expect it. That is however, becoming more and more difficult in this day and age of spoilers and the evil internetz. So please do yourself a favor, if you haven’t seen this movie and know nothing about it, go watch it before you read this. Please? I’m serious.
Anyways, I loved Sunset Boulevard because right from the gate you knew the main protagonist was dead/going to die. American Beauty pulled a very similar stunt and it worked to keep you guessing. My wife probably will brag she figured it out from the beginning but it was still a great maneuver to keep viewers on their toes. Besides, my wife figures out all the movies ahead of everyone else. An even better move was to have the movie narrated from the beyond by the posthumous lead. Kevin Spacey fills the roll of a forty something experiencing a mid life crisis, lusting after a seemingly unattainable teenage girl perfectly. The rest of the cast is also perfect and really pieces together a portrait of American insanity. Things are not always as they seem in this film and I think that really mirrors life. We all put up fake walls to keep people from knowing who we really are. We must protect our dirty little secrets.
But I want to talk about the real beauty of the film. When Kevin Spacey’s character realizes the life he’d been looking for was right in front of him the whole time; then he is shot. Afterlife narrator Spacey ends the movie by reminding us that there is beauty everywhere in the world if we are willing to look. We spent some much of our time nit picking and complaining about the small things that we often forget to stop and enjoy their beauty as well. In the end life is the most beautiful thing we have and we should be grateful because that life is all we have. This was definitely worthy of its Oscar win.
Hobo Dan-
American Beauty is a film that I had wanted to see since it was released in the late 90s (which really doesn't seem that long ago to me even though it's now 2011...hmmm now I feel old...). However, I never got around to seeing it, even though I would always comment if someone brought it up "Yeah, I really want to see that." In fact, I put it in our Netflix Que over a year ago, LONG before the husband and I started our Best Picture Project. (Wow! Don't you just love Netflix...it might just be like my favorite thing ever). So we finally got around to watching it, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was predictable, but that doesn't mean it was bad or anything. Kevin Spacey rocked it and TOTALLY DESERVED his Oscar for Best Actor that year! Now if you haven't seen American Beauty, I ask you to PLEASE stop reading here as the next part of this post contains spoilers (or keep reading if you are the type that likes to be spoiled).
I loved the music, cinematogrophy, acting and theme of the movie. I did find Spacey's character to be a bit whiney and "whoa is me" but then again, that behavior is essential to the film's meaning and ending. Thora Birch, who I always remember as Teeny from Now and Then, my favorite childhood movie, was great as well. Mena Suvari, who I remember best from American Pie, was good too. Really, I couldn't complain about any of the acting. Also, I got to see what Sandy Cohen would look like with grey hair thanks to the movie. If you don't know who Sandy Cohen is and have never seen The OC, shame on you! Even the husband liked the first two seasons!
Anyway back to the movie, yes I did find it predictable as I mentioned before. I love movies that start out with the dead person narrating... very Sunset Boulevard-esque! I knew that by the end of the movie Spacey's character would realize what a good life he had led, but it would be right as he was about to die. I knew as soon as I laid eyes on him, who Spacey's "killer" would be. Yes, the creepy neighbor who was stuck in the 1950s and a war veteran, who seemed to never have gotten over his time in the war...PTSD perhaps? I also knew that as soon as this character had a brief meeting with the other neighbors, who are gay, at the beginning of the film, that he totally had some homosexual tendencies and was over compensating. When I made this remark early in the film, the husband rolled his eyes at me. This character was fascinating and the way they portrayed his "stuck in the past" personality with the shots of his home (all old decor), his rigid family rules, and a wife, who was the epitome of a traditional 50s wife, was incredible. As the character had an encounter with Spacey's character over a mis-understanding, I shouted "Oh my God he is gonna kiss him." And then BOOM! He did! When Spacey didn't reciprocate, I knew the neighbor wouldn't be able to live with his secret out and that Spacey would soon bite the dust.
However, before Spacey bites it, he finally gets his chance with his daughter's high school friend (Suvari) that he had been disgustingly, yet hilariously lusting over the entire movie. I knew though before they almost "got it on" that something "shocking" would happen...which wasn't at all surprising to me. Early in the movie when they were making her appear to be some big ole hoochie, I said, "I bet she really is just a virgin." CABOOM! Right again! As they are about to do it, Suvari tells Spacey it was "her first time." This revelation ultimately snaps Spacey back to reality and he sees her as just a young girl and no longer a fantasy. After a bout of awkwardness, Spacey finally asks Suvari how his daughter (Birch) is doing (who of course was pretty much ignored by him the entire movie). It is around this time that Spacey's character finally begins to realize his whole life just hasn't been a big pile of dog crap. In his final scene on screen, he looks at a photo of his family and sees that he did have a good, "beautiful" life. Right as he realizes this, he is shot (of course), in what is perhaps one of the most breathtaking scenes of the film. While we never see the creepy neighbor shoot Spacey, we understand that it is he who did as he returns to his home covered in blood.
The end comments about how there is beauty everywhere really pull this film together. So often we complain, whine and don't realize just how good we have it. And like Spacey's character, we never realize what we have until it's too late.
So now that my rambling review is over (and hey I didn't even touch on Spacey's wife in the film...I could probably write an essay), was American Beauty worthy of its Oscar Best Picture win? Absolutely.
- The Wife
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Games As Art and Stuff
It’s been a long time since a video game gave me chills. But then again games are not art right? How could they have possibly spark some emotional reaction? I mean how could a game be art in the first place? It’s not like you have to have any special skill set to make them. All you do to make a game is sit down and endlessly code numbers until your eyes bleed. Well, accept for the people who write the story and the music. Oh, and the people who design the graphic art and sound effects. Plus you have the people who put all those elements together into something coherent. Other than that there is no room for artists in the gaming world. Right?
I hope you sensed my sarcasm there. I hate pointing it out, but I really want to hammer home a point here. Games can be art. Just because they don’t fit into the preconceived notions of art doesn’t mean anything. I seem to remember reading about a time when movies were looking down upon in a similar fashion. I don’t think anyone now days would argue against film being a forum of art. Video games are still a very new medium. They are still evolving and finding audiences. We are still defining what games really are in the first place and how to play them. If you want example look now further than the indie game movement. Some of you will roll your eyes when I mention Minecraft. I know I talk about it way too much; it’s getting to an unhealthy level, but it proves my point. Minecraft has taken an incredibly simple idea and made it a huge success. The idea? Let the player do what ever they want. Want to build a castle? Okay. How about a space ship, or a dark tower or the Coliseum or the cathedral of Notre Dame or a giant penis or the world? Sure. That simple idea has stolen away many hours of my life, but I don’t see them wasted because what is art if not the expansion of one mind. I would not be surprised in twenty years if a whole generation of architects is asked what got them interested in the field and they answer: Minecraft.
But back to my original point; it has been a long time since a game gave me chills, until last week. I downloaded a little iPad game called Sword & Sworcery EP. It’s more of a point and go adventure than what we think of as a traditional game these days. I hate to use the word “casual” because it tends to turn off people who consider themselves “hardcore” but the game is very suited to all players. You don’t have to memorize button combinations, nor have pin point head shot accuracy to complete and enjoy this one. The game play is simple and enjoyable. The graphic art is pixilated perfection and helps some truly epic environments come to life. The writing is funny and entertaining. The music is some of the best game music I’ve ever heard. There are a few down sides, however. There is a small combat mode that feels awkward, but you barely use it, so that’s a minor problem. The major problem is it’s an iPad only game. This fact will limit availability greatly. Even though iPad is the best format for this game, I think to grow an audience the developer should consider other platforms. But, if you have an iPad (and I know some of you do) get Sword & Sworcery EP, plug in your head phones and enjoy the hell out of an artfully executed experience.
I hope you sensed my sarcasm there. I hate pointing it out, but I really want to hammer home a point here. Games can be art. Just because they don’t fit into the preconceived notions of art doesn’t mean anything. I seem to remember reading about a time when movies were looking down upon in a similar fashion. I don’t think anyone now days would argue against film being a forum of art. Video games are still a very new medium. They are still evolving and finding audiences. We are still defining what games really are in the first place and how to play them. If you want example look now further than the indie game movement. Some of you will roll your eyes when I mention Minecraft. I know I talk about it way too much; it’s getting to an unhealthy level, but it proves my point. Minecraft has taken an incredibly simple idea and made it a huge success. The idea? Let the player do what ever they want. Want to build a castle? Okay. How about a space ship, or a dark tower or the Coliseum or the cathedral of Notre Dame or a giant penis or the world? Sure. That simple idea has stolen away many hours of my life, but I don’t see them wasted because what is art if not the expansion of one mind. I would not be surprised in twenty years if a whole generation of architects is asked what got them interested in the field and they answer: Minecraft.
But back to my original point; it has been a long time since a game gave me chills, until last week. I downloaded a little iPad game called Sword & Sworcery EP. It’s more of a point and go adventure than what we think of as a traditional game these days. I hate to use the word “casual” because it tends to turn off people who consider themselves “hardcore” but the game is very suited to all players. You don’t have to memorize button combinations, nor have pin point head shot accuracy to complete and enjoy this one. The game play is simple and enjoyable. The graphic art is pixilated perfection and helps some truly epic environments come to life. The writing is funny and entertaining. The music is some of the best game music I’ve ever heard. There are a few down sides, however. There is a small combat mode that feels awkward, but you barely use it, so that’s a minor problem. The major problem is it’s an iPad only game. This fact will limit availability greatly. Even though iPad is the best format for this game, I think to grow an audience the developer should consider other platforms. But, if you have an iPad (and I know some of you do) get Sword & Sworcery EP, plug in your head phones and enjoy the hell out of an artfully executed experience.
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