| untitled |
[10 Dec 2009|12:57am] |
I wasn't ready for it,
so the radio hurt me
on the drive home yesterday.
Not because it was beautiful
or profound,
but because it was something
I used to love.
|
|
| Movie Review - "Inglourious Basterds" |
[12 Sep 2009|12:03am] |
Have seen the movie twice, now. Once at a matinee, where I was one of exactly two people in the auditorium, and once with a couple of friends. I was impressed. Brad Pitt's Tennessee Hillbilly accent is... abysmal. I mean, it's just bad. Yet despite this, I feel like Pitt does a pretty good job with the character. There's a scene where he's trying to pass for Italian, and the stiffness of the character and the strained/forced twang of the bad accent actually makes that particular scene work. The bad accent sticks out, however, because a lot of the movie is in subtitles. Almost all of the actors/actresses end up having to speak multiple languages (one character in particular speaks at least four during the course of the movie) and all of them sound pretty natural. (Except the two scenes where the character isn't supposed to sound natural, and for one of those you can't tell if you aren't completely fluent in German. I mean, even listening for it, I couldn't hear it.) Point of all of this being, there's a lot of subtlety and word-play going on, and then Brad Pitt just hits us over the head with a club of an accent. But as I said, that can be forgiven.
The movie bears little resemblance to many of Tarantino's other films, perhaps because it's an adaptation of another film by the same name. There are some elements from Pulp Fiction in it, and there's one moment where he gives us a Kill Bill-esque introduction of a particular character, but beyond that I would say it felt more like the Coenn Brothers than Tarantino. Of course, the movie is periodically gory and ridiculously violent, but with two exceptions, nothing anywhere near as gory as Kill Bill.
On second viewing, the movie keeps well. I still loved everything I loved the first time. It's also a little easier to catch some of the fun they have with the various languages in the movie.
The movie is surprising. The characters surprised me, the plot didn't turn out like I thought it would. There's also an impressive attention to detail — there's a scene in a bar where one of the Basterds makes a small cultural slip which anyone who's ever ordered a beer in a German bar can tell you is a mistake, but nevertheless a mistake everyone makes their first time in a German bar, and it ends up being important. It's just a brilliant touch — it's a very small thing, but it's so easy to miss, and it's also a very obvious tell.
Props go to Cristoph Waltz, who plays Col. Landa expertly. The Colonel switches from language to language flawlessly, and you're always never quite sure exactly how much he knows, how much he suspects, and whether or not he's probing for information or just toying with someone. (Well, except when he busts out laughing at the party, but I think that one's just for the audience.)
I recommend it for anyone who can deal with a certain amount of war-type gore. Whether you just want a good time, or you want a well-made movie, Inglourious Basterds delivers.
|
|
| "Why do you Write?" |
[05 Sep 2009|02:26pm] |
Even though I love
the practice of Confession
for putting a human face
on forgiveness,
I have never had a faith
that could say,
"Bless me father,
for I have sinned,"
and then just accept it
when the priest says,
"You are forgiven, my son."
I have a faith
that just has to hope
that the penance
will be enough.
|
|
| untitled |
[02 Sep 2009|11:33pm] |
love is like
the medulla oblongota —
hard to say,
difficult to understand.
small,
but important.
|
|
| the Worldwide Suck Level is at... |
[31 Aug 2009|05:55pm] |
. . Omega . .
>>Pretty Damn Shitty<<
. . Sucktacular . .
. . OMGWTFBBQ . .
. . Kinda Lousy . .
. . Meh . .
. . Not Bad . .
. . A-OK! . .
|
|
| useless |
[25 Aug 2009|09:08pm] |
|
I don't deserve someone...
|
|
| the Blue Laws suck |
[23 Aug 2009|03:48pm] |
I did something ridiculously stupid at work yesterday that probably cost my boss several hundred dollars. (I offered to pay whatever expenses it was going to cause her, but she kept saying it was an honest mistake and I shouldn't worry about it... which of course made me worry that much more.)
today, I desperately need a drink, but nowhere in Tuscaloosa is allowed to sell me alcohol because some uptight Christians think it's "evil." I'm pretty sure this is unconstitutional, but I don't think I could prove it without pen and paper.
|
|
| my fan died |
[18 Aug 2009|12:56am] |
|
the box fan I've been using for the past two years or so bit the dust last night. I'm sure John will appreciate the irony in that. also, the rest of my day never really got any better from there. hopefully tomorrow will be better.
|
|
| show, don't tell |
[12 Aug 2009|09:36pm] |
someone once called wikipedia
"the largest collection of human knowledge
that has ever been assembled."
he called it that
to drive home the point
that people spend their time
on strange things.
but how do we know whether the internet
surpasses the Library of Alexandria?
how could we ever know if the Big Lebowski
is more spectacular than the Hanging Gardens?
how can we be sure
that knowledge
is concrete,
and meaning
is profound?
I wrote this while drunk. do not judge me.
|
|
| untitled |
[09 Aug 2009|11:39am] |
I met Buddha on the subway today.
He wore a white long-sleeve shirt
and the baggiest khakis
any man has ever worn.
As I sat down,
he took off his glasses
and reached into his shoulder bag.
He tenderly unwrapped the sandwich,
and closed his eyes as he took a bite.
He leaned the back of his head
against the cool window.
The rattling of the glass
became his mantra;
the repetition of chewing
became his meditation
for the ritual of his lunch.
When he finished, I noticed
a little bit of the world's weariness
sink into his face as he put the wire frames
back onto his face —
metal which pinched his nose
in order to elucidate the world for him —
the suffering that made his world beautiful.
|
|
| For your edification: |
[03 Aug 2009|10:53pm] |
|
actually, this is mostly for Snowe, but if any of you have never heard The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter," you should definitely click on this link and listen to it. I consider it the crowning achievement of the Stones, which given their long, successful career is rather saying something.
|
|
| forty-eight ways to say... |
[26 Jul 2009|09:31pm] |
"for all we know
this void will grow,
and everything's in vain." — Seether, "Rise Above This"
i wonder how Kurt felt
after that last set on camera.
if he felt the weight of the world on him,
if he felt the pull of history.
i wonder if he felt alone
in his last days,
if he felt misunderstood.
i wonder if he knew what lives
he had touched —
would touch —
i wonder if he cared,
when he took that last shot.
i wonder if he felt like this.
|
|
| untitled |
[19 Jul 2009|04:07pm] |
i don't want fancy dresses and status symbols.
i want to dance with you because we are young
and we do not care what looks other people
give us when we get on the DDR machine.
i don't want perfumes and makeup and stupid
ideas of "beauty."
i want to sing with you because we are young
and we are not ashamed of our voices.
i don't want sweaty, tangled sheets (unless you want them).
i want to hold you in the soft half-light of our couch
and just enjoy your face nuzzled against my neck.
i want to hold your hand because it is simple, and special.
i want to tell you i love you every day
and know that this is enough
Notes: the repetition of "because we are young" is lame, but I can't think of anything else to put there. Does the line about the singing just sort of echo the same sentiment as the one with the dancing? If so it can go.
Are the parentheses necessary? Should I just cut that?
I'm not sure what term to use to describe the couch. Does that one work?
Also, those last two lines can go, but I don't know that the one before them works as a closing line. Suggestions?
|
|
| untitled |
[06 Jul 2009|03:26am] |
It's not your fault
that you were late today.
The grass was so cool,
and the shade so inviting,
and the little gate practically begged you
to take a nap against it.
|
|
|
[07 Jun 2009|12:58am] |
finished The Yiddish Policemen's Union. good book, and not nearly as much of a downer as Feed was. (well, oddly, I find the overall theme and "meaning" of the book to be much darker than that of Feed, which still managed to retain a glimmer of hope at its end. The Yiddish Policeman's Union ends with a bit of dry wit and a sense of the antagonists "getting theirs," in a way, but it does little to blunt the prevailing theme of the unredeemability of people. the narrator keeps harping on the idea that according to Jewish scholars, Messiah is born into every generation, but he never "arrives" because people are not prepared to accept him. ultimately, the book never really finds a way to "fix" that doubt.)
also, the book makes me want to pick up chess again. anyone willing to start a correspondence game?
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
jaded_believer's journal