:: The Blurst of Times ::

:: 7.28.2003 ::

Four Movies and a Phone Call
Yeah, that's what we could sum up this weekend - my last offical weekend in T-town. I think most of it was worthwhile. We'll tackle the best parts first:

Old School
This was the first in a series of movies selected to prevent me from thinking about real stuff - and it did the job well. It was very much in the vein of Animal House and PCU and you know what I think? Good for it! I feel like there could be a good movie like this about once a year without doing much harm. Each character seemed to be just right for the chosen actor, right down to Craig Kilborn as the asshole boyfriend. Man, who didn't see that one coming? Plus, I think it's the first time I wasn't repulsed by Will Farrell being stupid - it was more like he was acting smart, trying to overcome being stupid, instead of the usual vice-versa. Overall, left me feeling good - an anxious to return to campus.

Drowning Mona
Really, you can't go wrong with a DeVito, a Midler, a Curtis, and an Affleck... oh, wait, Casey Affleck, the guy who's voice is far too deep for his boyish looks? Eh, maybe not. Really, I enjoyed the movie, I just was hoping for more hijinx. I like movies where all the characters are so intertwined that anything could happen. And I like movies where it takes a cut through "real life" much like any experience cuts through "real life": when you are following a single story, but it shows or refers to other lives that you just glimpse at - specifically the undertaker was a pretty good character. So it was funny, just not roll off the couch funny. I guess this capped my 24-hour Will Farrell movie fest.

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
Yeah, this was really cool - it felt fun and well paced. I rented the DVD - I usually go with VHS, but I felt like I should have the full widescreed going because I expected the visuals to be rockin'. So tell me, those of you who have seen this, does a lot happen in Chapters 26 and 27 - I suppose those are pretty important being two of the last three chapters. Yeah, you'll have to tell me sometime because the DVD fucked up and skipped over these chapters, thus dumping me in the final scene of ultimate justice and retribution, and no real idea what happened. I fuckin' hate technology because in the stone age, when something broke, it just fell apart; now things fall apart with such nuclear disaster proportions that it just fuckin sucks. I'm crossing the movie off my list because I feel like I have seen it, but just between you and me - I might have missed some of the finer details.

Spirited Away
It took a while for me to get into this movie, but once I did I was hooked. It was beautiful and powerful. Like Life is Beautiful, the actual story was pretty trite - nothing special or particularly original, but the way it was brought together was fantastic. And the attention to detail - it wasn't so much something that I ever felt like I missed, but once it was there in front of me it all it's brilliant glory, I think I fully appreciated it. Thankfully this DVD stuck it out and worked the whole way through. I think, when it's all said and done, I might like cartoons more than movies, because 1) there is nothing that can't be done, irregardless of special effects, anything can happen; 2) there are no actors to insert their subconscious prejuduces, like when watching Old School and seeing Vince Vaughn and really thinking a lot about Swingers; 3) there are no flaws to take away from the purity of hte story and the message - I feel like this puts more pressure on the writers to come up with something worthwhile, not just the latest Will Smith vehicle; 4) cartoons can appeal to more people at more levels because they work into the imagination better than just film.

As for the phone call: It's hard to make pain go away. No matter how many times I say I can get through this without getting upset, I get upset. I take offense to things that I know I have to right getting offended at, and there are so many things that I could say but think-twice and keep inside that I just eat myself alive and the conversation peters out. I feel bad about this, but you know, I'm really not that responsible for this, and if I'm a hard person to talk to these days, try sitting within earshot of the inside of my head. There's a seat I'd like to vacate sometime soon.

"You said 'no worries' then I should have known, everytime I've heard that phrase I've been let down, guess I have no one else to blame but me, even when I know it's wrong, I still want to believe, another half apology, another broken promise..."
:: Freddy F. at 12:40 AM [+] ::