Born Yesterday: Movies

There are a lot of movies out there, and there are tons of people that have their own lists of what movies you “absolutely have to see.” Rather than be pretentious and make my own list, I’ll trust the masses and go with IMDb’s top 10. I know a good number of people that haven’t seem some of these, so I have to assume that some of my regulars might not have either. The list may have changed since this post was made, but this is what’s there to date:

1. The Godfather

Most people who haven’t seen this that I’ve known have had two common reasons as to why they have put it off. a) The hype; and b) Francis Ford Coppola’s other works. To address a), the fact of the matter is that the hype exists for a reason. If it were only truly hype without merit the hype should have died down in these 32 years, don’t you think? As for b), everyone makes mistakes. Then again, some people do start off with genius, then burn it into the ground.

As for the actual movie, I’d say that it’s the best role that Al Pacino has had, as it’s not the Al Pacino that everyone knows now. He wasn’t the loud and cocky guy that he typically plays now. The entire cast delivers outstanding performances, the story is well played out, and the whole package melds well together.

2. The Shawshank Redemption

From a short story by Steven King entitled “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” this jewel took me by surprise. When I first saw this I had only seen Tim Robbins in Bull Durham and Top Gun, and neither performance was really noteworthy. This role pushed his talents into the light, and they are truly spectacular. Though the main characters are prisoners, we relate to them easily, as they are just simple men living their lives. The story is easy enough to follow, and it’s a good one, and the ending is one of those that will make you watch the movie again just to be sure that they didn’t pull one over on you. Besides, any movie with Morgan Freeman can’t suck all that bad, right?

3, 8, and 9 The Lord of the Rings

The films were rated in reverse order (The Return of the King, The Two Towers, The Fellowship of the Ring), whic hI suppose should be noted, but it really doesn’t matter for the same reason that I’ve placed their titles together. They’re one movie. They’re one really fucking long movie, but they are all one film. Peter Jackson filmed them all in one go, going back to New Zealand here and there to fix a few things, but for all intents and purposes he did them all at once.

Let’s start by saying that making a movie based on the best fantasy novel series ever is a good starting block. Getting true diehard fans of these books to write the script is also a good idea. Getting these same diehard fans to produce the movie also helps. Then, having one of these people to direct tops it all off. So, they were automatically off to a good start.

The casting was impeccable. The diehard fans of the series were altogether generally pleased. There are always the grumpy types that criticize chapters/characters/plot lines being cut, but they would only be pleased with a 12 hour movie, so screw them.

The ingenuity in creating all of the effects in this movie were astounding. Four of the main characters are to appear that they are 4 feet tall, and you have to remind yourself that the actors playing them are all the same height throughout the film. Several tricks were used to make the illusions seamless. Change the trick.

Really, it’s a basic story of good and evil. The weak against the strong. Winning against all odds. The story is pakced full of excitement, action, lovable characters, and just about every emotion on the spectrum. I could, and have, watch each movie over and over.

4. The Godfather Part 2

I didn’t lump this with the first as I did with the LoTR because this film is a seperate film. For one, it’s two stories being told, that of a father’s struglle to the top, and that of his son to maintain that greatness if not inrease on it. The latter was supposed to be in the original story, but would have made the film too long, so it was added here. This film makes you question your own convictions when it comes to power. Would you sell out your own family? Would you kill your brother? Each of the actors in this film gives what are arguably their best performances of their careers. Having watched this and the first, many references and jokes from pop-culture will suddenly make sense.

5. Seven Samurai

This is the inspiration for this entry, as I hadn’t seen it until recently. What most of the people I’ve talked to have said about this film is that it is really long, or it drags. Though I understand, what with 3.5 hours and an intermission, I can’t imagine what could have been cut. Each character is developed perfectly. Each moment of action and each moment of silence are absolutely necessary. This movie should be approached like a piece of art, not as a movie. This has been the inspiration for many films, and for good reason. “Like Kurosawa I make mad films. ‘Kay I don’t make films, but if I did they’d have a samurai.” True dat.

6. Schindler’s List

A film that helps you remember that there are still good people that are amongst the most evil of people in the most evil of places. I find myself relating to this theme very much. It’s also a good history lesson about the Holocaust. I couldn’t say watching it more than once or twice would be necessary, though. The use of black and white is well done, and the color used on that canvas plays out well as well. Kind of a downer.

7. Casablanca

Confession time… haven’t seen it. I guess I’ll have to come back to that some time. *Hangs head in shame*

10. Star Wars

I used to rant about the “Travesty of ’77,” as this lost the Best Picture to Annie Hall. I have later gone back on this, as Annie Hall was a better movie. There, I said it. Star Wars, however, opened our eyes to what science fiction could be. Backed with an awesome score, this basic struggle between good and evil easily found it’s way into the hearts of adults and children alike.

The rest of the 250 on their list are decent enough. To date I’ve seen 138 of them. I’ll get there.

Christopher Walken

As much as I’d like to rant about this guy, I’m going to quote him and move on to other things. Stay with me here.

“Study your math, kids. Key to the Universe.”

If your path in life can be described by a straight line, then there should be some sort of an equation that could describe that line. This, of course, is operating under the assumption that alternate realities/dimensions/universes either don’t exist or have no effect on this line. This being so, this line could be analyzed mathematically.

Today in Calculus we are going over limits. I’ve taken this class before, just taking over for the easy A and the refresher, so I’m quite comfortable with limits and their properties. Basically, limits are used to observe a line/function/equation/etc. These observations can be made at any point on the line, and can tell you a great deal, depending on the point on the line. For example, you might have an equation that increases exponentially to infinity at a certain point, then immediately after that point the equation equals negative infinity. This line, needless to say, is not continuous, and is undefined at that point.

So, where is Chris going with this? Last night was that point in the line that is my life where certain factors seemed to have gone from something that might have been described with a negative infinity to something that is at the very least positive. This is a radical change, and a welcome one. Other people observing this equation ask whether or not this data is correct, and question it’s validity. Seeing an equation go from infinitely negative to any positive number with an undefined point in the middle is difficult to accept, and that’s reasonable, especially for those that had been watching the entire time that the equation went from positive to assymptotically approaching negative infinity.

As far as I’m concerned I know how much I’ve changed as a person in the time that these lines went askew, and I’m willing to believe that these equations that were once discontinuous, irrational, and filled with assymptotes have the potential to be harmonious once again.

Oh, and I’ve got a fever… the only thing that’s going to cure it… is more cowbell.

Forgive and Forget?

This weekend my brother saw Voldebitch at the store she’s working in.

The Pooks and all the other Burning Man folks got back extremely late last night.

These two events, though seemingly unrelated, have brought a rather interesting topic to the table that I had touched on before. Do I forgive and forget what others have done to me? Would they forgive my trespasses, as I might forgive theirs?

The spiritual side of The Loop would like to think that forgiveness should be universal, and given without thought. But then I am reminded of the story of the snake. The snake I was referring to there is not the same snake here, but it’s funny I chose the snake metaphor, as it’s Voldebitch I am referring to here. Her actions were malice. She deliberately tried to hurt me. She was bitter, angry, and vindictive. Forgiveness here is not that easy, nor is the contact present enough for me to even worry about it.

The other cases are a bit more present, and promising. In one case I need to find the forgiveness within me for him, while the other I am hoping can find this forgiveness within himself for me. I want to talk to these people, and have for months if not years. Perhaps these current changes could make this more of a possibility. I’d like to think so, at least.

Oh, and fuck drama.

Karma highway

On the way to class today I happened across a wallet in the quad. It was rather thick, filled with various things, and was just chilling out on the ledge of a planter. There were tons of people everywhere, but nobody in the vicinity of the wallet. That is to say, nobody said anything when I picked it up, held it in my head in front of me, and looked around at everyone.

At this point several thought streamed through my brain. I was thinking to myself whether or not I would keep the money in the wallet, not even knowing how much was in it. Then I asked myself whether the amount in the wallet would sway my decision. I wondered whether or not I would keep the cash and toss the wallet, or would I take it to the Campus Police.

I decided to take it in to the Campus Police.

I opened the wallet to find a little over $20, a thick wad of Staples service plans for their products, an ID, and various other bank/credit cards. The guy was 21, Armenian, and from the look of his picture, not a very personable guy.

At any rate, I took the wallet to the Campus Cops, who asked where I found it. They took no info from me, and I was on my way. I couldn’t help but feel warm and fuzzy about the whole thing. I mean, it’s the first week of school. All things being equal, if you lose your wallet in the middle of the quad, where thousands of people are walking about, you’d be lucky if you got any iota of your wallet or it’s contents back, let alone the cash itself. This guy, who I am hoping by the grace of God will be smart enough to check with Campus Police, will find all of his stuff and will likely breathe easier. I know I would.

Cranberry Chipotle vs. Creamy Mushroom

Yesterday Milca, her mom and I went to the Chef’s house to see if we were going to use him for the meal. In reality, we didn’t have anyone else in mind, so it was more of a tasting to see what he would make rather than whether he would make it. We drove to his house in Glendale, which was pretty close to the Oakmont Country Club.

The house was nice. There were a lot of old country type appliances and gadgets, which caught Milca’s eye immediately. Old school everything, all hand made, all wood and metal. It made you appreciate what we are truly capable of.

We were greeted by Angel, the chef, and Randy, his significant other. Randy was a dentist, who went on to teach at USC, and as far as I can tell is not woring, but investing and living off the money he’s already made. He also helps Angel with his catering jobs and whatnot. He does cake decorating and various other tasks. A rennaisance man. I admire that.

We sat down to a beautiful and simple arrangement. The fact that this much effort was placed in just this formality sealed the deal. A professional attitude is a must, and Angel has it. It should be noted that he and Randy are friends of Milca’s mom, which is why we’re going with him to begin with. That being said, the fact that he put as much effort into everything is saying something.

Anyhow, we started off with a salad. It was really good. It was a basic salad, but the balsamic dressing was sweeter than most other balsamic dressings I’ve had. The sliced almonds also made a nice addition.

After the salad the main plate was brought to us. I noticed that he served Milca and her mom first. They hadn’t noticed this distinction, but I did, and I appreciated it. Chivalry isn’t dead, I say. The main plate had two chicken breasts, one with a chipotle cranberry sauce with carmelized onions, the other had a creamy mushroom sauce. Damn. They both rocked my socks completely off. We were to choose between them, and ran into a few snags. First, if I had my choice we would have the chipotle sauce, but the chipotle sauce had a kick that some of the people attending wouldn’t be able to handle. Second the mushroom sauce has milk, which would likely kill my brother. Killing the best man is not a good thing. The solution? Both sauces available at an additional cost per head. Besides the chicken there will be potatoes, and a spinach side that was totally yummy.

All in all, he should be charging us way more than he is, and he typically does charge more. As I said, he’s a friend, so we’re getting an exclusive rate. He will have two people helping him, above and beyond himself and Randy, which brings up another topic… the staff.

We have to pay per person for who will be at the wedding in any way shape or form, as the location is a retreat center. They don’t care what they’re doing, if they are on the grounds, then they are paid for. I am also thinking that we will need to have people there to wash dishes, so I may be asking some of the Boy Scouts to help out. They’ll be paid and fed, so it’s not total slave labor.

Blah blah blah. Wedding wedding wedding. So many details… In the end it will all happen, we’ll be married, and everyone will have had a good time. I just wish we could get to that part faster.

1/29/04

I posted that when I came back from camp that several things had changed concerning the wedding. One is the date, which will be the 29th of January. This gives us an extra week, but it’s primarily because there is family coming from Argentina that will need the time to visit, relax, acclamate, etc.

Milca’s mom went with Milca to the Nature Freinds lodge where we’re having the whole soireé. She loved it. I have a few concerns, but they’re more like possible problems that need to be accounted for than reasons not to go there. First, rain. Easy enough to account for. Second, the dining room seats about 50. Then there would be tables outside. This means that there might have to be some moving around between the ceremony and the meal. This might be easy enough to get solved, as I could call on some Boy Scout types to help out in exchange for food. Third, the dishes getting cleaned. This also might be solvable with the scouts, but I might have to pay them and feed them in this case. That wouldn’t be too bad, as they would do it for $20 a head, and I couldn’t imagine needing more than 3 or 4 helpers. All I know is that none of my relatives, nor Milca’s, are doing dishes or lifting tables… except my brothers possibly, but they’re going to look spiffy, so probably not.

At any rate, the guest list is pretty solid at this point. There are a lot of people that I had to cut from my end, as my list is twice as long as Milca’s even now. Of the freinds I have on there, most are from high school, and the others that I’ve met more recently are now mutual friends of ours. Again, the engagement party will be a more open thing.

That’s it for now. I’m thinking that the camp journal will just have to be a seperate blog, as that will be easier for me, and it won’t clog up this blog.