Movie Time

Some short reviews of films I've viewed recently, not necessarily for the first time:

• Nueve Reinas [Nine Queens] (2000) - This is the movie upon which the more recent remake, Criminal (starring John C. Reilly), was based. It is an Argentinean heist film which chronicles an action-filled day in the lives of two con artists. It peeves me when American filmmakers decide they are going to remake a foreign film for an American audience and fail to improve, or at least alter, the original movie - especially when the original was made fairly recently. (Vanilla Sky was an unnecessary adaptation of the superior Abre Los Ojos.) In this case, it's lucky for the American filmmakers that I saw Criminal first, as they failed to significantly alter or improve upon Nueve Reinas. I had liked Criminal, and it's hard for me to renege on that feeling now, but I am stunned at how similar the two movies are. I love John C. Reilly, but Americans need to start learning how to read subtitles, and filmmakers should start using their resources towards better ends than unnecessary English-language copies of original, well-made foreign-language films.
  
  
• The Limey (1999) - My flatmate has a strange, semi-suppressed obsession with British gangster movies, which is how this film made its way into my DVD player. It's not really a gangster film in the traditional sense - it's about a British con who travels to Los Angeles to take revenge upon whomever is responsible for his daughter's death. Director Steven Soderbergh made some interesting decisions with the editing and semi-linear storytelling - decisions which I found distracting and showy. He should have let the story play out on its own - it's a good enough tale to tell without gimmicks. Despite these distractions, it's a worthwhile film with good performances by Terence Stamp and the always-great Luis Guzman.
  
  
• The Station Agent (2003) - This is a GREAT movie. I watched it for the second time last week, and I'm still a bit awe-struck by how wonderful it is. It's a poignant, simple film about three people in a small, quiet town who make acquaintance with each other by the chance of their circumstances and eventually form unlikely friendships. The characters are interesting and full of depth. Doses of subtle humor are expertly injected into an otherwise serious film, resulting in a fine piece of filmmaking that everyone should see. It is a shame this movie has not gotten the attention it deserves, but it is evidence that the independent film movement is alive and thriving.
  
  
• The Weather Man (2005) - This movie was utterly disappointing. It's about a weatherman (acted unconvincingly by Nicholas Cage) in Chicago who is struggling with his existence in the context of a dying father (Michael Caine), a failed marriage, a disconnect with his children, and a looming opportunity to move to New York for a job on a national morning news program. Commercials I saw for The Weather Man showed me a lot of potential for a quirky, interesting film. Instead I got a hodgepodge of underdeveloped characters tied together in a sloppy package with a big band-aid in the form of voiceovers. It could have been a good film, but was not.
  

In the next installment of Movie Time, I'll maybe take a look at Separate Lies (2005) and Casualties of War (1989).

Mindy!

Check out Mindy's new hair!

Final Registration

This morning I registered for my last semester of classes, which is sort of ridiculous. Being a senior, there was no pressure to get into classes before they filled up, as I get to register first. Regardless, I woke up bright and early, for tradition's sake (8:00 a.m.!) and registered as I had each time previous to this. As usual, I am excited about my schedule. Here are the classes I will be taking:

• Introduction to Screen Writing - According to its description online, this class seems to focus both on theory and the application of that theory. We're going to have to watch some films, which is exciting to me, and will complete a full first draft of a screenplay by the semester's end. Fun! Meets Mondays from 6 to 9.
  
  
• Creative Writing: Fiction - A workshop-format class for short- and long-form fiction. Students give and receive criticism. Rumor has it that there will be six writing assignments over the course of the semester. Credit/no credit. Meets Thursdays from 2:50 to 5:50.
  
  
• Lawyers and Politics - Government seminar looking at the role lawyers play in American politics. This is the class that will complete my requirements for graduation. Meets Mondays and Thursdays from 1:25 to 2:40.
  
  
• Environmental Law - "A survey course in environmental law, with special emphasis placed on the practical skills neccesary to understand and apply environmental laws and regulations." This class is cross-registered in the Environmental Science and Policy; Government; and International Development, Community, and Environment departments. Meets Mondays from 9 to 11:50.
  

So once again I will have Tuesdays and Fridays off, something that I have been enjoying this semester. The biggest change in my schedule will be waking up for a 9:00 class, which I'll have on Wednesdays. I think that it will make me feel like less of a lazy-bum, though, so I'm seeing it as a good thing.

Mobile Blog!

This was my first attempt at mobile-phone blogging, a technology that is somewhat mind boggling to me. In any case, this is a picture that I took with my phone and then posted to my blog directly. Sure, it's just a picture of my living room, and yes, I was sitting right next to my computer when I took and sent it. But still. Amazing.

TINTN Issue 5

The fifth issue of This is Not the News, which hit the newsstands on Friday, is now available for download on the right toolbar of this page.

Those of you who have no knowledge of Judaism or of what a Magen David looks like should take note that the Star of David has six points, not five. This is relevent to criticisms we have received that the cartoon on page 6 of the issue "portrays Jews in a negative light" because of its use of the Magen David on the sheriff. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Worcester Public Library!

Last Tuesday I became a card-carrying member of the Worcester Public Library. It was exciting and long overdue (pun not intended). It's an extremely nice library and I am ashamed not to have taken advantage of it during the past few years I've been in Worcester. I think my plan is to borrow from the library every-other book I read. I own lots of books I haven't read, but hopefully using the library will broaden my reading-range beyond those books I have bought on a whim.

The Worcester Public Library might also prove to be a good study space. It's certainly warmer and more inviting than Clark's library, and while the hours are a bit inconvenient (they are closed Sunday and Monday, and only open until 9 Tuesday-Thursday and 5:30 Friday and Saturday), it could be a nice change of scenery.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

Four years ago my aunt gave me The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Michael Chabon. It was a large, beautiful, hard cover book that I have always intended to read but, like so many books in my possession, have not yet gotten around to. My flatmate Emily recently came across the book, after her mother read it, and fell in love with Chabon after finishing reading it. She subsequently bought another of Chabon's novels, his first, in fact, and as I found it sitting on my coffee table one evening I decided to pick it up and begin reading it. I quickly made the decision to read its entirety.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is about a twenty-something man, recently out of college, and his struggles finding his place in life. It sounds a little cliche, and in some ways it is, but Chabon's novel is always entertaining, never dull or mundane. It takes place over the course of a summer as the main character, Art Bechstein, befriends another man about his age, also named Arthur, and thinks he is in love with him. He simultaneously falls in love with a girl, Phlox, and has to deal with another new friend, Cleveland, who is trying to get into organized crime and hopes that Art can help - Art's father is the boss of a Jewish crime family.

What sounds like a complicated story is told in a subtle but never-confusing way, delicate but direct, both poignant and powerful. Chabon writes in flowing, descriptive prose, not unlike F. Scott Fitzgerald or Hunter S. Thompson (two of my favorite authors). Reading The Mysteries of Pittsburgh bumped The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay high up in my pile of books-to-read.