Thursday, 30 December 2010
Thursday, 9 December 2010
My Favorite Books of 2010
Sounds dry, but it isn't. Not at all. Made me appreciate and return to Henry V my least favorite Shakespeare play.
Powerful stuff. I've never liked verse novels before, but I"ll read anything Williams writes. Turns out I love this one. I'll have to read Ellen Hopkins now.
True story about a tiger who drags a mattress outside of a hunter's cabin, sits on it and waits for him. Tigers are scary.
I'm hoping for twenty more years of reading Hitchens. May he survive his cancer of the oesophagus.
Used a story from this for the opening of my church talk. When sugar was first introduced to the new world, only the rich could afford it. Consequently only the rich had black teeth. So the poor artificially colored theirs.
Took me awhile to get into it but the ending is top notch.
This is kind of a cheat since I read it ten years ago. This time it felt different. Back then it was a slog. Now it is one of my favorite books. I didn't realize Jane Austin was so funny. Next year I will read all five of her other books.
Now my favorite Shakespeare comedy. Unless you consider Henry the IV a comedy, in which case it is my second favorite.
Wonderful.
This should be a classic and talked about at least as much as One Flew Over the CooCoo's Nest. But until I saw the trailer to the new movie I didn't even know it was a book. What other masterpieces have I never heard of?
Sunday, 27 December 2009
Top Ten Movies of the year pre-2009
Do you remember that moment in the Simpsons when the comic book guy walks down the street, reading a book and muttering, "Aqua-Man, you can not marry a woman without gills. You are from two different worlds." Then he looks up and sees he is about to get hit by a nuclear weapon and says, "I've wasted my life."
I thought it would be fun to keep a journal of all the movies I saw this year, and it was fun, till the year came to an end and I noticed that I watched a little over (I shouldn't be admitting this in a public forum) 170 movies. "I've wasted my life."
In my defense, I'd like to point out that we didn't have any tv, except for a dvd player, so I didn't watch any TV. (Except for Generation Kill, Flight of the Conchords season 2, and the 2nd through 5th series of The Office. Good heavens do I love the Office.) But 170 movies is way too many. My goal for the next year is to see only 50 - 70 movies. That's one a week. Some weeks I'll watch two.
Here are my favorite ten movies that I saw in 2009 that are pre-2009
Seven Chances (1925)
The Buster Keaton silent film where he has to get married by seven o'clock that night or miss out on a seven million dollar inheritance. Funny and gentle for the first two thirds. The last two thirds are deliriously insane. Keaton is chased by thousands of brides and accidentally starts an avalanche. One of my favorite silent comic moments of all time. I showed it to my in-laws and they loved it. So did my seven and four year old.
Act of Violence (1948)
A war hero is stalked by someone from his platoon (Robert Ryan), who knows the hero wasn't a hero, but got a people in the platoon killed. Really tense and powerful. Do not ever, under any circumstance, do anything to make Robert Ryan angry.
Troll 2 (1990)
You know how two negatives make a positive? With Troll 2, a bad script, stilted acting, bizarre direction somehow make two hours of awesome. This isn't one of those movies that is so bad it is good. No. This is movie is Good with a capital 'G.' Please watch this movie. You will not regret it. Filmed in Utah.
Night of the Demon (1957)
I hadn't heard of this movie a year ago, but it might now be my favorite horror film. It's about a guy who tries to expose a fake devil worshiper / magician. But it turns out the magician is able to sick a demon on him. It is really cool and beautiful.
Gimme Shelter (1970)
Documentary about Altamont Rolling Stones concert. The one where they hired the Hell's Angels to do security and then gave them lots of free beer. And then lots of bad things happen. Really intense.
Sergeant York (1941)
Gary Cooper rules.
Dear Zachary (2008)
Documentary that makes you cry and cry and cry. I don't want to say anything more. If you are going to see it, know as little about it as possible. (Warning, some swearing, but under the circumstances it is understandable.)
I Am a Fugitive of a Chain Gang (1932)
I didn't expect this one to hit me like a brick, but it is incredibly powerful. Maybe the most moving last line of a movie ever. It's about a fugitive of a chain gang. I like a title that tells me what I'm getting. Do you hear that Twilight? Why didn't you name yourself I'm a Vampire that Sparkles.
Ball of Fire (1941)
Gary Cooper rules. Retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where Snow White is a gangster's girlfriend, the seven dwarfs are seven professors and the witch is the gangster. It makes the top ten for the scene where the only professor that had ever been married (his wife had died very young) gives Gary Cooper pre-wedding advice. I will steal that speech when I have to talk to my son before his wedding night.
His Girl Friday (1940)
Cary Grant was best when playing a stinker. In this movie he is a wonderful stinker. I watched it twice this year. Very, very funny.
I thought it would be fun to keep a journal of all the movies I saw this year, and it was fun, till the year came to an end and I noticed that I watched a little over (I shouldn't be admitting this in a public forum) 170 movies. "I've wasted my life."
In my defense, I'd like to point out that we didn't have any tv, except for a dvd player, so I didn't watch any TV. (Except for Generation Kill, Flight of the Conchords season 2, and the 2nd through 5th series of The Office. Good heavens do I love the Office.) But 170 movies is way too many. My goal for the next year is to see only 50 - 70 movies. That's one a week. Some weeks I'll watch two.
Here are my favorite ten movies that I saw in 2009 that are pre-2009
Seven Chances (1925)
The Buster Keaton silent film where he has to get married by seven o'clock that night or miss out on a seven million dollar inheritance. Funny and gentle for the first two thirds. The last two thirds are deliriously insane. Keaton is chased by thousands of brides and accidentally starts an avalanche. One of my favorite silent comic moments of all time. I showed it to my in-laws and they loved it. So did my seven and four year old.
Act of Violence (1948)
A war hero is stalked by someone from his platoon (Robert Ryan), who knows the hero wasn't a hero, but got a people in the platoon killed. Really tense and powerful. Do not ever, under any circumstance, do anything to make Robert Ryan angry.
Troll 2 (1990)
You know how two negatives make a positive? With Troll 2, a bad script, stilted acting, bizarre direction somehow make two hours of awesome. This isn't one of those movies that is so bad it is good. No. This is movie is Good with a capital 'G.' Please watch this movie. You will not regret it. Filmed in Utah.
Night of the Demon (1957)
I hadn't heard of this movie a year ago, but it might now be my favorite horror film. It's about a guy who tries to expose a fake devil worshiper / magician. But it turns out the magician is able to sick a demon on him. It is really cool and beautiful.
Gimme Shelter (1970)
Documentary about Altamont Rolling Stones concert. The one where they hired the Hell's Angels to do security and then gave them lots of free beer. And then lots of bad things happen. Really intense.
Sergeant York (1941)
Gary Cooper rules.
Dear Zachary (2008)
Documentary that makes you cry and cry and cry. I don't want to say anything more. If you are going to see it, know as little about it as possible. (Warning, some swearing, but under the circumstances it is understandable.)
I Am a Fugitive of a Chain Gang (1932)
I didn't expect this one to hit me like a brick, but it is incredibly powerful. Maybe the most moving last line of a movie ever. It's about a fugitive of a chain gang. I like a title that tells me what I'm getting. Do you hear that Twilight? Why didn't you name yourself I'm a Vampire that Sparkles.
Ball of Fire (1941)
Gary Cooper rules. Retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, where Snow White is a gangster's girlfriend, the seven dwarfs are seven professors and the witch is the gangster. It makes the top ten for the scene where the only professor that had ever been married (his wife had died very young) gives Gary Cooper pre-wedding advice. I will steal that speech when I have to talk to my son before his wedding night.
His Girl Friday (1940)
Cary Grant was best when playing a stinker. In this movie he is a wonderful stinker. I watched it twice this year. Very, very funny.
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
Movies I saw that came out in 2009
My three favorite films that came out this past year were children's films. That never happens. Usually I love Pixar and hate every other film aimed for children. (Except an occasional Peter Pan and Babe 2: Pig in the City.)
Best films I saw were Coraline, Where the Wild Things Are and The Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Here are all the films from 2009 I saw this year.
Movies I loved unreservedly and would love to see again:
A Christmas Carol: The 3D was spectacular. Not sure if I'd like it in 2D
Coraline: Really unnerving children's movie.
Drag Me to Hell: I was so right about this one.
Fantastic Mr. Fox : So scared I'd hate it. Very relieved when I laughed all the way through.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: I don't like the Harry Potter movies, but I'm a sucker for camera shots from the viewpoint of malevolent witches going through the streets of London. I wish more movies had them. This is best Harry Potter movie yet.
Inglorious Basterds
Up - Pixar has only made two films that I don't care for. First ten minutes are the best things Pixar has done.
Where the Wild Things Are: My favorite movie of the year. The first fifteen minutes hit me hard. The soundtrack is great.
Movies I really, really, really liked but don't care if I see again:
Extract - Best acted movie of the year. Everyone knocked it out of the park.
Observe and Report - Boy this was dark and funny and touching.
Star Trek - I hate Star Trek but I really liked this.
Knowing - I don't care what anyone says. I thought it was good. I had it playing at the library and the last fifteen minutes everyone in the teen room stopped what they were doing and gathered around the TV. It was a nice moment.
Paranormal Review: Too scary to see again. Or to boring because I know where all the scares are. Either way, it was good to see once.
Movies I loved mostly but had parts that I hated:
500 Days of Summers:
This feels unfair because I loved this movie, far more than I disliked it. I really only disliked the scene when they embarrass each other by shouting obscenities in the park. (So what? I'm a prude). The scene made me cringe and made me like the characters less. The rest of the movie was outstanding, but it took awhile for me to like the characters again.
Movies I feel nothing about:
The Hangover: So-so.
17 Again: It seems like I should have hated this more. I didn't find it funny but I was touched in parts.
Zombieland: It seems like I should have liked this movie more. I'm not sure why I didn't.
Funny People: I liked what it was doing and I liked the acting and the story. I don't know. I liked it without feeling strongly about it.
Movies I mildly didn't like:
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs : Why do animated films think I want to see a joke every 4 seconds? I don't. I want a story thrillingly told. The Life of the Party is always a bore. Don't try to be the life of the party anymore animated films. (I blame Robin Williams in Aladin.) No more joke a minute cartoons, please.
Bruno: I loved this film when I saw it. I laughed a lot and thought it had important things to say. But the review in The New Yorker was such a good take down of the movie, that it flipped me from enjoying to mildly not liking. (Does that make me easily swayed or is the reviewer in The New Yorker that good a writer. Probably both.) The best paragraph in the review is :
Brüno” ends appallingly, with a musical montage of Sting, Bono, Elton John, and other well-meaners assisting mein Host in a sing-along. Here’s the deal, apparently: if celebrities aren’t famous enough for your liking (Ron Paul, Paula Abdul), or seem insufficiently schooled in irony, you make vicious sport of them, but if they’re A-listers, insanely keen to be in on the joke, they can join your congregation. Would Baron Cohen dare to adopt a fresh disguise and trap Sting in some outlandish folly, or is he now too close a friend? To scour the world for little people you can taunt, and then pal up with the hip and rich: that is not an advisable path for any comic to pursue, let alone one as sharp and mercurial as Baron Cohen.
Here is the complete review http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2009/07/20/090720crci_cinema_lane?printable=true
Monsters vs. Aliens: See comment about Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Movies I didn't like:
Friday the 13th: It gave me a headache. Forgot I'd seen it till I made this list.
Paper Heart: I would have loved it when I was 23. I can understand why others would love it.
Movies I wanted to like but found disappointing:
Jennifer's Body - A horror film by the writer of Juno? I was so excited.
The Invention of Lying: Biggest disappointment of the year. I love Ricky Gervais. Love, love, love him. But this movie just did not work. At all. Except for one hilarious scene where Gervais makes up 10 commandments. I wasn't offended by the religion bashing. That was the funniest stuff in the movie. Everything else was bleh.
Best films I saw were Coraline, Where the Wild Things Are and The Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Here are all the films from 2009 I saw this year.
Movies I loved unreservedly and would love to see again:
A Christmas Carol: The 3D was spectacular. Not sure if I'd like it in 2D
Coraline: Really unnerving children's movie.
Drag Me to Hell: I was so right about this one.
Fantastic Mr. Fox : So scared I'd hate it. Very relieved when I laughed all the way through.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: I don't like the Harry Potter movies, but I'm a sucker for camera shots from the viewpoint of malevolent witches going through the streets of London. I wish more movies had them. This is best Harry Potter movie yet.
Inglorious Basterds
Up - Pixar has only made two films that I don't care for. First ten minutes are the best things Pixar has done.
Where the Wild Things Are: My favorite movie of the year. The first fifteen minutes hit me hard. The soundtrack is great.
Movies I really, really, really liked but don't care if I see again:
Extract - Best acted movie of the year. Everyone knocked it out of the park.
Observe and Report - Boy this was dark and funny and touching.
Star Trek - I hate Star Trek but I really liked this.
Knowing - I don't care what anyone says. I thought it was good. I had it playing at the library and the last fifteen minutes everyone in the teen room stopped what they were doing and gathered around the TV. It was a nice moment.
Paranormal Review: Too scary to see again. Or to boring because I know where all the scares are. Either way, it was good to see once.
Movies I loved mostly but had parts that I hated:
500 Days of Summers:
This feels unfair because I loved this movie, far more than I disliked it. I really only disliked the scene when they embarrass each other by shouting obscenities in the park. (So what? I'm a prude). The scene made me cringe and made me like the characters less. The rest of the movie was outstanding, but it took awhile for me to like the characters again.
Movies I feel nothing about:
The Hangover: So-so.
17 Again: It seems like I should have hated this more. I didn't find it funny but I was touched in parts.
Zombieland: It seems like I should have liked this movie more. I'm not sure why I didn't.
Funny People: I liked what it was doing and I liked the acting and the story. I don't know. I liked it without feeling strongly about it.
Movies I mildly didn't like:
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs : Why do animated films think I want to see a joke every 4 seconds? I don't. I want a story thrillingly told. The Life of the Party is always a bore. Don't try to be the life of the party anymore animated films. (I blame Robin Williams in Aladin.) No more joke a minute cartoons, please.
Bruno: I loved this film when I saw it. I laughed a lot and thought it had important things to say. But the review in The New Yorker was such a good take down of the movie, that it flipped me from enjoying to mildly not liking. (Does that make me easily swayed or is the reviewer in The New Yorker that good a writer. Probably both.) The best paragraph in the review is :
Brüno” ends appallingly, with a musical montage of Sting, Bono, Elton John, and other well-meaners assisting mein Host in a sing-along. Here’s the deal, apparently: if celebrities aren’t famous enough for your liking (Ron Paul, Paula Abdul), or seem insufficiently schooled in irony, you make vicious sport of them, but if they’re A-listers, insanely keen to be in on the joke, they can join your congregation. Would Baron Cohen dare to adopt a fresh disguise and trap Sting in some outlandish folly, or is he now too close a friend? To scour the world for little people you can taunt, and then pal up with the hip and rich: that is not an advisable path for any comic to pursue, let alone one as sharp and mercurial as Baron Cohen.
Here is the complete review http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2009/07/20/090720crci_cinema_lane?printable=true
Movies I didn't like:
Friday the 13th: It gave me a headache. Forgot I'd seen it till I made this list.
Paper Heart: I would have loved it when I was 23. I can understand why others would love it.
Movies I wanted to like but found disappointing:
Jennifer's Body - A horror film by the writer of Juno? I was so excited.
The Invention of Lying: Biggest disappointment of the year. I love Ricky Gervais. Love, love, love him. But this movie just did not work. At all. Except for one hilarious scene where Gervais makes up 10 commandments. I wasn't offended by the religion bashing. That was the funniest stuff in the movie. Everything else was bleh.
Friday, 16 October 2009
Deborah
Deborah came up to me with the birthday card her grandparents sent to her. I'd already read the card which said in red pencil,
Dear Deborah,
Happy 4th Birthday.
Love Grma & Grndpa
She asked if I wanted her to read it to me. I said, sure.
She said, very solemnly,
Dear Deborah,
Ha! Ha! Ha!
You can't go to school.
Love Grma & Grndpa
I don't know which I find more funny, that she thinks it's within the realm of possibility that Grma and Grndpa would write a letter simply to tell her she can't go to school. She didn't' appear to be joking.* Even though she knew the letter didn't say that, since Melissa had already read it to her, it appears she thought I might believe it.
Or that her grandparents would write out Ha! Ha! Ha! first. Probably the three 'Ha's'. There is something so wonderfully malicious about them.
For the record, her Grandparents are wonderful and they would never send a letter like that to a 4 year old child. And the letters they've sent to me and Melissa have been quite constructive in tone and rarely mocking. For instance, we got a letter on my birthday that said:
Dear Melissa and Bryan
Ha! Ha! Ha!
You can't afford to go to San Diego this month.
Love Mom and Dad
Which I took as a letter of encouragement to keep paying off the student loans. The laughter was a sympathetic, been-there, done-that sort of laughter.
*Deborah's jokes usually end with something like, "And then the refrigerator falls on your head" or "and then the bees land on your head" apropos of nothing. If there is a connection between her set-up and her punch-line, I've yet to discern it. (And yet her jokes still make me laugh. I suspect she's a comic genius.)
Dear Deborah,
Happy 4th Birthday.
Love Grma & Grndpa
She asked if I wanted her to read it to me. I said, sure.
She said, very solemnly,
Dear Deborah,
Ha! Ha! Ha!
You can't go to school.
Love Grma & Grndpa
I don't know which I find more funny, that she thinks it's within the realm of possibility that Grma and Grndpa would write a letter simply to tell her she can't go to school. She didn't' appear to be joking.* Even though she knew the letter didn't say that, since Melissa had already read it to her, it appears she thought I might believe it.
Or that her grandparents would write out Ha! Ha! Ha! first. Probably the three 'Ha's'. There is something so wonderfully malicious about them.
For the record, her Grandparents are wonderful and they would never send a letter like that to a 4 year old child. And the letters they've sent to me and Melissa have been quite constructive in tone and rarely mocking. For instance, we got a letter on my birthday that said:
Dear Melissa and Bryan
Ha! Ha! Ha!
You can't afford to go to San Diego this month.
Love Mom and Dad
Which I took as a letter of encouragement to keep paying off the student loans. The laughter was a sympathetic, been-there, done-that sort of laughter.
*Deborah's jokes usually end with something like, "And then the refrigerator falls on your head" or "and then the bees land on your head" apropos of nothing. If there is a connection between her set-up and her punch-line, I've yet to discern it. (And yet her jokes still make me laugh. I suspect she's a comic genius.)
Wednesday, 14 October 2009
It's not a mid-life crisis
I am not going through a mid-life crisis, although I'll forgive you for thinking so. I don't think mid-life crisis' are this mild and this un-life-shattering.
But lately I've wanted to re-evaluate my life, see where I'm going right and see where I'm going wrong. And correct it.
A couple of recent incidences have brought this on.
Last month, a guy I know died in a bicycle accident. He had three children, the youngest barely three months old. He only two years older than me.
It was startling and tragic and not unusual. Accidents happen. But I wonder how often they happen to great men. This guy was probably in the top 10% of people in the world. A contributor to society. And I suppose the top 10% get in 10% of the accidents. And the dregs of society, the bottom 10% probably get in 10% of the accidents. So 80% of the accidents involve people who are not too good and not too bad. And it is tragic and you hate to think of it happening, but it is what it is. But when someone who is, say, 95% good dies in an accident, it feels a bit more shocking.
And it was shocking. I wouldn't call him a friend, but we were friendly. He was an acquaintance that I admired. And he was a universally admired in Yuma. The funeral procession was led by the teen bike club that he helped found.
And of course, it made me consider my life and my wife and children.
Just a few weeks after that, a 35 year old childhood friend was called to be the Bishop of his ward. It was very surprising, non-surprising news. Non-surprising because he is a great, tender guy. The kind of guy you'd want as a bishop.
And yet surprising because I've never thought of Bishops as "great guys." Great Men, yes, but not great guys. Bishops and Great Men are older than me. 'Great Guys' and Elder's Quorum presidents are my age and younger. And when somebody I grew up with goes from Great Guy to Great Man, it means I should at least start thinking about becoming a Great Man myself.
By Great Man I don't mean Bishop. Heaven forbid. I wouldn't wish that on Kim Jong Ill. But I'd like to be a serious, good, kind man.
I know I'm not a horrible person. I won't spend the next few blog posts beating up on myself. But every once in a while I get itching for a mild course correction.
Last time I had one of those, I ended up in Great Britain.
These are the subjects I plan on discussing.
Politics
Family
Religion
Career
Goals
But lately I've wanted to re-evaluate my life, see where I'm going right and see where I'm going wrong. And correct it.
A couple of recent incidences have brought this on.
Last month, a guy I know died in a bicycle accident. He had three children, the youngest barely three months old. He only two years older than me.
It was startling and tragic and not unusual. Accidents happen. But I wonder how often they happen to great men. This guy was probably in the top 10% of people in the world. A contributor to society. And I suppose the top 10% get in 10% of the accidents. And the dregs of society, the bottom 10% probably get in 10% of the accidents. So 80% of the accidents involve people who are not too good and not too bad. And it is tragic and you hate to think of it happening, but it is what it is. But when someone who is, say, 95% good dies in an accident, it feels a bit more shocking.
And it was shocking. I wouldn't call him a friend, but we were friendly. He was an acquaintance that I admired. And he was a universally admired in Yuma. The funeral procession was led by the teen bike club that he helped found.
And of course, it made me consider my life and my wife and children.
Just a few weeks after that, a 35 year old childhood friend was called to be the Bishop of his ward. It was very surprising, non-surprising news. Non-surprising because he is a great, tender guy. The kind of guy you'd want as a bishop.
And yet surprising because I've never thought of Bishops as "great guys." Great Men, yes, but not great guys. Bishops and Great Men are older than me. 'Great Guys' and Elder's Quorum presidents are my age and younger. And when somebody I grew up with goes from Great Guy to Great Man, it means I should at least start thinking about becoming a Great Man myself.
By Great Man I don't mean Bishop. Heaven forbid. I wouldn't wish that on Kim Jong Ill. But I'd like to be a serious, good, kind man.
I know I'm not a horrible person. I won't spend the next few blog posts beating up on myself. But every once in a while I get itching for a mild course correction.
Last time I had one of those, I ended up in Great Britain.
These are the subjects I plan on discussing.
Politics
Family
Religion
Career
Goals
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