What I Was Reading in AugustZen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson
The Tent by Margaret Atwood
Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Only one book completedThe Old Country by Mordicai Gerstein
I am an official failure at my summer reading. Frankly, this all depresses me far more than it should. I hate, hate, hate the end of summe
r because it is a reminder of all the expectations I had that haven't come to fruition... the books I longed to read, the places I planned to go. Sigh. This last book was one I read in one sitting. It's a "kid's book" that was fairly charming... a story told to a granddaughter by a grandmother about life in the old country back when she was a fox. Yep. That's right--a fox.
What I was watching in AugustOn TVGrey's Anatomy Season 1
Alias Seasons 2, 3 & 4
I cannot believe that
Alias season five isn't available for rent yet. I am not sure I can survive the wait. Meanwhile, I did get my first issue of
Entertainment Weekly (I gave it up a year ago because I couldn't keep up) yesterday and it's the TV issue that details all the new upcoming shows for fall. I may have to seek out an equally addictive replacement.
On DVD
The Bad News Bears (2005)The MatadorCrime SpreeBeat the DevilTristram Shandy A Cock and Bull StoryKiss Kiss Bang BangThe Seven Faces of Dr. LaoThe Prize Winner of Defiance OhioV for VendettaEnd of the Spear
The Bad News Bears cannot even compare to the original. It was a pleasant enough diversion, but it only served to make me want to see the
1976 version.
The Matador is a story of an unlikely friendship between a hitman and a businessman who meet in Mexico and reunite a few years later when the hitman, played by Pierce Brosnan, is in need of some assistance. It was interesting to see Brosnan play this sort of man after recently seeing him as
Thomas Crown and for years thinking of him as Remington Steele or James Bond.
Tristram Shandy was bizarre. That's all I can really say. I didn't particularly like it. It hardly seemed like a movie at all.
The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio was one I watched because I had read the book. I found the film to
be better than I expected it to be. I thought they did a nice job of capturing the story in that format.
The two "classic films" I watched this month were
Beat the Devil and
The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao. I found Humphrey Bogart to be as charming as ever in "Devil," but I was a bit confused by the plot as I watched it. I guess because of that, this film didn't rate as high as some of his other films I've watched recently.
The Seven Faces of Doctor Lao probably seems like a strange choice. Still I read the
book by Charles Finney, a year ago and I've been mea
ning to see this Tony Randall classic ever since. It seems a bit like a typical old western, but it is just odd enough to be in a category of its own. Randall is terrific and I was surprised to see Barbara Eden play the librarian in the film.
The End of the Spear is a film based on a true story and a documentary about the event was recently released as well, though I haven't seen that one. I chose this film not because I am itching to see a movie about missionaries who are slaughtered by natives in Ecuador but because once years ago I read a book written by Elisabeth Elliot called
Shadow of the Almighty. That book detailed her husband Jim's life and beliefs and contained segments from his pe
rsonal diaries. Jim Elliot was one of the men who was killed in that incident ... which frankly had me thinking of my cultural anthropology classes and all the things I'd learned about the effects of encounters of the "white man" who sought to spread his ways to the rest of the world. The film didn't focus on Jim and Elisabeth Elliot like I thought it might. Instead, it featured another one of the families involved. Regardless of my feelings about the role of missions, I did find myself getting sucked into the film and crying at the appropriate places. It was a fine job of promoting Christian principles and selling the idea of sacrificial love. That said, rent at your own risk.
Crime Spree almost seemed like a foreign film since the team of criminals are all from France sent to Chicago on a job. It's amusing at times and serious too. It's a typical heist film, but it has humor in some of the cultural misunderstandings and the mockery of the mob prescence in Chicago.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang was a great film for its kind. Robert Downey Jr. was terrific, and I liked the performance of Val Kilmer as well. I typically don't care for either of them as actors, yet they each were well suited to their roles. It's a crime story set in LA: parties, night clubs, hitmen, lawyers, late nights. Downey plays a naive newcomer caught up in the midst of it. I'd recommend this film.
V for Vendetta was great. I liked it quite a lot. I had no idea if I would, but I did like the previews and I don't mind Natalie Portman. Like most dystopian literature or films of this sort it inspires an urge to rise up against the dark forces of suppression in one's own life and government. I couldn't help but wonder if the "reign of terror" perpetuated by Bush in our own country was meant to be reflected in that of the government that V is set to destroy.
Foreign FilmsA Bout de Souffle (Breathless, 1960)Le Samourai (1967)
Thomas est Amoureux (2000)Ying Xiong (Hero, 2002)Bob Le Flambeur (1955)While I cannot take credit for the viewing of so many foreign films lately, I will say I am a happy participant. One Godard, two Melvilles, a Belgian picture and a Chinese film reminiscent of
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I think my favorite remains
Breathless. I think that the style of the clothing, the main character with his rascally behavior and the charming Patricia all made for a great film. It seemed very French. Apparently this is a good thing! :)
Thomas in Love was a bizarre film about an agarophobic man who communicated with everyone from within the confines of his home.
Hero was a Jet Li story within a story full of action and beautiful fight scenes. It was interesting to watch but it didn't change my life.
Le Samourai, a film by Jean-Pierre Melville, was terrific. It was about a hitman on the job and hours that followed the hit... Most notable was the profound silence in the film and the elegance in Martey's night club.
Bob Le Flambeur is another Melville film that was one of his first. T
his one was filmed over two years using actors who were willing to work whenever Melville had enough money for film, never mind enough money to pay them. Despite being made on a shoestring budget this film was well done. It predates the Godard films that were thought to usher in the French New Wave. At first glance it appears to be a story about a heist.. my favorite kind of film.. but then you realize it's really a story about a man waiting for lady luck.
At the TheatreThe Break-UpI saw
The Break-Up at the drive-in theatre and while that fulfilled one of the items on my 101 list it wasn't a very good movie. I should have known. It's just that I do like Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Anniston well enough. Perhaps I thought that would be enough to carry the film.
What I was listening to in AugustWell, this month I had an opportunity to take a road trip so I got to listen to a lot of goodies... I had my ABBA fix on the way there and a good dose of Rolling Stones and Dr. Hook on the way back. After a recommendation from
Sara I decided to pick up a copy of
The Weepies and I really enjoy their mellow sound.
Here are my MP3 shuffles of the monthI'd Rather Go Blind by Etta JamesOn a Promise by Nic Armstrong & The ThievesWho I Am by Jessica AndrewsSigned, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours by Stevie WonderKissing a Fool by George Michael
Human Touch by Rick SpringfieldShattered by Rolling stonesCouple More Years by Dr. HookRed Clay Halo by Gillian WelchTurn it On, Turn it Up, Turn me Loose by Dwight Yoakam
Howlin' Wind by Graham ParkerTwo Hearts by Bruce SpringsteenI Know Your Heart by Mel TormeHallelujah by Ryan AdamsOver the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World by Roland Cazimero
ive and weekend matinees are never at optimal times and I find something else is always scheduled...
11:00 AM
on the verge of becoming clogged as pieces of it crumble."
Then I hung up and started to cry.
1. The Breakfast Club. The first time I watched this show as at Heidi Festvog's house. I loved it and was instantly hooked. Is it completely obvious that my favorite character was played by Ally Sheedy? The girl whose "poison" was vodka and who liked to eat pixie stix and captain crunch sandwiches.
2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. He was living my dream. I still have fantasies about escaping school or cutting out mid-way... escaping in a cool car and evading the authorities who were so determined to crush the fun out of life. Best scene: Singing "Twist and Shout" in the parade. And I can't hear the song "Danke Schoen" without thinking of him.
3. Grease. This musical is one that had a profound influence on my childhood. I loved it so much that I even liked Grease 2 the first few times I watched it. I longed for a pink lady jacket and a dance contest and I my first "sex fantasies" often involved a fun house and tight leather clothing... "tell me about it, stud!"
4. Rushmore. More than a favorite high school film, this one is a FAVORITE film in any genre. I simply adore everything about this. I think Wes Anderson and I are kindred spirits and I get his brand of humor. Nevertheless, working at a school that has become "home" to a few students over the years, I can appreciate the sentiment of the student who never wants to leave.
5. Say Anything. John Cusack won my heart with this film and it wasn't the Peter Gabriel song and the boom box... It was his speech to the father about his future goals that made mention of kickboxing.
6. Clueless. Something about this film was just so right. Cher and her friends and her attitudes and the things she said and the clothes she wore and the song in the film. It all worked. And it never hurts to borrow plot lines from classics. Go Emma.
7. Napoleon Dynamite. The first time I watched this I was mystified. I actually didn't get it. And then I watched it again and again and each time found it funnier. The soundtrack has random lines from the film and they are so funny just to hear even out of the context of the film. I think that says something right there. I'd say there were some "skills" involved.
8. The Karate Kid. Wax on, wax off. Hmmmm... Ralph Macchio won my heart as Johnny in the film The Outsiders (which probably should have made the list). But this show was so great. He's scrawny, new in town, likes a girl he can't have, needs a car, and a mentor. He finds a mentor in Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) and that begins to work out the other problems. The mean guys in this film are really mean.
10. Pump Up the Volume. Christian Slater with his rebellious underground radio program is just the sort of guy I would have totally gone for in high school. I had delusions that I could somehow be his "eat me, beat me" lady. For a few years in college my alarm clock was a cd player that would start my day with the downbeat of "Everybody Knows" by Concrete Blonde from the soundtrack.
What I Was Reading in August
r because it is a reminder of all the expectations I had that haven't come to fruition... the books I longed to read, the places I planned to go. Sigh. This last book was one I read in one sitting. It's a "kid's book" that was fairly charming... a story told to a granddaughter by a grandmother about life in the old country back when she was a fox. Yep. That's right--a fox.
be better than I expected it to be. I thought they did a nice job of capturing the story in that format.
ning to see this Tony Randall classic ever since. It seems a bit like a typical old western, but it is just odd enough to be in a category of its own. Randall is terrific and I was surprised to see Barbara Eden play the librarian in the film.
rsonal diaries. Jim Elliot was one of the men who was killed in that incident ... which frankly had me thinking of my cultural anthropology classes and all the things I'd learned about the effects of encounters of the "white man" who sought to spread his ways to the rest of the world. The film didn't focus on Jim and Elisabeth Elliot like I thought it might. Instead, it featured another one of the families involved. Regardless of my feelings about the role of missions, I did find myself getting sucked into the film and crying at the appropriate places. It was a fine job of promoting Christian principles and selling the idea of sacrificial love. That said, rent at your own risk.
Thomas in Love was a bizarre film about an agarophobic man who communicated with everyone from within the confines of his home. Hero was a Jet Li story within a story full of action and beautiful fight scenes. It was interesting to watch but it didn't change my life.
his one was filmed over two years using actors who were willing to work whenever Melville had enough money for film, never mind enough money to pay them. Despite being made on a shoestring budget this film was well done. It predates the Godard films that were thought to usher in the French New Wave. At first glance it appears to be a story about a heist.. my favorite kind of film.. but then you realize it's really a story about a man waiting for lady luck.
