The place is the thing

When I was younger, I am pretty sure that merged The Spiral Staircase and The Uninvited into a single movie. Though, in my defense, both movies do take place in an old rambling Victorian mansion that is isolated.  There are plenty of old movies that I adore in which the physical location becomes a character, but in many cases central to the plot.  I don't think that Rebecca would be quite as suspenseful in Manderlay wasn't quite so oppressive and filled with little touches of the first Mrs. DeWinter.  I was thinking a little about this while watching The More the Merrier at the AFI Silver this weekend.  Some of the plot and slightly repressed feelings between Connie and Joe are influenced by the close proximity of the the shared apartment.  And of course, there is Rear Window which feels so claustrophobic and closed up, you feel like you are going to start sweating from the summer heat in the movie.  During the height of the film noir area, it seems that whole location as character opens up to be more about the city rather than the individual house/apartment.  A movie like The Naked City really only works because it is set in New York City and so it is believable how the plot unites some many disparate people.  Or a movie like Experiment in Terror which ends in a great climax at Candlestick Park. There are, of course, some examples that buck that trend, specifically, My Name is Julia Ross (so good) and Beware, My Lovely which both takes place almost exclusively in a house.  But this opening up of film location definitely continues on into films of the 60s, 70s, and onward.  Bullit would have a much different feel if those car chases didn't take place in the winding streets of San Francisco.   

Increasing nerdiness

One of the books I've read in the last few years that has really stuck with me was The Nine by Jeffery Toobin.  After reading it, I felt like this whole secret world of the Supreme Court has been opened to me and I have the code to better understand what happens in the court.  I was listening to Nina Tottenburg on NPR yesterday, and thought to myself "I wonder if Justice Kennedy ever gets drunk with power since he is the swing vote".  I'm not saying that I am totally obsessed with the Supreme Court, but I definitely pay much more attention to it now that I did before.  This may a combination of living in close proximity to DC and reading that book.  Or possibly being more aware of the impact Supreme Court decisions have on society.  But that seems to be more due to the landmark cases that the court has ruled on or will rule on in the near future, specifically, the healthcare law, DOMA, and the attempts to roll back the voting rights act.  And I really liked learning more about the all the justices.  It made me have a bit more respect for some Justices (especially Roberts) and legitimized my dislike for other Justices (I'm looking at you Thomas and Alito). I really want Toobin to do a follow up to include Justices Sotomayor and Kagen.  But, I will have to appease myself with his book about Obama and Roberts.  Or his back catalog, he has a book about the OJ Simpson trial that now that I know it exists, I must read!

Short Short Short

Today, I went to the AFI Silver to see this years's Oscar nomination short animated features (with 3 highly commended additional shorts).  I went to see them last year and loved it so I went back this year.  And because most people don't see the animated shorts, I thought I would talk a little bit about them (and provide clips of the good ones!)

1) Maggie Simpson in The Longest Daycare - It has probably been at least 10 years since I have watching anything new from The Simpsons.  I'm pretty sure I stopped watching it in high school because it seemed like they were trying to hard to be funny and relevant.  So I was suprised how much I enjoyed the short.  It is completely without dialogue and features just Maggie and her nemesis, the baby with one eye-brow.  The short, running just under 5 mins, was full of really great visual gags and featured an homage to a Puccini opera!



2) Adam and Dog - This was my very least favorite one, I kind of can't believe it was nominated.  The premise of the short was Adam and a dog in the garden of Eden, and then Eve comes along a ruins everything.  I didn't find the animation that interesting and it felt really long, much longer than its 16 minute running time.  If this one wins, I will be really disappointed!

3) Fresh Guacamole:  I loved this one, it was short but really interesting.  The premise was fresh and original and well executed. It probably won't win, but I loved it!



and here is another one from the same guy



4) Head over Heals - The only nominated short not made in the US, this one is from the National Film and Theater school in the UK.  It is about a married couple with the husband living on the floor and the wife living on the ceiling.  The animation in this one was very interesting since there were basically two sets stacked on top of each other (and the exterior of the floating house was pretty cool).  And it was clear that the animators really thought about how a house like that would work.  You can see this one by going here.

5) Paperman - This short is from Disney and I think is the mostly likely to win the Oscar. It is silent, and lovely.  And seems like a mix of old fashioned Disney and the Pixar sensibility.



Highly Commend Shorts
6) Abiogenesis - An amazing short from New Zealand.  I found is super creative and original and unlike most shorts that you see.  I can't find a place to see the whole thing, but the official website for it is here.

7) Dripped - Leave it to the French to make a short animated film that stars an art thief that can absorb the characteristics of famous paintings by eating them.  Did I like it? Very much!



8) The Gruffalo's Child - Chock full of British actors that I adore (Robbie Coltrane, Tom Wilkinson, Shirley Henderson, Rob Brydon, Helena Bonham Carter, and James Corden).  So enjoyable, but not particularly memorable (though, I am not the target audience for this).

The good and the bad

I just got back from seeing Silver Linings Playbook, which I found highly enjoyable.  I really like going to a movie in the theater because I enjoy the feeling that I have a shared experience with this strangers.  I mean, after I saw To Kill a Mockingbird in the theater, I had a conversation with a woman in the bathroom about how much we liked the movie and how enjoyable it was to see it on the big screen.  On the flip side there was a conversation that I overheard in the bathroom after seeing Silver Linings Playbook.  The women were complaining that the movie was depressing because the main character both suffered from mental illness and that it was good that Bradley Cooper was in the movie so there would be somebody nice to look at.  And that there were no good movies playing (now, the traditional time when most Oscar bait movies are in the theater like Argo, Lincoln, Les Mis, Zero Dark Thirty etc).  Which made me I realize what I want is to see a movie with a theater full of people like me. Who are completely silent and don't get up to pee in the middle of a movie.

Also, there were about 20 mins of trailers before the movie started.  There is a movie coming out soon that stars Tina Fey and Paul Rudd.  And Lily Tomlin.  A dream come true!

Truth telling

I won't lie, this song has made me cry on more that one occasion.  And the cello part in the live version is beautiful. (Also, it reminds me of the great concert all my family chipped in to send me to a few years ago).

Woman's Picture

I love this piece of music because it sounds like the soundtrack from a woman's picture from the 1940s.  Like a super melodramatic Douglas Sirk picture.  Starring Barbra Stanwyck.

If I am going to make a fake movie, it is going to be a hit

So a few weeks ago, I saw the movie Argo.  And while I enjoyed the movie as a whole, there were a few early signs that indicated that I would like it:

• Ben Affleck used the 1970s title card for Warner Brothers (I love when directors do that.  In an alternate universe where I am director, I would totally make a throwback film noir film and use the RKO title card)
• The presence of Victor Garber
• The presence of Kyle Chandler
• An early scene of shredding files and destroying passport plates.  I'm not sure why I like scenes like that, but I do. 
• All the late 70s/early 80s haircuts and glasses
• The presence of Alan Arkin
• The presence of John Goodman

I really enjoyed Argo, more than I thought I might.  And I find Ben Affleck's directing career much more interesting than most of his acting career.   I liked his first movie, Gone Baby Gone, it was much more competently directed than I expected it to be.  I wasn't sure about an actor directing himself, but he did a really good job.  And he was able to build and maintain tension for an event with a known outcome.  

Is it just me?

At work, there is a cart that is a little squeaky, so naturally, I think of this:

On the big screen

One of my very favorite things to do in the DC area is to the AFI Silver in Silver Spring with is this great old theater (1920s) that shows tons of old movies.  I have raved about this place in the past, especially when talking about near 20 film noir movies I have seen at this theater.  But what I love more, is seeing movies that I love on the big screen. I've seen lots of Hitchcock movies, some musicals, and even a Halloween movies (yes, I am going to count The Ghostbreakers starring Bob Hope as a Halloween movie).  But my most memorable big screen moments have come within the last month.  In the middle of November, I saw one of my very favorite movies "To Kill A Mockingbird" on the big screen for its 50th Anniversary.  I adore the book and the movie to it was amazing to see the film again on a such a large scale.  I spent about 2 hours in a darkened room with my fellow film lovers, crying on and off for the entire movie (it must be noted that there was also a marathon the Twilight movies happening at the same time, which both bummed me out (since it was sold out) and then made me feel better about how many were in the theater with me!).  It was a great experience because I knew the plot so well, I could focus on other aspects of the film than were more obvious on the big screen like the cinematography and wardrobe (I am pretty sure that the white suit Atticus wears during the trial was either seersucker or corduroy, a detail that I would not have noticed before).  Also, it didn't hurt that TCM introduced the movie with about 5 anecdotes about the filming of the movie.   Over the last two weekends, I have spent one day in Silver Spring to see a movie in the AFI holiday classic film series.  The first weekend, it was Shop Around the Corner, which I one of the first old movies I remembering really loving and thinking to be undiscovered gem that only a few lucky people, although now I know it is pretty well-known (and it always reminds me of my mother, we have watched it together during Christmas for the past few years).  And then last week, I saw Remember the Night, which is actually a criminally underseen gem of a movie that I love.  It is a really tearjerker (another movie that I cried during once and then for the entire last 10 minutes).  This movie actually made me miss Indiana (I cried during a scene when someone sings "Back Home in Indiana").  And then when it was on TCM a few days later, I watched it again (and cried again).  And then later today, I will be seeing Christmas in Connecticutt.  When I leave the DC area, this will be one thing that I will miss a great deal.  Sitting in the dark with strangers, but together sharing the magical experience of a great movie.

Cultural Dog Whistles

I am currently reading Mindy Kaling's book "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns). And there is a great chapter in the book about things that will make her cry and they include Paul Simon's Graceland album and Mark Darcy (well, really Colin Firth). It is after reading this section that I think "I bet Mindy Kaling and I would totally be friends in real life." I thought the same thing after reading (and hearing) a couple interviews with Amy Poelher. Although for Amy Poelher, I made this this judgment after she talked about how much she enjoyed Law and Order (which means that most likely Amy and I would discuss the cast of L & O and our favorite episodes). And this made me think about what cultural things that I have such affection for that I would give someone the benefit of the doubt if we shared an interest in /affection for a piece of work (to be honest though, I try to think that I should like everyone that I meet). And so here are my cultural dog whistles:

Law and Order: Obviously, since this is what would make Amy Poelher and I friends. But there is something about this show that I love and could watch over and over again. More often that not, the storyline gets a satisfying conclusion and there is a perfect balance of reveling the back story of the main characters without overshadowing the plot of the episode (except for Rey Curtis' martial problems, I could not care less for that subplot, for reals) 

Paul Simon's musical career (which encompasses Simon and Garfunkel): I liked my current boss almost immediately after meeting her (we share a deep love for Moonstruck which we discovered on my second day of work). But after she mentioned about how much she liked the Graceland album, that I knew that we would have a great working relationship (which is true, without fail, every time I discuss a set-back with her, I feel better afterwards). There are a couple other musicians that I feel this way about (like David Gray and Travis, but Paul is the biggie). 

Anne of Green Gables miniseries - One of the first people that I meet at the Academy was Rachel who lived next door. I don't remember how we got on to the topic, but very early in our friendship, we had several marathon discussions about the Anne movies (starring Megan Fellowes) which really cemented us as friends for life (when I saw her 2 years ago for the first time since my freshman year at college, it felt like no time had passed and we watched one of the Anne movies together). 

Jane Austen: I'm not sure how much I have to say about this. I had a 20 minute discussion with Lindy's roommate about the best Jane Austen book (wherein I asked her is she was one of those people who claim Mansfield Park is their favorite). Extra points if they love the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and the Persuasion adaption starring Amanda Root and Cirian Hinds. 

Any entry of the Masterpiece family: I'll take Mystery, Classic, or even Contemporary. Bonus points if they watch other PBS shows. If we can talk about both the Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes and Steven Moffat's Sherlock, we could be friends. 

Movies made before 1985: Another co-worker and I have had long discussions about old movies (and how much I love them). I love the style that is associated with movies from each era (you can totally tell the difference between a movie made in the 50s and one made in the 60s) and what you can learn about the cultural environment during the making of the film. And to me, an interest in older movies, indicates a interest in the recent past beyond the dates of historical events. 

I am a little on the fence about including Doctor Who. I love it and think is a great topic for figuring out someone's personalities but it is also fraught with dangers. Like if someone thinks Rose was the best companion (when clearly, Donna was the best), it makes me less likely to want to keep talking to a person and sort of eliminates the whole advantage of the cultural touchstone.

Belated Birthday

I wanted to do a little write up of my fun 4-day birthday weekend because my mom came out to DC so spend it with me! I kidded my mom for several months (actually closer to a year+) that she would never come out to DC to visit me though I thought she would really like the city. So she decided to come out to see me for my 29th birthday (my birthday was on a Thursday). She flew into the Baltimore-Washington airport on Wednesday night (after a slight delay which resulted in me driving 15 miles to the airport and then circling the airport for 15 miles) and we went to the hotel in Bowie and order delicious pizza from a local chain (she even got anchovies on half!). On my actual birthday, we went to my favorite museum: The Smithsonian American Art Museum and Portrait Gallery. I got to show her all my favorite paintings (and sculpture) as well as a cool exhibit of color photographs from the 1940s. And then we had a yummy birthday dinner at DuClaw (in which mom got ribs, of course).  The next day it was back down to the Mall to go to the National Gallery which is chock-full of beautiful paintings, but a little overwhelming!  We were happy to stumble into a special exhibit that featured the still life painting of the Dutch painter Willem van Aelst (which were really gorgeous and featured a lot of atypical items for a still life).  After a long day of looking at paintings, we went out to dinner at the Silver Diner (which means that I have taken all my visitors to the Silver Dinner).  Saturday was more low-key (I don't think mom anticipated the huge amount of walking that we did the first two days), as we went to Silver Spring and walked through the farmer's market before going to the AFI Silver (my favorite place!) to see Some Like It Hot.  We followed the movie with a tasty lunch as Nado Peri Peri before heading back to the hotel for a swim.  And finally on Sunday, we had lunch at a great Indian place before stopping by my new apartment and then heading down to the Kennedy Center to see Shear Madness (which was really good!).  I took mom back to the airport on Monday morning.  I was sad to see her go but I was very happy that she came out!  And here are some pictures from her visit:
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Reassurance, again

I know I had a blog post about a month ago stating that I wasn't abandoning my blog, and here is another one. It isn't due to a lack of ideas (I have at least 3 posts in my head to write up), but due to the fact that I have become a quilting machine. There are many people in my immediate or extended family that decided to have a baby this year (or early next year), so I have been churning out the baby quilts as quickly as possible. I have 3 done with 3 more to go (though one will be a big sibling quilt because I wasn't quilting the first time around). But this weekend, I am planning on writing a couple posts. So you can look forward to a write-up of my mom's visit for my birthday, my Labor Day trip to Boston, a discussion of Billy Wilder (it will make sense I promise!), and a review of the play Bengal Tiger at the Bahgdad Zoo (after I see it on Saturday, thanks to tickets from Bridget!).

Proving I am both a nerd and a worrier

In preparing for my bus trip to Boston (which I will write about later), I took a trip down to Union Station to figure out where to get on the bus (because I am a worrier). But, across the street from Union Station, is the (much less popular) National Postal Museum. It was actually pretty interesting, like learning about the evolution of Postal vehicles (like most of the Postal vehicles after WW I were retired Army Jeeps, painted with the excess Army green). But my very favorite thing was the collection of postal stamps all over the world. I spent about 2 hours looking through all of the collection (and there were lots). It was kind of interesting to look at the history of the world through the stamps. Like seeing Hilter show up on the Germany stamps (as well as the occupation stamps from both Germany during the war and US/British/Russian occupation of Berlin post-war). And it was kind of weird to see stamps from former colonies (like British Honduras or Portuguese India). I took pictures of my favorite stamps, which you can see below:

Like This for Example

Here are few songs that I am loving right now:

Having to overcome thresholds

I haven't completely abandoned this blog, it just seems like it.  I haven't posted anything in about two months due to a number of things.  Work got extremely busy at the end of June and during this time I had to both find a new place to live and move in to it.  I had found the place the live with relative ease and planned on moving in after going home over the 4th of July holiday.  It was during that week home, that the hard drive on my computer failed and a new hard-drive got installed but I had several (and endless) issues with getting Windows installed (which is actually still not solved, which is what I get for not letting Orrin figure it out, which he might have to do next time I see him).  And now August is halfway over.  I am going to try to do a little catch-up blogging, not that anyone really reads this blog, but I like giving myself little writing assignments.  Plus is keeps my wit sharp.  And sometimes when I get upset and feel like I am going to cry out of frustration, sadness, loneliness, or just general melancholy, writing a post about what I am reading, thinking about, or something that makes me happy can snap me out of my mood. 

Anti-Duke

I was talking to my mother a few days ago lamenting that I feel like I am creating gaps in movie education by my dislike of westerns and war movies. My mom suggested a few westerns that I might like including Big Country (with my beloved Gregory Peck), Shane (with Alan Ladd who I also like), and Stagecoach with John Wayne. I have an intense dislike of John Wayne. I don't think that he was that great of actor and it seems like most of his success was due to his friendship with John Houston. With that I mind the first western I decided to watch was High Noon with Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. And I decided to read a little about it on Wikipedia and apparently John Wayne (and Howard Hawks) hated it and thought it was Unamerican (in fact Howard Hawks claimed that he made Rio Bravo in response to High Noon) because Will spends time asking for help defending the town (and it sounds like Hawks didn't like that the only one to help Will was his Quaker wife, so maybe Hawks hated Quakers?). And ironically, the Soviet Union didn't like High Noon either because the focus was too much on the individual.  The screenwriter (Carl Foreman who also wrote one of the few war movies I enjoy : The Guns of Navarone) was blacklisted and left the country. John Wayne was involved in getting Carl Foreman blacklisted and claimed he had no regrets about it (Foreman refused to name names at a House Unamerican Activities Committee hearing). So now I feel like I have an additional reason to not like John Wayne.

Don't Tell Rachel

When I was driving to the Olney Theater on less traveled and winding country road, I got a little nostalgic for Vermont.  There was just something about the historic little towns that dotted the road that reminded me of Vermont.  And then I realized I kind of miss living in Vermont with Rachel, Trey, Ellis, and Maddox. 

Theater Talk

I am super behind on my blog posts and I don't have great excuses other than I didn't write them (and I'm sure anyone who reads this blog is super disappointed that I took sooo long).  Any way, a few weeks ago I went to the Olney Theater to see "The 39 Steps" which was an adaptation of the Hitchcock movie/Buchan book.  It wasn't on the main stage but in the lab theater so the theater and stage were smaller which meant the stage design was nontraditional.  There were slats in the floor of the stage so set pieces (like a window or ladders) could be pushed on and off the stage.  The cast was just 4 people with the main character (a wronged man on the run), a woman (who played the 3 women characters), and 2 "clowns" who played the remaining characters (including a Scottish innkeeper couple, shady spies, and vaudeville performers).  The clowns added quite a bit of levity to play, which was probably helped (well, it helped me personally) that one looked like the love child of Dave Foley and Kevin McDonald from Kids in the Hall.  I liked it, but not as much as Hitchcock's version.  And then the following Friday, I took off a few hours from work to go see 1776 (in the last few days of its run) at Ford's Theater.  And it was pretty much incredible.  The theater alone is beautiful with the flags draping the box where Lincoln was assassinated.  There is a museum about Lincoln in the basement (with a focus on his second-term) and one of the most moving displays was all the living former presidents reading the Gettysburg address (so while I may not agree with their specific political beliefs, I can appreciate their oratory skills, even George W. Bush).   And the show was fantastic.  Due to watching the film version every year on the Fourth for many years, I know the words to almost all the songs, which the exception of my two least favorites: Mama Look Sharp and Molasses to Rum. Actually, since we usually watch it on DVD/VHS, it has probably been quite a while since I have listened to those two songs.  But in the stage version, I actually liked Mama Look Sharp (it made me cry) because the staging of this scene created such an atmosphere of intimacy. However, I am unmoved about Molasses to Rum (still creepy!).  The only draw-back to the show was there were eighth grades in the five rows in front of me.  They weren't too talkative but they did stand up for no apparent reason a couple of times.  And at least one did not read his program because he thought intermission was the end (which made no sense plot-wise, Jefferson hadn't even written the Declaration yet).  Having the eighth graders (and their chaperones who were older than me) there, once again reiterated that I am living in the wrong decade or at least the wrong country.  I made sure to dress up to go to the theater but the kids had on short and t-shirts and kept their hats on (and I saw a chaperone wearing what looked like work-out clothes).  I understand that they were probably walking around during the day, but I remember for my eighth grade trip to DC, our group went back to the hotel and changed before we went to see a show (and it was not at Ford's Theater).  Of course, I still enjoyed the whole experience, I only wish that my mother and my sisters could have gone with me.  There are a couple plays over the summer that I am hoping to see including Double Indemnity, Little Shop of Horrors, and something at the Kennedy Center (possibly The Addams Family) and War Horse at the Kennedy Center when it starts in the fall!

More Avenger-y stuff

Prior to seeing the Avengers, I saw the movie Thor.  I was kind of ambivalent about it (I didn't see it in the theater unlike Captain America, which I loved) so I had pretty low expectations for it.  Going in, I thought it had two things going for it: Anthony Hopkins and that Kenneth Braunagh was directing.  But I have to say, I really liked it.  There were another couple actors that I liked in it like Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings, and Idris Elba.  The costume design was pretty solid, there were so many helmets (including at one point, a golden eye patch for Anthony Hopkins).  But the biggest surprise was how good Tom Hiddleston was as Loki.  I've seen him before in Return to Cranford, but he was kind of a milquetoast so I did not expect him to be able to pull off such a complicated character (and he is just as good in The Avengers movie).  And he is hampered by a super ridiculous helmet.

This does not bode well

I went to go see The Avengers today (in 3D due to that being the earliest showing that was not sold-out).  Usually, I think that the previews before a movie can give you some insight into what the expect from the movie.  My favorite (and tailored to me) example, is the single preview before being Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was for The Artist and the single preview before The Artist being for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  So I was a little apprehensive when the first 3 previews were for The Expendables 2, Battleship, and End of the Watch.  Also known as 3 movies that are not for me (and not even targeted for me).  I can't believe how terrible Battleship looks.  I think that there was a title card that read something also the line of " from the unholy Hasbro Toy and movie studio alliance that brought you Transformers" (and really Liam Nesson, what are you doing?  Do you have some sort of huge gambling debt you need to pay off?).  But the next 4 were much more reassuring since the trailers were for Abnorman (from the director of Coraline),  Frankenweenie (from Tim Burton), Brave (the summer Pixar movie), and the new Spiderman movie.  In the end, I really enjoyed The Avengers movie.  The writers did a really great jobs with giving little side stories to all the main characters without it feeling bogged down or overly long.  The movie is about 2 hours long, but it definately didn't feel that long something that I chalk up to a very tight script and a good editor (and a director willing to cut things that don't work).  It was a really fun film with just enough humor in it to show it wasn't taking itself too seriously (which is refreshing compared to Christopher Nolan super serious Batman movies) and it was obvious that Joss Whedon et al wanted to make an entertaining and stylish film.  With just the right amount of the Incredible Hulk.

One Season Wonder

One of my favorite series on my PBS station back at the farm was One Season Wonders.  It was series from the UK (usually comedy) that only ran one season, around 6 or 7 episodes.  And my very favorite show was Meet the Savages starring Marcus Brigstock (who I still adore and have subsequently discovered some radio shows that he wrote).  I recently finished the show Monday, Monday (also from the BBC) which was another show that only lasted one season.   I have such a strange attitude towards shows that last only one season.  Often, I get bummed after finishing the episodes because if the show has done it's job, I care about the characters and I want to know what happens.  But, if that is the case more often that not, I get imagine what ever I want happening to the character.  And sometimes (more often with British shows I find), the last episode of the series wraps up most of the story lines, not completely, but enough that the end is satisfying.  So then you get this perfect little bite of a totally enjoyable show that hit it's peak without showing any wear that you see in later seasons.  There are many shows that I like that seemed like the writers didn't really know what to do with the characters anymore ( Veronica Mars, Alias, King of the Hill (which I liked in later seasons but the writing was not a tight as it was earlier on) and The Office which is really showing it's age during this post-Steve Carrell season).  And occasionally, I will think of one really amazing season of a long running show as a one season wonder.  This is certainly true with the second season of the show Justified (which I watched in the span out about 18 hours (and this includes about 7 hours of sleep).  That second season can almost stand completely separately from season 1 (except that the beginning of the first episode begins right were the previous episode leaves off).   They did such a great job expanding the characters that you aren't too handicapped if you hadn't seen the first season at all. 

Trailer time

This was 1 of the 2 trailers I saw before  the movie Salmon Fishing in the Yemen today:


And now, I really want to see the movie Pina. Fortunately, it is playing at my favorite theater! So for fun, here are a few more clips from the movie:

Expectations Met

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I went to the AFI Silver to see John Ford's The Quiet Man starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.  I have never been a fan of John Wayne, mostly because the two genres of most of his films, westerns and war movies, are probably two of my least favorite genres.  So I was hoping that somehow seeing this movie, I would suddenly enjoy John Wayne's oeuvre.  But that didn't happen.  I did like the movie, but there were certain parts of the movie that I didn't like (and seemed a little dated), specific the implied spousal abuse (towards the end of the movie, John Wayne walks/drags Maureen O'Hara for 5 miles). But, there were other aspects of the movie that I did like.  The supporting cast was really good and the cinematography was gorgeous.  So I would say watching the Quiet Man did make me want to see more John Ford movies (although, I know he did make quite a few westerns and war movies).  There were a quite a few times watching the movie, I thought, "Oh, if only the casting was different I would enjoy this movie more".  Which then led to think about what actors I would have preferred in the roles.   I thought about one of my old standby favorite Joseph Cotten but he didn't have the right build to play an ex-boxer.  I also thought maybe Dana Andrews, but again he was a little on the short side.  Robert Mitchum has the right build, but I also find him kind of terrifying due to seeing Cape Fear and Night of the Hunter.  On the female side, I thought maybe Bette Davis or Ida Lupino (though she was a very tiny woman).  I ended up thinking that Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck would have been great together (they were in a few movies together, including Banjo on My Knee which I watched this week). Any other suggestions?

Lessons

What I learned from watching It's Always Fair Weather:

1. Dan Dailey was a very tall man, that or both Michael Kidd and Gene Kelly were wee men.  (I checked Imdb, Dan Dailey was 6' 3")
2. I am pretty sure that I saw the signature Pontipee dance move in this movie (done by Michael Kidd obviously).
3. Dan Dailey made a really poor facial hair decision with the mustache he sports in the later half of the movie.  
4. Gene Kelly was a great choreographer, but really only for himself.  Dan Dailey and Michael Kidd dance with Gene Kelly but really only Gene Kelly looks natural doing the moves.  Dan Dailey was about 6 inches taller than Kelly and Michael Kidd is a couple inches shorter than Kelly and both Dailey and Kidd have a different build than Kelly (both are thinner). And they look weird dancing next to Gene Kelly because they look kind of awkward. 
5. I remain indifferent in regards to Cyd Charisse. 
6. I kind of wanted to watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers after seeing Michael Kidd.  
7. I was kind of hoping that Tommy Rall would show up somehow.
8. I want to watch some more movies with Dan Dailey (and Betty Grable!). 

More Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly dancing with the Nicholas Brothers in The Pirate:

One thing I noticed while watching this was the complete difference in the build of Gene Kelly versus the Nicholas Brothers.  Well that, and the fact that there are many dance moves in this number that they did much better than Gene Kelly (which makes it sad that the Nicholas Brothers were not more famous).  

And this is just fun:

 

Gene Kelly, Dream Dancer

I went to AFI Silver today to see the Gene Kelly/Judy Garland musical The Pirate (directed by Vincent Minnelli and music by Cole Porter).  And about 2/3 of the way through, there is this crazy dance scene of Gene Kelly as a pirate in shorts (which I think is mostly to show off his giant dancer thighs):

This naturally made me think of other weird dance scenes from other Gene Kelly movies.  Like Singin In the Rain:

 

On the Town:

But the crazy weird dance sequence is not limited to only Gene Kelly movies.  There is also one in Kiss Me Kate: (the weird part is when Bob Fosse and his partner start dancing, after the weird scream).

White Christmas:

And let's not forget Oklahoma! :

The main purpose of these dance sequences is to show off different styles of dance (mostly modern dance) but the way the scene are added to the movie always seemed kind of awkward to me.  In a lot of the movies, one or more of the main characters is replaced by another (more talented) dancer.  This happened specifically in Gene Kelly movies since most often his leading ladies were mainly singers (all though Vera Ivy in On the Town was a dancer so I can't explain that one).  Out of all the clips from above, the one from White Christmas is the least awkwardly introduced because it a dance number for the show.  So be on the lookout for awkward dance sequences, they are in tons of musicals. 

Saving it up

I picked up an exciting surprise package from UPS today.  A couple of weeks ago, I filled out a feedback survey for a new RNA isolation kit at work.  My boss had signed our lab up to be beta testers for the company for future kits, so I mostly wanted to get familar with feedback system.  The company was running a promotion that you could win an iPad if you fill out the feedback survey.  I have to assume that very few people filled out the survey, because I won an iPad (and I never win anything).  I picked it up today and just started playing around on it.  So if anyone has any suggestions for fun apps, let me know!

That's not your place

A few weeks ago, I headed off to the AFI Silver to see the movie The Artist.  The movie is about the transition from silent movies to talkies with a silent film star (named George Valentin) resisting the move.  Therefore, the majority of the movie is silent with interstitial cards used occasionally throughout the movie.  As a result, the score is a very important part in conveying emotions since there is no audible dialogue.  And the score is really amazing and includes a little bit  the score from Vertigo written by Bernard Hermann.  The score (rightly so in my opinion) is getting strong Oscar buzz (as long as the score is 80% original material, it can be nominated).  So I was surprised to read last week that Kim Novak (who starred in Vertigo), took out a full page add stating that she felt like a rape had been committed against her by the use of Bernard Hermann's score.  Ignoring the extremely poor choice of words ( which seems to belittle the violence of an actually sexual assault),  I don't think that it is really Kim Novak's place to make this argument.  The composer got permission from Bernard Hermann's estate to use some of the score and furthermore Kim Novak didn't write the score.  Also, she claims that she is the only one left to defend Vertigo because Alfred Hitchcock and James Stewart are dead.  Vertigo is arguably one of Hitchcock's most famous movies (though not one of my favorites) and I'm not sure that the credit is due to Kim Novak.  I think most of the credit goes to Hitchcock and the crew that worked on the film. So to me, this arguemnt came off as a slap in the face of anyone else who worked on that film.  She totally overreacted to the situation and I think that she comes out in a poorer light than the composer or the director of The Artist (the director released a statement along the lines of Bernard Hermann was a great composer and we were lucky that were we able to pay our respect to him by using some of his work in this film).  But besides this Kim Novak rant, I highly recommend The Artist, especially for people who enjoy old movies.  The costumers, set directors, and make-up artists really capture the era beautifully and there is a great scene that feature some amazing sound design and sound editing.  And I have to hand it to the actors, they did a great job adapting to a medium that I'm sure was foreign to all of the them.  The cast is really great too, with nice supporting roles from James Cromwell, Missi Pyle, and John Goodman (who I usually forget that I like).

The Apprentice has become the master

I have proof that I have seen too many film noir movies.  I was watching The Killing today which is a film noir movie by Stanley Kubrick.  And during the entire buildup to the heist, I was trying to identify which characters was going to get killed (there were about 2 characters I was sure were going to bite it, but they lived) and how the heist was going to go awry (I was pretty close on this one).  I will still watch more film noir films, some for the titles alone( there is one called Hell's Half Acre!) and because during a certain period in the late 40s/early 50s, there were are lot of actors and actress that I really like in film noir pictures (not to mention one of my favorite old studios, RKO Pictures, is known at The House Noir Built). 

Rich man, Poor man, Beggar, Thief

Last Saturday, I went to my beloved AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring to see the new movie adaptation of John Le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  This adaptation was chock full of British actors that I know and like including Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Gary Oldman, Cirian Hinds, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Tom Hardy, and Benedict Cumberbatch (which means Sirius Black starred in a spy thriller with Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Knightley, Captain Wentworth, and Mr. Darcy).  So I really liked the movie. Beyond the great casting, the director did a great job with establishing the fear and paranoia of the Cold War.  And the set design and costuming was really good.  But I have to say this is a movie that will benefit from repeat viewing.  Once you know the basic plot, you will probably notice/understand more of the subtle plot points and will make the movie more enjoyable (this is how I feel about the movie Gosford Park, by the 3rdv viewing I figured out what the familial relationship and who the couples were).  All in all, it was a good way to spend an afternoon.  However, there was one guy at the movie who both did not turn off his phone (and then didn't seem to understand that his ring tone was ruining the movie, seriously someone had to tell him to turn off his phone) and then fell asleep during the movie (I could hear his snoring, he was only a few rows in front of me).

Beautiful Meloncholy

Today I listened to a podcast called To The Best of Our Knowledge from Wisconsin Public Radio.  This is a podcast that I really enjoy, but hasn't made it into my weekly rotation. And really it should, because the shows are really interesting and kind of similar to This American Life where they take a topics and do short news/non-fiction pieces about it.  The episode I listened to today was called Why Do We Love Sad Songs.  And I was introduced to this amazing piece of music called Adagio for the Strings by Samuel Barber:


It premiered on the radio in the late 1930s but gained popularity as song played at funeral after being played several times following the death of FDR.

Spelunking

In honor of finally being able to hear the latest series of Cabin Pressure, a BBC Radio 4 show that I adore, I thought I would write a post about discovering shows like Cabin Pressure.  While living in Ohio, I got used to listening to audiobooks from time to time (my local library had quite a selection).  So when I moved home, I tried the website Audible.com which lets you download a variety of audio programs which, fortunately for me, includes BBC radio shows.  The first thing I search for was David Mitchell and Robert Webb, who are the creators of a TV show I enjoy called That Mitchell and Webb Look.  And then I decided to look up actors that I really like.  The first was Marcus Brigstock, who wrote in and starred in a one season show called The Savages.  And I discovered this weird but funny radio show The Museum of Everything (which I can't really accurately describe). This was followed by searching for Benedict Cumberbatch (who Steven Moffat or BBC fans will know plays Sherlock in the updated series).  And through that I discovered the show Cabin Pressure which is a work place series that takes place in a small contract private airline.  I really love this show, it is a great combination of warmth, cynicism, and humor.  It doesn't hurt that is was written by John Finnemore who also worked on That Mitchell and Webb Look.  But I think on my favorite discoveries is Richard Armitage (of North and South and The Vicar of Dibley) narrating the work of Georgette Heyer, who wrote Regency novels.  And so those audiobooks represent the meeting of two things that I love.  Until Alan Rickman starts recording audiobooks (can you believe that he doesn't? I would listen to him reading the phonebook), Richard Armitage will do in a pinch (I've listened to one several times while falling asleep).  By searching for actors that I enjoy, I was able to find other projects from these actors that I truly enjoy. 

Because it is that time of year

In honor of Thanksgiving this Thursday, I thought I would write about a few things that I am grateful for:

• My Parents: I am so grateful for my parents.  Most things that I like about myself or my tastes are either a direct result of them (like my love for Paul Simon and Masterpiece Mystery) or due to the way they raised me (like my work ethic).  I know we don't always agree on everything, but I know how lucky I am that my parents are so supportive and willing to help me (and really they have been so patient with the number of hobbies my sisters and I have picked-up over the years like beekeeping, raising goats, soapmaking, cheesemaking, and quilting to name a few). 
• My Sisters (and their husbands and children):  My sisters are some of my favorite people in the whole world.  Sometimes I complain about being the youngest but I know that my life has been easier because of my older sisters giving me advice and support (and their husbands in more recent years).  And I love being an aunt so I'm thankful that my sisters and their husbands have given the opportunity to spend time with all my nephews.
• My Job:  Since the economy is still crappy, I know I am lucky that I have a job.  But I am thankful that I have the job that I have now.  I really love my job and it has given me a chance to explore a new part of the country and do something I love.  And I really like my co-workers a lot as evidenced by the fact that one of my co-workers got me an Agatha Christie book (the HarperCollins reprints with the awesome covers) as a thank you gift and that my boss and I talked about how great Paul Simon's Graceland CD is over lunch last week.  I know that I was lucky to be able to leave a job I didn't like and have time to really think about what kind of job would make me happy and feel fulfilled (thanks to my family and Rachel suggestion that I see a career counselor).
• Technology: I know this sounds like a weird one, but hear me out.  I love my iPod and I use pretty much every day.  I listen to music or podcasts at work all the time and it makes the time fly by.  Because of the internet, Facebook, and Blogger to name a few, I feel connected to my friends and family as well as the world at large and more informed.  Plus, I am listening a Paul Simon concert from Indiana University as I write this and earlier today I watched 4 episodes of Law & Order.  
• NPR:  It's just awesome.  I get so much from listening to programs from NPR.  I learn so much and every week there is at least one super fascinating story that I hear on NPR that I try to follow up on or learn more about.  Ditto for PBS.  
• My Freedom:  I was reminded of this while I was driving to work listening to a story about Saudi Arabian women fighting for the right to drive (and vote and walk in public places with men to name a few things).  I think too often we take our freedom for granted so I want to remember how fortunate I am to live in a time and place where women have freedom.    

I'm in a quilting sprint!

I finished all the handquilting on a quilt that I made when I still lived in Ohio (so I think I've had it pieced for about 2 years).  I had it mailed to me during my six month stay in Vermont and made a lot a progress on it but I hadn't put any real work on it for about six months.  Then last month, I decided to get to work on it so when I saw my mother at Thanksgiving, we could put the binding on it and I could finish.  After about 2 weeks of intense quilting almost nightly (with episodes of Midsomer Murders keeping me company), I finished it rather quickly.  So spurned on by this success, I decided that I would finally finish the first quilt I pieced.  I have worked on the quilting on and off for about 8 years. I wish I were kidding but I'm not.  I set it aside for the first time to make a quilt for Bridget and then my sisters kept having babies (and I made a king size quilt for Rachel which took me about 3 years, I pieced that monster quilt throughout most of grad school).  Now I am closer than ever to finishing it, I have about 1.3 pieces of border left to finish.  Since this was the first quilt that I worked on, I can see how poorly my first attempts were and how much better my stitching has become.  I kind of want to rip out those old bad stitches but I sort of want to be reminder of how I started.  So now, I'm sprinting toward the finish line of Thanksgiving with a quilt that I made with my grandmother and for that reason alone, I will always keep it with me. 

What I've learned from Film Noir

I have seen 12 film noir movies over the past two weekends so I thought that I make a list of what I've learned from those movies (and well as the many many other film noir movies I've seen in the past):

• If you have to see a psychologist or psychoanalyst because you may have murdered someone, makes sure the person is of the opposite sex.  He or she will be more invested in your recovery because there is a 80% chance she/he will fall in love with you and help you clear your name. 
• Do not let yourself get locked in a house (yours or someone else) or a building. More than likely the person who is holding you hostage will be in the process of convincing anyone that could help you that you are crazy.  
• Do not install frosted glass in your house.  In the case of the above situtaion, it makes it that much more difficult to get someone's attention.  Plus your hostage takes could sneak up on you (I'm looking at you Ida Lupino in Beware My Lovely).  
• If you husband is trying to run you down on the street, make sure that someone else is dressed very similarly (and hopefully in cahoots with your murdering husband). 
• Do not work in a bank.  At some point someone is going to either force you to rob the bank or rob the bank and make you the fall guy. 
• If you are a twin accused of murder and your psychologist is doing a word association exercise with you, it does not bode well for your twin if you answer to "mirror" is "death".  And don't dress alike, especially if you are not under 5.  It's just creepy.  
• If you are dealing with twins and one might be evil, only talk to the twins in person not on the phone. 
• Cats can either help you or draw unwanted attention to you.  It's really a toss up.  But trust dogs, they are always in the right.  
• If you have escaped from prison with a group of men and you've decided that you are going after a stash of money, things are not going to end well for almost your entire group.  Best to escape with only one other person (and don't get attached then either).  
• Do not marry, work for, or live with a person that is very attached to the parent of the opposite sex.  And for goodness sake, don't stay in his or her motel!
• It is probably a good idea not to get in a car that you are not driving. 
• Don't be friends with a gossip columnist.  
• Sometimes the police a helpful and other times the police are completely useless.  So sort of like cats.  The FBI is usually helpful (like dogs). 
• If you are involved with a married man, he is never going to leave his wife.  If he has a first wife, more than likely he did not divorce her, he killed her.  
• And most importantly, do not be a push-over.  Be proactive, be aggressive, and be willing to trick your adversary in any way that you gives you an advantage, gives you extra time, or shows that you are willing to fight back. 

Tales from AFI

On Sunday, I watched 3 Film Noir movies: Laura, They Won't Believe Me, and High Wall.  I'll skip over Laura since it is probably one of the better known films.  They Won't Believe Me opens with the main character on trial for the murder of his wife/mistress (it isn't clear which murder he is being charged with, point is both are dead).  I have to say I enjoyed this movie because for once, it is not a bad woman leading a good man astray.  The ending was a little bit of a surprise mostly due to the change required under the Hayes Code.  The last movie from Sunday was High Wall.  The plot of the movie is the main character thinks that he strangled his wife but his a suffering from blackout due to a blood clot in his brain (which gets fixed by surgery).  Because of the black out condition, he is sent to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation by Dr. Ann Laurson.  She believes that he didn't kill his wife and tries to help him prove it.   I liked High Wall even though on the most basic level it is a less good version of Spellbound (with a less good cast). 

One other weird story from being that AFI for most of the afternoon: I went the bathroom before seeing High Wall and there was a man using one of the stalls in the women's restroom (and I only knew it was a man because he didn't close the door).  I am not 100% sure that he was drunk, but he did do a very theatrical burp that was reminiscent of Barney Gumble (from the Simpsons) (alcohol is served at the theater but you can only buy one at a time so the guy either went back multiple times or is a lightweight). 

One more thing, I am pretty sure that the AFI Silver was only theater in the DC metro area that was showing Margin Call because the line was huge for every showing (and it was showing in the biggest of the 3 theaters).

It's getting dark

It's the first weekend of the DC Noir Fest at AFI Silver so I spent most of my day in Silver Spring.  I saw 3 movies today so I thought that I would do a little write for all the movies that I am going to see over the next few weeks.
Experiment in Terror:  A bank teller gets grabbed in her garage and her attacker demands that she steal $100,000 for him or he will kill her and her sister (and he generously offers to give her 20%).  She calls the FBI and works with an agent (played by Glenn Ford!) to find the bank robber.  The movie was really enjoyable and it was interesting to see the what the idea of the FBI was in the 50s (because in the movie people called the operator and could speak to an agent).  The ending is really good and the climax takes place at Candlestick Park after a Giants-Dodgers game.
Crashout: Very rare movie, not available on DVD.  A gang of six men band together after a prison break (or crashout) with the plan of finding and splitting  a $180,000 one of them stole in a bank robbery.  And you can imagine how well this plan goes.  Someone in the row in front of me complained that the movie end very ambiguously without totally tying up the plot.  I kind of wanted to say both "Well, it is film noir" and "Um... try watching I Am a Fugitive From A Chain Gang, that might be most ambigous ending ever.  It just fades to black after Paul Muni's last line. " (and that movie made me love Paul Muni!)
Loophole: Another rare movie, not available on DVD.  A bank teller unknowingly gets almost $50,000 stolen from his drawer.  The FBI agents who work on the case believe he is innocent but the special investigator working for the bonding company representing the bank, does not believe him and start relentlessly pursuing the bank teller in an attempt to get him to reveal the location of the money.  After talking with the FBI agent, the teller (Donavon) remembers that there was a second bank examiner that counted the money in his drawer (and swiped the money).  Donavon crosses path with the actual robber a few times, which lead to someone in the audience yelling "Come On!" during the movie.  This is another interesting movie that is definitely of a very specific time.  It takes place during the height of McCarthy-based paranoia and the relentless pursuit of an innocent man is very reminiscent of that time. 

And once again it comes down the grammar

I don't know if anyone else is following this story (if you heard the Two-Way blog on NPR, you've seen the posts about it), but ESPN will no longer being playing a Hank Williams Jr. song to open Monday night football.  This is due to a Hank Williams Jr. comparing Obama to Hitler and then calling both Obama and Biden the enemy when talking about the golf game between Obama, Biden, Speaker of the House Baynor, and I think the fourth person was the Governor of Ohio (but I'm not sure).  So EPSN pulled the song and then Williams Jr. released these statements:

"Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme — but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me — how ludicrous that pairing was. They're polar opposites and it made no sense. They don't see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the President.
"Every time the media brings up the tea party it's painted as racist and extremists — but there's never a backlash — no outrage to those comparisons... Working class people are hurting — and it doesn't seem like anybody cares. When both sides are high-fiving it on the ninth hole when everybody else is without a job – it makes a whole lot of us angry. Something has to change. The policies have to change."

"I have always been very passionate about Politics and Sports and this time it got the Best or Worst of me. The thought of the Leaders of both Parties Jukin and High Fiven on a Golf course, while so many Families are Struggling to get by simply made me Boil over and make a Dumb statement and I am very Sorry if it Offended anyone. I would like to Thank all my supporters. This was Not written by some Publicist."

And this is my response: It is unnecessary to say that this was not written by "some Publicist" because I would hope that a publicist, who by the very nature of the job needs to be careful about what is being said, would know when to and when not to capitalize words.   And later he said this:

"After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision. By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run."

Again, what is up with the crazy capitalization?  He is protected by the First Amendment (and all of it's toes), but there is no reason to not follow grammatical rules. 

DVD recommendation

While I'm a run of movie recommendations, I am going to strongly encourage everyone to see the Japanese film "Departures" which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2009.  It is about a cellist who loses his job in an orchestra in Tokyo so he and his wife return to his hometown to his mother's house (his mother passed away 2 years earlier).  He ends up getting a job as a person who prepare bodies for burial or cremation.  Given the premise, there are many scenes that take place at funerals so the movie could have been depressing but there are so many scenes that are funny or touching that make the movie really enjoyable.  And the cello music throughout the film is really fantastic.   The movie is available on DVD and Instant Watch on Netflix.

I must admit I was wrong

Back in July, I did a little run down of all the trailers I saw during my Captain America/Harry Potter double feature and one of these trailers was for Steven Soderburgh's movie Contagion. I kind of blew it off saying that it looked like a remake of Outbreak.  However, due to the good reviews that I had heard/read, I decided to go see it this morning (and since the showing I went to was a 10:30, it only cost $6).  And I must say, I really liked the movie.  The cast is superb (and almost tailor-made to me it seemed) and included Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Gould, Jude Law, Matt Damon, Enrico Colantoni, Bryan Cranston, Demtri Martin (the first time you see him, he is a bioharzard suit and you only catch a glimpse of his bowl cut hair so I was hoping it was him!), and most importantly (because the character is fantastic!) Jennifer Ehle.  A (somewhat biased) reason that I liked it the positive light that both the CDC/WHO and science were portrayed.  And it reminded me that for about a year when I was 15, I wanted to be an epidemiologist (or at least work at the CDC, which I still think would be awesome).  It also reenforced my nerdiness because I thought that the computer modeling of the viral protein structure was cool to see. It was make you want to wash your hands constantly, but overall it was an enjoyable movie (though I wish the blogger with shady reasons for peddling a homeopathic "cure" for the flu got a bigger comeuppance). 

Reading history

I mentioned on Facebook last week that I have several very thick (500+ page) nonfiction history books that I plan on plowing through this fall and winter.  I have a book about the Balkans, post World War II Europe, English history, and the history of MI5 (plus I have a couple very long fiction books that I should start reading).  But the books I am starting with is And The Band Played On which is about the early days of AIDS research (including the actual identification of HIV).  I'm only about 30 pages into the book which opens around 1985.  And as I was thinking about it, AIDS has been a public health issue for almost my entire life.  So far it is kind of interesting to read about a world without the shadow of  HIV/AIDS. 

Art and Artist

As a lover of movies, books, art, and music, there is an idea that I think about from time to time which is can you and should you separate the art from the artist?  I think about this is for artists that I admire and those I don't admire (the artist personally not the work of the artist).  Would I appreciate Van Gogh's paintings as much if I didn't think about his mental anguish he underwent while painting?  But on the flip side, can I separate the ideals/beliefs of Richard Wagner from enjoying listening to the Ring Cycle?  When ever I see a Roman Polanski movie I think about this.  I enjoy his work as a director but I can't completely separate Polanski the director and Polanski the person. This kind of feeds into the idea that there is a thin line between genius and madness.  To what extent should we accept the madness to experience the genius?

Being an optimist

Two weekends ago I went to the AFI Silver in Silver Spring to see Hitchcock's Torn Curtain with Paul Newman and Julie Andrews.  I didn't check the Metro website before I left so I didn't know that there was Metro station in Silver Spring was closed so I had to take a Metro Shuttle bus to the Silver Spring station.  Which means that I was about 20 minutes late for the movie.  But I actually didn't mind being late (I have seen the movie before).  It was kind of nice to go on the surface streets of Takoma Park and Silver Spring versus the elevated and relatively secluded location of the Metro Rail (though I did recognize some graffiti which allowed me to determine that I was close to the Silver Spring Metro Station.  But the most interesting thing about the bus ride was that it took me right based the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  It is a little strange to think that the center is closing in the near future but I was kind of cool to see the center before it closes.  But kind of sad as well knowing the history of the Walter Reed Center, both good and bad. 

East Coast Living

It has been quite an exciting week for me, here in Maryland. As you may have heard, on Tuesday there was a earthquake with an epicenter about 90 miles south of here. And it was my first earthquake. Thankfully, nothing was damaged (I was actually working in the lab at the time). And then this weekend, sometime Saturday afternoon, hurricane Irene is expected to reach my little part of Maryland on her way up the coast. Since I live a little bit inland from the coast, I'm hoping that the rain and wind won't be too bad but I am fully expecting to lose power at my apartment. I was hoping to move into my new room and out of the government housing but moving during a hurricane is just a bit too adventurous for me (but I smartly created a huge pile of stuff in the middle of my room that I can run into in the dark whenever I feel like it this weekend, so that should a good source of amusement). So I'm just getting ready for losing power on Saturday. I have some bottled water (and lots of Coke) and I plan on cooking stuff in the morning that can be eaten hot or cold as well as lots of candles for reading/quilting/creating a fire hazard. Mostly importantly, I've charged up my jump box so I can charge my phone or iPod when the need arises. So heads to people whose number I have, I may be calling you when I get bored. I do have 3 Netflix movies (as long as I have a chance to get my mail on Saturday before it starts pouring) to watch as long as the power hold out. It will be a very interesting weekend. On the plus side, now there will only be a few natural disasters that I have not experienced (maybe I should spend a year or two in Hawaii so I can experience a volcano eruption).

I might be the only one

If you haven't noticed, I am a bit of a film nut. In general, I prefer older movies but I enjoy more recent movies as well with a special enjoyment of period pieces. I especially love it when a movie is set in relatively recent time (20s-70s) and made by one of the old studios (Warner Brothers, MGM, Paramount, etc) and instead of using the most recent version of the studio vanity card, the movie will use the vanity card from time period of the film. I just finished Fincher's Zodiac (set in the late 60s) and they used the both an older version of the Paramount and Warner Brothers vanity card. Another good example is Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong. Now if only RKO Pictures still existed!

Quite the quandary

So one my AFI memberships perks is half off a DVD from the Warner Brother Archive. A few years ago Warner Brothers basically released all the films from the Archives to be purchased on DVDs by demand for about $20 (so instead of making 10,000 DVD copies, Warner Brothers will produce one DVD when you order it) or you can download the film for $15. Now I am faced with a tough decision of what DVD to get and more than likely I haven't seen the movie, except I have found one so far that I have seen called Doctor Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (about Paul Ehrlich, those who have read Microbe Hunters will remember him). One of the first movie that looked promising was Above Suspicion with a Hitchcock style thriller with Fred McMurray and Joan Crawford. But then a few pages later I stumbled on Confession of a Nazi Spy with Edward G. Robinson which I confess was my laptop wallpaper a few months ago when it was on TCM. And since seeing the poster every day for about 30 days, I really want to see the movie. Most likely, I am going to look through the entire Archive and pick out a few gems. In the mean time, I am totally enjoying the made-for-tv movies and cheesy movies from the 60s-90s that are in the Archive. Let me just say there are multiple movies that feature ": A Love Story", including Champions: A Love Story and Divorce Wars: A Love Story. Any suggestions of old Warner Brothers movies worth checking out?

For your listening pleasure

And because I've been obsessed with this song since Saturday night (and as a side note, this is the same composer that wrote the music for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly)



And does anyone else miss pre-Waterworld Kevin Costner? And Andy Garcia for that matter?

A Single Drawback

A drawback of living alone/with 1 other person, is that I am less motivated to want to bake something for the sole reason that fewer people means increased likelihood of having to throw away a stale baked good. Living with Rachel's family last year lead to baking in a weekly frequency to the point that I completely memorized a couple of recipes (pancakes and pita bread specifically). Now that I am living in a reduced household and without a mixer (when I moved out here, my job was temporary and to last 6-9 months), my desire/motivation to bake is greatly diminished. However, due a consistent craving for chocolate chip cookie dough and a well timed sale (thank you Target), I bought a hand mixer. And tonight, I made blueberry muffins using one of my favorite recipes from The King Arthur Cookbook. I have used all sorts of fruit in this muffin mix including blueberry, raspberry, cranberry, strawberry/blueberry combination, and once (for Ellis) chocolate chip. I love this recipe, the muffin always turn out really well with a nice crumb. And my favorite part of the recipe is that you alternately add flour and milk (which is similar to what you do when making a cake). What I love about this step watching the batter become too thick with the flour and then too thin with the milk until you reach this perfect balance between the two extremes. It's like baking alchemy. And it's delicious.

Please enjoy

For all you anglophiles out there:


The panelists are Richard E. Grant, David Mitchell, Fern Britton, Martin Clunes, Lee Mack, and Sanjeev Bhaskar (from the Kumars at no. 42) and hosted by Rob Brydon.

The End of Harry Potter

In the space of two days, I watched both parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In general, the end of things always make me a little sad, and the last Harry Potter movies were no exception. I thought back to when I first read the Harry Potter books, which was during senior year of high school, when I devoured the first four books in the space of about a month. And then I read those four again during the first year of college around the time the first movie came out. So while I might have been outside of the target age group for the books, I still have an attachment to the series. I was reading them during a point in my life when I was starting to become an adult so it was provided a source of nostalgia while still having a bit of a dark/adult tone to it, especially in the later novels. I cried at the end of the Deathly Hallows the book and both movies. I have to give credit to J.K. Rowling for her excellent series and while there were times when I didn't enjoy every subplot, I still enjoyed the books. And the commitment of the people behind the movies is amazing to see. While the first two movies were a little rough, they really hit their stride by the third movie (my favorite book) all the way until the end. So thanks to all those who worked on the movies, I'm sure I'll revisit them all whenever I need a little reassurance.

Trailer Round-up

I've spent a lot of time at the movie theater today (almost 5 hours). And I saw a lot of trailers:

1. Contagion: Seems like a remake of Outbreak without the monkey but more A-list stars including Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Gwyneth Paltrow. But it does have Jennifer Ehle and Enrico Colantoni (aka Keith Mars). I might catch it on DVD in about 6 months.
   
2. Planet of Apes: Rise of Apes (I saw the trailer twice!): You know just once I would like a movie in which science did not run amok. Pass!
3. Cowboys and Aliens: I feel like a trailer for this movie is kind of unnecessary because it is all right there in the title. There are cowboys and there are aliens. Carnage ensues.
4. The Adventures of Tintin: Looks kind of interesting, but it uses that weird motion capture from The Polar Express and Beowulf. But I do enjoy the CGI cowlick on Tintin.
5. The Amazing Spiderman: I am totally in the tank for this movie. I love Andrew Garfield a ton and this movie looks pretty good. Plus, Emma Stone is a lot less annoying that Kirsten Dunst!
   
6. John Carter: Meh...looks a little like Disney is trying the whole Prince of Persia thing again.
   
7. Abduction: Taylor Lautner is some sort of asset for a shadowy government organization. It might be more believable if he didn't look like he was thirteen. On the bright side, it does feature Sigourney Weaver which is never a bad thing.
   
8. Arthur Christmas: Some sort of animated movie that has to do with Christmas. The trailer didn't really tell you anything and the animation was pretty run of the mill so it did not peak my interest at all.
   
9. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol: When I saw the Bad Robot vanity card (J.J. Abrams' production company), I was hoping it was the trailer for the next Star Wars movies. Alas, this one featured Tom Cruise. The presence of Simon Pegg sucked me in a little but that Tom Cruise hurdle is a big to clear for me to want to see this movie.
   

That's right, I sat through 9 trailers (well actually 10, but one was a repeat).

Reflections of the Supremes

So I just finished Toobin's "The Nine" and I have to say that I loved it (with no concern about any suggestions that I may be turning into Trey, though Trey would probably really enjoy this book). And here is a list of things I learned in last half of Toobin's book:

- Souter was assaulted by two men while on a run in 2004. And he made it to Court the next day.

- Breyer and O'Connor were BFFs. Ginsburg and Souter were BFFs. I can only hope that friendship bracelets were exchanged.

- O'Connor is/was a Goldwater Republican. Therefore, she was definitely not BFF with G.W. Bush.

- I love this response by Goldwater after Jerry Falwell suggested that "good Christians" should be wary of O'Connor's nomination: "I think every good Christian ought to kick Falwell's ass".

- Since O'Connor left the Court, Kennedy is the new swing vote.

-Breyer found about O'Connor leaving the court by hearing about it on NPR. And Toobin made it sound like Breyer was a little heartbroken.

- Stephen Breyer had the Philly Phantic come to a dinner welcoming Alito to the Court (Alito is a huge Phillies fan). Can I tell you again that Breyer is my favorite Justice?

- Thomas really know how to hold a grudge...especially against Nina Totenburg and Harvard.

- Harry Reid might be a evil genius. He was one of the first people to suggest that G.W. Bush nominate Harriet Miers.

- The Rehnquists kind of got screwed by both Bush presidents. Two days after Nan Rehnquist died (William's wife), Bush the elder nominated Thomas to the Court. And then two days after William Rehnquist died, Bush the younger nominated Roberts to be Chief Justice (this was a clear political move, Roberts was already nominated to fill O'Connor's seat, but due to a really bad week that included the fallout of Hurricane Katrina, the Bush White House needed some positive news and Roberts was well liked by most of Congress).

- Ginsburg must have been so happy when Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

-O'Connor continues to be really interesting in her post-Court career. Since she left the Court to care for her husband (suffering from Alzheimer's), she been an advocate for Alzheimer's research (and even public sharing information about the difficulties of caring for an Alzheimer's patient) and working to educate both the youth of America and internationally about the importance of the Judicial branch.

- I think that in the end, O'Connor regretted stepping down from the Court. She left to care for her husband but he deteriorated to fast that she was really only able to take care of him for about 2 years before he entered an assisted living center.

-Stevens served in World War II. Due to his age this of course makes sense, but I had never thought about it before. He enlisted the day before Pearl Harbor and served in naval intelligence and worked on breaking Japanese codes.

Now I'm ready to start a new book. Right now it's a toss up between Jon Ronson's "The Psychopath Test" and John Waters' "Role Models". Or possible Agatha Cristie's "Pale Horse" to coincide with the Masterpiece Mystery adaptation from last week. Any suggestions/recommendations?

Other types of Nerdiness

I've established that I am a science nerd but I have to say living so near DC has expanded my interest in policy, history, and law. Compounding this is the fact that I am reading a book about the Supreme Court that is very well written and makes the Justices relatable (even Thomas to some extent, though I still kind of hate him). So is it weird that I want to attend an oral argument when the Court is back in session?

Supreme Update

I'm continuing to plug along reading the book The Nine and I and through the end of the Clinton years. And my favorite tidbit from this section is about when a snowstorm hit DC and Rehnquist refused to delay or stop the Court proceedings and Jeeps were sent out to pick-up all the justices. Except Souter, who being a New Englander and therefore adept at driving in snow, decided that he would drive his own car and then proceeded to get his car stuck in a snowdrift. As someone who has spent a winter in Vermont, I can't say this story surprises me. A close runner-up is the fact that the other Justices call Scalia "Nino". Oh and that Scalia and O'Connor didn't get along at all.

Reading Supreme

I'm about 100 pages into Jeffrey Toobin's great book "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court" and so far I am really enjoying it. I'm reading the section covering the late period of the Rehnquist court, with Breyer just getting appointed to the court. And with all things, this book is really appealing to my nerdy side and I have the opportunity to do one thing that I do a lot which is ranking the justices (I do this all the time with things I enjoy, just ask me about my Jane Austen novel rankings). Now I've also had a soft spot for Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginesburg. But after starting to read this book, Stephen Breyer might be my favorite Supreme Court justice. He was considered for Ginsburg seat but was not selected due to a disastrous interview with Bill Clinton (he was recovering from a serious bicycle crash, so please imagine a Justice on a bike). And once appointed, Toobin says he was the most optimistic justice on the court. Breyer also attended every State of the Union address out of solidarity with the other branches of the government. How can you not like someone who is optimistic in the face of a job like Supreme Court Justice and is still so enthusiastic for his job? Furthermore, Stephen Breyer played Not My Job on NPR's Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. But beyond letting me pick my favorite Justice, there is a lot of interesting information about the impact of previous justices on the current justices. I really recommend it.

Waiting for it on DVD

I am an unabashed lover of renting TV shows on DVD from Netflix. One drawback of waiting for things to be released on DVD, but the advantage is that you can binge on back-to-back episodes with no waiting. Or for the even more extreme way, you can wait until the entire show is done so there you do have to deal with various hiatuses of the show throughout the year. This was/is my plan for watching the show Lost, which at some point I will do. I loved Lost during the first two seasons and then during the third season there was a lot of hiatuses throughout the season and I forgot plot points (which you really can't do for that show). The reason that I am thinking about this is that I am working my way through 2 TV shows at the same time. The first is Friends which is more for a nostalgic reason but there are parts of the show that hold up really well (i.e. the Beach episode at the beginning of Season 4 is still funny). The second show it the Battlestar Galatica reboot that SciFi made a couple years ago. I never watched it in real time but I always heard good things about it so I decided to bite the bullet and start watching it. And I have to say, so far I am really enjoying it. The show is way more emotional than I thought it would be. The casting it really good, I'm really enjoying Mary McDonnell. There is a total ringer in the cast (for me anyway) in Jamie Bamber, who I love as Matt Devlin on Law & Order:UK (and he was in the Horatio Hornblower movies on A&E, that I weirdly loved as a teenager; Ioan Grufford, I'm still in the tank for you but don't let anyone talk you into any more Fantastic Four movies). And now that I don't have cable, I'm loving Netflix more that ever!

Low Stakes Creativity

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I were at Hobby Lobby and ended up back by the paint-by-number kits. And so spurred on by generally goofiness, we decided that we should all get a paint-by-number to do together. After looking over all the options (there were a lot of animal ones), I picked out a Impressionist-like vista of a Japanese style garden/bridge. So I've spent a lot of hours over the last few weeks working on it (usually with my roommates) and yesterday, I finally finished it. And here it is:

Theater etiquette

I've been going to the AFI Silver theater for the past 3 weeks and so far everyone I've shared the movie-going experience knows to be quite in the theater and not use their phones. Apparently this is not the case at the Alamo Drafthouse which is a theater is Austin with a strict no texting/cellphone use policy. A women used her phone to text and was asked to leave the theater. She followed this up by leaving a nasty voicemail with the theater complaining about being removed from the theater. Then the Alamo Drafthouse used the voicemail as a PSA about theater etiquette. And it is awesome (though there are swearwords).

Just for Funsies

AFI

I've seen this a couple times both on DVDs and at the AFI Silver Theater and I have to say, I love this commercial. Can anyone guess which clip is my favorite? I'll give you a hint, I love Joel McCrea (I think he was a totally underrated actor who was able to seamlessly move from comedy (The More the Merrier) to drama (Foreign Correspondent)).

Thoughts on Hitchcock

Strangers on a Train was the Hitchcock movies this weekend at the AFI Silver Theater, so naturally I went to see it. I've seen the movie once, so I sort of remembered what happened (although apparently I only really remembered the first 30-40 mins). So as I was watching, I started looking at other elements beside the great cinematography. One thing I noticed was that throughout the movie Guy was almost always dressed with a white jacket and Bruno was in a black jacket, like a subtle reminder that Guy is good. And I didn't realize that a lot of the movie is genuinely funny. I never ranked this movie high on my favorite Hitchcock movies, but it improves on repeat viewing. And this made me think of when I got introduced to Hitchcock movies. I'm pretty sure the first one I saw was Psycho, which again is not my favorite Hitchcock movie, but there are definitely elements that are classic Hitchcock (like the excellent use of music and the creative shots like a character being pushed down the stairs). I'm pretty sure the next Hitchcock movie I saw was Rebecca followed by Spellbound and then I was hooked. A few years back (in grad school), I watched every Hitchcock movie available on DVD (except The Birds). I've really enjoyed going to the AFI Silver for the retrospective, and I thought that only people who enjoy Hitchcock were attending the screening. But I was proven wrong when I overheard someone saw "What's this movie? Strangers on a Train? I've never heard of it."

Silver Theater

It's starting to warm up a little here, so I thought I would escape the heat by seeing a movie. So I went to Imdb to see what the movies are showing near me and to my suprise Notorious popped up under the AFI Silver Theater in Silver Springs. Turns out, the theater is doing a Hitchcock retrospective until the end of August. Silver Springs is a relatively short (about 40 min) Metro ride from here, so I decided to go to the screening last night. It short, it was great. Firstly, the main theater (there are 3 screen altogether) is beautiful with an old-fashioned look to it. And the seats are really nice with really wide aisle (so it's really easy for people to get through to the seats in middle). I've never seen a Hitchcock movie with an audience before, so it was a little weird to start out but in the end enjoyable because made for a great atmosphere (including someone doing an audible gasp during Hitchcock's cameo). Since I didn't know when the retrospective started, I missed some of my favorites specifically Rebecca and Spellbound, I still can see Stage Fright and two short propaganda films Hitchcock made during the war. So I found yet another really interesting place to take people if/when they come visit me (even people with kids because they have special screenings for childcare givers with kids)!

Advantage: Osprey

Last weekend, one of my coworkers invited me to go with her to visit osprey nests in southern Maryland. For her research, she finds osprey nests and records number of eggs in the nest as well as watch the osprey hunt for fish (and takes pictures so she can determine what the species of fish the osprey are eating). We went to a state park near Mattawomen Creek (a tributary of the Anacostia and Potomic rivers) to observe the osprey. It was a beautiful day (not too sunny and not too warm) and the osprey were out in force. Now, I've never seen a life osprey before, so I was super excited to see them. They are really amazing to watch because the kind of hover in the air above the water and then dive down to catch a fish. And on top of that, I saw 2 bald eagles but multiple great blue herons. We were just about to leave when this happened:



So one of the ospreys attacked a great blue heron. It was really amazing to watch. And the state park was beautiful so if/when anyone comes to visit, I can take them there for some great bird watching.

Having a Bad Day?

And now your bad day is better.