Photo Finish Friday
The Ansel Adams Meets Easy Rider Edition.
This is a self portrait of yours truly from August of 2007 (damn, that’s almost five years ago!). It’s from Yosemite National Park. I was on a work trip in the Sierras and wrapped up early. Since I was so close to Yosemite and I had never been before, I took a vacation day to go check it out. It is as magnificent as it seems — impossible to describe, really. It’s good to be reminded that, for all my longing to see other places around the world, there is a lot of stuff right here in the USA that can put me on my knees.
I was reminded of it because the following video came across my Google reader today, courtesy of one of one of my favorite feeds, Vagabondish. Fire this sucker up and watch it in full screen. I literally found myself brought nearly to tears watching it, especially the night scenes with the stars and galaxies passing overhead.
The J.O.T. Film Festival, Day Four
Monday night was supposed to be Coens Night at the JOTFF. Things started off with a bang.
True Grit
Damn, I love this movie; liked it even more the second time around than I did when I saw it in the theater. Makes me realize just how much I really don’t like the original John Wayne version. Love the book though, which reminds me — need to read more Charles Portis.
Things to note:
- The take Jeff Bridges has on Rooster Cogburn crushes Wayne’s take. Crushes it.
- People gripe about Bridges’s garbled lines. I think it fits the character perfectly.
- Matt Damon is perfect as Texas Ranger LaBoeuf. Does Damon ever not deliver (no, I’m not going to test the answer to my own question by seeing We Bought a Zoo)?
- Same goes for Josh Brolin. He almost saved that P.O.S. Jonah Hex movie (which would have been awesome if I’d been in charge).
- Despite all I’ve said about the excellence of the veterans in the cast, young Hailee Steinfeld pretty much steals the show. What an outstanding job.
- Love the cinematography too. The locations they used in Texas and New Mexico are gorgeous.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: the world needs more new Westerns. What a great movie.
When it was over, I fired up Netflix, eager to watch Fargo. They don’t have it streaming. My disappointment was huge. So I thought I’d watch Blood Simple. They don’t have that one either! I was enraged. Thought about making a run to the video store, which would have necessitated putting some pants on. I looked at the clock and decided I’d just call it a night and read a goddamn book. When I talked to her over the phone as I was making this decision, Julia said I should watch Miller’s Crossing. Which would have been the smart thing to do. But I can’t have Julia making suggestions on what films should run during the J.O.T. Film Festival. Sometimes a man needs to take stand. Show “true grit” and all that.
Next up: X Night.
The J.O.T. Film Festival, Day Three
Sunday night I changed things up a little bit, firing up Netflix streaming to go with one movie I’d seen before and one I’d had on my queue for some time. All in all, it was another excellent evening of viewing.
Winter’s Bone
Julia and I saw this one when it hit the theater and really liked it. I’d been meaning to see it again, because the theater we saw it in, The Wilma, here in Missoula, can be problematic. I love the vibe of the place, and it is probably my favorite one in town to go to (there are two other theaters, both Carmike chain theaters), but certain movies can be hard to fully experience. If a film has quiet dialogue, or characters with accents, the acoustics of the room combined with a questionable sound system renders much of it a muddy mess in my rock-battered earholes. For this reason we haven’t yet seen Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy because we expect to be stymied by the audio. Which is a drag, because I really want to see that movie. As for Winter’s Bone, much of the initial viewing was compromised by not really hearing what was going on in many spots. I wanted another shot at it to absorb it all over again, and catch what I’d missed.
I read the book and loved it before seeing the movie. The movie, while slightly different from the book, still holds to the story close enough that the spirit of the novel is more than maintained (thankfully, a previous screenplay for the movie, as noted by Woodrell in an interview I read somewhere, had drastic changes with an ongoing plan to turn Ree Dolly, the main character, into some kind of franchise character as an amateur sleuth; which would have sucked). Jennifer Lawrence as Ree Dolly is fantastic, and John Hawkes (one of my favorite actors, I remember him best as Sol Star in Deadwood) as Teardrop is also excellent. Watching it again reminded me that it was one of my favorites films the year it came out.
This kind of “rural noir” as it’s called can be hit and miss for me. I’ve read a fair amount of it lately as part of my Short Story a Day thing I’ve been doing, from authors like Woodrell, Donald Ray Pollock, Frank Bill, etc. Seems to be a big thing right now. At its best, where Woodrell often (but not always) delivers, it is compelling. Often, though, it seems to be little more than sex, drugs, guns and violence porn, and I don’t care for it. Some of it, as I read, makes me wonder what a guy like the late, great Joe Bageant would think of it. When it slips into the realm of being gratuitous I find myself turned off.
Winter’s Bone, for all its grim setting and darkness, doesn’t go there. It’s a tight story, and Ree is one of the best female characters I’ve seen in a long time. Book or movie, you can’t miss. I offer my highest recommendations for both. Its success makes me hope filmmakers are sniffing around other writers delivering the top shelf material in this genre. I could totally see Bonnie Jo Campbell‘s work on the big screen, no doubt about it.
American Grindhouse
This movie is a documentary about the history of exploitation films, starting way back in the 50s and taking us through genres with names like Nudie Cuties, Roughies, Blaxploitation, Film Noir, and on into pornography. And it isn’t just about the movies themselves, but the “Grindhouse” theaters (particularly the collection of them on 42nd street in New York City) that would show them, running films of questionable content 24 hours a day, and the culture that grew up around them. It was interesting and I learned quite a bit — the interview subjects were entertaining, whether they were film scholars or the actual directors and actors working on the early films. The old trailers and posters of course were fantastic. It’s a fairly short movie, and it really only scratches the surface as it jumps from one subject to the next, but it’s worth watching if you have any interest at all in learning about a slice of film history that may be more important in contributing to the success of movies of today, mainstream or otherwise, than you realize. I liked it.
Next up: A Night with the Coens
The J.O.T. Film Festival, Day Two
BATMAN Night
Last night’s viewing festivities consisted of the firing up for the first time of the blu-ray copies of Christopher Nolan‘s two Batman flicks, Batman Begins followed by The Dark Knight. I hadn’t watched either movie in some time, though lately, with Sid on a big Batman kick, I’ve read three or four graphic novels. Even watched the recent animated DVD, Batman: Year One based on the graphic novel of the same name.. Batman has been one of my favorite characters since I was just a kid, and I’m with the crowd that thanks Nolan for rescuing the movie franchise after its crash and burn in the wake of the four movies that came out in the 90s. With a third installment, The Dark Knight Rises, said to be Nolan’s final one, coming out this summer, watching these flicks served as a great warm-up for stoking my eagerness for it to hit the screen.
What these movies did most is prove that superhero movies can be more than just campy nonsense. Both films are almost as much cop dramas as they are action flicks. Christian Bale makes an excellent Batman; he’s even better as Bruce Wayne. Michael Caine? Gary freakin’ Oldman? Hell, the cast is excellent across the board (even the “leading lady” change between movies doesn’t bother me much). Gotham City itself is a great character. And Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight — outstanding. I also love the soundtracks. They both run a little long (maybe too long — the final acts of both drag a bit) but I didn’t get bored.
I wasn’t a fan of Nolan’s most recent non-Batman movie, Inception, but I’ll forever be a fan just for setting a high bar for comic book movies via these Batman flicks. Some people bitch about how many comic characters are showing up in theaters. As long as they’re good, I say keep ‘em coming.
Sunday Short Story Day
Week three in my short story project for 2012:
- Bad Movie by Pete Risley from All Due Respect, Issue #20: January, 2012 (Online) (01/15/2012)
- The Stain Carrier by Sophie Littlefield from Beat to a Pulp (Online) (01/15/2012)
- That of Which We Cannot Speak by Alethea Black from I Knew You’d Be Lovely (Broadway) (01/16/2012
- Deviances by Frank Bill from Noir at the Bar (Subterranean) (01/16/2012)
- Speed Trap by Duane Swierczynski from Tales from the Cobra Wars (IDW) (01/17/2012)
- Twin Forks by Daniel Woodrell from The Outlaw Album (Little Brown) (01/17/2012)
- Gunplay by Thomas Pluck from Pulp Metal Magazine (Online) (01/17/2012)
- Tight by John DuMond from Powder Burn Flash (Online) (01/18/2012)
- A Gathering of Ravens by Charles Gramlich from Dreams in the Fire: Stories and Poetry Inspired by Robert E. Howard (REHupa) (01/18/2012)
- Job History by Annie Proulx from Close Range (Scribner) (01/18/2012)
- Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock from Knockemstiff (Anchor Books) (01/19/2012)
- The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich from The Red Convertible (Harper Collins) (01/19/2012)
- Smoke by Alan Heathcock from Volt (Graywolf) (01/20/2012)
- My Father’s Gun by Dave White from Damn Near Dead (Busted Flush) (01/20/2012)
- The Only Way Out Is Through by Alethea Black from I Knew You’d Be Lovely (Broadway) (01/21/2012)
- How We Fall by Shann Ray from American Masculine (Graywolf) (01/21/2012)
Had a good week with several excellent stories. I’m beginning to enjoy this. I’m finding reading two every day to be no problem at all, and I’m still making progress reading other books as well.
The J.O.T. Film Festival, Day One
Yesterday morning I delivered Julia to the airport for a trip to Tucson, where she will be for a week visiting family. The stars weren’t properly aligned for me to accompany her, so that means that while the rest of us are here shoveling out and keeping the wolves at bay after the big Snowpocalypse 2012, she’s soaking up rays and probably dashing naked through the desert. Whatever.
As for me, I’m going to take the opportunity to indulge myself in some movies I want to see that she wouldn’t be interested in. I have to say that she’s generally pretty game; she goes to plenty of movies that hit my radar that she would probably never choose to see on her own. I like to think I do likewise on her behalf, but I also know that when I’m out of town she’s likely to watch stuff I’d never allow myself to be talked into. Beverly Hills Chihuahua, for example. Many of the movies I’ll watch she’s seen, in fact. She just isn’t a re-watcher, and I am. Big time. So while she’s gone, I’m going to do some catching up. I’ve done this exercise before; I call it the Julia’s Outta Town Film Festival. She’s been gone about 30 hours or so, and I have two under my belt already. These are classy films that just opened this week. I might have been able to coerce her to one of them, but certainly not both.
Haywire
I’d been eager for this film when I first heard about it. It’s the acting debut of MMA superstar Gina Carano, at least in a leading role. I’d seen her once before in the movie Blood and Bone, a criminally under-appreciated action flick. With a good cast, I was hoping to see a kick-ass action movie with a woman delivering the beatdowns. At least a woman who doesn’t look like she is going to blow away in the first stiff wind (:cough: Angelina Jolie :cough:). Carano certainly looks the part, and she’s the real deal when it comes to fighting. My biggest concern is that she would overtake the magnificent Zoe Bell as my #1 “woman who could probably kick my ass” crush. So Friday night I braved the snow rodeo that is my street and headed to the theater to check it out.
The Verdict:
I liked it. It didn’t blow me away quite like I hoped it would, but I still had a good time watching it. Carano does a pretty good job, especially in the action scenes. She looks the part better than any other female action movie star I’ve seen. Her acting is hit and miss, but that was to be expected. The pacing of the movie is a little herky jerky too. It’s billed as an ACTION flick, but it is trying more to be a thriller-type movie with action. Think the difference between something like the Bourne movies and The Expendables. One thing I did like about it is they didn’t overdo the lingering shots of Carano’s body; it’s not particularly over-sexed. There’s a little, but it isn’t obvious, nor is it distracting. Considering what they had to work with if they chose to, that’s kind of surprising.
There isn’t a bunch of slow motion fight bullshit going on either, which I appreciated. I blame The Matrix for starting that trend, and I hate it. I think some people might have had a hard time following it at times, but I didn’t. The supporting cast do their thing. Michael Douglas is great, and it’s always good to see Antonio Banderas and Bill Pullman. Happy to see that jack-in-the-ass Michael Fastbender get his too.
A solid effort, I’d rate it around a B-, but gets a boost on the curve up to a B. I’m hoping it does well enough to get a sequel or two. It was theater time well spent.
Oh, and Gina? There’s definitely a place for you in my heart. But Zoe’s still my girl.
Underworld Awakening
I love the Underworld movies. And this one has Kate Beckinsale back in the leading role, and Kate is something special . . . and not just because mentioning her here generates all the hits to my blog from people searching “Kate Beckinsale Naked” or “Kate Beckinsale Sexy Esquire Shoot” either. So, while I don’t have any naked shots of her, here’s the Esquire one, just to get that out of the way, right?
Click to make it bigger. The picture, that is.
The Verdict
Caught the early matinee of this one at the big new theater in Missoula, in 3D, and it was a blast. I don’t care that it’s getting shredded by critics. I don’t care that some of the CGI isn’t so great. It’s a movie with an absolutely gorgeous woman not much younger than me striding around in form-fitting leather kicking all kinds of ass. And she’s even a mom in this one. Ultimately, though, it’s a freakin’ monster movie, for crying out loud. I LOVE monster movies! I have to confess that, going in, I was a little nervous, which is why I probably liked it as much as I did. This is the kind of thing that huge buckets of popcorn, ginormous screens, and loud auditorium speakers were made for. Even the 3D was cool. It’s getting an A, and that’s without Kate appealing to me with creative ways to bump her grade up (though I’m wide open to that kind of thing, Kate, just so you know. . . . ).
Next up: Batman Night
Photo Finish Friday
The Heavy Sigh Edition.
One year ago tomorrow is when we set out for our trip to Panama. As much as I like the heavy snow we’ve gotten in the last couple days, this beach still looks mighty inviting. Is some ways that trip ruined me. I’ve been restless — even more than usual — and ill-suited to being stuck in one place, in the same job, ever since.
Photo Finish Friday is the brainchild of writer/blogger/world traveler Leah J. Utas.
Adventurers of the Year
National Geographic does this People’s Choice Adventurers of the Year contest every year; my vote this year goes to kayakers Jon Turk and Erik Boomer. Hands down.
“What do you do when a polar bear charges you? We found yelling colorful language was more effective than gentle talking,” says 65-year-old writer and Arctic explorer Jon Turk. “The right tone could communicate, ‘You’re bad. We’re just as bad.’”
Turk and pro kayaker Erik Boomer discovered this when, during the final week of their 1,485-mile circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island, a polar bear ripped a hole in their tent—while five other bears looked on.
These guys pulled off one of the last great polar feats remaining, and that’s no small thing. Very, very impressive. Read their little overview/interview. Then vote for them. They deserve it.
Jon Turk is a hero of mine. I’ve read all three of his books — Cold Oceans, In the Wake of the Jomon, and The Raven’s Gift — and loved them all. He’s a scientist (Ph.D. in chemistry), a writer, and an adventurer. I’ve seen him read/speak twice, and he is excellent and very inspiring. Both times I’ve had opportunity to chat with him, and he is personable and interesting. The fact that, at 65, he still undertakes these massive expeditions is fantastic. He lives part time not all that far from me. I’d like to run into the guy. I’d buy him a beer or two and listen to him tell stories of his adventures.
UPDATE: Here’s a link to an article from the New York Times.
Andrew Sullivan on Book Publishing
Great comments about the publishing industry from Andrew Sullivan. I also LOVE the animation style of the video. Well worth a couple minutes of your time, even if you’re just a reader.
