I waited a reasonable number of hours before calling, even though you've been on my mind since I got up at 5:15 this morning. I'm thinking we should go to dinner. I'm working nights this week and if we wait for next week you'll chicken out so it'll have to be Friday. I know Friday is kind of a date night, but I think that's ok.

It pains me that in a movie with Jack Nicholson I end up putting up a quote that Keanu Reeves says. Jack had plenty of great lines, but the quick monologue above really stuck in my head, so that's what I went with.

Something's Gotta Give is a great romantic comedy. It's good because it is both romantic and funny. It's great because it manages to be smart too. Jack is in top form (although I've heard his real life he's a lot like this character, so it wasn't too much of an acting stretch.) The only thing I really didn't like was Diane Keaton's marathon crying sessions, they got a bit old.

This one is highly recommended. It was lots of fun, plays with ideas of May-December relationships, and should be a good time for all regardless of your views on those kinds of social issues.

When Santa was just passing Hawaii (Christmas morning at about 4:00 pacific time) I wrote up a holiday letter and sent it out to everyone in my address book. Unfortunately some people bounced and others I just didn't have an email address handy for - and at 4:00 am I didn't feel like looking all that hard. If you missed it you can find it here.

The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances. I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you're gonna hear about it!

I guess Festivus is technically on December 23rd. But I wanted to be sure to wish everyone happy holiday today, regardless if it's Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanza, Festivus, Isaac Netwton's Birthday (Born on Christmas 1642 - depending on what calendar you use), the solistice, or others I can't think of right now.

Hopefully you can take some time during the season to spend with your family and friends, that's always my favorite part of the holidays. The gifts are just a nice bonus...

I feel like I've turned a corner...

I beat the shit out of some kids today. But I did it for a purpose. It made me feel good about myself, like my life has a meaning.

Watching Bad Santa is like watching a big huge train wreck. It makes no compromises and takes no prisoners. It is off the appropriate scale so far it's actually a bit hard to describe. But it doesn't do the shock physical humor that we're used to from the teen comedies, this movie gets its shock humor from characters on a downward spiral who just don't care anymore (and most of it is in dialog - the funny kind of humor.) Those with nothing to lose can speak their minds like no other, and Bad Santa does that all movie long.

The result is remarkably funny. I don't remember laughing that hard in a long time. There were parts where I was laughing hard enough I had to focus to keep my eyes open to see the rest of the gag. And the rest of the theater was right along with me. Just be warned, this is not a movie for the feignt of heart.

As a side note if all you have to do to nail Lauren Graham (aka Lorelai Gilmore) is put on a Santa Hat I have to find me one of those hats.

Certainty of death, small chance of success - what are we waiting for?

Peter Jackson is my hero.

The Lord of the Rings is a spectacular work of fiction. Tolkein imagined a detailed word filled with strife, bravery, betrayal, and epic world changing events. Now that I've seen Return of the King I can say without doubt that this is a masterpiece of translation from book to film. There's not a lot more I can say about this then just that it kicks ass.

Of all three of the movies this last one is the most epic. As I sat in the audience I honestly felt a little jealous. I wanted to be involved in something important and meaningful, like the characters on screen were. Yes, it's all fantasy, but it reminds me of that part in all of us that wants to be important, wants to create real and lasting change in the world. In a sense it's empowering - until you leave the theater and remember you're still you, in your life. I hear people talk about how the films can't have the power and effect that true human drama has, since they're fantasy. I think those people miss the point. Fantasy allows us to imagine a life and a world with purposes more noble then we see in our real world. It allows us to imagine what we could be without the boundaries of reality. Today, for 201 minutes, that's where I was. I don't know of a greater compliment for a film or film maker.

And I come back to you now -- at the turn of the tide.

I went to the Cinerama to see the extended edition of The Two Towers last night. Once again I'm impressed by how good this film is. It's not often that I'll go to the theater to see something I can watch at home for free anytime I like. But these movies are worth it.

Perhaps my favorite moment in this film is when Legolas sees the warg riders coming over the hill. Before he starts shooting at them there is a quick shot where his head cocks slightly to the side and his eyes flare a bit. It's clear to me his inner monologue is saying simply:

Bring it.

Under the bridge, how did you know?
If there is any doubt, there is no doubt. That's the first thing they teach you.
Who teaches you?
I don't remember. That's the second thing they teach you.

Ronin is one of my favorite action movies. It's full of people being smart and doing things that aren't preposterous. Everyone just feels like they're talented and former spies and the movie allows the audience to have some intellect while watching it.

In the end it's really a Robert DeNiro star vehicle. But I can handle that because he's so good. The people he's working with keep asking him questions (like the one above) trying to figure out who he is, and he keeps coming back with answers that have some substance, but not much. It's great, he's making friends and learning about people, without actually telling them anything interesting about himself. Which is exactly what a good spy should be doing (Spy Game had a great bit about why this is so - any lies you tell to someone are things that now have to be true forever when dealing with that person.)

Plus Ronin has some of the best car chases on film. As far as I'm concerned The Matrix Reloaded only wins because motorcycles are cool and they get to cheat by being a virtual world and do things that don't work in the really real world.

I also admire the singular purpose of this movie. There really is no outside point to it. They're not there to save the world, or stop something huge from happening, they're just there to do a job. And no one (including the audience) ever really knows the significance of that job. This is a character movie, that happens to have good action too.

For 500 dollars a month I'll kill whoever you want me to.
But know that I'd happily kill you for free.

I went to see The Last Samurai this evening. Back in the day when I started seeing previews for it I was really, really worried. But then I've started seeing some reviews of it the past few weeks that raved over it. It made me think it could be really good.

It turns out that it is quite good, but also has some distinct faults. The good stuff: the imagery, landscapes, and costume work is spectacular. I especially enjoyed the tradational samurai armor. The first scene of the smaurai riding out of the fog was great, looking just as intended like monsters coming to get you. The film suffers from some cliches and overly strong musical cues, however I was impressed with the number of cliches it stayed away from. My biggest fear was that this would be a pure Hollywood movie and not respect the traditional Japanese culture it portrays.

At one point when he's about to fight against the Samurai for the first time Tom Cruise's character is told that they are savages with only bow and arrow and swords. Tom retorts: that may be so, but they've been training for 1000 years. That Japanese culture is incredibly deep, and they are incredibly good fighters. My biggest worry with this film was that the westerner would waltz in and all of a sudden be better then everyone, negating their lifetime of study. The film walks a fine line with this, and of course Tom eventually becomes a bit of a hero, but this happens in a way that feels ok to me. They make it work (if nothing else by setting up early on that Tom's an excellent fighter himself.)

What really keeps this film out of greatness is the ending. I was thinking about my dislike for it, and how to best phrase it. But then I wen't to read Ebert's review and as expected (since he is immensely more talented then I) his is perfect. Read the full review here. Or just read the paragraph in question:

Is a there a line between dying for what you believe in, and dying because of what you believe in? That the film raises this question shows how thoughtful it is. If "The Last Samurai" had ended in a way that was consistent with its tone and direction, it would have been true to its real feelings. But the ending caves in to Hollywood requirements, and we feel the air going out of the picture. An art film can trust its audience to follow along to the necessary conclusion. A Hollywood ending assumes that the audience caves in at the end, turns dim-witted and sentimental, and must be fed its lollypop.

The ending really was insulting. And the last line of dialog (not the voice over stuff) was atrocious. But outside of that it was solid.

My only other main thought in watching this is just how terrible war is. I was reminded of the places around the world where war is waging right now (not just Iraq, there are conflicts elsewhere too) and saddened. It pains me that we ever get to that point and watching characters I care about die was that much harder knowing real people are dying now. It makes me wish I knew them so I could better respect their sacrifice.

My man buys me things and he takes me out.
Well you can keep your man cause I don't go that route.

In a true flashback to the prime of the 90's I was in Subway getting lunch today and what came on the radio playing in the store: I Got A Man by Positive K. Ahhh, the good times.

I'm just waiting for VH1 to do an "I Love the 90's series." The 70's shows were fun, and the 80 shows got better, especially in the late 80's when I was a bit more aware of pop culture. But I'll actually remember most of the 90's stuff. They may wait a few more years though to let the 90's settle into history a bit more.

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