Come Sit Next To Me October 16, 2009

In keeping with Alice Roosevelt’s seminal (eewwww on the alternate definition of this word) quote of “if you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me”, here is a gorgeous bit of prose discovered in Cornelia Read’s The Crazy School.

We couldn’t stand each other, but I hated her more.  She was so shallow she couldn’t even dislike people properly.

In a decidedly listless week, these simple lines has brought me untold joy. I could absolutely buy Nora Charles tossing them off while consuming martinis in The Thin Man (If you haven’t seen The Thin Man, well shame on you, and I hope we can still be friends.  It is the bee’s knees.)  How Hemingwayesque is the structure here?  Two sentences-straight, colloquial, to the point.  Not bad for an ex-debutante with only two strange little thrillers under her belt.

And apropos of nothing, here are some of the best gin-soaked moments from Nick & Nora.  Enjoy & happy Friday!

Up is down, black is white October 2, 2009

This morning I found myself with the oddest whim to watch Miller’s Crossing.  There I was, eating  Lucky Charms, when the thought hit me:  You know what I really need right now?  Obviously, a twenty year old gangster/noir/morality fable.

Miller’s Crossing is far and away my favorite of the Coen Brothers’ offerings.  I was around twelve when it came out, and for whatever reason it captured me, becoming another in a long line of vaguely inappropriate films that I begged my parents to see.  (I had surprisingly indulgent parents when it came to movies.  Within that year alone, they took me to see Godfather III, Miller’s Crossing, and Cape Fear.  Coppola, Coen, Scorsese…thanks mom & dad.  You guys truly were the best.)

The basic premise revolves around a Prohibition-era gang war, a Dashiell Hammett tapestry of double-crosses, love affairs, deception, lies, and blood.  It is stunning: visually arresting with crisp dialogue and an engaging anti-hero hero in Gabriel Byrne’s Tom Regan.  In keeping with personal tradition, I like my heroes flawed with hearts surrounded by steel bands-men who lie, steal, cheat, and kill but have oddly ethical notions of loyalty and honor.  Men with the potential to be so very good who nevertheless make tragic choices.  They’re my kryptonite.

And my God (I mean that with all due reverence), that scene.  That march through the woods with John Turturro begging for his pathetic life.  It remains one of my favorite cinematic moments ever-right up there with To Kill A Mockingbird’s courtroom scene and Butch & Sundance’s last stand.  It still gives me chills every time I see it.  Dead perfect.

Gee, I think you’re swell May 19, 2009

I promise I will stop posting about movies I want to see.  But The Boat That Rocked?  I swear it’s like some guardian angel reached into my brain & made a sweet little film full of my favorite things.

1. A deadly 60s soundtrack.  Oldies are way overused in movies but in the proper historical context, we’re reminded how important and formative these now quaint songs actually were.  (Besides is there any more adorable way of declaring your love than proclaiming “you’re my pride and joy, etc…”?  That absolutely kills me.)  So The Kinks, Cat Stevens, The Turtles, The Troggs?  Hells yeah, sign me up.
2. PHILLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN!  And more importantly, Phillip Seymour Hoffman out of serious actor mode & just having fun.  I have the most insanely intense crush on this man.
3. Witty malcontents giving a giant middle finger to the establishment.
4. And I will admit that the following lines mist me up just a little.

Governments loathe people being free.

Young men and young women will always dream dreams and put those dreams into song.

Cannot wait!

Nine May 14, 2009

Holy Hell, I don’t know what this is, but I have to see it immediately.  Even the presence of Fergie and Kate Hudson cannot keep me away.

This is the way the world ends April 21, 2009

“The Hollow Men”

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper.

T.S. Eliot

Thanks to a renewed Netflix subscription we have been playing a frantic game of movie catch-up at our house this past month.

Now, I am going to divulge a tiny bit of personal info-something I’m not particularly good at.  Eric, my husband, served in Iraq from July 2005-July 2006.  War is an ugly brutal business, and that fleeting 365 days has left an indelible mark. One of the oddest effects (and certainly a minor one)  is that his stint in Iraq greatly altered what we watch.  For three years, we’ve avoided heavy movies and especially violent movies.  For separate reasons, neither of us have had the capacity to process them so it’s been much lighter fare in our house than usual.

Last night, we watched Children of Men, an horrifying morally complex glimpse of a dystopian future in which humanity has been rendered infertile and is waiting for extinction.  So armed with the knowledge that the end is inevitable, how do we act?  Not very well, I’m afraid.  This movie tore my heart into a thousand pieces & I feel just a bit shell-shocked today.  The violence is real and grim, so much so that towards the end I noticed a tightness in my husband’s face.  “Too much?”  I asked, “Is it bothering you?”  He nodded, but continued to watch.

If there’s a thematic common thread that runs through the works that resonate with me,  I guess it’s the indefatigable presence of hope in terrible circumstances.  The thought that we can stare down the worst the devil has to offer, and still retain our humanity.  I call myself a reluctant idealist because  no matter how royally humankind manages to screw things up I cannot let go of the notion that we can and will do better.  We have to.  It’s a moral imperative that I cling to more stubbornly than anything that I was formally taught in church.  I don’t want to do good things because it will get me into heaven.  I want to do good things because it is the right thing to do, regardless of the presence of an reward.  I guess this makes me something of a humanist.  Humanist is kind’ve a dirty word where I come from.  I really don’t see all the bother, and frankly I don’t care.  God is everpresent when we choose to act unselfishly, when we help the helpless.

Of the many thoughts swirling in my head today, one I keep returning to is the fact that the main character, played remarkably well by Clive Owen, did not carry a weapon for the duration of the movie.  Escorting the last hope for the future of humanity to safety and you don’t feel a gun is necessary?  I’m not sure what that says exactly, but I kind’ve like it anyway.

Luc

I can have oodles of charm when I want to.  Kurt Vonnegut

Recycling Matthew McConaughey April 17, 2009

Damn you Kristina, for sending me this while I’m trying to eat!  I choked on my pecan roll.  Too funny not to post.  Here it is:  Matthew McConaughey’s next ten movies.  I can’t wait for “Down for the Count”.   (Cracked)

And since it’s slightly related & because we love Matt Damon: his absolute spot-on impersonation.

And to be fair, a time when McConaughey was not a giant cheeseball (Yay for Cheeseball Day!)

Luc.

I can have oodles of charm when I want to.  Kurt Vonnegut

Pregnant With Emotion? April 12, 2009

As previously mentioned, Tina came to spend a couple of days with me and along with our standard faves of planting ourselves in the bookstore, going for coffee, shopping, and eating yummy food (Hello, Maggiano’s!  You were delicious!), we also managed to watch a movie or two.

Confession: I love Jud Apatow’s brand of humor.  So much so, that Knocked Up is my go-to for when I’m a little blue and need a pick-me-up.  (Well, Knocked Up and the 2005 Pride & Prejudice.  And yes, I am perfectly aware that one of these things is not like the other.  I know that Knocked Up and Pride & Prejudice do not occupy the same sphere and probably should not be mentioned in the same breath, but I love them both, they make me smile, so suck it.)  The fact that I watch it on a religious basis probably goes a long way towards explaining why I have a wee bit of a potty mouth, a healthy crush on Seth Rogen, and a deep love of guy humor.

Last week, I decided in my usual over-bearing, bossy manner, that Tina had to see this movie now, and also I wanted something funny to watch while I enjoyed my new bottle of wine (Anti-oxidants=healthy!).   I wish I could more eloquently explain why I love this movie so very much.  Yeah, it’s funny.  But as someone who got pregnant & became a wife way before I was ready for it, well, the movie speaks to me on a fundamental level.  The themes of arrested development, readiness, and commitment are handled here much more realistically than in any other movie I can remember.  To paraphrase some random film critic, it’s the best family values movie that I can’t in good faith recommend to families.

Luc.

I can have oodles of charm when I want to.  Kurt Vonnegut

Ode to Big & Little Edie April 1, 2009

Can I just say how much I love the whole mythos of Grey Gardens?   Even more so now that I find I have far too much free time & rattle around my current home in the same basic ensemble (yoga pants, tee, hoodie) for days on end.  Somehow Little Edie’s multi-functional wardrobe doesn’t seem so crazy now-at least she has flair.  And sadly, should I not have very diligent friends and family who fortunately insist that I retain some social nicieties, I could easily see myself happily devolving into a frightfully mad old woman living in one room, surrounded by stacks of books and magazines, and subsisting solely on cheese, peanut butter, chocolate, and wine.

Anywho, I was initially doubtful of Drew Barrymore’s ability to carry off this role, but the promo never fails to make me smile while simultaneously breaking my heart.  Can’t wait!

Luc.

I can have oodles of charm when I want to.  Kurt Vonnegut