Am I the only one who thinks Mumford and sons sucks?

These guys are like a cheap knock off of a bluegrass band, but they aren't even good.  They have no soul or melody.

room 237

This movie was worth while, it was interesting, entertaining and made you think. For a fan of the shining, or Kubrick or conspiracy theories this was a great film. Junk science came to mind a few times, to me the most interesting parts of the film were the details which were brought to the attention of the viewer which Kubrick definitely had a hand in, the conspiracy theories, ideas about the holocaust, extermination of the native Americans and faking of the lunar landing were a bit more out there but intriguing and I wouldn't put anything past Kubrick. The most interesting point of the film to me was the discussion of post modern works of art and the claim that irregardless of the authors intent, themes can be found which might have been or have not been consciously intended. Overall, the mind of Kubrick, his eye for detail, his humor and overall brilliance is what is most evident when watching this film. If one looks for themes and ways to make connections they can be found in many different places, overall this can lead to seeing reality though higher levels of awareness and if one is lucky enough glimpses of enlightenment, that was the broader and most important theme in this movie.

Bop Prosidy

I haven't posted anything on here in a while, but for some reason tonight have the bug.  This may be just a ramble incoherent stream of thought, and if anyone actually stumbles upon this and reads it I apologize in advance, it may or may not make sense depending I suppose on what comes out now and my grammar and punctuation.  I am not going to attempt to make this flow in any real way and may come out as more diarrhea than a solid true good feeling shit.   Either way you feel better after, well I feel better not sure you will, no one likes to have diarrhea sprayed on them while the act of spraying may make me feel better it will most certainly make the person its sprayed upon feel worse.  Goes with the whole yin and yang, positive and negative gravity's rainbow thing of it all, the black and white binary number one cant exist without the other unless of course both exist at the same time like Schrodinger's cat, but then the act of viewing, which in this case would be diarrhea might change the whole controlled environment.

Anyway, where was I, what was the point of all that you might ask, well, the point is that is an excersise I learned in college in order to get back into writing, like earlier tonight I stretched to warm up my muscles because i hadn't done yoga in a while. Jack Keroac called this "Bop prosidy" meaning writing as a sort of Jazz, where it just flows without regard to what is coming out, he believed this is where the real heavy stuff came from.  I am of mixed opinion on this, for example I saw this movie room 237 this past weekend and it was about the patterns and themes in kubricks the shining, and at the end they said the theory of post modern literature is you make your own associations and opinions based on what you gather from the work, whether intended or not consciously intended by the author.  One could take that even further and stress on the question for your own personal conscious expansion you will find your own synchronicities and themes, not just in art but in all of LIFE and that is how you will actually achieve higher levels of consciousness and awareness.  This brings me to my point, i overheard on the bus today two people talking, pseudo intellectual types or maybe actual intellectuals who is to say what seperates what at times they blur into each other, however, they were talking about how one of them felt he was a base human, and he wanted to become a real human, so the other said what is the difference? the base human guy said the difference is base humans just deal in the world as animals, ego, greed, sex, power, and one would say just like a dog or monkey, so really animalistic.  The regular human is connected to himself in other ways, higher connection has gotten past ego.  I am a base human from that conversation perhaps but who knows, either way it me to thinking that thought is the enemy of evolving.

America's top ten hipster cities

Travel and Leisure magazine just came out with the top ten most hipster friendly cities, which got me reflecting on what is a hipster? what does that word mean? where did this all begin? Firstly, if you ask a hipster what a hipster is, they will describe with disdain a person who has ironic facial hair, tight jeans and a holier than thou attitude, while sipping on their soy latte and surfing Pitchfork on their MacBook pro. The actual definition is not really that elusive, its as simple as the definition for pornography "I know it when I see it" undoubtedly, many people who live in urban areas can point out a hipster when they see one but couldn't really give you a definitive definition. 
   Recently I re-watched "High Fidelity" staring John Cusack and Jack Black, and I realized that movie came out in 2000, at that time I was living in New York City, and Williamsburg was the birthplace, or origin of hipsterdom.  If High Fidelity were to come out now, those people would be identified as hipsters, ten years before that they were slackers, around 1980 they were new wave or part of the Madonna or Jean-Micheal Basquit art and music scene in SoHo.  If you go back further you can say the Velvet Underground were hipsters and before that Allen Ginsburg and his Beat Generation crew.  My point being, its a counter culture, you have a mainstream and then you have those that are either a bit ahead of the curve as far as societal values or those that are outsiders to what they consider a bland, corrupt, or evil mainstream of politics, banks and corporations.  In some ways they are right, but just like the hipster ethos will eventually become mainstream and co-opted by the corporations, you can look through history and see how this has happens with each counter culture movement along the way.    This is nothing new, and once Hipsterdom is fully mainstream it will die out and be reborn as something else. 

Jobs, career, what's admirable?

      It's funny what jobs society deems cool and which people look at with contempt, of course this varies on society, country and region, but universally some are seen as more admirable than others where ever you are in the world.  Actor, musician, writer, certain business people, artists, you get the picture.  Those jobs are seen as somehow better than janitor, garbageman, insurance salesman, but if you are going to die, and you can't take your job with you, what does it matter what you do for a living? Most people just need money to pay the bills or get by, so what does it matter what they do to make money.  Sure, you may say we admire those with talent, but that is something that should not be admired, it's like admiring someone for being tall, these are the gifts people are born with our without.   One should be admired for honesty, character, being humble, or better yet, no one should look down upon or admire anyone else.  The act of admiring others is basically an ego thing that comes down to putting yourself either above or below someone else, comparing, measuring.   Every person is on their own trip, it's your personal journey.  Do what you do to the best of your ability, don't worry about anyone else because you aren't perfect and neither am I. 

Slow Carb Diet week three

This is my third week on the Slow Carb Diet.  My weight this morning was 182 pounds down from my high of 197.5 around six weeks ago, I had started a version of the low carb diet but didn't start seeing real results until I started the strict slow carb diet.  This week my energy has been a bit lower but I feel this is because I have been eating mostly protein and vegetables, not as many beans as is recommended.  Today I had egg whites for breakfast with a bit of salsa and 4% cottage cheese, about one large scoop of the cottage cheese.  A chicken fajita bowl minus rice and cheese with some guacamole from Chipotle for lunch and a shredded beef fajita bowl minus rice and cheese for dinner also with a scoop of guacamole.  My mouth has been dry, I have been drinking quite a bit of water but this is something I am not sure why is happening.  Other than some minor cravings, for sugar and cheese, I am planning on continuing the slow carb diet for a long time, as long as I can.  Most of the restrictions can be adapted in most restaurants or places of dining once you get the hang of it.

Tape (film review) Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman

Very well written drama with sharp dialogue.  Linklater proves again here why he was one of the best writers of dialogue of the 90's.  Ethan Hawke plays a loose canon drug dealer and volunteer firefighter who travels to Lansing Michigan to attend his High School buddies film screening at the Lansing Film Festival.  The drama begins right as the two reconnect and keeps escalating.  Captivating interactions, great character studies and many twists and turns.  Again Linklater shows what can be done with solid actors, a good script and a low budget.  The entire film takes place in one room.  Incidentally this would be a good play as well.  Reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock s "Rope" which also took place in one room and built an intriguing story and film.  "Tape" is a thinking persons film, if you are looking for something cerebral this is a great choice, if you want lots of bangs and action look elsewhere.

Collapse (film review)

As a fan of Chris Smith the director of "Collapse" earlier work like "Home Movie" and "American Movie" I eagerly anticipated this 2009 documentary.  The film is well done, almost in Errol Morris style with a haunting score, and random clips played while the interviewee speaks.  Micheal Ruppert the subject of the film, has a long history of whistle blowing dating back to the 1980's.  He speaks in a style that is a combination of a conspiracy theorist and a professor but with a wealth of facts and knowledge.  Overall, his theories are intriguing about peak oil, and quite possibly he is right about what he says, however I disagree with his doom and gloom prophecies, I believe that necessity is the mother of invention.  With a combination of wind, solar, recycling and resourcefulness from local farming our species can avert the impeding depletion of the worlds remaining oil reserves assuming they are indeed running out.  He negates part of his own argument by referencing Cuba and how they turned to local farming and now are producing the best organic food they have had in years.  I do agree with him that our current industrial model of food production is completely wasteful and unsustainable.  Overall, a captivating film and worth watching.

Slacker (film review)

Oh college, good times.  Oh the early nineties, the pseudo intellectual college conversations with some small nuggets of wisdom here and there.  "Slacker" watching this film, 21 years after it came out it is clear how important this movie is now, was then in many ways.  The first is everyone in the film is much skinnier than people are today, no one is distracted by "Facebook" or "Twitter" on their phones while in a bar or coffee shop together.  People seem much more engaged in each others pseudo-intellectual conversations than they are today.  This film is a time capsule, in retrospect a more innocent time, a more peaceful and calmer time for America.   In many ways this movie was one of the first, if not the first to kick off the 90's independent movie renaissance, which only years later after "Pulp Fiction" became bought out by the Wienstiens.  This was before YouTube, before people could pick up a camera and make a movie but in many ways foreshadowed what was to come.  "Slacker" showed that good dialogue, a small budget and some creativity can produce an interesting, intriguing and fun film.  Cheers to Richard Linklater.

The Long Goodbye (film review)

Easily one of Altman's best films and an early precursor to other films later in the decade by the director. The Long Goodbye is a fine transition in style to Altmans later films like "Nashville" and "A Wedding" Elliot Gould does an outstanding job portraying the outre detective Phillip Marlowe, using his mumbling, bumbling, smart ass speaking style, as a technique to keep the film under the illusion that everything is in motion, like the ocean waves in the film, Marlowe speaks in a sort of beatnik type "Daddy-O" style combined with a smooth talking private eye, and the result works perfectly. The film works like it is timed by a metronome, it rolls along, seamlessly in a way that only Altman can achieve, and like the rhythm of the waves and Marlowe's speech, the camera is constantly in motion as well. The roving camera does an excellent job of allowing the viewer to feel as though they are witnessing more action than actually exists on screen.

Wade (Sterling Hayden) is a fantastic Hemingway-esque writer in the film. Hayden's size and booming voice, in conjunction with his alcoholism and potential brutality, lend an aroma of unpredictableness to his character. Wade's beautiful wife, who has a mysterious bruise on her face, is like a timid, loyal animal, subjected to the whims of her over bearing master. Henry Gibson, who plays Wade's doctor, is excellent as a sort of despotic mouse, who frightens an elephant into conforming to his will, this irony is one of the films intriguing, bizarre twists.

This film works well as a character study, and is one of the best films of the seventies. A must see for every student of film. 9/10

The Hangover (film review)

Like "Sex and the city" last summer was a film for women who acted stupid and vulgar, who dredged up the most moronic and insipid aspects of American culture, this is it's spiritual twin, the movie of the summer, the comedy that will make 300 million dollars, that morons will be quoting over and over even though the lines were not clever or quotable. The film is one five minute joke stretched out for what seems to be an eternity. I saw this today and spent 20 bucks including food on this piece of garbage, two hours of my life gone forever, if only I was as lucky as the characters in the film and could have forgotten the entire thing, what happens when you see the hangover stays with the hangover, that would be great. I actually left the theater hoping I didn't see anyone I knew as I was walking out because I was so embarrassed to have sat through the entire film. All in all this movie was no where near as good as the book, boring as hell, lame, stupid, embarrassing. It will make 300 million dollars this summer.

The Darjeeling Limited

As many people who have written comments on this film have said, I do believe that Wes Anderson is one of the most most important American filmmakers of his generation, however, not many other decent filmmakers exist in his generation. Obviously, he is better than Brett Ratner, or Micheal Bay, but compared to the generation before of Kubrick, Sydney Pollack and Roman Polanki (I realize he is from Poland) Anderson has a lot to live up to if he wants to be on the level of the big boys. That being said, Darjeerling Limited is a precious film which in theory is a great concept. Three emotionally damaged brothers from the leisure class exploring a land rife with spirituality, on a train together forced to cohabitat in close quarters while seeking "bonding" and "spiritual enlightenment", however, something is inherently contrived from the beginning. The opening short is somewhat pretentious in its attempt to become mysterious. Not without its charm, the hotel room is great, with its yellow and red interiors and Natalie Portman is gorgeous with short hair and grey overcoat, Wes Andersons true calling may be interior design because he dresses such pretty sets, but anyway, the film is clever without being laugh out loud funny and interesting for those like myself who have never been to India. The film does have its charm in that we have three lost souls drifting in a sea of loneliness all cramped together while speeding to some unknown and far off location. The problem is, we have seen Anderson do this before. I understand he is at the point now that he can pick and choose and continue to remake the same film, if he really wants to become a Kubrick, Polanski or Bunuel, he must make something different and show that he is more than a talented interior designer with a Beck like knowledge of film and the ability to cut and paste in order to build elaborate collages. Lets see him do a Horror film for starters, what made Kubrick great is that he could do comedy, horror, drama, period pieces, he was constantly pushing the envelope like any true artist yearns to do.

The Changeling (film review)

The first time I saw this film, I was about four years old. I'm not sure if I have slept right since, I am now twenty four and it still haunts me.

The tale of a lonely musician, who loses his wife and daughter in a terrible accident, and then decides to rent an old mansion in the pacific norhtwest, only to find the house has a history of it's own. The film is paced well, set perfectly, and reveals a darker side of the bourgeouis than most are willing to explore. A masterpiece.

The Cable Guy (film review)

When I saw this film for the first time in the theater in 1996 it was shortly after Ace Ventura had come out and a bit after Carey had left "In Living Color" what I was expecting was a screwball comedy, what I got was a dark cinematic masterpiece that I didn't appreciate until two years later when a friend insisted I watch it again. Jim Carey in this film demonstrates that he is a genius. One of the most talented, best acted, comedic performances of all time, no joke. This film is brilliantly written, not a bad note, skillfully directed and coupled with outstanding acting from Jim Carey this becomes one of those rare cinematic gems that like a fine French wine or Farrah Fawcet gets better with age, as time goes by this film gets better and better with each passing year and can only truly be appreciated with repeated viewings.

The Big Chill (film review)

First off, let me say this is a movie with a great cast of actors, most of them going on to really define themselves in other movies as true talents. That being said, this movie is really dated, and if it was other people acting in it would fail completely. Having lived in Ann Arbor for five years on the campus of the University of Michigan, I can honestly say that the director truly did capture the smug self importance of university of Michigan alumni. This he got down perfectly, as well as the narcissism and ego of the baby-boomer generation, who hypocritically dove head first into greed and money after sowing revolutionary oats in the sixties.

But most of all, this film seems to be about the confusion and despair those of that generation were during the early years of the , capitalist 80's. The characters reconnecting after one of their college friends killed himself because he felt he was a failure, speaks volumes for the self induced pressures placed on those of that time. Real or imaginary, failure didn't seem to be an option.

Tom Berrenger as the movie star character of J.T. Lancer, a take off of T.J. Hooker of course, seems the most out of place amongst this group of friends, he doesn't seem like a Michigan graduate, way too good looking and far less cerebral. Jeff Goldblum would be perfect, he would have been a student and graduate from Michigan, intelligent, smug, self important, selfish.

The woman who wants a baby, the character played by Mary Kaye Place, she claims she just wants someone to "Plant the seed" but when Jeff Goldblum offers she says something sarcastic about how it wasn't romantic, if she truly just wanted someone to plant the seed and nothing more romance shouldn't be a consideration. This of course is just one flaw in the film. Overall, at the time this came out, and for people of a certain generation I'm sure this was an important film, but now in this day and age it is way less relevant, as many wish they had the luxury of choosing to reject capitalism, most are struggling to get by during this time of the great reset.

Tenebre, (film review)

As a fan of Argento's earlier films such as Suspiria and Profundo Rosso, I found that Tenebre is in the same vane as the previous two. In saying that, a serpentine story that involves a great soundtrack and creative gore. As in most of Argento's films, it really is difficult to decipher who the murderer is and this is no exception. Not my favorite of his oeuvre, but worth while all the same. Argento is one the best Horror film directors of his day, or any day for that matter. For some reason the best Horror films came out of the 1970's, not only in America but worldwide. Something about the grain of the film or the lack of advanced special effects forced the directors to be more creative and use psychological rather than visual devices to tell the story. Hitchcock, Argento, Romero, and many others created the best horror in the seventies and to a lesser extent the early 80's.

Sweeney Tod, (film Review)

As a Tim Burton fan going back to seeing "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" in the theaters, I have followed Tim Burton's career and seen all his films. He is a true talent and "Sweeney Todd" did not disappoint. In Victorian England, Sweeney Todd returns to his home of London after being falsely imprisoned for fifteen years by the dastardly Alan Rickman, to find his wife ostensibly dead and his daughter imprisoned. He seeks revenge and quickly decides to take it out on all of London, not just the man who did him wrong, this was an interesting twist. The tone, as one could imagine, is very dark and Gothic, what Burton does best, but what makes Burton stand out amongst almost everyone else is that his visual style is accompanied by a very brilliant and dark sense of humor. The combination of these two things, together with fine acting performances, the boy who played Toby was outstanding, truly made this a haunting, surreal, dreamlike film that was well worth the price of admission. Who doesn't love Tim Burton's take on London? Dark, dirty, foggy and man those meat pies!

Single White Female, (film review)

I saw this movie in theater in 1992 and remember it being very entertaining and somewhat racy. Fourteen years later the film holds up well to the test of time. A major difference is in the level of nudity between this film and the thrillers of today. Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh are hot! lets see them naked and often. Barbet schroeder understands this, and we see them both naked from the onset of the film. The story and acting develop well, the dialog is well written and the camera work is adequate.

Jennifer Jason Leigh steals the show in this film, she does a superb job handling the transition in the character of Heddy with her body language and shyness into the transition of a sexually charged woman, who is assertive and obviously losing her grip on reality. She takes more risks and becomes bold and violent. Overall much better and more entertaining than any of the crap you will find being made today in Hollywood. Don't expect Shakespeare and just enjoy the ride.

Sideways, Alexander Payne, Film Review

After hearing much hullabaloo about how great this film was, it was hard to see it with an open mind. As a big fan of the previous Alexander Payne film Election, I was expecting a wry film with some interesting shots and editing. As a whole, this film disappointed me, it took a long time to get going and when it did, the characters depressed me, but not in the way they were supposed to. I have no problem watching two guys in a motel room, watching golf, as long as it is a home video of myself on vacation with a friend. As a matter of fact on second thought, I would rather watch a pot that was going to boil than watch two guys sitting in a motel room watching golf.

What stuck out in my mind the most about this film was its obvious parallel to Midnight Cowboy. You have the crippled con man who makes the oddest of friendships with the all American, ruggedly handsome, American man. Paul Giamatti of course being emotionally crippled and Dustin Hoffman physically, but you get my drift? Both blonde men in both films, have no problems with women, while the friends struggle just to survive in the world at all, the blonde men both believe that life is all about sex, and give the friends a hard time for not "getting any", and the crippled friends will let you believe that is the furthest thing from their minds. They don't seem believable as friends, yet they both need each other, and after time you see how they fill each others voids. I digress, back to Sideways, and put Midnight Cowboy on hold, the film tried to be too smart, the dialogue about why Paul Giamatti loves pinot was an obvious attempt at clever script writing, if you are watching a film thinking this is trying to be intelligent, rather than getting carried away by it, it is a failure and pretentious. The acting was pretty good however which is the only thing that saves this depressing waste of time about two men going through midlife crises. The only reason this film is worth while is for the acting. Go see Midnight Cowboy, and if you've already seen it, see Sam Peckinpahs Straw Dogs.

Shortcuts, Robert Altman (film review)

This movie exemplifies why Altman is one of the greatest American directors. It paints a picture of a community using broad strokes, you have every type of person here, all personalities represented and we see much in the way of human weakness and lust.

Altman is a master at weaving together stories that ostensibly shouldn't connect, other film makers like P.T. Anderson attempt to achieve the same effect with varied results. The uneven Magnolia and the stellar Boogie Nights are examples of mimicking the Altman style. Of the four films Altman attempts this technique "The Player, Short Cuts, Pret A Porter, Nashville and to a lesser extent M.A.S.H and McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Short Cuts is the most effective.

Highly recommended piece of American Cinema.