James Bond @ MindSay 
james
First off, I started the job Friday morning. I received an 8:15 wake up call from the temp agency telling me to get there as soon as possible. The place is basically an assembly line of meats and cheeses. It's very clean and I have to wear a white over coat, plastic gloves, a hairnet, plastic arm covers, and rubber covers on my shoes. If/when I touch anything (doorknobs, the floor, my hair or face, etc.) I have to rewash my hands. I don't know how I feel about this job. I mean, my first day went well and a jobs a job but, lets be honest, this is definitely a shit job for sure. We'll just have to wait and see.
On Monday Senator Barack Obama is giving a speech in town at the Lansing Center. I really wish I could go but I'll be working tomorrow. Yesterday morning they gave away free tickets at the coffee shop I'm writting this from. The line started forming at around midnight Friday and by the time the shop opened at 9 the line was around the block and stretched almost four blocks. The tickets went fast and were gone in a matter of hours. If I weren't working tomorrow I probably would have gotten up way early and been in that line. Besides that, my Dad took the day off yesterday so I had to watch the shop. Oh well, life goes on. Besides I'll have at least four years to maybe catch him speaking come November
. Alright, so, as predicted; my friendship with Coral once again proved to be a futile effort. I'm not surprised either. But it's like why do I bother? Our lifestyles and personalities don't mesh well that's why every attempt at a friendship or relationship with her has failed. She's and overly emotional somewhat crazy woman and I'm more of a laid back guy. Things just always seem to get fucked up. (I may go into greater detail in a "Friends Only" blog later)
But right now the thing that really has me stoked (besides Obama coming to town tomorrow) is the next James Bond film. Quantum of Solace not only looks amazing from the trailer (see it HERE) But I read on line from a number of sources that the theme song will be written by Jack White (of the White Stripes and the Raconteurs) and will be preformed by him in a duet with Alicia Keys. How awesome. I mean, talk about a dream match-up!
Mark
Andy Warhol:
Most of the Andy Warhol movies I saw don't really count. They had Andy Warhol bootlegs at this rental place and the disc would skip and I didn't see most of them all the way through.
Beauty #2 (1965)
Chelsea Girls (1966) Split screen throughout the film.
Heat (1972) This one was supposed to be based on Sunset Blvd. It features some of the worst acting I've seen in my life.
Poor Little Rich Girl (1965) It features Edie Sedgwick out of focus for the first 1/2. The second half was better. She was listening to Bob Dylan and the Everly Brothers and goofing off..
Vinyl (1965)
Bette Davis:
In This Our Life (1942)
Madame Sin (1972)
Phone Call from a Stranger (1952)
Satan Met a Lady (1936)
That Certain Woman (1937)
Claude Chabrol:
Liens de sang, Les /Blood Relatives (1978) Pretty lame.
Une partie de plaisir (1975) Not great.
David Cronenberg:
"Teleplay" (1976): The Lie Chair and The Italian Machine / not that great.
The Brood (1979) I really liked this one. Creepy, if you've ever been a kid!! Or if you think creepy kids would scare you.
Crash (1996/I) This is supposed to be one of D.C.'s worst movies. I didn't listen to everyone who told me this, because I thought it was just because they didn't like the plot (people getting turned on by car crashes). They could have done so much more with this plot, let me tell you. It's not the plot that stinks, but the movie itself. Phew!
Emir Kusturica:
Crna macka, beli macor / Black Cat, White Cat (1998) See "Babel" -I really liked BCWC. It was funny. I saw this maybe 3 days before I saw "Babel" again. Screenwriter Guillermo Arriga said he was going to make a movie called "Black Dog, White Dog" and a week later Emir Kusturica announced his new film: "Black Cat, White Cat." (He also said he was going to call Babel "The Last Day" but Gus van Sant called his rock star movie "Last Days." I think G.A. still could have gotten away with it, but I think he wanted to avoid confusion.
Otac na sluzbenom putu / When Father Was Away On Business (1985)
Family Guy:
"Family Guy: Blind Ambition (#4.3)" (2005)
"Family Guy: Don't Make Me Over (#4.4)" (2005)
"Family Guy: Fast Times at Buddy Cianci Jr. High (#4.2)" (2005)
"Family Guy: North by North Quahog (#4.1)" (2005)
James Bond:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) Ok.
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) Probably the James Bond with the sexiest storyline. The car was cool too.
Jean-Pierre Melville:
Enfants terribles, Les (1950) Got the recommendation from a guy I randomly met twice. Not that great of a film, though.
Un flic (1972) I wasn't gung ho on this one.
Luis Bunuel:
Hurdes, Las (1933) Ok.
Mort en ce jardin, La (1956) Not that great.
Nazarín (1959) Wonderful.
Robinson Crusoe (1954) Sort of ok.
Pedro Almodovar:
Pepi, Luci, Bom y otras chicas del montón (1980) This was extremely offensive and at the same time very good.
Tacones lejanos / High Heels (1991) Interesting.
Robert Bresson:
Argent, L' (1983) Not my favorite.
Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut (1956) "
David Lynch:
·"On the Air" (1992)
David Lynch - On the Air - 1992, 2-4
David Lynch - On the Air - 1992, 3-4
David Lynch - On the Air - 1992, 4-4
I saw most of a David Lynch directed episode on YouTube. It's interesting and slapstick. I'm not sure I'd be glued to the tube for this one, and unfortunately, it got canceled. :(
·Also saw a David Lynch appearance on Jay Leno (YouTube). He was promoting On the Air.
Other:
Atalante, L' (1934) This one is supposed to be a classic, but I didn't really like it.
Babel (2006) (second viewing) Saw this again because screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga was speaking. He was older than I thought, nicer than I thought, and very humble. He is no longer on good terms with director Innaritu, however he didn't diss him, just politely disagreed on a credit issue.
Bez konca / No End (1985) I was disappointed by this.
Border Radio (1987) It was showing at the Egyptian Theater because of the DVD release. Allison Anders and most of the cast was there. It was an exciting night and the movie was pretty fun and interesting to watch.
Céline et Julie vont en bateau (1974) Not my favorite Rivette. Not sure why it is so famous, but worth a watch. These girls in their twenties act like they're 10. But whatever.
Femmes, Les (1969) What I thought was just going to be some trashy vehicle for Brigitte Bardot was actually pretty funny and entertaining!
Hard Candy (2005) I had been waiting about a year to see this one. Finally, it arrived on DVD. I was extremely disappointed. It was extremely lame and did not live up to my expectations. There were some good moments.
Jour se lève, Le (1939) Most people rave about this movie. I wasn't thrilled w/it, because it reminded me too much of Fury (1936). Funny. That movie came out 3 years before Le Jour Se Leve, so my bet is that Marcel Carne ripped it off or got a little too inspired by it.
Kicking and Screaming (1995) This is by Noah Baumbach who co-wrote The Life Aquatic and who wrote & directed The Squid & the Whale. I like both of those movies, but found Kicking and Screaming to be awful. Lots of sarcastic talk about bestiality. Um, do I want to hear that? Lots of talk about sex with just anyone. I didn't find it to be my favorite.
Kung-Fu master / Le Petit Amour (1987) This was one of the worst Agnes Varda films I've seen. An older woman (40) gets involved with a guy her daughter's age (14). The way the French view underage relationships. Ooh la la!
Lásky jedné plavovlásky / Loves of a Blonde (1965) Not my favorite, but a semi-interesting Milos Forman movie.
Laberinto del Fauno, El /Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Guillermo Del Toro was there for two minutes (so I saw him twice this month). The movie was really good, but somehow just wasn't one of my favorites. I was astounded how good of an actress the little girl was (Ivana Baquero).
The Last Kiss (2006) This was so terrible. I'm glad I didn't see it in the theater. The DVD was sort of skipping and I almost didn't get to see it all the way through. Avoid at all costs. Sure Zach Braff is sorta cute, but get your fix through Garden State.
Lola (1961) Fantastic! I liked it.
The Major and the Minor (1942) A little bit silly, but one of the few Billy Wilder films I have never seen. Ginger Rogers was cute in it, trying to pass as a 12 year old girl so she could get 1/2 fare for a train back home.
Maman et la putain, La (1973) A lot of people say they love this movie.
Mon homme (1996) I love the director, but had trouble locating this movie. It is by far his worst film.
Nénette et Boni (1996) Hated it. hated it. hated it. Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi making out with Vincent Gallo? What?
Night on Earth (1991) Jim Jarmusch. I liked. (spoiler, maybe) 5 stories. The first story starts off with a chick who's entirely content with her life. Each story is more serious than the previous one. By the fifth story, the guy is completely dissatisfied as life has taken away more than it has given him.
Partner (1968) Terrible Bertolucci.
Performance (1970) When I rented this one, the guy at the video store said, "Wild choices as always." Just how wild I was about to find out.
Petite voleuse, La (1988) Based on a Francois Truffaut script - made after he died. With Charlotte Gainsbourg. Okay.
Pierrot le fou (1965) I liked it. But the first time I tried seeing this (2-3 years ago) I gave up on it, because the narrative was all over the place and I couldn't get into it. It was good though.
Septième ciel, Le /Seventh Heaven(1997) ok.
Signé Charlotte (1985) Isabelle Huppert is a punk singer from the '80s. It's pretty funny in retrospect, but wasn't astounding. Why? Well, it was directed by her sister.
Sitcom (1998) Pretty wild. Entertaining. From Francois Ozon.
Sous le soleil de Satan (1987) Alright.
Thieves Like Us (1974) Altman
Toto le héros (1991) I wasn't over ecstatic about it, despite numerous recommendations.
Vampyr - Der Traum des Allan Grey (1932)
Waking Life (2001) Every character talked like they were a grad student. Highly annoying, and yet somewhat interesting.
Silents:
A Fool There Was (1915) Theda Bara movie on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pa1lvWfAn8). Not the best, but hey I made it all the way through!
Haldane of the Secret Service (1923) When I found out a local theater was playing a movie w/Harry Houdini, my first thought was: Harry Houdini made films!?!? He financed this picture himself and made quite a bit of money. It was his last film before he died. The thing was, it wasn't that great of a film, though.
Live piano player: Richard Friend
They also showed the following short films that night:
Farfalle (1908) (second viewing) This short was included on the Rien ne va plus / The Swindle DVD. I got the chance to see it yet again when I saw the Houdini movie. It seemed there was an additional few minutes of ladies dressed up in kimonos. A Japanese "butterfly" movie done by the French. Who'd have thought?
His Musical Career (1914) What I saw was actually called "The Piano Tuner" and was an "east coast" film. However, the plot is exactly the same. They are to deliver a piano to 666 Green St. and they end up delivering it to 999 Brown St. or some such thing.
An Incompetent Hero (1914) This one was about three fat men and would have probably been offensive today.
Universal Studios Tour - Life in Hollywood(1923) They showed a bunch of actors that were popular at the time, but that I really have no clue about today!
Additional Short Films:
Breakaway (1966) This one is by director Bruce Conner. cutandpaste wrote about Bruce Conner and I decided to check him out on YouTube. Unfortunately most of the Bruce Conner movies have since been taken down. It's a bummer, because most of them were good.
Naughty Nurse (1969) / The Secret Cinema (1968) (second viewing) Weirdly enough, I had seen Secret Cinema before. Where? I have no clue. I browsed the indie section of my video store and researched the most interesting looking titles before deciding on this set of films. Naughty Nurse was so bad that I really couldn't get through it.
Valse Triste (1977) Bruce Conner.
Vivian (1965) My favorite Bruce Conner film.
Turned off:
Kumonosu jô / Throne of Blood (1957) I was not about to watch another Japanese horror movie even though this one was highly rated.
Lolita (remake) (1997) Hated it. I would have seen all of it, but I sort of lost interest and it was just getting to be way too much!
Clip of:
The Terror of Tiny Town (1938) I saw this on Myspace videos. An all midget western musical. Funny? Sort of.
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Favorites: Nazarín, Lola (1961), Night on Earth (1991), and Laberinto del Fauno, El /Pan's Labyrinth (2006). Honorable mentions: Crna macka, beli macor / Black Cat, White Cat (1998).
Worst movies: Besides the ones I've turned off, Nénette et Boni (1996), The Last Kiss (2006), and Kung-Fu master (1987). Kicking and Screaming (1995) was probably the most disappointing.
Waiting.
That seems to be the theme of this new year. Waiting to finish work. Waiting to finish school. Waiting for the bloody phone to ring.... (okay so the guy that I am waiting for the call from is actually reading his nephews a bedtime story right now so all you girls out there can 'aw' over that fact especially since they are 5 and 6 years old and the practically worship their uncle).
Here is the conclusion that I have come to- waiting sucks. But patience is a virtue so I should really practice that.
Everyone seems to be writing their reviews of 2006 so I thought that I should join in on that too. That's right, I'm a sheep. BAH BAH FREAKIN' BAH! Let the fun commence...
January- pretty uneventful for me. I had classes and work. I hung out with my friends a lot. That pretty much sums up January. Oh, and judging by the number of surveys that I did that month, I was really bored. Also, it is important to note that I voted that month and the conservatives won the election. Yay!
February- I developed a crush on a guy, I saw Relient K in concert and met them before the show, and I had a nice reading week for the most part. On a sad note, one of my co-workers was in a car accident and she did not make it. RIP Crystal Gardener.
March- I asked the boy out for coffee. Well, at least I can say that I got a good cup of coffee out of it. Other than that, it was a waste. Tom and his g/f broke up and then got back together 2 weeks later. My brother and his g/f broke up and about a month later, he discovered his love for another woman who is quite wonderful.
April- Exams happened in April. That pretty much sums up that month.
May- I started my film studies spring class. It was a lot of fun and I got to watch some awesome films that I had not even heard of. I made a really good friend. I discovered some new books that are amazing. The hippies won on the Amazing race which rocked because they were my favourite team. The Oilers kicked some butt playing hockey.
June: One of my friends lost one of their friends to a long battle against leukemia. RIP Natalie. I got into an argument with one of my best friends because he stood me up. I asked a guy to my sister's wedding. He actually left a few days later for Amsterdam so I didn't have a date for the wedding, but the important thing is that I asked. I felt like shouting into an abyss at several points. I met a cool guy and haven't seen him since. Oh well. What can I do?
July- My sister got married this month. It was amazing. I had so much fun at the wedding (I was the maid of honour) and I had a blast with the planning and everything. I got to see all my family and we drank and danced a lot. It was also during this month that my parents celebrated their 25th anniversary so we got to have another big party. It was so much fun. On a sad note, it was during this month that my cousin decided that the world had upset her enough and so she ended her life. I had only met her a couple of times but I was really affected by this. It wasn't that I was grieving the loss but moreso that I was so mad at her. I have never felt that angry in my life but I found some solice in talking with my friends.
August- Nothing really exciting happened in August. I worked and that's about it.
September- I bravely faced another year of university but I did it this year on my own. With Thomas J off doing his student teaching and Jacqui off working for the term, I set about on my own. I made some rather good friends though and they made life a lot easier. I discovered things that I really liked and I learnt how to live somewhat independently while my parents were away on their second honeymoon (they went to Holland and Italy). I went to see Matt Costa in concert (actually bumped shoulders with him at one point) and fell in love with him all over again. At the end of the month, I went to see The Beach Boys. It was one of the best nights of my life.
October- This is the month that I turned 21. For my birthday, my brother and his g/f and my sister and her husband all pitched in and got me a ticket to see The Who. That concert was one of the best nights of my life. Thanksgiving was fun. I had a great birthday. I wrote a bunch of papers and midterms. Woo. I worked a lot (I think that there is a theme of working over the course of this year). I did some writing again. I discovered that one of my oldest and dearest friends has changed and that we no longer have much in common. It's hearbreaking especially when he was at one point in my life the Dawson to my Joey.
November- This month seems to drag on forever. It's probably because it is the last month of school and everything is due. It was a frustrating month. I did presentation after presentation and exam after exam and paper after paper. I pulled 2 all nighters which wasn't cool at all. In other words, oi.
December- What can I say about December? The first bit was okay and then everything fell apart. I did well on my finals which made me happy. My prof told me that I am smart. I was happy and ready for Christmas. That was until I got the phone call that changed everything. Thomas J and his girlfriend were in a car accident and she did not make it. It's just heartbreaking. I spoke to him tonight and I just wanted to reach out and hug him. Soon after that, my great aunt died. It hasn't exactly been the happiest of Christmases around these parts. RIP Kirsten and Tante Wilma.
It's been an interesting year as I look back on it. I hope that 2007 is a lot nicer to everyone. I know that it started out rather well for me. I mean, I got checked out today, I talked with some old friends, and I got to talk to Thomas J on the phone today.
And besides, this year has to be good because it is the year of James Bond.
is the sex. Not just any sex but THE sex. What a beautiful man.
As you can telll, I've seen the movie Casino Royale. Twice. In the past week.
Daniel is by far the best Bond I've seen. And I'm in love. :)
I told Matt yesterday that I feel like a weirdo. Why you ask? Because of the men I find attractive.
Gordon Ramsey, Julian McMahon, Anthony Hopkins (ok, that's got more to do with his brain and how cultured and intelligent he is), Viggo Mortensen....see a pattern here?
I've never liked pretty boys. Never. I've always found older, more experienced, more rugged men handsome.
I mean, look at Daniel Craig (Bond, James Bond). We watched a movie with him in it the other night called Layer Cake. Ok, I didn't like the movie, it didn't make a whole lotta sense, but it's the first thing I've seen Daniel Craig in, and all I could think was that he will be really hot when he's like, 40 or 50. (I have no idea how old he is now.) He's 38...I just looked.
Is it just me?????
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