Catching Up on Some Movies & Oscar Best Picture Reviews, Part I

In the past several weeks I've been doing a lot of catching up on movies I've missed in the past 15 years or so. While in university and after, I hadn't the time or inclination to sit down in front of the teevee* and spend a couple of hours watching a story be told. All of the snow here in the northeast, as well as one of the worst big-four network line-ups in a long time (the greatest void coming with the conclusion of ABC's "LOST" last May) conspired into the design to finally see what some of these films had going for them.

At its most egregious, my movie ignorance included the Star Wars prequels released from 2001 to 2005. Admittedly, I had seen "Episode I: The Phantom Menace" once a few years after it came out. I remember dozing through it at a cousin's home shortly after a 6-hour drive out to WNY one summer. I had grown up with Star Wars. Like an old friend one hasn't seen in a while, the changes wrought in the Special Edition by George Lucas were a little jolting at first. Like a lot of people, I'm not sure Lucas can ever be forgiven for giving the world Jar Jar Binks, Hayden Christensen, or the 5th-grade dialogue of the screenplay. But then, I relaxed back into the story and to be honest, I was always more tuned to the series' visual qualities. At the end of "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" my Star Wars journey was essentially complete, the story known, the mystery solved. The prequels generally instilled an overarching sadness that hadn't been there for the original movies. The breakdown of Padmé's spirit by Anakin's vaulting ambition was something hinted at in the originals but portrayed with a larger degree of pathos by Natalie Portman. Visually, it was weird going from the modern look and CGI to the '70s hairstyles of Han, Lei and Luke (I'm not sure if Chewbacca can be described as having '70s hair). The series is finally scheduled to be released in the fall of this year on Blu-ray. Unlike all of Lucas' previous incremental releases designed to draw as much money from the franchise as he could from its devotees, I may be tempted to pick it up for Christmas.

● On its heels, I started watching many of the films mentioned in the Oscar discussion. "Black Swan" again featured Ms. Portman in an equally saddening meltdown, this time of her own accord. It's artistically dreary. The mise-en-scene throughout tattoos black and white into your soul --- especially the decor of stage director Thomas' (Vincent Cassel) apartment --- in the opposite way of how "Amelie" revived the screen immediately post-9/11 with super-enhanced reds, greens and blues. In director Darren Aronofsky's world, everything takes on a shade of black or white.  The world is a polarity of perfection in which the perfect black swan seductress also must be the perfect white swan innocent, raising the specter of the academic Madonna/whore feminist argument. We live in a world that prizes beauty and purity, but also paradoxically craves trashiness and unbridled lust. These things are mutually exclusive, and yet, our culture simultaneously demands them both from women. In Aronofsky's conceit, this demand to be two opposites in one body throws Nina into schizophrenic episodes of real and imagined self-destruction.

Another "Black Swan" theme is that anything that is not 100 percent must be thrown away. For instance, the cake that Barbara Hershey's character brings home is beautiful and huge (really, they make smaller cakes!), but when her ballerina daughter says she can't have any because of her upcoming role, the mother threatens to throw this beautiful creation in the garbage. Also, the older dancer, Beth (Winona Ryder), is no longer young and innocent, and is retired by Thomas, then apparently throws herself in front of a car. This is a thoughtful criticism of our times, when people have become less complex creatures the more society seems to demand that its inhabitants be totally engrossed in this or that world. Anything less than total dedication to that purpose is failure. Gold medal or bust! I suppose this has arisen out of the need for identify with something as a way to stand out from 6 billion other souls. But as a cost of this decrease in complexity and well-roundedness, people have become more shallow as their descriptors and interests are honed like a piece of broken mirror on a dressing room floor.

● At almost the opposite spectrum in character complexity, though, the Coen brothers' "True Grit" remake won me over. The only way Jeff Bridges does not win the Oscar for Best Actor is if the Academy is loathe to present it to him two years in a row. The Coens' movies are characteristically dark, but take on a Shakespearean Olde English kind of quality from their precise scripts and demand for careful annunciation (think George Clooney's turn in "O Brother Where Art Thou"). I am not denigrating this tactic, where the characters can seem somewhat wooden. Many of the Bard of Avon's characters have this same wooden quality yet are among the best in all literature. And yet, Bridges, as Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn, delivers these clunky lines with a natural ease in a hardened western accent. I am less convinced that Hailey Steinfeld's performance as a girl seeking revenge for her father's murder was of her own ability than it derived from the Coen machinations, but I greatly admire the gusto she puts into the film and the energetic and wise-beyond-her-years spirit she imbues Mattie with. I'm not normally a fan of Matt Damon, but he turned in a great character piece as a by-the-book Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (which they pronounce as "LaBeef"). I didn't pay much attention during the opening credits and it took me several minutes to realize it was indeed Ben Affleck's other half.

One note that I wanted to include was the theme of snakes. I've never read the book this was adapted from, which was written by Charles Portis, but they represent a bit of propriety. In many works, after an audience-friendly character kills someone unlawfully, even someone who we feel deserves it, there's a moralistic reaction --- whether it's the character throwing up, facing charges and being cleared, or by some other method where peril must be faced and judgment rendered. In "True Grit," after Mattie kills Tom Chaney (played by Coen-favorite Josh Brolin), she falls down a pit, where she is bitten by a snake and faces death. Through the movie, we see Rooster Cogburn lay down a circle of rope around himself when he sleeps by a campfire that ostensibly keeps snakes from coming close. Rooster is immune to the moral reckoning of the snakes because his actions --- as we're told, he has a history of killing his quarry in questionable circumstances of self-defense --- are done behind the star of a U.S. Marshal. 

In the concluding section of the movie, we find out that Mattie lost the snake-bitten arm. Mattie was only saved by Rooster's quick treatment and breaking the limits of a horse Mattie had impulsively bought when she was negotiating a refund of her father's original dealing with the broker. One sees that Rooster has come to admire this girl's own true grit. That is why he didn't ever collect the $50 remainder owed to him.

I've watched quite a few more titles but, again, I don't have the time or inclination to write about them at the moment. I will try to get in reviews of all 10 Best Pictures nominees before the Oscars air on 27 February.

* I know it's not AP Style or anything, but in private writing, I spell it like this in homage to "Willy Wonka..." 

(Images are © of their respective films. I have used official movie posters or publicity stills used elsewhere in the mass media)

State of the Union 2011 - Top Ten List

State of the Union 2011 - FACT CHECK: Obama and his imbalanced ledger

1) I want to "redouble" what the stimulus did... but simultaneously freeze spending.
2) I'm now totally *against* earmarks, after I was totally *for* earmarks.
3) Let me be clear. I'm willing to enact tort reform during my speeches, but unwilling to enact tort reform when it comes to actually enacting tort reform.
4) We must do what the Fiscal Commission proposed to reduce the deficit...... by not doing anything like what the Fiscal Commission proposed to reduce the deficit. Thank you to the members of this valuable group for sharing this plan --- that nobody read, no one wants to hear about, and which only potentially-suicidal politicians would want to follow --- at a few million dollars of taxpayer cost.
5) Social Security: 'Reduce benefits? No. Increase retirement age? No. Well... I'm sh-- out of ideas!'
6) Iran hasn't responded to sanctions, but my peeps in the White House told the NYT they sure as heck responded to the Stuxnet virus. Oh... wait, did I say that!? *AHEM* Let me be clear, that totally wasn't us! But still, I apologize on behalf of the American people. I don't know why I'm apologizing, but it usually makes me feel better. Quick... someone cue McCain for a cover version of "Bomb-bomb-bomb, bomb-bomb Iran (2008)."
‎7) Don't fear India and China --- they're partners for American innovation! When they steal our designs, infringe on our patents or reverse engineer our products and make them cheaper, people around the world will *still* buy American... because... it's... wait.... Are you sure about this, TelePrompTer? OK... if you say so!
8) Let me be clear. Jobs *will* come back to Main Street. When companies can't buy any more machines that do the work of five people --- without payroll tax, no Social Security tax, no HR costs, no health care coverage mandate.... Scratch that. Let me be clear. Jobs will *not* be coming back to Main Street, at least as long as I'm president around here!
9) Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car! Everybody gets a car!
10) I'm not recommending for every future president that they take a shellacking like I'm going to in 2012.

(photo © Ricky Carioti / The Washington Post)

The Snowstorm That Wasn't There

Woke up to a phone call at 4:00 this morning from a woman who reported that her road had not been plowed, and she couldn't get out of her driveway to get to work. As the de facto assistant road chairman for our lake association, this is upsetting. Until we look out the door and see... one inch of snow. (Just to make a due reference, more western parts of Connecticut got from 5 inches to a foot of snow.)

The snowplow contract calls for plowing when there is "in excess of 2 inches of accumulated snow in a single storm event." That's the same wording as it's been for time out of mind since this the lake association was formed about 60 years ago. So, the plow guy didn't even need to be out there for this... and yet, he was plowing the roads at 6 a.m.

Have half a mind to call this woman at 3 a.m. tomorrow and remind her that in the last two years, she hasn't paid her association dues (totaling $250) that pay for snowplowing. I have another half a mind to resign and let someone else do this thankless job where two or three people make 98 percent of the complaints, and in the words of Sherlock Holmes, we have to "make bricks without clay." Consider the roads budget of $13,000... of which, the lowest of seven plowing bids was $11,000 for the season. That's just plowing. It does not include sanding to prevent icing. There are 4 dirt/gravel roads that need twice-yearly grading. Add it all up, and this association may just barely get by with the current state of things, if we don't have a bad winter.

I have no problem being woken up by people with legitimate problems that we have volunteered to administrate --- or grab a 22" chainsaw --- to achieve the working order of 3 miles of roads. We go to monthly meetings, conduct bidding processes, and make a list of priorities for road repairs, short- and long-term. I am willing to devote some of my free time to ensure that people can travel safely. I do have a problem with idiots waking us up because they're too stupid to know how to drive in an inch of snow.

This is New England! There are certain realities that you need to accept when living here. Among them:
     • There is no process whereby snow can be removed as soon as it touches the ground.
     • 4x4 / Four Wheel Drive / All Wheel Drive is damn near a necessity
     • Connecticut Yankees don't take kindly to people who regularly bitch and moan about the after-effects of Acts
       of God being anything less than perfect. Most of the time in snow removal --- or most other processes ---
       conditions have to be left at "good enough."
     • Most things in life are covered by the Project Triangle, which can be summed up with the phrase, "Good. Cheap.
       Fast. Pick two." Snow-plowing is no exception.

Holidays 2010

I figured that I ought to post on my blog before I'm charged with neglect and stripped of my guardianship status....

The last month has been one thing after the other. Always something to do, from the everyday maintenance tasks required in the household, to setting up all the trappings of the holiday, to dealing with the unexpected.

In the second year of our artificial tree, we got some new ornaments to fill out the increase in coverage area --- and replace ones that dated from the 70s and 80s and were in sad condition. I also had to string in some new lights to cover for half a string that wouldn't light. That's really disappointing, but it's not unexpected in these days where all the 'Made in China' products are designed to break in short order so we have to buy more 'Made in China' stuff. I try to 'Buy American' when it's possible and worthwhile, but that's often a fruitless and frustrating search.

We got our Christmas shopping done in spurts. Lincoln Log sets for my nieces along with some educational books and a snow tube. I'm not someone who believes in buying baubles for people, so my gifting is almost always things that are of everyday use. Mom & Dad got a set of 10" and 12" Calphalon nonstick frying pans. My brother got an apple peeler/slicer and a stainless steel food mill (the type for making tomato/apple/pear sauce and, come to find out, can be used for mashed potatoes). Also, we gave some maple cream ordered online from Sugarbush Hollow farm in upstate New York. Otherwise, we're filling in with some gift certificates that are earmarked for books or home wares.

I've been preparing quite a bit of comfort food and trying to maintain some sense of order in the refrigerator as things have been coming in. As one example, I've become something of a pusher for the bottles of beer that have accumulated and encroached on my leftover storage space.

The woodpile needed some replenishing, as we burn about 4-1/2 to 5 cords of wood per winter. We have plenty of unsplit supply at our woodlot, but the seasoned stacks are getting pretty low. I hope the two trailer loads we got will hold out. "Gettin' in the wood" and doing some splitting for next year's supply would seem to be the next project. That's going to be a little challenging, what with the near blizzard that is currently dumping a projected 12"-24" of snow by tomorrow morning. This isn't the best time of year to be outside splitting wood in terms of the weather, but I suppose it is the best time in an effort to avoid ticks and Lyme disease, which has a high incidence in this area.

So, onward and upward as we close out this year. I suppose I will be back shortly to post some New Years' resolutions. That's not something I've ever done with any seriousness, but it might not be a bad idea to list out some goals for 2011.

Christmas Trees

By Robert Frost (A Christmas circular letter - 1920)

The city had withdrawn into itself
And left at last the country to the country;
When between whirls of snow not come to lie
And whirls of foliage not yet laid, there drove
A stranger to our yard, who looked the city,
Yet did in country fashion in that there
He sat and waited till he drew us out
A-buttoning coats to ask him who he was.
He proved to be the city come again
To look for something it had left behind
And could not do without and keep its Christmas.
He asked if I would sell my Christmas trees;
My woods — the young fir balsams like a place
Where houses all are churches and have spires.
I hadn’t thought of them as Christmas Trees.
I doubt if I was tempted for a moment
To sell them off their feet to go in cars
And leave the slope behind the house all bare,
Where the sun shines now no warmer than the moon.
I’d hate to have them know it if I was.
Yet more I’d hate to hold my trees except
As others hold theirs or refuse for them,
Beyond the time of profitable growth,
The trial by market everything must come to.
I dallied so much with the thought of selling.
Then whether from mistaken courtesy
And fear of seeming short of speech, or whether
From hope of hearing good of what was mine, I said,
"There aren’t enough to be worth while."
"I could soon tell how many they would cut,
You let me look them over."

“You could look.
But don’t expect I’m going to let you have them.”
Pasture they spring in, some in clumps too close
That lop each other of boughs, but not a few
Quite solitary and having equal boughs
All round and round. The latter he nodded “Yes” to,
Or paused to say beneath some lovelier one,
With a buyer’s moderation, “That would do.”
I thought so too, but wasn’t there to say so.
We climbed the pasture on the south, crossed over,
And came down on the north. He said, “A thousand.”

“A thousand Christmas trees! — at what apiece?”

He felt some need of softening that to me:
“A thousand trees would come to thirty dollars.”

Then I was certain I had never meant
To let him have them. Never show surprise!
But thirty dollars seemed so small beside
The extent of pasture I should strip, three cents
(For that was all they figured out apiece),
Three cents so small beside the dollar friends
I should be writing to within the hour
Would pay in cities for good trees like those,
Regular vestry-trees whole Sunday Schools
Could hang enough on to pick off enough.
A thousand Christmas trees I didn’t know I had!
Worth three cents more to give away than sell,
As may be shown by a simple calculation.
Too bad I couldn’t lay one in a letter.
I can’t help wishing I could send you one,
In wishing you herewith a Merry Christmas.

(image (c) Four Winds Ranch)

Fits and Starts

In a scene in the movie "Swing Time," Fred Astaire had to toss an umbrella across a room, into an umbrella stand. On the day of filming, it just didn't go his way. He later said,

"I did it 45 times, and it always hit the edge. So I said, 'That's it! Tomorrow morning, first thing, I'm coming back, and I'm going to get [it] … I came back next morning fresh as a daisy, and that umbrella went into the stand on the first take."

I can't begin to tell how many times things have gone like this at times for me --- where the feel of something isn't right and you know you should quit or do something else for a while, and come back to the problem later. There is a great amount of wisdom in knowing the moment when you have to take a step back, rather than pressing on and making a problem worse by building up frustration. Working while angry is not generally conducive to productivity --- things get thrown, work gets sloppy and the anger consumes energy and tires its host. Admitting that something isn't working, rethinking and regrouping is not a sign of failure. A break often lets us see the problem in a different way --- either through analysis, remembering something forgotten, visualizing something going right and the steps necessary, and in physical challenges like in Mr. Astaire's case, getting a fresh spatial read on the situation and what the solution is going to take. I'm a big fan of productive breaks when there's something else that can be worked on.

And then there are some days when it's like the universe is telling you to go back to bed and wait for tomorrow. I had one of those days several years ago. It started with running out of battery charge in the middle of shaving, and the day went downhill from there. I don't remember the specifics, but I do remember that quite literally, nothing --- not one thing --- went right. In the evening I decided to wash a load of clothes and "try to get something productive done today." About a minute after the water started running into the washing machine, the plastic casing on the whole-house filter, located directly above the washer, cracked and stared spewing water, water everywhere. There are days like that. But, fortunately I've found, these days are often closely followed by ones where it seems like nothing can go wrong. It all evens out in the end.

10 November 2010

It's been awhile since my last post and I'm entering a blog post to inform all of my readers (that is, myself) that I am still alive and kicking. Since I last wrote, me and my cousin installed a tile floor in the same basement as in the post immediately below. In flooring you are given certain givens that are hard (and sometimes nigh impossible) to overcome satisfactorily. In many other applications, like the wall veneering, things can be mitigated and jury-rigged.... but a floor has to be level. Or, as level as one can get it. It would've helped in this particular house if the guys who poured the foundation / basement floor back in the '60s had actually been sober or gave a sh-- what they were doing. We managed to produce something workable out of the nightmare scenario that was present. I have done a 4' x 5' tiling job before using adhesive and pre-mixed grout, but it would have been nice to learn the from-scratch mastic and sanded grout tiling on a level floor. It was nice to be able to work with my cousin on this one; besides good-natured ribbing about him being a Democrat, we see things eye-to-eye and get along very well.

Foremost, I think, is our appreciation for using quality materials and doing a job correctly one time, as opposed to times when a homeowner buys straw and expects the installer to turn it into gold. Doing a job right the first time is always less expensive than paying to put in shoddy materials, then paying to deconstruct and reinstall when they fail. I ran into a family friend at Lowe's a while ago who was finally buying a good-quality kitchen faucet after having gone through four cheap models in the previous 5 years. This person has a buddy who'll install the faucet for a case of beer, so that is something of a saving grace rather than paying a plumber. Now, the savings on the so-called "cheap" models is about $40 give or take. But, rather than put in a reliable Kohler or Moen brand for a one-off $200, this guy probably spent $580 to $600 on faucets in the last five years. Whereas, picking the right faucet at the outset would have saved him about $400 and four cases of beer (plus, as he said it, the "Wife Inconvenience Factor" of not having water during each of those removal and installs).

-----

Got Ruff a so-called "Gentle Leader" collar yesterday and after some fits and starts, he was doing pretty well with it today on a walk on the dirt roads up the hill where I like to walk with him. This collar's function is to provide some tension on the muzzle so there is no lunging or pulling while walking. Apparently, this muzzle hold is what the wolf pack alpha uses to keep the others in line; nature and 10,000 years of domestication hasn't changed this methodology. Even for the first use (and I found out after the walk that I had missed a doohickey that eliminates slack in one of the straps), it seemed to calm him down a lot. I expect to be putting it to the test more in the coming days and weeks, and I'm certain it'll get my unvarnished opinion right here on TMT.