tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70096811695852871752009-12-19T18:51:03.606-08:00Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-89239674739898902692009-12-13T11:42:00.000-08:002009-12-13T11:53:55.032-08:00

After the film, I thought Pete Jones, the actor playing the protagonist (as well as writer and director) must be gay, but it turns out he has a wife and kids. I suppose he must have some great gay friends because the film turned out well. I'd read some criticism on imdb of the film that it wasn't gay enough. But actually I thought it was pretty well spot on and rang pretty well true.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-27792048917274153942009-12-13T11:31:00.000-08:002009-12-14T12:43:01.010-08:00

Finally saw it beginning to end on dvd. I'd previously only seen the second half on a plane. How excellent!The dvd has some enlightening extras including a part in the "making of" about lens flares when in fact during the movie, I noticed that these were nice realistic lighting effects that I had never seen before. It also talks about the camera shaking, mirrors and miniatures. J.J. Abrams is

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-65239378730039545072009-11-27T22:44:00.000-08:002009-12-04T23:30:28.387-08:00

A few minutes in, I thought about leaving the theater. I only went because the person I went with seemed interested in it, but of course I'd forgotten that this person is quite uninformed about movies. And damn that Google movies website with it's 4/5 star rating. I'll never trust Google movies again. (I just checked imdb now, and it gave a more accurate 4.5/10 rating.) I had thought that

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-26723623735886731682009-11-08T20:49:00.000-08:002009-11-11T23:18:51.243-08:00

I heard about this book while in Paris on CNN. It's a 2007 book which basically goes back to WWII and reviews ten choices made which altered the course of the war dramatically. They are all fascinating. A couple which I had no idea about were the choices of Japan at that time to continue its aggression against China and the rest of Asia -- it was at the time highly dependent on American oil --

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-45166559437813196972009-10-31T13:28:00.001-07:002009-11-01T10:22:25.689-08:00

Leave it to a woman to figure out a workable dating method. But it seems surprisingly sensible. Boiled down: what usually works is if both people bring -- not necessarily the same thing -- but something equivalent to the table. First off, if a person is a real loser in every way, that person would never rate a winner in any way. Since people value different things, perhaps the author's

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-23202120813728556702009-10-11T22:58:00.000-07:002009-10-17T12:51:31.182-07:00

My favorite (warning: spoiler) passage:Shooting the messenger is one of humanity's sillier foibles, and it underlies a good slice of the opposition to evolution that I mentioned... 'Teach children that they are animals, and they'll behave like animals.' Even if it were true that evolution, or the teaching of evolution, encouraged immorality, that would not imply that the theory of evolution was

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-17438560873798730272009-10-09T13:33:00.000-07:002009-10-17T12:08:45.477-07:00

Portland is the US beer capital. This place has got a gazillion different ones. If you're confused when confronted by the menu, it's worth trying the chocolate beers.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-83415761407735294272009-09-23T08:39:00.000-07:002009-09-23T15:51:01.134-07:00

It's an in your face message to men, including gay ones, about the incomprehensible need women have for 'romance', the perversely increasing desirability of a man when he is already loved by another woman, and womens' disregard for men's looks. Let's just say Bardem is quite far from the gay male ideal. I didn't get this movie. Perhaps, I just don't want to. This is a Woody Allen film, no

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-88858541149783827502009-09-22T01:25:00.000-07:002009-09-22T01:56:24.416-07:00

The midwest neighborhood is extremely volatile with teenage thugs around every corner in gangs of all races, seemingly egged on in testosterone filled quests to display dominance and carry out violence. The movie does a good job of side-stepping the need to explain this lack of chill behavior by focusing on old Korean war veteran Walt played by Clint Eastwood. A fascinating, direct, seemingly

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-11844501140938954562009-09-20T12:18:00.000-07:002009-09-22T01:52:51.983-07:00

It could otherwise be entitled, something like: the strange and unhappy things that happen when you marry a strange person. Both DiCaprio and Winslet are very good in this film about a tumultuous marriage. The movie does surprisingly well at allowing the viewer see this from both points of view. Later it becomes clear to the practical and realists in the audience, that one of them is a villian

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-75771310776140719622009-09-11T00:46:00.000-07:002009-09-11T16:02:15.653-07:00

Several years ago, when there were sitcoms and I watched more tv: 2 guys, a girl and a pizza place had Ryan Reynolds in it. He was easy on the eyes back then. In this movie, he's in as good a form. The story has the usual romantic comedy contrivances, but overall funny and engaging, and pleasant to watch. Actually, it's too bad I saw it on a tiny screen on a plane.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-52725343163612839472009-09-11T00:35:00.000-07:002009-09-11T21:46:20.331-07:00

The mysterious male bonding ritual as portrayed here is actually at points shown at its most powerful, where a male friend can be a great ally, sounding board for ideas, fun. Of course, we all know this, but its interesting in this story of a man who never found it interested him enough to try to develop such friendships until his fiancee worries that he'll be groomsmen-less at the ceremony.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-89471889704342515942009-09-01T16:09:00.000-07:002009-09-15T01:11:17.555-07:00

Department stores in Paris are generally very expensive and don't hold sales except twice a year. This seems very stupid, but it's the way they work. So generally I suggest not to waste time in the department stores unless you don't mind paying more than what you would pay in the US. There are a few standalone clothing store chains, not boutiques, which had men's clothing for more reasonable

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-51004291546890639892009-08-04T14:58:00.000-07:002009-08-06T23:26:34.984-07:00

Very interesting book. It discusses the instinctive versus thinking mind. There are pitfalls of the 'thinking' brain such as loss aversion and difficulty with high complexity. The book highlights that very experienced people, quarterbacks, poker players, have instincts which can be correct and these have to be relied upon in some brief decision window situations rather than the slower '

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-74769640256053543552009-08-04T12:47:00.001-07:002009-08-08T13:39:44.709-07:00

You might think Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keefe would be more exciting than Richard Avedon. You'd be wrong. I'd seen Avedon's American West at the Cantor (Stanford) exhibit a few years ago, and I knew he was good. But the SF MoMA exhibit has those as well as some photos from other times and with famous people, including Marilyn Monroe, the Beatles, Truman Capote, and an ensemble portrait of

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-62921099466270909382009-07-20T00:19:00.000-07:002009-07-20T09:46:10.924-07:00

The city is lovely on film. My favorite vignettes are the one Elijah Wood is in, Gus Van Sant's piece, and the last one.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-66667389935833587552009-07-20T00:04:00.000-07:002009-07-20T22:30:43.367-07:00

Seems to have been written by someone who is good friends with gay people. A mainstream flick with nothing gay in the main storyline, but lots of gay side material. There are even attractive gay guys in this movie who are not basket cases and actually they're the good guys of the film. Kind of amazing how Hollywood has evolved.Is the story believable though? Ah well. Not really, but it's

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-5788077511982458232009-07-18T22:33:00.000-07:002009-07-20T15:09:20.289-07:00

A nice watchable film. But I think a little overrated considering the 8 Oscar wins.What drove the kid? Love of a girl, who is now lost. How to connect with her? Become famous! Not a little idealistic and crazy, but perhaps just an exaggerated version of an occasional truth of the human condition: boy wins girl through dogged determination and courageous acts.With other occasional truths (

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-83393279732485749262009-06-07T20:54:00.000-07:002009-06-09T22:30:30.981-07:00

I had a good conversation about meta-physics and science fiction genre after seeing this film with a friend. It seems to me the Terminator shares quite a bit with the Matrix. I found this Terminator a mildly intellectual exercise and one which manages to satisfy. I.e no major holes in the story, though there are obviously paradoxes. One weird thing which isn't giving anything away I don't

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-41486205087811840132009-06-07T20:32:00.000-07:002009-06-07T21:31:11.115-07:00

The universal signifier of a gay boy: he wonders if he looks fat? This could have been a much shorter film it seems to me. I was able to get through it using some FFwd in about an hour without really missing anything. I read through a few reviews before writing this. They pretty much pan Streep's performance. I actually liked it. I thought it was good and had a lot of good gaffuws at how

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-31868978836431047312009-06-07T19:38:00.000-07:002009-06-07T21:44:50.117-07:00

Kate Winslet and the boy protagonist, Michael Berg, spend a lot of time naked in this film. This definitely improved Winslet's chances I think for the Oscar, and the crossover appeal. Ralph Fiennes seems a bit off here following the boy's mostly exuberant performance, else the boy had really changed in demeanor quite significantly having grown up greatly. I found exceptional and strange

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-47452373970650319142009-06-05T01:25:00.000-07:002009-06-05T01:39:59.257-07:00

Made in the middle of the devastating peak of the AIDS crisis, the movie muses on the nihilistic themes of death. The death sentence leads to a road trip and love, sort of.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-31749600146022213572009-05-24T12:41:00.000-07:002009-06-07T20:55:36.530-07:00

I watched this comedian on Comedy Central last night. He was hilarious. I thought strangely amusing (but no, not exciting) his little bit on date rape: a woman he dated who wanted him to force her to have sex with him. But he touched on a lot of topics, including what it's like being a white male (difficult to complain) and why his own kids are so annoying.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-42325217758007395982009-05-16T01:38:00.000-07:002009-05-16T01:56:38.295-07:00

Not to be confused with And the Band Played On. It's a play from the liberation days about gays which was Off Broadway and successful and was later made into a movie. It's actually quite a good one.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7009681169585287175.post-83939583242722493362009-05-13T23:29:00.000-07:002009-05-13T23:57:25.995-07:00

I only just found out about this British magazine which has a lot of excellent articles about saving the environment by reducing your carbon footprint, etc. As it happens, in June, the magazine is going completely online and dropping their print edition. Man that's not very convenient, but perhaps more ecological.

Alhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15024677370311382769noreply@blogger.com0