the cold

the classes i am taking now are really amazing. this stuff is so fascinating, so in that regard things are going good. but it's not easy. one professor is going at light speed and his lectures will cover subjects in 5 minutes of stuff that takes me an hour to read about in the book. as i read through it, i try to imagine all of this actually taking place. like right now i'm reading about quadrature amplitude modulation. well it helps to see in my head "real" waves with different frequencies and phase shifts, all going down the same transmission medium. i guess the point is, 3d images or a video on all of this stuff happening would be a huge help. to be able to see all of it happening in some kind of slo-mo computer graphics would be nice. no one has done this that i know of though, so instead it's all very hard.

the snow never ends here. there is still remnants from that storm before christmas. everyday is just too cold for the snow to completely melt away. and as soon as there is some end in sight we get more snow. i just wish the cold would go away more than anything. this saturday might be a snow day. we'll see.

i read all this talk of bollywood this and bollywood that, but we have yet to see any bollywood movie actually break into the u.s. market. i just can't see these movies being all that great. mexico is doing a good job on the other hand. anyway, here is a lifetime worth of movies for ya. if i end up failing this semester, you'll know why.

Thank You For Smoking (2006): the wry life of a big tobacco lobbyist. there is some really solid acting by aaron eckhart who stars in the movie. him and his son worked nice together too. the writers did amazing at stretching the reality of smoking just enough to be over the edge, but somehow always keeping it somehwhat in tune with the reality of ciggs on society. this movie should out like ten years ago when this was more of an issue. today the culture of smoking seems to be fading, as shown in the movie. regardless, it's really entertaining and i don't see any reason why you wouldn't want to see it. so go rent it. and make sure to light up a fatty before viewing.
good, B

An Inconvenient Truth (2006): al gore talks global warming. gore is either very knowledgeable about the subject or has some really good scientists and researchers on his staff. both are probably somewhat true. there is a lot of scientific talk. lots of graphs and powerpoint slides. lots of evidence. you get a two for one deal when you see it because the movie is practically a semi-bio of our 45th vice president. the movie gets a little old and is mostly dull. but what do you expect? al gore + documentary + global warming ≠ excitement. this isn't a michael moore documentary so the viewer won't be evoking much emotion during the movie. unless sleepy counts. however, the small minority of scientists out there who don't believe in global warming and the citizens of this country who shrug off global warming's affect on us and future generations, should be forced to sit through this. so those people should see it and all else go write your senator.
fair, B-

The Aristocrats (2005): a family walks into a talent agent's office... and one hundred famous comedians finish the rest. the punch line to the joke really isn't that funny. it's totally about the delivery. most of the movie is a bunch of guys (and a few ladies) sitting around and saying some of the dirtiest stuff ever captured on film. but it is funny, which is the point. sometimes it got old and my attention would go elsewhere during a ramdom shit joke. it was interesting learning about the joke since i had no prior knowledge of it before the movie. there are some very funny comedians and just as many mediocre ones. it's hard to say who was the funniest, but bob saget's version of the joke is by far the most elaborate. in order to enjoy this film you'd have to be the type that likes comedy and can sit through very bad potty mouths. it's short and you'll get a few laughs from it. worth seeing.
fair, B-

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992): there is a killer in twin peaks. then a year later we follow the events that to a new murder, that of laura palmer, a twin peaks prom queen with so so much evil in her life. i'm in for a doozy tonight. chris isaak as an fbi guy. there's some pretty good stuff coming from him. he has a great on-screen presence. while i was watching it i felt like i should have been taking notes of all the clues and what-not. keifer sutherland has a great part as the morgue guy with chris. he is a lot like arthur (aka dwight from the office) in six feet under. so at approximately 30 minutes into the movie, david lynch's wackiness takes over and the strange/confusing parts begin. there are some insanely powerful scenes that take place. there is a lot of cryptic dialogue that i'm sure few would be able to follow. the movie was really interesting during the first plot of the movie, but then not so much during the second half. all my marbles went into the chris isaak story, that by the time laura's story appears, i was like, "who the hell is this chick and why do i care?" ray wise plays laura's father and does an amazing job at playing a really terrible person. i can see him being on AFI's top villains list. i'm such a loser. let me check to see if he is...okay so he's not. but should be. i didn't understand why laura was laughing at the end. and i definitely didn't get david bowie's ghost-like appearance halfway in the movie. please explain if you know. the movie had some good moments, but there is too much that i just didn't understand. i guess everyone should know that going into a david lynch movie. maybe worth seeing.
flawed but worth seeing, C+

Brazil (1985): some middle-class bureaucrat guy in the future is looking for some chick in his dreams while the oppressive government tries to swell an uprising. i don't know anything about this movie except that the director also did 12 monkeys, monty python, and fear and loathing. yep, that's all one guy. as for this movie, i'm just testing out blockbuster's recommendations. the filmmakers decided to portray this futuristic society in a comedic way. i would have preferred it more dramatic. but that's just me. the dream sequences were a little much. as far as film noir goes, this is probably one fo the most enjoyable i've seen. it is a very imaginative reality that they have created. i found a ton of star wars references. there was a scene that referred to when luke is training with yoda on degoba and slashes vader's helmet to reveal himself. and another when they are all getting smashed in the trash compactor. robert deniro played an awesome part as a leader of this underground movement against the government. he was really cool. i question the title of the movie. the only thing i can see how brazil relates to the movie at all is that it is the name of a song they play once or twice in the movie. (apparently he hears it in his dreams) it is pretty kubrick-like, so be aware of that before attempting to watch. this movie will someday be an amazing remake. overall it was alright and probably worth seeing.
fair, B-

Caddyshack (1980): there are so many subplots taking place, but the story is really about one caddy's struggle to be more than just a caddy. there is really bad 80s music to start off. who is that? kenny loggins? yep. terrible. no wonder my older brother likes this movie so much. and now journey is playing. the conversation that takes place between chevey and the caddy is really funny stuff. rodney dangerfield plays a mega rich guy just out for a game and his jokes are so funny. it's all a bunch of one-liners, but funny nonetheless. same with bill murray who plays the groundskeeper obsessed with killing the dumb gopher. the gopher stuff is stupid but murray's acting is genius. (the Varmint Cong) i loved how dangerfield would throw his money at people whenever he wanted them to do something for him. there is a big pool scene where the caddies wreck havoc. at first it really sucks (wreaking havoc), but does get good (hot chick), only to get bad again (synchronized swimmers), and finally goes into immortal film status to end the scene (doodie!). the ending is not the greatest, but what can you do? worth seeing and worth having someone else own it for you to borrow.
good, B

The Third Man (1949): holly (joseph cotten) travels to post-wwii vienna to work with his old friend harry (orsen wells). upon his arrival however, he discovers that harry has been killed in a car accident. and since no one cares or they are part of the conspiracy themselves, it is left up to holly to uncover the mystery of harry's death. and it all has something to do with a third man. this should have been seen way back when i was going through and watching all those classics. but this movie was no where to be found at the stores. blockbuster online did. there are a ton of characters all introduced in the first five minutes. really good use of humor throughout the whole movie. the camera work is also very well done. there were lots of cool perspective shots and use of framing for the subject on screen. wells does great playing a pretty rotten guy with a sense of humor. reminds me a lot of jack nicholson in the departed. i don't think i made all the connections with the third man. i can make some guesses about who the third man was, if there was one, but it's still a little hazy. but i will probably see it again someday and try another attempt at figuring it all out. the music really adds to every scene. most characters have a really good amount of depth to them. in the end the movie turned out being very well done and entertaining. hard to come by these days.
memorable, B+