01-04-2005
Foolish Side Project Update: First season done. And of course, after I finished the last episode of season one I couldn't sleep so I popped Road Trip in just to fall asleep to and wound up watching the whole thing. So a movie I've already seen has now slipped it's way in when I could have been furthering the tally. Damn it! On with the count.
13) Buena Vista Social Club. I'm going to link to Ebert's review here, because I pretty well agree with his take on the annoying camera work and the cutting of the songs, but for the most part I was more interested in the footage from Cuba. At the very start when photos are being shown of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis and of Castro and Che I was trying to keep a sharp eye out to see if I could spot the government minder that was surely lurking just out of frame. when showing the picture of Fidel and Che playing golf, the question "Who won?" is posed and the reply is "Fidel. Che let him win." and what goes unsaid but is clearly visible in the man's eyes is "because he knew what was good for him." The rest of the footage is just sad. Ebert makes reference to the beautiful decay of Havana, but how can you see economic stagnation and poverty as beautiful? The scenes of the musicians in New York aren't condescending, but revealing about how much these musicians and the Cuban people in general have lost under communism, namely the vibrant culture this music embodies. So that's my political soap box for today. As for Ry Cooder, he didn't really seem like he was so much a part of the movie as just in the movie. I don't know if they turned him up in the mix so he could be heard clearly whenever the camera focused on him (which was a lot), but his playing sounded like he wasn't part of the band, just some guy with a guitar trying to jam along over a CD recording. I don't know, I was dissatisfied with the movie even though I liked the music and was kind of looking forward to seeing it. But what else was I to expect from the douche bag that brought us Wings of Desire?
14) The Last Samurai. Well, I could jump right back on that old political soap box and be all "so the moral of the story is that the warmongering American soldier finds peace and redemption by joining a feudal and death obsessed warrior class in their rebellion against the evil and corrupting westernization of their culture because even though they are fighting their emperor they feel they are truly serving him by maintaining the old feudal system in which they were they highest class and all others were second class servants subject to their whim" but instead I'll just say I really liked the scene where Tom Cruise realizes the secret to samurai success is the motivational technique of positive visualization. Did you positively visualize hooking up with the wife of the man you killed earlier in the movie too, Tom? Did you? Cause I'll bet you did! I watched Shogun not too long ago and by the end I was pretty tired of it, but I'd watch it another 10 times before I'd see this again.
I'm going to start in on Flesh and Bone tonight though its getting late and I'm sure I won't finish it. I need to get a little ahead since I'll be attending a birthday party for my friend Steve on saturday. Donna has the House of Sand and Fog tivoed and she seemed pretty eager for me to see it so I'm sure it will be getting an appearance here soon. Another quick sports aside, Oklahoma blows it at the end of the season, AGAIN. Shock!
14 down, 986 to go.
13) Buena Vista Social Club. I'm going to link to Ebert's review here, because I pretty well agree with his take on the annoying camera work and the cutting of the songs, but for the most part I was more interested in the footage from Cuba. At the very start when photos are being shown of Cuba during the Cuban missile crisis and of Castro and Che I was trying to keep a sharp eye out to see if I could spot the government minder that was surely lurking just out of frame. when showing the picture of Fidel and Che playing golf, the question "Who won?" is posed and the reply is "Fidel. Che let him win." and what goes unsaid but is clearly visible in the man's eyes is "because he knew what was good for him." The rest of the footage is just sad. Ebert makes reference to the beautiful decay of Havana, but how can you see economic stagnation and poverty as beautiful? The scenes of the musicians in New York aren't condescending, but revealing about how much these musicians and the Cuban people in general have lost under communism, namely the vibrant culture this music embodies. So that's my political soap box for today. As for Ry Cooder, he didn't really seem like he was so much a part of the movie as just in the movie. I don't know if they turned him up in the mix so he could be heard clearly whenever the camera focused on him (which was a lot), but his playing sounded like he wasn't part of the band, just some guy with a guitar trying to jam along over a CD recording. I don't know, I was dissatisfied with the movie even though I liked the music and was kind of looking forward to seeing it. But what else was I to expect from the douche bag that brought us Wings of Desire?
14) The Last Samurai. Well, I could jump right back on that old political soap box and be all "so the moral of the story is that the warmongering American soldier finds peace and redemption by joining a feudal and death obsessed warrior class in their rebellion against the evil and corrupting westernization of their culture because even though they are fighting their emperor they feel they are truly serving him by maintaining the old feudal system in which they were they highest class and all others were second class servants subject to their whim" but instead I'll just say I really liked the scene where Tom Cruise realizes the secret to samurai success is the motivational technique of positive visualization. Did you positively visualize hooking up with the wife of the man you killed earlier in the movie too, Tom? Did you? Cause I'll bet you did! I watched Shogun not too long ago and by the end I was pretty tired of it, but I'd watch it another 10 times before I'd see this again.
I'm going to start in on Flesh and Bone tonight though its getting late and I'm sure I won't finish it. I need to get a little ahead since I'll be attending a birthday party for my friend Steve on saturday. Donna has the House of Sand and Fog tivoed and she seemed pretty eager for me to see it so I'm sure it will be getting an appearance here soon. Another quick sports aside, Oklahoma blows it at the end of the season, AGAIN. Shock!
14 down, 986 to go.
posted by Todd Jones at 5:53 PM
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