Movies and books
The last four films I saw were Brokeback Mountain, Cypher, and The Pursuit of Happyness, and Moonchild in that order.
If you love the film, that’s your opinion, but mine is that Brokeback was long, slow, and hard to get through, though since I paid money to rent it I was determined to finish it. I wanted to like it, mind you -- I knew the general plot while avoiding the raving fans so as not to ruin it or be fed up with it - but the pace was immediately very slow. Yet I’ve watched slow paced films before, and some I’ve liked, so I maintained an optimistic frame of mind, but that optimism faded as the film progressed. Aside from the “gay angle” the story didn’t strike me as particularly moving or remarkable, and only made me reflect on how dull, dusty, and bleak family life and small towns are. This could have been any story about any two men having an affair, except that this affair involves homosexuals and hate crimes. All in all, I don’t see what made it so great. Was it only the novelty of a gay couple in a major motion picture?
Cypher was recommended to me by zephranthes, and was a welcome change of genre. Although by the time Sebastian Rook is mentioned I guessed correctly the ending, the predictability didn’t ruin the film for me. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to any who like films of this genre.
Next there’s The Pursuit of Happyness. Who would have though Will Smith would be doing movies like this based on his Fresh Prince days? Not I. And though he’s done all genres, from action to comedy, I find him a likable actor, and this movie was no exception. It’s not quite what I’d call a “tear jerker”, and you know it’ll turn out fine in the end if you know anything about the true story it’s based on, but I did find myself feeling for his character’s struggle and later success. It’s a good drama without being overly heavy handed.
Last was Moon Child, a Japanese film starring two j-pop icons, Gackt and HYDE. Immediately I’m sure at least a few of you wish to hit me with a flounder for renting a film like this, but I was curious. Vampires and j-pop, how could I not be? I’m not sure if I should give this film a yay or nay though. On one hand, I liked that the vampires were not the uber creatures of Anne Rice fiction, yet on the other hand the whole plot and even vampire mythology seemed a bit poorly thought out. For example, take the classic vulnerability to sunlight. These vampires do not go catatonic during the day, but while in one scene Hyde’s character is “trapped” when some windows are broken and sunlight streams in, the next moment he suddenly rushes through the patches of sunlight with no apparent harm. The action sequences, meanwhile, are a bit over the top and silly at times, although perhaps no more over the top than any Matrix or Hong Kong action flick, and the movie does make fun of this once or twice. This site rates the film highly, although I’d not be quite so generous; my rating would be closer to this site’s. So if j-pop stars annoy you, avoid this film at all costs, if you love Japanese stars in leather pants, this is a must see, and if you like vampires and some action and people having goldfish hallucinations, then give it a shot.
I remember some time back a former friend read Atlas Shrugged. I’d forgotten about it until today when a girl in a sitcom of all things had to read it for her Psychology class, and this made me wonder if the book is really any good. Some people, in my opinion, think the wordier or, dare I say it, pretentious, a book, movies, or even anime the better it is. My skepticism is further fueled by the fact that I didn’t entirely agree with the literary and cinematic tastes of the person who raved about Atlas Shrugged. For example, the person loves Anne Rice while I liked her for about three books, after which I got tired of her style, her plots, and her ego. I still think Rice is “okay”, and acknowledge that she is one of The Vampires writers, but she’s not an author I rave about. This person also adores The Name of the Rose; I liked the mystery plot, but found the pages about saints and religion too dull, much like the complaint I had in 5th grade when I read 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, which had a good story but endless boring pages describing fishes.
So now I kind of want to read it, although I admit my reasons are not entirely for intellectual gain. Part of it is a bit petty. I consider myself reasonably well read, and it irks me some that there might be a good, well-known book that this person has read and I haven’t. But is it worth it? I’ve looked over of the reviews, but I’d like to know if anyone else has read Atlas Shrugged or anything else by the author, Ayn Rand, and what you thought of it.
If you love the film, that’s your opinion, but mine is that Brokeback was long, slow, and hard to get through, though since I paid money to rent it I was determined to finish it. I wanted to like it, mind you -- I knew the general plot while avoiding the raving fans so as not to ruin it or be fed up with it - but the pace was immediately very slow. Yet I’ve watched slow paced films before, and some I’ve liked, so I maintained an optimistic frame of mind, but that optimism faded as the film progressed. Aside from the “gay angle” the story didn’t strike me as particularly moving or remarkable, and only made me reflect on how dull, dusty, and bleak family life and small towns are. This could have been any story about any two men having an affair, except that this affair involves homosexuals and hate crimes. All in all, I don’t see what made it so great. Was it only the novelty of a gay couple in a major motion picture?
Cypher was recommended to me by zephranthes, and was a welcome change of genre. Although by the time Sebastian Rook is mentioned I guessed correctly the ending, the predictability didn’t ruin the film for me. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to any who like films of this genre.
Next there’s The Pursuit of Happyness. Who would have though Will Smith would be doing movies like this based on his Fresh Prince days? Not I. And though he’s done all genres, from action to comedy, I find him a likable actor, and this movie was no exception. It’s not quite what I’d call a “tear jerker”, and you know it’ll turn out fine in the end if you know anything about the true story it’s based on, but I did find myself feeling for his character’s struggle and later success. It’s a good drama without being overly heavy handed.
Last was Moon Child, a Japanese film starring two j-pop icons, Gackt and HYDE. Immediately I’m sure at least a few of you wish to hit me with a flounder for renting a film like this, but I was curious. Vampires and j-pop, how could I not be? I’m not sure if I should give this film a yay or nay though. On one hand, I liked that the vampires were not the uber creatures of Anne Rice fiction, yet on the other hand the whole plot and even vampire mythology seemed a bit poorly thought out. For example, take the classic vulnerability to sunlight. These vampires do not go catatonic during the day, but while in one scene Hyde’s character is “trapped” when some windows are broken and sunlight streams in, the next moment he suddenly rushes through the patches of sunlight with no apparent harm. The action sequences, meanwhile, are a bit over the top and silly at times, although perhaps no more over the top than any Matrix or Hong Kong action flick, and the movie does make fun of this once or twice. This site rates the film highly, although I’d not be quite so generous; my rating would be closer to this site’s. So if j-pop stars annoy you, avoid this film at all costs, if you love Japanese stars in leather pants, this is a must see, and if you like vampires and some action and people having goldfish hallucinations, then give it a shot.
I remember some time back a former friend read Atlas Shrugged. I’d forgotten about it until today when a girl in a sitcom of all things had to read it for her Psychology class, and this made me wonder if the book is really any good. Some people, in my opinion, think the wordier or, dare I say it, pretentious, a book, movies, or even anime the better it is. My skepticism is further fueled by the fact that I didn’t entirely agree with the literary and cinematic tastes of the person who raved about Atlas Shrugged. For example, the person loves Anne Rice while I liked her for about three books, after which I got tired of her style, her plots, and her ego. I still think Rice is “okay”, and acknowledge that she is one of The Vampires writers, but she’s not an author I rave about. This person also adores The Name of the Rose; I liked the mystery plot, but found the pages about saints and religion too dull, much like the complaint I had in 5th grade when I read 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, which had a good story but endless boring pages describing fishes.
So now I kind of want to read it, although I admit my reasons are not entirely for intellectual gain. Part of it is a bit petty. I consider myself reasonably well read, and it irks me some that there might be a good, well-known book that this person has read and I haven’t. But is it worth it? I’ve looked over of the reviews, but I’d like to know if anyone else has read Atlas Shrugged or anything else by the author, Ayn Rand, and what you thought of it.