¡El Código Da Vinci e más!
I finally got off my ass the other day and went looking for a job. It makes me sad that I've been without a job for about 5 months now, and I was really proud of myself because I spent over 6 hours straight on Friday getting applications, talking to managers, and filling forms out. It was rather exhausting, but I treated myself to some yummy yummy bubble tea afterwards and all was good in Eric's world.
Friday was just an awesome day overall. Along with my sudden burst of motivation, I got this huge confidence boost. I don't know what happened, but I just felt that I could do anything and I wasn't nervous about anything...which is a big deal for me. For example, one of the jobs I checked into was FedEx out in Richfield. This place was fucking huge. It was very comparable to what a prison would look like. There was barbed-wire fences all around the complex, and "No Trespassing" signs everywhere. Plus, all the doors were un-marked. Needless to say, I was a little intimidated about going inside...as I didn't really know how to go about doing that. So I kinda started driving away with the full intention of forgetting this job...after making the 40 minute drive and spending 50 cents at the Turnpike to get there. But then something clicked. I can't explain what it was, but I turned my car around and picked a random (unmarked) door to walk into. That probably wasn't the smartest move on my part, but it worked out well and I talked to one of the managers and filled out an app. I even called Panera and Hot Topic to get more information to fill out. Do you realize how huge that is? I have the worst phone-phobia ever...and I just called them on a whim and didn't think about it at all. It was an absolutely amazing feeling, and it hasn't gone away yet. It gets me excited for the future, because I feel like I'm finally changing into the person I want to be.
And yes, this basically stemmed from a phone call. :P
After seeing The Da Vinci Code (more on that later) I headed up to Bounce. Even though it was a Friday, and therefore populated with the men-folk, it still felt like lesbian night to me. There wasn't really anyone that I wanted to dance with. I was content dancing by myself, so of course somebody starts dancing with me. How do I describe this guy?...Well he had all the qualities that I find unattractive in a guy:
-Way too feminine
-Horribly bad-smelling breath
-Flamboyant
-Thinner than me
-Possibly cracked out on something (ecstasy?)
-...looked like an owl
There was nothing about this guy that I found attractive...but I danced with him anyway :/ Apparently my earlier confidence boost didn't extend to the dancefloor. I guess I was just trying to be nice or something. And even though he was really grody, he made me laugh with his terrible pick-up lines.
1.)Guy- You're so thin! Are you a runner?
Me- I used to be. How about you? You're pretty thin yourself.
Guy- *in a mock sexy voice* No, I just watch the runners...
2.)Guy- You're arms are so smooth!
Me- I'm kinda notorious for that.
Guy- *in a mock sexy voice* I wonder if the rest of you is smooth...
3.) Me- It's pretty stuffy in here.
Guy- *in a mock sexy voice* Am I making you hot again?
I left the floor many times for some "water" and he always wanted to dance when I came back. I need to work on being blunt, I think. Tact is not always the way to go. I need to be more like Cordy in that regard ("Tact is just not saying true stuff. I'll pass."). Or I could do what I demonstrated to Ashlee: Yell "Bitch, please!" and snap my fingers obnoxiously.
>_>
Saturday was my granny's 80th bday, and she treated our family to Longhorn Steakhouse. So naturally I got a chicken sandwich. It was exactly like the dinner we had one week ago... If I have to hear about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes one more time, I think I'm gonna go Texas Chainsaw on someone's ass. It wasn't all bad, though. I did have a really fun talk about movies with Rion. He's been a producer in a bunch of movies and TV shows, and he's a film geek like me. We talked about Fight Club and Se7en quite a bit, and he quoted the line from Kevin Spacey about masturbating and rolling around in feces...right when the table got quiet. It was quite funny, especially because of the look my 9 yr. old cousin gave after hearing that. Good times, good times.
My mother once again expressed her naievity that day. We were driving to the restaurant (cause, naturally, I was running late) and she put on her trademark "uncomfortable face" and started spewing out useless words again. She wanted to tell me of something that she had seen in Panera and where she works.
"A man dressed as a woman. Can you believe it?!"
I prepared myself for the worst, because both my parents have expressed their concern over me becoming a transexual and that's usually where these conversations end up going. *sigh* It's totally absurd. Anyway, she told me of how gross and wrong it is (as was expected) and then went on to say how she had never thought people would do that,and that she's never noticed it before. Hearing that made me think of a quote from The Da Vinci Code that went along the lines of: "The mind sees what it wants to see." I thought of telling her about Bounce and what I see when I go there, but I figured it was better if she didn't hear that. That was probably a good thing too, otherwise she may not have pulled a complete 180 and said this: "...it must be hard for them."
Apparently there was a group of people protesting this movie when we were there. Picket signs and the like. And there were children, who couldn't have been older than 5, preaching about Jesus and saying how this movie is the work of the devil.
I just had to get that out there.
I really wanted to like this movie. The book was fun, and I figured it would make for a decent movie.
So where was the fun?!
That was my biggest gripe with the film: it was boring. Almost from the beginning it seemed like just a history lesson, with endless babble and talk. This wouldn't have been so bad, if it wasn't for the way they present the information to the audience. On more than occasion, it seemed like Tom Hanks pulled out some random piece of knowledge to further the story. It just seemed way too convenient.
With all this lengthy dialogue and history, there's no time to develop the characters...which is another reason I disliked the film. Most of the characters (Captain Fache, Silas, Bishop Aringarosa, and Robert Langdon himself) I just couldn't relate to, or find a reason to like them. Tom Hanks was a shadow of the Robert Langdon that I remember from the book. In the film he just seems like a know-it-all pansy with claustrophobia. This could just be my hatred towards most movies made from books, but I would've liked a more Indiana Jones type character, like the Robert Langdon from the novel. I think a different actor would've helped, as Tom Hanks was looking really bored and tired in a few scenes.
The supporting characters didn't fare too well in my mind either. Jean Reno played Captain Fache, who was chasing Langdon around Europe throughout the film. He didn't to have much motivation for doing this, aside from a line or two that we're fed near the endinge. He was just a background character, and not menacing at all. I never really felt suspense or worry that he would catch Langdon and gang. Paul Bettany was much more menacing as Silas, though. He was much more forboding and more of a threat. But at times I felt he was a little too menacing. I think he was a little too monster-like throughout the film. There weren't too many human qualities that he possesaed, and his make-up totally gave him this Voldemort look.
Not surprisingly, I thought the best performance was from Audrey Tautou as Sophie. I thought she showed a good range of emotions, and her English was amazing! I never knew she could speak anything other than French, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear how well she spoke it. Of course that has nothing to do with her in the movie, so that may just be my personal bias coming through. I think she provided some much needed warmth and some really great lines to counteract Tom Hanks. She had a great moment near the ending that had me all smiles. Ian McKellan also was fantastic as Teabing. But he's great in whatever he does, so that's no surprise.
There were also some pretty un-necessary flashbacks and CGI scattered throughout the film, but I guess that's just what Ron Howard does, according to Rion. ("He talks to the audience like they're in kindergarten").
Overall I wasn't too impressed by the movie. It was slow-moving and not all that exciting or surprising. With the exception of Tom Hanks, I thought the casting was great and everyone gave some really great performances. That's the only praise I can really give this.
But I did like seeing the places that I went to when I was in Europe :) That was fun. "I was totally there!"
Friday was just an awesome day overall. Along with my sudden burst of motivation, I got this huge confidence boost. I don't know what happened, but I just felt that I could do anything and I wasn't nervous about anything...which is a big deal for me. For example, one of the jobs I checked into was FedEx out in Richfield. This place was fucking huge. It was very comparable to what a prison would look like. There was barbed-wire fences all around the complex, and "No Trespassing" signs everywhere. Plus, all the doors were un-marked. Needless to say, I was a little intimidated about going inside...as I didn't really know how to go about doing that. So I kinda started driving away with the full intention of forgetting this job...after making the 40 minute drive and spending 50 cents at the Turnpike to get there. But then something clicked. I can't explain what it was, but I turned my car around and picked a random (unmarked) door to walk into. That probably wasn't the smartest move on my part, but it worked out well and I talked to one of the managers and filled out an app. I even called Panera and Hot Topic to get more information to fill out. Do you realize how huge that is? I have the worst phone-phobia ever...and I just called them on a whim and didn't think about it at all. It was an absolutely amazing feeling, and it hasn't gone away yet. It gets me excited for the future, because I feel like I'm finally changing into the person I want to be.
And yes, this basically stemmed from a phone call. :P
After seeing The Da Vinci Code (more on that later) I headed up to Bounce. Even though it was a Friday, and therefore populated with the men-folk, it still felt like lesbian night to me. There wasn't really anyone that I wanted to dance with. I was content dancing by myself, so of course somebody starts dancing with me. How do I describe this guy?...Well he had all the qualities that I find unattractive in a guy:
-Way too feminine
-Horribly bad-smelling breath
-Flamboyant
-Thinner than me
-Possibly cracked out on something (ecstasy?)
-...looked like an owl
There was nothing about this guy that I found attractive...but I danced with him anyway :/ Apparently my earlier confidence boost didn't extend to the dancefloor. I guess I was just trying to be nice or something. And even though he was really grody, he made me laugh with his terrible pick-up lines.
1.)Guy- You're so thin! Are you a runner?
Me- I used to be. How about you? You're pretty thin yourself.
Guy- *in a mock sexy voice* No, I just watch the runners...
2.)Guy- You're arms are so smooth!
Me- I'm kinda notorious for that.
Guy- *in a mock sexy voice* I wonder if the rest of you is smooth...
3.) Me- It's pretty stuffy in here.
Guy- *in a mock sexy voice* Am I making you hot again?
I left the floor many times for some "water" and he always wanted to dance when I came back. I need to work on being blunt, I think. Tact is not always the way to go. I need to be more like Cordy in that regard ("Tact is just not saying true stuff. I'll pass."). Or I could do what I demonstrated to Ashlee: Yell "Bitch, please!" and snap my fingers obnoxiously.
>_>
Saturday was my granny's 80th bday, and she treated our family to Longhorn Steakhouse. So naturally I got a chicken sandwich. It was exactly like the dinner we had one week ago... If I have to hear about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes one more time, I think I'm gonna go Texas Chainsaw on someone's ass. It wasn't all bad, though. I did have a really fun talk about movies with Rion. He's been a producer in a bunch of movies and TV shows, and he's a film geek like me. We talked about Fight Club and Se7en quite a bit, and he quoted the line from Kevin Spacey about masturbating and rolling around in feces...right when the table got quiet. It was quite funny, especially because of the look my 9 yr. old cousin gave after hearing that. Good times, good times.
My mother once again expressed her naievity that day. We were driving to the restaurant (cause, naturally, I was running late) and she put on her trademark "uncomfortable face" and started spewing out useless words again. She wanted to tell me of something that she had seen in Panera and where she works.
"A man dressed as a woman. Can you believe it?!"
I prepared myself for the worst, because both my parents have expressed their concern over me becoming a transexual and that's usually where these conversations end up going. *sigh* It's totally absurd. Anyway, she told me of how gross and wrong it is (as was expected) and then went on to say how she had never thought people would do that,and that she's never noticed it before. Hearing that made me think of a quote from The Da Vinci Code that went along the lines of: "The mind sees what it wants to see." I thought of telling her about Bounce and what I see when I go there, but I figured it was better if she didn't hear that. That was probably a good thing too, otherwise she may not have pulled a complete 180 and said this: "...it must be hard for them."
Apparently there was a group of people protesting this movie when we were there. Picket signs and the like. And there were children, who couldn't have been older than 5, preaching about Jesus and saying how this movie is the work of the devil.
I just had to get that out there.
I really wanted to like this movie. The book was fun, and I figured it would make for a decent movie.
So where was the fun?!
That was my biggest gripe with the film: it was boring. Almost from the beginning it seemed like just a history lesson, with endless babble and talk. This wouldn't have been so bad, if it wasn't for the way they present the information to the audience. On more than occasion, it seemed like Tom Hanks pulled out some random piece of knowledge to further the story. It just seemed way too convenient.
With all this lengthy dialogue and history, there's no time to develop the characters...which is another reason I disliked the film. Most of the characters (Captain Fache, Silas, Bishop Aringarosa, and Robert Langdon himself) I just couldn't relate to, or find a reason to like them. Tom Hanks was a shadow of the Robert Langdon that I remember from the book. In the film he just seems like a know-it-all pansy with claustrophobia. This could just be my hatred towards most movies made from books, but I would've liked a more Indiana Jones type character, like the Robert Langdon from the novel. I think a different actor would've helped, as Tom Hanks was looking really bored and tired in a few scenes.
The supporting characters didn't fare too well in my mind either. Jean Reno played Captain Fache, who was chasing Langdon around Europe throughout the film. He didn't to have much motivation for doing this, aside from a line or two that we're fed near the endinge. He was just a background character, and not menacing at all. I never really felt suspense or worry that he would catch Langdon and gang. Paul Bettany was much more menacing as Silas, though. He was much more forboding and more of a threat. But at times I felt he was a little too menacing. I think he was a little too monster-like throughout the film. There weren't too many human qualities that he possesaed, and his make-up totally gave him this Voldemort look.
Not surprisingly, I thought the best performance was from Audrey Tautou as Sophie. I thought she showed a good range of emotions, and her English was amazing! I never knew she could speak anything other than French, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear how well she spoke it. Of course that has nothing to do with her in the movie, so that may just be my personal bias coming through. I think she provided some much needed warmth and some really great lines to counteract Tom Hanks. She had a great moment near the ending that had me all smiles. Ian McKellan also was fantastic as Teabing. But he's great in whatever he does, so that's no surprise.
There were also some pretty un-necessary flashbacks and CGI scattered throughout the film, but I guess that's just what Ron Howard does, according to Rion. ("He talks to the audience like they're in kindergarten").
Overall I wasn't too impressed by the movie. It was slow-moving and not all that exciting or surprising. With the exception of Tom Hanks, I thought the casting was great and everyone gave some really great performances. That's the only praise I can really give this.
But I did like seeing the places that I went to when I was in Europe :) That was fun. "I was totally there!"