Beaches - Well, Bette Midler. Enough said to recommend this movie right there, I suppose. Beaches is an 80's classic and holds really good memories for me. Especially with the theme song since it was really popular when I was a senior in high school. I love the total girl centric nature of this film and the acting/singing part of it. The fight between Cece and Hillary that separates them for so many years is reminiscent of a fight I had with a good friend which is not really solved but we just pretend that it's OK now. Of course, that friend is now in a fight with another mutual friend so . . . maybe I wasn't the complete bitch in our situation. Hmmm. I still cry at the end of this film, even though I've seen it at least 15 times. Friendship, women, love, illness, death, fights, life choices.
Bend It Like Beckam - Another total girl-power film. I love the cultural dichotomy in this film and the choice that Jess must make between her Indian heritage and her very English football future. Also fabu is that this film is written, produced and directed by a woman. I love when English centric films are popular in the US. Not sure why, maybe it's the Anglophile part of me coming out. Maybe it's the fact that everything sounds better with an English accent. "At least I taught her a full Indian dinner. The rest is up to God." Culture, growing up, parents, 2nd generation, following your dreams, girl-power.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Alphabetical Movie Marathon A3
Angels in America - What can I say about this film that hasn't already been said? A true work of genius. AIDS, power, politics, Reaganomics, hypocrisy, religion, homosexuality, love, sickness, forgiveness, hope, Judaism, Mormonism. There is just so much in this movie to think about. It's a little like Shakespeare - you can't get it all at first. The more you watch it the more connections you make and the more you understand. It's interesting to hear about the fears and questions people had about the millennium before it occurred without our experiences now coloring the wonder of what might happen. This script is really such a product of the time in which it was written but also so universal and still timely. It's so specific to 1985 yet not dated when you watch it now. Maybe it's because so little progress has been made to make all people free to marry and live their lives without getting the shit kicked out of them because they're gay. The fact that gay bashing is still not really treated as a hate crime is sickening but maybe films like this and Milk as well as the popularity of Ellen . . . I don't know. Are we even making strides? It's interesting that the film discusses stopping, being still, and other metaphors for the antithesis of change and here we are with a black president in an era of great and momentous change. Conservatives want us to stop progressing, stop learning, go back to the way things were forgetting that the "good old days" weren't really all that good for most of us. Liberals want to move foreward, learn, try, they have hope for an unknown but better future. Was Kushner foreshadowing the era of (hopefully) great change that we're in the midst of? God, I hope so.
There are miles of quotes but here are a few of my favorites:
"I don't understand why I'm not dead. When your heart breaks you should die."
"Respect the delicate ecology of your delusions."
"I usually say fuck the truth, but usually the truth fucks you."
"The white cracker who wrote the National Anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word 'free' to a note so high nobody could reach it."
". . . And we are not going away. We won't die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come."
There are miles of quotes but here are a few of my favorites:
"I don't understand why I'm not dead. When your heart breaks you should die."
"Respect the delicate ecology of your delusions."
"I usually say fuck the truth, but usually the truth fucks you."
"The white cracker who wrote the National Anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word 'free' to a note so high nobody could reach it."
". . . And we are not going away. We won't die secret deaths anymore. The world only spins forward. We will be citizens. The time has come."
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sour grapes, sour grapes, sour grapes.
So . . . I suppose I should write about the phone interview that I'm pretty sure I screwed up on Friday. I think one of my problems is that I'm just too honest. Sure, I could load these guys up with niceties and placations, tell them what they want to hear but I just can't seem to drink the cool aid. I have an unfortunate feeling that my life would be a hell of a lot easier if I could just turn myself into a big fat liar. I need to learn to spew the niceties. See, when the interviewer asks you what kind of job you're looking for, you really should say something like "well, the job for which you are currently interviewing me" and specify with some statements taken directly from the previously forwarded job description. But here was my honest answer: "Well, unfortunately after being out of work for a year, I don't really have the luxury of looking for something specific. I kinda have to take whatever comes along." I'm pretty sure that was it word for word. But I meant to continue with something like "but this job really interests me because it's a non-profit that works for the greater good" which is totally true. But she cut me off with another question and I never got back to it. She asked me if I had any questions and I of course did. Because you should. I asked how much of the job entails fund raising. She answered the question and we were done. At 15 minutes. After saying at the beginning of the conversation that even though she scheduled 20 minutes, most are taking 30. Sigh.
Now, I'm fully aware that people want to hire someone excited about the job and who may have been leading up to it their entire lives. Maybe she had already interviewed someone for whom that was true and was just going through the motions with me. That's a luxury hiring managers have these days. They can have the pick of the litter. But this chick didn't even want to pretend to be interested in me. Which I guess I should be grateful for, but dang. I've been doing this for a year. It's getting a little old, ya know? Oh, well. I guess it should go to the person for whom this would be the ideal job. The person for whom $16/hr will be a blessing and not an $18,000 pay cut. It just would be nice to have something.
P.S. I know this story would read better in chronological order but I don't have the emotional energy to rewrite it now.
Now, I'm fully aware that people want to hire someone excited about the job and who may have been leading up to it their entire lives. Maybe she had already interviewed someone for whom that was true and was just going through the motions with me. That's a luxury hiring managers have these days. They can have the pick of the litter. But this chick didn't even want to pretend to be interested in me. Which I guess I should be grateful for, but dang. I've been doing this for a year. It's getting a little old, ya know? Oh, well. I guess it should go to the person for whom this would be the ideal job. The person for whom $16/hr will be a blessing and not an $18,000 pay cut. It just would be nice to have something.
P.S. I know this story would read better in chronological order but I don't have the emotional energy to rewrite it now.
Alphabetical Movie Marathon - A2
Amelie - Such a sweet and heartwarming movie. Just can't get over it. Such longing and sadness and I love how she turns her own sadness into helping others find happiness. The color saturation is so beautiful. Audrey Tautou, can't believe she's not in more American movies. Her and Marion Cotillard. I'm sure they're doing wonderful work in France but they certainly add a sophistication to movies that we could use nowadays. The French always add a little something.
American Beauty - A little scary but I love movies about people who come into their own and wake up from the slumber of their lives. Guess I should get on with that, huh? This one doesn't end well, but at least he had his realizations before the unfortunate ending. (See how I'm not giving it away? I try.) I also love watching what happens when one person in a family decides that things are going to change and how those with a vested interest in the status quo resist but eventually are encouraged to make their own changes. I hope to someday quit a job like that. The humiliation of having to tell management what you do, how you contribute and why you should keep your job is just so universal. I shall quote:
American Beauty - A little scary but I love movies about people who come into their own and wake up from the slumber of their lives. Guess I should get on with that, huh? This one doesn't end well, but at least he had his realizations before the unfortunate ending. (See how I'm not giving it away? I try.) I also love watching what happens when one person in a family decides that things are going to change and how those with a vested interest in the status quo resist but eventually are encouraged to make their own changes. I hope to someday quit a job like that. The humiliation of having to tell management what you do, how you contribute and why you should keep your job is just so universal. I shall quote:
"My job consists of basically masking my contempt for the assholes in charge, and, at least once a day, retiring to the men's room so I can jerk off while I fantasize about a life which doesn't so closely resemble hell."
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Alphabetical Movie Marathon - A
So, I started the movie marathon to watch every movie in my collection in alphabetical order and see what commonalities I might discover about my choices and basically fill some really boring days. Let's begin with . . .
About A Boy - lovely movie with Toni Collette and Hugh Grant. There's something about this movie that I really like, despite it being so different plot-wise from the book. I'm sure it has something to do with the stars and the very calm, British way of . . . I don't know. . . just being. I really relate to the young boy, Marcus, who is basically watching his mother lose her shit. While I never really had the worry that M would go crazy, it would have been nice if there was another being around who actually cared what happened to me and wouldn't always be busy with something or someone else. I especially relate when he says "Some people have an easy time in life. I was beginning to realize, I wasn't one of those people." But also, Hugh Grant's line "I'll tell you one thing; men are bastards" is always good for a laugh. The basic tenant of the film is about not being alone. People need backup. I agree. Suicide, depression, father figure, backup, help, admittance, search for connection.
All About Eve - classic with a badass woman in the lead. And I mean Betty Davis, of course. She's fantastic in this. Wry, witty, sarcastic, knowing. Anne Baxter's Eve is a menace but you have to respect her for her ability to manipulate the situation into her favor and go after what she wants. "Eve would ask Abbot to give her Costello." To have two such strong women in a film from 1950 is really cool. Where are those women's parts in films now? Despite the pages of exposition, it has a way of not making this a treatise on woman-kind, just a story about these particular women. Jealousy, envy, strength, aging, youth.
All That Jazz - great film about Bob Fosse's physical and emotional breakdown and the character's death, although Fosse did not actually die after this incident. What's interesting is how much of a womanizer he is but how important the three particular women in the story are to him. Even death is personified as a woman. You also see how much he loved choreographing for women and the female form. Not hard to figure out where Michael Jackson got so many of his great moves. The dancing is as contemporary and lively today as it was in 1979 showing that true talent and class never gets dated. An interesting connection to All About Eve, though. Both concern an older woman playing a younger part in a production. And in both, the character being playing by the older woman is 24 years old. A lack of good mature women's parts in film and stage is not exactly a new thing I guess. Anger, Denial, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance - the five stages of death, grieving and pretty much any emotional event in life makes a very interesting story through. Death, talent, dance, love, regret.
Amadeus - Ah jealousy. Mediocrity. "I speak for the mediocrities in the world. I am their champion. I am their patron saint." A constant feeling of not being good enough - can definitely relate to that. "Why implant the desire, like a lust in my body, and then deny me the talent?" Why does God do that to people? Is it just that they don't have a realistic idea about how their life is going to turn out? And of course, getting to listen to Mozart's music for three hours. Such an amazingly made film. I tend to really like films in which you get to see where the art came from. What in the artist's life inspired them to produce that particular piece at that particular time. Jealousy, Mediocrity, Revenge, God, Talent.
About A Boy - lovely movie with Toni Collette and Hugh Grant. There's something about this movie that I really like, despite it being so different plot-wise from the book. I'm sure it has something to do with the stars and the very calm, British way of . . . I don't know. . . just being. I really relate to the young boy, Marcus, who is basically watching his mother lose her shit. While I never really had the worry that M would go crazy, it would have been nice if there was another being around who actually cared what happened to me and wouldn't always be busy with something or someone else. I especially relate when he says "Some people have an easy time in life. I was beginning to realize, I wasn't one of those people." But also, Hugh Grant's line "I'll tell you one thing; men are bastards" is always good for a laugh. The basic tenant of the film is about not being alone. People need backup. I agree. Suicide, depression, father figure, backup, help, admittance, search for connection.
All About Eve - classic with a badass woman in the lead. And I mean Betty Davis, of course. She's fantastic in this. Wry, witty, sarcastic, knowing. Anne Baxter's Eve is a menace but you have to respect her for her ability to manipulate the situation into her favor and go after what she wants. "Eve would ask Abbot to give her Costello." To have two such strong women in a film from 1950 is really cool. Where are those women's parts in films now? Despite the pages of exposition, it has a way of not making this a treatise on woman-kind, just a story about these particular women. Jealousy, envy, strength, aging, youth.
All That Jazz - great film about Bob Fosse's physical and emotional breakdown and the character's death, although Fosse did not actually die after this incident. What's interesting is how much of a womanizer he is but how important the three particular women in the story are to him. Even death is personified as a woman. You also see how much he loved choreographing for women and the female form. Not hard to figure out where Michael Jackson got so many of his great moves. The dancing is as contemporary and lively today as it was in 1979 showing that true talent and class never gets dated. An interesting connection to All About Eve, though. Both concern an older woman playing a younger part in a production. And in both, the character being playing by the older woman is 24 years old. A lack of good mature women's parts in film and stage is not exactly a new thing I guess. Anger, Denial, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance - the five stages of death, grieving and pretty much any emotional event in life makes a very interesting story through. Death, talent, dance, love, regret.
Amadeus - Ah jealousy. Mediocrity. "I speak for the mediocrities in the world. I am their champion. I am their patron saint." A constant feeling of not being good enough - can definitely relate to that. "Why implant the desire, like a lust in my body, and then deny me the talent?" Why does God do that to people? Is it just that they don't have a realistic idea about how their life is going to turn out? And of course, getting to listen to Mozart's music for three hours. Such an amazingly made film. I tend to really like films in which you get to see where the art came from. What in the artist's life inspired them to produce that particular piece at that particular time. Jealousy, Mediocrity, Revenge, God, Talent.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Been too Bored to Write
Holy crap, it's been a long time since I've written. No, it doesn't mean I've found a job. I wish. No, I just haven't had much to say. Same basic bitching about the economy and job hunting so I figured I'd refrain. Why am I writing now? Not sure. Don't really care. Also don't care about the intro I've used in past posts. The numbers are just too depressing to track. Although, I know that I have now applied for over 120 jobs and am coming up on a full year of unemployment. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on that but for now . . .
Had a nice little distraction last month when I visited K in San Francisco for a few days. Visited Alcatraz, shopped, when on a historic architecture tour, drank tons of wine, was treated like shit by our host's husband, sat around and waited for K and L to get ready in the morning. Lovely city. Also visited Napa and Sonoma and am now addicted to the idea of going out there temporarily to work the harvest in beautiful and historic winery. Have even applied to one that had housing available. Can't get my mind off of it and really want it to happen which, of course, probably means that it won't but it sure is fun to fantasize about it.
I have decided on an interesting way to spend some time. I'm going to watch every DVD I own in order alphabetically. I'm sure I'll have some witty observations about what the collection I've chosen represents in my life.
Also to come, the depressing nature of reading James Lipton's Inside Inside and realizing that my life has been seriously boring up to now. He was a pimp in Paris, produced numerous Bob Hope specials and Jimmy Carter's inagural concert and is married to a former model. Note to self: get a more interesting life!
Had a nice little distraction last month when I visited K in San Francisco for a few days. Visited Alcatraz, shopped, when on a historic architecture tour, drank tons of wine, was treated like shit by our host's husband, sat around and waited for K and L to get ready in the morning. Lovely city. Also visited Napa and Sonoma and am now addicted to the idea of going out there temporarily to work the harvest in beautiful and historic winery. Have even applied to one that had housing available. Can't get my mind off of it and really want it to happen which, of course, probably means that it won't but it sure is fun to fantasize about it.
I have decided on an interesting way to spend some time. I'm going to watch every DVD I own in order alphabetically. I'm sure I'll have some witty observations about what the collection I've chosen represents in my life.
Also to come, the depressing nature of reading James Lipton's Inside Inside and realizing that my life has been seriously boring up to now. He was a pimp in Paris, produced numerous Bob Hope specials and Jimmy Carter's inagural concert and is married to a former model. Note to self: get a more interesting life!
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