Obama

As you know, I live in New Hampshire. And as you probably know, New Hampshire has an early presidential primary in January. I'm a registered Independent (as is 35% of this state) and can therefore choose which of the two party races to vote in. I've decided to vote in the Democratic primary and will cast my vote for Barack Obama.

There are too many problems -- huge, grave problems -- that need fixed. I'm convinced that another four-to-eight years of legislative gridlock and political polarization will seal our country's fate. As much as I hate scare-tactics, I fear for our country's future. I fear for our economic and national security if we continue to be dependent on oil. It makes no sense. I fear the end of America's science and technology leadership if innovation continues to be stopped at our borders. It is stifling our growth and making us less competitive. I fear our image across the world is so poor that our allies are made weaker and are enemies are made stronger. And this needs to change, fast. I fear, most of all, the threat of terrorism, and know it will not end nor be defeated by ONE PARTY or ONE IDEA, but the BEST of BOTH PARTIES and the BEST IDEAS.

The political game has to stop. All you game players -- you know who you are -- your time is up -- Game Over. And Barack Obama is the only candidate I see who can pull the plug.

That to me is more important than the details of his policies -- some of which I disagree with -- because nothing will get fixed or addressed if this politically toxic climate doesn't end now.

To show my support, I am canvassing for Obama next Saturday in Southern New Hampshire. While I know my involvement could potentially heighten my disappointment should Obama lose, I feel like voting is not enough. Too much is at stake and I care too much not to spend one afternoon turning my thoughts into action. I'm looking forward to it.


-Matt

Southland Tales

"Southland Tales" is writer-director Richard Kelly's follow-up to "Donnie Darko," which I made every single one of you see.

The trailer is a friggin hot mess:

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809233751/video/4164037/


What to make of it? I don't know, but I'll see it. Hell, any trailer set to the Pixies' "Wave of Mutiliation" has got my $8. Plus I really to understand why Kelly felt the need to cast Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as his leading man.

Here's the plot summary, taken from imdb.com:
"California is at the epicenter of a political and environmental disaster that threatens to destroy the world in this ambitious fusion of comedy, drama, dystopia science fiction, and music. In the year 2005, a nuclear attack wipes out part of the state of Texas, and three years later America is a virtual police state, with the government taking control of nearly every part of people's lives, supposedly for their own good. A German firm has found a way to generate energy using seawater, but both public and private concerns are desperate to prevent the new technology from being introduced in the gasoline-starved United States. A Marxist underground based on the West Coast is determined to bring down the federal government through violent revolution. In this midst of this chaos, we follow a number of stories that continually return to three principle characters. Boxer Santaros (Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock) is an actor famous for his role in action films; he's trying to secure financing for a new project, but reality keeps mirroring the events in his script and he struggles to hold on to his identity following a bout with amnesia. Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is a porn star who is reinventing herself as a television pundit offering her views on politics, contemporary culture, and teenage sex. And Roland Taverner (Seann William Scott) is an L.A. police officer whose identity has mysteriously split in two and he struggles to track down his other half. "

How can this possibly work? Based on its reception at last year's Cannes Film Festival, it isn't, which is why Kelly is re-editing it for theatrical release this fall.

Terrifically behind

Well, hello there!

The following are responsible for the posting drought:
1. Spring travel
2. Job search because I didn't like the Spring travel
3. Job interviews
4. New job
5. New job's busy season
6. Blog fright. you know what I mean.

Randomness:

Top 10 Movies of 2007 (so far)
1. "300"
2. "Zodiac"
3. "28 Weeks Later"
4. "Superbad"

oh, hell with that...it's too depressing.

Question of the Post: What will happen on the next season of "Friday Night Lights"? I just finished catching up with the final episodes of the first season, and I love it to death. It's a truly well-written show that feels genuine even though the cynical, tv snob part of you knows it's a teen soap opera dressed down for easy, guilt-free consumption.

Possible plot points next season include (SPOILER WARNING for those who have not seen the entire season):

1. Coach Taylor begins his job at TMU and leaves his wife and daughter behind to enjoy their happy lives in Dillon. In doing so, the audience is treated to not ONE, but TWO opportunities for football game drama. That is, the show will follow TMU's season as well as the Panthers'. Hurray! Or is this bad? In the same way "The Others" was bad for "Lost"? Hmmm...
2. Jason Street competes for the Head Coaching position of the Dillon Panthers, but settles for QB coach.
3. Smash is recruited but can't handle the pressure and turns to steroids...again. The show begins it's downturn.
4. Matt Saracen proposes to Julie and the final episode of the season is the wedding. The Maid of Honor and Best Man, Tyra and Landry, hook up, and I cheer.
5. Minka Kelly, the actress who plays Lyla Garritty, wins the role of Jennifer Lopez in the upcoming made-for-TV movie of the singer's life.
6. Jesse Plemons, the actor who plays Landry Clark, wins the role of Matt Damon's ugly twin brother in the next "Bourne" film.

The new season of "Friday Night Lights" premieres on Friday, October 5th at 9pm ET. Why Friday? Because NBC stands for "Nincompoop Broadcasting Channel." Ha! Eat your heart out, Jay Leno.

Oscar Nominations! I still care!

I of course can't help but offer my thoughts on this year's Oscar nominations. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by:

• The "Dreamgirls" snub - not a snub if you ask me, because it didn't deserve it. Only a snub because it defied analyst predictions. Shows how much they know.
• Penelope Cruz, "Volver" - that's right, doubters. My girl Penelope has been nominated for an Oscar. I know y'all thought of me when you heard she got nominated...don't deny it. Almodovar's film finally came to NH last week, so I will be checking Cruz out in all her spanish-speaking glory ASAP.
• Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson" - I've been trying to see this film for months now -- it's been popping up at local artsy theaters for single weekend showings -- but have never made it. I've dug Gosling ever since "The Believer," and I'm thrilled he's gaining some formal recognition. He was even good in "Murder By Numbers."
• Mark Wahlberg, "The Departed" - We all said how awesome he was. I guess we weren't the only ones. I just thought it was something only we appreciated. He won't win, of course. He also made "Invincible" this year. Groan.
• Paul Greengrass, "United 93." - This nomination suggests "United" had a chance at getting nominated for Best Picture, which it was. Clearly. Definitely. Without a doubt in my mind.
• Abigail Breslin, "Little Miss Sunshine" - Good for her! She was a really important part of the movie and she was an unforgettable little character.
• Eddie Murphy, "Dreamgirls" - A standout performance in an otherwise forgettable musical. The scene in the movie where Jaime Foxx's character tells him his comeback song won't make money, and the way Murphy's eyes just change when he starts a line...great stuff. On top of that his outlandish but true-to-the-times performance as Jimmy Early. I watched "Raw" and "Delirious" not too long ago for the first time, and the dude was just super talented. He still is, but he needs to demonstrate it more instead of playing fat people under lots of makeup.

And I was annoyed by:

• All of "The Queen's" nominations - Granted, I saw this on the plane ride to England (how appropriate!), but damn if it didn't strike me as TV-movie garbage with a good Queen Elizabeth impersonation by Helen Mirren. The most overrated movie of the year.
• Dicaprio getting nominated for "Blood Diamond" - instead of "The Departed." I saw both films and his heavy work in the Scorsese flick far outweighs his charismatic soldier-of-fortune dude in the Zwick flick.

The rest of the noms are listed below for my reference later on. My preference in each category, if I have one, is blue-bolded. The one thing the Oscars do for me these days is motivate me to see a few of the nominated films. This year, it's more than a few. They are:

"Babel," "Letters from Iwo Jima," "Half Nelson," "Volver," "Pan's Labryinth," "Children of Men"

Oh, and real quick:

• "Apocalypto" - 4.5/5 -- holy shit was this good
• "Blood Diamond" - 3.5/5 -- better than expected
• "Rocky Balboa" - 3.5/5 -- the music itself guarantees at least a 3!
• "Friends With Money" -- 3.5/5 -- very observant and enjoyable from start to finish.
• "Dreamgirls" - 3/5 -- the opening shot of the girls' blue glittering asses, bumping to the beat...thes best part of the film.
• "The Descent" -- 3/4 -- very cool premise and build-up, with few horror movie cliches. Only kinda scary, but still good. Think Blair Witch crossed with Deliverance crossed with gory Monster movie.
• "The Queen" -- 2/5 -- wow, slow your role, critics community
• "Scoop" -- 2/5 -- Scarlett Johannson ceases to be hot when she acts this bad.

BEST PICTURE

• "Babel"
• "The Departed"
• "Letters From Iwo Jima"
• "Little Miss Sunshine"
• "The Queen"

BEST ACTOR

• Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"
• Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"
• Peter O’Toole, “Venus”
• Will Smith,“The Pursuit of Happyness”
• Forest Whitaker, “The Last King of Scotland”

BEST ACTRESS

• Penelope Cruz, “Volver”
• Judi Dench, “Notes on a Scandal”
• Helen Mirren, “The Queen”
• Meryl Streep, “The Devil Wears Prada”
• Kate Winslet,“Little Children”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Alan Arkin, “Little Miss Sunshine”
• Jackie Earle Haley,“Little Children”
• Djimon Hounsou, "Blood Diamond"
• Eddie Murphy,“Dreamgirls”
• Mark Wahlberg, “The Departed”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Adriana Barraza, “Babel”
• Cate Blanchett, “Notes on a Scandal”
• Abigail Breslin,“Little Miss Sunshine”
• Jennifer Hudson, “Dreamgirls”
• Rinko Kikuchi, “Babel”

BEST DIRECTOR

• Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu,“Babel”
• Martin Scorsese, “The Departed”
• Clint Eastwood, “Letters From Iwo Jima”
• Stephen Frears, “The Queen”
• Paul Greengrass, “United 93”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

• “After the Wedding,” Denmark
• “Days of Glory (Indigenes),” Algeria
• “The Lives of Others,” Germany
• "Pan’s Labyrinth,” Mexico
• "Water,” Canada

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• “Borat ”
• “Children of Men”
• “The Departed”
• “Little Children”
• “Notes on a Scandal”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• “Babel”
• “Letters From Iwo Jima”
• “Little Miss Sunshine”
• “Pan’s Labyrinth”
• “The Queen”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Cars” “Happy Feet” “Monster House”

BEST ART DIRECTION

• “Dreamgirls”
• “The Good Shepherd”
• “Pan’s Labyrinth”
• “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”
• “The Prestige”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• “The Black Dahlia”
• “Children of Men”
• “The Illusionist”
• “Pan’s Labyrinth”
• “The Prestige”

BEST SOUND MIXING
“Apocalypto” “Blood Diamond” “Dreamgirls” “Flags of Our Fathers” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”

BEST SOUND EDITING
“Apocalypto” “Blood Diamond” “Flags of Our Fathers” “Letters From Iwo Jima” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
"Babel," “The Good German,” “Notes on a Scandal,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Queen,”

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “I Need to Wake Up” from “An Inconvenient Truth”
• “Listen” from “Dreamgirls”
• “Love You I Do” from “Dreamgirls”
• “Our Town” from “Cars”
• “Patience” from “Dreamgirls”

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Curse of the Golden Flower” “The Devil Wears Prada” “Dreamgirls” “Marie Antoinette” “The Queen”

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“Deliver Us From Evil” “An Inconvenient Truth” “Iraq in Fragments” “Jesus Camp” “My Country, My Country”

BEST FILM EDITING
“Babel” “Blood Diamond” “Children of Men” “The Departed” “United 93”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” “Poseidon” “Superman Returns”

Business Bond

I came up with a good business saying, applicable in various risk/reward situations. Let's see what ya'll think of it:


"If you're gonna wear the cape, you'd better be prepared to wear the tights."


Get it? Risk, Reward, and EXPOSURE. Well, I love it. Copyright Nania, LLC 2006, bitches.

By the way, I have a beard now. Been growing it for about a month. So much for my clean-cut image. I'll never get promoted now. I'll have to rely on my innovative business mottos to keep me employed.

And of course my parents hate it.

Is this picture showing up?





I saw "Casino Royale" and think it's the best Bond blah blah blah. My dad and I were trying to describe Daniel Craig in one word and we couldn't. We kept saying what he was like as compared to Sean Connery, or as compared to Roger Moore, Pierce Brosnan, etc. He's not as smooth, he's not as debonair, he's rough around the edges, a little more serious, doesn't enjoy the ladies quite as much, but just as tough. He's more of a machine, stronger perhaps.

See what I mean?

The movie never lags, even for the entire 2 hrs and 25 minutes. The action sequences walk right up to that line of believability but never cross it. I do think though that the grim torture scene is a little out of place for a Bond film. More like a Tarantino film. But other than that, no major complaints. Fun time, want to see it again. 4/5.

Who's watching Friday Night Lights? Love it!

Travelling to Mannheim, Germany in a couple weeks for training. Wish me luck.

Happy Birthday, Jude!

The Departed

Score: 3.5/5

Scorsese imitating Scorsese-lite, with few of the flourishes we've seen in his past crime films. The bookends are terrible. The opening montage -- set to "Gimme Shelter" -- is a desperate attempt to imitate himself at his best, and he fails. Most of the film is pretty damn good. But the last twenty minutes or so of deaths, plot twists, etc. are little too much, and not handled well at all. The last shot in particular is regretfully heavy handed. What's good is the snap-crackle-pop of the dialogue and the interaction between a lot of different tough players. I was not impressed with Nicholson, who to me simply plays himself. Kinda reminded me of DeNiro's fall in "Analyze This," and that ain't good. Get rid of the love interest and you have a tighter movie.

Seeing it again and perhaps with a better crowd and better theater I will enjoy it more.

More comments coming soon...

Countdown to "The Departed"

3 Days and counting to the opening day of "The Departed." Ya'll know why I care and why my life revolves around it right now. For some reason it's times like these I miss having a subscription to "Film Comment," that oh so intelligent film magazine whose writers really know how to use their thesauruses. I desperately need to read a "Departed" article that uses words like "dialectical" and phrases like "viscercal stream of human misery." Yes, yes, sweet film criticism: unleash your incisive, scholarly ways onto Martin Scorese...one more time, for old times sake.



I briefly contemplated skipping work to go see the first showing, but Friday is the day I have to move across the street to the Deckhouse for my new Customer 1st position. Hurray for relocation, Boo for not being able to skip work.

I want to blog more on "United 93," by far my most extreme movie experience in the past 5 years. That really deserves a whole blog of its own. If I were still writing for "The Observer," it'd a fucking 2-page feature, biatches. Wow, "biatches" should never be used again. EVER.

The point is, I watched "United 93," it crushed me under the weight of its emotional impact, and it is the best film of 2006. 5/5. (up from 4.5 because why the fuck not?)

Hurray for Notre Dame's victories at MSU and Purdue. I'm still fed up with our lack of running game; it puts too much pressure on Quinn and our receivers, and any defense worth its weight can read us like a book. But wins are wins are wins are wins are wins...

My fish are doing well...except one died a month or so ago to the "common cold" of fish diseases: Ick. Poor Linus, my male black molly. His female companion, Lulu, has become a lot more aggressive these past few weeks, ramming into the gold Platys whenever she can. I have to research this.



The one on the right is dead.

The new Decemberists album came out today. I iTunes'd it, and will post my thoughts oh, 6 months from now.

My follow-up discussion with HR about my pay raise is this coming Monday. I will steal good advice from my Dad over the weekend and kick the hell out the conversation and get what I want, goddamnit. "H this R!" I'll say, and then they'll give me ten-thousand dollars.

I watched "Friday Night Lights" tonight...the tv show version of the movie or whatever. It was really effin good for a network pilot starring that guy from "Early Edition" who people say could be my heavier, older, more attractive brother.



I don't see the resemblance.

The cheesy plot turns at the end of this episode would've wrecked most shows in my eyes, but the docu-style directing and sturdy acting save it. An encore airs Wednesday night.

A new season of "Lost" starts Wednesday. Lori and I have been watching Season 2 on DVD. I like it a lot more now, mainly because I can fall asleep during all the Hurley episodes without worrying about missing key plot elements. I pray for his death.

And on that note, I good you bid evening.