the movie list i saw (one of many, i understand) had me perplexed. most of the blockbusters are too much for my peabrain to manage. i bet they're fun movies, but i can't get into them. i like quirky films, films shot with high quality images at odd angles, films without too much dialogue or music, films that include me in the thinking process. blues brothers, spinal tap, scarface, gone with the wind, pulp fiction, sound of music, it's a wonderful life - a big fat no to all of those. many of my friends are aghast upon learning that i have never seen some seminal film from their list of favorites.
wanna know the ones i actually have seen? shawshank (it's always on tv), godfather (thanks jacob & kathy), the dark knight (imax, baby), the empire strikes back (at the strand with my dad), return of the jedi (still have a leia keyring), both lord of the rings movies (way too long), usual suspects (benicio!), raiders of the lost ark (if that's the one with the melting faces), forrest (and that ping pong scene), american history x (biting the curb), silence of the lambs (too spooky for me), and saving private ryan (after visiting the normandy coast).
i decided that this week away from the school grind was primed for me to get back on the movie train. i curled up with some headphones, an ipad, and dialed up netflix. i actually went to the theatre. i watched some things from our free week of hbo. i threw back ten movies, which is most certainly a career high for me. i get nervous when i see how long a film is supposed to last, unexplainably scared to make a two hour commitment to anything.
i watched a good documentary on hip hop music with ice-t, featuring several of my old school heroes, and another one about the punch brothers. i laughed with mike birbiglia, lost interest in bernie, and wasted my time on identity thief (but give it up for t.i.). i was fascinated with the director's cut of ferris bueller, took the in-laws to we're the millers, and couldn't get fred armisen out of my head while watching behind the candelabra.
i loved the original concept in the movie safety not guaranteed. the intoxicating april (from parks and rec) is the main character here, an intern out on a research assignment for a seattle magazine. she & her cronies follow up on a classified ad, in search of a companion for time travel. this offbeat puzzle is right up my alley. april is great, and the flow is digestible.
my favorite of the bunch, hands down, goes to the giant mechanical man. it is slow going from the beginning, but real peculiar and captivating. a street performer with hard opinions on our universe ultimately crosses paths with a lost soul. they both get gigs working at the zoo, and their personal lives (away from the animals) shape them into polar opposites. it's about believing in your art and finding a reason to live your life, which is an eternal struggle for me. tell me i'm not walking alone...
tim berne has said that he watches movies for inspiration. i know, i know - none of these films are on that list, but the last two really resonate within me. they have fed my soul, and will hopefully counter all of that pie i ate.
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