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McNerd_the_Mundane
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Name: Seth
Country: Bangladesh
Birthday: 12/28/1984
Gender: Male
Interests: I like to watch good movies (not The Fast and the Furious), I listen to music almost constantly, I like to write, read, play guitar and try to play piano, dance, hang out with friends doing weird things, make movies, and act.
Expertise: Speaking in weird voices and doing character impersonations (specialties include Strongbad, Napolean Dynamite, Edgar the intergalactic cockroach from Men in Black, Jimmy Stewart and Sean Connery). I am also good at doing covert black ops for the government. I play a wicked air guitar.
Message: message me
Member Since:
5/2/2006
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| Not really sure if I want to keep this thing, but I don't want to lose all my old posts. Must come up with a solution.
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| Well, I haven't really felt inclined to talk about my life on this thing very much, so maybe I'll try something different: movie and music reviews. Since I've seen a few good movies lately, I'll give you more than one.
Cache', by Michael Haneke:
The French, for all their faults, can make some dern good films. While it would be great if I knew French so I could really catch all of the linguistic nuances of the acting, I can still appreciate how well-acted and directed this movie is. The basic plot point is that a middle-aged couple, played by Daniel Auteil and Juliette Binoche, have been receiving anonymous videos of their daily lives. The strange thing is, these videos have nothing incriminating on them. For the most part, they show them innocently going about their business. However, in the process of finding out who is sending them these tapes, the couple is stretched to the breaking point.
In most of the reviews I have seen, the movie looks like a mystery thriller type of movie, but it's not your typical thriller by any stretch of the imagination. It is very suspenseful, but there are no car chases, no gun fights, no action sequences, so if you are looking for yet another Harrison Ford murder mystery blockbuster, look elsewhere. The camera tends to linger on one spot for a long time and there is no music, making it a very low key film that doggedly avoids creating distractions for the viewer. It leads you along, forcing you to deal with the questions it raises, and at times you wish for a distraction so that you can work that knot out of your stomach, but this film doesn't give you what you think you want. It leaves you wrapped up even after the film is over, preventing you from simply walking away and going about your life. This, in my opinion, is the mark of a good movie: it doesn't just give you a chunk of easy entertainment, but actually makes you look at your life and ask the hard questions. So if you want something thought provoking to watch this weekend, rent this film or call me up and watch it at my house. I highly recommend it.
Mystic River, by Clint Eastwood
After seeing this movie, I really want to watch more of Eastwood's films (the ones he has directed, that is). This film is also pretty gut-wrenching, asking questions that it doesn't really answer. The plot hinges around three childhood friends, played by Kevin Bacon, Sean Penn, and Tim Robbins, whose lives have been somewhat separate since a traumatic incident that happened when they were young. When the daughter of one of them is found murdered, however, events are set in motion that cause their lives to once again intersect.
The acting is powerful in this film, and the symbolism is key understanding the movie. The stories of each character collide to create the tension of the greater story, leaving you wondering whether things could have been any other way. Again, this is a film I highly recommend, although not for those with a delicate disposition. This is a pretty short review, but this film got quite a lot of critical kudos, so you should be able to find something on it.
Closer, by Mike Nichols
Wow. I'm really not sure what to tell you on this one. I can't decide whether to tell you to stay the heck away or to watch it. First of all, there is a lot of very explicit sexual dialogue.... a lot.... a whole freakin' lot. There is no sex in the movie, albeit one extended scene of nudity (I'm not sure how graphic, though - I averted my eyes), but the dialogue in this film is absolutely filthy. However, you would have to be a pervert to enjoy the language, and I spent 2/3 of the movie feeling nauseous. This movie does not make this kind of language attractive by any stretch of the imagination, which is how I can watch it in good conscience - it caused me to be disgusted at the filth rather than approving of it.
The film begins like any typical romantic comedy. Two people catch each others eye on the street, and from there, the man leaves his live-in girlfriend and the two move in together. However, things swerve away from the run of the mill rom-com when the other two main characters are introduced. The four main characters see what they want, and they do whatever necessary to get it, leaving all of them with the consequences of their self-centeredness at the end. Your typical romantic comedy says: "Two beautiful people who love each other should be together, no matter how much they have to shirk their commitments to do so." Closer says: "Well, fine. Let's see where that leads us."
The movie shows the consequences of looking for love and happiness completely on one's own terms. All of the characters want love, but none of them is willing to give the kind of love that brings about self-sacrifice. I think this movie illustrates pretty well the individualistic ME culture that pervades the West. We all want to be happy, but the pursuit of happiness on our own terms leads to nothing but misery when we are always the focused on me, myself, and I. Interestingly, the chronological gaps between each of the scenes often span nearly a year. Skipping this much time gives the impression that the four characters are hopping from one partner to another at the drop of a hat - this allows you to look at them as pretty scummy people. However, when you think about how much time has passed, you realize that there are plenty of people just like this. After six months, people can come up with reasons why it's okay to cheat on their lover/girlfriend/wife, and that is exactly what the characters in this film do.
So, in short, Closer is a good movie, but viewer beware: the filth goes strong all the way to the end. I can't say I recommend it, but I'm glad I watched it... I think... maybe.
Anyway, if you have a film you think I should see, let me know. I'm always looking for new stuff, even though I'm too darn cheap to get all of the ones I want. Next post, I'll explain why Army of Darkness is the greatest film of all time (it's so thought provoking!). Latuh, peeps.
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| Well, I've been tagged, so I've gotta list six weird things about me and then tag six others to do the same. Here goes.
1. I really want to be able to freak out like Thom Yorke when I'm playing guitar and/or singing
2. My facial hair flows in two different directions, creating wavelike patterns on my face
3. I was blonde as a young child
4. I sometimes catch, kill and eat small rodents and/or children (whichever's the most easily available)
5. I am a culinary segregationist, i.e. I like to keep different foods separate on my plate
6. I'm actually thinking about being in When Mimes Attack
Now I am going to tag:
1. Sonny
2. Rob
3. Baskin
4. Brianna
5. Sarah Jo
6. Joel
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| So maybe you've been wondering why I haven't updated my blog in awhile. I assure you I have a good reason, and it is: I don't really have anything interesting happening right now. I got hired full-time at work, but I'm doing pretty much the same stuff, and no one outside of the software world would care about specifics on that. It's good to have a higher pay grade and benefits and such, not very exciting to read about, though, unless health and disability insurance is a hot topic of conversation these days. I'm a boring working man now. I'm liking my job, but it would be nice if I had better stuff to do with my free time.
I've been realizing that I don't really get stuff done on my own. At work and at school I have not only deadlines to keep me motivated, but also human interaction. When I'm trying to do something that I don't have to do, I can think of a dozen things I would rather do, most of which involve drooling over musical instruments on the internet or watching another episode of Seinfield or what have you. This really bothers me, because the things I want to accomplish (mostly writing movies and music) often involve going it alone and just buckling down and doing it. I get jealous of highly motivated people, because they not only accomplish stuff on their own, they also get pulled into doing stuff with other people. Darn them. Darn them all.
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| So I'm in the process of writing, or preparing to write, two plays and
a screenplay. Unfortunately, my motivation is not always there when I
should be writing. Half the time, when I get back from work I just feel
like vegging out. I consider watching a good movie to be a well-used 2
hours, but I can't do that every night. I really need a shot in the arm
to actually put in time on this stuff. I'm really interested in
pursuing film as a career (eventually, since I have no experience yet),
so I hope this lack of motivation doesn't mean that I will never get
anything done. I guess I need to just buckle down and do it. I
generally have pretty good ideas for storylines, albeit right on the
edge of unbelievable (in the bad sense), but I get bogged down getting
from A to Z, if you know what I mean. It would be awesome if I could
just sit down and crank stuff out by the page, but apparently I have
not the skill... yet. Oh well. No pain no gain.
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