Media Alert!

Since I know everyone is so interested in my thoughts about what I am reading/watching/making up, here's an update on stuff! Yay vague stuff!

I recently read The Sirens of Titan by Vonnegut. One of the Vonnegut books that I haven't read so far. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. This is a perfect example of how Vonnegut can create fun light-hearted fiction, with wonderful undercurrents of societal/religious commentary. Very interesting stuff. I am looking forward to rereading it, which is something I haven't gotten to say in a while. I came out feeling much better for humanity, which is always a plus.

To provide a stark contrast, I'm finally reading Twilight. Let me preface this by saying that I am already biased against the book(s), based upon particular fan reactions as well as interviews I've read. I'm reading it out of sheer curiousity, though. So far, I understand why people like it, but I also understand why I probably won't. I'm honestly trying to give it a chance, but it just may not happen. Sorry, fans! Maybe I'll secretly fall for it, but right now I'm just feeling "ehn." I'm sure I'll have a much more pretentious rant about this later.

On the silver screen, I managed to watch most of the premiere of Fringe last night. So far, I'm getting that this is a combination of The X-Files and Lost. I mean, that makes sense since it's made by the guy who created Lost. Eh, it could have potential, or just be really confusing and bad. Like the later seasons of The X-Files. No Mulder and Scully, though, so the potential of the idea of the show isn't as high. Eh, I'll try to watch it, probably DVR it, but not need to watch it live. This is what I'm guessing. Investigating supernatural events just doesn't have the same flair if it's not in the woods of Canada.

I think that's pretty much it. Project Runway tonight. I'm warming up to this season. And actually starting to like a few of the designers. Is it just me or is the female talent pool this season significantly better than the male talent pool? Certainly at this point, I think. Get ready for that move to Lifetime, everybody!

I think I need to figure out when my favorite tv shows are coming back to the air, or I'll completely miss them. I actually caught some of the new 90210 show just because it was something new on TV. THIS IS PROBLEMATIC. I need my Office fix, as well as Pushing Daisies, The Riches, and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. And probably a few more that I'm forgetting. I can't remember what original programming felt like. Well, that isn't a reality tv show. PLEASE MAKE ME STOP WATCHING THEM.

Okay, have to go, as I am very busy and important.

Why so Serious?

Okay, saw The Dark Knight on Sunday, and you know I have to throw in my two cents, or else I'll explode much like Marlena in Cloverfield. Firstly, I mostly agree with Eric, who totally beat me in talking about this movie. So...I'll talk about other things.

Spoilers be here, so I'll do the fancy thing and change the color of the text, so you'd have to highlight them to read the spoilers. Cause I need to talk the twists and turns and gut-wrenching moments. Now, Heath Ledger really makes the movie. His Joker was pretty perfect. And I really love the message that the movie was trying to make, and the fact that the Joker was pretty secondary to the plot. Although he was set up as the primary villain, and had the most screen time (which was always awesome), he was mostly a plot device to get the real story rolling (which is mostly why the movie took so long to get going--it was like 2 movies squished together). Harvey Dent becoming Two-Face is the real focus of the story and it was pretty spectacular; mostly because we could completely understand his murderous rage because of his own disfigurement and being party to the traumatic death of the woman he (and Batman!) loved. The Joker pulled a number on him, and we feel truly bad for Dent. He was a real person, unlike the caricature that Tommy Lee Jones portrayed. And the makeup was truly, uh, icky, for lack of a better word. What were those, 5th degree burns? On one level, the Joker won. And, that's pretty cool. But on another, he lost spectacularly, and I think that was even cooler.

I'm referring to the scene with the river boats. The moment that the hardened criminal threw the detonator out of the window, so that the boatload of innocent people could be spared was pretty damn amazing to me. But, maybe I'm a sucker for moments when you realize humanity isn't as crappy as everyone thinks. It just gets me. For a movie that had so many unnecessary scenes, the emotional payoff of all the filmmakers' setup is pretty good.

Now, I'm concerned about the inevitable next movie. How can they not make a third part now with all the money being thrown at them right now? But, who can possibly top Heath Ledger as the Joker? What villain could possibly come close to that? The story as it is now is really interesting, and they set up a great plotline for the next movie, where Batman is concerned. Batman was always towing the line between good guy and bad guy, so it was nice to see a movie where Batman made too many wrong turns, and got much darker than normal--to set up the fact that he's taking the fall for a good man, whom Gotham needs as a symbol more than Batman. The next movie should be interesting. What villain could be brought in, though? Maybe they'll surprise me, but I don't see how they could possibly top that Joker, who is not only Batman's greatest foe, but was also played to perfection. I hope they do surprise me, though, because this interpretation of a comic book is pretty awesome, and I don't want to see it go out with a whimper.

Tacos and Trump Thursday

I'm a couple of days late on this, but first thing's first, RIP Estelle Getty. My Golden Girls counterpart, Sophia. At this point, I can't say it better than everyone else has, so I'll just go with the now cliched "thank you for being a friend." I totally stole that from The Fug Girls and numerous other places, but whatever, it fits.

As I enjoy my taco dinner from La Cocina, I'm doing something a bit ridiculous. Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to look up the blueprints of the penthouse apartments in the still-rising Trump Tower, which has now become one of the most prominent features of the Chicago skyline. The 89th floor residence (which Donnie has set aside for himself) is particularly ridiculous. Here: Check it out. Dude. And, after a nosy bit of digging, I discovered that the cost of that penthouse is $28 million. 14,260 sq. feet. 5 bedrooms, 6 baths. 16 foot ceilings. Holy crap, Donald Trump. Damn. The only thing that's missing there is an actual library, but seriously, what Billionaires, with a capital B, have time to read, anyway? Kind of puts my crappy little studio into perspective. Not that this penthouse should put anything into perspective, since approximately .0001% of the population can even afford to step foot in it. Even in my world of make believe, I'd never be able to imagine living in a condo like that.

Buffy Update: Not that many of you care, but I'm partway through the third season now. In retrospect, I genuinely believe that the third season was probably the best one of the series. None of the episodes, so far, have been misses; in fact, some of the episodes that I've remembered and cherished for years took place in the third season. Classic Buffy at its best. The vastly tonally different episodes Anne, Band Candy, The Wish, and Amends have all been pretty spectacular, and I'm not even halfway through the season. In fact, I'd say that some of these episodes top even some of the better Firefly episodes. At least for me. That's probably due to the fact that I clearly remember watching them as a teenage girl--the exact demographic that Joss Whedon was writing for. There's just something so satisfying about watching a flawed, emotionally vulnerable girl kick so much ass--kind of makes you feel like you can do anything. Which is kinda the whole point of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, anyway. Not to mention-- VAMPIRES! SO MANY VAMPIRES! That is all.

If anything, this is helping wean me off of Bravo TV. I'll still watch Project Runway, but not as many reruns on weekends. I've got geekier things to do now.

Grr...Argh...

At the Very Least, I'd Have to Read Adorno

Gather round, all ye readers, for I have discovered something amazing.

In my attempts to better understand the mechanics of the movie-going experience, I have rediscovered my interest in camp. Or rather, a need to understand why people like camp, as I'm not sure I do anymore. Sure, it's fun, but I also find glorying in campiness to be easy and a little too spiteful for a movie-watching experience. Since I miss research (seriously, I DO) and am frequently bored and brain dead at work, I decided to go into the classic UChicago databases to see if I can find any academic materials relating to the analysis of camp in movies. Well, I found some. Not too many, but enough to sate me.

However, what I did discover was the wonderful periodical entitled Cinema Journal. I know, I know, big whoop. Film students everywhere are probably cringing at my newfound joy. I don't care! Two of my favorite interests--analysis and films--together in one source! It's very academic, and probably extremely annoying to analyze film in this way, but I freakin' love it. Listen to what some of the articles are (by the way, I found these by searching "James Bond"): Birth Traumas: Parturition and Horror in "Rosemary's Baby", Feminist Enterprise? "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and the Occupation of Femininity, The Poetics of Horror: More than Meets the Eye, "Too Close for Comfort": "American Beauty" and the Incest Motif, The Metafictional Hitchcock: The Experience of Viewing and the Viewing of Experience in "Rear Window" and "Psycho" and the list goes on and on.

[ETA: I had three well thought out paragraphs after this point, but Blogger decided to have one of its spells, as I tried to publish the post, and lost them (a strange thing, because it had been saving my work regularly, even after I'd written this much). So, the remaining paragraphs have been hastily written through gritted teeth and muttered expletives. Just thought you should know what I do for you people.]

Now I know this sort of analysis often guts the movie-going experience, and seems overly pretentious to even the most annoying academics. Many times, because people often act snarky towards less, um, involved movies, in order to show off how clever they are (another reason why camp isn't so cool anymore). There is a reason why nobody wants to watch movies with U of C kids (And yeah, I know I'm being slightly hypocritical here. Shut up.). Oftentimes, I like to shut out the analytic side of my brain and enjoy a movie simply for the plot presented to me. But, I like knowing that the option is available, if I want to indulge my nerdy leanings. It's funny, but I was never into over-analysis in most of my UChicago classes; however, give me a good movie to watch and I turn into "That Kid." I know I do. I know I annoy people. I don't care. And I know that people can read waaaay too much into movies, but isn't that what entertainment is really about? I mean the fact that you can, at times, enjoy a really good movie on two different levels (at least) is just cool.

Good movies/tv shows/web series are enjoyable no matter how you see them. And, agree or disagree with the points of the above articles, but they are sure to provide interesting food for thought. Movies don't have to be brainless entertainment! Like I've ranted about before, whenever Hollywood makes us work to connect complicated points by presenting them in an entirely entertaining manner, I say that's a damn good movie. DAMN. GOOD.

It's a shame I'm no expert--Cinema Journal seems to favor individuals who can actually articulate using examples from literature, history, cinema classics etc., as opposed to my style, which is more based in gut reactions. I'd love to get into a medium where I can wax poetic on what I find interesting about some movies, and how I read into their many, many onion layers.

...

Wait a second...

The Ballad of the Wind Fish is Da Bomb

I have a confession to make. Please bear with me, because this very personal and embarrassing. I am in love with The Legend of Zelda. Now, this is not a secret, but it's just started coming back to me, about how much I loved those games. I blame it on my coworker, who keeps regaling me with stories about how he stays up all night playing Metal Gear. He's the one getting married in a month, by the way. But, I guess through his great desire to talk about the intricate story lines of that game, I have rediscovered my own love. Of a little elf boy named Link, who wears green clothes, who runs around killing monsters with a sword and bow & arrow and hookshot. AND OCARINA! Yay!

So I plugged in the N64 last night, for the first time in years. I decided to go with Majora's Mask, the most messed up game ever invented. Awesome. I've already played through the first three days of the game, and it. was. so. much. FUN. I forgot how freaky the animation is. I mean, this is the moon (OF DOOM):

And the titular mask:

It's looking at MY SOUL.

The transformation sequences are particularly freaky, where Link changes into various creatures/peoples using different masks. It's always a really intense, with Link giving a curdling scream as we watch the obviously painful transformation. These games terrified me when I was younger, to the point where I couldn't finish certain dungeons. I know, I know--it's just a game. But, if you're saying that, you obviously haven't played through enough. This game has lots of screaming and jump moments. The scary music never helped matters! Maybe now I've grown up enough where I can play it more fully.

I mean, I'm not going to turn into one of these people:

(Although I can tell which tunic she's currently wearing to vanquish the mask. Yo, don't judge!)

Zelda just seems like an overall fun game: you get to play magical songs with the ocarina, help people to get fun prizes, and get to kill things with a sword! All in a lovely pastoral/medieval-type setting. Sigh. Legend of Zelda was my very first game (on Gameboy--I never had the original Nintendo), and currently the only 2 games I own for my N64.

Oh, this reminds me of the great IGN April Fool's Day joke from this past year. I'll be the first to admit that it totally suckered me in, and got me so excited. Here, check it out: Best Hoax Ever. Fans of the game from far and wide nearly exploded with dweeby joy and then excruciating torment. And, actually, given the reaction, they should totally make that movie. It would be extremely lucrative, and probably much better than other video games already turned into movies, like, say, Doom. I mean, it's got already got a good plot, interesting characters, and a magical world to be able to create a compelling movie. I'd go see it.

Must. Contain. MANIC GLEE.

I've known about this for quite some time, but I hadn't checked out the website until now. And it. is. AWESOME.

This may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's certainly mine. Namely, chai with generous helpings of cream and sugar. Or possibly sweet iced tea with a dash of lemon. Depends how hot it is outside.

So, it is my great pleasure to present...

JOSSWHEDONPLUSDOOGIEHOWSERPLUSCAP'NTIGHTPANTSPLUSSINGINGPLUSSUPERVILLAINY

Seriously, Joss Whedon is amazing. AMAZING. At least I can probably count on Eric to geek out with me. Here's the official poster: