Category Archives: pop culture

Cell Phones Off, Please! Enjoy the Films!!!

Posted in cinema, memories, musings, new york city, pop culture, rant, seattle, society on by

I remember back in 1997, seeing Lost Highway at the Angelika at the midnight showing on opening night. The film is, in a lot of parts, quiet – long stretches of silence or near silence throughout. It was an amazing experience to be in a full movie theatre – in New York City especially – where no one made a sound. The audience as a whole was totally into the film and respected the silence. It was beautiful.

I had a similar experience five years earlier at a preview screening of Dracula at a nice midtown theatre. Not a particularly quiet movie, but still the audience did not detract from it by whispering, crinkling candy wrappers, or letting their cell phones ring (were cell phones even a big thing in ’92? There definitely wasn’t texting yet). We were allowed by the silent audience to make it a private experience while also sharing it with a couple hundred fellow filmgoers. This was in direct contrast to my 2nd viewing a week later at a multiplex in the East Village where there was a more typical NYC movie crowd. They laughed outloud at the cheesy parts, talked back to the characters on screen. . .  And I cannot say it wasn’t enjoyable also, just in a completely different way. Still, I’m glad I saw it first with the quiet crowd.

Yesterday I completed my second week of films at the 35th annual SIFF festival. In between films, I overheard a conversation about the change in the audience “consideration”. (I think this may have been a general statement about film audiences, stemming from a direct observation of the SIFF audiences.) Every year, audiences are asked to turn off phones and beepers, a couple years they added “anything that lights up, including watches”, and this year they’ve added “no texting”. Despite these requests, people still pull out their phones mid-movie. I sometimes ask myself: Do people really need to be told not to text during a movie? And the answer is Yes, yes they do.

Last week I watched Small Crime at Uptown Cinema. It was a cute little comedy set in Cyprus. Apparently the female half of a newlywed couple sitting in front of me was from that part of the world and had extensive knowledge to share with her other half. Throughout the entire film, she was offering little tidbits to him which I’m sure were interesting. I couldn’t actually hear what she was saying, but considering the subtitles floated just above their heads, I sure did notice. It was quite distracting, but not wanting to distract anyone else, I refrained from saying anything to them. I did kick her chair a couple times “on accident”. To them I say, if you want to discuss it as you watch it – rent it and stay home!

There have been a couple films in which I find myself in serious need of a potty break. I sit there, trying not to squirm, trying to figure out if I can hold out ’til the end, or if I should just make a break for it. I really don’t like getting up in the middle of a film, but when Nature calls . . . So I can empathize with other people who are wondering “how much time has already passed?” and “how much longer until the credits roll?” Sometimes it’s a very helpful piece of information, sometimes it just eases an anxious mind. To these people I say – Wear a watch.  Timex makes a really affordable white-face analog time piece that can be read in the light of most films, without even having to turn on the Indiglo. There is absolutely no reason you need to pull out a cell phone and light up the entire row just to find out what time it is. (You know what time the film started, take a guess!)

There is also no reason to have your phone on at all. If you really anticipate that someone might call or text you and cannot wait up to 2 hours for a reply, you really should consider renting a movie and staying at home. That way, if that emergency does take place, you can stop the film and resume it later, after the crisis has been averted. In this way, you are not annoying your fellow movie watchers, and you don’t have to miss the film. It’s a win-win situation.

The overheard conversation mentioned the more frequent home viewing as a cause for this type of inconsiderate behavior. I think there is more to it. As we become more addicted to our devices which connect us to other parts of the globe, we become less aware of our very immediate surroundings. If it weren’t a problem, we wouldn’t see signs at the coffee bar asking customers to refrain from cell phone usage while they are in line. Do people really need to be told to be more present in their immediate interactions with their fellow humans? Yes, yes they do. Will they listen? Hold on, I’ve got to take this call . . . .

Reading of the Words

Posted in musings, pop culture on by

So I get this “comment” the other day, and I’m not really sure what to think about it. I mean, in the grand scheme of things, it’s entirely possible that the “real” DJ Shadow happened upon this page and decided to post a comment using an email address he acquired from a free service. Not probable, but possible. Assuming this is one of those spam comments attempting to get free access to my pages, it’s actually kind of impressive. Usually the spam is from a Russian domain, with either a sputtering of nonsense, generic platitudes (“this good site. i like read it.” or something), or a pricelist for generic drugs. In other words, 100% obvious. This one, however, is a bit deceptive.

DJ Shadow

you are so bukowski
without the drink.
you are the spirit of bukowski
without the stink.

Mar 16, 2:42 PM

A quick search doesn’t give me any info on the rhymes. Perhaps they are meaningful to someone else out there. It doesn’t really matter.

For quite a while, I’ve really wanted to read Bukowski. Several people who I like have declared Bukowski one of their favorite authors. When people I like, like something, I automatically want to know more about it. Not necessarily so I can like it, too, but to gain some additional insight into the minds of those people. So far, I haven’t read anything. I tried watching a documentary about the author, including plenty of archival footage of the man himself. But after about 30 minutes, I was bored to death. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll read one of his books before too much more time passes. Maybe.

I finally finished reading Blindness earlier this week. I started reading it on 28 Jan. The last 30 pages took FOREVER. By that time there were no more startling revelations, just preparation for a conclusion. I nearly stopped reading it, but I really couldn’t guess how it was going to end. Actually, I did guess that everyone was going to die – not within the time frame of the book, but that the last pages would essentially declare that soon after one has stopped reading their story all the characters would be dead. (if that makes sense) Initially, upon finally reading the last word, I was disappointed in the ending. It seemed meaningless and incongruous to all that had lead up to that moment. The next morning, when I was discussing with myself why it was meaningless, it all of a sudden had loads of meaning. Well, perhaps not loads, but still, more than none. Now I can watch the movie, eventually. At least that won’t take two months.

Movie Round Up – 3 Mar 09

Posted in cinema, pop culture on by

Despite having recently watched The TV Set, I went ahead and watched another Hollywood commentary, The Deal.  Whereas the former was about a first-time director, the latter was about a last-time producer. William H. Macy was just about to call it quits permanently (i.e., die) when it struck him he could make one last joke at Hollywood’s expense. Setting out to make a Benjamin Disraeli biopic with a popular action star (LL Cool J) in the lead, we follow his misadventures all the way from the pitch to the premiere. Not as overtly bitter as some movies about The Biz, The Deal is endearing and silly.

The extremely silly Extreme Movie (from Dimension Extreme films) is a string of vignettes about young people trying to and having sex (with the exception of Jamie Kennedy. Can’t he play with kids his own age?). I watched it for Michael Cera and was not disappointed by his sketch. It was a little rushed, but they barely had any time or a budget. I think my second favorite was Andy Milonakis’ unconventional love story (at least he’s got biology as an excuse).  A lot of the people who made this film are in my age group, and yet I really felt I was too old to be watching it.

A Few Day in September is an espionage thriller starring Juliette Binoche and a handful of American actors which takes place in the several days prior to the World Trade Center attacks. I was a bit hesitant despite the star power (Nick Nolte, John Turturro) thinking that perhaps this film had “something to say”. However, I love espionage and I love Juliette Binoche, so I expected I would probably enjoy watching, but I really didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. I thought it might be similar to a Bourne film, less fantastical but just as tense and action-packed. It was not. It really was more of a character study of those who were planning to attend a fateful meeting on the night of the 10th. Had I known prior to watching that this is actually a French film, none of this would have been so surprising.

SIFF Movie Marathon, Pt. 2

Posted in cinema, pop culture, seattle on by

Well, we have just over a month left for getting sponsors, and I’m stuck at 52%.  I suppose I should just keep bugging my family. Most have not replied, not even to tell me to leave them alone, so maybe there’s still a chance.

I really, really want to be able to go all twenty-four hours. Plain old silliness, I know, but that’s who I am.

Aside: it snowed again last night. This morning the sea gulls are fighting with each other. (sounds like some sort of code)

King of Ping Pong is one of the films I was able to see at SIFF 2008.

SIFF Marathon, Pt. 1

Posted in cinema, pop culture, seattle on by

This week I decided to do something a bit out of character for me. I’ve entered a marathon for charity. No, not a running/jogging/walking marathon. It’s actually a sit-on-my-ass-and-do-nothing marathon. The only running will be to the restroom and Icee machine between films. (Actually, the King Cat Theater probably does not have an Icee machine. Bummer.)

As some people know, films are one of the few things I’m fairly passionate about. That’s why I have a 4-at-a-time Netflix plan as well as a Netflix player. And that’s also why I am a member of SIFF – Seattle International Film Festival. They run the largest film festival in North America (or maybe just the US, I don’t know) and provide me and others the opportunity to see a lot of films we otherwise wouldn’t. They are a non-profit organization that depends a lot on volunteerism and donations.

Anyway, back to the marathon. SIFF is attempting to raise money for a new headquarters in Seattle Center. A perfect location, if you ask me. Seattle Center can be the center of culture in this fair city. We already have the ballet, a couple live theatres, Teatro Zinzanni across the street, the grounds for Bumbershoot . . . It seems only fitting that SIFF be in the middle of all of that. Plus, the SIFF theatre is located in Seattle Center already. With the money raised from this event, they will build their home in the former Alki Room.

The way the marathon works is that each “runner” must raise at least $1000 in order to attend the marathon – 24 hours of film at the King Cat Theatre. This is where the “out of character” part comes in. I do not talk to strangers.  I barely talk to people that I know. And yet, somehow I have to convince enough people to throw in a few bucks in my name so that I can sit in a chair and stare at a wall for a day.

I know that people will think that movies are not “charity”, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Our culture, our society depends on the arts to get us through, to take us to the next era. When times are tough, we need cinema and other media to lighten our hearts and lighten the load. And in the future, just like the past, people may not read history books, but they’ll study the art we leave behind, and they’ll know who we were, who we are. Film is part of our immortality. And however frivolous it may seem, I truly believe I’m supporting a good cause. I only hope I can convince enough people, in my oh-so-antisocial way, to agree with me.

As of today I’m a third of the way to my goal. Fingers crossed I’ll make it to my goal, and beyond.

Alien 3 – The Real Story

Posted in cinema, fiction, musings, pop culture, prose on by

Netflix has made available, for a limited time, the first three Alien movies on Instant Watching. So, this weekend I decided to have a little marathon. I’d seen the first two, and it was nice to see them again. The only difficult part was watching the chest-bursting scene in Alien – I could not stop seeing it with a little top hat and cane. It was also nice to see Veronica Cartwright. I didn’t realize she was in the first movie, and I know her best for her time on “The X-Files”. This was my first time watching the third film, and I didn’t much care for it. I did like the medic, and was sad to see him go without a fight, but the whole movie was just a bit…. off. Afterwards, I spent way too much time on IMDb finding out what other people thought. But now, I have come up with my own idea of what should have happened. I’m sure plenty of people have had the same or similar idea.

Instead of crash landing on the prison planet, Ripley, Hicks, and Newt find their way back to a Company outpost, where they get to be a family for a while. Ripley probably teaches at flight school, but otherwise their lives are quite normal. Meanwhile, a quiet rebellion is stirring against the Company. It is a general uprising, with their treatment of the Aliens only a small issue among many. Naturally, Ripley’s family is kept in the loop, but she and Hicks try their best to stay out of it. By themselves, however, they often ponder the origins of the Alien – was it their ship that crashlanded on LV-whatever, or were they stowaways? (My theory is that they were outgrowing their home planet and were sent out to colonize other worlds. If the humans had time to research, they would have found on the Hadley’s Hope computers record of a transmission sent by the Aliens to their home planet saying all was well.) Ten years pass and evidence is found of another infestation on another planetoid in the system. Up till now there was only speculation that the Aliens had made it anywhere else. This causes Ripley and Hicks to spring into action, as they are the only humans who’ve come face to face with the Aliens. They leave Newt behind to complete her higher education, but find and abduct Bishop to run off with the rebellion to eliminate the new crop. Fighting ensues. There is a victor. Humans? Aliens? We’ll never know.

Movie Spotlight: Film Geek

Posted in cinema, pop culture on by

Yesterday I watched the 2005 indie flick Film Geek, and I can’t get it out of my head. Not that it was some grand masterpiece of pure cinematic genius, but it was actually much better than I expected. It’s a low-budget film set and made in Portland, OR (some was shot in Vancouver, WA) about a guy who knows almost everything about film and very little about anything else. He has virtually no social skills and gets fired from his video store clerk job because he annoys the customers. This leads him on a sort of journey of self-discovery, as well as different sites around town. Portland is just as much a character in this film as any of the people.

What surprised me is how well this movie was put together and the quality of the acting. With such a sensational lead character, a small-time film like this can really go over the top, and be in serious need of an editor. But this film was very effective. I watched it on Netflix instant watching, and I will probably watch it again someday.