Breaking Barriers

In my opinion, I don't think anyone should graduate from college without starring in someone else's experimental art film.

Watch as I break barriers by literally a breaking barrier. It's pretty deep when you think about it.



Stop thinking about it.

The Box - Movie Review

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The Box
***--

One can't help but find correlations between The Box and it's ancient predecessor The Day The Earth Stood Still (lets forget there was a remake shall we). There is a familiar problem with films featuring the whole "Shape Up Or Ship Out" message addressed to all mankind. I can't quite put my finger on it. Perhaps it's just resentment toward the filmmaker who deems it necessary to rebuke all humanity. Maybe it's just not really what we want to hear.

In this case the filmmaker is Richard Kelly who was previously known for his cult classic Donnie Darko, and then later known for his flop Southland Tales. I hadn't seen the latter of the two, but for myself and many others, Darko more than makes up for any fluke. Kelly has a keen ability to take characters and place them into situations completely inconceivable to not only them, but even the audience. Still, much like the series LOST, there is a distinct notion that it all makes complete sense.

The Box begins with a seemingly simple premise. Set in the 1970's, housewife Norma (played by Cameron Diaz) is one day given a box by a mysterious authority with a quite noticeable disfigurement. He lays out the deal simply by saying that if she pushes the button in the box someone she doesn't know will die, and she will receive one million dollars. She and her NASA employee husband spend the next 24 hours deciding what to do.

Of course, we know they're going to push it. The movie takes its sweet time for them to push it. I for one was yelling for them to just "push the damn button" and get on with it.

The movie is a bit plodding in the pacing, but apart from the button-pushing hesitation, I actually kind of liked it. The film is slow in the way The Shining was slow. The viewer is eased into a strange world populated by interstellar gateways, mind controlled "employees," and eerie motel swimming pools. I really admire the world Kelly creates.

Unlike Donnie Darko, which took more time to explain as to actually watch, The Box is a film that nestles itself into a surprisingly comfortable place between complete perplexity and complete understanding. I was alright with some things staying a mystery. That said, at times I was also alright with scrapping the whole project altogether. What made Donnie Darko work was that the film had enough dynamic characters to make you really want to understand everything because you actually cared whether or not it all worked out for the best. Here the characters seem vaguely interesting at first, but apart from physical abnormalities they're really quite flat underneath the surface.

The Box is filled with so many ideas though that you can't help but interact with it. There are final notions here of the concept of choice being an illusion that makes the whole message of "Shaping Up Or Shipping Out" quite ironic. In that, the film gives its greatest twist. There are some things I still wish they had explored, notions of forgiveness and mercy, but what's great about movies like these are that some things are left to you to explore for yourself.

Skins - Show Review

Skins - Seasons 1 & 2
*****

Yes. I got addicted to the show Skins. To summarize it's pretty much Freaks and Geeks combined with, I don't know, The OC, kind of. It might just be a soap opera drama at times, but there's a reason that soap operas are still on television and that I still occasionally wonder what Luke, Laura, Stephan, Carly and Sonny are up to. What can I say? I used to watch General Hospital with my mom.

Oh Luke and Laura, what happened??

The worst I can say is that the show has a bit of a learning curve to it. Initially none of the characters are quite likable, but as it's structured with each character as the focal point of each episode, the individual nuances begin to arise and provide light into their psyche. As it goes with most teenagers, the parents have some hand, along with their teachers, peers, and sometimes government authorities. Skins is rather remarkable at showing all hands acting in each individual life at once, while at the same time maintaining an overall storyline. It's not hard to see the role each character plays in their own dramatic life, but it's remarkable to focus on how all the characters interact with one another. Everything seems so connected, and it seems so connected in a way that reflects real life as it is.

Real life, for teens in Britain at least, isn't depicted in quite such an endearing light. The show is rife in it's depictions of drug use, sex, and general teen hijinx, sometimes combining all three at once. Is this embellishment or exaggeration? I might lean toward the latter, but from what I've seen in American schools I know it's a reality. I did after all spend my afternoons watching General Hospital, so I really can't say.

At it's core, Skins is about people who are trying to find their place in life. What I admire is the ability for the show to take certain completely unlikeable characters and hand them back their humanity, while at the same time taking characters we once fondly remembered and stripping them to the shrouded deceit for the very traits we once found admirable. Take for instance the character of Cassie who initially is charmingly aloof before becoming disastrously distant, or Tony (played by About A Boy's Nicholas Hoult) who is a womanizer until becoming a dedicated man lusting for life itself. The show skips it's rocks just far enough to where the next puddle makes the loudest splash.

I can't say what the seasons beyond one and two are like because, well, with the exception of one character, it's a completely different cast. With such character centric dynamics defining an entire show, changing all the characters is essentially the same as creating a completely different series. And let's face it. Saved By The Bell The New Class just sucked. For what it's worth however, Skins has provided me with one of the most captivating viewing experiences I've had in a long time.

Kick Ass - Movie Review

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Kick Ass
***--

Lord knows I've imagined what a Wolverine movie would look like if it was granted an R-rating, and I imagine it wouldn't be too far beyond the lines of Kick Ass, the latest superhero (can I say franchise?) in the works. Here we have the familiar premise of an underdog who decides on a whim that he'll be the savior of all those in need of help, with the added challenge of that underdog having no real super-powers of his own apart from a devotion to his cause. The dilemma here is that Kick Ass, the lead character's Superman persona, is only a minor part in the drama while the majority of the focus goes to Hit Girl, his well-versed, and I should note, severely underage counterpart.

While Kick Ass himself is only an awkward teen battling the drama of high school by day and the harsh corruption of the city by night, Hit Girl, who is only, say, nine or ten, comes from the background of a trained killer. Well versed in the art of killing by her father, a revenge driven cop, Hit Girl and Kick Ass cross paths in a surprisingly convincing way. They're both dealing with baddies operating under the same foe, Frank D'Amico, a mob boss who is a tad too focused on his business rather than his son Chris.

If you can tell from the number of commas I've used in the previous paragraph, the film Kick Ass is surprisingly hard to summarize. The film does a great job of juggling numerous characters at once and not losing one or two in the heat of battle. Yes, there are some unanswered questions as to how exactly they're all related. How exactly is Kick Ass's love interest, the somewhat innocent Katie, involved with drug dealers? I'm not sure. All we need to know is that she's being bothered by them and Kick Ass will have to take care of the problem. So it's his problem, not ours.

Some reviewers note that the character of Hit Girl, who I can best describe as a prepubescent version of the Bride from Kill Bill, is a bit of an exploitation. Gene Siskel was known for his attitudes towards films that featured children being depicted in danger, with his opinion being that it was a cheap way to cash in on the audiences sympathy, but I feel as though the film handles it reasonably well. There is some recognition here or there that Hit Girl is after all just a young girl. I didn't feel as though placing her in danger was much of a cash-in, but I do think using her for laughs certainly is.

Oh, look, she called those baddies a "c*&t," and a "douche." She uses bad words just like regular people! Isn't that hilarious?

I don't know. Sometimes yes, usually no.

Hit Girl is played by Chloe Moretz, who will soon appear in the American remake of Let the Right One In, which will here be called "Let Me In." Don't scoff so soon, it is after all directed by Matt Reeves who made the best movie ever in history. ever.

so good.

I can most certainly see her in that role, especially since it dramatizes a being caught between emotion and carnal need. Here she's a bit more carnal.

But what about Kick Ass? Well, apparently it will be a franchise. I'm interested. This movie certainly succeeds in an admirable aspect. It convincingly illustrates that anyone, no matter how wimpy, can make a difference. I only wish that difference was shown in visible change rather than gratuitous violence.

Although the gratuitous violence is pretty neat!

Confessions of a Feather Duster

Chimes Article 05/17/10

Aside from needing to pay rent, I thought finding a job would be a good way to make friends with people that weren’t my wife or cat. When I was offered a position working at a local video rental store, I jumped at the opportunity. “Let me get this straight,” I said. “Video stores still exist?”

Luckily it seems that VHS is coming back into style, which I think is a sign of hope for my stock-pile of laser disc players. It’s only a matter of time, my friends. What I expected to be doing at the little mom-and-pop video store was occasionally renting out a video while spending the majority of my time watching movies or reading. What I’m actually doing is frequently being given the task of cleaning the gay and lesbian section with a feather duster; a task that frequently results in people questioning whether I actually work there or am just very flamboyant.

You want to see my world? Imagine my face on this guy with even less clothing and you'll get a glimpse into my world. Just a glimpse.

An elderly woman who co-owns the video store with her equally elderly dog, I realized, is the kind of person who wouldn’t allow me to be standing still at any moment in time while on the clock. The problem, however, is that there really isn’t a whole lot to do in a video store apart from making sure that you’re not mistakenly handing a child a copy of the film “Brokeback Mountain” instead of “Scooby Doo,” which I almost did. Twice.

For this reason I have found myself with daily tasks such as feather dusting keyboards, lampshades, windows, DVD cases and the elderly dog, which begs the question: In terms of cleaning, how effective is a feather duster? The answer is c) not effective at all.

“Did someone tell you to use Windex on the shelves?” she asked me, fully knowing the answer.

“I was told to clean them, but not use Windex.”

“Did I tell you to use Windex?” she asked, again fully knowing the answer. “No, you didn’t.”

“Let me ask again, did I or anyone else tell you to use Windex to clean the shelves?” “No, neither you nor anyone else has told me to use Windex.”

“Then why did you use Windex to clean the shelves instead of my Windex and Green Clean mixture?”

“Because I couldn’t find the mixture.”

“But you used the Windex anyway without asking me first.” Yes. I got it. Don’t use Windex.

It’s at times like these that I really miss the friends I left behind. Although I may have resented them in the past for leaving piles of dirty dishes wedged between the sink and the faucet until no plates could be removed without breaking something in the kitchen. I must say in retrospect I would gladly take the messy friendships over the spotless and empty countertops I have to feather dust each day.

Of course, I have worked worse jobs in the past, and with all things considered, this one really isn’t too bad. Jobs are all about what you make out of them, and part of having a job is making that job a place where you would like to be. For me, this job is a place where I can meet people with a common interest who I would otherwise have never met in the first place. I just hope I don’t meet them while feather dusting.

A Dog Eat Dog World

Chimes Article 5/5/10

My general rule of thumb is that you should never really hit anything harder than you would hit a television. A television is precious; you wouldn’t want to break the thing, just tap it until the reception gets a little better. So when I saw a man across the street from my apartment slap his rather yappy dog with a force strong enough to throw a television out a window, I thought something had to be done.

The fact is, you just don’t do that to an animal, or really anything, and when it happened I envisioned Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer, behind me kick a hole in the wall in an act of rage. “You have to be the leader of the pack!” He yelled in my ear.



The dog, meanwhile, was still yapping loudly, causing neighbors on the block to peek out their windows. In Milan’s words, he was “Ossessed” with it, but with good reason. There was a heavy rain outside and the dog’s owners where half a block down the street eating at a Thai restaurant. Meanwhile their other dog, who resembled Lassie, waited patiently right outside the door with an expression of embarrassment towards his canine friend that seemed to say, “Hey bro, stay cool.”

After several yappy minutes went by, the owner came back out, and with another loud yell hit the dog again.

That was when Beth had me call Animal Control Services.

The problem with Animal Control, I realized after being on hold, was that they can’t really help any animals unless they’re being abused between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Many people take different approaches to animal training. My old roommate Micah for instance used what I call the “Sega Genesis” technique and simply blew in the face of our cat whenever he misbehaved. I can’t say for certain that it was the right technique, especially when considering that no one can sit on their white couch without being peed on, but for the most part it certainly did work.

On this occasion I thought the technique not only wasn’t working, but also was doing far more harm than good. So I did what any sensible person in my situation would do and decided to follow the couple back to their home, get their address, and then call Animal Control later during the hours they would actually be able to help.

As I followed two blocks behind them throughout the remainder of their date I started to realize that people, although often doing very unwise things, are not often altogether bad. As they stopped by the dog park they let their two canines off their leashes and watched them frolic happily while wandering themselves.

I meanwhile was behind a pair of bushes at the tennis courts.

Several blocks later I watched them arrive home and hug their four year old child as the father washed the dogs off from their playtime at the park.

These people really weren’t so bad. In fact, I could see myself being friends with them. Of all people to be ashamed of it was probably me for lurking behind a pair of parked cars and watching them this entire time. Then again, maybe it was a good reminder for myself that the next time I do something unwise, there might be a weird 22 year old watching my back. Maybe I should start taking better care of my television.

I Think Everyone Should See This

It's Spike Jonze's new short I'm Here.



To describe it I'd say it's "The Giving Tree" meets "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep," but maybe I'm giving too much away. That said, it really affected me.

watch it here: http://www.imheremovie.com/