Tracey Thorn finally is coming out with her long-awaited solo album! The first single, "It's All True" is now available for purchase.
The new single's pretty good, and reminiscent of her work on Everything But the Girl. I'm excited about the new album.
I want to do a personality test on people in Idaho Falls sometime, mainly to find out why a good proportion of the people there don't seem to have one. Tonight was the second coffee night my work hosted up there, and I'm just amazed at the people up there. Don't get me wrong, there were some great guys who showed up, but there were at least 4 of them who had as much charisma as the chair I was sitting on. I just don't get it, and it seems like I meet quite a few people up there who are similarly lacking in any signs of life.
There was also a closet case in the Quiznos we stopped in for dinner. He kept staring at us the entire time he was there, including the long, deliberate walk past our table while he made sure to make lingering eye contact with all of us. Ben said the guy looked like a "camping buddy" and we all laughed, knowing exactly what he was getting at.
On to book making. The mock up is due on Thursday for the book I proposed this afternoon. This is seriously getting to me. I have 48 hours to make a quick version of my final book, including the materials I'm supposed to use on the final project. Um... I don't even have time to go look at materials in the next 48 hours, let alone plan out the entire project. Some of us have 6 hours of work tomorrow or more, 5 hours of class, and a whole bunch of homework for other classes. Not to mention the fact I've had class and work tonight after I left book making class. Arrgh... I hate that the Mass Comm department still refuses to be realistic about students' schedules.
I just got a surprising email. I got asked to join a movie blog, where I guess I'm supposed to blog about films that I've seen. Apparently they found Blandella and thought I'd make a valid contribution.
I balk though, because I seem to have vastly different tastes than the average film consumer. I agreed with Lisa Schwartzbaum when she said that Little Miss Sunshine was tired. Maybe if Thumbsucker and The Squid and the Whale hadn't both come out recently, it might have seemed a bit fresher, but I just felt like I'd seen LMS before, because it felt like recycled bits of dysfuctional-family dramedy mixed together for something new. I do, however, concede to the fact that the final dance scene was one of the funnest scenes I've seen in a long time.
I also look at what's playing at my local theatre, and realize that I'm surrounded by asinine twits in the general community, at least here in Pocatello. They love to settle for the worst of the worst, and support it wholeheartedly. Perhaps I just don't understand the common man. Does that automatically make me uncommon?
Anyway, I don't know what to do... so I'll just waffle in the mean time, and go watch Catch a Fire for my class on Wednesday.
Yesterday, I was busy working on both my film and book-making project proposals when I suddenly remembered the film Submission, part 1 by Theo Van Gogh. Theo was the great-nephew of Vincent Van Gogh, but was more famous for his vicious murder in Amsterdam a few years ago due to his involvement with Submission.
Anyway, this made me think of other films I watched in the UK, which made me remember the French film La Haine. French for "The Hate," La Haine is one of those brutal films that makes you cringe, think, and get all emotional at the same time. For some reason, I think about this film over a year after I saw it, which is fairly remarkable considering all the foreign/indie films I watched in just that one class.
The story follows three disaffected youth growing up in the ghettos of France. The story follows their brushes with the law, Parisian art snobs, and life in general. The film's most notable for predicting the race riots that would tear through France only a short time after the film aired, for nearly identical reasons to the riots shown in the film. It was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, who's most recognized for playing the boyfriend of Amelie, another great French movie.
Sadly, La Haine has been unavailable in the US for over 10 years now. However, I discovered last night that it'll be available on the Criterion Collection DVD set in April. I know it's a ways off, but keep it in mind for a few months from now.
I wanted to go to the movie theatre and see a good film this evening. Oops. Nevermind. Two big problems there. 1) No movies were playing after 7:10, and I didn't think to check on them until 7:30. How foolish of me to expect a movie to play at 9pm in Idaho. Arrgh. 2) There are no good movies playing here in Pocatello. I really wanted to see Children of Men or Notes on a Scandal or The Queen or anything with some class to it, but instead, I'm presented with the following:
Code Name: The Cleaner Films like this remind me the general public is idiotic.
Eragon It looks like Dungeons and Dragons, and there will be no "fool me twice" shame-shaminess this time.
Happily N'Ever After Just go rent Shrek instead.
Primeval That Lake Placid and Ghost in the Darkness hybrid we never needed to see made.
Rocky Balboa Does Stallone know someone stole his Madame Tussaud's wax figure to make a film? I'd be pissed.
We Are Marshall (Remember the Titans - race issues + sadness) x (Waterboy - funny) = We Are Marshall = hell no.
Dreamgirls The only desirable option, thanks to Bill Condon, but Beyonce's obnoxiousness gives me shingles.
Freedom Writers Dangerous Minds without the great Coolio song on the soundtrack.
Night at the Museum Ben Stiller plays Ben Stiller, yet people still find it fresh. *sigh* He's the new Kevin Costner.
The Pursuit of Happyness The fact that they spelled "happiness" wrong drives me crazy, almost as crazy as Will Smith does.
Stomp the Yard Ugh. Stomp my balls if I ever even entertain the thought of seeing this.
So, what's the lesson about films today? Obviously, derivative is the new imaginative. I support recycling, but this is just sad.
