Awesome!

There Will Be Awesomeness

If No Country For Old Men left you disappointed because all that tension didn't resolve itself well enough for you, the best way to get over it is to see There Will Be Blood.

Now, this is a movie that resolves itself. It resolves everything, in fact, every promise that is uttered and every threat murmured through clenched teeth finds its way to fruition, and holy cow is it a good show. It's long, it's full of tension, but it's entirely upfront and honest and there's none of that veiled symbolism movies are so fond of these days.

Plus it has a real, genuine ending. And the ending, well...the title says it all.

Kudos for Juno

Last night I went to see Juno and caught a preview for Sweeney Todd, which uh, despite Johnny's big brown eyes, chiseled cheek bones and beautiful bow lips, I'd rather stick thumb tacks in my finger beds than sit through. Juno, on the other hand, was exactly the kind of movie I could watch over and over: pitch-perfect, witty dialogue, fantastic performances (as if my my crush on Michael Cera weren't inappropriate enough, now I've got one on Ellen Page, too), and a great soundtrack to boot.

The dancing shlongs in the gym shorts scene was really just a cherry on top.

Lars and the Real Girl

A couple of weeks ago, I watched the documentary Guys and Dolls, a creepy look at the men who own the expensive sex dolls called Real Dolls. Then Friday night I watched the new Ryan Gosling film, Lars and the Real Girl, and experienced an entirely different reaction. While the former film left me sad, grossed out, and at least a little bit fascinated, the latter was a surprisingly sweet and charming story of a shy man learning to work through his heavy emotional issues to let love and human connection into his life.

I'd actually recommend seeing both films, perhaps even as a double-header (if you can stand it), but for a real emotional impact that will leave you thinking about the more positive, tender side side of humanity, I'd definitely save Lars and the Real Doll until last. At least that one won't leave you feeling like you need to bathe in Tide and rubbing alcohol afterwards.

His best work to date.

If you liked Bottle Rocket, you should see Rushmore. And if you liked Rushmore, you should see The Royal Tenenbaums. And if you liked the Royal Tenenbaums, you should see The Life Aquatic, though you may not like it as much as Rushmore.

But if you see any Wes Anderson film, if all your life you've avoided quirk and hipsters and cruiser bikes galore, if you don't wear screen printed t shirts and you're indifferent to PBR, if you never see any of the above films, see The Darjeeling Limited.

Take a drive by yourself to a city far away, sit alone in the theater and take in every moment of this movie.  And when it ends you'll find yourself with everyone else in the same theater waiting through the credits, just hoping there's some more.

Two Thumbs Up Indeed

Reasons you should watch Half Nelson immediately:

• Ryan Gosling gives an incredible performance, the one the got him all nominated for an Oscar
• Ryan Gosling is in almost every scene
• In one scene, Ryan Gosling wears a tight white tank and does some push-ups
• Did you know Ryan Gosling was on the Mickey Mouse Club?
• And that he lived with Justin Timberlake?
• After watching it you'll spend all night reading about Ryan Gosling on IMDB
• Sadly it looks like he's not single
• Oh right: THE MOVIE. It's awesome
• And Ryan Gosling is in it

Jesus Camp

Forget Saw III, if you want to see something really scary check out the documentary Jesus Camp, which takes a look at a summer camp for Evangelical Christian kids where preacher Becky Fischer brainwashes them into believing they're soldiers in God's army.

Though the filmmakers do a fantastic job remaining nuetral, every minute of Jesus Camp is truly disturbing, perhaps most because any fundy watching it wouldn't be the slightest bit disgusted.

Particularly repulsive moments include children talking in tongues and convulsing on the floor while being "saved," a prayer line in front of a life-size carboard cut-out of George Bush, a mother telling her home-schooled child that evolution is a lie and that science is fiction,  and the prevalent statement that global warming is no big deal because Jesus is coming back before we'll even have a chance to destroy our planet anyway.

Hands-down the scariest line in the whole thing is when creepy meth-snorting, male-prostitute-buying Ted Haggard turns to the camera and says, "If the Evangelicals vote, we determine the election." Shudder.

Born Into This

As far as poets go, Bukowski was pretty dark. He wrote of sex and being drunk and whores. He also wrote a lot about wanting to die and stuff.

So basically, if you're looking for something cheery to watch on one of these frigid winter nights, I'd recommend passing this one up. If, however, you're interested in literary figures, in complex characters, in the mind and heart and life of one of the most interesting and troubled writers of the twentieth century, you should totally check out Bukowski - Born Into This. What is lacks in movie-making polish, it more than makes up for in introspective, candid interviews with Bukowski and the people whose lives he touched.

Plus, there's totally some drunken wife beating to get all enraged over, and who doesn't like a little enragement now and then?

Lazy Afternoon

Yesterday I had to clean out my two closets overflowing of clothes like any red blooded capitalist pig, so I put the TV on to keep me company while I sorted nine loads of laundry in my living room.

Unfortunately, Monster House was on, and I didn't get very much done for a couple of hours. I just sat there on this enormous pile of clothes transfixed with the TV! The animation! The colors! Even the story was fantastic! Catherine O'Hara and Fred Willard lend their voices to it, along with John Heder, Steve Buscemi, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jason Lee!

Had I known anything about this movie, I certainly wouldn't have waited so long to do laundry.