Random thought

Why are all the young-people TV shows out there about either unrealistically precocious high schoolers, or completely realistically immature 20- and 30-somethings?

Why aren't there any shows about people in college, where I'd say... people actually behave more like human beings than anywhere else?

Yes, when i'm obsessed with something, i'm really obsessed!  All I can think about right now is... i can't wait for this day to end so I can go home and watch another 6 eposides of Gossip Girl. =P

Give me a break

Why can't kids these days have nice, normal names?  Traditional names?  I couldn't really believe it when I saw the credits for Gossip Girl, which Garry has gotten me hooked on.  Some of the ridiculous first names these actors have:

Leighton (a girl)
Blake (a girl)
Penn (a guy)
Taylor (a girl)
Chace (a guy)

I mean for real...Chace?  With a C?  How pretentious do you have to be?

When (if) I have kids, I'm giving them sensible, Biblical names.  Like Mary, Rachel, Jonathan, David.  For real, people.

Nice surprise

After years of being a loyal Netflix subscriber, I recently put my account on hold because I had to concentrate on other things.  I forgot that I scheduled for it to start up again, so I had a nice surprise in the mail today: Muriel's Wedding .  So I watched that instead of going to the gym like I was thinking of doing.  I don't think I knew it was Australian.  It was bittersweet.  Well done, but I don't know if I would recommend it to everyone.  It sure made me feel sad and happy at the same time.  Weird.

Paris, Je T'aime

I watched this movie a bunch of times while I was in Beijing, but always alone.  Today we watched it again, together!  Skipped the couple of so-so shorts.  There really are some beautifully crafted pieces in this collection.  Here is one of my favorites, by Tom Tykwer, who directed Run Lola Run (also a great film).  (My favorite short in Paris, Je T'aime is the last one, by Alexander Payne.)  I just realized Natalie must have agreed to do this short because she's a fan of Tykwer--she dressed up as Lola one Halloween, dyed her hair so pink that it took an expert colorist to get her hair back to normal.  For a few days she was walking around campus with her usual ensemble of peacoat, ratty sneakers and pink hair, hah!

You might need to turn up the volume; the sound on this clip isn't great.

Ping Pong Playa!!

I just saw this movie with a bunch of coworkers.  It was GREAT!  Hilarious, real, interesting.  Irreverent.  There are few things I hate more than whiny-angsty Asian-American indie films that take themselves too seriously.  This was not one of them--this, my friends, was good!  I haven't laughed this hard since Harold and Kumar.  An old Hollywood contact produced it and I'm so proud of them all.

Find it at a large city near you =)


PING PONG PLAYA opened SEPTEMBER 5th

NEW YORK CITY
AMC Village 7, New York, NY
Regal E Walk (42nd street) , New York, NY

LOS ANGELES
Mann Chinese Theater, Hollywood, CA
Mann Glendale Exchange, Glendale, CA
Edwards Alhambra Palace, Alhambra, CA

IRVINE
West Park Regal, Irvine, CA

BAY AREA
Metreon AMC, San Francisco, CA
Shattuck Landmark, Berkeley, CA
Camera 12, San Jose, CA

And SEPTEMBER 12

SEATTLE
Lincoln Square, Bellevue, WA
Meridian Regal, Seattle, WA
Alderwood AMC, Lynwood, WA

HOUSTON
Marq E Houston, TX
First Colony, Houston, TX

3 Needles is just about the most depressing movie I've seen in months.

Doesn't matter that it's got heavy hitters like Stockard Channing, Chloe Sevigny, Lucy Liu and Sandra Oh.  Just a summary of what happens:

1. Lucy Liu organizes blood collection drives in China, where 1000s of villagers contract AIDS through her gross negligence (based on the true story of the infamous "AIDs villages" in China.
2. Shawn Ashmore has AIDS, but fakes blood tests so he can continue working as a porn star.  He gives it to all his costars.  His mother, Stockard Channing, takes out a $2MM life insurance plan on herself for her son's benefit, then actively tries to catch AIDS, first from her son's AIDS support group leader (FAIL) then by drawing blood from her son while he's asleep so she can inject it in herself.
3. I didn't really watch the last one.  All I saw were all these gorgeous sweeping south african vistas, the ocean, beautiful music, and Chloe Sevigny compromising her nun's vow with a plantation owner to save a bunch of orphans.

Indie film FAIL.

Warning: Girliness Alert.

At the risk of further repelling any male readership--I've been digging through YouTube to see what great and favorite scenes I could find from the 2006 version of Jane Eyre.  I don't really want to give away all the good parts, but here's one scene I found especially delicious.  Mr. Rochester has officially ousted Mr. Darcy from the throne of "Wonderful English Heroes" in my book.  He's just so much more interesting, and flawed besides.  Can you hear the electricity crackle?  =D

Yes, there is a limit...

...to the number of movies you can put on your Netflix queue.  And it's 500.  I have been hovering between 485 and 500 for years (I first joined my senior year of college).  At the rate of one movie a week (when I was still in film development, I was on a much more rigorous subscription plan--3 at a time, and I had them on constant rotation so I was watching about 4-5 movies/week), it will take me 9 years and 6 months to finish.  And, of course, there are always new movies to be added.

If you ever need movie recs, I'm more than happy to share my queue, and my viewing history to date =)

Just when I thought there was nothing better...

...than the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice, here comes another adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic Jane Eyre, from Masterpiece Theater.  This two-disc film has been floating among the 500 or so movies on my Netflix queue for months now, but I finally decided to move it up the queue and watch it.

I haven't even watched the whole thing yet--have to wait three days for part 2--but man!  I mean, I love Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy as much as the next girl, but there's something about the brooding, sensual, gruff and charismatic Mr. Rochester that is just so much more interesting (even if Toby Stephens is a bit too handsome for the role).  Ruth Wilson makes for a satisfying Jane; no matter how plain the character was supposed to be in the book, you still want Jane to be alluring in her own way, and Wilson is cute as a button.

The film itself is dark, real, gothic, and utterly romantic.  Lushly shot.  And there is such an electric passion between the two leads that you can cut the sexual tension with a knife.  Altogether, a delicious find.  I'm probably going to buy the DVD now so I can re-watch all the good parts.

"You may think the world doesn't need another adaptation of Jane Eyre--but you're wrong...this production brings all of the novel's juice and passion to the fore, emphasizing the characters' sensual experience while staying true to the restrictions and mores of the period. All in all, exceptional." --Bret Fetzer