If Fern Gully Were Good...

It would be Avatar.

I won't spend too much time on this already talked about film, but I had to say a few things.

1. See it in 3D. It's probably good either way, but the look will dig into your brain so much more if you pay the extra for the 3D experience.

2. If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the entire plot. It's one of my only complaints. And I don't blame James Cameron for this, I blame the studio for making a trailer that told you everything. See it because it is stunning, not to be surprised by the story itself.

3. As a friend of mine pointed out, "Can a movie be racist without being racist?" It's a good point. Why is it that Hollywood portrays all indigenous peoples as either Native American, African, or, as this film does, both. Is it so hard to try something new?

In other news, I worked at the zoo the other day. I spent about 4 hours with my friend Myndi to help her out the other day. I felt a crocodile, a seal, a wallaby, and I watched on otter poop--yes that's noteworthy.

Weekend of Odd

Weather gets crazy in Nebraska. After living in Colorado and Texas, where the weather is pretty predictable, Nebraska has taken this many years to get used to. So when Saturday morning was gorgeous, I should have expected it to not last. Silly me. We wandered to the park, knowing that it was the ideal temperature (in the high 50s--good hoodie weather). Unfortunately, as soon as we got there, clouds rolled in and the wind decided it wanted to put on a show for us. Leaves leaped into our faces and the wind chilled us. Within 20 minutes, we threw the idea out and went back to my place. Sad. I was hoping for a quality fall afternoon, but no luck.

Watched Star Trek again on Saturday night. Tis so good. Which leads me to the next odd thing this weekend--New Moon. I know that it surprised everybody, but how does a vampire romance outsell The Dark Knight on its first day? I'm still in shock.

Sunday was a crazy day in which my mind was bent on putting things in the place. I didn't want to grade or do anything work related, but house projects were on my mind. So I moved a bed around, some shelves, did some laundry (but was so gracious to leave some for my wife to do), and finished off the leave sin my front yard.

The day was interrupted for a church meeting that went well, but was one of those that leaves a funny taste in your mouth.

Thanksgiving's coming. Three days of work. Praise be.

Colorado

I have always held the opinion that Colorado (along with Texas) is the most arrogant state in the country. And though I've been frequently annoyed with Colorado-natives wandering into Nebraska, or anywhere else that doesn't have mountains, and reminding people of their lousy scenery, I can totally see where they get it from.

On Wednesday, we went down south to Durango. It's close to a four hour drive, but more than half of it is through some of the most beautiful country you've ever seen (pictures coming later). It was fantastic--so much so that I can't really explain it in any other way. Durango is a touristy town, but it's awesome because the attractions are generally low-key and native-performed. So we had a great time going to the Bar D Chuckwagon and coming home to stop in Ouray--probably my favorite Colorado town--to eat at a stellar Mexican restaurant.

Now it's pure relaxation day. We may go see Public Enemies this afternoon and head back into the mountains tomorrow.

I Ought to be Packing

Today my wife, fetus, and I are heading to Colorado. This is a vacation that we've been working on for quite a while. It started with my parents' idea of trying an Alaska cruise (suggested two years ago), but with economic insanity and other financial restrictions, we opted for a visit to the folks' place and gallavent about the mountains and nearby sights. It's going to be awesome. So I'll be out there for a week, so I don't know how often I'll get to update. So I should be packing things as our departure time is about three hours from now, but I wanted to rave a bit about Away We Go.

This film is great, though I don't know how everybody will react to it. Really, it's a fantastic flick for the sake of mirroring a lot of what my wife and I are experiencing. The story follows a couple with their first child on the way as they try to figure the best place to settle down and start a family. It is a legitimately good time, and rather humorous (if you like John Krasinski, you can't go wrong here). But the thing that really stuck in my brain were the similarities between either the story and characters and my life. For instance:

1. In the movie, Burt and Verona find out that the only family they have in town is moving to another continent a month before the baby is born. My brother and his wife are moving to Guam and will be missing the arrival of our kid.

2. Some friends of Burt and Verona miscarry. I found out that some good friends of mine who we expecting also recently miscarried.

3. Burt in general reminds me of the way things work in my brain. I don't act like Burt usually (though there were some blaring similarities), but the things he did in the film mirror much of what goes on in my head.

Anyhow, go check it out. I'll try to see it again if it's still around another week. It definitely has that indie film flair, but not in such a way that you can tell the crew were trying to strike and be different for different's sake. And with a summer of such a crap-load of lousy movies, this should rank pretty high on your list.

Summer Movie Sadness

I realized this week that movies suck this summer. Star Trek was groovy, Up thrilled my soul. But now, I don't know if there's anything else I'm excited to see until 9. I totally sucks. Maybe last year spoiled me. With Iron Man, The Dark Knight, Get Smart, Wall-E, Kung Fu Panda, Tropic Thunder, and Hellboy II, I had something to look forward to. It's not even that they all delivered as I had hoped, but I at least looked forward to them. This summer is giving me nothing. I'm trying to be excited about Transformers, but I wasn't a fan of the first one, so I don't think I'll care all that much about this one.

I know I'm not the only one feeling this, but is it being too whiny? Must I suck it up and move on with my life--try a new medium for entertainment? Even then, it won't be the same. Movies have a special even t feeling to them that other media lack (unless you're a fan of particular young adult novel series, but even the big ones there are now concluded).

On the plus side, maybe it will save me some money.

Camping and Up

Went camping this weekend for the first time in I don't know how many years. It was a pretty good time despite having half of the crew sick. What I did notice, for me, is that I love the night time when camping, and have little to no love for the day time. At night, with the fire, smoke, and cool evening air, life is awesome. During the day, however, the fire loses its magic, the smoke is a hassle, and the air is far from cool. I didn't want to do anything except lay there and wait for the next breeze (which didn't come by too often). Still, it was a good time and it made my weekend seem extra long.

On Sunday, I went and saw Up. Go see it. I remember when Shrek came out and my mom was so thrilled that they had put in so many "adult" jokes into a kid's movie. Up does that even more and take the material outside of the comedic. The first 20 minutes were outright sad and we see Carl's whole life leading up to his being required to move to a retirement home (reminded me of About Schmidt). But the rest of the movie is quite funny, exciting, and touching. Of the summer Blockbusters (of which I've only seen Wolverine and Star Trek), Up should be at the top of your list.

Movies and How I Miss Them

Over the last three years, my theater attendance has skyrocketed. At least twice a month (and often more frequently) I would be sitting back in a comfy seat, as close to the middle of the theater as possible, soaking up the movie magic (often to gripe about it later).

I haven't seen anything since Watchmen (unless you count the second viewing of Coraline) which makes it about 7 weeks since I've seen something in theaters. It's weird that I care. I love movies (eventually want to get a master's in something related to lit through film), but I can't think of a time that I cared so much about not seeing them.

It probably boils down to reputation. When I started teaching, I started seeing more films. Soon thereafter, I became known as the movie guy among my students and fellow teachers. Even though there are not a lot of things worth seeing right now, I feel like I'm slipping on my duty to preview so much of what is going on in the film world.

With X-Men Origins coming out this weekend and the summer season soon thereafter, I expect (if not demand) that I plug back in to the culture stream of Hollywood craziness.

Stupid Settlers. Ripping me away from my movies...

Not so Much of a Break

So after a movie-fest this last weekend, I took Monday off to recover. I was starting to see things Sunday evening decided I wouldn't be much good at work anyhow. I had some of the strangest dreams of my life, then. More hallucinations and the like. I had multiple wives, but they were all Amy...very bizarre. There was something about snow and mountains in there, too.

So yesterday brought me back to school in a pretty good and energized mood, but it didn't last. I'm not sure why, but I feel that I wasn't planned at all for anything. I think the rest of the week will be better, but it's put me in a bit of a funk for now. Mostly, it's noticing what day it is and knowing what you still have to do before the end of the week. My sermon is my main concern now. I think I'm going to speak on one thing, but I don't know how that will go, or how I want to put it together. Alas.

Tis unfortunate when I realized that under certain stressful times, I tend to shut down completely instead of rise above it. That's the funk talking.

Turkey Day...Hmm...

I've heard it before, but this year it seems to be showing up more frequently.

"Happy Turkey Day."

It was kind of amusing at first, but over time and with an increase of it's use, the phrase has started to bother me. Thanksgiving should be for just that: giving thanks. It's a small thing, but with the "Turkey Day" references on the rise, I worry about the holiday. It has been a favorite of mine, in fact probably the favorite, so it pains me to have this happening. I know that there won't be a total sweep across the nation, but where most people don't look to the bright side of things and struggle to be appreciative of anything, I hate seeing the term "Thanksgiving" fade.

Also, I have felt that Thanksgiving has been one of the least commercialized holiday we have. And though I think that will still be the case (as Christmas dominates the last quarter of the year), I don't want the day to be more about food and (I hate the name) Black Friday.

So slay the turkey talk and move on to loving what's around you. For me it's

A fire in the fireplace
My cat half-sleeping, half-purring in my lap
My in-laws in my house (because mine are awesome)
My job and the students that make me laugh
Aikido
Movies that conjure memories and fantasy (Big Fish especially)
My friends that I see almost every week that I never get tired of
A guitar that makes me live despite my ability to fully utilize it
My Bible in which I love to find new things that make me feel like God is smiling at me

And these are just some things that are recent obsessions.

And We Keep Getting Closer

I watched Idiocracy last night...again. This is at least the third time I've sat and let my mind be reduced to mush while, at the same time, let it rise to become it to a critical thinking and analytical machine.

Like other Mike Judge works, the film is simultaneously brilliant and dumber than a box of hair. It's his art-showing us how things are or how they will be while allowing us to see the ever-so-obvious flaws of our society.

During last night's viewing, I had a new wave of terror as I watched Judge's future. It has frightened me before to see just how stupid people can be (and it has changed the way I see most of my students), but one character stood out to me last night. He stood, holding his pants (or package, it's difficult to say which because they were at the same level) and spoke with a drawl spiked with inner-city slang-type inflection.

I have that exact student.

In fact, not only did the character sound like this students, the content was something that the student would say, and has said. Tis frightening really, that with each new film, stand-up routine, music video, or morning radio show, I see the dawn of the Idiocratic Era.

The Weekend That Was

I totally forgot about writing yesterday; thought it was still the weekend.

The weekend was pretty sweet, allergies aside. And despite spending a good chunk of time on Sunday helping my friend move from apartment to house, life was peachy...like an orchard. Anyhow the main thing I want to talk about is Death Race.

How weird is it to go see a movie because you know it's bad. If you've never seen Death Race 2000, you should...maybe. It's a whole bunch of suck, but it's really funny in how bad it truly is. I don't know who thought it should be resurrected, but they should probably be shot or given a medal. Honestly, the appeal of going to see a movie because you are not interested, but excited, to see it for its bad qualities.

I blame Chris. Before he moved here, I would never see a movie like that, not in the theatre anyway. However, he has opened my eyes to the magic of bad cinema (though that's too classy a term for movies such as these). So thank you, Chris. I thought after Beowulf, there could be no other to fill the crap-tastic void in my entertainment-obsessed brain. Now, I can live again.

Not as Good as the Book Part II

So, a couple of days back at school and my predicted conversations didn't really take place at all-except for with Bryan, but the conversation wasn't how I thought it would go. Way to predict, me. Regardless, my thoughts continue, and the idea of movie/book comparisons is still one that has been digging into my brain with thumb-tack-like fingers.

First, it seems that whenever a book is taken and made into a movie, finding a reader that isn't excited is like finding a poodle in an elephant stack. This might be because a reader loves the work and knows that it will have a greater exposure if taken through the Hollywood reamer. This in itself is a statement to the power of Hollywood: we know that people are more likely to watch a film than spend the time to read a book. We know it. After the movie is released, however, readers begin the gripe session of the season. As I mentioned yesterday, this usually grows from the major differences between the two presentations of the original. I would think that most people would just accept the fact that a film studio will do as it pleases with the source material. They'll change it, you can count on it.

Second, why does one medium have to reflect the other with such purity? Maybe it's because of copyrights and whatever, but one idea, one story is rarely complete and never perfect. And even though there are one jillion and seventy-three movies and books that should not be tampered with, there are scores upon a brazillion that can be made better. It seems that people become very afraid when source material is marred and rightfully so. I would hate if something I wrote turned into a Frankenstein's monster that gets out of my hands and haunts me for the rest of my days, leaving wishing that I had never had the idea to begin with. But honestly, how many times does the public see something or read something and think, "I think that Taye Diggs should not have smiled at all. The film would have worked better," or "I just wish that Shakespeare didn't kill off everybody in Romeo and Juliet." But once an author or director finishes a work, people won't touch it with a half-score foot rod. We'll talk about things plenty, rip it to shreds over coffee, but to change something seems like a sin without pardon.

The ultimate tragedy, though, is that I don't know how long these debates and arguments will go on. Eventually, the majority will cease to read entirely and spend time only absorbing without reaction as we head closer and closer to Idiocracy. It's happening, don't deny it.

Not as Good as the Book

Today I go back to the school to get ready for this next school year. Among the conversations I'm sure I'll have over the next week before students arrive, I dread one in particular. Over the summer I read The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Good stuff for the most part. As the summer drew to its close, I checked the movie out as well. Not so much good stuff.

I think English teachers in general like to talk about how a movie never is as good as a book, but this time things seem different. When I watched Beowulf, and enjoyed it, I knew that my colleagues would not be such fans. "Beowulf sleeps with Grendel's mother? I don't remember that in the book." But it didn't bother me. I thought it worked well because the fire dragon always seemed like this weird thing that somebody just added to the end because they couldn't think of a way to kill off the hero. So the getting it on with the sea hag made the last chapter of the film work (though I think she should have died at some point).

With The Kite Runner, a different problem rears its boring head: the film follows the book almost perfectly. And it's dull. What makes the book interesting is Amir's own guilt over everything that he has done to his friend/servant, Hassan. But the only reason one gets to see this is the first-person narrative. The film covers every event in the book, but it's all just stuff happening. Nowhere in the movie does one get the feeling of Amir's guilt. Instead one sits through a movie that feels like forever but doesn't take enough time to make anyone care.

I dread the upcoming conversations. I'm know that everybody will agree the the movie wasn't as god as the book. But I don't know that everybody will see why. I think an English teacher curse is to love a book more without taking the time to care why.

To be continued...