Walking by myself, down avenues; I reek of time to kill.

Election fever is loosening it's vice-like grip on my soul. NOT. I'm serious. I mean, I know everyone else is starting to gradually lose interest, but this here politico, doesn't see that happening any time soon. I suppose when you're going to work for a pollster in DC next fall, that's probably a good thing. But either way, I'm quickly running out of fellow souls with whom to gossip politics (thank god for you, Prof. Lendler- the only other person I know as nerdy about this stuff as I am).

So i'll break it down like I usually do folks- Politics/Movies.

Breaking News!!! Alaska DOESN'T want a convicted criminal to represent their state in Senate!? That is soooo bizarre. Who do these people think they are? Part of the contiguous 48. Pssssh! Go helicopter down large game, that's the way we like you Alaska- like my crazy Uncle Grizz that illegally pilots a plane and puts on firework displays. Insane, but in that eccentric, borderline dangerous and unbalanced way- but always a worth a laugh. Seriously, though, yay for Begich. One more dem. to add to the pile-on. Suck it Reid.

Minnesota. "We're not Florida." Less old people; they can't outrun our wolves.

Gonzalez and Cheney indicted! There IS a god. Jesus, took them long enough. Can't wait to see that idiot go down in flames. He might get convicted of some prison abuse involvement and financial support, but that's what presidential pardons were made for right!?

I saw Solace of course. Midnight showing. Awesome. Loved it. No need to recommend or summarize for you. You knew decades ago if you were going to see this movie.

I also, somewhat spur of the moment, saw Mike Leigh's new film, Happy Go-Lucky. I didn't know anything about it going into it- always bodes well for a film's receptivity, in my opinion- and loved it. Completely character driven narrative, slice-of-life biopic. The acting was superb as usual under Leigh's direction and the various plenary of eccentric cast members made the lack of plot, unnoticeable and frankly, a smart move on Leigh's part. Why tell a story when the people are too interesting to care about anything else? So I see you at home, on your computer, drooling over my every word, because, lets face it, if you're reading my blog, you probably have some deep-seeded longing to be/have me...right? Come on! I need this!!!

Well whatever, I like, don't even care what you think of me....
Unless, you like me. Cause then I care, a lot. But if you don't, it's totally unimportant.

So ANYWAY, there you are at home in front of your various media devices, wondering, well should I see this film? I mean, she likes, it, but she's pretty weird... would a normal person such as myself find it entertaining. All I can say is, yes, IF you like Mike Leigh. It is such a typical movie for him, that comparison to another would be inappropriate and uninformative. So all I can tell you, is: like Leigh, go; don't like Leigh, skip it.

Expostulation: The less work I do (schoolwork) the better grades I get. C'est la vie.

"Live your Life" T.I. feat. Rihanna, is the best pop song to come out this year. Efffing awesome. Girl Talk on the cover of NY Times website- wow, that's impressive.

XOXO

Long time, no inner monologue seen

Dudebro's, what it is?

OH god, I'm sorry, that just sorta slipped out, been spending too much time in the suburbs. Long, plaid shorts and Reef sandals as far as the eye can see...

So, I'm back in Minneapolis, working at my boring, though admittedly, strangely satisfying administrative job at the design studio and i thought, hey, remember how I used to blog sometimes, I should do that again.

I'll stick to what I do best, movie reviews! I know, I know, you've all been clamoring to know, "What the hell does Kelsey think about movies I will most likely never see?"

Well, sport, I'll tell ya. Since this has been a while, I'm going to recap with a few films I've seen in the past month or so, including some on DVD, that I got around to peeping.

The Fall- To be honest I should preface this by saying that I hadn't even gone to the theater that night with the intent to see this. The movie I had wanted to pay money for was sold out, but I was with a friend who suggested this instead and I was feeling unobjectionable.
It's from the director of The Cell, if that means anything to you. Visually, this is readily apparent, from the first fantasy sequence. He's a fan of grandiose, rich imagery with staggeringly vast panoramas. And they are completely awe-inspiring views even without his own fanciful additions. The credits at the end give away all production locales that were utilized and it appears as though he didn't want to leave a single continent out of the mix.
The plot revolves around a little Indian migrant worker who has fallen from a tree working in the orange groves and is recovering from her broken arm in a hospital. She meets a heartbroken, action, silent film star who tells her a story of revenge and adventure.

A lot like Pan's Labyrinth in the way in which it slips between story and diegetic plot action pretty easily. Characters from "real life" make appearances in the fantasy.

Coming from someone who does not admittedly fall for the whole "cute kid" spiel, this could be an exception. The clearly non-actor Indian girl, is adorable and precocious without being annoying or pandering for "awwwww" points. Not a must-see but worth your time if you give it a shot.


Before the Devil Knows You're Dead- Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Ethan Hawke decide to rob their parents jewelry store. And guess what? It doesn't go very smoothly. Surprise!

Done in a combination, Pulp Fiction, flashback and Run Lola Run/Reservoir Dogs multi-perspective, same event fashion. It's been done before, and better, elsewhere. Relatively predictable, but aptly acted by all involved, it's interesting enough to keep you watching but mundane enough to be forgotten immediately after you're done.

The Savages- Philip Seymour again. Slice of life indie flick about a father going into a nursing home. Again, well acted, well directed. Poignant, but not nearly as funny as it was made out to be or could have been. All-in-all, meh. Entertaining, but I'm glad I didn't pay money in theater's to see it.

Hell Boy II: The Golden Army- Background info: I LOVED Hell Boy I. Del Toro has a nice aesthetic for me. It didn't take itself too seriously, like so many comic book movies often do, cough*spiderman/hulk*cough. So needless to say I was ecstatic when I found out Guillermo had signed on for the sequel and dragged the boyfriend to opening night.

Unfortunately, I hate to say it, but it was a little bit of a let down. Most likely due to me getting my hopes too high, but it was just good. Not great. You know?

Once again, Del Toro delivers on the cinematography and does a nice job or parceling out the CGI sparingly and integrating it pretty seamlessly with props and sets. [exception: the "troll market" scene looks straight out of the foam rubber muppet infested bar from the first Star Wars] Which is big, cause I have found that too much completely CGI imagery, can be an action/sci-fi/fantasy film's demise very easily. (see: the 2nd and 3rd Matrix's, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the witch... and EVERY Spiderman)

Story was eh, but I mean, it was a action movie, so that didn't particularly have any negative effect on it. You don't go to Live Free or Die Hard expecting to learn poignant life lessons. You go, cause Bruce Willis is BAD ASS. He rides on the wing of a jet motherfuckers!!!

Anyway, I guess I was kinda over the addition of the love story- big waste o' time. Oh but if you need any incentive to see it in theater's or more reason to respect the 'cult of aura' that comes from theater viewership and audience enclave, here's an example of a comment made by the people sitting behind us that was MORE than appreciated by this moviegoer:

"Oh shit! She got that Hell Boy baby!?"

Well, that about wraps it up for this installment. I'm thinking I'll have to hit the proverbially paper on the regular for at least a few weeks to get up to speed. Next on the docket: Summer TV shows, politics (always and forever), new music!

Ciao, ladies and germs. Till we meet again, in the vast series of tubes we call the interweb.