National Disaster

Finally taking the advice of several of my students and one of my best friends, I rented National Treasure, the Nicholas Cage action film from last winter. What a total waste of time. I demanded my students to pay me back. I've had better bowel movements than this film. I know, I know, people are going to tell me that the whole purpose of films is to escape, suspend one's disbelief and enjoy a story of adventure, love or intrigue. NT, from the very beginning, is evidence of formulaic tripe that has gone to ruin Hollywood. I call it the Supermodel Syndrome - looks great, amazing special effects, looks hot from a distance and yet empty and void where it counts. Sexist, bigoted analogy and I'll take all the rap for that one. Did I already mention that the film is a total waste of time? Here's what you should watch if you're interested in a great film:

Girl In the Cafe - a short ninety minute HBO film from last June, this film pits two dysfunctional British people with divergent interests, pasts and politics who come together, travel to Rejkyavik, Iceland for a G8 summit and realize that the cause of purging the world of hunger and politics is not an abstract, statistical goal but one of utmost humanity. A beautiful film that presses the issue of how armchair liberals and humanitarians should truly put their money where their mouths are. Go and check out www.one.org, Habitat For Humanity, UNICEF or any other world hunger organization. How we can sit back and be moved to tears and yet do nothing to help those that need our help is dispicable. For those of us who see a religious or spiritual duty to helping those with less need to get off our lazy western kiesters and take action.

A Very Long Engagement - film with the most vague and possibly lame title and yet the greatest film of the last three years at least. French film from the director of Amalie that stars Audrey Toutou as a young fiancee of a WWI soldier condemned to die on the front of the Somme who refuses to believe the party line that her beau has been killed in No Man's Land. A story of pain and true love with an amazing storyline, character inter-relations and special effects, this film is to take most seriously.

Honorable mention - Melinda and Melinda. I caught this last night. Not quite sure where I place this in the Woody Allen canon. I enjoyed the film, its double storyline and great Allen dialogue. However, this didn't grip me like Allen's best films, though, I agree with what most critics say that even a poor Woody Allen film is better than most films out there. Will Ferrell stars as Woody Allen, whose comic lines should have been delivered by the writer/director, and each of the other characters speak as if they had Woody's hand up their backs moving their mouths and controlling their brains. I just wish that Woody's next film won't have such unidimensional dialogue, character depth and plotline. I would watch this film again and thoroughly enjoy myself and give this, overall, a thumb up, but wouldn't place this as an unforgettable Woody Allen film. Want that? Go rent Purple Rose of Cairo or Radio Days.

Lately, I've been on a huge U2 and Beatles kick. Recently I've acquired two U2 shows which happen to be shows that I saw. One of them is my very first concert I saw back in 1987. Fascinating comparing my memories to the raw tape, though even if I remembered the show as the raw, ragged performance as the tape shows, I'd still love the band and concerts as much as I do today.
The Beatles; where to start? All I'm focussing on is the twenty-fifth anniversary of John Lennon's death in 1980. I have strong memories of that evening, even though I was only seven. The Beatles were introduced to me at a young age by my mom and to think that someone would be killed solely for being famous and popular seemed unreal to me. I'm saving this one for December 9, but I do know that I'll be terribly tearful and broken that day. Lennon's lyrical content of Rubber Soul, his rock and roll of the white album and his reflections and introspection of life from his last album and its out-takes alone make him a beautiful and greatly missed artist.