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watching: the moving image.

three bewildered people in the night

"three bewildered people in the night" is 1 of 2 films by gregg araki in his early days before he really got out there in the indie scene. i would call these his college films. ever since watching "totally fucked... [more]

cloudy with a chance of meatballs

today i went to see "cloudy with a chance of meatballs" in 3-d and it was pretty good, actually. laughed quite a bit. but more than that, i saw the trailer for the new "alice in wonderland" by tim burton... [more]

september's netflixing

here is what i netflixed in september. i'm trying to complete some lists on listsofbests.com and so mostly i got movies that are on those lists. the robe south pacific i got these 2 for a list. now i'm almost... [more]

district 9 and some golf

so last night i had another date. it was a dinner and movie thing, which seems like the traditional date, so i wanted to do it right. what else is part of a traditional date? you get the girl flowers.... [more]

august's netflixing

this is a very brief overview of what i watched this month. "happy gilmore" - at first i didn't really like adam sandler that much, just a couple characters on "saturday night live". some of his movies are alright. this... [more]

july's netflixing

here's what i watched in july. "director's series, vol. 3: the work of director michel gondry" - i wanted to watch the music videos by the artists i like, even if i've seen them before or might have a copy... [more]

harry potter and the half--told tale

i went to go see "harry potter and the half blood prince". i'm not really a fan of harry potter. i just tend to watch them when they come out in the theaters. i don't think i've ever seen a... [more]

bruno, not in 3-d unfortunately

i went to see "bruno", which was not in 3-d unfortunately. it started off funny as hell and then it was downhill, much like "the simpsons movie". i'm not sure exactly what went wrong. it's not like it was all... [more]

up, in 3-d

i went with my ex- to go see "up" in 3-d. i was in bad mood due to yesterday's no parking incident and that the club really really sucked. i let my mind mess me up on such matters. like... [more]

june's netflixing

here's what i netflixed in june. "everything is illuminated" - i don't know if anyone specifically raved about this but i feel like there was a buzz about it so i wanted to see it without knowing the story. it... [more]

night at the movies

we went to the movies tonight and the place that we regularly go to now has an imax screen. we saw "night at the museum: battle of the smithsonian" of all things. it's a silly movie so to enjoy it... [more]

may's netflixing

still not watching that much netflix in may. i really need to get a tv at my place! "wonderland" - to be honest, i don't know how the hell this ended up in my queue. it is the tale of... [more]

april's netflixing

shit i watched in april. "the caller" - i got this to see laura harring. period. not much laura. kind of just barely interesting plot. slow pace. hitchcock could've done so much more. more laura please. that could've saved things.... [more]

march's netflixing

wow. i almost didn't watch anything this month! it's due to the breakup and moving out. i don't have a tv at my new place. my laptop cannot play dvds because i reset the region code so i can watch... [more]

february's netflixing

with all that's going on having calmed down a bit, i was able to watch a couple more discs than last month but i'm not at all back at my regular pace. "winged migration" - this was a big deal... [more]

welcome to crystal lake

happy friday the 13th! this morning i went through my own bit of hell. i went to the department of motor vehicles. i just can't find my car registration and don't want to tear apart the entire house looking for... [more]

january's netflixing

this review is late but here's a summary of what i was netflixing in january. "flight of the concords, season 1" - since i haven't had cable tv for years, i just don't keep on shows, especially not ones that... [more]

valkyrie

it was one of those days where you have to get out of the house. so you grab some vegan burgers and fries and then head for the movies, hoping that the next picture showing is something you want to... [more]

december netflixes

here's a briefing of what i netflixed this month. again, this review is a bit earlier than usual because i'll be spending the rest of the month out of town and won't be watching any netflix at all. "tropic thunder"... [more]

november netflixes

here's a rundown of what i netflixed this month. this review is a bit earlier than usual because i'll be spending the last few days of the month out of town for the thanksgiving holiday and won't be watching any... [more]

october netflixes

here's what i watched in october and my silly comments. "the l word: season 5" - like i said before, season 4 was the first season that i really got into this show. season 5 aired in january and i... [more]

september netflixes

here's what the calavera contingent watched in september. "derailed" - ok, i didn't put this in my queue for a glimpse cinematic genius, superb acting, or mind blowing special effects. i just wanted some eye candy, i just wanted to... [more]

august netflixes

we didn't watch much in august because we went on vacation so most of the things we did watch were related to our trip somehow--i.e., they were set in or about brazil or argentina. "30 days: season 2" - i... [more]

july netflixes

wow, i must have really been busy this month because i hardly watched anything from netflix. i did actually go out to the movies once too! there are times when i feel like upgrading my netflix plan but since i... [more]

june netflixes

this month i didn't watch too many movies from netflix. i guess that shows how busy i've been after work and on the weekends although i can't really point out all the reasons why i was occupied with stuff other... [more]

may netflixes

here's what i netflixed in may and my silly thoughts on them: "bus 174" - this was interesting because it takes one incident and uses it to consider the greater social issue at hand. it starts to touch what that... [more]

april netflixes

here's what i netflixed in april: "saludos amigos / the three caballeros" - i had seen "the three caballeros" a long time ago on vhs but i don't think i had ever seen "saludos amigos". these are disney's latin american... [more]

march netflixes

here's what i netflixed in march: "the shaggy dog" - still more of twiddle thumbs' classic disney education. i haven't been enforcing the curriculum in a long time so i thought it'd be good to throw one in there. i... [more]

so that was the film (mexican version)

i've been watching "cine mexicano", a three disc documentary on mexican cinema. it's all in spanish so twiddle thumbs has been translating for me. a scene i did not need translation for was one in which both of our ears... [more]

february netflixes

here's my brief thoughts on this month's netflixes. "death of a president" - this is a fake documentary about the current president getting assassinated and interviewing the relevant people at the time. i read about this one and saw great... [more]

take action

i am so upset by north korea. there's just too much to talk about but what it basically comes down to is human rights and the huge lack thereof in that country. lately i've been reviving my interest in learning... [more]

a taste of morrissey

last night i went to another ucla screening. this time it was "a taste of honey" and it was at the billy wilder theater at the hammer museum in westwood. i want to see most of the the films ucla... [more]

frankenstein series

universal studios did something wonderful for classic horror fans. they released their classic horror movies into little box sets featuring a series of movies from each character. there is a set on dracula, the mummy, the wolf man, etc. a... [more]

crossing the zodiac

my 2 cents on recent netflixes. "crossing the line" - this is about the last american by birth who defected to north korea and still lives there. a person of today would want to know why anyone would willing defect... [more]

for fans only

netflixed several items and i would classify them all as 'for fans only'. first, i watched the "halloween" remake by rob zombie. what a piece of shit. you truly have to be a fan of the original (or series) or... [more]

flushed in sight

netflixed "flushed away" and "no end in sight". "flushed away" is another of the cartoons released recently that i was not interested in initially but decided to watch in order to know what's been going on in such films. though... [more]

the wind that shakes a crude awakening

netflixed "a crude awakening: the oil crash" and "the wind that shakes the barley". you could say i knew very little about the topic of both films before watching them. by the title, you can guess what "a crude awakening"... [more]

three films by gabriel figueroa

ucla film & television archive and the j. paul getty museum presented yesterday and today "classic mexico: three films by gabriel figueroa", who was a cinematographer. two of the films were mexican and one was american. to quote some of... [more]

not funny, blah!

recent netflixes were not so funny. we watched "balls of fury", which was the funniest of the lot of unfunnies. maybe second was "barnyard". the least funny was definitely the canceled tv show "greg the bunny". "balls of fury" was... [more]

a scanner darkly

netflixed "a scanner darkly". this was a film i wanted to see in theaters although i can't tell you why other than philip k. dick wrote it. i never read the book so i can't comment on that at all.... [more]

everything's in peril

netflixed "everything's cool" and "planet in peril". "everything's cool" was showing at a film festival in los feliz (or thereabouts) and i wanted to see it along with some other films but i didn't go to see any of them.... [more]

surf season

netflixed some kiddie cartoon type stuff recently: "surf's up" and "open season". "surf's up" looked interesting enough from trailers that i wanted to see it but somehow seemed like just another penguin movie 'cos at the time there were already... [more]

30 days in the hellhouse

i netflixed "30 days" and "hellhouse". after doing "super size me", the filmmaker had a tv show called "30 days" but i never watched it until renting the dvd. the idea is to tackle something for 30 days. i thought... [more]

revisiting movies

since thanksgiving i've been re-watching several dvds i own. most of them are movies several years old that i much enjoyed at the time. sometimes you have to take a break from the things you like so it was nice... [more]

sleeper cell and the l word

recent netflixes have been about catching up on tv shows. i went through the second season of "sleeper cell" and the fourth season of "the l word". for "sleeper cell", i just couldn't see how they could continue to carry... [more]

cujo

so i netflixed "cujo" even though i've never read the book. this is one of those movies that wouldn't exist today because of cell phones. there is the whole no reception angle but really, give these characters a cell phone... [more]

monty python and the holy grail

it's taken me a long time to watch "monty python and the holy grail". i have never seen anything by monty python but while growing up, i was always told that i would probably like it and how funny it... [more]

netflix note

one of the discs i received from netflix was not what i requested. it was very close, but not what i requested. it was a tv show, season 2 disc 1 and i requested season 1 disc 1. i did... [more]

bitter sugar

i netflixed "azucar amarga" (bitter sugar) because someone mentioned it in passing and i had never heard of the film. it's from 1996 and is about people living in modern day cuba. it's in black and white. it's interesting because... [more]

mr. triple cross vampire

recent netflixes include "triple cross: bin laden's spy in america" and "mr vampire". "triple cross" was done by national geographic and after watching one of their dvds, we have been watching some of their other recommended programs, leading us to... [more]

the sound of music

tonight i finally watched "the sound of music". i had never seen it before. hard to believe perhaps but i've been holding out on a few classics on purpose. i do know a little about the film because it's such... [more]

secrets of fast food democracy

here's my recent netflixings. "national geographic: secrets of jerusalem's holiest sites" ermph, i expected more from this. it wasn't terribly exciting, just a little bit informative of 3 separate holy sites from each of the major religions tied to jerusalem,... [more]

the undocumented documentary

netflixed "wetback: the undocumented documentary". it's a documentary on the undocumented immigrants from south of the us border, or 'wetbacks' as the derogatory term goes. i thought it would be about mexicans but no sir, it's about central americans who... [more]

denied (and) a quinceanera

after work i hurried home and made dinner as we were going to go out to a club to catch a small show. we got there, paid for parking, and there weren't very many people yet but there was some... [more]

bruce not so almighty

netflixed "bruce almighty" because i have already seen "evan almighty" and wanted to see where the hell did all this start from. as i'm watching it, i fear that i've already seen it! i saw the very first part up... [more]

hannibal rising

netflixed "hannibal rising" and damn!, my fists were clenched the entire time as i watched that movie. it was not that graphic or violent and yet i was squeamish. it must be a sign that i'm getting old! or maybe... [more]

the lost balseros

i netflixed "balseros" and "the lost city", both are about cuba but one is fiction and the other is not. "balseros" is a documentary of the people who risked their lives to flee cuba for america in homemade rafts that... [more]

i love lucy and other tv classics

lately i've been enjoying watching i love lucy clips on you tube. (my recommendations: vitameatavegamin, chocolatier, tango with eggs, squashing grapes, chester, baking bread, hair treatments, caperucita roja, the diet, and various clips of the gang in hollywood.) i grew... [more]

i love movies

heliosphan posted that she did this quiz so here's my results as well... 76%The Movie Quiz i should have done better than 76% but at least it's passing. this quiz is about movies in the past 25 years and as... [more]

the dog whisperer

lately we've been engrossed in watching season 1 of "the dog whisperer". we don't have a dog but we love dogs. it's also fun as hell to watch some of these dogs with (unusual) problems. after awhile though, it becomes... [more]

bridge to terabithia

after a day of running errands, i popped in the latest dvd i received from netflix, "bridge to terabithia". when the trailer was released, i had absolutely no interest in this movie. it seemed like another fantasy for kids like... [more]

spread entertainment

today we left work early to rush and go see a taping of dave navarro's internet show, "spread entertainment". we were kinda curious what the show was like but wanted to wait until a guest we liked appeared on the... [more]

charlotte's night and fog

i recently netflixed "night and fog" and "charlotte's web". what a contrast in films. "night and fog" is a short documentary about the german concentration camps of world war II. what's amazing about it is that it's from the 1950s.... [more]

ridicule at the museum

my recent netflixes include "night at the museum" and "ridicule". "night at the museum" was one of those films whose trailer i saw and had no interest in. suddenly one day twiddle thumbs decided she wanted to see it so... [more]

raise the red terror

the lunch yesterday was very long. we didn't leave the restaurant until after 4:30pm. after that we did some grocery shopping then went home and watched some netflix. nopalita brought over "trilogy of terror" and and we had "raise the... [more]

300

i netflixed "300". i sorta wanted to see it in theaters, or at least the cheap theater, but missed my chance. i wasn't interested in the story so much as it was another film based on a frank miller comic... [more]

lola's ball

recent i netflixed "monster's ball" and "lola". "monster's ball" was a much talked about movie when it came out in 2001. since then, do people give a shit? i don't know. i never saw it and that's why i netflixed... [more]

the labyrinth of the simpsons

this morning i was watching "pan's labyrinth". it's an ok movie. perhaps better than ok but i just can't imagine myself watching it again. it has nothing to do with pan. that's just the english title. the original title in... [more]

harry potter and the order of disappointment

with the week i have been having, it's time to destress and enjoy a day at the movies. i don't think i'll ever read the harry potter books but i like to see the films while they are still new... [more]

dark days

i netflixed the documentary "dark days". it's about the homeless, specifically an underground shanty town in new york city. it's been awhile since the documentary so this particular shanty town no longer exists. however, it's still a very moving and... [more]

the brown bunny

sometimes i put movies in my netflix queue because it was at a film festival and i didn't get to go, or i read a review, or it is connected to another film of interest, or i am interested in... [more]

ratatouille

we felt like going to the movies today but not to see anything in particular. usually the movie selection is shitty so i don't bother going out to see them. today though there were several films i wouldn't mind seeing... [more]

fidelito

i netflixed "fidel" by estela bravo. it's all about fidel castro's rise to power and the history of cuba with this in mind. but mostly it's about fidel as you can tell by the title. it was a good documentary.... [more]

maxed out

today we were denied for cable internet again! today was the rescheduled day and the installers came. however they needed access to a box outside the building that is locked up. they said that the electricity provider has a key.... [more]

letters from our fathers at iwo jima

i netflixed "letters from iwo jima" and "flags of our fathers" so i can finally say that i've seen these 2 movies! after watching "letters from iwo jima" and not paying very much attention and thinking it wasn't so hot,... [more]

bowers and pirates

a couple weeks ago i bought tickets to go to the bowers museum for the ancient egypt exhibit and treasures from shanghai. i forgot about this when i called a couple days ago to have cable internet installed today. i... [more]

beloved amerikana

i netflixed "immortal beloved" and "amerikana". "immortal beloved" is that beethoven film starring gary oldman. that's all i knew about it. i didn't know anything about beethoven's life, apart from the deafness of course, so i was completely unaware of... [more]

who killed nirvana?

recent netflixes include music and a documentary. first up, nirvana's "live! tonight! sold out!!". i'd rather watch a music video retrospective along with some sort of bonus interviews or documentary but since that doesn't exist for a lot of bands... [more]

shrek the third

we went to see "shrek 3" tonight. we never go to a movie on opening night so it was a bit strange to go to a packed theater, especially one with so many children! but that's what happens when you... [more]

hometown in a war zone

i've been watching this documentary which is being shown in installments online called "hometown baghdad". it's really powerful footage. since only a few minutes at a time are being released, it's easy to keep up on or get into it... [more]

some kind of exorcist

even though i don't like metallica, i had heard good things about "some kind of monster", plus eric avery (jane's addiction) is in it for a few seconds, so i netflixed it. what a bunch of wankers. what a bunch... [more]

dinner for algiers

i netflixed "dinner for five" (season 1 disc 1) because a couple different friends like the show but i had never seen it. one recommended a particular episode. so here i am years later and i finally watch it. the... [more]

thank you for smoking marie antoinette

i'm starting to think i'm the only one who appreciates my movie entries where i combine the titles to create something new and funny. but that's probably because i'm the only one reading my own blog. 'thank you for smoking... [more]

another gay jesus in the control room

recent netflixes... though "jesus camp" was in my netflix recommendations, i had no interest in it. while dani was visiting, we had some netflixes around the house, including "death in gaza". based off of that, dani recommended we watch "jesus... [more]

death in hollywoodland

recent netflixes include "death in gaza" and "hollywoodland", two very different movies. "death in gaza" didn't intrigue me much at first when i read the description. the reason pepole watch it i think is because the filmmaker died while working... [more]

la vita e bella

today i finally watched "life is beautiful". i know it was a good movie and a lot of people saw it but i never did. i knew it was about life in the concentration camps and how a father tried... [more]

grindhouse

i think i'm the one that hooked dani onto robert rodriguez. long story short, he worships him now as a filmmaker and was excited to go see a rodriguez picture together. "grindhouse" is a double feature with a film by... [more]

real time taping

dani got tickets to see a taping of "real time with bill maher". i have never seen the show and i don't like the guy but what the hell, it's a tv show taping! so after work we rushed our... [more]

the people tell it like it is

netflixed "voices of iraq" and "afghan stories", two documentaries where basically the people tell it like it is. for documentaries done in non-first world countries, i always wonder how do they have enough battery/film for everything. you could bring loads... [more]

why we fight the dreamers

more recent netflixes... "why we fight". this was a documentary that raises a very vital question for a country that has ever engaged in war. the question isn't why are we involved in a particular conflict, but why do we... [more]

he died with happy feet

recent netflixes... "happy feet". the trailer was hilarious and so i really wanted to see this in theaters but i never managed to bother. good thing i didn't. this movie was pretty bad. there were some funny parts, but overall... [more]

maria full of punk

my recent netflixes: "maria full of grace" wow, this was a good movie. twiddle thumbs and her sister were actually watching this while we were in japan, but since it wasn't subtitled, or perhaps it was subtitled in japanese, i... [more]

good bye lenin

what a wonderful movie i just netflixed. when we first got back from new zealand, one day we were at a video rental store and the cover to "good bye lenin" caught my eye. i didn't pick it up and... [more]

weapons of unprecedented mass deception

recent netflixes seemed to go together well: "unprecedented: the 2000 presidential election" and "wmd: weapons of mass deception". "unprecedented" was a very nice look at the presidential election of 2000 and brought back the anger and frustration of those days.... [more]

dreamland for sale

netflixed two iraq related documentaries. i first heard about "occupation dreamland" through the alumni magazine of my university--one of the filmmakers is an alumn. i wasn't thrilled to watch it off of the synopsis, just curious as to what a... [more]

burst city and alexander nevsky

netflixed "burst city" and "alexander nevsky." "burst city" is the english title for the 1982 japanese punk rock film "bakuretsu toshi" (perhaps another translation could be "explosive borough"). i wanted to see it for the music. it turned out to... [more]

forgotten terror

netflixed "forgotten silver" and "terrorstorm". "forgotten silver" is an amusing fake documentary peter jackson and his collaborators made in the 1990s about a forgotten kiwi film pioneer. the tale is so remarkably funny, to go back and say that this... [more]

opcs: sonatine

i hosted another okinawa in pop culture series for yosc today. this time we watched "sonatine" by takeshi "beat" kitano. it's about tokyo mafia who go down to okinawa to help calm down a feud going on there. the turnout... [more]

uncovered: the war on fingersmith

today was a stay at home and watch movies day. "uncovered: the war on iraq" was a kinda boring documentary on the war. it had some moments but overal, blah. "fingersmith" is a victorian period piece that aired on the... [more]

a dirty babel

there were clips from movies in the documentary "this film is not yet rated" and i wanted to see them in full to get a better understanding of why the mpaa gave the rating etc. one of those films was... [more]

borat

we went to the cheap movie theater to see "borat". we had completely forgotten that we wanted to see this movie and hurried to catch it at the cheapie before it made it to dvd. damn, that was soooooo freakin'... [more]

jersey family fortunes

i decided to netflix a bunch of bush/war/election/oil/terror/etc related documentaries so i'll be watching those for the next month or three. it's starting with "bush family fortunes: the best democracy money can buy". this was interesting but told in a... [more]

this dance is not yet rated

recently i've netflixed "this film is not yet rated" and "shall we dance?". "this film is not yet rated" is interesting because it attempts to document the mpaa and very little is known about them. they put their rating on... [more]

strike

i watched sergei eisenstein's first feature film, strike (1925). since it was a silent film, i couldn't stay focused on the story for the entire length of the film, but it was really captivating at first. i was really impressed... [more]

choson

i've been into north korea (democratic people's republic of korea) lately as a topic of current events and modern history interest. i'm interested in the dprk just because it is such a closed off society that i can't help but... [more]

orphans of the october storm

i watched more silent films as twiddle thumbs is again out of town this week on business. she's going to mexico so often that... 1. she's officially mexican (a 'tijuanera' as she put it) 2. people are gonna start thinking... [more]

panda!

my brother sent me a youtube link and it was so hilarious, i couldn't resist and just have to post it to my blog. i know it's all the rage but this is my first time posting a youtube video.... [more]

birth of an intolerant nation

i have been wanting to see more silent films but i have trouble watching them because i am more of a multi-task kind of person. i especially like to surf the net and stuff as i watch a movie. when... [more]

the devil on the river kwai

recent netflixes include the classic film "bridge on the river kwai" and a more recent comedy "the devil wears prada". i really didn't know much about either film. i wanted to see the classic film because eventually i want to... [more]

movie and a good meal

yesterday my mom invited us to come over for food on new year's. before we went, we saw "apolyptico". i don't want to talk about "apolyptico" much because i feel like talking about any part of it will give the... [more]

merry movies

this christmas we just stayed home watching movies, never left the house. we watched movies nopalita let us borrow. curiously enough, all of these had been in my netflix queue. bride and prejudice - nopalita actually gave this one to... [more]

diary of a lost it girl

recent netflix include the classic silent films "diary of a lost girl" and "it". anyone into films has probably heard of "it" which stars clara bow, who became known as the 'it' girl. 'it' being all things sexy. she just... [more]

who's afraid of the night porter?

i've recently watched two films off netflix that back to back are a little, wow, it gets you. i watched "who's afraid of virginia woolf?" and "the night porter". "who's afraid of virginia woolf?" is a very intense display of... [more]

the return of netflix

we've finally started watching netflix on a regular basis again. i guess that means we've settled in to the new place. here's a quick review of recent viewings. halloween 5 - i watched this one by myself as twiddle thumbs... [more]

the future of food

i have finally watched a netflix movie again! last night we did grocery shopping for thanksgiving and then watched "the future of food". hmm, maybe we should've watched this before going to the supermarket! seriously, this film is for anyone... [more]

we have tv!

ok, we just have a tv set. no antenna. no cable. no satellite dish. twiddle thumbs's dad brought a tv over. ironically, it's the one we sold to them. they also have the tv we didn't sell. they have our... [more]

nightmare before christmas 3-d

we went to see "the nightmare before christmas" which has been remastered and is now showing in 3-d. 3-d is one of those gimmicks from the 1950s that is somehow still around. (why smell-o-vision didn't last i'll never know.) the... [more]

the fall of fujimori

we netflixed the documentary "the fall of fujimori" and all i can say is wow, how asleep i have been! i really know nothing of south american politics. i thought the film was fascinating for the topics it brought up.... [more]

office space

netflixed "office space" because people keep recommending it. i've never seen it until now even though i've seen a million commercials for it on comedy central. hmm, disappointing. it's more about a guy realizing he hates his job/life rather than... [more]

sleeper cell

we netflixed "sleeper cell" and finally finished watching this series that aired on showtime last year. this drama pulled us in right away. it takes place in post 9/11 los angeles and an undercover fbi agent spends years in jail... [more]

from rags to riches

recently we netflixed "favela rising" and "enron: the smartest guys in the room". both documentaries were good but in different ways. i didn't know too much about either subject. each film narrowed in on individuals which helped to give the... [more]

tv show taping

twiddle thumbs and i left work early today to go down to hollywood and watch the taping of "jimmy kimmel live" because dave navarro and the panic channel were the scheduled guests. i don't think i've ever watched the show... [more]

peephole kant spel

i'm so tired of people who can't spell. i'm taking about very basic things such as the use of an apostrophe ('). i think that either our public education system is so broken that people aren't learning and retaining the... [more]

operation wrath of god

netflixed "munich", which was about the post-terrorism situation at the olympic games at munich, specifically how israel sent a secret team to assasinate those responsible for the attack, AKA operation wrath of god. i really knew nothing of this film... [more]

netflixiation

it's time to write about some of the movies i've been netflixing as it's been so long since i have done so! the best of triumph the insult comic dog this was hilarious! i forgot how funny triumph could be.... [more]

japanese food, a movie, more japanese food

today was my day of hanging out with twiddle thumbs's friends at her work and their respective girlfriends. we went to eat lunch at maki maki at the irvine spectrum. i have never been to that mall before and i... [more]

cocoanuts

i have never watched a marx brothers movie before but i think i've seen the three stooges several times on tv (not my thing but when i was a kid i was a such a tv addict). tonight i watched... [more]

i don't get why tarantino is popular

tonight i finally watched for the first time "reservoir dogs". earlier this week i saw "jackie brown". i have now seen all of quentin tarantino's major works and i still don't get why the guy is popular. i set out... [more]

pirates of the caribbean 2

uh, this movie sucked. when i first heard that the disney ride pirates of the caribbean would become a movie, i was skeptical. how are you going to make a movie out of a ride? then i saw it and... [more]

superman left?

i really had no interest in "superman returns" because i thought it was a remake of the christopher reeves series of superman movies and who needs that? but you know what? tomorrow is a holiday and i wanna go out... [more]

the end of queer as folk

i just watched the final episode of the final season of "queer as folk". i didn't like all of the elements of the show, the cutting down of episodes per season, the paths certain characters take, but overall i liked... [more]

maquilapolis

today we went to another free screening held by the LA film fest. today we saw maquilapolis. if you are part of the 1st world or 3rd world, if you consume, and especially if you live in north america, you... [more]

an inconvenient screening

we tried to go the free screening of "an inconvenient truth" held by the LA filmfest but it was too crowded. we got there 40 minutes before it was to start but there was not a spot left in the... [more]

the new cold war

netflixed "syriana" because twiddle thumbs saw it in the theaters and enjoyed it so much she wanted me to watch it. i don't know why but i couldn't get that into it. i suppose because i mistook 1 character for... [more]

wasted

we netflixed another summer phoenix movie so that nopalita could watch it. it's called "wasted" and i kinda feel like we wasted our time. hahhahahaaaa it's about teenage drug use. nothing new. the sound quality is poor. the acting is... [more]

juries, virgins, and queers

as you can tell by the entry title, what a day! i went to jury duty today. yeah, they finally got me. the first time i ever received a notice, if was for a county i didn't live in anymore.... [more]

capote: a tale of a fag and his lesbian hag

i had no idea what "capote" was about. i didn't read anything about it. i never saw a trailer. i've only seen the dvd cover and twiddle thumbs wanted to see it. i know the name truman capote but that's... [more]

dial a cliche

i netflixed "esther kahn" because a friend wanted to see what summer phoenix was like so we added some of the movies she has been in to my netflix queue. we started to watch "esther kahn" but it's a really... [more]

direct sunlight puts me over the edge

last night we went to see grunion again i wanted to show twiddle thumbs some of the local parks in the daylight that i hadn't shown her before and hadn't been to in years. however, i forgot it's a holiday... [more]

so dark the con of man

so we went to the theaters to see "the da vinci code" movie. as i read the book, it felt like a movie. but somehow, the movie didn't feel like a movie! it felt boring like a book. hahahaaa no,... [more]

aeon flux

netflixed "aeon flux". hmm. mixed feelings. i didn't think it would be a good movie and i was right but somehow wrong. (charlize theron as aeon flux? please people.) i really liked "aeon flux" when it was tiny pieces as... [more]

watching movies i've never seen

it's time to watch those classic and popular movies i've never seen! it's silly to have some strange notion of pride for never seeing those films. that's as ignorant as being proud for having never read a classic and popular... [more]

on the edge

netflixed "on the edge" as part of twiddle thumbs's attempt to watch all films cillian murphy is in. it's too obvious to say this but i compare it to another film about young people depressed in a mental institution, "girl,... [more]

gay cowboys eating pudding

i finally watched bearback, er "brokeback mountain". man, i don't know what the big deal was with this movie! i mean, really, what was it about this movie? it had gorgeous scenery but that was about it. the narrative didn't... [more]

united 93

unlike other americans that i have heard about, i don't think it's too soon to make a movie about 9/11/01. there's even polls going around about it. maybe it's to hype up the release of "united 93" but damn, americans... [more]

dirty pretty sleepers

watched a couple movies: "sleepers" and "dirty pretty things". maybe something's wrong with my ears but all day watching the tv in the room i have had trouble with the audio. whether it was cable tv or "sleepers", i just... [more]

friday, october 2nd, 1992

if you know the title of this entry then you are either from brasil or you listen to sepultura. that is the first line in the song "manifest". it is about the riot at carandiru prison. i just watched the... [more]

4 films from the 30s

the other day i picked up the marlene dietrich glamour collection dvd set as well as the carole lombard glamour collection dvd set. to get so many films on dvd cheap (5-6 for $18.99) is worth it despite the lack... [more]

let's go to pluto, it's cold and it's damp

netflixed "breakfast on pluto" because twiddle thumbs needs to see every movie cillian murphy has been in--we've almost seen all that netflix has. damn those irish movies are weird but i need to see more foreign films. anyway, "breakfast on... [more]

catching up on disney films

it's true that i hate disney overall but the old disney films are classics and i want to see them all and make sure that twiddle thumbs as a declared disney fan has seen them all. last night we watched... [more]

six feet under is now six feet under

i finally finished watching the final season of "six feet under". i was never really that into the show and over the seasons i didn't really feel for the characters and where the show was going, even during the final... [more]

the corporation

one of those free preview of cable premium channels just ended. i love to see what's on those other channels even though there's usually nothing too spectacular. i just hate how i never know about the free preview until the... [more]

valiant

netflixed "valiant", an animated feature. when the trailers were airing for it on tv, it didn't seem too interesting but i thought i'd go see it at the cheap movie theater. i didn't even do that. watching the film, it... [more]

w is for wachowski

we still have some gift certificates from christmas that we need to use so we used the last of the movie ones and watched "v for vendetta". i really wanted to see this once i heard it was the next... [more]

mad cowgirl

i went to the first screening of "mad cowgirl" at the silverlake film festival. it premiered earlier at a film festival in san francisco. naturally i was interested in this film because of james duval's role as one of the... [more]

vote for pedro

i netflixed "napoleon dynamite". i just had to see it. every now and then i keep seeing 'vote for pedro' all over the place--even in free code/scripts that i download. eventually i learned where this phrase came from and added... [more]

war of the sickies

i am sick. (thanks twiddle thumbs!) i had to stay home today. fever. sore throat. tired. i watched "war of the worlds" (1953) last night and "war of the worlds" (2005) today. both suck. don't waste your money. don't waste... [more]

recent netflix activity report

it's funny. when my laptop was working, it seemed like there were a million things to do on the laptop so i never left its side. now that it's not working, i can't think of many things i need to... [more]

argentine tango

i went to see "forever tango" at the cerritos performing arts center. i went with my mother. i was her backup date. her boyfriend is out of town. i haven't been to the cerritos performing arts center since shortly after... [more]

wallace and gromit: the curse of the were-rabbit

finally saw the "wallace and gromit" movie courtesy of the cheapo movie theater. i should've known what it was going to be like based on the title but i never gave it a thought. it was enjoyable in the nostalgic... [more]

the aristocrats

i netflixed "the aristocrats" and 100 comedians later, i still don't think the aristocrats joke is funny. a comedy standard but only perpetuated by how crap it is. i'm all for shocking people for the sake of rattling people and... [more]

namm and narnia

this morning i was lazy and stayed in much longer than i would have had i known that this would be the day that i would get to go to namm for the first time in my life. (a dream... [more]

open house

"open house" is a disc i've been holding onto from netflix forever. i saw the dvd extra features before i watched the film itself. it's a musical comedy about real estate. that alone would probably get me to watch it... [more]

the family guy

when "the family guy" first aired, it seemed stupid and i didn't really pay any attention--never watched an episode. but somehow, once you return from a foreign country, everything seems sweeter. i saw the commercial on tv for "the family... [more]

dreaming of a geisha

made tentative plans with a few friends but dropped them all for various reasons. since we're all here and that's a rare thing, my mom wanted all of us to go to the movies, then dinner at a restaurant of... [more]

watching? more like not watching!

very disappointed and upset that my netflix queue hasn't been moving like it should. no time for twiddle thumbs and i to sit our butts down and watch the damn discs. not even on the weekends. one must work, cook,... [more]

harry potter and the begrudged curse

over the weekend we went out to see the new harry potter film and finally watched a netflix disc we've been holding onto forever, "ju-on", the original japanese version of "the grudge". "harry potter and the goblet of fire" having... [more]

the machinist

netflixed "the machinist" out of curiosity to see how thin christian bale was just before filming "batman begins". at first, it's almost too uncomfortable seeing him so deathly thin to even watch the film. there is this one point in... [more]

penguins is practically chickens

i finally got to see "march of the penguins" thanks to the cheapo theater. hmm, a bit disappointing in that it only focuses on a year in the life of an emperor penguin based on the reproductive aspect, but then... [more]

28 days before

netflixed "28 days later" and by the title alone, i thought it was a sequel--afterall, a movie from a few years prior named "28 days" is available but that's a sandra bullock vehicle that i had completely forgotten about temporarily,... [more]

stories from the past

i went down to the okinawan association of america to help out with the third film screening as part of the "stories from the past" series presented by the young okinawans of southern california. the film screened was "a tradition... [more]

mysterious skin

i finally got to watch gregg araki's new movie, "mysterious skin", though it really isn't new anymore. typical of araki, it has some fucked up moments but you can't blame araki for that as it's based on a book. actually,... [more]

the l word second season

i just watched 2 discs of "the l word" second season, which is half the season. this show is so cheesy. it's practically a soap opera. no, it is. i don't know who comes up with this crap. especially the... [more]

a touch of the village

netflixed "a touch of pink" and "the village". i wanted to see "a touch of pink" 'cos i missed it at a film festival in new zealand. i wanted to see "the village" 'cos of the word going around that... [more]

cable vs. satellite

back in santa cruz i had cable. then digital cable. my mom's house has satellite. when we had cable, there were constant commercials by the cable company praising themselves. that they were better than satellite. i doubted it. now that... [more]

ringu series

i finally watched all the japanese ringu movies. the first one was excellent of course and if you like horror films but didn't think it was scary then you're probably more of a gore/slasher/effects freak or moved by *boo* moments... [more]

museum and a movie

it's at a museum parking lot so it must be art a lot of museums have admission free days. today being the first friday of the month was the free day for the pasadena museum of california art. the first... [more]

belleville rendez-vous

we netflixed "belleville rendez-vous" (aka "the triplets of belleville") because twiddle thumbs had started watching it while she was in santa cruz and wanted to finish it. it was a really slow-paced, hardly no dialogue sort of animation. not exactly... [more]

netflix 500

finally this day has come: i've reached the 500 limit for my netflix queue! i started adding all "the twilight zone" dvds and before i could add them all, i had reached the max of 500. a large chunk of... [more]

catching up on season 4

netflix has allowed us to catch up on season 4 of our favorites "six feet under" and "queer as folk". last year when season 4 aired, we cancelled cable to save money. this year we were unable to view season... [more]

batman still sucks

finally watched "batman begins" courtesy of the cheapo movie theater. it's just another bloated film that doesn't cut it for me as a successful comic adaptation--i haven't read too many comics, especially american comics, but i have never seen a... [more]

the other bitch is back

twiddle thumbs's back in LA. i picked her up at the airport today. the first thing we did was go eat at native foods because it's 1 exit away from john wayne airport. when we got home, the first thing... [more]

getting down that kiwi accent

while we were in new zealand, twiddle thumbs and i decided that we needed to make a humorous 5 minute, south park-esque cartoon film of our adventures that takes the piss out of everything. i should've scripted it out while... [more]

blue white red

i just finishing watching the three colors trilogy by krzysztof kieslowski: blue, white, red. i started watching this a long time ago during my first attempt at university when i took an international cinema class--a class which i spent most... [more]

netflix buffet

twiddle thumbs is leaving this weekend so we tried to watch all the netflix discs we have (the awful truth season 2 disc 2, secret window, tying the knot). while she's gone i'm going to try and watch a lot... [more]

land of the dead

after work the girls wanted to go to the cheapo movie theater. fine. we can watch whatever you pick, i told them, except i really didn't want to see "kingdom of heaven" again and they were leaning towards that. they... [more]

the awful truth: 2 broken discs in a row

i finally got to watch the first disc of the second season of "michael moore's the awful truth". this is the third disc i've received from netflix. it's bizarre but the first two were cracked/broken. this third disc is the... [more]

alexander and the house of flying daggers

we netflixed "alexander" and "house of flying daggers". in short, the former sucked and the latter rocked. everything that was bad about "alexander" was good about "house of flying daggers". i have been wanting to see "alexander" for a long... [more]

charlie and the chocolate factory

we finally went to go see the film twiddle thumbs has been begging me to see even back when we were in new zealand, "charlie and the chocolate factory". 'directed by tim burton, starring johnny depp' doesn't interest me. i... [more]

sky captain and the world of crap

we netflixed "sky captain and the world of tomorrow". someone needs to teach those filmmakers a little something about pacing. goddamn that film was slow. it was the length of a regular film but it felt like it went on... [more]

catching up on movies

today we went to the movies twice to catch up on films that we have missed because we have been away. these are films that had not yet or were just starting to be shown in new zealand when we... [more]

bewitched

hung out with nopalita today so that we could trade stuff--we have a few of her things and she has a lot of our things as we made her take back some of our luggage. this is the first time... [more]

pigs from the sea

we went to go see a play called "umi kara buta ga yattekita" (pigs from the sea) over at el camino community college in torrance. it is a historical musical about how the okinawan community in hawaii sent back aid... [more]

mr. and mrs. smith

it was so cold, i didn't think we were going to walk to the movies but we did. we have a 2 for 1 coupon but we couldn't use it because "mr. and mrs. smith" is too new. when i... [more]

human rights film festival, part 2

we went to see "hamburg cell", the last film showing as part of the human rights film festival. it was made for television by britain's channel 4. the film is about the men who flew the planes on september 11,... [more]

human rights film festival

yesterday we saw a few films as part of the first annual human rights film festival in wellington. we were gonna see some more films today but decided to stay at home. yesterday i was still feeling crappy, tired from... [more]

star wars episode III

what a day! what a night! let's not talk about work. let's talk happy talk. happy happy talk, happy talk today. i can go home next month. my friend pulled through and will visit in june instead of september. just... [more]

friends don't let friends see kingdom of heaven

we don't have any games at the apartment, dial-up internet, no dvd player, no cable tv, etc. tired of reading books at the moment. just wanted to be out of the apartment. so we went to the movies. maybe we... [more]

the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

i haven't read the books but i'm interested. i think i read that the radio show was first anyway so it doesn't really matter if i read the books first. the stories started off as an oral narrative so why... [more]

robots

i was expecting this movie to suck. when i saw previews for it i wasn't interested in watching this one, but i'm in invercargill and what else is there to do? actually, the movie wasn't so bad but it's still... [more]

miss congeniality 2

instead of going straight back to the hostel, we decided to watch "miss congeniality 2". i was never a fan of sandra bullock, but within a short span i watched both "miss congeniality" and "28 days". those two films warmed... [more]

once were warriors

the hostel has a few dvds that you can borrow for free. i decided to take advantage of this and borrowed "once were warriors". i've been wanting to see this new zealand film because it's supposed to be good. "wow".... [more]

spooked

we went to the cinema paradiso movie theatre because i had read about it being unique. yes it is. it's what i imagine going to a movie screening at a frat house would be like. instead of the usual movie... [more]

heisei tanuki gassen ponpoko

went to a screening of "pom poko" (english title) as part of a film fest going on. damn, i really need to stick around wellington. so many cool films going on and i've already missed some. i left auckland just... [more]

the aviator

since we decided not to go to either of the two museums in town, we went to the cinema and watched "the aviator". i didn't know much about it other than it was long and made good use of color,... [more]

meet the fockers

the sequel was funny but the first one was perfect! seriously, i could watch that one over and over again. it's hilarious! the sequel has funny parts but you feel like it's dragging on and they're not quite sure what... [more]

finding neverland

we decided to catch a movie and the only one playing when we got to the theater was "finding neverland", which was alright 'cos i kinda wanted to see this one. i just kpet putting it off because i didn't... [more]

open air cinema: motorcycle diaries

we went to open air cinema again to see "the motorcycle diaries". if we were still trying to do 'friday night movie night' then we're 3 films behind. i have a few 2 for the price of 1 coupons so... [more]

catching up on movie night

i've missed 3 friday night movie nights so i've been trying to catch up. last night i went to see "oceans 12" and today i went to see "the spongebob squalpha tomnts movie". now i'm only behind 1 movie night.... [more]

look ma, i'm on tv

yes, i made it on kiwi tv, after being here only 49 days. top of the pops no less. but just in the audience. (see earlier entry regarding attending the taping of the donnas and le tigre on totp) still,... [more]

open air cinema

last night went to our first goth/industrial club. it was frontline assembly night held by circadian rhythms. one word: boring. tunes not good enough to dance to, hence hardly anyone danced. we cut out shortly after midnight but was around... [more]

bridget jones: edge of reason

we went to go see a movie to make-up for missing friday movie night on christmas eve...and i had a 2 for 1 coupon! there's only a few choices one has with a coupon. so many of the films are... [more]

the incredibles

we returned to our regularly scheduled friday night movie night after we were interrupted last week by our rush to catch the ferry to waiheke. we watched "the incredibles", on the mega screen of course. wow! what a great film.... [more]

lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events

the second film in our "let's enjoy friday nights with a film, a pie, and some hot chocolate", only without the hot chocolate. since i didn't mention it last time, again we were at sky city metro and again we... [more]

the grudge

tonight we treated ourselves to a film and a hot chocolate. maybe fridays will be the 'treat day' where we pamper ourselves. i'm not sure yet. it certainly lifted our spirits! we went to see "the grudge". what a creepy... [more]

national treasure

last night was spent at twiddle thumbs's parents' house for thanksgiving dinner. alpha tom was there along with our friend nopalita and a few of twiddle thumbs's relatives. it was actually a pretty fun evening. different from how i usually... [more]

depression in the dark

i netflixed "dancer in the dark" because bjork is in it. man, is it depressing! and bjork dies! just about every musical number is a warning that something bad is about to happen. i think i need to go watch... [more]

massacred texas chainsaw

i netflixed the new "texas chainsaw massacre" because i was curious to see what they did with my favorite movie. they massacred it. it was so bad. it was trying really hard to be gross. it wasn't scary at all.... [more]

not punk rock, scumrock!

i almost missed watching "scumrock" by jon moritsugu in theatres! it only has a 1 week run at laemmle fairfax. i didn't realize that today was the last night and that was at a little after 9pm. the last showing... [more]

castle in the sky

i netflixed "tenkyu no shiro" ("castle in the sky") to give hayao miyazaki a chance. i saw part of "tonari no totoro" when i was in high school and i hated it. i saw even less of "mononoke hime" when... [more]

saw this!

last night instead of going out to a club like we had planned, we went to see the movie "saw". i had no idea what it was about. i had only seen the poster for it in theaters, which emits... [more]

team america

the rain last night was very heavy. i couldn't sleep at first because it was just so loud. twiddle thumbs and i went to go see "team america" as my mom and her boyfriend watched "shall we dance". i thought... [more]

super downsize me

i finally watched "super size me". i enjoyed the bonus footage on the dvd of the filmmaker having a conversation with the author of "fast food nation". i didn't read that book, though. my decision to become vegan is not... [more]

fish are friends, not food

saw a shark's tale with twiddle thumbs and her parents. an interesting outing to say the least. the basic story is of a shark that is vegetarian. i can't help but think that this film was spawned off of someone... [more]

the motorcycle diaries

i went to go see "the motorcycle diaries" with twiddle thumbs and nopalita. we had to go to downtown LA somewhere to see it. i'm not sure where we were. twiddle thumbs got the directions and dictated. i just drove.... [more]

exorcist and more veggie restaurants

the workers were slower than sloths today we went to a at&t wireless store to buy tickets to the LA county fair--they have discounted tickets. i was getting frustrated pissy at the store because LA is so fucking ridiculous that... [more]

a day without a mexican

this morning we spent a couple hours loading stuff into storage with twiddle thumbs's brother and their dad. when we first unloaded the truck, i was thinking how messy this would be. i didn't know if everything would fit, but... [more]

netflix your life away

i watched a lot of movies from netflix recently. right now i keep renting films that either are practically classics--films that are mandatory for every american that twiddle thumbs has never seen, i haven't seen but twiddle thumbs has seen,... [more]

city of god

damn, this film was intense. actually, it was more the bonus documentary on the dvd that was intense. it wasn't that i didn't know about these problems, it's more that it's overwhelming to try to solve these sort of problems.... [more]

kill bill vol. 2

i netflixed "kill bill vol. 2". i was curious to see the progression from volume 1 and was hoping that 2 would be superior. unfortunately, volume 2 was just alright. i felt that the sets, music, and overall package of... [more]

so that was the film part 3

i netflixed "the dead zone" to see if it was one of the films i remember from childhood, (see earlier entry). yes, yes it was. my memories: some slightly eerie/creepy christopher walken/john lithgow type man in a stephen king film... [more]

so that was the film part 2

i netflixed "the world according to garp" to see if it was one of the films i remember from childhood, (see earlier entry). yes, yes it was. my memories: a man has sex with a girl in the bushes --... [more]

julien donkey-boy

"julien donkey-boy", the last dogme film available on netflix. hmm.. this is the worst dogme film so far. i really didn't like this one. the director also made "gummo", another film i didn't like. i think it must be the... [more]

prey for hype

so i finally got my ass to watch "prey for rock and roll". i had hyped it up too much. i wanted to like it way too much. i was a fan before even watching it. the last time i... [more]

roger & me

i was interested in what other films michael moore has made so i netflixed "roger & me", his first documentary. i wasn't that into it. as it was his first film and he was not previously a filmmaker, it could... [more]

italian for beginners

i watched my third dogme film, "italian for beginners". i remember when this was in the local indie house theater but i didn't go to see it then. i thought it was about some americans who were learning english and... [more]

fahrenheit 11/9

you know in japan that the emergency number is 119 right? how interesting that the two countries i have lived in have emergency numbers that are mirrors of each other, so that they create a palindrome when placed alongside each... [more]

the king is alive

i just watched my second dogme movie from netflix, "the king is alive". wow, what a strong, emotional, dark film. i don't want to talk about it and ruin it. you just have to watch it. i will only say... [more]

life without cable

now and then, i turn on the tv and try to watch something but it's always god awful. i have 2 channels that come in on a good day, 3 on a rare day. but all of the channels are... [more]

mifune

i finally watched a dogme 95 film, mifune. at first, i thought it would be boring but at the end i was thinking, 'wow, that was really good'. there was just something about it--all the characters pulled off well in... [more]

hello, my name is johnny

when i first bought a dvd player a couple of years ago, i bought a set of superbit dvds at costco so that i could start to build up a collection and to have movies to watch that i am... [more]

kill bill

i netflixed "kill bill vol. 1" as part of my effort to watch all tarantino films. i had heard some things about the film, but overall didn't know much about it and didn't know what to expect. when trailers for... [more]

i'm such a dork

while cleaning up my room, i found a piece of paper that i used to keep in my wallet in high school. it is a list of all the films kim novak has been in, in alphabetical order, with the... [more]

troy

i went to see "troy" and it was definitely a rental. i was afraid it wouldn't be very good but i thought it would be worth seeing on the big screen. i think a big screen tv would be good... [more]

so that was the film

a friend let us borrow "broadcast news" just because she loves it and said we should watch it. what she didn't know is that watching it would be somewhat of a life experience for me. i know this is crazy... [more]

the cable got disconnected today

i came home to an answering machine message about the cable is cancelled but we still have the equipment, so please return it. i was confused because i did call to have the cable cancelled, but they said the soonest... [more]

ground control to major tom

i netflixed "ground control" because margaret cho has a part in it. i thought it would be a small part but i didn't realize how small. it wasn't worth it. the movie looked very low budget, which could have worked--a... [more]

the un-incredible shit

i netflixed "the hulk". what a piece of shit. why isn't there a decent comic turned film? why are they always ruined by film? comics turn into decent cartoons, tv shows, but not films... *sigh* maybe i need to read... [more]

i am not a filmmaker, really

today i got the official email that "fatima mansion" was rejected for the santa cruz film festival. that's ok. i really didn't think they would pick it. the more i watch my film, the more i think it sucks. since... [more]

mark, kyle, or clark

tonight i watched "willard". i liked the darkness of the film. the sets and costumes added to it. visually, i thought the film worked. however, there was something lacking overall in the story. i thought it would have been interesting... [more]

four rooms

i netflixed "four rooms" as part of my quest to catch up on all films directed by robert rodriguez and quentin tarantino. "four rooms" is basically four segments by four directors. it is while filming his segment that rodriguez came... [more]

scooby doo 2

i went with my friend to see "scooby doo 2" in theaters. i went with her last time to see the first one, but it was at a drive-in so it was more of a value because we got to... [more]

river made to drown in

besides "may", i also netflixed "river made to drown in" because james duval is in it. i think this film had a lot of potential due to those involved, (james merendino, richard chamberlain, ute lemper), but somehow it fell flat... [more]

may

i netflixed "may" because james duval has a small part in it and the description i read about it intrigued me (a modern take on "frakenstein). at first the film was kind of funny and i was wondering where the... [more]

australian story

today i went to see "japanese story". it's a very solemn piece. it's more like an exploration of the topical layers of sadness. i would recommend for someone to know as little about it as possible before they watch it.... [more]

what's with chicks and horses?

i went to see "hidalgo" today. it was alright, nothing spectacular. i did like how the film stayed away from adding a cheesy love interest subplot. there were times when it was dangerously close to love interest cheese, but nothing... [more]

psycho

last night was the final class lecture and we watched "psycho". again it was partially ruined by the class laughing at inappropriate moments. what the fuck is their problem? i was completely wrapped up in the genius of the film.... [more]

i am a filmmaker?

today i submitted "fatima mansion" for the santa cruz film festival. the original submission deadline was february 1, but they extended it to february 15. i take this as a sign that they need more films so why not submit... [more]

troublemaker studios

i bought the dvd for "once upon a time in mexico" and was watching the special features. damn, robert rodriguez kicks ass! they showed troublemaker studios, which is set up at his house. it's amazing. it's like having several small... [more]

all the queen's men

i rented "all the queen's men". eddie izzard is always great, but the pacing of this film overall was a bit slow. i wanted to like it, and some parts were good, but overall it was not great. i did... [more]

frequent driver miles

i had lunch with twiddle thumbs, my brother, my mom and her boyfriend at souplantation. it's a soup/salad buffet thing quite similar to fresh choice. my mom is the queen of buffets. i'm not into buffets at all. i usually... [more]

the last samurai

months ago when i first saw ads for "the last samurai", i told people that i wanted to see this just so that i could see old japan on the big screen. the people i talked to could not understand... [more]

21 grams

today i saw "21 grams". i enjoyed the non-linear nature simply because it is not the dominant method of unraveling narrative. nothing against the film itself, however, i cannot help but wonder if the film is enjoyable simply because of... [more]

high art

i saw "high art" on television tonight. i think that the first time i saw it was on television last year. i'm not quite sure what it is, but there's something about the film that i really like. the more... [more]

kim novak in person in hollywood

i got an email from my brother saying that he was watching cnn and learned that kim novak would be on larry king live tonight. he must've sent that email a little too late at night 'cos when i looked... [more]

the return of the king

this morning we got up early for the weekend in order to see "the lord of the rings: the return of the king" on not the big screen but the giant screen, AKA imax in dublin. but first, i had... [more]

that's chicago

i saw "chicago" when it was out in theaters and knew then that i had to get it when it comes out on dvd. i got the dvd a couple weeks ago but was too busy to watch it until... [more]

moviemania part 4

tonight i watched the last of the films i rented: "elizabeth". i had seen bits and pieces of "elizabeth" on tv before but never the full thing. when it was released in theaters, i actually went to go see it... [more]

moviemania part 3

i meant to go to bed last night at a decent hour but when i turned off the dvd player, i noticed there was a vietnam movie on tv. i checked to see what it was: "casualties of war". it... [more]

moviemania part 2

this morning i watched "the third man" and "strangers on a train". these two films are classics and since i had never seen them, they were on the top of my rental list. "the third man" was good. i wouldn't... [more]

moviemania part 1

since my class is over i really wanted to get rid of a lot of stress and just let go by watching a lot of movies. right after work i rented a bunch and watched three of them: "chasing papi",... [more]

the game

my friend let me borrow "the game" and i watched it while i was eating dinner. i have seen very few movies with sean penn. 1-2 at best. i dunno, there's just something about him i didn't like when i... [more]

matrix revolutions

universal city walk imax? well that is the fucking smallest imax screen (81 ft by 59 ft) i have ever seen or will tolerate, (or should i say shortest). for being the big $ universal theater, it was crap! it... [more]

standing in the shower thinking

some people say they get ideas while they are on the toilet. some people say they sing in the shower. i get my ideas while taking a shower or right as i'm falling asleep. i usually forget them. today whilst... [more]

classic films i've never seen

today in class we watched clips from "citizen kane", which i've never seen before. it made think about all the classics i've never seen before, that i even had a smug pride because i had yet to see them. i... [more]

sex is violent

i think i'm the only one among my friends who has not seen the film "true romance" so i decided to rent it. wow, this is so not my thing. i felt that so much of the violence was over... [more]

velvet shitmine

one of the films i rented was "velvet goldmine". i'm sorry but i just couldn't get into it. like "the blair witch project", i like the idea of it, the theoretical side. i enjoyed reading about the film but i... [more]

kennedy

my friend said that she has never seen the assassination footage of john f. kennedy, jr. i was pretty surprised, but then again, she hasn't seen a lot of things that most people have so it shouldn't be surprising but... [more]

guilt trip

i rented several movies and tonight watched "boat trip". i don't know what it is but there's something about cuba gooding, jr. that i don't like. maybe it's because he's done a disney film. i don't know. i just can't... [more]

hadashi no gen

on campus there was a free screening of "hadashi no gen" (barefoot gen). i loved this comic book! (ok, there are 3 books to the tale) my mom made me read it when i was about 12 years old. at... [more]

once upon a time

i went to go see "once upon a time in mexico" by robert rodriguez. this is the last episode in the mariachi trilogy. i liked "el mariachi" but wasn't so much into "desperado". what i think is really great about... [more]

the matrix reloaded

i saw "the matrix reloaded" shortly after it was released. it was alright but would have been good if they had done some editing and it would have been great if the creators had worked it out a bit more... [more]

prey for a good show

so gina gershon is in a movie, "prey for rock n' roll", and apparently some alumni from ucsc directed or produced it or something like that. (actually the semi-autobiography pic was written by a person who calls santa cruz home.)... [more]

texas chainsaw massacre

the midnight movie at the del mar is one of my favorites: "texas chainsaw massacre". it's great to finally be able to see it on the big screen. what would be cooler is to watch it at the leatherface house.... [more]

just one of the girls?

so i watched "juwanna mann" on television. hmmm... men dressed as women is continually a golden comedic formula. the possibility to explore sexuality and gender roles is inherent and ample. to not do so would almost be vulgar. which is... [more]

one day in september

it's september and there is a documentary called "one day in september" that a friend recommended. i checked it out from the local library. if you haven't heard about it here's the basics: at the olympics games in munich in... [more]

my big fat life

i finally saw "my big fat greek wedding". it wasn't so bad. it had some pretty funny moments. i just felt if they cut out a couple stereotypes that perpetually plague american films then it would have been a great... [more]

the more i watch experimental films..

..the more i think that maybe i don't like them. perhaps it is not my thing. with music, i don't mind listening to all sort of things that is new or experimental to my ears. but for my eyes, i... [more]