Movie list

These recently viewed films made made me laugh, think, cry and feel inspired.

C.R.A.Z.Y

I fell in love with Marc-Andre Grondin.



A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

I fell in love with Robert Downey Jnr's puppy dog eyes.



Running with Scissors

I fell in love with Annette Benning's wardrobe in the first third of the film and the first house the Burroughs family lived in.



The Namesake

I fell in love with the director, Mira Nair, for the way she shot India and drawing out incredible performances from the cast.



Half Nelson

I fell in love with Ryan Gosling. He was hot as a junkie.



The Devil and Daniel Johnston

I fell in love with Daniel Johnston's mad, creative genius like that depicted of Anton Newcomb in Dig!.



Lenny

Dustin Hoffman acted in his best films in the 70s.

An Inconvenient Truth

Do you think that most of the people who watched An Inconvenient Truth had some knowledge or concern about global warming anyway? Do you think the average Joe, Maria or Mei Ling, who value quick, mind-numbing entertainment over anything informative, would have seen this documentary? It's people like this, who form the bulk of society, that need to be educated about global warming. These are the kind of people who don't give a shit about anything happening in the world. They are self-obsessed, celebrity worshiping, group mentality, mainstream entertainment watching, materialistic consumers. They are the type of people who buy a Toyota Prius because Cameron Diaz drives one, not because it's a hybrid car (I know a girl who did this). How do you get the global warming message out to the Asian teenager hanging out at the shopping centre to pass time? How do you inform the guy whose main concern in life is buying a flash car and finding a hot chick? Celebrity endorsement. I think Toyota should pay Paris Hilton, Vin Disel and Nicolas Tse to drive Prius'. I think celebrities should be on ads to inform people about the steps they can take to help the environment. What about an ad where Jay-Z and Beyonce show people the energy efficient products they have in their home. Educate people through movies. In Ben Stiller's next film, why not have a few scenes where he recycles his beer cans rather than throw them in the ordinary trash can.

Many of the existing environmental awareness ads are targeted to households. What about businesses? Think of all the paper that gets thrown away and lights left on at your office. My company doesn't even have recycling bins for glass, cans and plastic. I'm going to ask for one. Why doesn't the government sponsor more ads to inform businesses to switch off the lights in their building after work? Or at least use an energy efficient source of light. Surely there will be a positive effect on the environment if all the office building lights in Shanghai and Manhattan were off for one night. Why not have a global blackout day, where every city skyline will be dark for one night. Once you've seen one glittering skyline you've seen them all anyway. If you want a picture, buy a postcard or print one off from the internet.

Hard Candy

Only read this if you've seen the movie.

Fuck, do I feel sorry for Jeff? I should hate him with a passion and want him to be castrated. Hey, only a few weeks before watching Hard Candy I said to my friend, "all peadophiles should be castrated." I don't understand why, when Hayley was about to cut his balls off, that he didn't confess to her that he was at the girl's murder. Why did he only admit it at the end of the film, long after his balls were cut off and incinerated? I was nearly going to throw up in the castration scene. I'm just glad they didn't show it.

Jeff is a good looking, stylish guy. How could he be a peadophile? Gosh I cringed in the first scene when he met Hayley at the cafe and brushed the jam off her lips. Oh and when she was changing into her new t-shirt and she flashed him, to which he then said that he was getting excited. There were so many clues throughout the movie to indicate that he was a peadophile. How can we question otherwise? What about when he asked her flirtatiously, "What use do you have in mind for me?" What about when he was tied up to a chair and said "If this is how we were going to play, I should have gone first." Despite all these indicators, I still felt sorry for him in the castration scene! I also hated Hayley in some parts of the film, even though I should have been cheering her on.

This was the mind fuck of the movie. There was no antagonist or protagonist, or you could say that these roles switched throught the movie. In some parts I wanted Jeff to be punished, but in other parts I felt sorry for him. Should Hayley have just let the police handle Jeff as opposed to torturing him herself? We all know that some people get away with evil deeds if they have a good lawyer. Is the best form of justice doing onto others as they did to others? So, should Jeff have been tortured in that way because he raped/molested (?) and murdered the girl?

After Jeff revealed his wrong doings, I concluded that he deserved everything Hayley gave to him. The line I liked the best was in the end rooftop scene, when she said "I am every little girl who was molested."

I wonder if I would have felt as sorry for Jeff if he was an unattractive loser?

Disturbing films

I think all of these films are brilliant because they go where no other scriptwriter has gone before. They are challenging and I was left thinking about each one for a few days after watching them. WARNING: THESE ARE NOT DATE MOVIES (or at least clear it with your date first).

1. Hard Candy
2. Mysterious Skin
3. Happiness
4. Requiem for a Dream
5. Looking for Mr. Goodbar

I think Saw would be on this list if I had seen it. Since I watched Hard Candy last night, I think I'm ready for Saw. I was reluctant to watch Saw because I heard there was a scene where a man's leg is sawed off, and I'm a wuss when it comes to amputation. I didn't expect there to be any amputation scenes in Hard Candy so I watched it. Now that I've been traumatised by what I've seen in Hard Candy, which I think is much worse than a leg being cut off, I can now watch Saw.

The Chumscrubber

WATCH THIS if you liked:

- Thumbsucker
- Donnie Darko
- The Safety of Objects
- Garden State

By the way, did anyone laugh at the scene when Billy was running out of the house with his bleeding eye? The music over that scene made it seem comical. I couldn't laugh because I'm queasy to bleeding eyes. It was a bit of a tradegy too because it meant Billy couldn't be a pilot, but on the other hand he deserved to be punished for being a bully.

The Station Agent

A film about a dwarf, Finn, who inherits a house in a small town. He wants to be left alone but two people, Joe and Olivia, won't leave him alone even though they too want to be left alone by the town people. Joe is an extrovert and always feels the need to be talking. He comes across as the annoying neighbour or friend who always needs company and doesn't take no for an answer. Although he was always eager for the company of Finn and Olivia, it seemed like he didn't want to hang out with just anybody. For instance, in the scene when two of the town rednecks invited him to play softball with them, he seemed reluctant to want to go. Olivia was more reserved and never wanted to answer her phone, as opposed to Joe who was always yakking on the phone. Despite not wanting contact with her friends and ex, she took a shine to Finn and didn't mind being with him. She didn't even want to hang out with Joe either at the beginning of the film. But eventually, due to Joe's persistence and enthusiasm, the three of them became friends. It's a story about three lonely people connecting, then getting hurt, then wanting to be left alone again, then returning to each others company. Choosing to be alone is a safe choice because if you never get close to anyone, you will never be hurt. However, having caring people around makes for a happier life. So you can be bitter and alone, or happy with the imperfect but caring people around you.

My two favourite actors in the movie were Raven Goodwin, the inquisitive fat black girl from Lovely & Amazing, and Bobby Cannavale, who I remembered playing Will's cop boyfriend in a few episodes of Will & Grace, but was also in Six Feet Under and Oz. I had to IMDB if the actor who played Finn was the grouchy dwarf in Living in Oblivion, and he was! His name is Peter Dinklage.

In summary, the movies you must see are:
- The Station Agent
- Lovely & Amazing
- Living in Oblivion