Buffalo Soldiers
This review has been lying on the shelf just waiting to be written up, much like the release schedule of this film, which was written before 9/11 and just now, well, two months ago, released to American audiences. Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) chose military service over jail time and now is stationed in Germany as the battalion chief. He’s also the supply clerk and living it up selling his military surplus on the black market, all under the eye of aging Colonel Berman (Ed Harris), whose wife currently has a thing going with Elwood. A new sergeant (Scott Glenn) transfers in and cuts Elwood’s black market ties. Elwood then catches the eye of the sergeant’s daughter played by Anna Paquin, whom he first dates as a retaliatory measure but soon starts to like her. In the meantime, Elwood continues some of his other shady ways including some arms sales and processing drugs.
This dark comedy hinges on the performances of its cast, which is high-quality. It’s amusing at some points and very humorous at others in portraying this rag-tag group as the laughingstock of the area, especially with its military drill gone awry against the nearby military base, its lack of knowledge of the area they’re in, and the antics people take when heroin takes control of some tank operators. This satire of the American military had much potential, but was there a point to the film? None that I could see, and that’s what makes the film not great, just okay. Instead, it throws a bunch of ideas at the wall and sees what sticks, with no care at what message they could have brought. 2.5 stars
10/11/2003
10/09/2003
Sharks season has started again but they're singing the same tune as they did last year by losing.
Tonight's opponent was the Edmonton Oilers, fresh off retiring the jersey of goaltender Grant Fuhr, who won 5 Stanley Cups with the team. For the first twenty minutes, it looked like a pretty good game, albeit scoreless. They traded goals twice in the 2nd period and into the 3rd period. Penalties though killed the Sharks, allowing the Oilers to score two power-play goals in two minutes with only 3 minutes to go, putting the game out of reach. It became a 5-2 loss and a lousy trip to Calgary for their next game.
One positive to take is the play of Milan Michalek, the 18-year-old rookie, fresh from the draft, who scored the Sharks' second goal. The power play clicked as well. The play of rookies and the power of the power play were strong points in a dismal season last year. It's too bad the weak points from last year are reappearing as well. The goaltending from Nabokov was a bit shaky as he allowed 5 goals. Not all his fault of course; penalties allowed the Oilers the man advantage and with 2 power play goals scored, penalty killing still needs to be worked on. The subtraction of Nolan and Selanne gives the Sharks no go-to guy to give the puck to, making offense hard to come by. Its own 2 goals is a good start but it's nothing to be proud of.
Marco Sturm was injured with a puck to the face but is expected to be okay.
Tonight's opponent was the Edmonton Oilers, fresh off retiring the jersey of goaltender Grant Fuhr, who won 5 Stanley Cups with the team. For the first twenty minutes, it looked like a pretty good game, albeit scoreless. They traded goals twice in the 2nd period and into the 3rd period. Penalties though killed the Sharks, allowing the Oilers to score two power-play goals in two minutes with only 3 minutes to go, putting the game out of reach. It became a 5-2 loss and a lousy trip to Calgary for their next game.
One positive to take is the play of Milan Michalek, the 18-year-old rookie, fresh from the draft, who scored the Sharks' second goal. The power play clicked as well. The play of rookies and the power of the power play were strong points in a dismal season last year. It's too bad the weak points from last year are reappearing as well. The goaltending from Nabokov was a bit shaky as he allowed 5 goals. Not all his fault of course; penalties allowed the Oilers the man advantage and with 2 power play goals scored, penalty killing still needs to be worked on. The subtraction of Nolan and Selanne gives the Sharks no go-to guy to give the puck to, making offense hard to come by. Its own 2 goals is a good start but it's nothing to be proud of.
Marco Sturm was injured with a puck to the face but is expected to be okay.
10/08/2003
And in the end, it wasn't even close. Arnold won the election by an even wider margin than polls had predicted and even received more votes than Davis on the recall question, certainly a mandate indeed. Inauguration day is in November so by then, we'll see if he is able to create a respected administration right from the get-go with only one month of preparation and a state budget that will be due two months after he is sworn into office.
Clearly, Davis lost since he was unable to bring out the vote of Democratic strongholds in the unions and with minorities, both of which generally voted for Davis, but not by the wide margin Democrats usually garner from them. Davis had never lost an election in his 30 years with the state, a couple of which were come-from-behind wins, and that showed in his refusal to admit defeat until the bitter end.
Most were afraid of voter error due to punch-card ballots. Well, what does this tell you? George Schwartzman was just a simple businessman from Carlsbad who ran for governor and managed to get 9th place out of 135. How? His name is right next to Arnold Schwarzenegger's on the ballot. Other notables were Larry Flynt at 7th, Gary Coleman at 8th, Van Vo, the only Vietnamese on the ballot, at 15th, and comedian Gallagher at 16th. Georgy Russell and Brooke Adams, both of whom spoke at PS 179 at Cal, garnered less than 2,000 votes. In last place was Todd Richard Lewis, who received less than 200 votes out of more than 7 million votes counted. Well, there's still 2 million more to count right?
The propositions went down to defeat. Both had good ideas but bad ways to implement them. Ward Connerly, author of 54, hopes to rewrite the initiative and try again.
Clearly, Davis lost since he was unable to bring out the vote of Democratic strongholds in the unions and with minorities, both of which generally voted for Davis, but not by the wide margin Democrats usually garner from them. Davis had never lost an election in his 30 years with the state, a couple of which were come-from-behind wins, and that showed in his refusal to admit defeat until the bitter end.
Most were afraid of voter error due to punch-card ballots. Well, what does this tell you? George Schwartzman was just a simple businessman from Carlsbad who ran for governor and managed to get 9th place out of 135. How? His name is right next to Arnold Schwarzenegger's on the ballot. Other notables were Larry Flynt at 7th, Gary Coleman at 8th, Van Vo, the only Vietnamese on the ballot, at 15th, and comedian Gallagher at 16th. Georgy Russell and Brooke Adams, both of whom spoke at PS 179 at Cal, garnered less than 2,000 votes. In last place was Todd Richard Lewis, who received less than 200 votes out of more than 7 million votes counted. Well, there's still 2 million more to count right?
The propositions went down to defeat. Both had good ideas but bad ways to implement them. Ward Connerly, author of 54, hopes to rewrite the initiative and try again.
10/05/2003
Through my time grading mostly freshmen Stat papers at Berkeley, it's obvious the quality of students has gone down in recent years. Sure, it may be just because the subject was math and people just aren't good at it. My friend Nanette bugged me every chance she had because she was terrible at math but had to take a Stats class (congrats to her for getting an A-). But a new study from an UC regent and published in the Los Angeles Times claims Berkeley is actually letting in some pretty dumb people at the expense of some pretty smart people. Yes, the definition of smart and dumb in this case are SAT scores, something UC officials hate so much they forced the test makers to change the test. But SAT scores count for something; if it didn't, it wouldn't be used by so many colleges, right?
According to the statistics for 2002, Cal didn't let in any people with a SAT score of less than 600. But nearly 400 students out of 4,000 students with SAT's of 600-1000 were admitted, more than half of which accepted the offer. At the same time, 641 people were not admitted with SAT's of 1500 and above. The average score was 1337.
Since affirmative action was abolished from admission decisions, UC went to a comprehensive review to study each applicant and take in their entire application before making a decision. The assistant vice chancellor of admissions acknowledges most of the 400 admitted were underrepresented minority students from California's lowest-performing high schools and that they made the most of the opportunities that were available to them. Smarter people were rejected for having lower GPA's with a lower amount of honors classes than students comparable to them, but they still were at a higher level than those who got a lower SAT score and were accepted.
In this study, no race statistics were connected to the scores, so a breakdown by race can't be reached. Even the suggestion that minority students were let in over students with merit should make Ward Connerly mad, the African-American UC regent who wrote Proposition 54, which bans the collection of race data by state agencies with exceptions for extreme cases and federally funded programs.
No test should be the deciding factor of a person's admission to a university. But if someone scores a 600 or 700 on the SAT's, it should say something about the applicant and it better say something truly amazing about that person, not just that they were poor or underrepresented in society, because if it doesn't, they're just taking the space of someone more deserving.
According to the statistics for 2002, Cal didn't let in any people with a SAT score of less than 600. But nearly 400 students out of 4,000 students with SAT's of 600-1000 were admitted, more than half of which accepted the offer. At the same time, 641 people were not admitted with SAT's of 1500 and above. The average score was 1337.
Since affirmative action was abolished from admission decisions, UC went to a comprehensive review to study each applicant and take in their entire application before making a decision. The assistant vice chancellor of admissions acknowledges most of the 400 admitted were underrepresented minority students from California's lowest-performing high schools and that they made the most of the opportunities that were available to them. Smarter people were rejected for having lower GPA's with a lower amount of honors classes than students comparable to them, but they still were at a higher level than those who got a lower SAT score and were accepted.
In this study, no race statistics were connected to the scores, so a breakdown by race can't be reached. Even the suggestion that minority students were let in over students with merit should make Ward Connerly mad, the African-American UC regent who wrote Proposition 54, which bans the collection of race data by state agencies with exceptions for extreme cases and federally funded programs.
No test should be the deciding factor of a person's admission to a university. But if someone scores a 600 or 700 on the SAT's, it should say something about the applicant and it better say something truly amazing about that person, not just that they were poor or underrepresented in society, because if it doesn't, they're just taking the space of someone more deserving.
Oh, to the sports teams who lost yesterday. It was a losing cause on all fronts as all of them provided a letdown at some point leading to disaster ahead, some that can be fixed, others a lost cause.
To the Cal Bears, who let down after their upset win last week against USC, losing to Oregon State 35-21. Why Tedford kept Rodgers in the game after a 25% completion percentage at halftime is a mystery since he continued that dismal stat into the second half. They drop to 3-4, 3 more losses away from being eliminated from bowl contention. After 7 games in 7 weeks, they get a bye this week before traveling down to UCLA.
To San Jose State, who led equally dismal Rice 24-14 with a quarter left only to lose 28-24. Kudos to Neil Parry, he of the amputated leg, who actually got to hit somebody on the field. The team dropped to 1-4.
To the Giants, whose manager, Felipe Alou, decided not to go with Jason Schmidt, and instead went with rookie Jerome Williams saw his move backfire. His team trailed 5-1 to the Florida Marlins. Though they came back, they couldn't hang tough with a collision at home being the thing that prevented a tie and a Game 5. As it is, they lost 7-6 in the game, and 3-1 in the series, eliminating the World Series runner-ups from last year.
To the A's, the Bay Area's last hope. Coming into Fenway up 2-0, things were riding high. Tied 1-1, it was when Tejada was called out at home for obstruction that you knew it was the Red Sox night. And wouldn't you know it, at the 11th inning, the Red Sox scored 2 runs to win 3-1 and move closer in the best of 5 series.
To the Cal Bears, who let down after their upset win last week against USC, losing to Oregon State 35-21. Why Tedford kept Rodgers in the game after a 25% completion percentage at halftime is a mystery since he continued that dismal stat into the second half. They drop to 3-4, 3 more losses away from being eliminated from bowl contention. After 7 games in 7 weeks, they get a bye this week before traveling down to UCLA.
To San Jose State, who led equally dismal Rice 24-14 with a quarter left only to lose 28-24. Kudos to Neil Parry, he of the amputated leg, who actually got to hit somebody on the field. The team dropped to 1-4.
To the Giants, whose manager, Felipe Alou, decided not to go with Jason Schmidt, and instead went with rookie Jerome Williams saw his move backfire. His team trailed 5-1 to the Florida Marlins. Though they came back, they couldn't hang tough with a collision at home being the thing that prevented a tie and a Game 5. As it is, they lost 7-6 in the game, and 3-1 in the series, eliminating the World Series runner-ups from last year.
To the A's, the Bay Area's last hope. Coming into Fenway up 2-0, things were riding high. Tied 1-1, it was when Tejada was called out at home for obstruction that you knew it was the Red Sox night. And wouldn't you know it, at the 11th inning, the Red Sox scored 2 runs to win 3-1 and move closer in the best of 5 series.
10/03/2003
Have you ever watched Newlyweds on MTV? On the show, Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey chronicle their lives after being married. But the show just seems like a prelude to divorce, showing every bickering moment they have with each other. The show also seems to have a fun time showcasing Jessica's spoiled past, leading to her cluelessness today. Which makes the questions on this quiz all the more entertaining, a test to see just how clueless Jessica is, courtesy of the Detroit Free Press. A couple are obviously made up but the others are just some of the classic moments from the show. I started watching it but then there were just so many better things to watch that I just gave up on it. I couldn't hear her whine anymore when I can watch 24 or something. Click for the answers.
1. True or false: She refused to try a buffalo wing, explaining, "I don't eat buffalo."
2. True or false: She took her Louis Vuitton handbag on a camping trip.
3. True or false: She thought the plural of mouse was "mouses."
4. True or false: She assumed you can listen to AM radio only in the morning.
5. True or false: She mistook a plastic bag on the beach for a jellyfish.
6. True or false: She had trouble figuring out how to use a garage door opener.
7. True or false: She didn't know how many beers were in a 12-pack.
8. True or false: She asked if she was eating chicken or fish while consuming Chicken of the Sea.
1. True or false: She refused to try a buffalo wing, explaining, "I don't eat buffalo."
2. True or false: She took her Louis Vuitton handbag on a camping trip.
3. True or false: She thought the plural of mouse was "mouses."
4. True or false: She assumed you can listen to AM radio only in the morning.
5. True or false: She mistook a plastic bag on the beach for a jellyfish.
6. True or false: She had trouble figuring out how to use a garage door opener.
7. True or false: She didn't know how many beers were in a 12-pack.
8. True or false: She asked if she was eating chicken or fish while consuming Chicken of the Sea.
10/02/2003
Remember in horror when people gasped at the thought of $10 movie ticket prices? That phenomenon is almost here to San Jose. Good thing there are student discounts at most places.
The highest around I've seen is $9.50 at Metreon and AMC. Century usually charges 8.50-9.50. Tomorrow marks the opening of Century Oakridge and it will boast the highest ticket prices around according to Fandango. Weekend evening shows will go for 9.75. On weekdays, it's a quarter less and matinees will go for 6.75. According to the price list, no student discounts, but that'll probably change. The theatre's at a mall and high schoolers won't pay $10 to see a movie.
Truly, I don't believe anyone else would pay $10 to see a movie. How New Yorkers, who pay $10 and there's no such things as matinees, can watch movies is amazing.
It's just awful and it's hiding the fact that less and less people are seeing movies since box office results are inflated and reflect the increase in ticket prices. I'll probably be at the opening though. You can't go wrong with 50 cent hot dogs and drinks.
The highest around I've seen is $9.50 at Metreon and AMC. Century usually charges 8.50-9.50. Tomorrow marks the opening of Century Oakridge and it will boast the highest ticket prices around according to Fandango. Weekend evening shows will go for 9.75. On weekdays, it's a quarter less and matinees will go for 6.75. According to the price list, no student discounts, but that'll probably change. The theatre's at a mall and high schoolers won't pay $10 to see a movie.
Truly, I don't believe anyone else would pay $10 to see a movie. How New Yorkers, who pay $10 and there's no such things as matinees, can watch movies is amazing.
It's just awful and it's hiding the fact that less and less people are seeing movies since box office results are inflated and reflect the increase in ticket prices. I'll probably be at the opening though. You can't go wrong with 50 cent hot dogs and drinks.
Election Day is next Tuesday so everyone should go out and vote or if you're like me and too lazy to go out to the polls should've gotten an absentee ballot. It's a really simple ballot this go-around. One question, one pick from many choices, and two propositions.
Should you vote to recall Gray Davis? Depends on what you believe is more important. If you believe in education and the environment among other things, then you should vote against it. Davis has a strong track record in these issues including increasing school accountability and funding, protecting park lands and wetlands, and extending the moratorium on coastal oil drilling. If you believe the budget is most important, then you should vote for the recall. Davis is simply powerless in forcing the Legislature to do anything substantive in crunch time and that usually means delays in the budget. His slow response to the energy crisis while eventually balancing the enormous power deficits facing the state has pinned us to expensive contracts still years from expiring. A $38 billion deficit this fiscal year is still at least $8 billion next year, even with tripling the vehicle license fees and a hike in UC and CSU tuition as well as countless other cuts to state funded programs. Yes, the whole budget process needs to be overhauled, but under this system where two-thirds approval is needed to pass a budget, it seems Davis needs two-thirds of the Legislature to be Democrats in order for a budget to be passed. Since that won't happen, he's pushing for the threshold to be lowered, instead of working with the Legislature to pass a reasonable budget. In my opinion, the budget is priority one since it would affect eduation and the environment directly. It's obvious Davis can't handle this aspect of the job, especially with special interest money clouding his judgment and his need to fully fund his projects. As a result, I'll be voting yes on the recall.
Then again, that vote may be premature after looking at the candidates to replace Davis. In the 2002 gubernatorial election, voters were apathetic to the choice of candidates they had then (Davis and Simon) and had to choose among the lesser of evils. (Davis, only because Simon was a terrible campaigner.) In this election, a similar dilemma faces voters as all the candidates are flawed. The front-runner is Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's obvious no one's gonna push him around and he's got a host of advisors, mostly from the Wilson administration, to help him. But he's got no experience, broadbased ideas for California's future, and now some trouble with sexual harrassment from his past. Cruz Bustamante has the legislative experience as Speaker of the House in the Assembly and now Lieutenant Governor. But his time as Lieutenant Governor has been eerily quiet and now his integrity is in question from millions of dollars in donations from Indian tribes, fueling his tumble in the polls. Tom McClintock is an accomplished State Senator. But as a truly conservative Republican in a left-leaning state, his ideas may be too radical for a state looking for stability to swallow. Same problem for Peter Camejo, the Green Party candidate, who would have the same trouble moving to the right of his own extreme leftist stances.
Americans have voted for idiots before only to surprise later on with their leadership. Most prominently would be George W. Bush. Here, if you had to choose among these people plus the other 132 candidates for Governor, Schwarzenegger would be your best bet. Yes, voting for either McClintock or Bustamante would be a vote for experience (geez, their names are long), but unhappy voters are craving for someone outside the state system to institute true reform in California and Schwarzenegger, at least on the outside, has that image. Schwarzenegger may have trouble with his wild past and Democrats have denounced these actions, but troubles with their personal life does not mean it can worsen their effectiveness as a leader as hypocritical Democrats rallied to defend President Clinton after his own sex scandal.
Two propositions are also at the end of the ballot and both should be voted against. Proposition 53 mandates that 3% of state funds be set aside for infrastructure improvements. In the 70's, infrastructure accounted for 20% of the budget but today it's only about 1%. Mandating 3% be set aside handcuffs the state into trying to pay for programs from a smaller share of the pie. Sure, infrastructure is important but not as much as the quality of education in the state or other important projects that may be facing California. So vote against it. Proposition 54 would stop the collection of race data in state studies. Proponents believe this will be another step to a colorblind society where merit is paramount. Opponents believe it will leave minorities further in the dust. When even with these studies and special programs, the racial gap can't be closed, it's obvious minorities need more help instead of taking away what little help they have left. I'll vote no.
Should you vote to recall Gray Davis? Depends on what you believe is more important. If you believe in education and the environment among other things, then you should vote against it. Davis has a strong track record in these issues including increasing school accountability and funding, protecting park lands and wetlands, and extending the moratorium on coastal oil drilling. If you believe the budget is most important, then you should vote for the recall. Davis is simply powerless in forcing the Legislature to do anything substantive in crunch time and that usually means delays in the budget. His slow response to the energy crisis while eventually balancing the enormous power deficits facing the state has pinned us to expensive contracts still years from expiring. A $38 billion deficit this fiscal year is still at least $8 billion next year, even with tripling the vehicle license fees and a hike in UC and CSU tuition as well as countless other cuts to state funded programs. Yes, the whole budget process needs to be overhauled, but under this system where two-thirds approval is needed to pass a budget, it seems Davis needs two-thirds of the Legislature to be Democrats in order for a budget to be passed. Since that won't happen, he's pushing for the threshold to be lowered, instead of working with the Legislature to pass a reasonable budget. In my opinion, the budget is priority one since it would affect eduation and the environment directly. It's obvious Davis can't handle this aspect of the job, especially with special interest money clouding his judgment and his need to fully fund his projects. As a result, I'll be voting yes on the recall.
Then again, that vote may be premature after looking at the candidates to replace Davis. In the 2002 gubernatorial election, voters were apathetic to the choice of candidates they had then (Davis and Simon) and had to choose among the lesser of evils. (Davis, only because Simon was a terrible campaigner.) In this election, a similar dilemma faces voters as all the candidates are flawed. The front-runner is Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's obvious no one's gonna push him around and he's got a host of advisors, mostly from the Wilson administration, to help him. But he's got no experience, broadbased ideas for California's future, and now some trouble with sexual harrassment from his past. Cruz Bustamante has the legislative experience as Speaker of the House in the Assembly and now Lieutenant Governor. But his time as Lieutenant Governor has been eerily quiet and now his integrity is in question from millions of dollars in donations from Indian tribes, fueling his tumble in the polls. Tom McClintock is an accomplished State Senator. But as a truly conservative Republican in a left-leaning state, his ideas may be too radical for a state looking for stability to swallow. Same problem for Peter Camejo, the Green Party candidate, who would have the same trouble moving to the right of his own extreme leftist stances.
Americans have voted for idiots before only to surprise later on with their leadership. Most prominently would be George W. Bush. Here, if you had to choose among these people plus the other 132 candidates for Governor, Schwarzenegger would be your best bet. Yes, voting for either McClintock or Bustamante would be a vote for experience (geez, their names are long), but unhappy voters are craving for someone outside the state system to institute true reform in California and Schwarzenegger, at least on the outside, has that image. Schwarzenegger may have trouble with his wild past and Democrats have denounced these actions, but troubles with their personal life does not mean it can worsen their effectiveness as a leader as hypocritical Democrats rallied to defend President Clinton after his own sex scandal.
Two propositions are also at the end of the ballot and both should be voted against. Proposition 53 mandates that 3% of state funds be set aside for infrastructure improvements. In the 70's, infrastructure accounted for 20% of the budget but today it's only about 1%. Mandating 3% be set aside handcuffs the state into trying to pay for programs from a smaller share of the pie. Sure, infrastructure is important but not as much as the quality of education in the state or other important projects that may be facing California. So vote against it. Proposition 54 would stop the collection of race data in state studies. Proponents believe this will be another step to a colorblind society where merit is paramount. Opponents believe it will leave minorities further in the dust. When even with these studies and special programs, the racial gap can't be closed, it's obvious minorities need more help instead of taking away what little help they have left. I'll vote no.
9/30/2003
The Rundown
The Rock finds himself trying to build upon his acting career by playing a retrieval expert simply paying back his debts in order to receive the money he needs to start his own restaurant. The job that will put him over the top sends him to Brazil to find the boss' son. He's played by Seann William Scott. As a poor man's Indiana Jones, he believes he has found a priceless ancient artifact somewhere in the jungle. Before he can get it, the Rock swoops in to get him. While he got permission from the local tyrant (Christopher Walken, acting like his usual self) who's working the people in the mines and treating them harshly, Walken nixes the deal to let Scott find the artifact. That's no good according to the Rock and they start to leave only to be chased. After an accident and getting lost in the jungle, they're intercepted by the rebels hoping to overthrow the tyrant, led by Rosario Dawson. The three soon stumble upon the treasure and go on to try to save the town as well.
Sure, you'll have a lot of fun when you watch this film. But too much of a good thing can be a problem. And by the 7th or 8th fight scene, I got a bit bored by the whole thing. The first one was great with the Rock dealing with a bunch of football players. But by the time you get to the last one, the Three Amigos-ending minus the villagers helping out, you'll wonder what the point was. Well, it's simple. The point is to watch The Rock. He's got the look of an action star and comedian all in one. And in this showcase, he overshadows everything including the flimsy plot. Scott is a one-trick pony and that's in the dumb guy role, something he does well in this film. Dawson seems a bit miscast as it seems the role called for someone with more toughness. It's an entertaining venture that gets a bit tiring as it crosses the finish line. 2.5 stars
The Rock finds himself trying to build upon his acting career by playing a retrieval expert simply paying back his debts in order to receive the money he needs to start his own restaurant. The job that will put him over the top sends him to Brazil to find the boss' son. He's played by Seann William Scott. As a poor man's Indiana Jones, he believes he has found a priceless ancient artifact somewhere in the jungle. Before he can get it, the Rock swoops in to get him. While he got permission from the local tyrant (Christopher Walken, acting like his usual self) who's working the people in the mines and treating them harshly, Walken nixes the deal to let Scott find the artifact. That's no good according to the Rock and they start to leave only to be chased. After an accident and getting lost in the jungle, they're intercepted by the rebels hoping to overthrow the tyrant, led by Rosario Dawson. The three soon stumble upon the treasure and go on to try to save the town as well.
Sure, you'll have a lot of fun when you watch this film. But too much of a good thing can be a problem. And by the 7th or 8th fight scene, I got a bit bored by the whole thing. The first one was great with the Rock dealing with a bunch of football players. But by the time you get to the last one, the Three Amigos-ending minus the villagers helping out, you'll wonder what the point was. Well, it's simple. The point is to watch The Rock. He's got the look of an action star and comedian all in one. And in this showcase, he overshadows everything including the flimsy plot. Scott is a one-trick pony and that's in the dumb guy role, something he does well in this film. Dawson seems a bit miscast as it seems the role called for someone with more toughness. It's an entertaining venture that gets a bit tiring as it crosses the finish line. 2.5 stars
Matchstick Men
Roy (Nicolas Cage) is just another con-man with problems, a host of mental problems ranging from obsessive-compulsive disorder to panic attacks. When his drug supplier suddenly skips town and is in need of some medication, his partner in crime Frank (Sam Rockwell) recommends a therapist he knows. Dr. Klein (Bruce Altman) strikes up a conversation with him and it soon becomes known he has a daughter named Angela (Alison Lohman). The encounters Roy has with Angela soon become crash courses in fatherhood as she comes by to stay with him. At the same time, Roy and Frankie are setting up a long con with a rich guy (Bruce McGill) dealing with foreign exchange. If it goes well, millions will be earned. Inevitably, these two storylines will combine. The outcome, on the other hand, is not so predictable.
Like I've said before, I've read the book by Eric Garcia prior to watching the film and I'm happy to see the screenwriters, the Griffin brothers, and director Ridley Scott mostly stay faithful to the book, aside from the ending and the effort to make it a little more comedic and easier to follow. There were a lot of things to keep track of in the book and to watch it on screen, complemented by the performances of these actors, was such a joy to watch. Cage particularly shows his range as a neurotic neat-freak to a clueless but caring father to accomplished con-man, something hard to balance. Rockwell plays his funniest role to date and Lohman shows both the poise and spunk of a 15-year-old teenager, a role 24 years in the making. While the ending somewhat works for this movie, as the book's ending works with only the book, it doesn't in the sense that everything seems right at the end of this whirlwind. It was nice to see, but wasn't necessary. But what is necessary is to appreciate this film for its ability to tell one truly great story in a truly great way. 3.5 stars
Roy (Nicolas Cage) is just another con-man with problems, a host of mental problems ranging from obsessive-compulsive disorder to panic attacks. When his drug supplier suddenly skips town and is in need of some medication, his partner in crime Frank (Sam Rockwell) recommends a therapist he knows. Dr. Klein (Bruce Altman) strikes up a conversation with him and it soon becomes known he has a daughter named Angela (Alison Lohman). The encounters Roy has with Angela soon become crash courses in fatherhood as she comes by to stay with him. At the same time, Roy and Frankie are setting up a long con with a rich guy (Bruce McGill) dealing with foreign exchange. If it goes well, millions will be earned. Inevitably, these two storylines will combine. The outcome, on the other hand, is not so predictable.
Like I've said before, I've read the book by Eric Garcia prior to watching the film and I'm happy to see the screenwriters, the Griffin brothers, and director Ridley Scott mostly stay faithful to the book, aside from the ending and the effort to make it a little more comedic and easier to follow. There were a lot of things to keep track of in the book and to watch it on screen, complemented by the performances of these actors, was such a joy to watch. Cage particularly shows his range as a neurotic neat-freak to a clueless but caring father to accomplished con-man, something hard to balance. Rockwell plays his funniest role to date and Lohman shows both the poise and spunk of a 15-year-old teenager, a role 24 years in the making. While the ending somewhat works for this movie, as the book's ending works with only the book, it doesn't in the sense that everything seems right at the end of this whirlwind. It was nice to see, but wasn't necessary. But what is necessary is to appreciate this film for its ability to tell one truly great story in a truly great way. 3.5 stars
9/25/2003
Man, what a bust. I was all set on watching The Rundown tonite. Yes, it was being shown at Wheeler, but I chose to go to Van Ness in the city. But the traffic killed us. We got there at 7:00 for the 7:30 show. One huge line awaited us and so we waited patiently as the line started to move. We were almost there with 6 people in front of us and then...it was a full house. No more people were allowed in. I was crushed. I'll actually have to pay money to see a movie by the Rock or, at the very least, watch it as part of a double or triple feature. I did get to see Matchstick Men, one of the few movies where I read the book prior to viewing. I know, what am I doing reading books? But hey, it was a really good film. I'll sit down and write some kind of review later.
Various torrent sites have the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King trailer from Asia. It looks like a nice, relatively low-key trailer to a grand, if long, adventure. Sure, we know it has a Braveheart type battle and the resolution of Frodo's travels, but I don't think I can, or care to, spend 10 hours in a theatre to watch the whole trilogy again to see simply that before the film alone will be released, something more than a few I know want to do. Sure, the first two were good, but weren't they just boring?
Also out is the new Matrix: Revolutions trailer at the official website. This looks like the more adventurous third parter to see.
I'll be home this weekend, but it's all business. There's a midterm on Monday to study for and I'm here for my cousin Nathalie's wedding at Villa Montalvo.
Various torrent sites have the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King trailer from Asia. It looks like a nice, relatively low-key trailer to a grand, if long, adventure. Sure, we know it has a Braveheart type battle and the resolution of Frodo's travels, but I don't think I can, or care to, spend 10 hours in a theatre to watch the whole trilogy again to see simply that before the film alone will be released, something more than a few I know want to do. Sure, the first two were good, but weren't they just boring?
Also out is the new Matrix: Revolutions trailer at the official website. This looks like the more adventurous third parter to see.
I'll be home this weekend, but it's all business. There's a midterm on Monday to study for and I'm here for my cousin Nathalie's wedding at Villa Montalvo.
9/24/2003
So I took that first midterm on Monday. It really did seem early. My friends felt it was early; most of them don't have their first for another few weeks. And when I walked out of that math test, I felt awful. Even with open everything a la a CS exam, it was 5 long questions in 45 minutes. I'd only finished 3 of them before there were 5 minutes left. The two I skipped I didn't have a clue on how to do and it was buried deep in my notes. So I gave a one sentence guess on both of them and turned it in. Ugh, at least the whole class didn't feel well.
Fast forward to today. The professor commented he was surprised with the results. Though no one finished in 45 minutes, he thought the exam would take no more than 5 (!) minutes. And on a 5 point scale, it you got a 4, you did well. If you got a 1, there's work to be done. If you're stuck in the middle, the future looks cloudy. I'm in the clouds, but in the brighter side of the scale rather than the darker side. I did better than I thought since he graded on general ideas instead of exact answers. Though on one where I guessed, I had to find the best approximation of a Euclidean norm with a polynomial of degree zero in the interval from 0 to 1, a mouthful indeed. I looked at it and scribbled down 1/2 without explanation, which luckily was the correct answer.
Evans Hall is to be torn down soon and be remade into 2 smaller buildings. And while this project may not be finished until 2020, it's still too late in my book. Whoever put that building there in the first place should be shot. It's not just its ugliness but its terrible to get up when elevators break down like it did today.
Now that that is behind me, there's other things to talk about. Tonight is the final debate among California gubernatorial candidates now that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated the election date of October 7. If you haven't registered to vote, it's too late! The deadline was last Monday. Arnold Schwarzenegger is actually in this one and while the questions are given in advance, the format is open and prone to interruption so expect a free-for-all. Of course, the one who can compose himself or herself the best will take the debate. 6:00 tonight on most stations.
Darrell Issa contributed $1.7 million to the recall effort but may vote no on the recall. If Schwarzenegger and State Senator Tom McClintock stay in the race, it will split the Republican vote and allow Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante to coast to victory. Issa obviously thinks Bustamante is worse than Davis in that Bustamante has proposed raising taxes considerably and would rather support Davis than allow Cruz to cruise. But you know, I actually think Bustamante would be better than Davis due to his legislative experience which may be helpful in working with that body, something Davis has failed to do in his tenure and something that has shown with the constantly tardy budgets.
So be true, go watch, and be informed.
Fast forward to today. The professor commented he was surprised with the results. Though no one finished in 45 minutes, he thought the exam would take no more than 5 (!) minutes. And on a 5 point scale, it you got a 4, you did well. If you got a 1, there's work to be done. If you're stuck in the middle, the future looks cloudy. I'm in the clouds, but in the brighter side of the scale rather than the darker side. I did better than I thought since he graded on general ideas instead of exact answers. Though on one where I guessed, I had to find the best approximation of a Euclidean norm with a polynomial of degree zero in the interval from 0 to 1, a mouthful indeed. I looked at it and scribbled down 1/2 without explanation, which luckily was the correct answer.
Evans Hall is to be torn down soon and be remade into 2 smaller buildings. And while this project may not be finished until 2020, it's still too late in my book. Whoever put that building there in the first place should be shot. It's not just its ugliness but its terrible to get up when elevators break down like it did today.
Now that that is behind me, there's other things to talk about. Tonight is the final debate among California gubernatorial candidates now that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated the election date of October 7. If you haven't registered to vote, it's too late! The deadline was last Monday. Arnold Schwarzenegger is actually in this one and while the questions are given in advance, the format is open and prone to interruption so expect a free-for-all. Of course, the one who can compose himself or herself the best will take the debate. 6:00 tonight on most stations.
Darrell Issa contributed $1.7 million to the recall effort but may vote no on the recall. If Schwarzenegger and State Senator Tom McClintock stay in the race, it will split the Republican vote and allow Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante to coast to victory. Issa obviously thinks Bustamante is worse than Davis in that Bustamante has proposed raising taxes considerably and would rather support Davis than allow Cruz to cruise. But you know, I actually think Bustamante would be better than Davis due to his legislative experience which may be helpful in working with that body, something Davis has failed to do in his tenure and something that has shown with the constantly tardy budgets.
So be true, go watch, and be informed.
9/21/2003
Lost in Translation
In this delightful and masterful character study, Bob Harris (Bill Murray) has arrived in Tokyo to shoot a whiskey commercial for $2 million. He's an unhappy and out-of-work actor, bored out of his mind, and alone in a different world. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) has arrived in Tokyo with her husband, a phtographer (Giovanni Ribisi). When he leaves for his photo shoot for a few days, Charlotte is unhappy, bored out of her mind, and left alone in a different world. On one of their many trips to the bar on the hotel rooftop, they meet and instantly develop a rapport with each other. Together, they discover Tokyo and embrace its food and culture while, despite their differences in age and maturity, discovering love for each other.
This is Sofia Coppola's second directed feature (The Virgin Suicides) and it shows that when she has a great idea, she runs with it and is ultimately successful. It's the rest of the movie where it somewhat falls apart. The film is built upon the chemistry of Murray and Johansson and it is strong. Murray, with his roots as a comedian, has always been underappreciated for his recent works, especially Rushmore, as a serious actor. Here, he shows off both of his acting sides to rousing approval. Bob and Charlotte turn out to be very smart and perceptive of their roles in their relationship knowing one is firmly rooted with a family at home and the other is still young and still establishing a direction in life. And even so, they are a perfect match for each other. But when Coppola's attention turns away from this relationship and into their individual lives, she doesn't quite finishes what she starts. Ribisi suddenly disappears in the middle of the film. His friend, a ditzy movie actress played by Anna Faris, shows up but I haven't a clue what she's doing there. And what of that singer? But again, the focus is on the two main characters and that's all you really need to laugh going in only to become so poignant at the end. 3.5 stars
In this delightful and masterful character study, Bob Harris (Bill Murray) has arrived in Tokyo to shoot a whiskey commercial for $2 million. He's an unhappy and out-of-work actor, bored out of his mind, and alone in a different world. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) has arrived in Tokyo with her husband, a phtographer (Giovanni Ribisi). When he leaves for his photo shoot for a few days, Charlotte is unhappy, bored out of her mind, and left alone in a different world. On one of their many trips to the bar on the hotel rooftop, they meet and instantly develop a rapport with each other. Together, they discover Tokyo and embrace its food and culture while, despite their differences in age and maturity, discovering love for each other.
This is Sofia Coppola's second directed feature (The Virgin Suicides) and it shows that when she has a great idea, she runs with it and is ultimately successful. It's the rest of the movie where it somewhat falls apart. The film is built upon the chemistry of Murray and Johansson and it is strong. Murray, with his roots as a comedian, has always been underappreciated for his recent works, especially Rushmore, as a serious actor. Here, he shows off both of his acting sides to rousing approval. Bob and Charlotte turn out to be very smart and perceptive of their roles in their relationship knowing one is firmly rooted with a family at home and the other is still young and still establishing a direction in life. And even so, they are a perfect match for each other. But when Coppola's attention turns away from this relationship and into their individual lives, she doesn't quite finishes what she starts. Ribisi suddenly disappears in the middle of the film. His friend, a ditzy movie actress played by Anna Faris, shows up but I haven't a clue what she's doing there. And what of that singer? But again, the focus is on the two main characters and that's all you really need to laugh going in only to become so poignant at the end. 3.5 stars
9/20/2003
At the start of this week, it will be the 5th week of instruction. Time really does fly. With so much time passing, it was inevitable that a midterm would be posted and wouldn't you know it, my first one is on Monday. And considering I'm completely lost in that math 128 class, it's not gonna be any fun.
While researching other 128 midterms, I noticed one math professor has a running contest up Evans, that 10 floor monstrosity. Now, I get winded going up two flights of stairs, let alone ten. No clue why anyone would want to do this. But on his list, it says a student ran up 10 floors in 48 seconds, which for some reason, sounds amazingly impossible. This semester's race is scheduled for this Thursday.
In the 6th week, there's another midterm in finance econ. That class has degenerated into nap time for me. Maybe it's because Datman got out and isn't bothering me anymore. It doesn't help that the professor is dull. He's a paper type man, not a presentation type. With his monotone voice and his laughs after every little mistake he makes (too numerous to count), its prime sleeping time, something my classmates around me agree with. Yesterday, he lectured and gave a summary of what he said and said he was done with 10 minutes to spare. Nobody moved. 10 seconds of eerie silence. It took him to say, "ok, you can go now" to get the crowd to leave.
Survivor started Thursday night and it looks interesting. They stranded them in Panama with only the clothes on their backs and a little money to buy supplies at a fishing village. The ladies are pretty attractive and there's this one guy who looks like he's been stranded on an island for months already, with his long beard and pirate-like voice. It just so happens it's a pirate theme this year. Two things I noticed: Lots of Abercrombie and Fitch clothing worn. Why is that? And during the challenge, the Morgan tribe did it naked so it was funny when Drake was leading, the chiron showed "Drake ahead" and then "Morgan behind" with the camera showing their blurred butts.
Everyone's got these Prop 54 buttons to show their opposition to them and it was the topic of this week's 179 lecture. It's a nice idea to continue toward a color-blind society by stopping collection of racial data by state agencies. But this vague, wide-ranging constitutional amendment may be too far ahead of its time. Racial inequality exists in some form in some agencies and to stop collecting racial data would hinder efforts to stop the inequality.
While researching other 128 midterms, I noticed one math professor has a running contest up Evans, that 10 floor monstrosity. Now, I get winded going up two flights of stairs, let alone ten. No clue why anyone would want to do this. But on his list, it says a student ran up 10 floors in 48 seconds, which for some reason, sounds amazingly impossible. This semester's race is scheduled for this Thursday.
In the 6th week, there's another midterm in finance econ. That class has degenerated into nap time for me. Maybe it's because Datman got out and isn't bothering me anymore. It doesn't help that the professor is dull. He's a paper type man, not a presentation type. With his monotone voice and his laughs after every little mistake he makes (too numerous to count), its prime sleeping time, something my classmates around me agree with. Yesterday, he lectured and gave a summary of what he said and said he was done with 10 minutes to spare. Nobody moved. 10 seconds of eerie silence. It took him to say, "ok, you can go now" to get the crowd to leave.
Survivor started Thursday night and it looks interesting. They stranded them in Panama with only the clothes on their backs and a little money to buy supplies at a fishing village. The ladies are pretty attractive and there's this one guy who looks like he's been stranded on an island for months already, with his long beard and pirate-like voice. It just so happens it's a pirate theme this year. Two things I noticed: Lots of Abercrombie and Fitch clothing worn. Why is that? And during the challenge, the Morgan tribe did it naked so it was funny when Drake was leading, the chiron showed "Drake ahead" and then "Morgan behind" with the camera showing their blurred butts.
Everyone's got these Prop 54 buttons to show their opposition to them and it was the topic of this week's 179 lecture. It's a nice idea to continue toward a color-blind society by stopping collection of racial data by state agencies. But this vague, wide-ranging constitutional amendment may be too far ahead of its time. Racial inequality exists in some form in some agencies and to stop collecting racial data would hinder efforts to stop the inequality.
9/19/2003
Freddy vs. Jason
Many years in the making, Freddy Krueger, he of Elm Street who gives you nightmares, and Jason Voorhies, he with the machete and hockey mask, come together for the fight of a lifetime. In the way, of course, are dumb teenagers looking for a good time. Freddy brought the fight on himself though. You see, he preys on people's dreams in order to exist but the police's effort to make the townspeople forget about him (of course, drugs) seems to be working. Enter in Jason, whom he calls to come to rile up the town to make people remember. But Jason does his job too well, killing everyone in sight. As a result, it's Freddy vs. Jason in a fight to the death. Since both can't really die (you can only hope to contain them, ha!) and considering the amount of money it has made so far, they'll be back again, no matter who wins this round.
At the height of their so-called popularity, Freddy and Jason did their best to scare audiences. But by now, both characters are old and tired in a society where other horror and horror spoofs have spoiled our young minds. So while we crave for more to scare us, "Freddy vs. Jason" offer typical slasher material in typical teenage situations. Even the featured matchup, though taking up about half the movie, seems awfully short and takes so long to get to, I didn't care when they would start fighting each other, I just wanted to know who wins and get out already. 1.5 stars
Many years in the making, Freddy Krueger, he of Elm Street who gives you nightmares, and Jason Voorhies, he with the machete and hockey mask, come together for the fight of a lifetime. In the way, of course, are dumb teenagers looking for a good time. Freddy brought the fight on himself though. You see, he preys on people's dreams in order to exist but the police's effort to make the townspeople forget about him (of course, drugs) seems to be working. Enter in Jason, whom he calls to come to rile up the town to make people remember. But Jason does his job too well, killing everyone in sight. As a result, it's Freddy vs. Jason in a fight to the death. Since both can't really die (you can only hope to contain them, ha!) and considering the amount of money it has made so far, they'll be back again, no matter who wins this round.
At the height of their so-called popularity, Freddy and Jason did their best to scare audiences. But by now, both characters are old and tired in a society where other horror and horror spoofs have spoiled our young minds. So while we crave for more to scare us, "Freddy vs. Jason" offer typical slasher material in typical teenage situations. Even the featured matchup, though taking up about half the movie, seems awfully short and takes so long to get to, I didn't care when they would start fighting each other, I just wanted to know who wins and get out already. 1.5 stars
9/18/2003
Thirteen
Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) is your typical 13-year-old girl. She's the good girl living with her brother and her divorced mom Melanie (Holly Hunter), who's trying to make ends meet by running a beauty salon/babysitting service in her own home. When Melanie starts bringing home her boyfriend, a recovering drug addict (Jeremy Sisto), the bonds between mother and daughter begin to crumble. It shatters completely once she hits junior high. Instead of living her life out normally, the pressures of being with the "in" crowd while seeking direction from someone different than her mother leads her to Evie (Nikki Reed), the bad girl everyone wants. One purse snatch and a fashion change later, Evie and Tracy are out on the town, experiencing a lifetime in a short period of time. Pain, piercings, drugs, and sex fill her life while Melanie is unable to adapt quickly enough to her daughter's sudden changes. It soon may not be the question on if she will become a lost cause, but when.
The transformation of Wood, best known as the lesbian teen in Once and Again, from a good girl to bad is an eye-popping one. Her performance breathes life into a film that desperately needs realism so that it doesn't look like an after-school special on what not to do. But while Tracy is the character we're supposed to be worried about and the one we learn the most from, writer-director Catherine Hardwicke and co-writer Reed pay little attention into understanding the character of Evie and her foundations. (It's Reed's experiences from her childhood in the role of Tracy that are the basis of this film.) It's easy to conclude that in a household led by a working divorced mother (cousin?), bad things are bound to happen. But many things she does, including the little twist of character at the end, left me wondering why she did such a thing. The film does an equally terrific job of watching the worried mother trying to deal with her rebellious daughter. Like Tracy, Melanie becomes lost in a new world and must find someone who can help her, but unlike Tracy's growing relationship with Evie, Melanie isn't able to succeed with anyone she reaches out to, whether its her ex-husband, boyfriend, son, or her salon customer who's some kind of therapist. It seems life goes down many paths but you need the right person to head down the right path. 3 stars
Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) is your typical 13-year-old girl. She's the good girl living with her brother and her divorced mom Melanie (Holly Hunter), who's trying to make ends meet by running a beauty salon/babysitting service in her own home. When Melanie starts bringing home her boyfriend, a recovering drug addict (Jeremy Sisto), the bonds between mother and daughter begin to crumble. It shatters completely once she hits junior high. Instead of living her life out normally, the pressures of being with the "in" crowd while seeking direction from someone different than her mother leads her to Evie (Nikki Reed), the bad girl everyone wants. One purse snatch and a fashion change later, Evie and Tracy are out on the town, experiencing a lifetime in a short period of time. Pain, piercings, drugs, and sex fill her life while Melanie is unable to adapt quickly enough to her daughter's sudden changes. It soon may not be the question on if she will become a lost cause, but when.
The transformation of Wood, best known as the lesbian teen in Once and Again, from a good girl to bad is an eye-popping one. Her performance breathes life into a film that desperately needs realism so that it doesn't look like an after-school special on what not to do. But while Tracy is the character we're supposed to be worried about and the one we learn the most from, writer-director Catherine Hardwicke and co-writer Reed pay little attention into understanding the character of Evie and her foundations. (It's Reed's experiences from her childhood in the role of Tracy that are the basis of this film.) It's easy to conclude that in a household led by a working divorced mother (cousin?), bad things are bound to happen. But many things she does, including the little twist of character at the end, left me wondering why she did such a thing. The film does an equally terrific job of watching the worried mother trying to deal with her rebellious daughter. Like Tracy, Melanie becomes lost in a new world and must find someone who can help her, but unlike Tracy's growing relationship with Evie, Melanie isn't able to succeed with anyone she reaches out to, whether its her ex-husband, boyfriend, son, or her salon customer who's some kind of therapist. It seems life goes down many paths but you need the right person to head down the right path. 3 stars
9/15/2003
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has delayed the California recall election to March 2004. The basis of this ruling stems from the antiquated punch card ballots that raised much ire during the Florida election fiasco. Since the error rate is higher than that of optical scan or electronic balloting, punch card ballots were deemed obsolete and were to be replaced by next March. This finding of obsolescence by the Secretary of State was based on the fact that there were to be no more statewide elections until then. However, with the recall in October, 6 counties including Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Clara, could not get their new systems up and running by then, meaning they had to go back to the punch cards. This, proponents argue, would violate the Voting Rights Act in which every person has the right to have their vote correctly counted. Thus, the 9th Circuit, known far and wide as the most left-leaning appeals court in the country whose decisions have been overturned by the Supreme Court more times than any other court, agreed with the argument and delayed the election. Opponents argue punch card ballots in California have not had as big of a problem as Florida has had and in most times, run smoothly. If the process can be used to elect the governor, why can't it be used to recall him?
What does this mean for the poor voter? Interested parties have a week to appeal. The election for now is going on as planned. But if the decision holds, we may have to go through this recall stuff for four more months, by which time we'll be out of our minds while Davis most likely would stay in office since the Democratic Presidential Primary would be occurring the same day, sending out Democratic voters in droves while Republicans not interested in the recall would have even less incentive to vote since President Bush is running opposed for the party ticket.
Two unrelated side notes: Did anyone see the statue of Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens in Doe? It looks freaky, just staring at the wall like that. It should be in a more high profile spot. And another cuz of mine has a birthday today, this time it's Christy who turns 20.
What does this mean for the poor voter? Interested parties have a week to appeal. The election for now is going on as planned. But if the decision holds, we may have to go through this recall stuff for four more months, by which time we'll be out of our minds while Davis most likely would stay in office since the Democratic Presidential Primary would be occurring the same day, sending out Democratic voters in droves while Republicans not interested in the recall would have even less incentive to vote since President Bush is running opposed for the party ticket.
Two unrelated side notes: Did anyone see the statue of Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens in Doe? It looks freaky, just staring at the wall like that. It should be in a more high profile spot. And another cuz of mine has a birthday today, this time it's Christy who turns 20.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Director Robert Rodriguez unleashes this latest part to the El Mariachi saga by bringing in Johnny Depp to prop up an otherwise dull drama. Depp is a CIA agent in Mexico to prevent the rise to power of General Marquez, whose army is being bankrolled by cartel king Barillo (Willem Dafoe), after a planned assassination of the President. To accomplish this, Depp recruits people far and wide to do the dirty work. The principal figure in this is, of course, El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas), who has lived in his home village ever since Marquez killed his wife and daughter and El was merely shot. Now he's out for revenge and this is the perfect opportunity. Depp also involves a retired FBI agent, whose partner was killed by Barillo, and Eva Mendes as the police officer who doesn't get any respect from her peers.
The first two installments of "El Mariachi" and "Desperado" had an air of confidence when you watched it. El Mariachi stood before the face of danger and shot it to pieces in simple stories of bad vs. badder. But here, Rodriguez, who wrote, shot, scored, and directed the film, tries to spin a tale worthy of epic proportions, a lofty goal that both complicates the plot with its twists and turns, that moves away from the brilliant gunfights that highlighted the first two films, and even shifted the story away from its main character. Even though the action was few and far between and sometimes inexplicable as to its motive (i.e. Banderas and Hayek chained together and swinging down a building), Rodriguez always had an eye for these types of things and is well-done. As for the performances, most do wel with what they're given. Hayek gets something like 5 minutes of screen time. Depp's distinctive style seems inventive and fresh until the material blindly tries to mine laughs out of his predicament. And Banderas, who is who he is, a gunfighter and patriot to the end. 2 stars.
Director Robert Rodriguez unleashes this latest part to the El Mariachi saga by bringing in Johnny Depp to prop up an otherwise dull drama. Depp is a CIA agent in Mexico to prevent the rise to power of General Marquez, whose army is being bankrolled by cartel king Barillo (Willem Dafoe), after a planned assassination of the President. To accomplish this, Depp recruits people far and wide to do the dirty work. The principal figure in this is, of course, El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas), who has lived in his home village ever since Marquez killed his wife and daughter and El was merely shot. Now he's out for revenge and this is the perfect opportunity. Depp also involves a retired FBI agent, whose partner was killed by Barillo, and Eva Mendes as the police officer who doesn't get any respect from her peers.
The first two installments of "El Mariachi" and "Desperado" had an air of confidence when you watched it. El Mariachi stood before the face of danger and shot it to pieces in simple stories of bad vs. badder. But here, Rodriguez, who wrote, shot, scored, and directed the film, tries to spin a tale worthy of epic proportions, a lofty goal that both complicates the plot with its twists and turns, that moves away from the brilliant gunfights that highlighted the first two films, and even shifted the story away from its main character. Even though the action was few and far between and sometimes inexplicable as to its motive (i.e. Banderas and Hayek chained together and swinging down a building), Rodriguez always had an eye for these types of things and is well-done. As for the performances, most do wel with what they're given. Hayek gets something like 5 minutes of screen time. Depp's distinctive style seems inventive and fresh until the material blindly tries to mine laughs out of his predicament. And Banderas, who is who he is, a gunfighter and patriot to the end. 2 stars.
9/13/2003
Funny thing happened on the BART ride home today. Yes, I'm at home this weekend instead of, what I'm sure to be, the "festive" VSA picnic. Apologies to those who care, probably a select few. Anyway, the train made its way past Ashby station when it suddenly stopped. It usually never does. So we're sitting there in the tunnel when the AC turns off and the lights go out. An eerie silence hushes the passengers as the emergency flood lights in the tunnel illuminate the bewildered passengers. I was half-asleep with my CD on full-blast so if the lights didn't turn off, I wouldn't have noticed anything. About 5 minutes later, this technician comes out of nowhere just running through the trains getting from the back to the front in no time. Soon after, the conductor says the train needed to be turned off to reset its hydraulic braking. Why someone would design a contraption to turn off the train in order to reset the brakes is beyond me. It seems a bit unnecessary. So we started and stopped and started and stopped all the way to MacArthur station before returning to normal. But with no word on what was going on, sitting in that dark tunnel was just scary. At least there wasn't tons of water above my head.
Also pretty scary is David Letterman becoming a father at 56. The lucky woman is his long-time girlfriend Regina, who isn't that young herself at 43. He may be right when he says he'll be the father and the grandfather. Well, this is much better than the idea proposed by Richard Simmons when he came on the show. Himself childless and in his fifties, he proposed he and Dave combine their sperm in some test tube and then artificially inseminate someone. Eww.
After Letterman's announcement, Simon and Garfunkel performed and announced their reunion tour. Watching Art sings reminded me of the time when he and his son performed to sing the National Anthem at some tennis match, I think it was last year U.S. Open. The thing is, his son looked just like him, right down to the thinning curly hair and the mannerisms. Eww.
Finally, there were new poll numbers released by the Los Angeles Times about the recall. Recalling Governor Davis is now within the margin of error with yes on recall leading 50-47. Bustamante is at 30% support, down from 35%. Arnold went up by 3 to 25, but the real surprise is McClintock, who went up 6 points to 18%. If I were voting with my political beliefs, I would be for McClintock but the pragmatist in me may lead to a vote for Arnold, even though I'm still not convinced he's right to be governor.
Also pretty scary is David Letterman becoming a father at 56. The lucky woman is his long-time girlfriend Regina, who isn't that young herself at 43. He may be right when he says he'll be the father and the grandfather. Well, this is much better than the idea proposed by Richard Simmons when he came on the show. Himself childless and in his fifties, he proposed he and Dave combine their sperm in some test tube and then artificially inseminate someone. Eww.
After Letterman's announcement, Simon and Garfunkel performed and announced their reunion tour. Watching Art sings reminded me of the time when he and his son performed to sing the National Anthem at some tennis match, I think it was last year U.S. Open. The thing is, his son looked just like him, right down to the thinning curly hair and the mannerisms. Eww.
Finally, there were new poll numbers released by the Los Angeles Times about the recall. Recalling Governor Davis is now within the margin of error with yes on recall leading 50-47. Bustamante is at 30% support, down from 35%. Arnold went up by 3 to 25, but the real surprise is McClintock, who went up 6 points to 18%. If I were voting with my political beliefs, I would be for McClintock but the pragmatist in me may lead to a vote for Arnold, even though I'm still not convinced he's right to be governor.
9/11/2003
They say time heals all wounds and while those directly affected haven't and probably won't be completely healed from the tragedy of September 11th, the muted reception of the second anniversary shows the country as a whole has moved on. The bells on the Campanile won't be marking any 9/11 events as it once did last year but will do what it usually does: mark the passage of time.
New York City was as crowded as ever when I visited there last month. Politically, togetherness has given way to partisan bickering as the President's approval ratings have gone down to their original levels from 2 years ago and people fret about the worsening budget deficit and the enlarging Iraq money pit. Agonizing on whether the worst can happen tomorrow has given way to worrying about when Ben and J. Lo will get married (now postponed indefinitely). But always in our hearts and on our minds, the victims will never be forgotten.
New York City was as crowded as ever when I visited there last month. Politically, togetherness has given way to partisan bickering as the President's approval ratings have gone down to their original levels from 2 years ago and people fret about the worsening budget deficit and the enlarging Iraq money pit. Agonizing on whether the worst can happen tomorrow has given way to worrying about when Ben and J. Lo will get married (now postponed indefinitely). But always in our hearts and on our minds, the victims will never be forgotten.
The Names by Billy Collins
Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows
I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
then Baxter and Calabro,
Davis and Everling, names falling into place
as droplets fell through the dark.
Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
Names slipping around a watery bend.
26 willows on the banks of a stream.
In the morning, I walked out barefoot
among thousands of flowers,
heavy with dew, like the eyes of tears,
and each had a name --
Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal.
Then Gonzales and Han, Ishikawa, and Jenkins.
Names written in the air
and stitched into the cloth of the day,
a name under a photograph taped to a mailbox,
monogram on a torn shirt.
I see you spelled out on storefront windows
and on the bright, unfurled awnings of this city.
I say the syllables as I turn a corner,
Kelly, and Lee,
Medina, Nardella, and O'Connor.
When I peer into the woods,
I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden,
as in a puzzle concocted for children.
Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
Rizzo, Shubert, Torres and Upton,
secrets in the bows of ancient maple.
Names written in the pale sky.
Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
Names silent in stone
or cried out behind a door,
Names blown over the Earth and out to sea.
In the evening, weakening light, the last swallows,
a boy on a lake lifts his oars.
A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
and the names are outlined on the rose clouds --
Vanacor and Wallace,
(let X stand, if it can, for the ones unfound)
then Young and Ziminski, the final jolt of Z.
Names etched on the head of a pin,
one name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a tunnel.
A blue name needled into the skin.
Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
the bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
Alphabet of names in green rows in a field.
Names in the small tracks of birds.
Names lifted from a hat
or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
So many names, there is barely room on the wills of the heart.
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