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Tag Archives: film
overthinking a plate of beans. (and some stuff i really like)
Here’s the deal. I’m only going to write about things I really like. Not every single book I read. Not every single trip I take. Only the things I really truly like. I’m not trying to be a critic (but I am undeniably a consumer).
OK, now that’s out of the way. So here’s some stuff I’ve read this year that I really like:
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by emily m. danforth
I grew up in Miles City, MT, same as the author, and when all of my facebook friends from high school started talking about this lesbian coming-of-age novel set in my hometown, I immediately bought a copy and began reading. I really liked Cameron Post (the main character) – so much so that I was a little disappointed in how the story ended because I wanted to see what happened next.
I was completely overwhelmed by how accurately emily m. danforth portrayed Miles City. There’s a little tiny bit of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance that talks about Miles City (mainly, a motorcycle shop that still existed when I was growing up there, and a night spent on a park bench in Riverside Park) – and when I was super homesick I would read that book over and over, feeling a little pretentious but mostly just waiting for chapter 8.
That’s pretty much how I felt the entire way through ‘the miseducation of cameron post’. I haven’t been back to Miles City in 14, maybe 15 years. And when I read this novel, I was transported back instantly. Granted, there were a lot more lesbians in ‘The Miseducation of Cameron Post’ than I remember from my high school days. And even though Cameron Post & I had very little in common (I was the misfit church kid from town in band and choir), her story about growing up different in Miles City, MT was not so different from mine.
P.S. You can imagine my excitement when I was first getting into vinyl and tracked down a copy of “13 Steps’, Fugazi’s first EP, because it had this song I really liked – “Waiting Room” – on it. On the back cover of the record is a photo of the band, sitting at a lunch counter that I knew for a fact was in Miles City, MT. (Not out of recognition – it was probably either taken at Ben Franklin’s lunch counter – but in the background of the photo you can see the top of a flag, proclaiming “MILES CITY BIG SKY”). DUDE. FUGAZI HAS BEEN TO MY HOME TOWN.
P.P.S. I know I’m supposed to be talking about this awesome book I really like, and not my hometown. Sorry. You should check the book out, anyway.
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The last book I read that I really loved was The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It’s about a game between two illusionists, and a magical circus (or a circus of magic?), and there’s not much more I can say about it without spoiling some of it’s secrets. The writing flows really well, and I basically devoured this book over the course of a weekend. There’s not much more I can say about it without taking away some of the magic, so you’re going to have to read it for yourself.
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I also really liked the film Melancholia, but you probably shouldn’t watch it if you’re already depressed. It’s not a suspense film – you know from the opening scene that the Earth will be destroyed by colliding with the planet Melancholia. It is probably the very best depiction of depression that I have every seen.
The Polyphonic Spree put on a superb show at Bottletree in February. I don’t even particularly LIKE the Polyphonic Spree, although I’ll definitely go to another live show if I can. I described them as “what would happen if the arcade fire took a bunch of ecstasy and then went to church camp.” The crowd was super fun at this show – and the glitter guy threw confetti instead of glitter – and I stayed out much later than I intended (a good thing in moderation).
A few weeks ago, my work buddies and I pranked a guy on his birthday by blowing up a bunch of ballons (the old fashioned way – there’s a worldwide shortage of helium!) and filling his office with them. Lots of people helped.. One of these days all the pranks I have pulled on people at the office on their birthdays are going to come back and haunt me. Not yet, though!
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Until next time.
some quick notes from sidewalk film festival
Films I loved, in order of “must-see”-ness:
1. The Devil Came On Horseback documents the crisis in Darfur through the eyes of Brian, an ex-Marine military observer for the African Union armed with only a camera, a pad of paper, and a pen. The documentary is a disturbing glimpse into what is happening in Sudan. Very disturbing. Please see it.
2. Darius Goes West – The Roll of His Life – is a documentary about an 17 year old guy with Muscular Dystrophy, who travels from his home in Athens, GA with a group of college students he met at a summer camp Project REACH. Their goal is to get his wheelchair pimped out on MTV’s Pimp My Ride. It is awesome – from Darius’ first view of the ocean to las vegas and the grand canyon and back. Lots of laughs in this one – and a good message too. Bonus points were given because Darius and the other cast members were present at the showing.
3. For The Bible Tells Me So tells the stories of five gay folks and how their Bible-believing conservative families react to the news. In doing so, the film also explores how the Christian right uses the Bible to condemn homosexuality, and explains why those Biblical passages are misunderstood. I cried multiple times during this film – it hit very close to home. I have never understood why my mom believes that Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 are applicable to today’s society, when she eats pork and cuts her hair and wears clothes made of two different types of material. And sometimes I think that my whole quest towards militant agnosticism was sparked by the incompatibility of the faith of my childhood and my sexuality.
There were some other films I enjoyed – but those are my top three. See them if you can.
Tonight as I sat down to design the next Vulcan Run newsletter, I decided to watch a Netflix movie online. I just picked one randomly from my queue that was available online, and while I did get a little bit of work done, I’ve been mostly staring at the laptop, mesmerized. The movie: El Bola – a story of a young Spanish kid ‘Pellet’ who is madly abused by his father and his desperate friendship with Alfredo, a boy with a very different family environment. It’s a beautiful and gripping film; it won all sorts of awards in Spain, and I cried about five hundred times.
Le Salaire de la peur
ok, i take back what i said about not being able to sit through very many two hour movies. this one runs right about 2hr20min, and for the last hour and a half i was glued to the seat, biting my fingernails.
this movie is fantastic. it is the story of desperate men in desperate times, who take desperate measures in search of a little financial stability. in english, that means they are hired by an oil company to transport a truckload of nitroglycerin across rough terrain to an oil field. the storyline takes a bit to develop, but it is well worth it.
best movie, hands down. ever.