Ups and downs, and some possible changes

Yesterday was not exactly the best day I’ve ever had — not the worst overall, but certain moments may have some fairly large impact on days to come.

I’ll start with the good stuff, though. First off, my bowling continues to improve, which is cool. After last week’s run I brought my average up to 113, then surprised myself by managing to pull off my best series yet — 142/168/140! Not just my best series so far, but that 168 is my best score so far…I’m hoping to be able to get at least one game where I break 200 before I stop bowling.

Secondly, I got a chance to swing by Suncoast and picked up Love’s Labours Lost, and watched that after I got home from bowling last night. It turned out to be a really fun film, though it takes a little getting used to at first. Since Branagh combined Shakespeare with a 40’s style musical for this production, it opens with a ‘newsreel’ to give you some background information, then moves into some expository Shakespearian dialogue…then breaks into “I’d Rather Charleston”. Really caught me off guard at first, but after one or two numbers you just get caught up in the spirit of the experiment, and it just becomes a whole lot of fun. The only real downside I found was Alicia Silverstone trying not just to act, but to sing — luckily, she only gets a few verses completely on her own. I found her character to be this film’s eqivalent to Keanu Reeves in Much Ado About Nothing — an essential character who is unfortunately really badly miscast. Aside from lil’ miss Clueless, though, it’s a wonderful little romp, once you get past the initial shock.

Unfortunately, those were the highlights of the day. Not that they were bad highlights…just that the rest of the day kind of overshadows them.

Did my taxes — I owe $146. Bleah.

The big thing, however — if I’d had any more money in the bank than I do, I would have walked out of my job at TimeFrame yesterday. This is a really major thing for me — one way or another, I’ve always had an almost overdevolped sense of responsibility to whatever job I’m working, and will stick out some really uncomfortable situations when I deem it worth it, and I’d been doing my best to deal with all the little things at TimeFrame that bug me for a while now, as I didn’t want to either lose the paycheck or throw away the four and a half years I’ve got there just a few months before I leave state. However….

It just isn’t worth the headache anymore. While it’s not the job itself that bugs me, and I still enjoy the actual work I do, the work environment is so screwball that I’ve finally reached my breaking point. So, today I’ve called in to take a personal leave day, and I plan on running around to some of the temp agencies in town to take their placement/skills tests and see if I can find anything upwards of $10/hr for the next few months. I figure if I can find some data entry position — the kind of thing that often pays $12-$15 an hour because nobody wants to deal with it (usually a night position, shoved in a hole somewhere typing numbers in for hours on end), then as soon as I’m confirmed there, I can turn in my notice at TimeFrame and lose a fair amount of the stress in my life at the moment.

It’s really kind of bizarre for me to have gotten to this point — I’m still kind of amazed at myself for being willing to do something like take a day off to go job hunting. But, things have been going steadily downhill for me in regards to my job there, and there’s really only so much that I can take. So, today begins something of a grand adventure, in seeing if I can find something else to do for the next few months until I can afford to bail state. Should be interesting.

Of course, what’s going to be really interesting is if someone from TimeFrame actually ever stops by and checks my site and reads this….

Shadow of the Vampire

Went out to see Shadow of the Vampire last night after I got off work. Not bad at all, though not quite as good as I’d hoped it would be. The previews had made it out to be a little more creepy than it ended up being — while it wasn’t strictly played for laughs, it wasn’t as much of a ‘horror’ film as I thought it might be. Definitely worth seeing at some point, though — Willem DaFoe just seems to relish has part as Max Schreck. They also occasionally do an incredible job of taking film stock from today and altering it to look as if it had been filmed on the equipment of the day for certain scenes.

One of the few downsides of the movie for me was actually Carey Elwes. Even though I’ve been a fan of The Princess Bride for years, and think that Carey did a great job as ‘The Man in Black/Wesley’, almost nothing I’ve seen him in since then has impressed me in the least, and I’m afraid this is another one. My main curiosity with his character for most of his screen time was actually just what sort of accent he was supposed to have…it certainly didn’t come across as German to me. Ah, well — a good matinee flick, but I can’t quite recommend a full-price show, and it won’t be a keeper once it hits video.

In other news, I just got a call from Suncoast that a movie I’d ordered has come in — Kenneth Branagh‘s Love’s Labours Lost. I’m all sorts of excited to see this one…I think that Branagh consistantly creates some of the best screen adaptations of Shakespeare, and when he decides to present this one as an almost Busby Berkely-style musical, complete with 40’s style dance numbers, I’ve just gotta see it. Besides…I’m still working on building up my collection of Shakespeare adaptations. Ones I know I’m missing that are on DVD at the moment are the recent stylized Romeo + Juliet, and the production of Othello with Laurence Fishburne. If only Branagh’s full 4-hour long version of Hamlet would come out!

1941 toepick cannibal line

Now — the newest additions to my movie library. Big surprise, huh?

1941: While this is definitely far from the best of Steven Spielberg’s movies (some would say it’s the worst, though I personally reserve that particular honor for Jurrassic Park: The Lost World), I’ve always thought that there were certain pieces of it that shone far and above the rest. The fight/dance scene in the USO club, for example, is one of the most amazing pieces of coreography I’ve seen, and I get a real kick out of watching it every time.

The Cutting Edge: It’s fluff. I know it’s fluff, and nothing but fluff. But it’s fun fluff, and nearly everyone I know who’s seen it agrees. A silly little romantic comedy about a pair of skaters — one figure, one hockey — going to the Olympic Figure Skating championships…well, okay, fluff. So sue me. “Toepick!”

Manhunter: The first of the (soon to be) three movies involving Dr. Hannibal Lecter, this mid-80’s film directed by Michael Mann is an incredible thriller, seen by more than a few critics to be better than The Silence of the Lambs. It’s certainly my preferred portrayal of the good doctor — though he’s not nearly as central to this story as he is in SotL, I find this version’s more subdued take on Dr. Lecter much more chilling than Anthony Hopkins‘ somewhat over-the-top version. With Michael Mann’s directorial style, I found myself to be very impressed by this first chapter in the semi-series of films surrounding Hannibal “The Cannibal.”

The Thin Red Line: I have to admit, this one’s still on my to-see list. However, the high number of stellar reviews I’ve heard of this (both around the ‘net and from friends who have seen it) convinced me to give it a buy — especially since Fox has just re-released it with a newly enhanced anamorphic picture and DTS soundtrack. Now I just need to find the time to set aside to watch this one uninterrupted, as I’m told that is by far the best way to see it.

So — not a bad haul this week. Woohoo!

Bleah

I so don’t enjoy being sick. Came down with a really nasty flu virus a couple nights ago that has just knocked me for a loop…no fun at all. Worked all of about 3 hours yesterday, made it through 7 today…but am feeling better, though, so hopefully will be back to normal (whatever ‘normal’ is defined as in my case) by tomorrow. The worst part about the whole thing, though, was on top of battling the flu and feeling like crap, plus I spent all of today battling really strong hiccups too. Not a combination I’d recommend.

In other news, I picked up the 2-disc collector’s edition release of Disney’s Dinosaur today. Should be fun to play with. The only question will be how much of it I can make it through before the NyQuil kicks in.

Why I collect movies

Every so often I get people expressing amazement, wonder, or just shaking their heads in confusion when they see my DVD collection, either by checking the listing here on my site, or coming by my house and seeing the bookcase full of discs. I just found a page on the ‘net that had a really well-written explanation of why I (among other people) enjoy collecting movies, so I’ve added it to my site. There is a link to it in the contents listing on the home page (underneath the heading for my DVD list), or if you’d rather, you can just start reading.

Apt Ringers? Dead Pupil?

Two new ones today — one of which I’ve never seen, and the other I’ve only seen part of. Yes, I do this on occasion…luckily, very rarely come up with a real dud.

Apt Pupil: This is the one that I haven’t seen yet…but it’s been catching my eye for months now, so finally broke down and bought it. It’s directed by Bryan Singer, the same director who did The Usual Suspects and, more recently, X-Men; from a story by Steven King; and stars Sir Ian McKellen (who is generally wonderful in anything he does). The general rundown is that Brad Renfroe plays a 16-year old honor student who discovers that a neighbor is an old Nazi (McKellan) in hiding. He tries to blackmail the old man into telling him stories about the war, but eventually gets the tables turned on him in some form. Looks a lot like the kind of thing I enjoy, so I’m giving it a shot.

Dead Ringers: This is the one I’ve only seen bits of. The big kicker that gets me to spend my hard-earned money on it? It’s a David Cronenberg film (one of the most wonderfully twisted modern directors), and it stars Jeremy Irons, another of my favorite actors. Irons plays a set of identical twin gynecologists, and the movie explores what happens when a woman comes between the two. With Cronenberg’s usual style and Irons’ amazing ability to take any role and add just the perfect level of unsettlingly creepy airs to it, this should be a very fun one.

Unfortunately, my roomie just started watching Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, so I don’t get to watch any of my movies. Bleah. Shmuck. ;)

Lock, Stock and Logan’s Garden Stomper

First off, just finished watching Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, which I borrowed from a co-worker. Absolutely hilarious little crime drama. Took me just a couple minutes to get used to the heavy cockney accents that most of the characters have, after that had no problems. Not very predictable, either, and a great questionmark of an ending. If you’re into English humor and/or crime movies, this one’s quite worth the time to catch.

Next off, three more DVD’s to my collection. I wanted to fill in some holes in my collection with a couple movies that I’d been thinking about for a while, and added one more just ’cause it caught my eye.

Logan’s Run: A classic Sci-Fi film. If you’re at all into Sci-Fi and haven’t seen this one, you really should. Set in 2274, mankind has escaped the ravaged planet into covered cities, where they live with virtually no concerns (and a fair amount of hedonism) — until Lastday. On the day of your 30th birthday, you either submit to Carousel and die, or become a Runner and are hunted by the Sandmen. So what happens when Sandman Logan 5 gets long into his 29th year? I have to admit, though this was heavily spoofed in the film Free Enterprise, the closer I get to my own Lastday, the more I think of this film….

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: I actually have yet to see all of this film, to be honest. I first caught the last half over at a friends house, and have since found the book that the movie is based on. Considering what a bizarre murder mystery and cast of characters this story has, imagine how surprised I was while reading the book to find that it’s all a true story! The book is a thouroughly enjoyable read, and had me laughing aloud quite a few times while reading it — enough to catch my dad’s interest, at least, as this was happening while we were on vacation. I’m looking forward to finally seeing all of the movie, and just might watch it before crashing out tonight.

Romper Stomper: This one was actually something of a whim purchase — I’ve heard very little about it, but enough for it to catch my eye while browsing the movie racks. It was the breakthrough performance for Russel Crowe (most famous for Gladiator), where he plays the leader of a group of skinheads. Having known a few skinheads here in town during the years that they were a presence, I’ve always been somewhat fascinated by the various portrayals of them that I’ve seen (one of the best so far being Edward Norton‘s role in American History X), and from what I’ve heard, this movie does a very good job of portraying the skinhead mindset. Plus, the DVD edition looks pretty nice — a 2-disc set, including director’s commentary, background info, and a documentary on how skinheads have been portrayed in the movies. Should be an interesting night when I get to this one.

That’s it for tonight, though…time to either dive into ‘puter putzing or pop one of these into the player and catch one more movie before I crash out. Hmmm…anybody got a coin I could toss?

Antitrust (Hackers 2000)

First things first — anybody remember when winter in Alaska meant snow? Not that I’m really complaining, I figure this is just training for when I move to Seattle…but it’s sure wierd as all getouts.

I went out to see Hackers 2000…er…sorry, make that Antitrust tonight. Not a bad little flick…nothing that’s really going to tax your brain, but an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours. I do have to give them some props, though — this is one of the first movies since WarGames that I can think of that had a realistic computer user interface for the most part. Aside from a few dialog boxes that were pretty obviously mockups made for the sake of movie world clarity, the majority of the screens shown were using some variant of UNIX! I’m not sure which one — it’s pretty tough to tell from a command line, and most of the window managers out there have been ported to most *NIX flavors — but one little thing made me really wonder.

At one point in the movie Milo (the main character) is accessing a terminal and grabbing a bunch of video clips and stills, using a combination of GUI and CLI commmands. At one point, he calls up a program from the text prompt called “grabapp” — now, I know for certain that under Mac OS X, the screen grab utility is “Grab.app”, ported from the NEXT program “grab.app”. Made me take notice…could these be NEXT boxes? I highly doubt it, there could be any number of grab.app’s out there, or it could have just been put in to make it look semi-realistic to those of us geeky enough to watch the command line, but I thought it was at least a nice touch.

Anyway, a very entertaining, if predictable flick — catch a matinee sometime. I may pick it up when it comes out on DVD just to make a custom slipcase for it that actually says “Hackers 2000″….

Mom?!?!

Just picked up one new DVD to add to the collection today — George Lucas in Love. If you’ve never seen the film, it’s well worth it…it’s a 9-minute long short film exploring the truth behind the story of Star Wars. You can find it online at MediaTrip.com, but I liked it enough to get a good quality copy. Plus, it comes with three other short films, all parodies of popular movies…not bad for twelve bucks!