Buys
Though I consider myself a Studio 60 man, I finally gave in to peer pressure and grabbed Season 1 of 30 Rock. When my friend Carolynn recommends something, that recommendation has weight, but she's also way into Office Space, so a second opinion is sometimes required. Sniper Ninja Bears' Bass put it thus "well are you an Alec Baldwin fan?" Yes, yes Bass, I am.
Oh, and I also got Jack of Fables vol.4 - Americana. 'Tis the season.
"Accomplishments"
DVDs: Flipped Six Feet Under Season 5, which means I flipped the whole series. Goodbye television-induced clinical depression! But seriously folks, the last season retains the high level of quality set by the series. The last few episodes are sometimes relentless tear jerkers, but I think it ends beautifully. I mean, that's what *I* would have done too. The season comes with some nice retrospective featurettes and more than half the episodes have a commentary track. The bog boxed set also comes with the two soundtrack albums and a beautiful "In Memoriam" booklet that tells you what happened to the characters after the show's final moments. No peeking! Real spoilers in there!
Cinema: Yes, I actually went to a theater and saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Hey, it's a David Fincher film. And one that really takes its time, though I can't say I was ever bored or restless, even as it hit the 2h45 mark. It's a much more lyrical film than Fincher fans might be used to, and there's plenty of interesting aesthetic choices to keep the alert viewer engaged. The storm cloud/lightning leitmotif alone is enough to make me watch again some time.
Someone Else's Post of the Week
A post about Inauguration Day AND a Crisis rip-off? That's exactly what Bully offers up over at Comics Ought to Be Fun. And I hope you're also catching his 365 days of Ben Grimm!
Though I consider myself a Studio 60 man, I finally gave in to peer pressure and grabbed Season 1 of 30 Rock. When my friend Carolynn recommends something, that recommendation has weight, but she's also way into Office Space, so a second opinion is sometimes required. Sniper Ninja Bears' Bass put it thus "well are you an Alec Baldwin fan?" Yes, yes Bass, I am.
Oh, and I also got Jack of Fables vol.4 - Americana. 'Tis the season.
"Accomplishments"
DVDs: Flipped Six Feet Under Season 5, which means I flipped the whole series. Goodbye television-induced clinical depression! But seriously folks, the last season retains the high level of quality set by the series. The last few episodes are sometimes relentless tear jerkers, but I think it ends beautifully. I mean, that's what *I* would have done too. The season comes with some nice retrospective featurettes and more than half the episodes have a commentary track. The bog boxed set also comes with the two soundtrack albums and a beautiful "In Memoriam" booklet that tells you what happened to the characters after the show's final moments. No peeking! Real spoilers in there!
Cinema: Yes, I actually went to a theater and saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Hey, it's a David Fincher film. And one that really takes its time, though I can't say I was ever bored or restless, even as it hit the 2h45 mark. It's a much more lyrical film than Fincher fans might be used to, and there's plenty of interesting aesthetic choices to keep the alert viewer engaged. The storm cloud/lightning leitmotif alone is enough to make me watch again some time.Someone Else's Post of the Week
A post about Inauguration Day AND a Crisis rip-off? That's exactly what Bully offers up over at Comics Ought to Be Fun. And I hope you're also catching his 365 days of Ben Grimm!
Comments
Me too...maybe that's why I've resisted 30 Rock, despite its critical acclaim, and the acclaim from more than one friend/family member.
Regarding Benjamin Button: I had heard some less than positive things about it going in, so I found it to be better than I'd heard (and all that business about it being a Forrest Gump ripoff is hogwash, I say). I certainly wasn't ever bored, and aside from the few moments I was trying to calculate his "age," fully engrossed in the film.
I was still somewhat disappointed, as I felt there was alot if interesting stuff in the premise that went unexplored. And if the Hummingbird was truly supposed to represent Death/Infinity, then it needed to appear more often (and not be setup so ham-fistedly with Benjamin's line about never seeing one so far out to sea). But maybe I misinterpreted that.
I'm curious about the storm cloud/lightening leitmotif you mentioned-I missed that. Care to elaborate?
Not entirely sure about the hummingbird (looks like a symbol from Fitzgerald), but the storms.
The funniest thing in the movie is the guy that gets hit by lightning. It's used to punctuate the picture with levity. But is it more than that?
The idea that the old man's life was punctuated by lightning bolts made me take special attention of the oncoming storms throughout the film.
Obviously, there's Katarina in the present, but the storm before the sea battle, and the gathering clouds just before he leaves his family. I'd have to see it again, but clouds may punctuate Benjamin's life, coming when a major change is indicated.
Or it might just be a way to make the present (where the story is told) intrude upon the past. Or both.
I'll definitely have to watch for storms/lightening when watching it again.