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Haven't had much time for LiveJournal or Facebook the past few days, so I'm sorry if I missed anything important. I've been having fun hanging out with Ron. On Friday, after the UO's horrific loss to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, we picked up ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
holyoutlaw and went to Almodovar's newest movie, Broken Embraces. It's a complicated, self-reflective movie, and I need to see it again to see how it plays with the final revelations in mind. (Perfect last line, BTW.) What I took away from a first viewing was a sense of nested identities and pseudonyms that are matched by nested histories and stories of the past, some revealed and some still hidden. Almodovar refracts himself through at least two characters and also refracts some of his past films, most prominently or directly Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988). It's very much a movie about the creative process, and the relationship of art to life and love. It's very much a writer's movie, too, and I loved all the little stories that are thrown off as what John Crowley has called snake's hands. And Almodovar still has an amazing way with color. Plum, tangerine, coral, and aquamarine. Lovely and subtle and pure.
After the movie we retired to Bill's Off Broadway for pizza and beer and yikkety-yack about the movie and the whole wide world and the brave new people in it. There was a happy new year vibe going on, for sure.
Yesterday I took Ron to Roxy's for breakfast, and later we caught Avatar in 2D at the Cinerama. (All the 3D shows at the Pacific Science Center were sold out for the weekend.) I enjoyed it as a visual spectacle, and I'm not sure I have much to add to the ongoing discussion. I got swept up in it despite the fact that I really didn't like the depiction of the aliens. I still think the aliens in District 9 are the most alien aliens of the year. The ones in Avatar are simply too humanoid in their culture. Still, as an old Yes fan there wasn't much chance that I could resist the floating mountains with waterfalls turning to mist in mid-air. Some truly beautiful sensawunda vistas in the film, stuff we have never seen on film before. I could have done without the noble savagery, however. Very romantic on any number of different levels. I might still try to catch it in IMAX 3D. I recommenddaveon's attempt to retcon the backstory. I guess I should add that at least on a conceptual or sociological level, I enjoyed the broad jab at American jingoists, even though I think it's fatally undercut by the noble savagery. Another form of mass, populist spectacle, really.
Afterward we visited old acquaintances Jon and Penny on top of Queen Anne. We had dinner at Thai Heaven, getting caught up on the three years since we last saw them, last time Ron was here. It was great to hang out with them. Really wonderful people, in their completely diametrical ways, always a blast to talk and laugh with. Salt of the earth living on top of the world.
Today Ron is off to his old church in Ballard, and later we're going to watch DVDs and eat pizza and drink beer. Or that's the theory anyway. Ron is trying to squeeze in visitation with lots of other people, so who knows how much time we'll have for movies. I need to do some laundry, and oh yeah, take Denys to the airport. He's off to California to visit his sister for a few days. Then it's back to work tomorrow. Can't be friends and films all day every day, alas.
holyoutlaw and went to Almodovar's newest movie, Broken Embraces. It's a complicated, self-reflective movie, and I need to see it again to see how it plays with the final revelations in mind. (Perfect last line, BTW.) What I took away from a first viewing was a sense of nested identities and pseudonyms that are matched by nested histories and stories of the past, some revealed and some still hidden. Almodovar refracts himself through at least two characters and also refracts some of his past films, most prominently or directly Women on the Edge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988). It's very much a movie about the creative process, and the relationship of art to life and love. It's very much a writer's movie, too, and I loved all the little stories that are thrown off as what John Crowley has called snake's hands. And Almodovar still has an amazing way with color. Plum, tangerine, coral, and aquamarine. Lovely and subtle and pure.After the movie we retired to Bill's Off Broadway for pizza and beer and yikkety-yack about the movie and the whole wide world and the brave new people in it. There was a happy new year vibe going on, for sure.
Yesterday I took Ron to Roxy's for breakfast, and later we caught Avatar in 2D at the Cinerama. (All the 3D shows at the Pacific Science Center were sold out for the weekend.) I enjoyed it as a visual spectacle, and I'm not sure I have much to add to the ongoing discussion. I got swept up in it despite the fact that I really didn't like the depiction of the aliens. I still think the aliens in District 9 are the most alien aliens of the year. The ones in Avatar are simply too humanoid in their culture. Still, as an old Yes fan there wasn't much chance that I could resist the floating mountains with waterfalls turning to mist in mid-air. Some truly beautiful sensawunda vistas in the film, stuff we have never seen on film before. I could have done without the noble savagery, however. Very romantic on any number of different levels. I might still try to catch it in IMAX 3D. I recommend
daveon's attempt to retcon the backstory. I guess I should add that at least on a conceptual or sociological level, I enjoyed the broad jab at American jingoists, even though I think it's fatally undercut by the noble savagery. Another form of mass, populist spectacle, really.Afterward we visited old acquaintances Jon and Penny on top of Queen Anne. We had dinner at Thai Heaven, getting caught up on the three years since we last saw them, last time Ron was here. It was great to hang out with them. Really wonderful people, in their completely diametrical ways, always a blast to talk and laugh with. Salt of the earth living on top of the world.
Today Ron is off to his old church in Ballard, and later we're going to watch DVDs and eat pizza and drink beer. Or that's the theory anyway. Ron is trying to squeeze in visitation with lots of other people, so who knows how much time we'll have for movies. I need to do some laundry, and oh yeah, take Denys to the airport. He's off to California to visit his sister for a few days. Then it's back to work tomorrow. Can't be friends and films all day every day, alas.
