Prestige Weekend

I spent my Christmas weekend watching Oscar bait. They're the kind of movies that debut at film festivals so that they can intercut the trailers with superlative quotes. You'd think that every one of these films were the greatest thing since Citizen Kane.

I crossed quite a few off my list. They included Brooklyn, Carol, Spotlight, Room, Trumbo, Joy, Beasts of No Nation, The Danish Girl, Concussion, and among others,

The common thread between all these are Golden Globe nominations. It'll be interesting to see how the Oscars will shake out. The Golden Globes are my current road map to what's good. I've yet to see The Revenant, The Big Short, and The Hateful Eight.

I want to be able to make an informed prediction, and that's only possible by seeing everything. I'm still juggling judgement in my head, but so far, my front runners for best picture are Spotlight and Room. There were many fine films this year, but those two in particular are on another level.  

Fast Five

Simplicity is underrated.

When things are simple, it's hard to screw up. This is the principle behind Fast Five.

It's not a terribly complex story, but it works in the movie's favor. It's about fast cars and explosions, character depth is unnecessary by design, so try to ignore the forced relationships, shallow characterization, and empty dialogue. You'll enjoy the movie a lot more that way.

I enjoyed the movie, even though it still suffers from frenetic Hollywood shaky cam syndrome. If it weren't for the nonsensical "gritty" screen shaking, one could actually appreciate the complexity and composition of the stunts. Alas, the world of action movies is forever tainted by the Bourne Supremacy.

Curse you Paul Greengrass.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Captain America is a decent movie.

That's my one-sentence review. Sure I can elucidate as to why its decent, but most people just want a recommendation of "see" or "not see." My recommendation is "sorta see."

The movie is character driven, and we see how the weak Steve Rogers becomes the awesome Captain America. Most of the actors do their job appropriately. Chris Evans sells his character, awkward around women, but awesome around Nazis (by virtue of punching them in the face). Hayley Atwell is surprisingly competent as Peggy Carter and Tommy Lee Jones does a solid job. My only complaint is Hugo Weaving's unsteady German accent as the Red Skull.

As far as superhero movies go, Captain America errs on the side of grounded. Despite being a supersoldier, Captain America doesn't engage in the special-effects laden hijinks of his modern buddies such as Thor or Ironman. The movie does have an old-school feel where punches are more effective than laser beams (though there's no shortage of that either).

A mix of old school, high tech, and heart, Captain America is a send up of superheroes from the golden age. If you're a fan of superheroes in general, watch it.

Buried

Buried comes with a novel concept: have an entire movie take place inside a coffin. When I say the entire movie, I really do mean the entire movie. No flashbacks or nothing, just the coffin, the whole time. That doesn't mean our protagonist spends 90 minutes talking to himself in a wooden box. Fortunately, he was buried with a cell phone, and we get to watch him try to call for help (and hitting various dead-ends along the way).

Part of the fun of watching the movie is finding out exactly who this guy is and how he even got there. I won't spoil it since its part of the experience. The movie is effective, and if you have the slightest bit of claustrophobia, this movie might stretch your tolerance to the limit.

The movie is worth a watch, but you might end up with a hollow feeling by the movie's end--a feeling of pointlessness. As most movies go, it's all about the journey, not the end.

The Bird People in China

In my quest to find more films by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike, I stumbled upon a messageboard talking about each user's favorite Miike movie. An oft echoed answer was The Bird People in China. Quite an odd title, considering Miike's filmography. It was a bitch trying to find a copy but when I finally did, I left it to simmer on my hard drive for well over 4 years. I finally watched it just the other day and I am left mildly entertained.

The story revolves around the idea of traveling to new places and exploring exotic locales. It romanticizes the entire idea of travel. Maybe that's why so many of us want to travel, it's a chance to get out our ruts. The impetus for change might just be a change of scenery.

There is something quite compelling about the idea of foreign love. How often have we entertained the possibility that we just might meet our special someone abroad? They say that communication is the basis of all relationships, so how does foreign love work if you can't communicate verbally? There are other forms of communication whether it be sign language, gestures, or some physical expression of love, but it's quite hard to discuss the particulars and complexities of a culture you don't quite understand. Perhaps its the simplicity that intrigues us. There's no need for such prattling things as politics or religion. It's a love based on the irrationality of love.

For some, the foreign and exotic is a thing that repulses, but for others, its a thing that attracts. Just ask the Japanese, they always dig on Americans.

How two people can connect from two completely different worlds is a beautiful thing. I wonder if I someday experience it for myself?

Fillings

A visit to the dentist's office always means pain. That's why dental scenes in movies are so effective. We've all had the experience of getting our tooth pulled out before, so it's easy to relate. It's like watching a man get hit in the balls. Every male cringes collectively at the sight since we could imagine it (and have probably experienced it as well).


After enduring some light traffic, I made it to UCI's health clinic a little earlier than I expected. I parked in Stall 2 of the patient parking area--I still remember because you have to check in or your car gets towed. Although my appointment was for 10:00, my early arrival got me started faster.

The dental assistant handed me plastic goggles to start off with. That gave me pause, since my wisdom teeth removal didn't even require goggles. The dentist, Dr. Wong, decided to kick off the party with a little needle action. It wasn't that bad at all, I just felt a slight sting. Once the anesthesia started taking effect, Dr. Wong put a wood block between my teeth and went to town on me with a drill.

Whoever created anesthesia is god.

I was feeling vibrations in my head. Every once in a while, Dr. Wong would wipe his hands on my bib. I know your name is Wong and all, but that just ain't right.

After drill operations were complete, Dr. Wong and his assistant decided to take a small 10-minute break. Since I didn't go to sleep until 4:00 last night (too much Battlefield Vietnam), I was feeling really sleepy. My stomach was also rumbling, and I regret not eating anything that morning--especially since they always recommend not eating for a couple hours after a visit.

Dr. Wong and his assistant came back to finish the job and filled the gaps with amalgam. By the time everything was done, my white t-shirt was covered with traces of blood. Dexter Morgan would probably be able to tell you exactly how I got them. My face still feeling numb, I bailed out and eagerly await for my next fulfilling visit to the dentist's office.