Everybody Has A Story

"A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later." -Stanley Kubrick


I haven't talked about any films lately. I've been spending majority of my free time catching up on some movies...mostly Oscar related films, but a few other goodies thrown into the mix. Here's a bunch of film's I've seen recently followed by a few words. :)

Julie & Julia: A cute movie...that's about all. Meryl Streep does a phenomenal job playing Julia Child, but isn't that expected? Oh and I might have developed a girl crush on Amy Adams.

District 9: I'm still not sure what to think about this movie. The aliens reminded me of Transformers. I found myself asking myself why I was watching the movie and then something cool would happen. The film was like something we had seen before but with a slight twist. We've all seen fugitive movies, so it was just like any one of those except with a few new surprises.

Cold Souls: I liked it. Reminded me of a blend between Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I guess it's more like a work of a fan of Charlie Kaufman's films...like a parody almost except no humor. The film leaves you feeling a little depressed but able to walk away with (an overplayed) good message.

Hausu (House): A terrific Japanese horror film from the 70's! Full of unnecessary nonsense and laughs. A great movie to watch with a group of friends with sick humor.

Shutter Island: A beautiful, crazy, wet film. Made to look like an old B-movie, Scorsese pulls it off! By no means his masterpiece, but still worth a look.

The Informant!: Matt Damon plays an informant for the F.B.I. (based on a true story) that takes place in the 90's. Matt Damon is hilarious but the movie drags for what seems forever.

The Hurt Locker: Beautifully done by Kathryn Bigelow. My heart was beating fast almost during the entire film. I'm usually not a fan of war movies, but this one stands out from the rest. It's a different story. The Hurt Locker is definitely taking home a few Academy Awards this year.

Alice in Wonderland (1933): I've never done acid, but if I took some before this film I'd probably be crying in the corner, sitting in a puddle of my own urine. The movie followed the books by Lewis Caroll pretty accurately for the most part except it threw in it's own "trippiness", which surprised me since it was filmed in the 30's. The costumes are amazing if you consider The Depression was going on and the studio filled them with a star studded cast! I wouldn't say the film was that good, but it was highly amusing.

Cape Fear (1991): My first time ever seeing Cape Fear and I loved it. A little rapey and crazy, but sometimes a film has to take that route to be a good film. De Niro is amazing and creepy, leaving you confused if wither you should trust him or fear him, the feeling tingles in your stomach during the movie. I would highly recommend this film...if you can handle all the creepy rape-like scenes.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant: I actually thought this movie was amusing. It had a great cast except for the cry baby tough guy...watch the movie, you'll see what I mean. The movie reminded of great adventure movies from the 80's...just a fun, predictable and thoughtless movie. :)

It's Complicated: I don't understand all the hype with this film. Was it the joints? I'm not sure and I'm even more unsure about the award nominations...

Grey Gardens: A little hard to watch at times, but such a good story about Jackie O's aunt and cousin. Drew Barrymore is outstanding. If you like A&E's Hoarders then you'll love this movie!

Fantastic Mr. Fox: Hilarious and smart with a great cast! I loved the animation and art and the characters were exactly what I wanted. There's not too many animated films that portray adults that drink, curse, fight and smoke to be the "good guys". Would I let kids watch it? I absolutely would, it's great for kids and adults. Just be prepared to explain some scenes.

An Education: I wanted to like this movie more than I did, but it was still good. I found it all a little hard to take in because of some things that I found a little inconsistent...or maybe it was just me? I did enjoy it though, I just thought some things were a little unbelievable.

Zombieland: I'm a sucker for zombie movies so of course I loved this movie! OK, so the the comedy, action, cast and the secret celebrity won me over too. Go see this if you like to laugh and watch zombie's get double tapped at the same time!

Up In The Air: I understand the hype behind this film, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with it. The movie left me depressed and bored. I thought it was predictable. Yawn.

Point Break: Another "older" movie that I hadn't seen before. I really dislike Keanu Reeve's, but this role really was prefect for him. Patrick Swayze, Nick Nolte and him made a great action flick that puts you on the edge of your seat (sorry for the cliche, but it's true!). The surfing scenes are fun too!

Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy (1976): An adult film about Alice's adventures in Wonderland while taking a journey to womanhood. The porn actually followed the books nicely and was funny. I found myself enjoying the film and considering it more of a comedy than a pornographic film...and then I saw a penis penetrate three woman from behind, one right after another.

Those are all the ones I can remember from the past two months or so. I plan on checking out Avatar, The Blind Side, A Serious Man, Crazy Heart, A Simple Man and Alice in Wonderland (2010) in 3-D before next Sunday. Stay tuned! Oscars are only a week away!!!

Ain't Nobody Gonna Bring Me Down

I've noticed lately that the things that usually irritate me haven't really been bothersome. I didn't pay much attention to my cool demeanor until just a few days ago. I had to call a collection agency to ask them to delay a payment because I didn't have enough money in my account and the woman was a total bitch on the phone. I never got mad. Here I was, broke as broke could be and getting yelled out at on the phone for not having enough money in my bank account. I should have yelled back. The reason I didn't have enough money in my account was because I couldn't afford the last payment. I didn't even raise my voice. I'm fact, I think I annoyed her that I wasn't getting angry. Why didn't that bother me? Why didn't I tell that bitch I was gonna punch her in her fucking teeth?

And why haven't I been mad about how poor I am? I'm in a never ending cycle of being poor. I can't afford my school loan payments. They leave me with insufficient funds, I dig myself out of the negative balance hole for about a week or so and then I'm back in it. I have been rolling coins and selling personal possessions for gas money. So why haven't I broke down (no pun intended...but I'm leaving it that way) and cried? It's like I just don't care.

Nothing has changed at work either. I'm extremely underpaid and working at least 55 hours a week with only 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Someone on unemployment makes the same amount that I do. I said something earlier this week about needing more money and I heard, "Well we're so broke from our trip to Jamaica that we can't pay our mortgage." I should have went into all the outstanding bills I have, but instead it didn't bother me. I've been getting out late every night this week and haven't cared.

Even my road rage has declined dramatically! I usually grip my steering wheel with white knuckles and thrash my body around calling someone (it's about to get nasty) a fucking cunt eating fuckhead asshole or just scream. I've been a much more relaxed driver, letting people in front of me and I haven't been tailgating anyone!

What caused such a change in me? I smoke a lot of pot in my free time, but that's been going on for years...I doubt it's the weed. I became a full vegetarian about a month or so ago...could the lack of meat be what's causing the calm? But I've never really liked meat (I used to eat it to be polite) so that can't be it. Then it dawned on me. I'm in love. The world has been trying to bring me down and I've been giving the world and it's problems the cold shoulder. I can't even remember the last time I was this happy. Maybe it was 2003? The year doesn't matter, what matters is that I'm happy. I'm actually happy. Happy. Go on, say it...happy. And oddly enough the last time I was happy was the last time I was with this boy. I've had my share of boyfriends and although he's not exactly what the average girl looks for in a guy, I love him and no one has ever made me happier.

So while we're trying to get through the last few weeks of our winter blues, let's remember what or who makes us happy. Do what makes you happy. Be with who makes you happy. Just get happy. :)

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Vampire Raves

Ok, so this entry has nothing to do with vampires waving around glow sticks and partying all night long. Sorry to disappoint! I've been obsessed with Vampire Weekend's new album Contra and The Raveonette's In and Out of Control. I highly recommend both these solid albums. I'm not going to say too much cause I'd rather you listen to the music then read this blog about vampires not taking animal tranquilizers and sweating to the beat. Give and listen and then get your hands on them!

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Lost: A Smoked Son Theory

Usually my LOST rants are just that, rants. Today I'm shaking it up! Instead of a list of questions and curse words I'm gonna actually piece those questions and curse words together into a theory! FUN!

Let's start with the two main characters from last night's episode: Jack and Claire. Jack and Claire share the same father which makes Aaron, Claire's son, Jack's nephew. Claire didn't want her baby but had no choice to keep him when their plane crashed. While Jack was off the island, after being rescued, he helped Kate raise Aaron...his nephew. We found out early in last night's episode that Jack has a son from a previous relationship, his name is David. And surprise, surprise...Jack isn't a great father. He has an awkward relationship with his son, in fact it appears that Jack didn't want David in his life at one point.

Let's recap before we move on: Jack and Claire are half siblings and both parents...Claire didn't want her baby and Jack didn't have a big part in his son's life. Oh and their father wasn't a peach either (Aaron and David's grandfather).

Ok, let's get back into this...

Claire has her baby and becomes a good mother, very nurturing, caring and protective. But then one night Claire "vanishes" into the Jungle and leaves Aaron behind. After listening to a conversation between Jack and David, Jack used to be a big part in his son's life and then there must have been some falling out at some point. In the alt world Jack thinks he lost David and realizes how much he wants to be in David's life. And Aaron will probably never know who his father is because Aaron's father wasn't going to be part of his life (unless they tell him his father was Charlie).

So...Claire and Jack both lost their children and both kids have daddy issues. It's safe to say that Claire and Jack have daddy issues themselves too.

Are you following this so far?

In the bizarro world Jack fixes his relationship with his son, they go off into the night talking about eating pizza...(snore!) But in the "real" world Jack is on the island and he's there to fix himself, which I assume he's talking about his relationship with David (or any of his other SEVERAL failed relationships with his father, ex wife, Juliet, Kate...) Is he on the island to find his son? Claire has been on a mother fucking killing rampage trying to find her son on the island. She thinks the Others took her son but he's with Claire's mother.

Don't know where I'm going with this? Maybe it would make more sense if I described David. David has black hair, blue eyes and about thirteen-years-old (WHO IS HIS MOTHER?!). He was described in last night's episode as "gifted" and communication not being his strong suite. He's also sneaky and afraid of Jack. Does that sound like anybody on the island? Dark hair, blue eyes, special or gifted, poor communication skills, and sneaky. That's right, man who killed Jacob, the smoke monster using Locke's body.......or......Smocke! We've seen him before on the beach with Jacob, he had black hair and blue eyes. He's obviously gifted if he can turn into the smoke version of The Incredible Hulk and live in dead bodies. He's sneaky as hell too! Has Smocke ever interacted with Jack? I can't remember off hand, but I can't recall a time when the two met or had a conversation. So maybe Smocke is afriad of Jack?

Confused? Here's where my theory comes!

David is Smocke. Jack is looking for answers and to get fixed, Smocke has all the answers and Jack's son is what will fix him. And of course Smocke wants to be fixed too, if David is Smocke then when the two meet they can be fixed together! I know it seems far fetched and confusing, but we embraced a man being capable of turning into a smoke monster and inhabiting corpses pretty quickly. Him being Jack's son shouldn't be too hard to grasp. Anything is possible on the island.

Now if that's true then Claire's "friend" is really her long, lost nephew. So we now have four characters that are related in some fashion that are all fucked up because of one person: Christian Shepard (Jack and Claire's father). What do we know about Christian? Well, he's an asshole, an alcoholic, a bad father and may or may not be dead. He's also had connections with other people from the plane before the crash. So what is his deal? What's the story behind Jack and Claire's father? Could Christian be the reason why everyone is on the island? Like some sort of fucked up cowardly way of telling the truth, apologizing and teaching lessons? I hope not, but I guess it's possible. Or has it been Jacob all along?

So there it is, my theory on what happened last night. Take it or leave it, but I really think that David is Smocke and that Christian is a big part of the full story.

Other things from last night (quickly, I promise!):

-Jack is so stupid. Why would he shatter that mirror?! He threw a temper tantrum because he couldn't see Jacob? What a fucking cry baby. Get over all your shit, Jack!

-Claire is crazy. A baby made out of animal bones and fur?! Killing sprees to find your missing baby? Sounds a little too like Russo to me! Claire is dead, right? And what exactly happened to Claire? She said she escaped from the Temple...wtf? If Claire was infected that means she's dead, but how did Russo get in her body?

-Claire and Smocke...are they good of bad?

-Jacob is a manipulating ass.

-Who is David's mother? He looks to be a teenager which means it can't be Kate or Juliet. Jack never had a baby with his ex wife (that we know of) but even if they did David would be much younger. So it would appear Jack (once again) fucked up another relationship! Who is this mystery woman? Could she have a connection with the island? The plot thickens!

Oh and I'm loving all the Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass references during the entire series! I'll have to dedicate a blog to that in the future. ;)

I wrote this from my phone so I'm sure it's full of errors! Sorry! :)

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Lost Season 6: Fuck Balance

I really hope next weeks episode of Lost will lay off the destiny theme and move on, we get it. I'm just going to get right into it and throw my questions and comments out there...

First of all, when is it? What year are we in? I've been trying to figure it and I'm just confused.

Richard was kept in a Russo-like trap. I was waiting for Claire to come out! So again, WHERE THE FUCK IS CLAIRE?

Um...the creepy kid. Has to be Jacob, but why is he a kid? Is that a clue for what year we are in? Or can Sawyer just see him because he is a candidate? (It reminds me of what Shannon was seeing Walt, is there any connection?)

Who is this Ilana chick? I want more from her background. How does she know so much about the island and those on it? She said that "Locke" was "recruiting", what exactly is he recruiting for? There are two stories going on here. Richard tells Sawyer that the man inside Locke's body wants to kill everyone on the island and the man inside Locke tells Sawyer a sob story about being stuck in Locke's body and wants to go home...and bring Sawyer home too. He also tells him that Sawyer's "so close"...close to what? Ilana also says that he is stuck in Locke's body, so I guess that part is true. Is the only way for him to go home is to kill people? Like a sacrifice? By the end of the episode we find out more meaning to the word "candidate", there are obviously a few candidates, so do they all get to survive? Or does only one candidate get to live, something like he needs one person to stay on the island? There has been no doubt some talk about balance on the island. But then he told Sawyer that the island didn't need protecting and that they should both go home. And he did take one of the stones of the scale and throw it into the ocean...

Locke has bad luck in the alt world at home. His lift on his van broke, he fell out of his chair, the sprinkler system went off when he fell and he got fired. Of course when we think of bad luck Hurley pops in the mind and then there he was, Hugo Reyes, to save John Locke. Quite the role reversal, but I guess that only makes sense in a bizarro world. So Hurley tells Locke that he will get him a new job and that everything will work out...BORING! I waited to see who was going to be working at the temp agency that Hugo sent Locke to and sure enough Rose entered...still with cancer. I found that interesting and somewhat mean and comforting all at once. Rose is the same on or off the island. Could it be wisdom? She found life's meaning early on? Is the cancer her constant?

More on Locke...
There was a quick mention of his father. In this alternative world he has a good relationship with his father. I'm confused. How much of the past is different for these doppelgangers?

I kept waiting for Walt to appear since the episode was so Locke heavy. At first I thought he was the delivery guy at the door returning Locke's lost luggage and then I thought he was the kid Locke grabbed at the school. Where are you Walt? Tell us what you know!!!

Speaking of school, I found it funny that Ben teaches history at the school and that Locke was a substitute. How appropriate! I didn't know that the episode was titled "Substitute" until after, so I got excited when I made the connection between Locke being nothing but a substitute (or "candidate")...and then I saw the episode title and my spirits were broken.

But now onto the most important story of last night's episode! The names! Oh, the names! And the numbers! THE MOTHER FUCKING NUMBERS! Ok, so we have 23-Shepard, 8-Reyes, 16-Jarrah, 42-Kwan (Kim or Jin? I'm thinking Jin because she was on the flight back to the island), 4-Locke, 15-Ford. Are the numbers Jacobs preference for the candidate position? They can't be the order in which he met them because he met Sawyer as a child. So what do the numbers fucking mean??? TEASE!!! Oh I can't wait to find out more about these candidates etched into the walls! There were so many names! How creepy!

And finally, who is inside Locke? I mean, seriously. Who is that man? Where did he come from? When did he come from? How did he get stuck? Can he be trusted?

I want, nay, NEED answers.

Don't Go Around Breaking Young Girls Hearts

I hope to meet the little guy in the middle some day. *sigh*

Collections Vol. One

With the new hoarders obsession in this country, I feel it only necessary to write about what I collect. I'm in no way a hoarder. Sure, I save things that can be reused instead of throwing them out. I have shoe boxes that I keep all my craft supplies in, I save old jars or candle holders to use for organizing my desk (and I've been meaning to get into making my own candles to reuse some of the jars), I save postcards and greeting cards for craft purposes and I save plastic bottle for making homemade bongs. But I don't collect those things, I recycle what I don't need. But there are some things that I do keep even if they don't work, five things really. I've decided to do a small series of blogs on what I collect. My collections are actually in early stages at the moment. I tend do collect in phases anyways. I'll collect something for years, get sick of the clutter and get rid of everything. I've collected baseball and hockey cards, Super Bowl coins, Pez dispensers, movies and seashells among other things.

I figured the best way to work this series is to start to explain the first of the five collections and then write about the others consecutively. So enough blabber! On to the first collection piece!

If you know me at all you know that one of my biggest passions is music, so it's no surprise that I wanted to start collecting music. There are so many ways of listening to music but only one seems "romantic"...vinyl records. Listening to a vinyl record is personal, you can see how the music is being delivered to your ears and that makes the music special. Watching a needle fit perfectly in the grooves as the record spins is enough to make my heart melt. To me, it's the most personal listening experience. Quality of sound may not be the best, but I tend to like flaws so it works for me.

I started collecting vinyl about three years ago now. I don't have an abundance of vinyl, but my collection has certainly grown. I only go searching for records once in a blue moon when I feel like I need a pick me up or I'm in the mood for a thrift store adventure. I now own two record players and probably about thirty records. I started out only wanting vintage vinyl records. I felt that the only way to listen to older music was through a needle and turntable. It wasn't until recently when a friend saw my collection and wanted to start collecting himself that I started collecting new music on vinyl. I thought it was interesting that he wanted new music on vinyl, the thought had never even occurred to me. Then him and his girlfriend invited me over for a night of beers, pot and jeopardy and we listened to some more recent albums on his new record player and I was sold. I needed to start giving new music the chance to dance on my turntable. The cool bonus about new music on vinyl is that the artwork is usually pretty fantastic and most of the newer albums come with a digital download code or a CD so you can put the record on your computer and mp3 player.



Some of the vinyl I have is scratched or ruined in some way, but I'm hoping one day to be able to afford a real cleaning machine that sucks all the dirt and grossness out of the records grooves. My birthday is coming up so if anybody is looking to get me something, one of those would complete me. ;)

The Lost Disease

This weeks episode of Lost was filled was so much cheese that I was left with indigestion. Ok, so maybe it was half the bag of chips I ate while watching, but I thought the episode was a little off at first. I could care less about Sawyer and Juliet. I don't buy that they were ever in love. Sawyer and Kate obviously have a strong connection and the same goes for Juliet and Jack. I don't want to see or hear anything else about Sawyer and Juliet or even Jack and Kate for that matter. The whole thing put me in a bad mood. Let's get over it.

The episode didn't start getting interesting till Sayid was being tortured as part of a test which he failed. I'm not sure what kind of test they were performing. Are they looking for Jacob? Are they looking for the smoke monster? Are they looking for the dark man? Why are the trying to poison Sayid? What is this dust that keeps being shown? It was used as protection around their building in the season premiere then as a charge to shock Sayid. What is it and it's significance? And why burn/brand Sayid? Did the burning of his flesh have anything to do with the dust? They burned him right in top of the dust. They say he is infected, but I'm so confused.

And on a quick side note, they seem to know all just like the Others. Toga said "never did have a sense of humor" about Jack. What the hell was that all about?

But anyways, I digress, this infection is said to be a darkness that enters the body and once it reaches the heart the infected person is gone. And to add in that final shock (no pun intended) we're told that it happened to Claire. Finally we're starting to understand where the fuck Claire has been! Was she infected by Ethan or was he trying to help her?

Another side note: Ethan is claire's doctor in LA?! It sounds to me like there is a fate/destiny theme running here. Ethan is meant to be Claire's doctor, Kate (why does her alias "Joan Heart" sound so familiar?) is meant to have a connection with Claire and Aaron. Sometimes no matter what happens, if it's supposed to happen...it will.

Sorry about that, back to Claire and the infection. So Claire was somehow infected....was/is she a smoke monster? Is there more than one smoke monster? When we last saw her in the cabin with her father, Christian, was he the dark man? Or was he Jacob? Did that have anything to do with her being infected? What exactly convinced her to abandon Aaron in the middle of the night? And then Jin sees her alive in the jungle. So what exactly does "gone" mean? Physically? Spiritually? Mentally?

One thing is clear, I'm definitely infected with an obsession for Lost. :)

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Lost Season 6: The Beginning to the End

The end of Lost has begun and it already answered a huge question! I've been curious as to what was going to happen after the bomb went off. I was hoping that things wouldn't go back to being normal, how boring! I've been saying that the only way to answer everything is for the group to end up in the civilization that built the structures and statue on the island and it looks like that's what's happening. I'm still a little confused on how everyone is on the plane and lands safely at LAX.

At first I was so disappointed that they were back on the plane and it didn't crash. Then we went on a cheesy ride under water and saw the island in almost it's entirety, which even though the special effects were a little under par, I thought was awesome. I forgot about the submarine! My mind was instantly blown. What the hell is going on here? When are we?!

Time is being manipulated somehow if the island is under water and the group is on the plane and back in time on the island at the same time. Are these people carbon copies? And why was Desmond on the plane? I found that a little wierd. It makes sense that it was a fresh start for everyone, but why put Desmond on the plane? What happened to Jack's father? Was he ever on the plane? Was he ever really dead? Does it have to do with the dark man taking over his body? And the bomb didn't seem to effect the survivors of the crash in "present" time...how come?

I started thinking that everyone on the plane was just a seperate story line of what would have happened if the plane never crashed, but then Juliet told Sawyer, "It worked." So are there two versions of everyone? How is this happening? Why create a whole other world? Why are they still on the island? I'm interested to see how this comes together.

While there were more questions added to the list, there was one question answered. We finally found out who the smoke monster is and it was a total DUH moment. Of course! It only makes sense that the dark man is the smoke monster. Obviously the island is spiritual and the dark man is significant to the island. I love that the smoke monster is this mystery man! It makes everything that has happened with the smoke monster so interesting. I wonder what he showed John? He knew what he was doing and knew John was an easy target to use as his pawn. John's life was pretty much not worth living before the plane crash and this mystery man changed everything for him. I guess we could argue which held more significance in changing John's life...the plane crash or the smoke monster, but I think the smoke monster is responsible for John's attitude and accomplishments. Knowing John's story, his time on the island was easily the best experience of his life. The island was keeping him alive and now it makes sense why he had to die to save the island. This dark man needed a body and John was the perfect candidate.

And I finally understand why Richard never aged! Well sorta, we don't know how Jacob, the dark man and Richard never age but they obviously are somehow associated together. Are they all spiritual beings? Well now that Richard is most likely dead we may never know what he was capable of, but it's been made clear numerous times that the island has healing powers.

Which bring us to the temple, could the healing water at the temple be like a fountain of youth? The scene where Sayid was trying to be saved seemed so religious-like. Besides the obvious "holy water", when they carried Sayid's lifeless body out of the water it looked like they were carrying Jesus. Was it intentional? Maybe. I'm just glad that whatever happened in that water worked. I love Sayid! And he summed it up best, "What happened?"

So if the people on the plane that landed in LAX are in some sort of bizzaro opposite world, what happens next? Kate escapes but now has Claire with her. Hugo is the luckiest man alive. What's going to happen to Jin and Sun? What about poor Charlie? Will Rose die? Is Desmond with Penny? Jack lost his father (who cares). Is Sawyer still a con man? Where is Juliet? Will these characters even recognize anybody? What about Jacob? Even though the writers threw us a bone with answering the smoke monster question, they left us with even more questions. I can't wait for next week!

Note: In the middle of writing this blog a friend made a pretty good prediction of Sayid not being Sayid at all but instead being Jacob. I think she's right! It makes sense! They weren't trying to save Sayid, they were trying to save Jacob!

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