p e n g u i n d e v i l

All these articles about the future of our fair city. Well, let me tell you, I don’t like it. Our grand last mayors 12 year drive to build up a huge fancy hip reputation at the expense of the people? I dunno, maybe she was thinking that a big enough facade would attract people and business that would fill that facade in. Well, I think it’s just too expensive for our own good. This parade of dumb ideas… Extending the light rail down the bus mall seems the dumbest yet. What? The parallel train a few blocks away and the dozens of buses that ply those same streets all day long aren’t enough? How does spending god knows how many hundreds of millions of dollars to put in these tracks when every year they talk about cuts to schools and police and fire… yeah, I’m sure that it’s all “different budgets” so that the money “can’t be used for other purposes”. Regardless. It seems as dumb as “covering the freeways” and short sighted. Anyway, Portland. yeah, where counter culture has gone from being the opposing culutre to the culture on the other side of the counter.

But I’m also ticked off by the FDA’s lock on the “plan B” pill. Sure, it’s not the most pleasant concept, but it’s a million times better than people being stuck with unwanted pregnancies or abortions. Denying them to rape victims on religious grounds? Well, bringing unwanted children of children into the world or leading someone to go for traumatic surgical procedures due to activities that were either mistakes or, worse yet, forced upon them, seems to lack a certain sense of compassion. Why does the Bush Administration keep skipping the page about the separation of Church and State? Damn that 60 minutes, always bringing up this terrible stuff…

Anyway. Yeah, now y’all have to pay with a rant before I continue on… Hopefully, I’ll have a more intesting selection of movie for next time but for now?

I feel like I must be missing something.. It’s been a week!

Anyway, Spellbound. Well, not to continue harping on this subject but… It was fine. It had some stuff that I liked a lot and Criterion did a really good job with it, but it just didn’t really do it for me like I would have hoped. I know, I shouldn’t keep complaining about Hitchcock movies but man, his good ones are soo good… The “dark lines on white” trigger I didn’t really buy… Not just because it seemed a bit all encompassing, but considering the situation wherein it had its roots… It just didn’t seem like it would leave quite that powerful an impression. This movie just didn’t really leave much of an impression.

A Very Long Engagement though, I did like quite a bit. Ths Jeunet fellow, well, I am pretty non-plussed by Alien IV (not as bad as, gaahhh, AVP, but dumb nonetheless) but Delicatessen is one of the finest films I’ve seen and Amelie is tremendously well made, quite very picturesque and entertaining (yes, I do need to see City of Lost Children again. I just didn’t get into it, it must be better then I recall). Anyway, not knowing what to expect; either a dry Lit movie or a silly chickflick, A Very Long Engagement was really quite good. I may need to add it to my wishlist. Very Jeunet: same actors, same style, same quality… I found it very engaging and interesting and, though some of the plot connections seemed very far-fetched (yeah, Amelie, but still) it seems quite forgivable with the overal quality of the movie.

As an aside. I started, for I think the third time, Demons of the Mind. I just can’t do it. I have a healthy atttraction to Hammer, as I imagine everyone out there does… And while I am very fond of some of their more fringe works like Lost Continent, this boring gothic flick just doesn’t do it. All I can say is that I don’t recommend it to anyone except maybe the Patrick Magee completest.

Now then, last night? Of course, out here first run theaters are dominated by the evil wal-theater chains of bloated prices, fake customer service, and that strange color scheme that makes you scream. I was shocked to realize that one of the few remaining classic theaters in town is not only not part of a chain but also a first run theater and one that prices its tickets well below the chains! Regal and Century and stadium seating be damned! Off we go to the Moreland Theater from now on. It’s a beautiful old theater: awesome interior style, velvet curtains between the lobby and the seating area? Awesome! But anyway, they are playing Walk the Line so I went to check that out. Quite good, I liked it a lot. Though I have a long fixation on John, it was a bit odd to see him portrayed as a pop-star. Yes, I know that he was but I always think of him as being a bit more off the beaten path then that. The Phoenix guy did a good job. I didn’t think that he seemed to be imitating John really, but he did really good with the singing and the part. The lead girl, well, I don’t really like her and she makes me nervous to look at, but she did a good job, especially with the singing. I actually really liked Robert Patrick. Kind of funny because I’ve never really liked him. He generally seems bland and I am disturbed by all of those Fox-free X-Files seasons, but he struck some kind of nerve with me in this film. Highly recommended.

And then, just now, we watched Last House on the Left. As the jaded young-un that I am, it didn’t’ seem quite as shocking as I had expected. It also wasn’t quite what I was expecting, I was thinking it would be a more a cross of the Hills Have Eyes and Chainsaw… But once the first half hour was done, it was pretty fun. I couldn’t watch the teeth scene and the death of Mari took me by surprise, but the soundtrack was great and I’ve got to respect a film for doing all those sorts of things back in 72.

Man and also, did I mention how the region free player is dying? I blame it on the fact the 2 years ago, on the day I got it, I was rear-ended with it in the trunk. Hopefully, after the holidays, I’ll be able to get the bucks together to pick one up, maybe one like this fine little Malata…

Anyway, drinking too much beer and listening to too much Deichkind and these posts are maybe getting too long…