3-Day Weekend!

Yesss, it looks as though I'm finally finished with everything I have to do before this glorious Memorial Day Weekend and what a relief it is! Just a week away from finals and summer, and I can spend the rest of my summer days at work before heading to the Land of the Rising Sun in August. Get hype!

And now, before I link you to music that you won't click on, here's What's In, What's Out, and finally What Should Make A Comeback!

[What's In]

That's right! If you guessed MUSIC FESTIVALS, specifically SASQUATCH, you'd be correct! This weekend is the legendary (kind of... ok not really) music festival somewhere in the mysterious, feral land of Washington where indie bands, sometimes hip-hop music, and others come to strut their stuff on stage for you. Woodstock was so last movement.

(See also: Doing drugs so you don't notice how bad that indie band you've never heard of is, hipsters, Public Enemy, getting muddy)

[What's Out]

You're getting the hang of it now! That's right, having a bad haircut is currently out. Or rather, I wish it was. No disrespect to lesbians here, it seems no specific group is just getting their haircut poorly but mostly everyone! Honestly, if you want to look like complete shit in order to "be ironic" then, let's be honest, you've been What's Out status since birth. If you're doing it because the people you smoke cigarettes and drink $5 cups of coffee with started to do it, you might be a twat.

Alternatively, for an example of good haircuts and good music, go visit Alec over at A-Ton or Sam at DoubleFine.

[What's Should Make a Comeback]

That's goddamn for sure, these little scooters were not only super convenient if you like getting places slowly, they were SO TRENDY back in elementary school. I clearly remember oo's and aw's at videos of some supernerd riding around a Razor scooter in a skatepark, the degenerate skateboarders (for that is the only type) pointing and laughing as this little child spun his little pushride around. If you're listening, marketing gods, it's not too late for the RZRSCTR to make a sweet new-age comeback. It's easy, really, get Gucci Mane to write a song about it and then you'll have adults buying it (but let's face it, if you like Gucci Mane, you probably have the brain capacity of an elementary schooler).

Good night and good luck,

Gutter Trash

CURVEBALL

Bet you didn't know it was going in a completely different, incredibly amazing direction.

Film Update - Playground, Wendy & Lucy + Moar!

Hi! Since I can't seem to find any new music that I'm really liking, I'll just write up the film update that's long overdue. Sit back, relax, and get ready to read some incorrect opinions.

Playground (dir. Libby Spears)

"While traveling to the Philippines in 2001, filmmaker Libby Spears gained first hand knowledge of the horrific practice of trafficking human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation..." This film is about prostitution in the United States, and often about the Northwest (where I live lolz).

A friend of mine came home for her summer vacation for a week before she heads off on her Asian tour of countries where this trafficking takes place (along with the rest of her group from Not For Sale), calling me up to go check it out. I grabbed some sushi+steamed vegetable over at Miso and headed over. The turn out was really good! All the people filled the lecture hall, and we ended up sitting in the very front row (which wasn't so bad, luckily).

The film itself is... heavy stuff. The statistics about child slaves in the United States makes me never want to have kids. Shit is so scary. Beyond that, the film is pretty good, although it takes some odd breaks to showcase animations set to indie music that sounds like it would've worked in a flick like Juno. Could've been left out for keeping everything moving.

I give Playground

Don't take your little child to the mall. EVER./10

Wendy & Lucy (2008, Kelly Reichardt)

Short Review: Film about woman with bad haircut making bad decisions with money. Is good.

Longer Review:

Wendy & Lucy is probably one of my first tastes of Neo-Neo-Realism (dumbest name for a genre. ever. stop that shit.) and it didn't disappoint. We believe the strong relationship between Michelle Williams and this loveable mutt Lucy who is just super cute. Wendy, as a character, is very... different. The northwest setting fits the character, who seems like just the kind of free-spirit, slightly odd people that fill the streets of my city. She, like them, is also pretty horrible with money (lol I could take the bus, but instead let me take a cab), but that's not the film's fault and certainly doesn't detract.

It's shot wonderfully, the acting is on point, and the writing is solid. If you can stomach a slower-paced film (which you should, by now, like an adult.) then you owe it to yourself to check this out. Get ready to cry if you're a dog person though, as I think this will twang on your heart strings judging by my wacky GTF's reaction to the film in our discussion period.

I give Wendy & Lucy
So is this like Marley & Me?/10

(P.S. Umberto D.)

Ip Man (2008, dir. Wilson Yip)

Ip Man (pronounced Eep Mon) is a fictional/sort of nonfictional depiction of the life of Ip Man, a reknowned practicioner of Wing Chun fighting and a mentor to Bruce Lee. The film picks up during the Japanese invasion of China (those jerks!) and the Man (or is it Ip?) family falls into poverty. There's a lot of drama and *gasp* the story here is actually really solid.\

The beauty of the environments the characters inhabit is only rival to the exquisite fight choreography featured in Ip Man, making this a film you simply cannot miss. I've always had a little soft spot for kung fu films because I'm a chronic fighting game player and listened to a lot of Wu Tang Clan in high school, but this is by far the best kung fu film I've seen in a long. time. I don't want to say too much, but the best fights = Ip Man vs. 10 Japanese Karate Black Belts and Ip Man vs. Bandit/Outlaw in Ip's home.

I give Ip Man

Mom says try not to break anything/10

Cruel Story of Youth (1960, dir. Nagisa Oshima)

Following last week's viewing of Giants and Toys in my Japanese Cinema Class, we saw this flick yesterday and again I was very impressed with the characters, writing, and direction of this depressing tale. The leads are young and careless, exhibiting a kind of Breathless-esque disregard for the consequences, instead only worrying about instant gratification whether it be running a racket, drinking, or sleeping with one another on a bunch of floating logs (ooh, splinters!).

Coen Brothers beware, Oshima seems to also enjoy making things for his characters increasingly dismal until the final climax (not gonna spoil nuffin). Oddly, some silly weeaboos in my class thought the way the film ended was hilarious when it was clearly anything but and was the closest I've ever come to yelling at someone in public. Should've. Anyway, see this if you're into Neo-Realism, Breathless, or good movies.

I give Cruel Stories of Youth

Who needs melodrama, anyway?/10

[Mini Reviews]

Indian In The Cupboard - Omri is a weird name. Seriously. Also, if you can make Darth Vader come alive, don't settle on a silly Native American. Make some Star Wars characters come alive, and have them fight your Star Trek toys in order to settle the nerd debate./10

Grease - Back when Travolta was actually sexy (you know, if I was into guys). 30-year-olds playing high school students preoccupied with smoking and racing, singing, pregnancy/10

Now if you'll excuse me, I have important things to do like play Red Dead Redemption or pretend I'm working on my screenplay,

Gutter Trash

A Peek Into Gutter Trash's Past?!

What?! I know, right? I'm sitting here registering for classes and reflecting on how long exactly I've been in school. Feels like my entire life (and nearly is) but honestly, learning is a wonderful thing. Some people may be quick to dismiss school as wack but think about it this way; we're forever learning. Whether it's looking up the best possible combos I can do in Street Fighter or the production of a film, I'm always learning and expanding my knowledge, so I'm growing to enjoy school more.

Kinda sappy, I know. Just feeling nostalgic, so I googled myself and found this gem. Here's my favorite little parts, in case you ain't clicking.

"How did you get into online gaming?

My buddy got a console, and then I liked it so much I bought the same console and then moved into some PC gaming."

(I love how articulate I am. Giant run-on sentence answer = epic)

"Problems associated with gaming such as funding, server difficulties?

Having to pay 15 a month for games. I hate that. I'm paying for internet and I bought the game, don't make me pay monthly too!"

(My roughly-3 year time spent playing stupid games like WoW would like to have a word with my 15 year old self.)

Sorta strange how different I was back then.

Yours, forever in love,

Gutter Trash

"James Jarvis vs. Stussy 2010 Spring" Looking Extra Fresh!

(Foto from Hypebeast)

Now, I wasn't really feeling some of these artist collabs but this one caught my eye. Make sure you hit the link to read the full story over at Hypebeast. They've also got an interesting Bape collab dubbed Brotherhood which shows promise since it's not... allover print shit like they usually do.

Payce,

GT

East Coast Throwdown 2 Wraps

So a very large East Coast fighting game tournament has finally finished up with a anticlimactic Grand Finals in Super Street Fighter 4 between Justin Wong (the best U.S. Street Fighter player hands down) and FlashMetroid (who used to be a Guilty Gear Player). FlashM was pretty goddamn free for JWong, which was a bit odd considering how well Flash usually performs. In any case, JWong swept the Grand Finals (best of 7 games) with what seemed like little to no effort. No disrespect to Flash or anything, but

You gonna go out like that?

The surprise of the tournament, and what really kept me from starting up my homework until 9 PM tonight was a Fei Long player named Inthul who not only plays on a PS3 controller (instead of the standard arcade stick) but knocked out heavy weights Arturo Sanchez and Sanford Kelly, both extremely strong players in their own right. Inthul's shenanigans and exceedingly excellent performance made everyone at the venue go nuts and all the trolls in the LiveStream chat go crazy. I mean, look how many people decided they wanted to play fei long after witnessing wonderful Bruce Lee tactics:

(props to JammyBoo over at SRK for the funny ass pic).

All in all, just makes me remember I need to work on my execution with my Dudley to show those Seattle fucks whatfor once I get up there.

Quicky-post stylings brought to you by:

Gutter Trash

Summer, Japan, Music. All in One!

Boy, oh boy, it's been a while, hasn't it? Sorry about that, my devoted readers, I know you've been hankering for more gutterTrash but I haven't been coming through for you and for that, I am truly sorry. Let's delve right in;

First, let me address my Summer plans! I know, so exciting right? Well, following the lead of a friend Josh, I've gone ahead and written down my Summer goals and printed them out to bee seen every day.

(The write every day doesn't refer to this blog, but one of the 4 or 5 scripts/novels I seem to start and then never finish)

What are your Summer plans, readers? Got any good tips on places in Japan?

[Games]

What can I say? I kinda stopped playing Black & White for now. It's still a lot of fun but, really, I've never been much of a singleplayer guy. That being said, I just swooped:

for $10 at CD/Game Exchange (what a steal) along with some DVDs. My buddy Theo is still borrowing my Xbox and shit, so I haven't cracked it open yet but I'm awaiting it with anticipation.

Beyond that, I'm still getting my ass handed to me on the daily in Starcraft 2. I try and look up strategies, watch streams and stuff, but really nothing is helping me out. I think I might just play with friends and wait for the full release when I can play Used Map Settings and get into crazy community-created content. Always fun.

Speaking of Community-Created Content, ModNation Racers is dropping now on the PS3 and I'm extra hype about it. Only trouble is, it's kinda this or Red Dead Redemption which I know my friends have vs. playing a sweet, community-supported video game I know I'd really enjoy... but have to play alone or with strangers. Whatchu finkin'?

[Music]

DubStep tempts me. I know I'm really into regular techno/dance/house shit as usual, but there a some really heavy tracks I've been feeling recently. They are embedded below, so check'em even if you aren't really into this genre.

Maybe the vocals here help me to get into it, since it sort of has the feel of trance/house and yet amazingly hard dubstep drops. Def. a gem.

The original Bonkers is a great track, Dizzee has one of those voices and rap styles that seems to blend with electronica really well, so I guess it was only a matter of time before a wicked sick dub remix dropped, and dropped it has. This is fire, if not a bit abstract for my tastes.

It seems like a lot of blogs these days love to just update constantly with a picture and a sentence, so maybe I'll switch into writing shorter (read: not tl;dr's) posts more often instead. You know, since so many people crave GT.

As always, the lovable, huggable,

Gutter Trash

Moving Out Delayin' My Postin'

Sup sluts.

Finally managed to move all of my crap out of the duplex and I'm currently on my setup at home, in the basement. What's cliche about living in your parents basement? Nothing, shut up, don't be a jerk. I just thought I needed to update since my last one was a week ago.

[Heads out to lunch with Dad/Sister combo]

The Currents:

Currently Reading:

Shit is so cash right now. I've devoured over 500 pages of this 700-page book in record time and I think it's due to the writing style. It moves fast, things happen quickly, and you can easily lose track of time. I'm def. falling victim to the "Just one more page" reading disease that keeps me staying up way past beddy-bye time.

Currently Listening:

Alec over at A-Ton linked me to a La Mode remix of P-Diddy's "Bad Boys For Life" and it's ridiculously heavy... so I'm trying to explore things like it. This is alright, though whatever song is playing now has shit vocals.

Currently Watching:

Gotta catch up on the newer episodes. The fact that this has to be on a network like Starz and not on regular tv makes me all sad.

+

(hopefully, if I can convince some people to watch it with me.)

Currently Playing:

Black & White is so, so, so, so cash and I'm currently patching up SC2 Beta to kick some ass in a little while. Good Sunday is so good.

Filmage:

Ugetsu (1953, dir. Mizoguchi)

(Copied over from my posting for my Intro to Japanese Cinema course)

Ugetsu (1953, dir. Kenji Mizoguchi) follows two money-crazed farmers during the 16th century (qualifying this film as Jidaigeki, perhaps) as they seek fortune through pottery production while their wives look on in dismay. Initially, we could assume that the male characters' actions are negatively affecting the women and children of their families and that would be correct. They continuously endanger their families thanks to their huge desire to obtain as much money as they can, perfectly seen when an opposing faction invades their village, and the two men risk capture in order to check on their pots still baking in the kiln.

However, Ugetsu doesn't just follow the traditional melodrama format when it comes to gender. Perhaps the women have been victimized at the beginning (culminating in the slaying of Miyagi, Genjuro's wife) yet when Genjuro and his farmer buddy Tobei make it to a large town and sell their wares, Genjuro becomes enchanted by the ghost of a young wealthy woman. Perhaps, in this way, Mizoguchi desired to depict the females' (and in this way, also Japan's) revenge upon those who had for so long victimized them. She traps this man, not physically, but with her beauty and wealth, thereby victimizing him instead of the other way around!

Ugetsu is one of those films that I certainly wouldn't have seen without being assigned it in a class, as it doesn't really go with my typical tastes. However, it quickly grew on me as the camera work here is really interesting (the final shot where Genjuro returns home to an empty house which then suddenly fills), and the story has a kind of nostalgic nature to it being a folk tale. If it were to have been intended for American audiences, some of the scenes could have been trimmed but it's quite enjoyable. I also enjoyed how this style of Jidaigeki was not interested in Samurai (though Tobei was), but instead the poorer more common folk that you otherwise wouldn't see in other more popular films.

To add to this shitty assignment, I'd like to say that Japanese women back in the 50's were so. not. attractive. Or, if they were, someone wasn't casting them in these movies. Goddamn. GODDAMN. This enchanting ghost that Genjuro (the main character) falls for had me going:

upon viewing her. No thanks!

I give it:

Ghosts Gone Wild/10

Stranger Than Paradise (1984, dir. Jarmusch)

This film makes me realize I should really revisit Mean Streets. The interesting parts of this film come from how Jarmusch strings together each short vignette, each one different and interesting. I enjoyed the Hungarian-ness of two of the characters, and Willie's american companion Eddie is a lot of fun in the way that you might enjoy a Scorsese character.

I will say that sometimes the dialog, or perhaps just the delivery, felt pretty amateurish and forced. Did it pull me out of the story? Yeah, a couple of times, but I grew to like these people and the atmosphere so much that I was willing to overlook the goofy performance from these non-actors. This semester's History of Film class has really tested my patience with film length and pace, and I think now I'm finally coming around to the idea+my attention span is increasing. To really enjoy this film, you need to go into it with the mindset that it takes its time with things, and really, it makes the product much better.

I give it:

You come to some place new and everything looks the same/10

As always, your favorite,

GT

Mother's Day, Another Day

GT here doing a little post while I put together my mother's gift for this celebration of all the mommies all over the world. When I think about how much both of my parents have influenced and raised me to be the person I am today, I am truly grateful for it all. At the same time, it's kinda sad that it took a hallmark-esque holiday to remind me of this fact. Must make a mental note to spend more time with the rents. Love you, Mom.

That being said, movie talk time!

Iron-Man 2 (2010, dir. John Favreau)

Caught this with the girlfriend on Saturday and I'd just like to say that I had a lot of fun. The 2 hour-long film seemed to progress at a steady clip and the story wasn't absolutely awful or anything, so in all, I'm going to go ahead and say that this is a succesful comic book film (as we all know how bad ones can turn out.).

Robert Downey Jr. captures the Tony Stark us comic book readers know and love so well here, combining a performance that'll not only satisfy the fans of the source material but also draw just average movie-goers in with his narcissistic charm that you can't help but feel is awesome (unless you're looking to find things wrong, then you might get all pissy about how he's an "ass"). Pepper Pots was fine, played the way that worked and... well... it's not much to write home about but that's the way it should be. Don Cheadle as Col. Rhodes (stepping in for Terrence Howard due to some falling out with the studio, I guess) works and is fun, and he stands opposite Stark's character well enough that the pair is believable as an unlikely duo.

However, Nick Fury (as played by Samuel L. Jackson) was a disappointment for me. The guy is awesome, as is the actor who portrays him here but jesus... Come on Jackson, don't be so stiff. I know he's only in this film as a way to tease the audience about the upcoming Avengers flick (2012 release I think?) but that doesn't mean you can just sleepwalk through your lines. Similarly, I would've liked them to use Black Widow's character (as played by Scarlet Johansson) more than just the fight scene with nameless henchman (which, though kind of tacked on, was bomb).

The effects are, as should be, really stunning though they really have to be in a world of post-Avatar big budget cinema productions but the final fight between IronMan+WarMachine vs. Ivan Vanko was over almost instantly. Seriously, guys, you build up to this moment all film and then what, run out of money or something? Let's fight the main badguy for 15 seconds! woo.

I give Iron Man 2:

I have this thing about people handing me stuff/10

Shijie (2004, dir. Zhang Ke Jia)

I posted over at Filmspotting that I really didn't enjoy the Herzog film Aguirre: Wrath of God due to its slow pace, lack of character development, and uninteresting writing with special emphasis at how many useless scenes there were in it. Obviously, the crew over there shunned me further (after I expressed my dislike of High Fidelity) and so I don't think I'll go round there anymore, but let me get back on track. Shijie has some of the longest takes I've ever seen in a movie, and it needs to be praised for this. Think about the acting skill that it takes to continuously stay in character for minutes on end while the camera rolls by; tough shit. I really appreciated the art here, an almost direct contradiction to the way I evaluated Aguirre (which I still think isn't that good) but that's fine. Maybe it's the setting? A park in China that recreates world monuments at roughly a 3rd the size (it actually exists!) is the perfect location for the story.

It also helps all of our "main" characters express their sense of being trapped, heck, one of 'em even says they've never met anyone who has been on a plane. The characters are, oddly, distant from us due to a lot of medium or long shots with very few shot/reverse or close up techniques but we still get the feeling that we know who these people are and that's.. nice. It's a hard watch, don't get me wrong, there are scenes in there that maybe are thrown in just to bore us/challenge us and the pacing of foreign films always tends to be slower so I have to work a little bit more but I think it was probably worth it.

I give Shijie:

Are we dead?/10

Quick ratings cuz I can't really type it up!

Notting Hill - Delightful roommate and supporting cast means this is a hard romcom to beat/10

Father of the Bride - Try really hard to not realize that this could easily be me+has B.D. Wong/10

Fiction Friday is Better Than Yo Momma's Flapjacks

I swear! Just an excerpt cuz I don't want you stealin' mah excellent works, yadadaimean? I'm working on a prose/interview compilation as sort of a companion for a short film I wrote last year. So, in any case, here's a little taste until I finish up something I'm fully satisfied with/trick someone into publishing.

"Following text transcribed from audio interview and accopanying notes found on the body of Peter Shearer on 5/6/2015. Specific section marked: R-1-Mary Lou.

...Mary Lou: I'm sure I eventually just passed out, though I don't really remember falling asleep. All of a sudden, I was back in Astoria, back in front of the house where we used to live except now the place was crawling with all these soldiers. Our house was never big, one of those rundown places with the white paint peeling and the porch that had trick boards of wood you could put your foot through just by walking on 'em, but for some reason it looked like there were over 50 Marines moving in and around our crib. One guy comes out, he says to me;

"Come on, Edwards, you were supposed to be at the humvee 10 minutes ago. Get your ass over there right now or someone'll get pissed."

I give him a nod of thanks and start making my way up the road towards the Henderson's old place that was on this gradual kinda hill. When I say I started making my way up there, it wasn't like I was choosing, the dream was just moving me in that direction. Instead of the townsfolk I remember when I was a girl, there are all these Afghani people wearing chadori's and kameez's, really traditional stuff, and they're all looking at me. Some of the kids are making faces or throwing trash from the gutters at me, while there's a steady swarm of children bumping into me with their hands out like they want something. But when I reach in my pockets, I've got no candy. Hell, I don't even have my weapon.

Then all of a sudden, like they had some kind of hive mind, all of the people in the street move away. Like these rats, they all scurry into shelter or alleyways inbetween houses. The street looks normal, all the trees and everything the way I remember. All very green, like Oregon is. Someone comes towards me in the distance and I instantly know who it is.

My mom is wearing her uniform from the diner, the typical waitress outfit, only this isn't the Mom I remember back when I was 20. This is the woman I saw in what little photos she kept around the house, the younger her, still beautiful and full of life. When she gets closer, she smiles this big "Long time no see" smile at me and I just want to cry, just want to apologize to her for causing so much shit when I was a kid. When she gets really close, like we're sitting now distance, I try and choke out a sentence over the tears that are streaming down my face but before I can she puts a finger to my lips and take my hands.

"Mary Lou," she says to me, "I know already, and it's ok. You've already done enough, sweetheart, please don't dwell on it." This makes me feel better and I want to hug her, but she holds me away. Taking my right hand, Mom moves it to her belly...

[Mary Lou, the one sitting in the chair accross from me, moves her own hand to her stomach while still keeping her stare directed at her boots.]

...like a pregnant lady does when she wants you to feel her baby kick, right? Only Mom isn't pregnant with a child. What I feel when she presses my fingers against her is something hard and metallic, with a panel in the front and parts all around. Like a belt. Only I know what this is, and I look at her, my stomach lurches the way it does on patrol when shit starts going down.

She just smiles again, and detonates...."

(end)

If you've made it to here, you're a champ.

Probably doing some film reviewing tomorrow, so look out for that. Yours forever,

GT

Tuesday Means Another Update [Sometimes]

Hit enter too quickly, and it posted as blank! Sick!

I figure since, you know, my loyal readers are expecting daily updates... that I owe y'all some kinda post! No seriously, it's ok, feel free to let out that sigh of relief and gratitude. You're welcome.

[Musicality]

First order of business, if you liked DJ AM and Travis Barker teaming up to put out something I've been spinning more or less non-stop since I got it (Fix Your Face), then you owe it to yourself and especially me to take a look at this dude:

DJ Homicide

Currently bumping: http://www.box.net/shared/u4408xjsra

http://www.skamartist.com/artists.php?aid=4

He's got a similar kinda style that I've come to really enjoy after I explored some DJ mixes once DJ Hero got me hooked on the style. Be warned, it sounds pretty clubby, but that's ok. We've all gotta step out of our better-than-thou musical attitudes to just dance and have a good time sometimes. Just balance this out with some 112 or Blackstreet and you'll be right as rain.

[Televisionary]
Dinner time tonight was spent catching up on the past two episodes of The Office since I always forget to tune in on the actual days. Save me from the "Omg the Brits did it better" comments you won't be leaving, as I already know that but whatever. I marathon'd all of the previous seasons a while ago, so I need to convince myself that it wasn't a huge waste of time.

(The specific Episodes watched were: Ep. 622: Secretary's Day+Ep. 623: Body Language.)

Let's be honest people, this show is about relationships. It's a romantic comedy. Fuck you, pay me. This shit is unavoidable. So Pam and Jim got married, had their baby, and came back to work giving the show's writers a huge wtfdowedonowohshit moment that they solved by bringing in another chick for Michael to somehow charm his way into. Can't just write about comedy? Nope. The romantic aspects probably earn the show's main demographic when it comes to primetime telly, so we're stuck. That being said, there were enough laughs and awkward/uncomfortable moments to keep me happy so time... not wasted! w00t

[Filmaphobia]

Since last update, I've checked out two flicks. Short reviews below!

Sherlock Holmes (dir. Guy Ritchie, 2009)

How's that for a big ass movie poster image? aww yeah. I grew up with my Dad being a massive fan of all Sherlock Holmes canon, so I've always held the character in high regard. That being said, I never actually really watched or read much in the way of his media aside from Young Sherlock Holmes which scared the shit out of me as a kid. So, I was kinda anti-Holmes for a while.

Setting aside my childhood terrors, I rented the Blu-Ray and jumped in seated next to my tired but good-sport girlfriend. I must confess that Guy Ritchie is amazing. If you disagree, you're wrong, he trumps subjectivity so get with the program. His directing here seems fine, I had no real beefs with how the film moved along, was shot, or was edited. Not that that's a good thing, but being a standard big-budget flick isn't necessarily a negative either.

Then again, there were naughty issues I take with the script. Think about it, no disrespect to Rachel McAdams, but those lines were delivered shitty. Sounded like she wanted to be British too, but couldn't make the accent quite work. I'm not sure whether the writing was iffy or her delivery sucked whale weiner, but either way I kinda cringed when she was around. Eye-candy aspects aside, she got her shit together as it moved along and was fine towards the end. At the same time, I liked the plot. Knowing enough about Holmes stories to not believe that what the villain was doing here was actually black magic, I eagerly awaited Holmes' breakdown of how the criminal committed each act and it certainly didn't disappointed.

At the same time, Jude Law isn't Watson. Shut up, he isn't. At least he had the limp, and though I enjoyed his charming smile and everything, I still don't think he was right for Watson's character.

In conclusion, I'd give Sherlock Holmes a:

He needs to do more cocaine/10

Mother (dir. Mikio Naruse, 1952)

I'm not much for melodrama, but I decided (not really decided, since I was already in class when we started it) to sit this one out and see how I felt at the end. Boy, I'm pretty glad I did. I don't like German New Wave Cinema (YEAH I SAID IT), but the slow pacing here was much more interesting than something by Fassbender (YEAH I SAID IT) and for this I was grateful. I'd summarize the film, but just click the link so I don't have to waste space, eh?

The camera work here isn't anything to write home about, but had Naruse got too adventurous it would've completely ruined the atmosphere he was creating so don't even worry about it! Instead, why not enjoy the static shots of small-town Japan in the 1950s in a country devastated by "The Bomb", moving to rebuild as quick as they can. The evidence of the bomb can be seen in very subtle ways throughout, and for that, I praise Naruse whole-heartedly. These are people trying to get by, moving to not forget history but instead work past it rather than rubbing the viewer's face in why these people are going through tough times.

Time in this universe clips along at a sporadic pace. Though we are not given any subtitles or text on the screen as to how much time goes by between each fade in/fade out, we can assume based on how things in the house and family are changing, providing us with changes to look for while we watch the drama unfold. And what a joy it is! These characters are, with the exception of the little nephew, well developed and interesting full characters that we enjoy spending time with and feel the grief when one is lost. I got choked up a couple of times, uncommon when viewing things so old.

I'd rate it a:

Ratings are so new age/10

[End]

On that note, I've got some stencils to cut out. As always, if you made it here- just kidding, no one reads this shit. Stay dignified.

GT

Emergency Double Postage: Party Down Season 2

Yeeeeah buddy.

So as I was settling into a lovely salad with asian sesame dressing, broccoli and pea pods accompanied by a 22 of St. Pauli Girl lager (I know, I know, but it was super cheap) I decided to catch up on Party Down's second season (2 episodes so far). Check the link for the summary/info on the show.

Though the first episode back meant sadness for yours truly due to the unexplained absence of Jane Lynch's character Constance (easily the best part of the first 8 episodes of season 1), it wasn't too bad. One of those creepy brothers that sometimes makes an appearance in Always Sunny in Philadelphia guest-starred as some satanic metal rocker (the easiest genre of anything to parody, as even when these people are serious, they're a fucking joke) who is tired of rocking out and living in the limelight, switching places with Roman the nerdy nerd staffer on the catering crew. Hilarity kind-of ensues as he fails to land some poonani with loads of fans due to his impossible-to-hide creepy side. K, so, neat. The replacement they found for Constance is that actress from Will & Grace, Megan Mullally. She's the one with the super high pitched voice always chipping in with unwanted stories about her ex-husbands or her kid. The problem being? These aren't funny, and it's more just tiresome. Oh yeah, and Henry's love interest Casey shows up again although they've both moved on... big surprise? NAAAH

Episode 2, however, is awesome. It's not just because there's X-Men issue #4 in it, not just because Casey lands a big roll, but because J.K. Simmons comes back to reprise his role as the hard-ass film exec who hates everything and curses like the man I hope to be one day. That's right, boys and girls, this isn't the same Simmons you say playing that caring daddy in Juno. Now, Alec over at A-Ton Lifestyle has always told me that he can't get enough of Will Smith's acting jobs (and who can blame him? The dude does good work), sort of.. a man crush type-a thing. Well, Simmons is one of those for me. The guy played J.J. Jameson for Christ's sake! The minute he rolled back through I was pumped, and he didn't disappoint. Except... there was one thing that really made this episode sad for me:

Now, being a straight male, I understand my friends may make fun of me for being pissed of but WHAT THE FUCK is that hairdo? Seriously? At least try and make her look attractive y'all...

Time for some green tea ice cream and I might just settle into writing a little bit.

CORKSCREW BLOW,

GT

Sunday Night Special

Fucking school nights.

Afternoon/evening, bloggers, it's GT here again with more things to waste your time (and on a Sunday, even!). Quick weekend update... Kicked it off Friday with a lovely dance party over at the Onyx house. It was "future" themed but fuck that, honestly who gets dressed up just to drink and dance anymore? Girls do. That's who, you stinky bastard.

[Pauses to watch iPLAYWINNER TV stream a Super Street Fighter 4 Tournament]

Anyway. Saturday was more low key, started playing some SF, moved onto cleaning before heading out to try and get a FREE COMIC at FREE COMIC DAY. Except, I picked the wrong shop to go to and didn't have time to make it across town to the other. Fuck. Linked up with the Girlfriend afterwards and we enjoyed some delightfully tacky Chinese buffet food (mmm all you can eat Sushi for some reason) and headed home. With no real idea as to what to do with the rest of the night, we relaxed and digested while surfing the channels before we stumbled upon these gems... :

Some of you may remember that hot garbage flick that came out a year or two back entitled "Prom Night." Well, that was a remake of a 1980 film starring Jamie Lee Curtis... and this is the sequel (there are 4 total Prom Night movies) starring... no one. Rather than have a horror film based in reality, this shit's all about supernatural things like ghosts and getting sucked into the chalkboard during detention. Real tight? Yeah, in a cult kinda way. It was way more fun than Pretty In Pink which is garbage anyway.

Speaking of garbage, we started flipping back and forth between PN2 (hell yeah) and

Let's be honest; Jack Black tries way too hard. The film itself is kinda cool in the way that these kids are so musically gifted (if that's actually them playing, which I'm pretty sure it is) but it crashes and burns in the funny department. I think I chuckled once or twice the entire time...

Aaaand I think I should be writing something, or .. working on a script or something. Here's a short list shit to just overload you with things to do.

Websites I should be visiting instead of writing this:

http://haiku-film-reviews.blogspot.com/

http://filmspotting.net/forum/

Movies I want to watch instead of writing this:

And anything else I find in the Foreign section. Mindgame got me interested in checking out anime that isn't just made by Studio Ghibli.

Sunday Jams (Just let it rock):

and for when it's bedtime:

Now, if you don't mind, I have to go re-install Windows 7. Fuck you, Genuine Advantage.

~Gutter-Trash