Ramblings of a Constipated Mind

That was quick. But I don't know how long I'll have, so I'll start with Spider-Man 2 and see how far I get.

The movie was good. However, I don't think it deserves all the hype it's receiving from the critics. I thought it was much more "comic-book-y" than the first one, and this both helps and hurts it. It helps it because hey, it's a superhero movie and that means the audience is willing to accept more outrageous events in the script without thinking they're stupid. However, the whole style of directing at times got on my nerves. Too many shots looked like they were straight out of a comic book, and I for one feel they look a lot better on the printed page. In the film they just look out of place.

Also, the acting was way over-the-top. Alfred Molina (Doc Ock) said that he felt fine working with a bluescreen, but it's obvious that it hurt his acting. This guy is supposedly great in movies like Frida, but I just couldn't get into his character here. Then again, some of the dialogue is really cheesy. I had to keep reminding myself: "It's a comic book movie, it's a comic book movie, it's not real, it's not real, give it a break, give it a break." Tobey Maguire did a decent job, but I felt Kirsten Dunst provided the best performance. She was surprisingly good.

Action-wise, the movie's great. Loved the subway sequence. Though I couldn't help thinking that if Spider-Man's suit ripped any more, he was going to be in a very embarassing situation. Emotion and character-wise, it's a mixed bag. Some scenes really connected with me, others just didn't. The first half honestly wasn't very good at all, but it got better.

I keep reading about how Doc Ock is a terrific villain. Don't believe the newspapers - he's not. Molina's performance wasn't great, and the script just didn't develop him enough. Just because he was kind of a friend to Peter before turning evil, doesn't make him a good villain - I mean, come on, wasn't it like that in the first one? There wasn't enough of a struggle between his "true self" and the machines that were controlling him. People criticized Willem Dafoe in the first one, but I think he made a much greater villain. He was much more sinister, and more developed. The whole split-personality thing was great - that scene with the mirrors is awesome. An internal struggle can really add depth to a villain, and Doc Ock just didn't have that.

Also, what's with the Spider-Man movies and subtle eroticism? We've got the upside-down kiss in the first one (am I the only one who finds that slightly perverse, in a strange sort of way?), and in this one Spider-Man and Mary Jane lie down on a web-bed, with her showing a ton of leg. Perhaps I'm just analyzing it too much from a psycho-sexual point of view.

I'd recommend it to people though. It's very good, for a summer movie. Just kinda overrated by the critics.

I have more to say about the movie experience, but I've got to go now. Adios.

To update tomorrow. Or at least soon.

Two main things I need to talk about:

1) I went to the midnight showing of Spider-Man 2 last night. First screening ever. Oh yeah. I need to post my thoughts on the movie, as well as mention the lesbian couple that sat behind us and the 30 FREAKIN' SECONDS OF MISSING FILM!!! Guess this means I'll be seeing it again...

2) I'm going on a mission trip to Toronto. I found out a few hours ago at a meeting some of the things I'll be doing. It will be...interesting, to say the least. I hope I don't get eaten by fifth graders.

Now I have a written/typed reminder. I WILL talk about these things, either tomorrow or as soon as possible.

I just ate a taco, 2 chalupas, and a chili-cheese burrito from Taco Bell. Plus I drank a really huge Mountain Dew: Code Red. I think I'm going to explode. Someone get ready to catch the pieces. Maybe I should autograph my arm before the event.

Yes, I finally found time to update this. And I'd really like to write thousands of words describing everything I've done so far, but I don't know if I'll have time (I can hear your sighs of relief). Then again...we'll see...*evil grin*

Okay, so let's start from the beginning.

Saturday:

I went to the airport, did all the necessary stuff, said bye, got on the plane. They showed some tv movie called "Baby" on the flight, and that's the first time in recent memory I believe I've refused to watch a movie when I've had the chance. It was kinda like, "Baby? TV movie? Fara Fawcett? I can feel myself getting ready to yawn already."

We were supposed to arrive in Houston at noon. But things didn't exactly go as planned. Firstly, we left about an hour later than we were supposed to because there were problems with the communications equipment that needed to be fixed. I don't think the pilot could communicate with the control tower. But I mean, really, that's just a small problem, right? Surely not big enough to warrant spending an extra hour on the ground! An hour that equates to two hours Houston time...and that was only the first part. Later, the pilot came on the intercome and informed us that due to bad weather, our landing would be delayed by around half an hour to forty-five minutes while we waited it out. I was hoping we would get transferred to New Orleans (Mardi Gras baby!), but alas, it didn't happen.

We landed at 1:20. We got off the plane at least five minutes later. That meant we had five whole minutes to get through the airport. Whoop-de-doo.

It took forever to get our baggage. Our suitcases had been placed in a completely different part of the "baggage-collecting-place". So we got them, then went to Baggage Claim, where we were informed that we had missed our flight (big surprise), and needed to get a new boarding pass. So we stood in another long line, just for a two-minute chat with some people so they could give us new tickets.

Then the fun began. Our new flight wasn't until 7. So we had around 4.5 hours to wait. We were free. The world was our oyster. And things were pretty boring. We ate at McDonald's (no Taco Bell at our terminal - which we had to walk part of the way to...stupid tram). I bought a magazine. And you know, if you read every single word of a magazine, it can take a few hours. The next thing I knew, we were on a plane. Finally. Things went smoothly this time, and we were in Greensboro by around 9 or 9:30. After we said hi to everyone, we went to Krispy Kreme and spent time at the house eating wonderful hot donuts. Yummy. Then I went to sleep. What a day.

Oh, and did I mention that my aunt informed me that our flight had actually left at 2:50? The people who told us we'd missed it were wrong. I don't know if we'd have made it in time anyway, due to all the time wasted waiting for our luggage and the inter-terminal tram, but still. I probably spent 5 hours in the Houston airport for nothing.

One day I'm going to look back on all of this and laugh. Maybe.

Sunday:

I slept until 3. At 4:20 we went to see The Terminal. Stephen Spielberg rules. Loved the suit shot. Tom Hanks was great, as usual. Catherine Zeta-Jones didn't have as major a role as I thought she would. Thankfully, Spielberg kept the romance light and chose instead to focus on what was more important - mainly: "Hey! This guy's forced to live in an airport! And now...uh...funny stuff's gonna happen!" It was pretty funny, and a very good movie. Also, the romance doesn't end in smiles and kisses. Yay! Something realistic! Plus, I personally found the last moment between Hanks and Zeta-Jones to be more touching than a happier outcome would have been. Less is more, people.

I can't really remember what we did after that. Oh yeah, we went to Blockbuster and rented some movies. That night we watched The Rundown with my aunt and my counsin. Now that Pierce Brosnan is married, my aunt has turned to someone new to be the object of her affection: The Rock. One of her favorite moments was when he took his shirt off. I recommended The Scorpion King, if she wants to see him running around in a loin-cloth for most of the movie.

Monday:

Slept until noon. Then at 2:20 we went to see Fahrenheit 9/11. From a film point of view, it's excellent. However, it's extremely biased, and I'm fairly confident Moore edited footage a lot more in this one than with Bowling For Columbine (which I personally enjoyed more). This one is more serious - though I guess it's hilarious if you really hate Bush - and I felt that more comedy would have been a lot nicer. I don't think it will impact the election, but we'll see. Most people will be able to see how incredibly biased and subjective it is. The only footage of Bush portrays him as a bewildered idiot, and I doubt people will actually believe he's like that all the time. Plus, most of the footage is probably taken out of context. But perhaps I'm giving the US public too much credit, and the movie really will change the election outcome.

After that we went to Best Buy, and James bought a new CD player and a CD. Blegh. Dave Matthews.

I ate four sloopy joes for dinner. Then, later that night, my brother and I watched Bubba Ho-Tep. Absolutely hilarious. I mean, when you've got a movie that's about Elvis (he's the real Elvis who's impersonating an Elvis impersonator who's impersonating the real Elvis) and a black JFK (aliens dyed him) and they've got to fight an evil soul-sucking mummy in a nursing home, you just know it's going to be quality cinema. I loved it. There's a reason it won all those comedy awards. Though if you don't like profanity and brief topless nudity, stay away. Frankly, I thought the profanity uttered in an Elvis accent made the movie even funnier.

Tuesday:

Got up early and drove 2.5 hours to visit Campbell university. It was a lot cooler than I expected, but I still doubt I'll end up going there. I mean, honors students get private dorms - that's very enticing to me. Plus, you can rent movies. And any school that has a copy of Dumb and Dumber really can't be that bad. I can see why my cousin likes it there.

Right now I'm updating my blog (duh). Tonight I'll watch Dogma with my aunt if we can get the TV Guardian working, since she's been wanting to see it and I really like it.

This is Andrew Johnson in North Carolina, signing off.

Eduardo and Daniel arrived safely from Honduras. Yay. We've been hanging out and playing video games and stuff. Last night we saw The League of Extraordinary Gentleman. It sucked.

Tonight I watched Donnie Darko with them, and was once again reminded of why it is one of my favorite movies, if not the most favorite. I've seen it tons of times, but every time I see it I notice more stuff. Every time I see it I come up with my own interpretation about what it's all about, and think I've got it figured out. Then the next time I watch it I'll notice something that proves me wrong once again or just manages to confuse me.

Tonight my main confusion was with Frank. What is his role? Who is he? At one point Donnie mentions, "Deus Ex Machina", otherwise known as "Machine of the Gods". This could be referring to the literary tecnique in which the hero of the story is always magically saved by the gods right when it appears as though he will die - and this certainly fits the context of the phrase in the film. But is it referring to Frank? Is Frank God? Is he being used by God? Why does he say that he's "going home" in the last minutes of the movie? How could he go back in time if he supposedly died? Is he a ghost? What is his motive - to guide Donnie to his final choice, or to simply torment him as revenge for killing him? How does the plane enging get into the time portal - is it completely random?

ARGH! I can't take it anymore! I'm too confused! *head explodes*

Hopefully I'll be able to see the Director's Cut in theaters this summer, and some of my questions will be answered...

Hallelujah. Eleventh grade is officially over. The best and worst school year of my existence has finished.

I went to Guatemala for 2 days. Had a good time. Got back yesterday. My friend from Honduras is coming down to visit on Tuesday, and staying for a few days. I can't wait. Then on Saturday, it's off to the US of A. Yippee!

You ever come to a point in your life where you're not sure a situation is going to turn out? You know how you want things to end up, but you don't know if that's the way God has it laid out? I'm at one of those points. It sucks. Hopefully the good ol' United States will be a place where I can just cool down for a little while. Untie the knot in my brain. Eat Chinese and Mexican food until I explode.

On the way to Guatemala they showed City of Angels. It was better than I thought it would be, but not as good as the German film from the 80s it's based on, Wings of Desire. Though seeing as how Americans in general like their movies handed to them on a platter with no actual thinking involved, I'm not surprised they remade it. After all, why show when you can tell? *end sarcasm*

Da Man of Da Week is Chris Hanel, creator of The Formula fanfilm, for coming up with a distinction between the different classes of "the uncool", which can be found here. Warning: it's from an Internet forum, and some of the replies do contain profanity.

I consider myself part of the first category. It's good to be geeky.

Amelie is a good French movie.

Wit is a cool HBO movie. Guaranteed to make sensitive people cry, and perhaps even the not-so-sensitive people shed a tear.

At the moment I am physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. Good night.

Until I graduate.

The end is in sight.

Trying to analyze literature early on a Friday morning is hard.

"Women are meant to be loved, not understood." --Oscar Wilde

I added a new picture of me and my clones on my site.

Also, due to his performances in Se7en and The Usual Suspects, I hereby declare Kevin Spacey Da Man of the Week.

I finally posted my review of Kill Bill. Plus, I added a section at the end entitled: Exploring Gender Roles in Kill Bill. It sounds more impressive than it really is.

Well, I just finished watching Se7en. As in, the movie that traumatized my mom for life. All I can say at this point is holy crap. That's one heck of a movie. David Fincher has this thing about morality tales. This has a lot in common with Fight Club (the half I saw of it, anyway). And no, I don't just mean the fact that they both star Brad Pitt (who is a lot cooler with short hair, by the way...and I think his acting rocks in those two movies). It explores questions such as: what is the cause of so much evil in the world? Are we any different from serial killers? Is it okay to combat sin with sin? Really got me thinking...I haven't totally digested it yet. I'll probably add this to my list of Movies I Really Want To Write A Full-Length Analysis Of But Can't Due To Time Limitations right beneath Dogma. That sucks.

Chatting with a drunk person is weird.