Saturday, December 17, 2005
Baby Got Back
I'm back in El Salvador! Woohoo!
Things I Feel Are Worth Mentioning About Being Back:
It's hot here.
Lucy is fat.
The house hasn't changed.
My family hasn't changed.
I went to bed at 8:30 last night.
Why did I go to bed at 8:30 last night? Because I was so tired, that's why. I only got an hour of sleep the night before, since I was busy watching movies. Yup. Everything's related to movies. So I might as well mention a few of them here:
King Kong - Worth seeing for the overall "bigness" of it, though it's not a perfect film. I'd give more details, but those thoughts will be in the podcast in a few days.
Cinderella Man - Good film, though predictable. Perfect if you want a feel-good movie.
The 40 Year Old Virgin - Yes, I saw this. Normally I'd stay away from movies like this (you know, the "adult" comedies that are all about sex) since they don't particularly appeal to me, but I rented this one since I'd heard it was actually good. And you know what? I was actually very surprised. Not only is it hilarious (one of the only movies in recent memory that got me to laugh out loud when I was alone), but it also has what might be considered a Christian message. I'm serious. Despite the title and the setup, it's not all about having as much sex as possible. Oh, and Steve Carrell is the man.
Superman: The Movie - I went back and saw the original one from the 70s. It's pretty good. Kinda campy, but good. Also, the entire thing is a blatant Christ allegory. You've got Marlon Brando as Superman's father giving speeches that sound like they're taken straight from the Bible. You've got Superman being adopted by Martha and Johnathan (Mary and Joseph) even though his real father is from another world. You've got his father appearing to him on earth, saying that he'll always be with him. You've got a villain named Lex Luthor, which sounds an awful lot like Lucifer. You've got a few comments about how the people of Krypton died due to vanity, which in Christian theology is often the sin associated with the demons and their fall. It's insane. Forget Narnia.
American Beauty - Wow. I am now convinced that 1999 was one of the pinnacle years of film, since so many of my favorite films came out then. It follows this guy named Lestor Burnham who is having what appears to be a mid-life crisis, but is actually a search for meaning. He starts to stop being so "sedated" when he starts having a crush on his daughter's teenage friend, and ultimately learns valuable lessons about life. There's also his wife, who doesn't know how to cope with this new Lester; his daughter, who hates both her parents and is starting to fall in love; his neighbor, who at first appears to be homophobic until we realize it's much deeper than that; his daughter's friend, who appears to be a total slut; etc. That description doesn't being to sum up the film or do it justice. This movie's fantastic, and also had a lot less nudity than I thought it would (only two brief flashes), and no sex scenes. It's incredible, and has so much stuff to take from it, if I said any more it would ruin the movie. Go rent it now.
Quotes of Da Moment:
"I'm a virgin. I always have been."
--The 40 Year Old Virgin
"Janie, today I quit my job. And then I told my boss to go fuck himself, and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. Pass the asparagus."
--American Beauty
Things I Feel Are Worth Mentioning About Being Back:
It's hot here.
Lucy is fat.
The house hasn't changed.
My family hasn't changed.
I went to bed at 8:30 last night.
Why did I go to bed at 8:30 last night? Because I was so tired, that's why. I only got an hour of sleep the night before, since I was busy watching movies. Yup. Everything's related to movies. So I might as well mention a few of them here:
King Kong - Worth seeing for the overall "bigness" of it, though it's not a perfect film. I'd give more details, but those thoughts will be in the podcast in a few days.
Cinderella Man - Good film, though predictable. Perfect if you want a feel-good movie.
The 40 Year Old Virgin - Yes, I saw this. Normally I'd stay away from movies like this (you know, the "adult" comedies that are all about sex) since they don't particularly appeal to me, but I rented this one since I'd heard it was actually good. And you know what? I was actually very surprised. Not only is it hilarious (one of the only movies in recent memory that got me to laugh out loud when I was alone), but it also has what might be considered a Christian message. I'm serious. Despite the title and the setup, it's not all about having as much sex as possible. Oh, and Steve Carrell is the man.
Superman: The Movie - I went back and saw the original one from the 70s. It's pretty good. Kinda campy, but good. Also, the entire thing is a blatant Christ allegory. You've got Marlon Brando as Superman's father giving speeches that sound like they're taken straight from the Bible. You've got Superman being adopted by Martha and Johnathan (Mary and Joseph) even though his real father is from another world. You've got his father appearing to him on earth, saying that he'll always be with him. You've got a villain named Lex Luthor, which sounds an awful lot like Lucifer. You've got a few comments about how the people of Krypton died due to vanity, which in Christian theology is often the sin associated with the demons and their fall. It's insane. Forget Narnia.
American Beauty - Wow. I am now convinced that 1999 was one of the pinnacle years of film, since so many of my favorite films came out then. It follows this guy named Lestor Burnham who is having what appears to be a mid-life crisis, but is actually a search for meaning. He starts to stop being so "sedated" when he starts having a crush on his daughter's teenage friend, and ultimately learns valuable lessons about life. There's also his wife, who doesn't know how to cope with this new Lester; his daughter, who hates both her parents and is starting to fall in love; his neighbor, who at first appears to be homophobic until we realize it's much deeper than that; his daughter's friend, who appears to be a total slut; etc. That description doesn't being to sum up the film or do it justice. This movie's fantastic, and also had a lot less nudity than I thought it would (only two brief flashes), and no sex scenes. It's incredible, and has so much stuff to take from it, if I said any more it would ruin the movie. Go rent it now.
Quotes of Da Moment:
"I'm a virgin. I always have been."
--The 40 Year Old Virgin
"Janie, today I quit my job. And then I told my boss to go fuck himself, and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. Pass the asparagus."
--American Beauty
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 12/17/2005 01:16:00 PM 
