just babbling

[rusty_halo]

Met up last night with soundingsea for dinner. That was quite fun--we had a long and interesting conversation, mostly about fandom type stuff. She's really sweet. Plus, I've found someone else who has read George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series! So that was cool.

I also got the final book in Stephen King's Dark Tower series, and am about 1/3 of the way into it. (DON'T SPOIL ME.) I'm reading slowly, not rushing; I've been waiting half my life for this book, so I figure I ought to savor it. Especially because, if the end sucks, I'll probably never touch it again, so I'm going to enjoy as best I can this first unspoiled time. So far, so good.

Apparently TV shows are premiering now. Is there anything I should watch? I'm pretty much lacking any motivation to bother with television. I haven't turned it on in months; the remote's even all dusty. (Well, except I watched the Stuart Townsend/Marilyn Manson lovefest on Carson Daly last week; anyone else see that?) It seems that pretty much every TV show sucks, and the ones that don't suck get cancelled. I'd rather just wait until a series is finished and then get it on DVD if it still seems worthwhile. It's like not wanting to start reading a WIP until it's done, in case the author doesn't finish. Of course, that makes it really hard to participate in a fandom....

I saw Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow last weekend. It was visually beautiful, but the story dragged, and the leads were boring. This was especially frustrating because I adore Jude Law, and I know he can do better. He's not cut out to play the bland hero-type, though; he was boring in Cold Mountain, too. OTOH, I also watched Gattaca last weekend, in which he has a snarky outsider type supporting role, and he kicked so much ass. By far, he was the best actor in that movie--probably because the writing was nuanced enough to give him something interesting to do.

That was a good movie, actually; I'd been putting off watching it for years because I was afraid it would be depressing, but the lure of Jude Law finally drew me in. I love those kind of thoughtful films that aren't afraid to use a sci-fi setup to explore interesting issues and possibilities.

My main problem was that the leads were boring--Ethan Hawke is bland and Uma Thurman had nothing to do. I'd have cast Jude Law in the main role, to give that character some spark... make us believe that he'd really go to so much trouble to pursue his dream. Or else I'd have eliminated the main character's brother, who was redundant given that the same themes could've been explored with his relationship with Jude Law's character. (The whole comparison between a genetically engineered character and a naturally born character.)

Actually, the Ethan Hawke/Jude Law relationship was the best thing in that film--I'd have cut out the romance entirely, too, given that it had no substance except "Look, Uma's pretty!" The real story was between Hawke and Law; the brother and the love interest were just distractions. Oh, and the lame voiceover really just had to go--and it could've if you cut out the brother.

Jude Law was also good in Enemy at the Gates; I watched that twice last weekend. It's another movie with a stupid phony pasted-on romance distracting from the real story (between Jude Law and Joseph Fiennes, this time). And Jude Law's character isn't that interesting. BUT he spends most of the movie looking gorgeous and desperate and suffering and dirty and vulnerable ... y'know, it's just entertaining. >:)

In short, Jude: less with the bland hero types, more with the fucked up vulnerable outsiders, k? :)

And in other news, after my insane rambling whatever-that-was the other day, a couple of people told me that they HADN'T HEARD Alice in Chains before. (!!!) So if you're interested, here are a few song recommendations. You can get them from iTunes, or from pretty much any other online music sharing program. I'll even be nice and post lyrics.

My explanation of why I like this music is here.

This is in reverse chronicological order (newest first, oldest last) so you can kind of backwards-follow the development of their writing.

From Jar of Flies (buy it):

Nutshell (a soft, pretty, sad song)

Nutshell
Lyrics by Layne Staley
Music by Mike Inez, Jerry Cantrell, Sean Kinney

We chase misprinted lies
We face the path of time
And yet I fight
And yet I fight
This battle all alone
No one to cry to
No place to call home

My gift of self is raped
My privacy is raked
And yet I find
And yet I find
Repeating in my head
If I can't be my own
I'd feel better dead

Whale & Wasp (beautiful instrumental, by Jerry Cantrell)
Don't Follow (sort of country)

Don't Follow
Lyrics & music by Jerry Cantrell

Hey, I ain't never coming home
Hey, I'll just wander my own road
Hey, I can't meet you here tomorrow
Say goodbye don't follow
Misery so hollow

Hey you, you're livin' life full throttle
Hey you, pass me down that bottle, yeah
Hey you, you can't shake me round now
I get so lost and don't know how, yeah
And it hurts to care, I'm going down

Forgot my woman, lost my friends
Things I'd done and where I've been
Sleep in sweat the mirrors cold
See my face it's growin' old
Scared to death no reason why
Do whatever to get me by
Think about the things I said
Read the page it's cold and dead

Take me home

From Dirt (buy it):

Down in a Hole (a lovely "metal ballad")

Down in a Hole
Lyrics & music by Jerry Cantrell

Bury me softly in this womb
I give this part of me for you
Sand rains down and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
In a tomb...in bloom

Down in a hole and I don't know if I can be saved
See my heart I decorate it like a grave
You don't understand who they
Thought I was supposed to be
Look at me now a man
Who won't let himself be

Down in a hole, losin' my soul
Down in a hole, losin' control
I'd like to fly,
But my wings have been so denied

Down in a hole and they've put all
The stones in their place
I've eaten the sun so my tongue
Has been burned of the taste
I have been guilty
Of kicking myself in the teeth
I will speak no more
of my feelings beneath

Oh I want to be inside of you

Down in a hole, losin' my soul
Down in a hole, feelin' so small
Down in a hole, losin' my soul
Down in a hole, out of control

I'd like to fly but my
Wings have been so denied

Angry Chair (heavy and dark and creepy, my favorite song ever)

Angry Chair
Lyrics & music by Layne Staley

Sitting on an angry chair
Angry walls that steal the air
Stomach hurts and I don't care

What do I see across the way
See myself molded in clay
Stares at me, yeah I'm afraid
Changing the shape of his face

Candles red I have a pair
Shadows dancing everywhere
burning on the angry chair

Little boy made a mistake
Pink cloud has now turned to gray
All that I want is to play
Get on your knees, time to pray boy

I don't mind, yeah
I don't mind, I-I-I
I don't mind, yeah,
I don't mind, I-I-I
Lost my mind, yeah
But I don't mind, I-I-I
Can't find it anywhere
I don't mind

Corporate prison, we stay
I'm a dull boy, work all day
So I'm strung out anyway

Loneliness is not a phase
Field of pain is where I graze
Serenity is far away

Saw my reflection and cried
So little hope that I died
Feed me your lies, open wide
Weight of my heart, not the size

Pink cloud has now turned to gray
All that I want is to play
Get on your knees time to pray

Would? (dark and heavy)

Would?
Lyrics & music by Jerry Cantrell

Know me broken by my master
Teach thee on child of love hereafter

Into the flood again
Same old trip it was back then
So I made a big mistake
Try to see it once my way

Drifting body it's sole desertion
Flying not yet quite the notion

Am I wrong?
Have I run too far to get home
Have I gone?
And left you here alone
If I would, could you?

From Sap (buy it):

Got Me Wrong (lighter, sort of upbeat, great harmonies)

Got Me Wrong
Music & lyrics by Jerry Cantrell

Yeah it goes away
All of this and more of nothing in my life
No colored clay
Individuality not safe

As of now I bet you've got me wrong
So unsure you run from something strong

I can't let go
Threadbare tapestry unwinding slow
Feel a tortured brain
Show your belly like you want me too

As of now I bet you've got me wrong
So unsure we reach for something strong

I haven't felt like this in so long
Wrong, in a sense too far gone from love
That don't last forever
Something's got to turn out right

You sugar taste
Sweetness doesn't often touch my face
Stay if you please
You may not be here when I leave

From Facelift (buy it):

Love, Hate, Love (dark, slow, heavy, riveting vocals)

Love, Hate, Love
Lyrics by Layne Staley
Music by Jerry Cantrell

I tried to love you I thought I could
I tried to own you I thought I would
I want to peel the skin from your face
Before the real you lays to waste

You told me I'm the only one
Sweet little angel you should have run
Lying, crying, dying to leave
Innocence creates my hell

Cheating myself still you know more
It would be so easy with a whore
Try to understand me little girl
My twisted passion to be your world

Lost inside my sick head
I live for you but I'm not alive
Take my hand before I kill
I still love you but I still burn

Love, hate, love

Comments

[cindergal.livejournal.com]

I liked "Lost," but then I've only seen half the pilot. Chen says the second half is even better.

Do you like CSI type shows? The new one with Gary Sinise takes place in your city, and is dark and gritty (at least the opener was), if you like that kind of thing (which I do). He plays the tortured hero very, very well (but then, I love him in almost anything).

Could I have used more parentheses in this post (apparently, yes.)? :-)

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

David Fury's working on Lost, though, isn't he? (::shudders::) Not quite sure I want to invest in something with which he's involved.

I don't really watch CSI type stuff. I like fantasy and sci-fi, monsters and horror and metaphors and such. Alas, "realistic" television doesn't really work for me.

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

Just do what I'm doing... don't get emotionally attached to any morally ambiguous characters. That way lies madness.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

LOL, yes, but the only characters I like or find interesting are the ambiguous ones. So Mr. Black-and-White Fury? Not the writer for me.

In fact, American television? Not the medium for me.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Oh, BTW, I LOVE your icon.

[cindergal.livejournal.com]

Yes, I'm afraid David Fury is a writer on "Lost." *g* It's J.J. Abrams' show, but I have no idea what the dynamics there will be - but I happen to like Fury's writing, so not an issue for me. Besides, I doubt I'll ever get as invested in a show as I did Buffy - as much as I loved it, I never even had that level of emotional investment in AtS.

And the icon is great, isn't it? Miggy made it. ::kicks Lucas in the shins::

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

::joins you in kicking Lucas viciously::

I bought the Star Wars trilogy on DVD recently. The REAL Star Wars trilogy, burned from Laser Disk. >:)

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

God, that's so weird. I loved Gattaca. Strangely enough, some of the stuff you didn't like I thought raised interesting questions.

I'll grant you that Ethan wasn't terribly entralling. His relationship with Jude Law was really the most interesting element in the film - Jude is great in that movie, I thought - but Uma, I felt, represented the bland, superficial gloss of the society Ethan is reaching for. She's pretty, she's perfect, she should be everything he wants on paper... but something's missing, because she doesn't know who he really is or could handle it if she did. And then there's that little niggling voice that reminds you that okay, Uma is genetically perfect, but that doesn't automatically mean she's a bad person... just one who's lived in a sheltered little box, just like the company they work for. She isn't in the same class as Ethan, even though their society would put her above him.

Basically, I thought whole film is all about meeting expectations that are already set, not exceeding ones that have been pre-decided as impossible. That's where I could see the logic for the brother character, boring as he is. He's really only there for that one swimming scene, which I saw as the core of that whole movie - "I never saved anything to get back." So Ethan's character doesn't belong in that universe of predetermined limits and Uma-style lab-test romance - he leaves Earth because he can reach higher than those boxed-in people ever could. I really took away from that story a message about how certain people are able to achieve while others, presumably more talented, don't - it's not about talent as much as will, and that's something the people living in the Gattaca world have lost. In that light, the bland characters seemed to be necessary for contrast.... and I could almost see an argument for Ethan being as bland as he was because he needed to "pass" with them. Jude, however, had become too complex and dark to live in that world either, and so also had to leave... in his case by dying. Like you said, a thoughtful film.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Oh, I thought it was a great movie, don't get me wrong. I agree with much of what you said; thematically, I had no complaints. I love the free will overcoming fate/pre-set limitations type themes. However, I felt that much of it wasn't executed as well as it could have been.

It's true that Ethan had to be somewhat bland in order to fit in. However, even when he was showing his true self or not fitting in, he was still bland. Ethan Hawke is just a bland guy; he doesn't give the impression of a lot of passion. So while I understood intellectually that he had the will to strive for more despite his limitations, I didn't really feel it. I didn't quite emotionally buy that this fellow could go to THAT MUCH insane amount of trouble and stress EVERY SINGLE DAY in order to live his dream. Jude Law could've acted the bland part, but also given the impression of a lot more going on underneath.

I felt that the brother character was there to contrast with Ethan, to show the difference between the genetically-enhanced (but lacking will/spirit) and the natural (but willful/spirited/striving for more). However, that was already sort of a repeat of the theme of the relationship between Ethan Hawke and Jude Law, who was also a genetically enhanced character for Ethan to contast with. They could've put the brother stuff into the Ethan/Jude relationship, made that relationship richer, and eliminated the shallower/repetitive brother stuff.

Throwing in the brother just made the story a bit more muddled, IMO, since they could've done that with the Jude Law character. The brother really only served that story purpose; as a character he wasn't all that well-developed or interesting, whereas Jude Law was, and so they should've done more with him.

Uma .... okay, but what did Ethan see in her? Other than, y'know, she's Uma Thurman, she's pretty. There wasn't much substance to that character, and the romance seemed kind of pasted in, like the obligatory movie romance without much meaning. I like the actress, so I was frustrated to see her with so little to do.

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

Ah... okay. Definite points. I'm tempted to say that Uma is meant to represent temptation of some type, but I think the sci-fi structure of this one is pretty basic, not so much with the deep, embedded meanings beyond what's there to see pretty clearly. Which I like myself - I have a great fondness for a well-constructed little societal ponder.

But the brother issues with the Jude Law character... hmm, now you're right. That would have been something way more interesting to see.

[ww1614.livejournal.com]

I know I'm beating the drum for Veronica Mars, but ...

And I just realized that Veronica looks a little like you. At least the Veronica in flashbacks has longer hair. There's a rerun of the pilot tonight, and the eps start airing on Tuesday at 9 in their regular time slot.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Hmm, maybe I'll check it out. I'll probably wait to see how long it survives first, though, then download old episodes later.

Sky Captain

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

I thought, visually, the whole movie was a work of art, but the person who bothered me most was Gwyneth Paltrow. She looked perfect for the role, but the moment she opened her mouth... *shudder* She sucked the life out of the scenes she was in, and considering the actors were the life (what with practically everything else being fake), it just didn't work so well.

Really glad I went to see it in the theatre though, and I plan on picking it up on DVD, if only to play "spot the geeky references." First time through I caught King Kong, Godzilla, Commander Keen, and several others that aren't coming to mind at the moment, but there have to be more.

Re: Sky Captain

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Well, I sort of thought she was supposed to be annoying. But yeah, it didn't really work that well for me. I wasn't engaged by either of the leads.

Spotting the geeky references was fun, definitely. One of the good things about going to film school is finally being able to enjoy such things. :)

[marsterslady.livejournal.com]

Ahh, thank you for the music. After reading your post the other day, I was wishing I hadn't packed away my Alice in Chains cds. I first heard them when a girlfriend and I were at a Winger/Poison concert. Winger didn't show, and this band we'd never heard of took their place. Awesome. Thank you.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Oh, you lucky, lucky woman. *sigh*

I'd sell my firstborn to see Alice in Chains in concert. (Except, I have no children, but still...)

Glad you enjoyed. :)

[marsterslady.livejournal.com]

We had hiiiiiiiiiiiiigh up seats, and it was a long time ago. I do remember having an awesome time. :)

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

ooh, thanks for the Alice in Chains music!

I liked Gattaca, though it was boring at times. I think I liked best the end where he races his brother for the last time, and he says that he won because he didn't save anything for the way back. Going without the safety net, I guess.

[soundingsea.livejournal.com]

Best thing about having someone else reading that GRRM series? Another person with whom to chat about "A Feast of Crows" after it's published! (Someday, someday.)

TV shows.. hmmm. David Fury notwithstanding, I'm giving Lost a try since it's from the brain of JJ Abrams and I enjoy Alias. And I don't think I made the case for Jeremiah very well; it's post-apocalyptic, but it's not about aftermath. It's about rebuilding and hope. Worth checking the first season out on DVD.