Cookie's Fortune

So, in the last week or so, what with my birthday, the end of school, and the beginnings of summer, I've had more social intrigue and drama than all of the rest of the semester combined. Some of it good, some of it GREAT, some of it not-so-good, but all of it interesting.

It's a relief in a way. Now that I don't have to worry about SOUND LOCK or EDIT STATIONS or FINAL SCENES or FOLEY ROOMS or TIMECODE or THE PITCH or SCENE ANALYSIS, I finally get a chance to worry about LIFE. All right!
Not that filmmaking isn't life. But I'm glad to have a break. Or at least a change of pace.

Quick fun superstitious theory though: after graduation, Max brought back a whole BUNCH of chocolate-dipped fortune cookies. And I ate a lot of 'em. Here's where the trouble must have started. I think all the interesting events of the last few days must CLEARLY be the result of all my fortunes coming true. So...if you want intrigue in your life, my advice is to eat a bunch of fortune cookies and take the messages to heart. Maybe not, but it's always fun to speculate.

Anyways, I've got a couple more days down here in LA and then I'm going back to Santa Barbara for the majority of the summer. I'll be making a few trips back down here though, so I'll make a point of seeing as many of you all as possible. And some of you ought to really just haul your butts up to S.B. for a change.

I also must say, I'm worried about a few of you guys. Hang in there, please.

Anyways, movie review time. I saw "High Plains Drifter" with some friends the other night. It wasn't great, but it was surreal enough to keep me interested. It starred and was directed by Clint Eastwood, and it has some visually interesting and inventive moments, especially towards the end. But as a whole the film felt amateurish, and Clint has come a LONG way since with "Iwo Jima" and others (by the way, did I mention I saw Clint speak at the graduation ceremony? Pretty cool!).

I also saw "Boogie Nights" for the first time, and thought it was pretty interesting. Having not been a fan of "Magnolia" (the stuff I've seen anyway), and HATING "Punch-Drunk Love," I wasn't looking forward to seeing this one from Paul Anderson. However "Nights" was miles above the other two. I wasn't expecting a movie about the porn industry to be filled with much depth and complexity, but there was really a lot of thoughtful stuff going on. Two of the highlights of the film are a New Year's day one-take ("Children of Men" style) featuring William H. Macy at his lowest point of depression (ending in a quite ironic BANG for the new 80s decade), and a scene with Doc Ock himself, Alfred Molina, stealing the show as a rich whacked-out cocaine buyer. And the rest of the stellar cast does an awesome job all the way through, especially Burt Reynolds, Don Cheadle, John C. Reilly, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and the star (in more ways than one) Marky Mark Wahlberg.
One complaint I had about the movie though was that the film is essentially about how the porn industry brings upon the various characters' downfall. And there is a moment in the movie where every main character hits their low point. Yet, for 2/3 of them, it really DOESN'T happen through their own fault. OK, maybe Burt Reynolds and Heather Graham's situation is caused through their own actions. But as for Marky Mark, he only is partially at fault for the beatdown he gets--it seemed a little random. And as for Don Cheadle, the convenience store robbery that takes him by surprise has NOTHING to do with him or his actions. It's an act of randomness that is in the movie just to fit the beat of the story; it's not through any ACTION of the character within the story itself. It reminds me a bit of the annoying "plague of frogs" in "Magnolia." Again, just badness happening for badness' sake. It doesn't hold up very well upon reflection. It's far more interesting when the characters themselves cause their messes and downfalls. Hell, even Spider-Man "created" Venom (joking here...DAMN that movie!).

I think Paul Anderson was going for the whole creating-one's-own-downfall thing in "Boggie Nights," and when he succeeded, it was magic (as in the Alfred Molina scene), but when he didn't, things rang hollow. Still, an interesting movie, and much more than I was expecting. Recommended for those who don't mind seeing Marky Mark's HUGE prosthetic penis (or you could just walk out before the final frame).

Also, in TV show rantings, my favorite characters from "Lost" are dropping like flies (SPOILERS)!!!

First, they kill of Mr. Eko earlier this season. Then, in the last episode, John Locke gets shot, and is presumably left for dead (although I suspect he isn't dead...you can't kill Locke that easily...the Island helped him WALK again for goodness sake). Now, it looks like Charlie is going down in the next episode, just when he's starting to really redeem himself. Why J. J. Abrams...why??? My only fav left is Sawyer now!

Luckily, some of the secondary characters who joined the show later that I didn't care for as much before are growing on me now (Desmond, for example). And Kate and Claire, my two favorite gorgeous female castaways, look like they'll be safe for a while. So all is not (har!) "Lost." The finale shall tell.

Anyways, peace out for now.