Striker, Striker, Striker, Striker... STRIKER!

Okay, so technically my back isn't out at this moment, but it WAS -- (AGAIN) -- all last week.  When my back went out 2 weeks after I finally was mobile from a previous back-out, I became so depressed that I could not even find the motivation to tend to this sad, neglected little space.

Now, still feeling tender in the lumbar/sacral spine, and nearing completion of day 2.5 of beelzebub-sent migraine, I will update you... my 2 followers, and whomever else.

There are three things that really sent me over the edge on having to update the blog.  Here they are:

Thing 1:
Inside Job
Okay I just finished watching this like 20 minutes ago.  There is so much to love about the way Charles Ferguson has presented this film*.  I love the simple, straightforward approach, the sometimes ruthless (many times humorous) interview-editing, plain graphics, and general lack of sentimentality.  Certainly I found that this presentation of the material was the most comprehensible I've heard yet - I don't have a brain for finance.  No one ever taught me this in school.

*NOTE:  I wouldn't recommend watching it during day 2.5 of a nauseatingly satanic migraine... when you're in that space you don't need to be any more pissed off than you already are.  See HIGH HORSE SECTION for explanation.

THE HIGH-HORSE SECTION (feel free to skip)
Actually most US schools don't teach about money.  And this is a big problem because (generally) poor stay poorer... and rich teach their children how to remain so (or teach the staff who will assist the children in doing so.)  See Cyberchase for one of the only organizations striving to educate kids about finances.
And guess what else they won't teach in school - Civics!  So not only do Americans not know what they can do with their money, or what others are doing with their money -- they don't know how the government works, so they don't know what they can do about it.  [go ahead, conspiracy theorists...]
END OF HIGH-HORSE SECTION.

The thing about the film that really got me was this:  I don't know why I continue to be so astonished at the human capacity for greed, cruelty, deception, hatred, and malice.... but it seems so astonishing time after time!  What the hell?  Do I need to "get real," or "give up," or what?  Am I a starry eyed dreamer?

See the film.  It's really important.  Great piece.. a director to watch.


Okay, enough Debbie Downer - let's move on to...

Thing 2: Airplane II: The Sequel !  HOORAY!!!!

Now THIS is a movie that you can watch on day 1.5 of a migraine that the devil overnight fedex'd to you sealed with a spanking for good measure.

First let me just mention that Airplane! is not available to stream on Netflix, but Airplane II is.  If they'd both been availalbe I probably would have started with Airplane and would never have been able to resist going straight through both.  After watching just last night, I feel like I could do that right now.

Wow.  WOW!  Not only does this film stand the test of time, but it is such a classic piece of genius comedy.  There is SO MUCH production in this movie... the sheer volume of scenes, characters, costumes, and locations that have absolutely no need to be there - but thank god they just went ahead and did it!  I'm not sure they make 'em like this anymore.  The pacing, the timing, the witticism, the old-time word-play humor right up against absurdism, next to boob jokes, beside social commentary that is still relevant 25 years later - and the CAST!  Watching again last night I realized what a profound effect this movie had on my tastes and developing artistic vision as a kid.  High-Brow & Low-Brow go hand in hand.  This idea is central to my current worldview.  (I'm very serious.)

This movie represents so much of what I love about comedy.  I'm putting Airplane at the top of my DVD queue and doing a double feature asap.  I think you should too!

And finally I'll add some thoughts about:

Thing 3:   Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, which I re-watched the first day of my most recent back-out-session.

I said it right after I saw the film in the theater and I'll say it again now - this is an amazing film for grownups in its own right, whether or not it is part of the Harry Potter series.  I dare you to watch the first 5 minutes of the film and not see the influence of classic, highly-stylized films by directors like Kubrick (Dr. Strangelove) & Gilliam (Brazil)  It is dark.  It is mature.  For me personally, highly-stylized or more "unrealistic" films often tell more about true human themes than so called "realism" does.  Of course J.K. Rowling provided a treasure trove of material, but it's thrilling to see that the dark, human themes come through powerfully in the film.  The film is dark and beautiful and real.  The acting is amazing - having some of the most accomplished actors of our time helps.  Also Emma Watson is like a gazelle.  So beautiful and graceful with or without pretty dress, hair, and makeup.

The icing on the cake is that all of this true humanity is accomplished with a layer of complete fantasy on top of it all.

There are so many, but I think one of the staggering accomplishments in the film is a scene that is wordless - there is no dialogue for minutes.  This simply is not done in popular feature films today.  One knows that the scene is successful because after watching it one feels that no dialogue could ever have expressed what this scene expresses.  I disavow spoilers of any kind, so I'll reference the scene more specifically at the bottom of this entry. (**)  Look away from it if you haven't read or seen the books -- even though I'm not really giving anything away.

This is craft and storytelling at it's finest.  See it.  It's beautiful.


TTFN, kiddies.
K
scroll down for so-called "spoiler"
















** It's the scene where Harry & Hermione dance in the tent together.