Update

Hey all back from Europe, movies I've watched most recently:

Red Cliff (International Version)--****
Two For the Road--****
Red State--***
The Last Exorcism--***(ending was a bit much)
Paranormal Activity 2--***(not as good as the first)
Cherry--***(never heard of this before, fairly good)
Man With the Movie Camera--*****(Absolutely brilliant, anyone who loves film owes it to themselves to see this)

If It's Tuesday It Must Be Belgium--****
Mugabe and the White African-****(great doc)
Harvey--*****
Imitation of Life(1959)--***(not as good as the one from 1934)
Last Night--**
Double Indemnity--*****
Hunger--****
Charade--****
13 Assassins--****
Forget Me Not--**(The ending ruined it for me, would have gotten 3 to 4 stars without the contrivance)
Good Dick--***
Heartburn--***
The Killing--*****(Wow)
Poetry--****
Stone of Destiny--**
Lost In America--****

Train to Budapest from Munich(2007)

Blue shirt against black train seat
-reading paper in German
  helped figure out the mechanism
to no avail.

Without speaking, mute,
  point and turn,
          dipping a foot in
   the water,
Testing, feeling spongy,
                     soaking.

Still maneuvering the black seat,
  & blue, green, and white
         sit idly by.

Wah-cha-cha
  Wah-cha-cha, moves out
again.

Blonde, Brunette, Balding
--types standing by.
Cigarettes smoking,
   coffee steaming,
work has never looked
            so blessed.

Sunflowers cover the magazine's
   being held by hangers.

Earphones in, patiently
     aside an ashtray,
Bag over right shoulder
  opened to pass the
               time.

Lake or river passing by.
Green/Gray at the bottom
   of the valley, in the distance,
climbing up the hills
          with my eyes--
Coming to a speckle
           of white houses
                 orange roof.

Stone, and pastel,
           matte--
Clouds covering the countryside,
Overcasting the villages
    of so many,
minutiae, ants along
              the dirt mountain.

Cemeteries skirting the
        edges and chasing the
               pink to the walls--

The next house
     and so forth.
Lines of living dwellings
  separated
by the vastness that can be.....farms?
    or maybe just grazing land?

Snow in the distance
  spotting the ground--
with trees poking through
  like hair on the neck.

Crooked, cut-down, leaning
                  towards
                    the sun, and lack
                                  there-of.

Cabin surrounded by the shade,
  hidden to the passer-by.

Queer to see such history painted,
  with satellite dishes.
Modern amenities to make
  you feel more at home--
distance me from actual belonging.

Crawling by glass roof, must be
  greenhouses, tennis courts, and
        futbol field.

Red clay matching the pigment of the stones
       sheltering the majority--
          with chimney's one and all.

White rooms, closets,
  floors wet, dungy.

First stop, Salzburg station, trains across
   3 tracks look as tho they're red double
buses, with a green, army green car,
   right next to the window, flashes
of drafts, and worse times.  War times.

Times are now, with oil filling our gullets.
Oil makes the world go round', the world go round'
  the world go round'.

Cleaner air reserved
  for pure of heart, or soul,
     who cares?
                          Actually.



                

Update

Recent viewings:

Stolen Kisses-Good times
Source Code-Love Duncan Jones, good sci-fi
The Lincoln Lawyer-not as good as the book
Sucker Punch-that's how I felt
The Eagle-Surprised I liked it
Faster-Quick and easy viewing
Limitless-Who da' thunk it, not too shabby
Take Me Home Tonight-or don't
You Again-Ugh
Wild Target-check it out
Fish Out of Water-highly recommended
Tangled-Wow, unexpected goodness
A Summer in Genoa-nice, melancholy film, beautiful film
I Love you Phillip Morris-see it
Jack Goes Boating-Uncomfortable, the point?
The House of the Devil-Good 21st century 80's horror
Skyline-Blech
Paris-good not great
Harry Brown-very good
Secretariat-hmmm I wonder what happens
Gigantic-odd
In the city of Sylvia-Brilliant
Resident Evil: Afterlife-can I get this hour and a half back?
Killers-one funny scene
Howl-Pretty good
Valhalla Rising-I liked it, you may not
Bronson-Tour de force
Takers-I don't remember this
Amarcord-of course, brilliant

Looking back

We are shackled by our technologies.
An addiction most unbecoming.

At what point does experience outweigh
   our feelings?

Folded, softly upon itself, now
   It's time to be, here.

Fully aware of this moment,
   and the moments to come.

Rain beats down, 100% chance
   that I'll later need a respite.

Nothing scripted, yet, what?
   Hopes?  of something different?
But enabled to embrace the largest
   difference, It's better,
     and as it should be.

Buzzing, and creeping by,
   at 60 miles an hour.
Slowing to an ending of
  foot on pavement long been
   trampled by
    countless others.

Still new to this moment,
    this experience, it
WILL exist as just it is when
    you first meet a feeling.

Bridges crossed, and paths
  travailed.
Intersecting the lives of others,
   flipped upside down to show my world,
on its end, and theirs immediately upstanding.

Random pints of luxurious lager,
   soaking my
    throat one moment,
     to be in an empty
        alleyway the next.

Early morning rise to
  be left wandering/wondering
   yet again.

Thinking of these things that
   aren't here, shouldn't be,
    couldn't, can't.

Endless streets filled with strangers
  that feel like friends.

Waiting becomes the way of the day.
Without apprehension,
   that's reserved
  for the repetition of
    continuous daily routines.

Tom Jones is telling me I'm crazy.
I'm killing Tom Jones with my mind.
While simultaneously lip-syncing to Tom Jones.

From "Vagabonding" by Rolf Potts

Was reading today, and found this excerpt, speaks for itself.



..."For some reason, we(Americans) see long-term travel to faraway lands as a recurring dream or an exotic temptation, but not something that applies to the here and now.  Instead--out of our insane duty to fear, fashion, and monthly payments on things we don't really need--we quarantine our travels to short, frenzied bursts.  In this way, as we throw our wealth at an abstract notion called 'lifestyle,' travel becomes just another accessory--a smooth-edged, encapsulated experience that we purchase the same way we buy clothing and furniture...--no combination of one-week or ten-day vacations will truly take you away from the life you lead at home.
   "Ultimately, this shotgun wedding of time and money has a way of keeping us in a holding pattern.  The more we associate experience with cash value, the more we think that money is what we need to live.  And the more we associate money with life, the more we convince ourselves that we're too poor to buy our freedom.  With this kind of mind-set, it's no wonder so many Americans think extended overseas travel is the exclusive realm of students, counterculture dropouts, and the idle rich.
   "In reality, long-term travel has nothing to do with demographics--age, ideology, income--and everything to do with personal outlook.  Long-term travel isn't about being a college student; it's an act of common sense within society.  Long-term travel doesn't require a massive "bundle of cash"; it requires only that we walk through the world in a more deliberate way."

Recent films

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows: part 2

Well made, great ending to a decade long journey.  I'd really like to watch part 1 and part 2 back to back, but until then, Azkaban is still my favorite film in the series, but the last two together could take its place. 

Grade: A-

Captain America: The First Avenger

Good old-fashioned fun, Joe Johnston has crafted a well-made, rip-roaring time at the movies.  Loved it, third favorite film of the year so far.  See it, really got me excited for The Avengers next year.

Grade-A

Jon Favreau Interviews Spielberg, Howard, and Grazer

Cowboys and Aliens Interviews

more

and more

and even more

and the last

Transformers 3 Dark of the Moon

I wasn't going to see it, but I'd read some pretty good things about it.  That the 3D was the best since Avatar, that Michael Bay may have made his best movie yet.  Well, the latter is true, but that's really not saying much.  The movie is waaaaaaay too long, and the plot lacks any type of coherence.  This movie will make gobs of money, especially in middle America(don't mean to offend).  The action is pretty good, and for once you could kind of tell what was going on with ample amounts of slow-mo.  I say skip it, but if you do see it, you might have fun anyway.  Unintentionally funny sometimes, will help you pass the 2 and half hour running time.

D+

SUPER 8

A-

Oh what fun!

Recent viewings

Recent movies I've seen, with a few thoughts.

Bridesmaids--B-
I found this pretty funny.  I think it unravels a bit towards the end,  but a nice summer breeze of a movie.

X-Men: First Class--B+
I'm going to have to go back and watch the first two X-Men, but as of right now, I think this is my favorite of the franchise.

Midnight In Paris--A
Completely speaks to my sensibilities, loved it.  It's dissection of nostalgia has a whimsy that's intelligent and funny.  I'm going to see it again.

Super 8 will be next, at some point, not sure when.

http://cf.drafthouse.com/she_texted_we_kicked_her_out2.html