Bloggity Blah Blah Blog

Who Killed the Electric Car?

csprague — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 20:23:49 GMT

Evidently no one. Irony of the day:

We watched this doc last night and when i woke up this morning the news was showing all the electric cars that are being revealed at the Detroit Auto show this week. idiots. They made amazing technology, crushed it, and are now resurrecting it 10 years later. Not only did they crush the electric models, but the government subsidized SUVs. Was there a conspiracy to screw humanity and destroy the earth? Must have been. It's the only logical explanation.

Open Season

csprague — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:31:46 GMT

Surprisingly, I really liked this movie. Sure, it wasn't exactly ground-breaking, but it was funny. It hit all the right funny buttons. The best part for me was the little porpcupine, the liberated dachshund, and the silent/indestructable bunnies. i think I just like talking animals. Anywho, I thought it was a fun movie and would be enjoyable to watch with some kids, or by yourself if you just need something light and feel-good.

Kung Fu Panda

csprague — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:47:44 GMT

How did a duck have a Panda for a kid? I totally thought he was going to tell Po that he was adopted, but no.

Waaaalllllll-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

csprague — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:30:50 GMT

Wall-e is a cute little trash compacting robot that is the only inhabitant of dusty and barren planet earth in some distant time. Evidently the Humans have finally been over-run by their own filth making the world uninhabitable. It seems timely considering our current environmental situation.

So, Wall-E and his pet cockroach (who gets to eat twinkies:) Spend their days discovering cool stuff in the trash and adding it to the collection that Wall-E keeps in his little robot home. At one point he finds a spork and goes to add it to his collection or utensils, but he doesn't know if he should put it with the forks or the spoons, so he lays it in between:) There's all kinds of cute stuff like that. Wall-E himself is like R2D2 on crack, but very friendly and innocent. More than anything, he just wants to hold hands with some one and he finally finds the robot of his dreams when Eve shows up to search for life on earth. And it just gets cuter from there.

The word Cute pretty much sums up this film. You just want to cuddle all the robots to death. And all the humans are gelatinous and friendly. Good triumphs over evil, and the cute little robots all get together. It's fun and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. My husband and I randomly say "Wall-E" exactly how Wall-e introduces himself, its just sooooo cute. and you will too if you watch this movie. WA-aaaaaaaa-LLLLlllllllll-eeeeeeeeeeeeee.

What to do with my Friday night...

csprague — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:22:24 GMT

Well, there's a whole host of potentially interesting films coming out this weekend. In weighing my options for Friday night viewing it narrows down pretty quickly to two films:

First, is The Women. It has a great cast and is sure to deliver on lots of the usual chick-flick types of subjects. It could go one of two ways though, really fun and relatable (making me glad to be a woman) or terrible and catty (making me hate my gender). I really like Meg Ryan though and I am glad to see her in a movie again, it's been a while. One of my favorite movies has always been Proof of Life, which I thought she did a great job in.

Secondly and speaking of supporting people I like, the brothers Coen are putting out their newest flick Burn After Reading. I am a big fan of these guys' sense of humor. The quirky characters and laughable scenarios are always entertaining. But it could really go either way for me at this point. I have to recall how little I liked The Ladykillers and this could be just as big of a miss. But Fargo and O Brother, Where Art Thou? were great, so I will just have to wait and see.

So, which one am I going to go and see? It depends on who I can get to go with me. If I can find a lady friend, we'll see The Women, if I take my husband, we'll see Burn After Reading. I'll let you know later.

the usual crime/heist movie

csprague — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 18:20:45 GMT

I remember "watching" this movie with my husband back when we first started dating, which means we weren't really watching the movie, because no one really watches the movie when they first start dating:)

So, two nights ago he said "why don't we actually watch this." Sure, why not, everyone seems to love it and recommend it like crazy. I think it's at the top of most movie buff's "gotta see it" lists. And I can kind of see why. The characters are great (I pretty much laughed out loud every time Del Toro opened his mouth). The shots are creative and interesting, the dialogue is quick and smart, and the narration is very well designed. I love that we are made to second guess the characters constantly. You think you know who to trust, but the whole time you have this nagging suspicion that things are different than they seem. It's good storytelling really.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the film, it was a good experience. But I have to say, i am not sure what the big deal is. It seems like there are bunches of other films that do the same thing and do it just as well. Anyone agree?

Heavy Metal in Baghdad

csprague — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 16:17:31 GMT

Heavy Metal in Baghdad delivered an unexpectedly candid look inside the war zone and all the people who are caught in the middle of a conflict that has nothing to do with them. There are no sides in the war for them, just fear, paranoia, chaos, and death. Their lives are destroyed along with the society, culture, and neighborhoods in which they grew up. It's so hard to honestly take in the amount of hopelessness and contempt a lot of people wrestle with everyday. It's their music that keeps them from turning into the thing they hate and they openly admit it. It's as if art tempers the chaos; makes the darkness manageable. We watch a lot of Iraq war docs here at Spout, but this one seems so much more important simple because it's about people and not administrations. I think it's our best shot at becoming involved with our global neighbors, to see them and be with them and join them in their context. I will certainly vote for change abroad, but I wonder what it might do to connect directly with people who are displaced and dying on the other side of the world. What difference would that make for them? or for us? I wonder if it's possible to stop so much senseless violence and death.

I love the Hallmark Channel?

csprague — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:02:14 GMT

Okay, I confess, I have a thing for the Hallmark Channel. It's so....easy. I watched this movie on there this weekend and I really liked it. It's one of the few Natalie Portman movies I have enjoyed. Plus, the women in it are amazing. Stockard Channing, Joan Cusak, Ashley Judd, Sally Field...all great ladies. Plus, I really got into the love story, I thought it was refreshing and believable in a lot of ways. It was about as feel-good as Fried Green Tomatoes.

The Nanny Diaries

csprague — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 14:19:00 GMT

It was more of a female, coming-of-age, I-don't-know-who-I-am kind of story than a romantic comedy. The love story was a side note, or at least it seemed that way since it was so underdeveloped. I really liked Laura Linny's character, I think she and Paul Giamatti did a great job. They were nerotic and overbearing, easily dispised. But I thought the tension between Johansson and Linny was a bit much. I have a hard time believing Johansson's character didn't snap earlier in the film. I found her capactiy for tolerating Linny's neglegence a bit unbelievable. Over all, I enjoyed it, but it is certainly not one of Johansson's best.

Sorry, Haters

csprague — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 20:10:02 GMT

I picked this one of the library to watch with my co-workers for our traditional Film-Friday viewing. It looked appealing enough. Robin Wright Penn is a great actress and IFC usually puts out movies I like. But really I didn't have a clue what I was about to watch.

Overall, my reaction is stunned. The movie had one of those non-explanation dominant intros with a lot of city and people shots. You watch the actions of the characters trying to pick up clues of development and plot. Taking cash out of an ATM, a cab driving around, people looking impatient. But really there is no way to tell who these people are or why they are important. The whole movie is kind of like this, where nothing is really explained, just implied by pictures, body language, TV sets, news paper clippings, and fuzzy shots of people or things that we're supposed to care about, but we're not sure why.

Gradually, you pick up the necessary pieces to put together a plot that is mostly about a psychopath named Pheobe who blackmails and manipulates Ashade (a cab driver who's brother has been arrested for suspected terrorism) into seeking revenge on the government. What really unfolds is a twisted story about Pheobe's masochism, rage, and sadism. She provokes Ashade to the point of violence and then plays out her own plan for subjecting other people to the same powerlessness that she feels.

I don't really enjoy movies with crazy, manipulative people, and this wasn't an exception. However, I felt like it was worth watching at least for the examination of a person who is so crazed with powerlessness and hatred that she uses violence to feel powerful. I am pretty sure this would be a good portrait for terrorism in general.