Blue eyes, baby's got blue eyes...

Goodbye Paul Newman.

And you might want to read this too.

21

Yesterday evening, by chance, I spotted the beginning of a movie in TV. Considering the absolute vacuum that usually is on tv during the summer, so perfect that you could have physics experiments done in it, I followed, at first distractedly, then completely caught in the story narrated in a very strange ways, with continuous flashbacks following three different lines of a plot that obviously converges at a given point.

The movie was "21 grams" and I must admit I was wrong to skip it a few years ago, when it came out in the cinemas, just because the main star is Sean Penn, at the time also the leading character in "Dead Man Walking". "21 grams" is an astounding movie and Sean Penn should had got the Oscar for playing in it (he got it, instead, that year for the other movie) and Benicio del Toro, who, sadly, afterwards appeared only in the disappointing "Sin City", should had followed suit.

Totally unrelated to the movie, today I had another funny case of a catalyzed chain reaction the seeds of which had been laid way in the past:

* years ago, I had my best friend joining my students association, ELSA. With this student association he met, among others, a spanish guy, named Carlos and a croatian/german girl called Milka. Thanks to Alessandro and Carlos, years later, I met Susanne.

* years ago, with my association, I met Beatrix, my hungarian ex, and due to her Hungary had always a special place in my heart. Because of her, 2 years ago, I visited Budapest again with the excuse of an ELSA seminar and met or re-strengthened my links with several members of ELSA Budapest, among whom Dalma.

* this year, Susanne decided to study in Mainz. Milka is from Mainz and I asked her some help and directions, besides taking the opportunity to see her when we were in Mainz looking for an apartment. When we met in Mainz, she happened to mention that she was going to Budapest in September and would had liked some help. So it happened that I called Dalma who gladly offered her help and at the same time was just about to call me as she has a friend coming to study in Rome and needed some help. Now, if this friend would happen to be able to do something to help Alessandro for something, the chain would be closed.

Movies - V for Vendetta

As a wrote a few posts back, just days before leaving to London, I went to see "V for Vendetta" and I've twisted feelings about it. The plot is interesting if not overly original (an authoritarian government in a futuristic, but not too distant, United Kingdon is toppled by the hero of
the day, helped by the beautiful female co-hero), the victorian flavor of the main charachter and scenography are more so and has to be said that the movie comes from a comic.

Said that, I'm left dubious about a movie that in these times brings forward the idea that terrorist actions as blowing up things and
people are acceptable things, actually meritorious ones. Not to mention a movie showing the destruction of some of the most important buildings of a city that not even a year ago suffered a major real terror attack with bombs blasting in the underground and on the buses.

Overall, I liked it, but left some kind of funny, not totally pleasant, aftertaset in my mouth.

Best line, obviously, the monologue using which the masked hero, V, introduces himself to the just about saved future co-heroine: "This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Not to mention the answer to it: "Are you like a crazy person?"

Lost (&) Movies - (The Weather Man - Walk the Line)

Lost

Yesterday evening I happened to give a general look at the first half "Lost" pilot and then to watch more carefully the second half. Well, wow. For some things it reminds me of the first series of X-files, but it's actually faster, with more charachters, more plot and a very different style of narration with the story going in parallel with flashbacks detailing the main charachters and following the "no one is what he looks like" approach.

All around I really liked that. No wonder it was such a success in the States, I will dare to say it's unlike any series I have seen so far and made it already among my favourite ones together with X-files, ER, Babylon 5, Law & Order, The Sopranos and... well, several others. Definitely, will take the place of ER as the series I do watch with my father (kind of a tradition... we watched together for years ER on mondays and X-files on thursdays).

(&) Movies

Over the week-end, or rather on saturday evening, I got to see two different movies (yes, one after the other, making it almost 5 hours spent in the cinema). One was "The Weather Man" with Nicholas Cage and Michael Caine, the other was "Walk the Line" with Joaquin Phoenix and the now Academy Awarded Reese Whiterspoon.

The Weather Man

Well, I was surprised. From the trailers (which show a poor Nicholas Cage being the target of milk shakes and various other stuff thrown at him from passing cars and him going around with a bow on his shoulder to avoid that) and a treacherous review on a newspaper by someone who evidently hadn't even seen the movie, I expected a light comedy. It's not, even if you do get to laugh as well.

In a way, it reminds me of "American Beauty", with the main charachter facing the hardship of every day life, especially the relationship with an almost ex wife, a grossly overweight and unhappy daughter and a naive son who apparently can't keep but putting himself in even more troubles. With much self-analysis moments by Cage and a cameo-like but great appearance of Caine (who is one of my all time favourite actors), the movie was totally different from what I expected, and yet was pretty good.

Main line? "Easy doesn't enter into grown-up life"

Walk the Line

Johnny Cash's life from his childhood to the concert at Folsom prison. There is not really much to say about the movie per se. As any biographic movie, it has a plot as good as the life of the person in it, and if that hadn't been interesting, you wouldn't had known of the person in the first place.

What is notable about the movie, besides the good performance of both Phoenix and Whiterspoon, is the great soundtrack made of solid gospels, blues and rock & rolls. A bit disappointing the Jerry Lee Lewis side charachter, but then I did love Dannis Quaid's one in "Great Balls of Fire".

Only problem, the "south" accent... gee, if that is hard to grasp now and then.

Main line:
"When I was just a baby my mama told me. Son,
always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns.
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
now every time I hear that whistle I hang my head and cry.."