take care, take care, take care

So, I was really expecting to put on the new Explosions in the Sky album and kick out a blog post on Greenberg, Room in Rome and Black Heaven. The music is on but the post isn't coming. Briefly, I'll say a sentence about each. I liked Greenberg and thought both Ben Stiller and Greta Gerwig were great. I wish I watched the trailer to Black Heaven first because the written description made the movie sound awesome and the sad fact is that it is not. I enjoyed Room in Rome for the beautiful camera work and the incredibly beautiful (and constantly naked) actresses.

I'm not going to jump into the 2006 discussion other than to say that Jeffrey's list is really close to what mine would probably be with the exception of Inland Empire. I consider myself a Lynch fan. Mulholland Dr, Lost Highway and to a lesser extent Blue Valentine were all hugely important films for me - and we've already discussed Twin Peaks. However, much like Brandon, I just could not do Inland Empire. It's still one of those movies I feel guilty about not liking even though I think I did give it a chance.

I've already professed my love for both The Fountain and Half Nelson on this blog.

I really liked Little Children. However, I can see Brandon's "caricature" point. Though, and all respect to Tom Perrotta whose writing I love, I feel the book could be criticised for that as well. Which reminds me, this film would make my previous list about books into films. So would The Reader. I read the book yesterday and loved it just as much as I loved the film.

Since I'm not writing much about the movies I've seen, here is some reading for you based on the current discussions. The second two links are articles written by Alexis Madrigal, a journalist who I believe deserves a much wider audience.

n+1: Ground Zero, May 1st, 2011 LINK

Atlantic: Outside the White House, A Celebration of OBL's Death LINK

Atlantic: The (Shy) Woman Whose Words Accidentally Became MLK's LINK

I agree with the general sentiment of all the Film Club members who have discussed the killing of Bin Laden. I can not get excited or feel cheered by the death of another person no matter how evil. I can only hope that President Obama uses this as a reason to officially end the "War on Terror" and start withdrawing troops from overseas. This is a good "out" and the proper time to force a radical rethinking of our foreign policy.

Jeffrey, have you, by any chance, seen the essay about pacifism in the current issue of Harper's? I mention this because you wrote

I know that emotion gets the best of us a lot of the time, but a non-violent ideal is something we should all strive for. Impossible in our society? Probably, but I still try to hold myself to that standard and wish in vain that others would too.

The essay holds forth that pacifism is not only the best option but quite possible as well. It does this all on the backdrop of WWII - a war that a lot people believe was the most noble in all of history. Very interesting perspective. Unfortunately, Harper's is one of those magazines that has a pay wall. You can preview the essay HERE and I'm sure BU has a subscription if you pop in the library sometime.

I think you all might enjoy this TED Talk. In my opinion, it is one of the most important of all the 900+ talks available on their site.