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The Blog of War
September 10, 2004
Long time no blog, eh? Pathetic.
First of all, a quick picture of the adorable Ellie to draw you all into my vacuous ranting. Muahahaha!
Issues anyone? Class? Class?? Anyone? Is anyone else just about sick to death of hearing about John Kerry or George Bush and what they may or may not have been doing 30-35 years ago. Frankly, I could care less. It sickens me that I have little choice but to choose between them. As I've said before, Kerry is getting my vote as the lesser of two evils. But for crying out loud, could we at least get back to them lying about what they're going to do once elected (or *shudder* re-elected) President? Just pick an issue, any issue so long as it takes place in the here-and-now, and let's run THAT through the mud for the next 60 days. YEESH!
Honestly, though, I'm beginning to hate the media more and more as the days go by. Self-serving, opportunistic liars and greedy egomaniacs - all of them.
Thank God for movies and music. And praise be to Allah that I've been enjoying several awesome movies and listening to some outstanding music lately, else I think I'd lose my flippin' mind.
One such movie I took in recently was the latest Errol Morris documentary - The Fog of War. I'm linking to Roger Ebert's review as I feel that it's the most balanced review of the documentary as an informative piece of entertainment. However, I don't really see this movie as simply entertainment and I encourage anyone with more interest in the subject of high office relations in the politics [Ref.] of war to dig just a little bit for more backstory and even some criticisms of Morris' portrayal of McNamara [and of McNamara's portrayal of history]. (Here are some starters: One, Two and Three, ) I was shaken by this film, to be honest. Aside from McNamara's ability to tell the truth or recall the exact facts from 40 years ago, I find it fascinating that a former Secretary of Defense sat down and spilled his guts about some pretty gruesome topics - such that war is. So I would highly advise checking it out.
I also rented Kill Bill Vol. One last weekend and absolutely LOVED it! Again, I'm linking to Ebert's review because, well in this case, I absolutely agree with him. I loved Vol. One so much that I tried to rent Vol. Two the very next day - only to find that the movie place was all out. So I rented it on Tuesday and finished Vol. Two tonight. Let me first say that I love Quentin Tarantino films. Jackie Brown may be the only film of his that I wouldn't recommend as being "great". But I have begun to feel that Kill Bill is his best work so far. Beautiful imagery and cinematography, great acting, wonderfully simple storytelling and some of the best fight scenes employing American actors that I've seen in a long, long time. And it's those qualities that people like the Wachowski brothers need to pay attention to. Had they made the fight scenes in either of the two Matrix sequels even HALF as good, or simplified the plot - rather than convolute it with philosophical double-talk, and actually hired some decent actors, well... I'm just going to stop there because it's not just the Wachowskis who need to do this - it's 80% of Hollywood. Anyway, Kill Bill was a lot of fun. It is pretty graphically intense, in that there is a lot of blood and fighting. But I didn't find the violence to be over the top. It's an American director's tribute to Kung-fu movies. And it goes without saying that if Tarantino is directing there's a very good chance that there is going to be lots of blood. Simply put, Kill Bill rocked.
On the music scene, I've been enjoying Mic City Sons by Heatmiser. Apparently, Elliot Smith had a band in the mid-nineties and they put out some decent albums. If you like Elliot Smith, then you'll most likely dig the tracks he sings on. Some of the other tracks remind me of The New Pornographers, especially their latest record (The Electric Version, I think?). Good stuff.
I've also been listening to the latest Magnetic Fields record, simply entitled i. The jury is still kinda out on this record, but there are definitely some good songs on here.
And I just can't stop listening to A Ghost Is Born by Wilco. It's been out forever now, but I swear I listen to it two or three times a week still.
At home I am currently engaged in a battle with the weeds that have consumed our yard. I never in a million years pictured myself a man who gave a shit about having a manicured lawn, but ladies and gentlemen let me tell you, the crabgrass, dandelions and the whatever-the-hell-else's started this war and I am determined to finish it. I won't stop until I have no more weeds. I'm not aiming for a golf course, just a decent yard that my daughter can run around in without cutting her foot on a spiny weed. I've reluctantly resorted to killing large sections of the yard and starting over with new seeding. So far, so good. The back yard is beginning to look better. This weekend is all about the front yard. Look out!
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This is my weblog - a place for me to write about whatever interests me. The topic is a wildcard, but is likely to be about UI Design, Usability, Web Standards, Photography, Music, Politics, etc. Every once in a while even a little politics. Expect anything.
Chris, you used the phrase, "the lessor of two evils." "Lessor" refers to one who is the owner of something another person may lease. The other person is, incidentally, the "lessee." Pehaps there is a place where we could go and rent some evils, but it kindo' scares me that evil might so readily available. What you were looking for was the "lesser" of two evils.
And don't feel bad, coz Ned wrote, "to a lessor degree" on his last post.
Whoops!
My BH and I took in The Fog of War Saturday night. Good stuff. I didn't get chills, but it was somewhat discerting to see how unapologetic the man is. Maybe "unapologetic" is the wrong word, but he says things like "yeah, we all make mistakes" but then focuses on what he considers he did right.
To be quite honest, he struck me as sort of William H. Macy-in-Fargo-ish. Ya know, like he'd spent the past 30 years rationalizing all of it.
There is actually a great review of the film in Salon that is worth sitting through the adverts to get to [link].
I didn't like Kill Bill and don't like anything Tarentino's done except Resevior Dogs (irregardless of the fact that he and I share the same birthday). Give me any Seagal flick, and I'll be much happier.
irregardless? You must mean regardless.
I agree, Phil, it seems that if you ask him directly, he's pretty much absolved himself of any wrongdoing. But he also points out that had the Allies lost WWII, they would have all been tried as war criminals.
Moral relativism - isn't it convenient?
I would like to watch the film with someone who lived through Vietnam and who, like a lot of folks did, had disdain for the way Vietnam was going on. It would be interesting to have that perspective. I think all of the major political figures ought to be made to sit down about 10-20 years after their terms and explain what they feel they did wrong and how they would have done things differently. Sort of like a time-capsuled exit interview. The time, I believe, is necessary to be able to look back with some confidence in what the actual outcome and its effects are.
Re: Tarantino - Sarah wouldn't even watch Kill Bill. Like you, she's not been a fan of most of his previous stuff, so she had no interest. I'm ok with that.
I'm not sure if it is because of my age or that I am just a wimp but, kill bill 1 & 2 were a little too violent for me.
Carrie, the problem was that they weren't violent enough. The big battle in the restaurant at the end of Volume 1 should have been in color. I want my blood red, dammit! Not grey.
Volume 2 was too heavy on Tarentino's (in my opinion) annoying, scripted dialogues.
Chris, I have a work pal who was in Vietnam. He describes it as a cross between Apocalypse Now and Good Morning, Vietnam. After watching the Morris film, I resolved to ask him why he didn't desert or go to Canada. I mean, there's no friggin' way I'd go fight some crappy war for Uncle Sam. No way!
McNamara is, to quote David S., a "sad, little man".
A few more articles worth reading on The Fog of War:
SFGate review: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/01/23/DDGHI4EQ161.DTL&type=printable
Fred Kaplan critique at Slate: http://slate.msn.com/id/2092916/
i think Shrub's actions 30 years ago reflect a lot about his character. Kerry, ditto. i'm just sickened that the right has the nerve to try and use it against Kerry. wtf?
Ellie is adorable!
too lazy to explain why, but Jacki Brown is my favorite QT film. Kell Bill was good, but kinda messy in that he tried to show off and incorporated too many types of film genre.
Hey chris I have a link on my page that I thought was interesting check it out
Phil- Now that I am older (ya know 30) I am more sensitive to violence. In fact I had a hard time watching Cold Mountain. Also I saw Hero this weekend and didn't like it but that is just me
I haven't seen it since it was first released, but at the time, I liked 'Jackie Brown' the best, too. When 'Pulp Fiction' came out I saw it several times, mainly because of Samuel Jackson's biblical speechifying and the colloquial banter with Travolta, plus the narrative shifts. I saw it again a few years ago and stopped watching out of boredom. But JB had a great, almost understated, texture, I thought that resonated with me. I need to see it again to find out if it holds up.
On violence, I'm with Carrie - the older I get (34 and counting!) the less stomach I have for such things. I loathed that torture scene in Reservoir Dogs as cheap, sick thrills. I get that he's playing with the conventions of movies and all, but it just doesn't interest me. I really want to see Hero, though.
As far as violence goes for me, it isn't all the same so I react differently to it depending on the presentation. A movie like Saving Private Ryan or City of God wears me out emotionally because of the realistic nature of the violence. It's not that I haven't enjoyed these movies. On the contrary, I do because they make me feel something quite visceral and because they force me, mentally and emotionally, to examine what I might feel like if presented with real violence. I've concluded that I wouldn't react all too well.
I felt Kill Bill was, like most kung-fu movies, much more of a cartoon violence. You have to suspend belief in order to absorb it, and I have a much higher tolerance for that. In fact, I found several of the fight scenes in KB 1&2 to be quite funny - and believe that they were intended to be so. It is entertaining rather than affecting me.
And it's not just movies that I feel this way about. Video games have the same effect. The more realistic the violence is, the less appealing I find it.
Let me go on record as saying that I liked Jackie Brown, I just didn't think it was "great". I would say that Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction were great.
I've also really liked other movies that Tarantino wrote - such as True Romance and Natural Born Killers. And his contribution to Four Rooms was the best of the four. What an ending!
I don't really have time for this, but I felt that KB 1-2 is QT at the peak of his powers. Sure, there's violence--hyper-realistic, gripping, cartoonish, etc. Yeah, there's plenty of fast-paced, tough-guy dialogue. And, of course, he rips off every pulp genre conceivable (ok-maybe not sci-fi). But I LIKE that stuff, and he does it so well. Moreover, while he has done those things in previous films, in Kill Bill he adds a level of sophistication and mythology to the mix. Sure, the wisdom and myths are lifted from other sources, but I don't care about that. Lucas did it with Star Wars. Kill Bill struck me as the smartest of QT's films. I went back and re-watched Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction recently. While I don't want to take anything away from them--they are KICKASS MOVIES--I thought I had more to chew on after Kill Bill.
I see the violence in Reservior Dogs as a completely seperate thing from QT's other movies. In RD, it was very realistic and intense. But in Kill Bill, and especially in the last half of From Dusk Till Dawn (a movie I didn't truly appreciate until my 3rd or 4th viewing), the violence was almost cartoonish (gallons of blood spurting 30 feet across the room, etc).
I don't believe QT had anything to do with Hero. He just paid to have it released here, but the distributor would only do it on the condition of attaching Tarantino's name.
Four Rooms is awesome. I can't believe users have only rated it at a 5.9 on IMDB.
On a related note, for me, Michael Madesn ranks up there with Sean Connery as one of the coolest mother-fuckers on the screen.
Grapes!