I don't know a lot about baseball and I avoided playing it when I was a kid- I'm no good at that shit.
But latey I've gotten into the Red Sox and Dustin Pedroia. Something about him is very interesting. I wanna buy the book he put out in 2009, Born To Play: My Life In The Game.
The only problem is: Pedroia co-wrote the book along with Ted Delaney. I don't care if someone works very closely with their editor, but when you put a famous person together with a writer you know that the writer is going to take over and then the person's voice is lost.
I'd rather read a sloppy book by Pedroia than a neat, organized book by a real writer. But anyway, I checked the library last year and theyb didn't have it; I'm gonna try again Monday.
I also wanna try his salsa.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Meeting new people
I consider myself the kind of person who doesn't attract other people. Not that I repel people. Just that out in public, I'm not the person that a talker come up to. I'm bad at conversations and I think other people sense this. That's good for me because I mostly enjoy listening to other people talk.
But the last 2 days thing have been different.
Yesterday afternoon I was waiting at the bus station and smoking a cigarette when a chubby woman in her late 40s came up to me and started talking about how she almost missed her bus earlier and how she had an argument with the driver. She told me the whole story and we talked about busses in general plus the weather and the tornado that rolled through the area on June 1st. She was clearly a little "off" but not so strange or crazy that I felt like making a run for it or politely finding another place to wait. She was nice and harmless.
Today, a the same place, the same thing happened. I feel so popular. I was talking to this guy that I had talked to before when this other guy came up to ask the other guy what time it was. The new guy mentioned that he'd just gotten out of prison and we congratulated him. Then a funny thing happened. Of the two of us, the jailbird started talking to me. The other guy ended up drifting off and Anthony told me about how he liked to work on, and race, cars and how big his 3 year old son was. I know nothing about cars but it was interesting and I pretended that I knew what he was talking about. Turns out that he started with one kind of car and added parts from another kind of car and modified everything.
He's 22 years old and he was very happy when I said that I'd thought that he was 25. He said that's because he's matured now. He's learned to forgive his father and other people who've hurt him and because of that he's able to forgive himself. I said that's a good way to be. It's healthy.
Turns out that he was taking the same bus and that we live in the same part of the city- on the edge of town. I got on the bus first. I'd hoped that he'd sit near and, in fact, he sat right next to me and we talked the entire time. I was disappointed when he got off the bus before its final stop but he had somewhere else he had to go.
I'm hoping that we'll run into each other again. He might be trouble, but he seems like a good person.
But the last 2 days thing have been different.
Yesterday afternoon I was waiting at the bus station and smoking a cigarette when a chubby woman in her late 40s came up to me and started talking about how she almost missed her bus earlier and how she had an argument with the driver. She told me the whole story and we talked about busses in general plus the weather and the tornado that rolled through the area on June 1st. She was clearly a little "off" but not so strange or crazy that I felt like making a run for it or politely finding another place to wait. She was nice and harmless.
Today, a the same place, the same thing happened. I feel so popular. I was talking to this guy that I had talked to before when this other guy came up to ask the other guy what time it was. The new guy mentioned that he'd just gotten out of prison and we congratulated him. Then a funny thing happened. Of the two of us, the jailbird started talking to me. The other guy ended up drifting off and Anthony told me about how he liked to work on, and race, cars and how big his 3 year old son was. I know nothing about cars but it was interesting and I pretended that I knew what he was talking about. Turns out that he started with one kind of car and added parts from another kind of car and modified everything.
He's 22 years old and he was very happy when I said that I'd thought that he was 25. He said that's because he's matured now. He's learned to forgive his father and other people who've hurt him and because of that he's able to forgive himself. I said that's a good way to be. It's healthy.
Turns out that he was taking the same bus and that we live in the same part of the city- on the edge of town. I got on the bus first. I'd hoped that he'd sit near and, in fact, he sat right next to me and we talked the entire time. I was disappointed when he got off the bus before its final stop but he had somewhere else he had to go.
I'm hoping that we'll run into each other again. He might be trouble, but he seems like a good person.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Machete
Machete (2010) Directed by Robert Rodreguez and Ethan maniquis
Machete is a great Friday night movie to watch while you'tre sitting at home on your loveseat drinking cranberry/ raspberry juice cocktail and eating croutons straight out of the bag.
That's the scene here except it's Tuesday night.
Normally movies with all-star casts suck. There's Mars Attacks. That movie is a piece of shit. And I look back fondly on the Cannonball Run movies but they're pretty weak.
Machete, though, is a good movie. I'm still watching it. Right now Lindsay Lohan is naked, Splash-style. Don Johnson and Cheech Marin are reunited- they were great in Tin Cup- but here they don't share any scenes. Jeff "The Lawnmowerman" Fahey does a good job as one of the bad guys and I can't get over how different he seems now that he's older.
Danny Trejo doesn't have a lot of lines, but he carries the whole movie well. After years of supporting roles this is his first time being the leading man and he does a great job.
So here's what I really think about Machete: It's an entertaining movie, but it just seems like an episode of CSI :Texas only it has nudity, swearing, and more blood. Note: Now I'm eating a bowl of bread & butter pickles. They go so good with croutons. Anyway, I can't help comparing Machete with Jackie Brown and Kill Bill. And Machete lacks all the elements that make Jackie and Bill special. I could watch Quentin Tarentino's movies over and over again. There are so many scenes that I love and am amazed by. If I never see Machete again that's fine- there's not one single scene that I remember and think, "That was great, I'd like to re-watch that".
Machete's over now so I'm gonna have one more cigarette and then I'm going to bed. Big day tomorrow, maybe. Good night.
Machete is a great Friday night movie to watch while you'tre sitting at home on your loveseat drinking cranberry/ raspberry juice cocktail and eating croutons straight out of the bag.
That's the scene here except it's Tuesday night.
Normally movies with all-star casts suck. There's Mars Attacks. That movie is a piece of shit. And I look back fondly on the Cannonball Run movies but they're pretty weak.
Machete, though, is a good movie. I'm still watching it. Right now Lindsay Lohan is naked, Splash-style. Don Johnson and Cheech Marin are reunited- they were great in Tin Cup- but here they don't share any scenes. Jeff "The Lawnmowerman" Fahey does a good job as one of the bad guys and I can't get over how different he seems now that he's older.
Danny Trejo doesn't have a lot of lines, but he carries the whole movie well. After years of supporting roles this is his first time being the leading man and he does a great job.
So here's what I really think about Machete: It's an entertaining movie, but it just seems like an episode of CSI :Texas only it has nudity, swearing, and more blood. Note: Now I'm eating a bowl of bread & butter pickles. They go so good with croutons. Anyway, I can't help comparing Machete with Jackie Brown and Kill Bill. And Machete lacks all the elements that make Jackie and Bill special. I could watch Quentin Tarentino's movies over and over again. There are so many scenes that I love and am amazed by. If I never see Machete again that's fine- there's not one single scene that I remember and think, "That was great, I'd like to re-watch that".
Machete's over now so I'm gonna have one more cigarette and then I'm going to bed. Big day tomorrow, maybe. Good night.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Amy Winehouse
I got home from work around 6pm and, like always, got on the computer to check on news and whatnot. Had I gone to USA Today online instead of my local paper I would've seen the news right away. As it was I scan the local headlines and didn't see the story about Amy Winehouse till I scrolled down.
I've gotta say: I'm surprised. Yeah, I knew she had plenty of problems, but it never occurred to me that she might die. She seemed like a survivor, in spite of, or because of, all the trouble she got into.
I liked the two songs that I heard on the radio, "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good". I checked out Back to Black at the library and while i thought it was good, nothing else jumped out at me. Still, those two songs are excellent. I love how "Rehab" has that 60s sound to it but I can't think of any particular song from that time that it sounds like.
And she was so cool looking- that beehive was so unexpected and so right. She was very pretty and she seemed like she'd be fun to hang out with, at least until she started coming off as more of a fighter, somebody who actually gets into fights with people.
I think the whole thing is so sad. Like I said, I didn't see this coming. I always imagined that, while she may or may not keep getting in trouble, she'd have a decades- long career and a lot of amazing songs in the future.
On a side note, Twitter is starting to annoy me the way that it's become a legitimate news source. Everyone's Twitter account is being quoted. I know it's early, but have you read any thoughtful comments from any of her fellow musicians? I haven't. Only Tweets that don't look much different than the comments that teenagers leave on their friends' Facebook pages. "RIP Amy", ect.
I've gotta say: I'm surprised. Yeah, I knew she had plenty of problems, but it never occurred to me that she might die. She seemed like a survivor, in spite of, or because of, all the trouble she got into.
I liked the two songs that I heard on the radio, "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good". I checked out Back to Black at the library and while i thought it was good, nothing else jumped out at me. Still, those two songs are excellent. I love how "Rehab" has that 60s sound to it but I can't think of any particular song from that time that it sounds like.
And she was so cool looking- that beehive was so unexpected and so right. She was very pretty and she seemed like she'd be fun to hang out with, at least until she started coming off as more of a fighter, somebody who actually gets into fights with people.
I think the whole thing is so sad. Like I said, I didn't see this coming. I always imagined that, while she may or may not keep getting in trouble, she'd have a decades- long career and a lot of amazing songs in the future.
On a side note, Twitter is starting to annoy me the way that it's become a legitimate news source. Everyone's Twitter account is being quoted. I know it's early, but have you read any thoughtful comments from any of her fellow musicians? I haven't. Only Tweets that don't look much different than the comments that teenagers leave on their friends' Facebook pages. "RIP Amy", ect.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Summer plans
Summer plans. I'm not talking about camping or going to the beach. I'm talking about a couple of blog ideas I have. I don't keep notes or make lists of potential topics (though I'd like to). So what I do is make note of my plans and ideas here, at RJ Battles. That may, I might have other things on my mind, but when I come here I'll see the older subject ideas and get to work.
Number One: I'd like to write about all the Stephen King books I've read (plus some of the movies). Someone once asked King what book he'd most likely be remembered for. Not what he considered his best book, or what he wanted to be remembered for, but which one had the best chance of being read far, far into the future. He answered The Shining, and I can kind of agree- it sounds like a sound choice, but I disagree. I chose another book and I'll get to that in my upcoming Stephen King post.
Number Two: I wanna write about Frank Black and all of his solo albums and songs. Of all the musicians that I like, the two whose music most excites me are Kristin Hersh and Frank Black. The ups and downs and highs and lows of FB's musical output are extreme. So many awesome, amazing songs (usually un-released or B-sides) and a bunch of weak, uninteresting tracks (singles, of course- you knew I was gonna say that). There are a lot of things to talk about.
I can't wait to write these two posts. It's just past 3am so in a couple minutes I'll be back in bed and this time I'm gonna fall asleep. 5am will be here soon.
Number One: I'd like to write about all the Stephen King books I've read (plus some of the movies). Someone once asked King what book he'd most likely be remembered for. Not what he considered his best book, or what he wanted to be remembered for, but which one had the best chance of being read far, far into the future. He answered The Shining, and I can kind of agree- it sounds like a sound choice, but I disagree. I chose another book and I'll get to that in my upcoming Stephen King post.
Number Two: I wanna write about Frank Black and all of his solo albums and songs. Of all the musicians that I like, the two whose music most excites me are Kristin Hersh and Frank Black. The ups and downs and highs and lows of FB's musical output are extreme. So many awesome, amazing songs (usually un-released or B-sides) and a bunch of weak, uninteresting tracks (singles, of course- you knew I was gonna say that). There are a lot of things to talk about.
I can't wait to write these two posts. It's just past 3am so in a couple minutes I'll be back in bed and this time I'm gonna fall asleep. 5am will be here soon.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
I need a new banner
I keep on forgetting- it looks like it's still Eastertime here. But I wanna do something really cool and not just the usual Belly collage (not that they're not great, I just wanna do something different).
I'm going to a Jack & Jill tomorrow night and I can't wait. The last time I went out and had a few drinks was March 2. This weekend I'll tell you all about the party.
I like to go to the blog By Ken Levine. Levine used to write for M*A*S*H and Cheers. He's also a baseball announcer and he was involved with a mini-fued with Aaron Sorkin back when Studio 60 was still on the air. Two months ago Levine was involved in a smaller mini-fued with Roseanne over an article she wrote for New York magazine. I like Roseanne and Sorkin but in both cases I have to side with Levine.
So anyway, I found Levine's blog last year when I was looking up Cheers on Wiki- Wiki linked to his blog and an intersting story about why Eddie Lebeque was written off the show. I've been reading every day ever since. Plus I've read just about every post from the archives...
...Ok, I just remembered my point. Today he wrote about the quality of the movies that have come out so far this year. I haven't gone to the movies yet this year but I've been watching a lot on Comcast and Netflix and I have some opinions.
It's too much to get into tonight- in ten minutes the lights will be off and I'll be in bed- but we'll talk about this later this month. Or early next month. We'll see. Good night.
I'm going to a Jack & Jill tomorrow night and I can't wait. The last time I went out and had a few drinks was March 2. This weekend I'll tell you all about the party.
I like to go to the blog By Ken Levine. Levine used to write for M*A*S*H and Cheers. He's also a baseball announcer and he was involved with a mini-fued with Aaron Sorkin back when Studio 60 was still on the air. Two months ago Levine was involved in a smaller mini-fued with Roseanne over an article she wrote for New York magazine. I like Roseanne and Sorkin but in both cases I have to side with Levine.
So anyway, I found Levine's blog last year when I was looking up Cheers on Wiki- Wiki linked to his blog and an intersting story about why Eddie Lebeque was written off the show. I've been reading every day ever since. Plus I've read just about every post from the archives...
...Ok, I just remembered my point. Today he wrote about the quality of the movies that have come out so far this year. I haven't gone to the movies yet this year but I've been watching a lot on Comcast and Netflix and I have some opinions.
It's too much to get into tonight- in ten minutes the lights will be off and I'll be in bed- but we'll talk about this later this month. Or early next month. We'll see. Good night.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Things to do and people to see
Last night I wrote about Jincy Willet's short story "The Best of Betty"*. I just wanna say again how good it is. I think anyone would like it, but it helps if you grew up reading advice columns like Ann Landers and Dear Abby. My local paper also carried Dr. Ruth for a while too.
I'm just gonna take this time to recomend a few other things you'll like.
I like just about every O Henry story I've read but my favorite is "The Last Leaf". Check it out- it's very short and won't take much of your time but you'll always remember it. You can easily find it online. Also, if you get the chance, see O Henry's Full House. "The Last Leaf" is acted out, along with "The Gift of the Magi".
One of my favorite songs from the last 10 years is "Silver Lining" by Rilo Kiley. I heard it one time on the radio and then never again. I thought it was Jewel so that made it a little harder to track it down on the computer but I still found it on YouTube.
Speaking of YouTube, if you're in a bad mood with time to kill watch some of Kathy Griffin's Bravo specials. She has a couple new ones out- "50 and Not Pregnant" and "Gurrl Down". She talks about Steven Segal: Lawman and spending her birthday with Cher.
Ok, I guess I've given you enough to do. Now go do it.
* "The Best of Betty" is from Jincy Willet's book Jenny & the Jaws of Life.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
New Posts
I've been busy lately but for the rest of the month I'm going to try posting more often. Probably more movie reviews but who knows, it could be anything.
I just wanna mention quickly: Yesterday I re-read Eudora Welty's "Why I Live At The PO". It was in a paperback that I borrowed from my parents years ago. It had been on the big bookshelf in the living room for as long as I remember and it's called Short Story Masterpieces. It's got Hemmingway, FSF, Joey Conrad- all the big names. I like the F. Scott story, "Winter Dreams" but that's about it.
Years ago I read the short story collection that David Sedaris editted; there were some really good stories- I liked the one by Flannery O'Conner, but my favorite was by an author named Jincey Willet called "The Best of Betty". I've re-read it about 10 times. It's amazing and one of the best things I've ever read. I still can't believe that someone could come up with all that. If you ever get the chance, check it out.
Sedaris also included "Why I Live At The PO". I'd been curious about her; I've read a lot of writers say how great she is. So I Looked at the local library and all I could find was a large-print book called A Writers Beginning and it was the published version of a speech she had given later in life. I liked it a lot but I could tell that it wasn't her best work- I'm sure it didn't really represent her real writing output. So I read the short story in Sedaris's book and I have to say: I don't get what the big deal is. It was good, and there were a couple funny lines, but they weren't really funny lines.
So I re-read it yesterday and I feel the same. What's the big deal? I'm gonna have to give her another chance. She must be good, I'm probably just missing something.
I just wanna mention quickly: Yesterday I re-read Eudora Welty's "Why I Live At The PO". It was in a paperback that I borrowed from my parents years ago. It had been on the big bookshelf in the living room for as long as I remember and it's called Short Story Masterpieces. It's got Hemmingway, FSF, Joey Conrad- all the big names. I like the F. Scott story, "Winter Dreams" but that's about it.
Years ago I read the short story collection that David Sedaris editted; there were some really good stories- I liked the one by Flannery O'Conner, but my favorite was by an author named Jincey Willet called "The Best of Betty". I've re-read it about 10 times. It's amazing and one of the best things I've ever read. I still can't believe that someone could come up with all that. If you ever get the chance, check it out.
Sedaris also included "Why I Live At The PO". I'd been curious about her; I've read a lot of writers say how great she is. So I Looked at the local library and all I could find was a large-print book called A Writers Beginning and it was the published version of a speech she had given later in life. I liked it a lot but I could tell that it wasn't her best work- I'm sure it didn't really represent her real writing output. So I read the short story in Sedaris's book and I have to say: I don't get what the big deal is. It was good, and there were a couple funny lines, but they weren't really funny lines.
So I re-read it yesterday and I feel the same. What's the big deal? I'm gonna have to give her another chance. She must be good, I'm probably just missing something.
Friday, July 15, 2011
My sleep disorder
I've always had a problem with insomnia- even as a little kid. From the age of 10 to 14 I listened to the radio on headphones before bed. I figured I might as well do something and I like music. There are certain songs that when I hear them now it takes me back to that time. For instance, George Harrison's "I Got My Mind Set On You" or "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life".
My mom always woke me up for school so that wasn't an issue until I moved away from home. The first few months of first adult job I overslept a lot. Eventually I turned that around and started getting up early every single day. I started work at 7am but I got up at 4am. I started to like that- I'd amke coffee and watch the early newscast. By the time I got to work I felt fully awake and ahead of the game.
Three years of that and then I moved back to this area and started hanging out with an old friend from high school, Angela. A drinker and a pot-smoker, she liked to take it easy. And she loved sleep. A lot of times I'd end up sleeping over her house and it wasn't like sleeping at my other friends' houses. Angela had a big soft bed with 8 pillows and a big white down comforter. Hungover, we'd sleep well into the morning and sometimes the afternoon. She helped me re-discover my love of sleeping in.
Now I stay in bed until the last possible minute but I don't like that. I feel awake enough when I get to work, but it seems wrong to avoid the day like that. I feel like I don't have control over my sleep habits. At bedtime I lie in bed for hours, tossing and turning, not ready to end the day and surrender to sleep, and in the morning I pull the covers over my head and ignore the urgent need to pee because I don't want to leave the safety of my bed.
This is not good. I'm off tomorrow, it's past midnight, I'm heading to bed soon, and my alarm is set for 7am. I hope that I'll get up when the alarm sounds but i don't really have anything important to do tomorrow. I have some chores and errands but none are really pressing and if I spent the entire day in bed nothing would go wrong.
I've gotta do something about this problem. Is anyone else going through this? Talk to me.
My mom always woke me up for school so that wasn't an issue until I moved away from home. The first few months of first adult job I overslept a lot. Eventually I turned that around and started getting up early every single day. I started work at 7am but I got up at 4am. I started to like that- I'd amke coffee and watch the early newscast. By the time I got to work I felt fully awake and ahead of the game.
Three years of that and then I moved back to this area and started hanging out with an old friend from high school, Angela. A drinker and a pot-smoker, she liked to take it easy. And she loved sleep. A lot of times I'd end up sleeping over her house and it wasn't like sleeping at my other friends' houses. Angela had a big soft bed with 8 pillows and a big white down comforter. Hungover, we'd sleep well into the morning and sometimes the afternoon. She helped me re-discover my love of sleeping in.
Now I stay in bed until the last possible minute but I don't like that. I feel awake enough when I get to work, but it seems wrong to avoid the day like that. I feel like I don't have control over my sleep habits. At bedtime I lie in bed for hours, tossing and turning, not ready to end the day and surrender to sleep, and in the morning I pull the covers over my head and ignore the urgent need to pee because I don't want to leave the safety of my bed.
This is not good. I'm off tomorrow, it's past midnight, I'm heading to bed soon, and my alarm is set for 7am. I hope that I'll get up when the alarm sounds but i don't really have anything important to do tomorrow. I have some chores and errands but none are really pressing and if I spent the entire day in bed nothing would go wrong.
I've gotta do something about this problem. Is anyone else going through this? Talk to me.
Bear and Bunny
The other morning I was at work and a customer who was sitting by the window stood up and said, "A bear just ran down the sidewalk".
The resturant is located right in the center of town so that's unusual. Last summer one of my roommates saw a bear in our backyard, but we live on the outskit=rts of town. Two weeks ago I saw a family- a mother bear and three baby bears walk across the parking lot of the apartment complex next door. The mother grabbed a trash bag and dragged it across the lot and behind a building. It was around 7pm on a Friday night.
The bear the other day- a baby, 4' and about 175 lbs- drew a crowd and was very scared. I ran outside in time to se it climb over a metal fence and back onto the sidewalk. I heard that afterwards it got onto our patio and tried to get into the dining room. Customers screamed and the bear got scared, shit on the patio, and ran across the street. Then it went up a tree.
I'm sure dozens of people called animal control but I saw in the paper that the bear ran away on its own.
Two nights ago I was outside at home having a smoke when there was a comotion in the bushes next to me. I looked over and saw four tiny bunnies running around a railroad tie. Then I saw a stray cat- probably feral- run off with something in its mouth. I chased it up the driveway yelling, "Put down that bunny!!"
I went around the house and when I got back to where I started I saw a baby bunny laying on its side in the driveway taking short, ragged breaths. My roommate was due back at any time and I wanted to get the bunny out of the driveway so I ran up to room to get something to move it with. When I came back out a moment later the bunny had died.
The resturant is located right in the center of town so that's unusual. Last summer one of my roommates saw a bear in our backyard, but we live on the outskit=rts of town. Two weeks ago I saw a family- a mother bear and three baby bears walk across the parking lot of the apartment complex next door. The mother grabbed a trash bag and dragged it across the lot and behind a building. It was around 7pm on a Friday night.
The bear the other day- a baby, 4' and about 175 lbs- drew a crowd and was very scared. I ran outside in time to se it climb over a metal fence and back onto the sidewalk. I heard that afterwards it got onto our patio and tried to get into the dining room. Customers screamed and the bear got scared, shit on the patio, and ran across the street. Then it went up a tree.
I'm sure dozens of people called animal control but I saw in the paper that the bear ran away on its own.
Two nights ago I was outside at home having a smoke when there was a comotion in the bushes next to me. I looked over and saw four tiny bunnies running around a railroad tie. Then I saw a stray cat- probably feral- run off with something in its mouth. I chased it up the driveway yelling, "Put down that bunny!!"
I went around the house and when I got back to where I started I saw a baby bunny laying on its side in the driveway taking short, ragged breaths. My roommate was due back at any time and I wanted to get the bunny out of the driveway so I ran up to room to get something to move it with. When I came back out a moment later the bunny had died.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
10,000 Maniacs
I'm not a big fan, but I like a few songs by 10,000 Maniacs. "These Are Days" is the song that got my attention, but it was the other song off Our Time In Eden, their last studio album (I know- they're still together, they've put out a bunch more albums. But I consider the end to be when Natalie Merchant left), "Candy Everybody Wants".
"Candy Everybody Wants" is one of my favorite songs ever. I've been thinking of it lately because it was featured on the blog The Daily Guru. The Daily Guru is a blog that I've talked a lot of shit about here at RJ Battles, but I have to admit: once in a while he picks a good song. He's still over-using "truly" and "iconic" (especially "iconic"- I think it's his favorite word) but the writing doesn't bother me as much now. Either it's getting better or I stopped caring.
Anyway, tonight I went on You Tube cause I wanted to see the official video and right away I was surprised- I'm positive it was it was directed by the same guy who did the video for Belly's "Slow Dog". The style, the editing, the make-up, the dancing- all the same. The "Slow Dog" video is much more hyper but so is the song.
If you get a chance, check them out. I'd put up links if I knew how to do that sort of thing. Sorry, you're on your own. Good night.
The two prequels to The Exorcist
Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist (2005) Paul Schrader
Exorcist: The Beginning (2004) Renny Harlin
I remember when each of these movies came out and I remember not being interested in seeing either of them.
It was only recently that I discovered the story behind them and it's really interesting.
Morgan Creek hired Paul Schrader (screenwriter of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull) to direct Dominion. When the movie was almost complete they saw it and got nervous. The studio didn't think it would be succsessful so they set the film aside and hired another director to start over and make the movie again. Their new choice was Renny Harlin, director of Die Hard II and Deep Blue Sea. Morgan Creek wanted more of a horror movie and that's what Harlin gave them.
I saw Harlin's The Beginning first. I have to say: it isn't a bad movie. In fact, it's scary and suspenseful- a true horror movie with lots of violence and gore. Most of the actors are good, especially Stellan Skarsgard as Father Merrin. He doesn't look like Max Von Sidow when he was younger, but he looks enough like him that you can imagine that he is the younger version of the character.
The main problem with The Beginning is the special effects. I've read people complaining about CGI before. Over at Final Girl, Stacie Ponder has pointed out its problems in a number of her reviews. I don't watch a lot of recent horror or sci-fi movies so I haven't seen as much, but from what I have seen- including Harlin's Deep Blue Sea- I have to agree.
Just as the sharks in DBS looked dumb and fake, the hyenas in The Beginning look ridiculous. It's only been seven years and already the movie looks dated because of them. Also. at the very beginning of the movie, there's a scene of a battlefield with victims crucified upside-down and you can tell that all of it is done with computers. It's distracting. And all of these "horrific" images have zero impact.
The day after I watched The Beginning I saw Dominion. It's weird because both films have a lot of the same actors and the same sets and the stories are similar. Both films have Stellan Skarsgard as Father Merrin, the CGI hyenas (though Dominion- to its credit- doesn't use them as much), and an unneeded scene of the delivery of a stillborn child.
Another element that both movies share is the backstory. During WWII, Father Merrin is the priest in a small village and a Nazi orders to name the villager who killed one of his soldiers. Father Merrin can't or won't so the Nazi instead orders Father Merrin to select ten villagers to be executed, otherwise the Nazis will gun down everyone in the village.
The way that this scene is handled by each director highlights the main difference between both movies. Harlin inserts fragments of this episode as flashbacks- anytime the movie slows Harlin uses the image of a young girl being shot in the head. It all seems so tacky and corny and cheap.
Schrader plays out the episode in its entirety at the beginning of the movie and it's much more powerful that way. But Schrader does something even better: he ties this incident in with the rest of the movie. It isn't just something that happened to Father Merrin that makes him doubt his faith. It's connected to other events and, in fact, brings the entire movie together.
Harlin's movie was released in 2004 and got bad reviews and didn't make much money. Because of this, Morgan Creek allowed Schrader to finish and release his version, which got better reviews and did a little bit better at the box office.
William Peter Blatty, the writer of The Exorcist and the writer and director of Legion: The Exorcist III said that Exorcist: The Beginning was his "most humiliating professional experience", but that Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist was "a handsome, classy, elegant piece of work".
I don't know about that. First, for all of its many faults (I'm thinking of the scene where the British officer goes crazy and sees his butterfly collection come to life), The Beginning isn't a terrible movie. Its main problem is all the CGI effects.
And Dominion isn't classy or elegant though I'll say it is handsome. It was Schrader who filmed the horrible chilbirth scene that's featured in both movies. And he overuses CGI and special effects too, just not as badly as Harlin does.
But basically, Blatty is right: Dominion is the better movie. If you get the chance, though, watch both (they're on Netflix). I don't think it matters which one you see first. And the stories are different enough that one won't ruin the other.
Just want to mention a few other things-
One of the main characters, Father Francis, is played by different actors. Gabriel Mann plays him in Dominion but he wasn't available to return for the re-shoot so he was replaced by James D'arcy. The funny thing is, both actors are terrible. Gabriel Mann is probably the worst of the two but I liked him better for some reason.
Harlin uses a few elements from tth original Exorcist: the statue of Pazuzu from the Iraq prologue, the St. Christopher medallion, and the clock pendulum (the pendulum is used incorrectly- in the original movie it was a sign that Father Merrin was getting older and wouldn't survive the battle this time; there was no reason to feature it in The Beginning- Harlin just wanted to use an element from the original).
Dominion features a weird dream sequence. I don't understand it but, in its way, it wasn't too different from the dream sequence in The Exorcist, and the neat thing was, the sequence included a quick shot of the white-faced demon from the original.
Also, during the credits for Dominion I happened to notice that the music was done by Angelo Badalamenti, the man who does the music for David Lynch's movies. I was surprised because Badalamenti's music is pretty distinctive I'd think I would've noticed it during the movie but I didn't.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Last Carrie Fisher post
Last time we spoke we were talking about that David Spade movie- I couldn't really get into it; it just wasn't Joe Dirt.
The other night I was flipping around and Wishful Drinking was on HBO- it was during the Hollywood Inbreeding section- and I stopped to watch it again.
There's one thing that came up and I'd meant to discuss it earlier: This is the kind of trivia that fascinates me and it's one of the aspects of Carrie Fisher's life that I'm really interested in.
Carrie Fisher and Paul Simon were together ("on and off," she says) for about 12 years- roughly 1978 to 1990. In the beginning they were both part of the cool Saturday Night Live crowd. Simon was good friends with Lorne Michaels and Fisher partied with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi (plus SNL guest host Buck Henry- I know him as writer of To Die For and The Graduate).
Fisher and Simon married in 1983 and divorced about a year later but they got back together at some point and tried to make things work. Let's talk for a moment about the songs. Simon's 1983 LP Hearts and Bones was meant to be a Simon & Garfunkel record but it didn't work out and it ended up being a solo album. It's been acknowledged that two songs, "Allergies" and the title track, are about Fisher. The first has a few good lines but it suffers from early-to-mid-1980s production; it was an ugly time for music. Songs from that era- unless they were made by Prince or Cyndi Lauper or, of course, Tom Waits- just haven't aged well. Even Elvis Costello couldn't escape this. Listen to his records from that time. He's said that the keyboards that were popular then "date-stamp" the songs.
While "Allergies" has the stamp, "Hearts and Bones" sounds more like one of Simon's songs from the 70s. Not in a bad way, it just has certain touches. It wouldn't sound out of place played along with "Something So Right" or "Still Crazy After All These Years".
It's been suggested that the song "Graceland" makes references to Fisher and that sounds right to me. Three other songs from Graceland's Side One are probably about her too.
So the two divorce and while he has huge success with the Graceland album- I think it got the Grammy for Album of the Year- she made movies like Hollywood Vice Squad.
Her friend John Belushi didn't make it; he had overdosed in 1982. Life went on. His friend Dan Aykroyd had been writing a script and a part just for him. After Belushi's death Aykroyd kept writing and Bill Murray ended up playing the part when Ghostbusters was made the following year. Bob Woodward wrote a book about Belushi called Wired. Among the many sources was Fisher. She doesn't pop up in the book very often but when she does it's usually saying something thoughtful.
Sometime around 1985 Fisher overdosed on painkillers and ended up in a drug clinic. She got clean and wrote about the experience in the 1987 novel Postcards From The Edge. I read it last summer. It holds up pretty well, even a lot of the jokes, so I can see why it was such a big deal back then.
Plans were made to turn Postcards into a movie starring Meryl Streep. Fisher was hired to write the screenplay and Mike Nichols signed on as the director. As Fisher says in Drinking, in the late 1980s she was living in New York with Simon and she kept leaving to visit the movie set. This led to the end of their relationship.
1990. The movie of Postcards came out. Fisher's second novel, Surrender The Pink came out (like Postcards, this book draws from her life and Pink is based on her relationship with Simon. Simons album Rhythm of the Saints came out. It contains what Fisher says is "the last song Paul ever wrote about me"; it's called "She Moves On".
Now, I read and watched Postcards, I read Pink, and I know a lot of Simon's songs, plus I'll read whatever magazine article I can find online. But none of that means anything. Nobody really knows what happens in a relationship. The people actually in it don't always know.
But there's one thing that I find interesting. Simon & Garfunkel provided the songs for Mike Nichol's The Graduate. They all became friends I guess. Then Garfunkel was cast in Nichol's next project, Catch-22, while Simon was left alone and pissed in NYC. Simon ended up putting his anger into the 2011 Honda Accord theme song, "The Only Living Boy In New York".
Twenty years later, Mike Nichols took away another partner and Simon wasn't even asked to provide any songs (Carly Simon did the music).
That is what really fascinates me about the whole thing.
The other night I was flipping around and Wishful Drinking was on HBO- it was during the Hollywood Inbreeding section- and I stopped to watch it again.
There's one thing that came up and I'd meant to discuss it earlier: This is the kind of trivia that fascinates me and it's one of the aspects of Carrie Fisher's life that I'm really interested in.
Carrie Fisher and Paul Simon were together ("on and off," she says) for about 12 years- roughly 1978 to 1990. In the beginning they were both part of the cool Saturday Night Live crowd. Simon was good friends with Lorne Michaels and Fisher partied with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi (plus SNL guest host Buck Henry- I know him as writer of To Die For and The Graduate).
Fisher and Simon married in 1983 and divorced about a year later but they got back together at some point and tried to make things work. Let's talk for a moment about the songs. Simon's 1983 LP Hearts and Bones was meant to be a Simon & Garfunkel record but it didn't work out and it ended up being a solo album. It's been acknowledged that two songs, "Allergies" and the title track, are about Fisher. The first has a few good lines but it suffers from early-to-mid-1980s production; it was an ugly time for music. Songs from that era- unless they were made by Prince or Cyndi Lauper or, of course, Tom Waits- just haven't aged well. Even Elvis Costello couldn't escape this. Listen to his records from that time. He's said that the keyboards that were popular then "date-stamp" the songs.
While "Allergies" has the stamp, "Hearts and Bones" sounds more like one of Simon's songs from the 70s. Not in a bad way, it just has certain touches. It wouldn't sound out of place played along with "Something So Right" or "Still Crazy After All These Years".
It's been suggested that the song "Graceland" makes references to Fisher and that sounds right to me. Three other songs from Graceland's Side One are probably about her too.
So the two divorce and while he has huge success with the Graceland album- I think it got the Grammy for Album of the Year- she made movies like Hollywood Vice Squad.
Her friend John Belushi didn't make it; he had overdosed in 1982. Life went on. His friend Dan Aykroyd had been writing a script and a part just for him. After Belushi's death Aykroyd kept writing and Bill Murray ended up playing the part when Ghostbusters was made the following year. Bob Woodward wrote a book about Belushi called Wired. Among the many sources was Fisher. She doesn't pop up in the book very often but when she does it's usually saying something thoughtful.
Sometime around 1985 Fisher overdosed on painkillers and ended up in a drug clinic. She got clean and wrote about the experience in the 1987 novel Postcards From The Edge. I read it last summer. It holds up pretty well, even a lot of the jokes, so I can see why it was such a big deal back then.
Plans were made to turn Postcards into a movie starring Meryl Streep. Fisher was hired to write the screenplay and Mike Nichols signed on as the director. As Fisher says in Drinking, in the late 1980s she was living in New York with Simon and she kept leaving to visit the movie set. This led to the end of their relationship.
1990. The movie of Postcards came out. Fisher's second novel, Surrender The Pink came out (like Postcards, this book draws from her life and Pink is based on her relationship with Simon. Simons album Rhythm of the Saints came out. It contains what Fisher says is "the last song Paul ever wrote about me"; it's called "She Moves On".
Now, I read and watched Postcards, I read Pink, and I know a lot of Simon's songs, plus I'll read whatever magazine article I can find online. But none of that means anything. Nobody really knows what happens in a relationship. The people actually in it don't always know.
But there's one thing that I find interesting. Simon & Garfunkel provided the songs for Mike Nichol's The Graduate. They all became friends I guess. Then Garfunkel was cast in Nichol's next project, Catch-22, while Simon was left alone and pissed in NYC. Simon ended up putting his anger into the 2011 Honda Accord theme song, "The Only Living Boy In New York".
Twenty years later, Mike Nichols took away another partner and Simon wasn't even asked to provide any songs (Carly Simon did the music).
That is what really fascinates me about the whole thing.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Fun on Friday
When Joe Dirt came out in 2001 I had no desire to see it, didn't even think of it. Then I caught it Comedy Central and I've seen it 20 times since then. I know every word of it (except for whatever Comedy Cenral might've cut out of it). Now Dicky Roberts: Former Child Star (2003) is on. I'm catching it halfway through, I'm about ten minutes in and so far it seems just OK.
I was just looking at USA Today- Nike has re-signed Michael Vick. Fuck him and fuck Nike too. What are there, over a hundred professional football players? Nike couldn't go with another one?
It's been a beautiful day, looks like it's gonna be a warm, breezy night, and the weekend is here. Tomorrow I'm going to a cookout at a friend's house and Sunday my parents are having a party. It'll be nice to get my mind off things for a while.
I'm gonna get back to the movie. Dickie's learning to ride a bike and he keeps crashing into things.
I was just looking at USA Today- Nike has re-signed Michael Vick. Fuck him and fuck Nike too. What are there, over a hundred professional football players? Nike couldn't go with another one?
It's been a beautiful day, looks like it's gonna be a warm, breezy night, and the weekend is here. Tomorrow I'm going to a cookout at a friend's house and Sunday my parents are having a party. It'll be nice to get my mind off things for a while.
I'm gonna get back to the movie. Dickie's learning to ride a bike and he keeps crashing into things.
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