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Saturday, December 31, 2005
I am guessing that my movie viewing stint will be coming to a close soon. There are still a few out and a few upcoming I'll want to see. It's back to the grind next week. I'm more of a reader anyway. I'm ready to get back to that. The problem is- I need to find some more books to read. I've heard that Haven Kimmel's follow up to Zippy is out. I've got to find a way to get my hands on that one. If you haven't read it- you should. She's funny and witty. Maybe she speaks to me even more because I grew up in Indiana just as she did. The part about her father telling her all he got for Christmas was mittens and oranges.... that must be a thing common to the area and time. My father used to tell us the same thing. I guess it didn't take long to open the gifts on Christmas morning back in those days. Well, I am off the watch the traditional New Years Eve movie and drink some Baileys. Happy 2006!
 
posted by Lisa at 12/31/2005 08:42:00 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Just Fishin'- Honest!- Brokeback Mountain I just got back from seeing Brokeback Mountain at the Keystone Art Cinema. First, let me say I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the crowd. I had read on an email newsletter that I get that the lines were long so I got the tickets ahead of time. There was a line just to get into the theater and get the seat. I was glad to see the film being well supported- Indianapolis isn't always so well known for being gay friendly. So, due to this long line I was unable to go to the Indie Lounge and get a drink to take in with me. Ah, maybe next time...

Anyway- the film was beautifully shot. I am ever the sucker for great cinematography. The movie was done with taste- there were no overt sex scenes. However, the emotional connection between these two men may make some heterosexual men squirm in their seats; possibly even more than a "sex scene " would.

The part of the movie that was most compelling to me was the hint of "forbidden fruit" and the suppression these men dealt with throughout their entire lives. Isn't there something inherently appealing about that which is forbidden to us? That has been a human foible since the time of Eve. Do we want it so bad because we aren't supposed to have it? Does that make it all the more appealing? And if we could have it, would it then be less appealing?

Oscar Wilde wrote "But the bravest man amongst us is afraid of himself. The mutilation of the savage has its tragic survival in the self-denial that mars our lives. We are punished for our refusals. Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind and poisons us. The body sins once, and has done with its sin, for action is a mode of purification. Nothing remains then but the recollection of a pleasure, or the luxury of a regret. The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful. It has been said that the great events of the world take place in the brain. It is in the brain, and the brain only, that the great sins of the world take place also. " I am betting Oscar knew just how Jack and Ennis felt.

Do I think Jack and Ennis regret their decisions? Yes and no I suppose. Yes, as Ennis especially lived a very lonely life. But no, as I feel they did appreciate what time they did have together. They did the best that they could with the circumstances they had to deal with.

"Regret for the things we did can be tempered by time; it is regret for the things we did not do that is inconsolable."- Sydney Harris

Suppression is such a terrible thing to deal with. It tears you up inside. It can destroy you if you aren't careful. It is so powerful, yet easy for you to not see how powerful it is. That is waht makes suppression so dangerous. That was a big problem for both Jack and Ennis. There was no way for either one of them to come to terms with their relationship. “You know I ain’t queer,” Ennis mutters, to which Jack states, “Me neither.”

"It is much easier to suppress a first desire than to satisfy those that follow."-Benjamin Franklin Isn't that the truth!

Brokeback Mountain feels like a real-life story- yet somehow there is still an element missing. It's honest, raw and emotional. Many in the theater were crying at the close of the film. I recommend seeing it.

 
posted by Lisa at 12/31/2005 07:38:00 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Friday, December 30, 2005
It's almost New Year's Eve. I've never been one to go out and party on that night. Actually I don't think I've ever gone out for New Year's Eve. What I do is stay home and watch a movie. Not just any movie though- it is always "When Harry Met Sally". I have no idea why. It's just something that I do, something I've done for years. It's a silly, sappy movie- but I love it. Harry Burns: There are two kinds of women: high maintenance and low maintenance. Sally Albright: Which one am I? Harry Burns: You're the worst kind. You're high maintenance but you think you're low maintenance. Harry Burns: I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it's not because I'm lonely, and it's not because it's New Year's Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. I think it is sweet that he loves her not in spite of her quirkiness, but because of it.
 
posted by Lisa at 12/30/2005 07:07:00 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Thursday, December 29, 2005
New Art Cinema in Indy
The Keystone Art Cinema & Indie Lounge is a new, state-of-the-art, 7-screen theatre situated in the Fashion Mall at Keystone, an upscale shopping center featuring nearly 100 stores and many fine restaurants, located at the intersection of 86th Street and Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis. The Indie Lounge, which features live music on weekends, is a full-service bar and you can take your drinks into the movies with you—the perfect complement to a night out!

Did we ever need this here in town! I visited the theatre for the first time the other night to see "Memoirs of a Geisha". The theatre was great- very upscale with plush seats, an outstanding sound system and you can even take your drink from the bar into the movie. Now that is a plus for me!

Overall, I enjoyed Geisha. It is a romantic period-piece, not usually my cup of tea. (No pun intended.) I do, however, enjoy foreign-themed films. The fim had beautiful cimeatography. It is visually exciting, but emotionally void- similar to a Geisha. There is a high degree of attention to detail and beauty that does make the film worthwhile to see. Besides, it is winter in the midwest- what better way to pass the time than go to the movies. Any suggestions on what to see next?

 
posted by Lisa at 12/29/2005 07:15:00 AM ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
Wednesday, December 28, 2005

I've recently gone to see the movie "The Chronicles of Narnia". I'll come clean right now and say that I was scared.

Between the White Witch, Tumnus the Faun, the talking wolf-dogs and the evil Minotaurs, all my chilhood fears were played upon. As far back as I can remember I knew about the Greek god Pan who was half goat and half man. This Pan accounted for many a nightmare as a little girl. The Roman name for Pan is Faunus so most obviously Mr. Lewis knew his stuff. Greek god Pan is the root for the words panic and pandemonium. Need I say more? And the White Witch! My God- she was reminiscent of the Borg Queen from the Star Trek series. Incredibly eerie, cold and evil to the core. Yet...somehow... appealing... Must be the dark side of me that it appeals to.

The talking wolf-dogs remind me of dogs a neighbor had when I was a child. They were Alaskan Huskies. Now, I know most people think these are terrific dogs. I just have a bad connotation of them. One day these crazy neighborhood dogs got out of their own yard and came into mine. Luckily we were all in the house, because these creatures were jumping at the doors and windows trying to get in like possesed beasts.

I went to bed after watching the movie praying that I wouldn't have nightmares about it. All through the show I kept looking around to see if the 4 and 5 year-olds in the theatre were frightened too. I guess it was just me... Maybe they don't know their Greek gods... Maybe they have sweet and lovely Huskies as pets... I don't know.

It was a wonderfully compelling and absorbing movie that I highly recommend to anyone, as long as he or she doesn't have a Pan-phobia. I just can't seem to get this film out of my mind.

 
posted by Lisa at 12/28/2005 03:33:00 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments
This is so me! I just love Anne Taintor. I got her new desk calendar for Christmas and I can't wait to start using it. I'll look forward to each new sassy statement she makes...
 
posted by Lisa at 12/28/2005 02:26:00 PM ¤ Permalink ¤ 0 comments

Cost of Bush's Ego War In Iraq
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