I've Been Slacking, or, an Overview of Recent Events

For some reason I haven't felt motivated to post the last few days, even though I've had things to post about. Here has been my week in a nutshell:

1. Saw Sunshine Cleaning. Didn't care for it. The characters made me so angry through out the film that by the time things worked out for them in the end I didn't give a shit anymore. They made stupid decisions without motivation, Emily Blunt occasionally phased back into a British accent, and Alan Arkin played essentially the same character as he did in Little Miss Sunshine, but not as endearing. And not on heroin.

2. The next night I saw Tokyo!. I also didn't care for this movie, but purely on a preferential level. My company really loved it, but I may be the only person alive disinterested and confused by Asian culture. These three short films all fell to absurdity, either at the end of a fairly straight forward narrative, or right out of the gate as in Merde, the second of the three films. Basically, when I watch a movie I need to gain something from it, even if the gaining is just a sense of utter numbness and despair (Requiem for a Dream, Brokeback Mountain). Tokyo! left me feeling nothing at all. So while I didn't really LOSE anything (except for the $8 admission fee) I didn't come away with anything either. I would rather watch a poorly made film that made me laugh or cry than a technically sound film that makes me feel nothing.

3. I watched the pilot for Glee on Hulu.com. Cheesyness aside, I loved it. As with most pilots, I was left wondering where they could take this story, especially if it's a hit and tries to stay on the air for X amount of years. But this same fact was probably said of many of our greatest and longest lasting shows. I also wonder if the show will end up moving more in one direction or the other: the edgy, subversive humor, or the touching, uplifting coming of age bit. If they can maintain the proper balance I think we've got a keeper.

4. I started reading Harry Potter again, from the beginning. It's been quite some time since I read the earlier books and it will be nice to read the whole thing in one chunk. Not only is the next movie coming out in July, but HP seemed like the only thing that may fill the emptiness left by Twilight.

5. Yesterday, before heading to my Aunt's house for food and card playing, I went to see a teen production of Tommy for which my boyfriend was playing bass. I was EXTREMELY impressed. The bits of Tommy that I've heard as a musical have disappointed me, and when my college did it as a workshop piece I wasn't thrilled. As a musical it seemed to take some of the edge off of the story, casting beautiful people with perfect voices who don't really seem to know how to rock. Other than a few flubs, the teens really got it. And I must admit, I cried my way through most of the production.

6. I've eaten a lot this weekend, it being a holiday and all. Lots of food, family and beer. Tomorrow it's back to the regular routine and classes start in two weeks.