a keen awareness of the passing of time

[greygirlbeast]

A 9.0 quake in Indonesia. That's the most powerful earthquake to have occurred on Earth in my lifetime. It is a horrendous thing, yes, and the loss of life is staggering, but I cannot but be amazed at the force of such a phenomenon. There was enough energy released during this quake to move the island of Sumatra 100 feet SW. Tsunamis crossed the breadth of the Indian Ocean and reached as far west as Somalia.

Yesterday, the weather here was slightly warmer and the clouds had blown away south. I discovered that The Aviator was playing at the Plaza, an old theatre entirely lacking in the loathsomeness of multiplexes. So, we went to a 2:30 showing. The film is gorgeous and wonderful. Some critics are calling it Scorsese's best since Good Fellas, though I, personally, thought Gangs of New York was at least as accomplished as Good Fellas. Cate Blanchett deserves an Oscar-nomination for her role as Katharine Hepburn. After ten minutes or so, the fact that she didn't look that much like Hepburn became utterly irrelevant, she nailed the part so perfectly. And I think DiCaprio can at last be forgiven his part in such messes as Romeo + Juliet and Titanic. The cinematography is truly brilliant, and the aerial sequences are breathtaking. And the audience during the screening we attended was perfect. Not a single inappropriate giggle or comment was overheard. I can only imagine the nightmare this film could quickly become with a typical mall or suburban googleplex audience. Anyway, I urge you to see The Aviator. It might be the best of the year.

Today I must, must, must get back to work on Chapter One. Enough foolishness.

Comments

[happyspector.livejournal.com]

This is why I'm still an "Attack of the Clones" supporter.

I rather enjoyed "Daredevil," but my problem with it was basically that the story never, well, went anywhere. They set up all these great characters, then just sorta had them converge and climactically beat the shit out of each other. No "master plan" to distinguish the badguys, nothin'. I hear the new director's cut adds/re-structures so much as to make it feel like a truly different, more unique, far better film.

Yes, Highlander 2 was a steaming pile of shit, and the director's cut only served to make it a somewhat more amusing steaming pile of shit.

[wishlish.livejournal.com]

My stepmotherinlaw (whew!) gave me the director's cut of Daredevil for Christmas. I'm holding on to my original cut, too; I understand there's a different commentary for that edition. I think you hit the nail on the head with your analysis.

I laughed so hard while watching Highlander 2. Too bad it wasn't a comedy...

[happyspector.livejournal.com]

So how's the director's cut?

[wishlish.livejournal.com]

Haven't had time to watch it. My day consultant job sucks up the 6 am-7 pm hours, and I've promised a document to the night consultant job for Monday that I've done lots of daydreaming about but not enough typing on. But the box is pretty. (And I also got three Prince movies- Purple Rain Commerative Edition, Under The Cherry Moon (my fave), and Grafitti Bridge (obviously, my wife never saw this dog, but hey, it's fun to laugh at).)

Of course, I can use my lovely iPod during the day job, and I use the net pretty frequently for "research", so I'm not complaining. Hell, the day job is a dream compared to some of the clients I've had. Lots of detailed work, but lots of nice people, so I'm ahead on that. There are worse rackets to be in than the consulting business.