Home
Charlie Kaufman
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 871
Having rewatched "Being John Malklovich" - and, again, amazed, laughing, both outrageous and fresh - still, 20 years later. Excellent. And followed it with "Adaptation" - which I remembered only slightly, I still didn't enjoy it, appreciation would be more the word, yet a brighter film than most by a long-shot. The scenes where Charlie Kaufman is trying to write but the internal monologue keeps intruding, the screenwriters seminar, absolutely hilarious...and you can see how this attention to detail, the visual games, are leading him towards "Synecdoche, New York".
Ray Bradbury
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Books
- Hits: 835
I found a couple of his in the thrift shop - "The Illustrated Man" and "The October Country", and as I hadn't read him since I was about 13 years old I picked them up and tried him again.
As a kid I loved him. And as an adult? I remembered the ends of the stories as I read them. The stories - the endings, especially, formulaic, occasionally predictable, twist endings, ironic, surprising (not often) - the plotting, the themes, that's not the main thing with him. 13 was the right age to fall under his spell for sure. But what's impressive is his use of adjectives, his evocations of mood, his descriptions, his intonation of charms, whispered, spoken, sung, the rhythm of his words, poetry almost, yet managing no meaning above the fantasies, images and moods he creates...
Surprisingly well written kids books I'd say, filled with imagination. But for adults, well...tastes change.
Whiplash
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: Film
- Hits: 846
About a Mentor who in giving the sum of his life's knowledge and experience to an ungrateful protege, who in turn betrays him.
The Mentor then proceeds to run into him at a concert, forgives and gives him a second chance, which the protege takes to upstage him and steal the show.
I liked it, but anyone who argues "The Mentor" was abusive hasn't had the jobs I've had.
Liked it enough to watch her other movie, "La La Land", which was again - pretty damn good, the Bollywood styled song-and-dance married well with the subject, sort of this centuries "Moulin Rouge". Except a lot better written.
They're both fresh enough that if you want to see either you can search them out yourself and find them...
A quick, cheap haircut
- Details
- Written by: Rod Boyle
- Category: People
- Hits: 899
Now a month or so before I'd shaved my head, and was in the position of needing a cheap haircut, the overall grow-in had begun to resemble a bad buzz-cut, it needed some shape.
So off to the barbers, a different one (every time!), the old school signage and location made me think that it'd be a little cheaper than the others, and, really, I didn't need much, a half inch off the sides and a cleaning of the stray hairs...
Downstairs, it's in a basement, a couple of chairs, she beckons me to sit...
I choose the wrong chair, the hairdresser quickly corrects me: "Not THAT chair, that used to be my daughters..."...
And I know now that this is going to be a long cut. Short hair, should be quick, but it isn't.
The story of the chair, she's getting more emotional as she tells it, the picture on the wall, that's her daughter, her problem, the doctor that made things worse, the eventual inadvertent OD, she's waving the scissors, getting mad, madder, the haircut, it goes, I hate this, it's all a bit too much information for a haircut, for a best friend even.
At the end I give her a hug, she's recovered somewhat, this was all too recent for her, too fresh, pay, tip, think about the last 2 Barbers I've been to, I've got to start showing them some loyalty...
Page 427 of 1019