It's a been a while. Let's do some movie reviews!

School of Rock- Loved it. This will be looked back on as the jewel in Jack Black's crown. The sheer improbability of it all is easily overlooked. 4 stars

Kill Bill- This was the most violent movie I've ever seen, and that's not a good thing. Plus, Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu's Japanese was painful to listen to- it totally destroyed the realism of the film (not that it had much in the first place, but you get the idea). Their Japanese sounded just like the Japanese of people who don't speak any Japanese. I either really hated this movie or really loved it. I can't decide which. So for the time being, it gets square-root-of-negative-one (i) stars, since I can't settle on a real number rating.

Lost in Translation- Junko was embarrassed for Japan watching this movie. I was embarrassed for America. There are so many Americans who go to Japan, perhaps even living there for years, who don't understand Japanese culture and make no effort to do so. They're dismissive and condescending, and therefore tend to be pretty lonely. It's not that they think the American cultural perspective is best, it's that they think the American cultural perspective is the only perspective. Anything else is weird and/or dumb. They think of all the Japanese people as one big unit, and never bother to get to know individuals. Of course, there are some aspects of modern Japanese culture that tend to encourage these attitudes, but that stuff isn't the real deal. I liked the Kyoto segment a lot- it reminded me of my trip to Kyoto. I went to all the places they showed (and many others), and I was all by myself, just like the character in the film. It was beautifully contemplative, and perhaps my favorite of all the trips I've taken. The film was pretty artsy- and thus pretty boring for the average filmgoer (Junko counted at least six people getting up and leaving in the middle)- but I liked it pretty well. I may end up buying it sometime because of the subject matter, but at this point the official rating is 3 stars.

Come to think of it, a fair amount of people walked out of Kill Bill, too. But I paid my money, and I was gonna see all the movie. And it was gonna be good. I'm telling you people it was gonna be real good because I paid my money. I paid! I saw people leaving early. They didn't know what they were missing. They were missing half the movie. And I would not be screwed. I would not be screwed like the people leaving early because I paid my money. I paid!

For the record, let it be known that I just shamelessly plagiarized Ben Folds.

In other news, I just applied for a job in France. Others likely to follow. With any luck, I'll be in Gaul before you can say "Ast�rix."

There've been times when I considered ending this diary. But at this point I intend to continue it indefinitely, if not always regularly. Just to let you know my plans.

even damnation is poisoned with rainbows,

greyarea

Diaryland