From Fantastic to Huh?

Trip and I saw such an amazing movie on Saturday - Lars and the Real Girl. If you've ever wondered what heartwarming means, see this movie and you will understand. I smiled and cried through the entire thing (happy tears!), and felt so refreshed after the credits rolled. Of course it is completely off the wall, and no synopsis could ever do it justice (Man suffers from delusions that a Real Doll is, well, his real girlfriend). Don't think "this would never happen," but watch it and have hope that somewhere there does exist such a charming community of good natured people. I wonder why it didn't get more press when it was in theaters. I personally think it was a better screenplay than Juno, and deserved the Academy Award more.

So of course when we went to Blockbuster to exchange it for another, I knew we would have to switch gears quite a bit, especially since the movies we were looking at were No Country For Old Men and Charlie Wilson's War (we went for the latter. I wasn't quite ready for all that violence). But perusing the aisles, neither of us could get over how many disgusting horror movies there were. Like, every other movie was some guy's face being eaten off. Sick. Ass. Can somebody please explain to me what the appeal is?

Nothing, however, could prepare either of us for the obvious Oscar snub that is Teeth.

What is Teeth, you may ask?

Well, Teeth is a horror movie about a teenager that finds out her vagina has teeth.

And on that note... I'm going to go wash my hands, because I feel dirty just from typing that.

My weekend, by Joy Johnson.

Hola amigos y amigas! Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

I will be celebrating at my brother's casa tonight. Well, not so much celebrating Cinco de Mayo as frantically trying to get my last Flash project done. I'm doing a site on the illustrious music of Adam12, and not only need help getting his music up there, but pretty much creating the entire site. As my beloved husband joked last night, "Who Joy, wait until the last minute to do her homework? Nooooo." I then hit him in the face and continued to lie on the couch for my marathon tv watching sesh.

Which, by the way, was buckets of awesomeness. I can't remember the last time I wasted an entire weekend on the couch. The body needed some big time rejuvenation, ya'll. We watched pretty much everything on our DVR, and two movies. One of which I can't recommend enough - Gone Baby Gone. Not only is Casey Affleck my new stalker crush (dark hair and light eyes... <sigh>), he may very well be in my top five of actors. I was really really impressed. Kudos to both him, for his acting skills, and his big brother Ben, for his directing skills. Definitely rent this movie if you have yet to see it.

The other movie we saw was Sweeney Todd, starring another of my top fives, Johnny Depp. I have to say, the movie was a lot more gory than I anticipated. I mean, I knew the story, but dang that was some blood. But of course Johnny (yes, we're on a first name basis) is absolute genius in everything he is in, so I also enjoyed this film. I was pleasantly surprised at how good his voice was. (Side note - yes, this is a musical. But it is also Tim Burton, so give it a chance if you are not a fan of musicals. Or just sing Nightmare Before Christmas songs throughout, as Trip did).

I had a double dose of Johnny this weekend, as couldn't sleep on Saturday night (a possible side effect of too much lying on the couch all day) and channel surfed upon Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. I think it was the first time I saw the film sober. Still just as freaky, but not nearly as affecting as it was the first time I saw it. Fascinating nonetheless (although I do admit, probably not the best movie to watch at 2AM. I had some craaaaazy dreams that night).

Oh, I should mention that my fabu weekend started out on Friday with girls night out (two weekends in a row! this time, much much much less alcohol involved) to see Duran Duran. Holy crap they were good. Simon's voice was amazing, and they played pretty much every song I wanted to hear. I can't believe it took until 2008 to see them, but well worth the wait. My sister and I danced the entire concert! Do do do do do do! Do do do do do do! Ah. Fun times.

So to recap: Gone Baby Gone is a must see; Casey Affleck is my new boyfriend; Johnny Depp can sing, and remains my other boyfriend; Duran Duran still rule the world, twenty years later; and there really is no need to leave the house if you have a television (with DVR of course - duh), Dagoba 87% organic dark chocolate, Diet V8 Splash, and a husband who rubs your neck because it hurts from laying on the couch watching tv for seven hours straight.

The Pussycat Preacher

YES! You can still catch it! I'm being totally serious!

The Vuze Audience Favorites Winner at San Jose Cinequest, The Pussycat Preacher is a movie about a reformed stripper who finds God.

Heather comes up with an idea that if she could start a small ministry at her church to reach out to women in the sex industry, then perhaps she could save some lives.

Ironically, JC'S GIRLS is met with open arms by the sex industry, but back at church, the announcement of this "loving little ministry" goes over like a lead balloon. The resistance, mostly from church staff quickly reveals a historical bias against women as leaders in the Christian Church. It also uncovers a culture more interested in “respectability” than following the word of Jesus.

The last showing is this Wednesday at 9:30 at Camera 12. Tickets are $10, or $5 for students.

Check out the entire Cinequest line-up here . It ends this Sunday, so still lots of films to check out - including Autism: The Musical!

I loved it so much I could never watch it again.

That dang History of Aesthetics class got me thinking again... This time about today's debates over representations of violence and evil. Of course video games is the topic that seems to come up the most, but then that leads to the discussion of art, literature and film. I guess I don't get why this is even an issue. Throughout history, masterpieces in both art and literature have focused on violence and the evil of humanity (Dante's The Divine Comedy, Picasso's Guernica). The beauty of human nature is that this duality exists, and that we recognize and challenge it. To show evil reminds us as to why being good and just is what we all seek, right? Just because technology has advanced in such a way that all this violence looks REAL, does that mean it should be censored?

I think today we see a lot more of the exploration of evil through film. And there are two films in my top 10 that fall into this category (both of violence and evil), that absolutely affected me - and yet I could never watch them again. Does that mean they should never have been made? Absolutely not. They had to me made. (Sorry... a lot of "absolutely"s. I guess I'm kinda passionate about this).

The first is Requiem for Dream. I watched this movie both horrified and captivated. It is a film about addictions, and forces the viewer to feel the pain, anguish and suffering that the characters go through. Literally. (I felt as if someone punched me in the stomach throughout most of the film). It was brilliant, brutal, intense and uncomfortable all at the same time. It's not until the ending credits roll (or even days after that) that you begin to see the beauty in such a dark, horrific story. Although I personally have never had an issue with addiction, I identified with the film in the sense that, it is through times of difficulty and despair that you truly find out who you really are. This movie is not for everyone, but it was a story that had to be told. And I can't imagine it being as powerful were it not as graphic and daring as it was.

The second film is The Green Mile (I realize this was a book first, but I haven't read it, so I can only speak to the film). It isn't often that a film is made of pure human emotion. That's the only way I can describe it. The story is told through the eyes of a man who experiences evil and violence within the walls of a 1930's prison. But in a world of cruelty and hate, he comes into contact with a truly GOOD man. I left this movie absolutely (there is is again!) heartbroken. It affected me in such a way that I cried when thinking of the characters for days afterwards. Like, tears. Streaming down my face. For days. An incredible film that I could never put my emotions through again.

Would I have been affected if these films were not as violent as they were? Doubt it. I needed to be put into those dark places - as harrowing as they were - to remind myself that even in the darkest moments of life, there is always hope.

And when you have someone like George Bush in power, hope is what gets you through the day.