fearlesstemp: (mr. smith with book)
[personal profile] fearlesstemp
If you only see one Heath Ledger movie this January, I wholeheartedly suggest you get yourself to a theater and check out Casanova. I am being serious! I saw Brokeback Mountain and yes, it was a marvelous movie, but not as marvelous as the short story – and I swear I'm not one of those obnoxious "but the book is better!" people about everything. Jim Gaffigan has a really funny routine on this topic that culminates with the line, "Yeah, you know what I liked about the movie? No reading." And that's kind of the problem I had with Brokeback Mountain – the story is just so beautifully written that I'm not sure any movie could have captured the feeling I got from the way Anne Proulx's words fit together. The acting was phenomenal, the cinematography marvelous, and it was certainly faithful to the story but, in the end, just not as good as the short story was for me. It's the reading!

Casanova, on the other hand! Casanova was MARVELOUS. I went to see it on Saturday with some friends and didn't have the highest expectations, knowing it had gotten middling reviews and all that (it's rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, so you can take my endorsement with a grain of salt), and the magic of lowered expectations may be the reason I found it to be the more awesome of the two Heath Ledger movies I saw in the past ten days. You know how sometimes, rarely, at the end of a movie, you find yourself turning to your friend and saying, "Well, I loved that movie!" That's the kind of movie Casanova was for me.

I mean, bear in mind: Ten minutes before the movie ended, someone in the theater exclaimed, "Well, that's RIDICULOUS," and I have to say, if you're the kind of person who cannot handle ridiculousness in a movie, then this movie may not be for you. But if you value ridiculousness, the good kind of ridiculousness, then I think you should check this movie out. And if you're wondering about good/bad ridiculousness: Good ridiculousness is Bringing Up Baby. Bad ridiculousness (a.k.a. guilty pleasure ridiculousness) is the TV movie I caught ten minutes of earlier today (starring Jay Thomas and a veritable smorgasbord of 90s TV talent – Amy Jo Johnson, Michelle Williams, Mario Lopez, Neve Campbell's abusive boyfriend from Party of 5). Personally, I enjoy ridiculousness in all its forms. Much like chocolate, I enjoy it in all its permutations.

It was just a very fun, funny, satisfying movie, with swordfights and mistaken identities and cross-dressing and jokes about the Pope and really pretty scenery. It's also one of those rare movies where the ending comes and it's just right. I loved it.

The other highlight of my weekend happened on Saturday, with my regular weekend tutoring session with R. We have fifteen minutes of reading at the end of our sessions, and recently we've been switching between auto magazines and Dr. Suess books (he really likes Dr. Suess – then again, who doesn't?). Anyway, I grabbed Green Eggs and Ham from the kids' section, and he opened it for the first time and proceeded to READ almost ALL of Green Eggs and Ham BY HIMSELF. The only reason he stopped before the end was the library closing down around us. I know this does not sound like much, but for someone who a year ago put up a months-long struggle over learning the word "put," it's a pretty exciting thing! I was so excited, he was so excited - it was a pretty great moment.

I put this here to mark the date for my personal records and, yes, to brag a little bit. I will be honest. But it isn't a completely selfish bragging event: I will be benevolent with my bragging and tell all of you that it was a truly awesome feeling for both R. and yours truly, and one any of you (who has time in your schedule) could experience for yourselves by becoming a Literacy Volunteer. You, too, could have your very own illiterate factory worker who looks like Santa Claus!

I should probably finish my work. I will hate myself tomorrow for being up this late. Oh well.

Date: 2006-01-09 05:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kaelie.livejournal.com
he really likes Dr. Suess – then again, who doesn't?).

That would be me. The creatures scare me!

But congratulations on your wonderful progress with R, dude. He's lucky to have you, and kudos to you for sticking with him.

Date: 2006-01-11 04:59 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fearlesstemp.livejournal.com
Thanks, buddy, on the congrats!

(And re: Suess - not even the Grinch???)

Date: 2006-01-11 05:14 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kaelie.livejournal.com
Not even the Grinch. As a child I couldn't handle how mean he was to the little dog, it made me cry and cry. Even now I can't bear to watch it!

Date: 2006-01-10 05:39 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pink-aster.livejournal.com
I love that Jim Gaffigan bit. I like when he's like, "I read a book! It took me a year. I don't remember what it was about." And then when he was talking about when you see a movie way after it was in the theaters. "I saw Heat." "I saw that like three years ago." "Yeah, but I want to talk about it now."

I totally want to see Casanova.

Date: 2006-01-11 05:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fearlesstemp.livejournal.com
"I saw Heat." "I saw that like three years ago." "Yeah, but I want to talk about it now."


Jim Gaffigan is the best! Have you seen that one where he talks about working at a Mexican restaurant in Indiana? "What's an enchilada?" "A tortilla with meat, cheese, or vegetables." "What's a tostada?" "A tortilla with meat, cheese, or vegetables." And so on.

Date: 2006-01-11 06:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] foxyfrau.livejournal.com
That is so exciting about R! Yay! Congrats to both of you!

I read the short story, post-movie. I enjoyed it a lot, I only wish I had read it before seeing the movie, since of course the movie images invaded my head. Now I can't really distinguish them. But I think I may still have gone with the cowboys over Casanova - you know how I am about ridiculousness. I may not have proclaimed my disdain out loud in the theater, but there may have been many heavy sighs. Or? Do you think I'd like it?

Date: 2006-01-12 04:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fearlesstemp.livejournal.com
I think Casanova definitely has potential to be a heavy sigh movie - wait for a rental if you want to see it, if at all. But I did heart it! It made Heath Ledger's performance in Brokeback Mountain even more impressive when I saw him playing Casanova.

It was great talking to you today - keep tango-ing! :)

Date: 2006-01-16 11:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] pink-aster.livejournal.com
It was a totally silly movie. I just saw it this weekend. I enjoyed it, but I don't mind ridiculousness at all. I don't escape to the movies for reality.

Profile

fearlesstemp: (Default)
fearlesstemp

February 2009

S M T W T F S
1234567
891011121314
15161718 192021
22232425262728

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Jul. 26th, 2025 11:15 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios