All Consuming : Rick

Really, really good

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:39:24 GMT

by Christopher Dillon Quinn

This movie made me realize that we’re living isolated from each other despite our affluence. Community is extremely important.

Incredible.

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 22:34:43 GMT

Notes on a Scandal

by Richard Eyre

This was one of the best movies of the year. Really gripping and well-acted.

Buddhist tale (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Fri, 26 May 2006 20:07:23 GMT

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

A simple Buddhist tale. It gets a bit too literal toward the end, but it’s still a moving statement.

Slice of life

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Fri, 26 May 2006 20:02:42 GMT

L'Enfant

by Jean-Pierre Dardenne

A very simple but powerful slife of life of a French underclass couple.

Fabulous (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Thu, 18 May 2006 00:04:49 GMT

From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction

by Robert Olen Butler

A truly excellent book about accessing your unconscious in your writing.

Symbolic yet dramatic (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Thu, 04 May 2006 23:41:06 GMT

The Quiet American

It’s tough to do a good symbolic movie. The characters have a tendency to become stick figures for the points they are intended to illustrate. The symbolism here relates to the beginning of the U.S.’s involvement in the Vietnam war. This movie handle it pretty well.

Brendan Frasier’s acting doesn’t sit well with me. His delivery doesn’t strike me as natural or believable. It’s too obvious he’s acting. Quite the opposite with old pro Michael Caine.

Simple story, well told (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Thu, 04 May 2006 23:34:34 GMT

Vera Drake

by Mike Leigh

The story is incredibly simple, but you really get a feeling for the title character, her family, and her life. That’s the power of this film. Giving you a slice of their life.

Loosely told, interesting story (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Thu, 04 May 2006 23:30:34 GMT

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

by Randall Miller

The story weaves in and out of several times: the distant past of one character, the future with one character, and the present with both of them. It’s hard to know where it’s going since it’s a theme-driven movie, but I found it enjoyable.

Below par (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Thu, 04 May 2006 23:27:12 GMT

David Sedaris Bookreading

by David Sedaris

I normally like Sedaris’s work, but this time is humor was in the toilet. Literally. He must have made a dozen references to shit during the evening. This is a cheap way of getting laughs. Come on, David, you can be higher-brow than this.

Oddly entertaining (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 00:05:23 GMT

The Station Agent

by Thomas McCarthy

The movie creates small moments of meaning and emotion, and they grow on you. The characters are all very different, believable, and even endearing. There’s not a very strong story—you just kind of hang out with the characters. But I liked it nonetheless.

Excellent! (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Fri, 28 Apr 2006 00:01:00 GMT

A Face in the Crowd

by Elia Kazan

This is a great story about how power corrupts, the incredible power and influence of TV, all tearing at the seams of democracy. You’ve never seen Andy Griffith like this before. Really well written too.

Pretty good. (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 17:13:24 GMT

The Last American Hero (AKA Hard Driver)

by Lamont Johnson

This is second movie Jeff Bridges made. He’s better here than in some of his later movies – more natural, less self-conscious. I’m somewhat biased in liking this movie because my friend Lamont made it.

A little too on-the-nose (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 00:15:03 GMT

Human Crossing - The 25th Hour (Vol. 1)

Each show is self-contained. They’re only about twenty-five minutes long, and they try to cover an entire character arc in each episode. The result feel a bit rushed and simplistic. They do more telling where they should do more showing, as the classic advice goes. Perhaps the next episodes will be better.

Pavel Haas Quartet

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 00:09:44 GMT

Mozart Society Concert

The Quartet played Mozart (of course) – the so-called Dissonant quartet, Martinu, and Beethoven. All very quite good. Their playing will only improve with time, as they gain more maturity and subtlety.

April Fools Concert (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 23:59:45 GMT

Ensemble Monterey

This concerts was pretty funny. It featured a piece for cell phones, pager, candy wrappers, and game boys. The audience had to make the appropriate noises at the indicated times.

Also featured was P.D.Q. Bach’s Schleptet in E Flat Major in which the instruments compete for attention and make some funny noises.

Plus there was a silent movie accompanies by the piano. The movie seemed like it was running in fast motion. It was almost hard to keep up with it. Amazing that people in 1917 could have done so.

The Coffee Cantata (J.S. Bach) was not bad. Aimee Puentes played her part well, and she looked great too.

A tedious mockumetary (rated 2 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Mon, 27 Mar 2006 21:02:52 GMT

Nothing So Strange

by Brian Flemming

This is a fictitious documentary (mockumentary) about an assasination of Bill Gates and the group that is attempting to reveal “the truth” to the public. It’s not badly done, and even amusing at certain points, but it’s wearying to watch.

Intriguing ideas, mediocre execution (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 02:07:16 GMT

The God Who Wasn't There

The director has some scholars and atheists present evidence that Jesus may not have existed. The evidence is persuasive, though completely one-sided.

The director comes across as unlikeable in his desire to mock believers, and his interrogations of ordinary people about their beliefs made me uncomfortable. I suspect this was his sarcastic sense of humor coming out, but it undercut the persuasiveness and seriousness of his arguments.

All Mozart Program (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 01:55:06 GMT

Monterey Symphony Concert

Symphony No. 39 is not my favorite. The soprano soloist for some Mozart arias was Tatiana Monogarova. Not bad, though she didn’t have a lot of dynamic variation (loud/soft) in her voice during the first half.

It’s amazing to think that we’re still listening to Mozart 250 years later. These tunes were floating around in his head all those years ago and they’re still here.

The man behind the board in a recording studio (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 01:48:29 GMT

The Language of Music

by Mark Moormann

Here’s a man with an amazing ear, who loved music, and had a way with musicians. An unsung hero of the recording industry. Amazingly, he didn’t make much money despite all the great records he engineered. His personality is positive and enthusiastic and the list of singers and groups he worked with is incredible.

Not too bad (rated 3 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 01:44:10 GMT

The Kite Runner

by Khaled Hosseini

The story is a little too “on the nose.” The ending is predictable, and the bad character is rotten to the core, which I find unrealistic. But there’s no question it generates some emotion and has something meaningful to say about forgiveness.

A review of "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Modern Library)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (Rick) — Tue, 07 Mar 2006 02:40:21 GMT

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (Modern Library)

by Carson Mccullers

While the characters are unusual, there is little story to speak of in this novel. It’s more like a series of short stories than a novel. I would have liked more narrative tension, suspense, or drama. The novel is about isolation, so there is some justification for the feeling of disconnection that the lack of story generates.