Not too much has happened over the past few weeks. I took the ACT last weekend and the same day threw a surprise b-day party for Dad. The ACT sucked. I just hope I got above a 20. Which isn't too good of a score but its still average. I just did do too well on the math and science portions. I get the results back in 4-7 weeks. Dad's party was fun. He was extremely surprised and he loved the new TV mom bought for him.
I guess I should explain what happened on the days following the ACT. Well, during the test, there was this really attractive girl sitting a few seats in front of me. She had my attention the entire time; literally from the time she walked in to the end of the test. She had this really natural beauty and these really charming little quirks about her. She kept eating these peppermints (peppermint apparently stimulates the brain - helps you do better on tests). When she first walked in she took a few out of her purse and put them on the empty desk next to her. She then proceeded to eat about 25 of these mints all throughout the test, noisily unwrapping them each time. She had this other little thing about her. She wore this baggy jeans that look like they could have been her brothers. She doesn't really sound like some super-hot girl but just had this uncommon charm and beauty to her, and I was captivated. I never did get her name or anything; I couldn't see what was written on her test paper. But I did make about 2 seconds of eye contact with her as I was leaving through the school lobby. The thought of her stayed with me for a few days. I even tried to find her on myspace, without any luck. Well, you can't always get what you want.
Today I faked sick so I could stay home and catch up on some movies. I've watched Babel thus far. I thought it was really good. It was very dark and a bit depressing but that's the way it was supposed to be. I remember one the critics from my favorite podcast, Filmspotting, said Iñárritu (the director) was too harsh on his characters. In a way I agree -There was almost nothing good that happened without a horrible consequence. Babel was a series of stories that all connected in some way, so I guess I see what Guillermo Arriaga (the writer) was trying to say -that since all their stories are innerweaved, the bad that occurred in the beginning trickles down to all those connected. It's also a film about human flaws. Some of the choices the characters make have serious repercussions. This film reminded me of a much better version of Crash.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Saturday, April 7, 2007
NYC and Grindhouse
NYC:
Wow, so much happened. I got Tarantino's autograph on a Pulp Fiction poster I bought the day before we left. Well, my Dad was the one who got it signed. We went on a Fox morning show called The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet and Quentin happened to be a guest on the very day we were supposed to go. So right off the bat, this NYC trip is pretty amazing. We arrived at the Fox Studios near Time Square about 2 hours early. Time passed and before we knew it we were heading in to the holding room before the start of the show. As they were checking the list of people who signed up for the tickets, they couldn't find our name anywhere. Turns out our email confirmation was wrong and we were supposed to be seeing the show the next morning. But, we only wanted to come because of Tarantino. So after all the people on the list are in, we're told there's only one ticket left. So Dad said I could have the ticket and he'd wait out at the coffee shop across the street. I felt horrible...but, the security guy said we'd have a better chance of getting the poster signed outside as Quentin was entering the studio. Sure enough, Dad got the poster signed while I sat in the audience waiting for the show to begin. Next big surprise, I see some crew members bringing my dad into the studio and into the audience. It couldn't have worked out any better- and the show was really good too.
This trip was awesome. After the Tarantino experience, for the next 3 days (we were there from 4/1 to 4/6) we visited Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn College, the U.N., and went to 3 Broadway shows.
I'll post a NYC Vacation Video up here once I'm done editing it. The Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island day was second to Tarantino. It was humbling to take the ferry past the Statue and onto Ellis Island - a route taken by millions of anxious immigrants from the early 1900s to the late 1920s. I was awestruck by the statue. I'll never look at it the same. That one monument served as the beacon of hope for so many entering the country, as well as its native citizens. It was a great day.
Brooklyn College wasn't that impressive. It looked pretty average. Just your basic Macs for editing and storage rooms with cameras. But what can you expect, Its no NYU or USC. I'm just not big on moving to NYC. I love the town, but my sights are set on LA. I'm still standing by my NKU option.
I saw Grindhouse today! Wow, that was the most fun I've ever had in a movie. It's moviemaking in its best, rawest form. It just looks like everyone had a blast making it. And like I said, it was just as fun watching it. Tarantino never fails to amaze me. And might I say Rodriguez's portion of the double feature Planet Terror was very good. I'm not the biggest Rodriguez fan but Terror was great -definitely his best. Grindhouse can be looked at this way: Rodriguez's Planet Terror was Grindhouse Cinema in its truest form -it was basically a replica of your typical 70s Grindhouse movie. Tarantino's Death Proof was a neo-grindhouse sort of deal. It took certain elements from the old Grindhouse films and made them modern day. This is similar to what he's done in his other films. Pulp Fiction (neo-noir), Jackie Brown (neo-blacksploitation) and so on.
Until next time...
Wow, so much happened. I got Tarantino's autograph on a Pulp Fiction poster I bought the day before we left. Well, my Dad was the one who got it signed. We went on a Fox morning show called The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet and Quentin happened to be a guest on the very day we were supposed to go. So right off the bat, this NYC trip is pretty amazing. We arrived at the Fox Studios near Time Square about 2 hours early. Time passed and before we knew it we were heading in to the holding room before the start of the show. As they were checking the list of people who signed up for the tickets, they couldn't find our name anywhere. Turns out our email confirmation was wrong and we were supposed to be seeing the show the next morning. But, we only wanted to come because of Tarantino. So after all the people on the list are in, we're told there's only one ticket left. So Dad said I could have the ticket and he'd wait out at the coffee shop across the street. I felt horrible...but, the security guy said we'd have a better chance of getting the poster signed outside as Quentin was entering the studio. Sure enough, Dad got the poster signed while I sat in the audience waiting for the show to begin. Next big surprise, I see some crew members bringing my dad into the studio and into the audience. It couldn't have worked out any better- and the show was really good too.
This trip was awesome. After the Tarantino experience, for the next 3 days (we were there from 4/1 to 4/6) we visited Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn College, the U.N., and went to 3 Broadway shows.
I'll post a NYC Vacation Video up here once I'm done editing it. The Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island day was second to Tarantino. It was humbling to take the ferry past the Statue and onto Ellis Island - a route taken by millions of anxious immigrants from the early 1900s to the late 1920s. I was awestruck by the statue. I'll never look at it the same. That one monument served as the beacon of hope for so many entering the country, as well as its native citizens. It was a great day.
Brooklyn College wasn't that impressive. It looked pretty average. Just your basic Macs for editing and storage rooms with cameras. But what can you expect, Its no NYU or USC. I'm just not big on moving to NYC. I love the town, but my sights are set on LA. I'm still standing by my NKU option.
I saw Grindhouse today! Wow, that was the most fun I've ever had in a movie. It's moviemaking in its best, rawest form. It just looks like everyone had a blast making it. And like I said, it was just as fun watching it. Tarantino never fails to amaze me. And might I say Rodriguez's portion of the double feature Planet Terror was very good. I'm not the biggest Rodriguez fan but Terror was great -definitely his best. Grindhouse can be looked at this way: Rodriguez's Planet Terror was Grindhouse Cinema in its truest form -it was basically a replica of your typical 70s Grindhouse movie. Tarantino's Death Proof was a neo-grindhouse sort of deal. It took certain elements from the old Grindhouse films and made them modern day. This is similar to what he's done in his other films. Pulp Fiction (neo-noir), Jackie Brown (neo-blacksploitation) and so on.
Until next time...
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