Movies and Television

This winter, I decided two things. The first was that I really like Bruce Springsteen. The second was that I adore the Beatles. These are two bands I had resisted for years and years. Something just never clicked with me. The Rolling Stones? Bring it on. U2? Yes please. But I never understood why so many people were so obsessed with the Beatles.

Until tonight. "A Hard Day's Night" is one of the best films I have ever seen. And now I have a favorite Beatle. More on that later. The film is presented in black and white, spanning basically a day's worth of time. We get to see the boys run through the steets, dashing towards the train station, followed by the amazing mob of followers. Once on the train, the boys instantly begin fooling around, playing with Paul McCartney's supposed grandfather (along for a bit of a holiday). The rest of the film is a joyous mixture of this practical joking and actual performances of their songs. Unlike the Wilco film ("I am trying to break your heart"), AHDN was scripted, allowing the boys to change sets and costumes, singing along to the existing recordings. It sounds like one long music video, but it isn't. It is so much more. Watching them play with each other, both on and off-stage, is a revelation. These guys were having a great time. Especially John Lennon, who gets to be the joker for most of the movie. The only people not fooling around are the screaming fangirls.

If you're coming here from the Old 97's content, take another look at those press photos from "Satellite Rides". Look familiar?

I just cannot emphasize enough how much you need to see this movie. The DVD is fantastic. If you have any claim to hipster-ism but have missed this one, put down your copy of "meeting people is easy" and check out the original British rock stars.

Tom Cruise is one of those actors I've never fallen for like most people. Even in high school, I balked at the girls who screamed for Tom. That being said, I never really run out to see the new Tom Cruise. This movie continues along in the "well, okay, I guess you filled the role and entertained me, kinda" tradition of films like "Vanilla Sky", "mission: impossible", and "Eyes Wide Shut". The fact that he always IS the millionaire actor gets to me. Although "magnolia" was good for the cock thing. But I digress. This is yet another film where he plays his usual "look at me, I have expensive toys and a tough attitude" role. He's a cop of the future and is operational manager for pre-crime. That's right. Three freaky people floating in a tank of nurturing goo can predict future murders. They see everything and boom, out pops two ridiculous billiard balls inscribed with the name of the victim and the murderer. Well, call me the victim for sitting through another two hours after the god-this-is-gonna-suck opening scene. Cut to some predictable plot points: child in peril, double crossing, Colin Farrell acting cocksure, drug abuse, and hey ... you've almost got an interesting movie. Almost. Which is why this movie fails. Despite all its tricks and flashy futuristic props, it's a dumb premise. Gotta hate movies that rest on bad DNA-gone-awry science. In conclusion, avoid this movie unless it just happens to be playing on TV or the airplane and you'd rather see Tom Cruise than your seatmate.

Mmmmm, elves.

Oh yeah, amazing.

British!

Lame.

Oh yeah ...

So strange (these are all just reminders until I get time to review them)