First, The Graduate. I had, of course, heard of it, and I knew the basic premise. I'm not sure how I got to this point in my life without having seen it, but, there you are.
I was stunned by it. Seriously, it was freaky. Good freaky, but still freaky. I definitely didn't want to like it, but I couldn't help myself.
I even watched every moment of the DVD extras, something I'm ordinarily loathe to do.
If you haven't seen it: do. If you have, perhaps it's time to watch it again.
Second, 1969. Saw it in the original theatre release (fuck, that was 1988!) and was quite moved by it. I watched it last night, fairly late, and was again struck by its moments of beauty. Of course, it lacks subtlety, but it really is forgivable in a movie like this. I love Mariette Hartley in this sort of role, and Bruce Dern is wonderful.
However, my heart belongs to Kiefer Sutherland. He is the absolute epitome of what I wanted in 1988--in this film, at least. Scruffy but gentle, smart but not overwhelming, poetic but masculine (OK, I can see that the last one's kind of iffy). Did I want Kiefer Sutherland so much because I wanted to be Julia Roberts? Good question. Don't care to analyze it that much. Loved him. Loved the movie. End of topic.
And third, tonight's selection: Garden State. For anyone who cares, it's on my Amazon Wish List. (If you want to see it, drop me a line and I'll be more than happy to share that List with you!)
I've adored Natalie Portman since I saw Beautiful Girls for the first time. I eventually couldn't stand to not own that film, so I dubbed it from a commercial-free station (back in the day when I had DirecTV--sigh). I watched it every few months. Then I felt guilty for having dubbed it, so I bought the DVD. I still watch it fairly often.
So, back to Garden State. I hadn't watched Scrubs, so I was not terribly familiar with Zach Braff. I'm not sure if he's always 'like this'. But this movie was really amazing. It was resonant from the first scene (much like The Graduate, now that I think of it). And Natalie Portman is terrific: fresh, funny, appealing but not in a "gimme" sort of way.
I didn't want it to end. Highly recommended!
Speaking of Robert, I want to take a moment to give him public recognition for his generous and supportive attitude, and fantastic advice. OK, "fantastic" might be a slight overstatement, since I haven't yet had the opportunity (or the necessity?) to use it. But it definitely helped me feel less...'at sea' about a certain issue. So to speak.
Thanks, Robert!
Although it's not a major reason for having continued my subscription to the magazine for around 14 years, I have always had a soft spot for Sports Illustrated's "This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse" box. I'm going to try to offer my own, on a relatively regular basis. Item number one is a Google ad from an email message that I received today from a long (well, not so long, only a couple of weeks) lost (but not too sadly, I'm sorry to say) friend:
But My Aim is Improving: Not Your Ordinary Breakup Survival Guide
www.improveyouraim.com
I think that's one way to return him to the land of the lost!
When Cat took this Blogthing, she scored 51% pure when she included only "sexual" kissing. (That sounds like a topic for improv-blogging, Robert!) I took the Blogthing before I read her answers. I only included sexual kissing, as well. Ahem.
| Your Kissing Purity Score: 26% Pure |
 You're not one to kiss and tell... But word is, you kiss pretty well. |
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