Geeks, gather

All right, as I'm writing this, I have a class in about an hour and a half, then right after that I have a class I have to lead a discussion in for an article I've yet to read, but I got suddenly inspired to write about the sudden rise to it being, out of nowhere, cool to be a geek.

Now, normally you'd think this would be good for most of us. But strangely, it just isn't. First, I don't mean to sound elitist, but it's kinda insulting to hear people wax on and on about Spider-Man or the X-Men or Transformers or whatever (I'll focus on comics for purposes here, as that's really, besides leftover Star Trek and Star Wars knowledge, the only geek thing I can claim, but you can apply much of this argument to any number of other geek topics) yet clearly have no idea what they're talking about, and people actually believe them. Now, it seems like a small thing, but when you start getting rumors going around that Rogue and Wolverine were once an item in the comics, that's a lot of damage control.

Then there's the clothes. I can't tell you how many Flash and Transformers shirts I see on a daily basis, when none of them would've worn these five or six years ago when you could pick 'em up for ten bucks at Things From Another World. But now that Urban Outfitters sells them for $28, it's all right, it's FASHIONABLE.

Look, no one who's actually a geek does it to be fashionable. We certainly never thought it would make us COOL. If anything, what made it so cool is that it's something none of the cool kids would ever understand. They'd never know the private joy and escape a special, bonus-sized issue of Superman could bring on a day when nothing else went right. They had the Dave Matthews Band for that.

And no geek's favorite superhero is Spider-Man "because he shoots webs!" Number one giveaway.

Eventually the whole fad will fade, once the O.C. says it isn't cool anymore or something (I say this because I read an article a couple of years ago that used Seth as an example of how geek culture was now mainstream). For now, the true amongst us can enjoy a temporary spike as people love that I saw "Sin City" four times in its first two weeks of release or that I fully believe "Superman Returns" could change my life. But I'm just as prepared for the day when the stares of disbelief and slight disgust return when I mention that I have to hit the comic shop on a given Wednesday (the day of the week when the new comics ship) for the newest issue of ASTONISHING X-MEN and ALL-STAR SUPERMAN (which are fantastic reads, by the by).

Facebook

Apparently the two Facebooks (high school and college) have merged to form a more perfect union. Oh, the surprises that await you. So not only was there a friend request from Allison Francis (name drop!), but a message to tell me how this could possibly be, and an invitation to some Emerson Jewish thing (incidentally unrelated to the merger).

Well that's weird. Anyway, back to trying to find an article for my discussion tomorrow, then off to History of Media Arts, which I'll be able to take the shuttle to with any luck, as Weather.com has it feeling like 0 degrees outside and I am still very much sick (although, thanks to the magic of massage, my back feels much better...I was a broken man yesterday).

Funny how we live by the "feels like" nowadays. In Portland, it MIGHT feel a couple degrees colder than it really was, but not that big a difference. Now, where most of us go to college, you could catch your death out there if you don't check what it feels like.

Waiting for the shower

Well, I'm still sick, though not as bad as yesterday. I'm at that stage where I actually SOUND sicker, but that's really just it all leaving the system. So it's all quite lovely for conversation.

Should be a pretty easygoing day, assuming I'm correct in thinking my Media Arts exam is on Wednesday and not tomorrow. That's key.

Yeah, I just got bored and there was a sudden rush for the shower (even though I beat her there, my RA had been waiting for an hour so I acceeded it to her). And yeah, we have three showers at our end of the hall, but two have a tendency to...fill up. The drains only sort of work. And the one shower that DOES work, the door doesn't lock. I know, I'm pretty ghetto.

But that's pretty much why I'm rambling for this post. That and Beth isn't replying on AIM (GLARE!).

Last night, I was like "yeah...I'll just stay in, feel better, maybe watch 'Bonnie and Clyde.'" But that quickly changed into a furious attempt on Nancy's part to get online poker working, while I sat back and watched "Arrested Development" before going to bed at an all-college record of 11:30. And if not for Ross opening the door to the ruckus in the hall at 3 AM, it probably would've been a clean sleep 'til 12:15. Probably.

Just three more days, a couple of planes, and I'll be back in P-Town (which apparently corresponds to Providence, RI over here which is apparently a big gay hub). Oddly, aside from the fact that I never get a decent sleep or a decent meal over here, I really wouldn't mind staying. I think I've finally gotten to that point of not missing home all the time. Not all the time, but...y'know, enough so that I couldn't totally be happy here. But I've really carved my niche out here, for better or worse. Love the classes, love the friends, even loving the town a bit more (by which I pretty much mean my love affair with Newbury Comics - "three movies for under $30? SOLD!"). But all joking aside, I've really come to enjoy it here. Except for the lack of sleep. Or decent food.

P.S. My roommate is like two episodes ahead of me with the second season of "Arrested Development," essentially meaning whenever it's on I must retreat out of the room like so much scared little girl.

Snow

Well, wasn't expecting it to snow again for some time, but here it is again. And once again, I'm too sick to make anything of it. But whereas being sick on your own can be a bit of a drag most of the time, the nice part about the dorms is there are usually a couple people willing to look after you, even on a Saturday afternoon. Much as I'm willing to make a situation work for me, I'm none too eager to bundle up and step out in the snow in this condition.

A lesson when you get to college...get some sleep, especially on the weekends. Unless you're having a big, meaning-of-life style talk, of course, which is where I found myself last night. Well, at least it's only Saturday.

And I have a whole stack of movies to go through. I bought a couple Robert Altman movies 'cause he's being awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oscars next Sunday, and he's supposed to have some pretty damn good work, so I'm gonna catch up as much as I can by then. Watched "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" (1971), which is a damn good movie. Warren Beatty's the man. Next up is "Nashville" from 1975.

Also grabbed "About Schmidt," which was a long overdue purchase, "Bonnie and Clyde" because it's "Bonnie and Clyde," and "Almost Heroes" for good measure (Chris Farley's last flick, and probably Matthew Perry's finest work). All in addition to the second season of "Arrested Development," which is all kinds of fantastic. Yeah, I'm kinda addicted to DVDs right now.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

Staking out the fourth floor common room (the one with the widescreen TV) for a major gathering to watch X2. Sitting in the Dining Hall for two hours, waiting to see who else will join the party. Finishing an essay five minutes before you have to get it in your teacher's mailbox. Some of the many, many things about college I've really come to love, and that happened today.

Katie, so glad you're coming to Boston. I'll hardly demand all of your time, but I will demand some. Because I'm a demanding man. But, to say the least, I am pumped. I'll be like Spring Break 2.0 or something. Wow, GEEK!

I'm hereby declaring Chuck Norris jokes to no longer be funny right nnnnnnnnnow. Find a new obscure celebrity, then we'll talk.

Two three-day weeks in a row. You heard me. This week we had school-sactioned Monday off. Next week, I'm leaving Thursday for Spring Break, and even though I told my mom I'm only missing one class, I'm totally missing two. Yeah. I'm just that cool.

The stakeout has now been moved to the tenth floor, with a slightly less cool TV because the RAs kicked us out of the fourth to have an "RA meeting" but they were setting up the Gamecube when I was packing up, which is kinda lame actually. Actually, that pretty much pisses me off. Screw them. Oh well, tenth is dece. Live and let live. Then become an RA and abuse your power. My life direction is all so clear to me now.

Portland Visitation

Like how I followed up my "Post-A-Day Man" post with no Saturday post and barely a Sunday post? Yeah, me too. Chris and his friend Stu have been in town, it's been a blast. Massive amounts of XBox, Seinfeld, Arrested Development (Season 2 is fantastic), action flicks, and Newbury Comics. So basically what I do on weekends anyway, only this time with company, which is nice.

Right now they're playing some college hoops and we're getting Maggiano's (the best damn Italian restaurant) in about twenty minutes.

Saw "Firewall" last night. Review at The Gravy shortly (first flick of '06).

Wish I had more to say. I'm pretty tired, 'cause I usually do nothing on the weekends and I've been insanely busy the last few days. But at least it's only a three-day week. And in a week and a half it's Spring Break. That's just weird. Yet awesome. At first I was really mad I barely have Spring Break with anyone, but now I realize how relaxing it'll be. That said though, those who around the 2nd-12th, phone away, I'd love to hang. It'll just be nice to really take a week, watch some good flicks and go for some drives. Hopefully it'll be a little warm in Portland.

Chris and Stu

Got in last night, though their flight came in an hour late and I got off the bus at the wrong terminal. Nice.

Post-A-Day Man

That's just who I am. I usually have enough time and enough that I think is worthy to talk about to post something every day. I might be wrong, but dammit I'll go down in a hail of gunfire.

Incidentally, Sean Roney (name drop!) and I once did the Top 5 ways to die, and although we never fully rendered it, our number 1 was beyond all question sneaking in solo to an enemy camp and rescuing dozens of prisoners of war before being shot down as you hold the enemy back, allowing your allies to escape. Yeah, TRY to think of a better one. And don't say "having sex," because there's nothing that shows how bad you are at sex as dying during it.

Speaking of sex, I went to the show my friend Vanessa stage managed, and even though they went through the most impossible of circumstances tonight alone (you think "Music Man" was rough?), the show rocked. Oh, and it's speaking of sex 'cause that's pretty much what the show's about. Well, it's more complicated than that, but at one point a nurse stripped down to her red bra and panties and pretty much climbed all over this dude in a wheelchair and lemme tell you I don't know WHAT they sang about during that scene. Best comment of the night from Heather - "Well, at least he's gay." Priceless.

Second season of "Arrested Development" came today, adding onto the three-letters-in-the-mailbox awesomeness of the day. Unfortunately, I told my brother I'd wait to start it 'til he came (Saturday!). Damn you Amazon and your fast shipping.

I'm seeing the new Harrison Ford flick, "Firewall" with Chris and Stu sometime this weekend. Expect a review of how a 60-year-old man can kick all our asses at the same time. Much as I'm all about the Chuck Norris love, Harrison Ford is way cooler.

I need food, pronto...a bad craving at 1:30 in the morning, when your only recourse is chips and water. But the Wendy's I had at like 10 did not satisfy because Wendy's here is awful. The food's never warm. Ever. But they had a damn good Coca-Cola this evening.

All right, it's chips and water time, then some writing of the creative vein.

P.S. Clicking on tonight's title will take you to five pictures from "Snakes on a Plane," which in addition to the proposed "Afrosamurai" (I'm not even kidding) will return Samuel L. Jackson to his rightful place as the king of cool that "The Man," "Coach Carter," and "Freedomland" tried so hard to destroy. And yes, the only reason anyone cares is because of the title. It's SNAKES ON A PLANE. If you can't love that, I don't know what to do with you anymore.

Snakes on a Plane

Thanks to Adrianna for linking me to the currently-empty official website (but it is a sign that it IS happening) for "Snakes on a Plane," a movie that will own all that can be owned. Every now and then someone will hear about it and mention it and it will remind me why life is great.

IF I OWE YOU A LETTER I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL SEND THEM THIS WEEKEND.

We had a Beacon St. Date Auction tonight, in which some of the residents and the RAs were raffled off like so much slavery. It was all quite what one would expect (except the kinda money that was being thrown around...someone went for $60), but when one of the guys' theme songs was Europe's "Final Countdown," it's not all bad.

You know those nights when you have no desire at all to do any work, nor to sleep, but it's a school night? Yeah, welcome to tonight. I don't have that much work, just making a handout on "constructing an argument" and then making corrections on a dude's essay. No big.

I just heard a car screech outside for probably 20 seconds before crashing into something.

"Murder in Hollywood" is coming along better than ever. I haven't enjoyed writing this much since I wrote that thing over two years ago. Not even kidding. But it's happening. Things are in motion.

Well, I should probably have something to show for all this lost sleep.

P.S. Does anyone else find that little message "This may take a few minutes if you have a large blog" to be more than a little sexual?

Valentine's Day

Y'know, I've never really understood how people can really hate this day. Sure, it reminds you that you're single, but...I'm sorry, boo-frickn'-hoo. If you haven't come to terms with that yet, I don't know what to tell ya. I've been single every year of my life on Valentine's Day. No big deal. Just another day. People wanna celebrate it by doing something extra for their guy or gal, I got no beef with that.

Is it a pointless day? Yes. Invented by Hallmark to sell cards and all that? Totally. But SO WHAT. The only instance I can imagine when anyone would ever be mad about Valentine's Day is if they somehow felt obliged to do something, or to spend a lot of money, or whatever for their dude or dudette, and they just didn't really feel like doing it. And if that's the case, you're clearly not supposed to be with them anyway.

So to those of you spending the day alone...like Red Green says, "I'm pulling for you...we're all in this together." But there's really no need to be randomly insulting a holiday a lotta people really enjoy just because you're bitter.

And if you really are that bitter, if you really need someone in your life, get out there. No day like today, I say. Ask that girl or guy out. "What if they say no?" What if they say yes? You ready for that? You better be, because eventually someone will.

Happy Valentine's Day.

EDIT: My brother's away message asks for the everyone's personal Top Five Love Songs in no particular order. Feel free to leave yours below, I love music talk. Mine...

"Then He Kissed Me" - The Crystals
"I Got You Babe" - Sonny and Cher
"My Cherie Amour" - Stevie Wonder
"Soul and Hear's Inspiration" - Righteous Brothers
"Accidentally in Love" - Counting Crows

College is so hard

Class-wise, this is shaping up to be a damn fine week. First, we got outta Concept Development an hour early today because not even the prof wanted to be there. Then Research Writing gets cancelled for tomorrow. Hoo-rah. Yeah, that'll REALLY bite me in the ass on Thursday when that class meets again, but for now, I'll keep on rockin' in the free world.

The more I think about it, the more I REALLY want to get "Murder in Hollywood" made into a flick. I've been trying to absorb as much crime/pulp stuff as I can to shamelessly ape from ('cause let's face it, that's pretty much what the play was), and Spring Break will pretty much be spent working on the script and playing with my video camera to see if some of the style I have in mind for it will work, and if I can actually transfer the stuff to Chester (my Mac) for editing, an impossible task on the PC back home. More to follow.

This is all when I'm not in the middle of Halo 2 (Heroic, a word I simply cannot pronounce for the love of me).

Oh, and boom mics for personal video cameras? I remember them existing, but I've made things up before.

Valentine's Day is tomorrow, and for another year I have no cause to mention it. My mom sent me a card with some cash in it though, so y'know...not too shabby.

Criterion (a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films), a company most of you folks'll be familiar with because they put out the awesome "Life Aquatic" DVD, is putting out an edition of "Dazed and Confused," which is a fantastic flick, pretty much "American Graffiti" for the 70s. Believe it or not, that brings the number of Criterion DVDs featuring Ben Affleck to three (the other two are "Chasing Amy" and "Armagheddon"...yes, "Armagheddon" is in the Criterion Collection). Boo ya.

Will Ferrell: What Happened?

Will Ferrell should have been one of the great screen comic stars of all time. His work on SNL was nothing short of brilliance, and the best the show had seen from a single performer since...probably the days of Belushi. He had a number of small, but memorable supporting turns in the first Austin Powers flicks and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" before "Zoolander" brought his name up to everyone who missed him on SNL. With this, he left SNL to pursue only movies and delivered amazing work in "Old School" before becoming a bona-fide leading man in "Elf." It was somewhere around this time that he became a brand name, showing up in bit parts in stuff like "Boat Trip" and "Starsky and Hutch" to give otherwise crappy movies a little extra push. But he made "Anchorman" and all was right with the world.

Since then? "Melinda and Melinda." "Kicking and Screaming." "Bewitched." "The Producers." "Curious George." Not a single one has been a hit, or according to most who saw them, that funny. I was holding out hopes for this Nascar movie he was working on with Adam McKay, who wrote and directed "Anchorman," but its trailer is what prompted me to write this - it looks like "Anchorman" in a car. And as funny as "Anchorman" is, I think Ferrell's got a bit more diversity than that. While the character is different, the humor is exactly the same.

He also has "Stranger Than Fiction," which revolves around a guy (Ferrell) discovering his life is being narrated and only he can hear it. This is a feature-length film? That it's directed by the guy who did "Finding Neverland" gives some hope, and I'll wait for the trailer, but still.

Then there's "Joan of Bark: The Dog Who Saved France," which I've heard little on, but am fairly certain the title explains itself.

Finally..."Blades of Glory." Sadly, this, about two men who are banned from singles figure-skating competition only to discover a loophole that would allow them to compete in the pairs competition, is the one I have the most hope for, and that's only because in also stars SNL's Amy Poehler (as soon as they lose her, SNL will have nothing left) and Will Arnett, one of the best actors on "Arrested Development." There is that little matter of the...y'know...plot to get over, not to mention it also stars Jon Heder, who is making a living being Napoleon Dynamite.

So what happened? Like I said above, he became a brand name. It usually takes awhile for a lot of people (Adam Sandler, Quentin Tarantino, Wes Craven), but Ferrell's managed it in under two years. It turns out people will pay to see Ferrell play Ferrell...again and again and again. And as much as many of his characters do have a lot in common, there's a huge gap between his work as a cheerleader on SNL and Ron Burgandy.

Have I lost all hope? Nah. If I can, I'll catch the Nascar flick. And "Stranger Than Fiction" if it takes a more Charlie Kaufman turn than a...have you heard of this new Adam Sandler movie called "Click"? Yeah, that turn. And "Blades of Glory" if the trailer works, because Will Arnett and Amy Poehler are still amazing. But Ferrell? As far as I'm concerned, I can't take him as a sign of a good movie anymore.

Arrested Development

Is a damn good show. If you missed the series finale tonight (read: if you have a life), you missed some of the finest damn television around. With any luck, Showtime'll be picking it up.

Speaking of good shows, The Seinfeld Blog has finally launched. So far not a lot, but come now.

Well, the cry for the "Murder in Hollywood" script worked...John Burke pulled through in the end, as he always does. I'm interested in making a movie of it this summer, but it needs some decent reworking (writers are never happy). At any rate, it'll give me something to work on in my spare time (homework doesn't count).

What else...I say that a lot in my posts...three girls decided to try to get me laid, so long as it's not by one of them, and began outlining dream girl traits, before scrapping the project twenty minutes later in favor of ice cream, finding out what happens when you combine water, meat, banana, and pastries, and a conversation two tables over. How the mighty have fallen.

Finally shooting some pool tomorrow night. Nice.

"Clockwork Orange" tomorrow (Saturday) with Cam. Before pool, that is. I haven't been to a movie theater in three weeks, which is actually a LONG time for me, and I think I've suffered withdrawal as a result. But that could also be because I'm cutting back on soda (one a day, if you can believe it).

Go find yourself KISS's "God Gave Rock n' Roll" to you. I had it in my profile for roughly a day, and honestly I love it. Honestly.

Ben Affleck's directing a movie in Boston

Say what you will about Affleck...he might not be the best actor around, but he's one cool cat. You watch him on Letterman or Leno or SNL or listen to him in the Kevin Smith commentaries and not only does he sound like the coolest movie star on the planet, but he's the first one to make fun of himself. So apparently he's getting in the directing game now and is making a flick here in Boston, which I can only pray will either start filming or will continue to be filming in the fall (apparently we all missed Martin Scorsese shooting THE DEPARTED by like two weeks last September).

iPods can be a giant pain in the ass. I sold my old mini to Vanessa, and on top of the iPod software crippling her iTunes by forcing an update to a version that apparently just doesn't work with Windows, now the iPod doesn't work as well. Hurray. Thankfully my warranty should still be in effect.

WB'll be releasing Special Editions of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, 2001, THE SHINING, and the uncut version of EYES WIDE SHUT. God I love DVD.

Speaking of which, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE will be at the Brattle on Saturday. The Brattle, thankfully, got an extension on its lease and will continue to operate at least through 2006 (they're having a Bugs Bunny film festival at the end of the month...name one way this isn't the greatest theater ever). Anyway, the first time I saw CLOCKWORK was on 35mm (Clinton St!), and I don't know...for a movie like that, seeing it in the theater really makes all the difference. Plus I love the crowd reactions.

The second volume of ELIZABETHTOWN music is amazing. If ya'll enjoyed the first disc, I highly recommend it. The E-Town playlist now totals 55 songs for nearly three hours of music. That's just cool.

Also grabbed the ELIZABETHTOWN DVD, which I have yet to get a chance to watch, but y'know...it just sitting there is making getting to the schoolwork that much more difficult. Best Buy also threw in a bonus disc with it, so props to them because there's almost no special features on the regular disc.

Well, time to study for History of Media Arts (we're in the midst of studying the beginning of rock n' roll...college classes kick ass).

ALL MEN MUST CLICK THIS LINK NOW!

Seriously...it will make your day complete.

LINK FIXED!

Reason #8000 why I hate Bollywood

This blog format offers no difference in titles with links and titles without...so I'm here to tell you...that title's a link.

I recently re-watched "Bigger Than Jesus," which is, as my buddy Adam would say, absolutely amazing. And yeah, I'll pretty much sing the praises of genius over BTJ again and again and again until everyone I have ever met in my life has watched it. Even my enemies. Yes. I have enemies.

But anyway, BTJ brought a longing for the glory days of the Rick Emerson Show (Rick being the guy who wrote and performed BTJ). So right now I'm listening to some of the archived show (ever since it went off the air they've been posting these things), and I originally opening the October 28th, 2003 show to hear his Top Five South Park songs of all time (as I'm also on a major SP fixation), but it's mostly ended up being about these people trying to find a sex slave. It's fascinating radio, people.

Yeah, that was the point of all that...to say I'm listening to an episode of a cancelled radio show from over two years ago about people in Portland trying to obtain a sex slave.

In other news, and this is in my away message and I really don't think anyone reading this doesn't have my screen name, but if anyone has a copy, in any form, of my "Murder in Hollywood" script, I'd much appreciate it if you sent it my way. I got a strange desire to go back to it. I thought about writing it from memory, but I am now convinced this is a bad, bad idea. Especially since I can't remember if there were seven or eight characters (if there is an eighth, I couldn't name him). And because I have no idea what the hell happened in the voiceovers.

Superbowl

Well, I hadn't planned on watching the Superbowl, but ended up going to a bar (apparently the only one that serves people under 21 after like 7) with some folks, which was a rip-roaring good time. Especially the guy who kept waving his hat everytime Seattle made a good play.

But the Northwest pride is pretty much shattered. Seattle had a chance there for a second, but the Steelers deserved it all the way...they brought their Super Bowl game to the table.

The commercials I saw (we got to the bar by the second half) were totally lame, but downloaded the V For Vendetta commercial, which kicked twelve kinds of ass.

Quandry

Well, I haven't posted in the last few days (crime!), and I don't really have anything to say, but I ALSO don't really want to my homework right yet. But this has easily been, without a doubt, the most insane, tumultuous weekend I've had in a long time, if not ever. The quote-unquote "fun" of it ain't over yet, either. But y'know, such times can really solidify friendships and really, it made me feel more like I belong here than ever.

But I'm not gonna wax on about life's woes. Instead, movies...best distraction ever (and FINALLY watching the "Bigger Than Jesus" DVD, which is just a hundred layers of fantastic...and Halo 2...lotta Halo 2 this weekend). Awhile back I typed up a list of the movies to be looking for this year, but ah...figured people are sick about hearing about movies. But like I said, I don't really have anything to say. So yeah. Oh, and this was longer before, but when I posted it, it looked bigger than Texas. And we just can't have that.

MARIE-ANTOINETTE (October 13) - Written and directed by Sofia Coppola (THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, LOST IN TRANSLATION), and starring Kirsten Dunst and Jason Schwartzman (Max Fischer from RUSHMORE). The trailer oozes style, which gives me a lot of hope, and hey, it's Sofia Coppola. LOST IN TRANSLATION was my favorite film of 2003, and one of my favorites of all time, so I have faith.

TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY (October 27) - The meeting and formation of the D. The cast? Jack Black. Kyle Gass. Tim Robbins. Ben Stiller. John C. Reilly. Amy Poehler. Meat Loaf. Ronnie James Dio. Colin Hanks. Forget KONG, this is the movie Black's entire film career has been leading to.

THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (March 17) - Watch the trailer. It's hilarious.

GRIND HOUSE (September 22) - Two sixty-minute horror films, homages to the cheesy B horror flicks of the 60s and 70s. One directed by Robert Rodriguez (SIN CITY). The other by Quentin Tarantino. Between the two films, fake trailers. Tarantino's is a slasher flick, but with a car instead of a knife. Rodriguez is doing zombies...in space. Best...movie...ever.

THE DEPARTED (August) - It's Scorsese (THE AVIATOR, GANGS OF NEW YORK, GOODFELLAS, TAXI DRIVER, a million others), starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a cop going undercover in the mob and Matt Damon as a mobster going undercover in the police department. And Jack Nicholson's the mob boss.

5-25-77 (May) - A story of movies...practical special effects...blockbuster love...and seeing Star Wars opening night.

SOUTHLAND TALES (TBA 2006) - It's the latest from writer/director Richard Kelly (the genius behind DONNIE DARKO). The Rock is an action star. Sean William Scott plays twins. Sarah Michelle Gellar's a porn star. It's a comedy. And a musical. And it's sci-fi. And Justin Timberlake and Kevin Smith show up at some point. And I remember hearing something about the end of the world.

THE DA VINCI CODE (May 19) - Say what you will about the book (I never read it), but the trailer kicks ass and you know it.

SUPERMAN RETURNS (June 30) - I'm not gonna lie, I'm scared shitless that this'll fail. Because if it does, it'll do it in a big way. Kevin Spacey as Luthor is perfect casting, and Bryan Singer has yet to make a bad movie. But so far, we haven't really seen Brandon Routh in character as Superman, and Kate Bosworth doesn't strike me at all as Lois. That, and Singer is inspired more from the movies than the comics. Superman I & II are fantastic adaptations in their own right, but I would love to see a really fresh take on the character, given how much has changed in the comics since the 70s. But the teaser trailer left me speechless many times over. And Singer IS a damn good filmmaker. Either way, Superman is my favorite superhero, and I'll be first in line on June 29 (midnight showing, bros).

V FOR VENDETTA (March 17) - Adapted from the awesome comic book by Alan Moore (genius), I really didn't have any reason to look forward to this for awhile. The trailer is awesome, and it stars Natalie Portman, but other than that it just looked like a cool action flick. But about a month ago it was shown at a small festival, and the word coming out of it was that it was incredible. Better than anything that was fully released in 2005. Probably better than anything that'll come out in 2006. The best of its kind since A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. Assuming Warner Brothers leaves the picture intact, and with such huge response there's little reason not to, this could be one of the most important films of the decade.

THE FOUNTAIN (TBA 2006) - Then there's this. It's the latest from Darren Aronofsky (PI, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM), about one man's quest for the fountain of youth, and for the woman he loves. It spans over one thousand years in three parallel stories, all about the same two people, played by Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz (who just got nominated for being amazing in THE CONSTANT GARDENER). The trailer is a work of art in and of itself, and I just hope it can find release this year, as it was originally scheduled for November '05. We're in an interesting stage of film, in which most of the best stuff out there is adapted from, or a remake of, something (of my own top 10 of 2005, only ELIZABETHTOWN and MATCH POINT were original works), but here is a completely original work of epic filmmaking. I can't wait.

Crazy times, ladies and gents

First off, Jim Emerson, the editor at RogerEbert.com, keeps a blog running over there and wrote a fantastic piece about everyone trying to interpret the Oscar nominations, largely in that they're supposedly "message movies." Check it out here

What else...bought High Fidelity yesterday (which sports the best critic quote on the cover - "Hits All the Laugh Bases!") after making the twenty-to-thirty minute walk to Newbury Comics, the best store ever (they sell movies, music, and COMIC BOOKS...screw you Best Buy). It was surprisingly nice outside, given that it had snowed just a few days prior (now it's raining like hell...joy). For those of you who somehow remember such things (my dad did, and he never goes in the basement), the copy of High Fidelity on the shelf was my brother's.

I read an article in the Berkley Beacon (our newspaper whose name seems to have no correlation to the school at all) about blogging, and how it's mostly a lot of teenagers complaining about their girlfriend or boyfriend or roommate or parents or school or whatever. He's pretty much right, I suppose, and it makes me even more self-concious about what I write here. I was never crazy about the long angsty posts (or the really short ones that simply ask deep, life-affirming questions), or even the "guess what I did today" posts. Unless something really amazing happened. Like a squirrel war. That'd be sweet.

That said, I came in last night and the roommates were havin' a li'l of the ol' drinky-drinky with some folks. And let me tell you, as someone who almost never touches the stuff, it's a joy to be suddenly hit with that smell and realize that your room will now be useless to you for the next few hours. But hey, there's almost no bad mood a DiGiorno's Pizza won't cure. Lesson to the kids.

Chris is coming in...what, two weeks?...with Stu in tow (old friend of his, and after many a vacation subsequently mine, from the public school days). I have no idea what we're going to do, but it will certainly involve the new Harrison Ford movie and Fire + Ice (the best they-cook-it-right-in-front-of-you restaurant known to man).

Have I yet mentioned that I'm pretty sure, save for a day or two overlap, I don't have the same spring break as anyone from the class of '05? Which leaves me the option of complete boredom or some sort of life discovery. One can only pray for the latter.

Elizabethtown hits DVD on Tuesday, along with the second soundtrack CD. Goodbye, money. Funny part is I told myself that's the only flick I'll buy in February. And there's High Fidelity, mere inches away.

Really hungry right now. Time for morning (I just woke up, okay?) hamburger at the Diner. Mmm...mmm...good.