The Center Seat

Most of you don't know this about me, and some of you may be surprised: I am a born-again, evangelical Christian.

Lately, we've been getting a bad rap, and sometimes deservedly so. There is no excuse for bigotry, prejudice, or most forms of censorship, especially from a group of people who are supposed to be known for their love.

My personal goal is to stay true to my God and to my faith, while still loving those around me as He does. I have no desire to squash people or thoughts that are different to me; on the contrast, I revel in them. This may be why I love movies so much... they allow me to see the world from others' perspectives.

So I was taken aback a few weeks ago, during a night class held at my church. The speaker was talking about morality, and was using an illustration to show that all of us, by ourselves, fall far short of God's standard. He asked us to name some people we thought of as moral (Billy Graham, Mother Theresa). Then he asked us to name people we thought of as immoral, expecting answers like Saddam Hussein, Adolf Hitler, etc. One lady, however, shouted out "Hollywood!" I believe she expected full agreement, and no one contradicted her...

But I was really disturbed! I grew up in this evangelical Christian faith... As a kid, I heard many preachers decry the evils of Hollywood, and how we're all going to be corrupted by the horrible influence of the entertainment industry. But here, now, in 2008, do people still really believe that? Can you really lump everyone together who creates any kind of entertainment and call them the Great Satan, and go unquestioned? It seems like such a bigoted idea. My passion is movies... so am I passionate about evil, sin, and immorality?

I discussed this stuff with my friend David, who is also a Christian movie buff, and he suggested another perspective:

"I think when people think of Hollywood in a judgemental
fashion like that, they're thinking more of the lifestyles of
entertainers. It's the Paris Hiltons and the Lindsay
Lohans. I have a hard time believing that Christians
would condemn the entire filmmaking community...What
I tell people most of the time is something like this.
People in 'Hollywood' are put under a pretty scrutinizing
magnifying glass, and I challenge anyone to tell me that
under that same magnifying glass they would come out
looking like saints...most of the people they take issue
with are actors, and actors are just a part of the business.
Plus, most of the great actors you hear very little about.
When's the last time you heard about Morgan Freeman,
John Cusack, or Harrison Ford in any kind of major
trouble? Ironically enough, Mel Gibson, our very own
Passion of the Christ filmmaker, has had more trouble in
Hollywood than any of these folk. I don't know. Just like
the tabloids in the supermarket line, I wouldn't take any
of the comments too seriously (why do people have to
hate on Katie Holmes?!)."

In any event, whatever the comment meant, I'm taking a stand against bigotry. Hollywood's not perfect, but it's not the Great Satan either. Many in the film industry are worthy of respect, do great things for our world, and do not deserve to be categorized with Sodom and Gomorrah.

...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

The LAMBs (of which I am a proud member) are posting commentaries on every Oscar category, one post per weekday until the Oscars! (Yours truly will be writing on Best Animated Short.)

Check it out here, and win your office Oscar pool! (Do those exist anymore?)

Boys and girls, we've entered the movie wasteland that always comes immediately post-Oscar season. For the first time since October, there were absolutely no new releases in the Twin Cities that I wanted to see. I know everyone was touting Rambo, but I haven't seen the earlier ones, and I really didn't feel inclined to start now. Maybe someday, but for now... meh. Our other choices were Meet the Spartans (another brainless parody flick), and Untraceable. As far as that one goes, I'm already a no-go anytime torture porn is on the table, but Colin Covert (whom I respect) says it may actually be borderline immoral to see this one.

So it was a weekend of On Demand and Netflix for Ms. Nayana.

I saw Lost In Translation, which has been on my want-to-see list for quite some time. It was cool... kind of slow-moving, but I loved the pacing in relation to the subject matter. It's kind of about feeling totally alone and adrift, and like no one really has time for you... and then these two people find each other, and they absolutely get one another. Also, I kept waiting for it to get all skeezy and gross (I mean, it is Bill (60-ish) Murray and Scarlett (25-ish) Johansson)... but I was pleasantly surprised.

Also viewed: Imagine Me & You, a British lesbian love story (and purveyor of my new favorite euphemism for lesbians: "vagetarian"); Curious George (actually less nauseating than expected); Fast Food Nation (icky, but a great flick); and I re-watched Great Balls of Fire. That was kind of cool, too, because I recognized some of the elements they made fun of in Walk Hard.

I'm currently in the middle of Tristan & Isolde... stay tuned.

P.S. No surprises whatsoever at the SAG Awards last night. Agree? Disagree? ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

A lot of reviewers have panned this movie as having a shallow, marriage-equals-victory message. As a single woman who has been completely disillusioned (at least once) by the whole "happily ever after" concept, you'd think I'd agree.... But, no. I loved it. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

I can't handle scary movies. Really, I can't. Horror movies are generally won't-sees for me, and monster movies are borderline. But, come on. It's J.J. Abrams. And with all the hype, how could I not go?

Cloverfield was fucking scary. I'm sure there are a lot tougher moviegoers out there who were not swayed, but I seriously could barely handle it. I was holding on to Captain Crash's right arm throughout the movie, and I think at one point I almost broke it.

The fabulous thing about this movie was the novelty: faces I'd never seen before, a monster I'd never seen before, and none of the usual predictable plot devices. Sure, there was a host of destroyed NYC landmarks, but that's almost de rigeur if there's a monster smashing up Manhattan.

We didn't get much of a backstory (or much of a conclusion, frankly), but that made sense in the framework of the storytelling technique. We are supposedly viewing a government-acquired videotape which was spontaneously recorded by a regular schmoe. The schmoes didn't know the backstory... so we don't know the backstory. Fine.

There was one glaring issue that just about took me out of the story: these people were dumb as falling debris. They did NOT behave as regular people (read: I) would have behaved... The military is evacuating the island, there's a weird-ass monkey-lizard tearing up the joint, and rather than leave with everyone else, they choose to take a mind-numbingly lunkheaded risk. I suppose without that one decision, there wouldn't have been much of a movie... but come on. I still rooted for them, but after that turning point I just couldn't identify with them.

P.S. The handheld camera thing almost made me hurl.
P.P.S. I was titillated by that Star Trek teaser. Ooooooooooooooooh!!! ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

WHAT???? NO!!!!!
Heath Ledger is dead.

At 7:30 Central Standard Time in a small Minnesota apartment, a semi-nude woman with messy hair huddled under three comforters and stared expectantly at the television set.

So, yeah. Oscar noms are out. No huge surprises as far as I'm concerned. I was kind of hoping for that "surprise" everyone was predicting: that Atonement would be snubbed. OK, so it wasn't horrible... but I thought there were other films (Into the Wild, Sweeney Todd) that were much more deserving.

But yay for Hal Holbrook! and my girl Diablo! and Ellen Page! and the Coen brothers!

It's been a good year for film, I think. But will we really get to celebrate on February 24?

Freakin' AMC. It's MLK day, so they had to jack up the price. We're goin' for our double feature tomorrow instead.

As Leif Pettersen aptly observed, it was cold as balls in Minnesota this weekend. So Captain Crash and I had big plans to see Cloverfield and 27 Dresses on Saturday... it didn't happen. We stayed cloistered in the apartment. We're going to catch them tonight, though.


We did see Persepolis on Friday night. I was really anticipating this one... an animated adaptation of Marjane Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel. It was... lovely. And sad. And funny.

I don't know how to describe the feelings that the film stirred up in me. The child was so hopeful, and full of joie de vivre... as she grew up and experienced loss after heartbreak after rejection, she became disillusioned. As I stood up at the end of the movie, I felt very sad... but as I think of it now, I don't think I was upset by any of the film's specific events as much as by the fact that this girl lost much of her hope and idealism. Even as a privileged child of the free world, I clearly saw my own growing-up experiences reflected in that.

And, hey... Captain Crash loved it--even though it was all in French! That really says something.

Incidentally, can I just say.... I love the Uptown Theatre! The bathrooms are super-cute.

It's been on my list for awhile, ever since someone told me "You gotta Netflix that." Honestly, not a big priority.... just one of those movies I always meant to see. Anyway, it was on my OnDemand Free Movies last night, so...

The Great Outdoors is silly slapstick; your typical 80's comedy fare. Some parts were awful (the bears-on-the-car scene was hard to watch), but I definitely got a few giggles here and there. It did make me sad about John Candy, though. He was just so dang cute.

Here's a question: what is it with 80's movies and instant romance? The teenagers in this movie went from two I-hate-you scenes to "You're my girlfriend." Um, what? I think I remember that happening in Top Gun, too. Undeniably hot, to be sure, but what exactly caused Kelly McGillis to invite Tom Cruise to her place that first time? Just felt like it was out of the blue. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? And can you think of any other examples? ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

Boys and girls, I'm getting pretty nervous about the whole Oscar thing. This is my Superbowl, and what if it doesn't happen? I don't really want to contemplate that. Ok, yeah, last year's show kinda blew. But I'd rather have a 3-hour suckfest than no show at all.

Somebody please explain to me why the writers can't just be paid so we can all go back to normalcy. The AMPTP has yet to make any kind of convincing statement that backs up their position... they're just being stubborn. Ok, I get that maybe they don't want to fold too easy since the actors' and directors' contracts both expire this year... maybe they don't want to set some kind of precedent that if you just strike for a few months you'll get whatever you want... but COME ON! You don't stiff the writers. It's like being rude to your waiter when you first get to the restaurant. He'll totally sneeze in your salmon.

So that leaves US with a big nasty loogey of brainless reality TV and awards show press conferences on our plates. Boo. ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

My regular movie partner (and roommate) Captain Crash took me to The Bucket List last night. I wasn't really that stoked to see it, and honestly it felt like I'd already seen 40% of the movie in previews. It started off with some serious déja vù: the movie opens in a desolate snowy landscape, with Morgan Freeman doing the voiceover. Now where had I seen that before?

The reviews were generally pretty spot-on; Jack Nicholson played Jack Nicholson, and Morgan Freeman played Morgan Freeman. Not a whole lot of acting. But the ending was exquisite.

Incidentally, if I see ONE MORE TRAILER for Vantage Point, I'm going to shove toothpicks under my fingernails, just to have something to distract me. Can you say ad nauseum??? ...Click here for the rest of this tasty post.

I've gotta start blogging.

The last few years have seen a lot of changes in my life... that's what happens when you're approaching thirty, newly emancipated from a first marriage, learning to take scornful comments with a grain of salt. I guess I'm learning to be me. And a big part of me is....

I love movies.

I mean LOVE love them.

I guess I've always enjoyed the world of entertainment, and in the course of conversation I would constantly refer to it. My dad wondered if I was capable of conversation that didn't involve mass media, so I allowed myself to believe it was a bad thing, a limitation on my part.

But it's ok.

I love movies, and it's ok.

Last year, I started to indulge my passion in earnest... I made a conscious goal to see all the Oscar movies before they were even nominated. It meant hours spent in theaters... two, three, even four movies in a day. My friends thought it sounded unbearable. I, on the other hand, was in heaven. I went alone, and came home with my head swimming. I had stayed in one building for a whole day, but had traveled all over the world. I saw life through the eyes of people I would never meet. I was exposed to new ideas I had never considered.

This year I didn't even make that conscious effort... but I still made it to all the movies. It's ingrained in me now, I suppose.

So I guess the purpose of this blog is to share my experiences with fellow cinephiles. Maybe a review here or there, but mostly I just want to impart the joy I find in seriously good cinema.