yay, more pics from sf! i took so many, i just don't kno what to do with them all. well, yes, i do. i can post them. oh my god, i just did. the first one is of the iconic castro theatre on castro st. the second is of a tree somewhere in the presidio. i really liked the way the light looked when it was behind the tree, so i took a picture of it. it was also a really tall tree. the third is a self-portrait! that's my shadow on the sands of beautiful baker beach.
let's talk movies!
rite before i left for my spring break trip, i went to see koreeda hirokazu's new film, nobody knows (dare mo shiranai), about four kids who are abandoned by their mother. while based on real events, the film is a fiction that examines the lives of the four children and how they might have dealt with their situation. this was a very touching movie that was amazingly acted by all the kid actors. i don't think any of them could have done any better, and indeed, the boy who played the eldest boy, akira, received the male acting award at last year's cannes. there was a current of sadness thruout the whole thing, but that wasn't its focus. there was also a lot of joy to be had by the kids, who by the time their mom left, were already used to spending most of their time without a mother. anyone who wants a nice subtle thinking picture should definitely go see this.
while i was in sf on a rainy day, i watched hotel rwanda, directed by terry george. it was a decent movie about a tragedy way too many people kno too little about, the 100-day genocide of nearly one million rwandans (also the subject of the hbo movie sometimes in april, which i have yet to catch). while the movie's focus wasn't the historical aspect of the genocide, we got to see what some of the atrocities were thru the eyes of paul rusesabagina as played by a very capable don cheadle (a performance for which he received an oscar nomination). while not a fantastic stand-out of a movie, if you have the time, give it a watch. it's worth it. after you finish, read these slate articles from last year about the aftermath and the recent situation in rwanda and the democratic republic of congo.
q. allan brocka's eating out was showing at the castro the week i was there. i had heard about it previously when it played during the seattle lesbian & gay film festival last year. i didn't get a chance to see it here, so what a perfect opportunity for me. the technical aspects of the movie weren't very impressive at all, and the writing and directing were ho-hum. some of the actors did good (hot hot ryan from desperate housewives), but others needed a little more practice (sorry, jim, mebbe you should stick to music... or, on second thot, just stick with looking cute... oh my god what did you do to your hair!?). it wasn't that great a story, but i guess it was still fun to watch, especially the parts where the boys get naked. hot! okay, and it had its funny moments too. rent it if you're bored, but don't expect too much out of it. the organ guy at the castro was cool tho.
if you're gonna see otomo katsuhiro's new movie, steamboy, see it in the theaters, like i did earlier this week. it's well worth the ticket price for the animation alone. if you're familiar with otomo and his akira, then you kno there will be plenty of detailed scenes of mass destruction. it's not tokyo this time, but 19th century london instead. it's about a boy inventor who must stop his grandfather's powerful invention from falling into the wrong hands, but i wouldn't worry about the story too much. it's not bad, but it's definitely not the reason i went to see this. i seriously held my breath thru some of the action sequences, because they were just that good. i hope otomo makes another movie soon, so we don't have to wait 16 years for his next.
"...visually stunning...!" i've been a fan of robert rodriguez since el mariachi, tho i opted to skip the spy kids movies. i'd also heard tons about frank miller and his graphic novel masterpiece sin city (of which, i finally read a couple of the stories recently), so when i found out that robert rodriguez was adapting it for the screen, i instantly decided that i had to go see it. flash forward to last nite, when i finally did go see it, i was pretty blown away. it was everything i expected it to be. stylish, gritty, dark, violent, fast-paced, and for much of it, pretty intense. four separate, but related stories about the anti-heroes of basin city run their courses in the length of this film. while i can't say the characters were very deeply drawn, they fit their purpose perfectly. the film looked a whole lot like the book, and that was a treat visually. there are more stories in the sin city series, and i hope rodriguez will eventually adapt those as well. if you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for?
now for some random shit!
of course, leave it up to the spammers to honor the pope's death by taking advantage of the recent papal mania. sorting thru my email, it went something like this: "lose weight! increase your penis size!! lesbian webcam!!! books about the pope!!!!" i don't kno about you, but i like my lesbian porn with a side of viagra and pope, sunny side up.
by the way, did anyone else watch the funeral? i caught a bit of it while i was doing homework, and dear goodness, the news people needed to shut up! i couldn't believe it, it was like the olympic opening ceremonies or something like that. as if the news personalities couldn't stand silences, and found them all awkward and uncomfortable, fixed only with their constant jabbering. it's a funeral, guys. please. i like you, katie, but shut the fuck up for once!
i got my first myspace spam message the other day from an imaginary slut named sarah who wanted to me to im her ("do NOT email me!") on aim or msn so that she could hook up her webcam and show me her goods (ew). i don't kno why i found it so funny, but it made me laugh out loud. i wanted to post the entire text of it and point out particular funny parts, but it has already been deleted by the irresistable myspace tom. also, the dumbass spammer done got himself arrested.
road rules jake (i'll be calling him that even if he becomes an astronaut and conquers the moon, or you kno, something else that's a higher achievement than being on road rules) made me chuckle with this photo essay about a fish that's since been denounced by grumpy readers for being cruel and ecologically unsound. i think it's hilarious.
ha ha ha ha, japanese pop bands are entertaining in more ways than one.
the first robot to enjoy golden showers and holding your penis. (via goldenfiddle)
and yes, by now you've heard of maps.google.com, but have you seen google sightseeing? best idea of the week! (via justjared)
now that we have all that out of the way, let's talk about boys! i am strangely attracted to the slightly nerdy whiteboy cashier at the kinokuniya bookstore in chinatown, even tho i think he's really tired of his job and isn't as friendly as he used to be. other than that, nothing much of note. how sad. where did all my boys go?
chinatown was not very impressive, nor were the few square blocks that japantown occupied. the castro was nice, but everything there was too expensive (except for this great golden girls t-shirt that said "stay golden" on it, seen in a pic i stole from a random german girl, but they only had larges left). there were some shops on haight st. that i thot were nice, but i didn't find anything great. the union square area was great too, but there were only a few stores we didn't also have here (too bad the h&m had not opened yet). golden gate park was beautiful (and enormous), but i was only able to see half of it.
